Alas these things are to be done for starting this year, I will be blogging the British Formula 3 Championship – mostly from the track, rendering this blog’s tagline (The Past, Present and Future of Speed from my TV Set) slightly out of date.
Unfortunately, the fact that I do not drive (at the moment) has left at the mercy of public transport, although considering the costs involved in owning a car right now, it is questionable if I am losing out that much.
Today means Silverstone for the F3 media day, which means London to Milton Keynes to Northampton to Silverstone Village to the circuit, via an assortment of trains, buses and slow pedestrianism.
Deep down, a train that dropped to the door of each and every circuit would be absolutely lovely, if maybe a little unrealistic. Therefore, the next few weeks will be all about planning while I work out how to get to and from every circuit. It’s been some time since I last had to do this, but it would seem it is time to start memorising train and bus timetables again.
Grosjean may need to win in Imola. © GP2 Media Services.
Once the second and third rounds of the 2011 GP2 Asia season were cancelled, the series was in a lurch.
With only one round completed, the credibility of this year’s GP2 Asia Series would have been shot, especially when it is not nearly considered a necessity when running its full distance.
Initially this year’s brief championship would have only seen one visit to Abu Dhabi, followed by two race weekends in Bahrain.
Had it not been for the début of the GP2/11 chassis, it is questionable as to whether the field would have been quite so enthralling, raising further questions as to the usefulness of the series.
Times are difficult and economies are still strained, making budgets for the three-round calendar tough to string together and even tougher to sell.
An international motor racing series that only comprises of two or three rounds simply doesn’t cut it in theses recessional times. Considering Bernie Ecclestone’s comments last month that “it’s the Asian series, so it’s not terribly important“, one wonders how many think of GP2 Asia in the same way.
The second and final round of the GP2 Asia Series will take place in the Italian circuit of Imola from March 18th – 20th. Ferrari junior driver, Jules Bianchi currently leads Romain Grosjean in the standings, with Davide Valsecchi, Marcus Ericsson and Josef Kral trailing not far behind.
Circuit Paul Ricard.
Much clearer skies welcomed the GP3 runners at the Circuit Paul Ricard yesterday as the second day of pre-season testing got underway.
The better, although cool weather, instantly brought the benefit of more running the drivers, which saw a number of pilots finish the day just shy of the 100 lap mark.
Nico Muller topped the morning for Jenzer motorsport with a fastest lap of 1:20.896 – indeed it would prove to be the quickest turn of the entire day; however the Swiss teenager was not alone at the front of the pack. RSC Mücke Motorsport runners Nigel Melker and Michael Christensen fell just shy of Muller and were also just short of 50 laps in their respective stints.
After having a tough time in the damp conditions on Thursday, MW Arden’s Simon Trummer showed some speed with the 4th quickest lap. The 21-year-old completed 53 laps before lunch as he edged Antonio Felix da Costa out of the lead foursome.
Young Kiwi Mitch Evans also showed well yesterday with the 6th best time. The 16-year-old returned from down under recently after winning the New Zealand Grand Prix at Manfeild Autocourse and is determined to challenge for this year’s title.
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs had another good session in his Manor Dallara, pipping the Status GP driver, Alexander Sims to 7th place in the standings. They were followed by a third British driver in the form of Lewis Williamson, who secured 9th on the sheets with a best of 1:21.291.
Aaro Vainio completed the top-ten for Tech-1 Racing. The Eurocup Formula Renault graduate ran 44 laps before the break, managing to keep more experienced heads such as Pedro Nunes (11th, Lotus-ART), Daniel Morad (21st, Addax) and Marlon Stockinger (22nd, Atech CRS) out of the frame.
Following lunch, Alexander Sims returned to the top of the time sheets, but only just – his quickest lap of 1:20.898 was only seven-hundredths quicker than Mitch Evans’ fastest tour. Unfortunately for Evans, the New Zealand native could only manage 34 laps during the afternoon, whereas most runners seemed content to run more than 45 laps.
Next up were Nico Muller (3rd) and Antonio Felix da Costa (4th), showing again that their turn of speed is no fluke. Even in these early days, the stage is being set for possible championship contenders. Behind the top-four, Daniel Morad had a better afternoon, as he took his Addax Dallara to 5th in the timesheets, but only several thousandths of a second quicker than Nigel Melker – another driver that is showing consistently fast times.
Simon Trummer and Valtteri Bottas recorded identical quickest times during the afternoon, leaving them 7th and 8th respectively, with Trummer getting the nod as he set his lap first. Behind them Lewis Williamson again broke into the top-ten, albeit nearly half-a-second down on Sims, while Matias Laine visited the top-ten for the first time for Manor with a best of 1:21.405.
Initially Britain’s James Calado had topped the times, but it was discovered that the Lotus-ART driver had skipped the chicane on his way to recording his quickest lap. His fastest times deleted, Calado dropped to 18th on the sheets, with his “old best” some eight-tenths down on Sims.
With two days of running completed at the Circuit Paul Ricard, the GP3 teams break up until the end of this month, where they will reconvene for a three day test at the Silverstone Grand Prix track in Northamptonshire.
