tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16562209140964255542024-03-06T01:55:07.902+00:00plus one lapdotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-11297962031045662952010-03-25T14:55:00.003+00:002010-03-25T15:03:44.519+00:00Six Degrees of Sir Jack BrabhamAs regular readers will probably know, I am particularly given to obsessiveness - except when it comes to the updating of blogs, of course. This week I have reacquainted myself with the venerable game <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Degrees_of_Kevin_Bacon" target="_blank">Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon</a>. It is a fine and noble pursuit, but I'm not terribly good at it, not least, it seems, because I haven't seen <span style="font-style: italic;">Flatliners</span>. I can usually get there, but in a rather-too-roundabout way to be elegant. If only there were a version of the Six Degrees of Separation oeuvre which concerned something I knew more about!<br /><br />So, I got to thinking, if there were to be a Formula 1 version, who would be our Kevin Bacon. My working hypothesis - and this post is very much an exercise in thinking out loud, if I'm honest - is that it is Jack Brabham. As well as three world titles and a career which spanned races in three decades, Sir Jack also founded a very successful eponymous team. If that wasn't enough, two of his sons - Gary and David - went on to compete in Formula 1 themselves, although Gary never qualified for a Grand Prix.<br /><br />Here are the rules I set myself. Connections may be via <span style="font-weight: bold;">teammates</span>, old <span style="font-weight: bold;">team colleagues</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">contractual ties</span> or <span style="font-weight: bold;">blood relations</span>. My first challenge was to see if I could link each of the 24 drivers in 2010-vintage Formula 1 back to Sir Jack Brabham in six moves or fewer. As you can see, it has proved successful. Next, I'll be looking to do the remaining 26 Formula 1 world champions, although I expect Jack Brabham to prove fairly easy in that regard.<br /><br />Until I find an obvious flaw in the system, I fully expect Six Degrees of Jack Brabham to be the hottest game of the summer. Or not.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JENSON BUTTON</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Martin Brundle</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LEWIS HAMILTON</span> drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">McLaren</span> under <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ron Dennis</span>, who was a mechanic for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MICHAEL SCHUMACHER</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nelson Piquet</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NICO ROSBERG</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kazuki Nakajima</span>, son of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Satoru Nakajima</span>, teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stefano Modena</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEBASTIAN VETTEL</span> drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">BMW</span>, who supplied engines to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MARK WEBBER</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Damon Hill</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FERNANDO ALONSO</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Giancarlo Fisichella</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Martin Brundle</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FELIPE MASSA</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Riccardo Patrese</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ROBERT KUBICA</span> drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">BMW</span>, who supplied engines to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VITALY PETROV</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Robert Kubica</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">BMW</span>, who supplied engines to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RUBENS BARRICHELLO</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Martin Brundle</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NICO HULKENBERG</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span>, was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Martin Brundle</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ADRIAN SUTIL</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Giancarlo Fisichella</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Martin Brundle</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VITANTONIO LIUZZI</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Damon Hill</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEBASTIEN BUEMI</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastien Bourdais</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">BMW</span>, who supplied engines to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JAIME ALGUERSUARI</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastien Buemi</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastien Bourdais</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">BMW</span>, who supplied engines to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JARNO TRULLI</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Heinz-Harald Frentzen</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Damon Hill</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HEIKKI KOVALAINEN</span> drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">McLaren</span> under team boss <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ron Dennis</span>, who was a mechanic for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PEDRO DE LA ROSA</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Raikkonen</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Damon Hill</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KAMUI KOBAYASHI</span> was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarno Trulli</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Heinz-Harald Frentzen</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Damon Hill</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TIMO GLOCK</span> drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Virgin Racing</span>, designed by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Wirth</span>, who was team principal of <span style="font-weight: bold;">David Brabham</span>, son of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LUCAS DI GRASSI</span> drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Virgin Racing</span>, designed by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Wirth</span>, who was team principal of <span style="font-weight: bold;">David Brabham</span>, son of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BRUNO SENNA</span> is the nephew of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ayrton Senna</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Satoru Nakajima</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stefano Modena</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KARUN CHANDHOK</span> teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruno Senna</span>, is the nephew of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ayrton Senna</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Satoru Nakajima</span>, who was teammate of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Stefano Modena</span>, who drove for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brabham</span>, the team established by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sir Jack Brabham</span>.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-73164711911854954702010-03-16T06:53:00.002+00:002010-03-16T08:04:11.006+00:00On why Formula 1 has always been boringFormula 1 motor racing has always been boring. You can almost count the number of wheel-to-wheel races between truly evenly-matched cars on the fingers of two hands. When you're in a meritocratic situation, regardless of the sport, this will usually be the case.<br /><br />Nevertheless, whilst there are no "solutions" to the problem (people always want "solutions", for whatever reason), there are a number of things - the majority of which could be quite easily changed in time even for the next race in 10 days time - that would spice up the on-track action immeasurably.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Circuits</span><br /><br />Think of some examples of classic F1 duels between completely equal cars. Now disregard Nigel Mansell passing Ayrton Senna in Spain 1991 - Mansell's car was easily better and streaked away once it got the lead. Now disregard Gilles Villeneuve and René Arnoux at Dijon in 1979 - Arnoux's car was hobbled with engine trouble.<br /><br />What you will be left with is some dusty old footage of Formula 1 from between 1950 and 1970, essentially the pre-aerodynamic era of the sport, which may prove a significant point later on. Consider the classic slipstreamers of the Italian Grand Prix, or Jackie Stewart and Jochen Rindt's race-long duel at Silverstone in 1969, or Mike Hawthorn side-by-side with Fangio for mile after mile at Reims in 1953.<br /><br />The common factor here is not car design, nor aerodynamics - both Stewart and Rindt and the classic 1971 Italian Grand Prix came after the advent of wing technology. It is circuit design. Fast, flowing circuits allow drivers to race one another. I'll repeat that. Fast, flowing circuits allow drivers to race one another.<br /><br />Had the 2010 season started at Interlagos, Brazil, for example, or at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montréal, all the bellyaching we are currently enduring could have, at least temporarily, been avoided. Put it simply, give the drivers a track where they have a realistic chance of racing one another and they will do so. Bahrain's Sakhir circuit is yet to produce a classic Grand Prix, and with its new fiddly, bumpy, eight-turn addition is even less likely to in future.<br /><br />We'll get to Sepang in three weeks and it'll rain, the racing will be outrageous and all this will be forgotten. Until we arrive in Barcelona. Then it will be forgotten again after Montréal. At no time will anybody ever think of blaming the circuits. They're so modern. They're so safe. The garages are so roomy. The air-conditioning in the press room is just-so. And so it goes on.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Aerodynamics</span><br /><br />To the credit of the Technical Working Group, they tried this. But Formula 1 designers are relentlessly clever. However, the simple fact of the matter is that, even at the first race of the new era in 2009, three teams turned up with a device that completely shagged all the efforts to spice up the racing. The double diffuser makes it more difficult for a car to follow another car closely. It's as simple as that. Get rid of it and things will immediately get better.<br /><br />Whilst they're at it, someone could perhaps have a look at the bewildering array of feathers and bells that have started sprouting out of the front wings again and get rid of them, too. Simpler aerodynamics leads to greater reliance on driver input. More driver input equals better races.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Tyres</span><br /><br />Nice and easy, this one - remove the tyre restrictions. Yes, I know Formula 1 is trying to be seen to be cutting costs and saving the environment. But at the moment it could be risk of doing both of these things in the best possible way, by making itself obsolete.<br /><br />Give the drivers back their 14 sets for the weekend for starters. Next, remove the silly rule about having to run both compounds during the race. This removed a vital tactical variable - you can't expect to ban refuelling and <span style="font-style: italic;">then</span> effectively railroad all the teams into using the same strategy and <span style="font-style: italic;">still</span> expect exciting races.<br /><br />Finally, allow the drivers to choose from all four compounds of tyre - super-soft, soft, medium and hard - at every race, using whichever ones they choose and starting on whichever ones they choose. Maybe some cars or drivers will, over the course of practice, realise their optimum race time would be given by 2 stops on a soft tyre. Others will find it's one stop on the medium, or running non-stop on the hard. Additional pit stops and different race programmes will mix up the field, put slow cars trying to preserve their tyres ahead of the sprinters. The overtaking and excitement this would produce is as artificial as during the refuelling era, but it is still overtaking and excitement!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Pit lane</span><br /><br />To assist with 3., raise the pit lane speed limit. OK, there are safety implications to this, and in some places - Monaco immediately springs to mind, but also places like Valencia - it would be entirely impractical to the point of recklessness. However, increasing the limit during races to 100mph would lead to shorter pit stop loss times. Shorter pit stop loss times would, in turn, make aggressive tyre strategies more tempting and achievable for the teams.</blockquote><br />Ultimately, it has to be remembered that Formula 1 is the pinnacle of motorsport. The finest designers, working for the best teams, producing bespoke cars for the world's greatest racing drivers. It's always likely to be two-by-two processional fare a lot of the time. If you want to be entertained by motor racing, watch the British Touring Car Championship. It's certainly what I do.<br /><br />But it will never stop me from loving Formula 1 the most.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-73865158758123333862010-03-12T09:00:00.001+00:002010-03-12T09:00:06.998+00:00Formula 1 2010 - I get things wrongI'm writing this on Thursday morning, so as to hopefully avoid any accusations of cheating. However, given the standard of my <a href="http://totoroche.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/f109-preview6/" target="_blank">predictions last year</a>, such an outcome is probably fairly unlikely.<br /><br />This year's Formula 1 World Championship is perhaps more predictable than last years', in terms of the <span style="font-style: italic;">dramatis personae</span>. However, the huge variability given to pre-season testing times by the new fuel regulation makes it hard to know exactly where people will stand when all things are equal.<br /><br />Nevertheless, I'm happy to make a complete fool of myself by trying to predict the final top 10 standings in both the drivers' and constructors' championships, so here we go.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DRIVERS</span><br /><br />I think <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> will be the 2010 World Champion. The Ferrari looks to be at least as competitive as anything else in the field, and that's all the advantage a driver of his standard needs. I think his closest challengers will be <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span>, because over 19 races it's hard to look past the cream rising to the top. I also fancy <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Felipe Massa</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Webber</span> will win races, which will of course be excellent news for the sport. I'd also not discount <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nico Rosberg</span> from making the step up to a winner. This leaves two more places in the top ten. I think that Sauber will start the year with the best car of the rest, and that this should help a canny competitor like <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pedro de la Rosa</span> to get some good points on the board early. I'd not be surprised, though, if <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span> were to overhaul his tally by the time Abu Dhabi comes around.<br /><br />Best of the rookies will be a tough contest, with no newcomer to the sport really appearing to be a duffer. In terms of points scored, however, it's hard to see past <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kamui Kobayashi</span> or <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nico Hülkenberg</span>. I think the German will just edge it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prediction:</span> 1. Alonso; 2. Hamilton; 3. Vettel; 4. Button; 5. Massa; 6. Schumacher; 7. Webber; 8. Rosberg; 9. Barrichello; 10. de la Rosa.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">CONSTRUCTORS</span><br /><br />2010 promises to be an almighty scrap between four teams for the top honours. So often in recent seasons, the cars have been so evenly matched in performance that it has boiled down to who has the strongest driver line-up. As such, I think 2010 could just be <span style="font-weight: bold;">McLaren</span>'s year, unless <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferrari</span> have really stolen a significant march in terms of car design. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Red Bull</span> will run everybody close and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mercedes</span> will hardly disgrace themselves. The second battle royale looks set to be for 5th place, with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sauber</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Williams</span>, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Force India</span>, and<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Renault</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"></span>all in contention. I fancy Sauber to edge it, chased hard by Williams who should see off the challenge of Force India's quick new car by dint of having the better drivers. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Toro Rosso</span> look as though they'll have a lonely year.<br /><br />In the battle of the new teams - the truly new teams - I think <span style="font-weight: bold;">Virgin</span> begin the season with the advantage, and if they get their reliability sorted out they could effectively put themselves beyond reach by the time <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lotus</span> start to wring some speed from the T127. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hispania</span> seem set for a long, hard, season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Prediction:</span> 1. McLaren-Mercedes; 2. Ferrari; 3. Red Bull-Renault; 4. Mercedes; 5. Sauber-Ferrari; 6. Williams-Cosworth; 7. Force India-Mercedes; 8. Renault; 9. Toro Rosso-Ferrari; 10. Virgin Racing-Cosworth.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-85978659077266202712010-03-11T09:00:00.002+00:002010-03-11T09:00:07.066+00:00Formula 1 2010 - the drivers (1-6)<span style="font-style: italic;">The 2010 Formula 1 World Championship begins in Bahrain this Friday morning and it promises to be one of the most open in years. On the days leading up to the start of practice, I'll be taking a look at the 24 runners and riders taking part this year. In today's final part, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >McLAREN-MERCEDES</span><br /><br />McLaren's MP4/24 car was one of the worst that the team had ever produced, but a magnificent effort saw them claw back a full 2.5 seconds per lap in time, finishing the season with race wins, pole positions and fastest laps. It's difficult to see them making the same mistake again with the MP4/25. Pre-season testing has shown considerable promise, but the effect of their effort to sort out the shortcomings of their car last season is yet to be seen, as is the end of their lengthy technological partnership with Mercedes. If 2009 taught us anything, however, it's that McLaren will be there or thereabouts.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 1: <span style="font-weight: bold;">JENSON BUTTON</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span> (GB)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Jenson Button was born in Frome on 19th January 1980. Britain's youngest ever Grand Prix driver, Button nevertheless found time to win the 1998 British Formula Ford championship and three races in the following season's British Formula 3 series, before his elevation to the top table.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Like his ertswhile teammate Rubens Barrichello, the fact Button was so young when he started in Formula 1 racing can make you forget how experienced he in fact is. Button is now a veteran of 171 Grands Prix, of which he has won seven. Six of them came last season, when he won his first World Championship.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Jenson Button came of age in 2009, finally realising all his potential at the same time, particularly in his ferocious burst at the start of the season in which it seemed like there was nobody else on the circuit. Now seeking that sportman's favourite, "a new challenge", Button finds himself in a British superteam. His super-smooth diving style could well aid him under the new fuel regulations this season. What it's important to not lose sight of, though, is that it took Button 10 seasons to reach a goal which, as late as 2008, looked to have passed him by. As such, he'll be in no hurry to give it away. Button will surely win races in 2010.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN A IDEAL WORLD:</span> Jenson Button will become the first British driver ever to retain the Formula 1 World Championship.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> All the worst fears about Button being steamrollered by Lewis Hamilton will come to pass and the reigning champion will be reduced to being a back-up man.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 2: <span style="font-weight: bold;">LEWIS HAMILTON</span> (GB)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Lewis Hamilton was born in Stevenage on 7th January 1985. Known to the motor racing world since he was 10 years old, after a deal with McLaren's boss Ron Dennis, his early single-seater career was - by his standards - a slightly stuttering one. When he found his feet, though, he simply blitzed his way to the top of the sport, winning the 2005 Formula 3 Euroseries and 2006 GP2 series, in addition to the 2005 Formula 3 Masters event.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> No driver since Michael Schumacher has made such an immediate impact in the sport. Lewis Hamilton moved to McLaren's race team in 2007 and promptly finished on the podium in his first nine races, winning two of them. Two more victories followed, and it was just inexperience, plus a car problem at the last race, that cost him the title in his debut season. Five more wins in 2008 saw him become the sport's youngest ever World Champion. Two more wins followed in 2009, despite an awful start, taking his tally to 11 from just 52 races.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> There's no point denying that Lewis Hamilton is arguably the best racing driver in the world today. I think Fernando Alonso is a more rounded package, but no-one in the field can match Hamilton's pace over one lap. The trying time he endured in 2009 have also added a new intelligence an maturity to his approach, without tempering any of his enormous aggression and speed. If the car is good, Hamilton will win a second world champion in a blink of an eye.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN A IDEAL WORLD:</span> World Championship number two.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> There's not much that could conceivably knock Hamilton's reputation in the sport, but I think he would be deeply mortified on a personal level to be beaten by Jenson Button - be he the World Champion or not - over the course of 19 races.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >MERCEDES</span><br /><br />The return of the most successful team in the history of Grand Prix motor racing, having bought the Brawn outfit who, in terms of statistics alone, were their closest rivals. The MGP W01 car looks to be a decent machine, with a high fallutin' super-diffuser promised for the start of the race meeting tomorrow. At the moment, they look to be the fourth best of the big four teams, but neither Mercedes, nor Ross Brawn or Michael Schumacher, are accustomed or willing to tolerate anything less than success.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 3: <span style="font-weight: bold;">MICHAEL SCHUMACHER</span> (D)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Michael Schumacher was born in Hürth-Hermülheim on 3rd January 1969. A product of the Mercedes junior system, he won the 1990 German Formula 3 championship, as well as that season's Macau Grand Prix, before going on to win two rounds of the Sports Car World Championship for the three-pointed star.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Almost too long to go into. Schumacher is by far the most statistically successful Grand Prix driver of all time. Among his records are the following: (from 250 Grands Prix) most World Championship titles (7), most consecutive World Championship titles (5), most Grand Prix wins (91), most pole positions (68), most fastest laps (76), most podium finishes (154) and most championship points (1369). Did I also mention that, aside from the numbers alone, he is a brilliant racing driver?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> The key question mark surrounding the biggest-name comeback the sport has ever seen is the physical condition of Schumacher's neck, which he injured in a motorcycle racing accident trying to get his fix at the start of 2009. Other questions have included whether his skills will have dulled and whether the same desire will be there. I don't think these are particularly pressing concerns, as we are talking about Michael Schumacher. Schumacher has never driven a full season of Formula 1 without winning a race, and it's hard to see him not keeping up his record.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN A IDEAL WORLD:</span> Unless the Mercedes GP car finds a little more pace compared to its key rivals, it's hard to see Michael Schumacher adding title number 8. Multiple race wins.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Schumacher's neck gives out and he has to meekly walk away. However, there's little that could significantly dent his standing in the history of the sport. If the driver in the current field with the second-highest number of Grand Prix wins - Fernando Alonso - wins in Bahrain and then just keeps on going, it wouldn't be until race 14 of the 2013 season until he overhauls Michael Schumacher's record.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 4: <span style="font-weight: bold;">NICO ROSBERG</span> (D)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Nico Rosberg was born in Weisbaden on 27th June 1985. Son of the 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg, Nico's path through the junior formulae was perhaps predictably impressive. Having won the 2002 German Formula BMW title and four races across two seasons in the Formula 3 Euroseries, he went on to win the inaugural GP2 series crown from Heikki Kovalainen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Rosberg made his Formula 1 debut at Bahrain in 2006 for Williams, promptly finishing 7th and becoming the youngest driver to ever turn the fastest lap of a Grand Prix into the bargain. Since then, his chances have been limited by the standard and - more usually - the reliability of his car. Last season was his most consistent yet in Formula 1, though he will be disappointed it didn't see him add to his 2 podium finishes. Second place in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix remains his best result from 70 races.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Now moving to his second Formula 1 team, there's no doubting what Rosberg's aim must be for this season. And until he does it, doubts will always surround him, especially after a mistake cost him a sure second-place at last year's Singapore race. His pace in qualifying can also be underwhelming compared to the speed he is capable of in both practice and the races. What there is no doubting, however, is that Rosberg is fast, consistent and hugely capable. Not yet 25, it's hard to see him not winning a race sooner or later. It could well open the floodgates when he does.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN A IDEAL WORLD:</span> Rosberg holds his own in qualifying against Michael Schumacher and wins his first Grand Prix.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Rosberg joins the growing list of drivers chewed up and spat out by Michael Schumacher's Formula 1 career. Mercedes wonder if Sebastian Vettel would be a better fit for their seat.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >RED BULL RACING-RENAULT</span><br /><br />2009's RB5 car was the class of the field, winning the last three events of the season, despite the notable disadvantage of being a late adopter of the double-diffuser concept. In designer Adrian Newey, the team have one of the all-time Formula 1 greats, and the majority of the 2010 field have honoured him by imitation with their cars for this campaign. The RB6 is yet another classically sleek and elegant Newey car, which has flown in testing. Perhaps its weakest link is the reliability of the Renault engine. Red Bull are also, of course, the only team out of the four major championship hopefuls to not boast a World Champion driver. Yet.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 5: <span style="font-weight: bold;">SEBASTIAN VETTEL </span>(D)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Sebastian Vettel was born in Heppenheim on 3rd July 1987. One of the youngest drivers to ever start a Grand Prix, Vettel has understandably limited lower-formulae experience. However, he did win the 2004 German Formula BMW crown, as well as four races in the 2006 Formula 3 Euroseries.