So Sebastian Vettel continues to run away with this year's world championship. With 143 points out of a possible 150, 5 race wins out of 6, he looks invincible. Having said that, Jenson Button was in the same position 2 years ago and his title win wasn't decided until the penultimate race of the season. Having said that, the Red Bull will develop more than the Brawn car did in 2009. We can but hope that others will start to win races soon. Nowt personal about the lad, you understand, but I'd just like the title race not to be decided by the Summer holidays if at all possible.
He'd never won in Monaco before and his victory yesterday was by no means assured, despite him storming away to a significant early lead. His pit stop on lap 18 was almost farcical in its inefficiency with confusion over which tyres to put on and one of them getting caught in a tyre blanket, losing him a good chunk of time. It would never have done for Mark Webber to have had a more efficient stop so by the time he landed in his box, they didn't even have his tyres ready for him and he was stationery for 15 seconds. From his third on the grid slot, after being passed by Alonso at the start, the pit stop debacle saw the Australian having to fight back from 14th.
Red Bull fluffing it in the pit lane meant that Jenson Button was in front. For a while it looked as if he might be able to pull off a victory. And he might have done, if his reckless team-mate Lewis Hamilton hadn't decided to pull an overtake on Massa in the tunnel which sent the Brazilian out of the race and necessitated a safety car. Every time I see that pass it looks more dangerous, with Massa being pushed onto the tyre marbles. He was very lucky that it wasn't a lot worse. Just before that, Jenson had been pulled in for a pit stop in anticipation of a safety car, which never materialised, when a Virgin retired and he wasn't able to get the benefit of the new tyres to set some cracking lap times and sacrificed his place at the front of the race needlessly.
By the time we'd got to lap 60, Vettel was leading Alonso and Button within a second or so of each other. The thing was, Vettel had had his tyres on since lap 18. Because he'd started on the super soft and then switched to soft, he didn't need to stop again. The unknown factor was how long would the Pirelli tyre last? He'd need to complete 60 laps with that set of tyres and it seemed likely that at some point he'd lose grip and potentially lose 2 seconds a lap which would give Alonso and Button the chance to pass him - and Button had the fresher tyres.
9 laps later, just as the leaders were clearing the midfield, near the swimming pool, Jaime Alguesuari and Vitaly Petrov ended up in the barriers after a series of collisions which also saw Lewis Hamilton's rear wing broken, seemingly hanging by a thread. The race was red flagged and there were some scary moments as it was clear that the problem was extricating Petrov from his Renault. He had been complaining of pain in his foot, so once he'd been gingerly extricated he was taken to hospital. Thankfully, all was well and he was out after a few hours.
The resulting red flag and race restart benefitted Petrov's fellow Renault powered driver, Sebastian Vettel, who was able to get rid of his knackered tyres and replace them with a lovely new set of supersofts on the grid. McLaren were even able to replace Hamilton's rear wing. After the restart behind the safety car, the ultimate result was never really in doubt.
Lewis Hamilton featured in most of the day's controversial moments. Having been passed by Michael Schumacher at the hairpin early on, he tried to pull a similar move on Felipe Massa and completely mucked it up. After the restart he tried a similar ill judged attempt to pass Pastor Maldonado at St Devote. Both Williams could have been in the points otherwise. His comments afterwards, that the stewards' interest in him was "a fricking joke" showed that any veneer of civility he's been cultivating this season so far is all for show.
I'm hard pushed to decide on driver of the day. Vettel won by chance, but still he managed to hold off Alonso and Button for many laps on older tyres, so he has to get credit for that. I get so frustrated with Jenson sometimes. He was caught napping a couple of times yesterday, but most particularly at the restart after the red flag. Vettel and Alonso were off into the distance before he realised what was going on. And it's not like he didn't know that the safety car was going to peel off and they'd be free to race. His smooth driving style suits him a lot of the time, but he can be a bit too laid back and slow to react and that definitely holds him back. I'm also tempted by Mark Webber who, as he always does, got his head down and got on with the job and salvaged a 4th place from being as low as 14th. He was clearly disappointed at the end, and, although I think he gets a rough deal at Red Bull, he was measured in his comments at the end of the race. He certainly had a lot more to complain about than Lewis Hamilton. Then there's Alonso, for his storming start and he did harry Vettel quite a lot when he was chasing him. He'd have got past without the safety car, I'm sure. Out of that lot, I'm going to pick Webber, I think purely because he banged in that fastest lap right at the end.
