Rain Or Shine... It's Open Wheel Time

Well, I am back. I moved into a new house so that I have more room to store useless racing memorabilia. Now things are back to normal, and I was able to catch up on the open wheel happenings this weekend. And what a weekend it was. Oh, but wait, road courses are boring parades.

- British Grand Prix

I am noticing that Void is getting spoiled. I gave him a call to congratulate him on another BMW podium finish. To my surprise he greeted me with anger in his voice. It seems that he now expects 1 - 2 finishes and nothing less. This is probably why Bernie limits the number of non Ferrari wins every season. Common Void.. even BMW is surprised at the success.

What a fun race to watch. It reminded me of last February here in Milwaukee when we were blessed with 743 feet of snow during the running of our "Drive Like an Idiot" festival.

Again the broadcast on FOX was squeezed down, so I didn't see the final remarks. I heard that there was a friendly exchange between Lewis and Nico. It's nice to see (or hear of) a pulse during those interviews once in a while.

-IndyCar Watkins Glen

They really need to start organizing these parades better. They keep getting out of order, and it really irritates me. Now I actually have to watch the race to see who is going to win.

Congrats to Ryan Hunter-Reay on his first IndyCar win. Can you imagine the the look on Rahal Sr's face when someone walked down to the N/H/L pits and notified him that his car had won? He must have been really excited.

To some it may appear that Dixon made an error in judgment during the caution on lap 49. It is very simple folks. Let us examine the bizarre relationship between this and another occurrence during the race.

- Briscoe took out Danica at the Indy 500.
- Dixon bad mouthed Danica last week.

My sources have never failed me. They have tried to rob my house.. but they have never failed me in a journalistic sense. They claim that during the pre-race activities, both drivers were handed a note written on GoDaddy letterhead that simply stated "Down on the 40th lap". I find it strange that Danica asked the Target crew for a front wing inspection around that time. Motivation perhaps????


- Other news

This is probably old news as I am not able to keep up with Drag Racing as much as I wish I could, but the NHRA has decided to cut the Top Fuel race distance from 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet. The decision was made in response to the death of Scott Kalitta several weeks ago. The change is temporary until they can determine a way to reduce some of the risk.

Good old Dario is out of a ride after a period of injury and a failure to qualify for Texas and Sonoma. Chip Ganassi was on WindTunnel yesterday and made it clear that Dario can still race on one of his teams.. just not a Sprint Cup team. I am not quite sure how to interpret that, but he made it sound like it was up to Dario. So is he giving him a choice between IndyCar and Rolex? And if it is IndyCar, could there be a third car?

Lastly.. I would like to say thank you to a Mr Juan Pablo Montoya. As much as I dislike the guy.. he had me cheering like a maniac when he derailed Kyle "I Am The Greatest" Busch. Of course afterward he was called to the the Nascar "Hauler" and was threatened by shotgun and broken beer bottle. Off topic... what in DW's name is the Nascar "Hauler"? Do they server bacon in there? Why is it not sponsored? What does it haul? Further investigation produced a recent image of the "Nascar Hauler":





Ah yes... when the Hauler is Rockin...

Stop: In The Name Of F1...

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton followed in his fathers footsteps this weekend. He felt that the red light only applied to red cars and used the opportunity to stress test Kimi and his back wing. Kimi immediately provided Lewis with feedback, calling the incident stupid. I suspect that Lewis probably agrees. Now if that had been an Andretti.. well we won't go there.

Call it what you will, these things happen. I doubt anyone will write off Lewis just yet. Sadly, the rumor that Lewis is a cyborg created by MI5 has now been proven untrue. (I knew this already since I started the rumor). Please don't tell the Brits though, things are hard enough for them right now with the impending retirement of David Coulthard.

On to the real news. Can you believe that BMW? I will tell you this.. never ever dispute the opinion of Ron Dennis. Not only does Kubica lead in the drivers championship, but BMW now sits 3 points behind Ferrari in 2nd place. Yes folks, the Germans are on the offensive and are spanking... eh.. dominating.. McLaren by 17 points. A few months ago my partner in crime asked the question, "Is This Kubica's Year to Break Through?". I think we can safely say yes.. Void.. yes it is.

What is scary is the potential for an F1 season where consistency outweighs performance. This isn't Sports Car racing. Not that I enjoy starting conspiracy rumors, but if you watch very closely during the initial ceremonies you will see several guys with "I work for the FIA" t-shirts putting some sort of red filter on a McLaren helmet. That is all I am going to say about the matter, since my life has been threatened by the organization in the past.