Morning Times:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Nico Muller Jenzer 1m20.896s 54 2. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke 1m20.982s + 0.086s 43 3. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke 1m20.998s + 0.102s 46 4. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1m21.122s + 0.226s 53 5. Antonio Felix da Costa Status 1m21.158s + 0.262s 48 6. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1m21.192s + 0.296s 57 7. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Manor 1m21.243s + 0.347s 39 8. Alexander Sims Status 1m21.288s + 0.392s 47 9. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1m21.291s + 0.395s 58 10. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 1m21.464s + 0.568s 44 11. Pedro Nunes ART 1m21.580s + 0.684s 37 12. Matias Laine Manor 1m21.582s + 0.686s 41 13. Valtteri Bottas ART 1m21.711s + 0.815s 53 14. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 1m21.720s + 0.824s 33 15. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS 1m21.740s + 0.844s 55 16. Tom Dillmann Carlin 1m21.752s + 0.856s 58 17. Maxim Zimin Jenzer 1m21.762s + 0.866s 49 18. Gabby Chaves Addax 1m21.772s + 0.876s 50 19. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer 1m21.773s + 0.877s 50 20. Doru Sechelariu Tech 1 1m21.833s + 0.937s 58 21. Daniel Morad Addax 1m21.866s + 0.970s 58 22. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS 1m21.996s + 1.100s 56 23. James Calado ART 1m22.063s + 1.167s 32 24. Conor Daly Carlin 1m22.168s + 1.272s 59 25. Bruno Mendez Addax 1m22.301s + 1.405s 64 26. Willi Steindl RSC Mucke 1m22.328s + 1.432s 52 27. Rio Haryanto Manor 1m22.447s + 1.551s 45 28. Ivan Lukashevich Status 1m22.812s + 1.916s 19 29. Kotaro Sakurai Carlin 1m23.058s + 2.162s 49 30. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS 1m23.204s + 2.308s 38
Afternoon Times:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Alexander Sims Status 1m20.898s 56 2. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1m20.969s + 0.071s 34 3. Nico Muller Jenzer 1m21.110s + 0.212s 43 4. Antonio Felix da Costa Status 1m21.128s + 0.230s 49 5. Daniel Morad Addax 1m21.189s + 0.291s 40 6. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke 1m21.204s + 0.306s 27 7. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1m21.254s + 0.356s 32 8. Valtteri Bottas ART 1m21.254s + 0.356s 37 9. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1m21.341s + 0.443s 42 10. Matias Laine Manor 1m21.405s + 0.507s 39 11. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Manor 1m21.408s + 0.510s 41 12. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke 1m21.464s + 0.566s 44 13. Gabby Chaves Addax 1m21.464s + 0.566s 33 14. Tom Dillmann Carlin 1m21.548s + 0.650s 35 15. Bruno Mendez Addax 1m21.549s + 0.651s 38 16. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 1m21.671s + 0.773s 40 17. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 1m21.680s + 0.782s 48 18. James Calado ART 1m21.735s + 0.837s 47 19. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS 1m21.797s + 0.899s 46 20. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS 1m21.808s + 0.910s 43 21. Willi Steindl RSC Mucke 1m21.861s + 0.963s 45 22. Maxim Zimin Jenzer 1m21.938s + 1.040s 47 23. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer 1m21.951s + 1.053s 38 24. Pedro Nunes ART 1m21.955s + 1.057s 40 25. Doru Sechelariu Tech 1 1m21.967s + 1.069s 32 26. Rio Haryanto Manor 1m22.003s + 1.105s 48 27. Conor Daly Carlin 1m22.225s + 1.327s 37 28. Ivan Lukashevich Status 1m22.267s + 1.369s 46 29. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS 1m22.371s + 1.473s 39 30. Kotaro Sakurai Carlin 1m22.560s + 1.662s 51
Circuit Paul Ricard in southern France.
For the first time since last November, the GP3 paddock yesterday convened for their first pre-season test at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
Admittedly, the runners would probably have appreciated finer weather, but regardless as the field took to circuit, the southern French track was damp and cool. The sly conditions were not enough to dampen the spirits of the collected drivers and despite a tentative start, many runners started clocking laps quickly.
Briton’s Alexander Sims was first to hit paydirt as the Status Grand Prix driver topped the morning with a quickest lap of 1:21.827 in the dying moments of the session. Track conditions remained difficult and none were capable of overtaking Sims’ time; however several did come close.
Indeed it was Sims’ Status GP teammate, Antonio Felix da Costa that came closest. The Portuguese native concluded a 34 lap early run, with a best lap that fell 0.086 shy of Sims.
Gabby Chaves was the first non-Status GP car on the timesheet, but following his 49 lap stint, the Addax driver finished a quarter-of-a-second off the ultimate pace. Next up was MW Arden’s Formula Renault graduate, Lewis Williamson, who took 4th after a half-century of laps, one-tenth ahead of GP3 “veteran” Miki Monras.
Another ex-Formula Renault driver, Tamas P’al Kiss claimed 6th spot with a best lap of 1:22.488 in his Tech-1 Racing machine – the Hungarian was the last to be within one second of Sims’ pace.
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs was 7th in his Manor racing Dallara, nudging ahead of Ivan Lukashevich (8th, Status GP), Tom Dillmann (9th Carlin) and Vittorio Ghirelli (10th, Carlin). Reigning Star Mazda Champion, Conor Daly just missed out on the top-ten by 0.098 of-a-second, but the Irish-American kept himself busy with a 40 lap turn before breaking off for lunch.
Unfortunately, while the rain held station during the break, it could no longer do so upon the afternoon. With trepidation, the clouds gathered ahead, grey and threatening, before turning their contents onto the circuit below.
Several cars got in times before sense dictated that this was no longer a session for slick tyres; however the Lotus-ART of James Calado managed one relatively quick lap, before even his times began to sink.
A number of other drivers decided to use the afternoon as a wet weather test, pushing both the Pirelli tyres and the extremes of their talents, while a few others chose to stay put with their engineers and discuss what they had learned in the morning.
Running in damp conditions can indeed be very trying, especially during testing, simply due to the lack of stability the constantly changing conditions afford. For example, Miki Monras – a top-five pacesetter in the morning – took the afternoon’s bottom slot, some 14.6 seconds shy of Calado’s quickest turn.
For the record, Lukashevich secured 2nd on the timing sheets after a 30 lap run, albeit 1.1 seconds slower than Calado, with Williamson (3rd, 18 laps), Quaife-Hobbs (4th, 33 laps) and Dillmann (5th, 35 laps)
Conor Daly was the busiest runner of the afternoon, completing a 45 lap session on the way to 6th fastest. Daly headed off Williams Formula 1 junior driver Valtteri Bottas by a mere 0.007 of-a-second, with da Costa (8th) and Sims (9th) close by. Nigel Melker clocked 41 laps on his way to 10th for RSC Mücke Motorsport – he, like everyone else, will be looking for improvements as the test continues.
