20 years ago.... the legend began

Germany had been seeking a Formula One World Champion ever since its inception in 1950. But it never materialized. Wolfgang Von Trips was destined for glory but unfortunately died prematurely in 1961 at Monza. Stefan Bellof, another driver who showed potential, was killed in a sportscar crash in 1985. It was not until the arrival of Michael Schumacher in 1991 that the German crowd had someone in whom they beleived could bring them the country's first ever Formula One World Championship.

It was 20 years ago that the previously unheard of young German driver arrived on the paddock for his debut race. His name was Michael Schumacher. It would signal the start of an amazing career in which he took home 7 World Championships and set countless other records along the way.

Michael Schumacher had been brought on the Jordan team as a replacement for Bertrand Gachot who had been sent to prison after an altercation with a London cab driver. Schumacher had impressed Jordan team designer Gary Anderson the previous week during a test drive. As he was still under contract from Mercedes, team boss Eddie Jordan had to pay Mercedes $150.000 to release him from his contract. Schumacher's manager Wili Webber had told Eddie Jordan that Schumacher knew the Spa-Francochamps circuit very well, but the truth was he only knew it from a spectators point of view. His teammate, 11 year veteran Andrea De Cesaris was supposed to show him the finer points of the circuit before testing, but could not make it in time due to sponsor commitment. Instead Schumacher went out on track on his own bicycle. During qualifying he stunned everybody and made the rest of the paddock take notice by qualifying 7th, 4 places ahead of his team mate De Cesaris. Even though he retired due to a clutch problem on the opening lap he had impressed many on his first outing.

Before the next race he was signed on by Benetton-Ford. Jordan applied for an injunction, but lost out as the team and Schumacher had not formally signed a contract. He went on to finish 5th, his first points, in his very first race for Benetton-Ford. At Benetton he formed a partnership with Technical Director Ross Brawn and Designer Rory Bryne. Their partnership proved fruitful as Schumacher and Benetton team went on to win the World Championships in 1994 and 1995. Later Bryne and Brawn would also move to Ferrari with Schumacher in 1996. At Ferrari they were instrumental in getting Ferrari back to the top of Formula One. What followed from 1996 till Schumacher's retirement in 2006 is known to all motorsport enthusiast.

Schumacher has had his fair share of critisisms over the year. Most notable are his alleged "accidents" with Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. Schumacher is widely known for his aggresive driving style and also his fierce determination to win at any cost. His ability to drive a car beyond its limit and to set fastest laps whenever the situation demands is unparallel. Over the years he earned himself the nicknames 'Reigenmeister' (rain master) and 'Red Baron' (because of his all winning red Ferrari in reference to a World War 1 flying ace). He is also regarded as the best driver after the late Ayrton Senna in wet and slippery conditions. Schumacher has won many accolades in the racing world over the years and can truly be compared alongside Ayrton Senna and Juan Manuel Fangio as the greatest ever Formula One driver.

Tyre Poker

What you generally picture about a race in Hungary is a race held in bright sunshine, hot weather and very few overtakes. But as soon as you through in a rain shower and changeable conditions the race comes alive with thrills and spills all over the track to keep you glued to the television screens And that is exactly what happened this Sunday at Hungaroring.

Ever since the race last week at Nurburgring the fact that McLaren had upped their game was quite evident. Their good run also continued into the Hungarian GP with Hamilton and team-mate Button securing the 2^nd and 3^rd places on the grid. Vettel not surprisingly took the pole. At the start Vettel was able to hold off the challenge from both the McLaren for the first couple of laps. Ferrari was the biggest losers during the start with both the Mercedes drivers overtaking both Massa and Alonso. Meanwhile in the front, Hamilton was pushing Vettel in hope that he makes a mistake. The track was still slippery off the racing line owing to the rain shower just before the start, so Hamliton could not take too much of a risk in overtaking Vettel. On lap 5 Hamilton took a plunge down the inside of Vettel into the first corner and was able to keep his nose ahead through the next couple of corner to take the lead. Gradually Hamilton pulled away from Vettel who was then caught up and put under pressure by Button. As the track began to dry out Webber was among the first to pit for slicks and was immediately quicker. This prompted the rest of the field to change from the intermediates to slicks. Button and Webber were able to jump Vettel and Alonso respectively in the pits.

