Hi everyone, and welcome to my very first Formula One blog.
Well, this year, has started off spectacularly. As you are probably aware, much of the rule changes from the last season have effectively given all of the teams a clean sheet to design a new car. Of course we all know this is both a good thing and a bad thing; good in that all teams are effectively starting from scratch to hopefully design a winning car, and bad in that the traditionally well performing teams now cannot use much of the experience and knowledge of their older cars for this new season. The main changes being slick tyres, reduced overall aerodynamic downforce, and increased mechanical grip, along with the much debated KERS system.
I won't dwell on these, as you probaby are all very familiar with these.
Onto my thought of the race itself...
WOW.
Eddie Jordan said this is the stuff of fairytales, and I certainly agree. Brawn GP pulling a 1-2 in qualifying, and doing so without the (debateable) KERS. Let's just hope that the FIA don't rule against their diffuser design, otherwise things will turn sour, quickly.
Brawn GP (or maybe Virgin??)
Barichello got off to a rusty start, but his collision in the first turn is a testament to how good the Brawn cars actually are! Being able to put in respectable times with a damaged front wing. It was said in BBC's ecxcellent coverage that this is due to the wide nose, and how fat it is, giving much more support than, say, Vettel's car, which I would liken to being made of rice paper. So fragile with the long thin supports and thin nose cone. As for Barichello himself, great job! 3 weeks ago he didn't know whether his career had come to an abrupt end or not, and being the most experienced guy in the field, he certainly showed it today. I feel he's been in Schumacher's shadow in his time at Ferrari too long, and now's a great time to really show his skill as the most experienced driver this season.
Jensen Button, now he did a fantastic job, and, in this race at least, was able to show his skill as a professional Formula One driver. Qualifying first, and then going on to win the race, with reliability as his own own enemy throughout the entire race.
One last word on Brawn GP. I think they, despite laying off hundreds of staff, really are indebted to the guys in Japan, who created such a great car. It was Honda afterall, and I knew last year that their car this year would be competitive. So much for "the power of dreams" eh?
However, these incredibly quick lap times of Brawns cars may be due to the controversial diffuser design, as 3 of the teams appealed against. (Isn't it funny how BMW seemed to be the ones most irritated by it, yet not being able to submit their appeal as they did not submit their paperwork correctly?) This certainly got the attention of the McLaren team, as before the race started, you could clearly see many McLaren engineers crowding around the back of the Brawn cars, somewhat like teenagers trying to cop a look up the "virgin bride" dress. I don't blame them! McLaren certainly could do with some extra rear downforce, and this may be their ticket to producing a competitive car.
Speaking of Virgin, Sir Richard Branson must really be laughing his ass off. He picked an opportune time to help out Brawn GP, and my predictions are that he will go on to purchase the team, and change the team name to Virgin, as he clearly was delighted by the cars, and the teams performance today and yesterday. Best of luck to him I say, as he is, in my opinion, a fantastic entrepreneur.
Ferrari obviously didn't fair too well. Massa having problems, and Raikonnen crashing out. Whatever planet Ferrari said he's on, it certainly isn't earth driving like that!
As for McLaren, well we could all see the ear to ear grin on Martin Whitmarsh's face after the race, and it must certainly have gotten wider after Trulli's 25s penalty, making Hamilton achieve a podium finish. This was however, only due to the spectacular crash between Kubica and Vettel, but as a testament to his skill, working his way from the back of the grid, to finish on podium shows how great a driver Hamilton really is, despite having not such a competitive car. I bet he really enjoyed using the KERS system, despite it being used on a car that clearly isn't stable. Heikki really was unfortunate, as he crashed out on the first corner, and had to retire. I wonder if he'd have done a respectable job moving up the field?
Toyota...well. What can I say. First the "illegal diffuser" row, and then the demotion to last following a failure of wing flexing tests. I wonder how they fixes that overnight? I cannot believe the gall of them blaming their manufacturing, when they are meant to be one of the world leaders in manufacturing methods! That's totally unacceptable in my opinion. Makes me wonder wheter it was still flexible in the race, for him to finish third after starting in the pit lane.
Renault, now this is interesting. Alonso said, at some point, he's relying on a pile up in the first corner to get any chance of a podium, if I recall correctly. I really do wonder how long he'll stay in Renault with confidence like that! As for his team mate, Nelson Piquet Jnr, well, he hasn't shown the best of talents, and certainly hasn't shown he can race like his father did. A memorable moment from Singapore last year is where the team's tactic seemed to be "Piquet, you go kamikaze, and hold everyone else up, Alonso, get pole!" Similar to the way Barichello had to relinquish 1st place to Schumacher in his Ferrari days.
Sebastian Vettel. What a mistake. Adrian Newey clearly new he had a potentially race winning car, which first showed its pace in the testing. Despite not having a controversial rear diffuser design, really is a quick car! It's just such a shame that Vettel had to spoil it all by being too aggressive and taking out the both of them. Though what shocked me more was how they ordered him to continue, despite lacking an entire front wheel! The safety car was clearly deployed, yet he was dragging his wheel, and slowing everyone down. Damn right he should be penalised the 10 places for next race, and the team fined £35,000.
They are, however, looking to add the controversial split-level diffuser design, but only after it has been confirmed fully legal by the FIA. This should be exciting, as the car is already pretty quick, but moreso in that the unique pullrod suspension could possibly hinder the development, as it is a more complicated design.
Kubica really did show he is a good driver in this race, from fourth, he was in contention, arguably, for 2nd or maybe even 1st, as the Brawn cars moved onto the less useful soft compound tyres. He did this without running KERS. I really do wonder where he would've gotten if he was running KERS, and certainly if Vettel didn't take him out! Even the Brawn team were getting hot under the collar, as they saw Kubica's lap times decreasing with every sector... Watch this space. As for his teammate, who was running KERS, didn't seem to make too much use of it, or at least show its advantages in the BMW car. Maybe the supercapacitor BMW system isn't so great afterall? As with much of this new season, time will tell. I can however, make the conclusion that KERS, I feel, suits the more aggressive driver. Hamilton is my example, as I'm almost certain he wouldn't have made podium if it wasn't for KERS.
As for Williams. Well, judging by the Friday practice sessions, they seem to have a competitive car, however, only on the lighter fuel loads. Rosberg surely was disappointed, despite being in contention for podium with a relatively fast car. As for his teammate, Nakajima, that guy seems to have a death wish. Its the first time he's been able to put in any quick times in his career, yet he goes and loses it. How many DNF's does this guy rack up!!!
Well, I've come to the end of my (lengthy) blog post, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it. Thank you for reading it, and I'll leave you with a somewhat humourous comment from Sir Richard Branson, teasing Brawn GP, saying something along the lines of
"Not only do they get my money, they get these gorgeous Virgin girls".
