F1 2015 Preview: Malaysian Grand Prix

Let's be honest...the Australian Grand Prix was a bit of a bore. Only fifteen cars ran, and by the end they barely had enough of a grid to fill out the points paying positions. Jenson Button piloted his McLaren-Honda to an 11th place finish, but the team was happy to see the car finish. Sauber's Felipe Nasr finished 5th; a better finish than Sauber scored throughout the entire 2014 season.

Now, though, it's time to go racing in Malaysia.

While the weather was nice and comfy in Melbourne, Sepang promises to be a different story. Temps are expected to top out between 90° and 95° F on Saturday and Sunday. Humidity will be through the roof. Rain is essentially guaranteed. Cars are going to overheat. The track conditions will vary depending on the precipitation. In short, it will be one of the most trying races of the season.


Woes of McLaren-Honda

Jenson Button very nearly scored points in the maiden outing of the new McLaren-Honda partnership. But the team was happier that he finished. It's going to be a rough, long year for McLaren. The outfit is accustomed to winning, and their current design is not conducive to victory at the moment. The car struggled with overheating in the upper 60s in Melbourne. Sepang is set for 90°-plus temps and rain. Personally, I think McLaren will struggle to even finish this weekend, even with Fernando Alonso finally returning to the grid.

Horner says Equalization; Hamilton Laughs in his Face

Mercedes AMG Petronas is, hands down, the most dominant outfit on the grid right now. They are leaving everyone in their wake. Ferrari and Williams are their closest competitors, and frankly Mercedes just out-classes them at every turn. Kimi Raikkonen seems to have found some speed for Ferrari, but Hamilton and Rosberg remain out of reach over race distance.

Red Bull Renault's team boss Christian Horner has come out in favor of some sort of equalization method to bring Mercedes back to the field. Regardless your feelings on the matter, Mercedes driver, and defending World Driver's Champion, Lewis Hamilton fired back at Horner, saying that it's funny how Horner was not in favor of equalization when it was Red Bull running away from the field, but the moment someone other than Red Bull dominates, Horner thinks they should be punished.

Sepang International Circuit

Here is a breakdown of the Sepang circuit I wrote in April 2010:

The start finish line gives way to a quick right-left-downhill bit. A sweeping right-hander going back uphill leads into a a sharp right-hander. Too much speed going into this turn will definitely send you off.

This sharp right gives way to a gradual left-to-right S-curve that, if taken properly, can almost be run flat-out. Beyond this S-curve is a quick succession of right-handers that are nearly 90-degree turns, but are shallow enough to be taken with some speed. The second of these right-handers leads downhill to a very sharp, very slow left-hander that begins taking the cars back up-hill.

A semi-gradual run through turn 10 leads to a sharp turn 11. Another pseudo-S-curve (turns 12 and 13), bring the cars to a sharp sharp sharp right-hander, leading onto the long straight.

At the end of this straight is turn 15, the hairpin, that brings the cars back around to the start-finish line. 

Race Predictions

The second race of the saeson is almost as tricky to predict as the first race of the season. There are still mechanical complications to be sorted. Just ask McLaren-Honda how that's working out.

It's still not exactly going to be a shock for Mercedes to walk away with this race, likely with a 1-2 finish (and probably with a 1-2 start). While it is still too early to really talk about pecking order, Mercedes is the team to beat this year. They've already claimed a commanding lead in the Constructor's Championship, and a 1-2 finish at Sepang will further that gap.

The weather is going to play a huge roll in the race. I'm looking for several teams to drop out entirely, and many single cars to not finish.

Podium Prediction
I nailed the top two spots on the podium at Australia, but the conditions and the practice runs at Sepang have changed my mind for this race. I still think Lewis Hamilton wins, and I still think Nico Rosberg comes in second. But I think Kimi Raikkonen has found the magic formula for this weekend and will grab the final podium step.

It think we're looking at a podium of:

1st: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas

2nd: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG Petronas

3rd: Kimi Raikkonen, Scuderia Ferrari

F1 2015 Preview: Australian Grand Prix

The Formula 1 season finally swings into high gear this weekend. The cars have been unveiled. The driver lineups have been confirmed. The preseason testing sessions have wrapped up.

It's time to go racing.

The first race of the season takes place at the Albert Park Circuit. As evidenced in the video, the track is a rather fun blast around Albert Park Lake in central Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

It is late summer in Australia, and the current weather forecast calls for temperatures near 90°F for qualifying on Saturday (2:00am EDT) but much cooler for the actual race on Sunday, with a high of 68°F. That should sufficiently effect track conditions, especially with overnight rain in the forecast.

The week leading up to the grand prix has been exciting.

Sauber, Giedo van der Garde, and the Courts

Sauber was hit with a lawsuit from former driver Giedo van der Garde over a race seat and, effectively, lost wages. The Dutch driver was signed to a Sauber race seat, along with Adrian Sutil, last season, but both men were kicked aside in favor of Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, who provided better sponsorship money. Sutil faded into F1 obscurity, but van der Garde decided to fight. Especially since he lost his race seat after every other team had decided their lineups. That means this is a lost season for him and his sponsors.

So van der Garde launched a court case demanding that he be allowed to race this weekend. Sauber said no, as it would not be safe. The current Sauber cars were designed for Ericsson and Nasr, not for van der Garde. The courts, though, agreed with the Dutch driver, saying Sauber should provide him a race seat for the grand prix. Sauber is now refusing to recognize van der Garde as a nominated driver, meaning the Dutchman cannot obtain an FIA super-license in order to race in F1.

This case will get uglier before it gets settled.

McLaren-Honda Growing Pains

It's not like Honda has been away from the sport for a long time. Just a few years, actually...but much has changed. As such, the new partnership between McLaren and Honda has been off to a slow start.

