The Finishing Straight - India (by HappyDude88)

IT WAS a brand new adventure for Formula One last weekend, as we entered a new country.  India hosted an event for the first time, but sadly produced a lacklustre debut race as far as on-track action goes.  The winner was Sebastian Vettel, but I’ve already done a special blog on the talents of this incredible German.  So, this week’s edition of ‘The Finishing Straight,’ will focus on the efforts of the midfield teams in India and how their performances have shaped up in comparison to the past and the future.

     Before I do that though, I need to digest and give my viewpoint on the latest clash between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.  The incident between the pair on Sunday was the sixth clash they have had over a race weekend this season.  On this occasion, the race stewards decided to blame Massa and give him a drive-through penalty for causing a collision.  Most of the contact this season has been triggered by mistakes or rash attempts at passing from a rather crestfallen Hamilton.  However, this time, I had to agree with the stewards and that Felipe was in the wrong here.  Lewis was down the inside line and had no more space to avoid the accident.  He was even backing out of a legitimate manoeuvre before the corner, realising that he wasn’t going to get the space that he rightfully should have been allowed.  From one of the televised replays, Massa was seen to be looking across to see where his enemy was on at least three occasions, possibly more, before deciding to turn in.  That for me is not on.  Although he was to blame, I do think a drive-through penalty was harsh, because it wasn’t like he got away scot-free.  He picked up superficial damage and ultimately, the Brazilian’s race ended when he decided to stupidly have another go at cutting the Indian plastering kerbs which had wrecked his suspension in qualifying.  The stewards have been far too insistent this year on dishing out penalties.  Whatever happened to the traditional ‘racing incident?’  In fact, out of the Hamilton/Massa altercations this year, only one out of the six deserved its sanction (Hamilton’s terrible attempt at passing into the Loews hairpin in Monaco.)  I feel sympathy for Massa on getting the penalty, but little else on another poor weekend for the Ferrari no.2.

      Okay, time to analyse some of the midfield performers and let’s start with the positives.  The form of Jaime Alguesuari in the second half of the season has been a revelation and a joy to see.  He had another superb weekend in India and has taken the Toro Rosso team forward.  He is outqualifying and outperforming Sebastian Buemi now on a regular basis.  The Toro Rosso looks like a missile in a straight-line at the moment and the radical improvements they brought to Japan have prompted a massive step forward.  I think they have been a real find this season and both drivers have impressed me this campaign. 

       The main Formula One rookies continue to shine as the season reaches its conclusion.  For the second time this season, Sergio Perez failed to pay attention to yellow flags in practice; picking up a three place grid penalty for not slowing down whilst marshals recovered Pastor Maldonado’s blown-up Williams on Friday.  Perez might need to check up the rules and regulations again over the winter, but the Mexican’s consistency continues to shine through.  The Sauber team have slipped down the pecking order in the second half of the season, as they have been simply out developed by the likes of Toro Rosso and Force India.  Yet Perez has kept the Swiss team right in the scrap for sixth place in the constructor’s championship.  I would even go as far to say that he is now Sauber No.1.

      Paul di Resta had a tough time in India, as for the first time since Nurburgring; he lagged behind Adrian Sutil all weekend.  However, the Scot’s weekend was made up with the news that he will be staying at Force India for 2012 and rightly so.  He has finished in the points on six occasions this campaign, outqualified his team-mate more often than not and firmly deserves to stay on.  The second seat remains a close battle between two Germans.  Sutil will hope to stay on if possible, but he has had five seasons with the team and might have to look elsewhere for options.  A seat at Williams is likely to be open, so he has some tough decisions to make.  It might be taken out of his hands if the Grove based team opt for Kimi Raikkonen to make a sensational return and if his current employers will put Nico Hulkenberg in the second car.  Hulkenberg has been a frustrated figure all season on the pitwall and told the BBC over the weekend that he won’t stay at the team if he isn’t racing for them next season.  Vijay Mallya has got a tough decision to make in the coming weeks.

