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Debuting in April 2008, TheMotorsportArchive.com has been a steady portal for race news, coverage and updates; however, as my work has moved further from reporting toward extensive feature-length work and studies, the relevance of TheMotorsportArchive.com has decreased.
FREEBIE:
This is an excerpt from an extensive coming feature in the next volume of World in Motorsport.
In the third of three interviews with Leigh O’Gorman, the former Formula One racer and now IndyCar driver Romain Grosjean discusses life, psychology and the tools to survive at the peak of motorsport.
—-
Around this time two years ago, Haas Formula One driver Romain Grosjean was preparing for the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Within moments of the race start, he had crashed and crashed hard. But just as it seemed as if it was all about to end, America called.
“It’s a busy, busy universe. Okay, good times.”
Romain Grosjean has certainly been busy. For he and teammate Kevin Magnussen, 2020 had been a very difficult season and Grosjean was examining options for the following year.
Having spoken with him just a few weeks earlier, he did not seem to be in the best of mindsets. From when I first interviewed him in 2011 – a time when the Swiss-born Frenchman was buzzing with enthusiasm and energy – to 2020, some elements of the man had remained constant, but there was little doubt, the mood had darkened.
Slips of humour were still ever present, but the wit had become sharper, pricklier and cut more finely, particularly as his F1 career appeared to be spinning beyond his control.
Within moments of that race in Bahrain starting, the Grand Prix was marked with a fiery crash that nearly claimed Grosjean’s life. As the field wove through the opening turns and underbodies scrubbed the road, showering followers with clipped sparks, Grosjean linked wheels with AlphaTauri’s Daniil Kvyat, pitching the Haas machine hard into the barrier.
The near-instantaneous destruction of the VF-20 chassis and the ensuing explosion shocked the racing world, but amidst the deep orange. red and black haze, Grosjean emerged, singed – albeit with second-degree burns across his hands – but relatively unscathed given the ordeal.
“F1: The More You Do, The More You Understand, The More You See – Grosjean”
Now racing with Andretti Autosport in America’s Indycar Series, one would be forgiven for thinking that Grosjean would not consider getting back in the car, but the now former-F1 racer has found a happy place.
“Honestly, getting back in the car was just normal,” he says. Indeed, despite suffering second-degree burns to his hands in the fire, Grosjean was back in a car within three months – with hands heavily bandaged to protect blisters from bursting – as he tested Indycar for the first time at Barber Motorsport Park. “I just wanted to wait the first lap of the first race back in the car and if that lap felt normal, I would carry on; if that lap felt not normal, I would stop racing.”
Grosjean’s career has had a somewhat haphazard path until now. Initial success at Formula 3 and GP2 level brought him to the attention of the Renault Formula 1 team {note 1}, who enrolled the junior racer as a test driver in 2008. This became a race driver in the 2nd half of 2009, when Nelson Piquet Jr was fired; however, with the team reeling from the Crashgate scandal and Grosjean ill-prepared for the rigours of F1 {note 2}, the Frenchman too was dropped after not scoring in seven races.
In the wilderness at the tender age of 23, Grosjean went back to the drawing board and picked up drives wherever he could, including stints in the GT1 World Championship – which included an unsuccessful run at Le Mans – and Auto GP, before returning to GP2 to win both the Main and Asian Series’ in 2011 {note 3}.
Learning quickly has become a standard for Grosjean, a talent he required for when he crossed the Atlantic. “The new series was a challenge because you get to discover new cars, new tracks, new atmosphere, new people, new rules, new everything. That was like being a rookie again and discovering everything, so you have to learn every time we go on track.”
“Conor Daly: The best part about Indycar right now is that we put on a great show.”
After an initial season with Dale Coyne Racing, Grosjean was initially booked to race at just the road and street circuits, but two-thirds of the season made his oval debut at Gateway Motorsports Park. This year saw the Frenchman run the full schedule, including the Indianapolis 500. “There is definitely a different approach, a different mindset, a different way of driving as well, so it’s a completely different skill that you need to build and I guess that’s why you see guys that have been doing it for a long time that are very, very good at it. [Helio] Castroneves is a good example.”
Grosjean admits that prior to his Indycar move, his lack of experience caused him to view oval racing in a somewhat derogatory light but acknowledges his eyes have been opened now that he has had the opportunity to race and test at several oval venues. “There’s so much information to gather. There’s a risk involvement as well. You know, the cars are getting safer and safer, the walls are getting better and better, but still, when you do 230 miles an hour next to a wall, if things go wrong, they go wrong badly.
“It’s surprising, because I looked at it from Europe back in the days and thought it was all kind of boring and easy, and then you start doing it and you realise that it’s definitely not easy and every oval is different.”
Although this year’s Indycar calendar comprised only five races over four oval rounds (Iowa was a double-header) {note 4}, Grosjean was impressed by the variety to hand. “They all require skills and adaptation and I think that’s something we definitely see wrong in Europe, thinking that they all kind of the same thing and just turning left, it’s a little bit more complex than that.”
Grosjean finished higher in points this year than he did in 2021, although this is partially attributed to his competing throughout a season, which proved, at times, difficult, particularly as relations with teammate Alexander Rossi fractured.
Arguably, there was greater consistency across the breadth of the season for the former-F1 ace, but the Andretti-Autosport team struggled compared to previous campaigns but sees a team still hungry for success, but given how the competition is in Indycar, that is a tough call. “I like the fact that to make a pass, you have to build it up and go for it and that’s just the racing that I enjoy. It’s not like you can go back in the back of the field and fly through like the Mercedes would do in Formula One [in] the first few years of the hybrid era. It’s definitely different and I like that.”
For now, Grosjean and his family are enjoying life beyond the gates of the west. Having settled in Florida, the Frenchman comes across as far more settled and content than he was in his latter Formula One days, while simultaneously hungry for future success. “You could go on the beach every day and enjoy the sun and do nothing and drink a pina colada, or you can push the limit and always try something new. I go to the beach when I want to have some time off, but I’m also someone that always tried to be active and push things forward.”
Indeed, when asked if there was anything he would change, Grosjean makes a nod toward the off-season, noting, “It is too long,” he ends with a laugh.
{note 1}
Now competing as Alpine F1 Team.
{note 2}
In a 2020 interview, Grosjean told The Motorsport Archive that, “I wish I would know in 2009 everything I know now. I wasn’t ready to come to Formula One in 2009 and I was missing key people around me, which is really very important for young drivers to step in and have people that can help them.”
When asked whether competing in junior formulae does enough to prepare drivers for Formula One, Grosjean is quick press home difficulties. “No, no, no… you’re not ready. Even though you think you have won Formula 2… I don’t think you know what’s coming.”
{note 3}
Having previously raced with Renault (2009) and then Lotus (2012-15) – albeit with a gap in the wilderness between the teams – the move to Haas in 2016 was a risk, but given Lotus’s crumbling finances and weakening position, it was probably the right one.
Grosjean scored several podiums with Lotus and reached 7th in the standings in three years earlier and his stock had risen, despite his quick, but somewhat erratic 2012 season; however, Lotus’s downturn affected Grosjean’s reputation too and when the opportunity came with Haas, the risk probably seemed like a better option than stagnation.
In Formula One, nothing survives stagnation. It sucks the oxygen out of a team and grinds them to a halt. Then still aged 29, Grosjean had plenty still to give. Yet after a couple of solid first three seasons with the American squad topped with a best of 4th at the Red Bull Ring in 2018, Haas began to drop off fast as money tightened and come the of 2020, they had only scored twice – a 9th for Grosjean at the Nürburgring and a 10th for teammate Kevin Magnussen in Hungary. Even had it not been for the Bahrain crash, there were strong rumours that Grosjean was to be dropped following the end of that season.
{note 4}
The four ovals on Indycar’s 2022 season were as follows:
Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile quad-oval, with progressive banking of 20-24 degrees;
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5-mile superspeedway circuit, with 9 degrees of banking;
Iowa Speedway, a 0.875-mile D-shaped oval with 12-14 degrees of banking and 10 degrees of banking on the start/finish stretch;
Gateway Motorsports Part, a 1.25-mile hairpin shaped oval, with progressive banking of between 9-11 degrees.
With four Grand Prix remaining in 2022, Max Verstappen has already claimed his 2nd World Championship crown.
Apart from the merest of blips, the Dutch racer has been as imperious, as Ferrari have utterly incompetent. Both elements played their part, but is the real story being played off track?
Even from a great distance, one could almost feel a sinking feeling of despair emanating from the offices of Formula One Management come the end of the Italian Grand Prix.
Such was Verstappen’s colossal advantage over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc come the end of the European season, the Red Bull man could easily have claimed the world championship title in Singapore. It didn’t happen there, of course – one of Verstappen’s few blips at a Grand Prix upended by changing weather and cool conditions – but he did take it the following weekend in Japan, albeit in bizarre circumstances.
And yet, where his 2022 title looked assured and certain, complaints about his first championship crown continue and – for once – the grumbling is not about the circumstances of last season’s closer at Abu Dhabi.
