Mercedes at war

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

The 2014 Formula One World Championship took another dramatic twist as the two title contenders from the same team collided at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Championship leader Nico Rosberg tried to overtake Britain’s Lewis Hamilton on the second circuit of the 44-lap race, but touched the back of his teammate (pictured below), puncturing a tyre on Hamilton’s car and forcing him to retire. Rosberg went on to finish second and extend his championship lead to a healthy 29 points, with seven races remaining.

The damage is done and Lewis Hamilton thinks this was done on purpose by Nico Rosberg

What followed was even more gobsmacking. Hamilton has since told the media that Rosberg admitted to deliberately crashing into him on purpose. So, with this story set to rumble on for the next fortnight, here is my take on the dire situation that has pushed the Mercedes team to war.

The build-up to the incident

Tension has been bubbling underneath the surface between Hamilton and Rosberg this season, with some barbed comments in the media and a few tense, but thrilling battles on-track. Hamilton often prevailed in these, leaving Rosberg behind in the wheel-to-wheel racing. His lead has been built on strong consistency, whilst Hamilton hasn’t had huge amounts of luck with car failures at the Australian and Canadian Grand Prix, along with two qualifying nightmares recently that have seen him at the back of the field on raceday.

In Hungary last time out, Hamilton ignored a team order to allow Rosberg through. It was an unnecessary instruction given out by the team, as they were on different strategies at the time. Rosberg was unimpressed by the handling of it and Hamilton’s refusal to work with the team. You sensed something was brewing before the summer break. As they arrived back in Spa, it became clear that body language was becoming strained and the previous friendship had all but been shattered.

Rosberg grabbed pole position in qualifying, but bogged down at the start on Sunday, handing the lead to his championship rival. What happened next was inevitable. On the second lap, Rosberg got into Hamilton’s slipstream and tried to pass around the outside of the Les Combes chicane. Hamilton gave him space, but was clearly ahead on turn-in. Rosberg had a chance to back out of the move, but didn’t. He left his front wing in the danger zone and clipped Hamilton, puncturing a tyre immediately on his rival. Despite needing a new nosecone at his first stop, Rosberg benefited hugely from it by still finishing second, but it has opened up the biggest story of the 2014 season.

Did he do it on purpose?

Looking at the onboard footage and the live action at the time and I don’t think you can say that Rosberg did what he did on purpose. If he did, then he did it extremely cleverly, so no-one would know. It wasn’t as clear-cut as when Nelson Piquet binned his car deliberately into the wall at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. You would expect Rosberg to be precise and not make things obvious.

If it is true that he did admit to crashing into Hamilton to prove a point, then it is unprofessional and totally unsporting. Effectively, he is cheating his way to the championship and if he wants it so badly, he can have it. However, we can only go from Hamilton’s version of what was said. It came in a post-race debrief when obviously tensions were high and emotions still pretty raw on the surface.

It is the kind of behaviour that we don’t want to see. Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher have both deliberately tried to take opposition out of an event to try and win championships. In Schumacher’s case (1997), he failed and his creditability took a battering for it.

I would say looking at the various angles and agree with many observers that it was a clumsy and unnecessary overtaking attempt, especially so early on by the championship leader but would put it down as a racing incident. If he did it on purpose, the book should be thrown at him, meaning severe penalties or even removal of his FIA super license because you can’t do that. Unfortunately, only Rosberg knows what he did and I don’t think he will be telling us in a hurry.

Hamilton is no saint

Hamilton is no saint either though. He hasn’t forgiven Rosberg for screwing him up in qualifying in Monaco, when Rosberg went down the escape road and caused yellow flags in the dying stages of Q3, preventing Hamilton from taking pole position. It is time he got over that and he admitted to the BBC yesterday that “Monaco was worse than this.”

He drove back to the pits like an absolute lunatic. I don’t know what speed he was trying to do through the flat-out Blanchimont corner on three wheels but it wrecked the bodywork and cause more damage to his aerodynamics. That made the car even more difficult to drive and led to inevitable retirement in the closing stages. If he had taken greater care in getting back to the pits, less damage would have been caused and he might have recovered to rescue some points.

From lap 20 onwards though, he was constantly moaning on the team radio about the need to save engine mileage and they should stop the car. Mercedes showed no leadership in this situation and should have told him to be quiet and just drive. For Hamilton to mentally show no heart in racing before half-distance and basically give up though lacks class. We want British sportsman to go down fighting, even if they come up short. He failed that test and you don’t see Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel say or do that, when you consider the limited machinery they have been given this season for all their talent.

Hamilton should take stock of the situation. Of course, he was unlucky in this scenario but react better to it all. By provoking reactions with what he said afterwards, he should have kept things in-house. Still, at least he hasn’t attacked his teammate on social media yet…free telemetry anyone!

He has a supporting family, a gorgeous girlfriend, a championship-winning racing car and earns millions of pounds through driving and various sponsorship endorsements, yet he still at times acts like a spoilt kid. Lewis turns 30 next year, and these tantrums should be long out of his system.

What happens now?

With seven races left, it will take a miracle for a Mercedes driver not to win the championship, although if they keep fighting amongst themselves, Daniel Ricciardo has the ability to sneak in and shock them, just like Kimi Raikkonen did to Hamilton and Alonso when they fell out as McLaren teammates in 2007.

It is important for racing to be the focus, and therefore, Mercedes need to try and regain some form of control. Getting their drivers to say absolutely nothing in the next nine days before the paddock reconvenes in Monza for the Italian Grand Prix would help for starters.

Then, they need to get their warring drivers to call an uneasy truce in the short-term, because if they carry on like they are and throw away this championship, you can be sure that someone will pay the price from the racing team. The board in Stuttgart should be concerned with what they witnessed.

After that, one of the drivers has to move on and with Rosberg tied down to a multi-year contract; Hamilton will probably have to leave. It is clear that he can’t work together with Rosberg. The relationship has broken down past repair on a long-term basis. With a new partnership about to start with Honda and Ron Dennis back at the helm, could a return back home to McLaren be looming? Do not rule that thought out...

Formula One in 2014 has been a quiet season in all forms. As only a casual viewer nowadays, what happened in Belgium yesterday though makes it box office material between now and the unpopular Abu Dhabi double points finale in November. 