The team failed to put in anywhere close tot he number of laps their competitors were churning out in testing. Then Fernando Alonso suffered a massive crash (that is still under investigation) and has been medically ruled out of the Australian Grand Prix.

Perhaps McLaren-Honda will gather momentum as the season progresses. But right now I'm thinking the bottom third of the points-paying positions is probably the best Button and Magnussen/Alonso can honestly hope for.

Race Predictions

The first race of the season is always tricky. Everyone is still working out reliability issues. Unforeseen technical complications are bound to ruin someone's race. A surprise or two is never out of the question.

That said, it's not exactly going to be a shock for Mercedes to walk away with this race, likely with a 1-2 finish (and probably with a 1-2 start). It is entirely too early in the season to start talking about the pecking order, but like last year, it is obvious to everyone involved that Mercedes outclasses the field right now.

So which constructor claims a stake on the #2 slot? Personally, I think Red Bull is taking a step back this year. McLaren is not yet ready. Ferrari is lagging, even with a total of five World Driver's Championships piloting the ponies. No, this year belongs to a classic team that spent last season completing the long hard trudge up the mountain back to excellence.

Williams. I'm looking for Williams-Martini Racing to have a great season, and for that season to start right in Melbourne.

Podium Prediction

When all is said and done, after the smoke has finally cleared, after whatever other cliche has run its course, who will stand on the podium in Melbourne?

It think we're looking at a podium of:

1st: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Petronas

2nd: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes AMG Petronas

3rd: Valtteri Bottas, Williams Martini Racing

Formula 1 Preview: Season 2015

The first test of the preseason is complete, the teams have departed from Jerez, and, for the most part, every contender for the 2015 season has been unveiled (Caterham hasn't yet, Manor/Marussia is still struggling to make the grid, and Force India is fighting to reveal their contender). This post will cover the various cars so far released, and I'll give you my predictions at the end.

The Cars

First up on the list is the Mercedes AMG Petronas W06 Hybrid. Mercedes doesn't mess around with their livery, holding true to the nickname "Silver Arrows." Lewis Hamilton piloted the W05 to last year's World Driver's Championship, and his teammate, Nico Rosberg, came in second. The car was extremely reliable, save for an outing in Montreal that drove every Mercedes fan crazy.

The car this year is a beauty. The paint scheme is only slightly different from last year, but the design is changed, albeit slightly. The nose dips a bit sharper, and tapers differently than last year's version. Given the reliability and long-running stints the W06 pulled off at Jerez, it looks like the Silver Arrows are the team to beat once again.


Last year's second place team, Red Bull Renault, unveiled the RB11 with an interim testing livery that, for all intents and purposes, was designed to disguise the innovations RBR has made in terms of aerodynamics. Personally, I kind of like the black and white scheme. Since this is a testing livery, don't be surprised if they go back to the drab, only-slightly-different-from-Toro-Rosso livery for the actual season.

Daniel Ricciardo will likely contend for the World Driver's Championship this year, if the Renault power plant can gain ground on Mercedes. New Red Bull teammate Daniil Kyvat will get a taste of life at the top of the ladder.


Our third contender this season is the Williams Martini F1 team, and their FW37. Last year Williams was a pleasant surprise, climbing from 9th in the Constructor's Standings in 2013 to 3rd last season. On several occasions the Williams outfit fought for the win, especially in Austria.

Felipe Massa returned to form last year, for the first time since his tragic accident in July 2009. Teammate Valtteri Bottas is a World Driver's Champion in the making. So long as Williams has this driver pairing, they will be a threat to win any grand prix this season.

Ferrari's contender for the 2015 season, the SF15-T, looks like it might suck, as evidenced in the picture on the right. The vacuum-cleaner nose will certainly help to keep the track clear of any debris. Granted, the driver's seat is not the most comfortable, but the prevailing thought is that Vettel should be able to win at least one race in 2015.

Alright, joking aside, the SF15-T, the real one, is actually a pretty decent looking car. The livery contains more black  than is customary for the Scuderia, but it helps. Ever since Ferrari lost the ability to put the bar code on their car, as that somehow advertised for Marlboro, the Maranello outfit has struggled to create a good livery. 

Ferrari made one of the biggest driver moves of the season, allowing Fernando Alonso to walk so they could sign 4-Time Driver's Champion Sebastian Vettel. Pairing Vettel with Kimi Raikkonen, at least for this season, gives the Scuderia a strong lineup capable of winning any race.


The newest engine manufacturer, who used to be int he sport until a few years ago, is Honda, and they've teamed with McLaren. The Woking outfit unveiled the McLaren-Honda MP4-30. While the design is sleek, the biggest complaint for almost everyone is the livery. Every publicity photo McLaren released, especially after signing Fernando Alonso, used the old red and white McLaren's of the Ayrton Senna days. Then the MP4-30 was unveiled.

Once more McLaren used the silver color scheme. In fact, the McLaren-Honda contender looks like they just took the livery of Vodafone McLaren and West McLaren and smashed them together. I usually love the McLaren, but this year I'm finding that difficult. If the silver was white, I would like the car a lot more. Having Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button on one team should help them, though.

Next on the list is Sauber, and their C34. I'm not sure I've ever seen such an uninspired car take to the Formula 1 grid, but the C34 does not inspire any sort of confidence. If the livery was a bit more exciting, then maybe I'd be more partial to it. 

The driver line up, likewise, isn't one that screams championship contender. Marcus Ericsson, fresh off the heels of driving for Caterham, joins the Sauber team, driving alongside Felipe Nasr, who brought the Banco do Brasil sponsorship to Sauber.


