On the one hand…

Let us understand what this involves – a somewhat uninfluential team comprising of the two most marketable drivers in F1 (the commercial sustainability of which depends in entirety on these drivers continuing to spar in the matter that they have been over the season) being charged of unbecoming conduct by a high-profile team comprising of, to say the least, two rather unknown and unexciting drivers, whose performance most of the motorsport world could not care less about. Given the commercial reality, the judgment is brilliantly conceived:

1. No penalty on the drivers: Both the exciting drivers will continue to be able to excite.

2. $100m fine: The (relatively) uninfluential team will, in the short term, at least be side-lined, with over 20% of its turnover (and we assume, a larger percentage of its 07/08 budget), disappearing overnight.

3. The high profile team gets even more marketable given both (1) and (2) above, and is assured continued success in the near term, given that its only hint of competition in the last 5 years stands de-limbed.

On the other hand….

1. It was widely reported that Hamilton was by and large ripping off Fonzo’s set-ups, looking at his telemetry, brake setups, tyres and what-have-you. Talented, isn’t he? As a driver, sure. They both are. Pity they’re also a) out and out cheats on a level Schumacher couldn’t conceive of, or b) require plagiarized data to race a car. Information that has now been proven to have been obtained in an unethical manner in the first place. Irony.

How exciting. It’s clear for anyone to see the Ferrari drivers can’t hold a candle to them. F1 would’ve died a slow and painful death if these two were excluded.

2. Here’s some facts for you, vis-a-vis McCheats budget and so on: McCheat F1 have an operating budget of around $450 million. That’s reportedly $100m more than Ferrari’s operating budget. This is not secret information. The only hit they’ve taken for 2008 is that they can no longer use the Ferrari IP they stole. Boohoo. These guys won’t even feel this ‘fine’, especially since Dennis seems to kinda sorta expect Mercedes to foot half the bill.

De-limbed? Their operating budget and existing facilities still far outstrip Ferrari’s. The only basis for this ‘de-limbing’ is depriving them of proprietary Ferrari information.

Also, how exactly are they “uninfluential”? They’re not Spyker. You need no further evidence than the judgment itself to note otherwise. Especially considering they were let off, scot-free, the first time this came up. Rest assured any team apart from the two involved would’ve been excluded lock, stock and barrel for the full two years.

3. Is it Ferrari’s fault these guys cheated? Would you have preferred it gone unpunished? Really? Ferrari have every right to exploit the situation. The constructor’s title is theirs, rightly so. How exactly would Ferrari gain from the likes of Hamilton winning the WDC, anyway? Would that benefit Ferrari in terms of marketability, or McLaren?

This judgment has given Ferrari the barest minimum it is due. The scale of the crime is enormous and unprecedented in this sport. The Ferrari drivers have been punished for no reason. I agree with you on one thing: it was a well conceived judgment, in commercial terms. That’s F1 for you. I just feel bad for the Ferrari drivers. The situation at the top would’ve been reversed if the racing had been legit from the get-go.

Also, only hint of competition in the last 5 years? I’d like to forget the Renault years too! Alonso will drive for Renault next year. Flavio worships the ground Alonso treads on. He might not win anything next year, but at least he will whip Kovalainen.

Hamilton will not drive for Ferrari next year, pigs may fly. This is money well spent for McCheats. They got away with it, gaining a superstar who they can milk indefinitely. Never mind they established him by the most dubious of means…

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Another week, another win. The words must have passed through Lewis Hamilton’s head as his McLaren took the chequered flag for the second race in succession, making him the first rookie to win two grand prix in a row.

Fernando Alonso finished in a well-deserved second place, while Felipe Massa stood on the third step of the podium, finishing less than three seconds ahead of his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikonnen.

Hamilton, starting in pole position, didn’t make the best of starts, but it was enough to lead Alonso into turn one. In scenes strangely reminiscent of the previous weekend, Hamilton pulled out into Alonso’s path, forcing the Spaniard to go around him. The temptation to overtake Lewis on the outside of turn one must have been hard to resist though, and the cars went wheel to wheel until Alonso backed off ever so slightly, with memories of Canada still fresh in his mind. Hamilton stayed in front yet again and, barring places dropped due to pit stops, did so till the end of the race.

The first corner of the first lap also saw Ralf Schumacher braking too late, causing him to spin onto the grass bank, taking David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichelo with him. Schumacher ditched his car immediately, but his ‘victims’ staggered on for a little while before giving in. The race was marked with several retirements – the most unfortunate of the lot being Nico Rosberg’s engine blowout four laps from the finish. Rosberg had been running in the points, but was forced to pull onto the side of the start-finish straight with flames pouring from his engine. And he wasn’t too happy about it, as you can see.

