You can tell it has been a while since i last posted on here when my last post is titled "Bahrain to take place in October"! The FIA took some criticism for the way the situation was handled, a situation that finished with Bahrain being cancelled for the season. Personally i think a lot of it was orchestrated, it was a case of going through the procedures for the FIA whilst always knowing the teams would be against things and in the end the race was removed without much face lost for all parties. It was a long winded process though
And then we had Canada. Wonderful Canada. It's hard not to love this grand prix, the drivers breathe in some Montreal air and it seems to bring out mistakes from most of them! It was just a mad day from all the rain to the drama of the final lap. It was a great win from Jenson Button and a very important one for McLaren. Since Spain they've had a very strong car in the races but it is going to need a big streak of points from Button or Hamilton to rein in Vettel in the championship. It's still very much possible but inroads need to be made into the 60 point gap soon.
So onwards to Valencia and stage 1 of 2 for new exhaust rules which some hope will see Vettel's dominance be halted. However it was normal service this afternoon as the German took his 7th pole of the season. Webber pulled out a late lap to join him on the front row ahead of Hamilton, Alonso, Massa and Button.
Whilst Red Bull have had the strangehold in qualifying, the races have been tighter. Coming back to the exhaust changes, this weekend see's the banning of using an engine map in qualifying and then changing it for the race. The only way you can is by plugging in a laptop at a pitstop and that would not be handy. The limit of 10% for off throttle blowing does not come into effect until Silverstone so what you need this weekend is an in between map. I don't know what amount the teams do it (Autosport did suggest Renault had a max of 95% and Red Bull 45%) In qualifying you can run it aggressively as it is just for 1 lap but doing it throughout the race would not be feasible due to fuel and overheating issues. So what the teams need to do is find a medium map, a constant one which will be usable for the whole race. Come Silverstone, things will be even more restricted.
Valencia races have been very processional. In 2009 there wasn't a single overtake. A depressing statistic which shouldn't be repeated tomorrow as we have 2 DRS zones with a combined length of over 1.5km. This should provide some action and i think we'll see the field staying closer than before. The field spread has been quite big in the opening laps in previous years. DRS zones have tended to be about 700-800 metres and i think they should be a bit shorter but for Valencia this sort of length may be what is needed.
This means we could actually have wheel to wheel racing in Valencia tomorrow, a big feature of the 2011 season. We've also seen many incidents. I think it's important to be appreciative of how good these drivers are. It can look so simple on TV but anyone who has been fortunate enough to see the cars in the flesh racing will have got that sensation of speed displayed in front of their eyes. Of course situations get analsyed because they have consequences during a race but we can all be too fickle about certain drivers and dismiss them when really the margins involved are so small and the skill level so high. I'm guilty of this too, i heavily criticised Vettel post race in Spa last year and even was arguing about his race on Twitter with people but that was an overreaction and undeserved. I thought things were getting away from him that day in the heat of the moment but ultimately he recovered to take the title and has driven at a very high level this season and been very impressive as an overall package. So let's not be dismissive of these drivers, they are fantastically talented and some of the racing this year has been excellent.
Tyres key again, the medium compound is proving to be quite a bit slower than the soft tyre so expect the prime tyre to be used as little as possible. A hot day expected tomorrow so may make the medium tyre easier to switch on. The changeover to it and getting it working may be key. In Barcelona, Alonso fell away when the hard tyre came into play and it turned into Vettel v Hamilton for the win. McLaren will hope to get in amongst the Red Bulls so Hamilton can attack for the lead. Lets just hope in a calmer manner for Lewis tomorrow! So Red Bull start as favourites but i think an enthralling race in prospect. Can Hamilton get his season back on track or will Alonso delight his local fans? Let's hope for a fun race
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Bahrain to take place in October
The Bahrain Grand Prix was cancelled weeks before it was due to open the 2011 season after an outbreak of violence. Today we have the news that the race has been reinstated onto the 2011 calendar with a date of October 30th, originally the date of the first ever Indian Grand Prix. It will now be the finale of the season (date TBC, likely December 11th)
A lot of fans are unhappy that the race is being held after the media reports from the country in the last months. This is a very complex situation though and it is not easy to just strike a race off the calendar. There are a lot of stakeholders involved. I'm no political expert but with the F1 connections i've followed some of the story surrounding the Bahrain region this year. It is incredible the PR which is delivered from each side. One portrays a peaceful area, working to restore calm and have dialogue amongst the people. The other a very negative story of death, repression and chaos. None of those who have not been there can't say for certain what is going on but i would guess that the real story is somewhere in the middle.
The teams haven't said much. At least two of them would have boycotted the race if it had been held in March. Mark Webber tweeted yesterday that the race shouldn't be held. However Sebastien Buemi on the 'The Flying Lap' show on Wednesday said that he had family living out there and they were reporting peaceful times and that he had no issue about going to Bahrain. I don;t think the actual security of the race would be a major issue. The teams have been going to Bahrain since 2004 and were even planning a pre season test at Sakhir so it has not been an issue before. Compare that with Brazil where attacks have occurred almost annually against team employees.
Now don't be thinking that i'm some sort of Bahrain political supporter all of a sudden because i'm definitely not! I'm just pointing out that F1 travels to other places where security cannot be guaranteed. I tweeted Will Buxton about the threat of protests days before the GP2 Asia race in the area (this was in February when it all kicked off) and he was unaware of any problems or threats. Of course it then started kicking off. Remember London in the student protests? If you didn't know what England was like and seen that on your news channel you would wonder how safe a place it is. Yet we don't get any worries about postponing Silverstone. Security is more of an issue in Bahrain but you can't guarantee it anywhere in the world.
Human rights is the thing here. Are the Bahraini government treating people wrongly and if so should F1 (even if it is nothing to do with them) being going to the region and be connected with such people? Do the sponsors of F1 teams want to have themselves linked with such an area. China has a terrible record of this as well but F1 still heads to Shanghai and the Olympics, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, were held in the country in 2008. I understand that team members and journalists may not want to travel and they should be allowed to decide and not forced to go if they don't want to. The FIA can cancel an event if fewer than 12 cars are available.
The FIA are caught here. They have a backlash about going ahead with a race in a country which some view as a unjust region. I for one really hope that peace and understanding can be found in Bahrain and across the world. The FIA sent their vice president out to Bahrain this week and he was satisfied with what he found. The area has a contract to host a race and the FIA have checked and found the area to be in a good state. The reason why this race should not go on the grounds of the sport itself is on the basis of logistics. It now seems that the season will finish on December 11th. Two weeks before Christmas and drivers could still be racing for points and for a championship. It is too far and really F1 has to be careful. We all love having races but there has to be some consideration for the human beings who are working around the world for so much of the year. F1 can still be a championship without this. Bahrain should have been told that the calendar is full and that F1 would try and return in 2012. It would have been a better solution.
So as i say i'm no supporter of Bahrain politics, i want to see peace in this world, not bloodshed. However i can understand why the race is back on and if the teams boycott it then that will be up to them. I'm just defending the FIA who have so many people to please and so much money riding on different outcomes for different stakeholders. It shouldn't come down to money but sadly it plays a big part in these things. Contracts and deals are in place. People may well skip/boycott the race and if they do then they have a right to do so. I think we should have waited until 2012 but the race is on and it'll be interesting to see what further reaction there is because this will still run for a while yet
A lot of fans are unhappy that the race is being held after the media reports from the country in the last months. This is a very complex situation though and it is not easy to just strike a race off the calendar. There are a lot of stakeholders involved. I'm no political expert but with the F1 connections i've followed some of the story surrounding the Bahrain region this year. It is incredible the PR which is delivered from each side. One portrays a peaceful area, working to restore calm and have dialogue amongst the people. The other a very negative story of death, repression and chaos. None of those who have not been there can't say for certain what is going on but i would guess that the real story is somewhere in the middle.
The teams haven't said much. At least two of them would have boycotted the race if it had been held in March. Mark Webber tweeted yesterday that the race shouldn't be held. However Sebastien Buemi on the 'The Flying Lap' show on Wednesday said that he had family living out there and they were reporting peaceful times and that he had no issue about going to Bahrain. I don;t think the actual security of the race would be a major issue. The teams have been going to Bahrain since 2004 and were even planning a pre season test at Sakhir so it has not been an issue before. Compare that with Brazil where attacks have occurred almost annually against team employees.
Now don't be thinking that i'm some sort of Bahrain political supporter all of a sudden because i'm definitely not! I'm just pointing out that F1 travels to other places where security cannot be guaranteed. I tweeted Will Buxton about the threat of protests days before the GP2 Asia race in the area (this was in February when it all kicked off) and he was unaware of any problems or threats. Of course it then started kicking off. Remember London in the student protests? If you didn't know what England was like and seen that on your news channel you would wonder how safe a place it is. Yet we don't get any worries about postponing Silverstone. Security is more of an issue in Bahrain but you can't guarantee it anywhere in the world.
Human rights is the thing here. Are the Bahraini government treating people wrongly and if so should F1 (even if it is nothing to do with them) being going to the region and be connected with such people? Do the sponsors of F1 teams want to have themselves linked with such an area. China has a terrible record of this as well but F1 still heads to Shanghai and the Olympics, one of the biggest sporting events in the world, were held in the country in 2008. I understand that team members and journalists may not want to travel and they should be allowed to decide and not forced to go if they don't want to. The FIA can cancel an event if fewer than 12 cars are available.
The FIA are caught here. They have a backlash about going ahead with a race in a country which some view as a unjust region. I for one really hope that peace and understanding can be found in Bahrain and across the world. The FIA sent their vice president out to Bahrain this week and he was satisfied with what he found. The area has a contract to host a race and the FIA have checked and found the area to be in a good state. The reason why this race should not go on the grounds of the sport itself is on the basis of logistics. It now seems that the season will finish on December 11th. Two weeks before Christmas and drivers could still be racing for points and for a championship. It is too far and really F1 has to be careful. We all love having races but there has to be some consideration for the human beings who are working around the world for so much of the year. F1 can still be a championship without this. Bahrain should have been told that the calendar is full and that F1 would try and return in 2012. It would have been a better solution.
So as i say i'm no supporter of Bahrain politics, i want to see peace in this world, not bloodshed. However i can understand why the race is back on and if the teams boycott it then that will be up to them. I'm just defending the FIA who have so many people to please and so much money riding on different outcomes for different stakeholders. It shouldn't come down to money but sadly it plays a big part in these things. Contracts and deals are in place. People may well skip/boycott the race and if they do then they have a right to do so. I think we should have waited until 2012 but the race is on and it'll be interesting to see what further reaction there is because this will still run for a while yet
Monday, May 30, 2011
Vettel gets the win he wanted
A gripping 3 way battle was keeping F1 fans hooked to their screens but some traffic chaos deprived us of an epic finish. It was still a weekend full of talking points though...
Vettel makes it 5 out of 6: A lot of people felt Sebastian Vettel was lucky to win this race, comments which i can understand after the race because there was such a tense finish in store, but these are unfair. He delivered a superb lap to take pole position, was making the 1 stop strategy work and withstanding the pressure from Alonso. Of course between the traffic and the tyre degradation it would have been a fascinating finish without the red flag. I reckon, barring any abnormal incidents between the front 3 or a backmarker in the way, Vettel would have either hung on or hit the 'cliff' and fallen to 3rd. Something to ponder is that in Melbourne Perez did 185km on the soft compound and when the safety car was deployed near the end Vettel had done 175km on his set of tyres (same compound) with 30km to go. Red Bull said afterwards that the wrong compound was put on the world champion's car and that what should have been a 2 stopper was adjusted, on the call of Vettel himself, to a 1 stop. However BBC reporter Ted Kravitz had doubts over whether this was actually true. Red Bull changed their pitstop procedures this weekend after concerns Ferrari were reading their strategy in Spain but maybe they should reconsider after some serious confusion at the stop!
This allowed Jenson Button into the lead and he was on the options and pushing very hard whilst Vettel took the conservative route and nursed his primes. However he kept within a pitstop so when Button pitted again he had P1 again. McLaren then opted for a 3 stopper at this point which was a strange move. They had the information that the primes would do over half a race distance and really that cost Button second place and would have meant he was the man troubling Vettel rather than Alonso. Another trick missed by McLaren, though ultimately not mattering, was not pitting Button when the safety car was deployed for a second time. He was 40 seconds ahead of Kobayashi when it was deployed so could have pitted for new primes (no options left), retained third place and caught up to Alonso again but now with fresher rubber to be able to attack better on the final laps. Of course the red flag meant everybody got a chance to change without loss. Many complained this spoilt the restart and it did but it's a very rare situation and really things should be open as conditions can be variable, it was just the circumstances of yesterday that made it a shame.
Hamilton suffers a weekend of mayhem: Lewis Hamilton loves Monaco. Just thinking about flinging a car around the tight streets of Monte Carlo leaves him with a feeling of excitement at a place where his hero Ayrton Senna was so brilliant. Things were going well on Saturday as he topped Q1 and Q2 and had 2 sets of options for the all important Q3. As his main rivals got a time in early on there was no sign of the #3 car. Eventually he appeared but had a terrible sector 1. He blamed Felipe Massa in front but the Ferrari had not blocked the McLaren. Then the big accident for Perez caused a 40 minute delay. 2:26 left on the clock meant 9 cars would get a lap in fine and McLaren had ample time to calculate that. Yet they sent him out over 2 minutes before the session restarted. Cold tyres = no grip and Hamilton soon found that out, ending up cutting a corner and having his time deleted.
So he was clearly fast but it was going to be hard work from 9th on the grid. After several laps on Michael Schumacher's gearbox he made a sweet move into Ste Devote. Then it went downhill. A bad pitstop left him in traffic. Then he made an unrealistic move on Felipe Massa. He accused the Brazilian of turning in on him. Well Lewis that might have been because he was taking a corner... Then the scrap continued into the tunnel. Hamilton got a good run on him (KERS assisted at a guess) and passed in the tunnel. Massa got on the marbles and hit the wall. Race over. Then after the red flag Hamilton was all over Maldonado and into turn 1 had a look, he got half alongside and perhaps he felt it was doable after the earlier Schumacher move but really it was just too ambitious for such a tight corner and he pitched the Williams out of the race which was such a shame. Then came the post race outburst which was all a bit silly and unneeded. Hamilton has had down beat moments in his career before but this really was the worst of the lot. However he has had a habit of bouncing back with some great results so lets see what he bounces back with in Montreal, a place where he is mighty.
Elsewhere it was delight for Kamui Kobayashi with a career best 5th, though he was lucky to escape a penalty for hitting Sutil. Stewards really got that one wrong though he would have stayed 5th anyway. Sutil was 4th having been under constant pressure from the Sauber. The pair made a 1 stop strategy work and were helped by cars in front struggling and then getting stuck in traffic. Sutil emotions are probably mixed because the incident cost him time and then he got a puncture yet he still salvaged 7th! Behind Nick Heidfeld also had a good drive through to 8th and moved up to 6th in the championship. Rubens Barrichello finally got on the score board in 2011 and Sebastien Buemi took the final point after Jaime Alguersuari crashed. In the midst of the chaos near the end, it was intriguing to hear David Coulthard, Red Bull employee, on the BBC say during the replays that "Alguersuari, the man under review" Of course it could just be a general remark about the pressure both Toro Rosso drivers are under with Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings but perhaps a hint that it is the Spaniard that could be in line to make way for the Australian as it stands. He does have good backing coming from Spain and his Father but at the minute Buemi is the man picking up the points.
Best wishes to Vitaly Petrov and Sergio Perez after their weekend accidents. Hopefully they'll both be racing in Montreal in 2 weeks.
