F109 Countdown: Brawn Grand Prix

Day of the F109 Countdown looks at Brawn Grand Prix. After a season of uncertainty, pundits claim the former Honda team could be about to make a big splash.

Brawn GP Fact File:
2008 Results (as Honda Racing)
Best Finish: 3rd (Rubens Barrichello at the British Grand Prix)
Points Scored: 14
Championship Position: 9th
2009 Drivers: Jenson Button & Rubens Barrichello

Where Brawn GP stand is likely to remain a mystery until we get to Melbourne. So far, they have been more than happy to make a big splash. Their debut week of playing with others saw them rule the roost.

I just don’t believe we will see that when the real racing starts.

Testing, even Friday practice, always has to be taken with a pinch of salt. When it comes to this team, even more so. How many pre-season tests have we seen this time in its former guises shoot to the top of the standings and set the pace, only to disappear when the real racing started? It has happened enough times that their results definitely warrant questioning.

A number of observers have guessed that Brawn is running low fuel and ballast in their cars in an attempt to attract attention of sponsors. On the bright side, at least Brawn has the sense not to look for a gimmicky sponsor like the failed ‘Earth Dream’ concept.

Others have decided to talk up Brawn’s pace, which is a bit of a strange tactic. Maybe they are setting the team up for a bigger fall and deflecting the attention away from their own work.

If the car was going to be that good, I don’t think Honda would have pulled the plug. After investing so much time, effort and most importantly, money in the development of this car, it would just be a piss poor business decision. You give up half way through the year and work on this car, only to pull out. Don’t forget, this was the team that seriously tried to court Fernando Alonso to join their ranks for this season. To me, the Honda pull-out screamed that the car wasn’t right and they wanted to cut their losses.

Imagine if Brawn went on and were competitive. I think that would be a serious case of eggs on the face for Honda. Sure, we are in a recession, but everyone is affected by it. I would definitely think there was less to lose on a potentially championship contending campaign, than one rooted to the rear.

That been said, I raised my eyebrows with others at the speed of the car in the past few tests. I never thought it would be that easy for an engine power plant to fit in another car. For all the song and dance about manufacturers concerning standardised engines, I find it somewhat ironic.

The team retains both Button and Barrichello. Strangely enough, it was the Brazilian’s seat on the line over the winter. While both had a season to forget about, I always found it strange that it wasn’t Button on the chopping block. Given the Brit’s sizable wage packet, he was poor value for money against the veteran Barrichello last year.

Rubens came home with eleven of the teams fourteen points. Button has suffered a landslide fall from grace. With the arrival of Lewis Hamilton, the spotlight if off him, which given recent seasons, probably isn’t a bad thing!

I think, if given the right car, Button can still deliver. I’m surprised there wasn’t more talk about him moving when Honda pulled the plug. The lack of talk perhaps an indicator of just how far his stock has fallen in recent years.

The decision to retain both was the best decision for the team. While they don’t have the financial clout as they have had previously, running a rookie driver who would pay for a drive would be detrimental for a team that needs to get the most out of their car. The delay in the driver decision left Bruno Senna the odd man out, scrambling for a competitive drive in a series.

As I said at the start, gauging Brawn can only be done once we get the season started. Who knows, the pace might actually be credible.

F109 Countdown: Force India

This is the first of a ten part instalment of ‘The Chequered Flags’ Formula One season preview. Unlike last year, I’m adopting at a one a day style release, spending more time discussing the movers and shakers for the upcoming season. I will be starting from the back upwards, meaning that Force India will be the first time under the microscope.

Force India Fact File:
2008 Results
Best Finish: 10th (Giancarlo Fisichella at the Spanish Grand Prix)
Points Scored: 0
Championship Position: 10th
2009 Drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella & Adrian Sutil

It has been such a shame to see how the fortunes of the former Jordan Grand Prix team have gone in recent years. The team has changed owners more times than the ex-girlfriend used to change outfits before out on the town. In Doctor Vijay Mallya, the team have appeared to found someone who is in it for the long haul.

Or, at least until the money dries up.

Like those before him, he has grand plans for the former racing winning team. Idealism and hope are sometimes misplaced amongst the corporate glares in the Formula One paddock these days. Of course, while it is great to see such traits, that doesn’t automatically mean success in the long term.

