Charles Pic lead the few hardy drivers that went out for more than just installation purposes. The rain was, if anything, worse than during Free Practice 1 and nearly everyone stayed warm and dry up to the hour mark.
When, eventually, Rosberg went out in the Mercedes, the in-car camera pictures showed just how carefully he was driving around the circuit.
Nearly everyone was in the same boat, and given the weather that might have been a better option than the F1 car.
The weather today was so bad that McLaren sent out a tweet asking who would like to drive the car in the conditions they were encountering - I don't know that they were expecting a number of people, including yours truly, to offer their services, though I did point out that it was unlikely that I'd make it out of the garage not to mind the pits. I don't need to tell you that the same would be likely to be true even if the sun were shining and the track bone dry (no matter how I'd like to delude myself).
It reminds me of a dream I had when, after driving all day for a two hour meeting, and having to make the return journey only 6 hours later, I decided that, in the absence of an alarm clock my best bet to get up to make the journey back was to replay, twice in my head, a wet Monaco GP (running for two hours a time). Little did I know that it would be a vivid dream in which Roberto Moreno had failed to appear for the race and Guido Forti came out onto the start finish straight and asked if anyone in the crowd would like to drive his car in the race.
In the general scrum and chaos that followed I managed to secure the seat and I remember driving that bucket of bolts for nearly 4 hours (the entire time I was asleep) even though the race should only have lasted two.
Did I wake up refreshed and excited? Did I hell! I felt like I had been through the mill, out the other side and then wrung out like the proverbial wet rag - and then I had to drive for another 6 hours. I do seem to recall though that I brought the notoriously bad Forti home in the top ten, ahead of Pedro Diniz.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Caterham's new sponsor is EADS?
Who the Heck?
This is Tony's Major new sponsor, The makers of Airbus (which is rather good)? The guys who make the EUROFIGHTER? a Plane which was given the dubious distinction of being "what is likely to be the last evolutionary step in the teen series (F-15, F-16, etc.) design philosophy" due to the fact that stealth technology was up and coming when it was being designed; the aircraft which the British taxpayer is paying its Government to tout around the world.
We don't know how much the deal is worth and, FP1 didn't give me a glimpse of their logo on the car, Caterham on Twitter logged the following twitpic. If that's the extent of their sponsorship the money can't even be good enough to pay for Petrov for the year (and he makes no money from the team).
Captions on a postcard please:
I have to update this to make the point that EADS has sponsored the team over and above the thumbprint advertising shown above. They are prominently displayed on the front wing and at the cockpit, in positions which are not massively publicity friendly, but Airbus is prominent on the side of the intake behind the driver.
Apologies Tony!, Still the twitpic posted to inform the world of EADS involvement underestimated their investment considerably. My apology is sincere and heartfelt. I hope your partnership gives the team further opportunities to close up to the midfield.
This is Tony's Major new sponsor, The makers of Airbus (which is rather good)? The guys who make the EUROFIGHTER? a Plane which was given the dubious distinction of being "what is likely to be the last evolutionary step in the teen series (F-15, F-16, etc.) design philosophy" due to the fact that stealth technology was up and coming when it was being designed; the aircraft which the British taxpayer is paying its Government to tout around the world.
We don't know how much the deal is worth and, FP1 didn't give me a glimpse of their logo on the car, Caterham on Twitter logged the following twitpic. If that's the extent of their sponsorship the money can't even be good enough to pay for Petrov for the year (and he makes no money from the team).
Captions on a postcard please:
I have to update this to make the point that EADS has sponsored the team over and above the thumbprint advertising shown above. They are prominently displayed on the front wing and at the cockpit, in positions which are not massively publicity friendly, but Airbus is prominent on the side of the intake behind the driver.
Apologies Tony!, Still the twitpic posted to inform the world of EADS involvement underestimated their investment considerably. My apology is sincere and heartfelt. I hope your partnership gives the team further opportunities to close up to the midfield.
Belgian GP: Free Practice 1 a wash-out - Kobayashi tops times
Kamui Kobayashi set the best time in FP1 on a Spa Circuit which lived up to it's reputation by providing a deluge for the entirety of the session.
Maldonado and Kobayashi traded times with the Toro Rosso's of Vergne and Ricciardo the only four cars to do a time better than 2m13s.
A number of the drivers had scares at Eau Rouge due entirely to the changing conditions around the track - changing from heavy rain to even heavier rain at a number of places. Webbo put his foot down coming through Radillon to find himself up behind a slowing car and had to take to the escape road. the speed he was going, coupled with the lack of visibility, would have probably required avoidance tactics anyway.
Bottas was out in Senna's car and did reasonably well in what must be described as "difficult" conditions. for the few brave souls, outside the covered grandstands, who ventured out into the weather to watch their heroes - I feel for you and I applaud your dedication.
Towards the end of the session some of the guys came out for a couple of "hello" laps, but generally it seemed that the consensus in the garage was to keep snug and dry.
Massa's car stopped out on track after the chequered flag; given the weather out there he probably flooded the engine (chortle).
Maldonado and Kobayashi traded times with the Toro Rosso's of Vergne and Ricciardo the only four cars to do a time better than 2m13s.
A number of the drivers had scares at Eau Rouge due entirely to the changing conditions around the track - changing from heavy rain to even heavier rain at a number of places. Webbo put his foot down coming through Radillon to find himself up behind a slowing car and had to take to the escape road. the speed he was going, coupled with the lack of visibility, would have probably required avoidance tactics anyway.
