The net result of Red Bull's immature team

So it’s been a week since the Red Bull Turkey debacle, and it seems the dust has finally settled. Or rather the mud, considering the amount of mud that was slung about since the coming together of Vettel and Webber from the lead of the Turkish GP. Everyone has blamed everyone else, with no one actually unequivocally taking blame. And now it’s my turn to throw in my 2 cents.

Okay, right off the bat, both drivers did stupid things on lap 40, we can debate endlessly, or until the next F1 scandal, which party was more culpable, but its irrelevant now. Let’s start with what Webber did wrong first though. In terms of the rules of racing, Webber did absolutely nothing wrong. Since lap 40 however, with all the information that’s come out of the woodwork, in terms of being in a racing team, team being the operative word, Webber screwed up. Webber was in a light fuel saving mode, Vettel wasn’t, so when Vettel came charging up behind Webber whilst under pressure from Hamilton, he was going to be coming by. Red Bull have stated unequivocally, that had Vettel not made a move they feared Hamilton could take at least Vettel. Upon seeing Vettel looming large in his mirrors, Webber actually asked the team to back Vettel off, which of course they weren’t going to do. Horner then informed Webber’s race engineer of the situation with Vettel and Hamilton, and that Vettel was coming past soon, basically a subtle reminder not to break F1’s rule no.1. Don’t take out your teammate.

Vettel and Webber fake one for the camera, really, they hate eachother

Here’s where the waters get murky though, apparently Webber’s race engineer failed to pass on this critical message. So when Vettel made his inevitable move, Webber defended very aggressively. Nevertheless Vettel did get through, only just but he made it, and yet Webber still didn’t relent. As a team player, who was supposed to be informed of the situation, he should have given Vettel more room. He didn’t, which broke the rule of not taking out your teammate.

Of course, Webber can’t take all the blame, in fact Vettel should probably receive more. The simple fact of the matter with Vettel, is that whilst Webber was overly aggressive with Vettel, Vettel turned into Webber. Had Vettel waited another second, he would have been 100% past as opposed to the 99% past he was. It was his sharp jerk to the right that was the final straw.

So if you view the crash as a pure racing event, blame falls on Vettel. If you take into consideration what was happening on his pit wall at the time, it shouldn’t have happened. Which means Webber must take some of the blame.

The Turkish GP before Red Bull went insane

What makes this whole story all the more intriguing is that an identical situation almost occurred between the two McLaren’s. They were both put into fuel saving mode during the latter stages of the race, with Lewis actually given specific lap times that he would need to be roughly clocking to make the end. Lewis, naturally concerned about dropping off his pace with Button so close enquired whether or not Button was in the same situation, and thus whether Button would make a pass:”If I back off, is Jenson going to pass me or not?”. McLaren responded to this question very clearly: “No Lewis, no”. Well, we all know that didn’t happen, Button you see apparently wasn’t given lap times to focus on, he was in a fuel saving engine mode, but still pushing that mode to the limits. This enabled him to briefly lead the Turkish GP before Lewis fought back.

So here we have the top two teams, not blatantly issuing team orders, but certainly messing about enough to almost cause disaster for their drivers. Interesting times indeed.

After two near impeccable performances from Mark Webber in the dominant Red Bull, the question is already being asked. Can anyone beat him to the title? It’s obviously far too early to answer that definitively, but barring major gains by the other front running teams; McLaren, Ferrari, and to a lesser extent Mercedes, Webber is the guy to beat. Of course, as we are talking about Red Bull here, it is entirely possible that Webber’s car spontaneously combusts at the first corner of every second race, which wouldn’t help his championship designs very much at all.

You may have noticed that I haven’t included Webber’s young teammate in the list of possible challengers to Webber, and the reason is simple. His spirit seems gone, and that was always his strongest attribute. So sure, he’s equal on points with Webber, but there are problems with Vettel right now, not insurmountable problems, but troubling nonetheless. And I don’t blame him; his team sold him a dummy and sent him down the river with a broken paddle. After Webber’s Monaco victory, he is leading with 78 points. Here is the indisputable fact though, had Red Bull not been mucking about, Vettel would have been on 75 after the first three races. Then combine that with his consistent if not spectacular performances since, he’d be on 100 plus easily. The fact that he isn’t way out in front though seems to have blunted his initial bulletproof pace, and one can tell he isn’t driving with the exuberance now that he was. His exuberance was what made him the fastest man on the grid, in the initial rounds at least, he was the fastest because he pushed the hardest. He isn’t pushing like he was anymore. But then why should he, when he does, the team doesn’t provide a package that can make it all the way to the chequered flag. So why bother? At least that seems to be the manner in which Vettel is driving at the moment, he’s still quick, but he’s lost the edge that he had.

