Bleacher Report - Articles by Ben Auty

Formula 1: What Options Does Lewis Hamilton Have at Monza?

Ben Auty — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:08:26 -0400

First of all, I just want to apologise for disappearing off the radar. I would prefer not to really talk about why I haven't been around for almost a month; there are reasons for it and they are certainly valid reasons. A few of the boys know why, and I am sure they will agree its been a tough couple of weeks.

So again, I am sorry I haven't been here to support you guys but I have been checking in every now and again just to see what's been going on. It's been a strange couple of weeks.

I have still been writing, but instead of on here I have just been writing on my blog: www.f1paddock.wordpress.com. I find it relaxing to write but I wasn't in the right frame of mind or mood to defend myself against any heated debate which almost certainly would have ensued after the recent goings-on, which is why I didn't post with you guys.

So for my thoughts on things, check out my blog. For now, I am sticking this one quick article just to keep you all posted and to let you know that I am still here.

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I don't care what the weatherman says. If the weatherman says it's raining, you will never hear me complaining…words that until today, you might have heard Lewis Hamilton singing. But today in the rain it went slightly wrong.

I am 100 percent sure that in a race condition in the rain, Lewis Hamilton will be very difficult to beat. However, today, one little gamble completely wiped out any chance of a Q3 show for the Brit. It wasn't just Lewis who struggled in the rain.

From the outset, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa both struggled to find grip and speed. Massa was lucky enough to get the reset into Q3, just scraping in 10th place.

The unlucky ones were Robert Kubica, current world champion Kimi Raikkonen, and current championship leader Lewis Hamilton.

Monza was set for a shock, and the underdogs were going for it hammer and tong to ensure a shock was on the cards.

Sure enough, as the chequered flag fell, we had a record breaker. Sebastian Vettel, the young German in his Toro Rosso, stuck his STR3 on pole position, becoming the youngest F1 driver ever to get a pole position.

He was followed closely by McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen, who was very fast all session in the MP4-23.

So where did it all go wrong for our man Lewis?

At the end of Q1, the track seemed as though it was drying up, and there was certainly a tram line appearing. Lewis and his race engineers took a gamble into Q2 and thought that maybe intermediate tyres would work with the tram line, but it turned out that the surface water was too much for the intermediates to clear.

A change was needed, so back into the pits car 22 went, a quick stop for wets but he couldn't get back out because of the traffic, so he lost more time waiting for the go from the pit wall.

Finally, Lewis got back out onto the track, but tyre pressure was down, temperature was lost and time was running out. The rain was heavier and that window of opportunity was closing fast.

As the clock counted down, confidence was getting lower for Hamilton after a spin at Ascari corner. The opportunity was gone, and the time would never be made back up. So as the timer ran out in Q2, Lewis was sitting in P15, and that was the end of that.

It was Lewis Hamilton's lowest qualifying position of his career, but should we give up on him yet? I don't think so, and this is why…

Heikki Kovalainen drove a great session all day and stuck his car on the front row of the grid. With fuel strategies taken into consideration, he could certainly get the jump on the young Toro Rosso driver to be first into the chicane and from there he can control the race and hope that his strategies are working well for him and there are no safety car periods.

So to Hamilton, what are his options?

I think for him to go on a two-stop strategy, he is making things very hard for himself. Yes, he is in a quicker car, but to go on a two-stop strategy the same as the front runners would be an uphill struggle and leaves everything to be done on the track.

Also he needs to consider the threat around him from Kubica and Raikkonen.

Because Lewis is out of the top 10, he now has all the options at his disposal. He doesn't have to start the race on his closing qualifying fuel load and set up. Only the top 10 have to do that.

He could fuel very lightly and run it out on a three-stop strategy. Yes, he would have to make one more stop, but he will be very light and overtaking will be easier and his pit stops will be very short.

Just a splash-and-dash pit stop can be done in five seconds; the way Lewis runs his tyres down, this would be an excellent option for him to consider.

Lewis' second option would be to go on a one-stop strategy, fuel heavily and get the jump in the field's second round of pit stops.

This means he would have to take it easy when running on the soft tyres, but when on the hards he will be heavy and will have to work very hard and hope that the raw performance of the MP4-23 is enough to help him make the passes he needs.

I think realistically, with either the one- or three-stop option, he can look to getting a points finish and why not even a podium?

Lewis loves a challenge and certainly can overtake with the best of them, providing all passes are done legally and the FIA are in a good mood, then he will be laughing.

He can forget about Felipe Massa for this race; the best he can hope for is a reliability problem with the F2008 and maybe bringing his GP to an early end. Apart from that, Massa WILL outscore him in the race and the championship table will have a new leader.

He should just concentrate on damage limitation and remember that Robert Kubica and Kimi Raikkonen are the ones he is racing, as they are in the same boat as he is come lights out on Sunday. It will be VERY interesting to see what strategies they try.

As a McLaren fan, I want to see Heikki dominate the race from the start. I want to see Lewis going for glory on a three-stopper and hopefully get a top five, maybe a podium with some bad luck on other driver's parts.

One thing is for sure, DONT BLINK… You might just miss it, its going to be a VERY interesting race from lights out to chequered flag.

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: Are the Wheels Coming Off for Ferrari?

Ben Auty — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 02:50:48 -0400

The chequered flag falls on the very first European Grand Prix in Valencia, and it wasn’t a good one for Ferrari. As it stands, we are currently awaiting a verdict on whether Felipe Massa will be penalised for the pit lane incident.

It is very unusual that no penalty was applied immediately, and the message came up that the incident would be investigated after the race. Is this so Charlie Whiting can take a cheeky backhander from the Ferrari mechanics and top dogs?

How does 50,000 Euro sound to sweep it under the rug?

Knowing the relationship between the FIA and Ferrari, this will be conveniently forgotten.

We also had a bit of a mess up with Kimi Raikkonen’s pit stop, where Kimi jumped the gun. He didn’t wait for his green light and pulled away towing a fuel hose and a mechanic with him. The mechanic, last we saw him, was on a stretcher to the medical centre.

Two laps later, there were more reliability issues with the F2008. The left bank of the engine blew, ending the current world champion's race today.

Kimi Raikkonen, not wanting to make any comments after these incidents, made a speedy retreat to the motor home. I think it’s very unusual for Kimi not to have anything to say.

Last race in Hungary, Felipe Massa was three laps from glory when he had an engine blowout, gifting Heikki Kovalainen with the first GP win of his career. Are the wheels starting to come off?

In addition to all of these problems, let’s not forget the constant tactical mistakes that Ferrari make, pitting at the wrong time, wrong fuel loads, not changing tyres in the wet at Silverstone, fuelling too light from qualifying, all these little mistakes keep adding up and certainly do not help a championship run.

Then finally let’s have a look at the drivers. After the Hungary Grand Prix, there was a sit down meeting with the big boys at Ferrari, and the drivers were told to buck their ideas up. Let’s not forget that Kimi Raikkonen is being paid a lot more than Felipe, yet the young Brazilian is outperforming him time and time again.

Let's be honest, no matter how it is fabricated, Kimi Raikkonen is in a RUT, he just isn't doing his job right now, yes okay consistency won him the championship last year but last year he seemed hungry. This year, he just seems different and I can't quite put my finger on why.

But Massa is no angel, all I need to say is Silverstone, rain, five spins...more little chinks in the Ferrari armour. Little driver errors cannot win championships.

So I am going to wrap this up now, after all, I am not wanting to get every member of the Tifosi and his dog jumping on my case, I just wanted to make a point of saying that right now, on current form, Ferrari are shooting themselves in the foot.

For the above reasons, this is why I believe that Ferrari will NOT win anything in this year’s championships unless something changes and changes soon.

May I say...even as a McLaren fan, that it is sad to see Ferrari suffering all of these setbacks. I say good luck to them.

Ben, Over and Out!

Amendment

It has now came to light that Massa will keep his win, he will keep his points and he has been issued with a 10,000 Euro fine and a "Reprimand"...

Ha ha...

Okay then so £8000 GBP and a slapped wrist, lets put that into perspective:

Massa earns what?... £16 Million per year?

18 races, that works out at roughly £90,000 per race lets say.

70 laps per race (Roughly)

That is £1,300 per lap (Still very rough figures here people, bear with me)

It would take young Felipe just over 6 laps to earn that money back.

"THE INCIDENT INVOLVING CAR 2 WILL BE INVESTIGATED AFTER THE RACE"

Roughly translated...

"GIVE US TIME TO THINK OF AN EXCUSE SO WE DONT HAVE TO PENALISE FERRARI"

2 drive through penalties where apparently handed out in saturdays GP2 Euro Grand Prix for exactly the same thing, yet for F1, not applicable, numerous years ago, Williams where handed a drive through penalty for this, and there was me thinking the FIA wanted to stamp this kind of thing out of the sport?

What do you think of that Bleacher Creatures?

Formula 1: Round 12—We Will Fight Them on the Streets of Valencia

Ben Auty — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 01:41:13 -0400

HELLO FORMULA 1 FANS... Welcome back to the 2008 season, finally we can put that three-week hell behind us, everyone still with us? Griff, Shak, Billy, Mark, Mr. Stones, Ryan, Heff, Long, Alex... Alex... ALEX! Has anyone seen Alex? Oh and anyone else I have missed, WE ARE BACK!

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* * * IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT * * * *

Just before I crack on with my article as the old Formula 1 Community Leader with Sheiban Shakeri, we are announcing some changes that have already taken place within our community and what changes you need to make to get back to business as usual.

Okay, we’re going to try featuring Auto Racing on the front page (rather than F1 & NASCAR separately).

We still want the F1 and NASCAR Communities to thrive independently, but we're hoping that this way people will know that we have a Craftsman Truck Series / IRL page as well, etc.

It is my duty of letting the F1 writers know that going forward you should tag any articles you write with BOTH F1 AND Auto Racing?

In addition if you want to crack into the Top Writers list for Auto Racing, you will need to go back into your old articles and add the "Auto Racing" tag, I have just done all of mine and I am sitting pretty back up top.

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Onwards we go… So finally we can blow the dust of our team caps and don them once again as the Formula 1 showboat steams into port in Valencia.

Not only are we getting excited as the season calendar is negotiating the last few turns of the year, but we have two new circuits to face and this is the first of them.

Valencia is a purpose-built masterpiece that should be a street circuit but it just doesn’t seem to be. When someone says street circuit you think tight, twisting, bumpy tracks that are narrow and not much overtaking can go on...

Can the same be said for Valencia? No, it has been likened to Monza rather than Monaco. It’s a fast circuit where the average speed is set to be roughly 225km/h, so it’s going to be tough on the brakes. The top speed predicted on the track is just short of 324km/h and the low point is just over 90km/h.

As well as the brakes, the engines should get a thorough workout with some very high highs and some very low lows to really push the limits.

So if teams are on their third engines, it could be a short race. If they are on their first engine, then it could be a case of just hoping that you're reliable enough to last the race anyway.

Will this circuit have any effect on the Ferrari’s after their DNF in Hungary? Maybe they will be slightly worried over reliability issues?

Another key point to think about is that back straight, the engines will be at full throttle for 13 seconds, when an F1 car is at full throttle the pistons in the engine are moving up to 300 times a second, can you imagine that for 13 seconds, go on... I dare you to touch the engine to see how hot it is!

Let’s have some facts:

Built in - 2008
Laps – 57
Distance – 3.380 Miles (5.440 Kilometres)
Corners – 25
Lap Record – Not Applicable (Predicted – 1:37:00 ish)

Drivers are differing in their preparations for the race. Fernando Alonso is in a confident mood after extensively watching footage of the previous F3 race that was held there in the last few weeks.

Jensen Button has been preparing on a specially made simulation of the track. While it doesn’t give you the actual feel it certainly helps with braking points and turning points.

Lewis Hamilton: “I’ve had a look at some sections of the track and am going to spend this rest period to prepare the race with the rest of the team. Looking at the images, the track seems incredible. I like street circuits, but there seem to be some very quick, and very unforgiving, stretches.

"As a driver, it’s always fun arriving at a new circuit. I like driving in new places and am confident in my ability to get to know them rapidly. It looks like an amazing circuit.”

Lewis Hamilton in an optimistic mood, and with good reason I would think, see why I think this later on in the article.

So with no history to go on, there isn’t much we can write about: “Oh, I remember this one time when I was 10 and I was watching the European Grand Prix at the new street circuit and then... Oh no that didn’t really happen”

So what do we think will happen? Well I wrote two articles over the summer detailing how I thought certain teams would be going into this weekend.

The impetus seemed to be with Ferrari as they are well and truly on the back foot and still have to get both drivers back to the form at which they were not two months ago. On the flip side, the momentum lies firmly with McLaren after three wins back to back.

The championships are currently showing with Ferrari only just having a lead in the constructors, now only 11 points, and I still wouldn’t write off the Saubers.

The driver’s standings are equally as close, with Hamilton on top closely followed by all the usual suspects. So with only seven races to go, things are still wide open and it could go any way. Only a fool would bet on this one.

On to the actual predictions, I feel that the confidence should be with everyone’s favourite new driver Lewis Hamilton. He is the one carrying the form into this race.

A slight hiccup, through no fault of his own, didn’t really hinder him. He still sits at the top of the drivers’ championship.

The reason I think he will do so well in this race is because Lewis tends to have a gung-ho feeling when he is approaching a circuit he has never driven on before. He drives with a very aggressive nature, and I feel that a lot of the more cautious drivers will just fall in his wake.

We just have to look back to last year at how he dealt with new circuit after new circuit in such an emphatic flair in which he managed to break all kinds of records.

So for these reasons I predict it will be a very good weekend for McLaren. Of course, we can’t be too sure just how it will pan out until Friday’s practice session.

Practice session will be a tough period with a lot of cars not being on a track for nearly three weeks now, so this will be a time to get the car back to working standard and only then will they be able to tweak certain variables to get on the pace.

The usual suspects will be better at doing this and the time sheets will show this, so expect a lot of laps put in the practice sessions by all midfield and lower teams.

Qualifying could be an interesting one. Fernando Alonso is in a confident mood. On home turf, he could run light and certainly cause an upset to get on the front row. Lewis will be fast, as will Heikki Kovalainen in the sister McLaren, and let's not forget the two Ferraris.

Felipe Massa will have a point to prove after his engine blew three laps from glory in Hungary and Kimi, well… Kimi has got to get his driving gloves on and fast because the front runners will start to leave him behind if he doesn’t start to drive like the champion we know he can be.

BMW, I don’t know what they will be like, with development of the F1.08 being slowed down to concentrate on the 09 KERS version, they will still be fast but I don’t expect too much from them on race weekend.

On race day, how will the drivers finish?

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes)
Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes)
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
Felipe Massa (Ferrari)
Fernando Alonso (Renault)
Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber)

Not a very controversial pick from me this week, I just see McLaren being strong and Ferrari still in their slipstream but it won’t be for long. Wait until Belgium, and you can be sure the F2008 will be on fire and McLaren will have a fight on their hands.

Kimi loves his Spa days and will relish getting one over the old enemy on his favoured turf.

So what do you guys think? Do you agree with my pick and my reasons for it? Let me know in the usual way, comments all greatly received. If you have missed it please refer back to the top of the article and read the important announcement about our beloved community.

Don’t forget about our starring system here on Bleacher, just below you will see 2 boxes, the first is where you can score this article out of 5, 5 being the best and 1 being utter crap. Please score the article accordingly to help with the promotion and development of all our writers here on Bleacher.

Finally to the right of that box will be the Article Pick of the Day box, sometimes referred to by Bleacher Creatures as “POTD.” This is where, if you feel this is the best article you have read all day you select this button and it makes it your personal POTD, if an article gets the most POTD votes in one day, it becomes the article of the day for one day with front page coverage. So it’s important that you select this button if you like what you read.

Anyway I have gone on for long enough now, I will let you guys get on with your busy lives and I can get on with mine.

Enjoy the race, oh and don’t forget, WATCH IT LOUD, PUT A DONK ON IT!

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: We're All Going on a Summer Holiday - The Bottom 5

Ben Auty — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:02:33 -0400

So far, I have covered Ferrari, BMW, Renault, Toyota and McLaren, the top 5 if you will, now it's on to the bottom 5, Red Bull, Williams, Honda, Toro Rosso and Force India.

To view the original article click here

Back into holiday mode:

Case, packed... Sun tan lotion, applied... Union Jack towel, rolled... Sun, check... Sea, cold... Sand, itchy... Plane tickets, OH NO, where are those bloody plane tickets... TAXI!

Red Bull

It’s been somewhat of a mixed bag for David Coulthard and Mark Webber this season.

They have been very quick on some occasions, but on others they have been distinctly average in the midfield. They tend to blow hot and cold for the strangest of reasons.

They have a good combo, and both DC and Mark are capable drivers, but they just don’t seem to have hit that groove so far this year, bar the odd flash of genius.

