Justin:
Well, the track and Baku certainly looked the part. A beautiful setting for an F1 race and indeed an interesting track. Castle Corner looked insane...single file only through there chaps please!
Because we had incidents in each practice session and a chaotic GP2 race, people thought the F1 race would at least have a Safety Car or two. Alas, it was not to be and what we got was actually a fairly dull race.
In a shameless effort to get more views, I shall link to more external websites in this blog. I did it for Bahrain and got around 190 views! Compared to the usual 10 or so. Ehem.
Hamilton had all the momentum coming off a storming win in Canada.
Rosberg doing what he needs to do
He was impressive in Baku. Hamilton was quickest in every practice session. Hamilton just went for it and was nearly a second up on Rosberg in P1. Rosberg took his time to catch up, but he was within a couple of tenths by the end of P3. Has to be said that Hamilton's instinctive racing style gets him a bloody long way.
I have to say, looking back on that last line...tortoise and hare anyone?
Everyone was saying that Lewis would have beaten Nico to pole had he kept it on track. But, he didn't keep it on track. He admitted he was just not on it. The car setup was changed and he just didn't feel the car, or adjust to it.
Indeed, Toto Wolff covers this in the column of Andrew Benson on the BBC website.
So, with Hamilton in the wall in qualifying, Rosberg raced off into the distance in the race. When his one pitstop came, he was 40 seconds ahead of second place (ok second had stopped), and he ended up 17 seconds ahead of Vettel.
The way Rosberg seems to be taking each race at a time impresses me. After two Lewis wins on the spin, it would be easy for Nico to lose his cool and let the momentum of Lewis affect him. In Baku he didn't.
I felt a bit for Lewis and the engine setting nonsense. The rules are currently a bit stupid. His engineers couldn't help him, resulting in him fiddling with his steering wheel for many laps at 220mph!
I also sort of agree with Andrew Benson here. Just, you know, for more views ;-).
Colourful radio!
Kimi - we love you! How many swear word bleeps can he get into one broadcast??!! Classic.
Lewis' radio messages were amusing too.
Driver of the day
Perez. Duh!
To Austria we go.
Anyone stumbling across this thinking it's not in-depth or whatever, this particular blog edition may not be I grant you. Check out the last 6 years though people :-).
Showing posts with label Kimi Raikkonen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kimi Raikkonen. Show all posts
Tuesday, 21 June 2016
Thursday, 9 June 2016
Round 6: Monaco, plus Round 7 Preview
Justin:
Headline. Ricciardo fails to smile after race.
You can't blame him at all. Red Bull fucked up big time and cost him what was looking like his first win at Monaco.
He said he didn't like being the miserable guy in interviews, but he just wanted to get out of there and skip the team de-brief. He just didn't want to hear what they had to say. I read somewhere that he told them on the radio not to say anything, as nothing they had to say would help. Crikey.
Driver of the day
Goes to either one of the first three frankly. Hamilton was on fire, plain and simple.
After being released by Rosberg, Lewis dropped him like a dead weight and began reeling in Ricciardo bit by bit. Hamilton was at one with his machine and the elements. The cream rises to the top in the wet at Monaco. Case in point, Perez storming to third. Fantastic.
What of Rosberg? He clearly had a bad day at the office. He was due one. He struggled with break temperatures, tyre temperatures...you name it. He also said he just didn't have confidence in the car to push hard, otherwise he would have been in the barriers.
It's not like he is shit around here, having won the last three Monaco races. However, in one swoop Hamilton has nearly halved his deficit in the points standings.
Fifty and still going
Well done McLaren. Alonso and Button and both got points finishes. Alonso probably quite enjoyed keeping Rosberg behind him in the closing stages.
News (9 June)
The driver merry-go-round has started for 2017, or as we all call it, silly season.
The facts are this:
1. Nico Rosberg and Kimi are the only guys out of contract for 2017 at one of the top 3 teams (Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari). I'm calling Red Bull the second fastest now, as frankly they are on top of Ferrari right now.
2. Rosberg is highly likely to sign again for Mercedes. He has said as much, and Mercedes have said they wish to keep him. Why would he leave? Nowhere else would give him a car as dominating as the Merc. There was a brief rumour that Ferrari were sniffing around him, to replace Kimi. I really don't see that happening. It does make more sense for Ferrari than Nico though.
3. Kimi holds the key to the top line driver market. He wants to stay, Ferrari feel his relationship with Vettel works well. So, signing him for 2017 should be going ahead right? We'll see. He is still quick that is for sure.
4. There are a whole host of potentially better drivers wanting that Ferrari seat. Perez has done his top team hopes no harm at all recently. The 2013 McLaren was a bag of shit and I feel that perhaps a top drive came at the wrong time for him - He was on the way up, McLaren were well on their way down! Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas are all waiting for that top drive.
Though, Kimi is ahead of Vettel in the standings right now.
5. Ferrari need to decide - Do they maintain the status quo for the sake of the team, or do they draft in a hungry, younger racer to come and shake things up? Who knows?
6. Button is out of contract at McLaren. What he does not deserve at all is being treated like shit yet again in a "will they, won't they?" sign him for another year...
He is a champion and deserves only the best treatment frankly.
Rumour is that Williams will let Massa go and draft in Button when Vandoorne takes his seat.
7. Will Kvyat be at Torro Rosso in 2017? He has been slagging Red Bull off here and there non-stop since being sacked by the big team. We shall see.
Round 7: Canada predictions
Monaco was the place where a powerful engine matters least.
I cannot see Red Bull ruffling the feathers of Mercedes as much in Canada.
Hamilton knows how to win there, that is for sure.
You heard it here first! Top two will be Mercedes (I cannot predict which way around), then Ricciardo in third.
Headline. Ricciardo fails to smile after race.
You can't blame him at all. Red Bull fucked up big time and cost him what was looking like his first win at Monaco.
He said he didn't like being the miserable guy in interviews, but he just wanted to get out of there and skip the team de-brief. He just didn't want to hear what they had to say. I read somewhere that he told them on the radio not to say anything, as nothing they had to say would help. Crikey.
Driver of the day
Goes to either one of the first three frankly. Hamilton was on fire, plain and simple.
After being released by Rosberg, Lewis dropped him like a dead weight and began reeling in Ricciardo bit by bit. Hamilton was at one with his machine and the elements. The cream rises to the top in the wet at Monaco. Case in point, Perez storming to third. Fantastic.
What of Rosberg? He clearly had a bad day at the office. He was due one. He struggled with break temperatures, tyre temperatures...you name it. He also said he just didn't have confidence in the car to push hard, otherwise he would have been in the barriers.
It's not like he is shit around here, having won the last three Monaco races. However, in one swoop Hamilton has nearly halved his deficit in the points standings.
Fifty and still going
Well done McLaren. Alonso and Button and both got points finishes. Alonso probably quite enjoyed keeping Rosberg behind him in the closing stages.
News (9 June)
The driver merry-go-round has started for 2017, or as we all call it, silly season.
