Renault
With Flavio Briatore, Pat Symonds and Fernando Alonso all having left Renault during the last year for obvious reasons, it is impossible to believe that those giants of past Renault success will not be sorely missed. The implications of Crashgate on corporate sponsorship are also evident in this year’s Renault livery. The team will be hoping that the lack of KERS complications and compromises will make for a season far better than 2009’s sole podium and devastating scandal was able to provide.
The capture of Robert Kubica is a major positive for Renault, and should be celebrated by fans of the team as tremendously positive. No longer shackled by his perceived lack of title and winning ambition from BMW-Sauber, coupled with a team that knows how to win championships, Kubica is expected to mature and flourish into a proper team leader. The speed is not in doubt, one hopes Renault can provide the rest despite all of the above legacies. Whether Kubica will stay at Renault if it proves a difficult year is another matter. The second Renault belongs to Vitaly Petrov, the first Russian F1 driver in history. While Petrov is bringing finance to the team, Renault have been quick to suggest it is a fraction of the seasonal budget for the team. Petrov was the 2009 GP2 runner up, but Romain Grosjean and Nelson Piquet Jr have already shown that GP2 success does not immediately translate to F1 success.
Williams
Williams F1 have passed through another short period of manufacturer engine supply to team up with Cosworth again for 2010, Toyota’s withdrawal from F1 and the dropping of Kazuki Nakajima being contributors to this decision. There is a worry from Williams that the same costly unreliability that plagued their early 2006 performance advantage with Cosworth will return for the start of 2010, however without the performance advantage.
Rubens Barrichello brings his considerable F1 experience to Williams as championship runner up and off the back of one of his most glittering seasons. Barrichello will probably struggle to match the highs of last season unless Williams have produced their best car in years, and if they have, Rubens has demonstrated that he still has the capacity to win races and put up a fight. While Rubens may finally enjoy unofficial number one status at Williams, the team will be grateful for his renowned ability to set a car up considering the fact that his teammate is German prodigy Nico Hulkenburg. The young rookie has a marvellous record in feeder formula series, boasting a GP2 championship, a Euro F3 championship, a dominant A1GP title and even exclusion from Formula BMW finals for questionable driving. There was never a doubt about his F1 trajectory, he has enough talent and testing experience to make a real impact this year.
BMW Sauber
While the name remains, the manufacturer does not. Peter Sauber has bought back his old team in order to ensure their position on the 2010 grid. After a thoroughly disappointing season for BMW in which they were expected to blossom as genuine title contenders, the board decided that F1 was no longer a justified activity and they withdrew. That withdrawal means Ferrari will be supplying the engines for the C29 with apparently little objection to the BMW name still being in evidence for the time being.
Sauber have hired long-time McLaren tester Pedro De La Rosa as lead driver for his technical knowledge and vast experience. From winter testing it seems that the C29 has a very strong baseline upon which to build which is good news for De La Rosa. Luca Badoer’s, and less recently Alex Wurz’s, experience in an F1 race seat have clearly not worried Peter Sauber who has faith in De La Rosa’s ability to help develop a car. This may well be due to the fact that in the other car Sauber has employed the eye-catching late-season debutant Kamui Kobayashi. Star performances at Interlagos and Abu Dhabi put Kobayashi firmly on the map, and the withdrawal of Toyota made him (and their 2010 grid slot) available. Kamui is the first Japanese driver for a while who is hired on the basis of his ability and promise alone, instead of as the by-product of an engine deal or a country’s desire to start a team for their national hero. Sauber may well be hoping that De La Rosa, 39, is able to fine tune an already promising car into a competitive machine for the racy, aggressive and fearless Kobayashi.
Force India
Is this the year that everyone really takes Vijay Mallya and Force India seriously? Podiums, points and front row starts in 2009 which were certainly no fluke have added greatly to Force India’s credibility. This season their launch was earlier as was their testing debut leading to a feeling in the team that 2010 will start positively and that points will be a regular possibility on all types of circuit. Having incorporated the double diffuser from birth, the VJM03 should build on the improvements of late 2009.
Both Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi have been retained for this year, the continuity of which will do Force India no harm at all. Considering what was possible at Spa and Monza for Force India in 2009, if this year’s car allows Sutil and Liuzzi to mix it with the points scorers more often, it really is the last chance make or break season for these guys. As the team grow stronger by the year, their ability to attract the fastest drivers will increase, so Sutil and Liuzzi really must show that their own game has risen to the point that potential opportunities are closed out with points and podiums whenever possible. Sutil will probably have the edge over Liuzzi, but episodes like Singapore will have to disappear from Adrian’s equation if his career is to take the next step. Newly-appointed reserve driver Paul Di Resta is a real talent with a fantastic record in Euro F3 and DTM, limited testing will mean he has little opportunity to stake his claim for a race seat, but the extra pressure on Liuzzi and Sutil is there already.
