Great drive from Kobayashi in Monaco. A one-stop strategy combined with a strong drive saw him take fifth place, his highest finish so far...
It gave a great boost to the team after the worrying Perez crash on Saturday. Kamui was the only Sauber on the racetrack, starting from 13th on the grid and, once it became clear that they were only one-stopping Kobayashi said "one after the other they stopped and it became better for me. After my one and only pitstop I was stuck behind Adrian Sutil and at the same time defend against Mark Webber."
He reckoned that if it hadn't been for the restart he would have held onto fourth place, but once Webbo was on new tyres he couldn't keep him behind.
Peter Sauber was delighted for Kamui and, if he continues to race like he is obviously able to it's only a matter of time before one of the top teams steals him away. Kamui Kobayashi - Best Japanese Driver ever?
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Update to Lewis Outburst
In an update to yesterday's blogpost the Times is reporting that none of Lewis's management team were at Monaco on the weekend and therefore were unable to manage and monitor his media interviews. I made the point before that Fuller is more of a celebrity manager and it would appear that this is the case if the Times story is correct.
F1 management gives full time attention to their drivers and thereby justify their exhorbitant fees. They are present at all of the races, testing, and PR events to ensure the wellbeing of their clients. If your manager can't commit to that then it's time to get someone else.
Luckily for Hamo, his dad was on-hand to hand out some free and much needed advice which led to him apologising to the Stewards. Perhaps he should rethink his decision to fire his previous manager and leave Simon Fuller to his girlfriend.
F1 management gives full time attention to their drivers and thereby justify their exhorbitant fees. They are present at all of the races, testing, and PR events to ensure the wellbeing of their clients. If your manager can't commit to that then it's time to get someone else.
Luckily for Hamo, his dad was on-hand to hand out some free and much needed advice which led to him apologising to the Stewards. Perhaps he should rethink his decision to fire his previous manager and leave Simon Fuller to his girlfriend.
Monday, May 30, 2011
You-is Hassled-Son
Pre-season Lewis hired Simon Fuller's company to act as his Manager and it was clear from all of the media stories he promulgated at that time that he was seeking an exit strategy. I wrote about this here, here, and here where he was at odds with his team and seemingly with much of the rest of the paddock.
It seemed to me that there was a bit of a Mansell whinge creeping into his media interviews and I thought it might have something to do with his new management. Then, when the business of racing commenced he shut up or, when he did speak it was all about working together to move forward (blah, blah, blah) - but the kind of stuff McLaren love and the kind of talk that a team needs to hear in order to motivate everyone to catch up.
Now we see the whinge returning at Monaco - The team cocked up the qualifying strategy in a serious way by not letting him put in a banker lap - Massa held him up in quali and should be penalised - Massa was to blame for his race ending incident - Maldonado was at fault for turning in too early - the stewards got it wrong and are a joke- The team cocked up his pitstop - He's the only guy able to challenge Vettel but the car isn't good enough - (BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!).
This was all said in an interview with the Beeb post race - I'm ignoring the Ali-G reference simply because I don't particularly see it as an issue.
However Martin Whitmarsh later issued a press release which stated "I’m pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation".
The story doesn't end there though.
Apparently he didn't CHOOSE to return to the track at all - RTE report that the team ordered him to return to the track to explain himself to the stewards and I saw the same report earlier elsewhere (but can I find it when I'm looking for it? whaddayouthink? Not a hope).
I believe that his father (ex-manager), in cahoots with the team (read Whitmarsh), convinced him to go back to the track. Lewis read my post - Father's advice (so far in your career) GOOD - Fuller Management advice (so far this season) BAAD - On your own advice (last season) BAAD.
Get a grip man! Lose the suits and negotiate a better percentage with your dad - he seems a little better clued in to the Piranha Club than Fuller who, lets face it, seems more about cashing in on celebrity than sport.
Just on a light note, Adam Cooper has tweeted/blogged this (whatever) it's worth a look.
It seemed to me that there was a bit of a Mansell whinge creeping into his media interviews and I thought it might have something to do with his new management. Then, when the business of racing commenced he shut up or, when he did speak it was all about working together to move forward (blah, blah, blah) - but the kind of stuff McLaren love and the kind of talk that a team needs to hear in order to motivate everyone to catch up.
Now we see the whinge returning at Monaco - The team cocked up the qualifying strategy in a serious way by not letting him put in a banker lap - Massa held him up in quali and should be penalised - Massa was to blame for his race ending incident - Maldonado was at fault for turning in too early - the stewards got it wrong and are a joke- The team cocked up his pitstop - He's the only guy able to challenge Vettel but the car isn't good enough - (BLAH! BLAH! BLAH!).
This was all said in an interview with the Beeb post race - I'm ignoring the Ali-G reference simply because I don't particularly see it as an issue.
However Martin Whitmarsh later issued a press release which stated "I’m pleased to say that he chose to return to the track a little while later to speak to the stewards about the joke. They accepted his explanation".
The story doesn't end there though.
Apparently he didn't CHOOSE to return to the track at all - RTE report that the team ordered him to return to the track to explain himself to the stewards and I saw the same report earlier elsewhere (but can I find it when I'm looking for it? whaddayouthink? Not a hope).
I believe that his father (ex-manager), in cahoots with the team (read Whitmarsh), convinced him to go back to the track. Lewis read my post - Father's advice (so far in your career) GOOD - Fuller Management advice (so far this season) BAAD - On your own advice (last season) BAAD.
