Is F1 getting too political?

Let's see from the beginning of the year it has been Double-Diffuser saga, Lewis Hamilton cheating scandal, McLaren almost beng suspended for few races, Ron Dennis quitting F1 and now FIA vs FOTA due to the budget caps. And not to mention we have had a fantastic start to the season with the Big Guns struggling and teams like Brawn, Red Bull and Toyota rocking the motorsport world. 

Well the answer to the question will unfortunately have to be no since we have been embroiled in controversy almost every Formula One season. I think with the recession this year there is more emphasis to cut costs, more than ever before which is leading to this contoversy. This has been caused by Max Mosley and the FIA looking to have a budget cap in place, to cut costs and invite new players into the fold. 

Max Mosley's proposed $40m budget cap sounds preposterous to me. Firstly, yes we have to cut costs but at the same time this is Formula One - the pinnacle of motorsports, the dream of almost every adrenalin filled male in the world. This is not IRL or the old F3000. Is it unfair that some teams have higher budgets? Yes that might be the case but Renault managed to win the Championship in 2005-06 with probably half the budget of both Ferrari and McLaren. Actually we have just have to look at this year to see how the team with one of the lowest budgets are leading the Championship. 

Secondly how are these budgets going ot be tracked? Not only will it be hard to keep a track of but also teams will not want to show their accounting books to the FIA. Leading teams including Ferrari, BMW, Toyota, Renault and Red Bull have all threatened to pull out unless there is a change in the budget cap. Now Ferrari is heading to court seeking an injunction over the 2010 regulations, which will be heard today. 

The next few couple of months will be interesting to see how this pans out. But for now we are heading towards the most glamourous GP of the calendar, the streets of Monaco. This is gonna be anyone's guess and my next entry will let you know who I think will be battlng for the win this time around.

Ron Dennis quits Formula one

Ron Dennis today announced that he will completely step back from all of McLaren's racing actvities. This comes at a time when McLaren are going through one of their toughest periods in motor racing. Martin Whitmarsh had become CEO of McLaren earlier this year, taking over from Dennis. Many believe this decision has come due to the strained relationship between Dennis and FIA President Max Mosley, which in turn has been affecting the team of late. McLaren are in the middle or 'liar-gate', events of the Melbourne GP two weeks ago.  

The last couple of years have been a tumultous experience for the former McLaren head, especialy when his team were found guilty of espionage and fined $100M for disqualified from the constructors championship. I am quite sure that many people are not too sad to see Dennis leave Formula One, espcially Max Mosley from the FIA.

In my view, Ron Dennis has been one of the Champions of F1, who has played a pivotal role in bringing F1 to where it is now. He has worked with probably the greater driver list ever, excluding Michael Schumacher. His world champions include Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, the late great Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and most recently Lewis Hamilton. Dennis, along with his business partners bought the team in 1981 and convinced Mansour Ojjeh of TAG to become his partner. In the early 80's he turned an also ran team into one of the top teams in Formula One. Apart from the slump in the early 90's McLaren have always been a contender for the F1 crown.

He brought the two great drivers, Senna and Prost together in 1988, and dominated the season winning 15 out of the 16 races. While Prost left the team a year later, Senna went on to dominate in Formula One for years to come, until his tragic death in 1994. 

After Senna left, Dennis joined hands with Mercedes while the team began to regroup. The hardwork finally paid in 1998-99 as Mika Hakkinen won back-to-back titles with the Mercedes powered McLaren. While McLaren has been strong in the last decade Dennis has had his fair share of troubles, especially with his drivers. Juan Pablo Montoya left halfway through the 2006 campaign and Fernando Alonso also had a fall-out with Dennis and left in 2007.

Dennis has been a big promoter of letting his drivers fight it out for the title and not adhering to team orders, like many other teams. All in all Dennis has been great to the sport and I believe his leadership skills and win-at-all-costs mentality will be sorely missed at McLaren. As he famously once said, "To finish first, first you have to finish". Ron, we will miss you

Diffusers deemed Legal

It what is definitely to be a big blow to the chasing pack, the double diffuser concept used by Brawn, Williams and Toyota have been deemed legal by the FIA International Court of Appeal. This will significantly impact the Big 4 (Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and BMW) in their quest to become world champions this year. With the Brawn GP car miles ahead of their competition you can be sure that the remaining teams will be working round the clock to get the diffuser onto their cars. 

The row broke out when the top teams protested against the legality of the 'double-decker' diffusers the day before the opener at Melbourne, but race stewards rejected their claims.The diffuers generate more downforce which adds a performance advantage of 0.3 to 0.5 secs per lap. This also makes overtaking a lot harder, which was one of the main objectives with regards to the new regulations. Former World Champions Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen had also gone on to say that the Championship would be decided by this verdict.

It will take most teams a number of races to fix a diffuser to suit the car. I just hope that it is not too late for the other teams to catch up with Brawn who are clearly ahead, with Toyota not too far behind. Button has been in imperious form and unless Barrichello starts taking points off him this Championship might be over by the time we reach Valencia in August. However the rate of development of the top teams are a lot faster than anyone else so as predicted, this might just turn out to be one of the best championships in years to come, possibly even better than last year.    

Hamilton disqualified from the Australian GP!!

