Nico Rosberg announced his retirement at the World Championship prizegiving. Not the hottest news but it does make for an interesting situation in the off season.
Niki Lauda is furious because he wasn't warned in advance but racing drivers are human. Niki is particularly annoyed to learn that Nico would have continued if he hadn't won, but of course, why would you give up the chance to achieve your life's ambition when you're in the best car and team combination?
However, having achieved it, and great wealth, and having a young family, well, other things will come to mind. And frankly Mercedes are in no trouble whatsoever, they still have Lewis, who, whatever you think of him has to be a top three talent and half the grid are chasing Nico's seat to keep Lewis honest. Nothing to worry about.
Verstappen probably has a watertight contract with Red Bull and we fans wouldn't want to see Mercedes have it all their own way, but boy what a showdown that would be!
Anyway Christmas is coming and car enthusiasts might be interested in this.
Monday, 5 December 2016
Sunday, 27 November 2016
Don't Take Anything From Nico
Congratulations Nico Rosberg you drove like a champion this year, you held your nerve when things got tricky and you achieved your dream. Well done, you are a worthy winner.
In sport you have to believe in yourself, so asking Lewis Hamilton in a Channel 4 interview if he could say that the best man won was not just mischievous, but possibly devious. That said Lewis could have been a deal more gracious than he actually was.
Last year Nico took the championship down to the last round as I recall and over the last few years I think that mechanical failures have been roughly equal. Lewis has sought to diminish Nico's achievement and that is rather sad.
I remember there was a period when David Coulthard had the ascendancy over Mika Hakinnen, but that turned around once Mika got a taste of success. I wonder if Nico can turn the tables on Lewis now that he's champion. He won a lot of races at the end of last season and the beginning of this one, maybe he'll get into a winning spree next year, maybe not, but 2016 is his year and let no one and nothing try to diminish it.
Happy Christmas car and motor sport fans.
In sport you have to believe in yourself, so asking Lewis Hamilton in a Channel 4 interview if he could say that the best man won was not just mischievous, but possibly devious. That said Lewis could have been a deal more gracious than he actually was.
Last year Nico took the championship down to the last round as I recall and over the last few years I think that mechanical failures have been roughly equal. Lewis has sought to diminish Nico's achievement and that is rather sad.
I remember there was a period when David Coulthard had the ascendancy over Mika Hakinnen, but that turned around once Mika got a taste of success. I wonder if Nico can turn the tables on Lewis now that he's champion. He won a lot of races at the end of last season and the beginning of this one, maybe he'll get into a winning spree next year, maybe not, but 2016 is his year and let no one and nothing try to diminish it.
Happy Christmas car and motor sport fans.
Monday, 24 October 2016
Ferrari Shoot Themselves In The Foot
The United States F1 Grand Prix was not a classic. Hamilton drove faultlessly to keep his championship hopes alive and to extend an amazing run in the USA actually. I think he's won five or six there now from memory.
Nico Rosberg did enough with second to maintain a healthy lead if cut a little. He left the door open to Ricciardo trying to take the fight to Lewis in the first corner and dropped to third. Ricciardo might have finished second if it weren't that Rosberg benefitted from a virtual safety car late in the race, and ironically the virtual safety car was brought about by Ricciardo's Red Bull team mate retiring, probably with transmission failure.
With one Red Bull retired Ferrari should have scored a healthy clutch of points, but shot themselves in the foot again. It wasn't so much strategy as a pitstop which went horribly wrong and actually put Raikkonen out. Sad for him and for the team as he was quicker than Vettel in qualifying and at that time had fastest lap. In the dying minutes Vettel took fastest lap with low fuel and new tyres but by then Kimi wasn't running. A reminder that pitstops can go wrong even for well drilled pros. I feel for them.
It sounds like Ferrari should have been competitive but really only Red Bull are taking the fight to Mercedes. It's good the title isn't decided, for the fans anyway, but F1 still isn't as exciting on track as it should be and we don't want more tyre degradation to make it falsely exciting, we need more mechanical grip and less dependence on aero.
Still Button from 19th to 9th was something special, lap one amazing!
Christmas gifts for car enthusiasts, well, why not?
Nico Rosberg did enough with second to maintain a healthy lead if cut a little. He left the door open to Ricciardo trying to take the fight to Lewis in the first corner and dropped to third. Ricciardo might have finished second if it weren't that Rosberg benefitted from a virtual safety car late in the race, and ironically the virtual safety car was brought about by Ricciardo's Red Bull team mate retiring, probably with transmission failure.
With one Red Bull retired Ferrari should have scored a healthy clutch of points, but shot themselves in the foot again. It wasn't so much strategy as a pitstop which went horribly wrong and actually put Raikkonen out. Sad for him and for the team as he was quicker than Vettel in qualifying and at that time had fastest lap. In the dying minutes Vettel took fastest lap with low fuel and new tyres but by then Kimi wasn't running. A reminder that pitstops can go wrong even for well drilled pros. I feel for them.
It sounds like Ferrari should have been competitive but really only Red Bull are taking the fight to Mercedes. It's good the title isn't decided, for the fans anyway, but F1 still isn't as exciting on track as it should be and we don't want more tyre degradation to make it falsely exciting, we need more mechanical grip and less dependence on aero.
Still Button from 19th to 9th was something special, lap one amazing!
Christmas gifts for car enthusiasts, well, why not?
Sunday, 9 October 2016
It Ain't Over Till It's Over
The Orient had it all this week, Formula E in Hong Kong and F1 in Japan. As interesting as Formula E is F1 is still the pinnacle. There was some good dicing in Formula E and given that Nelson Piquet led from pole with his team mate acting as rear gunner it's quite something that he finished out of the points. Reigning Champ Buemi came through to win but Di Grassi was quite amazing coming back to finish second after pitting with a broken wing.
Formula E is interesting and healthy but all the talk this weekend will be about Nico Rosberg's faultless performance in Suzuka. We think of Hamilton as being blisteringly quick in qualifying but Rosberg snatched pole position by the slimmest of margins at the last moment and its not his first pole position at Suzuka either. It was his first win there however, one of several circuits he's won at this year for the first time. He really is driving like a champion.
Rosberg and Hamilton have been rivals right from their youth, right through the climb to F1. Hamilton now has three world championships, Rosberg none. Psychologically next year will be interesting. If Rosberg wins will he soar, much like Hakkinen did, after for a while at least, being apparently under Coulthard's heel? If Hamilton pulls it back at the last will Rosberg be crushed?
It's my opinion that Rosberg has been driving like a champion this year, if he wins it will be on merit, despite Hamilton's engine failures. For one of the most privileged men on the planet Hamilton can be more than a little petulant, with the media and sometimes with his team too.
Nico is now 33 points ahead in the championship and second in the last four races would see him crowned, a strong position, but racing is unpredictable. A non points finish for Nico and a win for Lewis would open it right up again. Given technical failures do happen, tyres do puncture, accidents do happen and drivers can be caught up in someone else's calamity nothing is certain till the mathematics say so.
What the mathematics do confirm is that Mercedes are again constructors champions and that only a Mercedes driver can win the championship, Ricciardo can no longer overtake Rosberg, only Hamilton could do that, so for Mercedes both championships are effectively won. Many congratulations.
If you missed the race Hamilton started on the damp side, spun the wheels and dropped to eighth position. His fight back took him to third, not second as young gun Verstappen hung on dramatically in the closing laps. He defended hard and Hamilton had to take to the escape road at his last overtaking opportunity. Hamilton complained Verstappen had moved under braking, ie too late a move to be legal, but the stewards took no action.
As someone who likes to see racing and NOT courtroom dramas I kind of approve, but if there are rules they have to be applied equally all the time. My own view is there are too many rules, but that's another matter.
Both Ferrari drivers drove great races, but Vettel lost track position due to Ferrari strategists getting it wrong yet again, a previous post refers to that weakness. Vettel made a couple of nice overtakes on Ricciardo and Perez and Raikkonen on Hulkenberg lap 6 I think, but expecting Vettel to overtake Hamilton just because he had softs at the end was asking too much. The Mercedes is a superior car and the Ferrari just couldn't do it in the dirty air.
Vettel may not have got a podium anyway, although he always has at Suzuka. Ferrari need to work harder on strategy, they have such a great team in so many other ways. Honda really disappointed at their own track and Williams appeared to be out of the hunt too, slipping further behind force India in the constructors championship and ultimately if they don't pull it back in financial terms.
Interestingly there were no safety cars, no virtual safety cars and all twenty two cars finished. There may be big performance gaps between teams and it would be nice to see things get closer, but the professionalism displayed was top notch from almost everyone.
Car nut?
Formula E is interesting and healthy but all the talk this weekend will be about Nico Rosberg's faultless performance in Suzuka. We think of Hamilton as being blisteringly quick in qualifying but Rosberg snatched pole position by the slimmest of margins at the last moment and its not his first pole position at Suzuka either. It was his first win there however, one of several circuits he's won at this year for the first time. He really is driving like a champion.
Rosberg and Hamilton have been rivals right from their youth, right through the climb to F1. Hamilton now has three world championships, Rosberg none. Psychologically next year will be interesting. If Rosberg wins will he soar, much like Hakkinen did, after for a while at least, being apparently under Coulthard's heel? If Hamilton pulls it back at the last will Rosberg be crushed?
It's my opinion that Rosberg has been driving like a champion this year, if he wins it will be on merit, despite Hamilton's engine failures. For one of the most privileged men on the planet Hamilton can be more than a little petulant, with the media and sometimes with his team too.
Nico is now 33 points ahead in the championship and second in the last four races would see him crowned, a strong position, but racing is unpredictable. A non points finish for Nico and a win for Lewis would open it right up again. Given technical failures do happen, tyres do puncture, accidents do happen and drivers can be caught up in someone else's calamity nothing is certain till the mathematics say so.
What the mathematics do confirm is that Mercedes are again constructors champions and that only a Mercedes driver can win the championship, Ricciardo can no longer overtake Rosberg, only Hamilton could do that, so for Mercedes both championships are effectively won. Many congratulations.
If you missed the race Hamilton started on the damp side, spun the wheels and dropped to eighth position. His fight back took him to third, not second as young gun Verstappen hung on dramatically in the closing laps. He defended hard and Hamilton had to take to the escape road at his last overtaking opportunity. Hamilton complained Verstappen had moved under braking, ie too late a move to be legal, but the stewards took no action.
