An Emotional Farewell

The 2016 Brazilian GP will live long in the memory of F1 fans for numerous reasons, whether it be for the many (and at times unnecessary delays), the high-profile crashes or the sensational wet weather skills of Max Verstappen. However, for myself at least, the race will be remembered for the outpouring of emotion shown by Felipe Massa and the Formula 1 community on his final appearance at the Interlagos circuit.  The toughest of people would have been forgiven for having a small tear in their eye at the sight of Massa in the wall at the entrance to the pit lane. It was not how the script was supposed to end. His incident caused the pit lane entrance to be closed, which allowed viewers around the world to witness just how much the Brazilian GP means to him, and what he means to the Brazilian people.

His long walk from his stricken Williams car to the garage saw him draped in the Brazilian flag, and fighting back the tears. What came next is something that I doubt will be seen again in Formula 1. Upon his arrival to the garages, what seemed to be the entire Mercedes and Ferrari teams came out to applaud Massa, with a guard of honour waiting for him at Williams. It was a stunning show of respect from the teams and shows just how much Massa will be in the paddock. 

He can look back at his career in F1 with pride and knowing just how much of an effect he had on the paddock and the fans in his home country. His two wins in Brazil in 2006 and 2008, the latter giving him the World Championship for all of 25 seconds were massive highlights in a distinguished career. The 2016 Brazilian GP shares one big similarity to that day in 2008 which was the way Massa handled himself. He could have moped about and sulked, but this is not who Felipe Massa is. He carries himself in a way a World Champion would: professionally and in a humble manner. He is a unique character in Formula 1, one that will be truly missed in 2017.

Brazilian GP 2015

Rosberg Setting Himself For 2016

Nico Rosberg recorded back to back victories for the first time since May with his victory in Brazil. The result secured second place in the Driver's Championship and continued his recent resurgence. Lewis Hamilton finished second and is still to win in Brazil, even though he put Rosberg under several periods of pressure. Behind the dominant Mercedes pair, the Ferraris were a distant third and fourth, with Sebastian Vettel leading Kimi Raikkonen. Vettel couldn't do anything to get close to the Mercedes, meaning his debut season at Ferrari will see him finish third in the Drivers Championship with Abu Dhabi still to come.

As has been custom this season, the Brazilian Grand Prix didn't deliver much in excitement, despite its history of delivering an unpredictable and exciting race. It started off well, with the Mercedes coming very close to contact at turn one. The incident was almost identical to that of the U.S grand prix, except it was Rosberg who made sure Hamilton wasn't going around the outside of him. This allowed Rosberg to open up a small lead during the first stint. Reliability issues looked like they were creeping for Romberg, who was looking very cautious on the brakes for several laps after the first round of pit stops, thus allowing Hamilton to move within DRS range - but eventually dropping back. Hamilton came back at Rosberg during the third stint, but frustration was starting to get to Hamilton as he couldn't get passed Rosberg. Interlagos' tight confines and narrow straights make overtaking extremely difficult, and Hamilton's frustration spilled over onto the team radio as he requested a different strategy from Rosberg in an attempt to get past. However, Mercedes stuck to their long held policy of keeping their drivers on the same number of stops. And with Mercedes not budging, both drivers stopped three times and Hamilton finished 7.7 seconds being Rosberg. Rosberg's recent good form is hopefully putting him in a good position going into 2016.

Behind the Mercedes and Ferrari's, Valtteri Bottas finished in fifth, but couldn't get close enough to close with his fellow countryman for the third time in four races. His fifth place was enough to secure third place for Williams in the Constructors Championship for the second year running. Meanwhile, having seen Force India team-mate Sergio Perez take the plaudits in recent races, Nico Hulkenberg returned to form to take a fine sixth, and secure his team fifth place in the standings - the best finish in their history. Daniil Kvyat was seventh for Red Bull with Romain Grosjean, Max Verstappen and Pastor Maldonado rounding off the points positions.

Massa Excluded From Home Race

The local hero, Felipe Massa, was disqualified from the Brazilian GP after his tyres were found to breach their temperature limits before the race. Massa had originally finished 8th, after what had been a tough weekend for the Brazilian, who seemed to have some set up issue. He was disqualified after the race for exceeding the revised parameters to ensure tyre safety, which were introduced at the Italian GP following Sebastian Vettel's tyre failure in Belgium. The issue was flagged up after almost half an hour had passed in the race. An FIA technical report into the incident reported that on the grid, the tread temperature and minimum starting pressure on Massa's car was checked after the "5 minute" signal was given. The report went on to say that the temperature measured on the tread of the right hand side rear tyre of Massa's car was 137c, which is 27c above the maximum tread temperature of 110c. The corresponding tyre pressure at 137c was 20.6 psi, 0.1 psi above the minimum starting pressure.

