Formula 1 needs to get its house in order

Formula 1 never sleeps. It’s only been a short few months since Lewis Hamilton won his second world championship and already the teams are preparing to commence battle once again as testing kicks off tomorrow at Jerez in Spain. The preparation started long ago, and developments will be coming thick and fast from the first test onwards.

Of course a sport that never sleeps sometimes suffers from sleep depravation which is why Formula 1 seems to make so many issues for itself. Bernie Ecclestone has been brilliant in building Formula 1 up to the global phenomenon it is today but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t got some things wrong.

In fact as the 2015 machines take to the track there’s a lot of issues still raging. How can a sport which generates billions not keep 12 teams on the grid? Why are classic races being forced off the calendar making way for countries which have no hope of filling the grandstands? Why are the tickets so outrageously expensive?

The answer to most of these is money and the private equity firm CVC which Bernie sold the promotional rights to while still running the sport himself. They do little promoting though but are more than happy to suck every last penny out of the sport while seeing it go to pot.

We should’ve been rejoicing about what sensational power units were created last year, how efficient but fast they were not how quiet they were. Yes, the noise takes away a little impact live, but once the race is underway you soon forgot it and on television it doesn’t matter.

We should have been remarking how excellent the racing was, how close the wheel to wheel combat was and what a brilliant fight to the end of the championship we had. But we didn’t, we talked about the sport losing viewers, teams falling off the grid, the uneven distribution of money for the teams.

These make people question the product, but there’s nothing wrong with what’s on the race track. They need to take a look at how it’s promoted. Reach out to the fans, to the younger viewers (note to Bernie, they’re important for the future) through social media, which even now is only just beginning to be looked at by the sport properly. Also maybe if you don’t want to lose viewers, don’t sell the television rights to pay TV channels. Now there’s a thought.

This has all been created by Bernie, or if you want to go further back to 2000 by the FIA’s then president Max Mosley selling the commercial rights to Bernie for a cheaper than cheap fee and for 100 years at that. It enabled Bernie to do what he does best and make money and dividing the teams with various commercial deals that split the grid into haves and the have absolutely nothing.

There’s plenty of detail that can be gotten into, but the gist of it is that Formula 1 which has the fastest cars in the world supposedly driven by the best drivers now has less than 20 cars on the grid, many of which are driven by drivers who have to bring a tremendous amount of sponsorship to even get a seat, usurping many better drivers who simply don’t have the backing.

That’s not right for the supposed pinnacle of motor sport. Not that the teams will come together to thrash out appropriate cost reductions or the FIA will step in even though it is technically their championship. The FIA is weak while the teams mainly think only of themselves. It’s a survival of the fittest sport and none will want to give up an advantage.

I’m a huge fan of the sport, I love the idea of the best drivers, driven by such focus and desire to be the best in the world climbing into their state of the art machines and taking them to the edge. This is Formula 1 at its purest.

But it hasn’t been pure for a very long time, and there will continue to be clashes. In the end I just want to enjoy what’s on the track and as a fan I’m in mind to just ignore it and hope the problems go away and concentrate on the racing, which I think is the basic premise of most teams attitudes and particularly Bernie Ecclestone and CVC.

That’s not the way though, it’s time for a change and a fresh approach at the top of the sport, give the money to the teams, let them pick the best drivers, not the biggest wallet and open the sport to the fans and reduce costs for circuits so you don’t rip a hole in the traditions and soul of the sport. But the racing? Leave that alone, it’s great, time to start shouting positively about it as the cars hit the track.

all photos taken from autosport.com

Can Bianchi's crash improve F1 safety?

Jules Bianchi crashed at yesterday’s Japanese Grand Prix, striking a digger that was recovering Adrian Sutil’s Sauber after it had crashed at the same turn 7 a lap previously. He suffered a severe head injury that has been operated on and is currently in intensive care at the Mie General Medical Centre in Yokkaichi. The world of Formula 1 is now reflecting on what could have been done better to prevent such an accident happening again. They must analyse but there also must not be knee jerk reactions that affect the sport in a detrimental way.

Formula 1 has not suffered a death at a Grand Prix for over twenty years now. Since 1994 the sport has had a few broken legs, a couple of concussions and the dreadful accident of Felipe Massa during the Hungarian Grand Prix weekend in 2009 where he fractured his skull from which he made a full recovery. It has come so far in terms of safety but there is always room for improvement. But first of all would we even be discussing safety if Bianchi had missed the recovery vehicle? Probably not but we should have been as regards recovery vehicles on track.

When rain is pouring down and getting stronger and a car has already gone off with light fading should there be an immediate safety car? There are many instances where if one car has gone off another might follow. Look at the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix or the 2007 European Grand Prix where cars only just missed a recovery vehicle. Only a few weeks ago for the American round of the World Endurance Championship, over 10 cars went off at the first turn on the same lap because the rain had become too much. These warnings were not taken on board but such is hindsight.

