'B' for the Beeb

We now stand four races into a season that has been met with many unknowns.

For most of us who were stuck with the narrow-minded views of the majority of the ITV team last year, we awaited the BBC coverage with bathed breath. Surely, it couldn’t be worse than the abysmally bias coverage we had to endure over the last few years.

I could’ve easily written something up after Australia, but felt it was unfair to judge after just one race. With the first four flyaway races, it is much easier to gauge how the BBC have done, much like F1 teams regroup before heading into Europe.

I have to say, I am very impressed thus far with the BBC coverage that I have watched. Okay, that probably wasn’t going to be too hard given how low an opinion I rated Ryder, Allen and Blundell. But I fully admit I was concerned that it could’ve turned out worse.

The coverage is by no means perfect. After Austraila, I was worried about new race commentator, Jonathan Legard. It felt like he was commentating on the radio. A good deal of his commentary sounded more suited to the Curragh than it did on the Formula One circuit. But to his credit, he has toned it down as the season has gone on.

Together with Martin Brundle, they form a great front team for the BBC. Small mistakes are made, but the nice thing is that they are capable of picking up on them, unlike recent years where they were oblivious to such. Some might see me as a hard ass with my views on the ITV, that I require perfection. It isn’t so. Mistakes will always be made. That is how we learn. But at the very least, one expects to correct those errors. While the odd few slip through the net, it is nice that most are caught now.

The man who has impressed me most is David Coulthard, who has seamlessly transitioned from driver to pundit. In the off chance that you are reading this, Mark Blundell, this is how a former racing pundit is supposed to be. Coulthard is a breath of fresh air and has provided valuable insight for the viewers.

Jake Humphrey, as anchor, is another astute choice by the BBC. I didn’t know much about him myself, with the exception of the odd appearance on a BBC show as I flicked the channels looking for something decent to watch. Like Coulthard, he has taken to it like a duck to water. Given that he is the youngest team member of the team, he is nothing but assured. His recent interview with Lewis Hamilton that was shown before the Bahrain grand prix was brilliant and intelligent, showing off the more human side of Hamilton that was missing during the ITV interviews that felt very staged.

The only part of the team that doesn’t appear to gel just yet is Eddie Jordan. Personally, I expected better. This is Eddie Jordan, the man famous for the quick-fire response and witty banter – a man who could talk his way out of a paper bag and still come out with the better deal.

Yet at times, Eddie seems a little at sea in front of the cameras. Maybe it will take longer for him to adjust to life as a TV personality. But at this stage, he is the only real chink in the BBC team at this time.

I would comment on the extra features bit via the red button, but I haven’t tried them yet. While I don’t mind getting up early for races, I quite like my bed on a Friday and Saturday mornings! With the European season starting up, I hope to sample these and see how the expanded coverage of the BBC does.

All in all, I feel like the BBC has started with a firm footing with the coverage. If I was signing a report card, I would give them a solid B, with room for improvement. It is so nice to not to wake up on Monday morning hoarse from shouting at the television anymore.

F109 Countdown: Red Bull

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alonso The Shining Star

The cards fell in place for Fernando Alonso, who, starting 15th on the grid, benefitted from his team-mates accident to record his first win of the season. Alonso becomes the seventh different winner this year.

As for the championship battle, Ferrari more or less sent McLaren both titles wrapped up with a ‘please give a loving home to’ tag on them. Shocking, completely shocking is all that is can be said about Ferrari. We can assume we have seen the last of the automated system, with the lollipop back in operation evident at Raikkonen’s last stop. Of course, while ITV Sport were keen the slam Ferrari for it, they didn’t attack the Red Bull mishap that could easily have ended up in similar circumstances.

As for Raikkonen, I do hope Ferrari have some get-out clause. Crashing that late in the race is a joke for a world champion to do. Four non-scoring races for the Finn is completely unacceptable at this level. Even Heikki Kovalainen, who is looking more second-rate with each passing race, has provided more points for his team than the current champion.