The facts are this:
1. Nico Rosberg and Kimi are the only guys out of contract for 2017 at one of the top 3 teams (Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari). I'm calling Red Bull the second fastest now, as frankly they are on top of Ferrari right now.
2. Rosberg is highly likely to sign again for Mercedes. He has said as much, and Mercedes have said they wish to keep him. Why would he leave? Nowhere else would give him a car as dominating as the Merc. There was a brief rumour that Ferrari were sniffing around him, to replace Kimi. I really don't see that happening. It does make more sense for Ferrari than Nico though.
3. Kimi holds the key to the top line driver market. He wants to stay, Ferrari feel his relationship with Vettel works well. So, signing him for 2017 should be going ahead right? We'll see. He is still quick that is for sure.
4. There are a whole host of potentially better drivers wanting that Ferrari seat. Perez has done his top team hopes no harm at all recently. The 2013 McLaren was a bag of shit and I feel that perhaps a top drive came at the wrong time for him - He was on the way up, McLaren were well on their way down! Nico Hulkenberg, Romain Grosjean and Valtteri Bottas are all waiting for that top drive.
Though, Kimi is ahead of Vettel in the standings right now.
5. Ferrari need to decide - Do they maintain the status quo for the sake of the team, or do they draft in a hungry, younger racer to come and shake things up? Who knows?
6. Button is out of contract at McLaren. What he does not deserve at all is being treated like shit yet again in a "will they, won't they?" sign him for another year...
He is a champion and deserves only the best treatment frankly.
Rumour is that Williams will let Massa go and draft in Button when Vandoorne takes his seat.
7. Will Kvyat be at Torro Rosso in 2017? He has been slagging Red Bull off here and there non-stop since being sacked by the big team. We shall see.
Round 7: Canada predictions
Monaco was the place where a powerful engine matters least.
I cannot see Red Bull ruffling the feathers of Mercedes as much in Canada.
Hamilton knows how to win there, that is for sure.
You heard it here first! Top two will be Mercedes (I cannot predict which way around), then Ricciardo in third.
Sunday, 7 December 2014
F1 2014 - Final blog of the year
Justin:
Well, the "title showdown" turned out to be a damp squib in terms of Rosberg and Hamilton going at it to the death.
The race itself was pretty dull, as most in Abu Dhabi are. The title was decided at the start when Lewis made an amazing start and Rosberg bogged down.
Rosberg was very gracious in defeat and wounds seemed to have healed for now between the two men.
Nico himself said that he didn't want people to talk about his ERS failure, as it wouldn't have made a difference anyway as Lewis was leading and going well at the time.
His team completely blamed him for what in my mind was a mere racing incident. They fined him and told him off rather publicly. Add to that the fans opening and happily booing him. It clearly affected him. His races were littered with errors after Spa.
By the time he'd pulled himself together again with an absolutely sterling race weekend in Brazil, it was all probably to little too late to stop the Hamilton Juggernaut.
Both guys will come back stronger next year, but I expect Nico to run Lewis even closer than 2014. You heard it hear first. Nico Rosberg - 2015 World Champion!
Lewis has shown a certain level of maturity in his driving and attitude outside the car this year.
Motorsport magazine actually had Alonso as their driver of the year, and that is hard to argue with. Ok, there were no headline grabbing wins and just one podium. The Ferrari he is driving this year is the worst car he has had in his 5 years there and yet he still drags performances out of it that his team-mate gets nowhere near to. It was the 4th, possibly even 5th fastest car at times this year. Ok, Kimi struggled with balancing the car all year, but Alonso absolutely destroyed Kimi 16-3 in terms of races done better in (the best out of all the teams). You'd say Massa kept Alonso on his toes more than Kimi.
1. Daniel Ricciardo
2. Bottas/ Hamilton
3. Alonso
4. Rosberg
5. Button
Possibly one of the naffest title defences in history. Ok, you don't have the best car to win the title, but at least get a race win or two. No? Get trashed by your team-mate and run away? Ok then.
The true greats always adapt. Vettel has to go to Ferrari and blow Kimi away, that should be the first thing on his to do list.
Also, the Alonso vs Vettel duel at Silverstone. Epic! Even more epic were the verbals over the radio.
To 2015 we go. We hope to see JB still at McLaren alongside Alonso next season - that could be fun. Alonso...doing a deal with the devil that is Dennis again.....hmmmmmm.
I need to purchase some Alonso/ McLaren merchandise, whenever they get around to announcing it.
Enjoy the next 3 months with no F1 :-(. Time for an F1 book and the review of the year dvd.
A picture, as Fernando Alonso leaves Ferrari after 5 years, of one of the many memorable moments he had there.... a win in the wet in Malaysia in 2012 (pic from bbc I think).
If he reads this, I invite my esteemed co-blogger to reply.
Well, the "title showdown" turned out to be a damp squib in terms of Rosberg and Hamilton going at it to the death.
The race itself was pretty dull, as most in Abu Dhabi are. The title was decided at the start when Lewis made an amazing start and Rosberg bogged down.
Rosberg was very gracious in defeat and wounds seemed to have healed for now between the two men.
Nico himself said that he didn't want people to talk about his ERS failure, as it wouldn't have made a difference anyway as Lewis was leading and going well at the time.
Spa - The turning point
The drivers championship was won and lost in Spa, rather after Spa. However much Lewis said he came out ready for war after this, one could easily say that Nico lost his mental edge in the fallout.His team completely blamed him for what in my mind was a mere racing incident. They fined him and told him off rather publicly. Add to that the fans opening and happily booing him. It clearly affected him. His races were littered with errors after Spa.
By the time he'd pulled himself together again with an absolutely sterling race weekend in Brazil, it was all probably to little too late to stop the Hamilton Juggernaut.
Both guys will come back stronger next year, but I expect Nico to run Lewis even closer than 2014. You heard it hear first. Nico Rosberg - 2015 World Champion!
Driver of the year
I've already mentioned Bottas and Ricciardo as clear contenders. Obviously Hamilton is clear choice for the award, but maybe that's too easy given he won the title?Lewis has shown a certain level of maturity in his driving and attitude outside the car this year.
Motorsport magazine actually had Alonso as their driver of the year, and that is hard to argue with. Ok, there were no headline grabbing wins and just one podium. The Ferrari he is driving this year is the worst car he has had in his 5 years there and yet he still drags performances out of it that his team-mate gets nowhere near to. It was the 4th, possibly even 5th fastest car at times this year. Ok, Kimi struggled with balancing the car all year, but Alonso absolutely destroyed Kimi 16-3 in terms of races done better in (the best out of all the teams). You'd say Massa kept Alonso on his toes more than Kimi.
1. Daniel Ricciardo
2. Bottas/ Hamilton
3. Alonso
4. Rosberg
5. Button
Damp Squib of the year
One word. Vettel.Possibly one of the naffest title defences in history. Ok, you don't have the best car to win the title, but at least get a race win or two. No? Get trashed by your team-mate and run away? Ok then.
The true greats always adapt. Vettel has to go to Ferrari and blow Kimi away, that should be the first thing on his to do list.