Get a grip man! Lose the suits and negotiate a better percentage with your dad - he seems a little better clued in to the Piranha Club than Fuller who, lets face it, seems more about cashing in on celebrity than sport.
Just on a light note, Adam Cooper has tweeted/blogged this (whatever) it's worth a look.
Monaco or Bust
What is it about Monaco that makes it so special? Is it the archaic street circuit? The glitz and glamour associated with the principality? Perhaps it's the Armco barriers, the fact that one mistake, one tiny error, is guaranteed to end your race right there and then? It might be that overtaking on the circuit is all but impossible?
Whatever the reason I have to say that this GP redeemed F1 for me. Barca was a very low point for me in this season. I felt that the tyres had taken much of the racecraft out of the race and that winning or losing was decided by who had the freshest tyres at the right time. This might well have been the case at Monaco too if it wasn't for the red flag, but at Monaco a pesky little problem like who's on fresh rubber does not decide the outcome of a race, it simply adds to the excitement.
For Monaco this season, on this rubber, signified a revival of the circuit. The spectacle of a final 10 laps where Vettel, in first, was on old, old rubber; where Alonso (in second) was on old rubber; and where Button (in third) was on relatively new rubber promised a thrilling end to a thrilling encounter. Monaco came alive with promise for a breathtaking moment, and then it all collapsed when the red flags came out.
To be fair the organisers could have stopped the GP then and there - and perhaps they should have - the fact that all of the runners could change their tyres (and Hamilton could get his rear wing fixed) meant that the promise of a significant battle for the lead all but disappeared. The only losers from the restart were Pastor Maldonado and Williams who had raced magnificently to sixth place only to be punted off the road by Lewis who appeared to have lost the run of himself during the course of the 78 laps.
It doesn't take away from the race to that point but the last six laps were purely driven for forms sake, all hope of the grand finale had been regulated out.
For all of you conspiracy theorists out there (and Lewis Hamilton who complained that the Toro Rosso's let Vettel through in Spain and then held him up) the red flag came out after a big accident where Sutil hit the barriers coming out of Tabac, gets a puncture and, while he's trying to keep the car going straight Alguersuari in the Toro Rosso bangs Hamilton up the rear wing and hits Petrov. Race is red flagged and RBR (the sister team) win unopposed.
Is this "Crashgate 2"? Is it Toro Rosso payback to Hamilton? Was it instigated by RBR? Maybe Flav was at the centre of it, given his recent comments that he was not seeking any future role in F1? Was NP Jr. in Monte Carlo? That's Conspiracy theory for you!
Whatever the reason I have to say that this GP redeemed F1 for me. Barca was a very low point for me in this season. I felt that the tyres had taken much of the racecraft out of the race and that winning or losing was decided by who had the freshest tyres at the right time. This might well have been the case at Monaco too if it wasn't for the red flag, but at Monaco a pesky little problem like who's on fresh rubber does not decide the outcome of a race, it simply adds to the excitement.
For Monaco this season, on this rubber, signified a revival of the circuit. The spectacle of a final 10 laps where Vettel, in first, was on old, old rubber; where Alonso (in second) was on old rubber; and where Button (in third) was on relatively new rubber promised a thrilling end to a thrilling encounter. Monaco came alive with promise for a breathtaking moment, and then it all collapsed when the red flags came out.
To be fair the organisers could have stopped the GP then and there - and perhaps they should have - the fact that all of the runners could change their tyres (and Hamilton could get his rear wing fixed) meant that the promise of a significant battle for the lead all but disappeared. The only losers from the restart were Pastor Maldonado and Williams who had raced magnificently to sixth place only to be punted off the road by Lewis who appeared to have lost the run of himself during the course of the 78 laps.
It doesn't take away from the race to that point but the last six laps were purely driven for forms sake, all hope of the grand finale had been regulated out.
For all of you conspiracy theorists out there (and Lewis Hamilton who complained that the Toro Rosso's let Vettel through in Spain and then held him up) the red flag came out after a big accident where Sutil hit the barriers coming out of Tabac, gets a puncture and, while he's trying to keep the car going straight Alguersuari in the Toro Rosso bangs Hamilton up the rear wing and hits Petrov. Race is red flagged and RBR (the sister team) win unopposed.
Is this "Crashgate 2"? Is it Toro Rosso payback to Hamilton? Was it instigated by RBR? Maybe Flav was at the centre of it, given his recent comments that he was not seeking any future role in F1? Was NP Jr. in Monte Carlo? That's Conspiracy theory for you!
Friday, May 27, 2011
Shakespeare answers the Age-Old Question "Who is Lotus?"
Finally a decision will be made today on who owns the Lotus naming rights in F1. At 2pm (GMT) Mr Justice Peter Smith will make his deliberation. I've avoided addressing this before because it really has very little to do with the sport. I think the only thing I've said is, that no matter who wins, Lotus is no longer a part of the sport.
To paraphrase William Shakespeare (who I'm assured was a big fan of F1 back in the day)
To paraphrase William Shakespeare (who I'm assured was a big fan of F1 back in the day)
" 'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
Thou art thyself, though not a Team/Group Lotus.
What's Lotus? it is nor tyre, nor engine,
Nor chassis, nor gearbox, nor any other part
Belonging to a car. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call Lotus
By any other name would smell as sweet.
So Renault/1Malaysia Team Racing would, were it not Lotus call'd,
Retain that aerodynamic perfection which it seeks
Without that title. Lotus, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all our plaudits."
