Phil: My co-blogger's thorough and insightful analysis deserves a pat on the bottom, at the very least. I agree the Hamilton/Webber collision was nothing more than a racing incident, and that having scored maximum points at Monza and Singapore, Alonso is certainly the man to beat at Suzuka. I think we also agree on the downright odd teammate relationship that Lewis and Jenson have: Lewis when interviewed after the race seemed understandably downbeat (after all, two consecutive DNFs won't do great things for his championship chances) and said he still hoped either himself or Jenson would be world champion this year. Or Jenson? Then, one day this week, I read an interview with Jenson himself telling the world what a great driver Lewis was and how much he hoped he could get his title chase back on track. Is there some patting of bottoms going on behind the scenes?
Anyway, teammate rivalries, or otherwise, lead me on to this very good, very technical opinion piece on how Michael Schumacher has 'lost it' permanently. Not only is he being outdriven by his teammate Nico Rosberg, but the margin by which is being beaten is getting wider. Is Rosberg getting faster, or is Schumi getting slower? Here it is http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/9037790.stm
Finally, I've been dipping into the BBC's archive of classic races, which are updated before every race, starting with the 1982 Detroit Grand Prix:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/09/your_classic_grand_prix_-_race_2.html#more
You'll think the cars are crude until you see the BBC's graphics. And why did someone at the BBC think that the best 'establishing shot', the image that says 'Formula 1' to the British viewing public, is a shot of Niki Lauda eating a slice of toast?
Plenty of overtaking though.
Thursday, 30 September 2010
Monday, 27 September 2010
ONCE AGAIN!!!!!
Justin: With four races to go now the title race took another few twists and turns around the streets of Singapore. I felt the hairs on my neck standing upright when they lined up on the grid, the 5 title contenders taking the first 5 grid positions, the pressure and tension must have been immense on each driver.
They all got away cleanly enough with Alonso slamming the door shut on Vettel with his one allowed manoeuvre.
From there on the front two of Alonso and Vettel were in a league of their own frankly, pulling away from third place Hamilton followed by Button and Webber.
An early safety car meant Red Bull rolled the dice with Webbers strategy and they brought him in early on for a tyre change. This dropped him to midfield whilst the pacesetters roared into the distance. Webber later admitted to asking Red Bull what the hell they were doing, but it proved a good move as he easily jumped both Mclarens when they pitted later on.
Another safety car brought chaos. As they restarted Webber found himself trying to overtake a Virgin and Hamilton saw his chance and drew up alongside Webber on the outside. As I saw it (my hatred of Hamilton to one side obviously!), Lewis was ahead by a nose, literally, and Webber had every right to be where he was on the inside. Neither guy was going to yield and the inevitable happens. To be fair to Lewis, his style is great on track, he makes overtakes and goes for overtakes, as does Webber, but it's all very well going for them.....you need to make them stick to not wind up looking a bit silly. He wasn't far enough ahead to assume that Webber would yield frankly. Lewis said afterwards that Webber was in his blindspot and he didnt know he was there....well Lewis, where else would he be, parked up for you to claim the corner as your own???
The front two exchanged fastest laps throughout the race and they were never more than 3 seconds apart. On the last lap Vettel closed right up to Alonso's gearbox as they fought their way through traffic, but Alonso took his second win in a row and moved to second in the championship.
Webber came in third with Button fourth. Webber was a lucky boy me thinks, but it's those little strokes of fortune that sometimes ride hand in hand with becoming world champion. He was 5 points clear of Lewis at the top of the standings, but he is now 11 clear of Alonso. Hamilton is 20 points from the top, Vettel, 21 (?) and Button 25...so there are 5 guys still in it, with 4 races to go.
It has to be said, Webber being clear at the top reminds me a bit of Button's championship year, but this time Webber has the best car at his disposal, which the Brawn was not in the second half of last year.
Alonso is definately hunting down Webber though.
