although the season is over, but the news just keep on coming. there are announcements on new driver for new team, new names, departure of personnels, new sponsors, new gossips, new qualifying rules, new agreements, etc.
we have heard of rumours of numerous things, but this seemed like quite a secret being revealed. what more with graphics and research images, and such an uncool name.
we all know aerodynamic turbulence contributed to this season's shitty races. overtaking was non-existence except for the japanese gp. along with amd, fia has been studying ways to improve wheel-to-wheel racing in f1. according to fia, they have found the solution and are proposing to split the rear wing into two. somehow, that will decrease the turbulence. well, i ain't a aerodynamicist so i really can't comment.
this will work with the new slick tyres to be introduced for 2008. however, overtaking is such a big issue they are pushing it for 2007. all they need is for the technical directors to agree to this radical design.
although it could possibly improve racing in formula 1, but i'm just saddened with the fact that in the future i would be watch ugly cars overtaking each other. i may get used to it, but it's just not worthed it.
for those who doesn't have much knowledge in f1, i think it'll be great to read commentaries from an insider of the business. it really does put things into perspective, when you see how the experts see it.
ted kravitz is itv-f1's pit reporter. he gets the inside scoop with what is happening at the pit during the race, and reports them live. it's great to always get to hear what is going on around the pit because that's where decisions are made. here he answers a couple of questions regarding ferrari and michael schumacher.
Do you think that Ferrari has a realistic chance of challenging for the championship next year, given that Renault and McLaren have been so dominant this year?
Good question. We asked Michael Schumacher this here in China and he was very positive, saying how sure he was that Ferrari would be back next year, how confident he was that he and the team would be able to win and challenge for the championship again.
I know what you’re thinking – he would say that, wouldn’t he – and OK, he could hardly say “No, I think we’ll be rubbish”, but remember Ferrari have been working on their 2006 car since May this year, and they’ve got a lot of good people at Maranello, so you can’t count them out.
Fernando Alonso isn’t underestimating Ferrari or Bridgestone’s ability to bounce back either. He told ITV-F1 in Japan that he considered Michael to be the favourite to win next year.
They just need to find a second a lap to be up with McLaren, and then another second to pass them. Simple!
As you’ve interviewed all the drivers many times, I'm interested in whether Michael Schumacher really is a friendly, nice guy or unfriendly and always giving reporters the brush-off?
I’m not just saying this, but I have always found Michael to be a perfectly friendly, courteous person, an ordinary German bloke from a blue-collar background who just happens to be the most successful racing driver in history.
Michael hates bad-mannered people. I’ve always imagined him drumming in the importance of good manners to his kids, and if he ever comes across as unfriendly in interviews, it’s usually because the reporter is being rude.
When you do interview him, remember to say thank you afterwards. He’ll usually respond with an ‘Okey-dokey’, but he appreciates politeness.
This doesn’t mean you can’t ask him difficult questions. If you have a valid point about his or the car’s failings, he will always be honest and own up to a personal mistake or a team error, but if you throw in a deliberately arsey question, you’ll get a pretty short answer.
And if a reporter tries to doorstep him, they’ll get nowhere. Michael is a creature of habit. Interview times are set, and if you try nabbing him at any other time throughout the whole weekend (even if he’s not doing anything else) you’ll just be blanked.
i hope you found it interesting as well. for more 'answers back', read here.
after the eventful japanese gp, wasn't shanghai gp just a bloody anti-climatic race? it did tell us who won the constructor, and that was about it.
the shitty gp started off with a freak accident involving albers and michael schumacher. i was pretty pissed as images of albers crashing to the side of michael's ferrari was replaying itself on tv. that minardi was practically flying as it went on top of the ferrari, what more it happened at the outlap to the grid! accident during that period is worse than accident under safety car, because it never should have happened.
michael's race was ruined at that point. his qualifying effort became pointless and he had to start from the pit with the spare car. although the spare car was fixed up to his custom settings before the race begun, it was the first time the car moved a wheel. it was unfamiliar zone and the behavior of the car was unpredictable. combined with heavy fuel load and pretty shitty cold tyres, the car spun out and ended michael's race prematurely. total disaster.
anyways, the race itself was so boring the commentators commented about it. after the first lap, there were no accidents and no major overtakings. all the cars were following each other and a twenty-car train was formed instantly. maybe it was the last race and everyone was just relaxing. nothing was going on for more than 1/3 of the race.
