F109 Countdown: BMW

BMW:
2008 Results
Best Finish: 1st (Robert Kubica at the Canadian Grand Prix)
Points Scored: 135
Championship Position: 3rd
2009 Drivers: Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld

Of all the teams, I feel that BMW are the ones who have no excuses regarding their 2009 performance. The team very publically dropped development on last year’s car after they achieved all their goals, much to the annoyance of Kubica. By all accounts. This is the year that BMW prove that they have what it takes to regularly contest with the likes of Ferrari and McLaren.

They were first out of the traps to run their new challenger and at the forefront of the KERS technology race. When many teams were hoping for the KERS system to be delayed, it was BMW that forged ahead with the desire to use the system. I can’t blame them. They got the jump on everyone so why would they want to lose that development because nobody else was on the ball.

In Robert Kubica, they have a driver who is more than capable of winning world titles. I think whether that will be with BMW, we will learn this year. Like I said, there are no excuses for them this year. Given how vocal Kubica was towards the end of last year, he will expect to maintain the challenge over the course of the season.

Let us not forget, the Pole was still in contention for the title until the final rounds of the championship. No wonder he was left scratching his head as BMW basically gave up on his chance for the title. He is many people’s pick for the title. I would rate him in my top three. I do wonder whether, at this early stage in the career, he is just at that level to take it.

Nick Heidfeld came in for, what I would definitely label as unfair criticism last year. The German finished only fifteen points behind his much heralded team-mate. Yet alls we kept hearing was about how bad he was in comparison and that he might be on the chopping block. Compared to the other team-mates of championship contending drivers, he was the closest.

If the BMW is as good as it should be, I wouldn’t be surprised if the veteran finally takes a deserved victory. He is a driver who has earned his due over the years and not simply walked into a championship winning car as others around him have. If he can improve on his qualifying form, I foresee a great year for ‘Quick Nick’.

Contender to the Throne?

BMW showed off their 2009 challenger – a car which has a weighty expectation to carry.

The car is missing the now familiar Credit Suisse sponsor on the engine cover. The long-time Sauber sponsor has left its role as sponsor, given the much used ‘restructuring’ reasoning.

Towards the end of last year, Robert Kubica voiced his concerns on a number of occasions about the team giving up on the 2008 campaign. Given the amount of time spend on the development bed; there shouldn’t be any excuse for a lack of competitively from the Anglo-German team.

Of course, we have all heard this before. Remember Renault over the last few years? Early development didn’t see them return to form.

Despite championing the controversial KERS system, even BMW have stated they are unsure if they will run with it for the start of the year. A number of teams have taking pot shots at BMW for pushing for KERS to implemented in 2009. Of course, what did anyone expect?! Having spent so much time (and money), they were hardly going to roll over and say ‘sure, let’s delay it!’

The KERS system, which involves the transfer of kinetic energy that can be used as a power boost, has courted controversy since its early development. Everything from high development costs to mechanics getting shocked has happened over the last year with the system.

A standard system is in the pipelines for 2010, making many teams question the waste of money in developing a system to be used for one year only. Despite this, everyone is still following the developmental pied piper – unwilling to let one team get any sort of advantage, even if it costs a shed load of money.

Pictures of the 2009 BMW-Sauber challenger can be found here at Autosports website.

More of the Same for Renault

Renault will retain their current driver line-up for the 2009 season.

The re-signing of Alonso is no surprise. After the surprise re-signing of Raikkonen by Ferrari for additional year and with BMW wanting a longer term commitment from the Spaniard, sticking with Renault was the easy option. Let’s be fair, Honda was nothing but a joke option, even if they think they will be competitive next year.

Alonso has resigned for two years, which of course, when all the cards fall in 2010, will make him nicely available for a Ferrari seat the end of Raikkonen’s contract. So will end what will be one of the longest courting dances in recent years.

The decision to retain Piquet is a bigger eye-brow raiser. The Brazilian looked completely out of his depth at the start of year, prompting suggestions he may not survive the year. He started his turnaround at France, picking up his first points for the team and went on to pick up a podium in Germany. His best race however would come in Japan, where came home in fourth position.