2010 Season Preview (Part 1) - 25/02/10
Mercedes GP
The Deutsche Dream Team, the reigning constructors’ champions Brawn GP have sold a majority stake holding to Mercedes and have successfully drawn 7-times world champion Michael Schumacher out of retirement, complete with a healthy neck. For first signing Nico Rosberg, this move was always going to be the defining of his career and legacy, either he would be current champion Button’s teammate, former champion Raikkonen’s partner or legend Schumacher’s fellow Merc driver. Despite Barrichello’s open statement of warning to Rosberg, one fails to see how Felipe Massa has suffered from his time as Schumacher’s teammate. However, whether Nico forms a similar bond with a newer, hungrier, recharged Schumi and endears himself to the Brackley squad, this key moment and period in Rosberg’s career could be the beginning of the end of it. Rosberg will be hoping to steal a march on his teammate as Schumacher gets up to speed, this is a real opportunity for Nico and must be taken advantage of.
This team last year started off with the best equipment and were still capable of race wins by the end of 2009 despite a relatively tame pace of development, a credit to the racing nous of Ross Brawn and his men. If their 2010 offering has had anything like the input of the BGP-001, and Mercedes have contributed healthily to the budget, there is true potential here. Although it should be remembered that one of the main reasons Mercedes bought into Brawn GP was their ability to succeed on a tighter budget than McLaren.
Red Bull Racing
Having tasted the sweetness of a championship battle as a constructor, having had Adrian Newey’s modern and ambitious design philosophy vindicated, having a blistering talent such as Sebastian Vettel mature into a serious and intense championship prospect and multiple race winner, having Mark Webber returning to full fitness and fresh with race winning confidence, Red Bull have just had the season BMW-Sauber dreamed of. However, with the shifting of expectations and the transitory nature of F1’s hierarchy, RBR can only be aiming to have a season that Brawn GP enjoyed in 2009.
Another season consisting of race victories may be the Promised Land for most of the grid, but Dietrich Mateschitz will expect a serious championship challenge unhampered by unreliability and costly mistakes on the racetrack. There is no reason to believe that Red Bull should not be able to build another superb car, without the need to incorporate a double diffuser mid-season resulting in compromised packaging or design. Without the car advantage RBR enjoyed last year over most teams, Mark Webber may find it hard to win races this season but Vettel is now an accepted title challenger and most likely will be for years to come.
Ferrari
In the Latin corner, weighing in mere milligrams above the (non-vetoed) regulation minimum weight, Ferrari poise themselves for what could be a serious title fight. Double world champion Fernando Alonso joins his third team in four years in a bid to add to his drivers’ titles. Once again Alonso is joining a huge team where his teammate has already firmly established roots. Fernando will be hoping the leadership, speed, focused desire and consistency of top form for which he has become renowned will swing Maranello favour in his direction. The Tifosi will take to him with ease and he will be expected to deliver immediately. If the Ferrari F10 is born a winner, Alonso’s unquestionable duty is to make it a champion.
It will be Felipe Massa’s job to stop him. The new era of no team orders at Ferrari means the boy from Brazil will be given every opportunity to use his team knowledge and hard-earned status within Maranello to give Alonso a repeat of 2007. There appear to be no lasting effects from Massa’s Hungaroring horror, but maybe that can only truly be assessed throughout a Grand Prix weekend. If indeed he is fully recovered and Ferrari have delivered a gem, then this is a huge year for Felipe. Once again partnering a multiple world champion, Massa has enough on his side, and no excuse behind which to hide.
McLaren
Once again McLaren will carry the #1 on their car, this time as a result of hiring current world champion Jenson Button to drive alongside the team talisman, Lewis Hamilton. The creation of this British F1 super-team allowed Mercedes to form Team Germany GP with Schumacher, in the process making McLaren a customer instead of a partner. Like Ferrari, it is expected that the removal of KERS systems on the McLaren will allow for a much less compromised design and rediscovered form, even though McLaren were at the sharp end again towards the latter part of 2009.
