Category: F1

F1 2007

McLaren Monaco Perfection

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on McLaren Monaco Perfection

Alonso wins – back-to-back victories at Monaco.

Hamilton finishes second after a good drive. He gives up his 100% winning record at Monaco, but maintains his 100% F1 Podium Finishes.

Alonso stamped his authority over Hamilton and sealed the victory way before the first stop; even though Hamilton drove the wheels off his McLaren and put in some excellent times, Alonso showed he was faster (0.3 seconds) to prove to the team he was quicker. After that, the message went out from the McLaren team that “We’ve got one-two, and the fastest driver is winning. Don’t race each other, protect the cars, and bring them home safely”.

Ferrari were nowhere close, with Massa finishing 65 seconds behind Hamilton. Massa was the only driver on the same lap as the McLarens. Raikkonen had a good race, but his lousy grid position meant only a single point.

Other drivers of note:
Fisichella had a steady race, starting 4th and finishing 4th.
Scott Speed had a fantastic start and a good race generally.
Wurz finished 7th from 11th on the grid.
Kubica 5th from 8th, the best of the one-stoppers.
Barrichello and Button at Honda, although they finished one place down each, must be pleased that the Hondas had a respectable race.

So, the Drivers’ Championship standings are:
Alonso 38 (leading by virtue of more race wins)
Hamilton 38
Massa 33
Raikkonen 23
Heidfeld 18
Fisichella 13
Kubica 12
Rosberg 5

Constructors’ Championship
McLaren 76
Ferrari 56
BMW Sauber 30
Renault 16
Williams 7
Toyota 5
Red Bull 4
Super Aguri 1

F1 2007

Quali news, and was Coulthard’s penalty incorrect?

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Quali news, and was Coulthard’s penalty incorrect?

I just finished watching Quali and checking the F1 news.

Alonso and Hamilton are on different fuel strategies (as confirmed by Ron Dennis), so presumably Hamilton will go longer than Alonso. With any luck he'll lead after Alonso's first stop, or better still, beat Alonso into the first corner.

Coulthard starts 13th, not 16th. Two other F1 websites say that basically he was classified 11th then penalised two places. This doesn't make sense to me, as he would have been 10th or better if he had been allowed to take part in Q3, then the two place penalty would put him 12th at worst. Therefore the two-place penalty is actually three (or more) places.

The fact that the stewards prevented him for starting Q3 also prevented any opportunity of effective appeal, as Coulthard's penalty was immediate and irreversible, unlike an infringement during Q3 where the stewards would have longer to decide on an appropriate penalty.

I'm not saying Coulthard shouldn't have been penalised. By his own admission, there was a communication problem and he thought that Kovalainen wasn't on a hot lap. What I'm saying is, I think the steward's decision to put Button into Q3 instead of Coulthard was wrong.

The silver lining is that Button starts 10th, and the Hondas seem well set up for a change.

Getting back to Hamilton, I think he will win if it's dry. He's quick, and so is the car. I just hope he doesn't get overconfident.

Hamilton's leading the Championship, he has a 100% win record at Monaco, he's starting on the front row of the grid, and arguably he's the quickest in final quali when you take into account fuel load. He's on a roll.

His sideways final lap showed good car control, but there's no room for error when driving like that (and it doesn't do the tyres any good). I'm worried that he might make a mistake and at Monaco that will be costly.

If it rains, Hamilton should be more cautious and go for steady points, even if that means an Alonso Win. Either way, it will be a good race.

F1 2007

Hamilton has always won at Monaco

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Hamilton has always won at Monaco

Hamilton is leading the championship?!

I still haven't had time to watch the Spanish Grand Prix and I managed to avoid hearing the results until today. But now I've heard that Lewis in Championship leader. Fantastic. More than that, he has won every Monaco race in his career before F1. This is going the be great.

Sadly, I'll miss live qualiying because we have to go wedding clothes shopping today. My sister Julie gets married to Mark in two weeks time (big smile), so new suits all round!

I doubt I'll be able to see the (taped) quali and make a post before the race, so if anyone has any comments on the quali, please submit them and I'll publish them before the race. Thanks.

F1 2007

Qualifying Results

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Qualifying Results
Raikkonen takes pole, Hamilton 4th on the 2nd row. Kubica 5th, Davidson 11th, Button 14th, Barrichello 17th, and Coulthard 19th.
 
Easy for Raikkonen.  That Ferrari is so well set up.
 
Alonso had a job beating Hamilton.  In fact, he was slower in Session 1, and had to go out again in Session 2 to post a better time than Hamilton.
 
It looks like Massa had a transmission failure after hitting the kerb hard.
 
