Vettel wins and Alguersuari shines

The European Grand Prix was an interesting race rather than an exciting one, I suppose not even Pirelli’s tyres can turn Valencia into a thriller. Nevertheless there were a couple of fine performances that deserve to be noted.

I wrote earlier this week that the Toro Rosso drivers were under pressure to perform and for the second race in a row Jaime Alguersuari produced a fine drive to finish 8^th. This one was markedly different though, there was no taking advantage of a wet race and retirements ahead as in Canada. In fact with all 24 drivers finishing today Algersuari really had to work hard.

Driving aggressively at the start he made his way up from 18^th on the grid, utilising a two stop strategy to stealthily make his way to the head of the midfield. Alguersuari hasn’t been the best qualifier this year, he’s more often out qualified by his team mate Sebasitian Buemi, but he is proving to be a fine racer, maybe if he keeps this up he’ll find a way into the senior Red Bull set up. It was definitely a fine drive through the pack in a middling car, one of the best of the race in front of his home crowd.

The other Spaniard in the field was a certain Fernando Alonso who gave his fans something to celebrate as he gained his second podium of the season with a fine 2^nd place. A good start, he passed Hamilton from fourth and then dived round the outside of Felipe Massa into turn 2 who’d jumped from 5^th to 3^rd initially. Massa ended up falling to 5^th at the finish after a dodgy pit stop. Alonso held onto the Red Bulls at the start and after the final pit stop shake out, ended up ahead of Mark Webber in second place.

The Ferrari on the harder tyres never really had the pace unlike on the softer tyres and Vettel left him behind in the final laps. He was lucky the other Red Bull of Webber developed a gearbox problem and dropped away to finish 3rd, otherwise he may have been under pressure to keep him behind. Overall it was a strong drive with a deserved result, but unlike when McLaren are having their good days, you get the feeling that Ferrari, at the moment at least, can’t quite build up to a race winning challenge.

McLaren were definitely not having one of their good days. Lewis Hamilton drove well but in contrast to the past few races, had quite a lonely race. He was at various times told by his team to speed up and slow down to save his tyres, but he was giving his maximum through out. The tyres didn’t seem able to stay with him, but he still managed to beat a Ferrari to 4^th place which is probably the best he could have expected from today.

Jenson Button confirmed McLaren’s poor race pace, and he wasn’t helped by a KERS failure at the half way point leaving him 6th. In Turkey, McLaren were similarly afflicted with poor pace but then the next three they had arguably the fastest car so perhaps it was just circuit orientated and not a genuine step backwards.

Nico Rosberg brought some points back for Mercedes after a race of poor tyre wear for both him and team mate Michael Schumacher. Rosberg managed to get the better of Algersuari just, while Schumacher had a clash with Vitaly Petrov as he exited the pit lane after his first stop losing his front wing. It looked like the Russian could have given the Mercedes a bit more room, although Michael later admitted it was probably his misjudgement as he finished 17th. Just as it was coming good for Schumacher, he reminds us its tough down in the pack.

Adrian Sutil and Nick Heidfeld filled the last points positions. A good result for Sutil in particular who out raced his rookie team mate Paul Di Resta for once and was challenging Algersuari for 8^th come the end. Renault will be disappointed they only got a point for the race, they seem to be dropping back as the year goes on.

It was all action down the field, Buemi, Paul Di Resta, Petrov and Kobayashi having a bumper to bumper fight for the last part of the race. They were nose to tail, fighting to the death for what was only 13^th place. The new teams of Lotus, Virgin and Hispania finished 2 by 2 in that order a fair way behind.

Finally I think Sebastian Vettel is worth a mention today. In the press conference he said he ‘enjoyed the battle’ between himself and the car today, and that says it all really. He appreciated the challenge of pushing and conserving the tyres at the same time. As if as an after thought he mentioned he felt the pressure from Webber and Alonso at times but this really was a demonstration run.