Morning Session:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Alexander Sims Status 1m21.827s 2. Antonio Felix da Costa Status 1m21.913s + 0.086s 3. Gabby Chaves Addax 1m22.067s + 0.240s 4. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1m22.221s + 0.394s 5. Miki Monras Addax 1m22.375s + 0.548s 6. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 1m22.488s + 0.661s 7. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Manor 1m22.870s + 1.043s 8. Ivan Lukashevich Status 1m22.931s + 1.104s 9. Tom Dillmann Carlin 1m23.034s + 1.207s 10. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer 1m23.180s + 1.353s 11. Conor Daly Carlin 1m23.278s + 1.451s 12. Daniel Morad Addax 1m23.668s + 1.841s 13. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS 1m23.993s + 2.166s 14. Kataro Sakurai Carlin 1m24.959s + 3.132s 15. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS 1m25.017s + 3.190s 16. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS 1m26.584s + 4.757s 17. Valtteri Bottas ART 1m27.312s + 5.485s 18. James Calado ART 1m27.779s + 5.952s 19. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 1m27.868s + 6.041s 20. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke 1m28.207s + 6.380s 21. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke 1m28.299s + 6.472s 22. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1m28.363s + 6.536s 23. Rio Haryanto Manor 1m28.520s + 6.693s 24. Maxim Zimin Jenzer 1m28.830s + 7.003s 25. Doru Sechelariu Tech 1 1m29.150s + 7.323s 26. Matias Laine Manor 1m31.104s + 9.277s 27. Nico Muller Jenzer 1m31.823s + 9.996s 28. Willi Steindl RSC Mucke 1m32.335s + 10.508s 29. Pedro Nunes ART 1m33.284s + 11.457s 30. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1m33.645s + 11.818s
Afternoon Session:
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. James Calado ART 1m24.627s 2. Ivan Lukashevich Status 1m25.795s + 1.168s 3. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1m25.798s + 1.171s 4. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Manor 1m25.966s + 1.339s 5. Tom Dillmann Carlin 1m26.024s + 1.397s 6. Conor Daly Carlin 1m26.085s + 1.458s 7. Valtteri Bottas ART 1m26.092s + 1.465s 8. Antonio Felix da Costa Status 1m26.109s + 1.482s 9. Alexander Sims Status 1m26.198s + 1.571s 10. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke 1m26.567s + 1.940s 11. Daniel Morad Addax 1m26.632s + 2.005s 12. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS 1m26.794s + 2.167s 13. Maxim Zimin Jenzer 1m26.895s + 2.268s 14. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer 1m27.349s + 2.722s 15. Nico Müller Jenzer 1m27.479s + 2.852s 16. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke 1m27.679s + 3.052s 17. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS 1m27.994s + 3.367s 18. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS 1m28.623s + 3.996s 19. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 1m29.390s + 4.763s 20. Kataro Sakurai Carlin 1m29.923s + 5.296s 21. Matias Laine Manor 1m34.554s + 9.927s 22. Rio Haryanto Manor 1m35.164s + 10.537s 23. Willi Steindl RSC Mucke 1m35.203s + 10.576s 24. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1m37.480s + 12.853s 25. Gabby Chaves Addax 1m38.034s + 13.407s 26. Doru Sechelariu Tech 1 1m38.483s + 13.856s 27. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 1m38.545s + 13.918s 28. Pedro Nunes ART 1m38.654s + 14.027s 29. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1m38.870s + 14.243s 30. Miki Monras Addax 1m39.256s + 14.629s
Rockingham Motor Speedway
Felipe Nasr claimed the spoils at the end yesterday’s second day of British Formula 3 testing at Rockingham Motor Speedway.
The Carlin driver set a quickest lap of 1:10.586 – some four-tenths quicker than his best lap from Tuesday – as the scrubbed track wilfully gave up more and more time to the eighteen car field.
Nasr completed 82 laps throughout the day, setting his quickest tour just prior to the lunch break. The Brazilian was closely followed by three of his team mates – Kevin Magnussen (2nd, 71 laps), Carlos Huertas (3rd, 72 laps) and Rupert Svendsen-Cook (4th, 84 laps). Indeed a tantalising Championship battle is already forming as the Carlin group run close together at this early stage.
However Hitech’s latest charger, Pietro Fantin has thus far being running Nasr and his cohorts rather closely. The Brazilian edged out Jazeman Jaafar to 5th with a best of 1:10.954, with the Malaysian Jaafar pipping the next Hitech runner, Riki Christodoulou to the top-six. Formula BMW Europe Series runner-up Jack Harvey, completed a top-eight lock out for Volkswagen, although the graduate was the first driver not to break the 1:11 barrier.
Just behind Harvey, Formula 3 débutante Harry Tincknell ran to a respectable 9th in the standings, outpacing experienced British F3 hands, such as William Buller (10th, 67 laps), reigning National Champion Menasheh Idafar (11th, 78 laps), Lucas Foresti (12th, 92 laps) and Hywel Lloyd (13th, 78 laps).
Last year’s British Formula Ford Champion, Scott Pye finished the second day 14th on the time sheets, albeit 1.29 seconds down on Nasr; however the 21-year-old Australian had just enough pace to run quicker than China’s Adderly Fong (15th). This year’s sole National Championship competitor, Bart Hylkema, took 16th ahead of T Sport’s Yann Cunha and Double R Racing’s Pipo Derani.
The run up to the 2011 British Formula 3 Championship steps up a gear next week as the field pushes onto Silverstone for two days of testing.
Pos Driver Team Time 1 Felipe NASR, Carlin 1m 10.586s 2 Kevin MAGNUSSEN, Carlin 1m 10.732s 3 Carlos HUERTAS, Carlin 1m 10.792s 4 Rupert SVENDSEN-COOK, Carlin 1m 10.838s 5 Pietro FANTIN, Hitech 1m 10.925s 6 Jazeman JAAFAR, Carlin 1m 10.954s 7 Riki CHRISTODOULOU, Hitech 1m 10.984s 8 Jack HARVEY, Carlin 1m 11.261s 9 Harry TINCKNELL, Fortec 1m 11.507s 10 William BULLER, Fortec 1m 11.554s 11 Menasheh IDAFAR T-Sport 1m 11.577 12 Lucas FORESTI Fortec 1m 11.632 13 Hywel LLOYD Sino Vision 1m 11.783 14 Scott PYE Double R 1m 11.876 15 Adderly FONG Sino Vision 1m 12.188 16 Bart HYLKEMA T-Sport 1m 12.201 17 Yann CUNHA T-Sport 1m 12.402 18 Pipo DERANI Double R 1m 12.412
© Cathal McNaughton
The F1 and Motorsports Archive would like to extend best wishes to three-time Formula 1 World Champion, Jackie Stewart, who fell ill on a flight from Geneva to London yesterday afternoon.
Stewart, also one of the leading pioneers for safety in motorsports since the mid-1960’s, complained of chest pains, before temporarily slipping into unconsciousness nearing the end of his flight. The famous Scot was tended to by the airline staff and was later taken to hospital for tests.
Along with the likes of Professor Sid Watkins, Dr Steve Olvey, Dr Terry Trammell and numerous others, Stewart sought to improve the level of safety of circuits in order to ensure the survival of drivers.
Only when one sees the list of fatalities in Formula 1 in the 1960’s and 70’s alone, can one truly appreciate how safe the modern formula is. Stewart also helped to instil a safety mentality within the sport that rides high to this day.
That there have been no fatalities and relatively few serious injuries since 1994 is a testament to Stewart’s tireless work.
A legend and a hero to many; get well soon Sir Jackie.
Ecclestone was in the news again. © Gareth Watkins/EPA
With the test at Bahrain cancelled (it does not take place until next week in Barcelona) and the opening race postponed, Formula 1 has been rather shy in the news for the last seven days or so and was facing yet another week out of the spotlight.
During these instances, Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone occasionally pops up to say something to keep the media machine ticking right along and this week was no exception.
In an interview a few days ago, Ecclestone made some choice comments about the movable rear wing (some real problems there) and the possibility of racing in Bahrain in August (that could be difficult for all involved) and suddenly a story is invented. Add in a proposition of section of a Grand Prix with a designated amount of “rain fall” in order to spice things up and you have an explosive story.
It’s all nonsense of course.
In reality, rain sectors during Grand Prix is an absurd idea – just as absurd as corners with short cuts (remember that?); however a number of publications will potentially publish it, with a few choice quotes from former-racers denouncing the idea as ridiculous.
