F1 2010 review - The greatest season ever

READY: The battle is about to begin

2009 went with a blur and Formula One has always seemed to raise the bar.  2010 was the greatest season ever in the sport’s 60-year history.  Four world champions, three new teams, two main regulation changes – with refuelling banned for the first time since 1993 and a new points scoring system that encouraged drivers to push for the victory and as it turned out, one world champion – the youngest ever in its established history.

All eyes were on the season opener in Bahrain, but it produced a stinker of a race.  Fernando Alonso won on his Ferrari debut, gifted the win after Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull was powerless to resist the Prancing Horse, thanks to a faulty spark plug.  Felipe Massa finished an excellent second in his first race back in F1, following his near-fatal accident in Hungary in 2009.  Lewis Hamilton completed the podium, whilst Michael Schumacher made a very quiet return to the sport, finishing a distant sixth, behind team-mate Nico Rosberg.  He’d get used to that feeling for the rest of the season.

BRAVE: Button sprays the bubbly after his first McLaren win

If Bahrain failed to deliver, Australia certainly did.  A dramatic race in mixed conditions saw Jenson Button make it back-to-back victories in Melbourne.  Button’s brave move to be the first driver to switch onto slick tyres was the key to this success, coupled with more bad luck for Sebastian Vettel, the German this time spinning into the gravel with brake failure.  Lewis Hamilton was unhappy with his team calling him in for a second unnecessary pitstop, and then had a late collision with Aussie favourite Mark Webber, restricting the pair to sixth and ninth at flag fall.  Robert Kubica was a stunning second for Renault, whilst Ferrari extended their constructors championship lead with third and fourth for Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

KEY: Vettel slides inside Webber to set-up Malaysia win

Stupidity was the only word to describe Ferrari and McLaren’s qualifying session in Kuala Lumpur, as they were caught out by one of Malaysia’s tropical downpours.  Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa were all eliminated in Q1, whilst Jenson Button spun into the gravel and went out in Q2.  With their rivals severely compromised, the reliability finally held out at Red Bull as Sebastian Vettel took his first victory of 2010.  Vettel passed Mark Webber on the first corner to lead his team-mate home, whilst Nico Rosberg scored Mercedes first podium on their return to F1 as a manufacturer.  Hamilton, Massa and Button recovered to sixth, seventh and eighth, but a late engine failure for Alonso lost him the lead in the world championship to his Brazilian team-mate.

Jenson Button produced another brilliant drive to win the Chinese Grand Prix in wet conditions.  Button made another well-judged call on the tyre strategy and once again, his gamble paid off, as he led home Lewis Hamilton to a McLaren 1-2.  Nico Rosberg and Robert Kubica made similar decisions which worked off, with Rosberg on the podium for the second successive race and consistent Kubica bagging fifth place.  His team-mate Vitaly Petrov finished an outstanding seventh, becoming the first Russian ever to score world championship points.  Despite grabbing the front row, it was Sunday pain for Red Bull, with shocking pitstops and lack of grip leaving Vettel and Webber back in sixth and eighth.  Webber was already under pressure . . . but he would answer those critics very quickly.

Down in eighth in the championship standings after the first four races, Mark Webber had to start performing, and he did with a dominant victory in Barcelona.  The first race in Europe saw the Red Bulls end up nearly a second quicker than their rivals in qualifying and Webber drove into the distance, with a commanding advantage that had been rarely associated with him before.  Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton put in an outstanding drive and looked set to sandwich the Bulls, until a catastrophic tyre explosion sent him into the wall and out of second place with just two laps to go.  Vettel, hobbled by brake trouble managed a podium, behind Spain’s hero Alonso, who drove coolly to second.  Michael Schumacher showed a marked improvement in his form, finishing fourth.

SOAKED: Mark Webber cherishes his Monaco success

One week later and Webber looked again untouchable on the streets of Monaco, winning from pole to take the lead in the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career.  Alonso, quickest on Thursday smashed his Ferrari into the barriers on Saturday morning and ruled himself out of qualifying.  A solid strategy got him upto sixth, but it was another silly error from an outstanding champion.  Robert Kubica was inspired all weekend, getting his underpowered Renault onto the front row and finishing third, only beaten by Webber and Vettel, who jumped him off the startline.  There were four Safety Cars and twelve retirements, one of them was Jenson Button, who stopped on lap three with a cooked engine, costing the world champion his lead in the standings to Webber.

