2013 Formula One Team by Team – 1st Quarter Season Review

May 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment

It would seem that Vettel is on track for title number four….don’t tell Raikkonen or Alonso that.

A quarter of the 2013 World Drivers and Constructors Championship season has run it’s course so who is hot?

So far the championship has seen winners from Lotus, Red Bull and Ferrari with the winning honours shared by three drivers; Kimi Räikkönen, Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso all of whom are World Champions.

Lotus appear really hot, while the management is cautious about it’s chances of providing Kimi Räikkönen with a championship winning car, Kimi is chomping at the bit. Since his win at the opening Australian Grand Prix he has put together a string of three consecutive 2nd place finishes which with one seventh place finish adds up to a consistency that makes Kimi the fancied underdog amongst the three emergent title contenders.

Down sides to Kimi’s challenge are that Lotus Technical Director James Allison electing to go on ‘gardening leave’ last week pending a move to another team, widely speculated to be Ferrari and that Kimi’s relatively inexperienced team mate Romain Grosjean has not shown the consistent form exhibited by either of the de facto number two drivers at Red Bull or Ferrari.

Allison is ‘rumoured’ to be heading for Ferrari. In Formula One where there’s smoke there’s a wild fire.

 

Sebastian Vettel disobeyed team orders to throttle back and jumped his team mate Mark Webber to win the Malaysian Grand Prix after which he had to eat humble pie for his misdemeanor and took a pasting in the press. However despite another win in Bahrain one further third and two fourth place finishes added to the and even having taken advantage of Mark when his main anticipated rival Fernando Alonso had to retire Sebastian leads the championship by a scant four points, thanks to the consistent challenge from Kimi.

So far Sebastian has shown the necessary beyond the pail determination to get the job done. The simmering money would be on Sebastian becoming the youngest four-peat World Champion and Red Bull to become four-peat constructors champions.

Alonso still has 3/4 of a season to go….Vettel is due a a DNF, but Raikkonen…maybe not so much.

The third title contender, Fernando Alonso, is the only one of the three who has suffered a gross team error, when he was advised to stay out after an accident on the opening lap of Malaysian Grand Prix which saw him crash out on the second lap. Fernando was also the victim of a sticking hinged element on his rear wing in Bahrain which required multiple unscheduled pit stops from which he did exceptionally well to recover an 8th place points paying finish. This is not the first time this issue, which affects the drivers ability to pass on the straights and get safely around the corners, has afflicted Ferrari so it is disappointing that the problem has not been properly resolved.

These misfortunes along with convincing wins in China and Spain mean that Alonso sits third in the points standings 17 points adrift. The question remains can Ferrari deliver a consistent challenge to Red Bull ? Their car has the speed and the team have some momentum but for my money Alonso backed up by the erratic Felipe Massa is the tepid bet, already on the back foot, more likely to finish second in the championship to Sebastian for a third time than to beat him.

The characteristics of the Pirelli tyres, as last year, do not seem to suit any one team consistently from one track to the next although they do appear to suit Lotus, Red Bull and Ferrari better than the rest. Pirelli as sole suppliers seem to be in a no win situation in this respect, they were asked to produce tyres for this season that had a bigger difference in performance between the hard and soft options, both of which have to be used during the course of a dry race and they have done what was asked, but have come in for enormous criticism for doing precisely that.

Now Pirelli has agreed to change the compounds of the tyres to degrade less….the benefit? Red Bull.

Lewis Hamilton left McLaren at the end of last year to join Mercedes Benz expecting to challenge for race wins if not the championship. Lewis’s performances have been a definite fillip for Mercedes who have not delivered a competitive car. Disappointingly Lewis does not seem to be able to direct the team towards providing what he needs as shown when he dropped from 2nd on the grid to a lapped 12th place finish in Spain, clueless on how to manage the situation and not impressed that he was racing a Williams that beat him.

Sitting fourth place in the constructors table Mercedes are unlikely to catch the top three and unlikely to be caught by anyone in the foreseeable future so I wonder if they are already thinking about abandoning further development this season in favour of putting all of their efforts into next season, team Principle Ross Brawn was the beneficiary of just such a strategy in 2009 all he has to do is convince his drivers and the Mercedes Benz board this is the way to go.

