Present Day Fabrications

I can't remember the last time I watched Formula 1. Well, I think I've said enough about it and really despite the title and its applicability to that circus, this post isn't about that. I'll touch on automobiles in this post. Specifically, BMWs.

For those who have read my previous postings, you'd know that I view most BMWs as nothing more than accessories for mistresses and wannabes. Most but not all of them. Recently, I had the chance to drive an old E46 BMW M3. And what a gem that was. Being rear wheel drive, the steering and handling of that thing was a complete revelation. The balance of the chassis, the responsiveness and agility are stuff of legend. And that straight six - essentially half a McLaren F1 road car engine, sometimes reminds me of old Jaguars in terms of sonic quality at least. The performance - whilst not exactly fast by comparison to cars in the present day - is more than adequate for me. In fact, I love it.

Also recently, I've had the chance to ride in the very latest BMW M5. Now of course, that is a brutally fast car. Forget next level, its several levels above the M3. 4.4 litres, twin turbo V8 with 560 bhp with attendant torque. There's a sense of the inexorable with this car.

But here's the thing. The 5 series BMWs share the same platforms as the 6 and 7 series and get this, the Rolls Royce Ghost. OK I'm outdated. You knew this already. But Rolls Royce Ghost?? No wonder I keep mistaking 5 series BMWs for 7 series. Its seriously huge and portly. Near 2000 kgs for an Motorsport division road car. Gone are the days of the lightweight sports saloon that built BMWs reputation. This car is seriously like a big barge.

Except that it isn't. Or at least it pretends not to be. And herein lies my biggest bugbear. The engine note. BMW pipes in engine noise into the cabin by playing tracks on the speakers! Yes, I knew this for some time. But it didn't hit me hard until after I drove the E46 M3. That car is honest - though there are loads of probably superfluous features on it. Well, its honest enough. But playing the sound of a V10 in the cabin through the speakers? That takes the cake for fake.

What does it say about us a consumers and buyers? I mean BMW I'm sure knows its market extremely well - otherwise you'd never get absolutely stupid cars like the X3, X5 and... oh god, the X6 and its ilk. And knowing its market so well that it knows that buyers would tolerate or dare I say demand such fabrications as engine noise through the speakers. Forget about electric steering and the dead fake feel from the steering wheel. Whatever happened to the purity of the driving experience? BMW to me has stooped to a new low point.

This is from the same company that made such legends as the BMW 2002, M1, E30 M3, the first M5, the E60 V10 M5 and of course the E46 M3. I really don't know what else to say.

A Little Too Late

Though I've almost completely stopped watching Grands Prix (can't remember the last time I did), I do on occasion browse through the news websites, notably Pitpass and Crash.net. I've completely stopped going to the F1 website equivalent of (British) The Sun newspaper, Planet F1.

So I've noticed lately Pitpass being highly critical of the monetary greed in Formula 1. More than once aiming its sights on the loathsome CVC.

Funny, I had been saying the same thing for years now. Even from back in the day when Pitpass (et al) was singing praises and in full support of the expansion of Formula 1. Not least because it gave them more readership I suppose.

Let me just reiterate the point I made in my previous post. They so wanted to expand the appeal of Formula 1 particularly to those bunch of idiots called the casual fan. Well, all it did was drive away the core enthusiasts. People like me who have been following the sport for nigh on 32 years. And now for some reason, the very casual fans are also deserting the support as evidenced by falling television audiences.

The only way to stop the decay is to bring back the purity of the racing - and not keep tweaking and introducing artificiality into the "sport." But Pitpass is of the opinion in their latest article that this is not possible. I'd beg to differ but I couldn't care less anymore.

Actually I do hope that Formula 1 decays even further until such point we can be rid of people like CVC and all the money men. As a (previous) fan I hate being used as some sort of cash cow to make a bunch of financier and a senile old fart in Bernie wealthier. Fuck off bitches. Leave for good!

Oh and Pitpass... instead of referring to the rest of us who are not you as Para Sites, why don't you have a careful look at our arguments instead. Because, when it comes to the greed and the decay of Grand Prix racing, I beat you to it nearly a decade ago.

Weariness

I haven't written in a while and I'm not about to start writing regularly again. I had planned a series of articles to sign-off this blog but just couldn't bring myself to start. Mainly because it would have repeated a lot of things that I had said previously. Yeah, I told you so on a lot of things. But having read Mike Lawrence piece on Pitpass, I felt compelled to put my thoughts down. The article is called The Young Ones, and it reflects a lot of the apathy I feel towards Formula 1 specifically and motorsports in general but couldn't crystallise my thoughts into the written word. I guess that's why Mike's the professional.

Before I expand further, a word on Mike. Obviously he's an excellent writer but he does tend to have his bouts of pomp which I find incredibly condescending. And clearly there are things that he has gotten wrong and I simply don't agree with. For instance, the question of the value of so-called superstar designers. I find it hard for anyone to deny that four world championships on the trot in addition to those at McLaren and Williams clearly proves Adrian Newey is worth his weight in gold. But he must be allowed to do it his way, which is what Red Bull have done. For Lawrence to suggest that the championship winning 1998 McLaren was perhaps the fruits of Neil Oatley, I mean.. Come On! Oatley was a journeyman designer whose previous MP4/3 of 1987 was scrutinised over by Gordon Murray and brought to the conclusion was that it was a noodly piece of junk. That before Gordon himself designed the all conquering MP4/4 that bore no resemblance to the crappy MP4/3. And just exactly what did Oatley do until early to mid 90s? No sorry Mike, not buying it. And I've yet to see a retraction from you.

But this latest article from Mike Lawrence really hit the spot. You see, for the last year or so, I've felt little or nothing on over Formula 1. And as Lawrence says, its nothing to do with Sebastien Vettel's dominance. I've followed Formula 1 for the last 30 years and there have been many periods of domination by one person or team but in the past, I still felt the buzz before the start of any grand prix weekend. Frankly speaking, I do enjoy watching Seb drive. 4 world championships in a row? That takes real skill and no matter what you fools say, he is a truly great grand prix driver, up that with the very finest. Given a dominant car is one thing but the driver still has to do the work. Do you really believe if Mark had been the leading driver he would have won so many championship? Please get real.