The chances are, the people writing and quoting in these stories will already know the score, fully aware that the moment a molecule of “real” news comes along, the idea of planned rain will disappear into a puff of smoke as it had never existed.
It should be interesting to see who dives head first with the “rain” story.
British F3 tested at Rockingham today.
With the season opener less than six weeks away, eighteen British Formula 3 machines settled in at Rockingham Motor Speedway for the opening test of the season.
And of the dozen-and-a-half runners, it was Carlin racer Felipe Nasr that topped the timing screens.
The Brazilian set his quickest time of 1:10.953 nearing the end of the third morning session, giving Nasr a 0.041 advantage over Colombian team mate – and rival – Carlos Huertas.
Huertas set himself up for a busy day, as he ran a total of 93 laps around the Northamptonshire circuit, just two more than Rupert Svendsen-Cook. The Englishman could do no better than a 1:11.110, but will no doubt be aiming to pip the leading pair come tomorrow’s running.
Jazeman Jaafar fell just shy of Svendsen-Cook. The Malaysian driver enjoyed a 77-lap run during the day’s five sessions as he continues to bed himself into the Volkswagen-powered machine.
Also impressing on day one was 2010 Formula BMW Europe Series runner-up, Jack Harvey. The 17-year-old secured 5th on the timing sheets with a best of 1:11.358 – more importantly, Harvey completed 89 laps in the Dallara F308 as he readies for his first Formula 3 season.
Quite ominously, all six Carlin runners featured in the top-seven, with only former-F3 Sudamericana driver Pietro Fantin (6th) breaking the Carlin stranglehold in his Hitech prepared Dallara. The Brazilian ran 84 laps with a best just over four-tenths slower than his countryman Nasr.
Kevin Magnussen was the last of the Carlin drivers, although the Dane finished the day only a whiff ahead of Riki Christodoulou (8th, Hitech Racing) and Lucas Foresti (9th, Fortec Motorsport).
Last year’s National Champion, Menasheh Idafar rounded out the top-ten on this first day of testing, just pipping F3 veteran Hywel Lloyd (11th, Sino Vision Racing) and 2011 débutante’s Harry Tincknell (12th, Fortec Motorsport) and Pipo Derani (13th, Double R).
Pos Driver Team Time 1 Felipe NASR, Carlin 1m 10.953s 2 Carlos HUERTAS, Carlin 1m 10.994s 3 Rupert SVENDSEN-COOK, Carlin 1m 11.110s 4 Jazeman JAAFAR, Carlin 1m 11.121s 5 Jack HARVEY, Carlin 1m 11.358s 6 Pietro FANTIN, Hitech 1m 11.370s 7 Kevin MAGNUSSEN, Carlin 1m 11.528s 8 Riki CHRISTODOULOU, Hitech 1m 11.530s 9 Lucas FORESTI, Fortec 1m 11.584s 10 Menasheh IDAFAR, T-Sport 1m 11.826s 11 Hywel LLOYD, Sino Vision 1m 11.834s 12 Harry TINCKNELL, Fortec 1m 11.904s 13 Pipo DERANI, Double R 1m 11.923s 14 Scott PYE, Double R 1m 12.043s 15 William BULLER, Fortec 1m 12.084s 16 Adderley FONG, Sino Vision 1m 12.254s 17 Bart HYLKEMA, T Sport 1m 12.725s 18 Yann CUNHA, T Sport 1m 14.083s
© Auto GP Series.
Despite several cash prizes already on offer, the Auto GP Series announced an extra incentive for its competitors over the weekend.
The Championship – formerly known as Euroseries 3000 or Euro Formula 3000 – will dole out €100,000 per race weekend. However they have sweetened the pot by throwing in a guaranteed GP2 test session for both the Champion and the best under-21 driver, but what is the worth of that prize?
While this is very nice, it is still a struggle to place the Auto GP series. In the battle to reach Formula 1, the likes of GP2, GP3, the various international Formula 3 and Formula Ford Championships loosely connect a trail, with World Series by Renault and Formula 2 sitting on the periphery.
Auto GP on the other hand just seems to there, not doing anything in particular other than existing. It is tempting to ask that if a driver is capable of GP2 (or GP3 if it comes to it), then what does Auto GP actually offer?
The reigning champion, Romain Grosjean had the advantage of still being part of Gravity Management’s driver repertoire; however the list of other recent title winners hardly drips with Formula 1 contenders. Indeed Grosjean was able to easily win the title despite missing one-third of the season.
Other past champions such as Nicolas Prost, Davide Rigon, Giacomo Ricci, Luca Filippi and Nick Pastorelli amongst others have failed to set the world alight and it is a trend that may continue unless Auto GP finds a slot on the ladder that gives it prominence. Otherwise it’s just another series.
Will a GP2 test be enough? Realistically a race seat would be better… but it is a start.
Power, Briscoe, Andretti and Hunter-Reay will be running at Las Vegas.
When INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard confirmed the final date of the 2011 IZOD IndyCar on Tuesday, no one expected the teaser that came with it.
Taking place on Sunday October 16th at Las Vegas motor Speedway, any non-IndyCar professional that runs in the race will be eligible for a $5 million jackpot should they beat the series regulars.
There are limitations of course – only five spots are open, but it is an intriguing offer from the Series as it continues to rebuild and fix its shattered reputation.
Whether any drivers of note partake will be a different matter. Quite obviously, no Formula 1 drivers will be there (they’ll be in Korea for a start), while the stars NASCAR might also give it little heed. For the Sprint Cup Series, the Las Vegas IndyCar race falls toward the tail end of the Chase, making it highly unlikely that a top driver would even consider the move.
That pretty much leaves competitors outside the Chase or NASCAR Nationwide drivers – neither of which may bring much in the way of significant attention, unless recent Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne wishes to make the plunge.
The likes of sportscar racers from ALMS or Grand-Am could have a go, but it is yet again unlikely that any of their stars would garner the traction that Randy Bernard seeks.
Another piece of solid news for the Las Vegas event was the revelation of the ticketing structure for the event. Limited to the first 80,000 applicants, any fan that ventured to any of the previous sixteen events this year can apply for a free ticket to the season finale. It is a very interesting idea that has the potential the potential to offer the closer the crowds it deserves, especially when compared to the derisory numbers that attended the previous two finales at Homestead Miami Speedway.
With additional sponsors climbing onboard for both Sarah Fisher Racing and Ryan Hunter-Reay’s Andretti-Autosport effort, this has been an incredibly bright week for INDYCAR …or it was until very early yesterday morning.
Sat silent during the night, it was announced that the highly anticipated partnership between 2004 IRL Champion, Tony Kanaan, and the Gil de Ferran/Jay Penske owned De Ferran/Dragon Racing had collapsed due to a lack of sponsorship. It is an indication, that as much as the IndyCar Series is piecing itself together, there are still gaping holes in the walls that need to be tended to.