Regardless, Piquet’s results were still erratic through the end of the season. It was still up in the air whether he would be kept on. Renault are in no shortage of young talent looking to get into the seat. In an era where second chances are few and far between, Piquet finds himself with an early Christmas present. Next year, there is no excuses for him.

Salut Gilles; BMW Retain Pair

The Canadian Grand Prix has been scrubbed off the provisional 2009 calendar, released today. Once again, Formula One fans bear the scars of losing yet another track etched in history and provided great races

This isn’t the first time that we have lost a classic circuit. First Spa, then Hockenheim was butchered, followed by the loss of Suzuka. Earlier this year we found out that Silverstone was been axed in favour of Donington. Thankfully, Spa was rescued, although one must wonder for how long. And for what?! Don’t get me wrong, some of the new circuits are great, but they lack soul. Circuits like Valencia and Singapore – didn’t exactly offer a great racing spectacle.

The whole thing reminds me of the overused movie plot – after being given a home and a place to grow saw them flourish and became successful. Soon enough, they got too big for their boots, happy to cut off ties with those who had helped them in the early days as they make the grab for the almighty dollar. Well, if it can be called that.

Unlike the movies though, I doubt we will receive the happy ever after ending, where they learn of their mistakes and remember their roots.

In other F1 news, BMW announced that they will retain their current driver lineup. Despite constant criticism of Heidfeld, people show their ignorance with not looking over the stats that count the most – points gained. Quick Nick sits eight points behind his headline grabbing team-mate. Raikkonen is 20 points behind Massa. Kovalainen 33 behind his team-mate.

Not a bad job by Heidfeld at all. The decision does narrow down the list of possibilities for Alonso. Although, with rumours persisting that Raikkonen’s ’10 drive with Ferrari isn’t all that secure despite the new contract.

Raikkonen Re-Signs Till '10

Kimi Raikkonen has signed a one year extension, keeping him in the famous red car until 2010.

I find myself very surprised at this. I know a lot of people were hankering on about comments made when he first signed, that it would be his last contract. I never put much stock in it because at the time, he was replacing Michael Schumacher, the sport’s greatest. How do you match that? You can’t! So it was easy for Raikkonen to choose such a comment to distinguish him from Schumacher.

I’ve made those comments on numerous occasions, usually when the Alonso-Ferrari link was swirling around. My opinion began to change as the season wore on and Kimi went from the raw racer we know him to be, to become seemingly an also ran.

Belgium aside, we haven’t seen Kimi on top of his game since France, even if a race win was scuppered by a broken exhaust. Since then, he has been anything but Kimi Raikkonen. My view began to lean given that he looked like someone driving towards retirement. This new contract changes everything.

Kimi’s problem isn’t motivation. It can’t be now, not when he has agreed to go on another year. If that was the issue, I’m sure the recent results would even nudge him towards hanging up at the end of this year. However, a greater question is now posed – What is up with Kimi?

You don’t suddenly become a bad driver overnight. Since first hitting the track, Kimi has proven himself to being one of the fastest men in the sport. The talent is there, so why isn’t it coming to the fore?

A possible reason been bandied around is that he just can’t do anything locked in traffic. All drivers, whether at the front or the year, face this problem. If this is such a major problem, then why don’t they go extremely radical on their strategy, especially with Kimi’s qualifying issues?

The car can’t be an issue, given that he has won and dominated in it earlier in the year. It reminds me of last year, where after winning the season opener; he ended up going on hiatus until around France, coming alive to drive to the championship. This year, it is going the opposite.

Is this a good move for Ferrari? I’m on the fence. It closes the door on Alonso, who I would like to see have a crack in the Ferrari. Both Raikkonen and Massa are now tied to the Prancing Horse until 2010. Recent rumours have Alonso heading towards BMW. With this new deal for Raikkonen, expect Alonso to be signed on as Kubica’s team-mate until at least 2010 in the coming weeks.

Playing Catch-Up

Apologises for the lack of updates here as of late. Even writers have vacations from time to time! So, to get back up to speed with all that has happened in the past few weeks.
• Heikki Kovalainen is confirmed at McLaren for 2009. I suppose it helps when you willingly let your team-mate by to go on to win a race is a big plus at the talks table! While Heikki has had some bad luck this year, chucking him out after a single season would be harsh; especially that he’s proved he is happy to be Hamilton’s underling.