Thou art thyself, though not a Team/Group Lotus.
What's Lotus? it is nor tyre, nor engine,
Nor chassis, nor gearbox, nor any other part
Belonging to a car. O, be some other name!
What's in a name? That which we call Lotus
By any other name would smell as sweet.
So Renault/1Malaysia Team Racing would, were it not Lotus call'd,
Retain that aerodynamic perfection which it seeks
Without that title. Lotus, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all our plaudits."
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Red Bull boss unhappy with pit-stop copycats
The title is taken wholesale from this story by ESPN which is very interesting. The most interesting part of it is the fact that Red Bull took fourth in Spain with Webber by sending out a dummy call for him to pit. Alonso pitted while Webber drove past into fourth. The story is that Alonso pitted at the same time as Webber throughout the race covering his position - until they were sold the dummy that is.
How did Ferrari know when Webbo was coming in? That's what Horner is hoping to find out - RBR is holding an internal investigation. RBR have changed their pitstop procedure for Monaco as a result.
How did Ferrari know when Webbo was coming in? That's what Horner is hoping to find out - RBR is holding an internal investigation. RBR have changed their pitstop procedure for Monaco as a result.
Alonso Leader after Thursday Free Practice
Nadgers took the honours in FP2 at Monaco with a lap time of 1:15:123, followed by LewisHam, and Nico. Vettel only managed 5th behind Jense, while the rest of the top 10 were made up of Massa, Schumi, Webbo, Sutil, and Heidfeld.
Red Bull could of course be hiding their wings by way of having more fuel in the tank, but it may be the case that Pole Position is up for grabs.
Alguersuari ended up in the Armco as did Petrov toward the end of the session but at least Webbo got a few laps in after his disastrous FP1 where his car looked to have gearbox problems and he only managed two laps, neither of which had a time posted.
Red Bull could of course be hiding their wings by way of having more fuel in the tank, but it may be the case that Pole Position is up for grabs.
Alguersuari ended up in the Armco as did Petrov toward the end of the session but at least Webbo got a few laps in after his disastrous FP1 where his car looked to have gearbox problems and he only managed two laps, neither of which had a time posted.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Super-soft Tyres for Monaco
Pirelli are bringing their Supersoft Tyres to Monaco but say they'll only last 10 laps - and less with full fuel tanks - It looks as if this is going to be another GP full of pitstops - 78 laps using a combination of a 10 lap tyre and the soft tyre which seems to last 20 at tops means that even using the soft tyre 3 times and supersoft twice - that means 5 pitstops per car.
PAINFUL
PAINFUL
Three Strikes and You're (kinda) Out
Continuous reprimands for drivers are now going to lead to 5 place grid penalties according to Adam Cooper's Blog. Once it's rubberstamped it'll be in place from Silverstone.
It is to be introduced in order that reprimands, given out to drivers for excessive speeds under yellow flags etc., will have a punitive effect and thereby discourage such behaviour.
Three reprimands will see an automatic 5 place grid penalty.
Reprimands can be given to a driver for any number of reasons apparently but, in the case of the grid penalty, at least two must relate to driving.
In Yellow Flag situations which do not merit a safety car it would be easier to program a yellow flag speed into the cars for each track which would be initiated by each driver entering the yellow flag zone and switched off upon exiting - much like the speed limiter in the pitlane. In that case any failure to initiate the speed limit would result in a black flag.
It is to be introduced in order that reprimands, given out to drivers for excessive speeds under yellow flags etc., will have a punitive effect and thereby discourage such behaviour.
Three reprimands will see an automatic 5 place grid penalty.
Reprimands can be given to a driver for any number of reasons apparently but, in the case of the grid penalty, at least two must relate to driving.
In Yellow Flag situations which do not merit a safety car it would be easier to program a yellow flag speed into the cars for each track which would be initiated by each driver entering the yellow flag zone and switched off upon exiting - much like the speed limiter in the pitlane. In that case any failure to initiate the speed limit would result in a black flag.
Rescheduling Bahrain
You all know my feelings (at this stage) about the FIA, Bernie, and any Bahrain GP so I won't get upset or hassled about it, but I'll point you to the following news story on ESPN which I think serves to illustrate that the problems there are still ongoing.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Aldo Costa Out
Ferrari have announced that Aldo Costa is no longer Technical Director of the Ferrari F1 race team.
Costa began F1 life with the Italian Minardi Team in 1988 as Chief Designer, taking over the role of Tech Director a year later.
Minardi were modestly successful during his time at the team running Cosworth engines and driven by Pierluigi Martini who scored their first ever championship point (6th place) in the US GP in 1988 at Detroit. He qualified on the front row in Phoenix 1990 (on Pirelli Tyres), and along with Christian Fittipaldi scored their highest finishes 4th place at portugal and San Marino in 1991. Fittipaldi repeated that finish in 1993 in South Africa.
Costa joined Ferrari in '95 and was second in command to Rory Byrne in '98. He took over from Byrne in 2005 when Byrne retired. He became Tech Director of the Scuderia in 2007.
Byrne claimed that the 2005 car was Costa's design, however 2005 was not Ferrari's year with the car lacking in pace against its rivals - much of this lack of pace was put at Bridgestone's door due the fact that Michelin was the prime tyre option for that year. They were closer in 2006 to clinching the championship ,and won the Driver's and Constructor's in 2007 (spygate) and the constructor's in 2008 (Massagate).