Fifth in the constructors table are Force India whose drivers Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil are fighting for points scraps with the similarly Mercedes powered McLarens. With four points paying finishes and a best of 4th in Bahrain Paul is a better than expected  8th in the drivers table. Adrian meanwhile has scored points just once on his return from a sabbatical. With the rival McLaren team being seen to put in whatever it takes to bring their car up to speed I doubt Force India will be able to maintain their two point advantage in the constructors championship, but it will be a close fought battle.

Gambling on a radical approach to this years car rather than an incremental development of last years race winning car, has not paid off for McLaren. To their credit McLaren have dug deep to make their cars faster, but so far without success. That they are trying hard is evidenced by the fact they turned up with a new front wing in Spain but refrained from using it until it had been properly tested and passed as legal on the governing FIA’s own equipment.

Button and Perez have decided to fight the ill handling McLaren instead of each other.

Jenson Button has shown the more consistent form with four points paying finishes and a best of 5th in China while Sergio Pérez managed a best of 6th in Bahrain where Jenson and Sergio had a falling out, with Button calling on his team to control Perez who he judged to have used rough tactics. The McLaren management would have done well to tell each driver what the tyre situation was relative to the other and avoided the on track misunderstanding in the first place. McLaren have the resources to get the better of Force India in the constructors championship but they are unlikely to win a race this year.

Seventh in the constructors table are Torro Rosso for whom Australian Danielle Ricardo has scored two points paying finishes with a best of 7th in China and Jean-Éric Vergne a best of 10th in Malaysia. The pressure is on these two to pull rabbits out of the hat this season or they will find themselves, facing a similar fate to their predecessors Sébastien Buemi and Jamie Alguersuari, looking for work as sports car drivers and TV presenters.

Sauber are the only other team to have points thanks to Nico Hulkenburg who managed a best 8th place finish in Malaysia, if Sauber want to beat Torro Rosso in the constructors championship they will have to find away to get Mexican rookie Esteban Gutiérrez to finish better than 11th as he did in Spain.

Shockingly Williams have managed a best of two non points paying 11th place finishes for each of their drivers Pastor Maldonado in Bahrain and Finn Valttteri Botas in Malaysia as the team appears to be suffering the same fate as McLaren by trying to take a quantum leap forward rather than settling for steady development of last years winning car. Williams will need to apply resources to this years car, perhaps better saved until next year, just to score points this season.

Williams has yet to score a point.

Marussia have a best 13th place finish courtesy of Jules Bianchi which is surprising since they are the only team to use spec Cosworth motors while Caterham who use race winning Renault motors have managed a best finish of 14th in Malaysia courtesy of Charles Pic. One of these two teams is going to be out of pocket at the seasons end as, in a change from last year, only the top ten teams will be paid prize money at the seasons end. Don’t be surprised to see former race winner Heikki Kovalainen make a return to Caterham in its attempt to get the better of Marrusia.

Summing up the drivers championship has emerged as a three way contest between Vettel, Räikkönen and Alonso while realistically the constructors championship is a two way battle between Red Bull and Ferrari, I believe Vettel will win his fourth championship in a row but I wouldn’t expect to get much sleep between now and the seasons end if I were a gambler.

Ralph Colmar can also be found at:    www.psychoontyres.blogspot.com

 

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RIAM Joins New Era Circuit Of The Americas F1 Viewing Faithful

November 19, 2012 By 1 Comment

Riverside International Automotive Museum hosted an opportunity to hear the thoughts and experiences of Tony Settember (center) and Don Nichols (right) as interviewed by RIAM Public Relations director, Thomas Stahler (Left). Image Credit: Edmund Jenks (2012)

RIAM Joins New Era Circuit Of The Americas F1 Viewing Faithful

This last weekend, the United States saw the return of Formula One international open wheel racing to the series’ world hopping schedule. The race held at the new purpose built Circuit of the Americas (COTA), 3.427-mile (5.515 km) motor racing circuit south of Austin, Texas, marked the return of F1 racing to the United States after a four-season hiatus.

