Monday 29 August 2011

Vettel's Game Winning Move?


Welcome back to Formula 1 racing and wasn’t Sunday’s race a belter? All the expectation leading to Belgium was of a Red Bull team on the back foot and Mclaren and Ferrari in the ascendancy. Well Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull certainly proved the lie to that.

There was so much action and passing going on it was almost too hard to keep track, but it was a great race with a number of great drives, but I’ve picked out three which deserve to be praised and there’s no better place to start than at the top.

Sebastian Vettel – Pole to Win
Sebastian Vettel was just imperious, no one was going to get the better of him. There were problems over the Belgium weekend, not least that Red Bull had some serious issues with tyre blisters, something caused by their set up of the car and which badly affected the tyres they qualified on and would have to start the race with. Technical director Adrian Newey felt they should be allowed to change tyres for safety reasons, the other teams quite rightly told them you should have changed your set up.
So Vettel started this race knowing he was going to have to come into the pits early. In the end Red Bull called the strategy perfectly, utilising a safety car period to bring Vettel in for a free pit stop. After leading by seven seconds, pitting under the safety car left him third. He was soon past Mark Webber at the restart on lap 17 and flying after Fernando Alonso.
Up Eau Rouge down the straight Vettel was on the outside, DRS was disabled at this point, and it was like a drag race down to Les Combes, the Ferrari and Red Bull side by side. He edged in front, braking around the outside, he was through and he raced serenely on, never to be really troubled again.
This is what I enjoyed about Vettel’s weekend, he was brilliant in the wet dry conditions of qualifying to take pole position, remained unflustered by the blistered tyres which he managed well, didn’t over react when in traffic and made some good moves. There was a lot of pressure on him this weekend, many thought the likes of Hamilton and Alonso were coming for him, they don’t think that anymore as he took his 7th win of the year and another step towards his second title.
Jenson Button – 13th to 3rd
I’ve a hunch that can never be proved, but I believe if Jenson Button’s front wing hadn’t been broken he may well have won this race. He had massive pace, it was only the debris from the clashes at the start that hurt him (including a near miss when a piece of body work took off his wing mirror), otherwise after having changed his nose on lap 5 which actually dropped him behind fellow out of position starter Michael Schumacher, he was the fastest man out there.
He started from 13th after a mix up in qualifying when his team hadn’t told him the correct information regarding how many laps he could do. He was on the harder compound tyre and once he’d changed them he was on the softer compound for the rest of the day and able to charge.

He made some truly courageous moves. A double pass on Vitaly Petrov and Sergio Perez at turn 1, some great passes into the Bus Stop chicane, especially the one on Felipe Massa, where he charged down the outside to make sure he had the inside line for the next corner and obviously there were some easier ones with the aid of DRS down the Kemmel Straight.
It was an inspiring drive, but one which just left you wondering what might have been, because I truly believe Jenson Button had the car and skills to win today, but unfortunately it seems mistakes have cost McLaren again this year which a team with their experience should really be avoiding by now.
Michael Schumacher – 24th to 5th
Michael Schumacher had a special golden crash helmet made to celebrate his 20th anniversary in Formula. Spa-Francorchamp has been a special place to him over the years but it wasn’t going to plan after qualifying when a wheel fell off causing him to crash within the first few minutes of the session leaving him last on the grid.
The advantage this left him with was three fresh sets of soft tyres for the race but it was still going to have to be a tough fight back to score some decent points, and could he avoid hitting anyone? On Sunday he was sublime, he was calm and collected, didn’t rush into any moves, it was like watching a seven time world champion again.

The TV cameras didn’t really pick it up, but the lap before Button pulled off the move on Petrov and Perez, Schumacher had done exactly the same thing into turn 1, as they battled, he moved to the inside and was through, but what was surely the most exciting thing was when he caught his team mate Nico Rosberg.
They were on different compounds, Schumacher on the softer tyre, but to beat your team mate when you started last was a pretty decent result. After a few laps following, he attacked Rosberg coming off the top of Eau Rouge and was soon passed him on the straight. It was good to finally see a trouble free race where he could use his good race pace, next it would be nice to see a trouble free weekend, but whatever, it was a fantastic charging drive.
The Lewis Hamilton incident
I thought Lewis Hamilton was going to be the bench mark at this race, unfortunately he went back to having unnecessary clashes. The incident with Pastor Maldonado during qualifying looked like the Venezuelan's fault but you can see Lewis move his car too. The incident with Kamui Kobayashi was just completely pointless and easily avoidable and it caused the safety car which probably helped championship leader Vettel.
Hamilton had passed the Sauber driver on the approach to Eau Rouge, but Kobayashi was able to tuck into the slip stream and began to pull alongside the McLaren when Lewis just kept coming over just before the right hander at Les Combes, the resulting clash sent Hamilton careering to the barriers and out of the race.