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> The youngest man ever to win a World Championship Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel could still become the youngest ever World Champion if he were to go one better than last season's runner-up spot. In 43 races, he has won five times, including one bewilderingly improbable victory on pace alone in a Toro Rosso, at Monza 2008. Also searingly quick over one lap, Vettel will most likely be Lewis Hamilton's biggest challenger for the most pole positions in the 2010 season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> The sky is the limit for Sebastian Vettel, after a magnificent 2009 season. But for a little inexperience - understandable at 22 years of age - and persistent engine gripes, he could have been World Champion. As it was, he won 4 races, 4 pole positions and 3 fastest laps, as well as overhauling Rubens Barrichello's points tally in the season's final race. If Sebastian Vettel doesn't win multiple World Championships, I would be very surprised. With the right car, he's ready to start immediately.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN A IDEAL WORLD:</span> World Champion.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Vettel loses out to Mark Webber due to a series of niggling mistakes and car problems.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 6: <span style="font-weight: bold;">MARK WEBBER</span> (AUS)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Mark Webber was born in Queanbeyan on 27th August 1976. The only driver in the big four teams without a championship title to his name, Webber has nevertheless been a consistently successful driver throughout his career, having variously won the 1996 Formula Ford Festival, four races in International Formula 3000 (as well as being the series runner-up in 2001) and five wins towards being the season runner-up in the 1998 FIA GT Championship.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> A veteran of 139 Grands Prix, Webber finally broke his duck in Germany last season with a typically bullish drive from his first ever F1 pole position. An effortlessly smooth triumph in Brazil followed, as well as 3 fastest laps. But for a spell of mediocre races in mid-summer, Webber looked the more likely of the two Red Bull drivers to take the fight to the Brawn GP team. Such a series of non-races was very much uncharacteristic of Webber, as reliable a driver as there is in Formula 1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Webber was excellent in 2009. His first win was a masterpiece of heads-down Aussie aggression and raw speed, his second a masterclass from a driver who looked as though he'd been winning Grands Prix his whole life. His biggest problem is the bloke in the other car. Webber is one of the sport's greatest qualifiers, but last season saw Vettel blitz him 18-1, Webber's sole qualifying success being a pole position. Webber now looks like a driver capable of winning on a consistent basis and, by extension, is a potential World Champion. The thing is, can he really beat Sebastian Vettel over 19 rounds in the same car?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN A IDEAL WORLD:</span> Mark Webber becomes the most popular World Champion since Jesse Owens.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Kimi Räikkönen ends his WRC adventure after one season.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-51333234897738832452010-03-10T08:00:00.000+00:002010-03-10T08:03:50.717+00:00Formula 1 2010 - the drivers (7-12)<span style="font-style: italic;">The 2010 Formula 1 World Championship begins in Bahrain this Friday morning and it promises to be one of the most open in years. On the days leading up to the start of practice, I'll be taking a look at the 24 runners and riders taking part this year. Today, Ferrari, Williams and Renault.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >FERRARI</span><br /><br />After a dismal 2009, Ferrari started work on their F10 car in the middle of last season. Predictably, it has been at the sharp end of pre-season testing from the beginning, and the Scuderia arrive in Bahrain as one of the favourites.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 7: <span style="font-weight: bold;">FELIPE MASSA</span> (BR)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Felipe Massa was born in São Paulo on 25th April 1983. Flamboyant but always very fast, Massa cut a swathe through the single-seater formulae, winning the Brazilian Formula Chevrolet title in 1999, before moving to Europe and adding the Italian and European Formula Renault crowns in 2000 and the European Formula 3000 title in 2001.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Massa made his Formula 1 debut in 2002 for Sauber, where he continued in his elbows-out swashbuckling style. However, at the top level, his lack of refinement cost him speed, and for 2003 he moved to Ferrari as a test driver. It proved to be a formative season, under the wing of Michael Schumacher. Retaining his speed but with less rough edges, Massa returned for two more seasons with Sauber in 2004, before moving to Ferrari as number 2 driver in 2006. He won two races that season, and three in 2007 as his teammate Kimi Räikkönen won the World Championship. Massa really came of age in 2008, winning more races than anyone and missing out on the title by a single point to Lewis Hamilton at the final race. He entered the 2009 championship as favourite, but was let down by the shortcomings of his car, before a freak accident in Hungary fractured his skull and left him lucky to be alive. Massa has started 114 Grands Prix, winning eleven.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> A lot depends on how well Massa has recovered from his accident in Hungary last year, both physically and psychologically. As well as brain swelling, Massa sustained an injury to his eye, something which historically can put paid to the ultimate speed of a racing driver. Moreover, the fact that the accident was absolutely nothing to do with his own fault may yet play on his mind. If all of this has been put aside, as he is confident that it has, there is no reason why he can't be a force once again in 2010. He'll win races.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> In an absolute ideal world, Massa would finally win the world championship, but I think it's likely to be one season too soon for him after an accident of that magnitude. The best he can hope for is to match his new teammate in qualifying and win a handful of Grands Prix.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> There is a slim chance that Massa will face a realisation that he can't accept the risk of Formula 1 any more and walk away. It's very unlikely, however.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 8: <span style="font-weight: bold;">FERNANDO ALONSO</span> (E)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Fernando Alonso was born in Oviedo on 29th July 1981. Something of a prodigy in a country better known for producing motorcycle racers than racing drivers, he won the Open Fortuna by Nissan series in 1999, before going on to win at Spa in the following year's International Formula 3000 series.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Extensive. Until Sebastian Vettel came on the scene, Alonso was the youngest driver ever to win an F1 pole and to win a World Championship Grand Prix, in Hungary 2003. Before Lewis Hamilton, he was also the youngest ever World Champion. He began his career at Minardi in 2001, impressing many in an awful car. A season as Renault's tester followed, before a step up to the race team in 2003. In 2005 he won the Formula 1 World Championship aged 24, following it up with a second title in 2006, becoming the sport's youngest ever double-World Champion. A difficult but competitive year at McLaren followed, followed by a troubled two-season return to Renault which saw him add just two further wins. All things being equal, Alonso is perhaps the most complete driver in Formula 1. He is also probably the only man ever to have beaten Michael Schumacher to the world title in equal machinery. His record is 21 wins from 139 starts, and a seriously impressive points-per-start ratio of 4.151.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> After a ruinous 2009, Alonso will be like a coiled spring in 2010. He'll want to get back to winning ways as soon as possible, and as ever, if the car is anything like good enough to do so he'll be there straight away. Relentlessly consistent and brilliantly canny, I think Alonso will be the 2010 World Champion.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> World title number 3 beckons.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Alonso is outpaced and outraced by Felipe Massa.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >WILLIAMS-COSWORTH</span><br /><br />Although not the force they once were, Williams had a solid 2009. It could have been even better still, had they had two good drivers instead of one - the team's points tally last season were all accrued by Nico Rosberg. The FW32 promises more of the same, neat and showing promise in pre-season testing. However, 5th place in the Constructor's standings is as good as they can realistically hope for.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 9: <span style="font-weight: bold;">RUBENS BARRICHELLO</span> (BR)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Rubens Barrichello was born in São Paulo on 23rd May 1972. His early single-seater success came in Britain, winning the Formula Vauxhall Lotus series in 1990 and then Formula 3 in 1991. However, he was also prone to mistakes, one of which cost him the Blue Riband Formula 3 Masters in the latter year. His one season of Formula 3000 showed him adding consistency - perhaps at the expense of ultimate speed. Finishing third in the 1992 series, scoring points in all but one race, Barrichello's best single results were two second-places.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Barrichello is the most experienced Formula 1 driver of all time, having entered 288 Grand Prix with Jordan, Stewart, Ferrari, Honda and Brawn. He's also won eleven times and finished as the championship runner-up on two occasions (2002 and 2004). However, it was his performance last year, in his 17th full campaign, that really was the most impressive yet. As Jenson Button increasingly stuggled with the Brawn car, Barrichello got better and better, winning two races and pushing the Briton all the way to the flag. He's fast, consistent, hugely experienced and still one of the fastest wet-weather drivers in the field. Don't discount, either, the fact that he starts the season as one of only two drivers to have driven in pre-mid race refuelling Formula 1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> 18 seasons and 285 starts don't seemed to have dulled Barrichello's passion. He still looks driven by the thought he has something to prove at this level, and to that end it is worth saying that in the past three seasons, he has driven better than at any time before in his epic F1 career. If he keeps up the same standard and the motivation remains, there's no reason to believe Rubens won't rack up 350+ Grands Prix.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> It would probably take a crazy race, most likely in the wet conditions in which he so excels, for Barrichello to win a race in 2010, but it would be hugely popular. Realistically, a podium or three would be terrific.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Barrichello is outpaced and outraced by a rookie teammate and finally walks away from the sport come the autumn.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 10: <span style="font-weight: bold;">NICO HÜLKENBERG</span> (D)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Nico Hülkenberg was born in Emmerich am Rhein on 19th August 1987. Ominously for his rivals, his career path is very similar to that of Lewis Hamilton, as Hülkenberg arrives in F1 having just scythed his way to the Formula 3 Euroseries and GP2 Series crowns in successive years. Also the winner of the 2005 German Formula BMW title, the 2007 A1 Grand Prix championship for Germany and the 2007 Formula 3 Masters - plus a race winner in the GP2 Asia Series - Hülkenberg is also represented by Michael Schumacher's old manager, Willi Weber.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Williams' test driver for several years, 2010 is Hülkenberg's first Formula 1 season on the race team.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> The sky seems to be the limit for Hülkenberg. If Williams' car is as competitive as it has seemed in pre-season testing, there's no reason whatsoever that he won't be able to match the results of his epically experienced teammate. Having Barrichello's huge knowledge in the other garage won't do him any harm either. This could be the start of one of this decade's biggest Formula 1 careers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> A podium finish or two.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Hülkenberg joins the ranks of drivers who never quite make their mark in Formula 1, after stellar early careers.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >RENAULT</span><br /><br />Renault had as horrible a season as it's possible to have without loss of life in 2009. An uncompetitive car, internal political strife and then the Crashgate bomb dropped. Unsurprisingly, the Régie seriously considered pulling out of the sport during the winter. Instead, they sold the team to the Swiss investment firm Genii Capital. An interim year is most likely on the cards.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 11: <span style="font-weight: bold;">ROBERT KUBICA</span> (PL)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Robert Kubica was born in Warsaw on 7th December 1984. Poland's first real superstar racing driver, Kubica's early career is best summed up as impressive but never overly so. A race winner in every discipline he has tried, his sole championship success came in the World Series by Renault in 2005.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Kubica made the step up from test driver after Jacques Villeneuve walked away from BMW Sauber in 2006. He instantly made an impression, qualifying in the top 10 for his first Grand Prix and finishing in the points, albeit that he was later disqualified for technical irregularities. However, a podium finish a couple of races down the line at Monza really put him on the map, and guaranteed him a three-year stint with BMW. 2007 was difficult, outpaced by Nick Heidfeld and involved in a huge roll in Canada which saw him have to sit out the following week's US GP. In 2008 he took a big step forward, winning in Montreal and being a serious if unexpected title contender right up until the penultimate race. 2009 should have been his best chance yet, but he simply didn't have the car. His career so far has taken in 57 races, with 1 win, 1 pole position and 137 points.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> The fate of Kubica's season lies, once again, very much in the quality of his machinery. Should the car go well, he's already proved he is capable of getting the job done on a consistent basis. If it doesn't, his head tends to go down a little, although to his credit his on-track performances don't seem to suffer as a result. Kubica, given the right opportunity, is still a potential World Championship contender. Not a chance in 2010, though.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> A podium finish.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Kubica spends another year floridly outlining the flaws in his car over the pit radio for the entertainment of the watching world during Friday practice sessions.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 12: <span style="font-weight: bold;">VITALY PETROV</span> (RU)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Vitaly Petrov was born in Vyborg on 8th September 1984. A hugely successful driver in his native Russia, he won the Formula Lada Cup in 2002, Russian Formula Renault 1600 series in 2005 and the Lada Revolution Series in 2006. Stepping up to the European stage has seen him continue to build on this. In GP2 he won races in each of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons, scoring twice in last season's series to finish as the championship runner-up to Nico Hülkenberg. A season in GP2 Asia gave a similar return, with wins in both the 2008 and 2009 campaigns seeing him finish 3rd and 5th overall in 2008 and 2009 respectively.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Russia's first ever Formula 1 driver is another of 2010's rookies.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS: </span>There's a solidity to Petrov's career so far, coupled with an unassumingness which could see him spring a surprise or two in his debut year. I expect that his teammate will have the measure of him over the course of the season, but equally would not be surprised to see Petrov stay in Formula 1 for the forseeable future.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />IN AN IDEAL WORLD: </span>A podium finish, perhaps. Consistent points scoring, too, would be very welcome after two years of floundering second drivers.<span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> People start to wonder if there's not another Eastern European country to find racing drivers in.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tomorrow: McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull.</span>dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-60455655744074690352010-03-09T09:45:00.000+00:002010-03-09T09:45:00.084+00:00Formula 1 2010 - the drivers (14-19)<span style="font-style: italic;">The 2010 Formula 1 World Championship begins in Bahrain this Friday morning and it promises to be one of the most open in years. On the days leading up to the start of practice, I'll be taking a look at the 24 runners and riders taking part this year. Today, Force India, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Lotus Racing.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDHfnKvtnhuqVPSFK_D6tb4_NOGQ9brvgzO7ROU2kvj69WR2U0wgllZrhmYwQGKwcNHFp9JSgkPGJM6FSAu4NymkV0xUfU5SW9l9OMqPPRHwrL3KmOn2CDiWRYm0QakOE1Ao5VMVddyI/s1600-h/as.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDHfnKvtnhuqVPSFK_D6tb4_NOGQ9brvgzO7ROU2kvj69WR2U0wgllZrhmYwQGKwcNHFp9JSgkPGJM6FSAu4NymkV0xUfU5SW9l9OMqPPRHwrL3KmOn2CDiWRYm0QakOE1Ao5VMVddyI/s400/as.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446566948415139970" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >FORCE INDIA-MERCEDES</span><br /><br />The VJM02 car took a lot of people by surprise towards the end of last season, with a series of exceptional performances on the faster tracks. This year's VJM03 car has shown that this was not an accident with a series of performances in pre-season testing which were, at the very worst, solid. A serious battle for 5th place in the Constructors' Cup beckons.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 14: <span style="font-weight: bold;">ADRIAN SUTIL</span> (D)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Adrian Sutil was born in Starnberg on 11th January 1983. A long-time friend and teammate of Lewis Hamilton, Sutil spent much of his European racing career in the Briton's shadow. The winner of the 2002 Swiss Formula Ford 1800 series, it was not until he went to Japan that he scored his first major single-seater championship success, the 2006 All-Japan Formula 3 title.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> 2010 will be Adrian Sutil's 4th Formula 1 season. He has driven in 52 races but scored points on just two occasions, one of which - a battling 4th place at Monza last Autumn - gave him his best ever championship placing of 17th. Much of that has been down to shortcomings in the car, but the shortcomings of his current mount are becoming less and less by the race. He needs to perform in 2010.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Sutil seems to be the modern-day Andrea de Cesaris. Sometimes fast - sometimes incredibly so - but too often embroiled in chaos of his own making. His natural speed and talent is made abundantly clear by his consistently excellent performances in the wet and at Monaco. However, performing brilliantly for 85% of the race distance before taking two or more corners off the car just doesn't cut it at this level. With Paul di Resta - a highly-rated young Scot - now in place as the team's third driver, Sutil needs to add some reliability to temper his speed, and quickly.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> Adrian Sutil finishes every single race of the season, accruing a hatful of points for his patient employers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Sutil continues his one-man quest to start a Formula 1 parts business and is replaced by Paul di Resta in mid-season.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 15: <span style="font-weight: bold;">VITANTONIO LIUZZI</span> (I)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Vitantonio Liuzzi was born in Locorotondo on 6th August 1981. A player on the scene in European single seaters for almost a decade, Liuzzi's biggest claim to fame so far was his success in the 2004 International Formula 3000 championship, the last Formula 3000 series before it was replaced by GP2. Having finished 4th the previous season, Liuzzi produced a record-breaking send off for the series, winning 7 out of 10 events.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> A Red Bull protegé, Liuzzi made his Formula 1 bow at Imola in 2005, driving for the factory team. In 2006 and 2007 he ran full campaigns for their junior Toro Rosso outfit. All in all, he has scored points on 4 occasions in 44 races, with a best of 6th. This year should prove to be his best opportunity yet to show what he can do with a competitive car.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Liuzzi has never really shown the form that won him the F3000 title at the top level. However, he is a popular and respected competitor amongst his fellow practitioners. He's solid if unspectacular, which arguably makes him the ideal foil for Adrian Sutil. However, I expect him to outscore the German over the course of the full season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> Liuzzi gets a slice of luck somewhere and sneaks onto the podium.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Liuzzi is outpaced and outscored by Adrian Sutil, with only his lower repair bills saving him from the mid-season chop.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >SCUDERIA TORO ROSSO-FERRARI</span><br /><br />2010 sees a big step forward for the Red Bull junior team, with their STR5 car the first they have produced without any design assistance from the factory outfit. This is a shame for them, as last year's Red Bull car ended the season as the undeniable class of the field. They'll be looking to get into the fight to be the best of the midfield teams, with Force India, Sauber, Williams and Renault, but I don't think they'll quite have the puff.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 16: <span style="font-weight: bold;">SÉBASTIEN BUEMI</span> (CH)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Sébastien Buemi was born in Aigle on 31st October 1988. Despite his youth, he's proved a very capable driver in both Formula 3 and GP2, with multiple race wins to his name in either category. However, he is yet to win a major single-seater title.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Question marks were raised over Buemi as he began his first year in Formula 1 in 2009. A 20-year old Swiss driver is hardly the stuff Formula 1 legends are made of. As it turned out, he was one of the finds of the year. Never out of place at the top table, Buemi went on to make a thorough nuisance of himself throughout the season, twice qualifying in the top 10 on pace alone and scoring points on 4 occasions - including in Melbourne on his debut.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> After such a solid debut year, 2010 could prove the difficult second season for Buemi. Now very much the team leader at STR, despite his tender years, he has to continue to show his potential whilst also shouldering more responsibility. I think it could prove a difficult ask. However, we all thought the same thing last year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> Buemi continues in the same vein as 2009, getting more points on the board.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Buemi is outpaced by his teammate and finds himself facing life as an F1 reject aged just 22.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 17: <span style="font-weight: bold;">JAIME ALGUERSUARI</span> (E)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Jaime Alguersuari was born in Barcelona on 23rd March 1990. He is the first Formula 1 driver to have been born in that decade. However, although he's still not 20, he has two championship titles to his name: the 2006 Italian Formula Renault Winter Series and the prestigious British Formula 3 championship in 2008.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> The youngest man ever to start a Grand Prix, Alguersuari was very much thrown in at the deep end in Hungary 2009. With in-season testing at that time banned - it has since been amended to allow drivers who have not driven a Grand Prix in the last 2 years have a day's practice before starting a race meeting - Alguersuari did an admirable job of qualifying at a very respectable pace and then finishing the race. His lack of experience began to tell in some later races, with inconsistency and accidents creeping in on a Sunday afternoon. His best finish in Formula 1 is 12th place.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Alguersuari was mightily impressive in the way he acquitted himself in 2009, as the challenge he faced was an enormous one. His next big test is to take a step up in performance, having had a full winter's testing programme. I expect good things from Alguersuari, but not quite yet.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> A series of solid race finishes, culminating in some points here and there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Alguersuari finds himself back in a testing role as Red Bull move another of their young drivers into the race seat for 2011.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >LOTUS RACING-COSWORTH</span><br /><br />The T127 car was literally not even conceived of, let alone drawn or built as late as September 2009, so its place on the grid in Bahrain is little short of miraculous. Their pre-season testing times have been less so... indeed, at times they have been little short of embarrassing. However, there is solid investment behind the project, a good engineering team and experienced drivers. Things will get better as the season draws on.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 18: <span style="font-weight: bold;">JARNO TRULLI</span> (I)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Jarno Trulli was born in Pescara on 13th July 1974. He won the prestigious German Formula 3 championship aged 22 in 1996.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Trulli starts 2010 as the field's third most experienced driver, a veteran of 219 Grand Prix. He made his debut in Australia in 1997 for Minardi, moving to Prost after Olivier Panis broke his legs at the Canadian race. In his 13th race, he led the Austrian Grand Prix for half its distance, but from then on his potential has never truly been realised. Later a driver for Jordan, Renault and Toyota, Trulli is invariably a better qualifier than he is a racer, although he has eleven podium finishes including one Grand Prix win to his name - at Monaco in 2004, also the year in which he enjoyed his best ever championship position of 6th.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Experienced, yes, and a brilliant qualifier, but Jarno Trulli has always flattered to deceive at the top level. Time after time his pace fades badly on race day, to the extent that rival teams' strategists plan contingencies should their car get caught in one of his legendary midfield Trulli trains. The pity is that in modern Formula 1, with its strictly limited testing, that a driver of Trulli's experience is utterly invaluable despite his shortcomings.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> Jarno Trulli will find more speed on race day than he did in qualifying and not hold anybody up all year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Trulli will flounder about at the back but never, ever get fired until he is 95-years old.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 19: <span style="font-weight: bold;">HEIKKI KOVALAINEN</span> (SF)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY:</span> Heikki Kovalainen was born in Suomussalmi on 19th October 1981. Hugely experienced and very successful in European single-seater racing, Kovalainen first made his name in Britain before adding the World Series by Nissan title to his CV in 2004. The following season he finished as runner-up to Nico Rosberg in the inaugural GP2 Series, with a very respectable five race wins. Outside of competitive motorsport, he is perhaps best known as having beaten Michael Schumacher in the final of the 2004 Race of Champions rally event.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE:</span> Kovalainen made his race debut for Renault in 2007, having stepped up from test driver. It was a slow start in a tricky car, but he eventually started to find his feet to score some good results, including an excellent 2nd at a streaming wet Fuji Speedway in 2007. A move to McLaren for 2008 and 2009 saw him go one better, inheriting a victory in the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix after Felipe Massa's Ferrari engine failed. This makes Lotus the only team from outside the big four to boast two Grand Prix-winning drivers on its books.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS:</span> Kovalainen's reputation and confidence has taken a significant hit alongside Lewis Hamilton for the past two seasons. In 2008 he looked to be still finding his feet, but scored a win, a pole and some fastest laps and looked to be building up to a better 2009. The car's shortcomings put a stop to that, but whilst Hamilton never stopped improving throughout a difficult season, Kovalainen seemed mired in the midfield, even when the car had developed past that level. He has much to prove in 2010. Beating Jarno Trulli would be a useful start for rebuilding his reputation, especially in qualifying.