Red Bull were blessed with the great news that hot young talent Sebastian Vettel will be joining them next year from sister outfit Toro Rosso. This was a welcome boost for both Red Bull and the young prospect.

I think DC may already be in retirement mode. As for Webber, he seems to be driving very well. In terms of mentoring for the youngster, he is the man for the job. The two together in a reliable fast car, will be a dynamite combination.

With a 9/11 finish in Hungary and a 13/DNF in Germany, the form from the start of the season clearly hasn’t carried on. However, the drive and determination is certainly there.

Red Bull is the highest performing bottom 5 team right now. Keep your eyes peeled for a big fight back soon hopefully.

Williams

Oh, what has become of my beloved Williams? Back in the day when I was a young ‘un, Williams were my “Other” team when McLaren didn’t do so well.

As I grew up, I sided with McLaren but always had a soft spot for Frank’s fighters. As of late, they have moved down the pecking order and the results are just not there for them.

Rumours could be that there are money issues, even though it was stated only as recently as today that they would be going nowhere when Big Frank was quoted as saying “In the next few years, we will not sell. We would sell no more than shares, the name Williams is staying in Formula One.”

Other rumours say that like BMW, maybe Williams are starting to focus an awful lot on getting the car right for the big jump to 2009, hopefully reigniting the glory days of the 90’s?

With a great driver package in the shape of Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima, things should be looking up and they could have a lot to do for the back end of the season.

I sincerely hope they are this bad because they are looking to the 09 package, because it pains me to see them struggling.

Prediction: More of the same disappointment. I just hope the drivers don’t lose heart and can maybe stay loyal and get a chance in a good car next year.

Honda

What becomes of loyal employees? They say good things come to those who wait, and I hope this is the case for Jensen Button. He has stuck with Honda through thick and thin. He is an excellent driver and is definitely capable, but the package just hasn’t been there.

Honda has always said 2007 and 2008 were transitional years, where development would be very slow and they wouldn’t be performing as well as they should be expected to.

With the arrival of the master that is Ross Brawn just ahead of the 2008 season, a lot of things looked up. Now there are rumours floating about the possible arrival of Fernando Alonso, but then again, which team hasn’t been linked with the "Incredible Sulk" this season?

So, Honda's form into the back end of the season won’t be good. Some very low finishes are ahead. To get into the points, they are going to have to get a big chief to perform a rain dance, and you watch Ross “The Tactical Wizard” Brawn get to work.

Toro Rosso

Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso may have a master at the helm, but not much has been going on in terms of results. The speed is there, but it’s been a bad consistency theme that has ran for the majority of the season for Sebastian United.

Bourdais hasn’t really performed and has been outshined by his teammate time and again. As a result of this, Vettel will be starting 2009 alongside Mark Webber as a Red Bull driver.

In Hungary, Vettel blew up in the heat and Bourdais was dead last in 18^th place and was lapped three times by the lead pack. Not a great finish.

In fact, it had been an awful weekend altogether for the Italian-based team. That doesn’t bode well for the next track, as it's a new one for the Formula 1 season.

Will Valencia put another disappointing weekend on the cards for Toro Rosso? I hope not, because Vettel has been one of my favourite drivers this year, and I would love to see him find that sweet spot and maybe even outrun one of the Red Bull sister cars. Let’s hope for a shock after the holiday.

Force India

Last but by certainly no means least are the foundations of both the Drivers Championship table and the Constructors table, Force India, still without any points.

I wouldn’t say it’s been a bad year for Mallya’s boys, they have managed to shave off a big chunk of their lap times to bring them in line with the rest of the field.

While they are still not blistering and are not competitive, they are still up there and within one second of the front runners, I would say that this is very impressive pace for the team, which is approaching its first birthday.

Wonder if I get an invite to this one, I have heard the boat is just lovely?

I think it goes without saying that the back end of the season will be a further testing time for the Force Indias. They should just focus on doing as well as they can and developing the life out of those cars and hopefully be more of an entity in the 09 season.

Here’s how the bottom half of the drivers table looks:

(Top half of drivers table and constructors table available on Part 1)

Drivers Championship (Bottom):

11. Nelsinho Piquet (Renault) - 13
12. Rubens Barrichello (Honda) - 11
13. Nico Rosberg (Williams) - 8
14. Kazuki Nakajima (Williams) - 8
15. David Coulthard (Red Bull) - 6
16. Sebastian Vettel (Torro Rosso) - 6
17. Jenson Button (Honda) - 3
18. Sebastien Bourdais (Torro Rosso) - 2
19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India) 0
20. Adrian Sutil (Force India) - 0

So there you have it, the rundown of all 10 teams currently racing for your love and attention week after week. It is fair to say this summer holiday won’t be spent on the beach.

The drivers and teams will get three or four days off, and then it’s back to the factories for development. Little tweaks here and there, computers buzzing into the early hours while you and I are sleeping.

The same will go for the drivers, no lying on a beach drinking San Miguel for them. The fitness regime will continue, and the personal trainers will give them hell for the full three-week period to ensure they are good to go come race time on Aug. 24.

How do you think the teams will fare? Do you think I have been quite accurate in my analysis? Who has the impetus and momentum to do well after the summer break? Do you think that eating cheese before bedtime gives you nightmares? Will Kimi Raikkonen fall asleep at the wheel if he gets anymore boring?

Ladies, gentlemen and all other living things, you know what to do now... Go and click the little orange button at the top of this page because you think my summer holiday two-part series is the mutt's nuts. If not, just leave me a couple of stars and a comment with your opinion on there. Danke Schoen.

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: We're All Going on a Summer Holiday - The Top 5

Ben Auty — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 13:35:20 -0400

Let me just reach out for my BIG dictionary and hit you with some definitions before we get cracking, something to think about if you will, now try to concentrate:

Impetus [Im-pit-uss] Noun

An incentive or impulse.
(Physics) The force that starts a body moving or that tends to resist changes in its speed or direction once it is moving.

[Latin – Attack]

Momentum [Moh-men-tum] Noun

The impetus to go forward, develop, or get stronger.
The impetus of a moving body.
(Physics) The product of a body’s mass and its velocity.

[Latin – Movement]

Source – The Collins Essential English Dictionary – 2^nd Edition 2006, HarperCollins Publishers 2004, 2006.

Hopefully that has cleared a few things up before I crack on and will prevent me from having to explain my wording.

After 11 rounds, 708 laps and over 17 hours of fast-fueled racing, we are now in what I am calling the ‘Summer Holiday’ for F1. It’s a three-week break until the next race, which will be held at the brand-new street circuit in Valencia.

The purpose of my article is to investigate the teams that are going into the break with some momentum and others that maybe have the impetus to gain some momentum. Are you with me so far? I hope so.

So we leave Hungary with some occurrences that leave us thinking about certain teams and just where they stand right now, especially given the fact that any testing to be done over the summer holiday will have to be done using computer models and wind tunnels. No track tests are permitted until the next testing meeting, which is in Monza on Aug. 27.

Let’s take a look at the current Top Five teams:

Scuderia Ferrari

I am going to start with my old friends Scuderia Ferrari, for all you Tifosi reading, this could get rough, but I will be gentle, I promise.

Ferrari have had somewhat of a lacklustre time as of late and haven’t really been producing.

As a direct result, they have seen their lead in the constructors championship cut down to just 11 points, given the recent gain in form of ‘so called’ No. 2 driver Heikki Kovalainen alongside the ever-threatening Lewis Hamilton, this could be a worrying margin.

The last race saw some tough times, as the McLaren was a much faster car in both practice and qualifying, so much so that McLaren had a front-row lockout.

Come race day, the Ferraris all of a sudden found some pace, I have no idea how, but they were on it, and in lap one Felipe Massa managed to leapfrog from third on the grid up to first in the space of one corner.

Current WDC Kimi Raikkonen, who seems to be in a slump of form right now, started the race in sixth and seemed to be having great difficulty in overtaking former world champion Fernando Alonso.

He only managed to gain that position through a pit overlap, so questions are still being asked of the Finn this season.

Ferrari had Massa’s car RPM turned down in the slowdown of the race due to the massive lead he had accumulated, but then three laps from the end, Felipe’s car gave up and decided to pour its feelings out the rear of the car.

Reconstruction: “Okay Felipe, you are leading the race with Heikki a whole 18 seconds behind you, just turn the engine RPM down and take it easy, save your tyres and bring that car home, we have your beans on toast ready for you”

** Seconds Later **

BOOM... Is that smoke coming out of the back of Felipe’s car?

Race over for the No. 2 car, so close and so very unlucky after such a great drive. The No. 1 car of Kimi Raikkonen had also been given the orders to turn down the engine but for a completely different engine problem.

At this crucial time in the season, do the Ferrari’s really need more reliability issues like they did in the early stages of this amazing season?

Just when we all think we have a race on our hands, the red cars that we so commonly see dominating, throw a spanner into the works to make us question just where do they stand in terms of pace. Ferrari certainly has the impetus.

BMW Sauber

Another tricky one here, BMW were making some tasty headlines in tabloids, and word on the street was that Robert Kubica was going to be Mr. Reliable and Mr. Consistent and be the one to say that this year there would be a BMW in the fight.

After a maiden victory in Canada, our mate Bobby was even being tagged with headlines that had the word ‘Champion’ in them.

To tie in with this maiden win, BMW scored themselves a 1-2 victory, something that only Ferrari have managed to do this year. A lot of F1 fans were beginning to mutter the unthinkable, yes that's right. Bobby might become F1’s youngest-ever champion.

But it doesn’t seem to be as it has been quoted and then re-quoted and then re-re-quoted all over again, saying that BMW will be concentrating on 2009, or would they, or wouldn’t they, but then again would they? Who honestly knows?

Big Mario had the following to say: “We won't reduce our development pace for the remainder of the season. Our goal for the remaining three European rounds and four overseas races is to build on the good results scored in the first half of the season. We still have several improvements in the pipeline that should help us return to the road to success.”

Up until last week, BMW were sitting in second place in the constructors table, but with recent form being slightly dire, the points have started to dry up.

So again we have another team in limbo. What do we, the fans, think? Are the boys at BMW going to have a strong finish and give us that fight we want, or will they pick up on 2009 development and write this year off?

Renault

This is a difficult one to judge with Renault, because they are touch and go and have been all season.

We have Fernando who blows hot and cold, finishing behind the rookie one week and the next week putting in an amazing display to fend off the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen for 75 percent of a race in a technically slower car.

Young Piquet is now starting to find his feet and some form, so are the boys in the R28’s going to start pulling their weight and churning out some results for big Flava Flav?

I think they have to prove themselves in the light of the recent form that Toyota has found if they want to be kings of the midfield, because right now they are playing second fiddle.

Toyota

Toyota are looking pretty good right now. They have been churning out some great results. Glock’s first podium in Hungaroring was nothing short of astonishing, and it made himself out to be many people’s driver of the day, including mine, I may add.

Meanwhile, Trulli IS Mr. Consistent and has only been out of the points on three occasions this season, putting him nicely in the top seven drivers. That is a great result so far for Toyota, I am sure most will agree.

They don’t seem to have been developing the car as much as other teams, although they did introduce the anvil/shark fin engine cover for Round 11 in Hungary.

It seemed to have worked a treat because the Toyota defied all odds and finished up on the second step of the podium. It was nothing short of an inspired drive by Glock, and this has no doubt contributed to the good news that he will be staying on at Toyota for the 2009 season (allegedly).

Can the consistent form be continued on into the latter part of the season, thus FINALLY stamping the arrival of Toyota into F1 motor racing? God knows for the investment these results are long overdue.

McLaren Mercedes

McLaren seem to be the team going into the summer holidays with the most form and momentum, granted that I am under no illusions that the Hungary win wasn’t handed to them on a silver platter with a side order of ‘Ha ha ha’ and lashings of ‘Payback is a bitch’.

McLaren have won three on the trot now, with three 5^th place finishes to back those wins up. That's 42 points out of a possible 54, in comparison to closest rival Ferrari’s 20 points.

Those results bring them within sniffing distance of the Ferrari smoke that is pouring out of the back of their cars. Things are certainly staying tight at the top, as I put it not so long ago.

In terms of development of the cars, it again seems to be McLaren that are holding the torch, showing drastic improvements to the MP4-23 to bring it not only back in line with its rival F2008 but perhaps overtaking it in terms of performance (no solid evidence to support this claim).

Development has always been a strong point of McLaren's and, at this pace, will they soon have a second per lap on their Italian friends unless something is done?

Heikki Kovalainen gets his first win of the season and Lewis Hamilton driving exquisitely of late are two factors that will feature very heavily in the McLaren campaign. They will be a formidable opposition come Valencia. Watch out for a continuation of form.

Here is how the teams stand over the summer holidays.

Drivers Championship (Top):

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) - 62
Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) - 57
Felipe Massa (Ferrari) - 54
Robert Kubica (BMW) - 49
Nick Heidfeld (BMW) - 41
Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren) - 38
Jarno Trulli (Toyota) - 22
Fernando Alonso (Renault) -18
Mark Webber (Red Bull) - 18
Timo Glock (Toyota) – 13

Constructors Championship Standings:

Ferrari - 111
McLaren-Mercedes - 100
BMW Sauber - 90
Toyota - 35
Renault - 31
Red Bull-Renault - 24
Williams-Toyota - 16
Honda - 14
STR-Ferrari - 8
Force India-Ferrari – 0

The tables give us lots to ponder over but will form have anything to do with the season as the guys take to the cars after their cruel summer?

One thing is for sure...those boys in the factories will not be on holiday, “You snooze, you lose!” They will be working round the clock on developments for their cars and running tests on them with their computers and wind tunnels.

For the last three years the driver/team who won the race before the summer holiday did NOT win in the first race back.

Of course the trend was broken if we go back one further year, when Michael Schumacher managed to put those wins together even with all that suntan lotion on his gloves.

So will the trend continue? If so, that means that McLaren will not win in Valencia and one of the teams with a bigger impetus will take the top step. Alternatively, will McLaren break the trend and carry the momentum through after the summer break with further advancements to the MP4-23 and take another minimum 10 points for the campaign?

Guys its over to you on this one, as usual, don’t forget stars and POTD if you wish and as always, all comments whether they be negative or positive are welcomed. Let’s spark up the debate.

Part 2 in the series which details "The Bottom 5" can be found by clicking here - enjoy!

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: Round 11, Hungary - Boring ?

Ben Auty — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 00:01:54 -0400

The Championship is simmering nicely now, and we still have a very tight situation at the top of the table. Back-to-back wins for Lewis Hamilton have given him a four-point lead.

The wins were nothing ordinary. The first, a majestic victory on home soil in the rain, saw him take the win by over 1 minute and 22 seconds ahead of second-place Nick Heidfeld.

The second win was almost taken away from him by a rare strategic hiccup from McLaren. Lewis had 15 laps to overtake three cars, which he managed to do in emphatic fashion to the disbelief of both Lewis lovers and haters.

Over the course of these two races, it has become apparent that McLaren have the pace and the impetus to compete in not only the driver’s championship, but also the constructor's.

With some good finishing from both drivers, McLaren have managed to get to within 19 points of Ferrari. That is a relatively small gap, considering there are another eight rounds of racing to go.

With BMW all but out of the running to concentrate on being the pace car for the 2009 season, many are predicting a two-horse sprint finish.

Drivers and Constructor Standings after Round 10:

Drivers World Championship

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) – 58
Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari) – 54
Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari) – 51
Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) – 48
Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) – 41
Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren Mercedes) – 28

Constructors World Championship

Scuderia Ferrari – 105
BMW Sauber – 89
McLaren Mercedes – 86
Toyota – 25
Red Bull Renault – 24
Renault - 23

The week prior to round 11 has seen the final summer testing period for all constructors at Jerez, Spain. That's right folks, the FINAL testing session, there will now be no more testing until Aug. 27, when the guys go to Monza for three days.

So it’s back to the factories to stretch the computer models and wind tunnels to see what these cars can really do.

Worrying times to follow for Ferrari maybe, who after the four-day session seemed very off the pace of McLaren.

Yes, I know we can’t read too much into this, as it is only a testing session. Granted, the majority of the teams where testing the 2009 updates on their cars including KERS, slicks and new aero downgrades.

But even with all this, the Ferrari still remained half a second behind and at times a whole second off the pace of the MP4-23.

But on a final note of the testing, you would be naive to think Ferrari are down and out just yet. They will be back on the pace on Friday morning in Budapest when the first practice session gets underway, that is, unless they encounter any monumental disasters.

Either way, we now have a fight on our hands with the tables completely u-turning into the favour of the silver arrows. These are great times for McLaren, worrying for Ferrari, especially with their unpredictable drivers.

What must the Tifosi be thinking? Any comments?