• Heikki wins his first race! Luck played a part with Massa’s engine going up, but let’s not forget the Finn had to get himself into second in the first place. He’s had some terrible luck this year that eventually, it was going to balance out.

• Rosberg says he is staying with Williams. Not like there is much better options out there. In 2010, it will be crunch time to for Rosberg if he is to make good on his talent.

• Force India looking to retain drivers. For a team that is anything but consistent, it would be a good move. I don’t think either driver is stellar, but for a growing team, stability is good. Again, not like there is much better options out there.

• Calls for refuelling ban. I’m on the fence with this one. Differing fuel strategy is often the only way some teams can be somewhat competitive – or for a team with a poor car to play themselves back into contention. Banning them could lead to another avenue of strategy thrown out the window.

• Observers calling for Heidfeld change. Mainly Stuck, a former grand prix driver. Why the hate on Quick Nick. So he hasn’t been as stand-out as Robert Kubica. Only EIGHT points separate them in the championship. The German is taking allot of heat despite hauling himself back onto the rear wing of his young team-mate.

• Across the pond, Nascar had its first ever wet race in the Nationwide series. The race in Montreal started dry, but after a few laps the rain fell. The decision was made to put wet weather tires and wipers on for a historic moment. Despite a lack of experience, the drivers acquitted themselves well and produced a great race, until poor visibility called an end to it before full distance.

• Pundits claimed Kyle Busch was in a slump. I think any driver would love a slump that meant you only got a top-15. How did Wild Thing respond? Running away with Watkins Glen after a strategic mistake saw Junior taking out of contention. This is the second time this season that he has answered critics like this. Think some people would learn by now eh?

From here on out, updates should be back to some regularity! Stay tuned for Nascar from Michigan and F1 from Valencia next weekend!

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!

Three-peat for Massa at Istanbul

Massa well and truly got his title challenge back on track with victory at Turkey.

For a time it looked like Hamilton would challenge the Brazilian for victory but the Brit’s need to use a three stop strategy always left him having to play catch up. According to ITV’s ‘commentator’ James Allen – Hamilton was out doing Senna-esque laps after he stuck it down the inside of Massa.

However Hamilton failed to actually finish the job which the likes of Senna and Schumacher have in the past as he failed to capitalize on his low fuel during his middle stint. It was a spirited drive from Hamilton who had to make the best of a bad situation due to tire issues. I find his issues with the Bridgestone’s extremely strange. Why was he the single one person who had to go on a three stop? According to reports it has something to do with his driving style.

But that fails to answer out of twenty drivers he is the only one and out of eighteen tracks that we visit, this is the only one. It baffles me. If more people had to go that route, it would be more acceptable. I find it easier to believe that the traditionally boring and predictable McLaren actually tried something different and exciting.

Regardless, Hamilton drove well and second place was his reward. It chops two points off Raikkonen’s lead. Funny how the ITV boys consider Hamilton to be Raikkonen’s only championship contender, especially now that Massa leapfrogs their boy for second on the basis of having more wins.

BMW’s had a lacklustre afternoon by recent standards. The Anglo-Swiss outfit struggled from day one but were still comfortably ahead of the rest of the field. Heidfeld again showed his wily race craft by moving from ninth on the grid to eventually finish fifth. Alonso nipped Webber despite running lower on fuel on the first stint while Nico Rosberg turned his season around after snatching eight.

Heikki Kovalainen probably had more of a chance of spoiling the Ferrari party than Hamilton but a puncture put paid to his hopes. He was set for a point but the need for a splash and dash and mandatory tire change out paid to his hopes. Otherwise it was a fantastic weekend for the Finn who only two weeks ago was shoved under the tire wall at Barcelona.

The race was again without first lap incident, with Fisichella failing to make it past the first lap for the third year. Obviously he is not a fan of the Istanbul circuit.
Heading into Monaco we have a real championship on our hands. McLaren appear to be closing the gap in and the next pair of circuits will suit the team. It is a real chance for Hamilton to reel in the Ferrari’s at the front.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Felipe Massa. Say what you want about Hamilton and his sterling drive, but he didn’t get the job done. Allen yet again tried to compare him to the greats – a position Hamilton isn’t at – yet. He would have gotten it if he pulled it off. Massa kept his head and stayed in touch with Hamilton when it counted.

