Phil: It's been a classic year. I think we can all agree on that. I think I'm right in saying also that never before have four drivers started the last race of the season with a mathematical chance of winning the title. Each driver from each of the top three teams led the championship at some point or other during the season, but the man who led after the last race (and at no other point during the season) was Sebastian Vettel.
We've talked a lot about Alonso lately, but I think we need to give Vettel some blogspace. Some have suggested that he somehow not a deserving champion. I'd agree with Stirling Moss when he said Vettel is undoubtedly the fastest driver at the moment, but pointedly didn't say he was the best. When you consider the raw pace of the Red Bull, they in some respects ought to have walked it (in a previous blog, I mentioned that the only teams to score more poles in a season were McLaren in 1988-9 and Williams in 1992-3, and we know the utter dominance of those teams at those times). Vettel sat on pole ten times out of 19 in 2010, but only converted that into a win five times. Alonso by contrast took the same number of wins from only two poles. It's become a bit of a cliche, but Adrian Newey's cars are fast but fragile, and reliability let Vettel down, probably more so than Mark. But there's also a lack of maturity about Vettel, which his predecessor as youngest driver ever to do anything, Lewis Hamilton, never showed, from day one. It was this that led him to commit the racing driver's cardinal sin - knocking off your team mate when he's in the lead - at Istanbul.
But (and it's a big but) maturity seems to be all he lacks. At 23, he's the youngest champion, race winner, driver to score a point or sit on the podium. To say he has a bright future would be a huge understatement. After the race if he's done well, one of the first to congratulate him is often Michael Schumacher. I can't lipread in German but the body language is warm and there's clearly no rivalry there - in fact, at 41, Schumi is old enough to be Vettel's father. My point is, Vettel is now where Schumacher was in 1993 or 1994, and I think he has the talent to dominate Formula 1 in the same way Schumacher did. If Red Bull continue to have the pace, and if becoming world champion gives Vettel a little more maturity, then we could have witnessed the beginning of a new era in F1.
A couple of other points, specifically about Abu Dhabi. I have very little time for the naysayers (and I note that my co-blogger isn't one of them) who think there is a Renault conspiracy which meant that Petrov deliberately kept Alonso behind him to allow a Renault-powered driver to win the title. Petrov kept Alonso behind him because he was protecting his position (both in the race, and at Renault next year), and Alonso was out of position because Ferrari cocked up his pit strategy. It's as simple as that. And I think it's an exaggeration to say that that cost Alonso the title - this season was so close that any of the mistakes that any of the leading drivers made potentially cost them the title. If, as some predicted, the Korean Grand Prix hadn't happened, Webber may well have won the title.
I think we have plenty to talk about between now and 13 March 2011. Watch this space!
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
Sunday, 21 November 2010
Not much to say...
Justin: No F1 for 4 months now and I'm not going to be carried through that period on a wave of "Fernando Fever", as he didn't claim his third world crown as we all know. I felt thoroughly flat as we watched the race unfold (thanks to our reader's folks for providing a posh lunch spread).
What can one say that hasn't been said about the race already? With Webber and Alonso pitted early and stuck behind Petrov on a track (plus aerodynamics) that is difficult to overtake on, you had Alonso driving off the circuit to try and get past Petrov. I counted around 5 actual overtakes by people during the race and there were plenty of people calling to alter the track layout after the race.
Fair play to Vettel for winning the title, but he hasn't been the best driver this year. I still think that accolade goes to either Webber or Alonso - Andrew Benson agrees about Alonso http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/11/who_were_the_top_10_f1_drivers.html
, as does DC. The guy in the quickest car won it, but the guy in the second quickest car (third quickest for the first half of the year) essentially lost it (or his pit crew did anyway) in the last race....he continually outdrove his car in the first half of the year, when he made some errors, then he started relentlessly pounding in wins and podiums once the car was more up to standard.
This is a fairly flat blog to round off the year, and for that I must apologise, but I still cannot believe that of all people Vettel won it. Weasel!
Oh well, it gives us 5 champions on the grid next year and a Fernando Alonso who will be more determined than ever to get his third world crown.
Incidentally, I wonder if my co-blogger watched the James Hunt/ Barry Sheene documentary on ITV the other day? Classic stuff there.
See you all in 4 months. What will we do without F1?? I for one am hoping for an f1 book or two for xmas.
What can one say that hasn't been said about the race already? With Webber and Alonso pitted early and stuck behind Petrov on a track (plus aerodynamics) that is difficult to overtake on, you had Alonso driving off the circuit to try and get past Petrov. I counted around 5 actual overtakes by people during the race and there were plenty of people calling to alter the track layout after the race.