On to Round 11 in Budapest, Hungary, a regular stop on the F1 calendar for 21 GP’s since 1986. It’s been held at the Hungaroring for the duration.

Maybe an omen for us Brits is that a British driver has won there for the last two years. It is well-known that it isn’t a Ferrari track, and they haven’t really had much success here in the past.

So what better time for the Red bullets to come good, stamping their foot down to show that, yes, our drivers are good; yes, we are still fighting; and yes, we can win at Hungaroring.

Hungaroring is another one of those tracks where people tend to expect a dull race where not much will happen. Overtaking is at a minimum due to the dirty surface off the racing line. The dirty track is due to the circuit not being used that often, in fact it is only used for specialist races such as Formula 1.

Races will often be won either in qualifying by a blinding lap, as the races tend to be quite a parade. They can also be won on a great race strategy, as demonstrated ironically by the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher back in 1998. He went on to win that year’s race by mastermind Ross Brawn switching to a three-stop strategy.

There have been exceptions, though. For example, Nigel Mansell managed to win the race in 1989 from 12th position on the grid, again ironically in a Ferrari. Did someone say that Ferrari didn’t do well at this track?

He completed the run up the field after an incredibly well-executed pass on Ayrton Senna, and he went on to build a lead of almost 26 seconds as he took the chequered flag.

This year I think it will be different, as too much is at stake. The drivers will push these machines to their absolute limit to maintain dominant position, catch up with a rival in the WDC, stay in the points race to keep face or to secure a seat for next season? I bet my bottom dollar that there will be overtaking this year.

As you can see from the picture, Lewis Hamilton won here last year; not only did he win, but he also dominated the weekend, nabbing himself pole position after team-mate Fernando Alonso impeded him in the pit lane in Q3.

He then went on the lead on all 70 laps of the race and he almost nabbed himself the Grand Chelem for his efforts scoring the fastest lap of the race on his last lap, BUT then just 0.715 seconds later, Kimi Raikkonen crossed the line and took that accolade away from him by bettering the fastest lap time and the Grand Chelem was no more.

(Grand Chelem: A term when translated from French means ‘Grand Slam’ and it consists of leading the race for every lap from pole position and then taking the chequered flag)

Let’s get some vital statistics like usual:

Built in - 1985
Laps – 70
Distance – 2.720 Miles (4.381 Kilometres)
Corners – 14
Lap Record – 1:19:071 (M Schumacher, Ferrari, 2004)

McLaren test driver Pedro De La Rosa said the following about the Hungaroring: “In Budapest, it is a great circuit. It is very difficult, very technical, a lot of low speed corners, but it is very difficult to overtake and although they have extended the pit straight and have made slower first corner, it is still going to be very difficult.

“Saturday qualifying is going to be 70 percent of the outcome of the race. There are no long straights to overtake and that is the reality of Hungary. Having said that, it is a great track, it is very, very difficult and a track that has a lot of corners in a reduced space. If you get one wrong, you normally get two or three in a row.

“As it is very dusty, it is also low grip, maximum down force is required and our car has historically been very good at this type of track, low speed with corners so we are looking forward to this race.

“High down force is key in Hungary, it is key in Monaco, but not only that. You are also looking at very soft suspension. Hungary is much bumpier than people think, so in addition to the high down force you need to soften the springs, raise a little bit the cars and get the maximum mechanical grip out of the car. This is very important and the two together make a quick car in slow speed corners, which is essential in this track.

“The team have to adapt the cockpit a little bit in hot races, and Hungary is one of them. We can drink around half a litre, and before qualifying we will put the water in place so the driver will have it for the race. It is very important, it is one of those races that if it is a hot dry, summer, as normally it is in August in Hungary, and you need to drink during the race.”

On to the race prediction now. Even though Ferrari are going through a strange time right now where they seem to have hit a glitch. Ferrari will be on the pace as usual this weekend. You would be silly to think otherwise. Could it be the weekend when Ferrari come back and get things on track again?

McLaren as always will be fast, with Lewis continuing with his form and Heikki maybe dialing it up again as he has done so well in the last two rounds. I think more than anything, I want Heikki finally to get that race win, or at the very least, another podium.

Qualifying I think will go to McLaren, a front row lockout maybe by the boys in the silver car. Following closely will be our Ferrari friends.

Normally, I would be swinging towards BMW for the fifth and sixth places on the grid, but I am going to have to go with either a Red Bull or a Torro Rosso. I am gambling on Mark Webber or Sebastian Vettel. How is that for a gamble?

I am predicting some stinking hot weather so no issues with tyres or unexpected downpour to dampen the party.

Now for the big one, my race prediction, where do I think the balance will swing?

Well for a start, there WILL be overtaking, mark my words, it is possible at this track and I think more than ever it’s going to happen, I don’t think it will be with the front four.

I think they will stay pretty much static bar over the pit stop periods, and the only way anything will change over the top four will be via some sneaky pit stop strategies, maybe a one-stopper or even a three? It’s an exciting prospect, one that I am very much looking forward to.

So here it is, my race result prediction with current odds supplied by www.bet365.com:

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) – 11/10
Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari) – 5/2
Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari) – 3/1
Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) – 16/1
Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) – 14/1

I am going to predict Lewis to score his third win in a row, the first time such a thing has been done since 2004, when the great Michael Schumacher.

Please correct me if I am wrong...no doubt someone will, ha ha!

An outside bet to keep an eye on would be a Ferrari 1-2 finish. Don’t ask me how it would come about, but as a McLaren fan it pains me to say that it’s a VERY real possibility.

I am going to tie it up now and finish things off and just sit back and enjoy the build up. Keep checking all my points of interest on the net for developments.

Do you agree with me, do you oppose me? Make your feelings known; this is your platform. Voice your opinion people, oh, and don’t forget to score the article with the appropriate amount of stars. Thanks.

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton - The BIG Debate

Ben Auty — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 00:01:44 -0400

Where can I start with this one, for those who know my writing I have to mutter those famous words:

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin.

We could be in for a bumpy ride, so buckle up your six-point harness and put on your helmet. Trust me, I have mine on because I know this one should spark up the masses. Enjoy.

How can I start the article about this guy, oh, I know...

The world over, people play word association games. If a group of brand new F1 fans were to sit down and play, and one guy starts things off with the words ‘Formula 1’, the chances are, the next guy will say ‘Lewis Hamilton.’

Hamilton is always surrounded by media hype, whether it be positive or negative. People love him, people hate him, some people are neutral and don’t have an opinion.

No matter what your stance on him is, you can’t get away from the fact that he is the current face of our sport.

Ten years ago, it was Michael Schumacher and 10 years prior to that, it was Ayrton Senna. Does this mean that Lewis is going to be the new face in the sense that he will win championships? Or will he just constantly be the talking point for the wrong reasons?

I think that he is certainly capable of winning championships, and if he doesn’t, he will go down in history as one of those “should have been” kind of drivers. It would be a career tarred with so many “Oh so close” moments. Let’s just take a look at what records he has right now:

Most consecutive podiums from debut race (9)
Most consecutive podiums as a British driver (9)
Youngest driver to lead the world championship (22 years, 4 month, 8 days)
Most wins in a debut season (4)
Most pole positions in a debut season (6)

Pretty impressive stuff, I am sure you will all agree. How can I compare him realistically without sparking too much debate? Well, I am sure the only way we can realistically do it is by looking at pure stats. Let’s compare where he is right now to two drivers who seem to be at the brunt of every debate.

In the red corner, weighing in at 74.5 kg from Germany, its Michael "seven-times champ" Schumacher.

In the blue corner, weighing in at a square 70 kg from Brazil, it’s Ayrton "The Legend" Senna.

Then in the silver corner weighing in at 64 kg from the United Kingdom, it’s the youngster Lewis "NKOTB" Hamilton (New Kid on the Block).

It seems fitting to do the comparison with these two drivers for a number of reasons. First would be because there have been a lot of articles lately where the two have been compared. Second, because it fits in with my comment earlier in the article about 10 and 20 years prior to now. Lastly, the two drivers that Lewis bases himself on are in fact Michael and Ayrton.

In a recent interview when questioned how he felt when being compared to the greats, Lewis gave this answer:

“To me, it is an honour. Senna is the best ever. I am working to show the world what I can do. Maybe in the future I can show them that I can be a world champion. Michael Schumacher is very cool. As a kid, I watched him and supported him. For me, he is very special.”

DISCLAIMER

PLEASE NOTE...The following stats are based PURELY on race wins, podiums and race points. NOTHING else will be taken into consideration, we are not here to talk about different cars, different opponents, different eras, or anything else like that, and I just want a straight comparison between the three so PLEASE do not debate on these stats.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE...As I am currently writing this article, I am compiling the stats as I go, so the result might be just as much as a surprise to me as it is to you.

So that the analysis can be fair, we will judge up to the lowest amount of GPs started, which would be taken from Hamilton’s figures having started in the fewest GP’s so far. Twenty-seven GPs will be the amount that we will judge this on. Over the three different driver’s eras, three different scoring systems have been used, so I will calculate the figures using the current 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 scale.

“About 20 minutes later”

Phew, that took a while, I tried to be clever and create a rule using the ‘IF’ function in Excel but it didn’t quite work, I couldn’t even consult my manual from my college course because I left it at work, so I had to do it manually.

We are only working out the beginnings of the drivers' careers so as to compare the start to F1 life that Lewis has had compared to “The Greats.”

Ayrton Senna

Wins – 1
Podiums – 7
Points – 60

Michael Schumacher

Wins – 1
Podiums – 11
Points – 108

Lewis Hamilton

Wins – 8
Podiums – 18
Points – 167

Yes, I am aware that the cars that Michael and Ayrton started their journeys in were not exactly reliable, while Lewis has had the best of starts possible. So please don’t try to analyse this article based purely on the stats provided.

------------------------------------------------------------

Amendment - Version 1.2

I had a conversation with Daniel Chalmers after posting this article and we were discussing how many people would not like how I have compared Lewis to Michael and Ayrton, while I can understand where Dan and everyone else is coming from I cannot reiterate enough that I am not exactly comparing them, to do that would be silly.

I am comparing the beginnings of their careers because Michael and Ayrton went on to be two of the greatest F1 drivers of all time. A lot of people think that Lewis will go onto great things just as MS and AS did so I thought it would be ironic to compare how he is getting on.

I also didn’t really go into much depth talking about the stats after I wrote about them, I just thought I would put them on there and let you draw your own conclusions from them which most have.

Anyway, let me get to the point, Daniel believed it would be better if I had a comparison between 4 drivers, adding in Jacques Villeneuve to the mix because JV was put into a fast car that was on the pace in his rookie season. Another comparison would be that JV came 2^nd in his rookie season as did Lewis, so let’s have a look at the stats, JV vs. LH.

Jacques Villeneuve

Wins – 9
Podiums – 16
Points – 149

Lewis Hamilton

Wins – 8
Podiums – 18
Points – 167

For everyone who still didn’t understand why I was doing what I was doing, please take what you want from these figures, but again, they are only raw stats to compare the difference in the individual driver’s career beginnings. Please do not start to talk about different eras and different engines, it is only a comparison of stats.

Can I continue? Because this article is about to get interesting.

------------------------------------------------------------

So why do I think people have such a dislike for him? It could be sourced from a number of things, and I suppose only the Lewis haters can tell me if I am right, does it come from:

Popularity

It could maybe be said that F1 was going through a dark time on the back of that fantastic run by Michael Schumacher. Viewing figures where down, attendances at the tracks were down, interest was low, media involvement was minimal, merchandise sales were not even a side project, and most of all, us Brits didn’t really have anything to shout about, and we like to shout.

Sources say that with the introduction of Lewis Hamilton, the ITV viewing figures were boosted by up to 40 percent. Silverstone sold out in record time.

Interest is high, as there isn’t a day of the week that Lewis isn’t in one of the tabloids. He has more column inches than the Queen (God Bless Her). Merchandise sales are now rocketing. You can’t go anywhere without seeing a Lewis cap. All of a sudden, the McLaren fan base has tripled in size (not an official figure).

Then the final point: we Brits now have something to shout about. Poor DC and Jensen just didn’t do it for us, but now we have a young, likable guy who is winning things. It's a match made in heaven, but it could also be a reason for his hate base.

Some people just don’t like his clean-cut, butter-wouldn’t-melt image that has been painted around him, and some may see him as sickly and disgusting? Then there are the minority who just don’t like to see someone do well from this country.

Jealousy

Maybe people don’t like to see the new kid come in and have everything put on a plate: a fast car, a reliable car, the women, the lifestyle, the instant success, and the fact that there are so many people who do like him.

A lot of people just think that he has waltzed into this sport unopposed and received his race seat with McLaren. It’s not like that at all.

Lewis and his father have had a very long road to where he is now, going through a lot of different race classes in which he has had to prove himself. Only then was he put into the driver training scheme by McLaren, and it was there that he was groomed to what he is today.

Racism

Personally, I don’t think it's for this reason. I don’t think that racism is an issue within this sport, but a lot of people cried foul with the loyal Alonso fans when they made their feelings known towards the youngster in Barcelona.

But it is a factor that has to be considered. After all, he is the first dual-heritage black driver to race in F1. Even today, we are still divided by the issue of race. I think the vast majority of people, including myself, would just wash over this subject, but it has to be considered for the minority.

The Fernando Problem

Lewis was launched into the world of F1 as a rookie in a fast and reliable car, paired up as the No. 2 driver and with two-times WDC Fernando Alonso. It should have been a match made in heaven, not only for Lewis and Alonso, but for the team.

Things didn’t go so well in the 2007 season, though. The script was never sent to the Hamiltons, and they started to cause upsets, scoring nine podiums in the first nine races.

Feathers where beginning to get ruffled with Alonso, and the Hamilton camp declared war after Monaco after they felt that team orders had came into play. Lewis was told to back off Fernando.

A war of words ensued between Fernando and Lewis, which the media just reveled in taking it all down and splashing it all over the sports pages of their tabloids.

Hamilton and Alonso clearly didn’t like each other, and the team sportsmanship just went out of the window. It was a fight to the death between the two.

It all ended in tears, though, as the two finished on exactly the same points at the end of the season. Unfortunately, that points total was one point off the championship winner Kimi Raikkonen.

Lewis felt he was faster than Fernando and needed to be allowed to stretch his legs. Fernando believed he needed to be given more preferential treatment as the champion that he was at the time, and as the No. 1 driver.

With the whole Spygate affair tied in to Fernando and Ron Dennis not getting on very well, the pot bubbled over and heads had to roll.

Ron Dennis was left with a choice; does he go with Fernando Alonso, the two-time world champion, the guy who was one point off the title in 2007, the expensive choice, but the experienced option?

Or does he go with Lewis Hamilton, the rookie, the guy who was just one point off the title in his rookie season? While he was a rookie, he was not only equal to the mentor that never was, but sometimes faster.

Ron chose wisely in a lot of McLaren fans' eyes when he chose his long-term investment. So Fernando is left to go back to his old team of Renault. Maybe this could be a reason so many hate Lewis. Maybe they are all secret Alonso fans?

------------------------------------------------------------

So why the love affair with Lewis? Well there is no getting away from it, he is an amazing talent who is applauded by the greats as just this. The list is endless, Michael Schumacher and Niki Lauda to name a couple:

Michael Schumacher: (Speaking before the 2008 German GP) “There is no doubt he has a lot of talent, and he is driving at a very high level.”

Niki Lauda (Speaking after the 2008 German GP) “He gave an outstanding performance. It was a great race from him in Germany. He has now gone up in my estimation, Last year he was my favourite, but then he screwed up in the last couple of races and so didn't understand why he started this year as bad as he finished last year, but I think he's got the message now. The race was won by Lewis and not by the team, because the team made it unnecessarily complicated. Whatever excuse they will have, the other way was easier. But if he continues to drive like this, and not start fading like last year in the last couple of races, then he is going in the right direction, no question. It was an absolutely great race from him. It was Senna-type driving. It was Senna-type driving. So he is on the right track, and if he continues like this he is unbeatable.”

I can instantly think of numerous great drives that he has produced in his career so far. He is currently dubbed as the rain master after two majestic wins, the first in Monaco and the more recent at his home GP at Silverstone.

His overtaking is clinical, he is a daring driver who will always push the car that extra mile when needed. To be fair, he is in the one of the best cars on the grid and it works well for him, but even so he pushes his team to the very edge.

Right now on the grid there are some amazing drivers, but the man at the front of it all and the one that will probably have the most impact on the future of F1 is the man we are currently debating. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Mr. Lewis Hamilton.

Let’s face it, he isn’t going anywhere; he will be around for a few years yet.

I want you to really let go, I want to know why you love or hate Lewis, what would be more interesting if you could start your comment by just putting your opinion in brackets, for example:

(Love) I think Lewis is great because he has great hair!

OR...

(Hate) I think Lewis is an idiot because he is dating that fit one out of the Pussycat Dolls!

