I sit here straight after the Spanish Grand Prix with mega hat hair from my Red Bull team wear after making the decision to write an F1 weekend report!
Friday saw the start of the grand prix weekend with the traditional practice sessions. As usual, the staus quo remained with Mark Webber setting the pace in both sessions. To my immense joy, I got a mention on the practice!! The mention stemmed from my views on Michael Schumacher, which you can read on this blog. As ever, David Croft and Maurice Hamilton were talking in FP1 about Schumacher's performance, stating that this was his worst start in 17 seasons. The reasons for this were the usual that he was too old. Now, I've got fed up of hearing about this and sent messages to 5 Live F1, Crofty and Maurice Hamilton basically arguing to leave Schumi alone. David Croft sent me a message back asking whether they were too hard on Schumi and whether it was worth discussing. I responded by arguing that yes, it's worth discussing his performance but no, it's not worth it if all that is questioned is Schumi's age as Barichello isn't that much younger and has had a similarly dismal start. In FP2, this debate was brought up and the general consensus was that yes, Schumacher has had a bad start to this year, but no, it's not that disastrous and that age shouldn't really come into it. My Twitter username (MooEvilBoffin) was then read out - to my immense joy! As soon as the video is uploaded to Youtube it'll get posted here. You can also check out the practice session on the iPlayer.
Saturday's practice session saw Sebastian Vettel only completing six laps - only one of which was timed. However, did that stop Seb? Nope! Fastest on just one lap for another Red Bull result. Of course, the practice sessions don't count for all that much - we don't know fuel loads etc., so we can't judge what the real pace is until qualifying. The big news in qualifying was that Team Lotus managed to get through to quali two. When this happened, people questioned whether Heikki Kovalainen would bother to actually run in the second session, but rather save a set of tyres. This argument was put forth as it was unlikely that Heikki would get higher than 17th. Nevertheless, Lotus decided to have a go - and it paid off with Heikki qualifying 15th! As for the rest of the field, Mark Webber managed to break Sebastian Vettel's pole position streak and beat Seb by two-tenths. You have to wonder, however, how much faster Seb would be if his KERS had been working - yet again Red Bull have struggled with this power boost system.
Anyway, again there are no points to be won on a Saturday and race day is where it counts. The start of the race saw Fernando Alonso make a phenomenal start, coming from fourth to first! That pleased the home fans but I was pleased when Sebastian managed to get back up into second behind Alsonso. The race continued with much chasing by Red Bull, but the only real changes of order started during the pit stops. Vettel eventually got into the lead, with Lewis Hamilton coming up close behind. Despite a dismal start for Jenson Button, he eventually managed to get up to the top of the field. Mark Webber was stuck behind Alonso for most of the race - eventually leading to him losing out on a podium spot. Alonso himself lost out in the race, eventually finishing behind Mark Webber. The end of the race was perhaps the most tense ten minutes of my life. Lewis was chasing down Seb at an incredible pace. Given Seb's issues with KERS this was perhaps unsurprising. However, Sebastian managed to claw back a few tenths in the middle sector, leading to his fourth victory of the season. Another mention has to go to Nick Heidfeld, who managed to finish 8th after starting 24th on the grid following a fire in FP3 which prevented his qualifying - definitely one of my drivers of the day!
Now as it stands the result is Vettel, Hamilton, Button, Webber, Alonso, Schumacher, Rosberg. However, Lewis, Jenson, Mark and Jaime Alguersuari are under investigation by the stewards for not slowing under yellow flags when Heikki Kovalainen crashed. Whether they will incur a penalty remains to be seen, however I will update you as soon as I know. What a race! If you haven't seen it, I suggest you watch it on the BBC website - you won't regret it I assure you!
Showing posts with label KERS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KERS. Show all posts
Sunday, 22 May 2011
Sunday, 15 May 2011
A Breakaway Championship?