Kanaan joins his former Andretti-Green team mate Dan Wheldon as a driver without a ride coming into the season. Wheldon is also a former Champion, having taken both the Series and the Indianapolis 500 in the year following Kanaan’s success. What makes it even more surprising is that both drivers have had reasonable – if minor – success in recent seasons, with Kanaan being only of two non-Chip Ganassi / Penske drivers to win last year, while Wheldon has outdriven his then Panther Racing Dallara to two 2nd places in the Indy 500 both last year and in 2009.
For all the good news, it is probably best to view these announcements with a wise eye, though while things improve on one side of the IndyCar banner, it is clear that not all is well if two recent series champions and an Indy500 winner sit solemnly on the sidelines.
Such talent should not be allowed to lay in a state of waste.
F1 will not be in Bahrain this year.
With yesterday’s confirmation that the Bahrain Grand Prix has been postponed, the 2011 Formula 1 calendar is back down to nineteen races. But what next?
Some commentators consider rescheduling the race to the end of the season a viable option, while there others that believe the race should be scrapped altogether for this year. There are also those that think Formula 1 should never go back.
The schedule as it stands is already extremely cluttered and while it may be easy to think that the reinstated race can be simply slotted in somewhere, the reality is somewhat different.
The only slot to put the race would be in between Abu Dhabi and Brazil, which is an option that would not best please the organisers of the event at Yas Marina. Having two such events so close together in such a short space of time has the potential of minimising the economic impact of both events – splitting the audience in the region.
Abu Dhabi may also be unwilling to give up its slot as the penultimate race, especially considering they have already lost the final space to the Brazilian Grand Prix.
There is also the issue with getting the entire Grand Prix circus around most of the globe in a short space of time, as the arangements needed to make it work soon pass into the absurd. Unless the Interlagos event is moved to December… which is when the winter test sessions are supposed to be taking place (at this stage most likely in either Jerez or Barcelona).
One of the more ridiculous suggestion that has cropped up has been the posibility of postponing the Indian Grand Prix for a year. This simply will not happen, especially seeing as how the building of the circuit and its surrounding facilities is apparently well ahead of schedule. There are too many commercial considerations to even consider moving the inaugural Delhi race to 2012.
Most importantly, the people involved in the show are already suffering enough. Is it really necessary to press even harder? On the off chance the Bahrain moves in between Abu Dhabi and Brazil, that will mean eight races in eleven weeks.
Think of this:
From mid-September to late November, the calendar would potentially be Italy, Singapore, Japan, Korea, India, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Brazil, followed by the aforementioned winter test. Unless the sport wishes to exhaust not only the people involved, but also the sporting product itself, then it may be best to kill the Bahrain Grand Prix until next year.
Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.
Felipe Massa headed the final day of running at the third pre-season test in Barcelona.
The Brazilian headed the timesheets with a lap of 1:22.625 as he completed 121 laps in his Ferrari F150th, while he spent much of the day comparing the various tyre compounds under differing fuel loads.
Massa finshed the day some eight-tenths quicker than Red Bull’s Mark Webber, who busied himself testing various new components on his RB7. There were no problems for Webber as he clocked up 69 laps over the course of Monday.
Sebastien Buemi retuned to the Toro Rosso yesterday, eventually setting what would be the 3rd best time of the day. The Swiss driver comitted his day to a mixture of long and short runs as the Italian team continued to work on tyre set-ups.
Renault started the day with a new specification front wing for Nick Heidfeld to test. The German completed a race distance under the new part, as well as several shorter runs as he garnered 95 laps in his R31; however the team lost a clump of time in the morning due to another issue with KERS – the second time they have been afflicted with such an issue in Barcelona.
Lewis Hamilton returned to the seat of the MP4-26 yesterday, as the 2008 World Champion completed numerous stints, as the team assessed tyre development. While not focussing on lap times, it was encouraging for the team to complete 107 laps – one of the ew times in testing that the new car has broken the 100 lap milestone.
Pastor Maldonado was the second driver to hit 121 laps yesterday. The Williams driver ended the day 6th on the timesheets with a best of 1:24.057; however the team ran without KERS due to a cooling issue. The Venezuelan also completed several stints as the team analysed new exhaust and aerodynamic components, while also studying mapping systems for Cosworth.
The Force India lead driver, Adrian Sutil managed 64 laps from his VJM04 machine with a quickest tour of 1:24.177 – a time that left the German three-tenths quicker than Sauber rookie Sergio Perez. The Mexican busied himself with various new set-ups at teh wheel of the C30, running through various tyre compound strategies and test parts.
Jerome D’ambrosio completed 50 laps at the wheel of his Virgin MVR-02, although it might have been more had the team not been hampered with a late-morning gearbox failure. His Belgian registered a best lap of 1:26.501, leaving him 9th on the time sheets ahead of seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher.
The Mercedes legend spent his day completing a race simulation and various aerodynamic evaluations, allowing the German to run 114 laps of the Barcelona circuit.
Only the Lotus of Jarno Trulli was slower than Schumacher. The Italian suffered an early accident at the wheel of his T128, when car failure pitched the veteran off the circuit. Unfortunately, the team did not have the required spares on hand to fully repair the car, leaving them to pack up early.
While the test ran, news filtered through that the next planned test at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain had been cancelled; however it looks as another four-day run will be rescheduled for the Barcelona circuit for the second week of March.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Massa Ferrari 1m22.625s 121 2. Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m23.442s + 0.817 69 3. Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.550s + 0.925 90 4. Heidfeld Renault 1m23.657s + 1.032 95 5. Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.003s + 1.378 107 6. Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.057s + 1.432 121 7. Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m24.177s + 1.552 64 8. Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.515s + 1.890 74 9. D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.501s + 3.876 50 10. Schumacher Mercedes 1m27.079s + 4.454 114 11. Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m29.992s + 7.367 18
Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
On the penultimate day of running at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona, Mercedes pilot, Nico Rosberg topped the timesheets ahead of Renault’s Vitaly Petrov.
The track, which started out very damp, took several hours to completely dry up as overcast and cool weather slowed the changeover to dry conditions; however it did give the field an opportunity to test Pirelli’s intermediate tyre compounds. Although Rosberg used the afternoon to complete some long distance runs, the German driver set out on several qualifying simulations just prior to the chequered flag. His time of 1:23.168 was the best during his 92 lap day.
Petrov meanwhile registered 93 tours of the Barcelona complex, with a best just 0.3 of-a-second shy of Rosberg. The Russian had a trouble-free run as the team assessed different exhaust specifications on the R31.
Lewis Hamilton enjoyed a day evaluating the new Pirelli tyres over both short and long distances. The 2008 World Champion notched up 93 laps on a day when no problems occurred.