The race was also notable for an almighty battle in the middle of the pack, with 6 cars battling for 12th place. Giampaolo Liuzzi successfully held off Alex Wurz, until Giancarlo Fisichella stormed up to overtake both of them, the move on Wurz being particularly pleasing to the eye. Takuma Sato was pulled up by race marshals for overtaking during a yellow flag, but spun onto the gravel and out of the race before his penalty was even decided, let alone served.

Alonso took on less fuel than Hamilton during his first pit, and the onus was on him to get ahead of the young Englishman before the second round of stops. The reigning world champion tried and tried, but to no avail – the only time he really came close, Hamilton blocked him off with a superb display of defensive driving. The contest between the two was much closer this week – expect Alonso to come back much stronger in the next race.

Ferrari had a fairly good weekend – Massa and Raikonnen completed the top 4. The car appeared to be well balanced, even if Kimi tended to lock up his front left tyre on occasion. The two drivers are the only genuine competition McLaren seem to have this season, so I’m hoping for a Ferrari win next time round, if only to make the Championship race more interesting.

On the whole, credit to Hamilton for keeping it together – apart from the record mentioned above, he is also the first rookie driver to take points in seven successive races. After finishing third in the first race of the season, he’s only gotten better – runner up in the next four, before winning the last two. Talk of the championship is probably too soon, but you wouldn’t bet against it on this form.

On a side note: Jarno Trulli received a rude shock when he found a steward’s blue flag stuck in the side pod of his car. The flag had been dropped off the pit wall – by mistake, we imagine. It didn’t cut off the air intake, thankfully. Also, kudos to Sebastian Vettel – the 19 year old replacement for Robert Kubica, and driving in his first race, picked up a point for BMW. Back to Europe in a week or two. Or three.

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The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is one of those which drivers love or loathe – not unlike Spa in Belgium. Tight and twisting like Monaco, but with the speed turned up a notch. Not being an F1 driver myself, I imagine the circuit takes a lot of talent to navigate at speeds in excess of 300 kph. Indeed, almost half of the 22 drivers who started the race (except for Jenson Button, who stalled on the grid, so we can’t really count him, can we?) were eliminated in one form or another – disqualification, crashes, and in one case, the almost total destruction of Robert Kubica’s car. On lap 30, His BMW crashed into the wall at turn two leading up to the hairpin before ricocheting back across the track and hitting the other side. Very, very hard. Save the driver’s capsule and the left rear tire, every inch of bodywork was stripped off in one of the most horrific crashes F1 has seen since the tragic death of Aryton Senna in 1994. The fact that the turn on which the accident occurred is called the ‘Senna S’ left me with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as news on his condition filtered through. Thankfully, Kubica was alright – a sprained ankle appears to be the extent of the damage. And if you think I’m overreacting, have a look.

The race itself was all about one man and how he managed to stay out of trouble. Lewis Hamilton, driving in only his sixth Grand Prix, led from start to finish, ignoring the carnage around him. Nick Heidfeld of BMW came in second, while Alex Wurz of Williams finished third.

The winner has looked threatening all season – finishing on the podium in all of the previous five races. His second place in Monaco was controversial, with rumours floating around afterwards about team orders and Fernando Alonso’s ego taking a knock (it didn’t, but that may have been down to the afore-mentioned team orders). Don’t get me wrong – Alonso is a fantastic driver – but even the best get it wrong from time to time. Or just unlucky. Right from the start, in fact.

Hamilton, starting in pole, tried to pull away, but Alonso caught him on the outside of turn one – only to run out of track to drive on, skidding onto the gravel. Heidfeld nipped into second, a position that he didn’t relinquish. The reigning world champion had a pretty rotten race, even if he did finish fifth – the number of times he outbraked himself up near the final chicane was almost unbelievable. The 10 second stop-go penalty for an irregular pit stop didn’t help either. New regulations in Formula One dictate that when the safety car is on track, no racecars are allowed to pit until they have all lined up behind it. The unfortunate timing of Alonso’s pit stop resulted in the penalty, which pretty much scuppered his chances of a podium place.

I read somewhere that drivers are specifically trained to block out all distractions (including what might appear to be near-fatal accidents) during the race, as well they might, and this is what Hamilton had to do. The safety car was out on track 4 times, thanks to a variety of collisions, crashes and scrapes along the wall. Carbon fiber littered the tarmac at several places, creating a potentially lethal cocktail with an already slippery, fast, narrow, debris-strewn track. In addition to all this, Anthony Davidson had to deal with the local wildlife getting in his way – a beaver wandered onto the track at an inopportune moment. Davidson was shaken, as was the beaver, I imagine. No, I don’t know what happened to it.