Lotus takes to the grid this year with the E23, a much more aesthetically appealing contender than their walrus of a car last season. While the livery is much the same, the car looks much better than last year. Lotus swapped engine suppliers from Renault, who was far below competitive in 2014, and became partners with Mercedes, in hopes of much better results.

A driver pairing of Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado gives Lotus some familiarity and continuity. Maldonado brings sponsors, but Grosjean is the better driver.


The final team to be reviewed is Scuderia Toro Rosso. I'm not going to lie, the STR11 is one of my favorite cars unveiled so far. It looks far better than Toro Rosso's contender from last season, which looked an awful lot like Gonzo from the Muppets. The STR11 replaces the muppet nose front with a much better design. The paint scheme is, for all intents and purposes the same as last season, with minor changes thanks to the revised nose.

The driver lineup for the Red Bull B-Team is Carlos Sainz Jr. and Max Verstappen, the youngest driver ever to compete in Formula 1. Verstappen will be only 17 when the season begins.

When Force India, Caterham, and Manor/Marussia release their cars, I'll review them. Now...

Predictions
Which new driver/team combination will prove the most effective on race day?
I really like the idea of Fernando Alonso in a McLaren-Honda, but I think the biggest winner of the driver’s musical chairs game this offseason will be Sebastian Vettel. Ferrari will be stronger than McLaren, meaning Seb will have a better overall season. This is not the second coming of Michael Schumacher, though. 

Will Mercedes’s dominance continue? 
Yes. The preseason test in Jerez proved one thing: Mercedes can run longer than any of their competitors while suffering fewer mechanical issues. This is bad news for Ferrari, Red Bull, and McLaren. 

Who wins the Driver’s Championship this season? 
I honestly think we see a repeat of 2014. Lewis Hamilton finally has the dominant car under him that he always sought at McLaren. Giving him a contender as strong as the W05 last year, and what we’ve seen of the W06 this year, means the Brit is likely on his way to his second straight, and third overall, World Driver’s Championship. 

Okay, so we know who you think will win the Driver’s Title, but what about the Constructor’s Championship? It’s gotta be Mercedes, right? 
Right. This one is a pretty safe call to make. Mercedes just has it all figured out right now. While their competitors are rushing to swap drivers, and hiring away engineers from one another, the Brackley outfit is quietly building a Formula 1 dynasty. 

Who will be the first driver to be replaced? 
Tough question. Last year I pegged McLaren’s Kevin Magnussen to be replaced, and while he has reverted to reserve driver status this year, he finished out the season more impressively than teammate Jenson Button. This season, I think either Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson or Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz Jr. will be the first to go…assuming anyone is actually booted off the grid during the season. 

Will Fifth Beatle hang it up after this year and let someone else take the reins? 
Every year this question shows up, and every year the answer is the same…Emphatically no. The only way anyone else will oversee Formula 1 is when they pry it from Bernie’s cold, dead fingers. 

Alright, so tell us your pick for the top five finishers in the Driver’s Championship standings. 
Obviously I’ve got Hamilton at the top, and I think Rosberg will be once more come home second. Rounding out the top five will be Williams’s Valtteri Bottas, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo, and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel. 

How do you think the Constructor’s Title plays out? Give us your top five there. 
Mercedes will, rather easily, sew up a second straight Constructor’s Championship. I look for Williams to come home second in the teams battle though, with Red Bull rounding out the podium. Ferrari and McLaren, with their new Honda power plant, will round out the top five. 

Bernie Ecclestone and the Great British Foot in the Mouth

No one has ever shed a tear for Bernie Ecclestone, though many tears have been shed as a result of Bernie Ecclestone. Who is Bernie Ecclestone? He’s the head man of the world’s top motor racing series, Formula 1. He’s also 84 years old, filled with terrible ideas, and a recent victim of open-mouth-insert-foot-itis.

Bernie's normal look of confusion...

See, F1 is struggling under some hard times right now. Smaller teams (Caterham, Marussia, Sauber, Force India, Toro Rosso) are feeling the sting as more and more money is diverted to the, to borrow a college football term, Power 5 teams (Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull, Ferrari, Williams).

Caterham and Marussia entered administration after the Russian Grand Prix. This rendered the teams incapable of competing at both the America. How did Bernie respond to the situation? By saying:

"Nobody will miss the two teams because they're not front-running teams; they've only got a name that people would know because of the problem they're in. If you want to get recognised, you've got to do something."

He even compared them to Oscar Pistorius, who has been in the news for his lengthy murder trial of girlfriend Reva Steenkamp. Ecclestone said, “This poor guy in South Africa, for instance, has got more interest because of what happened with him than when he was winning gold medals. He won medals and afterwards nobody thought about him. If this case hadn't happened he would have been forgotten, probably. Same with these two teams.”

Ecclestone also flashed out some of his trademark Ferrari favoritism, spouting “You need teams like Ferrari. If they go anywhere and you say to somebody 'Ferrari', they'll know what you are talking about."

It’s good to know that the man in charge of Formula 1 cares so much about the teams. But Bernie wasn’t finished running his mouth. Oh no, far more idiotic drivel was primed to come pouring out.

Ecclestone is, as stated earlier, the head of the highest ranking class of motorsport competition on the planet. His series is well-known for its claim to be the pinnacle of racing technology. And yet, only recently have they truly begun using Twitter in earnest. Bernie, showing off the avuncular good cheer of a lovable luddite, said of social media, "I'm not interested in tweeting, Facebook and whatever this nonsense is. I tried to find out but in any case I'm too old-fashioned. I couldn't see any value in it. And, I don't know what the so-called 'young generation' of today really wants. What is it?"

