Brains or Brawn?

After weeks of haggling and false reports that a deal was done, a solution is finally official. Brawn GP is born.

I am shaking my head at this one and as to why Ross Brawn is jumping into the deep end. No doubt, the man is intelligence. But this decision is anything but. I get the feeling that all his years of fine work with Schumacher are going to go down the drain, leaving his reputation in tatters.

This new team have all the hallmarks of being the ‘Super Aguri’ of 2009. All that time and money spent on developing a ‘contender’ for 2009 is out the window. They have zero testing done. I’m sure there are going to be design issues with switching out a Honda power plant for a Mercedes. Sponsors are needed. In short, it is going to be another year of struggle.

The whole situation has disaster written all over it. Many may be lamenting that Bruno Senna has been given the short shift, losing out to Barrichello for the second seat. It may be a blessing in disguise for the nephew of the legendary Ayrton. His reputation and confidence won’t plummet by driving for an ailing team.

Logically, it would have made more sense for a big time investor to come in. Short term, the team will struggle but long term, there is potential. The biggest question that will be answered in time is whether Brawn can survive short-term to reap any benefits.

The Weekly Nightcap - Feb 27

Welcome to the first ‘Weekly Nightcap’. I’ll use this as a forum to give my views on multiple topics in the motor racing world that I (a) didn’t have time to get to during the week or (b) didn’t have enough to make a proper article out of it.

This week, I’ll be touching on the impending (?) Honda team takeover, A1GP wanting to be Formula One.. or is that the other way around, BBC’s announcement on Formula One coverage, the banks bailing not only on their customers, but on Formula One and finally on Dale Earnhardt Junior.

Honda buy-out imminent?
This week ends with news that supposedly, a rescue plan for the Honda team is almost sorted. Judging by some of the news reports, it is a case of dotting ‘i's’ and crossing ‘t's’. The buyout option appears to be that headed by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry.

The pair is an interesting way to go. Over the past few months, we have been told that there have been many enquires. Although, according to Honda, none were feasible. It’s hard to believe that the Brawn/Fry bid was the only one that really ticked all the boxes for Honda. If Branson was serious about a Virgin bid, his deep pockets would make more sense than those of a cobbled together bid.

Perhaps the two leaned on their connections in Japan to get across the line first. A number of potential buyers were said to be unhappy with Fry being involved in the vetting process, given that he was tabling a bid of his own. Regardless, 20 cars on the grid is better than 18 come Melbourne.

I want to be like you!
At the A1GP race in South Africa last weekend, series boss, Tony Teixeria, stated that Formula One was looking to become more like A1GP with the recent changes to the sport. Oddly enough, despite this claim, he still has dreams of starting his own Formula One team. While his standpoint maybe that Formula One is trying to emulate his series, his ambitions appear to realise that A1GP will never match Formula One.

Practice, Qualifying and Race, Oh My!
The BBC announced its scheduling for Formula One this week. The great news is that they plan to show extensive coverage, including the practice sessions. The Beeb will offer the sessions online, if of course you are lucky enough to live in the United Kingdom. Ah, fun times. They will also be available on television, via the red button – if you have one. (Yeah, Kieran, I’m looking at you!)

Extensive pre and post race coverage is also touted. The line that caught my attention from Mark Wilkin, producer of the Beeb’s TV and online coverage was that "we want to personalise these guys because we don't know who they are. The British public knows who Lewis Hamilton is now, but there are 17 other drivers that we need to get to know as well."

I’ll believe it when I see it. But, ITV Sport did send the set new lows in my view for overall coverage of the past two years. It can’t take that much effort for the BBC to beat that standard level this year. As long as the BBC don’t follow ITV’s lead and create ‘The Lewis Hamilton Show, featuring a Grand Prix’, all should be fine.

Closure
RBS has joined Credit Suisse and ING as the banks pull out of sponsorship in Formula One. ING announced a few weeks ago that they would be leaving Renault, much to the joy of retinas. RBS will honor their contract until the end of 2010 with Williams, giving the privateer manufacture time to search for a new sponsor. I suppose, when you announce loses of 20 plus billion, another few million down the drain is like a penny in a pond.

I wonder if some lay awake at night and wish the sport still had tobacco sponsorship. Don’t get me wrong, I have no inclination for smoking. I personally don’t touch the stuff. But, it’s a lifestyle choice for some. In their time, they brought some serious cash to the table (and still do in the case of Ferrari.)

Better late than never
Nascar travels to the glitz and glam of Las Vegas, Nevada for the third stop on the Sprint Cup tour. Something I didn’t get a chance to mention last week was Dale Earnhardt Juniors response to what occurred at Daytona.

At the time, Earnhardt Junior didn’t take any of the blame. On one hand, it was to be expected given that he didn’t have an opportunity to assess the situation. On the other, it irked me as a viewer, since he chose to question another rule entirely in the same interview.

The weekend of the Fontana race, we got the see an interview between Earnhardt Junior and Darrell Waltrip. It was a candid and open interview that allowed the viewer a glimpse behind the mask we see on race days from a driver. I don’t think that anyone other than DW could have gotten such responses out of Earnhardt Junior. In it, he took responsibility for his part in ‘The Big One’. It might have been a bonehead move, but at least he can stand up and admit when he did wrong.

Honda Leave F1

Rumour became fact this morning as Honda confirmed that they would be leaving the sport with immediate effect. The manufacture will support the team as it looks for a buyer, but should none be found by March, we will only have 18 cars on the grid come Melbourne.

Of all the manufactures in the sport, I think it was an easy guess that Honda would be the first to go. Stretching back to the start of last season, I highlighted the issue of not getting a replacement sponsor for British American Tobacco. (see 'Honda Go Green')

The whole 'Earth Dream' concept was nothing more than a gimmick. I thought so then and I believe even more so now. Not having a 'real' sponsor denied the team valuable dollars to fund the team. Running a competitive Formula One team in this day and age requires large wads of cash. So, it is unsurprising, after two dismal years, the Honda chiefs said 'enough'.

But that wasn't the end of the Honda money drainpipe. What about Super Aguri? The Honda assisted squad set up against the uproar for Takuma Sato to have a seat. More money disappeared through the sink-hole before the team folded earlier this year. (see 'Super Aguri on the brink.)

The team quickly gave up on 2008, focusing all their efforts on developing a car that could compete with the new regulations. Honda's best opportunity to save some face after two woeful years and they decide to get out. Even if the team is to survive, one must assume that their '09 preparations will be hampered as they will have to fit a different engine to the shape.

You have to feel for the likes of Ross Brawn, or came into the team at the start of last year with high hopes of bringing Honda back to the top of the podium, or Jenson Button, who Honda fought tooth and nail to secure a few years back.

The decision by Honda comes as teams and the FIA meet to dicuss cost-cutting measures, including the highly conterversial single-engine format.

The whole team at Brackley now face a nervous holiday period as they await to see the future of their team. All expectation of making an impression scorched to cinders in the land of the rising sun.

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!