Justin:
Best radio transmission of the year, or any year in recent history..
Clearly goes to Mr Vettel. Amongst the many bleeps, he was essentially exasperated at being punted off not once, but twice! Classic, amusing stuff there. Kvyat admitted fault for turn 2 as he locked up, but at turn 3 Vettel was lifting off because he thought he had damage. It's a bit more difficult to react when you are following someone a metre behind at 200mph, when they suddenly slow down where they are meant to be doing flat out.
Ferrari are not having the best of starts to a season at all. Then again, Kimi has collected two podiums in as many races. You'd have thought Vettel could have done more though.
Fun racing, but not at the front
It was a great race to watch, with plenty going on through the field, except at the front. Rosberg was comfortable in leading throughout and took his 4th win of the year, 7th in a row (joining Ascari and Schumacher on that tally, with only Vettel on 9 ahead of him). I've said this before...Hamilton ran off like a scalded dog for most of 2015 and there was no fighting at the front. Same for Rosberg right now.
Once again his main competition had problems and fell away at the start (Vettel), or even before the start (Hamilton with his engine issues starting 10th).
Rosberg knows the challenge will come eventually. Hamilton knows too. He also knows he can't buy any luck at all right now.
McLaren rising?
Alonso the racer and fighter is still there, as evidenced by him going round the outside of all the mess at turn 3. Opportunity/ luck/ instinct...call it what you will, it lifted him to 8th and he eventually finished 6th. Button took 10th and despite Vettel falling off the track, both guys said the pace was there and a double points finish was on merit.
Driver of the day
Max was running second for a while, Alonso got a good result. Both Williams drivers did well too. Magnussen came 7th....in a Renault. Right there is my driver of the day I think. Either him or Hamilton.
To Spain in two weeks we go. I want a fight at the front between Lewis and Nico.
Might be worth pointing out that it's twenty years since Damon Hill won the championship. To date, he is the only world champion son of a world champion. To date. Twenty years is a nice round number no?
The final word is for Ayrton Senna. I read somewhere that the Russian GP this year was the first to be held on May 1st since Senna died 22 years ago. Wow. 22 years. Still feels like yesterday.
A legend. He passed away on raceday, but of course we cannot forget Roland Ratzenberger, who died the day before.
Both guys were 34, which I only just realised.
Showing posts with label ayrton senna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ayrton senna. Show all posts
Monday, 2 May 2016
Thursday, 15 August 2013
Toxic Teammates
Justin:
Best friends, work colleagues etc etc, fall out. Some friendships recover, get over blips, some aren't meant to or simply don't. For one reason or another, lack of effort or caring, some friendships fade.
Add to all this the intense sporting environment of F1 and you would have to say true friendships are hard to find. That's not to say they do not exist, just rarely between two drivers on the same team.
I've picked three examples of when "teammates" were nothing of the sort, where the relationship soured and people fought the enemies within, but each example has some striking similarities with the next. Indeed, Piquet Vs Mansell at Williams in 1986 is similar in nature to that of Alonso Vs Hamilton at Mclaren in 2007. That of established double world champion coming in to a British team either expecting to be number 1, or promised they would be number 1. In the case of Williams fate intervened and in the case of Mclaren Ron Dennis sold Alonso a dream that didn't exist (read, there seemed to have been an almighty misunderstanding and general fuckup at the contract signing!).
The first example, Prost Vs Senna...what hasn't been said about it? This was simply the case of Senna thinking "who is the best driver?" and then setting out to move to the best team, alongside the best driver, to destroy him.
Prost Vs Senna
Prost himself remarked once that Senna wanted to not beat him, but humiliate him. That was Monaco in 1988 when Senna was told to slow down whilst 55 seconds in the lead ahead of Prost. He kept pushing and pushing, then crashed out. No doubt Prost saw Senna wanting to humiliate him as a weakness. Despite the odd barbed remark, things remained cordial enough for 88, with Senna taking the title in Japan.
1989 was the beginning of the end...the end of 89 was the end of the end.
Senna had begun moulding the team around him and even though Prost won the title, Senna had effectively driven Prost out of his home simply because he refused to work with someone like Senna ever again.
They crashed into each other in the 1989 finale in Japan, one blaming the other. Senna got his car moving again, via a steward bump start. Prost went immediately to the FIA office to lodge a formal complaint about Senna. Senna was DQ'd, for re-entering the track a few metres from where he left it.
Prost took the title whilst Dennis protested on Senna's behalf. Theres favouritism if ever you saw it. Dennis always claims to give equal treatment to drivers. OK, Prost was taking the number 1 to Ferrari for 1990, but still, Mclaren won the drivers and constructors titles and here he was defending Senna at the expense of Prost.
Senna's passion and intense drive came from his need to be the best, to prove himself against the best. To destroy the best.
For 1990 they weren't teammates, but they weren't friends at all. The rivalry carried on.
Another example of Prost's alienation from Dennis was Prost throwing his winning trophy at Monza in 89, when he'd just announced his move to Ferrari, to the Ferrari fans. Whoops! Again, Dennis helped aid the disintegration of relations no end.
