After yesterday's qualifying giving us a mixed-up grid, we all knew we'd be in for a treat for China's 2012 grand prix. For the first time since 1955, it was Mercedes locking out the front row of the grid, while the bigger teams were somewhat further down the field. In the mix we had Saubers and Lotus-Renaults, so the prospects for the race were promising.
After the lights went out, Vettel had an absolutely terrible start and slipped from 11th to 15th - a disappointment for the Red Bull fans. However, if you're a fan of German drivers you'll be pleased to know that Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher maintained their place at the front of the field during the first stint. The McLarens also had a pretty good start, and Button and Hamilton made their way towards the front alongside Mark Webber's Red Bull. With all these top drivers at the front, there was a hell of a lot of close racing - it was a miracle that we only had one retirement during the race; Schumacher's spell of bad luck continued with a mistake in the pitstop and ultimately a loose wheel.
If you've not watched the race, you should just to see the epic battle towards the end of the race involving both Lotuses, both Red Bulls and both McLarens. Seeing three F1 cars heading into a corner at the same time is quite a sight to see, especially when getting off-line leads the car into the marbles!
China is a race when it's notoriously difficult to find a good strategy. A two-stop strategy was feasible, however the driver's tyre management would have to be sublime for it to be pulled off. Because of the tyre wear, the majority of the top teams elected for a three-stop - even though they'd lose the time of an extra stop compared to those on the alternative strategy. So, who did what? Well Nico Rosberg ended up on a two-stop strategy, and eventually went on to win the race by quite a comfortable margin. It could be argued that we were deprived of a battle between Rosberg and Button, as Button's third stop was less than perfect, however nobody can deny that Rosberg deserved that first win - especially considering that so many of us doubted the Mercedes' ability to maintain their pace in the race. Third and fourth place men Hamilton and Webber also elected for three-stop strategies, which allowed them to pass the fifth place man on a two-stop strategy, Sebastian Vettel. Yep, the guy who can't race managed to recover to fifth. Make of that what you will, but I'm pretty pleased...
Once again we had an absolutely thrilling race, with closer battles than anything I've seen for a while. It doesn't seem that any one team has a straight advantage, although for the time being both McLarens are leading the championship. As for who is the favourite for the title this year, I think it's way too soon to tell. In races like today's, anything can change in an instant - again it was a massive surprise that only Schumacher retired. As I said in a previous post, although we've had to wait so long over the winter for the season to begin, it was definitely worth it.
Next weekend is the race in Bahrain - something which has been subject to a lot of speculation given the situation there. The FIA confirmed yesterday that the race would definitely be going ahead, something which I'm in two minds about. I know there was a lot of talk about whether F1 should be going to Bahrain or not based on ethical concerns, however personally I'm not sure this has a lot to do with F1. My personal misgivings about the race taking place aren't based on the ethical dilemmas in the country (although obviously this situation isn't acceptable), but are more linked to the safety aspects. Mark Webber commented on this beautifully in an BBC article earlier this week, arguing that safety isn't so much an issue for teams and drivers, but the other people heading to and from the track every day. Overall, it's the FIA's decision whether to race or not, and obviously they wouldn't have chosen to attend if the situation was unsafe. With any luck, the race next weekend will be memorable for its racing, rather than the political situation surrounding it. Either way, 2012 is shaping up to be an interesting season.
Showing posts with label FIA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FIA. Show all posts
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Updates and Random Thoughts
It's been a while since my last post - exams have been given a high priority before three months of summer and my trip to Germany.
Now, I posted ages ago about Hamilton's comments on his calling to the stewards: "Maybe it's because I'm Black". Since he said that, there was uproar from the media and division among the public. On the one hand it was viewed as something terrible to say, understandable as F1 is a global sport and as such race, colour and creed have nothing to do with anything. On the other, people were pleased that Lewis was expressing his displeasure and not becoming a corporate robot. I can see both sides of the argument and I'm kind of in the middle ground. Yes, it's good that he's being honest with his views. However, it's also unprofessional and I think he needs to take these things up in private before shouting it to the media. Yeah, it was a heat of the moment comment, but he should have known better. There were rumours that sanctions for his comments would occur, as he could have been in breach of the regulations which state that nobody should bring the sport into disrepute (which is what happened to Max Mosely a few years back). However, Lewis since apologised and the stewards have accepted. Jean Todt today said that there would be no sanctions against Lewis. So, a lucky escape and it's definitely something for Lewis to learn by.
Something I haven't posted on before is the whole issue of Bahrain. The race was postponed because of the situation in the country and a meeting was held in the beginning of June (after being pushed back from May) to see whether it could be rescheduled. The FIA decided that the situation in Bahrain was settled enough for the race to go ahead. As a result, the race was scheduled to replace the Indian GP, with this race being pushed to December. Fantastic you might think, as we get 20 races this year and a shorter wait before the 2012 season. However, there are far deeper issues here.
