An important update

Hey guys,

Hope all is well.

Well, a post here must mean some news? Yep, it does. Recently, I’ve been posting on many different sites for example, racing reference. As good as it is, I still sort of prefer having my own blog despite maybe not having as many hits as I would do on racing reference.

So, I’ve been chewing on the idea a bit. Should I continue at racing reference, start back here or start up a new blog completely?

After a bit of thought, I came to the decision the last option would be the best to help progress my writing. After my last announcement and very little action over the last part of last year, I thought that it would be better to start a fresh, with a new site, a new look and a new atmosphere. To be truthful, it was nice to have a little break away from the writing, but now I feel refreshed and ready to write again over the course of this year.

I know I got a few complaints before that this blog was too F1-centered. As such, (and after a winter off), I feel able to expand to write about a lot of other series and happenings in the world of motorsport. Don’t get me wrong, F1 will still be the most likely aspect of my writing, but I’ll also be more likely to write about other things too, from MotoGP, WRC, Classic racing and more.

To help expand my writing even more, there will even be a section for other writing I’ve done in the past on none-motorsport related items, such as what is making the day-to-day news and even the odd short story. I’m also toying with the idea whether to post everything I ever posted here on the new site or just have a link back to here and leave it as an archive. I’d appriciate your ideas on that.

I can’t promise I’ll be able to update week in week out as school work and general life is still very busy. But I’m determined to be able to update it as often as I can. Team Mate wars should be back with a few tweaks and I have some other interesting ideas coming up too to help make it a success. It can only be though, with your support and views.

Here’s the link to the new site:

http://thefastlane.weebly.com/

Any advise of to how it can be expanded would be greatly appriciate.

Cheers,

James.

I’ve moved to racing reference!

Hi guys, just a quick notice,

As you may know, I’m looking for the best ways to get into motor sport journalism. It has been an interest of mine for several years now, as I soon realised that if I couldn’t be a driver in a team, I could be the next best thing. My skills in english have always been good at school and my interest for motor sport has never waived.

I came to wordpress this year as a way to hopefully show my writing talent off to other journalists to get a bit of interest going, and of course, have some discussion with you, my readers. Over the space of 2009 I’ve typed up over 60 entries ranging from race reports to rants. On some days I have had over 30 views to this blog, which I think for a private blog that I don’t advertise on any search engines, is a big accheivement.

Now I have a new oppertunity to post my blogs to a bigger audiance. Recently, I applied to a site known as “Racing Reference” to be one of a few regular bloggers that air their thoughts on all things motor sport. The site also have results from recent races in NASCAR and F1, but is looking to expand into other series. This site generates a massive majority of readers compared to a wordpress blog, so it is an honour to be a blogger there to help me a step closer to becoming a journalist.

The new web address for this site is http://www.racing-reference.info/ and I go under the name of “JHS”. Please, read everybody’s blogs there as there are some very interesting thoughts from all the current bloggers. If you want to help, comment, favourite and spread the word to your friends.

However, as good as this new opportunity is for me, it is also why I have to post this announcement here. Starting now, new blogs will be posted on Racing Reference’s site and no longer here. However, this blog will be kept* for your reading pleasure to read everything that I’ve posted this year. Thanks for your incredible support guys, and here’s on to a brilliant 2010!

Oh, and happy holidays whatever you celibrate.

Warm regards,

James.

*-I don’t know how long a WordPress blog can be left before it eventually gets deleted, but TOH will be around for now!

Why a Kubica/Kobayashi line-up is the way forwards for Renault.

I think a Kubica/Kobayashi line-up could only be good for Renault long term. I think Renault have seriously compromised themselves in terms of driver line-ups over the past few years, and I agree with many that in 2010 it could be a very big step forwards for Renault.

Before, Renault has had one great driver and one (to put it nicely) not so good driver. Of course, in 2010 they won’t have a certain 2 times champion in Mr. Alonso, but they’d have a much stronger line-up, potentially, in Kubica and Kobayashi. It seems that Renault over the past few years shot themselves through the foot, having a driver they knew that, unless strange situations happened, would never beat Alonso in out right pace, thus avoiding a similar situation to what happened in 2007 at McLaren. Unfortunately for Renault, the constructors’ title is dependent on 2 cars finishing races (and in the points). As good as Alonso is, it doesn’t help matters that Renault have been building tractors instead of cars since 2007.

As far as I am aware, pretty much every F1 fan in Poland supports Kubica. And I could expect that very soon, if Kobayashi did get the race seat, it would put a lot of much needed interest in Japan again. Kobayashi could be the next Sato in terms of hype. Of course, if Sato came back (wish I hope he does) it would be a double bonus for F1 in terms of the Japanese fan base.

But my point is that with these 2 drivers having big fan bases in 2 different countries, it would surely help Renault sell cars across the globe. I’m not entirely sure if they sell Renaults in Japan, but surely if Kobayashi lives up to the performance he showed in those last 2 races, it could provide an opportunity for Renault to do just that.

In terms of funding, it’s another plus. Of course, ING has left, but if they had Kobayashi, it is likely that Panasonic would go with him. If reports are to go by, they still very much want to be in F1 and I’d be very surprised if they didn’t put mega bucks in to sponsor Renault. If there was any concerns over the price of running the team, Panasonic could prove crucial in that area.

Pull out? Why? I think 2010 could be a new start for Renault. Already the scars of the crash-gate are starting to fade, and with, potentially, a completely new driver line up it is a new age for them. I’d be very surprised if they did leave, because for one motor sport is firmly in Renault’s blood, not just across F1, but in GP2 as an engine supplier and in junior formular such as FRenault 3.5 and 2.0 and the Renault Clio Cup.

To sum it up, I think it will be a win/win situation if Renault stay and manage to capture Kobayashi. I think it will be a lose/lose situation if they leave or re-brand as Gordini, but only time will tell what will really happen. Watch this space.

Taking a break

It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell you that The Old Hairpin  will not be being updated for a while. You may have noticed that I haven’t been updating as much as normal in the past few weeks, and that was due to the fact that I had started back at school, starting my A Levels and the work load is heavy.

Thank you for your continued support through this year, and I’ll be back in due course with a review of F1′s and other motorsport’s year.

Brazil race review (Team Mate Wars episode 16)

Wow, what a race! The Brazilian Grand Prix was probably the most exciting race of the season so far with many great drives. Indeed, at the end of the long but eventful race, a champion was crowned in Jenson Button. Of course, I don’t want to go into that too much this entry that is for another time, bur after a champion’s driver, a champion’s season, he was rightly crowned.

But what of this race? Well, there were plenty of talking points that is for sure!

Ferrari

9-Raikkonen-7-Massa-0-Badoer-0-Fisichella

Felipe Massa was back at the race track for the first time since his nasty Hungarian GP qualifying injury all those weeks ago, yet sadly for both himself and the team, he still wouldn’t be driving the car. However, Kimi Raikkonen would be and was targeting a podium and things looked promising after the wet qualifying session. Kimi would line up in 5^th and with his KERS got a great start, getting into 3^rd place and after a fantastic run after the Senna Esses on Mark Webber, but unfortunately hit the back of the Australian and lost his front wing. Then things got worse as after his pit stop, he was briefly set on fire by Kovalainen carrying a fuel hose down the pit lane, thankfully Kimi was unhurt. He drove strong result to 6^th, but disappointing on a race potentially that they could have won at. Giancarlo Fisichella meanwhile, continued to struggle, lining up once again at the back and finishing in 10^th after a strong race.

Summary: Solid but they expected more.