Bottas was out in Senna's car and did reasonably well in what must be described as "difficult" conditions. for the few brave souls, outside the covered grandstands, who ventured out into the weather to watch their heroes - I feel for you and I applaud your dedication.
Towards the end of the session some of the guys came out for a couple of "hello" laps, but generally it seemed that the consensus in the garage was to keep snug and dry.
Massa's car stopped out on track after the chequered flag; given the weather out there he probably flooded the engine (chortle).
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Valtteri Bottas qualifies 5th at 2011 British Grand Prix
I don't know how this one slipped by me, I guess I took my eye off the ball, but in searching around for the latest info on Ma Qing Hua, the web brought me to F1Fanatic and a story on the young driver's test that Williams, Marussia, and HRT undertook at Silverstone the weekend after the British GP.
Valtteri Bottas posted a fastest lap-time of 1.31.436 over a test lasting 120 laps. While that's a lot of laps, that is an impressive lap-time and, in comparable dry conditions at the British GP in 2011, would have put him in 5th place on the grid, ahead of Jenson Button's McLaren.
It also beat the pants off Pastor and Bruno's FP3 British GP times, set in dry conditions (for the most part), which are more accurate and comparable times than the race or Qualifying (Qualifying was very wet this year) as the team is trying to get the cars set up for Qualifying.
Impressive stuff and perhaps my conundrum is now weighing heavily on Sir Frank's mind. It's interesting that Williams gave him a cake today to celebrate his birthday last week. Perhaps the real present is closer than we think? Sadly, there's no number on the car to indicate who might give way.
For those of you interested in how Ma Qing Hua did at that test - not too badly for a first ever F1 drive - he was about half a second off the official FP3 pace of the slowest HRT after 82 laps. Not too shabby.
Valtteri Bottas posted a fastest lap-time of 1.31.436 over a test lasting 120 laps. While that's a lot of laps, that is an impressive lap-time and, in comparable dry conditions at the British GP in 2011, would have put him in 5th place on the grid, ahead of Jenson Button's McLaren.
It also beat the pants off Pastor and Bruno's FP3 British GP times, set in dry conditions (for the most part), which are more accurate and comparable times than the race or Qualifying (Qualifying was very wet this year) as the team is trying to get the cars set up for Qualifying.
Impressive stuff and perhaps my conundrum is now weighing heavily on Sir Frank's mind. It's interesting that Williams gave him a cake today to celebrate his birthday last week. Perhaps the real present is closer than we think? Sadly, there's no number on the car to indicate who might give way.
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| Photo via @WilliamsF1Team Twitpic |
For those of you interested in how Ma Qing Hua did at that test - not too badly for a first ever F1 drive - he was about half a second off the official FP3 pace of the slowest HRT after 82 laps. Not too shabby.
Caterham do not expect much improvement at Spa-Francochamps
The holidays are over and the Race Weekend is about to begin, but Tony Fernandes is not talking up Caterham's chances in Belgium. In order to deflect attention away from the race he's set to unveil a new sponsor today "which will send out another very powerful message about how serious we are about taking the fight to the teams ahead". Another powerful message Tony? I think we all might have missed the first one.
I do hope this new sponsor packs the punch in the wallet which will help the team finish the season in the points (just one will do!).
He then further deflects from the weekend ahead by saying that the gap to the pack ahead is less than a second. This is simply not true Tony - In my mid-term Caterham check-up I calculated the gap to the Toro Rosso ahead at 1.532 seconds prior to Valencia and after bringing the upgrades to Valencia and Silverstone the gap for remainder of the season to Hungary calculated out at an average of 1.354 seconds.
By massaging the figures - by which I mean taking the most favourable available lap-time statistic - the gap can be spun to 1.031 seconds but under a second? You are kidding me.
I know that it's disappointing for the Caterham Squad not to have closed the gap further but I do think, ignoring deflections and unsubstantiated gaps, that a gain of nearly 2 tenths (0.178) of a second is pretty impressive in F1 terms resulting from aero-upgrades. Murray Walker always maintained that success or failure in F1 can be measured in 100ths of a second, on that yardstick Caterham are winning.
The move to Leafield is another step which can only bring benefits in terms of production, testing, and improvement.
I think the future is bright enough for Caterham without Tony spinning the birth of a new dynasty on them. Keep the heads up guys and the result will come. I'm reliably told that the first point, like the first win, is one of the most difficult things to achieve but once it happens it seems that it becomes a habit (sadly Jean Alesi is the exception that proves that rule).
I do hope this new sponsor packs the punch in the wallet which will help the team finish the season in the points (just one will do!).
He then further deflects from the weekend ahead by saying that the gap to the pack ahead is less than a second. This is simply not true Tony - In my mid-term Caterham check-up I calculated the gap to the Toro Rosso ahead at 1.532 seconds prior to Valencia and after bringing the upgrades to Valencia and Silverstone the gap for remainder of the season to Hungary calculated out at an average of 1.354 seconds.
By massaging the figures - by which I mean taking the most favourable available lap-time statistic - the gap can be spun to 1.031 seconds but under a second? You are kidding me.
I know that it's disappointing for the Caterham Squad not to have closed the gap further but I do think, ignoring deflections and unsubstantiated gaps, that a gain of nearly 2 tenths (0.178) of a second is pretty impressive in F1 terms resulting from aero-upgrades. Murray Walker always maintained that success or failure in F1 can be measured in 100ths of a second, on that yardstick Caterham are winning.
