Author: Natalie

F1 2015: Australian GP Preview – All-set for Australia

The pre-season testing sessions are complete and the Australian grand prix waits to either shatter the delusions or fulfil the promises made in Jerez and Barcelona.

The Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, Australia is the first step in what can potentially be an enthralling season of Formula 1 racing.

In a show of dogged determination and resolve the nearly defunct Marussia Formula 1 team has fought its way out of the abyss. After months of hard work behind the scenes energy boss Stephen Fitzpatrick has been revealed as the investor behind the team which will now be known as Manor F1. While the team was unable to attend any of the pre-season testing sessions the car has passed the mandatory FIA crash tests. The governing body signed off on a revised 2014 chassis which will race in Australia.

There is no doubt that McLaren will show up in Australia seriously underdone. The MP4-30 had a nightmarish amount of issues which ranged from oil pressure leaks to sensor problems to significant struggles with the MGU-K component. The Honda engine, in its first year of development, is rough around the edges and unable of being run at full-tilt by the team. At this stage it appears that Ron Dennis’ expectation of winning races will remain as nothing more than a wishful reverie.

To add to McLaren’s gloom Fernando Alonso has been advised by doctor’s not to race in Australia. The lack of details surrounding the Spaniard’s crash and subsequent “concussion” in Barcelona, while testing, has been the source for much confusion. Nevertheless, the team and driver have rightly opted to put safety above all. Reserve driver Kevin Magnussen will partner Jenson Button for the opening round of the season.

By contract things could hardly have gone much better for Mercedes. The reigning world champs maintained quite a low profile during the first few days of testing. However, there is not an inkling of doubt that team has, at least, maintained its advantage at the head of the pack. The more than 6000 km in testing is the most of any team and the pace so nonchalantly put on display in the final two days in Barcelona sent an ominous message to the chasing pack.

Ferrari’s 2014 driver pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso was a highly anticipated partnership which never reached the forecasted levels of grandstand finishes and epic duels. This time around the Finn is partnered by quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel and team has committed to major changes in all departments.

The 2015 Ferrari surprised more than a few onlookers at the first test in Jerez with its inherent pace. In Barcelona the bigger picture revealed that although definitive strides were made the scarlet Ferrari still remains some way off the Mercedes pace. Along with a dramatically improved power unit both Raikkonen and Vettel are satisfied with the predictable front-end of the car.

Ferrari is touted as having taken the biggest step forward of all the teams on the grid. Which isn’t too shabby a start for a team in turmoil just a couple of months ago. While Mercedes is still out of reach the Italian team could very well be sitting with the second fastest package on the grid.

Of the new drivers on the grid Toro Rosso’s Max Verstappen will be scrutinized the most. The Dutchman has been talked up by his team for months. Since the team think it worthy to compare the 17-year-old to Ayrton Senna it will make watching his progress all the more fascinating.

An average Formula 1 team employs an average of 300 people who are tasked with the job of ensuring that two grand prix cars are able to race. However, there is nothing average about the level of anticipation and expectation that millions of fanatics have ahead of the first race of a new F1 season.

March 10, 2015
F1 2015: Why you can read into F1 testing

For as long as cars have been running around test tracks, most have warned against reading too much into the pre-season. It is, after all, just that, a test. Teams truck their way to European race tracks with their new cars and set about an examination and assessment of what exactly the engineers and designers have rustled up.

The first roll-out of the cars is closely observed by millions of fans who scour the internet and fervently stalk their favourite forums for the most minute updates and details. Sky F1, for example, sends a whole team of journalists to these sessions to document every move that the teams make. Yet, the warnings that the times at the end of the day don’t mean anything subsist.

These warnings though aren’t necessarily always applicable. For one, should the goings-on from Jerez be disregarded you would fail to notice that Ferrari has made an enormous improvement from last year. Okay, it wouldn’t exactly be hard to build a better car than last season’s F14T which was a colossal waste of carbon fibre. But Sauber, who also runs with Ferrari power, has confirmed that the new power unit is a substantial step forward from the Italian manufacturer’s first attempt at the hybrid-turbo engines.

What’s more, Kimi Raikkonen has said that he finds the handling of this car much better and to his liking. Let’s be honest the ever aloof and not-so-media-friendly Raikkonen will hardly be the type of guy to provide a sound bite just for the sake of it. Now, Ferrari hasn’t suddenly transformed into world beaters but they may just be on to something with the SF15T.