I've not had time to write much about F1 this year, although I hope that will change now that the elections are out of the way, so I haven't been able to wax lyrical about how fantastic I think DC and Brundle are together in the commentary box. Their passion is so infectious, but they remember that they need to keep it real for the fans and explain things. They have a really good chemistry - not seen since Brundle's days with Murray Walker. At times it's like they're finishing each other's sentences. Their commentary has a feel of a chat down the pub which draws you in. Brundle has stepped very ably into the role of lead commentator and comes out with some brilliantly random lines. During quali it was "I know there are 52 billion chickens in the world, but I'm not sure about that." In the race, while a hapless driver was trying to get his car in gear to leave the pits, he said "there are seven of them in there son, you'll find one". I'm not entirely sure about the veracity of the 52 billion chickens, though - Wikipedia says 24 billion and I read another source that suggested 45,000 per person, but that doesn't seem right.
DC, apart from a highly irritating inability to pronounce Heidfeld or Vettel correctly, is brilliant and the banter between the pair is easy and funny. During the red flag period yesterday, Brundle told DC that he was supposed to have the regulations at his fingertips and DC replied that the dog had eaten his notes. I could have listened to them all day. It's interesting that they didn't go back to Jake and EJ during that time - they would never have been able to fill that twenty or so minutes in the dull days of Jonathan Legard without recourse to something to waken us all up.
Monaco is the race pretty much any F1 fan would love to go to. And Laura Marieee did it this year. She has some cracking photos of the drivers and the iconic track and she's been keeping an online diary here at Formula 1 Blog. She was even able to walk through the pitlane. She's truly captured the spirit of the weekend and her excitement is as palpable as my insane jealousy that she made it there. Enjoy her account.
I can't wait for Canada in a couple of weeks' time. I was so glad to see this race back last year. It will, I think, favour the McLarens over the Red Bulls so maybe there will be a chance to rein Vettel in a bit.
Showing posts with label David Coulthard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Coulthard. Show all posts
Monday, May 30, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
#F1 Brundle promoted and joined by DC in BBC Commentary shake up
In exactly two months' time, we'll have seen the first couple of practice sessions of the 2011 season in the yawnmaking Sakhir international circuit in Bahrain. Last year's race belied the fact that the season was to be one of the most exciting ever, with the championship being decided by a(nother) Ferrari strategic slip up in the last race. Wouldn't have happened in Ross Brawn's day.....
One thing which was almost perfect all the way through last season, and the one before that, was the utterly fantastic BBC coverage. On both radio and television, the BBC excelled themselves with, to my mind at least, the best sports reporting team ever.
Today they've announced that they're changing things to make them even better. Jonathan Legard is leaving and his space in the commentary box is being taken by David Coulthard. I'm sure Mr Legard is a very nice man, but his commentary was dull and uninspiring and a lot of the time not even knowledgeable. And he had absolutely zero chemistry with his co-commentator Martin Brundle. It would be completely hypocritical of me to even suggest that I am sorry to see him go - although I hope that he finds a lucrative outlet for his talents. He comes across better in writing, I think.
I have worshipped at the Altar of the Blessed Brundle for 14 seasons now. He seems to have an instinctive sense of what we want as race viewers and is able to give it to us. He can be laddish at times, but has a fabulous balance of humour and cynicism to throw into the mix with his unrivalled inside knowledge.
There are some who aren't impressed with the new line up, but I think it'll work. Duncan doesn't think that Brundle will cut it as lead commentator, but I disagree. He's actually been a commentator for as long as he was a driver. His point of view has rounded in those 14 seasons.
We know that he has a good on-screen chemistry with Coulthard, and that the Scotsman is himself very articulate and good at expressing his opinion. The pair have been friends for years and I think this is a good move. My only worry about it is that we'll have to forego the sparky banter between DC and Eddie Jordan during the build-up. There's also the issue of DC's clear bias towards Red Bull - lucrative when you want access and insight, but not so helpful when it's just him and a microphone. Let's hope he can temper that a bit.
I wonder who they're going to give EJ to bounce off - or whether that post will go as part of the austerity strategy at the BBC.
Anyway, this is welcome news in the middle of the four month off season. It's only 3 weeks till the first pre season testing in Valencia - and only 6 weeks after that until the season kicks off.
One thing which was almost perfect all the way through last season, and the one before that, was the utterly fantastic BBC coverage. On both radio and television, the BBC excelled themselves with, to my mind at least, the best sports reporting team ever.
Today they've announced that they're changing things to make them even better. Jonathan Legard is leaving and his space in the commentary box is being taken by David Coulthard. I'm sure Mr Legard is a very nice man, but his commentary was dull and uninspiring and a lot of the time not even knowledgeable. And he had absolutely zero chemistry with his co-commentator Martin Brundle. It would be completely hypocritical of me to even suggest that I am sorry to see him go - although I hope that he finds a lucrative outlet for his talents. He comes across better in writing, I think.
