Cinderella Story

With the first weekend of Formula One racing wrapped up, I still find myself needing to question ‘did it really happen.’

This weekend has been surreal. I honestly don’t remember such a game changing moment as we witnessed. Pre-season testing has been more or less spot on, something that doesn’t always carry forward into the season.

Brawn’s one-two is nothing short of a fairytale. The whole story is sort of thing that you expect from a Hollywood blockbuster, not Formula One. It just isn’t supposed to happen, barring an intervention from Mother Nature.

Fortune as well as skill was on their side. I was surprised how long it took for the safety car to be pulled out after Nakajima found the wall. That being said, Jenson Button drove superbly; with only a slight hiccup in the pits his only blotch on his copybook. Barrichello had an eventful day but still came home second. Even watching, you can sense that feel good buzz that is around the team right now.

On the podium, we saw real emotion between the two. Not the fake stuff we often see between team-mates up there. Both were genuinely happy for each other. And why not! Up to a few weeks ago, both were written off. Button criticised for not exploring other options, Barrichello considered ‘past it’. Now they are the toast of Formula One.

It was great to see that the paddock is happy for them. I can’t remember a time where we say cars applauded down pitlane as they headed up to their parking slots. It was a wonderful gesture from the teams in a day and age where people are more likely to snipe at each other rather than pat them on the back.

As for the pre-season championship contenders, Ferrari looked strong at times. At the time of writing, we are still waiting to find out what happened to Massa. Somehow, I’m not surprised to see Raikkonen fight the wall. His race drew too many similarities to those he raced last year - quick when he wants to be, but also quick to find the wall.

Lewis Hamilton is another who deserves a pat on the back. In an inferior car and assisted by retirements, he drove the sort of race that a world champion should. He picked up valuable points that will aid his fight to retain the title down the line.

Alonso was steady if unimpressive. Kubica was the only one of the five who looked an actual threat, until he stuck it up the inside of Vettel and the two of them took each out. That isn’t the way to win championships.

As for KERS, I definitely find myself on the fence about it. To me, the way it was explained and how it affects the weight would concern me that it would alienate certain types of drivers – for example Mark Webber and Robert Kubica, because of their stature.

That been said, in the race, you could see where those using KERS could use it to their advantage. It’s definitely something to watch over the coming races. Much the same can be said about the new aero-packages.

Qualifying was brilliant. I haven’t enjoyed a quail session like that in years. It was fantastic with the field so close that not even the perceived front runners could play it safe. If the gaps stay like that for the rest of the year, it will definitely make Saturday watching mandatory!

Malaysia is next weekend, at the wonderful starting time of 9am GMT. Got to love the lie in!

F109 Countdown: Toro Rosso

In a slight change from the norm, I am running the next team preview early. The main reason for which is that the FIA are planning to vote on a potential new points system (yah!) and don’t fancy being kyboshed with doing two articles later.

Toro Rosso:
2008 Results
Best Finish: 1st (Sebastian Vettel at the Italian Grand Prix)
Points Scored: 39
Championship Position: 6th
2009 Drivers: Sébastien Bourdais & Sebastian Buemi

Toro Rosso defied all expectations last year. This is the Red Bull junior team. It was supposed to show flashes of brilliance, but at the end of the day the main Red Bull squad was supposed to be top dog. It’s like a sibling rivalry. No matter what happened, the older sibling is usually expected to come out on top.

The team started last year with a hybrid of their older car, choosing to delay the introduction of their 2008 challenger. Usually, this is a bad sign, leaving a team lagging in the development race. Once again, Toro Rosso bucked the trend. The STR3 in the capable of hands of Vettel scored points regularly. It wasn’t even a case of just there by circumstance. It was there on raw speed.

And to think, this was the team that this time last year, was up for sale. Since then, the team has publically been taken off the market, although Red Bull owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, is willing to listen to the right offer. After the performance of the team last year, I’m surprised that more elements of the Toro Rosso team weren’t moved over to the main Red Bull squad to improve it.

Can they produce the same last year? That is going to be a tough one. Despite sharing common traits with the Red Bull car design, their challenger was launched a month later. Running with a hybrid car is all fine and dandy, but you don’t pick up the same data as with the actual car. I don’t think it was an ideal situation to leave Bourdais hanging as long as they did as well.

The former Champ Car champion is given another chance to impress this season. All in all, it was a wise decision. I always feel a team can benefit from sort of continuity on the driver front. His end of season performances merited another shot. Granted, he only scored points in one of them, but he put that car in the last session of qualifying the same as Vettel.

It makes this season make or break for the Frenchman. He has to turn promising speed into consistent points. I feel he has a better chance than his would-be replacement, Takuma Sato. The Japanese drive has shown flashes of speed in the past. Unfortunately, he also brings flashes of head pains to mechanics that have to repair the car.

The team continue their adoration of anyone with the name ‘Sebastian’ with replacing Vettel with GP2 series driver Buemi. The Swiss driver finished sixth last year, but won two races. Prior to Christmas, he headed the field in testing, although as I have said many times before, I don’t put much stock in times until we get to the real racing.

What would concern me about him is that he did finish sixth in GP2. There were five other drivers ahead of him, none which will be on the Formula One grid this year for varying circumstances. It definitely makes me wonder if he will make the grade.

I envisage a tough year for the team. I doubt they will reach the highs of last year. If they level out and find consistency which brings them points, it will be a good result for the team that used to spend all their time rooted to the rear of the field.

F109 Countdown: Red Bull

Red Bull:
2008 Results
Best Finish: 3rd (David Coulthard at the Canadian Grand Prix)
Points Scored: 29
Championship Position: 7th
2009 Drivers: Mark Webber & Sebastian Vettel

Red Bull promised much last year, but failed to deliver. It was all looking rosey when the team scored points finish in the first seven races of the year. There definitely seemed to be a realistic shot that they could challenge for fourth.

But as the second half of the season begun, results dried up for the sports energy drink backed squad. They would go on to score in only four of the remaining races.

What compounded their slide down the table was the improvements in the sister Toro Rosso team. It was they who picked up Red Bull’s first victory in the sport. It was the little team that used to be Minardi that brought the Red Bull name to prominence in the sport. I’m sure there were many sick looking individuals in the main squad camp as Toro Rosso stole the headlines as the season headed towards its finish.