As someone who likes to see racing and NOT courtroom dramas I kind of approve, but if there are rules they have to be applied equally all the time. My own view is there are too many rules, but that's another matter.
Both Ferrari drivers drove great races, but Vettel lost track position due to Ferrari strategists getting it wrong yet again, a previous post refers to that weakness. Vettel made a couple of nice overtakes on Ricciardo and Perez and Raikkonen on Hulkenberg lap 6 I think, but expecting Vettel to overtake Hamilton just because he had softs at the end was asking too much. The Mercedes is a superior car and the Ferrari just couldn't do it in the dirty air.
Vettel may not have got a podium anyway, although he always has at Suzuka. Ferrari need to work harder on strategy, they have such a great team in so many other ways. Honda really disappointed at their own track and Williams appeared to be out of the hunt too, slipping further behind force India in the constructors championship and ultimately if they don't pull it back in financial terms.
Interestingly there were no safety cars, no virtual safety cars and all twenty two cars finished. There may be big performance gaps between teams and it would be nice to see things get closer, but the professionalism displayed was top notch from almost everyone.
Car nut?
Tuesday, 4 October 2016
Cut It Out Lewis
A little behind with my blogging due to other commitments, but last weekend saw the Malaysian Grand Prix. Congratulations to Jolyon Palmer on scoring his first world championship point for Renault. Lets hope Renault keep him and raise their game, the Renault engine in the Red Bull shows there must be plenty more to come from Renault, as indeed does their past history.
Of course Renault wouldn't have scored that point if Vettel had lasted and Hamilton come to that. No one likes to see a world championship contender taken out by someone who isn't a contender this year. Vettel seems to be making rookie mistakes, naturally the start is a place where you can make up places, but a little circumspection is required, you can't win the race at the first corner but you sure can lose it, as my own performance at Daytona Bike week years ago taught me - the hard way.
Interesting that Kvyat was demoted from Red Bull after Vettel threw a wobbly about a relative rookie making a rookie mistake, that was unfair and Vettel, no rookie, has no excuse.
Rosberg's drive back through the field, thank goodness he survived to do so, shows that he's driving like a champion this season. I was sorry, as a big Raikkonen fan, to see the collision with Kimi but any suggestion that Nico isn't a racer can be categorically laid to rest now, it was actually an inspired and unexpected move from a man who could have stayed behind Kimi, wrecked his tyres and his race for a second time.
The penalty given to Nico by the stewards was a big mistake I believe. Derek Warwick who I was also a fan of once was the driver's steward, I wonder what his view was, but I don't think it's a one man decision. Be that as it may F1 has been too predictable a high speed procession for too long and that decision was anti racing. It says wait until you can use DRS and no dicing. It's a nonsense.
Without that ten seconds, although unlikely, it's possible Nico could have taken the race to the Red Bulls, after that decision, no point trying. Bureaucrats eh!
It's true that Hamilton has had virtually all the engine problems Mercedes have experienced this season, but until now, not in races and his questioning of Mercedes smacks of a spoiled silly schoolboy. He should be careful. Lightening fast he undoubtedly is but character is important too and understanding. It's in the nature of random events to NOT be spread around evenly, accusing, even hinting at malpractice in his team is not going to endear him. Either to team, or to genuine fans.
I paid to go racing, cars and motorcycles, but by the time I'd made enough money it was too late really, there have been world champions crowned around the age I started. Millions of people would love just to drive an F1 car once, or even a Formula 3 car come to that. Not everyone has parents who will pay for karting and get you on the way at an early age.
Birth is a lottery I thank my lucky stars I wasn't born in Kosovo or Aleppo or a hundred other war torn places. Hamilton has led a charmed life by any measure, private jet, glamour, wealth, cars, you name it. He hasn't even driven an uncompetitive F1 car yet, ever. Any whingeing from any F1 driver is a bloody disgrace actually, cut the crap Lewis. And if Nico wins don't sulk.
Gifts for car and race enthusiasts
Of course Renault wouldn't have scored that point if Vettel had lasted and Hamilton come to that. No one likes to see a world championship contender taken out by someone who isn't a contender this year. Vettel seems to be making rookie mistakes, naturally the start is a place where you can make up places, but a little circumspection is required, you can't win the race at the first corner but you sure can lose it, as my own performance at Daytona Bike week years ago taught me - the hard way.
Interesting that Kvyat was demoted from Red Bull after Vettel threw a wobbly about a relative rookie making a rookie mistake, that was unfair and Vettel, no rookie, has no excuse.
Rosberg's drive back through the field, thank goodness he survived to do so, shows that he's driving like a champion this season. I was sorry, as a big Raikkonen fan, to see the collision with Kimi but any suggestion that Nico isn't a racer can be categorically laid to rest now, it was actually an inspired and unexpected move from a man who could have stayed behind Kimi, wrecked his tyres and his race for a second time.
The penalty given to Nico by the stewards was a big mistake I believe. Derek Warwick who I was also a fan of once was the driver's steward, I wonder what his view was, but I don't think it's a one man decision. Be that as it may F1 has been too predictable a high speed procession for too long and that decision was anti racing. It says wait until you can use DRS and no dicing. It's a nonsense.
Without that ten seconds, although unlikely, it's possible Nico could have taken the race to the Red Bulls, after that decision, no point trying. Bureaucrats eh!
It's true that Hamilton has had virtually all the engine problems Mercedes have experienced this season, but until now, not in races and his questioning of Mercedes smacks of a spoiled silly schoolboy. He should be careful. Lightening fast he undoubtedly is but character is important too and understanding. It's in the nature of random events to NOT be spread around evenly, accusing, even hinting at malpractice in his team is not going to endear him. Either to team, or to genuine fans.
I paid to go racing, cars and motorcycles, but by the time I'd made enough money it was too late really, there have been world champions crowned around the age I started. Millions of people would love just to drive an F1 car once, or even a Formula 3 car come to that. Not everyone has parents who will pay for karting and get you on the way at an early age.
Birth is a lottery I thank my lucky stars I wasn't born in Kosovo or Aleppo or a hundred other war torn places. Hamilton has led a charmed life by any measure, private jet, glamour, wealth, cars, you name it. He hasn't even driven an uncompetitive F1 car yet, ever. Any whingeing from any F1 driver is a bloody disgrace actually, cut the crap Lewis. And if Nico wins don't sulk.
Gifts for car and race enthusiasts
Wednesday, 21 September 2016
Car, Bike, Bike, Car, Or How About Both!
Anyone remember Carl Fogarty, Britain's World Superbike hero and national icon? Well there are three Brits in the top three places of the World Superbike Championship right now and I wonder how many people who aren't dyed in the wool bike racing fans can name them.
They are Jonathon Rea, the reigning champion, and currently leading the championship in his title defence, multiple race winner Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies, the champion in 2011, currently lying third. You can and should watch highlights on ITV, or better get along to a race. Magny Cours is next and it's just over the channel in France.
World Superbikes are supported by Supersport races and Superstock races, of course they are race tuned, but they're really pretty close to the bikes you can buy, especially the latter class. You can't buy an F1 car so easily and the racing's not so close these days in F1 either. Don't give up on the cars, but if you haven't watched bike racing, then perhaps you should.
Malcolm Snook former racer of cars and bikes.
They are Jonathon Rea, the reigning champion, and currently leading the championship in his title defence, multiple race winner Tom Sykes and Chaz Davies, the champion in 2011, currently lying third. You can and should watch highlights on ITV, or better get along to a race. Magny Cours is next and it's just over the channel in France.
World Superbikes are supported by Supersport races and Superstock races, of course they are race tuned, but they're really pretty close to the bikes you can buy, especially the latter class. You can't buy an F1 car so easily and the racing's not so close these days in F1 either. Don't give up on the cars, but if you haven't watched bike racing, then perhaps you should.
Malcolm Snook former racer of cars and bikes.
Monday, 19 September 2016
Don't Panic Get A Strategy
I watched British Superbike Racing from Oulton Park recently and the F1 from Singapore. Thrills and spills in Superbikes resulting from close racing and dicing. Most of the excitement in F1, (single seater racing cars were my first love by the way) comes these days from whether the gap is getting bigger or smaller.
Rosberg was peerless, winning the two hundredth Grand Prix he has taken part in. It seems he must be the winningist driver not to have won the championship, but he is looking like a champion right now. He's won three races on the trot since the summer break, all, and I think this is significant, at places where he has never won before.
Being British I should support Lewis, but I have to say I like Nico's personality and if he wins it on merit then I wish him the very best.
I've long been a Kimi fan and when he was in front of Lewis on yellow sidewall tyres I expected him to go to the end. Ferrari knew they'd made a mistake when they radioed him in the pits exit telling him he could do it, hoping he would cover for their error. The ultrasofts just weren't that much of an advantage, certainly not against a Mercedes. Kimi had been on red hot form all weekend and a podium was thrown away.
The pieces fell into place for Vettel, last to fifth and doubtless Ferrari managers will point to that to hide their embarrassment, but they need a strategist of the calibre of Ross Brawn and they need him soon. I'd like to offer my services but......
Motor Racing Gifts
Rosberg was peerless, winning the two hundredth Grand Prix he has taken part in. It seems he must be the winningist driver not to have won the championship, but he is looking like a champion right now. He's won three races on the trot since the summer break, all, and I think this is significant, at places where he has never won before.
Being British I should support Lewis, but I have to say I like Nico's personality and if he wins it on merit then I wish him the very best.
I've long been a Kimi fan and when he was in front of Lewis on yellow sidewall tyres I expected him to go to the end. Ferrari knew they'd made a mistake when they radioed him in the pits exit telling him he could do it, hoping he would cover for their error. The ultrasofts just weren't that much of an advantage, certainly not against a Mercedes. Kimi had been on red hot form all weekend and a podium was thrown away.
The pieces fell into place for Vettel, last to fifth and doubtless Ferrari managers will point to that to hide their embarrassment, but they need a strategist of the calibre of Ross Brawn and they need him soon. I'd like to offer my services but......
Motor Racing Gifts
Wednesday, 14 September 2016
Boys On Bikes Or Boys In Cars?
Moto GP is in rude good health. I worked for Yamaha in the Rainey, Schwantz, Doohan era, which was also a golden age with Rainey on a Yamaha, Schwantz on a Suzuki and Doohan on a Honda all very closely matched and the advantage varying circuit to circuit, race to race.