EXTRAORDINARY: The moment the Bulls tangle in Turkey

For forty laps in Istanbul Park, Red Bull looked like they were coasting to another 1-2 finish.  Webber had taken another pole position and once Vettel jumped Hamilton at the pitstops, it looked like a processional drive to the chequered flag.  Then, Vettel powered past Webber, only to turn right into the Australian into a left-handed corner.  The result was catastrophic.  Vettel spun out of the race and Webber lost the win, having to pit for damage and salvage third place.  This highlighted clear fractions within the Red Bull camp.  Hamilton won his first race of 2010, with Button making it a McLaren 1-2 instead, though Lewis seemed unimpressed that Button carried on racing, when the cars were saving fuel.  Ferrari had a mere, with Massa and Alonso a very poor seventh and eighth.

After a year away, F1 returned to North America and Lewis Hamilton produced a mega drive to win in Montreal and gain the ever-changing lead in the drivers’ championship.  He took the first non-Red Bull pole of the season and managed to handle the abrasive track surface the best.  Alonso pushed him hard, but traffic hurt his challenge and allowed Button to steal second and complete a perfect British day in Canada.  Engine issues limited Vettel to fourth, whilst a gamble on strategy didn’t work out for Webber, leaving him a frustrated fifth.  Michael Schumacher’s driving standards were called into question, after dangerous moves on Robert Kubica and Felipe Massa during the race.  He finished out of the points, after being passed on the last lap by both Force India drivers.

HORROR: Mark Webber flips over Kovalainen in Valencia

Onto the Valencia street circuit and Vettel reminded us all of his championship qualities, with a fautless drive to victory at the European Grand Prix.  Whilst he was flying high, Mark Webber was literally flying, smashing into the back of Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus at 185mph and being launched into the air.  It was terrifying accident, but amazingly, Webber walked away without a scratch.  Hamilton finished second, despite a drive-through penalty for overtaking the Safety Car, which angered Alonso, who lost out badly in the scramble.  The Spaniard finished an upset eighth, even being passed by the stunning Kamur Kobayashi in the last two laps.  Jenson Button finished third, whilst Rubens Barrichello showed a major improvement for Williams, ending up a brilliant fourth.

The divisions in the Red Bull camp came to the public eye at Silverstone and it was Webber who felt unloved.  Vettel’s new front wing broke in practice, and the decision was taken by the hierarchy to remove the new part from Webber’s car and give it to Vettel before qualifying.  Christian Horner claimed it was done, because Vettel was ahead in the championship at the time, though many were unconvinced.  Vettel took pole position, but picked up a puncture on the first lap, before launching a spirited recovery to seventh.  Webber’s response was crushing, a fantastic victory ahead of Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Button.  The Ferrari’s touched on the first lap, leaving Massa out of the points again and Alonso wound up 14^th, after receiving a penalty for cutting a chicane whilst passing Kubica.  Ferrari’s championship challenge looked in tatters. . .

SWITCH: Massa lets Fernando Alonso through in Germany

That was rekindled at Hockenheim, but in highly controversial circumstances.  Whilst pole-sitter Vettel was busy driving Alonso into the pitwall, Massa stormed into an early lead.  However, the Brazilian was struggling on the prime tyres and with Vettel catching Alonso, the team took swift action.  Rob Smedley’s message was clear for millions to understand; “Fernando is faster than you.”  One lap later, Massa allowed Alonso through for Fernando to win the race.  Outrage followed at a blatant use of team orders, but the FIA only found Ferrari guilty of breaching regulations and slapped them with a $100,000 fine.  It was an unsavoury moment and crushed Felipe Massa’s spirit for the rest of the year.  His season never recovered, whilst Alonso’s went from strength to strength. 

Seven days later, the Red Bulls were awesome in Budapest, lapping at times nearly two seconds faster than their rivals.  Once again, they locked out the front row, but Vettel was caught napping at a Safety Car restart, fell back too far from Webber and earned a drive-through penalty.  Webber went on to win and take the championship lead, whilst Vettel was third and seething.  Alonso wound up second and with Hamilton retiring, due to transmission failure and Button an uncompetitive and lapped eighth, the five title contenders were separated by just twenty points.  Michael Schumacher was lynched by the media and his fellow peers for a malicious defensive move that nearly but Rubens Barrichello in the pitwall in the closing stages.  Schumacher apologised for his actions, but was still docked ten grid positions for the next race.  Robert Kubica and Adrian Sutil were also lucky to escape injury after a bizarre collision in the pitlane, which ended both their races.