Squabble of the year
Erm, any overtakes involving Ricciardo. That dude can race!!Also, the Alonso vs Vettel duel at Silverstone. Epic! Even more epic were the verbals over the radio.
To 2015 we go. We hope to see JB still at McLaren alongside Alonso next season - that could be fun. Alonso...doing a deal with the devil that is Dennis again.....hmmmmmm.
I need to purchase some Alonso/ McLaren merchandise, whenever they get around to announcing it.
Enjoy the next 3 months with no F1 :-(. Time for an F1 book and the review of the year dvd.
A picture, as Fernando Alonso leaves Ferrari after 5 years, of one of the many memorable moments he had there.... a win in the wet in Malaysia in 2012 (pic from bbc I think).
If he reads this, I invite my esteemed co-blogger to reply.
Monday, 27 May 2013
Murray Walker....the voice of reason amongst all this tyre bashing.
Justin:
I've had a couple of thoughts.
1. I need to blog more regularly as Spain and Monaco have now been and gone since my last blog.
2. Why do I need to record my name now my esteemed (former?) colleague now only guest blogs on the rare moment it takes his fancy?
For the record, of course he is always welcome.
Tyres...
Everyone has an opinion on whether tyre degredation has gone too far in creating a show for the fans. Former drivers, current drivers, team bosses, commentators...hell, even Bernie himself!
Bernie is on record as saying it's good bringing tyre strategy into it as it makes the drivers think about strategy for the first time in years. Fair enough.
In Monaco we had the Mercedes pair managing their pace early on, going around two seconds slower than cars further back. This was of course to help tyre management, pacing themselves for a one stop strategy. It created a snake of cars all bunched up, where of course it's tricky to pass at Monaco, and this caused plenty of racing mishaps.
Vettel was whinging big time yet again about tyres - witness him putting in the fastest lap of the race near the end, by a second and a half. His engineer told him he won't get any points for that. Vettel replied with a "no, but the satisfaction". Child. Toys. Pram.
I'm leaning towards the school of thought that says Pirelli are doing what was asked of them, to make tyres that do not last half a race distance. Tyre management has featured many times in F1 previously. Races where huge amounts of pitstops just for tyres have featured previously.
Kimi himself said that this is F1 as it stands now, so you either like it or simply stop driving.
I have stumbled across perhaps one of the most knowledgeable opinions in all of F1 whilst reading my new F1 Racing magazine this month.
Murray Walker speaks a lot of sense and reason - I highly recommend people seek it out and have a good read.
"Having tyres that 'unnecessarily' wear out is no dafter than having 'unnecessary' fuel stops, which used to happen because the rules specified fuel tank capacities insufficient for race distances."
Spain
Great win for Alonso. Also fantastic seeing him stop to greet his fans on the drivers parade. The crowd noise was insane and reminded me of Silverstone during the Nige days.
Monaco
Utterly commanding win for Nico. Lewis has started with the excuses now Rosberg has beaten him to pole three times on the spin and generally had better races in the last couple of outings too.
He looked rather befuddled when he stated "yeah, qualifying is usually where I am really strong". Oh dear.
Surely Grosjean is on thin ice after ramming the back of some poor bugger and punting them both out.
Speaking of which. Kimi thinks someone should punch Perez in the face. Form a queue..starting with the world champions currently on the grid me thinks!
To Canada we go on the 8th/9th June weekend. Live on the BBC! Yeah!
On a birthday note - the picture below is now hanging on my wall, blown up rather large and printed on canvas - a great birthday present from my folks. Hangs next to framed paintings of Jacques and Gilles.
Senna - win at Donnington 93. His best race? Certainly the best first lap in F1 history - just ask Murray.
I've had a couple of thoughts.
1. I need to blog more regularly as Spain and Monaco have now been and gone since my last blog.
2. Why do I need to record my name now my esteemed (former?) colleague now only guest blogs on the rare moment it takes his fancy?
For the record, of course he is always welcome.
Tyres...
Everyone has an opinion on whether tyre degredation has gone too far in creating a show for the fans. Former drivers, current drivers, team bosses, commentators...hell, even Bernie himself!
Bernie is on record as saying it's good bringing tyre strategy into it as it makes the drivers think about strategy for the first time in years. Fair enough.
In Monaco we had the Mercedes pair managing their pace early on, going around two seconds slower than cars further back. This was of course to help tyre management, pacing themselves for a one stop strategy. It created a snake of cars all bunched up, where of course it's tricky to pass at Monaco, and this caused plenty of racing mishaps.
Vettel was whinging big time yet again about tyres - witness him putting in the fastest lap of the race near the end, by a second and a half. His engineer told him he won't get any points for that. Vettel replied with a "no, but the satisfaction". Child. Toys. Pram.
I'm leaning towards the school of thought that says Pirelli are doing what was asked of them, to make tyres that do not last half a race distance. Tyre management has featured many times in F1 previously. Races where huge amounts of pitstops just for tyres have featured previously.
Kimi himself said that this is F1 as it stands now, so you either like it or simply stop driving.
I have stumbled across perhaps one of the most knowledgeable opinions in all of F1 whilst reading my new F1 Racing magazine this month.
Murray Walker speaks a lot of sense and reason - I highly recommend people seek it out and have a good read.
"Having tyres that 'unnecessarily' wear out is no dafter than having 'unnecessary' fuel stops, which used to happen because the rules specified fuel tank capacities insufficient for race distances."
Spain
Great win for Alonso. Also fantastic seeing him stop to greet his fans on the drivers parade. The crowd noise was insane and reminded me of Silverstone during the Nige days.
Monaco
Utterly commanding win for Nico. Lewis has started with the excuses now Rosberg has beaten him to pole three times on the spin and generally had better races in the last couple of outings too.
He looked rather befuddled when he stated "yeah, qualifying is usually where I am really strong". Oh dear.
Surely Grosjean is on thin ice after ramming the back of some poor bugger and punting them both out.
Speaking of which. Kimi thinks someone should punch Perez in the face. Form a queue..starting with the world champions currently on the grid me thinks!
To Canada we go on the 8th/9th June weekend. Live on the BBC! Yeah!
On a birthday note - the picture below is now hanging on my wall, blown up rather large and printed on canvas - a great birthday present from my folks. Hangs next to framed paintings of Jacques and Gilles.
Senna - win at Donnington 93. His best race? Certainly the best first lap in F1 history - just ask Murray.
Saturday, 23 June 2012
7/7
Phil: Lewis Hamsandwich's win at Montreal a fortnight ago gives a seventh winner in seven races in this topsy-turvy season. Can any of the seven take their second race win of the season tomorrow at Valencia, or will this record-breaking run continue? Ross Brawn has said he thinks Schumi is capable of adding to his tally, and he has had a most unlucky season so far with two tenth places and five DNFs. Raikkonen would be my tip to make it an eighth driver, although Perez has come close once or twice.
This may be a record breaking season, as the first seven races have never been won by seven different drivers before, but in 1982 nine consecutive races were won by nine different drivers. The comparisons with 1982 would be even more apt if Nico Rosberg were to emulate his father by winning one race, and then the title.