After all of their (relatively) recent success it is telling that Ferrari have not won either the Driver's or Constructor's Championships since. In F1 terms they have been best of the rest. In Ferrari terms - Unacceptable!
Stefano Domenicali is to take ultimate responsibility for the team, with Pat Fry heading up the chassis design dept. and Corrado Lanzone heads up the production racing dept. (a role which he has done since 1997).
Costa began F1 life with the Italian Minardi Team in 1988 as Chief Designer, taking over the role of Tech Director a year later.
Minardi were modestly successful during his time at the team running Cosworth engines and driven by Pierluigi Martini who scored their first ever championship point (6th place) in the US GP in 1988 at Detroit. He qualified on the front row in Phoenix 1990 (on Pirelli Tyres), and along with Christian Fittipaldi scored their highest finishes 4th place at portugal and San Marino in 1991. Fittipaldi repeated that finish in 1993 in South Africa.
Costa joined Ferrari in '95 and was second in command to Rory Byrne in '98. He took over from Byrne in 2005 when Byrne retired. He became Tech Director of the Scuderia in 2007.
Byrne claimed that the 2005 car was Costa's design, however 2005 was not Ferrari's year with the car lacking in pace against its rivals - much of this lack of pace was put at Bridgestone's door due the fact that Michelin was the prime tyre option for that year. They were closer in 2006 to clinching the championship ,and won the Driver's and Constructor's in 2007 (spygate) and the constructor's in 2008 (Massagate).
After all of their (relatively) recent success it is telling that Ferrari have not won either the Driver's or Constructor's Championships since. In F1 terms they have been best of the rest. In Ferrari terms - Unacceptable!
Stefano Domenicali is to take ultimate responsibility for the team, with Pat Fry heading up the chassis design dept. and Corrado Lanzone heads up the production racing dept. (a role which he has done since 1997).
Does Blogging Hurt F1
Am I being too critical of all of the knick-knacks and gee-gaws and thingy-gummies which have been attached to the F1 cars this season?
Can I really quantify the impact of these extra tweeks on the racing?
Am I right, in that the DRS, KERS, and Tyres that I seem to be constantly whinging about are in fact detrimental to the actual racing?
I mean, with all of these "innovations" who can actually judge the impact of the blown diffuser, the forward exhaust layouts, Red Bull's infamous flexing front wing. Are the actual innovations getting lost under the mire of artificial aides?
Is it all about tyre management, "undercutting", and getting to within a second of the guy in front?
Am I right in that the racing is getting lost in the orgy of overtaking and that we, the punters, are actually losing something special while the FIA seeks to increase the F1 audience?
Or maybe it's because I'm blogging about F1 this year and as a result I'm losing my ability to sit back and enjoy the show? If that's the case then it's only me that has lost something and F1 is doing alright thank you very much!
The thing is though that F1 has a worldwide audience which is third only to the Olympics and the World Cup with somewhere in the region of 500 - 600 million viewers per race - for advertising purposes you can't get much better - except obviously in the US market.
Having talked to and read US fans online I know that you guys are dyed-in-the-wool fans of the sport so tell me - What segment of the US would be attracted by the current F1 format? Would it appeal to Nascar fans (Austin circuit)? Indycar Fans? Who and how many?
I just can't get my head around who these changes are supposed to benefit, or whether my blogging has made me far too critical of this season's radical changes.
Can I really quantify the impact of these extra tweeks on the racing?
Am I right, in that the DRS, KERS, and Tyres that I seem to be constantly whinging about are in fact detrimental to the actual racing?
I mean, with all of these "innovations" who can actually judge the impact of the blown diffuser, the forward exhaust layouts, Red Bull's infamous flexing front wing. Are the actual innovations getting lost under the mire of artificial aides?
Is it all about tyre management, "undercutting", and getting to within a second of the guy in front?
Am I right in that the racing is getting lost in the orgy of overtaking and that we, the punters, are actually losing something special while the FIA seeks to increase the F1 audience?
Or maybe it's because I'm blogging about F1 this year and as a result I'm losing my ability to sit back and enjoy the show? If that's the case then it's only me that has lost something and F1 is doing alright thank you very much!
The thing is though that F1 has a worldwide audience which is third only to the Olympics and the World Cup with somewhere in the region of 500 - 600 million viewers per race - for advertising purposes you can't get much better - except obviously in the US market.
Having talked to and read US fans online I know that you guys are dyed-in-the-wool fans of the sport so tell me - What segment of the US would be attracted by the current F1 format? Would it appeal to Nascar fans (Austin circuit)? Indycar Fans? Who and how many?
I just can't get my head around who these changes are supposed to benefit, or whether my blogging has made me far too critical of this season's radical changes.
Monday, May 23, 2011
The Pain of Spain
I'm sorry guys but I was left really upset by the Spanish GP. It had everything to do with all of the reasons why I love F1 and everything to do with all of the artificial elements on the cars this season.
The first thing is that there were 4 pitstops - not one, or two, or three but FOUR. It was far too many. 22 cars, with the majority doing FOUR stops for tyres is 88 pitstops.
The next thing really, is the level of degradation which went on throughout the race - even with FOUR pitstops. The difference between a car two laps into new tyres and a car fresh out of the pits. It was MASSIVE - Brundle and Coulthard talked about the undercut, i.e. being in the pits first and making the most out of the prime option to get past your opponent when they went in. This does not represent racing in any form - this is purely tyres.
