Bleacher Report - Articles by steven stones

Every Two Sundays: A Grand Prix Fan's Perspective (Part 2)

steven stones — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:56:52 -0400

This is the second part of my article relating my own experiences of being a Grand Prix fan and attempting to compare them with other fans of our beloved sport.

In this article, I explain how I became a complete Formula One fan and also, how the last few years have been odd, agonising and at times, simply just annoying. Hope you enjoy it.

2000: Schumacher's Breakthrough

The season 2000 was a tight one, with Hakkinen and Coulthard appearing as strong as ever, but the Ferrari act seemed to have come together finally. Michael Schumacher began winning with more frequency.

The Australian Grand Prix that year involved an odd occurence. Ralf Schumacher had been tagged by Jacques Villeneuve's BAR Honda and the Canadian and German had been sent flying into the air.

A marshal had been killed in the accident. I thought now that the drivers were so safe they could never die in an accident again, it was everyone else in danger now.

So Schumacher won the Championship. I thought he had to do it some time. I accepted 2000 as a painful necessity of statistics. Surely he had to wrap up at least one title at Ferrari?

Building Bitterness

But no, it was not to be a flash in the pan or a trick of sheer statistics. It was to be statistics rewritten. Schumacher won again, and again and again and AGAIN!

Slowly as I watched and the years advanced, tuning in to the Grand Prix filled me with an odd sensation.

As I watched the build up and remember the qualifying the day before, a feeling in my chest of immense apprehension built every race.

Whoever was the man who was Michael's rival, whether it be Hakkinen, Coulthard, Ralf or whoever I knew whilst simultaneously hoping otherwise, that they could not win. 2002 proved this more than any other year.

The races would begin, and it didn't matter where Michael Schumacher started, I just knew it! I knew he would find some way to the front!

Ron Dennis claims the first thing he feels on Mondays after a Grand Prix his cars did not win is pain, it was a similar feeling.

Williams, McLaren, Renault, Honda, to be honest I wasn't a proper fan (of course I was always McLaren) of any team, as long as they were going to trounce Ferrari. Their tactics and their forgiven infringements as well, burned up my temper.

Bitterness isn't really the word and it stays to this day. Escaping penalties for his aggressive driving against his brother in 2001 and 2002 and various other aspects of the Ferrari operation made me want to hate F1, but I couldn't because I loved it.

I don't know if anyone else experienced anything like this? All throughout the 2000's until 2004, I loathed Ferrari.

Closer races in 2003 brought the excitement level right back up after anti-Ferrari measures were employed. They made the races closer and Michael Schumacher still won.

I didn't mind as much, the man was beginning to look beatable. However, with Ferrari so dominant the previous year, I learned a trick for coping. Watching the lower teams.

In 2002, a driver arrived in F1 that was endlessly entertaining to watch and very likeable to the point where you willed him on even though he was really struggling. His name was Takuma Sato.

Cheering for the Underdog

As I said, with closer competition in 2003 and onwards the viewing was a little more bearable but watching the underdogs, led by Taku proved as entertaining when nothing much was happening.

College provided me with spare time in 2002, and I watched every car event that TV would provide. I had watched Sato race away dominating British F3. He was a hoot to watch in F1, but not for the right reasons.

I became protective of him, though, because he did provide me with entertainment and for a long time he did what few others were willing to do in racing; Sato would have a go, whether it was on or not.

So because he would have a go, we saw him flying off the circuit in Spain all on his own, he raced up the backside of his own teammate, he got smashed off the circuit at A1 Ring and Monza, and he had bumps and scrapes too numerous to mention. But he got those two points in Japan. Somehow this made 2002 okay, I could live with it.

Sato was a diversion away from admitting Schumacher's dominance. It's difficult to believe now that when Renault began to come good and challenge for the championship, I supported Alonso and actually wished he had driven for McLaren!

By this time, 2004 and 2005, I had a Grand Prix weekend sealed off. That was it, the race was on, no activity ever took precedence over Qualifying and the Grand Prix.

Nothing at all and I would now not tolerate not seeing the action live. It's pretty hardcore but I can't help it and I know there are others like this.

Schumacher Retires

2006 was a great year for racing. I enjoyed it so much chiefly because we saw Schumacher fail to win another World Championship, but also because the racing was good and the best news I had heard had been announced; Michael Schumacher would retire at the end of the season.

Everytime the German won, I would groan and writhe and sigh in disappointment and distress, but it was okay, he was retiring. Everything was okay, he was retiring. The only bad news was that one of my favourite drivers "had stabbed me in the back" in a personal way. Kimi Raikkonen was moving to Ferrari.

Traitor. Once red always red, you can never come back from it. Well, unless you're really likeable like Barrichello.

McLaren Crisis

For me personally as a McLaren fan and a fan of Grand Prix racing, 2007 was tense, exciting and gut-wrenchingly disappointing. The silver world of McLaren, despite midseason domination, was falling apart.

Spygate and the emergence of Alonso actually being a giant baby were panic crises which I could almost not handle watching. It was uncomfortable and it looked dirty.

I also found that the sport was barely recognisable without Michael Schumacher. I discovered that this man, who I hated as a racing driver, had actually made me the fan of the sport that I now am.

By bitterly wanting him to be beaten and placing hope and faith and love and support in my team, against his, I had become so embroiled in the sport. Now he was gone. What does one do when someone gets what they want?

...And Now

Luckily, my thirst for the sport has not tired and finding Bleacher Report and its ardent fans with like and countering opinions helps to fuel continued interest in Formula 1.

Luckily as a Brit and a fan of McLaren, I have Lewis Hamilton to cheer on and support now. With Ferrari receiving unfair favouritism treatment as usual, there is still plenty to fight against from my armchair!

For next year it looks like my new biggest hated driver; Fernando Alonso, may be switching to Ferrari. So it can be just like the old days.

I hope people have enjoyed and perhaps related a little to some of this stuff here, I think if people do not then it just makes me a lunatic fanatic. Which is okay by me.

It was a long one, but thank you for reading this. I love this sport and I'm sure you all do, you just took a little trip into my living room, watched me sulk, swear, rant, discuss and wince at the action unfolding every second Sunday of the summer.

Every Two Sundays: A Grand Prix Fan's Perspective (Part 1)

steven stones — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:27:13 -0400

With a long wait between Grands Prix for the Summer break, I thought now might be the best time to test out an article which is about my experiences as a Grand Prix fan.

The aim here is to see how people's opinions differ from event to event and time to time and to share with people how I enjoy and experience Formula One.

I realise the danger of just writing about myself here but again, the aim is to share with people my experience and to see how other people deal with and enjoy our favourite sport.

An Introduction to Formula One

The 1990s was a difficult time to be coming into racing as an interest. The sport was a fast-moving one by this time, and all manner of gadgets and gizmos were being invented and then banned.

I remember watching racing in chunks with my Dad since he never missed it then. For the first half of the '90s, I remember only brief glimpses of very colourful cars which meant nothing to me and the ever-excitable Murray Walker wailing through the TV.

My first real memory of watching F1 was unfortunately the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. Ayrton Senna's crash seemed like nothing at the time to me; I didn't fully understand. But when my Dad later explained he had been killed, he told me about other drivers. Dangerous stuff.

1994 wasn't a season I took too much interest in; Formula One was still a little too complex and required a little too much commitment of time for a 10-year-old boy. I tuned in occasionally, but enjoyed it more and more and even remembered some of the teams and drivers. I was a journeyman fair-weather fan I suppose, supporting Damon Hill, because he was winning and he was British.

It was around 6 o'clock on a Sunday morning at the end of the season and my Dad was already up. The Grand Prix was on, the final race of the season apparently. I sat down to watch it and that was when it happened.

Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill, the two championship rivals were together on the circuit and Schumacher's colourful Benetton had been forced into a mistake, damaging the Benetton. I was loving it until he cheated blatantly, pulling across the circuit and knocking off Damon Hill. We know how it went down.

That was it: a fun race and I watched more racing the next season. The other thing to come out of that for me was that I did not like Michael Schumacher. He was a cheater.

I wasn't old enough or informed enough to have a favourite team yet. So to begin with, I was a passing anti-fan of Michael Schumacher.

Growing Interest

1995 and 1996 were both seasons I followed, but not very closely. I did at least now know which cars were which even, if I didn't know all of the drivers.

With Damon Hill still challenging for the championship in both years, I even had friends who were on the bandwagon to talk about it with me. My interest in Formula One was nurtured by that. As a kid, I think that's how sports become your interest.

I must admit remembering less about 1995, except that I felt quite peeved that Schumacher had won again. 1996 though, especially towards the end of the year, was when F1 became MY sport.

I had never liked Football so much; it was all right, but it didn't suit me. I had no passion for it. Racing was different.

I started reading books and buying information sources left, right, and centre to learn more. It was a craze of the kind that only a 12-year-old boy could produce. 1997 came around and I was clued up on almost everything.

Why isn't Damon Hill Winning?

I didn't realise that F1 races were delayed because nobody had told me and I wasn't paying that much attention, so I didn't get up early to watch Melbourne in the night. I was so confused, though; Damon Hill had broken down on the Parade Lap of the opening round.