     However, one driver who won’t have a decision to make on his future is Rubens Barrichello.  Sadly, the Brazilian’s career is whimpering towards a dreary conclusion, a real shame for a popular guy who has finished second in the driver’s championship on three separate occasions.  His 2011 campaign reached a new low, when he hit the back of team-mate Maldonado on the first lap in India and limped back with damage.  He finished behind Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus.  With Williams looking serious at Raikkonen and considering Sutil as an option, Rubens’s days in the sport look numbered.  At least he will be able to finish on home soil in Brazil in a month’s time.  Another driver who isn’t delivering at the moment is Kamur Kobayashi.  The Japanese driver has been outpaced by rookie team-mate Perez throughout the second half of the season and has only scored two points since the crazy Canadian Grand Prix back in June.  His Indian experience only lasted a lap, collecting damage in the incident with Barrichello and Virgin’s Timo Glock.  In fact, Kobayashi looks like he walked under an avalanche and out the other side came a twin who is half the driver he was in the opening stages of the season.  It was the same in 2010, when Sauber had a dismal car at the start of the campaign; Kamur struggled but radically improved when the car made strides forward.  I hope he can and will turn the corner in future.

       Final word goes to India, who did provide a wonderful spectacle.  The racing may have been disappointing, but the welcome F1 got was absolutely brilliant and the track is one of the best ever designed by Hermann Tilke.  After the disasters of Abu Dhabi and Valencia in the past, it is about time he got one which all the drivers seemed to like.  Hopefully the racing will be a bit more spectacular in India in 2012.

The Finishing Straight - Europe (by HappyDude88)

AFTER the thriller in Canada, it was always going to be difficult to follow for any circuit on the calendar, let alone the most dullest and pointless track of the season.  The European Grand Prix in Valencia produced its usual lacklustre affair, and although there was some intense fighting down the field and the frontrunners stayed in close formation throughout, there was a lack of show stopping drama that the fans have been expecting throughout the season.

VIABLE: Alonso has been great for Spain, but are two races viable now?

    I think it is time for Bernie Ecclestone to consider the future of having two races in Spain.  There can be no doubt of Fernando Alonso’s impact on the sport and the massive adrenalin it has on the Spanish fans.  However, there are currently 21 races on the 2011 calendar, and presuming Bahrain returns next season, a race will have to go.  Istanbul remains the favourite, due to its lack of promotion, but do we really need two events in Spain?  We only have one in Germany; and it seems like that has sorted out the financial difficulties of both Hockenheim and the Nurburgring.  I honestly think Spain should follow suit.  Valencia may be a beautiful place to visit and the weather is gorgeous, but the race circuit looks like a supermarket car park, not a high-class venue.  I think it’s pretty shameful when you think of the world-class facilities in Abu Dhabi and Shanghai and the top circuits such as Suzuka and Spa. 

     The championship race is all over bar the shouting after Sebastian Vettel’s dominant weekend in Valencia.  Questions were raised by the media after Vettel’s last lap slip-up in Canada last time out, but he answered all those doubters in stunning and flawless fashion.  Once he got into the first corner first, there was little doubt that Sebastian was going to win the race.  Scary to think that if he had been on the right tyre strategy in China and not made that error in Montreal, he could have easily won all eight races so far this season.  He looks almost impossible to beat and if Mr. Optimistic himself, Alonso has ruled himself out of catching the German, you can understand why everyone else has him down as a double world champion now.  The engraving of his name might as well begin now.  In fact, give him the championship now; he doesn’t need to wait until the annual FIA Gala dinner in Monaco before Christmas to collect his prize!

     Arguably, they have had the fastest car in the last three races, but McLaren’s race pace went missing in Valencia.  It became a familiar theme in the race; Lewis Hamilton would pit early, set some searing quick lap times and then fade away with poor grip levels from the option Pirelli tyres.  In the end, Lewis salvaged fourth, whilst Jenson Button was a lonely sixth, losing a load of time behind Nico Rosberg in the early exchanges.  Both drivers seemed disheartened afterwards and a radically improved Ferrari was not on their gameplan.  Silverstone will offer a fair reflection on the pecking order and with Red Bull so far infront, the Woking team won’t want to drop behind Ferrari too.

UNWANTED: At least Karthikeyan now has a place in the records!