Yesterday the original Sutil crash was covered by double waved yellow flags, which means slow down and be prepared to stop. It alerts the drivers to the presence of machinery and marshals on or near to the track. However as much as drivers might lift off, they’re still going at speed. Perhaps in future in these sort of conditions, and even in the dry, before a digger or other safety vehicle can come on track a safety car must be called to neutralise the race.

Martin Brundle almost had a similar accident in 1994 at the same circuit, just missing the recovery vehicle but striking a marshal, he has been advocating something being done about this for years.

Another option if possible would be to make circuits have more cranes so as to pluck the cars off the track without the need for a recovery vehicle, although it wouldn’t always be possible. Therefore we can eliminate the use of a safety car to slow racing after every accident which is what 1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has said today.

I’m not sure all incidents need to be covered by the safety car, in the Formula 1 world where we have increasingly sanitised race tracks with large run off areas, it’s not always necessary. It’s no coincidence that Suzuka is a favourite amongst the drivers because it’s a challenge but it’s also one of the more dangerous with limited run off, it gives them an extra thrill. However, maybe in the aim of prevention it is time to deploy the safety car if ever there’s a car on track that needs a recovery vehicle, especially in the rain.

There are also questions about whether the race should have been moved to an earlier start time because of the impending typhoon approaching the area. In the end as the drivers have admitted, conditions weren’t too bad. I think it should have been moved as they had advance warning of possible torrential rain, but purely because the 3pm start time doesn’t leave a lot of room in case a race is delayed as dark descends at 5.30pm at this time of year in Suzuka. The FIA asked if circuit owners wanted it moved but it was deemed unnecessary because of ticket holders getting to the track on time. I don’t think it had anything to do with TV coverage especially as the FIA were the ones asking if it should be moved.

Further to that it was wet all day, the Bianchi accident could have happened at any time of day such were the conditions affecting Suzuka so in the end when the race started had no on the accident and the organisers were right in the end. After scouring the F1 press, there was another call from the Guardian newspaper for canopies covering the cockpits.

The head is the most exposed part of a driver in single seater racing and there have been times when you wince as a car comes near a drivers head such as Vitantonio Liuzzi launching near to Michael Schumacher's head in Abu Dhabi 2010 or Romain Grosjean going over the top of Fernando Alonso's head in Belgium 2012. Recent tests regarding them are ongoing. In Bianchi’s accident I don’t think a canopy would have made much difference, in fact it could have made things worse. It looks like his car went partially underneath the digger, if it had gone headfirst a canopy might have trapped him in the cockpit, or caused more damage to his person.

A canopy might be good for preventing wheels or other pieces hitting the head at speed, but in an accident when striking a large vehicle such as this, which should never happen, but its debateable whether it would have made any difference. And my personal view is that covering the cockpits takes away part of the drama of Formula 1, it’s a step too far. With wheel tethers in place and helmet safety constantly being improved I don’t think there’s a need for canopies. Next they’ll want guards over the wheels which might as well make them look like small LMP1 cars from the WEC, you just need to cover the suspension.

Formula 1 and single seater racing in general is open wheel and open cockpit, I think it’s part of the essence of the sport. Pick the right spot at a race track and there isn’t something more impressive than seeing a driver battle with his machinery.

I think as long as Formula 1 learns from this accident then they can keep the sport at an acceptable danger level because Grand Prix racing is inherently dangerous, it’s never going to be completely safe when you strap a man or woman into a 200mph car and ask them to push it to the maximum. It of course has to be an acceptable risk for the drivers to participate, although if things hadn’t become so safe, I don’t think there’s a single driver out there who wouldn’t still be pushing for all their worth.

I often think of F1 drivers as modern day gladiators. Their arena is the race tracks of the world, their weapons the machines they drive to the limit, sometimes beyond. It’s hard to grasp just what kind of skill they possess to keep their cars on the limit of adhesion as they battle wheel to wheel for the glory of winning. It’s as true now as it was when the sport started.

For many drivers that danger is like a drug, the thrill, the surge of adrenalin as they push the fastest cars in the world in their pursuit of victory. It’s like no feeling in the world to them dancing on the line between life and death. Obviously they want to race in the knowledge that everything is being done in regards to safety but you know it can’t be completely safe, I think many of them like it that way, witness Kimi Raikkonen, foot flat to the floor in Spa ploughing through a cloud of smoke at the top of Eau Rouge which he had no idea what it was covering. Foolhardy or impressive?

For us mere mortals watching from the comfort of our sofas it’s an admiration that these supremely fit athletes push their machines and bodies in conditions that we would immediately wilt in. Theirs is a sport that can take them to the edge of life as they confront extreme heat, battle the rain, the g-forces, and they do it willingly to feel alive, to be the best, to live their dreams. They are singularly focused people who will not give up on what they want. Most drivers who reach Formula 1 have been craving a desire to be in the ultimate sporting combination of man and machine since they were children.