The positions stayed the same after the second round of stops. Alonso by then had caught up with Webber in 4^th place but could not find a way past him in the tight and twisty track. So he took a gamble of coming in for an early third stop and changed to super soft compound. Webber stayed out for a few more laps but then changed to soft compound which ensured that he could finish the race in that set of tyre if it stayed dry. Button and Vettel, like Webber shifted to the soft compound. But Hamilton took the gamble and pitted for another set of super softs. The super softs as demonstrated by Alonso were quicker for the first couple of laps but then their performances declined due to increased tyre wear.

Then on lap 47 the track was hit by a small shower which barely lasted a lap, but the asphalt immediately became slippery. On the exit of turn 8 chicane Hamilton, who had not put a wheel wrong till then, spun his McLaren almost taking out Paul Di Resta in the process. This enabled Button to take the lead. The McLaren pair fought for the lead over the next couple of laps. Then in a surprising decision which shook the whole outcome of the race McLaren called in Hamilton for a change of tyres from the worn out super-softs to intermediates. Hamilton struggled to keep the intermediates cool enough and thus lost a fair bit of time and position. Just a few laps later he had to come in for soft tyres as he was struggling to keep up on the intermediates. Then his race became even more disastrous as the stewards decided to give Hamilton a drive through penalty on the grounds of unsafe racing when he rejoined from his spin right in front of Di Resta forcing him to take evasive actions. This dropped Hamilton down to 6^th place behind Massa. By the end he climbed up to 4^th place passing Webber down the pit straight and Massa when he made his last pit stop. After 70 laps controlled and sensible driving Button took the chequered flag on the occasion of his 200^th Grand Prix start.

From the start it looked as if it was Hamilton’s race to throw away. But a mistake at the chicane and a bad call for tyre stop derailed his bid for his 3^rd victory of the season. Both the Red Bulls struggled to match the pace of their rivals. Webber though was able to bottle up Alonso in a faster Ferrari for most part of the race. Otherwise towards the end of the race Alonso could have challenged Vettel for 2^nd place. This race again showed that the Red Bull machines tend to struggle in cold and wet conditions (China, Canada, Britain, Germany, and Hungary). In the end it was evident that Button deserved this victory. He pushed when needed and was always in a comfortable position rarely challenged.

Nurburgring- review

Nurburgring Nordschleife. The name itself intrigues many. It’s originally a 14.173 mile long track. But the F1 track is a 3 mile course set within it and was the location for the 10^th round of the 2011 Formula 1 championship. It certainly didn't disappoint.

After being off the pace to Red Bull and Ferrari on both practice sessions on Friday, Lewis Hamilton surprised every one by qualifying 2^nd on the grid splitting the two Red Bull drivers. Webber made a slow start allowing Hamilton to take the lead while the two Ferrari’s were on the inside and outside of Vettel, with Alonso getting ahead of the German after the first sequence of corners. After that Hamilton settled into the race lead with Webber and Alonso close behind. Lap 9 saw a rare mistake from Vettel as he spun out briefly from the track thus dropping further behind both Alonso and 4rth placed Massa.

Webber took the gamble of coming in for fresh tires first and rejoined behind Massa. Hamilton and Alonso pitted during the course of the same lap and came out as Massa and Webber were braking down into turn 1. Webber then took the lead when Massa pitted next lap. Many people argued that had Massa, who by that time was slower than Webber on old tires, been kept out for another lap then Hamilton and Alonso could have caught up to Webber and put him under pressure. but in my opinion Ferrari took the right call as keeping him out for another lap in a slower car would have spoilt his race and put him behind Vettel in 5^th place after his pit stop. After all the front runner made their pit stops Webber led from Hamilton and Alonso. The top three were separated within 5 seconds. After the second round of pit stops Hamilton re took the lead ahead of Alonso and Webber. Button who had been struggling with grip all day meanwhile retired due to power steering fault.