Congrats to BMW.. and to Void who celebrated himself into a drunken state yesterday, and woke up with a BMW tattoo on his forehead.

Kimi is Bored

It appears that the Kimi Raikkonen is getting a little fed up with with the whole F1 thing. At a recent press conference he made it clear that a renewal with Ferrari in 09 is not a for sure thing. He also ruled out the possibility of moving to another team.

“I will race as long as I enjoy it. When there are more things you don’t enjoy in Formula 1 it’s definitely time to stop."

One can only speculate as to the source of his unhappiness. The series is known for its drama which often places driver performance back stage. And the teams do not help either. Driver loyalty is not guaranteed as we have seen in the past. Now add enormous pressure resulting from the the extreme amount of money involved. Why would anyone want that job in the first place?

Kimi landed a 51 million dollar contract in 2007, one of the largest ever in F1. Last year he won his world championship. What is going to keep him there in 09? If he does leave F1 next year, it will be interesting to see if he attempts to race in another series, or just simply fades into the sunset. I will not insult your intelligence by suggesting that he would race here in the US, but that will not stop me from hoping.

Ferrari may share some of the blame on this. I have always felt that Michael Schumacher's retirement was a little sudden and motivated by the same reasons. Felipe Massa never seems to get the credit he deserves. Now Kimi is unhappy. Is it possible that Ferrari just doesn't care about its drivers anymore?

Kyle Busch: The F1 Years

Let me start with this: Wahahah... wahahah. hahahaha.. wahahahaha. hahahaha. wahahahaha (gasp) Wahahahah hahah ahahah .... weahahaha . hahahaha. wahahahahaha... ahhhhhhhhhhh.

(Note: For any Nascar fans reading this... that means i think its funny. It is not intended to be a "whoop" or a "holler".)

Ok. Now that I have that out of my system.. NasCab racing sensation Kyle Busch feels that it is time to spread his wings a little. It seems that running fellow drivers off the road, running his mouth, and gaining the hatred of 89% of the trailer park population is just not enough for this rising star. It is now time for him to teach those "other" open wheel drivers how it is done.

First off.. would Gibbs racing really let him set foot in another car? The same team that supposedly does not allow Tony Stewart to run both the 500 and that other race on the same weekend?

Second off.. WAHAHAHAHAHAH.. ok.. sorry.

Third..

"However, commenting on F1 as a spectacle, Busch added: "It seems as though their racing isn't all that great - they kind of get stuck in line and the aero takes over everything."

Did someone drop this kid on his head?

Hybrids In F1? Ferrari Says No Thank You

Next season Formula One begins a 4-year journey towards becoming a hybrid-powered racing series. The first phase of this transition will be a system that captures energy normally wasted during the braking process. This energy will be stored for later use giving drivers the ability to deliver additional horsepower at the push of a button. Now why does that sound familiar? Oh that’s right, ChampCar’s (in)famous Push-to-Pass feature. I guess SeaBass will feel right at home with this. That is if he still has an F1 “home” next year.

Now, before you get all smug excited about the prospect of a green Formula One, perhaps you should listen to what Ferrari has to say about this brave new world. It seems the boys in Maranello are none too keen on the idea of a Prius-cum-F1 race car. Vice-president Piero Ferrari insists the new rules will add unnecessary cost and complexity and to a series already more expensive than most teams can afford.

Given Ferrari's dominance in F1 over the last decade, it’s easy to dismiss this as a meaningless rant from a manufacturer desperate to ward off any threat to its success. But I feel they have a valid point. Hybrids aren’t really the best solution for improving fuel mileage in our street cars. So how they have any real worth in a high performance race car is way beyond my comprehension. But it seems someone at the FIA is convinced this whole scheme makes sense. Does anybody know if Max Mosley enjoys the smell of his own farts?

Toro Rosso: The Losing Formula

Oh.. the sky is falling for SeaBass. Toro Rosso let him test out the new STR3 this week, and he crashed it. Here are some quotes from the team afterwards:



"We don't have enough parts to get the car ready for tomorrow so we have to go home"
(Toro Rosso Spokeswoman)

"He simply went too fast."
(Team principal Franz Tost)

According to these guys, his career is falling quickly.