Vettel makes it 5 out of 6: A lot of people felt Sebastian Vettel was lucky to win this race, comments which i can understand after the race because there was such a tense finish in store, but these are unfair. He delivered a superb lap to take pole position, was making the 1 stop strategy work and withstanding the pressure from Alonso. Of course between the traffic and the tyre degradation it would have been a fascinating finish without the red flag. I reckon, barring any abnormal incidents between the front 3 or a backmarker in the way, Vettel would have either hung on or hit the 'cliff' and fallen to 3rd. Something to ponder is that in Melbourne Perez did 185km on the soft compound and when the safety car was deployed near the end Vettel had done 175km on his set of tyres (same compound) with 30km to go. Red Bull said afterwards that the wrong compound was put on the world champion's car and that what should have been a 2 stopper was adjusted, on the call of Vettel himself, to a 1 stop. However BBC reporter Ted Kravitz had doubts over whether this was actually true. Red Bull changed their pitstop procedures this weekend after concerns Ferrari were reading their strategy in Spain but maybe they should reconsider after some serious confusion at the stop!
This allowed Jenson Button into the lead and he was on the options and pushing very hard whilst Vettel took the conservative route and nursed his primes. However he kept within a pitstop so when Button pitted again he had P1 again. McLaren then opted for a 3 stopper at this point which was a strange move. They had the information that the primes would do over half a race distance and really that cost Button second place and would have meant he was the man troubling Vettel rather than Alonso. Another trick missed by McLaren, though ultimately not mattering, was not pitting Button when the safety car was deployed for a second time. He was 40 seconds ahead of Kobayashi when it was deployed so could have pitted for new primes (no options left), retained third place and caught up to Alonso again but now with fresher rubber to be able to attack better on the final laps. Of course the red flag meant everybody got a chance to change without loss. Many complained this spoilt the restart and it did but it's a very rare situation and really things should be open as conditions can be variable, it was just the circumstances of yesterday that made it a shame.
Hamilton suffers a weekend of mayhem: Lewis Hamilton loves Monaco. Just thinking about flinging a car around the tight streets of Monte Carlo leaves him with a feeling of excitement at a place where his hero Ayrton Senna was so brilliant. Things were going well on Saturday as he topped Q1 and Q2 and had 2 sets of options for the all important Q3. As his main rivals got a time in early on there was no sign of the #3 car. Eventually he appeared but had a terrible sector 1. He blamed Felipe Massa in front but the Ferrari had not blocked the McLaren. Then the big accident for Perez caused a 40 minute delay. 2:26 left on the clock meant 9 cars would get a lap in fine and McLaren had ample time to calculate that. Yet they sent him out over 2 minutes before the session restarted. Cold tyres = no grip and Hamilton soon found that out, ending up cutting a corner and having his time deleted.
So he was clearly fast but it was going to be hard work from 9th on the grid. After several laps on Michael Schumacher's gearbox he made a sweet move into Ste Devote. Then it went downhill. A bad pitstop left him in traffic. Then he made an unrealistic move on Felipe Massa. He accused the Brazilian of turning in on him. Well Lewis that might have been because he was taking a corner... Then the scrap continued into the tunnel. Hamilton got a good run on him (KERS assisted at a guess) and passed in the tunnel. Massa got on the marbles and hit the wall. Race over. Then after the red flag Hamilton was all over Maldonado and into turn 1 had a look, he got half alongside and perhaps he felt it was doable after the earlier Schumacher move but really it was just too ambitious for such a tight corner and he pitched the Williams out of the race which was such a shame. Then came the post race outburst which was all a bit silly and unneeded. Hamilton has had down beat moments in his career before but this really was the worst of the lot. However he has had a habit of bouncing back with some great results so lets see what he bounces back with in Montreal, a place where he is mighty.
Elsewhere it was delight for Kamui Kobayashi with a career best 5th, though he was lucky to escape a penalty for hitting Sutil. Stewards really got that one wrong though he would have stayed 5th anyway. Sutil was 4th having been under constant pressure from the Sauber. The pair made a 1 stop strategy work and were helped by cars in front struggling and then getting stuck in traffic. Sutil emotions are probably mixed because the incident cost him time and then he got a puncture yet he still salvaged 7th! Behind Nick Heidfeld also had a good drive through to 8th and moved up to 6th in the championship. Rubens Barrichello finally got on the score board in 2011 and Sebastien Buemi took the final point after Jaime Alguersuari crashed. In the midst of the chaos near the end, it was intriguing to hear David Coulthard, Red Bull employee, on the BBC say during the replays that "Alguersuari, the man under review" Of course it could just be a general remark about the pressure both Toro Rosso drivers are under with Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings but perhaps a hint that it is the Spaniard that could be in line to make way for the Australian as it stands. He does have good backing coming from Spain and his Father but at the minute Buemi is the man picking up the points.
Best wishes to Vitaly Petrov and Sergio Perez after their weekend accidents. Hopefully they'll both be racing in Montreal in 2 weeks.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Vettel holds off Hamilton
A normally dull race was turned into quite the compelling afternoon at Barcelona in another chapter in the drama which is F1 2011...
It was very telling in the scenes before the podium just how relieved and elated Sebastian Vettel was with his victory. He cleared his team mate off the line but was passed by the flying Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. His first stop seem ill timed as he faced traffic on his return to the track but cleared it well and quickly, something which is key this season. From there Hamilton closed in on the hard tyres and harried him home but the German kept everything smooth. He also coped with a KERS unit which was used intermittently. Seems like cooling was an issue for Red Bull. Mark Hughes on the BBC website highlights a possible factor of Red Bull's differential between qualifying and the race being the Pirelli's are too fragile to take the sheer speed the Red Bull achieves. Spain seen the new hard compound and for the first time it seem that rather than protect the tyres it was a case of getting them switched on. Vitaly Petrov described them on Friday like driving on ice. However Red Bull has produced good long runs as well as 1 lap pace so there's more to it than just this one factor, something which i'm sure the other teams are trying to work out!
Whilst the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes suffered a huge drop off in the second half of the race and found themselves lapped, the Red Bull and McLaren cars seem to have an immense pace on it and were able to get superb speed out of them in comparison to others. To see Hamilton so competitive on what should be a strong track for Red Bull was very intriguing. And to see Alonso so horribly slow in the final stints after his fighting podium at Istanbul and start on Sunday was quite surprising and a turnaround indeed.
So onwards to Monaco, where it seems like the pressure has been on to get set up for practice tomorrow. Things not helped by a truck catching fire and causing tarmac at turn 1 to be relaid. Nick Heidfeld said today that he had heard that somebody was smoking whilst handling fuel and that is what triggered it. So Ste Devote might be a bit slippery and we've seen many accidents there in the past. Less in recent years but with DRS allowing higher top speed it might just be tricky again. Super soft and soft tyres this weekend: will that benefit Ferrari who have struggled on the harder compounds? Lotus are hopeful on a track where aerodynamics aren't so critical and the drivers can make a difference.
A safety car period is a good possibility and with so many stops this year that could really mix things up, especially if there is 1 between pit windows which would really see a shake up. Pit and lose track position or try and hang on with old tyres? Should be some fun and games even on the super tight streets of Monte Carlo. Vettel seems to love the circuit but it hasn't always went well for him here so it'll be fascinating to see how Webber, Hamilton and Button (all past winners) go against the dominant force of 2011. Tyre usage will still be key but qualifying will hold some more importance than other places. DRS won't be producing overtakes but should be interesting to see who is bravest using it during qualifying. However no use of it is allowed in the tunnel. Rubens Barrichello has been very vocal about this but if he doesn't want to use DRS in the tunnel then don't activate it, it's that simple! All this moaning coming from a guy who decided it was a good idea to throw a steering wheel onto the track last year as well. Anyway that's the way it is and hopefully it'll be an exciting weekend.
It was very telling in the scenes before the podium just how relieved and elated Sebastian Vettel was with his victory. He cleared his team mate off the line but was passed by the flying Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. His first stop seem ill timed as he faced traffic on his return to the track but cleared it well and quickly, something which is key this season. From there Hamilton closed in on the hard tyres and harried him home but the German kept everything smooth. He also coped with a KERS unit which was used intermittently. Seems like cooling was an issue for Red Bull. Mark Hughes on the BBC website highlights a possible factor of Red Bull's differential between qualifying and the race being the Pirelli's are too fragile to take the sheer speed the Red Bull achieves. Spain seen the new hard compound and for the first time it seem that rather than protect the tyres it was a case of getting them switched on. Vitaly Petrov described them on Friday like driving on ice. However Red Bull has produced good long runs as well as 1 lap pace so there's more to it than just this one factor, something which i'm sure the other teams are trying to work out!
Whilst the likes of Ferrari and Mercedes suffered a huge drop off in the second half of the race and found themselves lapped, the Red Bull and McLaren cars seem to have an immense pace on it and were able to get superb speed out of them in comparison to others. To see Hamilton so competitive on what should be a strong track for Red Bull was very intriguing. And to see Alonso so horribly slow in the final stints after his fighting podium at Istanbul and start on Sunday was quite surprising and a turnaround indeed.
So onwards to Monaco, where it seems like the pressure has been on to get set up for practice tomorrow. Things not helped by a truck catching fire and causing tarmac at turn 1 to be relaid. Nick Heidfeld said today that he had heard that somebody was smoking whilst handling fuel and that is what triggered it. So Ste Devote might be a bit slippery and we've seen many accidents there in the past. Less in recent years but with DRS allowing higher top speed it might just be tricky again. Super soft and soft tyres this weekend: will that benefit Ferrari who have struggled on the harder compounds? Lotus are hopeful on a track where aerodynamics aren't so critical and the drivers can make a difference.
A safety car period is a good possibility and with so many stops this year that could really mix things up, especially if there is 1 between pit windows which would really see a shake up. Pit and lose track position or try and hang on with old tyres? Should be some fun and games even on the super tight streets of Monte Carlo. Vettel seems to love the circuit but it hasn't always went well for him here so it'll be fascinating to see how Webber, Hamilton and Button (all past winners) go against the dominant force of 2011. Tyre usage will still be key but qualifying will hold some more importance than other places. DRS won't be producing overtakes but should be interesting to see who is bravest using it during qualifying. However no use of it is allowed in the tunnel. Rubens Barrichello has been very vocal about this but if he doesn't want to use DRS in the tunnel then don't activate it, it's that simple! All this moaning coming from a guy who decided it was a good idea to throw a steering wheel onto the track last year as well. Anyway that's the way it is and hopefully it'll be an exciting weekend.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Looking at DRS and racing in 2011
The main talking point from the Turkish Grand Prix was the Drag Reduction System (DRS) and whether it was making overtaking too easy and artificial. Here's my thoughts on it...
Let's start by saying why the DRS system was introduced in the first place. A main objective of the teams and the sport was to create more overtaking after a survey a few years back seen more than 80% of fans who answered saying more overtaking was the number one thing they wanted to see. A high figure indeed. Changes would come, the main things were in 2009 with the overhaul of the cars (front and rear wings, bodywork, adjustable front wing) We seen some good action initially but the very clever people of F1 were soon finding new ways of adding downforce and again the problem of cars following closely was occurring with regular ease. So the idea was developed of a rear wing which could be adjusted to reduce drag so a car could increase straight line speed behind another car and make up for the loss which you suffer in the dirty air. So the principle of the adjustable rear wing was to allow cars to have a better chance of overtaking when close to another.
A fair enough principle and when you look at the extra speed it gives a driver it would have probably helped cars get closer in the 2010 season but without too many passes where it was done before the braking zone. So i think it would have really helped things, especially on circuits like Valencia, Barcelona and Budapest where overtaking is very difficult. However this season has seen Pirelli come back to the sport and their tyres are much less durable than the Bridgestones of the past seasons. This has been a massive change in the dynamic of the racing. We've rarely seen this rate of degradation in recent years (Australia 2009 and Canada 2010). The problem of close racing has been fixed by this because there are more variable strategies and people with different levels of grip throughout the race. The DRS 'oversolves the problem' because when you have it coupled with better tyres it is easy to overtake
In the first stints of races this season we have seen good racing and barely any easy overtakes because the tyre wear between cars is relatively equal. So what the DRS has been brought in to do has actually worked well because we've had loads of close battles but never too easy. Come the pitstops and we get the split in strategies and then the chaos really begins as we get people on old tyres attacked by new tyres. So because of this cars are getting close, overtakes happen in unusual places and if they reach the DRS zone then it's just a slam dunk.
I agree that the DRS was too powerful at times in Turkey. A tail wind on race day seem to make the DRS an even stronger weapon than usual. What we should remember is that against the negative of some of these easy passes was a massive amount of battles into turn 12 as well as other duels around the track. There was loads of action and way more than in races of previous seasons. It's not a perfected thing yet but it is an improvement. Fans have spent years frustrated at the processional nature of Sunday afternoons and living in hope of some rain during a race just to make it interesting. This is now gone. The opening 4 races of the season have been 'normal' races. No rain, no safety cars, just a proper grand prix and 3 out of 4 have been crackers in my opinion.
It's important that the FIA continue to analyse the affect the DRS has. Personally i'd like to see the DRS zone reduced slightly. Doing this or moving it to a part of the track which isn't such an obvious overtaking spot would help spread things about a bit. Another option would be having 2 really short zones so a driver would get more regular but smaller 'boosts' so that the disadvantage of the dirty air is combated. Yet another option would be allowing each driver a certain amount of times to use the rear wing during a race. That would make it more strategic and less gimmicky. I still think the 1 second zone idea was a necessary one because that's how bad things had become regarding overtaking but now that we may have improved things it is less needed. The DRS is still a very clever device and has a place in Formula 1. It just isn't needed as prominently now we have the changes to the tyres. Another tweak could be to reduce the gap in the rear wing when the DRS is activated, hence reducing the extra speed gained.
There are other factors in the racing. I've mentioned the tyres and hailed them as a success. 4 stops was probably one too many in Turkey but China showed how the split between 2 and 3 kept the race in suspense until the end. Pirelli are learning all the time. Track design is also key. Just look at those brilliant final corners in Istanbul. Yet some circuits seem unable to simply stick a tight corner at the end of a long straight. It isn't that difficult for most places!
So lets be positive about the fact F1 is actually tackling the on track issues and have tried to improve things. There are still areas to work on but the sport is heading in a good direction. There's been a great buzz about the season so far, people are enjoying it and there is plenty of enthusiasm for what lies ahead in 2011.
So in conclusion, the fundamental issue of the cars being so aerodynamically good and the cars being so grippy remains. This growing issue triggered the creation of the DRS to help cars get close and produce more on track racing. The new tyres have given the teams a strategic and racing headache and allowed more variance in the tactics. Most of the simple passes have come when cars have had major differences in tyre compounds/wear. The DRS alone has helped create lots of action but coupled with other factors can become too powerful at times. However there have been lots of great battles this year to outweigh these negatives. It still needs more analysis and tweaking but the ingredients are there to create a new era of Formula One which delights old and new fans alike
Let's start by saying why the DRS system was introduced in the first place. A main objective of the teams and the sport was to create more overtaking after a survey a few years back seen more than 80% of fans who answered saying more overtaking was the number one thing they wanted to see. A high figure indeed. Changes would come, the main things were in 2009 with the overhaul of the cars (front and rear wings, bodywork, adjustable front wing) We seen some good action initially but the very clever people of F1 were soon finding new ways of adding downforce and again the problem of cars following closely was occurring with regular ease. So the idea was developed of a rear wing which could be adjusted to reduce drag so a car could increase straight line speed behind another car and make up for the loss which you suffer in the dirty air. So the principle of the adjustable rear wing was to allow cars to have a better chance of overtaking when close to another.
