All the action of (after) the Italian Grand Prix

The Italian Grand Prix is always a bit special with a huge number of Ferrari fans in attendance. Everywhere you look, you will see the famous prancing horse and a sea of red flags but this year there was a slightly different shade of red on show. It's known as rocket red and it's the winning colour of McLaren. So why, when they haven't won a single race this year, was it so prominent? Quite simply, it was because this September marks the 50th anniversary since founder Bruce McLaren gave his name to this multi-championship winning team.

On race day it was the Red Bulls and Ferraris that dominated the front of the pack with Sebastian Vettel leading from pole to take yet another dominating win during his campaign to win a forth consecutive world title. After the opening stint in which Paul di Resta crashed his Force India at the second chicane ending his race prematurely, for the second time in a row, and Kimi Raikkonen pitting his Lotus for a new nose cone, after running into the back of Sergio Perez's McLaren at the first chicane. The Grand Prix was a pretty hum drum affair. It wasn't until the last ten or so laps that it began to get exciting again with Lewis Hamilton, having lost radio communication with the Mercedes team early on, and Raikkonen battling with team mates Jenson Button and Perez for the last points paying positions. Ultimately, it was Kimi and Checo that lost out, with Hamilton and Button crossing the line in 9th and 10th respectively. Vettel stood on the top step of the podium after the GP flanked by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso and Red Bull team mate Mark Webber. Driver of the day has to be Sauber driver, Nico Hulkenberg who qualified in a very respectable 3rd place and went on to finish in 5th, after only being passed by the two Ferraris at the start of the race.

Two days after the Italian Grand Prix, 4th place finisher, Felipe Massa announced via Twitter that he would be leaving Ferrari at the end of the season. At the time of writing it is unconfirmed who would be taking his place but rumours abound that Kimi Raikkonen is most likely to be partnering Alonso next year. Me, I have my doubts, but I'm betting it won't be long before Ferrari reveal their 2014 driver line up.

UPDATE: Three days after the Italian Grand Prix and I thought I'd better have a peek on Twitter before posting to my blog. Just as well that I did as Ferrari have announced that Kimi Raikkonen WILL be Fernando's team mate next year. Shows what I know!

Changing Fortunes at the Belgian GP

It's been a long four weeks since the Hungarian Grand Prix and Formula 1 couldn't have returned a day too soon. Nor could it have returned to a better racetrack than the classic Belgian circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. It's a firm favourite of drivers and fans alike and has appeared consistently on the F1 calendar since the very first season, way back in 1950. Due to it's unique location it has it's own micro climate and owing to it's length, can often have rain on one part of the track while being simultaneously dry on another, which often makes for an unpredictable race weekend.

This was highlighted during qualifying on Saturday when Force India driver, Paul Di Resta, claimed provisional pole position early in Q3 by being the only driver on wet tyres as rain started to fall. Unfortunately for him the track began to dry very quickly and in the dying moments of the session had his time beaten by the Red Bull and Mercedes teammates with Lewis Hamilton, in the last car to cross the line, securing pole position.

Starting from 5th on the grid would at least give di Resta a good chance of scoring some points come race day. Sadly, this was not to be. Going through the Bus Stop chicane on lap 27 Pastor Maldonado's Williams got caught in a Force India sandwich, bounced off Adrian Sutil's car and ended Paul's race by shunting him off the track with extensive car damage.

Another driver that had a change of fortune was ex-World Champion, Kimi Raikkonen. His record run of 27 consecutive race finishes ended with brake failure, forcing him to retire at the end of lap 24. This is only his second non-points scoring race since joining Lotus and I think I'm right in saying that he was the only driver to complete every lap of the 2012 season.

In contrast, Ferrari's Fernando Alonso started from 9th place, due to the rain affected qualifying session, yet managed a great start when the lights went out and set a blistering pace allowing him to carve his way through the field in spectacular fashion to finish on the podium in 2nd place. The only man able to fend him off was Red Bull driver and Championship leader, Sebastian Vettel. Unless Fernando, Lewis or Kimi can pull off a few more race wins it looks like Vettel will take his fourth consecutive title.

 

Formula 1 - The silly season

It's usually around this time of year, about halfway through the F1 calendar, that the silly season begins. It's a time of guesswork and prediction, speculation and rumour. Which driver will be driving for which team next year? Who will be moving up the order, who will be moving down? Which rising star will get their first race seat and which driver has decided enough is enough, time to move on and retire from the pinnacle of motorsport?