Lewis knew Kobayashi was there, he’d moved to the middle of the track to cover the inside. If he’d just maintained that line he’d probably have had at least a podium. However, he just seemed to forget the Japanese driver was there. On Kamui’s part, I think he turned in too early and probably should have tucked in behind Hamilton as he wasn’t going to get by there.
Despite originally saying it wasn’t his fault, Hamilton has now via Twitter, apologised for the incident, accepting the blame and apologising to Kobayashi. Hamilton’s title chances are pretty much gone and for a driver who is so good, these incidents should just not be happening.
Ferrari
Ferrari had a nice scrap between their drivers and were both running in the top six for most of the race. Fernando Alonso in particular was running strongly, leading for a time, but as soon as he put on the harder compound he just faded.
Perhaps it was back to the problem of not being able to get heat in to the harder tyres, but it’s something they need to deal with quickly, because from what was second position he could offer no defence to the charges of Mark Webber and Button and ended up fourth.
Felipe Massa had a puncture leaving him a disappointed eighth. What was a promising start turned into a disappointing end for Ferrari, they’ll be hoping for better times in Italy, their home race, and possibly their last chance to launch a realistic title charge.
Rest of the top 10
Mark Webber had a poor start dropping him to ninth, but he managed to come back strongly to finish second. It included a great pass on Alonso coming to Eau Rouge just after the Ferrari exited the pits. It was a hold your breath moment, but a very brave move from Webber around the outside.
Nico Rosberg had a fine start moving from fifth to second, and then taking the lead from Vettel on the first lap. He had a strong first part to the race but faded a bit thereafter, being the cork rather than the champagne. Although he defended well he ended up in sixth place.


Adrian Sutil drove a strong race from 15th on the grid to finish up seventh, while Petrov just survived to take ninth. Pastor Maldonado scored his first point in tenth for Williams. After the incident with Lewis had given him a grid penalty he did well from 21st at the start.
Other notables
I feel sorry for Toro Rosso and Jaime Alguersuari in particular who had scored his best grid result with sixth place. Through no fault of his own he was taken out at the start, a shame as it would have been interesting to see what Toro Rosso could do from a decent grid slot. Sebastian Buemi was also hit from behind after a good start causing his rear wing to collapse, a case of missed opportunities.
Algersuari’s fate was sown by Bruno Senna making his Renault debut in place of Nick Heidfeld. He’d been great in qualifying in 7th, but his first start for over nine months caught him out when he left his braking just a bit too late to hit the Toro Rosso which actually then clipped Alonso. Senna’s front wing disintegrated sending debris flying and causing some mild chaos further down the order. Senna continued but after a penalty for causing an avoidable collision, he finished down in 13th.
So now we’re off to Monza in Italy, the fastest circuit on the calendar and another track which is not meant to be Red Bull friendly. Another win for Vettel there and it’s surely game over.

