Ayrton Senna - A Genius Remembered

This year, the legendary Brazilian racing driver Ayrton Senna would have celebrated his 50^th birthday.  Sadly, he isn’t around to cherish this amazing anniversary – sixteen years after he tragically perished at the wheel of the Williams FW16 in the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.  However, this opportunity gives me the chance to produce my memories of Ayrton Senna: The Man, and Ayrton Senna: The Genius behind the Wheel of a Racing Car.  Forget Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher: In my opinion, Senna was the greatest ever human being to drive in Formula One.

Senna was very successful in the junior formulae in Brazil and in England.  He had begun karting at the tender age of four.  For him, racing was in his blood and so to, was his will and desire to win.  To him, second place wasn’t acceptable; he felt it was first of the losers.  He underlined that ruthless streak early on in his career, in the tense and exciting duel with Britain’s Martin Brundle for the 1983 British Formula 3 Championship.  Senna dominated the first half of the season, Brundle the second half and it left Ayrton to pull off some crazy overtaking attempts that often ended in accidents.  Eventually, he overcame Brundle in the season finale at Thurxton, and Formula One beckoned.

Despite testing for McLaren and Williams in the winter of 1983, Senna opted to sign on for the Toleman team, an unfamiliar name to many in the sport.  Immediately, Senna made an impression, despite his inferior equipment.  He came so close to winning his maiden race that season too.  In Monaco, Senna made full advantage of the awful weather conditions, to charge through from 12^th on the grid.  He pulled off some stupendous overtaking moves, with the confidence that suggested he would be a champion in future waiting.  Only the insistence of race leader Alain Prost got the race red-flagged, though the half points would eventually cost him the 1984 championship.  Senna insisted that he would have won if the race had run just one more lap.  The determination to succeed was firmly there.  Podiums at Brands Hatch and Estoril followed, but Senna knew that Toleman was not a long-term stay.  He went to Lotus for the next three seasons, convinced that this might be the team that could deliver him the world championship.

In only his second race for the famous British marquee, Senna won in Portugal – in very similar conditions to those of Monaco 1984.  Second placed Michele Alboreto was the only driver not to be lapped, in a clinical and masterful performance in the wet.  Not only did Senna edge himself into a great wet weather runner, he developed a close association with the Japanese manufacturer Honda in his time at Lotus, and also the amazing skill he had to pull off a flying lap when the chips were down.  Eight pole positions went his way in 1985, and this skill remained in Senna’s book all the way through to his untimely death.  Although Schumacher has beaten this statistic now, it took him twelve years to do it after Ayrton’s death.  Sixty-five pole positions in 161 races, over 33% is one of the most impressive ratios I’ve ever seen.  In his three years with Lotus, Senna achieved 3^rd place in the 1987 championship and six wins, including a maiden triumph on the streets of Monte Carlo.  However, the British team was on a steady rate of decline and Ayrton elected to jump ship, taking Honda with him to McLaren.

Frustrated by seeing the more superior Williams of Nelson Piquet and Nigel Mansell often get the better of him, despite his undoubted talent, Senna was convinced the switch to McLaren would finally give him the success it craved.  There, he was partnered with the Frenchman, Alain Prost, the golden boy of McLaren at the time.  Fireworks would explode between the pair, though not initially.  The 1988 McLaren Honda was the most dominant car in Grand Prix history, winning 15 of the season’s 16 races.  If Jean-Louis Schelesser hadn’t rammed Senna in the closing stages at Monza, it could well have been a clean sweep.  Senna won eight races, to Prost’s seven – though the ‘Professor’s’ consistency meant he went on to score more championship points.  However, on a countback system, which the sport used at the time, Senna knew that victory in the 1988 Japanese Grand Prix would be enough for his first championship.