The move to Leafield is another step which can only bring benefits in terms of production, testing, and improvement.
I think the future is bright enough for Caterham without Tony spinning the birth of a new dynasty on them. Keep the heads up guys and the result will come. I'm reliably told that the first point, like the first win, is one of the most difficult things to achieve but once it happens it seems that it becomes a habit (sadly Jean Alesi is the exception that proves that rule).
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Zoom F1 Auction in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity
I know that we've all seen the promotional material for the Zoom F1 charity auction on the 14th September 2012 but, in this period of cutbacks in Government spending and the continuing demand on hospital resources, the need for private donations is ever more vital. Being a dad I know that, from my perspective, you can't put a price on the work that Great Ormond Street Hospital provides.
It serves the UK but also is counted as one of the Go-To hospitals for children from all over the world when cutting edge medicine is needed.
I'll refer to the 2010/2011 Impact Report quoting the Executive Director's statement:
The generosity of individuals and organisations allows us to make significant advances in how we are able to care for children and their families. While the NHS funds the day-to-day running of the hospital, the donations allow us to pioneer new research projects, buy specialist equipment and support families who rely on us. They are also allowing us to fund the biggest redevelopment in the hospital’s history...
...The Morgan Stanley Clinical Building is the first part of the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre, with the second building planned to open in 2016. Together, these two buildings will allow us to care for up to 20 per cent more children who need the specialist and expert care that, in some instances, is only available at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
My point being that, this hospital is at the forefront of children's medicine and needs support over and above that which they receive from the Government coffers.
The Zoom auction includes photographs taken by Former F1 stars such as:
Damon Hill, Jarno Trulli and Mario Andretti (if the picture of his Ferrari get together is to be believed).
Team Principals such as:
Ross Brawn, Tony Fernandes (who probably took a pic of QPR given the amount of tweeting he does about them), Christian Horner, Peter Sauber, Martin Whitmarsh and Sir Frank W.
and numerous F1 drivers who I won't single out in case someone gets upset at their omission.
I will say that Adrian Newey is one of the contributors and I would expect that, given his expertise, he will have spent a lot of time coming up with the perfect shot of his favourite subject (which of his championship cars will he pick?)
You can get a flavour of the pictures either on the Zoom facebook site or at on Pitpass where they have a couple of ones you might not have seen before.
The contributors were asked to take a photograph of whatever subject they wanted. Mark Webber took his two dogs, Mario took the Ferrari Club (let's face it they're probably all his), Lewis took the following Driver's Eye View from his "office",
Bruno loves the beach, For Sergio it was all about his dog, For Seb it was the red wall mountain in Austria and for Peter Sauber it was the view from his house (lucky devil!)
The images have been signed by the "photographer" and will be auctioned off to raise money for the Hospital Charity by Coys Auctioneers, who specialise in motorsport and historic car auctions.
The live auction will take place in the ballroom of the Wyndham Grand London Chelsea Harbour, the capital's only 5 star all-suite hotel.
Of course this is not a commercial Blog so I derive no benefit from, nor do I endorse the groups who are providing their services to facilitate this auction. I trust they are providing these service free of charge and I commend them on that basis. If they'd like to pay me a small stipend for naming them...Damn! I guess it's probably too late for that given I've already mentioned them, do you think they noticed?
Anyway, for those with the cash I urge you to get behind the auction which is for a very worthy cause and no doubt there will be a facility, on the night, for those without that cash to make their own, meagre contributions.
It serves the UK but also is counted as one of the Go-To hospitals for children from all over the world when cutting edge medicine is needed.
I'll refer to the 2010/2011 Impact Report quoting the Executive Director's statement:
The generosity of individuals and organisations allows us to make significant advances in how we are able to care for children and their families. While the NHS funds the day-to-day running of the hospital, the donations allow us to pioneer new research projects, buy specialist equipment and support families who rely on us. They are also allowing us to fund the biggest redevelopment in the hospital’s history...
...The Morgan Stanley Clinical Building is the first part of the Mittal Children’s Medical Centre, with the second building planned to open in 2016. Together, these two buildings will allow us to care for up to 20 per cent more children who need the specialist and expert care that, in some instances, is only available at Great Ormond Street Hospital.
My point being that, this hospital is at the forefront of children's medicine and needs support over and above that which they receive from the Government coffers.
The Zoom auction includes photographs taken by Former F1 stars such as:
Damon Hill, Jarno Trulli and Mario Andretti (if the picture of his Ferrari get together is to be believed).
Team Principals such as:
Ross Brawn, Tony Fernandes (who probably took a pic of QPR given the amount of tweeting he does about them), Christian Horner, Peter Sauber, Martin Whitmarsh and Sir Frank W.
and numerous F1 drivers who I won't single out in case someone gets upset at their omission.
I will say that Adrian Newey is one of the contributors and I would expect that, given his expertise, he will have spent a lot of time coming up with the perfect shot of his favourite subject (which of his championship cars will he pick?)
You can get a flavour of the pictures either on the Zoom facebook site or at on Pitpass where they have a couple of ones you might not have seen before.
The contributors were asked to take a photograph of whatever subject they wanted. Mark Webber took his two dogs, Mario took the Ferrari Club (let's face it they're probably all his), Lewis took the following Driver's Eye View from his "office",
Bruno loves the beach, For Sergio it was all about his dog, For Seb it was the red wall mountain in Austria and for Peter Sauber it was the view from his house (lucky devil!)