SMASH: Vettel drives into Jenson Button at Spa

After the summer break, the teams reunited at Spa and Hamilton was in commanding form, winning in Belgium from Webber and Kubica to regain the championship lead.  Button’s championship hopes took a massive blow when Vettel drove into the side of his McLaren in a failed overtaking attempt.  Jenson scored nothing and nor did Vettel, after another collision later on with Vitantonio Liuzzi.  Alonso qualified only tenth and after being speared by an out-of-control Barrichello on the first lap, crashed himself in tricky conditions late on.  Was Spa the deciding factor in the battle . . .?

Not so, as Alonso reignited his fading championship chances, with victory in his first Italian Grand Prix as a Ferrari driver.  Despite losing his hard-earned pole position to Jenson Button off the grid, his strategy was better and Fernando leapfrogged Jenson at the stops.  Button’s second place was built on an inspired call on set-up, which got Hamilton all worked up.  Lewis lost his cool on lap one and clouted Massa in an impossible attempt to pass, which ended with the McLaren in the gravel with bent steering.  Webber started fourth and made a shocking start, leaving him back in sixth, after a long-race scrap with Nico Hulkenberg, but Vettel kept his hopes alive with a fighting fourth place.

INFERNO: Heikki Kovalainen extinguishes his Lotus fire

Once again, Alonso set the standard in Singapore, winning from pole position in F1’s night spectacular.  Vettel hounded him hard all race, but had to settle with a cool second place.  Webber was once again in the thick of the action, making contact with Hamilton after a Safety Car period to clear up a crash between Bruno Senna and Kamur Kobayashi.  It was minimal, but enough to damage the McLaren’s rear suspension and leave Hamilton out again of another race that he badly needed points.  Webber survived to finish third, ahead of Button, Nico Rosberg and Barrichello.  Robert Kubica pulled off six overtaking passes in eight laps to charge through from 13^th to seventh, whilst Heikki Kovalainen suffered an engine failure, then thanks to incompetent marshalling, bravely put out the rapidly increasing inferno that had been his Lotus with a sole fire extinguisher.

The torrential downpours in Suzuka meant fans got a super Sunday of qualifying and race action.  It didn’t affect Vettel, who drove marvellously again to earn pole and win the race at a canter.  Webber wound up second, to keep his championship lead.  Hamilton crashed heavily in practice on Friday, then took a gearbox change and to compound his woes, suffered a loss of third gear in the race.  He hobbled home fifth, behind championship rivals Alonso and Button, leaving his championship hopes hanging by a thread.  Robert Kubica could have been a factor, but his wheel fell off early on, whilst second, Lucas di Grassi crashed on his way to the grid, whilst spectacularly poor driving from some left Vitaly Petrov, Nico Hulkenberg, Felipe Massa and Vitantonio Liuzzi all out of the race on lap one.

DISBELIEF: Vettel's smoky car after his crushing Korea blow

Korea’s inaugural race was an absolute belter, though we had to wait an hour for the action to begin, due to the inclement weather conditions.  Webber crashed, and then collected the innocent Nico Rosberg, which would be a terminal blow to his championship hopes.  A poor set-up left Button struggling to 12^th and all but mathematically putting him out of championship contention.  Vettel looked set for another victory, until he suffered a cruel engine failure with just nine laps to go.  His hopes of the title also now looked very slim.  All this opened the door for Alonso to laugh his way literally to the chequered flag and a priceless victory.  Lewis Hamilton kept his hopes alive, with a fighting second place, whilst fourth matched Michael Schumacher’s best finish of the season. 

Nico Hulkenberg was the toast of the paddock in Interlagos, producing a stunning lap to take pole position in drying track conditions.  Meanwhile, Jenson Button was lucky to escape unharmed from an attack on his bulletproof car on Saturday evening.  In the race, Vettel and Webber charged past the powerless Hulkenberg on the opening lap, and cruised to a 1-2 finish, wrapping up the constructors championship for Red Bull.  Alonso finished a solid third to hold an eight point lead into the decider, but Button was eliminated from the battle, as fifth wasn’t enough and Hamilton’s fourth place left him needing all but a miracle to take his second world championship.