Everyone knew the third round of stops would be crucial as they would have to go on to the harder of the two compounds. The medium compound (only medium and soft were available) was almost 0.8^th of a second of the pace of the softer tires. So whoever of the leading trio would stop first would immediately be at a disadvantage. No body was willing to take that risk as the race approached its end. A few laps from the end, Hamilton was the first to blink as he entered the pits for his mandatory stint on the medium compound, knowing full well that it could also make him lose the race. Next lap Alonso changed from soft to medium. Meanwhile Webber kept on going on the soft tires and pitted 3 laps from the end and rejoined behind Alonso in 3^rd place with Hamilton leading. Massa and Vettel pushed things even further as they were locked in a close battle for 4rth, pitting on the penultimate lap of the race. Massa lost the place to Vettel in the pits as one of his wheel nuts had jammed costing him 4rth place. In the end Hamilton took the race win the 16^th win of his career.

In my opinion Ferrari could have taken a few of their decisions differently which might have changed the outcome of the race. Instead of calling Alonso to pit immediately after Hamilton, they could have told him to stay out for a couple more laps to build up a suitable gap to Hamilton. He had the soft compound tire on him which made him faster than Hamilton on his medium compound. Had he pitted with Webber about 4-5 laps later than Hamilton then I feel the gap would have been large enough to come out in front of his closest challenger Hamilton, and would have been in the lead of the race. But then again Alonso at the end of the race just had enough fuel for the FIA test sample and was unable to even complete his slowing down lap. This lack of fuel may have compromised his race strategy towards the end. His lack of fuel may have prevented him from pushing for faster lap times after Hamilton pitted for the option tires.

With both McLaren and Ferrari showing genuine pace they can take the fight to the runaway leader Red Bull. They would need each others help in keeping the Red Bull drivers of the podium to secure maximum possible points if either of them hope to be crowned World Champions at the end of the year.

Ferrari- Another phoenix act?

The main talking point leading up to the British Grand Prix was how much would the off throttle diffuser ban affect the racing world and primarily the Red Bull Racing team. But these questions were swept aside after qualifying in which the Red Bull drivers again locked out the front row, this time with Mark Webber on pole. Lining up third on the grid was Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso ahead of his team mate Felipe Massa. But it was interesting to note that the qualifying time difference between pole sitter Mark Webber to that of 3^rd placed Alonso was less than .1 of a second. Just a few races ago the Red Bull drivers had an advantage over their rivals by close to a second almost. Slowly but surely this gap had been coming down race by race.

Once the race started however it was back to normal with the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel after overtaking Webber in the first corner pulling away from the rest of the pack. Webber however could not build up such an advantage over Alonso as his teammate had done over him. After the first round of pit stops all of the drivers switched from intermediates to soft slick tyres, with Vettel leading Alonso and Webber. Alonso had overtaken Webber during the pits. Then on lap 28 Vettel came in for his second scheduled pit stop followed by Alonso. During the stop the left rear caused problem while putting it on. This cost Vettel about 4 extra seconds and more importantly also the race lead. Vettel rejoined in 3^rd place behind Hamilton. Even though he had a faster car than Hamilton he couldn’t pass Hamilton for a few laps. While Vettel was stuck behind Hamilton Alonso with a clear road in front of him slowly extended his lead to 9 seconds over 2^nd place Hamilton. By the time Vettel crossed Hamilton and both of them had done their 3^rd and final stop Alonso in the Ferrari had built up a lead of 13 seconds.

About 10 laps from the end came the radio message from McLaren pit-crew telling Hamilton that his fuel level was low and told him to drive a conservative race till the end. Sensing his opportunity 4rth placed Webber increased his pace. Within a course of a few laps he was right behind Hamilton and eventually passed him without much of a difficulty. 5^th placed Massa also took his chance and closed down a 9 second gap to Hamilton within 5 laps. While Massa was chasing down Hamilton, Webber also started closing down the gap to Vettel who also apparently had lowered his pace. By the start of the last laps both Webber and Massa were right behind Vettel and Hamilton respectively. Both of them tried hard but couldn’t make up another place as Vettel and Hamilton held to their place by a small margin, with Webber told to maintain position during the last section to avoid a repeat of Turkey 2010.