Although this is a violation of the regulations, something stands out about this incident. At the Italian GP in September, both Mercedes cars were found to be under the minimums et by Pirelli. However, after three hours of deliberations by the race stewards, Hamilton's victory stood. How is the incident in Brazil any different, apart from the very different outcomes? Is it because its Williams and not Mercedes? Or is it because it was Felipe Massa and not Lewis Hamilton? Whatever the reason for the different outcome one thing is clear, there needs to be more consistency in applying these rules. 

Has Hamilton Went On Holiday?

After Lewis Hamilton was beaten to pole position and race victory for the second race in a row by Nico Romberg, questions have already crept in about Hamilton's commitment now that he has captured his third World Championship. Rosberg has also secured his fifth consecutive pole position as well, something that Hamilton hasn't seemed too concerned by. Although his calmness over Rosberg's qualifying performances suggests he has switched off for the season, his racing determination counters that argument. This determination was underlined by his request to move onto a different strategy to his team mate, just so he could get past him and beat him.

Something that hasn't escaped my attention is Hamilton's life outside the track since winning the title, and the effect it has had. His arrival to Brazil was delayed by a day because of a fever, which Hamilton has admitted was brought on by a hectic schedule since winning his third title three weeks ago, and a minor car accident in Monaco. A lot has been made about his off track antics since winning the championship. Let's be honest, if you had just won your third F1 World Championship, emulating your hero, you'd probably party hard as well. His minor accident was apparently a result of his fever and general exhaustion.

In Abu Dhabi, Hamilton can match his career best haul of 11 wins from last season, whilst another podium finish would tie the all-time record of 17 podium finishes in a season held jointly by Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher. These personal records will hopefully show that Hamilton is still giving it his all, and that he will want to equal these records. I don't think that Hamilton has switched off for the season, I think that Nico Rosberg has realised that he needs to start now if he is to put in a serious bid to get the World Championship out of his team mate’s hands next year.

 

Canadian GP 2015

Mercedes Power a Different Class

The Canadian GP is a race that usually produces action and excitement from lights out to chequered flag. This was extinguished at this year's event thanks to the dominance of Mercedes’ power. Lewis Hamilton claimed his 4th victory of the season and with it, put the disappointment of Monaco behind him to pull out a 17 point lead over team mate Nico Rosberg in the championship. Rosberg finished second with Valtteri Bottas coming home 3rd. The race was a dull affair with the only notable incidents being Sebastian Vettel charging through the field along with Felipe Massa, both of whom were out of position thanks to technical problems in qualifying. Both drivers put in some brilliant overtakes to battle through the field and came home 5th (Vettel) and 6th (Massa). Had both of them started in positions that reflected the machinery they were in, it could have made better viewing for the fans.

What the race did was highlight what is wrong with the current state of F1. When 9 of the 10 points places are filled with Mercedes powered cars, it is clear that something needs to change and quickly. On the one hand, you cannot help but admire the work that Mercedes have put into the V6 turbo engine to make it the dominant force that is. People can argue that the characteristics of the Montréal played into Mercedes hands with the longer straights that put an emphasis on the power unit. Renault, Ferrari and Honda were never going to get near any Mercedes power during the whole weekend, no matter what they did. This is the problem though; there isn't really anything that they can do with the restrictions on engine development. Mercedes’ advantage is so vast, the current token system that is in place doesn't help anyone. To try and level the playing field somewhat, teams should be able to develop their power units without restriction. This could in turn bring the pack a bit closer and give us some more exciting and closer racing. In Monaco, Red Bull were so much closer to the front, because it was a circuit that focuses more on the chassis, not the power unit. Montréal showed the gap in power between the Mercedes teams and the non-Mercedes teams, and it is worrying. Something has to be done, and done quickly before F1's dwindling audience dwindles even further.

