Will there be hot as well as cold warter in Korea ?

Okay then after much ho har and Bernie threatening to throw his toys out of the pram, we’re off to Yeongam county for the inaugural South Korean Grand Prix. Which apparently is all perfectly fine and dandy and just waiting to hold it’s most important event ever right now.

The highlight of this weekend is going to be listening to the commentators picking the place apart. Extra points for spotting every time the Legard says “Still needs a lick of paint here and there but ….. “, and then saying some moronic statement or other.

It’s another FIA Tilke design as usual, but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’ll be dull, lifeless and only there so Bernie and CVC can line their pockets with Korean money, no sir-e-bob.

This place is still a building site and it’s going to be another “spot the spectator” event for sure. They might be able to build all of the worlds landfill tat, but I doubt they can rustle up more than a handful of spectators that have “South Korean” stamped on their passport.
Anyway the final tarmac layer got laid about 2 weeks ago so it’s still curing effectively. Normally a circuit has to run a few FIA sanctioned events before it can call itself an F1 circuit. Even some chavs in a selection of stolen escorts and Saxos would be nice, but as far as I’m aware the only thing bedding this place in is construction equipment rushing to build the stands.

So the surface is going to be like a skating rink for the first two test session. Expect at lest one high profile name to crash test the scenery at some point on Friday and with home grown marshals rather than plucky English marshals, it might be a bit dicey if they do his the wall. Given just how slippery it’s going to be I have a fiver on the ex snow racing champion Petrov to go quite well here. Also the HRT’s should be okay because they handle the same whatever the conditions, as everyone else tries to find some grip the HRT boys will be wondering what all the fuss is about.
The track itself looks kind of like a cross between Malaysia, Valencia and Canada. A couple of blindingly fast straights, linked with a hairpin and then a noodles back section with sweeping corners and stuff, there’s not much of an elevation change and not a lot to look at. It’s got Redbull stamped all over it really.
So the podium is probably going to be between Webber, Vettel and Alonso. Hamilton could get a tilt at it, but Lady Luck appears to have the humph with him at the moment. Alonso has been talking up his chances of late and Ferrari are very much behind him, Massa has been doing a good PR job of telling all and sundry that he’s a Ferrari man through and through and is only there to help Alonso win. But I think this is a Redbulls drivers to loose now. Vettel is right back in the hunt with a couple of good results and Webber has been consistent enough. It could well come down to qualifying and that has been the preserve of Vettel this season. If he can get a pole here then he’ll avoid the carnage that will undoubtedly happen on the first lap.

Everyone that isn’t in a Redbull, Ferrari or McLaren has pretty much stopped developing this years car, so they’re looking to pick up points where possible.

Kubica keeps fighting with Rosberg for the best of the rest title, Schumacher might get a result here as it’s a new track for everyone.
Hulkenburg is looking less and less likely to keep his seat for next year, whilst Petrov might get another year now the F1 circus has signed to go to Russian for a GP in 2012.
The chaps down at Force India are getting worried as neither, Sutil or Liuzzi has a contract for next year at the moment. The Word is Sutil is off to Williams in place of the Hulk, but other rumours have him getting the boot into the doomed “test driver” roll for some one after underperforming this year. There are a lot of Gp2 drivers getting linked to all sorts of seat at the moment. So there are lots of drivers looking over their shoulders rather than were the tarmac is going.
Meanwhile back at Ferrari, the word on the street at the moment is that Smedley is the one looking to move on after his boy got shafted by the Alonso machine. If he does go then Massa is probably going to follow him, Renault is the favourite at the moment with a swap for Kubica. I don’t see why Kubica would ditch the number one at Renault for a definite number two at Ferrari, but money can be a great incentive to some.

Predictions updated before thurdays midnight please, there’s still plenty to play for.

Good luck.

Qualifying kicks off at 5am on Saturday, the race is at 6am Sunday I think, the BBC is being a bit vague.

It's petrol head fest of motorsport and by God i'm tired.

Ooooh what a weekend.

First off I'm up at some ungodly hour of Saturday Morning to watch the BBC try to make a very very wet Japanese track look exciting. I switched off at the point Eddie Jordan handed over two paper boat and tried to have a race in the stream running through the pit lane. It was just not going to improve from there really.

Which left Qualifying to be run at 2am British time. Which was excellent news as it meant i had a reason to stay up and watch the Ozzy Bathurst 1000km which started at 12.30 am and didn't finish until 7am, when the F1 race started in Japan.
It was motor sport heaven. An hour and a half of big grunty Australian V8's motoring up Mount Panorama is truly a site to behold, like Le Mans, Monaco and the Indy 500 i think it's one of those races a Petrol head has to have on their list of things to do before they die. Bathurst is like a mini Nurburing, It's narrow, dangerous and very fast. On the opening lap, after tagging a slow starting car off the line, driver Fabian Coulthard lost control of his Holden at 300kph into the chute corner and barrel rolled his car six times before he came to rest in the gravel trap. Just think about that. 300kph a little over 185 mph and he turns in to find he has a rear puncture and he has no steering or brakes at this point. The car was completely destroyed. All that remained was roll cage bolted to an engine. Mr Coulthard, once the car had come to rest, made sure all his arms and legs were still in place than calmly climbed out of what remained of his car and walked off to the pits.
They build them strong in Australia.




By 2am I'm ready for some F1 and thankfully it's a dry track in Japan. I'm not sure, the red wine and port had kicked in by 2.30am but i think it was a pretty dull qualifying with all the usual suspect in the right place. Vettel looked miles faster than the rest, only Webber, Kubica and Alonso looked like keeping him honest. Hamilton did well but after hitting the wall in practice he'd had to change his gearbox so got knocked back 5 places to 8th for the afternoon race. He was putting a brave face on it, but i think his title chances have pretty much gone now.

I had planned to watch the V8's, but the red wine had other ideas and I passed out at 3.30am, i think.

But not before setting the alarm which woke me up just as the cars are setting off on their formation lap. A quick check on the V8's and some one in a vodaphone had won and I'd missed it all for yet another year.

The F1 start kicked off almost immediately, with Petrov taking out Hulkenburg off the line, then Massa got lost on the way into turn one and speared across the track into a hapless Liuzzi. With Di Grassi crashing before he'd even got to the line we were 5 cars down before the end of the first lap. Then as Kubica was following the safety car behind Vettel as they cleared up the carnage, the poor Polish chap lost his right rear wheel and stopped halfway round the track . Six cars out, the Redbulls off in the distance and no one really taking the fight to them.

Button had gone for starting the race on the harder tires, hoping to stay out longer and try to gain some places. But the Redbulls just pitted, then caught Button and waited for him to pit. Alonso had a bit of a go, got the fastest lap a few times, but each time he did Vettel just went faster. Once Hamilton lost the use of the first three gears in his new gearbox, all the fun was over up front. Thankfully Kobayashi kept us all entertained with a few wild over taking moves, and Rosberg crashed with a few laps to go.

So it's Vettels third win of the season and put's him right back in contention. Eddie Jordan believes that he can now go on and win the last 3 races. He was all over this track all weekend and never once looked like being beaten. Webber doesn't yet have enough points to cruse to the title so it's going to come down to these two and how they get on. If they start taking each other out, Alonso could still sneak it. But Vettel who looked dead and buried 4 races ago is right back in the hunt. He was fast and confident all weekend and didn't need any luck to keep this win. A pretty easy pole and but for Webber getting all racy at the end he'd have had the fastest lap too. But it all only seems to work for him when he's at the front and the car holds together.

Webber, once again got lucky that Kubicas wheel fell off so he didn't have to racer him. But the luck didn't quite hold out to Vettel giving him the win. The pressure is now on the Ozzy to keep the lead in the championship. He needs the others to slip up or get some wins in the remaining races. He nicked fastest lap on the final lap to prove to Vettel that he's still a wheel failure away from the title. But i think the pressure might just be starting to tell on the Ozzy.

Alonso did what he could on a circuit that wasn't supposed to suit the Ferrari. He was there or there about all weekend, but never looked as fast as the Redbulls. He claims the next three races are going to be his for the taking, but i really doubt it. The Ferrari just couldn't match the Redbulls on the fast or the slow bits and Alonso was really just racing Hamilton until his gearbox got the gremlins.

Button in 4th benefited from Hamilton's gearbox problems, tried to be a bit tricksy in qualifying with hard tires for the start. But even that couldn't help him take the fight to the Redbulls. He's pretty much out of the championship now.

Hamilton is lucky to bring the car home in 5th. He was chasing Alonso down with fastest lap after fastest lap, until the new gearbox 3ed gear box went pop and locked him into 4th to 7th gear. He still managed to be faster than the two Mercedes behind him, but Button cruses up to him and passed with ease. He's still the best driver on the grid in my opinion and I'm sure he can win again. Abu Dhabi or Brazil could easily be his with a bit of luck. It just seems that Lady luck has got the huff with him at the moment.

Mickey Schumacher makes it to 6th after Rosberg's rear wheel fell off. Mickey couldn't get past Rosberg for a whole bunch of laps and looked ordinary as usual. This result goes some way to make up for the mess of Singapore but not by much.

Kobayashi drove a great race to get from 14th on the grid. He passed car after car going into the hairpin and i suspect he actually planned to pass a few of them. He certainly put on a show for the home crowed and has certainly emerged as a bonafid racing star this year. He's tied into a Sauber contract for the next few years, but you have to wonder why he hasn't been picked up by the likes of Renault while drivers like Petrov cock around. He didn't look he was going to be satisfied with just tooling around this weekend and he went for every gap presented to him. Avoided the carnage at the start of the race and fully deserves he points.

Heidfeld picked up 8th behind his team mate. Considering this is only his second race of the year, that's no mean feat.

Barrichello in 9th get's this weeks "was he there i missed him entirly" award. No, i tell a lie, i saw him being passed by Schumacher and Kobayashi.

Buemi in 10th well done him.

There you go then, I'm knackered. It's been a long weekend of motor sport an i need some sleep.