     On Sunday morning, I predicted that all 24 cars that started the European Grand Prix would finish the race and I was proven right.  I wonder how Narain Karthikeyan feels to finish 24^th in a Grand Prix!  It is only the third time this has happened in the sport’s history (discounting the six-car farce that was the 2005 US Grand Prix.)  Technology has improved radically and reliability is now incredible.  However, I do agree with Jarno Trulli’s viewpoint that it is becoming a bit too robotic now.  If a car retires now, I almost react with shock!  The days of 10/11 cars finishing races are well and truly over now.  Of course, we all want the drivers to be safe and well and no serious accidents, but I miss the spectacular engine blow-ups, the shearing of driveshafts and the explosive clutch failures.  Retirements from races should be part and parcel of the game and maybe FOTA need to look into this, especially if drivers like Trulli have these viewpoints.

     Two drivers who I was delighted to see in the points in Valencia were Jaime Alguesuari and Adrian Sutil.  Alguesuari made a two stop strategy work to perfection and finished a fighting eighth, matching his best career result.  For the third consecutive race, he went out in Q1, but more performances in the race like this will mean that Daniel Riccardo’s chance at Toro Rosso will have to wait.  It’s interesting to see that Alguesuari is now ahead of Sebastian Buemi in the drivers’ championship, despite Buemi outperforming him on a regular basis this season.  Sutil has also had a tricky season, with personal problems and the possibility of a court case hanging over him, following a nightclub incident after the Chinese Grand Prix in April.  However, he looked up for it on the streets of Valencia and for the first time this season, led the way in the Force India team, having been overshadowed all season by the plucky Paul di Resta.

     Mercedes GP had another dismal weekend and having looked threatening in China and Turkey to the frontrunners, the team has fallen behind the top three teams again by a considerable distance.  Although they are pulling away from the likes of Renault and Sauber, the gap is increasing between themselves and Ferrari.  Rosberg finished seventh, which was the best he could hope for.  Finishing 100 seconds behind race winner Vettel tells its own story.  After his Canadian exploits, Michael Schumacher made another rash overtaking attempt on Vitaly Petrov, and as in Turkey, came off worse.  Michael admitted fault after the race, although Ross Brawn seemed to hint that it was Petrov’s fault.  Sorry Ross, but what do you expect Petrov to do, drive into the barriers or vanish into thin air!  Heavy rear tyre wear is Mercedes real issue and it seems like a problem that won’t go away for them, definitely in the short-term.

     Finally, time to give out my Driver of the Weekend and Driver of the Day awards.  Vettel is the clear winner of Driver of the Weekend, whilst I give Alguesuari the nod over Vettel and Alonso for Driver of the Day.  Hopefully, the hustle buzz of F1 2011 will return at the British Grand Prix next week.

NOTE: DUE TO AN IMPENDING WORK PLACEMENT IN LONDON, THERE WILL NO FINISHING STRAIGHT BLOG FOR THE BRITISH GRAND PRIX DUE TO A LACK OF TIME.  THE SILVERSTONE WEEKEND WILL HAVE JUST A RACE REPORT.  I WILL RETURN FOR THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX AT THE NURBURGRING WITH A RACE REPORT, FINISHING STRAIGHT BLOG AND MY HALF-TERM DRIVERS REPORT.   

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 Japanese 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 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka provided the fans with a Super Sunday event, and it certainly was for Red Bull Racing, as they cemented their place at the top of both championship standings.  So, this is the round-up of race sixteen out of nineteen in 2010, as five drivers still remain in the fight, with three races to go.

Sebastian Vettel – The Suzuka Maestro

In 2009, his Suzuka victory kept his limping championship aspirations open and this year, Sebastian Vettel managed to repeat the trend.  He was utterly dominant in Japan, although Mark Webber kept him well and truly honest all weekend.  An eighth pole position of the season was converted into his third win of the season, his first since June’s European Grand Prix at Valencia.  In the last two races, Vettel has knuckled down and got the job done, and now can win the final three races and guarantee himself a fortunate championship.  The momentum in the Red Bull camp has swayed back and forth all season, and it is now in the German’s court.  After Belgium, anyone who put a bet on Sebastian winning the title would have looked like a complete fool.  Now, he might well be the narrow favourite into the final three events.