Categories: 2014, Accidents, Belgium, Consistency, Formula One, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, Nico Rosberg, Puncture, Tyres

The limping tale of Kimi Raikkonen

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

What are the first things you think when the name Kimi Raikkonen is mentioned? Perhaps it is humorous, successful and cool. Others would think lazy, dim-witted and rude. The Iceman does have his many legions of fans worldwide. For their sake, they might not want to carry on reading…

Whilst I have taken a backseat from Formula One reporting in 2014, I have seen the results and watched clips and highlight packages of all races, as well as the live events in Canada and recently at Silverstone last weekend. It was around this time seven days ago that Raikkonen was being discharged from the medical centre at the Northamptonshire circuit, with bruised ankles and knees after a frightening crash on the opening lap of the event that saw his chassis destroyed in a 47G impact (remains below)

The remains of Raikkonen's Ferrari after his 47G impact at Silverstone last weekend

As Kimi limped away from the remains of his Ferrari machinery, I wonder what he was thinking. Perhaps he needed a stiff drink and you couldn’t blame him if that was the case. His season has been a tale of woe and regular underperforming in a Prancing Horse car that is quite possibly, the worst they have designed back at Maranello in over two decades.

So in the crazy world of the ‘former’ Flying Finn, does he have much more of a future at the pinnacle of Grand Prix racing?

Stats check

When Raikkonen returned to Ferrari for the 2014 season, there was excitement in the paddock. Paired up alongside one of his seasoned rivals in Fernando Alonso, many experts were predicting fireworks between the pair and a close battle throughout the campaign.

Whilst Alonso was expected to have the slight edge as he has been with Ferrari for the past four years, many members of the crew will have worked with Raikkonen from his first spell with the team which saw him claim his one and only world championship back in 2007.

What started as perhaps a settling in period has turned into a crisis of confidence. Raikkonen is trailing Alonso 7-2 in qualifying, has not started higher than fifth this season, not outraced Alonso at any event in 2014 and has picked up a sobering tally of 19 points, compared to Alonso’s 87. This is in the same car too.

Look at the results; Fernando achieved a brilliant podium in China, finished fourth in Australia, Malaysia and Monaco and fought through from mid-grid to sixth last weekend at Silverstone.

On the other hand, Kimi’s best result is seventh place in the season opener in Australia and he matched that in Spain. A podium was possible in Monaco before he picked up a puncture behind the Safety Car and then pulled off a ridiculous overtaking attempt on young rookie Kevin Magnussen that ended with both clumsily failing to get round the 30mph Lowes hairpin.

Bad luck can’t really be laid at Raikkonen’s door, certainly in comparison to reigning champion Sebastian Vettel, whose regular reliability problems have seen him struggle to register results compared to his hotshot new teammate, Daniel Ricciardo.

On conclusion, the verdict on Raikkonen’s season is; ‘Not good enough, could try harder.’

Will he change?

If you’ve followed the career of Kimi Raikkonen, he is a frustrating enigma and an absolute nightmare to get any words out of him. The media will be lucky to get a shrug of the shoulders, and perhaps a murmur of ‘yeah okay,’ or ‘it’s good but it isn’t the win.’

He doesn’t work hard enough. Ferrari knows that and that’s why they binned him in the first place at the end of 2009 for Alonso. If he ever wrote an autobiography, it probably would be the shortest read in history – saying ‘I was born, I drove a car, I won a championship, I retired, the end…it’s a Kimi adventure!’

He will turn up, drive the car, give minimal feedback to the team and then disappear back to his home. His attitude is lazy but that’s the characteristics of the man. He won’t change, that’s just who he is.

For all of that, he can be hilariously funny too. This is the man who uses team radio to get the point across bluntly but in a way which his fans enjoy. The ‘Leave me alone, I know what I’m doing’ message in Abu Dhabi 2012 was one of the best responses heard on a team radio. He is a character and motorsport needs people like him to cancel out the hard work of Vettel, the drama of Hamilton and the sheer persistence of Alonso.

What happens now?

With 10 races left in 2014, Ferrari might as well write this season off and throw it into the scrapheap. 1993 was the last year they failed to win a Grand Prix and unless something freakish happens, that stat will be changed when the chequered flag flies in Abu Dhabi in November. The team have not given their well-paid and respected drivers the machinery to deliver the goods.

Whilst Alonso though shouldn’t be criticised, Raikkonen must. He needs to be at least within a few tenths of Fernando and beating him occasionally. That is not happening and it is unlikely to change for the remainder of this campaign.

When Ferrari resigned Kimi last September, it was for fear that they might lose a slightly unsettled Alonso to a rival team. At the time, it was an understandable move but now, it looks perplexing..

With the likes of Jules Bianchi and Nico Hulkenberg continuing to perform, not forgetting Romain Grosjean’s talent which has been masked this year in a poor Lotus and Maranello’s hierarchy should look to the future.

Raikkonen has already indicated he will stop racing after 2015. Maybe Ferrari should look at ending this relationship earlier than his contract because it isn’t working. It has as much life as a dying marriage where the love has gone and you stay together for convenience purposes.

The curious tale of Kimi Raikkonen will continue in 2014 but time is running out for him in Formula One. He is Ferrari’s past, not present and if his performances continue to drop, he could soon find himself to be an ex-Ferrari driver again very soon. 

It is time for him to stand up and be counted!

Categories: 2014, 2015, Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Formula One, Grand Prix, Iceman, Kimi Raikkonen, Results, Silverstone

Imola at 20: Ayrton's Awesome Top 5

By Simon Wright – Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

Sunday, 1 May 1994 – what were you doing at around 1.17pm on that beautiful summer’s afternoon? That was the exact moment of time when three-time Brazilian world champion Ayrton Senna crashed head-on into a concrete wall at the Tamburello bend on the seventh lap of the San Marino Grand Prix. He had been leading the race and was building up speed not much below 200mph.

Senna died in hospital, although many believe he was killed on impact when suspension debris pierced his helmet, causing his fatal injuries. He was just 34 years old.

20 years on and whilst Williams have found replacement drivers since to fill the void left by the great Brazilian, Formula One hasn’t. To mark this anniversary; IMOLA AT 20 looks back at the top five races I believe Ayrton Senna had in his 161-race career.