Hopefully we'll all be back for Korea in two weeks time, but given the pictures of the circuit floating around the net, i don't think it's going to happen. I've seen the layout and it looks like an interesting place, but they've only just put the top layer of tarmac on so it'll be like a skating rink for the race. But we'll see how much money they're prepared to pay Bernie i suppose.

Will Justin have tickets in Japan ?

It’ll an early start or a late night depending on how old you are or how much Petrol there is in your veins. Yes it’s the first of the late nighters (if Korea goes ahead next, that is) in good old Suzuka, Japan.

I like Suzuka, it’s pretty much old school non-Tilke-dull-a-thon perfection for me, mostly because it’s just dangerous. There are not acres and acres of run off, or miles of waste land with a lone marshal and no spectators in sight. The Japanese really love their motor sport and turn up in their droves to this proper circuit.

The thing about Suzuka is that it’s been the scene of many a moment in Formula 1. It used to be the last race of the season, back in the day Hill Jnr won his championship here in 1996 beating Villeneuve by 19 points. Schumacher won numerous championships for Benetton and Ferrari at Suzuka.

But there is one event here that has really come to define what modern F1 racing is and what is acceptable from a racing driver.
It was 1990, Prost and Senna were fighting for the championship and both came to Japan with a chance to win. Now you need to understand that Prost in the Ferrari and Senna in the McLaren did not like each other, they loathed the very existence of the other in fact. It defined F1 racing during the 80’s and meant every championship for ever after had to have a hero and nemesis (Hamilton v Alonso for instance). You also need to know that Senna felt that the FIA, controlled by one Jean Marie Balestre in those days had it in for the Brazilian driver. This was good old fashioned paranoia of the best kind.

So it’s all very tense coming Suzuka and there’s is a lot of “I’m the big I AM, me” type stuff coming from Ferrari and McLaren and after qualifying Senna had got pole with another of his brilliant laps and Prost had got second with another of his boring controlled laps. But pole put Senna on the dirty side of the track which meant Prost would probably take the first corner and win the championship.
Senna went to the stewards and said “can we swap sides on the grid. I don’t want to be on the dirty side”. The race stewards said, “Yeah sure ... no worries”. And everyone one went to bed happy.

Except when Balestre heard what had happened he called the stewards up and said “the hell you change the Grid, I’m French, the FIA is French and we say what happens round here. Tell Senna to shut up and do as he’s told. You move the pole back pronto sunbeam…. Merde!!”.

At the drivers meeting the next morning Senna was told that his request was now rejected and he had to start on the dirty side. He greeted this news in a calm collected manner and stormed out of the meeting claiming it was all a huge conspiracy and they were all out to get him. He then went to the press and ... “vowed that if Prost (starting second) got the advantage into the first corner, which most were sure he would, he would never make it into the first corner”

When the race started that afternoon, everyone watched Senna to see what he’d do. Would a world champion drive another competitor off the road to win a championship ? we got out answer 30 seconds later as Prost shot off the line and into an mediate half a car length lead. As the right turn rushed up, Senna on the inside but behind the Frenchman made no attempt what so ever to brake and turn into the corner. He ploughed into the side of the Ferrari spinning them both off into the kitty litter. The result meant Senna had enough points to take the world Championship and a new chapter in F1 began.

The FIA did nothing, not a thing. There were a few harsh words and bit of handwringing, but ultimately Senna had said he was going to drive Prost off the track and he did. Because the FIA did nothing drivers started to accept that dangerous driving for a Championship was now acceptable, that it was okay to bang wheels and intimidate other drivers because it was all in the name of entertainment.
Four years later Schumacher drove Hill off the track to take his first World Championship in Australia, then tried to drive Villeneurve off the track to win another in 1997. Now Drivers like Webber, can “aggressively defend” a corner or a line. Because the FIA won’t throw the book at them. Because it’s entertaining.

Anyway, I have no idea who’s going to win this weekend.

Alonso is talking down his chances, claiming the track doesn’t favour the Ferrari, which is usually code for “We’re going to cream this one buddy” He’ll be the first driver to get 3 on the bounce this year if he does win. I fancy his chances, he’s got that glint in his eye again

Webber is keeping things low key but is still most peoples favourite to take the title, if the luck from Singapore hold out he should be a top 5. He doesn’t need to go for wins at every race now, but he still needs to keep the points rolling in. He’s not one for looking at the bigger picture though, and mistakes can happen when he takes his eye off the main prize.

Hamilton is vowing to do what he does best and go balls out for wins. If we’re not going to Korean in two weeks time them he HAS to win here to stay in with a shout. But two duff races must have dented his confidence, will he over compensate this time out ?

The same goes for Vettel and Button, points are fast running out and these two will need the other three to drop points to be in with a realistic shout.

Last year rain threw qualifying into chaos and left the grid all mixed up for the race, Vettel stormed off into the lead and never looked like being caught. It’s a track he seems to like where aggressive driving will reward the brave and the bold.

Singapore Slings

Singapore.
Well there you go.

What have I always said about winning a Championship ? No, not “ that you need to pay Bernie a shed load of cash”. What I always say is that to win the F1 World Championship you have to be consistent and keep Lady Luck in an awful lot of champagne. She’s a game old lass and she knows a good racer when she see one. But get her a bit tipsy and she’s all yours and now, has got down off the pit wall and is cosying up to that rough old Ozzy chap in the Redbull garage. But in a rather sneaky way, she’s keeping her eye on her once favorites down at Ferrari.

So Alonso nails Singapore and takes the pole, the win and the fastest lap just for good measure. He took the pole on his first Q3 run on Saturday and then keeping it when Vettel brushed the wall on his final run, and never looked back from there really. Come Sunday and he “defended” the lead when the lights went out. If he had defended the line like that against Webber, chances are he’d have got a load of Webber up the back side. But Vettel knew what was best for him and backed out nice and early. Leaving Alonso to pretty much cruse up to the flag, Vettel kept him honest all race, but apart from a bit of traffic never looked like troubling Alonso for the win. That’s two on the bounce for the grumpy Spaniard and you would be a brave man to bet against him for the title. He won on the balls out speed circuit of Monza and now on the technical street circuit of Singapore. Given the circuits left to race, the Ferrari looks to be in good shape.

Vettel in 2nd then and he should have got pole and then lost the lead at the start before he’d even got it. Redbull tried to keep him out for as long as possible, but Ferrari had them covered all the way. It’s nice that he finished a race without hitting anyone or anything for a change and it’s done his championship no harm. But they had the car to win and but for a two foot section of Armco on Saturday, they would have. Are they faster then the Ferrari? yes, probably, maybe. We’ll see. But i still don’t think Vettel can win the championship.

3rd for Webber the luckiest man in South East Asia right now! He should be off down the casino right now to put all his money on the first number he sees. So after a rubbish qualifying left him down in 5th he prayed for a safety car and when that dully arrived he was in for the hard tires with an hour and 40 left on the clock. A couple of niffy passes saw him move him up the field, so that by the time the top six came in for tires he was right back in contention. When the second safety car came out he was almost jumped by a battling Hamilton. Now I’m going to be partisan because i like Hamilton and I think Webber is too ready to “strongly defend” his racing line. If there’s a 50/50 he’s not going to back out and that means he’ll hit the other car. Hamilton had taken advantage of Webber getting caught up with the Virgin of De Grassie , i’ll be fair and say that Webber had better track position coming into turn 5, but he could see Hamilton was ahead into the corner. Yes i know he’s chasing a world title. But he was lucky that Hamilton didn’t take them both out, Hamilton was ahead, turned in and gave Webber enough room “if” Webber had braked and moved over the rubble strip. But Webber being Webber never brakes early and “Strongly defended” the corner as usual from a driver than couldn’t see him. The Result Hamilton out and Webber with a wonky wheel.
You could argue that Hamilton, knowing Webber wouldn’t give him the room, should have given him more room, but you’re wrong and Webber is too ready to drive into other cars. And he needs a shave, Seriously. So he’s still leading the race for the chase for the cup for the thing. But it’s all starting to look a bit tight now.

Button in 4th get’s this weeks “was he there at all “ award. He got told that Webber was cruising on used hard tires and still didn’t get any closer.

Rosberg 5th, demonstrates that you don’t have to drive into other people to get a result here. Please take note Mr so called seven times world champion Schumacher. Who is rapidly turning into an arse as well as a smug German git.

Barrichello starts 6th and finishes 6th, another boring race for him.

Kubica has a barnstormer of a race. With a late puncture he ends up in 13th behind Algy, Petrov, Massa, Hulkenburg and Sutil, who he dully passes in the next 10 laps or so to record an excellent 7th place. I’ve been hard on Kubica over the years, never really believing that he has what it takes to go for the win and do something. Admittedly he was on new tires when the others were on very old tires, but you know he still had to get past the other guys who were all fighting for points.

Now, Adrian Sutil crossed the line ahead Hulkenburg and Massa in 8th. But the FIA have decided that he gained an advantage at the very start of the race on Lap 1. He Went off the circuit at turn 7 and therefore at the end of the race he should get a drive through penalty of 20 seconds, which moves him back down to 10th and Hulkenburg up to 8th.

Massa therefore crosses the line in 10th but is given 9th place which is a pretty good result for a driver that started at the back of the grid after the car gave up the ghost on it’s first qualifying lap. Not a bad result for a driver that has looked out of sorts all year long.

So Sutil ends up in 10th and is lucky or unlucky depending on how you did in the Prediction game.

There you go then, it’s all still tight at the top with 25 points still coving the top ten, and as Hamilton has shown it’s easy to get clunked by another driver and shoved into the armco. So it’s not all over just yet for Button and Vettel. But Hamilton needs to get a win or podium soon and. Whilst Alonso is on the move and Webber holds on by the skin of his teeth.

It’s time for Singapore and the first night race of the season.

It’s still nip and tuck at the top of the table with Webber leading Hamilton 187 to 182 points, Alonso on a charge up to third and 16 points behind Hamilton on 166 points. Button did his chances no end of good with last weeks 2nd place and is only one point behind Alonso on 165 points. Vettel can still take the spoils with 163 points two points behind Button.

So 24 points cover the top five places. That’s just one win in new money and means none of the contenders can afford anymore slip ups.