Recognizing the pent-up demand for viewing and sharing time with like-minded individuals of this inaugural event, the Riverside International Automotive Museum (RIAM) in Riverside, California … located not too far from the site of the famed Riverside International Raceway purpose built road circuit and was set up, in part, to archive and honor the history of this great track … opened its doors and hosted a viewing party.

View Slideshow: RIAM joins new era Circuit of the Americas F1 viewing faithful

During the broadcast of the COTA USGP from Austin, Texas, SPEED Channel’s Bob Varsha mentioned that there were many viewing parties being held throughout the United States and that one of note was the gathering being hosted by the Riverside International Automotive Museum which featured Tony Settember and Don Nichols and had on view many great historic open wheel racing cars created from the Dan Gurney Eagle operation.

On the podium at the Circuit of the Americas, four past champions celebrate the running of the first Formula One race held in the United States in four years – pictured from left to right: Sebastian Vettel, Mario Andretti, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso. Image Credit: Edmund Jenks via projection TV from SPEED Channel (2012)

This excerpted and edited from the Bleacher Report –

Formula One: Hamilton Wins USGP, but Circuit of the Americas Is the Real Star
By Craig Christopher (Featured Columnist) on November 19, 2012

Formula One racing has made a triumphant return to the United States after a four-season hiatus, only to find that some things just haven’t changed.

Lewis Hamilton was the last F1 driver to stand atop the podium at a U.S. Grand Prix when he claimed victory at the final Indianapolis race in 2007.He stood atop the podium again in Austin as he held Sebastian Vettel at bay to claim a hard-fought race win.

While the race winner may not have changed, everything else has.

The fans were treated to a great race, with lots of overtaking, some outstanding wheel-to-wheel action, breathtaking pitstops and Ferrari even delivered a little bit of the intrigue and shenanigans that F1 is famous for.

And it all happened on a track deep in the heart of Texas.
—-
With F1 finding difficulty securing a permanent home since the 20-year tenure at Watkins Glenn, all hope turned to the new Circuit of the Americas in Austin Texas.

It didn’t disappoint.

The circuit is a custom F1 track, designed—as are nearly all new tracks—by German racetrack architect Hermann Tilke. At first glance, it has all of the hallmarks of every other Tilke track—the big runoff areas, the flowing combination of corners, long straights followed by a hairpin—but it worked.
—-
It was a race that F1 had to get right.

With the 2005 Indianapolis debacle still lingering in the American fans’ memory and with no American teams and no American drivers, the product had to deliver on its own terms. It had to bury the perception that F1 is boring and lacking in excitement.

Any lingering doubts were put to rest, despite the dominance of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, with action from one end of the field to the other.

Hamilton took the most of a momentary distraction for Vettel, as he got tangled behind a back-marker, making the pivotal pass that Vettel was unable to recover from.

While Hamilton claimed the victory, it was the Circuit of the Americas that was the superstar of the weekend, aided and abetted by a massive crowd of 117,429 fans (via CircuitoftheAmericas.com).

The drivers loved it [all three - Hamilton, Vittle, and Alonzo respectively], and probably would have said so without prompting, even if Mario Andretti didn’t pleadingly fish for praise in yet another pointless podium interview by an ex-driver [and champion].

Hamilton told F1.com:

There are a couple of Grands Prix that are somehow out on their own: there’s Monaco, Silverstone, Montreal, Spa and Monza. Now you can this circuit to that list – it’s already one of the best racetracks in the world, maybe even right up there in the top three.


Then again, he won the race—he would say that.
[Reference Here]

The museum moved many of its 200 mph cars it has on display, set up a 9′X 12′projection screen and tables on the floor, prepared an Italian salad and sandwich lunch, invited a car constructor and some drivers of F1 and sport car racing note for post race interviews and schmoozing … thus turning the museum into a social rumpus-room of F1 joy.

On hand were F1 winning chassis constructor Don Nichols, who created the Shadow cars that raced in F1 – and would spawn the Arrows F1 Team, Formula 5000, and Can-Am in the 1970′s and 1980′s (Alan Jones recorded his first win at the Austrian Grand Prix, a result which also provided a welcome boost to the lesser-funded teams as it was Shadow’s first victory), Shadow Cars team crewman Gene Lentz, F1 driver Tony Settember (1962-1963), with legendary road racers John Morton and Davey Jordan.