In what was probably the most hectic week in F1 history, the FIA stewards have stripped reigning World Champion Lewis Hamilton of McLaren Mercedes off his third place in the Australian GP. The FIA have also reinstated Jarno Trulli for his third place at the Australian GP.

Hamilton and McLaren were stripped of their points when for giving 'misleading' evidence to the FIA stewards in the immdiate aftermath of the race. Jarno Trulli was given a 25sec penalty after it was found that he passed Hamilton under yellow flags at the end of the race, which eventually put him in 12th position. Trulli had withdrawn the appeal couple of days ago but it was reopened by the FIA after they found 'new evidence' in the case. 

When the safety car came out after the Kubica/Vettel crash on the penultimate lap, Trulli was ahead of Hamilton. However Trulli went off the track onto the grass at the penultimate corner, to which Hamilton duly went past him. On the last lap Hamilton literally came to a standstill forcing Trulli to go past. Trulli figured Hamilton had a probem and thus went past. When Hamilton met the stewards after the race, he made it clear that he did not let Trulli through and he passed him anyway. This forced the stewards to give Trulli a 25sec penalty.

Evidence now suggests that the team told Hamilton to give the place back, with radio conversations from the McLaren team suggesting the same. This would mean that what Lewis communicated to the stewards and what actually transpired were totally different. 

We have just completed the first race and we have already had so many controversies. Last Thursday there was an appeal against the 'Diffuser Gang', Saturday saw the disqualification of the Toyotas in qualifying for the flexi wing, and Sunday saw Trulli demoted. 

Sepang is around the corner so let us hope we have a les controversial weekend this time around!! 

Stunning Brawn GP lock out the front row!!

The moment Jenson Button drove the first few laps in the Brawn GP he knew he possibly had the quickest car he had ever driven in Formula One, and this was confirmed today when he secured Pole Position for Brawn GP, with his team-mate Rubens Barrichello locking out the front row. However, it looks like Button is two laps lighter than Barrichello, which should be entertaining to see see how it pans out tomorrow. Brawn GP look like they will be in a race of their own, as they seem to be heavier than all the cars behind them. 

Williams' Nico Rosberg has been might impressive the whole weekend, fastest in all 3 practice sessions, but could not match that pace in Q3 and will start from 5th position. Vettel was impressive in 3rd with Kubica 4th. 

The 'Big Guns' failed to impress (apart from Kubica) with Ferrari the highest placed of them all, starting from 6th and 8th. Alonso made a costly error which will force him to start from the sixth row of the grid. But the talking point of the weekend was the continued lack of pace from the McLarens. Even though both cars scraped through to Q2, Hamilton was forced to retire before he could even do a lap, and will start from the back of the grid. This was due to a gearbox failure, which Hamilton caused when he slammed the kerbs on his flying lap. Am sure McLaren and especially Hamilton are not used to starting in this position, but it will be interesting as he will try everything possible to get ahead in the race.

Controversies have been plenty this weekend, and the stewards were thrusted straight into it again when the Toyota cars were found guilty of Article  3.15 of the 2009 Formula One Technical Regulations as the upper parts of their rear wings were deemd to have extreme flexibility. Hence, Glock and Trulli will be joining Hamilton at the back of the grid.

Albert Park is famous for first corner incidents so this race is sure to be a thriller. All in all, this season promises to be one of the most unpredictable ones ever and it starts tomorrow. I for one cannot wait for the lights to go green tomorrow morning, so lets go racingggg!!!

  

Finalllllyyy...F1 fever has come back to..take over our lives

Friday practice sessions completed and the form books have been tossd out of the window. Rosberg, Barrichello, Trulli, Webber, Button comprise the top 5 and now to the biggest surprise of all - Ferrari, McLaren, BMW and Renault all outside the top 10. We have learned over the last couple of seasons that Friday form is normally nothing to go by, but these are the same guys who have been heading the winter testing times as well, so it is definitely something for us to look at.

In my view, the first couple of races will be anyone's game, with the European races bringing us normal trend for the rest of the season. Apart from the Ferrari's, who were quite quick in the morning, the other 3 top teams definitely do seem to be struggling with the grip levels. 

However, as mentioned before this is just Friday testing and qualifying looks to be a real cracker of a session tomorrow. Expect a lot of surprises tomorrow. Sunday;s race should be interesting as tyre degaradatio will come into play. Remember this years Australian GP will start at 5pm instead of the normal 2pm, thereby the track temperatures not being as hot as they normally are. 

After qualifying it might be easier to pick a winner fo sunday, but if you ask me right now, I will say it will be between Rosberg, Barrichello and Raikkonen for the victory. Yes that is Barrichello and not Button that I have picked because I honestly believe he is the better driver out of the two, just marginally. 

Till tomorrow..  

Formula One 2009 - Here we go again!!

This is the part we all look forward to kick-start our year - engines revving, burning rubber, wheels banging - yes to all of us F1 enthusiasts the year is just beginning. This is also the time of the year when we are unsure of who is going to be fast, who is going to be midfield and who is not gonna matter at all. The rumour mills are in overdrive even before we reach Melbourne, with tales about which cars are going to be fastest and fighting for the championship, but somehow when we reach the European races, we kinda know the pecking order for the rest of the season.