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.

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.

Massa Back In The Hunt

Felipe Massa got his championship back on track with a dominant win at Sakhir, leading home his team-mate for a Ferrari one-two.

The Brazilian needed to produce a performance and he duly delivered. What makes his performance this week all the more impressive was that he carried more fuel than Raikkonen. Once the Ferrari’s hit the front it became apparent it would be one a Ferrari one-two but credit to the BMW’s who kept them honest to the flag.

Most of the talking points will come from the opening few laps. Hamilton bottled it at the start with his McLaren getting off the line late, leaving him mid-pack. A lap later he proceeded to run into the back of his former team-mate Alonso, much to the disgust of the ITV commentary team. Immediately the calls came that it was on purpose, that Alonso had taken revenge on his former team-mate.

Oh come on!
If someone sneezed near Hamilton they would blame them for getting a cold. Back in 1998 when a similar incident occurred between Coulthard and Schumacher, there was never a bad word said about Coulthard. But when Alonso does it, things are different. Did they ever think that he is was pissed off after a bad start and his famous patience they prattle on about go out the window?
After his car showed signs of damage as the car proved a handful on track. For some strange reason he was pointing fingers at people he was overtaking for position. Why I don’t know. He was racing for position and had no given right for these cars, albeit slower, having to let him by.

Regardless of his issues, the McLaren's didn’t have an answer for the BMW’s, let alone the Ferrari’s. Kubica’s pole was on merit and not because of a significantly lower fuel load. Heidfeld used his experience to jump up to fifth by the end of the first lap before taking Kovalainen for fourth. It’s the second year in a row that Heidfeld can add a sweet pass on a McLaren to his scrap book. BMW are quickly becoming a legitimate threat to the top teams and the points that the German-Swiss outfit take off the top two could ultimately decide the championship. I don’t know if they will contend, I think they still need to make a few more steps before that. Much will depend on how BMW keep the development on the car throughout the year. A first win is looking more and more realistic for them.

The McLaren of Kovalainen finished fifth and never really looked like he could hang with the top four. Best of the rest fell to Jarno Trulli who again produced a good race performance. Why haven’t we seen this kind of consistency from Jarno earlier in his career? Right now he’s earning a contract extension with Toyota. Webber, another hero from Malaysia continued his fine run of form, beating Rosberg and showing up Coulthard who like the rest of the Brits had a torrid day. The final point went to Rosberg who will no doubt be disappointed after showing a good turn of pace throughout the weekend to be left with a single point.
Timo Glock got his Toyota to the flag for the first time finishing ninth after early battles with Alonso rounding out the top ten; The Spaniard struggled after his altercation with Hamilton with damage to his rear wing. Fisichella had a great day in the Force India finishing 12th. Had to laugh as Martin called him the ‘Star in a reasonable priced car’, a phrased coined from BBC’s Top Gear. Maybe Martin is letting us know more of his 2009 plans there.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Felipe Massa. The Brazilian had to deliver a performance here to get not only his championship back on track but to mend his flagging reputation. Dominant all weekend there never looked a driver that could match him. Honourable mention to the BMW pair who kept both Ferrari’s on their toes and now leads the constructor’s championship.

Pole Kubica

Robert Kubica earned his and BMW’s first pole as a constructor at the Sakhir circuit, just edging the Ferrari of Massa.

Now we just have to wait till tomorrow to see if the pole is on merit of because of low fuel. It’s so hard to judge the pace of the BMW now given how close they are to the top two teams now. A year or two ago it would be a definite thing that he was running low on fuel in comparison. As it stands we just have to wait.

Massa appeared to have it in the bag but lost time on his final lap. I’m sure the Brazilian will be hoping that will be his only mistake of the weekend. He has been electric so far in terms of pace, although had an incident with the yellow flags during session one. Well, it would be a minor incident if it wasn’t for the ITV Sport witch-hunt against him. You know it makes more sense why people think Ferrari are cheats with such anti-Ferrari bias that these guys puke out of their mouths. They hammered on about it for ages in an attempt to cover up for the McLaren’s otherwise poor showing up that point.

