The Last Of The Specialists

The irony was that the new regulations were meant to protect the independent teams and by extension, the specialist engine manufacturers. Alas with Cosworth now set to depart Formula 1, all that remains are the manufacturers. Once upon a time, it was Cosworth who was perhaps the largest of the engine suppliers. Back in the 70s, they supplied powerplants to nearly every single car on the grid bar of course Ferrari and one or two odd units.

With the WSMC's decision to allow Ferrari to supply more than a couple of teams from next year (the other two being Spyker and Toro Rosso), it is now Ferrari that is the largest of the suppliers. Quite why one would choose Ferrari is beyond me since they would never allow the customers to win.

Interestingly, there is a plaque at the Cosworth factory, given by one Enzo Ferrari. The old man you see, might have been dirty but the man had some honour in him, unlike his successors today. It was a salute from Il Commendatore to the engine manufacturer who had beaten him too many times for (his) comfort. A great man recognizing greatness in Costin and Duckworth.

I suppose Cosworth's last real chance to stay was with Williams but with Grove seemingly unsatisfied with reliability they have chosen Toyota power for next year. Could Cosworth in this modern age still have a reasonable chance to produce championship winning engines? I would like to think so but then one could argue that perhaps if they really did have any chance at all, Williams might have stayed with them. Still, I think Williams were motivated by factors beyond simply competitiveness. With the Toyota brand riding on their cars, there are better chances of gaining much needed sponsors. It is no secret after all, that the split from BMW lost them more than one multinational sponsorship. Sponsors want to be associated with brand names rather than racing teams. To the causal fans, Williams was BMW. And to be associated with BMW was great exposure for other big names.

I suppose if Ford wanted to make a comeback to grand prix racing, they would be knocking on Cosworth's factory gates. But Ford is a company in financial difficulty and companies in dire straits are really run by the Chief Financial Officer, not the marketing guy or even the CEO. Formula 1 is therefore a frivolous pursuit to a company like Ford. In fact the relationship with Ford has always been one sided. Sure, Ford supplied funding and I suppose other technical facilities but the saying was that if the car won, then it was called a Ford engine. If it didn't then it was a Cosworth. Big corporations, huh?

Ideally of course the sport would have a large number of competitors powered by a mix of engine suppliers as it did when the normally aspirated formula began in 1989. Remember, Judd, Hart or even crazy loonies like Yamaha? In fact, even Ilmor could be counted as a specialist once, in the mould of Cosworth. Now of course, Ilmor's Formila 1 operations has been taken over by Mercedes in its entirety. I've always fancied Hart as a good power unit if only someone were to properly fund it. Unfortunately we don't see any other Mansour Ojjehs anywhere. Again, I think this has as much to do with commercial associations as much as technical ability.

Apparently the Koreans are looking to launch a team. Hyundai for one have been mentioned several times by GrandPrix.com as a possibility for entry using Hyundai badged Cosworth engines. Volkswagen is another name that has been mentioned before as well. But frankly these are cases of wishful thinking.

The Cosworth name still lives on in Indycars and long may it continue. But from a historical and sentimental standpoint, it is sad to see it leave Formula 1, for it has contributed much to the sport. Perhaps it is apt that its departure coincides with that of Michael Schumacher, the last person to give Cosworth a world championship. Some might try to correct me and say that it was a Benetton Ford that won the 1994 driver's title. Only in name for it really was a Cosworth. 10 drivers title, 13 constructors championships and god knows how many victories.

On Team Orders II

In the wake of the Chinese Grand Prix last weekend, there seems to have been some discontent especially among the tifosi. The source of that discontent being Renault's own team orders during the race.

I've never been against team orders. I think thats just part and parcel of racing for the longest time. But I'm very much against unsporting behaviour and therein lies the difference between Ferrari and Renault (and pretty much everyone else). Other teams at least give both their drivers an equal shot at the championship. Team orders come into play only when one of the drivers no longer has any chance of winning the title. At which point, that driver, not unreasonably, will be asked to lend a hand to his teammate.