This year promises to be like no other, with sweeping changes and regulations in place for the year. The cars look totally different (aerodynamically), the technology is new (KERS), and best part of it all, we return to slicks. But the news that I feel that shook the Formula One fraternity up (apart from Brawn GP) was the change in the points system for the year. 

The news rules state that the driver with the most wins will be crowned Champion at the the end of the year. This means that if Massa wins 6 races and fails to finish the rest of the races, and if the next best, say Raikkonen wins 5 races and finishes second in the remaining races, Massa will still be crowned Champion. If two or more drivers are tied at say 4 wins a piece, then the points will come into play. 

Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli were the first set of drivers to voice their displeasure with the rules, with Bernie Eccelstone being the strongest advocate for the new system. In my view, I think it is great for racing. This way no driver will ease off at anytime during the season. However, there will always be another side to it so let us see how it works out this year before I become a big fan of it.

With the cars expected to be within one second of each other (testing times suggest this), and a lot more overtaking promised, this season could turn to be even better than last years, so Melbourne here we come!!

Honda - Power of Dreams to perish today??

Just a break in my Top 5 drivers of the year to bring the news that Honda will most probably quit F1 today, with an announcement imminent over the next 24hrs. We did know the recession would impact Formula One but this is a huge blow to the sport. The name Honda has strond ties with Formula One, and today they will announce that the team will be sold. Apart from the 700 employees who will get their pink slips, notable F1 figures such as Ross Brawn and Jenson Button will be left homeless.

If Honda are to cut jobs in Japan, their F1 program would not look justifiable in the eyes of the employees or the public. Honda are reportedly spending $218 million on their F1 project, but this figure also included the Super Aguri expenses. In these tough financial times it will hard for a company to justify spending on a project like this while they have to look to cut expenses. 

This will be a big blow not only for F1 but for a lot of people as well. Ross Brawn should not have trouble finding another home but Jenson Button will have to pull something out of the abg to get a drive next year, with only few drives available. Upcoming drivers Bruno Senna and Lucas Di Grassi will have to look elsewhere or head back to Gp2. And finally spare a thought for the employess back at Brackley, who have had a miserable year and a worse ending to it.

Bernie Eccelstone will have to pull something special out of the bag to get a solid buyer for the team. Red Bull as well are looking to sell the Toro Rosso team, so expect a whirlwind of cost cuts to hit the sport. Let us hope, by the time we reach Melbourne next year that there are no other teams who will suffer the same fate, especially another manufacturer..  

Year 2008 - Top 5 Drivers

It has been quite a while since my last entry and the season has long gone. But looking back I am sure everyone who witnessed the season will say "what a season" and I am no different. It literally came down down to the line and is probably one of the best finishes ever in the history of Formula One. From the beginning it has been a see-saw battle between the Ferrari's and McLaren's Hamilton, with the pendulum swinging alternate ways every race. But at the end of the season there were many drivers who were outstanding and I have listed my top 5 drivers of the year. 

Please remember this is my view and people are free to comment even though it probably will not change my views. I will list the drivers with 5 different entries starting today. So let's get on with it...

Top 5 Drivers

#5

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel has all the ingredients of making history in Formula One, and his performance this year has justified that even further. Vettel was mega this year, disposing off his team-mate with ease and recording his debut win in Formula One. But apart from that you are looking at a future World Champion in the making. He is one of the few drivers to come in directly from F3, albeit in a testing role. 

Toro Rosso are the former Minardi team, with many member still remaining with the team. Expectations for the Toro Rosso team were very low, with maybe couple of points coming out of a wet race or a race with many retirements. Vettel only scored his first point of the season in Monaco, being luckless in the races before. But after that Vettel was awesome, amassing an incredible 29 points in the last seven races, beating early title contenders Raikkonen and Kubica, and only losing out to Alonso, Massa and eventual Champion Hamilton. 

Vettel got better as the season went on, consistently putting his Toro Roso into Q1. Then came Monza where he managed to get Toro Rosso's first ever Pole Position, and more notably Vettel's first pole. Getting pole was one thing, getting onto the podium was the aim for the race. Vettel stunned everyone by dominating the race without ever being threatened at any point. This made the 21yr old the youngest winner in Formula One. 

Vettel's teammate Sebastien Bourdais, CART champion was impressive too at the second half of the season, but the way Vettel dominated him, it made Bourdais look very average. Vettel could also have been the difference in the outcome of the World Championship when he overtook Hamilton with two laps to go.  

All in all it has been an excellent year for the young German and expect him to make an impaice in Formula One in the next couple of years. Next year's job will be at the wheel of Adrian Newey's Red Bull with Mark Webber, another excellent qualifier. Many have dubbed him as 'Baby Schumi' and expect him to live up to that name.   

Fallout from the Japanese GP

Fernando Alonso pulled off a stunnng victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, but his victory seemed to overshadowed by the antics of the two champiosnhip contenders, who in my view honestly dont deserve to be champions. Alonso drove brilliantly reeling off a barrage of low 1m19s laps on a consistent basis when it was most needed, which eventually resulted in him winning. I do believe Hamilton and the Ferraris would have been quicker but nonetheless his drive was brilliant, without a flaw. 