 So its not the domination of Red Bull that brings a sense of weariness. As Mike Lawrence puts it, its all this redundant bloody glitz that Bernie tries to introduce. All the stupid American NASCAR inspired showbiz they try so hard to inject into grand prix. All to appeal to stupid people and the so-called "casual fan." Broadening the appeal seems to be the order of the day and with it the dilution of the purity of motor racing. The objective of which is of course ever increasing (casual) eye ball count which leads to more money for those bunch of parasites called CVC. Have I given you a fuck you recently CVC? No? Well, FUCK YOU.

Mike puts it best:

Granted, all kinds of information is available on-screen, but this is like watching Hamlet while referring to one of those books designed to help students pass exams. I want to experience the rhythm of a race, not try to work out who is really where after pitstops and whether their tyres might go off after 19 laps, or 23. That is the stuff of videogames.

I feel you Mike. I remember watching grand prix decades ago, before all the silly cluttering info-graphics multi-aspect cameras, all the nonsense pictures of drivers in gangsta poses. It was still possible to enjoy the race. But I hear so many complaints, mainly from American fans, that the coverage is still not good enough. Not informative enough. I want this and that data splashed across my screen. Just fucking grow up already and look carefully and you will know what goes on.

And to continue further, all this tweaking of the rules to make it supposedly more exciting. Like bits of Pirellis melting after 5 laps, or bloody KERS and DRS. We had none of that before and it still produced exciting racing from time to time. We have these stupidities these days and guess what? Excitement still only comes sporadically.

Supposedly people want to see overtaking. I guess much like basketball where there's a score every few seconds. But you know what? Basketball is boring. I much rather watch football. That's soccer for the terminally stupid on the West side of the Atlantic, just in case you're too dumb to realise the context I'm speaking about. I rather enjoy the tactical aspect of football, the display of skill, spacial awareness and sense of timing. These are details to be savoured.

And so it is with motor racing. Though no overtaking at all is much like a nil nil draw in football. But a pass here and there combined with the suspense and display of attempts and counters, these were what drew me to watch for many years. And the truth is, if we still had proper racing circuits like Spa for instance, we needn't have stupid DRS or the completely redundant KERS. Therein lies the problem, its just so artificial.

I bring another excerpt from Mike Lawrence:

Meanwhile Bernie hunts for new countries to stage what have become vanity events and established races are under threat if they do not meet his exacting demands. The trouble is that his demands are all about glitz and glamour. That's fine if it helps the sport become more attractive to movers and shakers, who might invest in it; less fine if it places unreasonable pressure on organisers. The two races believed to be most under scrutiny are Canada and Belgium, yet they are among the most popular with enthusiasts.

Bernie, the CVC and the FIA simply doesn't care for the enthusiasts. They're too busy with their obsession of money. With, and I simply detest this phrase, profit growth. Its not simply about having a profitable business, to the parasites at CVC, there must be a growth in that profit. And that growth rate itself must grow for a business to be even considered a good investment. Its rats like CVC who do not realise that this is unsustainable. And on a larger scale, its this blatant capitalistic business school philosophy that brings ruin to the world. Growth but at what cost?

This year I took up the sport of cycling or I should say re-discovered. I had done it for many years previously. And given the choice of watching Chris Froome battling it out with Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador in a fabulous 2013 Tour de France versus watching yet another grand prix, I chose cycling every single time. Despite all its troubles, there's still something genuine about that sport. And of course, its more relevant to me as a cyclist (albeit a recreational enthusiastic one) than Formula 1 will ever be. But forget relevance, Formula 1 still managed to grab my attention for the last 30 years. Now, thanks to the collective efforts of big corporations, the FIA, Bernie Ecclestone and CVC, they've turned me into one of those people they're so desperate to please - a casual fan. But I'm far from pleased. So a big fuck you guys.

Parting Shots - Intro

Its been a little over 2 years since I last posted anything here. When I started this blog I had plenty of things to say about racing in general, Formula 1 in particular. Yeah, I used to be active on forums but somehow I there were just too many morons on those websites and it wasn't fun. Then discovering Blogger, I found the perfect way to let it all out. Yeah, I considered all of this a kind of word vomit. And I guess I've thrown up enough.

Honestly, I've always blogged for myself. I really didn't care what the hell anyone thought of this. They're my thoughts and opinions. Heck, I got away from forums and started this to get away from imbeciles out there. But one or two of them did find their way into this blog's comments.

Unlike some other bloggers, I never pampered to the general and popular trends out there to pamper to prospective readership (and gain ad revenues of course). If I did, it was purely coincidence. And unlike some other bloggers, I hadn't aimed to be the next Autosport editor.

In the last couple of years, there have been many changes and many significant events. But really, I never felt compelled to comment because after 30 years of watching motorsports, I felt I'd seen it all before. And the things that I wrote about years ago still hold true today and more than once I think to myself those four precious words: I told you so.

So with all of the above in mind, I've decided to write a series of posts. Call it the last ones for the road. This will summarise some of the things I've said before, some comments of events in the last couple of years, comments on other bloggers and retaliation against some idiots who've posted comments on my posts. This time though, I'm disabling all comments. Coz really don't give a shit what you have to say.

On Brawn, Mercedes and Jenson Button

Lets face it. No matter what you may say, Jenson is a pretty talented individual. The fact is he is the world champion and such victories aren't easy to come by.

So now, world title in hand, he jumps to McLaren. Given McLaren's sparkling end of year form some might say thats a pretty good move until you consider that Mercedes' considerable resources are now going the other way to Brawn. If Ross Brawn is to be believed the second half of the season saw Brawn shift its efforts to the 2010 challenger leaving the team to take a calculated gamble on a rear guard action all the way to both championships.

Now with everyone's efforts squarely on 2010 and with Mercedes now on board, the newly named Mercedes Benz GP team will indeed be a formidable platform. In fact, money or no money, if championships are his main concern, thats where Jenson should have stayed. I believe, given Ross Brawn's considerable technical management skills combined with unparalleled tactics, Jenson would have been in a great position to take even more championships. Alright, so he might argue that being the world champion entitles him to more money. Well, a multiple world champion would get even more. Certainly I think Mercedes would have been more than pleased to sign a bigger paycheck for the future.