Fair play to Vettel for winning the title, but he hasn't been the best driver this year. I still think that accolade goes to either Webber or Alonso - Andrew Benson agrees about Alonso http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2010/11/who_were_the_top_10_f1_drivers.html
, as does DC. The guy in the quickest car won it, but the guy in the second quickest car (third quickest for the first half of the year) essentially lost it (or his pit crew did anyway) in the last race....he continually outdrove his car in the first half of the year, when he made some errors, then he started relentlessly pounding in wins and podiums once the car was more up to standard.
This is a fairly flat blog to round off the year, and for that I must apologise, but I still cannot believe that of all people Vettel won it. Weasel!
Oh well, it gives us 5 champions on the grid next year and a Fernando Alonso who will be more determined than ever to get his third world crown.
Incidentally, I wonder if my co-blogger watched the James Hunt/ Barry Sheene documentary on ITV the other day? Classic stuff there.
See you all in 4 months. What will we do without F1?? I for one am hoping for an f1 book or two for xmas.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Red Bullshit
Justin: I think my co-blogger has already used this title once before if memory serves?? Anyway, some quality number crunching by my colleague there....and one has to remark on his last line of the blog about Lewis Hamilton and a wet race at Yas Marina. I looked at the weather forecast, and for Thursday and Friday there are actually rain showers forecast! So, Lewis for the title then eh??
I have a severe gripe with the powers that be at Red Bull. The owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, would rather see his drivers miss out on the drivers title than have to impose team orders and tarnish themselves as Ferarri have done.
One has to wonder what his views would be if Vettel were the guy most likely to win the title for Red Bull.
Every team at one time or another has given some sort of team order. Fact. F1 is a team sport. Fact. Him going on record saying this just backs up everything else we knew of Red Bull....they love Vettel so much they'd rather a Ferarri won the world drivers title. I'd have thought it would be rather nice to collect the constructors and drivers titles for the first time in the same year, but apparently the powers that be can happily do without the drivers title.
It's all very well saying these things.....they are hiding their feelings over favouring one guy over another amongst all this "we're a fair team" bullshit.
This is further backed up by Horner saying there will indeed be no team orders (essentially it seems he is going back on what I blogged about in my last blog), but that given the situation he'd hope the drivers can sort it out for themselves.
So, we're relying on Vettel to be a good guy and let Webber past if the moment arises??? Erm...I'll believe it when I see it, given he took him out at Turkey.
The question is, would Vettel rather Webber or someone in another team won the drivers title??? He has hinted he would help Webber, but with the amount of moaning and backstabbing Vettel has done this year this remark means nothing at all.
It's a load of Red Bullshit. Webber is on his own.
I have a severe gripe with the powers that be at Red Bull. The owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, would rather see his drivers miss out on the drivers title than have to impose team orders and tarnish themselves as Ferarri have done.
One has to wonder what his views would be if Vettel were the guy most likely to win the title for Red Bull.
Every team at one time or another has given some sort of team order. Fact. F1 is a team sport. Fact. Him going on record saying this just backs up everything else we knew of Red Bull....they love Vettel so much they'd rather a Ferarri won the world drivers title. I'd have thought it would be rather nice to collect the constructors and drivers titles for the first time in the same year, but apparently the powers that be can happily do without the drivers title.
It's all very well saying these things.....they are hiding their feelings over favouring one guy over another amongst all this "we're a fair team" bullshit.
This is further backed up by Horner saying there will indeed be no team orders (essentially it seems he is going back on what I blogged about in my last blog), but that given the situation he'd hope the drivers can sort it out for themselves.
So, we're relying on Vettel to be a good guy and let Webber past if the moment arises??? Erm...I'll believe it when I see it, given he took him out at Turkey.
The question is, would Vettel rather Webber or someone in another team won the drivers title??? He has hinted he would help Webber, but with the amount of moaning and backstabbing Vettel has done this year this remark means nothing at all.
It's a load of Red Bullshit. Webber is on his own.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
The magic number is 256
Phil: As usual I agree with my co-blogger what a nail-biting finale we have to this epic season. I'd also like before we go any further to doff my cap to the appropriate angle to show some rispeck (innit?) to Nico Hulkenberg for his maiden pole at Interlagos. He's someone we'll be seeing more of in future, I think.
Now, the interesting bit. I've taken a break from my day job crunching numbers to crunch some numbers. Only these numbers aren't ordinary numbers. They're Formula 1 world championship points.