For weeks now the feeling has been that Webber was the man with the momentum to carry him past the winning post. He’s the favourite for a lot of people. But Alonso is coming up on the inside rails fast. Ferrari would seem to have got the blown diffuser, wobbly wings and f-duck to work together and on top of a grunty engine that takes some beating in a straight line. Which means the pressure is on Webber to deliver a good result at a track expected to deliver a Redbull result, because if he doesn’t you can bet that Ferrari will have Alonso there to pick up the pieces.

Meanwhile Hamilton needs to put a frighteningly bad performance in Monza behind him and go and drive the cahonas off the car. Street circuits seem to be Hamiltons natural habitat. Both Monaco and Valencia have been happy hunting grounds over the years for Lewis and Singapore is no exception. Given a good run he has to be a podium contender this weekend.

Button showed in Monza that he’s not beaten yet. He went with a radical setup and almost kept the Tifosi quite, well those that hadn’t fallen asleep anyway. He was beaten in Italy by cold tires on an out lap and Alonso just nailing it when it counted. The feeling is that McLaren had talked themselves into loosing before the pits stop and where the first to blink. When the car is really working for him Button can be unbeatable, but the street circuits are not normally a place he excels. His smooth driving style never quite beats the aggressive drivers. Top five this weekend, if the others have trouble.

Vettel is having a tough time of it at the moment. He’s not really delivering, with two 3rd places a 15th and a 4th he’s getting results but not the podiums you need for a championship. A mistake at Spa earned him the nickname of the crash kid from McLarens boss. Then despite an engine glitch in Monza he still beat Webber. He’s 24 points off the lead, so not down and out by any means. But, well you just don’t feel he’s got it in him to win this year. Though he did do well in Valencia and Monaca, like Hamilton he really likes a street circuit, so this could be the race he turns things around. But ... well.... can he ?

There are some other drivers to watch this weekend. As ever the ever present Kubica was 8th in Monza after the podium at Spa. Further back and a 5th at Valencia and 3rd in Monaco would suggest a top 5 could be on the cards here. Renault have been talking this weekend up and have just signed some Russian ship yard or other up as a main sponsor for the rest of the season. So they’re riding high. The more adventurous pundits have been talking of a Renault win this weekend. But i have my doubts.

If Kubica can’t deliver than Rosberg will. He should have got a podium here last year but cocked up the pit exit and lost a hat full of points. He’s not shown well on the street circuits in the Merc thus far, but he has always gone well here were aggression and passion can get you a result. He’s comfortably beaten Schumacher so well that the word is the insufferably smug German seven times world champions is going to pack his toys away and hang up his helmet yet again at the end of the year. Whilst Rosberg will be given the head boy badge and told to get on with it. I like Rosberg and would love to see him get a result here. However, and it’s a big However, Ross and the boys have been talking about how much they’re looking forward to their 2011 car this week, which is usually code for, “they’ll be no more racing from us, don’t crash the car lads”

Other names to watch; Barrichello if the eye sight is up to it, this old lag knows a thing or two about street circuits. Petrov has almost done enough to keep his seat for another year, with Kimi asking for a fat pay check, Petrov’s Russian rubbles should see him safe. Kobayashi is joined by Nick Heidfeld from the rest of the season at Sauber after Pedro finally got the old heave ho for being slow and old and rubbish. I doubt Heidfeld will be on the pace here, but Krazy Koby could battle his way into the top ten.

At the back of the grid and it’s just a matter of time before HRT shut up shop and start selling the family silver off to the highest bidder, two rubbish drivers and a piss poor car to boot. What could Prodrive have delivered you wonder.
It’s looking increasingly likely that Branson is going to walk away any day now, just when Virgin are moving ahead of Lotus. This might be because Lotus has ditched the Cosworth engine for next year and are busy developing that car rather than patching this dog up. Virgin still feel there’s a reason to go racing for last place this year so are continuing to develop this years car, which means is might well beat the Lotus this time put.

But this is a street circuit people, at night and with lots of nasty walls and stuff, anything could happen.

It's a full chat blat round Monza, Forza.

Rightyho then, it's off to Italy and the fastest race of the year.

Monza.

It's about as fast as it gets theses days. A good old no holds bared, "what do you mean safety" full chat blat through the Italian countryside. Cleaver aero bits and flexible wings are not going to help too much here. It's all about just how fast can you go in a straight line. Grunt and plenty of it is what's required.
Based on what we saw in Belgium I'd say it could be a straight fight between the McLaren boys here. Yes i know Button didn't finish, but he managed to keep Vettel behind him, whilst driving with a broken front wing. Even with no front end grip through the twisty bit, he could hold Vettel off until the dopey German driver got it all wrong into the bus stop.

Also based on the result from Spa, you have to look at the Renaults as a possible winner here. They appear to have found some straight line speed from somewhere. It might have been their f-duct that kept them ahead of the Redbulls, but it was grunt that kept them close to the McLarens. I can see Kubica back on the podium this weekend. maybe, with a fair wind and a bit of luck he could win this. Maybe.

I'm also expecting the Force India's to be up there this weekend too. It's another low downforce track that seems to suit their car and both Sutil and Liuzzi scored in Spa, Liuzzi more by luck, but sometimes that's all it takes.

Ferrari always want to go well here, it's their home track after all. The Tifosi will be expecting Alonso to deliver something here, after a lot of whinging and not a lot of delivering. However, Ferrari have to face the music over the "team orders" storm in a teacup FIA trial today (Wednesday) and the FIA may feel the need to throw the book at Ferrari for no good reason other than they're cheating Italians. There has been a lot of "Rules interpretation" this year from the teams, with flexible wings and floors, ride heights that change in park ferme and suspension systems that do more than suspend. So the FIA may feel that it's time to swinging the FIA BAN HAMMER OF DOOM around to remind all the teams that pushing rules is one thing but blatant cheating in a real obvious way is quite another thing.
I don't think they'll get much more than a points deduction, but the FIA do take a dim view of teams getting bad press for not putting on a show and they might put the team on probation or ban them for a race. What bigger example of your power can you give then banning Ferrari from it's home race. It's unlikely I know. But this is the FIA we're talking about.

Anyway. Over at the Redbull garage the boys are looking at a damage limitation race. Both cars will have new engines but they just don't have the straight line speed of the over contenders. I don't even think they'll get pole this time out. Unless they can bring something very special to the party, i suspect they'll try to stay with the Ferrari, Mclaren Battle as long as possible and try to beat the Renaults. This race may very well decide which of the Redbull drivers is going to get the nod from Horner. A podium or top five for Webber would put Vettel pretty much out of the running with 5 races to go. If Vettel could win and Webber be back in the pack then his tilt at the title is still on. So both drivers are going to be looking around for each other, whoever is closest to Hamilton will be the favored son.

As for the rest, Williams have called time on this years car, but Barrichello could make up for Spa and get a top 10 here. The Torro Rosso boys could be top 10 is the Williams boys have an off day. Algy what's it had a 10th spot until the FIA intervened in Spa after all. Over at Sauber and Krazy Koby has been signed for another year and De La Rosa looks more and lore likely to be fired any day now. Koby is a feisty little racer and i wouldn't be surprised if he makes the top 10 if the Likes of Petrov and Barrichello make a mess of it. He's good enough, but the car can be temperamental at times.
Lotus and Virgin are both bringing new bits this weekend both teams want to beat each other and maybe Torro Rosso with a bit of luck. Points mean survival down this end of the pits. I think maybe Virgin will have the edge here. It's a speed track and the Virgin is faster than the Lotus, if it can hold together then i think Glock can beat Trulli and Kovalainen.

Vettel, still a cock, shocker

Well that was all jolly exciting wasn’t it? Throw in a little bit of unpredictable rain and it doesn’t matter how many hours you spend in a wind tunnel or how many gazillions of Euros you throw away on man hours and computer hardware. Stick a car on a wet track and the lord only knows where it’ll go. Petrov found out the hard way the just because the track looks dry, the painted curbs may very well not be. Barrichello found out that just because you’ve done 300 races you still have to break earlier in the wet and that a Ferrari does not make for a good emergency break. Whilst Webber found out that being on Pole is no guarantee of a clean start and an easy race.
Hamilton made it all look easy in the end, but for a missed apex in turn one of qualifying, he’d have cleaned up with Pole, fastest lap and the win. As it was Webber grabbed pole before the Rain on Saturday and then failed yet again to turn it into a win.
Off the line on Sunday he forgot to engage 1st gear and got swallowed up by the pack as it swept down the hill into Eau Rouge for the first time. Hamilton accepted the open goal and drove off into the distance, only to be caught out with the rest of the field into the bus stop chicane at the end of the lap, the promised rain had duly arrived on time to make the bus stop and start/finish a skating rink
Luckily he didn’t come a cropper and continued on. Barrichello in his 300 GP failed miserably to react in time, when he hit the brakes the Williams locked up and ploughed into Alonso who had started in 10th after gambling on a wet set up. Alonso got spun and ended up at the back of the field and dived into the pits for wet weather tires. As it turned out this was the wrong move and he had to return for slicks not long after to begin a very long afternoon.
This left Button behind a disappearing Hamilton with Vettel, Kubica, Webber and Massa behind. Button had clipped Kubica and broken his front wing at the start, so was holding up the faster Vettel through the twisty middle section until lap 16. When Vettel, in a moment of utter stupidity, attempted to sell Button a dummy into the bus stop tripped over himself and speared into the side of the unfortunate Brit taking Button out and dropping the German to the back of the field.
This left Kubica and Webber to try and catch Hamilton who was 10 seconds up the road. They chased hard but never really got close enough to challenge. Meanwhile Petrov who had started at the back of the grid was making his way back into the top ten and Mickey who had been dropped 10 places on the grid for trying to kill Barrichello before the break, was attempting to drive his team mate off the circuit this time out.
It was pretty quite then until the rain started falling with 10 laps to go. Hamilton ran out of road at Malmedy, but kept it going and made it back just ahead of Kubica and Webber in 3rd. Hamilton and the McLaren boys managed to stop and fit the inters with no problems at all. Kubica however, forgot that slick tires on wet road man break earlier, clattered into his pit crew and lost 2nd place to Webber who, like Hamilton had no dramas.
And that as they say was it. Alonso capped a miserable afternoon but slowly spinning at the top of the hill and collected the barrier, breaking the suspension whilst denting pride and the chance to win the championship. Meanwhile Vettel, not content to take Button out for which he’s got a driver through penalty for being a cock, but he drove into Liuzzi and then tried to drive the car on full wets in a light shower. He was lucky to make 15th in the end and championship chances are looking very shaky these days.
So Hamilton wins and tricky race with a fine drive and now leads the championship.
Webber picks up 2nd with a bit of luck and a fair wind. It’s starting to look like a 2 horse race between these two now, though the tracks to come are weighted in favour of the Redbull rather than the McLaren.
Kubica misses 2nd but a wet pit road and it still pretty happy with 3rd. It’s a good result and shows the Renault is now one of the big boys. No chance of a championship, but he can still take points away from the top 5 and may have a part to play in the races to come.
Massa gets 4th after Alonso cocks it all up. He didn’t look like taking the fight to the McLaren, Redbull or Renault, but kept it on the island and that’s what counts.
Sutil in 5th avoided the carnage and kept more fancied runner behind him all day. The Force India has a lot of grunt in a straight line and should go well at the next race in Monza as well.
Rosberg in 6th despite losing bits of his front wing when Mickey chopped him at the top of the hill, he drove a solid race from the back end of the grid following a gear box change on Saturday and continues to beat his 7 times world champion team mate with ease.
The former great 7 times world champion comes home in 7th after trying to drive his team mate off the track. When will he just go home?
Kobayashi continues to pick up points for Sauber in 8th. Japanese drivers normally go to pieces in the rain and cause all sorts of mayhem. But Kobay’ kept it all sweat and didn’t make a mess of anything.
Petrov does a good job of showing how good the car is in the right hands in 9th. Fell off the circuit on the first lap of qualifying, but made amends and drove through the carnage to salvage some pride at least. But it’s still points lost in a top 5 car.
10th for Liuzzi after Alguersuari is given a 20 seconds penalty for something or other, I have no idea what a frankly don’t care anymore. I’ve been writing this for hours and I want to go to bed.