Back to the winner – an almost faultless race from Hamilton; his timing in pulling away from the pack every time the safety car went off was spot on. Having watched him all season (six races isn’t much to go on), it is hard to spot a weakness in this man’s game. One for the future, definitely, but also one for the present. He now leads the World Championship by 8 points – incredible when you consider how old he is (22) and the fact that he’s making his debut in the sport. Michael Schumacher retired at the end of last season, but the thought of coming out of retirement to show this upstart who the real master is might have crossed his mind. Remember, you read it here first. (Maybe not, but it’s a shot in the dark)

Classic F1 moments: Mika Hakkinen taking Michael Schumacher at Spa-Francochamps or Nelson Piquet and Aryton Senna having a go at each other.What do you reckon?

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One can almost hear the Tifosis muttering, “If only Michael was there….” as a weekend, which the Ferraris were expected to convincingly rule, turned into a fight for the podium in the end. Ron Dennis would be giving the widest grin on the planet as both of his Mclaren drivers muscled the Italian outfit out of the top spots giving the perfect result for the woking team. Ever since Alonso took the inside line on turn 1 and nudged past the pole sitter, Filipe Massa, he never looked like losing the race. It was the sort of performance we have come to see and expect – monotonously flawless and perfect in execution.

But once again it was Lewis Hamilton earning accolades and winning admirers all over the place. He seems to be made up for these rollicking starts, stunning his fellow runners into submission. When the lights went out he was 4rth on the grid and after turn 1 he was running second. Two Mclarens leading the race! For nearly the entire race barring a small breathing gap in between, Lewis was constantly under pressure and the fact that he came through indicates what a matured driver this kid is.

Filipe Massa wanting to make up for his poor start began to hound the ‘rookie’ (not sure if i can still use the term) Mclaren driver trying to pull up a couple of overtaking maneuvers hoping that the young inexperienced driver would crack under pressure, make a mistake or just make a defensive move giving him way. In the end it was the Ferrari driver who came out red faced, out breaking himself and taking a trip down the grass and joining in the 5th position behind the BMW of Heidfeld. It was a rookie move by an experienced driver and it was a champion’s defense by the rookie. If there was any a time for the Tifosis to say, “If only Michael was there….”, this was it.

This left the top 5 as Alonso, Hamilton, Kimi, Heidfeld and Massa which ended up being the top 5 of the race. Also goes to show that if you had slept through the race you didn’t miss much. Renault’s race was not as horrendous as their qualifying and thats not saying much. I hate to say this but it was a nice steady drive from Fisichella to end up 6th in a car that would have refused to go anywhere above that and Heikki achieved his first point (just 1) in his formula 1 career. The finn’s drive was just enough for Briatore to proclaim that he redeemed himself of the Australian ignominy. As i mentioned in the preview, the podium still seems a distant object for Renault but then a few weeks are what it takes in formula 1 to change fortunes (ask the Mclarens) and Renault are capable of improvement during the season.It was a great race for Heidfeld, managing to beat one of the ferraris while his team mate (Kubica) again encountered problems. If anything the gap looks obscene in the result chart with them finishing 4th and 18th respectively. Rosberg looked fast and promising only to retire with a hydraulics fault. But they seem to have the equipment to finish in points and challenge the BMW and outpace the Renaults.Overall it was a shocker for Ferrari and they would be disappointed and we can be rest assured that they’ll come back strong and hard in the desert kingdom of Bahrain. Till then, lets just drink to Mclarens’ first race victory since 2005 and for the F1 world for having discovered Lewis.

It was a great race for Heidfeld, managing to beat one of the ferraris while his team mate (Kubica) again encountered problems. If anything the gap looks obscene in the result chart with them finishing 4th and 18th respectively. Rosberg looked fast and promising only to retire with a hydraulics fault. But they seem to have the equipment to finish in points and challenge the BMW and outpace the Renaults.

Overall it was a shocker for Ferrari and they would be disappointed and we can be rest assured that they’ll come back strong and hard in the desert kingdom of Bahrain. Till then, lets just drink to Mclaren’s first race victory since 2005 and for the F1 world for having discovered Lewis.

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2007 was the season where [tag]Kimi[/tag] was supposed to get his deliverance and early signs appear that way. The ‘Iceman’ led the [tag]Australian grand prix[/tag] from start to finish with a performance that would worry Ron and his two talented drivers at Mclaren. Let’s just put Kimi on hold for a second and look at the real hero of the race: [tag]Lewis Hamilton[/tag].