The telltale, good, signs from testing would be stacks of laps and reliability. Here the Mercedes W06 is still way ahead of the curve. Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton both completed nearly two full race simulations a day at Jerez. They set about completing their testing program in an ominously reserved manner. There were no proclamations that they were, again, going to blow-away the competition. There was just lap after lap of a car which can seemingly keep going forever.

Even in testing where the laptimes don’t mean that much there is still the odd team/driver who’ll take out the fuel and set a flashy time. It happens for various reasons not least of all to attract a bit of media attention and please the suits that put up the sponsorship cash. The longer runs are what you want to pay attention to. The consistency in laptimes is an important barometer. The more consistent the time, the more it suggests a predictable car. The reasoning then is that the more confidence a driver has in the car’s behaviour the more assured he’ll be in pushing it around the lap.

While what happens at testing isn’t an out-and-out pecking order for the season there is much to learn from it. The next area is the press statements made by drivers. Yes, they get coached to the hilt but sometimes they do reveal a kernel of telling information. At Toro Rosso the engineers and owners are completely infatuated with Max Verstappen who they have dubbed the next Ayrton Senna. It’s noticeable in the Verstappen-obsessed chatter that they don’t talk much about their car which looks a bit of a handful.

The most entertaining and puzzling statements have come from McLaren. New-old driver Fernando Alonso has declared himself impressed with Honda’s “scientific approach.” What did Ferrari use, witchcraft? Once more we see an attempt to deflect from what has been a pretty poor start for the McLaren-Honda alliance. Better that this be the headline than the handful of installation laps they were able to complete at Jerez.

So, there is after all much to glean from testing. Pay attention to the press statements and what they try to detract attention from. Forget about the flashy-headline-grabbing-laptime and instead study the longer runs and determine how consistent the laptimes are. The second test takes place at the Barcelona circuit from the 19^th to the 22^nd of February.

February 17, 2015
Formula 1 Testing Diary – Jerez

The pomp and circumstance of multi-million rand glitzy launches that used to mark the unveiling of a new Formula 1 car is a thing of the past. Instead, some teams opt for an online release of a few images while others invite a few folk over to their factories for a bit of a show. The rest are happy to reveal their cars in the Jerez pitlane and get straight down to business.

It is ultimately the laptimes and reliability that is most important in the early days before the 2015 season. But let’s take a minute to appreciate that Formula 1 is once again stunningly easy on the eye. In fact, it’s hard to pick the best looking car of the lot. At Red Bull they’ve played around with a rad-looking white-and-black camouflage livery. The new look is only interim however team Principal Christian Horner has promised to debut even stronger colours in Australia. The Ferrari SF15T has long, elegant swooping lines that carry all the way through to an elongated nose and the McLaren’s lustrous silver bodywork has been accented by swathes of red as a nod to new engine supplier Honda.

Nevertheless, the most vital test is how, and if, these cars come alive on the track. The first four-day test session took place at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain.

Day one: Sebastian Vettel sets the fastest time of the day for the Ferrari team with a time of 1:22:690 with a lap total of 59. Fernando Alonso completed the least amount of laps, six, in his McLaren Honda. The MP4-30’s, dubbed the McHonda, problems centred mostly on their new Honda engine. The Lotus team were absent from the pitlane following their announcement that the E23 wasn’t quite ready to run.

It was a remarkable day for Mercedes who clocked 157 with Nico Rosberg. Although Mercedes did have a shakedown at Silverstone to clock 157 laps in a day is an extremely good sign for the defending champions.

Day two: Once again Sebastian Vettel tops the timing sheets with a fastest time of 1:20:984 in his Ferrari. The Lotus team did a terrific job to show up for the second day of testing and managed a total of 41 laps with Pastor Maldonado and a quickest time of 1:25:802. McLaren managed only a couple of installations with Jenson Button before spending the entire morning in the garage with more electronic issues.

The final few hours of the second day of testing were blighted with rain however Lewis Hamilton was still able to complete 91 laps before a water leak brought an end to his afternoon. Sebastian Vettel racked up 89 laps and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr’s 88.

Day three: Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr set the quickest time of the day ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. Nasr completes an impressive 108 laps in the blue-and-yellow Sauber but Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg racks up the most laps with 150.

