The 2013 Spanish Grand Prix

I had intended on posting my recap of Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix last night. But after writing it, something didn’t feel right. In fact Formula 1 doesn’t feel right lately and as a ravenous fan of the sport, I’ve been struggling.

Maybe it’s just one of those seasons – it happens. But maybe it’s part of a larger problem with the sport and this is just the beginning? I’ve been rattling my brain, trying to figure out when the racing stopped.

After a 3 week hiatus, I had hoped the teams would’ve been able to regroup back at their respective bases, that McLaren would’ve had the chance to dial in their sluggish MP4-28 and that Pirelli would’ve fixed their damn tires. None of that seems to have happened and what we were left with was another mediocre race at the Circuit de Catalunya.

Before I tumble any further down the slope, praises are in order for Fernando Alonso, who’s now 4th on the all time winning list, surpassing Nigel Mansell. His drive on Sunday really was that of a consummate professional. A bulletproof strategy by Ferrari and a clean race by Alonso secured the team’s second win of the season and damn do I respect them for it.

Even his teammate Felipe Massa continued to show flashes of his former brilliance and clinched a well deserved 3rd place finish. Right now my money is on Ferrari as the team to beat.

Despite parting ways with their technical director earlier in the week, Lotus didn’t skip a beat. Kimi Raikkonen has found a home on the podium in 2013. At this point it seems ridiculous that he would ever consider a move to Red Bull in 2014. Then again it’s still early and anything can happen.

Where Lotus, Ferrari and even Force India have excelled is with their understanding of Pirelli’s hellacious tires. They’ve been a bone of contention amongst teams and fans of the sport alike. In a contract year it would seem insane for Pirelli to produce such an inferior product and more insane still that they wouldn’t offer any sort of explanation. It’s no wonder Paul Hembery deactivated his Twitter account late last season, after being lambasted by fans.

However bad Pirelli’s tires are in 2013, what’s been arguably worse is the racing or lack thereof. Formula 1 has reached a turning point where drivers are no longer pushing from start to finish. Instead they’ve adopted a more conservative strategy – one that saw Lewis Hamilton telling his engineers “I can’t drive any slower”. This is motor racing but somewhere along the way, Formula 1 seems to have forgotten that.

Everyone’s playing the blame game. Drivers are blaming team orders, teams are blaming Pirelli and the FIA, but all the outcry seems lost in what has become a rather staged piece of entertainment. What’s most interesting is how the sport has managed to convince us all that what we’re watching is indeed great racing. The off track soap opera is entertaining as ever, most notably the team drama at Red Bull. But for all of the sport’s technical advances, we’re still seeing drivers struggle to push because of a lack of tires or fuel. Maybe the races are too long? Something tells me it would make no difference to shorten them.

In the days following the Spanish Grand Prix we’ve heard plenty of public bellyaching from Red Bull. Things have gotten so loud that Pirelli made the decision to produce a longer lasting compound for the Canadian Grand Prix in June. We’ve also heard Jenson Button admit that he’s embarrassed by his McLaren team and their MP4-28′s performance.

It’s been a difficult season for the Woking boys and one that may see the exit of Martin Whitmarsh as Team Principal – there have already been rumors of his possible resignation around the paddock. Then there’s Mercedes who look great in qualifying, but have struggled on race day. Both Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg quickly fell into obscurity by the end of Sunday’s race. One thing’s become abundantly clear – if the tires are to blame then we may see a massive shift throughout the field in Montreal.

Many would argue with me but Formula 1 is in a slump right now. Maybe the lack of exciting venues is to blame and we’ll see the energy reignited in Monaco next week. However at some point you just have to say screw the tires, the cars and the excuses and go out and race.

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

The 2013 Bahrain Grand Prix

Apologies for the lack of updates on A Class lately. Things have been pretty busy and after a fairly uninspiring Chinese Grand Prix, I decided to reserve my Formula 1 discussion for after the Bahrain Grand Prix. Lets get straight to it.

When it comes to the Bahrain Grand Prix, the political situation has long overshadowed the race itself. With the kingdom’s citizens at odds with the ruling Al Khalifa family, many have questioned the relevance of having the race at all. In typical Bernie fashion, the Don of Formula 1 was quoted saying the government was “stupid” to hold the race. It’s no secret that from a sponsorship standpoint, the Bahrain Grand Prix is one of the most lucrative on the World Championship calender.

