Michael Schumacher's future in Formula One took another twist today when his Mercedes AMG team boss Ross Brawn hinted that Schumacher could take up a management position with the Brackley based squad.
The news in my opinion is the strongest indication from the team that the seven times world champion is set to retire at the end of the season. The German's three year comeback contract with Mercedes expires at the end of the year and since returning to F1 in 2010 Schumacher has endured a very difficult time picking up only one podium when he finished third at the European GrandPrix in Valencia earlier this season.
Kimi Raikkonen has so far collected 6 podium's in his comeback season. There are sections in the media and some Schumacher fan's that will say that Kimi is younger then Schumacher and that is why he is doing a better job however I believe that Schumacher had his chance in Formula One and dominated the sport for so many years and in my opinion his return to Formula One was ill advised.
As to who will potentially replace Schumacher, obviously the speculation is that Lewis is joining the team from McLaren, however this has so far been denied. The other possible replacement for Schumacher is Paul Di Resta who currently drive's for the Mercedes powered Sahara Force India team and has very strong links to Mercedes as he drove for them in the German Touring Car Championship.
Every year at this time of the season the conclusion of the European leg of the championship the Formula One 'Silly Season Specualtion' goes into overdrive with the majority of rumour's coming to nothing.
Friday, 7 September 2012
Thursday, 6 September 2012
Confusion over Hamilton's F1 future
There appears to an awful lot of confusion surrounding McLaren's Lewis Hamilton's Formula One future. The 2008 champion is in the final year of his McLaren contract and has yet to agree terms on a new McLaren contract. Earlier this week BBC F1 pundit Eddie Jordan told the BBC that he believed Hamilton was on the move.
When asked about where he would driving during today's driver press conference ahead of this weekend's Italian GrandPrix, the Briton said he didn't know where he'd be driving next season. However according to Sky Sports Hamilton is advanced talks with McLaren over a contract extension.
Earlier this season McLaren CEO Ron Dennis said that any new deal for Hamilton would have accept a pay cut.
However, should Hamilton leave McLaren to head to Mercedes Scot Paul Di Resta has been tipped to replace him at the Woking based team next season. Of course this is all speculation. We will have to wait and see what happens. I believe that there will be very little change at the top team's next season. RedBull are retaining their current pairing of Webber and Vettel, Lotus are likely to continue with Raikkonen and Grosjean although Grosjean could be under pressure depending on how his replacement Jerome D'Ambrosio gets on in Italy this weekend.
I believe that he will be solidly in the points for the team on his F1 return. The race is set to be an extremely hot race which could suit the Lotus team. We will have to wait and see what happens over the course of the weekend. We will get our first indicator of where the team's are after practice tomorrow morning.
I will keep you posted with all the update's from Monza over the course of the weekend.
When asked about where he would driving during today's driver press conference ahead of this weekend's Italian GrandPrix, the Briton said he didn't know where he'd be driving next season. However according to Sky Sports Hamilton is advanced talks with McLaren over a contract extension.
Earlier this season McLaren CEO Ron Dennis said that any new deal for Hamilton would have accept a pay cut.
However, should Hamilton leave McLaren to head to Mercedes Scot Paul Di Resta has been tipped to replace him at the Woking based team next season. Of course this is all speculation. We will have to wait and see what happens. I believe that there will be very little change at the top team's next season. RedBull are retaining their current pairing of Webber and Vettel, Lotus are likely to continue with Raikkonen and Grosjean although Grosjean could be under pressure depending on how his replacement Jerome D'Ambrosio gets on in Italy this weekend.
I believe that he will be solidly in the points for the team on his F1 return. The race is set to be an extremely hot race which could suit the Lotus team. We will have to wait and see what happens over the course of the weekend. We will get our first indicator of where the team's are after practice tomorrow morning.
I will keep you posted with all the update's from Monza over the course of the weekend.
Wednesday, 5 September 2012
Hamilton on the move according to Eddie Jordan
BBC F1 pundit Eddie Jordan believes that Lewis Hamilton is on his way out of McLaren and is heading to Mercedes alongside Nico Rosberg as Michael Schumacher is expected to retire from Formula One for a second and final time.
Jordan believes that representatives from XIX Entertainment and Mercedes CEO Nick Fry have taken place however the team and XIX Entertainment's representatives have denied that talks have taken place.
Hamilton has a long standing relationship with McLaren and began driving for the F1 team in 2007 and came extremely close to winning the championship in his first year however he came back stronger in 2008 to claim the title. I firmly believe that Hamilton may leave the team as he has been very vocal in his criticism of the team recently.
So I believe that it could be a fresh start for Hamilton to move to Mercedes as the team claimed their first win since they bought Brawn GP in 2010 this season when Nico Rosberg the Chinese GrandPrix. The German and Hamilton have a very good relationship having been team-mate's during their time in junior motorsports categories.
We will just have to wait and see what happens
Jordan believes that representatives from XIX Entertainment and Mercedes CEO Nick Fry have taken place however the team and XIX Entertainment's representatives have denied that talks have taken place.