DROWNING: Lewis and Jenson drown the 2010 champion

The season finale in Abu Dhabi saw Alonso heading to the UAE with an eight point lead over Webber.  Vettel was fifteen points adrift and Hamilton twenty-four behind.  Vettel took pole position and drove away from the competition to win the race and eliminate Hamilton from the battle to be champion.  Would be enough though against his main two rivals?  A scary collision between Schumacher and Liuzzi on lap one forced and early Safety Car and allowed Rosberg, Petrov and Jaime Alguesuari to pit and get their pitstops out of the way.  When the soft tyres grained up, Webber pitted and Ferrari panicked under pressure, calling both Alonso and Massa in.  It left Fernando and Mark drowned back in seventh and eighth, behind the late-stopping Kubica and the early-stopping Rosberg and Petrov.  All this gave Sebastian Vettel the crown of 2010 FIA Formula 1 World Champion.

What a champion, what a battle, what a season!  More of the same in 2011 please!

F1 2010 driver reviews (Part 2)

THIS is part two of my driver-by-driver review of the 2010 F1 season.


13. Nico Hulkenberg                                  (Williams Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Stunning and shock pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix

LOW POINT:                    Crashing in the tunnel on the first lap in Monaco

POLE position in Brazil was one of the best pieces of driving I saw all season and Nico Hulkenberg has established himself as an excellent racing driver, even though he is looking for alternate employment after Williams dropped him at the end of the season.  Hulkenberg came with an excellent record in feeder series such as GP2 and A1GP, but he was too cautious and disappointed massively in the first half of the season.  From Valencia onwards, he turned his fortunes around, with the Brazil pole being the peak of his season.  Sixth in Hungary was his best result, though his best race came at Monza, finishing seventh and frustrating Mark Webber for much of the afternoon.  Crashes in Monaco and frustration petulance in Valencia and Singapore shows he still has lots to learn, but this was a competitive rookie season.

14. Jaime Alguesuari                                 (Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari)

HIGH POINT:                    Finishing ninth in Malaysia, pulling off two of the best overtaking passes of the season

LOW POINT:                    Attempting to drive Kamur Kobayashi off the road like a petulant schoolchild at the Japanese Grand Prix

HIS first full season in Formula One and Jaime Alguesuari certainly didn’t disgrace himself.  In fact, he made Sebastian Buemi look like a monkey at times and he has established himself firmly as a feisty racer.  This has led to some rash moves, such as running into Buemi on lap one at Hockenheim, and attempting unsuccessfully to drive Kamur Kobayashi off the road at the Japanese Grand Prix.  However, he made the most of a difficult car, collecting ninth place in the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi and tenth in his home event at Barcelona.  Alguesuari’s highlight of the season was an outstanding ninth in Malaysia, pulling off two sensational passes on Vitaly Petrov and Nico Hulkenberg in the race.  Next season will be interesting to see Jaime’s development as a racing driver.

15. Vitaly Petrov                                          (Renault)

HIGH POINT:                    Outstanding drive under pressure from Alonso to finish sixth in the season finale in Abu Dhabi

LOW POINT:                    Crashing into Nico Hulkenberg less than four seconds into the start of the Japanese Grand Prix

VITALY Petrov has shown strong pace, especially in wet conditions.  However, he lacked consistency and made some daft errors that cost his Renault team a shot at fourth place in the constructors’ championship.  Petrov scored five points finishes, all notable efforts.  His best weekend came in Hungary, qualifying seventh and winding up in fifth.  Seventh in the wet in China was a strong showing, as was a ninth place finish at Spa from the back of the grid.  Plus, he held off intense pressure from Alonso to come home sixth in the final race in Abu Dhabi.  However, he has a tendency to become a magnetic attraction with the tyre barriers.  Expensive wrecks in Spa (qualifying), Barcelona (practice), Japan and Korea (whilst in the points) might have cost him his drive.  Petrov could be in for a nervous winter.

16. Heikki Kovalainen                               (Lotus Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Beating Vitaly Petrov fair and square in the Canadian Grand Prix

LOW POINT:                    Being part of the most spectacular shunt of the season with Mark Webber in Valencia

IT WAS always going to be a tough season to judge the drivers in the new teams, but Heikki Kovalainen can hold his head up high, after an excellent season for Lotus.  99% of the time, he was the class of the new boys, and on occasion, troubled the established teams.  Canada was his highlight, ending just 0.2secs behind Kamur Kobayashi in qualifying and beating Vitaly Petrov’s Renault in the race.  Twelfth in the Japanese Grand Prix was his best finish, though this mainly was achieved through attrition.  Heikki will be best remembered in 2010 for being part of the spectacular smash with Mark Webber in Valencia, and having to put out a fire on his own in Singapore, when the marshals stood and watched his burning car.  Heikki’s reputation has been well and truly restored this season, he can’t wait for 2011.