As it turns out, Sunday’s race ended up being one of the most exciting of 2013 with lots of great battles throughout the field.

Mercedes continued to look quick at the start of this weekend with a great showing in qualifying. Nico Rosberg secured his second career pole with teammate Lewis Hamilton in P4. Hamilton ultimately suffered a 5 grid spot penalty for a gearbox change following free practice. On Sunday things didn’t fare so well for Mercedes as both drivers struggled to maintain pace.

The opening laps provided for some of the most exciting wheel-to-wheel racing at the start of any Grand Prix in recent years, with Rosberg fending off Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso – who exchanged places for P2. However once DRS was enabled, Vettel made his move and created a lead which he held for the remainder of the race.  Rosberg’s pace continued to falter, but he displayed a level of aggression we haven’t seen from him in the past. Ultimately the driver finished 9th.

Things fared slightly better for Hamilton who was quoted after the race saying the car went from “terrible” to “amazing”. Hamilton also had some nice duels with his former McLaren teammate Jenson Button and Sergio Perez. He finished 5th overall and has stayed consistent in the points since the start of the season.

Lotus have come out fighting in 2013 and amid rumors of the team’s struggles to secure more funding to keep Kimi Raikkonen next season, have produced an excellent car in the E21. Raikkonen struggled in qualifying and started P9. Things fared better on Sunday and with the car’s excellent tire management, he was able to secure a podium finish placing 2nd.

His teammate Romain Grosjean also struggled in qualifying, starting in P11, but made it count in the race. Grosjean finished 3rd after some interesting battles throughout the field. It’s amazing to see the success Lotus has achieved in such a short time. The team’s engineers have certainly discovered the secret to maintaining Pirelli’s unforgiving tires. It’s no secret that Raikkonen is one of the most popular drivers on the market for 2014, with Red Bull rumored to be courting him for Mark Webber’s seat. Ultimately he’s a major factor in Lotus’s newfound success over the last couple of seasons.

Things didn’t go well for Ferrari this weekend. After a great qualifying session for both drivers on Saturday, a series of mechanical maladies saw Fernando Alonso finishing 8th and his teammate Felipe Massa out of the points in 14th. Ferrari have gotten off to a much more successful start in 2013 with the highly competitive F138. However a broken wing on Alsonso’s car forced the driver to do without DRS in most of the race, while Massa experienced numerous tire issues. Both drives made an unnecessary amount of pit stops which ultimately cost them.

With an admittedly sluggish car, McLaren’s only goal for the weekend was to score points. As the teams head back to Europe for a 3 week break, McLaren will essentially rebuild their car in the hopes of being more competitive in Spain. For the second race weekend in a row, Sergio Perez was unable to break into Q3 with his teammate Jenson Button settling for P10 at the start of Sunday’s race. McLaren haven’t had the pace all season, however Button has managed better results than his teammate, who has been harshly criticized in recent weeks.

After scoring just 2 World Championship points in the first 3 races of the season, the pressure was on Perez to deliver in Bahrain. Some unusually aggressive driving saw him in an exciting and nerve wracking battle with his teammate. Button was unhappy with the advances by Perez which calls in to question some of his earlier comments with regards to Red Bull’s team orders debacle. When it comes to tire management their may be no better driver in Formula 1 than Button, ultimately he finished 10th on Sunday with Perez in a more successful 6th. McLaren have a lot of work to do in the coming weeks as they’ll not like being without a podium finish for much longer. Expect to see a very different MP4-28 in Spain.

At the end of the day it was Sebastian Vettel who stood at the top of the podium. In typical fashion Vettel got an early lead and dominated the remainder of the race. Vettle has become increasingly outspoken in the last couple of weeks, with regards to Red Bull’s team orders in Malaysia. At the start of the Chinese Grand Prix, he virtually did a 180 from his previous comments about overtaking his teammate and said he would do it again. The bad blood has continued to flow in the Red Bull paddock with Mark Webber suffering a dismal weekend in China, then being forced to use his teammates engine maps in Bahrain. Red Bull continue to maintain that they support both drivers equally but that is becoming increasingly harder to believe.

Webber celebrated his 200th Grand Prix in Bahrain with a small cake cutting ceremony at which neither Vettel or Helmut Marko were in attendance. The politics within the team seem to be boiling over as Marko was seen telling Niki Lauda not to be nice to Webber. At this point it seems highly unlikely that Webber with continue with Red Bull in 2014. It’s been reported the Australian is scheduled to meet with team owner Dietrich Mateschitz later this week at Red Bull’s headquarters. The meeting will presumably be about his future, as he continues to deny rumors about a a move to Porsche next year.