Let's start with the easy bit. If Alonso wins or is second in Abu Dhabi, he is world champion.
If he is third or fourth, Webber needs to win the race to be world champion, and Vettel cannot be world champion. As my co-blogger hinted, Red Bull may have suggest Vettel moves aside to let Webber win the race. All the indications are that they will do the sensible thing, but Dieter Mateschitz, the head of Red Bull and Christian Horner's boss, is on record as saying Red Bull, unlike Ferrari, don't do team orders. If they do, then I for one would be interested to hear Alonso's view on team orders immediately after the race.
What I really want to see, however, is Vettel first, Webber second, Alonso fifth. This would give each driver 256 points. In the event of a tie (which has never happened, the closest winning margin being half a point, Lauda ahead of Prost, in 1984) the rules say that the champion is the driver with the highest number of wins. The problem is that Vettel and Alonso will both have won five races each. So you look at second places, and third places. Unfortunately, they will still be tied even then. In fact, Vettel will win the world title by three fourth places to Alonso's two (his third fourth place being scored, ironically enough, at Monza). While I have no particular affection for Vettel and have publicly stated I want Webber to be world champion, I think this would be a suitable climax to this season.
Finally, Lewis Hamilton can only win the title if he wins the race, with Vettel no higher than 3rd, Webber no higher than 6th and Alonso no higher than 11th.
Unfortunately for McLaren, that's about as likely as a wet race at Abu Dhabi.
Now, the interesting bit. I've taken a break from my day job crunching numbers to crunch some numbers. Only these numbers aren't ordinary numbers. They're Formula 1 world championship points.
Let's start with the easy bit. If Alonso wins or is second in Abu Dhabi, he is world champion.
If he is third or fourth, Webber needs to win the race to be world champion, and Vettel cannot be world champion. As my co-blogger hinted, Red Bull may have suggest Vettel moves aside to let Webber win the race. All the indications are that they will do the sensible thing, but Dieter Mateschitz, the head of Red Bull and Christian Horner's boss, is on record as saying Red Bull, unlike Ferrari, don't do team orders. If they do, then I for one would be interested to hear Alonso's view on team orders immediately after the race.
What I really want to see, however, is Vettel first, Webber second, Alonso fifth. This would give each driver 256 points. In the event of a tie (which has never happened, the closest winning margin being half a point, Lauda ahead of Prost, in 1984) the rules say that the champion is the driver with the highest number of wins. The problem is that Vettel and Alonso will both have won five races each. So you look at second places, and third places. Unfortunately, they will still be tied even then. In fact, Vettel will win the world title by three fourth places to Alonso's two (his third fourth place being scored, ironically enough, at Monza). While I have no particular affection for Vettel and have publicly stated I want Webber to be world champion, I think this would be a suitable climax to this season.
Finally, Lewis Hamilton can only win the title if he wins the race, with Vettel no higher than 3rd, Webber no higher than 6th and Alonso no higher than 11th.
Unfortunately for McLaren, that's about as likely as a wet race at Abu Dhabi.
Monday, 8 November 2010
Down....To....The....Wire!!!!
Justin: Well fellow F1 fans, what a treat we have coming to us in a few days in Abu Dhabi! With Vettel, Webber and Fernando all finishing on the podium in Brazil these guys now take the title fight onwards. Hamilton is clinging on for dear life 24 points behind Alonso, but unless the 3 guys ahead of him all take each other off, then he hasn't much hope but the most remote.
A nod to my esteemed colleagues fine words about Fernando Alonso in his previous blog. Me thinks Lewis Hamilton was reading as Lewis spouted lots of kind words about Fernando over the weekend. Maybe he was trying to say "hey I'd like to go to Ferarri sometime"...or more likely it was him admitting defeat in the title race and saying "hey look, this guy is good"...or just F1 mind games. Mark Webber was certainly employing some honest mind games on Thursday when he swore and everything!
The race in Brazil was good, but perhaps a tad more processional than we have been used to lately. Vettel nailed The Hulk off the start, with Webber mugging him soon after. Alonso nipped past Lewis when the Mclaren man made an unforced error, then Fernando got bogged down for a few laps behind the Williams rookie and this cost him dearly in being able to take any sort of fight to the Red Bull's as they dissapeared into the distance. Interestingly, before the race Hamilton spoke of an extra spark when he and Fernando see each other in their mirrors and who knows what will happen when they are beside each other on the track.....well, Lewis will bottle it, as he has done plenty of times this season.
