2011 Chinese Grand Prix - Hamilton wins Shanghai stunner

BOWED: Hamilton accepts the plaudits after a great drive

A BETTER strategy and dynamic passing saw Lewis Hamilton triumph yesterday in the Chinese Grand Prix.  The McLaren driver pounced with fresher tyres to pass Sebastian Vettel with four laps to go, to earn his first win since last August’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa.  Vettel maintained his championship lead with a strong second, whilst Mark Webber put in the drive of his life to earn a podium finish from 18^th on the grid.  With stunning drives from the likes of Nico Rosberg and Felipe Massa too, Shanghai 2011 will go down as one of the all-time classics in F1 history.

     On Saturday afternoon, Vettel was 0.7seconds quicker than his closest opposition and it looked like he would probably walk it on raceday too.  Those hopes were quickly dashed by a sluggish start, which saw the champion outfoxed by the McLaren’s of Jenson Button and Hamilton.  Hamilton was even lucky to start the race, after an overflow of fuel flooded the engine and left some frenzied attention from the mechanics in the moments to the start.  Whilst the first stint was fairly uneventful, except for a wheel parting company from Jaime Alguesuari’s Toro Rosso, the race strategy and degradation of the Pirelli tyres turned this race into an absolute belter.

     The chaos began on lap 15 when Button and Vettel pitted together for their first pitstops.  Unbelievably, Jenson lost total concentration of his bearings and attempted to stop in the Red Bull pits!  It was a comical moment and Vettel was gifted the lead by this faux-pas.  That didn’t last long, as Mercedes had pitted earlier than anyone else, and bought both Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher right into contention.  Rosberg led and it soon became clear that managing tyres and a mixture of strategies would leave the outcome totally unpredictable.  Rosberg, Button and Hamilton would be three stopping, whilst Vettel and the flying Massa decided on a two stop race.

      In the end, the three stop route was by far the best choice.  Hamilton made a brave pass on his team-mate, which required a lot of corporation from Button into the first corner.  He then easily passed Rosberg, who was struggling to keep his fuel consumption under control.  Massa put in a brave attempt to hold off Hamilton, but the Ferrari’s lack of aerodynamic force meant the Brazilian was a sitting duck for Lewis.  He quickly caught Vettel and despite Vettel’s best efforts, the Brit used his KERS hybrid energy storage to pull alongside and pass the German into the fast-sweeping turn five and six on lap 52. 

CHARGE: Mark Webber attacks Michael Schumacher

     As Massa faded and Rosberg couldn’t keep up with his car issues, Webber suddenly came into the equation.  A nightmare engineering call by Ciaran Pilbeam had left the Aussie high and dry in Q1 on Saturday and his race looked over early on, when he struggled to overhaul the likes of Sergio Perez and Rubens Barrichello.  However, Webber did have three new sets of the softer, preferred tyre and after getting the initial prime tyre out of the way in his first stint, absolutely flew through the field.  With two laps to go, he overhauled Button to complete a sensational comeback and get a richly deserved podium.  Had the race been a few laps longer, Webber might even have won it.

     Button wasn’t quick enough when it counted and alongside his pitlane blunder, fourth place was the best he deserved.  Rosberg was very disappointed to finish fifth, considering he led a great chunk of the race.  It was also the last race for his engineer Jock Clear.  Clear, who was world championship engineer for Jacques Villeneuve in 1997 is moving into a backseat factory role after this event.  Massa performed well to come home sixth and probably deserved more, if he was on the right strategy.  Fernando Alonso was slow all afternoon and came home a very distant seventh, with a mysterious moment when his DRS was activated outside the overtaking zone his main highlight.  Alonso just about held off Schumacher, whilst the final points went to Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and Kamur Kobayashi in his Sauber.  Scotland’s Paul di Resta qualified a stunning eighth, but dropped back to 11^th, having struggled with tyres too.  Finally, a worthy mention for Team Lotus, who look set to break into the midfield scrap.  Jarno Trulli set a faster race lap than Alonso and Heikki Kovalainen finished a very creditable 16^th, outracing both Perez and Williams rookie Pastor Maldonado.

     File the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix into the archive of classic all-time Grand Prix events.  For Lewis Hamilton, it was the drive of his life and I think we all need three weeks before the Turkish Grand Prix at Istanbul to breathe again after this epic.  Thank you Pirelli for giving us such a new dynamic to this sport we love.  