With rumours about a possible cost cap breach by Red Bull, hyenas, still upset from last year’s debacle under the desert sunset, began to circle with sharpened teeth. When it was confirmed following the Japanese Grand Prix that Red Bull had committed a minor overspend breach, those hyenas began to rub the paws together with glee.
In all the recorded outbursts concerning the cost cap, one could not help but get a whiff of Drive to Survive in the air – the lamentable Netfllix “documentary” series, which – if one is to be honest – bears a closer relationship to Married at First Sight than it does Panorama.
The show makes no bones about it though. It is “reality TV” in all its scripted excesses, while possessing all of the remarkable trappings of the unreal mixed with the implausible.
In many ways, Formula One and Netflix are perfect for each other. With Drive to Survive, Netflix possess an indelicate and epileptic psychodrama disguised as a modern documentary, that has opened doors for similar projects tailored for salivating sporting CEOs with prefabricated dirt waiting to be upsold.
Netflix has the money and the deals, although no one is sure whether syringe contains Botox or heroin, and few are willing to ask.
Drawing from the inevitable ripple effects of the Singapore revelations, every mouthpiece and their dog made themselves available for television interviews, if only to unwittingly announce in very roundabout ways that they knew nothing about auditing or accounting practices.
Whether they were aware of their own lack of knowledge is another question, but one suspects that if you wish to never learn about a subject in Formula One, one needs only listen to the talking heads to ensure nothing of value is absorbed.
Several claims generated much eye-rolling; others, meanwhile, were frankly laughable. In particular, the claim from Ferrari’s Team Principal, Mattia Binotto, that the top end of minor breach – $7.25 million – is the equivalent of gaining half-a-second per lap is the stuff such astonishingly fantastical bullshit, that only a professional bullshitter could possibly come up with it {note 1}. One could almost admire the audacity – almost.
It really is quite difficult to point out exactly where truth end and nonsense begins but suffice to say the former is present only in the form of sand particles blown in from Texan deserts. Alas, who needs truth and honesty when gripping headlines will do instead? As the Grand Prix weekend at COTA begins in earnest, an overspend figure of $1.8 million had been floated in media reports, although while the number is clearly important, what was done with it is key.
In the centre of this melee is the FIA. Having overseen the botched 2021 season finale, pressure is being applied to enforce a significant enough penalty for this minor overspend breach, so as to make the Cost Cap a meaningful device that has teeth.
But the governing body has not had a pretty ten months. Having acted with a bout of belligerence in the days and weeks after Abu Dhabi, the FIA drew away quietly to consider options and actions that would eventually see them largely absolved, while former Race Director Michael Masi was hung out to dry.
Naturally though, it goes beyond this. While it is tempting to imply the removal of Masi has calmed initial jitters, the criticisms of Race Control this year have not tempered, as every single decision comes under scrutiny. It was hoped that the arrival of Niels Wittich and Eduardo Freitas as interchanging Race Directors would remove some of the heat, but this has not been the case and – if one is to be realistic – that was never going to happen.
For a race – any race – to endure a wait of several hours to discover if race winner Sergio Perez would receive a penalty for a breach of safety car procedure (Singapore) – a breach easily identifiable by the data recorded live by Perez’ car – is unnecessary in the extreme and insulting to the fans, media and competitors.
More serious, however, was the befuddlement over the number of points on offer following the conclusion of the Grand Prix in Japan – a confusion that rendered all at sea as to whether Verstappen had won the title or not.
Even more astonishing than that was the accepted risk for competitor’s safety by allowing clearance vehicles trackside without a completely neutralised field.
Pierre Gasly, rightly, took criticism for travelling at excessive speed under red flag conditions (approximately 250 kph), earning a mere 20-second penalty for his troubles, but this should not excuse the brain fog from Race Control – a decision which appears to have cost Freitas his position as co-Race Director.
At a time when Formula One should be doing whatever it can to reduce the bombastic fumbling, the sport is doing what it can to swim in its own mire. With Japan an old memory at two weeks, background events at Texas are already overshadowing the US Grand Prix.
Through all this, the cost cap argument refuses to dissipate. There can be no worse result for the FIA than to be forced to impose a penalty on Red Bull that would change the result of the 2021 Driver’s Championship, but as one cannot truly follow the spend chain, it may be impossible to ascertain how the overspend may have altered the development path of the car, if at all.
If Verstappen were to retrospectively lose his first title due to the overspend, it would be a great shame, for his was utterly brilliant for much of the season; however, if the penalty is deemed too soft, then a precedent will be set and the Cost Cap will be dead in the water before it has truly worked its way into F1’s bloodstream.
Following some initial bluster Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner, the Milton Keynes-based squad is reportedly engaging with the FIA in order to negotiate an Accepted Breach Agreement (ABA).
This is essentially a plea deal in which teams admit that they have committed a breach, allowing for lesser penalties to be applied, such as a public reprimand (utterly pointless), suspension from one or more sessions of a competition (most likely loss of FP sessions, qualifying or both) or additional limitation of aerodynamic or other testing beyond the limits already in place.
Should Red Bull decide not to accept an ABA and challenge the FIA’s findings – presumably with a view to reclassifying costs as listed in their accounting period – then a Cost Cap Adjudication Panel will be created to hear each individual case.
If found guilty in that, Red Bull can still appeal to the FIA International Court of Appeal; however, a loss of the case at this stage could cost Red Bull Constructors’ and Drivers’ championship points from their 2021 – the latter of which would almost certainly cost Verstappen his first title – and a reduction of allowable cost cap for the present season. Penalties from an ABA sanction can also be applied.
No doubt, the machinations of feverish accountants may one day get their own Netflix Drive to Survive-esque special, but for now, as Russell Crowe’s Maximus Meridius fearsomely announced in the movie Gladiator’, “Are you not entertained?!”
Actually, I’m not sure that I am.
{note 1}
Where? How? What circuit? Long circuit? Medium length circuit? Short circuit? Dry weather? Wet weather? Love downforce? High downforce? Medium downforce? What about air density? New development or minor upgrade? (Etc., etc., etc.)
Last year’s COP26 carnival in Glasgow told the world two things: people and countries will do what they feel they need to do to survive, while others will do what they need to prosper.
In a world governed by the cloudy nausea of perception and positioning, how long before the very existence of international motorsport becomes a challenge to be answered?
There is a moment in David Lean’s 1962 masterpiece ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, where Tafas – T.E. Lawrence’s guide across the desert to Prince Faisal – asks if Britain is a desert country, to which Lawrence replies, “No: a fat country. Fat people.”
It is certainly a quote pertinent for modern times, particularly morally egregious Westernised societies, and their alliances, whatever that means.
We are fat, in a sense. Not a strict or specific reference to culinary gluttony by any means, but we are fat in thought and obese in desires. If “wanting” is a skill, we have mastered it.
Formula One is obese – that is no surprise. In rich and developed nations, we consume and horde furiously and sniff aggressively at those who covet our bounty – but it is not just food that we keep to ourselves. We consume energy endlessly; absorb consciousness; drain fashion and materials as well, and if we could own happiness, we would probably claim that too.
Our sport’s continued expansion plays into that. There is money to be made and we will make it: the how’s, why’s and wherefores are for others to discuss over nibbles that become meals, while reason loses its balance to drunkenness. For and to the world, the right words are spoken, and the correct allusions are made and yet, the growing calendar does not sit easily alongside promises of sustainability.
Such consumption and the desire for more has brought us to the precipice of human destruction, but the roots and foundations for these wants do not end at our borders, particularly when the materials for our product wealth are mined at a pittance from poorer lands around the world.
For all our impressions of growth and humane maturity, the roots of our old colonial thinking still very much exist and is practiced at our behest. We conquer not for land, but for market share: wealth and prosperity – as long as we are the ones who are prosperous – and as we do that, illusions of betterment are made.
The illusions are so important. A Grand Prix is many things: an event that excites, drives, and inspires; a national painting that captures beauty, essence, and wonder; an experience that incites, provokes and assaults the senses.
But they are illusions, portraits that disguise the dirt, the blemishes and, also, the hurt. Irrespective of where the sport goes, it ignores corruption, harm, and brutality and – on few occasions – attempts to lay claim that Formula One’s mere presence will help solve deep seated problems. Alas, such issues are rarely so easily uprooted.
And thus, we eat and consume and eat and consume and when we eventually pull our faces away from the trough, we sniffle noisily at the iceberg to which we are drawing toward.
Such has been the slow burning nature of spinning politics, volatile economics, and burning climates, we have spent years moving slowly to that iceberg, but not appreciating the evolving danger. However, the current has picked up pace and when we next look up, so close are we to jeopardy that we could easily identify the rivets on the iceberg wall.
There are so many questions as to how the future will be shaped. We enjoy a pretence of futuristic ambition dressed in technology that will shift the global picture; however, it is an indulgence that we are allowed, for questions as to whether there is enough scope in what we do to be truly game changing are pressing.
