Category Archives: 2011

Brazilian Grand Prix 2011 – Too Many Gears, Not Enough Cogs

  By Lukeh | November 30, 2011 - 7:46 pm | 2011, Formula 1, Race Review
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And that, my friends, was 2011. The Brazilian Grand Prix topped off an exciting but possibly unsurprising season with a surprisingly average race at Interlagos if not for a very well driven race from winner Mark Webber. It’s really nice to see Mark back on the top spot an it’s just what he needed after failing to live up to his almost-champion success of 2011 but there’s plenty to look at as we look back at both the race and the season. Of course, many will dispute (just as I did during the race) that the whole gearbox stuff with Sebastian Vettel was a bit inconspicuous but that’s just us F1 fans being lovably paranoid as ever. So, Interlagos – how was it for you?

  • Don’t Bottle it Now – I was quite surprised to see Adrian Sutil finish a very strong 6th place at the Brazilian Grand Prix as he’s had an oddly productive season. I say odd because, apart from getting rowdy in a Chinese club with a bottle, we haven’t really heard much from Adrian with his rookie team mate being impressive but he’s ended up 9th in the World Championship – 1st outside of the top 4 teams, undoubtedly a big success for Force India in that respect yet he’s unsure of a drive in 2012. As for Interlagos though he did drive very, very well and Force India really have come on since that day in Spa when Giancarlo Fisichella stunned everyone with that pole lap so fair play to both Sutil and the team, very very strong race for the German. Another driver that once again deserves credit for a strong drive has to be Jenson Button too, once again finishing on the podium for what must be at least 10 or 11 times he’s got on the podium now this season. What a year he has had, totally blown away his team mate and definitely quietened doubters who felt he couldn’t force his way into a team like McLaren.
  • Seven Heaven – It turned out to be Sauber who managed to secure that seventh place championship finish too, after a nice little battle between themselves and Toro Rosso for that position in the constructors table. Kamui Kobayashi has been all but missing at times during the latter half of 2011 in all honesty but much like Sutil he drove a very solid race to finish up in the points and get this elusive position as any higher position means more money for these smaller teams. Money is also going to be a big factor for Lotus aka Team Lotus aka Caterham aka Air Asia aka Tony Motors or whatever. Two years in a row with a 10th place championship finish means a $30million+ sum being injected into the team – exciting times for the green and yellow outfit
  • The Rain in Spain isn’t in Brazil – So where was that rain we were all told about constantly all weekend in the race? I mean, I love Interlagos anyways as a circuit and even though the race it provided definitely wasn’t a classic it still kicks the backside of most but it was bone dry throughout. The race itself was pretty much nothing memorable – probably the real talking point was getting the pleasure of watching Massa and Hamilton battle it out once more but with no end result following a gearbox issue for Lewis. Gearboxes up and down the circuit were feeling the effects of a long season though with plenty of issues to the likes of Di Resta, Hamilton and Vettel all suffering but it didn’t change the race hugely. Vettel submitted another win, Di Resta still topped off an impressive season and Lewis was prevented another meeting with his Brazilian foe. On the plus side, the two hugged after the race and all is well again which is lovely news.
  • I’m Just Not Inter You – It’s a shame the season ended on a bit of a dud but it could’ve been far worse. It could have been Abu Dhabi, for example. I think what redeems Interlagos as a race is the fact even through the TV you can feel the atmosphere heaving through and the crowd chants, the passion from the fans, and the fact it’s still an enjoyable circuit to watch. Brazilian fans are just such a joy to watch as they chant ‘RUBINHO! RUBINHO!’ or of course remind us of the late great Ayrton Senna. So I can forgive it for having average races but I still didn’t necessarily feel bored – there just wasn’t a huge amount to talk about and it just kind of ended the season quietly. Apart from Timo Glock who’s team clearly wanted to remind him how frustrating 2011 has been by ending his season a wheel down on his car. Just about sums up his season, sadly.

So that’s another season of Formula 1 sorted and now we look to the off season, the cold, saddening period with no races to watch and no news for a month or two until the launches. The length calendar means we’re getting a shorter off-season than usual but I’ll miss Formula 1 as I always so. Yes, Sebastian Vettel dominated the victories but we’ve had some wonderfully entertaining races and we never had Bahrain either, win win. The latter half of the season produced a few duds but that’s F1, nothing can be perfect. Even that Vettel chap hasn’t been perfect this year. Close, though.