It was a departure from the usual procession in Bahrain with plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing across the field. The World Championship is still wide open and anything can happen after the teams get a chance to regroup in Europe. It’s hard to believe Formula 1 is already headed to Spain next with the Monaco Grand Prix just a month away!

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

A Team Divided At Red Bull Racing

I wanted to elaborate a bit more on the events that unfolded at yesterday’s Malaysian Grand Prix. The race recap covered the overall event, but the team orders involving Red Bull are worthy of another look. I’ve been discussing it a lot on Twitter over the last 24 hours and you can read more of that here.

In many ways yesterday’s Grand Prix served as a study into the pros and cons of team orders in Formula 1. On one hand you have Mercedes, who used them to keep their drivers from racing one another and risking valuable points in the World Championship. On the other hand you have Red Bull who used them so ineffectively that it’s created a massive rift on their team. I won’t elaborate too much on Mercedes as the situation is more straight forward. I can understand why Ross Brawn wanted to keep his drivers from racing one another, but I can’t understand what difference it would’ve made to let Nico Rosberg overtake Lewis Hamilton. The decision goes against the team’s philosophy that both drivers are equals, in which case it shouldn’t have mattered who finished ahead. After Hamilton’s humbling podium speech, the team should have no problem getting past this one, if they haven’t already.

The greater problem lies within Red Bull Racing. After being told explicitly by team bosses to hold position, Sebastian Vettel decided to take matters into his own hands and perform a risky passing maneuver on his teammate and the race leader Mark Webber. The pass had come after both drivers were instructed to power down their engines and bring the cars home safely. Unfortunately for Webber it meant losing out on his first win since last year’s British Grand Prix.

While the media has done their best to perpetuate the situation to far greater depths, it does create some serious problems for Red Bull as a team. In one corner you have Mark Webber,  a workhorse of a driver who produces consistent results and rarely finishes outside of the points. At most other teams, Webber would be a clear number 1 driver. In the other corner is a proven World Champion in Sebastian Vettel with 3 titles to his name.

Many have taken Vettel’s side and made the argument that the German displays the qualities needed to win championships. His ruthlessness isn’t unlike some of his predecessors, including Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna. But at what point does a driver believe he’s bigger than the team that supports him? Despite Schumacher’s cunning and Senna’s sheer aggression, they knew their places within their respective teams and in a sport like Formula 1, no driver is bigger than his team. Vettel’s actions on Sunday say otherwise. By ignoring the team’s orders he showed a lack of respect and everyone watching, that he knows what’s best for himself and potentially his team. Irrational decisions can be made in the heat of the moment and it’s only after the fact that we allow ourselves to consider different perspectives. However, it won’t be easy for Vettel to come back from this. Not only has he put himself in a difficult position, he’s put Red Bull in a difficult position with Mark Webber.

If the World Championship comes down to the line at the end of the season, can Red Bull expect Webber to offer support, if his own championship bid is obsolete? The Australian has reached a point in his career where the opportunities of winning a championship of his own are numbered. 2013 could be his last realistic possibility to do so. Nothing is certain in Formula 1 and if this were to be Webber’s last season with Red Bull, then he would have no greater opportunity than right now. At age 36, this could even be his last season in Formula 1. If that were the case, he’d have nothing to lose and that will certainly affect his willingness to be a team player during crunch time. Red Bull understands this and it could prove to be a major downfall, as they seek to add a fourth consecutive World Constructor’s Championship to their legacy.

After the events that unfolded in Malaysia, Sebastian Vettel has not only further alienated himself from Webber, but potentially his team as well. Even his biggest supporter, Helmut Marko wasn’t pleased with Vettel’s lack of compliance to the team’s orders. Time heals all wounds but some take longer than others. We’re already a month into the Formula 1 season and Vettel may have run out of opportunities to connect with his teammate. The rivalry between both Red Bull drivers has been fierce since day 1, but as Webber stated yesterday, Vettel has protection within the team. While penalizing him isn’t necessarily the answer, Red Bull owe it to themselves to make a move in Webber’s favor or they risk loosing one of their greatest allies on the track. However, that ship may have already sailed.