The images have been signed by the "photographer" and will be auctioned off to raise money for the Hospital Charity by Coys Auctioneers, who specialise in motorsport and historic car auctions.
The live auction will take place in the ballroom of the Wyndham Grand London Chelsea Harbour, the capital's only 5 star all-suite hotel.
Of course this is not a commercial Blog so I derive no benefit from, nor do I endorse the groups who are providing their services to facilitate this auction. I trust they are providing these service free of charge and I commend them on that basis. If they'd like to pay me a small stipend for naming them...Damn! I guess it's probably too late for that given I've already mentioned them, do you think they noticed?
Anyway, for those with the cash I urge you to get behind the auction which is for a very worthy cause and no doubt there will be a facility, on the night, for those without that cash to make their own, meagre contributions.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Connew F1 - living the dream! Reprise
In July of last year I came across a site by Barry Boor, one of a very small group of people led by Peter Connew, who decided to build and race an F1 car. The story served to illustrate the true spirit of F1, the indomitable spirit of those who have a dream and see it through to completion. While the car itself did not do well it was the fact of as few guys putting their heart and soul into the project and bringing it from the dream to the racetrack.
I noticed that someone had looked at that post recently, which simply served to redirect anyone interested to Barry Boor's site, and wanting to re-familiarise myself with their story I decided to click through to my post and from there to the story.
The first thing I noticed was that the picture was no longer there. I had said that I was going to ask him for permission and, when I finally managed to contact him he gave that permission to me. I linked the picture to his site and now it is gone and the site would appear to have disappeared. I finally tracked down the new location and have linked everything there, including the two links on this page.
Barry's story was in 6 parts and it was one hell of a tale, so, because I would hate for this fascinating personal story and history to get lost in the inter-ether I've put together a separate page on the Blog dedicated to telling Barry Boor's story, the story of Connew F1.
I would like to get his permission before I launch that page on my Blog. Until then it shall remain in my saved pages, complete but not public. The link to Barry's Site is http://server17.dedicateduk.com/~bruce/cgi-bin/index.html.
I noticed that someone had looked at that post recently, which simply served to redirect anyone interested to Barry Boor's site, and wanting to re-familiarise myself with their story I decided to click through to my post and from there to the story.
The first thing I noticed was that the picture was no longer there. I had said that I was going to ask him for permission and, when I finally managed to contact him he gave that permission to me. I linked the picture to his site and now it is gone and the site would appear to have disappeared. I finally tracked down the new location and have linked everything there, including the two links on this page.
Barry's story was in 6 parts and it was one hell of a tale, so, because I would hate for this fascinating personal story and history to get lost in the inter-ether I've put together a separate page on the Blog dedicated to telling Barry Boor's story, the story of Connew F1.
I would like to get his permission before I launch that page on my Blog. Until then it shall remain in my saved pages, complete but not public. The link to Barry's Site is http://server17.dedicateduk.com/~bruce/cgi-bin/index.html.
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| Barry Boor in Connew at Brands Hatch - printed with the permission of Barry Boor |
Friday, August 24, 2012
Sobering thoughts on the future of BBC Free-to-Air F1 TV coverage
As you may know, I've spent much of this season (and last) moaning about the loss of free-to-air F1 and making all kinds of hair-pulling, frustrated, and futile statements about how the loss of "we" the F1 fan who watches most of the races on the telly and goes to one GP every (or every other) year will lead to a reduction in the level of sponsorship money enjoyed by the teams and the circuits. In my wildest moments I may have even suggested that the impact of Subscription TV on the sport might bring it back to the stone age days prior to the BernieMax commercialisation of the sport and the first Concorde Agreement.
I felt justified in that assertion, particularly given the fact that Bernie had always stated that free-to-air broadcasting was a fundamental requirement of the Sport.
I then read Kate Walker on ESPN F1 who writes an article entitled "Is TV killing Formula One?" and, like me, she's making the point that Sky just are not garnering the viewers that free-to-air does. Her view is as populist as my own and as emotionally driven, as is evident from her conclusion:
"Fans matter. It may not feel like it at times, but every pair of eyeballs watching a TV broadcast of a race is helping the teams on screen pick up sponsors. Without the fans, the sponsors turn away. Without the sponsors, the teams can't afford to race. It sounds simple, because it is".
Unfortunately it would seem that we are wrong: The economics of the Sport in its current guise can do without 75% of us. We are expendable, unnecessary, defunct, superfluous, (in short) REDUNDANT.
In seeking permission from Christian Sylt to reprint his article "Why business is the real engine which powers F1" I asked him for his expert opinion on this question which is one that is very close to my heart and the heart of, I think, the vast majority of British F1 fans (well 75% of them anyway!). His considered response was devastating:
"In fact, the BBC/Sky sharing deal should not dramatically impact F1's overall viewing figures for two reasons. Firstly, as I wrote in the article below, although the BBC's figures are down slightly, Sky is offsetting a lot of the shortfall. This is just race coverage and doesn't even take into account the increased amount of footage that Sky is broadcasting outside the Grands Prix which gives a total of three times the number of hours screened by the BBC in 2011.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
The second reason is that the number of viewers being lost by the BBC is in the single digit millions which couldn't possibly have a significant impact on F1's 515m total audience. If multiple broadcasters lost this number of viewers then it could start to have an effect but there is no evidence that this is happening. In contrast, a similar sharing deal was signed in Italy this year and you can bet your bottom dollar that if it was detrimental to F1's finances this would not have been done. Even if F1 ends up with a net shortfall of viewers from the deal (it would be single digit millions as I mention above) it would still be beneficial overall since it involves a significant increase in the fee paid. Hope this explanation helps and feel free to quote from it."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/
The second reason is that the number of viewers being lost by the BBC is in the single digit millions which couldn't possibly have a significant impact on F1's 515m total audience. If multiple broadcasters lost this number of viewers then it could start to have an effect but there is no evidence that this is happening. In contrast, a similar sharing deal was signed in Italy this year and you can bet your bottom dollar that if it was detrimental to F1's finances this would not have been done. Even if F1 ends up with a net shortfall of viewers from the deal (it would be single digit millions as I mention above) it would still be beneficial overall since it involves a significant increase in the fee paid. Hope this explanation helps and feel free to quote from it."