Coming to terms with learning drivers and teams was one thing. Learning that the cars were not equal and that an Arrows was no match for a Williams took some learning. Jacques Villeneuve became my man for the WDC and Michael Schumacher was still public enemy No.1.

I began to understand as well, around the midpoint of the season about the car performance. I had a Playstation and a copy of Formula 1 97 (Great game still). With books, games and a fast becoming regular sport on TV every two weeks, that was it. I was hooked on Grand Prix racing.

By the end of 1997, my Grand Prix pattern was established. I'd sit in front of the TV and watch the race with both eyes watching different things. I'd watch the racing with one and keep an eye on the (now fully understood) TV graphics, which were yellow and large in those days.

An Emotional Attachment

I will never forget the 1997 season. Penalties and problems for Villeneuve towards the end of the season left the championship too close for comfort. A rainy Spa, an unfair Suzuka for Villeneuve (in my opinion of the time), and a nail-biting Jerez were simply fantastic to behold. I watched with my fingers chewed.

Now understanding everything that went on in racing, I became vocal when watching the action. I shouted at Schumacher so loudly and so angrily when he clonked Villeneuve's sidepod at Jerez and cheered so manically when Ralf took his brother out of the race at the Luxembourg Grand Prix.

When the ITV broadcast of the final race had ended, I felt a little bit sad that it was all over. I hadn't missed a race and I had my favourite drivers and my "enemy" drivers. Now it was finished, and Winter was and still is a long season.

Despite Villeneuve winning and feeling like a Villeneuve fan, I had read and spent a lot of time reading about McLaren and older teams.

In the videogame, the McLaren was the most powerful car of 97 and they won in Jerez. When 1998 rolled around, they dominated. I abandoned my Williams team and rooted for McLaren. Fair weather?

Perhaps but I was a kid of 13. Becoming older, I learned more and more and stuck with them through thick and thin ever since.

The Good Times

1998 and 1999 were years where I began to get up early and watch the racing from those flyaway races. I was always knackered, but I felt a tenseness in my body and a restlessness knowing the action was going on Live. I have the habit now of not wanting to see the race if I can't see it live, and it started here.

1998 saw another facet of my experience of watching Grand Prix racing come to the fore. I actually, despite other people's "watching hoping for a crash," hated big, painful looking accidents. Spa 1998 proved this, I watched the opening accident turning white as a sheet as Murray agreed "this was quite appalling."

As a McLaren fan, I was glad to see so much success for Hakkinen in 1998 and remember cheering and yelling out loud whenever something happened to Michael Schumacher. I willed him off the circuit in 1999; I'll tell you how in a second.

However much I loved to see Ferrari lose out to McLaren, I hated them so much and their management team for winning so many lucky breaks, including that British Grand Prix in 1998 where Michael Schumacher served his stop/go penalty after the race had ended and got away with it.

1999 was happier still. In the Canadian Grand Prix, I remember ITV going for a break and Michael Schumacher approaching the final chicane. I hoped so badly that he would just fall of the circuit.

When ITV came back he was gone, crashed into the "wall of champions." There is no way to describe the satisfaction!

I wasn't happy that Schumacher had broken his leg, I never wanted to see anyone get injured, even Schumacher. I didn't enjoy seeing those replays over and over again either.

He recovered, however, and Eddie Irvine, his teammate, was on course to mount a challenge to Hakkinen. It never happened, and I was so happy. Probably the first and only time I went against a fellow Brit.

Not sure why, perhaps others felt the same and could shed some light? But I never ever felt any support in 1999 for Eddie Irvine. In those days, pre-2000, I hated Schumacher, but not yet Ferrari, though it was developing. But Irvine never got even one cheer from me. It was odd.

So my new team had won two driver's titles and one constructor's. I was on Cloud Nine and couldn't envision things changing.

I had tuned in to Formula One every two Sundays and left the TV relatively happy every time with the outcome. However, I hadn't realised when the TV from Suzuka ended, that the good times were over.

Ferrari: Limping Horse or a Few Setbacks?

steven stones — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:32:37 -0400

We've all seen it and have been talking about it for a while. The performance of the Scuderia at the Hungarian Grand Prix was a shocker to say the least, not that at least one of the cars didn't have the pace, but that car failed to see the chequered flag.

In this article, I try to plot a path to how the team has come to this problem and to see if it really is a crisis we see at Ferrari, or whether these are minor setbacks.

As some may already know, I am a McLaren fan, but I write this with the strictest intention in remaining unbiased toward Ferrari in favour of other teams.

It seems this 2008 season is a far cry from the success that Ferrari seemed to be enjoying in the opening of the millennium. Watching Felipe Massa explode on the pit straight must have sent alarm bells ringing.

But Ferrari have had many different things going on around them for the last few years. In 1996, Ferrari boss Jean Todt and Ferrari president Luca Di Montezemolo managed a coup in attracting Double World Champion Michael Schumacher from Benetton.

Ferrari were driving toward a clear objective in this magic journey they all undertook together. Designers, managers, and drivers all had their alotted goals.

This is perhaps where things have differed most of all. In 2007, Kimi Raikkonen joined the Ferrari outfit as a hopeful to take up the Schumacher role and lead Ferrari into another World Championship, Drivers and Constructors.

However, the difference this time was that Felipe Massa showed himself to be capable of challenging the Iceman on a lot more days than people thought possible, and he stayed in title contention until the very latter part of 2007. Ferrari have not yet still backed just the single driver in the current line up.

Of course, the actual team of Ferrari is entirely different from those Michael Schumacher 'dream team' days. To begin with, 2007 saw the 'spygate' scandal affect both themselves and McLaren, their chief rivals.

The result was that the Ferrari top engineer Nigel Stepney was dismissed from the team. A top talent was missing from the Ferrari lineup.

Ross Brawn, too, was a key component in the Michael Schumacher days. He masterminded many Ferrari miracles on the tactical front.

Ross took a sabbatical in 2006, missing 2007 as well. When he decided to return to the F1 fray, he chose to leave Ferrari and join the Honda outfit. That was yet another blow.

Jean Todt also left the team, having been the guiding light at a highly successful team for almost two decades. Todt left the team at the end of 2006 as well.

Into his shoes stepped Stefano Domenicali. Aldo Costa came in to replace Ross Brawn too. These two men have been key members of the Ferrari team and should know the ropes.

However, to take the Ferrari team of 2006, we can see the details have changed almost unrecognisably.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 2006

Driver 1: Michael Schumacher

Driver 2: Felipe Massa

Team Principal: Jean Todt

Technical Director: Ross Brawn

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 2008

Driver1: Kimi Raikkonen

Driver2: Felipe Massa

Team Principal: Stefano Domenicalli

Technical Director: Aldo Costa

So we come to what I have sometimes referred to as the steady decline of Ferrari, starting with 2007.

Reliability wasn't all that much of an issue for the Scuderia last season but new driver Kimi Raikkonen took a long time to adapt to the car. Felipe Massa, too, had his moments with the F2007, running it off the circuit rather more often than was necessary or expected.

Raikkonen also seemed off colour on numerous occasions for whatever reason. He came good in the end and with friction and pressure showing on both rival drivers in the 2007 McLaren team, Raikkonen showed good consistency and raw pace to seize the drivers title in that season.

Success came in 2007, the first season under the new leadership. But Ferrari is a very forward-thinking outfit and much of the groundwork for organisation and car design would have been completed late in 2006. It is interesting to note that the new team's first solo effort this season looks the way it does.

2008 has been an odd season. In a previous article, I stated that this title looks like nobody really wants it. However, it appears that Kimi Raikkonen, especially lately, wants it the least.

Niki Lauda said at the Hungarian Grand Prix that Ferrari's problems are very much driver-related as much as anything. Felipe Massa certainly does seem like the king of inconsistency, having a bipolar season with highest highs and lowest lows.

The reigning World Champion of late seems to be just turning up to show his face. For the last two Grands Prix, and in at least two earlier races too, Kimi has not shown anything other than a mediocre turn of pace for the most part of the race. Niki wasn't kidding.

Tactical calls too seem to have gone astray this season, which is a huge surprise from Ferrari. The biggest blunder was not changing Raikkonen's tyres in the first pit stop at the British Grand Prix. This allowed McLaren to pull back into the lead of the Drivers Championship, albeit with an equal points standing.

But since then, the team has had to rely on Felipe Massa. Hungary saw Felipe dish out a solid beating on McLaren, probably forcing British golden boy Lewis Hamilton into getting a puncture from flatspotting his tyre in the first turn. Tactics and driving on one car was perfect.

Yet the fight back didn't come. An engine problem destroyed Massa's engine and ended his race three laps too early yet on the start finish straight. McLaren have improved their car without doubt. Perhaps the development race is taking its toll on Ferrari, who in previous years have appeared practically bullet-proof.

The reliability problem, though could just be a glitch in the system, a one-off failure for Ferrari in their rare failures and a matter of statistics. You simply cannot finish every single race forever more.

The reason people are panicking and Massa is calling for more work at Ferrari is maybe just a question of timing, as the season is coming to the end stages.

Also, despite the fact that the Ferrari lineup are all experienced people in the team, they are running a team in their own style now. It's a new Ferrari team in essence, so some teething problems are perhaps to be expected.

So what is the real panic then?