Yes, Bernie Ecclestone, head of the organization that supposedly leads the world in automotive technological innovation, says Facebook is nonsense. But the most telling quote in that bundle of loosely connected senile thoughts is “I couldn’t see any value in it.” Remember, for Bernie Ecclestone, if something isn’t going to make him another $100 million, he doesn’t care about it. This is a man with a net worth over $4 billion US dollars. His well-publicized squabbles with race promoters reveals an incredible fascination not with providing the best product for his viewers, thereby making him more money in the long term, but with making the most sound, for him and no one else, fiscal investments now for immediate payoffs.

Countries like India, Korea, and others have removed from the F1 calendar because they couldn’t afford Bernie’s exorbitant race fees. Like FIFA, Bernie has a propensity for dealing with governments instead of private investors. Maybe that’s just a European thing, I don’t know…

But Bernie has a way of connecting with an audience…wait, did I say “connecting?”...I meant, alienating…

“…you're telling me I need to find a channel to get this 15-year-old to watch Formula 1 because somebody wants to put out a new brand in front of them? They are not going to be interested in the slightest bit. Young kids will see the Rolex brand, but are they going to go and buy one? They can't afford it. Or our other sponsor, UBS - these kids don't care about banking. They haven't got enough money to put in the bloody banks anyway. That's what I think. I don't know why people want to get to the so-called 'young generation'. Why do they want to do that? Is it to sell them something? Most of these kids haven't got any money.”

One thing we’ve learned from the increasingly incoherent ramblings of this Beatles cover band reject is that he doesn’t seem to believe that people get older or that they can learn to make better financial decisions. But it’s all part of the mystique that is Bernie Ecclestone. And let me tell you, there’s a lot of mystique about this guy…

Take this statement for example: "I'd rather get to the 70-year-old guy who's got plenty of cash. So, there's no point trying to reach these kids because they won't buy any of the products here and if marketers are aiming at this audience, then maybe they should advertise with Disney."

The Bernie Ecclestone School of Modern Marketing, ladies and gentlemen. Only target septuagenarians who have large bank accounts. No teenager will ever grow up and get a job. Nope, from now until eternity the people who are 70 with big banks accounts will forever be 70 with big bank accounts and the teenage hoodlums will forever be teenage hoodlums.

That, in a nutshell, is Bernie Ecclestone. And love him or hate him, Bernie is slowly destroying the sport he helped build into the behemoth it is today.

Formula 1: A Mid-season Review

The Summer Break

Half of the Formula 1 season has been run. Now that the Hungarian Grand Prix has wrapped up, the teams are headed home. The factories will close up shop for a mandatory two week break period. Drivers will go on vacation. Team principals will look over the books before stepping out of the office for a while.

When the teams return to action, we’re going to have one heck of a season to close out. And the first race back is at my favorite track: Spa-Francorchamps.

Mercedes Dominance

The Mercedes AMG Petronas factory team is, far and away, the most dominant team in F1 this season. Nico Rosberg currently leads the Driver’s Championship standings by 11 points over teammate Lewis Hamilton. Rosberg has been, undoubtedly, the most consistent driver all year. Only twice in 11 races has he failed to reach the podium, and one of those two times he finished 4th, right behind Hamilton.

Lewis, meanwhile, has finished on the podium in every race since the disaster that was Montreal. He has one win, one second place, and two third places. I argue, however, that those third place finishes are more impressive. In Germany, Hamilton’s brakes exploded, slamming him into the wall during qualifying. He started from the back of the grid and, within 16 laps, was in second place. He finished third. In Hungary, at the outset of Q1, Hamilton’s entire car basically exploded. Back to back qualifying disasters would set anyone on edge. Hamilton started from the pit lane, since his Silver Arrow had to be rebuilt. He began slicing his way through the field and soon found himself running second and involved in a tight battle with Fernando Alonso and Daniel Ricciardo. Lewis finished third. In neither race should he have had a chance, but this shows the dominance of the Mercedes chassis.

The race to open the second “half” of the season, the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, is a race Hamilton always runs well. The wide open nature of the track (and the next race at Monza) will greatly benefit the Mercedes team.

A Star Is Born

Red Bull Renault is, for all intents and purposes, “captained” by Sebastian Vettel. He is the four time defend World Driver’s Champion. His team is the four time defending Constructor’s Champion. (And yes, all of those titles will be leaving the Milton Keynes outfit this year, heading most likely to Brackley.) So whenever someone talks about Red Bull Renault, thoughts typically go to Vettel.

But not this year. No, this year Vettel has been outshined at every turn by his teammate, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo. The younger RBR driver currently has a 43 point advantage over the veteran Vettel. Ricciardo is the only non-Mercedes driver to stand on the top step of the podium this season.

At the Hockenheimring, Ricciardo and double World Champion Fernando Alonso locked horns for an epic multi-lap battle around the neutered circuit (thanks, Tilke). A week later, in the weather-troubled Hungarian Grand Prix, Ricciardo once again found himself in battle with Alonso, only this time he had another World Champion to contend with, as Lewis Hamilton’s epic drive placed him in the scrap for the top spot.

If this had been a year in which one team wasn’t so overly dominant, we’d be speaking of Ricciardo as a Driver’s Championship contender. He’s currently about three race-wins off the lead (Rosberg leads him by 73), but the Mercedes duo is going to be difficult to leapfrog in the standings.

Predictions Revisited

Earlier this year I made a series of predictions about the upcoming season. Now that half the season is gone, let’s look back and see just how right or wrong I’ve been:

Driver’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “…there was one [driver] I kept coming back to. He’s been on the rise the last two seasons, is a proven race winner, and is partnered with a previous Driver’s Champion, so he has a brain to pick when trying to figure things out. His car looks to be one of the best on the grid this year, which can’t hurt. For Driver’s Champion of 2014, I’m picking Nico Rosberg.”

