Formula One Roundup

So the 2010 FIA Formula One World Champion is... Sebastian Vettel.

He led the Championship early on in the year and never let go... actually he led once... when it mattered... after the last race!

On paper the story of the 2010 World Championship is a pretty dramatic one; the return of Michael Schumacher, Brawn GP re-born as a works Mercedes team with the aforementioned German as its lead driver, two British former World Champions now team mates at McLaren, new teams at the rear of the grid added to the car numbers and provided their own race within a race, and a new team upfront in Red Bull...

The year did not start well with a very boring first race raising doubts over the rules and the latest aero package. Thankfully the racing got better, much better in fact with some genuinely good "racing" in the middle of the year. However the "racing" did not last, unfortunately, as the races in the last part of the year were not great, showing how hard it is to overtake in F1 in the era of overly aero sensitive cars.

McLaren were not really good enough all year, despite winning races early on, and were always one step behind the rest of the pack and at times had to try too hard to compensate. Ferrari was always there ish, while Red Bull looked to be the team to beat if they could stop making silly mistakes.

While the other drivers did everything they could not to win races, Mark Webber found himself in the lead of the Championship which created wonderfully comedic outbursts from his team mate and a PR nightmare for the team. Ferrari got better in the middle of the year to put them in the game but nearly ordered their own downfall. McLaren fell behind and disappointed, while Red Bull had mechanical issues.

Unfortunately for Webber it was obvious that his team mate was the Red Bull to beat, when he kept the car on the track. In a game of "I don't want the title, you can have it" the top drivers made mistakes, broke down, spun, leaving Alonso on top of the standings with one race to go, but even he couldn't hold on to it. In the end Vettel was crowned World Champion, the youngest driver ever to win the F1 title.

On paper a good year, but it could have been so much better. F1 still has a problem with overtaking, or more accurately the lack of it. The last race could have been a very dramatic finale when Ferrari got points leader Alonso's pit stop strategy wrong leaving him back in the pack behind both Renaults and a Mercedes. Que storming drive through the field... err no... the resulting lacklustre performance showed that even a fast car and driver could not overtake. F1 also has a problem with its own regulations as the 2010 season was tainted by the Ferrari team orders scandal which left a bad taste in the mouths of many, the author included.

F1 also has a problem with restarts. For the second race in a row Vettel jumped a restart and got away with it. With the safety car accelerating away, and about 3 or 4 corners still to go before the first safety car line, Vettel brake tested the pack causing the second place driver to leave the track in avoidance. Vettel then floored it leaving the others behind. When Vettel got to the first safety car line, the commentators informed us that the drivers can now overtake. The problem was Vettel had been at racing speed for 3 corners and was so far ahead that he was the only car on the screen. This has to change for 2011!!  

So what will 2011 bring??

Who will get the hang of the new aero rules package and new tyres first... who will exploit the inevitable gaping hole in the new aero rules package first... will Schumacher show the world he deserves to be a current F1 driver as opposed to a former driver... how long will it be before the other teams stop arguing over the gaping hole in the new aero regulations and revamp their own cars to match... will the FIA grow a pair and uphold their own regulations... how many times over the course of the off season will the lower teams claim that they will win races in 2011... will Bernie finally get his medal system??

For now, congratulations to Red Bull Racing the 2010 Constructors Champions, and to Sebastian Vettel, 2010 Formula One World Champion!!

The Unfulfilled Potential of Restarts

Wreck, crash, incident... debris, track blockage... under caution, safety car period, yellow flag... restart, green green green, racing again...

From a fans point of view this scenario usually gives a motor race a new lease of life, closing the cars up, getting rid of all the gaps. This should create excitement by putting the key protagonists together and then letting them loose... unless you are watching an F1 race...

Prior to the safety car period Sebastian Vettel had a lead of roughly 2.5 seconds over his team mate Mark Webber. They traded fast lap times, battled through back markers until...Vitantonio Liuzzi crashed bringing out the aforementioned Mercedes SLS.

Suddenly the two Red Bull drivers are together, the nearly three second lead is now only two car lengths due to the two backmarkers sat in between the team mates... The cars come round on the last lap prior to the restart... The safety car disappears off into the distance... Vettel holds the field back... then he goes... as he approaches the last corner?!

Coming out of the last corner, with Vettel racing off into the distance, Webber is stuck behind the two backmarkers, unable to legally overtake them until he has crossed a line set by the officials, which is round by the pit lane entrance.

When they crossed the line to "restart" the race Vettel was 2.2 seconds ahead of Webber!!

After one lap Vettel was 3 seconds ahead!!

Another lap on and Vettels lead was 4.5 seconds!

So much for closing the race up!

I understand the logic behind the "overtake" line; giving the drivers a solid point on the track from where they can overtake, but letting the leader have a free reign on when he accelerates and leaves the field behind is counterproductive to good racing. In fact I would go so far as to say that Vettel jumped the restart. How can the leader take off before the last corner and cross the line 2.2 seconds ahead of second and not jump the restart??

If you are in second for a restart, as Webber was at the weekend, you may have to sit behind slower lapped cars, unable to overtake, while the leader gets away. I don't think Webber had enough pace to really challenge Vettel, but it would have been good to see him try, or at least get close enough to have the chance. Unfortunately the restart rules stopped him from getting close.

In NASCAR there are two lines on the track, and on a restart the leader must maintain a steady pace to the first line. It is then up to the leader when to accelerate, as long as it is between the two lines. If the leader has not accelerated at the second line, the rest of the pack can leave him standing. NASCAR also put the lapped cars to the rear of the field, so the front runners are together and can race cleanly come the green flag.

Formula 1 is not NASCAR, however Formula 1 is trying to promote and encourage better racing. Putting lapped cars to the rear of the field may be too "NASCAR" for F1, but having more control over the restarts has to be a good idea; if you care about "racing".

On a different topic I thought it was interesting to hear Martin Brundle squirm when the subject of "team orders" was raised mid race on Sunday. In simple terms his answer was based on the premise that the FIA have allowed team orders, at the end of the year, in the past so team orders should be allowed now. Jonathan Legards response, "but team orders are banned"...

As long as people in F1 keep using the past as an excuse then things will never change. Will the regulation still be in place in 2011?? Who knows... if you want good racing in F1 enforce the team order regulation, and sort the restarts... and... and...