Ferrari should’ve easily walked Singapore. Lewis Hamilton was nothing but ordinary, showing none of the racers quality that ITV vault on about. As per usual, I found myself cursing at the television as Allen lauded his ‘magnificent’ move on Coulthard – even though everyone had been doing pretty much the same thing throughout the race. The so-called ‘racer’ who never settles did a great job at settling for third. Don’t get me wrong, it is a smart game he is playing, but, don’t go telling the world your are the bees knees if you aren’t going to back that up.

After qualifying, Alonso was cursing his bad luck. How things can change in the space of a few minutes. The decision to go on aggressive strategy paid off, putting him in pole position for the victory. Alonso then showed why he is one of the best drivers in the sport still, commanding the race from the front.

Nico Rosberg finished in a career best second, despite a stop and go for pitting under a closed pitlane. Aided by a Force India chicane in the form of Fisichella, Rosberg pulled some blinding laps out, allowing him to take his penalty and come out in front of the Coulthard/Hamilton scrap.

Three races left. All Hamilton has to do is follow Massa home at each of the races to secure the championship. That is of course, if Ferrari don’t feel the urge to give McLaren more free points.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Fernando Alonso. A fuel pressure problem left him 15th on the grid. At a street circuit, the going norm would say there is probably no point in showing up for the race. An aggressive strategy didn’t work out until his team-mate found the wall. Once out front, he was unstoppable.

Better Late Than Never

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kubica Takes Historic Victory

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008 Season Preview - Part II

Renault

Will the return of the prodigal son returns the French team to victory lane?
It should, even if pre-season testing and words coming out of the camp say otherwise. Renault has no real excuses. They abandoned the development of their '07 car to focus work on this year’s challenger after the half way mark. The idea that they haven’t been able to put together a car that will be in some way decent would be a massive failure for the team. They could be sandbagging during testing to lull teams into a false sense of security. If they truly are five tenths off the top then someone surely will have their head rolled.

Of course if the car is the five tenths off the top, then Alonso will be asked to provide those tenths that he claimed he brought to McLaren last year. After a torrid year in McLaren he takes the step back into his comfort zone. I mirror it to moving out of home, not having it work and coming back to live with your parents. Not the best move, but the best of a bad situation. His reputation is tarnished and needs to get his head down and do what he is good at – racing. Last year is in the past and he would do well to just get on with it.

Nelson Piquet Junior – well I told you he was going to be here last year and I was spot on! It could be a case of déjà vu for Alonso because Piquet is by no means a slouchier. This is the man who finished second to Hamilton in the GP2 series. Flavio can talk all he wants about having team hierarchy but the son of the former world champion is hardly going to pass up an opportunity to highlight the show. If he can get off to good start there is no stopping him making the same sort of impact that Kovalainen produced last year. A year out of competitive racing may hamper him at the start of the year similar to Heikki but I would expect him to give Alonso a couple of scares during the year.

Williams

High expectations but can they deliver?
I’m sure that’s what Williams’s fans are thinking going into this season. People tend to forget that twelve months ago they were coming off the back of a terrible season and now people are predicting them to fight for podiums! That’s a pretty big step to take and I’m sure they would be happy to just improve on last year. Led by Frank Williams and Patrick Head there was never any doubt in my mind that Williams would eventually turn the boat around. Their biggest enemy this year will be the aforementioned high expectations of the outfit. To the media, anything short of scoring a few podiums is going to be considered a failure for the team.

Getting Rosberg to sign a new contract is probably the signing of the year for me. With McLaren flying like vultures looking for a replacement for Alonso it would’ve been easy for Rosberg to up sticks and move to the Woking outfit. His decision to stick it out with Williams and continue to work on a project he started with them two years ago shows class to me. Sure some people are saying he might have blown his chances but for me, this is a fantastic education for Rosberg for the time when he will be in a top car. There are no ‘ifs’ or ‘buts’ about that fact. He matured greatly last year and with the aid of the experienced Wurz alongside him, looked like a more accomplished driver. This year he will be the out and out team leader in terms of experience as well as talent.