Today, I think: “Yeah, that’s pretty accurate. Lewis is a more aggressive driver than Rosberg, so he’s more prone to mistakes. So long as the reliability issues of Montreal and Silverstone stay away, Rosberg should be champion. He’ll have to fight for it, as Lewis definitely will not go gently into the night, but he should win. Rosberg leads Hamilton 202-191. Ricciardo is in third, with 131.”

Top 5 Driver’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “Obviously I’ve got Rosberg at the top, and I think Hamilton will be highly placed, as well. When it’s all said and done, I think the driver’s top five will look like this: Rosberg, Raikkonen, Hamilton, Vettel, Hulkenberg.”

Today, I think: “Wow, that was a bit off. The current standings are:
1. Rosberg – 202
2. Hamilton – 191
3. Ricciardo – 131
4. Alonso – 115
5. Bottas – 95
Vettel is currently sixth (88) and Hulkenberg is seventh (69). Raikkonen is way down in 12th, with only 27 points.”

Constructor’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “I think Mercedes will double up this year. I’ve pegged Rosberg for the Driver’s Title, and I think Lewis Hamilton will return to form and pick up two or three wins. Silver Arrows wrap up the Constructor’s Title.”

Today, I think: “Again, pretty much spot on. Lewis actually has more wins already than Rosberg (5 to 4), but Rosberg is more consistent. Mercedes currently leads Red Bull 393-219. Ferrari is a distant third with 142.”

Top 5 Constructor’s Championship:

On February 27, I wrote: “As I said earlier, I think the Mercedes factory teams pulls the double this year. But I also think Force India will have a strong year and McLaren will bounce back from the god-awful 2013 campaign. I see the Constructor’s Standings playing out like this: Mercedes, Ferrari, McLaren, Force India, Red Bull Renault.”

Today, I think: “My pick here is closer than the Driver’s pick. The current standings are:
1. Mercedes - 393
2. Red Bull Renault - 219
3. Ferrari - 142
4. Williams - 135
5. Force India - 98
McLaren is sixth (97) and Toro Rosso is eighth, with 17 points. Sauber and Caterham have zero points between them. Even Marussia has scored, this year, with Bianchi picking up 2 points at Monaco.”

A Most Welcome Surprise

The Williams Martini Racing team has been quite good this year. Sure, Felipe Massa has been caught up in some ugly accidents (Melbourne, Montreal, Hockenheim), but his teammate, Valtteri Bottas, has placed on the podium fairly regularly. I won’t be surprised at all to see Bottas win a race this year. It’s good to see Williams back near the top.

F1 Goes To Azerbaijan

When you read the word “Europe,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

The Alps? Sure, they’re beautiful. The rolling hills of Germany and Austria? Yeah, those, too. The winter wonderland that is Scandinavia? Uh-huh. The lake districts of England? The Scottish highlands? Tuscany? The Vatican? Yes, to all.

Azerbaijan?

Wait, what? Huh? Azerbaijan?

That’s right, Azerbaijan. According to F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone, Azerbaijan is so distinctly European that, starting in 2016, a street circuit in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku will host the Grand Prix of Europe. According to Azerbaijan’s Minister of Youth and Sport, Azad Rahimov, “Azerbaijan is a modern European country that has established a reputation as a center of sporting excellence. The deal to bring Formula 1 racing to Baku is a very significant new chapter in our ongoing success to attract the world's largest sporting events to our country.”

Baku is located 1000 miles East of the easternmost “European” F1 circuit, Istanbul Park. As for circuits currently on the calendar, the closest European circuit to Baku is the Hungaroring, which is only 1500 miles away, straight-line distance.

F1 Rules & Regs for 2015 (or, How I Learned To Stop Caring And Embrace The Insanity)

Beginning next year, safety car periods in Formula 1 will be followed by a standing restart from the grid. This rule only applies to restarts after the first two laps of the race and before the final five laps of a race.

Why?

What is the point of this?

Truthfully, what happened is that the FIA released the updated rules and regulations for 2015, and this is just one of many rules changes. The noses of the cars will once more face redesign work, brake discs will now have to rotate at the same speed as the tire, and the wheel attachments will be redesigned for added security.

But the standing start rule is already catching the most flak. It seems like yet another mad-cap idea from Bernie Ecclestone to create drama instead of allowing for racing to occur.

So let's do it; let's make F1 even more of a spectacle. How, you ask? By following these simple rules changes:

1. Qualifying will now take place on Friday night in prime time as an American Idol or Britain's Got Talent type show in which the viewing audience can call in a vote on the starting order for each grand prix.

2. Each car will be fitted with a paintball gun that can be fired at all other cars. Every hit is tallied at the end of the race, with each hit resulting in a 1/4 second addition of time. Cars hit fewer times will be able to move up the grid. Cars hit more often will move down.

3. The winner of each race will have to carry a 100-pound ballast at the next race to increase parity.

4. Races will now feature a halftime period.

5. Each team must feature a male driver and a female driver.

6. F1 will now run the 24-hours of Le Mans, and it will feature as a octuple-points event.

7. The points at the last race of the season will be multiplied by 6.782, or whatever value ensures Sebastian Vettel another championship.

8. Monaco is all about spectacle. To make it even more spectacular, half the grid will run the race clockwise, the other half will run anti-clockwise.

9. Sprinklers will be installed at certain tracks, but only to throw water on the audience, not the track.

10. F1 will now be part of the Summer and Winter Olympics.

11. Sailboats.

12. Instead of a Driver's Championship trophy being handed out, Bernie Ecclestone will be bronzed and handed to the winning driver every year.