They’ve pushed themselves, fought hard, never backed down and maintained their passion and drive to succeed through all kinds of sporting setbacks, but they’ll pick themselves up and continue to push to achieve what they set out to do.

Even the drivers at the back of the grid are exceptionally gifted. Bianchi is one such driver, meant for greater things than the brilliant two points he took for ninth place driving for back of the grid Marussia. A Ferrari Academy driver, he seemed destined to move up the grid and go for glory.

At Suzuka he was once again leading the Marussia and Caterham battle pushing hard in a car that in general terms is not a match for the midfield bunch let alone the top cars. But he was doing something he loved, pushing to the maximum. Hopefully he can make a full recovery from his injuries and continue his rise up the Formula 1 ranks. 


all photos taken from autosport.com except canopy picture from formula1.com

Formula e to electrify motor sport?

There’s one motor racing series which is embracing modern technology and attempting to push the boundaries of how we go motor racing. The competitive edge will help to drive technology forward that will drip feed down in to the automotive industry, therefore making it a relevant and pioneering series.

It has embraced social media reaching out to the tech savvy and younger generations and even made the sport interactive, while it has constantly been running demonstrations and encompassing a more even approach with the teams all working (for the time being) on a similar level. Of course this isn’t Formula 1, the sports bosses wouldn’t want to waste time finding out what fans want, this is the FIA sanctioned Formula e, the newest form of motor sport to divert fully from the combustion engine to electrical power due for the off in September.

It’s a modern 21^st century world championship that encompasses the aforementioned power systems, one day events in which practice sessions, qualifying and the race all take place in city centres emphasising its green credentials further by making it easily accessible by public transport. It’s being healthily promoted through the means of social media, there have been many video updates and test days have been promoted for the public to attend as an event to see what this new venture is all about.

As it's website says it’s core ethos is about ‘energy, environment andentertainment’ representing ‘a vision of the motor industry over the coming decades, serving as a framework for R&D around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in these cars and promoting sustainability.’

The power produced is 270bhp in qualifying trim down to 200bhp when racing. That doesn’t sound much at the moment but I’m sure if this series proves to be a success then the that power output will steadily increase. The sound is very futuristic, with a pretty compelling whooshing noise that sort of turns into a scream. The cars look fairly good and are infused with technology by McLaren, Williams and Renault. There’s no stupid looking noses, and added to that the series doesn’t get a double points round at the end to undermine the previous rounds of the championship.

The cars this year are all the same but from the second year of this project all 10 teams will be allowed to design and build their own cars to use that to advance the technology quicker in the competitive environment. The teams are mostly well established in the motor racing world and include names such as Audi, Andretti, Dams and Virgin while the calendar includes two races in the USA as well as events in Monaco, Germany and the UK.  

The driving standard is pretty high with a lot of ex-formula 1 drivers participating including the likes of Bruno Senna, Nick Heidfeld, Jarno Trulli and Jaime Alguersuari. It also includes two female drivers, Katherine Legge and Michela Cerruti who have both shown their speed in other series.

It really seems to me that a lot of thought has been put into this championship and it is doing what motor racing is often for, to advance technology for the motor industry while having a lot of exciting on-track action (which admittedly remains to be seen).

There are a few causes for concern, they have allowed a rather stupid gimmick of a ‘fan boost’ where the likes of you and me can vote for our favourite driver to receive a power boost during the race. That smacks of artificial nonsense, it could well end up with the same driver getting the boost at every round, although it has made many of the drivers turn to twitter to appeal for votes which I guess helps with driver/audience interaction.

The other thing I find a little off-putting is that during the course of the one hour races the drivers will have to change cars to make it to the end as the battery life will not last long enough to complete the distance. This is something I’m sure will be dropped in the future as the technology advances and the batteries last longer, but I think the general perception is that with a few exceptions, electric cars don’t go very fast and not for very long, so to see the drivers having to hop out mid-race to get a new car kind of solidifies that point of view, especially when you realise that a GP3 car, two rungs down from Formula 1 produces over 100bhp more. I possibly would have reduced the race distance until they didn't need to do that.

But I think these will be minor quibbles and as all the races will be on street tracks, they’ll look plenty fast. The noise is a concern as has been seen in F1 this year, but this series is starting off with their unique sound, so I don’t see it being a problem. As I’ve said it sounds rather futuristic, which is their whole philosophy anyway.

It makes me wonder how Formula 1’s bosses will react to this series if it proves to be a success. They have a decent first calendar, professional outfits and good driver names, many of which should probably be in Formula 1 if it weren’t for some teams need for drivers with a budget.Their inclusion of social media is surely a must for any national or international sport these days to connect with the fans who will at the end of the day, fund the sport. There is a danger that e could make 1 look a bit like a dinosaur. In a way it’s great that the hybrid power trains F1 now uses have come into effect in terms of relevance.