There was plenty of action elsewhere in the race, with Kubica's late surge through the midfield worth a mention. Shumacher had a nightmare of a race and if you watched the F1 forum on BBC after the race you'll know that Eddie Jordan's views on whether Schumi should carry on or not are rather strong in the negative.
The most cringeworthy moment has to be Eddie Jordan making a few inappropriate remarks to Lee Mackenzie at the end of the forum (she is taking over anchor duties from Jake in Japan whilst he goes to the Commonwealth Games)....Martin Brundle's face said it all....
My esteemed colleague usually does his skiver of the day piece, but I think it must be an obvious one this time out.....the marshalls on the pitwall when Heiki pulled up in flames....where were they??? He borrowed a fire extinguisher from Williams and dealt with it himself.
Those that watched the F1 forum will know that the Korea GP is in the balance at the moment regarding whether it will go ahead. If it doesnt, it could dramatically alter the title race.
Onto Japan we go!
They all got away cleanly enough with Alonso slamming the door shut on Vettel with his one allowed manoeuvre.
From there on the front two of Alonso and Vettel were in a league of their own frankly, pulling away from third place Hamilton followed by Button and Webber.
An early safety car meant Red Bull rolled the dice with Webbers strategy and they brought him in early on for a tyre change. This dropped him to midfield whilst the pacesetters roared into the distance. Webber later admitted to asking Red Bull what the hell they were doing, but it proved a good move as he easily jumped both Mclarens when they pitted later on.
Another safety car brought chaos. As they restarted Webber found himself trying to overtake a Virgin and Hamilton saw his chance and drew up alongside Webber on the outside. As I saw it (my hatred of Hamilton to one side obviously!), Lewis was ahead by a nose, literally, and Webber had every right to be where he was on the inside. Neither guy was going to yield and the inevitable happens. To be fair to Lewis, his style is great on track, he makes overtakes and goes for overtakes, as does Webber, but it's all very well going for them.....you need to make them stick to not wind up looking a bit silly. He wasn't far enough ahead to assume that Webber would yield frankly. Lewis said afterwards that Webber was in his blindspot and he didnt know he was there....well Lewis, where else would he be, parked up for you to claim the corner as your own???
The front two exchanged fastest laps throughout the race and they were never more than 3 seconds apart. On the last lap Vettel closed right up to Alonso's gearbox as they fought their way through traffic, but Alonso took his second win in a row and moved to second in the championship.
Webber came in third with Button fourth. Webber was a lucky boy me thinks, but it's those little strokes of fortune that sometimes ride hand in hand with becoming world champion. He was 5 points clear of Lewis at the top of the standings, but he is now 11 clear of Alonso. Hamilton is 20 points from the top, Vettel, 21 (?) and Button 25...so there are 5 guys still in it, with 4 races to go.
It has to be said, Webber being clear at the top reminds me a bit of Button's championship year, but this time Webber has the best car at his disposal, which the Brawn was not in the second half of last year.
Alonso is definately hunting down Webber though.
There was plenty of action elsewhere in the race, with Kubica's late surge through the midfield worth a mention. Shumacher had a nightmare of a race and if you watched the F1 forum on BBC after the race you'll know that Eddie Jordan's views on whether Schumi should carry on or not are rather strong in the negative.
The most cringeworthy moment has to be Eddie Jordan making a few inappropriate remarks to Lee Mackenzie at the end of the forum (she is taking over anchor duties from Jake in Japan whilst he goes to the Commonwealth Games)....Martin Brundle's face said it all....
My esteemed colleague usually does his skiver of the day piece, but I think it must be an obvious one this time out.....the marshalls on the pitwall when Heiki pulled up in flames....where were they??? He borrowed a fire extinguisher from Williams and dealt with it himself.
Those that watched the F1 forum will know that the Korea GP is in the balance at the moment regarding whether it will go ahead. If it doesnt, it could dramatically alter the title race.
Onto Japan we go!
Thursday, 23 September 2010
Stinging criticism...