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

The 2013 Malaysian Grand Prix

Formula 1 wrapped up the Malaysian Grand Prix earlier today and what is typically a rain soaked procession, turned out to be one of the most dramatic races in recent memory. The events at Sepang International Circuit conjured up memories of the Senna-Prost era at McLaren and cemented Formula 1′s identity as a team sport.

There’s an infinite amount of story lines to discuss as Europe’s sporting columns are ablaze with Red Bull and Mercedes gossip. With pit stop foibles, mechanical maladies and host of very unhappy teammates, lets get straight to it.

Ferrari came out of qualifying in prime position to score their first race win of the season, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa starting P2 and P3. After an aggressive start by the Red Bulls, Alonso fought for position, coming out of turn 1. The Ferrari driver’s front wing became dislodged after making contact with Sebastian Vettel and then Mark Webber as he fought the Red Bulls. Alsonso was expected to come into the pits after the first lap to have his wing replaced, but failed to do so.

Upon completing the first straight of lap 2, his font wing broke free, lodging itself under the F138′s front tires and sending Alonso off the track. With his race over, it left most scratching their heads at Alonso’s bizarre decision to stay on track. The assumption was a strategy to complete 1 more lap and pit for a wing and tire change, as the track began to dry. Unfortunately things ended differently and costed Alonso valuable points in his bid to win the 2013 World Driver’s Championship. It’s still early enough in the season, but as we’ve seen so many times before, mishaps from earlier in the season tend to rear their ugly face in November. His teammate Felipe Massa completed a solid drive, finishing 5th overall.

Pit stop woes followed Alonso’s retirement for the remainder of Malaysia’s first half. In an unfortunate turn, Force India had to retire both cars as they experienced a number of issues with improperly securing wheel nuts. A collision in the pits involving Caterham and a Freudian Slip saw Lewis Hamilton pull into the McLaren pits for a brief second. Early in the race McLaren displayed flashes of brilliance with some very quick tire changes and saw Jenson Button leading the race. His success was short lived after another horrendous stop in which the mechanics sent Button out, after failing to secure the MP4-28′s right front wheel nut.

The team did manage to rescuer it, only to have Button return to the track in 14th and later retire with 3 laps to go. McLaren have gotten off to another tough start in 2013. With an admittedly sluggish car, the team can’t afford to make costly mistakes in the pits. The question is how long Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh will have to right his ship before his job comes into question. Sergio Perez secured 1 point after finishing 10th overall.

With an abundance of drama happening throughout pit lane, it was Red Bull and Mercedes that stole the show. Both teams dealt with similar issues involving team orders in an effort to conserve fuel and keep both cars on the track. Mark Webber displayed some brilliant driving as he lead most of the race and it seemed inevitable that he would secure his first win since last year’s British Grand Prix. Unfortunately his teammate Sebastian Vettel struggled with playing second fiddle and had a number of exchanges with race engineers in a bid to overtake Webber. After an excellent pit stop on lap 44, Webber emerged ahead of Vettel in P1. The two drivers battled for the next 2 laps, fighting for the lead which Webber maintained. After some interjection by team bosses, the Red Bull drivers were told to maintain the gap and bring the cars home for some valuable points. The strategy didn’t sit well with Vettel as he took to the inside, nearly colliding with the pit wall to overtake Webber in turn 1. The move was a blatant disregard for team orders and a fuming Webber showed his lack of gratitude by giving Vettel the finger. The pass has been the most talked about event following the race and in many ways brings to light the internal problems that have followed Red Bull the last few seasons. It’s no secret that Webber and Vettel aren’t the greatest of friends and Webber’s response to the move and a complete lack of sympathy on behalf of Vettel go on to illustrate a mutual dislike between the teammates. Vettel ultimately won the race, his 27th career win, with Webber finishing a close 2nd.

Mercedes experienced their own issues resulting from team orders as Lewis Hamilton struggled to outpace his teammate Nico Roseberg, in an effort to maintain tires and fuel. Rosberg had a number of exchanges with Team Principal Ross Brawn, urging him to allow a pass on Hamilton. There was concern for both cars’ fuel loads following the race and Rosberg was instructed to maintain his position. Had fuel levels not been an issue for Mercedes, it’s likely that both drivers would’ve caught the Red Bulls and there may have been a different outcome. Hamilton finished 3rd overall with Rosberg in 4th. Mercedes should be very pleased with their efforts this weekend. Many speculated that the success of the team would be a work in progress for most of 2013, however in the 2nd race of the season the team are fighting for race wins. Their time will certainly come and soon.