F1 classic races - China

     

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races in China between 2004 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

2004

WINNER: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 2^nd: Jenson Button (BAR Honda), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes)

F1’s first visit to China came in September 2004.  The Chinese put on an impressive show for Bernie Ecclestone and a worldwide television audience and Rubens Barrichello stepped out of the shadows of Michael Schumacher to record back-to-back wins.  Schumacher had a nightmare weekend in Shanghai.  He threw away the chance of an all-Ferrari front row by chucking his car into the scenery during qualifying.  On raceday, the German slammed straight into the side of Christian Klien, eliminating the Austrian, endured a wild spin, and then collected a puncture.  Despite setting fastest lap, 12^th was the best he could manage.  His brother Ralf annoyed his Williams team by refusing to return to the event in protest of having to make way for his team-mate’s second pitstop.  Schuey Jnr was eliminated in a clash with David Coulthard.  McLaren attempted to win the race, by employing an aggressive strategy for Kimi Raikkonen, but it cost them second place to Jenson Button’s two-stopping BAR Honda.

2005

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Toyota)

Fernando Alonso clinched the constructor’s championship with Renault, ending the V10 era on a high in the 2005 season finale.  He dominated from start-to-finish, despite two Safety Cars.  The first was for a drain gully coming up on Turn 10, which was hit by Juan Pablo Montoya’s McLaren.  Suspension damage and engine trouble finished Montoya’s day.  The second pace car was to recover the Jordan of Narain Karthikeyan, who had a spectacular accident on the last appearance for the Jordan team name.  Michael Schumacher had a day to forget, dwindling into the path of Christjian Albers Minardi on the way to the grid, causing one of the strangest crashes of the entire season.  He then spun off warming his tyres up during a Safety Car period.  Kimi Raikkonen was second and Ralf Schumacher claimed a surprising podium for the Toyota team.

2006

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 3^rd: Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault)

OVERJOYED: Schumacher overcame all the odds to win in 2006

As it stands, this was Michael Schumacher’s 91^st and last F1 win.  On a wet day in China, Schumacher overcame an inferior car/tyre package to take the lead in the 2006 title race.  Having started on pole position, Fernando Alonso cruised into a 15 second lead in the early stages.  However, Renault decided to keep his old tyres on at his first pitstop, which cost them dearly.  Alonso’s lead was gobbled up by team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella and Schumacher.  He was powerless to resist the pair and a sticky wheel nut at his second stop finished his victory chances.  Schumacher jumped Fisichella at the second stops to record a famous win, one of his greatest in his distinguished career.  Kimi Raikkonen would have been in the shake-up at the end, but for a throttle actuator problem.  A chaotic final lap saw Rubens Barrichello shunt into Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber on the penultimate corner.  This handed Jenson Button and Pedro de la Rosa fourth and fifth, whilst a wingless Barrichello crossed the line sixth and Heidfeld was classified seventh.

2007

WINNER: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 2^nd: Fernando Alonso (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

AGONY: Hamilton walks away, after his 07 DNF

This was meant to be the day that Lewis Hamilton completed the fairytale and wrapped up the championship in this, his rookie season.  However, it ended to be the day that his championship bid came off the rails.  Despite starting on pole, Hamilton’s tyres completely disintegrated down to the canvas.  Agony followed, as he came in for fresh tyres, the McLaren slid into the gravel and got beached in the pitlane entry.  Kimi Raikkonen went onto win the race, ahead of Fernando Alonso to ensure a three-way championship battle heading to the final duel in Brazil.  Sebastian Vettel and Vitantonio Liuzzi scored the best ever finish for the Scuderia Toro Rosso team; earning fourth and sixth place finishes for the Italian team from Farenza.  Jenson Button’s fifth place result was the best of the season for the beleaguered Honda squad.

2009

WINNER: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault), 2^nd: Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing Renault), 3^rd: Jenson Button (Brawn Mercedes)

A very wet day and Shanghai 2009 was the start of the Red Bull revolution.  Sebastian Vettel clinched pole position on Saturday, despite driveshaft issues.  On Sunday, he drove impeccably in conditions that got worse with each passing lap.  He led Mark Webber home to a 1-2 finish, the first victory for Red Bull Racing.  Jenson Button earnt himself third place to keep his command on the early stages of the 2009 championship, with Rubens Barrichello holding off Heikki Kovalainen’s McLaren to finish fourth.  Force India lost their chance to secure championship points for the first time when Adrian Sutil aquaplaned into the barriers with only five laps to go, throwing away three points with it.  Ferrari remained without a point, after Felipe Massa retired due to a fuel pressure problem, and Kimi Raikkonen could only muster a very poor tenth. 