For Ferrari and indeed for many teams, rivals McLaren included, it is a question of getting the most from the drivers. Cars appear equal at this time with the strengths and weaknesses of both cars well known. Hungary showed that the relative position at any given time is tough to call.

The real solution is to get Kimi Raikkonen back into the picture. In Germany and in Hungary, the champ turned up and raced with a very poor pace until the later stages of the latter Grand Prix.

If this was his ultimate pace, then he should be showing it all the time. With question marks over his career and Ferrari looking for solutions to their problems, Kimi needs to deliver.

So panic stations to do not need to be set to red alert just yet. However, the next race of the season in Valencia needs to see some positivity from Ferrari.

Tactical calls and race pace from BOTH drivers needs to be there. McLaren are putting the squeeze on the Scuderia now and they will choke if something isn't done.

A poor Valencia means there really is cause for panic. Nobody wants to see Ferrari do too badly.

As a McLaren fan, I and many others love to hate Ferrari, but we like to see Ferrari get beaten on the circuit, beaten going toe-to-toe with our respective team.

For the Tifosi, well, not being one I wouldn't know the exact feelings, but surely they are unhappy with the current situation? However, these last thoughts are genuinely meant.

Ferrari's new young lineup in the management area are inexperienced, but they are made in the mould of Todt and Company and are certainly no idiots. I'm pretty sure they have a handle on the situation. And Kimi Raikkonen?

He's the reigning World Champion.

Is Heikki Kovalainen McLaren's Mistake or a Sleeping Megastar?

steven stones — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 11:59:58 -0400

In a press conference on Thursday, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes announced that they would be retaining the services of their Finnish second driver, Heikki Kovalainen.

While this is definitely good news for the Finn, is it such good news for the McLaren team overall?

In a contrast with the signing of Heinz Harald Frentzen at Williams in 1997, Heikki Kovalainen has filled the cockpit of the McLaren No. 2 car.

There are two theories circling about the role of Heikki Kovalainen. Whichever of the theories is correct, or at least closer to the truth, the 26-year-old is not really delivering.

Heikki had a mediocre start to his Formula One career, racing messily in his debut for Renault, to the chagrin of Flavio Briatore, who branded the performance "rubbish."

It seemed like a good idea for McLaren and Renault to swap drivers when Alonso expressed wishes to return to Renault. Kovalainen joined the Woking squad. With the mild-mannered Finn on board, it was clear there would be no ructions in the team this season.

So what was Kovalainen hired for? Was he to be clear No. 2 to Lewis Hamilton, destined to wage war with lesser equipment? Perhaps.

Or is it equality all around, as McLaren often claim, that their drivers have an equal chance of winning and both have equal support?

Whatever the role of Heikki, he is failing in all of his duties.

If, for instance, he was to be the No. 2 supporting driver in the McLaren set up, then he should serve as Lewis Hamilton's rear gunner, sticking on the tail of his team-mate and fending off and taking points off the Ferrari duo.

The position of McLaren in the Constructors Championship shows clearly he isn't doing this. Lewis leads the driver's title race, while Kovalainen is a rather lacklustre sixth.

And what if Heikki does have the fabled equal McLaren equipment and fortune? In this instance, the picture is even grimmer for Kovalainen. If his car is the equal of Hamilton's, then Kovalainen should be there or thereabouts on race weekends when it really matters. To be faster in practice and testing doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme.

So more than halfway through the 2008 season, Kovalainen has managed a single Pole Position which was translated into a soggy performance in more ways than one. He spent most of the race being overtaken by the rivals he should have been beating.

Of course, misfortune has played its part, with retirements due to component failures and bad times in qualifying, not to mention acclimatisation to the McLaren set up. However, these setbacks have been fog which have covered up his overall mediocrity.

As a McLaren fan, it is easy to make excuses for the young Finn. But in objective mood, it is clear that there is basis for branding the retaining of Heikki a little bit of a blunder.

However, to what extent is it a forced decision? The contract for Kovalainen was for two years, but we have seen teams not honour these before. But who else could McLaren take?

Gary Paffet, longtime test driver and Brit DTM driver, has seemed to wane a little in recent months and does not seem a likely or safe candidate. Pedro De La Rosa has been tried before, his race craft is simply too rusty these days.

Among the GP2 brigade, a vast number of them are either on the Renault Young Driver Development Program or are allied to Red Bull. So perhaps to stick with Kovalainen is all McLaren can do to prevent them being forced to put Takuma Sato in the car (joke, he hasn't actually been linked).

But as we said in the beginning, the echoes of a top team not having a top driver as Williams didn't in 1997 and 1998 seem to be coming around again at the McLaren team.

For 2009, Heikki must truly raise his game. There can be no more excuses.

New F1 Association Removes Threat of Breakaway Series

steven stones — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 08:25:09 -0400

There have been others in the past, but it has always been good news for Formula One when the teams in competition can come together and agree on the future of Formula One for the ultimate good of everyone.

This is precisely what has taken place today (Tuesday July 29) at the Maranello base of Grand Prix racing's oldest and most successful team, Ferrari.

The meeting was brought about by a statement issued by FIA President Max Mosely in early July, which asked the teams to come up with some proposals and measures for changing the way that F1 is run. Also a way to spice up the action while improving the technical side of the sport.

A new F1 Association is the response the teams have chosen. The formation was apparently supported unanimously by all the teams and the two present officials, Bernie Ecclestone and Donald McKenzie who represents the sport's commercial rights holders, CVC Capital.

Aims said to be atop the new F1 Association agenda for shaking things up in 2011 are cutting costs for the major manufacturing teams by up to half of what they operate now, and cutting fuel emissions and costs. Improving the racing is another high priority item.

It is perhaps fitting that the meeting take place at the sport's oldest and most successful team HQ and even better that all the teams have been able to agree. The overall aim of the association is to have a replacement Concorde Agreement put in place to once again try and make Formula One a fairer and more smoothly ran organisation with equal input from all parties involved.

With this news it would seem that that occasional talking point, the breakaway series, has been put to bed. Since the Concorde Agreement ended officially, and all of the political wranglings thereafter there were a number of manufacturers threatening a breakaway: Mclaren, BMW and Honda three chief among them.

However, the danger of a breakaway series may have ended. The improvement of the sport in a harmonious relationship between all of the teams is by no means guaranteed. Bernie Ecclestone is always cooking up some scheme to improve the show, which usually means making money rather than actually improving things.

The teams as anyone involved will say, have only ever acted in their own self-interest.

So it is momentous news that the F1 manufacturers, F1 and the FIA are all working together once again. However, with the political rumblings of the FIA scandal still bouncing around, the above problems still lying dormant for the time being time will tell what the future holds for Formula One.

Political wrangling and machinations have always been a part of the show.

World Driver's Championship: The Title Nobody Wants

steven stones — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:48:50 -0400

This 2008 World Driver's Championship in Formula One has been hotly contested for many seasons. This year, things are closer even than last year's effort. But how have we come to this point? After the British Grand Prix four weeks ago, there's a three way tie and another driver two points further behind? Let's examine why this looks like the Championship nobody wants.

The Races

Australia

The season began with a win from the Mclaren of Lewis Hamilton but it was not a dominating performance all around for the Silver Arrows. Finnish team mate Heikki Kovalainen had quite a low-key afternoon. Here, we witnessed the first indication that Mclaren would struggle for Constructors points.

Ferrari had a miserable time of it at Albert Park, with BMW being the second team clearly. Raikkonen drove like an amateur all weekend and took at least two off-road adventures while Massa ran into David Coulthard.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS (D & C): 18

FERRARI: 1 (Raikkonen 1; Massa: 0)

MCLAREN: 14 (Hamilton: 10; Kovalainen: 4)

BMW: 8 (Kubica: 0; Heidfeld: 8)

Malaysia

Raikkonen bounced back in Malaysia after Australia's dire performance to win in sensational and dominating style. Yet even here Ferrari did not capitalise as they should have. Massa had 'another one of those days' and spun away good Constructors and Drivers points for himself and the team.

Hamilton suffered due to a wheel nut problem in his pit stop. Kovalainen managed a third place, but it was Kubica again who managed to drive to second. BMW scored more consistent points.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 10 (Raikkonen: 10; Massa: 0)

MCLAREN: 10 (Hamilton: 4; Kovalainen: 6)

BMW: 11 (Kubica: 8; Heidfeld: 3)

Bahrain

Here we saw Ferrari finally making two cars in the points and one team seeming like they wanted to make a decent stab at the championship, as Massa led Raikkonen home

It was Mclaren, though, that seemed now to be throwing points away left, right, and center with Kovalainen managing only a distant fifth position behind both BMWs and Lewis Hamilton having a needlessly messy race and involving himself with Alonso.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 18 (Raikkonen: 8; Massa: 10)

MCLAREN: 4 (Hamilton: 0; Kovalainen: 4)

BMW: 11 (Kubica: 6; Heidfeld: 5)

Spain

Another Ferrari one-two at Barcelona saw the Scuderia cementing a dominant performance at Bahrain. It was a role reversal as Massa finished behind Raikkonen this time. However, consistent wins were not forthcoming. Even BMW slipped up this race, with Heidfeld finishing outside the money in 9th.