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD:</span> Kovalainen outqualifies Trulli more often than not. A point if they get really, really lucky.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF:</span> Kovalainen's stock in F1 hangs by a thread after his mauling at McLaren, and a season of coming off second-best to Jarno Trulli will most likely see him having to find another form of motorsport to try.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tomorrow: Ferrari, Williams and Renault.</span>dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-54625942734273927862010-03-08T11:18:00.009+00:002010-03-08T17:13:53.626+00:00Formula 1 2010 - the drivers (20-25)<span style="font-style: italic;">The 2010 Formula 1 World Championship begins in Bahrain this Friday morning and it promises to be one of the most open in years. On the days leading up to the start of practice, I'll be taking a look at the 24 runners and riders taking part this year. Today, HRT, Sauber and Virgin Racing.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >HISPANIA RACING TEAM (HRT)-COSWORTH</span><br /><br />The HRT car, designated the HRT, has been designed by Dallara. However, due to the team's own financial problems, delivery was not taken until the week after the last official test of the pre-season. As such, the HRT seems likely to not turn a wheel until the first Free Practice session of the morning. HRT will most likely treat the first Grand Prix of 2010 as an extended test session. Reliability will be the best they can hope for in the early races, as I anticipate the car will prove significantly slower than all of its rivals, initially at least.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 20: <span style="font-weight: bold;">KARUN CHANDHOK</span> (IND)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY</span>: Karun Chandhok was born in Chennai on 19th January 1984. He was the Formula Asia champion in 2001, and the Formula Asia V6 by Renault champion in 2006. From 2007 onwards, he has been racing mainly in Europe's GP2 series. A winner of two races, Chandhok has otherwise been fairly inconsistent, resulting in a best championship placing of 10th in 2008. A stint in the winter GP2 Asia series proved less successful still.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE</span>: 2010 is Chandhok's first season in Formula 1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS</span>: Let's face it, Chandhok is in a F1 race seat for his nationality as much as anything else. FOM are keen to exploit the huge Indian market, with a view to an Indian Grand Prix in 2011 or 2012. This is not to say that Chandhok is a rubbish driver. However, I would argue that there were several of his contemporaries on the European single-seater circuit better placed for his drive in terms of racing CV alone. Bernie Ecclestone has called today for people to be patient with Chandhok, a fairly significant indication of the position Chandhok is occupying in the sport.<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD</span>: Chandhok will find his feet quickly and equal the pace set by his teammate throughout the season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF</span>: Chandhok finds himself stuck fast to the bottom of the timesheets whilst cynical people like me continue to moan on about pay drivers, the relationship of sport to business in the modern world and the politics of nationality.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzObYmIm8YGTlsg1nqYmsFsPlCOEZaetNEvnSutYW4cDC2fFRzuNwL8CizcK9nuIZfMSesq3Z362GzAfGVjm_HycIV5ktBoCSiSmMR6Tm2TLSxb_d6zgx-46roP5nkV_EHm6SBkPTZPmM/s1600-h/bsn.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzObYmIm8YGTlsg1nqYmsFsPlCOEZaetNEvnSutYW4cDC2fFRzuNwL8CizcK9nuIZfMSesq3Z362GzAfGVjm_HycIV5ktBoCSiSmMR6Tm2TLSxb_d6zgx-46roP5nkV_EHm6SBkPTZPmM/s320/bsn.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5446312321605410722" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 21: <span style="font-weight: bold;">BRUNO SENNA</span> (BR)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY</span>: Bruno Senna was born in São Paulo on 15th October 1983. His mother, Viviane Lalli, is the elder sister of 3-time Formula 1 World Champion Ayrton Senna. Unlike his uncle, Bruno Senna arrives in Formula 1 with no single seater championship titles to his name. However, he is a proven race winner in a number of categories, and finished as runner-up in the 2008 GP2 series. During that campaign, he won the prestigious GP2 Monaco race.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE</span>: Like his teammate, Senna starts 2010 as a rookie.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS</span>: Bruno Senna, like Karun Chandhok, is arguably in Formula 1 for reasons supplementary to his skill alone. In Senna's case, it is the surname which has opened doors. However, he has nevertheless always made the most of the opportunities it has afforded him. Some drivers blaze a trail to the summit of single-seater racing and then flounder in Formula 1. Others have a more solid and unspectacular route, but make full use of their chance in F1 when it presents. I have a feeling Senna too will prove to be of the latter category.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD</span>: Senna overcomes the disadvantage of the lack of time with the car, scores a point or two and lays the foundation for a long-term career in F1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF</span>: Senna is outpaced by Karun Chandhok.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >BMW SAUBER-FERRARI</span><br /><br />Sauber return to Formula 1 as a constructor for the first time since 2005. Their C29 car is based on what would have been the BMW F1.10, and thanks to the uniquely silly way Formula 1 works, the team retain the BMW name even though the car will be powered by a Ferrari engine. Nomenclature aside, the Sauber car has shown good pace in pre-season tests, and may prove to be a good outside best for the best-of-the-rest 5th place in this year's Constructors' Cup.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 22: <span style="font-weight: bold;">PEDRO DE LA ROSA</span> (E)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY</span>: Pedro de la Rosa was born in Barcelona on 24th February 1971. A driver of huge experience and pedigree, his earliest single seater title (Spanish Formula Fiat) came in 1989. The following year he added the Spanish Formula Ford crown, and then the European Formula Renault, British Formula Renault( both 1992), All-Japan Formula 3 (1995), Formula Nippon and All-Japan GT (both 1997) championships to his weighty CV.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE</span>: For a driver of his calibre, de la Rosa has driven surprisingly few Grands Prix - 72 - between 1999 and 2002 and 2005 and 2006. His best result was 2nd place in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, with 11th place in the final standings in the same year his best championship result. From 2005 to 2009 he was the test driver for McLaren Mercedes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS</span>: De la Rosa may have wondered if his time as a racing driver in Formula 1 had passed. However, he is a spirited, consistent and skillful performer, whose experience will prove invaluable to the team.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD</span>: A podium finish may not prove out of the question, if some of the leading runners inconvenience themselves. De la Rosa will probably be aiming for regular points finishes in 2010.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF</span>: De la Rosa finds himself comprehensively outpaced by his rookie teammate and quietly sneaks out of the back door come the season's end.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 23: <span style="font-weight: bold;">KAMUI KOBAYASHI</span> (J)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY</span>: Kamui Kobayashi was born in Amagasaki on 13th September 1986. Like a lot of his Japanese contemporaries, Kobayashi has looked towards Europe to further their single-seater career rather than stay in their own country's motor racing ladder as they tended to in the previous generation. Kobayashi duly won the 2005 Italian and European Formula Renault titles, adding the GP2 Asia Series crown in 2009.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE</span>: Kobayashi made his Formula 1 bow in Friday practice at the 2009 Japanese Grand Prix for Toyota, sitting in for the unwell Timo Glock. After Glock injured his back in qualifying for that race the following day, Kobayashi was promoted to the race seat for the season's final two races. His qualifying performance in impossible weather conditions in Brazil were outstanding, as was his somewhat flamboyant performance in the race. More controlled but no less impressive two weeks later in Abu Dhabi, Kobayashi finished in 6th place in just his second Grand Prix.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS</span>: He was a little wild and woolly in his races last season, but there's no doubting that the speed is very much there. The question is now whether he can retain it, whilst reigning in some of his rougher edges. If he can, Kobayashi may prove to be the man to one day be Japan's first Grand Prix winner.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD</span>: A podium finish, perhaps.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF</span>: Kobayashi is outpaced by de la Rosa and he continues to prove unpredictable on track.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >VIRGIN RACING-COSWORTH</span><br /><br />The VR-01 car has been designed by Nick Wirth, exclusively using Computational Fluid Dynamics rather than the traditional route of scale models and windtunnel time. A bold move, and one which was called into question after a spate of front wing failures in early testing. However, the key worry now for the team - who are run at the circuit by the experienced John Booth and his Manor Motorsport outfit - is reliability, particularly in its hydraulic system. A brand new team for 2010, Virgin will have to overcome this problem if they want to be the best of the new intake.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 24: <span style="font-weight: bold;">TIMO GLOCK </span>(D)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY</span>: Timo Glock was born in Lindenfels on 18th March 1982. Also a race winner in the Formula 3 Euroseries, he won the BMW Formula ADAC championship in 2001 and then went on to take the GP2 crown in 2007. He is one of four GP2 Series champions to be competing in Formula 1 this season. Glock is also a former winner of the CART Champ Car World Series rookie of the year award.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE</span>: Glock in fact made his Grand Prix debut at the Canadian Grand Prix in 2004. At the time he was the test driver for Jordan, and stepped up when regular driver Giorgio Pantano fell ill. He impressed with a points finish in 7th place, earning him a handful of other drives towards the end of the season. Champ Cars followed with reasonable success but no race wins, before he took the step back down to GP2 in 2006. After 7 race wins and the 2007 title, he was hired by Toyota for 2008. His first full season was impressive, his second a little more average in relation to the increased expectation. Despite this relatively disappointing second season, he has 3 podium finishes (two seconds and one third) to his name from just 36 starts.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS</span>: A lot was expected of Glock in 2009 after his debut season, but he struggled to live up to the expectations on a consistent basis. On the whole, he outpaced Jarno Trulli when it really mattered on race day, and scored a second and a third-place finish. Virgin Racing offer him a new challenge of being the leader in a new team. Hopes are still high for his future at this moment in time, but he still has much to prove.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD</span>: A season of consistency, where the only variable is the performance of his car, yields a number of points finishes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF</span>: Glock fails to stamp his authority on the team and his rookie teammate and finds his shiny newcomer credentials have well and truly dimmed.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Car 25: <span style="font-weight: bold;">LUCAS DI GRASSI</span> (BR)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BIOGRAPHY</span>: Lucas di Grassi was born in São Paulo on 11th August 1984. In a career without any single-seater titles to his name, di Grassi has nevertheless managed to be a consistent threat to his rivals. He won the blue riband Macau Grand Prix of Formula 3 in 2005, and is one of the GP2 Series' most successful ever drivers, with five race wins and final championship positions of 2nd, 3rd and 3rd to his name between 2007 and 2009.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 PEDIGREE</span>: Lucas di Grassi starts 2010 as a rookie, though he has been a Renault test driver for a number of seasons.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">PROSPECTS</span>: As I said before, some drivers only really flower when given the opportunity to drive in Formula 1. Di Grassi is another pilot who, I feel, has all the necessary qualities to fit this bill. As well as significant European single-seater experience, he is also very consistent from race to race. This could prove an invaluable quality for his new team in their battle to be the best of the newcomers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">IN AN IDEAL WORLD</span>: Di Grassi matches Glock in both pace and in points scoring.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">IF THE WHEELS COME OFF</span>: Di Grassi finds himself back in GP2.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Tomorrow: Force India, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Lotus Racing</span>.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-84119552958718313362010-03-05T09:02:00.003+00:002010-03-05T09:55:52.155+00:00Formula 1 2010 - new teams2010 sees an unprecedented number of new teams joining the grid, lured in by the promise of a $40 million budget cap which ultimately failed to materialise. Nevertheless, in addition to returnees <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mercedes</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sauber</span>, there will be three brand new outfits out on the track a week from now in Bahrain.<br /><br />Most convincing of these is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Virgin Racing</span>. Run by Manor Motorsports and bankrolled by Richard Branson, this is a team following the tried-and-tested formula of a hugely experienced and successful outfit from lower formulae making the step up. Notably, their's is the first Formula 1 car ever to be completely designed by Computational Fluid Dynamics, rather than a mixture of computer, pencil and paper and a windtunnel. Nick Wirth is the man behind the design team, formerly the team principal of the ill-fated Simtek, as well as chief designer at Benetton in the late-1990s.<br /><br />Of course, one of the key advantages to a windtunnel test is it gives you some indication as to whether or not bits are likely to drop off. Unfortunately, Virgin Racing had to go through this chastening experience in the first tests of the season, in front of the world's media. Initial problems with the front wing are easily fixed. More of a concern is the car's shonky hydraulic system. In modern-day Formula 1, unreliability is an absolute recipe for disaster. Virgin's season may hang on whether or not these teething problems can be ironed out early enough to take advantage of points now being awarded down to 10th place.<br /><br />Their key rivals are likely to be <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lotus Racing</span>. Like all the new teams, Lotus - who, despite the name, are a different proposition entirely from Team Lotus - will be powered by the Cosworth engine. Having a lot of Cosworth engined cars in the field again feels right somehow. Having the Lotus name back, albeit in the form of a new team, is also a nice addition to the field.<br /><br />Let's be honest - the team have not set the world alight in pre-season testing. The car is lacking in downforce and the lap times have suffered accordingly. However, it is important to not lose sight of the fact that this is a team who did not exist until September 2009. Mike Gascoyne's technical team have worked wonders to even have produced a car at all, let alone one which runs. Pace will come later, I'm sure, as Gascoyne is not one to miss a trick. However, I don't think Lotus will have the beating of Virgin in 2010.<br /><br />Then, there's <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hispania Team Racing</span>. Competing as <span style="font-weight: bold;">HRT</span> is a fairly suitable moniker for this outfit, as a comedy team deserves a comedy name. Initially, this entry was Campos Meta - a team with years of experience and success in lower formulae. However, funding problems brought the project almost to the brink, leading to the unusual situation of a Formula 1 team having a takeover before their car had even turned a wheel.<br /><br />In fact, their car is still yet to turn a wheel. The first time it will run at all seems likely to be in a week, during first practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Frankly, this is not an ideal situation to be in, and it's hard to see HRT being anywhere but stubbornly clinging to the bottom of the timesheets all weekend. On the plus side, their car has been designed and built by Dallara, the Italian company with success on a Biblical scale throughout single-seater racing. On the minus side, this has never extended to Formula 1 - Dallara started 78 races between 1988 and 1992, scoring just 15 points with a best finish of two third places. That said, HRT would kill for that kind of return this season. Unfortunately, it's just not going to happen. Formula 1 needs new teams, they are vital for its continuing health and credibility. It's just sad that politics and finance look set to make one of the new outfits a laughing stock.<br /><br />However, it's not right of me to beat up too much on HRT - they have, at least, made it to the grid. They have a car designed by an experienced firm not used to failure. They have two young, talented drivers. They are living the dream. <span style="font-weight: bold;">USF1</span> were just dreaming.<br /><br />It is not necessarily the FIA's proudest moment, the USF1 saga. Whilst the sports commercial and money men must have been licking their lips at the prospect of an all-American team, built entirely in Charlotte using American technology, it was important to be mindful of the fact that where America is concerned, Formula 1 has a history of kicking itself in the nuts. So it proved yet again. Despite investment from YouTube. Despite the involvement of former-Williams team manager Peter Windsor. Despite - embarassingly - an official FIA delegation visit to the factory to verify that the team were a serious prospect. The latter led to the signing of José María López, an Argentinian driver with significant funds behind him from the Argentine government. The team also apparently signed Milos Pavlovic, the Serbian with considerable single-seater experience in Europe. All of these ingredients came to make an unlikely proposition into a complete, and very public, shambles.<br /><br />Nevertheless, USF1 have asked to defer their entry until 2011, so we may yet see them on a grid. Indeed, their official website - which is, <span style="font-style: italic;">bizarrely enough</span>, rubbish - even has pictures of elements of their car produced at the factory. A nose section is an important step. Maybe they'll allow López and Pavlovic to take turns sitting behind it. Whilst they watch the races on television.<br /><br />And so, Formula 1 continues to take two steps forward and one step back into the second decade of the third millennium. On the plus side, we have three new teams. Also on the plus side, we know for sure that two of them have cars which actually work.<br /><br />In the case of Hispania and USF1, however, the sport has once again made a spectacle of itself. All the more confusing, then, that the FIA passed on the application of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Prodrive</span> to enter the 2010 World Championship. Maybe it's just far better to have an imaginary team - made from unicorns and moonbeams - from America than it is to have an actual team, built by people in blue overalls with oil spots on them, from boring old Europe.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-4126664691918560732010-03-04T08:48:00.003+00:002010-03-04T09:28:44.622+00:00Formula 1 2010 - new rulesLast year's regulation overhaul changed the way Formula 1 looked, both in terms of aesthetics and in terms of grid order. This year's changes are hopefully set to change the way it works. I'm focussing on the rules that may make a difference to the on-track action here, but you can find a full list of the alterations <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Formula_One_season#Rule_changes" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />Chief among the changes for 2010 is a <span style="font-weight: bold;">ban on mid-race refuelling</span>. It's been 17 years since Ayrton Senna won the Australian Grand Prix halting only for tyres. In the intervening period, I think it's fair to say that refuelling and pit strategies have only added any value to a sport they were designed to revitalise on a handful of occasions. The most notable of these to my mind was Michael Schumacher and Ross Brawn's strategic masterclass victory in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Hungarian_Grand_Prix" target="_blank">1998 Hungarian Grand Prix</a>. But therein lies the problem - even at its most exciting, the fuel stop era was about drivers running alone as fast as they could, to overtake rivals in the pits.<br /><br />Whilst there's no guarantee that running on a single tank of petrol will serve to give the sport its long-saught answer to the overtaking on track problem, it cannot fail to help. Put simply, it removes a tactical variable for the teams and drivers to lean on. Come half or two-thirds distance in Bahrain, any drivers wanting to gain a position will have far less options than before. The ones they do have - staying out, preserving the car and hoping other drivers stop for fresh tyres, or a quick stop for new rubber ready for a late-race dash - can only benefit the action on the track, which is most likely where it belongs.<br /><br />A lot of talk regarding this rule change has been about who the change will most favour. Certainly, smooth drivers like Jenson Button will probably receive a slight advantage over their rougher counterparts like Fernando Alonso or Lewis Hamilton. It's possible, too, that old hands Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello - the two drivers in the field to have driven Formula 1 pre-1994 - will enjoy an experiential advantage in the season's initial races. However, over the course of the season I think these things will become moot. The best drivers will always be the best drivers, and what makes a great driver is understanding that one has to adapt to win.<br /><br />The greatest joy of the new fuel regs, however, is that qualifying is back as an ultimate test of speed. No more silly fuel-burning phases with cars starting the top-ten shootout on race fuel. Every session will be run flat out and on fumes, as it should be.<br /><br />Another welcome change is to the <span style="font-weight: bold;">points system</span>, which has long been <a href="http://totoroche.wordpress.com/2008/09/29/scoring/" target="_blank">a bugbear of mine</a>. Finally we're back in a position where a race win is properly awarded, the 25 points on offer are a clear 7 more than for the second-placed driver. The argument is that this will give the drivers extra motivation to try and make the pass, but I've never been a great subscriber to this view - I think that the majority of drivers are always looking for another place. Working the percentages is for the end of the season, but in 2010 the framework is in place for fortune to favour the brave.<br /><br />Finally for the positives, <span style="font-weight: bold;">aerodynamic wheel covers are banned for 2010</span>. This won't change the racing on the track any, but it will make the cars look a lot less stupid. Plus, it may also help shave off vital tenths during the tyre stops. During pre-season, most of the teams have been changing all four wheels in 3-4 seconds, meaning that pitstops this season will be more spectacular than ever and that strategic elements have not all been vanquished from the sport.<br /><br />The effect of all of the above changes will hopefully be a season where the best of Formula 1 is retained, but in a more transparent and understandable way to the casual fan. No-one could see how much fuel someone had on board their car, but everyone can understand what a new set of tyres will do. Likewise, <span style="font-weight: bold;">KERS</span> should also bow out this year, F1 never really finding a way to exploit both its benefits and its entertainment value in a balanced way.<br /><br />Alas, the sport will have to wait until 2011 for a change which will hopefully really spice up the on-track action. The <span style="font-weight: bold;">double diffuser</span> row from last year looks set to rumble on into this, with Mercedes set to turn up in Bahrain in a week with their ominous-sounding Super Diffuser. The ins and outs of this may be very interesting from a design and regulatory standpoint, but for spectators the only real effect is a reduction in the quality of the racing. Trick diffusers were outlawed in 2009's rule package, aimed at improving the chances of overtaking, because they made it difficult for one car to follow another closely.<br /><br />Formula 1 is lucky to have such an array of brilliantly talented engineers that such rulings can be cunningly circumvented. However, Formula 1 fans deserve a lucky break too. Hopefully this will be the last year for these devices. Equally, though, here's hoping that it will not prove a politically divisive issue until the start of 2011. Formula 1 fans had enough of that last year, and not enough of anything else.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-41538785159876415282010-03-03T10:10:00.003+00:002010-03-03T10:27:06.716+00:00Formula 1 2010 - new and exciting thingsI've been looking forward to the new Formula 1 season so keenly that I've not done any blogging about it. I haven't seen much point. Not only do amendments to the technical regulations made the limited pre-season testing almost impossible to read without the sophisticated computer technology only Formula 1 teams own, but also many sites far better than this one provide much more in-depth and regular coverage.<br /><br />So, what's the point, I asked myself. However, at the same time I am still completely smitten with motor racing, still know a lot of things about it and still excited by it. Normally, I like sport as much for its capacity to produce history and statistics - data - as I do for the activity itself. Recently, though, I've come to realise that when it comes to cars racing one another, the whole thing delights me.<br /><br />Even though I know it is rubbish, ecologically ruinous and financially suspect. Even though it is usually boring. I am infected by the whole thing. And where there is infection, sometimes there's only one way for the accumulations of matter to go and that's outwards. Which brings me back to the purpose of this blog.<br /><br />I originally envisioned <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">+1 Lap </span></span>as an in-depth and topical site. This is never going to work, for reasons I've already discussed. Instead, I plan to use this as a dumping site for stuff which would otherwise completely overwhelm my brain's capacity to perform any other function. It's likely to be mostly opinion and statistics. Hopefully, if you are as diseased by the whole spectacle of motor racing as I am, you'll find it interesting. However, I'll equally understand if nobody wants to read any of it. That's not really what it's for.<br /><br />So, no more pandering to journalistic balance. I'm just going to let the whole thing have it as I see it, in the order it wells up within me. My plans for the forseeable future - what will probably prove to be an in-depth but spectacularly disordered 2010 Formula 1 season preview, starting this week with technical and regulation changes and a look at the new teams. Next week, I'll turn my attention to the drivers, which is all anyone actually cares about.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-51155825038073816952009-12-04T13:42:00.005+00:002009-12-04T14:34:25.189+00:00Jacques comes backIt now looks more probable than possible that 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve will be back on the Formula 1 grid in 2010. Rumour now has it that he will be announced as a Lotus driver some time next week. However, unlike the stir that Michael Schumacher has now <span style="font-style: italic;">twice</span> caused with potential comebacks in 2009, the news Villeneuve is to return has barely even registered beyond a ripple amongst hardened fans and nerdy types.<br /><br />In a way, this is very understandable, as Villeneuve is possessed of a particularly unusual career history in the world's premier single-seater category. Perhaps only Emerson Fittipaldi, who won 2 titles in his first 4 years in the sport then spent a further 6 tooling around in the pack driving for his family team, can match it. In Jacques' first 33 races in the sport, he won eleven times and finished no lower than second in the drivers' championship standings. In the subsequent 131 he did no better than four 3rd places and fifth in the final table.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RAw9gCMTDTybjOPwvT70mQNwPkrYX1oaHwtTZJNborYTrDsOrDWDFtRdLFTgYYj9OMTwvgFpfD6WjOWmmvjjAylPFuczwUJJuiTj2F0Y9uAiG-N17-fhQugdAnSsmlmVJUf8VTiDdkc/s1600-h/jv.