All the way to another coming together in Japan for the title showdown. Senna later admitted to deliberately getting his own back for what happened in 1989. Senna was very passionate, driven by a sense of injustice, the system being against him. Prost was cool, calm and calculating.
They reconciled when Senna won his last race in Australia 1993 and Prost joined him in the podium. They were no longer rivals as Prost was retiring.
All I remember of their years at Mclaren was a completely poisonous relationship.
Opposites do not attract.
Best friends, work colleagues etc etc, fall out. Some friendships recover, get over blips, some aren't meant to or simply don't. For one reason or another, lack of effort or caring, some friendships fade.
Add to all this the intense sporting environment of F1 and you would have to say true friendships are hard to find. That's not to say they do not exist, just rarely between two drivers on the same team.
I've picked three examples of when "teammates" were nothing of the sort, where the relationship soured and people fought the enemies within, but each example has some striking similarities with the next. Indeed, Piquet Vs Mansell at Williams in 1986 is similar in nature to that of Alonso Vs Hamilton at Mclaren in 2007. That of established double world champion coming in to a British team either expecting to be number 1, or promised they would be number 1. In the case of Williams fate intervened and in the case of Mclaren Ron Dennis sold Alonso a dream that didn't exist (read, there seemed to have been an almighty misunderstanding and general fuckup at the contract signing!).
The first example, Prost Vs Senna...what hasn't been said about it? This was simply the case of Senna thinking "who is the best driver?" and then setting out to move to the best team, alongside the best driver, to destroy him.
Prost Vs Senna
Prost himself remarked once that Senna wanted to not beat him, but humiliate him. That was Monaco in 1988 when Senna was told to slow down whilst 55 seconds in the lead ahead of Prost. He kept pushing and pushing, then crashed out. No doubt Prost saw Senna wanting to humiliate him as a weakness. Despite the odd barbed remark, things remained cordial enough for 88, with Senna taking the title in Japan.
1989 was the beginning of the end...the end of 89 was the end of the end.
Senna had begun moulding the team around him and even though Prost won the title, Senna had effectively driven Prost out of his home simply because he refused to work with someone like Senna ever again.
They crashed into each other in the 1989 finale in Japan, one blaming the other. Senna got his car moving again, via a steward bump start. Prost went immediately to the FIA office to lodge a formal complaint about Senna. Senna was DQ'd, for re-entering the track a few metres from where he left it.
Prost took the title whilst Dennis protested on Senna's behalf. Theres favouritism if ever you saw it. Dennis always claims to give equal treatment to drivers. OK, Prost was taking the number 1 to Ferrari for 1990, but still, Mclaren won the drivers and constructors titles and here he was defending Senna at the expense of Prost.
Senna's passion and intense drive came from his need to be the best, to prove himself against the best. To destroy the best.
For 1990 they weren't teammates, but they weren't friends at all. The rivalry carried on.
Another example of Prost's alienation from Dennis was Prost throwing his winning trophy at Monza in 89, when he'd just announced his move to Ferrari, to the Ferrari fans. Whoops! Again, Dennis helped aid the disintegration of relations no end.
All the way to another coming together in Japan for the title showdown. Senna later admitted to deliberately getting his own back for what happened in 1989. Senna was very passionate, driven by a sense of injustice, the system being against him. Prost was cool, calm and calculating.
They reconciled when Senna won his last race in Australia 1993 and Prost joined him in the podium. They were no longer rivals as Prost was retiring.
All I remember of their years at Mclaren was a completely poisonous relationship.
Opposites do not attract.
Mansell Vs Piquet
Piquet arrived at Williams in 1986 as a double world champion. Mansell was the guy who wasnt supposed to be fast, to be easily put in his place by Piquet.
Piquet has stated previously that when he signed it was on the understanding he would be number 1. A month or so later the team was in a state of disarray after Frank Williams' accident.
With equal equipment and no team orders Mansell was inspired whilst Piquet was clearly rattled.
Through 1986 and 1987 the two had some titanic clashes on and off the track. Piquet always felt like the fighting outsider whilst Mansell was the fighting Brit, just fighting for everything.
Honda paid Piquet's salary and were non too impressed that through 1986 Williams never ordered Mansell to pull aside and let Piquet through. Piquet stated that had he been backed he would have won the title, rather than allowing in-team fighting. This is similar to Alonso and Hamilton.
The low point of this toxic teammate lineup included some rather nasty remarks from Piquet about Mansell's wife.
Alonso Vs Hamilton
Possibly the most toxic of the lot as everything went to pot within half a year of Alonso and Hamilton first teaming up at Mclaren.
Looking back now, it's easy to see that perhaps the issue wasn't between the drivers themselves, but more Alonso and Ron Dennis...therefore, Alonso Vs everyone at Mclaren. However, both drivers had plenty of anger towards each other at the time.
This year in F1 history was also set against the backdrop of "spygate", where some Mclaren team-members were found to have gotten their hands on Ferrari car data.