Pack the wet weather gear, it's Spa again.

Hello and welcome back to part two of the championship. There’s everything to play for with three constructors up for a fight and five drivers in with a shout of the silverware. Anyone of them could take it, it’s all going to come down to whoever has been schmoozing lady Luck the hardest.

It’s been depressingly quite for the last four weeks with hardly a peep out of the teams. Lauda popped up to tell the FIA to throw the book at his old partners in crime at Ferrari, for the team orders storm in a teacup. Never one to miss a chance to annoy everyone and fan any flames in sight, Max pooped up and told anyone that would listen that he always knew Ferrari were a bunch of cheats and should be fire from a catapult in to the North sea and left to drown. The FIA has remained resolutely quite on the matter and are rather hoping it all dies down I suspect.
Meanwhile down under the Ozzy’s gave Hamilton an almost embarrassingly low fine for something that never needed to get further that a finger wagging and “Don’t do it again lad” telling off. The courts fined the over exuberant F1 world champion £500 for “hooning” whatever that is. High spirits we call it this side of the world and give a hearty laugh.

Liuzzi has been telling anyone that will listen to him that he’s going to stick the Force India on the podium at Spa. Whilst the team look mystified, shake their head and say ... realistically a top 10 would be nice. The wolves are obviously starting to circle the grumpy Italian and he’s looking to talk himself into a seat for next year. Good luck there lad.

Redbull have been feeding the hungry press pack with stories of how they “Don’t think the long straights of Spa hold any fear for us”. The feeling is that Ferraris grunt and McLarens F’aduck will give them a better top speed on this long circuit. This is just miss direction, as we all know the Redbulls work brilliantly on the high speed corners where grip is all you need. Spa is about the corners, and keeping the momentum onto the straights. If the Redbull is four car lengths ahead coming onto the straight they’ll be two car lengths ahead at the end of the straight.
Well that’s if it doesn’t rain of course, and it always rains in Spa. Once that happens, it’s anyone’s game.
Hoping to go well will be Massa and Kubica. Both could do with a bit of a lift. Massa got nobbed in Germany and could do with a bit of love form the team, he’s 40 odd points behind Alonso in the championship so it would take a miracle to win it from there but you never know.
Kubica needs to start delivering some of this potential he keeps showing. People will start thinking it’s all about the car being there because others have failed to finish, not because he’s dragged the car up there. I’m still to be convinced he is the next big thing. Ferrari don’t appear to want him and i can’t see any of the other big teams knocking on his door.

Further back and the perennial “must try harder’s” at Williams are bringing new wings to Spa in an effort to beat the Force India boys. Barrichello is having a wonderful time with the boys from Didcot and this will be his gazillionth GP, making him the most highly experience driver to never win the world championship, well done him.

Not in a happy place at the moment is Mr Schumacher. He’s been keeping a very low profile these last four weeks, rather hopping that all will be forgiven in Belgium this weekend. Expect a very public attempt at a hand shake with Rubens in the Williams pit on Friday, hopefully the Didcot boys will smack the smug German in his smug face and throw him out.

Meanwhile the new boys in the cheap garages are all making the usual noises about “in it for the long haul” and “a learning year” bluff. Yamamoto is keeping his seat at HRT for another race, which means Senna gets the nod and Chandhok is pretty much fired from F1. A rather ignominious way to go in the end, he was a country mile faster than Yamamoto; he just didn’t have the readies to back it up. Shame really.

So, i think it’ll be the usual suspects up front. A Redbull for the pole with a Ferrari for the fastest lap maybe. Throw some rain in and the McLarens should be contenders, but it’s hard to see beyond a Vettel win in the rain.

Well that was pretty dull wasn't it.

Come on yes it was, if there had been no safety car, then it would have been a Vettel walk in the park and maybe a Webber getting second. Even with the safety car Webber never really looked like losing the lead. If you watched the live timing, then you'll have seen Webber put in fastest lap after fastest lap. Once Vettel had caught Alonso it was all over for the Ferrari driver, who had to concentrate on keeping Vettel behind him so couldn't push to take Webber when he stopped. Also given clear air the Redbulls were in a totally different race, over a second faster than anyone else. Webber lapped everyone up to 6th. Yamamoto and Di Grassi got lapped 4 times, that's how rubbish they were and dominant the Redbulls were.

The only high light was Schumacher demonstrating once again what an arrogant tosser he can be when he wants to be. Barrichello and he were fighting it out for 10th spot the last of the points paying positions, pride is all that's at stake here really. Barrichello was on new tires and easily about 2 seconds a lap faster, he's been all over the back of Schumacher for 3 laps and was going to pass eventually. Schumacher makes a mistake in the final corner so Barrichello is up his gear box onto the long start finish straight. Gets a good tow down the track, Mickey starts to drift right to cover the racing line into turn one, fair enough he's in front and has the right to do that. Barrichello pops right and is along side Mickey by about half distance, he's easily past and in a faster car that will brake later than the Merc. But Mickey keeps moving right, squeezing the Williams towards the pit wall. and on and on ... hang on he's not going to stop here. Barrichello comes about a knats left tactical from hitting the end of the pit wall and taking both cars out.
Then the smug German git had the audacity to claim that;

"I knew that he was coming so, from my point of view, I was moving over to the inside to make it very obvious and clear to him 'go on the other side, there's more space for you.' He didn't choose to, so it got a bit tight."

Which is just utter bollocks, because he knew Barrichello was coming down the right hand side, he'd watched him in his mirrors from the moment they left the last turn. If as he says he was giving Rubens room, why not get out of his way when he realized Rubens was along side, rather than drive him into the wall ? Mickey goes on to say without a hint or irony;
"We know certain drivers have certain views and then there is Rubens," said Schumacher, speaking to the BBC.

"As a driver, you have the ability to change the line once. That's what I was driving to. Obviously there was space enough to go through [because he did]. We didn't touch, so I guess I just left enough space for him to come through.

"I'm known not to give presents on the track. If you want to pass me you have to fight for it, and so it was [here]."

Seriously. Just who does he think he is ? He's got a rubbish car, which he can't drive as well as Nico and yet he is still willing to drive another driver into the wall to attempt to defend a single point. You might say "good on him for trying to get single point, rather than giving up" and I've championed Lewis when he's go out to get every point of fail trying. But as Alonso showed it is easy to defend a place round here if you don't make mistakes. You don't need to try and kill some one over a single point. There are more important things than being a cock and an arrogant smug German cock at that. I never really liked Mickey i respected his dedication and skill, but he has now driven to many drivers into the wall and been a dirty cheat too often to be one of the greats anymore.


schweinhund i vill never let you past !!!

Anyway, enough vitriol, he's been given a 10 place grid penalty so should be somewhere near the back in Spa

Webber gets the win, well done him in one of the fastest cars on the track. Stayed out on the prime tire when everyone else was playing silly buggers in the pits during the safety car. Didn't hit anyone and kept it on the road doing fastest laps when he needed too. He now leads the championship and it'll be brave man to count him out of the title race at the end of the season.

Alonso second , did all he could but never really looked like taking the fight to the Redbulls. Profited from Vettels drive though and held the Redbull back to claim a comfortable 2nd place

Vettel comes home third after failing yet again to turn Pole into a win. Fell asleep during the safety car period at least twice and dropped back further than the permitted 10 car length (about 150m i'm told) It was his own stupid fault and that of the teams. They all claimed that there had been a radio problem and he didn't know that the safety car was coming in when it did. But he did get the message to come into the pits when the safety car for thrown, and then to come in for his drive through. Looked like a bulldog chewing a wasp on the podium and thoroughly deserved to do so. Read the rule book next time laddie. He did get the fastest lap on the final lap of the race as well. Once again if he's done that a bit earlier he might have been able to take Alonso.

4th for Massa who spent most of the race on his own and never troubled the race for the podium.

