Hey Good Lookin' Part 2? Not Necessarily...

Several of the newest set of Formula 1 cars have one consistant, redeeming feature..

Boy are they UGLY!

In comparison I may not have been a fan early on, but the 2012 Indycar, the DW12 is starting to grow on me...

Just like the new Daytona Prototypes...

British Grand Prix - Quick Thoughts

The FIA giveth and they taketh away... eth...

They give the drivers KERS and DRS to help with overtaking... and then take away the chance of overtaking by handing out “causing an avoidable incident” penalties like they are going out of fashion... which they are! I agreed with Martin Brundle when he said “staying in bed” would have avoided causing an incident and the race Stewards should let them “have a go”. There is a difference between trying and failing, and taking someone out!

The pity of the penalties is that the drivers are learning to race and give each other room again. There were some really good two wide, wheel to wheel overtaking moves at Silverstone. The Stewards need to take a leaf out of NASCAR’s book and give the drivers room to race without getting penalised for trying!

All this talk of exhausts is exhausting...

Do the research, write the rules, clarify the rules, give the teams’ reasonable notice, AND GET ON WITH IT!


Silverstone, anonymous or what?

The new layout at Silverstone is dull. Dull to look at as there are no features round the circuit to give it character, and dull for racing, as the main overtaking points were on the old part of the circuit.


Binoculars now a necessity?

Usually the tarmac that is the racing surface, the bit between the white lines and the grandstands, the bit that the paying public sit in, are close enough together that the aforementioned paying public can see what is happening on the tarmac bit between the white lines. At Silverstone the track and the grandstands have separate postcodes! I could not believe how far back they have moved the stands along what used to be the old start finish straight from Luffield and down to Copse. What I can’t work out is why as that part of the track has not changed, or if it has not enough to warrant moving the public back that much.

The best thing about the new Silverstone...

What I like most about Silverstone’s deal to hold the British GP for the foreseeable future is that it leaves Donington and all other UK tracks alone. The thought of such a wonderful piece of tarmac, and such a nice place to watch racing as Donington being ruined for the sake of a Grand Prix broke my heart. At least now Britain only has one dull F1 circuit with huge run offs and no personality and not two!


Rant over... for now...

Down To The Wire

A “Good” GP!

A Grand Prix with pit stop strategy and late race overtaking!

With the introduction of DRS, the movable flappy paddle wing things, and the reintroduction of KERS, the nod to the environment slash overboost push to pass button, Formula 1 accepted the need to do something to aid overtaking.

They may be a bit false. They may be gimmicky. They may work, they may not...

They did provide us with a GP worth watching!

Overview - Red Bull badly need KERS, McLaren need more qualifying pace, Ferrari are not good enough, Rosberg is doing well, Schumacher is a waste of space, DeRista is looking good!



4 x 2 x 0.002

The second ‘plate race of 2011 was another two car draft story.

If you like the latest style of restrictor plate racing then it was a good race.

If you don’t...it wasn’t.

I kinda do, so I enjoyed it.

2011 is turning into the year of great finishes and todays was no exception!

Two deep, four wide, and first to second was 0.002 seconds!

You can’t tell me that wasn’t good!?!

British Bumper Car Championship

Good things - The new turbo engines seem to be working. Anybody can now buy an engine, put it in a car and be competitive! Lots of different cars!

Bad things - The driving standards are appalling! Most of the cars are old... I hope the teams running the new spec cars can sort out their issues and be a factor later in the year as I don’t fancy watching old Vauxhalls and Focus’s up front all year.

Come on race control, get a grip, instill some kind of respect and stop the blocking and the bump n’ run.



Ginetta is Betta... erm Better...

I am loving the new G55‘s. They look good, sound good and race great! At last a National series I look forward to watching!

ChaseCam: Ferrari 250 GTO - 2010 Goodwood Revival

I saw this clip posted on Facebook, courtesy of Mark Hales, and felt the need to share it!

Oh how I hate front wheel drive and sequential gearboxes!!

Wonderful stuff!!




"Martin Brundle and Mark Hales race Nick Mason's Ferrari 250 GTO at the 2010 Goodwood Revival. Experience the build-up to the race start, Martin's first race in a car worth £14 million, the change over to Mark Hales and a master class in driving one of the all time classic GT cars.