In other news, last weekend saw Audi's 11th win at Le Mans in 14 years, this time in a hybrid car. Former F1 driver and commentator Anthony Davidson cracked two vertebrae in a colossal crash at the end of the Mulsanne straight. His Toyota was lapping a slower GT car which didn't see him, cut in on him at the last minute and launched him into the air. Another F1 refugee, Giancarlo Fisichella, won the GT class in a Ferrari 458 Italia.
Finally, my co-blogger will be off to Silverstone tomorrow in a single seater. Have a great time and give it 110%!
This may be a record breaking season, as the first seven races have never been won by seven different drivers before, but in 1982 nine consecutive races were won by nine different drivers. The comparisons with 1982 would be even more apt if Nico Rosberg were to emulate his father by winning one race, and then the title.
In other news, last weekend saw Audi's 11th win at Le Mans in 14 years, this time in a hybrid car. Former F1 driver and commentator Anthony Davidson cracked two vertebrae in a colossal crash at the end of the Mulsanne straight. His Toyota was lapping a slower GT car which didn't see him, cut in on him at the last minute and launched him into the air. Another F1 refugee, Giancarlo Fisichella, won the GT class in a Ferrari 458 Italia.
Finally, my co-blogger will be off to Silverstone tomorrow in a single seater. Have a great time and give it 110%!
Monday, 28 May 2012
Monaco Magic
On a track which offers the ultimate test of a driver, Mark Webber has re-written the history books with his Monaco GP win. He becomes the only Aussie to win the flagship event twice in the history of the sport. He has also won the race in two of the last three years.
He also becomes the sixth winner in six races this year, which has never before happened in F1. Though he didn't seem to care for this particular stat afterwards, saying that the Monaco win would be special regardless of this record.
(image above is from BBC website - we ain't breaching no copyrights here)
And did he do it in some style or what!
His first win of the year catapaults him to joint second in the title race - he is firmly in it ala 2010. Welcome back mate.
At the end of the race he finished just half a second ahead of Rosberg, followed in a train of cars by Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton and Massa. For most of the last twenty laps these guys were seperated by no more than 6 seconds. Fantastic stuff! At one point when the rain started falling, each was all over the back of the guy in front. At one point, they were all well under a second from each other.
Webber got a flyer (for once) at the start whilst Grosjean got in all sorts of bother, punting into Schumi and spinning himself off.
Maldonado had a horror weekend frankly. He used his car as an angry weapon on Perez in quali then crashed out in the race.
Webber, Rosberg, Hamilton and Alonso (all on the softer compound) all stopped for harder styres around laps 29 and 30. By way of a mega in lap Alonso managed to jump Hamilton in the stops, and of course whilst all these guys pitted Vettel cruised by on his harder tyres that he had started on.
Good strategy by Red Bull saw Vettel eventually move from 9th on the grid to 4th at the end which represents a good day for Vettel really.
When Vettel pitted around lap 46 for the softer compound tyres when he was around 17 seconds ahead of Webber, but crucially 20-21 ahead of Hamilton. So, he re-emerged from the pits in 4th.
From lap 47 to the finish on lap 78 we were given Formula 1 racing of the highest order by guys who did not put a foot wrong all day.
It made my neck hairs stand on end watching the train of cars...Webber, Rosberg, Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton...Massa (sort of hanging on just about at the back), covered by so little time for so many laps.
Beautiful!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/18228584
Just watch from 5 minutes onwards on this BBC highlights clip!
To race this hard, fast and close is absolutely magnificent. At Monaco you do not get away with mistakes as you would on other tracks - you hit a wall and thats that.
It was a pleasure watching these guys fight.
We truly are in a golden era for F1 - I don't care what negative remarks people have about tyres. F1 drivers adapt - thats a specific skill all the best guys have.
Time for a quick sub-heading feature!
Webber - Driver of the day, on a day when there were a fair few contenders. Faultless race and from pole too.
Schumi - Life in the old dog yet as proved by his blistering quali lap, only to be scuppered by yet again more mechanical issues in the race.
Vettel - Keeps picking up points - great drive from 9th to 4th.
Rosberg - Beautiful drive too - kept Webber honest throughout.
Hamilton - Picked up points again, but are Mclaren going backwards? He seemed to point the finger firmly at their door again, seemingly annoying Whitmarsh a little in the process.
Button - One to forget - now 31 points of the championship lead after 3 rubbish races.
Di Resta - Fantastic drive through to 7th. I doubt he will be at Force India next year.
Alonso - This is where my objectivity may take a battering from my co-blogger, but I have seen various reports from differing sources all saying that Alonso is essentially driving as well as he ever has, doing extraordinary things in an ordinary car (it was a dog at the start of the year, but Ferrari do seem to be turning it into something better. In the meantime Alono's driving ability alone is keeping him in the hunt. He is utterly relentless and never gives up and is always lurking in the points. DC himself called Alonso unbelievable and the BBC's Gary Anderson stated in his blog:
"In Alonso's case, his position is simply down to the quality of the driver. He has done astounding things with that car. He's always good off the start, always gets stuck in, and then fights the battle from then on."
The more I read about people complaining about tyres (fans?) saying they want to know who the fastest guys in the fastest cars are, not have this apparent lottery we are having with six different winners in six races......I say to you, look at the title standings....and shut the fuck up!!!!!
The cream always rises to the top, no matter the conditions, rules etc.....
Alonso leads Webber and Vettel followed by Hamilton, Rosberg, Kimi and Button....
Five of those seven have been contesting the title for the past two years and keeping race wins amongst themselves exclusively (Webber, Vettel, Alonso, Button and Hamilton) and one of the others is a former world champion.
What we have is near enough to a level playing field for the golden generation of Formula One drivers.
Let them get on with it!
The number seven
Phil: Mark Webber's win at Monaco means we've had six winners out of six races this season, with six world champions on the grid. But today's blog will be brought to you by the number seven (not 666), which I think is the number of serious contenders for the world championship.
That number alone shows what an astonishing season it's been so far, and shows every sign of continuing to be. Let's take a closer look at them, in reverse order for dramatic effect....
7th (45pts) - Jenson Button
Jenson won the first race of the season but since then a string of poor results culminating in an uncharacteristically lacklustre performance and DNF at Monaco have put him well behind his teammate. Never bet against McLaren though, and Jenson remains in my view one of the more underrated drivers on the grid, crowded out by the breadth of talent elsewhere.
6th (51pts) - Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi took his world title by a single point in 2007, and ever since then, or perhaps even earlier, he's been known more for his toiletary habits than for his driving ability. I for one have taken the piss out of him at every opportunity since, and I have to admit that he has surprised and impressed me perhaps more than anyone else this season. I'll say something else - I would be genuinely pleased to see him win a race this season, and there's every reason to think he will. Probably more than one.
5th (59pts) - Nico Rosberg
Nico took a masterful and very popular maiden win in China. In 1982, a similarly chaotic and unpredictable season, his father Keke took his maiden win and the world championship, winning only one race that year. Might his son be able to emulate this feat?