2010

WINNER: Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Nico Rosberg (Mercedes GP)

Last season saw the first British 1-2 since Silverstone 1999 in another wet Chinese Grand Prix.  Jenson Button made a couple of brilliant tactical decisions to stay out on the track when an early rain shower arrived.  This meant the world champion won his second race for McLaren in only four events for his new team.  Lewis Hamilton produced an aggressive drive to seal McLaren’s first maximum score since Monza 2007.  Nico Rosberg recorded a second successive rostrum for Mercedes GP, having led the early stages.  Having started on the front row of the grid together, it was a bad day for Red Bull Racing.  Some shocking pitstops left Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber hobbled down the order in sixth and eighth come the chequered flag.  Despite a blatant jumpstart, Fernando Alonso came home in a strong fourth for Ferrari, whilst another former champion, Michael Schumacher struggled with his car all day and could only gain a point for his hard-working efforts.

Sony ends the cassette Walkman era

JAPANESE electronics giant Sony has closed a prestigious chapter in technological history, as it recently finished production of its groundbreaking Walkman.  It is now likely to be stored into museums as precious exhibits.

Sony has confirmed that the last models of the Walkman in Japan were shipped out in April this year, and no more will made.  To meet the required orders from Europe and Asia, the final productions will be made from a factory in China, though this is only thought to be a short-term measure.

The Walkman stepped upto the global scene in 1979, and has been a major success for Sony, with only the PlayStation’s birth in 1995 has come anywhere close to being a major sales figure for the giant.  Worldwide, over 200million walkmans have been sold, but as time and technology has gone on, so the Walkman has begun to age.  First, it was overtaken by the portable CD player, then the mini-disc player and lastly the MP3/I-Pod generation, which hit the headlines back in 2001.

It may look bulky to many now, but the Walkman was a pioneering piece of electronic kit, at a time when technological advances were far slower than what they are in today’s world.  Some ‘vintage’ editions have been sold on for thousands of pounds, and despite lacking the features of today’s music players; the Walkman has made its impact and with it, provided many fans and memories.

It may be out-of-date and soon to be out of production, but the Walkman’s legacy on our technology world will never be forgotten.

2010 Chinese 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 final race of the four fly-away events was at a damp and soggy Shanghai in China.  Once again, the mixture of wet weather and comedic pitstops led us all to a nail-biting conclusion; the bore of Bahrain seems like a century ago.  So, this is the round-up of race four out of nineteen in 2010, as China produced another modern classic.

Jenson Button - Proof Why He Is World Champion

Jenson Button’s second win for McLaren showed the guaranteed proof of why he is a Formula One World Champion.  Once again, like in Melbourne, it was Jenson who made the inspired call of staying out on dry tyres, during an early rain shower, when many of his rivals, including his team-mate Lewis Hamilton gambled and got it wrong.  Many, included myself questioned Button’s decision to switch to McLaren from Brawn GP at the end of last season, especially by walking into the lion’s den of Hamilton’s team.  Well, he is proving us all wrong and by staying cool, calm and collected, Jenson is getting the job done without any fuss whatsoever.  Fifteen of the last twenty championships have seen the guy who led after four races go on to win the championship.  Therefore, this bodes very well for Button to become a back-to-back champion.  Carry on with this form, and it certainly cannot be discounted.

Lewis Hamilton - Is The Aggression Making Him A Villain Or A Hero?

In Malaysia, Lewis Hamilton didn’t make himself many friends, for his aggressive weaving tactics to keep Vitaly Petrov behind in his charge through the field.  Rubens Barrichello was very vocal about it, as was Mark Webber.  On Sunday, Hamilton was called to face the stewards again, this time for a dangerous incident in the pits with Sebastian Vettel.  In the end, a severe reprimand was given to both, which was the right decision, as both had the chance to avoid dangerous driving, yet refused to do so.  No-one can take the aggression out of Lewis; it is what makes him as a driver and his spectacular overtaking and charging are thrilling to see.  However, sometimes, his aggressive attitude goes wrong and can really irk his rivals.  Though we love to see more of this, Lewis has got to get a right balance between aggression and racecraft; otherwise he will make himself a villain within the F1 paddock once again.