There has been a lot of speculation surrounding what will happen to F1 when the Concorde Agreement runs out in 2012. The Concorde Agreement is basically a contract between the FIA, current partners CVC and the F1 teams (represented by FOTA - the Formula One Teams Association) which states how the revenue from television showings and prize money should be divided. It also contains specific details of the terms for how the teams compete in the races. There have been a number of Concorde Agreements over the life of F1, but the details have all remained secret. Each time the Concorde Agreement comes up for renewal there is speculation of what effect the new agreement will have for the fans. From what I can gather, not a huge amount has changed for the fans for each agreement, however personally I still find it a tense time - for reasons I shall explain below.
Speculation has been further promoted this time around because of the rumours that News Corp (Rupert Murdoch's company) are interested in purchasing F1 from current owners CVC. The take over of F1 isn't in itself any cause for worry - largely because of the Concorde Agreement maintaining the status quo for fans of the sport. However, the fact that the terms of the new contract are being re-negotiated becomes a cause for concern should News Corp choose to buy the rights to the sport. It's thought that if News Corp did acquire F1 from CVC there is a chance that F1 would be shown on pay-per-view television, rather than its current free-to-air status. If News Corp acquire F1 before the terms of the Concorde Agreement are renewed then there is a likelihood that they may place a term that F1 can only be shown on the pay-per-view channels of Murdoch's company.
Despite the speculation, various F1 officials have argued that the idea of News Corp acquiring F1 is simply posturing at the moment and CVC have no interest in selling the sport. Bernie Ecclestone has been one of the most outspoken on this issue, as has Eddie Jordan, whose views can be read here. However, even though the F1 officials have been dismissing the speculation, nobody has denied that News Corp wouldn't be able to purchase the sport if they offered the right price. Without a definite 'no' from CVC, there's simply no way that a fan such as myself can understand whether the sport will be sold or not.
So, if News Corp did buy F1, would F1 be shown on pay-per-view TV only? At the moment, the BBC have the rights to show F1, but this agreement runs out itself very soon - adding to my worry that F1 could move from the accessible free-to-air television to pay-per-view. Bernie Ecclestone has branded this 'suicidal'. The teams have also spoken against this idea arguing that moving F1 from free-to-air TV would be madness - and they're right in this respect. Formula 1 teams rely on sponsorship for money and to keep the teams going generally. If F1 moved away from free-to-air TV then suddenly the audience decreases massively. I love F1, however I simply cannot afford to watch nearly 20 races on pay-per-view television. Should the audience decrease, then sponsors would lose interest in teams as they get little return on their investment - investments of millions of pounds. This reason alone is weighty enough to mean that the teams are opposed to F1 being shown on pay-per-view TV. It is likely then that teams would fight any bid by News Corp to change the Concorde Agreement's clause of showing F1 on free-to-air television.
The negotiations of the Concorde Agreement themselves appear to be somewhat fraught, with Jean Todt (president of Ferrari) arguing that there are three options for the sport prior to the negotiation of the agreement - article here. First, the teams could go for the easy life and simply renew the Concorde Agreement as it stands with CVC - the option which seems most likely for the moment. Second, they could seek out a new partner to replace CVC; the likely choice being News Corp providing that F1 stays on free-to-air TV, or a partnership between News Corp and Exor. The final option which Todt rose was to form a breakaway championship - similar to the NBA in Basketball (apparently... I'm no expert on basketball!).
Now, I doubt that F1 will form a breakaway championship - it just seems like F1 is too expensive to be run without the support of a large company like CVC. That, and this isn't the first time that teams have threatened a breakaway series. When the points system was being overhauled there were similar threats of forming a breakaway championship - this never happened and the points system which we have currently was used as an alternative to the proposed medals system. To me, it just seems like the threat of a breakaway championship is used by the teams as a negotiating tool.
