Stig-meister

Did anyone see that one coming? Really?

I for one was shocked when the Stig removed his helmet, revealing Schumacher. I have to say bravo to the BBC for it. If you want to unveil the Stig, someone they have touted as a driver of immense talent, who better to 'play the role' than one of the greatest motorsport drivers in history.

It also feels like a cheeky slap from the BBC to the media outlets that were reporting on the 'true' identity of the Stig earlier this year.

Obviously, the idea that it was Schumi all along is far fetched. White Stig has been in use since 2003. Not to mention, in the hands of the seven-times F1 champion, a car went seven seconds faster than anything before around the Top Gear test track. While I'm sure the car is fast, we have seen plenty of speedy cars fail to be super quick around there. I wonder just how much that had to do with the driver.

Admittedly, it would have been fun to see him do a proper lap around in the 'reasonably priced car', if just to see where he matched up against the other F1 racers that have been on the show.

A guy can dream.

F109 Countdown: McLaren

McLaren:
2008 Results
Best Finish: 1st (Lewis Hamilton x5,Heikki Kovalainen x1)
Points Scored: 151
Championship Position: 2nd
2009 Drivers: Lewis Hamilton & Heikki Kovalainen

Last, but not least, we finish up the F109 Countdown with McLaren, just seven days until the start of the new season.

If we are to believe what we have seen in pre-season testing, McLaren are going to struggle mightily at the start of the season. Do I believe that will be the case? No. I’m firmly of the belief that they are sandbagging. Now, maybe they won’t have the ultimate pace, but I find it hard to believe they won’t be in the thick of things.

It has been usual to see them hovering near the bottom for most of the pre-season. For a team like McLaren, which strives for excellence, it is out of character. But not impossible.

In the past, I’ve catalogued how McLaren have failed to produce winning cars consecutively. Last year was actually a change in the norm when they produced a championship contending car. So maybe there struggles are real, and that they will be in trouble.

I still have a hard time believing it. As I mentioned in previous articles, they have known well in advance how things were going to play out. For a team the size of McLaren, I can’t imagine they would take their eyes off the ball that much.

If they are, it will be intriguing to watch how their drivers react. Especially Hamilton. Not since Schumacher have we seen a driver with such raw talent on the grid. But, sceptics will point out that he walked into a winning ride, so how he deals with what is paraded as an ‘uncompetitive car’ will be a true showing of his talent.

If it is a poor car at first, I still expect him in the hunt. Personally, I think great drivers are defined by what they can do when they are not in the best car. I read how Senna did it; I watched when Schumacher did it. Even Alonso pulled some stunning results in a dodgy Renault. This could be a real chance for Hamilton to really cement his legacy and prove to any doubters regarding his skill.

As for Heikki, I would definitely class him as a driver who needs to perform this year. There was too many up’s and down’s from the Finn last year. While the early stages of the season could be put down to bad luck, some of his latter season runs, where he was needed to back up Hamilton, were poor.

Now with a year within the team, there will be no excuses for him. He has to put it out there and show he can match Hamilton. He has to contend for victories. Any less will be a failure.

Medals in sheeps clothing

The old saying goes, ‘good things comes to those who wait’. Well, the Formula One community has waited, and what we got was a slap with a raw fish. But I suppose, that isn’t anything new.

We have a new way of determining the winner of the Formula One title – by wins. So, basically, it’s Bernie’s gimmicky medal plan, without the medals. Honestly, I don’t know what to think of it. I’m just shaking my head in complete disbelief that sport which is seen as the pinnacle of motorsport is reducing itself to this.

I was full of hope for the FOTA proposal for the points would go through. Their idea was to reintroduce a larger gap between the points offered for the highest positions. Honestly, that system should never have been dumped. Sure, Michael Schumacher broke it when he won the season by France one year.

But the biggest complaint I have always had about the current system was that it encouraged drivers to settle. If you are in second, sure why push for first when you are only gaining two points. Second issue was that if someone built up a safe lead, they could spend the second half of the season taking it easy since the ability to gain points was small given the points structure. At least with the old four point gap, you had reason to hunt someone down rather than play it safe and save the engine.