Discover how this “five stripe” helmet adornment came about through the stories related by Don Nichols and the Shadow Cars effort to become a part of F1 history – Listen to Audio File linked below. Image Credit: “F1 Biography: Still in the shadows”

Interviewed in the post race festivities by RIAM PR Director, Thomas Stahler were Tony Settember and Don Nichols with a presentation to RIAM by Gene Lentz a donation of memorabilia from Shadow Cars to museum President, Doug Magnon. AUDIO FILE HERE (43 min.)

There’s a saying in Texas. “I wasn’t born here, but I got here as fast as I could.” This is the first proper U.S. race since Watkins Glen and, at last, COTA represents a worthy home for the USGP event.

That could also be said of this Southern California RIAM viewing party event. Here’s hoping the COTA F1 USGP viewing party becomes an annual Southern California tradition. A Grand Prix time was had by all.

… notes from The EDJE

** Article first published as RIAM Joins New Era Circuit Of The Americas F1 Viewing Faithful on Technorati **

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No Betting on Wet Silverstone Formula One Race

July 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Ferrari President, Luca di Montezemolo, not happy despite win at Valencia.

Let there be no doubt that the only constant in this years Formula One season is its unpredictability. Consistency is there, if only posing as a small token of homage paid to the brilliance of the drivers themselves. Alonso, Vettel and Hamilton come to mind.

Silverstone should, by all rights, be the one track where McLaren and Red Bull will shine-perhaps.

McLaren threw down the gauntlet today proclaiming that their new upgrades for Silverstone should put them on par with Red Bull.

That statement is a bit misleading as Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren team principle, admitted or at the very least hopes that Vettel’s Valencia pace was track specific. One second per lap is an eternity in Formula One.

Immediately following the Valencia race, Ferrari’s President, Luca di Montezemolo, said in no uncertain terms that Red Bull worried him. Translated that meant a screaming, arm waving Italian style meltdown meeting was about to happen in Maranello. My bet is that it did.

He said, “I don’t want outsiders to think that one win is enough for us to put on a fireworks display,” he added, “It would be a big mistake to think the win in Valencia means we have done enough. We have a competitive car, but to win, we must do even more.”

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, who is tantamount to a pit bull on acid, was the saving grace of Valencia by not easing off and using his considerable skills to stay near the front. The fact that Vettel’s Red Bull and Romain Grosjean’s Lotus mechanically failed is irrelevant to the driver’s points at the moment. The fact that they were both ahead of McLaren and Ferrari is very relevant to the livelihoods of the engineers from Renault, the engine supplier for Red Bull and Lotus, and the team technicians.

Like an old re-run from Star Trek, Alonso proclaimed that the Ferrari’s need “more speed.” They all need more speed but in Ferrari’s case, they need it on the medium-speed corners as well as grabbing traction sooner on slow corner exit.

Silverstone, were it to stay dry, would give a good indication as to whether or not Red Bull has actually found something. However McLaren, Ferrari and Lotus haven’t remained static with Silverstone updates. With rain, we may never see those upgrades reach their potential until Hockenheim several weeks hence.

Unfortunately for Red Bull, it is not likely to be a dry race or qualifying. Rain is, after all, the great equalizer. Mercedes is seeding clouds as we write. Lotus may as well employ the Navaho Indians to gain wet weather favor.

Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull have something to prove at Silverstone but may not get the chance

The rain may very well see Force India near the front joined by Lotus. Perhaps Raikkonen can satisfy his urge to win this go around giving him good reason to party, but don’t rule out his team mate, Romain Grosjean, who looks for all the world ready to take a win.

The greatest challenge to racing in the rain at Silverstone is that the corners are breathtakingly fast. Dry it’s a beautiful thing, wet is a challenge but manageable, too much rain and you can’t see the car in front of you.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa may have said it best, “It’s okay if you are right at the front, but if you’re not in the top three on track, you actually have to look to the side rather than straight ahead to see where you are and this is the only type of condition we all hate, as you are driving blind.”  Massa needs a strong result and soon as it’s no secret he’s in a musical chairs position, the difference is young wolves are circling for his seat, not cute girls.

