Rally Ireland; F1 Transfers; Nascar Finale

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

Alonso Looks Towards New Pastures

So it’s been a while! Starting a new job and the end of season lull until last week have meant I haven’t been up to date as I would’ve liked. Never the less back I am!

Alonso is out of McLaren. Well not like it wasn’t expected. Of course they are playing the happy façade faces that it was mutual termination and that things were not as bad as it appeared. Actually on second thought, mutual termination is probably the right word for it. McLaren wanted him out and Alonso wanted out which makes both sides happy.

Neither camp is willing to rush into their next move leaving the media to have a field day over who ends up where. McLaren and Alonso have the luxury of controlling the market. Nobody is going to put their John Hancock on a contract until the aforementioned decide their paths. It gives both of them an opportunity to, at the very least attempt to make the right move without rushing into things.

The Iceman Taketh

Alls I can say is what a race!

It all seemed set for either McLaren to take the title and Kimi pops up and takes the title by a point from the McLaren pair. The most unlikely of scenarios to have played out in a race that was edge of the seat stuff from start to finish.

So the question rages on did the right man win the title. Well the points total tells you that it was for any naysayers. Alonso didn’t seem at the races at all and Hamilton received the mechanical jinx we have seen become synonymous with McLaren over the past few years. His tactics for the first lap were strange given his position. Like in China he raced for position and wasn’t thinking of the championship. He was lucky these days there are more run-off areas than gravel traps if a car runs off. His charge through the field was good to watch, but hardly groundbreaking.

His change from a two to a three stop didn’t work. I don’t agree with Ron Dennis in his statement that they gained 10 seconds from it. He was running on the skirts of the top 10 on his first stop. Why the decision to go onto a three stop was a little baffling. Had it worked, it would’ve rated with the times that Schumacher had the ability to make an extra stop turn into a great result.

Personally I’m not a fan of the whole ‘give way to the championship leader barging through’ that many of the lower ends of the grid showed. In fairness, only the BMW’s looked like they came to race and not give way, which is the way it should be. Kubica not showing any mercy to Alonso, albeit on a different strategy was good to see. Hamilton’s overtaking move on Rubens, well it was risky. Like Italy though I reckon he would’ve been in the wrong had the Honda driver turned in on him. He did come from too far back and was lucky that a Rubens sighted him.

Kimi Raikkonen – World Champion. It’s been long overdue for the Finn who from the moment he stepped into a Formula One car has shown brilliance behind the wheel. After a first half of the season struggle he really rebounded well. Of course we have to wait for the courts to decide if it will stand over the appeal. After all the talk of ending the championship on the track the fans once more have to wait for a court to decide how things end up. It is shambolic that we are in that situation. While Alonso’s ‘I’d be ashamed if the championship was won in this way’ comments but fair juice to Hamilton coming out to say he wouldn’t want to win the title by appeal. He is a true racer and without a shadow of a doubt a future world champion.

Another season done, well, not officially till the McLaren appeal is heard. We’ve had a great season of racing mashed with ugly politics. Opinions over the year are likely to be the talking point over many a drinking session in pubs around the world.

Good, bad or indifferent the 2007 season will be one long remembered.

Calm Before The Storm

Just less than 24 hours till the season comes to an end. As expected we have all three rivals up on the front two rows what will make to be an interesting race.

Many seemed to be caught off guard with the rising temperatures on track but by the end of the session it was status quo amongst the grid with the exception of Webber sticking his Red Bull in front of the BMW pair. Likely to see him peel off into the pits early on.

Yet another session was ruined on ITV by the ignorance of James Allen. It’s easy to see why he has earned the nickname ‘The Cock’ in many fan forums. While we were shown scenes of Hamilton’s final lap (note to James, the yellow bopping of the helmet into screen is a pretty good indicator that it was Lewis) which showed his second sector that he raved about and then turned around and complained that we hadn’t seen it. As per usual with Allen’s inept commentary skills I found myself cursing once more at the television.
This was followed up by Blundell’s claims that we had seen Hamilton’s best ever qualifying lap. I’d personally wait till tomorrow evening and see how much longer he runs than Massa before judging the lap. I had to laugh hard at Blundell’s claims that he was sure that Hamilton had more fuel on board. If memory serves me correct Blundell is hardly the best one to be judging fuel loads as I recall seeing him run out of fuel when at the front of a Champ Car race back in his US racing stint.

Reading up after it, a French journo gave Lewis a harsh time for not giving Kimi the easiest of ways by. I don’t think he obstructed Kimi at all. Well okay, if he really wanted to he could’ve slowed up more prior to turn three when he came out into Kimi’s final run. While he didn’t hold the Finn up, having a car there as we have seen time and time again can draw ones concentration which may be the reason for Kimi’s scruffy corner. But he didn’t do it intentional and didn’t impede him. Fair juice to Lewis for actually apologising to Kimi for it though. From a journalistic point of view it’s great to see someone not be pampered in their questions towards him. I am getting well sick of the British easy pampering propaganda questions we get from ITV.