See www.chasecam.co.uk for details of the 2011 DIVA four camera SD system with synchronised data and LCD screen for play back and set-up and the new DIVA HD system with data with LCD screen for playback and set-up"

$100,000 Cheque Anybody?

Two races to go...

  

Points race close...

Team orders anybody??

Top five - 1st Alonso (Ferrari) 231 / 2nd Webber (Red Bull) 220 / 3rd Hamilton (McLaren) 210 / 4th Vettel (Red Bull) 206 / 5th Button (McLaren) 189...

Autosport headlines - "Horner: Both drivers still in title race"... "Ferrari plans 'very careful' approach"...

Team orders anybody??

Here is the question... Can the World Championship be won without team orders??

Put it this way, one Ferrari against two Red Bulls and two McLarens??

Team orders anybody??

Ferrari have always had a number 1 driver, and a number 2 driver. You could say that Ferrari don't have team orders; they just have one driver with the backing, the equipment, the strategy, the team around them. This is how they ran the team with Schumacher, and they still totally back one horse; pun intended. If any Ferrari is going to get the points it will be Alonso.

McLaren had Senna and Prost. Now they have Hamilton, and Button, not that I am directly comparing the drivers, merely the way in which McLaren run their team. McLaren let the drivers "race" which a good thing for fans of "racing" however they could be in danger of letting the drivers take points off of each other.

Red Bull also have two drivers; but not out of design, I would have thought. They have Vettel, probably signed as their primary driver, and nice guy Webber as the crowd pleasing second driver. However the plan has gone wrong, in a good way, with Vettels problems earlier in the year putting Webber in the lead of the Championship with Vettel currently in fourth. Red Bull has to decide whether to let the drivers race, or to back one driver over the other...

If the Red Bull drivers and the McLaren drivers all go racing there is a chance that the sole Ferrari driver could walk off with the title.

If, for the last race, McLaren and Red Bull decide to back one driver, they will have to be carefull about how they plan their races, and what tactics the "second" driver uses.

As we all know team orders are not allowed according to the regulations, unless you have a $100,000 cheque at hand...

Anyway, if it rains my money's on the safety car...

Ferrari vs FIA! The Farce in Detail!!

The FIA need to pay Ferraris lawyers to act for them in the future as they played the World Motor Sport Council to perfection!!

The FIA's explanation has so many contradictions, and Ferraris arguments have the FIA running for cover!!

The FIA's "Factual Charges" (A.i) and "Legal Charges" (B.i) state Ferrari gave a team order. In legal terms there is no evidence of such an order, just an exchange of information, so the FIA are off to a bad start already.

"Legal Charges" (B.ii) states that Ferrari breached the "fraudulent conduct or act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or motor sport generally". 

Ferraris response included the following...

"In the view of Ferrari, there is a clear distinction between 'team orders' on the one hand, and 'team strategy and tactics' on the other hand. The disputed communication should be considered as 'team strategy and tactics."

I live on earth, what planet does this come from??

The killer blow from Ferrari comes in the form of...

"In the view of Ferrari, if the true nature of the breach alleged is that of "team orders", Ferrari submits that either that offence is established or it is not. If it is not, it would be improper to try to make good some deficiency in the Regulations (if such there be) by relying on some generally worded provisions which are clearly intended to apply to different situations." 

So if you can't prove the "team order" allegation, and as your regulation is badly written, you can't,  it would not be a good idea to try to hang us using your "catch all" regulation.

Ferrari then lists previous instances of "team orders", and the action taken by the FIA in each circumstance, or not taken in-fact! Question, why is it relevant what has happened in the past? If the FIA want to promote "racing" then start from now, stop looking backwards, draw the line here and now! Just because the FIA have had no back bone over the last few years doesn't mean they can't grow one now!!

The FIA ruled that Ferrari did breach the "team order" regulation. The FIA also ruled that Ferrari breached the "fraudulent conduct or act prejudicial to the interests of any competition or motor sport generally" regulation. The FIA also state...

"It is the role and responsibility of the FIA as the world governing body for motor sport to promote sports ethics and fair play... Sports ethics involves the elimination of cheating and bending the rules. In addition to the existing written rules, there can therefore be said to be a moral obligation on drivers to abide by the rules, in accordance with the principles of fair play."

