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.

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.

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.

The Good, the Bad and the Racing

Over the last few days we’ve seen the two faces of McLaren. The good in the signing of Heikki Kovalainen to partner Hamilton. The fact that Heikki was left out in the cold at Renault was eye catching, given how he outpaced Fisichella for the majority of the year. One of the rumours going around is that Heikki was dropped because he was considered too fast for Alonso who is out to avoid a 2007 repeat. He must not remember that Piquet Junior did finish second to Hamilton in GP2 and I doubt he will be keen to lie down given the opportunity.

With the freedom of Kovalainen, he was the obvious choice for the second McLaren seat. I’m sure fans of the Finn were getting a little worried that de la Rosa, with his Spanish connections to many sponsors who joined because of Alonso would get the nod. Nice to see McLaren do the right thing and bring in a top driver who will hopefully push Hamilton and bring the most out of both drivers.

Of course we saw the bad of McLaren over the weekend as well with an admission (finally) over the Stepney-gate issue. A statement claimed that dissemination (in English – transmitting) of Ferrari data went deeper than originally though. They have stopped development on three parts that could be potentially linked back to Ferrari data. It makes the FIA’s decision to wait till February to clear the McLaren 2008 car more prudent now. It’s possible the FIA stewards found something and have given McLaren an opportunity to rectify the problem.

The statement has led to calls for the head of Ron Dennis. Personally, I would be happy if this was the end of someone who whinges anytime his team got beaten. End of the day the buck stops with him. He staked his reputation on his team been clean and playing by the rules and the statement appears to be nothing but an admission of guilt. Will he survive this? Time will tell. Hopefully this will be the beginning of the end of this spy fiasco once and for all so we can go racing clean again.

Race of Champions was on this weekend in Wembley – an event I unfortunately missed due to television issues. That was a shame because I was looking forward to the crème of racing talent going at it, especially to see Schumacher racing again for fun. If the go-kart racing in Brazil was anything to go by it would’ve been a treat. Funny thing I noted was that the Brits were selling up the prospect of Hamilton been there to race Schumacher months back. But come the event there wasn’t a peep and no Hamilton, out because of a sponsorship commitment or something similar. After all the chat about the prospect of him been there one would think they would bother to say ‘oh, he actually isn’t coming – maybe next year.’ Should be able to catch a highlights show of it somewhere.

Speaking of Schumacher, it would appear he has found a part-time hobby as a taxi driver. Running late for a plane the champ took over from the taxi driver and drove to the airport. Bloody hilarious that and decent of him to give a generous tip. The taxi driver will have a story to tell his kids. That been said, how proud of his own driving can he be when he had to give up the seat? This is one of the stories that are a bit surreal. It’s the sort of story you would think ‘I wonder what they a racing driver would do in such a situation’ and it was just great to see Schumi take the bull by the horns.

Catching Up

So back to Formula One related bits! Been a bit quiet on reporting on that front. A mix of reading aplenty on a number of topics and been a little bit worse for wear!

The FIA did in fact release the full documents regarding the Spy-gate hearings. Been meaning to get around to reading them all. It's on the 'to-do' list! Hopefully I'll get the time and plenty of Headex tablets to go through it all with a fine tooth comb to see how it really went down.
I'm not going to touch on the decisions made and the penalties handed down. They have been done to death. Everyone has their view on it and at this stage, has probably let it be known!

McLaren got penalised. They accepted it. Too harsh? Too lenient? Just right? Well everyone has their view. Mosley hasn't been too shy in lashing out at those casting them, quite rightly, at those who haven't view the situation as a whole. That's why I've been careful to put my view down. His comments on Jackie Stewart, well, it will be interesting to see how they play out. Calling him a 'half wit' and taking a pop at his dress ethic. Interesting attack from Mosley. We haven't heard the last between these two!

From it we did learn more about the degradation of the Alonso-Dennis relationship. How bad things have gotten between the pair is truly shocking. Actually I'm surprised Dennis hasn't sacked him yet. He has a record of been a no bull sort of guy. Case in point, look at Montoya. Fernando must have one hefty severance payout if he was to be ditched. If you are not even on talking terms with your boss, well, you're as good as done.

McLaren promise that each driver will be treated equally throughout the title run-in. Though if Alonso's car just happens to fall to pieces in the final three I think you will hear shouts of a conspiracy.
Expect the bitter divorce over the next few months.

Where he goes is the key to the driver market. Most of the talk says Renault but this week has seen rumours of a move to Ferrari. The move logically makes sense. Alonso wants to win races and championships. Ferrari is the only team apart from McLaren that can offer that for sure in 2008. What I don't get is how he thinks he will get a better deal. Alonso's issue at McLaren stems from not getting the coveted 'number one' status at the team. Can he expect that at Ferrari? Somehow I don't think Kimi Raikkonen is going to let him have it. He would come in on equal footing which could lead to same issues again.

So all roads appear to lead to Renault. A homecoming for Alonso. While they have struggled in 2008 a return for Alonso would not be all that bad. The team has the foundations that won two world titles and by now will know how to work out most of the kinks that have lead to a struggle this year. But can they provide him with a title contender. That is a question that remains unanswered and will weigh on Alonso's mind.