In recent years Ducati have blown hot and cold and Suzuki were almost reduced to also rans, but no more, with eight winners from eight races and four manufacturers at the cutting edge, Moto GP is providing far better racing than F1 and a one hundred thousand strong crowd at Misano were not disappointed. Moto GP2 and 3 were great races too.
Compare Formula One's one team monopoly with eight winners from eight races, four manufacturers and no artificial overtaking aids. Real racing, fast, brave and thrilling. Cars were my first love but......
Congratulations to Dani Pedrosa on a stunning race, along with thousands of Italians I was hoping to see Rossi win, I'd love him to take one more championship, but Dani was amazing, I believe he's won one race at least every season he's been in the senior category and this weekend ended his longest drought of podium finishes. Brilliant.
I wonder if the new owners of F1 can bring back mechanical grip, close racing and a fairer share of the money, which just might make it a sport again.
Gifts for Bikers
In recent years Ducati have blown hot and cold and Suzuki were almost reduced to also rans, but no more, with eight winners from eight races and four manufacturers at the cutting edge, Moto GP is providing far better racing than F1 and a one hundred thousand strong crowd at Misano were not disappointed. Moto GP2 and 3 were great races too.
Compare Formula One's one team monopoly with eight winners from eight races, four manufacturers and no artificial overtaking aids. Real racing, fast, brave and thrilling. Cars were my first love but......
Congratulations to Dani Pedrosa on a stunning race, along with thousands of Italians I was hoping to see Rossi win, I'd love him to take one more championship, but Dani was amazing, I believe he's won one race at least every season he's been in the senior category and this weekend ended his longest drought of podium finishes. Brilliant.
I wonder if the new owners of F1 can bring back mechanical grip, close racing and a fairer share of the money, which just might make it a sport again.
Gifts for Bikers
Tuesday, 6 September 2016
BORING – NOT MY BLOG – THE RACE
In 1971 Peter Gethin won by a nose over the line, from the great Ronnie Peterson but there were effectively five cars in the group he led over the finish. There were four different marques in the top five and five in the top six! We've seen nothing quite like it since and we never will again if things stay as they are.
Eddie Jordan's pre-race
revelation that F1 is about to change hands was the most exciting
thing that happened all weekend, but what will actually transpire
remains to be seen. Then we had the news that McLaren are to dispense
with the services of Jenson Button, for next year, but keep him on as
reserve driver with an option for 2018.
It may be, as the ever
diplomatic Button says, that he will relish the break and that he
wants to do other things. However, he has previously said that F1 is
his life. I used to race Formula Fords and I can remember thinking
once, on a long straight on the Brands GP circuit, 'relish this now
because you won't always be able to do it'. When it became
financially impossible to carry on racing it hurt me deeply. I fear
that we've seen the last of Jenson and that he may come to regret
what he's agreed to.
The people at McLaren
may want to secure Stoffel Vandoorne, but they don't want a driver of
Jenson's calibre going to another top team, because he's the complete
article right now. Alonso, who many F1 watchers still consider the
best driver in F1 has described Jenson as the most complete team mate
he's ever raced with.
Other F1 watchers rave
about Lewis Hamilton, but when Lewis and Jenson were team mates
Jenson scored more points, if Nico could say that he'd be the world
champion. I'd have liked to see Jenson go to Williams and Claire
Williams says she'd have loved to sign him. He has to be in a top car
though, well, Renault is a works team with a stellar history, they're
in some difficulty right now, but we hear all the effort is going
into next years car built to the new rules. Those situations often
turn things around. Wouldn't do Renault sales in the UK any harm to
have two British drivers.
Ron Dennis claims that
with Honda, McLaren will once again dominate, but it's hard to see on
current form. We've seen that Jenson can be ruthless on track and
peerless in the wet, that he understands tyres and set up and race
strategy, possibly better than anyone else, but no one is perfect.
Jenson is possibly too much of a gentleman off the track, but that is
a reason why sponsors adore him and that's yet another reason for Ron
to keep him dangling. Sad and probably cynical.
Once Lewis fluffed the
start a Rosberg win was simply down to reliability and keeping out of
trouble and Rosberg is nothing if not competent. That Lewis would get
past the Ferraris was predictable on relative performance, the only
real question was whether Ricciardo would pass Bottas given the
Williams straight line speed. I thought he would, Red Bull got the
tyre strategy dead right, Ricciardo released his electrical energy at
just the right moment and didn't hesitate and so he did. He came from
too far back some would say, but no lock up, superb control and he
got the result he might not have got had he been patient.
There was some racing
down the order, Jenson was pushed out more or less at the start by a
Sauber and came from last to twelfth in a car which is improved but
is still far from truly competitive, if that doesn't underline his
on-track calibre I don't know what does. Come backs, even if they
happen, often end in tears, Jenson should have stayed by hook or by
crook.
The British Motorcycle
Grand Prix was far from boring. Congratulations to Maverick Vinales
on his first win and to British hero Cal Crutchlow who finished
second, just 0.583secs ahead of Italy's Valentino Rossi, the
seven-time champion and 2015 Silverstone victor. Crutchlow won his
first Moto GP recently in the Czech Republic. Moto GP is a lot
healthier than F1!
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Monday, 29 August 2016
A Messy Return
The summer break is over and F1 got down to business again. maybe some of the drivers had forgotten a few things whilst on holiday as we saw some real rookie mistakes and remember by the time you get to F1 you are not a rookie racer.
Alonso made a comment about the unpredictability of penalties, I think he's right and I think it spoils the racing although Hamilton seems to have played his get out of jail free card and his season is right back on track despite a fifty five place grid penalty in a twenty two car race. You have to wonder at the brains behind the sport!
I thought Ferrari had made a mistake putting Raikkonen back out a lap down, I'd have been tempted to save engine and gearbox given the penalties on offer for technical failures or shunts but safety cars and the red flag brought both Ferraris strongly back into play and a damage limiting double points finish, even if it wasn't worthy of their qualifying pace.
The mistakes began at the first corner, a place where you cannot win the race but you can sure as hell lose it as both Ferraris and one Red Bull were reminded. The only one blameless was Raikkonen. Its hard to feel sorry for a millionaire Ferrari driver, but, having out qualified Vettel he was in the best position he's been for a while and he goes well at Spa.
Its true that Max was not sliding, but he was up on the kerbs in a panic (my opinion) to make up for his tardy take off in front of a huge number of his fans. Vettel was more at fault BUT Max put himself in harms way. Vettel could not have known he was there, BUT he too should know better than to squeeze his own teammate, especially at such an early stage with little to gain and much to lose. The innocent paid the price as well as the guilty.
I'm a fan of Wehrlein and the heroic efforts of Manor, but I'm also a big fan of Button. Alonso admitted Button's the most complete team mate he's ever had and yet one always suspects that teams don't recognise his value fully. In a post accident interview Wehrlein talked about his 'bad luck'. Sorry mate, that wasn't luck, when you're behind people dicing anything can happen, you rear end the guy in front then you're not being sufficiently circumspect.
I imagine a gearbox failure is a gearbox failure even if someone has rear ended you, so I hope the damage to the McLaren is light and doesn't lead to a gearbox change, that would be injustice heaped on injustice.
One cannot comment on Spa without mention of the Magnussen crash. The car seemed to go light at the crest, well, that's physics, but why it was more twitchy on that particular lap is unclear. One has to suspect too much driver input, Raikkonen ran wide there but kept it pointing the right way. If it was driver error, as i suspect, luckily Magnussen will learn from it. In the 1970s he would not have had the opportunity to benefit.
If it was a car problem it will probably be discovered and corrected, at least the car protected him superbly despite the head restraint flying off in the huge impact. After that there was the safety car and then the red flag, by which time Raikkonen had unlapped himself, which led to a modest recompense come the end of the day.
That Mercedes still enjoy a huge advantage was underlined by Hamilton making it to the podium. Red Bull's Ricciardo did a great job and they look closer, but not enough to keep Mercedes honest, let alone race them. Ferrari may have closed the gap to Red Bull given Kimi's qualifying performance. I hope so and wish the prancing horse well next week in Monza. Maybe all the drivers will have their race heads back on by then! Messy and a predictable winner.
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Alonso made a comment about the unpredictability of penalties, I think he's right and I think it spoils the racing although Hamilton seems to have played his get out of jail free card and his season is right back on track despite a fifty five place grid penalty in a twenty two car race. You have to wonder at the brains behind the sport!
I thought Ferrari had made a mistake putting Raikkonen back out a lap down, I'd have been tempted to save engine and gearbox given the penalties on offer for technical failures or shunts but safety cars and the red flag brought both Ferraris strongly back into play and a damage limiting double points finish, even if it wasn't worthy of their qualifying pace.
The mistakes began at the first corner, a place where you cannot win the race but you can sure as hell lose it as both Ferraris and one Red Bull were reminded. The only one blameless was Raikkonen. Its hard to feel sorry for a millionaire Ferrari driver, but, having out qualified Vettel he was in the best position he's been for a while and he goes well at Spa.
Its true that Max was not sliding, but he was up on the kerbs in a panic (my opinion) to make up for his tardy take off in front of a huge number of his fans. Vettel was more at fault BUT Max put himself in harms way. Vettel could not have known he was there, BUT he too should know better than to squeeze his own teammate, especially at such an early stage with little to gain and much to lose. The innocent paid the price as well as the guilty.
I'm a fan of Wehrlein and the heroic efforts of Manor, but I'm also a big fan of Button. Alonso admitted Button's the most complete team mate he's ever had and yet one always suspects that teams don't recognise his value fully. In a post accident interview Wehrlein talked about his 'bad luck'. Sorry mate, that wasn't luck, when you're behind people dicing anything can happen, you rear end the guy in front then you're not being sufficiently circumspect.
I imagine a gearbox failure is a gearbox failure even if someone has rear ended you, so I hope the damage to the McLaren is light and doesn't lead to a gearbox change, that would be injustice heaped on injustice.
One cannot comment on Spa without mention of the Magnussen crash. The car seemed to go light at the crest, well, that's physics, but why it was more twitchy on that particular lap is unclear. One has to suspect too much driver input, Raikkonen ran wide there but kept it pointing the right way. If it was driver error, as i suspect, luckily Magnussen will learn from it. In the 1970s he would not have had the opportunity to benefit.
