Wednesday 29 October 2014

The USA Grand Prix Forecast

The USA Grand Prix held at the circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas is now in it's third year as host of a formula 1 race.

It is one of the better modern circuits with the opening section reminiscent of Silverstone and Suzuka. It will have two DRS zones, one on the start finish straight and the other down the back straight where Lewis Hamilton memorably passed Sebastian Vettel for the lead after a race long duel that was one of the best races this century.

Pirelli are bringing the soft and medium compounds which they believe will offer a two stops over the 56 laps. The weather is forecast to be sunny all weekend with a bit of cloud for the race although it has the highest temperature of the weekend at 25C.

Well that's the formalities out of the way, now to the real issue striking the heart of Formula 1; what else could it be but money? Specifically the lack of it at Caterham and Marussia, both of which went into administration.

It wasn't unexpected with Caterham who have been experiencing problems since before the Russian Grand Prix, well since they were sold. But Marussia are a well run team, and on top of the Jules Bianchi accident a horrible blow to the squad.

Both teams will not participate in Austin leaving the grid at just 18 cars. This is the first time since 2005 F1 will have run with under 20 cars, it is to be hoped that both teams can return soon. Caterham at least hope to be back by Abu Dhabi while Marussia may be back in Brazil. You wouldn't bet your house on it though, or significantly less money.

It once again brings up the issue of how Formula 1 is run and exactly how it's £1.8billion income is split. Too much of it goes to Bernie Ecclestone and his paymasters CVC. The rest goes to the teams in a wholly unequal weighted pay scale.

There is no way that when the sport brings in nearly £2billion that teams should be struggling to survive. Bernie has often talked of his desire for three car teams if the grid drops below 20 but if that happens how long until your left two teams supplying ten cars each to customers as each back of the grid team goes bust? 

You lose the very essence of Formula 1 if you don't have teams building their own cars and competing against the best. Driver to driver, designer to designer, engineer to engineer, mechanic to mechanic investing in their package to make it the best. 

Formula 1 is currently working on an unsustainable platform, for many reasons, but chiefly the division of money and how much doesn't go to it's participants. This will be the major talking point of the US Grand Prix. Hopefully both teams will be back soon because you need those at the back to keep trying, it's part of F1 and gives opportunities to new talent. 

There is still a title battle as well. After three weeks break Nico Rosberg has to halt Hamilton's run of four wins. If Lewis succeeds this weekend then surely the battle for Rosberg is lost. He'll have to go some though, Lewis is awesome around here.

Williams and Red Bull will be the closest challengers. Vettel looks likely to have to take a sixth engine so may well miss qualifying as he'll have a grid penalty.

I expect Valttari Bottas to be very strong after his brilliant result last year. While I think Fernando Alonso has one more surprise left in him for Ferrari before he supposedly leaves. 

Alonso's 'where will he drive in 2015' saga carries on with even rumours of Audi joining in the fun. McLaren is still most likely so watch out for Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen to put in star drives as they battle to stay on the grid. 

Nico Hulkenberg has signed up for Force India in 2015, let's see if he can rediscover his early season form now he's secure.

I think Mercedes pairing are going to be close and certainly one of them will win. Rosberg will be desperate to make sure he stays in range of Lewis, while the rest still have lots to drive for with a surprise most likely to come from Bottas. It's going to be quite the race in the US of A.

Sunday 12 October 2014

Talking points from Russia: Driver market, safety and awkwardness


The inaugural Russian Grand Prix was won by Lewis Hamilton who did as he pleased on his way to the chequered flag. It was a fairly uneventful race, but the weekend in Russia had several notable talking points. A full race report and title discussion can be found here.

Interestingly talk about if Formula 1 should even be in Russia had long since quietened down, but then the conflict in Ukraine hasn't been amongst the headlines recently so I guess out of sight out of mind. The FIA has never dealt with political situations anyway, only if safety was threatened would they intervene. 

There was a lot of chatter about potential safety cars being used for the race for any incident where it wasn’t an easy retrieval but in the end the race didn’t need one. Or rather it did need one to clear some debris or something because Pirelli went conservative which meant the race was in need of a random element.

Perhaps if they’d brought the super-soft tyre rather than the medium the degradation might have been more and we’d have had the two stopper race most were predicting, but it probably wouldn’t have made much of a difference as  I’m not sure the track offered much in the way of passing opportunities, not even the DRS seemed effective although turn three looked awesomely long and super fast with cars able to go side by side in the opening laps.

In the end the cameras seemed more interested in picking out Russian President Vladimir Putin’s arrival half way through the race and watching him sit in the grandstands looking impassive and then getting cosy with Bernie Ecclestone. Then off he went to the drivers cool down room before the podium which was unorthodox and proceeded to ask them how much weight they lost during a race. Nico Rosberg stood up for the drivers and answered as Hamilton and Bottas hid in the corner.  It was a desperately awkward moment to watch.

As was just before the start when drivers gathered at the front of the grid for a respectful one minute silence for Bianchi and for the national anthem. I hope this doesn’t become a common theme in regard to the national anthem, the drivers want to be getting in the zone at this point not parading themselves for an anthem they likely don't know. 