McLaren

10-Hamilton-6-Kovalainen

Despite both drivers dropping out of Q1 in the incredibly wet conditions in qualifying, McLaren looked reasonably and rightly so. They didn’t have a good set-up in the wet with the simple reason that they had a great car for the dry and this was proved with both drivers coming through the field. Hamilton drove an inspired race on one of the rare tracks he has never been on the podium on in his short career, driving from 17^th to 3^rd putting himself in contention for one of the drivers of the season. It would have been interesting to see what he could have done from further up the field although seeing him charge through in the race was one of the main attractions. Kovalainen also drove a solid race, but an unsafe release from the pits, briefly setting countryman, Kimi Raikkonen, on fire saw him take a penalty after the race and drop him to 12^th. Still an improvement from what was originally 16^th on the grid though!

Summary: Impressive drive by both to charge from low grid positions.

BMW

8-Kubica-8-Heidfeld

Like Red Bull last weekend, this was a weekend of contrasting fortunes for the German team as they get ready to quit the sport at the end of the season. Nick Heidfeld struggled in the wet qualifying after briefly being as high as 4^th, but the ever changing time sheet caught him out and he dropped out in Q1, right at the back of the grid. Kubica meanwhile, was seemingly revelling in the conditions being as high as 3^rd place when qualifying was stopped for a long period of time, and briefly seemed to be a pole position contender in Q3 when the session did eventually restart. He would line up in 7^th place, a respectable effort. In the race, both BMWs looked quick with Kubica benefiting from Trulli/Sutil crash and jumping Rosberg at the restart. Heidfeld too seemed to be coming through the pack nicely, until a fuel rig problem meant he ran out of fuel and wouldn’t finish the race. After such a great run before Singapore of having the highest finishing rate, 2 DNFs in 3 races won’t please the German. Kubica was at his brilliant best though, jumping Barrichello and flying, never letting Webber relax and finishing 2^nd, the first podium for BMW since Malaysia!

Summary: Kubica at his brilliant best here.

Renault

14-Alonso-1-Piquet-1-Grosjean

Yes, I’ve given the point to Grosjean this race. Surprising, I know. But with very little to go on for Alonso with him being taken out in a first lap crash, there was no real choice. I was quietly impressed with Grosjean though this race, the French rookie who is still learning every race, seemed to get stuck in and battle really hard with the faster cars. He tried to make it as difficult as he could for people like Button, Hamilton, Vettel and co, but ultimately was passed by them all. He didn’t finish last though, beating fellow rookie, Jaime Alguersuari.m This guy must be looking forward to 2009 being over so he can be some proper winter testing in so he can really learn next year’s car. If, that is, he’s staying for 2010.

Summary: Disappointing weekend with not much to show apart from a second to last.

Red Bull

9-Vettel-7-Webber

Well, it was always going to be a long shot wasn’t it? Or was it? Surely Red Bull will be ruing those few early season mistakes they made that could have lost them both titles. But really, Vettel needed a lot of luck to be able to continue the fight through to Abu Dhabi and sadly for him, it was one of his worst weekends. The qualifying master who has never failed to get through to Q1 so far struggled in the wet (probably the last time I’ll type that!) on a car that was set-up for dry conditions. There was a window to get through when the rain eased, but he had too much traffic in front of him to make the most of it. It was the opposite of last weekend really with Vettel struggling and Webber excelling. After lining up second, he jumped Barrichello in the first round of stops and from there it was really game over. He had to keep Kubica in check, but he never looked likely to lose the race, bringing his race win total to 2 combined with his German win. Vettel had a good race though; another contender for driver of the day coming from 15^th to 4^th and that says it all. A great performance, but understandably dejected after a weekend he knew it got away from him.

Summary: They think it’s all over…..and actually, it is now.

Toyota

6-Trulli-8-Glock-1-Kobayashi

Timo Glock was another driver who’d be watching from the sidelines this weekend after his nasty accident in Japan just a couple of weeks ago. A fracture to a vertebra had been found when further health check ups took place on the German. Therefore, Toyota test driver, who had driven on Friday in Japan when Glock had flu, would finally get a race opportunity and surprisingly but in a good performance. A strong qualifying performance meant he’d line up 11^th on the grid with team mate Trulli in 4^th. In the race though, Toyota were pointless as Trulli collided with Sutil after a few corners, getting close to a fight with the German driver as he was livid with rage. Kobayashi put in a great performance, holding back Jenson Button for many laps and getting in some great battles for position, eventually finishing 9^th. The result was overshadowed a bit for weaving across the track and taking out fellow countryman Kazuki Nakajima, but still a great result and one that surely puts him in contention for a race seat next year.

Summary: Pointless, but great debut for Kobayashi.

Williams

15-Rosberg-1-Nakajima

Williams had strong hopes coming to the Brazilian Grand Prix where after the high results of Japan and Singapore they thought they’d have a good chance. And indeed, for a brief spell of time, it did look very promising, especially in the wet qualifying conditions where Williams with Rosberg, were fastest in the first and second sessions. Indeed, there was even talk that Williams might have their first pole position for many, many seasons if the session didn’t get re-started. Sadly for them, it did, and in the last session, the track started to dry out, by news for a car that was set-up for the wet conditions. Rosberg would line up 7^th and Nakajima 9^th. In the race, it didn’t go to plan though, as after an initial good start for Rosberg, he would retire early into the race with gearbox problems. Nakajima was having a pretty good run, but he too would also drop out as his fellow countryman weaved on him down the straight after the first few corners, meaning he would loose his front ring and skate across the gravel and into the wall. A dangerous move, but no action was taken.

Summary: No points, and two cars that need work before the final race.

Brawn GP

10-Button-5-Barrichello

I have to admit, as I sat thinking about qualifying before the race, with Jenson Button lining up in 14^th place, I thought it would be very unlikely that he’d actually be able to clinch the title at this race, he would seemingly need a miracle or a drive of his life for it to be the case. In a way, he probably did get both as the race being dry was one, and Rubens getting a puncture towards the end of the race was the other miracle, but other than that it was Button’s talent that secured him the title. He drove a brilliant race, overtaking all the time as he charged through the field up through the order to the 5^th place needed. As I say, I don’t want to talk too much about the title until the end of the season, but with this drive he really deserved to wrap it up a race early. Barrichello looked like he’d take more points out of Button after qualifying on pole, but things just didn’t go his way as ever at his home race.

Summary: Both championships done and dusted, a good day at the races!

Toro Rosso

11-Buemi-3-Bourdais-0-Alguersuari

It was a solid race for Sebastian Buemi of Toro Rosso as the team finally got back in the points again after seemingly an age. I believe it was in Monaco that they last scored points with Bourdais, so they’ll be doubtlessly happy with the way that the young Swiss performed, not just in the race, but also in qualifying. Suzuka was embarrassing for Buemi as he crashed multiple times in the qualifying session, but here, in ferocious rain that interrupted the session, he managed to get through to Q3 once again and line up an incredible 6^th place. It seemed unlikely he’d manage to stay with the faster cars in the race though, and indeed after a hectic start to the race, he fell away from the leading group perhaps a mixture of being un-familiar with the track and the car simply not being quick yet. He would finish 7^th, perhaps an achievement in only dropping one place and still finishing in the points, so my point goes to him this week. Jaime Alguersuari on the other hand continued his learning curve and came home last of the classified runners after being involved in some earlier race battles.

Summary: Back in the points for the small Italian team after a great performance by Buemi.