5th for Petrov who does enough to keep his seat for a few more races. Got the jump on Lewis off the line then cocked it up and made a school boy error to loose the place back to Lewis. After that kept it on the island and did what he was told to.

6th Hulkenburg, another driver looking to keep his seat for next year and doing alright. Needs a few more results to go his way yet through.

7th Pedro De La Rosa. profited from the big boys playing silly buggers in the pits, but was there or there abouts in qualifying so deserves this result.

8th Button who was all at sea in qualifying and only just made the top ten with a lucky pit stop as the safety car got called out as he went in. with Lewis having a rare mechanical failure Button was the only McLaren in the top ten. Not a very good weekend for the boys from Woking.

9th for Kobayashi. After missing park ferme in qualifying they busted his ass all the way to the back of the grid. So to get it into the top ten is a pretty good result for him and the team. He is defiantly turning into competent little racer. How long before one of the bigger teams comes knocking on the door.

10th and justly rewarded Barrichello.

Hungary, pray Webber hits someone to liven this one up.

Just enough time to catch your breath and we’re off to Hungary for the next F1 race of the season. Though to be honest, given how usually dull the Hungarian GP is, don‘t get too worked up about this one.

Baring mechanical or Webber brain failure, whoever gets pole here (it’ll be a Redbull ... maybe a Ferrari) will win this one. They always do, there’s just nowhere to overtake. It’s dusty and tight off line and it’s a stupid noodley circuit with only one straight worth the name. Watch the qualifying and then catch the highlights, unless you want a couple of hour’s kip on Sunday afternoon.

McLaren have been waving the white flag this week, talk of “struggling to take the fight to Redbull and Ferrari”, it might be bluff, but I suspect they’re expecting a tough weekend. Redbull seem to have a reliable car now, and only mismanagement is keeping them from clean sweeping everything. Whilst Ferrari have got a fast enough car to beat the bench mark Redbull with ease it would seem. Alonso has been given the Head boy badge and Massa told to collect his bags then go and eat with the other servants at the back of the pits. No surly talk of “doing all right for a number two” here. It’s a straight forward “get out of the way lad, and know you place”. That’s how you do it Horner!

So really it’ll be the Redbulls and Alonso up front with the Woking boys looking to spoil the party. Hamilton can hustle the car better than Button, so I’d plump for him. Massa, well how much did Germany take out of him. Will he go for glory at the circuit that almost killed him a year ago, or retreat into his shell and fail to deliver? He’s come a long way in 12 months but last weekend probably didn’t help. You could say that just being here is a victory in its self however heart warming stories don’t put points on the table.

Kubica up next with a Rosberg, both of whom have been fighting for the 5th spot this year. Rosberg can make it further up the heap, but Mercedes appear to be switching development away from this year’s car. Having admitted that it’s not the Brawn of last year, they’re looking to get points where they can, but not at the cost of losing next year’s title. Kubica meanwhile has shut up and got on with things, consistently in the top 10 he’s doing a good job. Considering that the owner of Renault F1 went cap in hand to Bernie last week for an advance on next year’s money, you have to wonder just how long Kubica will be able to stay in the top 10. The Williams boys have finally got a good car under them and are looking to improve on a rubbish first half of the year.

Krazy Koby has also popped up on the mid season radar with good solid drivers in Valencia and Britain in a very rubbish car, his stock has defiantly risen in the last few weeks. With Kimi thumbing his nose at Renault and Petrov failing to deliver anything like the performance he was hyped too. Koby is starting to look like a shoe in for the soon to be available Renault seat. Hungary could be another good race for the likable Japanese chap.

Talking of rubbish cars, Bernie has been sticking his crazy old man oar into things and come up with “at least two teams won’t make the end of the season” That’ll be HRT obviously who have fired both of their original drivers once, rehired one and fired the other again. To replace them with a very much 4th rate driver, who doesn’t even have that much money with him? The car is utterly rubbish, it’s not even good enough to win a GP2 race, where is will undoubtedly end up next year in fact.


"they're all a shower of shits mate, nar'what I mean!"

Meanwhile the wolves are starting to circle the Virgin boys. Neither driver has been signed for next year so far and Glock is being linked to the Renault seat. Di Grassy is nothing special and will be no big loose. Glock I will always like, just because he gave Hamilton his first world championship. Seriously though, if a team turns up with a petrol tank too small to do the job, you have to ask how professional they are. Lotus have been good in patches, but always looked pretty professional. It’s not the fastest or most exciting car on the grid, but it’s not blown up after 5 laps of failed to make qualifying so far.

I dislike Branson who turned up last year, schmoozed around and won a Championship by luck after putting no money into it really. He then ditched Brawn “because I like to support the underdog” bollocks and set his own team up with some old mates. These old mates have turn out to be rubbish at running an F1 team and Branson has come to realise that F1 is pretty much the same as business, you can buy success, but it will cost you a lot of money. You don’t see his smug face and stupid goatee quite as often this year as you did last year do you.

Anyway yes Hungary. Well you pays your money and takes your chances. Bet on the percentages with Redbull and Webber, take a punt with Alonso or sweat like a desperate man with the McLarens. But don’t expect an interesting race, even the rain is staying away.

The dirty cheating Italians are at it again.

There you go then, a leopard never changes its spots does it. Alonso turns up, and a yeah okay Alonso is further up the championship table than Massa was, but there are a shed load of points left to play for. Why does Massa have to get out of the way so early in the championship? A win here and maybe the roll gets going and before you know it he’s hunting the McLaren and Redbulls down. The Ferrari is obviously a good car that can take the Redbull on for a win. Yet they still tell Massa to get out of the way to let the Spaniard through. Considering I though Massa was going to be nowhere near the sharp end, it was a cracking race by the Bionic Brazilian. He makes it past Vettel off the line and then drives away from the Redbull, keeps Alonso behind him when he struggles on the new hard tires, to then turn round and tell him to give the place back and claim to the worlds press that “he wasn’t as fast as Alonso” then Alonso to say with an absolute straight face “I don’t know why he slowed, it’s a narrow circuit and I took my chance to over take him” is just a kick in the teeth to Massa and two fingers up to the paying punters.

The other teams will tell drivers not to race and to keep it on the island. Ferrari will tell a driver to get out of the way and let the “team leader” through. He almost gets his brains turned to pulp and he still have to get out of the way.

Other than that .... It was pretty dull race. I spent the day at the Farnborough air show with my son and thank God I did, it meant I could fast forward the dull start, the dull middle bit and the dull end. Ferrari’s synchronized racing and McLarens “holding station, to defend the points” do not really make for a particularly exciting racing.

But Ferrari ... really. Do they still need to be doing that in this day and age? According to the FIA no they don’t, a $100,000 fine (a slap wrist of the loosest kind) and a “we’ll think about giving then a stiff talking to later” statement suggest the FIA are worried about bad publicity, but not a lot more. If they get the random ban hammer out to "adjust the result" I shall be very very surprised indeed.

Let’s see then if you fell asleep the result was:

1st Alonso, given the result, but was still there or there abouts all weekend.

2nd Massa got robbed of the win. A good result for driver whose struggled so far all weekend.

3rd Vettel, got pole by the width of a knats left tactical. Then failed yet again to convert it to a win

4th Hamilton still leads the points table. Damage limitation result

5th Button, lost out off the start line, made places in the pits. Didn’t drive into this team mate.

6th Webber was never going to get past the McLaren boys. Didn’t look like going for the win all weekend

7th Kubica never looked fast, best of the rest result again.

8th Rosberg, yet again beat the 7 time world champion.

9th Schumacher looked very smug when asked about Ferrari team orders, the happiest he was all weekend in fact

10th Petrov. Will still get fired any day now.

Vettel gets the fastest lap, further embarrassing Ferrari. Lotus drop the ball and Virgin come up with it this time, well done them.


the next race is this weekend an the utterly dull Hungarian GP. Who ever gets pole will win. i can guarantee it.

I blame chpaman for this.

So Mr Lopez the new owner of Renault has gone cap in hand to Bernie to ask for a bit of up front cash.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. You can't go racing to further your business interests unless your going racing to win. F1 is not about glad handing punters to network your portfolio, it's about developing the nuts off the car so it beats the next sucker in the next garage along.
If you take your eye off the game to shake Mr Bladry De'blahs hand from the pink Elephant Corp, McLaren, Ferrari and Redbull will have redesigned their suspension and will be 2 seconds up the road.

Lopez is the same as Branson and Fernadez. Playing around for a few year, drink a little champers, make a few friends than high tail it the moment it all gets a bit expensive.

I fully expect Petrov to get fired before the end of the season for "not performing well enough". Whilst Branson will bring up some performance clause before the end of the year and sell up to to some other flyby nigh two bit wonder. Maybe he'll pay for next years car until that fails after 3 races.

To be Fair to Mr Fernadez, he does appear to be in this for the long term, well 3 years at any rate. After which point he will discover that being a jolly nice chap does not move you up the grid past similar jolly nice chaps like Peter Sauber.

It all started to go wrong when Chapman sold out to gold leaf.

Germany, ruthlessly efficient but cold.

Germany.



Well where’s your money going to go this time then ?



Silverstone was supposed to be all about McLaren. But Redbull showed that they’re not ready to give up the championship just yet, yes they’re trying hard to stab each other in the back and sow discord and disharmony where ever possible. But the Redbull is still the fastest, most planted car on the grid today. Until McLaren or Ferrari can get their trick blown diffuser to work and not cook the rear suspension, I can‘t see either taking the Redbull in a straight fight.