Alonso won with a gap of close to 17 seconds. The increase of pace of his Ferrari was clearly evident. In my books even if Vettel’s 2^nd stop had gone of without any problem then also Alonso could have caught up with him. Whether or not he could have passed him is another question. For the last few races it has been the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso who had been most successful in taking the fight to the Red Bull Racing team. Last season too Ferrari had a strong 2^nd half and eventually had a chance to clinch the championship. But this season had their 1^st half gone stronger they could have been in a position to challenge for the championship. Vettel by winning 6 of the opening 9 races has opened up a big gap to his nearest challenger. Even though the championship still has a long way to go many argue that Vettel has more or less clinched it already. He has 4 main rivals. Over the remaining races they will keep fighting within themselves and taking points off themselves thus the lead would still be preserved (considering Vettel finishes all of them within the points, preferably higher up), like the scenario in 2009. But the coming races will definitely be a treat to watch given the rise of Ferrari challenging the Red Bull’s. Also one can never count out the McLaren drivers too. They have the ability and both have been crowned World Champions previously and have the hunger for their respective 2^nd crowns.

DRS Zone & Double DRS Zone- good or bad?

Drag Reduction System (DRS) is one of the new features introduced this season. It is supposed to increase the number of overtakings in a race in a bid to make Formula 1 more visually appealing to the viewers. It has both been praised and criticized by section of the media and also by some of the drivers.

DRS opens an adjustable flap on the rear wing to reduce aerodynamic drag, which increases downforce for greater cornering but reduces speed, thus giving the pursuing car more speed and a greater chance of overtaking the car in front. If a driver is behind another driver by less than a second in a specific point on the track then the DRS becomes electronically activated. A driver can use this DRS system in a particular part of the track during the race. A well working DRS unit can add upto 15-17 kmph more.

The introduction of DRS has produced more overtaking chances than before. Some feel that DRS has made overtaking in long straights very easy as the car using the DRS system can get an extra 10-15 kmph over the car in front. This increased speed has made overtaking relatively easy. For example in 2010 Turkish Grand Prix the total number of overtaking maneuvers executed were about 15, whereas in 2011 Turkish Grand Prix there were 128 overtaking maneuvers executed.

FIA from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards have started marking 2 separate DRS zone in tracks that have two successive long straights. But what they haven’t done is add two separate DRS Detection Points. So immediately there is a loophole in the laws of the sports. Consider this scenario where car B is behind car A by less than a second. Let car B cross car A in the first DRS zone. Now according to the rules, car A who is behind cannot use the DRS in the 2^nd zone to overtake car B. BUT car B can still use the DRS system as he was seen to be less than a second behind car A during the DRS detection point. This gives an unfair speed advantage to car B to pull away at a faster speed than car A.

The FIA must work quickly to rectify this loophole in the rule books. In place of adding another Detection Point they can place what I call a “Partial Detection Point” at the end of the first straight which senses whether the car behind has overtaken the car in front. If so then the DRS can be de-activated in both the cars.

DRS has certainly added a new dimension to the sport. It helps in overtaking which is what viewers want to see. It has made the sport more appealing with more overtaking maneuvers. But on the other hand I feel that DRS have taken away the factor of drivers’ skill in times of overtaking maneuvers.

Building The Perfect Team

Team Red Bull may have built a car that almost no one can match. But is it the perfect car? What if we take parts from all the 12 teams to build what I call the Perfect Team. Lets see which parts from which team makes the cut.

Aerodynamics- Red Bull

This was probably the easiest choice I had to make. In terms of aerodynamic efficiency I will say only McLaren and Ferrari have come anywhere near to matching them. But both of those teams are still way behind. One might argue that the early season Red Bull dominance may be down to their perfecting the Blown Diffuser system. But whether or not that is the case remains to be seen as it has been outlawed from the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Engine- Mercedes FO 108Y

I was inclined to go for the Renault RS27-2011 engine that is present on Red Bull Racing, Renault and Team Lotus, but instead chose the Mercedes FO 108Y on the McLaren, Mercedes and Force India. Over the past few seasons McLaren's strong showings have been down to the raw power their Mercedes manufactured engines can churn out. With the proper aerodynamic set up they can post the fastest straight line speeds.