If it was a car problem it will probably be discovered and corrected, at least the car protected him superbly despite the head restraint flying off in the huge impact. After that there was the safety car and then the red flag, by which time Raikkonen had unlapped himself, which led to a modest recompense come the end of the day.
That Mercedes still enjoy a huge advantage was underlined by Hamilton making it to the podium. Red Bull's Ricciardo did a great job and they look closer, but not enough to keep Mercedes honest, let alone race them. Ferrari may have closed the gap to Red Bull given Kimi's qualifying performance. I hope so and wish the prancing horse well next week in Monza. Maybe all the drivers will have their race heads back on by then! Messy and a predictable winner.
Find out more about the author here.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
Hungaroring
The F1 GP from Hungary was not a classic. Qualifying was made more interesting than the race thanks to the weather, but even drivers like Nasr, who drove brilliantly, lost out solely due to timing. That Mercedes continue to dominate as they do is not good for the sport, but that is their job. Rule changes are mooted just as Red Bull start to catch Mercedes up and big money teams like Mercedes are likely to cope better with changes than smaller teams.
That said, IF they could increase mechanical grip and decrease dependence on aerodynamic grip, or down force, so that we could see cars slip streaming and not wrecking their tyres then for me that would be an improvement. I also understand that Pirelli were briefed to produce tyres that wouldn't last too long in order to mix things up a bit, but wouldn't it be nice to see drivers wring the car's neck without having to worry so much about destroying tyres?
Just the thoughts of a fan.
Malcolm Snook is published on Nook , Kobo and Amazon
That said, IF they could increase mechanical grip and decrease dependence on aerodynamic grip, or down force, so that we could see cars slip streaming and not wrecking their tyres then for me that would be an improvement. I also understand that Pirelli were briefed to produce tyres that wouldn't last too long in order to mix things up a bit, but wouldn't it be nice to see drivers wring the car's neck without having to worry so much about destroying tyres?
Just the thoughts of a fan.
Malcolm Snook is published on Nook , Kobo and Amazon
Monday, 4 July 2016
Sportsmanship Anyone?
There's been a lot of motorsport on the TV lately, Goodwood Festival of Speed was joyous and varied as always. ITV's coverage of Formula E was repetitive, amateurish and pretty poor all round really. Channel 4 are doing a relatively good job with Formula 1 at least even if their presenter doesn't really do it for me. Coulthard and Chandhok are good value at any rate.
So what of the racing? Goodwood was good natured which is more than you can say about Mercedes in F1, Niko had the inside line but he didn't lock up or make any attempt to take the apex, he was simply trying to run Lewis off the track, as has been done to him before it has to be said. Unsporting and it cost him dear, but it was nothing compared with the disgraceful behaviour in Formula E.
I had wanted Lucas Di Grassi to clinch the championship because I felt Buemi had the better car and therefore an advantage. Had I thought about it more I might have wanted Buemi because what happened to him and to Toyota at Le Mans was so incredibly hard.
Anyhow Buemi took pole for the last race and looked set fair until Di Grassi took him out at the first corner. Di Grassi says Buemi braked early, maybe he did, maybe he didn't but Di Grassi sure didn't lock up! Had Buemi been unable to make it back to the pits and use his second car to set fastest lap then Di Grassi would have been champion on count back, second and third place finishes. Even when Buemi went out to try and get the two points for fastest lap Di Grassi tried to block him. Blatant cheating.
In the end the right man won and the only loser was sportsmanship.
Malcolm Snook is published on Nook, Kobo and Amazon
So what of the racing? Goodwood was good natured which is more than you can say about Mercedes in F1, Niko had the inside line but he didn't lock up or make any attempt to take the apex, he was simply trying to run Lewis off the track, as has been done to him before it has to be said. Unsporting and it cost him dear, but it was nothing compared with the disgraceful behaviour in Formula E.
I had wanted Lucas Di Grassi to clinch the championship because I felt Buemi had the better car and therefore an advantage. Had I thought about it more I might have wanted Buemi because what happened to him and to Toyota at Le Mans was so incredibly hard.
Anyhow Buemi took pole for the last race and looked set fair until Di Grassi took him out at the first corner. Di Grassi says Buemi braked early, maybe he did, maybe he didn't but Di Grassi sure didn't lock up! Had Buemi been unable to make it back to the pits and use his second car to set fastest lap then Di Grassi would have been champion on count back, second and third place finishes. Even when Buemi went out to try and get the two points for fastest lap Di Grassi tried to block him. Blatant cheating.
In the end the right man won and the only loser was sportsmanship.
Malcolm Snook is published on Nook, Kobo and Amazon
Monday, 20 June 2016
Toyota Heartbreak, Mercedes, Porsche and Ford Joy
Phew, what a weekend of motorsport. Mercedes continued their domination of F1 at the new street circuit in Baku, Azerbaijan with Nico Rosberg's clean sweep of pole position, fastest lap and a start to finish leading position, ably controlling every lap.
Eddie Jordan criticised Sergio Perez for throwing away a podium by hitting a barrier in practice. I hope he's eaten humble pie. As we know from the so called 'wall of champions' hitting a barrier can have minimal or devastating consequences and Baku was nearly all barriers close to the corners. The margin between hero and zero is narrow indeed. Sergio seems to have something of Mansell about him, slow to learn his craft in F1, but very, very good indeed now he's a few seasons in.
The main event for me this weekend was Le Mans, for so many reasons. When people are racing in an event I've dreamed of competing in for years, it's hard to feel sorry for anyone, but Toyota's heartbreak was palpable. I even felt a bit sorry for Inés Taittinger crashing her LMP2 Pegasus with an hour and a half to go, despite all the opportunities which come your way as a twenty six year old scion of the Taittinger Champagne dynasty.
However, about Toyota, what can be said? As a former employee of a Toyota advertising agency I was willing them home. Toyota debuted at Le Mans in 1985 and this was their eighteenth attempt to win it. They have had five second places and been on the podium six times. In 1994, with one and a half hours remaining they lost an almost certain win to a simple broken gear linkage, in 1999 they had the fastest car by some margin, but both suffered catastrophic high speed punctures.
Last year Toyota were outclassed, but they went away, designed a new car and came back. I was mentally preparing a blog about persistence paying off when, after twenty three hours and fifty something minutes, I heard that terrible radio transmission and watched the leader slow then stop.Although the car was restarted to crawl round at the end it wasn't even classified as a finisher so that the Toyota in third was elevated to second, Porsche claimed their eighteenth win with terrible symmetry and Audi after a poor showing by their standards found themselves on the podium.
One might think that the old adage about second place being first loser shouldn't apply at Le Mans, so great is the challenge, so gruelling the race, but in the world of huge corporations, huge budgets and commercial competition, that's just what it does mean. Not that I wouldn't buy Toyota's excellent and fun GT86 because of it.
In LMP2 the Alpine Nissan took the win, I'm surprised by the name as it always reminds me of the iconic Renault and I can't quite put it together with Nissan, anyhow that leads us on to the GTE class, divided into professional and amateur and based on road legal cars as Le Mans used to be before about 1970. Ford set out to win the Pro class and GTE generally to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their outright win in 1966, the first of four, for the fabulous Lola inspired GT40. So determined were Ford that they weren't above a little sandbagging in the earlier races and test days - allegedly and not by me!
Very happy to see Sebastien Bourdais in the class winning car. I felt he was bumped unfairly by Red Bull in F1, a tradition they're keeping up with their recent action in demoting Daniil Kvyat. A ruthless and political organisation, looking in from the outside at least. Bourdais is a multiple champion in Champ Car, the American Indy Car series. It would be nice to see him in a competitive LMP1 sometime.
The good news is that Toyota have promised to be back at Le Mans again next year, good luck guys, if anyone deserves it you do.
Malcolm Snook is published at Nook, Kobo and Amazon
Eddie Jordan criticised Sergio Perez for throwing away a podium by hitting a barrier in practice. I hope he's eaten humble pie. As we know from the so called 'wall of champions' hitting a barrier can have minimal or devastating consequences and Baku was nearly all barriers close to the corners. The margin between hero and zero is narrow indeed. Sergio seems to have something of Mansell about him, slow to learn his craft in F1, but very, very good indeed now he's a few seasons in.
The main event for me this weekend was Le Mans, for so many reasons. When people are racing in an event I've dreamed of competing in for years, it's hard to feel sorry for anyone, but Toyota's heartbreak was palpable. I even felt a bit sorry for Inés Taittinger crashing her LMP2 Pegasus with an hour and a half to go, despite all the opportunities which come your way as a twenty six year old scion of the Taittinger Champagne dynasty.
However, about Toyota, what can be said? As a former employee of a Toyota advertising agency I was willing them home. Toyota debuted at Le Mans in 1985 and this was their eighteenth attempt to win it. They have had five second places and been on the podium six times. In 1994, with one and a half hours remaining they lost an almost certain win to a simple broken gear linkage, in 1999 they had the fastest car by some margin, but both suffered catastrophic high speed punctures.
Last year Toyota were outclassed, but they went away, designed a new car and came back. I was mentally preparing a blog about persistence paying off when, after twenty three hours and fifty something minutes, I heard that terrible radio transmission and watched the leader slow then stop.Although the car was restarted to crawl round at the end it wasn't even classified as a finisher so that the Toyota in third was elevated to second, Porsche claimed their eighteenth win with terrible symmetry and Audi after a poor showing by their standards found themselves on the podium.
One might think that the old adage about second place being first loser shouldn't apply at Le Mans, so great is the challenge, so gruelling the race, but in the world of huge corporations, huge budgets and commercial competition, that's just what it does mean. Not that I wouldn't buy Toyota's excellent and fun GT86 because of it.
In LMP2 the Alpine Nissan took the win, I'm surprised by the name as it always reminds me of the iconic Renault and I can't quite put it together with Nissan, anyhow that leads us on to the GTE class, divided into professional and amateur and based on road legal cars as Le Mans used to be before about 1970. Ford set out to win the Pro class and GTE generally to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their outright win in 1966, the first of four, for the fabulous Lola inspired GT40. So determined were Ford that they weren't above a little sandbagging in the earlier races and test days - allegedly and not by me!