Now this brings me to the title showdown with two races to go and five points in hand. As I have said before even when Hamilton is unlucky, he is lucky. And I do believe this will help him in winning the championship. Hamilton's aggressiveness defintely caught up with him this weekend but will surely fire him up even more for this weekend's penultimate race. The arguments are going to rage on on both Massa and Hamilton's penalties but there are key facts of the race, that have been well pointed out byEd Gorman from The Times: 

1. Lewis does not make his move on Kimi until very late on the straight. He whips out almost at the point that his front wheels are on the white line at the end of the pit-exit lane.

2. Lewis is parallel to Kimi when he hits the brakes and Heikki is right behind Lewis, so Kimi is well and truly trapped.

3. Lewis goes straight on but then Heikki takes his place alongside Kimi, pushing the Iceman wide in a sequence which is the direct consequence of Lewis's initial passing attempt.

4. Lewis is tracking Fernando and Robert along the straight towards Turn 3. He is in third place. As they approach the apex of Turn 3, Lewis is about three car-lengths behind Fernando. He does not make a move on Fernando but when he gets to the curbs at the apex his car gets pitched off, across the track and runs very wide over the run-off area. This is why Lewis is in seventh place, and behind Felipe, by the time they approach Turn 10 next time round.

5. There is no doubt that Lewis was responsible for a sequence of events which primarily disadvantaged Kimi.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/formula_one/

This explains how Lewis went from 3rd to 7th which most of us missed and also a deeper understanding into the reason behind the penalty. With the title on the line was it really worth it on Hamilton's part? But I am sure it is really easy for us to sit here and judge, while the drivers have a second or less to trust their instincts. 

It is safe to say that last year's Chinese Grand Prix costed Hamilton the World Championship, so he will be determined to make sure lightning does not strike twice!!

Hamilton's Appeal thrown out

Well the news is out now that Hamilton's appeal has been 'inadmissible' by the FIA which is a big blow to the McLaren Mercedes team. They were confident that they could get he result overturned but the FIA has rejected the appeal. As drive-thru penalty's cannot be appealed McLaren were always fighting a losing battle to make it stick. McLaren based their whole case on last season's Japanese Grand Prix, where an appeal was heard about whether or not Liuzzi should have been handed a 25-second time penalty for passing Sutil under yellow caution flags. That punishment was in lieu of a drive thru penalty that is normally handed down for such offences. Lawyers for McLaren had argued that, while drive-through penalties are not susceptible to appeal, 25-second time penalties are. The judges said the Fuji case was not relevant because "none of the parties concerned had raised the inadmissibility of the appeal in that case."

The main problem here is that Hamilton drove his heart out in one of the best races ever, and its a shame he lost out because of his mistake. People would not have reacted this way if it was a normal race but under the circumstances they feel differently. 

Fans who think the FIA is trying to discourage overtaking because of this are just totally off the mark. There are rules which all drivers have to stick by and cutting chicanes will give any driver an advantage. Not one driver on the F1 grid supported Hamilton's move and felt that he was in the wrong. In my opinion it is just bad luck and just inexperience on the part of Hamilton. Either way he looks favourite to win the inaugural night race in Singapore, with the rain gods increasingly looking likely to support him. 

Including the Belgian GP Hamilton has been impeded 4 times this year, others being the 5 penalty gird position in Sepang, 10 place penalty following his crash into Raikkonen at Montreal, and drive thru penalty at Magny-Cours. All have been justified and I dont think there is any bias on the part of the FIA. Have some of them been harsh decisions? yes for sure but that's Formula One. Juan Pablo Montoya has been penalised numerous times and so has Fernando Alonso in controversial circumstances.

Hamilton has to put this behind him and go out and win that title, that is if the team can manage to do it wihout making any stupid mistakes.

In closing, I dont think McLaren have ever won a battle with the FIA, maybe getting a new legal team will be a  good start...

Singapore - F1's first night race

The Formula One Championship this year has been tightly contested, and with one point separating the top two drivers (as they stand today), we are in for a cracker of a final few races. However the Championship this week has been overshadowed by the fact that Formula One will have their first ever night race in Singapore, the first ever night race in the history of Formula One. Now some people might be thinking how the hell can these guys race at night?? Well in America its nothing new to race at night as the circuit is heavily lit up. For example the company Valerio Maioli, who are contracted for the lighting said the following:

In terms of numbers, the logistical set up is understandably vast. During the event, 108,423 metres of power cables, 240 steel pylons and around 1,600 light projectors with a total power requirement of 3,180,000 watts will be used. With an illumination measurement of around 3000 lux, the lighting will be four times brighter than the lights at sports stadiums.

So this might be Greek and Latin, but with this equipment it means that the track will be lighter than day. This promises to be one of the most interesting races of the season, or most spectacular atleast. However am not sure whether overtaking will be a big possibility here, as it was lacking in Valencia and Monaco is almost impossible to pass. Another factor to take into account will be the possibility of rain, with thunderstorms expected over Saturday and Sunday. It will be interesting to see what happens if it does rain at night. 

Championship-wise my money will have to be on Lewis and the McLarens to be the favourites here. At night the weather will be cooler and it looks like the McLarens look better in cooler conditions. Massa seems to be more cautious in comparison to Hamilton, who is a lot more aggressive. Massa will have to step up and grab this opportunity as you will never know whether he will get this opportunity again. He will have to be more aggressive, as he was in Hungary in order to win this Championship.