A fair enough principle and when you look at the extra speed it gives a driver it would have probably helped cars get closer in the 2010 season but without too many passes where it was done before the braking zone. So i think it would have really helped things, especially on circuits like Valencia, Barcelona and Budapest where overtaking is very difficult. However this season has seen Pirelli come back to the sport and their tyres are much less durable than the Bridgestones of the past seasons. This has been a massive change in the dynamic of the racing. We've rarely seen this rate of degradation in recent years (Australia 2009 and Canada 2010). The problem of close racing has been fixed by this because there are more variable strategies and people with different levels of grip throughout the race. The DRS 'oversolves the problem' because when you have it coupled with better tyres it is easy to overtake
In the first stints of races this season we have seen good racing and barely any easy overtakes because the tyre wear between cars is relatively equal. So what the DRS has been brought in to do has actually worked well because we've had loads of close battles but never too easy. Come the pitstops and we get the split in strategies and then the chaos really begins as we get people on old tyres attacked by new tyres. So because of this cars are getting close, overtakes happen in unusual places and if they reach the DRS zone then it's just a slam dunk.
I agree that the DRS was too powerful at times in Turkey. A tail wind on race day seem to make the DRS an even stronger weapon than usual. What we should remember is that against the negative of some of these easy passes was a massive amount of battles into turn 12 as well as other duels around the track. There was loads of action and way more than in races of previous seasons. It's not a perfected thing yet but it is an improvement. Fans have spent years frustrated at the processional nature of Sunday afternoons and living in hope of some rain during a race just to make it interesting. This is now gone. The opening 4 races of the season have been 'normal' races. No rain, no safety cars, just a proper grand prix and 3 out of 4 have been crackers in my opinion.
It's important that the FIA continue to analyse the affect the DRS has. Personally i'd like to see the DRS zone reduced slightly. Doing this or moving it to a part of the track which isn't such an obvious overtaking spot would help spread things about a bit. Another option would be having 2 really short zones so a driver would get more regular but smaller 'boosts' so that the disadvantage of the dirty air is combated. Yet another option would be allowing each driver a certain amount of times to use the rear wing during a race. That would make it more strategic and less gimmicky. I still think the 1 second zone idea was a necessary one because that's how bad things had become regarding overtaking but now that we may have improved things it is less needed. The DRS is still a very clever device and has a place in Formula 1. It just isn't needed as prominently now we have the changes to the tyres. Another tweak could be to reduce the gap in the rear wing when the DRS is activated, hence reducing the extra speed gained.
There are other factors in the racing. I've mentioned the tyres and hailed them as a success. 4 stops was probably one too many in Turkey but China showed how the split between 2 and 3 kept the race in suspense until the end. Pirelli are learning all the time. Track design is also key. Just look at those brilliant final corners in Istanbul. Yet some circuits seem unable to simply stick a tight corner at the end of a long straight. It isn't that difficult for most places!
So lets be positive about the fact F1 is actually tackling the on track issues and have tried to improve things. There are still areas to work on but the sport is heading in a good direction. There's been a great buzz about the season so far, people are enjoying it and there is plenty of enthusiasm for what lies ahead in 2011.
So in conclusion, the fundamental issue of the cars being so aerodynamically good and the cars being so grippy remains. This growing issue triggered the creation of the DRS to help cars get close and produce more on track racing. The new tyres have given the teams a strategic and racing headache and allowed more variance in the tactics. Most of the simple passes have come when cars have had major differences in tyre compounds/wear. The DRS alone has helped create lots of action but coupled with other factors can become too powerful at times. However there have been lots of great battles this year to outweigh these negatives. It still needs more analysis and tweaking but the ingredients are there to create a new era of Formula One which delights old and new fans alike
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The F1 Wedding
There's quite a Royal occasion taking place in London this week dominating the headlines but what lets have some fun and turn the Royal Wedding into the F1 Wedding...
Now on BBC1 it's time for the event of the year, the F1 wedding, presented by Jake Humphrey (Cue a minute of the chain and a big dramatic VT)
Jake Humphrey: Good morning and welcome along to the F1 wedding. I'm live outside Westminister Abbey and alongside me as usual is David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan. Didn't really bother with the dress code did you Eddie?
Eddie Jordan: I don't know what you mean
David Coulthard: I think what he is getting at is the fact that a purple shirt with green trousers isn't really the best idea for a weddi... well for anything.
JH: It's a sunny day with not a cloud in the sky but we are told rain is imminent. It always is were F1 is concerned. Of course we are set up for a belter today. But only 1 driver can tie the knot today. We have the home guys, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button fighting it out. Sebastian Vettel as well and team principal Christian Horner has conveniently found the time for a quick chat
Christian Horner: Good morning
JH: So your thoughts on (passing traffic drowns out the remainder of the question)
CH: Well the weekend so far has (more traffic noise)
JH: Fascinating stuff. Just in case you're wondering about these people gathering around us they are actually members of the Horner fan club. Must be great to have a load of young women stalking your every move eh Christian
CH: Well... (Shouts of 'We love you Christian')
JH: As you're going redder than a Ferrari we'll leave it there
CH: See you again sometime
JH: Yeah give it about 20 minutes
DC: You can clearly see there Jake the confidence in the Red Bull team, i would definitely be backing Seb for success today
JH: Well there's a surprise
DC: Indeed
EJ: This German kid, he's just great. He's young, funny, fast, relaxed, so cool and collected, it's a breath of fresh air. When i was a team boss i brought many young talents into the sport and it was great to have the likes...
JH: Moving on and Ted is down in the Abbey with some news for us
Ted Kravitz: Hello everyone. Tension starting to build down here. I'm just outside the vestry and there are the perspective wives lingering about, Nicole, Jessica, Vivian, Isabell. Of course the drivers are racing into London and soon we'll see who can make it here first.
JH: Thanks Ted. Of course after the main event we'll be at the reception with red button coverage and Lee McKenzie is down there for us, over to you Lee.
Lee McKenzie: Morning guys, i'm down here at Buckingham Palace with Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi. Both of you must be bitterly disappointed to have missed out on the main event.
Jaime Alguersuari: NO NO! FOR SURE IT'S A SHAME BUT IT MEANS I GET TO DJ HERE SO WILL BE LOTS OF FUN AND DANCE JAJA!
Sebastien Buemi: I'm giving out free Red Bull in case some people are flagging later tonight haha
LMcK: We can see Daniel Ricciardo lurking about, any worries?
JA: He is?
SB: I thought you hid his passport man!
LMcK: I think we'll go back to you Jake
JH: Well it's just me and Eddie now as David has went into the Abbey to join Martin in the gallery. Let's quickly go back to Ted though because we hear there has been some drama outside London Ted
TK: Yes and i'm afraid it's bad news for Lewis Hamilton because he has received a drive over penalty for too many lane changes on the M25.
JH: A drive over penalty? That's a new one
TK: Yes indeed, specific for this event. It means Lewis must drive over Tower Bridge and back again so that really compromises his chances of marrying Nicole today.
JH: Let's join the guys in the Abbey and Martin, drama already
Martin Brundle: Yes indeed, Lewis really should know by now the rules of the UK roads but hey that'll teach the tax evader for moving to Switzerland. Lee's found another driver
LMcK: I'm with Jarno Trulli, Jarno it must be bitterly disappointing to be missing the wedding?
Jarno Trulli: Ah yes but a i am ere and have a brought a big collection of wine and a tonight everyone will a be enjoying themselves with a my fine tastes.
JH: Guests starting to arrive down here and Felipe Massa and Rob Smedley have joined us. Your wife not make it today Felipe.
Felipe Massa: Well for sure she would have liked to come but really me and Rob have a closer relationship and the invite was for me + 1 so it made sense.
Rob Smedley: Mr Sunshine looks beautiful eh? A great day and we'll be banging on that dancefloor later, hahaha
MB: More action here guys, Petrov has stopped in what appears to be a housing estate.
DC: Clearly he had made good progress to reach the city area but something has gone wrong, here's a replay...
MB: Well he's made a wrong turn there but he could have still rerouted but WOAH! LOOK AT THAT!
DC: He didn't see the speed bump sign at all!
MB: He must have hit it at about 120mph and the thing just took off, a huge incident there for the Russian.
JH: Down here outside the Abbey there is a fantastic buzz. Air Asia 1 Malaysia Team Lotus Norfolk just arrived in Caterham's and we might just catch a quick word with Mike Gasgoyne. Mike, lots of questions on peoples lips but the big one, can Norwich get promoted to the Premier League?
Mike Gasgoyne: Well of course Jake, we are simply the best team about. Lotus progressing as well, we beat Perez in China and if 10 other drivers get penalties like him in a race we'll score points easily
JH: Didn't go so well earlier though for Heikki on the road.
MG: It didn't but let's look at the positives, he managed to put the fire out himself and save the Fire brigade a trip out so great teamwork there
MB: Sebastian Vettel has dropped behind a bit and here's his team radio, lets see what is wrong.
Sebastian Vettel: Rocky, do i use the sat nav or not?
Rocky: Negative, negative, do not use the sat nav
SV: So what do i do?
Rocky: Plan B, we are changing to Plan B.
SV: But i didn't bring the map! Adrian said it would affect the packaging of the car so took it off!
MB: All gone wrong there for Red Bull, challenge looks over
DC: Well it may have but you can't blame Red Bull for that, the sat nav is developed by a outside company so no fault of the team at Milton Keynes.
MB: Ted has some news for us
TK: Yes drama for the Sauber team who had arrived here as part of the guestlist for today but they've all been kicked out of the Abbey. Their jackets were found to be outside of the minimum measurements which are required by the regulations by 3mm so no service for them today.
MB: They'll be very frustrated with that!
TK: Indeed though we believe it was a simple manufacturing error and no-one will be held to account for the incident. Won't stop some speculating though...
LMcK: I'm still at the palace and joined by Virgin drivers Timo Glock and Jerome D'Ambrosio. Early retirements then guys?
Timo Glock: Well we are a bit confused because we thought we had to come here and we did so but there's been a misunderstanding...
Jerome D'Ambrosio: You see on the menu tonight for desert is Rhubarb and Custard so the team took that as being us
TG: *sighs*
LMcK: Unlucky guys
JH: i've just found a lot of well suited men here. With me are Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna, Fairuz Fauzy and Ho Pin Tung. Not going to the wedding guys?
Romain Grosjean: Well we are actually on reserve in case a guest has to pull out
Bruno Senna: You never know when you may be needed
JH: But do you need this many
Fairuz Fauzy: Oh yes we are all key to the operation
Will Buxton: You keep telling yourself that Fairuz. Sorry for butting in Jake
JH: You were just saying what we were all thinking mate. Crikey a lot of police sirens coming down the street. And look who it is, can you believe it, it's Robert Kubica!
Jonathan Legard: Up, over the hill, look at him in his wheelchair, he's on a charge!!
JH: Jonathan!? You were warned not to show up
JL: Come on Jakey boy, just let me do 1 more event, for old times sake
EJ: Looks like that Kubica fella hasn't lost any of his speed, clocked doing 45mph in the speed trap.
TK: More news from the vestry and it's of a couple of non appearances on the guest list. First up Rubens Barrichello who isn't attending as he knows the ceremony will just be a load of 'blah blah blah' and he doesn't want to hear that. Also Hispania have put out a press release saying they won't make it after being held up at Barcelona airport. Reports that Colin Kolles got stuck going through the security gate have been denied.
MB: Right, things beginning to hot up now. We know that Rosberg leads Button and Hamilton but the Mercedes driver has already seen his fuel light flashing and is having to short shift around these tight streets
DC: Jenson driving around these mini roundabouts beautifully, 1 sweep of the wheel in and 1 sweep out, so smooth.
MB: Hamilton has stopped at Kwik-fit!
DC: Tyres look destroyed and that really has hurt his chances, fresh rubber now though.
MB: Rosberg is spluttering, he's running out of fuel and there goes Button, Jenson Button leads in the final stages and the crowd are going wild!
DC: What you are seeing here is a drive of experience, of composure, a man who has been serene and never looked like making a mistake all da...
MB: He's stopping! What's going on, well hang on he's running up the steps to the church but the doors closed?
DC: He's stopped at St Pauls Catherdal! He's at the wrong church, what a terrible mistake!
MB: That's incredible, i mean the look of the 2 buildings are different! He's jumped back in but the engine is off and i think it's all over for him.
DC: Well he's starting to run Martin and it isn't that far to go and could he repeat what he did in Monaco and sprint to the finish and to the glory of success!
MB: Hamilton flying though, he's ripping it up on those new tyres, smoke everywhere. Good job we're not in Melbourne!
DC: Jenson still has a bit to go. Surely Lewis will overtake him soon. Here it comes and he is through
MB: Hamilton comes through the final corners and he does is! He takes the chequered flag, parks it and is sprinting up that aisle.
JH: What a race that was, tweet me your thoughts and now lets hand over to Jean Todt for the ceremony
Jean Todt: Before we finalise everything, is there anyone here who has a reason why these 2 people should not be marry?
Charlie Whiting: Yes!
Lewis Hamilton: Not Charlie...
CW: Car number 3 has just been checked and has been found to have Michelin tyres fitted, completely against the regulations.
LH: Dude, it was all Kwik-fit had man, bless the poor guy who had to do it himself, ite
CW: Sorry no other tyre is allowed, especially a crappy French one which can't even handle a banked corner.
Jenson Button: *gasping* Where did i finish?
JT: You are our new winner Jenson. *20 minutes of blah blah blah and vows* Congratulations Jenson and Jessica! You are the F1 wedding couple of 2011!
LMcK: Down here at the reception, things are really rocking. Sutil is on the piano, Vettel has Ke$ha on full blast and Jaime is DJing with Sakon Yamamoto.
JH: Sakon Yamamoto? He's not with a team at the minute, how'd he get in?
LMcK: Let's just say Bernies wallet is now bulging even more than normal
JH: David has rejoined us. You spotted Nick Heidfeld anywhere today?
DC: Can't say i have
EJ: Me either
JH: Ted?
TK: I haven't actually but apparently he's been down in peckham selling off TW steel watches. Says that this time next year he'll have become a millionaire and have won a race.
JH: What a dreamer. That's all from us, thank you very much for watching. Congrats to Jenson and Jessica. See you next time.
Now on BBC1 it's time for the event of the year, the F1 wedding, presented by Jake Humphrey (Cue a minute of the chain and a big dramatic VT)
Jake Humphrey: Good morning and welcome along to the F1 wedding. I'm live outside Westminister Abbey and alongside me as usual is David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan. Didn't really bother with the dress code did you Eddie?
Eddie Jordan: I don't know what you mean
David Coulthard: I think what he is getting at is the fact that a purple shirt with green trousers isn't really the best idea for a weddi... well for anything.
JH: It's a sunny day with not a cloud in the sky but we are told rain is imminent. It always is were F1 is concerned. Of course we are set up for a belter today. But only 1 driver can tie the knot today. We have the home guys, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button fighting it out. Sebastian Vettel as well and team principal Christian Horner has conveniently found the time for a quick chat
Christian Horner: Good morning
JH: So your thoughts on (passing traffic drowns out the remainder of the question)
CH: Well the weekend so far has (more traffic noise)
JH: Fascinating stuff. Just in case you're wondering about these people gathering around us they are actually members of the Horner fan club. Must be great to have a load of young women stalking your every move eh Christian
CH: Well... (Shouts of 'We love you Christian')
JH: As you're going redder than a Ferrari we'll leave it there
CH: See you again sometime
JH: Yeah give it about 20 minutes
DC: You can clearly see there Jake the confidence in the Red Bull team, i would definitely be backing Seb for success today
JH: Well there's a surprise
DC: Indeed
EJ: This German kid, he's just great. He's young, funny, fast, relaxed, so cool and collected, it's a breath of fresh air. When i was a team boss i brought many young talents into the sport and it was great to have the likes...