As for the minute silence it seemed a rather gloomy thing to do, much better were the stickers on cars and helmets which the drivers have chosen to show their respect and support to Bianchi, certainly it's better than these orchestrated moments which were just uncomfortable.

The driver market

Another talking point continues to be Vettel and Alonso’s destinations for 2015. Vettel is 99.9% certain to be at Ferrari but the termination of Alonso’s contract is still to be officially confirmed and if he isn’t at Ferrari his most likely destination is to McLaren-Honda surely? Perhaps this race when McLaren comfortably out performed Ferrari will make him hurry up and sign. But another rumour is he might go back to team Enstone, or Lotus, where he won his titles when they were called Renault.

Apparently he’d bring a lot of backing to the team and with them having the Mercedes engine package next year they are bound to jump right back up the grid. They really seemed to be about to engage in a title fight before this year, but they have now lost a lot of talented designers and engineers to other teams because of money worries.

I think as Alonso seeks his third title, he’s got a fair few options but none too enticing. The worst option would be if he were to take a sabbatical, I truly hope he doesn’t, it would somehow mean less to see a driver win a title without him on the grid even if he isn’t in a competitive car.

Whatever he does, and he keeps saying he knows what he’s doing, I’m sure it’s taking longer to announce because he’s trying to put clauses in a contract so he’ll be available for Mercedes in 2016 should a seat become free. Perhaps the real shocker this year will be he is announced as a Silver Arrows driver for 2015, he is smiling rather wide through his increasingly straggly beard after all. Whatever the situation is I’m sure the likes of Button, Grosjean, Raikkonen and Magnussen would just wish it would happen soon so they can get their futures sorted out.

Potential Safety Changes

So three weeks off before three races in four weekends starting in the USA. After the initial investigation into Bianchi’s crash led by the FIA's race director Charlie Whiting they held a press conference on Friday detailing Bianchi's accident and responding to issues people had with how the incident was dealt with (here) and potential changes for the future as a result of this. 

I've already mentioned the safety car but America may see the testing of new yellow flag speed limits to combat drivers not responding to slowing down. Other new things likely to come in are skirts surrounding tractors to prevent cars going underneath but that’ll have to wait until 2015. The sport hasn’t overreacted and is taking the time to analyse and absorb what happened before rushing decisions. 

They are again going to look into canopies but their implementation would likely be along way off and some drivers, notably Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel have voiced concerns about losing what Formula 1 is, open wheel and open cockpit racing. There are also still issues as to whether they improve safety overall. However, the FIA are doing something and that’s good to see. #ForzaJules

all photos taken from autosport.com

Hamilton coasts to victory in Russia


The first Russian Grand Prix weekend had some edgy moments, some strange moments, a large portion of dull moments in the main event, but it did result in a sublimely perfect performance from Lewis Hamilton whom took his ninth win of the year, his 31st in total to draw level with Nigel Mansell with the most wins by a British driver.

Lewis was perfect all weekend apart from a minor spin in practice three. He took pole position and despite briefly losing the lead at turn 2 to Nico Rosberg who overshot the corner and had to give the place back he was in control and coasted to victory.

Rosberg brought some entertainment to the race after locking up his front tyres on the opening lap. He had to pit at the end of the first lap, the flat spots from the rubber causing severe vibrations. It dropped him to the back of the pack. It looked like he’d just offered Lewis one hand on the championship, but he remained calm, picked himself up and when told he’d have to make those set of tyres last the rest of the race drove superbly back through the field. It was a mark of how unintentionally conservative Pirelli were. The predicted two stopper was an easy one stop race, perhaps the super-soft instead of the medium might have added the spice of variety.

It almost seemed too easy such was the advantage of the Mercedes in Russia. Both drivers reported no issues with tyre degradation, and Rosberg conserved and pushed at the right times making a number of excellent moves into turn two to come home in second securing the constructors championship for Mercedes.

That championship hasn’t looked in doubt all year, but it’s well deserved, the silver team came into 2014 the best prepared with a superb chassis and the best power unit by far. Former team principal Ross Brawn deserves a lot of the credit for setting them underway to this domination but the team have gone with the direction they were given and maximised it.

The driver’s title is still tough to call despite Hamilton now outscoring Rosberg by nine wins to four and holding a 17 point lead in the championship. In a way I’m glad it was so easy for Rosberg to come back to second as it keeps the title fight more interesting and a slender points gap makes it more likely that double points won’t affect the title before that novelty idea is hopefully dropped for 2015.

But Hamilton is really on a roll now, his second run of four wins this year with just three races to go makes it seem like the momentum he’s created on his side of the garage is unstoppable. It appears Rosberg was too eager to make his point again at the start for which he apologised to the team for, but his comeback drive is to be admired.

The non-Mercedes race

Valtteri Bottas brought Williams back to the closest challenger position with another podium, but could he have had second? He didn’t manage to put up too much of a fight against Rosberg despite being on fresher rubber after making his one and only stop. Rosberg dived through and made an instant gap to Bottas who just couldn’t respond.

