European GP 2016

Rosberg Boosts Championship Lead

The European GP returned to the F1 calendar after a 4-year absence to give Nico Rosberg the title boost he needed, with a comfortable win at the Baku street circuit in Azerbaijan. The excitement before the race was building as the supporting GP2 races had seen carnage and brilliant action. Even the F1 practice sessions and qualifying was a brilliant watch, as the winding street circuit was catching out even the best drivers. Ultimately though, as with many of the new circuits in recent years, the race fell flat and Rosberg eased to a 20 second victory. Sebastian Vettel did what he could to challenge Rosberg, but could only finish a distant 2nd. Sergio Perez continued his superb form to take another 3rd place for Force India, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen who finished 4th. Lewis Hamilton finished almost a minute behind Rosberg in 5th, after he suffered technical issues throughout. Williams' Valtteri Bottas was 6th, ahead of the Red Bull pair of Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. Nico Hulkenberg and Felipe Massa rounded off the points positions with 9th and 10th respectively.           

It was a comfortable afternoon for the championship leader who led every lap of the race after fending off Ricciardo at turn 1. From then on, he drove off into the distance to record his 19th win in Formula 1. His team mate Lewis Hamilton however did not have as easy an afternoon as his team mate and championship rival. Throughout Friday and Saturday, Hamilton looked almost certain to overhaul Rosberg in the championship come the end of the race on Sunday. His pace was scintillating throughout practise, and going into qualifying he was building momentum. This came to an end in Q2 however when Hamilton pushed that bit too hard and ending up crashing out of qualifying and started 10th. As with Rosberg in Canada, many expected Hamilton to fly through the field and maybe challenge Rosberg. Again, as with Rosberg, Hamilton struggled to make it through the field due to an engine settings problem on his car, the tight and twisty nature of the track certainly didn’t help. 

Elsewhere on track, it was a very drab race with nothing else really happening. Red Bull's race was ruined by strategy calls due to the risk of safety car deployments. Unfortunately for Red Bull, there was no such incidents. One highlight of an otherwise dull race was the performance of Jenson Button who came from 19th on the grid to finish in 11th place. Despite expectations before the race, there was next to no drama at all, with 18 of the 22 drivers finishing the race.  

Perez Equals Mexican Podium Record

Sergio Perez's rejuvenated Formula 1 career continued at the European GP as he equalled Pedro Rodriguez's record of 7 podiums for a Mexican driver. It is amazing what can happen in just three years. His 2013 season was a disaster at McLaren, with a series of high profile errors leading to the team dismissing him after one season. Force India could clearly see the talent the young Mexican possess and have really changed his career prospects in the sport. His performance in Baku, I believe, has put him in pole position to take Kimi Raikkonen's seat at Ferrari in 2017, should Ferrari drop the Finn.    

His podium in Baku was his second in three races, and that was after a big mistake in practice resulted in him receiving a 5 place grid penalty. Without the penalty, Perez would have started an incredible 2nd place behind Rosberg. Furthermore, Perez's race craft was brilliant throughout the race. To top everything off, Perez overtook Raikkonen, despite knowing that Raikkonen had a time penalty and would have finished behind Perez. What Perez did with this move was send out a clear message to the F1 world, especially Ferrari. What is certainly clear is that Perez has matured since the McLaren fiasco and is ready to return to the F1 big leagues. Ferrari would be foolish not to seriously consider Perez for 2017.   

Has the Radio Ban Gone Too Far?

Not for the first time in F1, rules and regulations off the track dominated the post-race talk, with the radio ban sparking huge debate. Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen suffered with technical issues throughout the race that could have been solved with a reset message from the team. However, due to the restrictions on radio communications, both drivers were not able to solve their issues. This message effectively ruined Hamilton's race as he was seriously down on power. Hamilton was getting more frustrated as the race progressed and threatened to reset everything to solve the issue. Eventually Hamilton figured out the issue and made the changes. By the end of the race, he was the fastest on the circuit. This has led to the debate about the ban. Many feel that this ban cost the fans the opportunity to see what Hamilton could do coming through the field. Had the ban been a bit more relaxed, an actual race might have broken out. With this ban in place, I feel it has taken something away for the fans. I used to enjoy listening to what went on inside the cockpit as it gave a brilliant insight into just how focused these drivers need to be. There has to be a happy medium with regards to this ban. I agree that drivers should not be almost coached by their engineers throughout the race, but these cars are extremely complicated. Knowing how to reset every little thing and focus on racing is a challenge. There has to be a way of balancing this out so that we do not have to keep talking about the ban. Formula 1's talking points should be made on the track not off it.