In a way, Formula One is a monarchy. Our way is undisputed: it rules from afar, touring the world, gently and gingerly waving to its subjects from a balcony. There are cheers, there is adoration, there is the unseen sweat and muscle that built this land, but the soil is tainted, and half-measures will not cure it.
If that sounds defeatist, it isn’t really. This is merely an acknowledgement of where we truly are in the world, and it is only when we grasp that, can we begin to envision wider dreams. And right now, the dream is not to get banned, for when the winds begin to burn, even something as frivolous as Formula One and its perceived royalty may not survive that.
The sport has great aims, but when push comes to shove, there may be a need to be truly radical and right now, I don’t know what that is.
Getting lost in an unfamiliar park following a day at the races is far from ideal, especially when evening shadows collide with lingering darkness.
In theory, navigating one’s way out of Monza should not be unfeasible and yet, it was a feat managed with indelicate ease. It did not take long to become very, very lost.
In the ‘manual of men’, the thing to do in this scenario is to carry on regardless and keep walking. Eventually a way out will be found, unless it isn’t found, [by which point] it’s dark and you are surrounded by ominous trees, treacherous grass and fearsome shrubbery.
Under the deepening blue tinge of sky, whimpers slip from cold breath that colours the [small] space [ahead].
The thing with darkness is that it doesn’t descend upon you [easily]. If anything, it closes in and slowly, sluggishly wraps its arms around you. These dark limbs hold lightly at first, but then the grip tightens and pulls you slowly to the ground. Its caress is long, loving and eternal; the sleep that comes with it is deep, as all that is dear drifts forever.
This being a GT meeting, there are no [large] crowds to follow, because no one bothers to watch this stuff. Goosebumps rise upon the skin, particularly when [foreign hands] tap on the shoulder, in the [empty and] wide open greenery.
The sudden ‘yelp’ probably alerted the new companion that all was not perfect. ‘Signore, ti sei perso,’ the main in a dark uniform queried.
[Speaking Italian is not my forte; understanding when it is spoken is even less so.]
‘What?!’
‘Inglese?’
‘Affatto.’
‘Oh..?’
‘Irish.’
‘Mi scusi?’
‘Eer-laan-dah’
‘Ah, Jack Charton?’
‘Yes. Toto Schillaci?’
‘Si. Are you lost?’
‘Yes, quite very.’
Having been found wandering rather aimlessly by a park police officer, this bout of clumsiness would strike hard again shortly, but for now – having been pointed in the right direction, evening time had long since fallen.
Passing the Royal Villa of Monza, dwarfed from the ground up in a temperate yellow light, could not detract from the biting winds passing in from the north. Those who could, went inside and closed their doors for the night; those who couldn’t found doorways, bus shelters or the train station.
Emerging into the lights of Monza town, one homeless man straggled – his face cracked and broken with trauma that belied his age and betrayed his experience – as he wept quietly, while a local businessman shouted, laughed, and cackled from behind, having just thrown a bucket of freezing water over him for “fun”.
Crossing the road to find another shadowy corner, a ragged throw – the homeless man’s sheet for the night – glistened briefly, as pearls of cold water seeped further into the old and worn cotton.
Laughing and whimpering, hand-in-hand – a reminder that not all horrors happen in war. Some of our greatest horrors occur amidst great affluence, when greed replaces violence and belittlement replaces barbarism.
Even the coffee counters – a nominal religion in the region – which keep all warm in the cold evenings, had closed. And tonight, it was very, very cold.
© Leigh O’Gorman
© Leigh O’Gorman
In the unlikely event Colton Herta earns a Super Licence dispensation from the FIA, it would prove an interesting workaround for an unintended consequence.
It may even force a badly needed re-evaluation or even dissolution of the entire Super Licence Points System, although without some humility, that change is unlikely.
While it may have had relevant foundations in 2015, as it currently stands, the Super Licence Points System is no longer fit for purpose.
Following Max Verstappen’s lightning-fast promotion to Formula One, the Super Licence Points System was designed as a qualifying measure for younger drivers aiming for a seat in Formula One via the numerous single-seater categories globally.
With a myriad of championships available, the single-seater route was deeply complex, requiring expert navigation and determined partners, and while there were opportunities aplenty to race, the unregulated nature of the Formula One ladder left that route unfocussed.
Formula One’s then primary feeder categories – GP2 and GP3 – were beginning to struggle against their comparative peers. They had become bloated and expensive, with precious little seat time compared to rival categories, such as Formula Renault 3.5 and the European F3 Championship, both of which absorbed talent, as they offered extensive seat time and heightened competition.
In the melee, junior driver programmes also began to look away from the standard Formula One feeder categories, preferring their drivers race in more challenging series’ away from the immediate eyes of the world.
It was hugely successful and between 2011 and 2014, Formula Renault 3.5 proved a final stepping-stone to Formula One for Daniel Ricciardo, Jules Bianchi, Jean-Éric Vergne, Kevin Magnussen and Carlos Sainz among others {note 1}, while several drivers moved from European F3 to Formula Renault, rather than move to the Formula One junior paddock.
“Is Nikita Mazepin Good Enough for F1? Well, It’s C
Despite these successes, the FIA Single-Seat Commission looked at ways to tighten up the route to Formula One, while also reinvigorating the accepted pathway to the top of the single-seater pyramid. This drive was deepened when Verstappen jumped from karting to a Formula One drive, via Formula Three, in the space of fifteen months.
To tackle this, the Single-Seat Commission created the Super Licence Points System to force young drivers to spend at least two-to-three years tackling the lower rungs, with a view to promoting experience over fast-track moves {note 2}. At the same time, the FIA also introduced a minimum age limit of 18 years for drivers hoping to bag a seat at motorsport’s top level.
Contrary to popular opinion, the Super Licence Points System was not created to keep desperately unqualified drivers out of Formula One; however, that has been a consequence of it, particularly with the haphazard way it applies points standards to well established international championships.
With AlphaTauri potentially losing Pierre Gasly to Alpine, attempts by the team’s parent company, Red Bull Racing, to import Colton Herta from Indycar as replacement look set to fail.
Herta does not currently qualify for a Super Licence via the traditional method, as he falls eight points short of what is required. Red Bull have argued that Herta should have points from his excluded 2018 Indy Lights campaign instated {note 3}, but it appears that rival teams have rallied against this exception.
“Some Super Licence Points Pointers”
For Red Bull and Herta, timing is everything. The original framework for the Points System was to capture points collated over the course of three calendar years, although during the period of disrupted racing from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was altered so drivers could calculate their best three seasons over four calendar years {note 4}. This has not yet been repealed.
The latter point is critical for Herta, as this exceptional ruling brings his 2018 Indy Lights season into the frame. Should a decision be made that favours the inclusion of that campaign, Herta would then have the additional points necessary to qualify for a Super Licence; however, that 2018 count expires on December 31st of this year.
This means that, if successful, Herta would need to apply for a Super Licence before the end of this calendar year, thereby obtaining a 2022 Super Licence, all the while knowing that a drive in 2022 is not the goal. However, Super Licences are granted annually and to take part drivers must renew those licences at least two weeks prior to the opening round of the next World Championship.
If Red Bull’s request is granted and Herta earns the Super Licence points, he will need the Super Licence approved for 2022 in order to reapply on January 1st for a 2023 entry into Formula One.
But it must be asked, why is this even a point of discussion? Given IndyCar’s position as an internationally recognised single-seater category, Herta’s exclusion does raise the question as to the relevance of placing top-level championships within the Super Licence Points System.
Indycar is, after all, an extremely competent category with some of the fastest racing machinery in the world, populated by competitors who are either ex-F1 drivers, greatly experienced continental racers, or drivers who have already completed the well-worn route to Formula One, only to find the door closed on the other end.
Were an Indycar driver look to move to Formula One, there is little reason why a competency test, with specific structured tasks, could not be conducted to ensure competitors operate to a reasonable standard on track.
The same could also be said for the likes of Super Formula and Formula E – the latter of which is an FIA world championship, that possesses its own variation of the regulated licence points system.
“The Folly of Licence Points Systems”
There are other qualifiers within the Super Licence Points System that raises questions as to its application. So far apart are they from Formula One, it makes little sense that categories such as WTCR, DTM, NASCAR Cup and National, Super GT500, WEC and IMSA GT, and international GT series’ appear in the Points System, given their vaguely distant relation to Formula One.
Many of these entries smack of additions for the sake of addition; an acknowledgement of a series’ existence by placing it within a framework that bears little relevance to the championships at play.
Adding the likes of Indycar, Formula E, Super Formula and the above tin-top categories to the Super Licence Points System is tokenism at its finest. They deserve better than that and so too do the competitors therein.
{note 1}
Graduates from the early years of Formula Renault 3.5 and its previous iterations – World Series by Nissan and World Series by Opal –include Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel, Heikki Kovalainen, Justin Wilson, Tiago Monteiro, Franck Montagny, Marc Gene, Narain Karthikeyan and Jaime Alguersuari. Fernando Alonso also won the category in 1999, before moving very briefly to International Formula 3000.