Nico Rosberg - A Future Grand Prix Winner in the Making

The championship table does not lie; Nico Rosberg is second in the standings and is in undoubtedly, the form of his life.  He is making Michael Schumacher look like an amateur, not a seven-time world champion.  Like Button, Rosberg took the decision to stay out in the early stages and produced similar results.  Though he was unable to hold back the charging McLaren’s, he did very well to finish on the podium for the second successive race.  With a new Mercedes upgrade heading for Barcelona, it is surely only a matter of time before Rosberg becomes a Grand Prix winner, and I think it will be sooner rather than later.  His consistency is very impressive at the moment and now, he is the only driver to finish in the top five in every race so far this season.

Wet Races - Stay Cool, Don't Panic

Once again, the wet weather threw strategy out of the window.  It was essential for everyone to stay cool and not to panic.  However, in those early stages, panic driving from many saw them lose too much time to be a race-winning factor.  Fernando Alonso lost the plot and blatantly jumped the start, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull made costly errors in an error-strewn performances and Mark Webber produced another panicky performance when under pressure.  If you follow the lead of Button, Rosberg and Robert Kubica, the results will pay dividends and as in Melbourne, all three drivers walked away with super final outcomes.

Hispania Racing - Early Signs of Moving Forward

After Bahrain, Hispania Racing was the laughing stock of the paddock.  They didn’t even turn a wheel before free practice in the desert and Karun Chandok didn’t even do ten laps over the whole weekend.  However, I’ve been impressed with how they’ve been getting it together ever since.  Though Geoff Willis is rumoured to be unhappy at Hispania, surely something involving him as seen the team’s fortunes turn around.  Chandok has now finished the last three races, team-mate Bruno Senna the last two, so reliability is something the team have.  Pace wise, the team is also slowly improving, and were less than 0.5seconds behind Lucas di Grassi’s Virgin in qualifying.  Hispania Racing is showing solid signs of moving forward and I think are now going to be here to stay longer than many initially anticipated. 

Sebastian Buemi - A Weekend to Forget

Sebastian Buemi must be looking to the skies at the moment and wondering whether he is destined to finish the season uninjured.  Having been speared by Kamur Kobayashi’s Sauber on the first lap of the Australian Grand Prix, Buemi’s nightmare beginning to 2010 continued in Friday first practice, when he suffered a terrifying shunt under braking for the penultimate corner on the Shanghai circuit.  As he hit the brakes at around 196mph, both of his front wheels alarmingly detached in spectacular fashion, leaving the Swiss powerless to control his Toro Rosso missile.  Less than forty-eight hours later, Buemi was t-boned again at the start of a Grand Prix.  Having qualified a creditable 13^th, despite basically no running on Friday, Buemi passed his team-mate Jaime Alguesuari off the grid and was challenging Robert Kubica into Turn 4.  Suddenly, Buemi turned in and was clobbered by Vitantonio Liuzzi’s Force India and once more, Kobayashi.  This was the ultimate horror weekend for Buemi, he will be looking forward to the longer break more than most and be relieved that he is actually in one piece.

The Spanish Grand Prix Doesn't Start At Barcelona - It Starts By Trying To Get Out Of Shanghai!

With the volcanic ash from Iceland, causing air travel chaos worldwide, there is the fact that the Spanish Grand Prix doesn’t start in Barcelona, it begins by attempting to get out of Shanghai!  Bernie Ecclestone joked on Sunday that we could race here all season, should the worst happen.  Red Bull and McLaren had lucky escapes when the air zones were shutdown last Thursday, just about beating the deadline to get upgraded parts out to China.  Meanwhile, BBC pundit and former team boss, Eddie Jordan was stranded in London because of the flying faux-pas.  As I write this blog now, airspace travel has re-opened, but some are struggling still to leave.  BBC commentator Jonathan Legard and Sauber remain stuck in China, whereas Sam Michael, Ross Brawn and Mark Webber had safer and less traumatic journeys back to the UK.  It certainly has been the talk of the F1 fraternity in the past week; let’s just hope everyone makes it to Barcelona on time!