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 91px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-RAw9gCMTDTybjOPwvT70mQNwPkrYX1oaHwtTZJNborYTrDsOrDWDFtRdLFTgYYj9OMTwvgFpfD6WjOWmmvjjAylPFuczwUJJuiTj2F0Y9uAiG-N17-fhQugdAnSsmlmVJUf8VTiDdkc/s400/jv.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411388658334971922" border="0" /></a><br />Much of the reason for this will be put at the door of his decision, mid-1998, to leave the Williams team and join his long-time manager Craig Pollock at British American Racing. His first season with the team built around him was an unmitigated disaster: he failed to finish any of the first eleven races of the year and finished without a point to his name. He stayed with the team for an additional 4 seasons, but rarely looked anything but a midfield runner. In 2004 he took a sabbatical year, save for three races at Renault towards the end of the season, before an 18-month return to the sport with Sauber and BMW. When he walked out of his broken car at the German Grand Prix in 2006, however, it looked very much like he was done with Formula 1, sick to death and glad to be rid of it.<br /><br />Because the simple fact of the matter is, Villeneuve never, ever got to grips with Formula 1's grooved tyre era. A vocal opponent of the change, when the ludicrous rubber actually appeared in 1998, Villeneuve was never the same driver again. So reliant on absolute commitment and late braking for his speed, Villeneuve lost his edge, lost his confidence, then lost everything. Perhaps the saddest sight of all was of a once-great driver at all kinds of lurid angles in his early days at Sauber in 2005, damn-nearly completely unable to make his car brake in a straight line.<br /><br />Yes, there are questions about his decision to join BAR and his suitability thereafter as a team leader and as a focal point for a squad's development. But I honestly think that, with different tyres, we'd have seen a different Jacques. And a different Jacques could have meant the recent history of Grand Prix racing could have been a little different.<br /><br />There's now a whole new generation of motor racing fans who, though they may remember Villeneuve the midfield runner, may not think of him in any other way. If you were born on the day Villeneuve won his last Grand Prix, you would now be 12-years old and at secondary school. The news that Jacques Villeneuve has been tempted back across the Atlantic by the new Formula and, crucially, its slick tyres, would most likely have failed to excite you. However, with a bit of luck, 2010 may give us glimpses of a return to the old Villeneuve - rear wheels almost perpetually on the limits of the exit kerbs, brakes locked and at maximum attack, the Villeneuve who, between 1995 and 1997 won the Indy 500, the Indycar championship, 11 Grands Prix and the world title. Just to have a driver of his pedigree and personality back in the sport would be treat enough for me. But if his car allows him to recapture his old form, he's going to make an indeleble mark on a whole new generation of impressionable young minds.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-71256891299876920992009-12-03T14:51:00.004+00:002009-12-03T15:20:20.531+00:002010 new teams for 2010One of the oft-cited fears about next season's Formula 1 World Championship (during the achingly-predictable political squabbles and threats of a breakaway series that characterised much of the early part of 2009 season) was that without the big-name teams, the sport would be lacking in credibility. An all-new look F1, led by a vanguard of Williams and Force India and largely powered by Cosworth engines seemed, for a time, to be on the cards. This never particularly bothered me - I'm more interested in historical continuity than following big names like Red Bull Racing (who?) around wherever they go. For some, however, it was a real sticking point, to the point where Ferrari even used its lengthening shadow to gain leverage in the propaganda battle.<br /><br />With the new Concorde Agreement signed and all the usual suspects still in place, 2010 will nevertheless have a very different make-up. Toyota and BMW are gone and - if strong rumours are to be believed - Renault are about to follow them and be run by and badged as David Richards' Prodrive operation for the next few years. There are already going to be four brand new teams lining up at Bahrain next March. With Prodrive and a probable entry for Sauber, the eponymous Peter having completed negotiations with BMW to buy back his old team earlier this week, it would make six. Serbian team Stefan Grand Prix are also trying to find a way in for 2010, rumours having them putting in an offer for Toyota's entry. Not even last years' Constructors' champions will be on the grid in the same form, of course, now that Brawn are rebadged as Mercedes GP.<br /><br />That leaves us with a probable field of 26 cars and 13 teams, only six of whom competed in their current form in the 2009 World Championship. However, far from being a sign of a sport battling for credibility, Formula 1 is showing signs of enormous growth. OK, the years of plenty have gone, with big car manufacturers unwilling to plough huge amounts of money into a sport where they'll probably be beaten by a British outfit who built their chassis in a shed in Milton Keynes and then cobbled an old V8 into the back of it. But those <span style="font-style: italic;">garagistes</span> were precisely the people who dominated the boom period of Grand Prix racing's huge growth to worldwide prominence in the 1970s and 1980s and precisely the people who the big car companies had to beat. The fact that they didn't and then chucked in the towel only reflects badly on one of the parties.<br /><br />The irony of this situation is that it was the outbreak of common sense and unity within FOCA and the FIA which has allowed these developments. Through all the threats, counter-threats and posturing - for all the worries about big-name teams departing - all concerned have contrived to create a sport which, though retaining the thread of its heritage and prestige, is nevertheless an attractive and achievable prospect for newcomers. Indeed, the new regulations are even showing signs of tempting new investment from car companies - Volkswagen are said to be looking in to F1 engine supply for 2012 onwards.<br /><br />It's also good news for the drivers. More cars means more opportunities to get onto the grid, and more drivers on the grid means more excitement and interest for the spectators. Because, and let's hope that Formula 1 teams never forget this, it's drivers who the majority of people come to see. The only loss to Formula 1 2010, then, is some big-name car companies. And I for one think that the loss is all theirs.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-88158200015817591032009-11-25T09:00:00.005+00:002009-12-02T11:04:17.547+00:00Country championshipYou've almost certainly never wondered, as I did, which are the most successful countries in terms of their drivers' results in the 60 years of the Formula 1 World Championship. However, once I wondered it, it could not go unwondered, and as such I hereby present a number of extremely boring and geeky top 10 lists to that end.<br /><br />GRAND PRIX WINS BY DRIVER NATIONALITY (NUMBER OF WINNERS)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> 205 (19)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 108 (6)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brazil</span> 102 (6)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">France</span> 77 (12)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 44 (4)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 43 (15)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 41 (3)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 38 (3)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 28 (3)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">United States</span> 22 (5)<br /><br />GRAND PRIX WINS PER HEAD OF POPULATION<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> (one win for every) 121,594 people<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 203,822<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> 298,993<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">New Zealand</span> 355,500<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 759,815<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sweden</span> 777,119<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 786,099<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">France</span> 845,110<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Belgium</span> 969,624<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 1,068,302<br /><br />GRAND PRIX WINNERS BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> (one Grand Prix winner for every) 4,975 miles²<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Belgium</span> 5,894<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 7,756<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Switzerland</span> 7,970<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 10,794<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">France</span> 21,713<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 22,975<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 32,649<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">New Zealand</span> 51,869<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sweden</span> 57,915<br /><br />AVERAGE GRAND PRIX WINS BY DRIVER NATIONALITY<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 21.00<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 18.00<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brazil</span> 17.00<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 13.67<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 12.67<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 11.00<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> 10.79<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 9.33<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Canada</span> 8.50<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">South Africa</span> 8.00<br /><br />AVERAGE GRAND PRIX WINS PER HEAD OF POPULATION<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> (one win for every) 486,377 people<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 611,466<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">New Zealand</span> 711,000<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Belgium</span> 1,939,249<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Switzerland</span> 2,211,171<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 2,221,998<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sweden</span> 2,331,357<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 2,358,296<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 3,195,947<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Canada</span> 3,982,706<br /><br />WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS BY DRIVER NATIONALITY(NUMBER OF CHAMPIONS)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> 14 (10)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brazil</span> 8 (3)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 7 (1)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 5 (1)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 4 (2)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 4 (2)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 4 (3)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">France</span> 4 (1)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 3 (2)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 2 (1)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">United States</span> 2 (2)<br /><br />WORLD CHAMPIONS PER HEAD OF POPULATION<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> (one champion for every) 1,783,393 people<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 4,178,354<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">New Zealand</span> 4,266,000<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> 6,111,312<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 11,005,383<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 30,078,607<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Canada</span> 33,853,00<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 40,482,000<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 46,661,950<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">South Africa</span> 49,320,000<br /><br />WORLD CHAMPIONS BY GEOGRAPHICAL AREA<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> (one world champion for every) 9,453 miles²<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 16,192<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 43,532<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 58,173<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">New Zealand</span> 103,738<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 137,847<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 195,364<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">France</span> 260,558<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">South Africa</span> 471,443<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 1,068,302<br /><br />On the whole, then, the broad trend points towards Finland having done the best with the number of people that they have, with Britain having eked the most out of the territory at their disposal. However, this being a motor racing blog, it couldn't be complete without a definite final decision based on an arbitrary points system. As such, I have awarded a points score to every entry in each of the above lists, from 10 points for 1st place down to 1 for 10th place. The final reckoning (and, remember, the judges decision <span style="font-style: italic;">is </span>final) is as follows:<br /><br />FINAL TOTAL<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Great Britain</span> 59<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 59<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 58<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 41<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">New Zealand</span> 31<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 27<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brazil</span> 25<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 24<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 24<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">France</span> 24<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(in the event of a tie, the country with the most number of high scores wins)</span><br /><br />And so it is Britain who, maybe predictably, prevail. However, it is Austria rather than Finland who come in second place, a surprise for a country who have not had a Grand Prix driver in two years or a Grand Prix winner in 12. However, they have nevertheless been doing themselves a great deal of justice all this time. On that subject, a special word for Spain in 8th position. This lofty spot represents the efforts of one man alone, Fernando Alonso. Overall, however, congratulations to Britain. The prize may or may not be in the mail.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-80781351951255524012009-11-24T09:10:00.006+00:002009-11-24T10:51:27.227+00:00Stepping stonesTime was that the British Formula 3 championship was one of the premier breeding grounds for Formula 1 drivers. In the 1980s, for example, only one of its champion drivers did not make it to the top level - Andy Wallace - who nevertheless went on to be one of his generation's best sportscar drivers. The 1990s started similarly well, the first two British F3 champions of that decade being Mika Häkkinen and Rubens Barrichello. However, after that only two of their fellows made it into Formula 1 - although 1992 champion Gil de Ferran won multiple Indycar championships in America. The noughties had an identical strike rate, with four of the ten champions only making it to Formula 1 - Antonio Pizzonia, Takuma Sato, Nelsinho Piquet and Jaime Alguersauri. However, this last decade has also acquired the dubious honour of the first in the championship's history where none of its champion alumni have gone on to win a Grand Prix.<br /><br />Sadly for the series, which enters its sixtieth season in 2010, this pattern looks set to continue. Not only does it face stern competition for the top drivers from the F3 Euroseries, but 2010 sees the debut year for the GP3 series, running as a support series for GP2 and Formula 1 at European race weekends and under the noses of all the great and good of the F1 firmament.<br /><br />Today's list, then, is the 2009 season's twenty-five drivers and the feeder series they competed in as their final step up to Formula 1. As a bonus I have listed eleven other drivers who make up, with the 2009 fields four world champions, the last fifteen Formula 1 title winners. Where a driver came from a series of similar stature (i.e. the top of its own little food chain), their step up to that championship is also listed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JAIME ALGUERSAURI</span> British Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FERNANDO ALONSO</span> International Formula 3000<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LUCA BADOER</span> International Formula 3000 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">RUBENS BARRICHELLO</span> International Formula 3000<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SÉBASTIEN BOURDAIS</span> CART Champ Cars World Series (4-time champion), International Formula 3000 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SÉBASTIEN BUEMI</span> GP2 Series<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JENSON BUTTON</span> British Formula 3<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">GIANCARLO FISICHELLA</span> International Touring Car championship, Italian Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">TIMO GLOCK</span> Formula 3 Euroseries (second attempt: GP2 series (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ROMAIN GROSJEAN</span> GP2 series<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">LEWIS HAMILTON</span> GP2 series (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NICK HEIDFELD</span> International Formula 3000 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KAMUI KOBAYASHI</span> GP2 series<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">HEIKKI KOVALAINEN</span> GP2 series<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ROBERT KUBICA</span> World Series by Renault (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">VITANTONIO LIUZZI</span> International Formula 3000 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">FELIPE MASSA</span> Italian/European Formula 3000 (champion in both)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KAZUKI NAKAJIMA</span> GP2 series<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NELSINHO PIQUET</span> GP2 series<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN</span> British Formula Renault (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NICO ROSBERG</span> GP2 series (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ADRIAN SUTIL</span> All-Japan Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JARNO TRULLI</span> German Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">SEBASTIAN VETTEL</span> World Series by Renault<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MARK WEBBER</span> International Formula 3000<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MICHAEL SCHUMACHER</span> World Sports Car championship, German Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">MIKA HÄKKINEN</span> British Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JACQUES VILLENEUVE</span> CART Indycars (champion), Toyota Formula Atlantic<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">DAMON HILL</span> International Formula 3000<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ALAIN PROST</span> European Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NIGEL MANSELL</span> British Formula 3<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">AYRTON SENNA</span> British Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NELSON PIQUET</span> British Formula 3 (champion)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">NIKI LAUDA</span> European Formula 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">KEKE ROSBERG</span> European Formula 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ALAN JONES</span> Formula Atlanticdotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-32898279619150542082009-11-22T12:26:00.003+00:002011-12-29T15:09:18.959+00:00Japan's Grand Prix driversIn the comments section for my last post, Al asked whether or not I'd discounted Kamui Kobayashi from getting a seat in the 2010 Formula 1 season. The fact of the matter is, I'd not even really considered him.<br />
<br />
This is not a reflection of Kobayashi's ability, which I think he amply demonstrated was worthy of a full-time chance in Formula 1 in his two races last season. Some rumours, indeed, put him in the frame at Lotus for 2010. It's more of a reflection on the nature of Japanese Grand Prix drivers in the sport thus far - i.e. they are normally chosen as a means to an end, rather than on merit alone. This is not to say that Japan doesn't produce Formula 1-standard racing drivers: Japan is, after all, home to the Formula Nippon and the All-Japan Formula 3 championships, two of the most respected junior formulae on the rungs below Grand Prix motor racing. However, many of them will be passed over for a compatriot with better sponsorship or engineering ties. I think that this approach to hiring Japanese drivers has become endemic in the sport, to the point where a Japanese pilot has to be quite outstanding, perhaps much more so than a rival from a European country. Their language is too much of a barrier, goes the old theory. Formula 1's community is too alien to allow them to blossom.<br />
<br />
There have been 18 Japanese Grand Prix drivers, 17 of whom have started Formula 1 World Championship events. The first of these did not take to the grid until 1976, the year of the first Japanese Grand Prix. Since then, due to meagre opportunities or the very best drivers being passed over in favour of less able but better-connected countrymen, it's been slim pickings. Japanese drivers are by no means the only sufferers of this curse - to get to the top in Formula 1 requires a lot of luck and good judgement on top of driving ability. However, they have been pretty badly served by the situation: Japan's F1 drivers have racked up 472 starts but scored just 87 points, with a best race finish of two 3rd places. Today's post, then, looks at these drivers and selects the five best of the crop.<br />
<br />
Firstly, the raw stats: here are Japan's 18 GP drivers, listed in order of their points-per-starts ratio. Also shown are their number of starts, points scored and their best ever race finish:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1N7Vxwn-y52K2smm7P93TzYFgeGFb9TsavZ7JNQlIeswtOy-7LCLxmq6OcivexKbzEluU-ILMh1LCIitfDp0uzbgddyaR1hqfaoISec-0lxPFpBdHL55JwvrUOFXeUycrVz87ATRpCsQ/s1600/japanesegp.gif"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406906434996712562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1N7Vxwn-y52K2smm7P93TzYFgeGFb9TsavZ7JNQlIeswtOy-7LCLxmq6OcivexKbzEluU-ILMh1LCIitfDp0uzbgddyaR1hqfaoISec-0lxPFpBdHL55JwvrUOFXeUycrVz87ATRpCsQ/s400/japanesegp.gif" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 400px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 274px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The pick of the crop - Japan's five best Grand Prix drivers:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Aguri Suzuki (1988-1995)</span><br />
<br />
Suzuki was Japan's second-ever full-time Formula 1 racing driver. After an average lower formula career, Suzuki blossomed in 1988, winning the Formula Nippon (Japanese Formula 3000) championship, making his debut in Formula 1 in a one-off drive for Lola at that year's Japanese Grand Prix, finishing 11th. Moving to Zakspeed for 1989, he endured a torrid season, failing to pre-qualify for all of that season's 16 Grands Prix. In 1990 he was back at Lola, and acquitting himself well, scoring points on three occasions, including a 3rd place at Suzuka, becoming the first Japanese ever to stand on a Formula 1 podium. A second season with Lola in 1991 yielded one more point, before his final two full seasons in the sport in 1992 and 1993 were spent at Footwork Mugen-Honda, the latter year spent being respectably close to teammate Derek Warwick, often beating him on race day, although he failed to score any more points. A one-off drive at Jordan - filling in for the suspended Eddie Irvine at Aida - followed in 1994, before his Mugen-Honda connections saw him share the second Ligier seat with Martin Brundle for 1995, adding his eighth and final career point in that season's German Grand Prix. <br />
<br />
Suzuki was never destined to be a star of Grand Prix racing. However, he was part of the vanguard of drivers who helped prove that Japanese drivers were good for more than securing sponsorship or engine deals: they could be respectably solid performers. Suzuki went on to be the team principal for the Super Aguri team who entered Formula 1 between 2006 and 2008.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Ukyo Katayama (1992-1997)</span><br />
<br />
The man who has started more Grands Prix than any other Japanese started off as a bit of a joke. In spite of winning the 1991 Formula Nippon title, Katayama was short of stature, and of such a cheerfully amiable disposition that, combined with his rather stuttering start in the sport and his neat line in witty self-depreciation, could easily have been mistaken for gormlessness. Yes, Katayama had a tendency to make mistakes, but he was by no means alone in that regard. And yes, he had a distinctive style of nodding his head as he raced his car. However, after two sighters, full seasons with Larrousse and Tyrrell in 1992 and 1993, people were forced to stop laughing and take notice in 1994. In the neat Tyrrell 022-Yamaha car, Katayama finished 5th in the season's opening race, going on to secure a further fifth and sixth placed finish during the season. It would have been more, too, had the Tyrrell been a match for its midfield rivals in reliability or horsepower. Particularly notable was his run in Germany, where in a crash-decimated field he ran a merited 3rd until his throttle stuck open and he spun out.<br />
<br />
So impressive was he, in fact, that he was approached at the end of the season by a top team - probably Benetton, at the time sponsored, like Katayama and Tyrrell, by Mild Seven cigarettes - with a view to driving for them in 1995. He declined due to being diagnosed with a cancer on his back, although it was very much the mark of the man that this fact did not emerge until long after his career was over and that he never tried to use it as an excuse. Katayama, perhaps slowed by this medical issue, failed to score another point in Grand Prix, either with Tyrrell in 1995 (a season in which he survived a frightening roll at the start of the Portuguese Grand Prix) and 1996, or at Minardi in 1997. By then, he was a solid performer, his old tendency towards mistakes seemingly ironed out. When he retired at the end of the season, it was marked by genuine sadness in the paddock at the loss of a universally popular character. He went on to sate his competitive instincts by climbing mountains and racing sportscars, winning the GTP class at Le Mans (finishing 2nd overall) in 1999.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Satoru Nakajima (1987-1991)</span><br />
<br />
Nakajima was a pioneer, the first ever full-time Formula 1 driver from Japan. He was, let's face it, the price to Lotus for Honda engines in 1987. However, he was also a 5-time Japanese Formula 2 champion so it was no surprise that he acquitted himself well at the top level, although he wasn't able to match the performances of his teammate Ayrton Senna. In his debut year he finished in the points 5 times, including being the final part of a Honda-powered 1-2-3-4 at that year's British Grand Prix. More importantly still, he only failed to make the finish on 5 occasions, showing a speed allied to a solid consistency which became his trademark.<br />
<br />
He remained at Lotus for 1988 and 1989, now alongside Nelson Piquet, but the car was growing less and less competitive and as such, his results tailed off, failing to qualify 5 times in 32 attempts. However, another of Nakajima's notable characteristics - his excellence in wet conditions - was also being brought to bear. In the 1989 Australian Grand Prix at a saturated Adelaide, Nakajima matched his best ever finish in 4th, also turning the race's fastest lap. Nakajima moved to Tyrrell in 1990 for two final seasons, scoring 5 more points in the process. <br />
<br />
Satoru Nakajima's role in Formula 1 for Japanese drivers cannot be understated. Not only did he prove quick and consistent in his position as his country's first ever full-time pilot, but after his retirement he has worked tirelessly - through both driver and single-seater racing team management - to find and nurture his countrymen to the top of their sport. As well as his son Kazuki, Nakajima has also had a hand in the Formula 1 career of the quick-but-erratic Tora Takagi.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Takuma Sato (2002-2008)</span><br />
<br />
Sato was one of that rare breed, a Japanese driver whose achievements on the track made him irresistible, even without any ulterior motives. Initially a little unpredictable but undeniably fast, Sato managed to harness his ability in time for the 2001 British Formula 3 season, blitzing his way to the title and also winning the Macau GP for the bargain. Hardened Formula 3 hacks at the time compared him with the young Mika Häkkinen, a fellow British F3 champion. Sato made his debut for Jordan-Honda in 2002, enduring a trying season in a difficult car. However, he delighted everyone with a fine 5th place in Suzuka. 2003 was spent as a test driver for BAR Honda, but found himself back in the race team when Jacques Villeneuve walked away from the team a race early. Sato again distinguished himself in his home race, this time finishing 6th and battling with Michael Schumacher along the way.<br />
<br />