Ultimately Jenson must ask the question. Is it the money or world titles that are more important? Of course, I am not absolutely saying that McLaren won't be a main challenger for the championship. Arguably they can. But will their cars be as quick this year without the KERS cheat?

More so in the long run, given the technical organisation of Brawn and the financial firepower of Mercedes, this is the team of the future. Ultimately with the ability to emulate the great juggernaut Mercedes teams of the past. Not for nothing are Mercedes Benz making Brawn the new works team and making them the official silver arrows.

Well okay then. So McLaren will still be battling it out for the title next year. The question is, can Jenson take on the Hamiltons? Most importantly can he and his dad handle the ever loathsome train driver who no doubt is clearing the decks for some serious politicking within the team? Most people have said the Jenson would stand no chance against McLaren's golden boy. Well, lets see shall we?

I am well aware that Jenson has in the past lost out to his teammates. He lost out badly to Giancarlo Fisichella at Benetton and in 2008 lost out to Rubens. But given a perfect car, Jenson can and does perform. So lets see. Perhaps that smooth style of his can be faster over race distance rather than the tyre chomping style of Hamilshit. This is particularly important for next year, the ban on refueling and thus greater weight carried by the cars throughout the race will call for an emphasis of tyre management. And Hamilshit as we know is particularly aggressive on his rubber.

Moving back to Mercedes and Brawn. I think ultimately, Mercedes would like to be associated with a team thats focused absolutely on the racing as Brawn GP was. Moreover, I think you cannot but be impressed with the way the team has performed. Alright, so the car was developed with Honda money but nevertheless the car itself is the product of the team. And here is a team that within two years of Ross Brawn coming on board managed to take the title. Mercedes have had 15 years with McLaren. Three driver's titles is not bad but only if you don't compare it to Ferrari's achievements in that time. Wait a minute! Who was the main technical architect of all that success at Maranello again?

Pitpass and others are so fond of playing down the role of the individual. Particularly the role of so called "superstar" technical directors and designers. Well, look at it this way. The two consistently fastest cars of the year, Brawn and Red Bull, were the product of two very gifted in individuals. And the team that absolutely embodied the corporate design by committee ethos, Toyota, fell out of Formula 1 big losers. There still is a need of strong technical leadership. I do hope that Mercedes will allow this to continue under Ross Brawn.

You know what I'd really like to see? Adrian Newey at Mercedes Brawn. If they both could work together, can you imagine? The team would be nigh invicible. I reckon they'd win every single race of the season. I know its very unlikely to happen, Adrian Newey at Mercedes I mean. But hey, last year I would never have imagined Jenson Button in a McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen being jobless. Strange things can happen in grand prix racing.

Situation Normal All F***ed Up

Well it didn't take long did it? Back in June during the British Grand Prix and at the height of the FOTA-FIA/FOM war, in order to appease fans, drivers and teams Bernie Ecclestone had stated a number of times that the British Grand Prix would remain and in fact could even remain at Silverstone.

But of course now that the teams have (stupidly) signed up with the FIA, Bernie is back to his worst. Obviously he doesn't give a shit about the best things in Formula 1. All he cares about is money for himself and those bastards, CVC.

Instead of trying to ensure the preservation of one of the oldest races on the calendar, he threatens the only venue that is currently equipped to hold the race. Bernie, I hope you die soon, you greedy old fart.

Meet The New Boss

Same as the old boss

-- The Who

Woe to us all.

End Of A Career

He may not be the "it" driver of the moment but I still rate him as the most talented driver on the current Formula 1 grid. Of course I am speaking of Kimi Raikkonen. I am saddened to see him right now. All the antics in the World Rally Championship just points to the fact that his heart is no longer in grand prix racing.

I remember reading an article about Kimi some years ago where both he and Fernando Alonso both admit that breaking records ala Schumacher simply weren't in their plans. Being world champion, sure. Winning 7 world championships? No thanks. Three world championships would be quite enough according to Fernando. Just being world champion once would be mission accomplished for Kimi.

Kimi seems rather indifferent about his racing these days. I mean, look at the ice-cream incident in Sepang. Much as I get sick of hearing about it from commentators and writers, nevertheless, it clearly indicated a driver who was just in the team to fulfill his obligations. The passion simply wasn't there. Whereas a hungrier competitor would at least still be in racing gear, Kimi wasted no time in taking his off.

I can't help but feel that chance or rather bad luck has played no small part in wearing down Kimi over the years. Consider what has transpired in his career. He chose to join McLaren in 2002 in preference to Ferrari. But consider the machinery he got. McLaren if you remember couldn't build a car anywhere near the speed or reliability of Maranello machinery. 2002, slow car. 2003 updated slow car that kept breaking and ultimately couldn't keep up. 2004 saw a totally useless MP4/19. The 2005 MP4/20 was finally a car that showed what he was capable of. But of course, it kept breaking. The 2006 MP4/21 was a complete disaster. But Kimi had already made up his mind in 2005 to join Ferrari, to finally obtain a car that could win him the world title he so craved.

Still all those years in slow and/or fragile McLarens must have made Kimi rather restless. Give him a proper car as in the F2007 Ferrari and he goes on to take the world title. With the pressure of winning the title off his shoulders, one would have expected Kimi to run away and simply leave everyone for dead last year. And in the beginning he looked as if he would. His victories in Spain and Malaysia proved that when he is on it, that retard team mate of his simply couldn't keep up.

After Barcelona in 2008, something happened. That bloody imbecile Lewis Hamilton rammed him in the back in Canada, in the bloody pits for goodness sake, while it looked like he had the race well in his hands. Then there was France when a broken exhaust meant mister retard managed to steal victory. After that there was simply one misfortune after another. Some of which admittedly was his own fault. After these incidents, I felt like Kimi simply lost it. No amount of prodigious talent could make up for the lack of motivation. It seemed like he had simply given up. Like has was completely fed up. After the time he's gone through I wouldn't blame him.

