Why I Don't "Get" F1

If I was an F1 team or sponsor I might understand why team mates racing each other at the end of a race, for the win, is a bad idea, especially when the team mates in question are Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber and the team is Red Bull. If I was in charge I wouldn't want to risk them taking each other out... again.

But, I am not an F1 team  or sponsor...

I am a motor racing fan...

The last sentence contains two important words, motor and racing.

Normally I subscribe to the, Vettel is quick out front but useless in traffic, make him work for it and he goes nowhere, put him in the lead and he will bring it home theory.

Today a racing driver arrived at a racing track, his team gave him a racing car and he entered a motor race. What on earth do you expect that man to do, but RACE!!

However it appears the last of those words is not allowed between team mates at Red Bull.., or Mercedes for that matter.

Even the sports organisers and rule makers want the motors... to race. They give the drivers KERS and funny DRS wing thingies to help the drivers... race.

It says something when a podium ceremony is somber because the drivers raced each other, oh and raced well by the way. We saw Webber and Vettel pick different pitstop/tyre strategies and in the end race side by side, hard but fair and clean for the win.

What is wrong with that?

According to David Coulthard Vettel vs Webber was just "jockeying for position". Firstly that man needs a personality transplant. The first two drivers in the race go at it hard for the win with about 10 laps to go and all he can say, in his usual monotone manor is they were "jockying for position." For god sakes get animated man! I am not an F1 fan, and I knew the result of the race before I watched it, that's how much of a fan I am, but even I thought the end was good to watch! When something exciting happens, get excited!

Secondly, yes Vettel ignored a team order... give that man a medal, thank the lord, pat him on the back, halle bleedin' lujah! I hate team orders and love racing and for a change Vettel, a racing driver, at a racing track, in a racing car... went racing!

If F1 or Red Bull don't like racing, that's their problem.

As for Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, team mates once again, on different strategies, nose to tail, side by side at the end of the race, hard at it for the last step on the podium... er no.

Rosberg was told to be a good little boy and follow your fuel saving, much slower team mate home, and be grateful for it. Hamilton knows that was not his podium place. Shame, Hamilton is a racer, as is Rosberg.

F1 would be a better sport if these racers were allowed to... race!

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...

Smoke and Lewis Swap Rides!

So let me think about this...

The last time something like this occurred was when Jeff Gordon and then Williams F1 driver Juan Pablo Montoya swapped rides for a day...

Well Jeff Gordon won the latest Sprint Cup race, beating among others a former Williams F1 driver...

And...

It has been reported that Lewis Hamilton has been sussing out Red Bull to see if they have any seats free for next year...

Anyone thinking what I am thinking?

Monaco

Usually the Monaco Grand Prix is more event than race, but if ever there was a year that the famous streets might create some actual racing action, the year of KERS and DRS was it.

The F1 promoters and rule makers have spent the 2011 season trying to promote and encourage “racing” and “overtaking”. However the streets of Monaco make for the least “racing” friendly circuit for the KERS and DRS cars so far.

Also in these cars are people commonly known as “racing drivers”.

So this raises the question... What happens when you combine the latest line of young “racing” drivers, the most overtaking friendly F1 cars in quiet some time and the tightest, yet most prestigious “racing” venue?

The answer... you get racing!

You get drivers like Lewis Hamilton trying to overtake, gain places, racing in the streets!

Yes, I accept the move he made at the hairpin was pushing it, a late lunge down the inside at a corner so tight that he was never going to make it, but you’ve got to admit it was good seeing them wheel to wheel, hard at it!

But when does a late lunge turn into “causing an avoidable incident”?

If you want the dictionary definition of this term you should have watched the Donington round of the BTCC earlier this year. Was Hamiltons late race move down the inside at the first corner too much? Not to me. How far alongside another car, going into a corner, does a driver have to be before he is entitled to be there? Hamilton had half a chance, and at Monaco half a chance is as good as it gets!

If you want two hours of drivers avoiding incidents at Monaco then the answers simple, don’t allow, let alone encourage overtaking!

I understand why the powers that be gave him a penalty for the hairpin incident, but the late race first corner incident... oh please.... no please... let them race!

Was it a tight move, yes. Was it a ballsy move, YES!

Am I glad F1 has drivers who are young and hungry and want to go “racing”, YES!

I do applaud the organisers for finishing the race after the red flag. Formula 1 of old would have ended the race there and then and the finish would have been a huge let down, but instead we got the chance to see the race end properly... but... since when are teams allowed to change tyres, and fix rear wings under a red flag?

While we are on the subject of things that make no sense, back to Mr Hamilton. For his first corner “avoidable incident” he was rewarded with a penalty after the race, in lieu of a drive through penalty... which didn’t change his position in the final standings. Erm, oh good, thanks for that! Re-arrange the following, time, waste, of...

Please F1, yes there is a line, but get out of the way and let the “racers” get on with it and deliver the spectacle the fans have been asking for and you have been encouraging!

"Latest GP NOT a Turkey" and "Hand Bags At Dawn"

Overtaking, wheel-to-wheel, cross-over, round the outside, three-a-breast, and pit lane battles are all terms we would usually associate with a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Darlington, but Formula 1 from Turkey?

Erm... YES!!

Hold the Front page... “Latest Grand Prix, NOT A Turkey!”

