Bleacher Report - Articles by Michael Griffin

Formula One: Why Force India Have Impressed Me the Most this Season

Michael Griffin — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:45:17 -0400

Force India-Mercedes have not had the best of luck since they first contested a Formula One Grand Prix in March 2008. They are yet to score a point, although as many of you know, they should really have quite a nice haul of points, but bad luck has struck on too many occasions.

The first season only brought one point scoring opportunity for Force India; the Monaco Grand Prix. Adrian Sutil had managed to keep his car out of the wall throughout, despite the treacherous conditions that engulfed the majority of the race, and found himself in fourth place with nine laps left.

All he had to do was stay out of trouble, and he tried his hardest, but Kimi Raikkonen got it horrifically wrong under breaking out of the tunnel and slammed into the back of Sutil.

Five points slipped from his and Force-India's grasp in an instance. Sutil was inconsolable, and Vijay Mallya, team owner, and Mike Gaiscoyne, then team principal, were livid.

No more opportunities came their way for the rest of season, but Vijay Mallya was confident that his team could find their calling with the new rules being implemented.

2009 was meant to be the season where it all came true for Force India. Over the winter, a partnership with McLaren and Mercedes was announced, Force India would use the engines, gearbox and electronic system currently produced by Mercedes, and would be able to call upon advice from McLaren.

Initial thoughts were that points would come very soon, and the team would be challenging for podiums positions by mid-season. Well, they're not so wrong in reality.

The 2009 Australian Grand Prix turned out to be a positive one, with Sutil finishing a solid ninth place, so close to picking up a point for the team. From here on, however, good results would be few and far in between.

They did have one unfortunate mishap, when Sutil was on for sixth at the Chinese Grand Prix in sodden conditions, but he caught standing water at turn four and smashed into the safety barrier. Three points gone in an instance, eight points in total gone because of bad luck.

The next time Force India could feel positive about their car was in Monaco, coincidentally, where Fisichella hustled the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Bourdais for the final point and eighth place.

Fisichella could not pass him, but it showed that progress had been made with the car. Mallya and the drivers were quoted as saying that it was only a matter of time until the points came.

The British Grand Prix was the next time the Formula One fraternity would be gossiping about Force India. Points were not on the cards, but Giancarlo Fisichella did finish in 10th, and managed to lap very close to the pace of the Ferrari's, Williams' and Toyota's. He beat both Renault's and both McLaren's too, not bad for a car that not a soul believed would do well.

From here on, the paddock now firmly believed that Force India had turned a corner with their package, and the evidence of that was clear at the German Grand Prix.

Sutil qualified in seventh, outpacing the Ferrari's in qualifying and benefiting from a chaotic session.

Sutil's race pace was astonishing, he was lapping as fast as third place Heikki Kovalainen, and when Heikki pitted, Sutil lapped faster than anyone around him. He found himself in a career high of second place before his first stop.

As he exited the pits, he met the Ferrari of Raikkonen, the two collided at turn one, and Sutil had to make another stop. He eventually finished in 11th place, but his pace suggested that fourth may have been possible.

The pace fell away in Hungary last weekend, but it may return at the European Grand Prix in Valencia. It is definitely only a matter of time before they finally score points, and no team could deserve it more.

In closing, Force India have impressed me the most this season because even when their bad luck strikes, they carry on fighting and developing and do not let bad results knock their confidence.

When other teams are considering leaving our sport due to their poor results, with one having done so, you have another team and the other end of the spectrum who refuse to give up, and while other teams have points, Force India have no points yet.

Does that matter? Not a bit, because they know they will come eventually, it is all about commitment, something that other teams need to have to succeed too.

An Idea To Revamp Formula One Qualifying

Michael Griffin — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:47:37 -0400

The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) have reportedly agreed upon a new concept for qualifying. This concept would allow five cars maximum on the circuit at one time, with two of the five advancing to the final qualifying.

Well, my concept is similar to this.

It would be something completely different to the current format, and would likely provide a massive shake-up to the order and make the entire weekend wholly unpredictable.

The first part would involve every driver attending a meeting 15 minutes prior to the start of qualifying where race director Charlie Whiting will go through with them the procedure in which the order for qualifying will be decided.

The names of every driver would be placed in small balls and spun around in a tumbler, where Mr. Whiting would take a ball out a show the name that came out, something similar to the way the draw is done for the Champions League in football.

There would be four pools—Pool One, Pool Two, Pool Three and Pool Four. Each pool would be given 10 minutes to set their times. There would be no limit to the amount of times they could set or how many sets of tyres they could use.

The fastest two driver from each pool of five drivers would be gain entry into the final pool—Pool Five.

Pool Five would include the two fastest drivers from each pool, the final session lasting 10 minutes again. The 12 drivers that will have been eliminated would then be told where they are on the grid judging by their fastest laps in their respective pools.

The final session would decide positions one to eight, and the pole-sitter would be given a two points for doing so, putting more focus on pole position rather pole-sitter Fernando Alonso, from the Hungarian Grand Prix, going home pointless.

If the person who sets the fastest lap of the entire hour is not on pole, then the said driver receives one point for achieving that feat.

I haven't quite figured this out yet, but I want to know if A) you approve of this concept, and B) what is your idea.

Tell me how to improve on this too, thanks guys.

Michael Schumacher Is Coming Back To Formula One

Michael Griffin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:49:52 -0400

Michael Schumacher is set to come out of retirement to stand in for Ferrari's Felipe Massa's at the European Grand Prix.

Days of speculation about who would partner Kimi Raikkonen—following Massa's Hungarian GP crash—have engulfed the Formula One fraternity, and Ferrari have now issued a statement confirming that Schumacher is being prepared for the role.

The statement said that Schumacher was "ready" to make his Formula One return, and would begin a training programme over the next few days to ensure he was up to full fitness required for a Formula One race.

The German, who quit Formula One at the end of 2006, was involved in a motorbike accident earlier this year and there were fears within the Schumacher camp that the neck injury he sustained would force him to pull out of his return.

Schumacher has previously scoffed at the idea of returning to Formula One, but with Massa only looking likely to return when he is back to full fitness, and Ferrari in need of a driver capable of matching or even beating Raikkonen, the opportunity has attracted him.

"The most important thing first: thank God, all news concerning Felipe is positive. I wish him all the best again," said Schumacher.

"I was meeting this afternoon with Stefano Domenicali and Luca di Montezemolo, and together we decided that I will prepare myself to take the place of Felipe.

"Though it is true that the chapter of Formula 1 has been completely closed for me for a long time, it is also true that for loyalty reasons to the team I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation. But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge."

Once Schumacher gets the go-ahead, it will be the first time he has been a teammate to Kimi Raikkonen, and the pair will launch their bid to secure Ferrari third place in the constructors' championship.

Schumacher has not tested the current F60, and has not driven a Formula One car since April 2008 when he tested the F2008 at Barcelona.

The announcement of Schumacher's return comes just 24 hours after his manager Willi Weber totally ruled out the possibility of the legend racing in Valencia.

"Whoever sits in the car at the next race in Valencia, it will not be Michael Schumacher. I am not 100 percent sure; I am 200 percent sure," Weber was quoted as saying by The Daily Mail.

"The pressure on him would be huge. He would be expected to win, but he has not driven this car. When Michael was racing he would get as close to perfection as possible. In this case, it would not be perfection; it would be a gamble—and that's not Michael's style."

Whatever your opinion of Michael Schumacher, it is a great to see such a big name return to our sport.

BMW-Sauber To Quit Formula One From 2009

Michael Griffin — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:05:25 -0400

BMW-Sauber's future in Formula One is in serious doubt amid increased speculation that the German car manufacturer will announce its withdrawal from the sport at the end of this season.

An emergency press conference has been called at BMW's headquarters in Munich for Wednesday, where it is believed that the car giant may reveal that it has decided to end its involvement in Formula One.

The official invite to the press conference said it had been called due to "current developments in motor sport".

The press conference will be hosted by Dr. Norbert Reithofer, the chairman of the BMW board, Dr. Klaus Draeger, the director for development, and Mario Theissen, BMW motorsport director. The attendance of such senior management figures suggests that the announcement will be very important and may shape their motorsport campaigns for many years to come.

Officials at BMW have now refused to comment about what the press conference was about, but they did confirm that it could be classed as "very important" news.

BMW-Sauber had initially hoped to fight for the world championship this year on both fronts, but the F1.09 has unfortunately fallen short of its high expectations. Its struggles, combined with the abandonment of its KERS, are likely to have played a part in any decision taken about the future of the team.

Although BMW-Sauber had a troubled start to the season, despite being likely to win in Australia, Theissen has made it clear on many occasions that the team's form had not changed BMW-Sauber's commitment to Formula One.

"We analysed and evaluated the situation and the Formula One programme with the board prior to the start of the season in February," said Theissen. "It was overall a very positive evaluation and judgement, and that hasn't changed.

"Apparently everybody is disappointed about the sporting results, but other than that there is no news and we have not discussed it since."

However, sources have suggested to the F1 Times that a review meeting was planned for July to decide the future of the team - and this may be behind any announcement planned for the morning.

Should BMW-Sauber confirm it is pulling out of the sport, it will be the second car manufacturing giant to do so in just eight months - with Honda having announced last December that it was to leave the sport.

BMW-Sauber was on the verge of signing a Concorde Agreement that would have committed the team to Formula One until the end of 2012, and with such an agreement so close, the only other possibilities are a junior team being formed, unlikely with all 13 places taken for next year, or a Le Mans squad, which is likely as BMW are fighting Audi on all fronts in the automotive industry currently.

UPDATE: BMW-Sauber have now confirmed, as predicted by the F1 Times, that they are leaving Formula One to form a Le Mans squad. Sources indicate at this point that Peter Sauber will go into negotiations today with the BMW board to buy back the share of his former team that the sold in late 2005, but only if he can use the current BMW equipment.

Lewis Hamilton Wins The Hungarian Grand Prix In a Crushing Performance

Michael Griffin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:25:56 -0400

Lewis Hamilton completed an astonishing turn-around in McLaren's luck and claimed the first win of the championship at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

In what could be seen a major return to the pecking order seen before to this year's massive rule changes, Ferrari took second place with Kimi Raikkonen - an emotional result with the Finn's team-mate Felipe Massa still in an induced coma in a Budapest hospital.

Mark Webber managed to eat into Jenson Button's championship lead, as the Australian took third place on a day when the Briton could only manage two solitary points for seventh.

The result now means that Webber is Red Bull's leading contender in the championship, as his team-mate Sebastian Vettel retired with suspension damage, particularly due to turn one collision with Raikkonen.

As anticipated, the KERS-equipped cars stormed off the line, with Hamilton diving past Webber into second place behind pole-sitter Fernando Alonso, and Raikkonen sliding past the slow-starting Vettel to take fourth position, making seemingly light contact on his way through.

Webber managed to dive ahead of Hamilton on the exit of Turn One as the McLaren went slightly wide, but the world champion returned the favour four laps later, using his KERS boost to get alongside the Red Bull into the first corner, forcing Webber to cut tight, and then easily accelerating past into Turn Two.

Hamilton then set off in pursuit after his former team-mate Alonso, who had stormed off into a early lead despite fuel pump problems, but was making he made the first of three stops on lap 12.

That stop proved to be the end of his race, as he rejoined the race it immediately became glaringly obvious that his right front wheel was very loose. The problem was that his brake caliper was not tightened properly by his mechanic. The wheel then fell off as he nursed his car back to the pits, and the consequent damage eventually forced him to retire from the grand prix.

That left Hamilton clear to dominate the rest of the race from the front. Webber found himself behind Raikkonen after an incident in the pitlane - the Red Bull pulling out almost alongside the Ferrari and having to move aside. Webber was delayed even further when the yet-to-stop Timo Glock managed to get between them on the out-lap.

The top three then began to stretch out as the race moved on, with Raikkonen falling back from the charging Hamilton in the second stint and then Webber was similarly unable to keep up with the Ferrari.

Hamilton then built his lead ever further to clinch his second Hungarian Grand Prix victory - an incredible result when you consider the fact that his McLaren was eliminated in Q1 as recently as Silverstone, and that he had failed to score a single point at all since Bahrain.

Webber had begun to close the gap on Raikkonen after the final stops, but he was unsuccessful in his quest, and in the process managed to pull away from Nico Rosberg's Williams, which at one point had looked like it could threaten for the final podium finish.

While Webber had been unable to capitalise on Button's lack of pace with a victory, he did manage narrow the championship gap to 18.5 points. The Australian has now jumped Vettel in the points, and is starting to find his consistency that he needs to take the title.

Heikki Kovalainen brought the other McLaren home in fifth place, with Timo Glock's unbelievably late first stop allowing him to run as high as second and eventually come through the field from 13th on the grid to sixth for Toyota.

Button, quite simply, never had the pace to get near the top five, with his radio transmissions suggesting that he was left flabbergasted by his car's lack of performance. Another frustrating weekend for Brawn, who now seriously need to get on top of their tyre issues as they can now say that not only have Red Bull leapfrogged them, but so have McLaren.

Jarno Trulli managed to take a solid eighth place for Toyota, the Italian having also gained ground earlier by running long, leaving Trulli to fend off Kazuki Nakajima and Rubens Barrichello, the latter falling way down the order at the first corner.

Jaime Alguersuari completed his debut grand prix in 15th, beating his Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastien Buemi. Alguersuari also managed to set one of the fastest laps of the race, and managed to lap mor consistently than the leaders. Not bad for a rookie.

After the race it was announced the Red Bull would be reprimanded for the unsafe release of Mark Webber, and Renault would be banned from the European Grand Prix as punishment for letting Alonso go with, well, the tyre not on the car. With the tragedy surrounding the death of Henry Surtees and a flying tyre, it astounds me that this kind of thing can happen. Personally, I think Alonso should have just pulled off, you would believe he would have enough sense.

T.V.Coverage - 7/10

Pretty bloody good, Jake Humphrey and David Coulthard as good as usual, but Eddie Jordan was disappointing. First he lied about him being told about the health of Massa after his crash, then talked complete crap on the grid walk today.

Radio 5Live regular Anthony Davidson was not at the Hungaroring today, he was competing in the FIA GT Spa 24 Hours race, so Johnny Herbert replaced him. Utterly annoying, so I had to listen to the slightly less annoying Jonathan Legard.

Legard needs to be sacked, I lost count of the amount of times he interrupted Martin Brundle was sickening.

Driver of the Day

Lewis Hamilton was just dynamite today, he proved just how good he really is today, he annihilated everyone, but he was almost matched by the young debutant Jamie Alguersuari (I love hearing his name) who did not make a single mistake all day.