It was like he had pace in hand all race, only turning it on when he felt like it, Vettel was in complete control. He seems able to keep his tyres fresher while running at a relentlessly fast pace, as when everyone was pitting early he’d still be setting decent times especially towards the final tyre change. There’s the off throttle blown diffuser ban coming up at Silverstone but I think that whatever rule changes are thrown at Red Bull, it’s going to be tough to beat them. In Valencia it was Pole position, fastest lap, race win, job done.

European Grand Prix preview

We’re approaching round 8 this weekend, the European Grand Prix around the docks of Valencia. I’m writing this as first practice is about to begin, it’s looking a bit overcast in Spain this morning but according to the forecast rain won’t be an issue.

One thing this season has taught us is to expect the unexpected (apart from the winner generally). With the variations in tyres and the strategies this results in, we have had some quite amazing and thrilling races, even in Spain. This weekend actually promises to bring us another exciting grand prix with close concrete walls, a new tyre compound and a double DRS zone adding extra complexity to the team’s tasks.

The first point of interest though is engine mapping. Might not sound particularly exciting, but this could be crucial in qualifying. In addition to the hot exhaust blown diffuser ban that is being introduced at the British Grand Prix, the FIA have decided to ban teams changing engine maps between qualifying and the race.

This means that teams will no longer be able to run extreme engine maps in qualifying which burns more fuel and blows more hot air through the diffuser creating more down force and then revert to a safer map for the race. It is thought this is one area which Red Bull have maximised and given them greater performance in qualifying than other teams.

So if it affects Red Bull more than others we could have a new team on pole position which would be quite the novelty this year. Having said that, I can’t look past Red Bull for the win in Valencia, this track is a fast flowing track for them to fully exploit. They’re far more than just a blown diffuser, so I expect them to be strong, particularly with Sebastian Vettel who won last year.

The other variable is the choice of tyres with Pirelli bringing the medium compound for the first time as well as the super soft. This might throw a few surprises into the mix as teams adjust to them.

So, apart from Sebastian Vettel who else could challenge for victory? Lewis Hamilton will be determined to prove himself and I would still expect a few aggressive moves from him, but I’ve a feeling they may actually come off this time. He’s finished 2^nd three times in Valencia so he’s more than capable of going that one step further. Lewis is a racer and he’ll not care what anyone thinks of him, but it is crucial he gets a result this time.

McLaren team mate Jenson Button is also in with a shout. He had an inspired race in Canada and could have won the last 2 grand prix if things had fallen his way in Monaco. He’s in good form and will be one to watch. With Lewis under pressure, Jenson will be looking to push to the forefront and become McLaren’s main championship challenger.

We mustn’t forget Vettel’s team mate Mark Webber. He may not be having the greatest season so far. He’s finished behind Vettel in every race this year, so he needs a strong weekend to reassert himself in the team. He’s looked subdued all season and he’s complained about the tyres not suiting him, but he’s not one for giving up, and if anyone can pull out a surprise result when his back is against the wall it’s Mark. He is in a Red Bull after all.

Ferrari is an unknown force coming into this weekend. Despite good pace the last few races they come here still unsure about how to use the harder compounds. Although the medium compound tyre is softer than the hard, there still seems to be issues over getting heat into the tyres with the more durable compounds.

One thing that is guaranteed is Fernando Alonso will be going all out to give his countrymen a great performance. In his own words ‘everything that could go wrong, did go wrong’ in Canada and he’ll be looking for a strong result.

Felipe Massa will just be looking to continue his strong showing from North America. He was near the front for a long time, and fought till the end. Massa still hasn’t shown us his true potential since his accident, and he’ll have to soon unless he wants to give another victory away to Alonso.

The Mercedes pair will want strong results with both being optimistic of a good race and with strong straight line speed, the best DRS wing with two DRS zones to exploit, they could be dark horses for a podium. Michael Schumacher is looking confident and Nico Rosberg just wants to get ahead again.