For 2004, Sato was a full-time BAR driver, and enjoyed one of the season's most complete packages. Though never really able to match Jenson Button's overall performance, Sato showed flashes of his speed. In Europe, he qualified in 2nd place, an all-time best for a Japanese Formula 1 driver. In the United States, he finally became the first Japanese in 14 years to match Aguri Suzuki and stand on an F1 podium. By the end of a good season, Sato had accrued 34 points, over twice as many as the career-best total of his nearest rival. 2005 at BAR was less successful with just a single point scored, the team not finding any real competitiveness until mid-season, Sato also missing 4 events due to ill-health, suspension and the Indianapolis tyre farrago. <br />
<br />
His last seasons in the sport were spent with Super Aguri-Honda. 2006 was a glum year, driving a hopelessly outclassed car. However, 2007 was a different matter and Sato often shocked some big names, qualifying in the top ten at the season's opening race and scoring points twice, including a characteristically combative drive to 6th in Canada. 2008 finished early as the team ran out of funds, but it is the mark of the esteem in which Sato is held in the sport that his name is frequently mentioned in connection with available seats. He may well find himself on the grid again in 2010, even though his old patrons at Honda have now left the sport.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Kazuyoshi Hoshino (1976-1977)</span><br />
<br />
"The Fastest Man in Japan" only ever started 2 Formula 1 races, at Fuji in 1976 and 1977. However, even in those he made his mark. Outside of the rarified confines of the Grand Prix bubble, he was utterly formidable, a driver who exercised a measure of dominance over his country's excellent racing structure for more than 3 decades.<br />
<br />
His country's 1975 Formula 2000 champion, Hoshino entered the first ever World Championship Japanese Grand Prix in 1976 in a privateer Tyrrell run by Heroes Racing. Qualifying 21st, using his local knowledge and excellent Bridgestone tyres - the company's first ever foray into Grand Prix racing - he drove a magnificent race in the torrential downpour, running as high as 4th before his team literally ran out of usable rubber and he had to retire. Returning in 1977, off the back of his second F2000 success that year, he finished 11th in a year-old Kojima racing car, no mean achievement. However, that year at Fuji an accident between Ronnie Peterson and Gilles Villeneuve accounted for the lives of some spectators and a marshal and the Grand Prix circus would not return to Japan for a decade.<br />
<br />
Hoshino went on to win the Japanese Formula 2 championship in 1978, adding 3 more titles in the series (now renamed Formula Nippon) in 1987, 1990 and 1993. By 1993, Hoshino was already 46-years old, not just competing in an arena typically given over to hungry young drivers but also excelling in it. For his 1993 success, he beat future Formula 1 drivers Eddie Irvine, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Roland Ratzenberger and Mika Salo, whilst his 1990 title (aged a mere 43) came at the expense of Ukyo Katayama. Hoshino was also dominant in sportscars, enjoying a spirited rivalry with fellow 1970s F1-refugee Masahiro Hasemi (who set fastest lap in his sole Grand Prix start in 1976) on his way to titles in Japanese Touring Cars (1990) and Japanese Sports Prototypes (1991 and 1992). <br />
<br />
A remarkable talent, Hoshino did not retire from racing until 2002. One can only imagine what he might have been able to achieve if he'd been given the same chance to run a full campaign in Formula 1 as Satoru Nakajima was a decade later.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-35794516337775149282009-11-20T12:05:00.003+00:002009-12-04T20:00:07.001+00:00Merry-go-roundFor the past 15 years, places for drivers in Formula 1 have been at an absolute premium. Not since the first few races of 1995 have there been 26 cars on the grid, and often in the intervening period there have been 20 or less cars regularly lining up on race day. However, if everything goes as planned, Formula 1 will again have 13 teams for next season. Ironic, then, that with the extra places up for grabs, the regular close-season scrabble for seats is more confused than ever before.<br /><br />A number of issues are to blame for this. First, everyone was waiting for the Fernando Alonso-Kimi Räikkönen-Ferrari triangle to resolve itself. However, once that was done, Kimi Räikkönen's future plans became the hub. Now, with the Finn seemingly set for a sabbatical year on the WRC circuit (although still making noises about a possible berth at Mercedes Grand Prix), the situation is still in flux, with everyone in the field loath to finalise anything lest another team pull out of the sport. Of particular interest is the future of Renault, where Robert Kubica is confirmed for next season but is nevertheless an attractive prospect for Mercedes (or anyone else) should he unexpectedly become available.<br /><br />Today, then, I'm going to take a look at who is going where, who is probably going where and the delicate house of cards situation in general.<br /><br />At least there's a nice easy start: <span style="font-weight: bold;">McLaren-Mercedes </span>have now confirmed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> as <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span>'s 2010 teammate. This British all-world champion superteam will undoubtably start pre-season testing as the favourites.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mercedes Grand Prix</span>, the rebadged Brawn team, have all but confirmed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nico Rosberg</span> as one of their drivers. However, there's quite a scrabble for the place alongside him. Favourite at the moment is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Heidfeld</span>, as rumours suggest that Stuttgart is keen for an all-German line-up. However, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> is available and lurking, although apparently seeking assurances that he'd have an opportunity to win the World Championship - an odd position, this, considering that the team are the reigning drivers and constructors champions. The third prong in this particular three-pointed star is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Robert Kubica</span>, who may find himself on the market should Renault elect to pull-out of the sport and is a younger and slightly better driver than Heidfeld. I personally anticipate that it will be Heidfeld alongside Rosberg for next season, on a 1 year contract only.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Red Bull Racing</span> continue 2010 as before, with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Webber</span>. The only question is what engine they will use next season. Rumours that they were considering a switch to Mercedes have cooled since Merc's deal with Brawn, so it seems likely another season with the Renault powerplant is on the cards.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferrari</span> began a lot of this chaos and uncertainty in the driver market, with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Felipe Massa</span>'s health and unknown and Luca di Montezemolo as covetous of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> as an excited child on Christmas Eve despite Kimi Räikkönen's contract having another year to run. However, this saga was resolved relatively early, Massa and Alonso taking the seats in a formidable-looking line-up for 2010.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Williams</span>, too, are now settled. The team will use <span style="font-weight: bold;">Cosworth</span> engines in place of Toyota units next year, and their cars will be driven by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span> and GP2 series champion <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nico Hülkenberg</span>, who is very much one to watch.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Renault </span>are, in contrast, in a huge state of flux. Still uncertain if they will even continue in the sport beyond the end of this year, their financial and managerial stability was seriously rocked by the ludicrously-named Crashgate saga. However, there have been recent signs that there is fresh investment in the team, which can only be good for the health of the sport. Should they appear next season, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Robert Kubica </span>will drive their number 1 car. Alongside him is a big question mark. Test driver Romain Grosjean's chances seem to have been cooked by his unimpressive stint in the team at the end of this season. Depending on Mercedes' decisions, they could end up with <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Heidfeld</span>, although McLaren refugee <span style="font-weight: bold;">Heikki Kovalainen</span> returning to the team seem to be a better bet. Outside chances include <span style="font-weight: bold;">Franck Montagny</span>, the French driver who drove a handful of races for Super Aguri in 2006 and is an experienced tester at F1 level, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bertrand Baguette</span>, the Belgian driver who romped the World Series by Renault championship this year, winning a test in the R29 in the process. Another Francophile option would be Jules Bianchi, the highly-rated European Formula 3 champion, although as a member of Nicolas Todt's management stable he seems more likely to end up at a Ferrari-powered team, if at all.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Force India-Mercedes </span>are the first team to have confirmed no-one at all in public or private. It is generally expected that one car will be driven by one of last year's drivers, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Adrian Sutil</span> or <span style="font-weight: bold;">Vitantonio Liuzz</span>i. Sutil would seem to be the faster option, Liuzzi the least expensive with regard to both salary and car rebuilds. The current favourite for the other car is <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pedro de la Rosa</span>, the hugely experienced Spanish driver who has been the McLaren number 3 for some years. With McLaren and Mercedes both having a stake in the team, it would seem to be a reasonable shot, although it could just as easily be a role <span style="font-weight: bold;">Heikki Kovalainen</span> could fill for identical reasons. Kovalainen would be the faster choice, but de la Rosa is an old and experienced head as well as being a hugely capable driver. Anyone expecting an Indian driver for the team will most likely be disappointed - the best bet would be <span style="font-weight: bold;">Karun Chandok</span>, but his achievements in lower formulae are trumped by too many rivals for him to be a serious contender. Also in the frame, hugely promising Scottish driver, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Paul di Resta.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Toro Rosso-Ferrari </span>have set out their store as a junior team and will, as such, remain truthful to their youth policy. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sébastien Buemi</span> was impressive last season and will continue in 2010. He is likely to be joined by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jaime Alguersauri</span>, who acquitted himself well in the second half of 2009. However, he also made a few costly mistakes, and the team may be tempted by one of Red Bull's many other youth stars. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brendon Hartley</span>, the New Zealander who would make Jaime Alguerauri look like a wizened old shepherd is one of the youngest people to ever be granted a superlicence. A better bet may be <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mirko Bortolotti</span>, a very impressive young Italian driver with strong Ferrari links. Not only would he appeal to both engine supplier and team, but he is very, very fast and a successful test for the team - lined up for late this year - could swing things in his favour.<br /><br />Now, onto the new teams. If they all make it, there will be four brand new outfits on the grid next season, plus the probable return of the Sauber name in place of Toyota. First up are <span style="font-weight: bold;">Campos Meta-Cosworth</span>, a Spanish team experienced in lower formulae and run by 1980s Minardi driver Adrian Campos. They have confirmed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bruno Senna</span> in one of their cars, which has excited much of the sport. Senna hasn't been as electric on his way to the top table as his late uncle was, but as I have often said, a driver's CV is often little guide to Formula 1 performance. In the second car, the early rumours were for a Spanish driver, experienced Pedro de la Rosa being the obvious choice. However, he looks more likely to fit in elsewhere. This would leave <span style="font-weight: bold;">Andy Soucek</span>, the Formula 2 champion, as the obvious choice. He tests for Williams later in 2009 as his prize for winning the F2 series, and will give some indication of his capabilities. Whilst Soucek is confident of securing a drive for next season, the team may blanch at having two rookie drivers in a rookie team. In that case, they may well keep a weather eye on Nick Heidfeld's status at Mercedes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lotus-Cosworth </span>are the newest of the new teams, backed by Malaysian money and with Mike Gascoyne designing their car. The hot tip is that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarno Trulli</span> will be their first driver, bringing with him a lot of experience which would prove invaluable. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Takuma Sato</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Anthony Davidson</span> are believed to be the rivals for the second seat, although I would venture that they would be a better partnership than Trulli plus one or the other of them. Why do people keep hiring Jarno Trulli? <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fairuz Fauzy</span> is the hottest young Malaysian driver, 2nd placed in this year's World Series by Renault championship. He is tipped for the third driver role, rather than a race seat.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Manor-Cosworth </span>are likely to start next season called Virgin Grand Prix but other than that are fairly well settled. An experienced team, a respected designer in former Simtek boss and Benetton pencilman Nick Wirth and solid sponsorship behind them. Of all the new teams, this is the one that no-one doubts will make it to the grid. When they do, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Timo Glock</span> will be driving the first car. He'd been tipped for the drive alongside Kubica at Renault but was seemingly put off by all the uncertainty at the team. He'll almost certainly be joined by old Renault test driver <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lucas di Grassi</span> from Brazil, a driver whom I think will acquit himself very well in F1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">USF1-Cosworth </span>are the first American-owned Formula 1 team since drivers used to race with a lit cigarette in their mouths. There's been much scepticism from some quarters as to whether or not they will make it, but all signs coming from the team seem to be as positive and constructive as one might expect from an outfit managed by Peter Windsor, ex team manager at Williams and a Formula 1 journalist of huge experience and repute. The FIA inspected their American factory and were hugely impressed, whilst the team have backing from internet giant YouTube. In their cars, it could be absolutely anyone... of all the teams looking to be in F1 next year, USF1 have the least heat and rumours surrounding their likely line-up. The team have stated that they may very well not have an American driver, handy as most drivers from over the Atlantic are more interested in IndyCar and NASCAR careers. The best bets would be <span style="font-weight: bold;">Marco Andretti</span>, grandson of Mario and son of Michael, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Graham Rahal</span>, son of Bobby, or <span style="font-weight: bold;">Danica Patrick</span>, whose gender would be explosively exciting for the sport, which hasn't had a female pilot since 1992. More likely than any of these would be <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jacques Villeneuve</span>, the 1997 World Champion, who is actively seeking a return to F1. Maybe not as pretty as Danica Patrick, but the better driver. Personally, I'd like to see Villeneuve joined by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dario Franchitti</span>, the twice Indycar champion and long overdue an F1 drive. His Kiwi rival <span style="font-weight: bold;">Scott Dixon</span> would also be a welcome addition to the sport.<br /><br />Lastly, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sauber</span> team. The former BMW outfit were bought by Qadbak and listed as the season's first reserve on the official entry list. With Toyota gone, I expect a team of some guise, run by Peter Sauber and powered by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferrari</span>, to be on the grid next year, particularly with Jean Todt now in charge at the FIA... Todt was the man responsible for the deal with Sauber in the late 1990s for the Swiss team to use Ferrari power. In the cockpit could very well be <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jacques Villeneuve</span>, who spent 18 months with the team in the middle of this decade. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Heidfeld</span> will almost certainly be looking at this team as a fallback option, so he's not out of the picture either. However, youngsters - particularly those managed by Jean Todt's son Nicolas - could find themselves in favour too, so don't discount people like <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jules Bianchi</span> or <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mirko Bortolotti</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Christian Klien</span>, the ex-Red Bull driver, spent 3 years with the team as a tester and may also find his loyalty repaid.<br /><br />But if I'm perfectly honest with you, I'd like <span style="font-weight: bold;">Valentino Rossi</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sébastien Loeb</span> to be in Formula 1 next year. Plus other dominant sportsmen, like Usain Bolt, or Phil 'The Power' Taylor.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-82856841406911683242009-11-18T10:00:00.010+00:002009-12-04T20:00:47.725+00:00Two world championsIf, as it is widely anticipated will be announced some time this week, Jenson Button joins Lewis Hamilton at McLaren for the 2010 season, it will be the first time in 21 years that two past world champions have driven in Formula 1 as teammates. In fact it was 23 years ago, in 1986, since two previous world champions joined one another in a single teams lineup; in 1989 Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost had been together already for one season, in which Senna won his first world title.<br /><br />So, whilst it's relatively common for history and hindsight to show us examples of champion teammates - the most recent examples being Alonso and Hamilton at McLaren in 2007, Alonso and Jacques Villeneuve briefly at Renault in 2004 and Damon Hill and Villeneuve at Williams in 1996 - having two men who have already accomplished the feat joining one another is a much rarer prospect. In fact, in 60 seasons of the Formula 1 World Championship, it's so far only occurred three times. Today on <span style="font-style: italic;">+1 lap</span>, we're going to look at those occasions and, more importantly, how they went.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">1967: Graham Hill (1962) joins Jim Clark (1963, 1965) at Lotus</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The story:</span> Such significant driver moves happen maybe once in a lifetime. For the previous 5 seasons, Formula 1 had been largely the preserve of Hill and Clark. Only unreliability prevented the two men from winning all the titles on offer in that time. As it was, they had won three, Graham Hill's disciplined, self-taught determination in the BRM scoring first in 1962 and Jim Clark's fingertip natural brilliance in the Lotus bringing him success in 1963 and 1965. All things being equal, went the paradigm of the era, Jim Clark would win with Graham Hill second. So when Hill tired of his surroundings at BRM after a poor season in 1966, Lotus - Formula 1's fastest and most innovative team - were the obvious choice. However, Lotus was the home of Jim Clark, and the stage was therefore set for a monumental battle. Imagine Mika Häkkinen joining Michael Schumacher at Ferrari in 2000 and you'd have a fair idea of the situation.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The result:</span> Lotus' 1967 season was all about the debut season for the epoch-making Ford DFV engine. Its power was far above and beyond anything ever seen before in the sport, but early teething troubles and compatability issues with the drivetrain of the car made for an unpredictable season. If the car held together, Clark or Hill would walk the event. However, the story of the year is that it never did so with enough frequency to make either man champion of the world - that title went to Denny Hulme in the slightly slower but hugely reliable Brabham-Repco car. Lotus nevertheless won 4 times in 1967, Clark enjoying the better of the mechanical luck and taking all four victories. For 1968, the team started as firm favourites. Jim Clark won the season opener in South Africa with Hill second. However, between then and the next race, he was killed in a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim. Hill carried a devastated Lotus team to the 1968 drivers and team titles, with three wins and a further three 2nd place finishes.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Head-to-Head:</span> Jim Clark and Graham Hill spent 12 Grands Prix as teammates. Their head-to-head qualifying perfomance was 9-3 in Clark's favour. The breakdown of their results together are as follows:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">JIM CLARK:</span> 5 wins, 7 pole positions, 6 fastest laps, 50 world championship points; <span style="font-weight: bold;">GRAHAM HILL:</span> 0 wins (best result: two 2nd places), 3 pole positions, 2 fastest laps, 21 world championship points.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The verdict:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> It's impossible to call this for anyone other than Jim Clark. Certainly, Graham Hill suffered more than his teammate with Lotus' and Ford's mechanical failures... he and Clark agreed to share wins in the final two races, with Hill (literally) winning the toss at Watkins Glen, only to have his engine run out of oil with 4 laps left. But there's no denying the brilliance of Clark, perhaps the greatest and best Grand Prix driver of them all, making Hill's relative failure no cause for shame. The simple fact is, though, that when both men finished, Clark was always the car ahead.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">1974: Emerson Fittipaldi (1972) joins Denny Hulme (1967) at McLaren</span><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The story:</span> Fittipaldi was very much the hotshoe of the time. In 1972 he had become the youngest ever man to win the World Championship, and much of the previous 3 years had been taken up with his thrilling battle for superiority in the Lotus against Jackie Stewart's Tyrrell. Stewart's retirement at the end of 1973, though, saw a 2010-style shake-up in the driver market. Fittipaldi had enjoyed a reasonably successful year in 1973, finishing second in the championship. However, the Lotus 72 car was now four years old and approaching the end of its useful life. McLaren's new M23 - like so many of its rivals, based on the brilliant Lotus car - was showing great promise and had won three races in its debut season. Fittipaldi joined 1967 champion Denny Hulme, who had been with McLaren - established by his fellow Kiwi and rival Bruce McLaren - since his title defence year of 1968. He had won five races in that time, but 1974 was to be his final season in Formula 1.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The result:</span> It was Hulme who made his mark first, winning the season-opening Argentinian Grand Prix. However, this was to be the last of his eight career wins. From then on it was a Fittipaldi benefit. Aside from a second place in Austria, Hulme could do not better than five 6th places in 1974, whilst Fittipaldi took three wins and a further four podium finishes on his way to winning the 1974 World Championship. The two had also combined to give McLaren their first ever Constructors' Cup.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Head-to-Head:</span> Emerson Fittipaldi and Denny Hulme spent 15 Grands Prix as teammates. Their head-to-head qualifying perfomance was 14-1 in Fittipaldi's favour. The breakdown of their results together are as follows:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">EMERSON FITTIPALDI</span>: 3 wins, 2 pole positions, 55 world championship points (World Champion); <span style="font-weight: bold;">DENNY HULME</span>:1 win, 1 fastest lap, 20 world championship points.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The verdict:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Perhaps predictably, Fittipaldi easily had the measure of Hulme. The New Zealander was 38-years old and in his last year of Grand Prix racing, whilst the Brazilian was 28 and in a tearing hurry. However, the blend of youth and experience paid dividends for the team in the Constructors' Championship.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">1986: Keke Rosberg (1982) joins Alain Prost (1985) at McLaren</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The story:</span> Keke Rosberg was the late bloomer, who had come from relative obscurity in 1981 to win a richly-merited title in the furiously competitive 1982 season, aged 34. Now 38, in what would turn out to be his last Grand Prix season, he left Williams - his home for the past 4 seasons to join the new World Champion, Alain Prost. Prost had narrowly missed out on the world title in each of the previous 4 years and was widely regarded as the best driver in the sport. The pairing also created a real clash of styles - Rosberg was swashbuckling, thrilling to watch on his own or in traffic. Prost was calmer, his more cerebral and measured approach in stark contrast, it seemed, to the speed he achieved. Both intelligent and amiable men, the pair nevertheless made it work for the good of all involved.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The result:</span> Struggling with the handling of his new mount (as well as the demands put on driving style by the strict fuel limits of the time), Rosberg had an adequate, but little else, season. He scored points on seven occasions, took one pole position and had one podium finish. He also notably led much of the season's finale, also his last race in Formula 1. However, Alain Prost was a class apart from the rest, regardless of team. The McLaren-TAG Porsche was technologically inferior to the Williams-Honda of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell, but with huge discipline Prost stayed with them, finishing just behind when he could do no better but never letting go once a chance presented itself. Benefitting from the infighting at Williams, as well as his own skill, Prost won the World Title in the thrilling decider in Adelaide. Rosberg came away from the year telling anyone who would listen that Prost was the greatest driver he had ever seen.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Head-to-Head:</span> Alain Prost and Keke Rosberg spent 16 Grands Prix as teammates. Their head-to-head qualifying perfomance was 12-4 in Prost's favour. The breakdown of their results together are as follows:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">ALAIN PROST</span>: 4 wins, 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps, 72 world championship points (World Champion);<span style="font-weight: bold;"> KEKE ROSBERG</span>: 0 wins (best result: one 2nd place), 1 pole position, 22 world championship points.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The verdict:</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Like Clark and Hill, this result was never in question due to the era-defining abilities of one of the participants. Like Fittipaldi and Hulme, it was a match of youth and experience where the absolute motivation to run at the top level was starting to wane for one of the rivals. Like both of the above, however, Prost and Rosberg's relationship was notable for its good spirit and mutual respect, qualities one would always anticipate from champion drivers. It's not all about using your right foot, that game.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">2010: Jenson Button (2009) to join Lewis Hamilton (2008) at McLaren?</span></span><br /><br />And so we return to the present day. On paper, this is an explosive driver line-up, the two most recent World Champions. It is also a line-up I expect to work as a pair. There will, no doubt be tension, and no doubt it will be stoked up by a frenzied media interest. However, both men are intelligent enough to know that cooperation and respect will get them far further in the long run, even if deep down there is resentment. Both drivers, too, have experience of life within a team with an uncooperative teammate, and will be keen to avoid that path again.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The verdict: </span>Lewis Hamilton is too good to be beaten over a full season by Jenson Button in identical cars. However, as Button is not yet even 30-years old and nowhere near ready to contemplate life outside Formula 1 racing, I expect this pairing of champions to be the most keenly fought battle yet.