There are my own personal choices, so I apologise if your preferred selection didn’t make the cut. It was very hard to omit races such as Jerez 1986, USA 1990, Monaco 1992 and his final win at the Australian Grand Prix in 1993. However, this is AYRTON’S AWESOME TOP FIVE.

5. 1988 Japanese Grand Prix

The setting for many of Senna’s most dramatic moments at the wheel of a racing car was to be at Suzuka in Japan. His bitter rivalry with the Frenchman Alain Prost led to contentious collisions in the following two years. Before these though came a titanic scrap for the 1988 championship as McLaren teammates. Their car was by far and away the best – winning 15 of the season’s 16 races. Due to countback and an unpopular dropped scores rule in those days in which only the best 11 races counted to the final championship positions, victory in Japan would seal Senna’s first title.

He started from pole position but stalled on the line and only Suzuka’s sloping downhill gradient kept him going. By the time he had full speed though, he was down to 14^th and Prost stormed into the lead with an enormous advantage.

Senna though was a man possessed and cut through the field very rapidly. He was back to eighth by the end of lap two and by lap six, had forced his way past Michele Alboreto’s Ferrari into fourth spot. Just Prost, Ivan Capelli’s Leyton House and Gerhard Berger were infront.

Senna caught and passed Berger, Capelli’s car broke down and then Prost was hampered by his turbo boost causing concern, plus a small sprinkling of rain – something the Professor never enjoyed. Midway through the race, Senna closed his teammate down and edged past entering the first corner to lead. He then pulled away enough distance to secure his seventh win of his debut season with McLaren and with it, his maiden world championship title (pictured below).

Thierry Boutsen soaks Ayrton Senna after he clinches his first title

It was some way to clinch the title for the first time and few could begrudge Senna his moment.

4. 1985 Portuguese Grand Prix

Senna’s first victory arrived in the driving rain in Portugal, 1985. After a strong debut year in which he learned a lot about the sport, Ayrton took his driving talents to Lotus. Lotus was the perfect team for him at the time. It was a team that could build around the Brazilian, and one where he could showcase his driving skills in a car that could occasionally win races but wasn’t a championship beater.

He claimed pole position in Estoril in what was only his second race with the British squad and pulled away serenely whilst his rivals were caught out by the wet conditions, notably Prost who spun into the wall on the start-finish straight whilst running third. Senna lapped everyone apart from Alboreto’s Ferrari and he was a minute behind in arrears. It was a copybook performance and continued his reputation as the ultimate F1 rainmaster in the 1980s.

3. 1991 Brazilian Grand Prix

This is one of my favourite drives from Senna. The Brazilian Grand Prix was a race he was desperate to win but by 1991, this had eluded him through a combination of unreliability and clumsy driving errors (running into backmarker Satoru Nakajima whilst leading in 1990 as an example).

Starting from his customary pole position, Senna led from lap one but was hunted down all day by the much-improved Williams Renault package of Nigel Mansell. However, when the Williams weak spot of its misbehaving gearbox span Mansell out of the race at three-quarters race distance, all was set for a comfortable run to the chequered flag for the local hero.

Not so though, as his gearbox also began to develop a mind of its own. Then, Sao Paulo was hit by a typical cloudburst. Stuck in one gear, his lead was being slashed into by Riccardo Patrese in the second Williams. Senna was frantically waving his hand for the race to be stopped in the closing laps but he completed the required distance of 71 laps, and held off Patrese by just over three seconds. Another one or two laps and it would have been another tale of home heartbreak.

In the pits, Ron Dennis was ecstatic and in the car, Senna was overcome with emotion. The effort of finishing the race meaning he needed medical assistance to extricate himself from his chassis. He was physically shattered and mentally exhausted but also emotionally delighted. This was a memorable and popular victory for the whole of the country.

2. 1984 Monaco Grand Prix

Despite testing for the likes of McLaren, Williams and Brabham during and after his British Formula 3 championship success in 1983, Senna opted to drive for the unheralded Toleman team for his first break into Formula One. In the dry, the car had no hope of winning and he even failed to qualify once, but it was a totally different story in the wet.

Having got the maximum out of the equipment he had available to him to start 12^th on the grid around the streets of Monte Carlo, Senna moved forward to eighth in the early laps on Sunday, as the track surface turned into a skating rink in the principality. With devilish overtaking and sheer speed, Senna moved past Keke Rosberg, Rene Arnoux and then drove clean around Niki Lauda approaching the first corner to claim second place.

He then relentlessly closed down race leader Prost before politics got in the way. Jacky Ickx, a former Grand Prix driver himself, brought the red flag out to stop the race before half-distance after Prost had wanted the event to be stopped. Senna just failed to catch the Frenchman for what would have been a sensational victory.

It was a terrific performance and the start of something special on his journey. It cost Prost too though. With only half points awarded for this race, he lost the 1984 world championship crown to teammate Lauda by just…half a point!

1. 1993 European Grand Prix

Number one for me without a doubt is Ayrton’s performance in the 1993 European Grand Prix. With McLaren having lost their works Honda contract at the end of the previous season after the Japanese manufacturer pulled out of the sport, Ron Dennis’ team had to soldier on with a customer Ford V8 engine.

Senna had only agreed to drive on a race-by-race deal days before the season opener in Kyalami but arguably put in some of the greatest drives of his career. He won his home race for a second time, claimed top spot in Monaco for the sixth time in seven years and ended the year with superb back-to-back triumphs in Japan and Australia. However, it was this performance at a damp and murky Donington Park in Leicestershire during Easter weekend that clearly stands out.

It was the third round of the championship and Senna qualified fourth in the dry, but a considerable distance in time behind the dominant Williams cars of the returning Prost and rookie Damon Hill. On raceday, the weather turned in his favour. What happened next is quite probably the greatest lap ever seen on the racetrack.

A slow start dropped Senna to fifth, but he fought his way back from being squeezed out into turn one to outdrag Michael Schumacher exiting Redgate. Next, Senna powered around the outside of the Sauber Ilmor of Karl Wendlinger to claim third in the Craner Curves. Within two corners, he was right on the back of Hill and found a gap on the inside of McInnes to snatch second spot with just Prost infront.

