Trish's guide to F1 - View from the TV

The End of an Era...

2011-11-27T23:41:00.002-04:00

The BBC exclusive contract has ended. Next year Sky TV and the BBC will share the responsibility of broadcasting to the world. Martin Brundle (the usual commentator for BBCF1) has reportedly signed with Sky TV, leaving David Couldhardt the main commentator... who knows, they may put Eddie Jordan up in the box.

I'll be sad to see this coverage go. the BBC has done a wonderful job with everything, and it just won't be the same with the team going in so many different directions. Then again, there are also 3 team name changes, as well as countless driver changes to come.

Congratulations to Mark Webber on winning the race, and to Jenson Button for coming second in the Championship.

New Jersey 2013

2011-10-22T23:19:00.002-03:00

I have no idea what is going on in Bernie's head these days. Why does the US need ANOTHER GP?? The track in Austin isn't even done yet, barely started, and there is already talk of yet another US GP. How about testing the market a little better? Why not give Canada another race, or somewhere in South America? Has he not seen the financial crisis? With ticket prices as much as they are (I can only speak for Canada, but holy crap are they pricy), how does he intend to support this?

I remember the last US race in Indy, and the pissed off people there, how can he want to put 2 races in that market, without even having decent coverage of the current races? Speed TV spends more time in commercial breaks than they do actually showing the race, and the commentators dumb the whole thing down so much that there is no way to enjoy it in the slightest. I say this actually having tuned into the Speed TV coverage for a few GPs this year, and it was abysmal.

I'd just rather see a race added in a market that was proven, than expanding into so many countries who haven't embraced F1. Bring back some of the European GP races that were cut in the expansion to Korea, or Turkey. I liked the French, and even then Austrian GP was fun (though if I am not mistaken, Red Bull now owns that particular track...)

Bring F1 to proven markets, don't ask unproven countries who are obviously struggling financially, and don't show a ton of interest in the sport to invest millions and billions into tracks that you may only use for a few years.

2011-10-16T19:08:00.002-03:00

Sadly, at the time of my last post I had no idea that Dan Wheldon had died. Again, I don't follow Indy, so I am ignorant to a lot of the rules, but it is no less sad that he was involved in a racing accident that took his life.

Race red-flagged and cancelled.

2011-10-16T18:16:00.002-03:00

I just watched the BBC f1 intro. It looked almost like Vettel had died, the montage that they did. I'm watching it just after finding out about the HUGE Indy car accident in Las Vegas. That is the part that I like the least of the whole sport. I don't watch for the crashes, I dread them.

Unlike NASCAR in the States, where huge crashes are expected, there is something slightly more civilized in Formula 1 (and perhaps Indy, it isn't a series I follow). Then again, there aren't rollbars and windshields to protect the drivers, so that when there are accidents in open-wheel racing, they are a lot harder to watch.

Take today with Schumacher and Petrov, Petrov tried to drive over the back wing of Schumacher, taking them both out of the race. It wasn't as bad as a few other incidents last year, it is still terrifying. As much as I love watching the sport, it isn't something that I would be able to do, I just don't have the balls these guys do.

Vettel and the Championship

2011-09-15T08:47:00.003-03:00

In the media lately, I have seen a lot of people saying that there is no reason to watch the rest of the season, as Vettel has already won. I find this to be highly rude and offensive. Yes Vettel is having a great season, but how many journalists would be complaining if Hamilton or Button was doing that well?

I am brought back to a simpler time, a less internet-oriented time when there was a small team called Ferrari, and a driver known as Schumacher who dominated every race in many seasons. I don't remember the same amount of outrage with that, then again, social neworking wasn't king back then, not did my local paper care about F1. In other words I didn't have as much access to the sport that I do now. The points system was also very different, none of this 25 point crap (which I hate), back when a win only gave you 10 points, so there was more of a chance and a fight, instead of someone having a few good races and running away with it.

I think that those who are complaining about Vettel winning need to think back, and remember when Red Bull rarely finished a race, let alone got in the points. I usually like the little guy, but I don't agree with team orders, regardless of what the regulations say. So I am not as much of a red Bull fan as I used to be, but Vettel is a lot more of a show man that Schumacher was in his heyday. He would calmly get out of the car, and walk to the podium, and at least Vettel bounces. You can tell really how young he is at the end of the races, with the radio transmissions. That makes it fun for me. Perhaps I will get as sick of him as I was of Schumacher, but now I still find myself cheering for both of them, as they are both amazing drivers.

I just wish that the cameras would focus less on Hamilton, and more on the rest of the drivers, there has to be more going on than just him....

DRS, Gravel Traps and Refueling

2011-08-28T11:24:00.003-03:00

While I think that DRS should be available all the time, and not just in certain straights, bring back some of the penalties that used to be there too... take away the runoff areas, and bring back gravel traps. If you are going to have drivers wait until the last second to close their wings, and run wide, punish them for it...

I liked seeing the cars fight through the gravel traps, sure sometimes they bottomed out, but sometimes they managed to get back out again. F1 did get boring when there was no overtaking, but with the KERS and the DRS to encourage it, bring back some of the things to punish the drivers if they do run wide... keep the on the track, and punish them for sailing wide. It would make the race more interesting, especially with KERS and DRS, as well as the tyre degradation.