All photos taken from autosport.com

Friday 26 August 2011

Belgium Grand Prix preview

The wait is finally over, Formula 1 is back for its first race in a month. And it comes back to the best track of all. The Spa-Francorchamp circuit is loved by all, from the drivers to a spectators point of view it looks awesome. Seeing the cars through Eau Rouge up the Kemmel Straight into the forests is a sight to behold, even just from the sofa! It’s one of the last of the classic circuits to still be raced on and it’s one everyone wants to win.
Recent master of Spa is Lewis Hamilton and he’s my favourite to win. McLaren have momentum coming to Belgium despite the long break. Button will be confident too but I can’t see him matching Lewis here. Expect Alonso to be up there, with Vettel close behind whom I still expect to get pole position whatever happens, although this is the most likely race that Red Bull could miss out on.
The forecast for this weekend suggests similar temperatures to Germany and Hungary where McLaren won, so it could be that the British team find themselves in an advantageous position. So far there is only a small chance of rain for Saturday and Sunday, but around that track, it can change every minute!
Mercedes are tipping themselves to do well, saying they suit a more flowing circuit, and perhaps a lucky omen too as it’ll be Michael Schumacher’s 20th anniversary since he made his Formula 1 debut at this very track. Renault is bringing a whole host of updates and a new driver in the form of Bruno Senna to replace Nick Heidfeld. What benefit that might be, I’m not sure? Of the lower midfield teams Force India are expected to perform strongly.
Sebastian Vettel won’t be in the mood to lose too much ground this weekend, but he expects the next two races to be tough as they are more power circuits. Mercedes and Ferrari engines edge out the Renault in those circumstances, but they’ll not be also-rans by any means and I don’t expect him to crack.
Having said that, there’s only so much pressure a man can take, so the likes of Hamilton, Button and Alonso will be looking to maximise their points and make sure Vettel finishes further down the field than he’s been accustomed to. The second half starts here and Ferrari and McLaren have nothing to lose, let’s see how close they can get.

Thursday 25 August 2011

Twenty Years of Schumacher


Today is 20 years since Michael Schumacher made his Formula 1 debut at the wheel of a Jordan at the Belgium Grand Prix. As befitting a seven time World Champion I have chosen seven of my own favourite moments that I remember from the last 20 years. There were too many to choose from and I’ve left out a lot including several Belgium races and his only real head to head with Ayrton Senna. So let’s forget the controversy and just celebrate one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen.
1.       British Grand Prix 1998 & 2004
Let’s start not quite at the beginning, because as a race winner 91 times you’d have been very unlucky if you’d attended a few races and not seen him win. I was beginning to think that might happen to me after seeing four races and he’d not won, he’d barely got half way in most of them but then came 1998 and six years later I was lucky enough to see him win a second time.
They were very different wins, despite both coming at Silverstone in a Ferrari, and I was sitting in almost exactly the same position at Club corner. 2004 was a dry race, he’d won nine of the previous ten races, and was in a dominant position on his way to a 7th world championship. Starting fourth he outfoxed the rest on strategy and held off Kimi Raikkonen to take a fine win. But it’s the 1998 race win I remember most fondly. It was in the time of struggle when Schumacher was still in the midst of recovering his reputation after the Villeneuve incident the year before and was also continuing to build up Ferrari, who again managed to provide him with a less than perfect car that year.
On this day, it was raining. It was almost monsoon weather, there were safety cars, there were accidents, but there was one red car that kept hurtling into view every lap through the spray, kept getting quicker and quicker and after passing a spinning McLaren of Mika Hakkinen, kept pulling away and disappearing into the distance in what was a mesmeric drive. It was also the first time someone won in the pit lane!
Watching him through Club, I could see his hands dancing on the steering wheel, correcting every slight twitch almost before it had even happened as the rain cascaded down. He may have lost the championship that year, but drives like this cemented his reputation as the best out there.
2.       Belgium Grand Prix 1992
He had impressed immensely since he entered Formula 1, mixing it with the star drivers almost immediately, but he hadn’t won. I remember as a 10 year old being absolutely on the edge of my seat as Schumacher found himself in the lead in his green and yellow Benetton Ford. It had been a wet dry race and he’d called in for dry tyres on a still damp track at just the right moment to take the lead. However, it seemed almost impossible that he’d be able to hold off the dominant Williams Renault of Nigel Mansell.
But luck, almost ever present in his career, shined brightly on him that day. The Williams developed a problem and dropped back, and the young 23 year old German took his first win just a year after his debut and I’d gained my new favourite driver.