Force India

9-Fisichella-5-Sutil-2-Liuzzi

Force India had a rough weekend at Brazil really, as those memories of those points scored in Spa and Monza must be getting further and further away. The small Indian team looked to get back in the points this time out, and indeed, the wet conditions in qualifying would surely favour them. Sadly, it was the case only for one car as Sutil lined up an impressive 3^rd place, but Liuzzi would start from the back of the grid after crashing heavily in the wet conditions of Q2, badly damaging the gearbox in the rear-wards shunt. In the race it didn’t really get any better with Sutil out on the first lap after a crash with Toyota’s Jarno Trulli meaning he would score no points, so the point for this race goes to Vitantonio Liuzzi climbing from the back to 11^th position, being one of the drivers to gain positions from Heikki Kovalainen’s after race penalty for an unsafe release. Still no points though since Monza and frustrations must be rising as they looked to become a regular points scorer.

Summary: Disappointing doesn’t really sum it up for Force India this weekend.

So, race review for Brazil?

So, what have we learnt? Just how good a track Sao Paulo is. Once again, when people have been criticizing the recent F1 races to be boring, this race came out the blue. This race had it all, action, drama, and once again at Brazil, a champion crowned at the end of the day.  The city might not up to be much and the track might be getting old, but once again, the fans and the drivers were treated to a real action packed race.

Driver of the day? There’s really too many to choose from. Webber, Kubica, Hamilton, Vettel, Button and Raikkonen must all surely be contenders and Kobayashi deserves praise after being thrown in at the deep end to pull out a decent performance. It’ll be interesting to see how he does in Abu Dhabi, a track nobody has been to before.

Race rating? 4 stars out of 5. Easily the best race of this year in my opinion, as I say, it had it all. It seems unusual how year on year this great venue produces some of the best racing of the season, but newer tracks need to be looking at it as a case-study.

Japan race review (Team Mate Wars episode 15)

Only a week after the unusual sights of the Singapore night race, F1 jetted off to Suzuka, for the first time since 2006 that we were back at a track that is widely regarded to be one of the best in the world. Indeed the challenges were evident enough in qualifying in one of the most chaotic sessions in a long time with multiple red flags, one of which befell Toyota’s Timo Glock as he crashed heavily in Q2 meaning he would not start the race. It was great to see him all okay though!

It was expected for Red Bull to dominate and while Sebastian Vettel did just that the entire weekend; team mate Mark Webber suffered a nightmare. Yet all the talk was on Brawn GP. Would they wrap up the constructors’ title and what about the driver’s title? Ultimately neither was to be, but they are still in a strong position to wrap it all up at Interlagos in 2 weeks.

Ferrari

8-Raikkonen-7-Massa-0-Badoer-0-Fisichella

Ferrari never expected to do well at Suzuka this weekend, so perhaps from the outside it was a good result for the Italian team on a weekend where 2 times champion Fernando Alonso was confirmed to drive for next year. Perhaps inspired by this choice, Kimi once again continued his good form of late with a 4^th position, albeit perhaps gifted by the grid penalties that were handed out to his rivals. Raikkonen was still very quick this weekend but couldn’t find a way past the BMW of Nick Heidfeld. Fisichella struggled once again on a weekend that he promised to up his game and even with a terrific battle with Heikki Kovalainen ended when Heikki unceremoniously barged past him on pit exit. With every race that goes by without Felipe Massa to score points in their fight against McLaren in the championship, it looks less and less likely they will be able to keep the Woking team behind them.  You can almost here Stefano Domenicalli crying “Come back soon Felipe!”

Summary: Another strong performance by Kimi as McLaren slowly gains on them.

McLaren

9-Hamilton-6-Kovalainen

McLaren were against the odds this weekend in every sense of the word seeing as they had two drivers who have never driven around Suzuka at all in their short careers. It would be a steep learning curve for them, especially after the dreadful conditions on Friday practice that meant it was effectively a wash out.  Never the less, Hamilton once again put on a strong performance to slot into 3^rd place on the grid and briefly got around Jarno Trulli at the start, but was jumped by the flying Italian come the second round of stops. Problems with his hers unit meant that he was able to attack as he would have normally would have otherwise. Heikki Kovalainen also put on a fighting drive with a brilliant move on Giancarlo Fisichella coming out of the pits, but it seems moiré and more unlikely that the Finn will keep his seat at the Woking based team in 2010.

Summary: A good performance from 2 debutants to the track.

BMW

7-Kubica-8-Heidfeld

BMW are slowly showing the sort of pace they’d have wanted from the start of the season currently, however Suzuka was a bit more of a struggle on a track that never really looked like it would suit their car. Kubica was unfortunate to drop out in Q2 after confusion reigned, but he would gain some more positions as rivals were punished for ignoring the yellow flags. Heidfeld put in a good qualifying performance, but similarly was disrupted by the chaotic session to line up 4^th. He had a quiet race at all times dropping back from the trio of Vettel-Hamilton-Trulli at the start but brought the car home just ahead of the flying Kimi Raikkonen. In out and out pace, Kubica was clearly the faster all race but was unlucky with how the traffic fell for him during the pit stop phase. There was some excitement for him after the safety car though as he and Alonso were right on the rear wing of Button, really attacking him for the last world championship point but ultimately there wasn’t enough time to find a way through.

Summary: A solid but unspectacular weekend for the team.

Renault

14-Alonso-1-Piquet-0-Grosjean

Renault had high hopes coming into the Japanese Grand Prix this year after a great podium finish for Alonso last time out in Singapore. Indeed, Fernando Alonso was the driver who won last year’s Japanese Grand Prix (on merit I hasten to add) albeit at the Fuji circuit. But it didn’t go as planned as Fernando Alonso was yet another driver caught out by the red and yellow flags that plagued the qualifying hour and was punished for speeding in the yellow flag section, earning himself a 5 place grid drop. Perhaps spurred on by the news he would be joining Ferrari next season, it was a good performance by Fernando after an attacking drive to get himself up into 10^th place and being involved in a great tussle with Kubica and Button towards the end of the race thanks to the safety car. Positives for Romain Grosjean too, after the weekend from hell at Singapore, he actually finished the race this time round, a lap down.

Summary: Another great drive by Alonso, but the team had higher expectations.

Red Bull

9-Vettel-6-Webber

It was a race of contrasting fortunes for both drivers this weekend, as Mark Webber, who was already out of the title race coming in to Suzuka, once again suffered terrible look. It all started on Friday morning where he crashed meaning he would need a new chassis, putting him at the back of the grid. In the race it didn’t get any better for him as he pitted numerous times in the opening laps to fix various problems he had. Sebastian Vettel though, still with a slim chance of the title, dominated the weekend from start to finish with pole position and then it was classic Vettel from there, never being headed and completely dominating the race. Whilst the Brawns struggled in the lower point places, Vettel’s 10 points put him right back in a chance to claim the title. It’s a long shot, but Vettel is nearer to Button than Raikkonen was to Hamilton in his title success of 2007.

Summary: A weekend of contrast fortunes for both drivers as Vettel puts himself back in the title fight.

Toyota

6-Trulli-8-Glock (Null vote)

Toyota arrived with high hopes for their home race at Suzuka at the Honda owned track, but things didn’t really go as well as planned for one car. Glock, suffered a fever on Friday meaning no track time and then suffered a heavy crash in the qualifying inflicting a wound on his leg, meaning he wouldn’t race. As ever with The Old Hairpin, fairness is crucial and following the rule of what happened to Felipe Massa on the Hungarian weekend, no point goes to either driver in these circumstances. However, simply I’ll rank Trulli’s performance out of 10. He put in a solid performance all weekend to claim a front row slot and followed that up with a second place after jumping Lewis Hamilton when the pit stops had finished an 8/10 performance from me.  A great result, 2 second places in a row for Toyota whose objective now is to win a race. It’s difficult to call as to whether they’ll achieve that feat in 2009 however with only 2 races remaining.

Summary: Under difficult circumstances, Trulli gave Toyota some cheer.