4th (63pts) - Lewis Hamilton
If Jenson is having the season Lewis had last year (well, maybe not that bad), then Lewis is having the season Jenson had last year. He hasn't won a race yet, but has been more consistent than anyone except perhaps Webber, having stood on the podium three times, and has scored more points than three of the six race winners.
3rd (73pts) - Mark Webber
Even more delicious than taking his second Monaco GP win was probably, for Mark Webber, drawing level on points with his teammate Vettel. After a season in which he couldn't hope to compete with Vettel despite having the same machinery, Mark will be a serious challenge this year.
2nd (73pts) - Sebastian Vettel
Never bet against the reigning world champion Vettel. No one team has come close to dominating this season, and all the top teams and drivers have had one or more races where they have been hopelessly off the pace, but the numbers show that Red Bull are still at the front if anyone is - they have the lead of the constructors' championship and two out of the top three drivers.
1st (76pts) - Fernando Alonso
My co-blogger is very pleased that Fernando is still at the head of the title race, even though he's having to absolutely wring the Ferrari's neck to keep his lead. The consensus in the paddock is that Alonso is the best of a very talented bunch, and his performances this season have done his reputation no harm at all. Having said that, a fragile lead in the title race at this early stage in the season shouldn't give anyone the illusion that he has a command over the championship - in a season like this, unlike last year, the world champion will be the man who gets to the end of the last race with the most points in the bag, and every single point will count.
Just ask Nico Rosberg's dad.
That number alone shows what an astonishing season it's been so far, and shows every sign of continuing to be. Let's take a closer look at them, in reverse order for dramatic effect....
7th (45pts) - Jenson Button
Jenson won the first race of the season but since then a string of poor results culminating in an uncharacteristically lacklustre performance and DNF at Monaco have put him well behind his teammate. Never bet against McLaren though, and Jenson remains in my view one of the more underrated drivers on the grid, crowded out by the breadth of talent elsewhere.
6th (51pts) - Kimi Raikkonen
Kimi took his world title by a single point in 2007, and ever since then, or perhaps even earlier, he's been known more for his toiletary habits than for his driving ability. I for one have taken the piss out of him at every opportunity since, and I have to admit that he has surprised and impressed me perhaps more than anyone else this season. I'll say something else - I would be genuinely pleased to see him win a race this season, and there's every reason to think he will. Probably more than one.
5th (59pts) - Nico Rosberg
Nico took a masterful and very popular maiden win in China. In 1982, a similarly chaotic and unpredictable season, his father Keke took his maiden win and the world championship, winning only one race that year. Might his son be able to emulate this feat?
4th (63pts) - Lewis Hamilton
If Jenson is having the season Lewis had last year (well, maybe not that bad), then Lewis is having the season Jenson had last year. He hasn't won a race yet, but has been more consistent than anyone except perhaps Webber, having stood on the podium three times, and has scored more points than three of the six race winners.
3rd (73pts) - Mark Webber
Even more delicious than taking his second Monaco GP win was probably, for Mark Webber, drawing level on points with his teammate Vettel. After a season in which he couldn't hope to compete with Vettel despite having the same machinery, Mark will be a serious challenge this year.
2nd (73pts) - Sebastian Vettel
Never bet against the reigning world champion Vettel. No one team has come close to dominating this season, and all the top teams and drivers have had one or more races where they have been hopelessly off the pace, but the numbers show that Red Bull are still at the front if anyone is - they have the lead of the constructors' championship and two out of the top three drivers.
1st (76pts) - Fernando Alonso
My co-blogger is very pleased that Fernando is still at the head of the title race, even though he's having to absolutely wring the Ferrari's neck to keep his lead. The consensus in the paddock is that Alonso is the best of a very talented bunch, and his performances this season have done his reputation no harm at all. Having said that, a fragile lead in the title race at this early stage in the season shouldn't give anyone the illusion that he has a command over the championship - in a season like this, unlike last year, the world champion will be the man who gets to the end of the last race with the most points in the bag, and every single point will count.
Just ask Nico Rosberg's dad.
Monday, 23 April 2012
Four races, four race winners, four championship leaders
Phil: Yesterday in Bahrain, the race that shouldn't have happened but everyone's secretly glad that it did reminded us yet again how close this season is - and there's every reason to think it will stay that way. As if the stat above wasn't enough, here's another - in 2011, seven men stood on the podium all season, and five of them monopolised it for all but the first two races. So far this season, eight men have stood on the podium, after only four races.
The balance of power in F1 seems to shift on an almost weekly basis. Last weekend in Shanghai, Mercedes were the class of the field. This weekend, Red Bull and Lotus had the advantage, Mercedes were lacklustre and erstwhile championship leaders McLaren really had a race to forget. David Coulthard made a very interesting point pre-race in that this is what you get when you have stability in the rules - each team has time to figure out what makes the fastest teams fastest, and copy it. The result is a very close field, which in turn makes for exciting races.
There's only time to note really that Raikkonen's second and Grosjean's third were the first podium positions for Lotus cars since Nelson Piquet in 1988. There's a great pic on the BBC website of race winner Vettel (oh yeah, forgot to mention, the reigning world champion took his first win of the season) marking the occasion by giving Raikkonen the bunny ears during the podium photo session.
The balance of power in F1 seems to shift on an almost weekly basis. Last weekend in Shanghai, Mercedes were the class of the field. This weekend, Red Bull and Lotus had the advantage, Mercedes were lacklustre and erstwhile championship leaders McLaren really had a race to forget. David Coulthard made a very interesting point pre-race in that this is what you get when you have stability in the rules - each team has time to figure out what makes the fastest teams fastest, and copy it. The result is a very close field, which in turn makes for exciting races.
There's only time to note really that Raikkonen's second and Grosjean's third were the first podium positions for Lotus cars since Nelson Piquet in 1988. There's a great pic on the BBC website of race winner Vettel (oh yeah, forgot to mention, the reigning world champion took his first win of the season) marking the occasion by giving Raikkonen the bunny ears during the podium photo session.
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
Reasons to be cheerful
Phil: Anyone would think Lewis Hamilton had been sucking on a lemon for most of Sunday's Australian grand prix, to judge by his post-race demeanour. Having cocked up the start, allowing his teammate Jenson Button into a lead he never looked likely to lose, he (perhaps slightly unfairly, it has to be said) lost second place to reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel when the safety car came out. And the big picture is that he must know he once again has a car capable of winning the world championship, but that the only other man with the same car, his teammate, is already 10 points ahead.
So, just for Lewis, and with a nod to Ian Dury who went to the same school as us (yes, really!) here are some things we learned on Sunday which if he were to reflect on them for a moment might incline him not to be such a miserable sod.
1. Red Bull's domination is broken. By mid-season we may be cursing McLaren's domination, but a change in F1's prevailing wind is always refreshing to begin with. Particularly if you happen to be driving the new fastest car on the grid.
2. The midfield is closer than usual. Perez made it to 8th from 22nd on the grid. Raikkonen must have had a damn good shit before the race because he made it to 7th from 18th. A healthy number of retirements (9 out of 22 starters) kept it interesting and even without the last corner shenanigans I was struggling to keep up with who was running where.