JH: Moving on and Ted is down in the Abbey with some news for us
Ted Kravitz: Hello everyone. Tension starting to build down here. I'm just outside the vestry and there are the perspective wives lingering about, Nicole, Jessica, Vivian, Isabell. Of course the drivers are racing into London and soon we'll see who can make it here first.
JH: Thanks Ted. Of course after the main event we'll be at the reception with red button coverage and Lee McKenzie is down there for us, over to you Lee.
Lee McKenzie: Morning guys, i'm down here at Buckingham Palace with Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi. Both of you must be bitterly disappointed to have missed out on the main event.
Jaime Alguersuari: NO NO! FOR SURE IT'S A SHAME BUT IT MEANS I GET TO DJ HERE SO WILL BE LOTS OF FUN AND DANCE JAJA!
Sebastien Buemi: I'm giving out free Red Bull in case some people are flagging later tonight haha
LMcK: We can see Daniel Ricciardo lurking about, any worries?
JA: He is?
SB: I thought you hid his passport man!
LMcK: I think we'll go back to you Jake
JH: Well it's just me and Eddie now as David has went into the Abbey to join Martin in the gallery. Let's quickly go back to Ted though because we hear there has been some drama outside London Ted
TK: Yes and i'm afraid it's bad news for Lewis Hamilton because he has received a drive over penalty for too many lane changes on the M25.
JH: A drive over penalty? That's a new one
TK: Yes indeed, specific for this event. It means Lewis must drive over Tower Bridge and back again so that really compromises his chances of marrying Nicole today.
JH: Let's join the guys in the Abbey and Martin, drama already
Martin Brundle: Yes indeed, Lewis really should know by now the rules of the UK roads but hey that'll teach the tax evader for moving to Switzerland. Lee's found another driver
LMcK: I'm with Jarno Trulli, Jarno it must be bitterly disappointing to be missing the wedding?
Jarno Trulli: Ah yes but a i am ere and have a brought a big collection of wine and a tonight everyone will a be enjoying themselves with a my fine tastes.
JH: Guests starting to arrive down here and Felipe Massa and Rob Smedley have joined us. Your wife not make it today Felipe.
Felipe Massa: Well for sure she would have liked to come but really me and Rob have a closer relationship and the invite was for me + 1 so it made sense.
Rob Smedley: Mr Sunshine looks beautiful eh? A great day and we'll be banging on that dancefloor later, hahaha
MB: More action here guys, Petrov has stopped in what appears to be a housing estate.
DC: Clearly he had made good progress to reach the city area but something has gone wrong, here's a replay...
MB: Well he's made a wrong turn there but he could have still rerouted but WOAH! LOOK AT THAT!
DC: He didn't see the speed bump sign at all!
MB: He must have hit it at about 120mph and the thing just took off, a huge incident there for the Russian.
JH: Down here outside the Abbey there is a fantastic buzz. Air Asia 1 Malaysia Team Lotus Norfolk just arrived in Caterham's and we might just catch a quick word with Mike Gasgoyne. Mike, lots of questions on peoples lips but the big one, can Norwich get promoted to the Premier League?
Mike Gasgoyne: Well of course Jake, we are simply the best team about. Lotus progressing as well, we beat Perez in China and if 10 other drivers get penalties like him in a race we'll score points easily
JH: Didn't go so well earlier though for Heikki on the road.
MG: It didn't but let's look at the positives, he managed to put the fire out himself and save the Fire brigade a trip out so great teamwork there
MB: Sebastian Vettel has dropped behind a bit and here's his team radio, lets see what is wrong.
Sebastian Vettel: Rocky, do i use the sat nav or not?
Rocky: Negative, negative, do not use the sat nav
SV: So what do i do?
Rocky: Plan B, we are changing to Plan B.
SV: But i didn't bring the map! Adrian said it would affect the packaging of the car so took it off!
MB: All gone wrong there for Red Bull, challenge looks over
DC: Well it may have but you can't blame Red Bull for that, the sat nav is developed by a outside company so no fault of the team at Milton Keynes.
MB: Ted has some news for us
TK: Yes drama for the Sauber team who had arrived here as part of the guestlist for today but they've all been kicked out of the Abbey. Their jackets were found to be outside of the minimum measurements which are required by the regulations by 3mm so no service for them today.
MB: They'll be very frustrated with that!
TK: Indeed though we believe it was a simple manufacturing error and no-one will be held to account for the incident. Won't stop some speculating though...
LMcK: I'm still at the palace and joined by Virgin drivers Timo Glock and Jerome D'Ambrosio. Early retirements then guys?
Timo Glock: Well we are a bit confused because we thought we had to come here and we did so but there's been a misunderstanding...
Jerome D'Ambrosio: You see on the menu tonight for desert is Rhubarb and Custard so the team took that as being us
TG: *sighs*
LMcK: Unlucky guys
JH: i've just found a lot of well suited men here. With me are Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna, Fairuz Fauzy and Ho Pin Tung. Not going to the wedding guys?
Romain Grosjean: Well we are actually on reserve in case a guest has to pull out
Bruno Senna: You never know when you may be needed
JH: But do you need this many
Fairuz Fauzy: Oh yes we are all key to the operation
Will Buxton: You keep telling yourself that Fairuz. Sorry for butting in Jake
JH: You were just saying what we were all thinking mate. Crikey a lot of police sirens coming down the street. And look who it is, can you believe it, it's Robert Kubica!
Jonathan Legard: Up, over the hill, look at him in his wheelchair, he's on a charge!!
JH: Jonathan!? You were warned not to show up
JL: Come on Jakey boy, just let me do 1 more event, for old times sake
EJ: Looks like that Kubica fella hasn't lost any of his speed, clocked doing 45mph in the speed trap.
TK: More news from the vestry and it's of a couple of non appearances on the guest list. First up Rubens Barrichello who isn't attending as he knows the ceremony will just be a load of 'blah blah blah' and he doesn't want to hear that. Also Hispania have put out a press release saying they won't make it after being held up at Barcelona airport. Reports that Colin Kolles got stuck going through the security gate have been denied.
MB: Right, things beginning to hot up now. We know that Rosberg leads Button and Hamilton but the Mercedes driver has already seen his fuel light flashing and is having to short shift around these tight streets
DC: Jenson driving around these mini roundabouts beautifully, 1 sweep of the wheel in and 1 sweep out, so smooth.
MB: Hamilton has stopped at Kwik-fit!
DC: Tyres look destroyed and that really has hurt his chances, fresh rubber now though.
MB: Rosberg is spluttering, he's running out of fuel and there goes Button, Jenson Button leads in the final stages and the crowd are going wild!
DC: What you are seeing here is a drive of experience, of composure, a man who has been serene and never looked like making a mistake all da...
MB: He's stopping! What's going on, well hang on he's running up the steps to the church but the doors closed?
DC: He's stopped at St Pauls Catherdal! He's at the wrong church, what a terrible mistake!
MB: That's incredible, i mean the look of the 2 buildings are different! He's jumped back in but the engine is off and i think it's all over for him.
DC: Well he's starting to run Martin and it isn't that far to go and could he repeat what he did in Monaco and sprint to the finish and to the glory of success!
MB: Hamilton flying though, he's ripping it up on those new tyres, smoke everywhere. Good job we're not in Melbourne!
DC: Jenson still has a bit to go. Surely Lewis will overtake him soon. Here it comes and he is through
MB: Hamilton comes through the final corners and he does is! He takes the chequered flag, parks it and is sprinting up that aisle.
JH: What a race that was, tweet me your thoughts and now lets hand over to Jean Todt for the ceremony
Jean Todt: Before we finalise everything, is there anyone here who has a reason why these 2 people should not be marry?
Charlie Whiting: Yes!
Lewis Hamilton: Not Charlie...
CW: Car number 3 has just been checked and has been found to have Michelin tyres fitted, completely against the regulations.
LH: Dude, it was all Kwik-fit had man, bless the poor guy who had to do it himself, ite
CW: Sorry no other tyre is allowed, especially a crappy French one which can't even handle a banked corner.
Jenson Button: *gasping* Where did i finish?
JT: You are our new winner Jenson. *20 minutes of blah blah blah and vows* Congratulations Jenson and Jessica! You are the F1 wedding couple of 2011!
LMcK: Down here at the reception, things are really rocking. Sutil is on the piano, Vettel has Ke$ha on full blast and Jaime is DJing with Sakon Yamamoto.
JH: Sakon Yamamoto? He's not with a team at the minute, how'd he get in?
LMcK: Let's just say Bernies wallet is now bulging even more than normal
JH: David has rejoined us. You spotted Nick Heidfeld anywhere today?
DC: Can't say i have
EJ: Me either
JH: Ted?
TK: I haven't actually but apparently he's been down in peckham selling off TW steel watches. Says that this time next year he'll have become a millionaire and have won a race.
JH: What a dreamer. That's all from us, thank you very much for watching. Congrats to Jenson and Jessica. See you next time.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Hamilton supreme in Chinese classic
Another thrilling race in Shanghai as Lewis Hamilton ended Sebastian Vettel's winning run with a late race charge...
Hamilton soars as Button loses out: Jenson Button had a good start and was holding the lead ok in the first stint. Of course with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel close behind the timing of the first pitstop was key. McLaren ended up running a 3 stop strategy on both cars but the initial plan was to 2 stop. The team came out for Button on lap 14 but he didn't come in until the next lap. He then made a terrible error by pulling into the Red Bull box. That cost both him and Vettel time. One possible theory (and this is simply guesswork!) is that Button was trying to stay out for as long as possible to make a 2 stop work better but that the team, having seen others behind pit, were reacting to the pace of the likes of Rosberg and changing to a 3 stopper because of the speed of other cars. So perhaps there was quite a bit of radio conversation and who knows amidst the busy nature of racing in 2011 maybe Jenson got distracted at the key moment in the pitlane. His pace was subdued after that and he would eventually get outdone by Hamilton.
Indeed Hamilton had been compromised because he had to wait an extra lap to pit and fell back on worn tyres, being overtaken by Vettel and Felipe Massa in consecutive laps. However his second stint was better, aided by a fresh set of options he had saved. It was interesting that a week on from Malaysia he had made such an effort to do so and it was clear after qualifying that tyres were on his mind and that he had deliberately plotted a strategy designed to maximise his race performance. Going for the extra stop really played better into his more attacking style and into the final stint he was back in the hunt and did a clean job of taking the cars ahead for a great victory.
Vettel's streak broken as Webber fights back: Red Bull ended up with 2 cars on the podium yet the fact that disappointment was felt by the team shows how far they've come. Vettel got a poor start but recovered positions at the first stop to find himself behind Nico Rosberg. Red Bull went for a 2 stop strategy and although it turned out to be the wrong decision there wasn't much in it. Having done 15 laps in the race in his qualifying tyres, he only managed a 17 lap stint in the middle of the race. That left him 24 laps on the primes and it proved to be slightly too much to hold off Hamilton. One mistake i did feel Red Bull made was sending the German out for a second run in Q3 when it was pretty clear that pole position was in the bag. Easy to say with hindsight but Vettel's first run was a good one and he would have not eeked out much more time even if it had been needed. In previous seasons this would not have been a big deal but it seems that putting a heat cycle into these Pirelli tyres really does take some life out of them if they are then reused. Expect quieter qualifying sessions with the current circumstances.
On Saturday evening i was pondering the future of Mark Webber. Out in Q1, the 2 junior Red Bull drivers doing brilliantly in making the top 10 and a bit of pressure was building even at this early stage of 2011. Would he let his head drop or fight back? Sunday showed it was the latter as he come from 18th to take a superb podium. Qualifying was a poor show, he only used the prime tyres and the car seem fine. If it had not been surely they would have given him some options. Why they didn't give him more laps at least was bizarre from the team. Anyway his pace on Sunday was mighty and showed that the RB7 is still the quickest out there. There were some conflicting reports about whether he had his KERS working or not. The actual details were that it worked until lap 24. He actually could have remarkably beaten Vettel because he had an off early in the race which cost him around 4 seconds so without that he probably would have caught his team mate late on. We also seen from his race that using the prime tyre early could be a good tactic this year. If we get an early safety car at some races i can envisage drivers pitting to get rid of it or even pitting for it and pitting again a lap later just so they can get it out of the way.
Felipe finds some form: Felipe Massa was unhappy after the race. This is good though because rather than the mentality of "i beat Fernando, that'll do" it was a case of him wanting more from the afternoon. His pace was good for a 2 stopper and i felt that was the right approach from Ferrari because they didn't have the pace to the teams in front so it was worthwhile trying something different. Unfortunately for the Brazilian track position is not as important this year and he was caught by a few drivers late on. Still it was nice to see him in the mix and battling with the drivers at the front Not much to say on Alonso's race, the Spaniard didn't seem quick throughout and limped home a frustrated 7th.
F1 changes a roaring success: It really was a tremendous race and credit to Pirelli who seem have got it right with the tyres. The DRS system is making for much more close action. Some say it has made passing too easy. My response to that is that some of the overtakes are indeed 'simple' but for those few easy passes you get lots of good one's and good battles. It also created moves in other places. For example Hamilton was able to get close to Button with DRS which allowed him a chance of passing into turn 1. In my opinion we are much better with racing like this than than what we have witnessed in some other seasons. Remember we were at a circuit which has seen little overtaking in dry races. It also helps more variable strategies become viable. On Sunday we got over 80 overtakes and the whole race was absorbing and thrilling. A peak audience of 5 million in the UK says a lot as well.
There is some talk that in Turkey we could have 2 DRS zones, perhaps with just 1 activation zone. So say we had zone's on the back and pit straights. There would be an activation point before the first one and if you are within a second of another car you can then use your DRS in the 2 zones for that particular lap. Now i think that would be too much and is unneeded unless it is a case of having the zones made shorter. So rather than one big (800 metre) gain in the lap you could make two smaller (400 metre) gains. This could eliminate the 'easy' overtakes but still allow cars to get close. The FIA may trial this in Istanbul. Another way could be giving the drivers a finite amount to use it during the race but this doesn't seem to be in the pipeline for now anyway. i think it is feasible and certainly feel it would be a great way to make the KERS more tactical at least.
Hamilton soars as Button loses out: Jenson Button had a good start and was holding the lead ok in the first stint. Of course with Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel close behind the timing of the first pitstop was key. McLaren ended up running a 3 stop strategy on both cars but the initial plan was to 2 stop. The team came out for Button on lap 14 but he didn't come in until the next lap. He then made a terrible error by pulling into the Red Bull box. That cost both him and Vettel time. One possible theory (and this is simply guesswork!) is that Button was trying to stay out for as long as possible to make a 2 stop work better but that the team, having seen others behind pit, were reacting to the pace of the likes of Rosberg and changing to a 3 stopper because of the speed of other cars. So perhaps there was quite a bit of radio conversation and who knows amidst the busy nature of racing in 2011 maybe Jenson got distracted at the key moment in the pitlane. His pace was subdued after that and he would eventually get outdone by Hamilton.
