2011 Brazilian Grand Prix - Webber ends barren run in style

SMILES: Webber finally has something to lookback on in 2011

AFTER 18 frustrating months playing second fiddle to his red-hot team-mate Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber finally tasted the champagne on the top step of the podium on Sunday.  The Australian won the 2011 finale in style in Sao Paulo, taking full advantage of a rare reliability issue that hobbled his team-mate.  From second on the grid, Webber was let through into the lead of the Brazilian Grand Prix on lap 29, as world champion Vettel had to battle on with a serious gearbox problem.  Nevertheless, he still finished second as Red Bull Racing put on a demonstration in a race that will quickly be forgotten by the avid F1 fan.

       On Saturday afternoon, Vettel broke another record with his usual pole position.  It was his 15^th of the campaign, eclipsing Nigel Mansell’s mark of 14 that he achieved in 1992.  From the moment the Red Bulls got into turn one first, the rest might have well parked their cars as they had no chance of getting on terms with the team that has had the best equipment, the best pit crew and the best strategies all season.  Vettel was first warned of his gearbox gremlin on lap 14 by his race engineer Rocky.  He was urged to short-shift in third and fourth and although he set some fastest laps to provoke some nerves within the team, Sebastian did what was asked.  Later, he said on the team radio; “I feel like Senna in 91,” which will go down as one of the sound bites of the season.  This was the famous reference to when the late Ayrton Senna won in 1991 with a major gearbox problem.  Webber caught his team leader and Vettel let him by into turn one in a piece of synchronised driving that is more likely to be seen by a couple of truck drivers on the M1.  It was an overtaking manoeuvre that would have struggled to get anyone excited.

       While the Red Bulls dominated at the front, the fans did witness an exciting dice between the other two standout drivers of the season, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.  The Ferrari looked to have the measure of the McLaren for much of the race, as Jenson struggled with a balance on the option tyres.  In fact, Fernando pulled off one of the best passes of the entire season, when he swept right around the outside of the Brit into turn six on lap ten.  52 laps later, Button had reeled him in again, as the Achilles heel of the Ferrari team came back to haunt them again.  Alonso couldn’t get decent consistency on the harder prime Pirelli tyre and Button outmanoeuvred him in turn four.  This decisive move meant Webber stole third place in the drivers’ championship from Alonso at the last event of the season.  

       Lewis Hamilton had a difficult race, as he was another driver to struggle with gearbox issues.  He had his from the tenth lap onwards, but unlike Vettel, his gave up the ghost whilst sixth on lap 48.  It completes a tough season for Hamilton, which sees him finish fifth in the championship and although he looked in good spirits, 2011 will largely be a season he’d like to forget.  At least he ended the feud with Felipe Massa that has ruined both of their seasons, by embracing his rival in parc ferme after the race; a gesture that was widely appreciated by Massa, Martin Whitmarsh and Stefano Domenicalli.  

DAMAGE: Senna and Schumacher harmed each other's races

     It was a race where there wasn’t a lot to shout about for the Brazilian fans.  Massa finished a lonely fifth, although he did pull off some donuts after the race to entertain everyone.  Potentially in his final race, Rubens Barrichello ended up in 14^th place for Williams after making a shocking start and dropping from 12^th to 20^th by the end of the first lap.  Bruno Senna qualified well, but was harshly penalised by the stewards for a clash with Michael Schumacher which wrecked both of their races early on.  The contact at turn one was unnecessary and pointless, but a racing incident.  Bruno damaged his front wing and Schumacher collected a left-rear puncture.  Both finished well out of the reckoning, in 17^th and 15^th places respectively. 

       The path was made clear for Webber to record the seventh victory of his career and his first since the Hungarian Grand Prix last July.  Vettel completed Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 of the season, followed by Button, Alonso and Massa.  Adrian Sutil put in his best drive of the campaign to record a fine sixth place for Force India, as he seeks a drive for next season.  His team-mate Paul di Resta completed a fine rookie season with eighth place and took Force India to within four points of snatching fifth in the constructor’s championship from the underachieving Renault team.  Nico Rosberg had his usual unobtrusive run to seventh place and the final points went to Kamur Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov.  Kobayashi’s two points were crucial, as it kept Sauber ahead of Toro Rosso in the constructor’s championship by three points and could be worth an extra $5million to the team in prize money.

       So, that is it then.  The curtain has come down on a season which has produced five different winners, from three teams, in 19 races across the globe, taking place in 18 countries.  We have seen some vintage races, numerous overtakes, records tumble and ultimately, a team and driver at complete harmony with one another.  Red Bull have set the standard this season and raised the bar once again in Formula One.  McLaren and Ferrari have a lot of hard work to do in the winter to get on terms, otherwise come Melbourne next March; the team from Milton Keynes will be ready to crush everyone again.