But no, apparently alls we deserve is Bernie’s system with a wash of paint off it. Don’t get me wrong, I think wins are valuable. But what is the point in someone bothering to race from the back for points when these ultimately don’t matter at all in the championship hunt, unless there is a tie for wins.

My biggest concern is, with this points system, coupled by the testing ban, could lead to the field stringed out and we end up with one dominant car. Technically, someone could actually win the title by mid-season. All that it will take is nine straight victories. This is as bad a decision as it was to change the points system a few years ago. People need to learn that if something isn’t broken, don’t fix it for the sake of it.

Race of Champions

The Race of Champions offered an enjoyable day of Sunday motorsport. The winter is always a dull time for motorsport fans as we wait for the engines to fire back up and the competition to begin once again.

Germany defended the Nations Cup. Michael Schumacher led by example, winning the deciding race against Ekstrom. Despite retiring from competitive racing at the end of 2006, he doesn’t look like a guy who is living it large. Lean, mean and charismatic as ever, the German clearly hasn’t lost that edge which has made him the greatest driver in the history of the sport.

The actual Race of Champions, which saw drivers racing for personal glory, saw a lot more in the surprise department. Sebastian Loeb came from smashing through some barriers to secure victory and Nascar runner-up Carl Edwards defeated Schumacher. Despite bashing up two cars, David Coulthard made it into the final for a best of three duel with Loeb. The Frenchman took victory be a mere three tenths of a second from the retiring Formula One drive.

However, while the racing was great, the coverage was decidedly second-rate from Sky. Everything just seemed ‘off’. They cut from driver promos straight into the action, hardly giving the viewer a chance to adjust to who was in the car at the time. On too many occasions, they didn’t even show up any titles of who was in which car. While some drivers are easy to spot, there seemed to be no consideration for those lesser known guys.

The interviews repeated questions over and over, with Hamilton’s dad been asked about his family’s holidays twice in two different interviews. Where is cohesion in it? But what really took the cake was the interview to Vettel, where the woman first stated it was Vettel’s first RoC, when it was his second. The interview was further botched up when she stated that Ekstrom had won it for the last four or five years, when he had the last two.

It was just an error-filled coverage on the part of Sky. When you get the basic facts wrong, that is just not right. Another example of the mess was claiming Edwards to be an eight time winner this year, when he won nine races. He was also classed both as a Nascar champion and a former Nascar champion. He is a Busch/Nationwide champion, which isn’t defined as being the ‘Nascar champion’. Or consistently stating that Sebastian Loeb won the rally championship at Rally GB, when in fact he went into that rally with his fifth title already wrapped up.

The first thing I was thought in journalism school – know your facts so you don’t look like a twat.

The overall track design was okay, although plenty of room for improvement. I can remember years back, watching RoC events and there was plenty of side by side racing. You don’t get that with the Wembley circuit. The layout of it left the camera more often than not just focusing on one driver. The thrill of watching this sort of racing is to see both in the same shot.

As for Hamilton, his gimmick race with an Olympic bike rider came to nought due to the conditions. Okay, these guys knew about this gimmick race for long enough. It was obvious; they needed conditions right for the bicycle rider to be able to compete. It doesn’t take a rocket science that the weather at this time of the year is terrible. Wembley has a roof, why not have it shut in advance to ensure it?

It is a shame not to see the new F1 champion actually competing. For the past two years, there has been plenty of talk about him taking part. I’m sure as a racer; Hamilton would want to do it. But as his dad said, the ‘politics’ intervened. Hmm, a situation where every driver is in equal machinery, I can only think of one reason for ‘protecting’ a driver. Just let the guy race. I’m sure he wants to. The fans want him too. It is a no brainer.

Three-ific

Jimmie Johnson wrote his name into the history books on Sunday, notching up a hat-trick of titles.

The odds were heavily in favour of the California native at Homestead, but credit to Carl Edwards for making a race of it. Edwards knew it was mission impossible. But that didn’t stop him giving his be-all and end-all. He did everything he could, leading the most laps and securing victory. All he needed was for Johnson to have bad luck.

None came, but that was hardly a surprise.