The start was a disaster, Senna squandering pole position, and dropping to 14^th by Turn 1, giving Prost a colossal advantage.  Very quickly, Senna showed the superiority of his McLaren, and charged through the pack.  By Lap 16, he was fourth and eleven laps later, was challenging for the lead.  When Prost was trapped in backmarkers, Senna seized his opportunity and squeezed past his team-mate on the start-finish straight.  It was a clinical piece of overtaking, and a drive that thoroughly deserved to win the championship.  Prost was very gracious in defeat, admitting that Senna had been the better driver during the campaign.  Apart from a moment in Portugal, when Ayrton had nearly put Alain into the pit wall, their battle had been clean and a joy to watch in 1988.  Sadly, the next two years bought politics and accusations to the heartfelt of the game.

Race two of 1989 was the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.  Prost and Senna had entered a gentlemanly agreement, that the man who approached the breaking point for the Tosa hairpin first, would go onto win the race.  Senna took pole position and led on the first lap.  However, when his good friend Gerhard Berger crashed at Tamburello and his Ferrari burst into flames, the race required a restart.  Prost made the better start, and led approaching Tosa.  Senna, presuming that the agreement only meant on one attempt, stole the lead into the hairpin and drove into the distance.  Perhaps a gentle misunderstanding, but Prost, who finished over a minute adrift, refused to talk to Senna again.  

1989 was not a lucky year for the Brazilian, losing certain victories in USA, Canada and Italy due to mechanical problems, whilst he was taken out in Portugal by the already disqualified Mansell.  Once again, Suzuka would be the deciding factor in the championship battle, this time with Prost the overwhelming favourite.  Senna had to win, to stand any chance of taking the fight to Adelaide.  He lost the lead with a poor start, and harassed Prost all afternoon, with little chance of getting ahead.  On Lap 47, he closed up and made his move into the final chicane.  Prost, knowing that Senna had to win turned into the corner and the accident was inevitable.  The two McLaren’s interlocked wheels and slid to a halt.  Prost unbuckled his belts and walked away, but Senna kept his engine running and restarted.  However, he needed outside assistance from the marshals to get going again.  Despite needing to pit for a new nosecone, catching and overtaking the Benetton of Alessandro Nannini, Senna won and was promptly disqualified, for the outside assistance offence.  Prost was champion.  Ayrton was furious, almost refusing to race in Australia, threatening to walkaway from the sport he loved, believing that a conspiracy had been set-up against him, by Prost and the unpopular FISA president, Jean-Marie Balestre.  More allegations and accusations followed, and Senna’s super license was revoked.  Had he driven Formula One for the last time?

The following March, he was back, having apologised for his actions and won the season opener in Phoenix.  Once more, the fight for supremacy was between Senna’s McLaren Honda and Prost, who had swapped seats with Berger and moved to McLaren’s arch-enemies, Ferrari.  For the third successive year, Japan was the deciding point for the championship saga.  This time, it was Prost who needed to win to keep his title dream alive.  Senna took his customary pole position, but bitterly complained all weekend that pole position was on the dirtier side of the grid.  He campaigned for it to be changed, and Prost actually agreed.  The officials granted Senna’s request, but Balestre refused to back down.  Consequently, Senna vowed that if Prost turned into Turn One first, he would regret it.

Twenty-four hours later and Senna sprinted away, but Prost got the better start and took the immediate advantage.  Senna looked for a gap on the inside of the first corner that was simply always going to disappear.  The result was catastrophic.  The McLaren and Ferrari disappeared into a cloud dust, the pair clambered out of their battered motorcars, neither talking to the other but the outcome of the 1990 FIA Formula One World Championship had been decided in a matter of seconds.  Replays clearly put the blame fair and square at the Brazilian’s door, though he defended his actions long after the event.  It was a second title for Senna, but bittersweet and distasteful in the circumstances.  Only at the same event a year later, with Balestre gone and replaced by Max Mosley did Senna admit that he deliberately ran Prost off the road in 1990.  He will and desire to win couldn’t be faulted, but in attempting to knock another car out on purpose was a hideous crime, which on a normal UK road would land you with at least a driving ban, and possibly a jail sentence.