3. Williams seem genuinely competitive. Probably both Maldonado and Senna ought to have scored points, and would have done had they avoided midfield shunts.
4. We don't need Sky after all. Apart from cutting a few laps behind the safety car, I genuinely forgot this was an extended highlights show, rather than every lap in full. This will admittedly be of limited interest to Lewis. But best of all...
5. There's another one this weekend.
So, just for Lewis, and with a nod to Ian Dury who went to the same school as us (yes, really!) here are some things we learned on Sunday which if he were to reflect on them for a moment might incline him not to be such a miserable sod.
1. Red Bull's domination is broken. By mid-season we may be cursing McLaren's domination, but a change in F1's prevailing wind is always refreshing to begin with. Particularly if you happen to be driving the new fastest car on the grid.
2. The midfield is closer than usual. Perez made it to 8th from 22nd on the grid. Raikkonen must have had a damn good shit before the race because he made it to 7th from 18th. A healthy number of retirements (9 out of 22 starters) kept it interesting and even without the last corner shenanigans I was struggling to keep up with who was running where.
3. Williams seem genuinely competitive. Probably both Maldonado and Senna ought to have scored points, and would have done had they avoided midfield shunts.
4. We don't need Sky after all. Apart from cutting a few laps behind the safety car, I genuinely forgot this was an extended highlights show, rather than every lap in full. This will admittedly be of limited interest to Lewis. But best of all...
5. There's another one this weekend.
Friday, 2 December 2011
Exit Martin Brundle, enter....Kimi Raikkonen
Phil: As Brundle defects from the BBC to Sky, and Raikkonen decides rallying is even more boring than F1, let's relish their finest hour once again: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3JWFEK5q88.
Saturday, 19 November 2011
Rallying
Phil: I admit, in my younger days I was every bit as much a fan of rallying as I was (and still am) of F1.
But that was in the glory days of Kankunnen, Sainz, McRae and Makkinen, when rallying was on terrestrial TV, and before it became more than a little predictable, with Sebastien Loeb's unbroken run of eight world championships. I haven't watched a rally in nearly a decade, but I searched out BBC Wales' coverage of the Wales Rally GB online.
The rally, the last this WRC season, was actually won by Ford's no 2 Jari-Matti Latvala, in a Fiesta (the new formula restricts engine capacity to 1.6 litres - gone are the days of turbocharged Lancia Deltas and Subaru Imprezas) after all his main rivals, including Loeb, dropped out. Among the retirements was a very familiar name - none other than 2007 F1 champion, Kimi Raikkonen.
Raikkonen, who may be on his way back to F1 after an unimpressive 10th place in this year's championship, featured but briefly in the coverage, a shot of him standing by his 'parked' Citroen DS3 - parked in a ditch on a Welsh forest track with a knackered radiator.
He was holding an A4 piece of laminated card with the word 'OK' in green writing, presumably a safety measure designed to inform later drivers there was no need to stop.
I wonder what the one with brown writing on says?
But that was in the glory days of Kankunnen, Sainz, McRae and Makkinen, when rallying was on terrestrial TV, and before it became more than a little predictable, with Sebastien Loeb's unbroken run of eight world championships. I haven't watched a rally in nearly a decade, but I searched out BBC Wales' coverage of the Wales Rally GB online.
The rally, the last this WRC season, was actually won by Ford's no 2 Jari-Matti Latvala, in a Fiesta (the new formula restricts engine capacity to 1.6 litres - gone are the days of turbocharged Lancia Deltas and Subaru Imprezas) after all his main rivals, including Loeb, dropped out. Among the retirements was a very familiar name - none other than 2007 F1 champion, Kimi Raikkonen.
Raikkonen, who may be on his way back to F1 after an unimpressive 10th place in this year's championship, featured but briefly in the coverage, a shot of him standing by his 'parked' Citroen DS3 - parked in a ditch on a Welsh forest track with a knackered radiator.
He was holding an A4 piece of laminated card with the word 'OK' in green writing, presumably a safety measure designed to inform later drivers there was no need to stop.
I wonder what the one with brown writing on says?
Monday, 14 November 2011
Lewis love-in
Phil: Just when we thought the season was all over, a Vettel DNF and a Lewis love-in. Who'd have thought it?
For most of this season, Hamilton has seemed unable to do anything right. I've lost count of the number of times he's tangled with Felipe Massa, sometimes at successive race weekends. We speculated that it might be personal issues, or the fact that for the first time in his career he's been consistently outraced by his teammate. Whatever it was, he put his demons to bed yesterday and his second (or third?) race win of the year.
Not only that, but a reconciliation, nay even a love-in, with his old arch-rival Fernando Alonso. Embracing on the podium? 'The greatest driver of his generation' (or something like that)?
Maybe Vettel's puncture robbed us of a titanic scrap for the win, or maybe Vettel would have walked it given four tyres with air in rather than three. But the second half of this season to my mind has been a bit flat. Vettel has been driving within himself and the others, as I've commented before, seem to have the same tussles for the same places - Alonso against Webber, Hamiton against Massa, Schumacher against Rosberg - every race. Don't get me wrong, the first half of the season gave us some classic races - Canada will stay in my mind for a long time - even though the championship was never really in doubt, but now the fizz has well and truly gone out of it, as if each driver knows his part in the play and acts it accordingly.
So we go on to 2012. The top four teams are retaining their current line-ups (which may well mean more of the same next year) but further down the grid things are more fluid. As we've said, three drivers are in the running for the no 1 seat at Williams, of all places: Barrichello, Sutil and potentially a returning Kimi Raikkonen. Let's hope that if and when Frank Williams calls Raikkonen to offer him a drive, he's not too busy having a shit to take the call. Actually, let's hope he is.
There are no less than four drivers in the offing at Renault, who we must remember to call Lotus next year. Rumour has it they'll go for Grosjean, who's famous for not being as crap as Nelson Piquet Jr., and Petrov, who isn't famous for anything. Personally I'd much rather see Bruno Senna, and a fully recovered Robert Kubica.
But then at least one of those options, sadly, is starting to look very unlikely.
For most of this season, Hamilton has seemed unable to do anything right. I've lost count of the number of times he's tangled with Felipe Massa, sometimes at successive race weekends. We speculated that it might be personal issues, or the fact that for the first time in his career he's been consistently outraced by his teammate. Whatever it was, he put his demons to bed yesterday and his second (or third?) race win of the year.
Not only that, but a reconciliation, nay even a love-in, with his old arch-rival Fernando Alonso. Embracing on the podium? 'The greatest driver of his generation' (or something like that)?
Maybe Vettel's puncture robbed us of a titanic scrap for the win, or maybe Vettel would have walked it given four tyres with air in rather than three. But the second half of this season to my mind has been a bit flat. Vettel has been driving within himself and the others, as I've commented before, seem to have the same tussles for the same places - Alonso against Webber, Hamiton against Massa, Schumacher against Rosberg - every race. Don't get me wrong, the first half of the season gave us some classic races - Canada will stay in my mind for a long time - even though the championship was never really in doubt, but now the fizz has well and truly gone out of it, as if each driver knows his part in the play and acts it accordingly.