{note 2}
When signed by Toro Rosso in August 2014, Verstappen was still only 16-years-old having – at that point – only competed in two-thirds of a European F3 season, as well as taking part in a five-weekend stint in the once-off Florida Winter Series. Beyond those few races and some Formula Renault 2.0 testing, the young Dutch racer was incredibly green, but the talent was obvious.
After a brief tussle between Red Bull Racing and Mercedes, the latter reportedly offered Verstappen a place in a GP2 programme with a top team, whereas Red Bull could place the teenager directly into the Toro Rosso F1 team. All that was needed was to eject Jean-Eric Vergne.
While the FIA could do nothing to halt the Verstappen debut – the Super Licence had been earned pretty quickly in those days – they saw an opportunity to create a barrier to stop such a move happening again.
{note 3}
Herta’s cannot currently claim Super Licence points for his runner-up position in the 2018 Indy Lights series, as the category did not achieve the minimum number of competitors to be considered viable. To be considered eligible, a category must comprise of a minimum of five race weekends, held on a minimum of three circuits, with sixteen full-season entries and a minimum of twelve at any given event.
If a series signs up between twelve and fifteen full-season entries, then 75% of the Super Licence Points are awarded, but if a series only possesses eleven or fewer full-season entries, then no Super Licence points are awarded.
While the 2018 Indy Lights season met the first two criteria, it did not meet the final one, as the series ran only between seven and eight drivers during the campaign.
{note 4}
The exception ruling was introduced part of the way through the 2020 when it became clear that drivers were missing out on championships due to VISA issues. Some made different arrangements, but the driver most affected by the change was the then Red Bull junior, Jüri Vips.
Having secured a Super Formula drive with Team Mugen, Vips was due to race in Japan, only for that to fall foul of the COVID pandemic regulations. Ultimately Vips was unable to obtain a VISA to enter Japan, but meanwhile entered several Formula Regional European Championship (FREC) rounds, before replacing an injured Sean Gelael in Formula 2.
Vips’ Formula 2 appearances caused him to miss several FREC rounds. Having not raced in Super Formula and only taken part in partial FREC and Formula 2 campaigns, Vips did not compete in enough rounds of any of these championships to earn Super Licence points.
Aware of the potential of this growing issue, the FIA issued an exception rule allowing drivers to use their best three seasons over the past four calendar years. It is a rule that still stands.
Lando Norris’ comment regarding his lack of sympathy for drivers on the edge of losing their drive may have come across as brutal, but it was nothing if not honest.
To admonish him would betray the truth exposed on track and Norris deserves better than that.
“I don’t feel like you have to have sympathy for any driver because they’ve not been able to do as good a job. People will probably hate me for saying it.”
– Lando Norris (August 25th, 2022; Spa-Francorchamps)
Even if the result had been a foregone conclusion for several weeks, the split between Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren was always going to set tongues wagging.
A conclusion had to be reached and – it would seem – the team having grown tired of Ricciardo’s disappointing performance results and the Australian’s desire to be bought out of his contract, that finality came in the form of a mutual break-up.
Yet for all of the prepared statements, Lando Norris’ unfiltered response to Ricciardo’s departure cut significantly. He continued: “It’s not my job to focus on someone else. I’m not a driver coach. I’m not here to help and do those kind of things. I’m here to perform at my absolute best. And that’s about it,” before adding, “It’s also the case that if I don’t perform well for a few years that it can also be the end of my career and the end of me driving in Formula One.”
Some words are always going to bite. There is little comfort in dressing them in a kindly preface, designed to soften blows, when a brutally exposed truth – from an honest base – can circumvent faltering discussions.
The online response was typical and expected. Norris – a young man ravaged by honesty, then savaged by social media. Is it little wonder that few are prepared to be true to themselves, let alone anyone else when the internet’s reactionary hellfire burns all who breathe?
At these times, one could almost understand the desire to be an actor, where one wears a façade and dresses themselves up as another, shadowing all evidence of self from light. From this point on, anything goes, as part-time personalities address audiences, revelling in the virtue of the masquerade.
Sportspeople do not have the luxury of such concealment. They wear themselves and their souls always, even when we don’t want them to and when they spill words that do not fit into the audience’s framed impression of them, those at the other end lash out.
In the context of the audience view of motorsport, racing drivers are mannequins, with near empty bodies and souls. Where the audience can, a picture of a personality is formed, based on extracts, non-contextual snippets and soundbites, as public traits are blurred and misunderstood to be private notions of consciousness.
Personality and individuality is buried and the human inside is reset with a narrative that chimes better to the watching eye. A being – not a person – in constructed and placed within the prism of our belief system.
As soon as the personality steps out of that prism, they are punished. By commenting on Ricciardo’s situation in the way he did, Norris stepped out of the prism and the audience reacted in parallel.
Was Norris right to not feel sympathy for Ricciardo’s plight? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter; Norris is a piece on the board – a key one, but still a piece, but as his prowess and reputation have grown, the weight of his words has grown.
While Norris’ comments may appear to have come across as brutal, but they are no more cutting than those made by team CEO Zak Brown Sky Sports’ online show Any Driven Monday following the Spanish Grand Prix in May. “We’re trying everything we can,” said the American. “Short of [Ricciardo’s victory at] Monza and a few races, it’s generally not kind of met his or our expectations, as far as what we were expecting.”
Brown also remarked about the closeness of teammate at various other teams in the field, noting that his expected Ricciardo’s performance to be far closer than that off Norris on a regular basis.
Yet this has not happened. Ricciardo has been out-performed regularly, and often by significant margins. At a time when McLaren sit atop a midfield fight that is at its tightest since the World Championship’s inception, the Australian’s lack of results has cost the team dearly.
“F1 – Renault Driver Selection is Symptom of Banality Disguised as Ambition”
Despite that brilliant win at Monza last year, the one-sided nature of McLaren’s point-scoring record did a great deal of damage to the team’s run at 3rd in the Constructor’s Championship – a position they would eventually lose to Ferrari, as the Italian’s soared in the final quarter of the year.
The situation is tougher in 2022, but with Norris once again pulling the vast majority of McLaren’s points again, the team is in danger of losing the battle for 4th with Alpine. Given the huge investment McLaren have made with Ricciardo over the past two years and the significant pay-out that is still to come, the return has not been good enough.
Daniel Ricciardo is still a quality drive and a fast one at that, but this relationship with McLaren has not worked out for either party. This is not to say his career in Formula One is finished, for he may still gel with another team and rebuild his reputation, but given how advanced his career is, Ricciardo’s chance for a top seat is long gone.
Should he get another driver for 2023, he will likely be bidding for scraps.
Pulling enough interest out of the recent Sebastian Vettel/Fernando Alonso and Alpine/Aston Martin story to keep one awake was tricky business.
Until Oscar Piastri blew French waters apart.
“Jesus, this is a tepid stuff.”
In the aftermath of Sebastian Vettel’s retirement announcement and the post-Hungaroring revelation that Fernando Alonso was moving from Alpine to replace him came a river of turgid, meandering words.
Not that there was anything mundane about the transfer of talent itself following on from the retirement announcement of Vettel, but rather it was the execution of the various stories that lacked inspiration.
Traditionally at this point, analysis follows although the depth can be rather shallow. For all intents and purposes, this is a meat-and-two veg story (alter where appropriate for specific dietary options, such as vegetarian, vegan or gluten free) and while vacant-minded press statement would be passable, an individual quote full of colour and emotion would be gravy.
Stories, like the Alonso move, are dangerous, because the run that line of becoming box-ticking exercises. Beyond the announcement and the ripple-free platitudes of the press statements, this kind of story can, and usually does, devolve into the territory of race analysis, season review and career look back.
Often these are words for the sake of words – a duty to fatten a piece up to make it seem worthwhile, but without any deep insight or individual touches. With these stories, such depth is rarely possible due to the constraints of control enacted by the parties involved.
Unless you are Oscar Piastri.
The French youngster was announced as Alonso’s replacement at Alpine for 2023 onward, only for the young man to contradict that on Twitter, revealing this evening (Tuesday August 2nd), “I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.”
And with a single brief statement, the story has been turned on its head. From this point, conjecture and supposition build and accelerate into self-perpetuating spin, with arguments based on thin air and gut feeling; neither of which have any link to the parties involved.
No matter what way one examines this development, it is a very brave move by Piastri. There had been some speculation that the Australian had been in discussions with McLaren to replace Daniel Ricciardo, although that matter is complicated by the fact that Ricciardo has insisted that he is remaining with the Woking team, despite his poor efforts this year.
For Piastri to make that move, Ricciardo would have to move and that is before one considers McLaren’s US-based chargers, Alex Palou, Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta.
But so much of this is speculation and once the various tales intertwine, they soon become stories for the sake of stories, joining an endless array of theory and gut feeling-based filler that says little, understand less and reveals nothing.
In the next few days, we may hear lots about options that may or may not have been actioned prior to July 31st (a common option date in the calendar year) and how those options – whether actioned or not – may further turn the 2023 Formula One driver line-up on its head.