Schumacher with Schumacher MKII Vettel

And if I’m right, that Red Bull is not the place for Vettel right now, he is well and truly buggered. Presuming that Webber extends his contract with Red Bull, which is highly likely at this point, Vettel has nowhere to go. The only possibility would be Massa’s seat, but if that drive is indeed open, Kubica is the best bet to take it. So Vettel is stuck at Red Bull, a team who whilst providing him with an incredibly quick car, also provide him with endless frustration. And handling frustration well is not something Vettel seems to do very effectively.

The 'old' Vettel going on to win in Malaysia

Speaking of Kubica, isn’t it great to have him back to his old form. He made his name during the 2008 season as he was the most consistently quick driver the whole year considering the development problems at BMW that year. But last year, he went off the boil, yes the BMW was slow, but he didn’t out drive the car. Now, again, he’s back to out driving the car, and getting the results as just reward. Surely, next year one of two things must happen for Kubica; either Renault continues their slow but steady resurgence to the top of the grid, or he goes to Ferrari. F1 needs Kubica in a competitive car, just like it needs Alonso in a competitive car. The sport didn’t benefit with one of if not the best driver languishing mid to lower field for several seasons. And Kubica is showing that he is of similar class.

These guys did nothing all weekend in Bahrain

The 2010 F1 season, a couple of weeks ago it was one of if the most anticipated seasons ever, now not so much. More champions on the grid than you can shake a stick at, three new teams, a smattering of new drivers, Schumacher returns, a whole raft of new rules, the list goes on. Sadly however, if the Bahrain opener is anything to go by all these new and exciting elements have formed a sort of anti-synergy. The sum being less than its parts it seems, and if you’re the type who thought F1 was boring before, whatever you do don’t look now.

The simple hard truth is that the refueling ban has hurt the sport, badly. Here’s how I interpret the situation. The soft tires can only last a short distance resulting in pitstops at 1/3rd race distance, which is fine, just like last season in fact. The harder tire then just about has the legs to do the remaining 2/3rd distance of the race. Last season however the cars needed fuel at 2/3rd distance so would come in for a second stop and get fresh tires while they were at it. Without refueling requirements all the teams just stuck to the one stop strategy because the time wasted during that second stop isn’t worth it without the need for fuel. The huge problem in Bahrain with that setup is that the teams clearly weren’t entirely convinced that the harder tires could do 2/3rd race distance, so after the first stop all the front runners nursed their cars home. For 2/3rd of the race distance! Everyone cruised around doing sweet bugger all, eventually Vettel’s Renault sourced spark plugs exploded, and three people overtook him, he changed an engine setting to alleviate the problem and then no one overtook him, that was the sum total of the front running excitement. And judging by the media storm surrounding what has been dubbed Borerhain this week, that isn’t enough racing for motor-sports premier formula.

Now there are murmurs of a mandatory second pit stop to solve the problem, which could help I guess. At the very least the drivers would be less concerned about their tires graining during the second stint and actually attempt to use the throttle at some point during said second stint.

Now that’s done I can move on to my second rant, namely the pathetic nature of Red Bull. I’ve spoken at length how Red Bull have access to some if not the best resources in the sport and still manage to blow it. Adrian Newey’s designs are clearly a class act and Vettel has the goods to drive Newey’s designs to a championship, but once again in Bahrain they showed just why they’ll struggle to beat Ferrari this year, or any of the big guns for that matter. And I’m not even talking about Vettel’s spark plugs or Webber’s oil smoke, although this latest Red Bull mistake is related somewhat. So Red Bull need to ditch Renault asap, we all know that, and in their defense they tried hard last year but to no avail. Red Bull wanted Mercedes power but got blocked by McLaren, but instead of just accepting that in 2010 Renault’s what they have and trying to get Mercedes for 2011, they instead decide to slander Mercedes. Red Bull accused Mercedes themselves of blocking Red Bull and then proceed to imply Mercedes have the best engines via nefarious avenues. That’s not how you get Mercedes power for 2011 guys.

