F1 classic races - Singapore

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.  As Singapore has only held three races before and not all of them have been classics, here is a varied selection of events from events no longer on the F1 calendar, plus one from the Singapore Grand Prix.  The races come from between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1993 – Portugal

LAST: Title for Prost came in Portugal 1993, before retirement

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 2^nd: Alain Prost (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Damon Hill (Williams Renault)

THIS was the weekend which saw Alain Prost announce his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season, paving the way for Ayrton Senna to join Williams for 1994.  Senna would have a new team-mate for this race, with flying Finn Mika Hakkinen promoted into the McLaren race team.  Hakkinen sensationally outqualified Senna and was racing well, when he crashed heavily out of the final corner, fortunately without any injury.  By that stage, Senna had already disappeared with engine trouble.  Ferrari had their most competitive weekend of the season, with Jean Alesi leading the first stint and Gerhard Berger making a dramatic exit into the barriers from leaving the pitlane!  In the end, the race turned into a tactical battle between Prost and Michael Schumacher for victory.  Schumacher abandoned his plans for a second tyre stop and showed his gritty determination to win his first Grand Prix of a frustrating season.  However, second place was good enough for Prost to seal his fourth world championship.  

1995 – Pacific

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Renault), 2^nd: David Coulthard (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Damon Hill (Williams Renault)

THE TI Aida circuit in Japan was never a favourite with the drivers, but the 1995 event, moved to a late season date following the Kobe earthquake earlier in the year became the setting for the championship decider.  David Coulthard started on pole and dominated for the majority for the race, but defending champion Michael Schumacher fought back from a poor start to snatch second place from the Ferrari’s of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.  He closed in on Coulthard and once again, the Benetton’s superior strategy came into force in overwhelming the Williams.  Schumacher won the race and wrapped up his second successive drivers title.  Damon Hill was a distant third and had to concede defeat to the class act of 1995.  Michael Schumacher did it his way!

1997 – Luxembourg

WINNER: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Benetton Renault), 3^rd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams Renault)

LITTLE did we know it at the time, but this would turn out to be Jacques Villeneuve’s final ever win in Formula One.  It put him nine points clear of Michael Schumacher with two races remaining and it owed to a huge slice of luck.  Held at the Nurburgring, Mika Hakkinen had taken pole position for the first time in his career and drove into the distance, backed up by David Coulthard.  Then, in two nightmare laps for McLaren, Coulthard stopped with an engine failure on the pit straight.  Moments later, Hakkinen was pulling onto the grass with the same problem, which meant his elusive first victory would have to wait.  Villeneuve led home Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Gerhard Berger to a Renault 1-2-3-4 Grand Slam.  Jacques cause was aided by Ralf Schumacher’s acrobatics at the first corner which took out his Jordan team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella and his own brother.  Michael was less than amused!

2001 – USA

WINNER: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)

JUST two weeks after the terrorist attacks on America, Formula One put a smile on the faces of the US people again in the first major sporting event to be held in the country since that fateful September 11 day.  McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen recovered from a grid penalty to take an excellent win in the penultimate race of his career.  On a two-stop strategy, Rubens Barrichello pushed Hakkinen all the way, until a rare Ferrari engine failure with four laps to go robbed him of a brilliant podium.  Despite being outfoxed by Hakkinen and brilliantly passed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher was second whilst Jordan’s Jarno Trulli won an FIA appeal against a technical disqualification a month later to get his fourth position back.  Both Williams BMW cars retired, with a dying engine ending Montoya’s hopes of back-to-back wins.  The 2001 US Grand Prix was also the final race commentated in F1 by the legendary Murray Walker, who hung up his mic for ITV in emotional fashion.  At least he left on a high from a wonderful event in the light of such tragedy.

2005 – San Marino

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Alexander Wurz (McLaren Mercedes)

WHEN Kimi Raikkonen claimed pole position and starting cruising away in the opening laps, it looked like Imola 2005 was going to be a typical procession.  However, McLaren’s reliability jinx struck again, as driveshaft failure on the ninth circuit ruled Raikkonen out of proceedings.  Fernando Alonso took the lead and built a significant cushion over the rest of the chasing pack, led by BAR’s Jenson Button.  In the midfield was Michael Schumacher, following a mistake in qualifying which left him 13^th on the grid.  When others infront pitted, the Ferrari was unleashed and started lapping two seconds faster than anyone else on the track.  He passed Button easily and hunted down Alonso.  Overtaking was incredibly difficult on the Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari track and try as he might; Schumacher couldn’t find a way past Alonso, down to the Spaniard’s amazing defensive driving.  Alonso held on to take a significant victory, his third in a row.  Jenson Button finished third, but BAR were caught cheating with fuel being used as ballast discovered after the race.  The team lost their Imola points a fortnight later and got banned for two races for the indiscretion.  UK viewers complained in their droves after ITV took an ill-judged commercial break with three laps to go of the race, right at the heat of the Alonso/Schumacher battle.  Many believe this was the death knell in their F1 coverage, which ended three years later.