As defiant as “Uncle Hugo” himself, Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado has vowed not to change his aggressive driving. He may not have to change as in the wet he has the ability to take out several cars around him, which is not to say he isn’t incredibly good, but impatience in a wet race is an E-ticket into the gravel traps. If it’s dry he could be a factor.

Expect the unexpected again this weekend at Silverstone as this has been the only constant in 2012.

It’s been a fantastic season so far.

 

Maria di Villota lost an eye and suffered massive skull and facial injuries in a Marussia F1 testing accident

All of the staff at Motorsports Unplugged beg to offer our heartfelt wishes for a speedy recovery for Maria di Villota, the Marussia F1 test driver who was critically injured in a testing crash this past week. It is a stark reminder of just how dangerous auto racing can be. Her driving career may be over, but she has a life to live and we wish her the best.

 

 

 

 

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Odds Are Against Vettel Surpassing Schumacher

October 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment

When Niki Lauda and others say that Sebastian Vettel can surpass Michael Schumacher’s 7 World Formula One titles, what they’re saying is it’s possible, not necessarily probable. When you read the European motoring press headlines, they’re usually taken out of context in order to create sensationalism that readers will want to dig into. Reality is something else entirely.

Niki Lauda actually said that it’s possible and mathematically it is, it just isn’t likely in todays Formula One landscape. You have to look out on the horizon and see just whom he’s up against, both drivers and teams.

Sebastian Vettel is locked into Red Bull until 2014, in Formula One post Ferrari-Schumacher, that’s an eternity. Ferrari and McLaren have no intention of allowing Red Bull to continue to dominate, Adrian Newey or not. They might, but it’s getting harder to pull it off. Think Brawn.

If Red Bull stumbles in 2012 and doesn’t deliver a car suitable for Vettel in 2012 and 2013, then two years will have gone asunder. Where he would go after 2013 is irrelevant if he can’t deliver two more titles in two years. Yes, he would only be 28, but in Formula One, he has to make exactly the right move to exactly the right team at the right time. Add in another little problem in making a decision, the engines will no longer be V8’s but rather V6 Turbocharged power-plants. But wait, don’t answer, this is Formula One, it could be a four cylinder engines yet.

Timing is more in play now than it was in the Schumacher era. Schumacher’s competitors, Mika Haikkinen excluded, were not at the levels of ability and team technical prowess they are now, so Vettel doesn’t merely have to show up and drive, he has to pick wisely. So far he has with short contracts, score one intelligent move for the German.

The answer is in the ages of the drivers, the length of their contracts and the ability of a team to deliver a car that is dominant. The RB7 most certainly is dominant in Vettel’s hands, but not Webber. One need not be reminded that Alonso had a year from hell in his brief tenure with McLaren. Accusations of McLaren taking all of his setups and handing them over to Hamilton’s engineers as well as favoring Hamilton on pit strategy seem plausible considering Alonso was openly vocal about it. Remember Alonso sitting in the pit box holding up Hamilton, there’s a reason for it.

Jenson Button doesn’t mind the atmosphere as he has taken control of the McLaren team and been rewarded with a long-term contract. Make that a lifetime contract for potentially 70 million USD. The British Champion is 31 years old and the shelf life of the present day F1 driver has grown shorter.

So with Button sewn up that leaves Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes as possibilities for Vettel should Red Bull not keep its technical advantage. Alonso is signed with Ferrari until 2016 with a contract that would make most people weep. That leaves a gap with Ferrari for two years and also with McLaren if Hamilton tries to jump ship to Ferrari or Red Bull. Hamilton’s contract with McLaren is up in 2012 as of this writing.

If all this sounds confusing it really isn’t. Sebastian Vettel won a World Championship the year after he joined Red Bull. Fernando Alonso won a World Championship a year after he joined Renault. Jenson Button won a World Championship the year Ross Brawn was basically paid to take the Honda team. The common pattern is that in each case these three drivers had the best car on the grid. Vettel’s ability is undeniable but if his team, whomever it may be, stumbles and doesn’t provide the best car, it’s game on for Alonso, Hamilton or Jenson Button.

