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.   

2011 European Grand Prix - Back to normality for Vettel

CRUISER: Another perfect weekend for runaway leader Vettel

AFTER his Canadian slip-up, Sebastian Vettel resumed his dominance of the 2011 F1 season, with a comprehensive victory at the European Grand Prix.  Vettel led from start to finish in the traditional Valencia snooze fest to record his sixth win from eight races.  He heads to Silverstone a whopping 77 points clear of Jenson Button and Mark Webber.

     The new regulations, which will see the banning on blowing hot gases off the exhausts of the cars at Silverstone started coming into force this weekend, with the teams being forced to run the same engine map for both qualifying and the race.  However, it did little to change the formbook, as Red Bull cruised to another lockout of the front row of the grid.  Despite a tardy start, Vettel led into the first bend and from there, never looked like he was going to be headed.  The big winner at the start was Felipe Massa, who scorched upto third position and challenged Webber into the second corner.  However, he backed out of a possible move, and this allowed the local favourite, Fernando Alonso to sweep around the outside of his team-mate and claim third spot.

BATTLE: Webber eventually lost out in his scrap with Alonso

     Vettel was having a laugh out there, and although he wasn’t pulling away excessively, he had the race totally in his command.  Webber ended up in a race long dogfight with Alonso and was overtaken by the feisty Spaniard shortly after the first round of stops.  Webber used the undercut to jump Fernando in the second pitstops, but moved onto the less preferred prime option (the medium tyre) earlier than anyone else.  He struggled with initial grip from the Pirelli tyres, and this enabled Alonso the opportunity to earn back second place.  Once behind, a grandstand finish for the runners-up spot behind the runaway winner Vettel was denied by a gearbox problem for Webber, which forced the Aussie to coast to the finish.

     Having arguably had the fastest car in the last three races, McLaren were miles off the pace of both Red Bull and Ferrari.  Both Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button complained afterwards of a lack of rear downforce and need for better aerodynamics.  Button lost a load of time behind Nico Rosberg in the early stages, before pulling off one of the only meaningful passes in the race on the fourth circuit.  The Canada winner was hobbled by a KERS issue, which left him stranded in sixth.  Hamilton had a quiet run to fourth, but after the controversy of the last two races and his questionable manoeuvres, the 2008 champion was probably just pleased to see the chequered flag without any unnecessary hassle.

     After his promising start, Massa faded to fifth and a full half minute behind his team-mate Alonso.  The Brazilian wasn’t helped by a poor second stop, when he was delayed by a sticky wheel nut.  With the top three teams locking down the top six positions, there were precious few pickings for the remainder of the field.  Jaime Alguesuari thrilled the home supporters, by making a two-stop strategy work to perfection.  He matched his Montreal result of eighth place, and more performances like that will keep him in the Toro Rosso hotseat.  He finished narrowly behind Nico Rosberg, who did well to score points on a weak Mercedes GP circuit. 

     Michael Schumacher returned to his crash fest specials in Valencia.  He was lucky to escape a drive-through penalty for crossing the white line on the pitlane exit and then another clumsy overtaking attempt on Vitaly Petrov ended with a damaged front wing.  After that, he was resigned to a dismal 17^th placed finish.  Petrov’s goose was cooked by a diabolical start that saw him lose four positions in the first corner.  He was out of the points and Nick Heidfeld could only muster tenth for his efforts.  Renault need Robert Kubica back, but with the Pole’s comeback not likely until next season at the earliest, face a very tricky second half of the season.  Adrian Sutil drove consistently all weekend and finished a creditable ninth for Force India.  Scotland’s Paul di Resta, who missed all of Friday after reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg crashed his car in practice, did well to finish 14^th.  For the third time in the history of the FIA Formula One World Championship, every single car finished the race.  The other races were the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix and the 2005 Italian Grand Prix.

     After this win, Sebastian Vettel becomes only the second driver to have finished in the top two of the first eight races of any season.  On the other occasion, Fernando Alonso won the title in 2006, though he was pushed all the way by Schumacher in his swansong Ferrari season.  Somehow, I can’t see that happening this season.  It will have to take something like a freak illness or accident that will stop Sebastian Vettel from winning the 2011 world championship.  F1 returns home to Silverstone in a fortnight’s time and hopefully, it will provide the spectacular racing that Valencia simply failed to achieve.

UEFA Champions League Matchday 4 - Sensational Spurs stun Champions

WITH 53 goals in this week’s UEFA Champions League matches, there was plenty of action and drama.  Take a bow Chelsea, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, the first three teams to qualify for the knockout stages, whilst Partizan Belgrade, Buraspor and MSK Zilina now have no hope of progressing past the group stages.  However, it was another debut club that rocked Europe this week. . .