Williams

14-Rosberg-1-Nakajima

It was a bit more of a struggle for the Williams team this weekend after the great performance of Singapore, but once again Rosberg came through to claim a few crucial points for the team. They were nowhere near as close to winning the race as they were last time out though with Rosberg stuck in a battle with the Brawn GP cars for most the race. He was the biggest gainer of all though from the punishments given out to his rivals after qualifying but never really made much progress up during the race. There was question marks over whether Rosberg had ignored the safety car coming out by setting some of his best sector times immediately after it was called due to Alguersuari’s crash and his pit stop looming. They’ll be hoping for better at Interlagos where they have gone well in recent years and then Abu Dhabi where everybody is unsure as to who will be competitive there.

Summary: Not as strong as Singapore, but points welcome all the same.

Brawn GP

10-Button-5-Barrichello

Qualifying seems to be the weak points in Brawn’s bit to wrap up the titles currently, and this showed once again at Japan. It was not an easy qualifying session by any stretch of the imagination and would later get worse as both cars were put back 5 places for ignoring the yellow flags thanks to Buemi’s accident. But like at Singapore the team had a great save by a double score. It looked bleak at first for Button as he was held up by slower cars and made little progress, but once Sutil and Kovalainen had finished their barging match and Button had some clear air, he was able to score some points, finishing, crucially, just behind nearest rival Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello never really had the pace at all for the race and after being jumped by Kimi Raikkonen at the start was then in dirty air for his first stint and then couldn’t keep up with the Ferrari later on. The fight is still on for Interlagos, but Brawn have a big chance to wrap up both titles there. Whether they will or not remains to be seen…

Summary: Another race, another save after another disappointing qualifying session.

Toro Rosso

10-Buemi-3-Bourdais-0-Alguerusuari

Toro Rosso had one of their rare better weekends here at Suzuka, again, like McLaren, 2 complete rookies to driving Formula One cars around the fearsome track. Indeed, Alguersuari is still learning the car! But all in all it was a weekend of adventures for the team as Buemi was very quick in the wet conditions of practice and indeed again in 3^rd practice on Saturday and in the early parts of qualifying, but then he started crashing into the scenery, first in Q1, damaging the rear wing, and then Q2 on the approach to 130R suffering much more damage and leaving his front wing in the middle of the road. Indeed their was too much damage that even though he has qualified in the top 10, would not take part as the team started an around the clock bit to get the car ready in time. Alguersuari also had positives, getting into Q2 for the first time but getting no further. However, that was the highlight of the weekend as buemi retired after 11 laps and Alguersuari crashed at 130R toward the end of the race bringing some much needed excitement back into the equation.

Summary: Quick in practice, solid in qualifying and 2 DNFs. How did that happen?

Force India

9-Fisichella-5-Sutil-1-Liuzzi

Those 2 races scoring in the points must seem to be getting dimmer in the memory now of Force India who seem to be back to their normal form prior to Spa. A disappointing weekend on all respects and not too much to really report other than Sutil being one of the drivers penalised for ignoring the yellow flags and then getting involved in a spin whilst having a big battle with Heikki Kovalainen. I doubt the team was expecting to be as low down the field come the end of the race when they arrived at Suzuka with the team showing promising pace early on. Sutil had a solid race despite the spin and so did Liuzzi, but you have to admire Sutil for getting stuck in to the action even when there isn’t much to play for. So my point goes to him. Thankfully for him, he stayed away from Nick Heidfeld at all times this race, however I doubt that Nick has calmed down from that incident yet!

Summary: Quiet weekend and not much to report.

So, race review for Japan?

So, what have we leant? Well last week I claimed that Vettel was pretty much out of the title chase, but one race can change everything as we’ve seen here. Sebastian completed a dominant victory, never being headed in the race even when it came to his pit stops; it was a drive of a worthy champion. He’s very much in it, but he needs to hope that Button and Barrichello finish low in the points again to keep the title going to Abu Dhabi.

Driver of the day? You’d be silly to ignore Vettel for sure. A truly dominant victory, lights to flag and for that he gets my vote. However, a worthy mention to Jarno Trulli as well who managed to stay with Lewis Hamilton for the first phase of the race after he was jumped by the KERS equipped McLaren and managed to jump the Englishman after the last stops had taken place.

Race rating? 3 stars out of 5. Nothing spectacular, but quite enjoyable. The infamous Suzuka weather stayed away for race day at least, and we got a straight forward race to see who was quick and who wasn’t. The safety car coming out a few laps to the end provided some excitement too with a terrific battle emerging between Button, Kubica and Alonso.

Fernando to Ferrari

So, after a long wait and many months of speculation later, the grid’s most successful driver, Fernando Alonso, has finally been confirmed to move to the grid’s most successful team in 2010, shunting Finn Kimi Raikkonen out of a Ferrari seat. But was it the right choice?

Well, it’s been coming for a long time, hasn’t it? Not many people were surprised to find that yesterday afternoon the Italian squad finally ended the ever increasing speculation as to who would be driving for them next season. Such has been the rumour mill running over time on this story since, well, 2008. Indeed it came to light that Fernando already HAD a 2011 deal for the Scuderia in his pocket, but Stefano Domenicalli and Luca Di Montezemelo, both Alonso supporters, had fought to bring the deal forward by a year even though Raikkonen’s deal would need terminating a year earlier than signed.

To me it’s a clear step forward. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that Raikkonen is a fantastic driver, his fantastic run of podiums recently and one world championship clearly show this, but he’s very inconsistent. One race he can be by far the fastest driver in the field, romping away into the distance, but he has a knack of having a mid-season slump when the pressure is off. When the pressure is on though, like this year, and with Massa on the side lines, he was keen to show what he is capable of, especially compared to the disappointing performances of Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella respectively.

Fernando on the other hand, is very consistent even in as bad a car as the R28 and R29 have clearly been in the past couple of years. Indeed with Renault’s future in the balance, if I was Fernando, I’d want to find the fire escape as quickly as possible, and that fire escape is Ferrari. Even so, Fernando racks up the points and the podiums like no other driver in the field and has made no visible mistakes in the last two seasons, a feat his rivals have failed to copy. If Ferrari gets the car right (which they should seeing as they are putting all efforts of the F60 now) then it will be a tantalizing prospect to see Fernando back in a championship capable car since 2007. Ferrari will have a very strong line-up with the combination of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, arguably one of the strongest line-ups for the 2010 season. Both are quick, both are proven race winners and both are championship calibre drivers.

Some Tifosi were dismayed to find that Fernando had been signed up to Ferrari pointing to the snafu between the two at “Parc Ferme” after the German Grand Prix in 2007, but Domenicalli insists that the drivers get on well and even Fernando has confirmed so. I doubt we will see any characters flaws in Alonso again like we did in ’07 as he’s living his dream in the moist successful and most illustrious team on the grid.

Fernando to be seems to be the sort of team player role Ferrari has struggled to fill since 2006 when Schumacher retired, and Kimi Raikkonen was never going to be the character to copy that, but Fernando has the desire and the emotion to want to win the championship again, so I think we’ll see a different side of Alonso with this. Alonso led Renault forward to championship victory in 2005 and 2006 and has urged the team to come forward after the difficult week where Renault was found guilty of race fixing last year.

So what about that? Is Fernando, as some have put it, “trouble”? I don’t think so. Sure, he was there in McLaren when the spy scandal broke loose and was there in Renault when race fixing allegations came to light, but Fernando was never directly involved in those. You’d have to be very short-sighted in my view to point to those examples and announce that a similar thing will happen at Ferrari. The Spaniard does carry a lot of excess baggage in that respect from those dark days, but it hasn’t dented his confidence and he is still as eager to succeed and win again as anyone.