Much has been made of Jenson Button’s move to McLaren with just about every nuance of its conception drawing criticism. He’s moved for more money, but Ross Brawn would have paid him more. He’s stupid to take on Hamilton in his own back yard, but Button has said it was time for a new challenge. Unlike the situation in 2007 where Alonso partnered Hamilton, Lewis will be expected to beat Jenson convincingly this year, such is the predominant opinion on their respective talents. Button however has a marvellous opportunity to augment his reputation as a world champion who lucked into a brilliant car. If he doesn’t match Hamilton everywhere, he will have the excuse of new surroundings. If he beats Hamilton as much as he gets beaten, his stock will rise even further. Jenson’s kindness to tyres is expected to serve him well in a season where cars will run the whole race without refuelling. Lewis is expected to step up from a character-building year and use more of his newfound maturity to become world champion again.
The Deutsche Dream Team, the reigning constructors’ champions Brawn GP have sold a majority stake holding to Mercedes and have successfully drawn 7-times world champion Michael Schumacher out of retirement, complete with a healthy neck. For first signing Nico Rosberg, this move was always going to be the defining of his career and legacy, either he would be current champion Button’s teammate, former champion Raikkonen’s partner or legend Schumacher’s fellow Merc driver. Despite Barrichello’s open statement of warning to Rosberg, one fails to see how Felipe Massa has suffered from his time as Schumacher’s teammate. However, whether Nico forms a similar bond with a newer, hungrier, recharged Schumi and endears himself to the Brackley squad, this key moment and period in Rosberg’s career could be the beginning of the end of it. Rosberg will be hoping to steal a march on his teammate as Schumacher gets up to speed, this is a real opportunity for Nico and must be taken advantage of.
This team last year started off with the best equipment and were still capable of race wins by the end of 2009 despite a relatively tame pace of development, a credit to the racing nous of Ross Brawn and his men. If their 2010 offering has had anything like the input of the BGP-001, and Mercedes have contributed healthily to the budget, there is true potential here. Although it should be remembered that one of the main reasons Mercedes bought into Brawn GP was their ability to succeed on a tighter budget than McLaren.
Red Bull Racing
Having tasted the sweetness of a championship battle as a constructor, having had Adrian Newey’s modern and ambitious design philosophy vindicated, having a blistering talent such as Sebastian Vettel mature into a serious and intense championship prospect and multiple race winner, having Mark Webber returning to full fitness and fresh with race winning confidence, Red Bull have just had the season BMW-Sauber dreamed of. However, with the shifting of expectations and the transitory nature of F1’s hierarchy, RBR can only be aiming to have a season that Brawn GP enjoyed in 2009.
Another season consisting of race victories may be the Promised Land for most of the grid, but Dietrich Mateschitz will expect a serious championship challenge unhampered by unreliability and costly mistakes on the racetrack. There is no reason to believe that Red Bull should not be able to build another superb car, without the need to incorporate a double diffuser mid-season resulting in compromised packaging or design. Without the car advantage RBR enjoyed last year over most teams, Mark Webber may find it hard to win races this season but Vettel is now an accepted title challenger and most likely will be for years to come.
Ferrari
In the Latin corner, weighing in mere milligrams above the (non-vetoed) regulation minimum weight, Ferrari poise themselves for what could be a serious title fight. Double world champion Fernando Alonso joins his third team in four years in a bid to add to his drivers’ titles. Once again Alonso is joining a huge team where his teammate has already firmly established roots. Fernando will be hoping the leadership, speed, focused desire and consistency of top form for which he has become renowned will swing Maranello favour in his direction. The Tifosi will take to him with ease and he will be expected to deliver immediately. If the Ferrari F10 is born a winner, Alonso’s unquestionable duty is to make it a champion.
It will be Felipe Massa’s job to stop him. The new era of no team orders at Ferrari means the boy from Brazil will be given every opportunity to use his team knowledge and hard-earned status within Maranello to give Alonso a repeat of 2007. There appear to be no lasting effects from Massa’s Hungaroring horror, but maybe that can only truly be assessed throughout a Grand Prix weekend. If indeed he is fully recovered and Ferrari have delivered a gem, then this is a huge year for Felipe. Once again partnering a multiple world champion, Massa has enough on his side, and no excuse behind which to hide.
McLaren
Once again McLaren will carry the #1 on their car, this time as a result of hiring current world champion Jenson Button to drive alongside the team talisman, Lewis Hamilton. The creation of this British F1 super-team allowed Mercedes to form Team Germany GP with Schumacher, in the process making McLaren a customer instead of a partner. Like Ferrari, it is expected that the removal of KERS systems on the McLaren will allow for a much less compromised design and rediscovered form, even though McLaren were at the sharp end again towards the latter part of 2009.