Lastly, as predicted in my last column Button proved himself to be a chop, score!

Vettel has a good chance in Bahrain

We are now painfully close to the opening round of the 2010 F1 season, the wait has been long and anticipation sky high. I’ve so been looking forward to this one, and now that we’re this close I think it’s safe to make some predictions for the Bahrain GP. In truth it’s always been safe to make predictions, I’ve got access to the backend of our site so if I get it hopelessly wrong I can easily just edit this column after the race and proclaim innocence. That’s what our government would do, so I’d only be following the example set by our illustrious leaders, but I digress.

Based on absolutely no hard evidence whatsoever or any unquestionable premises; I’m picking Vettel, Alonso and Hamilton for the podium on Sunday, in that order. As much as it pains me to actually have thoughts of Hamilton achieving any form of success on the F1 track in any way, that McLaren has looked effective enough during winter testing. I’ve picked those three because they are each the best driver at the three fastest teams from winter testing. I know, it is impossible to definitively glean information from winter testing, what with the unknown fuel loads, incomplete setups and aero packages, not to mention the drivers themselves partaking in some good old fashioned bluffing.

If I had it my way Hamilton would be replaced by the infallible ( Yes that’s the regard in which I hold him) Schumacher, the reality however is that the Mercedes just hasn’t been on the pace up front. Sure there have been rumours of a Ross Brawn ‘Super Diffuser’ to be unveiled on the weekend, but really they are just rumours. I think Brawn has become a sort of modern day Rommel, his spectacular and deserved successes have led his competitors to hold him in an almost superhuman regard. And whilst it may almost be true, he doesn’t have an answer for everything. So just because he’s off the pace doesn’t mean he has a plan, the car could just be rubbish. Norbert Haug seems to think so, he doesn’t believe the Mercedes will be on the podium in the opening rounds, although once again that could just be smoke and mirrors.

Anyway, back to my original idea for this column, who will win and why. The Red Bull’s have put in some good times, and this year I expect to see a far more focussed Red Bull outfit. It stands to reason then if they have the raw pace of last year but more focus, Vettel is a sure bet. Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has already been making demands for no less than a World Title for one of his drivers, and if he’s serious about that and thus forces Horner to back Vettel there’s a good chance he won’t be disappointed. The simple fact is that had Webber played more of a ‘Barrichello’ role during 2009, Vettel would be World Champion.

2010 could be the year Alonso returns to the front

I’ve put Alonso on my list simply because the Ferrari has looked the fastest so far this year, and he’s a double World Champion. If I were a bookie I’d probably give him the best odds, but that doesn’t take into account the ability of Vettel to just randomly switch on one weekend and not put one wheel wrong, at all. I refer you to any one of his admittedly limited victories, when he’s out front he doesn’t just win, he dominates.

Last but not least, no wait, that doesn’t sound right. I can’t stand Hamilton, but nevertheless it does seem like both of F1’s superpowers are back on form, and Hamilton as one of said superpowers premier drivers should be there.

On a little side note I also predict Button to be well and truly defeated through the course of the season, no reason in particular, he’s just a chop that’s all.

AMG SLS wings down

When the 2010 F1 season kicks off in Bahrain early March some of the worlds most impressive cars will be on display, but threatening to steal the show is AMG’s all-new halo car, the SLS gullwing. The new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Official F1™ Safety Car replaces the already very special SL 63 AMG.

Sadly the SLS won’t be taking up medical duty as well, the by comparison boring C 63 AMG Estate still has that job. I guess one really does need a back seat of sorts for a medical car so the SLS maybe wouldn’t be ideal, but F1 drivers are so small I’m sure the FIA could’ve made a plan.

AMG SLS Gullwings up

It really is great to see Mercedes jumping into the worlds most glamorous and expensive motorsport series feet first, 2010 will after all see a Mercedes team, all the official FIA vehicles and Mercedes power bolted into several cars besides their own team.