Renault need to step and get some more consistency if they want to beat Mercedes to fourth in the constructors championship. Vitaly Petrov is still susceptible to some off road moments despite his strong fifth in Canada. Nick Heidfeld was running well there too before his accident, and will want a good points finish this time. They could be strong, but I don’t expect them to challenge for a win.

A track which is lined by concrete walls is bound to attract a few cars to visit, so the final variable here is safety cars. It caused controversy last year when it split the pack causing Fernando Alonso to throw many a toy out of the cockpit after Lewis Hamilton gained an advantage by overtaking the safety car as it left the pits, leaving Alonso trapped behind.

Other notables to watch out for include Kamui Kobayashi, who will pass where not even Lewis would dare to tread. Also look out for Pastor Maldonado in the Williams, who is quietly outshining his vastly more experienced team mate Rubens Barrichello. For someone who was regarded as a pay driver at the beginning of the year, he’s showing some great speed.

Anyway, first practice has ended and as much as the times mean nothing, Mark Webber is heading the times. Let’s see if he can sustain a challenge to his team mate over the weekend.

The main thing now is we need one consistent challenger to Vettel, with all the variables of tyres, engine mapping and a double DRS zone maybe one could rise from the pack. However, Red Bull are more than a one trick bovine, and despite the engine mapping perhaps affecting them more than others, they’ll still be very tough to beat.

New engines for 2014

Formula 1 has delayed the introduction of eco-friendly engines by one year to 2014. Furthermore they have changed the specification of the engines after several manufacturers, particularly Ferrari, disagreed with the V4 Turbo concept although Renault was a prominent campaigner for their introduction.

However a compromise was reached whereby V6 Turbo engines fully equipped with hybrid systems will now be introduced. This is likely to be confirmed after a vote by the World Motor Sport Council.

I believe this to be a nice compromise. Formula 1 should be the pinnacle of motor sport and to constantly downsize engines seems to go against that, so this can only be a good move. Keeping a generous engine capacity and further encompassing green technology pushes Formula 1 towards the front for green speed.

Hamilton to Red Bull and other thoughts

Hamilton to Red Bull?

Lewis Hamilton qualified 5^th for the Canadian Grand Prix half a second away from the pole time of Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull. After this session it was widely reported that Hamilton took the time to have an impromptu chat with Christian Horner, the team principal of Red Bull. Despite negotiations with Mark Webber, Red Bull technically have a seat free next year. Obviously a lot can be read into such a chat, and the necessary denials have already been made.

I’ve already written about how I feel Lewis Hamilton is becoming increasingly frustrated, and it appears to be reflected in his driving of late. He has been used to success and he knows he is one of the best if not the best driver out there. He has a comfortable home at McLaren, he has the measure of Jenson Button most of the time but is aware that his time in Formula 1 is finite, and he wants the success to prove that he is the one of the greats not just very good.

McLaren obviously make good cars, but they’ve actually only won one driver’s championship this century, and no constructor’s championships. For a team this good, it’s not impressive statistics and needs to improve to keep a driver with the ambition of Lewis Hamilton despite a contract for next year.

I would love to see him out of his comfort zone at some point. You don’t get too much team changing between the big names these days, so it would be really fascinating to see him integrate into a new team.

Hamilton to Red Bull would make perfect sense. He’s still very young, has a cultivated edgy image and is supremely fast. It would be very interesting to see how Vettel would react as well. He didn’t like it when Webber was giving him such a hard time last year, and with Hamilton, you’d have to expect an even tougher time. Certainly there would be fireworks and there is questions of why would Red Bull want to upset their star driver when the present situation works so well? But for now this meeting seems to be just a warning shot.

He may have been involved with McLaren in some form since he was six and he’s unlikely to walk out on a deal, but when you’re an ambitious young racing driving, eager to keep winning championships loyalty will only last a certain amount of time and contracts can be broken.