Very happy to see Sebastien Bourdais in the class winning car. I felt he was bumped unfairly by Red Bull in F1, a tradition they're keeping up with their recent action in demoting Daniil Kvyat. A ruthless and political organisation, looking in from the outside at least. Bourdais is a multiple champion in Champ Car, the American Indy Car series. It would be nice to see him in a competitive LMP1 sometime.
The good news is that Toyota have promised to be back at Le Mans again next year, good luck guys, if anyone deserves it you do.
Malcolm Snook is published at Nook, Kobo and Amazon
Saturday, 18 June 2016
So Much Going On!
I love all forms of motorsport but rallying isn't top of my pops. The main reason is the against the clock element rather than pure racing, the same goes for hill climbs, nonetheless it's still exciting and there's some great machinery involved. Not only that, but this year's Rally of Sardinia saw the fifth winner from five events. Contrast that with Mercedes dominance in F1 and it starts to look a little more interesting.
This weekend though sees both the European Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24 Hours. Give me Le Mans every time, the greatest challenge in motorsport, sixty odd cars, major manufacturers, different classes, night racing, day racing, a week of partying and processions and build up, funfairs and croque monsieur to oysters and champagne.
It's part of a world championship too BUT if Porsche and Toyota in particular have reliability problems in a six hour race at Silverstone what chance twenty four hours at Le Mans? Qualifying for Le Mans is done with, Porsche locking out the front row, Toyota the second and Audi the third. A front row start is good for TV coverage but it doesn't mean much more with 3.1 seconds covering all six hybrids on what is by today's standards a long lap.
Audi lost the first race on a very minor technical infringement due to wear on a skid plate underneath, they won't make that mistake again and they won at Silverstone, they have an enviable recent record at Le Mans too (now in its 93rd year!). Whilst Audi's cars would seem to be favourites I'd like to see Toyota pull it off, I used to work for one of their advertising agencies and they have made a lot of unsuccessful attempts, it would be a great achievement. Although I believe they invest less financially than Audi.
Not that I'd be sad to see Porsche do it again; the 917 from the seventies is arguably the most beautiful and iconic Sports Prototype of all time.Whether that's due more to Siffert, Redman and Rodriguez or to Steve McQueen I'm not sure, but I personally fell in love with it as a youth at the BOAC 1000 at Brands Hatch.
I've been to Le Mans several times, including a couple of trips in a Ford GT40 replica and one on a Laverda Jota. The GT40 and the Ferrari 512M are two more of my all time favourite Le Mans cars and the Ford GT is back in a new guise with four of the top five GT qualifying places taken by the Ford car. However, the organisers like a level playing field and have since limited Ford's boost and added ballast so the Ferraris, Corvettes, et al aren't out of the picture.
Qualifying for the Grand Prix of Europe is next up, lets hope Ferrari and Red Bull have closed the gap to Mercedes!
Malcolm Snook
This weekend though sees both the European Grand Prix and the Le Mans 24 Hours. Give me Le Mans every time, the greatest challenge in motorsport, sixty odd cars, major manufacturers, different classes, night racing, day racing, a week of partying and processions and build up, funfairs and croque monsieur to oysters and champagne.
It's part of a world championship too BUT if Porsche and Toyota in particular have reliability problems in a six hour race at Silverstone what chance twenty four hours at Le Mans? Qualifying for Le Mans is done with, Porsche locking out the front row, Toyota the second and Audi the third. A front row start is good for TV coverage but it doesn't mean much more with 3.1 seconds covering all six hybrids on what is by today's standards a long lap.
Audi lost the first race on a very minor technical infringement due to wear on a skid plate underneath, they won't make that mistake again and they won at Silverstone, they have an enviable recent record at Le Mans too (now in its 93rd year!). Whilst Audi's cars would seem to be favourites I'd like to see Toyota pull it off, I used to work for one of their advertising agencies and they have made a lot of unsuccessful attempts, it would be a great achievement. Although I believe they invest less financially than Audi.
Not that I'd be sad to see Porsche do it again; the 917 from the seventies is arguably the most beautiful and iconic Sports Prototype of all time.Whether that's due more to Siffert, Redman and Rodriguez or to Steve McQueen I'm not sure, but I personally fell in love with it as a youth at the BOAC 1000 at Brands Hatch.
I've been to Le Mans several times, including a couple of trips in a Ford GT40 replica and one on a Laverda Jota. The GT40 and the Ferrari 512M are two more of my all time favourite Le Mans cars and the Ford GT is back in a new guise with four of the top five GT qualifying places taken by the Ford car. However, the organisers like a level playing field and have since limited Ford's boost and added ballast so the Ferraris, Corvettes, et al aren't out of the picture.
Qualifying for the Grand Prix of Europe is next up, lets hope Ferrari and Red Bull have closed the gap to Mercedes!
Malcolm Snook
Monday, 13 June 2016
From Canada to The Isle Of Man
Most motorsport enthusiasts are probably contemplating the return to form of Lewis Hamilton and whether Ferrari goofed in putting their boys on 'Supersoft' rather than the yellow walled 'Soft' tyres in the middle stint in Montreal. It was great to see three marques on the podium and Ferrari are truly back in the hunt thank goodness.
However I'd like to say a word about the Isle Of Man motorcycle TT races. Tragically this year we saw five fatalities, a terrible price and my heart goes out to the families of those we lost. For me it brings back memories from years back.
I got involved in motorcycle racing after racing single seater cars for several years as a result of a good friend of mine by the name of Colin Gable. I met him when I sold a car to his father and I went to Colin's first race at Castle Combe. In those days Colin owned a Kawasaki GPz900 for use on the road; he'd bought it on finance and I imagine racing it was against the terms and conditions, but would have been a huge risk anyway given he was a hard working lad in debt, not landed gentry.
Colin bought an old, secondhand Yamaha LC to go racing but unfortunately despite a couple of engine rebuilds it blew a ring on one side each time he tested it. The problem was correctly diagnosed and sorted but when he entered his first race meeting he wasn't confident the bike would last the day. So it was that he entered the Kawasaki in a couple of races for larger capacity bikes, competing in four races that day, two on the Yam and two on the Kwaka.
As luck would have it his first ever race was on his pride and joy GPz of which he owned just a part in reality. Most of us would be a bit circumspect under those circumstances but Colin finished in second place, beaten only by an out and out race prepped Superbike.
He went on to be best newcomer at the Isle of Man and one year I went to watch him at the TT. That year he broke down on the mountain. A year or two later he was killed at the island.
After this year's tragedy calls will be renewed to end the event. I doubt the government on the island will allow the loss of revenue, but I'd rather consider the moral issue. Agostini was right, I think, to campaign for the TT to be removed from the World Championship. Racing is primarily about skill and neither riders nor drivers should be pressurised to compete in the most dangerous events.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, we no longer have the Mille Miglia or The Targa Florio, nor do we have a Grand Prix on the old Nurburgring. I think we're poorer for the loss, but I don't think people should be entering events which are particulalry dangerous because to miss them would compromise an entire season or championship.
It seems to me that those who race at the Isle of Man choose to do so. People have always challenged themselves and I think it's an important part of what makes us human. We may challenge ourselves to a greater or lesser extent. There may be debate about whether climbers and hill walkers and long distance sailors and rowers should be rescued by others who have to put themselves at risk, but lets not stop challenging ourselves. And frankly if climbers and seafarers are ready to rescue their fellows then I think that's also a part of being human.
So where does that leave the TT? So long as there are riders who want to enter the races I believe it should continue and that it's morally correct to continue it. I don't believe in the nanny state and I do believe in both personal freedom and personal responsibility. This year's accidents represent an almost unbearable loss for the friends and family of those killed and those who compete should weigh in their minds the possible effects on their loved ones, but at the end of the day, if the entry lists are full, I for one salute those with the courage and determination to face any of the world's great challenges and the TT is the toughest challenge left in motorsport.
Malcolm Snook
However I'd like to say a word about the Isle Of Man motorcycle TT races. Tragically this year we saw five fatalities, a terrible price and my heart goes out to the families of those we lost. For me it brings back memories from years back.
I got involved in motorcycle racing after racing single seater cars for several years as a result of a good friend of mine by the name of Colin Gable. I met him when I sold a car to his father and I went to Colin's first race at Castle Combe. In those days Colin owned a Kawasaki GPz900 for use on the road; he'd bought it on finance and I imagine racing it was against the terms and conditions, but would have been a huge risk anyway given he was a hard working lad in debt, not landed gentry.
Colin bought an old, secondhand Yamaha LC to go racing but unfortunately despite a couple of engine rebuilds it blew a ring on one side each time he tested it. The problem was correctly diagnosed and sorted but when he entered his first race meeting he wasn't confident the bike would last the day. So it was that he entered the Kawasaki in a couple of races for larger capacity bikes, competing in four races that day, two on the Yam and two on the Kwaka.
As luck would have it his first ever race was on his pride and joy GPz of which he owned just a part in reality. Most of us would be a bit circumspect under those circumstances but Colin finished in second place, beaten only by an out and out race prepped Superbike.
He went on to be best newcomer at the Isle of Man and one year I went to watch him at the TT. That year he broke down on the mountain. A year or two later he was killed at the island.
After this year's tragedy calls will be renewed to end the event. I doubt the government on the island will allow the loss of revenue, but I'd rather consider the moral issue. Agostini was right, I think, to campaign for the TT to be removed from the World Championship. Racing is primarily about skill and neither riders nor drivers should be pressurised to compete in the most dangerous events.
As I've mentioned in previous posts, we no longer have the Mille Miglia or The Targa Florio, nor do we have a Grand Prix on the old Nurburgring. I think we're poorer for the loss, but I don't think people should be entering events which are particulalry dangerous because to miss them would compromise an entire season or championship.
It seems to me that those who race at the Isle of Man choose to do so. People have always challenged themselves and I think it's an important part of what makes us human. We may challenge ourselves to a greater or lesser extent. There may be debate about whether climbers and hill walkers and long distance sailors and rowers should be rescued by others who have to put themselves at risk, but lets not stop challenging ourselves. And frankly if climbers and seafarers are ready to rescue their fellows then I think that's also a part of being human.
So where does that leave the TT? So long as there are riders who want to enter the races I believe it should continue and that it's morally correct to continue it. I don't believe in the nanny state and I do believe in both personal freedom and personal responsibility. This year's accidents represent an almost unbearable loss for the friends and family of those killed and those who compete should weigh in their minds the possible effects on their loved ones, but at the end of the day, if the entry lists are full, I for one salute those with the courage and determination to face any of the world's great challenges and the TT is the toughest challenge left in motorsport.