Of course I would like to see how refueling (low fuel cars) would go on the Pirellis. It would add a whole new level of strategy, because you wouldn't want your tyres to fall off the cliff before you are ready for petrol and vice versa. It would also take away some of the stress on the mechanics. Where pit times are so watched now, and a 4 second tyre change is considered slow, it would calm them down a bit to go back to the 7-8 second stops. There would also likely be fewer errors with wheel nuts... how many have we seen go flying this year because they don't go on right? That is a HUGE safety concern.

With all the technology in the cars it seems stupid to bog them down with 150 kilos of fuel, when the racing would be better all around if they went back to low-fuel runs... Especially with the engine changes in the next few years... the "Pinnacle" of motorsport running on less that a V8 is just silly, you may as well be watching sedan racing.

Spa... F1 is back again...

2011-08-26T23:26:00.002-03:00

I was talking to my Mum the other day, telling her that F1 was back this weekend, and all she had to say about it was that it gets in the way of her life.... You see, despite Dad's and my love of the sport, she doesn't like it. Despite this, she can pick her way through the grid like nobody's business, and can usually tell you who the previous year's World Champion was...

I just get a kick out of her because she is so willing to complain about it, yet she is always in the room for the podium events, and the post-race interviews... she's the one that so eloquently pointed out how much better Vettel's english had gotten... It really is shocking to me how people who really don't care about the sport at all can still rattle off facts about it (and shock the heck out of me)

FP3 is on tomorrow morning at about 4 am, so I will likely be sleeping through it, but Quali is usually around 9 am, so I am hoping to be home from the market in tome to "watch" over twitter... The downside of not having cable... At least with Twitter I get some live streaming...

I'm hoping for a really good race to kick off the second half of the season, but the weather could be a major factor (here as well as there, I'm waiting for hurricane Irene to hit sometime Sunday night...)

Senna and Heidfeld

2011-08-24T16:16:00.002-03:00

So it is official... Bruno Senna will be replacing Nick Heidfeld for the rest of the season. Renault just felt that he wasn't performing up to their standards.

I feel badly for both drivers, because Nick is being let go in the middle of the season, and consequently will be left out of the rest of the races (duh), and that I do believe that he IS a good driver. He is also a very experienced driver, so hopefully his ego will allow him to be picked up by a lesser team, so he can help them out... Look at Kovalinen and Trulli at Team Lotus. Their expertise gives the team quite a competitive edge over the other young teams.

Senna is being ripped off because even if he does well in the resy of the races for the rest of the season, points wise he will always be the "second driver" to Petrov. This may be what the team wants, to get a "young team" started, to give them a chance to season both of the drivers...

Depending on the type of contract that Lotus Renault offers, it may spell the end of a career for Robert Kubica too, while he is out for this season, but he seemed to be looking into coming back next season, if he gets cleared medically.

Sky TV and the BBC

2011-08-14T20:48:00.002-03:00

I know that this is coming up about 3 weeks too late, but whatever.

I think that the Brits being all up in arms about the fact that they might actually have to PAY to see F1 is kind of funny. You see when F1 moved from ITV to the BBC, we Canadians lost our F1 pre-show. We get a grid lineup now, and that is all. Really TSN (which we pay about $20 a month for) only shows Quali, and the race. That is about 3 hours of F1 every race weekend. Yes, it is the BBC coverage, but still.... Otherwise we have to upgrade to another sports pack for another $10 for AMERICAN F1 coverage... the announcers are trying to present the race to people who don't even know what a CAR is....

Yes, it is a shame that Bernie let the commercial rights be split, but at the Fan Forum, Whitmarsh did hint at that happening. He did mention that it was a shame that the rights were so locked down. Then again one of the Ferrari execs discussed being at a NASCAR event, and the spectacle that it was...

I am concerned about the quality of commentary as much as anyone else, but at the same time, I have been paying to watch F1 for as long as I can remember. Not that there is a chance I get to watch it in bars here, or anything else. My drink of choice when I'm watching is usually tea or water, with a large bowl of cereal. Damn 9am races... but at the same time I like it that way.

Exert from My Blog about the Canadian GP 2011

2011-08-12T09:50:00.001-03:00

Originally Published June 13th 2011

As for the F1 race... Clusterfuck doesn't even begin to describe it. By this point in the day, it is drizzling fairly heavily. The driver's parade (not in their cars, but being driven around the circuit in old British ragtop sportscars. The actual rain started when they were about halfway around the track. Dad and I thought we were ready for the rain (him moreso than me). He put on his rainpants, and I dug out my poncho and wrapped it around my legs (and foamy chair thing). There was still about an hour before the beginning of the race. The rain got a little heavier, and I got a tweet from my friend Jay that the race was going to start behind the safety car (He was watching from home in England, we'd been tormenting each other all weekend over twitter). That wasn't announced to us until about 1/2 hour later.... so much for keeping the crowd informed.

The rest gets a little foggy... so just bear with me, if you are even still reading...