Has to be said, Alonso the antagonistic politics player came to the fore in 2007.
First signs of real trouble brewed in Monaco when Hamilton was annoyed about being told to hold station behind Alonso after the final pitstops.
Unbeknown to Ron Dennis, Alonso had seen some of the Ferrari data, but would later refuse to take part in the spygate trial.
As the season progressed, relations between all parties soured as we all realised there had clearly been some huge misunderstanding between Alonso and Dennis when they signed contracts. Alonso believed he was to be given number one status to lead Mclaren's charge to his third world title. Nobody was really prepared for how quick Hamilton was to be, apart from maybe hamilton himself.
This was an epic clash of ego's. The proud, double world champion who would not regard Hamilton as anything other than a young, brash upstart who he'd firmly put in his place. As the year progressed Hamilton's ego came to the fore and he almost kind of forgot his place in the standings of F1 driver greats. It was a great rookie season for sure, but he was not standing shoulder to shoulder through history with the very best just yet - his strut and actions suggested he thought otherwise.
By Hungary came around things were strained. Hamilton ignored a team order to let Alonso past him in qualifying for a clear run. This had been agreed before the race. Yes, we don't usually hear this bit, the bit where Hamilton started off a chain of events, not Alonso.
As revenge, Alonso came into refuel in the final moments of qualy, was cleared to go, and just waited patiently in his pitbox. Hamilton was queuing behind and as a result of Alonso delaying him, he missed a final run.
Dennis hauled Alonso's trainer off into the garage for a few harsh words.
Essentially, Mclaren was now tearing itself apart at the seams. For a man who always claims to be able to manage driver lineups and who is a huge control freak, Ron Dennis was getting a lot of things wrong as his house became a rampant mine of utter chaos.
Alonso got penalised for his actions and started with a grid penalty - not good for the team.
Allegedly Alonso also approached Dennis with regard to his knowledge of the Ferrari data. Alonso is then alleged to have told Dennis "give me number one status or I go to the FIA with this data". Dennis told him to go to the FIA as he hadnt a clue such data existed.
Things continued to sour between all three, with both drivers antagonising on and off the track.
As DC put it a while ago, Alonso had been sold a dream by Dennis...what it was, what it was supposed to be, they cannot agree on.
Dennis also claims not to favour drivers.....lets ask Mika and DC shall we?! Alonso took it as they arent backing him so they must be backing Hamilton then.
Alonso drove bloody well given all the chaos around him, the team being against him etc etc.
In the end, the chaos at Mclaren gifted the title to Kimi as the two Mclaren guys paid too much attention to each other.
Alonso was right about one thing - if Mclaren would have backed him, he'd have won the title.
Alonso and Vettel at RB will never happen...too toxic a mix. I dont think Kimi being at RB will be any less toxic either frankly. Vettel will spit his dummy when he loses.
A link to a video of before it all went wrong - funny.
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.
Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Bring on the sub-headings
Phil: I completely agree (as always) with my learned co-blogger that so much was going on at Sepang on Sunday that we need an A to Z to find our way through it.
A. Alonso
General consensus in the paddock is that Alonso is the best driver of his generation, but that he rarely has a car to flatter his talents. General consensus also says that this year's Ferrari is the worst car they've built in years. At Sepang, as in any wet race, the performance differential between a good car, a mediocre car and a really awful car is to a certain extent levelled off, and raw driver talent plays a much bigger role. Alonso's win tends to prove both theories correct. Together with his fifth place in Melbourne, it also gives him the lead in the world championship. But - and it's a big but - even he acknowledged after the race that at dry races it's going to be damage limitation.
B. Bruno Senna
Nice one.
C. Coverage
I'm afraid I don't subscribe to any of conspiracy theories doing the rounds about Sky sabotaging the BBC's access to the juicy bits. All broadcasters' pictures are the same as they come direct from FOM (Formula One Management), so this should really be under B for Bernie. Or even B for bollocks. After all, it would hardly be the first time the producer has shown us a shot of someone pitting from eighth place when someone else is challenging from the lead.
G. Grosjean
Qualifies well, goes off in first lap incidents. We're only two races in though and the first one was a simple racing incident (at the time I'd have put the blame more at Maldonado's feet, actually) so I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.
K. Kimi
Before the season started I confidently predicted Kimi would be a laughing stock by the beginning of the European season. However, his pre-race poo strategy is really paying off and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that he might actually win a race this year.
L. Lewis
I fear my co-blogger may have misinterpreted my earlier blog as tending to be supportive of Lewis when I was actually taking the piss out of him. He seems not to have taken the hint either (anyone would think he doesn't actually read this blog), so I think things now need to be spelt out to him.