I initially thought he was too young to compete so suddenly, but I was wrong, he defeated his team-mate. Well done young sire.

Race Rating - 7/10

The race was not boring, but not full of drama, but it was solid enough, so I think 7/10 is rather fair.

Congratulation to Lewis Hamilton but particularly to McLaren for pulling back almost three second of pace in just four months, I do not think any team has made a recovery like this for quite some time.

With a four week break, this correspondent will probably go nuts, so until Valencia, I say goodbye.

Pos	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retirement
1	L. Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1.38:23.875
2	K. Raikkonen	Ferrari	+16.2
3	M. Webber	Red Bull	+22.0
4	N. Rosberg	Williams	+27.8
5	H. Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	+35.1
6	T. Glock	Toyota	+38.0
7	J. Button	Brawn GP	+53.0
8	J. Trulli	Toyota	+1:02.6
9	K. Nakajima	Williams	+1:03.5
10	R. Barrichello	Brawn GP	+1:04.1
11	N. Heidfeld	BMW-Sauber	+1:08.1
12	N. Piquet	Renault	+1:09.7
13	R. Kubica	BMW-Sauber	+1:12.3
14	G. Fisichella	Force India	+1:17.6
15	J. Alguersuari	Toro Rosso	+1 lap
16	S. Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1 lap
17	S. Vettel	Red Bull	+35 laps
18	F. Alonso	Renault	+49 laps
19	A. Sutil	Force India	+63 laps

Michael Griffin

Understanding Formula One: Brakes

Michael Griffin — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:20:15 -0400

Welcome one and all to the second edition of “Understanding Formula One,” where I am looking to teach you in the fundamental rules and technologies that make up modern Formula One.

Here in this edition, I will look at brakes, which was also heavily discussed in the comments section of the Aerodynamics edition of this series.

A Formula One car is actually closely related to its road-going counterpart when it comes to the art of braking.

Now that ABS anti-skid systems have been banned from Formula One, most modern road cars can lay claim to having considerably cleverer retardation. That sounds slightly embarrassing really, but less aids means better racing...doesn’t it?

The principle of braking is simple, slowing the object by removing kinetic energy from it. Formula One cars have disc brakes, like the vast majority of road cars, with rotating discs, attached to the wheels, being squeezed between two brake pads by the action of a hydraulic calliper.

This turns a car's momentum into large amounts of heat and light, eagle eyed fans will have noticed the way Formula One brake discs glow yellow hot. Looks cool, doesn’t it?

In the exact same way that applying too much power through a wheel will cause it to spin, too much braking will cause it to lock as the brakes surpass the available levels of grip from the tyre.

Formula One did previously allow anti-skid braking systems, which would reduce the brake pressure to allow the wheel to turn again and then continue to slow it at the maximum possible rate, but these were banned in the early 1990s.

Braking, to this very day, still remains one of the sternest tests of a Formula One driver's skill.

It really sorts out the men from the boys, although Lewis Hamilton does appear to have an obsession with locking his brakes, whereas I do not think Jenson Button has locked a brake all season long...weird, eh?

The technical regulations also require that every single car has a twin-circuit hydraulic braking system with two separate reservoirs for the front and rear wheels.

This ensures that, even in the event of one complete circuit failure, braking should still be available through the second circuit. Brake failures were at one point commonplace until this sophisticated system came into play.

The amount of braking energy going to the front and rear circuits and where it is distributed can be 'biased' by a dial in the cockpit, either on the steering wheel or on the floor of the car, down to the left or right of a driver.

This allows a driver to stabilise handling or constantly change the brakes bias for every corner, much like we have seen Jenson Button do this season.

Under normal operation, about 60 percent of braking power goes to the front wheels because of the load transfer under deceleration. The other 40 percent goes to the rear of the car to stabilise the car under braking.

There is one area Formula One brakes are significantly more advanced than their road-going equivalent systems: materials.

All the cars on the grid now use carbon fibre composite brake discs which save good amounts of weight and are able to operate at higher temperatures than steel discs. A typical Formula One brake disc weighs about 1.5 kg.

These are gripped by special compound brake pads and are capable of running at simply astronomical temperatures...anything up to 750 degrees Celsius, or as I like to call it, hotter than Scarlett Johansson. Jenson Button came up with that one, not me.

In past years, different-sized discs would be used for qualifying and racing, but when the rules were changed in 2003, it meant that all cars enter parc-ferme after qualifying, and so therefore set their ultimate qualifying lap times on their race brakes.

Formula One brakes are phenomenally efficient. In combination with the modern advanced tyre compounds, they have dramatically reduced braking distances.

It takes a Formula One car substantially less distance to stop from 160 km/h than a road car uses to stop from 100 km/h.

The brakes are so bloody good that the regulations deliberately discourage development through restrictions on materials and design, to prevent even shorter braking distances rendering overtaking all but impossible, overtaking is impossible enough at it is, imagine what damage perfect brakes would do to the action in a race.

For the 2009 season, teams were allowed to develop a energy recovery system, known as the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, also known as KERS.

KERS allow the teams to recover the kinetic energy that is dispersed under braking for each corner and store it as a boost of 80 horsepower for 6.7 seconds per lap.

KERS has been a white elephant this season, with the system costing a gigantic amount of money to develop and a large amount to maintain and run. Some teams are believed to have spent over £50 million on developing their KERS systems.

The only successful KERS system has been the one run by McLaren-Mercedes. The system has not seen a failure and appears to harness the 80bhp a lot better than any other system seen this season.

We have seen the potential of KERS this season on two occasions, the first was the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton dived up the order and was challenging for the lead one lap one before falling back slightly.

The second occasion was the German Grand Prix, where Hamilton started in fifth place. He dived through the grid to find himself ahead of polesitter Mark Webber and leading into turn one before succumbing to a puncture picked up by hitting Webber.

Thank you all for reading this guide to braking, join me next time for my next guide to understanding Formula One.

Understanding Formula One: Aerodynamics

Michael Griffin — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:05:40 -0400

Welcome all to a new series by yours truly, first came the Safety First series, and now I will teach you all on the ethics of Formula One. When we reach the end of this series, you should all have a thorough understanding of Formula One. Let’s begin with the first instalment, Aerodynamics.

Modern Formula One cars have as much in common with a jet fighter as they do with ordinary road cars. Nope, that isn’t a joke.

Aerodynamics have become vital to achieving meaningful success in the sport and teams spend hundreds of millions of pounds on research, development and analysis of aerodynamics each year.

The designer of the aerodynamic package has two concerns - the creation of downforce, which helps to push the tyres of the car onto the track and improve the optimum cornering speed; and minimising the drag that is caused by turbulence and acts to slow the car down, something similar to the many years of research spent on stopping aeroplanes creating vortices at the edge of the wings.

F1 teams began to experiment with the wings in the late '60s. Racing car wings operate on exactly the same kind of principle as aircraft wings, but in reverse.

Air flows at varying speeds over the two sides of the wing (by having to travel varying distances over its contours) and this then creates a significant difference in air pressure, a physical rule known as Bernoulli's Principle.

As this pressure tries to balance, the wing attempts to move in the direction of the low pressure to try and cancel the effect of the pressure. Planes use their wings to create lift to help them get off the ground; racing cars use theirs to create downforce to keep the car on the track.

A modern Formula One car is now capable of developing a staggering 4.5 g lateral cornering force (four and a half times its own weight) thanks to aerodynamic downforce. That means that, theoretically, at high speeds they could drive upside down, I bet nobody is brave enough to try it though.

Early experiments with movable wings and high wing mountings led to some horrific accidents, after which safety concerns over the need for speed as cars got heavier and heavier, and for the 1970 Formula One season, regulations were introduced to limit the size and location of wings. Some of these rules still resonate in current regulations.

By the mid '70s, "ground effect" downforce had been discovered, a discovery that would change the understanding of downforce eternally. Lotus engineers realised that the entire car could be made to act like a wing by the creating a giant wing on its underside which would help to suck it to the road.

The perfect example of this theory was the Brabham BT46B, designed by car design God Gordon Murray who designed the legendary McLaren MP4/4, which actually used a cooling fan to extract air from the skirted area under the car, creating astonishing amount of downforce not even matched today. That sounds mad even by today’s double diffuser standards.

After technical challenges from other teams (yup, they kicked up a fuss that long ago as well) it was withdrawn after just one race. Rule changes then followed to try and limit the benefits of "ground effects"—first came a ban on the skirts used by the teams to contain the low pressure area, later a requirement for a "stepped floor."

Despite the expensive full-sized wind tunnels and ridiculously vast computing power used by the aerodynamic departments of the vast majority of teams (boffins), the fundamental principles of Formula One aerodynamics still apply - to create the maximum amount of downforce for the minimal amount of drag.

The front and rear wings are fitted with different profiles and settings depending on the downforce requirements of a particular track. Tight, slow and short circuits like Monaco require the most aggressive wing profiles—eagle-eyed fans will have noticed that the cars run two separate blades of elements on the rear wings (two is the maximum permitted).

In contrast, high-speed circuits like Monza see the cars stripped of as much wing as possible, to reduce drag and increase speed on the long straights. This makes the car very slippery and difficult to hold onto in corner like Ascari and the Lesmos’.

Every single little surface of a modern Formula One car, from the angle of the suspension links to that of the driver's helmet, has its aerodynamic effects considered.

Disturbed air, where the flow “separates” from the body, creates turbulence which then creates drag—which slows the car down, as mentioned previously. Look at any recent car, apart from a 2007/08 Honda, and you will notice that almost as much effort, and money, has been spent reducing drag as increasing downforce - from the vertical end-plates fitted to the wings to prevent vortices forming, to the diffuser plates mounted low at the back, which help to re-equalise pressure of the faster-flowing air that has passed under the car and would otherwise create a low-pressure 'balloon' dragging at the back.

Despite this, designers can't make their cars too "slippery," as a good supply of airflow has to be ensured to help dissipate the vast amounts of heat produced by a modern Formula One engine. A slippery car is difficult to control difficult to drive fast and is therefore slower, despite whatever aids there may be.

In recent years, the vast majority of Formula One teams have tried to emulate Ferrari's "narrow waist" design, where the rear of the car is made as narrow and low as is physically possible. This reduces drag and maximises the amount of air available to the rear wing. The 'barge boards' fitted to the sides of cars also helped to shape the flow of the air and minimise the amount of turbulence.

Ferrari’s unique approach to aerodynamic and technical design brought them five consecutive drivers’ championships, and six consecutive constructors’ championships. They created two phenomenally dominant Formula One cars, the F2002 and the F2004. Both cars adopted the “narrow and low” design language and exploited it to its full potential, often dominating races and entire seasons.

New technical regulations were introduced in 2005, and they forced the aerodynamicists to be even more ingenious (imagine how sore their heads were from all of that thinking).

In a bid to cut speeds, the FIA robbed the cars of a huge chunk of downforce by raising the front wing, bringing the rear wing forward and modifying the profile of the rear diffuser, the boring gits. The designers quickly clawed back much of the loss, with a variety of intricate and novel solutions such as the horn winglets first seen on the McLaren MP4-20.This infuriated the FIA, so they then introduced the stupid “one-tyre only” rule per race to make the cars slower, and unfortunately for us, it worked.

Most of those innovations were effectively outlawed under the even more stringent aerodynamic regulations imposed by the FIA for 2009.

The changes were designed to promote overtaking by making it easier for a car to closely follow another. They can follow closer, but the drivers must still be significantly faster than the other car, or have KERS ready to use, which the vast majority of the driver do not.

The new rules take the cars into another new era, as if we needed it after the brilliant 2008 season; with lower and wider front wings, taller and narrower rear wings, and generally much "cleaner" bodywork.

The FIA thought they had succeeded in making the cars slower, but again, they failed, the teams managed to make the even faster than last season, with Brawn, Williams and Toyota innovating the phenomenal double-decker diffusers, entailing a whole new understanding of aerodynamics.

Well, we now come to the end of the aerodynamics section of the “Understanding Formula One” series; I hope you join me for the next edition which will look at one of the most vital pieces of brilliance on a Formula One car, the brakes. See you then, thoughts and picks (you know you want to) in the usual form below.

Who Is The Right Person To Lead The FIA?

Michael Griffin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 10:37:05 -0400

Jean Todt has now confirmed that, after his endorsement by current and outgoing FIA President Max Mosley, he will indeed run for the job as President of the FIA. He will be up against Ari Vatanen for the job, but this announcement now adds more complications to the whole issue of the job.

Jean Todt is the former head of the Ferrari Formula One team, leading the team to many titles, although coming across controversy many times for what fans and the media saw as "the team before the sport."

He officially left Ferrari for good this season, but he still holds close relationships with everyone at Ferrari. His son is Felipe Massa's manager, which shows the influence that Mr. Todt still has in the team.

As we all know, for many years there were accusations that the FIA and Ferrari has a "special relationship", and the trouble was that every time the rumours died down, another dodgy,often disgraceful decision would bring up the situation again.

Fans who hate Ferrari will think back to the first time suspicions came about, the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix. It was the return of Michael Schumacher after his broken leg, and, for once, his opportunity to help his team-mate Eddie Irvine to a world title.

Irvine did win the race, but was destroyed by Schumacher, who took pole over Irvine by almost a whole second. After the race, Ferrari were disqualified for running illegal barge boards.

The Malaysian stewards had said the team were running illegal barge boards and subsequently disqualified Ferrari, thus giving Mika Hakkinen his second world title. But, then the twist came.

The FIA announced that they were overturning the ruling by the stewards after a post-race inspection uncovered a discrepancy over the size of aerodynamics aids on their cars, particularly on the barge boards. The opposing teams all agreed Ferrari deserved to be disqualified, but the FIA disagreed.

The FIA's five-member International Court of Appeal ruled that the area of the car in question fell within an allowable five mm tolerance.

McLaren team head Ron Dennis said that it was a "dark day for the sport," and said it would signal "the start of a dark era as a whole for the sport."

Unfortunately, the controversy continued until it culminated at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Before this Grand Prix, a lot of decisions involving a Ferrari would go the other way, much to the disgust of other teams and their fans.

I do not have enough time to list every penalty which caused controversy, but the problem is this—the fans will feel that if Jean Todt, someone inexplicably close to Ferrari, gets the job, then the "assistance" era could return, and the last thing this sport needs is more controversy.

The trouble is, Todt is a like-able character, and is now popular amongst the F1 fraternity. That makes it hard to discount his challenge for the leadership, but unfortunately for him, FOTA have already said they need someone who has no history in F1, and Todt just cannot take the job.

So, it would now appear that the only person for the job is Ari Vatanen. He has no ties with current teams, no influence over any of them, and has said that he wishes to let the teams have more input into the sport.