Today the FIA will hear McLaren's appeal on the Spa result. In my view it will be inadmissible even before it reaches the courts as it is a drive-thru penalty which cannot be contested. It cannot be contested during the race and will surely not be open to be contested after the race. However McLaren seem confident and are sure they can get the result overturned, but it would be a shame if the result is changed now and will only lead to all teams contesting drive-thru's. 

So all-in-all it promises to the a cracker of a race this weekend and I for one cannot wait for the weekend to begin..

Spa - Greatest Race of the Decade!!

I know that everyone is still reeling from the Belgian Grand Prix, not only the final verdict but the race as well. I see many posts and comments about the "Death of Formula One" and "how the stewards screwed up" but the way I see it, rules are rules. The rule clearly states that no driver can gain an advantage by cutting the chicane, which is exactly what Hamilton did. Had he waited till the run up to Eau Rouge, he would have no problem. But Hamilton clearly gained and set Raikkonen up for the corner, even if he had blocked the inside line into La Source, Hamilton would have gone around the outside. It is a pity as Hamilton and Raikkonen drove the wheels off their cars, and the result being neither of them winning the race. Let us not leave out Heidfeld's drive to second, which was quick thinking on the part of the BMW Sauber team. If Alonso had pitted a lap earlier he would have probably won the race.

The race started off in damp conditions with all drivers on soft dry tyres, barring Renault's Nelson Piquet, who was on a one-stopper. Raikkonen got the jump on Massa into Eau Rouge as Massa eased off slightly and then almost drove Massa off the road trying to secure his second place. Next lap Hamilton spun at La Source, giving Raikkonen a run on him coming out of Eau Rouge and muscling his way past. This set the tone for the remainder of the race with Massa in third, Alonso in fourth, Bourdais an impressive fifth, and Kubica, Vettel and Heidfeld behind. It looked like it will finish in this fashion, but with 4 laps from the finish, it started to rain and Hamilton closed in on Raikkonen. With 2 laps to go Hamilton was forced to go around the outside in to bus stop and cut the chicance thus leading to the controversy. Hamilton waited for Raikkonen letting him by and immediately pouncing on him going into La Source. It was a smart move by Hamiton, but maybe a little over smart. After that both drivers could hardly stay on track as they both used the run-off at Pouhon, then forcing Hamilton off to the grass on Fagnes. Raikkonen then spun and one would assume that this race was over. Think again, going into the next corner Nakajima went off and it was a miracle that both Hamilton and Raikkonen missed hitting him. However Raikkonen's luck finally ran out when he lost control and hit the wall just before bus stop. Now all Hamilton had to do was stay on track to win the race, which he duly did. Massa decided to take the eight points rather than risk it all. Heidfeld, who switched to intermediate tyres with 2 laps to go charged from 7th to 3rd on the last lap to finish an amazing race, with Alonso finishing fourth.   

However this is when the controversy exploded and Hamilton was given a 25 second penalty, Harsh yes but fair. However nothing can be taken away from Hamilton, and for that matter Raikkonen too, who declared it was 'all or nothing' for him. With this result, Massa is just 2 points away from Hamilton, heading to Monza this weekend.

Monza should suit the McLaren again and I expect Hamilton to be in a strong position  to win this weekend, with Ferrari's close behind. The question now is will Raikkonen help his teammate and repay the favour from last year? That we will get to see this weekend. While we cannot hope for Monza to bring the same excitement, the championship is definitely hotting up and one retirement for any of these drivers will determine the outcome of this championship. Monza, home of the Ferrari tifosi - Bring it on!!

 

Even when he is unlucky, Hamilton is lucky!!

Last weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix turned out to be a great race, definitely not what I had expected. The Hungarian GP in normal conditions is a processional race but right from the start you could see this race was always going to be different. Hats off to Felipe Massa, a driver who has faced a barrage of criticism following his dismal Hockenheim performance, where he easily let Hamilton through. After the race at Hockenheim, Hamilton was quick to say "He didn't defend very well, All I know is that if it was the other way around then he wouldn't have got past." Boy did Massa make him eat his words. Massa seemed to be in total control of the race and started to pull away after his first stop, even though Hamilton was fuelled for a longer second stop. Hamilton's puncture brought a new twist to the race, and even though he had a 45sec lead over the rest of the pack (barring Kovalainen) it was not looking too good for the McLaren driver.

But as has happened before, Hamilton luck turned when the Ferrari engine went up in a huge puff of smoke on the start finish straight. It was reminiscent of the time Mika Hakkinen's engine blew on the last lap of th Spanish Grand Prix, back in 2001. There is nothing much to do or say, but just move on and be happy with the performance you have put it. Massa was perfect until the engine let go and his loss seemed to be Hamilton's gain.

A brilliant drive from Timo Glock, who has not put a foot wrong all weekend, ensured that Kimi Raikkonen finished third, following a disappointing drive by the world champion. All this played straight into Hamilton's hands, who goes off for the summer break with his lead still intact.

As predicted Ferrari did fight back this weekend in the form of Massa's challenge, but they have to put up a much stronger and more consistent effort, if they are to beat McLaren and Hamilton. Kimi still looked out of sorts but once he gets his qualifying worries behind him, he will be back in contention.

So a little summer break and then the battle resumes, it is safe to say that BMW are out of the reckoning for the title. The way the last few races have gone, it seems to be up and down between the Ferrari's of Massa and Raikkonen, and Hamilton's McLaren. One thing is for sure we are in for hell of a battle between these three guys when the season resumes..

