F1 Madness

Tag: DRS

  • Eddie Irvine brands double points rule as “insanity”

    Eddie Irvine brands double points rule as “insanity”

    Former Formula One driver Eddie Irvine has branded the idea of double points for the season finale as “insanity” and vows he won’t be watching another race “until the rule is kicked out”.

    Irvine, who drove for Jordan, Ferrari and Jaguar during his decade-long career, is not one to be shy of giving an opinion and has already voiced his displeasure with additions such as DRS to the sport.

    Now, in an interview with the Belfast Telegraph, Irvine has lashed out at the new regulation changes in the sport, more specifically at the new double points rule which will see drivers receiving double points for the final race in Abu Dhabi at the end of the 2014 season.

    “I think Formula One has lost its way,” he told Belfast Telegraph.

    “This latest rule of double points for the last race is insanity. That actually made me realise I am not going to watch another race until that rule gets kicked out. That is just embarrassing. It really is. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

    “I just think the people involved in these decisions have lost the plot. They have no understanding of reality and the people who are in there have been in too long. They have blown up the history of the sport by changing the points, changing the qualifying and now double points for the final race!”

    “It’s ridiculous, I’ve never heard such a joke in all my life. Talk about tinsel town bullshit!”

    Irvine also had a few things to say about Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton.

    When asked whether he thought that Vettel is on the same level as his former team mate and seven time world champion, Michael Schumacher, Irvine seemed to think that Vettel is proving nothing by staying at Red Bull.

    “Vettel’s record is amazing, though he has kept the best car pretty much every year which Michael didn’t have. The one thing about Michael was when he won his first two championships he felt ‘this is boring, I’m going to go to Ferrari and re-build Ferrari’ and that was very admirable. He struggled there for four years before he won another championship. Vettel just staying at Red Bull winning trophies is boring. I don’t see what he’s trying to prove. Okay, he’s going to collect a lot of championships, but you know what, who cares?”

    Irvine didn’t hold back about Hamilton either, saying that he’d “lost the plot a little bit because he went too showbiz.”

    He continued, “His entry into Formula One was fantastic and his talent was amazing. Then he wanted to be a movie star or a rapper or something else. People want their sports stars to be 100% committed to being sports stars. I think he is coming back from that now and it would be nice if he could challenge Vettel. Lewis and Fernando Alonso are the two guys capable of taking Vettel on if their cars are up to it. Unfortunately, they aren’t at the moment.”

    Irvine put a final little dig in at the current state of Formula One saying that he much prefers watching the Discovery Channel and doesn’t keep in touch with anyone other than Kimi Raikkon who “rings me the odd time when he’s drunk!”

     

     

     

  • F1 2013: Korean GP Preview: F1 knuckles down in Korea

    F1 2013: Korean GP Preview: F1 knuckles down in Korea

    Speed, glamour and exotic locations are everyday associations with Formula 1. But F1 is also considered as the most advanced racing series in the world. These advances include revolutionary technological innovation and taking the sport to all corners of the globe.

    There is no genuinely substantial connection between South Korea and motorsport however it did not detract from the construction of a world class racing venue. The Yeongam International Circuit has proven to be a diamond in the rough.

    Sergio Perez, McLaren F1The circuit layout is a perfect blend of medium to high-speed corners with a distinct street track feel to the barrier lined final sector. “It’s a somewhat technical course, one that rewards precision more than it does commitment, so the main challenge comes from dialing the car into the track, which is satisfying when you get it right because there’s a lot of time to be had from running a well-balanced car,” said McLaren’s Sergio Perez.

    The first sector of the lap is typified by long straights which translate to opportunities for overtaking.  The entries to turns One and Three are the best prospects for overtaking at this weekend’s Korean GP before the tight and twisting nature of the rest of the lap dictates far fewer chances.

    The race will be run over 55 laps under usually changeable conditions. When the rain comes down around these parts it has been known to reach monsoon levels. The inaugural race in 2010 was red flagged after only a handful of laps behind the safety car.

    Sebastian Vettel has won the last two Korean GP and would have made it a hat trick had his Red Bull not given up the ghost in 2010. There is very little to suggest that the German will not be ahead of the pack this weekend. Team Principal Christian Horner has tried to play down Vettel’s dominant display in Singapore as a “once off” but it is hard to believe that Red Bull will suddenly have to fight tooth and nail for victory. Nevertheless, the Yeongam circuit does have attributes to it that has not suited Red Bull in the past – long straights.

    Ferrari and Fernando Alonso will need a bit of luck on their side if they are to make inroads into the gigantic lead held by Sebastian Vettel. Alonso will want to beat his fierce rival in a straight out fight but something extraordinary has to happen if the Spaniard is going to truly be in contention for the title. That something extraordinary could be Red Bull’s less than stellar reliability this season. Mark Webber suffered a mechanical failure in Singapore and both cars were nursed to the finish of the Italian GP.

    webber-alonso-liftMark Webber will start this weekend on the back foot after incurring a ten place grid penalty in Singapore for running onto the circuit during the cool down lap and hitching a ride back to the pits with Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen also heads to the Korean GP with question marks around his fitness. Raikkonen was hampered by back pain in Singapore and will use the first free practice session of Friday to assess the issue.