Indeed Hamilton had been compromised because he had to wait an extra lap to pit and fell back on worn tyres, being overtaken by Vettel and Felipe Massa in consecutive laps. However his second stint was better, aided by a fresh set of options he had saved. It was interesting that a week on from Malaysia he had made such an effort to do so and it was clear after qualifying that tyres were on his mind and that he had deliberately plotted a strategy designed to maximise his race performance. Going for the extra stop really played better into his more attacking style and into the final stint he was back in the hunt and did a clean job of taking the cars ahead for a great victory.
Vettel's streak broken as Webber fights back: Red Bull ended up with 2 cars on the podium yet the fact that disappointment was felt by the team shows how far they've come. Vettel got a poor start but recovered positions at the first stop to find himself behind Nico Rosberg. Red Bull went for a 2 stop strategy and although it turned out to be the wrong decision there wasn't much in it. Having done 15 laps in the race in his qualifying tyres, he only managed a 17 lap stint in the middle of the race. That left him 24 laps on the primes and it proved to be slightly too much to hold off Hamilton. One mistake i did feel Red Bull made was sending the German out for a second run in Q3 when it was pretty clear that pole position was in the bag. Easy to say with hindsight but Vettel's first run was a good one and he would have not eeked out much more time even if it had been needed. In previous seasons this would not have been a big deal but it seems that putting a heat cycle into these Pirelli tyres really does take some life out of them if they are then reused. Expect quieter qualifying sessions with the current circumstances.
On Saturday evening i was pondering the future of Mark Webber. Out in Q1, the 2 junior Red Bull drivers doing brilliantly in making the top 10 and a bit of pressure was building even at this early stage of 2011. Would he let his head drop or fight back? Sunday showed it was the latter as he come from 18th to take a superb podium. Qualifying was a poor show, he only used the prime tyres and the car seem fine. If it had not been surely they would have given him some options. Why they didn't give him more laps at least was bizarre from the team. Anyway his pace on Sunday was mighty and showed that the RB7 is still the quickest out there. There were some conflicting reports about whether he had his KERS working or not. The actual details were that it worked until lap 24. He actually could have remarkably beaten Vettel because he had an off early in the race which cost him around 4 seconds so without that he probably would have caught his team mate late on. We also seen from his race that using the prime tyre early could be a good tactic this year. If we get an early safety car at some races i can envisage drivers pitting to get rid of it or even pitting for it and pitting again a lap later just so they can get it out of the way.
Felipe finds some form: Felipe Massa was unhappy after the race. This is good though because rather than the mentality of "i beat Fernando, that'll do" it was a case of him wanting more from the afternoon. His pace was good for a 2 stopper and i felt that was the right approach from Ferrari because they didn't have the pace to the teams in front so it was worthwhile trying something different. Unfortunately for the Brazilian track position is not as important this year and he was caught by a few drivers late on. Still it was nice to see him in the mix and battling with the drivers at the front Not much to say on Alonso's race, the Spaniard didn't seem quick throughout and limped home a frustrated 7th.
F1 changes a roaring success: It really was a tremendous race and credit to Pirelli who seem have got it right with the tyres. The DRS system is making for much more close action. Some say it has made passing too easy. My response to that is that some of the overtakes are indeed 'simple' but for those few easy passes you get lots of good one's and good battles. It also created moves in other places. For example Hamilton was able to get close to Button with DRS which allowed him a chance of passing into turn 1. In my opinion we are much better with racing like this than than what we have witnessed in some other seasons. Remember we were at a circuit which has seen little overtaking in dry races. It also helps more variable strategies become viable. On Sunday we got over 80 overtakes and the whole race was absorbing and thrilling. A peak audience of 5 million in the UK says a lot as well.
There is some talk that in Turkey we could have 2 DRS zones, perhaps with just 1 activation zone. So say we had zone's on the back and pit straights. There would be an activation point before the first one and if you are within a second of another car you can then use your DRS in the 2 zones for that particular lap. Now i think that would be too much and is unneeded unless it is a case of having the zones made shorter. So rather than one big (800 metre) gain in the lap you could make two smaller (400 metre) gains. This could eliminate the 'easy' overtakes but still allow cars to get close. The FIA may trial this in Istanbul. Another way could be giving the drivers a finite amount to use it during the race but this doesn't seem to be in the pipeline for now anyway. i think it is feasible and certainly feel it would be a great way to make the KERS more tactical at least.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Sepang serves up exciting weekend
A 4 way showdown for Pole Position on Saturday was followed by an action packed race with 55 overtakes and 63 pitstops. Up front, Sebastian Vettel continued his brilliant form with a fourth consecutive grand prix win. There were loads of stories throughout the field...
Vettel wins and Webber recovers: Sebastian Vettel had to work harder for his win this weekend than in Melbourne. Qualifying saw him edge out Lewis Hamilton and despite a loss of his KERS during the race he won without too many problems. Mark Webber had a manic race. After a KERS issue in qualifying the team replaced parts of the system in Parc Ferme. However it failed before the race and coupled with a poor start left the Australian swamped. He fought back with a 4 stop strategy, 1 more than most drivers. The advantage of that was he could really attack on his shorter stints and made up the time loss of an extra stop - and more. A good fightback to 4th will left his spirits but in still has a team mate to deal with whose confidence is sky high.
Hamilton v Alonso: Lap 45 and 46 seen controversy - heightened by post race penalties - between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren driver was penalised for moving more than once on the pit straight. We've seen drivers in past seasons push this 'code' but this year it is a written rule. In a Ferrari pre-season video their sporting director seem well up on the new regulations and it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who told the team to protest the move. That was key because it forced the stewards to analyse it and make a decision and by the rule book Hamilton did break a rule. I think his thinking in the move was confused. Alonso was close and he probably thought that he'd be under more pressure but because the Ferrari's DRS wasn't working he wasn't as quick on the straight. So Hamilton made unnecessary moves and then backtracked and it cost him. Alonso got a harsh penalty for what was a minor mistake. If you penalise him for that then you have to penalise a lot of other incidents e.g Webber hitting Hamilton Australia 2010, Vettel hitting Sutil Great Britain 2010 etc. Costly mistake because a podium was there for the taking.
Fortunes reversed for Renault pair: Lewis Hamilton said after a stunning start move in Malaysia in 2007 around the outside that he had studied the past starts at the track and decided to go that way. On Sunday he looked for the inside instead and on that outside route came Nick Heidfeld in the Renault. Some stunning racing between the pair continued to turn 4 but it was the German who would make it stick and finish the lap 2nd after starting 6th. He lost some ground during his first stop but kept his cool - apart from 1 brief off track moment - to come home 3rd. Vitaly Petrov wasn't far off the pace of his team mate but a few minor mistakes seen him slip back. When Hamilton pitted late on Petrov had him in his mirrors and he ran off the circuit after getting offline onto the numerous marbles. Probably in a panic to maintain 7th he kept his foot down but on the mounted grass he got a massive amount of air and snapped the steering wheel mounting as well as wrecking the suspension. A nasty and bizarre incident for the Russian.
Mixed day for the rookies: Another race, another point for Paul di Resta. He delivered a good, clean weekend. The Force India hasn't got the raw pace but the evolution of the car has at least ensured some reliability. He has benefited from a good grounding with those practice runs last year but he has come in and coped well in what have been busy races. Replacing Liuzzi with the Scot is proving to be a good decision. Sergio Perez had his race ended in very strange circumstances. A piece fell off Sebastien Buemi's car and struck the floor of the Sauber. This set off a fire extinguisher which in turn knocked off the electrics in the car. Pastor Maldonado had more mechanical issues, Williams had a poor weekend and the South Americian hasn't been able to show his worth yet. Another tough weekend for Jerome D'Ambrosio who will be awaiting Virgin's updates with eagerness.
Confused? I'm confused: In an ideal world we would want every race to be a great race with clear and good entertainment. The addition of DRS and the deliberate making of high wearing tyres have been done to improve the show. Of course you would rather not revert to these gadgets but in this day and age it is needed. Sunday was a fantastic race and to see some journalists who report on the sport spinning a negative story on it because of all the activity is quite strange and disappointing. I'm looking at this more on a UK perspective but the race on Sunday recorded the best figures for a race in Malaysia ever. My Dad stayed and watched the whole thing. A guy who works for him even watched some of the race and enjoyed it. It was a fantastic race and i will take one like that every day over one like Bahrain 2010. KERS, DRS, the removal of the double diffusers and the tyres all played their part. Don't forget track design. It is clear that this is a factor. Sepang's long straights followed by tight corners in Sector's 1 and 3 really contribute to the action. Other circuits take note.
A few other things to note from the past weekend as well as the one to come in Shanghai.
- Another difficult weekend for Ferrari but the Prancing Horse was closer to the pace during the race. Senior staff have flown back to Italy between these back to back races which tells you a lot about the concern that there is about the car. It's believed by Italian media that the team will see how the Chinese Grand Prix goes before deciding on what course of action they will take with the development with the car. Ferrari implemented big updates during 2010 so don't write them off yet.
- Sebastien Buemi received a stop/go penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He was clocked doing 120.6 km/h in the 100 km/h limited pitlane. He pressed the limiter coming in but felt it had not gone on. However it had and in pressing it again thinking he was putting it on he turned it off and subsequently broke the limit. Usually this gets a drive through penalty so maybe he got a harsher penalty for the excess of speed he had. You could argue a situation like Lewis Hamilton passing the safety car in Valencia last year could have been dealt with in a similar manner. Jaime Alguersuari reported understeer in his car and it was discovered afterwards that there was damage to the front nose.
- There was some surprise when Hamilton went onto prime tyres at his second stop and used that compound until the end of the race. This can probably be explained by Q2 where he flatspotted his right front tyre into turn 1. So that set of tyres may well have been deemed unusable for the race. This meant he only had the set he started on plus one other set, forcing him into doing half the race on primes. That qualifying lock up may well have proved quite costly. Another imprtant thing is the tyre drop off. Sauber ran longer in the first stint in expectation of rain but once the tyres went off they were 3-4 seconds slower a lap. Kamui Kobayashi did manage a 2 stop strategy so another example of Sauber keeping the tyres well on their car.
- The DRS zone in China will be just over 900 metres long and positioned on the 1.175 km back straight between turn 13 and 14. The detection zone for the 1 second gap will be at turn 12. Should see plenty of action down into the hairpin. There has been resurfacing carried out on parts of the track. Also a 4.5 metre debris fence at turn 14. This is probably a response to the incident with Sebastien Buemi in practice last year where a wheel from the Toro Rosso went into a spectator area. We've seen a lot of standing water gather at times in the final corner during wet races in the past at Shanghai and the organisers have changed the drainage on that part of the track.
- Some quotes have come out from the organisers at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain which say they are still trying to get the race on at some point this year. There is even some talk that the King of Bahrain will be in the Shanghai paddock this weekend. Abu Dhabi is prepared to let Bahrain have their November 13th slot and then move the race at Yas Marina to December 4th. They'll be happy to do this as it means they get the season finale. A few weeks ago it seem unlikely in the extreme that a race would occur in Bahrain this year but the possibility remains open. At present the UK foreign office still advise against all but essential travel to the region
- The timetable for the Indian Grand Prix has been revealed:
Times are Local/UK
Fri 28 October
Practice 1 1000 - 1130/0530 - 0700
Practice 2 1400 - 1530/0930 - 1100
Sat 29 October
Practice 3 1100 - 1200/0630 - 0730
Qualifying 1400/0930
Sun 30 October
Race 1500/0930
Vettel wins and Webber recovers: Sebastian Vettel had to work harder for his win this weekend than in Melbourne. Qualifying saw him edge out Lewis Hamilton and despite a loss of his KERS during the race he won without too many problems. Mark Webber had a manic race. After a KERS issue in qualifying the team replaced parts of the system in Parc Ferme. However it failed before the race and coupled with a poor start left the Australian swamped. He fought back with a 4 stop strategy, 1 more than most drivers. The advantage of that was he could really attack on his shorter stints and made up the time loss of an extra stop - and more. A good fightback to 4th will left his spirits but in still has a team mate to deal with whose confidence is sky high.
Hamilton v Alonso: Lap 45 and 46 seen controversy - heightened by post race penalties - between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. The McLaren driver was penalised for moving more than once on the pit straight. We've seen drivers in past seasons push this 'code' but this year it is a written rule. In a Ferrari pre-season video their sporting director seem well up on the new regulations and it wouldn't surprise me if he was the one who told the team to protest the move. That was key because it forced the stewards to analyse it and make a decision and by the rule book Hamilton did break a rule. I think his thinking in the move was confused. Alonso was close and he probably thought that he'd be under more pressure but because the Ferrari's DRS wasn't working he wasn't as quick on the straight. So Hamilton made unnecessary moves and then backtracked and it cost him. Alonso got a harsh penalty for what was a minor mistake. If you penalise him for that then you have to penalise a lot of other incidents e.g Webber hitting Hamilton Australia 2010, Vettel hitting Sutil Great Britain 2010 etc. Costly mistake because a podium was there for the taking.
Fortunes reversed for Renault pair: Lewis Hamilton said after a stunning start move in Malaysia in 2007 around the outside that he had studied the past starts at the track and decided to go that way. On Sunday he looked for the inside instead and on that outside route came Nick Heidfeld in the Renault. Some stunning racing between the pair continued to turn 4 but it was the German who would make it stick and finish the lap 2nd after starting 6th. He lost some ground during his first stop but kept his cool - apart from 1 brief off track moment - to come home 3rd. Vitaly Petrov wasn't far off the pace of his team mate but a few minor mistakes seen him slip back. When Hamilton pitted late on Petrov had him in his mirrors and he ran off the circuit after getting offline onto the numerous marbles. Probably in a panic to maintain 7th he kept his foot down but on the mounted grass he got a massive amount of air and snapped the steering wheel mounting as well as wrecking the suspension. A nasty and bizarre incident for the Russian.
Mixed day for the rookies: Another race, another point for Paul di Resta. He delivered a good, clean weekend. The Force India hasn't got the raw pace but the evolution of the car has at least ensured some reliability. He has benefited from a good grounding with those practice runs last year but he has come in and coped well in what have been busy races. Replacing Liuzzi with the Scot is proving to be a good decision. Sergio Perez had his race ended in very strange circumstances. A piece fell off Sebastien Buemi's car and struck the floor of the Sauber. This set off a fire extinguisher which in turn knocked off the electrics in the car. Pastor Maldonado had more mechanical issues, Williams had a poor weekend and the South Americian hasn't been able to show his worth yet. Another tough weekend for Jerome D'Ambrosio who will be awaiting Virgin's updates with eagerness.
Confused? I'm confused: In an ideal world we would want every race to be a great race with clear and good entertainment. The addition of DRS and the deliberate making of high wearing tyres have been done to improve the show. Of course you would rather not revert to these gadgets but in this day and age it is needed. Sunday was a fantastic race and to see some journalists who report on the sport spinning a negative story on it because of all the activity is quite strange and disappointing. I'm looking at this more on a UK perspective but the race on Sunday recorded the best figures for a race in Malaysia ever. My Dad stayed and watched the whole thing. A guy who works for him even watched some of the race and enjoyed it. It was a fantastic race and i will take one like that every day over one like Bahrain 2010. KERS, DRS, the removal of the double diffusers and the tyres all played their part. Don't forget track design. It is clear that this is a factor. Sepang's long straights followed by tight corners in Sector's 1 and 3 really contribute to the action. Other circuits take note.
A few other things to note from the past weekend as well as the one to come in Shanghai.