Hamilton has a long standing relationship with McLaren and began driving for the F1 team in 2007 and came extremely close to winning the championship in his first year however he came back stronger in 2008 to claim the title. I firmly believe that Hamilton may leave the team as he has been very vocal in his criticism of the team recently.
So I believe that it could be a fresh start for Hamilton to move to Mercedes as the team claimed their first win since they bought Brawn GP in 2010 this season when Nico Rosberg the Chinese GrandPrix. The German and Hamilton have a very good relationship having been team-mate's during their time in junior motorsports categories.
We will just have to wait and see what happens
Tuesday, 4 September 2012
We are set for another classic
As the European leg of the 2012 F1 season comes to an end in Monza, Italy this weekend I fully believe that will be on for another incredible weekend of racing. The race is a crucial one for all the top team's. RedBull Racing are currently street's ahead in the Constructors championship, however they are by no means assured victory in that title.
The current momentum is with McLaren as they have won the last two races in Hungary and Belgium and as we head to Monza, there are four team's who could potentially be in the running for the win. RedBull, whose last win came in Silverstone, will be extremely eager to get back to winning ay's this weekend.
Ferrari will be looking to win in front of their home crowd as the Italian media and Ferrari fan's will expect nothing less. We also have the possibility that we could find out the 2013 driver line-up for the Scuderia. Alonso is assured his place, however Felipe Massa's future at the team is a lot less certain as he has had a very difficult season scoring only 35 points so far this season compared to Alonso's 164 points.
Ferrari usually announce their line-up over the course of the Italian GrandPrix weekend or shortly after it so we shall have to wait and see what happens.
McLaren will be looking to continue their success with a third race win in a row. The team are still reeling after Lewis Hamilton leaked confidential team information on Twitter to vent his anger over a wing issue on his car at the Belgian GrandPrix he has since apologized for his comments while team mate Jenson Button was saddened by Hamilton's comments.
I feel that this could be start of a rift between the two driver's as just before the GrandPrix in SPA when asked if he would support Hamilton, Button said that he was going to fight for the championship for as long as he could and until it became mathematically impossible for him to win it. He then proceeded to take his first pole position for McLaren and wen on to in the race. He is now only 16 point's behind Hamilton in the championship. So I definitely think that there is a bit of tension behind the scenes at the team. Bearing in mind the fact that Hamilton is yet to sign a contract extension with McLaren
The Lotus team will be looking to continue their run of podium finishes as they have scored four podium's in the last three race's three of which have come from Kimi Raikkonen who finds himself in 4th in the championship just 9 point's off second placed man Sebastian Vettel so what better way to celebrate the end of the European leg of the season by taking his first win since returning to F1 this year and bringing his team their first win under the Lotus name. I for one, certainly believe that it can happen this weekend.
The current momentum is with McLaren as they have won the last two races in Hungary and Belgium and as we head to Monza, there are four team's who could potentially be in the running for the win. RedBull, whose last win came in Silverstone, will be extremely eager to get back to winning ay's this weekend.
Ferrari will be looking to win in front of their home crowd as the Italian media and Ferrari fan's will expect nothing less. We also have the possibility that we could find out the 2013 driver line-up for the Scuderia. Alonso is assured his place, however Felipe Massa's future at the team is a lot less certain as he has had a very difficult season scoring only 35 points so far this season compared to Alonso's 164 points.
Ferrari usually announce their line-up over the course of the Italian GrandPrix weekend or shortly after it so we shall have to wait and see what happens.
McLaren will be looking to continue their success with a third race win in a row. The team are still reeling after Lewis Hamilton leaked confidential team information on Twitter to vent his anger over a wing issue on his car at the Belgian GrandPrix he has since apologized for his comments while team mate Jenson Button was saddened by Hamilton's comments.
I feel that this could be start of a rift between the two driver's as just before the GrandPrix in SPA when asked if he would support Hamilton, Button said that he was going to fight for the championship for as long as he could and until it became mathematically impossible for him to win it. He then proceeded to take his first pole position for McLaren and wen on to in the race. He is now only 16 point's behind Hamilton in the championship. So I definitely think that there is a bit of tension behind the scenes at the team. Bearing in mind the fact that Hamilton is yet to sign a contract extension with McLaren
The Lotus team will be looking to continue their run of podium finishes as they have scored four podium's in the last three race's three of which have come from Kimi Raikkonen who finds himself in 4th in the championship just 9 point's off second placed man Sebastian Vettel so what better way to celebrate the end of the European leg of the season by taking his first win since returning to F1 this year and bringing his team their first win under the Lotus name. I for one, certainly believe that it can happen this weekend.
Alonso declares himself fit for Monza
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso took to Twitter yesterday to confirm that he is fully fit to take part in this weekend's Italian GrandPrix in Monza following his horrendous crash in SPA at the weekend. The Spaniard currently leads the Driver's Championship by 24 points from RedBull's Sebastian Vettel with eight races left this season.
Following the crash Alonso complained of a sore back and a sore shoulder, however it is great that he is fit for the race this weekend. We will have to wait and see what happens this weekend and it will be interesting to see if Alonso can regain the momentum that he has had so far this season.