At Ferrari, all drivers at any time during the championship will be asked to subsume themselves to Michael Schumacher. The most blatant occurrence of that happened at the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, when Rubens Barrichello, despite being quicker than Michael all weekend was asked to move over by the Ferrari management. At that point of the season, Michael had already built up such a lead in the championship that such actions were simply uncalled for.

The F2002 was such a vastly superior car that the rest of the field had simply no chance. Why not then, let the Ferrari drivers sort themselves out? As for the FIA, I think they were very much concerned that Ferrari's action had "brought the sport into disrepute." But in this case, they had a point. It was completely unsporting and the fans in Austria let it be known by jeering the Ferrari team during the podium ceremonies.

Its hard to regulate against team orders because for one, teams will find a way round it. But the criteria to be applied, and this is by no means easy, is whether such team orders consistutes unsporting behaviour. In many cases its very hard to tell. The criteria for judging unsporting behaviour is itself undefined. One cannot simply apply the "disrepute" criteria that the FIA loves so much. Disrepute in whose eyes?

However, its easy to see that in the case of the Scuderia, anyone else except Michael has simply no chance at their own ambitions. I find that aspect very repulsive though I suspect that that is Michael's requirements and not necessarily that of Ferrari.

BMW and Williams

An excellent qualifying session by Nick Heidfeld for the Italian Grand Prix prompted me to think about the fortunes of both BMW and Williams so far this season. After a messy divorce last year, BMW bought over the Sauber team whilst Williams opted for Cosworth power for this season. Mario Thiessen of course was being very cautious when he stated that Williams would probably have the upper hand in 2006.

The results so far have been very different. At the beginning of the year, indeed Williams as expected by fans and pundits alike were blazing trails with both drivers Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg. In fact, the young Finn / German took the world by storm with a great finish in Bahrain and then a remarkable qualifying session in Sepang. But unfortunately for Grove, things took a turn for the worse.

By contrast the BMW team have gone from strength to strength. Dr M. Thiessen must be grinning from ear to ear especially after reading what both Williams and the British press, most notably Pitpass, had to say about him after all the acrimony from last year. 'I told you so' doesn't quite cover it. Still, it seems that BMW are putting that super sophisticated Sauber wind tunnel and Albert supercomputer to far more effective use than Peter Sauber ever could. Of course, Peter Sauber didn't have the budget that the Munich concern can command. And it seems that BMW's expansion of the Sauber operations by bringing in lots of new staff have proven to be spot on. The results on the track do not lie. The now ousted Jacques Villeneuve still leads both the Williams drivers on points as of the Turkish Grand Prix. Nick Heidfeld looks to be uncatchable the rate he's going.

I fear for Williams. He's the last of that hard core breed of racers from the 70s. Yes I know Ron Dennis is still there but let's face it McLaren are now indistinguishable from the team that won the 1976 driver's world title with James Hunt. Nowadays they are as disgustingly corporate as Mercedes, their biggest shareholder. No, Frank is the last of the lot. And yet now after nearly 10 seasons without a driver's title and ages since their last win, they are beginning to look a lot like Tyrrell and Ligier did in the 80s. Contenders throughout the 70s, absolute has-beens in the early 80s. Williams is in danger of being well stuck in midfield. In fact, Williams' loss of prestige began quite some time ago. For instance in 2001, I remember reading a news report from Reuters termed the team as "wannabes." Oi, have you no respect??!!

Of course hope still survives in the form of Toyota for next year. The deal is expected to last through to 2009 (or was that 2008?) and for me represents the last chance for Frank to pick his team up and become contenders once more. Of course he probably needs a good title sponsor to decorate his side pods in order to do so but with Toyota power behind him, that ought to be easier. Ought being the keyword for it is by no means certain the way the team have been going in recent times and of course due to poor world economic conditions.