- Another difficult weekend for Ferrari but the Prancing Horse was closer to the pace during the race. Senior staff have flown back to Italy between these back to back races which tells you a lot about the concern that there is about the car. It's believed by Italian media that the team will see how the Chinese Grand Prix goes before deciding on what course of action they will take with the development with the car. Ferrari implemented big updates during 2010 so don't write them off yet.
- Sebastien Buemi received a stop/go penalty for speeding in the pitlane. He was clocked doing 120.6 km/h in the 100 km/h limited pitlane. He pressed the limiter coming in but felt it had not gone on. However it had and in pressing it again thinking he was putting it on he turned it off and subsequently broke the limit. Usually this gets a drive through penalty so maybe he got a harsher penalty for the excess of speed he had. You could argue a situation like Lewis Hamilton passing the safety car in Valencia last year could have been dealt with in a similar manner. Jaime Alguersuari reported understeer in his car and it was discovered afterwards that there was damage to the front nose.
- There was some surprise when Hamilton went onto prime tyres at his second stop and used that compound until the end of the race. This can probably be explained by Q2 where he flatspotted his right front tyre into turn 1. So that set of tyres may well have been deemed unusable for the race. This meant he only had the set he started on plus one other set, forcing him into doing half the race on primes. That qualifying lock up may well have proved quite costly. Another imprtant thing is the tyre drop off. Sauber ran longer in the first stint in expectation of rain but once the tyres went off they were 3-4 seconds slower a lap. Kamui Kobayashi did manage a 2 stop strategy so another example of Sauber keeping the tyres well on their car.
- The DRS zone in China will be just over 900 metres long and positioned on the 1.175 km back straight between turn 13 and 14. The detection zone for the 1 second gap will be at turn 12. Should see plenty of action down into the hairpin. There has been resurfacing carried out on parts of the track. Also a 4.5 metre debris fence at turn 14. This is probably a response to the incident with Sebastien Buemi in practice last year where a wheel from the Toro Rosso went into a spectator area. We've seen a lot of standing water gather at times in the final corner during wet races in the past at Shanghai and the organisers have changed the drainage on that part of the track.
- Some quotes have come out from the organisers at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain which say they are still trying to get the race on at some point this year. There is even some talk that the King of Bahrain will be in the Shanghai paddock this weekend. Abu Dhabi is prepared to let Bahrain have their November 13th slot and then move the race at Yas Marina to December 4th. They'll be happy to do this as it means they get the season finale. A few weeks ago it seem unlikely in the extreme that a race would occur in Bahrain this year but the possibility remains open. At present the UK foreign office still advise against all but essential travel to the region
- The timetable for the Indian Grand Prix has been revealed:
Times are Local/UK
Fri 28 October
Practice 1 1000 - 1130/0530 - 0700
Practice 2 1400 - 1530/0930 - 1100
Sat 29 October
Practice 3 1100 - 1200/0630 - 0730
Qualifying 1400/0930
Sun 30 October
Race 1500/0930
Friday, April 8, 2011
Williams pitlane nightmares
Pastor Maldonado had a good day of practice in Sepang but coming into the pits during the afternoon session he suffered a spin and hit the wall. He's not the first Williams driver to struggle with a pit entry/exit or pitlane though...
Nigel Mansell was on course for victory until this disaster of a pitstop. Portugal, 1991.
David Coulthard was going well but got caught out by a slippery and tight pit entry. Australia, 1995.
Ralf Schumacher was in hot pursuit of his brother at the Nurburgring but carelessly running over the pit exit line meant he got a penalty and cost him a chance of challenging for the win (3:12). Europe, 2001.
Kazuki Najakima made his F1 debut at Interlagos after the retirement of Alex Wurz. He at least made an impact in the pitlane. Brazil, 2007.
This incident is better remembered for the coming together of a McLaren and a Ferrari but Nico Rosberg also made an error here. Canada, 2008.
In the same race, Kazuki Nakajima damaged his front wing and as he pitted it went underneath the car and into the wall he went (6:22). Canada, 2008.
Rosberg was driving a blinder at Marina Bay in 2009 and on course for a podium but coming out of the pits after his first stop he ran wide, cut the white line and was given a drive through penalty (3:32). Singapore, 2009.
Pastor Maldonado loses it coming into the pits earlier today. Malaysia, 2011.
Nigel Mansell was on course for victory until this disaster of a pitstop. Portugal, 1991.
David Coulthard was going well but got caught out by a slippery and tight pit entry. Australia, 1995.
Ralf Schumacher was in hot pursuit of his brother at the Nurburgring but carelessly running over the pit exit line meant he got a penalty and cost him a chance of challenging for the win (3:12). Europe, 2001.
Kazuki Najakima made his F1 debut at Interlagos after the retirement of Alex Wurz. He at least made an impact in the pitlane. Brazil, 2007.
This incident is better remembered for the coming together of a McLaren and a Ferrari but Nico Rosberg also made an error here. Canada, 2008.
In the same race, Kazuki Nakajima damaged his front wing and as he pitted it went underneath the car and into the wall he went (6:22). Canada, 2008.
Rosberg was driving a blinder at Marina Bay in 2009 and on course for a podium but coming out of the pits after his first stop he ran wide, cut the white line and was given a drive through penalty (3:32). Singapore, 2009.
Pastor Maldonado loses it coming into the pits earlier today. Malaysia, 2011.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
McLaren to Build Own F1 Engines?
Mark Martin from http://www.moneysupermarket.com looks at the future of McLaren and the possibility of the Woking team making their own engines from 2013
McLaren is set to build its own F1 engines for the start of the new environmental era in 2013 according to the latest rumours.
The British team has enjoyed a sixteen year relationship with Mercedes prior to this. However, despite the huge success of the partnership there have recently been tensions on the back of the changing business direction of Ron Dennis’s empire.
The Break-up
Mercedes has had a long held ambition to own a F1 team and bought shares in McLaren near the start of their partnership. Allegedly, the original intention was to gradually increase its shares in the team and wrestle control from Ron Dennis.
However, Dennis had aspirations to create a road car division for McLaren to build on the success of the McLaren F1 sports car which had been built in the early 1990s. Dennis knew that Mercedes would block any such move if it had influence over the direction of the company as McLaren would effectively be a new competitor. He therefore decided to sell shares in the team to members of the Bahraini royal family rather than Mercedes to fund the expansion of McLaren’s facilities in order to make his dream a reality according to reports.
Mercedes were said to be highly displeased and their concerns grew when McLaren’s sporting conduct was brought into question by the FIA. Ferrari claimed that McLaren had gained unlawful access to their designs and the FIA fined the British team $100 million. This was followed up by a conviction of lying to race stewards following the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.
The final nail in the coffin was aerodynamic performance of the 2009 McLaren chassis, with claims that Mercedes blamed the poor performance on McLaren’s own design department and their unorthodox team structure. The potential of the Mercedes engines were confirmed by Brawn GP, who won the championship despite not gaining any financial support from the German manufacturer who decided to switch allegiance with Ross Brawn offering to give them the controlling stake in his team. Brawn were therefore renamed Mercedes GP and McLaren agreed to buy back Mercedes shares in its company over a phased period ending in 2012.
The 2013 Regulations
Car Manufacturers involved in the sport had been voicing their concerns over costs and the relevance of the sport to road car technologies for a number of years. The global recession gave the manufacturers the perfect excuse to abandon the sport with Honda, Toyota and BMW all withdrawing from the sport in close succession.
The FIA therefore took action in an attempt to bring the manufacturers back by making the sport relevant to the environmental revolution sweeping the industry. It was therefore announced that engine sizes would be reduced from the current 2.4 litre V8 units to 1.6 litre turbo charged motors. This move was supported by Renault who claims that 75% of their road car engines will be small capacity turbo units by 2015. This is due to the fuel saving potential of such engines, which is becoming an increasingly important point of differentiation with fossil fuel prices escalating and some car insurance firms starting to take into account fuel efficiency when calculating insurance premiums according to Moneysupermarket.com.
It was also announced that the capacity of the current 60kw KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) units would be doubled to 120kw. These will therefore have a much greater impact on lap times, forcing car manufacturers to devote more resources into the development of them. The expectation is that advances with these units in F1 will ultimately be applicable to hybrid road car development. FIA President Jean Todt is hoping that the combination of both of these factors will be enough to bring car manufacturers back to the sport.
The un-missable opportunity
It was rumoured that McLaren considered buying the old BMW F1 engine facility in German at the end of 2009 but ultimately decided that this would go against their aims of building everything under one roof in a similar fashion to Ferrari. It is said that McLaren believe that this would bring performance benefits due to better co-ordination between chassis and engine design departments.
This ultimately fits into Dennis’s vision to have McLaren become a British version of Ferrari. This process began with the opening of McLaren Automotive and the launch of the McLaren MP4-12C, which was the first car the company had ever designed an engine for. This was rumoured to be a trial to test the teams’ abilities before committing itself to building its own engines for its F1 team in 2013.
Building engines from this point not only coincides with the end of their agreement with Mercedes but would also enable them to enter the F1 engine industry at a time when prior experience would not be a huge advantage, with all engine manufacturers being forced to come up with new designs for the new formula. This coincidental timing is surely an opportunity that McLaren can not pass up; with many insiders surprised that Dennis has not attempted to become an independent manufacturer prior before now. Will this also see the end of the McLaren silver livery, and return to McLaren Orange from the 1960s which was used at the launch of the MP4-12C? Only time will tell.
McLaren is set to build its own F1 engines for the start of the new environmental era in 2013 according to the latest rumours.
The British team has enjoyed a sixteen year relationship with Mercedes prior to this. However, despite the huge success of the partnership there have recently been tensions on the back of the changing business direction of Ron Dennis’s empire.
The Break-up
Mercedes has had a long held ambition to own a F1 team and bought shares in McLaren near the start of their partnership. Allegedly, the original intention was to gradually increase its shares in the team and wrestle control from Ron Dennis.
However, Dennis had aspirations to create a road car division for McLaren to build on the success of the McLaren F1 sports car which had been built in the early 1990s. Dennis knew that Mercedes would block any such move if it had influence over the direction of the company as McLaren would effectively be a new competitor. He therefore decided to sell shares in the team to members of the Bahraini royal family rather than Mercedes to fund the expansion of McLaren’s facilities in order to make his dream a reality according to reports.
Mercedes were said to be highly displeased and their concerns grew when McLaren’s sporting conduct was brought into question by the FIA. Ferrari claimed that McLaren had gained unlawful access to their designs and the FIA fined the British team $100 million. This was followed up by a conviction of lying to race stewards following the 2009 Australian Grand Prix.
The final nail in the coffin was aerodynamic performance of the 2009 McLaren chassis, with claims that Mercedes blamed the poor performance on McLaren’s own design department and their unorthodox team structure. The potential of the Mercedes engines were confirmed by Brawn GP, who won the championship despite not gaining any financial support from the German manufacturer who decided to switch allegiance with Ross Brawn offering to give them the controlling stake in his team. Brawn were therefore renamed Mercedes GP and McLaren agreed to buy back Mercedes shares in its company over a phased period ending in 2012.
The 2013 Regulations
Car Manufacturers involved in the sport had been voicing their concerns over costs and the relevance of the sport to road car technologies for a number of years. The global recession gave the manufacturers the perfect excuse to abandon the sport with Honda, Toyota and BMW all withdrawing from the sport in close succession.
The FIA therefore took action in an attempt to bring the manufacturers back by making the sport relevant to the environmental revolution sweeping the industry. It was therefore announced that engine sizes would be reduced from the current 2.4 litre V8 units to 1.6 litre turbo charged motors. This move was supported by Renault who claims that 75% of their road car engines will be small capacity turbo units by 2015. This is due to the fuel saving potential of such engines, which is becoming an increasingly important point of differentiation with fossil fuel prices escalating and some car insurance firms starting to take into account fuel efficiency when calculating insurance premiums according to Moneysupermarket.com.
It was also announced that the capacity of the current 60kw KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) units would be doubled to 120kw. These will therefore have a much greater impact on lap times, forcing car manufacturers to devote more resources into the development of them. The expectation is that advances with these units in F1 will ultimately be applicable to hybrid road car development. FIA President Jean Todt is hoping that the combination of both of these factors will be enough to bring car manufacturers back to the sport.
The un-missable opportunity
It was rumoured that McLaren considered buying the old BMW F1 engine facility in German at the end of 2009 but ultimately decided that this would go against their aims of building everything under one roof in a similar fashion to Ferrari. It is said that McLaren believe that this would bring performance benefits due to better co-ordination between chassis and engine design departments.
This ultimately fits into Dennis’s vision to have McLaren become a British version of Ferrari. This process began with the opening of McLaren Automotive and the launch of the McLaren MP4-12C, which was the first car the company had ever designed an engine for. This was rumoured to be a trial to test the teams’ abilities before committing itself to building its own engines for its F1 team in 2013.
Building engines from this point not only coincides with the end of their agreement with Mercedes but would also enable them to enter the F1 engine industry at a time when prior experience would not be a huge advantage, with all engine manufacturers being forced to come up with new designs for the new formula. This coincidental timing is surely an opportunity that McLaren can not pass up; with many insiders surprised that Dennis has not attempted to become an independent manufacturer prior before now. Will this also see the end of the McLaren silver livery, and return to McLaren Orange from the 1960s which was used at the launch of the MP4-12C? Only time will tell.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Vettel begins title defence in style
The opening race of 2011 delivered a fascinating 58 laps rather than an all time classic but there was many discussion points afterwards. Here's my thoughts on some of the stories of the weekend...
Red Bull take KERS free approach: Sebastian Vettel delivered a stunning lap to take pole position on Saturday evening in Melbourne and followed it up with a controlled drive. It was the German's 4th win in the last 5 races. So all pretty straightforward for him but a different story for Mark Webber. He was nearly a second off in qualifying and was not quick during the race. The Australian also suffered with high tyre wear and Helmut Marko said that there may have been an issue with his chassis. The team will be looking for answers before Sepang in 2 weeks. Webber also stopped after the race and Christian Horner claimed this was due to being marginal on fuel. It may have been that some teams ran with less fuel than usual as they reckoned there would be a safety car at some stage. Red Bull, and especially Vettel, got good starts on Sunday despite no KERS after reliability worries on Friday. This could yet be an issue. Even if they lock out the front row they will be very vulnerable at some circuits off the line so the team will want to solve their issues quickly.
McLaren fast but Button makes unusual error: After a winter of problems, McLaren's radical new car produced the goods as they led the chasing pack trying to hunt down Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton took second whilst Jenson Button had an aggressive race and kept his tyres well. However his evening was compromised by a bad call. Frustrated behind Felipe Massa he was forced to cut a corner when side by side with the Brazilian. It was clear that he should give the place back but he argued he shouldn't and the pitwall didn't intervene. Jenson is one of the smartest drivers around so for him not to realise this was very surprising to see. He got a deserved drive through penalty but recovered to 6th. Very intriguing to see how close McLaren get to Red Bull in Malaysia and whether they can apply more pressure. Some wondered why Sebastien Buemi and Vettel didn't get in trouble for passing off track at turn 4. The reason for this was the drivers were told in their briefing that using the 'car park' area on the outside of the corner would be deemed ok and not be penalised.
Sergio surprises but Sauber stripped of points: I didn't know much about Sergio Perez before the weekend but had read a lot of good things about him so was looking forward to seeing what he could do. The Mexican didn't disappoint, stunning everyone with a 35 lap stint on options to finish 7th, ahead of team mate Kamui Kobayashi. The Sauber car in 2010 was kind to it's tyres and it seems to have carried this characteristic into 2011. It is one that will be very useful to the team. However a rear wing infringement meant that both cars were disqualified. A big error within the team and costly. Sauber have decent pace, 7th and 8th was more down to good strategy and the team will want to utilise their opportunities early in the season.