Lewis. When you first came into F1, I was a huge fan. I was impressed by your maturity as well as your talent. I was impressed that you weren't overawed by having a double world champion for a team-mate. I was genuinely over the moon the next year when you became the first British world champion in over a decade having given us the Official Best Race Ever (see last year). But now I have tell you you irritate me more than any of the other drivers. More than Kimi. More than Alonso. More than Vettel. More even than Michael Schumacher. And the reason is this. When things don't go your way, you sulk. You're second in the world championship, and you're sulking now. And I think the reason you sulk is that you can't deal with failure. Your life except for the last 2-3 years has been one success after the other. You've been a champion in every form of motorsport you've entered, including the very highest. So you've never learned that sometimes, in racing, and in life, things don't go your way. Sometimes you can give it every ounce of breath and every drop of sweat you have, and still watch it all fall to pieces on the very last lap. Just look at Maldonado last weekend. Some drivers spend their whole careers doing that. You're lucky, you're a world champion. But you're not special. You don't have a god-given right to have everything your own way. When they don't, that doesn't mean there is some kind of conspiracy against you, that's just racing. The thing that worries me the most, Lewis, is that you're slowly but surely turning into Ayrton Senna. By the end of the season you might very well be shunting Jenson off into the kitty litter at the first corner at Suzuka, then telling everyone he had it coming to him. And you know what happens then. Gerhard Berger throws your briefcase out of a helicopter and fills your hotel room with frogs. Oh yes. Don't say we didn't warn you.
P. Perez
It's pissing down with rain and a promising young Latin American driver scores an amazing second place which was very nearly a win. As James Hunt might have said, this marks the arrival of Sergio Perez as a major new talent within Formula 1.
S. Schumi
He's 43 years old, he was world champion 7 times and won 91 races along the way. He has nothing to prove to anyone, but he is still beating his team-mate, has started both races this year from the second row of the grid and seems to be having the time of his life (well, apart from winning everything in sight for about 10 years). I'm actually almost warming to the old sod.
V. Vettel
Slightly uncharitable about Karthikeyan I thought. It's difficult to go any faster when you've only got an HRT to drive. However we won't put him in the naughty corner, because Lewis is already there.
On thing is 'for sure' (as racing drivers don't say any more). We're in for a cracking season.
A. Alonso
General consensus in the paddock is that Alonso is the best driver of his generation, but that he rarely has a car to flatter his talents. General consensus also says that this year's Ferrari is the worst car they've built in years. At Sepang, as in any wet race, the performance differential between a good car, a mediocre car and a really awful car is to a certain extent levelled off, and raw driver talent plays a much bigger role. Alonso's win tends to prove both theories correct. Together with his fifth place in Melbourne, it also gives him the lead in the world championship. But - and it's a big but - even he acknowledged after the race that at dry races it's going to be damage limitation.
B. Bruno Senna
Nice one.
C. Coverage
I'm afraid I don't subscribe to any of conspiracy theories doing the rounds about Sky sabotaging the BBC's access to the juicy bits. All broadcasters' pictures are the same as they come direct from FOM (Formula One Management), so this should really be under B for Bernie. Or even B for bollocks. After all, it would hardly be the first time the producer has shown us a shot of someone pitting from eighth place when someone else is challenging from the lead.
G. Grosjean
Qualifies well, goes off in first lap incidents. We're only two races in though and the first one was a simple racing incident (at the time I'd have put the blame more at Maldonado's feet, actually) so I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.
K. Kimi
Before the season started I confidently predicted Kimi would be a laughing stock by the beginning of the European season. However, his pre-race poo strategy is really paying off and it's not beyond the realm of possibility that he might actually win a race this year.
L. Lewis
I fear my co-blogger may have misinterpreted my earlier blog as tending to be supportive of Lewis when I was actually taking the piss out of him. He seems not to have taken the hint either (anyone would think he doesn't actually read this blog), so I think things now need to be spelt out to him.
Lewis. When you first came into F1, I was a huge fan. I was impressed by your maturity as well as your talent. I was impressed that you weren't overawed by having a double world champion for a team-mate. I was genuinely over the moon the next year when you became the first British world champion in over a decade having given us the Official Best Race Ever (see last year). But now I have tell you you irritate me more than any of the other drivers. More than Kimi. More than Alonso. More than Vettel. More even than Michael Schumacher. And the reason is this. When things don't go your way, you sulk. You're second in the world championship, and you're sulking now. And I think the reason you sulk is that you can't deal with failure. Your life except for the last 2-3 years has been one success after the other. You've been a champion in every form of motorsport you've entered, including the very highest. So you've never learned that sometimes, in racing, and in life, things don't go your way. Sometimes you can give it every ounce of breath and every drop of sweat you have, and still watch it all fall to pieces on the very last lap. Just look at Maldonado last weekend. Some drivers spend their whole careers doing that. You're lucky, you're a world champion. But you're not special. You don't have a god-given right to have everything your own way. When they don't, that doesn't mean there is some kind of conspiracy against you, that's just racing. The thing that worries me the most, Lewis, is that you're slowly but surely turning into Ayrton Senna. By the end of the season you might very well be shunting Jenson off into the kitty litter at the first corner at Suzuka, then telling everyone he had it coming to him. And you know what happens then. Gerhard Berger throws your briefcase out of a helicopter and fills your hotel room with frogs. Oh yes. Don't say we didn't warn you.
