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.

Singing In The Rain

Lewis Hamilton added another win under abnormal conditions today with a stunning drive at Monaco.

The skies opened before the race which led to a lottery on the track. Hamilton touched the barrier causing a puncture early on. Luck would be with the McLaren driver as this moved him to an alternative strategy – one that allowed him to win the race. By running longer, he was better placed to make his last stop at the point where returning to dry tires was optional.
In racing you not only have to be good, but you need luck. Hamilton had both today and came home a deserved winner.

Despite looking good early on, both Ferrari’s enduring a trying day. The pair emulated former Ferrari leader Schumacher with a trip up St. Devote, although neither could take to the streets like the Ferrari legend. Massa’s day was effectively ruined with a decision to fuel him to the flag. His mid-race pace was terrible, coupled with Hamilton’s stunning pace left the Brazilian out of contention. The late decision to change to slicks saw him nipped by Kubica.
Raikkonen was nowhere all day. He was off the pace, broke a wing, a drive through penalty and finally ended up ploughing into the back of Sutil after hitting a rain patch. Force India’s claim to have him suspended is laughable and out of emotion. Shit happens. Nobody called for Hamilton to be banned after he smashed into the back of Alonso, or Coulthard into the back of Schumacher in 98. Collisions happen, it’s part of racing.

I have to feel for Sutil though. An awesome day that should’ve rewarded the German with points. His year has been full of disappointments and his luck doesn’t look like changing. The youngster will have to take a page out of Vettel’s book and rebound after the heartbreak.

Kubica picked up a fine second place, but BMW will no doubt be worried as they haven’t been on the pace as of late. Webber continued his fine run as best of the rest with fourth. Vettel put all his bad luck behind him to come home to a quite fifth. Barrichello scored his first points since 2006 followed by Nakajima and Kovalainen

It was such an action packed race that the points could have been filled by any. Alonso was racy until he ended up collecting Heidfeld. The BMW driver had a torrid day, finishing four laps down. A second safety car, for the crash of Rosberg, brought the field back in. I’m struggling to figure out why Heidfeld or Heikki waited so long behind the safety car. It just delayed things. I wonder if it was a Ferrari back there would James Allen be saying it was team delay tactics. Wouldn’t be the first time. Strange how things like that are mentioned at Melbourne but not here for something that would be so obvious.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Lewis Hamilton. Could it be anyone but? Survived an early scare and once more like Canada and Japan last year showed an air of maturity to drive around all the problems. The Ferrari’s bungled around and he now goes into the track which gave him his first win on top of the standings. Honourable mention to Adrian Sutil who drove superbly until his day ended in tatters.

Raikkonen Wins In Spain

Qualifying set the trend for today’s race, with both Ferrari’s jumping to the front and never looked in trouble.

Of course, the race was anything but simple on a day where we say two safety car periods. The first after Sutil made an over ambitious move that saw him collect Coulthard and knock out Vettel. Sutil is a man under pressure with Fisichella resoundingly trumping the highly rated German.

The second came after a massive shunt for Kovalainen. The McLaren according to reports got a loose stone inside the rim which caused the tire to deflate sending the Finn flying into the barriers. Thankfully Heikki is okay and should make the Turkish race. Accidents like this and those of Hamilton and Kubica last year give a testament to today’s Formula One cars.

The safety cars made for a close finish, something i believe wouldn’t have been the case. Hamilton got the jump on Kubica but I wouldn’t be surprised if Ferrari had the extra gear if needed. The McLaren driver could push the car to the limit with his engine on its second race – the Ferrari pair conserved their engines with Turkey in mind. The British star drove a great race behind the Ferraris and his car looked allot better than over the entire weekend. I was surprised to see them last as long as they did on fuel.

Kubica was fantastic today and stayed close to Hamilton all day long. The ultimate race pace of the BMW was impressive today and only goes to show that the opportunity for victory is just around the corner. Jenson Button brought home Honda’s first points of the year in sixth after jumping ahead of Trulli and Nakajima at the pits.

When I read that Briatore saw Renault as being near the BMW’s I thought it was ambitious. Today proved that wasn’t entirely the case. Alonso may have been running lighter but he wasn’t as light as people gave credit for. Renault have jumped ahead of the midfield pack while Toyota and Williams have fallen back. Red Bull have come out winners in that midfield battle with Webber coming up to yet another solid points finish for the team.