3.       European Grand Prix, Nurburgring, 1995
You have out manoeuvred your championship rival, and now he has retired from the race. You have a strong points lead, but there are still three races to go. You are second in the race behind a tough Ferrari driver called Jean Alesi, but who is on worn tyres. Play it safe for the championship or go for the win? Twelve laps to go, 20 seconds behind, there’s only one answer on this day.
I’d never seen such a race as Schumacher hunted down the long-time leader for lap after lap. He just went quicker and quicker setting the fastest lap again and again until with just three laps to go, he’d caught him. Coming up to the final chicane, he dived to the outside, their wheels briefly interlocked, a slight bit of contact, but he was through. An outstanding drive and overtake, there was no way he wasn’t coming through. At the next race he won his second world championship after running rings around the generally faster Williams.
4.       1997 Season
 The car was a box on wheels, it struggled to beat a Benetton or a McLaren in the days when Williams were still in control, Ferrari had no right to challenge for the championship. Yet for all that he still won five races and came within a few points of taking the title, although of course he was later disqualified from the whole season for deliberately ramming eventual champion Jacques Villeneuve at the final race of the year.
Let’s forget that for now, because he brought results that shouldn’t have been possible. To drag it on to the podium sometimes was a decent achievement. You just have to look at the points his team mate Eddie Irvine earned to realise it was a struggle. Despite this there were some magical moments, in the rain in Monaco he was 22 seconds in the lead by lap 5. Another wet race in Belgium resulted in a lead of almost a minute after just over 10 laps, sublime performances that demonstrated true skills on circuits where the driver can make a real difference.
He’d hustled this car into a title winning position, it was just unfortunate Schumacher couldn’t see that even if he’d lost the title he would have been regarded as the best of the year by a long way. But second for a racing driver is never any good, first of the losers. As Villeneuve dived for the inside approaching the closing stages of the race, Schumacher saw him coming and turned into the side of him. It didn’t work, but despite this unfortunate end, it’s arguably my favourite season of his as he far exceeded what his car was capable of, a sign of a true driving great.
5.       Japanese Grand Prix 2000
At last, after four years of helping to build Ferrari up they did it. Winning the championship was no easy task. The McLaren’s of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard were just as quick if not quicker, but this was his year. A good start to the season was followed by a bad mid-season, but by the time Japan came he could clinch the title.
It was an intense race, both Schumacher and Hakkinen were on an entire other level exchanging fastest laps as they left the rest of the field trailing. It was only decided towards the final pit stops, Schumacher was running second when a few drops of rain fell. He immediately closed up and after Hakkinen pitted was able to pull out enough of a gap to secure the win and Ferrari’s first drivers’ championship for 21 years.
6.       Japanese Grand Prix 2006
This is memorable for very different reasons. Schumacher’s main rival in the final year of his first career was Fernando Alonso who is still regarded as the most complete driver five years later. The Ferrari and Renault were very similar in terms of performance. Schumacher had pulled back a huge point’s deficit to be level with just two races to go.
It was very similar to 2000, they pushed each other hard but this time there was no fairy tale ending. With 16 laps to go the Ferrari’s engine broke and his car glided to a halt. As he walked away I couldn’t help feeling like his luck had finally run out. But what I really find memorable about this race and 2006 in particular was that he was still so competitive despite what we thought was his last year, he certainly went out on top.
7.       Canadian Grand Prix 2011
Of course he didn’t retire for long. Three years is a long time out of Formula 1, especially with the regulation changes during that time. Whether it was right or wrong for him to come back, or if its damaging his legacy doesn't matter. Ultimately he wanted to come back because he missed competing, missed driving and who can deny him that? He’s not quite as quick, has a love of crashing into people and can’t beat his team mate, who previously would have been easy prey.
But sometimes you see the old style and flash of genius there. In Canada in the wet he was awesome, and for the first time in ages I was on the edge of my seat for all the right reasons as the maestro sliced through the field. He lay second and was catching Vettel before the last safety car appearance brought the field back to him. With the track drying, he couldn’t make the difference anymore, but he fought brilliantly holding Button and Webber back for as long as possible. Not quite a podium, but a fantastic drive which reminded you how good he can be.
It’s the Belgium Grand Prix this weekend. The track where he made his debut, won his first race, had several spell binding drives resulting in a further five victories. Maybe, just maybe there might be a bit of magic this weekend.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