Mixed fortunes for Renault: It was a weekend of complete contrasts for Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld. The Russian did a good job of qualifying 6th, made an excellent start and drove a clean race to take a brilliant podium. He seems to be much more comfortable and confident after his debut season. For Heidfeld, Q1 involved an off track moment, KERS issues and traffic. He then suffered heavy sidepod damage and crawled home. He has a good record in Malaysia and will want to bounce back and show his worth in what is a competitive car.
'New' teams lose tag but fail to find speed: The new teams from 2010 enter their second season but it was all going wrong for them from Friday morning. Lotus reserve Karun Chandhok crashed 40 seconds into the opening practice session and the team struggled to get the tyres heated. Jarno Trulli claimed Pirelli have changed the tyres since testing. Virgin were 5-6 seconds off the pace and Timo Glock had his race affected by a loose wheel. I feel sorry for the German who is a good driver but the Virgin project is really puzzling me. You have to wonder whether this approach of CFD only is a bit of a fantasy and it's time to get a wind tunnel. The next months will tell a big story. Hispania barely got a lap in and failed to qualify. Vitantonio Liuzzi was 2 seconds off the 107% mark so with more running he should be able to improve but Narain Karthikeyan struggled albeit he had very little time to get up to speed. Still you would think they have more pace in the bag and they will need it just to qualify but they could yet find themselves battling with Virgin.
DRS gets mixed reviews: A lot of different opinions on the new DRS (Drag reduction system) on forums and Twitter over the weekend. I actually felt it worked ok. It added a new element to qualifying and caught out Adrian Sutil in spectacular fashion. In the race it allowed cars to get closer to others and we seen some overtaking into turn 1 but it was not a case of it being too easy. What was noticeable is that having KERS - whether to add to your DRS being open, or to defend from a DRS activated car - was very important. Malaysia will be very intriguing to see how it works with the combination of 2 long straights and 2 hairpins. I actually think that the gap you have to be within to another car should be increased to 2 seconds. This is not meant to be an overtaking gadget but rather something that makes up for the loss in turbulent air and 2 seconds behind is close enough to be affected by it. Cars wouldn't pass straight away but it would help a driver haul themselves closer to a rival and perhaps lead to a battle a few laps later.
Red Bull take KERS free approach: Sebastian Vettel delivered a stunning lap to take pole position on Saturday evening in Melbourne and followed it up with a controlled drive. It was the German's 4th win in the last 5 races. So all pretty straightforward for him but a different story for Mark Webber. He was nearly a second off in qualifying and was not quick during the race. The Australian also suffered with high tyre wear and Helmut Marko said that there may have been an issue with his chassis. The team will be looking for answers before Sepang in 2 weeks. Webber also stopped after the race and Christian Horner claimed this was due to being marginal on fuel. It may have been that some teams ran with less fuel than usual as they reckoned there would be a safety car at some stage. Red Bull, and especially Vettel, got good starts on Sunday despite no KERS after reliability worries on Friday. This could yet be an issue. Even if they lock out the front row they will be very vulnerable at some circuits off the line so the team will want to solve their issues quickly.
McLaren fast but Button makes unusual error: After a winter of problems, McLaren's radical new car produced the goods as they led the chasing pack trying to hunt down Red Bull. Lewis Hamilton took second whilst Jenson Button had an aggressive race and kept his tyres well. However his evening was compromised by a bad call. Frustrated behind Felipe Massa he was forced to cut a corner when side by side with the Brazilian. It was clear that he should give the place back but he argued he shouldn't and the pitwall didn't intervene. Jenson is one of the smartest drivers around so for him not to realise this was very surprising to see. He got a deserved drive through penalty but recovered to 6th. Very intriguing to see how close McLaren get to Red Bull in Malaysia and whether they can apply more pressure. Some wondered why Sebastien Buemi and Vettel didn't get in trouble for passing off track at turn 4. The reason for this was the drivers were told in their briefing that using the 'car park' area on the outside of the corner would be deemed ok and not be penalised.
Sergio surprises but Sauber stripped of points: I didn't know much about Sergio Perez before the weekend but had read a lot of good things about him so was looking forward to seeing what he could do. The Mexican didn't disappoint, stunning everyone with a 35 lap stint on options to finish 7th, ahead of team mate Kamui Kobayashi. The Sauber car in 2010 was kind to it's tyres and it seems to have carried this characteristic into 2011. It is one that will be very useful to the team. However a rear wing infringement meant that both cars were disqualified. A big error within the team and costly. Sauber have decent pace, 7th and 8th was more down to good strategy and the team will want to utilise their opportunities early in the season.
Mixed fortunes for Renault: It was a weekend of complete contrasts for Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld. The Russian did a good job of qualifying 6th, made an excellent start and drove a clean race to take a brilliant podium. He seems to be much more comfortable and confident after his debut season. For Heidfeld, Q1 involved an off track moment, KERS issues and traffic. He then suffered heavy sidepod damage and crawled home. He has a good record in Malaysia and will want to bounce back and show his worth in what is a competitive car.
'New' teams lose tag but fail to find speed: The new teams from 2010 enter their second season but it was all going wrong for them from Friday morning. Lotus reserve Karun Chandhok crashed 40 seconds into the opening practice session and the team struggled to get the tyres heated. Jarno Trulli claimed Pirelli have changed the tyres since testing. Virgin were 5-6 seconds off the pace and Timo Glock had his race affected by a loose wheel. I feel sorry for the German who is a good driver but the Virgin project is really puzzling me. You have to wonder whether this approach of CFD only is a bit of a fantasy and it's time to get a wind tunnel. The next months will tell a big story. Hispania barely got a lap in and failed to qualify. Vitantonio Liuzzi was 2 seconds off the 107% mark so with more running he should be able to improve but Narain Karthikeyan struggled albeit he had very little time to get up to speed. Still you would think they have more pace in the bag and they will need it just to qualify but they could yet find themselves battling with Virgin.
DRS gets mixed reviews: A lot of different opinions on the new DRS (Drag reduction system) on forums and Twitter over the weekend. I actually felt it worked ok. It added a new element to qualifying and caught out Adrian Sutil in spectacular fashion. In the race it allowed cars to get closer to others and we seen some overtaking into turn 1 but it was not a case of it being too easy. What was noticeable is that having KERS - whether to add to your DRS being open, or to defend from a DRS activated car - was very important. Malaysia will be very intriguing to see how it works with the combination of 2 long straights and 2 hairpins. I actually think that the gap you have to be within to another car should be increased to 2 seconds. This is not meant to be an overtaking gadget but rather something that makes up for the loss in turbulent air and 2 seconds behind is close enough to be affected by it. Cars wouldn't pass straight away but it would help a driver haul themselves closer to a rival and perhaps lead to a battle a few laps later.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
F1 2011: Racing, Strategy and Tactics
After a winter of testing and speculation the 2011 season is almost upon us. A number of changes have been made since Abu Dhabi in November with KERS back and the adjustable rear wing introduced. F-Ducts and double diffusers have been banned and Pirelli have taken over as tyre supplier from Bridgestone. Racing is set to be different but what can be expect? Read on for my thoughts on what sort of racing we could well see throughout the season...
Tyres: 2010 was a season which seen very durable tyres, some compounds even capable of lasting an entire race distance. Pirelli have been given a mandate of producing tyres which will wear out quicker, forcing more pitstops and more variance in the strategies that teams will run. There are 4 dry compounds as well as an intermediate and wet tyre. They will be as followed:
Super Soft - Red
Soft - Yellow
Medium - White
Hard - Silver
Intermediate - Light Blue
Wet - Orange
Each weekend there will be 2 of these compounds available. Usually this will be either a combination of Super Soft/Medium or Soft/Hard. It's clear from testing that the degradation is quite high and we are set to see 2/3 stops from each driver in a race. One team has even factored in the possibility of a 5 stop strategy! It should be noted that the intermediate and wet tyres are much harder and so should be able to run quite a distance if required.
Strategy is going to be intriguing, difficult and hectic for the teams. Q3 will see the option tyre being the clear one to use if you want to get on the front row of the grid. However we could see some people going for the prime tyre and deciding to utilise a better race strategy. Qualifying will be quite intense because you will go into it with 3 sets of options and 3 sets of primes. We could see less running during qualifying as well as practice though the teams are getting an extra set of tyres at some weekends for the Friday sessions. So if we have a weekend where tyre degradation is very high and a 4 stopper is need for the race you will have to restrict yourself to using 1 set of tyres per qualifying session. The front runners will want to try and get through the first 2 sessions with 1 run on options or perhaps a set of primes which then gives you 2 runs on options in Q3 if it is needed. Then you start the race on one of those sets and use primes for the rest of the race. Note the rule of using both compounds in a race remain.
Lewis Hamilton commented that he had tyres destroyed after a 9 lap run during testing. However we have seen 20 lap stints as well so clearly the compounds vary. Much is made of the different styles of the drivers and how this may affect things but it is unclear whether the Pirelli tyres are affected by this or whether mileage alone is the key factor in their wear rate. Another noticeable aspect of testing was the amount and size of pieces of rubber and marbles coming off the tyres. If we have a dry weekend then race day could see a track which has 1 racing line and it extremely slippery offline and this could hurt overtaking moves but see more mistakes. The FIA may have to look at washing the track on Saturday nights if it became detrimental to the season
KERS: The Kinetic Recovery Energy System is back after it debuted with some teams in 2009. Now we have most teams utilising the system, only Virgin, Lotus and HRT have definitely ruled it out for now. Mercedes were considered to have the best KERS a couple of years ago which will please them and customer outfits McLaren and Force India. The likes of Williams have had teething issues and i feel that Ferrari, McLaren and Renault will benefit from their past usage of the system.
The start will again be key with it, using your energy as soon as you are not traction limited. More cars will have it now so there will be more of a cancelling out effect but if you can hold position and save a bit you can perhaps attack later on in the lap. I think the teams will make use of it regularly. It can bring 0.2-0.33 seconds per lap and with regulation changes stabilising the weight distribution teams will not be able to make this up as easy with revised ballast placement. Same rules apply as 2009, you can use it for 6.67 seconds per lap.
Adjustable Rear Wing: The Adjustable Rear Wing (ARW) or Drag Reduction System (DRS) as it is also being called is a new gadget for the drivers to use this season. Gone are the adjustable front wings after 2 seasons. Each rear wing will be capable of having a slot activated which opens it, reducing drag and increasing straight line speed by 8-12 km/h. This is opened by the driver in the cockpit with a switch or button and once open remains so until the driver next uses the brakes when it closes within 20 milliseconds of the brake pedal being pressed.
In practice and qualifying the use of the wing is unlimited and the driver can use it whenever they want. This should make qualifying laps quite interesting because as soon as they accelerate onto a straight or indeed go through a flat out corner which they can take with reduced downforce they will want the wing activated so the drag, and indeed the laptime, is reduced. Some drivers have complained about this but really it is not much different to having to operate a F-Duct last year so i can see them getting on top of it early on.
The races see a different situation for the ARW. First of all the use of the wing is not allowed on the opening 2 laps and on the 2 laps after any safety car period under any circumstances. For the other parts of the race the wing is only open to use in pre-determined overtaking zones. A timing loop will be set up at a particular part of the circuit. Then ahead of this will be a line on the track which will indicate the start of the overtaking zone. If you pass the timing loop within a second of the car in front you will be able to activate the ARW when you cross the line. For the opening races this zone is designed to be 600 metres before the braking zone for the next corner but the FIA can adjust the parameters surrounding this new device throughout the season based on what they see in the season.
From what i understand, the best way to maximise speed is to open the rear wing and then deploy KERS. So when you exit the last corner of your outlap you will want to do that in the right order to get the highest speed to start your lap. Another issue will be gear ratios. You will want your 7th gear set so it just maxs out with the ARW open and KERS being used. You could have it set lower and give yourself better overall top speed when running without the use of either but i feel the teams won't do this because it would be too costly to performance in qualifying and hence negatively affect your chances.
The race is going to be a bit different though because if you are trying to catch the car in front you will (depending on the relative pace of the cars involved) want to use the KERS to push yourself into the 1 second window to activate the rear wing. However if the car in front saves some KERS he can respond to the activation of the rear wing by deploying KERS so i think we will see some of that this season. In terms of the ARW improving overtaking i think with the current way it is being utilised a car will have to be within 0.5 seconds to have a chance of passing. What we will see is a car enter the zone and suddenly move towards the car in front quite quickly. This may not result in an actual overtake at the time but we may see some closer battles, times when the driver in front is forced more defensive and indeed more late lunges. Malaysia and China in particular will show better the advantage it gives.
Safety Car: Some slight adjustments regarding the rules surrounding the deployment of the safety car. The delta time which you have to not exceed when the safety car is first deployed now must be maintained for 2 laps instead of 1 lap. This seems minor but basically means for that period the race is neutralised. So if you are a team which has cars running closely and you want both to pit you can pit one immediately and the other car the following lap and should in theory not lose out. This will mean queueing will not be required in the pitlane and should ensure a calmer and hopefully safer pitlane. A note about the pitlane is that the fast lane is only wide enough for 1 car now so more space for the mechanics and no side by side racing in the pitlane. The green light will always be on at the pit exit so drivers can come out even if there is other cars close by.
So a lot of new aspects to Formula 1 this season. I think the tyres will be a massive part of the season. Anytime we have had a big change it has seen certain teams adapt better and the new rubber could suit some drivers better than others. It could be a very reactive situation in races. Perhaps a 3 stop strategy will be the plan at the race start. However if people start to feel their tyres go they'll pit to try and jump others on fresh tyres because of the difference in compounds. This will force other drivers to react even if their tyres are not totally finished. Teams will shift their pitstops forward and then perhaps leave themselves with a longer final stint. The dilemma then is whether you hang on to the end of the race or make an extra pitstop and try and recover the time with fresher tyres.
The adjustable rear wing will be an intriguing aspect and i think people who think that cars will be breezing past too easy shouldn't worry. KERS should keep the starts manic and busy but we could see a cancellation effect when the wing and KERS go into combat. In terms of strategy you are now more likely to pit even if there is traffic because on fresh tyres and with the ARW you can make your way through the field quicker so whereas the optimum strategy was generally stuck to last year, 2011 may see teams take more of a risk with an extra stop and on certain tracks it may be workable. Don't forget that with the double diffuser gone we should see cars able to run a bit closer with less turbulent air and the cars are a bit slower than before so should be slghtly easier to attack a car in front.
It promises to be an exciting, competitive and fascinating season and it all kicks off this weekend in Melbourne
Tyres: 2010 was a season which seen very durable tyres, some compounds even capable of lasting an entire race distance. Pirelli have been given a mandate of producing tyres which will wear out quicker, forcing more pitstops and more variance in the strategies that teams will run. There are 4 dry compounds as well as an intermediate and wet tyre. They will be as followed:
Super Soft - Red
Soft - Yellow
Medium - White
Hard - Silver
Intermediate - Light Blue
Wet - Orange
Each weekend there will be 2 of these compounds available. Usually this will be either a combination of Super Soft/Medium or Soft/Hard. It's clear from testing that the degradation is quite high and we are set to see 2/3 stops from each driver in a race. One team has even factored in the possibility of a 5 stop strategy! It should be noted that the intermediate and wet tyres are much harder and so should be able to run quite a distance if required.