Alain’s one second advantage was obliterated in one right-hander and a tight chicane. Going into the Esses, Ayrton outbraked his chief adversary and claimed the lead in breathtaking fashion. He went on to set fastest lap in the pits and won by over a minute with only Hill finishing on the same lap. It was simply stunning and ranks as the top race of Ayrton’s Awesome Top 5.

Ayrton Senna da Silva didn’t endear himself to everyone but he has left a legacy that can never be damaged. Legend is an overused word in sport, but that is what Ayrton Senna was. He was the greatest of his generation – possibly the greatest ever to have raced in Formula One. 20 years on from that dark day at Imola, his is a life that was lived to the absolute maximum.

Categories: 1984, 1993, Ayrton Senna, Brazil, Donington, Formula One, Japan, Overtaking, Portugal, Rain

F1 2013 - Sebastian crushes the opposition

By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88

One man and one team completely dominated the 2013 Formula One World Championship as the invincible Sebastian Vettel (pictured) stormed to a fourth successive title, breaking more records in the process. His 13 wins in the season equalled Michael Schumacher’s mark from 2004 and he strung together nine successive victories, matching the record set by Alberto Ascari all the way back in 1952/1953. He simply crushed the opposition and proved why he is the best – his points total would have won the constructors’ championship on its own.

Sadly while Vettel and his Red Bull Racing team deserve all the plaudits for their almost unbeatable campaign, the spectacle disappointed. Races failed to live up to their potential, with tyres often dictating pace and putting safety at high risk. TV viewing figures dropped considerably as the season progressed and off-track politics took centre stage with team orders, illegal tyre tests, unpaid drivers and tyres blowing up left, right and centre often taking the headlines over quality driving and wheel-to-wheel combat racing. F1 2013 won’t be remembered as a classic season after the epics of recent years, especially 2007, 2008 and 2012.

Multi-21 madness in Malaysia

2013 would be the driest F1 season since 1987 but it started with a downpour in Australia that delayed the majority of qualifying until race morning. Vettel started the season with pole position but he was beaten into third place in the race itself as the Australian Grand Prix became an intriguing battle of tactics and playing the waiting game. It was the Lotus of Kimi Raikkonen who eventually prevailed, with his two-stop strategy outsmarting the three-stop efforts from Vettel and Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who chased Raikkonen home in second. Lewis Hamilton finished fifth on his Mercedes bow and Adrian Sutil had a strong return after a year out of the sport, leading a portion of the race on his way to seventh. It was round one to Raikkonen and Lotus but that was as good as it was going to get for this relationship.

A week later in Malaysia, the word Multi-21 became the talking point in the F1 paddock. After a wet start, Mark Webber had gained the upper hand on team-mate Vettel as he had pitted earlier for slick tyres. Vettel wasn’t happy with this and despite being issued instructions to hold station behind the Aussie; he ignored team orders and proceeded to race Webber in a ferocious battle with 10 laps to go. Vettel eventually got past around the outside of turn four and went on to controversially win the race. His actions though were disapproved by his team and angered many fans and F1 journalists. A more ruthless character had emerged and his relationship with Webber all but broke down after this incident. The Mercedes duo of Hamilton and Nico Rosberg finished third and fourth, although Lewis made an embarrassing pitstop in the box of his old team McLaren during the race! Alonso crashed out on lap two after his front wing failed following damage on the opening circuit.

The Red Bull team orders row rumbled on into China, with Vettel defending his actions in a highly charged press conference pre-event, accusing Webber of not helping his title bid at the end of the previous season in Brazil and indicating: “Bottom line was, I was faster, I was racing, I passed him, I won.” For once, Red Bull didn’t have the ultimate pace with Sebastian having a quiet weekend to finish fourth from a lowly ninth on the grid. Webber had a miserable time as he was disqualified from qualifying as he couldn’t provide a fuel sample, then he collided with Jean-Eric Vergne in the race and later lost a right-rear wheel, finishing his afternoon prematurely. Alonso won comfortably from Raikkonen and pole-sitter Hamilton. Jenson Button was an encouraging fifth for McLaren but already, their season looked doomed with an uncompetitive car that left them scrapping for a distant fifth in the constructors’ championship.

The final event of the early season flyaways occurred in Bahrain and it was a case of déjà vu to the 2012 race. The podium was exactly the same as Vettel became the first repeat winner of the campaign. The Lotus pair of Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean completed the rostrum. There were more team squabbles in the desert and this time it was at McLaren. After being accused of lacking aggression by team principal Martin Whitmarsh in his first three races for his new team, Sergio Perez responded with some robust driving which led to contact with team-mate Button and Jenson to shout on the radio: “He’s hit me up the back, calm him down.” Perez finished a strong sixth, while Button faded to tenth. Paul di Resta had a fabulous weekend, qualifying fifth and matching his best ever career result with fourth for Force India.

After a DRS failure wrecked his race chances in Sakhir, Alonso was slightly on the backfoot as the Grand Prix circus returned to Europe. His response was magnificent on his home turf in Barcelona. Despite lining up fifth, the Spaniard produced a breathtaking double pass on Raikkonen and Hamilton around the outside of turn three on the first lap and managed the high degradation Pirelli tyres perfectly to win in Spain for the third time in his career. Raikkonen split the Ferrari’s, as Felipe Massa finished a fine third from ninth on the grid. Pirelli were left under the microscope with tyre delaminations for di Resta in practice and Vergne in the race, following three previous incidents in Bahrain. Mercedes had a nightmare on Sunday afternoon with a lack of tyre grip. Despite locking out the front row, Rosberg and Hamilton slipped horribly back to sixth and twelfth. The next storm was about to brew.

It emerged on race morning in Monte Carlo that Mercedes had done a three-day tyre test after the race at the Circuit de Catalunya with Pirelli, using their race drivers and in its 2013 car. Both Red Bull and Ferrari made an official protest against the team which would lead to a hearing before the British Grand Prix at the FIA Court of Appeal. In Monaco, Mercedes managed their tyre wear life and Rosberg drove exceptionally to win around the streets from his third straight pole position. He achieved the victory on the 30^th anniversary of his father’s victory for Williams at the same event. It would have been a 1-2 but for a misjudgement behind the Safety Car from Hamilton which dropped him behind the Red Bull cars and ruing his error as he finished fourth. There was a red flag during the race after Pastor Maldonado crashed heavily at Tabac following contact with Max Chilton which moved the trackside barriers onto the racing line. Maldonado was unhurt and so was Massa, who had two almost identical accidents in two days at Ste Devote, the second in the race.