Vitaly Petrov - Making the Most of a Cunning Strategy

Russian Vitaly Petrov has been by far, the best rookie so far in 2010.  Despite arriving in China without a Grand Prix finish, he had shown flashes of talent already.  A poor qualifying showing on Saturday was made up on Sunday, as Petrov made the most of his decent wet-weather ability and the cunning strategy deployed by the Renault team to score his first points in his career.  Despite a mid-race wild 360 degree spin, Petrov pulled off clever moves on Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber in the closing stages, his 7^th place finish was well deserved.  With Kubica producing another trouble-free run to 5^th, Renault has been by far, the best team in the midfield.  Further upgrades could see the French team more of a regular front-running feature over the course of the season.

Michael Schumacher - The Knives Are Sharpening

Shanghai has never been Michael Schumacher’s favourite hunting ground and that continued last weekend.  To be honest, he had a dreadful weekend, miles off the pace of Rosberg all throughout, whereas at least in Melbourne and Malaysia, he might have had better results, if for a bit more luck.  On a wet-weather circuit, his previous specialist subject, Michael looked awash at sea.  He did try his best and his defensive efforts on Hamilton were top class, so it wasn’t completely lacklustre.  However, something isn’t gelling at the moment, his Mercedes handled like a pig, consequently leaving him to be a sitting target.  A solitary point for his efforts must not see as much, and even Schumacher had to admit his frustration afterwards.  He needs more time, but not much more, the knives are definitely going to be sharpening if Michael continues his lacklustre comeback at the start of the European season.

One Left on Jacks and the Other Starts Nine Laps Down - Virgin Racing Hit A New Low

Virgin Racing is the victim of some unpleasant jokes in the paddock, due to their name, but they really aren’t helping themselves at the moment.  Despite having strong pace, more than capable of beating Lotus, a Morris Minor seems to have more chance of finishing a race.  Lucas di Grassi’s Malaysia finish now seems like a minor miracle.  Timo Glock was left on jacks and never even started, whereas di Grassi joined the race a full nine laps down and quit shortly afterwards.  Coupled with not having a big enough fuel tank to finish a race at the moment, Virgin Racing is the current joke at the moment.  I wonder what Glock is thinking now, turning down the chance to go to Renault, now limping along in this new team.  He might well be regretting that decision if Virgin continue to be as embarrassing as this.

2010 Chinese Grand Prix - Cool Jenson Leads Home British 1-2 In Shanghai Gloom

World champion Jenson Button produced another cool, calm and collected performance to win this morning’s Chinese Grand Prix at a damp and wet Shanghai track.  Button, starting from 5^th made another inspired call like the one which brought him victory in Australia three weeks ago to stay out on dry tyres during an early rain shower, which saw most of the race favourites caught out by the conditions. 

The results excelled again and after overhauling early race leader Nico Rosberg on Lap 21, Jenson bought his car home safely, leading home team-mate Lewis Hamilton to McLaren’s first 1-2 since the 2007 Italian Grand Prix and the first British 1-2 in F1 for over a decade, when Eddie Irvine beat David Coulthard in Austria in 1999.  Hamilton was one of those who pitted early for the intermediate tyres, which turned into the wrong decision.  Nevertheless, he produced another storming drive, full of stunning overtaking once more and his second place was fully deserved.  However, he has been reprimanded by the stewards again for dangerous driving in the pits with Sebastian Vettel.  Following his weaving tactics on rookie Vitaly Petrov in Malaysia a fortnight ago, Lewis certainly will need to curb his aggression in future, as it could hook him into immense trouble later in the season.

Once again, Red Bull Racing failed to deliver on their promise as Vettel and Mark Webber has difficult races to 6^th and 8^th places, having sewed up the front row in qualifying.  Vettel was also reprimanded by the stewards in that incident with Hamilton, whilst Webber was the victim of some poor pitstops by the Milton Keynes based team, which put them firmly on the back foot.  Despite being unable to hold off Button and Hamilton, Rosberg produced another consistent drive to a podium finish, on a track when he had managed no better than 11^th before this year.  Once more, he firmly had the measure of Michael Schumacher, who struggled all day with a vehicle full of understeer, which at times looked like it was heading for the erupting volcano in Iceland.  Despite having vain battles with Hamilton and Vettel, the seven-time world champion could only manage a solitary point for his hard efforts.

Ferrari had another troublesome weekend, with Fernando Alonso blatantly jumping the start and making five pitstops in total.  Despite all this drama, he still came home a solid 4^th, keeping him right in early championship contention.  Felipe Massa had a lacklustre weekend, and could only manage 9^th, losing his world championship lead to Button in the process.  Once more, Renault showed their consistency and their determination to put behind a horrific 2009 season with a double-points finish.  Staying out in the early shower paid dividends for Robert Kubica, who finished a strong 5^th.  Russian Petrov survived a mid-race spin to come home 7^th, for his first F1 points. 