On the note of the tire infringement, good job by the stewards. While some might have been braying for a penalty, it wasn’t his fault in the slightest. A team mistake, albeit uncharacteristic of McLaren. I’m sure they and Lewis will be happy to have the mistake out of the way now and have no issues come the race. Naturally the fact that both Button and Sato did it was easily dismissed and it was all about that Hamilton had done it. Wonder how Button likes not having the glaring spotlight on him. Must be a breath of fresh air that he can breathe some now.

So predictions for tomorrow – Lewis looks in a very handy position to take the title. I would be concerned for his ‘I want to win the race’ to take the title. It cost him at China. But I completely respect the Ricky Bobby like mentality ‘If you ain’t first, you’re last’ view to it. (If you haven’t seen Talladega Nights, shame on you.)
Alonso is already talking himself down. Seems every day he has something new to whinge about. Such a defeatist attitude. Many of talked about how he has the experience but I have to say ‘where is it?’ In both his title run-in’s he was in front. When you look at both his title runs Alonso was nearly always in front. He hasn’t been in the position of chasing a world title so his experience doesn’t really count for much.
Kimi is the rank outsider with nothing to lose in this situation. While I’d like to see him in win it’s going to take the McLaren’s having car issues (or the pair going wheel to wheel – that would be a sight) if he is to win. The best realistically Ferrari can hope for is a strong finish to the year.

But hey, it ain’t over till the chequered flag comes down on it. As Murray used to say, anything can happen in Formula One and it usually does. England expected to qualify for Euro 08 and failed on Wednesday and they lost the Rugby World Cup tonight against South Africa. It’s up to Hamilton to try to salvage something from the self-proclaimed ‘greatest week in British sporting history’.

Let’s hope we get a good race and send off to F1 2007. We have our finale to be fought on the track between three excellent drivers. Nothing more left to do than wait for the red lights to go out.

Just One Of Those Days

Ever get the feeling that something is going to happen?

That’s what happened this morning when I awoke to my phone ringing. I had taken the decision to sleep the live race out after a late Saturday night. Looking at the caller ID it read ‘Dad’. Right there I knew something was up. Groggily I picked up the phone and he asked if I was watching the race. I knew then it was going to be one of those days.

As long as I’ve been watching Formula One, there has never been a time that someone would ask my view on a race that I haven’t seen. Nearly always I watch them live even at the small hours of the morning for the race across the globe. I’ve never liked the idea of watching replays. There is always a cheat complex to it that you can just check up the results if you get bored or if you tape the race that you can skip through the boring parts. Something just feels wrong about watching a race that is already completed. It’s why I hate the idea of watching NASCAR five days after I know the results. It just feels wrong.

Within the family there is an unspoken rule that you never talk about the race if you have seen it. This was the extremely rare case that I was the one who missed the race so in receiving the call I knew something had happened. He denied it of course but I knew something was going to be up.

Of course in hindsight it would have been well worth waking up for it! Years have gone by where we pine for a wet race and in the space of two weeks we have a pair of them. The weather always shakes things up.
There were some crazy decisions from McLaren, Hamilton or both. They didn't seem to want to put the blame on one side. This was not a team or driver who wanted to win the championship by any means today. It was a team that wanted to win the championship by winning. Of course I think if any of us were in his boots, we would like to win it by a win.

But that doesn't mean that it has to be done the fairytale way. Hamilton should of thought 'damage control' and drive for a championship. He didn't need to race Raikkonen but he did. The racer in me says 'that's great, don't give it up' but I'm sure it hardly helped the condition of his tires. Brundle called the situation on his tires about a lap or so before we actually saw the issues with the rear. The smart move would've been to pull him and like I said damage control.

Hamilton is more than a good enough racer to make up a deficit on track. But they held out and it cost them. Second time this season that we have seen tactics messed up at McLaren. Reminds me back to the race at the Nurburgring which ironically, was Hamilton's only other DNF this season.

It was good to see the positive attitude from him after the race and it was a really nice touch for him to go into the team and thank them for the job they did in the garage. Like he said, he can still do it. Still be tough to bet against him. It will be interesting to see how he bounces back from it in Brazil with the added pressure of fighting for the title. To correct the constantly bias James Allen, Hamilton needs more than a third place finish if Alonso wins as the Spaniard would take it on race wins if they are on equal points if he wins. The Eurosport website had a nifty list of what permutations the trio need to become champion which is located here.

Three drivers go into Brazil looking for the title, the first time since 1986. That season saw Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and Alain Prost challenging for the title. Will we be treated to the same sort of finale as then? We will find out in a couple of weeks.

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.