Much has been made of Jenson Button’s move to McLaren with just about every nuance of its conception drawing criticism. He’s moved for more money, but Ross Brawn would have paid him more. He’s stupid to take on Hamilton in his own back yard, but Button has said it was time for a new challenge. Unlike the situation in 2007 where Alonso partnered Hamilton, Lewis will be expected to beat Jenson convincingly this year, such is the predominant opinion on their respective talents. Button however has a marvellous opportunity to augment his reputation as a world champion who lucked into a brilliant car. If he doesn’t match Hamilton everywhere, he will have the excuse of new surroundings. If he beats Hamilton as much as he gets beaten, his stock will rise even further. Jenson’s kindness to tyres is expected to serve him well in a season where cars will run the whole race without refuelling. Lewis is expected to step up from a character-building year and use more of his newfound maturity to become world champion again.
Brazilian Grand Prix 2009 Part 2- 27/10/09
With the celebrations in full swing at Interlagos, and Jenson Button having been on fire as opposed to his ‘08 Honda, it was easy to forget what else transpired in Brazil. Excluding Michael Schumacher’s memorable charge through the Interlagos field during his 2006 swansong, the last time we saw such an impressive aggressive scalpel cut through the field was Nico Rosberg on his Bahrain debut in the same year. On the way to setting the fastest lap of the race, we were afforded a glimpse of a future champion, or so we thought. But is it fair to have expected Nico to have achieved more in the three and a half years since then?
This season has predictably been a case of horses for courses, and Williams’s constant early season chart-topping practice performances flattered to deceive. Having said that, Rosberg has produced a consistent string of good points finishes just short of a podium during a season where many teams have had flashes of frontrunning competitiveness. What is not in question is that having been fastest in Q2 and running in a podium position, Williams and Rosberg should have left Brazil with more than one broken gearbox and Nakajima’s crushed FW31.
Nakajima was helped into race and possibly career retirement by Toyota debutant Kamui Kobayashi, who despite that ‘racing incident’ had a promising weekend. His positive exposure was of course helped awfully by the fact that his most noteworthy battle was with the world champion elect, but Kamui didn’t disappoint. He fought Button without a hint of appearing out of his depth, not to mention having qualified in an accomplished 11th place. Toyota will have been eager to have Glock back in the car for Abu Dhabi as it will be the sort of track that suits his abilities. As Kobayashi remains in the Toyota, his undoubtedly impressed employers will ask for more care and courtesy in braking zones, Kamui has already made his point and his claim. It should not however be forgotten that Nakajima himself made an interesting debut at Interlagos not so long ago, and is now staring an F1 exit full in the face. Longevity and success in Formula 1 is about much more than a memorable debut, something Nico Rosberg knows all too well.
The second Toyota of Jarno Trulli and Adrian Sutil’s Force India were involved in another quite spectacular ‘racing incident’ very early on that also accounted for Fernando Alonso’s Renault. The resulting safety car rescued Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen’s afternoon. Hamilton was able to use a stop under safety car conditions to effectively eliminate the weaker tyre stage and move onto a strong one stop strategy. Starting 17th, finishing 3rd and passing a desperate Rubens Barrichello was also worthy of being called a champion’s drive. It’s a shame that Lewis’s pass on Rubens resulted in a puncture for the home favourite, effectively handing the title to Button. On the podium, it seemed that Hamilton was bereft of any joy amidst the realisation that he was no longer the world champion, no longer driver of car number 1.
Aside from world championships, big screen debuts, massive crashes and pitlane flash fires, someone actually won the race. Mark Webber qualified his Red Bull second with a strategic fuel load, allowed Rubens to lead the first stint and passed him during the pitstops while the entertainment unfolded behind him. Webber’s whole weekend and race victory was massive for him, but as events transpired, somewhat inconsequential in the closing context of 2009. This is a shame because as all eyes were elsewhere, he was quietly achieving what people had placed far above him throughout his career. Presumably, with a fully healed leg and race victories now under his belt, an improved 2010 Red Bull (Cosworth?) will be Webber’s last chance at a championship. One feels however that if the next Adrian Newey creation is a reliable frontrunner, it will be championed by Sebastian Vettel, who has silently transformed from a Little Britain-quoting darling of the paddock to a very serious and intense Formula 1 driver, worthy of all the fear and respect the others can afford.