</span>dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-53179024197175005632009-11-17T15:13:00.003+00:002009-11-17T16:05:34.954+00:00Mercedes BenzIt's rare that the big news in Formula 1 is actually big news, but that was the situation that arose yesterday when Mercedes announced that they were selling their 40% share in McLaren and buying into a controlling interest in the Brawn team, which will be rebranded as Mercedes in 2010. As well as it being pleasing from the point of view of a major manufacturer increasing their involvement in the sport whilst many of their fellows distance themselves, it is also of huge historical significance. In fact, it represents the most successful Grand Prix team of all time purchasing their closest rivals for that title.<br /><br />It's a fittingly stellar end to what has turned out to be Brawn's only season as a constructor, a fairytale which has only ever been equalled by the Stuttgart marque's brief foray into the World Championship in the mid-1950s. Indeed, for all of their famous pre-war exploits, their World Championship record remains amongst the proudest boasts in motorsport. <br /><br />Both Mercedes and Benz took part in the first ever motor race, the Paris to Rouen event of 1894. But Mercedes Benz first really made their mark on European motor racing in 1914 with a 1-2-3 finish in the French Grand Prix, Christian Lautenschlager's D35 emerging victorious from an epic and politically-charged battle with Georges Boillot's Peugeot in Lyon, less than a week after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. After the resumption of the sport following the Great War, Mercedes once again rose to prominence, in no small part due to the positive propaganda of such engineering excellence gave to Hitler's Germany. During the 1930s, the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows were the benchmark, along with their countrymen from Auto Union. Only the brilliant Tazio Nuvolari, frequently driving for Alfa Romeo, could ever really offer any consistent opposition to the German teams' dominance. In the end, such was the overwhelming superiority of the German machinery, even Nuvolari switched camps. Only the outbreak of the Second World War could put a stop to their towering achievements.<br /><br />Mercedes' return to the sport, now formalised into the Formula 1 World Championship, was nothing short of spectactular. The team arrived half-way through the 1954 season and pulled out again at the end of 1955, after one of their cars was involved in the infamous Le Mans crash of that year, in which 81 spectators died. During that time, they contested 12 Grand Prix races, winning 9 of them. Also taking 8 pole positions and nine fastest laps, the team's 139.14 points were scored at an alarming rate of 11.595 per race. Naturally enough, they won both of the championships they contested, Juan Manuel Fangio winning the 1954 and 1955 drivers titles with a personal total of 8 wins from 12 starts.<br /><br />Nobody, for all the technological innovations and performance increases in the 54 intervening years, was able to touch that record until Brawn this past year. Even Ferrari, hugely boosted by their stranglehold on the sport throughout much of the past decade, can only boast a points-per-start average of 6.299. However, in 2009 Brawn scored 8 wins, 5 poles and 4 fastest laps from their 17 starts, with 172 points scored at a rate of 10.118. It is perhaps a fitting monument to Ross Brawn's magnificent career in the sport that this record will now be set in stone next to his name. Of course, as the team principal of Mercedes Grand Prix, he is now concerned with making sure it remains the second best mark in the history of the sport.<br /><br />That could be hard to do. In Mercedes' first spell in the championship, they had the distinct advantage of the pick of the drivers - only Alberto Ascari of that era's true greats never drove for the three-pointed star in a Grand Prix, and their beautiful W196 car enjoyed enormous technological superiority over a weaker field of cars than you would encounter in modern-day Grand Prix motor racing. However, what should also be remembered is that it was also an era before the institution of the Constructors' Cup. For all of their dominance, Mercedes have never been the Constructors' Champions of Formula 1. Indeed, despite the fruitfulness of their 15-year partnership with McLaren, even their engines have done relatively poorly, with just two titles to their name, the last of them being with the team they have now taken over.<br /><br />For all this, it's hard to see Mercedes not being a success once more in their own right. They have bought into an experienced team with a growing appetite for excellence, and managed by one of the all-time great pit lane operators. Their drivers, likely to be Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld, are also more than capable of getting the job done, with the added incentive that neither has so far done so in their F1 career. Finally, they are extensively experienced at this level, having been providing engines to the top levels of motorsport in some form or other for almost twenty years, before you even consider their role as a technical partner has played in the life of the McLaren team for a generation.<br /><br />For everything, though, the best news of all is that their buy-out has seemingly sent Jenson Button in the direction of Woking, to form an all-British McLaren-Mercedes superteam comprised of the two most recent world champions. There are some companies who come into Formula 1 and seem to be at odds from the start to their end. Mercedes Benz are ably demonstrating that there are others who immediately fit in and are a force for positive development in the sport. Their role in the racing of the past 15 years cannot be underestimated, and it would be a spectacularly hardened and embittered person who would not wish them luck and hope to see them compete well in their own right.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-58210984507015932212009-11-13T13:20:00.005+00:002010-03-03T10:28:13.926+00:00Formula 1 in the noughties, the driversThe last decade can neatly be split down the middle, driver-wise. From 2000 to 2004, Michael Schumacher reigned supreme. From 2005 to 2009, the next generation of star drivers made their presence felt. All in all, it's a little unsatisfactory as an arrangement, as no one successor has helpfully pulled ahead of the rest of their rivals to fill the Michael-shaped void in the sport - for resolution to that issue we will, almost certainly, have to wait until the end of next decade. This is not to say that the field over the last 10 years hasn't provided us with a typically good mixture of brilliance, adequacy, unfulfilled promise and major new stars. Here's my top 10 drivers of the last ten years.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">10. Rubens Barrichello</span> (2000-2009)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">172 starts, 530 points (@ 3.081). 11 wins, 12 pole positions, 17 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd place (2002, 2004).</span><br /><br />As the Ferrari number 2 during their most dominating era yet was when Rubens clocked up the majority of his numbers, but it was perhaps in the final years of the decade where he most impressed. First, in an uncompetitive Honda he never let his head drop and gave his all in spite of the odds. Then, as the team became Brawn and the class of the field, he put up his most spirited title challenge to date - all the more ironic, then, that his two 2nd-place championship finishes date from his time of being well-beaten by Michael Schumacher.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight</span>: His brilliant, elbows-out swashbuckling drive to victory in the 2003 British Grand Prix.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">9. Juan Pablo Montoya</span> (2001-2006)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">94 starts, 309 points (@ 3.287). 7 wins, 13 pole positions, 13 fastest laps. Best championship: 3rd (2003)</span><br /><br />Explosive and exciting, Montoya was there or thereabouts throughout his brief Formula 1 career. Winner of at least one race in every year bar 2002 and his final, disappointing half-season with McLaren, perhaps his greatest achievement was making the established names sit up and take notice of him right from the off. And but for a catastrophic race at Indianapolis in 2003, he could have been a world champion.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight</span>: Passing Michael Schumacher into the first corner at Interlagos in 2001, then leading the race like a veteran in only his third Grand Prix. It should have been the start of something huge.</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br />8. David Coulthard </span><span style="font-size:130%;">(2000-2008)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">156 starts, 314 points (@ 2.013). 7 wins, 4 pole positions, 7 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd (2001).</span><br /><br />He slid out of the sport rather anonymously at the end, but it should not be forgotten what a significant driver Coulthard was in the early part of this decade. A championship contender up until that perennial enemy - his own bad luck - reared its ugly head in 2000 and then runner up in 2001, Coulthard then went on to serve up perhaps his greatest ever Grand Prix win - holding off the field in an ailing McLaren at Monaco in 2002. The following season he won his final race in the sport and then in 2005 headed to Red Bull, where the results weren't as good but his experience was invaluable in the team's development. If he could have qualified as well as he raced, he could have been world champion.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight:</span> A brilliant win in the 2000 French Grand Prix, going wheel to wheel with Michael Schumacher and making the German look slow-witted.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">7. Felipe Massa </span>(2002, 2004-2009)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">114 starts, 320 points (@ 2.807). 11 wins, 15 pole positions, 12 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd (2008).</span><br /><br />First there was wild and woolly Felipe, the man who wrestled his steering wheel and never brought his Sauber through a corner on the same line twice. Then came a formative year at Ferrari as a test driver. The man who returned managed to retain the same speed, but as the years went on learn to control it and turn it into results. By the time he arrived at Ferrari in 2006, he looked like he had everything he needed to fulfil his potential. Within 2 years, he had come as close to winning a world championship as you feasibly can, and looked set to go one better a lot more times until a chastening 2009. If he fully recovers from his accident, Massa could be one of the leading stars of the next decade.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight:</span> His two wins in the Brazilian Grand Prix, both drives of such speed and control you wondered how it was anyone else ever managed to win anything.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. Sebastian Vettel </span>(2007-2009)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">43 starts, 125 points (@ 2.907). 5 wins, 5 pole positions, 3 fastest laps. Best championship: 2nd (2009).</span><br /><br />An outstanding arrival on the scene, Vettel became the youngest ever Formula 1 points scorer on his debut at Indianapolis in 2007. Later moving to Toro Rosso, he led the Japanese Grand Prix in the streaming wet before crashing out of third. By way of compensation, the following week he finished 4th. A new star was being born. The following season came consistency and speed, including an improbable but dazzling win from the front in Monza. His move to Red Bull's senior team brought yet more success and a runners-up place in the standings. A multiple world champion, just waiting for his chance.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight:</span> Winning for Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Jenson Button</span> (2000-2009)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">170 starts, 327 points (@ 1.924). 7 wins, 7 pole positions, 2 fastest laps. 2009 Formula 1 World Champion.</span><br /><br />He arrived a relatively unheralded 20 year old at Williams in 2000 and impressed everyone. A future world champion, was the line. Well, he got there in the end. But if the fun in anything is in the journey rather than the arrival, Button will be enjoying his success more than most. A disappointing second season at Benetton had people questioning his motivation, an accusation which would repeatedly rear its ugly head whenever Button went through any kind of rough patch. However, when the car was underneath him he was always brilliant. His first podium in Formula 1 in 2004 was followed by 11 more that season, and after a trying start to 2006 Button outscored all his competitors in the second half of the year. The surprise of 2009 is not that Button is a world champion, but that it took so long for all the necessary factors to align.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight: </span>Winning the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix, having pulled the rabbit out of the hat at just the right moment throughout the weekend.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Lewis Hamilton</span> (2007-2009)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">52 races, 256 points (@ 4.923). 11 wins, 17 pole positions, 3 fastest laps. 2008 Formula 1 World Champion.</span><br /><br />The decade's outstanding debutant. Hamilton arrived in 2007 as the GP2 champion, with a reputation for speed, aggression and resolve. He promptly finished on the podium for every one of his first 8 races, winning 2. Inexperience cost him a remarkable debut season title, but he was not to be denied in 2008, becoming the youngest man to ever win the world crown. His most impressive year of all, however, has been 2009. Battling against expectation and adversity in a very poor car, he and the team developed as the year went on, winning two races before the season was out. He could possibly be the most complete driver now in Formula 1.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight:</span> In a season where the field would normally be separated, front to back, by between 1 and 1.5 seconds, taking pole position in Abu Dhabi by 0.7 seconds, with more fuel onboard than the second-placed driver. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Kimi Räikkönen</span> (2001-2009)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">156 starts, 573 points (@ 3.673). 18 wins, 16 pole positions, 35 fastest laps. 2007 Formula 1 World Champion.</span><br /><br />When he arrived in Formula 1, there were serious doubts as to whether Räikkönen, with only 24 single seater race starts to his name in Formula Renault, should have been granted a superlicence. Initially racing under a probationary period of 4 races, Kimi scored points in his first race and never looked back. By the following season he was at McLaren. Only inexperience, a tangle here, a mistake in qualifying there stopped him being world champion in 2003. But it was 2004 which was particularly impressive. In a brittle and unreliable car, Räikkönen's almost-certainly doomed gimlet-eyed pursuits of Michael Schumacher's immeasurably superior Ferrari were often the highlight of mid-season races. Second again in 2005, his move to Ferrari for 2007 immediately bore fruit. The last two seasons have been patchier, but as soon as he's written off, you can always rely on Kimi to produce something which makes you remember why he earns the salary he does.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight</span>: the final two races of his world championship campaign of 2007, where he came from 17 points behind by winning the Chinese and Brazilian Grands Prix takes some beating. But I'll pick his charge to victory from 17th at Suzuka in 2005. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Fernando Alonso</span> (2001, 2003-2009)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">139 starts, 577 points (@ 4.151). 21 wins, 18 pole positions, 13 fastest laps. 2005 and 2006 Formula 1 World Champion.</span><br /><br />The only real rival to Schumacher to emerge during the German's reign in the sport, Alonso combines qualifying speed, great racecraft and consistency with Schumacher's greatest facet: the ability to read a race whilst in the cockpit. Seasons with an uncompetitive Renault team have seen Alonso's reputation take a little knock, but it's really the way he was kicked about by rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton at McLaren that hurt him, and which sets up the great duel for the beginning of the next decade in the sport. A truly great driver.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight:</span> after the questionable win in Singapore, the following weekend's success in Japan was classic Alonso, grasping an opportunity and never letting go.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Michael Schumacher</span> (2000-2006)</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">121 starts, 799 points (@ 6.603). 56 wins, 45 pole positions, 37 fastest laps. 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 Formula 1 World Champion.</span><br /><br />Michael Schumacher's total domination of Formula 1 at the start of the decade will stand as a benchmark for years to come. Indeed, only once in the history of the sport - Fangio's similar spell in the 1950s - has anything comparable been achieved. Yes, you can question some of his tactics, but hey, he got away with it. And yes, he had the best car. But that's immaterial, when you consider the work he put in with an uncompetitive Ferrari outfit for the previous 4 seasons to get into the position. Michael Schumacher may not be the greatest racing driver you or I will ever see, but he's very possibly the best.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Highlight</span>: winning the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix in a car crippled by brake problems: one of Michael's few sleight of hand masterpieces in a decade where normally winning came easily.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >- - -<br /><br />And, just for the sake of balance, here's five who were never quite in contention:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. Nelson Piquet Jr</span> (2008-2009)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Aside from his sourpuss sad face and continual moping, aside from his part in the race fix in Singapore, Piquet just didn't cut it at this level. He's by no means the fifth worst driver of the decade as drivers go. But as a total package, you'd rather train a monkey.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. Gaston Mazzacane</span> (2000-2001)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Ah, the pay driver. Such a common sight in F1 during the late 80s and early 1990s, when there were hundreds of teams with names like brands of cough medicine, less prevalent in the noughties where the largest ever field was 22 cars. Mazzacane's cheque cleared, though, and he raced for Minardi and Prost in 2000 and 2001, which must have depressed both equally.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. Alex Yoong</span> (2001-2002)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The first Malaysian to ever start a Grand Prix, Alex Yoong was the last driver to fail to qualify for a Grand Prix on lack of pace alone. His time at Minardi can most charitably be summed up thus: he was pretty gentlemanly when it came to letting people through to lap him.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. Luca Badoer</span> (2009)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Just two races for the stalwart Ferrari test driver in the noughties, but two races which will live long in the memory. Qualifying last for both, he then raced through to last place. This made Ivan Capelli, still smarting from his own disastrous spell at the Scuderia in 1992, very happy no doubt.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. Yuji Ide</span> (2006)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The previous 4 drivers in this list really have nothing on this specimin, a pay driver who raced the first four events of the 2006 season for Super Aguri. Like Kimi Räikkönen, Ide's lack of experience was rewarded with a probationary period. Unlike the Finn, Ide spent much of the time lagging around at the back. After causing a number of nasty shunts at the San Marino Grand Prix, the FIA politely suggested that Ide go away somewhere else and get better at driving before he came back. We await this with baited breath.<br /></span>dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-39247032907686172262009-11-13T09:11:00.003+00:002010-03-03T10:28:13.927+00:00Formula 1 in the noughties, the racesThe key fact when considering the relative quality of the actual on-track action in Formula 1 over the last decade is refuelling. For the first time in the sport, a whole ten year span featured mandatory pit stops for fuel, and the attendant strategic element became the fundamental factor in determining victory or defeat. However, if you race 20-odd 800 bhp cars against one another 174 times, you're always bound to throw up some memorable moments. Here's my choice of the finest ten Grand Prix races of the last ten years.<br /><br />10. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Japanese_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2007 Japanese Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Fuji Speedway, 30th September 2007. Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/22-Mercedes)</span><br /><br />Perhaps the first great masterpiece of a burgeoning Formula 1 career, Lewis Hamilton won from pole at a streaming wet Fuji Speedway, and looked to have won the world title along with it. In only his 15th Grand Prix, he dominated proceedings in impossible conditions, whilst his teammate and key rival Fernando Alonso crashed in the spray. Coming through the mists, however, was a hugely significant cameo from Kimi Räikkönen in the Ferrari, keeping himself in mathematical contention for the title he would later snatch at the final race with some breathtakingly brave passes for position in dead reackoning conditions. Particularly memorable was his sweep round the outside of Heikki Kovalainen's Renault with his wheels millimetres from the grass and certain oblivion. This was also the race where Sebastian Vettel first nailed his colours to the mast and made everyone take notice, running a strong third (and becoming the youngest ever leader of a Formula 1 race to boot) in the Toro Rosso, before embarassingly hitting Mark Webber's Red Bull during a safety car period.<br /><br />9. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Japanese_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2000 Japanese Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Suzuka, 8th October 2000. Winner: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari F1-2000)</span><br /><br />The last great summit duel between Michael Schumacher and his greatest rival, Mika Häkkinen took place at a dingy Suzuka with the world championship title waiting in the wings. Schumacher needed to beat the Finn to secure Ferrari's first triumph in 21 years. However, as he so often did, he made a poor start and it was Mika who made the early running, Michael chasing him down. Häkkinen was eventually undone by traffic and a brief rain shower at a critical time, during the second pit stop window. Schumacher, always with the edge over his rival in reduced-grip conditions, got the job done. What made this race stand out for me, though, was the sheer quality of the driving on display. The two finest practitioners of the sport at the time, head-to-head and leaving everyone else in no doubt that they were nowhere. The third place man - apparently David Coulthard but realistically, it could have been anyone - finished 69 seconds behind at the flag. You could easily believe that there were no other cars on the circuit. The irony of this result, with hindsight, is that after such a finely-balanced tussle, Schumacher won the world crown that he would not relinquish again for a shade under five years.<br /><br />8. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Italian_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2008 Italian Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Monza, 14th September 2008. Winner: Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso STR3-Ferrari)</span><br /><br />Wet races at Monza are as rare as hen's teeth, so 2008 was a rare treat. However, what it produced was easily the most unlikely result on the entire decade, as Sebastian Vettel took his Toro Rosso (née Minardi) car from an unlikely pole position to a magnificently controlled win. Nobody else was ever really in contention, in spite of the title's destination still being very much in the balance between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa at the time. The racing down the field was as entertaining as one has come to expect in wet conditions, but the man at the front was serene. There's every chance that, come the end of the next decade, we'll look back at this race and see that it wasn't all that surprising after all. At the time, though, Vettel became the youngest ever man to win a Grand Prix and it was a brilliantly refreshing sight.<br /><br />7. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_British_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2008 British Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Silverstone, 6th July 2008. Winner: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren MP4/23-Mercedes)</span><br /><br />Another streaming wet day, another Lewis Hamilton masterclass. As chaos reigned throughout the field in impassable conditions - notably Felipe Massa, who spun no fewer than five times - Hamilton stroked it home in a diabolical British summer rainstorm. Starting from fourth on the grid, he made his superiority clear from the lights, blasting past the cars ahead with ease, literally sideswiping his teammate (and polesitter) Heikki Kovalainen out of the way at Stowe. At one point, his team radio broadcast pleaded with him to slow down and not risk his place. His reply, at a time when he was lapping 1, 2, 3 seconds per lap faster than anyone else, was that he didn't see HOW he could go any slower without stopping. It's times like this which are indicative of genius. Hamilton went on to win by 68 seconds. As for the rest, the star was Rubens Barrichello. The 2008 Honda RA108 was a tractor of a car, but Barrichello in the wet is a force to be reckoned with, quite the equal of anyone in the field. He nailed car after car to finish a well-deserved 3rd, which went on to account for a large proportion of the Japanese team's points total come the end of their final season.<br /><br />6. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_European_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2007 European Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Nürburgring, 22nd July 2007. Winner: Fernando Alonso (McLaren MP4/22-Mercedes)</span><br /><br />This was a race that had it all. Starting in the dry, within the first few laps the Eiffel Mountains produced a rainstorm of Biblical proportions, sending half the field spinning off the track, particularly at the first corner, which was literally flooded. The restarted race took its grid order from a few laps before and saw Markus Winkelhock's Spyker, the German in his first and so far only Grand Prix, on pole position after a gamble from the team to start him on wet tyres. Surprises out of the way, the field then moved onto standard levels of excitement for a wet race. However, this event was set apart from others by its thrilling finale, with Fernando Alonso tracking down and passing the long-time leader, Felipe Massa in the Ferrari, with just 4 laps remaining.<br /><br />5. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_San_Marino_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2005 San Marino Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Imola, 24th April 2005. Winner: Fernando Alonso (Renault R25)</span><br /><br />After 5 years of Ferrari domination, it was the Renault team who hit the ground running at the start of the 2005 season. By the fourth round, it was fairly clear that Alonso would be the man to beat. Ferrari hurried their new car through and gave it a decent debut in Bahrain, Michael Schumacher running second before his brakes overheated. At Imola, however, he was nothing short of inspired. After qualifying only 13th, he spent much of the early running stuck behind Jarno Trulli's Toyota. Taking advantage of an early pit stop and his Bridgestone tyres, superior on the day in a season where mid-race tyre stops were banned, Schumacher came alive, setting lap after lap faster than anyone else on the track. After the second fuel stops, he was right with Alonso, who had led comfortably after early leader Kimi Räikkönen's driveshaft failed with the Finn in a commanding position. What followed was thrilling stuff, Schumacher climbing all over the back of Alonso but unable to find a way past. It was an epochal moment in Grand Prix racing. If you ever needed to know the point that the baton was passed to the new generation of drivers, this was it.<br /><br />4. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Belgian_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2000 Belgian Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Spa-Francorchamps, 27th August 2000. Winner: Mika Häkkinen (McLaren MP4/15-Mercedes)</span><br /><br />Ferrari had made all the early running in 2000, but a spell of first lap accidents for Michael Schumacher helped Mika Häkkinen, back at the top of his game from mid-season, close the points gap. By the time they arrived at Spa, the Finn was now leading by 2 points. What followed, on a typical wet-dry day in Belgium, is perhaps the most famous wheel-to-wheel dice of the decade. An inspired Häkkinen - who, on his day even had the measure of his rival in wet conditions - led the early running. As the track dried, his advantage grew: Häkkinen had gambled on a dry weather set-up for his car, making him demonstrably quicker in a straight line than Michael Schumacher's compromise set-up Ferrari. However, Häkkinen then spun at Stavelot, allowing Schumacher to breeze past into a commanding lead. The Finn's comeback drive was spectacular. With a handful of laps remaining, he was back with Schumacher, who had been warned by radio that his opponent was dramatically fast in a straight line. Häkkinen's first attempt at the lead saw Schumacher try push his rival onto the grass at 200 mph, which did nothing to dampen the now furious Häkkinen's resolve. The following lap, the two happened upon Ricardo Zonta's BAR Honda at the end of the main straight, with Mika slipping inside the Brazilian to pass the backmarker and the Ferrari in one manouevre. Probably the greatest pass of the noughties, Häkkinen further enhanced his reputation by refusing to be drawn into a public spat about Schumacher's on-track ethics after the race.