Should a country be allowed two Grands Prix?

Spain is already the home of both the Spanish Grand Prix near Barcelona and the European Grand Prix in Valencia. Before that it was Germany that held two Grands Prix a year, at Hockenheim and the Nurburgring, but they now alternate between one another year on year. However, rumours emerged this morning that Bernie Ecclestone is set to announce a race in New Jersey from 2013. With the new American Grand Prix at Austin starting a ten year contract next season. But should a country have two races? Or should they let other countries hold a race?

Valencia holds a second race in Spain each year, dubbed the 'European Grand Prix'

First we have to examine why a country would want to hold more than one race. In the case of Spain and Germany before it, Ecclestone and FOM decided to make a quick buck from the popularity of a driver in the form of Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher respectively. However, in the case of this second US race, it's not as clear cut - the race in Austin might struggle to fill all of its grandstands straight away, so why would America need two races? For one, America is one of the biggest markets in the world, which Formula One teams and their sponsors want to tap into. Austin is on the far-Western side of America, whilst the New Jersey race will be on completely the opposite side of the country, on the Eastern seaboard. Bernie Ecclestone himself has always wanted to hold a race in or around New York, and if this rumoured deal comes to fruition then his dream will have been realised. However, if a country must hold two races, is it financially viable to have one specially built for the purpose and the other to be a temporary facility? I'm not so sure - Formula One can't return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but what would have been so wrong with using Daytona? This would have to be the Road Course, naturally, but this wouldn't have been a bad option. Formula One could have also tried its hand at an oval circuit, but this will be set back for many years to come after the untimely and tragic death of Dan Wheldon in Las Vegas 5 days ago.


So should countries be allowed to hold two Grands Prix? The answer is yes, but only in certain circumstances, if it is a big market like America. And races should never, ever alternate between two countries like France and Belgium are planning to do. But what do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Paul di Resta - Future World Champion?

Paul di Resta’s storming drive in Singapore took him to a personal best sixth place, silencing the few critics that remained. But di Resta’s more subdued drive in Japan, finishing only one place behind Suzuka specialist Adrian Sutil in equal machinery is arguably more impressive.

di Resta has managed to keep Sutil behind for most of this year

One thing to remember when analysing the Singapore race is the turning point of the Grand Prix - the safety car caused by Michael Schumacher’s almighty shunt after an attempt at overtaking Sergio Perez went awry. This actually disadvantaged di Resta, as his strategy relied upon him delivering fast lap times exactly around when Bernd Maylander appeared on track. Despite this, he still managed his best ever race position with sixth. But it could have been so much more.

Force India went to the Japanese Grand Prix quietly confident - compared to their previous vehicles, this years VJM04 is an all-rounder, not just a car for fast tracks with plenty of straights on which it can utilise its Mercedes engine. However, they faced a rejuvenated Renault, who should have done well at the much more open track, a world away from the track which has served as their nemesis - Marina Bay. Then, unexpectedly, di Resta developed a flu of some sort, similar to the symptoms which Sergio Perez also suffered this weekend. To make matters worse, Suzuka is a track which suits experience - its lines and grip are in places which conventional drivers might not expect, only with experience of the track can a driver learn them. It was always going to be difficult to beat Sutil - a driver who had driven at the Japanese track many times before - and with an illness it would be even more difficult. But di Resta was only two tenths away in Qualifying, and as we know Sutil is no slouch.

The race, for di Resta however, was even more impressive - he capitalised on home favourite Kobayashi’s tardy start and was into eighth by the end of lap one - up four positions from his grid slot. He was jumped by Sutil at the first stop by virtue of the undercut on fresh tyres, but returned the compliment at the second stops. Switching to the medium tyre, both drivers knew they had to put in some fast laps - but yet again the safety car ruined this strategy. di Resta was caught towards the end of the race and passed by his team-mate, Petrov and Rosberg after a brave move at Dunlop. However, he still managed to finish in the same place that he had started, and was only just behind is team-mate at the finish.