The car was out of the way and off the track and the marshal looked nothing more than over enthusiastic. Mike Gascoyne said it best when asked about it. There was nothing in it and little that Massa could do with just three seconds to the line. It’s a nothing case. I’ve seen plenty of people not put the brakes on already this year when going past yellow flag. But hey, a penalty would put the ITV Golden boy in good stead which is all they care about. Have to remind myself that this is the ‘ITV Lewis Hamilton Kiss-Ass Show’ featuring a Grand Prix.

Similar to Malaysia, Hamilton didn’t look particularly comfortable but still snagged himself third spot. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is running lighter than the Ferraris. They are reported to be burning up their rears allot quicker than those around them, meaning short as possible stints would be the flavour of the day. The opposite could be said about Raikkonen who is beside him in fourth. The champion has shown a tendency to run longer than Massa on fuel runs and by no means will be counted out.

Kovalainen lines up fifth alongside. Heidfeld's lacked the pace of his team-mate which would indicate a discrepancy in their strategies while Button will start ninth, too much fanfare by the ITV ass-kissers with Alonso rounding up the top 10.

2008 Season Preview - Part III

Two for the price of one today! Here are parts two and three of the season preview today! Enjoy! Only seven days till the start of the season!

Ferrari

Can the Reds stay on top?
Ferrari is under new management with Jean Todt moving upstairs. Slowly the team is been cycled from the Schumacher days to this new era. Last year Ferrari suffered an abnormal amount of reliability issues, something that during the Schumacher era was rarely seen. Pre-season has seen a number of niggling issues in the same department. With today's near bullet-proof reliability in Formula One they can ill afford to have cars falling off the road. The addition of Schumi to the testing team can only aid them in their quest to have the car sorted for Melbourne. There are no excuses for Ferrari not winning this year, with the exception of the immense talent of Hamilton.

Kimi Raikkonen – World champion. Well deserved and this year he will be more dangerous. He spent the best part of a year in the shadows, according to most pundits like Alonso and Kubica working on adapting to the new Bridgestone’s. This year, like Ferrari, there are no excuses. I expect a dominant and hungry Raikkonen to hit the track and never look back this year. Looking forward to seeing him dice with Hamilton this year. One word – epic.

I said last year that 2007 was Massa’s chance while Raikkonen settled. For the first part of the year Massa was working as planned. For the most part of the year Massa looked like a genuine title contender before it all became to fall away with too many reliability issues putting him to the back of the grid. Overall, Massa looked more like a proper Ferrari driver than those erratic crazy drives a thing of the past. Will he be anything more than a Ferrari number two now? That’s the question. The Brazilian is good, but now that Raikkonen is settled I don’t see him breaking the Finn’s lead.

McLaren

Will Spygate affect them?
It’s still hard to say. Pre-season testing pace would seem that the financial dent isn’t causing a problem to the team. Perhaps Mercedes dipped into the savings to make up the balance! Of course if results don’t go their way, spygate is a perfect scapegoat should the year go away from them. Talk leading up to the first race has been about Ron Dennis’s future. It will be interesting to see how McLaren are over the long distance runs. The team has struggled in recent years to be able to develop race contending cars two years in a row. Usually if the car is bad they’ll be quick to dismiss the year and work on next year’s car which inevitably is a contender. This year they have two young drivers in charge of the development. Let’s see if McLaren can break that cycle.

How Lewis handles this year could define his career. He’s no longer the rookie, the unknown quantity. While Formula One doesn’t have the football equivalent of ‘second season syndrome’ that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Lewis is a fantastic talent and no doubt he will push the outside troubles out of his mind and just get on with the job. Providing what McLaren offer him he will no doubt run the Ferrari’s for the championship.

This is Kovalainen’s big break. He’s now got to take it. The Finn can ill afford a similar start as he had with Renault. He’ll be expected at minimum to finished fourth which is a step up for him. I can see him doing it though. After such a torrid start he improved throughout the year. All of that was character building and that can only go to serve him well this year. I could see the Finn winning this year. One thing for sure will be to study the team dynamics compared to last year. See how much fireworks are created in this team!