Nevertheless, I feel sad to see him end his grand prix racing days in this manner. Disinterested, unmotivated and driving in manner unbefitting all that god given talent. We've seen it before haven't we? Mika's last days was very similar.

Of course, I am conjecturing that this would be Kimi's final season. We don't know that for certain. But I'd be very surprised given his current performance that Ferrari would not want to give his seat to one Fernando Alonso. And I'd be very surprised if Kimi himself could pull himself up and be back in the saddle for next season.

BMW Withdrawal

After a some frenzied media reports last night it was confirmed today that BMW Sauber will withdraw from Formula 1 as of next season. At the moment, I have no great feelings of loss about this. Perhaps it will come in time.

But of course the FIA has sprung into action immediately following BMW's announcement citing the on-going need for cost reductions, we told you so blah blah blah. But understand a couple of things.

Firstly, BMW Sauber left not because of costs but because after 10 years they have nothing to show for it. Well there was that time in 2003 when they came close with both Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya mounted a very stern challenge to both Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. However, whose fault was it that they didn't end up winning? Why, it was the FIA at the instigation of Ferrari in regards the legality of the Michelin tyres. Quite how a tyre constructed in exactly the same way for two and half seasons and deemed legal was suddenly judged to infringe on some rule regarding its width the moment said tyre started winning races, is beyond me.

Second, costs may have something to do with BMWs departure. Sure its expensive. But in reality, manufacturers want to win more than anything. As long as they are winning, they'll stay. But eventually they will leave as well once they have extracted enough marketing or technological research benefits from racing. Witness Honda in the late 80s and early 90s. They spent a fortune on their engines. And while they were winning they were quite happy to do so. However, after 7 seasons of being the engine to have, Renault came along and rained on their parade. After 7 seasons of good publicity Honda immediately decided it was quite enough and their reputation had already been established. My point is expensive or not, when a manufacturer has had enough, they will leave whether the FIA or Bernie Ecclestone likes it or not.

And frankly speaking, what the hell is wrong with someone leaving. Its not the end of the world. Someone else will come along eventually. Whats more important in grand prix racing is rule stability. This doesn't prevent teams from spending money but whatever gains they get is marginal and can be overcome as teams get used to the technology and is able to catch up to the big boys. Its been proven before in the past and if the FIA get their head out of cloud cuckoo land it will prove so again.

As I keep repeating, if Formula 1 as we know it dies because every single manufacturer opted to leave, you can be assured that others will come to take their place. The less manufacturers there are in fact, the less costly this will become. Unlike other series like touring cars or even sportscars, Formula 1 is the pinnacle and surely teams would want to race in this pinnacle. If there wasn't a Formula 1, someone would invent it because its needed. Instead of the constant fiddling of the rules, the FIA should just leave it alone and things would be absolutely fine. Other teams have left in the past, teams far more illustrious than BMW. Think Lotus or Brabham. And it will survive this departure.

Need More Be Said?

Well I guess you've heard it by now. All eight FOTA teams recently walked out of a meeting with the FIA on the 2010 rules. I'll leave it to you to read the articles in the Guardian and another in Pitpass. Should it come as a surprise?

By any means possible, Max Mosley wants nothing more than to impose himself on Formula 1. This has happened before and through some really sneaky chicanery and technicalities (typical of a lawyer) he's managed to exclude the FOTA teams from the rule making and instead involved the new teams Manor, Campos and USF1 plus the traitor Williams and wannabe Force India. Which was always his intention.

Shame on those who had argued for compromise. For really, there is no peace and compromise possible as long as that dictator stands as head of a long corrupt organisation. Nothing but a hard line is required in dealing with Premier Max. And for the good of grand prix racing (for the lack of a better word to signify motorsport's pinnacle) there has to be a fresh start, from ground up, focussing on fundamentals. Not this rehashing and replaying of a broken record that is the FIA Formula 1. To hell with sentiments. It was a good run while it lasted and now the time has blow away the cobwebs of entrenched and vested greed and ego. Are you listening already? The powers will do just that, try to keep their power and try to impose their will regardless of any form of process or good governance. Never mind also, that the old senile men and these old institutions spell the death of the sport as we know it.

And so precious time has been wasted in the hopes of some false peace. Time that could have been better spent planning for a breakaway series that fully caters to the needs of the teams and spectators instead.

I really grow tired of this. Tired of saying it again and again. I told you so, idiots.

Hang The Traitors

While the world waits for Max Mosley's next move after exhibiting temper tantrums over some otherwise truthful snipes about him, lets consider the two treacherous teams who were expelled from FOTA in the last few weeks.

One of them, Williams, have stated that they wish to be reinstated into FOTA. I am absolutely disgusted by the audacity. I'm certain Vijay Mallya, the loathsome maker of the world's worst drink, incorrectly called a beer, the awful Kingfisher, is probably in a state of wishful thinking that his team would be welcomed back into the fold as well.

I do not see any reason whatsoever for the treachery to be rewarded. Whilst the teams showed uncommon solidarity in facing up to the tyrant Mosley, these two sold their souls to the devil, blissfully agreeing to be led by the nose by Max and Bernie. In the case of Frank Williams, he plainly admitted that money (and of course some lucrative Formula 2 design contracts) was the main motivation. In the case of Mallya, he gave some pitiful excuse about banking convenants that supposedly forced his hand.

Very well, if these apostates were so adept in saving their selfish skins, the let them now stand alone. FOTA had fought hard to gain concessions and whatever benefits should be theirs to share amonst themselves. Williams and Force India walked out by their actions, akin to deserting your comrades in battle. Why should they not face the firing squad now? And why should the be allowed to share in the spoils of (any) victory?

I say allow the new teams USF1, Campos and Manor into FOTA for they are indeed taking a bold step. But disloyalty should be rewarded in kind. Let Williams and Mallya stand alone and negotiate with Bernie and see how far that gets them. More revenue for the teams certainly. But none for these bastards.

The Dream Ends

For the record, I am bitterly disappointed by this outcome. This is only going to lead to more wars over the same issues in the future. Whilst Max has promised to leave, this is not getting rid of CVC. And given the regular and quick u-turns Max has made over the years and even over the last week, how can we be certain that he will indeed leave and go some place to die?