Blame was put on the engine; with Red Bull team members stating the Ferrari powered Toro Rosso got more power as the season went on. It was a statement that always perplexed me, since engine development was on a freeze. Regardless, it was their fault. It was Red Bull who decided to send their Ferrari contract over to Toro Rosso in favour of a shiny Renault one.

With egg on their face, they will be out with a lot to prove. Like a number of contenders, they pumped development time into the 09 challenger early. Red Bull, along with BMW, was amongst the first to test the KERS system.

In Mark Webber, they have an established veteran that can put the car in top ten in qualifying. What you get from him in the race can be a bit of a mystery. Now that all the hype and furore over his ability has died down, we are just left with a competent driver who can do is job well on the day.

His pre-season has been disrupted by a broken leg, suffered in an off-season event. Not the ideal way to kick off a brand new era of the sport. But credit to the Aussie for battling back to fitness in great time to get some miles in the car.

I feel that Australian has never truly been tested by a team-mate. At least, until this year. In just Jaguar years, he had in-experienced or just plain not quick drivers which easily dispatched. Coulthard provided more of a challenge, but had already peaked. In Vettel, Mark Webber has a shining star of the future to deal with.

The performance of Sebastian Vettel was a joy to behold last year. He put that Toro Rosso in places it shouldn’t have been. The young German crowned a fantastic year with pole position and victory at Italy in a simply masterful performance.

His reward was a promotion to the main team. Although, some might see it as a demotion, given the performance of Toro Rosso in the end of last year. If the Red Bull car is even somewhat competitive, I expect Vettel to be in the thick of it. I really expect him to put Webber into the shade. Another win? Why not. The boy has the talent to do it. He could very easily add to his tally. Vettel is one man to keep your eyes glued on for the forthcoming season.

Race of Champions

The Race of Champions offered an enjoyable day of Sunday motorsport. The winter is always a dull time for motorsport fans as we wait for the engines to fire back up and the competition to begin once again.

Germany defended the Nations Cup. Michael Schumacher led by example, winning the deciding race against Ekstrom. Despite retiring from competitive racing at the end of 2006, he doesn’t look like a guy who is living it large. Lean, mean and charismatic as ever, the German clearly hasn’t lost that edge which has made him the greatest driver in the history of the sport.

The actual Race of Champions, which saw drivers racing for personal glory, saw a lot more in the surprise department. Sebastian Loeb came from smashing through some barriers to secure victory and Nascar runner-up Carl Edwards defeated Schumacher. Despite bashing up two cars, David Coulthard made it into the final for a best of three duel with Loeb. The Frenchman took victory be a mere three tenths of a second from the retiring Formula One drive.

However, while the racing was great, the coverage was decidedly second-rate from Sky. Everything just seemed ‘off’. They cut from driver promos straight into the action, hardly giving the viewer a chance to adjust to who was in the car at the time. On too many occasions, they didn’t even show up any titles of who was in which car. While some drivers are easy to spot, there seemed to be no consideration for those lesser known guys.

The interviews repeated questions over and over, with Hamilton’s dad been asked about his family’s holidays twice in two different interviews. Where is cohesion in it? But what really took the cake was the interview to Vettel, where the woman first stated it was Vettel’s first RoC, when it was his second. The interview was further botched up when she stated that Ekstrom had won it for the last four or five years, when he had the last two.

It was just an error-filled coverage on the part of Sky. When you get the basic facts wrong, that is just not right. Another example of the mess was claiming Edwards to be an eight time winner this year, when he won nine races. He was also classed both as a Nascar champion and a former Nascar champion. He is a Busch/Nationwide champion, which isn’t defined as being the ‘Nascar champion’. Or consistently stating that Sebastian Loeb won the rally championship at Rally GB, when in fact he went into that rally with his fifth title already wrapped up.

The first thing I was thought in journalism school – know your facts so you don’t look like a twat.

The overall track design was okay, although plenty of room for improvement. I can remember years back, watching RoC events and there was plenty of side by side racing. You don’t get that with the Wembley circuit. The layout of it left the camera more often than not just focusing on one driver. The thrill of watching this sort of racing is to see both in the same shot.

As for Hamilton, his gimmick race with an Olympic bike rider came to nought due to the conditions. Okay, these guys knew about this gimmick race for long enough. It was obvious; they needed conditions right for the bicycle rider to be able to compete. It doesn’t take a rocket science that the weather at this time of the year is terrible. Wembley has a roof, why not have it shut in advance to ensure it?

It is a shame not to see the new F1 champion actually competing. For the past two years, there has been plenty of talk about him taking part. I’m sure as a racer; Hamilton would want to do it. But as his dad said, the ‘politics’ intervened. Hmm, a situation where every driver is in equal machinery, I can only think of one reason for ‘protecting’ a driver. Just let the guy race. I’m sure he wants to. The fans want him too. It is a no brainer.

The Phillies: F1 Results

Below are the results of the first annual 'Phillies' for Formula One. These results are of my own opinion. Hopefully in coming years, there will be online voting for it. The Nascar results will be posted next weekend.

For details on each of the awards, see the Award Categories.

Driver of the Year:
Winner: Fernando Alonso
When you look at the drivers occupying the top seats in Formula One, none of them can lay claim to a perfect season. All of them had up's and down's, with some pretty ordinary performances on the way.

The same can't really be said for Fernando Alonso, who throughout the year proved why he is a two-time world champion. He consistently drew the most out of an inferior car and when the opportunity presented itself, took advantage of a situation to score two unlikely victories.

Most Improved Driver of the Year:
Winner: Felipe Massa
Many felt, including myself, that 2007 would be the best chance for Massa to win the title. He was settled in Ferrari and it offered him the best chance to get the jump on Raikkonen. He didn't and the rest his history. Two races into the season and many questioned how long Massa had left in his Ferrari career.

After Bahrain, Massa went from potential career also-ran to championship contender. Gone away was the ability to preform on certain tracks or to win from pole position. Even his wet weather driving improved. He still has a way to go, as the likes of Silverstone showed, but Massa is now a genuine title contender.

Rookie of the Year:
Winner: Timo Glock
An award that could have easily gone to Vettel, except the German ran a large portion of 2007, hence cancelling him out.