It was another glory night for the new Welsh wizard Gareth Bale, as he tore Inter Milan to shreds for the second time in a fortnight.  Bale led Spurs to a famous 3-1 win over the European Champions, leaving them top of Group A.  Returning from suspension, Rafael van der Vaart opened the scoring from Luka Modric’s wonderfully executed pass.  In the second half, Bale took over, leaving the likes of Maicon and Lucio trailing in his wake.  His first tormenting run and cross set-up Peter Crouch for a tidy goal.  A great goal from Samuel Eto’o gave Inter hope with ten minutes to go, but Rafa Benitez could only look on as Bale went on another breathtaking run down the left-hand side and produced the perfect pass for Roman Pavyluchenko to wrap it up.  A win against Werder Bremen in three weeks time wraps up qualification for Tottenham, who have bought something fresh to this year’s competition. 

Whilst Tottenham were producing the performance of the tournament so far, North London rivals Arsenal had an off-night in the Ukraine, losing 2-1 to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.  Arsene Wenger only took 18 players with him, due to injuries, though he will be disappointed with their lack of maturity here, especially as he still had Samir Nasri, Thomas Rosicky and Jack Wiltshire in his starting eleven.  Theo Walcott did have the Gunners infront after ten minutes, with his own devastating pace leading to a crisp finish after a magnificent counter attacking move.  By half-time, Arsenal’s stroll through the group had come to an abrupt halt against a Shakhtar side that looked totally different from the team that surrendered so meekly at the Emirates two weeks earlier.  Jadson’s free-kick was turned into his own net inadvertently by youngster Craig Eastmond.  Then, a terrible error by Gael Clichy allowed Darijo Srna to cross for ex-Arsenal striker Eduardo to score with the last kick of the first half.  Arsenal weren’t disgraced, but will need to dismiss themselves of these slip-ups, especially when it matter so much more in the latter stages.

On a mild November night in London, Chelsea’s progress was never in doubt, coasting to a 4-1 triumph over Spartak Moscow, which seals their progression from Group F.  Only a point is needed now to secure top spot too.  Carlo Ancelotti took the opportunity to rest John Terry and Michael Essien, and after a subdued first half, Chelsea clicked into top gear in the second half.  Nicolas Anelka opened the scoring from a tight angle that looked almost impossible to establish a lead.  Didier Drogba, making his fashionably late entrance into the Champions League scored a penalty shortly afterwards, before Branislav Ivanovic scored two goals that even Drogba would be proud of.  Although Bazhenov scored a consolation for the visitors, Chelsea’s first Champions League goal conceded in 300 minutes, it was another stroll in the park for the English champions.

A far superior Manchester United virtually secured their traditional passage through, with an emphatic 3-0 win in Turkey against Buraspor.  Frustrated in the first half, United took command in the second half once Darren Fletcher broke the deadlock.  Gabriel Obertan scored his first United goal in some style, with a ferocious effort, before Bebe netted on his European debut.  This was a comfortable win for the pacesetters in Group C.

However, Rangers now face a massive task to join United in the knockout stages after losing 3-0 in Spain to Valencia.  It was a very busy night for Allan McGregor, who produced a series of cracking saves, but he couldn’t prevent Roberto Soldado scoring two goals, and a fine stoppage time volley from substitute Ricardo Costa, that wrapped up proceedings.  Steven Naismith did hit the post twice for the Scottish league leaders and the scoreline was harsh on Rangers, but it was a very disappointing and potentially costly result.

Jose Mourinho returned to the San Siro and witnessed his Real Madrid side advance into the knockout stages, after they rescued a point against AC Milan.  It was a thrilling match, with Milan turning the game on its head through two more goals from one of the deadliest poachers in the European game, super sub Flippo Inzaghi.  It was Real’s own sub, Pedro Leon who scored a stoppage time equaliser that still leaves Milan with work to do, in joining Madrid to go through from Group G. 

