Race Preview: Canadian Grand Prix

Rain made the 2011 Montreal Grand Prix a complex afternoon and may effect this weekend's race as well
From one French-speaking city to another, two weeks later and a few thousand miles apart, the Canadian Grand Prix is upon us.

What Montreal lacks in glamour, compared to Monaco, is made up with its glorious track. The Canadian Grand Prix is a super fast and flat track, which means we can expect to see a whole lot more takeovers!

So far most of my prediction for every race has fallen flat, so I will stop predicting. All I know is that there've been six different winners for six different races, Red Bull has to cover up those illegal holes on their cars' floors, Hamilton is hungriest of all for a win, Alonso will want to stay in the lead for the Championship, and also as of this moment, no rain is predicted for the race. Oh, one last thing, I have high hopes for the grid girl outfits for Montreal. 

Au revoir for now.  Catch you after the Canadian Grand Prix in the Race Recap!

Race Review: Spanish Grand Prix

Fernando Alonso, Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen, Lotus GP hold up Pastor Maldonado, Williams F1 Team as he celebrates on the podium after winning the race. Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain. 13th May 2012. World Copyright: Andrew Ferraro/LAT Allow me to get this out of the way before we start on the race review: What kind of ridiculous shenanigan is that for the FIA stewards to punish McLaren by placing Hamilton at the very back of the grid?! It pains me to see Hamilton qualified for pole and then, BAM!, ended up on the last spot on the grid. This whole situation got me all wound up heading into Race day. I have to admit it was great to see a new driver taking pole, and Maldonado was certainly in top form, but I couldn't help but wonder how the race would have turned out if Hamilton was on pole. And on the note of qualifying, I wonder if more teams will start bailing out of Q3 to save tyres.

Onward with the Race day happenings. It was definitely nice to see another shakeup on the line up, top teams like Red Bull, McLaren were nowhere to be found while Williams and Lotus were right at the top sandwiching a home crowd-pleasing Ferrari. The Ferrari looked to be back on winning form with Alonso on the P2. Alonso did not disappoint as he nabbed the lead from Maldonado right from the start and down Turn 1.

It's not a proper race if there was no drama on the race track. For the Spanish Grand Prix, that drama came in the form of Schumacher rear-ending Senna, resulting in an early exit for both. I hate to say it, but I think Schumacher's attempt to revive his glory days is a futile effort.

There were many great wheel-to-wheel battles and overtaking throughout the race, my favorite was Kobayashi deep-diving to make an inside pass on Button on Lap33. However, the MVP of the race, on overtaking and on doing the impossible, belongs to Hamilton. Hamilton never gave up despite the situation he found himself in, and pulling a jump of 16 positions to land on 8th from his starting position of 24th. That's not even considering the strange pit stop that he had. McLaren needs to really get their act together; their pit stops actually make me nervous for their drivers. In contrast, the Ferrari pit stops were beautifully slick and error-free.

After 66 laps and many nail-biting moments, Maldonado got the job done and took home the trophy for the Spanish Grand Prix. Fantastic to see a new winner, and the 1st Venezuelan driver at that! I am really loving how every race has yet another new winner. I'm calling it now - Hamilton to win Monaco!

Action on the track aside, I am sad to report no one has made it onto my Best Post-race hair list this time around. I did notice that Raikkonen got a much-needed haircut, and Button started growing some facial hair, in case anyone is keep track. Did anyone ever notice the race girls’ outfits? I haven't seen any that's memorable, the Spanish Grand Prix one was underwhelming. I look forward to a more glamorous version of the outfit at Monaco. Speaking of Monaco, the Monaco track is one of my favorite, there's just something special about a street circuit. Mark your calendars and get ready for another exciting race on the weekend of 5/25 at Monaco!

McLaren Reveals Their Title Contender

In a room packed with journalists and eager fans watching via online feed, Formula 1 team Vodafone McLaren Mercedes revealed their 2012 car Wednesday morning. Hosted at the McLaren Technology Center in Woking, England, drivers Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton, along with team principal Martin Whitmarsh, pulled the cover back over the new MP4-27 and gave the public the first glimpse at the potential title contender for 2012.

 Jenson Button (left) and Lewis Hamilton (right), about to reveal the MP4-27

McLaren, one of the most successful Formula 1 teams in racing history, fought hard to challenge the Red Bull Racing team this past racing season. McLaren secured six grand prix victories during the 2011 F1 season and were on podium for 11 other victories, so you can bet they will continue to give it all they've got in 2012 for the coveted FIA World Constructors Championships.