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_British_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2003 British Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Silverstone, 20th July 2003. Winner: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari F2003-GA)</span><br /><br />Rubens Barrichello has made quite a career of winning races interrupted by on-track invaders. At Silverstone in 2003, it was noted British lunatic Neil Horan who enlivened proceedings, running towards oncoming traffic on the Hangar Straight, seemingly dressed as C.U. Jimmy. The race put behind the safety car at a critical stage, the order was well and truly shaken up as early pit stoppers now took the advantage. In all the chaos, the one constant was Rubens Barrichello, racing and passing car after car in thrilling yet utterly decisive moves. The British crowd, deeply appreciative of his efforts after a superbly entertaining race from all of the field, greeted the winner with the sort of cheer normally reserved for Nigel Mansell. An epic performance on a day of fine driving.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_Japanese_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2005 Japanese Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Suzuka, 9th October 2005. Winner: Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren MP4/20-Mercedes)</span><br /><br />Uniquely for this list, the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix was a dead rubber, the championship title having been won in Brazil 2 weeks earlier. The race in Suzuka, however, was sensational. The story began on Saturday, as rain showers interrupted qualifying and completely scrambled the usual grid order. Title protagonists Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen duly lined up in 16th and 17th places on a dry and sunny Sunday. On a day where the entire field battled royally to get their 'rightful' positions back, it was these two who really made the running. Alonso's pass around the outside of Michael Schumacher into 130R has gone into legend, but the real story was Räikkönen, stalking down car after car with relentless energy. Eventually he caught up with Giancarlo Fisichella, who had missed the worst of the Saturday weather and qualified 3rd, looking set fair for a race win. Räikkönen barely even blinked, blasting past the Renault into the first turn of the final lap to take his last win for the team. A mad, thrilling and, most of all, inspirationally skillful day of motor racing.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Brazilian_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2008 Brazilian Grand Prix</span></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Interlagos, 2nd November 2008. Winner: Felipe Massa (Ferrari F2008)</span><br /><br />Final race title deciders were not a rarity in the noughties. Nor were excellent Brazilian Grands Prix: I could easily have included the 2001, 2003, 2007 or 2009 events in this list. However, this race was special. Having arrived in São Paulo in 2007 leading by 7 points only to leave with nothing, Lewis Hamilton must have been mindful that here he was again, in Brazil for the final race, leading by 7 points. This time, his rival was Felipe Massa, on home ground and in pole position. Massa blasted off into a lead he would barely ever cede, with Hamilton being rather more circumspect, on a damp track and with it all to lose all over again. The following 95 minutes were breathlessly tense stuff, as up and down the field battles raged and the weather lurched from damp to dry and to wet again. Late on, the rain grew heavier, and McLaren had no choice but to pit Hamilton - just about holding on to the 5th place he needed to be champion - for wet tyres. On the penultimate lap, though, he was passed into 6th by Sebastian Vettel's Toro Rosso, and that familiar sinking feeling must have struck him as much as it did for millions of his fans back at home watching the race at tea time. Of course, the race had a barely believable twist - one which was even called into question by conspiracy-minded types after the event. McLaren knew that Timo Glock's Toyota was still on dry tyres and floundering, lapping almost 20 seconds slower than his best in the downpour. The team could see that Hamilton was just about due to catch and pass him on the final lap. As he did so, at the last corner, Felipe Massa had just passed the finish line, his win as fine a drive as you could ever hope to see in such testing conditions and under such monumental pressure. For about 15 seconds, he was the Formula 1 World Champion, before Hamilton came through in the required 5th, a deceptively comfortable 6 seconds clear of Glock's car.<br /><br />Before this year's race, I watched a 10 minutes highlights package of the event on the BBC website. To that day it still made my heart race, my stomach knot and my mind boggle. And even though I knew what would happen, it was still almost unbelievable <span style="font-style: italic;">when</span> it happened. The 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix is the most exciting motor race I have ever seen. I hope one day I will see one better. If I don't, however, I can't really complain.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rogue's Gallery</span><br /><br />For every great race, there are several dreary ones. We need the dreary ones. They make great things more special. However, the following five were beyond that. Soporiphic or just plan offensive, these are my top five worst races of the noughties:<br /><br />5. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Singapore_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2008 Singapore Grand Prix</span></a><br /><br />At the time it seemed a fairly standard race, not much on the track but enough novelty to make it interesting, plus an unexpected win for Fernando Alonso's Renault. Of course, now we know...<br /><br />4. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_United_States_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2002 United States Grand Prix</span></a><br /><br />Formula 1 seemed to have finally found a venue worthy of trying that hardest of all sells: Formula 1 to the American mass market. It promptly pissed very much on its own chips, just 3 events into its run at Indy. Ferrari, dominant all year, attempted this cod-brained attempt at a staged finish which saw Rubens Barrichello just pip Michael Schumacher (the mastermind of the scheme) by 0.011 seconds, tragically now in the history books as the narrowest margin in Grand Prix history. Trying to engineer a dead heat? Trying to make amends for Austria (see 2.)? What a bloody mess.<br /><br />3. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2000-2009 Spanish Grands Prix</span></a><br /><br />A bold choice, perhaps. But almost without fail, the Circuito de Catalunya produces the most dismally boring race of the entire year. It is speculated that this is due to its ubiquity as a test track. However, year on year, the cars line up two-by-two in order of aerodynamic efficiency and then trail around for hours on end, unable to pass. Fernando Alonso enlivened the 2003, 2005 and 2006 events a little, but not enough to make me relish the prospect of another race in Barcelona.<br /><br />2. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_Austrian_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2002 Austrian Grand Prix</span></a><br /><br />The season before, Rubens Barrichello had been "asked" to let his teammate by into 2nd place "for the championship". This stuck in many people's craw, as round 6 of 17 is a little too early for such considerations. The following year, however, they trumped this magnificently, instructing Rubens to move over from a lead he had comfortably held from the start. I'm not one of these people who don't understand the sport and its history. I know the role of team orders and number 2 drivers. However, this, again at round 6, is one of the most offensive sporting spectacles I've ever witnessed.<br /><br />1. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_United_States_Grand_Prix" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2005 United States Grand Prix</span></a><br /><br />This 6 car extravaganza, caused by a mass pull-out by all the Michelin teams after the French company brought too soft a tyre to Indianapolis, creating a safety hazard, was sad beyond words. The political rumblings around, with all the teams unable to sort out any compromise in order to save the race, gave a very real indication as to why Formula 1 keeps on failing in North America. It's too busy shooting itself in the foot.</span>dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-15173331874774979402009-11-10T16:23:00.005+00:002010-03-03T10:28:13.927+00:00Formula 1 in the noughties, the numbersThanks, no doubt, to the thought-numbing and explosive celebrations witnessed nearly ten years ago to mark the change of Millennium, you would perhaps be forgiven for not even having registered the fact that we are now only about 50 days away from the end of the decade. Decades used to be a big deal. Even to this day, 'sixites', 'seventies' or 'eighties' are banded about as terms of social, political or historical shorthand.<br /><br />Perhaps the real issue is the name: "the noughties", being the best description of our current era, is still fairly lumpen. I daren't think what the next decade will come to be called, though I fear "The Teenies" is imminent as a widely acknowledged term in the English language.<br /><br />However twee or ridiculous the nomenclature, though, I'm still a big fan of the decade. They are fabulously useful for the general observations of social progress, of developments, and sometimes, of regressions. Over the next few days, <span style="font-style: italic;">+1 Lap</span> will be looking at what the previous ten years has done for, and what it will be remembered for, in the Formula 1 World Championship. We will start today with the collated raw statistics from the period, before hopefully getting a little more loquacious later this week with a look at my choices of the top ten drivers and top ten races, as well as some broader trends. But hey, enough of my yakking. What d'ya say... let's boogie.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">F1 2000-2009</span></span><br /><br />The FIA Formula One World Championship in the last decade was contested on <span style="font-weight: bold;">24 circuits</span> in <span style="font-weight: bold;">20 countries</span>. It was comprised of <span style="font-weight: bold;">174 Grands Prix</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">71 drivers</span> competed for the ten available world titles, with five men winning the crown and an additional 12 winning Grands Prix. <span style="font-weight: bold;">48</span> of the 71 drivers <span style="font-weight: bold;">scored championship points</span>. In the Constructors' Cup, <span style="font-weight: bold;">22 teams</span> competed for the ten titles. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferrari</span> dominated with seven championship wins, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Renault</span> (twice) and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Brawn GP</span> taking the remainder.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Formula 1 World Champions 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">It was Schumacher's decade. Before 2000, five represented the high watermark in World Championship titles. Afterwards, it has become the record for most consecutive successes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span> 5 <span style="font-style: italic;">(2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> 2 <span style="font-style: italic;">(2005 & 2006)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;">(2009)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;">(2008)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;">(2007)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Grand Prix winning drivers 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">In spite of his retirement at the end of 2006, no-one could get near Michael Schumacher's record in the past ten seasons. Indeed, his 56 wins (out of a total of 91) represent five more than the next-highest </span>career<span style="font-style: italic;"> total in the all-time list.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span> 56<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> 21<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> 18<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span> 11<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span> 11<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Felipe Massa</span> 11<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> 7<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span> 7<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Juan Pablo Montoya</span> 7<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mika Häkkinen</span> 6<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ralf Schumacher</span> 6<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span> 5<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giancarlo Fisichella</span> 3<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Webber</span> 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Heikki Kovalainen</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Robert Kubica</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarno Trulli</span> 1<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Grand Prix winning drivers' nationalities 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Unsurprisingly enough, Germany lead the way on the back of Michael Schumacher's domination. However, two other countries provided three different winners. Brazil is the most successful country to have not produced a Formula 1 world champion in the past decade.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 67 <span style="font-style: italic;">(3 drivers @ 22.33 wins apiece)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 25 <span style="font-style: italic;">(3 drivers @ 8.33)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">United Kingdom</span> 25 <span style="font-style: italic;">(3 drivers @ 8.33)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brazil</span> 22 <span style="font-style: italic;">(2 drivers @ 11.00)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 21 <span style="font-style: italic;">(1 driver @ 21.00)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Colombia</span> 7 <span style="font-style: italic;">(1 driver @ 7.00)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 4 <span style="font-style: italic;">(2 drivers @ 2.00)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 2 <span style="font-style: italic;">(1 driver @ 2.00)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Poland</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;">(1 driver @ 1.00)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Pole position winning drivers 2000-2009</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Although he was never the most natural qualifier - Schumacher did not take a single Formula 1 pole until the race after the death of Ayrton Senna - in the best car he was completely devastating. Indeed, in the end his sheer longevity saw him overhaul Senna's record number of poles in his last Grand Prix season. The heir to his crown would appear to be Lewis Hamilton, who racked up the third-highest total in many fewer races than any of his rivals.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span> 45<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> 18<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span> 17<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> 16<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Felipe Massa</span> 15<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Juan Pablo Montoya</span> 13<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span> 12<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> 7<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mika Häkkinen</span> 5<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ralf Schumacher</span> 5<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span> 5<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span> 4<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giancarlo Fisichella</span> 4<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarno Trulli</span> 4<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Heidfeld</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Heikki Kovalainen</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Robert Kubica</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Webber</span> 1<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Fastest lap taking drivers 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Fastest lap is an unusual thing. Often, it can display important information about the style and approach of a top racing driver. However, it is also something which will frequently be won out of absolutely nowhere by a midfield runner. Michael Schumacher was a master of the fast race lap, this record being the first of the many marks he went on to beat in his monumental career. However, he is run very close by Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn represents both sides of this equation. Twice in the past decade, Räikkönen took 10 fastest laps in a single season, but although once was in 2005, when he battled Fernando Alonso for the title, the other was in 2008, where he won only two races and ended up as being Felipe Massa's back-up man.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span> 37<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> 35<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span> 17<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> 13<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Juan Pablo Montoya</span> 13<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mika Häkkinen</span> 12<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Felipe Massa</span> 12<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span> 7<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ralf Schumacher</span> 6<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span> 3<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span> 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Webber</span> 3<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Heidfeld</span> 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Heikki Kovalainen</span> 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nico Rosberg</span> 2<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Pedro de la Rosa</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giancarlo Fisichella</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Timo Glock</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adrian Sutil</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarno Trulli</span> 1<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Top ten World Championship points scorers, 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Again, no-one can catch Michael Schumacher. However, Alonso and Räikkönen both beat Rubens Barrichello, who raced in a full season more than the Finn and two more than the Spaniard. Everybody else are, relatively speaking nowhere. Particularly notable by their absence are the two other drivers to have entered every Grand Prix of the noughties: Giancarlo Fisichella (12th) and Jarno Trulli (11th).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span> 799<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> 577<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> 573<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello </span> 530<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> 327<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Felipe Massa</span> 320<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span> 314<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Juan Pablo Montoya</span> 309<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ralf Schumacher</span> 267<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span> 256<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Top ten Grand Prix starting drivers, 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Time was when 172 races would be beyond respectable as a Formula 1 career. For the top three drivers here, however, 200 starts is now a distant memory. Rubens Barrichello, who has been a fixture in the sport since 1993, is due to pass 300 next season with Williams. (Number of Grand Prix entries in brackets, years in italics)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span> 172 (174) <span style="font-style: italic;">2000-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Giancarlo Fisichella</span> 172 (174) <span style="font-style: italic;">2000-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarno Trulli </span>172 (174) <span style="font-style: italic;">2000-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> 170 (172) <span style="font-style: italic;">2000-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Heidfeld</span> 168 (171) <span style="font-style: italic;">2000-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span> 156 (157) <span style="font-style: italic;">2000-2008</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> 156 (157) <span style="font-style: italic;">2001-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> 139 (140) <span style="font-style: italic;">2001, 2003-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Webber</span> 138 (140) <span style="font-style: italic;">2002-2009</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ralf Schumacher</span> 131 (133) <span style="font-style: italic;">2000-2007</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Grand Prix starting drivers' nationalities 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You may be, as I was, surprised to learn that the most abundant nationality was not German.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brazil</span> 10 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Barrichello, Bernoldi, Burti, da Matta, Diniz, Marques, Massa, Piquet, Pizzonia, Zonta)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Germany</span> 9 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Frentzen, Glock, Heidfeld, Rosberg, M. Schumacher, R. Schumacher, Sutil, Vettel, Winkelhock)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">United Kingdom</span> 8 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Button, Coulthard, Davidson, Hamilton, Herbert, Irvine, McNish, Wilson)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Italy</span> 6 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Badoer, Bruni, Fisichella, Luizzi, Pantano, Trulli)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">France</span> 5 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Alesi, Bourdais, Grosjean, Montagny, Panis)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Japan</span> 5 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Ide, Kobayashi, Nakajima, Sato, Yamamoto)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Finland</span> 4 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Häkkinen, Kovalainen, Räikkönen, Salo)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Spain</span> 4 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Alguersuari, Alonso, de la Rosa, Gené)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Austria</span> 3 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Friesacher, Klien, Wurz)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Netherlands</span> 3<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(Albers, Doornbos, Verstappen)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Argentina</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Mazzacane)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Australia</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Webber)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Canada</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Villeneuve)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Colombia</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Montoya)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Czech Republic</span> 1<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(Enge)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Denmark</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Kiesa)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hungary </span>1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Baumgartner)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">India</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Karthikeyan)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ireland</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Firman)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Malaysia </span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Yoong)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Poland</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Kubica)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Portugal</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Monteiro)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Switzerland </span>1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Buemi)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">United States</span> 1 <span style="font-style: italic;"><br />(Speed)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Grand Prix winning Constructors 2000-2009</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The noughties are when Ferrari finally lived up to their potential as the sport's oldest and most famous team. Not even lean years in 2005 and 2009 could stop them beating their nearest rival by more than double.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferrari </span>85<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">McLaren</span> 38<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Renault </span>20<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Williams</span> 13<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Brawn</span> 8<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Red Bull</span> 6<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BMW</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Honda</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Jordan</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Toro Rosso</span> 1<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Grand Prix winning engines 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Again, Ferrari come out on top, the additional non-works team victory coming for Sebastian Vettel's Toro Rosso at Monza in 2008. Mercedes are showing strong signs of their increasing dominance of the sport towards the end of the decade. The most noticable absence is Toyota, although Honda will also be taking some pain from a solitary success for all their investment and Formula 1 experience. They'll be back one day.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ferrari </span>86<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mercedes-Benz</span> 46<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Renault</span> 26<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">BMW</span> 14<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ford</span> 1<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Honda</span> 1<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Grand Prix winning tyres 2000-2009</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Bridgestone started and ended the decade as the sole supplier of rubber for the field, vanquishing Michelin (2001-2006) along the way. However, in both 2005 and 2006, the French company blew the doors off of their rivals. Had they stayed, it could have been a much closer picture. With Bridgestone pulling out of the sport at the end of next year, the next decade will have a very different look.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Bridgestone</span> 131<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michelin</span> 43<br /><br />And finally, just for a bit of speculative* fun:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >The noughties Formula 1 Super Championship top 20</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Drivers are ranked by their points total divided by the number of seasons in which they competed, to give an average. This figure was rounded up or down to the nearest point, so as to be inkeeping with the appearance of a regular Formula 1 standings table. And you'll never guess who the winner is...</span><br /><br />1. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schumacher</span> 114 points<br />2. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lewis Hamilton</span> 85<br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Fernando Alonso</span> 72<br />4. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kimi Räikkönen</span> 64<br />5. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mika Häkkinen</span> 63<br />6. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Rubens Barrichello</span> 61<br />7. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Juan Pablo Montoya</span> 51<br />8. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Felipe Massa</span> 46<br />9. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sebastian Vettel</span> 42<br />10. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Heikki Kovalainen</span> 35<br />11. <span style="font-weight: bold;">David Coulthard</span> 35<br />12. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Robert Kubica </span> 34<br />13. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ralf Schumacher</span> 33<br />14. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jenson Button</span> 33<br />15. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Jarno Trulli</span> 24<br />16. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Giancarlo Fisichella</span> 23<br />17. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nick Heidfeld</span> 22<br />18. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Mark Webber</span> 21<br />19. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Nico Rosberg</span> 19<br />20. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Timo Glock</span> 17<br /><br />* <span style="font-size:85%;">this does have one fundamental flaw, i.e. the amount of points on offer at each race went up from 26 to 39 from 2003 onwards. This gives drivers who did the majority of their scoring after that point a slight advantage over early bird rivals. However, despite throwing up a number of anomalies - Heikki Kovalainen beating both David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher being perhaps the most obvious - it still gives a broadly accurate flavour of what went down on the track this past ten years.</span>dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-1846492305567180142009-11-06T08:17:00.003+00:002009-11-06T11:27:42.839+00:002009: The good, the bad and the ugly 3Having dispensed with the chaff, today we look at my top ten drivers from 2009.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">10. SÉBASTIEN BUEMI (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 6 points; best result: 7th (AUS, BR)</span><br /><br />The only rookie to start the 2009 season was a 20-year old from a country where motor racing is banned and whose last Grand Prix driver, Jean-Denis Deletraz, has become a byword for incompetence in the sport. A double race winner in GP2 in 2008, Buemi also showed impressively consistent pace in pre-season testing. However, the solidity of his performances throughout his debut season were the most impressive thing of all. With limited time in the car, Buemi never looked out of place in an experienced and tightly-packed field. Three times he qualified a resolutely average car in the top 10 and 4 times finished in the points. The difficult second season beckons, but Buemi looks set to be one for the future.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">9. FERNANDO ALONSO (Renault) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 26 points, 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps; best result: 3rd (SG)</span><br />I think that, all things being equal, Fernando Alonso is still the benchmark driver in Formula 1. However, this year he was a little out of sorts. This has much to do with the major shortcomings of the Renault car, but perhaps there are also elements of the in-team political storm and having one eye on his first Formula 1 Ferrari in the mix. Nevertheless, given the merest sniff of a result and Alonso was in. Expect Alonso to be formidable in 2010.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">8. NICO ROSBERG (Williams-Toyota) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 34.5 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 4th (D, H)</span><br /><br />Exploiting his car's double diffuser from the first race, Rosberg was frequently the pace setter on Friday afternoons. Unable to sustain it throughout the entire weekend he or the team may have been, but Rosberg still enjoyed his best season yet in Formula 1, scoring points in 11 out of the 17 rounds. He now seems set to move to Brawn GP in 2010 for his big break in the sport. However, he still has much to prove. In 70 races, he's yet to qualify on the front row for a Grand Prix, and his failure to get a podium finish this year - particularly in Singapore where he threw it away, much to his own publically expressed disgust - was disappointing. It must also be remembered, however, that Rosberg's father was a late bloomer in Formula 1 and that Nico is still only 24 years old.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">7. KIMI RÄIKKÖNEN (Ferrari)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 48 points, 1 win (B)</span><br /><br />A trying year for Ferrari, particularly due to handling difficulties caused the the team's KERS unit. Räikkönen was solid but little else for the early part of the season, admirably stepping up to the plate to win the Belgian Grand Prix in Felipe Massa's absence. However, the simple fact of the matter is that, by sheer force of personality and performances alone, Felipe Massa had manouvred himself into the position of the number 1 driver at Ferrari, a fact which was not lost on the management, who terminated Kimi's deal a year early. Anyone who doubts that the Finn still has the drive to succeed, however, need only look at his spirited drive to 6th place in Brazil, despite an early stop to mend a broken front wing and streaming eyes due to fuel vapour inside his visor from Heikki Kovalainen's pit fire. Let there be no doubt that Räikkönen could still win multiple world titles. But whether or not he does is seemingly up to him.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">6. FELIPE MASSA (Ferrari)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">9 GP, 22 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 3rd (D)</span><br /><br />After last year's narrow defeat, Massa came into the 2009 season as the title favourite. What in fact happened, then, was hugely disappointing for him, even before his terrifying accident in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. Before then, Massa was very much the team leader at Maranello. Although it was Räikkönen who scored the team's first points and first podium of the campaign, Massa outraced him every other time, despite being outqualified 6 to 4. The real test - whether or not Massa can return to the sport without any effects from his brush with death and severe head injuries - awaits us. If he passes it, he is a future world champion.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">5. MARK WEBBER (Red Bull-Renault)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 69.5 points, 2 wins (D, BR), 1 pole position, 3 fastest laps.</span><br /><br />Of all the drivers involved in the title battle this year, Webber was the best value for money entertainment wise. Head down, shoulders out, Webber's muscular and aggressive style lit up a number of on-track scraps in 2009. However, he also showed signs of his maturity and experience. After an adrenaline-fuelled charge to his first Grand Prix win in Germany, his second success in Brazil was calmness and mastery personified. Prevented from a tilt at the championship by a five-race streak of bad luck and mechanical failures after the Hungarian Grand Prix, Webber's biggest problem for a second attempt at the crown looks likely to be his teammate, who more or less had the Aussie covered at every step this season.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">4. RUBENS BARRICHELLO (Brawn-Mercedes)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 77 points, 2 wins (EU, I), 1 pole position, 2 fastest laps.</span><br /><br />Barrichello didn't know he would even be in Formula 1 for his 17th season until the beginning of February this year, with Bruno Senna lurking in the wings. However, it is impossible to understate the role his huge experience played in his team's success this season. Nevertheless, as befits his late inclusion, he was much slower out of the blocks than his teammate, which gave rise to some uncharacteristic petulance from the Brazilian. By the time he finally broke his duck, Jenson Button was already too far gone to realistically catch, but there were times when Rubens made it look like he was the coming man. A second win followed, his third in the Italian Grand Prix, but the increasing shortcomings in his car compared to the Red Bull saw him lose 2nd place in the final standings at the last. However, it's enough to say that Rubens has been snapped up by Williams for 2010 - where he will pass 300 Grand Prix starts - to illustrate the continued quality of his driving and level of his motivation. Fact: Rubens Barrichello outqualified his teammate, the new world champion, 10 races to 7 this year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">3. LEWIS HAMILTON (McLaren-Mercedes)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 49 points, 2 wins (H, SG), 4 pole positions</span><br /><br />Hamilton's title defence began shamefully with disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix for misleading the race stewards. It continued with frustration and lower-midfield travails in a car which simply would not behave. However, even before McLaren sorted out the mechanical issues, Hamilton was showing signs of driving with a newfound maturity. Refusing to give up, he got his head down and drove whatever he was given as hard as it would go. As soon as that was anywhere good enough for a race win, he was right there. By the end of the season, he was frequently the pace setter, the only shame in his final outing in 2009 being that his car's brakes let him down after perhaps the most dominant single performance by any driver at a race meeting all season in Abu Dhabi. Now battle-hardened by a character building season, but having lost none of his speed or aggression, Lewis Hamilton is probably the closest challenger to Alonso's mantle as the sport's most complete driver. Several more world titles surely await.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">2. SEBASTIAN VETTEL (Red Bull-Renault) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 84 points, 4 wins (PRC, GB, J, ABD), 4 pole positions, 3 fastest laps.</span><br /><br />The question, as Vettel came to the senior Red Bull team after his miraculous 2008 season at Toro Rosso was: can he keep it up. We now have our answer. Yes, he made a few mistakes along the way. But the fact of the matter is that he's not 23-years old until next summer and without those mistakes and Renault engine problems, he could have already been a world champion. His form in the final races of the season was startling, his palpable disappointment at missing out on his slim title chances in Brazil indicative of a man on top of his game, confident and in full control. His head-to-head qualifying statistics againt his teammate, a renowned one-lap specialist, were 15-2 in his favour, his race pace no less impressive. If Sebastian Vettel hasn't won at least one world title within the next three years, I'll be very surprised.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">1. JENSON BUTTON (Brawn-Mercedes)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 95 points (world champion), 6 wins (AUS, MAL, BAH, E, MC, TR), 4 pole positions, 2 fastest laps.</span><br /><br />A lot of historical attention will, no doubt, be focussed on the second half of Jenson Button's championship season. It was, it's fair to say, a notable part of the story of the year. However, to dismiss his performances in the first seven races would be lunacy. Winning six, you could honestly believe watching him that he was on another plain entirely from his rivals. When things started to go wrong, his Brawn car suffering from grip problems in mid-season, it was really only qualifying where Button was lacking - his race performances were outstanding from the first event and never lessened to the season's end. So, the part of the 2009 season that I will always remember Jenson Button for will be his surgically precise overtakes, made with calm assurance under huge pressure, with history waiting in the wings. The question now is, can he and, particularly, his Brawn team ever repeat this success? It doesn't matter. So many drivers in the history of Grand Prix racing have missed out when they've had a chance. If Button never gets the car to challenge for the top honour again, he can always point to the fact that the one time he had the opportunity, he took it.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I hope you've enjoyed me sitting in judgement of brilliant sportsmen these past few days. Stay tuned, as next week I'll begin to look at Formula 1 throughout the noughties, as we leave this century's first decade.</span>dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-69060664234061608312009-11-05T08:47:00.003+00:002009-11-06T08:40:30.561+00:002009: The good, the bad and the ugly 2Yesterday I judgementally assigned some really terrible racing drivers a number. Today I will do the same with their perky cousins, the average.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">18. HEIKKI KOVALAINEN (McLaren-Mercedes)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 22 points; best result: 4th (EU)</span><br /><br />Admittedly, McLaren's car at the beginning of the season was dreadful and meagre performances were guaranteed, but Kovalainen never really managed to raise his game from that level even when the car blossomed in mid season. There were times, in the early races, where it looked as if Heikki was even dealing with a difficult situation better than his teammate, the then-reigning World Champion. However, as likely as not this was because Lewis was taking risks with set-up and strategy to try and break the malaise. There's nothing much wrong with a top line team having this dynamic - a lead driver and a solid if unspectacular back-up man. However, too often this year Kovalainen was a way, way back up man, and it looks to have cost him his drive with McLaren for 2010. I expect to see him find a seat elsewhere next year, where we'll finally see if he can live up to his considerable potential.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">17. ADRIAN SUTIL (Force India-Mercedes)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 5 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 4th (I)</span><br /><br />Whether he's at the back of the field or near the front, there's no doubt that Adrian Sutil makes his presence felt in F1. Too often this results in him climbing out of a steaming pile of wreckage, but this year he finally proved that he could get the job done from lights to flag with a fine display at Monza. However, when his team struck the big time at the race before in Belgium he was nowhere, indicative of a variability in his level of performance which has characterised his three seasons in Grand Prix. Occasionally brilliant, particularly in the wet, Sutil needs to prove he can turn pace into points in 2010, especially as the Force India team are starting to look like genuine midfield runners.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">16. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA (Force India-Mercedes, Ferrari)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 8 points, 1 pole position; best result: 2nd (B)</span><br /><br />A veteran now of almost 230 Grands Prix, Fisichella looks to have reached the end of his top-line racing career. A solid if little else start to the year with Force India suddenly exploded into life with an outstanding pole position, in the dry and on merit, at Spa-Francorchamps. As has been the way throughout his time in F1, Fisichella was unable to keep the fight up on race day, but his second place was nevertheless a notable way for Force India to open their account in the sport. His move to Ferrari was disastrous. Unable to get to grips with the demands the KERS system put on his somewhat unpredictable mount's braking system, he spent the last 5 races of the season, living out every Italian boy's dream from the back of the field. But, I suppose it has to be pointed out that he was better than Luca Badoer. Quite the epitaph for 14 seasons in the Formula. A fairer one would most likely be: Giancarlo Fisichella - fast, flair, fourth.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">15. JARNO TRULLI (Toyota) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 32.5 points, 1 pole position, 1 fastest lap; best result: 2nd (J)</span><br /><br />You may already be aware that my enthusiasm for Jarno Trulli is well under control. This year did little to alter my perceptions. I will never understand how a driver so capable of astonishing speed on Saturday can be quite so palpably useless on Sunday afternoons. Trulli is so slow on race day at times that team strategists actually factor his tooling around - like an old lady looking for a parking spot in a garden centre - into their race plans. Starting the year with the second fastest car, Trulli finished no higher than 3rd in the early races, including in Bahrain where he dawdled his way out of a win which could have persuaded Toyota to stay in the sport for 2010. However, with Trulli you never quite know, and at Suzuka he drove a magnificent race to second, with Lewis Hamilton chasing him all the way. With experienced drivers likely to be very attractive to the glut of new teams due to enter the sport next year, Trulli looks likely to head into a 13th year in F1 next March. I'm mystified as to how this can be.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">14. TIMO GLOCK (Toyota) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">14 GP, 22 points, 1 fastest lap; best result: 2nd (SG)</span><br /><br />There were only brief glimpses of the Timo Glock who so impressed many people last season. However, as the Toyota became more of a handful and less competitive, it was Glock who acquitted himself the better. In a car which could be charitably described as bloody useless on street circuits all year, Glock set fastest lap at Valencia and then drove to a fine second place in Singapore, so far ahead of Jarno Trulli that it would have been daytime again by the time the Italian caught up. Glock seems set to join Kubica at Renault next season, should the team continue in the sport. Otherwise, it's a toss of a coin as to whether he's done enough to whet the appetite of any other outfits in 2009.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">13. KAMUI KOBAYASHI (Toyota) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">2 GP, 3 points; best result: 6th (ABD)</span><br /><br />The season's most outstanding debut came in Brazil, where Kobayashi qualified a car he'd barely driven at a track he'd never driven 11th in the driving rain. On Sunday he grappled and scrapped with some big names, particularly Jenson Button, on his way to 9th place. In a rather more controlled drive, not surprising considering he had more experience of the car, he was the fastest of the one-stoppers in the season finale at Abu Dhabi, scoring a fine 6th place. Seemingly set for a drive at Toyota in 2010, he's now left looking at working in his dad's sushi parlour in Japan again. Hopefully sense will prevail and someone else will snap him up for next season, as drivers like this are far too promising to not give a chance.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">12. NICK HEIDFELD (BMW Sauber) </span><span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 19 points; best result: 2nd (MAL)</span><br /><br />An applied demonstration that steady doesn't always win the race, Nick Heidfeld this season blitzed the record for most consecutive Grand Prix finishes. However, in a troubled BMW car, he was forced to do so out of the points more often than not. Having now completed his tenth season of Formula 1, Heidfeld is still waiting for his first Grand Prix win. It is arguable he's still waiting for someone to give him his first car capable of giving him his first Grand Prix win. It seems to be touch and go if Heidfeld will be in a Formula 1 car next year. This seems strange to me, as he's hugely experienced, very quick and as reliable as the Japanese railways - as evidenced by his 2nd place in the sopping wet Malaysian race. McLaren, for one, could really benefit from having Nick as a number 2 driver in 2010.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">11. ROBERT KUBICA (BMW Sauber)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 17 points; best result: 2nd (BR)</span><br /><br />A highlight of the 2009 season was Robert Kubica's team radio transmissions on a Friday, when he would deadpan an epic list of his car's faults to his engineer. However, if his head was dropping, he never let it show on the track. Very evenly matched with his teammate, Kubica, like Heidfeld, extracted the maximum from a pretty stodgy car this year. Kubica gets the nod from me on account of his better head-to-head qualifying record and his tendency to finish ahead of Heidfeld when it really counted, i.e. when the car was good for points. He would have beaten Heidfeld in the championship standings, too, if he'd not tangled with Sebastian Vettel when fighting for 2nd place at the season's opening race. Kubica goes to Renault next year, but if the team pull out, there's no doubt he'll find a decent drive elsewhere.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656220914096425554.post-9875049012236089652009-11-04T08:23:00.003+00:002009-11-04T09:31:51.599+00:002009: The good, the bad and the uglyEven in post-Schumacher Formula 1, where no dominant driver has yet to emerge, 2009 will go down as an unusual season. Since Michael's retirement in 2006, no driver has won more than 6 races in a season, which has tended to create fierce and hugely dramatic tussles for the championship. In 2009, however, the driver taking the most wins had done so long before half-distance and we were then presented with the unusual sight of three or more other rivals (sometimes literally) falling over each other in their haste to catch up to him.<br /><br />In spite of all of this, though, the twenty-five competitors in the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship offered up the usual blend of brilliance, mediocrity and stupidity that we've come to expect from the world's most expensive sport. For all the technology and investment, F1 still comes down to the most falliable element - the bloke sat behind the wheel.<br /><br />This year's drivers were faced with a new challenge of a season-long ban on all testing. This put a real premium on experience - of the top six drivers in the final standings, only two had started less than 100 Grands Prix - with newcomers or late arrivals floundering around at the back. However, it also created a crucible in which any driver's ultimate ability would be more immediately obvious than perhaps at any time before.<br /><br />In my assessment of the overall performances in 2009, therefore, I have tried to balance out results with performances, up and down the field. So, let the controversy, name-calling and back-biting begin. Today we'll focus on the seven drivers who bring up the rear, numbers 19 to 25.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">25. LUCA BADOER (Ferrari)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">2 Grands Prix, 0 points; best result: 14th (B)</span><br /><br />For eleven years now, Badoer has been an integral part of the Ferrari family, test driver throughout the team's ultimate rise to complete dominance. However, it was also the case that he held a dubious all-time record for most Grand Prix starts without a points finish. Sentiment - at such a premium in top-line sport as to be nearly non-existent - as well as Michael Schumacher's dodgy neck, saw Badoer presented with his best chance ever to change all that. What actually occured was a train wreck. Badoer's displays were as good as one could have expected from a profoundly average driver who had not raced a single seater in a decade, grappling with the field's most pitch-sensitive car. He was absolutely beyond hope. Qualifying last for both of his outings, he went on to finish both, in last place. Best forgotten.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">24. ROMAIN GROSJEAN (Renault)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">7 GP, 0 points; best result: 13th (BR)</span><br /><br />Few drivers in this year's field have such a glittering CV has Grosjean. He has cut a swathe through some of the biggest name championships in European single seaters, and was lying a strong second in the GP2 Series standings to Williams' 2010 newcomer Nico Hülkenberg when the call came from Renault. Formula 1 is a curious old bird, though. Many drivers who excel in lower-formulae can't cope with its demands and disappear completely - Luca Badoer, it should be remembered, was the 1992 International Formula 3000 champion - whilst many drivers with relatively meagre careers explode gloriously into life upon contact with the highest echelon of motorsport - Damon Hill's only real successes prior to his 22 GP wins and the 1996 World Championship had been on motorcycles, whilst Jenson Button's sole single seater accomplishment until 2009 had been the 1998 British Formula Ford title. I'm sure you can see what I am driving at here. Grosjean has, so far, been resolutely of the former category. Watching him, in a very disappointing Renault car, you could almost see his confidence draining away with every successive lap he drove at every successive race. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">23. KAZUKI NAKAJIMA (Williams-Toyota)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">17 GP, 0 points; best result: 9th (H, SG)</span><br /><br />Williams were one of three teams to arrive in Melbourne at the start of the season with a double diffuser and the performance advantages they brought. Whilst Nico Rosberg went on to set some eyebrow-raising lap times throughout the season and score points on eleven occasions, his back-up man singularly failed to do just that. For all their early speed, Williams finished 7th in the Constructors' Cup in 2009, entirely as a result of Nakajima's failure to score any points. He was often quick in qualifying and sometimes quick in the race, but his inability to deliver over the full 200 miles looks to have finished his Formula 1 career. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">22. NELSON PIQUET JR. (Renault)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">10 GP, 0 points; best result: 10th (BAH)</span><br /><br />Like Nakajima, Piquet is another driver whose path to Formula 1 was lubricated by his surname. This is not to dismiss his achievements, however. Piquet won both the Sud-Am and British Formula 3 titles and was twice runner-up in GP2, all with a team owned by his old man. At Renault, though, he flailed around, not swimming but drowning. In his first year he managed to come to grips with the car well enough to score 19 points. And even in 2009 he won a small victory - at the German Grand Prix he outqualified his teammate Fernando Alonso for the first (and it turned out only) time in their 28 races together. Even before the Crashgate saga, though, it was hard to feel much sympathy towards Piquet, whose sullen and sulky behaviour did little to endear him to the public or to his team. More importantly, such paranoid behaviour - whether it was justified or not - in no way helps your performance on the track. He can point to bad management, hectoring and bullying from the team bosses, not being given equal equipment and whatever else all he likes - if you don't deliver on the track in F1 you get found out, chewed up and spat out. His is no great loss to the sport.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">21. SÉBASTIEN BOURDAIS (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">9 GP, 2 points; best result: 8th (AUS, MC)</span><br /><br />Another fallout from the glittering CV club. Bourdais rewrote the history books in Champ Car racing in the USA, scything his way to four consecutive titles before returning to Europe and Formula 1. Last season, he came up against Sebastian Vettel as a teammate and was blown away, but it must also be said he was a victim of bad luck too, Bourdais getting the lion's share of the car's problems. This year his teammate was the only rookie driver to start the season, 20-year old Swiss Sébastien Buemi. It was much less forgivable this time when he was again outperformed, therefore. However, Bourdais looks to have been a victim more to politics and his relationship with the team's management than to his results - twice he finished the car in the points. Sadly, however, the annals of Formula 1 history are lined with stories like that of Bourdais. It's a cut-throat business and it has claimed another victim here.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">20. VITANTONIO LIUZZI (Force India-Mercedes)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">5 GP, 0 points; best result: 11th (BR)</span><br /><br />Liuzzi was a sufferer from the no-testing curse in 2009, promoted from within after Giancarlo Fisichella's move to Ferrari. And, with over 40 Grands Prix experience behind him, he started strongly even without track time in the new car. With a Force India car proving as slippery as an eel in low-downforce trim, he qualified in the top 10 at Monza and would have finished in the points, too, had the car not let him down. However, as the tracks became less favourable - both to the chassis and to Liuzzi, who had never raced at two of the five venues he encountered in 2009 - he started to go backwards. All of this said, he was never outclassed by Adrian Sutil in the other car and it's not beyond comprehension that a driver of his experience and reliability could find a drive in F1 next season. It would, however, most likely be his final chance to impress at this level.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">19. JAIME ALGUERSAURI (Toro Rosso-Ferrari)</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">8 GP, 0 points; best result: 14th (BR)</span><br /><br />Despite his relatively low position in my rankings, I was hugely impressed with Alguersauri this year. The 2008 British Formula 3 champion was put into the car - again, without testing time - for the Hungarian Grand Prix to become the youngest man ever to start a World Championship round. His pace was always respectable and sometimes very much moreso, not easy in this, the most tightly contested season ever in terms of lap time. On race day, he tended to fade, most likely a combination of lack of track time plus his inexperience at races of Grand Prix distance. Both of these will be naturally addressed in time, of which Alguersauri has plenty. Not twenty until next Spring, I believe he has the potential for a long and successful career in the formula.dotmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18272789893685683212noreply@blogger.com0