The recent rule changes offer Force India the best opportunity to close up the gap on their rivals. I’m surprised how late the introduction of their 2009 car has been. Given that they have been banking on the new regulations, I expected them to have pulled a Honda and ditched the 2008 development in favour of the 2009 car.

Much hope is placed on the VJM02. Pre-season testing is always a rough gauge. We won’t know until Melbourne just how good they are going to be. We will find out whether the internal shuffling, which saw Mike Gascoyne depart the team, is the answer to the problems, or keeps them rooted to the rear of the field.

Along with a change in personnel, the team has switched engine suppliers for the new season. Force India move from Ferrari to rivals Mercedes. A major decision in the change was due to Mercedes willing to provide support with the KERS system, something Ferrari themselves have struggled with.

The team should be aiming for early season points, with a decision not to run the controversial KERS system. During pre-season, many teams have had issues with the system. Force India could stand to benefit if they manifest during the race.

Retaining both Fisichella and Sutil should turn out to be a sound choice by Force India. In Fisichella, they have a veteran driver who will be of great benefit to the development of the new car. The boat may have long sailed for Fisichella to stamp his name in Formula One folklore, but he is still capable of a good job for the small team. If the field is going to be as close as many predict, he could be in with a shout of points in the early season.

I feel that Adrian Sutil retains the seat more so because a need for continuity is useful, rather than his skill behind his wheel. Last year, I stated that 2008 was a big year for the German. Many regard Fisichella as washed-up. Sutil needed to beat him to cement his place as a potential talent.

While he improved from a shambolic start to the year, there wasn’t any spark in there that makes you think that he will last long in the sport. I bet he’s regretting not making more of a song and dance about that potential Toyota drive now. Unless he shows a vast improvement, I doubt we will see Adrian Sutil beyond the end of the upcoming season.

2009 F1 Preview

My 2009 season preview for Formula One will be starting in the coming days. Unlike previous years, where I did teams in bulk, I will be taking one day per team for this season. This way, I feel I can be more in depth with a ten day countdown, rather than a three day one.

Brains or Brawn?

After weeks of haggling and false reports that a deal was done, a solution is finally official. Brawn GP is born.

I am shaking my head at this one and as to why Ross Brawn is jumping into the deep end. No doubt, the man is intelligence. But this decision is anything but. I get the feeling that all his years of fine work with Schumacher are going to go down the drain, leaving his reputation in tatters.

This new team have all the hallmarks of being the ‘Super Aguri’ of 2009. All that time and money spent on developing a ‘contender’ for 2009 is out the window. They have zero testing done. I’m sure there are going to be design issues with switching out a Honda power plant for a Mercedes. Sponsors are needed. In short, it is going to be another year of struggle.

The whole situation has disaster written all over it. Many may be lamenting that Bruno Senna has been given the short shift, losing out to Barrichello for the second seat. It may be a blessing in disguise for the nephew of the legendary Ayrton. His reputation and confidence won’t plummet by driving for an ailing team.

Logically, it would have made more sense for a big time investor to come in. Short term, the team will struggle but long term, there is potential. The biggest question that will be answered in time is whether Brawn can survive short-term to reap any benefits.

Snake Eyes

Las Vegas, the betting capital of the world definitely threw up more than its fair share of curve balls over the Nascar weekend. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a full-moon over Nevada at the weekend. It was just one of those weekends where there was an abnormal amount of issues cropping up.

It all started early into the weekend with Toyota having major issues with their engines. Five of their cars, including pole sitter Kyle Busch had to go to the back due to engine changes. Five engine changes definitely work’s against the law of averages when it comes to mechanical issues.

The strange circumstances continued in the Nationwide race. I managed to see highlights of the event, and it just seemed that nobody wanted to win. Crashes, mistakes and pit-road violations all contributed to a topsy-turvy event, one that Greg Biffle won in the end.

After watching the highlights, I thought to myself – The first thing the Cup guys are going to be told on Sunday is watch your pit road speed. With the amount of penalties handed out for the offense in the Nationwide race, it felt like a no-brainer.

Obviously, someone never sent out the memo on Sunday.

Once again, errors on and off the pit road played a part in proceedings. What made the event all the more strange is that we saw uncharacteristic like errors from the likes of champion Jimmie Johnson. You just don’t expect it. If this was Daytona, I would hazard a guess that maybe with the testing ban, there is some sub-conscious nerves with the lack of driving. But this was the third race of the year, which more or less cancels out that theory.