P. Perez
It's pissing down with rain and a promising young Latin American driver scores an amazing second place which was very nearly a win. As James Hunt might have said, this marks the arrival of Sergio Perez as a major new talent within Formula 1.
S. Schumi
He's 43 years old, he was world champion 7 times and won 91 races along the way. He has nothing to prove to anyone, but he is still beating his team-mate, has started both races this year from the second row of the grid and seems to be having the time of his life (well, apart from winning everything in sight for about 10 years). I'm actually almost warming to the old sod.
V. Vettel
Slightly uncharitable about Karthikeyan I thought. It's difficult to go any faster when you've only got an HRT to drive. However we won't put him in the naughty corner, because Lewis is already there.
On thing is 'for sure' (as racing drivers don't say any more). We're in for a cracking season.
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
The greatest grand prix
Phil: I Was Having a Blog... can exclusively reveal the greatest grand prix ever, in the opinion of today's crop of F1 drivers.
Before each race, the BBC have been asking one driver to name his five favourite grands prix, one of which will then be broadcast on iPlayer. Some have gone for great races of the past, others for personal triumphs of their own. Adding up their votes gives us today's grand prix drivers' favourite race of all time.
Our slightly misshapen podium of races is as follows.
3=. France 1979 (4 votes). Something of a landmark for many reasons. Won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille (who?) in a Renault, victory at the French grand prix went to a French driver in a French car on French tyres. It was also the first time a grand prix had been won by a turbocharged car. But the reason it scored so highly was Jabouille's teammate Rene Arnoux's battle for second place with Gilles Villeneuve. Put it this way, these days the stewards would have sent them both to the naughty corner.
3=. Japan 1989 (4 votes). Alessandro Nannini's only career victory, but again that's probably not why most drivers chose it. The second last race of the 1980s was the absolute apex of the rivalry between Prost and Senna. Some say Senna went for a gap that wasn't there. Others say Prost turned in on him. The stewards followed Prost's point of view and disqualified Senna, who had rejoined the race after the inevitable collision, making Nannini race winner and Prost world champion.
3=. Belgium 2000 (4 votes). Schumacher always says his greatest rival was Mika Hakkinen, and this race features what's been called the greatest overtake ever, by Hakkinen on Schumacher with Ricardo Zonta as the meat in the sandwich. Interestingly, one of the drivers who voted for this race was none other than Michael Schumacher. He does have a heart, after all.
2. Brazil 2008 (6 votes). Surely the only time the world championship has been decided on the last lap on the last race, and surely the only time it ever will be, either. Felipe Massa had to win to be world champion. Lewis Hamilton only had to be fifth. On the last lap, with Massa in the lead and Hamilton sixth, it began to rain. Massa crossed the line, thinking he was world champion. But at the second last corner Hamilton, on intermediate tyres, passed Timo Glock on slicks to take fifth place, and the world championship.
1. Europe 1993 (7 votes). Murray Walker calls it, 'the greatest lap ever driven, by anybody', and he should know - he's watched enough. Senna's first lap in the wet at Donington Park, overtaking Prost, Schumacher, Damon Hill and Karl Wendlinger - fifth to first in one lap - made them all look like schoolboys. Watching it again, if you didn't know what was going to happen, you wouldn't think it was possible. Who said it was a stupid idea to have a race in England in March?
So Senna gets to spray champagne down the back of Massa's and Hakkinen's overalls (I don't think they'd mind) and we get to listen to the European national anthem (Beethoven's Ode to Joy, in case you were wondering). Interestingly this contest also had a nail-biting climax, with the last two on 6 votes each going into the final round, before Jenson Button cast the deciding vote.
Before each race, the BBC have been asking one driver to name his five favourite grands prix, one of which will then be broadcast on iPlayer. Some have gone for great races of the past, others for personal triumphs of their own. Adding up their votes gives us today's grand prix drivers' favourite race of all time.
Our slightly misshapen podium of races is as follows.
3=. France 1979 (4 votes). Something of a landmark for many reasons. Won by Jean-Pierre Jabouille (who?) in a Renault, victory at the French grand prix went to a French driver in a French car on French tyres. It was also the first time a grand prix had been won by a turbocharged car. But the reason it scored so highly was Jabouille's teammate Rene Arnoux's battle for second place with Gilles Villeneuve. Put it this way, these days the stewards would have sent them both to the naughty corner.
3=. Japan 1989 (4 votes). Alessandro Nannini's only career victory, but again that's probably not why most drivers chose it. The second last race of the 1980s was the absolute apex of the rivalry between Prost and Senna. Some say Senna went for a gap that wasn't there. Others say Prost turned in on him. The stewards followed Prost's point of view and disqualified Senna, who had rejoined the race after the inevitable collision, making Nannini race winner and Prost world champion.