Mexican GP 2015

Rosberg's Professional Response

A week after handing team mate Lewis Hamilton a third World Championship with an error in the U.S GP, Nico Rosberg responded superbly and won his first race since the Austrian GP in June. He finally converted a pole position into race victory for the first time since the Spanish GP in May. All of the talk before the race would be the run down to turn one, especially with what happened in America the week before. Everyone was expecting fireworks between the two Mercedes, but this didn't materialise. Rosberg led from lights out, holding the inside line through the long turn one, and built himself a nice two - three second lead throughout the first stints of the race. What was most impressive was that when Hamilton put in the fastest lap of the race, Rosberg seemed to be able to up his pace that little bit more again.  

Mercedes seemed to expect that the race would only require one pit stop, however with 25 laps, remaining Rosberg was called into the pits for a second time. Hamilton was also told to come in for a second time but decided to stay out a bit longer whilst questioning whether his tyre wear was bad enough to warrant a second stop. Hamilton's enquiries and objections fell on deaf ears, and the team urged the World Champion to pit again, claiming safety concerns were the reason for pitting both drivers again. Hamilton's refusal to pit straight away brings back the question of “is a driver bigger than the team?”. We saw this massively at Red Bull in 2013, with the now famous "multi 21" incident between Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. That day, Vettel ignored team orders and went on to claim victory, leading many fans and experts to condemn Vettel's actions, claiming he was above the team. Although Hamilton's decision didn't really effect the race outcome, it is not good to openly defy your team, especially on the grounds of safety.

Behind the two Mercedes, there was a race happening. Valtteri Bottas claimed 3rd place after the most hard and eventful way of getting there. Bottas' Williams collided with fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen for the third race in a row, putting the Ferrari driver out on the spot. Bottas then battled on completing 62 laps on the same set of medium compound tyres, and kept the Red Bull's behind him in the process - a fantastic effort! Dani Kyvat, who was passed by Bottas after the safety car was out for Vettel's crash, finished closely behind the Finn for fourth, whilst Daniel Ricciardo in the other Red Bull finished in fifth. Felipe Massa came home sixth ahead of Nico Hulkenberg's Force India. The man the Mexican fans came to see, Sergio Perez finished eighth, helping Force India tighten their grip on fifth in the constructors championship. Toro Rosso's Max Verstappen came home ninth whilst Romain Grosjean rounded off the top ten. McLaren's double race weekend scoring came to an end after a very tough 3 days. Fernando Alonso only lasted one lap whilst Jenson Button only finished ahead of the Manor pair of Will Stevens and Alex Rossi. 

Torrid Weekend for Ferrari

To say Ferrari had a poor weekend would be an understatement. Ferrari's weekend was abysmal. Sebastian Vettel was seen as the driver to take the fight to Mercedes, like he normally would. Unfortunately for Vettel, he collided with Ricciardo going into turn one, which saw the German suffer a puncture.
Naturally, Vettel dropped to the back of the field but, being the fantastic talent that he is, he was able to start fighting his way back through the pack. His race turned again when an uncharacteristic error saw him spin off at turn four and fall back through the field. He stayed out of the barrier on this occasion, but later on in the race he spun at turn four again and ended up in the barriers.

Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen had started from the back row after receiving a 30 place grid penalty for engine changes. Raikkonen was also on a charge and looking good for some decent points until his collision with Bottas. Unlike their previous skirmish in Russia, it was Raikkonen who came off worse this time. This poor afternoon saw Ferrari have neither car classified for the first time since the Australian GP way back in 2006. They will be hoping to bounce back in Brazil in two weeks time.

Mexico's Welcome Return

Formula 1 returned to Mexico for the first time in 23 years. The last time F1 was in Mexico, I was two years old and had no apprehension of what Formula 1 was. After watching the whole weekend's coverage I have been struggling to understand why F1 left Mexico in the first place. Since its last race in 1992, the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez has had a bit of work done to it, including the renaming of the final corner, which changed from Peraltada to Mansell bend and a brand new pit complex, bringing it right up to date with the more modern tracks in F1.