I think ideally Williams would have liked to have run Bottas longer but they couldn’t manage the tyres quite as well because despite holding the gap to Hamilton for the first quarter of the race he then fell back dramatically. Still, it was a better race than his team mate Felipe Massa had who suffered a fuel pick up problem in qualifying leaving him starting only 18th. He was one of the few to employ a two stopper and it left him only 11th.

Jenson Button was my star of the race. He finished fourth after starting there and despite running third in the opening phase of the race wouldn’t have been able to hold off Rosberg for long. Button was pretty lonely throughout once he’d managed to pull a gap on Fernando Alonso and ran strongly throughout to remind McLaren just what they’d be giving up.

He out-qualified and out-drove team mate Kevin Magnussen who still did a tremendous job to come up from 11th on the grid to finish fifth. Alonso was well off the pace for Ferrari in sixth, suffering a botched pit stop that cost him several seconds and dropped him behind Magnussen. He still finished ahead of the struggling Red Bull’s, both Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel off the pace all weekend.

Ricciardo started sixth and Vettel tenth, but the current world champion got the jump on the Australian during the first lap and headed the pair. Ricciardo asked the team to get Vettel out of the way before actually dropping away from him. He stopped earlier and got the undercut after Vettel stayed out a lot later. But seventh and eighth is not what the team expect.

Ninth was Kimi Raikkonen who’ll be glad when this season is over and tenth was Sergio Perez, one point for Force India against McLaren’s 22 means they’ve dramatically fallen back in the chase to be a top five constructor.

Esteban Gutierrez had a long first stint and seems the most likely Sauber driver to challenge for points while the most note worthy moment for Lotus’ Romain Grosjean was when he was given a five second stop/go penalty for tapping Adrian Sutil into a spin. He still finished ahead of the other Lotus of Pastor Maldonado.

Toro Rosso were the big disappointments of Russia. Daniil Kvyat was an outstanding fifth in qualifying for his home race. Jean-Eric Vergne was ninth but both dropped dramatically out of the top ten. They had no pace to answer any questions the rest of the field through at them to finish 13th and 14th, Vergne ahead of Kvyat.

Caterham retired Kamui Kobayashi for no reason so the Japanese claims which seems a bit odd. The team does have money worries so maybe they’re trying to save parts while Marcus Ericsson continued his revival with another good qualifying before the team let him finish last.

Marussia elected not to run Jules Bianchi’s car but it seems Alexander Rossi will be in the car for his home race in the USA in three weeks. It’s obviously been a tough week for the team and the sport as a whole, Bianchi remains in a critical but stable condition.

So we now head to the USA in three weeks, it’s the home stretch for the title race. Can Lewis be stopped in his march towards glory? It’s looking increasingly unlikely for Rosberg, I think he’s now holding onto the hope that the double points round in Abu Dhabi is going to be a wacky race but he can start closing the gap with a perfect weekend in the USA. Above all I hope in three weeks the Formula 1 grid reforms to good news about Bianchi. #ForzaJules.

all photos taken from autosport.com

Thursday 9 October 2014

The Russian Grand Prix Forecast


The Formula 1 community is still in shock after the horrible accident that has left Marussia’s Jules Bianchi with a severe head injury confirmed as a diffuse axonal injury which usually comes from the effects of rapid deceleration of the head and affects the nerves in the brain.

No new information about Bianchi has been reported for the past few days, but one can only hope that good news will emerge soon, but as with Michael Schumacher’s skiing accident it seems likely that any more information will take time and patience.

F1 also suffered a loss as former F1 driver Andrea de Cesaris lost his life in a motor bike accident. He had several shots a winning a race but was largely known for crashing a lot and being Schumacher's first team mate in a race where de Cesaris could have won if it weren't for an engine problem. But he must have had some talent as he competed in 208 races, the most without winning one.

It’s been a  tough few days just to get the show back on the road, especially with Typhoon Phanfone slowing down the packing up process in Japan and then shipping it off to Russia for the first Russian Grand Prix based at the Sochi Olympic Park which held last year’s winter Olympics. 


There’s been a fair amount of discussion on whether Formula 1 should even be in Russia with the conflict in Ukraine still happening but as always the FIA policy is not to get involved in politics so if there’s no safety reason not to go, then Formula 1 will go. It’s a market many of the big company names also want to be seen in.

Let's focus on the racing though. The track winds its way through the Olympic stadiums and first impressions seem to show that this will be a pretty spectacular track. Of course the teams will have prepared themselves to the extent of having a baseline set up aided by their simulators, although they haven’t been able to map the track as significantly as others as Williams chief technical officer wrote in his preview for F1 Racing magazine, it’s ‘difficult to obtain permission for LiDAR scanning in Russia’ which helps map the topography.

But it doesn’t really matter how well prepared you are, racing for the first time on a brand new circuit is always going to throw up some surprises that weren’t accounted for. It looks to have a few high speed sections and Sebastian Vettel, who has driven a road car around it, has said there’s some technical challenges too. It’s not quite a step into the unknown but it is a foot into a puddle you’re not sure of the depth of.