I came to a realization this morning as I read some of this. Toro Rosso, is one of the most incompetent teams in F1. A team principal who fears speed, and an organization which is incapable of preparing for the possibility that a prototype car could be damaged. Now I am sure that lack of finances is a contributing factor, but I have to wonder.. were they not planning on fielding two cars? Where is the other one? If SeaBass was going to fast, and the car couldn't handle it.. maybe the car just... I don't know... sucks? Hopefully the team gets sold to someone soon, so that the trained apes have to find bananas elsewhere.

Another thing that is starting to tarnish my respect for the series, is the lack of respect for SeaBass. Sure he is a rookie, and he is not a top driver right now. But he has out performed his team mate (who has been hyped as the better driver), scored points for the team, and in some cases out performed cars from the Red Bull team itself. Yet the second he crashes a prototype car during testing, it is a big deal. Apparently, the only way to gain respect in this league is to drive for a team with superior technology and financing. It reinforces my feelings that the secret to success in F1 is to be a mediocre driver with a poor attitude in the right place at the right time.

It's Official: F1 Drivers Are Total Babies

As a fan of various forms of motorsport, I've gotten used to drivers whining about almost everything. They whine about their cars, they whine about the track, they whine about the other drivers; it never seems to end. But this week the drivers of Formula One have decided to turn things up a notch.

First there was Lewis Hamilton shaking his fist at Force India driver, Giancarlo Fisichella, because the latter would not move aside in Sunday’s Grand Prix. At the time, both drivers were racing for position, so Fisichella had no reason to just let Lewis go by. Is Hamilton that much of a baby he expects everyone to move out of his way even when they have every right not to? Lewis, go change your diaper, it’s making you cranky.

Now, the most resent news of F1 infantilism comes from Grand Prix Drivers' Association director Mark Webber. It seems the drivers are not happy about the safety car rules that temporarily close the pits when a full course yellow is in effect. They feel this unfairly penalizes some drivers while rewarding others. Webber insists Heikki Kovalainen lost out on a certain podium finish in the Australian GP because his final stop was delayed when the pits where closed as the safety car went out on the track. According to Webber, "Heikki drove a good race in Melbourne and got nailed for it.”

Hmmm, you know what I call that? RACING! Well maybe we should just base the finish order on qualifying speeds? That would certainly eliminate anything “unfair” occurring during a race and affecting the results. Of course, even if we went so far as to do that the drivers would still find something else to whine about. They are total babies I tell you.

F1 Underdogs and Outcasts

Felipe Massa has silenced his critics for the time being. In atonement for his past mistakes this season, he won for the first time without pole position. No driver employed by Scuderia Ferrari will ever be considered an underdog, but an outcast he may be. Either way, the mild mannered ex-test driver would make a wonderful Cinderella story this year.

BMW Sauber is winning the constructors race. And it’s more than just the result of consistent performance. They have actually found some speed. I suspect that the next few races will determine if this is just a great start, or a new era for BMW. The stars do seem to be aligning for BMW right now, given that Renault seems to be steering clear of the fight at the moment. McLarens Ron Dennis doesn’t think it will last.

So Nick Heidfeld finds himself in 2nd for drivers points, 3 points behind Kimi and 2 points above Lewis. And Robert Kubica is tied with Lewis and Heikki at 14 points. Again I ask.. who needs that “Chase” crap..

Drivers Standings

UPDATE: It turns out that even Kimi is showing some concern over the BMW offensive.

Is This Kubica's Year to Break Through?

Less than one year from his horrific crash in Montreal, BMW's Robert Kubica made it clear on Saturday that he is not about to be held back. Finally establishing himself and his team as serious contenders, Kubica was able to fend off the best from Ferrari and McLaren to take Pole Position at the Bahrain Grand Prix. It is the first time in 22 consecutive races that someone driving something other than a "Prancing Pony" or a "Silver Arrow" has taken the top spot on the grid. Seems things in F1 are starting to get interesting again. Outside the crazy world of Nazi-themed S&M prostitute gang bangs that is.

Bahrain GP Practice Session 2: Hamilton Crashes, SeaBass Runs Well

It appears that lady luck has struck Ferrari, for the moment. Kimi Raikkonen managed to post fastest lap immediately after Lewis Hamilton lost control of his car. The crash resulted in significant damage to the car, but Hamilton is ok.

BMW’s Robert Kubica posted the 5th fastest time, directly below the McLaren and Ferrari teams. Once again raising the question: Will BMW make a run this year? According to Ralf Shumacher, BMW is going to win it this year, although his brother disagrees.