      Enjoy the winter break!  

Kubica fights for his F1 career after horror rally shunt

JEOPARDY: Robert Kubica is facing the biggest fight of his career so far

THE Polish racing driver Robert Kubica is fighting for his F1 career tonight, after suffering multiple fractures in a horror rally crash.  Kubica, 26, crashed into a church wall on the final day of a rally in Italy.  BBC Radio 5 Live’s David Croft reports that Kubica was trapped in his wrecked Skoda Fabia for upto an hour.  He was airlifted to hospital in Genoa, where he is undergoing surgery for multiple fractures.

REMAINS: The wreckage of Kubica's Skoda Fabia rally car

His condition is not life threatening, but his manager Daniele Morelli confirmed his injuries, which are a broken right leg, broken right arm and more worryingly, broken right hand.  Surgeons are attempting to resurrect Kubica’s feeling in his right hand.  If unable to do so, his Formula One career looks to be over.  Morelli told reporters at the hospital; “Surgeons are trying to re-establish the functionality of his right hand.  Robert is very strong and he will pull through.”

Kubica made his Grand Prix debut for BMW Sauber in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix and is one of the leading stars in the rising talent of Formula One field.  The Krakow born driver has only won one race; the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal, but has put in a string of impressive performances in recent years, most particularly at Renault last season.  He finished eighth in the drivers’ championship last season, finishing second in Australia and third in Belgium and Monaco.  He is no stranger to massive crashes.  Robert had titanium bolts in his right arm inserted when he was seriously injured in a road accident in 2003.  Four years later, he walked away unscathed for a potentially fatal shunt at the Canadian Grand Prix, when he clipped Jarno Trulli’s Toyota and was launched into an aeroplane wreck.  A sprained ankle was the only injury here.

It was just over 4km into the first stage of the rally that Kubica was taking part in; a hobby he likes to do away from the F1 paddock.  Croft reported more on how the crash happened; “It is understood that when Kubica hit the wall, a barrier penetrated the footwell of his car, causing the injuries.”  “The main concern is with Kubica’s right hand, which has lost a load of blood.  However, reports of amputation are wide of the mark.”

FORM: Robert was fastest in testing last week, but his form has been halted

Even if he makes a full recovery, Kubica is all but certain to miss the F1 season opener in Bahrain, which is just 35 days away.  With the injuries looking so sustained, I’d expect him to be on the sidelines for the best part of three months.  The Renault team are devastated; especially after Kubica set the fastest time of the first F1 test of 2011 in Valencia last Thursday.  Reserve drivers, Bruno Senna and Romain Grosjean are both expected to feature in this week’s testing programme alongside regular Russian Vitaly Petrov.  Both Senna and Grosjean have raced in F1 before, and would be seen as an excellent one-off choice.  However, if Kubica is going to be missing a large proportion of the campaign, then a more suitable replacement such as Force India test driver Nico Hulkenberg or his former team-mate at BMW Sauber, Nick Heidfeld must be considered.  

Support for Kubica has flooded through on Twitter from his fellow racing colleagues.  Jenson Button wrote on his page; “Shocking news about Robert Kubica, I wish him a speedy recovery.”  Toro Rosso’s Sebastian Buemi’s thoughts are also with his pal; “All my support to Robert Kubica.  I am with you man.”

The current surgery is thought to be going okay, but it is too early to say the implications.  However, Kubica’s presence in the F1 paddock will be missed come the season opener in Bahrain.  I wish him all the best for a speedy and safe recovery, and hope to see him back in a racing car real soon. 

2010 Italian 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.  Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix turned the world championship battle on its head once again, as the two outsiders Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button charged back into the title race.  Here is a round-up of round fourteen, as the curtain comes down on the European season.

Mark Webber – Does He Have the Title Advantage?

Mark Webber knew that the Italian Grand Prix was going to be a weak one for Red Bull Racing and himself.  It was always going to be damage limitation for the Aussie, but his frustration after the race couldn’t be hidden.  Webber has a nightmare couple of days of practice, stopping twice with electrical and fuel pressure problems, so to qualify 4^th on Saturday was an admirable effort.  All that hard work went to waste with another disastrous start, which had him back in 9^th on the first lap.  Aggressive passes on Michael Schumacher, Robert Kubica and Nico Hulkenberg showed Webber’s strong instinct to overtake.  However, 6^th place, on a day when Lewis Hamilton damaged his prospects severely, wasn’t what Mark was hoping for.  Nevertheless, with the Red Bull expected to be the strongest chassis in the last five races, he now has the title advantage.

Lewis Hamilton – Are His Championship Chances Shattered Like His Steering?

