Tag Archive for 'lewis'

F1 2010: New Season, New Expectations

Published on March 10, 2010 in Sports. 0 Comments

I have been watching F1 regularly since 2006 and this is the first time that 4 world champions will be on the grid at the same time! No wonder I am so excited and eager to get the season started. My ears have tired of waiting to hear the commentator say – “And the Bahrain GP is GO“. And just like the millions of fans across the globe, I too have lots of expectations from this season after the boring last one.

What makes the 2010 season fantastic is the return of God of Racing – Michael Schumacher. The seven time world champion is desperate to get started again. His enthusiasm shows his want for F1 racing again after a break of 3 years. And who better to have as team principal than Ross Brawn. The duo have won seven championships. I don’t care if it is not Ferrari they represent now. Schumacher is great at developing the car, and I am sure that if not this season then the next one will definitely be his.

The pre season testing for Brawn has not been as awesome as last years. The last year they had the fastest car and it showed right from the first lap of testing. This year though Brawn has accepted that they might be slightly off the pace. In the longer runs Mercedes car has managed to show consistency and speed, but it is with the lower levels of fuels that they are not sure about. The other cars seems to be quicker than Mercedes when running on fumes.

Speculations and rumors though refuse to die down around Brawn and Schumacher. Apparently Brawn has declared that they have a piece of technology which did not require testing and to design it they went till the limit of rules. Obviously reporters have been buzzing about the possibility of a new design of diffuser which would boost the performance of their car by a second or two per lap. And if this turns out to be true, then the championship is already Michael’s.

The testing though showed Ferrari to be the pick of the lot. They have got the pace to challenge for the championship. And Alonso is a shrewd driver. He is just as good in developing his car and extracting that last bit of performance. People have already tipped him to be clear favorite for drivers title. I just want to see Alonso and Michael battle it all out just the way they used to earlier. I just cannot make up my mind who to support – Michael or the team I have always liked, Ferrari. Michael was the reason I started watching F1, and Ferrari the reason I continued watching it after Michael left. Picking one is tough.

The return of Massa after the tragic accident is being highlighted too. He was quick during the practice sessions. But how competitive he will be compared to Alonso is doubtful. Alonso might perhaps carve out a place for himself just like Schumacher did. Alonso has already declared that he would like Ferrari to be his team when he retires. Also Luca Montezemolo has declared that all great drivers ultimately end up at Ferrari. I think if it comes to choosing between Alonso and Massa, Ferrari might prefer Alonso.

A lot of focus is being put on Hamilton and Button. I am given to understand that the Hamilton-Alonso saga, which nearly destroyed the McLaren team a couple of years ago, has been a valuable lesson for the team in management of resources. However the Hamilton-Kovaleinen partnership suggests otherwise. McLaren has been Hamiltons’ team and I think it will continue to be his. A few measure like shuffling of staff has been made to make Button happy regarding equality of driver, but pretty soon Button will realise that perhaps it was not for nothing that Alonso cribbed so much while at McLaren. How soon will trouble emerge could be an interesting bet.

But the most promising rising star on the grid has been Seb Vettel. The German has won lots of accolades for his driving in the wet. The last season with Red Bull, he did mount a serious challenge to the championship despite his car not having the double diffuser. Horner is a great designer of car, and it was mostly his ability that pushed RBR to the front. This year they have gone a step forward. With refuelling banned for the races, pit stops shall only have a change of tires, adjustments to the wing and a few minor changes if required. RBR has gone on record saying their pit crew has worked hard the whole winter and they have come up with a modified methodology which enables them to complete the pit stop in less than 2 seconds. Less than 2 seconds !!! You got to be kidding me. Thats lightening quick.

Last but not the least, with Max Mosely gone, politics should see a drastic reduction. Jean Todt is more than able person to be replacing him. A joke I read somewhere -

What could be the worst thing that Jean Todt does in the first year of his office?

Cry his tears out when Schumacher wins his first race.

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Trulli Reinstated – Hamilton Thrown Out

Published on April 2, 2009 in Sports. 0 Comments

These days the focus seems to have shifted from racing to actually winning law suits and appeals in Formula 1. The outcome of the race is many a times decided by a ruling of the stewards or judges. And this is happening more and more often recently. What used to be one-off differences which needed to be settled off the race track, has now become a regular feature. You can hardly be surprised if you wake up the next day to find out that the guy who was happily spraying champagne from the podium on sunday has been demoted to the 12th position, and everybody else has moved up one place.

As if the start hadn’t been turbulent enough, what with the approaching 14th April date to debate the validity of the design of diffuser by the three teams, we had another row in the opening race of the season. Yeah, Melbourne GP was not spared by anyone. First the official complaint by Ferrari, Red Bull and Renault over the legality of the diffuser design, and then that of Hamilton-Trulli incident.