Grand prix racing needed a fresh start, a reload as I had been arguing for the good of the sport, not some grand peace deal and rehashing of ideas and compromises that has always happened. We needed to get rid of all things wrong with the sport and now like cowards they have all decided to sleep with the devil you know.

Will the teams get more of fair revenues of the sport?

And what about running in all those classic circuits that is not only makes more pleasant viewing? What of the fans as demonstrated at Silverstone last weekend? Would you really believe Bernie will not take away the British GP? The US, Canada and France will not now get a grand prix. Now more GPs will move to god forsaken despot run countries in the East. Oh god. There's probably going to be a grand prix in poverty stricken India. All the while Bernie and CVC reap the harvest paid for by taxpayers in countries that do not need grands prix and only offer the most sterile and artificial environments for racing attended by no one.

In my mind, there was far more to lose by staying with the FIA than to breakaway. So much for a bold new future.

Givin Em What They Want

Just finished reading this great piece by Martin Brundle who recounts his experiences of the Silverstone circuit through the years. There's a great anecdote from Brundle about his first test of a Formula 1 car in a McLaren. Also present was Ayrton Senna and Stefan Bellof. Ayrton as ever in single minded pursuit of being the fastest ended up tanking the engine but still had the gall to ask Ron Dennis for a the lap time to which Dennis replied : "I find it very difficult to remember to press the stopwatch when I’m watching one of my cars blowing up." Absolutely priceless.

Like many over the weekend, Martin laments the departure of the British Grand Prix away from Silverstone. And like everyone else, he's right. As a driver's circuit, it ranks up there with the likes of Spa and Suzuka (although I still think Brands is better). I myself can vouch for this (not that it means much, mind) having driven the full Silverstone grand prix circuit on a cold winter's day in a borrowed BMW M3 (the original made-to-race Mk 1 mind you, not the pimp mobile you find today). To drive quickly, its fast and hard. Bridge its still absolutely scary, never mind what the commentators say. And there are lots of tricky bits like Becketts, Chapel and Abbey. Well, Abbey was tricky to me, I completely messed up my braking more than once through there! My favourite corners is still Copse. In the M3, you simply hurl it in and feel that car leaning hard underneath you. The Becketts complex would be great if I could have nailed the line through there. But it was extremely tricky to get it right through all those transitions. I just didn't know how and in the short time I had at the track day, I couldn't find it. Oh well, someday I shall return, hopefully to do it right.

After we had completed our runs we drove up to Becketts complex at the point where the track turns to form the National circuit. We watched the other cars go by and looked at lines before leaving. You have indeed a healthy respect for these grand prix drivers. Watching from trackside, the fastest supercar of the day seems like its moving at a snail's pace compared to how fast a grand prix car speeds around that complex. At that point, you are truly amazed at what those cars can do.

Watching the British Grand Prix over the weekend, absolutely everyone was raving about it. It was fabulous to see Mark Webber pulling no punches and taking a swipe at these new bore-a-dromes Bernie insists on putting the cars on. Heck, I even learned something new from the normally horrid Star Sports commentator, Steve Slater, who gave a history lesson on how some of the track's corners were named. Maggotts for instance after famer Maggots who gave his lands for the facility. Stowe Corner after the school. Abbey after a 13th Century monastery. Of course, Hangar is easy enough, named after the hangars used by the USAAF in World War 2.

The point is Silverstone reeks with history and heritage. The trophy presented to the winner of the grand prix goes back to the 1930s. One could say its hallowed ground almost. All this would count for bugger all if it wasn't such a great place to drive. But as a driving facility its absolutely fantastic. Alright, the race didn't produce the necessary overtaking but seriously, watch the cars carefully. Watch them go through Copse and see them lean hard. Its something you see much less of these days. The only other place you'll see it happen regularly being Spa. Watch carefully and you will see exactly what these cars were designed to do.

For years Bernie has had it in for Silverstone. You could say he's had it in for the British Grand Prix event itself. And that is complete bollocks. See the huge crowds that come by every single year come rain or shine.

I remember as a child, my dad taking me to the Malaysian Grand Prix (pre-Formula 1) at the old Shah Alam Batu Tiga circuit way back in the 1970s. I sat on a hill on the grass from morning till 6 in the evening under the baking sun with only a newspaper for cover. I didn't utter a word of complaint cause I was just enjoying watching the cars. And we went again year after year. My dad and I are die hard race fans and car enthusiasts. So what if there weren't covered stands or proper seats or any form of air conditioned luxuries? We still had a great day out and what was important was seeing the cars race.

And so in England where motorsports is ever present and prevalent I completely understand why the fans attend race day braving the traffic and the elements to watch the cars. They're die hard fans and nothing's ever going to change that. What does it matter that there are no towering grandstands and fancy pit complexes? Bernie can complain all he wants. He can raise excuse after excuse in order to rape as much money for himself and the CVC dogs by running races in the middle of the desert but there will never be that same passion and loyalty.

Up until the time when FOTA announced a breakaway championship, Bernie simply refused to get it. He refused to give these die-hard fans what they really want. As I mentioned, for years he's given all hell to Silverstone and even the idea of a British Grand Prix. But suddenly he realises he needs to give the fans what they want because you can bet FOTA would otherwise be doing the same. Suddenly Bernie is guaranteeing a British Grand Prix and in the (most likely) event that Donington doesn't deliver, it'll be run at Silverstone instead. Even if FOTA does nothing else, at the very least they have done this service for grand prix fans worldwide.

Why I Think Its Not The Same

Many fear that any breakaway series will see the death of grand prix racing. Many point to the CART/IRL situation in America and say that Formula 1 is doomed to head in that direction where neither series had any clear advantage and in fact, both series suffered in the long run with lower aggregate viewership.