This move could herald a great golden age in F1 racing as it could set us up with one of the most exciting seasons in the history of the sport. This is just another key piece in the puzzle to shape how the 2010 grid will look. Alonso was the man who was probably the heaviest hitter in how the grid would shape up, as if this HADN’T happened, I wouldn’t expect many driver/team switches. But seeing as it has happened it will have severe repercussions tight the way through the grid.

I’d expect quite a few announcements to be made in a relatively short period of time now. There is the question of Robert Kubica, the pole, going to Renault to replace Alonso, Barrichello reportedly closing in on a Williams drive to switch places with Nico Rosberg who would move to Brawn and of course, there is still the question of what will Kimi do next? Retire and go to World Rallying or stay in F1 with another team? Well, all indications are pointing to the Iceman returning to McLaren to partner Lewis Hamilton, and when pushed for an answer Matin Whitmarsh, team boss of McLaren, would not give a definite “No” to Kimi joining the team again.

There are still plenty of deals to be done, but it looks like there will be more strong driver/team line-ups than previous years and this could be quite a “Silly Season” this winter. It’ll be fascinating to see how it pans out, because right now it’s like an arcade slot machine trying to predict who will go where.

But hey, there are still 3 races of this incredible 2009 season and a championship still to be settled, so let’s not get too excited too quickly.

Singapore Race Review (Team Mate Wars 14)

For the most part during the run up to the Singapore Night Race, the spotlight had been firmly on Renault and 3 crucial men, Briatore, Symonds and Piquet, as the crash gate story unravelled. One year ago it was just another racing incident, another safety car period and seemingly another race win for two times champion Alonso. But no, Renault was found guilty of one of the worst crimes in F1 history and Briatore handed a life time ban, his career ended.

But during the race weekend the chat stopped and the racing started again after 2 weeks with the spot light on everybody at the impressive Singapore night race. Lewis Hamilton was the man to emerge from the dark after a disappointing end to his Italian Grand Prix.

Ferrari

7-Raikkonen-7-Massa-0-Badoer-0-Fisichella

Singapore was a bad weekend for Ferrari as an incredible run of podiums for Raikkonen of late came to an end under the spotlights. Ferrari struggled to find a set-up right from the off, struggling with tyre graining and general long run pace. Indeed, if there was any doubt over this after the practice session, it was shown clearly in qualifying as Fisichella, still struggling to get to grips with the Ferrari, didn’t manage to get out of Q1 and Raikkonen failed to get out of Q2, the two of them lining up 12^th and 17^th respectively. They struggled in the race as well, as overtaking is difficult in Singapore meaning they didn’t really ever have a chance to score points. Raiukkonen, who gets this week’s point, finished 10^th, whilst Fisichella finished 13^th, perhaps an achievement in itself seeing as so many failed to finish. They’ll be hoping for better at Suzuka

Summary: Ferrari slipping back at Singapore as they cease development on the F60.

McLaren

8-Hamilton-6-Kovalainen

McLaren will be wishing the championship started at Hungary in many ways as McLaren continue to improve and become a force for race victories at seemingly every track Formula One visits this year. It was a track where McLaren were expected to go well at, seeing as they’ve been very quick at all tracks with low speed corner speeds this year. Indeed, after initial question marks over their out right performance after Friday, there were no doubts as to who was the quickest in qualifying. Hamilton was quickest in the 1^st and 3^rd sessions, and even though he claimed pole, people were unsure as to whether he’d have remained there had it not been for Rubens Barrichello’s crash, bringing out the red flag. The day got even better for McLaren as the fuel weights came out as Hamilton was the fastest car on the heaviest fuel load. With the KERS advantage off the start, it really was game over from there on in and even after some pressure from Rosberg and Vettel, Hamilton cruised to an easy victory. Kovalainen once again struggled in the race, being the slowest car in Q1 and struggling in the race to 7^th place. Kovalainen is under more and more pressure at the moment, and it is showing as it looks more likely he’ll be replaced in 2010.

Summary: A better weekend for McLaren after the missed opportunity of Monza.

BMW

7-Kubica-7-Heidfeld

BMW continue to develop their last F1 car in 2009 as the season end gets ever nearer, but sadly, unlike Spa and Monza, BMW’s performance didn’t improve this race. Both cars did get through to the last part of qualifying without any engine issues (unlike Monza) but that was the highlight of the weekend from them from there on in. Heidfeld was found to be underweight after qualifying and after a gearbox change also, would start from pit lane. There was a first for him though, for the first time in 42 races not to finish a race after being taken out by a stupid error from a spinning Adrian Sutil. The German was understandably frustrated and hit out at his compatriot at the end of the race, slamming him to “get a brain”. Kubica suffered no better a race, scoring a point but slipping back from his initial starting position as he was surrounded by faster cars for the majority of the race. Time is running out for BMW to add to their only victory in F1 with 3 races left, and it looks more and more unlikely that they’ll be able to copy that feat. Like Ferrari, they’ll be hoping for a better Suzuka.

Summary: BMW left feeling disappointed after it looked initially like they’d score well this weekend.

Renault

13-Alonso-1-Piquet-0-Grosjean

How’s this for your first week as boss? Your team found guilty of fixing a race, 2 team big team players are banned from F1 and your title sponsor withdraws immediately with just a few hours before first practice. That is what Bob Bell, now the new Renault team boss had to face in this incredibly difficult week for the team, but it was Alonso who gave some cheer for the team, qualifying 5^th place in Q1 thanks to Rubens Barrichello’s demotion and make a brilliant start to be briefly third. Renault was never going to be the fastest car this weekend, and it showed through the race, but perhaps fortuitously, and perhaps ironically, Renault once again benefited from a safety car to give Alonso the momentum to secure a great podium place that he later claimed was for Briatore. Grosjean suffered problems with his brakes all weekend and only lasted a few laps before retiring. Things can only get better for Renault as they look to improve in Suzuka.

Summary:  A fantastic podium for Alonso on a difficult week for the team.

Red Bull

8-Vettel-6-Webber

Many believe it was Red Bull’s last big chance to hit back at Brawn to save the championship at Singapore, but even more believed Red Bull would struggle, like at Valencia, to even score points. But that was not the case as Red Bull showed great pace through the practice sessions and in qualifying with Vettel qualifying on the front row (it was so nearly pole if it wasn’t for a red flag) and team mate Mark Webber in 4^th place. For the third race in succession though, Webber was back to his traditional bad luck as he initially made a good start but was deemed to have overtaken Alonso by going off the road and was ordered to give the place back. Sadly for Webber, Glock was in front of Alonso meaning he had to let both cars through to avoid a penalty and things got no better as later in the race he suffered a brake failure and crashed out, meaning it is now mathematically impossible for Webber to be the 2009 champion. Vettel had a stronger race, and after Rosberg was issued a drive through penalty, really hammered onto the back of Hamilton but then it was his time to take a penalty as he sped in the pit lane and later damaged his diffuser on a kerb. Still a solid result for Vettel though, 4^th place, but it could have been a podium or even a win.

Red Bull: Webber now out of it, Vettel hanging on by a thread.

Toyota

6-Trulli-8-Glock

It was a day of mixed fortunes for the Toyota team as one car struggled and the other picked up a surprise podium. But perhaps it wasn’t the right way round for many people as it was veteran Trulli who struggled, so much so he didn’t make it out of Q2, whilst Glock had an inspired weekend. Okay, so perhaps he was gifted by penalties from Rosberg and Vettel respectively, and yes he wasn’t the fastest car around, but Glock made a great start getting past Alonso who he had started behind, and that cemented the opportunity to get a podium place equalling his best ever result in F1 at Hungary in 2008. It was a real kick up the teeth for Trulli though, as he started 14^th and only finished 12^th, not ideal for a driver whose future in F1 is currently uncertain. Indeed, Toyota’s future is still uncertain as they have apparently told both drivers they no longer need their services at the end of 2009. Is this a sign the Japanese make is on its way out of F1?