Sounds good so far...

The decision... Team orders were issued! The drivers swapping places was "prejudicial to the interest of motor sport and contrary to article" blah blah blah...

They then state...

"It is important for the FIA to act to protect the sporting integrity of the FIA Formula One World Championship, and to ensure the podium finish has been achieved by genuine on track racing."

The penalty... NOTHING more than the already imposed fine!

They also state that the drivers should not be penalised!

The get out of jail free card used was the "ambiguities" of the regulation, and "it would not be appropriate to increase the overall penalty" due to this... but the rule is not ambiguous enough to prevent the FIA  from finding them guilty of breaching it!!

So in short, the "Team Order" rule is badly written and we will review it, but you have breached it, we uphold fair play but write us a small cheque and you'll be ok, drivers are responsible for their actions but shouldn't be penalised, we want the podium to reflect real on-track racing but do nothing to ensure this, oh and the best bit...

Ferrari, Williams, and Sauber "pointed out the risk of collision of team mates". If, F1 teams, you are worried about your drivers taking each other out... GET BETTER DRIVERS!!

Cricket match anyone?? Oh can't, you need balls for that!!

FIA SHOCK... INGLY PREDICTABLE...

Back in July, the German Grand Prix and Ferrari in particular, were the subject in a blog of mine entitled "Team Orders, or In Germany We Have Ways of Making You Win" http://jameswright42.blogspot.com/2010/07/team-orders-or-in-germany-we-have-ways.html.

It has now been decided that the $100,000 fine for "what happened" in the German Grand Prix is enough of a penalty after the FIA's World Motor Sport Council sat on Wednesday to review the "happenings".

This should not come as a huge surprise to anybody who knows anything about the FIA and F1 of recent years and I say this for three reasons...

1 - Ferrari International Assistance

The FIA has a recent history of letting Ferrari get away with anything they have done, while penalising other teams for everything they do, so on this basis the FIA were never going to penalise Ferrari any more than they had to. You could say that having Jean Todt in the FIA seat of power wasn't going to help this situation, or you might have hoped that the ex-Ferrari puppet master had taken all the secrets to the governing body, poacher turned game keeper, and would bring in a change of attitude. In this instance Todt was not directly involved but must have had an influence, and due to his role in the sport how are we to believe anything else?

2 - Regulations that are un-enforceable!

Regulation 39.1 bans team orders...

With this regulation in the rule book no team is ever going to get on the radio to their driver and say...

"Your team mate, our number 1 driver, who has more points than you, is behind you. Please slow down, let him overtake you and protect his position for the remainder of the race, as we want him to win the race not you."

You may hear...

"(driver name) is running half a second a lap faster than you" OR "you are currently 3 tenths of a second slower than the car behind you" OR "the leader is lapping at a 1 minute something something, you are doing 1 minute something else." This is a reasonable set of information for a driver to be told at various times over the course of a race.

However for a team to say, "your team mate is faster than you blah blah blah..." to their driver is obviously a very specific phrase used for a very specific reason. To follow it with "Sorry", along with the driver and crews demeanour after the race says it all!

Now if you heard this and thought the message meant anything other than "you are not quick enough , sorry I have given you a useless car" you are obviously incorrect, or so Ferrari would have you believe.

What the Motor Sport Council have done is uphold the fine, therefore agreeing (you would think) that the regulations were breached, but imposed no additional penalties, bar making Ferrari pay the costs of the judicial procedure, which surely they would not be made to pay were they innocent. So if you break this regulation a fine is enough of a penalty, no points loss required, no exclusions, not even a probationary period.

With the championship as close as it is, $100,000 is a small price for teams to pay if they manipulate the results of a race to put there top driver ahead for the sake of points. Put it another way, if the same thing happened at the last race of the year and influenced the Championship results, the team would have to write a cheque for the small (to an F1 team) amount of $100,000. The driver would keep the position, keep the points and the rewards associated. Sounds good to me, cheat and keep the spoils for your efforts but pay out a small cheque for the honour!!

OR If the council has decided that there was not enough evidence to convict Ferrari of breaching this regulation, why maintain the fine if you can not prove they did anything wrong! I think have an answer for that...