Is it exciting? Yes
Is it Racing? No
Spain has never been an overtaking track but yesterday the overtaking which went on was not as a result of driving ability, it was all about how fresh your tyres were. There was no fight for position. It was best illustrated when Vettel came out behind Button after his stop and proceeded to drive by both him and Nadgers as if they weren't even there!
This is without precedent in F1 history - I hesitate to say it but right at this moment in time I would take DRS over these tyres any day.
While DRS is, in my opinion, anti-racing (in that it provides a free pass down a particular straight) it's nothing in comparison to the impact of these degrading tyres where a fresh set of tyres can give you any number of free passes as long as your rubber is newer than the guy in front.
I've made up my mind - this is not a development which is good for Formula 1 racing. And Racing is what it's supposed to be. It is not racing to be able to drive by an opponent without having to fight for position and it is not racing to be able to take a free pass on the straight where your opponent cannot defend his position.
Surely racing is all about fighting for position, does that not mean that you should have the ability to defend?
I mean, Senna had a knack of making his car very wide when he wasn't driving the best machinery - he made it very difficult to overtake him. Up until this year your racing ability was judged not only on your ability to overtake, but also on your ability to defend against the car behind you. This is no longer the case and the Spanish GP confirmed to me that, while we are looking at Formula 1 we are not seeing a RACE merely a spectacle. The Championship means nothing under these circumstances.
The first thing is that there were 4 pitstops - not one, or two, or three but FOUR. It was far too many. 22 cars, with the majority doing FOUR stops for tyres is 88 pitstops.
The next thing really, is the level of degradation which went on throughout the race - even with FOUR pitstops. The difference between a car two laps into new tyres and a car fresh out of the pits. It was MASSIVE - Brundle and Coulthard talked about the undercut, i.e. being in the pits first and making the most out of the prime option to get past your opponent when they went in. This does not represent racing in any form - this is purely tyres.
Is it exciting? Yes
Is it Racing? No
Spain has never been an overtaking track but yesterday the overtaking which went on was not as a result of driving ability, it was all about how fresh your tyres were. There was no fight for position. It was best illustrated when Vettel came out behind Button after his stop and proceeded to drive by both him and Nadgers as if they weren't even there!
This is without precedent in F1 history - I hesitate to say it but right at this moment in time I would take DRS over these tyres any day.
While DRS is, in my opinion, anti-racing (in that it provides a free pass down a particular straight) it's nothing in comparison to the impact of these degrading tyres where a fresh set of tyres can give you any number of free passes as long as your rubber is newer than the guy in front.
I've made up my mind - this is not a development which is good for Formula 1 racing. And Racing is what it's supposed to be. It is not racing to be able to drive by an opponent without having to fight for position and it is not racing to be able to take a free pass on the straight where your opponent cannot defend his position.
Surely racing is all about fighting for position, does that not mean that you should have the ability to defend?
I mean, Senna had a knack of making his car very wide when he wasn't driving the best machinery - he made it very difficult to overtake him. Up until this year your racing ability was judged not only on your ability to overtake, but also on your ability to defend against the car behind you. This is no longer the case and the Spanish GP confirmed to me that, while we are looking at Formula 1 we are not seeing a RACE merely a spectacle. The Championship means nothing under these circumstances.
Friday, May 20, 2011
Barrichello States the Bleeding Obvious/Free Practice
Rubens has decided to change tack this weekend - Normally a driver who is full of joy, optimism, and fun he has decided this week to plump for a role as Mr. Blunt, as the title says, Mr. State the Bleeding Obvious:
"We need to score points. There's too much pressure on all of us at the moment as a result of not scoring points so far this year and we need to break that trend. As well as our position in the constructors' championship, points are what motivate people. They are good for the guys in the factory; they are good for the guys in the pit garage; they are good for the drivers - they're good for everyone."
In other news Webbo topped the charts in both free practice sessions this morning. He won here last year doing a back to back double with Monaco. Vettel was second in the first session but in the Second, with all of the new upgrades in place (and obviously working to some extent) Lewis came within four tenths of Webbo's time, with Vettel third and Button fourth.
Alonso was fifth in the second session and 4th in the first with Nico and Schumi taking 6th and 7th for Mercedes in FP2.
On a lighter/darker note @adamcooperf1 posted a tweet about an hour ago which says: "Fernando Alonso not a big fan of the new hard tyre - didn't want to say what he thought about it... ". Wonder how slow it is in comparison to the softer compound: someone reckoned about 2 seconds a lap. Don't know how to work a strategy on that kind of time loss.
Obviously I'd have retweeted this - but...I'm not on twitter.
"We need to score points. There's too much pressure on all of us at the moment as a result of not scoring points so far this year and we need to break that trend. As well as our position in the constructors' championship, points are what motivate people. They are good for the guys in the factory; they are good for the guys in the pit garage; they are good for the drivers - they're good for everyone."
In other news Webbo topped the charts in both free practice sessions this morning. He won here last year doing a back to back double with Monaco. Vettel was second in the first session but in the Second, with all of the new upgrades in place (and obviously working to some extent) Lewis came within four tenths of Webbo's time, with Vettel third and Button fourth.
Alonso was fifth in the second session and 4th in the first with Nico and Schumi taking 6th and 7th for Mercedes in FP2.
On a lighter/darker note @adamcooperf1 posted a tweet about an hour ago which says: "Fernando Alonso not a big fan of the new hard tyre - didn't want to say what he thought about it... ". Wonder how slow it is in comparison to the softer compound: someone reckoned about 2 seconds a lap. Don't know how to work a strategy on that kind of time loss.