You see what I mean? Of course you can also put “(Not Bothered)” if you really don’t have an opinion but please leave your comments anyway because I want to know just how the Bleacher Creatures are thinking about this subject. Everyone must have an opinion on him, because he is so prominent in the sport. I am fully aware that this could get very heated as we tend to have some very passionate guys within our community.

What I will do is run this article kind of like a poll, so when the passion has died down and no one is posting on it no more and the votes are all in I will edit the article with a result, maybe intermittently to keep you up to date with how we think.

Please leave your vote and your comments now, but before you do make sure you score this article accordingly, five stars I hope, pretty please, oh and don’t forget about ‘Pick of the Day’... Do you think this article is the best you have read all day? Well go back to the top of the page and award it with your Pick of the Day vote and let’s keep spreading the word that the F1 community is the place to be.

Lewis Hamilton: Love, Hate or Not Bothered? The BIG Debate begins...

Ben, Over and Out!

Amendment - Version 1.1

After day 1 (11 Hours after publication). The article stands at 169 individual reads, 102 comments and 18 votes, thats not a bad ratio is it, im impressed with it!

Fingers crossed it gets pick of the day and some well deserved front page publicity now, heres hoping anyway.

So as it stands the scores are as follows:

Love - 10 Votes (55.5%) (Ben, Miles, Nick, Michael, Kyle, Ryan, Mark, Carol, LJ, Nick)
Hate - 1 Vote (5.6%) (Ian)
Not Bothered - 7 Votes (38.9%) (Saraswathi, Paul, Jane, Dagni, Sheiban, James, Daniel)

Suprising stuff, I honestly thought that there would be more "Haters" than that, anybody else think the same? Only 1 hater and a large majority of Lewis "Lovers" or "Likers" ... Think I will be hard pushed for any more votes but if there are any then please voice your opinion.

Just start your comment with your vote in (brackets) and dont forget stars and POTD, I will post the final results up soon. "Love", "Hate" or "Not Bothered"?

Amendment - Version 1.3

I think this has pretty much died down now, its been a good article so I will tie things up now...

154 comments / 540 reads and Pick of the Day for July 26th, successful I would say. Excellent. So now for the results:

Love - 13 Votes (59.09%) (Ben, Miles, Nick, Michael, Kyle, Ryan, Mark, Carol, LJ, Nick, Prasenjit, Steven, Siddharth)
Hate - 2 Vote (9.09%) (Ian, Paul)
Not Bothered - 7 Votes (31.82%) (Saraswathi, Jane, Dagni, Sheiban, James, Daniel, Long John)

I am not going to draw any analysis or conclusion from these figures, I will let them speak for themselves but I am sure you know what I am getting at. Thanks for reading.

Formula 1: Practice Sessions - A Race Indication?

Ben Auty — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:38:13 -0400

The consensus within the F1 community is that we cannot analyse Practice session times, and that we cannot say that they will represent who will be on the pace come qualifying or race day. I myself am guilty of saying this on a number of occasions, and I will openly admit this.

I have been quoted as saying nothing can be taken from Practice session times because there are too many factors that are changing. Teams may be holding certain things back for qualifying and race day that they don’t want out in the open in practice.

But as I watched Practice session 1 of the Hockenheim GP, I got thinking about practice times, and could anything actually be taken from them at all? The research began right after practice session 2. This article is all about my findings.

Please find below each race so far this season broken down into five sections, the three practice sessions (two on Friday and one on Saturday), qualifying and the race fastest lap.

I have not taken weather into consideration because there have only really been two races where the weather has been a deciding factor, so let’s pretend for argument's sake that all sessions where dry.

I have used the full practice session data, I have used the top 10 shoot-out data for qualifying, and I have used the DHL fastest lap times for the race data.

(Sources – www.grandprix.com / www.formula1.com)

(*** - Denotes fastest time of the Race weekend.)

Australia

Practice 1 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:26.461
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:26.559
Practice 3 - Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:25.613 ***
Qualifying - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:26.714
Race Fastest Lap - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:27.418

Malaysia

Practice 1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:35.392
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:35.055
Practice 3 - Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:35.019 ***
Qualifying - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:35.748
Race Fastest Lap - Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:35.366

Bahrain

Practice 1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:32.233
Practice 2 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:31.420 ***
Practice 3 - Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) 1:32.521
Qualifying - Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) 1:33.096
Race Fastest Lap - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:33.193

Spain

Practice 1 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:20.649 ***
Practice 2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:21.935
Practice 3 - Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) 1:21.269
Qualifying - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:21.813
Race Fastest Lap - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:21.670

Turkey

Practice 1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.323
Practice 2 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:27.543
Practice 3 - Mark Webber (Red Bull-Renault) 1:27.030
Qualifying - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.617
Race Fastest Lap - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:26.506 ***

Monaco

Practice 1 - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:15.948
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.140 ***
Practice 3 - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:16.567
Qualifying - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:15.787
Race Fastest Lap - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:16.689

Canada

Practice 1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:17.553
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.752 ***
Practice 3 - Nico Rosberg (Williams-Toyota) 1:16.555
Qualifying - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:17.886
Race Fastest Lap - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:17.387

France

Practice 1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:15.306 ***
Practice 2 - Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:15.778
Practice 3 - Nelson Piquet (Renault) 1:15.750
Qualifying - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:16.449
Race Fastest Lap - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:16.630

Britain

Practice 1 - Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:19.575 ***
Practice 2 - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:19.989
Practice 3 - Fernando Alonso (Renault) 1:20.740
Qualifying - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:21.049
Race Fastest Lap - Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari) 1:32.150

Only one out of the nine rounds has a fastest time that wasn’t recorded in the practice sessions. That was in Turkey, where Kimi Raikkonen went fastest of anyone over the full weekend on race day.

The rest of the data shows that the fastest times clocked of the weekend were achieved in the practice sessions, and never in qualifying. Interesting stuff, I think. Maybe the teams do go all out in the practice sessions?

On race day, factors such as tyre preservation, engine/gearbox preservation, fuel consumption, pit stop strategies and qualifying fuel loads are all taken into consideration.

With all this, maybe a fastest lap isn’t possible because the driver is not pushing as hard as he would in qualifying or practice so as not to damage his finishing place.

In qualifying, Q1, and Q2 are normally done on the optimum tyres for the surface and with the lightest fuel load possible. This is the first reason why I haven’t considered them in my investigation.

Secondly, when in the top 10 shoot-out, don’t forget that the drivers are fueled for the first stint of the race which is another reason why they might not be able to go as fast due to the extra weight.

So far this weekend (at time of writing) the times look like this:

Germany

Practice 1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.537
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.025 *** (So far)
Practice 3 - TBC
Qualifying - TBC
Race Fastest Lap - TBC

Taking into consideration that the fastest lap done on this track is a 1:13:780 (Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren-Mercedes, 2004) the chances of a lap being done faster than that of Lewis Hamilton’s time in session 2 are fairly slim. (Updates to follow at bottom of article in amendment as times are processed). So what does it all mean in conclusion?

Well I think that I have to retract all previous statements that have ruled out practice times. Looking at this data, it is plain to see that we can look at practice times and realise that the drivers on the pace in practising are certainly capable of fast times in the race.

Yes, I am fully aware that there are far more factors to be looked at when trying to figure out who is quick, who will win, and who will be quick in qualifying. All I am saying is the Practice sessions are a good place to start.

What do you guys think? Add Comments, Stars and POTD please.

Ben, Over and Out!

P.S. – Wasn't that a short article from me? I must be losing my touch?

Amendment 1: July 19, 2008

After the Saturday AM practice session 3, this is how it stands:

Germany

Practice 1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.537
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.025 *** (So far)
Practice 3 - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15:621
Qualifying - TBC
Race Fastest Lap - TBC

So far, it's a silver weekend. Good news for me, but not so much for our Tifosi, but what can we expect from now on, though?

Looking at previous stats, Q1 and Q2 will be roughly the same as the times we have been seeing on the practice sessions. We can expect times around about 1:15:00 through to about 1:15:750. We might even get a break in the norm and see a high 1:14?

One thing I will say is that we can expect the Q3 times to be slightly slower than the practice times. Let's see if I am right.

Amendment 2: July 19th, 2008

After an impressive Q1, Q2 and Q3 here is how it looks now:

Germany

Practice 1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.537
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.025 ***
Practice 3 - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15:621
Qualifying - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15:666
Race Fastest Lap - TBC

So far so good and my predictions where spot on where I correctly predicted that the Q1 and Q2 times would just sneak under the norm and we would more than likely see some high end 1:14's, which we did.

Hamilton set the fastest time of the weekend in Q2 banging in a 1:14:603, pretty impressive stuff but like I said earlier on in the article we will only be looking at the fully fuelled Q3 times. So with that in mind I was still correct.

Shall I make a prediction for fastest lap tomorrow? Yes, why not... I am going to go with the following:

My heart says - Lewis Hamilton with a 1:15:200 simply because I want McLaren to get the clean sweep of all 5 fast times for this weekend. BUT... My head says - Kimi Raikkonen with a 1:15:100 making it 7 fastest laps in a row.

It will remain to be seen at the GP as to whether I am right or not, amendment number 3 to follow. Watch this space.

Amendment: July 20th, 2008

So there we have it, todays race was AWESOME, it had everything, so down to business, was my prediction right?

Germany

Practice 1 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.537
Practice 2 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15.025 ***
Practice 3 - Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15:621
Qualifying - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren-Mercedes) 1:15:666
Race Fastest Lap - Nick Heidfeld (BMW-Sauber) 1:15:987

Was I right? NOPE... Clearly not, but the times where spot on with the rest of the data concluding that yes, we can look at the Practice times and take a lot from them.

While we have established that obviously we cannot say who will win the race, we certainly know what pace the front runners will be going. I will be paying a lot more attention to the friday sessions from now on.

NASCAR: Turning Left Is Interesting

Ben Auty — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 05:23:14 -0400

For anyone who knows me, you will know that I am Formula One, through and through. I wouldn’t even say that I am a fan of motor sports in general, because that would be a lie. Most of it bores me, and I find it hard to get interested.

There is just something about Formula One that has always had me interested and keeps me glued to all ongoings like a vise grip.

Check out the F1 page and you will see me sitting high as not only Community Leader but as the No. 1 writer, so it’s fair to say I know my stuff. I would consider myself, in your view, as the Adam Amick of Formula One. Sorry if anyone disagrees with this comment, but I am trying to make a point here people.

My perception of NASCAR wasn’t a very good one for a number of reasons. I travel to the U.S. pretty much every year for a family holiday, sorry family vacation and this is where is begins.

Whenever I was over there I would tune in on a Sunday to catch a big NFL game, and occasionally NASCAR would be on one of your 10,000 channels that you seem to have, and I would maybe watch it for a small amount of time.

It didn’t ever really take my fancy because nine times out of 10, the race would be under a caution and it was quite dull, so I would switch channels.

I now understand that a caution can fully turn the race on its head, as much as a safety car can within my beloved sport of Formula One, bunching the field back together, waiting for the moment that the SC comes in and the pack can peel off again. It’s the ultimate test of any good driver. To see if he can handle the situation and come out on top of such a situation.

Of course, NASCAR has its fair share of prejudice, where people will say that it’s just turning left. People will say that it’s a sport loved by rednecks, and people do call it boring. Obviously, I had heard all of these remarks and it just put me off further.

I had no interest to watch it.

I had caught the odd highlight show on NASN over here, but it still hadn’t really quenched my thirst for this sport because we all know that highlight shows only give you the best bits, and even then you don’t understand the kind of anticipations building up to or surrounding the particular occurrences, so it’s just quick hits of excitement and that's it.

It wasn’t until I visited an M&M’s store, I don’t know whether it was in Las Vegas or Orlando, I can’t quite recall, but in the store there was Kyle Busch’s No. 18 car. I must have spent a good 20 minutes just looking at this car, inside and out, just looking at the technologies and the huge differences between NASCAR and F1.

The next couple of reasons for my intrigue might make you chuckle a bit, but hey, it helped you gain another fan from it, so you can’t mock it. I watched two movies, and no, one of them wasn’t Days of Thunder. Instead, one of them was Talladega Nights—The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and the other, the Disney Pixar box office smash Cars.

I can see you laughing, but it was the latter that had the most impact. I watched the extra’s on the Blu-ray disc and it showed all the research they did on this at different tracks with different cars, and it really ignited a flame inside my head that was growing and growing the more I watched.

So, with my interest getting higher and higher, I thought it was about time I caught a race. Oh great, there is one on, but hang on, I have to wait up until 4:30 in the morning to see it till the end.

TOTALLY worth it. I wasn’t disappointed viewing my first full race, I don’t know how NASCAR usually goes off and what most would consider a ‘GREAT’ race, but in my opinion, this one had everything. And what a great finish. I was on the edge of my seat and thoroughly enjoyed it.

F1 could learn a thing or two in terms of broadcasting from NASCAR for example:

The constantly updating ticker along the top of the screen, constantly showing the gap from the front-runner.
Better pit stop comparisons, in terms of who went quickest.
The indicating of cars, of course we fans know who they are but new viewers won’t.
When indicating the cars it shows the revs and the mph of the car indicated.
Some VERY interesting camera angles, which could certainly be utilised.

Of course, the sports are incredibly different, so these changes might be a bit of a nightmare to coordinate because the tracks are a lot more complex, and setting up certain things may be an impossibility.

I don’t know, but I do know that the sport could be a whole lot more interesting than it already is should we take a few pointers from NASCAR.

That was my first NASCAR experience and to be fair, I enjoyed it. I could be getting just as obsessed with it as I am with F1. Will I be watching again? Oh yes, for sure, I am going to become a bit of an armchair late-night fan. In fact, I am back out in the U.S. again in October, so I will hopefully be trying to catch a whole race, or at least get into a NASCAR store/restaurant?

Am I converted? Unfortunately not. F1 is the No. 1 sport for me, and it will always be that way. Sorry guys.

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: The Battle of Britain

Ben Auty — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 03:34:17 -0400

The British Grand Prix was a wet affair as usual. It was wet, stormy, windy, oh, and did I mention wet? Things could only get better right?

Wrong...A certain gentleman called Simon Gillet thought he would help the cause even further on race weekend, raining on the parade by stealing the British Grand Prix from under the nose of the BRDC as they where focused fully on the matters in hand.

So the deal is done: Donington Park will hold the British Grand Prix as of 2010. The only problem is that there seem to be a lot of spanners being thrown into the works already.

Will the track be ready in time?

Length
Width
Facilities
Pit Complex
Safety
Planning Permission

Will the track be up to standard?

Access for safety cars
Run offs
Gravel traps
Tyre walls
Pit complex
Spectator Facilities

What will the traffic be like on race day?

At the Moto GP this year, it was shocking, people suggest it won’t be any better than Silverstone, even after improvements considering it’s a single-lane carriageway connecting the track to the M1.

Will Donington Park get an investor?

The CEO’s are pretty adamant that there is a scheme in place, but no magic fairy godmother with a big fat cheque has come along just yet. Details will be released soon of key companies with involvements.

With all these questions before the circuit has barely had time to get over its celebration hangover, a huge shadow has already been cast over the whole situation, and Donington has a lot of making up to do.

Naturally the media picked up on this and the anti-Donington bandwagon is starting to gather pace. It’s going to be an uphill struggle, can they do it? You decide.

Bernie was asked if the British GP return to Silverstone in 2010, should Donington not be ready to facilitate F1 descending on its tarmac. The reply wasn’t good:

Bernie Ecclestone (Wee Man), “We won’t come back, we’re in the same situation as we were before Donington came into the deal. I am sure they will be ready but, if not, we will sign with another country. There won’t be a British Grand Prix. Pure and simple.”

So it seems as though there is no way back for Silverstone in Bernie’s magical world of money. Yet, Silverstone is going ahead with its revamp anyway.

The purpose of my article is going to be to promote the two tracks and let you make-up your own mind, we need to ensure that awareness is very high on these matters, as we cannot afford not to have a British Grand Prix.

So if it comes down to it, we must have the facts to hand and then we do everything within our power to ensure that the British Grand Prix never dies, whether it is at Donington or Silverstone because if it comes to it, I will take anything.

Look at the amount of drivers from the UK, drivers who are living in the UK, and drivers who plied their trade here in the UK. What about the teams based in the UK, the team principles based in the UK, or the team principles who reside in the UK...It would be a farce not to have a GP in GREAT Britain, we are the centre of the world and have a massive F1 history. Bloody hell, Bernie is even British himself, turncoat!

So down to the nitty gritty; let’s talk number and figures and see how our tracks compare.

Silverstone

Silverstone is the original, and best, in many true fans' eyes. It's the Home of British Motorsport. You know the history, I don’t need to tell you all again. If you want to know, you can check out my article that details “60 Years of F1 at Silverstone”. You can find it on my profile.