The incidence was this. With just three laps to the completion of the race, Safety Car had to be deployed courtsey the collision of Kubica’s and Vettel’s cars. Apparently, Trulli spun and Hamilton passed him while the safety car was present on the track. But according to the rules book, this action was certainly legal. However, what transpired next is that Trulli overtook Hamilton and reclaimed his position. Thus at the end of the day, Trulli finished third, ahead of Hamilton in the fourth place.

The stewards immediately summoned the duo to clear the matter. A decision was taken to impose a penalty of 25 secs on Trulli for overtaking another car while the safety car was there. Hamilton got promoted to the third place. There were talks of Toyota appealing against the penalty. Trulli explained that he overtook the McLaren only because he believed the latter to be slowing down, which could mean a retirement from the race. In such circumstances, Trulli’s move would be valid.

However, that was soon ruled out. Recently, the FIA has been very stern when it comes to appealing for a 25 secs penalty, which is equivalent to a drive through penalty. A drive through penalty can be issued only when the race is going on. If the race is completed, a 25 secs penalty is imposed to determine the standings. Now since drive through penalty cannot be challenged by teams, it is almost impossible to get your say in a 25 secs penalty too.

So, as things stood, till yesterday, Trulli was out of luck and Hamilton collected 6 from a race where he barely was quick enough. It was time to move on to the next race, Sepang Grand Prix.

But a well known journalist from autosport.com composed an article which revealed that Hamilton might have perhaps given differing statements to press and the stewards. Apparently, Hamilton did let it known that he had been asked by the McLaren team to slow down and let Trulli pass, thereby confirming that Trulli passed him only because he saw Hamilton deliberately slowing down. The drivers were once agained asked to meet the stewards in Malaysia on the thursday.

The outcome of the meeting is that Trulli has been reinstated to his 3rd position and McLaren have been removed from the results for providing contradictory evidence to the stewards the first time. Hamilton, as iot now turns out, wasn’t so lucky after all. Trulli gets 6 points and Hamilton goes back empty handed.

The start of the season couldn’t have been more un-typical. Neither of McLaren and Ferrari scored any point from the opening race. Both are trying to get even with the BrawnGP’s pace. Exciting season, with lots of drama yet to follow. And I suggest you, if you do not already follow F1, then start doing so. If you need help selecting one driver as your favourite, might I suggest the brilliant young lad from Germany – Sebastian Vettel. He is awesome. I am sure he’ll one day race for the Ferrari and do wonders just as Michael Schumacher did. Watch out for this kid.

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Who Deserves The Formula One Crown

Published on October 22, 2008 in Sports. 2 Comments

Another season has come to an end. The top two contenders have set for themselves a title shootout at Brazil. The chances are however skewed towards Hamilton who has a comfortable 7 points lead over Massa. All Lewis Hamilton has to ensure is that he needs to finish atleast 5th if Felipe Massa goes on to win the championship. And considering all the things he has done this year, its a small feat to achieve. For Massa though, it is an uphill task, not entirely in his hands. He needs to win to maximise his chances and hope for Lewis to commit a blunder, something Lewis hasn’t done this season.

So what hope does Massa have? If we look back in time, an year earlier, Lewis was under similar predicament. He had a seven point lead over Kimi Raikkonen when they arrived for the final race in Brazil (deja vu for Hamilton ?). But Alonso was the one challenging him then, and the top two contenders self destructed each other and allowed Kimi to claim the glory with a margin of just a single point.

Who are Massa’s allies? Well, ofcourse team mate Kimi for one. Alonso has vowed to help out Massa in his fight against the McLaren driver (few grudges last longer than expected). But not many to fill in the 5 places between Massa and Hamilton. I still maintain the best chance for Massa is to have Kimi smash into Hamilton at the start of the race (Raikkonen could argue that he just out-braked himself and couldn’t have done anything t avaoid the unfortunate disaster). Otherwise, Massa will just have to put in his best efforts and pray tothe gods to for once let Lewis’s car malfunction.

So who amongst these is the worthy candidate for the no. 1 driver in F1 position? I argue none!

Both Massa and Lewis had been awarded the best cars present on the grid. They had the best people working along to ensure that they go on and win each race possible. They had unlimited funds available to sustain the development of the 2008 car (most of the teams had switched to the next years cars long time back, while McLaren claims it has enough funds and crew members to develop both the cars – present and the future). So if these two are at top of the things, then its not only their effort, but the good fortune they have been blessed with of driving for their respective cars.

Take a look at drivers just a few places lower into the grid and you’ll find two champions. Robert Kubica and Fernando Alonso. They are the ones who have driven perfect races and extracted the most out of their cars, race after race.

Right from the beginning, Kubica maintained a good chart position performing consistently in each race. Finally, when he won the Canadian GP, he was viewed as a serious contender. But due to limited funding, BMW decided not to continue development of the present car and to actually switch to the new car. This was a big blow for Kubica who had a few words with the team principal. However, it is understood that things settled down, and Kubica continued his good run throughout the season. The BMW was not fast enough to out pace McLaren or Ferrari, yet he always mainted a gap which gave him a shot at the title.