I have to say I challenged him on it (silly me - I didn't really want the answer) saying:
"Sorry to pick your brains further but your response to my question re Sky gives me the impression that you do not hold the opinion that Sky will take full TV coverage over at the end of the current deal, removing any live coverage of the sport from free-to-air. I know Sky don't require the viewing numbers that free-to-air TV does given their dual income stream but I would worry that the grass roots of the sport, who couldn't afford Sky would switch off if all that was being provided was highlights. I know Britain, for instance, only provides 1 - 2 percent of the global audience but it might well operate as a testing ground for Bernie with wider global implications into the future...This looks like the beginning of the end and I wonder whether an exclusive deal is in the pipeline which will create an alternate revenue stream but reduce sponsorship exposure.
In my long-winded way I'm wondering whether F1 could survive in its current form on revenue from Satellite channels which broadcast the sport to 20/25% of the current global free-to-air market".
to which he replied:
"I take your point about Sky in that it is destined to reduce the TV audience in a crucial market since the UK is F1's traditional heartland. However, even if this reduces sponsorship income for the teams (it would only be a tiny reduction since the drop in viewers is very small as I pointed out in my previous email to you) they will make this up through their share in F1's profits which should increase due to the higher fee paid by Sky. The other point to make is that although the UK is F1's traditional heartland, the sport is looking to markets such as China and India for future fans. Whether this proves to be a successful strategy remains to be seen".
In the global scheme of things we BBC free-to-air fans are the equivalent of a puddle compared to the Chinese and Indian oceans; if we dry out nobody will notice (or care). Sobering thought.
Why business is the real engine which powers F1
For only the second time I have felt it worthwhile to seek permission from someone to reprint an article. In this instance the author is the well known F1 journalist/business analyst, Christian Sylt. He, along with Caroline Reid produce the annual definitive guide to the business of Formula 1: The Formula One Report which is aimed at the movers and shakers of the business - the sponsors, potential sponsors, teams, media, and all the other players who need to understand the finances of the sport. They also provide a PDF update called the ROI review after every race which, after reading their sample edition from the 2011 Australian GP, is enough to make a die-hard fan go weak at the knees. Just have a look and see.
It's also worth pointing out that Christian, in conjunction with one of the biggest motorsport photography agencies, Sutton Images, is behind the launch of Zoom, the well-publicised "Formula 1 from behind the lens" charity auction to raise money for Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital which will auction off 50 signed photographs taken by the F1 drivers and team Principals.
The following article encapsulates the source of F1 financing. I have reprinted it in its entirety, with the permission of the author, and the ownership and copyright of the work remains with Christian Sylt.
"The only aspect of Formula One which most fans get to see is the cars going round the track - but behind the scenes a complex network of relationships and agreements is in place to literally get the show on the road.
The first race of the World Championship took place in 1950, but it shared few similarities with the present day spectacle which is F1. Almost all the differences are down to the commercialisation of the sport: it has affected the teams’ facilities, the calibre of the drivers, the style of the cars, circuit facilities, television exposure and the number of brands involved with the sport.
The catalyst for such rampant commercialisation was the signing in 1981 of the first Concorde Agreement, the contract which binds the teams, F1’s rights-holders and its governing body the FIA. It commits the teams to race and F1 has been commercialised around them.
According to Formula Money, sponsorship brings in around 48 per cent of teams’ revenue with prize money providing the bulk of the remainder. Both are dependent on television exposure. Since the signing of the first Concorde Agreement, F1’s rights-holders have committed to keeping grands prix on free-to-air television: this has been a master-stroke, driving the sport's average TV audience up to 515 million - making it the most-watched sporting event in the world over the course of a year.
Coming full circle, F1 has established such a dominant position that it is now doing deals with subscription channels such as Sky Sports in the UK and Sky Italia in Italy. Despite having a seemingly unconquerable position, F1 has retained some degree of free-to-air coverage in these markets.
There is good reason for this: the high TV audience allows teams to charge top dollar for sponsorship. Generally speaking, the rear wing, air intake box and side-pods of the car are prime logo positions and a sponsorship deal with a top team involving any one of these locations is likely to cost around £13 million annually. At the lower end of the spectrum small logos are often found on the bottom of the sidepods or on the nose and these can generally be bought for under £3 million per year with a high-ranking team.
Having 515 million viewers makes F1 extremely attractive for broadcasters so they too pay top dollar to broadcast the sport. In turn those TV stations which take advertising get money back from the companies which want to promote their products to F1’s captive audience during the commercial breaks - with the exception of the BBC.