Strategy is going to be intriguing, difficult and hectic for the teams. Q3 will see the option tyre being the clear one to use if you want to get on the front row of the grid. However we could see some people going for the prime tyre and deciding to utilise a better race strategy. Qualifying will be quite intense because you will go into it with 3 sets of options and 3 sets of primes. We could see less running during qualifying as well as practice though the teams are getting an extra set of tyres at some weekends for the Friday sessions. So if we have a weekend where tyre degradation is very high and a 4 stopper is need for the race you will have to restrict yourself to using 1 set of tyres per qualifying session. The front runners will want to try and get through the first 2 sessions with 1 run on options or perhaps a set of primes which then gives you 2 runs on options in Q3 if it is needed. Then you start the race on one of those sets and use primes for the rest of the race. Note the rule of using both compounds in a race remain.
Lewis Hamilton commented that he had tyres destroyed after a 9 lap run during testing. However we have seen 20 lap stints as well so clearly the compounds vary. Much is made of the different styles of the drivers and how this may affect things but it is unclear whether the Pirelli tyres are affected by this or whether mileage alone is the key factor in their wear rate. Another noticeable aspect of testing was the amount and size of pieces of rubber and marbles coming off the tyres. If we have a dry weekend then race day could see a track which has 1 racing line and it extremely slippery offline and this could hurt overtaking moves but see more mistakes. The FIA may have to look at washing the track on Saturday nights if it became detrimental to the season
KERS: The Kinetic Recovery Energy System is back after it debuted with some teams in 2009. Now we have most teams utilising the system, only Virgin, Lotus and HRT have definitely ruled it out for now. Mercedes were considered to have the best KERS a couple of years ago which will please them and customer outfits McLaren and Force India. The likes of Williams have had teething issues and i feel that Ferrari, McLaren and Renault will benefit from their past usage of the system.
The start will again be key with it, using your energy as soon as you are not traction limited. More cars will have it now so there will be more of a cancelling out effect but if you can hold position and save a bit you can perhaps attack later on in the lap. I think the teams will make use of it regularly. It can bring 0.2-0.33 seconds per lap and with regulation changes stabilising the weight distribution teams will not be able to make this up as easy with revised ballast placement. Same rules apply as 2009, you can use it for 6.67 seconds per lap.
Adjustable Rear Wing: The Adjustable Rear Wing (ARW) or Drag Reduction System (DRS) as it is also being called is a new gadget for the drivers to use this season. Gone are the adjustable front wings after 2 seasons. Each rear wing will be capable of having a slot activated which opens it, reducing drag and increasing straight line speed by 8-12 km/h. This is opened by the driver in the cockpit with a switch or button and once open remains so until the driver next uses the brakes when it closes within 20 milliseconds of the brake pedal being pressed.
In practice and qualifying the use of the wing is unlimited and the driver can use it whenever they want. This should make qualifying laps quite interesting because as soon as they accelerate onto a straight or indeed go through a flat out corner which they can take with reduced downforce they will want the wing activated so the drag, and indeed the laptime, is reduced. Some drivers have complained about this but really it is not much different to having to operate a F-Duct last year so i can see them getting on top of it early on.
The races see a different situation for the ARW. First of all the use of the wing is not allowed on the opening 2 laps and on the 2 laps after any safety car period under any circumstances. For the other parts of the race the wing is only open to use in pre-determined overtaking zones. A timing loop will be set up at a particular part of the circuit. Then ahead of this will be a line on the track which will indicate the start of the overtaking zone. If you pass the timing loop within a second of the car in front you will be able to activate the ARW when you cross the line. For the opening races this zone is designed to be 600 metres before the braking zone for the next corner but the FIA can adjust the parameters surrounding this new device throughout the season based on what they see in the season.
From what i understand, the best way to maximise speed is to open the rear wing and then deploy KERS. So when you exit the last corner of your outlap you will want to do that in the right order to get the highest speed to start your lap. Another issue will be gear ratios. You will want your 7th gear set so it just maxs out with the ARW open and KERS being used. You could have it set lower and give yourself better overall top speed when running without the use of either but i feel the teams won't do this because it would be too costly to performance in qualifying and hence negatively affect your chances.
The race is going to be a bit different though because if you are trying to catch the car in front you will (depending on the relative pace of the cars involved) want to use the KERS to push yourself into the 1 second window to activate the rear wing. However if the car in front saves some KERS he can respond to the activation of the rear wing by deploying KERS so i think we will see some of that this season. In terms of the ARW improving overtaking i think with the current way it is being utilised a car will have to be within 0.5 seconds to have a chance of passing. What we will see is a car enter the zone and suddenly move towards the car in front quite quickly. This may not result in an actual overtake at the time but we may see some closer battles, times when the driver in front is forced more defensive and indeed more late lunges. Malaysia and China in particular will show better the advantage it gives.
Safety Car: Some slight adjustments regarding the rules surrounding the deployment of the safety car. The delta time which you have to not exceed when the safety car is first deployed now must be maintained for 2 laps instead of 1 lap. This seems minor but basically means for that period the race is neutralised. So if you are a team which has cars running closely and you want both to pit you can pit one immediately and the other car the following lap and should in theory not lose out. This will mean queueing will not be required in the pitlane and should ensure a calmer and hopefully safer pitlane. A note about the pitlane is that the fast lane is only wide enough for 1 car now so more space for the mechanics and no side by side racing in the pitlane. The green light will always be on at the pit exit so drivers can come out even if there is other cars close by.
So a lot of new aspects to Formula 1 this season. I think the tyres will be a massive part of the season. Anytime we have had a big change it has seen certain teams adapt better and the new rubber could suit some drivers better than others. It could be a very reactive situation in races. Perhaps a 3 stop strategy will be the plan at the race start. However if people start to feel their tyres go they'll pit to try and jump others on fresh tyres because of the difference in compounds. This will force other drivers to react even if their tyres are not totally finished. Teams will shift their pitstops forward and then perhaps leave themselves with a longer final stint. The dilemma then is whether you hang on to the end of the race or make an extra pitstop and try and recover the time with fresher tyres.
The adjustable rear wing will be an intriguing aspect and i think people who think that cars will be breezing past too easy shouldn't worry. KERS should keep the starts manic and busy but we could see a cancellation effect when the wing and KERS go into combat. In terms of strategy you are now more likely to pit even if there is traffic because on fresh tyres and with the ARW you can make your way through the field quicker so whereas the optimum strategy was generally stuck to last year, 2011 may see teams take more of a risk with an extra stop and on certain tracks it may be workable. Don't forget that with the double diffuser gone we should see cars able to run a bit closer with less turbulent air and the cars are a bit slower than before so should be slghtly easier to attack a car in front.
It promises to be an exciting, competitive and fascinating season and it all kicks off this weekend in Melbourne
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
McLaren under pressure to deliver
In the past 10 years, McLaren have had many great drivers of the 21st century driving their cars. Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard, Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button have all passed through the doors of the Technology Centre in Woking, a superb factory with excellent facilities. Built through the strength of McLaren's history and their brand value which today sees them placed as one of the biggest names in Formula 1 with sponsorship from the likes of Vodafone. Yet in this past decade they have seen a drinks company win twice as many championships as them, Ferrari cement their place as the sport's most successful team and only have Lewis Hamilton's 2008 drivers title as a show of achievement.
A sensationalised opening paragraph but one designed to trigger some thinking over what McLaren have done in recent seasons. We almost expect the silver and rocket red cars to be in the mix come the season opener yet for all the might they have possessed they have actually underachieved. With two world champions in the cockpits at present they have drivers capable of winning and certainly hungry to do so. Yet 2010 seen a promising opening half of the season eventually fade away as they found themselves out-developed by Red Bull and Ferrari.
Jenson Button is a very relaxed man these days after taking the title in 2009 but remains determined. However he is now into his thirties and seems very happy in the McLaren environment and may well be content to finish his career with the team. It's well known that Lewis Hamilton has been with McLaren for most of his life, let alone his career. However he is a man used to winning throughout that career and since the drama of Interlagos in 2008 he has rarely had a race winning car at his disposal. When he has had the opportunity to win he has usually taken it. Hamilton has shown in these past 2 years that his raw speed and ability to drive a car to the limit is clear.
Would he really leave McLaren? It seems hard to imagine in the colours of any other team on the grid. Without his Father at his side trackside this year Lewis became more independent in race weekends and certainly showed plenty of frustration in the heat of the moment such as Melbourne and Monaco when he disagreed with the tactics of his team. The Finnish website Turun Sanomat, well known for good connections within the McLaren team, even went as far to suggesting that Hamilton was on the brink of walking out on the team. I find that a bit far fetched to believe, they say things boiled up after the summer break but of course Lewis had a great win at Spa and the gesture of taking his whole team out bowling in Japan does not seem to suggest a driver totally at odds with his team.
However should 2011 not involve race wins the picture could change. McLaren have taken a radical approach to their 2011 car, something which was needed because the MP4-25 struggled on many tracks. Testing has seen many reliability issues and whilst times are hard to read it has been said by many watching in the cars in Spain that the car looks hard work to drive. Early days but for now Red Bull and Ferrari seem to be more solid and quicker with their evolutionary cars. Hamilton is contracted to the end of 2012 but whether the potential of an open seat at either of those 2 teams would tempt the British driver remains to be seen.
McLaren really need to get things together though. The resources are there and so are the drivers. It's a fierce battle between the teams but McLaren need to deliver a machine because if they do they have 2 men who can produce the goods and a pitwall which showed many times that it is one of the best when it comes to the operational side of things as well as strategy, something which could be key. Button has shown this trait as well and his smooth driving style could pay dividends with the Pirelli tyres. Hamilton could revel in the more flexible strategies with his overtaking skills and showed how to put KERS to good use in 2009. A big year lies ahead for the Woking team...
Images courtesy of www.mclaren.com
A sensationalised opening paragraph but one designed to trigger some thinking over what McLaren have done in recent seasons. We almost expect the silver and rocket red cars to be in the mix come the season opener yet for all the might they have possessed they have actually underachieved. With two world champions in the cockpits at present they have drivers capable of winning and certainly hungry to do so. Yet 2010 seen a promising opening half of the season eventually fade away as they found themselves out-developed by Red Bull and Ferrari.
Jenson Button is a very relaxed man these days after taking the title in 2009 but remains determined. However he is now into his thirties and seems very happy in the McLaren environment and may well be content to finish his career with the team. It's well known that Lewis Hamilton has been with McLaren for most of his life, let alone his career. However he is a man used to winning throughout that career and since the drama of Interlagos in 2008 he has rarely had a race winning car at his disposal. When he has had the opportunity to win he has usually taken it. Hamilton has shown in these past 2 years that his raw speed and ability to drive a car to the limit is clear.
Would he really leave McLaren? It seems hard to imagine in the colours of any other team on the grid. Without his Father at his side trackside this year Lewis became more independent in race weekends and certainly showed plenty of frustration in the heat of the moment such as Melbourne and Monaco when he disagreed with the tactics of his team. The Finnish website Turun Sanomat, well known for good connections within the McLaren team, even went as far to suggesting that Hamilton was on the brink of walking out on the team. I find that a bit far fetched to believe, they say things boiled up after the summer break but of course Lewis had a great win at Spa and the gesture of taking his whole team out bowling in Japan does not seem to suggest a driver totally at odds with his team.
However should 2011 not involve race wins the picture could change. McLaren have taken a radical approach to their 2011 car, something which was needed because the MP4-25 struggled on many tracks. Testing has seen many reliability issues and whilst times are hard to read it has been said by many watching in the cars in Spain that the car looks hard work to drive. Early days but for now Red Bull and Ferrari seem to be more solid and quicker with their evolutionary cars. Hamilton is contracted to the end of 2012 but whether the potential of an open seat at either of those 2 teams would tempt the British driver remains to be seen.
McLaren really need to get things together though. The resources are there and so are the drivers. It's a fierce battle between the teams but McLaren need to deliver a machine because if they do they have 2 men who can produce the goods and a pitwall which showed many times that it is one of the best when it comes to the operational side of things as well as strategy, something which could be key. Button has shown this trait as well and his smooth driving style could pay dividends with the Pirelli tyres. Hamilton could revel in the more flexible strategies with his overtaking skills and showed how to put KERS to good use in 2009. A big year lies ahead for the Woking team...
Images courtesy of www.mclaren.com
Friday, January 21, 2011
Getting to know Paul di Resta
He's the new Scottish star of Formula 1 but Paul di Resta hasn't taken the conventional route to take a drive in the sport with Force India...
After plenty of karting as a youngster, Formula Renault was the first experience of open wheel racing for the man from West Lothian in 2002. Three years later the step up to F3 followed and he would also win the McLaren Autosport BRDC young driver of the year award. A great achievement and one which gave him the opportunity to test a McLaren F1 car. Plenty is made of him beating Sebastian Vettel in F3 in 2006 and certainly that showed that he had good potential. It should be noted however that Vettel also had commitments in 2 other series, including test driver for BMW in Formula 1.
However di Resta's career would take an unusual turn as he ended up driving in DTM in 2007 for Mercedes. This is basically the German equivalent of the British Touring Car Championship in the UK. On paper it is a strange move to make for someone who wants to get into Formula 1. Former Grand Prix winner David Coulthard has described the two series as very different in driving style. What has proved beneficial for di Resta is the building of a relationship with Mercedes. Customer of the German company Force India allowed the 24 year old to gain some experience in 2010 by being the teams reserve driver. He travelled to all the races with the team and took part in 8 practice sessions. He drove at a competitive pace and didn't suffer any major dramas and generally impressed.
Now he steps up to the true test of a race seat. Losing out is Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian had a deal with the team but has been replaced after a difficult seat. It's been the story of his career, flashes of brilliance but often flattering to deceive. Certainly he had some car issues at times but also made errors and was regularly outpaced by Adrian Sutil. His F1 career is now on the brink and he will find it difficult to find a new seat. Can di Resta shine where Liuzzi didn't? Time will tell but i believe that pace wise he can be close to Sutil, it will be how good his racecraft is which will be the major test.
Image courtesy of http://www.forceindiaf1.com
After plenty of karting as a youngster, Formula Renault was the first experience of open wheel racing for the man from West Lothian in 2002. Three years later the step up to F3 followed and he would also win the McLaren Autosport BRDC young driver of the year award. A great achievement and one which gave him the opportunity to test a McLaren F1 car. Plenty is made of him beating Sebastian Vettel in F3 in 2006 and certainly that showed that he had good potential. It should be noted however that Vettel also had commitments in 2 other series, including test driver for BMW in Formula 1.
However di Resta's career would take an unusual turn as he ended up driving in DTM in 2007 for Mercedes. This is basically the German equivalent of the British Touring Car Championship in the UK. On paper it is a strange move to make for someone who wants to get into Formula 1. Former Grand Prix winner David Coulthard has described the two series as very different in driving style. What has proved beneficial for di Resta is the building of a relationship with Mercedes. Customer of the German company Force India allowed the 24 year old to gain some experience in 2010 by being the teams reserve driver. He travelled to all the races with the team and took part in 8 practice sessions. He drove at a competitive pace and didn't suffer any major dramas and generally impressed.
Now he steps up to the true test of a race seat. Losing out is Vitantonio Liuzzi. The Italian had a deal with the team but has been replaced after a difficult seat. It's been the story of his career, flashes of brilliance but often flattering to deceive. Certainly he had some car issues at times but also made errors and was regularly outpaced by Adrian Sutil. His F1 career is now on the brink and he will find it difficult to find a new seat. Can di Resta shine where Liuzzi didn't? Time will tell but i believe that pace wise he can be close to Sutil, it will be how good his racecraft is which will be the major test.
Image courtesy of http://www.forceindiaf1.com
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