Nakajima had a whacky début at Brazil at the end of last season. The latest export from Japan showed raw pace marred by youthful exuberance. His pre-season testing has shown he is not to be taken lightly so far. Then again, it is only pre-season so his current runs have to be taken with a pinch of salt. When the lights go out and the real racing begins is when we will see what Nakajima is really like. Much like Sato he appears to be a rough diamond and there are few better teams than Williams to help hone his skill. He will have to show his worth if he is to shed the tag that he is simply there on Toyota’s request in an attempt to keep engine costs down at the privateer team.

Red Bull

Will this be the year that Red Bull finally gets their wiings?
Last year’s Red Bull showed great pace at times however their season was undone by poor reliability. As the old adage ‘to finish first, first you must finish’ or in Red Bull’s eyes to ‘finish at all, build a car capable of finishing!’ Towards the end of 2007 they were mixing it up regularly for points and if they can solve the problems any Adrian Newey designed car is going to be competitive. Red Bull have been moving forward each year but the aim this year has to be score points more regularly and pick up a few podiums.

David Coulthard is the grand daddy of the grid and shows no signs of stopping. Always there or thereabouts he’s the perfect driver to help build what still is a growing team. He’s seen off a number of team-mates in the course of his Red Bull career.

I’ve never been a fan of Mark Webber. Often he’s had a mouth bigger than his talents. Many pundits talk him up but the results show that he isn’t really all that. He was pretty even with Coulthard last year and his pokes at Williams for been on the downturn left him red faced as Williams are on the up since his departure. In my books he’s yet to justify the hype surrounding him and I doubt we’ll ever see him achieve anything more than point’s finishes and the odd podium.

Toyota

A new year and a raft of new promises. Haven’t we heard all this before?
Toyota continues to spend big and deliver zero. No wonder the Toyota head chiefs are considering change at the highest level or even abandoning the failed Formula One project. Their main problem is that they believe they can apply the exact same method that works in other sports to F1. The team seems to be run by a committee as opposed to have one man in charge as is seen in most F1 teams. I could rattle off nearly every Formula One boss, except for the Toyota boss. One would think after years of shovelling money into the team and hoping for the best that a lesson would be learned. According to reports the management team has only a few years to turn it around although many people read that statement as one of Toyota’s desire to pull the plug on this money draining operation.

Unless Trulli overcomes his career long problem of switching off during races, I would expect this to be his last year. His saving grace for the seat this year is similar to Fisichella last year at Renault. Having two new young drivers isn’t ideal in a team trying to push forward. So they have gone for the tried and trusted rookie-experienced line-up. If Toyota could just have Jarno qualify the car he would be great. However points aren’t awarded for qualifying and his inability to throw together consistent race pace has always been his downfall. I honestly don’t expect him to step up to the plate his late in his career. He will achieve point’s finishes but nothing more before he heads off into the sunset like Ralf Schumacher did this winter.

Timo Glock has endured a meandering path to his full time Formula One drive. He’s already had his debut with Jordan in 2004. He then headed stateside to race in Champ Cars before a return to Europe and the GP2 series which accumulated with him winning the championship last season. A tug of war between BMW and Toyota ended up in front of the Contracts Recognition Board before he was cleared to sign for Toyota. Over the past few years the GP2 drivers making the step up have shown that they can handle the top level. His ability to shine this year will depend on what sort of car Toyota gives him. Give him half a season to adapt proper and during the second part of the season I would expect him to be putting Trulli to bed if he wants to ensure he’ll be around long term. Similar to Sutil at Force India, failure to beat a team-mate that many consider washed up and past their prime will bring the curtain down early on his Formula One career.

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.