Lewis Hamilton had to score big at Monza, knowing that this was the last circuit that his McLaren was going to have a clear advantage over Red Bull this season.  Consequently, a radically improved Ferrari was not in the gameplan, and nor was Saturday’s qualifying session, leaving him in a frustrated 5^th.  Hamilton had taken the traditional Monza low-spec downforce setting, without the f-duct.  However, Jenson Button had gambled on a different route and got it right.  Annoyed going to the grid, Hamilton pulled off a 2007-spec move on Felipe Massa into the second chicane.  He stuck his nosecone in an area where the Brazilian was always going to make unintentional contact with him, and the clash of wheels bent Hamilton’s right-front steering arm, sending the Brit into the gravel and out on the first lap.  For Hamilton, the Italian Grand Prix was an utter shambles, and his championship chances have taken a significant and potentially knockout blow.

Fernando Alonso – A Crucial Weekend Pays Off

For Fernando Alonso, Italy expected him to deliver and he duly delivered, as a crucial weekend in his fading title bid paid off, with a handsome and popular win.  Alonso’s pole position lap in qualifying was immense and the total commitment presented him with a great opportunity to dominate from the front, squandered by a poor start and allowing Jenson Button into the lead.  Button’s unusual Monza high-downforce spec meant that it was impossible for Alonso to pass until the pitstops.  Fortunately, McLaren pitted Jenson first, allowing Ferrari and Fernando to steal a tactical initiative.  One lap later, Alonso pitted and to the tifosi’s delight, came out ahead and went onto win.  With Ferrari being a one-man team, don’t discount Alonso from the final reckoning just yet, though he can’t afford to make any more silly errors.

Ferrari Escape Team Orders Disciplinary – Was The FIA Right?

Before the weekend begun, Ferrari was already breathing a sigh of relief, after they escaped any further punishment for the team orders debacle in Germany.  It was a difficult call for the FIA, and despite deserving further sanctions, at least we should know come Bahrain next year that team orders are prohibited, whether the fans like it or not.  Personally, I’m not a fan of team orders, but it is better if they are open for teams to use, rather than teams sneak around using it.

Nico Hulkenberg – Beginning To Show His Future Potential

He struggled to get to grips with Formula One at the start of his rookie season, but Nico Hulkenberg is now beginning to really show his future potential, and now has the measure of his Williams team-mate Rubens Barrichello.  Eighth on the grid was a fantastic effort, as Hulkenberg made the Q3 shootout session for the fourth successive race.  An excellent start saw last year’s GP2 champion zoom upto 6^th and then, he did well to jump Robert Kubica at the stops.  His defensive tactics against Mark Webber had to be questioned, especially by his consistent use of using the escape route down the first two chicanes.  Nevertheless, 7^th place was a good result, and I think he is now only going to get better, now that the ‘Hulk’ has settled into the sport.

Timo Glock – An Unlucky Figure throughout the Weekend

Virgin Racing had the right to be very happy with their weekend, especially as they won the battle of the new teams.  Jarno Trulli’s late demise, with a gearbox problem allowed Timo Glock to take the honours, holding off Heikki Kovalainen in a race-long duel for position.  However, Glock was out of luck at the start of the weekend, so his result to win the new teams scrap should be highly credited.  He was victim to a blatant block by Vitaly Petrov at the beginning of Q1, meaning he would be beaten by the off-form Vitantonio Liuzzi from Force India.  Then, a five-place grid penalty followed for a gearbox change, meaning Glock started plum last.  Therefore, his race effort was a very valid performance.

Michael Schumacher – Will He Stay or Go?

BBC pundit Eddie Jordan started the rumours flying that the managers of Timo Glock and Adrian Sutil had been in and out of the Mercedes motorhome during the weekend.  It means that the pressure is intensifying on Michael Schumacher’s future.  Ross Brawn has already said that there will be a manager’s role for Schumacher in the future, but is that short-term or a longer vision?  At Monza, Schumacher qualified a disappointing 12^th, at least half a second behind Nico Rosberg all weekend.  Despite another strong start, he finished a lonely 9^th, on a track where he has excelled so much down the years.  Schumacher didn’t look his usual bouncy self either all weekend, maybe the speculation is starting to get to the seven-time world champion a bit.

13 Races, 8 DNF’s – The Sobering Statistic of Bruno Senna

Bruno Senna is the most unreliable driver in 2010, certainly in the statistics of finishing races.  He failed to finish once again at Monza, making it eight retirements in thirteen races.  Even Sakon Yamamoto has finished almost as many races this season!  Some of these DNF’s have not been Senna’s fault, largely because the Hispania lacks both speed and reliability.  However, statistics don’t lie and at the end of the day, Senna has largely disappointed in his rookie campaign.  Had it not been for money, I wonder if Karun Chandok should be back in the sport and not commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live.