Williams Bounce Back From Poor Monaco Showing

A notable point throughout the race weekend was Williams' return to the head of the grid to challenge Ferrari and put some pressure on Mercedes. In Monaco, the team were absolutely nowhere and didn't score a single point. Fast forward two weeks, and the team are back at the head of the grid. Valtteri Bottas showed what a talent he is and continued his impressive record in Canada with another podium finish - his and the teams first of the season. Felipe Massa showed the cars pace after coming through the field to finish an impressive 6th. The performance in Canada was in stark contrast to that of Monaco two weeks earlier, where the team looked very off colour. There is an argument that Williams’ poor performance in Monaco was down to the nature of the Monaco circuit, and showed the Williams chassis' flaws, something Rob Smedley has denied. The team has been accused of lacking in the development area, and this could have possibly been the reason for the performance issues in Monaco. The Canadian GP played into Williams hands with their Mercedes power, and it will be the same in Austria. Hopefully the team can push on from Canada and develop the car so they don't repeat their Monaco nightmare, and compete at the head of the grid.

McLaren Amateurs

The only thing that was surprising to me about Fernando Alonso's radio message in Canada, branding his team "amateurs", was how long it has taken the fiery Spaniard to vent his frustrations. McLaren have reignited their legendary partnership with Honda for 2015, but it has got off to a very slow start, with Jenson Button picking up the teams only points in Monaco. Canada brought McLaren back down to earth with a harsh bump, as the teams' lack of power was clear for everyone to see. The team were not challenging anybody in the race, and saw cars drive straight past them down the back straight. This has all been taken in Alonso's and Button’s strides, with both drivers constantly saying how happy they are with the progress of the team race by race. This cannot be taken away from the team, who have definitely improved race by race, but Canada really showed how far off they are from the points, let alone a podium challenge. So when Alonso was told to save fuel by his team, this seemed to push him too far. He vented his anger over the radio to the team saying that he just wants to race and wouldn't save fuel. You can see where he is coming from though, he is a natural born racer and not being able to do something that comes naturally to him must be infuriating. To add insult to injury for Alonso, both he and Button retired from the race thanks to reliability issues. Alonso was quick to play down his comments after the race, but it is clear that he is becoming frustrated with the team’s performance. Despite this, he still believes that he is in the right environment to deliver his illusive 3rd World Championship. 

The End of Many Eras

2013 won’t live long in the memory of F1 fans. It will effectively be known as the year of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull. It hasn’t been the greatest season ever; bringing back memories of the dominance of Michael Schumacher in the early 2000s. Vettel has been in a different league to all other drivers, especially since the Belgian Grand Prix. Despite that, there have been a lot of positives from the season. For me however, the end of the 2013 season brings up a lot of emotion. We have long lasting driver/team partnerships end as drivers move on to pastures new, relationships ending before they even really got going and of course, the V8 era is over.

Long Relationships End

The final race in Brazil saw Mark Webber compete in his last F1 race. What a performance it was from Webber too, as he stormed to a brilliant second place. How different it could have been for Mark, not just in this race but it his whole career. He had his usual sluggish start, but came back at both Mercedes and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. A possible win was there for Webber as well, had he not have to queue behind Sebastian Vettel. The fear of a safety car saw Vettel pit and, had Red Bull told Mark, he could have done an extra lap and surely come out in the lead. It would have been a fairytale ending for Webber but, as usual for him, it didn’t quite work out for the popular Australian. He can be proud of his career for Red Bull, and the fact that in his final race he was still challenging at the sharp end of the grid would give him great satisfaction. I really hope he has a successful career for Porsche because he deserves it. I've said before he deserved better treatment from Red Bull; he was just unfortunate that their blue eyed boy happened to be his team mate. 

An eight year relationship has also ended with Felipe Massa signing off his Ferrari career with a 7^th place finish at his home event. It could have been a fairytale ending for Massa as well had it not been for a soft drive through penalty. Has was driving a solid race in fourth when he was given a penalty for crossing the white line at pit entry. Personally, I think it was a ridiculous penalty. We see race after race, driver after driver, not respecting the track limits and gaining an advantage in doing so, and nothing is ever done. So for Massa to cut the pit lane entry a bit further down than normal, and get a penalty, I thought was harsh; he couldn’t possibly have gotten an advantage. Yes, he was warned about it but still, I don’t see the advantage that he could have gained. I think what makes things worse, well for me anyway, was that Alonso was willing to move over and let Massa onto the podium. A nice gesture from Alonso after all Massa has done for him since 2010. I sincerely hope that Williams can produce a good car for 2014, and give Massa a chance to fight near the front again in F1. He will be a fantastic team leader and I wish him all the best.