One race winner and later F1 driver would, occasionally, use his trophy to satisfy certain urges publicly.
A heady mix of a highly regarded and expensive, yet struggling driver, alongside the availability of a cache of youthful exuberance may be about to give McLaren a headache – albeit a good one, on the surface.
But are the options available as refined or as speedy as the incumbent?
“We ultimately just weren’t quick enough this weekend. So not much more to say.”
It was difficult, if not impossible for Daniel Ricciardo to hide his disappointment following the Monaco Grand Prix earlier this year.
The Australian had won there in 2018, having also come desperately close to victory in Monte Carlo two years previously, but in the principality in May, he struggled to a dismal 13th place, while his teammate – Lando Norris – secured a top six finish and the fastest lap.
It was a result that has run parallel throughout the 2022 season so far. While no challenger for the top positions, the McLaren MCL36 vies for points on a regular basis, although Norris is currently the driver who is collecting much of the prize.
There is little doubt that the Mercedes-powered machine is somewhat recalcitrant at times, but few were expecting these results from Ricciardo.
Ricciardo is no slouch though. He won the Italian Grand Prix last September, ahead of Norris, for McLaren – the team’s first victory since 2012, but even last year, Ricciardo’s inconsistent running raised eyebrows.
Having arrived from Renault (now Alpine) for the 2021 season, Ricciardo brought an expectation that he would command the Woking squad, at least while Norris garnered experience and maturity, but motorsport is littered with daring deals that shine paper, only to flatter to deceive on track. From the off, the younger Englishman has dominated his race winning counterpart and left Ricciardo with no answers.
This would be far from the first time. So much was made of Alex Zanardi’s transfer from Chip Ganassi’s CART team to Williams in 1999, only for the Italian to score no points, as he trailed team leader Ralf Schumacher. Arguably, one could point to Michael Schumacher’s big name return to Mercedes in 2012, only to flop alongside Nico Rosberg.
Indeed, McLaren have suffered this in the past when Michael Andretti and Stoffel Vandoorne both failed to resonate, despite strong reputations amidst previous successes.
Yet it would be a mistake to think Ricciardo as some slow ambassador peddling around to a quiet retirement, as Ricardo Patrese did at Benetton in 1993. Since debuting in 2011, the Australian has proved to be a fast and effective operator who has mastered the art of the surprise lunge.
Spells with Hispania Racing, Toro Rosso and Red Bull saw his reputation soar, but there is little doubt that against the might of Max Verstappen, he would have come unstuck. A move to Renault saw the Australian deliver several stellar performances in a team slowly restructuring following years of null investment, but with Fernando Alonso incoming, Ricciardo jumped to McLaren, only for his form and perception to slump.
Now more than ever, the Australian is looking backward a career peak that is floating further and further away. The well-known wide smile and unerring grin – once such common features – are now shadows, and Ricciardo is looking more and more like a man ill at ease with the task ahead, as the names of potential suitors ring louder.
Emerging from Indycar are three stars that could play into the second seat at McLaren – Colton Herta, Pato O’Ward and Alex Palou, although the latter not without a smidgen of controversy.
As it stands, neither Herta nor O’Ward have qualified for an FIA Super Licence (Herta requires a top-five at the end of this Indycar season (currently 8th) and O’Ward needs a top-four (currently 6th)). However, Palou does qualify and should McLaren wish, the Spaniard would qualify to race for the F1 team in 2023.
At this stage though, that does not appear to be the plan. Ricciardo has been keen to underline that he does possess a seat with McLaren for next year, whereas Palou’s recently announced 2023 deal places him within the McLaren Racing stable and not necessarily with any programme; however, his deal does include testing with the 2021 McLaren F1 machine; however, even that is on hold, as Chip Ganassi Racing have argued that they have Palou under contract for 2023.
Most likely, this will end up with lawyers, several reputational bloody noses, and some empty pockets.
This is not to say that Palou, Herta or O’Ward would even be quicker than Ricciardo, but McLaren have already started testing the latter pair with the MCL35M, alongside simulator drivers Will Stevens and Oliver Turvey, who is providing a critical benchmark for the Indycar racers.
Should any one of these racers move to Woking, the trio will be faced with several critical hurdles, including the ability to adapt to a series with open regulations, where development is key and adapting to an ever-changing car is critical to success and data processing and understanding, which is far more critical in Formula One than in any other racing category – Le Mans Hypercar aside.
Thus, McLaren find themselves in the midst of a holding pattern. The team are clearly looking abroad for talent to eventually sit alongside Norris once Ricciardo has left, while simultaneously catering to Ricciardo for what could be his last hurrah in the top level of single-seater racing.
Yet at they look to new power unit regulations from 2026, McLaren will be looking to continue their rebuild following a disastrous last decade and they will need a driver who can deliver week-in, week-out.
It remains to be seen if that driver can be found with Palou, Herta or O’Ward.
Sometimes, paying above the odds will get you extras that will take you beyond your rivals.
It may not always be fair, but it rarely ever is.
“It wasn’t unusual for some additional one-upmanship to occur behind the scenes [in junior formulae]. Even though all drivers could pay the same amount of money to teams, some drivers opted to pay above the going rate, so as to obtain micro-advantages.
“A bit of extra money here and there could mean the engine and gearbox get a little bit of extra love and care during post-event rebuilds.
“Sometimes it goes the other way. [Driver x’s] team had no money and it showed. By mid-season, the engine rebuilds had become functionary and basic. As other drivers paid more and more over the odds, [Driver x’s] engine performance stuttered, having been starved of the extra care others received.
“Even [Driver y] once told me that [Driver z’s] budget for tyre testing pre-season actually matched his entire season budget. With the advantage of extra clean mileage, [Driver z] was up and away, while [Driver y] was nowhere. Just how it works!”
**Update (June 28th, 2022; 5.30pm)
Since publishing, Red Bull Racing have terminated their agreement with Juri Vips, releasing him from all Red Bull-related duties.
Juri Vips’ actions during a live streamed gaming session resulted in his immediate suspension from Red Bull Racing activities, including the famed junior team.
And rightly so.
But how does one respond when one of the sport’s most respected members also commits such actions? The same, says Leigh O’Gorman.
There are occasions when a racing driver does something so astonishingly stupid, so intellectually corrupt that one is only surprised that they did not trip themselves up earlier.
Such a brutalist mindset stretches incredulity further by the use of sheer cockiness as a justification of said foolishness.
In my corner of Ireland, we call such behaviour “arseholery”.
Juri Vips’ use of painful derogatory language during a live streamed session of Call of Duty has had the stellar effect of crashing his career at the worst possible time, with Red Bull Racing responding by suspending him from all team duties.
Now halfway through his second season in Formula Two, the Estonian was looking at a future that possibly held possibilities of an F1 drive, particularly following a positive free practice run with the senior Red Bull team in Barcelona. But in a moment, course words tore those possibilities down.
Some of the reaction to Vips’ suspension on social media was interesting – indeed, most actions on social media could count as “interesting” – but let it be absolutely clear. Juri Vips is not some sheltered child, nor was his language acceptable, irrespective of the tone or proposed context.
There have been other examples of arseholery too, as explored by Nelson Piquet Sr. Footage recounted how, following the clash between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen at Silverstone last year, Piquet Sr also used derogatory language to describe Hamilton’s part in the incident. That this emerged today (June 28th, 2022) is unusual given the availability of the comments.
But the sport needs to face up to actions such as those perpetrated by Piquet Sr and Vips, so needs to play this accordingly. As it stands, the Federation have taken no action against either Piquet Sr or Vips (although the Piquet Sr revelation is recent), but if they do nothing, then it sends a woeful message to ethnic minorities inside the sport.
There will be comments eventually, followed by a declaration that says the right things, dances the right dance, sings the right song and when that is done, a hashtag will be developed to show everyone how wonderful we all are.
And once that has been signed off, we will slap ourselves on the back with such force, we will cough up our own humility and smile fractured smiles.
To Piquet, this probably matters not very much. His career ended thirty years and while he still does much to propel the careers of his sons, he does not need Formula One in which to thrive.
For Vips, the story is slightly different, as one wonders if this has helped solve a little problem for Red Bull early doors. There is no doubt that Vips is quick and an intelligent racer, but while his results are good, he is rarely outstanding.
At Baku last year, he was sublime, but that was one of few standouts in a Formula Two season that could be described as reasonable, as he claimed 6th in the standings. Staying with Hitech, a move up has been expected, but Vips looks to have stalled somewhat.
Places on the Red Bull Junior Team are precious commodities, and one could be cynical and suggest that this incident may have merely hastened the decision to remove him from the team – although that has not been confirmed.
By not setting the world alight, the world can become dim indeed and the case of Vips darker still, although all is not lost for the 21-year-old. He is not the first man to lose his way when the world is watching. NASCAR racer Kyle Larson suffered a similar incident in 2020 and was sacked by Chip Ganassi Racing, but returned to the sport last year, claiming the Cup title Hendrick Motorsport.