The race does start behind the safety car (meaning no high speeds, no passing, no fun....) for about 10 laps it was out there, with the cars, trying to dry off the track. at about 10 laps in, it finally came in, and the race had a rolling start. About 5 laps after that, there was a major accident that caused the safety car to come out again (Hamilton tries to pass Button, crashes into the pit wall, breaking some other team's pitboards, then tries to continue racing, and his car conks out about 12 way around they track. YAY!!) (trying to clear the car, and get the debris off the track). This went on (while it was still raining), for about 3 laps. The safety car comes in, we start racing again... what do you know, another accident... (This time Alonso was trying to pass Button, and they bumped wheels, spinning Alonso into the wall, ending his race. Not so Yay.). Safety car comes out again. We've hit downpour, and "apparently" it wasn't safe to have the cars on at high speeds, so the damn thing stays out for another 10-ish laps.

Next up, the rain gets even heavier, snuck between my coat and poncho, even though I had the poncho tucked under the bottom of my coat, and starts dripping onto my chair/chairpad, and jeans. The race gets red-flagged*. We were about 25 laps in to a 70-ish lap race. The clock stopped at I think about 78 minutes remaining. (meaning we'd watched about 30 minutes behind the safety car (boring), and 12 minutes of racing.

We waited in a downpour for over an hour waiting for any information about the race (the announcers gave us NOTHING). Jay (in England) kept me informed as to what the BBC was saying. (Dad had bought me a drybag for my phone that is really amazing, and it meant that I didn't wreck the phone in the rain). We finally got word about an hour into this storm that they wanted to restart the race once the rain stopped, and that the track was less full of puddles. An hour and a half passes... I'm now pretty much soaked to the skin from my belly button down, and from my hands to my shoulders (from being on the phone), and am freezing cold. We hear again, that they want to restart the race, but don't know when that will happen. They joke that it doesn't really get dark early in Canada, so they could wait forever.... (we then started booing the announcers, as they were warm and dry in their booth, and we were the ones dripping wet). The cameras start panning our stands, and we get a little rowdy. Probably because a lot of the people in the stands are drunk... what else was there to do? We all start singing (Ole, like they do at the hans games), and the camera quickly cuts away from us (wusses). I'm waiting to watch the race to see if you can see Dad and I in the stands. Two hours pass... the rain starts to slow, and we get a restart time. I've started shaking I'm so cold, but don't really want to move, because then my seat will get wet. The stewards have brought over a septic pumper truck to try and deal with the lake that has formed on the track in front of our stands

Two hours and 5 minutes after the race was red-flagged, we start again behind the safety car. (BOOOO). It stays out for far too long... we all start booing at it. You can likely hear us on the feed (at least I hope so, most of the stands were booing). The safety car goes in, and 8 cars (of the 22 that are running) all jump into the pits to switch out of full wets, to intermediate tyres. This says that it was out for WAY too long. Button gets a drive-through penalty** for speeding behind the safety car, and because of this drops from near the top of the grid to dead last. It looks like he's out of it.

Then there is more blur (for me, I was so cold....) Button starts fighting back, and makes it up to about 10th. Another safety car, as the cars are switching from intermediate tires, to the slicks that they go on in dry tracks. This causes them to slide all over the track if they go off the racing line (racing line: the quickest way around the track, the line all the drivers take unless they are passing someone. The driest and grippiest part of the track). Another crash (can't remember who goes out), safety car comes out again.... we all boo, but there is a lot of debris for the stewards to clean up. Carbon fibre is really sharp, and just shreds through the tires causing them to go flat.

Somehow after the restart (less than 10 laps left, and the two hour limit is almost up...the BBC says time will be up before the laps are...ending the race early. Button jumps to 4th. Vettel is still leading, has for the whole race... and hasn't really done much. Schumacher is having an amazing race, with Webber in 3rd. Schumacher makes a mistake, and both Button and Webber pass him (Vettel in 1st, Button in 2nd, and Webber in 3rd). Really nifty move. In the last 5 laps, Button is catching Vettel at an alarming rate (Vettel had been about 10 seconds ahead and in F1 times it is about 5 years ahead). Alarming, like 2 seconds a lap... Button is inching closer and closer, and on the last lap Vettel zigged when he should have zagged, and Button passed him for the win in the last corner. The press called it the race of his life, and I am inclined to agree.... Apart from all the safety cars (which made the race be more like 6 small races, and the long storm, it was a really amazing race. One of the best I've seen.

*Red Flagged: An F1 race has a maximum time of 2 hours. A red flag means that the race is stopped, and so is the timer. This way the race can restart when it is deemed safe, and have the race clock start again.

**Drive-through penalty: Driver has to drive through the pits (100 km/h speed limit), adds about 15-20 seconds to your lap time

Starting out again

2011-08-12T09:45:00.002-03:00

I think I'm going to try this again. It has been a while since I've written about F1, but I do miss it. Sadly I'm hardly in a huge F1 center (I'm damn lucky if I can find anyone who knows anything about it here), but that doesn't stop me.

This may not really be the best time to start a new blog given that F1 is in the middle of summer break, but whatever, since when do I even do anything at the proper time anyway.

I'll likely be dragging some older posts over from my personal blog, because I still post them there, but they have a better fit here.

Thanks,

Trish

2010-04-20T22:04:00.001-03:00

sorry no update on the Chinese GP. I will have that on Sunday, as I haven't actually seen the race yet. my partner in crime for F1 was away, so I have the race ready to go, but I won't see him again till the weekend.