I have worshipped at the Altar of the Blessed Brundle for 14 seasons now. He seems to have an instinctive sense of what we want as race viewers and is able to give it to us. He can be laddish at times, but has a fabulous balance of humour and cynicism to throw into the mix with his unrivalled inside knowledge.
There are some who aren't impressed with the new line up, but I think it'll work. Duncan doesn't think that Brundle will cut it as lead commentator, but I disagree. He's actually been a commentator for as long as he was a driver. His point of view has rounded in those 14 seasons.
We know that he has a good on-screen chemistry with Coulthard, and that the Scotsman is himself very articulate and good at expressing his opinion. The pair have been friends for years and I think this is a good move. My only worry about it is that we'll have to forego the sparky banter between DC and Eddie Jordan during the build-up. There's also the issue of DC's clear bias towards Red Bull - lucrative when you want access and insight, but not so helpful when it's just him and a microphone. Let's hope he can temper that a bit.
I wonder who they're going to give EJ to bounce off - or whether that post will go as part of the austerity strategy at the BBC.
Anyway, this is welcome news in the middle of the four month off season. It's only 3 weeks till the first pre season testing in Valencia - and only 6 weeks after that until the season kicks off.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
David Coulthard gets an MBE!
I woke up this morning to the fantastic news that David Coulthard is getting an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
I followed his F1 career right from his first race, the Spanish Grand Prix in 1994, where he replaced Ayrton Senna, who had been killed at the previous race in Imola. He drove with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull and I really wish he'd stayed for one further season, when Red Bull finally produced a decent race winning car. However, if he had stayed on, he wouldn't be part of the fabulous BBC Formula 1 reporting team where he and Eddie Jordan make us howl with laughter every week.
One of my favourite DC moments was when he won the British GP in 2000, passing Rubens Barrichello in the process.
It's all here:
And then there was the first podium for Red Bull in Monaco where I was so pleased for him that I forgave him for looking like a prat in a red superman cape.
Congratulations, DC, and enjoy your day at the Palace.
I followed his F1 career right from his first race, the Spanish Grand Prix in 1994, where he replaced Ayrton Senna, who had been killed at the previous race in Imola. He drove with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull and I really wish he'd stayed for one further season, when Red Bull finally produced a decent race winning car. However, if he had stayed on, he wouldn't be part of the fabulous BBC Formula 1 reporting team where he and Eddie Jordan make us howl with laughter every week.
One of my favourite DC moments was when he won the British GP in 2000, passing Rubens Barrichello in the process.
It's all here:
And then there was the first podium for Red Bull in Monaco where I was so pleased for him that I forgave him for looking like a prat in a red superman cape.
Congratulations, DC, and enjoy your day at the Palace.
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Sick Girls and Racing Champions
I've been nursing a sick little girl today, who woke up with a raging temperature in the night and a sore throat and a cough. Apparently 7 children in the other Primary 6 class are off with the same sort of thing, including the one she spent most of the weekend with.
She eventually managed to come downstairs this morning and was ensconced on the sofa in her My Little Pony sleeping bag drinking hot chocolate. She may have outgrown My Little Pony, but the sleeping bag is so lovely and comfy. Bless her, though - she did try to mount a weak protest at me putting the heating on - which I only very rarely do during the day - because it was bad for the environment.
You can tell she's ill because she's not uttered a word of dissent about me watching the Race of Champions. I might be the thickest person in the entire world, but I hadn't heard of it before - and I could kick myself because apparently Michael Schumacher competes in it every year.
This year he is there alongside, among others, new F1 champion Jenson Button,Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, former Scottish F1 driver and BBC commentator David Coulthard. Today is the Nations Cup event and to be honest, it was clear from the start that Germany had the advantage, whitewashing their way through the opposition in the early stages of the competition.
Their only defeat before the final came when, surprisingly, Michael Schumacher lost narrowly to his American opponent, Tanner Foust.
It's probably just as well this event doesn't get huge tabloid attention because it was obvious from the start that the final would be contested between Britain and Germany - and we all know how they go into jingoistic overdrive when that happens.
The confrontation we wanted to see was the race between Jenson and Schumi. Would the newly crowned F1 champion get the better of this legendary opponent. Well, he almost did. He didn't disgrace himself and it was very close.
After that race it was down to Sebastian Vettel and Andy Priaulx to decide the winner and, somewhat predictably, the German team emerged victorious for the third year in succession.
What I found most amazing was the venue - the Birds' Nest Stadium in Beijing where the Olympics were held last year. If you don't remember there being a racing track for cars in there when you watched the marvellous exploits of Team GB, you'd be right - they've brought in 8000 tons of bamboo (laid over to protect the athletics track and field) and then laid gravel and asphalt over the top to create this parallel circuit for the event.