Formula 1 2014: A Partial Season Review

Silver Arrows. That's been the name of the game for the first few races of the season.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG Pertonas

Lewis Hamilton has the most wins on the young season, with 4 top step finishes. His teammate, Nico Rosberg, has two wins, but when he's not won he's finished second, so he leads the points at the moment, 140-118 over Hamilton. Rosberg was our pre-season championship pick, by the way. Only one other driver has claimed a victory this season, and he drivers for Red Bull Racing. No, it isn't Sebastian Vettel. It's new RBR driver Daniel Ricciardo, who claimed a solid victory in Canada after the Silver Arrows of Mercedes AMG Petronas both met with serious mechanical issues.

Currently the boys with the fast cars are in Austria, at the Red Bull Ring (formerly the A-1 Ring). The Mercedes domination looked likely to continue through qualifying, until Lewis's car stepped out on his fast lap, costing him a qualifying time and relegating him to a ninth place starting spot. Nico Rosberg set a blistering time, but it was only good enough for third, as the Williams Martini Racing duo of Felipe Massa and Valteri Bottas claimed the front row, the first time Williams has locked out a front row in eleven years. It's the first time that Felipe Massa has claimed pole since the famed Brazilian Grand Prix of 2008.

Felipe Massa, Williams Martini Racing
Austrian Grand Prix Pole Winner

The season has been a real joy for me, as I grew so sick of Red Bull dominating a season that, even though Mercedes seems to be the dominant force now, I'm okay with it. Sebastian Vettel is having such a rough season he didn't even make it out of Q2 at the track named after his own team.

First, let me say a few words about the Red Bull Ring. I love it. It's is one of the highest elevation tracks that I've seen. The track is relatively short, only 2.6 miles and only 9 turns. But it is a cracker. The run from turn 9 up the start straight to turns 1-2 rises some 240 feet. Everything after that is essentially downhill and a good bit off-camber. Everyone is running wide at turn 8, to the point that FIA Race Direct Charlie Whiting has told the teams any lap in which all four wheels go off at turn 8, onto the ample run-off space, will be discounted. Basically the FIA is telling the drivers to slow down even more.

And that's been a problem with the FIA lately. The group that oversees much of the global racing scene has taken it upon themselves to do everything humanly, and corporately, possible to strip away any excitement from Formula 1. They then try to inject new excitement into the series by using gimmicks. KERS and DRS are among the more recent gimmicks, but even in Austria the FIA has been playing their game. Nico Rosberg was noted to be running additional skid plates on his W05 Silver Arrow Mercedes, as part of an FIA initiative to generate more sparks and thereby make the racing "look" more exciting.

I wonder sometimes just how long it will be before we actually get Bernie "Fifth Beatle" Ecclestone's desired shortcuts and sprinklers.

Australia, as I'm accustomed to, kicked off the season. This was the trial of reliability, as each team had yet to learn just how the new regulations would hold up under true race conditions. Mercedes learned that their kit wasn't totally up to snuff just yet, as Nico Rosberg won but Lewis Hamilton suffered a mechanical issue and the team called him in, setting up his first DNF of the season. Daniel Ricciardo made headlines by dominating much of the race (as far as any non-Mercedes powered chassis can dominate), but his Red Bull failed scrutineering and he was disqualified.

Malaysia, Bahrain, Shanghai, and Catalunya all told the story of Lewis Hamilton dominating and Nico Rosberg chasing. Rosberg gave Hamilton a great fight at Catalunya, but otherwise Hamilton was superior over this stretch.

Rosberg reclaimed the top spot at Mercedes by winning at Monaco. Lewis fought hard, especially after getting a bit of dirt in his eye and basically driving the final ten laps with one eye closed. If there is a track anywhere that you really need both eyes to navigate, it's Monaco.

Formula 1 then came to North America, for the Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villenueve, one of my favorite tracks. Rosberg and Hamilton once again began putting on a show, but technical issues struck and struck hard. Both cars suffered power failures. Hamilton's brakes failed in spectacular fashion, forcing his second DNF of the season and leaving Rosberg to carry the silver banner. Rosberg fought valiantly, but Daniel Ricciardo finally broke through, claiming the first non-Mercedes powered victory of the season and gaining some vindication for Australia.

Now the fast cars have reached Austria. There are three races remaining until the summer break, so the trailing cars will be doing everything in their power to close the gap to Mercedes. Otherwise, the Silver Arrows are going to just walk away with the title.

In other F1 news, Flavio Briatore, the former team boss of Renault Racing, has slammed the new Formula 1, saying it is no longer a sport of gladiators, but is now a sport of accountants. I hate to break it to Flavio, but I've been watching F1 since the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2008 and it has never once, in all that time, been a sport of gladiators. The accountants have always dominated the sport. Plus, to call F1 a sport of gladiators is a misnomer to begin with. F1 a sport of precision and power. Not contact. In fact, contact in F1 typically ends in abject disaster. Just ask Felipe Massa and Sergio Perez after their crash two weeks ago in Montreal.

Senna: Revisited

**Author's Note: This week marks the 20th Anniversary of the death of Ayrton Senna at the San Marino Grand Prix. Given the importance of this event in the history of Formula 1, I felt it appropriate to revisit this blog post from 2012. I am linking to some videos of the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix race weekend. Please note that these videos are actual footage from the race and qualifying. They do portray the fatal impacts of two racing drivers.**

Recently, I went on Netflix and watched Senna, a film documenting the life and career, and ultimately, the death of, Three-Time World Driver's Champion Ayrton Senna. Before I go further, let me say that I've only watched Formula One since July of 2008. I've only known three different World Champions in my time. Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, and Sebastian Vettel are the only drivers to win the title since then.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Ayrton Senna could be described as the standard bearer of racing drivers. He and Frenchman Alain Prost, the Professor, dueled each other from start to finish. It began in 1984, when Senna piloted a lesser-quality Toleman car through the ranks at rain-drenched Monaco, only to see Prost beg for the race to be stopped...and race directors under Jean-Marie Balestre agree.