On their second day of testing Lotus is able to complete 91 laps with Maldonado and provide a consistent base for feedback on the E23. McLaren have a better day with Fernando Alonso who is able to complete 32 laps. However, the McHonda would later stop on circuit with a water pressure problem. Rookie Carlos Sainz Jr has a notable day out with the difficult Toro Rosso by completing 136 laps.

Day four: The final day is topped by Kimi Raikkonen ensuring that a Ferrari-engine has topped all four days at Jerez. The 1:20:841 is the fastest of all four days but is kept in cautious perspective by Raikkonen who calls the SF15T “a good starting point.”

Felipe Nasr and Lewis Hamilton complete the top three while Romain Grosjean’s day was brought to an early end with a “power unit issue.” Jenson Button has no easier time of it in the McLaren as engine problems and a fuel pump issue curtail the team’s program.

February 12, 2015
Formula 1 Coming To Nelson Mandela Bay

South Africa is taking its first decisive step towards bringing Formula 1 back to its shores with an International Motorsport Show in Nelson Mandela Bay this December.

The event has been three years in the making and marks a vital step in South Africa’s renewed position in the world of motorsport.

The Mzansi International Motorsport Show will run from the 10th – 13th of December and include three days of motorsport extravaganza. Several races have been planned around a 1.6 km loop of Marine Drive in Summerstrand. The races will feature supertrucks, karts, exotic tuners, the V8 series and for a bit of South African flavour a taxi race has also been planned. However, what is sure to be the piece de resistance is the Formula 1 exhibition race which will feature two Lotus-Mercedes cars and four South African built F1 cars.

The event is expected to create nearly 3000 annual job opportunities and serve as an important boost to the region’s tourism sector. Ticket prices will range from R150 to R350 with expected attendance of 20 000 spectators per day.

The international launch of the Mzansi Motorsport Show will take place in March in Australia which will also mark the official start of the 2015 Formula 1 season.

February 4, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Testing Day 2 – Round-Up

The second day of testing from Spain’s Jerez circuit was topped by Sebastian Vettel as he set a fastest time of 1:20:984 in his Ferrari.

The morning started rather sedately as the several cars initially set about completing their installations laps. Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel and Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton got into their workload for the day relatively quickly while others camped in the pitlane for some time. The Lotus team did a terrific job to show up for the second day of testing and managed an initial installation with Pastor Maldonado able to complete 41 laps with a quickest time of 1:25:802.

McLaren also managed only a couple of installations with Jenson Button before spending the entire morning in its pit garage. The Brit was able set a timed lap several hours later following a morning troubled by electronic issues. However, nearly all of the session on day two was lost to further gremlins.

Red Bull’s Danill Kvyat caused quite a stir when he left the pitlane without a front-wing. Naturally, there were a few jokes about the camouflage livery living up to its name and hiding the front-wing. Ultimately, the explanation was that the front-wing had been damaged and while the team waited for a replacement Kvyat would do a short engine test without it.

The final few hours of the second day of testing were blighted with rain however Lewis Hamilton was still able to complete 91 laps before a water leak brought an end to his afternoon. Sebastian Vettel racked up 89 laps and Sauber’s Felipe Nasr’s 88.

Unofficial laptimes from Jerez de la Frontera:

February 2, 2015
F1 2015: Jerez Testing – Day 1 Round-Up

Day one of winter testing ahead of the 2015 season kicked off today at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

Sebastian Vettel set the fastest time overall for the Ferrari team with a time of 1:22:690. The German completed a total of 59 laps. Fernando Alonso completed the least amount of laps, six, in his McLaren Honda.

A relatively cool start to the day, weather wise, was amped with the official launch of several cars. Red Bull stole the limelight with a rather different livery. The Williams FW37 also launched with its official colours in the pitlane while Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg unveiled the 2015 Mercedes. The Lotus team were absent from the pitlane following their announcement that were not quite ready to run the E23. Fernando Alonso took charge of the McLaren Honda for the first day Ron Dennis has said that the McLaren livery will change from its current guise but has remained coy on exactly when that will happen.

Last year’s stuttering start to testing at Jerez saw Kimi Raikkonen set the fastest time of the day in his Ferrari, a time of 1:27:104. Twelve months later, and a whole lot more knowledge on the turbo era of the sport, the cars have clocked times considerably quicker.

It was a remarkable day for Mercedes who clocked 157 with Nico Rosberg. Although Mercedes did have a shakedown earlier in the week at the Silverstone circuit to clock 157 laps in a day is an extremely good sign for the defending champions.