Prior to that, Santino Ferrucci’s cockiness got the better of him at Silverstone in 2018, which resulted in his expulsion from his Formula Two team, and also effectively side-lined his from his association with Formula One team, Haas. Like Larson, Ferrucci has found a new home in motorsport and is enjoying the fruits of redemption and success as handed out at the gates of the west.
And so, it may be with Vips. A very neatly transcribed apology on Instagram followed that spelled out conciliatory phrases in just the right way. Even more interesting were the references to self throughout Vips’ apology in which he adopted a small “i” in the mode of stylised contrition.
Along with the suspension from team duties, Red Bull announced an investigation, which is brace considering how widely available the video is, but if nothing else, it does buy them some time to decide what happens next.
While Vips might not have Formula One race potential, he had practiced with the team at Barcelona earlier this season with positive results and a title-winning squad such as Red Bull are always on the lookout for quick, intelligent drivers who can adapt to the team’s simulation programme.
So, was this the eventual end game for Vips anyway? A simulator position with the main team, in the same vein as held by Sebastien Buemi, when not racing in either Formula E or the World endurance Championship?
It’s possible and may have been the longer-term plan, but it’s now also possible that Vips’ actions have accelerated those plans, but there is certainly little chance of a Formula One race drive now – his sport’s personality brand has been tarnished, and he does not possess the red-hot raw talent to use as a bargaining chip.
There is no doubt that there are significant pockets of racism seeded into the undergrowth of our sport and that should not be a shock, but people should not be frightened to call it out when it rises to the surface.
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When news broke that Red Bull junior driver Jonny Edgar was being forced to sacrifice his Formula 3 campaign with Trident due to his worsening Crohn’s disease, a very real pang of sympathy came across me.
And I should know all about it. It’s been here with me for over thirty years.
Just imagine for a moment a long pool of water. It is crisp, it is clean, it is cool to the touch. Now open your mouth and between your lips, place a funnel and into that funnel, pour the contents of that pool and let your body fill and fill and fill.
The cool refreshment lasts only moments though and is very quickly replaced by increasing discomfort, as your body battles the surging water by bloating and bulging, while rivers press against your insides.
The water finished, your body now is unsettled, and every move brings only further discomfort and now nausea. You feel only unease and a desire to be sick, knowing for certain that no real relief is coming.
And then, your body takes a match and sets you on fire.
Deep in the pit of your stomach, the burning sensation sears – but don’t try to cry, or to wail, because often your body won’t let you. The pained sensation spreads with fearsome terror, tearing outward and ripping through your chest, robbing you of breath to the point where you can only scream through your eyes.
In an attempt to deflect the burning sensation, you will reach out a hand to grab at something, anything will do, if only embed focus and distract from a heated light-headedness.
With new fixation attained, you will breathe very heavily, but for a time that is all that will come out until – eventually – your body becomes normalised to the pain. Only now will your vocal cords signal and even then, only the most pathetic wail will raise and as you whimper, you may weep. Soon, you will feel everything and nothing and from the anguish comes numbness – you will become fog.
The hands in front of you will seem empty and distant and once light feet become stony pillars, while spinning heads pirouette, forcing you to a chair, a bed, the floor, or your knees. Often, I have felt everything and nothing while on my knees.
When it finally subsides, you will be exhausted – so wiped to the world, you can only wish to sleep and to dream.
Only then, hold your fingers tight and hope the arthritis doesn’t pinch too much, while episcleritis renders eyes wet and red.
That, to me, is Crohn’s Disease.
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*As adapted from crohnsandcolitis.org.uk, Crohn’s Disease is a condition that causes inflammation of the digestive system (also known as the gastrointestinal tract or gut), which affects the body’s ability to digest food, absorb nutrients and eliminate waste, in a healthy way. Inflammation is the body’s reaction to injury or irritation, and can cause redness, swelling and pain.
Crohn’s Disease is one of the two main forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and is sometimes described as a chronic condition. This means that it is ongoing and life-long, although you may have periods of good health (remission) as well as times when symptoms are more active (relapses or flare-ups). In many people the disease runs a benign course with few flare-ups, while other people may have more severe disease. Crohn’s Disease is not infectious.
As well as affecting the lining of the bowel, Crohn’s may also penetrate deeper into the bowel wall causing abscesses and fistulas (abnormal tracts or passages between organs such as between two sections of bowel, or the bowel and skin).
Crohn’s is a very individual condition, and some people may remain well for a long time, even for many years, while others may have more frequent flare-ups. Symptoms may range from mild to severe, and will vary from person to person; however, the most common symptoms during a flare-up are:
Abdominal pain and diarrhoea: Sometimes mucus, pus or blood is mixed with the diarrhoea;
Tiredness and fatigue: This can be due to the illness itself, from the weight loss associated with flare-ups or surgery, from anaemia (see below) or to a lack of sleep if you have to keep getting up in the night with pain or diarrhoea;
Feeling generally unwell: Some people may have a raised temperature and feel feverish;
Mouth ulcers;
Loss of appetite and weight loss: Weight loss can also be due to the body not absorbing nutrients from the food you eat because of the inflammation in the gut;
Anaemia (a reduced level of red blood cells): You are more likely to develop anaemia if you are losing blood, are not eating much, or your body is not fully absorbing the nutrients from the food you do eat. Anaemia can make you feel very tired.
As well as that, Crohn’s can cause the following issues:
Joints: Inflammation of the joints, often known as arthritis, is a common complication of Crohn’s Disease;
Skin: Crohn’s can also cause skin problems. The most common skin problem is erythema nodosum, which consists of raised tender red or violet swellings 1.5cm in diameter, usually on the legs. More rarely, a condition called pyoderma gangrenosum, which starts as small tender blisters or pustules, which become painful, deep ulcers. These can occur anywhere on the skin, but most commonly appear on the shins or near stomas. Another skin condition associated with Crohn’s Disease is Sweet’s Syndrome, where tender red nodules appear on the upper limbs, face and neck, sometimes with a fever;
Eyes: Eye problems affect some people with Crohn’s. The most common condition is episcleritis, which affects the layer of tissue covering the sclera, the white outer coating of the eye, making it red, sore and inflamed. The two other eye conditions linked with Crohn’s are scleritis (inflammation of the sclera itself) and uveitis (inflammation of the iris). These conditions are a lot more serious and can lead to loss of vision if not treated;
Bones: People with Crohn’s are more at risk of developing thinner and weaker bones;
Kidneys: People with Crohn’s Disease have an increased risk of developing kidney stones. This can be due to inflammation in the small bowel causing fat malabsorption, so the fat binds to calcium, leaving a molecule called oxalate free to be absorbed and deposited in the kidneys where it can form stones. Symptoms of kidney stones include pain, nausea, vomiting and blood in the urine.
Liver: Some complications are related to the liver and its function. About one in three people with Crohn’s develop gallstones. These are small stones made of cholesterol which may get trapped in the gallbladder, just beneath the liver, and can be very painful. Some of the drugs used to treat Crohn’s (for example, azathioprine and methotrexate) may affect the liver;
Blood circulation: People with Crohn’s are more than twice as likely to develop blood clots, including DVT (deep vein thrombosis) in the legs, and pulmonary embolisms in the lungs.
[Living with Crohn’s] depends on the severity of your condition and whether your disease is in a quiet or active phase.
With medication, many people with Crohn’s have mild and infrequent symptoms of diarrhoea and pain, and their illness may not affect their lives very much. Most people follow a course of intermittent relapses (flare-ups) with periods of well-being (remission) in between, when they are able to lead a full and complete working and social life. Less commonly, some people have more frequent or continuous symptoms in spite of medical and surgical treatment and have to adapt their lifestyle considerably.
At present there is no cure for Crohn’s, but drugs, and sometimes surgery, can give long periods of relief from symptoms.
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After an acrimonious three months, Formula One looks to move into a new era fresh from the criticisms of last season.
But are these heightened tensions not part and parcel of hugely evocative fight?
There was a delight in switching over to watch the first practice session of the 2022 Formula One season yesterday.
Having previously written about the clumsy manner in which last season ended and the haphazard manner in which the promoter and sport authority handled the situation, it finally felt as if everything could move forward.
Frankly, there were also far more important things going on in life and the world to give too much heed to the various hashtags, which aimed to delete events in Abu Dhabi. Alas, the world does not work that way and neither does the FIA. Hockenheim 2010, this is not.
“When Race Control Becomes the Story, Then the Story is Wrong”
It is easy to understand the frustration though. The full FIA report into the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix debacle is expected today, so there is little doubt that no matter what its conclusions or recommendations, the usual threads of fixing the title will re-emerge. But this is just another echo chamber, and a supremely boring one at that.
Knowing what is coming today, I made the decision to enjoy yesterday’s action – if one can call free practice sessions “action” – for it was nice to see the cars rolling, albeit at nowhere near the limit for which they were designed and built.
With new technical regulations, new driver line-ups and new relationships, the equilibrium of the Formula One field has once again shifted and that can only be a positive.