It must have been quite a shock for Vettel, Coulthard and Button to jet in to the freezing, snowy Beijing from the scorching heat of Abu Dhabi. Jenson certainly seemed a bit disorientated when he was interviewed - very tired after a long flight.
It will be interesting to see how the individual event tomorrow pans out.
She eventually managed to come downstairs this morning and was ensconced on the sofa in her My Little Pony sleeping bag drinking hot chocolate. She may have outgrown My Little Pony, but the sleeping bag is so lovely and comfy. Bless her, though - she did try to mount a weak protest at me putting the heating on - which I only very rarely do during the day - because it was bad for the environment.
You can tell she's ill because she's not uttered a word of dissent about me watching the Race of Champions. I might be the thickest person in the entire world, but I hadn't heard of it before - and I could kick myself because apparently Michael Schumacher competes in it every year.
This year he is there alongside, among others, new F1 champion Jenson Button,Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, former Scottish F1 driver and BBC commentator David Coulthard. Today is the Nations Cup event and to be honest, it was clear from the start that Germany had the advantage, whitewashing their way through the opposition in the early stages of the competition.
Their only defeat before the final came when, surprisingly, Michael Schumacher lost narrowly to his American opponent, Tanner Foust.
It's probably just as well this event doesn't get huge tabloid attention because it was obvious from the start that the final would be contested between Britain and Germany - and we all know how they go into jingoistic overdrive when that happens.
The confrontation we wanted to see was the race between Jenson and Schumi. Would the newly crowned F1 champion get the better of this legendary opponent. Well, he almost did. He didn't disgrace himself and it was very close.
After that race it was down to Sebastian Vettel and Andy Priaulx to decide the winner and, somewhat predictably, the German team emerged victorious for the third year in succession.
What I found most amazing was the venue - the Birds' Nest Stadium in Beijing where the Olympics were held last year. If you don't remember there being a racing track for cars in there when you watched the marvellous exploits of Team GB, you'd be right - they've brought in 8000 tons of bamboo (laid over to protect the athletics track and field) and then laid gravel and asphalt over the top to create this parallel circuit for the event.
It must have been quite a shock for Vettel, Coulthard and Button to jet in to the freezing, snowy Beijing from the scorching heat of Abu Dhabi. Jenson certainly seemed a bit disorientated when he was interviewed - very tired after a long flight.
It will be interesting to see how the individual event tomorrow pans out.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Red Bull and Brawn lead Turkey Grid
It's been a strange couple of days at Istanbul Park as the Formula 1 circus moves there for the Turkish Grand Prix tomorrow. In first practice yesterday we had farcical scenes as a bit of astroturf was dislodged and the marshal who was sent to pick it up rather bizarrely sniffed it.
Another oddity is the complete lack of people rattling around the track - Alonso got a pasting in the Turkish press for an off hand comment that he'd know everyone in the stadium by name by the end of the weekend. It is weird, though, that only around a third of the tickets have been sold. Mental note to book cheap flight to Istanbul for next year..........
I can't really do justice to today's qualifying session as I got interrupted too many times to watch it properly but it had its shocking moments. Lewis Hamilton, having gone very well in final practice earlier, suddenly looked like he was driving a tank around the circuit and couldn't stagger out of Q1. For him to be almost last on the grid without even hitting a barrier is yet another episode in the long overdue building of his character.
The Brawns hadn't looked that great all day Friday - they were complaining about understeer and not having any grip and that kind of stuff. I suppose it's all relative, but you must have some sort of grip if you can get round a 3.3 mile circuit in a minute and a half! Anyway, they finished the day about half way down the pecking order. This morning was better, but I didn't expect them to be challenging for pole.
In the third qualifying session, which I have now taken to watching from behind a cushion with smelling salts to hand because it's so exciting and things change all the time, Rubens in particular seemed to be really struggling, languishing in 8th position. Trulli at one point looked like he might take pole, a bit of comfort for the beleagered Toyota team who have failed to live up to their expectations in recent races, then it was Webber who grabbed the top spot as Rubens came from nowhere into second, then Jenson took pole in the dying moment, only to be pipped seconds letter by Sebastian Vettel. So the Brawns become the meat in a Red Bull sandwich.
This didn't seem to bother Ross Brawn that much who seemed as joyful as if he had won pole, saying that his boys "are the main protagonists", meaning that he reckoned that Red Bull had put Vettel out with a teaspoonful of fuel while his cars were much heavier - and this indeed was proved to be the case. Brawn is not the best strategist in Formula One for no reason and he was undoubtedly a man with a plan to win the race.