The first day of winter testing is always highly anticipated among fans, teams and drivers alike. It’s the opening salvo ahead of a new season and one that is keenly watched from all around the world. It is also a day for the teams to find their proverbial feet with their 2015 challengers and one where they look iron out small niggles while ensuring that all the systems run smoothly.

Thus the first runs and opening couple of days are hard to read into and it is unwise to do so. There is one thing however that is not in doubt; for 2015 the teams have produced stunning pieces of machinery that are very pleasing to the eye.

Daniel Ricciardo photo courtesy of @redbullracing

Unofficial Laptimes from Jerez de la Frontera:

February 1, 2015
F1 2015: New rules, new looks, new faces

In less than two months Melbourne will become the epicentre for start of the 2015 Formula 1 season. As with its predecessors there is much to be excited about for the new season.

If you found the 2014 aesthetics unpleasing and plain awkward you weren’t alone. Mercifully a tweak to the aero rules for the nose section means that the hideous duckbills and anteaters have been consigned to the scrap heap. Visually the majority of the field will have a relatively uniform look for the nose section of the car and it does constrict some of the eccentric individuality seen last year. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that most will be happy to have far better looking cars to ogle.

For the sites that Formula 1 will visit the FIA has announced a twenty race calendar with a highly anticipated visit to Mexico City in late October. As predicted the Korean grand prix loses its spot on the calendar while the German grand prix will again be hosted at the Hockenheimring for 2015. Even though the deal struck with Bernie Ecclestone back in 2006 specifies an annual rotation between Hockenheim and the Nurburgring the latter’s change of ownership has left it in financial difficulty and without a deal in place for the coming season.

While safety is paramount in F1 the Safety Car periods have, on occasion, been far too long. It has been mainly lapped cars which has been the culprit in these long-winded intermissions. The FIA has shown some common sense by announcing that the Safety Car will no longer wait for lapped cars to catch the rear of the field before resuming the race.

Along with a far more visually pleasing sport there will also be three rookies on the grid. Sauber has confirmed that Brazilian Felipe Nasr will be partnering with Marcus Ericsson for 2015. Nasr gained valuable seat time in F1 last year as the official test driver for the Williams team and he graduates to Formula 1 with a pretty solid CV. Nasr has won both the Formula BMW and British Formula Three championships before finishing third overall in last year’s GP2 campaign. It’s no secret that he comes with substantial financial backing from Banco do Brasil which is much needed by a struggling Sauber team. Neverthless, Nasr is a real talent and it’s more than worth it to keep an eye on his progress.

At one stage it appeared as if Carlos Sainz Jnr’s introduction to Formula 1 would have to wait a few more years. The son of former double rally world champion Carlos Sainz was on course to be fast-tracked to F1 but he lost out to Russian driver Daniil Kvyat. It proved to be a momentary delay as Sebastian Vettel’s departure to Ferrari meant a promotion to the Red Bull team for Kvyat. This in turn opens the door for Sainz Jnr to slot into the vacant Toro Rosso seat.

However, it will be his Toro Rosso teammate who will undoubtedly carry the biggest weight of expectation of all the rookies in the field. Max Verstappen is the son of the not-so-successful former F1 driver Jos Verstappen. But that isn’t what makes his debut so spectacular. Instead, it’s the fact that when Max Verstappen takes to the starting grid in Australia he will be seventeen years old. He will be the youngest driver ever to compete in the sport and probably the first, should he score a podium, who cannot legally have a sip of the celebratory champagne. Verstappen’s racing biography is rather limited given his age but he nevertheless boasts some impressive wins including third place in last year’s European Formula Three championship.

There are many who believe that if you’re fast enough you are old enough. To a degree this plays true but handling the pressure of Formula 1 is a big ask for someone so young. It is clear that Red Bull’s motorsport director Helmut Marko has no qualms about piling on the pressure and has already compared the youngster to the great Ayrton Senna. As grand and fiery as the Verstappen PR has been he is a bit of an anomaly. Either Max Verstappen is going to be the greatest thing since Lewis Hamilton, read sliced bread, or he’s going to be something else which time will inevitably tell.

January 19, 2015
F1 2015: Engine Rule Game Changer?

It has always been recognised and celebrated that Formula 1 has some of the most complex and advanced engine technology in the world. It’s a sport of innovation after all and the introduction of hybrid engines for 2014 well and truly proved that. Last year, Formula 1 went racing on a third less fuel than in 2013 with a 1.6 litre turbo engine and still it produced quicker cars.