Arguments rage in the Nascar community about where Johnson’s achievements stand in the sports history. Some have pointed to Johnson taking advantage of the Chase format to collect titles that otherwise he may not have earned.

It is a fair point. For those interested, Edwards would have taken the title by 16 points under the pre-Chase format. But, this is the era of the Chase. Looking back at how points would look under the old system is pointless nostalgia. Not every season of the Chase can be brilliant, like the first year of the concept.

Every driver starts the year knowing what they have to do to be champion. While Johnson didn’t have a stellar regular season compared to the likes of Edwards or Kyle Busch, he did the job when it mattered. Everyone else is afforded the same opportunity as the #48 team. It is up to them to take it.

Honestly, I hate when people start comparing achievements from different eras. Keyword here is different. When Cale Yarborough achieved his three-peat, it was a different time, different cars, and different competition – different. It reminds me back to when Schumacher achieved his fifth F1 title and the comparisons with Fangio. You can’t just look plainly at the statistics and compare one person’s title rack up to another.

His achievements should be respected on merit. Like I said above, every single one of the drivers started the season knowing what they had to do to win the title. At the end of the season, Johnson achieved those goals. Chase or no Chase, that is what should really be remembered.

Common Sense Please!

Ah Luca, your timing is impeccable. Like last year, when F1 was trying to remove the afterthoughts of spy-gate, you put your foot in it, bringing it up for no reason. Once more, your shoddy timing has only helped galvanize the distain for Ferrari that the likes of ITV fed in its infancy.

Luca di Montezemolo came out and said that the Singapore race was humiliating for Formula One. Of course, people only see what they want to see and have been quick to link it to simply because Ferrari had an abysmal race. Seriously, Luca, if you are going to complain about the state of things, don’t do it after a disaster for your own team.

Looking past the Ferrari aspect, he is right. If it wasn’t for the safety car period, it was looking to be nothing short of a snore-bore race, and not the first this year. The most interesting races this year have come via wet weather or safety car been called into action. So is the situation humiliating for Formula One? I say yes.

Formula One is quickly becoming a boring sport. Take out the external factors and there hasn’t been any memorable races, with most decided by the time the first pit-stop comes around. There is nothing there to keep fans on tenterhooks from start to finish, unless you are a diehard fan.

I’ve watched Formula One since 1994. Sitting down on Sunday to watch a race is as close to religion as I figure I’ll ever get. Whether it meant waking up in the dead of the night or hurrying home early from Dublin after a night of drinking for lunch time, I’d do it. Watching it live was the way to go. Even after my favourite driver, Michael Schumacher retired, I moved on with the sport, finding new people to follow. This is the first year I’ve really questioned why I should bother to keep watching.

Having the ability to watch Nascar this year has opened my eyes more to it. Of course, people will slander Nascar, claiming it isn’t good racing and what skills do you need to go around in circles. Unfortunately, the world is full of ignorance and motorsport is no different. At least when I watch a Nascar race, as I commented in my previous piece, I’m likely to get a good race. I don’t get that with Formula One anymore. We can only hope that the changes next year will inspire better racing.

The sport is in need of a major overhaul, not just in the technical department – or it stands even to lose its diehard fans. Unfortunately, I worry that when people try to point out the failings of the sport, those with no common sense will drone it in favour of shouts for their favourite driver.

A Dream Day

A master class performance from Sebastian Vettel resulted in his first F1 win, the youngest in history. It was also Toro Rosso’s, formerly the Minardi team, first win.

It has been a long time since I have seen such a performance, and after the Spa debacle, it was exactly what F1 needed. The past few races, the German has shown us glimpses of his potential. Today, in mixed conditions, he was in a different class to the competition.

Kovalainen was a depressing second. I’m sure questions would be asked as to why he had zero answer for Vettel in an inferior car. Robert Kubica, who was nowhere all day, benefitted from his long run to pit at the ideal time for the tire switch-over. Others were not so lucky, having to come in a second time.