When the IRL was formed up until year 2000 or os, I believe CART was still the dominant player in single seaters in America. I know I was following it very closely up until then, although I did miss watching the Indianapolis 500 once the IRL largely closed its doors to the CART teams from 1996 onwards. Nevertheless, the loss of that signature event to me was minor. It was just a lot of branding to me. CART had all the great teams, the engine manufacturers and the better set of drivers. There was Penske, Ganassi, Newman-Hass, Green riding on Penske, Reynard and Lola chassis powered by multiple different engines from Honda, Toyota and Ford. To me it was absolutely brilliant and I even kept wondering why Formula 1 cold not be more like this. The variety of different chassis-engine combinations was a big pulling factor in CART.

After year 2000 when Ganassi started competing in the Indianapolis 500, things started to change. During this time, CART had demonstrated some incredible mismanagement that started sending teams over to the IRL. And the biggest mistake of all was then that both series went spec. A single specification series absolutely killed it for me. It was absolute nonsense. To me, any attempt by Formula 1 to head down the spec route would be the thing that kills it. Look at GP2. A very interesting curiosity in its first year and kept alive only by the fact that it runs during grand prix. But because of the lack of variety I simply got tired looking at it. I'd rather be watching a good F3 race like Macau.

Adding to the single seater woes in America was the inevitable march of NASCAR, something grandprix.com is exceedingly good at letting us know about. Two things about this though. First, to my mind, NASCAR is only popular in the States. I simply do not find any evidence of its popularity anywhere outside it in any large number (Yes, yes, I could be wrong). Speaking for myself, I hate it and simply do not see the point of it. Its just too American. And that is a sentiment I repeatedly hear from people the world over. Second, there are no equivalent series in the rest of the world to compete against grand prix racing. Sportscars and Touring cars are simply too weak and unpopular at this time, although I wish that wasn't the case.

As far as the racing is concerned, I believe FOTA holds the advantage over the FIA. It simply has better teams and the variety needed to hold the interest of fans worldwide. Do you really want to watch the entire grid powered by a 2006 Cosworth engine? Please. The best teams and drivers are what racing's pinnacle should be about. And here, FOTA holds all the cards. In addition, FOTA are now free to choose the best tracks in the world something Bernie has been ignoring being consumed by his (or CVC's) greed.

What it does lack at this moment is the organisational infrastructure and for the lack of a better word, distribution. And by that I mean airtime and television. The former can easily be solved rapidly. Especially if they align themselves with someone like Dorna, MotoGPs organisers. The latter is the potential killer not only for FOTA but grand prix racing itself. The FIA through FOM have television broadcasters in their pocket. It will be very hard for FOTA to negotiate with those same broadcasters (although alternative ones are available). The broadcasters could be tied to FOM due to contractual obligations and thus shutting out FOTA.

If this is the case, we could have a situation where the FIA's championship is shown on the telly but nobody wants to watch it. And then there's the FOTA championship where everyone wants to watch but they simply can't do so. A lose-lose situation and not good for grand prix racing.

If FOTA could get their breakaway championship on the air and more importantly on the terrestrial channels, then I would definitely say that it will be successful. This is the key to it. What will help is if FOTA organises more races in its most important markets that is Europe and North America. As Bernie pushes more races to the East, FOTA stands ready to recapture all those European audiences at the tracks. As far as North America is concerned, FOTA are in a position to lock out the FIA and FOM from the long suffering North America grand prix fan if they act fast enough. Since Bernie left both the US and Canada in the cold without any contracts, Tony George at Indianapolis and the folks at Montreal are free to choose. And you can bet, they'd rather choose the FOTA series with all the great teams and drivers.

So They DO Have The Minerals

I woke up happy this morning. Still in a slumber I stumbled straight to the laptop and lo and behold. A new breakaway series was announced. My eyes lit wide, I thought I was dreaming. I had been fully expecting the teams to cave in to Mosley's demands. They always do. But as I stated in my last post, there was just no way they would sign up to race under a set of regulations that as it stood today, would allow the FIA to walk all over them.

Simply put: The FIA want the teams to sign up unconditionally and then a satisfactory governance structure would be put in place (or so the FIA says). This even though an unconditional entry would mean they are obligated to race without proper governance and the FIA would under the entry be under no obligation to change such structures.

The teams on the other hand wanted such governance structure in place before signing up. As well they should. I mean how could you trust the FIA president who could at any point after the signature change his mind and decide any which way simply on his whims? The teams would be negligent in their duties to safeguard their operations if they did so. Yet, that is what Max was asking him to do.

Speaking of governance, here's what the FIA had to say:

"Formula One needs a strong and impartial regulator because of the nature of the sport, the high stakes and the competitors - people who want to win (literally) at any cost."

This is true but over the years the FIA have not been impartial in dispatching its duties as a regulator. Furthermore, strong arm tactics as deployed by Mosley and the FIA do not consititute strength. Its bullying and that is not good nor fair governance.

"Good governance does not mean that Ferrari should govern. "

Huh? Thats pure smoke and mirrors to confuse the public. FOTA are not suggesting that Ferrari govern the sport. In fact, through the veto, this was something the FIA had in a way allowed Ferrari to do. As many commentators point out, this is not sporting and certainly would not be allowed in other sports. Who let Ferrari have the veto? Why, it was the FIA and further demonstrates how dubious and facetious their governance has been.

"Ferrari now claim that the procedures followed by the FIA are contrary to their agreement with the FIA, but in reality they never objected to these procedures (indeed they voted for them)..... "

Again, more finger pointing to Ferrari and more distractions. The fact is the FIA have failed to demonstrate in this or any other statement, how great and how well their current governance structure is or ever has been. Pointing to Ferrari's failures in fact incriminate the FIA and provides more evidence of their mismanagement.

".....until they were not happy with the decisions themselves. Ferrari has been officially (as well as unofficially) represented on the WMSC since 1981 and never objected to the process or decisions until April and May this year"

So you have actually allowed them special privileges this long and let them get away with it? Again, how does this prove the FIA's ability to properly govern Formula 1?

And on the subject of commercial revenues, the FIA only claim that the teams wish "to expropriate the commercial rights for itself" Even if they did, so what? They deserve it. As it is, the FOM have for years denied the proper share of revenues to the teams. Bernie Ecclestone, that crook, who was supposed to look after these rights on behalf of the teams, took all of it for himself and up until a few years ago, gave only 25% of the revenues back to the teams. Most of which went to Ferrari.