Fiji Madness

Fiji is best known in motorsport circles for the climax of the 1976 F1 title hunt where torrential rain saw Lauda pull out of the race and James Hunt soldiering on to do enough to win the title. The 2007 Fiji race may very well be looked upon as a similar turning point to where the title will end up.

Hamilton’s victory and Alonso’s no score puts the Brit in a fantastic position to wrap up the title in China at the weekend. Hamilton’s race was one of two half’s though. At times his wet weather running was fantastic in keeping it on the island. However his antics behind the safety car showed why he is still a rookie. ITV once more showed their discrediting bias at the start claiming the run up to the line as he tried to keep Alonso behind him as ‘gamesmanship’.

The hypocrite James Allen should remember his words two weeks ago where he had no issue in chastising Alonso for holding his line after the first corner at Spa. Tit for tat it was racing with two men fighting for the title. If only the commentators could see things through the same light would be something. Hamilton’s conduct at times behind the safety car was suspect though. I’m betting that it’s bound to be brought up. In those sorts of conditions his stop-start methods had danger screaming all over them.

The Ferrari tyre issue was unacceptable for a team that has always held the highest of standards. Allegedly they didn’t get the e-mails but how did the rest of the team is a bit suspect. Of course that didn’t stop James Allen insinuating that Ferrari was pushing the envelope on the rules. But like I’ve maintained before, anything that might dent the golden boy gets easy critique. Still, Ferrari’s tactics for the race were extremely poor and it’s not the first time this season that a poor race strategy has ruined Ferrari’s day. The fans of the red team must be licking their lips about the idea of Ross Brawn coming back next year.

After the race Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo came out and stated that Hamilton should thank Ferrari if he wins the title. It was a petty and unwarranted remark. Though that been said Hamilton had been quite mouthy at Monza and Spa about the whole issue so again it was a case of tit for tat. We don’t really need the sort of petty snide remarks that are more suited to brainless wannabe celebrities.

Props have to go to Heikki Kovalainen for a fantastic drive to Renaults for podium. Jenson Button was impressive without a front wing and only seemed to fade into oblivion after he put it back on. Honda should take note. A pity about poor Vettel who was having a great day till he ran into the back of his team-mate. Raikkonen at times showed his race craft with some fantastic overtaking moves in the wet. Oh if only Ferrari could get the race strategy right as original stated.

Congrats for Sutil and Spyker and their first point pending the Torro Rosso appeal. Since the B-Spec car has come Sutil finally has the platform to show skills. With Ralf leaving Toyota he is odds-on favourite for the drive. Probably only has newly crowned GP2 Champ Timo Glock as competition for it.

Sunday could and probably will see Hamilton crowned as champion. He needs to outscore Alonso by at least three points which is very likely to happen. On average Lewis has not lost more than at that amount over the season with his consistent runs. Despite my criticisms of McLaren and the shameful bias in the media towards Hamilton he is a deserving champion. Lewis has driving impeccably at times during the season and has taken to F1 like a duck to water. Even after all the scandals you can’t not praise him for his performances. Of course it means we have to put up with the Ryder, Blundell and Allen suck up show in overdrive but at least having Martin Brundle around means there is some sense of actual proper journalistic commentary offered on race days.

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.

All The Eights

Yesterday came the much anticipated announcement of what number and sponsors would grace Dale Earnhardt’s car for 2008. Anything to do with DJR’s move to Hendricks’s has followed a tidal wave of media attention and yesterday was no different.

He failed to agree a deal to bring his coveted number ‘8’ from DEI. The old adage of never work with family, or at least step-family rings through over that whole issue! That the moving on his long time sponsors Bud meant that it was all change on the outside and allot of getting used to for the Junior Nation. As many have pointed out, tattoo parlours will be busy in the close-season.

Numbers were thrown around with the only guarantee that an ‘8’ would be in it. We learned yesterday that he will adorn the ‘88’, which had been acquired from current owners Robert Yates Racing. The next best choice of number. Along with the new number it was announced that Mountain Dew and its energy brand Amp, along with the National Guard will sponsor the new 88. Both schemes were presented to the media yesterday.

This just gives you an idea of the impact that Junior has over there. To draw comparisons, think Beckham. The press conference was televised as well as shown on the NASCAR website. Within half an hour of the announcement the website already had as section set up to buy the new 88 merchandise. Before the night was out the first pictures of the gear were up. Talk about quick work. Reminds me so much of the Beckham move. Who would seriously think we would see LA Galaxy jerseys over here for sale, let alone people buying them. (Still haven’t figured that one out). Given the style of the font, I wonder whether HMS will have a new one for next season. The 88 font is very similiar to that found on the 18 Joe Gibbs cars. Usually amongst the big teams they tend to carry the same font through. This one is completely different to that carried by the current four HMS cars. However it could be a simple case of Junior having his own style.

Never has a move in motorsport generated this sort of hype and attention. Now that all the pieces are settling into place there is little left for Junior to do than wait for 2008 and let his skills in the stock car take centre stage.