I’ll have a bit of news for the future of this blog and what’s happening hopefully over the winter very soon but I have yet to decide whether these race reviews will return in 2012. I’m sure I’ll let you guys know in good time but if it is the case we no longer have these reviews then I thank you very much for reading and contributing every race. It’s always been a pleasure.

This is where I cut off the power and end the programming early in true BBC F1 style.

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2011 – What Do You Mean Someone Else Won?

  By Lukeh | November 13, 2011 - 2:57 pm | 2011, Formula 1, Race Review
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Well, that’s the major shock at least but Abu Dhabi didn’t pull out any other surprises as another really dull race was complimented by a nice win for Lewis Hamilton who I’m sure will take this with much comfort after his rollercoaster season. You only seem to get a few retirements after a race these days with such good reliability but it was very odd to see Sebastian Vettel’s name at the very bottom of the classifications but following his tyre issue on the first corner of lap 1, we were provided with the same old Abu Dhabi.

  • Double Trouble DRS – It was completely pointless having the double DRS zone for Abu Dhabi, although it did actually give overtaking the problem was that the overtaking move was immediately followed by the re-overtake of who just lost their position meaning after those few corners nothing really resulted from the DRS zones. It did actually give a bit of overtaking though but it pretty much proved how artificial overtaking is here at Abu Dhabi as I can’t really think of any other moves on the circuit apart from the two chicanes following the DRS zones. A shame but not a surprise whatsoever.
  • A Nice Smile – It was pleasing to see and hear Lewis being really happy with his victory because it’s important for him to get his mojo back I reckon. I’m not a Lewis fan but it’s just not nice to see him clearly upset and in a bad place but well done Lewis. He had a good, easy drive with no issues and just took the race. Although FOM was absolutely obsessed with Sebastian Vettel once he had retired which was intensely annoying.
  • Charge from the Back – Seeing as this whole weekend has been a completely disaster for Williams I’m really pleased Rubens pulled himself up from dead last on the grid to 12th and spending a fair time in the points during the race. Although his team mate was again pretty fail. Like Lewis above I think that result is just what Rubens needs right now and even though it’s not points it was a strong drive to recover from when so little track time has been had this weekend for the veteran.
  • Something – I don’t really have anything else to say about the race. After the opening few laps it kind of felt like nothing happened except for the pointless DRS overtakes back and forth. Urm… the lights on the hotel did a great job, and kudos to the lights for turning themselves on at the dark bit of the race. Also you have to give credit to the stripes on the track for being stripey. And.. the tunnel did a great job at being a pit exit. I’m grasping for anything here to make up the word count.

I’m not actually disappointed because it’s Abu Dhabi and after these years it’s failed to produce anything even near a race after the opening laps. Once everyone has settled into the race it just kind of goes, so if anything it lived up to expectations rather than disappointed.  Off to a proper race track for the final race of the season soon though which should be fantastic, and a proper way to end the season on rather than this waste of a calendar position. How the organisers haven’t made any changes to liven it up is absolutely beyond me, it’s quite staggering how little progress has been made to make Abu Dhabi interesting. Never mind, at least the rich people who have absolutely no interest in the sport get their 5 minutes in the sunshine whilst us fans get a poor spectacle. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t discredit a good drive for Lewis so well done to Lewis and role on Interlagos.

 

 

 

Indian Grand Prix 2011 – Something Old, Something New

  By Lukeh | October 31, 2011 - 8:06 pm | 2011, Formula 1, Race Review
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It was billed up as a grand new adventure for Formula 1, for the first time dipping it’s toes into Indian waters as the country hosted it’s first ever Formula 1 Grand Prix. Much was expected from the Buddh International Circuit’s debut onto the world stage of motorsport but instead we got a race with little incident for the most part. It seemed like everyone pretty much hated the race but I stand by the fact I actually quite enjoyed it personally. Tilke’s tracks are almost proud of the dull they produce but I still enjoyed the race even if it wasn’t a classic at all. Maybe it was the hype or something. Sebastian Vettel certainly enjoyed it, cruising his way to a Grand Chelem success by posting the fastest lap, starting on pole and leading every single lap in the race. You’d think he’s a world champion or something.