There are two DRS zones, one on the start finish straight and the other between turns 10 and 13 which might give you a small indication that that piece of track isn’t exactly straight. Pirelli have brought their medium and soft tyre and are expecting the track to be quite abrasive so it could be a three stopper but if the teams get on top of any issues quickly it could be a two. There doesn’t look like any chance of rain, all three days are forecast for bright sunny days with temperatures averaging 23C, so after the racing it’s a nice day for the beach situated on the coast of the Black Sea.


Nico Rosberg won’t be thinking about the seaside though, he’s aware he has to turn the tide against Lewis Hamilton this weekend. After suffering three defeats in succession he really has to win this weekend to not lose any further ground. He scored a fine pole position in Japan but yet again in wheel to wheel combat Lewis was better and able to get ahead.

When Rosberg has been in that position such as in Bahrain or Spain he has not managed to find a way through hence why the incident in Spa happened. He wanted to show Lewis he wouldn’t be pushed around, but perhaps Spa has now made even more apprehensive about taking on Hamilton in battle.

Whatever it is, he needs to show he can beat Lewis this weekend, he can start that by simply being quicker and driving off into the distance but the last three races have shown they’re going to be neck and neck. Rosberg is going to have to fight hard to claw any points back.

For some reason as much as the tension is rising as we enter our last four races of the year, I can’t help but feel that the final double points round in Abu Dhabi is taking some of that excitement away. The likelihood is that Lewis won’t manage to get a 50 point gap to Nico by then, so the significance of the rounds before is diminished.

We all know it’s going to the final round, who cares if Lewis eeks out another seven points to make a 17 point advantage, this race despite the present gap is not a make or break round for Rosberg. I think that’s a shame. However in terms of momentum it is significant and he has to strike back now.

The championship battle may be the major talking point after concern for Bianchi but there are plenty of other matters to get excited about, many of them off track especially as regards the driver market.
It seems like Vettel and Ferrari outplayed Fernando Alonso last weekend. Although the Scuderia has not officially confirmed either Vettel’s arrival or Alonso’s departure this transfer is likely to take place. Vettel will line up alongside Kimi Raikkonen, at least for now. Kimi struggled again in Japan and will be desperately hoping for something to go right for him soon.

Alonso seemed quite happy with his situation last weekend and so the rumours go a deal with McLaren Honda for next year might well have been signed. Or it’s being delayed because he wants just a one year deal in case Honda don’t bring the goods and so he’ll be available should a seat arise at Mercedes in 2016. Hamilton wants to stay, Mercedes want him to stay but should he leave for whatever reason then Mercedes boss Toto Wolff hasn't backed away from saying they'd have Alonso but I'd say that is unlikely.

It all looks like he might be backing himself into a sabbatical and as Autosport.com pointed out, potentially leave him unable to get back into the sport should Mercedes, McLaren and even Williams retain their 2015 driver line ups. It’s unlikely but could this be an ignominious end for the career of a driver regarded as the best for the last eight years.

Jenson Button did himself no harm at all with a brilliant driver in Japan for McLaren as his team mate Kevin Magnussen floundered, while also doing a good job was Jean-Eric Vergne, looked over by Red Bull once again beating his senior team bound team mate Daniil Kvyat. Both Button and Vergne need to maintain this form if they want to be in Formula 1 next year while Kvyat will look to get back on track at his home race.

Back to the racing, you can only assume that Mercedes will be leading the field with Red Bull, Williams and Ferrari in pursuit. I don’t expect any surprises with the result, it’ll be a Mercedes win, but I do expect the battle behind to be close again.

McLaren were good in the wet of Japan but in the dry of Russia they’ll be scrapping for lower end points as they hope to leap ahead of Force India finally. Toro Rosso will be tagging along in that battle while unfortunately once again, Lotus, Sauber and Caterham will find themselves on the fringes.


Marussia are reported to be preparing two cars for this weekend, but it’s not yet known if or when they’ll announce another driver for the second seat alongside Max Chilton. All the drivers have shown great concern for their colleague Bianchi, but once the visor comes down they’ll be focused only on being fast. The best thing they and the world of F1 can do now is put on a great show. #ForzaJules

all photos taken for autosport.com except title picture from skysports.com/f1

Monday 6 October 2014

Can Bianchi's crash improve F1 safety?


Jules Bianchi crashed at yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix, striking a digger that was recovering Adrian Sutil’s Sauber after it had crashed at the same turn 7 a lap previously. He suffered a severe head injury that has been operated on and is currently in intensive care at the Mie General Medical Centre in Yokkaichi. The world of Formula 1 is now reflecting on what could have been done better to prevent such an accident happening again. They must analyse but there also must not be knee jerk reactions that affect the sport in a detrimental way.

Formula 1 has not suffered a death at a Grand Prix for over twenty years now. Since 1994 the sport has had a few broken legs, a couple of concussions and the dreadful accident of Felipe Massa during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend in 2009 where he fractured his skull from which he made a full recovery. It has come so far in terms of safety but there is always room for improvement. But first of all would we even be discussing safety if Bianchi had missed the recovery vehicle? Probably not but we should have been as regards recovery vehicles on track.