BMW

Can BMW make the next step?
I’ve seen it before. Honda and Toyota are the two teams foremost in my mind that looked to be on the road to making a breakthrough. Both tried to make that last step too fast and ended up following flat on their faces. Look at how far back into the pack they have fallen. BMW are on the cusp but need to be careful on how they approach this next jump. Regular podiums have to be the priority for the German-Swiss outfit along with fighting McLaren and Ferrari on all tracks. As the season progressed the gap between the top two and BMW seemed to grow, something the team needs to address this year. Depending on who you listen to, a race win is possible this year. This year’s car has caused problems in testing, something I was worried about and at the very least they need to be third best come Melbourne.

After years trudging around in the lower end of the grid, Heidfeld finally had the car to show his talents last year. A podium in the crazy Canadian grand prix and a memorable duel with Alonso at Bahrain were the highlights of ‘Quick Nicks’ year as he solidly came home fifth in the tables. He showed highly rated Kubica the way home more often than not and if either BMW driver is to win this year, my money is on Heidfeld. Depending on the Renault he could be in a fight for fourth, even third depending on Massa’s consistency this year.

Now entering his second full season it’s time for Kubica to start delivering the goods. It took the Polish driver half a season to adapt to the tyres, similar to Raikkonen and Alonso. His return after that massive shunt in Canada showed the drivers through grit. Like Heidfeld, he’ll be looking to fight for podiums on a more consistent basis. He has the ability to win, though like I said I would see Heidfeld getting it because of his experience. That been said, Kubica is more than talented to get the job done if the opportunity presents itself.

Rally Ireland; F1 Transfers; Nascar Finale

What a historic weekend for Irish motorsport with our first ever World Rally Championship event.

It was a great success to boot! I would’ve loved to have gone out to the West to watch it. Alright, in fairness I would’ve loved to gone out and took part but we don’t always get what we want. I’ve always felt from years of travelling our back roads that we would make a great staging for a rally event and finally the dreams of many came to fruition. Of course, with someone as savvy as Eddie Jordan involved at the helm of an operation any plan can get done! Watching it on television as the next best thing and we got a fantastic event. It’s a shame that we appear to be only on the calendar bi-yearly though. That been said, given that most motorsport is heading towards Asia for new events it makes the achievements of the Rally Ireland team all the more impressive.

I have to give a massive amount of credit to Michael Lyster who headed up the RTE programming. While it didn’t show as much action as I would’ve liked, for a presenter who is usually associated with Gaelic and hurling here he did a brilliant job and at no time looked out of his depth when talking about motorsport. The same can’t be said for the droning of Peter Collins in the actual live commentary. One of those from the old RTE F1 commentary team that would give James Allen a run for his money in terms of poor ability to convey excitement in the sport. Oh the painful memories of having to watch an F1 race with them behind the mike.

In F1 news – McLaren’s appeal came to nought as many expected. At this stage to change the champion would have been nothing short of farcical. McLaren’s already tattered reputation took another couple of dings from it. They have spent weeks claiming that they were not appealing for the title but their lawyers were looking for the disqualification of the BMW and Williams. Wonderful PR disaster there for the team. At least it is all over now and that we can finally look forward to 2008!
Timo Glock has been confirmed as Toyota driver after the contracts board ruled on it. This will be Glock’s second stab at F1 after a brief stint with Jordan where he scored a point on his debut. After a stint in Champ Cars and GP2 will only make him stronger. At the very least he should keep Trulli on his toes! Today Briatore says that Alonso is 60% certain to be in a Renault. That must mean there is a 40% chance of a sabbatical given there is no currently free seats.

I have to admit I’m a bit surprised that some teams didn’t wait for him to make his call. I expected the market to revolve around him and that empty McLaren seat. It could be down to an early decision to join Renault which has only been delayed by the current spy allegations against the former world champions. With each passing day it looks like we have seen the last of Ralf Schumacher and Fisichella with only the Force India/Spyker seats open. Neither appears to have been invited to test for the team with a raft of younger drivers been given a shot in recent tests.

Over Stateside and Jimmie Johnson has successfully defended his Nextel Cup in the season final against team mate (and owner mind you) Jeff Gordon. I’m really hoping to have some way to watch NASCAR next season live and not have to resort to watching a flash page update every lap. Juan Montoya secured the Rookie of the Year award in the series. Montoya has come along way since his departure from F1 and say what you want about US racing, it is in no way easy to make the transition that he made. Next year will be another acid test for him. It’s one thing to win on a road coarse but if he wants to be taken seriously he’ll need to start racking up those oval wins.