If you’ve been living under a rock and are completely unaware of just why the SLS has the credentials to be motorsport’s premier pace car I’ll happily oblige. The SLS has a 6.3L V8 but not the standard AMG 63 that they put into just about every AMG out there. This motor produces 420kW/571hp and 650Nm of torque, enough for the SLS to explode from 0 to 100km/h in 3.8 seconds. The SLS truly is an awesome vehicle, particularly with it’s impressive power, but really the only thing people will talk about is the gullwings.

F1 Safety Driver Bernd Mayländer

Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg

The first day of testing at Valencia was in some ways very interesting but then again wasn’t. The problem is that absolutely no valuable information on any of the cars present could be gleaned off the times. Just as with any practice session, we don’t know who was running what fuel loads, we don’t know if everyone was running optimal setup. In fact as is so often the case in Formula 1, the comments and currents off the track are the ones which could have the biggest impact.

So Massa topped the time sheets in the Ferrari that should be a big improvement over last years pathetic attempt. Immediately however questions need to be asked, was Ferrari simply trying to boost Massa’s confidence after his life threatening outing the last time he sat in a competitive F1 car? Could he have been very light perhaps? Then there was Rosberg being bested by Schumacher, same story about the fuel loads. Schumacher went out after Rosberg as well so the track conditions could have been better. Schumacher’s settings could have been nicked from the other side of the garage if they were any good.

So on the track then there isn’t much to be gained, but off it is another story. The inevitable occurred and Schumacher was swamped by press whilst his younger teammate was relatively ignored compared to Schumacher. Now all along Rosberg has vehemently defended his status at Mercedes saying he wasn’t going to play second fiddle to the seven time World Champion. Surely though the thought must be there somewhere at the back of his mind, after all we’re talking about Schumacher and Ross Brawn here, a combination that produced some of the most infamous ‘team orders’ episodes ever. And that’s not even taking into account how both men have shown a willingness to do whatever it takes to win, no matter how liberally they then have to interpret the rules.

Maybe Rosberg is stronger mentally than most and able to ignore all that but then in rides good old Rubens with a real nice comment on the situation: “Yeah. Get out of there. That is the only thing I can tell him.” when asked if he had any advice for Nico. That’s from a man who’s career was in 2009 reignited by Brawn and still he has that to say. Then again he knows all about what those two will do if Rosberg slips up for even a minute.

Finally we all knew this was the case already because the announcement was made some time ago, but Red Bull’s absence from the first testing session was very worrying. Red Bull had by far and away the strongest package in the twilight of last season, so one would think then that they’d be ready with another now. The regulations after all haven’t changed that much. Then there is the new confusion about the double diffuser, is it on or is it off this year. Some of the teams already have them but it does seem they’re gone for 2010, but the reason I bring it up is that Red Bull has shown in 2009 they don’t deal with confusion very well. So could it be that there is more to their absence, are they struggling with an aspect of the new regulations?

The last bit of information from Valencia is rather amusing. Last season many teams, champions Brawn included, admitted Red Bull had the best car, and thus several 2010 cars would bear an uncanny resemblance. The new Mercedes car is unquestionably drawing heavily on Adrian Newey’s 2009 effort, the little ridges just forward of the cockpit being the most obvious example. So all the other teams could produce a Red Bull faster than Red Bull themselves, Vettel must be fuming.

Nico Rosberg at the Valencia test

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Could this be the 2010 Mercedes GP car

Yesterday the news of Mercedes buying Brawn GP and McLaren buying back Daimler’s 40% stake in McLaren hit the motorsport headlines and many people including Drive staffers were rather surprised. I wasn’t, in fact it’s been on the cards for some time now in my mind. During a time when manufacturers seem to be jumping ship at an alarming rate, Mercedes have dived in head first so I do see why some have been confused by the Mercedes decision but there are several factors in my opinion which explain the move.

Point number one is that Mercedes is the quintessential German marque with a rich history in motor racing, the silver arrows that dominated all before them in the time surrounding the war. Now however the old enemy England reaps all the rewards with German power from their engines, I’m talking of course about McLaren, a militantly British brand. The heritage of German motor racing symbolised by silver cars should not be represented on a British car, for that reason alone the Mercedes/McLaren relationship couldn’t last forever.