New Australian ready to shine

There’s another driver dilemma going on lower down the grid. Sebastian Buemi and Jaime Algersuari are from Red Bull’s young driver program and are currently driving for Toro Rosso just like Vettel was before them. Red Bull are eager to produce more stars to prove just how effective their program is, and they only have a certain amount of seats for them.

So far the Toro Rosso drivers have shown occasional impressive speed and each have had a number of accomplished races. However it is a lack of consistency that is affecting them both. Just when you think they’re delivering their potential, the next race brings them down again. They’re not exactly exuding star quality. Toro Rosso test driver and potentially Australia’s next superstar is Daniel Ricciardo and is beginning to threaten their positions.

He too is part of the Red Bull young driver program and has been driving in first practice at each of the first seven races. He has outpaced the regular driver three times so far, had plenty of success in many junior formulae and was extremely impressive at the end of season test for Red Bull last year in Abu Dhabi.

It’s not unlikely that Ricciardo will be given a race at some point this year, it is up to the Toro Rosso regulars to make sure his rise to the top is delayed before it’s too late.

Rotation, Rotation, Rotation

It was nice to see common sense prevail over Bahrain as the race was re-cancelled for this season. India moves back to its original October 30^th date and Bahrain is probably going to be back in 2012 if the situation returns to normal. Whether normal is a good thing is up for quite some debate especially after the jail terms handed out to activists against the government today.

What this does mean is that there is a 21 race calendar for next year. Jean Todt, president of the FIA, has said one will certainly drop out. At the moment that looks likely to be Turkey as the government there are unwilling to pay such a high race fee anymore for little return. The race isn’t promoted enough and the crowds have generally been poor.

It would be a shame to lose the race as it is one of the better new tracks. This doesn’t solve the increasing problem that Formula 1 has already reached the limit the teams agreed of no more than 20 races per season.

The USA is joining next season and Russia wants one for 2014, France’s prime minister Francois Fillon is seeking to get backing for a revival at the Paul Ricard circuit and after a demonstration in Hong Kong which attracted over 40,000 people there are rumours they would like a race there as well.

I think it is about time the FIA began to think of rotating races. Disregarding political intricacies of which I’m sure there would be many, my plan would be this. You would have the core races which would contain classics and important markets which are important to the teams and their sponsors.

This would contain Grand Prix from Monaco, Britain, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Canada, USA, Russia and China and maybe India and Singapore. These races would become the back bone of the season embracing historical and modern needs with commercial necessity. It also might be beneficial to not rotate the race of the most popular driver, such as Spain for Fernando Alonso although this is not essential.

After this you would divide the rest of the races into zones, and rotate them from year to year. At the moment the rotation groups would mainly include European races, but you could also have Abu Dhabi and Bahrain swapping for a Middle East zone with Qatar expected to try for a race at some point in the future

In an Australasian zone you could have Australia, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore. Depending on where the races are coming from is how you would judge the zones. Obviously it is a plan with many creases to be ironed out, but I don’t believe it is unworkable.

It would be beneficial to some countries that maybe don’t want to lose a race but can’t afford to put it on every year such as Melbourne in Australia. A bi-annual event would be a good solution and would enable Formula 1 to continue to expand into new territories without having to lose the old ones and the money that goes with it.

BBC, please stay?

Finally there were reports in Murdoch owned newspaper the Sunday Times that the BBC were looking to axe Formula 1. We won’t go into details over the ownership of the newspaper and the apparent attempt by Newscorp to buy Formula 1, although it is relevant to say that despite what was reported viewing figures haven’t be so high for years.

However, although mere rumours at the moment it is no secret the BBC is looking to save money as a result of the license fee freeze. I can only hope they find some other way. The coverage the BBC presents is an absolutely fantastic package.

