Bleacher Report - Articles by Milan Petrinec

This Will Be an Interesting Formula One Season!

Milan Petrinec — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 10:47:06 -0400

The only thing that makes me angry is that I just forgot that there was a time change (from winter time to summer time—in Central Europe) so I woke up and turned on the TV 15 minutes after the start of the race.

To be honest, like many others, I am wondering how it is possible, that the Brawn GP team celebrated a double in this race.

Although, as many might have mentioned before, Rubens Barrichello had a big portion of luck to clinch the second spot on the podium, but if Vettel and Kubica would have battled more with their brains then with their cars, Barrichello would have finished in the fourth spot—even though, this would have been a magnificent result for this newly named team.

In this case, I have to say, that it is a big difference to talk about a scene which happened in the race two days ago, in comparison to reacting directly in that moment—for me, this was a normal racing accident, and Vettel should have NEVER been penalized this hard—simply inappropriate.

I think that Vettel only made one mistake in that scene—saying "I am very, very sorry, I am an idiot"—on the team radio.

On the other hand, I remember reading some interviews from middle of January, when both Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello were stating, that their team will have a great car this year.

They were very confident, and this confidence was not just pretended. This was before the team got a new name and acquired a new strong sponsor.

Anyway, I think this will have some effects on the Formula One season 2009, which will not suit FIA. Today, I read an article, that Ferrari is already starting to invest an extra 20 million euros to rebuilt the half of their car (focusing on the diffuser, of course).

But, it is nice to see guys like Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello on the top of the podium.

Some other teams will also have a small advantage in the beginning of the season, but it will get even in the second half of the season...just my prediction.

What is interesting for me personally, is, that Brawn GP state, that they started building this new car already in 2007. If so, that was the best move they ever did.

But, if I look at the past seasons and look at the results of Honda, there might be some truth in those statements.

This weekend was not only about Brawn GP, but about diffusers. And here is the main question which I am thinking about.

Did these three teams, who use the extra diffuser, interpret the rules correctly and the other seven teams just were not as smart, or is something very strange happening here? I DO NOT KNOW! And that drives me crazy.

I do not know, how long in advance the teams get the information about the planned changes in rules, but if they received the rules, which have been planned for this season so long in advance.

Well, then I have to say, that Brawn GP is in a very good position and did an outstanding job.

They do not just have the most beautiful car, but it is the fastest one as well.

Despite this, I remain a Ferrari fan and a fan of good races, but if I should vote for the most beautiful car (in the time, where the cars look pretty worse then the F1 cars from the past 5 years), Brawn GP would have won my personal championship already...

You Have to be Mentally Strong Even If Your Race Is Being Ruined by the Pit Stop

Milan Petrinec — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:07:31 -0400

My oh my. The Ferrari fans must have had seriously a very bad evening. The Singapore´s night grand prix had all needed to become a fantastic Ferrari-domination-presentation, but in the end, everything turned out to be totally different.

This wonderful track, where watching the race pretty much reminds me of the street races in the US Champ car series, showed us some wonderful scenes yesterday. Even with this result, I think that every F1 fan has to be happy with at least something he saw yesterday. And somehow, Fernando Alonso climbed up to the very top of the podium to get the victory he wanted so much.

The start was pretty unspectacular, which was bit a surprise, just Kubica giving Kovalainen a small knock to show him that he is not afraid of the mclaren. Then a pretty suspicious thing happened. Piquet crashed into the wall, seconds later, Alonso enters the pits, before it gets closed.

I mean, on one hand, it was probably a perfectly timed pit stop, somehow from Alonso's people must have made a fantastic decision to take him into the pits, but on the other hand, someone (including me) could have thought, this was a kind of team-order. Maybe totally irrelevant at this point of season with no chance whatsoever for Alonso to get something in the championship, but anyway..

And there will probably be another talking point where everyone will give his opinion to: The refuelling machines. What happened to Massa and then to David Coulthard in the latter stages of the race, was not just bad luck, it is something that could be seen during the entire season.

And not only this. Either the refuelling mechanism is not really a well-designed-machine, or are the mechanics just making mistakes under pressure. If talking about the under-pressure-making of mistakes, the Slovak commentator Andrej Studenic (a touring car driver as well), had a very good point yesterday by stating, that "there is a thing i have realised about Massa.

As long as everything is OK and without any problems, he keeps on performing superbly well, but if any problem occurs, he starts making mistakes."

This is very true. This year is Felipe's first attempt to reach out for the title, there it is understandable that he makes mistakes (a couple of spins yesterday after the unlucky pit stop), but yet again, Kimi Raikkonen simply has to be criticised. Zero points from the last four races, where from three times he did not finish because a mistake, that is pretty much.

And, although he was really driving superbly yesterday during the race, one pushing over the limit in the worst possible place cost him the race and a few points.

And Lewis Hamilton just keeps on driving and although he is at the moment not better than Massa, he just does not have so much bad luck and does not make many mistakes.