Tragedy in Canada

The Canadian Grand Prix often delivers excitement but that wasn’t the case in 2013 with the race turning into a dour affair. Vettel took pole and won at a canter, with Alonso making up for his lacklustre seventh place finish in Monaco to finish second holding off Hamilton in a late tussle. Rookie Valtteri Bottas made the F1 fraternity sit up and take notice in qualifying as he made the most of mixed conditions to start a fabulous third in an uncompetitive Williams. The event was overshadowed though by a tragic accident after the race that claimed the life of track marshal Mark Robinson. He was run over by a moving crane as Esteban Gutierrez’s Sauber was being recovered from turn two. His death was the first at an event since the 2001 Australian Grand Prix.

Regular tyre blowouts ruined the British Grand Prix at Silverstone

After the tragic events of Montreal, Formula One was lucky to have no more injuries at Silverstone. Tyres had controlled the season and the whole issue about their reliability blew up dramatically as the British Grand Prix turned into an farce. Six drivers including early race leader Hamilton, Vergne (pictured) and Massa had tyre blowouts, whilst the most terrifying incident was a failure for Perez that had Alonso cheating serious injury as he ducked out of the McLaren’s slipstream at 180mph. It marred another great drive from Rosberg who held off a charging Webber to claim his second victory in three events. Webber had taken the opportunity earlier in the weekend to announce his retirement from the sport at the end of the season. Vettel chalked up a rare DNF when his gearbox broke with 11 laps to go; to the delight of many of the British fans while Hamilton recovered brilliantly from his early tyre failure to finish fourth.

In the aftermath of the Silverstone debacle, the blame game began with Pirelli accusing the Northamptonshire circuit of ‘high kerbs’ and the teams for ignoring their tyre pressure recommendations. Ultimately the Young Drivers Test became a three-day tyre test at the home of British motorsport with race drivers included and the 2012 structure returned in a mix with the 2013 compounds. It would have a major impact on the destiny of where the championship would go from this point onwards. Mercedes weren’t at this test as they had been banned by the WMSC following the Barcelona tyre test against regulations in May.

Vettel started his march to the title again with a hard-fought win at his home event at the Nurburgring, his first win on home soil. The Lotus drivers of Raikkonen and Grosjean pushed him hard as they completed the podium picture after three difficult events for Lotus that had seen them pick up just 13 points. There was another scary incident when a wheel detached itself from Webber’s car in the pits and struck an FOM cameraman in the back; knocking him to the ground and sending him to hospital with severe bruising. Webber fought back to seventh after a mid-race Safety Car for Jules Bianchi’s Marussia that caught fire, then rolled back across the track, almost taking out race leader Vettel in another bizarre incident.

Hamilton’s emotional dedication

Lewis Hamilton's only 2013 win came at Budapest in a tough year

The final race before the summer break was the Hungarian Grand Prix at Budapest and it is becoming Hamilton’s happy hunting ground. The Brit (pictured) recorded his fourth victory at the Hungaroring from pole position, his first for Mercedes. It was an emotional success for the 2008 world champion who had to deal with yet another painful breakup in his relationship with X-Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger in the summer. Hamilton dedicated the win to his former girlfriend but it seems like this separation is for good. Raikkonen came second, while Vettel had to settle for third, delayed in traffic behind Jenson Button after the first round of pitstops. After finishing an uncompetitive fifth, Alonso received a rebuke from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo when he suggested he would like “someone else’s car” for his birthday. It suggested things weren’t rosy in the Ferrari camp anymore; with noises being made of a possible move to Red Bull for 2014.

The Austrian team based in Milton Keynes though would eventually choose Daniel Ricciardo to be Webber’s successor for next season after negotiations with Raikkonen’s management broke down. Four weeks after Budapest, F1 returned with a belting qualifying session at the daunting Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. A gamble on slick tyres in Q1 saw both Marussia cars and Giedo van der Garde’s Caterham escape the session, whilst di Resta almost got pole after a well-timed lap in the dry part of Q3. Unfortunately for the Scot he was bumped down to fifth as the weather changed again in the dying stages and Hamilton achieved his fourth successive pole. However that was as good as it got for the Brit’s season. Vettel overwhelmed him into Les Combes on the first circuit of the race and drove into the distance, with Alonso second and the Mercedes man third. Raikkonen’s run of 27 consecutive points finishes ended with a brake problem on his Lotus just after half-distance.

By now, Alonso was the only driver who looked remotely close to challenging Vettel should his form suddenly capitulate. That hope ended at the final European event of the season at Monza. On a track that has normally exposed Red Bull’s weaknesses, Vettel was fastest in every single session and won the race at a stroll. Alonso did manage to spilt the Red Bulls, helped by a demon overtake on Webber in the early laps. Nico Hulkenberg reminded everyone of his quality after he qualified third for Sauber then finished a strong fifth in the race. Raikkonen missed out on points again following contact with his Perez on the first lap, while Hamilton rescued ninth place from a dire weekend that included elimination in Q2.

Flaming Webber

Formula One’s worst kept secret was revealed to the public between Italy and Singapore, as Ferrari confirmed Raikkonen was returning to the team for 2014 alongside Alonso. Kimi stated it was to do with money, suggesting there were severe financial issues at Lotus. The news meant Felipe Massa’s eight-year stay at Maranello was drawing to a conclusion but he would be announced as a Williams driver for 2014 before the season’s end. Under the lights at the Marina Bay, Vettel made it three wins in a row at the event, with Raikkonen defying the aggravation of an old back injury in qualifying to finish a fine third from 13^th on the grid. Webber retired on the last lap with a gearbox problem and then copped a 10-place grid penalty for getting a lift back to the pits on the back of Alonso’s car on the slowing down lap.