Malyasian GP

2010-04-04T11:46:00.002-03:00

Qualifying yesterday was a bit of a trick. Torrential downpours really dampened (hehehe) things. It also left the grid in a bit of a sorry state. The RedBulls dominated qualifying, while the Ferraris and McLarens were left puzzled about what happened... they were at the back of the grid.

On to the race. Webber and Vettel duked it out to see who would lead (webber had pole). Vettel lead the race after taking the top spot from Webber in the first few corners. He FINALLY had some luck with reliability. The main focus of the race was the McLarens and Ferraris and their struggle for points, and places as they started from the back of the grid.

There were 7 retirements (should have been 9). One of the Lotus' had suspension failure, but until it totally blew up he had to stay on the track (failed with about 5 laps left). Lotus just wanted one of their cars to finish. He ended up lapping in the 2 minute mark, with all the other cars lapping in the 1:30's. The other problem was with Virgin Racing's fuel tank. It just osn't big enough. It doesn't carry enough fuel for the whole race, so he was told to conserve fuel for about the last 10 laps, and was lapping in the 1:50's. They both finished, but so many laps down.

There were no terrific crashes or anything this week, lots of passing, and it was really exciting. Congrats to Vettel (redbull) (1), Webber (2) (redbull), and Rosberg (mercedes) (3, first podium ever... did better than his teammate who had engine failure). Button and Hamilton fought their way through from the back of the grid and placed 8 and 6 respectively, and Massa ended up 7th, Alonso didn't finish.

Schumacher seems to still have a big presence on the track, but really he is driving like a backmarker. He just doesn't have the pace that he used to. Then again much has changed in the 3 years since he retired.

Australian GP

2010-03-28T11:42:00.002-03:00

Much better race this time. As opposed to the no refueling rule as I was, it does make for an interesting race. I think Hamilton's little temper tantrum in the closing laps may just have cemented him in the #2 (hehehe #2) spot in the team behind Button. He seems to forget that while he may have been in the team longer, that Button has more F1 experience, and that is shining through.

Back to the race. It was an exciting/terrifying first few corners, with much drama. Alonso wound up pointing in the wrong direction for a bit, and due to that, he was dead last for a bit, but he fought back well, and wound up getting a few points. Vettel was plagued with unreliability from Red Bull again (he is such a promising driver, he just needs a more reliable team). Schumacher had a little shunt with Button and Alonso, and had to pit just as the safety car went out (at the beginning of the race), and wound up in 10th.

Button proved why he is the reigning world champion taking a gamble about 10 laps into the race, and switching from wet tyres to intermediates about 2 laps before anyone else. He had a dicy out lap, but held it together, and because he is easy on his tyres didn't have to stop again, and finished in first (after Vettel's brake failure). Kubica (renault) came out of nowhere to take second fending off the charge from Massa'a Ferrari. Massa came in third.

Overall it was a much more exciting race, proving that the first GP was more of a testing session than an actual race.

Bahrain GP

2010-03-14T11:11:00.003-03:00

What can I say?

There was drama, new pit stop rules, and no horrific crashes. It was a fairly clean race, less overtaking than I would have expected. Then again, with no fuel stops the cars are almost too heavy to have any stops.

F1 seems to be trying to turn itself into an enduro race now. Engines have to last 3 races, and gearboxes 2. I realize that this is to try and cut costs, but doing that and then not letting the cars refuel is going to cost more than to just cut the number of engines.

Anyway, Vettel was doing so well for the first 2/3rds of the race, then he was cursed with a broken exhaust. He did really well after it broke, only giving up 3 places. However those 3 places were to 2 ferraris and a McLaren. I should be pleased that the ferraris did so well, as I really like the drivers, but I'm just not. The less said about the mcLarens the better.

Lotus was the best of the new teams, with both cars finishing, and they should be very proud of that. Neither of the Virgin Racing cars finished, nor the HRT (campos) cars did. They are also be best looking cars of the bunch.

7 days till Baharain

2010-03-04T09:39:00.003-04:00

The FIA has confirmed that there will be 12 teams taking part in the 2010 Championship. Heh. The USF1 team didn't even make it to the starting grid. The brainchild of Ken Anderson and Peter windsor of having a completely US F1 team hasn't made it. Their plan was to have an american designed car, built in the states (with a cogsworth engine), and 2 american drivers. As the break progressed they signed an Argentinian driver, and no teammate. They plan on trying again in a few years once they get their factory set up.

With the grid in it's current state of disarray, I have no idea what will happen. You have a team that has been together forever (mclaren and mercedes) having split apart, and reformed into 2 teams, Renault who are dying to prove that they are still good after last year's crashgate incident, and Button and Hamilton (two world champions) duking it out at McLaren. So there is team Germand VS Team Britain, and 10 other teams who all want a taste of the podium this year.

I need a new team to cheer for. Raikkonnen (World Rally Championship, not even F1 this year) who races for Ferrari last year, so I couldn't cheer for him, Alonso went to Ferrari this year, so I can't cheer for him. Rosberg is Schumacher's teammate, can't cheer for Mercedes, Button is Hamilton's teammate, and I hate to see him win. Renault, my former love now has 2 drivers that I don't know. However I have until June to see who I will be cheering for at the GP in Montreal.