The Ferraris were as what I expected. Fast in spurts, but overall unimpressive in the wet weather conditions. Massa made the best of a difficult situation and should be happy with scoring above Hamilton. Raikkonen was shockingly poor for the first part of the race, before finding pace towards the back end.
Lewis Hamilton was no-where for the first part of the race, continuing his qualifying form. Suddenly, he came alive and was the Lewis Hamilton we know. He played himself to make the most out of a bad situation until the lack of rain meant he had to some back into the pits.

His driving was far from inspiring though. While he could defend running Glock off the road due to the spray, I struggle to see a defence of him nearly running Webber off the road can be conjured. I can remember back to Canada many years ago, where a similar incident happened between Schumacher and Frentzen. Schumacher had a stop-go penalty for that. And Lewis fans think they get hard done by? That wasn’t all from in his unsportsmanlike conduct. He left zero room with cutting in front of people after overtaking people. His move on Alonso a prime example of this.

The championship is down to a single point. Given how bad Ferrari are in the wet versus how good Lewis should be, I’d be happy if I was Ferrari. It could have been a whole lot worse. It is on to new ground in two weeks with the first night race at Singapore.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Sebastian Vettel. A supreme drive that we haven’t seen in years. While James Allen was too busy trying to bring false comparisons between Hamilton and the great weather specialists, he should have been saving them for this man.

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.

Make Up Your Mind!

Over the past week, we seem to be getting a lot of confusion statements out of the McLaren camp.

First off, we got the ‘oh, my neck hurt and I nearly didn’t race’ excuse. Yes, that’s right. I used the word excuse! If you’re hurt and sick, then say it before the weekend, not after it when you have been comprehensively beaten. It just makes you look weak.

Then McLaren hammered on about being conservative, that they just had to wait for Ferrari to slip up. But, before the race, Hamilton was all ‘I’m never going to let myself get beaten again’ like he was at Hungary. This is the same guy who claims he races to win and nothing else will do. Why the sudden change in strategy?

Waiting for something else to happen is not only lazy, but dangerous. You have to make your own destiny. There is every chance that Ferrari overcome their problems and if is Lewis is in Sunday drive mode, he could lose his shot at the title.

After the whole we were taking it easy story, there was another, where Hamilton a basically said that he was pushing his ass off, and he still couldn’t catch Massa. This completely contradicts what he and McLaren said post-race. Nothing new from the boys in silver.

Ron Dennis, who he himself is stuck a will he, won’t he tug of war with himself about retirement, chimed in stating that Lewis is the best driver in F1 today. If I was trying to talk my driver as the best driver today, I would point out to his awesome drives, even those he didn’t win, to prove how great he is. Alas, Dennis went to the stats book. You don’t judge how great a driver is after two years. Let him grow, mature, see how he does over time and then say that. Oh, and Ron, the car matters. You may think it’s not, but when you have one of the best cars in Formula One, it does.

Which leads us to the final statement of the week – so far, although I don’t think the press offices do much business on a weekend. Lewis stating that he isn’t number two to anyone, including Schumacher. Sure, just when we think your ego can’t get any bigger – you go for the death star sized ego. Well done! This ties in with the point above. It takes a lot of audacity to compare yourself to a seven-time world champion, who smashed practically every record in the books.

Don’t get me wrong, Hamilton has an abundance of talent, something I have nothing but respect for. He may very well achieve the same sort of success as the German. But keep your tongue in your mouth and just drive. Maybe it’s the final run-in; he’s like an excited kid waiting for Christmas. He can’t hold in his excitement and suddenly all this ego enhancing dribble comes running out. It was the same last year, when he stuck his nose into the spy-gate affair when he really didn’t need to.

Let your driver do the talking.

In Another World

That’s exactly where Lewis Hamilton was today. He was untouchable throughout the three qualifying sections and took a dominant pole position.

Judging by the timings, Lewis is making a killing in that last sector. Over the course of qualifying the Ferrari’s, Kubica and Kovalainen could match him in sectors one and two. But Lewis in sector three was something to behold. You can’t see it, but it’s there.

Sector three consists of a hairpin, the long back straight, a chicane and a short sprint to the line. By most tracks, that is nothing of a sector. So for Hamilton to pull off on average three tenths of a second advantage is something to behold. He said beforehand that he could take that chicane better than anyone else.
He proved that today. The gap he has over the rest of the field is something we haven’t seen since the days of Schumacher.