Okay, so the race on Sunday wasn't the most spectacular event ever, but after all of the build up and hard work put in, it was definitely enjoyable. What stood out most without a doubt was the Mexican fans. This is clearly a country who loves their F1 and it was clear all weekend. Packed grandstands and incredible noise levels is what F1 is all about. No doubt their hero Sergio Perez's recent performances were a factor in this as well. To be honest though, even if Perez had retired from every race this season, he would have still had the same amount of support. Support and pressure that he handled incredibly well. A lot of drivers would have cracked under that kind of pressure, but not Perez. It was obvious that Perez was loving the support and attention he received, and didn't let his fans down with another points finish. Next year's event should be another cracker for everyone and another Mexican will be on the grid in the form of Esteban Gutierrez, who will be driving for the newly formed Haas F1 team. 

Russian GP 2015

Rosberg Retires as Hamilton Closes in on Third Championship

Nico Rosberg's title challenge is all but over after he retired from the lead of the Russian grand prix and handed the win to team mate Lewis Hamilton; who now only needs two points to clinch his third world championship. Sebastian Vettel came home in second place whilst Sergio Perez finished a spectacular third place. But, unfortunately for Perez and Force India, it was the retirement of Rosberg that caused a lot of the talk after the race. Having taken pole position on the Saturday, Rosberg made a brilliant start and kept the lead into the first corner, something that has somewhat eluded him in recent races. No doubt he would have had last year's nightmare start on his mind, where he out braked himself into turn 1, ruining his tyres and his race. No such problem this time though as he kept Hamilton behind him and set about building a gap. However, Romberg’s luck just wasn't there again, as he seemed to have a problem on lap 6. By lap 8, he had pulled into his pit box and turned the engine off. His race and championship were over. For Hamilton though, it was another casual Sunday afternoon drive for the British driver, who cruised another win closer to equalling Ayrton Senna's haul of three World Championships.

Behind Rosberg and Hamilton at the start, Nico Hulkenberg caused bedlam whilst spinning at turn 1, causing Max Verstappen to pick up a puncture and fall to the back of the grid. Amongst all this, Kimi Raikkonen managed to creep into third place ahead of his team mate Vettel and fellow countryman Valtteri Bottas. A few laps later, a huge crash where Romain Grosjean lost control of his Lotus at turn three resulted in the barriers needing a quick repair job. This incident not surprisingly brought out the safety car again, at which point Sergio Perez made his only stop of the race. Perez was able to make good uses of his tyres, as we have seen him do over the years and kept a tight hold on the final podium place. With older tyres though, both Raikkonen and Bottas were catching the Mexican hand over fist. With just two laps to go, Bottas got a head of Perez, as did Raikkonen, and Perez's first podium since Bahrain 2014 seemed to be gone. There was one more twist involved however. Raikkonen wanted that final podium place, and had one lap to get his move done. He went for a move on Bottas which ultimately took out his countryman, allowing Perez to drive through and take the final podium place. Raikkonen's antics saw him penalised thirty seconds and end up finishing in eighth.

Perez's Quality Shining Unnoticed

Over the last few years, it has been Nico Hulkenberg that has grabbed the headlines as F1's most underrated, should be in a top car driver, and obviously with great justification. He won the Le Man 24hour in June, and constantly displays his talent at every event. His team mate Sergio Perez seemingly had his shot at a top drive at McLaren and blew it massively, not displaying the talent that saw him replace Lewis Hamilton for the 2013 season. 2013 wasn't the season that Perez thought it would be, with the team’s decline starting steadily, with Perez's highest finish for the team a 4th place. We must not forget that this is a driver who could have, and probably should have, won the Malaysian grand prix in 2012 for Sauber, only to finish second behind Fernando Alonso. Throughout his time at Saucer, he showed just how good of a driver he is, especially with his tyre management.