Hungarian GP Preview

The buzz going into this years Hungarian Grand Prix is whether Lewis Hamilton and his Vodafone McLaren Merecedes can make it three in a row. He is definitely coming off a hot streak and not many people are willing to put their money against him winning. However, I do believe that one of the Ferrari's or both will fight for victory. My money this weekend will be on Raikkonen winning as he is due a victory, but ruling Massa out will be a mistake too.

The Hungarian GP is normally one of the least interesting races on the Formula One calendar, with regards to the track, but off the track I believe Budapest is one of most interesting cities to visit. The Hungaroring is a tight and twisty track where overtaking is close to impossible and often turns out to be a processional race. The circuit is pretty similar to Monaco, minus the glitz and glamour. While the Hungaroring might not appeal to some drivers, it has been witness some of Formula One's most memorable moments.

Hungaroring has been witness to the classic duels between Senna and Prost, Mansell's tyre blow which cost him the F1 Championship, emotional debut wins for both Fernando Alonso (2003) and Jenson Button (2006), and more recently the falling out between Alonso and Hamilton, which exploded during last year's qualifying. 2006 probably had the best F1 race in Hungary, the only time a wet race took place, which saw Championship rivals Alonso and Schumacher starting from the middle of the pack and carving their way up the field, until both retired in the finishing stages of the race.

This year's race will definitely be a crucial race as the Championship gets tighter. McLare are sure to be favourites after they trounced the opposition, including Ferrari at the last race in Hockenheim. McLaren normally do well here and to add to that Hamilton is looking as confident as ever, and will be looking to repeat last year's success at this circuit. Both Raikkonen and Massa have been under fire, following their disappointing performances at the last race, but expect them to bounce back with a bang. With chances of rain being very low, it will definitely be a McLaren vs. Ferrari battle.

Behind the leading pack, look out for the battle between Renault, Red Bull and Toyota. Alonso has been extremely unlucky in the last couple of races and is due for a good result, at one of his favourite circuits. Glock returns from his horror crash last week, while Webber and Coulthard will be aiming for a good finish here. Lastly watch out for Sebastian Vettel, the Toro Ross driver has been hugely impressive in the last couple of races and will be hoping to go even better here.

Qualifying and strategy will be crucial here so let us see which team can master the conditions this weekend...

Formula One in India

As far as I can remember I have been a race enthusiast and a huge Formula One fan. Ayrton Senna has always been my idol and to be honest he is one of the reasons a lot of people I know, apart from me, got so hooked on to Formula One. This started way before we got the races live on TV, Star Sports, which if I remember right started in 1993. We used to get the videos of the races prior to this and for anyone who watched racing at that time, there were only two names that were ever mentioned, Senna and Alain Prost, not disrespecting Nigel Mansell's extraordinary talent. Racing between these drivers was fierce at that time, with neither driver ever giving an inch to the other.

It is hard to believe that it is actually 20 years later and the strong talk of a Formula One race on the streets of Delhi is sending chills down everyone's spines. Motorsports in India and Formula One in particular seen massive growth, especially amongst the younger audiences. After cricket and maybe football it is the most watched sport in India. Not only have the viewers increased, but through various efforts of the FMSCI, governing body of motorsports in India, drivers aspiring to be in Formula One have increased, due to the various junior categories that exist. JK Tyres have played a big role in developing drivers, including Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok and Armaan Ebrahim.

Attending races has always been fun, greeted by the deafening sounds of the V8 engines, but having a race in India is just way beyond everyone's dream. A Formula One race in India has been talked about for the last few years with nothing come out of it. However, recently Vijay Mallya, Force India Team Owner was confident when he said that India will have a Formula One race in 2010 and no later. This statement seems the strongest ever and I think the possibility of having a race in 2010 or 2011 has a 90% possibility. The fact that India have a team on the F1 grid is a huge achievement by itself, and with Karun Chandhok knocking on the doors of Formula One, this is definitely the best time to have a race in India.

Signing a deal with Bernie Eccelstone to host a Formula One race might be a significant and huge step, but it is only the first step in many towards hosting a Formula One race. Apart from the budgets, the infrastructure requirements for a Formula One race is very demanding and the level of planning has to be at the highest levels for an event of this stature. It is imperative that people with experience in motorsports are involved with the planning of this event. A Formula One event is like no other event in the world and careful considerations have to be made while planning this.

All that said, having a Formula One race in India will be mega, and possibly the most glamorous event the country has even witnessed. And I am sure people will pour in from all over the country to witness this, now let us just hope that we have an Indian driver on the Formula one grid...

Chandhok Triumphs at Hockenheim!!

Sunday saw two exciting races at the Hockenheimring in Germany, which resulted in amazing drives by both winners. Lewis Hamilton had the machinery to power him towards his fourth win of the this year's Formula One season, while India's own Karun Chandhok soaked in tremendous pressure to win his first race of the season. He has been luckless the whole season but it was clear to see that this victory had nothing to do with luck, but rather a commanding and strategic drive to the chequered flag.

