Hamilton triumphs at Spa
Lewis Hamilton took victory at the fearsome Spa Franchorchamps circuit in Belgium yesterday,with Marc Webber second and Robert Kubica third. The race was a classic Spa event with rain showers and a track that was dry in one area and wet in another. We saw many drivers caught out by both the circuit and the conditions, leaving plenty of smashed cars at the side of the track.
Sebastien Vettel has made the headlines for all the wrong reasons, crashing into Button and putting him out of the race, then getting involved in two further incidents. This has highlighted his often quoted lack of ability in overtaking, something that his main rivals seem to do so well (even in an age of aerodynamic over efficiency). He is superb when driving on the edge, blasting out fast lap after fast lap, yet when in close quarters with an opponent, contact often ensues leaving either himself or the other car left by the roadside.
Marc Webber's car stalled on the grid, always a potentially dangerous occurrence, but managed to get his car into gear and claimed second place at the end of the race. Robert Kubica took full advantage of an excellent Renault, proving once more that the Pole is the real deal.
Michael Schumacher was also very impressive, showing glimpses of his old form as he worked his way up from the back of the grid to finish a fine seventh. I think I'm not alone in saying that this is the type of racing we want to see from him, not the dangerous antics he undertook at the Hungaroring.
The school of dangerous driving
Yes ladies and gentlemen, the Schumacher School of dangerous driving is open for business once again. Founded in Macau in 1990, the school has constantly striven to uphold the ethics (or lack thereof) of the desperate racing driver who can't psychologically cope with being beaten. The school has proven to be massively popular with young, up and coming racers armed with a sense of entitlement and no intention of developing into a sportsman. We shall now look at some examples of the school curriculum:
Hungary like the wolf
The Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday saw a real master-class by the head of the school, Michael Schumacher, firmly defending his position in front of the weak Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian dared to attempt an overtaking move and was firmly shown the pit wall by our illustrious founder. Take a look at the good, hard racing going on below:
It is fair to say that Barrichello was overreacting, as the sponginess of the pit wall would have cushioned his impact as Mr Schumacher drove imperiously onwards. Clearly a fine example of clean, defensive driving that young racers should all emulate.
That was our most up to date lesson, but we can now also look at some of our previous tutorials on the art of great racing:
Don't mika me do this
Here it is, the move that helped found the school, back in 1990. Wait until the last moment, cut your opponent up and send him crashing out of the race:
He must never overtake you at any cost. EVER!!!!
Drive it like a Reliant Robin
Even with just three wheels, we can still defend our position and ensure that our opponent doesn't win. Even if you really have no right to be driving your badly damaged car around the track. It's YOUR track, NOT theirs!
Hang him out to (Canada) dry!
Well not exactly, hang him out... Just drive into him! It was your piece of the road and he was trespassing on it. Hit him, no one's looking. What do you expect if you're driving in Spain anyway?
Join the school
If you're impressed by any of the driving you have seen here, then get in touch, as our head instructor Mr M. Schumacher will be happy to coach you through the fine art of firm, defensive driving, with a spot of pathological lying thrown in for good measure. You can also benefit from his apprentice Mr Vettel, who will be taking classes in belligerence and petulance as well.
Team orders, anyone?
Fernando Alonso won a very contentious German Grand Prix at Hockenheim yesterday. The Spaniard was given the lead of the race by his team mate Philipe Massa after a coded message was relayed to him over the pit radio. This breaking of the rules gave interest to an otherwise boring race (bring back the old layout, I say).
Sebastien Vettel came third (and probably happy to be a bit part player after Silverstone), with Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button a distant fourth and fifth. Marc Webber, hamstrung by oil consumption problems, rounded out the top six. Oh, and Mercedes were awful. They'd have been better off using one their vans! The days of Schumacher dominating all he surveyed are now very distant.
Team orders are nothing new and were never seen to be wrong until that infamous day in 2002, when Ferrari management ordered Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher through to take the win on the last corner. Barrichello had been inspired all weekend bested his German team mate in the race, yet was expected to slow right down and let him through. It was such an obvious and cynical move that the FIA banned team orders.
Unfortunately that was a knee-jerk reaction and now stops team managers from being able to give orders to their drivers. A simple order to instruct the number two driver to keep his position behind the team leader to maximise their championship chances, is no longer allowed. So through the utter cynicism and disregard for sportsmanlike behaviour, the Ferrari team got an important part of team management banned, therefore making it a underhand practice.
And yesterday it came back to bite them on the backside.
Red Bull gives you (old) wings!
Marc Webber won the British Grand Prix on Sunday and I was there to see it! Having been to several Grand Prix both here and in Europe over the last ten years, I can say that this was probably the best one I've seen. Almost as a rebuke to my last post, in which I ran down the calibre of the Grand Prix support races, there was a good race in every category. However, I do have a feeling that this may be in some way to do with the layout of the Silverstone track. The new circuit seemed to give even more opportunities for overtaking, along with Silverstone's signature white-knuckle fast corners.