When the announcement came in near the end of the 2013 that Perez wouldn't be getting kept on at McLaren, there were a lot of people who thought that that was it for Perez and his F1 career. Step in Force India to save him from the F1 abyss and inject a resurgence into his career. Since he signed for Force India, he has been the Perez of old, with some really eye catching performances - especially this season. His confidence has came back which has been a key factor in his F1 stock rising again. What stands out most for me is that whilst Perez has had two podiums for the team, the more highly rated Hulkenberg has none. Potentially, Force India have one of the strongest driver line ups on the grid, if only they could produce the car to go with the talent they have in it.

Sainz Has Eventful Weekend

During qualifying, Carlos Sainz suffered what could only be described as a horror crash. Sainz crashed into the barriers at turn 13 at 200mph and hit the barrier with an impact around 46G. Sainz spent the night in hospital and many wondered if he would race at all on the Sunday. Unbelievably, Sainz was cleared to race and didn't look back. He did admit to feeling dizzy at the beginning of the race, which does throw questions about his fitness into the spotlight. Despite this, Sainz had a fantastic race and his retirement late on was very harsh on the young Spaniard. If Max Verstappen wasn't his team mate this season, I believe a lot of talk would have been about Sainz. If you look at the amount of times Sainz has retired from a points position, he would be right up there with Verstappen. Sainz's only issue with having Verstappen as a team mate is that Max is still on a learning curve, and can only get better. Sainz obviously is still very young and on a learning curve himself, and still has plenty of time to establish himself in Formula 1.

      

Jules Bianchi 1989 - 2015

This is possibly one of the most difficult and emotional things I've ever written, but it is only fitting that I do an entry on Jules Bianchi, who tragically lost his life last Friday after a nine month battle with serve head injuries sustained at the Japanese GP in October last year. Tributes have been flooding in all weekend from drivers past and present to express their grief at the loss of a friend, colleague and a true racing talent. It had been 21 years since Formula 1 had a death due to a racing accident, and this tragedy has reopened the huge debate about safety in the sport. There is no doubt that the sport is as safe today as it ever has been, but this accident has highlighted that there will always be an element of danger in F1. This entry is will have a look at his too short racing career and what could have been for the young Frenchman.

Jules' family name oozes motorsport history, with his uncle Lucien winning the Le Man 24 Hours race in 1968, and also making 17 GP starts. Further back in the Bianchi family tree, his Grandfather Mauro tasted success in GT racing. Jules' career began by racing karts at age 5 and enjoyed much success. He made the step up to racing cars in 2007, where he won the Formula Renault 2.0 French series on his first attempt, scoring five wins in the process. He made a smooth transition to Formula 3 the following year, finishing 3rd overall in the F3 Euroseries, where he won two rounds, plus the prominent Masters race for ART. He remained at ART in 2009 and scored eight victories to take a comfortable championship victory. The stand out event for Jules that year would be that Ferrari had been keeping a close eye on him and he was eventually signed up to their F1 young driver program.

2010 saw Bianchi step up again, this time to GP2, Formula 1's main feeder series. This is a series where the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Nico Romberg and Romain Grosjean, to name a few, have graduated and became successful Formula 1 drivers. Bianchi raced in GP2 Asia during the winter of 2009 to prepare for the main series. He finished 3rd overall failing to take a victory, but 3rd overall in your rookie season where the competition is so fierce is nothing to be ashamed of. A characteristic of Bianchi was seemingly his loyalty and honesty, and this was seen in 2011 where is started his 4th year with ART. He finished second in the shortened four round GP2 Asia championship, which was won by Romain Grosjean. Grosjean also beat Jules to the title in the main series, which saw him given another chance in F1 with the Lotus team. Bianchi ended up finishing 3rd overall again after Luca Filippi had a brilliant second half to the season. Bianchi's season yielded one victory at Silverstone and constant points finishes, but ultimately he never recovered from a poor start to the year which saw him crash out in Spain and Monaco.    

Despite being beaten, Ferrari still supported the young Frenchman, giving him further F1 experience in 2012 along with Force India, who gave him 9 free practise sessions over the course of the season. On top of this, he was competing in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship with Tech 1 Racing. It was a year of frustration for Bianchi from the first race right down to the last. He lost his second place debut result and 18 valuable points due to a technical infringement. Jules went into the final double header of the season leading the championship, but fell behind rival Robin Frijns in the first race. In the final round, Bianchi showed his talent and race craft by pulling off a brilliant move on Frijns, only to be taken out by Frijns a few corners later. Unfortunately for Bianchi, the stewards punishment wasn't enough to hand him the title from Frijns. 