2010-02-23T23:23:00.002-04:00

With 16 days to go till the first race, there are still teams that have yet to launch their cars, or even declare a second driver. Not looking good for USF1, or Campos Meta.

I'm waiting to see how it all goes, though I have a feeling that USF1 won't get off the ground. they were supposed to be the US team, all US born and bred. As it is , they have an Argentinean driver and that is all.

Can't wait till the season starts.

EDITORS NOTE:

2010-02-15T14:03:00.002-04:00

Not sure if anyone even reads this, but for the next 2 weeks posts will be even more sporadic, as the Olympics are on, and I will be paying more attention to them.

GO TEAM CANADA!!

Lotus GP

2010-02-12T23:10:00.002-04:00

That is a damn sexy car. Most of them have debuted by now, but the Lotus just took my breath away. It looks reminiscent of the old Jaguar team. This may be due to my weakness of British Racing Green, but DAMN...

Virgin Racing

2010-02-03T22:57:00.003-04:00

For all the crap I give that team about their name, do they ever have a nice looking car this season. The VR-01 is a really slick looking car. It was totally computer designed, with very little to no wind tunnel testing, and will be in Silverstone for testing this week.

It is a black and red car, but seems to have better lines than the others that have been unveiled. This doesn't mean much for track times, they remain to be seen, but it does look good.

4 car unveilings.

2010-01-31T22:32:00.001-04:00

Of the 4 new cars unveiled (Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and Renault), the Ferrari is the car that I like best.... and I really dislike the team.

The new cars look very different than the 2009 cars, the back wing has been practically chopped off. The vent behind the drivers head also seems to have been extended in the McLaren, BMW and the Renault almost to the new back wing. BMW has also seemingly lost all their sponsors, as their car is now black and white. Renault is mainly a Yellow (from light blue to dark blue white and orange to yellow... go figure)

The new designs suck, then again, I hate change.

car #'s

2010-01-24T21:53:00.002-04:00

This year because there has been so much shuffling with the existing teams (not even going there with the new teams), there was a but of an issue with handing out the numbers for cars.

Jenson Button and Brawn should have gotten the 1 and 2 numbers, but given that Jenson went to McLaren, and Mercedes bought the brawn team, there was a bit of a decision that had to be made about who got the numbers. Button ended with the #1 and 2 for McLaren (Button is #1, and Hamilton (boo) is #2) hehe...#2...I;m going to have fun with that...

ok, back to the point, Mercedes was given the numbers 3 and 4 for their drivers Rosberg and Schumacher. Schumacher somehow managed to get the #3 car. If I were Rosberg, I would be pretty pissed about being usurped by an unranked driver (even if he is one of the more successful drivers in F1 history). No playing favourites at the Mercedes camp... no wait...

FIA vs Briatore part 2 and 3

2010-01-11T17:48:00.002-04:00

So Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have been given bans from the FIA from the crash-gate scandal. Last week a french court overturned the FIA's ban of Briatore and Symonds stating that they do not have the right to assign bans to people. Briatore had petitioned the courts to overturn the ban, and allow him to get back into the sport.

the FIA appealed the decision to the courts today.

I think that Briatore deserves the ban, he FIXED A RACE, as much as it pains me to say, as renault is my favourite team, but that is just my opinion.

2 months before the 2010 season starts.

2010-01-10T11:10:00.002-04:00

and 19 of the 24 drivers have been selected.

Team USF1 has yet to announce any drivers, and Renault, Toro Rosso and Campos still have to announce their second driver. there is a lot of speculation if team USF1 is even going to get off the ground, they are being very secretive about everything. Their unveiling is in Alabama, but I just don't know if they don't win right away, will the American public accept them. Look at the US Grand Prix, it died shortly after its inception, due to the fact that one of the tyre suppliers messed up.

Anyway, still waiting on confirmation for my tickets to the Canadian GP, but still hoping for the Senna corner.

Montreal GP - Tickets

2009-12-26T11:27:00.002-04:00

Tickets are on sale for people who have previously attended. This being said, mine have been ordered. We will be sitting at the Senna turn of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve (hopefully). Ticket prices don't seem to have gone up too much, which is pretty good.

Schumacher to make F1 return.

2009-12-23T16:09:00.002-04:00

Its official. Michael Schumacher will be back for the 2010 season, but not in a red car. That will be pretty strange, as most of his career was spend in a red car.

He has signed a 3 year contract with Mercedes, and more importantly (for him) with Ross Brawn, the one behind most of Schumacher's championships (and more importantly Jenson Button's 2009 world championship)

I can't say that I am thrilled with his return, but it will be interesting to see how he holds up against the younger racers.

Team Lotus

2009-12-14T13:17:00.001-04:00

Lotus have signed Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalinen to be their drivers for next season.

Really, seems to be a safe choice, rather than a flashy one. Both men are solid drivers, with flashes of brilliance, but will be good for a team that is just starting to get back into the game.

FIA's award ceremony

2009-12-12T20:57:00.002-04:00

Button and Brawn were presented with their Championship trophies.

Too bad that Brawn is no longer now, and will soon be Team Germany (Mercedes), and McLaren will soon be Team Britain. Add Team USF1, and then there will be an interesting brawl. Virgin who was one of Brawn's only sponsors seems to have taken up residence with one of the new teams, to become Team Virgin, which just occurred to me is a really funny name.