Mark Webber can only watch as his Red Bull burns in Korea

It was now a question of when, rather than if Vettel would become champion once again. He reigned supreme as ever in Korea which arguably was a contender for race of the season. While he dominated, team-mate Webber went up in flames – quite literally (pictured). He was clobbered by Adrian Sutil after a mid-race Safety Car period. The connection with the Force India cracked an oil line and it wasn’t long before the back of the car went up in flames pretty spectacularly. The appearance of a fire truck before the Safety Car returned to the circuit saw the organisers get a hefty slap on the wrist afterwards. The Lotus pair of Raikkonen and Grosjean finished second and third, while Hulkenberg produced the drive of the season to come home fourth, keeping both Hamilton and Alonso at bay for the majority of the race due to his car’s strong straight-line speed.

The only time Vettel looked like he might be beaten in the run-in was at the Japanese Grand Prix. Romain Grosjean and Lotus asked a serious question which was responded in confident style by Red Bull. Webber had edged into pole position after a KERS problem for Vettel in qualifying but both were beaten off the line by a lightning Grosjean. Slight contact with Vettel’s car punctured a tyre on Hamilton’s Mercedes and ended his day early. The Lotus man kept Vettel behind for nearly 40 laps but eventually had to give best to both RBR machines. His third place though was richly deserved. Alonso came fourth followed by Raikkonen and Hulkenberg. The paddock was stunned though at Suzuka by the tragic death of ex-Marussia test driver Maria de Vilota who had been found dead in a Seville hotel as her injuries from the dreadful testing accident suffered last summer ultimately proved fatal.

Vettel does it in style

Fourth place in Japan for Alonso had kept the championship mathematically alive but all Vettel needed on the sport’s last visit to India for a year was a top five finish. This he achieved in style with a sixth straight victory and sealing both a fourth successive drivers title for himself and constructors championship for the team. Webber was nailed on for a certain second place until an alternator issue grounded his car on lap 40. That allowed Nico Rosberg to finish a strong second but some half a minute behind and Grosjean charged through from 17^th to take third again. That was only after a near altercation with team-mate Raikkonen in the closing laps that forced Lotus chief race engineer Alan Permane to leave some brutal words in Kimi’s radio – shouting: “Kimi, get out of the f####ng’ way.” Afterwards, Vettel treated the Indian fans to some doughnuts in his car, before bowing down to his monster of a chassis and leaving it on the start-finish straight. Rather than accept the reasoning for this, the FIA fined the team and driver to the chagrin of many paddock insiders.

Following the stiff row that broke out at Lotus after India, Raikkonen almost didn’t turn up in Abu Dhabi and only arrived at the last minute to drive. He expressed his dissatisfaction to the media and claimed that he hadn’t been paid a single euro for the season. He threatened to go on strike but an agreement was eventually reached for his rightful salary to be paid. In the UAE, Kimi was thrown out of qualifying for a technical infringement then hit van der Garde on the first corner, retired, left for the airport and wasn’t to be seen for the rest of the year as he underwent a back operation shortly afterwards. For the record in a forgettable race, Vettel won by nearly half a minute from Webber, Rosberg, Grosjean and Alonso.

If Abu Dhabi had been a tedious race, the spectacle in Austin, Texas was one of the most boring events of the past 20 years in the sport. Overtaking was limited, Pirelli brought tyres that were way too conservative and action on-track was non-existent. Vettel became the first man to win eight races in a row in a season, while a fast start from Grosjean saw him beat Webber to second and continue his rise in reputation. Valtteri Bottas scored the first championship points of his career with a fine eighth place in a desperate year for Williams.

So it came to an end in Brazil and it was a predictable end to the championship. Vettel won the race again to ensure he remained unbeaten at any event since late July. However the day wasn’t about him equalling records. It was about Webber, who bowed out of the sport by taking off his crash helmet on the slowing down lap and a pirouette on the rostrum as he finished his career with second place in the race and third in the championship. Massa might have made the podium in his final Ferrari race until he collected a drive-through penalty that left him screaming on the radio: “Unbelievable, unbelievable decision FIA!” With Hamilton also receiving a similar sanction for needless contact with Bottas on lap 47, Alonso took the final podium of the season. Jenson Button offered McLaren a crumb of comfort with fourth place and Perez came through from 19^th to sixth but had already been fired for next season.

The racing quality in 2013 was uninspiring and the results fairly predictable but no-one can take away Sebastian Vettel’s amazing achievements. He now has to be ranked alongside the likes of Fangio, Schumacher and Senna with his record-breaking campaign.

2014 brings a whole new raft of changes. We say goodbye to Mark Webber, Ross Brawn, probably Paul di Resta, the Indian Grand Prix and V8 engines and say hello to the V6 turbo engine, bigger KERS units, Dane rookie Kevin Magnussen at McLaren, Daniel Kvyat at Toro Rosso and a new race in Russia as well as a welcome return to the calendar for the Austrian Grand Prix. Let’s hope this mixture will shake up the competition and make 2014 a more memorable championship than the one served up in 2013. This year will be known as the year where Vettel crushed the opposition. Enjoy next season and for the last time writing for Formula One on Viewing Perspectives, thank you for reading and goodbye.

FINAL STANDINGS

Drivers’ Championship: 1. Sebastian Vettel 397, 2. Fernando Alonso 242, 3. Mark Webber 199, 4. Lewis Hamilton 189, 5. Kimi Raikkonen 183, 6. Nico Rosberg 171, 7. Romain Grosjean 132, 8. Felipe Massa 112, 9. Jenson Button 73, 10. Nico Hulkenberg 51, 11. Sergio Perez 49, 12. Paul di Resta 48, 13. Adrian Sutil 29, 14. Daniel Ricciardo 20, 15. Jean-Eric Vergne 13, 16. Esteban Gutierrez 6, 17. Valtteri Bottas 4, 18. Pastor Maldonado 1

Constructors’ Championship: 1. Red Bull Racing 596, 2. Mercedes GP 360, 3. Ferrari 354, 4. Lotus 315, 5. McLaren 122, 6. Force India 77, 7. Sauber 57, 8. Scuderia Toro Rosso 33, 9. Williams 5

Categories: 2013, Canada, Fernando Alonso, Fire, Formula One, India, Lewis Hamilton, Lotus, Malaysia, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Pirelli, Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel, Silverstone

Ayrton Senna - Was the Brazilian the greatest of all-time?