Major infrastructure improvements are to take place, and are to be ran with local authorities to improve access to and from the site on busy race days where an excess of 100,000 fans will be entering and leaving at any given time.

By foot, by car, by helicopter, Silverstone is a logistical nightmare as it is now, but this will be reviewed and improved upon greatly, especially benefiting the local community.

A new pit and paddock complex was GRANTED, planning permission, which would move the pit and paddock from the current location round between ‘Club’ and ‘Abbey’. Included within this new complex will be new garages, a race control centre, a media centre, a VIP and hospitality spectator zone, and a primary paddock.

This would mean a reconfiguration to the track to enable pit entry and exit, plus a regeneration of the ‘Club’ and ‘Abbey’ corners. This is all tied in with a 10-year scheme which will see the following introduced over the period of the decade:

Manufacturer Test Centre
Business Park
Extreme Sport and Leisure Complex
2 Hotels
University Campus
Welcome Centre
New properties on site and surrounding area.

So, with all that taken into consideration, the project, all in, will develop without any interruptions to the current day-to-day running of the track and any events that may be occurring on track. The whole project is spanning over a 10-year period, which means that come the end of the Donington contract, Silverstone will probably be the best circuit not only in Britain, but in the world. It’s going to be the complete package.

Donington Park

Donington Park has been historically a Moto GP track and a Touring Car track, it has hosted one Formula One race in the past, but it’s now got 10 future races to host, so these boys need to pull their fingers out and fast.

The doubters are mounting up high, and it’s now a case of proving a point. So what do we have to look forward to?

Simon Gillet has announced that the track will be making some big changes.

The track right now currently sits with 12 turns on the route. Famous points on the circuit are:

Redgate
Craner Curves
Old Hairpin
Starkeys Bridge
McLeans
Coppice
Starkeys Straight
The Esses
Melbourne Hairpin
Goddards

Gillet wants to include a half-mile infield loop from Melbourne.

Gillet was quoted as saying: “Off the Melbourne loop, instead of going around Goddard’s corner and 180-degrees onto the start/finish straight, you’ll go straight on and do a half-mile loop before going back onto the start/finish straight”

There is also speculation of removing the Esses chicane on the back straight to create a longer run to the Melbourne hairpin.

The current pit and paddock complex is by far and away too short and cramped to accommodate the F1 circus and all of its trucks, equipment, computers, and everything else that comes with it. Don’t forget that McLaren has to set up the mobile technology centre, which I think might actually be bigger than my house.

The pit / paddock complex will be moved inside the back straight on the run down to Melbourne.

On to logistics: The circuit is currently connected to the M1 by a single-lane road. This year’s Moto GP showed just how much of a flaw this system is. Moto GP is currently going through a boom in the UK, not dissimilar to the F1 situation: We have Lewis Hamilton and they have James Toseland. Granted, our boy is doing better than theirs, but it just goes to show what the circuit will be like under heavy traffic. Not good.

The thing is though, the plans have massive hurdles to overcome first. How about the small matter of A) Funding, and B) Planning Permission. Those are BIG hurdles to overcome in this country, and even McLaren had to build their technology centre two floors underground because of height restrictions. I think the hard part is just about to begin, so the clock is ticking.

Now, while the plans don’t seem as big as Silverstone’s do right now, don’t forget that there will no doubt be more to be announced in the not-too-distant future, but I still personally think that Silverstone have got it right, and it is still going to be the place for the British Grand Prix in the future, no matter what Bernie the little hairy-toed monster thinks.

WE NEED OUR BRITISH GRAND PRIX

Time to make your mind up people. You have the evidence, you can use your heart and your head on this one, but either way, we must promote just what we have to offer here in the UK because we cannot lose our GP...EVER!

So come on Donington, lead the way for us, make this happen, a LOT is resting on your shoulders right now. If you get this right and keep the GP here for the duration of your contract, then I am pretty sure that Bernie won’t want to go abroad like an expensive call centre would. He will keep it homegrown and maybe even let Silverstone and Donington Park alternate. How fantastic would that be?

The best we could hope for is two GPs after the contract expires. I believe it may have been Ryan, Ste Stones and myself who where discussing this, and if we are lucky enough for Lewis to win the Championship this year, then what better way to celebrate than by having Donington Park as the European GP and Silverstone as the British. Spain has two GPs right now, so why can’t we?

What are your thoughts on this guys? Comments please, let’s have a debate.

Oh, and of course don’t forget, let’s have some stars on the article please people, it’s good to get into practice of giving a star rating to every article you read, and if you think it’s good enough, maybe even a ‘Pick of the Day’.

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: Round 10 Preview – It’s Tight at the Top

Ben Auty — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:57:45 -0400

Some say, that when training at the gym, instead of energy drinks, he chugs down diesel, and instead of a pedometer being attached to the waistband of his shorts, he has a speedometer, all we know is, that he’s called Ben Auty. Here is Ben’s round 10 preview:

Lewis Hamilton has definitely thrown down the gauntlet for drive of the season at the midway point in the 2008 season. Please circle the appropriate word / words to best describe his performance:

Incredible
Dominating
Majestic
Awesome
Outstanding
Exceptional
Dazzling
Special
Extraordinary

I think you get where I am coming from. To lap everyone up to third place and then be 1 minute, 22 seconds ahead of that third-placed man, in the wet, on scrubbed intermediates at your home Grand Prix, is nothing short of breathtaking.

With the win, Hamilton plonks himself at the top of the Drivers Championship level on points with Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa, edging the lead only based on head-to-head victories.

So as we approach round 10, our traditional visit to Deutschland, Hockenheim will be the venue for what promises to be truly a clash of the titans. The same old incentives for the wins are there. Of course it is their job to win but now it’s all about who stays consistent first.

Normally the phrase would be “Who cracks first?” but it seems to be that a lot o the top drivers are making small mistakes that are proving to be quite costly. Whoever can be consistent will start to pull away from the pack.

So far this season, no driver has strung together back-to-back wins, as it stands these are the race wins:

Lewis Hamilton (48 Points) – 3 Wins (Australia, Monaco, and Britain)
Felipe Massa (48 Points) – 3 Wins (Bahrain, Turkey, and France)
Kimi Raikkonen (48 Points) – 2 Wins (Malaysia, Spain)
Robert Kubica (46 Points) – 1 Win (Canada)

INCENTIVES:

Lewis Hamilton has a LOT of critics on his case wanting him to fail at every opportunity and is desperate to prove them wrong. He managed to get his campaign back on track last weekend, and I am sure he is in the mood for more of the same.

Felipe Massa is pretty much in the same boat. He wants to put his terrible weekend behind him and get his championship back on the rails. He spun five times in Britain, had a problem with his nuts in qualifying and a poor practice where he managed to put his F2008 into the tyre wall.

Kimi Raikkonen is having a somewhat torrid season and as reigning WDC, he needs to start stamping some authority. Only two wins and a few very dodgy displays aren’t exactly getting the job done.

Finally the young Pole, Kubica, got his maiden win in Canada. He has been consistent, but a spin last week at Silverstone and a poor weekend at Magny-Cours didn’t exactly continue that run of form. He will be looking to re-establish himself with the front runners.

Going into Round 10, Lewis Hamilton no doubt will be aiming to be the first to get back-to-back wins this season and by doing this will increase his lead to a minimum of a huge two points. I told you it was tight at the top.

Traditionally, Hockenheimring is a Ferrari track. They have won five of the last eight. We have to go back 10 years since McLaren won here with a dominant weekend display by Finn, Mika Hakkinen.

That weekend, Ferrari had a miserable race. The saviour, Michael Schumacher, finished in a dismal fifth place due to a comedy of errors over the whole weekend. Where shall we start? With a failed long wheelbase chassis, he spun off in practice session 1, suffered engine failure in session 2 and qualified in ninth. McLaren will be hoping Ferrari have another weekend like in Old Blighty, where everything went wrong apart from the wheels falling off.

Hockenheim is a town in southwest Germany with a population of almost 21,000. It hosted its first GP in 1970, and has been sharing the spoils with the legendary Nurburgring since taking 28 GP’s over the last 35 years. It has solidly been the host to the German GP since 1986 and they continue the tradition this year. It’s going to be some show.

Legendary Formula 1 driver Jim Clark lost his life at this track while driving a one off GP2 race for his Lotus team. The crash was caused by a deflating rear tyre, forcing his car off the track and into the trees. He suffered a fractured skull and a broken neck and died before leaving the track.

Here is a quick breakdown of the track details as found in all of my race previews:

Built in - 1932
Laps – 67
Distance – 2,842 Miles (4,574 Kilometres)
Corners - 17
Lap Record – 1:13:780 (Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren-Mercedes, 2004)

Peak of the circuit for me is a huge back straight where those 750bhp cars will get up to speeds of 326 kmph. That's some speed to be going when only 100 yards away is a hairpin taken at only 59 kmph. That's some heavy braking, folks.

I believe this is the hairpin where most of the overtaking will take place: a nice long straight, get the slipstream and then brake a bit later and take that inside line. It's a risky one, but there is a bit of a straight after before turn 7. If the driver goes into it fast enough he should keep the place without losing it on the racing line on the next corner.

So… how will the race go down?

Judging by Tuesday’s testing session 1 at Hockenheimring, it seems that the early pace and round 1 go to:

Drum roll please...

McLaren, Lewis Hamilton; he managed a 1:15:483. Next up was Raikkonen in his F2008 and he was right on the rear wing of Hamilton with a 1:15:803.

McLaren are testing a new aerodynamic development on the MP4-23 over this three-day session. It's what they are calling a “top body dorsal fin.” Yes, you heard it here first. McLaren jumps on the bandwagon and develop their own fin just like Red Bull did first, then everyone else jumped on the bandwagon. I have seen the pictures and it looks sexy. It also works too; the time sheets show that. Interesting stuff.

We have two days left of testing. Lewis is in the car Wednesday and Heikki gets behind the wheel on Thursday. Can they continue with that form carried from Silverstone, or will we see Ferrari find that line round those 17 corners and start to show some pace?

I quite fancy McLaren again. Heikki is looking great on a dry track and of course Lewis was supreme last weekend. He seems to still be on a high and has carried that over to Germany.

Ferrari are nursing a bloody nose from a standing eight-count in Britain. We all know they will bounce back, but will it happen immediately or in a couple of races' time?

This comes from my head and not my heart. Ferrari will have to pull it out of the bag in a big way to get close to McLaren. They hit a groove from that first day in the Silverstone testing session. The MP4-23 looked hooked up. I think it might have been Martin Brundle who said it looked like it was on rails. He couldn’t have been more right. McLaren will upstage Ferrari race weekend again.

BMW also looked pretty fast, and I think that if Robert Kubica could have kept his car on the track he would have finished a lot higher in the points.

He looked very fast, as did Heidfeld. Watch out for this come race weekend, unless they have a nightmare in testing and practice, failing to get the car set up correctly like they did in Magny-Cours.

So let’s get to my predictions.

Last week, I only managed to predict the race winner correctly. I predicted Hamilton and as you ALL know by now, he did win it. So well done me, can I repeat the feat?

I think qualifying will be an interesting one, throwing up some surprises again. I quite fancy Vettel to be starting high up the grid, and Webber could put another superb time in and establish himself as the one-lap master.

Alonso could be another shock, but all in all when we look at the top of the grid its going to be red and silver, now comes the tricky part, what order?

Pole for Hamilton, joining him on the front row will be Raikkonen. Expect these two to have a very heated race, especially down to that first corner.

Massa pulls third, Kubica fourth, Kovalainen in fifth and finally Webber in sixth. That's my qualifying prediction and if it’s wrong, then so what! It doesn’t mean anything.

I know I keep on putting Heikki Kovalainen into my top predictions but I have to be hopeful. He is one of my boys in the Silver Arrows, so I have to have faith in him. After last week's maiden pole position, why not? Maybe he has found his groove. Here’s hoping.

Okay, now the big one, race prediction:

I think its going to be a varied affair with a lot of position changes. That back straight is going to be the main overtaking point, and there is no reason as to why any driver on a dry track will not gain places in the slipstream of the car he is following.

Strategy will play a massive part, even more so if the rain features as it has so far in testing. Will we see the wet-weather master Hamilton playing it cool on his inters? How about Felipe “The DJ” Massa, spinning around. It could certainly throw up some surprises?

1^st– Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mercedes
2^nd– Felipe Massa, Ferrari
3^rd– Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
4^th– Robert Kubica, BMW Sauber
5^th– Heikki Kovalainen, McLaren Mercedes
6^th – Fernando Alonso, Renault

It’s a tough one and I wish I was writing this on Friday so I could take all the testing data into consideration. But I am not, so I can't. I am going to have to go on gut feelings.

See whether you agree with me, maybe I won’t even agree with me. By Friday when I know how the three testing days have turned out, my personal opinion might have completely changed, we will have to see.

Comments please fellow Bleacher Creatures, leave me nice ones, or nasty if you disagree with me. Either way, I want to know your thoughts on my prediction at this vitally important time of the season.

Also… DON’T FORGET, give me stars, just below where you are reading you will see a 5 star rating system, please select a score to rate my article, leave me a comment and then if you like it why not give me pick of the day, there is a button up top next to the picture. Thanks guys.

Ben, Over and Out!

Update - Wednesday Testing Session - Day 2

Guess who tops the bill, yes, that man again, Lewis Hamilton, topping the time sheets with a fast 1:14:872, a half a second ahead of second-place Nico Rosberg.

Kimi Raikkonen brings it home in third place, four one-hundredths of a second behind that. So with or without the dorsal fin, McLaren are on the pace and the Ferrari seems to be struggling to keep up.

Is it really sandbagging? I don't think so, surely you wouldn't sandbag a whole race weekend and then the first two testing days, so for everyone who said that, ha ha ha ha ha, I apologise but you were wrong.

Things are looking just rosy in the McLaren camp right now and it excites me. Roll on tomorrow to see if we can make it a hat-trick?

Update - Thursday Testing Session - Day 3

Ohhhh and the river runs red, Massa in the F2008 storming ahead of the field and scratches up the top time today, the time posted was 1:14:989, only 1 tenth slower than the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton yesterday.

It is wide open now at the top and again the flags are flying in Silver and Red, Heikki Kovalainen came 3rd today just 3 tenths of a second off Massa furthering the evidence that its game on for round 10. We are going to have a VERY close one on our hands, who will have the final word?

Qualifying will be a good one, miss it at your own risk, its going to set the tone for the battle. I can hardly contain myself. Enjoy.

Formula 1: Is it 1993 Again?

Ben Auty — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 05:47:08 -0400

NOTE TO READER—This just might be the greatest article you will ever read on Bleacher Report. Yes, it's true, even if I do say so myself.

I really didn’t know what headline I could use for this article. I also didn’t really know what I should write about, considering we will have an abundance of articles posted within the next two hours, and then for the sleepy ones amongst us within the next two days. Possible article titles that I wanted were:

Formula 1: It’s a one for all you doubters
Formula 1: This is an advertisement for Silverstone
Formula 1: Where is Donington now?
Formula 1: Ferrari strategists questioned again

I could go all day. So what do I write about? Do I write a race recap article for a race in which you have all just watched anyway? No, that would be silly. Like I said before, there will be another 20 of those for you to read very soon.

Shall I write another article about why Donington is such a bad idea now that we have had the chance to hear from Simon Gillet (Donington Park CEO) before the race?

Do I focus on Ferrari and talk about another terrible day for them, and how they can feel the pressure mounting. How it’s clear to see that winning either one of the driver or constructor’s championship will not be plain sailing, as some Ferrari fans would like to believe.

I am going to start by talking about our British friend, Mr. Lewis Hamilton. He has just driven one of the greatest drives that some of us will ever see in our lifetime.

Let’s start by talking purely about this race.

Lewis had a pretty miserable Q3, where he overcooked the corner into Priory and ended up running through a gravel trap. Without going into any more detail, the long and short of it is that he qualified in fourth position. I’m sure you all know anyway because you will have read the 15 articles posted about this by now, just in case you didn’t watch it?

So, race day, in a very small nutshell:

Lewis Hamilton started fourth place, and by the end of lap one he was second, and he was certainly applying the pressure for the lead, and Heikki was feeling the pressure. Lewis was leading the race by lap five.

That's pretty much the way it stayed for the youngster. That was the beginning of what Lewis has already described as, "by far the best victory he has ever had”; who would disagree with that?

In a race where it was raining, then it wasn’t raining; do we go intermediate tyres or full wets? It seemed as though the wets were the choice at one point, as Barrichello started to punch well above his weight, so Lewis pitted in for tyres. Wets? Hell no...On went another set of intermediates, and somehow he started to match the wet tyres, lap for lap, on intermediates. It’s just another monumental achievement by Lewis on a great day.

Skip a few laps to the final lap and Lewis had lapped everyone up to third place Barrichello. After Lewis crossed the line, it took second-place Nick Heidfeld in his BMW over one minute and eight seconds to finish.