Mid-season review part three:The chase is on at the top

For a long time it looked like it could well just be a top one, but McLaren and Ferrari have fought back well against Red Bull, so here is my assessment of the top three teams at the halfwayish point.
Ferrari (215): Fernando Alonso (145) and Felipe Massa (70)
Ferrari had a slow start to the season. Despite positive testing they couldn’t match, or even get near the Red Bull pace in the early stages of the season. In the first five races they achieved precisely one podium finish. But as demonstrated last year, Ferrari aren’t a team to give up, they chipped consistently away and are now arguably the quickest car on race pace out there. Five podiums from the next six races have certainly proved that. They’ll always fight to the end, expect them to ramp up the pressure on Red Bull during the second half with a consistent sustained attack.
Alonso has more than double the points of Massa. Now there’s a statement to make Felipe’s head drop. He’s not had an overly bad season, he’s had some good races and often makes fantastic starts, but he’s missing a few tenths to Alonso which is just leaving him in the shade, in fact he’s indoors. In my opinion he’s not had the same performance since his accident. He was more than capable of at least challenging Alonso, but despite flashes of what was once there, he can’t deliver and it’s sad to see because you can see he looks lost, his team is no longer his. He needs to deliver a good performance as rumours still circulate that the vultures are waiting.
What to say about Alonso, pretty much he’s been brilliant. He’s brought the car home with decent points even when it wasn’t performing and since Monaco hasn’t been off the podium, apart from a little scuffle with Button that put him out in Canada. No one is more determined that the Spaniard, and if he can get himself in range of Vettel then he’ll definitely want to close the trap this time. His win in Silverstone proved Ferrari’s strength in the race, as did a further two podiums in Germany and Hungary, which if conditions had been hotter as expected might have resulted in two further wins. Another team where qualifying pace needs to be improved but Belgium and Italy should definitely favour them over Red Bull. It’s still all to play for it the Italian teams eyes.
McLaren (280): Lewis Hamilton (146) and Jenson Button (134)
To be blunt McLaren looked rubbish in testing, I mean properly poor. However, to put it simply a little tinkering and reverting back to basics on their exhaust layout suddenly made them Red Bull’s main challengers for the first part of the season. Apart from a few moments where like in Turkey or Valencia, they’ve been on the pace for the most part. In fact there was a period where they really had the fastest car in the race, but failed to capitalise. There have been a number of team errors and circumstance which has resulted in McLaren not getting the results their pace warranted which has left them over a 100 points behind Red Bull. Despite this, they go to the Belgium Grand Prix having won the last two races and with Spa master Hamilton, they stand a good chance of scoring a hat-trick.
Talking of Hamilton what an up and down season he’s had. A lot has been said about Hamilton this year, some of it nonsense, some of it sense. I think Hamilton has pushed the car well beyond it’s limits on occasion, but he’s taken it beyond his too. A third consecutive season without a car to properly challenge for the championship has meant his frustration has got the better of him on occasion. Yet he’s still the best non Red Bull driver and is still the most likely man to offer Vettel a challenge. He’s the fastest out there, has had two wins this year, he’s great around Spa, it could be just the place to add a third and start to crack Vettel .
Jenson Button has also had a pretty varied season. He’s struggled with qualifying again, although there are signs he might have turned that around. His wins in Canada and Hungary were again the sign of someone who is calm under pressure when conditions are tough and his decision making skills are second to none. On his day Jenson is great and no one can touch him, but he needs everything to be perfect which Hamilton does not. Button has said he wants to finish in front of Vettel for the rest of the year, perhaps he could. But in that scenario the only problem is I’d bet Hamilton finishes in front of them both.
Red Bull (383): Sebastian Vettel (234) and Mark Webber (149)
For most of the year so far Red Bull has been supreme. Their Adrian Newey designed car has proved to be the quickest and in the first eight races they exploited it to full effect, never finishing lower than second place. Since then they’ve not won a race, that isn’t to say they lost any pace, it’s just McLaren and Ferrari have got quicker. Looked at another way, this was on the cards for a long time. Red Bull were well prepared and quick straight away. Despite alterations to the exhaust blown diffuser regulations, one of their main strengths, they’ve been on pole position at every single race, often by some margin but this has never really been properly translated in the race as they would destroy their tyres. In many races other teams were quicker but it is because of their failings and Red Bulls better organization and Vettel’s driving that they’ve managed to keep winning. Now those failings have stopped, the chase is on.
Mark Webber has not got a handle on the Pirelli tyres, he’s admitted as much, but that does not explain just how much Vettel has reigned over him this year. He hasn’t driven badly but just once this year has he finished higher than his team mate, and at this stage of the season I don’t think that’s going to change. Hopefully he’ll manage a win at some point, but to me he has to regroup for next year as this one is a lost cause. Webber may be the closest challenger on points, but when Red Bull asked him to hang back in the closing stages of the British Grand Prix you learnt all you needed to know.
Sebastian Vettel has been completely brilliant this year. He has raised his performance to another level and deserves to be talked about in the same breath as Alonso and Hamilton. There’s still a question mark about whether he can win from anywhere other than the front, but to be fair, because he qualifies at the front so much it’s a bit hard for him to battle those statistics. He has controlled races assuredly, handling pressure from the likes of Hamilton and Alonso calmly, and been devastatingly fast in qualifying. He has won six times so far this year, but hasn’t for the last three races. With Belgium and Italy traditionally being less favourable to Red Bull he may have to go a few more without a victory, but I don’t think any pressure will get to him. This won’t be a cruise and collect title, he’ll win again, and he’ll win well, he’s been that good this year.
So there is my little assessment of what has been happening so far this year. Despite the Vettel domination, the majority of races have been thrillers, and the last three in particular have shown us not to expect him to run away with it completely. There’s still a few more laps to do yet as we head to Belgium.