Hamilton had another troubled day and Mclaren continued to throw their early dominance away as an accidental failure on Kovalainen's car pitched him into the wall.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 18 (Raikkonen: 10; Massa: 8)

MCLAREN: 6 (Hamilton: 6; Kovalainen: 0)

BMW: 5 (Kubica: 5; Heidfeld: 0)

Turkey

Ferrari continued to show that they perhaps wanted this Championship after all, with Felipe Massa scoring a good victory. Lewis Hamilton took second place and Raikkonen was back in third.

The ghosts of Kubica and Heidfeld were there again, collecting good points as best they could. Kovalainen had a disaster of a weekend and thus, so did Mclaren, with 12th the best that the Finn could manage.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 16 (Raikkonen: 6; Massa: 10)

MCLAREN: 8 (Hamilton: 8; Kovalainen: 0)

BMW: 9 (Kubica: 5; Heidfeld: 4)

Monaco

It was all good for Mclaren at the drenched Monte Carlo circuit. Hamilton took a convincing and masterful win and the team also managed to squeeze Kovalainen into the points in 8th place. The other teams did not manage to score both cars in the points.

Ferrari and BMW dropped the ball big time, with Raikkonen bouncing around the track like a 6-year-old playing a PlayStation and Nick Heidfeld also struggling in the conditions. Kubica and Felipe Massa were second and third respectively.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 6 (Raikkonen: 0; Massa: 6)

MCLAREN: 11 Hamilton: 10; Kovalainen: 1)

BMW: 8 (Kubica: 8; Heidfeld: 0)

Canada

Ferrari and Mclaren made good progress in putting right their poor runs during the season with two 1-2's for Ferrari and some strong finishes for Mclaren and Hamilton. Hamilton and Raikkonen, however, were eliminated from this race in pit lane after some silly driving, which was initiated by the two BMW's; Robert Kubica in particular.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 4 (Raikkonen: 0; Massa: 4)

MCLAREN: 0 (Hamilton: 0; Kovalainen: 0)

BMW: 18 (Kubica: 10; Heidfeld: 8)

France

After a strong but admitedly lucky race in Canada, BMW struggled in the French Grand Prix. Mclaren had their problems with penalties and punishments at this circuit as well, meaning they too could not push an advantage.

It was Ferrari who came back and took the top honours, once again throwing the championship into their own hands and those of Felipe Massa. Raikkonen was on course to win but struggled later with a sick car.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 18 (Raikkonen: 8; Massa: 10)

MCLAREN: 5 (Hamilton: 0; Kovalainen: 5)

BMW: 4 (Kubica: 4; Heidfeld: 0)

Britain

And so to that memorable British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton cemented his position as favourite of the British fans but also as a man who is serious about winning the championship. On the other side, Ferrari did not continue their momentum from France.

Massa and Raikkonen had awful days and the team was trounced. BMW too could not keep both cars in the hunt and it was Kubica the championship man who fell off the circuit not Heidfeld.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 5 (Raikkonen: 5; Massa: 0)

MCLAREN: 14 (Hamilton: 10; Kovalainen: 4)

BMW: 8 (Kubica: 0; Heidfeld: 8)

Germany

Finally managing to string two race wins together and dominating in awesome style, Lewis Hamilton looks as though he is now taking the intiative for keeps in the championship. Raikkonen has had another worryingly ordinary race weekend where he has appeared dissinterested and off the pace.

BMW again have been there somewhere and Massa kept the Italian team's flag flying for third place. Perhaps we are entering a period of closer action and consistency? For the first time this weekend, all three teams managed to get both cars home in the points.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 9 Raikkonen: 3 Massa: 6

MCLAREN: 14 Hamilton: 10 Kovalainen: 4

BMW: Kubica: 2 Heidfeld: 5

Team Politics

In the olden days of the Ferrari domination machine, Ferrari would only be celebrating victory from one driver, and he would be backed to take the World Championship at all times. Michael Schumacher is no longer around, though. Ferrari is allowing (for the moment) both drivers to gun for the title. It is spectacular to see and fair as it should be, but it is hurting their chances in real terms. By not selecting one driver to be the breadwinner, Ferrari has seen the chance to lead by a big margin slip away.

Mclaren has an equal driver policy, too, though off the record it is clear between team and drivers that Kovalainen is no number one driver. Of the top teams, only Kovalainen has scored so badly. In the few chances he has had to perform well, he has failed.

Hamilton has had penalties and has made silly mistakes. Is Mclaren still paying for Spygate? Or is it simply that Hamilton has made some quite serious errors? Either way, Mclaren's actions have stung them quite a few times this season, leading to the loss of points.

BMW is the most curious team with political machinations. Throughout the season they have scored consistently, driven well, challenged whoever is the second team on a given weekend and even won a race this year with a one-two at Canada. Yet, Mario Theissen and both drivers have talked themselves out of a fight for the championship when clearly there is a battle to fight; a curious decision given their results. BMW may not be able to take the title, but they have given it away before it is half over. They seem not to want it.

Cars

Ferrari started the season with without doubt the best Formula One racer on the grid. Kind to its tyres, reliable and with two quick drivers, it was the class leader. Since around the French Grand Prix however, Ferrari has allowed what they haven't allowed in many years: Mclaren to surpass them in the development race. Perhaps it is because they are catering to both Raikkonen and Massa. In the old days, Ferrari catered only to Schumacher. The number two had to like it or lump it and get on with the job.

Mclaren started and still has a car which savages its rubber. Soft tyres and hot conditions will stifle the progress of the Mercedes-powered car. Yet since the French Grand Prix, the Mclaren team has had a better run than the Ferrari thanks to hard work and impressive updates. They are ahead of Ferrari in the development race this season as it stands now; impressive considering that certain elements of the car are suspended from development under the Spygate legislation.

BMW, it seems, has perhaps slipped back. Theirs was a tidy, reliable and consistent racer. They were steady rather than quick before some impressive speed came forth in the middle stages of the season. Now BMW appears to be cruising to third place in the Constructors Championship and are not keen to develop the F108 further to catch Ferrari and Mclaren, even though the gap is relatively small.

Drivers

Kimi Raikkonen is the reigning world champion. That should be all we need say about the 'Iceman'. However, there have been at least two lukewarm performances from the Finn and his tendancy to turn up to circuits not ready for the competition is a serious flaw, especially since the racing is so hot and heavy and the points so tight. It is Raikkonen's desire to win more than anyone's that appears lacking.

Hamilton is Hamilton. Anyone who saw him racing in GP2 will know about his racing style. Robust and frightening at times, Lewis has had a tendency to overdrive. This has caused him headaches in many places, including Canada, France and Bahrain. Nobody can question his lust for the top position, though, and since the German Grand Prix, it is he more than anyone else who seems to be putting the blocks together to climb to the top.

Felipe Massa is a driver with a schizophrenic race performance. Watch highlights of the Turkish and British Grands Prix and then try to remind yourself it is the same driver in the car with the '2' plate. Felipe lacks the consistency to maintain good runs and to stay on top of his car. This is what has cost him the championship lead since he took it in France. Despite being second in the standings, it has to be said that he looks more on course for third place at season's end. His desire is not in question; his quality is.

Kubica. What can one say about Robert Kubica? He doesn't have the technology to reach the top and his team has no desire to change that this year. Yet the Pole is a talented driver and one whom Lewis Hamilton is keeping an eye on. It is difficult to quantify how badly Robert wants the championship but he is a Grand Prix driver used to winning. But with BMW having talked themselves out of contention, it would seem Kubica has the least chance of challenging for the title now.

The championship has ebbed and flowed, stopped and started. Drivers have taken the initiative and then let it go again. But that was only the first half of the season. In the first race of the second half, it is Lewis Hamilton who appears hungriest and fastest with Raikkonen looking on worriedly as if he doesn't really care.

It also appears to this writer that you can read in Felipe Massa's eyes that he knows he doesn't have the skill nor the speed to take the title fight to Hamilton in the improved Mclaren. With Ferrari making error after error for their drivers as well, it will be interesting to see if this season continues in the manner it began.

Of course if it does, it makes for spectacular viewing for we the fans! So come on Robert, it's your turn in Hungary!

Lewis Hamilton Wins a Tricky German Grand Prix

steven stones — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 03:25:57 -0400

Qualifying

The qualifying session proved that the practice session was in some way an indication of what was to come. Kimi Raikkonen most notably being well off the racing line. Notable scalps to fall in the opening session were Rubens Barrichello and the Brazilian Nelson Piquet.

The second session saw the McLaren of Hamilton and the Ferrari of Massa swapping fastest laps and Raikkonen again looking particularly off colour with a horrible handling Ferrari. Jenson Button was another high-profile driver not to make the cut to Q3. Heidfeld suffered a continuation of his qualifying woes as well.

Raikkonen's poor pace continued throughout the afternoon, landing the Finn only sixth position. It was Massa and Hamilton taking the front row, with the McLaren ahead. Kovalainen managed third and Alonso and Trulli were the usual stars, with the two men taking fourth and fifth places, respectively.

The Race

What appeared to be an ordinary Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring this weekend turned itself into a stunning and gritty race for many drivers, not least Britain's Lewis Hamilton. Here's the run down of how events transpired at the German Grand Prix.

From the lights, everyone made a decent getaway, all barring David Coulthard and Robert Kubica. The BMW made a great start, surging ahead of Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen from the off.