SeaBass posted 9th fastest, out running his teammate by more than a second. He also managed to top Alonso, Webber, and Heidfeld to name a few. Someone needs to give that guy a real car (ok… ok.. I’ll stop.)

Update: Check out the after practice driver quotes here

IRL Mimics Formula One Qualifying

Does the IRL have a thing for F1? First they added podium ceremonies after the races (well, some races anyway). Now comes word that the IRL is going to use F1-style qualifying for its street and road courses. Starting with this weekend's race in St. Petersburg, the IndyCar Series will switch to a multi-round knock-out qualifying format. What next? Perrier sponsoring cars? Gay horses?

For those that find this kind of thing un-American, take heart that all oval races will continue to use single car, four lap qualifying. Yee-haw!

Villeneuve Returns to Bahrain GP... in a Stock Car?

Former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve has signed on to drive in the Speedcar Series and will make his debut this weekend in a support race for the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix. The Speedcar Series features several retired F1 stars driving stock cars very much like the ones Villeneuve drove (briefly) in NASCAR. I guess he just can't get enough of those big pushrod V8s.

Alonso Moving to Ferrari?

You have to admit, Fernando Alonso got a raw deal. He goes from being World Champion in 2006 to being stuck in a car that has no chance of competing with the big dogs in less than 2 years. Say what you will about how he behaved at McLaren; I certainly won’t defend him on that. But, I will point out that the team as a whole shares some blame for that debacle. Nevertheless, he is an incredibly talented driver that deserves to be in much better machinery. So how about a Ferrari for lil’ Fernado?

According to rumors that have been going around, Alonso has a “pre-contract” with Ferrari for 2010. But, hints have been dropped that the switch may come even sooner. According to Alonso, “…Massa has had two bad races with errors and it is logical that people are talking about Vettel and me."

So how likely is a midseason switch? Not very, if you ask me. Massa will certainly improve as the season goes on and the rumors will die down. So the real question is: how likely is it that Massa will be in a Ferrari next year? Hmmm…

Well That Was Boring

After the mayhem and carnage that was last Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, today's F1 race at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia turned out to be a bit of a snooze fest. There were some moments to remember (like Heidfeld's pass on Coulthard and Alonso) but after the final round of pit stops it was completely forgettable. Okay, so this is nothing new for Formula One. I guess it’s just the contrast with last week that really made the boredom-factor stand out.

I suppose if Massa hadn't brain-farted there would have been some excitement near the end as he battled with his team mate for the lead. And, sure, if Hamilton's first pit stop hadn't been a disaster, he could have really made things interesting. But it was not to be. Instead we watched the podium finishers parade around the beautiful road course in Kuala Lumpur for the last 15 or so laps, none with a chance in hell of catching the driver in front of them.

In the end, it was a well executed race by all (well, mostly all), a big change from last week. It seems the old F1 is back, for good (the driving) or bad (the drama). At least now the Chicken Littles of the racing world can stop their incessant chant: “the ECU is failing, the ECU is failing”.

Ferrari Front Row at Sepang

Clearly wanting to put the nightmare of Melbourne behind them, Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen were out to prove something in Saturday's qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix. While it was generally accepted that Ferrari had the strongest pre-season of all the teams, their disastrous performance in the opening round of the World Championship had at least a few people wondering if they may have been overrated. But much of that doubt has been alleviated after the pair put together impressive qualifying runs that see them sitting #1 (Massa) & #2 (Räikkönen) on the starting grid. With only one technical problem encountered so far, the Ferraris are showing much better reliability than they did last weekend, and this in spite of the intense heat and humidity of Kuala Lumpur.

Things aren't so rosy for Ferrari's main competition, McLaren. While the provisional results had Heikki Kovalainen and Lewis Hamilton in 3rd and 4th respectively, stewards later dropped the pair 5 places for blocking. With less than a minute left in the last qualifying session, both drivers completed their final attempts. Then, in an effort to save fuel for the start of Sunday's race, they began a slow crawl to the pits. But BMW's Nick Heidfeld and Renault's Fernando Alonso were still making a final run. According to race officials, Hamilton held up Heidfeld while Kovalainen did the same to Alonso. As a consequence, the McLaren drivers are well back of the archrival Ferraris for the start of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Sebastien Speaks

During an interview Sebastien spoke about what it was like to participate in his first F1 event. I guess he misses his power to pass, since he seemed suprised at the difficulty involved in overtaking within the series. He also used the word "horrified" when reffering to the start of the race.