It took the GP2 champion a while to get going, especially compared to veteran team-mate Trulli. But, as one result built to another, Glock easily found himself a constant contender for the points. The highlight of the year for the young German was his podium at Hungary. Unfortunately, his name is more associated with wild conspiracy theories about slowing down on the final lap of Brazil to hand the title to Hamilton.

Flop of the Year:
Winner: Kimi Raikkonen
World Champion? At times you would be hard to believe. The Finn spent the majority of races anonymous, barring a few speedy laps. The contract extension announced at Belgium was a complete shock, given the lack of motivation from him. His reputation battered, there is no excuse for a lack of motivation for next year.

Underrated Driver of the Year:
Winner: Sebastien Bourdais
The four-time Champ Car champion endured a difficult season, like many drivers who cross the Atlantic divide. However, by seasons end, Bourdais consistently joined Vettel in the third around of qualifying. The Frenchman endured some rough luck despite the better form. The loss of a podium at Belgium, starter issues in Italy and a unfair penalty at Japan are just a few examples of where the Frenchman's luck abandoned him.

Whether he gets a chance to redeem himself is still up in the air as he vies for a seat at Toro Rosso. Bourdais recently admitted that finances as much as talent could determine if he gets the seat.

Team of the Year:
Winner: McLaren
It could have been so easy for McLaren to blame the Spygate fallout on their ordinary performances at the start of the year. Heck, ITV used it around the Spanish grand prix. The team kept their heads down and plugged away, closing the gap on Ferrari.

Most Improved Team of the Year:
Winner: Toro Rosso
It is hard to believe that this team used to be tail-enders under the Minardi name. The late arrival of the 2008 was the potent weapon that starlet Vettel required to show his raw talent. The team went from straight to straight, qualifying both cars within the top-ten on a number of occasions.

Victory at Monza for Vettel was the first for the Red Bull organisation. The icing on the cake came at the end of the season, with the team beating the sister squad in the constructors standings.

Race of the Year:
Winner: Interlargos, Brazil
Everything we wanted in a season finale and then some. I remember more bad races than good this season, but the final race of the season easily ranks in my top-five of all time. The seven point lead Hamilton enjoyed could easily have made the race a foregone conclusion. While the expected result occurred, we were left on the edge of our seats till the final lap for a Hollywood style finish.

Surprise of the Year:
Winner: Vettel's victory at Monza
With weather afflicted races, we have often seen results that are against the norm. But that doesn't take away from the raw talent on display at the Italian race. At times, he was in a class of his own, bringing back memories of what made Schumacher a wet racing maestro. I look forward to see what the young German can do in the coming years.

Overtaking Move of the Year:
Winner: Massa versus the McLarens at Hungary

As I said above, this was a season that we saw a more well rounded racing craft by the Brazilian. The start of a race is vital at Hungary, as like Monaco, overtaking chances are at a premium. It was a 'balls to the walls' move that unfortunately, didn't count for points at the end of the day due to engine problems.

Controversy of the Year:
Winner: Inconsistent Penalties
Whether you agree or disagree with the calls made, they were a major talking point. Myself, I agree with a number of them. But the main stickler I had was races decided after the chequered flag. Sending people home, not knowing if the guy they saw on the podium is a winner is not how the sport should handle itself. Once every now and then, that is fine and dandy. But the amount of times it occurred this year is unacceptable.

The ‘James Allen’ Award:
Winner: Lewis Hamilton at Montreal
The moment where the most basic of road rules went out the window and allowed BMW and Kubica to pick up their first victory. I still shake my head at the whole thing when I think about it. I still think the whole thing came down to a 'red mist' situation, given that Hamilton lost time with a vastly superior car on the day.

I will definitely miss the Canadian Grand Prix. The North American race often provided us with classic races year after year.

Five Point Four Seconds

Could you have asked for a better season finale? I doubt it. After a coma-inducing bore of China, two showers of rain at either end of the grand prix produced chaos, that nearly decided the world championship.

With only the final uphill run to go, a struggling Glock, on dry ties, slithered from left to right as Hamilton snuck by to take fifth position, securing his first world championship. Felipe Massa, who dominated the race was left to think what might have been, losing the title by a single point.

I honestly thought this race was going to be a bore, worthy of about thirty minutes of watching. All Hamilton had to do was finish fifth. Pretty easy. But, the Brit made it difficult for himself with an uncharacteristically tepid race. It was this pace that put him in the situation that almost cost him his championship.

With just a handful to go, it looked like the Massa’s fairytale was about to have its happy ending. Kubica’s rashness to unlap himself, first saw Vettel disadvantaged. But as Hamilton gave the Pole room to pass, Vettel slid by. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of people taking a swipe at Kubica for it, even more if Glock hadn’t of lost so much time on the last lap.

Against the odds he was in contention for the title that on a good day, Hamilton should’ve sown up easily. Still, the right calls had to be made and Massa had a drive worthy of a world champion. While Hamilton’s drive was less so, he is no less deserving of his accomplishment. The raw skill behind the wheel of a Formula One car from day one told us that it was only a matter of when he would pick up his first world championship. His year has been erratic, with silly mistakes and earning penalties like a rookie should. But he capitalized on the mistakes by Ferrari, aided by his bullet proof McLaren.

Fernando Alonso continued his strong finish to the season in second, holding off Raikkonen. The Finn was about as useful as a bad cold in Massa's title charge today, or about as useful as Kovalainen. Vettel finished an excellent fourth with the second McLaren in seventh; Jarno Trulli rounded out the points finishers.

Hats off to Hamilton. Like him or loathe him, he is a worthy world champion.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Felipe Massa. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain, Massa has earned a lot of respect and broken down many walls this year.

Lightning Strikes Twice!

I thought about sleep, especially after staying up for the Nascar race. I tried, missing most of the pre-race show, which usually isn't a loss, but Martin had control of the show today and from what I saw, it was actually more balanced! Maybe Martin is practising for the Beeb next year. But sleep wasn’t coming so I decided to continue the epic night of motorsport, even if I’m going to feel it later on today. The first few laps at least made it worth tuning in live.

Lightning never strikes twice, they say? Fernando Alonso will raise a point against that. He drove through the Ferrari – McLaren melee at turn one and hooked up behind Kubica. The Spaniard was short-fuelled and was dutifully asked to pound in the lap times to make up the gap. ITV spend all their time making up words for Hamilton and saying how he is doing stuff comparable with Schumacher, Senna et al. What Alonso did, what was asked of him – was exactly what the greats did.