Vatanen can remains impartial because he already is, he has no history with any of the teams, but with Todt's prolific and successful career with Ferrari, it will be impossible for him and the FIA to go about their duties and appear impartial, even if that is the case.

It may hurt Ferrari fans, but Jean Todt is the wrong person to lead the FIA and control F1, in-fact, because of his un-impartiality towards Ferrari (forgive me if that is not a word), he is the worst possible person for the job. Well, apart from a certain arse spanking son-of-a-fascist imbecile by the name of Max Mosley.

So, it would appear that Vatanen is the right man for the job, and the only person thus far to receive any meaningful support (Max's support for Todt means nothing these days), but he may not have the competition sown up just yet.

Apparently, a certain bearded man from Britain is thinking about running for the job. His Dad was a decent racing driver, and he's also a world champion. his initials are DH, and he has links with only one team on the grid...who sacked him...impartial or what?

Answers on a postcard, and now lets revel in Ferrari fans striking me down despite the fact that I largely remained impartial...sort of. Ciao.

Webber Finally Takes His Maiden Win at The Nurburgring

Michael Griffin — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:09:32 -0400

Mark Webber finally took his first Formula One victory as Red Bull-Renault scored its third one-two result of the season at the Nurburgring. This time, however, it was with Webber ahead of Sebastian Vettel at long last.

Webber had to overcome a drive-through penalty after an incident with Rubens Barrichello on the run down to turn one, but not even that could stop Webber from dominating the race.

The Brawn-Mercedes' did not have the pace to compete with the Red Bulls and fell down the order to fifth and sixth— Jenson Button ahead of Barrichello—behind Felipe Massa and Nico Rosberg when their three-stop strategies failed to work to fruition.

The result subsequently narrows Button's championship lead to 21 points over Vettel, with Webber and Barrichello a further 1.5 and 3.5 points behind respectively.

An eventful start to the race saw the KERS equipped cars thrust forward through the pack, with Lewis Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes charging down to the outside to go wheel-to-wheel with Barrichello and Webber—who had already touched as the poleman defended off the line—into Turn One.

Hamilton arrived at Turn One in the lead, but he unfortunately picked up a rear-tyre puncture from a tangle with Webber's front-wing end plate. This resulted to him struggling back to the pits and his race being over within yards of the start.

Barrichello emerged from the Mercedes Arena (turns one, two, and three) in front of Webber, with Heikki Kovalainen and Massa—who was also making full use of their KERS boost—taking third and fourth place respectively, ahead of Button and Vettel.

Button dived down the inside Massa to take fourth place at the start of lap two, but it was harder for Kovalainen to negotiate and the Brawn-Mercedes remained stuck behind the McLaren-Mercedes until the championship leader made his first stop on lap 13.

While this was carrying on, Webber's tussle with Barrichello off the line had attracted the attention of the stewards, and it was announced soon-after that he would receive a drive-through penalty. It appeared that his race was over at this point, or at least his fight for the win.

He took his penalty on lap 14 and followed Barrichello into the pits, and with the slower Kovalainen and Massa having created somewhat of a train behind them, Webber was able to emerge in the lead.

He then proceeded to pull away during the five laps before he had to make his first scheduled stop, which was heavy on fuel and not due to pit until lap 25.

This effectively neutralized Webber's penalty and brought him straight back into contention for victory, especially as he was only making two fuel stops. The Brawns on the other hand were to pit three times.

When those on long first stints finally came into the pits for their first stops, Barrichello was in the lead again, but he had lost such a huge amount of time that he now had Webber closing on him at an increasing rate of knots, despite the Red Bull being heavier.

When Barrichello was held up in the pits by a fuel rig problem, Webber was left with a large lead over teammate Vettel and knew that his overdue win was secured.

The Brawns' third scheduled stop guaranteed that not only would they fall behind Massa, but also Nico Rosberg. He had already done a sensational job of fighting through the field from 15th on the grid.

Button then caught Barrichello with ease in the third stint and then cruised ahead at the final stops. However, they were so far off the pace, they eventually came under pressure from the flying Fernando Alonso.

The Renault driver looked like he was going to finish outside the top 10, but after his second stop, Alonso found a second wind—setting the fastest lap of the race, even on heavy fuel following his last stop. However, despite his best attempts, he could not pass the Brawns at the end.

A short first stint followed by a long-middle stint did not work out for Kovalainen, taking him from third to eighth. As he ended up holding off immense pressure from Glock, Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fisichella and Kazuki Nakajima.

Fisichella was briefly running in the top eight after a brave early charge on a three-stop strategy. He had finished close to Kovalainen in the end, further proving that Force India are now a strong contender for points.

Timo Glock made up his way up the order after his pitlane start by running 37 laps on his first tank of fuel. His teammate, Jarno Trulli, fell down the order after pitting for repairs on the first lap.

Kimi Raikkonen had run well and was not far behind teammate Massa until retiring with a loss of hydraulic pressure. Shortly after another incident with the unfortunate Adrian Sutil, the race ended his chances of taking Force India's first points.

Sutil had driven one of the best races of the season, holding onto the Ferraris and running as high as second thanks to a long first stint. But as he rejoined, he made contact with Raikkonen, who somehow failed to see him at the first corner and ripping a chunk from his front wing. This forced another stop.

Driver of the Day: Mark Webber.

I would say Adrian Sutil is a close second after his amazing race today. He was ahead of Rosberg, who eventually finished fourth, and lapping with the Ferrari's. Fisichella and Force India were also brilliant today too.

T.V. Coverage Rating: 8/10

The race was built up brilliantly, with Jake Humphrey, David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan. Martin Brundle is still the best commentator in the world, period. However, the coverage is entirely let down by Jonathan Legard. Below are some of his diatribes:

"Nurburgring is the highest circuit in the world, well, Sao Paulo is higher."—Oh my God.

"The Nurburgring, a new circuit, built in 1984."—A quarter of a century is new?

"Red Bull from Brawn from Red Bull from Force India, that is the order so far."—Johnathan, it's not a bloody horse race!

I advise anyone who can to turn to Radio 5 Live whilst watching the race, David "Crofty" Croft and Anthony Davidson are a great combination who manages to have a laugh whilst commentating.

Race Verdict: 7/10

This was a great start, but unfortunately for Lewis Hamilton, who briefly had the lead, I am so happy for Mark Webber who finally managed to get that win that has eluded him. You have to feel for Adrian Sutil, who fell victim to a dozy Finn yet again. Someone tell me how Kimi did not see him.

On the Horizon: 2009 German Grand Prix Preview

Michael Griffin — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:34:15 -0400

The German Grand Prix returns to the Nurburgring for the first time since 1985, and comes at the optimum time. Red Bull have leaped ahead of the Brawn's, and McLaren no appear to have a package that actually works.

Of course, the Nurburgring is famous for the monstrous 14-mile Nordschlieffe that Formula One used to embrace, but as fears for safety grew larger, the current three-mile incarnation was built. Some call it boring, some say it is too say, I think it is a brilliant circuit that can throw chaos at any point.

I'm right too, chaos is almost a necessity here. One prime example is the unbelievable 2007 European Grand Prix, and a race which will go down in history as possibly the craziest race we have seen in this century.

The start was a classic Nurburgring scramble, everyone fighting for one piece of tarmac, particularly the BMW's, who managed to collide with each other at turn two. When Kubica spun, he hit Lewis Hamilton in the process.

Hamilton had started in 10th after a crash in qualifying, but managed to get to fourth place, but the contact with Kubica produced a rear tyre puncture, forcing him to struggle back to the pits.

To make matters worse, it began to rain as soon as the drivers came through turn two, and got progressively heavier.

As the leader, Kimi Raikkonen, came into the pits he lost control of his F2007 and slid across the pit entry, forcing himself to continue on for one more lap before pitting.

A few others bravely stayed out, but one person had every right to soldier on, because he was on intermediate tyres already.

That man was rookie Markus Winklehock, competing in his first and only Formula One race to date. His Spyker team had anticipated the rain and decided to bring him in at the end of the formation lap and gamble on the weather.

The gamble paid off, and Winkelhock calmly took Kimi Raikkonen at the hairpin for the lead of the race. But, the rain was getting even heavier, and soon turned into a gigantic thunderstorm.

Due to the undulation of the track at turn one, a small river began to form. Unfortunately, Formula One cars do not double at canoes, and as drivers approached turn one, they started to slid off the circuit at into the gravel.

Jenson Button was first, sliding out of fourth place, then came Adrian Sutil, followed by, of all people, Lewis Hamilton. More drivers arrived in the most expensive car park in Germany.

One particularly hairy moment came when the safety car was deployed. The driver, Bernd Maylander, went by the rule-book and chose to wait at the try of turn one to pick up the leader, Winklehock, to lead the drivers round the circuit, but cars were still out of control.

Vitantonio Luizzi exited the pits in his Toro Rosso and subsequently spun at high speed, and was heading straight for Maylander, but he was watching him rear-view mirror.

Maylander managed to plant his foot on the throttle in time to avoid been smashed into by Luizzi, who then made gentle contact with the tractor. The said tractor then removed Lewis Hamilton from the gravel shortly before the red flag was thrown down.

After the restart of the race, it was business as usual for most of the race, that was until the final eight laps. Yep, the rain was back.

Felipe Massa was leading Fernando Alonso, but Massa was struggling in the wet, Alonso saw an opportunity and simply knocked Massa out of the way in a brilliant move.

After the race they had a furious row, but Alonso was the better of the two on that day.

Anyway, on to this weekend.

He's finally done it, Mark Webber finally has a pole position, and he has been the fastest all weekend here. Weather permitting, he is a dead cert for the win as it still appears that Brawn still can't make the car work in cold conditions.

McLaren have finally figured out the way their car works, although only for Lewis Hamilton, for now at least. They only managed to produce one new diffuser, with the second coming in Hungary for Heikki Kovalainen. Hamilton lines up fifth on the grid, with the potential to be back on the podium for McLaren.

The star of qualifying, for me, was Adrian Sutil. A simply stunning performance all through the weekend, with Force India now appearing to have a car that can seriously think of Q3.

Giancarlo Fisichella would have been right with Sutil had he not been held up multiple on his qualifying laps.

So, my predictions:

Mark Webber
Jenson Button
Sebastien Vettel
Lewis Hamilton
Rubens Barrichello
Adrian Sutil
Felipe Massa
Nico Rosberg

I will say this though, that order could be completely different when, not if, it rains...I do not want to tempt fate, but I put a bet on Mark Webber and Adrian Sutil today...anything can and probably will happen in Formula One.

What Is Going On Inside The Head Of Bernie Ecclestone?

Michael Griffin — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 06:24:41 -0400

Bernie Ecclestone is in the headlines again, and for the wrong reasons, again. Moreover, Formula One is in the headlines...you guessed it, for the wrong reasons, again.

Bernie has now praised Adolf Hitler for "getting things done". I won't reveal my feelings on Hitler as most would be pretty miffed, I will say that Bernie has finally lost the plot, if he ever had it in the first place.

The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) were up in arms with the dictatorship of Max Mosley, who rather than value the opinions of others who are perhaps more important than him, as in a democracy, has chosen to virtually ignore the requests and objections of other teams, just like in a dictatorship.

So this statement of praise from Bernie concerning Hitler can be carefully dissected as a flow of praise on Max Mosley. He does not need it, his head can't really get much bigger.

Mosley now wants to carry on as FIA Dictator, sorry, President, despite the defiance of FOTA. This could be the stumbling block in the future of Formula One.

FOTA want a leader who will remain in the background and let the teams get on with the job in hand. But, the problem is this - the FIA have set the rules since the inaugural championship in 1950 and cannot hand over the rule-making powers to any independent organisation.

So, FOTA won't ever get the power to decide the rules, at least not 100%.

Anyway, back to the topic in hand, the mind of Bernie.

He is clearly a complete imbecile, I don't mind people having a different view on things, I have controversial views on many subjects, but for the love of God, don't mention the said view in public.

I believe Bernie must hand the commercial rights over to someone with a previous business acumen...Sir Richard Branson springs to mind, and he is hell bent of making Formula One environmentally friendly, something Bernie thinks is made up.

Yes, I know, this was a rant, but everyone is entitled to one.

To conclude, Bernie adores Hitler, cryptically showing his man-love for Max, who won't leave his dictatorship, which will make Luca Di-Montezemolo's TV go into a state of fear, and then FOTA will probably say they'll leave, again, Max will call them loonies, again.

F1 will survive, but only without the two decrepit old b@$#@!s.

Look out later this week for my Formula One glossary of terms series, something I have been working on for a while.

Sebastien Vettel Takes Dominant Victory at Silverstone

Michael Griffin — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 11:23:46 -0400

Sebastian Vettel stormed to his first dry-weather Formula One victory as Red Bull ended Jenson Button's run of success with an astoundingly dominant one-two in the British Grand Prix.

With Button only able to finish sixth, Vettel's victory, ahead of his teammate Mark Webber and Button's Brawn stablemate Rubens Barrichello, heavily suggested that this year's world championship might not be entirely settled yet.

Red Bull had looked totally unstoppable from the start of Friday's practice, and that dominance did not calm in the race. Vettel put recent poor performances behind him by controlling the grand prix from the outset—storming away from his heavier rivals at an astounding rate of knots in the first stint.

Consistently one second or more per lap quicker, he was over 20 seconds clear of the closely-matched Barrichello and Webber by the first stops.

While Vettel sauntered to his third career win, Webber completed Red Bull's perfect day by getting ahead of Barrichello as he emerged from his first pit stop, which he made a lap later than the Brazilian.

Barrichello then began to fall away from the Red Bulls, and eventually came under pressure from the lighter Nico Rosberg, representing Williams, and Felipe Massa from the Ferrari camp, although this threat then faded when Barrichello ran longer before his last stop and secured the final podium spot.

Massa had a good race to come through from 11th on the grid to fourth, joining the podium fight thanks to a very long first stint and then jumping ahead of Rosberg in the second pit sequence.

Button was never competitive in his home race, and he was stuck behind the slow-starting Jarno Trulli off the line. He completed the first lap in eighth and stayed there for most of the afternoon. Only by running longer at his last stop was he able to jump ahead of the Toyota and Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari.

Finally, at the end of the race Button found the pace he had been struggling to find and started storming up to the gearbox of Rosberg's Williams. The result means that Button now leads the world championship to Barrichello by 23 points and Vettel by 25.

Raikkonen barely managed to hold off Timo Glock's Toyota for the last point, with Giancarlo Fisichella hassling the two for the final point after Force India's most competitive performance to date.

The Italian veteran made a good start and managed to blast past Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica when they ran wide at Stowe while battling with each other, and then held on to the top 10 pack for the rest of the race.