It’s still going to be hard for Formula e, Formula 1 spent a long time being a sport nobody watched until it became the global behemoth it is today. Formula e lacks the cache, the names, the glamour and even in this age, the noise of a world motor sport series that F1 has. However, I think if you compared the two sports as they stand right now you’d say Formula e has a clear direction, it has an electrical charge of modernity, it feels fresh while F1 seems to be in a state of permanent conflict where no one can agree with anything and they constantly talk themselves down despite the racing being absolutely superb this year.

It of course remains to be seen how this championship will be received by the wider public or whether it’ll be a niche series that like other global motor sports gets swallowed by the general public's perception that F1 is motor racing. I don’t think this series can overtake F1 as the standard bearer of motor racing, to be fair it’s CEO Alejandro Agag has never claimed to be a direct rival to Formula 1, but I do think it can be a success. Find out what it’s like for yourself, the first round is on the 13^th September 2014 in China with the finale in London on 27^th June next year. 

all photo's taken from autosport.com

FIA look to ban FRIC suspension systems

According to autosport.com the Front-and-Rear Interconnected Suspension that most teams use in Formula 1 could be banned before the German Grand Prix. The FIA has left the door open for the ban to be put back until 2015 but that will require unanimous support from all the teams.

Mercedes are thought to have the most advanced system and one which is one of the major strengths of their current dominant car. The chances of all teams agreeing to delay the ban then are slim one would have thought as some teams may not have the system or cannot work it as well as others so it may advantage them to see it banned sooner rather than later.

I'm sure Mercedes doesn't see it like that as it appears to be an integral part of their car. Apparently the FIA wrote to the teams on Tuesday to tell them they believe the system to be illegal. So what does FRIC suspension do? Well it's sort of trying to mimic active suspension which adjusted itself to stabilise the car which then helps with the aerodynamics.

In a note Autosport has seen Charlie Whiting, FIA technical delegate says this: "Having now seen and studied nearly every current design of front to rear linked suspension system we, the FIA, are formally of the view that the legality of all such systems could be called into question."

This is because the system is not rigidly fixed to car, so therefore could be seen as a moveable aerodynamic device which is outlawed in Article 3.15.

To me it seems strange that it is suddenly banned when nearly halfway through a season. I'm aware it isn't uncommon for the FIA to change things part way through a season, such as what happened with Pirelli last year. However just because they've done it before doesn't make it right. In fact I've never seen it as the right thing to do because it changes the playing field. Why should a team suffer when they've designed something that up to now was legal? These sort of decisions should be made in the off season if it's a system that is already being used.

By all means if a team invent something during the system and it's a little dodgy then ban it, but if most have had this system when the season start to ban it now does seem unfair. 

Teams have been running their cars in this kind of configuration since testing started in January, how can it now be illegal? Ok they've said they have just finish studying 'nearly every current system' but it has been around for a few years now, and Renault introduced a version as far back as 2008, so the FIA have known about it for a while.

I do find it a strange thing to do, especially less than two weeks before the next race with minimal chance to test. The last day of testing at Silverstone is tomorrow, (Felipe Massa was fastest today) I hope the teams see sense and delay the ban until 2015, but as the autosport article notes, if one teams design isn't that good or if even they don't have a version of this then why should anyone else benefit? If a team then chooses to run it in Germany, then a team could make an official protest if the FIA's opinion is that it is illegal.

I'm sure this will cause a fair amount of controversy, but lets see what happens first, I hope any such ban is held back to 2015. Although again as I have written before, it might be against the moveable aerodynamic devices rule but I hate seeing Formula 1 being so consistently constrained by the rules. I know they do it for money reasons, but this is the most advanced motor sport, could we stop trying to standardise everything and let the teams breathe and invent so the best drivers in the world can thrash these devices around a track. This is meant to be a breeding ground for creativity that should be allowed to flourish. 

Anyway, that's another story, as for this story it should be watched with interest and if a ban does come in it'll be very interesting to see which teams benefit and which teams don't and if the pecking order changes at all.

'Absurd' double points rule overshadows some good intentions

A few days ago the F1 Strategy Group and the Formula One Commission agreed a number of changes to the regulations to be implemented for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.

From next season drivers will be able to choose their own numbers from #2 to #99 which will remain with them for the rest or the entirety of their careers. The champion driver will have the option of carrying #1. Nothing wrong with that, I think it’s a good idea. Much as Valentino Rossi has made the #46 his own in Moto GP or Wayne Gretzky made #99 his own in the world of Ice Hockey, it’ll be nice to have drivers associated with a permanent number.

Nigel Mansell was often associated with Red #5

Not least for those ardent fans who like to be up to date with merchandise of their favourite driver, they won’t have to worry too much about a driver changing teams or being higher in the Constructors championship as they’ll always now be associated with that number. So yes, good idea, well done Strategy Group.