until...
the drain cover came loose and was sticking out vertically. montoya, being the mclaren bad luck magnet, knocked it hard and basically puntured the right front tyre. we later found out that it also ripped the underside of the car apart, and eventually causing an engine failure. montoya retired the race and mclaren's constructor chase was virtually over. he also lost the third place in the driver's championship to michael schumacher. what a loser!
although the safety car came out twice, it wasn't enough to help kimi chase the renault of alonso. it wasn't that the mclarens were slow, but it was because the renaults were fast. they brought in new parts and new engines to the race, and those improvements helped the team to stay ahead. i bet even mclaren was surprised by the french team's leap after just one week from japan.
my prediction was half correct. alonso sprinted and fisichella defended from a normal-driving kimi. montoya was out of the equation because he never did get past kimi. with that simple strategy, renault deservedly took their first constructor's championship as a team.
congratulations to renault for beating mclaren. one of the polls stated that mclaren deserved to lose both championships. james allen stated that mclaren had the best package since april; however they weren't able to take advantage of that. furthermore, the team was lucky to be in contention at all because kimi's car broke during the practice sessions. four times that happened and imagine zero points for those races.
finally, it was just hilarious to hear alonso singing "we are the champions" though the team radio. 2005 is definitely renault's year.
so this is it! we've finally reached the last race of the 2005 season.
unless you're a renault or mclaren supporter, the fact is this race isn't going to matter much. for the rest of the teams, it's all done for. the only other competition, apart from the obvious, is third place in the drivers championship. although i reckon montoya has that in the bag as well. michael can only hope montoya repeats that japan stunt here at shanghai.
anyways, renault took the front row of the grid. the situation definitely looks good for them. or is it?
observers will tell you that kimi has a very heavy car. the way kimi worked the car during qualifying suggested the car wasn't handling well, and during qualifying that is usually the sign of the car fully loaded with fuel. i don't believe the car which topped out the practice sessions suddenly isn't handling well, or that kimi just couldn't drive properly. hardly the cases.
therefore, renault can celebrate all they want about the front row, but the reality is that they should be shit-worried about the race. by the look of flavio after the qualifying, i suspect he was pretty concerned. they really need to come up with a flawless race plan.
when the lights go out, the mclarens are not going to lose sight of the renaults. because although the cars are heavy, they are still bloody fast. they may be harder to drive and control, but kimi will have the skill set to pull that off.
here's what i predict: kimi heavy, montoya light. montoya should get pass kimi pretty soon, and will proceed to give chase on the renaults to pressure them. kimi will drive his normal race, and just wait for the pit stops. fisichella, being slightly heavier, should block off the mclarens. this will allow alonso to pull off a significant gap in the lead. alonso needs that huge gap in order to pit and come out still ahead of the mclarens.
if renault's straight-forward plan works, then renault will win the constructor championship. else, the simple pit strategy of mclaren will rob the constructor off renault. the way i see it, mclaren has the better strategy. furthermore, if a safety car is deployed due to an accident (remember, sato and pizzonia will be racing), then mclaren will definitely win.
as much as i prefer renault winning, i would have to put the money on mclaren to win both the race and the constructor. clearly mclaren team has the elements in their hand to do so.
for those who doesn't have much knowledge in f1, i think it'll be great to read commentaries from an insider of the business. it really does put things into perspective, when you see how the experts see it.
peter windsor is the guy who asks the post race questions on tv. he's also f1 racing magainze's grand prix editor, and former williams team manager. here, i've picked out two questions he answered with unique insight and interesting point of view. for more windsor's wisdom, you can read it here.
We understand that the FIA has put a new rules proposal to the teams for next year, featuring a revamped weekend schedule, knock-out qualifying and the reintroduction of tyre changing, among other things. Are these good ideas, or is it time the FIA stopped tinkering with the ‘product’?
I think the time to stop tinkering with the product was about five years ago!
The problem with F1 is that everyone keeps talking about “the problem with F1”. What problem?
It is very simple: define the problem and produce a solution, but if the problem is vaguely masked, and a million different people are describing it (the problem) a different way, how possibly can you come up with a logical solution?
Take qualifying for example. What was wrong with the “old” system? Ayrton Senna liked it. Jim Clark liked it. Jackie Stewart liked it. It rewarded talent and speed and commitment.