Doomed From The Start?

When Sergio Perez was announced at McLaren last year, I found myself asking why? Surely there are better drivers on the grid? So when the news broke that he was to be replaced by Kevin Magnusson for 2014, I wasn’t really surprised. If you look at Perez’s F1 career with Sauber, yes it was impressive at times but overall, he didn’t look like a top team driver; at least not yet. I do believe that in a few seasons time, if he is able to stay in F1, he will be ready for a drive in a top team.

Unfortunately for Perez, his one season at McLaren may have cost him a top team drive in the future. In fairness to Perez however, this McLaren has been one of the worst I've seen, which hasn’t helped his cause. He out qualified Jensen Button 10-9 over the season as well, but when it comes to the race, Button has outperformed Perez, even though Button hasn’t been anywhere near his best this season. Ultimately I think Perez will still be in F1 next year, possibly back at Sauber or even Force India. The short marriage at McLaren may have made Perez a stronger driver, or it could have hit him harder than it appears.

R.I.P V8 Engines

The end of the 2013 season also saw the final race for the 2.4 V8 engines that have served F1 since 2006. Since the introduction of these engines, five different Driver’s World Champions have emerged from as many manufacturers. To add to that, five out of the seven Driver’s Championship battles have been decided at the final race of the season, including the incredible final races in Brazil in 2007 and 2008 where Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton became champion. Let’s not forget in 2010 as well, where Sebastian Vettel began his F1 dominance by winning the title in the final round in Abu Dhabi. Seven manufactures have made engines during this eight year period (Renault, Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda, Cosworth, BMW, and Toyota) and three have dominated in this time span. Ferrari, Mercedes and Renault have won every single race since 2006 with the exclusion of just two. That is an incredible 145 wins of out 147. The two exclusions being the Hungarian GP in 2006 where Jenson Button’s BAR Honda won and the 2008 Canadian GP where Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber took the top step. The dominance is set to continue in 2014 as these are the only engine manufactures participating next year, until Honda makes its return in 2015. The question is how will the 1.6 liter turbo engines for next year have an impact on the racing? There are many critics of the new engines, however there were many critics when the V10 engines where scrapped in 2005 and look how well the V8’s have done since their introduction. Only time will tell if these engines will be a hit as well. 

Why Felipe Massa Shouldn't Fall into the F1 Abyss

If anybody reading this entry has read previous entries, then they will know I am a huge fan of Felipe Massa. The formality of him leaving Ferrari at the end of the year still saddens me. My major fear about this popular little Brazilian is that he will fall into the F1 abyss like many other popular drivers such as Heikki Kovalainen, Jerome d’Ambrosio and Jamie Alguersuari. In this entry, I will look at the reasons that F1 teams should be doing all they can to sign Massa up for a 2014 drive.

Before his eight year spell with the Scuderia, Massa was at what could be called Ferrari’s junior team, Sauber. Massa made his debut with Sauber in 2002 where he scored 4 points in his first season, with a best finish of 5^th at the Spanish GP. He showed his competitiveness, but did make several mistakes. He earned a one race suspension which meant he missed the US GP. He returned for the Japanese GP, but was subsequently dropped by the team for the 2003 season, however he moved to Ferrari as their test driver. Massa re-signed for Sauber in 2004 scoring 12 points with a best finish of 4^th at the Belgian GP. His steady season earned him a second consecutive year at Sauber in 2005, where he scored 11 points and outpaced Jacques Villeneuve and beat him in the drivers’ standings. He got his big break the year after with Ferrari, partnering 7 times World Champion, Michael Schumacher.

During his first season at Ferrari, he scored 80 points and finished third in the title race behind champion Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. It was a year that Massa was to be mentored by Schumacher, to try and help cut out the driver errors. Evidence of nerves could be seen during some races during the season such as in Bahrain, where he spun several times. He also crashed his Ferrari in Australia during both qualifying and the race itself. Despite all of this, Schumacher's influence could be seen as Massa scored his first pole position and victory at the Turkish GP. My personal favourite memory of his debut season at Ferrari was his victory at his home Brazilian GP in front of his adoring fans. He was the first Brazilian to win at Brazil since Ayrton Senna.