Kazuki Nakajima was in a strong fourth in the opening laps of the race, but early pit stops cost him dearly. He lost many places in each pit sequence and then finished a lowly 11th.

Fernando Alonso had a terrible race to 13th, losing substantial ground on the first lap, then spending the first stint trapped behind Nick Heidfeld's extremely slow BMW, which was dropping up to threes a lap to those ahead due to front wing damage.

Last year's winner Lewis Hamilton could only finish 16th, having had spirited battles with Alonso and a quick spin under braking for Club along the way.

Driver of the Day

You may think only one person deserves this award, but I'm going to award this to two drivers today.

The first is, quite obviously, Sebastien Vettel. Very rarely do you see someone completely obliterate everyone with such ease.

After Webber cleared Fisichella he did start to catch Vettel, even when Vettel was pushing, but it was not enough today.

The second driver to receive this award is Giancarlo Fisichella. He did what Fernando Alonso could not and passed Nick Heidfeld under racing conditions. He then managed to catch, and eventually pass, the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima. Then he held pace with Raikkonen and Glock in the final stint.

Fisichella was unbelievable today. He out-performed the car, and one must wonder where he would have finished if Sutil did not bring an end to Q1 yesterday, where Fisi was on for ninth.

T.V. Coverage Rating—10/10

The BBC have completely destroyed any lasting feeling that the ITV coverage was any better. The pit-stop demonstration was simply astonishing. Look on the BBC-F1 Web site for the "making of" video of that shoot.

Jake Humphrey showed just how good he is today. Words cannot describe my admiration for him. Lee McKenzie was easily the best looking girl in the crowd today, or at least the only girl worth staring at. Yes, I do mean staring.

Today I listened to the Radio 5 Live coverage, and it is nice not to have to listen to Jonathan Legard, but I did miss the insight of Martin Brundle.

David Croft and Anthony Davidson are the better combination by a long margin.

Race Verdict—7/10

Quite dull at times, but the fight between Alonso and Heidfeld kept us going for a while. Then the late charge from Button was enough to keep us going till the end. Vettel was in another world, at least in the first stint.

Good race today, but the regulations still have not done what was intended: provide overtaking.

Pos	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retirement
1	S. Vettel	Red Bull	1.22:49.328
2	M. Webber	Red Bull	+15.188
3	R. Barrichello	Brawn GP	+41.175
4	F. Massa	Ferrari	+45.043
5	N. Rosberg	Williams	+45.915
6	J. Button	Brawn GP	+1:06.285
7	J. Trulli	Toyota	+1:08.307
8	K. Raikkonen	Ferrari	+1:09.622
9	T. Glock	Toyota	+1:09.823
10	G. Fisichella	Force India	+1:11.522
11	K. Nakajima	Williams	+1:14.023
12	N. Piquet	Renault	+1 lap
13	R. Kubica	BMW-Sauber	+1 lap
14	F. Alonso	Renault	+1 lap
15	N. Heidfeld	BMW-Sauber	+1 lap
16	L. Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	+1 lap
17	A. Sutil	Force India	+1 lap
18	S. Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1 lap
19	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	DNF
20	H. Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	DNF

Michael Griffin

Article originally posted by this author at The F1 Times.

BSkyB Favourites To Win Television Rights For The FOTA Breakaway Series

Michael Griffin — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:25:24 -0400

BSkyB are reportedly preparing to launch a bid to snap up the television rights for the rebel F1 Championship. The Formula One Teams' Association, consisting of Ferrari, McLaren, Renault, Brawn, Red Bull, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toyota and BMW Sauber, announced late last night that they are forming a breakaway world championship.

This was due to frustration at the FIA and they're rules for the 2010 season. With the BBC signing a five-year deal with commercials rights holders Formula One Management, they cannot break out of that deal and pursue a deal with the new championship.

That now leaves BSkyB, ITV and Channel 5 to go ahead and bid for the channel, although the BBC could possibly find a way of making a bid too.

Betting agency Ladbrokes have Sky at 11/8, ITV at 9/4, the BBC at 11/4 and Five on the outside at 6/1.

"Sky have demonstrated in the past their willingness to snap up breakaway competitions," said Ladbrokes spokesperson Nick Weinberg.

Mr. Weinberg is correct. Sky immediately snapped up the rights to the Premier League when it formed in 1992, and did the same soon after when the PDC was created as Darts divided between the BDO and the PDC.

Sky also decided to go for the IndyCar series after the split in that series, and also own the rights to the NASCAR and A1GP coverage.

The main sticking point will be advertising. Apart from the BBC, no company will be willing to broadcast the qualifying and race without advertisement, so in the interests of the fans, FOTA may decide that the BBC could still be the number one choice.

A Fond Farewell: Silverstone Bids Farewell after 61 Years

Michael Griffin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 10:46:24 -0400

Silverstone is hosting what looks like its final ever British Grand Prix. The event will move to the unloved Donington Park from 2010, if it is finished, and looks likely to remain there until 2028.

In this article, I do my best to go over the history of the British Grand Prix and that of Silverstone as it gets one final hurrah from 100,000 screaming fans.

Silverstone is a quiet, medium-sized village in Northamptonshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000 people, yet once a year it is home to over 100,000 Formula One-loving fans. The masses descend upon the village usually in late June or early July and this is where any shop, post office, hotel, or B&B in the village increases its weekly turnover 50-fold come payday.

The GP is the single most important thing to the local economy, and with its departure the local economy is at risk of falling apart.

Silverstone Circuit is built on an old World War II bomber base, RAF Silverstone. The airfield's three classic runways in triangle formation can still be seen from a bird’s-eye view of the circuit. It was built in 1943 and five years later was awarded the British Grand Prix for the very first time in 1948.

It has regularly been the home of the British GP but it hasn’t always been a permanent fixture, sharing the spoils with Brands Hatch and Aintree. However, Silverstone has been a permanent fixture since 1987.

Did you know? - Silverstone had the honour of hosting the first-ever race of the first-ever World Championship back in 1950.

So where does it all begin?

In 1948, Luigi Villoresi won the British GP in his Maserati after 65 grueling laps in a time of three hours, 18 minutes, and three seconds, with a fastest lap of two minutes and 52 seconds.

Health and safety laws of the modern age prevent any Formula One race going longer than two hours, much to the relief of the driver, I can assure you.

Back in the '80s the lap record was held by Keke Rosberg, and that time was nailed by going round the lap at an average speed of 160.92mph (258.98 kmph).

Silverstone underwent a heavy modification in 1991, and a lot of the top end speed was removed from the circuit when the Becketts, Vale, Priory, and Luffield corners were modified.

Just as an indication to how much the track has changed—during Lewis Hamilton’s fastest lap time in the three-day test session last week, his average speed worked out at 145.57 mph (234.27 kmph). Again, health and safety was paramount in the decision to modify the circuit to slow the cars down.

There is roughly a 15 mph difference in average speeds from the past and the modern era, and that’s the impact that the said corners have on a lap time. Silverstone was adored for its stupendously fast corners, always leaving the car hanging on the edge of all manageable grip.

Now it is loved for different reasons.

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) – "It’s one of the best circuits on the calendar—a real driver’s circuit. Its super-fast—the first half of the circuit doesn’t require any braking at all, just little lifts and shifts down through the gears. In fact, you need to watch the brake temperatures don’t drop too low because you’re not using them for much of the lap. Where else can you experience that? Formula One just wouldn’t be the same without Silverstone—it’s become a British phenomenon."

Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) – "Over the main entrance to Silverstone there’s a sign saying ‘Home of British Motor Racing’, and that really sums up the atmosphere here. This classic track has stayed true to its roots. It really has character, which I like. There are a lot of great high-speed sections, and some memorable corners and combinations like Stowe, Copse and Beckets. Also, you can always count on the British spectators to create a special atmosphere. The British fans are really into racing; they’re very informed and enthusiastic. I hope we can put on a good show for them."

Mario Thiessen (BMW Sauber Motorsport Director) – "Silverstone is a classic date on the racing calendar, and it attracts a special calibre of fan. A lot of the racing enthusiasts who come here are less concerned with the personalities and the show side of things and more interested in the sport itself."

Turn One is often described as the ultimate test of how big your bollocks are. Go flat out: they're huge. Dab the brake: question yourself.

Turn One is called Copse, a 190-mph corner taken flat out, if you have big enough cajones, and a good exit is vital. The driver must always be careful of fellow competitors exiting the pits as they come down to the first left, Becketts, then through the right-hander, Maggots, followed another left, then a right.

Through the sequence you do not touch the brake; you simply tap down two gears to fifth before making sure of your exit for the Hangar Straight. The cars will be screaming past the loyal fans and they thunder down towards Stowe, a difficult right-hander taken in fifth gear.

A good exit is vital out of Stowe to have pace as we approach Vale, a tight left-hander that is the slowest part of the circuit, and also a good overtaking opportunity. The corner that leads out of Vale is Club, a long right-hander that puts the left sided tyres under huge stress.

Next is a long straight as we approach the Abbey Chicane, a tight left-right that is also the trickiest place on the circuit in the wet as the water tends to build up. Immediately after is the Bridge, we dart under flat-out, dazzled by sunlight as we now go through the left-hander of Priory, the entry has to be perfect or you will run wide and into the gravel trap.

Next is Brooklands, another left-hander that is crucial to the lap as you set up for a perfect entry and exit to the final hairpin, Luffield. One final turn, Woodcote, which is taken flat-out as we approach the line.

There you have it, a flying lap of Silverstone. The expected lap time this weekend is rumoured to be in the 1:17 range, dipping into the high 1:16s.

Did you know? - In 1965, the chase scene in the 38th minute of the James Bond film "Thunderball" was filmed at Silverstone.

The FIA is unenthusiastic to work alongside race promoters BRDC (British Racing Drivers Club), and it has been stated that Mr. Ecclestone will not work alongside them if further negotiations are to take place for future races.

Bernie Ecclestone – "I want to deal with a promoter rather than the BRDC. It is too difficult with the BRDC because you get no guarantees with them. We've said that unless they can get the circuit to the level expected from so-called Third-World countries, we are not prepared to do a deal. They know what we want them to build. A new pit-and-paddock complex is the minimum redevelopment required."

In fact, planning permission has been granted to allow such a thing to happen. The proposal plans to move the pit straight from in-between Woodcote and Copse to a new location between Club and Abbey.

It will be completely re-developed and hopefully secure the Silverstone British Grand Prix for many years to come. The hope is that the redevelopment is enough to sway the British Grand Prix back to Silverstone for the 2012 British Grand Prix.

Below is the full list of British Grand Prix winners, often described by drivers as one of the last true achievements in the career of a Formula One driver. Michael Schumacher once said that “this is the one place F1 can relate, it all began here, at this very place, it is perfect, the facilities may not match others but at least you don’t get mugged here like you do in Brazil.”

We Britons have had our fair share of home winners at Silverstone over the years, including wins from Lewis Hamilton (2008), David Coulthard (1999, 2000), Johnny Herbert (1995), Damon Hill (1994), Nigel Mansell (1987, 1991, 1992), John Watson (1981), James Hunt (1977), Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971), Jim Clark (1963, 1965, 1967) and Peter Collins (1958).

· 2008 – Lewis Hamilton, McLaren

· 2007 - Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari

· 2006 - Fernando Alonso, Renault

· 2005 - Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren

· 2004 - Michael Schumacher, Ferrari

· 2003 - Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari

· 2002 - Michael Schumacher, Ferrari

· 2001 - Mika Hakkinen, McLaren

· 2000 - David Coulthard, McLaren

· 1999 - David Coulthard, McLaren

· 1998 - Michael Schumacher, Ferrari

· 1997 - Jacques Villeneuve, Williams

· 1996 - Jacques Villeneuve, Williams

· 1995 - Johnny Herbert, Benetton

· 1994 - Damon Hill, Williams

· 1993 - Alain Prost, Williams-Renault

· 1992 - Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault

· 1991 - Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault

· 1990 - Alain Prost, Ferrari

· 1989 - Alain Prost, McLaren-Honda

· 1988 - Ayrton Senna, McLaren-Honda

· 1987 - Nigel Mansell, Williams-Honda

· 1985 - Alain Prost, McLaren-TAG

· 1983 - Alain Prost, Renault

· 1981 - John Watson, McLaren-Cosworth

· 1979 - Clay Regazzoni, Williams-Cosworth

· 1977 - James Hunt, McLaren-Cosworth

· 1975 - Emerson Fittipaldi, McLaren-Cosworth

· 1973 - Peter Revson, McLaren-Cosworth

· 1971 - Jackie Stewart, Tyrrell-Cosworth

· 1969 - Jackie Stewart, Matra-Cosworth

· 1967 - Jim Clark, Lotus-Ford

· 1965 - Jim Clark, Lotus-Climax

· 1963 - Jim Clark, Lotus-Climax

· 1960 - Jack Brabham, Cooper-Climax

· 1958 - Peter Collins, Ferrari

· 1956 - Juan-Manuel Fangio, Lancia-Ferrari

· 1954 - Jose Froilan Gonzalez, Ferrari

· 1953 - Alberto Ascari, Ferrari

· 1952 - Alberto Ascari, Ferrari

· 1951 - Jose Froilan Gonzalez, Ferrari

· 1950 - Giuseppe Farina, Alfa Romeo

· 1949 - Emmanuel de Graffenried, Maserati (Not part of World Championship)

· 1948 - Luigi Villoresi, Maserati (Not part of World Championship)

The question now is, who will add their name to that list, who will be the last winner of a Grand Prix at Silverstone, for now at least? Jenson Button is the favourite after his antics this season, but let’s not count out anyone else. Anything can and will happen at Silverstone.

Thanks for reading and feel free to respond below with your thoughts, comments, and picks.

FIA or FOTA: Who Is Right?

Michael Griffin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:08:06 -0400

The ongoing battle between the FIA and FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) is now beginning to overshadow the sensational story of the 2009 Formula One World Championship.

The FIA make the point that they run the sport, they make the rules, and have done so ever since the first championship in 1950. No organization or individual team has ever had a significant affect on the rules, apart from Ferrari, who had a special deal with the FIA allowing them to veto any new rules and any innovations they believe to be illegal.

The FIA introduced rules for next season that would allow new teams to compete under a £40 million budget cap with no technical limits, to allow them to catch up with the competition. Once the FIA were satisfied they could put up a simple challenge to the established teams, the set of rules the established teams were running to would apply to all.

Pretty simple isn't it?

Well, no, not exactly. FOTA decided to question why new teams should have a massive technical advantage over the teams already competing in Formula One. They failed to understand that the new teams would not actually be allowed to surpass the established teams, only to get close to them.