Obviously I'd have retweeted this - but...I'm not on twitter.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
DRS Zone for Barcelona
830 metres of start finish straight will serve as the DRS activation zone in this weekend's Spanish GP - the entire length of the straight will be available to the drivers, the longest activation zone so far.
It's clear - the F1 teams love the DRS - the Tech Directors even kept it in while they rejected a number of the proposed 2013 rule changes. It looks as if it's here to stay which I must say in my opinion is a very bad decision and makes for artificial overtaking manoeuvres. This artificiality has led to Abu Dhabi saying that, while they had intended to make alterations to the circuit in order to increase overtaking opportunities they have put the proposals off now that the DRS, KERS, and Tyres have shown that overtaking is possible without costly circuit works.
The websites are all expecting Barcelona to be a great race this year, featuring lots of overtaking - this never happened at Barca before - I mean...it's a test track and the data which all of the teams have on the track would normally serve to ensure that the only overtaking was that of backmarkers (except when it rained of course. Some classic races in the rain - Senna, Schumi, etc).
The Tech Director's said that they wanted to keep it because it makes overtaking easier! In F1 it's not supposed to be easy to overtake. Overtaking should be down to the design of the car and the ability of the driver.
What F1 is saying by keeping DRS is that you as a driver only have to be good enough to get within one second of the guy in front - If you can do that then you've a free pass to go by. It's a ridiculous premise and is not racing.
It's clear - the F1 teams love the DRS - the Tech Directors even kept it in while they rejected a number of the proposed 2013 rule changes. It looks as if it's here to stay which I must say in my opinion is a very bad decision and makes for artificial overtaking manoeuvres. This artificiality has led to Abu Dhabi saying that, while they had intended to make alterations to the circuit in order to increase overtaking opportunities they have put the proposals off now that the DRS, KERS, and Tyres have shown that overtaking is possible without costly circuit works.
The websites are all expecting Barcelona to be a great race this year, featuring lots of overtaking - this never happened at Barca before - I mean...it's a test track and the data which all of the teams have on the track would normally serve to ensure that the only overtaking was that of backmarkers (except when it rained of course. Some classic races in the rain - Senna, Schumi, etc).
The Tech Director's said that they wanted to keep it because it makes overtaking easier! In F1 it's not supposed to be easy to overtake. Overtaking should be down to the design of the car and the ability of the driver.
What F1 is saying by keeping DRS is that you as a driver only have to be good enough to get within one second of the guy in front - If you can do that then you've a free pass to go by. It's a ridiculous premise and is not racing.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
McLaren and Red Bull oppose In-Season Testing
I find this very interesting. Why would Horner and Whitmarsh be against in-season testing? What do they gain from it? I think we all know...Don't we? It's all about Ferrari, a team which was famous for its ability to improve dramatically during the course of the season when in-season testing was available - something to do with a private test track at Maranello...
RBR and McLaren are obviously of the opinion that their Wind Tunnel data is superior to their nearest rivals (which is true in Ferrari's case).
Whitmarsh was very philanthropic about the whole thing claiming:
"We must also safeguard the interest of the smaller teams, who do not have great financial means."
(obviously McLaren care a lot about the smaller teams!)
While Horner simply stated: "We are not interested in the idea of allowing private testing during the season". He did say that it would inevitably lead to rising costs but not in the patronising, philanthropic tones of Whitmarshes quote.
It doesn't really increase Ferrari's costs as all they have to do is open the garage doors to go testing and the only cost arising to RBR is the cost of transport to Austria to Dietrich's new, privately owned, and redeveloped F1 track, the old A1 Ring. I'm sure there may even be a RBR factory constructed there in the near future.
Luca (see the way I'm addressing you in every post now) maybe you should look at poaching some computer and wind tunnel boffins from RBR and McLaren for 2012. Particularly since Ferrari will be in the sport for the foreseeable future - though I note you didn't get your way with DRS.
RBR and McLaren are obviously of the opinion that their Wind Tunnel data is superior to their nearest rivals (which is true in Ferrari's case).
Whitmarsh was very philanthropic about the whole thing claiming:
"We must also safeguard the interest of the smaller teams, who do not have great financial means."
(obviously McLaren care a lot about the smaller teams!)
While Horner simply stated: "We are not interested in the idea of allowing private testing during the season". He did say that it would inevitably lead to rising costs but not in the patronising, philanthropic tones of Whitmarshes quote.
It doesn't really increase Ferrari's costs as all they have to do is open the garage doors to go testing and the only cost arising to RBR is the cost of transport to Austria to Dietrich's new, privately owned, and redeveloped F1 track, the old A1 Ring. I'm sure there may even be a RBR factory constructed there in the near future.
Luca (see the way I'm addressing you in every post now) maybe you should look at poaching some computer and wind tunnel boffins from RBR and McLaren for 2012. Particularly since Ferrari will be in the sport for the foreseeable future - though I note you didn't get your way with DRS.
Teams Reject 2013 Rule Changes
From a story on the BBC website. It seems as if everyone on the Grid has decided that Luca was right (Hi Luca - isn't it nice to be right? Again?) when he had a go at the 2013 rule changes. They've voted to reject the proposed design alterations as being too radical and thus too costly and have put forward a less substantive list of acceptable aero changes which include:
Anyway, this may well be the proverbial sop to Cerebus which keeps Ferrari in the F1 fold until the renegotiation of the Concorde Agreement in 2012.