But what about the Ferraris? Massa has won for the last 3 years in Turkey and Raikonnen won the year before that with McLaren - not that accuracy should trouble Sky News at all who think the race has only been going for 3 years - and Massa was certainly flying earlier in the weekend. It all went pear shaped in qualifying, though as they could only manage 6th and 7th, even with KERS. In fact, one of the amusing things about today was Red Bull saying to Vettel over team radio as he won pole that "an added bonus is that the highest Ferrari is in P6".
While we're on the subject of the Brawn Team Principal, I have been saying for a while that I feel that he is the key to finding a solution to the current off track politicking that's threatening the future of Formula 1. I also feel that the key to ensuring that there is a solution is the Formula One Teams Association sticking together. As things stand, eight of the current teams have a conditional, block entry for next year's season. BMW Sauber's Mario Thiessen said the other day that this was Max Mosley's suggestion - so Mosley's comments that the FOTA teams could take it or leave it and go and form their own series if they want sound dishonest, treacherous and hypocritical.
Some have suggested that Brawn's team might follow Williams and Force India by breaking ranks and filing an unconditional entry. It would unquestioningly be in their interests to do so as they have gone through the pain of massive budget cuts this year and could easily embrace a low budget cap. However, Brawn is not one to forget who helped him when he was struggling to create his team out of the ashes of Honda GP. He knows that other FOTA teams made the difference for him and is repaying their loyalty to him. His pledge to stick with FOTA also contains a commitment to help new entrants to F1. Brawn has been one of the very few people in the F1 world to consistently talk sense over the years.
And finally, the BBC coverage was brilliant again - from Jake Humphrey in the gym with a more relaxed, less whingy Lewis Hamilton than we've seen for a while, to DC asking Williams' Sam Michaels how much better it was to work for a professional outfit like Williams than a rubbish team like Jordan. A special mention to them for doing what I suggested two weeks ago and getting their people on Twitter and reading out tweets to @5LiveF1 during the practice sessions. We've now got @jakehumphreyF1 on Twitter too giving some insight into his routine on a Grand Prix weekend.
Tomorrow will see a fabulous race, and we also have the European Elections and the Apprentice Final. I'm not sure I can cope with all that excitement in one day!
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Another oddity is the complete lack of people rattling around the track - Alonso got a pasting in the Turkish press for an off hand comment that he'd know everyone in the stadium by name by the end of the weekend. It is weird, though, that only around a third of the tickets have been sold. Mental note to book cheap flight to Istanbul for next year..........
I can't really do justice to today's qualifying session as I got interrupted too many times to watch it properly but it had its shocking moments. Lewis Hamilton, having gone very well in final practice earlier, suddenly looked like he was driving a tank around the circuit and couldn't stagger out of Q1. For him to be almost last on the grid without even hitting a barrier is yet another episode in the long overdue building of his character.
The Brawns hadn't looked that great all day Friday - they were complaining about understeer and not having any grip and that kind of stuff. I suppose it's all relative, but you must have some sort of grip if you can get round a 3.3 mile circuit in a minute and a half! Anyway, they finished the day about half way down the pecking order. This morning was better, but I didn't expect them to be challenging for pole.
In the third qualifying session, which I have now taken to watching from behind a cushion with smelling salts to hand because it's so exciting and things change all the time, Rubens in particular seemed to be really struggling, languishing in 8th position. Trulli at one point looked like he might take pole, a bit of comfort for the beleagered Toyota team who have failed to live up to their expectations in recent races, then it was Webber who grabbed the top spot as Rubens came from nowhere into second, then Jenson took pole in the dying moment, only to be pipped seconds letter by Sebastian Vettel. So the Brawns become the meat in a Red Bull sandwich.
This didn't seem to bother Ross Brawn that much who seemed as joyful as if he had won pole, saying that his boys "are the main protagonists", meaning that he reckoned that Red Bull had put Vettel out with a teaspoonful of fuel while his cars were much heavier - and this indeed was proved to be the case. Brawn is not the best strategist in Formula One for no reason and he was undoubtedly a man with a plan to win the race.
But what about the Ferraris? Massa has won for the last 3 years in Turkey and Raikonnen won the year before that with McLaren - not that accuracy should trouble Sky News at all who think the race has only been going for 3 years - and Massa was certainly flying earlier in the weekend. It all went pear shaped in qualifying, though as they could only manage 6th and 7th, even with KERS. In fact, one of the amusing things about today was Red Bull saying to Vettel over team radio as he won pole that "an added bonus is that the highest Ferrari is in P6".