Justin: I saw my co-blogger had finally blogged and I then checked the weather for Singapore for race weekend and from today until Monday it does indeed look like non stop heavy rain for the Marina Bay circuit. Fantastic! Check out the BBC weather website for details. I bet Jenson Button is fancying his chances.
Elsewhere Lewis has named Fernando as his closest rival for the title....sort of....BBC reported it as if he had said this, but he merely said "I guess the guy who won the last race".
Touching on what my esteemed colleague said about the new points system versus the new one.....Bernie Ecclestone is still ranting on about introducing a medals system for 2011 claiming that the new system has not worked at all. Twat. This isn't the olympics.....F1 should always have points for finishes as the method of tallying up the title race. End...of.
I feel I must defend myself amidst scandalous accusations from within the "I Was Having A Blog" team about my last blog and leanings towards Alonso being mistaken for arse licking. At most it was merely a friendly pat on the arse for Alonso.
Always goes well at Singapore doesnt he....
Elsewhere Lewis has named Fernando as his closest rival for the title....sort of....BBC reported it as if he had said this, but he merely said "I guess the guy who won the last race".
Touching on what my esteemed colleague said about the new points system versus the new one.....Bernie Ecclestone is still ranting on about introducing a medals system for 2011 claiming that the new system has not worked at all. Twat. This isn't the olympics.....F1 should always have points for finishes as the method of tallying up the title race. End...of.
I feel I must defend myself amidst scandalous accusations from within the "I Was Having A Blog" team about my last blog and leanings towards Alonso being mistaken for arse licking. At most it was merely a friendly pat on the arse for Alonso.
Always goes well at Singapore doesnt he....
Wednesday, 22 September 2010
It's pissing down in Singapore
Phil: My co-blogger texted me the other day to remind me I hadn't blogged for a while. There's actually very little to add to his analysis of Monza's action, and only the arse-licking to take away. All I can constructively add is that, as I predicted, Webber and Hamilton are definitely not running away with it: a win for Alonso, second for Button, and fourth for Vettel versus sixth for Webber and DNF for Hamilton means the gap has narrowed considerably.
I stumbled across an interesting calculation today (bear with me, this gets better) of how the championship would look if we were still using the old points system, which I much preferred:
Hamilton 75
Webber 74
Alonso 67
Button 67
Vettel 66
I post this as a reminder of how close this season really is: less than a win between first and fifth in the title race, with five races still to go.
A bit of an update on the mid-season reshuffle. Nick Heidfeld returns to F1, replacing Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber. Romain Grosjean takes over his testing role at Pirelli. Does this mean Schumacher is likely to continue in 2011? Heidfeld was presumably hanging on to the test seat at Mercedes on the assumption that he wouldn't last the season, so does this mean he will be back next year?
There are also rumours that the BBC are looking to replace Jonathan Ledgard in the commentary box. In case you were wondering, he is the bloke who talks when Martin Brundle isn't talking. The favourite to replace him is Moto GP commentator Charlie Cox, although from comments posted online a return for James Allen has been suggested, or Brundle by himself. My co-blogger and I are of course available, should anyone from the BBC be reading the blog. The truth is, though, that all this means is that Murray Walker is irreplacable.
It's pissing down in Singapore.
I stumbled across an interesting calculation today (bear with me, this gets better) of how the championship would look if we were still using the old points system, which I much preferred:
Hamilton 75
Webber 74
Alonso 67
Button 67
Vettel 66
I post this as a reminder of how close this season really is: less than a win between first and fifth in the title race, with five races still to go.
A bit of an update on the mid-season reshuffle. Nick Heidfeld returns to F1, replacing Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber. Romain Grosjean takes over his testing role at Pirelli. Does this mean Schumacher is likely to continue in 2011? Heidfeld was presumably hanging on to the test seat at Mercedes on the assumption that he wouldn't last the season, so does this mean he will be back next year?