Webber was chasing Vettel hard through the traffic and was never more than a couple of seconds behind, but after the safety car period Webber had engine issues and Vettel raced into the distance. Alonso stayed in 3rd for the duration and brought home one of those podiums he always goes on about.
Button had a relatively good day, if being relieved of the world title can be described as that. He started 11th but finished just behind Lewis in fifth.
Elsewhere, Massa had a nightmare of a race it has to be said, whilst Kubica was relatively quiet too. The Michael finished in the points after another good showing it has to be said. If he drives next year like he has driven the last 2 or 3 races then he could do well. Alonso will swat him away though, just as he did in 05 and 06.
During the race Martin Brundle pointed out that leaving Webber behind Vettel gave Alonso an easy ride into Yas Marina and that Red Bull should switch the two drivers. Later as Vettel won though, he changed his mind and said having both drivers in contention is best for the team in case one of them falls off the track. He also said that if Red Bull arent telling Vettel to move over then equally they can give no order to Webber saying "go easy and let off a bit Mark".
Tellingly, EJ put the question to Horner after the race...."if the positions are the same in Abu Dhabi, Vettel cannot win the drivers title, so will you switch them?". In a roundabout way, Horner answered with a definite yes. Even Vettel has heavily hinted that in that situation he will let Webber by.
I thought Webber wouldnt be happy on the podium, having had a right go at Vettel on the track, but he seemed rather happy.....no wonder if those are the arrangements for Yas Marina.
Two things to say before I wrap this one up.
First is that we have a sort of, perhaps, season finale I Was Having a Blog live event on Sunday the 14th. My co-blogger hasnt confirmed his attendance but I and one of our readers, the esteemed Dr Winston, will be watching.
The second is that I just googled "I was having a blog" and we are 5th or 6th in the results that get shown!!!!!! I think this is because I referenced a link, more than once, to a BBC blogger by the name of Andrew Benson. But try it, the blog in question is one I posted a fair while ago called "Red Mist".
My prediction for Abu Dhabi......fuck knows, the way this season has gone! I won't be surprised if the podium consists of Vettel, Webber and Alonso though. Hell, they could all even end up on the same points!
A nod to my esteemed colleagues fine words about Fernando Alonso in his previous blog. Me thinks Lewis Hamilton was reading as Lewis spouted lots of kind words about Fernando over the weekend. Maybe he was trying to say "hey I'd like to go to Ferarri sometime"...or more likely it was him admitting defeat in the title race and saying "hey look, this guy is good"...or just F1 mind games. Mark Webber was certainly employing some honest mind games on Thursday when he swore and everything!
The race in Brazil was good, but perhaps a tad more processional than we have been used to lately. Vettel nailed The Hulk off the start, with Webber mugging him soon after. Alonso nipped past Lewis when the Mclaren man made an unforced error, then Fernando got bogged down for a few laps behind the Williams rookie and this cost him dearly in being able to take any sort of fight to the Red Bull's as they dissapeared into the distance. Interestingly, before the race Hamilton spoke of an extra spark when he and Fernando see each other in their mirrors and who knows what will happen when they are beside each other on the track.....well, Lewis will bottle it, as he has done plenty of times this season.
Webber was chasing Vettel hard through the traffic and was never more than a couple of seconds behind, but after the safety car period Webber had engine issues and Vettel raced into the distance. Alonso stayed in 3rd for the duration and brought home one of those podiums he always goes on about.
Button had a relatively good day, if being relieved of the world title can be described as that. He started 11th but finished just behind Lewis in fifth.
Elsewhere, Massa had a nightmare of a race it has to be said, whilst Kubica was relatively quiet too. The Michael finished in the points after another good showing it has to be said. If he drives next year like he has driven the last 2 or 3 races then he could do well. Alonso will swat him away though, just as he did in 05 and 06.
During the race Martin Brundle pointed out that leaving Webber behind Vettel gave Alonso an easy ride into Yas Marina and that Red Bull should switch the two drivers. Later as Vettel won though, he changed his mind and said having both drivers in contention is best for the team in case one of them falls off the track. He also said that if Red Bull arent telling Vettel to move over then equally they can give no order to Webber saying "go easy and let off a bit Mark".
Tellingly, EJ put the question to Horner after the race...."if the positions are the same in Abu Dhabi, Vettel cannot win the drivers title, so will you switch them?". In a roundabout way, Horner answered with a definite yes. Even Vettel has heavily hinted that in that situation he will let Webber by.
I thought Webber wouldnt be happy on the podium, having had a right go at Vettel on the track, but he seemed rather happy.....no wonder if those are the arrangements for Yas Marina.