Support races and layout's aside, the main story of the weekend was the controversy that erupted in the Red Bull team. Both cars had been fitted with a new developmental front wing, which Seb Vettel managed to smash in an off during practice. It was then ordered that Webber's wing should be transferred over to his team mates car. Whether or not this was a major contributing factor to the car's overall performance is neither here nor there, but what it shows to the outside world is a clear preference for Sebastien Vettel to be champion this year. If the team was being run to a joint number one system, then Vettel would have just had to make do with the old wing.
During the press conference on Saturday it was clear that the Australian was furious and that anger probably contributed to his fine performance the next day. Indeed, from where my brother and I were sitting at Stowe corner, Webber seemed to be putting in a muscular, controlled performance that tempered aggression with mature race-craft. In fact, his performance was probably the only constant in the whole race (apart from Lewis Hamilton's dogged pursuit of him).
At the other end of the scale, Fernando Alonso's fiery, exciting and ultimately unrewarding drive was fascinating to watch. It was a gloves-off and slightly unhinged show of great car control. His hounding of Robert Kubica and the Force India's later on in the race was great to watch. Although the Spaniard's ham fisted attempt at overtaking the Pole did seem to take a bit of the shine off things (and earned him a drive-through penalty). Thanks to this and the collision with team mate Massa, one gets the impression that Ferrari need to pull their socks up a bit.
Special mention should go to Jensen Button's fourth place, especially after the Englishman started in 14th on the grid. He made up sixth places on the first lap, stayed out and changed his tyres late to jump two places and capitalised on Kubica's retirement. All in all, an excellent save of a weekend that could have turned into a disaster for the McLaren driver.
Bruno Senna was strangely absent from the Hispania racing team this weekend, with Japanese driver Sakon Yamamoto stumping up the cash to take his place for the race. He needn't have bothered, the cars were painfully slow. An old bedford van would have been as effective!
Now it's over, I'd better start saving my pennies for next year!
Silverstone, here we come!
It is the Formula 1 British Grand Prix this weekend and I for one am excited. Why? Because I'm going, that's why! Last year myself, my father, brother and uncle went off to watch it as we feared that it would be the last ever British Grand Prix. The race itself was a bit tedious, I must say and I'm hoping that the new layout will give us the type of racing that we saw at the bike Grand Prix a few weeks ago.
The other problem is the support races, as they really are a Bernie stitch-up these days, with GP2, GP3 and Formula BMW clogging the programme. How about a bit of local colour? Incorporating a round of the British Formula 3 and the BTCC would provide a far more entertaining curtain raiser to the main event (I believe this always used to be the case). For example, I went to the Spanish Grand Prix in 2003 and one of the support races was a Seat Ibiza Challenge race; brilliant entertainment! 25-30 tin tops racing around the track, smashing into each other! Something a bit more like that would help immensely.
Slight moans aside, I'm very much looking forward to this weekend. I presume that this is going to be a Red Bull weekend as their car is the proverbial rocket on fast tracks and with it's alterations, Silverstone is once again extremely quick. Damon Hill and the British Racing Drivers Club have spent their financial investments wisely as the track is looking great. Plus, guess who's the driver steward for this race? Nigel Mansell!!!!!!!
I think I'm going to have a lie down...
Vettel wins at Valencia
Sebastien Vettel won the European Grand Prix at Valencia on Sunday, while team mate Marc Webber suffered a horrific crash which fortunately left him unharmed. His Red Bull was launched off the back of Heikki Kovalainen's Lotus as the car flipped over onto it's airbox, skidded along before turning over again and crashing into the barrier. My first thought was that the Australian was very seriously injured, however he was only dazed. For more on the crash, click here.
Lewis Hamilton and Jensen Button finished second and third respectively, putting them first and second in the drivers championship. Fernando Alonso was fuming that Lewis Hamilton's overtaking of the safety car ruined his race and that the drive through penalty that the Englishman received did not affect his end placing.
Grand Prix Gold!!
Ayrton Senna. Donington 1993. An absolutely classic first lap where the Brazilian overtakes the top five cars and takes control of the race. That particular Grand Prix has since gone down as one of the Brazilian's greatest victories and you can enjoy it here, here and here!!!
Round-up 16/06/2010
Well, lots of big races have taken place and I've had no time to do any updating of this blog, so here is a quick update instead!
F1
Book your flights to Abu Dhabi, people! This F1 season looks like it may be worth going to to yet another boring track in the desert, just to see Webber, Hamilton, Button, Alonso and Vettel fighting for the title.