In 1991, Senna won his third and last drivers title, for the umpteenth time at Suzuka, the deciding point of most title battles.  Prost fell away and was fired by Ferrari before the season’s end, so it left for a renewed rivalry to remerge between Senna and ‘Il Leone,’ Nigel Mansell.  Senna won the first four races in 1991, but as the Williams Renault became the stronger package during the campaign, Senna grew frustrated, realising that McLaren were being out developed by a rival for the first time in his stint with the Woking team.  Eventually, reliability and a terrible pitstop in Portugal shot Mansell’s 1991 title dream, but not for the worth of trying.  He went wheel-to-wheel with Senna, sparks flying at some 200mph down the backstraight of Spain’s Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, one of the sport’s most iconic images.

As the Williams team mastered the active suspension and traction control systems, McLaren drifted further behind the game and Senna had to work especially hard for any of his later victories in his career.  1992 was a major disappointment, as Ayrton finished 4^th in the final standings, with just three wins, compared to the nine of the dominant Mansell.  Honda pulled out of F1 at the end of the season, and Senna questioned whether he should remain in the sport, especially when Prost ‘vetoed’ him not to drive alongside him at Williams in 1993.  Senna was incensed with this, but pot, kettle, black spring to mind when he did the same thing in 1986, to deprive Derek Warwick of a Lotus drive.  One of his greatest victories came in Monaco 1992, when he managed to hold off a hard-charging Mansell, who clambered all over the back of his McLaren in the last five laps. 

However, he had saved the best for last on a damp, dull Easter weekend in 1993.  The venue was Donington Park for the European Grand Prix.  Senna, now in a McLaren Ford had qualified 4^th and made a bad start, squeezed out by the uncompromising Michael Schumacher on the rundown to Redgate.  Undeterred, he out-accelerated the young German on the exit, and then swept past the fast-starting Karl Wendlinger in his Sauber around the outside of the Craner Curves.  Next target were the dominant Williams and just three corners later, he went inside Damon Hill to move into second.  He tore into Prost’s early advantage and finally, outbraked his chief rival into the Melbourne Loop.  He had gone from 5^th to 1^st by the end of the first lap, definitely the greatest lap in Grand Prix history.  Senna won the race from Hill by nearly a full lap.

For 1994, Senna got his dream move to the almost unbeatable Williams Renault squad.  With Prost having retired, and Mansell conquering the IndyCars scene in America, this was Senna’s chance to add to his forty-one victories.  Sadly, the partnership that promised so much never came to fruition.  Senna didn’t like the handling of the FW16, and had a miserable first two races.  He spun off and stalled his engine in Brazil, chasing down Schumacher’s Benetton, then was tipped off by an over-ambitious Mika Hakkinen into the first corner of the Pacific Grand Prix.  Arriving at Imola, Senna had no points, Schumacher twenty.  Autosport magazine claimed he was a man under pressure.  He didn’t show it though, focused on his goal to bring Williams back to the top, after an unconvincing start.  He blitzed the entire field in San Marino, setting the quickest times in every single session.  However, accidents to his countryman Rubens Barrichello and the death of Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger in qualifying deeply affected Senna.  Deep down, he didn’t have the passion to race.  Some say he was not on the best of terms with his family, due to his burdening relationship with Adriane Galisteu.  Others suggest he believed that Schumacher and Benetton were cheating their way to success, by using the now banned electronic aids.  Either way, he put those issues aside, dropped his crash helmet and went out to race.  A startline accident put the race under caution behind the Safety Car.  On the restart, Senna charged away, determined to pull away from the pest that was Schumacher.  On Lap 7, he entered the flat-out Tamburello bend when his Williams refused to turn into the corner.  The rest they say is history….

Ayrton Senna may have not endeared himself to everyone.  However, his skill behind the wheel of a racing car cannot be questioned, nor could his charitable work he put in for many local Brazilian and worldwide charities.  His speed, desire and commitment to win were immense, even if some of his tactics had to be questioned.  A devote Christian, Senna believed that God would save him on the racetrack.  His death brought shock to the whole world – and the funeral that followed brought Brazil to a complete standstill.  Chillingly, he had predicted that the new regulations for the 1994 season would bring serious accidents, possibly even bring the horrible fatality that he feared could happen.  On May 1^st 1994, the world lost a famous icon, and although Williams found replacement drivers easy to come by, Formula 1 will never see the likes of him.