2013 would see Bianchi finally make the step up into F1. Again, frustrations would hamper Bianchi's start as he was in the running to join Paul di Resta at Force India after testing for them during the winter. However, during the final pre-season test, the team announced that Adrian Sutil would be the second driver. This left Bianchi without a drive until Luiz Razia's sponsorship package fell through, opening up a drive with the team that Bianchi took up. It wasn't the car that would show his true ability, but that didn't stop him showing glimpses of how good he was. In just his second drive for the team in Malaysia, he finished 13th, which eventually meant the team would finish 10th in the constructors championship, and be given vital financial rewards. Throughout the year, he constantly out performed team mate Max Chilton and a true star was clear for everyone to see. Not surprisingly, the team retained Jules for 2014 and he was also performing tests for Ferrari, who had become Marussia's engine supplier. Undoubtedly, the highlight of his short F1 career was the 9th place finish in Monaco last year, giving Marussia there only points in F1. Jules' performance was brilliant that day; yes he was helped by retirements, but that can't take away the fact that he was so quick on the day. His season was going as well as he could have hoped after the points in Monaco, until that fateful day at the Japanese GP. Adrian Sutil's Sauber had crashed heavily, and a recovery crane was on the scene to recover the vehicle. This would be the crane that eventually took Jules' life. Bianchi lost control of his Marussia and collided with the crane. Sadly for every F1 fan, this would be the last time we would see this talented driver behind the wheel of an F1 car.    

Jules was destined for fantastic things in F1 but now unfortunately, the world will never see his true potential. He showed just how good he was in a poor, underpowered car, and he also showed stunning pace when testing for Ferrari in 2014 at Silverstone in place of Kimi Raikkonen. His points for Marussia in Monaco last year are the sole reason the team now known as Manor are racing this season. The GPDA will now be looking into new safety measures to ensure that the sport keeps on being as safe as physically possible, and becoming safer still. The only way I can really end this is #RIPJules #CiaoJules

2015 So Far

2015 So Far (Pre Spanish GP)

Formula 1 enters a 3 week break before the start of the European season in Spain. So far, the season is progressing the way many people expected; with Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes topping both championships. Behind them though has seen a few changes since the end of the 2014 season, including the much improved Ferrari and the dismal Renault power unit. In this post, I will be looking at each team’s performance and giving them a mark out of ten.

Mercedes

What can I really say about Mercedes that hasn't already been said this season. They are leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else despite the re-emergence of Ferrari, they look so comfortable. Lewis Hamilton looks to be in the best form of his career and looks almost untouchable. Everything looks to be falling in place to emulate his idol Ayrton Senna and become a three time world champion this year. The same can't be said however for team mate Nico Romberg, who has had a very different start to the season, being out classed and outpaced by his team mate. Luckily in Bahrain he showed the tenacity and speed that he showed last season. Hopefully Rosberg can kick on now and put some serious pressure on Hamilton when the season resumes in Spain.

Ferrari

What a start to the season Ferrari have had. After a shocking 2014, the team has had a complete overhaul of its staff and replaced Fernando Alonso with Sebastian Vettel. What a stroke of genius this appears to have been. Vettel scored his first win for Ferrari in Malaysia with a drive that showed his class and reminded us why he is a four time World Champion. Kimi Raikkonen seems a reinvigorated character this season as well and has been brilliant, just a few bits of bad luck have seen him fall a little behind Vettel. For me though, the change that has had the biggest effect at Ferrari is the arrival of Maurizio Arrivabene. He has brought something to the team that has been lacking in the last few years and he really seems to be getting the best out of the team.

Williams

The Williams team have had a solid if not spectacular start to the 2015 season. They look set on consolidating their place at the front of the grid and trying to challenge the Mercedes team for victories. Unfortunately for them, they seem to have slipped a little behind Ferrari and will need to bring some updates ready for the European season to challenge them. Having said that, their drivers don't seem to be bothered by the Ferrari revival, no more so than Valtteri Bottas who keeps on impressing everyone in the Formula 1 world.  Bottas' skill and talent was evident during the Bahrain weekend when he kept Sebastian Vettel behind him in the closing stages to take another 4th place finish. Felipe Massa has been quiet yet solid in the other Williams car, putting in performances that show his experience and consistently scoring points.     