Chandhok, driving for iSport qualified a disappointing 11th, struggling to find the right balance of the car. As we have often seen this year, his qualifying pace has been up and down, while his race pace has certainly been impressive and on par with the top runners. The feature race on Saturday was no different as he brilliantly fought his way up to fifth place, closing in on team-mate Bruno Senna in fourth rather rapidly. Then all of a sudden with five laps to go there was a heavy downpour which left teams and drivers pondering whether to change to wet tyres or stick to their dry tyres. Both Chandhok and Senna decided to opt for the wets which ultimately resulted in them finishing in 8th and 4th respectively. This gave Karun pole position for the sprint race on Sunday.

Starting from Pole he had a good start but was beaten to the first corner by the quick starting Lucas Di Grassi who jumped from fourth to first. Chandhok always knew he had a strong car and took about two laps before making his move on Di Grassi. He had a great run coming out of the chicane and both drivers went side-by-side into the hairpin with Di Grassi on the inside and Chandhok on the outside. It was a perfect dummy sold by Chandhok as he cut back inside and powered out of the corner, giving him the edge for the next right hander. After that Chandhok started to pull away until Andreas Zuber, who started 11th and edged past Di Grassi for 2nd, began to climb all over the rear of the iSport car. With 20 laps remaining, it seemed like an arduous task for Chandhok to keep Zuber at bay, but he did it brilliantly, driving intelligently by not wearing out his tyres. Even though there was just a half a second between them, the only way Zuber could have gotten past was by Karun making a mistake, even a small one would have given Zuber the lead.

Chandhok went on to win with Zuber second and team-mate Senna coming in third, second time this year that they have been on the podium together, however the Indian winning this time.

Both team-mates seem to have a very strong relationship, which is hard to find in any form of racing and this can be nothing but good for the team. This is Chandhok's second win in the GP2 series, following his debut win at Spa Francorrchamps last year. He was the first Indian to make sure that the Indian National Anthem was played at a Formula One weekend last year, and followed it up again this year. Even though it is not as good as hearing it the first time, listening to the national anthem on a race weekend makes each and every one of us very proud and still gives me goose bumps thinking about it.

Chandhok would have definitely got his deserved share of praises from the Formula One paddock, but he must know that it is important to continue this form into the next race weekend. With two podiums and a victory in the last four race weekends, he should aim to finish consistently in the second half of the season.

He is easily the fastest Indian in the world right now, but what we would like to see is the fastest Indian in the world showing off his stuff in a Formula One car very very soon...Come on Karun you are the Indian F1 Force!!

Do McLaren have the Superior car now??

Lewis Hamilton's back-to-back victory at Hockenheim has clearly showed the McLaren Mercedes to be be the better car, but is it going to be like this for the rest of the season?? Ferrari's below par performances have sent shockwaves through the Maranello-based team, even going so far to question the drivers' thirst for victory. Ferrari still seem to be reeling from their disastrous British GP, over a fortnight ago. If things do continue to like this, Hamilton could wrap up the Formula One Championship before the Formula One circus reaches Suzuka, Japan.

Hamilton's first stint made people think that he had 5-6 laps fuel less than the Ferrari, but when they came in a lap or two later, it was evident that the McLaren was setting a scorching pace. It was only one McLaren that was literally flying, as Kovalainen was looking very lackluster. After the first round of stops it was obvious that Hamilton would coast to victory followed by Massa. Then with about 30 laps to go, there was a suspension failure from Timo Glock's Toyota that sent him crashing into the wall bringing out the safety car. This caused majority of the teams to stream into the pits, with only Hamilton, Piquet and Heidfeld deciding to stay out. This baffled almost all teams and viewers as McLaren chose to keep Hamilton on track. I was pretty sure that Mclaren had made a big mistake and possibly cost Hamilton victory. However he proved all of us wrong and drove an amazing last stint and was a second quicker than anyone else on track
. Hamilton's performance was on par with a Schumacher performance, but we all know how much Schumacher has achieved, can Hamilton do the same??

Hamilton breezed past Massa like he was standing still, quite a disappointing defense from a championship contender, and went to to win the German GP. Sebastian Vettel was holding of Alonso with everything he had, and this was for 9th position, I would expect Massa would do more to fight for the championship. I really believed Massa had what it took to be Champion this year, but has been very disappointing the last couple of races and with Kimi totally out of sorts this weekend, Hamilton is looking good for a maiden Championship.

Kimi might have had one of his off weekends but ruling him out of the Championship would be a big mistake. Just the way Hamilton was not seen as a serious challenger couple of races ago, Raikkonen is being seen as fading away. However, Raikkonen and Massa will hav eto work really hard if they are to be able to challenge the McLarens. Ever since the Silverstone test couple of weeks ago, the McLarens have found couple of tenths of a second over the Ferrari and will look to capitalize on it during this week's test at Jerez. They have aerodynamic updates and will definitely be using the shark fin cover, which they tried during the Hockenheim test last week. Ferrari will have to dig deep and find something to beat the McLaren, with Hamilton looking very likely to be dominant at the Hungarian GP in less than two weeks time. To me it seemed like they went the wrong way with the set-up, because your car can't get slower by a second in the space of 2-3 weeks.

The battle is going to be between Hamilton, Raikkonen and Massa and right now it is too close to call, let us hope we all have the same dilemma going in to the final round of the Championship in Brazil...

The Championship Starts Here!!