Once the checkered flag was raised everyone was talking about the pending podium ceremonies. A very dejected Lewis Hamilton joined fueding Red Bull teammates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. A very uncelebratory air surrounded the podium as everyone anxiously awaited the driver’s interviews, lead by Martin Brundle.

This is a scenario where the podium interviews are useless because rarely do we get honest emotion from the drivers as they maintain composure under the spotlight. Everyone had hoped for Vettel to provide some reasoning for his actions but ended up getting a half hearted apology for not following the team’s orders. Webber was considerably more candid, however his choice in words held back most of what he was probably thinking. Hamilton showed real class in his acceptance of 3rd with his mention of Rosberg and a lack of willingness to accept his trophy. It appears as though Hamilton is desperate to turn over a new leaf this season and change people’s perceptions of himself. He certainly won a few fans back today.

It was a fantastically exciting Malaysian Grand Prix and a departure from the boring race F1 fans have grown accustomed to. It’s a 2 week break until the teams are in Shanghai for the Chinese Grand Prix.

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

The 2013 Australian Grand Prix

It’s a new year and with it, a new season of Formula 1. After months of designing, prototyping and testing, the teams were back at Albert Park for the Grand Prix of Australia.

Here are a few takeaways from today’s race.

On the back of last year’s biggest story, Lewis Hamilton made his Mercedes debut and it was a fine one indeed. Despite finishing 5th overall, Hamilton was on pace with the leaders and surpassed the expectations held by most. The Silver Arrows looked quick all weekend, but as the season moves forward, keep an eye on their reliability. Nico Rosberg’s race was cut short due to an electrical failure on lap 26.

McLaren struggled all weekend and it quickly became apparent that the MP4-28 is not on par with the rest of the front runners. Jenson Button started 10th and a bad tire strategy had him in the pits well before the rest of the grid. Sergio Perez’s debut with the team wasn’t memorable and he failed to score a single point. It’s still early and Perez may be working out some growing pains, but McLaren aren’t the kind of team to give a driver too many opportunities to get up to speed, as we all saw with Heikki Kovalainen. It was a disappointing weekend and after the loss of their top driver, technical director and title sponsor, they have some major work to do in Woking.

Mark Webber got off to another shockingly bad start after qualifying 2nd overall. It’s a trend that plagued most of his 2012 season and it’s not a good sign to see it happening again at the start of 2013. His teammate Sebastian Vettel built an early lead but fell back as the race progressed. Despite Vettel’s 3rd place finish, expect Red Bull to pull away from the rest of the field in the coming races.

Ferrari looked strong all weekend with both drivers doing well in qualifying and in the race. Felipe Massa has done a complete 180 from where he was at this time last season and even out qualified his teammate Fernando Alonso. Massa is driving with a newfound confidence that we saw glimpses of at the end of 2012 and it appears to have carried over into the new season. Alsonso had a few brilliant moments this weekend including a fantastic battle with Hamilton. Romain Grosjean should watch and learn how to execute proper wheel-to-wheel racing.

Alonso finished 2nd and Ferrari are well on their way to another successful Championship run in 2013.

Despite lots of good performances, there were 3 that really stood out. The first didn’t even get a podium finish and that was Force India’s Adrian Sutil. I’m not a fan but you have to respect a driver who spent a year away from the sport, only to come back and lead a good chunk of the Australian Grand Prix. In the end it was the tires that kept Sutil back but I doubt we’ll be seeing the last of him at the front of the pack in 2013.

Then there’s Kimi Raikkonen, today’s race winner. Could the Australian Grand Prix have ended any better? The Iceman finished the race by telling his engineer ”I told you the car was fast”, it was classic Kimi through and through. Lotus is everyone’s favorite underdog team in Formula 1 and with this strong of a start to the season, there will be more race wins to come. Expect Grosjean to improve his pace in the coming months and Kimi to keep being Kimi.

Finally, hats off to NBC Sports. We all wondered what would happen to Formula 1 in the United States after SPEED lost their broadcast rights. I think it’s the best thing to happen for American fans since Circuit of the Americas broke ground in Austin. Formula 1 deserves a proper home on American television and the guys at NBC did an absolutely brilliant job all weekend. The continuing race coverage during commercial breaks, the broadcast of delayed qualifying sessions and a fantastic post race show are just a few examples of just how seriously NBC is taking Formula 1. Well done!