Pastor Maldonado lined-up 4th on the final standings, just behind Hamilton; however the best the new Williams driver could manage was one second shy of the McLaren ace. The Venezuelan suffered something of a quiet morning as first a spin and then an alternator failure sidelined him.
Maldonado’s quickest lap of 1:24.815 was enough to keep him ahead of Red Bull’s Mark Webber. The Australian completed an astonishing 139 laps yesterday, during which Webber found himself committed to a race simulation, although thoughts of a qualifying simulation were lost to the morning dampness.
Lotus had another so-so day. Although Jarno Trulli set the 6th quickest time, the Norfolk-based squad only managed 45 laps, mainly due to lost time fixing a water leak; however when running the Italian maintained some consistent laps in the T128.
Sergio Perez took over from Kamui Kobayashi at Sauber in a day that saw the Mexican notch up 115 tours of the circuit. Like many of the days participants, Perez ran a race simulation; however the Swiss team concentrated on evaluating the hard and medium compound tyres.
Adrian Sutil ended yesterday 8th on the timing sheets as he completed some 102 laps. The Force India team concentrated on set-up aligned to tyre compounds, as well as working on set-ups taking the new drag reduction system into account.
The Toro Rosso team split their running between both Sebastien Buemi and reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo. Buemi took to the STR7 during the afternoon, allowing the Swiss driver to set quick laps, while evaluating aerodynamic settings. Ricciardo, however, was on track during the morning’s changeable conditions, giving the Australian an opportunity to test the Toro Rosso to overlap from wet to dry tyres. Come the chequered flag, Buemi set a best of 1:26.155 (9th, 31 laps), while Ricciardo’s quickest lap under the morphing conditions was 1:28.329 (13th, 42 laps).
Felipe Massa rounded out the top-ten with a lap 3.34 seconds down on Rosberg; however the Brazilian spent his day in the F150th completing race distances. Massa completed 123 laps by the close of day – a good deal more than Timo Glock in the Virgin or either Hispania tester for that matter.
Glock still did an impressive number though, as he clocked up 97 laps in his MVR-02 with a best of 1:26.598 – the German suffered no apparent problems. Hispania Racing split their day between race driver Narain Karthikeyan (14th, 32 laps) and one-time Minardi test driver Giorgio Mondini (12th, 39 laps). Karthikeyan took to the F110 during the morning, although a gearbox issue cut the Indian’s track time short; however Karthikeyan set a best lap of 1:30.722.
Mondini’s afternoon session was his first time in a Formula 1 car since 2006, while he has not raced at all for two years, making his afternoon run quite impressive. While it is unknown what Mondini’s fuel levels were; however the Italian suffered no problems as he ran through various tyre compounds.
Today marks the final day of testing in Barcelona. At this point, it is still unknown as to where the next test will take place as a trip to Bahrain currently looks untenable.
Pos Driver Team/car Time Gap Laps 1. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m23.168s 92 2. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m23.463s + 0.295s 93 3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m23.858s + 0.690s 93 4. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1m24.815s + 1.647s 60 5. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m24.995s + 1.827s 139 6. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1m25.454s + 2.286s 48 7. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.557s + 2.389s 115 8. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1m25.720s + 2.552s 102 9. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m26.155s + 2.987s 31 10. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m26.508s + 3.340s 123 11. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m26.598s + 3.430s 97 12. Giorgio Mondini Hispania-Cosworth 1m28.178s + 5.010s 39 13. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m28.329s + 5.161s 42 14. Narain Karthikeyan Hispania-Cosworth 1m30.722s + 7.554s 32
Circuit de Catalunya
Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel was once again the quickest driver around the Circuit de Catalunya yesterday.
The reigning World Champion set a best lap of 1:23.315 during a day where he broke the 100 lap barrier. There were minor problems for during the day, but nothing to get in the way of the planned simulations.
Jaime Alguersuari was next up in his Toro Rosso. The Spaniard ran 97 laps in his STR6 as he completed various set up cofigurations and brake system evaluation. Alguersuari also made use of three of the available tyre compounds, eventually taking to circuit on the two softest tyre types, as well as Pirelli’s new hard compound.
Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso made it two Spaniard’s in the 1:23’s. Alonso registered 90 tours of the Barcelona circuit after losing time to electrical issues. The F150th has so far proved to be very reliable so far in testing, with this being one of very few hiccough’s for the Italian team.
Rubens Barrichello completed 118 laps in his FW33 in what was a largely trouble-free day for the Williams team. A best lap of 1:24.008 was enough to leave him 4th on the time sheets ahead of Renault’s Nick Heidfeld.
Indeed, both Renault’s hit the track yesterday – Heidfeld ran 41 laps in the afternoon, following a morning session with Vitaly Petrov. Heideld struggled with the balance of his R31 as he completed some suspension set-up programmes, while Petrov ran several tyre stints on his way to the 11th overall.
Kamui Kobayashi secured the 6th best time, with a lap only 0.001 of-a-second shy of Heidfeld. The Sauber driver clocked up 125 laps of the Barcelona circuit as he completed several short stints as well as a race simulation.
Nico Rosberg was the busiest driver on Saturday as the Mercedes driver notched up 131 laps. Rosberg, who has suffered numerous car failures in testing so far, managed a programme to evaluate aerodynamic set-ups and the Mercedes KERS unit.
Rosbeg’s best of 1:24.730 put the German driver ahead of McLaren’s Jenson Button in the standings. The 2009 World Champion suffered a frustrating day, especially after much of the morning was lost to a hydraulics failure. A similar problem stopped the McLaren from more running near the end of the day.
Paul di Resta was next up in the Force India. The young Scot saw to 80 laps; however his day was punctuated by a throttle failure that led to an off at turn 1. His best of 1:25.194 left di Resta in 9th.
Heikki Kovalainen set the 10th best time in his Lotus T128 machine. The Finn ran two seperate sessions during the day, broken up by a short stint with Ricardo Teixeira. Kovalainen completed 58 laps with a best of 1:26.421, while Teixeira managed a quickest lap at 1:31.581 during his 26 lap stint, leaving the Angolan some 8.3 seconds off the pace. Several minor problems surfaced during the day, but nothing that significantly dented the day’s running for the Anglo-Malaysian squad.
Vitantonio Liuizzi drove the Hispania F110 for the first time yesterday, setting a fastest lap of 1:27.044. It was an opportunity for the Italian to get used to both the tyres and the car itself; however a gearbox issue halted proceedings in the afternoon.