Summary: Glock had real pace right through the weekend and the end result showed this.

Williams

13-Williams-1-Nakajima

Williams had really struggled at the last two races at Spa and Monza, their car not suiting the characteristics of those tracks at all, a genuine puzzle seeing as the Williams, in the hands of Nico Rosberg, has been so consistent in performance and nearly all the tracks F1 has visited this year. But at Singapore, it all came good, especially in qualifying where Rosberg lay down a marker in Q2, a magnificent lap, clearly faster than anybody else, even Hamilton could manage. 3^rd was his best qualifying performance since his debut year, but like Vettel, it could have been better if the session had run its full distance. Off the start though, Rosberg made his traditional good get away tog et second place, jumping Vettel and slotting in behind Hamilton and staying with the Brit for most of the first portion of the race. It looked good coming in to his first stop, could Williams dare to dream of their first victory since 2004? No, Rosberg made a small error coming out of the dust covered pit lane exit, bumping over the white line and of course, getting a penalty that would drop him to 14^th place. He would improve to 11^th at the end of the race but it was clear Williams had missed a big opportunity, Rosberg realising this more than anyone. It will be interesting to see however, if Williams can keep up with the leading pace at the remaining races.

Summary: Brilliant pace by Rosberg, but a rookie error cost him big time.

Brawn GP

9-Button-5-Barrichello

How many times will this go on for? Again, Brawn GP looked good in practice, again, they failed to live up to expectation in qualifying (so much so team boss Ross Brawn labelled it as a “disaster”) creating a big opportunity for their rivals. Again the pundits claimed this was the end for Brawn and when the chequered flag fell on race day, who came out stronger? Brawn. Indeed, it looked very bleak for Brawn after qualifying with Button once again failing to get out of Q2 lining up 11^th (thanks to Heidfeld’s pit lane start) and Barrichello 10^th (After a gearbox change demoting him 5 places and a crash in Q3) but Button especially but in a brilliant performance to claim a lot of lost ground on a track that you, by law, can’t seem to over take. He was the biggest climber of the grid at Singapore and takes a valuable point off team mate and chief rival Barrichello and only lost 1 to Vettel. With this performance from the team, it looks more likely as though Brawn will wrap the constructors’ title in Suzuka and Button can take a big leap forward to claiming the title in Interlagos or Abu Dhabi if things go well. We shall see.

Summary: Yet again, a brilliant save from the team on a weekend it looked like they’d struggle.

Toro Rosso

9-Buemi-3-Sutil-0-Alguersuari

I have got so used to writing how Toro Rosso have struggled race on race that it seems strange that I’m actually going to write something positive about them for once. Indeed at Singapore, it was one of the team’s best weekends for a long time with Swiss driver Sebastian Buemi getting as high up as 13^th place in Q2, a great performance and was sometimes as high as 5^th place in Q1. Alguersuari struggled more once again as he still gets to grips with the car and the demands of this particular track, but both drivers had never seen the track before arriving there, and even the simulator back at base does not properly prepare you for the demands of the night race. In the race though, it once again fell to pieces as both cars would retire with braking issues. The point goes to Buemi though for his heroics almost in Q1 and Q2. I doubt if they will have as smooth a race at Suzuka though, again a track neither driver has ever experienced in an F1 car.

Summary: Good pace in qualifying before it went wrong in the race.

Force India

9-Fisichella-4-Sutil-1-Liuzzi

It may be a surprise for some of you to find that this week the point has gone to Italian Antonio Liuzzi even after struggling this weekend on a track he had never seen before. After the heroics from him and Sutil at Monza and also at Spa for Sutil a couple of weeks ago, it was always expected that Singapore would be the weakest of the remaining races for this team as the struggled to get enough down force to be competitive. After the front row of the grid just a fortnight ago, Sutil didn’t even make it out of Q1, Liuzzi saving the same fate, but the team hoped it would be better for the race. Sutil had a solid race and was fighting with the visibly slow Alguersuari and trying to pass him on a track where there really aren’t too many opportunities the two of them sliding around, inches from the wall, creating some great on board shots. But it all went wrong a bit later in the race as Sutil spun after a failed over take of the Toro Rosso and as he tried to spin turn it, he clouted the BMW of Nick Heidfeld, taking him out of the race. This silly mistake taking both cars out of the race and ordering the safety car out on the track means that Liuzzi gets a well deserved point.

Summary:  A blip in the system for Force India as they look to get back in the points at Suzuka

So, race review for Singapore?

So what have we learnt? Just how brilliant the Brawn team really are. Once again it seemed like they’d be in for a bad time yet managed a brilliant save, Button only losing 1 point to Vettel who is nearly out of it any way. The fast sweeping corners of Suzuka should suit the Red Bulls, but with this season’s form book, it’s always difficult to tell meaning F1 is more unpredictable than ever!

Driver of the day? I have to give high comments to Timo Glock who secured his second podium of the year with a quiet drive, staying out of the worst of the chaos and problems for his competitors to help Toyota’s future in F1. But really all top 3 drivers deserve plaudits, especially at such a difficult and long race, Hamilton for basically dominating the race, Glock for getting a surprise podium and Alonso for giving the Renault team some joy after an incredibly difficult week for the team.

Race rating? 3 stars out of 5. The race promised to be an entertaining one with plenty of quick cars in the top 5, but many of the top rivals challenging suffered problems meaning Hamilton had an easy ride home. Suzuka should be very interesting, especially if it rains!

The Renault saga (The punishment is not enough)

Warning! This entry may contain a RANT. You read on at your own risk:

Scandals are nothing new in F1. Over the past few years we’ve seen it all. We’ve had the spy-gate in 2007, the Mosely sex scandal in 2008 and the diffuser-gate, lie-gate and FOTA/FIA-gate in 2009. But in 2009, another new scandal game to light even after it had played out 12 months ago. The crash-gate.

What started off as a quiet story seemingly from a disgruntled former Renault employee has perhaps turned into the most serious and worst form of cheating we have seen in recent F1 history, if not ever. This all came to light after Nelson Piquet Jnr was dismissed from the team shortly after the Hungarian GP due to the fact he had not met a performance clause in his contract. And then it all started to unfold, day by day.

It emerged that Piquet supposedly had been ordered to crash his car in order to bring the safety car out and benefit Fernando Alonso, who had pitted before the Safety Car period, meaning that whilst everyone else pitted, he was able to continue to an eventual and unlikely victory. Who had ordered to this? Flavio Briatore, only the team boss of Renault and Pat Symonds, Flavio’s right hand man in the team.

This case came out bit by bit over the Spa and Monza weekends, once again a scandal overshadowing the on track action, not for the first time this year. The FIA announced that Renault would be invited to the World Motor Sport Council shortly after the Italian Grand Prix, and soon Briatore and Symonds stepped down from the team after accepting what they had done. It seemed such a strange way for the flamboyant Italian’s career to be coming to an end after he confirmed, confidently, that he would be taking legal action against the Piquets whilst challenging Jnr’s sexuality.  Such is the current times in F1 that nothing seems to surprise anymore!

Yesterday however, at the hearing of Renault, I, like many others, feel like Renault got off lightly with a suspended 2 year ban. Only if Renault commit another offence will they get the punishment, and with Renault running with their tail between their legs, it seems unlikely anything will come of this. Is this really what F1 wants to be priding itself on? A team commits possibly the worst offence seen in F1 and nothing happens? Of course, I understand that only 3 malicious individuals were involved in this (Briatore, Symonds and Piquet) plot, but it seems impossible to find out if anyone else was involved in it. I find it unlikely that such a plot would be kept to such a select group of people. To me it would strike me as very odd if other members in the garage were not aware of what was going to happen. What about Alonso? Was he involved? Surely Briatore must have told him behind closed doors?