Personally, as a fan I am very happy with how the sport is run at the moment. Despite the criticisms of the rules, argument that overtaking is artificial because of DRS and KERSwatch F1 on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I get the opportunity to save up my money and attend races in person. Hopefully the Concorde Agreement terms will be sorted in time and once again the fans will come out on top - in a choice between business and sport I so hope that sport comes out on top!
Speculation has been further promoted this time around because of the rumours that News Corp (Rupert Murdoch's company) are interested in purchasing F1 from current owners CVC. The take over of F1 isn't in itself any cause for worry - largely because of the Concorde Agreement maintaining the status quo for fans of the sport. However, the fact that the terms of the new contract are being re-negotiated becomes a cause for concern should News Corp choose to buy the rights to the sport. It's thought that if News Corp did acquire F1 from CVC there is a chance that F1 would be shown on pay-per-view television, rather than its current free-to-air status. If News Corp acquire F1 before the terms of the Concorde Agreement are renewed then there is a likelihood that they may place a term that F1 can only be shown on the pay-per-view channels of Murdoch's company.
Despite the speculation, various F1 officials have argued that the idea of News Corp acquiring F1 is simply posturing at the moment and CVC have no interest in selling the sport. Bernie Ecclestone has been one of the most outspoken on this issue, as has Eddie Jordan, whose views can be read here. However, even though the F1 officials have been dismissing the speculation, nobody has denied that News Corp wouldn't be able to purchase the sport if they offered the right price. Without a definite 'no' from CVC, there's simply no way that a fan such as myself can understand whether the sport will be sold or not.
So, if News Corp did buy F1, would F1 be shown on pay-per-view TV only? At the moment, the BBC have the rights to show F1, but this agreement runs out itself very soon - adding to my worry that F1 could move from the accessible free-to-air television to pay-per-view. Bernie Ecclestone has branded this 'suicidal'. The teams have also spoken against this idea arguing that moving F1 from free-to-air TV would be madness - and they're right in this respect. Formula 1 teams rely on sponsorship for money and to keep the teams going generally. If F1 moved away from free-to-air TV then suddenly the audience decreases massively. I love F1, however I simply cannot afford to watch nearly 20 races on pay-per-view television. Should the audience decrease, then sponsors would lose interest in teams as they get little return on their investment - investments of millions of pounds. This reason alone is weighty enough to mean that the teams are opposed to F1 being shown on pay-per-view TV. It is likely then that teams would fight any bid by News Corp to change the Concorde Agreement's clause of showing F1 on free-to-air television.
The negotiations of the Concorde Agreement themselves appear to be somewhat fraught, with Jean Todt (president of Ferrari) arguing that there are three options for the sport prior to the negotiation of the agreement - article here. First, the teams could go for the easy life and simply renew the Concorde Agreement as it stands with CVC - the option which seems most likely for the moment. Second, they could seek out a new partner to replace CVC; the likely choice being News Corp providing that F1 stays on free-to-air TV, or a partnership between News Corp and Exor. The final option which Todt rose was to form a breakaway championship - similar to the NBA in Basketball (apparently... I'm no expert on basketball!).
Now, I doubt that F1 will form a breakaway championship - it just seems like F1 is too expensive to be run without the support of a large company like CVC. That, and this isn't the first time that teams have threatened a breakaway series. When the points system was being overhauled there were similar threats of forming a breakaway championship - this never happened and the points system which we have currently was used as an alternative to the proposed medals system. To me, it just seems like the threat of a breakaway championship is used by the teams as a negotiating tool.
Personally, as a fan I am very happy with how the sport is run at the moment. Despite the criticisms of the rules, argument that overtaking is artificial because of DRS and KERSwatch F1 on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday and I get the opportunity to save up my money and attend races in person. Hopefully the Concorde Agreement terms will be sorted in time and once again the fans will come out on top - in a choice between business and sport I so hope that sport comes out on top!
Monday, 9 May 2011
Oh You Fickle F1 Fans...