And that is the way how to clinch the title. You have to be consistent and try to make the best out of the situation, but also be mentally strong in case of some unexpected problems (in F1 you can not really expect any problems in advance).

There is just one outstanding thing to say about yesterday. The way Nico Rosberg was pushing his Williams yesterday, was amazing. In my opinion, he would have deserved the victory more than Alonso, but anyway, you had to be fast and must not have received a penalty in order to win the race. Congrats, Mr. Alonso!

Anyway, I am looking forward to the remainder of the season, with Ferrari having the better car and spent their bad luck until the end of the season already, I think Lewis is not yet the World Champion for the year 2008.

Monza Makes for Another Great Race, and a New Winner: Thank You, Rain

Milan Petrinec — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 21:24:09 -0400

Another great race, and another race affected by wonderful weather!

Although some of the drivers might have been unhappy with the weather during the weekend, I can honestly say that I was really surprised by how well the guys managed to drive in the rain yesterday. It really was a wonderful show of great overtaking and great strategy, topped off with a surprise winner.

Anyway, I think everybody will congratulate Sebastian Vettel on his first victory in Formula One. I think there is much more to come from this 21-year-young kid. Just give him a better car and he will be able to fight against the strongest guys in the field, that's for sure.

In his win, the Germans got something to cheer about. When I saw him on the podium, there was definitely something in his face that reminded me of Michael Schumacher, at least in his attempt at conducting the Italian anthem.

But the best thing about this race was that the underdogs and drivers not normally good in wet conditions thrived.

I definitely saw some major improvements from Felipe Massa in the rain. If he doesn't win the title this year, he´ll definitely be prepared to clinch it next year. But Lewis Hamilton was really flying. I was a bit surprised when he got stuck behind Massa, unable to put some pressure on him.

Kimi Raikkonen was decent yesterday. It was a pity that he did not get at least a point. Kovalainen was also very good in the rain during the whole weekend. I think he might be pretty happy with P2. Robert Kubica was lucky to get into the pits at the right moment and gained a huge advantage after that pit stop, which helped him secure the third spot.

Well, this season is turning into a great one. The seasons that saw Michael Schumacher dominate were incredible, but only for his fans. Formula One after his era is really interesting. And with more drivers' changes heading into next year, we might be in for yet another great season.

I have to admit, however, that I am really getting tired of all the changes in the rules. There doesn't seem to be any stable environment for the teams and development. It's going to be interesting seeing how KERS will affect next season.

Looking forward to Singapore.

Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton Getting Closer to Final F1 Showdown

Milan Petrinec — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 05:21:39 -0400

Today, we saw another dominant performance by Felipe Massa, this time, lucky for him, without an engine failure. But, as Ferrari still has some technical issues, this time it was Kimi Raikkonen who missed the chance of getting some championship points.

Maybe the only positive news for Kimi is, that the mechanic, who suffered an accident at Kimi´s second pitstop, did not hurt himself seriously, according to first information.

Massa showed once again that if the remainder of the season stays dry, then he will be a serious contender for the title. On the other hand, Ferrari really has to do something with the reliability of their cars.

McLaren is pretty much better in this—no big technical issues for their cars this season—leading to a very good performance by the British-German team.

If I am speaking highly about Massa, then a bit criticism has to be given to Kimi. Despite his statements that he is highly motivated, he really has been at the same level during the last couple of races and is not contributing to Ferrari´s constructor-title ambitions so much.

He really needs to step up in order to help out both Ferrari and his teammate Felipe, who hopefully, will finally get the No. 1 status on the team for the rest of this season.

If we are talking about the team strategy, Ferrari has really changed their way of thinking compared to the times of Michael Schumacher...

So, Lewis Hamilton is still on top of the table, but a very confident Massa is coming closer. Could it be better?

The next race in Belgium, on the fantastic SPA circuit, can make it even more exciting. But, with the past experience we have from Belgium, maybe the weather god has got something else in the plans...

Sometimes, Formula One Can Be So Cruel

Milan Petrinec — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:58:56 -0400

“Unfortunately, racing can be a cruel sport. We had given it our all, but these things can happen. Now we must not give up, but instead we must react quickly. There are seven races to go and 70 points up for grabs, which means there is plenty of time to make up ground. Our rivals are strong but we have shown we are at their level."

These were the words of the decimated Fellipe Massa yesterday after he lost the victory because of an engine failure with only three laps to go.

This really was a very unfortunate way of losing a race, even if this was not the worst (Mika Hakkinen at Barcelona 2001 lost the race in an even more dramatic way), but Massa really can feel sad because of this.

After the criticism I had stated on him after the British GP, now it needs to be said that he really dominated the field yesterday. Nobody even stood a chance of catching Massa yesterday, not even Lewis Hamilton, who, if he did not have the puncture, would surely had secured the second place.