17. Sebastian Buemi                                  (Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari)

HIGH POINT:                    Leading the Canadian Grand Prix for a lap and finishing a strong eighth

LOW POINT:                    Chinese Grand Prix practice, when both his front wheels flew off under braking for the penultimate corner

THERE is no doubt that Sebastian Buemi underachieved in 2010, after a strong rookie season in 2009.  He was constantly outperformed by Jaime Alguesuari, in a car that was never the best, but it led to some uncharacteristic errors from the Swiss.  Like Alguesuari, he achieved three points finishes this season with his best being an eighth place finish in Canada, which included leading the race for a lap and passing Michael Schumacher around the outside of turn one.  He came ninth in Valencia, though being mugged by Kamur Kobayashi on the last corner of the race won’t have pleased the bosses.  He crashed on lap one in Australia, China (after a nightmare experience in practice) and Germany.  Sebastian has a lot to do in 2011 if he wants to carve out a longer stay in F1.

18. Nick Heidfeld                 (BMW Sauber Ferrari)

HIGH POINT:                    Finishing on Kobayashi’s tail to end up eighth in the Japanese Grand Prix

LOW POINT:                    His return to the sport in Singapore, which bought little reward

NICK HEIDFELD cut a forlorn figure for most of 2010, sitting in the Mercedes garage as a reserve driver, twiddling his fingers around, doing nothing.  After a brief stint testing for Pirelli in the summer, Heidfeld was called into the Sauber squad to replace Pedro de la Rosa for the last five races of 2010.  Consequently, it is difficult to judge his season, but he finished four times and gave Kamur Kobayashi a run for his money.  Nick scored points in Japan (8^th) and Korea (9^th) and only narrowly missed out in Abu Dhabi, tracking Felipe Massa for most of the race.  Unfortunately, due to his lack of sponsorship, Heidfeld could end up in the freeze and miss out on a full-time seat again next season, though he certainly proved everyone against of his undoubted consistency and racecraft in his five race stint this campaign.

19. Vitantonio Liuzzi                                  (Force India Mercedes)

HIGH POINT:                    A potential career saving drive in Korea, finishing an excellent sixth

LOW POINT:                    Missing out on Q2 in Shanghai, then wiping out Sebastian Buemi and Kamur Kobayashi on lap one in the race

VITANTONIO Liuzzi was the biggest disappointment of the season, outclassed by Adrian Sutil in the Force India team and likely to be without a race drive next season, even though he has a contract to drive for Force India in 2011.  At times, Liuzzi showed flashes of speed and potential, with fifth on the grid in Canada highlighting this.  He scored most of his points in tricky race conditions, (7^th) in Australia and (6^th) in South Korea.  However, the Italian was knocked out of Q1 on six separate occasions this year, and became a frequent visitor to a crash barrier as the season went on.  Riding over the top of Michael Schumacher at the final event in Abu Dhabi pretty much summed up Liuzzi’s season in 2010: Absolutely forgettable!

20. Timo Glock                                               (Virgin Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Reaching Q2 in both Malaysia and Belgium

LOW POINT:                    His frustration allowed Lucas di Grassi to match him in some race weekends

TIMO Glock might be kicking himself for walking away from a Renault race seat, to endure a torrid season in Virgin’s debut season.  His stock has certainly dropped in recent seasons, and he will always be remembered as the man who gave up and handed Lewis Hamilton the 2008 championship, not that the Brits care about that.  Glock did make the most of the wet conditions to make Q2 in both Malaysia and Belgium and he looked set to pick up a point in Korea, until Sebastian Buemi used him as a brake.  On other weekends, he allowed Lucas di Grassi to match him, particularly in Valencia and Germany.  Progress was being made towards the end of the season, but Glock will lookback on a missed opportunity for better results in a better car over the winter months.

21. Pedro de la Rosa                                   (BMW Sauber Ferrari)

HIGH POINT:                    Finishing seventh in Hungary

LOW POINT:                    Getting sacked by Sauber five races before the end of the campaign

FINISHING the season testing for Pirelli alongside Roman Grosjean, Pedro de la Rosa has probably driven his final F1 race, after a horrific comeback season with Sauber.  He only finished in the points once, a strong seventh place in Hungary and was overshadowed by the rising talent of Kamur Kobayashi in the team.  It was surprising to see de la Rosa’s lack of effort to develop such an appalling car in the early stages of the season, particularly after all his hard work in the past as a McLaren test driver.  This was highlighted by the team’s comments about Pedro after he was replaced by Nick Heidfeld for the final five races of the season.  He is a nice guy, but sadly – his time has come and gone in F1.