This season has predictably been a case of horses for courses, and Williams’s constant early season chart-topping practice performances flattered to deceive. Having said that, Rosberg has produced a consistent string of good points finishes just short of a podium during a season where many teams have had flashes of frontrunning competitiveness. What is not in question is that having been fastest in Q2 and running in a podium position, Williams and Rosberg should have left Brazil with more than one broken gearbox and Nakajima’s crushed FW31.
Nakajima was helped into race and possibly career retirement by Toyota debutant Kamui Kobayashi, who despite that ‘racing incident’ had a promising weekend. His positive exposure was of course helped awfully by the fact that his most noteworthy battle was with the world champion elect, but Kamui didn’t disappoint. He fought Button without a hint of appearing out of his depth, not to mention having qualified in an accomplished 11th place. Toyota will have been eager to have Glock back in the car for Abu Dhabi as it will be the sort of track that suits his abilities. As Kobayashi remains in the Toyota, his undoubtedly impressed employers will ask for more care and courtesy in braking zones, Kamui has already made his point and his claim. It should not however be forgotten that Nakajima himself made an interesting debut at Interlagos not so long ago, and is now staring an F1 exit full in the face. Longevity and success in Formula 1 is about much more than a memorable debut, something Nico Rosberg knows all too well.
The second Toyota of Jarno Trulli and Adrian Sutil’s Force India were involved in another quite spectacular ‘racing incident’ very early on that also accounted for Fernando Alonso’s Renault. The resulting safety car rescued Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen’s afternoon. Hamilton was able to use a stop under safety car conditions to effectively eliminate the weaker tyre stage and move onto a strong one stop strategy. Starting 17th, finishing 3rd and passing a desperate Rubens Barrichello was also worthy of being called a champion’s drive. It’s a shame that Lewis’s pass on Rubens resulted in a puncture for the home favourite, effectively handing the title to Button. On the podium, it seemed that Hamilton was bereft of any joy amidst the realisation that he was no longer the world champion, no longer driver of car number 1.
Aside from world championships, big screen debuts, massive crashes and pitlane flash fires, someone actually won the race. Mark Webber qualified his Red Bull second with a strategic fuel load, allowed Rubens to lead the first stint and passed him during the pitstops while the entertainment unfolded behind him. Webber’s whole weekend and race victory was massive for him, but as events transpired, somewhat inconsequential in the closing context of 2009. This is a shame because as all eyes were elsewhere, he was quietly achieving what people had placed far above him throughout his career. Presumably, with a fully healed leg and race victories now under his belt, an improved 2010 Red Bull (Cosworth?) will be Webber’s last chance at a championship. One feels however that if the next Adrian Newey creation is a reliable frontrunner, it will be championed by Sebastian Vettel, who has silently transformed from a Little Britain-quoting darling of the paddock to a very serious and intense Formula 1 driver, worthy of all the fear and respect the others can afford.
Brazilian Grand Prix 2009 - 26/10/09
It´s the Brazilian Grand Prix and the home favourite, the title challenger, started on pole position. The Englishman in car 22 is within touching distance of his first world championship. Inevitably it ends in heartbreak for the thousands of Paulistas gathered there to cheer on He Who Would Emulate Ayrton. The Englishman in his British car and its German heart finished 5th, finally having passed the labouring but impressive and combative Toyota, but behind the flying young German wonderkid and his energy drink, the star of the future. That was 2008.
In 2009, history saw fit to shatter those collected hearts once more as Jenson Button driving a Brawn Mercedes joined Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren Mercedes on the champions´ list. This was no cruise-to-collect drive though, Button forcefully and purposefully overcame the obstacles of his own creation to seal the title in resonating fashion. Some called it a champion’s drive, and certainly pulling off that many aggressive overtaking moves with so much at stake, climbing from 14th to 5th in the process was the mark of a tremendous driver. However, in a slightly alternate championship context it could have been viewed so differently. After all, without Barrichello’s puncture, all 3 of Button’s title rivals would have finished ahead of him with Vettel even getting in front having started behind.
As it was though, the championship situation was such that Jenson only needed to come home with a handful of points to wrap up the prize, and instead he blasted his way through the midfield and into respectable points. Despite Rubens starting on pole and scampering away, despite Webber’s magnificent chase and overhaul of Barrichello, despite Hamilton’s incredible rise from 17th to 3rd, Jenson hogged the camera and thrilled with his textbook manoeuvres which is more than can be said for Trulli and Sutil, Rubens and Lewis, Kobayashi and Nakajima. Button’s recent woeful qualifying performances remain the sole question mark over an otherwise faultless campaign.