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.

2007 Preview - [Part Two]

After the big three teams, the 2007 season promises to have a tightly packed midfield battle.

Honda

Jenson Button enters the third year with the Honda works team and still only has the single grand prix win to his name. One has to be careful when listening to commentary about just how good Jenson really is. I have always thought he was overrated beyond belief and still stand by that. Apart from being a ‘smooth’ driver, he hasn’t shown anything that puts him in the leagues of the great. His first win came at a rain affected grand prix and wouldn’t of happened if Mother Nature hadn’t of intervened, so he is still out searching for his first ‘proper’ grand prix victory.

Last year I expected Barrichello to provide Button with good competition but that quickly went down the drain. Rubens suffered from having to deal with a car that was built to suit his team-mate; such was the case he had at Ferrari. At this stage in his career Rubens is quickly becoming a journeyman and I don’t expect to see anything special like last year.

Honda as a team is quickly approaching a crossroads. After years of expectations and show-boating in pre-season which quickly drained away during the year they have struggled so far this year. Whether it’s a case they are sand-bagging to hide their pace or deciding not to show their one lap pace as has been the case in past winters remains to be seen. Their line-up whilst experience is hardly world class. They will have a fight on their hands to hold back BMW.


BMW

Heidfeld had a penchant for being in the right team at the wrong time throughout his career. After promising results early in the career he found himself in the likes of Prost, Jordan and Williams as they fell from grace. Now at BMW he has a car of showcasing his talents. He must deliver however. As was the case with Villeneuve there is another youngster snapping at his heels for his race seat. A failure to perform could see his seat in threat.

The rise of Kubica in the past 12 months is as astonishing at the improvements seen in Massa. He was unknown to the majority of the racing world up until he was chosen as BMW’s reserve driver and it took him only half a season to oust a former world champion out of this race seat. As is the case with all the Friday drivers there performances have to be taken with a pinch of salt. Kubica showed that there is talent behind the raw speed with a podium inside his first three races.

Towards the end of last year BMW were easily the fourth best team. If they carry their testing pace over to the season I expect them to be giving Renault a run for their money, if not McLaren and Ferrari. BMW have always produced a class engine and combined with Sauber’s knowledge in how to put the rest together and a driver partnership that will push each other – expect fireworks.


Toyota

2007 will mark the first year that Ralf will be driving out of his brother’s shadow – at least on the track. Having promised so much earlier in the career, Ralf’s career is on the slide as of late. He is in need of a challenge to bring his top game back much in the way Montoya did when he joined Williams.

Jarno Trulli suffers much like Fisichella. We never know which one we will see on the track. Will it be the racer or the Sunday driver? By raw speed he’s one of the quickest on a single lap. It’s a shame Trulli never realised a race is more than a single lap. I’m sure Toyota wish he could qualify the car and let someone race it.

Toyota entered this season again promising much. Their car was one of the first out and after early promise they have again fallen into the midfield back in testing. As is the case with their NASCAR venture they need to realise that throwing money at the problem wouldn’t solve the problem. Dumping Gascoigne was a mistake. If Toyota is to succeed they need to stop letting the big wigs that have no knowledge of the sport to stop making the decisions.


Red Bull

With Schumacher’s retirement, Coulthard is now the old man of the F1 grid. While he doesn’t show any intention of letting up, I’m sure he will be looking over his shoulder at the abundance of talent that Red Bull has. The talent remains within him to drag that Red Bull up the field if the right car is given to him.

Like Button I think that Mark Webber is overrated. I’ve yet to see anything from him that merits the praise he often gets. He’s also got a big mouth. Webber needs to be more focused on establishing his racing career than taking pot shots at other teams. Interesting how he defines Williams as no more than a Toyota B squad when his own team have attained the label of a Renault B squad. He would do well to check up on things before talking.

The strongest part of the Red Bull package is the arrival of Adrian Newey to the team. In him they might have found the missing link that had denied them success so far. Red Bull must be willing to invest in the car however. In the past two years they have taken the stance to kerb car development in favour of working on next year’s car. If they can set the wheels in motion then they could be a surprise package and move up closer to the top ten.