In Nico Rosberg they have a promising (and cheap) young talent but is he capable of being a team leader? He seems intelligent enough and this is after all only his first season. Senna was pretty much the same at Toleman in 1984 before rising as virtual commander in chief of the Lotus team in 1985 (to the chagrin of the poor late Elio de Angelis). The other driver for next year Alex Wurz to me represents a poor option. No doubt he will bring some money to the table but there is a reason why McLaren kept him as a test driver all these years. That is, he's simply is bollocks no matter some people may think. At best, he's just a journeyman.

With so many changes at Williams one wonders who really is in charge of the car these days (I'm too lazy to find out right now). But surely, the technical team is not quite what it used to be. Yes, Sam Michael is something of a genius but I'm not sure that a software systems chap should be leading the tech guys in a racing team. Not at this level at any rate. Just as I don't think Vasselon is a good choice for Toyota. Both Williams and Toyota have plenty of work to do. Williams to me have more to lose because of their proud history. I sincerely hope they succeed.

And what of Toyota? What if the Williams Toyota consistently outperforms the works cars next year? I simply wonder how that would go down in the corridors of power in Japan. Eddie Jordan did suggest recently that Frank ought to be selling up to the Japanese. But surely this is untenable. After all the investment made to their Cologne operations, surely the Japanese are not considering making another major purchase in Britain, no matter how much better that would be in fact. There's just too much sunk into Cologne. And surely no one should suggest that Frank sell out to a non-manufacturer and end up being another stupid Midland team.

Finally, I do hope BMW does well too only if to make folks like Pitpass eat their words. They certainly are showing signs of improvement technically. In Sebastien Vettel I believe they have a true superstar in the making. Not since Alonso and Raikkonen debuted in 2001 have I seen a more impressive new driver. No, not even Nico Rosberg. Of course Vettel hasn't raced yet but any guy who can jump into a Formula 3 car and end up on the podium in Macau on his first attempt has got to be quite good. Nico Rosberg was nowhere on his first try. And now jumping into a Formula 1 car and going quickest, albeit in practise, shows that this lad simply understands what's going on. And that is incredibly important in this sport.

Interesting to see what happens next year. Come on Frank. Pull your socks up.

Please Mr Michelin Man

"The Precious made me do it" -- Smeagol

Well, this is nice. First Red Bull voted for the 2006 regulation changes reintroducing tyre stops and then obliges Michelin to supply rubber to Toro Rosso, much to the chagrin of the French tyre company. That change voted in November last year threw all Michelin's advantages into the litter thanks to some spurious reasoning by the FIA. No, it cannot be said that it was done for safety since Max threw out that argument as long ago as Nurburgring last year. The real reason was of course to help red liveried friends of Max. Helped in no small part by Red Bull's vote.

Not that I support the one tyre per race, I think that was simply stupid in the first place. But the whole episode lends credence to the GPMA's arguments about the lack of transparency and proper governance of the sport.

However, it looks like Red Bull is trying to get on Michelin's good books once again. According to Frank Tost, "Michelin did an unbelievably good job.... one of the main reasons for Scuderia Toro Rosso's performances is the excellent tyre supply." Yeah, I'll bet it is Frank. On your knees boy!

Michelin should return the favour to Red Bull / Toro Rosso by supplying them Jenson Button's used race tyres from Melbourne in the forthcoming San Marino Grand Prix. Go on Bibendum, teach em a lesson.

Toyota To Leave?

"Go ahead. Make my day" -- Famous San Francisco policeman

Fresh from sacking their technical director, Toyota have warned that a withdrawal from Formula 1 is a distinct possibility in the near future. President John Howett believes that the FIA are not making the manufacturers feel welcome and yet are asked to commit to 2012. Well, first of all, if Toyota leave I doubt if many fans will miss them as they've not contributed much to the sport. Secondly, the fact is many view their participation as more of a marketing or corporate flagship exercise than a sporting one. So, if some faceless corporation wants to leave all the better right?