But will di Resta be able to carry this skill on through his entire career? And will he ever get the car to do so? It’s obvious to paddock insiders that he has the speed; he has beaten Sutil more often than not in Qualifying this year and he beat team-mate Vettel in Formula Three in 2005. Not only this, but his recent drives have shown a level of maturity and intelligence reminiscent of ‘The Professor’ Alain Prost, and to more contemporary audiences, Jenson Button. With the inevitable retirement of Michael Schumacher coming either at the end of this year or the next, it’s only a matter of time before he can get himself a race seat at the Mercedes works team, who are likely to be able to give him a race winning car in 2014 if they cope with the rule changes like they did into 2009. Until then, it’ll be Paul’s job to impress in a minnow team against a fast team-mate. Will you be keeping an eye on him? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.

Image (c) Force India

Who's Going Where? The 2012 Silly Season

Yes, it’s that time of the year again. At this point of the season every season we have the rumours of who’ll be switching teams, if anybody. So it was interesting this week to see Joe Saward write that both current Force India driver and former world champion turned WRC driver Kimi Raikkonen had visited a struggling Williams team. Is this true? And will it amount to anything?

Raikkonen last won at Spa in 2009 - could he win at Williams?

First of all, it would be smart to look at what both Sutil and Raikkonen want from a team. Sutil, on one hand just needs a seat. With a fast team-mate this year and a quick Nico Hulkenberg waiting in the wings, then there might not be a future beyond 2011 for Sutil, a driver who has been at the team since it was Spyker in 2007. Of course, that all depends if di Resta is pulled into the Mercedes works team, which would only be possible if Michael Schumacher decided to quit again. However, with that looking increasingly unlikely, and with ‘the Hulk’ impressing on Fridays, Sutil might be wise to be looking towards Williams, who should be getting better in the seasons to come (but that’s another story).

Raikkonen, on the other hand, when booted unceremoniously from Ferrari at the end of 2009, said that he would only look at teams who had a chance of winning a race - he turned down Toyota, a team that actually took a pole position in 2009. Would he really want to go to a team who has only scraped - and I mean scraped - five points this year? I can only see that as a realistic possibility if Raikkonen really misses F1. And I’m not sure that he does.

Remember too, with Sutil, that removing him from Force India would leave the Silverstone-based squad with a very inexperienced line-up, not to mention a team leader who has only had one season in Formula One. Whether Vijay Mallya has that much faith in either di Resta or Hulkenberg remains to be seen.

The other big story of the 2011 into 2012 off season is the recovery of Robert Kubica. Renault’s driver line-up for next year hinges purely on whether he can get back into a racing car and drive it at a pace deemed fast enough by the team. The biggest question is if we will get the old Robert Kubica back - fast, aggressive and punching well above his weight, he was a fantastic team leader for Renault last season. However, as we have seen so many times before and most recently with Felipe Massa, a driver can struggle to adapt to racing again after a life-changing accident and a year out of the cockpit.

One thing we can be sure of, however, is that no-one is moving from the top three teams. Yes Mr Massa, you can breathe a sigh of relief…

The Teams' Half-Term Report

We're over halfway through the season now and deep into the summer break, which allows us to look back upon the races we've seen already and what the teams have achieved since testing in February. I've written a little report on how the teams have done. It's written in the order of teams I feel have done the best (not necessarily in championship order). In ascending order, then, here we go...

12. Virgin-Cosworth

When Virgin’s new car was unveiled at the start of this year, many people on F1Fanatic noticed that it looked at lot like Midland, who competed in F1 in 2006, and they have unfortunately taken the same form with the livery - the team that started 2011 ahead of Hispania have now been overtaken by them. With only two retirements out of a possible twenty-one, though, (Timo Glock did not start in China) it would be harsh to say they are completely useless. They do manage to get themselves ahead of Hispania in Qualifying more often than not, yet seem to lose these places in the race.

11. Williams-Cosworth

The rest of 2011 seems to be little more than preparation for next season. Their nine constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ championships are now a distant memory, although their decision to take Renault engines next year should be a step in the right direction. Firing Sam Michael, on the other hand, might turn out to be a mistake - many paddock insiders see him ending up at Force India, and this is most likely. Whilst the easily likeable Rubens Barrichello has taken all four of Williams’ points this year, the most exciting half of their driver line-up is Pastor Maldonado. The Venezuelan was written off by many, myself included, as just another pay driver who would bring finances to a cash-strapped team. In Qualifying, though, he has shown a real turn of speed and is punching above what the car should be capable of. If he can hold is ground in the races, like fellow rookie Paul di Resta can, then he should be able to score some points before the year is out.