DRS- Mercedes

In spite of the problem of the air attaching once the DRS wing has been deactivated (a problem i came to know of until recently) I still chose the Mercedes version of the DRS system. The Mercedes DRS system can add upto 15-18 kmph once it is activated. Whereas in comparison the McLaren developed unit adds only about 5-7 kmph. It is widely regarded in the paddock that the Mercedes version is the most developed of the DRS system.

KERS- Ferrari/McLaren

Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) recovers the energy lost in braking and stores that energy in a battery. That energy can be used by the drivers for a duration of 6.6 seconds over a single lap. Red Bull have not been able to develop their KERS unit properly as we have heard of it failing a number of times this season. I chose Ferrari/ McLaren as they have acheived good stability with the weight distribution of the overall car.

Team Director- Martin Whitmarsh

Handling with two competitive drivers both of whom are challenging for the championship is never easy. Christian Horner tried, but after Turkey 2010 (and also Britain 2010) (in my view) he failed to look after Mark Webber by giving priority to young prodigy Sebastien Vettel. Stefano Domenicalli could have handled two championship chasing drivers, but at some stages he looks a bit lost with setting the strategy. Martin Whitmarsh on the other hand exudes a sense of calm in the McLaren garage. He is able to manage Lewis Hamilton's ego, which in itself is a big task, properly to some extent.

Drivers- Sebastein Vettel and Fernando Alonso. Nico Hulkenberg (third driver)

Choosing from a field of 24 of the best drivers in the world is never an easy task. But under the present condition and judging by their respective form and talent I am going with a pairing of Sebastien Vettel and Fernando Alonso. And as a third driver I am choosing an up and coming talent who I think is a contender for future championships given the right car.

Sebastien Vettel would probably walk into anyone’s dream line up given the nature of his dominance in this current season. He has won 6 out of the first 8 races, and has been either 2nd or 1st in every single one of the races so far. He has even secured Pole position 7 times already. Statistics even show that he has led above 80% of the total number of laps this season. He has matured as a driver since his much criticized crash into team-mate Mark Webber in Turkey last year. He can nurse the fast degrading Pirelli tyres very well. Vettel is still very young (turning 24 on July 3^rd) and has a bright future ahead of him. Many even say that he can overtake Michael Schumacher’s record of 7 World Championships.

The other driver that I chose is a double World Champion Fernando Alonso. He is one of the most talented drivers on the grid today. He can adapt very quickly with different conditions. He is equally fast in both dry and rainy conditions. He has shown the ability to get more than maximum out from his car. Many times this season he has punched above his weight with his Ferrari. Alonso can be both aggressive and defensive as the situation requires. I particularly remember his defending qualities in the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix when he blocked a much faster Michael Schumacher for over 15 laps.

Nico Hulkenberg is a driver whom I greatly admire. He has shown that he is genuinely quick in his first season in Formula 1. But unfortunately he could not secure a race seat in the current season owing to inability to rope in big sponsors. Last year he even got an unfancied Williams to qualify in Pole for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Given a chance in one of the front running teams, he has the talent to challenge for points or even a podium place.

Fans- Ferrari Tifosi

No other team has such a large and passionate set of fan as Ferrari. Their fans are extremely passionate about their racing team and support Ferrari through thick and thin. It’s impossible to find an empty seat during the Italian Grand Prix. The stands at Monza are filled with a sea of scarlet colour wearing supporters though out the race weekend including the practice sessions.

Introduction

Welcome readers,

Through this blog I will try to write about F1 in general, everything that has been going on in F1. I wont ramble on about the whole race as most of you petrol heads would have already seen it live. Instead I will try to pick out some of the moments that I felt had an important bearing on the final standing as well as write about few other stuff that had happened all through this season.

Lastly, I must stress on this point, that I write this blog with my views in my mind. My views may differ from that of yours (the reader). So feel free to comment on the posts. It would also help my writing by taking your views into account.