When Toyota first announced their participation in Formula 1, it was greeted as very much a "good thing." Together with Honda, here were a team with the potential to break the stranglehold of Formula 1's "usual suspects," McLaren, Williams and Ferrari (at that time before the Renault juggernaut). Things did not go so well and I think many people were simply disappointed. Their corporate ethos did not win many fans either. The team being best described as lacking in soul.

Whether you love or loathe them, whats important here is the underlying message of Toyota's warnings. According to them, the manufacturers are not being made to feel welcome. Two things spring to mind.

First, the money. Now Max Mosley has admitted that in his mind the manufacturers should receive nothing at all for their participation. I'm sure thats an annoyance to the manufacturers and the CVC at this stage of the commercial negotiations. However, I think the manufacturers aren't really concerned about money at all but it just shows Max's hosility towards the manufacturers. And CVC would not be very happy chappies about his attitude. Those investors are out to make money. That means growth in viewership. The manufacturers do a lot for the promotion of the sport by publicising their participation (all free to CVC). Word has it that they're even prepared to pour actual and real resources into direcly promoting the sport. Do you really think the independents would do that? Or Bernie for that matter?

Second. The manufacturer's grievances are really about the 2008 rules and how they are made. Transparency has always been a key issue with the manufacturers. (Some say its the only issue). In addition, they want rules that will allow them to differentiate themselves and rivals and be able to showcase their expertise. According to Howett : "We're prepared to commit to F1, but we need certain core values to remain. That means for example that it has to remain the pinnacle of motorsport. If F1 can't remain the pinnacle, the board will have to decide on the company's participation."

Honda's Nick Fry has also expressed similar (but not necessarily identical) concerns from Honda as early as last Friday's press conference in Melbourne. To quote Nick Fry: "We do, as you know, believe in a more liberal approach on development because it is very much an engineering project for Honda. Its developing the engineers and the technology that feeds into the road cars and that is important...." Hmmm.... somehow I do not think the 2008 regulations contribute very much to the development of road cars at all. Lots of technologies you'd find in road cars these days are banned.

There are some in the media who still assert that Max Mosley's plan is ultimately to rid these pesky manufacturers from the sport altogether and if its true I'm sure Max will be pointing his metaphorical .44 Magnum at them. No, you people bloody well cannot supply engines to more than a couple of teams. Don't like it? Tough shite.

Prima facie, the threat of a rival series seems dead. After all, the manufacturers have entered or applied to enter the 2008 championships. And yet, if you look at the first few questions in last Friday's press conference, you will note that none of the manufacturer's representatives, Nick Fry, Norbert Haug and Pat Symonds, actually confirmed the death of a rival series. They blurted out something to the effect that the GPMA has been a positive thing but none of them actually said that a rival series has been given the last rites. As Pat Symonds says: ".....by entering the 2008 championship, as we all have done now, we inherit the right to discuss these regulations...." That's all they done for now. They've neither confirmed nor denied their participation and really nothing's stopping them from leaving.

Take that together with John Howett's statement that the Toyota "board will have to decide on the company's participation." Participation in Formula 1 perhaps. But what about participation in a rival series? After all, do you really believe that Toyota will simply lay waste to nigh a billion dollars worth of high tech investments?

But is Max worried about this? Really worried? After all, Ferrari, the jewel in the crown as far as fan following is concerned, have signed up and confirmed to 2008 and beyond. So has Williams. And don't forget he's got 22 teams applying for entry. Granted if the manufacturers leave the championship would lose some of its lustre. But at least the grids will be full and he can count on the adoring tifosi to fill the stands and watch the telly. With draconian regulations, perhaps some indies might give Maranello a good surprise. Williams certainly would. The manufacturers would have an even tougher time setting up their own series and attracting the audiences. Tough but not impossible. All told the A1GP has managed it quite well.

I don't discount this being an isolated case. Perhaps its only Toyota thats feeling this way. Looking at last Friday, the other manufacturers still seem to be making positive noises about "constructive" meetings and discussions with the FIA taking place. But then, they would, wouldn't they?