Things are just getting started and it’s only going to get better! The Malaysian Grand Prix is less than a week away!

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

The 2013 Infinity Red Bull Racing RB9

Earlier today Red Bull held an event at their Milton Keynes base to unveil the 2013 RB9.

Teammates Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were on hand to present the RB9 to the media.

In the offseason Webber came under harsh criticism from Vettel’s mentor Helmut Marko. It’s no secret there’s been an underlying tension in the Red Bull Paddock the last couple of seasons. Webber’s contract is up at the end of 2013 and it will be interesting to see if he continues with the team.

The RB9 sports a slightly different livery to reflect the team’s relationship with title sponsor Infinity.

The car was described as an “evolution” by its designer Adrian Newey. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise as most teams will be using last year’s cars as building blocks. The biggest changes will come in 2014, as the new technical regulations come into play.

The front and rear wings will be different come race day as the current ones are just for show.

Red Bull hope to secure their 4th consecutive World Driver’s and Constuctor’s Championships in 2013 with the RB9.

Photos courtesy of Red Bull.

The United States Grand Prix

Hats off to the state of Texas and Circuit of the Americas. They pulled this one off in stunning fashion.

Formula 1 was stateside for the first time since 2007 and what a race it was. If the nearly 115,000 fans at today’s race was any indication of things to come, then Formula 1 has a great future in America.

McLaren finally showed up this weekend with a decent car for Lewis Hamilton and it was a 1-on-1 battle with Sebastian Vettel for most of the race.

With 14 laps to go, Hamilton used his DRS to overtake Vettel and held the lead to the end. In typical fashion, Vettel was quick to throw a temper tantrum and media bash Narain Karthikeyan for getting in his way.

Red Bull were however able to secure their 3rd consecutive Constructor’s Championship, which went virtually unnoticed until being brought up by Vettel during the podium interviews.

Joining Hamilton and Vettel on the podium was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso. Predictably, Alonso struggled with the F2012 all weekend but managed to make it work on race day. He’s indebted to Hamilton who’s kept his (slim) Driver’s Championship hopes alive for another week. Alonso’s teammate Felipe Massa pulled off another stellar drive finishing 4th.

Ferrari made a bold move changing Massa’s gearbox in order to receive a 5 grid spot penalty, that would allow Massa to start on the clean side of the track. The gamble paid off.

Michael Schumacher spent most of the race trying to send drivers off the track, a throwback to his Ferrari days. Neither he or his teammate Nico Rosberg scored points for Mercedes (again). Somewhere Lewis Hamilton is laying in bed wondering if he has indeed made the worst decision of his career to leave McLaren. What’s done is done and it was a bittersweet victory for the driver and his team today in Austin.

Formula 1 has massive potential in the United States and it’s all going to come down to how the sport is marketed to an American audience. A big part of that will lie on the shoulders of NBC Sports, who are in charge broadcasting duties next year. However, today it was the city of Austin who welcomed Formula 1 with open arms and did so in big Texas fashion.

Another season of Formula 1 is almost in the books. The Brazilian finale at Interlagos is next week. Alonso better pray for a miracle because it’s going to be a tough one.

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

The Grand Prix Of Abu Dhabi

Despite Red Bull’s best attempts at keeping Sebastian Vettel in the spotlight, the star of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was his badminton partner, Kimi Raikkonen.

I’ve been waiting all season for the Iceman to nab his first Formula 1 victory since coming out of retirement. With 3 races to go in the 2012 season, things were looking grim. However the stars aligned and a brisk drive from Raikkonen ensured his place at the top of the podium.

The on track excitement at Yas Marina was unlike anything we’ve seen from this circuit in the past. There were spectacular crashes, safety cars and plenty of wheel-to-wheel racing. If you’re a Vettel fanboy then you’ll be gloating about how you’ve never believed his critics and that  he is indeed the Wunderkind.

After starting from pit lane, Vettel managed to work his way up the grid to finish 3rd. Some say it was an astonishing drive. Others call it pure luck. I lie somewhere in the middle of both arguments. While few drivers on the grid would’ve been able to manage the same result given the circumstance, the numerous safety cars and retirements aided heavily in Vettel’s progression up the grid. Red Bull team orders that sent Mark Webber to the pits didn’t hurt either.