So why is my article different than everyone else's?

Because I am not writing a race report. You all watched the race for God’s sake, you know what happened, and if you don’t know what happened...SHAME ON YOU! You missed a classic...I am talking classic in the terms used when describing this year’s Monaco and last year’s Fuji, yes, it was that good. It was, in my opinion, BETTER!

It truly is ironic that the announcement for the British Grand Prix will move to Donington Park as of 2010, and this is why.

NOTE TO READER—Prepare to be very freaked out by my findings.

It was almost 15 years ago to the day that Donington Park held its only F1 race in the World Championship, 15 years till the announcement of the next race, which we now know will be in 2010. Here is the freaky part:

Donington '93—It was raining on and off and caused the drivers to make a lot of unscheduled pit stops.
Silverstone '08—It was raining on and off forcing the drivers to make a lot of unscheduled pit stops.
Donington '93—The pit stops ironically would be the talking point of the day as they won and lost the race for some. It was also debated that the fastest lap of the race, driven by Ayrton Senna, should not have counted as he used the pit lane as a shortcut.
Silverstone '08—The pit stops again are one of the talking points of the day, which saw the race both won and lost on key decisions. Ferrari made some truly awful decisions which took them from one second behind the lead to over one lap behind by the chequered flag.
Donington '93—Barrichello started the race in '93 back in 12th place but finished in fourth, he would have finished higher but he had problems with his fuel system.
Silverstone '08—Barrichello started in 16th but finished in third, he would have finished higher but had problems with his re-fuelling system.
Donington '93—Ayrton Senna won in his McLaren.
Silverstone '08—Lewis Hamilton won in his McLaren.
Donington '93—Senna started the race in fourth and won.
Silverstone '08—Today Lewis started the race in fourth and won.
Donington '93—Ayrton Senna lapped everyone up to second-placed Damon Hill who was 1 minute 23 seconds behind him.
Silverstone '08—Lewis Hamilton lapped everyone up to third-placed Rubens Barrichello who was 1 minute 22 seconds behind him.
Donington '93-Ayrton took over 3 drivers in his first lap.
Silverstone '08-Hamilton took over 2 drivers in his first lap, could have been 3 if Heikki didnt play so hard to get.
Donington '93 - The driver of the winning car wore a yellow and green helmet.
Silverstone '08 - The driver of the winning car wore a yellow and green helmet.

(Accreditation for the last fact to Steven Stones for pointing this one out, cheers matey, anyone else with any interesting tit bits about this race then speak up damn it!)

By now I am pretty sure you cannot believe what you are reading. Well it’s the truth people, and you can even check it all out for yourself. Irony or what?

Somebody please show these figures to Lewis Hamilton. He has always compared himself to Ayrton Senna. Well today, I am sure he has never been closer to him. It almost brings a tear to my eye.

Next up on the agenda is the Silverstone era coming to an end. I am going to speak on behalf of everyone here when I say that today’s race was an advertisement for future races at the home of British Motorsport that is Silverstone.

Do you honestly think that if the race today was at Donington Park it would have compared to that? I find it hard to believe that it would, unfortunately. Of course, we can’t ever know, but that's just my opinion.

Surely, at the very least, some kind of deal should be struck to say that Donington Park and Silverstone share the British GP alternate years. That question was posted to Ecclestone, who didn’t rule it out. He did say that the GP was at Donington, but if it was to be re-assessed, it would be based purely on a business decision and that would be between Silverstone and Donington if they could come to an agreement.

Damon Hill responded by saying that Silverstone wasn’t out of it just yet.

Interesting times, but all I have to say is, re-watch today’s race and tell me that wasn’t a classic and something for us Brits to be proud of. We staged a great race, we produced a British race winner, we have just secured the British GP for another 10 years, and to be fair, on the back of today’s result, we should have it in the bag for another 10 on top of that.

Moving on, I am sure you all know how much of a McLaren fan I am. Not wanting to rub salt in the wound, but Ferrari, ha ha ha ha ha, good try boys. It was a comedy of errors for the boys in red again. Shall we recap?

Ferrari fans...LOOK AWAY NOW!

Practice—Massa hits tyre wall/Kimi didn’t find balance

Qualifying—Massa will start ninth after problems with his nuts; maybe he should see a doctor about that. Kimi starts third. Maybe he didn’t get the balance right again?

Race Day:

Lap One—Kimi starts well, keeping his place as Hamilton and Webber trade places. Massa spins and is down in 17th place (Spin 1).
Lap Four—Massa spins again (Spin 2).

During this period, the Ferraris look good: Massa is slowly but surely churning back through the field, Raikkonen pushes to within touching distance of Hamilton.

Lap 21—Raikkonen pits in and doesn’t change his tyres.
Lap 22—Massa pits.
Lap 28—Ferrari realise that not changing their tyres was a bad idea as Kovalainen and Heidfeld overtake Kimi.
Lap 31—Kimi Pits in for some new intermediates, finally.
Lap 32—Massa pits again.
Lap 37—Massa spins (Spin 3)
Lap 38—Raikkonen spins (Spin 1)
Lap 39—Raikkonen spins (Spin 2)
Lap 48—Massa Spins (Spin 4)
Lap 52—Massa Spins (Spin 5)
Lap 52—Massa pits
Massa—13th, Raikkonen—fourth

Not a great day for Ferrari. The best phrase I could use for that would be: "It never rains but it pours in the Ferrari garage", sorry Ferrari fans. No offence caused, you may read on.

At the top of the championships tables, things look very, very tight, and at the official midpoint of the season, have things ever been so exciting? It truly is mouth-watering, the prospects for the back nine (sorry for the golf pun there).

It really is anyone’s championship. I wouldn’t like to think I was going to call which way it would go right now for either championship. So on into the second-half of the season we go. It's further back than it is forward, so on we go.

Drivers Championship:

Lewis Hamilton—48 Points
Felipe Massa—48 Points
Kimi Raikkonen—48 Points
Robert Kubica—46 Points
Nick Heidfeld—36 Points
Heikki Kovalainen—24 Points

Constructors Championship:

Ferrari—96
BMW Sauber—82
McLaren Mercedes—72
Toyota—25
Red Bull Renault—24
Williams—16

So it's potentially a four-horse race for the drivers and a three-horse race for the constructors, with only two, maybe three, wins being the difference between third and first. Things are tight and we should consider ourselves lucky to be witnessing such a truly great championship.

Times are changing for F1, and surely things will only get tighter in years to come with the emergence of teams like Honda and Red Bull who are promising big things for next year. Stay glued to your screens and don’t go anywhere.

Brits be prepared for every tabloid to have Lewis pasted all over their back pages, maybe even front pages. It's strange how two-faced these guys can be. To sell papers one week you are public enemy No. 1, whether it is for not stopping at a red light or for cutting a corner. Then you win your home GP and I can be sure right now that at least one of them tips him for the championship on the back of this. Look out for headlines such as:

Hamilton’s Championship Back on Course

Hero Happy at Home

Penultimate Silverstone won by Brave Brit

I think the headline should be “Hamilton Silences Critics”, but no, surely a tabloid wouldn’t make a comment like that? That would be like retracting their own statements. Oh well, such is life.

I am going to wrap things up now and hopefully this has been a nice break from the norm of recap after recap of something that you have just spent two hours of your life watching while biting every fingernail clean off.

Hope it wasn’t too long for some of you people who prefer a quick read. Sorry Alex, Michael, Shak, ha ha...I just can’t help myself.

Ben, Over and Out!

NEW REVISION - 1.1

PS - I dont normally do a driver of the day because its just not my thing BUT ... I have to, my reason below:

Driver of the day - Nick Heidfeld

Reason - Lap 24 over took Glock and Alonso on the same corner (Luffield), 4 laps later on lap 28 does exactly the same on the same corner over taking both Kovalainen and Raikkonen. 4 passes on 1 corner in 4 laps, outstanding, showing that its not just Kubica with the class in the BMW Saubers. Well done that chap!

Formula 1: Bernie Ecclestone - The Master Plan

Ben Auty — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 08:26:37 -0400

I have had a late night over this one so I am hoping that it makes sense, if not just ignore me, I am babbling on thinking of a sleepier place with fluffy pillows.

Bernie Ecclestone as of late has been somewhat under fire for his decisions, the more high profile ones being:

Still no Grand Prix in the USA.

Brazil no longer the last race of the season, now it's Abu Dhabi.

Silverstone given the chop, Donington Park in.

These are the big ones, but rest assured I could go on. Dealing with all kinds of on goings, the little niggly things that really make us ask that big question, just what the hell is Bernie playing at?

I have been doing a lot of research into why Bernie is dropping the tracks that he is dropping and why he wants to move certain GP’s away and hand a deal to less established GP countries like Russia and India. I am trying to get on his level (which is hard because I am 6’2” tall) and understand what his mindset is with these changes.

Well it just so happens that I think I might know what is going on in that little man’s head, I have a theory anyway. Obviously I don’t know for sure because I don’t know the guy, but this is just my attempt to fathom out what he is doing to our sport. Read on to see what I think and see if you agree.

See below the breakdown of the GP’s up to and including the 2007 season:

1) Australia - Albert Park - 12 GP's (96-07)
2) Malaysian - Sepang - 9 GP's (99-07)
3) Bahrain - Bahrain - 4 GP's (04-07)
4) Spain - Circuit De Catalunya - 17 GP's (91-07)
5) Monaco - Monaco - 54 GP's (50, 55-07)
6) Canada - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - 25 GP's (82-86, 88-07)
7) USA - Indianapolis - 8 GP's (00-07)
8) France - Magny-Cours - 17 GP's (91-07)
9) Great Britain - Silverstone - 41 GP's (50-54, 56, 58, 60, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 87-07)
10) Europe GP - Nurburgring - 16 GP's (54, 61, 68, 74, 84, 95-96, 99-07)
11) Hungary - Hungaroring - 21 GP's (86-07)
12) Turkey - Istanbul Park - 3 GP's (05-07)
13) Italy - Monza - 56 GP's (50-79, 81-07)
14) Belgium - Spa-Francorchamps - 40 GP's (50-56, 58, 60-68, 70, 83, 85-02, 04-05, 07)
15) Japan - Fuji Speedway - 3 GP's (76-77, 07)
16) China - Shanghai - 4 GP's (04-07)
17) Brazil - Interlagos - 25 GP's (73-77, 79-80, 90-07)

TOTAL – 355 World Championship Grand Prix held.

Looking at the list, we have a number of well established tracks who have been key players on the F1 calendar for years. Big guns like Monaco, Canada, Silverstone, Hungary, Monza, Spa, and Interlagos. Tracks that you would think will never be dropped from the calendar, BUT a giant has been slain, Silverstone fell at the hands of the David in this Goliath story.

Bernie is a lot bigger than he actually seems. He has now proven that he won’t take any back chat from the BRDC and warning after warning has been launched, but they have fallen on deaf ears. Now Bernie has lost his cool and taken action, so it’s goodbye Silverstone and hello Donington Park in 2010.

So let's compare 2007 to 2009. There is still no mention on a USA GP and we are getting more new tracks confirmed in the shape of Abu Dhabi, Valencia, and Singapore. The 2009 calendar shapes up below:

1) Australia - Albert Park - 14 GP's (96-09)
2) Malaysian - Sepang - 11 GP's (99-09)
3) Bahrain - Bahrain - 6 GP's (04-09)
4) Spain - Circuit De Catalunya - 19 GP's (91-09)
5) Monaco - Monaco - 56 GP's (50, 55-09)
6) Canada - Circuit Gilles Villeneuve - 27 GP's (82-86, 88-09)
7) Great Britain - Silverstone - 43 GP's (50-54, 56, 58, 60, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 87-09)
8) France - Magny-Cours - 19 GP's (91-09)
9) Germany - Nurburgring - 23 GP's (51-54, 56-58, 61-69, 71-76, 85)
10) Hungary - Hungaroring - 23 GP's (86-09)
11) Turkey - Istanbul Park - 5 GP's (05-09)
12) European - Valencia - 2 GP's (08-09)
13) Italy - Monza - 58 GP's (50-79, 81-09)
14) Belgium - Spa-Francorchamps - 42 GP's (50-56, 58, 60-68, 70, 83, 85-02, 04-05, 07-09)
15) Singapore - Street Circuit - 2 GP's (08-09)
16) Japan - Suzuka - 21 GP's (87-06, 09)
17) China - Shanghai - 6 GP's (04-09)
18) Brazil - Interlagos - 27 GP's (73-77, 79-80, 90-09)
19) Abu Dhabi - Yas Island - 2 GP's (08-09)

TOTAL – 408 World Championship Grand Prix held.

Yes I know the figure is higher, BUT we haven’t lost Silverstone on this calendar remember. We have gained Nurburgring, plus there are another two races on the calendar. So because nothing has been predicted for 2010 yet, we can only work on rumors.

Let’s say that Magny-Cours gets dropped, that's 19 total GP’s gone. Then Silverstone has gone the journey, scratch 43 out. That’s 62 less in total, already dropping us below the level of 2007.

I hope your still with me.

It’s rumored that Korea and India will both get a GP in 2010. So does Bernie want to make the season longer or is he going to sacrifice more big guns? If he sacrifices more of the long players, then your GP total will be dropping out of the 300s. And lower still, with the Canadian, Hungarian, Turkish, and Italian GP all still without a confirmation for 2010, it looks likely that we could lose one of them.

So why Bernie? What are you doing?

Why have all these new circuits in place of older more established ones, surely we lose the history, the nostalgia. These are tracks that the regular true fans of the sport come rain or shine, win or lose. The ones who sit or stand there every Sunday that a race is on have come to know and love.

We have many, many great stories about races that have taken place on these tracks. Yet it looks more and more increasingly certain that we will have to say goodbye to old tracks like we say goodbye to old friends.

My thoughts on this is that he is trying to give the sport a brand new fresh face, a new era for Formula One. For the first time ever, I am getting on board with Bernie, I think I kind of understand his methods and what he is thinking.

Let’s think what happened to Formula One while Michael Schumacher was dominating proceedings. As great as he was, we lost a lot of publicity and people lost interest. Ratings dropped and the sport was dubbed as “boring.”

Love him or hate him, when Lewis Hamilton was promoted to the ranks of F1 as the McLaren rookie, the ratings, especially here in the UK, rocketed. They quite literally exploded.

People could relate to the youngster. Not only as a young man with a talent who could succeed alongside the world champion at the time, Fernando Alonso, but as a young, mixed race man in a sport predominantly competed in by white males.

This injected a new passion for our sport, we captured a whole new audience. Not only the original male audience, but a younger male audience, a young female audience, and of course an older female audience. The type who would love to mother Lewis and maybe bag themselves a boy toy in the process.

The UK have a driver in a competitive car who has a great chance to win something. Us Brits like to win but it's unfortunately something that we don’t get to do so often, so when it comes around you can be sure we will be right there behind our hopeful.

So, in the same vein let’s look at the new guys coming through who are dominating the headlines of this sport. Of course we have Lewis Hamilton, also Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel, and Heikki Kovalainen, sorry if I missed anyone. But let’s not get sidetracked, you know what I am getting at.

These are the drivers of tomorrow making an impact today, they are the future of the sport. New guys coming through the ranks in GP2 like young Bruno Senna is nipping at the bud to get to drive.

So, what next? Let’s have a look at car technologies. With the traction control taken away, the slicks being added next year, and the introduction of KERS (See my article on “2009, a new era for F1” for details), the sport is becoming more exciting and faster, also I suppose in some ways more unique to all other motorsports.

These are big changes. Which other sport can boast about being at the very top of the pyramid, the top of the chain when it comes to groundbreaking technology advancements.

Can anyone see where I am going yet? I hope so because my head hurts.

So with all this taken into consideration we then have Bernie and his new tracks. It now seems to me that bit by bit he is trying to give F1 a complete overhaul, a brand new look, a re-design, a fresh outlook for the future.

New drivers, new technologies, and new tracks. Maybe it is time to move to a new era of the sport and capture even more of an audience. With that being successful, surely there will be more money, more sponsors, more media interest, and on the whole all of this can’t be bad for the sport.

Ultimately Bernie Ecclestone is “future proofing” the sport of F1, it’s his “master plan.” Now do you see where I was going with this? I think if I am right, then I am actually behind Bernie.

But surely he must know the bad name he is getting for not only himself but for the sport by not really giving reasons for his decisions. He should be out there beating a drum about what his future vision is.

Now that I have looked at things from Bernie’s point of view I am nearly onboard with Donington Park being the temporary new home for the British Grand Prix, it kind of makes sense. But as it stands, I am still sore and I still want to see a Silverstone track on my calendar. Let's get it updated and get our British Grand Prix back at the home of British motorsport.