While Toyota for the most part solved their engine issues, Sunday saw the Roush-Yates engines go up to kibosh. Three of their five cars went up in smoke. Matt Kenseth’s attempt to win three in a row was over before the race had made it past the first few laps. Carl Edwards erupted as he started the last lap, while Ragan’s blew in the middle.

As if all that wasn’t enough, pole-sitter Kyle Busch, sent to the back, charged his way through the field and took victory at his home race. It is the first time that Busch has won at his home race. The victory was Joe Gibbs and Toyota’s first at a venue that Roush and Hendrick have dominated in recent years. As if that wasn’t enough, Busch’s victory was the first time a pole-sitter had won (which he is officially classed as).

Not a bad day’s work for Wild Thing. He won from the pole and won from starting at the rear. I don’t think there are many who can stake that claim.

The weekend just goes to show you, anything can happen in Las Vegas.

The Weekly Nightcap - Feb 27

Welcome to the first ‘Weekly Nightcap’. I’ll use this as a forum to give my views on multiple topics in the motor racing world that I (a) didn’t have time to get to during the week or (b) didn’t have enough to make a proper article out of it.

This week, I’ll be touching on the impending (?) Honda team takeover, A1GP wanting to be Formula One.. or is that the other way around, BBC’s announcement on Formula One coverage, the banks bailing not only on their customers, but on Formula One and finally on Dale Earnhardt Junior.

Honda buy-out imminent?
This week ends with news that supposedly, a rescue plan for the Honda team is almost sorted. Judging by some of the news reports, it is a case of dotting ‘i's’ and crossing ‘t's’. The buyout option appears to be that headed by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry.

The pair is an interesting way to go. Over the past few months, we have been told that there have been many enquires. Although, according to Honda, none were feasible. It’s hard to believe that the Brawn/Fry bid was the only one that really ticked all the boxes for Honda. If Branson was serious about a Virgin bid, his deep pockets would make more sense than those of a cobbled together bid.

Perhaps the two leaned on their connections in Japan to get across the line first. A number of potential buyers were said to be unhappy with Fry being involved in the vetting process, given that he was tabling a bid of his own. Regardless, 20 cars on the grid is better than 18 come Melbourne.

I want to be like you!
At the A1GP race in South Africa last weekend, series boss, Tony Teixeria, stated that Formula One was looking to become more like A1GP with the recent changes to the sport. Oddly enough, despite this claim, he still has dreams of starting his own Formula One team. While his standpoint maybe that Formula One is trying to emulate his series, his ambitions appear to realise that A1GP will never match Formula One.

Practice, Qualifying and Race, Oh My!
The BBC announced its scheduling for Formula One this week. The great news is that they plan to show extensive coverage, including the practice sessions. The Beeb will offer the sessions online, if of course you are lucky enough to live in the United Kingdom. Ah, fun times. They will also be available on television, via the red button – if you have one. (Yeah, Kieran, I’m looking at you!)

Extensive pre and post race coverage is also touted. The line that caught my attention from Mark Wilkin, producer of the Beeb’s TV and online coverage was that "we want to personalise these guys because we don't know who they are. The British public knows who Lewis Hamilton is now, but there are 17 other drivers that we need to get to know as well."

I’ll believe it when I see it. But, ITV Sport did send the set new lows in my view for overall coverage of the past two years. It can’t take that much effort for the BBC to beat that standard level this year. As long as the BBC don’t follow ITV’s lead and create ‘The Lewis Hamilton Show, featuring a Grand Prix’, all should be fine.

Closure
RBS has joined Credit Suisse and ING as the banks pull out of sponsorship in Formula One. ING announced a few weeks ago that they would be leaving Renault, much to the joy of retinas. RBS will honor their contract until the end of 2010 with Williams, giving the privateer manufacture time to search for a new sponsor. I suppose, when you announce loses of 20 plus billion, another few million down the drain is like a penny in a pond.

I wonder if some lay awake at night and wish the sport still had tobacco sponsorship. Don’t get me wrong, I have no inclination for smoking. I personally don’t touch the stuff. But, it’s a lifestyle choice for some. In their time, they brought some serious cash to the table (and still do in the case of Ferrari.)