So, did we all enjoy the F1 yesterday? Lots of overtaking, exciting stuff and my favourite team and driver winning! Fantastic!
What do you mean "too much overtaking"??
Whilst on Twitter this morning I saw a posting by Jon Noble (a reporter for Autosport) which suggested that overtaking has become too easy in F1. You can read the article here. I find it hilarious that apparently F1 fans have gone from brandishing pitchforks and torches shouting "There's not enough overtaking, Bernie!" to apparently shouting "The overtaking's too easy, Bernie!". You'd have though that we're all a fickle lot, but I want to examine what all the fuss is about.
Now, the overtaking debate has been going on for some time now. Last year we had very few overtakes, perhaps even less than the year before, and people as a result began to complain that racing was 'boring' or 'processional' with only pit stops providing the bulk of the passing opportunities. Why is this? Rather than the typical view that 'drivers can't be bothered', the answer is probably a matter of physics. You see, the cars now have such sophisticated aerodynamics packages that they create a wake of turbulent air, meaning that cars behind initially get into the slipstream when 1 second behind, but then are met by turbulent air which pushes them all over the place. As a result, it is very hard to get any close and get past. In order to combat this, the bizarre aero pieces which were stuck here, there and everywhere on the cars in 2009 were banned, leading to a more simple looking car. In 2010 we still faced similar issues, largely due to the downforce being produced by the cars (more turbulent air you see). So, in 2011 Bernie and the gang brought back KERS (the Kinetic Energy Recovery System) and introduced the DRS (Drag Reduction System) to aid drivers behind in overtaking.
In order to understand this a little bit more, let me explain what exactly KERS and DRS are. KERS is a system whereby energy from braking is stored as electricity and is then converted into extra horsepower. The drivers charge their KERS unit over a lap, and have the energy available to them on the following lap. This leads to a system whereby the drivers constantly charge and use the energy available. There is no set place where drivers can use KERS, rather they press one of many buttons on the steering wheel to activate it. Generally, KERS is vital at starts where there is a long run to the first corner and in places where there are long straights generally. This season, Red Bull have been having issues with KERS, having not run it in 2009 like many other teams. KERS is meant to aid overtaking by providing an extra boost to the drivers when they are close to a car in front - or indeed to try and escape the car behind!
Now, the DRS is new. The drivers are able to press a button to open a flap on the rear wing, which reduces the drag caused by being in the turbulent air of the car in front. In contrast to KERS, the DRS is only available at a set point on the track (as decided by Charlie Whiting), and then only when a driver is within one second of the car in front - so no using DRS to escape from an oncoming driver. Turkey showed us just how well the DRS and KERS can be in conjunction with each other - there were loads of battles between drivers, even between team mates (though not Red Bull, much to Christian Horner's relief following on from 2010).
Despite these systems of KERS and DRS giving us exciting racing, people have been debating whether they are such a good thing. People have been arguing that overtaking is now artificial, and not down to driver skill. Rather than drivers having to negotiate their overtaking maneuvers on other drivers, they can simply press two buttons and go past.
However, I don't see it like this. If you get a driver who guards the necessary lines into corners, no amount of speed or drag reduction will allow them past. Drivers must therefore negotiate which line to take, as well as how to defend. Not forgetting that drivers don't automatically pull away from another when they have overtaken (unless they're one of the elite teams), and so the driver who has just overtaken another could find themselves being retaken! Just look as the battle between Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton - because the drivers were equally matched in terms of car, several overtakes took place which made for exciting racing.
So if we take this into account I don't think we can complain about the overtaking being too easy - any overtaking is good, regardless of how it comes about. If a driver has the presence of mind to use his KERS and DRS and is able to overtake another, that is down to the driver. We shouldn't see KERS and DRS as some sort of 'push to pass' system, but rather tools which help the drivers to battle with others and give us more of a show. So to all you F1 fans out there who aren't so happy with the new systems - just get over it and enjoy the racing!