So there you have it, my point of view from the man who goes by the name of Bernie Ecclestone, the 77-year-old F1 Supremo, the “Big” chief, the gaffer, the man who holds all the cards.

Do you agree with me? Do you think you can get on board with him should this actually be his master plan? What would you maybe do differently? How would you like to see the future of F1 go? Do you think that all these new tracks are good or bad news?

Let me know people, this is your soap box, use it!

Ben, Over and Out!

Formula 1: Lewis Hamilton Promises to Stay

Ben Auty — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:30:05 -0400

At the age of 10, Lewis Hamilton approached Ron Dennis at an awards ceremony and he said, "I want to race for you someday."

Three years later, a young Hamilton signed onto the young driver support program, and his career is launched.

Lewis progressed quickly through British Formula Renault, finishing the four seasons he was in that class third, first, fifth, and then first again. He then moved onto GP2 for one season, finishing as champion above now-fellow F1 drivers Nelson Piquet and Timo Glock.

A career that was fast-tracked you might say—Lewis was given his big break at the age of 22. He was given car No. 2 and was teammate to Fernando Alonso, the World Champion at the time.

So what now for the youngsters’ career? (I say that like I am 10 or 15 years his senior, when I am infact just three years older.)

In a recent interview with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport (www.auto-motor-und-sport.de), Hamilton was quoted as saying, “Mein Plan ist es, meine ganze Karriere für McLaren zu fahren. Ich habe einen tollen Vertrag, und wenn es darüber hinaus eine weitere Zusammenarbeit gibt, wäre ich glücklich.”

What do you mean you don’t speak German?

Okay, okay, for the un-educated among us, let me translate...

“My plan is it to go my entire career for McLaren. I have a crazy contract, and if there is in addition a further collaboration, I would be happy. The consistency here is unique. The team takes all the pressure off the driver’s shoulders. For me, it is like a large family. I have known Ron for 13 years.“

Hamilton is contracted to McLaren until 2012, but he said he would feel "lucky" to sign another contract that would tie him to the team until he hangs up his gloves and overalls (www.gridcrasher.com)

So the boy is not only good and a great future prospect, but he is loyal—I get the feeling Dennis not only has a great future No. 1 driver who he can heavily invest in, but he has the boy at probably a snippet of the price.

Just think, if he had not picked up Hamilton at such a young age and he was collected by another team, then Dennis would probably get into a bidding war with a big gun to secure his services, and where would that leave McLaren?

PS - Pictures are up on my website now from last weeks Silverstone Testing session, give them the once over, they are in my portfolio under the F1 section. Please leave comments in my guestbook or alternatively leave my comments on this article. (www.benauty.co.uk)

Formula 1: 60 Years of Silverstone

Ben Auty — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:35:37 -0400

Silverstone is a quiet, medium sized village in Northamptonshire, England. It has a population of approximately 2,000 people, yet once a year it is home to over 100,000 F1 loving fans. The masses descend upon the village usually in late June or early July and this is where any shop, post office, hotel, or B&B in the village increases its weekly turnover 50 fold come pay day.

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

It’s been regularly the home of the British GP but it hasn’t always been a permanent fixture, sharing the spoils with Brands Hatch and Aintree. Yes, you heard me right, Aintree, the place where horses will more commonly be seen racing in the current day. However, Silverstone has been a permanent fixture since 1987.

Did you know? - Silverstone has the honour of being the track in the first-ever race of the first-ever World Championship back in 1950.

So where does it all begin? Well we have already said: 1948, where Luigi Villoresi won the British GP in his Maserati after 65 grueling laps in a time of three hours, 18 minutes, and three seconds, with a fastest lap of two minutes and 52 seconds.

Can you imagine modern F1 races lasting that long nowadays? It would be more like an endurance race in the current conditions, with drivers passing out all over the track. Luckily, Health and Safety laws prevent races from going on any longer than two hours to stop this from happening.

Silverstone underwent a heavy modification in 1991, and a lot of the top end speed was removed from it when the Becketts, Vale, Priory, and Luffield corners where amended/modified. Back in the '80s the lap record was held by Keke Rosberg (Nico’s Dad), and that time was nailed by going round the lap at an average speed of 160.92mph (258.98 kmph).

Just as an indication to how much the track has changed—during Lewis Hamilton’s fastest lap time in the three-day test session last week, his average speed worked out at 145.57 mph (234.27 kmph).

There is roughly a 15 mph difference in average speeds, and that’s what those four little corners change it by. That was one of the reasons the drivers used to love Silverstone so much, for its fast, free-flowing corners.

Now it is loved for different reasons.

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

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

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

So lets go for a drive around Silverstone—take a seat, put on your helmet, and buckle your safety harness, this will be one hell of a drive.

We are sitting on the start/finish line waiting for the lights. Here we go. One light, the crowd roars. Two lights, three, four, five lights. Engine up to rev limit, launch control is on, the lights go out, and we are racing.

My foot is heavy to the floor, shifting up the gears and getting as much of my opponents in my rear view mirrors as I possibly can. We are approaching the first corner at Copse. We are not up to full speed for this corner, so it needs to be judged slightly differently.

Next time round on a flying lap we will hit a peak of 294 kmph (seventh gear) on the straight and then for the corner we will be going into the apex at 270 kmph (seventh gear), swing it in nicely under 5G of braking, clip the apex, and the foot goes back down again.

After a short straight we will hit five corners in quick succession, where not much braking will be done but we will shift down in gears and lift off the throttle.

Corners two and three are Maggots corner, a left then right hander taken at 297 kmph (1.48G) and 291 kmph (3.68G), respectively.

After that Beckets corner. Turns four and five are a left then a right, which is a bit tighter and taken at 249 kmph (5G) and 211 kmph (3.89G). The crowd in the Becketts grandstand erupts as I drive past it. Finally, Chapel corner is a longer left-hand corner taken in fifth gear at 252 kmph (1.79G).

After we clip the apex at Chapel we are foot to the floor for the fastest part of the track, the Hangar Straight. We will be going downhill, hitting a top speed on the track of 301 kmph. We see the three separate stands of Stowe corner as we pass the Hanger grandstand.

No sooner do we hear the crowd at Hanger then we are downshifting and braking for the Stowe corner, turn seven, a right-hander at just under 200 kmph. In fourth gear we hit 2.92G at the apex and accelerate out.

We drive a short straight towards the Vale and Club corners, hitting 275 kmph on the way before the slowest corner on the track. Vale, turn eight, is taken in second gear at only 95 kmph. The grandstands on the club corner light up from camera flashes as they see you're coming in the distance. Apex nine and 10 on the Club corner are taken in fourth gear at 226 kmph, picking up all the way round towards the straight pulling 3.2G.

Out of Club we are shifting up and accelerating up to 288 kmph, top gear past all the crowds in the general admission terracing, waving Union Jacks and St. Georges Cross flags. They are cheering and taking pictures that probably won’t turn out, I am going too fast.

It's foot down hard on the brakes as we hit Abbey corner. We shift down to third gear and drop the car down to 133 kmph. It’s a quick left-hander before turn 12 (Farm corner), taking you right onto the laps of the fans in the stands there.

As we look right after hitting the apex we can see the bridge below us. Downhill we go hitting 251 kmph, and the track goes slightly darker as we go under the bridge. We emerge the other side going slightly uphill, and as we emerge we become visible to the Luffield tiered seating stands. The crowd erupts as you hit turn 13 at 264 kmph.

Another short climb to turn 14, Priory corner. In fifth gear at 212 kmph we see the back of the pit complex. The crowd is so loud I can actually hear them over the top of my screeching engine as it turns out 19,000 revs as I approach turn 15, Brooklands.

Brooklands is the second slowest corner on the track, so we take it as careful as we can. My tyres are carrying heat but no cars have been on that part of the circuit since this morning’s GP2 race. I don’t want to overcook it on Lap 1 and end up in the deep gravel. It’s only a short walk back to pits, but on Lap 1 that’s embarrassing.

As we hit the apex we are in second gear and doing 96 kmph, the size of the Luffield grandstand is bang in our visor but then focus shifts to the next apex.

Accelerating up to 172kmph before throwing out the anchors at turn 16, two apex to hit here and the idea is to carry as much speed out before we put the car right on line to the home straight. Turn 17 is a slight right-hander, straightening up all the way round to become the home straight.

Over the finish line, only 59 to go..."B*llocks I need the toilet, I hope it doesn’t rain!"

So there you have it, Lap 1 of the British Grand Prix. Hope you enjoyed it. I didn’t go too fast for you did I?

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

Silverstone, as you can imagine, is steeped with history, whether it be highs or lows. A living memory from my childhood is recalling a certain Nigel Mansell winning his home GP in 1992, a Williams 1-2. What a great day that was. Senna’s car riddled with problems, Jean Alesi with problems, and the Benetton-Fords of Schumacher and Brundle where just no match for the Williams-Renault of Mansell and Patrese, taking a 1-2 for the constructor.

I was 10 and I can remember being very excited.

Facts about my favourite British GP - 1992 (Sourced by wikipedia.org)

This was the last race of the season that the Williams team finished first and second.

After Nigel Mansell won his home Grand Prix, the British spectators invaded the race track to congratulate their hero. Mansell's car was blocked by the crowd, preventing him from driving back to the pits. Eventually Mansell was returned to the pits by track marshals to attend the podium ceremony.

Damon Hill made his debut here for the Brabham team.

Ayrton Senna retired his McLaren from fourth place due to transmission failure on lap 52. Coincidentally, his car stopped at the same spot when he had run out of fuel in the 1991 British Grand Prix and had been classified fourth.

Senna's chance of winning the driver's championship was effectively gone after Mansell won this race.

Gerhard Berger's McLaren had an engine failure in the closing stages of the race and he just managed to finish fifth, right behind Michael Schumacher's Benetton.

As I am sure you all agree, it was a race crammed with significant turns in fate, a classic in anyone’s book for those who can remember it. Yet here we are facing what could be Silverstone’s last race in 2009.

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

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

It just so happens that planning permission has been granted to allow such a thing to happen. The proposal plans to move the pit straight from in-between Woodcote and Copse to a new location between Club and Abbey. It will be completely re-developed and hopefully secure the Silverstone British Grand Prix for many years to come. I want to be able to take my children there for their first F1 experience, so here’s hoping that the job is a good one.

See below a list of winners or the Silverstone British GP in F1. It’s something to be proud of for a driver, and numerous Brits have had the pleasure of being victorious in front of their home crowd.

We Brits have had generous pickings at Silverstone over the years, including wins from David Coulthard (1999, 2000), Johnny Herbert (1995), Damon Hill (1994), Nigel Mansell (1987, 1991, 1992), John Watson (1981), James Hunt (1977), Jackie Stewart (1969, 1971), Jim Clark (1963, 1965, 1967) and Peter Collins (1958).

2007 - Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
2006 - Fernando Alonso, Renault
2005 - Juan Pablo Montoya, McLaren
2004 - Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2003 - Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari
2002 - Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
2001 - Mika Hakkinen, McLaren
2000 - David Coulthard, McLaren
1999 - David Coulthard, McLaren
1998 - Michael Schumacher, Ferrari
1997 - Jacques Villeneuve, Williams
1996 - Jacques Villeneuve, Williams
1995 - Johnny Herbert, Benetton
1994 - Damon Hill, Williams
1993 - Alain Prost, Williams-Renault
1992 - Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault
1991 - Nigel Mansell, Williams-Renault
1990 - Alain Prost, Ferrari
1989 - Alain Prost, McLaren-Honda
1988 - Ayrton Senna, McLaren-Honda
1987 - Nigel Mansell, Williams-Honda
1985 - Alain Prost, McLaren-TAG
1983 - Alain Prost, Renault
1981 - John Watson, McLaren-Cosworth
1979 - Clay Regazzoni, Williams-Cosworth
1977 - James Hunt, McLaren-Cosworth
1975 - Emerson Fittipaldi, McLaren-Cosworth
1973 - Peter Revson, McLaren-Cosworth
1971 - Jackie Stewart, Tyrrell-Cosworth
1969 - Jackie Stewart, Matra-Cosworth
1967 - Jim Clark, Lotus-Ford
1965 - Jim Clark, Lotus-Climax
1963 - Jim Clark, Lotus-Climax
1960 - Jack Brabham, Cooper-Climax
1958 - Peter Collins, Ferrari
1956 - Juan-Manuel Fangio, Lancia-Ferrari
1954 - Jose Froilan Gonzalez, Ferrari
1953 - Alberto Ascari, Ferrari
1952 - Alberto Ascari, Ferrari
1951 - Jose Froilan Gonzalez, Ferrari
1950 - Giuseppe Farina, Alfa Romeo
1949 - Emmanuel de Graffenried, Maserati (Not part of World Championship)
1948 - Luigi Villoresi, Maserati (Not part of World Championship)

So who next? Most would say that Lewis Hamilton is our best bet for a Brit win at home, but you can’t ever write off David Coulthard. And of course you can't count out Jensen Button either, maybe not this year but next year, especially when the Honda has more pace.

So there you go, a bit of a brief insight into the history of Silverstone. Not a fully comprehensive guide by any means, but it’s enough to get you guys by come race weekend. Just little snippets of information will come back to you every now and again, and you will be glad I told you—you will be just as well equipped as James Allen (not that it would be hard of course, ha ha!).

Hope you enjoyed my little insight and please leave your scores and comments. Great stuff.

Ben, Over and Out!

PS – Don’t forget to keep checking www.benauty.co.uk for updates of last week’s testing session photos, should have them online REALLY soon now. Sorry for delay.

Formula 1: Provisional 2009 Calendar Announced

Ben Auty — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 06:04:39 -0400

The FIA have released the 2009 provisional calendar and there maybe a few surprises on there.

The season has been increased to 19 races now, good news for us guys, one more round of mouth watering action.

Australia will kick off the proceedings. The British Grand Prix survives another year and has switched dates with the France race. So France is still a factor although which track it will be raced at isn't known yet. Will Magny-Cours live to fight another day or will we see the Paul Ricard circuit getting its chance?

In another slight change, the Turkish Grand Prix is now back to its usual place in August rather than early May like it was this season. Finally the season will now draw to a close not with Brazil like we all know and love, but now at the newly commissioned Abu Dhabi Race Track.

So below is the full 2009 season calendar. It's now time to book your holidays with your boss at work.

2009 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar (provisional)

29 March Australia
5 April Malaysia
19 April Bahrain
10 May Spain
24 May Monaco
7 June Canada
21 June Great Britain
28 June France
12 July Germany
26 July Hungary
9 August Turkey
23 August Europe (Valencia)
6 September Italy
13 September Belgium
27 September Singapore
11 October Japan
18 October China
1 November Brazil
15 November Abu Dhabi

* (Provisional calendar and this is subject to change.)

So what do you think? Happy at the changes or annoyed with any of them? This is your platform, your opinion.

Formula 1: Heikki Kovalainen - Cursed, Jinxed, or Unlucky?

Ben Auty — Sun, 25 May 2008 11:37:46 -0400

The 26-year-old Finn always has a smile on his face. He has got to be one of the most positive guys on the grid, and it takes a lot to put a good man down, so as far as good men go Heikki is at the top of the tree because he just keeps bouncing back.

So let’s look at just what is going on with the current understudy of the McLaren lineup. Is this just a run of bad luck, or is Heikki making mistakes that are in fact costing him and the team dearly?

Round 1 – Australia – Albert Park – 14^ththru 16^th March 2008

Practice 1 Position – 4^th
Practice 2 Position – 4^th
Qualifying Grid Position – 3^rd
Race Position – 5^th

What happened?

Heikki was having a pretty good day at the office in Albert Park and probably should have finished 2^nd on the podium. All was going well right up until Timo Glock ran his Toyota off the exit to a corner, took off in his car, lost control and crashed, out comes the safety car.

Heikki had actually been leading when this crash took place, and he was forced into staying out longer than desired. By the time the mess was cleared and the SC pitted in, Heikki was back down in 7^thplace. Fernando Alonso, Heikki’s old Renault team mate was his next target and after some great racing he actually managed to make a pass on the Spaniard.

Luck wasn’t on his side here, though. Heikki had an oil slick on his visor from Sebastian Bourdais' Torro Rosso blowing up earlier on in the race and whilst on the straight he attempted to tear off a visor strip.

In doing this, he knocked his pit lane speed limiter. It was at this point that Fernando re-claimed the position. With the disqualification of Rubens Barichello and Kimi Raikkonen's retirement this was how Heikki got his 4 points.

Additional – DHL Fastest Lap Award – Heikki Kovalainen (1:27:418)

Quote

(Heikki Kovalainen) "Obviously my competitiveness was better than the result shows. Unfortunately, the last Safety Car phase prevented me from finishing second. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the whole weekend working with the team on such a professional high level. My start was okay, but during the first stint I had a bit of graining on the tyres, but it didn't affect me too much. In my second stint and especially in the last part of the race, my car was really good and I was flying. I had a great battle, first with Kimi and then Fernando, which I really enjoyed. I managed to get past Fernando but then as I tore off a visor strip on the main straight, I accidentally hit the pit lane speed limiter button and Fernando managed to get past me again. I am pleased but also a bit disappointed, as we were looking strong for a one-two finish today."