So we go on to 2012. The top four teams are retaining their current line-ups (which may well mean more of the same next year) but further down the grid things are more fluid. As we've said, three drivers are in the running for the no 1 seat at Williams, of all places: Barrichello, Sutil and potentially a returning Kimi Raikkonen. Let's hope that if and when Frank Williams calls Raikkonen to offer him a drive, he's not too busy having a shit to take the call. Actually, let's hope he is.
There are no less than four drivers in the offing at Renault, who we must remember to call Lotus next year. Rumour has it they'll go for Grosjean, who's famous for not being as crap as Nelson Piquet Jr., and Petrov, who isn't famous for anything. Personally I'd much rather see Bruno Senna, and a fully recovered Robert Kubica.
But then at least one of those options, sadly, is starting to look very unlikely.
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Don't do it, Frank
Phil: My co-blogger texted me tonight with alarming news linking Kimi Raikkonen to a seat at Williams next year.
Now I think I speak for both of us when I say: what would Raikkonen and his salary expectations see in cash-strapped Williams? And what would struggling Williams see in the laziest man in motor sport? Unless of course, Raikkonen brings a mouthwatering sponsorship deal to the table, and is so desperate to get back into F1 that he'll drive for anybody, for nothing? Anyway, my advice to Sir Frank would be: don't you think Rubens would do a much better job?As the following set of statistics should prove beyond reasonable doubt.
Everyone knows that the first man you have to beat in F1 is your teammate - after all, only he has exactly the same machinery as you. Detailed analysis shows that, at the end of the European season, about half the drivers are beating their teammates, and the other half aren't*. Even more detailed analysis shows that relative to their teammates, the drivers who are doing the best are (the percentages are the percentage lead in points over their teammate):
Barrichello 75%
Kobayashi 70%
Alonso 52%
Sutil 50%
Vettel 41%
Alguersuari 19%
Rosberg 7%
Button 5%
Petrov 0% (against Heidfeld, 94% against Senna who has only driven two races)
Hamilton -6%
Schumacher -8%
Buemi -23%
Webber -70%
di Resta -100%
Massa -110%
Perez -238%
Maldonado -300%
Senna -1600%
So there you have it. Barrichello has scored 75% more points than his teammate, and therefore is in principle outperforming his admittedly crap car better than any other driver.
*It's only about half because Petrov has exactly the same number of points as his teammate Heidfeld, who to confuse matters further, isn't his teammate.
Now I think I speak for both of us when I say: what would Raikkonen and his salary expectations see in cash-strapped Williams? And what would struggling Williams see in the laziest man in motor sport? Unless of course, Raikkonen brings a mouthwatering sponsorship deal to the table, and is so desperate to get back into F1 that he'll drive for anybody, for nothing? Anyway, my advice to Sir Frank would be: don't you think Rubens would do a much better job?As the following set of statistics should prove beyond reasonable doubt.
Everyone knows that the first man you have to beat in F1 is your teammate - after all, only he has exactly the same machinery as you. Detailed analysis shows that, at the end of the European season, about half the drivers are beating their teammates, and the other half aren't*. Even more detailed analysis shows that relative to their teammates, the drivers who are doing the best are (the percentages are the percentage lead in points over their teammate):
Barrichello 75%
Kobayashi 70%
Alonso 52%
Sutil 50%
Vettel 41%
Alguersuari 19%
Rosberg 7%
Button 5%
Petrov 0% (against Heidfeld, 94% against Senna who has only driven two races)
Hamilton -6%
Schumacher -8%
Buemi -23%
Webber -70%
di Resta -100%
Massa -110%
Perez -238%
Maldonado -300%
Senna -1600%
So there you have it. Barrichello has scored 75% more points than his teammate, and therefore is in principle outperforming his admittedly crap car better than any other driver.
*It's only about half because Petrov has exactly the same number of points as his teammate Heidfeld, who to confuse matters further, isn't his teammate.
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Tyre degradation is more interesting than you think
Phil: Well, I managed to avoid the news between the race on Sunday evening and my finally managing to watch it on iPlayer on Tuesday evening, so the result was a surprise. And a very pleasant surprise: I have to say I enjoyed watching this race probably more than any other so far this season (with the exception of Monaco, naturally, when I was joined by my co-blogger). I'd forgotten what a great and challenging track the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is.
In the first 15 laps we had enough excitement for several races: Hamilton and Alonso going wheel-to-wheel in the pitlane, a visit to the Wall of Champions, Schumacher taking to the grass, Massa and Liuzzi colliding no less than three times in the first corner, Kovalainen in the Lotus running as high as seventh, and even a dash of overtaking. No less than five drivers led the race: Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Alonso, and, for the first time in his career, Sebastian Buemi. The Red Bulls, who started on the hard tyres, fought a race-long battle with Alonso and the McLarens, who started on the soft tyres, and Alonso fought his own battle with Hamilton, starting with the nail-bating pitlane moment I've already referred to. I'd agree with my co-blogger's synopsis, however, that on balance the five drivers who lead the championship - Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Webber and Vettel - were the only ones likely to win this race, and I agree that one of them will be world champion. Which one is that this stage anyone's guess, as all of them, except I think Vettel, have at one stage led the title charge. When was the last time we had a five-horse race for the title?
Montreal is a track that's so challenging for the drivers that it perhaps wouldn't be fair to name a Skiver of the Day, not even one of the many who nominated themselves by picking up a penalty or two for pitlane speeding or some other dodgy driving misdemeanour. Except that there is a very obvious candidate, and he is the most succesful driver in the history of the sport. Martin Brundle called this the worst race of Schumacher's career. It's not clear whether this means his post-comeback career, or his career since 1991, but the latter wouldn't be unfair. Scrapping with Kubica after his first pitstop was messy, particularly cutting across the grass to avoid conceding the place, but probably just about within the rules. Shunting his former protégé Massa and breaking his front wing in an effort to retain a place his pace didn't really justify was unsportsmanlike. Giving away his points on the last lap but letting both Sutil and Liuzzi pass him was just plain crap. If only he'd stuck to passing Alonso behind the safety car at Monaco - at least that was classic Schumacher rule-bending. This looked like plain incompetence. If you saw this race, and only this race, you would never believe he had been world champion seven times. Hopefully preparing for next year means asking Top Gear if he can go back to being The Stig.
Normally I agree with almost everything my co-blogger writes, and given the depth of his knowledge about Formula 1 there's every reason to, but I have to disagree with his point about Jacques Villeneuve's rumoured comeback. Schumacher's comeback has shown every semi-retired Formula 1 driver how hard it is, and I would suggest has given the likes of Villeneuve plenty of food for thought. Could we really expect Villeneuve to do better, given that he has been away much longer, and arguably reached his peak longer ago than Schumacher? Kimi Raikkonen, who has been linked to a seat at Renault next season, should be thinking along the same lines, although I think his future now lies in rallying.