Speaking of which...who would really want to buy F1 from CVC in 2011 when they may well lose control of the teams in 2013? Can anyone explain this to me? Please?
- a front wing of reduced width, down from from 1800mm to 1650mm
- a much shallower rear wing, similar to those used at the high-speed Monza track
- significantly lower noses on the cars to improve safety, although the exact maximum height has still to be determined
- the retention of the moveable rear wing - or drag-reduction system (DRS) - that was introduced this season to make overtaking a little easier
- a restriction on all the extra pieces of bodywork that have sprouted in front of the sidepods of the cars
- a restriction on the design of front-wing endplates, to limit the intricate designs seen today
Anyway, this may well be the proverbial sop to Cerebus which keeps Ferrari in the F1 fold until the renegotiation of the Concorde Agreement in 2012.
Speaking of which...who would really want to buy F1 from CVC in 2011 when they may well lose control of the teams in 2013? Can anyone explain this to me? Please?
Monday, May 16, 2011
Who's Going Where?
A lot of the websites seem to be signalling the end of Michael given his lacklustre performances and his inability to spank his much younger teammate in quali and races. Those who know me know I don't like to crow about these things (Yeah Right!!!) but I signalled this likelihood in April filed under Massa Attack. I also saw that one of the well respected F1 websites has come up with the same proposal - crow, crow, crow...
The idea of Massa for Mercedes would open up all kinds of options for next year in the Driver's Market. The hole at Ferrari may well be filled by Kubica should he have effected a full recovery - regardless of his feelings for Renault could he pass up an opportunity to pit himself against Nadgers in equal machinery (and Prancing Horse to boot).
The only other viable options for Ferrari would have to be Nico/Vettel or Webbo/Button. I can't see Button going anywhere given his expressed desire to end his career at McLaren (prior to contract negotiations) and I don't think Webbo could take it should he compete with Nadgers and be found wanting (given Vettel's current dominance at RBR).
The question is then whether they pay an exorbitent fee for Seb in order to create a super team of Nadgers and Seb or whether they go with Nico to give him the opportunity to push Nadgers: Nico - son of Keke - definitely good for sponsorship!
The who fills the other vacant seat at Mercedes? Webbo would feel that he could compete with Massa in equal machinery - Hamilton (while unlikely to leave McLaren given his current statements) has expressed (an unexpressed) desire to go elsewhere by way of his early criticism of the team but Mercedes might not be big enough for him, Red Bull would not take him (or would they?) after he called them fly-by-nights, and Ferrari couldn't have him (with Nadgers in the team) - basically he's ****ed from a height with regard to competitive teams - I'd day his management team have finaly realised this and hence the resulting soothing noises currently audible in the Hamilton camp.
So we have:
Ferrari: Nadgers & Nico/Kubica
RBR: Vettel & A.N.Other
McLaren: Lewis & Button
Mercedes: Massa & Webbo
Renault: Nico/Kubica & Heidfeld/Petrov
preview To be finished later
The idea of Massa for Mercedes would open up all kinds of options for next year in the Driver's Market. The hole at Ferrari may well be filled by Kubica should he have effected a full recovery - regardless of his feelings for Renault could he pass up an opportunity to pit himself against Nadgers in equal machinery (and Prancing Horse to boot).
The only other viable options for Ferrari would have to be Nico/Vettel or Webbo/Button. I can't see Button going anywhere given his expressed desire to end his career at McLaren (prior to contract negotiations) and I don't think Webbo could take it should he compete with Nadgers and be found wanting (given Vettel's current dominance at RBR).
The question is then whether they pay an exorbitent fee for Seb in order to create a super team of Nadgers and Seb or whether they go with Nico to give him the opportunity to push Nadgers: Nico - son of Keke - definitely good for sponsorship!
The who fills the other vacant seat at Mercedes? Webbo would feel that he could compete with Massa in equal machinery - Hamilton (while unlikely to leave McLaren given his current statements) has expressed (an unexpressed) desire to go elsewhere by way of his early criticism of the team but Mercedes might not be big enough for him, Red Bull would not take him (or would they?) after he called them fly-by-nights, and Ferrari couldn't have him (with Nadgers in the team) - basically he's ****ed from a height with regard to competitive teams - I'd day his management team have finaly realised this and hence the resulting soothing noises currently audible in the Hamilton camp.
So we have:
Ferrari: Nadgers & Nico/Kubica
RBR: Vettel & A.N.Other
McLaren: Lewis & Button
Mercedes: Massa & Webbo
Renault: Nico/Kubica & Heidfeld/Petrov
preview To be finished later
Open Letter to Luca di Montezemolo
I'm glad to see that Luca reads my blog (can I put a Prancing Horse up Luca? That would make me very happy). We know he reads my blog because on CNN the evening after my story on Massa went up Luca Di Montezemolo stated that Massa has a contract to the end of 2012 season and would be alongside Alonso next year.
Luca, c'mon, we all know that if he wants to go you'll let him - and we also know that he needs to go in order to get himself into the right headspace to get back in the driver's championship game. Ferrari are a great team - an evocative lineage and history in the sport - but sometimes a family atmosphere can be too constricting and can smother a driver's true potential. Sometimes, Luca, you just have to let go in order to allow a driver to achieve his potential.