We have a fantastic host in Jake Humphrey, brilliant punditry, some great interactive elements and now we have the best commentary pairing in Martin Brundle and David Coulthard who have both grown into their new rules better than anyone could have predicted. Coulthard in particular has been a revelation, incisive critique and very amusing too. And most importantly no adverts!

Let’s hope the BBC realise what a thrilling sport they have, and now with a BAFTA win, why would they give up on the fastest, most intriguing and compelling sport in the world?

After race thoughts: Was Canada a turning point?

Could Jenson Button’s Canadian Grand Prix win be the turning point of the season, when Vettel and Red Bull begin to crumble? There is a short answer to this, and that’s no. Red Bull came to Canada fearing a negative result. McLaren and Ferrari were expected to be much stronger at a track that relies more on straight line, Mercedes and Ferrari engines being stronger than the Renault of Red Bull.

This must strike fear into the hearts of Red Bull’s rivals, as not only did they continue their domination in qualifying, getting their seventh consecutive pole position, but they were only half a lap away from leading pretty much lights to flag as they have done all year. They remain an awesome proposition especially with a higher down force track like Valencia coming up which Sebastian Vettel won last year.

However, this is not to say the opposition weren’t stronger. Ferrari qualified less than a tenth of a second behind with both cars and McLaren continued to be much stronger with their race pace than they are in qualifying. In fact it’s fair to say that the Woking team have had the quickest race car for the last three races. It’s only Vettel, who drove immaculately in Spain to hold off Hamilton, and a certain amount of luck in Monaco that has stopped them.

McLaren team principle Martin Whitmarsh seems to think that McLaren may be in the ascendancy as they have a strong record of development although he is realistic enough to admit that “Red Bull remains the pacesetter”. But this does give hope that the season will not be a Red Bull walkover. After his first victory of the year Jenson Button told the BBC he is optimistic about still securing the title for himself.

Ferrari also carried on improved form from Monaco. We’re still not sure if they’ve managed to solve their problem on the hard compound tyres as Pirelli have only brought the soft and super-soft with them the last few races, and although I won’t be surprised to see Fernando Alonso topping a podium soon they still have much to work on to continue this upturn. They definitely had strong pace last weekend, it was just a shame about the race.  

Mercedes and Renault, although not likely to be consistent challengers, are moving in the right direction and could throw in the odd surprise result. So there are reasons to be hopeful that Vettel won’t quite walk away with it, but Red Bull continue to grow as a team, learning from the mistakes of last year, much like their driver.

Button’s closing down and pressurising of Vettel into a mistake on the last lap was immense. Last year this may have got to the German but not now. With becoming World Champion Vettel walks with confidence. He is much more assured and despite pressure in a number of recent races, he’s not cracked until now. We’ll see how he performs in Valencia, but I’ve a feeling any chink in the armour will have long since been dealt with.

Red Bull have slaughtered everyone in qualifying, and have managed the races perfectly for the most part and last year they were able to keep up with the rate of development very well indeed. McLaren and Ferrari have always been formidable, but now Red Bull are truly established at the top table, so are they.

It’s also worth noting that with Vettel currently dominating his team mate Mark Webber, unless there is only one consistent challenger from Lewis Hamilton, Button or Alonso, then it’s going to be very hard to catch Vettel at all.

Looking forward perhaps the British Grand Prix on July 10^th will be more of a turning point. The FIA confirmed during the week that hot blown diffusers will effectively be banned from Silverstone something that Red Bull has perfected better than most.

This is when exhaust gasses are ignited and blown through the diffuser to increase down force even when the driver is off the throttle and on some tracks can be worth up to a second per lap. Most teams run some kind of version of this technology, but the ban does have the potential to shake up the order.

More thoughts coming up on rotating races, Lewis Hamilton to Red Bull rumours and Toro Rosso’s driver dilemma.