The point is that it is possible for Vettel to take 7 titles, but with the company he now keeps, it’s very improbable. Did I mention Nico Rosberg?

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Sebastian Vettel, Double Formula One World Champion

October 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment


It’s rare that a driver comes along at such a young age as Sebastian Vettel and becomes dominant. Vettel secured his second Formula One World Championship this past weekend in Japan. Can he surpass Schumacher? It’s doubtful as the landscape for that kind of run has changed, but he’s certainly got the talent if the planets line up.

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Singapore Grand Prix: Is it Vettel’s Title?

September 23, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The Singapore Grand Prix is always one of the more difficult races that the Formula One teams have to face. It’s unpredictable with its weather, its temperatures and it’s a proper street circuit. In fact, it’s the closest in comparison to Monaco in terms of difficulty with low grip level and driver fatigue, particularly with the bumps in the track surface.

That doesn’t detract from the almost unanimous sentiment that it’s one of the most enjoyable for the drivers despite all of the variables. Without question the favorites have to be the usual suspects in the lineup of Alonso, Vettel, Hamilton, Webber and Button. Alonso has taken two of the last three victories here, but that was on different tire compounds and different circumstances.

Vettel will want to immediately go for the pole out of sheer defense as qualifying for this race could be wet or dry and the race itself potentially run under both conditions. He has to defend his title and here he must get the hole-shot into the first turn or he runs the risk of being collected in a melee. Alonso, on the other hand, has shown the Ferrari can provide him blistering starts and if he can take a pole here getting by him wont be a forgone conclusion as it was in Monza.

The tire compounds are going to be the soft and super soft Pirelli’s which suit the Ferrari’s on tight, twisting tracks such as this that also require high down-force. The new element here may be the DRS system, although the length of deployment and the fact that only one section can be used may or may not prove to be beneficial to anyone. If it rains, all bets are off as the Renaults and Torro Rosso’s will move into the fray, and it might very well be just that on a low grip, slick street circuit at night.

The focus that the drivers will have to maintain will be difficult with so many corners and the bright lights always tempting a distraction from precise driving. Physical fitness and length of the race, it’s the longest on the schedule, may prove to be the deciding factor in who makes a mistake and who takes advantage of it.

Six races remain in the season, including Singapore, and Hamilton, Alonso and Button have all conceded that Vettel will take the title, but that hasn’t stopped them from going all out to win every race they can. In fact, it may be somewhat of a relief that they can now concentrate on winning while the teams back home develop the 2012 cars. That makes this race even more interesting, after all, there’s nothing more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose.

If Vettel doesn’t take pole, he may very well opt to settle in behind whomever gets the lead in turn one. It may be better to take the points than risk throwing an entire race away. However this race has always been known for it’s crashes and the safety car being deployed more than once during the event, which gives even more reason for Vettel and Webber to lock out the front row. If they don’t, then Alonso will go for the lead in turn one come Hell or high water as Ferrari has ceased development of the 150 Italia.

That’s the beauty of Formula One, you really don’t know what’s going to happen, until it does.

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Sebastian Vettel Explains KERS and DRS

September 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment


World Formula One Champion, Sebastian Vettel explains the Kinetic Energy Recovery System and DRS (Drag Reduction System).

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Spa-Francorchamps: Vettel Extends F1 Lead

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment


Sebastian Vettel won the Grand Prix of Belgium Sunday and extended his World Championship points lead. The McLaren and Ferrari teams couldn’t find the pace in the closing stages of the famous race. Lewis Hamilton crashed and was seemingly dazed.

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Fernando Alonso: Ferrari’s Spanish Doubloon

August 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It’s easy for most us to sit back and play Monday morning quarterback in motorsports. The teams, the drivers and the politics make any of the top tier forms of auto racing an opinion-editorial dream.