There are also rumours that the BBC are looking to replace Jonathan Ledgard in the commentary box. In case you were wondering, he is the bloke who talks when Martin Brundle isn't talking. The favourite to replace him is Moto GP commentator Charlie Cox, although from comments posted online a return for James Allen has been suggested, or Brundle by himself. My co-blogger and I are of course available, should anyone from the BBC be reading the blog. The truth is, though, that all this means is that Murray Walker is irreplacable.
It's pissing down in Singapore.
Monday, 13 September 2010
FERNANDO......ALONSO!!!!!!!!
Justin:
First off, a nod to my esteemed colleague for joining me for the qualifying on Saturday, and also for him squeezing out a blog between quali and his birthday meal that same night. Sometimes I wonder just how he does it.
Qualifying was fantastic fun and proved to be a real humdinger in quali 3 when the top guys were really going for it. Fernando produced a good lap on his first outing pretty much.
The race....oh what a race! I can see some of those F1 fans less in the know saying that this was a much more boring race than the mayhem of Spa, for example. Bah, I rubbish anyone even daring to say this! Monza gave us two world champions at the very top of their games driving the hell out of their cars as one chased the other for the majority of the race.
The start saw Alonso squeezing Button off the line as much as was allowed before "firm but fair" became "shumacher-esque". I think my blogger might agree that in F1 circles its widely regarded that Alonso is rather hard on the track, but never really crosses the line to unfair racing in the way Schumi so often did.
Anyway, Button got away magnificantly and glided past Alonso in the first chicane, at which point Massa had a good look at Alonso and the two Ferrari's exited side by side....Alonso was clearly having absolutely none of Massa going by him. At this point Hamilton steamed through and clipped Massa's back wheel, thus ending his own race with a broken track rod. I was cheering at this point!
As they all came away from turn one, a part flew off Button's car (alonso had nerfed him), to which we later found out to be part of the difuser. It's unclear really as to how much this damaged his chances. The race was engrossing and thrilling as Alonso loomed large in Button's mirrors for 30 odd laps, never more than 2 seconds away, and for the most part he spent his time around a second or less away from Button's tailpipe. This of course gave Alonso two huge wobbly moments in the dirty air of Button's car, and then came the pit stops.
Mclaren pitted Button first and it was a very fast tyre change (4.2 seconds), but Alonso was released from following Button and produced a stunningly fast in lap and the Ferrari pit crew gave him an even quicker pit stop of 3.4 seconds. He emerged alongside Button and just about grabbed the lead as they squabbled into the first corners. Fantastic racing!
Yes, my readers and co-blogger, I am entitled to rant about just how good Alonso is. He had been outdriving his car for parts of this season and had made mistakes, mistakes he never usually makes. But Monza reminded us just what he is capable of. Sheer genius and raw pace and ability with an unbreakable determination to win.
This win gives us an important player right back into the title fight after he had looked out of it after Belgium. Hats off to my colleague who said that he didnt feel Button, Vettel and Alonso were really out of it after Belgium.
Thats why I love F1....F1 is IF spelt backwards!!!! After Webber and Hamilton conquered Belgium they looked like running away with the title run in between them. Monza then serves up Alonso and Button scoring heavily with Lewis and Mark scoring nothing and not too much, along with Vettel scraping a few points...so everyone that needed a good day, got one, essentially.
Hat's off to Jenson Button too. We watched quali together and Jenson looked suitably satisfied to have made his team-mate look stupid by choosing a totally different and interesting setup for Monza (2nd on the grid to Lewis' 5th). Having Fernando in your mirrors for 35 laps and driving without error proves once again just how classy Button is behind the wheel.
My esteemed colleague and I were discussing Button and Hamilton....Jenson has an effortless poise about him...a calm strategist in the Prost mould...he always seems to make the right decisions and choices, be it in car setup or tyres during a race.....it's an interesting view versus Hamilton's aggressive style.