2010 – Singapore

CLASH: The shunt with Webber last year wrecked Hamilton's hopes

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 2^nd: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault), 3^rd: Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing Renault)

LAST season, Fernando Alonso held off a charging Sebastian Vettel to take a brilliant victory on the night streets of Singapore.  Despite two Safety Car periods, the Spaniard held off Vettel all the way.  A minor brush with the barriers in qualifying cost Vettel the pole position and ultimately, the race.  Third place was enough for Mark Webber to retain his championship lead, whilst fourth spot kept Jenson Button in the race.  However, Lewis Hamilton’s title bid took a fatal blow, as he controversially clashed with Webber after a Safety Car period.  Despite minor contact, terminal damage was done to the McLaren and ended his race.  The most spectacular image of the season came when Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus blew up and caught fire on the pit straight, with the brave Finn having to double up as a temporary fire marshal to extinguish the rapidly increasing flames.

Video games - An addictive, but not excessive hobbie

By Simon Wright (Personal piece)

AS I sit in my place in Northampton, counting down the days until I go home to Milton Keynes for the best part of two months, I think a bit more about one of my hobbies that I have enjoyed and have entertained me for a long time, the video game.  However, before anyone jumps to any conclusions, it’s only an addictive trait of mine – I’m not one of those freaks who drink gallons of coffee, stare into the TV screen excessively and do permanent damage to my eyesight.  If you have that life, then that’s fine, but it must cost an absolute fortune in prescription glasses, so I hope it’s worth it!

     I remember my first console machine, which was the Sega Mega Drive.  Playing classic games like Sonic the Hedgehog, NFL 93, running rings around American football teams with the Miami Dolphins and the early FIFA games, which let’s face it, were terrible, as the players looked like mushrooms and the football was a paper ball, when you could make a better version in nursery!  Nevertheless, the Mega Drive was a great breakthrough in gaming technology and ultimately, Sega’s best attempt at a console.  The Dreamcast was an utter disaster and as for Sega Saturn, I don’t have any words to describe that are nicer than rubbish!

     My view of gaming changed in 1997, through one of the most powerful slogans I can remember and one of the best TV commercials I ever saw.  The ‘Double Life’ Playstation ad really spoke to me.  Sony had created a monster as far as I was concerned and what I mean by that, that’s a monster of beauty.  I mean, who couldn’t be appealed by ‘Do Not Underestimate the Power of PlayStation.’  I certainly didn’t and through the PlayStation and PlayStation 2 – I was blessed with Sony games for the next 12 years.  I have every single Formula One title, got appealed by Crash Bash, drove like a maniac on Crazy Taxi and The Simpsons Road Rage, became a legend on the WRC rally games and of course, the football battle between FIFA and ProEvo, which in those days, FIFA was winning hands down.

     What were my favourite PlayStation memories?  It’s difficult to choose actually, though I remember one of my friends commentating on some football game which I think involved Ronaldo (the chubby Brazilian that is!) and Barry Davies, the legendary BBC voice actually telling him to shut up!  Whether it was an error with the game or the console, I don’t know, but quite impressive I thought!  Then, there was Murray Walker, who’s excitement was crystal clear on the early Formula 1 games, with terms shouted out like; HE’S JUST HIT DAMON HILL! OR FISI-C-H-ELLA, Martin, it looked like he hit the wall there.  I like Murray’s dedication, even for your finish.  Say, if you had finished 19^th, he’d mention it.  “19^th; Shinji Nakano (Another Japanese idiot who had no credentials btw) – well his team boss won’t be happy with that result!”

SMART: My clever collection of XBox 360 games in my flat

     Ultimately, the PlayStation 3 never quite appealed to me, but the Xbox 360 did.  I often would trial the Xbox in Zaavi (an entertainment store before it went bust during the recession.)  I got a taste for the new type of gaming; the better graphics, the more virtual reality experience and I wanted a machine to myself.  In 2009, my brother and I got one of the Arcade versions and I bought a newer, 4GB elite version for myself last summer to go into my room whilst at University.  My greatest achievement on the Xbox has to be either winning the FA Cup on World Class difficulty with the legendary Coventry City (hope Farida’s still proud haha!) on FIFA 11 and winning the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship with Virgin Racing, the ultimate backmarkers in the sport in real life!  So I guess, this proves I’m a king of racing games.  I’ve even taken the plunge into karaoke and been trying my art at the Lips singing games.  Sadly, I can’t sing but it’s still a laugh to perform classics like ‘Karma Chameleon’ and ‘Tubthumping,’ then also embarrassing songs such as ‘Barbie Girl,’ and ‘Wannabe,’ by the Spice Girls!  Oh dear!