In the first 15 laps we had enough excitement for several races: Hamilton and Alonso going wheel-to-wheel in the pitlane, a visit to the Wall of Champions, Schumacher taking to the grass, Massa and Liuzzi colliding no less than three times in the first corner, Kovalainen in the Lotus running as high as seventh, and even a dash of overtaking. No less than five drivers led the race: Hamilton, Vettel, Webber, Alonso, and, for the first time in his career, Sebastian Buemi. The Red Bulls, who started on the hard tyres, fought a race-long battle with Alonso and the McLarens, who started on the soft tyres, and Alonso fought his own battle with Hamilton, starting with the nail-bating pitlane moment I've already referred to. I'd agree with my co-blogger's synopsis, however, that on balance the five drivers who lead the championship - Hamilton, Alonso, Button, Webber and Vettel - were the only ones likely to win this race, and I agree that one of them will be world champion. Which one is that this stage anyone's guess, as all of them, except I think Vettel, have at one stage led the title charge. When was the last time we had a five-horse race for the title?
Montreal is a track that's so challenging for the drivers that it perhaps wouldn't be fair to name a Skiver of the Day, not even one of the many who nominated themselves by picking up a penalty or two for pitlane speeding or some other dodgy driving misdemeanour. Except that there is a very obvious candidate, and he is the most succesful driver in the history of the sport. Martin Brundle called this the worst race of Schumacher's career. It's not clear whether this means his post-comeback career, or his career since 1991, but the latter wouldn't be unfair. Scrapping with Kubica after his first pitstop was messy, particularly cutting across the grass to avoid conceding the place, but probably just about within the rules. Shunting his former protégé Massa and breaking his front wing in an effort to retain a place his pace didn't really justify was unsportsmanlike. Giving away his points on the last lap but letting both Sutil and Liuzzi pass him was just plain crap. If only he'd stuck to passing Alonso behind the safety car at Monaco - at least that was classic Schumacher rule-bending. This looked like plain incompetence. If you saw this race, and only this race, you would never believe he had been world champion seven times. Hopefully preparing for next year means asking Top Gear if he can go back to being The Stig.
Normally I agree with almost everything my co-blogger writes, and given the depth of his knowledge about Formula 1 there's every reason to, but I have to disagree with his point about Jacques Villeneuve's rumoured comeback. Schumacher's comeback has shown every semi-retired Formula 1 driver how hard it is, and I would suggest has given the likes of Villeneuve plenty of food for thought. Could we really expect Villeneuve to do better, given that he has been away much longer, and arguably reached his peak longer ago than Schumacher? Kimi Raikkonen, who has been linked to a seat at Renault next season, should be thinking along the same lines, although I think his future now lies in rallying.
Saturday, 17 April 2010
Not much to say
Phil: I didn't watch quali as we can't get digital TV at home, and neither have we yet been connected to the internet (for technical reasons - let's just say Virgin are even slower than their cars would lead you to believe) so I'm currently blogging in a private corner in the library, behind the Mills and Boon naff romantic novels. So I have only just learned that it's an all Red Bull front row with Vettel on pole, but I can't say I'm surprised. In my view Vettel is showing far and away the most potential of any driver in the field, thus far this season. The question on everyone's lips is whether Adrian Newey's car can prove as consistently reliable as it is consistently fast. Speaking of the car, not only does Vettel use the word 'baby' too much, he also gives his cars retro soft porn names: this year's apparently is 'Luscious Liz'.
Further down the grid, Rosberg in fourth has once again outqualified his illustrious teammate. When Schumacher says that his comeback is going according to plan, it really rather depends what the plan is. If it's to drive some more grands prix and have a nice time, then he's probably right. Kimi Raikkonen would probably say his debut WRC season is also going to plan, although I've no idea how he is actually getting on (there are, however, certainly more opportunities for unscheduled comfort breaks in rallying). But back to Schumi. If, as he also contends, he is still in the running for the title, being tenth in the world championship standings and ninth on the grid in China, then I for one would dispute that. His comeback is still going better than Nigel Mansell's, who had a tenth and a DNF after the third race in 1995 (Schumi has a sixth, a tenth and a DNF), but that's hardly a benchmark. I would also agree with my co-blogger that the Mercedes isn't a championship-winning car - it's certainly no better than the fourth best car on the grid.
If anyone's bothered, a visit to Wikipedia reveals that Raikkonen was eighth in the Jordan Rally two weeks ago, which gives him four points in the drivers' championship. The WRC looks every bit as predictable as F1 was in Schumi's heyday, with Sébastien Loeb still thrashing the pants off everyone.
It could be a year for champions called Sebastian. And for Luscious Liz.
Further down the grid, Rosberg in fourth has once again outqualified his illustrious teammate. When Schumacher says that his comeback is going according to plan, it really rather depends what the plan is. If it's to drive some more grands prix and have a nice time, then he's probably right. Kimi Raikkonen would probably say his debut WRC season is also going to plan, although I've no idea how he is actually getting on (there are, however, certainly more opportunities for unscheduled comfort breaks in rallying). But back to Schumi. If, as he also contends, he is still in the running for the title, being tenth in the world championship standings and ninth on the grid in China, then I for one would dispute that. His comeback is still going better than Nigel Mansell's, who had a tenth and a DNF after the third race in 1995 (Schumi has a sixth, a tenth and a DNF), but that's hardly a benchmark. I would also agree with my co-blogger that the Mercedes isn't a championship-winning car - it's certainly no better than the fourth best car on the grid.
If anyone's bothered, a visit to Wikipedia reveals that Raikkonen was eighth in the Jordan Rally two weeks ago, which gives him four points in the drivers' championship. The WRC looks every bit as predictable as F1 was in Schumi's heyday, with Sébastien Loeb still thrashing the pants off everyone.
It could be a year for champions called Sebastian. And for Luscious Liz.
Friday, 26 March 2010
We want a Webber win
Phil: It feels almost indecent to be hoping for a home win for Australia, but I think as you say we'd both like to see Mark Webber win on Sunday. At some point in the mid-nineties, Frank Williams was asked which of the then-current crop of drivers he'd like to see win his maiden victory. He paused, and said, 'Mika Hakkinen' (this was a couple of years before Hakkinen won the world title, in 1998 and 1999). It's the same way with Webber. Yes, of course he took his maiden win at the Nurburgring last year, but all the same his is a talent that has mainly gone unrewarded. Many people, and I'm one of them, would tip Vettel to be the next world champion (not necessarily world champion this year, but the next driver to become world champion), but Mark is a match for Vettel. And this year could be his best shot at the title.
As for Hamilton, what he apparently did was skid on the way out of the paddock (interestingly enough, it looks like Mercedes still supply McLaren with off-track cars). The subject of skidmarks brings me deftly to this clip (you knew it wouldn't be long in coming) which may explain the name of this blog:
'Obviously you'll have a nice light car on the grid, then...'
As for Hamilton, what he apparently did was skid on the way out of the paddock (interestingly enough, it looks like Mercedes still supply McLaren with off-track cars). The subject of skidmarks brings me deftly to this clip (you knew it wouldn't be long in coming) which may explain the name of this blog:
'Obviously you'll have a nice light car on the grid, then...'
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