It didn’t quite go to plan as far as it being an all-out nail biter between the teams. Instead the rest of the field watched forlornly and from a considerable distance as Mercedes thrashed the lot of them and strolled to both championship titles. Mercedes’ enormous 2014 advantage emanated mostly from an exceedingly superior power unit which left rival manufacturers shamefaced.

Throughout the year Ferrari and Renault fought hard for permission to introduce upgrades during the 2015 season. As a change of rules can only be achieved through a unanimous decision by the teams Mercedes’ refusal to yield seemingly put an end to Ferrari and Renault’s hopes. Yet, for as much as F1 is known by its advanced technologies, the rules that ‘govern’ the sport seemingly has an infinite amount of grey area. You would think that for as long as these experts have been sitting around shiny boardroom tables they’d by now have an idea of how to create a rule that leaves no wiggle room for the infinitely brighter teams. Instead the engine homologation rule is saturated with enough grey area to make you cringe.

At a meeting with the FIA in Abu Dhabi Ferrari technical director James Allison pointed out that the lack of an exact date by which the final 2015 engine must be lodged. Subsequently, and to appear less dense, the FIA have told teams that the “most logical and robust” way to proceed would be to assume that there is no homologation date for the 2015.

Honda has been purposefully left out of the equation because according to the rule a new manufacturer must homologate its engine by 28 February 2015. The Japanese manufacturer in partnership with McLaren feels it is “unfair” to allow its opposition to make progress while its own power unit will remain unchanged throughout the season.

You would think that this means Renault and Ferrari powered cars will have a good and proper shot at the Mercedes. Few things have ever been that uncomplicated in Formula 1 and this is no exception. This is a win for Ferrari and Renault but it’s a relatively small one. Bear in mind how the development of the engine is divided and that in-season development and upgrades are not a free for all. On its introduction in 2014 only 92 % of the hybrid engine was open for development. From here, manufacturers selected 48% to develop. This 48 % is split into 32 tokens which are assigned to various parts of the engine. The various sections each carry a value of one to three tokens depending on its influence on performance.

Now there is the regulation surrounding the homologation which itself has led to several wordless moments of some pretty hefty squinting and head-tilting. Rule 28.5 states that “only power units which have been homologated by the FIA…may be used at an Event during the 2014-2020 Championship seasons.” This rule makes no explicit mention of how many engines can be homologated per year. It is clear however that for an engine to be used during a race weekend it must be homologated. Should this rule be applied as it’s read it would mean that teams have several opportunities throughout the year to bring upgrades to their engines, to homologate as they go. Keep in mind that each driver will only be allocated four engines for the entire season which brings into play the certainty of a grid penalty with each engine change after the allotment.

On the other hand, if the rule is to be interpreted differently it means that once an engine has been homologated for 2015 no changes can be made to it at any stage. By this understanding the advantage of the loophole is only a few extra weeks of development before the start of the season in Australia. Furthermore, up until an engine has been lodged with the FIA, for homologation, the 2014 engine will be the only option to run with. New rules are created to bring clarification, they said.

January 12, 2015
F1 2014: Fernando Alonso: McLaren Now & Then

To the casual, minimally interested race fan Fernando Alonso’s one year spent at McLaren was relatively successful. The Spaniard had, after all, only missed a third world title by a solitary point.

However, behind the scenes a sinister plot was unravelling and would soon bear explosive consequences. Fernando Alonso, fresh off his two world titles with Renault signed for McLaren sometime towards the end of the 2005 season. He arrived with the expectation of being treated as the team’s unequivocal first driver. He didn’t account for a young British up-start named Lewis Hamilton.

In Australia he finished ahead of Hamilton but the rookie stole the spotlight by finishing on the podium. It’s no surprise that Alonso is a poker player; after all, he is pretty good at spinning it in the media. For all intent and purpose as far as Fernando was concerned things could not have been going better at the McLaren team and with his new teammate. On balance he likely expected to be getting a considerable upper hand on the young Hamilton as they got into the meat of the season.

The next race in Malaysia was won by Alonso but Hamilton would strike back at the heart of the Spaniard by beating him to second place in his beloved Spanish grand prix. The first sign of tension in the team appeared in Monaco. The chequered flag was taken by Alonso while a particularly quick Hamilton appeared disappointed after the race for having to adhere to team orders.