Remember that Mercedes has always had a 40% stake in McLaren, which is a significant interest whichever way you slice it. In addition to this Mercedes has consistenly supplied McLaren with arguably the best motor in F1, it certainly was this year. using Mercedes power McLaren have won hordes of races not to mention a world title for Hamilton in 2008. One would think then that McLaren would feel rather indebted to Mercedes and at the very least would try and keep them happy. To this end all Mercedes have asked for is a German driver, there are a whole host of top quality German F1 drivers to choose from so you would think McLaren would happily do this for Mercedes. No, McLaren chose rather to stick stubbornly to one of the most inconsistent and underperforming drivers in F1- Kovalainen.

The first time I started to think there might be divisions between McLaren and Mercedes wasn’t actually on the race track but rather the road, and it was in the form of the AMG SLS. When AMG wanted to replace the Mercedes powered McLaren SLR they chose not to collaborate with McLaren but rather to build their very first ground-up car. So was born the SLS. The cracks were beginning to show. Combine this with McLaren’s less than stellar performance during the 2009 season and Brawn’s superb performance using Mercedes engines and it becomes more understandable that Mercedes would want to reduce their ties with McLaren.

In the end however what no doubt sealed the deal was the same thing that always seals the deal-money. New resource restrictions set by the FIA have limited an F1 teams expenditure whilst simultaneously increasing the earning potential of an F1 team from cash generated by F1’s commercial rights. Mercedes want more of that money and they don’t want the Brits stealing their colour as well as taking all that cash.

That’s my rant for the morning done we can now get onto the first annual F1 AWARDS as the season is over.

Driver of the Year

I was going to give this to Barrichello for his gutsy year despite being the oldest man on the grid but in the end I can’t give him the award when he had that brilliant car and couldn’t even get second in the championship. The winner then goes to a driver who certainly made a lot of mistakes but when he got it right was just the best driver in the world. Sebastain Vettel is my driver of the year 2009.

F1's 'rainmaster' Sebastian Vettel

Car of the Year

This can only be between Brawn and Red Bull, and whilst through the course of the year the Red Bull’s were probably the fastest on average, the Brawn’s have got to take it. They caught everyone napping early on with their notorious double diffuser and were the class of the field for half the year. They did taper off after their storming start but I still think they deserve the accolade of producing the best car of 2009.

Brawn GP F1 Team

Team of the Year

This category is closely linked to the first two awards because it is a combination of drivers, cars and leadership. So Red Bull had the driver but Brawn had the car meaning it comes down to leadership. In the strategic and tactical arena Ross Brawn simply swept the floor with everyone else, not only did he turn around a faltering Honda but then built a team in his own image out of the ashes of Honda. He made the tough call early on and backed one horse for the title in the form of Button as opposed to the squabbling Red Bull’s under Christian Horner. Brawn thus takes the team of the year award for 2009.

Idiot of the Year

2009 produced so many nominees for this one I actually had a tough time narrowing it down. There is for instance the entire Red Bull team, particularly their think tank for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Their error riddled season was simply unacceptable. Then of course Max Mosley sticks up his hand for his systematic attempts at dismantling F1, the budget cap debacle was completely unavoidable as just one example of his ineptitude. All those guys however are mere pretenders to the throne, there could only be one really. Yes it’s Nelson Piquet jr who has run off with this one for his role in Crashgate. It is true that he wasn’t the only one in the wrong but my issue with him is the whiny way he handled it. Briatore, Symonds and Piquet were all in the wrong but at least they kept their traps shut. Piquet only jumped on the moral bandwagon after he had been fired for being a slow, crash happy driver. Before that he had no problem with what he had done, well done Nelson.

So by now we all know that Kubica has made the jump from the sinking BMW over to their French rivals Renault. Whilst this may not be hot news, I do think it is one of the most important pieces of news in a while, well that and Vettel declaring he won’t shave as long as he has a shot in the championship (I thought he looked a bit scruffy in Japan).

Back to Renault, as we have seen over the last little while in F1, manufactures are the most susceptible to the recession. The reason for this is very simple, big companies are run by accountants, not privateers as in the smaller teams. So when Honda HQ, or BMW HQ sat down in their boardroom’s and worked out plans to battle the annoying recession the accountants immediately started cutting various budgets. The first to go will always be marketing and motor sport, because these aren’t measurable in dollar terms by short sighted accountants. Never mind that guys like Ferrari are one of the most successful car companies in the world thanks in no small part to their marketing outlet that is motor sport.