The fees from TV stations are one of the three biggest sources of revenue for the F1 Group which runs the sport. TV rights payments came to £313 million last year and were second only to race hosting fees. Although they are F1’s biggest revenue source, contributing a total of £325 million last year, it is not possible simply to add more grands prix since the Concorde Agreement caps the number at 20 annually and it has hit the ceiling this year with the return of the United States Grand Prix.
Instead of increasing the limit on the number of races, F1 supremos Bernie Ecclestone has implemented a savvy strategy of marketing the sport to emerging nations who want to put themselves on the global map. Hosting an F1 race puts a country on a calendar containing exotic and well-developed nations such as Australia, Malaysia, Japan and Monaco. It also gives promotion to the sport’s massive TV audience.
Since the governments of these countries can use F1 to promote tourism they fund the hosting fees for their race and this has driven up the price to an average of £17 million per race. In 2010 South Korea joined the calendar, last year India came on board and in 2014 the first F1 race in Russia is due to take place.
In addition to the government funding, ticket sales cover the cost of running the races and, according to Formula Money, 3.4 million spectators attended them last year.
Trackside advertising and sponsorship is F1’s third main revenue source. Brands pay for huge billboards beside the track and they are usually grouped to maximise exposure. It creates what are known as ‘themed corners’ which are dominated by numerous identical billboards from one specific advertiser. Again, the huge number of TV viewers makes trackside advertising highly attractive and there is always the chance that cars will smash into them which brings additional media exposure to the brand.
F1 also has a portfolio of nine official partners including technology company LG and logistics firm DHL. They get the right to be the exclusive service provider to F1 in their business sector as well as a range of promotional benefits such as being able to use the F1 logo in advertising. Together, trackside advertising and sponsorship brought in £145 million last year taking F1’s revenue from the top three sources to just over £780 million. It makes an additional £190 million from other sources giving the sport an annual total revenue of £973 million.
The most significant of the other sources of revenue is corporate hospitality which is used by teams and sponsors to entertain clients. Teams get a certain number of complimentary hospitality passes but they can buy more, as can the general public. With the cheapest ticket this year costing £2,215 it certainly isn’t a mass market product but it does make a valuable revenue stream which brought in a total of £50 million last year.
F1’s £973 million revenue isn’t going in the pocket of the sport’s boss Bernie Ecclestone. He receives a £3.3 million salary and owns a 5.3% stake in F1 but as it didn’t pay out any of its profits last year he didn’t get an additional payment. The revenue is used to cover the sport’s running costs which range from transporting hospitality equipment to paying TV cameramen.
The top 10 teams share 47.5% of F1’s profit after paying these costs with a further 2.5% going specifically to Ferrari in return for being the oldest team in the sport. In total, the teams got £438 million last year leaving F1 with a £302 million profit which it used to pay down its debts with the rest – around £125 million – topping up the sport’s bank account.
In contrast, the money paid to the teams is gobbled up to fuel their race campaigns and this is where F1’s commercial cycle begins again. Keeping F1 ticking over is a never-ending process."
postscriptI hope you found the above as insightful as I did and would taken this opportunity to urge anyone who seeks to reprint an article or photograph to always seek the permission of the owner of the work. It does a grave disservice to individuals whose income is solely derived from articles, photographs, etc., to infringe their copyright to that material. It is always worthwhile asking for permission, they can only say no.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Looking forward to F1 Race Stars™
I've played a few of the F1 series from Codemasters and never really found them particularly fulfilling. Once you've cracked them they cease to have any attraction and you have to wait for and hope that the next years title will provide more of a challenge. Unfortunately this is rarely the case and the cycle perpetuates. I stopped buying the F1 (enter year here) series in 2007 because I got bored of it. A new track brought a new challenge but one track is not enough to sustain an annual series.
That's why I'm delighted to see they're bringing out F1 Race Stars™ which all of the critics are hailing as an F1 challenger to Mario Kart. I love the idea and am definitely going to pick it up in the expectation that, like Mario Kart, it will give me years of pleasure, resulting from the randomness inherent in the Mario Kart formula, without the need for annual upgrading.
I don't get much time to play video games anymore but this is the kind of game that I can play with my daughter where there's enough going on to keep her interested.
Here's hoping it lives up to the hype!
That's why I'm delighted to see they're bringing out F1 Race Stars™ which all of the critics are hailing as an F1 challenger to Mario Kart. I love the idea and am definitely going to pick it up in the expectation that, like Mario Kart, it will give me years of pleasure, resulting from the randomness inherent in the Mario Kart formula, without the need for annual upgrading.
I don't get much time to play video games anymore but this is the kind of game that I can play with my daughter where there's enough going on to keep her interested.
Here's hoping it lives up to the hype!
Valtteri Bottas reminds Frank Williams' he's still here
Autosport, and just about every other F1 site are reporting that Valtteri Bottas, William's third driver, has had a little snipe at the performance of the two racing drivers.
The basic story is that he reckons the car is much better than the results have shown and the team should have more points at this stage of the season than they do.
While his quote states "we've been really unlucky" I think that we can all read that as Pastor Maldonado has had a few too many avoidable accidents and Bruno Senna has not driven the car to its potential. Do I call that paraphrasing or interpreting?
I'm thinking that he's being quite intelligent with this little interview. He knows that the two boys are bringing sponsorship in and, while the team are struggling to find sponsors this money is vital to improving team performance, but...
...the other side of this coin is that improved performance and a better position in the Constructor's and Driver's Championships will bring increased sponsorship opportunities and improved cashflow.