My prediction is a Raikkonen win, with Alonso and Hamilton in the top 5.
 
Here’s tomorrow’s grid, and the quali times.
 
1.  RAIKKONEN – Ferrari – 1m26.072s
2.  ALONSO – McLaren – 1m26.493s
3.  HEIDFELD – BMW – 1m26.556s
4.  HAMILTON – McLaren – 1m26.755s
5.  KUBICA – BMW – 1m27.347s
6.  FISICHELLA – Renault – 1m27.634s
7.  WEBBER – Red Bull – 1m27.934s
8.  TRULLI – Toyota – 1m28.404s
9.  SCHUMACHER – Toyota – 1m28.692s
10. SATO – Super Aguri – 1m28.871s
11. DAVIDSON – Super Aguri – 1m26.909s
12. ROSBERG – Williams – 1m26.914s
13. KOVALAINEN – Renault – 1m26.964s
14. BUTTON – Honda – 1m27.264s
15. WURZ – Williams – 1m27.393s
16. MASSA – Ferrari – no time
17. BARRICHELLO – Honda – 1m27.679s
18. SPEED – Toro Rosso – 1m28.305s
19. COULTHARD – Red Bull – 1m28.579s
20. LIUZZI – Toro Rosso – 1m29.267s
21. SUTIL – Spyker – 1m29.339s
22. ALBERS – Spyker – 1m31.932s
F1 2007

Update on tyres

by Colin Bowen2 Comments on Update on tyres
There are four compounds; Hard, Medium, Soft and Super-soft.  Each race, Bridgestone will bring two compounds.  Each team must use both compounds during the race, so at some point the each car will be on a less-than-perfect compound.  This could make tactics more interesting, with two long stints and one short one.  The tyres will be visibly marked so everyone will know which compound is being used at the time.
 
Tyres generally will be harder, and so slower.  There’ll be less grip, so more driver skill required.
F1 2007

FIA F1 Rule Changes

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on FIA F1 Rule Changes
Here’s a summary of some of the rule changes made for this season.
 
Cars will face a 10 place penalty for each engine change.  Previously, a car could change engines twice before a race, and only lose 10 places.  Now, that will cost 20 places.
 
T-bar identification.  The number one driver of each team will sport a red T-bar camera housing (above the air intake), and the number two will sport a yellow T-bar.
 
Safety car = pit lane closure.  When the safety car is deployed, the pit lane will be closed until all cars are assembled behind the safety car.  Only then will Stewards declare the pit lane open.  Penalty for transgression, 10 seconds.  This does not apply for cars that only change to wet or extreme weather tyres (i.e. no fuel).  I’ve yet to work out why this rule has been introduced.
 
Lapped drivers may unlap during safety car laps.  I think this is a crazy rule change, and one made to increase the spectacle of F1, polluting the purity of the race.  Before the safety car comes in, lapped cars that are between leading-lap cars will be able to pass those lead-lap cars and the safety car, and rejoin the train at the back, effectively unlapping themselves.  In my opinion, this will lead to safety car deployment just to bring cars back into play for entertainment value, in other words, the best cars may no longer win.
 
I can just imagine a driver having the race of his life, one lap ahead of his competitors, only to have one car of a rival team stop at a dangerous point.  The safety car is deployed, and the track cleared.  Before coming in, the signal goes out that lapped cars may pass and rejoin at the back of the snake, putting all cars on the same lap as the leader.  Blatantly unfair on the leading drivers.  Bringing F1 down to the level of other impure ‘sports’ where ‘competition yellows’ are thrown a few laps before the end to close up the field.
 
After the infamous Shumi Monaco parking incident, the clerk of the course may extend the quali session if a car blocks the circuit.
 
Only a few days to go!
F1 2007

Aston Martin to go into F1?

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on Aston Martin to go into F1?

Ford are selling Aston Martin to get some money in the bank after their recent huge losses. The buyer is reported to be David Richards' Pro Drive. They have hinted that they want to enter F1 in 2008, but it's not clear whether that will be as a team or as a supplier of some sort.

I'm mobile at the moment, so you'll have to google for links yourself.

BowenRacing is sponsored by ik Software at www.ik.com

F1 2007

F1 2007 Drivers and Teams

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on F1 2007 Drivers and Teams
Here’s a list of teams and their drivers, with a few comments from me.  The number shown before the drivers‘ names are their car numbers.
 
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
1 Fernando Alonso
2 Lewis Hamilton
Vodafone manage to keep their logo on a World Champion.
McLaren Mercedes is the team I would most like to work for.  They are disciplined and professional, and I would be in my element there.  Alonso also has these qualities, but not to the same level.  He’ll either love it or hate it.
Hamilton is another Brit for me to support.  I am excited about him being in F1 this season, and especially because he’s at McLaren.
 