When rain is pouring down and getting stronger and a car has already gone off with light fading should there be an immediate safety car? There are many instances where if one car has gone off another might follow. Look at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix or the 2007 European Grand Prix where cars only just missed a recovery vehicle. Only a few weeks ago for the American round of the World Endurance Championship, over 10 cars went off at the first turn on the same lap because the rain had become too much. These warnings were not taken on board but such is hindsight.

Yesterday the original Sutil crash was covered by double waved yellow flags, which means slow down and be prepared to stop. It alerts the drivers to the presence of machinery and marshals on or near to the track. However as much as drivers might lift off, they’re still going at speed. Perhaps in future in these sort of conditions, and even in the dry, before a digger or other safety vehicle can come on track a safety car must be called to neutralise the race.

Martin Brundle almost had a similar accident in 1994 at the same circuit, just missing the recovery vehicle but striking a marshal, he has been advocating something being done about this for years.

Another option if possible would be to make circuits have more cranes so as to pluck the cars off the track without the need for a recovery vehicle, although it wouldn’t always be possible. Therefore we can eliminate the use of a safety car to slow racing after every accident which is what 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has said today.

I’m not sure all incidents need to be covered by the safety car, in the Formula 1 world where we have increasingly sanitised race tracks with large run off areas, it’s not always necessary. It’s no coincidence that Suzuka is a favourite amongst the drivers because it’s a challenge but it’s also one of the more dangerous with limited run off, it gives them an extra thrill. However, maybe in the aim of prevention it is time to deploy the safety car if ever there’s a car on track that needs a recovery vehicle, especially in the rain.

There are also questions about whether the race should have been moved to an earlier start time because of the impending typhoon approaching the area. In the end as the drivers have admitted, conditions weren’t too bad. I think it should have been moved as they had advance warning of possible torrential rain, but purely because the 3pm start time doesn’t leave a lot of room in case a race is delayed as dark descends at 5.30pm at this time of year in Suzuka. The FIA asked if circuit owners wanted it moved but it was deemed unnecessary because of ticket holders getting to the track on time. I don’t think it had anything to do with TV coverage especially as the FIA were the ones asking if it should be moved.

Further to that it was wet all day, the Bianchi accident could have happened at any time of day such were the conditions affecting Suzuka so in the end when the race started had no on the accident and the organisers were right in the end. After scouring the F1 press, there was another call from the Guardian newspaper for canopies covering the cockpits.


The head is the most exposed part of a driver in single seater racing and there have been times when you wince as a car comes near a drivers head such as Vitantonio Liuzzi launching near to Michael Schumacher's head in Abu Dhabi 2010 or Romain Grosjean going over the top of Fernando Alonso's head in Belgium 2012. Recent tests regarding them are ongoing. In Bianchi’s accident I don’t think a canopy would have made much difference, in fact it could have made things worse. It looks like his car went partially underneath the digger, if it had gone headfirst a canopy might have trapped him in the cockpit, or caused more damage to his person.

A canopy might be good for preventing wheels or other pieces hitting the head at speed, but in an accident when striking a large vehicle such as this, which should never happen, but its debateable whether it would have made any difference. And my personal view is that covering the cockpits takes away part of the drama of Formula 1, it’s a step too far. With wheel tethers in place and helmet safety constantly being improved I don’t think there’s a need for canopies. Next they’ll want guards over the wheels which might as well make them look like small LMP1 cars from the WEC, you just need to cover the suspension.

Formula 1 and single seater racing in general is open wheel and open cockpit, I think it’s part of the essence of the sport. Pick the right spot at a race track and there isn’t something more impressive than seeing a driver battle with his machinery.

I think as long as Formula 1 learns from this accident then they can keep the sport at an acceptable danger level because Grand Prix racing is inherently dangerous, it’s never going to be completely safe when you strap a man or woman into a 200mph car and ask them to push it to the maximum. It of course has to be an acceptable risk for the drivers to participate, although if things hadn’t become so safe, I don’t think there’s a single driver out there who wouldn’t still be pushing for all their worth.

I often think of F1 drivers as modern day gladiators. Their arena is the race tracks of the world, their weapons the machines they drive to the limit, sometimes beyond. It’s hard to grasp just what kind of skill they possess to keep their cars on the limit of adhesion as they battle wheel to wheel for the glory of winning. It’s as true now as it was when the sport started.

For many drivers that danger is like a drug, the thrill, the surge of adrenalin as they push the fastest cars in the world in their pursuit of victory. It’s like no feeling in the world to them dancing on the line between life and death. Obviously they want to race in the knowledge that everything is being done in regards to safety but you know it can’t be completely safe, I think many of them like it that way, witness Kimi Raikkonen, foot flat to the floor in Spa ploughing through a cloud of smoke at the top of Eau Rouge which he had no idea what it was covering. Foolhardy or impressive?