Schumacher left the team and Massa was partnered by Kimi Raikkonen, his team mate at Sauber in 2002. Massa seemed a much more complete driver, especially during pre-season testing where he looked on brilliant form. When it came to the opening race of the season, Massa suffered a gearbox problem during qualifying and started last, however he still managed to come home in 6^th. Problems continued into Malaysia where he was overtaken by the two McLaren's, despite starting on pole position. Massa attacked Hamilton and went wide, which meant he finished 5^th. His luck and form picked up as he won back to back races in Bahrain and Spain, both from pole position. He won the Turkish GP again and scored another 6 podiums. His team player image was first seen at Ferrari when he yielded the lead of the Brazilian GP to allow Kimi Raikkonen to win the World Championship.

So onto 2008. This without doubt, was Massa’s best year in F1. It all started wrong for Felipe again as he retired from the first two races, both by spinning out. People began to question if Massa was up to the job of racing at the sharp end of the grid without the assist of traction control. Massa silenced his critics in the best way possible. He dominated the entire weekend in Bahrain, only to have pole position snatched away by Robert Kubica. However, this didn’t stop Massa’s awesome pace in the race. Massa had Kubica by the first corner and went onto a dominant win. He scored another brilliant podium in Spain and went onto record his 3^rd consecutive victory in Turkey and started to gather real momentum.

He carried this momentum into Monaco, where he amazed himself by sticking his car on pole position. He started brilliantly and led by 15 seconds in the rain before the safety car came out and took out his lead. After the safety car, Massa pulled away again before he ran off at the first corner and lost the lead. He eventually finished her 3^rd behind his title rival Lewis Hamilton and Kubica. A fifth place in Canada, followed by a win in France meant he led the drivers’ championship, the first time a Brazilian had led the championship since Senna. The next two races saw Massa score zero points as he spun an amazing 5 times at the British GP, and retired from the lead of the Hungarian GP with only 3 laps left. The European GP saw Massa make his 100^th start in F1 and went onto win the race, making him the only driver to date to win on his 100^th start. He was awarded the win in Belgium after his main rival Hamilton was penalised 25 seconds for cutting the final chicane.  Points came his way in Italy before a pointless finish in Singapore meant he was 7 points behind Hamilton. At the Chinese GP, Massa’s stance as number 1 for the season could be seen as Raikkonen yielded 2^nd to Massa to ensure he could keep his title hopes alive.

The final race of the season was held in front of his adoring fans in Brazil, with Massa 7 points behind Hamilton. It was simple for Massa, he had to win or finish second, and for Hamilton for finish lower than 5^th. It started fantastically for Massa, qualifying on pole, with Hamilton fourth. Massa blew everyone away with his performance and won by 13 seconds. His part was done. Felipe Massa was World Champion for 38 seconds. His title was cruelly taken away as Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock at the second last corner for 5^th place and the title by a single point. He was praised left right and centre by everyone and his maturity was praised by Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. All in all, Massa managed 6 victories and 6 pole positions.

After all the highs of the previous three seasons, 2009 would ultimately see the downfall of Felipe Massa. A poor, uncompetitive Ferrari at the beginning of the year meant the Brazilian couldn’t relive the form of 2008. It was the middle of the season at the Hungarian GP where Massa could have lost his life. He was struck in the head at 180mph by a spring that fell off the back of the Brawn Mercedes of Rubens Barrichello. It would see Massa miss the rest of the season and return in 2010 to partner Fernando Alonso. Despite what Massa said, I believe that his head injury played a part in his below-par 2010 season. He did lead the German GP before being told to move over for Alonso. I also believe this was hard for Massa to take and psychologically destroyed Massa’s confidence. This form continued into 2011. He was continually out-performed by Alonso again and was caught up in many high profile incidents with Hamilton. 2012 started off poorly for Massa before he managed to keep place with Alonso in the second half of the season, even out-qualifying the Spaniard occasionally. He was awarded a new one year deal for 2013. 2013 saw Massa start just as strong as he ended 2012, out-qualifying Alonso and looking as though he had re-captured his 2008 form. However his form faded and Ferrari announced that Massa would be replaced by Raikkonen for 2014.

So there you have it. Eight years at the oldest F1 team have ended. Looking back at his career, Massa deserved so much more. In my opinion Massa deserved the title in 2008 and had he won that, I believe that he could have achieved even more. The end of 2012 and beginning of this year, we saw the old Massa back in action. Unfortunately this form couldn’t be kept up, and it’s now time for a change. I believe Massa still has enough to offer a top team in 2014, possibly Lotus? Only time will tell if he gets another shot, or fall into the F1 abyss.