I have just watched the Turkish Grand Prix. I did not watch it live, I recorded the race so I could forward speedily through the dull bits. However, I watched this all of this race... full length... every lap... the whole lot... start to finish...

And it was good...

Regular readers will know that I am not the worlds greatest F1 fan.

Regular readers will know that when it comes to F1 I can come across a little on the cinical side.

It would be wrong of me, as someone who will readily critisie F1 for boring races and who will openly accuse the drivers of not being able to “race”, and as someone who has done just that, to not acknowledge that the Turkish Grand Prix was none of those things.

While I think the DRS thingy is a bit contrived and false, combined with the KERS, it made for a very good race.

With the exception of Mr M. Schumacher the drivers have remembered how to race and not just drive. They are giving each other room and driving round each other, not just into each other.

Button round the outside of the last corner, the McLarens all over each other, the drag race in the pit lane... the list goes on... all good stuff!

I might even be looking forward to the next race, but don’t tell anybody...


“Hand Bags at Dawn” or “Racing Rivalries”


At Richmond it was Montoya Vs. Newman. At Darlington it was Harvick Vs. Kyle Busch.

The winner in each case?

NASCAR!!

Sure JPM and Newman beat up two perfectly good race cars and wrecked their own chances of a good finish, let alone each others, but it WAS a short track race and this IS NASCAR!

Was Busch loose coming off turn 4? Was he ever in control of that car? Could he have done more to avoid taking Harvick out?

Yes... no... maybe... I don’t care!



The fact is that both sets of incidents made for great TV. Long may drivers get passionate about their chosen sport, and show that passion!!


After all we all know that drivers who lack passion or emotion, and are more interested in strategy than racing don’t race in NASCAR they race in Fomula 1...

Then again...

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!

Crossing Over To The Other Side

Why can I not get excited about Kimi Raikkonen testing and racing a NASCAR Craftsman Truck?

When Juan Pablo Montoya started in NASCAR I thought he was the sort of driver who could do well. He had raced in the IRL and won the Indy 500, and he had never really fitted in in F1 as he was a “racer” not a corporate “driver”. He was more likely to crash trying to overtake you than execute the perfect pit stop strategy and win.

I guess I don’t see Kimi as that sort of driver. Maybe I am being harsh. We are talking about a driver who went rallying, because he wanted too! To give him credit, he is starting out his NASCAR adventure in the Craftsman Truck series. Many non-American drivers have tried to break into stock car racing by jumping straight into a Cup or Nationwide car and then failed to learn the craft or make an impact.

If you are going to make it work you have to do your time, earn the respect. Obviously you have to learn to drive the cars, but for a driver from a “European” background you also have to learn the etiquette. Grooves are an alien concept in most European racing, especially single seaters and that includes F1. In Europe we have a racing line, not grooves, we have no idea of spotters and quite frankly not many race cars even have three pedals anymore.

So which non-American drivers would I like to see testing or racing a NASCAR Craftsman Truck?

If, like me, you are from this side of the pond, you may have a favourite short oval driver who you would like to see have a shot at the big time. You may even have a favourite ex-ASCAR or Pickup Truck driver who could give it a go, or a BTCC driver you think might make it. But in terms of F1 or other international series?

With moderns form of communication and transport the world is not as big as it used to be, however in racing terms I still believe the world to be a big place.

I believe different parts of the world have different styles of racing that work in their own markets but don’t necessarily work in other parts of the world. In the UK we like F1 and touring cars. In Australia they love touring cars too, but theirs are very different to the UK machines. The same applies to Germany. In Japan they like a different sort of racing again. Americans love NASCAR, but we are not talking about moving championships, we are talking about drivers crossing over. Drivers like Marcos Ambrose, and JPM have switched disciples successfully. Others like Sam Hornish and Dario Franchitti found it much, much harder.

Would I like to see Messrs Hamilton or Button in a Cup car? No. I would rather NASCAR concentrate on developing the next generation of American stock car drivers.

I have nothing against international drivers racing in NASCAR as long as they earn their place, and as long as the series for the “good old boys” stays true to that.

"Racing"

The first round of the 2011 Formula 1 season has been and gone.

The Australian GP was dominated by Sebastian Vettel, with Lewis Hamilton in second. This was the order coming out of the first corner on the first lap and stayed that way to the end. 

The surprise of the race was Vitaly Petrov finishing in third!

The unsurprises of the race were the success of the KERS, the DRS and the racing in general. The KERS, (the Kinda E-relvant, but the racing so dull we need to, Recover it System) meant so much the race winner did not even have it... the DRS "overtaking" system (Drivers can't Race on their own System), meant so much, pardon, the DRS "what" system... and the amazing standard of what little racing there actually was... Barrichello got it totally wrong in a "that's never going to work" move, well at least he's still young and not one of the most experienced drivers in the field... but at least Jenson Button had the balls to attempt to go round the outside of another car only to find he was never going to make it, had to cut across the next corner and got a penalty for his "efforts". Oh dear!

In the world of NASCAR, a 400 mile race at California threw up some surprises and some not-so-surprises of its' own. What started an average race, the not-so-surprising part, ended a stunner, the surprising bit! Kyle Busch, who led most of the race, was trying to hold on while Jimmie Johnson did everything he could to take it. at the same time Kevin Harvick got physical saying "I don't think so" and beat them both... and all that in the last two laps! A great ending!!

Pity they didn't have KERS or DRS movable rear wings though...

That would have made all the difference...