Robert Kubica held off Raikkonen for the second step on the podium. The result leaves him just twelve points off Hamilton. Should a freaky set of results occur in the last two races, the Pole could still be in with an outside shot of the title. It was a day for the underdogs, with Piquet coming home fourth, Trulli in fifth. The Toro Rosso’s coming home in sixth and seventh, with Bourdais out-racing his much vaulted team-mate on this occasion. For Piquet and Bourdais, the results are important towards saving their drives.

It was a disastrous race for Massa and Hamilton. Both were reckless, silly and lacking the composure that the media continue to spew that both have in unequal measure. Schumacher must be kicking himself for not sticking around a few extra years because the way these young pups are driving, it would have been an easy two championships.

On a week where Robert Kubica highlighted his and other drivers opinions to Hamilton’s dangerous driving (which of course was fobbed off by the aforementioned and Ron Dennis), he gets a penalty for such driving. It was only a matter of time before he got penalised for his reckless acts on the track.

Funny how the same people who bitched and moaned about Schumacher’s driving style are the same people now defending Hamilton. Oh lads, get your noses out of Hamilton’s arse, clear off the brown stuff and start calling the race with impartiality!

As for Massa’s penalty, well, for sim-racing, we always say the racing track is the white lines, plus the kerbs. But in real racing, that’s different. I don’t agree with the excess that the ITV chaps were lambasting Massa for it, but he did nerf him off, so a penalty was deserved.

For the first time, I used the Formula1.com telemetry, which is great to have with the amount of breaks ITV insist on forcing on us. Not to mention, when ITV go all quiet on peoples lap times, at least I can keep track. For example, we never heard anything about Hamilton’s horrid middle run which composed of 1m21’s, 1m22’s. That sort of stuff is HELPFUL to us, the viewer!

At the end of the day, the result suits McLaren to the ground. They come out of it smelling of roses despite the dodgy driving. James Allen's dodgy maths aside (claiming that even if Lewis had a seven point lead, he would still win by finishing behind a Ferrari one-two - a Ferrari one two would be four point gain per race), Hamilton enters the final two races with a six point gap and can wrap up the title in China if he outscores Massa by more than four points. On the flip side, a Ferrari one-two in the final pair of races would see Massa the champion.

Personally, I’m getting sick of his paranoia over penalties. A driver sneezes and the ITV guys are calling for heads or there is an incident to be investigated. It is getting pretty sickening at this stage. Maybe for 2009, we should have everyone drive in bubble cars.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Fernando Alonso. Like any great driver, he meticulously drilled in the laps to make his strategy worked. That is why Alonso is a double world champion and the best racer in the sport at the moment.

A Dream Day

A master class performance from Sebastian Vettel resulted in his first F1 win, the youngest in history. It was also Toro Rosso’s, formerly the Minardi team, first win.

It has been a long time since I have seen such a performance, and after the Spa debacle, it was exactly what F1 needed. The past few races, the German has shown us glimpses of his potential. Today, in mixed conditions, he was in a different class to the competition.

Kovalainen was a depressing second. I’m sure questions would be asked as to why he had zero answer for Vettel in an inferior car. Robert Kubica, who was nowhere all day, benefitted from his long run to pit at the ideal time for the tire switch-over. Others were not so lucky, having to come in a second time.

The Ferraris were as what I expected. Fast in spurts, but overall unimpressive in the wet weather conditions. Massa made the best of a difficult situation and should be happy with scoring above Hamilton. Raikkonen was shockingly poor for the first part of the race, before finding pace towards the back end.
Lewis Hamilton was no-where for the first part of the race, continuing his qualifying form. Suddenly, he came alive and was the Lewis Hamilton we know. He played himself to make the most out of a bad situation until the lack of rain meant he had to some back into the pits.

His driving was far from inspiring though. While he could defend running Glock off the road due to the spray, I struggle to see a defence of him nearly running Webber off the road can be conjured. I can remember back to Canada many years ago, where a similar incident happened between Schumacher and Frentzen. Schumacher had a stop-go penalty for that. And Lewis fans think they get hard done by? That wasn’t all from in his unsportsmanlike conduct. He left zero room with cutting in front of people after overtaking people. His move on Alonso a prime example of this.

The championship is down to a single point. Given how bad Ferrari are in the wet versus how good Lewis should be, I’d be happy if I was Ferrari. It could have been a whole lot worse. It is on to new ground in two weeks with the first night race at Singapore.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Sebastian Vettel. A supreme drive that we haven’t seen in years. While James Allen was too busy trying to bring false comparisons between Hamilton and the great weather specialists, he should have been saving them for this man.

He Who Dares...

Sebastian Vettel continued his recent great form, collecting his first career pole in a soaked Monza. It was a day of high suspense and surprise as some of the major players failed to show the kahona’s needed to deal with the weather.

Vettel was quick throughout the day in the changing conditions, driving with the maturity and consistency one would expect from a championship contender. Kovalainen will start beside him tomorrow, the only driver of the top teams to really strut his stuff.

Webber and Bourdais completed a fantastic day for Red Bull as a whole, locking the second row. Like Vettel, Bourdais has been supreme these last few raced. One wonders if it will be enough to convince Toro Rosso to keep him on.

Championship contender Felipe Massa will start sixth. None of his challengers will start in the top ten. Kubica will start eleventh after Massa bumped him. Raikkonen celebrated his new contract with 14th, Hamilton surprisingly in 15th.

Hamilton is perhaps the biggest surprised. Over the past two seasons, he has shown supreme skills in the wet. But yet another cock-up on the strategic front put him on the back foot. The decision to send him out on inters at the start cost him time. Despite the switch to the ‘extreme’ wets, Hamilton lacked the balls and the confidence expected of him. Cars around him were finding more pace than him, including Massa who snuck into the top ten at the time. His performance is baffling.

Starting 15th isn’t the end of the world for him, nor is it for Raikkonen. Both have fast cars underneath them and the Monza straights will provide ample opportunity to overtake. They need to be careful about the first corner, which always causes issue. I’m sure everyone will be hypersensitive to avoid the usual tip across the first chicane as well.

The weather is supposed to be dry, but we will just have to wait and see how it all plays out. The topsy-turvy grid might make for an interesting race for the first time in a while!

Make Up Your Minds!