To be implemented in 2015 is a budget cap, that budget has yet to be decided, but it is thought that it’ll be relatively high to start off with and reduce over a number of years. Whether the teams will agree with it or if it is able to be policed properly is very much open for debate but it is essential that Formula 1 brings the costs down.

You can see by the fact a top team like Lotus needs to take a driver with a budget (Pastor Maldonado) while missing out on Nico Hulkenberg who is once again stuck in the midfield because he doesn’t have any money behind him. This situation is unacceptable so a budget cap is the way forward.

However, with over a year before it is due to be introduced I’ll be interested to see if it goes any further beyond a nice idea. Teams with the spending power of Ferrari and Red Bull probably aren’t so keen to give up their advantage but for once I’d like to see the teams work together for the good of Formula 1 rather than their own self-interest to make it a more competitive and profitable environment for all the competitors and have a guarantee that each driver has been picked because of talent not how much sponsorship they can bring with them.

Finally, and I’ll try not to get carried away with how stupid an idea this is but to start from next season, the final race will be worth double points. Yes, that’s right in a reaction to Sebastian Vettel wrapping up the title with three races to go, it has been decided to jerk that knee to try and make sure the title fight goes down to the wire.

A budget cap with teams all competing on a level playing field is likely to create more competitive results over a season rather than saying ‘I know, let’s keep the title alive by wasting a driver’s entire seasons work so he can be beaten in the finale by a freak result by a driver who may well have been 49 points behind. That’s nearly two wins worth of points, but in the super finale all the 18 races beforehand doesn’t matter.

As Vettel has said, it’s ‘absurd’, and deserves to be written out of the rules before the season starts. As idea’s go it’ll just make a mockery of the results from the rest of the year, why should one race be worth more points? It’s artificial and quite frankly a bit condescending towards the fans of the sport.

Formula 1 and sports fans in general of course want a competitive year, but most don’t want it to be fake. I think they can just about cope with the DRS gimmick, it’s a bit Playstation, but passing was a problem, so they solved it, it doesn’t take away from overall tradition of the sport which this ruling does.

Formula 1 is about scoring the most points over the year with each event worth the same amount of points. If it goes down to the last race and someone wins it because of the double points, then they quite literally have won it because of the last race being worth more points, not because they fought to be within a wins worth of points that every other event gives out.

A driver with a 49 point lead going into the finale will quite rightly feel robbed if he then loses because of an incident or mechanical failure, and what with the new technical regulations a mechanical problem will be far more likely than in recent years.

This isn’t Formula 1, this is ridiculous and I truly hope they have a complete rethink before 2014 gets underway. Other than that, I am quite looking forward to seeing what numbers the top drivers choose.

all photo's taken from autosport.com

The 2014 driver game

 

As you may have noticed over the past week there has been a lot of movement in the driver market for next year, and even for this year. Let’s start with the biggest story, that of Kimi Raikkonen leaving Lotus before the end of the season so he can have an operation to cure his recurrent back problems.

It could appear to be that Kimi has left Lotus in the lurch but to be fair to the Finn, he hasn’t been paid this year, that money is not looking like it’s going to be forthcoming any time soon either. Added to that and probably more importantly, the recovery time of this op is estimated at around four weeks.

He’s facing a huge challenge with taking on Fernando Alonso at Ferrari next year, so will want to be ready to hit the ground running as soon as 2014 testing starts early next year. With the season finishing so late, it’s probably a good plan to get it done and dusted as soon as possible.

It’s probably a wise decision, although a disappointment for all Kimi fans not to see his smiling face for the final two grand prix. Nico Hulkenberg apparently turned down the chance to replace him as he felt it was too big a risk for just two races. Heikki Kovalainen grabbed the opportunity with both hands though. Having only played a bit part for Caterham in practice sessions this year he will be eager to show he still has what it takes. I sincerely hope he takes this opportunity.

However, I’d have liked to have seen 2012’s GP2 champion and Lotus reserve driver Davide Valsecchi be given the chance. After all what’s the point of having a reserve driver contracted if when the opportunity arises he is passed over? I know they are in a scrap to be in the top 3 of the constructors championship, but how are these reserve drivers ever likely to progress if they are not trusted for the job they’ve been employed to do?

I think it’s a bit ridiculous that he hadn’t managed to get a drive while someone like Max Chilton did. Yes, he was a race winner in GP2, but his drive was bought. The top level of motor sport should not be employing drivers who have paid for their seats. They should only be for the best of the best.

Perhaps a restructuring of the revenue generated by this global car circus would enable teams to afford to hire the drivers they really want and not the ones they need for the sake of budget. Even if it is an economic downtime, there is something seriously wrong when the top echelon of the sport has top teams not being able to afford to pay its drivers. But that’s an entirely different blog to be discussed later.