The budget cap was, essentially, only for the new teams, but FOTA decided they needed to reduce their spending too. They proposed a £100 million budget cap, but for all teams and one set of rules for the entire season. This is where things get messy.

FOTA failed to understand that the new teams could not just jump into a sport and spend £100 million. FOTA said that was not the issue, the issue was that the FIA wanted two sets of rules, something they were not willing to see.

Eventually, it was agreed to scrap the idea of a two-tier championship. But, the FIA now say they have not scrapped it, and nothing has changed.

Three new teams have entered Formula One for 2010, and that hangs on the fact of a £40 million budget cap. Five current teams are entered next season, Ferrari, both Red Bulll teams, Williams and Force India, but only the final two of that group say they will compete.

All the FOTA teams, excluding Williams and Force India, have entered conditional entries, essentially saying that they will not enter Formula One until they get their way.

So, we have the rule-makers saying they will not scrap 60 years of tradition and destroy rules because of the teams.

And then we have the teams, saying they want to control the rules, which they cannot, and form a breakaway series, which under EU law, reportedly, they cannot.

I have a view, and this is it.

I support the FIA on this. I know, I'm shocked too, I hate them for all the years they helped Ferrari in every-way possible, but that relationship has broken down now that the FIA can no longer be swung.

The FIA have created the rules of the sport ever since the 1950 Formula One World Championship, that has never changed and never will, and just because the teams cannot accept the fact that they are wrong, they threaten to destroy the memory of this brilliant sport.

One final thing—since when have you heard of teams threatening to leave a sport because they do not want to save money, in a recession? It has to be the most preposterous thing I have ever heard.

I expect Ferrari, Renault, Toyota, and BMW to leave the sport but I believe Brawn, McLaren, Red Bull, Toro Rosso to stay, because they need F1 badly. So do the former four teams, but they may want to take their interests elsewhere.

Button Cruises to Sixth Victory in Seven Races in Istanbul

Michael Griffin — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:06:50 -0400

Jenson Button continued his astounding run of form in the Turkish Grand Prix—taking his sixth win from seven races in 2009 and extending his championship advantage to a mammoth 26 points.

Pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel lost the lead to Button on the opening lap after an error at turn ten and could only finish third behind his Red Bull team-mate Mark Webber, while Button's Brawn team-mate—and closest title rival—Rubens Barrichello had a disastrous afternoon and eventually retired.

The race fell into Button's hands on the opening lap. While Vettel stayed in front into the first corner, Barrichello stuttered off the line and tumbled back to 13th place. The anti-stall system cut in too early and over-torqued the gearbox, subsequently losing seventh gear.

That removed one of Button's main rivals from contention immediately, and then Vettel ran wide in the Turn 9/10 chicane, allowing Button to take the lead and start charging away with relative ease.

The Briton soon had a four-second lead, which he maintained through the first pitstops, but Vettel then came back at him, moving to a three-stop strategy and benefiting from his much lighter fuel lead to charge back up behind the Brawn.

There was no way past, though, and after 13 fruitless laps in Button's wake, Vettel had to make his second stop, dropping him to third behind Webber and ought of contention. The inability to pass Button was down to two things.

The first is Brawn were too quick with race fuel, and the second is that the 2009 regulation are still not effective enough to encourage overtaking.

Button duly cruised away to seal yet another win, while Vettel closed up on Webber in the final laps before the team sent a radio message to inform him that Webber had pace in hand and he should back off and conserve his car. Vettel's speed barely decreased, but he finished behind Webber.

Jarno Trulli took fourth for Toyota, losing the place to Williams's Nico Rosberg at the first stops but reclaiming it at the second pit sequence; however, fifth was still a good result for Rosberg given his frustrations at earlier races.

Ferrari was never in the hunt, and Felipe Massa had to settle for a distant sixth rather than a fourth consecutive Istanbul win. The Brazilian wanted to emulate the likes of Senna, Schuamcher and Clark by taking his fourth consecutive pole and win at a track, but he was never in contention for either.

Kimi Raikkonen lost ground on lap one, damaged his front wing slightly running into Fernando Alonso, and ended up ninth. The Finn was never anywhere near the pace of his team-mate, and another poor result will heap more pressure on him.

BMW's Robert Kubica finally opened his 2009 points account by beating Timo Glock to seventh, as the German came through the field using a very long first stint.

Kazuki Nakajima did likewise for Williams, but fell back to finish 12th thanks to a slow second pit-stop. The young Japanese driver looked set for a healthy amount of points early on.

Short early stints dropped Alonso's Renault into traffic and left him 10th, while back in the midfield McLaren split its strategies but could not get the one-stopping Lewis Hamilton higher than 13th or two-stopper Heikki Kovalainen above 14th.

The McLaren's were shocking all weekend, at one point 25 km/h slower per lap than the Brawn's through tun eight.

Most of the entertainment in a boring race came from Barrichello's spirited early attempts to make up the ground lost at the start.

Wheel to wheel action with Kovalainen's KERS-shod McLaren eventually ended in contact at Turn Nine and a quick spin for the Brawn, which then broke its front wing clashing with Adrian Sutil's Force India.

The consequent very early stop put paid to Barrichello's recovery charge, and he was firmly in the midfield when he eventually pulled out with a gearbox problem 11 laps from home. Barrichello appeared very frustrated that while he suffers with problems after problem, Button takes win after win.

Driver of the Day

Jenson Button was simply astounding today and yes, he did get lucky with Vettel making a mistake to allow him through, but he was simply too fast through-out the race. Only one mistake, running wide at the last corner on lap 21, but the drive of a champion for sure.

T.V.Coverage

Jake Humphrey stole the show today after nearly being run-over by a Toyota leaving its pit garage. He became a certified legend with that clanger, simply sensational. David Coulthard and Martin Brundle's grid walk was brilliant, as ever.

The pit reporting was great too, getting any information we could, and Jonathan Legard was on the ball today. Brilliant job again.

T.V.Coverage Rating: 8/10

Race Verdict: 1/10

What a boring race, once Button was past Vettel the race was done. Barrichello trying to recover was good, until he hit Sutil and ended what could have been the best entertainment of the race. If this race was this dull, just how bad will it be at Valencia.

Pos	Driver	Constructor	Time/Retirement
1	J. Button	Brawn GP	1.31:48.182
2	M. Webber	Red Bull	+6.714
3	S. Vettel	Red Bull	+7.461
4	J. Trulli	Toyota	+27.843
5	N. Rosberg	Williams	+31.539
6	F. Massa	Ferrari	+39.996
7	R. Kubica	BMW-Sauber	+46.247
8	T. Glock	Toyota	+46.959
9	K. Raikkonen	Ferrari	+50.246
10	F. Alonso	Renault	+1:02.420
11	N. Heidfeld	BMW-Sauber	+1:04.327
12	K. Nakajima	Williams	+1:06.376
13	L. Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	+1.20.454
14	H. Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	+1 lap
15	S. Buemi	Toro Rosso	+1 lap
16	N. Piquet	Renault	+1 lap
17	A. Sutil	Force India	+1 lap
18	S. Bourdais	Toro Rosso	+1 lap
19	R. Barrichello	Brawn-GP	+11 laps
20	G. Fisichella	Force India	+54 laps

Wrestling Musings: Is Blood Vital for a Classic Wrestling Match?

Michael Griffin — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:40:34 -0400

It's been a very long time since I wrote anything about wrestling, so I'm a bit rusty, but I think I can do this community justice. Let's get going.

So many of the greatest matches in wrestling history have involved blood, usually brought on by horrendous violence.

I watched No Mercy 2002 back last night, mainly the Hell in a Cell match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker. I personally regard this as my favourite HIAC match of all time, even over the 1998 King of the Ring bout between Undertaker and Mankind.

My overriding memory of the match is the amount of blood that poured out of Undertaker's head from early on in the match.

Lesnar hit 'Taker with the steel steps over the head and Taker bladed, as you would expect. But, Lesnar hit him again, and Taker failed to get his hands up in time.

The corner of the steps hit Taker square on the noggin, and left an actual hole in his head, right where he had bladed. The blood began to pour, and the match was a classic.

The action itself was brutal and thrilling, but the blood brought the extra flavour to the match.

Blood has transformed the match from brilliant to the stuff of legends, in terms of HIAC matches at least. Is blood needed for a classic match?

Let's think back to the Bret Hart/Stone Cold match from years back, the site of Austin roaring in pain, refusing to back down with blood trickling down his head is one of the most played videos in WWE history.

I can almost guarantee that the said footage would not receive the play time it does had Austin not been bleeding.

That frightens me, the fact that drawing blood, what is necessary to carry oxygen around the body, makes a match an instant classic is just despicable. Are we wrestling fans bloody-thirsty hounds at heart?

Well, I believe the answer to that is no.

I regard the WM25 match between HBK and 'Taker as the greatest match I have ever seen. I will not say it is the best ever, as I simply do not have the authority to make such a claim, but, both men put on a performance that wrestlers half their age(s) can barely dream of.

Thinking back now, I realise that neither man bled. Not a drop of blood flowed from the two great competitors, and yet the match captured the imagination of wrestling fans globally.

The theory that blood makes a match a classic is dispelled by this one match, but this could be a fluke.

Royal Rumble 2000 saw what is probably the most violent and sadistic match in WWE history, the street fight between Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) and Triple H. There were too many bumps to list, but the one that everyone remembers is the Pedigree on the thumb tacks. Ouch.

Blood poured, stitches were aplenty after the contest, and it went down in wrestling folklore almost instantaneously. But, again ti included blood, and a hell of a lot of it.

I believe that blood thirsty matches come under their own category compared to "clean" matches, the "crimson mask" collection.

So many matches are classics because of the violence, not the wrestling, and despite the fact that most top ten lists would include primarily "clean" matches, I can come to one conclusion.

Blood is a semi-vital ingredient to a classic wresting match. Disappointing but true.

So, do you guys agree? Does blood make a match better, or does the wrestling involved provide the show?

Oh and leave comments on my performance, my first article here for many months, should I stick around or sod off?

Breaking News: Prodrive/Aston Martin To Compete In Formula One In 2010

Michael Griffin — Thu, 28 May 2009 19:59:54 -0400

The Formula One Times can reveal that Prodrive have announced, in a collaboration with Aston Martin, that they will enter Formula One in 2010 before re-branding as Aston Martin in 2012. The announcement follows a deal signed with commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone last night.

The new Prodrive/Aston Martin team will have close ties with McLaren Racing, whose largest shareholder is Daimler and use Mercedes-Benz engines.

When the crossover to Aston Martin is complete in 2012, the team will be a fully fledged manufacturer. The Gaydon-based sportscar manufacturer, which had a brief foray into F1 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will put its name to a new F1 team to be launched next year by Banbury-based preparations experts Prodrive.

The details of the crossover have yet to be finalised, but Aston Martin boss David Richards, who brokered the deal and whose Prodive business runs all of Aston Martin’s current racing activities, told Autocar Magazine: “The cars will be built at Prodrive’s Banbury HQ and have Aston Martin-badged customer engines obtained from a supplier.

“These will be genuine Aston Martin cars. You wouldn’t like to do it any other way.”

Richards, an Aston Martin enthusiast since childhood, sees no comparison between the spirited foray into F1 of Jaguar, a sometime sportscar racer, and Aston Martin’s proposed 2012 F1 campaign.

“Ferrari was in sportscar racing before they started in grand prix racing,” he said. “Look what they’ve achieved.”

Richards also revealed to Autocar that Aston Martin already has two powerful Middle East-based backers for its F1 activities. One of them is Investment Dar, which owns 90 per cent of Aston Martin, and the other is a powerful but unconnected group.

The new F1 team is made possible, Richard says, by new rules that cap F1 expenditure, though he expects these to be watered down from the £40 million limit initially proposed for next year by FIA chief Max Moseley. The level of the limit and timing of its introduction is disputed by the established F1 teams.

It would now appear that Prodrive have a place secured in Formula One, so now may be the time for the teams opposing the 2010 rules to get a move on with their 2010 applications.

Article originally posted on www.f1times.co.uk

Button Sweeps the Streets Clear of His Rivals in Monte Carlo

Michael Griffin — Sun, 24 May 2009 11:44:33 -0400

Jenson Button tightened his ever-increasing grip on the drivers world championship with a stunning performance to win the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix. Button led from the first corner and also led a one-two finish ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

Kimi Raikkonen drove a solid grand prix to take third place despite being overtaken by Barrichello into turn one, failing to capitalize on the boost available from his KERS system. His team-mate Felipe Massa managed to take fourth place despite receiving a large amount of warnings for consistently cutting the exit of the swimming pool chicane.

Mark Webber charged from eighth to fifth with a sensational performance, and closed in on Massa on the final lap but failed to pass him. Nico Rosberg took sixth, Fernando Alonso salvaging seventh and Sebastian Bourdais finished eighth.

In securing his fifth win of the season, Button matched the records of Jackie Stewart (1969), Nigel Mansell (1992) and Michael Schumacher (2002 & 2004), a feat that he could not have dreamed of over the troubled winter he endured.

Brawn-Mercedes' third one-two of the season was virtually secured at the first corner.

Both of its drivers made perfects starts, with Button launching clear of Raikkonen and Barrichello taking the Finn comfortably into turn one. Further down the order, there was the usual jostling for position but they all remained relatively stable and secure through Ste Devote and up the run to Casino Square.

That was not the scenario that Lewis Hamilton wanted, remaining down in 19th place and not making progress. In total contrast, Button was storming off into the lead after the super-soft tyres on the Brawn of Barrichello began to fall away.

By the end of the first stint, Button had a 14-second lead over Barrichello. Young German Sebastien Vettel suffered the same fate, but so much quicker as after just eight laps, the tyres were destroyed. He was then lapping five seconds a lap slower than Button, on the same tyres.

The struggle began more and more severe, and now Vettel had a long queue of frustrated driver behind him, led by Massa and Rosberg. Massa went for a pass at the Tunnel chicane but it did not work, he had to cut the chicane to avoid obliterating the new double-deck diffuser.

He was then aware that he had to yield back to Vettel, but completely misjudged where to lift off and Rosberg subsequently made his move to pass Massa at Tabac.

However, just two laps later, both Rosberg and Massa went past Vettel as his rear tyres completely gave up all grip and Vettel just made it back to the pits. Vettel's increasingly miserable afternoon ended in the wall and Ste Devote when he braked too late his slammed into the tyres.

Raikkonen was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 14, and to make sure that track position would not be lost, Barrichello pitted on lap 15, managing to rejoin ahead of the Finn and now on the harder compound of tyre.