At the front, Lewis Hamilton held off Felipe Massa and stretched out an impressive lead of over a second by the end of the opening lap. Coulthard was bogged down by the shuffling pack, and the retiring Scot ended up down in 14th place, behind Jenson Button.

Further down the order there were battles all around. Coulthard settled into a long bout with friend Jenson Button. The Red Bull was clearly much quicker than the Honda.

Fernando Alonso was scrapping up and down the field with various close battles with Rosberg, Trulli, Heildfeld, and also a monumental tussle with Sebastian Vettel.

The onboard footage revealed a Renault that was very frustrating to drive, with the two-time world champion turning the steering wheel frantically to maintain direction and momentum.

Hamilton, at the head of the field, had managed a massive lead of over 10 seconds by the time the Safety Car made its appearance at around the halfway stage in the Grand Prix.

Timo Glock in the Toyota had been driving an impressive race and was in the points when on the exit of the Sud Kurve, leading to the pit straight, his car suffered suspension failure, pitching the German into a heavy collision with the pit wall, backing into it sending debris across the circuit.

When the Safety Car was out, everyone pitted except, Lewis Hamilton and one or two others, notably Renault's Nelson Piquet. When the race got back under way, the young Brazilian was in second place.

Not too long after the race was back under way, the two most experienced drivers on the grid had a big coming together. Coulthard and Barrichello collided, breaking the Honda's nose and ending its Grand Prix. The other Red Bull of Webber retired earlier with what looked like engine failure under the Safety Car.

Alonso was forced onto the circuit outside of the white, pit-lane exit lines by Toro Rosso's young gun Vettel frustrating the Spaniard in typical fashion and leading to a vendetta.

Alonso's anger led to losing two positions to both Raikkonen and Rosberg within the same stretch, and later, Alonso spun further down the field.

With not pitting under the caution, Hamilton had to make a green flag pit stop and lost position to his team mate Kovalainen, the Ferrari of Massa, and the charging Renault of Piquet. On the outlap, Kovalainen allowed his faster teammate past him and the chase was on to catch Massa.

Felipe Massa, in the next couple of laps, had the worst couple of laps of his season so far, losing position to Hamilton at the Spitzkeher and then launching an embarrassing reattempt at the chicane section further on. Massa was abruptly muscled off the circuit.

It was then only a matter of time before Piquet was dispatched. The Brazilian did not disgrace himself though, fighting hard, but not pointlessly hard, leaving him in second place. Hamilton then went on to charge to another victory, the second one in a row and another sound beating of rivals Ferrari.

A special shout out must go to Heikki Kovalainen who performed his best overtaking maneuver on Robert Kubica at turn six, going around the outside before switching back for the inside for turn seven. A brilliant move, proving the Finn has some aggression and fight in him.

It was a particularly bad afternoon for Kazuki Nakajima in the Williams, spinning at least twice and generally struggling by the Japanese driver's usual standards.

In all, it was a terrific Grand Prix to behold. Not much mention has been made in this article of Raikkonen in the other Ferrari. Take from that what you will, but this was the colour of the reigning world champion's race. He ran ordinarily all weekend. Cementing the reason why he now sits in third place in the standings.

Formula One: The Hockenheimring (A Tale of Two Tracks)

steven stones — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:15:01 -0400

Like many of the older, more established circuits used for Formula One races, Hockenheim's Hockenheimring, situated close to the Black Forest, has seen its face utterly transformed over time.

This is the story of some Grand Prix furniture and the circuit Mercedes-Benz call home.

The Early Hockenheimring

The Hockenheimring circuit was built way back in 1932 and was not used for Grand Prix racing in the World Championship format. Before 1970 and in between then and the fateful 1977 year, German Grand Prix duties were held by the Nurburgring, but not the one we know today.

In its original format, the circuit was a terrifying blast out of the 'stadium' section, around the very fast Nord Kurve and out into the depths of the Black Forest for a 120 mph, white-knuckle thrust through the trees on a constant curve.

In these days, cars were not yet fitted with the aerodynamic enhancements that they have now. Also, the cars of the 1930s and 1940s were running on very skinny tyres. The circuit tightened all the way down, deep into the forest at the Ost Kurve and then began its return to the 'stadium.'

The character of this original circuit was one of hanging on for dear life as the car hurtled down the straights, always sliding just that little bit to the left as the courageous driver steered right through the dark. For dark it always was; the Black Forest is a beautiful and dense area of foliage.

Cars in the period of 1940 to 1970 might have been somewhat primitive compared with today's standards, but they were still frighteningly quick and were capable of later producing speeds of 190mph. Couple this with these two thought provoking facts:

Drivers raced these cars without seatbelts in, and also, there were no crash barriers. It sometimes begs the question how people could not see the fatalities coming. Death was part and parcel of racing in these days.

After spending over a minute at full throttle, correcting a wayward car and surviving it all, the drivers arrived back in the 'stadium' area, a tight twisting section with crowd spectating areas. This part of the circuit has changed very little and survives today.

Tragedy and Change

The Hockenheimring was to enter the history books on 7 April 1968. A great British driver was racing here on a cold, wet day. It was Jim Clark, and he was racing his Lotus in a rather pointless GP2 race. Somewhere between the first turn and the Ost Kurve something broke on the car and Jim Clark was thrown into the trees suffering fatal injuries. The three-time Formula One Champion died at the circuit.

After the death of Jim Clark, Hockenheim received the first of two major changes it would get in its lifetime. A chicane was added were Clark was killed which slowed the lap time and also slowed the racing cars down substantially, ensuring safer conditions.

Another fatality occurred in 1980. Patrick Depailler left the circuit and was killed when a component failed in his car and threw him off the circuit. A second chicane was added just before the Ost Kurve, slowing the circuit down even further. Both chicanes were similar, but the Ost Kurve chicane dropped slightly downhill.

The problem with Hockenheim in the wet used to be that the entire circuit away from the 'stadium' was covered over by a canopy of trees. When the rain came down, the water would settle in the trees and hang in the air. Spray was a greater problem here at Hockenheim than at any other circuit, and coupled with the high speeds, it was treacherous.

Hockenheim hosted its first German Grand Prix in 1970. The race moved back to the Nurburgring for the next six years. When Niki Lauda almost burned to death at the ancient circuit in Nurburg, the German race made permanent residence at Hockenheim from 1977.

The run of racing at Hockenheim has not been unbroken. In 1985, the new Nurburgring hosted the German round of the World Championship, having staged the European Grand Prix the year before.

As Formula One advanced and aerodynamics improved, the Hockenheimring circuit became a track where drivers would turn up more or less knowing how their car was going to perform.

If a car had a very powerful engine, reliable components and the driver could hang on around the 'stadium' with lowest Downforce settings, then they were going to be quick at Hockenheim. If your car was down on power at all, you were going to be nowhere. That's just the way it was.

With the aging circuit becoming something of a dinosaur and a criticism that the track was too unspectacular for modern Grand Prix racing, the Hockenheimring ran its high-speed tree dash for the last time in 2001.

The Modern Era

For 2002, Hockenheim was transformed by Formula One circuit designer Herman Tilke and made into the current configuration that Grand Prix cars will zap around in a week's time.

The 'stadium' was once again left untouched. Drivers now crossed the start finish line and flew around the Nord Kurve, down a short narrow straight toward a sort of chicane complex. This leads onto a long Parabolika curve, which is effectively a long straight. Cars touch 220 mph here before braking hard for the very tight Spitzkeher.

Spitzkeher is taken in second gear at around 85 mph. Time can be won or lost here like few other places on the circuit. It is also the prime overtaking place, with the classic modern F1 set up of fast straight followed by tight slow corner. Grip is good at all points in the corner allowing for switch back moves.

Out of this corner, another set of sweeping turns awaits. A sweeping right is followed by a tight right hand taken in third gear before another sweeping left leads past the wall of the Drag Racing strip. Jacques Villeneuve commented this might kill someone, since it juts alongside the F1 circuit in an unusual manner.

At the end of the wall, the circuit rejoins the old track at the right hand bend that leads into the 'stadium.' This turn is bumpy and dirty and sees cars flying off it in every race that is held.

The circuit turns through 180 degrees at Sachskurve in front of the Mercedes Grandstand and then follows a flowing right and right twin corner set up at Elf Kurve and Sudkurve which leads back to the start/finish stretch.

Some would say that Hockenheim was a novelty in Formula One by the time it was changed and that the new circuit is just like any other track on the calendar.

However, every race since 2002 has been a good show, and the racing has at least seen increased overtaking. On the old circuit, barring mistakes and failures, the drivers finished the race where they began, with obvious exceptions such as the first win for Rubens Barrichello in 2000 in the wet.

Hockenheim has a great history and heritage and as a circuit is far superior, even now to the new Nurburgring.

And Finally...

This weekend's German Grand Prix could be a monumental race. Lewis Hamilton and McLaren are flying high after thrashing the entire field soundly in a rainy British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Ferrari though, are seeing red right now with Massa and Raikkonen both having difficult stages of the race last time out at Silverstone. Hamilton will be eager to give Mercedes-Benz a home win and increase his Championship points tally to a true first place.