For us mere mortals watching from the comfort of our sofas it’s an admiration that these supremely fit athletes push their machines and bodies in conditions that we would immediately wilt in. Theirs is a sport that can take them to the edge of life as they confront extreme heat, battle the rain, the g-forces, and they do it willingly to feel alive, to be the best, to live their dreams. They are singularly focused people who will not give up on what they want. Most drivers who reach Formula 1 have been craving a desire to be in the ultimate sporting combination of man and machine since they were children.

They’ve pushed themselves, fought hard, never backed down and maintained their passion and drive to succeed through all kinds of sporting setbacks, but they’ll pick themselves up and continue to push to achieve what they set out to do.

Even the drivers at the back of the grid are exceptionally gifted. Bianchi is one such driver, meant for greater things than the brilliant two points he took for ninth place driving for back of the grid Marussia. A Ferrari Academy driver, he seemed destined to move up the grid and go for glory.

At Suzuka he was once again leading the Marussia and Caterham battle pushing hard in a car that in general terms is not a match for the midfield bunch let alone the top cars. But he was doing something he loved, pushing to the maximum. Hopefully he can make a full recovery from his injuries and continue his rise up the Formula 1 ranks. 


all photos taken from autosport.com except canopy picture from formula1.com

Sunday 5 October 2014

Lewis Hamilton wins in Japan


It hardly seems to matter as we learn that Jules Bianchi has suffered a severe head injury following his accident at the Japanese Grand Prix. After surgery he will be transferred to intensive care. There are more details here. But there was a race today that got underway on time behind the safety car. It was then stopped after two laps and restarted behind the safety car before finally racing commenced after nine laps.

The conditions were not good but were safe to race on despite the uncertainty surrounding the event because of the approaching typhoon. In fact as racing got going properly the rain had relented and it was only towards the end that it came back in force.

Nico Rosberg led for the first 28 laps including a switch from full wet tyres to intermediates. Lewis Hamilton tracked his Mercedes team mate for all those laps never letting him get much further than two seconds away. He again ignored advice from the team to hang back and attacked Rosberg as he sensed the German’s tyres were wearing quicker than his own.

Hamilton began to push harder, even too hard as he had to catch a slide into turn one sending him wide but he was still in the race. Only a few laps later he was right behind Rosberg again coming into the final chicane at the end of the lap. Rosberg’s car squirmed under acceleration out of the final corner and across the line into lap 29 Lewis had the DRS open. Nico couldn’t see in his mirrors and went straight to the inside for the first corner.

It opened the turn for Hamilton and judging the grip to perfection he went around the outside of Rosberg and was through into the lead. He quickly opened a gap and through another pit stop for more intermediates he led until the race was slowed by a safety car for Bianchi’s accident and then finally stopped with seven laps to go and the result declared.

It was another telling statement from Hamilton to Rosberg about where this title could be heading as he opened a ten point gap in the drivers championship. It was great to see the silver cars battling wheel to wheel once again.

It was his eighth victory of the year, four more than Rosberg has managed. It’s beginning to look like Lewis now has the decisive edge. Having said that Rosberg did take pole position this weekend and he’s always there to take second. To be suffering an 8-4 victory deficit and only ten points behind, Rosberg is a man of consistency and that could still pay off especially with the double points round.

Behind the title contenders Sebastian Vettel produced a great drive to finish third, although he was fourth on the road behind his team mate Daniel Ricciardo when the race was stopped but in a red flag situation the result is taken from two laps before.

Despite a trip through the gravel he made a couple of good moves on the Williams cars before pitting early for his second stop and jumping a heroic Jenson Button to be in third. He was only lying behind Ricciardo as the Australian had yet to stop, although it wasn’t sure if he would.

Ricciardo followed Vettel for most of the race despite out qualifying him and was never far behind, making brilliant moves on the Williams cars in the esses  as he kept up with the current world champion. But this is two races in a row Vettel has beaten him. He’ll want to rectify that especially with Vettel moving on from Red Bull and Ricciardo becoming team leader. He won’t want people believing that once Vettel got on top of his issues with the car he would have been consistently beaten, although that’s highly unlikely after the season he’s enjoyed.

Jenson Button ended up fifth after suffering a problem at his second pit stop but he was my star of the race. When the safety car pulled in to let the race get underway he immediately pitted for intermediates. When everyone else pitted a few laps later he had judged it brilliantly to end up in third place, lapping at the same pace as the Mercedes pair.

When he came in for the second time only an electrical problem that resulted in a change of steering wheel and which his McLaren team mate Kevin Magnussen also suffered from dropped him behind Vettel. The Red Bull’s had compromised their qualifying by going for a full wet set up and Button really had no response to that once they were close.

He did manage to remind people just how good he is in the mixed conditions and it was timely too with his drive and career under threat after the recent driver moves. A fifth place finish doesn’t sound wonderful but as the rain came down harder towards the end he was one of the first to pit for full wets again, it was then that the race was brought to a premature end, so you never know, it could have been a podium.

The Williams boys held a second row lock out after qualifying but ended up sixth and seventh with Valtteri Bottas ahead of Felipe Massa. Their car hasn’t looked good in the wet all year so it was no surprise to see them drop back a bit, but they held on to take some solid points and tighten their top three position in the constructors ahead of Ferrari.