Button was next on lap 16, and he rejoined in-between Rosberg and Massa in second place. Rosberg now had a chance to build a lead over Massa to try and secure fourth place, but took too much fuel in his first stop to save time for a short stint at the end on the softer compound.

After everyone had made their first stops, Button began to calm down and set times consistently in the 1:16:6 range, never straying two-tenths away from that time. His smooth driving style was now working to perfection, and before the second round of stops, the gap was at 15 seconds.

Further down the order, Sebastien Buemi managed to take out Nelson Piquet by simply sending him into the barrier at Ste Devote. It was a disappointing end for both who looked likely to challenge for the final point.

Heikki Kovalainen had a violent end to his race, losing the back end of his car in the same fashion that Massa did in qualifying, but then ending up in the wall at the Swimming Pool. Kazuki Nakajima then crashed at Mirabeu on the last lap, ending a positive weekend for the Williams driver on a low.

Button cruised to his fifth win of the season, 7.6 second clear of Barrichello, with a simply stunning performance that will be revered for some time.

Driver of the Day

Actually, this is harder than you think. Yes, Jenson Button drove another brilliant race and did not even lock a brake, but a special mention must go to Giancarlo Fisichella, who never put a wheel wrong but still finished behind Sebastian Bourdais.

Driver of the Day does go to Jenson Button, but Fisichella's performance was simply stunning too.

T.V.Coverage

Wasn't the retro piece by Jake Humphrey just one of the finest things you have ever seen on Television? Look at the BBC website for a video on how the BBC made that.

Simply brilliant from everyone, David Coulthard providing great insight as to how difficult Monte Carlo is, Eddie Jordan believing that the "bollocking" he gave Raikkonen inspired him to third.

Jonathan Legard does still seem to believe he is either on the radio (which he isn't) or this is a horse race (which it definitely isn't). His style of "Brawn from Brawn from Ferrari form Ferrari from Red Bull" is definitely going to grate on the minds of Formula One fans.

Martin Brundle was classic television yet again, the grid walk still one of the highlights of the package. Also, well done to Ted Kravitz for somehow treating a Max Mosley interview like talking to a normal mate down the pub. Also, the correspondent is still drooling at the sight of Lee McKenzie.

T.V.Coverage Rating: 9/10

Race Rating: 8/10

The race was thoroughly exciting throughout, for once, with the mayhem caused by the soft tyres to the intriguing and also rare battle between Bourdais and Fisichella for eighth place. Jenson Button, however, brought a whole new definition to the term domination with his performance of the day.

Not the best race yet, but only second to the chaos at Australia.

Can I Make This Any Clearer: Ferrari Is NOT the Only Team In F1

Michael Griffin — Thu, 21 May 2009 11:59:17 -0400

Over the past few weeks, I have had to listen to a ridiculous amount of people suggest Formula One exists because of one team—Ferrari. The majority of said people are those who continued to support Ferrari in the era of their frequent rule-bending by the Tifosi outfit.

One person even suggested Ferrari is bigger than Formula One. Yes, you read that right, a team is bigger than the sport they compete in, which is like suggesting Manchester United is bigger than the entire sport of Football. A ludicrous suggestion only a complete fool would make.

Yet one person on this site has suggested this, and called me ignorant for stating the obvious, that it is not true.

This furore has grown because of the way Ferrari and five other teams have reacted to the 2010 regulations. The FIA wanted a voluntary budget cap, but that would create a two-tier championship system.

So that idea is now gone, but the budget cap remains, and this is where Ferrari have gone wrong. Ferrari prefer to spend as much money as possible, rather than spend less and think more. Teams like Williams have been hugely successful on limited budgets all because of brainpower, not the size of their bank accounts.

Ferrari then announced they would veto any move by the FIA to change regulations. What this means is Ferrari have control over the way regulations are written and what hey can do. Ferrari took this step after their 50th anniversary in 1990, with it coming into effect in 1997.

From there on, they have constantly been fighting for the drivers and constructors titles, which is not a coincidence. However, over the past 12 months, the relationship has gone sour.

Ferrari's veto means they should, in actual fact, have been able to stop Brawn, Toyota, and Williams from fitting double-deck diffusers. But, the FIA did not allow it. Gone are the days where Ferrari could make a fuss over an innovation they did not think of first and the FIA would be quick to ban it (think of Renault's amazing mass damper system in 2006).

The special relationship between Ferrari and the FIA is over, and now it seems Ferrari may not be in Formula One from 2010 onwards.

I believe the sport could flourish from this. The viewing figures plummeted after Michael Schumacher won the 2002 world championship in record time. The ratings failed to recover until 2005 when Ferrari did not figure in the title race at all.

They were still not at pre-2001 levels until the arrival of a Briton by the name of Lewis Hamilton, when F1 was suddenly back on the front and back pages of newspapers. It had glimmers of hope, like in 2004 when Jenson Button was as good as any driver can be without winning a world championship. Schumacher won 13 races that season.

There was also 2006, when the title fight came down to the final race and probably the greatest performance in Formula One history, by Michael Schumacher, of course. I cannot take anything away from him, he was astonishing in that race, but he was only in that position because Ferrari kicked up a fuss over the mass damper system Renault were running.

Renault had invented the mass damper system, similar to the active suspension that Nigel Mansell used when he dominated in 1992. It was revolutionary, and every other team said Renault should be commended for making something the teams simply could not copy. When the FIA cleared it, technical stewards said it was brilliant. Everyone was happy.

Well, apart from Ferrari.

This article has been a rant against Ferrari, indeed it has, but Ferrari have done more damage to the sport than any other team. They ruined the sport's reputation from 2001 to 2005, and the sport has still not fully recovered.

They had the FIA in their back pocket for so many years, and had decision after decision either reversed or made to their advantage (think of Spa 08, Fuji 08, Brazil 98, and so on)

Ferrari made F1 a very unbearable sport to watch, to the point where I nearly stopped watching it. Should Ferrari leave, F1 will be a much better place.

Now for Paul Heffernan and his army of Tifosi lovers to further descends this community into the depths of shame.

On the Horizon: 2009 Monaco Grand Prix Preview

Michael Griffin — Mon, 18 May 2009 12:27:48 -0400

After the utter domination of Brawn GP in Barcelona, we now move along to the serene principality of Monte Carlo. Often regarded as the greatest circuit ever to grace our sport, Monaco provides the setting for exclusivity, glamour, expensive houses and cars and all manner of designer shoes and handbags, and that is just the drivers.

It is also the setting for what is easily the most awe inspiring but also bizarre sights in professional motor racing. Overtaking is, erm, impossible, unless you are either supremely brave, or unbelievably stupid.

This season, however, overtaking will definitely be rendered impossible. The cars are far wider than in previous years, which means that the driver will be slightly further out from the wall and will occupy more of the circuit, therefore overtaking will be impossible. Even lapping a car could prove a challenge.

This race dates back to the bonkers day of Grand Prix back in 1929 when the likes of Bugatti and Maserati were thundering around the dusty streets of the exclusive Monte Carlo.

In present day, it is all about the water, ironically. No, I have not lost my marbles, I'm referring to the yacht competition that gets more ludicrous every year. Whenever Roman Abramovich visits the race, he can't even fit his in the harbour. That is how big the bloody thing is.

Now, onto the racing. Brawn will obviously be looking to keep up their early season advantage, four wins out of a possible five, with Red Bull working like nutters to fit their Double-Diffuser.

Toyota have to get on the podium this weekend to keep up in the constructors side of things, but if they do not get their act together, they will begin to lag behind the fast improving Ferrari.

McLaren are confident of a high finish here, the track will apparently suit their car more than Brawn or Red Bull. That is perhaps too optimistic, we will have to watch Thursday practice very carefully.

I believe the dark horse here will be Williams, they have always had good chassis' in the past few years, but never the reliability of luck to convert that into results. Adrian Sutil will also be one to watch, fastest in practice in 2007, six laps from fourth place last season before the attack of the Iceman.

Ok, here we go with my predictions:

1. Mark Webber

2. Rubens Barrichello

3. Sebastien Vettel

4. Jenson Button

5. Lewis Hamilton

6. Kimi Raikkonen

7. Nico Rosberg

8. Jarno Trulli

So, that is what I believe the order could be. I was right with my prediction that Jenson would win in Barcelona, and with Webber so strong in Monaco every time he has raced here, it is entirely possible that he could finally get his win.

Barrichello will want to avenge his poor third stint in Spain with a good result, and if he does not win, second is his. Vettel will be all over him, as will Button. Button has never had a good time here, apart from 2004 where he almost won, but that was an attrition race of the highest order.

McLaren and Ferrari could throw a small surprise here, but keep your eye on the likes of Sebastian Buemi, Sebastian Bourdais and Adrian Sutil. Buemi is good at streets circuits, according to the man himself, Bourdais was good here last year.

Sutil is definitely the one I will be watching the most. More updates are due this weekend for Force-India, this is his best chance yet to shine. Can he do it? Will Mark Webber finally see justice and get his first win?

Thoughts, (and insults, Paul) in the usual box below.

Formula One: Who Will/Won't Be On The Grid In 2010?

Michael Griffin — Sat, 16 May 2009 16:02:10 -0400

We have seen Ferrari, Renault, Red Bull, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toyota and BMW-Sauber all claim they will withdraw from Formula One in 2010, and they all say they are serious about it too.

So, which team(s) are actually serious about leaving Formula One? Let's have a look at a team-by-team basis.

Ferrari

The oldest team on the grid, as well as the most prestigious and successful in F1 history, and apparently the most serious about leaving the sport, but why? Well, Ferrari do not the like idea of two regulations in one championship, and the heavy spending restrictions imposed under the £40 million budget cap.

Ferrari say they are evaluating the possibilities of moving to another form of racing, so what are there options?

NASCAR

Toyota are in NASCAR and doing well I believe, so we could see a move the States for the Italian marque. But, there is a problem, Ferrari do not produce a car like Toyota's Camry which their NASCAR bomber is based upon, and are unlikely to produce a car like it.

IndyCar

They have threatened it once before, in the late 1980's, and even had an IndyCarready to go, but with the Honda engine in use, Ferrari are unlikely to have a team called Ferrari-Honda. Another no-go area.

LeMans Series

The obvious option, the technology used in the prototype cars is far more relevant to road cars than anything used in Formula One. A classic example is the tech used to created the Audi R10 and R15 TDI cars, which was then used to make the Audi R8 V12TDI in 2008.

Ferrari could use the prototypes to develop supercar-relevant technology, and subsequently make their road cars even better, as if that is even possible.

Result: I do not think Ferrari will give up F1, they need it more than F1 needs them because the same was said when Lotus left. Not the same history, I know, but anyone who is not a Tifosi will see my point.

Should Ferrari do the unthinkable and actually leave F1, then we could see them contesting the 2010 LeMans 24 hour race.

Renault

Renault definitely have the most to lose by leaving, as they rely on their RenaultSport department of the company to produce cars like the Megane R26. The Megane is widely regarded as the best hot-hatchback on sale right now, but the F1 team were a contributing factor to it's success as they formed the basis if the marketing for the car.

Should Renault leave, they will have no basis for their hot cars, and lose a large amount of their income. Renault would save the amount they would lose and more by leaving the sport, but would their reputation ever fully recover?

Red Bull/Toro Rosso

I see very little chance of Red Bull leaving F1, yes they are a huge brand without F1, but they have for of the hottest drivers on the grid right now, so they stand to lose far too much from leaving us. Not a hope in hell of Red Bull leaving.

BMW-Sauber

BMW are such a gigantic company even without F1 that they would save money by leaving the sport, but they are determined to win at least one championship, so until that is done at the very least, I do not see them leaving.

Mario Theissen has said before that the BMW board will class their involvement in F1 as a failure without the ultimate prize. Not going anywhere, for now at least.

Toyota

Probably going to leave in 2010, if they do not win this season. They have to be frustrated that they have not won a race since their debut in 2002, and the company can save money without the expenditure of F1.

I see them leaving in 2010, no doubt, but only if they do not win this season.

So there we have it, I believe that Renault and Toyota will be leaving our sport, leaving two empty spaces on the grid, so who could fill them?

My next article will look at who could be the new kids on the grid next year, teams and drivers, see you there!

Ferrari To Leave Formula One in 2010

Michael Griffin — Tue, 12 May 2009 12:21:09 -0400

Ferrari have today confirmed that they intend to leave Formula One in 2010 if the rules for the £40 million voluntary budget cap are not changed.

Although the team had expressed private concerns over the rules for the 2010 season, it finally went public with those concerns and subsequently announced that they will not enter the 2010 championship after a meeting at their Maranello base today.

"The same rules for all teams, stability of regulations, the continuity of the FOTA's endeavours to methodically and progressively reduce costs, and governance of Formula One are the priorities for the future," said the statement.

"If these indispensable principles are not respected and if the regulations adopted for 2010 will not change, then Ferrari does not intend to enter its cars in the next Formula One world championship."

Entries for the 2010 championship close on May 29, with Red Bull and Toyota announcing they will also pull out of Formula One should the rules not be changed. It is now likely that the other manufacturers will join the boycott of the 2010 season, leaving the independents, Force India, Brawn and Williams to enter the championship.

Regarding the FIA's World Motor Sport Council meeting on April 29 that ratified the 2010 regulations, the Ferrari statement said: "Although this meeting was originally called only to examine a disciplinary matter, the decisions taken mean that, for the first time ever in Formula 1, the 2010 season will see the introduction of two different sets of regulations based on arbitrary technical rules and economic parameters.

"The Board considers that if this is the regulatory framework for Formula 1 in the future, then the reasons underlying Ferrari's uninterrupted participation in the world championship over the last 60 years—the only constructor to have taken part ever since its inception in 1950—would come to a close."

Although Ferrari is totally opposed to a two-tier F1 system, and has questioned whether or not it is possible for a £40 million budget cap to be introduced next year, the Italian outfit is also concerned about governance of the sport.

As well as being unhappy about the way the rules were pushed through last year, Ferrari thinks there has not been enough consultation with the teams.

"The Board also expressed its disappointment about the methods adopted by the FIA in taking decisions of such a serious nature and its refusal to effectively reach an understanding with constructors and teams," added the statement.

"The rules of governance that have contributed to the development of Formula 1 over the last 25 years have been disregarded, as have the binding contractual obligations between Ferrari and the FIA itself regarding the stability of the regulations."

In light of the developments regarding next year's entry, Ferrari said its president Luca di Montezemolo had been told to look at alternative activities for the racing team.

"Ferrari trusts that its many fans worldwide will understand that this difficult decision is coherent with the Scuderia's approach to motor sport and to Formula 1 in particular, always seeking to promote its sporting and technical values," said the statement.

"The Chairman of the Board of Directors was mandated to evaluate the most suitable ways and methods to protect the company's interests."