Later in his career, Senna and Prost would team up, although their professional animosity would not subside. Over the course of his career, Senna would drive for Toleman-Hart, Lotus-Renault, McLaren-Honda, and finally Williams-Renault. He would win 41 races, place on 80 podiums, gain 65 pole positions, and earn the World Driver's Championship three times. To me, the highlight of his career might just be the 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix.

In March of 1991, the Brazilian Grand Prix was the second race of the season. Senna had already won the first race of the season, but Brazil saw his car turn against him. The gearbox began to fail, gear by gear, until, with only 10 laps to go, Senna was wrestling a car stuck in sixth gear. He won, but afterwards had to be bodily lifted from the car. He asked reporters and crew members alike not to touch him, as he was in such pain that it was unbearable to even be touched. That action, to me, showed me all I needed to know about Ayrton Senna.

Inevitably, though, the movie reached the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. As it did, I felt a lump harden in my stomach. I knew what happened at Imola that year. It was, undoubtedly, the darkest weekend in the storied history of Formula 1.

Rubens Barrichello would crash hard on Friday, ending his weekend. He was feeling good about his car, so he tried a particularly tricky section of track at a much higher rate of speed than his previous laps. The car ran up on the steep kerbing and took flight, slamming hard into the tyre barrier and very nearly ending not only his race weekend, but his life as well. Barrichello would go on to recover and raced in Formula 1 for nearly 20 more years. (Video Here)

On Saturday, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger was killed in the final round of qualifying. Ratzenberger was the definition of a rookie, with only a single grand prix start to his name prior to Imola. Ratzenberger's Simtek car hit the inside wall very hard. The injuries sustained by Ratzenberger eventually led to him being pronounced dead at the hospital. Ayrton Senna, watching the live feed from his pit box, was visibly shaken. (video Here)

On Sunday, the grand prix began under a somber note. JJ Lehto, himself just returning from injury, found himself in a car that would not move at the start. Pedro Lamy was unable to avoid him and speared hard into Lehto's Benetton. Debris exploded into the air, with some of it clearing the catch-fences and injuring several fans. The race ran under a Safety Car for a short time, but finally returned to green, only to see Senna's Williams spear off course at the Tamburello Corner. It was immediately evident that something was wrong. Once Senna's car came to rest, he moved his head only a little bit, and then went still. (Video Here)

As fire marshalls and then health officials came to his aid, the race was red flagged. A radio communication erroneously sent to Erik Comas's Larrousse car saw the driver leave the pits. He later admitted that the sight at Tamburello was one of the most disturbing things he'd ever seen.

Prof. Sid Watkins performed an emergency tracheotomy at the scene, but later said that, once Senna had been extricated from the car and placed on the ground, he sighed once. According to Watkins, who claims not to be religious, it was the moment his spirit departed.

Here in the United States, NASCAR was in full swing at the time of the San Marino Grand Prix. While the oval racers were at the largest track on the NASCAR calendar, Talladega, news broke of Senna's tragic death. Dale Earnhardt would win the race, and during his post race interview, he would make further mention of Senna, even though the vast majority of NASCAR fans have no interest in Formula 1. (Video Here)

There was some controversy after the grand prix. Williams would eventually face several legal charges, including manslaughter. Due to the statute of limitations under Italian law expiring, the accused at Williams faced no legal repercussions.

Senna was honored with a state funeral attended by much of the Formula One community, and even Alain Prost was a pall bearer and eventually became a board member at the Instituto Ayrton Senna, a charity Senna developed for Brazilian children. FIA President Max Moseley would forego Ayrton Senna's funeral and instead attend the funeral of Roland Ratzenberger, claiming that the eyes of the world would be on Senna's funeral, and that he did not want Ratzenberger forgotten.

But the movie...the movie sticks with you. For days, it sticks with you. And I didn't experience the events in real time. The analog in my life is the death of Dale Earnhardt.

In 2001, the NASCAR season kicked off with the Daytona 500. On the final lap, Earnhardt was running third and defending the rest of the pack to allow teammate Michael Waltrip to win the race. As they entered turn four, Earnhardt tangled with Sterling Marlin and went nose-first into the wall. A few hours after the race, NASCAR announced that Earnhardt had died as a result of the accident.

As a 19-year-old racing fan, it was a shock. I was no fan of Earnhardt. In fact, I couldn't stand him. But you still don't want anyone to get hurt, much less killed. I sat there on the edge of my bed that night, trying to figure out what NASCAR would be like without the "Intimidator." He was a 7-time NASCAR champion. He gained the "Intimidator" nickname because that's what he was...Intimidating.

After Senna's death, Formula One changed. There was initial overreaction, but it smoothed out to the point that there was still exciting racing. And better yet, Formula One has suffered no driver fatalities since. An impressive run of 20 years now. NASCAR, similarly, has not suffered a driver fatality at its highest levels since Earnhardt's accident.

Both series made massive safety changes to the cars. NASCAR took steps to make its tracks safer, installing SAFER barriers and requiring drivers to use Head-and-Neck Support (HANS) devices. Formula One increased driver safety in the cars and re-profiled several high speed corners to rein in the speed and power of the cars. The circuit at Imola was basically redesigned. While safety was the main reason, the track lost a lot of its personality in the redesign.