How deserving Button is of the title has somehow become a topic of debate in the latter half of the year. Undoubtedly, world champions in their hallmark season are expected to challenge for race wins at practically every meeting, but Button’s pace in qualifying has restricted him to midfield starts and mountains to climb on race day. A string of 9 races yielding only one podium stands in stark contrast to six wins out of seven races at the start of the season. Nevertheless, mountains he has climbed. Button has on nearly every occasion moved forward during the race and kept out of trouble, constantly putting pressure on his title rivals to push it as far as it can go because they know Jenson will always score points and barring the odd Grosjean, finish.
Facts are nice, they can support either side of the argument for a worthy champion. As well as the aforementioned downturn in race victories, the facts show that in his championship season Button has so far won more races and had more fastest laps than Hamilton did in 2008, he’s had fewer penalties, he hasn’t caused any controversial accidents or performed any questionable race antics. As expected, Hamilton’s qualifying record is better in his championship year than Button’s, 7 poles to 4. This season alone Button has twice as many wins as his nearest competitor (Vettel), the same number of poles and fastest laps as his nearest competitor (Vettel), but you know what they say about statistics. The overall picture, and fact, is that Jenson Button is the most deserving recipient of the World Championship this year. How that stacks up against previous world championship campaigns by drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen however, is a different story.
In 2009, history saw fit to shatter those collected hearts once more as Jenson Button driving a Brawn Mercedes joined Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren Mercedes on the champions´ list. This was no cruise-to-collect drive though, Button forcefully and purposefully overcame the obstacles of his own creation to seal the title in resonating fashion. Some called it a champion’s drive, and certainly pulling off that many aggressive overtaking moves with so much at stake, climbing from 14th to 5th in the process was the mark of a tremendous driver. However, in a slightly alternate championship context it could have been viewed so differently. After all, without Barrichello’s puncture, all 3 of Button’s title rivals would have finished ahead of him with Vettel even getting in front having started behind.
As it was though, the championship situation was such that Jenson only needed to come home with a handful of points to wrap up the prize, and instead he blasted his way through the midfield and into respectable points. Despite Rubens starting on pole and scampering away, despite Webber’s magnificent chase and overhaul of Barrichello, despite Hamilton’s incredible rise from 17th to 3rd, Jenson hogged the camera and thrilled with his textbook manoeuvres which is more than can be said for Trulli and Sutil, Rubens and Lewis, Kobayashi and Nakajima. Button’s recent woeful qualifying performances remain the sole question mark over an otherwise faultless campaign.
How deserving Button is of the title has somehow become a topic of debate in the latter half of the year. Undoubtedly, world champions in their hallmark season are expected to challenge for race wins at practically every meeting, but Button’s pace in qualifying has restricted him to midfield starts and mountains to climb on race day. A string of 9 races yielding only one podium stands in stark contrast to six wins out of seven races at the start of the season. Nevertheless, mountains he has climbed. Button has on nearly every occasion moved forward during the race and kept out of trouble, constantly putting pressure on his title rivals to push it as far as it can go because they know Jenson will always score points and barring the odd Grosjean, finish.
Facts are nice, they can support either side of the argument for a worthy champion. As well as the aforementioned downturn in race victories, the facts show that in his championship season Button has so far won more races and had more fastest laps than Hamilton did in 2008, he’s had fewer penalties, he hasn’t caused any controversial accidents or performed any questionable race antics. As expected, Hamilton’s qualifying record is better in his championship year than Button’s, 7 poles to 4. This season alone Button has twice as many wins as his nearest competitor (Vettel), the same number of poles and fastest laps as his nearest competitor (Vettel), but you know what they say about statistics. The overall picture, and fact, is that Jenson Button is the most deserving recipient of the World Championship this year. How that stacks up against previous world championship campaigns by drivers such as Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen however, is a different story.
Italian Grand Prix 2009 - 17/09/09
Beneath the growing shadow of Renault’s race-fixing allegations, the 2009 Italian Grand Prix took place. This was a race of returns. The return on McLaren’s enormous investment into the originally woeful MP-4/24 was a return for Lewis Hamilton to the front of the grid in recent events, re-united with Adrian Sutil on the front row of a race event at Monza. The return of the Brawn team to the top steps of the podium in 2009, which has sounded the death knell for Red Bull’s championship aspirations. The return of the old Jordan crew, now Force India, to giant-killing ways has led to the return of Vitantonio Liuzzi to the limelight in Formula 1. Finally the return of the ghost of Nelson Piquet Jr’s 2008 Singapore GP has resulted in the resignation of Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds. In fact, just about the only team not making headlines at the Italian Grand Prix was Ferrari.