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Colour is doing the rounds as one of the most talked about aspects of the 2007 season, even after discounting Lewis Hamilton from the headlines. Car launches have been revealing liveries ranging from the innovative to the ghastly. Liveries have been as much a part of a formula 1 car as its design and performance is. So what paint job does the machines of 2007 boast of?

Ferrari
Rating: 9 / 10

As far as liveries go, [tag]Ferrari[/tag] continues to rule. The designers have gone all red obliterating whatever little white that remained before. The F2007 is all Ferrari although the ‘Vodafone’ logo is conspicuous by its absence. However the Ferrari livery loses out on the ‘best looking’ livery on the grid to their main rivals. 

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2007 could well be the year when formula 1 makes the transition into a new era. Michael schumacher’s retirement has meant that the sport now has new heroes for benchmarking and new pretenders to the throne. Let’s look at some of them…

The Superstars

Fernando Alonso

Two consecutive world championships right under the noses of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikonnen. One would think that should have settled the champion debate but Fernando still has as many doubters as there are supporters. If the championship in 2005 was attributed to lacklustre competition, the victory in 2006 was claimed to be the result of a singularly unlucky race for Schumacher in the Japanese grand prix. Agreed, Fernando has had the lady luck smiling on him the past two seasons but is that all there is to him? I don’t think so. In fact, I believe that the best driver won both the seasons and would rate Fernando above Kimi Raikonnen in any case. There is no way in the world that Kimi can match Alonso’s little salsa post victories. But that’s just my personal opinion. The truth of the matter is, Fernando came through with a steady hand and a calm head when the Schumachers and the Kimis were having some problem or the other. Fernando is fast – there is no doubt about that but he is not ‘Kimi fast’. Fernando is of the schumi variety. Moments of mad speed coupled with steady drives. I would call it ‘race control’. He isn’t the best at it but would figure quite closely behind Schumi in that aspect.

With Schumi gone, Fernando would become the new benchmark. The new look Fernando (did you see his close cropped head) begins a new era too. After shocking the F1 world and more importantly the mercurial Flavio with his defection announcement, Fernando has received mixed response for his decision from the paddocks. But If the testing sessions at valencia are anything to go by, Fernando has been having quite a nice time adapting to the MP4-22 apart from a little oil leak scare he had early on. Ever since Flavio decided to let his protege have an early go at a Mclaren machine ( his contract with renault was till new year), he has been setting up fairly good lap times but more importantly finding himself at home in his new silver car. One would have to wait for the new season to begin to see if Mclaren make a new beginning or just continue where they left off – raking up DNFs.

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Schumacher What the hell does that name mean? To any Formula1 fan, it means passion, excellence and most of all a burning and all-consuming desire to win.

In 1991, he drove his first race for Jordan, miraculously taking a pathetic car to seventh position on the grid; everyone on the grid immediately took notice. Over 250 grand prix, 91 victories, 68 pole positions and 7 world championships later he’s firmly stamped himself into the record books and our memories. His driving is perfection itself- he makes precious few mistakes; he’s supremely fit, technically astute and tactically brilliant but that isn’t what makes ‘Schumi’ who he is… It’s the man behind the driver who made him the success he is today.

Joining Ferrari, a team which hadn’t produced a world champion since 1979, he gelled them into a cohesive unit, leading them by example with a singular enthusiasm for the sport, a raging competitive spirit and exemplary work ethic (Williams’ bosses once lamented that Ralf Schumacher and Juan Montoya didn’t show Schumi’s enthusiasm for work. Michael, reportedly, used to call his technical director at three in the morning to discuss adjustments to his car.) all of which has made him a demi-god at Maranello. No champion is without his detractors and Schumi has his share, like those that believe Lance Armstrong took performance enhancing drugs and think that Pete Sampras was unexciting. For them, I have a story to tell – Eddie Jordan is fond of recollecting how before he gave Schumacher his first drive, he had asked him if he had driven around the Spa circuit to which Schumi promptly replied that he had, conveniently leaving out the fact that he had done so on his bike…. Jordan, of course, has no regrets considering the qualifying performance that he managed that weekend but that’s classic Schumacher. He may bend the rules a little, but he gets the job done…

Schumacher has driven us through sixteen years of unforgettable moments- the duels with Senna, Prost, Mansell and later Hakkinen, Villeneuve and Alonso, the many last minute blitz to pole position, the tears after equaling Senna’s number of race victories and more shocking ones like ramming into Villeneuve in 1997 but the picture of him that will always always remain in my memory, is him taking his victory leap on the podium, jumping onto Ross Brawn afterward and reveling in the champagne showers. The look on his face, reflecting all the joy in the world, is inspiring. Flawed genius though he maybe, that desire to win makes him an unequalled champion….