One thing that badly needs to change is that safety car rule. It’s already cost Barrichello points in Melbourne and today it cost Heidfeld badly. I know the idea is to stop people piling into the pits when the safety car comes out but I don’t see what is wrong with that? We haven’t had an accident in pit-lane when we have a mad dash to the pits. To be honest, I would fancy a US-style pit race. Now that it has cost a championship runner I would expect to see this sorted sooner rather than later.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Kimi Raikkonen. The world champion was on the pace all weekend. He did the hard work yesterday with pole and never looked like he would relinquish top spot today. The momentum is with him in the team going into one of Massa’s strongest circuits.

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.

Back To Business

After all the ruckus mid-week it was back to one of the world’s greatest track to race! Ahh Spa, such an awesome circuit. Even the on-board stuff looks amazing. Allegedly this was a ‘boring’ race according to ITV-Sport. Granted it wasn’t a classic, but ironic that a Hamilton win isn’t classed as boring eh?

The first half of the lap was worth the watch. Alonso showed no mercy to his team-mate. It was surprising to hear Hamilton whinge about it and claiming that Alonso tried to take him off track. This is all coming from the guy who has ruthlessly cut across people on a start line. He needs to learn that you have to give as good as you get. It was tough by Alonso, but what do you expect at this stage in the championship? To lie over and say ‘there you go have the position’. Alonso had the racing line, stayed on the racing line through the first corner. Side by side towards Eau Rouge. That was balls from both of them. If it’s anything to go by then the clashes between the pair of them when they are on the track are going to be well worth the watch from here on out. Neither is going to give each other any quarter.

Raikkonen just... jusssst stays in the hunt. It isn’t easy for him and realistically has to haul in five plus points on both McLaren’s over the final three. Given McLaren’s awesome reliability it’s not going to be easy in the slightest from him. But like I said before, the way the pair are looking it’s possible they could run each other off the road before the end of the season!

Honourably mention of the weekend goes to Adrian Sutil who showed the race craft that many knew he had with the revised Spyker, albeit on a different strategy, mixing it in the midfield. Things are looking up! Also to Clint Bowyer in NASCAR, with the Texan getting his first career victory at a great time as the Nextel Cup enters the 10 race Chase for the title. Good time to break the winless duck! Eyebrow of the weekend has to go to Alex ‘The Hoff’ Hoffmann in MotoGP, who decided midway through the race he didn’t have the motivation to fight for 15^th place. He’s out of a job today.

2007 Preview - [Part Three]

Now on to the final teams that will take part this season.

Williams

In Nico Rosberg, Williams have one of the stars of the future. At the beginning of last season he showed good promise before the failing car brought him back down to earth. If Williams can give him a good car then expect him to bring home points.

Alexander Wurz has not raced since the 2000 season. That is a long time out of the cockpit. In the meantime he's been testing for McLaren and Williams. To make a comeback after this long and be successful will be quite a story if Wurz can pull it off. The Austrian is highly talented and his return to the cockpit is richly deserved.

After the worst season in their history, Williams have worked hard during the winter to improve - the most notable been the change to Toyota power. The 2007 package so far appears to have made strides and the team sits comfortable in mid-table after the winter tests. Lack of funds and the inability to make the Bahrain test show the limitations the team are already under for the coming year.


Scuderia Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso remain with an unchanged line-up but 2007 is likely to be the last chance Liuzzi and Speed have to impress. This years car looks like a modified version of the A team car, powered by the Ferrari engine. There is no excuses for STR not to make strides up the field. With a number of Red Bull backed drivers waiting for their chance, both drivers must deliver.


Spyker

Another new owner for the former Jordan team this year with the Dutch Spyker team. As was the case with the Midland guise there is a lot of optimism. Albers goes into his third year of Formula One now, his seat security helped by his Dutch ties. In Adrian Sutil they bring a young albeit unknown talent to the table. Despite the hype I expect Spyker to struggle at the tail end of the grid as has become the case from the former race-winning team.


Super Aguri

The Japanese team was one of the highlights of the last season. They went from 5 seconds off the pace in an aged car to hauling themselves up onto the tail end of the grid. With the aid of Honda and their status as a B team will undoubtedly help them make strides in terms of development. Taku Sato has improved from been erratic to a team leader to add to his pace. In Anthony Davidson they have another, like Button who has been overly hyped by the media and must earn his place on the grid. It will be difficult to properly judge Aguri as like STR, they are expected to run a modified customer chassis from their parent company.


Who wins, who loses will soon be decided. All the smokes and mirrors of winter testing will be removed come March 18th at Melbourne. The first race in the post-Schumacher era promises to be interesting.