This was helped greatly by Fernando Alonso retiring with an electrical failure while behind the safety car. Such a shame as I think he could have been a podium threat. Kimi Raikkonen failed to score and ended up 12th after being nowhere all day. It stops Ferrari’s run at 81 consecutive points finishes. After two successive failures I’m sure Alonso can’t wait to be out of there.

Force India just about held on to fifth in the constructors ahead of McLaren with Nico Hulkenberg getting eighth and Sergio Perez tenth. Despite a grid penalty leaving him 20th on the grid Jean-Eric Vergne seemed to come from nowhere to claim two points with ninth beating his team mate and the new Red Bull graduate Daniil Kvyat once again.

Sauber had Esteban Gutierrez in 13th, Magnussen eventually got home in 14th with the Lotuses 15th and 16th, Romain Grosjean ahead of Pastor Maldonado. Marcus Ericsson headed the Marussia Caterham battle ahead of Max Chilton and Kamui Kobayashi.

But it is Jules Bianchi who our thoughts are with. Adrian Sutil’s crash the lap before meant a safety vehicle was brought onto the track covered only by waved double yellow flags. Perhaps the conditions warranted a safety car, Sutil explained that as the rain got harder he was experiencing aquaplaning.


It seems Bianchi suffered a similar accident; it was just unfortunate a safety vehicle was already at trackside which the Marussia struck. I wish Jules Bianchi a speedy recovery. 

all photos taken from autosport.com and bbc.co.uk/formula1

Jules Bianchi suffers head injury after accident in Japanese Grand Prix


Jules Bianchi of Marussia has suffered a severe head injury and is undergoing surgery after suffering a horrible accident in the Japanese Grand Prix. Following surgery he is to be moved to intensive care.

He had spun off at turn 7 and hit a recovery vehicle that was picking up Adrian Sutil’s Sauber which had hit the wall at the same corner the lap before. It appears as if the Marussia struck the back of the tractor causing the race to be stopped with nine laps to the end.

The FIA has released a statement saying "The CT scan shows that he has suffered a severe head injury and is currently undergoing surgery. Following this, he will be moved to intensive care where he will be monitored."

The Grand Prix took place at its scheduled time despite the threat of a super typhoon heading towards the circuit in Suzuka. There will be a lot of conjecture about what should and shouldn’t have taken place today and at what time but the fact is it did, and I don’t think the horrible accident to have injured Bianchi should affect people’s opinions on that.

When Bianchi’s Marussia hit into the JCB that was picking up Sutil’s already crashed Sauber it was nothing to do with if and when the race should have taken place, it was just a terrible accident. The rain had got heavier after a convenient break in the weather allowed the race to go ahead but an incident like this could even have happened at a dry race, although as Sutil said after he believes a safety car might have been appropriate to allow his car to be rescued. He also reported ‘aquaplaning at this corner’ which appears to have caught out him and Bianchi.

Having said that it’s not your usual situation when there’s a rain storm and you can’t judge how much rain there will be. They knew a typhoon was heading for the track days ago and that the start time was only two and a half hours before sunset. There was obvious potential for the race to be delayed and they had plenty of opportunity to move the race to an earlier start time but the circuit owners Honda refused. This seems like it would have been the sensible option but as so often happens in Formula 1, the sensible option is often the route least likely to be taken.

However, in the end I don’t believe that this had any effect on the race, it was just a wet race and it certainly didn’t really contribute to Bianchi’s accident. With hindsight, perhaps given the conditions there should have been a safety car when Sutil crashed.

For the future maybe there should be more cranes around circuits to pick up a car without having to send a recovery vehicle on to the track. Formula 1 cars are very low down and if striking a higher vehicle can have terrible consequences as Marussia know from the terrible incident with Maria de Villota during straight line testing in 2012.

Bianchi is part of the Ferrari driver academy and has been tipped to one day driver for the Scuderia after impressing during the last two years and scoring Marussia’s first points earlier this year. It can only be hoped he makes a full recovery.

all photos taken from autosport.com

Saturday 4 October 2014

Kvyat the big winner as Vettel leaves Red Bull


Sebastian Vettel is to leave Red Bull at the end of the year with Daniil Kvyat to take his place in the current World Champion team. Red Bull all but confirmed Vettel is off to Ferrari, most likely in place of Fernando Alonso whose relationship with the Scuderia has fallen apart, while Alonso is likely to end up with McLaren.

A shocking announcement to wake up to as qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix got underway. Nico Rosberg took pole position ahead of Lewis Hamilton to set up another enticeing battle in the championship fight but all talk was for the driver movements affecting 2015.

Vettel's decision to leave comes as a complete surprise. Not so much that he's leaving Red Bull but how soon it is to happen. Although not confirmed by Ferrari it is almost certain that's where he's off to, but why?

Well Red Bull haven't been as good this year, Technical director Adrian Newey is going to step back, he's been taking a beating from Daniel Ricciardo and perhaps he wants to prove to the doubters that he can win in another team as many still seem to think he only won because he was in the best car. It's sound reasoning therefore that he would want to take up a new challenge and get Ferrari back to the top.