Ayrton Senna is a legend who leaves an endearing legacy to many, and is a sporting legend that will never be forgotten.

21st March 1960 - 1st May 1994

Toy Story 3 Review

This review was written by my fantastic brother, Jason Wright.  Enjoy!


BY JASON WRIGHT

There are some film trilogies and series that always grasp to people’s attention, no matter what the outcome of the movie is.  Film trilogies like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Twilight have racked in millions of audience takings worldwide.  One of the most principle big takings of the movie market in recent years has been the rise in the success of animation films.

Throughout much of the last decade, the most dominant of them all is DreamWorks’ Shrek series, which came to a conclusion this summer.  Despite its last two offerings in both this year and back in 2007 not getting much of the praise that the first two films did in the early part of the decade, it still has brought in a lot of cinema takings.

But despite DreamWorks’ surge in focusing more on animated productions, the kings of the animation world are still Pixar.  It’s partnership with Disney has been strong since Day 1 of their relationship way back in the start of the nineties, to the extent that Disney now owns the company.  For what is now its 11th film in the studios’ illustrious partnership, they’ve gone back to right where it all began.  It may be ten years (eleven in US, as Toy Story 2 was released in Christmas ’99 there so much of the rest of the world had to wait until the start of 2000 to see it) since the toy box was last opened up.  However, it was always the ambition of Disney and Pixar to produce a third Toy Story film.

This is been by far Pixar’s biggest challenge to date.  Costing a dozen more than the budget of the first two films put together, mostly down to recent technology times, has seen them produce most of the work in cinema-only 3D and they were determined not to follow suit in bringing out a third film in a franchise, that so often gets scathing reviews from critics like so many others have done in the past.  Did they pull it off and how!

Andy, the owner of the toys such as Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie and Rex, is now all grown up.  Now seventeen years old, he is just days away from leaving for college and the toys are left with an uncertain future.  It seems like that they will be stored in the attic of the house but a series of unfortunate events results in them being donated to Sunnyside, a day-care nursery for young children.

After Woody flees, wanting to go back home as Andy had planned to take him to college, the rest of the toys decision to stay at Sunnyside turns out to be a very big mistake.  By day, they are innocently abused and mistreated by out-of-control toddlers and by night, they are forced to sleep in cages, as if it was a toy prison.

As Woody returns, the toys plan to return home a la ‘The Great Escape’.  It’s a plot that leaves the audience on the edge of their seats, not knowing what’s going to happen next.  The comical moment of the film comes here when Buzz, having been switched back to his deluded, space ranger character is wrongly re-setted by the toys, into a mode where he can only speak Spanish.

Without question, like many other animation films, most of the movie’s success comes from its voice talent.  Tom Hanks and Tim Allen once again provide great voice portrayals of Woody and Buzz respectively and again have strong back-up from the likes of Joan Cusack (Jessie), Wallace Shawn (Rex), Don Rickles (Mr. Potato Head) and John Ratzenberger (Hamm), the latter having lended his voice to every single Pixar movie to date.  The most significant of the new characters voices come from ex-James Bond actor Timothy Dalton, voicing a hedgehog named Mr. Pricklepants and Michael Keaton, who voices Ken, popular for being the girlfriend of Barbie.

But it’s not just the actors who give the film’s success; it’s also the way the characters appear on screen.  The film’s main villain, Lotso, a big, plush bear doll that may seem nice but inside is pure evil.  He is responsible for how the way Sunnyside is run as a toy prison.  In terms of the film’s existing characters, some have stayed the same whilst others have changed. Examples include Mrs. Potato Head; wife of Mr. Potato Head has more of a lead role in the film, compared to being a supporting character in Toy Story 2 and also has just one eye throughout much of this movie; however her role in this film can at times be a bit irritating.