While we're on the subject of the Brawn Team Principal, I have been saying for a while that I feel that he is the key to finding a solution to the current off track politicking that's threatening the future of Formula 1. I also feel that the key to ensuring that there is a solution is the Formula One Teams Association sticking together. As things stand, eight of the current teams have a conditional, block entry for next year's season. BMW Sauber's Mario Thiessen said the other day that this was Max Mosley's suggestion - so Mosley's comments that the FOTA teams could take it or leave it and go and form their own series if they want sound dishonest, treacherous and hypocritical.
Some have suggested that Brawn's team might follow Williams and Force India by breaking ranks and filing an unconditional entry. It would unquestioningly be in their interests to do so as they have gone through the pain of massive budget cuts this year and could easily embrace a low budget cap. However, Brawn is not one to forget who helped him when he was struggling to create his team out of the ashes of Honda GP. He knows that other FOTA teams made the difference for him and is repaying their loyalty to him. His pledge to stick with FOTA also contains a commitment to help new entrants to F1. Brawn has been one of the very few people in the F1 world to consistently talk sense over the years.
And finally, the BBC coverage was brilliant again - from Jake Humphrey in the gym with a more relaxed, less whingy Lewis Hamilton than we've seen for a while, to DC asking Williams' Sam Michaels how much better it was to work for a professional outfit like Williams than a rubbish team like Jordan. A special mention to them for doing what I suggested two weeks ago and getting their people on Twitter and reading out tweets to @5LiveF1 during the practice sessions. We've now got @jakehumphreyF1 on Twitter too giving some insight into his routine on a Grand Prix weekend.
Tomorrow will see a fabulous race, and we also have the European Elections and the Apprentice Final. I'm not sure I can cope with all that excitement in one day!
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Sunday, April 26, 2009
Smooth Driving and Cool Strategy comes up trumps for Brawn
Today saw another fantastic win for Jenson Button, making it 3 out of 4 Grands Prix so far this season, in Bahrain.
The Brawn team had done their best to play down expectations, saying that they were well off the pace and they had severe cooling issues with their engine. This had me sitting on the edge of my seat, barely able to breathe, worrying right to the end that the engine was going to blow up. Thankfully it didn't.
We saw Ross Brawn work in this kind of blissful harmony with Michael Schumacher for so many years and we're starting to see a similar symbiotic relationship develop with Jenson Button. And who's the team-mate that has to cope with this? Rubens Barrichello again. Bless him. Mind you, he's used to it, and he was so good at playing second fiddle before. I would love him to have the chance to shine before he finishes in F1 for good, though.
The win today needed Jenson's driving and Brawn's strategic brain. It was imperative that Jenson re-take the place he ceded to Lewis Hamilton at the start and he did in a gorgeous passing manoeuvre very early on. This enabled Brawn to time the pit stops to perfection and leave Jenson far enough ahead by the time he had to put the medium, slower tyres on that it didn't matter. Toyota did screw up, though, leaving Trulli on the medium tyres for a very long stint in the middle.
Ferrari, thank heavens, avoided the ignominy of recording their worst start to a season ever with Kimi Raikonnen winning some points. Incidentally, David Coulthard has lost no opportunity to paint Kimi as, basically, a lazy team-mate who relies on talent alone. He had another pop this afternoon suggesting that Kimi would not have been too bothered about winning today as there was only rosewater and not champagne at the end.
The bad boy of today was without doubt, for me, Lewis Hamilton. In a pre-race interview, Jake Humphrey asked him straight out whether he was enjoying being an F1 driver which led him into a big whinge about how he didn't like the politics. The boy needs to grow up. If he wanted to avoid politics, might I suggest that telling the truth to stewards and not trying to stitch up your competitors might help.
He also whinged about not being able to go out and buy fish and chips without being papped. He lives in Switzerland, earning a fortune and gets to do what he's wanted to do all his life. He should show a bit more humility and respect. Honestly.
The EJ/DC banter did not disappoint again today. Both Jake Humphrey and DC turned up in pink shirts which did clash rather horribly with each other. EJ was quick to take the mickey out of them.
It was Martin Brundle who made me laugh most, though. The Crown Prince of Bahrain has featured strongly in the BBC's coverage with people generally falling over themselves to see who could be most obsequious. When Brundle caught up with him on the grid, he started off all "Your Highness" this and "Sir" that, but when he finished the interview, it was with a "See you later, cheers".
Brawn is clearly ahead, but Red Bull and Toyota are coming along very well. I'm looking forward to two of my favourite races, Barcelona and Monaco in the next month and we'll see how much Brawn's dominance can be challenged.