With many months of development now complete, the MP4-27 aims to be the car to beat in 2012.  A complete redesign provides the car with a competitive edge and increased safety. Upgrades to the car's design include a much tighter rear-waist, providing additional aerodynamic efficiency which translates to increased speed. New safety regulations for 2012 necessitate a lower front nose for all cars, but unlike the rather funny looking 'platypus nose' on the Caterham CT-01, the McLaren nose carries a smooth curve with consistent appearance and emphasis on aero performance.

The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-27

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Jenson ButtonOther major changes include a redesigned sidepod to address exhaust flow regulations and an updated cooling system. Though each of these changes means tenths of seconds on the track, this could be the competitive advantage McLaren needs to edge out the other teams and take back the championship title.

The 2012 season looks to be a promising one, and with Austin on the calendar in late November, all teams are closely watching our progress. In a Q&A session following the launch, motorsports journalist Dan Knutson asked Jenson about his outlook on Austin and the new USGP; Adam Cooper documented the discussion here at SpeedTV:

 “I'm really excited about heading back to the States,” said Button. “I've never been to Austin but I've heard great things about the city itself, and I've heard also great things about the circuit, the layout, and hopefully we can put on a great show when we get there.

“I remember racing in the States before in Indianapolis which was, you know, a good circuit, but I think the steps that Austin have taken to make sure this is a proper, pukka Formula 1 circuit I think we're gonna love it, you know. It's going to be a lot of fun. And hopefully we have the support of the American fans.”

In addition, Martin Whitmarsh, as he's done many, many, many times, echoed the strategic value in the American market, stressing the need for Formula 1 to be here, despite the struggles with solidifying Formula 1 in America in the past:

“I think all the teams believe it's very important and we've got to make a success of it this time. As we all know, our time in America has been spasmodic and unsuccessful. We have to treat it almost as a new market. But actually there's a huge interest in Formula 1 that is untapped in the States. We've got to work harder. What we have to accept is, America doesn't need Formula 1; we need it more than it needs us.

“So I think the onus has got to be on the teams, the promoter, all of us, to work – and the commercial rights holder – to work very hard to make sure that we educate we promote, we develop the interest, we reach out in America.

“So we've got to work harder than, perhaps, a new Grand Prix in Europe or Asia or South America, where, there is a ready interest and a ready uptake. We've got a real challenge. But it's important. It's important to our commercial partners. The States is still a rather big market for really any multinational company. There are only two world sports, soccer and Formula 1, and for us to be a great world sport, we've got to conquer the States.”

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team Principal Martin WhitmarshWith the new MP4-27 in their arsenal, the McLaren team might really be the complete package in Formula One. McLaren is the only team with two FIA World Championship drivers, a seasoned management team, and arguably the most technically advanced facility and research program in Formula 1.

Though much of the Formula 1 field has yet to reveal their off-season homework, 2012 could be the perfect storm for McLaren, putting them in back on the leader board and potentially on the podium in Austin for the USGP. With under two months before the season begins, momentum is building for what looks to be a very exciting season.

Everything Going Vettel's Way

We're very excited to share this Monaco Race Recap with you from our guest blogger, Harrison L.  Do you think Vettel can or will be stopped this year?

Everything Going Vettel’s Way

MONTE CARLO, Monaco – Sebastian Vettel powered to his fifth victory of the season with plenty of drama for the fans in beautiful Monte Carlo. Vettel won the pole Saturday after posting the fastest time of the day, with his time un-challenged because of the crash of rookie driver Sergio Perez. Perez, who gained his first points of the season last week in Barcelona was sent to the local hospital, but all reports indicate that there were not any major injuries.

On Sunday, Vettel’s luck continued as he, on heavily used Pirelli soft tires ("Prime Tyre" as the Brits say), was being pursued by Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and McLaren’s Jenson Button. With only six laps remaining and Vettel desperately holding on to the lead, Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari crashed and sent Renault’s Vitaly Petrov into the wall, taking him out of the race. The crash lead to a pause in the field, which gave Vettel the opportunity to change tires to the super-soft ("Option tyre"), and once the race resumed he easily pulled away to cross the finish line first.

VICTORY DRINK:Vettel celebrates with his Red Bull crew after winning the Monaco Grand Prix. (Source: Getty Images)

Vettel had lost the lead after starting first, due to a tire mix up in his first pit stop. That gave McLaren’s Jenson Button the lead, who extended the gap between him and Vettel but was forced to pit on lap 48, which gave Vettel the lead that he never relinquished.

