Race Preview: Spanish Grand Prix

Spanish flag and GP artwork by PJ Tierney. Click on the photo to read more about his work!Catalunya, Spain, Alonso, Victory. Words that belong together. Or rather, words that the Ferrari team must be whispering loudly as they prepare for this weekend's race at Circuit de Catalunya.

After waiting for three weeks, I am so ready for a race weekend. With Red Bull finally getting back to the top podium spot and the herculean comeback effort from The Iceman in the Bahrain race, the musical chair of "Who will win this race?" continues amongst the top contenders. Will this be the race that Webber nudges past the consistent 4th place? Will McLaren team gets the pit stops right this race around (they better!)? Will the new nose on the McLaren cars bring new competitiveness for Hamilton and Button? Will tyres strategy come into play as early as qualifying? Will Lotus team continue to hustle for top spots? Will the Spaniard be victorious? Will we see Rosberg's almost-shampoo-commercial-worthy resilient Post-Race hair? These are the questions I want answers to, in the next few days. The Spanish Grand Prix weekend cannot come soon enough!

Race Review: Chinese Grand Prix

Perfect Hair from Winner Nico Rosberg - from "The Essence of Racing" on tumblrHoly silver arrows, Batman! The Chinese Grand Prix was A-MAZ-ING! The takeovers, the tyres performance that kept everyone guessing, the pit stops, the takeovers!! And may I also mention, in addition to taking home the top medal, Rosberg wins "Best Post-Grand Prix Champion Hair" in my books.

But I'm getting ahead of myself here. The race started out with Mercedes in P1 and P2, no doubt the Mercedes team and Ross Braun were cautiously optimistic. I was also looking forward to see how fast Vettel can climb back from an abysmal  grid position. Usually I root for a driver or two based on qualifying results, but it’s been increasingly difficult to just root for one or two drivers, everyone is getting more competitive and tyres strategy can make the world of difference between qualifying pole position and race day results.

My first big “oooooohhhhhh!!!” moment of the race came in Lap 11. Raikkonen duked it out and lost a spot to Webber and then lost another spot to Hamilton. I imagine Ice Man saying obscene things in Finnish in his car with the coolest of emotions.  Those passes unfortunately would foreshadow the fall  to 14th place in the last ten laps for Kimi. Better luck next time, Kimi! The Lotus-Renault team should really sort out Kimi’s tyres strategy for next race.

The last 10 laps of the race had me glued to the screen! So many takeovers, so many wheel to wheel actions, not to mention almost everyone could take advantage of DRS zone because the drivers were very close to each other.

All in all, a superb race! I can’t wait until Bahrain this weekend!

F1 at SXSW 2012

The first day of SXSW Interactive Festival included a presentation by Geoff Moore, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Circuit of The Americas. You may remember our chat with him at Innotech technology conference last year (if not, here's the video). Geoff was back to talk about the science behind F1 racing.

If NASCAR is about speed and power and drivers, then F1 is about precision, engineering and difficulty.

He went past the COTA venue presentation to get into some neat technical details of the sport. The Austin Chronicle was in attendance and posted a great recap of his preso, so check it out if you missed the live event. Geoff also shared some great photos from a recent visit to the McLaren Technology Centre in Surrey, England, and you could tell he really enjoyed the behind-the-scenes visit.

It was an honor to host the first official F1 Meet Up at SXSW this year. SXSW chooses current issues and topics that are relevant to conference goers and offers a casual networking meet up to foster the conversations. This is another example of how Austin embraces innovation & pop culture on a global scale, particularly during this time in March. The Hilton Hotel & Conference center was the venue, and kudos to them for providing a class act conference setting for not only our F1 Meet Up, but hundreds of official panels, keynotes, presentations and more. It was exciting to meet F1 fans & newbies from Turkey, Spain, the UK, Australia, San Francisco and more. Excitement filled the room as ideas & business cards were exchanged! Thank you to everyone for coming out.

It was also a pleasure to join Social Media Club again this year at SXSW. We spoke with Caitlin Muir, who knows a thing or two about Formula 1 (BTW, 3 cheers for female F1 fans!). Enjoy this video:

Already looking forward to doing it all again in 2013!

Barcelona Testing: Day 4

 

//The following is a featured article from guest contributor Jamey Price, Jamey Price Photography, an American sports photojournalist on his first Formula 1 project.  You can read more about Jamey and his passion for his work in our feature: Intro to an American F1 Photojournalist - Jamey Price.

February 24, 2012

Formula one is a secretive world. It is the biggest, loudest and most expensive circus in the world and they do a great job promoting the sport. But a lot of money is spent developing these cars and the teams come up with interesting ways to keep their technology secret.

In testing especially, teams are developing new parts for the cars and the goal would be to develop something no one else has or has seen. Mostly the teams wage a war against the photographers. Each time a car comes and parks in the pitlane, the team quickly run and cover the rear of the car to keep people with cameras from taking photos of it. McLaren even went as far as to not paint the back of their rear wing so that it becomes close to impossible to take a photo of it as the contrast is too high for the camera. It actually makes it challenging to shoot the McLaren from behind because the camera pretends it doesn't exist and won't focus on it. Like I said, it’s a secretive sport. The funny thing is that as soon as the car is on track it's fair game for me to take a photo of. Many of the cars would stop at the end of the pitlane and do practice starts which has them standing still with the tail facing me, and I can take photos of it whether they like it or not. So much ado about nothing?

I have so many people to thank for making this week a special one, so I won't even try and name them all but again, thanks to everyone for the support and I can't wait to be back in the F1 paddock soon.

Cheers!

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.