Speaking of Renault, Fisichella's attempt to force the teams hand to announce their driver line-up failed. The Italian talked big for a number of weeks before Monza that he expected an announcement of his re-signing by then. Italy has come and gone. Now Renault has said that they won't announce anything until Alonso finds his home. Nothing less than what I expected. Fisichella knows he is on borrowed time. Over the past months he has been blown away, regardless of his excuses, by Kovalainen. Heikki is almost a dead cert at this stage for one of the seats. Fisichella's failing form will put him danger of losing his seat regardless of where Alonso ends up.

In an unrelated F1 news topic, congrats to Casey Stoner for winning the MotoGP title. The Aussie takes the title in only his second season and secured the first championship for Ducati and Bridgestone. Stoner has been fantastic, if sometimes mouthy during the season. Not quite as bad as Rossi who spent altogether too much time whinging that he couldn't get the 'custom-made for the conditions' tires from Michelin on the Saturday morning after Friday practice. Yes, that's not fair at all is it Michelin riders. It's a shame that, like past seasons in Formula One there is more talk about tires than there is about the performance of those involved.

2007 Preview - [Part One]

With only six weeks to go before the start of the new Formula One season, it is a big jump into the unknown. Gone is the legendary Michael Schumacher, Michelin tires and the biggest shake-up in driver line-up in recent years. It promises to be an exciting year. As winter testing and car launches are coming out thick and fast, it's a good opportunity to evaluate the challengers for the Fernando Alonso's title.

Team-by-Team:

McLaren

McLaren's acquisition of Fernando Alonso from Renault was quite a coup for Ron Dennis this time last year. After the season Mclaren had last year however, Alonso must of been wondering if he had made a poor choice. Juan-Pablo Montoya made a similar move back in 2005, which was over-hyped and produced little result. Alonso's move to McLaren is similar to the one taking by Schumacher back in 1996. If Alonso can return McLaren to their winning ways, he will cement his place in F1 history amongst the legends.

Lewis Hamilton begins his F1 career by entering the lion's den. There will be allot of pressure on the young Brit and it will be interesting to see how he copes. A rookie season alone is enough pressure for one to deal with but to have the world champion as your partner and racing for McLaren only increases it. To their credit, McLaren have groomed Hamilton from early age and having watched his career rise from strength to strength, there is no doubt he can make it on the big stage.

So far in winter testing the new McLaren has looked promising with, both Alonso and Hamilton topping the time sheets at various stages. As always with winter testing these performances have to be considered with a pinch of salt. The real test will be Melbourne on March 18th.


Renault:

If it wasn't for Alonso moving on from Renaul, I believe Giancarlo Fisichella would not still be with the team anymore. I've always rated Fisi' in the highest regard but when the time came that he got a world championship car, he's blown his opportunity. He now runs in the same vein as Jarno Trulli, deciding to show up and race every now and then with a great turn of speed before disappearing back into obscurity.

Heikki Kovalainen is a driver I am excited to see over the coming season. Like Hamilton he enters his rookie team with a top-line team and his mettle will be tested during the season. On his way to the top, Heikki has shown a fantastic racing pedigree and has duked it out with the best. This is the man who beat Schumacher in the International Race of Champions a few years ago. I'm predicting that Heikki will be more of match for Fisichella. He'll put the Italian in the shade similar to how Kimi did to Coulthard in McLaren in 2003.

It's a massive year for Renault as a constructor. They have to prove that there is life after Alonso, much in the same way they had to when in their Benetton guise in the post-Schumacher era. Of the top teams they have the weakest driver line-up with the unreliable Fisichella and the unproven Kovalainen. Renault recently said they would remain in the sport providing they remained competitive which only increases the pressure on the team to be competitive in 2007.


Ferrari

When Felipe Massa was announced as a Ferrari driver last season, it was widely regarded that he was keeping the seat warm for either Raikkonen or Rossi. The way he started the season laid credence to that with a number of shaky performances and excursions off the track. During the mid-season the Brazilian picked up his game and challenged his team-mate on a regular basis. Never before have I seen a driver improve so much during the course of a season, which he capped with two dominant wins at Turkey and Brazil. His improvement no doubt caused Ferrari driver selection headaches as they waited for Schumacher to decide on his future. He starts 2007 as strong favourite for the title. Unlike Raikkonen and Alonso who are settling in to new environments, Massa has the advantage of continuity on his side. If Ferrari carry on their end of season form it could offer Massa the springboard to the world title.

Kimi Raikkonen is finally in a team that should be ability he could only show the odd time in the misfiring McLaren. Since he first graced a Formula car back in 2002 with Sauber, I've tipped him to be world champion. The Iceman's patience has been thoroughly tested with McLaren, who despite collecting a number of wins failed to bring home the ultimate prize because of reliability issues. Now that he has a team around him that is more than capable of delivering him the championship it is up to Kimi to do it on the track come March.

2007 brings major changes to Ferrari. There has been a major upheaval with Ross Brawn going on a sabbatical, leading to a number of internal changes within the Ferrari company. On the driver front they have lost Michael Schumacher which is an immense loss for the team. Despite the changes, Ferrari start as favourites to capture both titles. In Massa and Raikkonen they have the strongest driver line-up and whilst rivals teams have to adjust to Bridgestone tires, Ferrari have a close understanding with the Japanese tire manufacture.
As always it is difficult to judge how competitive they will be come Melbourne as Ferrari conduct most of their tests at Mugello and Fiorano.


That's it for the first part of this 2007 season preview. Keep a look out for the next post as I look at the battle for midfield supremacy.