My rather convoluted point is that manufacturer teams that don’t win, a category that Renault currently resides within, are living on borrowed time particularly during a recession. Which brings me back to Kubica, he is a top class driver and a worthy replacement for Alonso. That is why I think the Kubica move is important for F1, without Alonso I really don’t think Renault had any chance of winning and it would therefore only be a matter of time before Renault became the latest F1 recession casualty. Nobody wants to lose another team but also remember Renault are an engine supplier so the blow to F1 as a whole would be saddening indeed.

If you are not convinced about the precarious situation Renault are in at the moment, consider all the factors. In addition to losing Alonso, Renault have lost the valuable Briatore and Pat Symonds and weathered a significant storm in the form of Crashgate. That brick wall they hit cost them their biggest sponsor ING as well. There is also the other marketing outlet that Renault have in F1, Red Bull. Red Bull is making some serious noises about switching to the spectacular Mercedes engine for next year, and lets be honest it is the right move. If Red Bull do indeed make the switch then Renault will no longer have the luxury of seeing Vettel at the top of the podium with Renault written on his overall. Put all that together and it is actually a wonder that Renault is still there.

Renault need something special to help them survive in F1, and whilst I am no Renault fan I don’t want another team to fall by the wayside especially one with such a rich history in the sport. Remember that the root of the current team was Benetton and that team gave us a certain Mr Michael Schumacher. So hopefully Kubica can provide the spark needed to save them.

What I did find very interesting however was the reaction of Ferrari’s presently employed driver’s, that being Raikkonen and Massa. I am not referring to Fisichella because the deal all along was that he was only warming Massa’s seat for him, not an outright replacement.

Lets dissect Raikkonen’s comments first, he seemed a little annoyed that Alonso has been given his seat and is still undecided on his future. The options at the moment for everyone’s favourite F1 drinker are McLaren or rallying. I have said all along that he will go off road, you can read my first blog if you want to know why, but suffice to say Raikkonen will simply enjoy it more.

What surprised me about Raikkonen’s grumpy response to the Alonso news is that Raikkonen has shown very little interest in F1 or Ferrari for a while now, and then he is surprised when he gets shown the door.

Whatever Raikkonen’s problem is, Massa’s take on the Alonso move is even more negative and he still has a job, that says something. In the eyes of Massa, and he does have a very roundabout point, Alonso and his involvement in the Renault crashgate scandal cost him the F1 Drivers title in 2008. His argument seems to be that he lost by one point and that Alonso could very well have cost him at least one point in Singapore. So there is certainly no love lost between Massa and Alonso, now they have to work together next year….. The way things look now it really wouldn’t be out of the question for there to be a repeat of the Alonso/Hamilton feud when they were team mates at McLaren, Alonso sure has a knack for being at the centre of so many F1 controversies.

As much as I don’t want to keep going on about crashgate, I have noticed something rather worrying in the two races since the story was confirmed and I don’t like it. I have started looking at all the random little events in a different light, and by different light I mean a more cynical one. Let me give a few example’s to illustrate my point.

During Q3 of the Singapore GP Barrichello crashed causing the session to be red flagged, nothing unusual about that at a street circuit right. At least that is what I would always have thought in the past but not anymore. You see that red flag meant Vettel, who was flying at the very moment of the crash couldn’t complete his lap and was robbed of a pole opportunity. Barrichello’s crash therefore benefitted him and Button’s title fight as Vettel may have gotten pole. Now I do not for one second think that it is within Barrichello’s character to do that on purpose, it was just an accident but the seed of doubt has nonetheless been planted in my mind that a crash led to a direct advantage to Barrichello and Button.

Vettel has been both advantaged and disadvantaged by recent crashes

The next incident was during Q3 of the Suzuka round, a Toro Rosso crashes once again causing a red flag. This is the same story as before, Button and Barrichello received penalties which wouldn’t have occurred had there been no crash. This time however Vettel was the beneficiary of a de facto team mates crash. I don’t think it was deliberate but the fact remains drivers and teams occasionally benefit from crashes and when the crash involves one of their own cars I am now automatically suspicious. I have never been suspicious before in these sort of situations unless it had anything to do with Schumacher, but in a crashgate F1 I don’t know anymore.