Button remained in third, following Ferrari’s Alonso who was putting pressure on Vettel for what many wanted to be the remainder of the race. Vettel being chased by both Alonso and Button was the exhilaration that all of the fans wanted. However, the anticipation of a pass from Alonso or Button was quickly gone, after the chaotic crash of Alguersuari and Petrov with just six laps to go.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi snuck through the crash to put himself in fourth place for the restart, but he could not stay in front of Red Bull’s Webber who passed Kobayashi to place fourth, and gave Sauber fifth place.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton had a rough outing from the beginning as he dropped to tenth place at the start. After a brilliant pass on Michael Schumacker, he then passed Ferrari’s Felipe Massa but they touched and Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty. He continued to fight back, and at the restart was given the opportunity to fix his rear wing that had been damaged in the Sutil crash. But at the restart he bumped with William’s Maldonado which the race stewards gave him an added twenty seconds to his finish. Even with all of his drama, he still picked up sixth place.

Force India’s Adrian Sutil piloted his team to seventh place, followed by Renault’s Nick Heidfeld in eighth, Ruben Barrichello of Williams in ninth, and Sebastien Buemi gaining a point for STR Ferrari in tenth.

Vettel’s win gives him 143 points, followed by Hamilton with 85, then Webber at 79, Button at 76, and Alonso with 69. With first and fourth finishes, Red Bull now has 222 points in the constructors standings, with McLaren at 161 and Ferrari at 93.

"Monaco" - Image Courtesy of Peter in 'Façonnable Inspirations'

The Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, Quebec June 10-12 is next up for the Formula 1 season, and it should provide great entertainment for those wondering if Vettel can continue his dominance, and if his teammate Mark Webber can get even or possibly pass McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton in the driver standings.

Shanghai and Other Things

A Thriller in China

I’m not sure if the big winner of last weekend’s grand prix in Shanghai was race winner Lewis Hamilton, whose daring overtaking and brilliant race strategy secured his first win of the season, or drive-the-wheels-off-the-car Mark Webber, whose ascent to a podium finish after a P18 start was among the most thrilling that I have seen.  (Or maybe it was all you Webber fans who put him on your fantasy F1 team like me…)

Jaime Alguersuari retired on lap 10 after a pit stop mishap. (photo courtesy of Reuters)

No doubt Hamilton rides a swell of momentum to Istanbul as F1 charges on to Europe for the next three races – a similar momentum carried by an underperforming Webber as of late, which couldn’t have come a moment sooner for him.  Let’s not forget the other big headline in the 23 drivers of the field of 24 who remained on track at the checkered flag to make the wheel-to-wheel driving all the more interesting (only STR-Ferrari’s Jaime Alguersuari retired from the race after his right rear wheel popped off shortly after exiting the pits).

Whichever of last weekend’s stories you favor, I’d be willing to bet most of what I own that the lot of F1 fans would agree that round three of 2011 was among the more dramatic and exciting races in recent history.  At the forefront of the big stories so far this season are the new Pirelli tyres.  At the beginning of the season, I myself wasn’t a big fan of them or the FIA’s intention for them to wear out so quickly, but it’s hard to defend my original argument when you examine the action of the China race.  If nothing else, being forced to pit more often than the old Bridgestone tyres required generally gives way to the possibility of more overtaking chances and more race shakeups overall.

Specific to the Chinese GP however, we saw that those drivers who pitted early and often seemed to move up as the race went on – though most didn’t finish the race as high in the ranks as their best running position –while most who stuck to the 2-stop strategy found themselves losing tenths of seconds (or more) on each lap by race end as their tyres disintegrated from under them.  To understand that, all you have to do is take a look at Webber’s Simply in terms of positions gained, Mark Webber turned in one of the best performances of his career in Shanghai. (photo courtesy of AFP/Getty Images)race.  After a dismal qualifying performance on Saturday, he moved up 15 spots, mostly in the second half of the race, on a 3-stop strategy and was turning in laps 2 and 3 seconds faster than much of his equally-skilled competition.  Hell, if he had gotten around some of the slower traffic that kept him at bay in the earlier half of the race, we might be talking instead about the greatest come from behind victory in F1 instead of Hamilton’s immense effort to take P1.  The other big mover and shaker behind Webber, also thanks to the 3-stop strategy (and of course, years of experience and winning F1 races and championships), was veteran Michael Schumacher.  Though the majority of his performances on track since returning to an F1 car full-time last season have been, to say the least, a bit lackluster, he and his Mercedes crew engineered an admirable 8th place finish after starting from P14.