Malcolm Snook
Wednesday, 8 June 2016
Viva Valentino
Moto GP from Barcelona was a thriller, especially if like me you're a Valentino Rossi fan and want to see him gain that tenth world championship. Of course all motorsport can be incredibly hard and my heart goes out to the family of Luis Salom the Moto GP 2 rider tragically killed in practice.
I had thought that Barcelona could see Valentino take the fight to the Spanish riders and on Sunday he did just that, somehow Valentino seems to find that bit extra on a Sunday, even if qualifying doesn't go so well. After his engine blow up Valentino really needed maximum points; that team mate Jorge Lorenzo was taken out by a wild Ducati levelled things further although who would bet against Marquez or Honda?
Lorenzo is not happy that Iannone isn't being punished with a ban it seems.
Dani Pedrosa on the second works Honda completed the podium. It was nice to see a Suzuki putting in good consistent fast laps too and it'll be good for all of us if more manufacturers are in with a shout. Suzuki have a large test programme planned I believe and Cal Crutchlow apparently had a good post race test as well. Game on.
Malcolm Snook
I had thought that Barcelona could see Valentino take the fight to the Spanish riders and on Sunday he did just that, somehow Valentino seems to find that bit extra on a Sunday, even if qualifying doesn't go so well. After his engine blow up Valentino really needed maximum points; that team mate Jorge Lorenzo was taken out by a wild Ducati levelled things further although who would bet against Marquez or Honda?
Lorenzo is not happy that Iannone isn't being punished with a ban it seems.
Dani Pedrosa on the second works Honda completed the podium. It was nice to see a Suzuki putting in good consistent fast laps too and it'll be good for all of us if more manufacturers are in with a shout. Suzuki have a large test programme planned I believe and Cal Crutchlow apparently had a good post race test as well. Game on.
Malcolm Snook
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Been A Bit Quiet from Me But.....
I've been away travelling and not blogging, but a lot has been going on at Barcelona, Mugello, Monaco and Indy. All old news now of course but I was sorry to find out that Valentino Rossi had an engine blow up while challenging for the lead, I'd love to see him get that tenth world championship and Yamaha engines have been so very reliable.
Monaco might just see a turn around for Lewis Hamilton who's been having the season from hell, although he's still burdened by warnings which could lead to penalties and a shortage of engines left in a long season. What went wrong for Nico Rosberg still seems to be a mystery and after being taken out by Lewis in the previous race his sportsmanship seemed to not be in question in Monaco, some may think it new found, but I think he's one of the good guys myself.
A lot of carnage and penalties at Monaco, although the decision not to penalise Kimi Raikkonen was clearly correct given the radio communication evidence. Most of the other penalties were probably correct, but whilst we don't want to see stupid attempts to overtake we do want to see drivers fighting for places. In the world at large we've become very litigious and someone has to be blamed for every disaster, its as if the word 'accident' is now redundant. The 'racing accident' looks to be the next casualty.
The really good news was a surprise win for the other Rossi, Alexander Rossi, F1 test driver for Manor and sometime F1 racer. In a race where fuel economy was crucial he managed his race with fine judgement, running out victor and running out of fuel on the slowing down lap. 350,000 race fans watched the event at the Raceway. When I was racing my sponsorship presentation pointed out that the world's largest one day sporting event is a motor race, to emphasise to potential sponsors the interest there is in motorsport. I'm guessing the Indy 500 still is the world's number 1 one day sporting event.
As much as I love Formula 1, the Indy 500 and Le Mans are very special events, the more so considering we've lost the Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia.This year was the 100th running of the Indy 500, a true landmark and Alexander Rossi has put his name into motor racing folklore forever, many congratulations and here's hoping he gets a competitive F1 drive.
Going back to F1 I suppose it's only right to congratulate Joss Verstappen on his maiden F1 win and a new youngest winner record. I cannot imagine how Daniil Kvyat feels though. Verstappen is an incredible talent, but we've also seen Daniil on the podium, I think what Red Bull did to him is pretty reprehensible, I have to hope it comes back to bite them. Although, feeling sorry for anyone earning so much money and playing with one of the most expensive and extreme toys in the world is a bit weird really. Goodness knows I would have like to have carried on racing!
Malcolm Snook
Monaco might just see a turn around for Lewis Hamilton who's been having the season from hell, although he's still burdened by warnings which could lead to penalties and a shortage of engines left in a long season. What went wrong for Nico Rosberg still seems to be a mystery and after being taken out by Lewis in the previous race his sportsmanship seemed to not be in question in Monaco, some may think it new found, but I think he's one of the good guys myself.
A lot of carnage and penalties at Monaco, although the decision not to penalise Kimi Raikkonen was clearly correct given the radio communication evidence. Most of the other penalties were probably correct, but whilst we don't want to see stupid attempts to overtake we do want to see drivers fighting for places. In the world at large we've become very litigious and someone has to be blamed for every disaster, its as if the word 'accident' is now redundant. The 'racing accident' looks to be the next casualty.
The really good news was a surprise win for the other Rossi, Alexander Rossi, F1 test driver for Manor and sometime F1 racer. In a race where fuel economy was crucial he managed his race with fine judgement, running out victor and running out of fuel on the slowing down lap. 350,000 race fans watched the event at the Raceway. When I was racing my sponsorship presentation pointed out that the world's largest one day sporting event is a motor race, to emphasise to potential sponsors the interest there is in motorsport. I'm guessing the Indy 500 still is the world's number 1 one day sporting event.
As much as I love Formula 1, the Indy 500 and Le Mans are very special events, the more so considering we've lost the Targa Florio and the Mille Miglia.This year was the 100th running of the Indy 500, a true landmark and Alexander Rossi has put his name into motor racing folklore forever, many congratulations and here's hoping he gets a competitive F1 drive.
Going back to F1 I suppose it's only right to congratulate Joss Verstappen on his maiden F1 win and a new youngest winner record. I cannot imagine how Daniil Kvyat feels though. Verstappen is an incredible talent, but we've also seen Daniil on the podium, I think what Red Bull did to him is pretty reprehensible, I have to hope it comes back to bite them. Although, feeling sorry for anyone earning so much money and playing with one of the most expensive and extreme toys in the world is a bit weird really. Goodness knows I would have like to have carried on racing!
Malcolm Snook
Tuesday, 3 May 2016
A Walk In Olympic Park
All too easy for Rosberg again in Russia. Hamilton's luck certainly seems to have deserted him and I've already suggested it's looking like Rosberg's year. Nonetheless it is hugely early in a very long season. Two non finishes by Rosberg and two wins by Hamilton and the latter would be leading the championship by seven points, so Hamilton is doing a great job of damage limitation.
Hamilton's bigger problems are two reprimands and his engine failures. Three reprimands means a ten place grid penalty and the two he has are pretty petty. Reversing a few feet in the pitlane, but NOT backwards up the pitlane and AFTER a race, I mean come on, where's the common sense? Then there's running off the circuit at speed and failing to go around an artificial polystyrene marker. Had he jinked left at that point and at that speed and killed himself maybe the idiots who run sport would have been happy.
Engines really are down to bad luck, everyone is limited on the number of engines they can run in a year and Mercedes are not accustomed to failures. The failures seem to be affecting Hamilton only at this point, not Rosberg and not customers. A conspiracy theorist might make something of that, but I'm certain Mercedes want one two finishes not failures, so I'd dismiss the idea of hanky panky. Later in the year however this could seriously handicap Hamilton's chances of defending the championship. And, just maybe, Mercedes would prefer to see Rosberg crowned this time.
How nice it would be to see Ferrari, McLaren and Williams being really competitive again. Raikkonen didn't look too happy on the podium, some would say he never does, but I think he was a bit unhappy. Vettel is winning the qualifying battle although just one mistake probably put paid to a really good lap for Kimi. Maybe Bottas getting the jump after the safety car affected him. I'm a big fan of Raikkonen, but the future's not looking so very good if things don't pick up for him this year.
You could argue that third was the best that could be expected for Ferrari, but with Hamilton starting in tenth and having more technical issues, just maybe Ferrari could have hoped for second. Button out-qualified Alonso but lost out in the race, largely due to luck in the first lap melee when one went one way and one the other. I think those two are very closely matched and arguably the strongest driver pairing on the grid. McLaren Honda have made improvements, I only hope they can keep the pace of development up and challenge for the front row and soon. Not holding high hopes as I've seen it written that fuel saving cost Mclaren some fifty seconds, and that despite a safety car, so Honda have some serious ground to make up.
Some good racing down the field; Manor must be working hard with big limitations on budget and Haas maybe seemed to be slightly off the boil, although Grosjean was very impressive in eighth, his team mate nowhere, still, more points, first season, its still hugely well done. Renault's Jolyon Palmer struggled, but his team mate was seventh, in the lower orders there is much more uncertainty as to which drivers and which cars will shine at the various types of circuit and all but two teams now have points which is healthy indeed. Lets just hope things concertina at the front too, otherwise it'll be over before its really got going.
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Hamilton's bigger problems are two reprimands and his engine failures. Three reprimands means a ten place grid penalty and the two he has are pretty petty. Reversing a few feet in the pitlane, but NOT backwards up the pitlane and AFTER a race, I mean come on, where's the common sense? Then there's running off the circuit at speed and failing to go around an artificial polystyrene marker. Had he jinked left at that point and at that speed and killed himself maybe the idiots who run sport would have been happy.
Engines really are down to bad luck, everyone is limited on the number of engines they can run in a year and Mercedes are not accustomed to failures. The failures seem to be affecting Hamilton only at this point, not Rosberg and not customers. A conspiracy theorist might make something of that, but I'm certain Mercedes want one two finishes not failures, so I'd dismiss the idea of hanky panky. Later in the year however this could seriously handicap Hamilton's chances of defending the championship. And, just maybe, Mercedes would prefer to see Rosberg crowned this time.
How nice it would be to see Ferrari, McLaren and Williams being really competitive again. Raikkonen didn't look too happy on the podium, some would say he never does, but I think he was a bit unhappy. Vettel is winning the qualifying battle although just one mistake probably put paid to a really good lap for Kimi. Maybe Bottas getting the jump after the safety car affected him. I'm a big fan of Raikkonen, but the future's not looking so very good if things don't pick up for him this year.