Timo Glock ran several different programmes throughout the day at the wheel of his new Virgin Racing charger. The German completed 66 laps in the MVR-02, as he tested various different setting on both the gearbox and the tyres.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m23.315s 104 2. Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m23.519s + 0.204 97 3. Alonso Ferrari 1m23.978s + 0.663 90 4. Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m24.008s + 0.693 118 5. Heidfeld Renault 1m24.242s + 0.927 41 6. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m24.243s + 0.928 125 7. Rosberg Mercedes 1m24.730s + 1.415 131 8. Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m24.923s + 1.608 54 9. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m25.194s + 1.879 80 10. Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m26.421s + 3.106 58 11. Petrov Renault 1m26.884s + 3.569 61 12. Liuzzi HRT-Coswrorth 1m27.044s + 3.729 70 13. Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1m27.242s + 3.927 66 14. Teixeira Lotus-Renault 1m31.584s + 8.269 26
Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya.
Sebastian Vettel topped the first day of the third test at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona yesterday.
Many drivers – including Vettel – left it late in the day to set their quickest lap, many due to a damp start to the session and a series of race simulations being committed to during the late-morning and early afternoon. Admittdly Vettel did not fall into the category of running a race distance.
The reigning World Champion suffered two minor offs, which led to the RB7 being withdrawn for sveral hours as the machine was checked over. Vettel still managed a best lap of 1:24.374; however the German only completed 37 laps.
Fernando Alonso was next up in his Ferrari F150th, albeit his quickest turn was a clear 1.1 seconds off of Vettel. It is highly unlikely that the gap will be even close to that come the opening race weekend (wherever and whenever that may be); however it is more significant that the Italian team has shown a high degree of reliability thus far.
Jaime Alguersuari made it two Spaniards in the top-three, as he placed his Toro Rosso 3rd in the timing sheets. The Italian squad focused on a long run during the morning, before splitting the afternoon into short stints to learn more about their new braking system.
Kamui Kobayashi registered 78 laps in his Sauber C30 yesterday, but still lost time due to a powertrain failure. Kobayashi’s best of 1:25.641 was only three-thousandths shy of Alguersuari’s quickest pace, but the Japanese driver held a solid advantage over the McLaren of Jenson Button.
It is likely that a short-filled tank may have “elevated” the Sauber up the order somewhat, but it did not relieve some of the frustrations that McLaren faced. A stuttered morning bled into a brighter afternoon as the British team successfully completed a race stint and also ran the Drag Reduction System (movable rear wing) for the first time.
Force India’s Paul di Resta had a short day. The Scot ran only 26 laps (with a best of 1:26.575 leaving him 6th), before a shorteage of spare parts curtailed running for the Silverstone-based team.
Rubens Barrichello also had a relatively brief day, with the Brazilian only managing 52 laps following an engine change during the afternoon. The team were still able to proceed with several aero tests, as their day stuttered along.
Michael Schumacher had a slightly busier day in his Mercedes MGP-W02, as they proceeded with a programmed that included a race simulation. The seven-time World Champion completed 90 tours of the Barcelona circuit, setting the 8th quickest time.
Narain Karthikeyan ran 116 laps in the 2010-spec Hispania on his way to 9th on the time sheets, as the F110 continues to display the reliability that it showed last year. Vitantonio Liuzzi will jump into the seat today, as rumours about the Italian taking the drive this year ramp up.
A gearbox issue curtailed Heikki Kovalainen’s running. The Finn only ran 54 laps with a best of 1:30.065 – a time that left Kovalainen 5.69 seconds off of Vettel’s pace; however the lack of meaningful running in the afternoon severely the efforts of the Lotus squad.
Jerome d’Ambrosio also completed 116 laps in his Virgin MVR-02. The Belgian proceeded to run a race simulation, with several short stints either side with no problems. Compared to this stage last year, the Virgin is showing some impressive reliability.
The Renault pair of Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld suffered a difficult day. Heidfeld ran in the morning, completing multiple pit stop practices as they tested their new pitlane traffic light system. Petrov had a staggered day at the wheel of his R31, thanks mainly to a fault in their KERS unit.
Pos Driver Car/team Time Gap Laps 1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m24.374s 37 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m25.485s + 1.111s 101 3. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m25.638s + 1.264s 57 4. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m25.641s + 1.267s 78 5. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m26.365s + 1.991s 77 6. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m26.575s + 2.201s 26 7. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1m26.912s + 2.538s 52 8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m27.512s + 3.138s 90 9. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m28.393s + 4.019s 116 10. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1m30.065s + 5.691s 54 11. Jerome D'Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1m30.950s + 6.576s 116 12. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1m35.174s + 10.800s 20 13. Nick Heidfeld Renault 1m44.324s + 19.950s 27
Whether it be sports or drama or film or any other form for that matter, it has the power to make people smile, think and feel good. Often when I sit down to watch motor racing or when Doctor Who (geek) or some other show comes on, I chill out and relax.
There are times when entertainment is inappropriate; times when more serious matters come to the fore. The current situation in Bahrain is one of those moments — and it is frankly not right for the Grand Prix to happen.
The moment the armies began to charge on the protesters in Pearl Square in Bahrain’s capital of Manama, the Grand Prix should have been pulled. The moment reports of deaths and injuries inflicted by the Bahraini army started to float in, the race should been pulled. The moment forces were captured freely opening fire on the Bahraini people, the race should have been pulled.
Now governments are beginning to tell citizens that non-essential travel to Bahrain should be avoided, with the likes of Australia, Canada, the US and the UK leading the way.
Just kill the race now. We know that it is not going to happen, so just stop wasting time. Every moment that this race is still in place, gives the impression that Formula 1 supports a (now openly) brutal regime. For every moment wasted, the blood on the hands gets thicker. Those sins are hard to wash off.
Right now, no one needs the Bahrain Grand Prix, especially not the people of Bahrain. Sometimes, there are more important things in life that motor racing.
No GP2 racing in Bahrain this time. © GP2 Media Service
The second round of the 2011 GP2 Asia Series has been called off at the request of the Bahrain Motorsport Federation.
Large scale protests in the territory, have resulted in bloodshed on the streets of Manama – the country’s capital. Fire crews and medical personnel were removed from the circuit and placed on emergency service.
Thousands held a peaceful protest in the Pearl Square sector of Manama last night; however the army has since moved. Three have been confirmed dead and some 60 people are unaccounted for.
At times like this, motorsport is insignificant and it is a sharp reminder that Formula 1 must think carefully of the friends it keeps. Much like the fallout following the 1985 South African Grand Prix, maybe it is time to stop. Nation’s that wage war on its own population with tanks, armoured cars and a trigger happy police force are probably not the best friends to have.
Apart from that, there now is the possibility of the third and final round of the GP2 Asia Series – which is also in Bahrain – being cancelled too, should this current situation persists. It creates the possibility of Abu Dhabi being the only event in this year’s GP2 Asia Series. There is a chance that it could be tacked on to Main Series; however it is unlikely.
Heidfeld has taken part in 172 races since he debuted with Prost Grand Prix in 2000 and at a time when Renault need experience, Heidfeld was available. Over last weekend, Renault conducted a side-by-side test between Heidfeld and Renault reserve ace, Bruno Senna, with even Senna admitting over the weekend that his inexperience may leave him on the sidelines.