Interesting and amusing scenes after the race, just before the podium ceremony...Button asking Stefano Domenicalli what the points standings were. It's also worth noting two things from the drivers press conference. A) Button remarking "it's good to finish where we did for both our championships, well, all three of us, regarding our title chances"...observing that Massa had come third. A cheeky remark perhaps, or more just that Button despises team orders and would rather retire than play second fiddle (an interview in the guardian paper). B) When Massa spoke, Button, being the all round nice guy with manners, actually looked at him.....Alonso did not...he sat there impassive....dismissive....as in....I'm back....and who the hell is this guy on my left?! He doesnt give a shit about Massa....and why would he really? Compare that to the "relationship" Jenson and Lewis have....which will surely be tested sooner or later.
Red Bull got all they could out of the weekend I guess....Vettel stopped on the second to last lap and came out 4th whilst Webber grabbed 6th.
Nico Hulkenberg did well in the race, providing a mobile roadblock for Webber everywhere he looked. I'm not sure driving off the track 3 times is a decent way of defending a position.
Elsewhere...Eddie Jordan was getting way too excited about "more than a few" drivers and drivers agents coming and going from the Mercedes motor home during qualifying..see Jordan's rantings here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8991896.stm
I think it's probably 50/50 as to whether Schumi quits this season.....
So......Webber...187....Lewis 182.....Alonso 166...Button...165...Vettel 163...5 races....next stop Singapore.
2010 is a classic as we've said many times.....but...5 guys...5 races.....there can be only one guy at the end!
First off, a nod to my esteemed colleague for joining me for the qualifying on Saturday, and also for him squeezing out a blog between quali and his birthday meal that same night. Sometimes I wonder just how he does it.
Qualifying was fantastic fun and proved to be a real humdinger in quali 3 when the top guys were really going for it. Fernando produced a good lap on his first outing pretty much.
The race....oh what a race! I can see some of those F1 fans less in the know saying that this was a much more boring race than the mayhem of Spa, for example. Bah, I rubbish anyone even daring to say this! Monza gave us two world champions at the very top of their games driving the hell out of their cars as one chased the other for the majority of the race.
The start saw Alonso squeezing Button off the line as much as was allowed before "firm but fair" became "shumacher-esque". I think my blogger might agree that in F1 circles its widely regarded that Alonso is rather hard on the track, but never really crosses the line to unfair racing in the way Schumi so often did.
Anyway, Button got away magnificantly and glided past Alonso in the first chicane, at which point Massa had a good look at Alonso and the two Ferrari's exited side by side....Alonso was clearly having absolutely none of Massa going by him. At this point Hamilton steamed through and clipped Massa's back wheel, thus ending his own race with a broken track rod. I was cheering at this point!
As they all came away from turn one, a part flew off Button's car (alonso had nerfed him), to which we later found out to be part of the difuser. It's unclear really as to how much this damaged his chances. The race was engrossing and thrilling as Alonso loomed large in Button's mirrors for 30 odd laps, never more than 2 seconds away, and for the most part he spent his time around a second or less away from Button's tailpipe. This of course gave Alonso two huge wobbly moments in the dirty air of Button's car, and then came the pit stops.
Mclaren pitted Button first and it was a very fast tyre change (4.2 seconds), but Alonso was released from following Button and produced a stunningly fast in lap and the Ferrari pit crew gave him an even quicker pit stop of 3.4 seconds. He emerged alongside Button and just about grabbed the lead as they squabbled into the first corners. Fantastic racing!
Yes, my readers and co-blogger, I am entitled to rant about just how good Alonso is. He had been outdriving his car for parts of this season and had made mistakes, mistakes he never usually makes. But Monza reminded us just what he is capable of. Sheer genius and raw pace and ability with an unbreakable determination to win.
This win gives us an important player right back into the title fight after he had looked out of it after Belgium. Hats off to my colleague who said that he didnt feel Button, Vettel and Alonso were really out of it after Belgium.