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The Brawn team had done their best to play down expectations, saying that they were well off the pace and they had severe cooling issues with their engine. This had me sitting on the edge of my seat, barely able to breathe, worrying right to the end that the engine was going to blow up. Thankfully it didn't.
We saw Ross Brawn work in this kind of blissful harmony with Michael Schumacher for so many years and we're starting to see a similar symbiotic relationship develop with Jenson Button. And who's the team-mate that has to cope with this? Rubens Barrichello again. Bless him. Mind you, he's used to it, and he was so good at playing second fiddle before. I would love him to have the chance to shine before he finishes in F1 for good, though.
The win today needed Jenson's driving and Brawn's strategic brain. It was imperative that Jenson re-take the place he ceded to Lewis Hamilton at the start and he did in a gorgeous passing manoeuvre very early on. This enabled Brawn to time the pit stops to perfection and leave Jenson far enough ahead by the time he had to put the medium, slower tyres on that it didn't matter. Toyota did screw up, though, leaving Trulli on the medium tyres for a very long stint in the middle.
Ferrari, thank heavens, avoided the ignominy of recording their worst start to a season ever with Kimi Raikonnen winning some points. Incidentally, David Coulthard has lost no opportunity to paint Kimi as, basically, a lazy team-mate who relies on talent alone. He had another pop this afternoon suggesting that Kimi would not have been too bothered about winning today as there was only rosewater and not champagne at the end.
The bad boy of today was without doubt, for me, Lewis Hamilton. In a pre-race interview, Jake Humphrey asked him straight out whether he was enjoying being an F1 driver which led him into a big whinge about how he didn't like the politics. The boy needs to grow up. If he wanted to avoid politics, might I suggest that telling the truth to stewards and not trying to stitch up your competitors might help.
He also whinged about not being able to go out and buy fish and chips without being papped. He lives in Switzerland, earning a fortune and gets to do what he's wanted to do all his life. He should show a bit more humility and respect. Honestly.
The EJ/DC banter did not disappoint again today. Both Jake Humphrey and DC turned up in pink shirts which did clash rather horribly with each other. EJ was quick to take the mickey out of them.
It was Martin Brundle who made me laugh most, though. The Crown Prince of Bahrain has featured strongly in the BBC's coverage with people generally falling over themselves to see who could be most obsequious. When Brundle caught up with him on the grid, he started off all "Your Highness" this and "Sir" that, but when he finished the interview, it was with a "See you later, cheers".
Brawn is clearly ahead, but Red Bull and Toyota are coming along very well. I'm looking forward to two of my favourite races, Barcelona and Monaco in the next month and we'll see how much Brawn's dominance can be challenged.
LibDig This!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Dramatic Qualifying in Bahrain sees Toyota Lead Grid
Today's qualifying session for tomorrow's Bahrain Grand Prix saw a stunning improvement from Toyota which enabled Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock to capture the front row of the grid. Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton and Rubens Barrichello make up the next two rows.
Mark Webber for Red Bull should have been up there too and I think would have been if he hadn't been blocked in an outrageously bad display of driving from Force India's Adrian Suthil. He first blocked Webber at the last corner at the end of Q1and then basically cut him up as he tried to start his next flying lap which prevented him from setting a time which would get him through to the next stage.
Sure enough, when the BBC caught up with him, Suthil was contrite enough - it seems he thought Webber was on an out lap. That's no excuse, though. The team should have made him aware of the situation - were they asleep in their garage or something?
As a result, Suthil has been demoted 3 places on the grid. To be honest, 16th to 19th is neither here nor there for Force India but the consequences for Webber are much more serious. He would certainly have made it into Q3 but for this incident and would not be languishing in 18th. Surely the rules need to be amended to give the stewards discretion to allow drivers impeded in this way to continue.
Would it really have killed them to have 16 cars in Q2?
I think the penalty on Suthil has been way too lenient - you get a 5 place penalty if you change your gearbox. He should have been disqualified, pure and simple. However sorry he is, he has, as Mark Webber put it, screwed up his race and should pay the price.
Off the track, it was fabulous to see Eddie Jordan back enjoying the banter with DC. They seem to be playing up to it now and it's very entertaining. I could listen to them all day. I think they have to be the best team in sport that I can ever remember.
LibDig This!
Mark Webber for Red Bull should have been up there too and I think would have been if he hadn't been blocked in an outrageously bad display of driving from Force India's Adrian Suthil. He first blocked Webber at the last corner at the end of Q1and then basically cut him up as he tried to start his next flying lap which prevented him from setting a time which would get him through to the next stage.
Sure enough, when the BBC caught up with him, Suthil was contrite enough - it seems he thought Webber was on an out lap. That's no excuse, though. The team should have made him aware of the situation - were they asleep in their garage or something?