    The possible appearance of Typhoon Fitow has cast some doubt whether the race will be  run as scheduled. However, accurately predicting the weather pattern remains a dark and mysterious art that few seem able to master. The only guaranteed prediction is that Super-storm Seb will undoubtedly be thundering around the Yeongam circuit more voraciously than ever.

    Photo Credits

    Sergio Perez – Photo by McLarenF1.com

    Alonso/Webber lift – F1 Madness screengrab

     

  • Bahrain Grand Prix – Alonso’s DRS Dilemma

    Fernando Alonso suffered a very unusual DRS failure in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix. The DRS flap got stuck in the open position andCapture way above the 50mm limit. The cause seemed to have been the stopper that sits in the middle part of the rear wing. This little device stops the wing from opening above the 50mm limit. In Ferrari’s case the stopper seemed to have failed, not once but twice. This resulted in Alonso coming into the pits twice in as many laps to have the flap reset. The question is, why didn’t the team tell him he should not use it? It was clearly broken and the chances that the team could just whack it back into position and for it to be working again were very slim.

    This was the second time this season where Ferrari have made strategic blunders. The first being the incident he had with Vettel in the Malaysian Grand Prix where he had his front wing damaged. Instead of bringing him in and changing the wing, Ferrari chose to keep him out. This ultimately caused his exit from the race.

    In Bahrain he was still able to drive with the rear wing open. This, in itself, is something to behold. It’s a small wonder he wasn’t sent spinning off the track. He did complain of a lack of grip but he had thought the tyres were going off.

    Nevertheless he managed to fight his way back up the field and finished in 8th place. Had he not come into the pits for the second time he could have finished much higher up the field. With hindsight it’s easy to say that, but such is the sport of Formula 1. The only thing predictable about Formula 1, is that it is unpredictable.

     

  • 2013 Australian F1 Grand Prix Preview: So it Begins

    2013 Australian F1 Grand Prix Preview: So it Begins

    The Albert Park circuit is not the most prodigious or even the most memorable race track you’re ever likely to come across. But there are few more welcome sites than twenty-two race cars lining up on the grid for the much anticipated start of the 2013 Formula 1 season.

    Formula 1 is arguably the most unpredictable sport on the planet and thousands of testing miles have done nothing to change that. The truth is any one of ten drivers could walk away with the spoils on Sunday afternoon. But who of the possible pretenders will be the likeliest amongst the mob?

    Sure to be the most nervous of the lot will be the five rookies making their Formula 1 debuts this weekend.  Marussia have gone with an all new line-up and both Max Chilton and Jules Bianchi will get their first grand prix start this weekend. Giedo van der Garde will step in at Caterham while Esteban Gutierrez will start his first race for Sauber. Williams’ will be hoping that Finn Valtteri Bottas can transfer his potential and talent to the track.

    The Albert Park circuit continues to be a stronghold on the Formula 1 calendar and in addition to coaxing their new cars around the 5.303 km long circuit drivers will want to get an understanding of the 2013 Pirelli tyres. Whatever information teams gathered from pre-season testing won’t be of much use as the high ambient temperatures Down Under will present a completely different read.  The FIA has also tweaked the rules regarding the use of DRS. Drivers will only be permitted to use DRS, for all session, in the demarcated zones; most circuits are expected to have two DRS zones.

    Hardly any alterations have been made to the technical rules for 2013; leading most teams to follow an evolutionary path in the design and development process of their cars. It also means that, in a season of few changes, the field will be closer than ever.

    There is little doubt that Infiniti Red Bull Racing will be up the sharp end of the grid. However, the Red Bull is severely lacking in straight line speed; in fact, it’s the slowest of the lot. But this is a team that have played their cards extremely close to their chest throughout pre-season testing and there is no apparent concern within the team.

    An impressive conclusion of the final pre-season test in Barcelona for Mercedes has elevated the team to a serious threat. Hamilton will unquestionably take the team to a new level and good or bad his performance in Australia is destined to draw attention. This team has the potential to cause the biggest upset this weekend.

    McLaren will be effectively led by the debonair Jenson Button but its Sergio Perez and the MP4-28 that the uncertainty lingers over. As the car has both dazzled and perplexed the team through testing.  A man with no qualms is Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari driver was able to find something special to drag a sub-par Ferrari to second place at the end of 2012. This year his Ferrari already appears to be in better shape which will make the Spaniard a definite and extremely dangerous factor.

    Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean are equally satisfied with what the Lotus E21 has delivered so far. Whereas the team didn’t exploit their chances early on in 2012 they should be ready to just that this season; with an in-form Raikkonen Lotus will be F1 2013’s darkhorse.

    How is it possible that all of these teams could win this weekend? The fact remains that throughout the thousands of laps completed in winter testing every single one of these were fastest at some stage. Provided that everything goes to plan, and the weather plays along, Australia should be a cracker.