That last question can easily be answered but it's an answer which throws up many more questions. Australian, Mark Webber, currently team mate to Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull Racing, will hang up his horns at the end of this season. There are two drivers waiting in the wings at Toro Rosso, the RBR junior team, ready to jump into his race seat. I believe both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne are part of the young driver programme and joining the big boys would be a natural progression. But the natural choice isn't always the best choice as Kimi Raikkonen's contract with Lotus expires soon. Could he be the next Red Bull driver? Kimi will have to decide whether he wants to re-sign with the team that brought him back into Formula 1 or make a move to fill Webber's vacant seat.

Personally, I think that Raikkonen should stay at Lotus as it's a team that are gradually improving, year on year, and that as successful as RBR have been over the last four years, it's a success that won't be easy to maintain. Kimi could find himself being passed on track by his current team if he jumps ship too soon. History has shown that F1 teams tend to evolve in cycles, a few years of growth and winning followed by a few more declining and fighting to claw their way back to the top.

It's at this stage that teams like Williams and McLaren now find themselves. Williams have failed to score a single point so far this season, an unprecedented position for this multi championship winning team and McLaren, celebrating 50 years in F1 later this year, haven't had a driver anywhere near the podium. It's this information which leads me to believe that Kimi Raikkonen should stay with a team that are on the upswing rather then joining an already waning Red Bull. Although they are still leading both championships it's not anything like the domination they showed in previous years.

That still leaves the question unanswered and is likely to remain that way until a driver or team confirms it's intent for the following year. Until then, enjoy the silly season.

The "Great" British Grand Prix

This weekend Formula 1 returns to its spiritual home. The Silverstone circuit hosted the inaugural Grand Prix way back in 1950 and has been an almost permanent fixture ever since.

The qualifying session for today's race held a few surprises which, as a McLaren fan, have left me less than happy. In the first session (Q1) the top 10 places were filled by the usual suspects, Mercedes, Lotus, Red Bull, McLaren and Force India. The biggest surprise here was that the Ferrari team mates, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, were 14th and 15th, barely scraping through to Q2.

The next session is the reason for my (Mc)misery as neither Jenson Button nor, McLaren new boy, Sergio Perez managed to get their cars into the top ten. Button starts from 11th and Perez 14th. This season is probably the worst I've ever seen my favourite team competing at since I started seriously following the sport in 2001.

Q3 barely matters to me by this point but I'm going to give you the details anyway.

In pole position is Lewis Hamilton flanked by Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg. On row two are Red Bull drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber.

Actually, I really can't be bothered with who is on what row. The fact that McLaren are so far down the order has me bordering on depression. It won't stop me watching the race but I really wish they would pull their fingers out and make me proud.

Rosberg rulez ok

In the handful of races so far this season Mercedes have been seen to qualify well only for their race pace to drop off during the Grand Prix. Monaco, with it's tight, twisty circuit that's notoriously difficult to overtake on, provided the team with a chance to score their first win of 2013. At least, this was my prediction. Just call me Nostradamus.




Pole sitter, Nico Rosberg, controlled the race perfectly from start to finish and it was only the intervention of a safety car period, one of two, that ruined team mate, Lewis Hamilton's, chances of a 1-2 finish. In the end, the remaining podium positions were claimed by the Red Bull drivers, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber, who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.




The chances of Mercedes winning another Grand Prix this season is fairly slim. With the exception of the Singapore GP, the rest of the races will be held on traditional circuits with plenty of overtaking opportunities and run off areas thereby negating Mercedes' advantage from qualifying. That said, however, I would personally like to see either Nico or Lewis on the top step on the podium again. Next stop... Canada.




Footnote: Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikonen turned up for the race with inappropriate helmets. One driver was allowed to wear his. Can you guess which one?

Did you see the Malaysian Grand Prix?

The Malaysian GP seems like weeks ago... because it was. I never got round to posting a report, so here is a brief catch up.

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso lost the front wing under his car on the pit straight on lap 2 after a touch with Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull at turn 2 of the previous lap and went flying off the track. Race over for Alonso.




Too brief?
Alright, a little more.




Vettel showed his true colours by overtaking team mate, Mark Webber for 1st place in the final phase of the race after receiving instructions to hold position from the pit wall. Mark was not a happy bunny, to say the least.







By contrast, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg showed his team colours by doing what was asked of him. He found himself rapidly catching his team mate, Lewis Hamilton, and after several requests to overtake were denied, settled for 4th place behind Lewis. I doubt Nico was a happy bunny either but at least he has respect, both for and from his team.




Next stop China.

Spain again

So, Formula 1 returns to Spain for a second time, three seasons running, since 2009.




Valencia is a new track to F1, created primarily in response to double world champion, Fernando Alonso's popularity in his home country.




I never really liked the circuit much. That was until I bought the most recent F1 PS3 game. Now, having seen it from the driver's eye view, I have a newfound respect for Spain's second Grand Prix.