But the cracks were there and they would be put on display for all to see in the North American stops on the calendar. Hamilton claims his first, impressive, grand prix victory in Canada and makes it two in a row in the United States. At a point in the Indianapolis Gp Alonso veers widely towards the pitwall in a clear message to the team to let him past his race-leading teammate. He later denied that the move had anything to do with the changing of position.

Unknown to most at this stage there was a story brewing that could turn the championship on its head. The next two race victories went to Kimi Raikkonen with Ron Dennis claiming that McLaren team had merely “flattered” Ferrari in France. At the Nurburgring Alonso came out on top of a wheel-banging fight with Felipe Massa for his third victory of the season. At the Hungarian grand prix qualifying session Alonso and his illustrious physio concocted a plan to “punish” Lewis Hamilton. He would spend just enough time in the pitbox to stop Hamilton from getting another crack at a flying lap. It worked and the Spaniard secured a short-lived pole position. It left team Principal Ron Dennis incensed as he marched up to the physio and yanked the comms from head.

It later emerged that during the lead up to the Hungarian GP Fernando Alonso had offered Ron Dennis the “opportunity” to re-establish him as the number one driver and to throw all of the team’s resources behind him. If not, he had information that he would share with the FIA president. The information would reveal that McLaren had been in possession of confidential Ferrari documents and had used it to their advantage. Not to be bullied Dennis contacted the FIA himself and after a lengthy investigation the McLaren team were fined $100 million and excluded from the Constructor’s championship. On appeal the fine would later be reduced to $50 million.

In China, there were rumours that an exceedingly angry Fernando Alonso was slamming doors off their hinges and having heated words with Ron Dennis. At this point in time most would have, and did, suspect that it established an irreparable amount of damage to the Alonso/Dennis relationship. By the end of the 2007 Brazilian grand prix neither McLaren had won the world championship and Fernando Alonso sped off to rejoin the Renault team apparently never again to darken the McLaren doorstep in his racing career.

He spent a relatively unsuccessful couple of season at Renault which was blighted by the crashgate saga of Nelson Piquet Jr. and the Singapore grand prix. Off he went to Ferrari with the belief that he would add to his world champion trophy cabinet. It wasn’t to be but the Spaniard’s racing reputation didn’t suffer any harm either. No joy at Ferrari and a few parting jibes later he once again finds himself as a McLaren driver with Ron Dennis in charge. Oh, how time changes Formula 1.

As many drivers and F1 personnel have attested to in the past Ron Dennis’ incessant need for control meant that he dictated every single aspect of the team. One example of it is that he requires all drivers’ hair to be neatly coiffed and to be clean-shaven.

With the official announcement of Fernando Alonso as a 2015 McLaren driver brings with it the speculation as to how much, if at all, the relationship between these two has been repaired; and how much of the decision was actually Dennis’ to make in capitalistic world of Formula 1. Because, as far as we know, Ron still doesn’t like beards.

December 12, 2014
BREAKING: Raikkonen Mystery Revealed!

Once upon a time in a land far away we were told mythical tales of a man who travels around the world on a sleigh. As time passed Santa Clause became nothing more than an illusion of childhood…or is it? There may be proof that St. Nick is after all real and closer than you might think. In fact he seems to have a lot in common with a certain monosyllabic Finn.

Here are ten reasons why Kimi Raikkonen could be Santa Clause:

– Santa is apparently from Finland – Kimi is Finnish.

– Santa doesn’t mind a drink, especially not on Christmas Eve – I think it’s common knowledge that Kimi doesn’t mind a drink at anytime!

– You never see Kimi just before Christmas, the time when Santa is getting ready for Christmas.

– Kimi is one of the fastest drivers in the world, and we all know Santa has to be speedy getting round the whole world – surely a poignant factor.

– Kimi wears red, and so does Santa.

– But wait I hear you say that ‘Kimi is too toned to be Santa’. Well, as you don’t see him just before Christmas, it is possible he could ‘bulk up’ but there’s also things known as ‘fat suits’…

– However, you never seem to see Kimi without his personal trainer for the rest of the year… it’s all a conspiracy!

– According to In Gear magazine, Santa has an interest in cars, as does Kimi.

– Children like Kimi as well as Santa.

– Finally, lots of people still believe in Santa, and lots of people believe in Kimi too.

December 2, 2014