3 - No BALLS!!

The question is, do the FIA want to allow team orders in F1? 

If we assume for one minute that the FIA wants to promote "racing" in F1, as they keep saying and have backed up by the team orders regulations' existence in the first place, then the answer must be NO!

If this is the case why then do they send mixed messages with the "fine but can't prove they did anything wrong" routine. Want to stop team orders? Exclude the two drivers and the team from the meeting, and put them all on probation for the remainder of the season! Message sent, you cheat you get thrown out!!

If the regulation is not enforceable then introduce a regulation in the style of NASCARs, "Actions Detrimental to Stock Car Racing". This allows you to penalise any team or driver if you consider their action to have a  negative effect on the sport. Oh hang on, ever heard of "Bringing the Sport into Disrepute"? If a team rigs the outcome of a race, you could exclude them under this regulation, or fine them by the way. However this style of thinking does not fit in well with a sport run by lawyers as there may not be sufficient "evidence" to convict the driver or team even if the entire world knows exactly what happened. That and you would need the "balls" to do it in the first place!!

Reviewing the Regulation

However, if F1 think team orders are a part of the sport, why is the regulation in the rule book in the first place? The problem is, the regulation is in the book and for this season that's the law... or apparently not!!

The Motor Sport Council have requested the rule makers review the regulation for next year. You will never be able to prove in a court of motor sport law that team orders exist as no team will ever use the words. In a sport run by lawyers, the regulation was doomed from the start. However the Council have upheld the fine! If they are happy that Ferrari breached the regulation, and are therefore satisfied with the evidence, why review the regulation? If Ferrari used team orders and they have been found guilty, the rule works doesn't it? 

Feeble Incident Assessors???

Farcical...

Lastly, a quote from Autosport.com -

"When asked to respond to suggestions that, despite Ferrari's denials, many people believed the outfit had used team orders, Todt said: "I tend to agree as well."

Oh good, thanks for that!! I await the full explanation with breathe that is baited.. honest...

Todays Scores... Wall Won vs. Schumacher / Sadler Nill

F1 -

• Something's never change... Schumacher still thinks he can get away with anything, after all it was only one move to protect his position... Pity the Stewards did not have enough time to black flag him...
• Something's do change... Barrichello didn't back off!!
• Vettel gets penalised for messing up a restart and the team blames radio issues. Apparently the Red Bull cars and drivers are radio controlled now, and the drivers have no need to understand the regulations...
• Going into the mid season break, Red Bulls number 2 driver is leading the points ahead of Hamilton... with Ferrari on form... should make for a good points race, if Ferrari actually race...
• Schumacher is obviously finding it hard to drive the latest generation of Ross Brawn designed F1 car, or in Mercedes speak, the front tyres are "peculiar"... oh that's the reason...
• The FIA / Ferrari post "team order" controversy hearing is being held after the next race... F1 have the best part of a month off and the FIA cannot organise themselves to make up their collective minds in time for the next race. The world should know what is happening now, not in more than a months time!
• Interesting quote from the Autoblog web site (www.autoblog.com) that gives us an idea of the American attitude towards F1... "Instead of the usual parade of high-tech machinery proceeding in procession, sapping the excitement out of the sport – or worse yet, lamentable team orders sullying the day – this latest round in the Formula One World Championship was packed with fate-altering, nail-biting action – and rivalries both old and new – from start to finish. A fitting way, then, to sign off before the season takes a nearly month-long summer break." 

NASCAR -

• Say what you want about the current Cup car in terms of looks, costs or effects on the racing but no-one can debate the safety standards of this car design. Elliot Sadlers hit at Pocono was HARD, and once again the driver walked away, long may this continue!
• The racing at Pocono was good, again... I still think the combination of the spoiler, the side draft and a larger drafting effect and the fact that the drivers have to sit up and drive these cars, along with 2 wide restarts have transformed some tracks and races from dull processions to races that are good to watch.
• Sadlers wreck does show how safety standards have advanced. Sadler hit armco not a SAFER barrier and the engine got ripped out of the car, ouch...
• When was the last time a wreck happened in a Cup race that was not covered by at last 5 different TV angles??
• Finally a Ford, in the hands of Greg Biffle, wins. NASCAR always needs different drivers up front, and it's always good when you have Chevy vs Ford...
• So Kentucky is going to have a Cup race, another 1.5 mile track added to the schedule. I hope New Hampshire keeps its two races to maintain some element of variation in track design. Personally I would put Pocono down to one race, regardless of how good this years races have been, or swap one intermediate track for another. Less cookie cutters and more short tracks please...
• Watkins Glen next, the second and last road course race of the year... Marcos leave the engine running this time!! 