What do you mean "too much overtaking"??
Whilst on Twitter this morning I saw a posting by Jon Noble (a reporter for Autosport) which suggested that overtaking has become too easy in F1. You can read the article here. I find it hilarious that apparently F1 fans have gone from brandishing pitchforks and torches shouting "There's not enough overtaking, Bernie!" to apparently shouting "The overtaking's too easy, Bernie!". You'd have though that we're all a fickle lot, but I want to examine what all the fuss is about.
Now, the overtaking debate has been going on for some time now. Last year we had very few overtakes, perhaps even less than the year before, and people as a result began to complain that racing was 'boring' or 'processional' with only pit stops providing the bulk of the passing opportunities. Why is this? Rather than the typical view that 'drivers can't be bothered', the answer is probably a matter of physics. You see, the cars now have such sophisticated aerodynamics packages that they create a wake of turbulent air, meaning that cars behind initially get into the slipstream when 1 second behind, but then are met by turbulent air which pushes them all over the place. As a result, it is very hard to get any close and get past. In order to combat this, the bizarre aero pieces which were stuck here, there and everywhere on the cars in 2009 were banned, leading to a more simple looking car. In 2010 we still faced similar issues, largely due to the downforce being produced by the cars (more turbulent air you see). So, in 2011 Bernie and the gang brought back KERS (the Kinetic Energy Recovery System) and introduced the DRS (Drag Reduction System) to aid drivers behind in overtaking.
In order to understand this a little bit more, let me explain what exactly KERS and DRS are. KERS is a system whereby energy from braking is stored as electricity and is then converted into extra horsepower. The drivers charge their KERS unit over a lap, and have the energy available to them on the following lap. This leads to a system whereby the drivers constantly charge and use the energy available. There is no set place where drivers can use KERS, rather they press one of many buttons on the steering wheel to activate it. Generally, KERS is vital at starts where there is a long run to the first corner and in places where there are long straights generally. This season, Red Bull have been having issues with KERS, having not run it in 2009 like many other teams. KERS is meant to aid overtaking by providing an extra boost to the drivers when they are close to a car in front - or indeed to try and escape the car behind!
Now, the DRS is new. The drivers are able to press a button to open a flap on the rear wing, which reduces the drag caused by being in the turbulent air of the car in front. In contrast to KERS, the DRS is only available at a set point on the track (as decided by Charlie Whiting), and then only when a driver is within one second of the car in front - so no using DRS to escape from an oncoming driver. Turkey showed us just how well the DRS and KERS can be in conjunction with each other - there were loads of battles between drivers, even between team mates (though not Red Bull, much to Christian Horner's relief following on from 2010).
Despite these systems of KERS and DRS giving us exciting racing, people have been debating whether they are such a good thing. People have been arguing that overtaking is now artificial, and not down to driver skill. Rather than drivers having to negotiate their overtaking maneuvers on other drivers, they can simply press two buttons and go past.
However, I don't see it like this. If you get a driver who guards the necessary lines into corners, no amount of speed or drag reduction will allow them past. Drivers must therefore negotiate which line to take, as well as how to defend. Not forgetting that drivers don't automatically pull away from another when they have overtaken (unless they're one of the elite teams), and so the driver who has just overtaken another could find themselves being retaken! Just look as the battle between Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton - because the drivers were equally matched in terms of car, several overtakes took place which made for exciting racing.
So if we take this into account I don't think we can complain about the overtaking being too easy - any overtaking is good, regardless of how it comes about. If a driver has the presence of mind to use his KERS and DRS and is able to overtake another, that is down to the driver. We shouldn't see KERS and DRS as some sort of 'push to pass' system, but rather tools which help the drivers to battle with others and give us more of a show. So to all you F1 fans out there who aren't so happy with the new systems - just get over it and enjoy the racing!
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