By Simon Wright

Today marks the 19^th anniversary of the passing of one of Formula One’s greatest ever drivers, Ayrton Senna (pictured).

The three-time world champion was a national hero in Brazil, at a time where the country wasn’t experiencing the best of periods.  For many locals, he brought the nation together, and his 41 Grand Prix victories all had their own special moments.

Not everyone endeared themselves to Senna’s ability.  His ruthlessness and determination to win led to some high-profile controversial moments.

The feud with Alain Prost pushed Grand Prix racing into the sporting limelight in the late 80s and early 90s.  There were the regular run-ins with the flamboyant FISA president Jean-Marie Balestre, and raging battles with the likes of Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet and in his final days, Michael Schumacher.

One of F1’s unanswered questions we will never know will be whether Senna at his peak, aged 34 could have defeated the young wonder in Schumacher.  Certainly, the Benetton Ford package at the start of 1994 had the upper hand on the evil-handling Williams Renault FW16.  It was Schumacher 20, Senna 0 in points heading to Imola.

However, the Brazilian persisted with a car that was certainly not to his liking, and was dominant all weekend at the San Marino Grand Prix meeting.  He was leading going into lap seven and then, he perished at one of F1’s most feared corners at the time, Tamburello.

What made him so great?

There were two great qualities for me that made Senna stand out from the normal driver.  They were the wet weather ability and the amount of pole positions he collected in his career.

When the rain comes down, some drivers have the ability to make the genuine difference.  Jean Alesi, Wolfgang von Trips, Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton have shown their quality in tricky conditions throughout their careers, but there was something uniquely different about Senna.

The first signs came in his debut season in 1984, when he charged around the streets of Monte Carlo in filthy weather.  From 12^th on the grid, he took the underpowered Toleman unit into second place, with some brave and devilish overtaking.  Had it not been for a slightly convenient red flag, he probably would have caught Prost in the McLaren and won the race.

A year later, the Brazilian transferred to the Lotus stable and in Portugal, just his second race for them, he destroyed the competition in wet weather lapping all but one car.

It was the first of his victories, and he repeated his skill when the skies opened on several more occasions.

His first lap at Donington on a damp, dull Easter weekend in 1993 is in my mind, the greatest first lap I’ve ever seen in Grand Prix racing.  The skill, the commitment and the delicate approach he would take in the wet was masterful.

From the start of the Lotus days, Senna’s ability to be the fastest over a single flying lap became legendary.  There were times where he would still set laps much faster than other competitors, even when he had to deal with slow moving EuroBrun or Coloni cars infront (two of the hard-trying backmarker teams in the late 1980s).

He achieved 65 pole positions, the last one coming on Saturday, 30 April 1994 – a day before he paid the ultimate price.  Schumacher has beaten this figure, but it took him 15 years to do it, and Sebastian Vettel has every chance nowadays to top this list.

However, neither can compare to what Senna could do on a quick lap.  Don’t forget, these were the days of qualifying cars, monstrous V12 engines, and having to make manual gear changes on a regular basis.

And one record that still remains is his six victories around Monaco.  At Monte Carlo, he was almost virtually unbeatable.

The detractors

His ruthless approach to winning sometimes cost Senna, and it didn’t win him many friends.

The feud with Prost which started when they became McLaren team-mates in 1988 was gold dust for the race promoters and the neutral spectators.  At a time where if you weren’t in a McLaren, you could forget winning – they produced some classic battles.

Senna frightened Prost when he drove him towards the pitwall in Portugal in 1988, but that was only the start of things to come.

He didn’t make any friends for breaking an agreement made at his behest with Prost at Imola in 1989.

Senna wanted the pair to agree on whoever led off the startline to win the race.  On the restart after Gerhard Berger’s fiery accident, The Professor got the better getaway, but Senna broke the agreement into Tosa on the first circuit, broke away and won the race by miles.

Prost refused to attend the press conference and the cordial relationship was over – similar to what is happening at Red Bull in today’s paddock.

No-one will forget the clashes at Suzuka in 1989 and 1990.  Some feel Senna was harshly treated in 1989 when he was disqualified for receiving outside assistance.  In 1990, he had enough of the bickering, and pulled off a dangerous move that could have had worse consequences.

So annoyed the pole position had been moved onto the dirtier side of the track, he vowed to punish Prost if he turned into the first corner first.  That’s exactly what happened, and the result was catastrophic.

The pair ended in the gravel, and into the tyres.  They strapped themselves out of their cars, neither talking to the other and Senna was hiding a massive secret.

He had deliberately crashed into Prost, but that was something he only admitted after wrapping up his third title in 1991.

There will be those detractors, who will never forgive him for this act of frankly disgusting driving, but everyone has made mistakes, and most have some kind of darker side or done something we are not proud of, but at the time thought it was okay.

Was he the best?

It is almost impossible to declare who is the greatest Grand Prix driver of all-time?  

Schumacher might have most of the records, but then Prost was the most measured, Juan Manuel Fangio the best in an era where you had a 50 per cent of dying, Jim Clark was the best when it came to protecting an inter-team relationship, Fernando Alonso the best when it comes to consistently getting the job done, no matter the equipment at his disposal.

So I don’t want to make comparisons, considering these were different eras, different cars, different circuits and different safety regulations.  However, in his prime – Ayrton Senna was the best of his generation.

When he died at the wheel of the Williams on Sunday, 1 May 1994 – he became a legend that will never ever be forgotten, no matter of the legacy he left.

19 years on – F1 has moved on, but devoted fans will always remember Senna’s personality and genius behind the wheel of a racing car.

Categories: Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Brazil, FISA, Formula One, Imola, Jean-Marie Balestre, Lotus, San Marino, Williams

The team order storm rumbles on

The Formula One circus has arrived in Shanghai for this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, round three of the 2013 season.

It is civil war at Red Bull between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel

All eyes will be on the Red Bull Racing drivers, world champion Sebastian Vettel and his team-mate Mark Webber following the team orders storm three weeks ago in Malaysia.

The debate has kicked off again, and it seems like the team has lost all control over its drivers.