In the Redbull camp, they’ve had yet another “clear the air” meeting and the drivers have once again agreed to “work together and deliver the championship as a team” blah blah. It’s all rubbish and if I was Horner I’d be hoping that it’s not a Redbull one – two after qualifying. It has to be said that Webber has had the better first half of the season, if he thinks he’s getting number two treatment there are many in the pit lane who’d like the same treatment. He’s had all the luck with the car and only retired when he’s hit other people. Vettel has had chassis break, spark plug fail and noses fall off randomly. Webber appears to be in one of those “right place right time right Luck” moment that odd drivers get. Like Nigel and Hill and even Button last year, he’s got the right car and his head is tuned into winning and believing he can win. He’s even got the right amount of paranoia that can make him think everyone is against him. That is always difficult to beat, whatever the driver thinks the team is doing behind his back



Bridgestone are bringing the super soft and super hard to the party this weekend. Just like in Canada, this is going to sort the men from the boys, more specifically the men who can nail a fast qualifying lap and keep their tires in good shape for the start of the race. Because the softest will grain up pretty fast and loose grip at the start of the race, whilst the hards will struggle to get up to temperature in the forecast cool conditions. You want a driver that can stroke the car for the first half then spank it to within an inch of its life in the second half (I don’t have to spell that out for you do?). The Mercedes boys will be delighted by this news, as they won’t have to explain why they’re rubbish, just shrug and point at the tires and then walk off. The same goes for Massa, another one that can’t get his hard tires to work these days.



Ferrari have been talking up their race this weekend, I think they’re rather hoping that Lady Luck finally stops flicking the V’s at the boys from Maranello and shows them a bit off love. I don’t think Massa will be anywhere near the sharp end this weekend, but providing Alonso can get his act together he should be there or there about. They have a car capable of mixing it with the McLarens and even the Redbulls with a bit of luck. Alonso just needs to calm down, stop blaming all and sundry for his bad luck and do a bit of racing.



McLaren will be trying the blown diffuser again in Germany, along side the regular diffuser in a back to back test which is a brave move.

It’s effectively writing off the Friday practice and banking on taking the Friday setting into qualifying on Saturday. The boys from Woking must feel confident that they’ve sorted the issues that plagued them at Silverstone.



So Germany, it’s back to Hockenheim this year, the rather neutered course used to be a flat out full chat race through the forests. High speed corners with silly little chicanes, into a grandstand stadium section that twisted and turned to give the fans something to watch. Now the Fast section has been cut in half and a stupid hairpin added at the top of the circuit. It’s still fast, but requires more downforce than it used to. As I’ve mentioned tires are going to be the critical feature of the race. Looking after soft tires on a green track and getting the hard tire up to temp. Hamilton won a barn stormer the last time they were here.

The Ozzy bounces back, Vettel cocks it all up this time.

Well that was a pretty exciting race wasn’t it? We’ll not if you’re a Vettel fan, or a Ferrari fan for that matter. But as a Brit and an unashamed McLaren, Hamilton fan, I think that was a pretty good race.

It wasn’t the McLaren one – two I was hoping for, the much heralded blown diffuser turned out to be a bit of dud, so much of a dud in fact they took the thing off and bolted the old under floor back on. Giving the boys a couple of hours to get ready for qualifying, with pretty much new cars on Saturday. As a result Hamilton was lucky to make it to 4th and Button all at sea down in 14th. Meanwhile the Redbulls looked like they were in a race of their own. Alonso tried to make a fist of it but he was still miles away leaving yet another Redbull one two. The only interests came when it was revealed that the new nose the Webber had been taken off and given to Vettel before qualifying. A storm in a tea cup you might think, but apparently not and more than noses had been put out of joint by team orders.
Given that at that stage Webber had already said on Friday he didn’t really care about the new nose and Vettel was leading the championship. You’d think that Webber would have shrugged and gone, “oh sure no worries mate, stick another shrimp on the barby mate ... ripper” etc. But no, “boo hoo I’m not the number two it’s soooo unfair.. blah blah blah”.

Anyway Come Sunday and there is a certain simmering tension in the Redbull camp, whist the McLaren boys are thinking about the race and Alonso is eyeing up a win or a podium at least. Most people are looking at the Redbulls and wondering if Webber will take out Vettel off the line.

When the red lights went out, Webber nipped past Vettel, who attempted to drive him into the wall, Alonso forgot to engage first gear and got swamped by the top 6. Hamilton managed to get up behind the fast starting Webber, Vettel cut back in to stop Hamilton and looks to have clipped the front wing of Hamilton’s’ car with his right rear and punctured the tire. Game over and good night sweat heart. Vettel limped back to the pit, his chance of a victory up in smoke.

That was pretty much it in terms of the race for the win. Webber never looked like being challenged by Hamilton, who kept him honest but never got a sniff of the lead in two hours of racing. Webber felt it was just reward for being labelled the Number 2 at Redbull. It would have been a more interesting race if Vettel hadn’t lost the lead off the line. But it was only ever going to be a Redbull victory this one.

So Webber wins, after almost being killed last time out. Which is nice for him. He didn’t do anything wrong, was fast when it required it, dealt with the safety car well and keeps his chances of a title just about alive.

Hamilton gets second and did the best job he could do under the circumstances. Vettel hit him, he didn’t have anywhere to go when the German cut back in on him. Profited from Alonso forgetting to select first gear at the start and never really looked back. He tried to take the fight to Webber, but never really got anywhere near him. Considering they had to rebuild the car on Friday night and set the car up in a short practice before qualifying, I think he can thank the team for these points.

Rosberg avoids the fun and games and gets a very well deserved podium in 3rd spot. Once again beat his team mate in qualifying, the seven times world champions Mickey Schumacher don’t forget. Then showed that the car isn’t a dog and if you just shut up about the tires being different to what you’re used to, you can beat the others. There is definitely a bit of needle between the two Brawn drivers. Mostly because Rosberg isn’t following the script. But you know what, I like Rosberg and I think he’s having a storming season which a car that’s a bit pants.

4th for Button who drove the nuts off the car and made up six places off the line, stayed out when everyone ahead dived in to the pits and ended up in 4th. Once again a good result for him thanks mainly to the team and a bit of nifty driving. Whilst Redbull arse around telling everyone that the McLaren boys are going to have a fight any day now then stabs each other in the back. The McLaren boys just get on with it and pick up the points.

5th for Barrichello who shows that the updates they bolted on in Valencia were actually very good and it wasn’t just luck. The oldest man in the field battled hard and gets the reward. I do have a soft spot for the Williams boys, and in a week when Frank finally stepped down, it’s good to see them back in the two ten.

6th for Kobayashi. Based on driving ability this time, he stuck at it and didn’t need a safety car this time. He is starting to pop on the bigger teams’ radars now. A Japanese driver who isn’t here on Yen alone. I think we could be seeing more of Krazy Koby this year.

7th for Vettel who managed to pass the slower cars and then a few of the midfield until he got as far as Sutil and then he struggled. He should have won this really, ignore the smoke and mirrors of the nose issue and think about the fact that he clearly has the fastest car on the grid, and can qualify on the front row with ease, But then the red lights go out and he just can’t seem to dominate and pick up the points with any consistency. Rather than accept Webber had gone past him he had to fight. He needs to accept that there are two hours of racing and 19 races to the title. Not 100 yards to the first corner and victory. So points saved, but more points lost.

8th for Sutil who was unlucky to lose a place to Vettel at the end. He has the measure of the Redbull driver for lap after lap then got mugged as Vettel driven down the inside at Brooklands. Still, not too shabby from the midfield team. Importantly much better then Liuzzi yet again.

Sorry this is rather long .... The world cup final is dragging on. We’re into extra time now.

So yeah, Mickey shoes makes it to 9th, 1 place ahead of where he qualified. Those seven world titles.... it was definitely the car not the driver. He got mugged by Vettel and Sutil. This is more than just rusty, this is rubbish. And it’s not the car because Rosberg is on the podium.

10th for Hulkenberg who shows that the new Williams is a good car.

Still nil nil, oooh Spain have a corner.....pfft more rubbish

This week’s “What are you talking about Alonso?” moment. Whilst fighting Kubica for position, he managed to get up alongside the Pole into vale corner, then realised he’d run out of room and took to the run off area. Taking the position in the act. “Well that was pretty obvious, he’ll be giving that place back then” but no, instead he get on the radio with all his usual injured pride and claimed Kubica had driven him off the circuit. “Excuse me, I’m sorry? Do you not have any brakes young man?” Kubica blew his engine not long after that and Alonso thought he was safe. But the creeping hand of the FIA reached out and as the safety car got called out, decided that Alonso should have a drive through penalty after the safety car had been called back into the pits. Putting the whinging Spaniard at the back of the field, he had enough time to pass a few of the new boys and get the fastest lap. But that was all. 14th and out of the points after qualifying on the second row. He got bumped by his team mate and was made to look ordinary yet again. Get you act together, you’re worse than the Spanish team who have just ended the first half of extra time still goalless.

More extra time. Sorry if they’d scored this would be all over.

The New boys, Lotus take the spoils as Virgin lose one car and HRT fire a driver, then don’t fire him, then can’t decide if he’s going to be back for the next or just “more”. His replacement, Sakon Yamamoto was utterly rubbish when he drove for Jordan and Super Aguri and spyker and true to form was utterly rubbish here. He must have just a sack load of money … if not a small shed too.

Well the Dutch have just had a player sent off (at long last the dirty cheats) so it looks like it could be all over pretty soon. If not penalties and I don’t think I can be bothered with that.

So it’s the end of the first half of the F1 season and it’s a case of what should have been for Redbull and well done to McLaren. Ferrari, and more importantly their big summer signing Alonso have been a comedy of error and newbie mistakes. Whilst Brawn so dominate last year are casting around with a well below par old timer and young gun. It’s been a pretty good first half of the F1 season, five different winners in ten races.

Hurrah Spain has scored at last … about bloody time. It’s been a nasty vicious match with fouls aplenty. I don’t think Football is the winner with this game.
And that’s the world cup over. And I’ve written three pages here. Without a bottle of red anywhere near me either.

It's coming home, not the world cup though. Unfortunatly

So it’s all back to the head quarters of the pink gin brigade of old duffers that run the BRDC and the British Grand Prix. Bernie might not like it, but it’s all he got to work with now. Donnington has gone bankrupt and had to give up its right to hold the British GP. So we’re all as we were and Northampton it is.