Kubica popped up out of nowhere to join him on the front row. Raikkonen and Alonso take up row two, a great effort from the Spaniard. Be interesting to see how he is on fuel tomorrow. Another star man of the day was Rosberg with fifth , with Massa beside him. Kovalainen ended up a disappointing seventh with Heidfeld eight. Barrichello kept his nose down and snuck in unawares to secure ninth whilst Webber finished out the top ten. The Aussie didn’t run in Q3 due to damage on his in-lap.

The condition of the track could be a major concern tomorrow. While track break-up is not abnormal, it is during a qualifying session. Trulli and Webber saw the track fall away from them and on some of the on-board shots we saw around the hair-pin, drivers were taking it very tight. All eyes will be on the organisers to see how to sort it. The last thing F1 needs is another track scandal in North America. It might not come to that severity but drivers were taking it extremely easy out there today.

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.

Pedrosa Dominates, Schumi Rides For Fun

Spanish fever griped Jerez as Dani Pedrosa won in front of the home crowd. The Repsol Honda rider comfortably beat the Yamaha’s of Rossi and fellow Spaniard Lorenzo.

World Champion Casey Stoner had a nightmare of a race. After a poor qualifying the Aussie looked anything but comfortable on the Ducati, getting out of shape at the top of the hill before out-breaking himself at the end of the long straight. He would, after a determined ride, get up on the back of the top ten before out-breaking himself once more at the same corner, finishing 11^th. The problems were not all down to Stoner, with the rest of the Ducati’s struggling to make an impact, all finishing behind the champion.

Pedrosa was off like a rocket and after taking the lead never looked back, leaving Lorenzo and Rossi to duck it out for second. Nicky Hayden had a much improved day on the second Respol Honda, coming home fourth.

The main interest of racing came from the end of the 250cc race. Just caught the end of it after staying up late for the IRL. The race saw Marco Simoncelli and Alvaro Bautista battle for the win. Simoncelli looked to be toying with Bautista before smacking him in the rear going through the corner on the final lap, knocking both out. While it appeared Simoncelli was to blame he would later go on to say that Bautista had an engine problem, which caused him to be slow through the corner. Still, I would leave some blame with Simoncelli. He shouldn’t have bothered toying with his rival. Just get out in front and go. If he had done that he would’ve won.

Speaking of bikes, Michael Schumacher took part in his first official competitive bike race at Misano. The German Formula One legend qualified third and eventually finished third, only five seconds off the lead. When you add the factors that they are all the same bikes and he fell down to fourteenth in the opening stages as he took it easy, it really puts his achievement in focus.
Despite how well he’s adapted to two wheels, the seven-time world champion has said this isn’t the start of a new career. It must be great to be able to go out and track and drive truly for fun. Schumi must be loving it.

Crisis? What Crisis?

That’s all we heard coming out of Melbourne. Ferrari is in trouble and that McLaren are superior. The McLaren’s had more speed and there was more to come.

Then came Malaysia and we saw why you can never judge a season by its opening race. The Ferrari’s for lack of a better word spanked the McLaren’s where it counted. Blocking penalties or not the McLaren’s didn’t have an answer for the Italian team. Now we are getting the oh so familiar ‘judge us later on in the season’ quotes.

Like I said, you can’t judge a season from its opening race. The frenzy about the dismal weekend for Ferrari was nothing more than an attempt to generate interest. Any seasoned Formula One fan knew different.
Raikkonen was at his imperious best yesterday, bided his time until the pit-stop before lacing in the quick laps to jump Massa before comfortably driving home. Massa’s start to the season has got to be of concern and really does put question marks over his. Two driver errors have cost him points and bring back memories of the pre-Ferrari Massa – the one who spent more time sideways than pointing the right direction. Ferrari would do well to give former mentor Schumacher a call and take the young Brazilian aside for a few tips on driving sans traction control. He’ll need to turn it around fast to justify Ferrari’s faith in resigning him at the end of last year with a number of drivers eyeing a Ferrari seat in the future.