I’m getting tired of having to wait hours after a race to find out what the result is. What is the point in having a podium ceremony after a race if things are subject to change later on that day.
While Hamilton stood atop of the podium to celebrate a gifted victory, the stewards were looking into the incident between himself and then-leader Raikkonen. He was later handed a 25-second penalty, demoting him to third. The claws will be out by McLaren fans, and in my opinion, this time they are right.

Yes, he cut the chicane, but at that stage there was no quarter been giving by either driver. I can see why the stewards probably flagged it. While he dropped back between Raikkonen, he stayed up his gearbox and one could say that he technically had an advantage of momentum from it. But not enough to warrant it I feel. It wasn’t as if he was a second or so back from Raikkonen when he made the move. So I believe the stewards got it wrong.

It was a chaotic race, one I think Ferrari gifted to Lewis on a silver platter in the end. They had the pace, but having a car that struggles in the wet-dry conditions gave the McLaren ace the opportunity to pounce – and with a driver like Lewis, you only need one chance.

Raikkonen crashing out settles a problem for Ferrari. Up until five to go, the Ferrari brass would be wondering how they were going to pick a driver. Kimi smashing the wall solves that nicely. Heidfeld and Alonso, taking late gambles to switch to the inters dived past cars left and right on the last lap. For Heidfeld, the drive was vital with his place under pressure.

The late rain took a shine off a fantastic afternoon for Toro Rosso. Bourdais, another man driving for his career, was a solid top-five man all day. In the last lap mayhem he slipped to seventh, but has aided his chances of staying next year. Vettel, running long on the first stint played himself into contention made it a double points day for the junior squad. Kubica, who had an extremely quiet day, came home sixth. The Pole didn’t look anywhere near what he was capable of on the day.

It was a day of penalties, with Glock picking up his own 25 second penalty for passing under yellow. That moves Webber into the points. Kovalainen, who had a torrid start, compounded his day by smashing into Webber and earning a drive-through, retired on the last lap.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Sébastien Bourdais. With his drive on the line, the Frenchman looked like he actually belonged in Formula One today. His drive was assured and mature, he was unlucky to drop to seventh in the end. A much needed boost to his career hopes.

Massa Wins Under A Cloud

Felipe Massa got his championship challenge back on track with a dominant victory at Valencia. Of course, it wouldn’t be Formula One without controversy and we got that too with Massa’s final pit stop.

I can just imagine that the Ferrari hater/McLaren fan boys are already feverishly typing away at how Ferrari are getting preferential treatment, lead by James Allen’s ignorant commentary no doubt. At least Brundle took the objective view and is waiting for all the facts to become apparent.

Was it dangerous? Well it looked dodgy. But, as said in an interview with the Ferrari press officer, this isn’t the first time this year that such a close call has happened. Yet none of them were even shown up as been investigated. Of course, Allen tried to gloss that over – but then again, this is the same guy who tried to justify Hamilton failing to see a red light at Canada so, as you can see, there is only so much you can take from a commentator who is bankrupt of any credibility. (By the way, anyone watching the ITV preview show notice that they edited out Allen’s gasp of ‘NO’ that he shouted when Massa crossed the line to take pole. Funny stuff that.)

Will they take the win away? I think if he is penalised, it will be a grid penalty at Belgium. It’s been a while, at least in my recollection, since there has been a time penalty. But we will have to wait and see. If there was to be a time penalty, they had enough time in the race to enforce. Either way, nobody will be happy. Like I said, I can already hear the rants now.

Going back to the race, Massa was supreme. For the sake of the championship, we have two great drivers fighting for it. Kimi’s dwindling hopes took a hit with an engine blow, but to be fair the world champion was nowhere today. He looks ever more like a driver just waiting it out for his retirement. Unfortunately for Ferrari, which is still a year away. If he doesn’t buck up and start earning his wage, serious conversations need to happen with Ferrari.

His race pace was sluggish for the most part, except near the end of a stint. His race went from bad to worse when he dragged his fuel rig with him on the second stop, injuring his fuel man. More questions of the Ferrari computer system, according to our resident clown James Allen. Again, Martin had to play the save in saying that there was no green light on the system. What would we do without you Martin?!

Lewis Hamilton finished second, doing the best the car allowed him. Had to laugh hard at the petty excuses Allen made about McLaren going conservative even before half-way. The chap just looks for excuses – this been the same guy who only a few races ago buffed his chest and shouted aloud that McLaren had overtaken Ferrari. Hey, guess what? Yet another James Allen mess up to report! On the podium, when Hamilton took his trophy, whistles rang out amongst the crowd. Obviously Spanish fans don't forget last year. Of course, Allen tried to play it off as cheers. Seriously, anyone could tell they were negative cheers. Once more, Brundle brought some sense to the situation. I wonder if he gets paid extra for such saves?

Kubica drove a solid race to finish third, again proving his talent above the car. BMW have the focus switched and for him to outdrive Raikkonen and Kovalainen goes further to show the Pole’s raw talent. Trulli and Vettel backed up impressive qualifying performances with fifth and sixth. A one-stopping Glock picked up a couple of points with seventh and eight went to Rosberg. A good day for the second tier teams.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Felipe Massa. A close one between Massa and Vettel. I give it to Massa, given that for the second time this year, he has shown the mental capacity to come back from some pretty depressing results. The wind is in his sails and for his sake, hopefully the full support of Ferrari.

All In His Stride

Lewis Hamilton had to do things the hard way at Hockenheim, but the end result was the same as Silverstone with victory for the Brit.

Crowd numbers seemed to be poor at the circuit, with plenty of empty seats and a general lack atmosphere since the departure of Schumacher. The first half the race matched that, in a dour affair that saw Hamilton run away with it. All that changed when what looked like a suspension failure sent Glock into the wall at the front stage.

Cue the safety car and a dash for an US-racing style pit race, one that Hamilton wasn’t a part of. While it worked out at the end, it was a dangerous call. They claimed they knew he had the pace to open up a gap (which he didn’t) but I’m sure the tire situation played on their mind.

McLaren were helped by the lethargic nature of the Ferraris. Offered an opportunity to seize victory, Felipe Massa pretty much pulled over and said ‘please sir, can I have some more” as Hamilton got by with ease. The Brazilian couldn’t even make a run at Piquet in a Renault. Whatever about the McLaren, not been able to pass a Renault is pretty pathetic. Raikkonen came out of the day with sixth place, but like his team-mate, was never at the races.