So now, without waiting any further the teams have announced their own breakaway championship. Will they really go through this? Max doesn't think so. Well, he would wouldn't he?

Make no mistake, the FIA and FOM are losing a lot here. What I am surprised to see is that the FIA, instead of trying to make ammends actually came out with the hideous press release and following the breakaway announcement have announced plans to sue FOTA for trying to organise their own series. I mean, thats a helluva way to make peace and attract these teams back to the FIA championship. Whilst FOTA attempted a compromise with the FIA, the FIA have so far only responded with hostility, typical of tyrants and despots.

So what would a breakaway championship look like? Much the same as now I would imagine, for now. I should think in order to provide stability and therein save costs, they would probably adopt this year's rules. And really, that is fine by me.

Circuits are plentiful and much as I would miss seeing the FOTA teams in Malaysia (assuming they can't get to or won't race in Sepang) nevertheless I am glad they'll be pulling out of hideous places like Bahrain and this new stupid Abu Dhabi circuit. Hopefully, they'll never arrive in India, too. Bernie can have his race among the impoverished on the streets.

Here's where I hope they'll do races: Imola, Magny Cours, Estoril, Sachsenring or the Nurburgring (where else in Germany?), Indianapolis, Montreal, Jacarepagua, Suzuka (of course!), Spa (its a must, they somehow must get this one), Silverstone (the drivers admittedly love this one and having driven on it, so do I), Brands Hatch, Portero de los Funes (wishful), Jerez, Adelaide (always fun over there), A1-Ring (I wish it was still the Oesterreichring), Monza or Mugello, Hermanos Rodriguez and Kyalami to name a few. There, enough venues to make a nice 16-17 race championship. Its a pity Bernie owns Paul Ricard in France but that would have been a fantastic venue to be in as well.

I was always a believer in a breakaway championship having written about the possibility even back in the cowardly GPMA days. There will be difficulties but there is nothing to fear. FOTA will have the best teams and the best drivers. They will have the choice of visiting all the classic fast and challenging circuits I grew up watching in front of passionate fans who really care about the sport rather than silly Arab circuits full of sand.

And what of attracting new, independent teams? Well, if only they would relax the customer car rules, there could be more of them particularly with a more equitable distribution of the commercial revenues of the sport. Its interesting to note that poor N Technology have withdrawn their application to enter the FIA championship based on the fact that the manufacturers will not be present. How much longer before the rest do the same and leave the FIA with nothing?

What have the FIA championship got? Has-been Williams and wannabe Force India. And a whole bunch of teams unheard of. Where will they find the sponsorship to finance their racing? I find it hard that all of them will successfully procure the necessary funds.

For now, we should not get too excited. Lets see what happens. With Brawn still insisting on negotiating with the FIA and Bernie yet to play his hand, things could still change. I do hope though the breakaway series does happen and we can get rid of tyrants like Max and parasites like CVC and Bernie.

No End In Sight

"You do prefer it this way, don't you, as it was meant to be? No peace in our time" -- General Chang

Now take a look at the latest press release from the FIA:

"Indeed, [FOTA] were not prepared to discuss [financial] regulation at all."

"In default of a proper dialogue, the FOTA financial proposals were discussed but it became clear that these would not be capable of limiting the expenditure of a team which had the resources to outspend its competitors. Another financial arms race would then be inevitable."

While FOTA talks about governance, the FIA are still pressing on about budget caps. As I understand it, FOTA works towards cost reductions through technical measures but the FIA still talks about imposition of absolute limits to budgets. Something that the FOTA teams are absolutely against.

The point is subtle but therein lies the loggerheads. And lets not even discuss the matter of governance, something that the FIA, barring a passing mention of reverting back to the 1998 Concorde Agreement, still has not been properly addressed at all by the FIA.

Put it simply. The FIA says agree to the 2010 rules including the budget cap and we'll all then sign the Concorde Agreement. FOTA's position is sign the Concorde Agreement that governs the sport (including how the rules are shaped and made) then we'll talk about rules.

Max of course does not want this because then he'd have a very very hard time imposing the budget cap. In fact, with the Concorde in place the only way the FIA could bulldoze any rule is on the grounds of safety.

Meantime of course, Max has sent his thug, Alan Donnelly to try and break the unity between the FOTA teams which met with some stern retaliatory statements from FOTA. The fact that Mr Donnelly is also chief steward, seriously calls into question his ability to remain impartial in applying the rules at races.

Essentially Max there trying the divide and conquer strategy once more. But the teams aren't buying it. Thank God.

The differences between FOTA and FIA are subtle in form but huge in substance. And as it stands, I fail to see how this will be resolved unless one of the parties compromise.

Funny Stories

Max Max Max. You're so predictable these days its hilarious mate! So now there's a new press release from the FIA. And in this press release the FIA claim that:

"The FIA believed it had participated in a very constructive meeting with a large measure of agreement. The FIA was therefore astonished to learn that certain FOTA members not present at the meeting have falsely claimed that nothing was agreed and that the meeting had been a waste of time. There is clearly an element in FOTA which is determined to prevent any agreement being reached regardless of the damage this may cause to the sport."

Ok so given that in that Thursday meeting the ones present were Toyota, Ferrari, Red Bull and Brawn GP, the "element in FOTA" could be one or more of BMW, Mercedes or Renault. But strange that following this meeting on Thursday you had Ferrari, Toyota and Red Bull voicing out strong opinions against the FIA particularly on the issue of governance. Seems that those present in the Thursday meeting weren't pleased with the issues as well, never mind some strange "element in FOTA."

And to this, a FOTA spokeman has responded:

"FOTA, whilst reserving its position on the specific issues, does not intend to comment the FIA press release issued on the 15th of June and to be involved in a prolonged series of polemical statements that generate confusion and does not help create a positive environment for the ongoing contacts"

Max Max. Still trying your best to divide and conquer? Are there no other strategies in the play book?