Button's last-gasp dash to victory

What a sensational race! When I sat down at 5pm to watch the BBC coverage I didn’t think I’d still be sitting there five hours later having witnessed one of the most epic races this season. It contained a two hour stoppage for rain, five safety cars, too many incidents and clashes to mention and some quite supreme driving skill from the best drivers on earth. We even got a spot of bird watching from the BBC commentators as they waited for the restart.

All of the races so far this year have been exciting, but this was something else, and it gave us our second non Sebastian Vettel victory. Jenson Button was simply in outstanding form.

I don’t think there has been another race where the winner has made six pit stops, been given a drive through penalty, dropped to last place, charged back through the field more than once and yet still come out on top on the very last lap of the race. Many others can claim to have had the same amount of drama today, but only one can say they came through to win.

After the last safety car period there were only 10 laps to go. He had been gaining two seconds a lap over the fight for second place between Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber. Button latched on to the back. Nose to tail for five laps, each trying to use every inch of the dry line, Webber finally made his move on Schumacher but overdid it and went over the final chicane on to the start finish straight.

Taking to the wet part of the track Button raced around the outside, taking third, he was soon on to the gearbox of the silver Mercedes. Schumacher was struggling in more normal dry conditions. He’d pushed his car to the edge every lap and in the wet had looked every inch the master he once was. In the dry he was no match, and as they surged on to the back straight Button activated his DRS and was easily through with 4 laps to go.

Jenson was driving out of his skin. He’d already survived a clash with his McLaren team mate Lewis Hamilton, and had bit of rough and tumble with Fernando Alonso, but he knew he could catch Vettel. He began reeling him in, Vettel tried to respond but he couldn’t. Into lap 70 Button was less than a second behind and still catching.

Vettel has been mighty under pressure so far this year. In Spain and in Monaco he has fended off sustained pressure and never looked like cracking. But today he led practically every lap but not the final one.

Approaching turn six he got on to the wet bit of track and slid. The car half turned and that was all Button needed. He greeted his jubilant mechanics with that wide eyed victory stare he has, eyes bulging, and adrenaline no-doubt still pumping. It was a brilliant drive and he took what was certainly one of the best victories of his career.

Jenson’s race was only one of a number of outstanding performances. Vettel drove brilliantly for the majority of it, only succumbing at the very end. He looked pretty annoyed with himself, but he can be consoled by his increased championship lead and second still being his worst result of the year.

Webber had a number of setbacks yet still managed to finish third. Being knocked off on the first proper racing lap by Lewis Hamilton didn’t help and he was one of a number of drivers who changed too early for intermediate tyres in the first part of the race. Yet he battled back to snatch third from Schumacher in the dying moments of the race.

However, I think along with a number of people, it was almost a shame he did. For today in Canada, Schumacher showed us what he is still capable of. He had his drama’s today too including being one of the drivers to change for intermediates a lap before heavy rain came which stopped the race on lap 25 leaving him 12^th.

He’d already had a hard battle with Lewis Hamilton and made an opportunistic move on Button, but two hours later when the race resumed he showed us what we’d been missing. As soon as the safety car came in eight laps after the restart, he was in for intermediates again and scythed through the field utilising turn 6 as his passing spot and was straight after Kobayashi and Massa who were battling for second and third.

As Massa failed to make a move stick, they were both offline and Schumacher swept past them into second down to the hairpin and he began to close on Vettel before the safety car came out again for Nick Heidfeld’s accident on lap 57. By then he'd changed to dry tyres, the track having dried significantly and his car was no longer up to the job as Button and Webber swept passed.

Still, fourth was a great result even if he commented after “I am leaving this race with one eye laughing and one eye crying, as I am not sure if I should be excited or sad about it." He deserved a podium, but it was nice he got a result after the flashes of speed he has shown this year.  

Other notable results included Vitaly Petrov in fifth place and Kamui Kobayashi in seventh who’d battled near the front for a long time before dropping back after stopping too late for dry tyres. Jaime Algersuari finished eighth, he’d started from the pit lane but impressed by staying on the track while others got involved in incidents.