- Ranjani Murali, Guest Writer

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A long due post on Schumi. The writers have been fairly busy and hence the drop in frequency of posts. Hopefully, this situation will be amended in the near future.

Hope you enjoyed the post… let us know what you think.

Technorati Tags: Schumacher, Senna, motorsport, formula1

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Four Five races left in the calendar year and only eleven points (when the post was written, now ten) separate the leader(Fernando Alonso) and number two(Michael Schumacher) in the World Drivers Championship. Now that’s the sort of Formula One season that brings back the fans that abandoned the sport during the years of Michael Schumacher’s absolute domination. The reliability of Alonso and Renault pitted against a Ferrari resurgence and Michael Schumacher’s desperate need to win.

Two Horse Race:

The season began well in Bahrain with a tight finish for the first spot between Alonso and Michael after which Ferrari slipped in Malaysia and Australia. Thereafter it turned into a two-horse race as the two of them together won eleven of the thirteen races; Fisichella, in a rare drive surpassing his team mate in Malaysia and Button, winning for the first time on a wet track in Hungary, were the other two victors. In the other Ferrari car, Massa did a good job of helping Schumi along the way, taking valuable points off Alonso in a couple of races and managing (sometimes) to keep pace with his illustrious team mate. Fisichella, on the other hand, seemed largely uninterested in the ongoing season but for the one brilliant race in Malaysia and all the points he acquired can be attributed to Renault’s unfailing car -a sad declaration to make about a prodigiously talented driver who everyone expected would achieve much once he got an opportunity to handle a decent car.

Mclaren and Montoya

Mclaren were unchallenged as the third best car on track with Raikkonen occasionally beating his rotten luck and scoring some points. With Mclaren already having contracted Alonso for 2007, Montoya looked ready to quit F1 at the start of the season and most of his drives spoke of the same intent, until he finally did chose to leave F1 for NASCAR after causing a seven car pile-up at Indy- a “fitting” end to one of the more “exciting” drivers in the past few F1 seasons (read hasty dingus who too often pushed his car too far). In all seriousness, Montoya was one of the only things tolerable about F1 in the afore-mentioned Michael dominated years. He was not very consistent, but he fought hard and for every F1 fan, there will be many a brilliant Montoya maneuver, imprinted in your head forever.

Honda led the midfield pack, with a few good drives from Button and points from the practically invisible Barrichello, followed by BMW-Sauber and Toyota.

Bitter Jacques:

As always, F1 offers as much controversy and transfers as on track brilliance and this season was no different, with Toyota suddenly dropping sought after technical director, Mike Gascoyne, and Geoff Willis parting ways with Honda. Once again, Michael was universally berated for his disregard for rules and sportsmanship as he stalled in front of Alonso during Fernando’s final qualifying run at Monaco. He protested innocence of course but no one was really willing to believe him anymore and so he started from the pits, finishing fifth with a typically competent drive aided by a little luck. And of course, the latest of Jacques Villeneuve’s verbal attacks on Michael (there’s one every five minutes) – “He’s a racer – but a pure racer, nothing but a racer and, because of that, I think the day he hangs up his helmet people will just forget him.” Oh, and Schumi’s not a great human being and Senna played dirty tricks with greater style and will hence be remembered better than him. Really, Jacques! Even you ought to know that just sounds bitter. The man who won five continuous seasons, who battled the likes of Senna, Prost and Mansell to win his first world driver’s championship, who’s beaten Mika Hakkinen, who’s broken practically every record in the F1 books is NOT going to be forgotten. Jacques Villeneuve, proving once again that his prodigious talent deserves a better behaved vessel.

Predictions! :

With a close fight at the top, both in the drivers and construction titles, numerous verbal battles, and even Michael, Kimi and Massa undecided as to where they’re driving next year (In Michael’s case, if…), everyone should do their best to catch the remaining of the season. Alonso will no doubt give it his best shot but I expect Michael and Ferrari to emerge triumphant, simply because their car has looked better since France, and also because Michael, though the oldest on the track, still remains the man with the greatest will to win…

- MR

(Guest Writer)

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PS: MR is a good friend of ours. She is an engineering student in Chennai, who loves sports. She might be posting more regularly henceforth.

Technorati Tags: Formula1, Schumacher, Ferrari, Alonso, Renault, Mclaren, Montoya, Massa,

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