CONTROL: The XBox 360 is the console to have at the moment

     For me, I like to play at least an hour a day if I can, because it means I can escape into the virtual reality world, especially if I have had a bad day.  I can have bad days on the Xbox and not get anything right on the game I’m playing.  For people who know me, they know that I can get really competitive.  I simply hate losing to the computer!  For me, it mocks me when that happens.  Sometimes, I can accept it and move on, especially when the computer beats you fair and square, but it gets frustrating when you batter an opposition with 36 attempts on goal, yet still lose 1-0!  That’s when you do think, Grr!  And don’t get me near a tennis game, because when I play a bad shot, the profanity that comes out of my mouth, because I’m annoyed tells its own story!

     So, as you can see, I love the video game and can have addictive crazes to certain games (The Sims 3, how sad am I!) but, I know when to stop and not carry on.  The most I’ve ever played without taking a serious break ever is around four hours.  Normally, an hour a day (two when I have nothing to do) is enough for me and gives me the satisfaction without becoming excessive.  Plus, it might be gripping, but how can playing the likes of Halo, Call of Duty etc like non-stop for 30 hours straight be entertaining, interesting and healthy!  Those who do that, its your life, but you are wasting away.  Enjoy your gaming in moderation and it will feel better is my tip.  I mean, it’s worked for me for the best part of 15 years, so why shouldn’t it for anyone else.  

     If you say to me ‘I love excessive gaming and it’s my life,’ then your need your brain testing!  Forget scoring an attractive girl if that’s the case, because she can do much better!  Balance is an important asset of life, so don’t go down the excessive gaming route.  I lot of people will just reject you, it’s as simple as that.  Good afternoon and goodbye!  

TV classics - ITV F1

BERNIE Ecclestone caused a real stir in 1996, when he announced that BBC was losing its coverage of Grand Prix, which they had screened since 1978.  He gave the contract to ITV, in a £60million deal.  This was a real boost for the commercial channel, especially as they were receiving a traditional battering in the Sunday afternoon rating battles.  ITV F1 remained on the air from 1997 until 2008, and although things started strongly, they rapidly went downhill.  Despite this, their new angle of Formula One racing changed the way one of the golden jewels in sport would be broadcast forever.

FIRST: The opening F1 logo for ITV in 1997

     ITV wanted to bring a fresh appeal to the viewer and this meant the controversial decision to drop the iconic racing music; ‘The Chain’ by Fleetwood Mac.  Instead, they gave Jamiroquai the chance to create a new racing theme for their coverage.  It went down fairly well and had a racing feel to it.  The best music theme was the second change in music, ‘Blackbeat’ by Apollo 440, first used in the year 2000.  Although Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Moby’s versions of ‘You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet’ and ‘Lift Me Up’ can’t be faulted for their quality, they simply never suited a Grand Prix theme tune.  Ultimately, despite ITV’s best efforts, nothing can beat ‘The Chain’ for Formula One.

     When ITV started out, they hired almost a brand new team to bring the action to the homes of millions of British television viewers.  Jim Rosenthal, despite not having a prime passion for motorsport, was given the responsibility to anchor the show.  He was joined in the studio by Tony Jardine, who moved from the pitlane on the BBC’s Grand Prix team to being a regular pundit.  Simon Taylor was also hired too, though he was dropped at the end of ITV’s first year of covering Formula One.  In the pits, in-depth coverage was brought by former ESPN reporter James Allen and the ex-Jordan press officer Louise Goodman.  In the commentary box, the ‘Voice of Formula One’ Murray Walker was retained and he was partnered with the ex-Tyrrell, Jordan and Brabham pilot Martin Brundle.  Brundle, having taken part in over 160 GP races and won Le Mans for Jaguar in 1990 was the perfect foil for Walker and his technical expertise, humorous grid walks and analytical approach won him many fans and awards.  In 1997, ITV bought live coverage of every single qualifying session.  This was a new formula, as the BBC had only ever shown live qualifying of the British event at Silverstone.  If fans wanted live qualifying before 97, they had to buy cable and watch it on Eurosport.  The race was as ever, live, with suitable Sunday late highlights and also, a 30 minute Saturday preview show, called Murray and Martin’s F1 Special, which rounded up the earlier afternoon’s qualifying session, had more interviews with the key personnel in the paddock and previewed the following day’s race. 