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Mid-season review part two: Competition in the Middle

Here is part 2 of the mid-season review, focusing on the five teams which battle for the lower end of the points scale, but which is just as competitive as at the top.
Toro Rosso (22): Sebastian Buemi (12) and Jaime Alguersuari (10)
This small Italian team looked great in pre-season testing, but they’ve not got the big results that that pace promised. They’ve not finished higher than 8th, but in reality you can never trust testing so they haven’t done too badly at all. Qualifying may be pretty poor, especially in recent races, but they haven’t been scared to try different strategies often stopping less than the front runners to score some of the minor points, and they’ve been doing it fairly consistently of late, so much so that Buemi has targeted sixth place in the constructor’s championship. On present form it’s certainly not impossible.
As I’ve written about before, both drivers were looking over their shoulder for the first few races as the threat of Daniel Ricciardo loomed behind them. His drive at HRT has given them some respite for the rest of the year, but they’re still fighting for their seats for next season. Buemi started off well scoring four points in Australia, since then it’s been a bit hit and miss. Often having the edge in qualifying over his team mate, his race performances were decidedly less inspiring especially with Alguersuari scoring points in four of the last five races. He came back strong in Hungary, 23rd to 8th, he’ll want to keep that up.
Alguersuari has been in great form, he’ll want to continue that into the last eight races. There’s a Formula 1 career at stake here and he’ll know his qualifying pace needs to be upped, but race pace is great, often utilising alternative strategy to great effect. Expect them either to be scoring or near the points for the rest of the year.
Force India (26): Adrian Sutil (18) and Paul di Resta (8)
Despite two point scoring performances in the opening rounds, it was a slow start for Force India, they lacked consistency. However, they have progressed solidly towards the midway point culminating in two top seven finishes in the last two races. Traditionally Force India go well in Belgium and Italy where their Mercedes power will count for extra, so watch out for them, otherwise I think they’ll be making a play for the top 6 in the constructors.
di Resta is already being talked about in more esteemed circles than Sutil has ever been in over four seasons of Formula 1, even being marked as the replacement for Michael Schumacher for when he next retires. Quite remarkable for a rookie, he’s out qualified his more experienced team mate 7-4, but despite this he lies 10 points adrift. He’s been involved in a few scrapes, but it takes nothing away from him, he was on for big points in Canada and Britain which escaped him for various reasons. His 7th place in Hungary is bound to give him more confidence in the last eight races.
Sutil is having a Fernando Alonso moment this year. He didn’t expect a young British talent to come in to Formula 1 and pretty much blow his doors off from the start. It’s taken him a while to get going this year, but despite this he’s outscored di Resta by 10 points so far, and has out qualified him in the last two races. He’s ridden the storm now, I think it’ll be a lot closer in the second half. Watch di Resta become Scottish if he’s beaten consistently!
Sauber (35): Kamui Kobayashi (27) and Sergio Perez (8)
Sauber have punched above their weight quite successfully so far. They’ve been hunting around the lower points fairly consistently, so much so, Kobayashi lies only five points adrift of Schumacher. They’re another team that have gained a lot from using an alternative strategy, often stopping less than those in front. However, they’ve pretty much hit they’re peak as they won’t catch Renault, all they can do now is hold on to sixth which will be a struggle with Force India coming on strong.