3=. Belgium 2000 (4 votes). Schumacher always says his greatest rival was Mika Hakkinen, and this race features what's been called the greatest overtake ever, by Hakkinen on Schumacher with Ricardo Zonta as the meat in the sandwich. Interestingly, one of the drivers who voted for this race was none other than Michael Schumacher. He does have a heart, after all.
2. Brazil 2008 (6 votes). Surely the only time the world championship has been decided on the last lap on the last race, and surely the only time it ever will be, either. Felipe Massa had to win to be world champion. Lewis Hamilton only had to be fifth. On the last lap, with Massa in the lead and Hamilton sixth, it began to rain. Massa crossed the line, thinking he was world champion. But at the second last corner Hamilton, on intermediate tyres, passed Timo Glock on slicks to take fifth place, and the world championship.
1. Europe 1993 (7 votes). Murray Walker calls it, 'the greatest lap ever driven, by anybody', and he should know - he's watched enough. Senna's first lap in the wet at Donington Park, overtaking Prost, Schumacher, Damon Hill and Karl Wendlinger - fifth to first in one lap - made them all look like schoolboys. Watching it again, if you didn't know what was going to happen, you wouldn't think it was possible. Who said it was a stupid idea to have a race in England in March?
So Senna gets to spray champagne down the back of Massa's and Hakkinen's overalls (I don't think they'd mind) and we get to listen to the European national anthem (Beethoven's Ode to Joy, in case you were wondering). Interestingly this contest also had a nail-biting climax, with the last two on 6 votes each going into the final round, before Jenson Button cast the deciding vote.
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Senna, again
Phil: They let me watch 'Senna', at last. Frankly I'd have to endorse my co-blogger's glowing review. This is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. A cynic would say, being obsessed with F1 like we both are, that I would say that, wouldn't I, but I do think that the narrative is so strong and the archive footage so absolutely superb that even someone with little or no interest in F1 would enjoy it.
Although I knew the central story, of course, Senna's arrival in F1, his rivalry with Prost and finally his death at Imola in 1994, there were plenty of new things to keep me interested. I'd never heard him speak his own language, and I'd never seen Ratzenberger's crash the day before Senna's. While as my co-blogger pointed out, Rubens Barrichello's crash that fateful weekend was spectacularly bad (incidentally, not unlike Allan McNish's crash at Le Mans a few weeks ago), I was particularly shocked by Martin Donnelly's crash at the Spanish grand prix in 1990, which equally I'd never seen before. Donnelly's Lotus seemed to have just disintegrated, leaving him unconscious - dead, for all the film audience knows - and lying in the middle of the track. With the benefit of hindsight we know that Donnelly survived, but 17 years on, as I watched a helicopter take the greatest driver of his generation to the hospital, I felt close to tears.
When I was growing up with F1 in 1980s, I was aware that F1 had a history, and that it had a dark side, with not very many retired F1 drivers. I'd seen footage of the likes of Fangio driving in shirt sleeves with no seatbelt or crash helmet. But there was this conceit, or maybe it was just me, that F1 was so much safer than it had been. Imola shattered all that. Looking back now, and comparing F1 cars and tracks in 1994 to the safety measures that basically saved Sergio Perez's life at Monaco this year, there is no comparison. Cars then seemed to fall apart when they crashed (and often when they didn't crash: 24 finishers out of 24 starters at Valencia last weekend is a record, and a measure of how reliable F1 cars have become).
Anyway, that's quite enough doom and gloom. Let's have some racing. Oh, sorry, it's Valencia, there isn't any. It's Valencia, the weather is fine and Vettel is on pole. Nuff said, I think. An hour and a half of racing at Valencia somehow seemed to take longer than four hours of mainly waiting in the pit lane for it to stop raining at Montreal.
To be fair, this has been a cracking season, and we're always going to get a duff one (at least we were spared Bahrain this year). I say a cracking season, but realistically even Vettel's main rivals admit who is going to be champion this year, as my co-blogger was explaining. With six wins and two second places out of eight races so far this season, Vettel has scored 93% of the possible maximum points. A driver has only ever taken more than 80% of the possible points in a season three times: Schumacher twice in the early 2000s, and Jim Clark in 1963, who, as my dad pointed out, won 7 out of 10 races. In each case, the driver concerned won the title by a country mile. Vettel's lead at slightly under half way through the season is now 77 points over Jenson Button, and as Martin Brundle observed, Vettel could join him in the BBC commentary box for the next three races, and still arrive at Spa at the end of next month leading the championship.
A few weeks ago one of the bookies had him 4-1 on to take the title. That's £1.25 back on a £1 bet. But don't think of it as a bet. Think of it as an investment.
Although I knew the central story, of course, Senna's arrival in F1, his rivalry with Prost and finally his death at Imola in 1994, there were plenty of new things to keep me interested. I'd never heard him speak his own language, and I'd never seen Ratzenberger's crash the day before Senna's. While as my co-blogger pointed out, Rubens Barrichello's crash that fateful weekend was spectacularly bad (incidentally, not unlike Allan McNish's crash at Le Mans a few weeks ago), I was particularly shocked by Martin Donnelly's crash at the Spanish grand prix in 1990, which equally I'd never seen before. Donnelly's Lotus seemed to have just disintegrated, leaving him unconscious - dead, for all the film audience knows - and lying in the middle of the track. With the benefit of hindsight we know that Donnelly survived, but 17 years on, as I watched a helicopter take the greatest driver of his generation to the hospital, I felt close to tears.