Piquet Junior benefitted massively from the safety car. On a one stop strategy he attained track position. Once there, he showed all the merits of the driver we expected him to be this year. Now can he build on it? Another to benefit was Heidfeld. From twelfth on the grid, he used the clean air to his advantage and opened up a sufficient margin to slot into fourth after his final stop. People continue to bash the German, but often overlook he entered Germany only twelve points off the lead.

In fifth was Kovalainen who had a quiet day, letting Hamilton by with ease when he came up behind him. (Must remember this, the next time fanboys scream about Ferrari using team order tactics to set their cars loose.) Kubica finished seventh, beaten by his team-mate for the second successive race and Vettel, who was strong all weekend to a hard-earned eight.

Ferrari needs to pull the finger out if they want to contend this championship. The last two races the team have been shockingly poor. With Hungry up next, a track that will suit the McLaren, Hamilton will have a great opportunity to make it a hat-trick.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Nelson Piquet Junior. He’s faced allot of criticism this year but if finally starting to turn it around. Points in France were a welcome boost and scoring his first podium will do his confidence no end of good. He’s driving to keep that seat and results like this help to cement his future. The job isn’t done though. He needs to continue to keep that car near the points from here on out.

Better Late Than Never

As we approach the half distance mark in the season, one man who has impressed is Red Bull ace Mark Webber.

I’ve never been a massive Mark Webber fan. Over the years he has been continuously pumped as a great drive, something I never bought into it. I’ve always seen a loudmouth who failed to do the job in the equipment given to him. My case in point was his attack on Williams last year, where the Aussie labelled them as nothing more than a Toyota ‘B’. Of course, Red Bull also receives customer engines, something conveniently forgotten.

The joke ended up been on him at the end of the season, with Williams finishing above Red Bull in the constructors championship. Red Bull finished nine points behind the ‘Toyota ‘B’ team’ in 2007. Of course, what shouldn’t be overlooked is Red Bull’s horrid reliability. Only on two occasions did both cars make it home to the flag.

Since his points scoring debut, Webber has been touted as a potential champion. But like many, he failed to bring consistency to his raw speed. On occasion he has found himself in the upper echelons of the Formula One grid in qualifying but never brought it home.

It took him until Monaco in 2005 for him take his first podium, his fourth year in Formula One. The 2005 season was a breakthrough year for the Australian. He finished with a career high 36 point, with five top-five finishes. In his first few seasons, he was bringing home the car in sixth, seventh and eight positions.

It’s easy to point and say he was in a poor Jaguar and that he regularly trounced his team-mates. But to be fair, up until he teamed up with David Coulthard in 2007, he hasn’t really had a driver to properly test him. There is always the old adage that a great driver can always draw more out of a bad car to consider as well.

In similar machinery to Coulthard, he found himself beaten by the experienced Scotsman in the championship. It didn’t help his credibility. While Webber is no spring chicken, many see Coulthard in the final ebbs of his Formula One career. Losing to him didn’t help to reinforce the idea that this was a potential new champion in the midst.

The 2008 season has seen Mark bring all the elements of his package together. He is regularly putting his Red Bull car in the final session of qualifying. In race trim, Webber has put together a string of five consecutive points finishes. After a blip at the chaotic Canadian Grand Prix, the Australian got straight back on the horse with another impressive run at France.

He is putting his team-mate in the shade, something he should have done last year. Outside of the Ferrari, McLaren and BMW drivers, Webber has taken the mantle as ‘best of the rest’. Just shy of the halfway mark, he has already accumulated 18 points in the drivers’ championship. If he continues his current form there is no reason why he can’t set a career high points total.

There is already talking of where he might land in 2009. He has left the door open for what options might be out there. In my view, he is best to stay at Red Bull. The team has serious backing and after overcoming the mechanical woes of last year, have a package that rivals the likes of Toyota and Renault. No mean feat against two motoring giants. There is no much better options out there for him. At his age, the top teams maybe a bit reticent to take him on now. Currently he’s in the best of the rest, so it’s all rosy for him.

One concern for him may be the arrival of Sebastian Vettel has his team-mate next year. If rumours are true, it will require him to raise his game. Unlike previous team-mates, Vettel is regarding as a rising star. If Webber could beat him, it would be quiet a feather in his cap.
Until then, Webber just needs to keep his head down and continue his fantastic 2008 season.

Kubica Takes Historic Victory

BMW’s promise of a race victory in 2008 was fulfilled at Montreal as Kubica won. The Pole took advantage of Hamilton’s pit-lane cock-up to lead home a BMW one-two.

For all the complaints about how the track was breaking it up, we had a fantastic day of racing. The day was aided by Hamilton’s mishap. Had he ran a clean race he would’ve won by a long shot. Instead he lost his championship lead by his own doing.

Brundle called it a ‘bizarre red light’. I call it a complete and utter cock-up by the Brit and I wouldn’t be surprised if he is reprimanded for his action. It’s very simple – red light means STOP! It’s one of the most basic forms of driving, let alone driving. Nobody can turn around and say it couldn’t be expected, especially after the double black flag of Massa and Montoya a couple of years ago.

I have my own view on it. Hamilton lost two places because of a bad pit-stop. Red mist descended and he was just pissed off that he had lost the ground given his vastly superior car. In that moment, he forgot about the red light and by the time he had remembered, his McLaren was into the back of Ferrari. Hold your hands up and accept it. How ironic that he laughed off his father’s crash during the week...

It was a very disappointing day for Massa and Kovalainen. This was a perfect chance for both to make head-way but they suffered from botched up strategies from their teams. Why they didn’t go on a one-stop when everyone else did is beyond me.
It was a silly decision by both teams. The right call was to go long with the possibility of further safety cars. Massa recovered best to finish fifth, going equal with Hamilton in the championship. Plenty of props to the Brazilian for some opportunistic passing on the day, especially on Barrichello and Heikki at the hairpin.

The race saw seven different leaders and apart from the BMW’s running line astern, which would be in for the final spots was a lottery. Challengers came in and went as they slipped and slid off the road. David Coulthard overcame recent woes to take a podium alongside the BMW pair. The Toyota’s ran a strong day that saw Glock in fourth and Trulli sixth. Given recent troubles for the team, it was a great result. Barrichello continued his mini-resurgence with a second points finish and Vettel, who overcame a whole host of issues on Saturday, took the final point.