It would be a fool who discounted the Scuderia and in particular Kimi Raikkonen from bouncing back and entering the battle strong once more. Ferrari have worked hard testing this week. As many other articles covering testing will tell you, the times are close. The race in prospect stands to be a corker.

Formula One shake up: The predictions for 2009

steven stones — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 11:15:06 -0400

Formula One is changing. After 2009 there will be new rules to adhere to. The state of the art cars we see racing today is being replaced with new devices for drivers to play with, an innovative energy saving booster known as K.E.R.S and a reduction of aerodynamic pieces for the new models.

So, with this in mind, and a reminder that slick tires are returning, what does the new season hold?

Obviously, nobody knows. Anyone who remembers the last major rule change concerning design limitations and restrictions will remember that the Williams team were the team to beat at the end 1997.

1998 rolled around and Williams were a midfield team, caught out by changing rules. They were not adapting well enough and Mclaren came to the fore by a country mile before Ferrari caught up.

So why the article? Well, there has been much debate among the people of this community and also in the world of Formula One about what 2009 and its sweeping changes will bring.

This is all hypothetical but based on thoughts and rumblings heard on the subject. An educated guess is the best we can do, but let's see what we think. Team by team.

Mclaren

Obviously with racing pedigree like theirs you can never rule Mclaren out. In 1998 it was Ron Dennis' outfit that got it right. You have to say though, they are in a stiff battle for the 2008 championship and can't drop '08 development now.

This could be costly when the new rules take effect and not enough development has gone on for the '09 car. However, it could go the other way, Mclaren's development for this season is curbed in certain areas anyway as a condition for their involvement in the "spygate" fiasco.

With this in mind, perhaps they are developing what is a good '08 car only marginally and concentrating more and more on 2009. So as not to fence sit, I believe Mclaren may struggle at the outset of '09 and be relegated to third or fourth team. Before the season is out they will be back though.

Ferrari

People seem to forget that between 1979-2000 Ferrari had not won a great deal. Their car was mediocre at the best of times. It was a "dream team" of people who dragged the Scuderia back to winning ways, and drag is the correct term.

I observe a steady decline in the standards at Ferrari now that the last of the Schumacher team is gone. Obviously you can never discount Ferrari as with Mclaren but I feel with the same situation as with Mclaren, too much concentration on 2008 could hit Ferrari harder.

A return to the midfield? I think it could happen, at least for a short while.

BMW

I expect BMW to give up on '08 and try and place as highly as possible despite the risks of losing drivers or positions. 2008 is definitely going to either a Ferrari or Mclaren driver, and realistically, only one driver from each.

However, BMW have made noise about 2009 and the target for 2008 has been reached. They have a multi-year program to run and I believe hitting the front is on the agenda for 2009.

I perceive domination at the opening 2009 rounds akin to that of Mclaren back in 1998. If Kubica is still there, then even more so.

Renault

A team I don't actually expect to move in relation to performance. They are a lower points scoring team at the moment. I expect them to stay there for the time being.

I don't think the stability and the speed of development is there in this team. I understand this is almost entirely arbitrary but the Renault team seems weaker than it was in the championship years and even before this.

On the other hand, I loathe to try and write them off entirely since the team seems this season to have pretty much consigned 2008 to a disaster and to try and limit the damage. There could be a dark Renault shaped horse on the horizon. I tend to think not though.

Honda

In a similar fashion to both Renault and BMW I believe Honda have more or less given up on 2008 development after the improvements at the Spanish Grand Prix. Their updates have had a small effect on moving the team up the grid.

2009 though, seems like they are quietly optimistic. If BMW are going to be the Mclaren of the new era, then Honda I expect will be playing the catch up game the quickest and the best. They have the infrastructure and the manpower now to do a good job.

They showed they had the means to challenge once before, they may well do it again. Jenson Button certainly seems more excited for next year than he does this, but then, he really has to doesn't he? There is little to shout about for 2008 so far.

Red Bull

Third team is my prediction for the opening few rounds of 2009. Adrian Newey was the mastermind behind the Mclaren and Williams world championship cars and the success of his designs is beyond question.

Red Bull look set to produce not only a quick and effective but also a beautiful Grand Prix car for '09. If young Vettel moves to Red Bull then expect the new car to fly. Red Bull are definitely approaching the front.

Toro Rosso

Development of two Red Bull family teams I believe is due to dry up and though they have been assured for 2009 as a Grand Prix team, I believe the years are numbered and will be no more for 2010. With this in mind then Toro Rosso will probably end up sliding to the rear of the field in Formula One sharing the back rows of the grid.

It really makes no sense, as it didn't make sense to have two teams in Formula One after Red Bull came well and began challenging for points. Not a strong 2009 in prospect.

Toyota

Toyota really should have taken some silverware by now. They have competed in Grand Prix racing since 2002 and have not so much as won a race.

Like Toro Rosso but for different reasons I believe that the team will head for the rear of the field. They somehow don't seem to have the will to reach the front nor the ability in the team.

Sticking with Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock isn't really the fresh approach or radical direction I was hoping for. Languishers for 2009 is my prediction with a bold and entirely arbitrary two more seasons of life given to the team. I don't expect a Toyota on the grid for 2011.

Force India

A tough midfield is expected to continue into 2009 and I think perhaps Force India with their rate of improvement in 2008 in mind, could perhaps be the surprise of 2009 challenging for some points finishes on a more regular basis.

They need to attract some star quality for the task ahead but I will go out on a limb and say Force India could leave Toro Rosso and Toyota behind them for 2009. Swapping paint with the likes of Ferrari and Williams perhaps?

Williams

Another team I don't expect to move too far either forward or backward is Williams. Williams too have an awesome racing heritage and to tip them to hit rock bottom would be silly.

I don't think they have the resources to reach the front at the moment however. So Williams I think will sit around the midfield for the 2009 season.

As development takes hold I'm not sure whether they will move forward or backward but I do think one thing: Williams will probably need to take on a big money backer that also offers technology as part of the partnership before they can move forward at all.

This as I have said throughout is a basic guess. Educated by just what I have heard and what I perceive the picture to be right now.

I'd like to see what has happened this time next season and look at this again and see how wrong I was! So there we have it.

Some predictions for the coming season. I am not entirely emotionally invested in this prediction so comments in disagreement are very welcome. Any other ideas?

David Coulthard: Gentleman Driver

steven stones — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 08:52:51 -0400

David Coulthard has spent 15 years in Grand Prix racing and has been involved in more than his fair share of controversy and battles.

Some moments fans will never forget include the nearly-fist fight between Michael Schumacher and he at Spa in 1998 after Schumacher drove into the back of Coulthard in spray, wearing that ridiculous cape in Monaco 2006 and his two British Grand Prix victories.

We may also remember that David survived a light aircraft accident in 2001, the same year he stormed past Michael Schumacher in a thrilling duel in Magny-Cours. Here, we look back over the career of a man who resembles in style and manner the great Stirling Moss.

A true gentleman driver, fair and honorable to a fault, the sort of man then, perhaps never destined to take Grand Prix racing's ultimate prize, in a time that has no use for gentlemen any longer.

Early Career

David Coulthard was born in 1971 in the town of Twynholm, Scotland. His racing career took off when he won as a "wee lad" of 12 years of age, the Scottish Junior Karting Championship.

It was not only a victorious junior season, but it was a double victory, as David won the title again the following season cementing his ability early on.

In 1986, Coulthard joined the bigger Karting leagues and earned himself in great fashion the Scottish Open Karting Championship adding another trophy to his cabinet but more importantly sending the message about his speed to those on the look out for young talent.

Again this was a double championship win, making it 1986 and 1987 champion as well as the Super 1 category champion to boot. Three titles in two years wasn't bad for a young guy not even able to shave yet!

At 18 years old, David managed to bag himself a taste of that sweet Formula One cherry by driving his first Grand Prix car in 1989. 1989 was a most successful year, which saw him winning the junior British Formula Ford series and finishing third in the prestigious Formula Ford Festival.

To obtain that coveted prize of a test in a Mclaren F1 car, he also won the Autosport Young Driver award. David Coulthard was on his way.

The beginning of the 90's saw the beginning of Coulthard's ascent into car racing proper. With team owner Paul Stewart the son of three time Formula One Champion Jackie, Coulthard entered Formula Vauxhall and Opel Lotus Euroseries and finished the season in third place despite breaking his leg at Spa in the latter series.

There was Brundle and Senna, Schumacher and Hakkinen. Coulthard vs. Barrichello was to become a permanent fixture in both driver's careers now as it was Rubens who had beaten the Scot into second place in 1990's Euroseries.

Barrichello beat Coulthard again in 1991's British Formula Three championship. However, Coulthard was not without success this year, DC lifted the trophy at the Marlboro Masters race and the Macau F3 Grand Prix.

Harder times followed in 1992. Coulthard and Paul Stewart moved up together to Formula One feeder series Formula 3000, which is now GP2. Coulthard took a string of third places at the end of the season, but he finished ninth overall in the championship and looked to struggle at the outset.

David switched teams to the Pacific team for 1993 and climbed to third place overall taking a single victory but placing higher on average in races. Those ahead of him were Formula One future drivers, Olivier Panis and Pedro Lamy.