The End of the European Leg – Time To Reflect

Monza brought the curtain down on a dramatic European season, consisting of nine races.  Mark Webber has nearly won 50% of the European races this season (Spain, Monaco, Britain and Hungary) and heads for the five remaining flyaway races in the lead of the championship.  Jenson Button is the only one of the five title contenders to have not sprayed the bubbly on the top step of the podium in Europe.  Despite all the new races being added, with India joining the party in 2011, Formula One must never forget its traditional routes of races in Europe.  Although the likes of Imola and Magny-Cours have disappeared in recent seasons, it’s nice to see races like Monte Carlo, Monza, Spa and Silverstone still with long-term contracts, and very much at the heartbeat of the Grand Prix circus.

Two Weeks Until F1 Returns To the Gaming World – Codemasters Big Gamble

There is less a fortnight away now from the return of Formula 1 to the gaming world.  Codemasters, the makers of GRID and Colin McRae DIRT are launching F1 2010, due for release on September 24^th.  It’s a big gamble, but I have every confidence it will pay off.  There will be an in-depth review of the game after the Singapore Grand Prix in two weeks time.

F1 2010 - Are The New Teams Ready?

In seven days time, the roaring sound of V8 engines will exit the garages; the adrenaline buzz for millions of fans will begin again as the 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Championship kicks into life in the Middle East.

The desert area of Bahrain will stage the first race of 19, equalling the 2005 season as the longest in the World Championship’s history.  The winter break has seen as many stories as a traditional Grand Prix season would, with Toyota pulling out of the sport, Renault electing to stay in F1 under new ownership and the sensational return of Michael Schumacher to Grand Prix racing.  However, quite a fair bit of attention in Sakhir, will be on the three new teams and whether they will be up to speed in time for the green light.

Last summer, F1 suffered bitter fallouts, which nearly led to a disastrous breakaway by the major manufacturers.  Former FIA president Max Mosley and the head of FOTA (Formula One Teams Association) Luca di Montzemolo clashed verbally on several occasions over budget caps, as the sport took desperate attempts to reduce costs in a global recession.  Eventually, peace was made, with Mosley departing the scene, but it was too late for BMW & Toyota, both electing to walkaway, due to the economic crisis.  Consequently, we have three new teams on the grid, boosting the number of cars up to 24.

Unfortunately, as widely anticipated, one team has failed to make it.  USF1, led by Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor, both very experienced, failed to stump up the materialised costs for their team to run.  This was largely down to a lack of sponsorship and staff.  Though, they claim they will be ready for 2011, the team’s base in Charlotte, USA is up for sale and its only driver, Jose Maria Lopez has been released from his contract.  The team looks like on the verge of collapse.  The FIA then rejected Serbian team Stefan GP’s entry, because it was too late.  Stefan GP had flown equipment out to Bahrain, bought Toyota’s cars which had been designed for 2010 before their pull-out and signed ex-Williams reject Kazuki Nakajima to drive.  It is disappointing that this entry has been rejected, but understandably so, with Bahrain just a week away and hopefully, they will be on the grid sooner rather than later.

This leaves Lotus, Virgin F1 and Hispania F1 to make their births into the sport next weekend.  Virgin F1 looks the quicker, from the winter testing, but have been plagued by reliability problems.  In promising Brazilian Lucas di Grassi and former Toyota pilot, Timo Glock, the team has got the strongest potential to surprise some of the established pack this season.  Especially Glock, who for many, is probably the most under-rated driver on the grid.  The team is strongly backed by Richard Branson, who after minimal support with last year’s Brawn GP car makes the big step into backing Formula 1 success.

Lotus will return to the Formula One circle in Bahrain, after an exile of sixteen years.  Past glories of Colin Chapman and champions in the form of Clark, Hill, Andretti and Fittipaldi may have been a long time ago, but everyone is urging the team to do a respectable and capable job.  In former Tyrrell, Jordan and Toyota chief designer Mike Gascoigne, they’ve got plenty of experience in backroom staff and a strong driver-line up consisting of Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen, both who have failed to deliver in their careers, but can steer the team out of trouble.  They may struggle initially, but an updated package for May’s Spanish Grand Prix will probably see the first sign of true competitiveness.

The final team making their bow is Hispania F1.  Taking over the initial Campos entry, the team are bringing in valuable money, through Indian Karun Chandok, the second driver only in India’s history to enter Formula One and Bruno Senna, nephew of the late great Brazilian, Ayrton.  Senna has been successful in most of the junior formulae and could be one of the surprise packages of the season.  However, considering the team’s perilous situation over the winter, plus no winter testing, they are more likely to be the whipping boys of 2010.

The record for new teams entering F1 is not great.  Simtek, Pacific, Forti, and Super Aguri all went bust within four years of existence, even Jaguar failed in their five year stint in Grand Prix racing.  The new teams are definitely ready for the challenge, but I’m predicting tough times ahead on the long road to F1 glory.