The McLaren’s just lacked a proper balance from qualifying onwards. Any inboard shots showed the pair of them struggles to get a decent rhythm going. Neither was helped by the penalties but that been said, both cars were good enough to get the jump at the start. Doesn’t matter if you’re a Ferrari, McLaren or a Force India – if you are stuck behind someone it’s pretty darn hard to overtake. Once bottled up it was obvious it would be damage limitation. Although when free they still weren’t particular mind-blowing.

Kubica did a fine job to finish second. The Pole kept his head down and out of trouble. Unlike Melbourne where he tailed off after the first stop, Kubica gave a constant performance and fully deserved second. Trulli was another who had a fine day. It’s been some time since we have seen such a run from him.
It was a bad day for all of the Australian GP heroes. Heidfeld spent much of the day in the second half of the top ten before popping up with the fastest lap of the race while the Williams team suffered a weekend to forget, failing to string together a consistent performance.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Jarno Trulli. This was a close call, especially given the sterling jobs done by Raikkonen and Kubica. Trulli nicks it given his tendency to fall asleep during races. At Sepang Jarno coupled his typical qualifying pace with a solid race which gives up that Toyota may be turning the corner – for real this time.

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.

Quick Weekly Digest

So much has gone on in the last week and I’m finally back after graduation exploits (codename for hangover!) So here is the digest of what’s gone on since I last posted.

Schumacher is back – with a bang! Like anyone, I was chomping at the bit to see how Schumacher would be lap time wise against the rest one year after the last driving an F1 car in anger. The result – fastest laps on both days so far and back where he belongs. Ahh the nostalgia.

Hamilton’s decision to move, as with anything in British tabloids have people talking. So what if he is joining the cadre of sports people in Switzerland for avoiding the public eye and tax reasons. He earned every penny this year and like everyone wants to protect what he earned! There are very few drivers these days that live in their own country so why is there a need to jump on his back for it when so many do the same?

Renault are up on spy charges. Ever get the feeling that the floodgates on such accusations have opened up and we are in for a witch-hunt? Be interesting to see how it plays out or better yet if there is consistency in the FIA ruling. I would say this whole issue is likely to be the reason Alonso hasn’t signed yet either, maybe fearing a reduced budget to develop the car for next year.

Nakajima has secured the second Williams seat. A bit of a surprise as many expected Luizzi to be in the running or Piquet Junior if the Renault musical chairs saw him been left out in the cold. The Japanese did a decent job at Brazil and obviously shows potential aside from the one-off to warrant a drive – or is it a slash in the cost of Toyota engines that maybe swayed the team in the end.

Honda have scored a sizeable coup by signing Ross Brawn especially when it seemed a dead cert he would be back with Ferrari. It could turn out to be a fruitful relationship (yes excuse the bad pun). It would seem Button wasn’t even in the know given his quit ultimatum a day before the announcement.

Finally the final race of the NASCAR season is this weekend with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon going head to head for the Nextel Cup. Of course with no way to watch it I’ll be following it online as best as possible – no way to watch a race that! One would have to feel bad if Gordon doesn’t win the title given his massive 400 odd point gap he had before going into the Chase format. If he loses the title it could lead to changes to offer someone who gets in that sort of position gets a bonus, similar to that offered to drivers who win a race before the Chase begins.

Till next time and hopefully a bit more active now!

Team Talk

Heading into what is looking more and more likely to be a title deciding race in the morning we have yet more fighting words from within the McLaren camp. For a team that is so often a recluse, keeping things within the team this year is shocking.

As I expected Hamilton was brought up for his antics at Fiji but nothing was done about it. As I said before I didn’t agree with some his driving behind the pace car and was completely against the Kubica penalty. At best that was a racing incident. Both took different lines and they make it sound like Kubica intentional nailed him. In those sorts of conditions how can you really say that?!

I have to say I’m extremely disappointed in his childish ‘I’ll quit’ threats if he was penalised. A case of throwing the toys out of the pram. He needs to get some thick skin and learn this is how life goes when you are at the top of the mountain. Every champion at some stage has had their driving style discredited. Heck Schumacher was questioned left, right and centre at times. Never heard him or any others threaten to walk away. If I was to pin-point the chink in Hamilton’s armour, it’s his PR related skills. Better to have it there than on the track where he has been impeccable.