Luca Di Montezemolo is now due to meet with FIA president Max Mosley to discuss possible changes to the rules before the Monaco Grand Prix, which may be the only hope for Ferrari staying in Formula One.

Brawn GP Rule Yet Again In Barcelona

Michael Griffin — Sun, 10 May 2009 13:52:09 -0400

Jenson Button continued his sensational start to the 2009 Formula One Season after winning for the fourth time in the opening five races. The Briton used a superior strategy to overcome his team-mate Rubens Barrichello in a Brawn-dominated Spanish Grand Prix.

Brazilian Barrichello led the first stint after vaulting his way past Sebastien Vettel and Button to take the lead at turn one. Rubens opened up a decent lead by the end of the first stint and his later first stop.

However, when Button pitted a lap later, he switched from a three-stop strategy to a two-stopper. When Barrichello pitted, he remained on the his three-stop plan, a move that would scupper his chances of his first win since 2004.

Barrichello could not build up a big enough lead over Button and the championship leader eventually won the race by 13 seconds to extend his lead to 14 points in the world championship.

With the Brawn's in a class of their own, again, it was now down to third place. The battle was between Felipe Massa and Vettel, but a clever strategy from Mark Webber ensured he recovered from a poor qualifying to take third.

Vettel eventually finished in fourth place after Massa's Ferrari team managed to make another error, this time not giving him enough fuel to combat his fuel consumption. With four laps remaining, Massa let Vettel through, then slowed further to allow home favourite Fernando Alonso to take fifth place.

Massa survived, barely, to take sixth place, just 1.3 seconds ahead of Nick Heidfeld. Massa ran out of fuel as he crossed the line.

When the lights went out at the start, all eyes were on the KERS-equipped Ferrari of Massa, but while he got a good start to move to third, he didn't bother using his KERS.

Barrichello was the real star of the grid, obliterating Vettel at an instant and out-dragging Button down the long straight and taking the lead at turn one.

Behind the top six, there was carnage as Jarno Trulli was forced onto the gravel by Nico Rosberg. As he recovered, he was ploughed into by Adrian Sutil. Carbon Fibre littered the circuit, and when trying to avoid the incident, Sebastien Buemi slowed. As he did so, his team-mate Sebastien Bourdais drove straight over the top of him.

The safety car was deployed and the field bunched up. When it pulled in, Barrichello pulled away, eking out a 1.5 second lead by lap 14. Massa fell away, much to the frustration of Vettel and Webber who could only follow and bite their tongue.

The race was now Brawn's to lose, and when it came to the first stop, it was business as usual, slick style from the Brawn mechanics. Barrichello was now lap about a second per lap faster than Button, but it was not enough to come out ahead of Button after hsi second stop.

At that point, it was Button to lose, which he did not, just keeping the pace to stay in touch. Button was then in a class of his own on the hard tyres, and cruised to victory and now looks the strong favourite for the championship.

Barrichello took second after the strategy did not work, and he'll be disappointed that his engineers did not take the same step as Jenson's, a move which could be pinnacle in the title fight come November.

Massa and Vettel pitted again on the same lap on lap 43, Massa rejoining in ahead of Vettel again, but Ferrari made a catastrophic error during that stop. They failed to fuel Felipe to the finish due to a problem with the fuel rig.

Their final stops were early, and with a huge disadvantage against anyone on soft tyres, Mark Webber was able to cruise ahead of Massa and Vettel and secure third place with seven sensational laps.

So with Massa fuelled too light to finish the race, he was ordered to slow and let Vettel through, followed by Alonso. Massa finished sixth, but conked out just after the line and did not even complete his reconnaissance lap. He was just ahead of BMW-Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.

Nico Rosberg finished in eighth place, beaten by a clever strategy used by Heidfeld.

Driver of the Day

Well I have two today, the first is Rubens Barrichello, who drove every lap like it was a qualifying lap, and was cost victory by his engineers who chose incorrectly not to switch his strategy.

The second is Mark Webber, who kept up with Massa and Vettel in the first stint, but made an error on his out lap to fall behind. But, rather than moan and settle for fifth, he pushed on and went three laps longer than the dueling pair, and stormed to third with a flurry on beautiful laps. He nearly caught and passed Barrichello too.

TV Coverage

It was business as usual, Jake Humphrey at his usual best, David Coulthard providing his interesting and exclusive insight, and Eddie Jordan finally proving to be as controversial as I thought he would be. He said he'd suspend Kimi Raikkonen for the attitude he has shown this season, and he is within his right to say so. He's probably right too.

The main quarrel is Jonathan Legard, who seemed disinterested in the race today and appeared to argue every point Martin Brundle made. I don't believe I am about to write this, but, I'd rather have James Allen back again.

Race Rating - 3/10

It was glum, boring, un-eventful. I think most were happy when it was over. Let's hope Monaco is some sort of improvement.

On the Horizon: 2009 Spanish Grand Prix Preview

Michael Griffin — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:19:19 -0400

Four rounds have been contested so far in this phenomenal season, and now we approach round five, taking place at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona. This track normally represents the start of the "real" season, where the tracks are more familiar and true pace is often demonstrated.

This year, however, it is the point in the season where the order could be shaken up quite a bit. Brawn are so far the fastest team, closely followed by Red Bull and Toyota. Williams are fourth, but it is the teams behind the British outfit that are the centre of attention this weekend.

McLaren-Mercedes have already said that they will not be providing any updates this weekend, so they will be looking at pure setup this weekend. A small advancement is possible, but nothing huge.

Ferrari are bringing a raft of changes to their F60, tested last week by Marc Gene, but they will not be using a double-decker diffuser, something which appears to be beneficial to the teams that have it, going by the result of the first two practice sessions at least.

The changes will bring extra pace, but Ferrari admit that they will not be up with the top teams yet.

Among their changes is a new, lightweight chassis to combat the effects of the heavy KERS device. A new front wing, and new rear wing are in Barcelona, with changes made to the floor of the car and an "interim" diffuser to make an attempt to simulate the effects of the controversial double-decked diffusers.

A pace increase is expected, podiums could be possible, but until Ferrari sort out their downforce deficiency, wins are out of the question.

We now move to Renault, who are looking for pacer with their aerodynamical changes to the car. Nelson Piquet has the new diffuser, an improved KERS system and new parts to the floor of the car, and judging by his pace in practice, they have helped.

Young Piquet has complained that the car does not suit his style at all, and is more familiar to Fernando Alonso, but these changes appear to be working in his favour. Alonso is still quick, he always will be, but Nelson has closed the gap, and in first practice, he was faster than the two-time world champion.

Last year, Alonso went super-light to get on the front row of the grid. He could do the same this year, to please his home fans, but still, at least for now, points will be the only thing on offer. Podiums are still a step too far, but not for much longer I believe.

We now arrive at the doors of BMW-Sauber, who have the worst car in the field by a large margin. They were destroyed comprehensively by the rest of the field, even the Force India's.

It emerged that BMW had been far too conservative with the design of their car, despite the fact that they cost Robert Kubica a chance at fighting for the title last season to concentrate on this seasons' car.

BMW have brought a radical amount of changes to their F1.09 car this weekend, a new front wing, rear wing, chassis, floor, endplates and interim diffuser are all fitted to the car.

Yup, interim diffuser, BMW have decided not to install their diffuser, which is ready to be fitted, onto their car despite the fact that Catalunya is reliant on high downforce levels.

Sometimes, BMW make decision that boggle the mind, like the one not to continue to develop the car last season and potentially win both the drivers' and constructors' championship. This decision not to fit a downforce inducing device is another confusing decision, one they could regret if they are close to the front pack.

Scuderia Toro Rosso have been given the package Red Bull were running in Melbourne, and they nearly won there, so they should be competitive this weekend. Team Principal Frank Tost announced this weekend that they will become a full constructor next year, only using Red Bull's wind tunnel to develop their car.

This could make the car far more competitive because they will not have to wait for updates to come from the parent team, they will be able to develop at their own pace and perhaps become a better team because of it.

Okay, now it is time for the predictions.

1. Jenson Button

2. Nico Rosberg

3. Sebastien Vettel

4. Timo Glock

5. Rubens Barrichello

6. Mark Webber

7. Fernando Alonso

8. Jarno Trulli

I believe Brawn have the advantage because their car is still the best at developing the amounts of downforce required for this circuit, so Button to win again. Williams are on the pace here again, so I feel their luck will come this weekend in the favour, a podium will be well deserved.

Red Bull will still be quick, so third and sixth for them, although they could spring out those magical quali laps again and change this order around. I have put Barrichello in fifth because of the competition around him, it is up to him to prove me wrong.

I think Alonso will use the home support to gains points, with the Toyota's sticking with the front runners, but Trulli falling away with race pace yet again.

No points for McLaren, Ferrari or BMW-Sauber, but I could be wrong, I know a lot of people here hope I am wrong.

Comment below please, thanks and enjoy the weekend!

An Ayrton Senna Tribute, 15 Years Later

Michael Griffin — Fri, 01 May 2009 12:25:51 -0400

Fifteen years ago on this day, Formula One lost one of its greatest ever drivers. On May 1, 1994, the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix took place. It was a tragic weekend already with the death of the well-loved Roland Ratzenberger, but on race day, the face of Formula One would be changed forever.

Below is a piece I wrote last year, which I think was a fitting tribute to the great man. I recount that horrible weekend and provide the memories of those who witnessed the accident, from afar and also up close and all too personal.

Ayrton Senna

Ayrton Senna was the finest driver of our generation.

Drivers were afraid to battle him on the track. They felt he had a very reckless style of driving. Many had said that it would kill him. He did die, but it had nothing to do with his style.

The 1994 San Marino Grand Prix was the final time that Senna would grace our screen in a racing capacity. The weekend had already been a very tragic one.

On the Friday, during the afternoon qualifying session, Senna's protégé, F1 newcomer Rubens Barrichello, was involved in a serious accident that prevented him from competing in the race.

On Saturday, the death of Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger in practice deeply upset Senna, reinforcing his safety concerns and making him consider retiring from the sport.

Ironically, he spent his final morning meeting fellow drivers, determined after Ratzenberger's accident to take on a new responsibility to recreate the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, a drivers' safety group to increase safety in Formula One. As the most senior driver, he was offered the leadership role in this effort.

On Sunday, Pedro Lamy and J.J. Lehto were involved in a starting-line accident. Track officials deployed the safety car to slow down the field and allow the debris from the starting accident to be removed. The cars proceeded under the safety car for six laps.

On lap seven, from the onboard camera of Michael Schumacher's Benetton, Senna's car was seen to break traction twice at the rear, go off the track at Tamburello corner, and strike an unprotected concrete barrier.

Telemetry shows he left the track at 310 km/h (190 mph) and was able to slow the car down to 218 km/h (135 mph) in slightly under two seconds before hitting the wall.

After Senna's car came to a halt, he remained motionless in the cockpit. Although the car had suffered a high-speed impact with the wall, the accident did not have the typical hallmark of an especially devastating racing crash.

The car simply seemed to understeer strongly off the track, hit the wall at a shallow angle, tearing off the right front wheel and nosecone, lift slightly with the nose as it straightened, and spin mildly to a halt.

Although the crash seemed benign, it was immediately evident that Senna had suffered some sort of injury because of the manner in which his helmet was seen to be mostly motionless and leaning very slightly to the side.

In the seconds that followed, his head was seen to move to one side slightly, causing false hopes to be raised. A long time seemed to go by before medical units came to his aid, with fire marshals having arrived at the car and unable to touch Senna before qualified medical personnel arrived.

Television coverage from an overhead helicopter was seen around the world, as rescue workers gave medical attention. Close inspection of the area in which the medical staff treated Senna revealed a considerable amount of blood on the ground. The race was stopped one minute, nine seconds after Senna's crash.

During this time a miscommunication in the pits caused a Larrousse F1 car driven by Érik Comas to leave the pit lane and attempt to rejoin the now red-flagged Grand Prix. Frantic waving by the marshals at Senna's crash site prevented the Larrousse from risking a collision with the medical helicopter that had landed on the track.

Professor Sidney Watkins (a world-renowned neurosurgeon, Formula One Safety Delegate and Medical Delegate, and head of the Formula One on-track medical team), who performed an on-site tracheotomy on Ayrton Senna, reported:

“He looked serene. I raised his eyelids, and it was clear from his pupils that he had suffered a massive brain injury. We lifted him from the cockpit and laid him on the ground. As we did, he sighed and, although I am totally agnostic, I felt his soul depart at that moment.“

Michael Schumacher was chasing Senna for the lead when he crashed, and he also reflected.

"I saw him go off, but I thought no, it's Senna, he cannot die, no chance. When I got out of my car at the end, I was told he was in a coma...I thought people came out of them, and they did and still do...but Ayrton did not. I was devastated, my hero was gone, and before my eyes...it changed my perception of the sport from there on.

"I had to win the title, not for me, but for the great one. I did, and I hope I did him proud."

I was just four years old when this happened, but I had pretty extensive knowledge about Formula One cars. I was trying to explain to my father how aerodynamics worked.

No, seriously. I was explaining how the car could go so fast around Tamburello and not crash...then Ayrton did.

I just turned to the TV as Senna left the track. As soon as he hit the wall, my dad, being a typical father, said, "Don’t worry, he’ll be fine."

I may only have been four years old, but I knew he was gone at that moment. I was talking about how the cars were not crashing, so you can imagine my uncontrollable guilt at that point. That guilt has stayed with me ever since that day, and it will never leave me.

Formula One had lost possibly the greatest Formula One drive to have lived, Brazil lost its greatest hero, and the face of motorsport changed for good. Many years have gone by since then, many huge crashes since then.

I believe it is quite safe to say that had Senna not lost his life, many more deaths or serious injuries could have occurred...it just sickens me that someone like Senna, even after the horrific death of Ratzenberger, had to die to make the sport safer...that is the overriding tragedy of this story.

R.I.P Ayrton Senna. May he be at peace with his God.

McLaren-Mercedes Receive Three-Race Suspended Ban

Michael Griffin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:29:19 -0400

McLaren-Mercedes have been handed a three-race suspended ban for bringing the sport into disrepute after lying to stewards at the Australian and Malaysian Grand Prix.

Following a hearing at the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), the governing body announced that McLaren had admitted all charges and made clear that there had been an obvious change of "culture" within the team, and has therefore suspended a charge they deem appropriate.

A statement issued by the FIA said: "Having regard to the open and honest way in which McLaren Team Principal, Mr Martin Whitmarsh, addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear has taken place in his organisation, the WMSC decided to suspend the application of the penalty it deems appropriate.