Other changes within the characters involve Barbie also getting more of a lead role in this film whilst Slinky Dog has been somewhat downgraded to a supporting role with less dialogue and activity.  Jessie the Cowgirl’s personality has also transformed in this film with her over-the-top excitement that she was known most for in the second film being reduced massively and become more a ‘down-to-earth’ character who is also extremely helpful to others, where as in TS2, she would only intend to think about herself.  It is also clear throughout much of TS3 that she has fallen in love with Buzz Lightyear, though Buzz doesn’t seem to notice this until he is accidentally switched into Spanish mode.

It had been tipped to be a success in the box office but nobody predicted this outcome.  It has destroyed the competition on its opening weekend’s across the world, taking in $110 million on is first weekend in the US and £21 million respectively in the UK, putting it on course to be a contender for the most grossed film of the year and it could see itself in line as a leading figure for a spate of nominations at next year’s Oscars.

All in all, it’s a great way to end the trilogy and many fans, including myself, is that no further Toy Story films will be made. I believe that is a fair decision, as a fourth film would be nice, but that may just be going a little bit too far.  The world has fallen in love with Toy Story again and will still be remembered by many for generations to come.

2010 German Grand Prix - The Conclusions

In this piece, I will be assessing ten key features from each Grand Prix weekend from the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship.  The next stop-off was Hockenheim for the German Grand Prix.  It celebrated its 40^th anniversary, and it produced some controversy that the sport just didn’t need.  This conclusion piece will be dominated by Ferrari’s actions, which brought the sport into disrepute.  This is the round-up of this, and other events on a stale weekend in Germany.

Ferrari – Why Was the Order Required?

Finally, Ferrari returned to the Bahrain form in Germany and about time too.  They have flattered to deceive on too many occasions this season and after a race to forget at Silverstone a fortnight ago, the pressure was on to get solid points to stay in touch with McLaren and Red Bull Racing.  Consequently, a 1-2 finish was the perfect tonic and keeps the titles battles well open.  So, why was the team order required for Fernando Alonso to win the German Grand Prix?  Well, Felipe Massa’s title chances were practically zilch anyways, so it might have made sense for the team to switch positions around.  However, they did it in the worst possible way – by a blatant switch on the track.  If a mechanic had fumbled a wheel nut by mistake, or claimed Massa had fuel consumption/braking problems, it might look suspicious, but not much would be made of it.  Alonso is their best hope for the championship, which is agreed by many.  However, he still arrived at Hockenheim over 60 points behind Lewis Hamilton, so his ambitions for winning a third title were just as unlikely as Massa’s were.  That leaves the question then, whether it was necessary for a team order to be given.  My conclusion is: We were robbed of a wheel-to-wheel battle on Sunday afternoon, and it was unnecessary to make such a call, given Alonso’s distance he was behind in the standings.  They will feel stupid then if Massa wins Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix and Alonso fails to finish then!

Fernando Alonso – Did He Play A Role in the Switch?

Not for the first time, Fernando Alonso threw his toys out of the pram, when things don’t go his way.  When he lost out to Massa in a feisty scrap on Lap 21, he radioed in saying “This is ridiculous.”  Did Ferrari make the decision when this radio message came through?  They might have done, and only they will know this.  However, this indicates that Alonso did play a role in the controversial switch, and it wouldn’t be the first time that he has required assistance and love within a team.  He got that at Renault, but did crack under the pressure in Canada 2005/China 2006 when Giancarlo Fisichella had the upper hand on Alonso.  We all know what happened at McLaren with Lewis Hamilton in 2007, and then there was Singapore 2008.  Although I firmly believe Alonso didn’t know anything about the race-fixing incident involving messers Briatore, Symonds and Piquet Jnr, some will feel that it is a coincidence that Fernando Alonso is involved in another inter-team controversy.  He didn’t help himself on Sunday, and may have lost quite a few supporters with his actions.