Now, the FIA never consulted with the teams on their decision to reschedule the race. The season was scheduled to end two weeks later than usual - something which has implications for those who have to work for the teams. Also, article 66 of the regulations states that no changes can be made to the championship season after the entries have been confirmed without consulting the competitors themselves. So, even though the FIA vote has pushed through Bahrain, without the teams' say so it can't go ahead. FOTA have written to the FIA asking them to reconsider based on logistical grounds, with comments from Mark Webber, Bernie Ecclestone and others saying that the race can't go ahead.
Aside from logistics, there are a number of ethical issues to consider. The protests staged in Bahrain have been peaceful, however the authorities have taken action which has led to the deaths and injury of protesters. The issues of human rights have simply been ignored by the country. So, does F1 - a global sport - want to be associated with rescheduling a race in a country which does not take care of its people? No doubt there will be more negotiations in the coming weeks and we'll know soon enough whether Bahrain goes ahead with or without the competitors' approval.
A random thought I had came after I saw the Senna movie. In F1 there are clear greats (such as Senna, Prost et al.), and these greats are idolised. Now, one man who hold all the records is Michael Schumacher. However, people don't idolise him in general. I asked my Dad about this, and his response was that Schumacher made F1 boring. He was so good that nobody could catch him - therefore it was a foregone conclusion that he would win. I know I seem to defend Schumacher a lot, but I feel that I have good reason to. To me, the argument that Schumacher made F1 boring is ridiculous - surely it's up to the other teams to catch up? In this case, the other teams made it boring because they simply weren't as good! A similar situation has arisen this season with qualifying - Sebastian Vettel is making it boring. However, I'm not complaining about this (and not just because Seb is my hero), because it's up to another driver to challenge Seb's Saturdays. I was wondering whether Senna's heroism would be considered in the same way if he'd have lived. Say Senna went on to dominate F1 in much the same way as Schumacher did - would people still have the respect and adoration of him as they do now? Maybe it's human nature. People don't like people who excel all the time - we want to see slip ups. I just find it odd that Schumi was criticised for making F1 boring - the man has won 7 world titles! Surely that deserves awe and respect?
Now, I posted ages ago about Hamilton's comments on his calling to the stewards: "Maybe it's because I'm Black". Since he said that, there was uproar from the media and division among the public. On the one hand it was viewed as something terrible to say, understandable as F1 is a global sport and as such race, colour and creed have nothing to do with anything. On the other, people were pleased that Lewis was expressing his displeasure and not becoming a corporate robot. I can see both sides of the argument and I'm kind of in the middle ground. Yes, it's good that he's being honest with his views. However, it's also unprofessional and I think he needs to take these things up in private before shouting it to the media. Yeah, it was a heat of the moment comment, but he should have known better. There were rumours that sanctions for his comments would occur, as he could have been in breach of the regulations which state that nobody should bring the sport into disrepute (which is what happened to Max Mosely a few years back). However, Lewis since apologised and the stewards have accepted. Jean Todt today said that there would be no sanctions against Lewis. So, a lucky escape and it's definitely something for Lewis to learn by.
Something I haven't posted on before is the whole issue of Bahrain. The race was postponed because of the situation in the country and a meeting was held in the beginning of June (after being pushed back from May) to see whether it could be rescheduled. The FIA decided that the situation in Bahrain was settled enough for the race to go ahead. As a result, the race was scheduled to replace the Indian GP, with this race being pushed to December. Fantastic you might think, as we get 20 races this year and a shorter wait before the 2012 season. However, there are far deeper issues here.
Now, the FIA never consulted with the teams on their decision to reschedule the race. The season was scheduled to end two weeks later than usual - something which has implications for those who have to work for the teams. Also, article 66 of the regulations states that no changes can be made to the championship season after the entries have been confirmed without consulting the competitors themselves. So, even though the FIA vote has pushed through Bahrain, without the teams' say so it can't go ahead. FOTA have written to the FIA asking them to reconsider based on logistical grounds, with comments from Mark Webber, Bernie Ecclestone and others saying that the race can't go ahead.
Aside from logistics, there are a number of ethical issues to consider. The protests staged in Bahrain have been peaceful, however the authorities have taken action which has led to the deaths and injury of protesters. The issues of human rights have simply been ignored by the country. So, does F1 - a global sport - want to be associated with rescheduling a race in a country which does not take care of its people? No doubt there will be more negotiations in the coming weeks and we'll know soon enough whether Bahrain goes ahead with or without the competitors' approval.
A random thought I had came after I saw the Senna movie. In F1 there are clear greats (such as Senna, Prost et al.), and these greats are idolised. Now, one man who hold all the records is Michael Schumacher. However, people don't idolise him in general. I asked my Dad about this, and his response was that Schumacher made F1 boring. He was so good that nobody could catch him - therefore it was a foregone conclusion that he would win. I know I seem to defend Schumacher a lot, but I feel that I have good reason to. To me, the argument that Schumacher made F1 boring is ridiculous - surely it's up to the other teams to catch up? In this case, the other teams made it boring because they simply weren't as good! A similar situation has arisen this season with qualifying - Sebastian Vettel is making it boring. However, I'm not complaining about this (and not just because Seb is my hero), because it's up to another driver to challenge Seb's Saturdays. I was wondering whether Senna's heroism would be considered in the same way if he'd have lived. Say Senna went on to dominate F1 in much the same way as Schumacher did - would people still have the respect and adoration of him as they do now? Maybe it's human nature. People don't like people who excel all the time - we want to see slip ups. I just find it odd that Schumi was criticised for making F1 boring - the man has won 7 world titles! Surely that deserves awe and respect?