The FIA have also seen fit to respond to the ACEA statement, again driving the issue of costs and how the FIA proposals would save the manufacturers a ton of money (should be nice after years of screwing the manufacturers with constant rule changes). No mention of the FIA poor governance though. But again, Max simply couldn't resist the good old highlight on the one dissenting voice in ACEA. In this case:

"The FIA understands that Porsche did not support ACEA’s Formula One resolution and has instructed the ACEA secretariat to make this clear in response to any press enquiries"

You just couldn't resist it eh Max?

Meanwhile, Bernie has urged calm and restraint: "I would just ask everyone, instead of throwing mud at each other in public or behind each other’s backs, to just be quiet and let things settle down a bit."

In other words, help help! You are ruining the free lunch for me and my CVC Pedigree Chums. Yeah, its been quite a funny weekend alright.

The funniest story so far must be about poor N Technology who had their application for a spot on the Formula 1 grid rejected by the FIA. According to N Technology's Mauro Sipsz : "The applications have been used by the Federation as pawns to move in the fight against the teams."

Wha.. What the f...? You just knew this now? You mean you really thought the FIA would take you seriously? You poor sod or should I say cannon fodder. Autosport goes further : "Sipsz and Codignoni reveal that they were informed by the FIA about having missed deadlines for submitting financial and technical details of their teams - even though they are adamant such information was sent in on time."

Reminds me of when you send an invoice to your customer who doesn't want to pay up. But we never did get your invoice... could you please send it again? Oldest trick in the book except in this case its oops sorry you can't enter now.

Max, what sort of joint are you running here?

The State Of Play

As of today, the situation is:

1. The FIA have published the entrants for 2010. Unconditional entrants include Ferrari, Red Bull and Toro Rosso. Conditional entrants include the remaining 5 FOTA members.
2. Ferrari, Red Bull and Toro Rosso have stated that their entry is still conditional upon the FIA agreeing to terms to their satisfaction and have thrown support to FOTA.
3. FOTA have declared that they will release certain information detailing why they think the FIA's 2010 regulations stink.
4. FOTA have implored the FIA WSMC and Senate to step in and help resolve this issue, bypassing Max Mosley.
5. The ACEA i.e. the European Automobile Manufacturers Association have thrown in their support firmly behind the FOTA teams. In a statement they have called for better governance of the sport, more equitable share of the sports revenues and at the same time warned that FOTA will have to breakaway if these conditions are not met. A clear slap in the face to Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone.
6. Max and Bernie have so far been silent.

I am glad that the FOTA teams are showing solidarity and unity on this issue and furthermore, I am pleased to see the ACEA stepping in and hitting it where it hurts. One trump card that Max have repeatedly used thus far for his draconian measures is his claims that the board of directors in the manufacturers would be in full support for his budget cap. Well, both the ACEA and Renault's Carlos Ghosn (Le Cost Cutter himself!) have stepped in and clarified that this is not the main point. The point is his governance of the sport and the share of revenues from the sport that is in question. Processes to govern and set the rules must be transparent and clear to all and it is this that is most important to them at this time.

I wouldn't put it pass Max to get himself out of this one but it certainly would be very interesting to see how he could. His professional credibility is now called into question in the most public manner possible by some very heavyweights.

With attacks from all side, including previously cowardly journalists, Max finds himself in isolation, something that is not unknown for him. Remember the whole sex scandal thing last year? In that case he could and successfully did defend himself on the grounds of privacy, this time its about his professional competence. And that is fair game.

The Manufacturers' Voice

Well, the standoff is most definitely on. And in the wake of yesterday's published FIA entry list, the ACEA i.e. the European Automobile Manufacturers Association has issued a statement in support of the FOTA teams. The statement reads:

"Today, the members of the Board of the European Automobile Manufacturer’s Association discussed the current situation prevailing in Formula One, and have concluded that the current governance system cannot continue."

Max Mosley, please leave.

"ACEA has come to the conclusion that the FIA needs a modernised and transparent governance system and processes, including the revision of its constitution, to ensure the voice of its members, worldwide motorsport competitors and motorists are properly reflected."

That is to say, screw you Max Mosley. We're tired of you shoving arbitrary rules down our throats and not listening to us. And furthermore:

"The ACEA members support the activities and objectives of the Formula One Teams Association to establish stable governance, clear and transparent rules which are common to all competitors to achieve cost reductions including a proper attribution of revenues to the F1 teams, in order to deliver a sustainable attractive sport for the worldwide public."

In other words, screw Max Mosley, Bernie Ecclestone and CVC dogs. Give us a proper share of the revenue.

"Unless these objectives are met, the BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, Renault and Toyota along with the other teams are determined to find an alternative way to practice this sport in a manner which provides clarity, certainty of rules and administration, and a fair allocation of revenues to the competing teams."

If Max doesn't leave then we will.

"The European automotive industry is key to the strength and competitiveness of Europe. The ACEA members are BMW Group, DAF Trucks, Daimler, FIAT Group, Ford of Europe, General Motors Europe, Jaguar Land Rover, MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, Porsche, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Scania, Toyota Motor Europe, Volkswagen and Volvo. They provide direct employment to more than 2.3 million people and indirectly support another 10 million jobs. Annually, ACEA members invest €20 billion in R&D, or 4% of turnover."

Oh yeah. Look who we are bitches!

Stand Off Continues?

After much anticipation, the list of competitors for the 2010 championship has been revealed. All the FOTA teams are in (some provisionally) plus 3 new teams. These being Campos, Manor (?!!!) and Team USF1, all running Cosworth engines. The exclusion of Prodrive and Lola are very surprising to me since they have been among the loudest to shout out their intentions.

Of the 8 FOTA teams, 5 of them - McLaren, BMW, Renault, Toyota and Brawn - have been marked as provisional with further disucssions to be held and concluded no later than June 19th. Ferrari, Toro Rosso and Red Bull are marked as confirmed. Whether this is due to contractual obligations (as asserted by the FIA) or the teams themselves have submitted unconditionally is not known at this time.

Not sure about Red Bull for some reports indicate that they have submitted unconditional entries but I'd be surprised if Ferrari have succumbed to the FIA and bought out with vast sums of money and privileges. Well assuming for now that Ferrari are still with FOTA, all this tells me is that the FIA still consider the FOTA teams to be indispensible (as well they should be) . The real result we have been waiting for (race or break) is postponed for another week.