Take a look at the double world champion and you’ll realise the stuff he’s made out of. He was shunted in McLaren for the rookie Hamilton, and decided to not continue. They parted ways and he returned to the team with which he had won the two championship titles. But this time Renault had been struggling. The freeze on engine development had hit Renault the most and it lost its footing. Infact, it was having to fight off the second tier teams. This was the team which welcomed back Alonso. And now take a look at what Alonso has achieved with the same team. No one ever predicted a podium finish for the spaniard this season, but instead he proved everyone wrong by claiming two races successively. He was amongst the points in nearly every race. Ranault now finishes the season fourth in the constructors championship – well ahead of their predicted position.

Had Kubica or Alonso driven in Ferrari or McLaren, they would have accumulated far more points than what Lewis and Massa have done. Alonso and Kubica have outclassed everybody on the grid. I would love to see them drive for Ferrari someday – they might go on to achieve (or perhaps better) what the legendary Michael Schumacher has done.

I would rate the drivers worthy of being the champions in the following order -

  1. Robert Kubica : He performed consistently with a car whose development was halted midway.
  2. Fernando Alonso : A very strong comeback in the later part of the season.
  3. Kimi Raikkonen : Worst hit by mis fortunes. He surely deserves to win, evident from the fact that he has most number of best lap times.
  4. Felipe Massa : Also hit by problems not his making. But whatever, I feel he doesn’t have the attitude to carry the championship tag. He needs to be more aggresive and think by himself instead of taking orders and doing whats safe.
  5. Lewis Hamilton : The least deserving candidate. Extremely arrogant. Known to make mistakes under pressure. Put him in a BMW and you’ll see him cry. He’s just riding on good fortunes to have actually start the career with a McLaren.

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Lewis Races From Pole To Chequered Flag

Published on October 19, 2008 in Sports. 0 Comments

Lewis Hamilton overcame the demons of his past to complete an almost perfect weekend, leading from the pole to the chequered flag. It was complete dominance on his part, and at no point of time were the Ferrari seen as competitive.

Even before the race started, the confidence level in Ferrari paddock was low. Hamilton appeared to be under no such pressure. The reason was to become clear in the next 15 laps. Massa had fueled lightest and yet failed to beat Lewis’s qualifying time ! The writing was on the wall – it would be almost impossible to beat Hamilton unless the rookie driver made a mistake.

But Hamilton drove a great race, zooming ahead from the start. He was pulling away on the harder set of tyres leaving the Ferraris of Massa and Kimi (who were both on the option set of tyres) behind by about 2 tenths a lap.

Kimi had a good, rather uneventful afternoon, in which he made no mistakes and completed the laps without ever challenging Hamilton. However, as was obviousy anticipated, he handed over the second position to Massa in the dying moments of the race to settle for a third place. He now stands fourth in the championship, trailing Kubica by 6 points.

Massa looked tired in his Ferrari. Evidently his car wasn’t handling as well as he would have liked it to. He was off the pace the whole afternoon. Aloso completed the race distance to take a complimentary fourth position. Having had back to back successes, he was content to play the safer game and settle for the fourth place. Renault now sits comfortably at the fourth position in the constructors championship.

Hekki suffered the most when his tyres deflated and later on the damage caused to the car while getting it back to the pits forced him to retire. Thus Ferrari now have a 11 point advantage over McLaren in the constructors championship.

The procession now moves to Brazil for the season finale in two weeks time. Lewis is pretty sure to be crowned champion. For Massa, there is little to fight for. All he can do is try to win, but the ultimate victory will depend on where Lewis finishes. A seven point deficit is too much to feel confident about. Unless somehow miraculously Hamilton commits a grave error and Massa finishes amongst the top two drivers, Hamilton has become the champion. Ferrari were the undoing of themselves. Questionable decisions from the pitwall, and unreliability issues plagued the chances of their drivers successes. I hope to see better performance by the prancing pony team in the next season.

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How Lewis Can Win The Title In China

Published on October 18, 2008 in Sports. 0 Comments

With just two races to go, the fight for the championship could not have been more exciting. As Alonso noted  last week both the title contenders have made errors and lost a lot of points. The leader has managed just 84 points this season, far less than what were seen in the previous seasons.

However, Hamilton can wrap it up this this in China. To do so, he must extend his current 5 point lead to more than 10 points over Massa. Mathematically even Kubica is in reckoning, but given the car and his rivals, his chances are pretty slim.

So, these are the equations for Hamilton to pip Massa – he must out score Massa by atleast 6 points and concede no more than 2 points to Kubica, which can be done in three ways -

  • Win with Massa finishing no higher than 5th.
  • Finish 2nd with Massa no higher than 7th.
  • Finish 3rd with Massa failing to score and Kubica not winning.

But once again, this is Hamilton we are talking about. Last year he held a 17 point advantage over Kimi and went on to lose the championship battle. Last race he again displayed that pressure is getting to him.

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