This is the case with Filipe. He has shown true brilliance for you in the past and - let's call it true - won a Driver's Championship (but for the mate of a certain T. Glock), but since his injury in 2009 and subsequent comeback all of the joy has been handed to Alonso while Massa has been given the Barrichello Role ("Driver 1A" my backside!). This is not a supporting driver (though neither was Barrichello until Ferrari) and a nice paycheck isn't going to give him the fresh perspective that he needs to clear his head and focus.
He needs to be out where he can show the world his talent - and that ain't gonna happen at Maranello. Let him go to Mercedes in a straight swap for Nico (who'd love the opportunity to kick Nadger's pants on a regular basis) and watch him blossom. Let's face it - beating Michael every race is enough to rekindle anyone's fire (should Michael stay next year). Sorry Michael but it's true - that prospect might even be enough to tempt Mika Hakk back to the fold!!*
Luca - I trust Ferrari will do what's best for Ferrari, the drivers, and F1
*(I figure that since Luca reads me Michael might too)
Luca, c'mon, we all know that if he wants to go you'll let him - and we also know that he needs to go in order to get himself into the right headspace to get back in the driver's championship game. Ferrari are a great team - an evocative lineage and history in the sport - but sometimes a family atmosphere can be too constricting and can smother a driver's true potential. Sometimes, Luca, you just have to let go in order to allow a driver to achieve his potential.
This is the case with Filipe. He has shown true brilliance for you in the past and - let's call it true - won a Driver's Championship (but for the mate of a certain T. Glock), but since his injury in 2009 and subsequent comeback all of the joy has been handed to Alonso while Massa has been given the Barrichello Role ("Driver 1A" my backside!). This is not a supporting driver (though neither was Barrichello until Ferrari) and a nice paycheck isn't going to give him the fresh perspective that he needs to clear his head and focus.
He needs to be out where he can show the world his talent - and that ain't gonna happen at Maranello. Let him go to Mercedes in a straight swap for Nico (who'd love the opportunity to kick Nadger's pants on a regular basis) and watch him blossom. Let's face it - beating Michael every race is enough to rekindle anyone's fire (should Michael stay next year). Sorry Michael but it's true - that prospect might even be enough to tempt Mika Hakk back to the fold!!*
Luca - I trust Ferrari will do what's best for Ferrari, the drivers, and F1
*(I figure that since Luca reads me Michael might too)
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Re Lack of Posts
Sorry to anyone who may have expected me to be posting regularly over the weekend of the Turkish GP. My Mother died on Friday morning after a short illness so, as you might expect my priorities have been elsewhere. I didn't get to see quali or the race (though I have it saved) but it didn't sound as if it were particularly spectacular.
You might leave a comment or two to let me know whether it is worth watching or not. If it's not great I may just give it a skip. Talk soon.
BazL
You might leave a comment or two to let me know whether it is worth watching or not. If it's not great I may just give it a skip. Talk soon.
BazL
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Coughlan Returns and Other Stuff...
Should we all rejoice and welcome back Mike Coughlan? I'll be damned if I really know. Everyone deserves a second chance I guess: so Welcome back to the Piranha Club Mike and best of luck with the future.
What I will say in his defence is that his position in 2007 was one of extreme pressure to suceed and in the F1 environment that means that any info you can get on your opponents gives you a head start at beating them. In the light of that situation, where the information is available wouldn't you take it?
The McLaren did not incorporate any of the design elements of the Ferrari and as such the only true benefit which was gained related to the design approach of the Ferrari Team, and allegedly to pit stop strategies - valuable as a reference as to how to compete effectively against them but ultimately futile given the fact that Kimi won the World Driver's Championship, McLaren were disqualified from the Constructor's as a result of Spygate and, as a direct result, Ferrari won the Constructor's Championship easily.
Give Coughlan another chance? Yeah go on. It's all relatively normal behaviour in F1 - sometimes it seems that Bernie's policy is that it's all OK unless you get caught.
What I will say in his defence is that his position in 2007 was one of extreme pressure to suceed and in the F1 environment that means that any info you can get on your opponents gives you a head start at beating them. In the light of that situation, where the information is available wouldn't you take it?
The McLaren did not incorporate any of the design elements of the Ferrari and as such the only true benefit which was gained related to the design approach of the Ferrari Team, and allegedly to pit stop strategies - valuable as a reference as to how to compete effectively against them but ultimately futile given the fact that Kimi won the World Driver's Championship, McLaren were disqualified from the Constructor's as a result of Spygate and, as a direct result, Ferrari won the Constructor's Championship easily.
Give Coughlan another chance? Yeah go on. It's all relatively normal behaviour in F1 - sometimes it seems that Bernie's policy is that it's all OK unless you get caught.
DRS Zone Confirmed for Turkey
The DRS zone, as the title of the Blog suggests, has been confirmed for Turkey. The detection line which determines whether or not it can be activated will be located just before Turn 9 with the activation line being located just before Turn 11, the fast right-hander leading onto the back straight before Turn 12.
This, as we all remember, is where Sebastian Vettel turned into Mark Webber last year while fighting for the lead - but as Marko and Matchitz later rewrote the history of that event we now remember it as being the location where Mark Webber attempted to take Sebastian Vettel out of the race much to the disgust of Red Bull where team mates are supposed to fight fairly and in true racing spirit for position.
This, as we all remember, is where Sebastian Vettel turned into Mark Webber last year while fighting for the lead - but as Marko and Matchitz later rewrote the history of that event we now remember it as being the location where Mark Webber attempted to take Sebastian Vettel out of the race much to the disgust of Red Bull where team mates are supposed to fight fairly and in true racing spirit for position.
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