Better late than never
Nascar travels to the glitz and glam of Las Vegas, Nevada for the third stop on the Sprint Cup tour. Something I didn’t get a chance to mention last week was Dale Earnhardt Juniors response to what occurred at Daytona.

At the time, Earnhardt Junior didn’t take any of the blame. On one hand, it was to be expected given that he didn’t have an opportunity to assess the situation. On the other, it irked me as a viewer, since he chose to question another rule entirely in the same interview.

The weekend of the Fontana race, we got the see an interview between Earnhardt Junior and Darrell Waltrip. It was a candid and open interview that allowed the viewer a glimpse behind the mask we see on race days from a driver. I don’t think that anyone other than DW could have gotten such responses out of Earnhardt Junior. In it, he took responsibility for his part in ‘The Big One’. It might have been a bonehead move, but at least he can stand up and admit when he did wrong.

The American Dream

As the weeks roll on, the USF1 project seemingly has a leg to stand on. When I first heard about this project, I was definitely sceptical. Actually, I still am.

How many times has a new team project being floated around the media, only for them to disappear into oblivion. The most recent of which being Prodrive. A whole lot of singing and dancing came from David Richards. They even won the right for the tender for the then twelfth team on the grid. They should have being on the grid at the start of 2008, but the team failed to appear after the customer car row went against their ideals.

If this project had come up a couple of years ago, it would have made perfect sense. However, North America has lost both its races in recent years, leaving Formula One with no beachhead in the country. While there has been talk about a return, nothing is set in stone. The sport has failed to settle on a permanent home in the country, with no less than nine different circuits since the first championship race to the US in 1959.

Europeans are quick to criticise US motorsports and it is pretty much vica-versa on the other side of the pond. Formula One has hardly left with its head held high either. The lowest point of the sport’s most recent return to the States was 2005 United, where only six cars started due to tire issues. That been said, it wasn’t the first race in the US that ended with beer cans on the track!

Even as more details have been released about the USF1 project, it just sounded like a fantasy. They intend to set up in North Carolina, right in the heart of Nascar country. I question whether a Formula One team can work comfortably out of North America. Sure, there will be skilled people in the area, but not for the sport of Formula One.

That is why so many teams have set up shop in the United Kingdom. Teams have a readily supply of skilled labour on hand for whatever task is needed. Currently, only four of the eleven teams are based outside of the UK. Even when Toyota launched their F1 project, many questioned their decision to set up shop in Cologne.

Another component mentioned for the team is a desire for an all-American line-up. Much like the choice of base location, it is a head scratcher. US racers have a long history of failure in the sport. Mario Andretti stands as the only US national champion in Formula One’s history – and he was born in Italy. Since then, the sport has being littered with failed attempts. The most recent of these was Mario’s son, Michael, in 1993 and Scott Speed in 2006-07. Both left their respective teams before the end of their final seasons.

Immediately, Danica Patrick was linked with a seat. When I look at that possibility, I just think ‘PR stunt’. Danica is a good racer, but she has yet to firmly establish herself as a contender in the Indy Racing League. When you see that past US single-seater champions have struggled in Formula One, you have to question what hope Danica could have. I could be wrong, but, I’m sure I am not the only one thinking that.

A more respectable choice would be AJ Allmendinger. Should ‘Dinger not find himself a full season sponsorship to run in Nascar this year, an option to return to single-seaters might suit him. Although, given his growing potential in the stock car series, I can’t imagine him staying jobless for long. Unlike Franchitti, Villeneuve and Carpentier, Allmendinger seems settled for the long haul in Nascar.

I expect Marco Andretti, grand-son of ex-champion Mario, to be heavily linked in the coming months. Unlike Allmendinger and Patrick, Marco has tested a Formula One car and showed potential. As part of a racing dynasty, he would be the perfect face to lead the team as they attempt to conquer Formula One. He is taking part in A1 GP this year in an attempt to improve his road racing talents for the upcoming IRL season.

There is an air of confidence around not only the USF1 project leaders, but from elements of the F1 paddock that this could work. I will remain sceptical until we learn more. A soft drink tastes great while the fizz is still in it, but it doesn’t take long before it goes flat.