Go Go Team Virgin... (lol)

Quick Update

2009-12-10T23:15:00.002-04:00

Sorry no update for quite some time, but there just hasn't really been anything going on lately.

Silverstone has been granted license for the next 15 years, so Donnington won't be hosting (what a shock).

There is talk of every team getting together and unveiling all their car prototypes at the same time (seems a little odd, but quite cost-saving)

There will be a new points system next year to compensate the fact that there will be 13 teams on the grid. the top 10 finishers will be getting points. 25, 20, 15, 10, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2, 1. I think that this is an excess of points for the top 3. I can see starting at 15, but 25 seems like a lot of points and that it would be really hard to catch up from the back. Then again I resisted when they went from the top 6 to the top 8 runners too.

Change may be good, this will be left to be seen.

Montreal GP back on!

2009-11-28T11:34:00.002-04:00

Last night it was announced that the FIA and the organizers for the Canadian GP has reached a deal, and that it was back on for the next 5 years!!

I'm thrilled about this, because going to the race was one of the coolest things that I have ever done.

Button to McLaren

2009-11-18T11:18:00.002-04:00

I'm going to be short and sweet about this one, Mercedes bought out the Brawn GP team, and seem intent on turning it into some sort of Super German team (much like USF1, who claim to only want to employ American drivers), McLaren seem to be trying to do the same thing with the Brits.

I think that we may be seeing a repeat of the scraps between Alonso and Hamilton the year that they shared the team.

I just hope that McLaren give both drivers an equal chance, as Button doesn't do well as second, and Hamilton never has had to. It could lead to an interesting season of scraps.

Raikkonnen has "elected" to take next year off from F1, being unable to get a seat with the team that he wanted to (Button took his spot).

I am so not happy about this one. My two favourite drivers going to teams that I dislike, this really sucks

Mercedes acquire Brawn GP

2009-11-16T12:50:00.001-04:00

Mercedes now have a stake in two F1 teams. Ross Brawn will remain as team principle, but there is a lot of speculation about who the new drivers will be.

Mercedes deal with McLaren expires in 2015, then there may be another split. The current rumours are that Hamilton and Button will switch teams, but who knows.

No news is not totally bad news...

2009-11-15T09:52:00.001-04:00

...just makes for really boring updates. Renault is still a team for the moment, but they have said that they will announce a decision at a later date.

I think that is all in the car news.

Renault's future uncertain in F1

2009-11-08T08:51:00.002-04:00

Earlier this week, a meeting was called by the board of directors about the future of the Car Manufacturer's future in F1. Members of the F1 team were not invited to participate in the colsed door session.

It was decided that a full decision would be reached by the end of 2009. the 3 decisions are to pull out entirely, to just make engines, or to stay a team.

**pleasepleaseplease stay a team**

Toyota to leave F1

2009-11-04T13:05:00.002-04:00

It was announced today that Toyota will not be competing in the F1 championship next season. They are withdrawing due to economic issues, but will continue to participate in racing at a grassroots level.

This leaves another 2 drivers without a drive. Trulli and Glock, as well as the new guy Kobayashi.

There are only about 8 drivers confirmed for next season, and a dwindling number of teams. They are down to 12 now, 3 new ones, and 9 who have competed in previous championships.

Abu Dhabi GP

2009-11-02T13:14:00.002-04:00

Started out as a fairly quiet race, there were a few little skirmishes, but that was all.

Then the first round of pit stops started, and the drama began, there were a few skirmishes, but nothing to report. Hamilton then was warned over the radio about a potential brake failure, and was subsequently told to come in and retire.

His retirement from the GP, made it so the two Red Bull cars were then one-two. This continued on until the last two laps, when Button made a valiant charge to try and pass Webber and take second. He came really close, but to no avail.

The last race of the season ended as a Red-Bull one-two, with Button in third.

As for the current gossip, Barachello who had been rumoured to not be a Brawn next year, was confirmed to go to Williams with an unknown GP2 driver Hulkenberg.

Abi Dhabi Qualifying

2009-11-01T08:30:00.002-04:00

No real excitement, the drivers seem to be taking to the new circuit, and Hamilton (McLaren) was the shocker coming from behind to take pole. Vettel and Webber (red bull x2) were in second and third respectively, Barachello (Brawn), was 4th, and ironically enough the reigning world champion was in 5th, behind all his rivals in the run-up for the championship.

Kobayashi to race for Toyota in Abu Dhabi

2009-10-27T15:01:00.002-03:00

Timo Glock has been declared unfit to race (due to a broken vertebrae in his back). it will be Kobayashi's second race in Formula 1.

It promises to be an interesting race, as none of the drivers have had a chance to drive the circuit yet. Levels the playing field.

Todt elected as new president of the FIA

2009-10-23T15:03:00.002-03:00

I don't know what to think, on the one hand, Mosley is gone, but on the other hand, he was the one that Mosley backed.

Todt is best known for having been the Ferrari team boss in the Schumacher era.

I will try to wait to pass judgement on him.

Mosley's Done Tomorrow!!

