Author Profile: Leopold Pleijsier

Leopold Pleijsier

Leopold Pleijsier

F1 Journalist

30200 published articles
28 Sep 2026 latest publication

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

Latest story: Audi Takes F1 to Singapore’s Streets

Mercedes F1 to protect itself before McLaren-Honda era

Toto Wolff has added fuel to speculation McLaren could be preparing for Honda power in 2015. It is now strongly rumoured that, as per...

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15 Mar 2013

Button could struggle to continue winning trend

Jenson Button is leaving nothing to chance. When he won the Australian grand prix in 2009, 2010 and 2012, he stayed in the very...

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15 Mar 2013

Ousted Petrov's manager joins Caterham

The Russian driver is no longer there, but Vitaly Petrov's manager Oksana Kosachenko has re-emerged in a new role for 2013 at Caterham. A...

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15 Mar 2013

Button comments Hamilton's McLaren F1 criticism

Jenson Button on Thursday took issue with former teammate Lewis Hamilton's description of McLaren as an overly-controlling team. Hamilton, who ended his long association...

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15 Mar 2013

Di Resta had make-over for 2013 F1 season

According to some, a 'new' Paul di Resta has walked through the 2013 paddock turnstile. Writing in London's Evening Standard, journalist Matt Majendie calls...

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15 Mar 2013

Jean Todt suggests cost agreement F1 teams is in doubt

The future of the so-called 'resource restriction agreement' - a gentleman's pact among teams to control costs - has moved under a dark cloud....

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15 Mar 2013

Vodafone quits sponsoring McLaren over Bahrain issue

McLaren has reportedly played down reports title sponsor Vodafone is pulling out of formula one due to the controversial Bahrain grand prix. A day...

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15 Mar 2013

Lap times 2nd practice 2013 Australian F1 Grand Prix

Event: Australian F1 Grand Prix Track: Albert Park Circuit Weather: Dry Track temperature: 31°C Air temperature: 22°C Wind Speed: 4.5 mps Wind direction: South Air Pressure:...

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15 Mar 2013

Active suspension the key to Mercedes F1 speed

Specialist publications are reporting a secret of the apparent speed of Mercedes' new W04 car -- a system known in the German squad's garage...

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15 Mar 2013

Lap times 1st practice 2013 Australian F1 Grand Prix

Event: Australian F1 Grand Prix Track: Albert Park Circuit Weather: Dry Track temperature: 37°C Air temperature: 21°C Wind Speed: 4.0 mps Wind direction: South Air...

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15 Mar 2013

Animated lap of Gilles Villeneuve circuit Canada

Animated lap of Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal, Canada.

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14 Mar 2013

Radio F1 interview Di Resta and Sutil RadioOne India with Hrishi K

Sahara Force India F1 drivers Paul Di Resta and Adrian Sutil meet up with radio host Hrishi K on RadioOne 94.3 FM during the...

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14 Mar 2013

Valencia could return to F1 calendar in 2014

Valencia could be set to return to the formula one calendar. The European grand prix is missing from the 2013 schedule, and it emerged...

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14 Mar 2013

Sebastian Vettel calls Red Bull RB9 F1 car: Hungry Heidi

Sebastian Vettel and his mechanics have named the reigning world champion's 2013 Red Bull 'Hungry Heidi'. Giving his chassis a light-hearted female moniker is...

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14 Mar 2013

Ferrari F1 will not Adrian Newey's style

Ferrari insists it is happy with its technical structure, despite not having a high-profile figure like Adrian Newey in the limelight. "The goal," said...

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14 Mar 2013

Nico Rosberg could beat Lewis Hamilton with consistency

Nico Rosberg insists he is not worried about being beaten by his new teammate Lewis Hamilton. Germany's Sport Bild told the 27-year-old that although...

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14 Mar 2013

McLaren: New title F1 sponsor already decided

McLaren on Thursday swiftly confirmed reports that Vodafone will definitely end its seven-year title sponsorship at the end of 2013. "Having met and exceeded...

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14 Mar 2013

Title sponsor Vodafone confirms McLaren F1 exit

McLaren's title sponsor Vodafone has decided to pull out of formula one. It emerged mid last year that the lucrative deal could be in...

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14 Mar 2013

Bob Fernley: F1 owner CVC is milking money

Force India has lashed out at F1's owner CVC, accusing the private equity firm of not being interested in developing the sport. The financial...

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14 Mar 2013

Preview Valtteri Bottas on Australian F1 GP

As part of the team preparations for the Australian GP, we invited questions for Valtteri Bottas (#AskValtteri) through our official Twitter account (@WilliamsF1Team). In...

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14 Mar 2013

F1 preview Pastor Maldonado on Australian F1 GP

As part of the team preparations for the Australian GP, we invited questions for Pastor Maldonado (#AskPastor) through our official Twitter account (@WilliamsF1Team). In...

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14 Mar 2013

McLaren F1 drives Button and Checo answer quick fire questions

Understeer or oversteer? Bond or Bourne? Pre-Australia we caught up with Jenson and Checo for a quick-fire Q&A...

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13 Mar 2013

2013 starts with youngest F1 grid in history

This year's F1 grid is the very youngest in the history of the sport. That is the finding of Spain's AS sports newspaper, having...

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13 Mar 2013

Briatore: Webber says Red Bull RB9 F1 car very strong

Flavio Briatore does not believe Red Bull will struggle in 2013. There have been reports the reigning world champions had a difficult final test...

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13 Mar 2013

Ferrari must give Alonso good enough F1 car

After a low-profile winter for Fernando Alonso, some experts think 2013 is Ferrari's very last chance to give the Spaniard a truly top car....

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13 Mar 2013

Ecclestone understands Danica Patrick's F1 reluctance

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he understands why Danica Patrick is not interested in switching to formula one. The F1 chief executive said he has...

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13 Mar 2013

Experts doubt Vettel will make Ferrari F1 team switch

A trio of experts do not believe Sebastian Vettel will switch to Ferrari any time soon. One of them is the reigning world champion's...

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13 Mar 2013

New managment Mercedes F1 not reason for boost

Mercedes' new bosses are not responsible for the German marque's apparently sudden speed boost. That is the claim of former team driver Michael Schumacher,...

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13 Mar 2013

Ecclestone advised Mercedes F1 to sign Lewis Hamilton

Bernie Ecclestone has admitted he advised Mercedes to lure Lewis Hamilton from McLaren. Many were surprised when Hamilton decided to leave established top team...

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13 Mar 2013

Gerhard Berger: Pirelli's 2013 F1 approach incomprehensible

Gerhard Berger has slammed as "incomprehensible" F1 tyre supplier Pirelli's approach to the 2013 season. "Last year, the tyres were quite usable," the former...

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13 Mar 2013