As a result, Suthil has been demoted 3 places on the grid. To be honest, 16th to 19th is neither here nor there for Force India but the consequences for Webber are much more serious. He would certainly have made it into Q3 but for this incident and would not be languishing in 18th. Surely the rules need to be amended to give the stewards discretion to allow drivers impeded in this way to continue.
Would it really have killed them to have 16 cars in Q2?
I think the penalty on Suthil has been way too lenient - you get a 5 place penalty if you change your gearbox. He should have been disqualified, pure and simple. However sorry he is, he has, as Mark Webber put it, screwed up his race and should pay the price.
Off the track, it was fabulous to see Eddie Jordan back enjoying the banter with DC. They seem to be playing up to it now and it's very entertaining. I could listen to them all day. I think they have to be the best team in sport that I can ever remember.
LibDig This!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
So Much to Love about new F1 Season
Ok, it's not the best way of spending hundreds of millions of pounds polluting the environment, but I have always loved Formula 1, always been a Ferrari girl and have had a crush on Martin Brundle forever.
Don't expect to hear much about downforce and grip when I write about F1, by the way - I only talk about such mundane mechanical things when I have to. However, fellow fans Stephen, Malc and Yousuf might wish to get technical when they write about it - and Duncan has even devoted an entire blog to our favourite sport.
Good to see that there is support from across the political blogosphere for the sport - and Yousuf and I are even unashamedly on the same side for a change, both having a bit of a thing for Ferrari. I've backed them since the days of Berger and Alesi - the coolness of Berger and the passion of Alesi were compelling to watch. I cried the day Schuey announced his retirement. I cried again when Massa was pipped at the post at the end of last season.
There's only been a qualifying session so far and already I'm enthralled. It was exciting despite Stephen blabbing the result all over Facebook, which led to me getting told off by my long suffering husband (this was my fault how, exactly?) first thing this morning. Still it all comes down to a scrap in the last 2 minutes.
Anyway, my quick list of things which have me all excited from today:
Brawn GP - not only is this a thoroughly gorgeous looking car, but, boy, can it go. It looks like a cool Summer cocktail and it was proudly wearing its new Virgin logo. Brawn and Branson have performed a miracle - Go Brawn!
Brundle - at his brilliant best. I can't remember what he was talking about but he compared it to being as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. Love him!
Bitching - Let's hope this needle between DC and Eddie Jordan continues. They had three mini scraps - one over the Maclaren when DC said he couldn't see anything wrong with the way the car was handling and Eddie jumped in with how Norbert Haug had called it all sorts of names, once when DC said something nice about former team Red Bull and once at the end when DC got to say I told you so to Eddie. This has potential!
BBC - no adverts. Bliss.
Looking forward to the race tomorrow. Sky + is all set and I won't be coming anywhere near cyberspace till I've watched it.
LibDig This!
Don't expect to hear much about downforce and grip when I write about F1, by the way - I only talk about such mundane mechanical things when I have to. However, fellow fans Stephen, Malc and Yousuf might wish to get technical when they write about it - and Duncan has even devoted an entire blog to our favourite sport.
Good to see that there is support from across the political blogosphere for the sport - and Yousuf and I are even unashamedly on the same side for a change, both having a bit of a thing for Ferrari. I've backed them since the days of Berger and Alesi - the coolness of Berger and the passion of Alesi were compelling to watch. I cried the day Schuey announced his retirement. I cried again when Massa was pipped at the post at the end of last season.
There's only been a qualifying session so far and already I'm enthralled. It was exciting despite Stephen blabbing the result all over Facebook, which led to me getting told off by my long suffering husband (this was my fault how, exactly?) first thing this morning. Still it all comes down to a scrap in the last 2 minutes.
Anyway, my quick list of things which have me all excited from today:
Brawn GP - not only is this a thoroughly gorgeous looking car, but, boy, can it go. It looks like a cool Summer cocktail and it was proudly wearing its new Virgin logo. Brawn and Branson have performed a miracle - Go Brawn!
Brundle - at his brilliant best. I can't remember what he was talking about but he compared it to being as much use as an ashtray on a motorbike. Love him!
Bitching - Let's hope this needle between DC and Eddie Jordan continues. They had three mini scraps - one over the Maclaren when DC said he couldn't see anything wrong with the way the car was handling and Eddie jumped in with how Norbert Haug had called it all sorts of names, once when DC said something nice about former team Red Bull and once at the end when DC got to say I told you so to Eddie. This has potential!
BBC - no adverts. Bliss.
Looking forward to the race tomorrow. Sky + is all set and I won't be coming anywhere near cyberspace till I've watched it.
LibDig This!
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