Lotus were the strongest of the new teams again, with Heikki Kovalainen finishing ahead of Nico Hulkenberg’s Williams, having ran as high as 6^th in the chaotic early stages.  Spare a thought for Adrian Sutil, Jaime Alguesuari and Rubens Barrichello, who all were involved in the thick of the action throughout, but all left Shanghai with no points to show for their efforts.  Also, for Alguesuari’s Toro Rosso team-mate Sebastian Buemi, who after surviving a 200mph crash on Friday when both his front wheels flew off spectacularly, was t-boned out of the Grand Prix on the first lap by an out-of-control Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Four races gone in 2010 and Button carries a ten point lead over Rosberg, whilst Hamilton and Alonso are tied for third spot.  In the constructors, McLaren have overtaken Ferrari to consequently lead both championships.  The flyaway start is over and the teams can pack up and head back to Europe, with the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona being three weeks away.  However, with the volcano eruption showing no signs of diminishing in Iceland, when that will be is another matter.  I don’t think Jenson Button could care about that at the moment, as his consistency and tactical gambles have paid major dividends for him, he leads the championship again.    

Volvo Taken Over By The Chinese - Has China Got The Car Industry Back On Track?

   

Last weekend, manufacturer giant Ford took the decision to sell the Swedish carmaker, Volvo to the Chinese car manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Holding.  The deal, signed in Gothenburg, Sweden is worth an estimated £1.2billion making Zhejiang Geely Holding the largest private carmaker in China. 

It is the biggest signature of a Chinese company from a foreign carmaker and it only comes weeks after China overtook the USA as the top dog in the car market.  The deal was originally arranged in December, in light of the uncertainty over the growing recession and it should save 19,000 jobs worldwide at Volvo.  Largely, Volvo’s car sales have slumped massively, like many rivals since the credit crunch.  Fortunately, their situation isn’t as dire as that of Saab, which has needed rescuing to stay afloat and the well-documented problems with the Japanese figurehead, Toyota.

Ford paid £4.3billion for Volvo in 1999, and that figure shows how much the car industry has suffered in recent years, really feeling the bite of the economic issues in the world.  Zhejiang Geely Holding started looking into buying out Volvo over three years ago.  Last weekend, it was announced that Volvo would retain its Swedish backbone and it would still be run from its main headquarters base in Sweden.  Unlike Kraft’s broken promises when it bought out Cadbury’s in January, it will not move all production over to its main base in China.  The Volvo plant in Belgium will not be affected either, after fears had recently increased about job losses.  However, there are already plans for a new Volvo plant to be built in China, which will be capable of building 300,000 vehicles a year.  Geely are confident that Volvo could sell 200,000 extra cars a year in China, should they get the go-ahead to build the new plant.

Ford said it wanted to go through with the deal very quickly, so it could ‘sharpen the Ford brand across the world.’  Having disposed of the likes of Aston Martin and Jaguar since 2007, it might concern some though about Ford’s desperation to sell for a financial benefit.  During a traditional handover period, Ford will continue to supply Volvo with automotive parts and supplies.  Volvo sold 324,000 cars in 2009, which was 10% down on its 2008 figures.  However, Volvo sales have soared at the start of 2010, going up 40% in the USA in the first two months of this year.

The takeover is expected to be formerly completed in the summer.  The Chinese have recently agreed to take over parts of the failing Saab business and recently pulled out of a takeover deal of General Motors, following the failing to gain government approval in China.  This confirms the belief that China is now the country where the car-making machine is.  After months of trauma, the car industry is starting to recover, at least in some areas of Asia.  Can it recover soon enough elsewhere around the world….only time will tell.

Australian Open Review - So Near, Yet So Far For Andy

This blog was first published on February 3rd at http://happydude88.livejournal.com/

 

Once again on Sunday morning, Britain’s hopes of a major Grand Slam win were burst when Andy Murray fell at the final hurdle. However, Murray can hold his head high at his best-ever career tournament as the two weeks provided us with many surprises, twists and expected outcomes for the ATP & WTA circuits this year.