So the question is, will the 4 time CCWS champ change his driving style and become more aggressive, or will he rely on the low risk consistent driving that has always worked for him in the past? We shall see.

Are You a Kimi Wannabe?

Hard to believe but this is an actual screenshot from Polyphony Digital's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue for the PlayStation 3. It's just recently been annouced that the game will include a drivable version of the 2007 Ferrari F1 race car. This is, of course, the same car that Kimi Räikkönen won the world championship in last year. So if you fancy yourself a Formula One driver, you may want to check out the game when it hits U.S. stores mid-April. Let's just hope they don't use the same horrible tire noise they put on all the other cars.

Ferrari, Ferrari, Where Art Thou?

It turns out that 2 hours at Melbourne can be just as tough on a field as 12 hours at Sebring. At this point I am trying to figure out which race had more DNF’s.

First of all, hats off to McLaren and Lewis Hamilton. Everything they did was timed and executed with the highest degree of perfection. They were alone within there own race, far from the chaos and confusion only seconds behind. And I have to admit each time Lewis pulls this off, Michael Schumacher’s reign seems to get just a little fuzzier in my mind.

One has to wonder if the mighty Ferrari is up for a troublesome year. Plagued by mechanical problems both in qualifying and during the race, they are starting the season under the absolute worst possible circumstances. And it wasn’t limited to the factory team either. Not one Ferrari engine made it through that race. It sounds like they have already shipped the engines back to Italy in hopes of finding out what the problem is.

And I am sure I was not the only one who expressed disgust with Ferrari when Bourdais lost his engine with only 3 laps to go. On the bright side he proved that not only can he race with the big boys, he is one of the big boys. No traction control and a former F1 world champion on his tail seemed to have no effect on the “Rookie”.

So we are off. It appears that the new ECU will take some getting used to. Just wait until it rains. Hopefully Bernie hires some landscapers to check for dirt ramps on the remaining tracks. Oh, and Mr. Hobbs, may I remind you that they pay you to provide commentary - not cheer for McLaren.

A weird and wonderful season opener in a little place we like to call.. the F1 Zone.

Australian GP: The Race Before The Race

So often, to be the pole sitter in F1 is to be in charge of one’s own destiny. In no other series is qualifying so crucial. Just ask Kimi Raikkonen. In yesterday’s qualifying for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, last year’s champion experienced a fuel pump failure, stranding him just yards from the pit lane and, in the process, stranding him in the 16th position on the grid.

But that wasn’t the only excitement that was witnessed. With Ferrari’s Raikkonen out of the final round of qualifying, the mantle of favorite fell on the shoulders McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. However, going into the final minute it was BMW’s Robert Kubica (pictured above) on the provisional pole. During his last run of the day, Kubica was putting together an amazing lap until he nearly had a disastrous off in one corner. The lack of traction control meant that Kubica had to wrestle his immensely powerful car back onto the track without the aid of electronics. His efforts paid off as he was able to lay down the fastest lap of the session in spite of the miscue. One little problem: Lewis Hamilton had yet to make his final attempt.

As he did so many times last year in qualifying, Hamilton dominated the track with a spectacular 1:26.714 lap time, edging Kubica by less than 2 tenths of second. While Kubica is left to wonder what could have been if not for his trouble in turn 12, he still recorded the best grid position of his F1 career and will start on the front row next the McLaren star.

You Want Drama?

With only a few hours before the first F1 practice sessions, it is time to get ready for what should be a fantastic season. Last year proved that F1 is full capable of hosting an interesting championship race... even without all for that "Chase" nonsense. It came down to three drivers, in the final race.

And this year could be better. Fernando is back at Renault, Lewis has his rookie year under the belt, Kimi is ready for another one, and don't forget about the always under estimated Felipe Massa. And there is plenty of rivalry between them all.

- No more traction control will prove interesting. I suspect that the first few starts may be a little bit more dramatic than usual.

- Ex CCWS champion Sébastien Bourdais will begin his F1 career this year for Toro Rosso. We know he can drive with a good car, now lets see what he can do with a mediocre one.

- The first ever F1 night race to take place at the Singapore GP. Now McLaren can steal things under the cover of darkness...

- This year Bernie Eccleston will be claiming his right as a F1 noble to feast and sleep with the wives of all track owners who wish to continue hosting the events.

Ok, maybe that last one is made up..