And what about Piquet? Well, he’s as guilty as Briatore and Symonds in my opinion. I don’t buy any of this “Well I was told too” nonsense. Even though you were ordered to, what driver would agree to anyway? He should be banned for at least a season and it seems unlikely with Piquet’s case in this that any team would want to hire him anyway.

But I find it disgusting that a team that has been found guilty of such a crime gets so worse a penalty than McLaren did in 2007 with the spy-gate. And for me, this is much much more about fixing just one race. There are many variables in this complicated case. There is the fact that Renault endangered the safety of the spectators, track officials and of course Piquet by ordering him to crash. For me this is one of the main facts that the FIA failed to come down heavily on. Sure, nobody was injured, but motor sport is dangerous. People could have if things had been only slightly different. As I say, motor sport is dangerous, it says so on the back of the tickets, but Renault deliberately increasing that risk is a big problem.

Then there is the case of the spectators at the track and millions worldwide. Many of the spectators who were there on race day travelled far across the world to see a race, spending big money on ticket prices AND accommodation. Everybody went to see a race, and all they say was a fixed, fake farce. If I was there, I’d want my money back now. And Renault can pay me. I don’t know about other people, but I’d much rather see a driver like Alonso win on merit, using his vast talent rather than benefiting through back room manipulation. I don’t care if the race is the dullest race ever, as long as it’s a genuine result, I’ll be happy.

And lastly, what effect did it have on the championship? It’s plausible that if the safety car hadn’t come out that Felipe Massa would have gone on to win, with Hamilton 3^rd. Seeing as Hamilton only won the championship by one point in Interlagos, the result prior to the safety car surely would have been a deciding factor in the championship. Then it isn’t manipulating just one race, it’s manipulating the outcome of the title.

So what can be done to overcome this? Well, firstly, disqualify Alonso from the race results at Singapore last year. Of course, it’s arguable that the safety car shook the race up more than Piquet’s crash did, but Alonso was the main benefited from the SC period and seeing as it was manipulated, it’s a fake victory. That would hand the win to Rosberg and avoid the complications of making the result void and then the result of the title thereafter.

Secondly, ban Renault for 2 seasons. Of course, it’s unfair that the whole team has to take the consequences of 3 people’s actions, but it is a team sport in F1. The whole team should suffer. So what if it means we lose a team from the 2010 grid? We’d still have 26 cars potentially, and that is no mean feat. In my mind, Renault is in no way as crucial to F1 as McLaren and Ferrari are with their heritage. People may lose their jobs with this, but there are plenty more championships in the motor sport world that they can go and race in, or alternatively, find positions with the 4 new teams that are currently joining F1 next season.

Is this really an image F1 wants to be taking globally? “Here are the best teams in the world, just don’t look into their past too much as they’ve committed serious crimes.” I know that is I was one of the lead figures in F1 I wouldn’t want it like that. I wouldn’t want that if I was a track owner with a chance to bring F1 to my track, regardless on the money it would bring in. There are way too many bad stories in F1 at the moment, too many politics that are overshadowing the fantastic on track action.

Hopefully the next FIA president sorts out the mess that ahs been created recently, whether that be Ari Vatanen or Jean Todt.

Now that’s done and dusted, can we please get back to the on track action again? Thanks awfully.

Normal entries shall return soon.

Monza Race Review (Team Mate Wars episode 13)

After the long, twisty track deep in the Ardennes forest a fortnight ago, Formula One moved on to Ferrari homeland, Monza, the historic Italian track which is the fastest on the current calendar, still has the famous banking at the side of the current track, where many a scarlet coloured car would have been cheered on to victory all those years ago.

In 2009, the Tifosi’s passion is no less dampened, and despite Ferrari’s struggles in 2009, both cars, especially Italian Fisichella who claimed that emphatic podium for Force India at Spa, were cheered on wildly. Banners of support were hung out, airhornes sounded and flags waved as the crowd went crazy every time they came passed the pit straight. Of course, the Tifosi were rewarded out of surprise in the end, when Lewis Hamilton crashed out on the very last lap for Kimi Raikkonen to take yet another podium.

Ferrari

6-Raikkonen-7-Massa-0-Badoer-0-Fisichella

In this incredibly unusual season, Kimi Raikkonen was treated to yet another different team mate as the team strives to find a worthy replacement whilst the injured Felipe Massa recovers from his horrible Hungary accident. It seems like they had found it in Giancarlo Fisichella, the Force India hero who followed his dream to go into the red colours. Yet he struggled for most the weekend on the car’s handling, very different from his comfort zone of Force India, especially with their KERS system on the Ferrari affecting the braking performance. But nevertheless, he put on a good performance on a track where Ferrari was never expected to win on a track that doesn’t suit the capabilities of their car. Kimi Raikkonen though, continued his great form of late, with a strong qualifying performance followed up by a strong race and a nice gift from Lewis Hamilton to give him a late 3^rd place. But it seemed to be déjà vu for Kimi, a Force India, this time of Sutil, tracking him right through the race, no matter what the Finn did.

Summary: A strong performance by Ferrari in their home race as Fisichella gets used to the car.

McLaren

7-Hamilton-6-Kovalainen

McLaren looked competitive from the word go at Monza, hitting the ground running after a disastrous Spa for the team. Indeed the team looked well set up at least for a podium after qualifying, with Hamilton on pole and Kovalainen on a heavy one stop that would have put him, fuel corrected, on pole. But in the race, it did not go to plane. Hamilton sprinted away on his light fuel load at the start, as Kovalainen slipped back to fall out of contention early on. Later in the race though, Hamilton would struggle with his pace as both Brawn cars of Barrichello and Button jumped him after their stops, meaning that if Hamilton wanted to win, he’d have to overtake them on the track. Of course, with the KERS advantage at a place with Monza, he ate into Button’s advantage and after setting a “purple” fastest of anybody of the race first sector and being just one second behind, it looked like there would be a close fight for second with just a few corners remaining. But it wasn’t to be, Hamilton crashing heavily at the Lesmo corners, his race finished. He would be classified 12^th, but that is no joy for McLaren when through Friday, they looked to be in the strongest position to win. Having crashed on the first lap of the last race and now on the last lap at Monza, what can we expect the ever-charging Hamilton to do at the night race in Singapore? Kovalainen is now under immense pressure to retain his McLaren drive for 2010 which is looking increasingly under pressure. But despite Hamilton having a clear advantage in pace over his team mate, my point this time goes to Kovalainen simply for the stupid error that Hamilton made, chucking away valuable points as they look to continue their fight for 3^rd in the constructors title with Ferrari.

Summary: A very disappointing outcome for the team on a weekend where they looked set for a good result.

BMW

6-Kubica-7-Heidfeld

On the back of their strongest result so far this season at Spa, BMW hoped that there would be more of the same at Spa, another track that should suit their car as the team piles upgrades onto the car before they pull out at the end of the season. Indeed, through the early part of qualifying and the previous practice sessions, there were reasons to be hopeful for a good result before Q2. In Q2 though, both engines let go within the space of 2 minutes, leaving both drivers stranded around the track and BMW wondering just what had happened to 2 new-ish engines. Thankfully BMW could replace the engines using previously used units, meaning no penalty. In the race however, things got no better for Kubica, as he punted good friend Mark Webber off at the second chicane, damaging his front wing and later receiving a black and orange flag for what officials thought as dangerous damage, obviously baring in mind the recent problem of debris bouncing along tracks. Heidfeld has a very solid drive though, reaching 7^th position, a crucial point as BMW look to fight to remain ahead of Renault and a resurgent Force India in the constructors’ table.