Although if Alonso can't win with them and they're in a worse state than ever it seems a curious decision. It's no secret Vettel has struggled to adapt to these new cars this year, I'd have thought stick with what you know and see how Ferrari get on next year, meanwhile do your best to get one over on Ricciardo.

But what if Ricciardo continued to beat him next year? Vettel's market value would diminish and potentially he could be left with fewer options about where to go. There's so many permutations to this it could be assessed forever. In the end it's probably a wise decision as Ferrari will of course one day get it right again, but how soon? And as one F1 journalist tweeted today, if Vettel struggles with them will they be left reflecting on how Alonso would be doing, or worse how Ricciardo would have done?

One thing we know for sure is that Alonso can drive round a bad car, but Vettel seems to need things more suited to him, it's going to be fascinating to see how this pans out. There's so much more to this situation as well, what of Kimi Raikkonen? Will he stay after such a miserable season. Vettel and Kimi are two drivers who have openly admitted they've struggled to adapt to these new turbo cars, is this what Ferrari want to lead them? Meanwhile this looks like it certainly means Alonso is on his way.

With all the management changes going on at Ferrari and the relationship between driver and team on the critical list at least since last year when Alonso criticised the team, it was inevitable that he would leave but I think most people thought it would come next year.

After the catastropic 2007 campaign he had with McLaren no one would have thought he'd end up back there but negotiations are on-going and it'll no longer be a surprise to see him end up back there. Ron Dennis wants the best drivers, and like at Ferrari there's been a lot of restructuring in the management and in the technical departments, so perhaps both team and Alonso are putting the past behind them to look to a brighter future.

More importantly though Honda want a big name driver, McLaren's new engine partner for 2015. They have long since targeted Alonso and I think whether Ron liked it or not, they were going to get their way as they aim to re-start their latest stint in F1 in a positive fashion. Honda will spend what they need to secure wins and like Ferrari it is inevitable that they will get it right again one day. But how soon?

Alonso is desperate for a third title and after five years of trying at Ferrari, they've not been able to make it work. We know he has a reputation for sometimes putting teams on edge, but for so long they seemed very much in love, how can this relationship have fallen apart so dramatically? Maybe he was demanding too much, maybe the new management at Ferrari had had enough of him looking for other options or were tired of everyone believing Alonso was carrying the team (which to be fair, he has been). Whatever it is, it's not a harmonious departure.

On that note how long can Alonso suffer another team in flux? It'll take a while for Honda and McLaren to get it right, perhaps he might take a year out, perhaps we're about to get another bombshell regarding a drive at Mercedes. Who knows? Alonso seems quite relaxed and happy and says he knows, so thats who. 

If Alonso is to go to McLaren I would think it'll be at the expense of Jenson Button. I think after the investment they've put into Kevin Magnussen who is at the start of his career they'll decide to stick with the Dane. But Button would raise his game considerably up against Alonso, like he did with Hamilton so it could be argued they should stick with him and give Magnussen a year out?

Unfortunately for Jenson that scenario is unlikely and it looks like it could be his last year in Formula 1 because as a former world champion do you really want to race for say Force India? Probably not. It would be a sad way to end, but nothing is confirmed yet.

Arguably it could be said that Vettel and Alonso are swapping their current seats for potentially worse seats, at least in the current situation, so you have to say that Kvyat's move from Toro Rosso to Red Bull is the really big winner in the driver moves.

What an opportunity for the young Russian driver after only one year in the junior team to be promoted to the four time champions. He has to believe Renault are going to make a huge improvement on the power unit and Red Bull will still have a car which will have been predominantly overseen by Adrian Newey despite him stepping back, at least for 2015.

He has been mostly hugely impressive this year and you could say looked better against his team mate Jean-Eric Vergne than even Ricciardo did last year, especially when you consider it's his rookie campaign. It could be quite a close battle at Red Bull next year and I don't think you can say their driver line up looks less despite the loss of a four time champion because quite simply Ricciardo has been brilliant and is a star in his own right while Kvyat looks a worthy addition for the reasons I've just given. Potentially if you look at the comparisons between drivers at Red Bull and Toro Rosso, then he could be in line to be the first Russian world champion in Formula 1. You got to say that it is not an unlikely scenario.

Vergne is rightly annoyed too that he was looked over. But it was never going to be him moving to Red Bull when Max Verstappen was announced for Toro Rosso. He's matched the 2015 Red Bull line-up, he deserves a seat but like Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari before him, the Red Bull young driver program is ruthless.

It's also been rumoured Nico Hulkenberg might be off to sports cars which would be a great shame as he has deserved a seat in a top team for years but it seems he will be continued to be overlooked and admittedly he hasn't been quite as on it this year, perhaps for this reason. Force India say he is under contract for 2015.

A roller coaster of a Saturday morning and so many different scenarios, reasons and arguments that can be presented for all this situations. It's fascinating and there's probably a few more shocks to come in this crazy world of F1.

all photos taken from autosport.com