From 1st and 4th on the Monza grid, McLaren would have expected better than having Hamilton leapfrogged by the Brawns and subsequently binning it on the last lap as well as having Kovalainen suffer such a catastrophic opening stint. Heikki and McLaren failed to make his one stop strategy benefit them over the race distance in the way that Barrichello, Button and Raikkonen were able to profit from theirs, adding to the ever-growing list of disappointing race day outcomes for the McLaren No.2. Lewis delivered all that could be expected of him in his first and second stints, and even for the best part of the third stint. Opinion is very split down the middle as to the wisdom of Hamilton’s end of race rampage and the subsequent shrapnel. While many have flocked to the defence of World Champion Hamilton’s unyielding racing spirit, equally as many have questioned the risking of 6 driver’s and constructor’s points in addition to the associated financial bonus and podium glory on the last lap when Button was seemingly uncatchable. On the one hand you can understand that his competitors realise he will push beyond a reasonable limit right up until the very last yard and that has its benefits for Hamilton, but on the other hand it has granted them a psychological footnote that on the ragged edge, at a crucial time in a race even with full focus, Lewis is still capable of dropping the ball spectacularly. One thing you cannot dispute is the entertainment value of having a driver like this in F1, and any attraction to the racing side of the sport is thoroughly welcome this season.
Conversely, Brawn GP will be ecstatic at how the Monza weekend unfolded for them. Their textbook execution of a smart one-stop strategy beginning with a positive and forceful opening lap for both Barrichello and Button has catapulted them once again into the sole championship spotlight. Rubens had the better weekend, qualifying ahead of Button with a lap more worth of juice and making the tyres work for him throughout the stints, unlike Button who struggled in the opening section of each stint only to find better pace towards the latter half of each segment. While Brawn may secretly have hoped for Jenson to take the lion’s share of the points in order to tie up both championships as soon as possible thereby allowing them to focus entirely on next year, Rubens winning races and showing his most ebullient racing colours can only be good for overall team morale and Formula 1. Seeing a downtrodden, suspicious Rubens end his career in the shadow of his teammate (again) is far less preferable than having two previously forgotten drivers going at it hammer and tongs for the rest of the season in marvellous machinery while having the greatest of respect for each other. Those who are supporting Jenson will also be greatly heartened to see him defeat a resurgent Barrichello in the final races of the season and really wrap up the title in style. Melbourne-style, Bahrain-style, Barcelona-style, Turkey-style, Monaco-style. Jenson had the last (unintentional) Monza laugh though when he inadvertently questioned the sexual persuasion of the second Lesmo corner during the TV press conference. Watch and listen carefully to the world feed at around 2’33.
This week’s episode of the Ferrari vs Force India war was waged between Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil. In hindsight one cannot help but feel that a lap or two’s worth of extra fuel may really have paid dividends for Sutil seeing as how Kimi was always going to rocket ahead of him and the way things went for Kovalainen and his cumbersome fuel load. An extra lap on low fuel for Sutil could have made all the difference. As it happens though, when Sutil is facing the possibility of points and there is a hint of Kimi in the air, he must hit something. Sure enough, the unfortunate recipient was one of Sutil’s own pit crew. With Ferrari and Raikkonen also botching their pit stop, this was the moment that slick Force India pitwork would have reaped the sweetest reward, but it was not to be. BBC’s featured coverage of Force India pit stops to the calming soundtrack of Sigur Ros in their pre-race build-ups may well need to be broadcast in the Force India briefings! Unwarranted ridicule aside, this was a tremendous result and follow-up performance by Force India when you consider the mightily impressive return of Tonio Liuzzi in the sister car. Qualifying 7th on his 2009 debut and going so well in the race, he deserved better than a retirement. Liuzzi has however placed himself firmly back on the F1 map, capably occupying the seat vacated by Ferrari newboy Fisichella whose own Italian GP weekend was undoubtedly disappointing for him.
No current piece of F1 writing is complete without a mention of the Renault race-fixing scandal sadly, and the consequences of the aftermath will be long-remembered. Fernando Alonso’s name is once again linked to thoroughly distasteful sporting malpractice after a painful season spent rebuilding a tarnished reputation. One hopes for his sake and that of F1 that what emerges over the next few days does not tar him the way Michael Schumacher’s transgressions coloured people’s view of his glittering and worthy career.