22. Jarno Trulli                                               (Lotus Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    None

LOW POINT:                    Everything

THERE were times this season when people will have wondered why Jarno Trulli was wasting his time in a backmarker car, especially when he has a perfectly good vineyard in Italy that produces fabulous wines.  Trulli’s early season form was very erratic and moves such as the one in Monaco on Karun Chandok, which nearly took the Indian driver’s head off were attempts you would expect to see from a go-karter, not with someone who has fourteen years Grand Prix experience.  Qualifying was as strong as ever for Jarno, normally ending up as the class of the ‘Class B’ teams, but Heikki Kovalainen battered him on a Sunday afternoon too frequently.  Expect Trulli to be back in 2011, though he is well past his best in the sport.

23. Karun Chandok                                      (HRT Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Recording Hispania’s first ever finish in Australia

LOW POINT:                    Losing his drive through no fault of his own in mid-season

KARUN Chandok may count himself very unlucky to lose his drive mid-season, when Hispania needed cash and axed him from Hockenheim onwards for the money-spinning Japanese driver, Sakon Yamamoto.  Chandok more than equally matched Bruno Senna in a poor motorcar, and recorded the teams first ever race finish in Australia.  He stayed out of trouble in races, although he did hinder Fernando Alonso in Canada by accident that allowed Jenson Button to steal second spot from the Spaniard.  With the Indian GP on the calendar for 2011, fingers crossed that Karun will get another chance in F1, because he deserves it for sure.

24. Christian Klien                                       (HRT Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Outqualifying Senna by over a second on his F1 return in Singapore

LOW POINT:                    Only get three races to prove his quality as a top-line driver

AUSTRIAN Christian Klien has had a very tough time in the last few seasons, sitting on the sidelines as a back-up driver at BMW Sauber and Honda since Red Bull dumped him in 2006.  Klien returned to the cockpit for the first time in four years at the Singapore GP and outqualified his team-mate Bruno Senna by a full second.  Hydraulics failure ended his race prematurely, but he’d laid down his marker and raced again for the limping Hispania team in the final two events, again spanking Senna at his home event in Brazil, although the rookie did dominate him in Abu Dhabi.  Like Nick Heidfeld, Klien is unlikely to drive again sadly, due to his lack of sponsorship levels, which is such a shame for someone who never gives up, whatever the situation.

25. Lucas di Grassi                                        (Virgin Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Recording Virgin’s first-ever race finish in Malaysia, despite not having a big enough fuel tank to finish the race

LOW POINT:                    Crashing on the way to the grid at Suzuka, meaning he never even started

AFTER four years in GP2, Lucas di Grassi finally made the step-up to Formula One this season with the new Virgin team, but struggled to get to grips with the new toy.  On occasion, he would be an equal-match for Timo Glock, but he often more looked like he was drowning out at sea like a drunk sea captain.  His embarrassing crash on cold tyres at Suzuka – on his way to the grid was a mistake that not even a first-time road user should be making.  With Jerome D’Ambrosio waiting in the wings, di Grassi may well have blown his chance.

        26. Bruno Senna                                           (HRT Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Outqualifying and outracing Lucas di Grassi in Istanbul

LOW POINT:                    Shamed in Singapore, finishing a full second behind Christian Klien in qualifying, on Klien’s maiden outing

THE name Senna made a welcome return to the sport, but sadly, Bruno couldn’t live up to the high standards of the his legendary uncle.  True, he had a dog of a car, but Senna couldn’t get the most out of it and allowed Karun Chandok to match him and Christian Klien to beat him in the other Hispania.  Even allowing rent driver Sakon Yamamoto to get close to him on occasion just doesn’t even describe how bad he was at times this season.  He completed the least amount of racing laps and apart from Istanbul and Spa, never looked at home in the team.  Although he probably has more chance than di Grassi in coming back next season for another bite of the cherry, don’t count on it.

27. Sakon Yamamoto                                 (HRT Cosworth)

HIGH POINT:                    Outqualifying Senna in Korea

LOW POINT:                    Getting the drive in the first place!

SAKON Yamamoto is one of those drivers who simply isn’t good enough for F1, yet will never bugger off out of sight.  His big sponsorship backers in Japan have seen to that, which meant we saw him more often than not in yet another backmarker team after experiences with Super Aguri and Spyker in the past.  He gave Bruno Senna some areas to think about and was the more reliable driver in bringing the car to the chequered flag.  However, Sakon has the charisma of Ann Widdecome on the Strictly Come Dancing floor; boring, dull and very uneventful to watch.  The best you can say about Yamamoto is, he will do his maximum, whatever that may be.