Round 2 – Malaysia – Sepang – 21^stthru 23^rd March 2008

Practice 1 Position – 3^rd
Practice 2 Position – 7^th
Qualifying Grid Position – 8^th
Race Position – 3^rd

What happened?

The race was actually a really good effort by Heikki, finishing 3^rd from 8^th on the grid isn’t a bad effort at all, bagging six points. The bad luck had already struck after qualifying, hence the reason he started 8^th on the grid, he actually qualified 3^rd on the grid but was penalised five places after he was deemed to have blocked other drivers on a hot lap whilst he in turn was on an in lap in Q3.

Quote

(Heikki Kovalainen) "I am pretty happy with my third place today, considering yesterday's penalty, and it was probably the best possible result for us in these circumstances. Our strategy worked really well, and it meant that I was able to be in clean air for most of the race. The team really did a fantastic job, and I am happy to reward them with my first podium for the team. I did have a small issue with graining during my first stint; however, I was able to stay out until lap 20, which helped me to overtake Jarno Trulli during my first pit stop. After my second stop, I was able to play it safe and secure my third place, as it was not possible at this stage to go one better."

Round 3 – Bahrain – Bahrain Circuit – 4^ththru 6^th April 2008

Practice 1 Position – 5^th
Practice 2 Position – 3^rd
Qualifying Grid Position – 5^th
Race Position – 5^th

What happened?

Pretty much nothing... Surprising as it may seem, this one was incident free for the Finn, whilst not a strong race it went well all considered. It was simply a case of not being as fast as the Ferraris and BMW all weekend long.

Additional – DHL Fastest Lap Award – Heikki Kovalainen (1:33:193)

Quote

(Heikki Kovalainen) "Quite a tough race today. I made a great start and overtook Kimi coming into Turn Two but then out-braked myself in Turn Four, and he regained his position. I then went in too deep at Turn Eight and flat-spotted my front right tyre which caused a lot of vibration. It vibrated so much that I was worried something would fall off the car. Things improved in the second stint and the car worked really well towards the end, when we changed to the prime tyre. Fifth was the maximum I could do today. However we still scored points on a difficult day, and that is the main thing. I have total commitment to the team and a good car, and I know we will keep working hard to improve for the start of the European races."

Round 4 – Spain – Catalunya – 25^ththru 27^th April 2008

Practice 1 Position – 5^th
Practice 2 Position – 16^th
Qualifying Grid Position – 6^th
Race Position – DNF (Crashed)

What happened?

Heikki didn’t finish the race in Spain, and instead of ending up in the pit lane watching the remainder of the race from the team paddock, he was in the medical room and then airlifted to a nearby hospital. This was due to a structural failure to the front left Bridgestone Potenza on his car. The wheel severed, causing instant blow out and Heikki lost control of the car completely and ended up impacting heavily into the tyre wall at approximately 150 mph. The deceleration was estimated at approximately 26G, an incredible amount of force for the body to survive, but the sprightly Finn suffered only a headache and a stiff neck, a testament to the safety procedures put in place on both the track and the car. That means zero points for this race for Mr. Kovalainen.

Quote

(Ron Dennis due to Heikki being in Hospital) "I am extremely pleased to be able to report that he is safe and well. Heikki was airlifted to the Hospital General de Catalunya in Sant Cugat del Valles, for precautionary checks, and will remain there overnight. However, he has no broken bones and CT scans performed at the hospital confirm that he has no head injuries and the team is optimistic that he will make a full recovery over the next few days."

Round 5 – Turkey – Istanbul – 9^ththru 11^th May 2008

Practice 1 Position – 2^nd
Practice 2 Position – 5^th
Qualifying Grid Position – 2^nd
Race Position – 12^th

What happened?

Lap 1, corner 1, and Heikki is tagged by an overenthusiastic Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi’s front wing clipped his fellow countryman’s rear right-hand Potenza causing a puncture. Heikki pits at the end of lap 2 after an attempt to race on with no such luck. That spells the end for a points finish. It was a brave fight back by Kovalainen, but he didn’t manage any higher than 12^th after some monumental tussles with the midfield cars.

Quote

(Heikki Kovalainen) "Not a lucky race for me, as I made a bad start from the dirty line on the grid. After the start, Kimi and I touched slightly which caused a slow puncture to my left-rear tyre. Initially, I was not sure whether the tyre was damaged or not, but during the Safety Car period I realised that I had to come into the pits for a new tyre. That was almost it for me, because with my heavy fuel load and the traffic, it is extremely difficult to gain any places during the race. However, I did my best but no points. These things happen, and I have had a good weekend and really enjoyed being back in the car. It's a shame that we were not able to get points today as I have been fast throughout, but I am really optimistic for Monaco."

Round 6 – Monaco – Monte Carlo – 22^ndthru 25^th May 2008

Practice 1 Position – 3^rd
Practice 2 Position – 5^th
Qualifying Grid Position – 4^th
Race Position – 8^th

What happened?

The race hadn’t even officially started, the cars were lined up ready for the formation lap, thoughts focused firmly on getting some heat into those intermediate tyres due to the light rainfall that was commencing, the lights go out and the MP4-23 is static on the grid. Heikki seems like he stalled and this means he must be pushed into the pits, restarted and then he will start from the pit lane and this without a doubt means you are going to be last in the race. The lights go out and it's Heikki bringing up the rear in 20^thposition. It was a race that certainly didn’t go by without incident, and somehow Heikki managed to fight his way to the last championship point in 8^th. A good drive, but riddled with bad luck again.

Quote

(Heikki Kovalainen) “An extremely difficult race, with any chance of finishing in a top position already gone when I could not engage a gear at the start of the formation lap. Consequently, I had to change the steering wheel in the pit lane from where I had to start my race. I tried to push as hard as I could, but could only go at my real pace when there was a gap. It is a pity, because my car was good and the speed was there. At least I scored one point at the end, and now look forward to the next Grand Prix where I will go maximum attack to finish with good results.”

I say that Heikki is just bloody unlucky, he has had a VERY unfortunate start to his career with Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. A lot of it seems to be well and truly out of his control. I feel for him but at the back of my mind I know that he is handy in that MP4-23 and is most certainly capable of results.

Lewis had his luck today in the rain. When is it Heikki’s turn? As a McLaren fan, soon I hope!

So there you have it, make of it what you will now with all evidence in your possession. I will leave it down to you to decide... Is he Cursed, Jinxed or Unlucky? Comments please...

Ben, Over and Out.

Formula 1: Coverage In The UK - BBC or ITV?

Ben Auty — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:15:38 -0400

Yes, I am aware that this is not exactly breaking news and apologies to anyone not in the UK, this story probably won’t interest you that much. I have searched the section and can’t find anything really covering this matter and I think it’s an important one here in the UK and I want to know:

“Does the general F1 fan-base here in the UK share my opinions on the news of big shift?”

What are the reasons for the shift? Well the official quotes are as follows...

Ecclestone: “It's not that we are unhappy with ITV but I think maybe they will have their hands full with other things and maybe the BBC can service us a bit better.”

ITV statement quotes: “It was a straightforward commercial decision”... “A lot of races are happening at night, they're not happening at peak time. That it is not particularly good value for money”

Okay, okay, okay... BUT... The Brazilian Grand Prix last year was the ITV’s most watched sports event of the year. The Formula 1 coverage must be the crown jewel in any TV stations sports broadcasting.

Did you know that when Lewis Hamilton raced on BBC’s Top Gear for his one lap in a reasonably priced car the viewing figures were higher than that of the ITV Brazilian Grand Prix coverage!

Is ITV crazy to lose such a deal?

Many believe that it’s a case of “sour grapes” as the contract has been terminated only three years into the current five year deal with ITV. This is mainly due to ITV’s commitment to the Football. According to Bernie Ecclestone, he is looking for the station to focus more on the Formula One coverage as the forefront of their sports broadcasting, and rightly so.

On the flip side ITV has just secured another season's worth of Champions League Football which they believe to be more profitable to the station than the unsociable, off-peak times of the races in the F1 calendar.

So there it is, the news many of us may have been waiting for: the coverage of the Formula One will return to the BBC. Finally our TV license money is being spent well.

No more annoying adverts to interrupt the action, no more annoying sponsor VT at either end of the commercial breaks. Apparently last season, the total time used on advertisements accumulated to over four hours of missed action, which averages at roughly 15 minutes per race in total... Can you imagine the uproar if 15 minutes were just chopped out of the Champions League Final for the latest advert for the new Sony Bravia 52” LCD TV?

Back to the good points: we can have our theme tune back (Fleetwood Mac – The Chain). What a great tune, the iconic theme, that tune that signified that it was game on! There wasn’t anything better to get you in the mood for a bit of Sunday afternoon racing. It made it what it was... Exciting!

Can we have Murray Walker too?

Unfortunately whilst the news of the BBC obtaining this exclusive five year deal made Murray almost fall out of bed, I believe he has said that he would struggle to run out an 18 race season and he almost certainly couldn’t keep up with the pace, unlike back in the good old days...

"And there are just a few more corners for Nigel Mansell to go to win the Canadian Grand Prix... and... He’s going rather slow.... HE'S STOPPING HE'S STOPPING!”... Classic Murray in exciting times.

The early front runner for the job is Richard Hammond from BBC’s Top Gear. I think it could be quite witty but I am not entirely sure his cheeky chappy ways would fit just quite right. Maybe it would just take some getting used to? Who do you want to see in the commentary box? Martin Brundle, Jonathan Pearce, James Allen, Ted Kravitz, John Watson, Damon Hill... Who else? Open forum people...

Just as a side note as I mentioned Damon Hill... Did you know that the last time a Brit won the Formula One World Championship the coverage was with the BBC? An omen maybe? Fingers crossed!

There are a lot of other changes set to come in place with the move to the Beeb, such as a very real possibility of viewing in High Definition (Heaven!), lots more interactive services on your “Red Button”, lots more on-line on that interweb thing, text info services for your mobile phone, full coverage on digital and analogue radio services... All bundled together make for an interesting experience and one I certainly can’t wait to take out for a spin. I think making the whole race weekend experience as accessible as possible is very important for not only existing fans, but also the youth of today growing up and taking an interest in their role models, such as the Lewis Hamiltons of the sport.

So we have lots to muse on. I think potentially this may divide the UK audience. However it will be edged by the fans of the Beeb, and that includes myself.

I am all for it and believe it will be a step in the right direction, which let’s face it in the light of some of the rule changes coming into the sport, it's maybe needed!

Roll on 2009, welcome back BBC.

This is where I hand things over to you guys to thrash it out amongst yourselves. Let’s have your views on this big exciting change. Who do you want on the commentary team? What features would you like to see? How can the Beeb improve on ITV's coverage? Overall do you think it’s a positive or a negative change?

Feedback guys...

Ben, over and out

Formula 1: Monaco Grand Prix: Are McLaren on a Comeback in Round 6?

Ben Auty — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:41:00 -0400

So into Round Six we go. The season is certainly spicing up now, as I’m sure you will all agree.

Ferrari have looked very strong in both Bahrain and Barcelona, finishing one-two in each. This has given them a welcome boost in the Constructor Championships points tally.

But something was different last weekend. Those boys at McLaren—usually consistent, conservative, and clinical guys—were forced into a three-stop strategy. Certainly this was not the norm for a track like Istanbul, but the Bridgestone representative had concerns about those trusty Potenza's.

Their worry was that on the softer compound tires—especially around turn eight, the famous four-apex corner—the Bridgestones where overheating and a blowout was an almost certain risk, just like the previous year.

So McLaren had to push on the harder compound tires, and adopt the three-stop strategy, using the softs for as little time as possible.

Most teams would certainly make a hash of a situation like this and end up way down the pecking order. However, McLaren managed to score not only a podium finish, but it a second-place one at that. And not only that—Lewis Hamilton in that MP4-23 at one point even overtook Felipe Massa in his Ferrari on the 24th lap to lead the race, then proceeded to extend a nearly eight-second lead at the front of the pack.

This was something that would prove to be crucial come his next pit stop, as it would bring him back out marginally in front of reigning champion and current points leader Kimi Raikkonen. Even after spending the last stint of the race under the intense pressure of Raikkonen's Ferrari, Lewis was able to hold on to second place behind Massa.

Massa notched his secondGrand Prix win of the season, and his third in a row in Istanbul—although a convincing win it was not.

Hamilton's driving in this race was compared by many critics to that of the late, great Ayrton Senna—very gung ho, to the point, precise and very fast. Hamilton was like a man possessed, all over the back of that Ferrari—and once he was past it he knew he had a job to do.

The best race of his career so far? Many think so—even Mr. Hamilton himself.

He was quoted as saying that he had done absolutely everything right on race day, pushed the car, and got as much out of the MP4-23 as he possibly could. That was a sign to him that this was a great race.

Could the outcome have been any different? Yes, it certainly could have, for numerous reasons:

Lewis Hamilton chose the hard tires for qualifying. If he had chosen the softs, would he had clinched the pole? I think on this occasion, maybe not. Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen experienced a very quick weekend in both practice and qualifying. And the only time Lewis looked set to mount a challenger was in Q1 whilst on the soft option—which we all know didn’t really work for him in the second sector of the track—plus, the durability wasn’t there.
If Raikkonen didn’t tag Kovalainen on that first corner, would Kimi have had the extra speed to mount more of a challenge to not only Hamilton, but Massa too? I think, maybe yes. Kimi had a problem with his front wing. In the dirty air of Hamilton and Robert Kubica, he struggled to keep down force to a maximum. This was proven when everybody else pitted before him—with a clean track, zero traffic, and good air to plough through, Kimi managed to achieve the fastest lap of the race. Maybe with a fully balanced car, this kind of pace could have been maintained?
In the same breath, would Heikki Kovalainen have been able to hold off Raikkonen had he not suffered the early puncture? Maybe not, but in terms of a points-scoring position I think it would have been almost inevitable that the Constructors' total for McLaren would have been a little healthier after the race.

A lot of people are writing Kovalainen off, deeming him inexperienced and saying that it was a bad move for McLaren to bring him in. They claim he wont live up to past greats such as Fernando Alonso, Mika Hakkinen, and Senna.

Looking at the evidence, I think he is shaping up to be a pretty consistent driver. His record since the beginning of the season has been 4-6-4-DNF-12. While this doesn't make great reading, considering his recent run of bad luck 4-6-4 isn't too bad—especially in terms of points finishing, and certainly considering the other cars were the two Ferraris and his teammate.

Kovalainen is very quick on the track. He has won two DHL Fastest lap awards in five races this year. He is a great qualifier, and I believe that he could be a top-four driver come the end of the season, with some consistency and a bit of luck. I don’t think Lewis has got it as easy as he may like at the top of the McLaren tree. The Ferraris certainly still need to keep an eye in their especially wide mirrors for a grinning Fin in his McLaren.

What does all this mean? Has the Ice man started to melt? Is Felipe letting silly mistakes creep in while trying to beat his teammate? Are Ferrari struggling with problems like they had last week in Istanbul on the soft tires due to lack of heat?

Is it a combination of all three? Or is it simply that McLaren are finding their feet and are about to enter a new phase of the season?

Well, I personally think it is the latter. McLaren are finding their feet, and are going to enter a new groove. I believe that all the problems they were experiencing have now been ironed out in the Barcelona testing session.

In this session, extensive work was done on the MP4-23, tweaking the aerodynamics of the car along with other numerous aspects. It would appear that it has been a success, as the car is now challenging the Ferrari on not only high-end, straight-line speed—and to be perfectly honest, it now seems to be superior in cornering to the Ferrari.

Now we have a competition on our hands! You would be a fool to write off Lewis and Heikki at this early stage in the season.

My prediction for Monaco would be to say that this will be primarily a good weekend for both of the top constructors. I think that Ferrari may come out on top of the qualifying, but it's not a one lap race. Looking after tires, hitting the apexes (quite literally), and a good race strategy may mean that a McLaren one-two is a very real possibility,

Will the Ferrari team be left checking their data and wondering what went wrong? Historically, McLaren have taken it up a gear in Monaco, and they could certainly mount a challenge to Ferrari. I am going to predict the following;

1^st– Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes)

2^nd- Kimi Raikkonen (Scuderia Ferrari)

3^rd- Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren Mercedes)

4^th- Felipe Massa (Scuderia Ferrari)

5^th- Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)

On a final note, it is sad to see the demise of any F1 team, but special sympathies go to all of the former team of Super Aguri. Good luck to you all. Hope to see Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson back in an F1 car in the not too distant future.

Ben, over and out.