Bottas would appear to be telling Sir Frank and the team that now is the time to give him the seat which will provide the results and the resultant cash injection to make up for the loss of one of their paying drives.
With 9 races left is it time for Frank to consider this gamble, give the car to Valtteri and see if he can restore Williams to the top 5? in my - Bahrain championship they're only 42 points behind Mercedes in fifth. Three good results from Bottas would put them within touching distance of the Mercs which have also not been achieving their potential.
In the Constructor's they're 60 points behind, not a gap that can't be closed before the end of the season. Do you risk it and give Bottas his drive or do you play safe and hope that you have the car to put under him next year?
It's a tough call to make: Improved results guarantee increased income from TV and sponsorship but the income from Senna and Maldonado is guaranteed. It's a dilemma and one that I wouldn't like to have to make.
The basic story is that he reckons the car is much better than the results have shown and the team should have more points at this stage of the season than they do.
While his quote states "we've been really unlucky" I think that we can all read that as Pastor Maldonado has had a few too many avoidable accidents and Bruno Senna has not driven the car to its potential. Do I call that paraphrasing or interpreting?
I'm thinking that he's being quite intelligent with this little interview. He knows that the two boys are bringing sponsorship in and, while the team are struggling to find sponsors this money is vital to improving team performance, but...
...the other side of this coin is that improved performance and a better position in the Constructor's and Driver's Championships will bring increased sponsorship opportunities and improved cashflow.
Bottas would appear to be telling Sir Frank and the team that now is the time to give him the seat which will provide the results and the resultant cash injection to make up for the loss of one of their paying drives.
With 9 races left is it time for Frank to consider this gamble, give the car to Valtteri and see if he can restore Williams to the top 5? in my - Bahrain championship they're only 42 points behind Mercedes in fifth. Three good results from Bottas would put them within touching distance of the Mercs which have also not been achieving their potential.
In the Constructor's they're 60 points behind, not a gap that can't be closed before the end of the season. Do you risk it and give Bottas his drive or do you play safe and hope that you have the car to put under him next year?
It's a tough call to make: Improved results guarantee increased income from TV and sponsorship but the income from Senna and Maldonado is guaranteed. It's a dilemma and one that I wouldn't like to have to make.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Video Lap of the Circuit of the Americas
Now that they've laid the base course of tarmac on the COTA there's a nice video put up on youtube which will give us all an idea of what to expect come raceday:
The only question that I have, and I don't know the answer, is whether this circuit is going to be clockwise or anti-clockwise? Is turn 1 on this video going to be the last turn on the track? The incline, blind crest into 90 degree bend and decline into turn 2 would make for an interesting start
The only question that I have, and I don't know the answer, is whether this circuit is going to be clockwise or anti-clockwise? Is turn 1 on this video going to be the last turn on the track? The incline, blind crest into 90 degree bend and decline into turn 2 would make for an interesting start
Monday, August 13, 2012
Mid-term Check-Up #2: Can Caterham Deliver? & where are Toro Rosso?
I'm falling in love with Caterham, mainly due to the fact that I really think they are the only team trying to break out of the Zero points brigade but I'm very worried that they can't achieve this ambition. Since Valencia I've been waiting and expecting the team to outqualify and outrace the Toro Rosso's however it would seem that, under pressure, the baby Red Bulls have managed to pull their collective fingers out and have upped the ante in a manner which has negated all of the gains Caterham achieved with their upgrades in Valencia and Silverstone.
Below is a table of the Respective Qualifying and racing performances of both the Caterham and the Toro Rosso drivers. Black text means they beat their teammate, white obviously means they failed to do so.
Kovalainen has outqualified Petrov 8-3 but has only beaten him in the races 5 times out of 11 races; Ricciardo has outqualified Vergne9-2 and leads 7-5 in race results.
I've put together the following table which allows us to extrapolate the drivers position within their respective teams. I've negated any disadvantage arising from Accidents, failure to start, pitlane screw-ups, penalties and even driver errors and simply dealt with the pure data as per qualifying and race pace:
Breaking down the stats; the table shows that RIC leads Qualifying with a score of -0.36, VER is behind with -2.63 followed by KOV on -4.45 and PET last on -5.54.
On Sunday VER leads, improving his position by an average of 4.1 places in races completed, RIC comes in second well behind on 1.714 and KOV and PET are tied on 1.875.
For the purpose therefore of reviewing the racers it is clear that VER leads RIC over a GP weekend by the smallest of margins 0.116 calculated as follows 1.47 (4.1-2.63) - 1.354 (-0.36 + 1.714). KOV leads PET by 1.09, purely as a result of Qualifying, (-)2.575 - (-)3.665.
The team averages tell an interesting story:
Caterham's average Qualifying position is 18th place on the grid
Toro Rosso's has been between 15th and 14th but closer to 15th.
Race finish position on average for the Cats has been between 16th and 17th, closer to 17th
For the TR's tha average race finish position is 13th, four places above the Cats.
How close are the Cats to the Bulls at this point? having studied the fastest qualifying times of both teams over the course of the last 11 races it is clear that wild variations exist in the results, therefore to the purpose of accuracy I took away the two greatest and the two smallest gaps and have calculated that, prior to Valencia the average gap was of the order of 1.532 seconds a lap in favour (of course) to the Bulls. The gap since Valencia is of the order of 1.354 seconds.
Of course, if you add the fringe times, the exercise becomes a bit of a Caterham PR stunt showing the gap pre-Valencia at 1.767seconds coming down to 1.031 seconds over the last four races (a PR gain of nearly three quarters of a second rather than the more realistic gain of 0.178 seconds).