You could argue that third was the best that could be expected for Ferrari, but with Hamilton starting in tenth and having more technical issues, just maybe Ferrari could have hoped for second. Button out-qualified Alonso but lost out in the race, largely due to luck in the first lap melee when one went one way and one the other. I think those two are very closely matched and arguably the strongest driver pairing on the grid. McLaren Honda have made improvements, I only hope they can keep the pace of development up and challenge for the front row and soon. Not holding high hopes as I've seen it written that fuel saving cost Mclaren some fifty seconds, and that despite a safety car, so Honda have some serious ground to make up.
Some good racing down the field; Manor must be working hard with big limitations on budget and Haas maybe seemed to be slightly off the boil, although Grosjean was very impressive in eighth, his team mate nowhere, still, more points, first season, its still hugely well done. Renault's Jolyon Palmer struggled, but his team mate was seventh, in the lower orders there is much more uncertainty as to which drivers and which cars will shine at the various types of circuit and all but two teams now have points which is healthy indeed. Lets just hope things concertina at the front too, otherwise it'll be over before its really got going.
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Wednesday, 27 April 2016
Rossi's Back
Il Dottore is back with a vengeance. Funny how some tyres suit some riders, but the Spanish Moto GP was a masterclass with Rossi on superb form and a gaggle of Spanish riders unable to take their home race. I have some sympathy for them actually but Colin Edwards apparently calls Rossi 'The Goat', that's the Greatest Of All Time. I tend to agree although Agostini for one has more titles and Surtees did it on two wheels and four. However you look at it though Rossi is amazing and still delivering at 37. I really hope he gets his tenth title, I just feel it would be fitting.
Malcolm Snook
Malcolm Snook
Monday, 18 April 2016
All Too Easy But Good Behind
The biggest talking point of the Chinese Grand Prix was probably the clash between Ferrari team mates right at the start. However Rosberg's sixth victory on the trot counting the last three of last season can't go unremarked on. Qualifying reverted to its old self, but that didn't help Hamilton with a grid penalty for a gearbox change followed by an engine failure in Q1, a back row start and then damage in the start meleé chain reaction.
Red Bull were hugely impressive, just three or four kilometres and hour slower than Mercedes in a straight line, indicating that Renault really have their act, if not completely together, certainly coming together. Renault have a long and proud history in F1 as both an engine supplier and as a marque in their own right. Renault were true pioneers in the turbo era and once had a hugely successful partnership with Williams too.
If Renault put their heart and soul into it I reckon they can match the might of Mercedes and Red Bull have a recent history of producing a fine chassis. The current Red Bull being especially impressive in the slower corners, the result, hugely unexpected was that Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified both Ferraris in dry conditions. Bodes well because Mercedes have made the drivers championship into a two horse race in the last couple of seasons.
Ricciardo made the best start and was robbed of the lead by a puncture, debris on the track probably, well, it's not meant to be easy but sometimes it can be cruel. Ricciardo and Hamilton must have cursed lady luck, but lets face it Raikkonen was also robbed, the McLaren boys and Massa were robbed of quick laps in qualifying by Hulkenberg's wheel coming off and so it goes on.
Unless you're Rosberg who cruised to his sixth win in a row counting last year. He said afterwards that he kept focussed by pushing and that he could do anything he wanted with his car on any of the tyres. Quite a tribute to the handling and balance of the Mercedes. Unless a front wing has passed underneath and damaged the underside as happened to Hamilton.
In China the number six signifies an easy ride and so it was for Rosberg. Historically drivers who've won so many races back to back have gone on to be champion. However, seasons were shorter, races were fewer, Rosberg's streak is over two seasons, there's a long way to go and his teammate is a three times world champion so place your bets now at your own peril.
I think it's Rosberg's to lose already in fact but a couple of non finishes and things would look very different. I really hope Ferrari and Red Bull continue to improve for the sake of the sport. Haas seemed to drop the ball this weekend but their debut has been impressive and they know the game, don't underestimate American racing or racers.
Button's long stint on the same tyres, second half, didn't pay off and thirteenth suggests McLaren weren't so far out of place after qualifying after all, despite the Hulkenberg problem. For all that they've had moments when they've seemed quite quick of late and it's a hugely successful and experienced team, I can't help feeling Honda are letting them down, but, they, like Renault probably have the ability if they have the will. And given the fact that so many hybrids are making it onto the road car market, the crucible of F1 is well worth embracing fully.
I've nailed my colours to the mast before as a Raikonnen and Ferrari fan, so I was upset that Raikkonen suffered so badly at the start, especially after outqualifying Vettel. Vettel was very vocal in blaming Kyvat, both on the radio and prior to going on the podium. Personally I know how quickly things can happen at the start of a Formula Ford race, let alone in F1. I think Kyvat saw an opportunity and took it, can't really fault him for that, nor is it easy to know how much he saw of Kimi's lock up behind Rosberg or Vettel's problems.
I think, sadly that the mistakes were made by both Ferrari drivers, Kimi almost rammed Rosberg and got out of it , leaving Vettel with a moment of indecision I suspect, Vettel then left the door open for Kyvat and then took off his recovering team mate in an instinctive reaction when Kyvat suddenly appeared alongside. In the old days we'd call that a racing incident.
Aside from Rosberg having the best car, getting gifted the lead and smiling all the way to the flag, it was an interesting race behind. There were mighty overtakes from Hamilton, even in a wounded car, from Vettel and Ricciardo also. That Vettel took second was mighty impressive, he got serviced first after the accident, so I was glad to see Raikkonen recover to fifth. Williams seem weaker than last year, I wonder if Bottas is so accommodating to Hamilton because Mercedes supply his engines, or whether the Williams just doesn't have it right now.
Again it wasn't a classic, but it was worth watching and again it was a Grand Prix which promised more for the future, which is good given there are so many races. So, Russia next; Rosberg will be on a high but he won't underestimate Hamilton who will have something to prove. Ricciardo and Kyvat will be greatly encouraged and Ferrari will be fired up to do better. A six horse race? We can hope.
Malcolm Snook - Adventurer and Entrepreneur.
Red Bull were hugely impressive, just three or four kilometres and hour slower than Mercedes in a straight line, indicating that Renault really have their act, if not completely together, certainly coming together. Renault have a long and proud history in F1 as both an engine supplier and as a marque in their own right. Renault were true pioneers in the turbo era and once had a hugely successful partnership with Williams too.
If Renault put their heart and soul into it I reckon they can match the might of Mercedes and Red Bull have a recent history of producing a fine chassis. The current Red Bull being especially impressive in the slower corners, the result, hugely unexpected was that Daniel Ricciardo out-qualified both Ferraris in dry conditions. Bodes well because Mercedes have made the drivers championship into a two horse race in the last couple of seasons.
Ricciardo made the best start and was robbed of the lead by a puncture, debris on the track probably, well, it's not meant to be easy but sometimes it can be cruel. Ricciardo and Hamilton must have cursed lady luck, but lets face it Raikkonen was also robbed, the McLaren boys and Massa were robbed of quick laps in qualifying by Hulkenberg's wheel coming off and so it goes on.
Unless you're Rosberg who cruised to his sixth win in a row counting last year. He said afterwards that he kept focussed by pushing and that he could do anything he wanted with his car on any of the tyres. Quite a tribute to the handling and balance of the Mercedes. Unless a front wing has passed underneath and damaged the underside as happened to Hamilton.
In China the number six signifies an easy ride and so it was for Rosberg. Historically drivers who've won so many races back to back have gone on to be champion. However, seasons were shorter, races were fewer, Rosberg's streak is over two seasons, there's a long way to go and his teammate is a three times world champion so place your bets now at your own peril.
I think it's Rosberg's to lose already in fact but a couple of non finishes and things would look very different. I really hope Ferrari and Red Bull continue to improve for the sake of the sport. Haas seemed to drop the ball this weekend but their debut has been impressive and they know the game, don't underestimate American racing or racers.
Button's long stint on the same tyres, second half, didn't pay off and thirteenth suggests McLaren weren't so far out of place after qualifying after all, despite the Hulkenberg problem. For all that they've had moments when they've seemed quite quick of late and it's a hugely successful and experienced team, I can't help feeling Honda are letting them down, but, they, like Renault probably have the ability if they have the will. And given the fact that so many hybrids are making it onto the road car market, the crucible of F1 is well worth embracing fully.
I've nailed my colours to the mast before as a Raikonnen and Ferrari fan, so I was upset that Raikkonen suffered so badly at the start, especially after outqualifying Vettel. Vettel was very vocal in blaming Kyvat, both on the radio and prior to going on the podium. Personally I know how quickly things can happen at the start of a Formula Ford race, let alone in F1. I think Kyvat saw an opportunity and took it, can't really fault him for that, nor is it easy to know how much he saw of Kimi's lock up behind Rosberg or Vettel's problems.
I think, sadly that the mistakes were made by both Ferrari drivers, Kimi almost rammed Rosberg and got out of it , leaving Vettel with a moment of indecision I suspect, Vettel then left the door open for Kyvat and then took off his recovering team mate in an instinctive reaction when Kyvat suddenly appeared alongside. In the old days we'd call that a racing incident.
Aside from Rosberg having the best car, getting gifted the lead and smiling all the way to the flag, it was an interesting race behind. There were mighty overtakes from Hamilton, even in a wounded car, from Vettel and Ricciardo also. That Vettel took second was mighty impressive, he got serviced first after the accident, so I was glad to see Raikkonen recover to fifth. Williams seem weaker than last year, I wonder if Bottas is so accommodating to Hamilton because Mercedes supply his engines, or whether the Williams just doesn't have it right now.
Again it wasn't a classic, but it was worth watching and again it was a Grand Prix which promised more for the future, which is good given there are so many races. So, Russia next; Rosberg will be on a high but he won't underestimate Hamilton who will have something to prove. Ricciardo and Kyvat will be greatly encouraged and Ferrari will be fired up to do better. A six horse race? We can hope.
Malcolm Snook - Adventurer and Entrepreneur.
Wednesday, 13 April 2016
British Touring Cars
The touring car action was great. Even though I've always loved single seaters and prototype sportscars best there's no denying that the cut and thrust of today's hatchbacks adds paint swapping and other dramas that only tin tops provide. I will always remember people like Gerry Marshal with his Firenza and battles between such diverse cars as Camaros, Mk1 Escorts and Minis, which at Crystal Palace in particular were incredible.