When I was growing up with F1 in 1980s, I was aware that F1 had a history, and that it had a dark side, with not very many retired F1 drivers. I'd seen footage of the likes of Fangio driving in shirt sleeves with no seatbelt or crash helmet. But there was this conceit, or maybe it was just me, that F1 was so much safer than it had been. Imola shattered all that. Looking back now, and comparing F1 cars and tracks in 1994 to the safety measures that basically saved Sergio Perez's life at Monaco this year, there is no comparison. Cars then seemed to fall apart when they crashed (and often when they didn't crash: 24 finishers out of 24 starters at Valencia last weekend is a record, and a measure of how reliable F1 cars have become).
Anyway, that's quite enough doom and gloom. Let's have some racing. Oh, sorry, it's Valencia, there isn't any. It's Valencia, the weather is fine and Vettel is on pole. Nuff said, I think. An hour and a half of racing at Valencia somehow seemed to take longer than four hours of mainly waiting in the pit lane for it to stop raining at Montreal.
To be fair, this has been a cracking season, and we're always going to get a duff one (at least we were spared Bahrain this year). I say a cracking season, but realistically even Vettel's main rivals admit who is going to be champion this year, as my co-blogger was explaining. With six wins and two second places out of eight races so far this season, Vettel has scored 93% of the possible maximum points. A driver has only ever taken more than 80% of the possible points in a season three times: Schumacher twice in the early 2000s, and Jim Clark in 1963, who, as my dad pointed out, won 7 out of 10 races. In each case, the driver concerned won the title by a country mile. Vettel's lead at slightly under half way through the season is now 77 points over Jenson Button, and as Martin Brundle observed, Vettel could join him in the BBC commentary box for the next three races, and still arrive at Spa at the end of next month leading the championship.
A few weeks ago one of the bookies had him 4-1 on to take the title. That's £1.25 back on a £1 bet. But don't think of it as a bet. Think of it as an investment.
Thursday, 23 June 2011
Sold out
Phil: Imagine my annoyance yesterday evening on getting to the cinema, only to find a note reading, 'Senna 8pm sold out' stuck to the door. My annoyance only lasted for a moment before turning to something of a warm glow as I realised how many fellow F1 fans there must be in a small town in Gloucestershire, and how much interest in a driver who died before some of them were born. Definitely booking my tickets in advance next time though.
In other news, I've been picked for the karting team at work! We are taking part in a one off karting event, competing against other accounting firms in the region. We've been asked to choose team names. I've been told my suggestion - Rhymes with 'James Hunt' - is inappropriate and would welcome any suggestions my co-blogger might have.
In other news, I've been picked for the karting team at work! We are taking part in a one off karting event, competing against other accounting firms in the region. We've been asked to choose team names. I've been told my suggestion - Rhymes with 'James Hunt' - is inappropriate and would welcome any suggestions my co-blogger might have.
Friday, 10 June 2011
Villeneuve
Phil: Gilles, of course.
I devoured my co-blogger's analysis of Senna, which I personally can't wait to see. I must have watched the trailer online half a dozen times now - is Barrichello's crash the one that's in the trailer, dubbed with Senna saying something like, 'if you're not prepared to take risks, then you're not a racing driver'?
We seem to be delving deeper and deeper into the history of the sport, and this week, a mere quarter of a century after my co-blogger, I got round to watching the 1985 European Grand Prix. It's on BBC F1's excellent classic F1 feature - keep your eyes open for Nigel Mansell's dad...
This week's classic F1 features Paul di Resta's top 5 favourite races, and as he's barely driven 5 grands prix in his career he's naturally picked some old stuff. The one they've gone with, as we are going to the circuit that bears his name, is one of Gilles Villeneuve's classic drives, the 1979 French Grand Prix.
And it's raining in Montreal.
I devoured my co-blogger's analysis of Senna, which I personally can't wait to see. I must have watched the trailer online half a dozen times now - is Barrichello's crash the one that's in the trailer, dubbed with Senna saying something like, 'if you're not prepared to take risks, then you're not a racing driver'?
We seem to be delving deeper and deeper into the history of the sport, and this week, a mere quarter of a century after my co-blogger, I got round to watching the 1985 European Grand Prix. It's on BBC F1's excellent classic F1 feature - keep your eyes open for Nigel Mansell's dad...
This week's classic F1 features Paul di Resta's top 5 favourite races, and as he's barely driven 5 grands prix in his career he's naturally picked some old stuff. The one they've gone with, as we are going to the circuit that bears his name, is one of Gilles Villeneuve's classic drives, the 1979 French Grand Prix.
And it's raining in Montreal.