Formula One - The big time

David Coulthard began the tragic 1994 season in Formula 3000 again. Early in the year however, the great Ayrton Senna crashed and died at Imola and Coulthard, as he was now Williams test driver was thrust into the Brazilian's race seat as No. 2 to Damon Hill.

His first year was a learning process in which he occasionally allowed his abilities to show with placing in the points in his second race and taking second place at Estoril. Coulthard was replaced by British hero Nigel Mansell for the last three races of '94 but still placed eighth in the Driver's Championship. He was retained for the full 1995 season.

The Williams Renault was a quick car for the 1995 season and David challenged Damon Hill early on for the lead in the team. However, it was also a season of silly mistakes and lack of experience. High points included finishing second in his first race at Brazil and winning at Estoril.

However, Coulthard crashed out of the lead embarassingly at Adelaide by sliding into the pit wall on a pit stop and also picking up a stop and go penalty in the lead of the British Grand Prix.

It would prove to be a difficult year for Coulthard and Mclaren as he switched to Ron Dennis' outfit for 1996. Mercedes engines were powerful but unreliable and Coulthard struggled with endless retirements to only end the year seventh.

His skill and tenacity did get him second place in Monaco however, in an incident packed race. Things began to come together a little more for 1997, the final season for wide cars and slick tyres.

Coulthard won the season opener in Melbourn and again in Monza where the Mercedes engine excelled. Third overall was his reward after Michael Schumacher's demotion from the title fight.

For 1998, David Coulthard had the best car in the field. Everyone else struggled with the new grooved tyre rules and Coulthard and teammate Hakkinen were miles ahead of the pack.

Coulthard was handed the lead in the opening race in Australia when Hakkinen pitted erroneously. An agreement had been made between the two drivers, however that whoever reached turn one first on the opening lap would win the race.

Coulthard slowed handing victory to Hakkinen and perhaps that year's Championship. Honourable and gentlemanly as always. There were problems and collisions with Schumacher for 1998 but Coulthard was a force when he was on form and his car was good.

Anyone who saw Coulthard’s fight back from the end of the field in Austria will testify to that. Despite his pace, David could manage only the one win at Imola.

1999 saw David score one more victory than he had managed in 1998 yet still be the clear No. 2 at Mclaren. David though sent the British fans into space with a victory at Silverstone.

He won again at Spa after clearly stamping his authority over team mate Hakkinen with a gentle nudge at the off.

At the end of the season though, he had scored less points than was required to secure Mclaren a second Constructors Championship in a row and was forced into a slowing role, holding back Eddie Irvine at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix.

A position Coulthard did not enjoy.

David stayed with Mclaren for another three years. 2000 saw David wrap up another Grand Prix victory at Silverstone which has earned him a place in the hearts of British fans.

In 2001, DC challenged Michael Schumacher for the World Championship, and although nobody will forget his courageous fight in Magny-Cours in arguably the best French Grand Prix to date (maybe tied with 1999), Schumacher had wrapped the title up by the Hungarian Grand Prix. This would be Coulthards peak.

2002 was a mediocre year for both Mclaren and Coulthard as they fell behind even BMW Williams.

2003 with Mclaren saw some flashes of speed but not enough pace to challenge too highly for the Championship. David won in Australia but no more. Raikkonen had now even surpassed DC.

2004 was a frustrating year for both Mclaren men, and it was clear DC needed a change of scenery. He and Raikkonen squabbled mainly with Renault over third place and Red Bull signed the Scot up for their maiden 2005 season and a new adventure began.

2005 saw a transitory year for both DC and for Red Bull. They scored points but little else with few results to rave about coming their way.

For 2006, Adrian Newey was on board from Mclaren and hopes were high for his influence to turn around the situation. For both 2005 and 2006, David Coulthard was the better of his two teammates with both Christian Klien and car-sharer Vitantonio Liuzzi lacking experience and precision that Coulthard possessed.

2006 saw David Coulthards hard work pay off as he took third place at the Monaco Grand Prix, the race he had won twice before with Mclaren. For 2007, Mark Webber joined the team from Williams and he and David settled into a very calm and experienced driver pairing.

The two men rarely fought on the circuit, however. Webber outpaced David from the start but it was a difficult year for the team which saw many retirements and few points. Points did come though, and Coulthard scored the first of them.

2008 will be David Coulthard’s final season in Grand Prix racing. At the half way stage, Coulthard has had a mixed final year with the most recent set back being a collision with Sebastian Vettel at the British Grand Prix on lap one.

He also had a number of drivers running into him at the outset of the season with a crash from Felipe Massa in Melbourne and another from Jenson Button at Bahrain.

There have been good races this season, however with another third place coming for David in the Canadian Grand Prix where he finished behind the winning BMWs in a race where experience and patience were needed.

We are sure not to see any retirement antics from David Coulthard that we have seen from previous retiring drivers such as Damon Hill, retiring a healthy car because he could not be bothered to finish the race.

He still loves racing and he still wants to win. He challenged the greatest driver in the history of Formula One for the championship in his career and was always there or there abouts in pace.

He was a top level racer and a man who deserves much of the credit for the progress of Red Bull who have surpassed even Toyota in the rapidity of their development. Coulthard can look back on an admirable time in the racing big time.

The future could hold anything for David Coulthard, but his time as a top line Grand Prix driver is going to end in the same way as did British legend Stirling Moss': A true and honorable gentleman driver with raw talent and firey sense of competition and fairness but always the nearly man.

Nevertheless fans and foes alike must pay respect to the Scot, he is a British great. He will be missed for 2009.

David Coulthard: Career in numbers

Grand Prix Starts:

247 (eventual to the end of the 2008 season)

Grand Prix Wins:

Pole Positions:

Points Scored:

533 (to date British Grand Prix 2008)

Teams Driven for:

Williams 1994-1995

Mclaren 1996-2004

Red Bull 2005-2008

....And millions of Formula One Fans.....

Learn Formula One: Part 1

steven stones — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 05:39:20 -0400

Formula One is a complex spectator sport and it can be bewildering for someone to try to get into it and enjoy it immediately. This article is an attempt to try and just ease you into the wonderful and colourful world of Grand Prix racing. In subsequent articles other more complex aspects will be explained. The intention is that you would read this, take on what's here and then hopefully get more out of watching racing when next you do.

Qualifying

All drivers must qualify for the race on Sunday and this session is held on the Saturday before the race. Qualifying in Formula One is split into 3 parts. The first part is ran for 20 minutes and at the end of the session all but the cars from 16th place backward get to continue into the second session. Those drivers in 16th position and worse, know their grid slot already. Those positions don't change. In the second qualifying session the order from 15th position forwards are nulled and the competition begins anew. 15 minutes later, the cars in 11th to 15th position are settled and withdrawn from the track and a final session, which is only 10 minutes long begins. In the third and final session 10 drivers competing must decide fuel strategy for the race. The qualifying sessions are complete with this final session's end. It's a complicated system at first but bear in mind that the Formula One fans of old have also had to adapt to it, it's not too difficult to follow. Watching these sessions will assure you that the system is simpler to watch than explain. It is not unusual to see drivers in 11th position possessing a faster overall time than a top 10 placed car. This time was not set with race fuel strategy onboard and must have been beaten by the cars in the top 10 shoot out anyway.

Race

Formula One races are known as Grands Prix and are ran depending on the circuit between 58 and 78 laps which take roughly around 1 hour and 40 minutes each. The rules of Formula One currently stipulate that a race distance must be reached within 2 hours. Usually this is met easily unless a particularly long period has been spent behind the Safety Car or exceptionally bad weather has intervened. The race runs usually at 12pm local time with fly-away races being run marginally earlier or later depending on the time difference in Europe. The cars are setup on the Grid and prepared. Drivers and engineers are all present. At 3 minutes before the race start, the engineers must be making the final preparations and the drivers in the car. Cars will do a single parade lap at low speed to check out the car and track conditions and to warm tyres and brakes which will simply not work on a Formula One car unless they are operating at top temperature which on some components is toward 400C. The cars drive around the circuit in grid order with the Pole Position man being the fastest leading the field around. They line back up on their staggered grid slots back at the start finish straight and wait usually for around 30 seconds. All cars must be stationary before the automatic five red light sequence begins. When all the lights go out the race has begun.

Cars

Formula One cars may appear very similar, this is because they are constructed to tight restrictions and rules and regulations. However, the cars are not the same. Take a closer look at the cars and they are all infinitely different from each other within their confined rules set up. Identical Formula One cars are banned. They are constructed to operate at very high speed therefore their construction is much like a fighter plane but the wings are geared to force the cars down to the ground not into the air. Two main wings are attached, at the front on the nose and toward the rear. These are the most distinctive aspects of the cars along with their triangular radiator and air intake set up with one situated atop the car sloping backward and two either side the cockpit and engine cover. From 2008 Formula One cars do not make use of driver aids and electronic gizmos such as Traction and Stability control to prevent wheel spin and ABS braking systems. They all now possess 7 speed gear boxes and run on Bridgestone tyres where there are 3 types and 2 compounds of each available. More tyre information is available later. All Formula One cars must gain FIA approval for crash safety and various other regulations. They are constructed from Carbon Fibre honeycomb compound which is a very strong substance but also very lightweight. Grand Prix cars weight around 600KG with the driver included.