On the other side of the garage there are more war of words between Alonso and McLaren. I seriously wonder how he will last there next year if he doesn’t leave. Whatever claims about both sides been professional, I don’t think there is a way for there to be a professional relationship on either side of the fence. It’s akin to living in your ex-wife’s house after you have divorced. Every little small thing is setting them off.

I question what words were used when Alonso signed his contract. Granted he is a double world champion. Granted he has brought allot to the team. However his comments at time about his self-importance only choose to alienate him further and further. The more people talk the more it seems he might end up staying at the team which only further puts Alonso in an isolated position. It’s a much changed Alonso from last year. He hasn’t taken too been outside of his comfort zone at all well. When some people are rattled, we see the best of them. Others just get ragged and that is where we see Alonso at the moment. As a champion he is respected and for all these jabs at Schumacher for his ‘antics’, Alonso is colouring himself as no different with his egotistical and arrogant attitude towards his team.

He needs to drop the defeatist attitude he has had all weekend when he first claimed the race was over when Hamilton wasn’t reprimanded for his Fiji driving and then again pining his hopes on rain. I would fully expect Alonso, despite the gap to come out fighting. Take heart from Schumacher’s last stand at Interlargos last year.

It's raining, it's pouring...

...but the old man is certainly not snoring! When Mother Nature intervenes it really provides for a great race and the Nurburgring was no different. In a matter of minutes a dry track became a lake, which sparked memories of the constantly changing conditions we have seen in the past at Spa.

The weekend was an eventful one for Hamilton. The car smashed up in qualifying after a mechanical problem, he took full advantage of the wide first corner to make up ground before been caught by the BMW’s. When the rain fell he joined a plethora of drivers in the first corner parking lot. It was a great presence of mind for him to keep the motor running but I’m of the opinion he shouldn’t have been carried back onto the track. In any other race he would have been out. There was no way he could have gotten out of the kitty litter. He was extremely fortunate to be carried out and allowed to keep running again.

Once back out on track and receiving the ‘Lucky Dog’ (for those of you unfamiliar with the term, this is where the lapped car is allowed to pass the safety car line and rejoin at the end of the lead lap) they blow it – I say ‘they’ because it has remained unclear if it was a team, driver or a combination which made the call – to bring him in and put him on slicks. Gutsy? Maybe. Perhaps he believed his own hype of his greatness and felt he could thread on water like Schumacher or Senna could. He was wrong.

So for the first time he is off the podium. A new experience for him. All credit to him that he comes out and says he has learned allot from the race. Hamilton will learn more from the bad days than the good ones.

Now he has to deal with the incoming threat of Alonso on Massa who both capitalized on his misfortune. Harsh words between the pair after the race was interesting to see, of course it would have been nice to actually hear what they were saying! Alonso firstly accused Massa of trying to take him off deliberately. It didn’t look nothing like that and reckon it was heat of the moment. Like I said in previously Alonso needs to learn to take it as much as he gives it.

Would The Real Kimi Raikkonen Please Stand Up?!

“Paging Kimi Raikkonen. Would the real Kimi Raikkonen please step forward and show your talent.”

Something along those lines must of been the call the Finn got as he boarded the plane home from North America. Since his return from a lacklustre pair of races – or to be more precise a lacklustre season so far, the Iceman seems to have finally found his feet in Ferrari.

At France and then in England we bore witness to the Kimi of old. The racer, the fighter, the Iceman. It begs to question where the real Kimi Raikkonen has been all season. After a dominant victory in the season opening Australian grand prix at Melbourne Kimi has been a ghost stuck in the shadows of Felipe Massa. Questions were rightly asked of his commitment and his drive, especially when he chose to storm out of the Ferrari garage when things went awry at Spain and then at Monaco. This was the man charged with replacing Michael Schumacher.

Now with the return to Europe we finally see the Kimi Raikkonen that drove balls to the walls in a McLaren for victory, even if it resulted in the car breaking down. This was the man that Ferrari coveted to replace Schumacher. This was what we expected from the Finn.