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Senna, Schumacher and Vettel
Phil: As usual an excellent summary of the last race from my co-blogger, although a detailed account would take more space than we can spare. So much was happening each lap at Istanbul that even a seasoned commentator like Martin Brundle could barely keep up, and commented at one point I believe how the leader pitting doesn't even merit air time, there's so much else happening on the track.
One thing is beyond doubt, though, as my co-blogger admirably explained: Vettel is in a class of his own. I half expected he might be: he certainly had the pace last season but lacked the maturity, as his collision with Webber at Istanbul a year ago showed. A year on, however, and the confidence that being reigning world champion gives, he is in a different class. I confidently expect him to be the first driver in five years to successfully defend his world title.
The funny thing is, last year we had an enthralling, season-long battle for the title that we couldn't really call until about half way through the last race, but of the races themselves, none of them really stick in the mind. This year, although the championship will probably have been wrapped up by Hungary, you can't look away from the races for a minute.
I've said before that I don't really know why Schumi came out of retirement, and still think he'll regret it in the long run. There are two reasons why he probably un-retired: firstly, because he thought he could be genuinely competitive again, and secondly, because he simply enjoys driving a F1 car. I don't think anyone seriously expects him to win a race again, let along a championship, and as he said after Turkey: the joy isn't there. It's hardly surprising. This is a driver who broke all the records, who barring a few years in the late 1990s when he was building Ferrari into the force it is today was accustomed to being virtually unchallenged and unchallengeable. Why would he now enjoy not winning, and being outraced by men half his age? Johnny Herbert, his team mate at Benetton in 1995, thinks he'll retire permanently at the end of this season, and I think he may be right.
Speaking of great F1 drivers of the past, there's a great interview with the man some call the Gavin Winston of F1 in the Guardian (which may even be linked to this blog, or maybe not). Newey, who designed the car in which Ayrton Senna was killed, talks about how his death affected him and how he won't be watching the new film about Senna.
Finally, I think my co-blogger will agree that the only date that needs to be in anyone's diary in the next few weeks is the I Was Having a Blog live event of the year at Monaco. Well, actually in High Wycombe, which is like Monaco. Well, they're both hilly...anyway I digress.
One thing is beyond doubt, though, as my co-blogger admirably explained: Vettel is in a class of his own. I half expected he might be: he certainly had the pace last season but lacked the maturity, as his collision with Webber at Istanbul a year ago showed. A year on, however, and the confidence that being reigning world champion gives, he is in a different class. I confidently expect him to be the first driver in five years to successfully defend his world title.
The funny thing is, last year we had an enthralling, season-long battle for the title that we couldn't really call until about half way through the last race, but of the races themselves, none of them really stick in the mind. This year, although the championship will probably have been wrapped up by Hungary, you can't look away from the races for a minute.
I've said before that I don't really know why Schumi came out of retirement, and still think he'll regret it in the long run. There are two reasons why he probably un-retired: firstly, because he thought he could be genuinely competitive again, and secondly, because he simply enjoys driving a F1 car. I don't think anyone seriously expects him to win a race again, let along a championship, and as he said after Turkey: the joy isn't there. It's hardly surprising. This is a driver who broke all the records, who barring a few years in the late 1990s when he was building Ferrari into the force it is today was accustomed to being virtually unchallenged and unchallengeable. Why would he now enjoy not winning, and being outraced by men half his age? Johnny Herbert, his team mate at Benetton in 1995, thinks he'll retire permanently at the end of this season, and I think he may be right.
Speaking of great F1 drivers of the past, there's a great interview with the man some call the Gavin Winston of F1 in the Guardian (which may even be linked to this blog, or maybe not). Newey, who designed the car in which Ayrton Senna was killed, talks about how his death affected him and how he won't be watching the new film about Senna.
Finally, I think my co-blogger will agree that the only date that needs to be in anyone's diary in the next few weeks is the I Was Having a Blog live event of the year at Monaco. Well, actually in High Wycombe, which is like Monaco. Well, they're both hilly...anyway I digress.
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.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
Two photos
That's how good this season is. The other wall, incidentally, is at Estoril, 1986. Funny how Hamilton looks just as unhappy to be sitting next to Alonso as Senna looked unhappy to be sitting next to Prost...anyway, I digress.
I agree completely with my co-blogger about Massa's reduced circumstances. As my co-blogger rightly points out, two years ago he was one corner away from the world championship. My concern is that he might now become one of Formula 1's nearly men: a talent somehow reduced by a life-threatening crash (Herbert, Panis) or simply outshone by a faster teammate (Barrichello, Berger, Coulthard).
Finally, another statistic. Red Bull have taken 12 pole positions this year. The only other teams to have beaten that record are McLaren (1988 and 1989) and Williams (1992 and 1993) (on the other four occasions, the team took a whopping 15 poles, ie every race but one). McLaren and Williams walked it in 1988-9 and 1992-3 respectively. With that pace, Red Bull ought to have done the same this year. The viewing public's great fortune is that they haven't.
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