Well, not quite as we were, as half of Silverstone has been ripped up and some new corners added. The first half through Copse to the hanger straight then vale are all there. But Abbey and the super fast Bridge are gone, replaced with a new series of sweeping corners back towards Becketts and the new arena hairpin, then a long fast straight to the Brooklands complex and the old circuit. It was designed for the MotoGP boys, but they didn’t really like it. The biggest complaint was that it’s too bumpy and despite being three cars wide, there’s only the one racing line.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t designed by his Dullness Herr Tilke. But an English company, who still had to get the FIA to agree to it all, so it was a touched rushed in the end. The Pit complex after vale has only just been started and the grandstands will be very temporary this year. But it’s had some races on it and no one has hated it really, just no one has really loved it.

So once again the McLaren boys come here as favorites’. This time they are though, they’ll have their new trick rear exhaust diffuser thingybob and whilst Redbull have a couple of drivers who can nail a qualifying lap, they don’t have the race pace of Hamilton or Button. Either of who could win this one and win they will. Two British drivers in a British car in front of a vocal, passionate crowd that is not there to see a German or an Ozzy beat the home boys. No sir e bob.

Lewis and Jenson are not here to come second, as this will define the second half of the season for both of them. They’re one and two in the championship and would like be fighting each other for the big cup rather than Vettel or Alonso, so putting some daylight between them and the rest would be a good thing. It would also set the team up to start favoring one or other.

Meanwhile the Ferrari boys, for which read Alonso, have been making noises about not forgetting them and they would have been higher up the table if Hamilton hadn’t cheat etc etc etc blah blah blah. They’ve seemed a bit all at sea for most of this season, Alonso making rookie mistakes, getting wound up in Valencia yet he’s only 29 points behind. Slowly slowly catchy monkey as they used to say. You can never discount Alonso, he has the kind of luck and skill that wins world championship and now Ferrari are really going to put everything behind him. Massa is now the number two, he might have been given a new contract, but he’s having a very quite year.

Vettel and Webber have just failed to deliver really. They should be miles ahead, measuring up the cabinet for a nice big FIA 1st place cup. Yeah they’re 3rd and 4th in the championship, but unlike Alonso, you have to wonder how they’ve managed to get there. Neither driver can over take. Driving into your team mate is the worst possible crime, driving in to the back of other cars repeatedly is just as bad. Webber just seems to forget that other cars will break into corners and Vettel seems to run out of ideas when stuck behind anyone. Will they get pole ... probably, will they win, not a chance. But then I said Webber wouldn’t win in Monaco.

Williams seem to have found another gear from somewhere. They got both drivers into Q3 at the expense of the Mercedes boys, Barrichello eventually finished in 4th profiting from the safety car silliness to an extent, but you have to be in it to win it don’t you. If Mercedes continue to screw it up then I think we could see some more of the Didcot boys this weekend.

Also doing well last time out and talking their race up this weekend are Sauber. Krazy Koby showed that given a fair wind and a bit of luck, he’s not a bad little racer after all. It wasn’t just a Toyota that made him impressive. He’ll dine out on the Alonso overtake until he’s old and grey. Can they do the same again this weekend? Well you never know, would you bet against Webber hitting someone else again?

Not having a very happy time are the Merc Boys. Rosberg has come out this week all guns blazing asking why is the car behind the Williams, when it was supposed to be the mutt’s nuts, he was in a Williams last year and now he’s behind them in a supposedly better car. What gives! Brawn has attempted to calm the stormy waters, but the word on the street is that the Money men back in Stuttgart are counting the pennies and asking was it all worth the cost. If I were Mickey I’d be check the small print for performance clauses I had to hit.

Most of the teams have simulation of the new Silverstone circuit up and running now, so the drivers will know which way the track goes (let’s hope Webber was paying attention), what they won’t know is how the track reacts to the tires, how the tires wear out. Wing setting are going to be sorted before they even unpack the transporter. But how the tires physically interacts with the road, that’ll be a where the race is won or lost. And that what makes this race a lottery.

The View from the Cockpit



"Is that the REST of the field !?!?!?!"

Valencia .. pretty much dull

Well what can i say ... Well done Germany, It doesn't get much more convincing than that i suppose.

Vettel confounded the pundits and put Redbull back on top at a circuit that shouldn't have suited their car. Valencia is all long straights and silly little corners. Not long fast sweeping corners that suit the Redbulls balanced performance. Both of them were faster than anyone else and Qualifying was done before most of the big boys had had a chance to play, so dominate was Vettel. The much fancied McLarens weren't to far behind, but needed the Redbulls to fail if they wanted a win.

Mickey Schumacher looked lost all weekend and only just scrapped into Q2. All the money Brawn and Mercedes are throwing at their driver and he's beaten yet again By Rosberg, and now the Williams pop up from nowhere and make him eat their dust.

Meanwhile, Webber once again proved than when it all goes wrong for him, he can really really screw it up royally. He started on the dirty side of the grid in second place, but had made it back to 9th by the end of the first lap. So Redbull tried pitting early for the new tires to try and jump the faster boys. But a sticky front left put him back behind a slow Kovalinium in the Lotus. A car that the much faster Redbull should pass with ease. Except that Webber arsed around for a lap or two and then, in a moment of utter stupidity, followed the hapless Finn into the breaking zone and was then astonished when the Lotus driver hit the brakes. He shot over the top of the lotus, did a slow backwards rotation and landed on his wheels before hitting the barrier very hard. Kovalimum had no idea what hit him. Webber got out of the car and was driven off to the medical centre to see if he has any brain at all to damage. He is fast become the new Trulli for me!

So a pretty comfortable win for Vettel really, he didn't look like being touched all weekend cruzing to an easy flag to flag win. He's got his championship back on track now, moving up to 3rd behind the McLaren Duo.

Hamilton gets second after a mix up about over taking the safety car before or after it left the pit exit. He gained a drive through as Alonso threw a hissy fit when he got caught by the safety car and Lewis didn't. He tried to catch Vettel with a series of stunningly fast laps, but Vettel had the measure of the plucky English lad who was forced to settle for second. Given the drive through i suppose that's as good as he could have hopped for. He still leads the championship and that's what counts.

Button tops out the podium, two English flags behind the one German. Button did alright, he was held up by the Sauber of Kobayashi for a long time, but made the jump to third when the Japanese driver stopped for tires four laps from home.

Barrichello pops up in 4th, I've no idea how, they're been rubbish all season and yet here, but for an exploding tire they'd have got 2 cars in the top ten. Will wonders never cease. Barrichello didn't do anything silly and the car held together. Well done him.

Kubica had the chance to be on the podium this weekend, but a duff final qualifying and he makes it to 5th only.

Sutil, didn't get hit by anyone and makes it to 6th

A fantastic result for Kobayshi, who stayed out when the safety car came out, leaving him a top 3 spot for a long time before he had to come in to change tires. He wouldn't have been there without the safety car, but he gambled on the hard tires lasting for almost the whole race and made it work for him. Then came out and over took Alonso who was still having a hissy fit about Hamilton being second and he wasn't, Crazy Koby breezed passed the whinging Spaniard and then took Buemi on the last corner of the race to claim 7th spot. Well done to him.

8th for Alonso who spent most of the race complaining about Hamilton and how it was so unfair he was ahead of the Ferrari driver. To be honest if he's just shut up and concentrated on driving, he might have got a better result. But why drive when you can whinge about your nemesis huh. Perhaps things aren't as rosy as they used to be with Ferrari. I wonder how long before Alonso starts to get linked to a move back to Renault hmmmm.

9th for Buemi who gets bumped with a 5 second penalty for driving too fast when the safety car was out .. or something. He had kept Alonso back for a long time, so respect to him for that.

10th and bumped up as De Le Rosa gets bumped down for the speeding thing is Rosberg. Who yet again beat Mickey, hurrah. But it's luck more than anything as that car is still a dog even after all development parts were bolted on.

Lotus dropped the ball, Kovy was taken out and Trulli complained about the car being too green or something. So Di Grassi in the Virgin win the Tail End Charlie Challenge. a lap ahead of Chandhoks HRT.

Valencia, it's got a nice beach

It’s all back to Spain this weekend for the European (let’s makes some money out of the Spanish company, Santander) Grand Prix.

Well Valencia likes to think of itself as the Monaco of Spain. But it’s not, it’s in a dockyard and has no charm what so ever. It also has no soul or sense of occasion to it. It is just a dockyard, the walls aren’t even that close to the track, so there’s no smearing expensive carbon fibre bits along the wall. And if you have no walls you have lots of run off areas, which means the paying punters are pushed right back and the place looks like a ghost town. Dull dull dull dull dull dull blah blah blah..

Last year a bit of nifty pit work from the Brawn boys saw Barrichello beat Hamilton to the line and an emotional victory. Like Canada last timeout, Hamilton goes well here, and I’m not expecting that to change this time out. The McLarens look to have a speed and handling advantage on these medium fast circuits, where big balls are worth more than clever aero packages and grunty engines. But you also have to be pretty precise with the driving line. The tire wear is pretty high so going off line usually means a trip to the wall, as there’s no grip off line.
With all the cars in the top 15 or so, pretty much on the same pace, it’s going to be one of those dull tactical races. The team that cocks up the pit stop is going to be the one staring at the rear of Schumacher’s diffuser for the rest of the day. Once again, baring incident, they’ll finish pretty much how they started. Which will liven qualifying up, it might even be worth turning over from the world cup to watch .. who knows.

So the McLaren boys are on a roll here, there’s no repeat of the Hamilton v Alonso years it would seem. Button has slotted into the fold nicely, Hamilton is learning to share his toys and both boys are feeding back to the team so that the car is getting better and better. If they’re not on a par with the Redbulls on handling, then they’ve passed then on speed. Other teams (Ferrari) have focus too much on developing their own F’duck systems, whilst McLaren have concentrated on making the car faster, stealing a march on the others and making this into a two horse race for the title. Everyone and their mother has one or other of the McLarens winning here.

Ferrari have gone back to the drawing board and are bringing their B-spec car out a race ahead of McLaren. You could argue that the Ferrari wasn’t too bad, it was just it’s drivers cocking things up. But Ferrari is one of the richest teams on the tour, so they can afford to build a new car from the ground up. New suspension, new aero, new exhaust ducting and the same old drivers. Alonso is on home soil yet again this weekend, so you’d expect him to go well, however the new car has had very little testing, It would be a brave call to predict a podium.