 Considering the night-and-day difference in performance between a fresh set of Pirelli option (soft compound) tyres vs. a worn-out set, the 3-stop race was certainly the way to go for China -and it likely will be so for many other tracks on the calendar yet to see the new tyre provider.  A big part of this strategy included starting the race on the prime (hard compound) tyres, which were a whole second slower per lap than the options in Shanghai, and make your first pit before everyone else to switch to the options. (Remember that each driver has to use at least one set of each compound during the race.)

And let’s not forget the addition of the DRS (Drag Reduction System, or movable rear wing), and the return of KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) this season.  I may personally criticize the rules governing where and when the DRS may be used (“let ‘em drive” I say), but like the new tyres it has also given way to some great moments on track - namely some of those gripping overtaking situations on Shanghai’s unusually long back straight going into turn 14.

Undoubtedly, the new equipment and regulations introduced (or reintroduced) this season have added to the racing excitement of Formula 1.  And in the end, that’s what the fans want – clever race strategy, brilliant driving, and exciting races.  As dominating of performances as championship points leader and current world champion Sebastian Vettel has been delivering since last season, he will surely be in the crosshairs of the other talented drivers wielding all these new weapons in the races to come.  If the Chinese GP was any indication, the new additions of 2011 are sure to deliver a more level playing field and much closer race finishes than in years past.  Beware, Seb -I don’t think we’re in 2010 anymore.

The Return of KERS

After sitting on the sidelines last year, KERS makes its way back into the cars for the 2011 season.  This is a good thing if you drive for a team that has seamlessly integrated the heavy system into your car so that it can deliver up to an 80-hp boost after hard braking in the corners (this bonus power equates to a 0.3 to 0.5 second faster lap time if you are leaning on it as much as you should be).  This is a bad thing if you are Mark Webber (or Sebastian Vettel) and it has just been dead weight in your car since the season started.  Sebastian was able to use his KERS for parts of the Chinese GP, however poor Webber was instructed not to use his in Shanghai for the third time in as many races.  (Just imagine how much faster he still could have willed his car around the track with it working properly…)  As much brainpower as Red Bull Renault has on board, I still quite don’t know why they haven’t worked out the kinks on the systems in both cars yet (but then again, I don’t work for a multi-million dollar racing organization).  Given my comments above about leveling the playing field though, fixing these systems should be priority one for RBR if they want to hang at the top of pack again this season.

We Really Have to Wait Another Two Weeks?

What of the drivers’ performances through the first three rounds?  Everyone expects the big three (RBR, Mercedes McLaren, and Ferrari) to be at the top, but what about the other guys?  At the beginning of the year, I was stoked to see what rising stars Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg of Lotus Renault and Mercedes, respectively, could do on track this year.  If you have followed F1 even since the beginning of the 2011 season you know that Kubica was seriously injured in an unfortunate rally car crash back in February; however he was recently released from the hospital and is reportedly eager to get back in his F1 car as soon as possible.  His replacement Nick Heidfeld scored a podium finish in Malaysia though, Nico Rosberg's last podium was at Silverstone in 2010, tying his best finish of 3rd place. (photo courtesy of Getty Images Europe) which paired with teammate Vitaly Petrov’s 3rd place finish in Australia shows that Lotus Renault has a car that can hang with the big three at the top.  My fingers remain crossed for Kubica and a full recovery for him though so he can get back in the driver’s seat someday.

Rosberg has always had the talent but in my opinion still needs something to help him gel it all together.  And he hasn’t had any help from a bumpy season start either.  It was unfortunate that he finished the first race in Melbourne with a retirement after Williams-Cosworth driver Rubens Barichello collided with him (on a foolish, late dive on the inside of Rosberg attempting to overtake him in a tight turn).  And though he finished 5th in China he didn’t drive a particularly great race in Malaysia, finishing only 12th.  to Now that he has hopefully started to settle into his car, this year I will look for him get better acquainted with the podium, snag some good points in the championship race, and – dare I say – maybe capture that ever-elusive first race win?

As for the surprise driver not originally on my radar – Force India and Formula 1 newbie Paul Di Resta of Britain.  In both Australian and Malaysian races, he snagged a 10th place finish after starting 14th and has displayed a lot of promise even after just three races.  He may not have the team this season to challenge for race wins, however he does have good race smarts and I’m anxious to see his skills as an F1 driver develop over the season.