ING Renault F1 Team
3 Giancarlo Fisichella
4 Heikki Kovalainen
ING is a new sponsor to F1 and it’s nice to see financial companies sponsoring F1 teams.
I’m a fan of the Fins in F1 too.
 
Scuderia Ferrari ********
5 Felipe Massa 
6 Kimi Raikkonen
Boo!  Ferrari is still sponsored by a tobacco firm.  Dinosaurs!
Shame Kimi’s racing for Ferrari this year.  One of my favourite drivers in his earlier years, now with his lack of disciplined and red overalls I won’t be cheering for him this year.
 
Honda Racing F1 Team
7 Jenson Button
8 Rubens Barrichello
A team I can be cheering for this year.  Jenson, a Brit of course, and Rubens (an honorary Brit by virtue of his underdog status with Ferrari) make an interesting team.

BMW Sauber F1 Team
9 Nick Heidfeld
10 Robert Kubica
Boring!  Heidfeld is, sadly, an also-ran.  Kubica has potential, but I don’t think he’ll shine in this team.
 
Panasonic Toyota Racing
11 Ralf Schumacher
12 Jarno Trulli

Red Bull Racing
14 David Coulthard
15 Mark Webber
What can I say, Coulthard and Webber (drivers I like as drivers and as people) driving for a team I would love to work for.  I would love to see them do well.
 
AT&T Williams
16 Nico Rosberg
17 Alex Wurz
Frank is doing his usual job of bringing on a new-ish driver in Rosberg.  Watch this space for stories of contract disputes and dropping a driver just as he starts to shine.  It’s an odd match though, with Nico’s Dad Keki being opinionated and forthright, while Frank is the very model of diplomacy.
Good to see Wurz back again.
 
Scuderia Toro Rosso
18 Tonio Liuzzi 
19 Scott Speed
Torro Rosso is Italian for Red Bull Team 2.  Scott Speed is American for loud and slow.
 
Spyker F1 Team
20 Christijan Albers 
21 Adrian Sutil
A Dutch team, part sponsored by German consumer electronics company Medion, with a relatively unknown German Driver Adrian Sutil, and Ferrari engines.  Spyker deserves to have a more settled season this year.  Probably still a back-of-the-pack team though.
 
Super Aguri F1 Team
22 Takuma Sato
23 Anthony Davidson
Another team I have a soft spot for, not because of the team, but because I like Sato as a person, mainly because he’s always smiling.  I did like Davidson as a driver too, but his stint in the commentary box when Button won took the shine off a bit.  I hope he can put in some solid drives.
 
Test Drivers of note:
Pedro de la Rosa (McLaren Mercedes) – Fast, but out of luck when it came to drives this year.
Gary Paffett (McLaren Mercedes) – Another Brit, must be gutted he didn’t a drive this year.
Nelson Piquet Jr (Renault F1 Team) – another GP2 star.
Christian Klien (Honda), Franck Montagny (Toyota), Robert Doornbos (Red Bull), and Narain Karthikeyan (Williams) – more former F1 drivers relegated to test driver status.  Mind you, I’d sell my granny to be a test driver.
 
Next up:  FIA rule changes.
F1 2007

TV programme about McLaren airs today at 5.10pm

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on TV programme about McLaren airs today at 5.10pm

This from ITV's website:
F1: Chasing the Dream, which will air at 5.05pm on ITV1, takes you behind the scenes at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes as the team gears up for a tilt at the world title.

According to my on-screen TV guide, it starts at 5.10 for one hour.

BowenRacing is sponsored by ik Software at www.ik.com

F1 2007

F1 2007 Season Race Calendar

by Colin BowenLeave a Comment on F1 2007 Season Race Calendar

Only one week to go! Can’t wait.

Thought I’d post a few times before the first race, just to bring us up to date. This post is the race calendar. In a few of days I’ll post the driver line-up with comments, and a few days after that I’ll bring you up to date with some FIA rule changes.

Put theses in your diaries and cancel any prior arrangements.

18 March – Australia, Melbourne
8 April – Malaysia, Sepang
15 April – Bahrain, Manama
13 May – Spain, Barcelona
27 May – Monaco, Monte Carlo
10 June – Canada, Montreal
17 June – USA, Indianapolis
1 July – France, Magny-Cours
8 July – Great Britain, Silverstone
22 July – European, Nurburgring (Germany)
5 August – Hungary, Budapest
26 August – Turkey, Istanbul
9 September – Italy, Monza
16 September – Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps
30 September – Japan, Fuji
7 October – China, Shanghai
21 October – Brazil, Interlagos