GPVWC Syndication

Greetings one and all,

A big announcement for The Chequered Flag is that I have secured syndication on a sim-racing site. My articles will be posted on the GPVWC blog section. The GPVWC is a sim-racing site which supports the game rFactor. As an avid racing game junkie, I am delighted to link up with a site that matches me love of motorsport and gaming.

The deal has been in the works for a while now. We discussed doing it this time last year, but we didn’t quite get it off the ground as planned. Second time around, we are confident of it. Hopefully, it will bring in more readers to the blog!

The Chequered Flag in 2009
There will be some changes to the way I construct my articles this year on the blog. On some occasions, I was content to just give an overall review of a race in a competition, especially on those boring days. This year, I will be focusing more on the talking points of a race. Results can be found easy enough on any site, but what makes a blog unique is to deal with the talking points.

I will also be introducing a weekly review article on the Friday of each week, briefly covering motorsport news that has happened in the week. There are times that I can’t make a full article out of something that has happened during the week. This will allow me to comment briefly on a number of issues on the fly.

I’m looking forward to contributing here and wish you all a successful year in whatever category you are taking part in.

Life in the old dogs yet

It may be early days in the 2009 Sprint Cup, but so far one thing is clear – the veterans aren’t going to let the next generation have their time just yet.

As the old saying goes, it may take a while for a bus to come, but when it does, there are usually a few in quick succession. Matt Kenseth backed up his rain-shortened Daytona triumph with victory in California. The track has long been the stomping ground of the Roush and Hendrick superteams. There was little surprise when these two teams dominated the overall lead lap charts.

As the sun set, intermixed with sprinkles of rain, it was Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon who led the push to the line. It is great to see the old guard running back up front. I’ve read too many pieces writing these guys off, claiming they were past it. Kenseth himself has often been labelled as someone who didn’t have a killer instinct to win a lot of races during the season.

Along with Kenseth, Jeff Gordon had a great day for the #24. He was up at the front all the day, just lacking the ability for that final push on Kenseth. But boy did he give it a go. After a winless season last year, seeing the veterans back up there where they belong only adds to the intrigue as the season goes. Last year saw the wins spread too thin. With the amount of contenders we appear to have, hopefully we won’t have any runaways.

My final mention goes to Kyle Busch. He may not have won, but the #18 still had a sterling weekend. The Las Vegas native made history with winning the Camping World Truck race and the Nationwide Series race on the same day. He might have fallen short of a historic hat-trick, but the intent is clear.

The Big (One) Debate

Matt Kenseth took his and Jack Roush’s first Daytona 500 victory in the rain shortened season opener in Florida. As the lights went down the rain began to fall. Nascar hoped to restart the race, but the rain continued to persist, bringing an end to the 51st edition of the ‘The Great American Race’.

The main talking point regarding the 500 will remain Dale Earnhardt Junior. The fan favourite started strong but a pair of pit lane mishaps saw him go one lap down. Driving like what can only be described as a pissed off teenager, he got into the rear of Vickers’ when the Toyota blocked him all the way down to the double-yellow line. The action resulted in the ‘Big One’, taking out numerous cars, included those who had been in contention all day.

While the majority of fans are already sweeping it underneath the carpet, those who hold a more neutral view are scratching their heads as to why Nascar didn’t dish out a penalty. A similar incident occurred only 24 hours earlier in the Nationwide, where Jason Leffler received a five-lap penalty in a similar incident. Yet, no penalty was given to Earnhardt Junior.

I don’t believe it was intentional. Trying to wreck someone at a Super-Speedway is just insane. Earnhardt, more than anyone, knows the pain that a massive wreck can cause at those speeds. The problem is, Earnhardt was not in the best state of mind. Anyone watching the race could see that he appeared more agitated following a pair of pit-lane issues.

Yes, he was fighting to get in position for the Lucky Dog, but as the day showed, blocking people was the norm. He could have afforded to lift ever so slightly, given that nobody was tucked up behind him either. The result of the incident saw many good race cars wrecked. Patience is the key in any race.

Ironically, in his interview after the incident, Dale Junior was questioning whether to have the rules looked at in regards to Vickers’ move. Not exactly the most ideal time to bring that up.

But as I said, it is likely to be swept under the carpet. In Earnhardt Nation, Junior can do no wrong. Regardless, even more pressure has been put on a driver who is already carrying an already massive on his shoulder in the 2009 season.