Retirements were rampant at Yas Marina including more woes from the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, who was sure to win the race after starting from pole and holding a commanding lead. It appears no one is still quite sure what went wrong with his MP4-27. Conspiracy theorists are surely having a field day over the numerous mechanical issues that have plagued Hamilton’s races, since announcing his move to Mercedes in 2013. Whatever the reason behind McLaren’s constant flubs, Martin Whitmarsh and Sam Michael have kept quiet.

At some point the way the sport handles driver contracts needs to be dealt with. Why are mid-season “trades” even allowed to happen in the first place? Drivers and teams have 4 months in the offseason to negotiate and make moves. This would eliminate any controversy and animosity, something that affected the better part of McLaren’s season.

With Hamilton’s retirement, Kimi Raikkonen was there to take the lead and secured his first win of 2012. It was fantastic to see him leading but the highlight of the weekend was the back and forth radio chatter between the driver and his engineers.

Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing.

It’s no surprise that Kimi is one of the most liked drivers in all of professional motor sports. With most drivers reciting lines off a PR script, it’s nice to see a driver who keeps it real. He’s never been interested in the media side of Formula 1 and despite his on camera demeanor (or lack there of), Kimi’s known to be one of the most down to earth drivers in the sport. If the radio chatter was good, it was only to be preceded by a hilarious podium ceremony that saw Raikkonen and Vettel swearing in their interviews.

A nervous David Coulthard tried to mend things by telling the audience that English was Seb’s second language, only to have Rose Water dumped on his head. People have been in an uproar over the swearing but who cares? It’s nice to see the drivers real personalities, if even for a split second. Imagine what’s being said on the radio transmissions we don’t hear? I’d pay to get access to those.

Formula 1 returns to the US in 2 weeks!

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

The Grand Prix Of India

I’ve been debating whether or not to do a recap of last weekend’s Indian Grand Prix. This is usually the point in the season where my interests in Formula 1 begin to wane. Red Bull is in total domination mode with Sebastian Vettel the new favorite to win the WDC.

Fernando Alonso is doing his best but the F2012 is clearly inferior to Newey’s masterful RB8. It’s going to be a tall order for Alonso to take back the championship, but if anyone can it’s him.

McLaren had another uninspired weekend in India. They got off to a good start but were easily overtaken by the Red Bulls and Ferraris on the back straight of Buddh International Circuit. One of the race highlights was a fantastic 3.3 second stop for Hamilton with a steering wheel and tire change. McLaren’s pit woes seem long over with, but their pace on the track is what continues to strangle the team. It’s ironic how they started the season as the team to beat. How things have changed.

Despite Vettel’s overwhelming success, Mark Webber struggled with a faulty KERS on his RB8. Interesting how Webber’s car is always the one to break down…

Overall another boring race on another boring Tilke track. However if DRS musical chairs is your thing, then maybe you enjoyed the Indian Grand Prix. For me the passionate Indian fans did little to salvage the race (if you could even call it that).

The teams head to Abu Dhabi this weekend to start the final 3 races of the season. Stay tuned.

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.

The Grand Prix Of Korea

Have we actually been seeing good racing in Formula 1 lately? It’s a question I’ve been pondering since the August break. Sure the venues have been glorious, but has that blinded us to the fact that nothing truly special is unfolding on track? Red Bull fans will be quick to counter this argument as the team have returned to all-dominating form. We’ve seen some surprise podium finishers and some unfortunate retirements but has the racing really been any good? The silly season has kept most of us occupied with the off-track drama in between Grand Prix weekends, but it’s been quite some time since I’ve been blown away by anything on track. Today’s Grand Prix of Korea answered that question and helped uncover a few contributing factors.

First Lap Crashes

Motor racing and crashing have always gone hand in hand, but the sheer volume of first lap crashes and subsequent retirements we’ve seen since Spa is bordering the ridiculous.

The actions of Romain Grosjean have been discussed over and over, but consider today’s race in which both Sauber’s ended the races of Jenson Button and Nico Roseberg. This was the second weekend in a row Rosberg was taken out on the first lap. Have Formula 1 drivers become that desperate to save their seats? Both Grosjean and Kobayashi have been under heavy pressure to produce for their respective teams and the careers of both drivers hang on a very fine line.

Grosjean has displayed a raw talent and blistering speed while Kobayashi has been a consistent driver and a fan favorite. But the desperation on track and resulting collateral damage has had a major effect on the seasons of some of the sport’s leading contenders. What many of the drivers on mid-field teams are failing to recognize is that races aren’t won on the first lap.