10. Hispania-Cosworth

2011 didn’t get off to a fantastic start for HRT. For one reason and another they missed all of pre-season testing yet again, and it was touch-and-go as to whether they would make it to the first round. Falling outside of the 107% at the first race must have dented their confidence, but from then on they have grown faster and faster and are starting to consistently beat Virgin. With the introduction of Daniel Ricciardo, not only will they get a quick driver, but some Red Bull money. It is unclear, however, whether their finances will be enough to build a completely new car next year. If they have to use this year’s chassis once more, then they will appear to go backwards. I can only hope that this does not happen, and that the lovable Spanish minnows are able to get their act together in the second half of this year in readiness for next season.

9.   Toro-Rosso Ferrari

In recent times the ex-Minardi squad has been known as giant killers, particularly after their fantastic win in 2008 at Monza with a certain Sebastian Vettel. 2010 wasn’t a bad year at all, and on that basis the team looked to 2011 with the hope of challenging for bigger points at every round. However, if anything the team has gone backwards and they have more often than not been the ‘fourth team’ who has a driver knocked out in Q1. In the race they have fared a little better, but both drivers need to calm down a little if they are to score more points and eventually win a seat at Red Bull. The introduction of Daniel Ricciardo to Hispania must have focused their minds somewhat. If they can’t deliver after the summer break, then I wouldn’t be surprised to see Ricciardo moving from HRT to the Italian squad next season.

8.   Force India-Mercedes

Whilst Force India may have been a slight disappointment in the first few races (although they consistently took points), it was Paul di Resta’s performance in Hungary that has summed up their first half to the season - the perfect mix of speed, skill and strategy with a sprinkling of luck allowed him to take his best ever result with seventh. Those four factors weren’t necessarily all apparent at certain points in the early season, and the team will be hoping to charge forward through the midfield for their first ever home race later in the season. Whether they keep both of their drivers for 2012 is a question that will need to be answered soon. The few available places for 2012 all rest on who Adrian Sutil, and to a lesser extent Paul di Resta, decide to drive for next season.

7.   Renault

And now to the biggest conundrum of 2011 - what has happened to Renault’s early season pace? After finishing on the podium in the first two races, the team running a ‘retro’ livery has not been able to manage anything close to their early-season form since. The team’s development pace was unheard of last year, as they famously brought a new front wing upgrade to every race of 2010. That must be one privilege both Vitaly Petrov and Nick Heidfeld must be hoping for in the second half of the season. In other news, it is unknown if Robert Kubica will be able to return to the car before the end of the season. If he can, however, it will be interesting to see if he still has the blistering pace that he had before his horrific rally crash earlier this year.

6.   Sauber

Martin Brundle summed up the German team’s 2011 strategy perfectly in commentary at Hungary: “I don’t know whether to be impressed with Sauber or not. ‘Right, let’s run a strategy that might sneak us into ninth or tenth.’ Why don’t they turn up with, ‘Let’s run a strategy that might win us this race’?” That ideology has returned some favourable results for Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez, and the Sauber’s ease on its tyres has proved their party piece. Whether they will be able to deliver any top results with that strategy in the run-in to the year will surely be on their mind. A shout-out to Sergio Perez - he has shown both steely determination and maturity in the first nine races of his career. After his mighty Qualifying crash at Monaco, he has won over many of his critics by standing down in Canada for Pedro de la Rosa.

5.   Mercedes GP

If nothing else, Mercedes can surely win the unofficial award for best-looking car this season. The W02, whilst crippled by chronic overheating issues early in the season, looks like a missile out on track. In the hands of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg, however, the best result it has been able to salvage has been a lowly fourth from Schumacher in Canada - and even that was with a stroke of luck. Beating up the Brackley-based team, however, will surely do them no favours. Their development team has recently been working on a raft of updates for the car and will surely be going in to overdrive once the enforced two-week break has been completed. Whether they can finish on the podium in the last few races is surely the best they can achieve.

4.   Ferrari

Reading the Maranello squad this year has been notoriously difficult. The team that usually wears its heart on its sleeve has kept its cards very close to its chest this year. After taking only one win in the first eleven races, Fernando Alonso will be looking for more race wins in the second half of the season. He would love to replicate his achievements last year, when he won several races in the final run-in to the title. Felipe Massa, on the other hand is not necessarily hoping for race wins - after beating Alonso in Qualifying in Hungary for the first time in a very long time, Massa will hope that he can continue that form for the rest of the year.