Formula One is the truly the pinnacle of auto racing, not to mention a gold mine for conspiracy theories, industrial espionage and driver mystique. However, every now and again the planets lineup to deliver a special nugget of gold that can’t be ignored. In this case it’s a Spanish doubloon named Fernando Alonso.

Alonso’s career hasn’t been magical but rather sheer talent, hard work and a ferocious attitude as an inveterate competitor. I wouldn’t want to play Chess with the guy for fear of a singing sword being unleashed at a most inconvenient moment. This driver plays for keeps.

Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and others are no less worthy competitors, however they don’t carry the cache’ of Alonso as a Ferrari driver. No brand on Earth is more recognizable than Ferrari. The Scuderia Ferrari is much more than a team, it’s an Italian national institution and Alonso’s presence does nothing to diminish that mindset. His style, manner and skill have caught the attention and adoration of the Tifosi as strongly as Michael Schumacher or Gilles Villenueve did in their days with Ferrari.

Alonso has always been one of those drivers that could be referred to as complete. He began his Formula One career at Minardi, a struggling feeder team at best, but consistently took a car that was far from competitive and made it perform beyond its ability. This feat didn’t go unnoticed by the faster teams.

Flavio Briatore, the flamboyant media gift that just keeps on giving, became Alonso’s manager and placed him as the test driver for Renault. This was a move that taught the Spanish youngster the technical side of set-up, how to work with true engineers and the most important thing of all, many miles of seat time.

When Alonso replaced Yarno Trulli at Renault becoming teammate to Giancarlo Fishichella he not only out performed him, he repeatedly went head to head with Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen without fear. While with his tenure at Renault he captured two back-to-back World Championships at a time when Schumacher was in his prime.

Ferrari knew what they were seeing and, as they do as a matter of process, began the strategies that would ultimately see him reach the Prancing Horse stable.

If we were referring to an artist, you could say that despite winning races and being competitive, his season with McLaren would have to be considered his ‘blue period’. The personal relationship between British driver Lewis Hamilton and Alonso soured quickly. Alonso’s accusations that Hamilton’s engineers were taking the Spaniard’s set-ups and using them for the Briton proved to be true.

Ron Dennis, McLaren’s principle at the time, had invested in Hamilton since the driver was fifteen years old and he had every intention of using whatever means possible to elevate the youngster, even at the expense of Alonso’s future with the team.

Once again, Alonso made a decision that would put him in more fitting surroundings, to Ferrari. Raikkonen was no longer a viable driver as a leader or technical benefit. The Finn’s only desire was to climb into a car and drive. Alonso was more like Schumacher and Jean Todt knew it all too well.

The cost of buying out Raikkonen to get to Alonso was immense, but necessary. Ferrari had a long- term plan and Alonso was the last piece of the puzzle. Massa was quick and a hard fighter but he lacked an ability that Alonso possesses. Alonso stated firmly that he was worth one half second to any team. Certainly a bold statement, but true. His days at Minardi had taught him to take his equipment just slightly beyond what it was purportedly capable of handling.

The future for Fernando Alonso is set. He has become the undisputed team leader at Ferrari and is consistently scoring points for the Italian team that early in the 2011 season found itself in an engineering nightmare. Exhaust blown diffusers, rule changes, no testing, battling against a nearly perfectly balanced car in the Red Bull RB7 and its apparent domination.

The 2012 season will usher in another era, the teams all go to a new formula. They won’t abandon lessons learned in past years, there’s no such thing as a totally clean slate in auto racing, however the new V6 turbocharged engine formula coupled with a complete ban on all blown diffusers give the Spanish driver his next opportunity, a third World Championship.

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Grand Prix of Hungary-An Amazing Display of True Grand Prix Masters

August 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

To those on the outside looking in at the beautiful and sometimes mysterious world of Formula One Grand Prix racing, it sometimes takes a ‘Battle Royale’ for the casual fan of Motorsports to actually appreciate what is happening.

The Grand Prix of Hungary brought out the UFC fighters of the auto-racing world. Those said fighters operate at speeds and reaction times that we as mere mortals can never replicate. That’s why we watch such displays as we saw yesterday in Hungary with a sense of awe. Jenson Button, the winner for McLaren, was brilliant.