Kamui Kobayashi continues to impress. He races well, overtakes brilliantly and is able to use team strategy to his advantage. He’s signed on for Sauber next year, but it would be great to see him in a top team. However, he’ll have to start upping the pace in qualifying, he’s been slower than Perez on a Saturday a bit too much for comfort, it’s something he has admitted needs to be worked on if he is to reach the very top.
Perez has been solidly impressive. After an remarkable, albeit disqualified performance at the opening race he went a bit quiet, but was always close to Kobayashi. He looked strong at Monaco before his accident in qualifying, but has since scored an eighth place at Silverstone. He’s being given a test drive in an old Ferrari later in the year, but he’ll have to start getting regular points results if he’s to prove himself. It’s one thing out qualifying your team mate, it’s a very different thing to be 19 points behind.
Renault (66): Nick Heidfeld (34) and Vitaly Petrov (32)
Two podiums in the first two races, happily nestling in the top four of the constructors championship in the early part of the year and all without star driver Robert Kubica. It’s gone wrong since then, development hasn’t produced the results they’d been expecting, they’ve experienced two fairly serious fires and have been gradually falling away during this half the season. To be honest, I don’t expect them to start challenging for podiums again this year and it won’t be a surprise to hear they’re focusing on 2012 in the next few races. A season that looked like it could be exceptional has fallen into mediocrity.
That’s nothing against the drivers though, they’ve tried hard. Both had a podium and have been fairly equally matched. But as much as Petrov has improved, and regularly puts it into the top 10 on Saturday, the mind does stray , and you begin to wonder what would Kubica have done? Slightly unfair I know, but nevertheless a natural thought.
Heidfeld has been unspectacular, I expected a bit more from him, he matched Kubica most of the time when they were team mates, but he’s not grasped this opportunity. There are even rumours Bruno Senna may replace him at some point this season, possibly as soon as Belgium. Renault have missed a leader this year and I’m afraid Heidfeld and Petrov don’t look like they can pull a result out of the bag when things go against them that perhaps Poland’s best could have done.
Mercedes (80): Michael Schumacher (32) and Nico Rosberg (48)
Originally I was going to put Mercedes in a top four teams of the year, but they’ve been so out classed this year it would be quite wrong to think of them as being anywhere near the top 3. After testing it looked like they might challenge for the odd win, but they’ve comprehensively failed to even get a podium. The developments haven’t worked, they’ve not understood the car, it eats its tyres and then asks for seconds, something which certainly doesn’t help in the races. The starts have been great, but they often slip back. They’ve already announced they’re concentrating on 2012, perhaps like last year, leaving the car alone and merely fine tuning it will help them find better pace. Still, they’re probably safe in fourth place and could perhaps sneak a podium if we get another wet race.
I’ve written a bit about the Mercedes drivers before, and they can be summed up easily. Nico Rosberg qualifies well above where the car should be then slips back in the race. Schumacher qualifies badly, makes great starts, often has pretty decent race pace, then hits someone and fights back.
Both could have had better results, but only once in Canada where Schumacher had a great race could they possibly have managed a podium. They should be doing better, certainly Rosberg at this stage of his career will have wanted more from the car, but at least he’s still hovering around the top 6 or 7. Schumacher just needs an incident free race, and despite often actually having good fight backs you do often start getting a bit nervous any time he’s near another car. Both I believe could have done better this year.
Next I’ll review the top three teams of the year with a look ahead to Belgium, where the title contest could really start to kick off.