Felipe Massa – Back To His Best & a True Team Player

Felipe Massa has found 2010 to be a massive struggle.  Bahrain and Monaco aside, he has put in some disappointing and very sub-standard performances.  This is down to his lack of confidence he has with running the harder Bridgestone tyre, similar to Michael Schumacher’s problems and to the fact that Alonso has trounced him so far this season.  Alonso’s form proves just how ordinary Kimi Raikkonen was in the Ferrari during 2007-2009.  However, they do say that form is temporary, but class is permanent.  No doubt that Massa is class and he can beat anyone on his day.  His performance on Sunday, the magnitude with which he accepted defeat and played the team game should be highly praised.  His reputation will be enhanced and the media will not hang him out to dry, like they probably will with Alonso and Ferrari.  A year after his near-fatal crash in qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix, it should have been fitting for Massa to win for Ferrari.  I hope he does this season, because he does deserve to.  Let’s hope this revived Massa form continues for the second half of the season.

What Will Be The Implications from the Team Orders?

The fallout from Ferrari’s team orders will carry on into Hungary, and probably all the way to September 13^th, when the World Motorsport Council meet in Paris to talk about Ferrari’s actions.  They were fined by the race stewards, which show that they feel something was wrong with the switch, which was blatantly obvious.  The FIA rulebook clearly states that ‘team orders are prohibited.’  Ferrari has broken the rules, and whilst punishing the drivers would be drastic, the team should cop a severe penalty.  Throwing them out of the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Constructors Championship and stripping them of all prize money for this season would certainly fit the crime.  The FIA must make an example of this, to stop any action of team orders being used again.  They missed a trick when Ferrari staged the finish of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix – now they must make an example of the Italian team, to show that they mean business.

Sebastian Vettel – Another Pole Position Wasted

Away from the Ferrari controversy, Sebastian Vettel failed again to convert pole position into a race victory.  Six times he has started from the front so far in 2010, and so far, only once (in Valencia) has Vettel turned that into a maximum score, which is a sobering statistic.  His super-human effort to beat a faster Ferrari on Saturday was wasted by another sluggish start.  He seemed more focused on driving Alonso into the pit wall, rather than get to Turn One first.  He invited Massa through to take the lead and Felipe accepted the invitation instantly.  From then on, he kept the Scuderia cars honest, but never looked liked beating them.  Red Bull could well be cursing their strike rate when they leave Abu Dhabi in November without a championship; because that’s the way it’s looking at the moment.

McLaren – Never At the Races

McLaren took a gamble on their set-up at Hockenheim, by running less downforce, which meant they were mighty down the straights with their f-duct.  However, they were lacking the general grip in the stadium section and they suffered for it.  Once Lewis Hamilton smashed his car into the tyre barriers on Friday morning in the wet, he was on his backfoot from the outset.  Jenson Button took advantage to out qualify Hamilton for the first time since Shanghai back in April, and his start was terrific.  However, he was baulked by Vettel in Turn One, and lucky to escape from the melee in 7^th spot.  Button’s pace on the harder tyre did for Mark Webber in the pits, but he couldn’t progress from 5^th, whilst Hamilton had to settle for 4^th, nowhere near the top three at the chequered flag.  It was a tough weekend for the boys from Woking, but they picked up sensible points again, and continue to control both championships as a result. 

Force India – A Very Tough Weekend

Force India had their worst weekend of the season in Germany and drew a blank for only the second time this season.  The pressure increases further on Vitantonio Liuzzi, when he made an elementary error in qualifying and smashed into the wall.  A gearbox problem for Adrian Sutil on Saturday morning left him back in 19^th place, following the 5-place gearbox demotion.  Their race was compromised on Lap 1, when Liuzzi made contact with Timo Glock’s Virgin and Sutil pitted by mistake, thinking his front wing had been damaged.  The team muddled it up, by giving the pair each other’s tyres, which meant an extra stop or face disqualification.  This was a very tough weekend for the team; they will be looking forward to Spa and Monza – when they should threaten the frontrunners with their low-downforce spec settings.

Vitaly Petrov – Makes His Point!