By far this race showed just how close the top teams are in performance to one another. McLaren, Red Bull and the iconic Scuderia Ferrari showed that they all are brilliant, all are fearless and all very human. All four top finishers are World Champions.

Mistakes were made in the tires selections during pit-stops as the team engineers did their utmost to play weathermen with rain showers and unforeseen mechanical issues. What’s the big story here? Sebastian Vettel, with Red Bull, will win the World Championship, but he is clearly rattled. Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain made passes on this young genius that no one thought were possible. Hamilton freely admits that he takes the car beyond what the engineers say it can do. Chalk one up for humans and take a star away from artificial intelligence.

In Grand Prix racing the cars start the race from a dead stop, all in a double row with acceleration that is almost incomprehensible to the normal driver. When the starting lights go out these cars go from a dead stop to 62 MPH in 1.9 seconds.

When the Hugarian race began, Lewis Hamilton, a master of the standing start, arrived at the first turn with Sebastian Vettel along side. What ensued was nothing short of two F-22 Raptors fighting for the same air space. Vettel ultimately slid off the track just long enough for Hamilton to rocket off in what appeared to be the drive of his life. Things change quickly in a Formula One race and change they did.

On lap 47 rain showers hit causing the teams to scramble for an answer. Would the rain blow over or would they need to come in for intermediate rain tires? Several teams chose the latter which was their undoing – the rain quit as quickly as it came. Those who were on the intermediate tires had to come back in and change to either the super soft or the prime tires, an extra pit stop, which was proved to be costly to Hamilton. Hamilton spun in the chicane but re-entered the track directly across the bow of Paul di Resta, of Scotland, triggering a penalty against the British World Champion.

While this battle raged on Jenson Button, in his 200th Grand Prix, took the lead ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Button is widely known for being incredibly smooth in his driving style and therefore easier on his tires than most. Once Button had the lead Vettel tried his utmost to get to him but to no avail. Jenson Button won one the most exciting Formula One races in recent memory. Coming second was Sebastian Vettel of Germany and then the fearless Spaniard, Fernando Alonso, in his Ferrari.

Formula One is one of those sports that to Americans is still perplexing to some degree, however, in 2012 the United States Grand Prix will return to Austin, Texas-a seemingly unlikely city -but the start of a trend that the manufacturers who own the teams or supply the technology desperately want to have on their International schedule. In fact, they want two. Maybe the United States is important after all.

RACE RESULTS

The Hungarian Grand Prix

The Hungaroring, Hungary;

70 laps; 306.663km;

Weather: Mixed conditions.

Classified:

Pos Driver Team Time

1. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1h43:42.337

2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.588

3. Alonso Ferrari + 19.819

4. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes + 48.338

5. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 49.742

6. Massa Ferrari + 1:17.176

7. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 1 lap

8. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap

9. Rosberg Mercedes + 1 lap

10. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1 lap

11. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 1 lap

12. Petrov Renault + 1 lap

13. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps

14. Sutil Force India-Mercedes + 2 laps

15. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 2 laps

16. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth + 2 laps

17. Glock Virgin-Cosworth + 4 laps

18. Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth + 4 laps

19. D’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth + 5 laps

20. Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth + 5 laps

Fastest lap: Massa, 1:23.415

Not classified/retirements:

Driver Team On lap

Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 56

Schumacher Mercedes 27

Heidfeld Renault 24

Trulli Lotus-Renault 18

World Championship standings, round 11:

Drivers: Constructors:

1. Vettel 234 1. Red Bull-Renault 383

2. Webber 149 2. McLaren-Mercedes 280

3. Hamilton 146 3. Ferrari 215

4. Alonso 145 4. Mercedes 80

5. Button 134 5. Renault 66

6. Massa 70 6. Sauber-Ferrari 35

7. Rosberg 48 7. Force India-Mercedes 26

8. Heidfeld 34 8. Toro Rosso-Ferrari 22

9. Schumacher 32 9. Williams-Cosworth 4

10. Petrov 32

11. Kobayashi 27

12. Sutil 18

13. Buemi 12

14. Alguersuari 10

15. Di Resta 8

16. Perez 8

17. Barrichello 4       

 

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