Sunday 14 August 2011

Mid-season review part one: The backmarkers that couldn't deliver

We’re two weeks into the mid-season break, and there’s less than two weeks to go until the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium opens its gates to commence the second half. Well the last eight races, as we passed the halfway point in Germany.
Formula 1 is a sport that is constantly progressing, but during this gap the teams have been on an enforced lock down, or holiday meaning there hasn’t really been much in the way of news. We’ve had a few sound bites from the likes of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso saying they’ll never give up and Red Bull saying that of course Sebastian Vettel can handle any pressure that comes his way.
Silverstone have submitted an application for planning permission to turn the circuit into a leisure park, full of hotels, fairgrounds and Kart tracks. As well a business and technology centre, retail facilities there’ll be a museum of motorsport which all sounds very exciting and will keep the circuit moving forward and hopefully make it profitable.
Other than that there hasn’t been a lot to shout about, so I think it’s about time to do a not quite mid-season, mid-season report and see how everyone is getting on. Let’s start with the bottom four teams so far, one of which is a tragic disappointment.
Virgin Racing (0): Timo Glock (0) and Jerome d’Ambrosio (0)
It’s been a disappointment, they’ve fallen further behind fellow newcomers Team Lotus, and are struggling to maintain their pace against HRT, and are even behind them in the constructor’s. A recent decision to part with Nick Wirth and his all computer design philosophy should help them next year, as will a new technical partnership with McLaren, but as for this term, it would be wise not to expect much more.
Timo Glock has not looked a happy bunny this year. He was expecting more in the team’s second year and seemed decidedly unmotivated in early races. He’s turned that around recently, mixing it with the Lotus’ and keeping well ahead of the HRT drivers. I think the McLaren deal has also added an extra spring in his step. d’Ambrosio started off well, but has fallen further behind in recent races, he’ll need to start challenging Glock again if he wants to retain a seat for next year.
HRT: Vitantonio Liuzzi (0), Narain Karthikeyan (0) and Daniel Ricciardo (0)
There hasn’t been a lot of progression from them since last season. If anything they’re even further off the pace. However, Geoff Willis formerly of Red Bull and Honda joined them as Technical Director, although too late to influence the overall design of this year’s car. Despite all this, due to attrition in Canada the team sit just behind Lotus in the constructor’s championship having scored one 13th place to Lotus’ two 13th places.
Liuzzi has been strong and outpaced Karthikeyan all season. He’s also out qualified Ricciardo, Red Bull’s bright new hope, when he took over Karthikeyan’s seat at Silverstone. Ricciardo is looking for a Toro Rosso seat next year and looks to be building up gradually with an impressive drive last time out in Hungary, beating his team mate by two places in 18th.
Team Lotus: Heikki Kovalainen(0), Jarno Trulli (0)and Karun Chandhok (0)
Another team not to make the expect progress this year. It looked exciting early on, they had installed the championship winning Renault engines in the back of the car, they’d had a year to build and learn, they looked the most likely of the three newest teams to break into the midfield and maybe steal a point. Well apart from a few lucky breaks to get them into Q2, they’ve achieved none of those things and don’t look likely too this season but they’re still well ahead of Virgin and HRT though.
Heikki has driven brilliantly this year. He’s outqualifed and outraced Trulli all year, and has even somehow managed to mix it in the midfield on a couple of occasions early in the season. Has driven out of his skin and deserves a step up with the car next year. For a lot of the season Trulli has looked lost at sea, blaming it on dodgy power steering that wasn’t giving him any feel for the car, he has lack paced. Was even replaced by Chandhok in Germany, but a new power steering system in Hungary at least made him a bit more perky.
Williams (4pts): Rubens Barrichello (4) and Pastor Maldonado (0)
What have Williams become? This once great team aren’t even a shadow of their former selves, they’re a dusty smeared reflection on a cracked windscreen. They’ve at least agreed at the end of the season to part with their technical director Sam Michael who is still throwing new parts at the car in the hope it’ll create some sort of pace, although as Barrichello has pointed out, it would be worth understanding the car first before constantly adding things as whatever they do, it still eats its tyres during the race.0
Next year looks more promising, they signed former McLaren man Mike Coughlan, who is available after being banned from the sport following the spy saga with Ferrari in 2008. They’ve also acquired Renault engines for 2012, now they just need to build a decent car.
Barrichello has at times been overtly critical of the team, but has still produced some decent performances, although he would have expected better than just two 9th places. Maldonado came with the reputation of a pay driver despite being 2010 GP2 champion. He has firmly quashed that description, qualifying in the top 10 three times and should have scored a top 6 finish at Monaco if it wasn’t for Lewis Hamilton’s intervention, He’s been more than a match for Barrichello.
That’s it for this segment, part 2 will be up soon where we’ll be taking a look at the core of the midfield in the fight to be best of the rest.