McLaren

Kevin Magnussen was awesome at the young drivers test at Silverstone this year. I was there and for lap after lap he just looked on it all the time, it was certainly very impressive. He also won the Formula Renault 3.5 world series this year, so I am glad that McLaren haven’t chosen to blood him in a lower team but have taken the chance to promote one from their own young driver program. I can’t wait to see how he performs next year alongside Jenson Button. I think Jenson is going to have his work cut out, much like Fernando Alonso did when a rookie Lewis Hamilton partnered him.

However the fact that Sergio Perez has been replaced after just one season seems a bit unfair. I hope he gets a decent driver next year because he deserved a bit more. Yes Button has scored nearly double the points but I think in general Perez has done nearly as good a job and certainly recently has looked the better bet for points.

It’s such a shame that he came to the team on one of their down years, as there is no doubting that on his day he’s a very good driver indeed. Much like Button in fact. And on their day, given the car in a certain year, they can be world champion, like Button was. But this looks like it’s back to the midfield for Perez, at least with his budget he should be able to secure a decent drive somewhere. I hope he does because I don’t think he deserved to be treated like this.

With rumours of Alonso perhaps joining for 2015 when Honda join the team, Button might have to look over his shoulder too, although the Woking team also have Formula Renault 3.5 runner up Stoffel Vandoorne on their books too so there’s another young prospect to look too. At least McLaren (along with Red Bull and Ferrari amongst others) are bringing in fresh good talent to fill the F1 seats. Watch out for Vandoorne, he’s plying his trade in GP2 next year.

Massa gets his 2014 seat

Felipe Massa will continue in Formula 1 next year at Williams. I’m delighted for him, he deserves to lead a team and I think getting away from Ferrari and the shadow of Alonso will do him good. I hope he rediscovers his form from before the accident in 2009 and shows that he’s not done yet.

If some of the rumours that his engineer from Ferrari, Rob Smedley might join the team as well as potentially a link up with Ross Brawn are true, then it could be a fantastic time to be joining the Williams team as they look to move back up the grid.

Valtteri Bottas is a good young hopeful and will keep Massa on his toes, but I think Felipe will believe he’s been hired to lead this team and I think that will give him the impetus to spark a second wave in his career; looking forward to seeing what he can do.

Of course that means Pastor Maldonado is now on the market with his masses of Venezuelan cash behind him, so the 2014 driver market is going to be a hot topic for some time to come with seats at Lotus, Force India, Sauber, Caterham and Marussia still to be announced.  

A final note about young drivers

The fact is money is hard to come by at the moment which is why many teams are looking for their drivers to bring a budget with them. Sometimes this means that a lot of the talented drivers who have not got the money miss out on an opportunity at the top of the sport.

This means that if this trend continues then the sport might not be presenting the best cars with the best drivers driving them. For instance last years GP2 champion did not get an F1 drive. This year at the moment it looks like the top 2 from GP2 are not going to get drives.

This is unacceptable. However the economy means that this may happen more often, so what I would like to see is the FIA buying two cars, perhaps year old ones or perhaps new ones from other teams and running them in free practice.

They would be run independently from the teams that made them so there would be no advantage for a team that sells a car. With these two cars, should a top driver from one of the top feeder series fail to find a drive in Formula 1 or high end alternative he would be given an opportunity to show what he can do to the teams and sponsors in the Friday free practice sessions.

Just put them in the shop window and maybe the teams might take a chance as might some sponsors. What with testing being restricted it would give a decent chance for drivers to get experience too. It’s a plan with perhaps many flaws, but flaws that could be ironed out. Surely worth a thought?

all photo's from autosport.com

The Canadian Forecast

It’s the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend held at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, so it’s time for a Pablo’s forecast. First of all at the time of writing, it looks like it could be a gloomy qualifying with rain likely, but the race is likely to take place on a dry track. Of course that’s all subject to change as ever.

Canada is a track full of long straights and not overly fast corners, meaning good traction and a good top speed are essential requirements around here. In years gone by we’ve had races dictated by the tyres, not least the 2010 race which served as a benchmark to how the FIA wanted the Pirelli tyres to behave. Canada has a lot to answer for! But in general it has a low grip surface and because of the lack of fast corners the tyres should hold up well, a 1 or 2 stop race is generally the preferred strategy in years gone by.

Pirelli are bringing the medium and super soft tyre to this race, they are not bringing any new compound or construction to be raced. With tyre wear not expected to be too critical this could mean Mercedes are again a major factor. They have been renowned for their straight line speed for a long time now, I fully expect a Mercedes driver to be on pole position again.

However, I’m not sure they’ll have it their own way like they did at Monaco. There it’s never easy to pass so they could dictate the pace, which was very slow in the early laps. In Montreal it’s a much easier place to pass, in fact there probably isn’t any need for a DRS zone, so it's annoying there's two; one on the back straight after the hairpin and the second on the start finish straight.