They changed it, we are told, because TV directors could not be sure of capturing the actual pole lap in the closing seconds of qualifying.
That could have been easily solved by the use of interactive, on-board television.
The teams rejected this brilliant system and instead fell into a bottomless pit of changes and counter changes.
I know I am considered to be the only person who thinks like this – but there you are. I really do think it is as simple as that.
Bring back multi-lap qualifying on light fuel and run the whole thing interactively. Any team or TV network which does not support the finances should be expelled from F1.
As for tyres, I need a proper explanation of why we stopped changing them, and of what is precisely wrong with the current system, before I can offer any judgement.
On the face of it, I would say that the no-change rule has actually improved overtaking opportunities and is therefore working pretty well.
And before too many people suggest too many other “solutions” for things that are supposedly “wrong”, consider that F1 is still the world’s biggest sport.
It is bigger, in terms of annual turnover and audience, than the Olympics (which in my view have become too commercial by far) and that ridiculously boring game they call soccer.
I love F1 and I love progress. What I don’t like is change for the sake of change.
Who has been your driver of the year?
This is another thing I’ve never really understood. What does this mean?
I began asking myself this question in 1966, when, magically after winning the 1965 F1 World Championship and the Indy 500, Jim Clark in 1966 slipped to something like second or third in the Autocourse rankings. That was ridiculous.
Were Jim’s drives at Zandvoort and Brands Hatch in an under-powered Lotus worth anything less than his wins the previous year at the same circuits? Of course not. He was the same driver – perhaps a better driver, given the benefits of experience.
And so it is with Michael Schumacher. Is Michael a worse driver than he was in 2005? Definitely not – and anyone who thinks otherwise in my view has no understanding whatsoever of the art of driving.
On the contrary, you could argue that Michael again broke new ground this year.
Here he was, a seven-times world champion with nothing to prove, driving an uncompetitive car with as much speed and aggression as anyone on the grid.
Name another driver from the past with a similar record who showed the same enthusiasm for racing in the midfield this late in their career.
Of course Fernando drove brilliantly – as did Kimi – but their results are accurately reflected, I think, in the points standings.
If anything, then, accolades like “Driver of the Year” should include a sub-clause which says something like “Awarded to the driver who, for reasons beyond his direct control, has not been acknowledged by F1’s point system”.
I’m not trying to avoid the question here; I’m trying to clear up something that over the years has become a cliché.
Oh yes – and under these conditions my winner of the title (unquestionably) would be Michael Schumacher.
apart from spa and monza, suzuka is one of my favorite circuits. you can always be assured of some drama.
at qualifying, four last drivers to qualify were penalized because of weather. the rain started pouring as soon as michael schumacher came out. what more he was on intermediate tyres. good thing he was able to control it and drive it home in one piece. although alonso, kimi, and montoya came out with extreme wet tyres, they weren't able to qaulify better than michael. it was just too wet.
here's the interesting grid. ralf won the lottery, while his brother just lost out. judging by the time set by the 'rain master' during practice three, michael should have had a better grid position. unfortunately he was on wrong sets of tyres when the rain started pouring.
ferrari's judgements have been poor recently. i have been doubting the old directors' brain ever since the horrible pit decisions at spa.
so would it be a difficult race for michael, alonso, kimi and montoya? well we have a toyota in front, the stubborn bars and redbulls, a couple of slow saubers, a couple of unpredictable williams, and the worsts of the rest - a jordan and a minardi, all ahead of them. it's definitely going to be huge train to pass, that's for sure.
with that said, i am expecting a very confusing tv coverage. the produces will have a hard time deciding which cars to follow. i'm sure we'll be able to tons of overtaking during the first few laps. grid positions should start swapping early, else we will only see cars following each other until the pit stops. that, unfortunately, will fucking blow.
furthermore, it will suck because we wouldn't be able to see the dog fights between the renaults and mclaren. we should, however, get to see the fierce competition between montoya and kimi. besides, i expect to see them climbing up to the podium eventually. with those machinery, they better be there even from dead last. finally, montoya has got a point to prove to team mclaren, and he better don't chicken out.
if the rain continues, we should see plenty of cars going off. some cars might even go off into other cars. although i would much enjoy a dry race, this should still be a fun(ny) race to watch.
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