Thats why I love F1....F1 is IF spelt backwards!!!! After Webber and Hamilton conquered Belgium they looked like running away with the title run in between them. Monza then serves up Alonso and Button scoring heavily with Lewis and Mark scoring nothing and not too much, along with Vettel scraping a few points...so everyone that needed a good day, got one, essentially.
Hat's off to Jenson Button too. We watched quali together and Jenson looked suitably satisfied to have made his team-mate look stupid by choosing a totally different and interesting setup for Monza (2nd on the grid to Lewis' 5th). Having Fernando in your mirrors for 35 laps and driving without error proves once again just how classy Button is behind the wheel.
My esteemed colleague and I were discussing Button and Hamilton....Jenson has an effortless poise about him...a calm strategist in the Prost mould...he always seems to make the right decisions and choices, be it in car setup or tyres during a race.....it's an interesting view versus Hamilton's aggressive style.
Interesting and amusing scenes after the race, just before the podium ceremony...Button asking Stefano Domenicalli what the points standings were. It's also worth noting two things from the drivers press conference. A) Button remarking "it's good to finish where we did for both our championships, well, all three of us, regarding our title chances"...observing that Massa had come third. A cheeky remark perhaps, or more just that Button despises team orders and would rather retire than play second fiddle (an interview in the guardian paper). B) When Massa spoke, Button, being the all round nice guy with manners, actually looked at him.....Alonso did not...he sat there impassive....dismissive....as in....I'm back....and who the hell is this guy on my left?! He doesnt give a shit about Massa....and why would he really? Compare that to the "relationship" Jenson and Lewis have....which will surely be tested sooner or later.
Red Bull got all they could out of the weekend I guess....Vettel stopped on the second to last lap and came out 4th whilst Webber grabbed 6th.
Nico Hulkenberg did well in the race, providing a mobile roadblock for Webber everywhere he looked. I'm not sure driving off the track 3 times is a decent way of defending a position.
Elsewhere...Eddie Jordan was getting way too excited about "more than a few" drivers and drivers agents coming and going from the Mercedes motor home during qualifying..see Jordan's rantings here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/8991896.stm
I think it's probably 50/50 as to whether Schumi quits this season.....
So......Webber...187....Lewis 182.....Alonso 166...Button...165...Vettel 163...5 races....next stop Singapore.
2010 is a classic as we've said many times.....but...5 guys...5 races.....there can be only one guy at the end!
Saturday, 11 September 2010
I was having a Wii...
Phil: Well, our follower(s) will undoubtedly be kicking themselves to know they've missed another I Was Having a Blog....Live! event, even if it was only a semi-official one. As usual, I doff my cap to my co-blogger for his insightful conversation and his Lewis Hamilton sandwiches.
The occasion, naturally, was quali was tomorrow's Italian grand prix. Alonso took a confident pole, with Button alongside him on the front row, running an unusual but obviously very effective high downforce setup (logic would say that as downforce means drag at high speeds, and as you spend 70% of the lap at Monza at full throttle, you want as little of it as you can get away with, but Button clearly has an insight which we don't and qualified half a second faster than his teammate). The championship leaders Webber and Hamilton start fourth and fifth tomorrow, which may allow Alonso and Button to close the gap by the end of tomorrow's race.
Afterwards, I proved you can't take Eau Rouge flat in the wet. At least on a Wii you can't.
The occasion, naturally, was quali was tomorrow's Italian grand prix. Alonso took a confident pole, with Button alongside him on the front row, running an unusual but obviously very effective high downforce setup (logic would say that as downforce means drag at high speeds, and as you spend 70% of the lap at Monza at full throttle, you want as little of it as you can get away with, but Button clearly has an insight which we don't and qualified half a second faster than his teammate). The championship leaders Webber and Hamilton start fourth and fifth tomorrow, which may allow Alonso and Button to close the gap by the end of tomorrow's race.
Afterwards, I proved you can't take Eau Rouge flat in the wet. At least on a Wii you can't.
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