There is no doubt that Heidfeld’s young teammate Vitaly Petrov is also rather quick when he is on it, but given Petrov’s lack of experience, Renault could really need someone with years on the clock. This is of course the issue of the Enstone-based team having a very real shot of 4th in the Constructor’s Championship, should they level up with Mercedes this year.
In the meantime, here are some Nick Heidfeld fun time stats to muse about during this year’s Grand Prix:
- At 172 starts (174 race entries), Heidfeld has most points without a win;
- With 12 podiums, ‘Quick Nick’ shares most podium finishes without actually making the top step – he shares this record with former-McLaren, Ferrari and Tyrrell legend, Stefan Johansson;
- His eight second places means Heidfeld has achieved the most amount of runner-up spots without a victory;
- At 41 races, the former Sauber man holds the record for most consecutive race classifications, ended by an Adrian Sutil brainfade during the 2009 Singapore Grand Prix.
With the warm fuzzy feeling that is St Valentine’s Day (!?) still in the air, Maverick from the rather excellent site, VivaF1 sent me this nice little guest post.
For some rather ace Monday evening reading, kick back, turn on the kettle and have a hot cup of tea.
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John Love in Germany, 1961. © Copyright unknown.
It’s hard to imagine in today’s professional era but until the eighties it was common practice in minor Formula One countries for local drivers to bring some local colour to the grid, joining the regulars for a one-off in their privately entered Coopers, March’s and Tyrrell’s, depending on the era.
If you think it’s strange having two teams named Lotus now, consider a time when almost half the grid would line-up in Lotus machinery. In Japan there was Kazuyoshi Hoshino, in Spain Emilio de Villota and André Testut at Monaco.
South Africa was no stranger to this practice, especially as the country developed its own burgeoning Formula One series, attracting drivers from across the border in Rhodesia as well. The result is that Rhodesia has been represented in the World Championship by no less than five drivers – that’s currently more than Mexico, a country that’s hosted 15 rounds of the World Championship. Undoubtedly the most successful of these five is one John Maxwell Lineham Love.
John Love was born on 7 December 1924 in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia – what is now known as Zimbabwe. His career as an electrical fitter was soon cut short when the Second World War broke out and he soon found himself called up for the Armour Car Division where he got his first taste for driving in a tank of all things.
It was during this time that his interest in racing was sparked while stationed near Monza where he and some comrades would take to the circuit on an old motorbike. After the war, he promptly took up motorcycle racing but it wasn’t long before he was looking to take to four wheels and in 1954 he was finally able to purchase a Cooper 500.
He quickly developed a reputation in his home country and was soon crossing over the border for meetings in South Africa too culminating in 1960 with a seventh-place at the non-championship South African Grand Prix – a remarkable achievement considering that by this time he was racing an ex-Le Mans Jaguar D-Type, an aged sports car amongst Formula Two machinery which included Sir Stirling Moss in Rob Walker’s Cooper-Borgward. By this time, however, the lure of the British and European racing scene was calling strongly.
After a meeting with Lola’s Eric Broadley in England, he was offered a place at the quasi-works Fitzwilliam Formula Junior team and 1960 saw Love racing the team’s Lola Mk2-Ford at Monza, Monte Carlo, Reims and the Nürburgring amongst other circuits. Victory eluded him but a series of podiums caught the attention of Ken Tyrrell who quickly asked him to drive for him. For the next two seasons, Love, along with South Africa’s Tony Maggs and Switzerland’s Jo Siffert dominated Formula Junior.
Love often ran well at the South African GP. © Copyright unknown.
A crash near the end of the 1962 season was to have a huge consequences for his career. Going into the barriers while avoiding a spinning Tony Maggs, he fractured his arm.
“I broke my left arm and had to have a bone graft from my hip,” said Love. “Tyrrell wanted me to go back to Europe the following season and I also had test drives lined up with Cooper and Brabham, but I didn’t think that I was going to be good after that.”
From then on, Love had to adopt a new driving style, since he couldn’t bend his arm properly and his wrist was severely hampered. He got used to effectively steering one handed, only using his left-hand to check the movement but it clearly limited his potential. Deciding to return to Rhodesia, Love felt it was also time to move up to more powerful cars and headed back with a F1 Cooper T55-Climax.
Racing in the Southern African non-championship, Love was to make nine appearances in the championship-counting South African Grand Prix. He was also drafted into the Cooper-works team for the 1964 Italian Grand Prix at short notice. Unfortunately, a mechanical problem during practice prevented him from qualifying for Monza. Undoubtedly, his finest moment of glory came at the 1967 South African Grand Prix.
Now aged 42, and armed with an outdated Cooper-Climax T79, Love shocked the established order by qualifying fifth. Only Jack Brabham, Denny Hulme, Jimmy Clark and Pedro Rodríguez had gone faster – in his wake were John Surtees, Jackie Stewart, Jochen Rindt and Graham Hill amongst others. Unfortunately, a deed of generosity was to cost him dear. After Jo Siffert developed problems in the Rob Walker Cooper, Love lent him one of the two fuel pumps that he brought to the race.
After a slow start, dropping a couple of places on the opening lap, Love gradually began to climb up the order. A combination of excellent driving and some beneficial retirements soon found John in an incredible second place at the halfway mark, with only Denis Hulme ahead of him. Things got even better on lap 61 when Hulme was forced to pit – the Rhodesian was in the lead.
Then the engine began to misfire. Worried that he was running out of fuel, and with only seven laps remaining, the pits called him in to refuel. Not really prepared for this, refuelling took much too long and by the time Love rejoined the race, Pedro Rodriquez had gone through into the lead to clinch Cooper’s last victory. Love had to settle for second place.
In the post-race post-mortem, it turned out that the car had had plenty of fuel to complete the race – instead it was the fuel pump that had been the problem, leaving Love to wonder what might had been if he’d used his original choice of pump.
“Of course, if it was not for the misfire we could have completed the race without the pitstop, but those are the ifs and buts of motor racing,” said Love. “I suppose, in all fairness, you could say it was a bit of an inheritance because a lot of cars packed up in the race. I was bitterly disappointed that I couldn’t win, but for a South African or a Rhodesian to even get that high up… well, we didn’t believe it would happen.”
Respectable finishes in subsequent years never came close to matching the heights of the 1967 race. However, one other notable mark on his racing CV is often overlooked. Lotus is often credited with débuting the sponsorship livery when they arrived at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix in Goldleaf colours however, several months earlier, Love and compatriot Sam Tingle beat them to it.
On the 1st January, 1968, taking advantage of Formula One’s new rules on liveries, the two Rhodesians raced in the colours of Gunston cigarettes. Tobacco branding had arrived in F1.
After racing Love retired to his garage business in Bulawayo where, after a long struggle with cancer and at the age of 80, he passed away at his home on the 25th of April, 2005.
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