Hopefully the bitching and moaning about the track condition doesn’t hurt the Canadian race. We always get a fantastic and unpredictable race that we don’t want to lose.

PC's Driver of the Day: Robert Kubica. Could it be anyone else? He kept his head down and did what he had to do. He take's his first F1 one, the first for a Pole and a first for BMW as a team. Top it off with the championship lead. What a weekend!

Iceman Cools Spanish Hearts

Kimi picked up his first pole position of the year with Alonso plopping his car into second. The Spaniard is obviously on a lighter fuel load but it will be interesting to see just how light he is come tomorrow.

McLaren endured a poor last section. I think they could have run light in an attempt to jump the BMW’s. If they have then they are in serious problems considering how things turned out. The third row is not what they expected. Kubica kept up his great form as of late with a second row start alongside Massa.

Major surprises of the day came from Rosberg and Vettel being beaten by their lesser experienced team-mates. Both will be looking for a good race day to save face. Barrichello, on his record equalling 256^th Grand Prix start, depending on whose statistics you read, almost made the top ten. That Honda looks horrid with the ‘Dumbo Ears’ on it. They must look like a crosshair reticule in the cockpit.

Tomorrow’s race day will be one to watch. Can the McLaren’s recover anything? How will Kubica go in relation to the two McLarens? What can Alonso do? What is Ferrari’s race pace going to be like? So many questions that will be answered tomorrow at lunch time. It’s going to be worth watching for sure!

On another note - How long did it take ITV to use the Spygate excuse for McLaren and Hamilton’s poor showing? Just four races. For any of you who saw the ITV pre-show you would’ve seen it. Why am I mentioning this? Well just to prove a point really. I stated a while back this excuse would be brought up when McLaren season took a turn and there we have it. Credit to McLaren for not actually saying it when they could have though.

2008 Season Preview - Part I

Slightly delayed but worth the wait! This is the Chequered Flag’s 2008 season preview. Like last year it will be divided into three parts covering the field. Last year I hit the nail on the head with a number of predictions, so hopefully I’ll be right again this year!

Toro Rosso

Can they step out of big brothers shadow?
A slow start to last year ended with their first double points finish in China, the Red Bull Junior squad has a new line-up this season. An Achilles heel may be their late arrival of the new car which means they will start the season in the '07 car. Starting late has never been a successful formula, especially for a mid-tier team. They will be playing catch-up all season and they hardly have a driver line-up brimming with experience to develop the car along. Toro Rosso would do well to hire an experienced hand to help bring the new car on song.

Vettel is a potential starlet, so much so he was allegedly coveted for the free McLaren seat. He showed tremendous character to come back from running into the back of his team-mate at Fiji to score points at China, even if one could point to Hamilton’s excessive stop-starting weaving as a cause to it. If STR provide a good car he can bring it home in the points. How long he will be there is probably the more concerning thing for them. A talent like him risks been poached by the bigger teams at any time. I’m sure BMW have an idea for him to replace Heidfeld when he retires.

Sébastian Bourdais comes into the sport on the back of four Champ Car titles. A help or a hindrance? Well in the past a number Champ Car winners have failed to light up the show. Testing has gone okay for the Frenchman but he is in the deep end and will have to learn to swim fast. Toro Rosso have shown themselves to be brutal if a driver fails to live up to expectations. Bourdais will be looking to be on Vettel’s coat tails or will be joining Klien, Speed and Luizzi on list of former drivers.

Honda

It can’t worse than last year, could it?
That’s the question Honda fans and Jenson Button are asking. Their joke of a livery that was only superceded by their joke performances, 2008 is all about rebuilding credibility. Ross Brawn, tactical genius has been drafted in to assist the ailing team but his arrival is surely too late to provide any major impact in 2008. Testing so far has failed to show that the team has made significant improvements. In my view money that could be better spent on R&D is used to finance the running of team which otherwise would be paid by actual sponsorship. Their failure to secure a long term main sponsor after the loss of BAT has hurt them bad. Paying the expenses for the ‘B’ team don’t help the situation either. Of course having Super Aguri on the grid would make sure that Honda aren’t going to be last!

How this car goes will ultimately decide Button’s future. I don’t see him waiting around for another season, even with Ross Brawn on-board if this years car is as bad as the last. I’m sure there is clauses in his contract that would allow himself to extradite himself from the team if it came to it. In a way it’s a touch of irony that he would be wanting to ditch the team after he worked so hard to break his Williams contract seeing Honda as the future.

Along with Button, this is a make or break season for Barrichello, albeit if he doesn’t match Button it will be him out of a job. The Brazilian, who will eclipse the record for longest serving grand prix driver this year scored zero points last year and was outclassed by Button. Regardless of the car he should have at least matched his team mate. Rubens has to show he still has the hunger to succeed. After everything he’s accomplished does he really have that hunger? I doubt it.

Force India

I wonder how much it costs per year to get uniforms updated with new team logos?
Ever since Eddie Jordan sold up this team has been falling about like a drunk in search of it’s identity. Is Mallya the man to finally take the team by the hand and find it? Time will tell. Talk of progression has been big this camp with the new Indian billionaire owner but isn’t that always the case with the previous reincarnations of the Jordan team. On track results and not big words is the yardstick teams are judged by.

In Giancarlo Fisichella is a Jekyll and Hyde driver. He failed, despite his own protestations that it wasn’t his fault, to take advantage of race winning cars provided by Renault. His move to Renault a number of years ago should’ve headlined a new beginning and perhaps the first Italian Formula One champion since Ascari back in the 1950’s. It proved to be a false dawn and Fisichella takes his bruised reputation back to the tail end of the grid. Have Force India signed a washed up driver? Maybe. But the Italian’s best work has been in middle and lower tier teams. The likes of Minardi, Jordan, Sauber all benefited from the Italian and perhaps it is in this sort of environment that can get the most out of him. Failure to put aspiring Sutil away though will mean the end of his career at the end of the season.