Red Bull Racing – Both Drivers in the Title Fight, A Difficult Situation

With the constructor’s championship looking more and more likely that it will be won by Red Bull Racing, attention will slowly drift to the driver’s battle.  With both drivers in the title fight, Christian Horner finds himself in a very difficult situation.  Plus, with the events of Silverstone bound to still be floating about in Mark Webber’s mind, no favouritism must be allowed.  I’ll give them that, they have given their drivers every chance to fight for the championship, but so did Williams in 1986 (Mansell & Piquet) and McLaren in 2007 (Hamilton & Alonso).  On both occasions, the outsider, Alain Prost and Kimi Raikkonen stole through to claim the glory.  Can Fernando Alonso provide a sting in the tail, and upset the Red Bull applecart.  Don’t count the Spaniard out just yet, especially as Vettel and Webber have already proven this season, to have a chequered history.

Lewis Hamilton – Another Weekend of Woe

It was another dark weekend in Lewis Hamilton’s fading world championship challenge.  A crash into the barriers at the formidable Degner curves left him with next to no track time in Friday practice.  Hamilton went into qualifying further on the backfoot, thanks to Saturday’s washout and a five-place grid penalty for changing a gearbox.  McLaren failed to spot that Hamilton’s box had collected terminal damage in his collision with Mark Webber in Singapore.  Had they spotted the problem straightaway, Hamilton would have been a serious threat from third on the grid.  Instead, their costly lack of judgement left Lewis languishing in eighth and needing a miracle in the race.  That never looked like happening, and in the race, he lost third gear with his new gearbox, meaning he could only use fourth to seventh gear for the last 15 laps.  Hamilton limped home in fifth, and put a brave face on the latest disappointment.  Don’t write McLaren off just yet, but Korea next weekend is a win or bust situation for both Hamilton and Jenson Button if they want to stay in the title battle.

Robert Kubica – High Expectations Gone in Minutes

After his heroics at Spa, Robert Kubica would have been confident of his chances at Suzuka, a circuit where he could make the most of Renault’s excellent f-duct device.  The Pole was stunning all weekend, qualifying an excellent third, following Hamilton’s demotion, over a second faster than team-mate Vitaly Petrov on Sunday morning.  At the green, Kubica jumped a slow-starting Webber and was harrying Vettel, when a wheel fell off his car behind the Safety Car.  Three laps in, and those high expectations of his had gone in minutes.  Kubica probably didn’t have the race distance pace to beat the Red Bull’s, but the final podium spot was up for grabs, so this was a missed opportunity for Renault.  With no score, the team can now forget catching Mercedes now for fourth in the constructor’s championship. 

Japanese Chaos – Amateur Acrobatics from Petrov, Massa & Alguesuari

Five seconds into the Japanese Grand Prix and Vitaly Petrov’s race is already over, after one of the most amateurish pieces of driving I’ve seen in recent years.  Starting 13^th, Petrov made a great start, but failed to check his mirrors and cut across an innocent Nico Hulkenberg, when he was nowhere near clear of the Williams.  Petrov then had the decency to blame Nick Heidfeld for the incident, but the television replays confirmed his fate.  A five-place grid penalty in Korea beckons and the Russian can surely now kiss goodbye to hanging onto that Renault seat for 2011.  If Petrov’s moment was crazy, Felipe Massa’s attempt to pass two cars on the grass was kamikaze!  Massa screwed up qualifying on Sunday morning and started a dismal 12^th.  Into turn one; he attempted to pass Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil on wet grass, a move which you might expect from a debutant, but not a seasoned pro like Massa.  His Ferrari slewed across the track and took out the luckless Vitantonio Liuzzi, destroying the Force India in the process.  How Massa didn’t earn a grid penalty boggles the mind, considering his manoeuvre was just as bad as Petrov’s!  To top off an amateurish day, Jaime Alguesuari takes the award for the daftest attempt at driving a rival off the road.  Angered by a clumsy move that Kamur Kobayashi pulled on him earlier in the race, the Spaniard was passed again in the closing stages, around the outside of the hairpin by the feisty Japanese driver.  Rather than accept defeat, he turned his Toro Rosso into a ramming rod!  Despite three bashes at the Sauber’s sidepod, Alguesuari got what he deserved, which was a damaged front wing, and consequently lost the final point to team-mate Sebastian Buemi.  It was a stupid moment of madness from a young driver who has shown flashes of talent this season, and rounded off a day of amateurish driving that would make Jedward look like music world beaters!