     To begin with, ITV’s coverage of Formula One could not be faulted, but for one exception, the annoying commercial breaks.  Five advertising breaks were scheduled during every race, and this was never the strongest portray in ITV’s portfolio.  In its debut season, UK viewers were treated to dog food commercials, rather than the extraordinary overtake by world champion Damon Hill on Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher for the lead of the Hungarian Grand Prix.  Later that year, the two simultaneous engine failures for the leading McLaren cars at the Nurburgring weren’t broadcast live, due to another commercial interruption.  As years went on, ITV’s timing for a break got worse.  Amongst other moments missed by viewers were Michael Schumacher’s tyre explosion at Suzuka, which ended the 1998 championship and Fernando Alonso’s spectacular engine failure at the 2006 Italian Grand Prix.

     The worst moment came at the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix.  Schumacher, in an inferior Ferrari, hunted down Alonso’s faster Renault in a gripping and tense scrap at Imola.  Unbelievably, with three laps to go, ITV went to its specialist subject, an advertising break!  Fans were incensed and fortunately, the break ended before the last lap of the race.  Afterwards, an embarrassed Rosenthal was forced to apologise and the final three laps were shown again in it’s entirely, but the damage had been done.  Media regulator OFCOM fined ITV Sport for its damming lack of timing at such a critical part of the race.  Could you imagine the storm if Schumacher had managed to find a way past Alonso!

     Rosenthal quit ITV F1 at the end of the 2005 season, to focus on his main love, boxing.  Four years earlier, Murray Walker had decided to hang up his microphone and James Allen was promoted upstairs into the commentary box.  He was replaced in the pitlane by a former producer of the programme, Ted Kravitz.  Kravitz’s lack of meaningful pit reports, combined with Allen’s general dull commentary voice and the dominance at the start of the millennium by Michael Schumacher and Ferrari led to an alarming decline in viewer ratings.

     The cost of ITV producing Formula One, at the time where it was expanding its boxing, rugby and football coverage was because tough to sustain.  This was also highlighted by the amount of advertising sponsorship it relied on.  Petrol giant Texaco were a solid and trusted partner of ITV’s F1 coverage for its first five seasons.  After that, Toyota, the Daily Telegraph, LG, Swiftcover.com, Shell V-Power, Honda and Sony all took turns at sponsoring F1 on ITV.  With every sponsorship contract signed, the fee was far less than the previous one, which meant cutbacks had to be made elsewhere.  And at the end of the day, who wants to see Clucking Chickens before the start of a Sunday lunchtime race!

     Steve Rider joined from the BBC in 2006 and was partnered by former Ligier and Tyrrell driver Mark Blundell.  The studio element was dropped, as the presenters opted to do their build-up show from down in the paddock, which was a poor move.  Hiring Blundell was a disaster too; as he struggled to come up with any meaningful sentences.  Half the time, he seemed to agree with Rider’s questions and the lack of a second pundit hurt ITV in its later years.  So too, was its bias of Lewis Hamilton.  Hamilton’s emergence onto the Grand Prix scene in 2007 was good news for the viewing figures and won ITV F1 two Sport BAFTA awards, but soon, fans got tired of the constant Hamilton interviews and references, almost forgetting about anyone else on the grid!  Considering there were the likes of Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Kimi Raikkonen, David Coulthard, Felipe Massa, Giancarlo Fisichella and Robert Kubica on the grid, this was dismal ignorance from ITV.  As far as they were concerned, it was Hamilton v 21 other idiots! 

WHAT!: A bird in the 2006 titles showed ITV's failings in latter seasons

     Days before the 2008 Malaysian Grand Prix, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that the BBC had won the rights to Formula One coverage in the UK from the 2009 season onwards, in a new five-year deal.  ITV confirmed their F1 exit was down to cutting costs at the height of the worldwide recession, and they had just signed a new deal to hang onto UEFA Champions League football.  Michael Grade, the then chief executive of ITV decided that football was a bigger prize for the broadcaster than Formula One.  After 206 races, ITV F1 bowed out with the dramatic 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, which saw Hamilton win the title on the final corner of the season, so it was a fitting end to its groundbreaking and at times, farcical coverage of the sport.

     There can be no doubt that ITV did put a new spin on how to do sports broadcasting, but over the 12-year stint it held the F1 rights, there were far too many missed opportunities.