Reliability

Ferrari and Red Bull have had their issues over the course of 2012, but no front running team has suffered more with reliability than McLaren. After gearbox issues in both Monza and Singapore, suspension problems ruined Lewis Hamilton’s race in Korea.

After starting behind the Red Bulls in P3, Hamilton began to fall back in the field, struggling with the car for most of the race. In the final laps he was fighting for valuable points against Torro Rossos and Force Indias. Hamilton criticisms aside, fighting for P10 is not usually something we’re used to seeing him doing. As a team, McLaren severely need to get their act together. Since the Hamilton split, they’ve been in shambles. From a fan perspective these reliability issues have had an effect on the quality and competitiveness of the racing. We all expect to see our favorite teams at the top of their games.

While some like Red Bull have exceeded expectations, others including McLaren and Mercedes have failed to meet the mark.

Safety Cars & Incompetence

Many will say it was the safety cars that made the Singapore Grand Prix a complete wash. But what about Japan? The restart after clearing the damage of the first lap crashes saw Sebastian Vettel charging like a gazelle, while the rest of the pack were left dazed and confused. Did Kobayashi and Button not get the memo that the race was back on? Incompetence has also played a role in recent race weekends. In both Japan and Korea, we’ve seen yellow flags during the flying laps of Q3.

Kimi Raikkonen spun his car in Japan, while Daniel Riccardo experienced gearbox issues in Korea. On Sunday’s race another yellow flag affected the racing when track marshals failed to remove Nico Rosberg’s beached Mercedes. That particular instance is up for debate, as Rosberg’s car posed no apparent threat to the drivers on track. Safety is an obvious concern that shouldn’t be taken lightly, but at what point has the FIA begun to babysit the drivers? Everyone in the sport understands the risks involved but now the caution is beginning to affect the show.

The Irrelevant Grand Prix

Is the Korean Grand Prix a joke?

Apart from the financial and sponsorship advantages, what’s the point of this race? The Korea International Circuit’s gates open only once a year for Formula 1. The track is filthy and the race has failed to attract the kind of attendance FOM had originally anticipated. One only needs to watch the Korean Grand Prix to understand why this event continues to lose money.

The organizer’s incompetence is blatantly obvious from the track literally falling apart during the race, to event staff harassing the drivers during podium interviews. Lewis Hamilton’s race went from bad to worse after his McLaren picked up a chunk of astro turf which lodged itself on the car’s side pod. He spent the remainder of the race with a green streamer. As the podium interviews started, Sebastian Vettel was hounded by one of girls who handed the drivers their microphones. Apparently she wanted his hat. It’s easy to laugh at the race’s more ridiculous occurrences, but for a World-class event it’s completely unacceptable. Not to mention the fans couldn’t even be bothered to stay in their seats to support the podium ceremonies.

It’s been 3 years since the Korean Grand Prix joined the Formula 1 calendar and I’m still struggling to understand why we still have it.

Sunday’s Heroes

Despite all the misfortunes of today’s Korean Grand Prix, it wasn’t without its stars. Hats off to Felipe Massa who is winning my support week after week. We’re back to the old Massa, the one before the  accident. He’s got a smile again and his demeanor shows through in his driving. Even Ferrari can see it as they issued team orders, telling him slow down as Alonso’s pace weakened.

Rumors suggest he’s already signed a 1 year extension with Ferrari, which could very will be the case. Whatever the reason, I’m happy to see him competitive again. Another driver who made a case on Sunday was Nico Hulkenberg. I was part of the minority that said he should have replaced Hamilton at McLaren and today he showed everyone why.

His cool, collected demeanor would’ve been a perfect fit at McLaren and he could’ve flourished under the guidance of Button and the rest of the team. If the rumors are correct, Hulkenberg will do well at Sauber next year.

As much as it pains me to say this, we all have to admire what Red Bull have done in the last few races. Adrian Newey is a genius and has built another brilliant car. Even Mark Webber had a great weekend and should be pleased. No one was going to be able to stop Vettel in his RB8. However, I’m still hung up on the skills of Vettel. Is it the driver or the car? Earlier in the season he struggled when the car wasn’t performing and now that it is, he’s back to winning races.

The bottom line is that Fernando Alonso and Ferrari have quite a bit of work to do between now and the end of November if they hope to win another WDC.

Photos courtesy of F1 Fanatic.