"That penalty is a suspension of the team from three races of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This will only be applied if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next 12 months, there is a further breach by the team of article 151c of the International Sporting Code."

McLaren had been called before the WMSC to answer charges relating to former Sporting Director Dave Ryan and Lewis Hamilton lying about whether an order had been given to let Jarno Trulli overtake the world champion at the Australian Grand Prix under the safety car.

The team was only found to have lied when radio transmissions between the team and Hamilton, and interview that the Briton gave after the race, did not correlate.

In the wake of the scandal that emerged, McLaren sacked Dave Ryan and Martin Whitmarsh wrote a letter of apology to the governing body. Ron Dennis then decided to step away from the Formula One team in a move not unrelated to the scandal, despite claims by Dennis to the contrary.

Whitmarsh then chose to appear before the WMSC alone, staying for less than an hour to apologize for the fiasco.

This writer has an opinion, and it is this: If Ron Dennis was still over Martin Whitmarsh and in day-to-day control of the McLaren, then they would have attended with a flurry of QCs and fought all charges to the death.

With a three-race suspended ban, the team can now move on and look towards the future, if Ron was still in charge, they'd be focusing on next season as they would have had the book thrown at them.

From this charge, and the way Martin Whitmarsh has reacted to the public humiliation, it is clear to see the Vodafone-McLaren-Mercedes has changed for the better.

Jenson Button Takes Victory After Desert Storm To Win In Bahrain

Michael Griffin — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:38:33 -0400

Jenson Button tightened his ever increasing grip on the 2009 Formula One world championship with a stunning victory in Bahrain. The Briton's third win in four races came in searing heat and humidity, extending his title lead over Rubens Barrichello to 12 points.

The Brawn team managed to turn around the form book from qualifying to beat pre-race favourites Sebastien Vettel and Jarno Trulli thanks to a superior tyre strategy near-perfect driving, the Red Bull and Toyota drivers taking second and third place respectively.

Before the race began, Button has expressed his optimism that his race pace could be enough to warrant a challenge for race victory, and after jumping the Toyota's after the first stint, a brilliant middle stint proved to be enough to take race victory.

Toyota's hopes of a race victories were gone after the first stint after both their drivers pitted early, allowing Chinese GP winner to take full advantage and grab second place.

World Champion Lewis Hamilton gave McLaren their very best result of the season so far to come home in fourth place. The Briton vaulted up the order at the first corner making full use of his Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS). He forced his way past Vettel, and passed Button too. He then looked set to take Trulli and move up to second place, but was forced to yield.

Brawn driver Rubens Barrichello managed to take fifth place despite running a detrimental three-stop strategy, but he now falls a full race win behind Button in the points standings.

Ferrari managed to avoid their worst ever start to a Formula One season after Kimi Raikkonen finished in sixth place, just ahead of front-row started Timo Glock who fell apart after pitting early on in the race. Fernando Alonso took eighth place for Renault, Flavio won't be crying into his D&G tissues tonight...probably.

As has been the case all weekend in Sakhir, the 20 cars on the grid had to suffer the sweltering desert humidity as track temperatures began to nudge 50 degrees celsius.

At the lights, the significantly lighter Toyota of Timo Glock managed to out-drag Trulli down to the first corner. Lewis Hamilton used his KERS system to come from fifth to third, which nearly became second when he challenged Trulli but he had to hold back.

On the start/finish straight, Button dragged past Hamilton and out-braked into turn one at the start of lap two. The move turned out to be crucial for Button as it meant he kept the Toyota's in check as they were stopping early.

Glock, meanwhile, used his lighter car to pull out a one second lead on the first lap over Trulli, but despite this, he never had a lead larger than two seconds over Trulli.

By the time Glock dived into the pits on lap 10, his lead was just 1.8 seconds. The weights that were published showed that Trulli was far heavier than Glock, the victory appeared to be on, but then we were shocked when Trulli pitted just one lap later.

The victory looked like it was gone for both teams, and it was now up to Button to take full advantage. He was just 1.5 seconds off Trulli when the Italian pitted, and the BGP-001 began to fully flex its muscles just like it did in Malaysia. With a few Schumacher like laps, Button was obliterating the opposition yet again. Toyota were left aghast.

For Trulli, while he exited the pits ahead of Glock- who began a mysterious slide down the order - he now had to contend with the charging Fernando Alonso. The KERS-equipped Renault began to hustle Trulli, and Trulli could do nothing to stop Alonso going round the outside of turn four.

As things played out, it became apparent that Alonso had very little impact on Trulli's race and his hopes of staying ahead of Button, who used his extra four laps of fuel to leapfrog the Italian quite comfortably.

This was also the stage in the race that Vettel began to turn around his race, after a difficult time following Hamilton around in fifth. The German's RB5 had looked less balanced than it did in qualifying, but as his fuel went down, he began to push hard and managed to take Hamilton.

He was now in third, right behind Trulli, but the re-appearance of the notorious "Trulli Train" began services during the second sting, at followed the Sakhir line right through the said stint (services delayed in the pits).

Trulli was on the medium compound tyres, whereas Button was roaring off into the distance at a second a lap to build a huge advantage. Vettel and Hamilton had a chance of being closer to Button, but delays on the Sakhir line meant they were delayed by roughly 1.1 seconds a lap.

For eighteen laps, Hamilton and Vettel fell further behind, following Trulli again and again and...well, you get the idea. Not even the north circular line in London has that many delays.

Button was handed victory on a silver plater, and he courteously drove off into the distance, with a lead of over 15 second before his stop. He came in on lap 36, and exited the pits as Trulli and Hamilton came in for their stops.

Vettel used the clear air he had to leapfrog Trulli and move into a secure second place. But, Vettel was now on the medium rubber, with Trulli now a second faster than the German, he was stuck behind him, discovering the frustration that Vettel and Hamilton suffered.

Hamilton struggled for grip, pace and stability on the medium compound but still finished a comfortable fourth ahead of Barrichello. Early leader Glock took seventh right behind Raikkonen, maintaining his 100 per-cent record of points scoring finishes.

But, he and Toyota will be looking for answers at to why his race fell apart so badly. Alonso may have taken eighth, but he will be looking for answers as to why even with the double diffuser, he is still not quick enough to challenge for meaningful positions.

Felipe Massa, however, is still looking for points after finishing a lap down in 14th, pitting early with a damaged front wing and suffering KERS problems during the race.

While his Ferrari team can take solace from Raikkonen's three points, BMW-Sauber will want to forget Bahrain as quickly as possible after finishing 18th and 19th places.

Personal Thoughts

Great race, full of drama and entertainment, and a couple of surprises too in the shape of the fall of Timo Glock, and Jenson Button taking an unexpected win to say the least. Great racing today shows that the 2009 rules have had a positive effect on the sport.

Driver of the Day

Well, who do you expect? Jenson Button of course, to hold on to the Toyota's and produce those stunning pre-stop laps yet again showed how good the guy is, and he was the best driver by a huge margin today.

T.V. Coverage

What was the deal with pink today? David Coulthard and Jake Humphrey both with pink shirts, and Jenson Button senior sporting it too. Apart from these fashion faux pas', the coverage was solid yet again. Jake is the perfect presenter now, if he makes a mistake, he covers it well.

DC providing a great driver insight, but the third man wen down a peg after the brilliance of Mike Gaiscogne resumed service with Eddie Jordan back in the fold. He has zero chemistry with DC or Jake, and it makes it all a bit uncomfortable to watch really.

Jonathan Legard was good today, although he has to remember he is not on the radio anymore, he can breath when Martin Brundle is not talking. If he breathes more often, he'll improve. He is, however, a billion times better than James Allen. Lovely bloke he is, he just was not the best storyteller.

Martin Brundle does not really need any explanation, he's simply the best commentator in the world right now, end of.

Race verdict

Great action today, dulled a bit when Button sauntered off ahead of Trulli, but the battle between Trulli, Vettel and Hamilton was contentious enough to keep us going. Better than China, best so far really.

2009 Bahrain Grand Prix Rating - 8/10

On the Horizon: 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix Preview

Michael Griffin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:48:37 -0400

First off, let me apologize for not doing a review of the Chinese Grand Prix; Sunday was a truly hectic day and I had no time to write one. Anyway, we now move straight on to the Bahrain Grand Prix, taking place in the sweltering desert heat of Sakhir.

It heralds the beginning of a flurry of races taking place at normal times, so we can have a lie in an still watch the F1, oh the joy!

Sebastien Vettel won in China with a simply perfect performance, and just like his previous win from last season in Monza, he made no mistakes at all. His team-mate, Mark Webber, made just one mistake all race long whilst pulling away from Jenson Button.

It was at the final corner, the scene for many calamities during the race as a small river began to form over the circuit. Webber ran wide and lost second place to Button, but regained it in a thrilling charge and soon pulled away yet again.

Speaking of Button, China proved that Brawn do not have the greatest pace in the wet, but I'm pretty sure it will not rain in Sakhir, although I said the same in Qatar and then it pissed down before the Moto GP.

The reality right now is this: Brawn have the fastest car, followed by Toyota with Red Bull in third and Williams fourth. It is then McLaren up to fifth place, Renault in sixth, BMW-Sauber in seventh, Ferrari eighth, Toro Rosso ninth and Force India in tenth.

I like order, it makes Formula One more enjoyable knowing that the usual winners like Hamilton, Kimi Raikkonen, Felipe Massa and so on do not have a hope of winning. Obviously, their fans may be quite miffed at this, but I do not care.

Flavio Briatore...a very outspoken man at the best of times, but this week he has simply gone too far. He first said that Brawn should not get any money from the TV rights because of the expense the other teams will have to go to to catch up with them.

Yep, you read that correctly, Briatore is demanding that Brawn do not receive their main source of funding. He then said Button was a mediocre driver in a fast car.

He tried to sign him to replace Piquet in the winter, so he was prepared to replace one of the worst drivers in recent memory with someone he regards as "mediocre."

He then said that independent teams beating manufacturers was damaging the credibility of Formula One. Briatore has four world titles under his belt, now guess what kind of team won the first two? Yup, an independent team, in the form of Benneton.

Yet again his mouth has gone into gear before his brain, forgetting that he is only in Formula One right now because of a independent team, and that the man who is running Brawn GP, Ross Brawn, designed the cars that won Benneton its world titles.

Briatore has always been a disgrace for Formula One, bending the rules in any way to get a win, so these comments really have to be outlandish to shock me.

Now that my rant is over, let's get to predictions.

Toyota have done winter testing here, and were the fastest by a large margin over BMW and Ferrari. They have the advantage here, so I expect their first win to come here.

Brawn will be the closest to them with Red Bull trying to squeeze out Williams in the battle with Barrichello. Renault have more updates, but let's face it, while Alonso will have a huge benefit, nothing can save Nelson Piquet...apart from a V10 engine, haha!

Ferrari did do testing, as did BMW, but their cars are so furiously awful that it will become obsolete. McLaren were brilliant in China, so they could find themselves up with Renault in the pack hanging onto Williams.

Race predictions:

1. Glock

2. Trulli

3. Button

4. Vettel

5. Webber

6. Hamilton

7. Barrichello

8. Rosberg

I see Toyota dominating as they were stellar in Sakhir during the winter, and that mileage will pay dividends come Sunday. I place Button third, but I see a very entertaining battle ensuing between Brawn and Red Bull with McLaren trying to force their way past Williams.

Force India will have a flurry of updates this weekend, so I see them quicker than Ferrari and BMW, who are struggling so much it amazes me.

In-fact, both teams may concentrate all their efforts on the 2010 cars...well, look at the benefits Brawn are getting, but they had regulatory freedom to develop like hell at a ridiculous rate of knots.

Toro Rosso are now waiting for the updates that brought Red Bull their maiden win, they won't feature in Sakhir, but I still expect good pace from both Sebastiens.

Do you agree with me on this? Comments on a postcard...or in the comment box, you choose.

On The Horizon: 2009 Chinese Grand Prix

Michael Griffin — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:36:55 -0400

We come fresh off the back of the Malaysia Grand Prix and on to the Chinese Grand Prix, where Lewis Hamilton put one hand on the 2008 Drivers World Championship in a crushingly dominant victory.

I'll guarantee you this—and I do not say that often—Lewis Hamilton will not give a repeat performance just seven months on from that thoroughly dull race.

The season has so far been all about Brawn-Mercedes, although every team bar Williams and Toyota cannot accept their technical advantage and are going to the appeal courts this week, more on that later on.

Jenson Button has already grown accustom to winning, having won both of the opening Grand Prix' in Melbourne and Sepang respectively. However, he has 15 points rather than 20 after the Malaysian GP was red flagged shortly before 75 percent distance, the first time that has happened since the farcical 1991 Australian Grand Prix.

It was also only the fifth time in Formula One history that half points have been awarded, I bet that confused a lot of the newcomers to the sport.

What troubles me is that the first two races, some of the best in recent memory, could be worth absolutely nothing if Ferrari and the other appealing teams have their way.

Many people have an opinion on the diffuser issue, and I have one too. The seven teams appealing Brawn, Toyota, and Williams simply cannot accept that they have got it totally wrong in designing their cars compared to the three aforementioned teams.

Ferrari have gone on record saying that the decision made by the World Motor Sport Council will decide the world title. No, whether you can pull your finger out your proverbial and get a move on will decide the title, and the same goes for everyone else too.

Christian Horner has been the most outspoken, closely followed by Flavio Briatore, and they have no right to question the technical interpretation of the rules as they did not design the cars, their lackeys did.

I have read the rules, then read the again, and again, and again and so on, and the end result is simple—the "diffuser gang" are completely legal. The main argument is that the diffusers do not conform to the "spirit" of the regulations...since when has spirit decided how a car is designed?

Horner is really scraping the bottom of the barrel to find an excuse, but what they fail to realise is that if the results of the first two races are thrown out, the fans will revolt at the fact that they paid their price to watch a race, only for the result to be decided by the childish-ness of a few men (Horner & co) who cannot fathom the rules.

If I paid the gate price for the Australian Grand Prix to see my favourite driver Jenson Button win, then find out a few weeks later that he didn't win, I'd sue every team that appealed the result to get my money back.

I'll be thoroughly disappointed if every other attendant does not do the same.

Now, the race, Brawn have pace, and I think that even without the diffuser, they have a big advantage over everyone else. Regardless of the outcome of the court case, Brawn are on for the win again.

This season could see dominance like we saw from Michael Schumacher in 2004, and no, I'm not joking.

Predictions:

1. Button

2. Barrichello

3. Vettel

4. Raikkonen

5. Trulli

6. Kubica

7. Webber

8. Glock

There we go, I'll be back after the court to either destroy the WMSC and the appealing teams for screwing us, or praising the WMSC for making the right decision.