Just the Two of Us - Hey, did you hear the one about Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa crashing into each other? Oh that’s right, of course you did. 6 times in fact over the last few months. Yes, it was another scene of total amazement as the two current number two drivers at their teams (performance wise this year and in my opinion anyways) once again found themselves hugging like two passionate robots in a battle on Robot Wars. The funny thing is that when they were placed side by side on the grid following Lewis’ penalty (I’ve heard that one before too) over in the Sidepodcast comments and other places there was much joking over them crashing again. It’s staggering how magnetic these two are! Also I stand by my thoughts during the race of Massa being to blame for this one. It seems following the events that transpired that blame has slowly been placed back on Hamilton but Massa knew perfectly well where Lewis was and he knew he was turning into that corner to give him no space. Still, it makes for exciting racing when they’re near each other. Also I’m going to guess that Massa was never very good at playing Kerby when he was young.

They Expected Buddha Than That – So after all the hype the track turned out to be a bit of a dud considering how dusty it was and how this lead to the wide corners not really working. Did anyone expect anything different though? It’s not like I even dislike the circuit, in fact I found it quite fun to watch drivers deal with some of the fast corners but it didn’t produce the most competitive of racing with the only real overtaking coming from DRS at that wide hairpin. The true enemy though was the dust, causing a complete lack of ability to take different lines around a corner because of how slippery it was and how much grip was taken away. It’s a shame because I reckon the whole atmosphere, even watching it from home, for the race was fantastic. The attendance was very, very strong and it really shut up places like Korea that offer absolutely nothing to the sport and don’t bother. It’s miles better than Valencia too, and definitely Abu Dhabi. Oh god, Abu Dhabi is next up isn’t it?

The Best of the Rest – With Vettel once again being ever so dominant at the front with a perfect race, it’s beyond that we look for other events that lead to the race playing out the way it did. Again I refer to Jaime Alguersauri once again getting points for Toro Rosso despite a pretty poor start for the two Toro Rosso drivers at the start. Talking about the start, it’s more bad times to be a Rubens fan as Maldonado decided it would be good to swipe across his team mate leading to Rubens utilising the ever useful (kind of) Rubens Smash. Is 2011 over yet? Sauber initially seemed to suffer from this start with Kobayashi once again getting no points, a serious lack of form from our favourite Japanese driver, whilst Perez managed to use a good strategy to get a point for Sauber at least but he had a really good drive. Other mentions go to the ever consistent Jenson Button, again showing the opposite of how Lewis’ driving is going right now, and Michael Schumacher who confused me greatly by managing to finish above his team mate despite starting low down the grid. Is Michael possibly enjoying his driving again?!

So that was India. The people within really illuminated the weekend for me and there seemed to be a genuine passion and interest from a fan base who have never been introduced to Formula 1 in such a way. I was admittedly quite pleased for Karthikeyan having a very good race for HRT too despite rating him very little but bless him for bringing the car home in what must have been an emotional race. But the fans and the atmosphere were immense, and I still rate the circuit. Changes do need to be made for 2012 without a doubt but the initial signs are promising. My issue is that they do what Abu Dhabi has done in my eyes – sat themselves on a perch and just assumed everything is OK. We know Abu Dhabi has amazing, amazing facilities but they’ve done absolutely nothing to improve the track. Hopefully India will learn from it’s little mistakes (dust, everywhere!) and next year we’ll get a better race. For now though, I welcome this new nation into our sport! Also, thank you for producing the best food ever. India deserve even more praise for all things curry related.

Oh god, Abu Dhabi’s next.