Summary: Firmly locked in a battle with Renault and Force India for the remainder of the season.

Renault

12-Alonso-1-Piquet-0-Grosjean

For the first time for a great many races, KERS was re-introduced for Renault at Monza, a circuit where many thought it would play a crucial role in aiding a KERS victory. Indeed, initial pace looked promising, but like for many of the races in this 2009 season, Renault, and more accurately, Alonso, struggled for qualifying pace when it came to Q3 wasn’t there, and Alonso found himself 8^th on a relatively light fuel load. He looked to make the most of the KERS advantage a the start, but too much wheel spin meant that he indeed lost positions and would end up getting held up for most of the race from there on in. But 5^th place was very respectable for a team that made the headlines for all the wrong reasons at Monza with the race fixing allegations hanging over them currently. With Santander confirmed as a Ferrari sponsor for 2010, many still think that Alonso will be off to Ferrari in the not too distant future.

Summary: A solid result for Alonso, but the team will have expected better.

Red Bull

7-Vettel-6-Webber

It was another off-par weekend for the Austrian team at Monza, with Red Bull locking out the back row in the Q3 session. Things didn’t really improve there on in, with Webber being punted out by Kubica on the first lap and Vettel struggling for a genuine lack of pace right through the race. Indeed, he will have been glad to even score one point that came at the expense of Hamilton on the last lap due to his crash. It seems strange just a few races ago we were thinking that it was Red Bull’s title to loose now, and since Valencia, that is what they have firmly done. Webber seems almost certainly out of it after 3 consecutive races not scoring a single point and Vettel is hanging on just, but with fewer and fewer races left, it looks increasingly unlikely that even the talent that young German driver possesses will see him claim the championships. I’d expect all eyes are on 2010 now for Red Bull.

Summary: Monza was the curtain of their championship hopes, the team now going for honour.

Toyota

6-Trulli-7-Glock

I reported last week that Toyota’s strange season continued, and it was apparent once again at Monza that it looks incredibly difficult for Toyota to be able to put a consistent season together. From potential pole winners and podium challengers at Monza, Toyota was once again towards the back of the grid with Timo Glock not even making it out of Q1! Jarno Trulli faired slightly better, lining up 11^th, but certainly not what the Italian will have been hoping for at his home grand prix. I must respect the Toyota team though, they allowed their 2 drivers to fight right the way through the race, Trulli once sent rally crossing by his team mate as they squabbled with no hope of scoring points in the last few fraught laps. To me, I love a team who visibly lets their 2 drivers race, no matter what the consequences may by, but certainly they put on a good spectacle. Mu point goes to Timo Glock though for this race, sprinting from 16^th to 11^th in this race, pushing team mate Trulli off the track briefly in his battles.

Summary: The struggles continue for a team that visibly lets their drivers race.

Williams

12-Rosberg-1-Nakajima

After such a consistent year for the Williams team so far, it’s been a very difficult 2 races with disappointing results at Spa and now Monza respectfully. For whatever reason, the Williams car really struggles in which demands really high or really low down force, an unfortunate trait of the car since it was built. But for the first time this season, amazing some might say knowing me, Kazuki Nakajima gets his first point in team mate wars. He outperformed his illustrious team mate in qualifying and the race, no mean feat at all. Rosberg on the other hand, struggled all weekend, pitting early on in the race for a suspected puncture that happened to be nothing and trailed around at the back, finishing last of the classified finishes, and his worst race in 2009 to date. However at Singapore, Williams hope to be back. They went well there last year, Rosberg taking a brilliant 2^nd place, even if it was fortuitous. The track should suit their car so it’ll be interesting to see if Nico can be the car pointing somewhere back at the front. We shall see.

Summary: 2 difficult races on the bounce for Williams as they aim to come back for Singapore.

Brawn GP

8-Button-5-Barrichello

Brawn GP were back to their brilliant best at Monza, after several races in the doldrums as far as Jenson Button was concerned. Button, who had been coming under increasing scrutiny after Spa hit back at his critics to put in a solid performance right the way through the weekend, qualifying 6^th and then an impressive run to 2^nd thanks to a clever pit wall game plan. He came under big pressure towards the end of the race though by fellow countryman Lewis Hamilton. Alas Hamilton crashed on the la lap, so 2^nd was his. But my point goes to Barrichello once again this weekend. To me he seems to be on the form of his life at the moment, really enjoying F1 as he can sense that he has now a real chance to win his first ever championship. Good pace through the first phase of the race left him able to pit when Hamilton pitted, meaning a relatively easy run to the flag from there on it, despite Button and Hamilton pushing him all the while. Brawn just about put Red Bull out of contention on either title now, so it is back to how we started the season, a battle from within. It shall indeed be a fascinating one; you’d have to be brave to bet against either.

Summary: Brawn back to their best at Monza as the in house battle hots up.

Toro Rosso

8-Buemi-3-Bourdais-0-Alguersuari

It gets increasingly hard to write anything about Toro Rosso at races such is the nose dive in performance they’d have way back from Barcelona. Indeed these are difficult times, and it can’t have been a nice anniversary to imagine that exactly one year ago, Sebastian Vettel took his, and Toro Rosso’s first victory in F1 as well as pole position a day before. And where were they on the grid this time? 19^th and 20^th. You don’t need me to tell you that is no good. Buemi however, is starting to mature and has some solid performances at Spa and Monza, but those points are very elusive for the Swiss at the moment. Alguersuari is still on a learning curve, and it seems like it will stay that way for the remainder of this season. Hopefully in 2010 will we start to see the great driver within him. What’s that Toro Rosso? Oh, Bourdais won on his first Superleague race on his debut! The team can take some pleasure though, that if 28 cars race in 2010, they might not always be locking out the last row of the grid!

Summary: Buemi starts to mature as a driver, but no signs of points coming anytime soon.

Force India

9-Fisichella-4-Sutil-0-Liuzzi

Force India continues their heroics in F1 at the moment. Just a fortnight after their debut podium and points in the hands of Fisichella, Sutil continues the good form by putting Force India back on the front row of the grid, and it could so nearly have been pole had he not made a tiny slide in the Lesmo corners. It would be difficult to retain that though, with 3 fast KERS cars directly around him, and indeed he did slip back in the race, but chased Kimi Raikkonen relentlessly regardless. Again, it could so nearly have been a 3^rd place for him had he not mowed a few of his pit men over in his last stop, but a great performance none the less. Liuzzi was a revelation on his return since being fired by Toro Rosso in 2007, immediately taking to it like duck to water and getting up to speed nicely. Indeed, it looked likely that Force India would have their first double points finish had his gearbox not let through almost half way through the race. Indeed, if it was not for Sutil’s performance, the point would have gone to him.

Summary: Continued heroics from this tiny team.

So, race review for Monza?

So, what have we learnt? Well, again, just when you thought you knew it all, that Brawn was struggling, they come back with a 1-2! F1 continues to surprise us right up until the chequered flag as proved with Hamilton’s dramatic last lap shunt whilst trying to catch Jenson Button. It is still too close to call in the championship, but it looks now firmly to be an in house battle between team mates Button and Barrichello. And Barrichello is in the form of his life.

Driver of the day? I have to go with Rubens Barrichello. He drove an inspired race, just doing enough to keep in touch with Hamilton in the first part of the race, and then having strong pace to retain his advantage when Hamilton pitted meaning neither his team mate or Hamilton could catch him. Kudos to Adrian Sutil though he chased Raikkonen right through the race, and honourable mention also to Nick Heidfeld.

Race rating? 3 stars out of 5. Enough action, drama and close on track action to keep the race gripping right through the race. Added drama on the last lap just added a bit more spice!