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!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

This year I have been a very good boy. I have eaten all my greens, went to bed when I was told and have not been on the naughty step for at least a week!

For Christmas I would like...

BTCC - Lots of nice, shiny, new NGTC cars, all rear wheel drive so the cars oversteer like real race cars and not understeer like my dads boring car...

F1 - can your elfs show McLaren and Ferrari how to build a car like Red Bull as I am bored of Vettel winning all the time...

NASCAR - The two car drafting is a bit silly, and the old pack racing got a bit dull so something in the middle where the cars stay together but can still overtake would be nice...

Better racing at the mile and a half tracks as there are so many of them...

Less "fuel mileage" finishes as there were far to many of them...

Another close Chase as years was really good...

INDYCAR - A new car that drafts and races well at Indy as I really like the Indy 500...

Oh and a Buzz Lightyear...

And a Lightning McQueen...

Please

Thank you...

James
Age 3.2 going on 32.

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!

"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...

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...

It's a Numbers Game... Number two in at number one... Double Zero up front, 4 corners make all the difference, and roll on 2012...

Well done Mark Webber!!

What planet is Sebastian Vettel from??

Red Bull are doing a good job on track this year, taking the fight to McLaren, but off track they are a mess. Firstly they try to blame Webber when Vetter took them both out a few weeks ago, and now the front wing PR mess up.

Vettel gets annoyed when Webber gets a better start than him and stays down the inside going into the first corner. His interview after the race was a joke. Its called "racing", Sebastian.

The best things about the GP... firstly watching Webber get one over Vettel, and then seeing the BBC guys grill Horner afterwards. They were not going to let up, and good on 'em.

The guy I feel sorry for the most was the Sutil, the Force India driver who spent the last part of the race defending from Vettel. Vettel should have walked passed the Force India, but he seemed to find it hard work. The only way Vettel managed to get passed Sutil was to run into him. Not a convincing drive, unlike his lap one save when his tyre went, which to be fair, was good.

Liked the new Silverstone layout though. I am not a Silverstone fan, too flat, too wide, too dull, but the new section has changed my opinion. It seemed challenging, fast in places, but also created a couple of overtaking opportunities. It gave the run into the old complex a new lease of life as well, with Brooklands and Luffield now another genuine overtaking point. The bumps made life interesting, watching Hamilton in an normally loose car struggle, getting a bit crossed up over them was good fun while it lasted. The bumps need to be smoothed but they did make life interesting.

Also... Well done to David Reutimann for winning the Cup race at the weekend. Not the most dramatic of Cup races, but good to see the 00 win a race "for real". 2010 is building up to a great Chase race. The question is, does the 48 have anything in reserve, waiting to turn it on once the Chase begins, or have others closed in on him. Who would I like to win? Is it flippant to say anyone other than the 48?? I would love Kurt Busch to be up there, or would want Harvick to hold on, but hey had better bring it to the 48, or they may find JJ running away with it... again...

Also also... The Indycar Series have announced that Dallara will supply the new chassis from 2012, and it will have a variety of bodywork options to give the cars different looks. I was a fan of the DeltaWing concept, but the Dallara looks like a nice middle point between the current generation car and the extreme DeltaWing idea. Can't wait to see a new lease of life breathed into the series and the Indy 500.