Thunderstruck

  By Lukeh | October 24, 2011 - 7:52 pm | 2011, Feature, Formula 1
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Who needs the Three Musketeers? (Credit: 5LiveF1)

This morning I noticed that the Telegraph had thrown a story out into the wilderness informing us of how, apparently, Sky has secured the services of Martin Brundle and David Croft as their main commentary team for their Sky F1 coverage in 2012 and onwards. I must admit I’m a very sceptical person when it comes to these reports. Usually they go over my head, they’re simply dismissed and chortled at their silliness. This article has kind of annoyed me though, and almost upset me a little. Not because it’s supposedly going to happen, because until it’s confirmed I’m not buying into it, but because it’s brought the idea of the BBC 5 Live F1 team being split up across this new monopoly of coverage and until this moment it’s not really kind of hit me how sad that is as a big 5 Live fan.

I suppose you could read this and simply dismiss my point but over the last few years two main things have really boosted my love for Formula 1 – being involved in a wonderful F1 community like Sidepodcast and also watching races with 5 Live instead of what I was used to with Legard, Allen and whatnot in the past. There’s always been something a little bit special and more ‘direct’ with 5 Live in regards to how the team feels like a little family reporting to the F1 fan rather than the casual view. By no means am I saying that whoever watching it with the BBC1/ITV commentary over the years is a casual fan but I’ve always found myself learning much more with 5 Live thanks to the two main stars on commentary in David Croft and Anthony Davidson. The idea of these two being split over the coverage is just one not worth thinking about!

For me, Crofty and Ant just make a wonderful sport even better. They manage to make the coverage fun but also totally informative – Crofty can spot out things within a race whilst ant provides a very clear level of insight as a driver whilst at the same time arguing like Richard and Judy making Sunday lunch. They’re clearly very good mates and it really shines in their commentary work – as I say, it’s fun but also just like watching a race with your friends actually commentating. It possibly sounds ridiculous that statement but it’s honesty what it feels like and something we haven’t really had with the mainstream commentary option until the decision to have Brundle and Coulthard. These things are great as they are but the best thing about Crofty and Ant’s role within the commentary box is just that they make even the dullest of races fun to watch, and they bring the most wonderful dynamic to the audience watching at home. It’s quite funny though because when Ant did a few races with ITV in the past and was with James Allen, it never really worked. I remember preferring Damon Hill being on a race one time, which just saddens me now! And yet with Crofty commentating with him, their partnership is easily the most enjoyable way for me to watch F1 since Murray and Martin on ITV. To think that could be coming to an end saddens me a fair bit. But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Ant's found his headphones. (Credit: 5LiveF1)

The little family of 5 Live really adds to their appeal too. I don’t think I’ve really had any other kind of commentary experiences where even the producer’s input (Jason Swales) is always interesting and you seem to know about him well thanks to Twitter, not to mention the recently joined Natalie Pinkham joining the team but she’s still no Holly Samos yet. No disrespect to Natalie, but Holly’s shoes certainly will take a while to fill as far as I’m concerned but she still does a good job at least! There’s been a few times where both myself or Lou and friends have met members of the 5 Live team and they’re always been down to earth, approachable and downright lovely. One of the best moments of this year for me personally is thanks to 5 Live and the lovely David Croft giving both Lou and I the warmest hello and chat with us, as well as meeting them in Spa last year and again being very lovely to talk to, and it’s just little things like this that make the team so special to a very simple Formula 1 fan like myself.

The rumours make me wonder how Martin Brundle would fit into this change too. You have to remember that since Legard’s departure as the BBC’s main commentator he’s had to step up and fill the boots of this role. He’s actually really surprised me and done a good job from the races I’ve seen with him but would he have to step back down should he take this on? Crofty was pretty much born for the role of the main commentator, whether it be Formula 1, darts, football or whatever he’s done and I can’t see him playing understudy to a relative rookie in Brundle (in regards to being the main commentator). Just something to think about in relation to this rumour.

Of course, as I said earlier in this post it’s all rumours and chit chat for now. This is all just speculation but it’s kind of make me realise how much I would miss 5 Live F1 in it’s current state if things changed. I doubt this’ll really affect a huge number of people who read this but for us 5 Live fans I do hope Crofty remains where he should do and the team stays as it is. Don’t get me wrong – the man deserves more fans and everyone should enjoy a race through the 5 Live team at some point but whatever happens it’s really been quite special having this little family on the radio guiding us from race to race and being generally awesome at the same time. No matter what happens, 5 Live will still stick around.

Let’s just get Ted Kravitz in there somewhere and it’d be pretty damn perfect.