Why has it taken so long for him to become settled? I expected him to struggle at first to find his feet at Ferrari given that Massa was already snug in the team. But the depth of his struggles has been surprising. His rise in form coincides with the re-emergence of Kubica and Alonso to the performance levels expected. The paddock talk has been that the three of them have struggled to adapt to the new Bridgestone compound. After half a season they seem to have finally gotten to grips with how to use them allowing them to challenge their team-mates on a more consistent basis. Raikkonen more so still has a long way to go in adapting his style to turn his raw speed into consistent results. Looking at the reliability of the McLaren’s compared to the Ferrari this year against last year it would appear that Raikkonen’s ‘bad luck’ with reliability has carried over.

Perhaps it is more than ‘bad luck’. McLaren’s Martin Whitmarsh commented that he felt Raikkonen drove too aggressively which led to the high amount of reliability issues. His run of reliability woes in the Ferrari lends credence to these comments. Raikkonen will need to learn to adapt if he is finally unlock the potential we all know is there.

Weekend Of Whingers

So there went another weekend of sport and a bunch of whingers and complainers arose - and they ain't even called 'Jose' (Mourinho for you non football watchers)!

The whinger award goes to current Formula one champion and McLaren driver Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard blew his chance to win in front of the home crowd at Barcelona as he tried a risky move around Massa at the first lap of the race. Massa had the inside line, left the champ out to dry and we see Alonso scuttling across the gravel trap much to disdain of the home crowd. Alonso then turns around and complains that Massa was pulling a risky move? Fernando were you driving the same race we were watching? Just because Felipe cocked up at Sepang in similar circumstances does not mean he is going to let the same thing happened twice.

Talking about 'risky' moves - this is coming from the same guy who did a balls to the walls move on Schumacher at 130R in Suzuka a few years ago! That was risky. This was plain common sense that he thought Massa would cave. The champ got it wrong and paid the price. Common sense would've been to dab the breaks, stop her going across the kitty litter to avoid battering the car, the excuse given by McLaren for why he couldn't challenge (and I use the word 'excuse' here because McLaren always have an excuse for when they get out raced by Ferrari.) The pressure is showing now on Alonso. This is two races in a row he has been beaten by his 'rookie' (again, I'm using this term lightly with Hamilton because he drives like a veteran.) This is what could make or break Alonso's ability to cement himself as a legend many presume him to be. Time will tell.

An honourable mention also goes to Kimi Raikkonen here. His impact at Ferrari has been few and far between as he is getting shown up my Massa. His decision to leave the track early is not the sign of someone who has fully embraced the Ferrari team spirit. Especially when it was noted that over the weekend the returning Schumacher often stayed later in the paddock.

Why You Shouldn't Leave Before The Chequered Flag

While this blog is about Formula One, this one piece of international motorsport news couldn't escape me.

At a recent race in Texas in the NASCAR series there was an accident which involved Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Junior. Both cars limped back to the pits to be repaired. Here is where the similarities end however. Bush went home, with his team later citing a 'miscommunication' for the mix-up. His team stayed on and worked hard to get the car race worthy for the last few laps. They succeeded but found out they were lacking a driver.
Enter Busch's crew chief, a friend of Junior, who asked him if he would be interested in driving the car for the last few laps. Now remember, this is for a different team, a different crew and it would not earn Junior any more points, in fact he would earn Busch's car more points. (NASCAR has a complicated points system I won't go into now!)

Junior said yes. Without hesitation. That's class. He recognized that the crew had worked hard to get the car going and he did them the service of putting it back out on track. Where else in the world of motorsport would we such such sportsmanship? Shame on Busch for his early exit. One must ask why was he in such a hurry to leave? Given the amount of money these drivers earn he could've stayed around. If I was a driver that's what I would've done. Junior stayed and look at the impact he was able to make. It even ties in with the example set by Michael Schumacher in his time where he spent day and night in the Ferrari garage with the mechanics.

The publicity of the lesson is sure to not be lost on Busch though. He won't make the same mistake twice. As for Junior, his actions will only enhance his reputation as a class act and a top bloke in the NASCAR paddock.