2009-10-22T19:42:00.003-03:00

The reign of the current president of the FIA is just about done. Mosley has had a very colourful career in his 16 year reign of the FIA.

While there are many negative things that I can say about him (and certainly have in the past), I will focus this time on what he did that was right. He brought in major safety reforms since he started, some of which was met with a lot of criticism, but had it not been for his reforms that he fought for, F1, and motorsport in general would be a lot more fatal.

This year he has been in the press a lot with the sweeping reforms that he tried to push on F1, which almost destroyed the sport, but it did open up the sport up to a few new teams, but at the same time, it did do in some of the exclusivity. 26 car grids, who would have thought that they would have seen the day.

Hopefully the next president is as good as he was, much as it pains me to admit it.

The election is tomorrow.

Abu Dhabi

2009-10-22T16:43:00.003-03:00

With Button and Brawn wrapping up the championship last week, one might think that the season is over, but there is one more race. This promises to be a really interesting race, as none of the drivers have ever been on this circuit. It may really show what they are all made of.

I don't love many of the new circuits, because they are all engineered on computers, and meant to be challenging, I miss the old tracks (Montreal, Nurbergring, even Monaco) that go more with the geography of the land moreso than the new ones (China, Singapore, Turkey, Bahrain). However it is a dedicated track, and that gives it points in my book, I am not a fan of the street tracks (even though I mentioned Monaco, but that is such an epic race, it needs to me mentioned)

However, there is still a week wait before anything happens. Can't wait, then the updates will probably slow down a bit, because all the drivers and teams will disappear back to their factories and plan for next season.

Brawn VS Everyone else

2009-10-18T23:07:00.001-03:00

This is a really odd thing that the Brawn mechanics did today (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_f6rtPKrzQ), they helped another team out, without need to, without reason. Granted McLaren is their engine supplier, but still. Last year in Singapore, when Massa had a very similar incident, none of the other teams would help, they all just sat back and laughed. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMZnmBC3kas&feature=related).

Graned Brawn was not a team last year, and until the first race of this season they were very much the underdogs (team formed 3 weeks before the season started, picked up two drivers without contracts...) And today they have both the Drivers Championship, and the Constructors championship. Not bad for a little team that shouldn't be.

Hats off to Brawn for jumping in and helping out another team, when most of the others wouldn't have.

Brazilian GP (Race)

2009-10-18T13:07:00.000-03:00

Massa (Ferrari, out with head injury) was asked to wave the checkered flag. At least the stewards are letting him do something. Poor guy, he wasnted to be back for his home race.

First lap was AMAZING, there are 3 cars out, 2 major accidents, and the beginning of a brawl.

Kovalinen (mcLaren) jumped his pitstop, and ripped out his fuel rig spraying fuel into the pit lane. This is a huge mistake, and actually caused a huge fireball engulfing Raikkonnen's (Ferrari) car. that was more than a little scary.

Alonso (renault), Sutil (force India), and Trulli (Toyota) are all out. Trulli caused the accident, crashed into Sutil, and bounced into Alonso, Alonso never stood a chance to get out of the way. I'm a little bummed about that, it os one of the last two races that I will cheer for him.

Button is up to 7th place, due to the accidents, and some due to the fact that there were some inexperienced drivers ahead of him. Vettel (red bull) got a warning from his engineers that he had to baby his engine, it was starting to overheat in the parade lap. A good sign for Button, and he is still behind, even after all the drama.

Kovalinen (McLaren) is under investigation for the pit lane for the "optional extra" of driving off with his fuel rig still attached. Button up to second, but hasn't pitted yet.... Barachello is behind him in third.

Holy drama, this is an insane race. Heidfeld (BMW)'s fuel rig malfunctioned, and he ran out of gas on the track. Poor guy, there is no way to tell if the rigs are working or now. Rosberg (Williams) is out with gearbox problems, and Nakajima (Williams) just crashed into the back of a car getting out of the pit lane, and ran down the rails, and crashed into the tyre wall.

No rain yet, and at the end of the first round of pit stops there has not been any drama for a little while.

Come on Button.... pick up the pace.... you are so damn close to winning the Championship, don't blow it now... This is brutal, statistically Button should win it this race, but the wait is killing me. Come on Button, have a good stop. In and out new tires, and fuel in 6 seconds... a little slow for a splash and dash. He is now WAY down in 7th being held up by Kovalinen. Vettel pitted after him, and got out ahead, in 5th.

Hamilon (mcLaren) is driving fairly well today, and seems to be benefitting from the KERS system on the hills. He just bumped Barachello off the podium. (boo). Barachello just got a puncture, and has to go in for new tires. Poor guy has no luck today. This puts Button to 5th, so even if Webber the race, Button wins the Championship!!

Weber wins the race, Kubica in second, and Hamilton in third in the race.

BUTTON WON THE CHAMPIONSHIP, and BRAWN took Constructors!!!! I'm so happy, he's been driving for 10 years, I remember his first race.. but all that is another time.
On a bittersweet note, this is the second to last race that I will cheer for Alonso, another one of my favourite driver, because after Abu Dhabi in two weeks, he goes to Ferrari.

Brazilian GP (Qualifying)

2009-10-17T23:31:00.000-03:00

This being in the same time zone as Brazil is really annoying, especially for Qualifying... I have to wait forever for the results, but on the up side, I don;t have to get up early for tomorrow's race.