Engines

Formula One engines, and also their gearboxes are required to last the full weekend of four Grands Prix and development of the engines is frozen currently by the FIA meaning no increase in performance is allowed. Currently Formula One engines are limited to 2.4 litre V8 normally aspirated engines with no performance enhancing attachments allowed. Revs are limited to 19,000 RPM and these engines generate around 600 BHP. The engines are positioned in the middle of the cars where the cars appear to slope backwards in a profile viewpoint. All engines have twin exhausts. A Formula One V8 can accelerate a Grand Prix car to speeds in excess of 200MPH.

Tyres

Currently, Formula One operates only Bridgestone tyres. Formula One tyres since 1998 have four grooves cut into the tyre to reduce contact of the rubber with the tarmac. This does not make any difference to the performance of a car in a straight line but reduces grip in corners. Of the 2 compounds available one is deemed soft and one is deemed hard. Soft tyres are recognisable on TV by a white strip on the tyre groove. These soft tyres in general give up better temperature more quickly and better grip to the harder compound but sacrifice durability. Wear rates are higher on the softer tyres. Hard tyres take longer to come up to temperature but will last much longer. This is a very generalised view of tyres, even drivers and tyre manufacturers do not know the correct formula for tyre choice. At different tracks different compounds work better. The better tyre is referred to as prime with the other compound known as the option tyre. As well as these dry grooved tyres, Bridgestone offer an intermediate tyre which is used usually in light rain or moist conditions and an extreme wet tyre for monsoon conditions. Tyres can be changed in pit stops which can be made by drivers at any point during qualifying and racing provided the pit lane is open.

Overtaking

Overtaking in Formula One is a difficult task yet not impossible as some will have you believe. Because of the construction of some circuits and some corners following and getting close to another car is difficult. The ideal sequence for a successful overtaking maneuver in Formula One is to have a long fast straight or sweeping corner sequence followed by a tight slow corner and a heavy braking zone. Corners where drivers must shave off more than 100mph are excellent areas for a potential overtaking maneuver. Corners in Formula One such as the Adelaide hairpin at Magny-Cours and turn 1 at the Hungaroring are ideal corners. Many of the other corners at the Hungaroring are unsuitable for overtaking in theory. A determined driver can make a pass wherever they want to provided they are adamant they are going to make the pass. Aerodynamic effects are also part of the overtaking equation. The 1 second barrier will be mentioned during races. This is the distance where the air disturbed by travelling over a car in front begins to now be used by the chasing car. This air is dirty and hot and does not work as well on the car behind as it has done with the car ahead. The chasing car loses grip. However, there is a sweet zone behind the car ahead where the air resistance drops thanks to the aerodynamics and a vacuum is created. If a driver positions his car in here a slipstream effect takes over and the driver behind will be catapulted forwards, gaining speed and allowing him to have a go at passing the car in front. Monza is a good example of a place where slipstreaming is abundantly possible. To prevent overtaking, a driver defending his position coming into straights or corners must not weave or jink about the circuit to block off the attacking driver. A single movement to choose a defensive racing line into corners is allowed and then they must fight in this position without swerving.

I hope that this information is a great help to people who do not yet understand Formula One completely. With this information in mind go and try a Grand Prix.

Book Review: Working the Wheel by Martin Brundle

steven stones — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:12:14 -0400

In many ways writing a sports book is very much a case of getting the burning issue out. Dealing with what is happening in Formula One, or Football or whatever the sport, right now. This second. Look in the local WH Smiths or Waterstones and you will see at least four different books charting the rise of Lewis Hamilton.

Yet, Working the Wheel is a different read altogether. Martin Brundle has never won a Grand Prix, despite his great experience and obvious ability as a racing driver.

Throughout the book, the author mentions again and again, heart wrenching moments of frustration and agony in events in which that elusive first Grand Prix win was snatched away suddenly, or simply wandered away in other circumstances. There are many other tales in the book which make up the semi-autobiographical nature of the work.

Yet Working the Wheel is not simply a Formula One autobiography. Brundle sets out to capture the essence of a collection of the best racing circuits in the world. Not only is there a basic description of the layout of the tracks, both in their past and present incarnations, but there are also many anecdotes about events that have occurred here over the years.

For instance, he mentions at Imola how the death of Ayrton Senna affected the drivers who continued to race on after his accident, different than the crowd watching.

What we have is a complete insight into these racing circuits and a superb look into the everyday life of a Grand Prix driver in the 80s and the 90s. An amusing story is related about Brundle's massive accident at Monaco driving for Tyrrell for instance. There are also many tales involving odd characters who hang about the cities of the world's racing tracks and some of the curious journeys in and out of the speedways.

All the circuits you would expect are here. More modern circuits are missing obviously because at large, this book is a product of sights, sounds and experiences of Martin Brundle throughout his time in the racing world.

This explains then, why Le Mans is in the book, where Formula One cars don't race but the author has driven many times and the Sepang circuit in Malaysia is not.

There are some truly bad books about Formula One, with massive glossy pictures, poor writing, and very little information. Working the Wheel is a delight of a book and an essential read for any Formula One, or even car enthusiast. It comes highly recommended.

Formula One: Attack is the Best Defence at Turkish Grand Prix

steven stones — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:57:30 -0400

Last weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul Park featured a thrilling duel fought between the two Ferrari aces and Mclaren’s Lewis Hamilton. Hamilton qualified fifth on the grid and had lamented a decision to go for his final grid slot on hard tyres during the Saturday qualifying session.

However, off the start-line, Hamilton’s Finnish team mate Kovalainnen made a poor start and Hamilton managed to leap frog all the drivers ahead barring Pole sitter Felipe Massa. Further back there was a touch of mayhem, the two Finns Kovalainnen and Kimi Raikkonen had a very minor coming together.

Although very slight, it managed to puncture the tyre on the left rear of the Mclaren and damaged the front wing endplate of the Ferrari. Also, Giancarlo Fisichella, who by now should perhaps have learned the route into turn one at this circuit, managed to find a third incorrect way to start the race in three years.

The Italian Force India driver steamed into turn one and missed his breaking point, plowing heavily into the Williams of Kazuki Nakajima, flying over the top of the Japanese driver's car and ending both their races. The incidents at turn one ended with the Safety Car being deployed.

With the end of the Safety Car period the battle at the front began afresh. The midfield battle would become furious between the likes of Rosberg, Coulthard, the two Toyotas of Trulli and Glock, and eventually, the recovering Kovalainnen.

Hoping to be part of the battle were the Honda duo of Button and Barrichello, who was breaking the record that weekend for most Grand Prix starts at 257. Sadly, Honda appeared to have moved backwards in terms of pace from their promising points finish at the Spanish Grand Prix.

During the course of the race Hamilton turned in some searing lap times to first keep pace with the Ferrari race leader and then shortly after, to actually pass Massa with a gutsy move which earned him the lead. Hamilton however, had to make a pit stop on lap 16. Massa didn’t make a stop until lap 18.

This would be the story of Hamilton’s race. He had been forced into taking a conservative three stop strategy approach to the race because of structural problems with his Bridgestone tyres. This approach though, turned into a super aggressive stance. On light fuel and hard tyres, Lewis turned in stunning times to be a constant threat to Massa. He finished the race in second place just over four seconds behind the Ferrari of Massa and ahead of title rival Raikkonen who he had held off in the closing stages using the less favoured soft tyres.

Elsewhere in the race, there were good performances from the Renault duo of Alonso and Piquet with Piquet having the more eventful afternoon. Fernando Alonso scored more points for Renault with sixth place. Mark Webber too scored well earning seventh.

Dragracing: A Question of Overtaking

steven stones — Sun, 04 May 2008 11:34:20 -0400

It is a bone of contention now, and has been perhaps for a long time in Formula One. There is not enough overtaking taking place. I've never heard genuine fans complain about this aspect of Formula One, except perhaps during the 2002 season when, perhaps, the people saying it had a point.

However, the question of improving overtaking is a difficult one. On all levels there are problems to consider, and 2009 will see drastic changes to the grip and aerodynamics of Formula One cars by the FIA to improve overtaking.

The question is: What's wrong with the state of play now? If we go back and think of races we remember certain aspects of them all. For instance, we remember that blowout of Nigel Mansell's in Adelaide, we remember that horrendous incident at the beginning of the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix, and we remember the endless displays of dominance in 2002 of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. But do we not also remember The 2003 British Grand Prix?

With it's endless overtaking and wheel to wheel battles? Or the pass last season on Felipe Massa by Fernando Alonso? Or, (and we all knew it was coming) THAT move by Mika Hakkinen in the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix? We do, and it is because overtaking in Formula One is so noticeably difficult that we as fans and the drivers themselves feel the satisfaction of having performed them and seen them.

The truth is, Formula One is a difficult sport, it is the top of the motor racing tree and to make certain things easier such as overtaking is not what the sport needs. The measures taken to decrease aerodynamic efficiency will also not necessarily increase overtaking. And the idea to ban tire warmers for 2009 is frankly, another hair brain scheme from the FIA which I feel may lead to disaster.

Overtaking is the bread and butter of racing and it should be difficult to perform in the most advanced cars in the racing world.

We've seen over the years, whatever the era, it is far from impossible if a driver is determined.