Redbull are once again talking up their chances, “it’s not over yet etc etc” says Horner. The last few weeks have not been an easy ride for the playboys of the paddock and they need a good result to keep things ticking over. They’ve lost any advantages they had at the start of the season, so it’s now down to drivers and their head space being in the right place.

Renault, and Kubica continues to do better then expected. I though the other boys would have out developed them by now, but no Kubica is still knocking around the middle of the top 10. Petrov after an okay start is now falling back as the other drivers hit their stride. I think he’s done enough to keep his seat for next year, but the bigger boys don’t look like their fighting to get his signature at the moment.

The Mercedes boys are starting to talk about “development year” and “learning about the car all the time” and other such bollocks. Brawn is still saying the championship is there to be won. But he’s the only one doing that little speech. Mickey has disappointed really. He’s not as sharp and he’s not hit the ground running. Last time out in Canada we saw the old aggressive for the sake of it Schumacher. The one we didn’t like. I suspect he getting frustrated and irritated about how the season is panning out. Rosberg is still consistently in the top 10 5th or 6th, whilst Mickey is battling the like of Sutil, Liuzzi and Alguersuari to make it into the top 10. Hard time on easy street.

Force India, have so far failed to turn a strong 2009 into a great 2010. The car doesn’t look as fast as the ‘09 car, and the drivers still seem to be getting hit by other cars. Massa had three goes at Liuzzi in Canada. If they could only catch a break and have some good luck, then I’m sure the car is mid top 10 racer. Better than Massa, Kubica and Mickey they have the speed and the determination. Just not the luck.

As for the rest, Williams are going backwards again, Torro Rosso have shown moments of speed, Sauber are wasting their time with the smart money moving on De La Rossa to be the first driver fired.

The tail end charlies are now only 3 seconds off the pace. Lotus still relying on reliability than speed. I may have been a bit premature to call the virgins faster than the Lotus. Lotus looks to have had a blip rather than passed the baton on … if you see what I mean. HRT are starting to deny that any of their drivers are going to be fired, which is usually a sure sign that someone is about to be fired. Shame really, both driver have been okay, not quick but definitely okay, they just don’t have enough money.

Tarmac, it's not just the black stuff under the wheels

Tarmac (short for tarmacadam, a portmanteau for tar-penetration macadam) is a type of road surface. Tarmac refers to a material patented by Edgar Purnell Hooley in 1901. The term is also used, with varying degrees of correctness, for a variety of other materials, including tar-grouted macadam, Tarvia, bituminous surface treatments and even modern asphalt concrete.
*

What is it about tarmac that can excite so much passion for petrol heads? To ordinary people with normal lives and an interest in Italian food for instance, it’s just a bit of road from point A to point B. But stick some armco around it and paint a black and white chequered strip in the middle of a straight bit and suddenly it takes on a beauty and majesty that transcends ordinary everyday Tarmac and makes it a Motor Racing Track.

Give bits of the strip of tarmac names like Blanchimont, Curve Grande, Eau Rouge, Tetre Rouge and the Mulsanne straight and things really start to ramp up. The hairs on the back of the neck begin to raise, the shiver in the spine starts to spread and the petrol head starts to hear the voices of motor races long past. The sounds and smells of events long forgotten begin to stir in the memory and they are transported back to the moment Mansell passed Piquet down the hanger straight into Stowe, when Schumacher and Hakkinen fought up the Kemmel straight into Les Combes. Jackie Ickx walking across the Le Mans pit straight to get into his car in 1969
But not just moments of excitement and joy, moments of pain and loss too. Senna leaving the tarmac at Tamburello and not getting out of his car. Lauda engulfed in a fireball on the tarmac of Bergwerk at the Nordschleife. Pierre Levegh’s Mercedes leaving the tarmac of the Le Mans pit straight and scything into the packed grandstand

The moment a driver steps into the car and lights it up, is the moment that he goes out to battle the tarmac to tame the thin ribbon of history and write a new page, that’s what we live for, those are the moment when mere tarmac means life and death. This weekend there a two strip of tarmac that will sort the brave and the good from the pay per drive and the weekend warriors. New chapters will be written about this weekend and you’ll be able to tell your grandchildren that you were alive when history was written.

Le Mans. It’s like mainlining petrol straight into your eyeball, it’s like Mickey mouse on speed and your very first shag all rolled into 24hours. The cars are big and grunty and loud and screamy and fast and dirty and brutal and delicate and there right in from of you, wanting to be loved and daring you to come just a little closer. You have not lived until you’ve felt a Corvette V8 thunder past you, brake discs glowing, spitting flames as it down shifts into Tetre Rouge and then on into the black night of the Mulsanne straight at 200mph the engine note roaring “HERE I AM mmmmwwwwhahaHAHAHAHAAHAHAH” the red tails lights filling the night air. Seconds later an Aston Martin V12 screams past you and Audi whispers behind, “love us, come with us in to the night”.

It’s going to be a wet race and that means speed isn’t important. Not screwing up and keeping four patches of Michelins finest in contact with the Tarmac is what counts. Last year Audi failed to turn up to the party with a car that was too cleaver for its own good, France went loopy as Peugeot claimed a One – Two finish. This year the Audi is a better car than last year but can they beat a Peugeot that is balls out fast and desperate to win back to back. My monies on the French Peugeot squad of Minassian, Montagny and Sarrazin to beat Audis old boys Kristensen, McNish and Capello.

But I’ll be rooting for the family Mansell to finish in their first race at the Circuit De La Sarthe. Sans ‘tash and a good bit lighter than his Indy days Nigel is back with his two boys to take on the might of Audi Peugeot, Audi, Aston Martin and Oreca. He stands no chance what so ever of winning, just finishing will be a victory for him. But they’ll be 50,000 Brits on the wall cheering him on like we did at Silverstone all those years ago.

Meanwhile in Canada the speed junkies are gearing up for their 2 hour fix of Bernie’s babes. This is going to be a McLaren benefit gig..... No, wait trust me. Turkey was all about the Redbulls and their high speed corning handling car. Had Vettel not got all unnecessary, they’d have got a One – Two. Just like I predicted. I can’t be held responsible for Germanic insanity okay. The McLarens were right up their arses, I agree, but they couldn’t stay in touch with Vettel and Webber through turn 8.

Canada has no high speed corner; it’s a circuit of two halves. A long twisty section through the woods down one half. And a balls out eye wateringly fast bit along the St Lawrence Seaway up the other. McLaren and their sorted F’aduck means they can run more wing for the twisty bits and still stay ahead of the chasing pack on the fast bit.

Once they get to the end of the fast bit, they have perhaps one of the best chicanes in formula one. It a right left flick, taken at balls out speed in qualifying. But it demands a great deal of respect. If they get the right flick in wrong, they’ll hit the left flick very extremely wrong and the next thing they’re doing is leaving a big long dirty skid mark and bits of very extremely expensive car down the side of the wall of champions. There’s no run off here, no comfy armchairs and AstroTurf to meander across. There’s a dirty great big solid wall grinning at them ready to suck them and spit them out. It’s had some very famous names smeared across it over the years and doesn’t give a monkeys about reputation. All are welcome.

So Hamilton or Button for the win, if it stays dry Hamilton would be favourite. Throw in a bit of rain (maybe) Button has the smarts to win.

Not too far behind them, got to be the Redbulls. It’s all sweetness and light after the *ahem* incident last week. Webber has been given a contract for 2011 so he’s all sweetness and light. Vettel proved he could beat the Ozzy, just not finish the move. Both have a lot to prove now, but I think they’ll be all “after you sir”, “No I insist, you first dear boy” for the next couple of races. Taking out you team mate from the win is the cardinal sin after all.

I have a feeling that Kubica will go well here. The Renaults looking pretty handy after all and the French boys seems to have a bit of the old flair back whilst Petrov was unlucky not to be in the top ten last time out. They could start to trouble the bigger boys at this rate.

Ferrari seem to be going back to the good old days of having no clue what’s going on and blaming each other in a keystone cops kind of way. Others have pointed out that Alonso, normally the racing drivers racing driver, is cocking things up with no help from anyone else. A jump start in China, a needless crash in Monaco and failing to qualify in Turkey. Not the mistakes one usually expects from a two times world champion. Is he frustrated or losing his touch. Meanwhile Massa drops further and further down the pecking order. A bad result here and the papers will start to turn on him.

Mickey seems to have got the handle on Rosberg now. But the car isn’t a front line challenger and Mickey isn’t beating the young Mr Rosberg like he used to beat his other team mates. Also the FIA are starting to ask difficult questions about the new roll over/air intake scoop on the re badged Brawn and I think Mercedes will soon be saying this is a “Development” year and they’re looking to 2011 for the big breakthrough.

I think it’ll be the usual suspects in the top ten this weekend. However keep an eye out for Sutil. The Force India is on one of their target tracks and Sutil should be there or there abouts. A mistake from the bigger boys could see him in Q3 and then maybe top 5 beckons. Choose between him and Petrov for the top 10.

As for the rest, who cares?

But wait a second; the Tail End Charlie Challenge is at an interesting juncture. Lotus has not been the fastest for the last two races now. In Monaco, that waste of racing overalls Trulli had to attempt to roughly mount the HRT of Chandhok to save the good name of Lotus (More by luck than judgement from the HRT though). The Virgins beat the HRT’s and the Lotus boys in Turkey and I think maybe it’s time to start looking at the performance of the Virgins and ask if they’ve final caught and passed the Lotus chaps. The Virgin always had the straight line speed over the Lotus, HRT just has no speed at all, and straight line speed is what counts here. It was just a bit spit and saw dust in its construction. Maybe they’ve ironed out the kinks and are starting to move ahead of the other Tail End Charlies.

Screw the F1 though; Le Mans is where it’s going to be at this year. LMP1, LMP2, GT1 And GT2, four classes of cars, 56 car, 168 drivers, 24 ex Formula drivers, 1 Formula One champion and an eight times winner. 24 hours, twice round the clock. If you have any petrol in your veins find a TV at 2pm (UK time) this Saturday, and watch the greatest race on tarmac.