Red Bull

Although Daniel Ricciardo has scored points in every race this season, Red Bull have had a rotten season thus far. Public spats with engine suppliers Renault and poor performances on track have led to speculation that they could up and quit the sport if things aren't changed. A big issue for team principle Christian Horner is the fact that nothing has been done to help teams reel in Mercedes. He has claimed when Red Bull were at the height of their dominance, everything was done to try and peg back their dominance, yet nothing has been done about Mercedes. This can't take away from the fact that the car itself is a shadow of previous models and has a lot of issues that need resolving. Dani Kvyat has had a slow start to his Red Bull career, but I think that this is due to his car and not a lack of talent.

Sauber

There was a lot of uncertainty about the future of the Sauber team towards the end of last season and many feared the team might fold. Luckily they survived and made into 2015 with about 5 drivers under contract for just two seats. The whole event was an utter shambles which resulted in the court case during the opening weekend in Australia with Giedo van der Garde. However, with this all done and dusted now, the team have had a solid start to the season. Felipe Nasr has been a stand out performer for me, with his 5th place finish in Australia and a series of good performances. His team mate Marcus Ericson has impressed me as well. I couldn't really judge him last year with the Caterham being so far back and unreliable. Now seeing him race wheel to wheel, I have been impressed. He still has a lot to work on but I'm sure he, and the team, can build on a solid start.  

Lotus

Lotus have moved from the Renault power unit to Mercedes for 2015, and it seems to be the best move they could have made. This years' car is leaps and bounds ahead of what they produced last year and it is clear to see from the performances on track. Romain Grosjean has looked good in the opening round scoring a few points here and there and showing that he has what it takes to take the team forward as leader. Things are very different on the other side of the garage however as Pastor Maldonado still hasn't finished a race this year. For me, if Maldonado didn't bring the finance that he does, there is no way he would be on that grid. Yes he has won a race, but so have many other drivers in F1. His overall career has been littered with incidents and poor driving. I personally think Lotus may be higher up the pecking order if they had another driver in their ranks other than Maldonado.

Toro Rosso

This is the team that has excited me the most during the opening rounds this season and it is purely down to their driver line up. It's a completely different line up from last year and it has me on the edge of my seat watching them. Carlos Sainz has been solid and out-performing in Toro Rosso constantly and looks a fantastic talent for the future. For me though, his team mate Max Verstappen has been on another level and an absolute joy to watch. The youngster drives with the head of a veteran on his shoulders and that is clear to see in some of the overtakes and defence moves he has made. A champion of the future if ever there was one, and a man who could brake many records in the sport.

Force India

Force India have made no secret of the financial problems they have found themselves in, and this has clearly had an effect on their season thus far. They are still using a modified version of last years' car and even missed the first pre-season test. They were always on the hunt for points last season but have scored very few this season. I rate both Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez very highly but ultimately, there is only so much the pair of them can do.

McLaren

2015 has seen McLaren and Honda reunited in a bid to take over F1 again. The fairy tale partnership however is a nightmare in reality, with the team failing to score a single point so far and being plagued with reliability issues. Not to mention that the Honda power unit is massively down on power compared to everyone else. There have been signs of improvement race by race, but there is still a massive way to go if they are to be competitive this season. There have been whispers of podium ambitions this season, but I think they need to be more realistic and just aim to score points at this moment in time. They have two fantastic drivers in their ranks in Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, who deserve a lot more than they are getting.

Manor

Just to see the Manor team on the grid this season is an achievement in itself. The team have been formed of what was left of Marussia and have always been within the 107% rule, which is brilliant to see. It was unfortunate that they didn't make it out of the garage in Australia but since then, they have managed to have at least one car run in every session, which is good to see. Their drivers have been nothing but professionals as well, and have just gotten on with the job at hand. Both Will Stevens and Roberto Mehri deserve a lot of credit for keeping within 107% of the Mercedes dominance in a car that is, again, a modification of last years' Marussia. Still though, a lot of work is to be done at the team to ensure its long term future.