2010 Singapore 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.  Onto round fifteen, as the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix is examined more in-depth.  The annual night race pilgrimage kept the world championship race wide open and still only one win cover the top five in the championship.  All this, plus another diabolical performance from a former great and inadequacy from the Singapore marshals is to be looked at, as F1 heads into its final furlong.

Fernando Alonso – Never Write the Outsider Off

Previous experience of these situations could leave Fernando Alonso in an incredibly strong position, and his confidence and defensive drive that earned him a priceless victory in Singapore could be the crucial factor in his ambition to win a third world championship.  When there were questions over Ferrari’s reliability, Alonso impressed me by taking complete control of the situation in qualifying, by insisting to do a banker Q2 lap, to guarantee a top ten grid slot.  His gamble paid off and another well-measured lap in the final session earned the Spaniard his second successive pole position.  On Sunday, despite having a faster Red Bull behind him and giving him not a moment to relax, Alonso showed total composure in such an intense environment to deliver the 25^th GP win of his career, making up for his tainted success here two years ago.  If he limits the damage at Suzuka, which is weak Ferrari circuit, then Alonso could be well placed to steal the prized asset off Red Bull and McLaren.

Lewis Hamilton – Game Over?

It has all gone wrong for Lewis Hamilton in the past three weeks, as he has seen his championship bid come close to being blown up in his face, with two DNF’s he simply couldn’t afford.  At Monza, he stuck his car in a position where an accident was always going to happen, but in Singapore, he was just plain unlucky.  Hamilton’s pace had been poor on the softer tyre, allowing Mark Webber to jump him on strategy.  So, when Webber was baulked after the Safety Car by Lucas di Grassi’s sluggish Virgin Racing, Hamilton seized his chance into Turn 7, the best overtaking spot on the Marina Bay course.  Television footage showed he was ahead and had every right to turn in, but Webber was never going to disappear, so Lewis may reflect on he should have given more space.  The contact was minimal, but it broke the McLaren’s steering and forced Hamilton into his fourth non-finish of 2010.  By the way he chucked his steering wheel out of the cockpit, maybe he had just realised that his hopes of winning a second championship are all but a distant dream.

Red Bull Racing – Getting Consistent Results Is Now Crucial

Singapore was meant to be a Red Bull circuit, after their domination of the other street circuits this year, Monaco and Valencia.  The team arrived with new upgrades, but they came up against a resolute Alonso, who simply would not be beaten.  Mark Webber struggled all weekend and the championship leader was always on his backfoot.  Consequently, with his different tyre strategy and the clash with Hamilton, third place is an excellent result for his championship prospects.  After a ‘messy’ qualifying session, with a touch against the Turn 11 guardrail costing him pole position, Sebastian Vettel excelled on Sunday afternoon and harried Alonso all day.  Sadly, he couldn’t force a mistake out of the Spaniard, but his measured approach was nice to see, especially after his rash moves at Istanbul and Hockenheim cost him valuable championship points.  Second place keeps him firmly in the hunt, and makes Christian Horner’s job far more difficult.  Red Bull now have to maximise their strong, expected performance at Suzuka and score consistent results in the last three races to ensure both titles end in the bag.  No mistakes can be made now, its crunch time.

Kovalainen’s Lotus Has A BBQ – Just Where Were the Marshals?

Heikki Kovalainen has excelled himself as the class of the ‘new teams’ in 2010, but he will be remembered for being the car that Mark Webber went spectacularly airborne over in the European Grand Prix, and for a fire in the dying stages of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix that could have had far dire results.  The issue happened with just two laps to go, when contact from Sebastian Buemi’s Toro Rosso spun the Finn around at Turn 8, and cracked a fuel pressure valve on his Lotus Cosworth.  Cue a bonfire that got worse as Kovalainen entered the pit-straight and for a long while, there was a significant danger that the car could just go up completely.  As Heikki jumped out of his BBQ, the slackness that the Singapore GP marshals showed was laughable and scary.  Fortunately, the quick reactions of a Williams’s mechanic to give Kovalainen a fire extinguisher allowed Heikki to put out the flames himself.  However, as much as Lotus should be fined for not bringing the car into the pits, the marshals should get a slap on the wrist from the FIA for their lack of assistance, because who knows what could have happened had someone come out of that last corner on oil at 150mph!