It is the rainy season in Brazil, and the 60-minute qualifying session actually took them 2h41m to complete.

Not looking good for Button, he is back in 14th. His teammate Barachello is on pole, and is only 14 points behind going into the race. If he wins, and Button doesn't doesn't get any points, then they are 4 apart going into the final round in Abu Dhabi (a new track that no one knows at all).

Anyway, the saving grace is that Vettel is in 15th place, behind Button, which mean that he has to get past Button to make a dent in the points.

At this point I could go into a huge study of comparative stats, but they are boring, and I will leave it at this.

Starting Grid P1, Barachello (Brawn), P2 Webber (Red Bull), and P3 Sutil (Force India).

It is going to be an interesting race, I will leave it at that.

MASSA'S IN AND GLOCK'S OUT.

2009-10-12T15:40:00.004-03:00

elippe Massa (Ferrari) did his first bit of testing in a spec car today, first time back in an F1 car since his accident!! He won't be back for the final races this season, but is hoping to be in good enough shape to be back for the first race next season. Due to the testing ban, he is a 2007 Ferrari spec car. Apparently they sell them, and he is currently in a privately owned one. How cool would it be to OWN a F1 car... I have a new dream... It can live with the MGB, the Caterham, the Matrix, and whatever else I drive. Of the three listed, I own one. (I;ll be the chick living in a little run down house, with a 10 car garage in pristine shape)

Timo Glock (Toyota) on the other hand, had an accident in qualifying in Japan, and acquired a huge cut on his leg. It was enough to keep him from racing, but he had promised to be back next race... This didntt happen, he was later complaining about back pain, and was taken in for more x-rays, and he fractured a vertebra. He's out probably for the rest of the season.

More testament to all the safety features that are in the F1 cars. It really is amazing that people can have such huge crashes and just walk away from them, or just to sustain very minor injuries.

KUBICA (BMW SAUBER) JOINS RENAULT

2009-10-08T16:55:00.000-03:00

Well, the title pretty much says it all, Kubica is taking Alonso's spot in Renault when he goes to Ferrari at the end of the season. Kubica is a really talented driver who is probably best known for an enormous crash in Montreal in 2007. That wasn't the year I was there, but you can see the bleachers where Dad and I were during the race. He also came back to race in Montreal in 2008 and won it (the ONE f1 race that I attended live).

I've started looking for a new place to put all my F1 stuff. Still looking for a name for the blog. Any suggestions?

The one reccomendation that I have is from a friend of mine and it is: Sparkplugs and Bigjugs: Trish's guide to F1. (I love it, but it isn't much good as a blog name, just the title)

Massa's back in a car!

2009-10-06T11:20:00.000-03:00

So during the Hungarian GP this year, Massa was hit by a suspension spring, and suffered a concussion, and multiple skull fractures.

Anyway, he has finally been cleared to start testing in a 2007 Ferrari F1 car!! He has been doing some practise in a cart, and some on the simulator, but this is a HUGE step, and he is looking to come back next march for the 2010 season.

This whole thing says so much about the safety in the cars and how much better the are now then they used to be. Same with the helmets. He should have died.

Suzuka Race (Japan GP)

2009-10-05T11:48:00.001-03:00

Twas an intense race (as they usually are, moreso at the end of the season). Vettel started on pole, and lead the entire race, that boy could do no wrong yesterday, which mean that Brawn is going to have to start doing a lot better than they have been lately. Due to grid penalties, Barachello started 6th (his qualified spot), and Button in 10th (knocked down 5 places due to speeding past a yellow flag).

This did not bode well for Button to clinch the championship this race, as in order to do so he had to get 5 more points than Barachello. (I'lll tell you right now, it didn't happen). However there was lots of excitement in this race anyway. Webber who was 4th in the championship, totaled his car in practise, so it had to be rebuilt, and due to this had to start from the pit lane (a huge disadvantage, as you miss the warmup lap, as well as making sure that you are totally dead last because you can't start until the last car has passed by the exit. He had a terrible race, and ended 2 laps down due to issues with his (rebuilt) car.

The race was fairly uneventful, there were some minor electrical malfunctions, and a few other small touches, but with 8 laps left Alguersuari (Toro Rosso) had an run in with a sign and a tire barrier (not the worst accident I've seen, not by a long shot). Anyway, this brought the Safety Car out (bunches all the cars up, and slows them down to give crews time to clear the debris). It went back in with 5 laps to go, and then there was a quick sprint to the finish. Vettel was still leading at that point, and got very lucky having just passed a back marker (Grosjean, Renault), and he was blocking Trulli (Toyota) in second place, which meant that even if he had a terrible restart, he still had a chance to win it because Trulli had to lap Grosjean before he could go after Vettel.

Brawn didn't get the Constructors Championship, they only scored 3 points (Barachello in 7th, 2 points, and Button in 8th, 1 point).

Vettel won, Trulli in second, and Hamilton in Third.

On to Brazil in 2 weeks!! IN a way I hope that the quest for the drivers title keeps going until the very end in Abu-Dhabi, as it builds the suspense, but in a way, I just want Button to take it already, he's been trying for it for so long, and he really is a good driver.