3.   Lotus-Renault

I promised myself when writing this piece that I wouldn’t get bogged down in the court battle between the two Lotus teams that is supposed to now be settled. But Team Lotus have given plenty more to talk about in terms of their speed. They have made it through to Q2 twice in the form of Heikki Kovalainen this year on pure pace alone, and with Jarno Trulli’s power steering issues supposedly fixed now, the green and yellow cars should be going even faster from now on. With small developments coming to the car, it is a question of when, rather than if, the team can get both cars into Q2 and their first points of the year. They are definitely an exciting team and will be one to watch in the second half of 2011 and beyond.

2.   Red Bull-Renault

Despite a recent lack of top-of-the-pile results, the team from Milton Keynes have absolutely blown away the opposition this year. Sebastian Vettel in particular has stormed the first half of the year - he’s finished in either first or second bar one anomaly at his home event when he only just missed out on the podium in fourth. His team-mate on the other hand, hasn’t had quite the season to remember so far. Whilst it was the best start to a season he’s ever had, he’s only finished ahead of Vettel three times out of eleven in Qualifying. Looking at race results it gets even worse - only once has he finished ahead of the reigning World Champion when the chequered flag has fallen. The second half of the season will be critical for Webber, as he appears to have finally got to grips with the Pirelli tyres. We go next to Spa, where he qualified on pole last year and finished second in the race. A repeat of that performance would surely boost his confidence.

1.   McLaren-Mercedes

And the great love-in at McLaren continues. Despite some close racing and a race-ending incident for Hamilton in Canada, McLaren continue to micro-manage their drivers fantastically well. One problem, however, has been their unreliability issues, with Button retiring from two races in succession after two mistakes by the team. Button has admitted himself that those two races without points have probably put an end to his championship challenge. However, Hamilton still feels he could win. If he is to do this, he will need to finish all of the remaining races on, or near, the podium. Not only this, but he will be wishing that Vettel has run out of luck for this season - he needs the German to retire, crash or otherwise retire in order to overhaul his championship lead.

What does the British Grand Prix have in store?

With just over two weeks to go until the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, every British motorsport fan (and a few others) are looking forward to the race at the ex-RAF base. Whilst we can enjoy another race in Valencia before then, it will be at the British round where 'phase two' of the season really begins.

It's unlikely the British Grand Prix will be this wet, but will it rain?

Firstly, it'll be where the FIA's cut on off-throttle blown diffusers will take place. To the more casual fan, that basically means that when the driver is off the throttle (ie. in the middle of a corner) he should have less grip. This will effect all the top teams to an extent, but is rumoured to hit Red Bull and Renault the hardest, and that can only be good news for the chasing pack, including McLaren, who haven't managed to perfect their system yet. Or so you'd think. Currently, the two top Renault-engined teams have to carry 10% more fuel at the start of the race using this strategy, so at Silverstone, how will their race pace shape up against raw speed in Qualifying?

That's one area where Red Bull should dominate - even more than normal - because of their phenomenal speed in the faster corners. As Silverstone plays host to some of the fastest corners of the year, as well as boasting the second-fastest average speed all season, the boys from Milton Keynes should absolutely fly. Many paddock whisperers believe that the Qualifying pace enjoyed by Red Bull is solely down to their ability to open up their rear-wing flap before all of the other teams can - ditching drag and enabling them to go faster. Therefore, their speed in the race is compromised because they can only use this system in one or two certain zones. Pole position at Silverstone will go to the driver who dares to open their DRS first.

Another factor will be KERS - good news for the rivals of the world champions, as they haven't got theirs quite to the high standard they expect yet. Christian Horner revealed that they use a smaller system that is lighter and allows a better-packaged car, to the detriment of cooling and outright power. At the Northamptonshire circuit, with several long straights and one or two important traction zones, the use of this system will also be a key to success.

And lastly, but definitely not least, is the inevitable question of Britain's weather. Will the rain hold off for the Silverstone Wing's debut? Or will we see another downpour like we did in Canada? Part of me wants to see the new pit complex and start line bathed in sunshine; but then again, who would turn down another race like the one we had in Montreal? Only time will tell.

Image (c) Motioncompany, F1Fanatic