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
New Rules, New Spectacle
With the global economic crisis (or whatever you want to call it now) and global warming (climate change, whatever) surrounding us in the news it's easy to forget that sports are affected by such matters and to consider them exempt from the real world. Nevertheless, F1 and other sports are just as subject to money worries and green ethics as the rest of us. Formula 1 is perhaps the most expensive motorsport out there, and the sophistication of the cars doesn't necessarily mean that they are environmentally friendly. In order to try and combat this, the FIA proposed a number of rule changes for 2013 which would aim at making F1 more sustainable, both economically and environmentally.
The rules (which are fairly technical and so not for me to explain in too much detail - however you can read them here) basically hinted towards a move away from the 150kg-per-race 2.4 litre V8s which are currently in the cars to smaller turbo engines in a bid to reduce fuel consumption. In doing this, various other aspects related to the cars' aerodynamics would also be changed in order to reduce drag and gain more downforce from the floor of the cars, rather than the wings. As such, the cars would look radically different and, perhaps less important to F1 chiefs but something important to me, the sounds of the cars would change.
Is this a good thing or not? Well the sustainability factor is important, obviously. However, I don't want to see boring F1 cars. Formula 1 is about technical innovation and spectacle. Speaking on behalf of F1 fans everywhere I'd rather have an un-environmentally friendly sport which looks good than a boring sport which is kind to the planet. Selfish, I know, but I feel that there are changes that can be made elsewhere to reduce the environmental impact of F1 without losing the sound of those screaming V8s.
News from the BBC website today stated that FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association) have rejected the FIA's rules and proposed their own version - a version which wouldn't see us losing the spectacle and shouty cars but would still make the sport a bit more sustainable. While the sport wouldn't be as sustainable as perhaps chiefs would like, the sport would still see a bit more efficiency without losing the cars as they are now. While FOTA's proposed technical regulations have been approved, there's no guarantee that they will be accepted by the FIA, with Jean Todt arguing that F1 needs the new green turbo engines. What actually happens remains to be seen, but with such opposition from teams and engine manufacturers I'd be surprised if a compromise wasn't reached somewhere.
A new feature on the official F1 website asks drivers about their 'Formula 1 Fantasies', including what they would change on the cars. I loved this example of the differences between honest drivers and drivers who are perhaps saying what people (i.e., teams) want to hear. Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg have both taken part in the F1 Fantasy interview, and the differences in what each driver would change to the cars are hilarious. Nico Rosberg proposed that he would like to see F1 cars with electric engines in order to make the cars more sustainable. Sebastian Vettel's suggestion? V12 engines. There's a reason why he's my hero!
The rules (which are fairly technical and so not for me to explain in too much detail - however you can read them here) basically hinted towards a move away from the 150kg-per-race 2.4 litre V8s which are currently in the cars to smaller turbo engines in a bid to reduce fuel consumption. In doing this, various other aspects related to the cars' aerodynamics would also be changed in order to reduce drag and gain more downforce from the floor of the cars, rather than the wings. As such, the cars would look radically different and, perhaps less important to F1 chiefs but something important to me, the sounds of the cars would change.
Is this a good thing or not? Well the sustainability factor is important, obviously. However, I don't want to see boring F1 cars. Formula 1 is about technical innovation and spectacle. Speaking on behalf of F1 fans everywhere I'd rather have an un-environmentally friendly sport which looks good than a boring sport which is kind to the planet. Selfish, I know, but I feel that there are changes that can be made elsewhere to reduce the environmental impact of F1 without losing the sound of those screaming V8s.
News from the BBC website today stated that FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association) have rejected the FIA's rules and proposed their own version - a version which wouldn't see us losing the spectacle and shouty cars but would still make the sport a bit more sustainable. While the sport wouldn't be as sustainable as perhaps chiefs would like, the sport would still see a bit more efficiency without losing the cars as they are now. While FOTA's proposed technical regulations have been approved, there's no guarantee that they will be accepted by the FIA, with Jean Todt arguing that F1 needs the new green turbo engines. What actually happens remains to be seen, but with such opposition from teams and engine manufacturers I'd be surprised if a compromise wasn't reached somewhere.
A new feature on the official F1 website asks drivers about their 'Formula 1 Fantasies', including what they would change on the cars. I loved this example of the differences between honest drivers and drivers who are perhaps saying what people (i.e., teams) want to hear. Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg have both taken part in the F1 Fantasy interview, and the differences in what each driver would change to the cars are hilarious. Nico Rosberg proposed that he would like to see F1 cars with electric engines in order to make the cars more sustainable. Sebastian Vettel's suggestion? V12 engines. There's a reason why he's my hero!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)