Author Profile: Leopold Pleijsier

Leopold Pleijsier

Leopold Pleijsier

F1 Journalist

30356 published articles
16 Oct 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: Court order pulls Mercedes into Antonelli's contract fight

Caterham's progress in 2012 'not great' - Kovalainen

Sep.2 (GMM) The likelihood Heikki Kovalainen will stay at Caterham in 2013 was dealt a blow at Spa, when the Finn admitted to being...

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2 Sep 2012

Bottas admits more sponsors would 'help' for 2013 seat

Sep.2 (GMM) Valtteri Bottas has admitted that a flood of sponsorship would boost his chances of debuting for Williams in 2013. Earlier reports from...

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2 Sep 2012

Hamilton in 'Twittergate' after Spa outburst

Sep.2 (GMM) In the hours after qualifying at Spa, the paddock quickly and half-heartedly dubbed the affair 'Twittergate'. Disappointed with his eighth in qualifying...

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2 Sep 2012

Win from pole crucial for fading title challenge - Button

Sep.2 (GMM) Jenson Button has acknowledged a win from pole in Belgium on Sunday is crucial for his fading world championship hopes. This season's...

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2 Sep 2012

F1 2012 - Spa-Francorchamps Hotlap Video

The Spa Hot Lap video, taken entirely from in-game footage, features Kimi Raikkonen putting in a perfect lap and negotiating one of the most...

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1 Sep 2012

Ups and downs at Spa on Saturday

Sep.1 (GMM) Michael Schumacher is not yet enjoying his landmark 300th grand prix. The great German arrived at his favourite circuit Spa-Francorchamps to mark...

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1 Sep 2012

Mercedes runs 'triple DRS' at Spa - report

Sep.1 (GMM) Forget double-DRS, Mercedes has reportedly upped the ante and debuted a 'triple-DRS' concept at Spa. The German squad pioneered the straightline speed-boosting...

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1 Sep 2012

Romain Grosjean before the Belgian Grand Prix

Romain Grosjean will try to obtain a good result in Spa-Francorchamps.

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1 Sep 2012

Pastor's Driver Diary: Saturday in Belgium

Saturday in Belgium... Pastor talks about the very wet conditions on Spa.

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1 Sep 2012

F1-Fansite.com has a new website!

We are proud to tell you that today we launched our new website! The biggest changes compared to our old website are: Complete database with...

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1 Sep 2012

Key to start work at Toro Rosso on Monday - report

Sep.1 (GMM) James Key will start work at Toro Rosso on Monday morning, Italy's well-connected Autosprint reports. With the Faenza based team's technical boss...

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1 Sep 2012

HRT wants to keep de la Rosa beyond racing days

Sep.1 (GMM) HRT would like to keep Pedro de la Rosa on the books, even after his driving days are over. The Spanish veteran...

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1 Sep 2012

'Silly season' explodes at Spa

Sep.1 (GMM) After the long summer break, formula one has regrouped at Spa-Francorchamps to discover the 'silly season' in a higher gear than ever....

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1 Sep 2012

Hamilton rules out 2013 sabbatical

Sep.1 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has described one contract offered by McLaren for the 2013 season as "sh*t". The expletive is an insight into the...

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1 Sep 2012

Burti recalls Spa crash that ended F1 career

Sep.1 (GMM) More than a decade after the fact, Luciano Burti has finally opened up about the crash at Spa-Francorchamps that ended his formula...

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1 Sep 2012

McLaren running 'unusual sidepods' at Spa

Sep.1 (GMM) At Spa on Friday, McLaren's 2012 car was sporting the most visibly obvious development, in the wake of F1's month-long summer break....

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1 Sep 2012

2012 GP of Belgium, Ask the Driver / Preview - Sauber F1 Team

Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez answer fan questions prior to the race at the famous track of Spa-Francorchamps. This time, they speak about the...

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31 Aug 2012

Alonso's engineer says Raikkonen can win title

Aug.31 (GMM) Andrea Stella, Fernando Alonso's race engineer at Ferrari, has singled out Kimi Raikkonen as a challenger for the 2012 championship. The buzz...

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31 Aug 2012

Pastor's Friday Belgium diary

Pastor gives his thoughts ahead of Friday Practice at Spa.

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31 Aug 2012

F1 technical briefing, Spa-Francorchamps circuit guide

Caterham F1 Team Performance Engineer Tim Wright gives his guide to the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit and explains how the weather can affect the engineering...

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31 Aug 2012

F1 2012 - 'Improvements' Developer Diary

The 'Improvements' developer diary details the team's objectives to "break new boundaries" and "match real life" as it introduces a wide range of new...

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31 Aug 2012

Lotus could end victory drought in Belgium

Aug.31 (GMM) The buzzword in the Spa paddock is 'Lotus'. Already a standout performer of the 2012 season, the black and gold E20 is...

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31 Aug 2012

Pic's manager to meet with Force India, Sauber

Aug.31 (GMM) Charles Pic's management will reportedly meet with representatives of the Force India and Sauber teams this weekend at Spa. According to RMC...

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31 Aug 2012

Tombazis feared for job after Ferrari's poor start

Aug.31 (GMM) Nicholas Tombazis has admitted he feared for his job after launching the 2012 Ferrari early this year. Through an impressive development programme,...

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31 Aug 2012

Hamilton doesn't want Button's help for title

Aug.31 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton insists he doesn't want help from his teammate Jenson Button to win the 2012 title. Button is 41 points behind...

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31 Aug 2012

Likely Perez, backer Slim, to stay at Sauber

Aug.31 (GMM) As F1 emerges from its August slumber at Spa-Francorchamps, the chances Sergio Pérez will be staying at Sauber in 2013 seem to...

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31 Aug 2012

More Mercedes wins unlikely for now - Rosberg

Aug.31 (GMM) Nico Rosberg has played down his chances of adding another pole or victory to his 2012 tally this weekend in Belgium. Since...

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31 Aug 2012

'Business' side crucial for new contract - Hamilton

Aug.31 (GMM) Lewis Hamilton has revealed that his management team at Simon Fuller's XIX Entertainment are now negotiating the terms of his 2013 contract....

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31 Aug 2012

2014 engine importance 'right' for F1 - Tombazis

Aug.31 (GMM) Ferrari designer Nicholas Tombazis insists it is "right" that engines will have a higher importance in 2014. His Red Bull counterpart Adrian...

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31 Aug 2012

Button could be next to mark triple-century

Aug.31 (GMM) Jenson Button has admitted he could be the next F1 driver to notch up a landmark 300 grands prix. Michael Schumacher is...

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31 Aug 2012