With Sebastian Vettel on pole and team mate, Mark Webber alongside, it looks as though it'll be another Red Bull whitewash. Only the McLarens and Ferraris stand a chance of spoiling the party. Keep your fingers crossed.

The Malaysian Grand Prix

Vettel wins again!
Now you don't have to read the rest of this blogpost. Aren't I thoughtful? But if that's not enough...

It was a great start for Nick Heidfeld in the Renault Lotus as he launched himself into 2nd place from 6th on the grid. A place he would ultimately give up to McLaren's Jenson Button who had started in 4th. With Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull getting away from pole position cleanly and him controling the race until the finish, these drivers made it onto the podium.

Red Bull's 2nd(!) driver, Mark Webber, nearly got a taste of champagne but the race only has a finite number of laps before he ran out of opportunities.

According to the First Law of Italian Driving, what's behind is not important. I doubt if Ferrari saw it that way as both their drivers limped over the finish line in 5th and 6th places, fighting each other for a handful of points. Felipe Massa trumped Fernando Alonso on this occasion, which must have put a smile on the Brazillians face.

Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, had started 10th but another stunning drive from this exciting Japanese racer, battling it out with Michael Schumacher's Mercedes over a considerable number of laps, got him up to 7th place ahead of the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. The Brit had some trouble with his tyres toward the end of the Grand Prix before being hit by Alonso trying to make a move on him going into turn 3. Both cars needed to pit again, Fernando for a new nose, Lewis for fresh tyres.

The last two points paying positions went to Schumacher and Force India's Paul Di Resta

One final note.
Vitaly Petrov took his Renault Lotus for an adventure on the penultimate corner. I'm not sure what exactly happened at the time of writing but trying to get his car back on the track, it suddenly shot into the air, across the track and when it landed the onboard camera was showing that the steering wheel had come away from the rest of the car!

Drivers and Constructors Championships:

The F1 2011 season starts here

It should have started a couple of weeks ago but what with one thing or another, today saw the first race of the Formula 1 world championship. To be honest, I always thought Australia should have hosted the first race because, for me, it always has. Just as Brazil should host the last race. (Abu Dhabi, grumble grumble. Even though it looks stunning, grumble)

I hadn't realised how much I missed the thrill of the race. The new rules, DRS, KERS and new tyres from Pirelli, have shaken things up a bit. The top teams, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, etc, are all performing at full steam, though, so we still have the big guns fighting it out for points. Meanwhile, the smaller teams, Sauber, Lotus, HRT, etc, have been having their own problems. HRT didn't even get to start the race due to the 107% qualifying rule!

There was plenty of action in Melbourne, right from the moment the lights went out. Vettel had a clean getaway and led to the finish, Hamilton lost a place to Webber then regained it at the first corner and Alonso went wide, allowing three cars to pass him.
During the course of the Grand Prix, there were battles aplenty. Button passed Massa using an exit road, after being held up by the slower Brazilian for several laps, and got hit with a drive through penalty.
The Saubers of Kobayashi and Perez scythed their way through the field finishing 7th and 8th, Perez pitting only once for a tyre change, to everybody else's two and three stops.
Congratulations to Vitaly Petrov who made it onto the podium, finishing in 3rd place, driving in his 2nd season with Renault, now Renault-Lotus (don't ask).
And no safety car was deployed at any point in the race :)

With such a thrilling start to the season, I can hardly wait for the next race in Malaysia. And I'd like to make a small prediction for 2011. Keep an eye on Toro Rosso and Force India. That's all I'm saying. Just keep an eye.




Unfortunately, I have since learned that Sauber have been disqualified for a breach of the aero rules. It remains to be seen whether the team will appeal or not.

F1 title showdown

The 2010 Formula 1 drivers championship went down to the last race in Abu Dhabi. Going into the race, four drivers were in with a chance of walking away with motorsports greatest prize:
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, was ahead on points, followed by Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull, and Lewis Hamilton, McLaren.
It looked like it was Alonso's title to lose and that's exactly what he did. Both he with Webber pitted early, shortly after a safety car period that was brought out to deal with a first lap accident between Michael Schumacher and Tonio Liuzzi, and that strategy effectively ruined their race as they got stuck behind a few cars that had already pitted under the safety car. This led to some very exciting racing and many bold passing attempts, succesful and otherwise. Meanwhile, Vettel and Hamilton, who would need a miracle to be world champion a second time, kept their heads, in first and second position, and got on with the serious business of trying to win the race. Jenson Button crept into third to take the final place on the podium and as the four contenders crossed the finishing line, scoring their respective points, Formula 1 gained a new world champion, Sebastian Vettel.