All of this changed racing forever. But Senna, the movie if not the man, has stuck with me. Senna was a devout believer in God. His religion came to gnaw at other drivers. Alain Prost basically accused Senna of thinking he was invincible just because he believed in God. Senna admitted that he wasn't invincible. In the movie, Senna's sister claimed that the morning of the San Marino Grand Prix, less than 24 hours after the death of Roland Ratzenberger, Ayrton awoke and took his Bible, and read a passage that he would "receive the greatest gift of all, which was God himself."

Prof. Sid Watkins tried to get Ayrton to quit after the Ratzenberger accident by saying "You know, Ayrton, you've been three-times World Champion, you're the fastest man in the world." and "Why don't you quit? And I'll quit. And we'll just go fishing." Senna responded "Sid, I can't quit."

On Ayrton Senna's tombstone is the quote "Nada pode me separar do amor de Deus."

Nothing can separate me from the Love of God.

The movie sticks with you. The man will stick with you even more.

"I can't quit." - Ayrton Senna

Australian Grand Prix 2014: A Race in Review

The Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix took place over the weekend. It’s the kick-off to the F1 “season,” although like many other sports, there isn’t much downtime in F1 these days. The Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne is probably my favorite “street” circuit. It’s comprised of the city street around Albert Park Lake, in the heart of downtown Melbourne.

Qualifying

Qualifying was spectacular, as the rains came and went, constantly shifting strategies. Most pundits had pegged the Mercedes AMG Petronas factory works team as the favorite heading into the season, and that form showed true in qualifying, and Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg swapped the top spot back and forth for much of the session. Defending Constructor’s Champion Red Bull Renault was stymied in everything that Sebastian Vettel tried. The reigning Driver’s Champion failed to make Q3.

Anyone following Formula 1 knows that the V8 engines are now relegated to history, and we now have turbo-charged 1.6-liter V6 engines. The noise level difference is appreciable. When Vettel failed to get out of Q2, and was posted in P12 for the start, you could actually hear the crowd cheering for his failure. I think Vettel is falling into the same place that Dale Earnhardt once occupied in NASCAR. Either you love him or you hate him. There is no middle ground. (Personally, I’ve been on the anti-Vettel bandwagon since Brazil 2008, when his actions nearly cost Lewis Hamilton the Driver’s Championship.)

The surprise of qualifying was a toss-up between two drivers: Daniel Ricciardo and Kevin Magnussen. Magnussen is a rookie who was hired on to pilot the second McLaren, behind Jenson Button. He was able to manage a qualifying slot of P4. Ricciardo, as you know, was brought on by Red Bull Renault to replace the retired Mark Webber. The Red Bull RB10 has been notoriously unreliable in testing. So of course it was a huge surprise when Vettel couldn’t get out of Q2 while his teammate not only made Q3, but ended up posting a time good enough for P1…until Lewis Hamilton finished his flying lap about fifteen seconds later.

Race Results

More than anything in 2014, we’re going to see reliability be a huge issue for at least the first few weeks. As the race got underway it was apparent that Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes was lacking power. He drifted further and further back in the field until the call came on lap 6 to retire the car and try to save the engine. Teammate Nico Rosberg, however, had a brilliant day. He would go on to win the grand prix by a margin of 22+ seconds, which could’ve been even worse, considering the race did see an extended safety car period.

Australian Grand Prix Podium

Rosberg was followed across the line by Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo. The roar from the crowd was outstanding, as it was the first time in F1 that an Australian driver had reached the podium of the Australian Grand Prix. The excitement, though, was to be short-lived. The FIA called Ricciardo’s RB10 in for inspection, and determined that the car has “consistently exceed” the maximum allowed fuel flow rate. Ricciardo’s P2 was scrubbed from the books. The third place driver, McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen, was moved into P2, and McLaren teammate Jenson Button moved into P3, giving McLaren Mercedes the initial hold on the Constructor’s Championship. As an aside, Magnussen’s podium finish was the first time in F1 history that a Danish driver had finished on the podium.

Red Bull has announced they plan to appeal the decision of the FIA. There is a lot of talk about how the fuel flow sensor the FIA recommends is faulty, but they couch the argument by saying it is “less faulty” than the alternative sensor.

Felipe Massa, Kamui Kobayashi, and Crashing

Felipe Massa’s career at Williams got off to a shaky start, through no fault of his own. Massa held a good line going in to turn 1 on the first lap of the race. From behind him a puff of white smoke indicated that someone had forgotten how a brake pedal works. That someone was Kamui Kobayashi. Within a split second, Kobayashi’s Caterham had plowed into the back of Massa’s beautifully-colored Williams, sending both drivers spiraling into the gravel trap and ending their respective races early.

Crashing in the First Curve at Melbourne

Massa called for Kobayashi to receive a grid penalty akin to the one handed to Romain Grosjean after the Belgian Grand Prix in 2012 (when Grosjean took out roughly half the field at the La Source hairpin). 

Kobayashi took to Twitter and accepted blame, apologizing to Massa and Williams. However, the FIA and the race stewards determined that Kobayashi’s Caterham suffered a KERS failure that led to the car losing all rear brakes. They further determined that no one was at fault on track, and Kobayashi’s Twitter page withdrew the apology. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out over the rest of the year.

Coming Up Next…

In a little less than two weeks time we’ll see the Malaysian Grand Prix from the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur. I personally really enjoy this circuit…especially driving it in any one of the Formula 1 video games in which it appears. I’m not a huge fan of the slow-as-Christmas turn complex at the beginning of the lap, but otherwise there is just enough elevation change to keep things interesting. As we get closer to race day I’ll offer up a more in-depth preview of the Malaysian Grand Prix.