iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 12h

Max Verstappen gives Ford their first pole of the 21st Century. They had not been on pole since Rubens Barrichello in a Stewart - the original incarnation of Red Bull - at the 1999 French Grand Prix #BahrainGP

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

P.S. I really miss that tight group of colleagues with whom I spent the first 15 years of my time in F1. We worked together, we laughed together, we did stupid shit together. There are times when I feel lonely in F1 without them.

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

...I had worked on all F1 broadcasts on US television since 2003, but suddenly everyone in production was out of a job. Now we're going back there nine years later, and i'm the only person left from the entire SPEED and NBC eras to still be in F1 today.... (2/2)

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

A sobering thought has crossed my mind as i'm preparing for Sepang. The last time F1 raced there was three days before NBC lost the broadcast rights to F1 in the US in 2017.... (1/2)

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

You'd have to ask our Champions Club audiences for their opinion :)

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

I try to treat them all the same, based on observable reality rather than internet chatter. For instance, I think I was the one person saying there might be something to Nikita Mazepin's claims concerning his lack of F1 pace, since his F2 performance showed he should be far more competitive

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Speak for yourself there... i've constantly brought Stroll's achievements to people's attention. He's obviously #2 to Alonso, but he has also outpaced him from time to time and led him in the championship for a good portion of last season

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

If I was Franco, i'd think sitting in the debrief room with Pierre and Flavio Briatore was punishment enough. The feeling of embarrassment alone would be sufficient...

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The car was just as under control as was the case for several drivers who ran down the escape road during that race. It's a more egregious mistake to make in traffic, but it's a first offence and I think people are deluding themselves if they think he should be banned for it

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Colapinto made a bad error in the #AzerbaijanGP, but it happens to every driver at some point. Although blame was more evenly split, Verstappen collided with his teammate at the same corner in 2018. Colapinto finished every GP he started for Alpine until yesterday, this is all a bit melodramatic

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

George Russell's 0.196s winning margin over Max Verstappen is the closest in a green flag finish at a Grand Prix since Ferrari's infamous stage-managed finish at the 2002 US Grand Prix, when Rubens Barrichello accidentally beat Michael Schumacher by 0.011s #AzerbaijanGP

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I lost my Mum 20 years ago today. She was never interested in sports... unless somebody from Ireland had a chance of winning... and Alex Dunne has just won for Ireland in FIA Formula 2 here in Baku 🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

I don't really have any notable personal anecdotes to add to the 9/11 commemorations, but i'm glad I was old enough to have experienced a world filled with optimism and positivity during the years prior to that date, because I know i'll never experience that world again in my lifetime

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

I am sure many of you out there had never heard the name Ludovico Scarfiotti until today. I always rated his 1966 Italian GP win as the most obscure in F1 history given that it was a Ferrari 1-2 at Monza, with the other driver being Mike Parkes. They only started 16 GPs between them #ItalianGP

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

He is the first to do it in a world championship Grand Prix

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Antonelli ends 60 years of hurt for Italy. Sta tornando a casa #ItalianGP

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I was originally named for Sean T O’Kelly, the second President of Ireland. Coincidentally, the cyclist Sean Kelly won two stages of the Tour de France in the week I was born, so I was named for him as well 🇮🇪

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Don’t forget that the Nurburgring also held the 2020 Eifel GP as well!

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

2016 counts toward European GP event history but Azerbaijan track history

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Oh boy… I hadn’t stopped to consider this until you both pointed this out. After careful review, my answer is “OMFG WHAT”

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 18/07/2026

Aston Martin's best qualifying time at this weekend's #BelgianGP (1:50.002) is more than two seconds slower than the pole time. From 35 years ago.

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

Didn’t travel to Spa this weekend, so I came to visit this man instead, on the 11th anniversary of his passing. They have relocated his remains from elsewhere in the cemetery #JB17

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Ferrari win their 250th Grand Prix on the weekend that the USA celebrated 250 years since independence. That means Ferrari have averaged one Grand Prix victory every year since 1776!

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Spain. Assuming that they start both the Monaco and Spanish Grands Prix of course…

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Drivers named Michael or Lewis have won a total of 7 world titles each :)

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Will Buxton has the play by play duties at the Indianapolis 500 while Formula 2 continues here in Montreal. It was his commentary on this series in the GP2 days that attracted the attention of SPEED Channel who hired him as a pit reporter in 2010. And look at him now!

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Azerbaijan and Bahrain are an absolute breeze, but Australia is my favourite because they run trams relentlessly all morning that go directly from Melbourne city centre to the main entrance at Albert Park. It means that you never feel rushed trying to get into the track, board at your leisure :)

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

Flight out of Miami is late, and while sat here daydreaming it occurred to me that i've now done as many full-time seasons working in F1 as Murray Walker did prior to retirement in 2001. That seems incredible to me because Murray felt like he was there forever, whereas my time has passed in a flash

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

It is 5:30pm in Miami and it is now finally spitting with rain. As it turned out, we would have completed a full dry race even if it started at its originally-scheduled time, it’s been dry all afternoon #MiamiGP

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 03/05/2026

I happened to look at social media yesterday evening and was reading all sorts of keyboard warriors saying the FIA/F1 were stupid for not just canceling the race 24 hours in advance. Welp, the people in question need to go back in, delete those posts and hope nobody notices #MiamiGP

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Reposted by Sean Kelly

Matt Bishop 🏳️‍🌈 🏁 @thebishf1.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

#RIPAlexZanardi, perhaps the most impressive person I’ve ever met. 😔

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Alex Zanardi.... one of the greatest inspirations throughout the history of humanity. We're all poorer without his energy in this world.

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 18/04/2026

I was in Max’s company once, and I have never felt so intellectually overmatched in my life.

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 13/04/2026

Under the current format, Charles Leclerc was 46 points clear of Max Verstappen after the third race in 2022. He lost the title by 146 points.

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Sad that I can no longer wake up to the NASA Artemis II livestream. It has been such an unexpected light in our lives for these past ten days

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

I refused to move until all four astronauts were successfully out of Orion and in the life raft

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

I always wondered what it would be like to see humans go to the moon in my lifetime, and now I finally know!

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

I’m gonna guess the Artemis II crew are not the kind of people who get up the moment the seat belt sign is switched off after landing

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

I am on the beach in San Diego… we didn’t see or hear anything of Artemis II on re-entry as expected, but there were a LOT of people out here anyway, several were crowded around my iPad and Bluetooth speaker watching the live NASA feed. Huge cheers broke out when we saw all three main chutes open ❤️

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

NASA have just revised the expected splashdown time by 1 second, to 5:07:08pm Pacific Time. How are we supposed to plan our lives around such inaccuracy! 😂

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

The Artemis II crew are at that stage of the flight where they get offered 50,000 free air miles if they sign up for a new credit card

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Had to go out and run errands today and felt like I was cheating on the Artemis II crew by not following what they’ve been doing

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

Right now, there are four humans further from Earth than at any time in all of human history. That is incredible to me. We’re no longer reading about visiting the moon as something that happened in our parents’ / grandparents’ time. Our generation is finally building on the legacy of Apollo

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

I don’t get emotional easily but this is one of the most profound messages in modern human history. Jim Lovell is one of my heroes, and I just wish he had lived a few more months to witness this momentous day in human history

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

Schumacher is unhappy because he was lapped by the winner. He’ll never win anything now he’s joined Ferrari…

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Sean Kelly @virtualstatman.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Ran the track this evening as fast as I could, except for pausing briefly at Jules Bianchi’s accident site #JapaneseGP

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