However, while others have great results others are noticeable by their lack of them. Ferrari had opportunity to show well but for various reasons were unable to perform. Alonso was unfortunate to tangle with Button and beach his car on the kerb resulting in the fourth safety car period, but he hadn’t really shown that much speed up to that point.

Felipe Massa was impressive, for a long time battling in the top 3. However when he changed to dry tyres, he got on to the wet part of the track passing a Hispania car and wrecked his nose resulting in an extra trip to the pits. He did manage to pass Kobayashi on the line to take sixth but it could have been so much more.

Paul Di Resta in the Force India raced in the top 6 for a long time but knocking his nose against Nick Heidfeld at the final chicane ruined a good chance. It finally ended for him when he crashed at turn nine two laps from the end.

Lewis Hamilton is someone who loves these conditions and no doubt would have excelled. Therefore it was rather unfortunate that for the second successive race he was involved in a number of collisions. But unlike in Monaco he was blameless in both.

At the first start Hamilton dived to the inside of Webber into turn one. He was given room, but as Lewis went over the kerb, the car skated and clattered into the back of Webber, spinning the Red Bull round, but it was no more than a racing incident.

His second clash of the day was with his team mate Button. Button was struggling in the early wet part of the race. Hamilton had ended up behind him after running wide at the hairpin but coming on to lap 7 he was tucked up and moved to the outside on the start finishing straight.

Button looked in his mirror but the sprayed masked his team mate and he kept to the normal line and knocked Hamilton’s right front wheel resulting in his car bouncing into the pit wall. Jenson has since apologised, but it ruined the other McLaren’s race.

The only slight disappointment was the original start behind the safety car, and then once the race was stopped how long they stayed behind it when it was restarted. It seemed a slight case of being over cautious when races in the past have been started in far worse conditions, but I guess these are the times we live in. Having said that, it was definitely right that the race should have been stopped when it was.

However, it didn’t stop Jenson and as a drive through penalty was handed to him for speeding behind the safety car and other incidents delayed him, he carried on charging to take one of the best last gasp victories we’ve seen in years. Watch the highlights here, they’re more than worth it.

Bahrain returns as 21 race calendar set for 2012

A couple of important things happened today in the world of Formula 1. First of all Bahrain has been reinstated on to the calendar after its original March date was cancelled due to civil unrest.A state of emergency was lifted on Wednesday and the FIA have seen fit to grant them their place back on October 30th.

According to the BBC website this is despite police check points and Saudi Arabian troops remaining in place. Some opposition activists are still being detained with no trial forthcoming. 

Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights believes 'it's a very sad moment. It seems that their [Formula 1 Organisers] benefit and their interest has more importance than the human rights of people in this part of the region. It's very upsetting, and the people are very upset.'

Former president of the FIA Max Moseley told ESPN it would be a 'public-relations disaster...The grand prix will be used to paint a picture of Bahrain that will be false.They will be attempting to use the grand prix to support what they are doing, almost using Formula One as an instrument of repression.' 

Although three time Formula 1 World Champion Jackie Stewart says 'I'm pleased. Sport is a very good equaliser in the case of unrest, because sport somehow unifies people. An F1 race going there hopefully might help to do that.'

Another angle is the logistics for the teams. They don't want to go, some for moralistic reasons, others because it has meant the season will be extended. The October 30th date was originally scheduled to be for the Indian Grand Prix. However this will now be moved back to either December 4th or 11th. Ross Brawn, the Mercedes team boss told Autosport it is 'totally unacceptable'.

'It is getting too much. Our guys have been working since January, we don't have test teams anymore, so the same guys have been working since January and we are asking them to work into December and that means there is no time for a holiday before Christmas and that would mean getting straight back in to it in January. So personally I think it is unacceptable and we've told Bernie that and he knows our opinion.'