Lewis Hamilton's stunning win at Silverstone, along with Ferrari's miserable weekend has just blown the 2008 Formula One Championship wide open, and this is where it all begins. Last week the talk was about Hamilton not being able to handle the pressure but he has answered his critics, and answered them in a very convincing fashion.

The race was one of the best seen in a long time and there were two standout performers in Hamilton and Barrichello who made it even better to watch. Rubens Barrichello has been struggling with the Honda for the past two seasons, with this season being no better. Actually, they seem to be languishing at the back of the field with the Force India F1 team, and turning their efforts to next year. Barrichello's decision to change to extreme wets at a crucial time seems to have been the best decision made all weekend, and it makes me wonder why not even one of the other teams tried this as most had nothing to lose. Barrichello was a whopping 10secs faster than anyone on track when he changed tyres and came from 16th to 3rd (would have been 2nd if he did not have a problem with his fuel rig). Hamilton astonishingly managed to lap in similar times to Barrichello, which made his driver even more memorable.

Massa probably had his worst Formula One or racing weekend ever, having trouble on all three days. He started off Friday practice by slamming the barriers and wrecking his car after sliding on oil which came from Alonso's car on the first session. When he was about to set off for his final qualifying lap in Q3 there was a mechanical problem which caused him to stay in the pits. On race day, he spun about 5 -6 times which took him out of contention completely. Massa will have to bounce back strongly to ensure he stays with the Championship leaders.

Raikkonen was carving his way through the field and was on the tail of Lewis Hamilton until his first pitstop, when he decided not to change his tyres. This cost him the race as the rain began to come down heavily and his tyres were in no shape to take on Hamilton. Alonso was the only other driver who decided to not change his tyres and paid the price for it. Alonso, along with Hamilton and Barrichello were the only drivers not to make a mistake during the race. Both Raikkonen and Alonso to an extent had a chance to challenge Hamilton if they had changed their tyres, which also shows why these three drivers are easily the best drivers on the grid today.

Robert Kubica could not cope with the conditions as he too slid into the gravel trap. With all rivals struggling this weekend, Hamilton gained a lot with regards to the Championship. There are three drivers tied at 48 points, namely Raikkonen, Hamilton and Massa with Kubica on 46 points and his team-mate Nick Heidfeld a further 10 points adrift. McLaren seem to have found a huge performance gain in the past few weeks and in my opinion should be the favourites going in to Hockenheim in two weeks time. Each of these drivers have made about 2-3 mistakes this year, which could end up costing them the Championship in the long run. It's hard to imagine that drivers of the calibre of Schumacher or Alonso would make these kind of mistakes, given a good car and in these circumstances. If either of these driver want to be Champion they will definitely have to step up to the plate and make fewer mistakes.

On another note, Karun Chandhok's drive to 3rd place at Silverstone was indeed a joy to watch. Silverstone is a very tough track to overtake in and Karun overtook about 5 cars on his way to third, after starting 10th. The last time I saw someone overtaking cars in this manner at the British GP was in 2002, when Barrichello started last and carved his way ended up finishing 2nd. Karun's move on Zuber when he sized him up at Priory and dived inside at Brooklands was probably the move of the whole weekend. Next is the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim and this will be Karun's first trip there, but I don't see it being a problem for him. He is still looking for his first win of the season so let us hope it is here...

Silverstone Preview

This year's British Grand Prix at Silverstone has already got off to a big bang with the announcement that Donington Park will be hosting the British GP starting 2010. There has been a constant battle with the BRDC for keeping the GP but and Max have found an alternate venue for one of the most important Grand Prix's on the Formula One calendar. Being the base and home for most of the teams, a calendar without the British GP would be unheard of. Donington Park will always be associated with the Senna name for his miraculous display on the first lap at Donington Park in 1993, the last time a race was held there. Senna overtook SIX cars en route to one of his greatest victories ever.

But saying that I personally will be sad to see Silverstone go!! It is a beautiful track with some of the most challenging corners amongst all Formula One circuits today. Copse is a perfect corner to start the lap which is almost flat before coming into the twisty Maggots and Beckets complex. Stowe is the famous corner where Michael Schumacher's brakes failed in 1999 and he went crashing into the barriers injuring his legs and putting him out of commission for most of that season.

The Ferrari's are clearly the favourites coming into this race following a dominant 1-2 at Magny-Cours. Kimi Raikkonen has always gone well here, consistently finishing on the podium for the last couple of years. This year he will be more than determined to win following his disappointing second place in Magny-Cours. Felipe Massa is probably in the form of his life and is driving very smartly this year to constantly finish in the points and be the current leader in the Championship. On current form, Ferrari are looking most likely to dominate this year's British Grand Prix.

As I previously wrote Lewis Hamilton has been struggling to fight the leaders in the last couple of races due to his own faults but will be more than motivated and inspired to perform in front of his home fans this weekend. He has super quick last week during the three-day test at Silverstone and could probably be the only driver who will be able to split the Ferrari's this weekend or even pull off a surprise win. Lewis seems to be in good shape this weekend and don't be surprised if he is on pole come Saturday. His team-mate Kovalainen is due for some luck but I don't see him challenging the top three at Silverstone, even though his first win is not too far away.

Surprise package of the year, Robert Kubica and BMW hope to be back to 'normal' after their disappointing outing last time out in Magny-Cours, where they clearly seemed to be struggling. He will have to