Adrian Sutil remains with the team for his second year despite been heavily linked with Toyota. Last year saw raw pace sprinkled with inexperience that he must overcome to show himself as a star of the future. He could benefit most from Fisichella’s arrival. Look at how much Rosberg grew with Wurz alongside him at Williams. Beating his teammate must be his number on objective. In the eyes of many Fisichella is past it and if Sutil fails to beat him, then he may wish he pushed harder to get his chance at Toyota.

Super Aguri

Will they, won’t they?
That’s the question swirling around the Honda ‘B’ team at the moment. The last time I remember a team missing this much of pre-season was Lola back in 1996 and look how that turned out. Their future has always been in doubt given that they suckle from Honda’s cash flow. Remember that Super Aguri was basically founded to keep Takuma Sato in an F1 drive as outrageous as that sounds. The 2007 was a successful one by the team’s first year standards. They scored points and encroached on second qualifying at times. Their end of season slump was due to the bigger budget teams having the development money. Of course in this sport, it’s down to the bottom dollar and that is where Super Aguri are in trouble with their failure to attract a major sponsor. Honda cannot afford to run two operations, especially seeing as both are flops as it stands.

Driverwise should they make the field they will most likely remain with the same driver lineup. As previously stated, the team was built for Sato which makes him a given. Davidson was given the nod by Honda ‘A’ squad chief Nick Fry who said he would object to another driver been brought in his place. This is exactly why Aguri is failing – sentimentality. Davidson showed pace in qualifying but his races were nothing to write home about. Sato is inconsistent, at times he shows he has what it takes, others he’s off in the doldrums. Honda need to get ruthless and cut them and Super Aguri and try to salvage a waning main team.

Fiji Madness

Fiji is best known in motorsport circles for the climax of the 1976 F1 title hunt where torrential rain saw Lauda pull out of the race and James Hunt soldiering on to do enough to win the title. The 2007 Fiji race may very well be looked upon as a similar turning point to where the title will end up.

Hamilton’s victory and Alonso’s no score puts the Brit in a fantastic position to wrap up the title in China at the weekend. Hamilton’s race was one of two half’s though. At times his wet weather running was fantastic in keeping it on the island. However his antics behind the safety car showed why he is still a rookie. ITV once more showed their discrediting bias at the start claiming the run up to the line as he tried to keep Alonso behind him as ‘gamesmanship’.

The hypocrite James Allen should remember his words two weeks ago where he had no issue in chastising Alonso for holding his line after the first corner at Spa. Tit for tat it was racing with two men fighting for the title. If only the commentators could see things through the same light would be something. Hamilton’s conduct at times behind the safety car was suspect though. I’m betting that it’s bound to be brought up. In those sorts of conditions his stop-start methods had danger screaming all over them.

The Ferrari tyre issue was unacceptable for a team that has always held the highest of standards. Allegedly they didn’t get the e-mails but how did the rest of the team is a bit suspect. Of course that didn’t stop James Allen insinuating that Ferrari was pushing the envelope on the rules. But like I’ve maintained before, anything that might dent the golden boy gets easy critique. Still, Ferrari’s tactics for the race were extremely poor and it’s not the first time this season that a poor race strategy has ruined Ferrari’s day. The fans of the red team must be licking their lips about the idea of Ross Brawn coming back next year.

After the race Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo came out and stated that Hamilton should thank Ferrari if he wins the title. It was a petty and unwarranted remark. Though that been said Hamilton had been quite mouthy at Monza and Spa about the whole issue so again it was a case of tit for tat. We don’t really need the sort of petty snide remarks that are more suited to brainless wannabe celebrities.

Props have to go to Heikki Kovalainen for a fantastic drive to Renaults for podium. Jenson Button was impressive without a front wing and only seemed to fade into oblivion after he put it back on. Honda should take note. A pity about poor Vettel who was having a great day till he ran into the back of his team-mate. Raikkonen at times showed his race craft with some fantastic overtaking moves in the wet. Oh if only Ferrari could get the race strategy right as original stated.

Congrats for Sutil and Spyker and their first point pending the Torro Rosso appeal. Since the B-Spec car has come Sutil finally has the platform to show skills. With Ralf leaving Toyota he is odds-on favourite for the drive. Probably only has newly crowned GP2 Champ Timo Glock as competition for it.

Sunday could and probably will see Hamilton crowned as champion. He needs to outscore Alonso by at least three points which is very likely to happen. On average Lewis has not lost more than at that amount over the season with his consistent runs. Despite my criticisms of McLaren and the shameful bias in the media towards Hamilton he is a deserving champion. Lewis has driving impeccably at times during the season and has taken to F1 like a duck to water. Even after all the scandals you can’t not praise him for his performances. Of course it means we have to put up with the Ryder, Blundell and Allen suck up show in overdrive but at least having Martin Brundle around means there is some sense of actual proper journalistic commentary offered on race days.

Heidfeld Struts His Stuff

Finally Heidfeld has a car that can showcase his talents.

For most the first time they will start rating the German will be this year, after a trio of fourth places. Those with a long term interest in the sport will know that this rise to the front of the grid has been a long time coming for Nick. A former McLaren protege, who battled with Juan Montoya for the F3000 (now GP2) title, he had a strong of middle to low end seats that saw his talent wasted.

The closest Heidfeld came to a front line drive was in his first stint at the Sauber team, when he was overlooked for Mika Hakkinen's vacant McLaren seat for his Sauber team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. While Kimi would go on to challenge for the wins and championships over the next few years, Heidfeld became a nomad, driving for Prost, Sauber, Jordan before moving to Williams and showing up his over hyped team-mate Mark Webber.

His performances and BMW's desire to have a German driver in their outfit saw Nick move back to the Sauber bought outfit. This move has seen Heidfeld finally show his true worth with out driving former world champion Villeneuve on many occasion. The arrival of quick rookie Kubica has seen Heidfeld raise his game this year to beat off the upstart with confident performances this year, including a stunning move on champion Alonso at Bahrain.

With his contract up at the end of the year Toyota are said to be sniffing about. A move I think would be bad for Heidfeld given the sleeping Japanese giant's lack of success since they have come in. BMW's insistence on waiting till the end of the year could force Nick's hand, especially with youngster Vettel vying for his seat. The example made of Villeneuve last year will still be in his mind. To drop Nick would be a bad move on the part of BMW. Kubica has shown he still has alot to learn about Formula One and to lose someone of Nick's experience and race craft would be a sad loss for a team aspiring to take on Ferrari and McLaren as the season goes on and afterwards.