The FIA have said this decision is not for money reasons, although after examing all the other reasons against reinstatement, it does seem the only real reason to add Bahrain back is that it means Formula 1 will receive the race fee that each country pays Formula 1 for hosting the race. As Max Mosley says sponsors may 'want their liveries removed' rather than be associated with the event.

Sport and politics don't mix, and Formula 1 should have no opinion on what goes on there other than to promote the sport and companies involved, but is Bahrain using the Grand Prix to prove to the world that everything is back to normal? It all seems a bit unwise and distasteful in the current situation. Added to this is the impact on fans who may have already booked for the Indian Grand Prix and arranged hotels and travel.

All in all it might have been better to wait for the 2012 season. Having said all this, no one makes much of a noise about the continuing human rights cases in China, and this race has been established since 2004.

Also announced today is a 21 race calendar for the 2012 season. I'm of the opinion that you can have too much of a good thing. 20 races should be the limit to a season as any more may result in over-exposure. I believe that this will result in people not treating each race as an event, but that you'll just as easily be able to catch a race in a week or so. 

Perhaps the FIA could look into alternating races on a year by year basis, much like the World Rally Championship has done in the past. It seems odd to increase the work load of the teams while also insisting that they reduce costs.Money talks.

Senna

I was lucky enough to see the Senna film a few weeks ago in a rather plush cinema in Hampstead. Watching his life unfold it reminded me of my first Grand Prix. It’s not often you get to see your heroes at their very best, especially one as gifted as Ayrton Senna, but this is something I’ll appreciate forever.

I was 10 years old in 1993 and I remember sitting in my Grandpa’s living room in Leeds watching qualifying for the European Grand Prix at Donnington. I was looking forward to the race, all weather reports indicated it was going to be a wet race which increased my excitement. My favourite driver was great in the wet, Ayrton Senna was absolutely awesome in the wet.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I was told I wouldn’t be able to watch it. Apparently we were going to be out for the race. If memory recalls correctly I was probably about to complain and ask if I could stay home until my Dad took out an envelope. Inside were tickets to the race, I found it very hard to utter a word for a while after.

On a cold damp April morning, having hardly slept we arrived at Donnington just as the morning warm up commenced. I raced down to the side of the track on a little straight just past the Craner Curves, it was only half an hour, but it was immense. I hadn’t appreciated just how loud and fast these cars were in real life.

There are many articles that document this race. All I remember is staying in exactly the same spot through the entire Grand Prix. The rest of my family had a wonder around the track but I didn’t want to miss a lap. At the start they flashed by in an instant, but I’d spotted the bright yellow crash helmet of Senna and he was already making the moves that history would say was one of the greatest opening laps of all time.

Through rain, sun, four pit stops no one could live him, not his greatest Formula 1 rival Alain Prost, not Michael Schumacher who at the time I thought would surely be Senna’s next challenge. He literally disappeared in to the distance, and I stared intently not wishing to miss a moment. On his victory lap he waved to the crowd, I waved back as he slowly drove past, obviously elated. I couldn’t believe my first race and my favourite driver had won. I was already asking my Dad if we could go to the British Grand Prix in 1994 to see him again.

This is how I’ll remember Senna. For all his faults, he had a natural gift that he pushed to the limit, sometimes beyond. His drive and passion as a racing driver is what I’ll remember.  Not his death, not his crashes with Prost, but when I was 10, I saw him lap after lap, the yellow crash helmet appearing through the spray, driving with skill no one else could match. To paraphrase Senna, to me if felt like ‘pure racing’. Like the film, it was beautiful to watch.

If you were a fan, or if you never witnessed him racing at the time, I urge you to go and see the film. It’s not just a racing film, but about a person who appreciated life and made the most of what he made come his way. It’s about the life of one of the best sportsmen, one of the greatest most driven people the world has ever seen.