First of all, can anyone stop Roger Federer? The Swiss maestro was in awesome form, and dropped only two sets in the entire tournament. Despite a very busy couple of years, he still hasn’t lost any zest for the game, and he just seems to get better with every passing year. At 28, he still has a good three/four year period where he can dominate the Men’s circuit and the question is, is there anyone good enough to challenge him on a consistent basis.

Federer’s main rival in recent years, Rafael Nadal is enduring a torrid time at the moment, through loss of form and serious injuries. He pulled out of the Murray quarter-final with what could be a recurrence of the knee injury that plagued his effort last year. Suddenly, the Spaniard is looking at a downward plunge rather than above him. He needs to get on top of these issues, if he wants to become a constant threat to the Federer armoury again.

For Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick, their time has gone and passed. Djokovic has failed spectacularly to build on his success in Australia two years ago. In fact, he seems to have gone backwards and now is in serious danger of disappearing into obscurity if the Serb isn’t careful. Roddick has been unlucky with injuries and when he has been on top of his game, so have the likes of Nadal and Federer. Both will be extremely disappointed with how their careers have shaped up. The Australian Open was a brief blip in Juan Martin Del Potro’s recent copybook performances. He shouldn’t be too worried by a last 16 exit here, and my money is on him to wrap up the Grand Slam at Roland Garros, bound to favour the Argentine’s type of game. Credit must go to Marin Cilic for his semi-final appearance, knocking Del Potro & Roddick out in the process, with two epic five-set marathons. He even briefly threatened to upset Murray in the semis – Cilic definitely was surprise of the tournament. Jo Wilfred-Tsonga also made the semis, but put in a limp and woeful display against Federer when he might have had the chance to cause a major upset. Tsonga is another player who on his day, provides stunning tennis, then on others, be beaten by random qualifiers. Just ask Robin Soderling, who may have been an on-form player, but made a traditional early exit from his bogey event.

This brings us onto the Murray phenomenon. It was a brilliant tournament from Andy, and it reminded us of his capabilities to perform on the top stage, something of which we only saw flashes of during his 2009 Grand Slam year. He outplayed Nadal with consummate ease in the quarters and his run to the final here showed he is getting ever closer to winning that maiden Grand Slam. Wimbledon might always elude him – due to the fact that grass isn’t his preferred surface, but I am absolutely convinced that he will win something big very soon. In the final against Federer, it was so near, yet so far. Murray had his chances, but failed to capitalize on the odd unenforced error from Roger and you can’t do that against Roger Federer – because you will get punished. It may have been a disappointing final outcome, but Andy Murray can look back at the 2010 Australian Open, because it finally saw him come of age.

In the woman’s game, Serena Williams showed her pure dominance again, with yet another Australian success, her 5th in total. Though sometimes not at her best, Serena is starting to break away from a close group behind her in the women’s game. However, Justine Henin made an almost fairytale return to the Grand Slam circuit after nearly two years away. Beaten in a closer ladies singles final than many would have initially predicted, I would be massively surprised if Henin didn’t at least win a Grand Slam this year. Although Kim Clistjers put in a shocking performance against Nadia Petrova here, I think the Belgians, along with Serena’s sister Venus and the surprise packages from China, Na Li and Jhe Zheng can give Serena some decent competition in the coming months.

So, where does that leave the Russians in tennis? They have flattered to deceive on their initial promise and too many now no longer seen as a major threat in the final outcome. Only Svetlana Kuznetsova has any potential to win more Grand Slams, though her constant inconsistency should be a worry to her backroom team. Jelena Jankovic has lost complete love for the game, has peaked and needs to leave the WTA tour soon. As for Dinara Safina, her career is heading the same way as brother, Marat Safin. She has lots of promise, but constantly fails to deliver. A back injury ended her dreams Down Under in Round 4, maybe Safina is heading for a massive slide down the rankings this year. Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova, once the golden girl of tennis is now down in the dumps, out of form and struggling with confidence – always a bad problem to have in the game. It seems like a century ago since she won Wimbledon in 2004. I have always been a big fan of Sharapova, but I doubt we will see her picking up any major silverware again – due to injury and the increased competition in the woman’s game.

In conclusion, the Australian Open probably answered more questions than anticipated. Tennis in 2010 could be very promising for many, and for others, make-or-break in their efforts to return to the glory days. Federer and Serena may be still on top, but in Murray, Del Potro, Henin & Clistjers especially, their days of dominance may not last as long as many will think.