Other stuff -

• Good luck to Paul Bonhomme at this weekends 2010 Red Bull Air Race finale at Eurospeedway Lausitz Germany. It will be interesting to see what the race looks like with only the sky as a back drop.
• Sorry to hear the 2011 Red Bull Air Race season has been cancelled. In motorsport if a series takes a year off it is usually the first public indication of nails in the coffin, but I hope this is not the case for the Red Bull Air Race.

Team Orders... or in Germany... "We Have Ways of Making You Win"

So Ferrari dominated the German GP... Massa leading Alonso... Alonso not able to overtake his teammate...

"Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?"
"Sorry"

So Ferrari dominated the German GP... Alonso leading Massa... Massa not allowed to overtake his teammate...

"All wins are special" Fernando Alonso. 

"I simply reaffirm what I have always maintained, which is that our drivers are very well aware, and it is something they have to stick to, that if one races for Ferrari, then the interests of the team come before those of the individual... Therefore enough of this hypocrisy, even if I can well believe that some people might well have liked to see our two drivers eliminate one another, but that is definitely not the case for me or indeed for our fans." Luca di Montezemolo.

"By the end of the year if you think you've lost the championship for exactly that point you will ask yourself, not only yourself, all the fans and the journalists and so on, why didn't you do so?" Michael Schumacher.

"I understand how F1 fans might be disappointed by what they have seen on Sunday" Ross Brawn. 

"It's a great shame. Ferrari are a great team," he said. "It's a shame for Formula 1 that they didn't allow Felipe and Fernando to race each other. There are not so many points between them and it was so obvious how they moved the cars around." Christian Horner. 

"We do desperately want to win but it is about how you win. If you win and you know you have cheated then I don't see how at any stage in your career or post career when you reflect upon it how you can have a feeling of ecstasy." Martin Whitmarsh.

Forgetting my personal opinions for a moment, team orders in F1 are banned. It is not a "shame" as Christian Horner said. You would not ask yourself "why didn't you do so" Mr Schumacher, as it is ILLEGAL.

What Ferrari did was against the rules, so the monetary fine should be the start of the penalties. A driver and team who break the rules can not be allowed to keep the points and positions gained by breaking the rules.

For Montezemolo to publicly state that the interests of Ferrari come before those of the drivers, and by their own actions what is best for Ferrari is apparently to break the rules, is nothing short of a disgrace. Ever heard of bringing the sport into disrepute??

The funniest quote is also from Montezemolo... "some people might well have liked to see our two drivers eliminate one another" or race one another... in a motor race... wheel to wheel... best drivers in best cars battling blah blah blah... When he says "eliminate" he means from the points battle not on the track from a race, but still does he not trust his drivers...

Thankfully McLaren in the form of Martin Whitmarsh has the right attitude. From this quote it appears they are in the business of motor racing, and not in the business of corporate event staging. 

"The rule that bans team orders is not realistic anymore." Ross Brawn

Its only unrealistic if the rule makers let Ferrari get away with it. If both Alonso and Massa, along with Ferrari were thrown out of the German GP all together, it would send a message to the field the press and the fans that the rule is totally realistic, and in fact enforced!!

The tragic thing about the Ferrari shambles is that the 2010 F1 season has probably seen more good wheel to wheel racing than most of the F1 races held in my life time, put together. The last thing F1 needed was a stupid team order debate getting in the way of a good seasons racing.

As a contrast, was Chip Ganassi ever going to ask Montoya to move over so McMurray could win the Brickyard 400? As it happened Montoya put himself out of contention, and his team mate won the race, but in America it would not happen. It would not even cross their minds.

Racing is racing, and it should stay that way...

(By the way, I could not bring myself to post photos of the Ferraris as would have been appropriate for the topic discussed above, so you will have to put up with Brickyard 400 shots instead)