Bahrain will never have the buzz and thrill of a Grand Prix in Melbourne’s Albert Park, but it is a better track for race action and given these new technical regulations, do not be surprised if the rate of attrition is higher too.
“The Filth and The Fury: Thoughts on Desert Finale from Afar”
The one real unknown at this point is where the competitive order of the teams sits right now. Following eight seasons of near complete Mercedes domination, last year finally gave the viewing public a year where they were consistently challenged throughout the year’s competition, although if one is to believe Friday form and the pre-season test sessions, then for the first time since 2013, Mercedes has some catching up to do.
The Honda-powered Red Bull team still appear to sit at the forefront, but thankfully, Ferrari have the Austrian team in their sights. And yet, that was only practice. This is another day and with it, there are new stories to be told.
Sometimes such extremes of competition bleed into aggression and tension on track and when the spoils are so great, not even the best drivers can avoid crossing the line. One only needs to look at Silverstone and Monza last year to see how that can develop.
Let’s just hope they do not all get swallowed up in the recriminations of December.
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*Update:
Several hours after this was posted, Kevin Magnussen was announced as the replacement for Nikita Mazepin at Haas. It is believed Pietro Fittipaldi remains as reserve driver.
(March 9th, 2022, 6pm)
There hangs a desperation around the desire to hump a key announcement before all others do, especially when that burst of news comes not from one’s own fingertips, but rather through the work of others.
And then, only to find that it is wrong.
At this juncture, as of 10am on Wednesday March 9th, 2022, it can be confirmed that Pietro Fittipaldi has not yet been confirmed as the replacement for the dumped Nikita Mazepin at the Haas F1 team.
In fact, nobody has. Not that one would get that impression from many of the popular outlets online.
There is an issue of trust when it comes to reporting news or updates, but all too often a thrust through one’s timeline ends up being a doom scroll through a field of copyists and guesswork.
Even before Mazepin had been dropped by Haas, there were rumbling stories that Fittipaldi was to replace the Russian, but none of these stories were based on anything remotely solid. There was certainly nothing that one could reasonably use as a back-up for a news story.
Following the split with Mazepin, team owner Gene Haas spoke to the Associated Press regarding potential replacements but wouldn’t reveal any specifics. “We’re in the process of looking at several candidates. We’ll see who is available and what we have to deal with, but we’ll have somebody by Wednesday [today].”
“Is Nikita Mazepin Good Enough for F1? Well, That’s Complicated…” (March 29th, 2021)
With the next pre-season test at Bahrain kicking off tomorrow, the Haas twitter account posted a picture of the Brazilian driving at the circuit in 2020 – an image that further fuelled belief that Fittipaldi would have the race seat this year.
While it is easy to add two plus two, the answer in this instance may be five – or any number other than four for that matter. Haas confirmed that Fittipaldi would be testing in Bahrain, but despite having raced with the team twice in 2020, the team boss said that race experience would be of higher value. “I think we’d obviously like to get someone with a bit more actual experience. We just have to see what’s available.”
Using this picture as confirmation is not enough to warrant a story and can be very misleading. Just because something appears to make sense does not mean it will happen.
On top of that, the biography on Fittipaldi’s own Twitter page states that he is a Haas F1 Driver, which is true – Fittipaldi has actually been a driver with Haas F1 since November 2018, although a vast majority of that time has been spent as simulator driver with the team.
As a note, his biography also states that he is an Indycar driver, a role that he has dipped in and out of in recent seasons, but not for 2022. Much of Fittipaldi’s Twitter output relates to news related to the racing exploits of his younger brother, Enzo. Alas, a Twitter biography – updated or otherwise – is not confirmation.
There was also a message on the Instagram page of one of Haas’s secondary sponsors, Home Deluxe, where they wished the Haas drivers Mick Schumacher and Pietro Fittipaldi luck for the 2022 season. This was also a false flag.
Home Deluxe’s sponsorship deal with Haas is not dependant on the presence of either Mazepin or Fittipaldi, so their declaration should not be taken as a given. Also, as a secondary sponsor, it is unlikely that Home Deluxe would necessarily be in the fold when it comes to news of driver changes.
If anything, the post may have caused a touch of friction, as the team could, not unreasonably, see the post as an overstep by the sponsor – it has since been deleted. Seeing as how none of the regular publishers ran the story based on the post, one should assume they contacted Haas very quickly for clarification and received none – and this is where we are now.
Interestingly, in the meantime, rumours have emerged from Danish media that Kevin Magnussen is high on the list to replace Mazepin – rumours that have since been chased by the likes Sky, BBC, etc., but beyond that, there is nothing so solid as to lean on.
“Cowering Under the Hard Dark Light of Money” (March 2nd, 2022)
Contacts are important and while it may be fun to play the role of journalist, there are rules to follow, whether they be ethical or professional.
Building relationships with people in paddocks and the sport is critical to making this endeavour work. By doing so, a pathway can be created whereby information can be clarified, corrected, confirmed, or denied.
For safety and accuracy, posting “news” without proof of confirmation or information from trusted sources is representative of poor judgement and desperation. Even if a story published without confirmation or sources pans out, then it will have far more to do with guesswork and luck, than being correct.
If one is guessing, winging it or is merely regurgitating the work of others and passing it off as your own, then just stop.
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Formula One announced today that it has terminated its contract with the Russian Grand Prix promoter.
It is a move that not only seals the fate of the final race at Sochi, but also kills the follow-up events at Igora Autodrom. But they did take their time.
Following Tuesday’s press release acknowledging decision made during an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council, I acknowledged that the status of the Russian Grand Prix had been kicked down the road.
By stating that upon the proposal of the F1 Commercial Rights Holder (Feb 25th), cancellation of the 2022 Russian F1 Grand Prix for reason of Force Majeure would be implemented with immediate effect, the FIA left it to the promoter to hammer in the final nail.
“Cowering Under the Hard Dark Light of Money” (March 2nd 2022)
Utilising the reason of Force Majeure effectively released the sport of its obligations, not that any other option was possible of course.
The delay in bringing this decision to pass had more to do with solicitors getting their ducks in a row than anything else and, sadly, that quite telling describes the thought map of the sport, which revolves around the concept of saying the right, while ensuring litigation can be held at bay.
Actions speak louder than words, but not all of those actions are positive ones.
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Statements have limited value when they are torn apart by flimsy actions. Or in the case of the FIA’s latest statements, flimsy inaction.
At a time when the top rank in motorsport has taken a repeated beating, the FIA’s weak response has been sad and embarrassing.
When statements come out on a Friday afternoon, expect the news to either be buried or for calls to go unanswered as those who answer them disappear for the weekend, particularly when the matter at hand is a contentious one.
For some weeks now, the subject of the Russian Grand Prix has proved a tricky one and difficult to fully appreciate, but as troops and armaments pressed on to re-engage an eight-year invasion of Ukraine that had started in the Crimea, Russia’s position as a violent and oppressive power came into greater focus.
Their push forward into Ukrainian territory on Thursday (February 24th) instigated a backlash that has resulted in the order of further sanctions and the shunning of commercial, sporting, and cultural propositions.
It did not end there of course. There were then the very public shunning of sponsors, so intertwined with the Putin regime, they may as well have been sowed into his pockets forever. Some applauded the bravery of such decisions; more astute heads questioned how those deals came to be in the first place…
And so, it was last Friday (February 25th), Formula One Group announced that, “We are watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock and hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation.” They continued, “On Thursday evening, Formula 1, the FIA, and the teams discussed the position of our sport, and the conclusion is, including the view of all relevant stakeholders, that it is impossible to hold the Russian Grand Prix in the current circumstances.”
It was a nothing statement – the words of a sport that was happy to host Vladimir Putin on the podium for several events before he became bored and handed the job of awarding trophies to a well-positioned lackey.
This was the kind of release that contains many words but says ultimately nothing – because when read closely, one may acknowledge that the statement was a view and not an official action. And so, there followed numerous reports that the Russian Grand Prix had been cancelled, when it had not.
If one were to be blunt, it could be said that the statement kicked the can down the road in the hope that the situation improved in the short term. By September, things would have cleared up, the mess set aside, and all would be forgiven and forgotten.
But that clearly has not happened. And it won’t happen. If anything, Europe could be about to witness the worst brutalisation on this continent’s shores since the Srebrenica genocide in the mid-90s.
Motor sport does, on occasion, possess something of a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy. The sport races in some wonderful destinations that offer much to the world, while simultaneously dipping toes into territories that require relationship building with governments steeped in terror.
And so, Russia – and others – populated the 2022 Formula One calendar, or at least Russia used to. On late Monday night (February 28th), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the newly elected FIA President, published a tweet stating that an extraordinary meeting of the World Motor Sport Council was to take place the following day to further discuss matters in Ukraine.
Come Tuesday night, several decisions had been made – albeit few of much significance, although it did state that upon the proposal of the F1 Commercial Rights Holder (see Feb 25th release), cancellation of the 2022 Russian F1 Grand Prix for reason of Force Majeure would be implemented with immediate effect.