Vitaly Petrov arrived in Germany under pressure, with no less than seven drivers, including Timo Glock, Heikki Kovalainen and Nick Heidfeld linked to his seat at Renault for 2011.  Despite showing some flashes of speed and potential, the Russian has a tendency to pull off some ambitious moves, which have often ended with his car in a tyre barrier.  Qualifying was disappointing; down in 13^th, meaning Robert Kubica keeps his 100% record for getting better of his rookie team-mate on a Saturday.  A solid performance on Sunday saw Petrov keep Michael Schumacher in touch and hold off attacks from Pedro de la Rosa and Kamur Kobayashi for the final championship point.  Petrov remains an outsider to keep his current seat for next season, but don’t discount him just yet.

Toro Rosso Copy The Red Bull Tactic!

Red Bull committed the perfect crime in Turkey, Ferrari mirrored it at Silverstone and now, Toro Rosso copied the example on Lap 1 in Germany.  Jaime Alguesuari missed his braking point by at least 150 metres, and assaulted his team leader, Sebastian Buemi.  Buemi was minding his own business, passing Pedro de la Rosa into the Turn 6 hairpin, when he was clobbered by his young Spanish team-mate.  The incident saw Buemi limping back to the pits to retire, and Alguesuari requiring a front wing repair job.  Not what was required for Red Bull’s sister team!

Lotus – Being Closed Down By Virgin Racing

Lotus have already decided to focus their efforts onto the 2011 car, despite one more big development package that is due for the Belgian Grand Prix next month.  However, they are in danger of being jumped by Virgin Racing as the quickest of the new teams by the end of the season.  Gearbox troubles for the Virgin team, and a mighty effort from Jarno Trulli on Saturday saved Lotus from facing embarrassment from a team that has quite frankly, underperformed massively.  In the race, Trulli retired early with a gear selection problem, and Kovalainen chopped de la Rosa late on and had to retire too.  At the time, Lucas di Grassi harassed Kovalainen all day, so Lotus need to continue developing if they want to stay quickest of the new teams.

Daring Desmond Buys Out Five

The future of Channel Five has been secured for now, after it was taken over last week by Richard Desmond, the owner of the Daily Star and the Daily Express.  Desmond’s company, Northern Shell completed its takeover with immediate effect from the German broadcaster RTL, in a deal worth an estimated £104 million.  RTL confirmed that a pick-up in the UK advertising revenue convinced them that it was the right time to sell.

Mr. Desmond, who has also indicated that he’d like to buy The Sun newspaper off Rupert Murdoch and News Corp of recent times, was delighted with his new acquisition:

“I am delighted to have taken over as ownership of the network, and know with the right leadership, drive and investment; it can go from strength to strength as a competitive broadcaster and a modern player for the big consumer.”

Richard Desmond has had a very enterprising career in the media industry since he left school with very few academic qualifications.  By the age of 21, he owned two record shops, and acquired the rights to the Daily Express in the year 2000 – through money that he had made in the adult entertainment market.  Under his ownership, the Daily Express and OK! Magazine seem to have thrived underneath his ownership, both on a content and commercial basis, which will make this move very positive for Dawn Airey, the chief executive of Five.

Channel Five was launched by the Spice Girls on March 31^st 1997, but was hit very hard by the slump in advertising revenues during the recession last year.  It has managed to rebuke several attempts and suggestions for a merger with Channel 4, but has struggled to make an impact on the major players in the terrestrial market.  Five is currently home to CSI, Flash Forward, UEFA Europa League Football and Australian soaps Home & Away and Neighbours. 

It is likely that Desmond will make significant cuts to begin with, like he has with the Daily Express.  However, he has already indicated that he wants to bring back Top of the Pops, and possibly attempt to revive Big Brother, currently in its final series with Channel 4.  It will be very interesting to see how things work out, but whilst RTL were only in the game for a moneymaking venture, Desmond’s takeover can only be seen as a positive step forward for Five.  Not only has it secured its future, which has been questionable for some time, but it will give them the stepping stone to start competing heavily with other channels in public broadcasting.