BUT there is a problem with British Touring Cars as it is, and it's that great British tradition of meddling! Reverse grids and ballast do make things exciting to a point, but many of us want to see the best car and driver combination win and when the ballast is so extreme that it leads to punctures and non finishes its gone just that bit too far.
A racer's story
Tuesday, 5 April 2016
It's Hotting Up
Australian Grand Prix good, Bahrain Grand Prix better. OK after the first corner the winner wasn't in much doubt but quali was better and there was a lot more interest down the field. So, the teams may have been unanimous about a return to old style qualification but someone wasn't, maybe they read my blog!
The UK media stuck rigidly to their knee jerk reaction from Australia, but qualification was exciting almost from start to finish. Vandoorne, standing in for Alonso at McLaren, and Wehrlein in the low downforce, underfunded Manor were outstanding.
Even in the last part of qualifying we saw changes, which may not have taken place in the last two minutes, but they did take place on what everyone knew was the last chance due to tyres, it wouldn't have been more exciting three minutes later it would just have been three minutes later. What made qualifying watchable was great performances, suspense and the fact that Ferrari upped their game. When there are more teams that are close to Mercedes then there will be more excitement.
On that subject, customer engines tend to be last year's spec, by supplying them manufacturers keep the grid full at the same time as giving themselves an advantage, it's commerce not sport really, we all know it and it is what it is, but it's a shame. As spectators we want to see closer racing, major manufacturers simply want to win, seeing the sport die won't help them but occaisonally getting beaten by their customers, that doesn't sit well. I think they're wrong actually but they want the others to make up the places and that's all there is to it.
By taking Lewis out at the first corner Bottas did his engine supplier no favours at all, but Lewis harvested enough points to keep the championship close and it was good to see Raikkonen do well, I've long been a fan. Sad not to see two Ferraris taking the fight to Mercedes but I have great faith in the manager Maurizio Arrivabene and believe he's passionate about his job, his team and his people. it bodes well.
Sad to see Jenson go out early through no fault of his. I believe he would have beaten Vandoorne, but I also think Vandoorne has a bright future. Jenson ran superbly in free practice and his experience is of great value in a team that's playing catchup, just be a shame if he's booted out later.
What a revelation Haas are! Channel four made a big thing about them going one better, which is a bit debatable since the Ferrari engine failure for Vettel is the only difference. Nonetheless, a hugely impressive start for Griosjean and the team. A team with some very experienced, knowledgeable and perhaps most importantly sensible savvy people in it.
All bodes well, but you wouldn't bet against Mercedes running away with it. Personally I'm clinging to hope for Ferrari and Arrivabene, and expecting some great close racing behind the top four. I'd like to point out that most champions were in the best car in their year, but Button and Massa, for example, did not enjoy the kind of advantage Rosberg and Hamilton have now and the same applies going way back in F1 history. Times have changed and not all for the better, but it's still looking like a good show this year.
Meet the author.
The UK media stuck rigidly to their knee jerk reaction from Australia, but qualification was exciting almost from start to finish. Vandoorne, standing in for Alonso at McLaren, and Wehrlein in the low downforce, underfunded Manor were outstanding.
Even in the last part of qualifying we saw changes, which may not have taken place in the last two minutes, but they did take place on what everyone knew was the last chance due to tyres, it wouldn't have been more exciting three minutes later it would just have been three minutes later. What made qualifying watchable was great performances, suspense and the fact that Ferrari upped their game. When there are more teams that are close to Mercedes then there will be more excitement.
On that subject, customer engines tend to be last year's spec, by supplying them manufacturers keep the grid full at the same time as giving themselves an advantage, it's commerce not sport really, we all know it and it is what it is, but it's a shame. As spectators we want to see closer racing, major manufacturers simply want to win, seeing the sport die won't help them but occaisonally getting beaten by their customers, that doesn't sit well. I think they're wrong actually but they want the others to make up the places and that's all there is to it.
By taking Lewis out at the first corner Bottas did his engine supplier no favours at all, but Lewis harvested enough points to keep the championship close and it was good to see Raikkonen do well, I've long been a fan. Sad not to see two Ferraris taking the fight to Mercedes but I have great faith in the manager Maurizio Arrivabene and believe he's passionate about his job, his team and his people. it bodes well.
Sad to see Jenson go out early through no fault of his. I believe he would have beaten Vandoorne, but I also think Vandoorne has a bright future. Jenson ran superbly in free practice and his experience is of great value in a team that's playing catchup, just be a shame if he's booted out later.
What a revelation Haas are! Channel four made a big thing about them going one better, which is a bit debatable since the Ferrari engine failure for Vettel is the only difference. Nonetheless, a hugely impressive start for Griosjean and the team. A team with some very experienced, knowledgeable and perhaps most importantly sensible savvy people in it.
All bodes well, but you wouldn't bet against Mercedes running away with it. Personally I'm clinging to hope for Ferrari and Arrivabene, and expecting some great close racing behind the top four. I'd like to point out that most champions were in the best car in their year, but Button and Massa, for example, did not enjoy the kind of advantage Rosberg and Hamilton have now and the same applies going way back in F1 history. Times have changed and not all for the better, but it's still looking like a good show this year.
Meet the author.
Wednesday, 30 March 2016
It's Nearly Upon Us
The first Formula One Grand Prix of the year from Melbourne was not a classic, but I still quite enjoyed it. Thank goodness Fernando Alonso walked away from his massive crash. Of course the safety car changed the shape of the race somewhat, but that happens and sometimes it makes it more exciting, sometimes it brings about tactical mistakes and even injustices, but it is part of the tapestry. I think the best team and driver combination usually wins out over the course of the season.
Of course for most people the big talking point was the new system for qualifying which met with almost universal approbation and promptly got abandoned, with F1 teams and officials bleating about learning and flexibility. Actually I quite enjoyed that bit too. OK there was no last minute shoot-out but the race to stay in the game throughout was quite watchable and a couple of minutes inactivity at the end isn't so much worse than five minutes inactivity at the start.
The thing is that teams will always do whatever they think gives them the best chance of winning on Sunday and quite right too. If every team wasn't looking for every scrap of advantage the whole point of the pinnacle of motorsport would be lost. In many ways that is what makes it exciting. It isn't really a driver's championship anymore, the days of a Jim Clark falling to the back with a puncture and then battling from last to first are gone. Alonso and Button are hugely talented world champions, but they cannot make up the kind of deficit their equipment currently offers.
It's a shame that only one team is really in the hunt again, so far, but Fiat group has huge resources, determination and ability. When Ferrari are closer to Mercedes in qualifying you will see a great shoot-out, old formula qualifying, or actually any formula qualifying. The Ferrari decision in Australia was appropriate, to give them the best chance in the race. If you want to see a real driver's championship then you have to look to other formulae with greater parity of equipment, one of the junior formulas, Formula E or touring cars maybe but the manufacturer battles in F1 offer another kind of fascination and changing the rules to try and increase entertainment value can be counterproductive.
The status quo, any status quo, allows teams to get to grips with a set of rules, challenges and problems, those with fewer resources may take longer. Had Ferrari or Mercedes made a huge mistake in qualifying at Melbourne we could have seen an upset and that could have had a knock on effect in the race, but really what we need is for Honda, Renault and Fiat to take the fight to Mercedes and I hope they will.
Greater tyre choice is a good thing I feel. I went to my first motor race at Crystal Palace in 1969 aged thirteen, so I've seen some changes, as well as racing myself. In terms of entertainment the biggest change was when they sacrificed mechanical grip in favour of aerodynamic grip so that cars could no longer slipstream closely without sliding and wearing their tyres. If they could do more about that, then the spectacle would be enhanced. Look at some old clips from Monza!
About the author.
Of course for most people the big talking point was the new system for qualifying which met with almost universal approbation and promptly got abandoned, with F1 teams and officials bleating about learning and flexibility. Actually I quite enjoyed that bit too. OK there was no last minute shoot-out but the race to stay in the game throughout was quite watchable and a couple of minutes inactivity at the end isn't so much worse than five minutes inactivity at the start.
The thing is that teams will always do whatever they think gives them the best chance of winning on Sunday and quite right too. If every team wasn't looking for every scrap of advantage the whole point of the pinnacle of motorsport would be lost. In many ways that is what makes it exciting. It isn't really a driver's championship anymore, the days of a Jim Clark falling to the back with a puncture and then battling from last to first are gone. Alonso and Button are hugely talented world champions, but they cannot make up the kind of deficit their equipment currently offers.
It's a shame that only one team is really in the hunt again, so far, but Fiat group has huge resources, determination and ability. When Ferrari are closer to Mercedes in qualifying you will see a great shoot-out, old formula qualifying, or actually any formula qualifying. The Ferrari decision in Australia was appropriate, to give them the best chance in the race. If you want to see a real driver's championship then you have to look to other formulae with greater parity of equipment, one of the junior formulas, Formula E or touring cars maybe but the manufacturer battles in F1 offer another kind of fascination and changing the rules to try and increase entertainment value can be counterproductive.
The status quo, any status quo, allows teams to get to grips with a set of rules, challenges and problems, those with fewer resources may take longer. Had Ferrari or Mercedes made a huge mistake in qualifying at Melbourne we could have seen an upset and that could have had a knock on effect in the race, but really what we need is for Honda, Renault and Fiat to take the fight to Mercedes and I hope they will.
Greater tyre choice is a good thing I feel. I went to my first motor race at Crystal Palace in 1969 aged thirteen, so I've seen some changes, as well as racing myself. In terms of entertainment the biggest change was when they sacrificed mechanical grip in favour of aerodynamic grip so that cars could no longer slipstream closely without sliding and wearing their tyres. If they could do more about that, then the spectacle would be enhanced. Look at some old clips from Monza!
About the author.
Sunday, 27 March 2016
Qatar Moto Gp
Intriguing night Grand Prix from Qatar. not the greatest number of passes, but three manufacturers on the podium and so much riding talent in the field. Great to see Ducati duking it out with Yamaha and Honda. World Champ Lorenzo was incredibly calm, smooth and fast, Marquez wrestled his Honda to the Podium and nearly snatched second from Dovisioso's Ducati. Bodes well for the season.
Autobiography of a racer.
Autobiography of a racer.
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