The Ferrari pilot is the only driver to have won three race's this season in what is arguably an under performing Ferrari car.
Following the crash Alonso complained of a sore back and a sore shoulder, however it is great that he is fit for the race this weekend. We will have to wait and see what happens this weekend and it will be interesting to see if Alonso can regain the momentum that he has had so far this season.
The Ferrari pilot is the only driver to have won three race's this season in what is arguably an under performing Ferrari car.
D'Ambrosio replaces Grosjean for Monza
The Lotus team confirmed today what everyone expected that their test and reserve driver Jerome D'Ambrosio will take Romain Grosjean's place for this weekend's Italian GrandPrix as a result of Grosjean's race ban for causing the massive crash at the start of the Belgian GrandPrix.
The team's decision to slot D'Ambrosio into Grosjean's seat was the most logical one as the Belgian driver has a season of F1 competition under his belt having raced for the Marussia F1 team in 2011, he also tested this year's Lotus car during a preseason test in Mugello in March.
So we don't have long to wait to see how he performs alongside Kimi Raikkonen. I think it would be fantastic to see him score some points and it would be an added bonus to the team if he and Kimi are once again able to challenge for the podium if not the race win.
In other Lotus related team news, their technical director James Allison has confirmed that the team will not run their Double DRS system until the Japanese GrandPrix in October. Only time will tell as to whether or not this was a good decision or not. The team had been scheduled to run the device in Belgium however due to poor weather on Friday for practice they decided against it.
The team's decision to slot D'Ambrosio into Grosjean's seat was the most logical one as the Belgian driver has a season of F1 competition under his belt having raced for the Marussia F1 team in 2011, he also tested this year's Lotus car during a preseason test in Mugello in March.
So we don't have long to wait to see how he performs alongside Kimi Raikkonen. I think it would be fantastic to see him score some points and it would be an added bonus to the team if he and Kimi are once again able to challenge for the podium if not the race win.
In other Lotus related team news, their technical director James Allison has confirmed that the team will not run their Double DRS system until the Japanese GrandPrix in October. Only time will tell as to whether or not this was a good decision or not. The team had been scheduled to run the device in Belgium however due to poor weather on Friday for practice they decided against it.
Monday, 3 September 2012
Cockpit safety debate reignited after near miss
The debate over cockpit safety in Formula One has been reignited following the horrendous crash involving Fernado Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Romain Grosjean, Sergio Perez and Kamui Kobayashi at the start of yesterday's Belgian GrandPrix in SPA which resulted in Romain Grosjean being suspended for this weekend's Italian GrandPrix.
During the accident, Grosjean's car flew over the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso narrowly missing the Spaniards head but destroying the top of the cockpit of his car. After the race a visibly shook Alonso admitted that he was extremely lucky to escape the accident without serious injury.
The resulting collision has reopened the debate about cockpit safety in open wheel racing. There have been further calls for there to be closed cockpit's in Formula One. Following Maria De Villota's testing crash earlier this year which resulted in the Spanish Marussia test driver losing her right eye the FIA immediately began safety test's on a fighter jet style canopy for Formula One.
The canopy idea however, has ignited safety fears among the F1 community as their are concerns as to how the canopy would work if a car landed upside down following a crash.
In my opinion it is the perfect opportunity for Formula One and the IndyCar Series to come together and find a common solution to the safety of drivers. The Head and Neck Safety device which is now mandatory for all driver's competing in top level Motorsport doesn't go far enough in my opinion. At last year's IndyCar finale in Las Vegas Britain's Dan Wheldon was tragically killed following a horrendous crash.
There must be some way of introducing a canopy style device over a cockpit which could automatically detach from a car as a result of a car turning over. F1 engineers and designs are extremely clever people and the F1 technical group should be able to come together to find a solution to the cockpit safety issue.
During the accident, Grosjean's car flew over the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso narrowly missing the Spaniards head but destroying the top of the cockpit of his car. After the race a visibly shook Alonso admitted that he was extremely lucky to escape the accident without serious injury.
The resulting collision has reopened the debate about cockpit safety in open wheel racing. There have been further calls for there to be closed cockpit's in Formula One. Following Maria De Villota's testing crash earlier this year which resulted in the Spanish Marussia test driver losing her right eye the FIA immediately began safety test's on a fighter jet style canopy for Formula One.
The canopy idea however, has ignited safety fears among the F1 community as their are concerns as to how the canopy would work if a car landed upside down following a crash.
In my opinion it is the perfect opportunity for Formula One and the IndyCar Series to come together and find a common solution to the safety of drivers. The Head and Neck Safety device which is now mandatory for all driver's competing in top level Motorsport doesn't go far enough in my opinion. At last year's IndyCar finale in Las Vegas Britain's Dan Wheldon was tragically killed following a horrendous crash.
There must be some way of introducing a canopy style device over a cockpit which could automatically detach from a car as a result of a car turning over. F1 engineers and designs are extremely clever people and the F1 technical group should be able to come together to find a solution to the cockpit safety issue.
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