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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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Prelude To The 2009 F1 Season

Published on March 11, 2009 in Sports. 0 Comments
Ferrari

Ferrari

Finally, amidst all the drama we have a new season of the Formula 1 motor racing about to begin in just a few days over a fortnight. What with recession threatening to throw the future of the event into jeopardy, Honda pulling the plug on its team, ING refusing to renew their sponsorship of Renault and teams threatening to quit, its somewhat fortunate that we will get a full calendar this year.

It was already predicted that if the budget be not controlled, a few teams might consider walking away from the sport, but that the effect would actually happen this year was not expected. It came as a surprise when out of blue Honda announced its decision to dismantle the team and quit F1. Spiralling costs were seen as a major reason behind the decision, with recession not helping. A huge save-honda-campaign was launched by Bernie who took it upon himself to find a buyer to buy out the team. Apparently Michael had been approached, but he refused to get involved in the sport in that capacity. Ross Brawn was interested to buy out the team, and even Bernie was ready to provide behind-the-curtains funding. There were also occasional rumours of a third party hostile buy out, and that of Virgin Grp’s interest in the team. It all came to naught when it was finally delcared that the management team of Honda led by Brawn had bought back the team. Thus we have this year the BrawnGP challenger instead of the Honda challenger.

Just as AIG had refused to renew their contract with the soccer icons Manchester United, ING announced similar treatment to Renault. Renault though have dismissed any concerns regarding the funding and instead insist are well off. I am not sure but I also read this rumour that similar problem has been faced by Williams team. This definitely calls for some drastic implementations of budget regulations unless we are prepared to lose out a few more teams.

But the proposed budget implementations do not bode well with all the teams, and certainly not the viewers. For instance, one of the rules to be implemented in near future is that of engine standardisation, whereby all the teams shall use the same engine provided by a neutral company, just as is the case with current tyres provider Bridgestone and the standardised Electronic Control Unit manufactured and provided by Mercedes. Obviously the teams like Ferrari, Mercedes, BMW, Renault, Toyota who manufacture their own cars will not be pleased with this constraint, as using the same engine eliminates one of the main uniqueness of each formula 1 car on the grid. A lot of research goes into the design of the engine and using the same engine could kill the sport. However, it also reduces the overall money spent by the teams on the research of the engines.

In view of reducing the budget, one of the better rules to be implemented this season onwards is the prolomged usage of the same engine for 3 races as opposed to just 2 last season. This is one the most important regulations for the season to cut down the costs. Also there are restictions on the usage of wind tunnels and all, though I am not very much clear about it. Also a reduction in testing time is a welcome idea.

But what begs a question is that when everywhere the emphasis is on the reduction of the budget, why is the super license fee being increased. Infact a few of the drivers did protest, but these things never work out. Bernie has made it absolutely clear that unless the license is paid the driver will not be allowed to race.

Moving on from the much hyped and discussed topic of recession and budget control, this season the driver-team lineup has almost remained the same. Vettel is I suppose the only exception, replacing Coulthard.

I have been following the winter testing and Ferrari looks a competitive package this time. Last year they were struggling a bit during the testing season, while this time around they have been at the top setting the pace almost every time. The pace seems to be good, and Raikkonen for once looks motivated. Hamilton had put his car through the laps well, but Hekki seems to be struggling coming to terms with the new car. This does make me feel hopeful of a Kimi resurgence. I feel sad for Alonso though. Having shown sparks of brillance towards the end of the last season, I expected much more of him during the pre-season training. The results have been pretty ordinary by his standards. I would love to see him at the top chasing down the Ferraris and the McLarens. He is one man I despised during the Schumacher era, but came to appreciate his talents later on. Give him a BMW an I am sure he’ll make life a hell for Kimi, Massa and Hamilton. He’s a class apart.

Its an anxious wait, striking off the days to the Melbourne Grand Prix. May the best Ferrari win.

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