So with that in mind, if they can’t choose the pace they want to run at I don’t expect the silver cars to be still heading the pack by the end of the race. I do think Lewis Hamilton will show improved form this weekend. He’s been out-qualified by his team mate for three consecutive races and comprehensively out performed for the last two.

He needs to show some form, he was expected to come into the team and dominate it, but Nico Rosberg has already shown one world champion he wasn’t to be messed with, he’s doing the same to Lewis at the moment.

Hamilton is the current king of Montreal though, three times a winner and he always goes well here. If there’s any place for him to start reasserting himself, it’s here. If Nico continues his recent pole run, then the questions which are already being asked about Lewis, will get louder.

Lotus and Ferrari had poor weekends last time out and both will desperately want to get back to the top of the podium. Of these two teams, I see Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen as the one most likely to take victory.

As I’ve said it’s easier to pass around here, the Lotus is good on its tyres as always so potentially could make a pit stop less than its rivals, and I think judging from past performances would still have the pace to hold any late two stoppers off. Having said that though, Hamilton proved last year making an extra stop was the way forward rather than trying to get to the end. It'll be interesting to see how Lotus approach this, I still think they'll have the edge on race pace as they'll be able to push the tyres harder even if they make the same amount of stops as everyone else.

While we're talking about Lotus expect to see Romain Grosjean bounce back after a torrid weekend in Monaco where he suffered no less than four separate incidents including mounting Daniel Ricciardo’s Toro Rosso. The Frenchman went well in Montreal last year when he finished second, if the race had been a few laps longer he probably would have won.

He needs a complete fast trouble free weekend, and despite the close proximity of the walls around there, this is the track he can do it on. He seems like a decent guy, and extremely fast, it would be a shame if he threw his Formula 1 opportunity away.

Fernando Alonso seemed subdued in Monaco, yes there were a few debris issues hurting the aerodynamics but he was caught out three times by passing moves which normally he would have seen coming.

He’s won once before in Canada but not since 2006. Alonso is more than capable of grabbing a podium here and he needs one if Ferrari is to make use of their best car in ages, they need to cut out the mistakes they weren’t making last year too. They didn’t have the pace in Monaco, they’ll be hoping that that was just blip. They’ll also not want any inexplicable crashes for Felipe Massa.

Of course the chances of a safety car here are extremely high, it’s not often a race in Canada doesn’t have a road going Mercedes heading the pack, and in this case that’s the only way I see Sebastian Vettel winning, or maybe even on the podium. However, he’ll almost certainly be near and definitely in the top 5, he’s been the most consistent out there this year, and I expect this to continue. He’s learnt something from Alonso last year and he just keeps on getting better.

Red Bull has never won here, and I don’t think they will this year either. It’s not a track that requires the huge downforce that an Adrian Newey designed car brings to the table, often over the last few years this is when other teams can come to the fore to steal their glory.

McLaren won’t be winning this year, they’ve taken the last three wins but I don’t think they have a chance. They’re getting better and I think they will again get both cars in the top 10 in Q3, but they’re not going to be repeating past glories any time soon.

Sergio Perez getting the better of Jenson Button again thought? That’s an interesting question and one I shall answer conclusively. No, Button is good around here, he should be the lead driver but I think Perez will be close, maybe even close enough to try a cheeky move which I’m sure will please Button no end.

Perez I’m sure will be talked about again in the drivers briefing but I don’t think he’s done much wrong, perhaps a little over exuberant but nothing dangerous.

My final race prediction is that a Force India will end up on the podium. I know I said this last time but historically in previous guises this team have done well in Montreal and in their current guise they have always been good at fast tracks. I’m going to go with Paul di Resta to take their first podium since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix.

They’re in a similar situation to Lotus with tyres and could make a one stop work. We’ll see what happens there.

Of course tyre testing will still be a major talking point over the weekend, especially as Ferrari have now been brought into the debate, but seen as they were using a two year old car with a completely different suspension layout I don't really see they have a case to answer like Mercedes who used the current car, and who apparently altered their approach to the tyres after the test in Barcelona. It'll be interesting to see just how well they use the tyres in Canada.

Finally, here’s a few extra teasers, a Marussia or Caterham will finish last, Sauber will improve, a Toro Rosso will get into Q3, Williams will not improve and the title race is set to close up again. Should be an interesting and very open race this weekend, but one I feel Kimi will not be disappointed with.

all photo's from autosport.com

Mercedes tyre test causing controversy

On the Saturday night of the Monaco Grand Prix it emerged that Mercedes had run a 1000km test directly after the Spanish Grand Prix with their 2013 car and regular drivers Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

It was asked by Pirelli to test some new compounds for 2014 as well as a development for Canada this year. Mercedes didn't have any knowledge of which compound they were running (although I'm sure they've got enough intelligent people to make an educated guess) and did not run any developments on their car.