Michael Schumacher – It Gets From Worse to Very Worse

I have tried to defend Michael Schumacher as much as possible throughout his dismal comeback year, but I have lost as much patience now as many with his lack of results.  The start of his Singapore weekend was solid actually, as he made Q3 for the first time since July’s British Grand Prix and was matching Nico Rosberg throughout practice.  The race was a different story.  Schumacher had no pace on the option tyre, and was victim to a kamikaze overtaking attempt from Kamur Kobayashi that left the German in a spin, with damage.  However, the damage looked very minimal and the way he drove back to the pits was as quick as a ill-handling supermarket trolley around Sainsbury’s!  Later, he tried a move on Nick Heidfeld that had ‘disaster’ spelt all over it!  Heidfeld was sent spinning into the tyres, whilst Schumacher drove his battling ram, which was a Mercedes back to the pits with a damaged front wing.  So, it was a 13^th place finish, and another disastrous day.  I hope Michael makes the right decision at the end of the season, and realise at the age of 41, it simply isn’t worth the risk anymore.  Carry on like this, and he will terminally damage his reputation as one of the greatest drivers of his generation.

Vitantonio Liuzzi – The Italian on Extremely Borrowed Time?

If Schumacher had problems, they are nothing compared to the issues currently experienced by Vitantonio Liuzzi at Force India.  Another shocking weekend from the Italian, which heralded another crash and speculation mounts on whether he should see out the season.  He was only 0.2 behind Adrian Sutil in qualifying and made a good start, passing Sutil and the race-rusty Nick Heidfeld.  That is where it ended, as he took two bites out of Heidfeld’s Sauber in Turn 8, which left him with a damaged front wing and broken rear suspension.  He pulled up on Lap 2, and brought the Safety Car out.  With Force India almost looking certain to lose their position to Williams in the constructors championship, I think Vijay Mallya should be brave and give promising Scot Paul di Resta a chance in the final races for next season.  Liuzzi is on extremely borrowed time, he will struggle to stay in F1 much longer.

HD Coverage – The New Future of Formula 1?

In an interview with the BBC’s Eddie Jordan on the F1 Forum, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that he is planning to relaunch Formula 1 in high definition for the start of the 2011 season, a year earlier than initially anticipated.  Good news for all motorsport fans, let’s hope the future is successful.

Felipe Massa – Luck Just Isn’t On His Side

Eight minutes into Q1 and Felipe Massa’s weekend was ruined by a gearbox problem, which left his Ferrari stranded on the circuit.  At least it allowed the Brazilian to take a 9^th engine, without a significant grid penalty, as he was starting last anywhere.  However, his demise to the back of the field meant that Massa was no help to Alonso’s cause for the weekend.  On Sunday, Ferrari smartly called him in on the first lap, to get onto the prime race tyre.  Unfortunately, Liuzzi’s early incident brought out the Safety Car, which meant Felipe, was stuck in midfield, and not going anywhere fast.  Tenth place became eighth when Adrian Sutil and Nico Hulkenberg were both penalised in the stewards room for cutting corners and gaining unfair advantages.  However, this weekend summed up the fact that luck just isn’t on the side of Felipe Massa in 2010.

Nick Heidfeld & Christian Klien – Popular Figures Return

After a four-year absence, Christian Klien made a popular return to the GP paddock in Singapore, as Sakon Yamamoto went down with a bout of food poisoning on the eve of the event.  Despite limited testing, Klien showed he still has natural ability and put Bruno Senna to shame all weekend, ending a full second faster in qualifying.  His strong comeback ended on Lap 31, due to a hydraulic failure, but this performance has certainly put Klien in the reckoning for a full-time race seat in 2011.  Nick Heidfeld also made a welcome return, replacing the underperforming Pedro de la Rosa at Sauber, though his comeback wasn’t as impressive as Klien’s.  He qualified 14^th, 0.8s behind Kamur Kobayashi in Q2 and had incidents with Adrian Sutil, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Michael Schumacher in a dramatic race, the one with his fellow countryman ending his event on Lap 36.

 

Korean GP – Will It Happen?

It is almost as disorganised as the build-up to the Commonwealth Games in India, as Korea faces a race against time to be ready for its inaugural event on October 24^th.  Bernie Ecclestone has sent some severe threats down the line that the race might be cancelled, should the organisers not get their act together.  They face a crucial FIA Inspection in ten days time, just eleven days before the event is meant to run.  As much as I want to see the extra race, we must think about safety in the sport, and I can’t see the event happening in 2010.  Prove me wrong Korea, prove me wrong!