All eyes on Romain Grosjean at the 2009 Grand Prix of Singapore…
From 1st and 4th on the Monza grid, McLaren would have expected better than having Hamilton leapfrogged by the Brawns and subsequently binning it on the last lap as well as having Kovalainen suffer such a catastrophic opening stint. Heikki and McLaren failed to make his one stop strategy benefit them over the race distance in the way that Barrichello, Button and Raikkonen were able to profit from theirs, adding to the ever-growing list of disappointing race day outcomes for the McLaren No.2. Lewis delivered all that could be expected of him in his first and second stints, and even for the best part of the third stint. Opinion is very split down the middle as to the wisdom of Hamilton’s end of race rampage and the subsequent shrapnel. While many have flocked to the defence of World Champion Hamilton’s unyielding racing spirit, equally as many have questioned the risking of 6 driver’s and constructor’s points in addition to the associated financial bonus and podium glory on the last lap when Button was seemingly uncatchable. On the one hand you can understand that his competitors realise he will push beyond a reasonable limit right up until the very last yard and that has its benefits for Hamilton, but on the other hand it has granted them a psychological footnote that on the ragged edge, at a crucial time in a race even with full focus, Lewis is still capable of dropping the ball spectacularly. One thing you cannot dispute is the entertainment value of having a driver like this in F1, and any attraction to the racing side of the sport is thoroughly welcome this season.
Conversely, Brawn GP will be ecstatic at how the Monza weekend unfolded for them. Their textbook execution of a smart one-stop strategy beginning with a positive and forceful opening lap for both Barrichello and Button has catapulted them once again into the sole championship spotlight. Rubens had the better weekend, qualifying ahead of Button with a lap more worth of juice and making the tyres work for him throughout the stints, unlike Button who struggled in the opening section of each stint only to find better pace towards the latter half of each segment. While Brawn may secretly have hoped for Jenson to take the lion’s share of the points in order to tie up both championships as soon as possible thereby allowing them to focus entirely on next year, Rubens winning races and showing his most ebullient racing colours can only be good for overall team morale and Formula 1. Seeing a downtrodden, suspicious Rubens end his career in the shadow of his teammate (again) is far less preferable than having two previously forgotten drivers going at it hammer and tongs for the rest of the season in marvellous machinery while having the greatest of respect for each other. Those who are supporting Jenson will also be greatly heartened to see him defeat a resurgent Barrichello in the final races of the season and really wrap up the title in style. Melbourne-style, Bahrain-style, Barcelona-style, Turkey-style, Monaco-style. Jenson had the last (unintentional) Monza laugh though when he inadvertently questioned the sexual persuasion of the second Lesmo corner during the TV press conference. Watch and listen carefully to the world feed at around 2’33.
This week’s episode of the Ferrari vs Force India war was waged between Kimi Raikkonen and Adrian Sutil. In hindsight one cannot help but feel that a lap or two’s worth of extra fuel may really have paid dividends for Sutil seeing as how Kimi was always going to rocket ahead of him and the way things went for Kovalainen and his cumbersome fuel load. An extra lap on low fuel for Sutil could have made all the difference. As it happens though, when Sutil is facing the possibility of points and there is a hint of Kimi in the air, he must hit something. Sure enough, the unfortunate recipient was one of Sutil’s own pit crew. With Ferrari and Raikkonen also botching their pit stop, this was the moment that slick Force India pitwork would have reaped the sweetest reward, but it was not to be. BBC’s featured coverage of Force India pit stops to the calming soundtrack of Sigur Ros in their pre-race build-ups may well need to be broadcast in the Force India briefings! Unwarranted ridicule aside, this was a tremendous result and follow-up performance by Force India when you consider the mightily impressive return of Tonio Liuzzi in the sister car. Qualifying 7th on his 2009 debut and going so well in the race, he deserved better than a retirement. Liuzzi has however placed himself firmly back on the F1 map, capably occupying the seat vacated by Ferrari newboy Fisichella whose own Italian GP weekend was undoubtedly disappointing for him.
No current piece of F1 writing is complete without a mention of the Renault race-fixing scandal sadly, and the consequences of the aftermath will be long-remembered. Fernando Alonso’s name is once again linked to thoroughly distasteful sporting malpractice after a painful season spent rebuilding a tarnished reputation. One hopes for his sake and that of F1 that what emerges over the next few days does not tar him the way Michael Schumacher’s transgressions coloured people’s view of his glittering and worthy career.
All eyes on Romain Grosjean at the 2009 Grand Prix of Singapore…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