Bayern Munich also sealed their place through into the next stage, after they outclassed CFR Cluj in Romania, winning 4-0.  Bayern are already ten points behind Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, and with Arjen Robben, Miroslav Klose and Ivica Olic all out injured at the moment, Louis van Gaal has lots of problems domestically.  However, Mario Gomez hit a hat-trick in this masterful performance.  Another team out of their depth in the Champions League is MSK Zilina, beaten 7-0 at home by Marseille in Group F.  There was a hat-trick from Andre-Pierre Gignac, as Marseille became the first team to score seven away from home in the Champions League.  Lyon lost their 100% record on Tuesday night in Group B, going down 4-3 in Portugal to Benfica, who were 4-0 with 15 minutes to go.  Talented winger Fabio Coentrao was on target twice for the home side and a feisty meeting in Denmark saw FC Copenhagen draw 1-1 with Barcelona in Group D, which saw coaches Solde Solbakken and Pepe Guardiola have a bust-up at full-time.  

For some, the dream of reaching Wembley is already over, but for others, they have sent out their fearful messages and it’s looking good for all four English clubs to progress past Christmas.  Matchday four though belongs to Tottenham Hotspur and its wonderful Welshman, Gareth Bale.  

2010 European Grand Prix - Vettel Charges To Euro Glory

It was Germany’s day in the sporting world yesterday.  Not only did their footballers take full advantage of England’s liability of a defence, Sebastian Vettel cruised to victory in a fairly dramatic European Grand Prix on the streets of Valencia.  However, it was his team-mate who took the main headlines, for the wrong reasons, as Mark Webber had a very lucky escape.

Webber has made a disastrous start, being shuffled back from 2^nd to 9^th and made an early pitstop in an effort to move up the order.  On Lap 9, he rapidly closed in on the slow Lotus of Heikki Kovalainen.  Kovalainen made a pointless effort to defend, considering he was four seconds slower and Webber misjudged the Finn’s braking point.  The result was dramatic and cataclysmic.  The Australian walloped into the back of Heikki at 196mph and somersaulted into the air, landing upside down, and then careering at unabated speed into the tyre barriers.  Amazingly, he walked away without a scratch, though visibly shaken by the incident.  No doubt, this was a lucky escape for Formula One.

   

Vettel started from pole, and resisted an aggressive start from championship leader Lewis Hamilton.  Despite some minor contact, it was Hamilton who came off worse, requiring a new front wing.  He also misjudged the timing of the Safety Car being released out of the pits after the Webber/Kovalainen smash, and overtook it on-track.  Consequently, he got landed with a drive-through penalty, but built up enough of an advantage to remain in second spot.  Despite closing up at times on the German, Hamilton never looked like troubling Vettel, who cruised to an untroubled victory, remarkably only his second victory of the 2010 season.

 

Hamilton’s second place finish outraged Ferrari, who saw Hamilton speed away from the Safety Car, yet back-up Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.  As a result, their race was well and truly compromised, as they were forced to queue in the pits, and with overtaking limited, screwed their chances of a decent finish.  Alonso even had the indignity of being overtaken in the dying stages, by the Ferrari-shod Sauber of Japanese driver, Kamur Kobayashi.  8^th place was not what the doctor ordered for the Spaniard, who was furious afterwards, complaining bitterly about Hamilton’s lack of respect for the rules.  After his delay, Massa was never in contention and finished well outside the points for the second successive race.

Kobayashi made the most of the Safety Car, and stuck it out on the more preferred prime tyre for 53 of the 57 laps, therefore running in 3^rd for most of the race.  His late stop dropped him back, but two fantastic moves on Alonso and Sebastian Buemi saw him finish a well-deserved 7^th.  Pedro de la Rosa also scored a point, but saw it taken away in the stewards room, when he was one of nine drivers penalised for going too fast under Safety Car conditions.  With Vitaly Petrov also suffering this fate, it allowed a very fortunate Nico Rosberg into the points.  It was a miserable weekend for Mercedes, with Michael Schumacher another victim of the Safety Car conditions.  He was forced to wait under a red light, and wait for the crocodile to go past the pitlane.  Having started 15^th, it was left for him to be restricted to a test session.

Jenson Button finished a strong and solid 3^rd, ahead of last year’s winner, Rubens Barrichello.  Barrichello’s drive was brilliant, showing that Williams still have potential after a difficult 2010 so far.  Robert Kubica continued his rich vein of points scoring, with another committed effort on his way to 5^th, with Adrian Sutil doing likewise for Force India, winding up 6^th.  All these four drivers were penalised five seconds for the Safety Car regulation, yet it didn’t affect their finishing positions.

For Mark Webber, he was lucky to escape from a scary moment for the sport, but Sebastian Vettel breathed new momentum and life into his previous limping championship challenge.  Silverstone is next in a fortnight’s time, with McLaren leading the constructors’ championship and Hamilton and Button heading there, still 1-2 in the drivers’ championship.  More twists are bound to happen, as F1 2010 reaches its halfway stage.