They say it was simply a tyre test to help Pirelli, but when a team like Mercedes who have had such obvious tyre issues before perform such a test it's always going to raise issues. In testing you're always learning something.

Mercedes said that it was FIA approved, so despite Ferrari and Red Bull launching an official protest saying that it contravened the regulations governing in season testing (of which none is allowed apart from a few days straight line testing and a 3 day young driver test) there seemed to be no threat to the team.

However, the FIA has now said that they actually wrote to Pirelli and Mercedes to approve the test but make sure that the opportunity was open to all teams and the test would be run by Pirelli and not the team itself. It appears from the fact no one knew about it until Monaco that this was not done.

Red Bull boss Christian Horner and Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali have both entered protests, believing Mercedes were underhand in the way they have dealt with this situation.

Domenicali pointed out that under the current regulations no team can test their 2013 car or the previous two years models and if Pirelli required a car all teams should have been notified.

For their part Pirelli motorsport director Paul Hembery said that they have run a test with a different team before and have asked others.

The Monaco stewards are currently compiling a report to be sent to the FIA. How this situation will be dealt with is not yet known. Mercedes did sort of have approval, yet the fact other teams weren't notified makes it seem slightly devious. Obviously there is more information to be revealed but after such an impressive result for the Silver Arrows squad in Monaco, this is rather beginning to overshadow their achievement.

What is known is that the Monaco race result is not in dispute and most of the Formula 1 fraternity believe that the race was not affected by the test.

photo taken from autosport.com

FIA allow only minor changes for Pirelli

After much debate and complaining by teams such as Red Bull regarding the extreme degradation of the tyres, Pirelli announced they are going to revert back to the 2012 tyre construction by the Canadian Grand Prix, although the 2013 compounds will remain. However, the FIA have said only minor changes will be allowed for safety reasons indicating the 2013 tyres will stay.

I was going to write about how the apparent change by Pirelli should have been made at the end of the season. Teams such as Lotus and Ferrari have designed their cars to suit the tyres and it is hardly their fault if the likes of Red Bull and Mercedes have failed to do as good a job. 

Red Bull in particular has expressed their dissatisfaction with the tyres to a great extent despite winning two races so far this year. They are suffering because their car produces a great deal of down force, but they cannot exploit this as it degrades the tyres too quickly.

Over the last few days Lotus and Ferrari have aired their views that their cars are looking after the tyres better as they used the information Pirelli gave them of the 2013 compounds and designed accordingly. They see no reason to change especially after what looks like persistent lobbying from Red Bull, and after what were fairly perceived to be an excessive amount of pit stops at the last race in Spain.

In truth I’m sure all teams would have got a grip on the tyre situation by mid-season, Pirelli admit they’ve gone too far with the degradation, but there were similar headlines in 2011 and 2012 but by the end of the season there were many two or one stop races as the teams adjusted.

I think the reaction has been a bit much, although I would like to see more of a return to drivers being able to push a bit more without hearing constant radio messages about looking after the tyres. However a change such as this should be made for next year without upsetting the current competitive environment.

We also shouldn’t forget that Pirelli have done a great deal of good for the sport over the last few years which have produced a great deal of fantastic racing. So they’ve gone a bit far this season, but people are quick to forget that a few years ago there were plenty of races where there was no passing at all resulting in many follow the leader at a respectful distance races.

As I’ve written before looking after tyres, or fuel or whatever isn’t actually an unusual thing for Formula 1, it’s been like that most of the time, perhaps with the exception of flat out hard tyre refuelling sprints, even then you had to be mechanically sensitive.

Having said all that it has been reported on Autosport.com that the FIA has said the tyres will remain in 2013 specification with slight tweaks in regards to the tyre delamination’s that occurred in Bahrain and Spain.

Autosport says:  ‘The FIA is basing its stance on Article 12.6.3 of the technical 
regulations, which has also been cited by teams to Pirelli amid questions about the legality of a bid to change the specification.

The rule states: "Tyre specifications will be determined by the FIA no later than 1 September of the previous season. Once determined in this way, the specification of the tyres will not be changed during the championship season without the agreement of all competing teams."’

This will come as a blow to Red Bull, but bring satisfaction to Lotus and Ferrari. It looks to mean that any changes to the tyres will be minor and should maintain the current order and I think that that is only fair. Any further changes I would expect to be made if Pirelli renew their contract for next year.

This clarification by the FIA is to be welcomed, you shouldn’t just change the rules with barely a quarter of the season over.

It isn’t the best situation in the world, but it’s the one we’ve got and the teams who are suffering should be pushing harder to rectify their problems rather than constantly moaning about it.

It’s Monaco next and for anyone who's tired of tyres, they should hopefully be low on the agenda as it has a low degradation surface so they can concentrate on racing.

photo taken from autosport.com