Lewis Hamilton won again at Montreal on Sunday after an exciting race where tyre wear came massively to the fore. Red Bull struggled with Bridgestone's soft compound tyre, forcing their drivers to pit and lose position. In fact, team boss Christian Horner remarked that the soft option was 'made of cheese'. Michael Schumacher did himself no favours by cutting up former team mate Felipe Massa, and generally driving in a manner that the seven time world champion is not known for.
Le Mans 24 Hours
Going against predictions, Audi beat Peugeot to take the famous 24 hour endurance race. Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller took the chequered flag after a days worth of racing, that saw the two main Peugeot entries fall by the wayside with mechanical woes. The German manufacturer's cars completed a 1-2-3 of the podium with Britain's Allan McNish finishing in the third place car.
Isle of Man TT
Ian Hutchinson took a record breaking five wins in one week at the Isle of Man TT, culminating in a rain shortened Senior TT. Hutchinson took the lead from the start and kept it as other fancied riders such as last years winner John McGuinness and Connor Cummings failed to finish.
I never fail to be stunned by this event, I'll be writing an article on this event soon. So keep this site bookmarked!
MotoGP: I shouldn’t be stunned but…
...Valentino Rossi is out of the MotoGP season for the foreseeable future. During practice for Saturday's Italian Grand Prix at Mugello, the multiple 125cc/250cc/500cc/MotoGP champion suffered a nasty high-side which threw him off and broke his leg. The Yamaha rider is thought to be out of the fray for at least four races at least, putting him in the situation where he will be riding as number two to Jorge Lorenzo, in order to shore up the Spaniards championship challenge.
The surprise at this incident appears to be huge throughout the motorcycle racing media. Rossi has never has a big accident and the Italian has never missed a race since he began Grand Prix racing in the 125's back in 1996. In a mirror image of his father, Graziano Rossi, Valentino's career has been relatively accident free; a combination of luck and improved safety. Unfortunately for Rossi Snr, by all accounts a very talented Grand Prix winner, his short career (1978-1982) saw him seriously injured in hospital more often than not.
Yet, it appears that Valentino's luck ran out this weekend, leaving him watching the race from a hospital bed. However, don't rule him out of winning a race at the seasons end.
Handbags at dawn 2010!
Sunday's Turkish Grand Prix saw F1 indulging in an excellent circuit, overtaking (I know, I was surprised too) and a championship drama of handbag slapping proportions. The Red Bull team is currently doing extremely well, with Adrian Newey's RB6 quite clearly the fastest thing on the grid. However, the script has not been written to the teams liking, as a fully fit Marc Webber is leading the championship and dealing a real drubbing to team mate Sebastian Vettel. The young German is clearly seen by the team as the future, a future that is not well served when the prodigal son is being soundly beaten by a 33 year old race in, race out.
As other commentators have pointed put, Webber must feel that his career is finally kicking into top gear, in the same way that it did for Nigel Mansell. Everyone's favourite moustachioed English racing driver was seen as an also-ran for the first five years of his career, until he arrived at Williams and began winning at the age of 33.
Sunday's incident will probably be talked about as a turning point when the season ends, in the way that Imola 1989 was for the McLaren team; the first big bust-up of the Prost/Senna pairing. From looking at the footage it is pretty clear that (a) Vettel was slightly ahead, (b) Webber was rightly holding his line and that (c) Vettel drove into his team mate. However instead of keeping a neutral standpoint on this incident, Red Bull management are waging into the argument defending Vettel. I get a feeling that Marc Webber will be pulling his boxing gloves off in Canada...
Threading the Needle: Monaco Preview
Unforgiving barriers, changing surfaces, a glamourous location, beautiful people and world famous corners are all fundamental elements of what makes the Monaco Grand Prix great. As F1 courts the riches of the Arab world, holding races in the desert at Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, the old world of motor racing sometimes gets overlooked. Frankly, the wonderful pits complex at Bahrain and the elaborate, yet empty grandstands of Shanghai are simply side attractions to what should be the main event: the track.
Monaco does not have a luxurious pit complex, just some small garages and an extremely demanding track. Mistakes are punished not by generous run-off areas, but by car-breaking armco barriers. There are bumps a plenty, especially on the approach to Ste Devote and several super slow corners (Loews and Rascasse hairpins), plus the famous tunnel. One mistake here will often mean the end of your race and a flight to the UK.
My predictions for the race? For what it's worth, I'd say that Jensen Button and Fernando Alonso are my hot favourites to take the top step on the royal box. Monaco requires precision and no mistakes; both of the above drivers fit those requirements and should shine this weekend. As for Lewis Hamilton, I have no doubt that he will be fast and spectacular, but may end up clashing with 'the monkeys at the back'. Additionally, I wouldn't write off Mr Schumacher either, as his fourth place in Spain showed that his form may be improving...