Two things to say before I wrap this one up.
First is that we have a sort of, perhaps, season finale I Was Having a Blog live event on Sunday the 14th. My co-blogger hasnt confirmed his attendance but I and one of our readers, the esteemed Dr Winston, will be watching.
The second is that I just googled "I was having a blog" and we are 5th or 6th in the results that get shown!!!!!! I think this is because I referenced a link, more than once, to a BBC blogger by the name of Andrew Benson. But try it, the blog in question is one I posted a fair while ago called "Red Mist".
My prediction for Abu Dhabi......fuck knows, the way this season has gone! I won't be surprised if the podium consists of Vettel, Webber and Alonso though. Hell, they could all even end up on the same points!
Thursday, 4 November 2010
Heavy rain forecast for Sao Paulo on Saturday
Phil: Think that just about sums it up.
I wonder if they've got round to fixing the drain that made the 2003 race so entertaining yet (it drained standing water from the top half of the circuit and spewed it back out again on the bottom half. Fisichella took Jordan's last ever win after about half the field went off on that particular corner).
I wonder if they've got round to fixing the drain that made the 2003 race so entertaining yet (it drained standing water from the top half of the circuit and spewed it back out again on the bottom half. Fisichella took Jordan's last ever win after about half the field went off on that particular corner).
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Fernando...Alonso?
Phil: With two races to go in this epic season, I think it's time for me to come off the fence and predict a champion (some seasons it's been all over and the fat lady has sung by now, but not this year).
I think Fernando Alonso will be world champion this year.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with my co-blogger that Mark Webber deserves to win the title more than anyone. I think he'd be a very popular champion and I would be very happy to see his career capped with a world championship. I want Mark to win, but I think Fernando will.
Let's look at the numbers. As my co-blogger pointed out, he has scored three wins and a third place in the last four races. That's 90 points out of a total of 100. If he keeps this form up, nobody can beat him. If he wins in Brazil, Webber will need to be fourth or better to stay in the title race, and Hamilton, Vettel and Button will be completely out of it.
Alonso now has 26 career victories. For the historians (which I know includes my co-blogger), his victory in Korea put him ahead of Lauda and Jim Clark (25 wins each). His previous victory in Singapore put him ahead of Fangio (24). He has now won more race than any other driver except Schumacher, Prost, Senna, Mansell and Jackie Stewart.
My co-blogger will certainly be aware that Alonso is a bit of a controversial figure, in Britain at least, and plenty of F1 fans don't seem to have a good word to say about him. It's easy to focus on his undeniable arrogance and self-centredness and lose sight of his equally undeniable talent How many other drivers could have done what he's done over the last four races? I might have said Hamilton, but then he cocked up royally at Monza, a race Alonso won.
In that respect, he reminds me of Senna, who during his lifetime was loved and hated in almost equal measures (given the nature of his death, it's easy to forget the many controversies he stirred up in life).
If he's going to win, though, it has to be by more than 7 points. Don't get me started on that one again.
I think Fernando Alonso will be world champion this year.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with my co-blogger that Mark Webber deserves to win the title more than anyone. I think he'd be a very popular champion and I would be very happy to see his career capped with a world championship. I want Mark to win, but I think Fernando will.
Let's look at the numbers. As my co-blogger pointed out, he has scored three wins and a third place in the last four races. That's 90 points out of a total of 100. If he keeps this form up, nobody can beat him. If he wins in Brazil, Webber will need to be fourth or better to stay in the title race, and Hamilton, Vettel and Button will be completely out of it.
Alonso now has 26 career victories. For the historians (which I know includes my co-blogger), his victory in Korea put him ahead of Lauda and Jim Clark (25 wins each). His previous victory in Singapore put him ahead of Fangio (24). He has now won more race than any other driver except Schumacher, Prost, Senna, Mansell and Jackie Stewart.
My co-blogger will certainly be aware that Alonso is a bit of a controversial figure, in Britain at least, and plenty of F1 fans don't seem to have a good word to say about him. It's easy to focus on his undeniable arrogance and self-centredness and lose sight of his equally undeniable talent How many other drivers could have done what he's done over the last four races? I might have said Hamilton, but then he cocked up royally at Monza, a race Alonso won.
In that respect, he reminds me of Senna, who during his lifetime was loved and hated in almost equal measures (given the nature of his death, it's easy to forget the many controversies he stirred up in life).
If he's going to win, though, it has to be by more than 7 points. Don't get me started on that one again.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)