Forget Formula 1 at Suzuka – It’s more Like the Boat Race!

Saturday’s washout in Japan meant it was a repeat of the 2004 event, when a threatened typhoon in the region moved qualifying to a Sunday morning.  The fans on Saturday that came got a soaking, and Kamur Kobayashi criticised the FIA for taking a full 90 minutes to cancel qualifying, when in reality, it never was going to happen.  The conditions were more appropriate for the boat race, rather than an F1 qualifying session.  The two-day event worked well here again in Japan, and although it shouldn’t be a permanent switch to this format, maybe we need to look into this area for races that could be affected more by the weather, like Malaysia and China for instance.

Kamur Kobayashi – Showing His True Potential on Home Soil

As the season has developed, Kamur Kobayashi has turned into an excellent race driver.  Earlier in the campaign, Kobayashi looked like a nervous wreck, but as the Sauber has gradually improved over the season, so has the Japanese racecraft.  Although he was sixth at Silverstone, Suzuka was undoubtedly his best performance of the campaign.  He should have made Q3, but messed up the final chicane on his best lap and started back in 14^th.  Despite a poor start, and the wrong strategy, Kobayashi was the man of the race, pulling over brilliant passes into the hairpin on Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello and team-mate Nick Heidfeld, as well as surviving an assault from Jaime Alguesuari.  Seventh place was a fitting result; he looks set to only improve on his massive potential.

130R Shows It Bites Again – Lucas di Grassi’s Warm-Up Smash

Lucas di Grassi had impressed in outqualifying Timo Glock in Japan, but he didn’t make the start, after making a mess off his Virgin Racing car on the way to the grid!  Di Grassi was warming up his tyres and brakes, when it appears he went offline in the daunting 130R corner, which despite recent modifications, still doesn’t take any prisoners.  The result was one very battered Virgin and one rather sheepish Brazilian driver.  Although it looked more like a car failure than driver error, this has done di Grassi no favours in his battle to hold onto his Virgin drive for next season. 

Mercedes GP – Another Mixed Weekend

It was another mixed weekend for Mercedes GP, though they showed more competitive pace, which means that they are now almost uncatchable in their fight with Renault for fourth in the constructors championship.  Michael Schumacher, having had one of the worst weekends of his career in Singapore, had one of his best weekends of his poor comeback season in Japan.  Istanbul aside, Schumacher showed a consistent pace all weekend, and had the measure of Nico Rosberg throughout.  However, Rosberg still outqualified the seven-time world champion, with a brilliant sixth on the grid, compared to tenth for Schumacher, although Michael had an f-duct issue in Q3.  At the start, Rosberg botched his getaway, and was lucky not to be taken out by the out of control Massa at Turn One.  He smartly pitted under the Safety Car, which allowed him to jump a faster Schumacher, despite Schumacher looking the faster, especially after he pulled off a great pass on Rubens Barrichello into the final chicane, shortly after the restart.  A fantastic team result went sour with six laps to go, when a wheel flew off Rosberg’s car, pitching the hapless Nico into the barriers at the Dunlop Curve.  Schumacher survived to finish a solid sixth, so despite the late DNF for Rosberg, slight progress was made.

 

BBC Gambles on Lee McKenzie Presenting – Did It Pay Off?

With Jake Humphrey away to cover the Commonwealth Games in Delhi for the BBC, Lee McKenzie moved up from pitlane duty to host the BBC’s coverage of the Japanese Grand Prix.  Lee’s performance was never going to be upto the typical high standard of Jake, but it was a decent effort at short notice, although Jake’s presence was missed throughout the weekend.  McKenzie did well to keep Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard on a tight leech, though her mathematical skills and calling Martin Whitmarsh, Martin Whittaker after the race left a lot to be desired!  However, Jonathan Legard’s boring commentary in Suzuka could have spelt the death knell in his F1 commentating career, especially when BBC TV lost sound in the closing stages and we heard David Croft going bananas at Rosberg’s crash, when Legard’s version (heard on the highlights programme) had as much excitement as a wet sponge!  Surely the BBC has got to consider promoting Crofty to its TV coverage.  As for Lee McKenzie, it was an okay performance, but we will be glad that Jake is back to resume duty in Korea next weekend.