Statistics can tell you anything you want to hear but in this case I think that Caterham will find it difficult to catch the TR's as any gains that they have made with the upgrades from Valencia and Silverstone have been minuscule and must have been counteracted by upgrades to the Toro Rosso car.
Below is a table of the Respective Qualifying and racing performances of both the Caterham and the Toro Rosso drivers. Black text means they beat their teammate, white obviously means they failed to do so.
|
|
Kovalainen
Qual Race
|
Petrov
Qual Race
|
Ricciardo
Qual Race
|
Vergne
Qual Race
|
||||
|
|
18
|
Ret
|
19
|
Ret
|
10
|
9
|
11
|
11
|
|
|
24
|
18
|
19
|
16
|
15
|
12
|
18
|
8
|
|
|
18
|
23
|
19
|
18
|
17
|
17
|
24
|
16
|
|
|
16
|
17
|
18
|
16
|
6
|
15
|
17
|
14
|
|
|
19
|
16
|
18
|
17
|
15
|
13
|
14
|
12
|
|
|
17
|
13
|
18
|
Ret
|
15
|
Ret
|
16
|
12
|
|
|
17
|
18
|
18
|
19
|
14
|
14
|
19
|
15
|
|
|
16
|
14
|
20
|
13
|
17
|
11
|
18
|
Ret
|
|
|
19
|
17
|
18
|
DNS
|
12
|
13
|
23
|
14
|
|
|
16
|
19
|
18
|
16
|
11
|
13
|
15
|
14
|
|
|
19
|
17
|
20
|
19
|
18
|
15
|
16
|
16
|
Kovalainen has outqualified Petrov 8-3 but has only beaten him in the races 5 times out of 11 races; Ricciardo has outqualified Vergne9-2 and leads 7-5 in race results.
I've put together the following table which allows us to extrapolate the drivers position within their respective teams. I've negated any disadvantage arising from Accidents, failure to start, pitlane screw-ups, penalties and even driver errors and simply dealt with the pure data as per qualifying and race pace:
Qualifying stats + Race Improvement over Race start position
Adjusted to take account of penalties, accidents, Driver
Errors, Pit screw-ups, and DNFs
|
|
Kovalainen
Qual Race
|
Petrov
Qual Race
|
Ricciardo
Qual Race
|
Vergne
Qual Race
|
||||
|
|
-8
|
DNF
|
-9
|
DNF
|
0
|
+1
|
-1
|
0
|
|
|
-4
|
+6
|
-5
|
+3
|
0
|
+3
|
-3
|
+10
|
|
|
-2
|
PIT
|
-3
|
+1
|
0
|
0
|
-1
|
+8
|
|
|
-10
|
PUNC
|
-12
|
+1
|
0
|
ACC
|
-11
|
+3
|
|
|
-4
|
+3
|
-3
|
+1
|
-1
|
+2
|
0
|
+2
|
|
|
-2
|
+4
|
-3
|
ELEC
|
0
|
DErr
|
-1
|
+4
|
|
|
-3
|
-1
|
-4
|
-1
|
0
|
Dthru
|
-5
|
+4
|
|
|
0
|
+2 ACC
|
-4
|
+7
|
-1
|
+6
|
-2
|
ACC
|
|
|
-8
|
+2
|
-7
|
DNS
|
0
|
-1
|
-1
|
+9
|
|
|
-5
|
-3
|
-7
|
+2
|
0
|
-2
|
-4
|
+1 Punc
|
|
|
-3
|
+2
|
-4
|
+1
|
-2
|
+3
|
0
|
0
|
Breaking down the stats; the table shows that RIC leads Qualifying with a score of -0.36, VER is behind with -2.63 followed by KOV on -4.45 and PET last on -5.54.
On Sunday VER leads, improving his position by an average of 4.1 places in races completed, RIC comes in second well behind on 1.714 and KOV and PET are tied on 1.875.
For the purpose therefore of reviewing the racers it is clear that VER leads RIC over a GP weekend by the smallest of margins 0.116 calculated as follows 1.47 (4.1-2.63) - 1.354 (-0.36 + 1.714). KOV leads PET by 1.09, purely as a result of Qualifying, (-)2.575 - (-)3.665.
The team averages tell an interesting story:
Caterham's average Qualifying position is 18th place on the grid
Toro Rosso's has been between 15th and 14th but closer to 15th.
Race finish position on average for the Cats has been between 16th and 17th, closer to 17th
For the TR's tha average race finish position is 13th, four places above the Cats.
How close are the Cats to the Bulls at this point? having studied the fastest qualifying times of both teams over the course of the last 11 races it is clear that wild variations exist in the results, therefore to the purpose of accuracy I took away the two greatest and the two smallest gaps and have calculated that, prior to Valencia the average gap was of the order of 1.532 seconds a lap in favour (of course) to the Bulls. The gap since Valencia is of the order of 1.354 seconds.
Of course, if you add the fringe times, the exercise becomes a bit of a Caterham PR stunt showing the gap pre-Valencia at 1.767seconds coming down to 1.031 seconds over the last four races (a PR gain of nearly three quarters of a second rather than the more realistic gain of 0.178 seconds).
Statistics can tell you anything you want to hear but in this case I think that Caterham will find it difficult to catch the TR's as any gains that they have made with the upgrades from Valencia and Silverstone have been minuscule and must have been counteracted by upgrades to the Toro Rosso car.
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