In the release, Ben Sulayem began by stating, “The FIA is watching the developments in Ukraine with sadness and shock, and I hope for a swift and peaceful resolution to the present situation. We condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and our thoughts are with all those suffering as a result of the events in Ukraine.”
Updated versions of several FIA schedules are set to be presented to the WMSC council for approval in Bahrain this month. Ben Sulayem continued, “I would like to stress that the FIA, together with our promoters, proactively acted on this matter last week and communicated accordingly on the Formula 1, Formula 2, WTCR and the International Drifting Cup.” How one views such that declaration of proactivity is entirely up to them.
There were several other fairly standard declarations in the release. In accordance with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) recommendations, no international or national competition is to take place in Russia and Belarus – this does not discount the status either of these country’s ASN’s but does effectively bar them from sanctioning events.
As an aside, representatives from Russian and Belarusian FIA Members are to step aside from their roles and responsibilities, while no existing or new FIA grant is to be awarded to the Russian/Belarusian FIA Members, although this is still subject to the approval of the World Council for Automobile Mobility and Tourism.
The declaration also says that no Russian or Belarusian national team can participate in competitions. Admittedly, at first, I misread this, thinking it was a reference to Russian or Belarusian team; it is actually a reference to competitions where teams are based on national identity, such as FIA Motorsport Games. The likes of G-Drive, Artline Engineering, Kamaz, Lada Sport, Full in Race Academy and Lukoil Racing (etc.) will still be able to participate in their various categories, as long as the money continues to roll in – but that is another matter.
Where the FIA did deviate from the IOC is with regards to competitor participation. According to the FIA statement, drivers from Belarus and Russia will be allowed to race under a neutral FIA flag, as long as they adhere to the FIA’s principles of peace and political neutrality.
This does differ slightly from the IOC recommendations, as released on Monday, which states that International Sports Federations and sports event organisers must not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions, which – had the FIA implemented this – would have banned Russian and Belarusian drivers and teams from motorsport competition that is sanctioned by the FIA or national bodies that operate under the FIA.
In contrast to the FIA, Britain’s motorsport authority – MotorsportUK – has decided to side with the IOC recommendations, by suspending competitors or officials who operate under Russian and Belarusian licences, effectively ruling the likes of Nikita Mazepin out of the British Grand Prix.
According to Dave Richards, the Chair of MotorsportUK, “It is our duty to use whatever influence and leverage we might have to bring this wholly unjustified invasion of Ukraine to a halt.”
Richards continued, “We would encourage the motorsport community and our colleagues around the world to fully embrace the recommendations of the International Olympic Committee and do whatever we can to end this war.” That one of motorsport’s national bodies has felt the desire to step out in such a way further embarrasses the FIA.
The IOC ruling does possess caveat whereby competitors from banned territories can compete wherever such an action is “not possible on short notice for organisational or legal reasons,” at which point, “the IOC EB strongly urges International Sports Federations and organisers of sports events worldwide to do everything in their power to ensure that no athlete or sports official from Russia or Belarus be allowed to take part under the name of Russia or Belarus.”
Finally, no Russian or Belarusian national symbols, colours, flags, or anthems should be displayed or performed at motorsport events.
The FIA President added: “I want to thank the Council members for their prompt action in deciding these measures in the interests of sport and peace. We stand in solidarity with Leonid Kostyuchenko, the President of the Federation Automobile d’Ukraine (FAU) and the wider FIA family in the country.
“The measures taken today recognise the authority of the FAU in Ukraine and are also aligned with the recommendations recently made by the International Olympic Committee. We are in active discussions with our members as we continue to extend our compassion and support in their time of need. We sincerely hope for a peaceful resolution to their intolerable hardship.”
Words are nice, but in the end, they are just words.
Grand Prix racing as a whole does not have the best of histories when it comes to competitions in deplorable regimes. This was a sport that continued to race in South Africa for twenty-two years after the IOC barred the nation from Olympic representation, and even then, Formula One’s hand was forced not by the FIA or FISA, but rather the teams, as Renault and Ligier withdrew, while several sponsors demanded to be removed from cars for the race.
This year, Formula One will continue to race on in countries led by autocratic regimes or with deeply questionable human rights. It races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Abu Dhabi and, from next year, Qatar’s new contract begins, while it is thought the Chinese Grand Prix will return to the fold and in time, Russia will return to the table too.
Formula One takes the money and hides and when the time is right, it adopts the right words and the right pleasantries, but struggles to match those words with action or authority.
As I write this, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is delivering his best lamentable efforts in Prime Minister Questions and it reminds me that at a time of great horror, the world continues to play politics, as if it is a board game. Yet actions have consequences and the deals we do or are done in our name have consequences too.
Our world spins upon the colour and scent of money, but in the end, money dripped in blood is still money. The value, however, is tainted forever.
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The conclusion of Sunday’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix left a sour taste in the mouths of many Formula One fans – particularly those who follow Mercedes.
But it really did not have to be this way.
From a very distant London, there was a very real sense of bewilderment as the chequered flag dropped at the Yas Marina circuit.
Max Verstappen’s last dash overtake of Lewis Hamilton to win the 2021 Formula One title came with a large smattering of disbelief, considering he had been roundly beaten by Hamilton during the race.
The circumstances of Sunday’s race have been well worn and explained elsewhere, but the thinking behind it has not. There are theories – plausible theories – that the promoters and / or the governing body desperately wanted this showdown to finish under green conditions, but the indecision from race control unravelled that possibility.
By bringing Verstappen in for tyres during the safety car period, Red Bull played the scenario correctly, but it was the only option left open to them and one made given that a majority of safety car periods see all lapped cars removed from the runners on the lead lap.
On the other hand, given Race Control’s reticence to remove the lapped cars in an effort to get the race going again, it is understandable to see why Mercedes played the conservative game. With five cars splitting Hamilton and Verstappen, there is no way the Mercedes racer would have lost the title.
But then minds changed.
The result is now solidified, an inquiry has been announced and any potential appeal by Mercedes has been dropped, but a clearly angry Toto Wolff – Mercedes Team Principal – sees the inquiry as an opportunity to hold the FIA to account.
Such is their fury, neither Wolff nor Hamilton plan to attend tonight’s FIA Prizegiving gala, with the team’s Chief Technical Officer, James Allison, collecting the Constructors’ Championship trophy in Wolff’s place. Mercedes also opted to not send its Formula One or Formula E cars for display at the gala event.
The injury is not necessarily the result, but rather the level and quality of the decision making from race control. The err created a scenario that allowed a deeply unfair battle to take place on the final lap, but perhaps even that is too kind.
The final lap was demonstration in the difference between old and tyre compounds which sat at opposing ends of Pirelli’s available range. To call it a one lap shoot-out would be akin to arming Verstappen with a pistol, while Hamilton’s weapon would be caterpillar. Race control may not play favourites, but their actions greenlighted a favourite.
As a sidenote, the other issue was the unnecessary loss of ground for Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz, who while running 3rd, missed an opportunity for a win, while Yuki Tsunoda would surely have put himself in contention for a podium had a grander opportunity been made available.
Given Verstappen’s fresh soft tyres, the likelihood of either Hamilton or Sainz ever genuinely challenging the Dutch racer was always low, but the tyre factor did much to kill the race and the championship with half a lap remaining.
There is an old saying that ‘all publicity is good publicity.’ Perhaps some, but maybe not all.
And that is what wrangles. The opportunity was not there: by siphoning off the leading pair, Race Control created a contrived and false scenario, which was always going to be unsatisfactory solution designed to appeal to Formula One’s commercial masters.
It goes without saying that both Verstappen and Hamilton would have been worthy champions, but it is Verstappen’s name that sits upon the record books.
As for Race Director Michael Masi, he is under fire, as his reputation takes a significant hit. There is the caveat of an FIA Presidential election taking place tomorrow and there are no guarantees that whoever replaces the outgoing Jean Todt won’t take action and make swift decisions as to the make-up of Formula One’s Race Control team.
Yet there is little doubt that this episode has greatly damaged the image of the sport for many, but don’t bet on it harming viewing figures. If anything, the controversy and the tension may see 2022 becoming an even better year for Formula One’s commercial prospects, but there is no guarantee that Formula One’s sporting integrity will have escaped unscathed.
And that is a shame.
Recently, I asked a sport psychologist this question:
‘In terms of criticism from the media that athletes do face, so does it have any useful basis if it comes from a non-professional?’
“Possibly. I think having context of the sport can be helpful, because you can relate to some of the experiences and build that empathy with them.
“[An ex-professional] can probably understand some of the unique challenges that come with being an elite sportsperson. There are inevitably stresses in every work, a different set of stresses and challenges that come with it, so being able to recognise and appreciate them [helps].
“Equally, the sports that I have worked in, sometimes that naivety is really helpful, because you can ask different questions and be really curious without any bias, prejudices, prior knowledge and curiosity is a really important value to have. There can be pros and cons.”
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