Webber, who is sporting a dodgy haircut this weekend, said the situation was tense and the relationship between the drivers was strained.

Vettel launched his own attack in a highly charged media conference of his own, stating Webber has never helped him or the team, and although he respected him as a driver, suggested his actions in Sepang were payback for Webber not being there when he needed his help to win the title in Brazil last season.

I’ve kept fairly quiet on the team orders debate, but having mulled over the arguments and the various opinions over the past few weeks, it is time to state how I feel about the situation.

The background

For those who don’t know the full story of what happened at the Malaysian Grand Prix, here is the explanation of events.

Timing a move onto slick tyres better than Vettel had Webber in the lead for the majority of the race.  Despite some frustrations from the German around half-distance, the team issued a coded instruction called ‘Multi-21’ after the final round of pitstops.

We’ve since learned that ‘Multi-21’ is meant to mean car two ahead of car one.  This should suggest Webber was ahead and Vettel was not allowed to attack.

Sebastian took matters into his own hands and disregarded the team order, and raced Mark hard, but clean and took the lead against the accords of his team.

He apologised to the team, and looked miserable on the podium but he has come out fighting since, saying he felt Webber didn’t deserve the victory in Kuala Lumpur.

But should he have listened to his team?

It is about racing

At the end of the day, Formula One is about ‘racing.’  It is what draws in the many followers to the sport.  If racing doesn’t happen, you have to question the morals and ethics of the sport.

I certainly despise team orders.  They have been a part of Grand Prix racing for a long time though.

Some will obey to team instructions.  David Coulthard stuck to a pre-race agreement and allowed Mika Hakkinen to win the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, as Hakkinen had beaten him to the first corner.

In 2002, Ferrari staged the finish of the Austrian Grand Prix, when they brutally asked Rubens Barrichello, who had dominated the whole weekend to gift the race to Michael Schumacher.  Barrichello did it at the last possible moment, but the team were roundly criticised and it led to a rule banning team orders.

And of course, they did it again at Hockenheim in 2010, by asking Felipe Massa to let Fernando Alonso by for the victory.  This was a race that finally lifted the ‘team order’ ban, but in reality, they had never gone away from the background.

Others have ignored instructions.  Both Carlos Reutemann and Rene Arnoux went back on agreements to win races in the early 1980s, as did Didier Pironi famously in 1982 at Imola – leading to Gilles Villeneuve vowing never to speak to him again.  He didn’t, as he was killed 14 days later in practice at Zolder in Belgium.

Sebastian Vettel should have listened to his team.  There was an instruction in place, and the common sense would have been for him to obey the order and follow Webber home.

However, he is a racing driver, a triple world champion and with his chief rival Fernando Alonso out of the race after a crash on lap two, saw an extra seven points up for grabs which could be vitally important come the latter part of the championship.

You tell him not to do it, and especially for the win and it is a difficult one to swallow.

Formula One is a team sport.  It is the teams that employ the drivers, pay their wages and keep the sponsors happy.  However, the drivers are racers and will want individual honours.

Vettel had a case

Vettel had every right to go for it if he felt he should have.  It was ruthless and risky, but I praise him for going against morals and showing the determination he has in proving what a true racing driver he is.

Nice guys do not win world championships, and we all know Mark Webber is not a serious championship contender.  He had his chance to win the title in 2010, and blew it in the wall in Korea.

The neutral wants to see racing at the highest level.  I do not want to see a race that is decided with 15 laps to go, and then they just race around in circles until the chequered flag.  If they did that all the time, I’d rather watch a round of golf!

Vettel took a pasting from the media afterwards, and on reflection – it wasn’t his smartest move to make, but then again – he isn’t the first and won’t be the last to ignore team orders.

Mark Webber has been painted as a saint who has done nothing wrong.  This is Mark Webber, a driver who has ran into countless team-mates (some weren’t his fault, it has to be said), one who has brake tested drivers in the past (Fernando Alonso in Bahrain in 2004), and one who has ignored team orders himself against Vettel (Silverstone 2011).

He is not whiter than white.  Webber is a good racing driver, traditionally has a fair reputation and on his day, is unstoppable but he’s made poor errors of judgement in the past.  Far too many people forget his character.

Lewis Hamilton has ignored team orders before, so has Jenson Button.  They have all done it.  I can’t help feel that Vettel got so much stick because of his nationality.  Who cares if he is German?  I’m not bothered.  Those who’ve branded him as Schumacher Mark II look ridiculous.  Of course, he has made mistakes before, but who hasn’t in life.

And I have to ask this question too?  If you were in the same situation as Vettel, what would you do? 

What happens now?

Red Bull has insisted there will be no more team orders this season, which is a strong statement to make.  I’m not convinced by this at all.

This is Sebastian Vettel’s team, and where does it leave the situation at Red Bull now, both in the short and long term.

For now, there will be no change.  Mark Webber will see the season out, and the competition between them on the track will now be even fiercer than what it has been before.

Vettel was never going to be sanctioned heavily.  He apologised for his actions to the team afterwards, and he went back to the factory to apologise and explain last week in Milton Keynes.  He is the golden boy of the team, and they seriously weren’t going to ban him for one race for what he did.

If teams started doing that to drivers – you could probably turn Formula One into a reality show contest for Channel Five, and auction seats off on eBay.

Webber will be gone at the end of 2013, probably into retirement you’d imagine.  It is Vettel’s team, he owns it and whoever come into the den in 2014 will have to get used to that pretty quickly.

What it does mean is this Formula One season already has an explosive matter to remember as it progresses throughout the summer.

Hopefully, we can get on with the action of ‘racing’ and not ‘staging’ in China this weekend.

However, I will leave you with one lasting quote from the fantastic Senna movie.

The late Ayrton Senna famously said to Sir Jackie Stewart in 1990 during a tense stand-off between the pair; "And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver."

If you question Sebastian Vettel’s will to win and determination to win, then perhaps you need to ask yourself whether Formula One is a sport you really should be watching.

Categories: Brazil, China, David Coulthard, Felipe Massa, Ferrari, Formula One, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mark Webber, Media, Multi-21, Red Bull, Sebastian Vettel, Sport, Team Orders