So we have a new name in the all-time winners list: Heikki Kovalainen. "Welcome to the world of winning, the first of many," said by Ron Dennis who, of course, meant this honestly. Or did he?

Kovalainen drove a good race without mistakes and would have come third, but the fortune had different plans with him. The second man yesterday, who deserves a big compliment, was definitely Timo Glock. He now has defeated Jarno Trulli and is probably taking over the No. 1 status in the team.

BMW disappointed, Renault surprised. Kimi Raikkonen was driving behind Alonso for more than 40 laps, which was absolutely not understandable in my opinion. Ferrari showed in the past they can play with tactics, so it would have made sense to at least try and make an extra stint with Raikonen yesterday. The car was great, but maybe the risk of falling into traffic was too high.

Anyway, we could say that with Heikki's win and Hamilton's fifth place, the championship is still very open and interesting. This season is really one of the best in the past few years—no one is really dominating all the time, and if someone starts, then Bernie orders a puncture or an engine failure and lets someone else win the race.

I am really looking forward to the remaining seven races of the season. And, if the remaining seven races will be all dry, than we could again have a wonderful final race with at least three drivers having the chance for the title.

Lewis Hamilton Unstoppable, Tifosi Screaming Out for Michael Schumacher

Milan Petrinec — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:57:32 -0400

What a performance it was by Lewis Hamilton yesterday! When most people probably thought he would lose the race by choosing the wrong strategy, he showed that he really is in great shape.

It was just a race of Lewis against himself. Nobody really had a chance of driving at the same speed as Hamilton did - the Ferraris and BMWs looked like dummies. This could be a deciding factor in the outcome of the this year's World Championship.

But, if we have learned anything from the first 10 races of this season, it is that anything can happen. That keeps the intensity alive, unless Ferrari and BMW are not able to close the gap on McLaren.

The race itself was not very interesting—if it had rained, it would have been much better. Nevertheless, Ferrari pretty much disappointed yesterday. I thought Kimi would be carrying more fuel after he finished qualification in sixth place, but that was not the case.

Massa, on the other hand, showed a decent performance, securing six points in the end. Michael Schumacher defended Felipe in the interview after the race, saying that:

"Felipe had many problems at the end of the race, the tires were not working as they should and the brakes also caused him problems."

However, surely Schumacher would not have let Lewis pass so easily in the hairpin—he would have tried to avoid it as hard as it would be possible (think of Australia '94).

Now it is clear that Lewis Hamilton can definitely be compared to Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher. He is one of those who want to win all the time, even if it means getting near the limit sometimes. But, with his recent performances, he is really showing that he wants the title - with the support of a great car, of course.

And it looks like he will get it! None of the Ferrari drivers showed they wanted it yesterday. As long as the car is good they are strong, but if the car is not competitive they're in a bit trouble.

On the other side, the Tifosi are going crazy, because yesterday it seemed that neither Massa nor Raikkonen really wanted to fight for the win. These guys need to be more aggressive, they need to get everything out of the car, in order to keep the season interesting. The next race, Hungary, is a good place for the Ferraris but with Lewis in form and McLaren being able to build a really great car, I wonder if they will still get lapped by Lewis when they race in Budapest!

Is Felipe Massa the Right Man for Ferrari?

Milan Petrinec — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:51:30 -0400

At the British Grand Prix, Felipe Massa really showed that he was just a dry-weather driver.

No excellent performance (like Massa has shown at the French Grand Prix) truly matters when you drive weakly like he did on Sunday in Silverstone. Surely, all drivers had their problems on the wet track, but Felipe is one of those drivers who just don't have the feeling for the wet weather.

Kimi Raikkonen was also like that at the beginning of his career. He did not like the wet conditions so much, but as we can see, he grew up as a driver and deals with such conditions much better than Massa.

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton also showed a great performance, holding the car on the track and gaining another huge win. And, Honda took a huge risk by giving Rubens Barrichello the heavy wets, but the veteran managed to earn the third place. After Nick Heidfeld's wonderful performance, all the criticism probably had a positive impact on him.

Now, if the rumors are right that Fernando Alonso should be joining Ferrari at the end of this season, the move would definitely mean the end of career for Kimi (who already announced that he is thinking about quitting), and probably even for Felipe Massa. Maybe the weather this year was once-in-a-100-years situation, but Ferrari as the main title contender just can't afford to lose so many points in wet races.

In this case, I would honestly be very happy to see Nico Rosberg join Fernando Alonso in Ferrari, although I would be glad if Kimi would stay for two more years. Nico is a very talented driver, even though he has big nose consumption this year. Maybe Williams does not have a nose that would be strong enough, but Ferrari surely does.

Well, I do not know what the outcome of the season will be, but the four-man fight for the title really is something special. Maybe this is a season the fans will never forget. But, we mustn't forget that this is business first, and all the teams want to have the best drivers.

So, let's hope that all the remaining races will be dry. Then Massa has a very good chance of winning the title.