I'll leave with one point. The manufacturers aren't standing alone. They have friends. CVC for instance. Birds of a feather....

Exit Gascoyne

GrandPrix.com broke the story last night that Mike Gascoyne may be leaving Toyota and indeed it has been confirmed today that the Englishman is leaving the Cologne based team. The reasons for his departure haven't been confirmed and neither party is making any comment at this time. Whatever the reason, I hope this has nothing to do with the legal case pending former Toyota boss Ove Andersson, designer Gustav Brunner and others who stand accused by the authorities for stealing software and intellectual property belonging to Ferrari. Certainly this silence raises such suspicions.

Yet again, Mike is leaving without having completed his work and winning a world championship. The closest he's been was still in 1999 with Jordan when Heinz Harald Frentzen came in third in the championship after a very good season winning a couple of grand prix. He was also involved with turning around Renault resulting in Alonso's first victory in 2003. Although a senior Renault person I spoke to said downplayed his contributions to Renault's fortunes last year.

Well, all I can say is good luck to Toyota after this for I think they are going to have an even tougher time unless they can find someone of Gascoyne's caliber to replace him. In fact I think its downright stupid at this point. Perhaps Toyota simply wanted a high profile scapegoat to take the blame for essentially going backwards this season. They needed to target for wins this year and at this point that looks a tough proposition.

But as this article on Motorsports Ramblings highlights, Toyota's troubles also stem from trying to run a racing team as if it was simply another corporate division and also an exercise in marketing and branding (which they really do not need). Racing teams are meant to be organized like a crack SAS regiment rather than a regular army division. But thats what you get when "suits" are in charge.

Then again, perhaps Mike Gascoyne's temprement, that earned him the nickname "bulldog" rubbed a few people the wrong way. Unless of course this is a legal matter, Toyota's decision is questionable and comes at a highly critical time for the team when their season is just on its way to being turned around.

With Mike's departure, I think this also signals Jarno Trulli's exit from Cologne. Jarno was Mike's choice and Toyota hired him. I doubt if Toyota will be renewing that contract.

Perhaps now that he's available, McLaren would do well to hire Mike Gascoyne to replace the departed Newey. Then again, McLaren are increasingly becoming more corporate and more process oriented and that may not be what he wants.

Comments

Despite Toyota being slowest in testing at Paul Ricard, Ralf Schumacher seems bullish about his prospects in Australia next weekend. Thats a good luck to you Ralf. Interesting thing about the tests in Paul Ricard is that Heikki Kovalainen, despite doing a mammoth 200+ lap testing session managed to end up quicker than Pedro de la Rosa in the McLaren. Pedro, incidentally was doing a number of one lap qualy type runs in his tests, concentrating on Imola tyre selection. I'm not sure whether the times include these qualy runs, for if it did, it doesn't bode well for McLaren's pace. Nevertheless, Ron Dennis seems rather optimistic for Melbourne.

Whatever the case may be and despite a good show by Renault last weekend, 2006 seems a most unpredictable year. I don't think anyone can predict the relative performance of any car from one weekend to the next with any great accuracy. Still, one bookmaker I checked recently, placed Fernando Alonso as firm favourite for the title, giving his odds at evens. Kimi Raikkonen is next up followed closely by Michael Schumacher, then Giancarlo Fisichella and Jenson Button.

Speaking of Herr Schumacher, this curious article appeared on GrandPrix.com. It begs the question, why wasn't Michael waved through to take fifth ahead of Massa at the Malaysian Grand Prix? Especially since any wave through could have been explained away as tyre wear on Massa's one stopping Ferrari. Yes, this did seem strange to me even as I watch the final laps of the race. I fully expected Massa to do a Jarno Trulli and offer no resistance to his teammate in turn 1. But it never did come. And yet, Michael clearly had a speed advantage over Massa if you observe their lap times. Well, I'd like to think that Filipe gave the folks on the pitwall a two fingered salute each time he passed by them on the start finish straight, everytime the call came. However, I guess we're unlikely to find out the truth to this one anytime soon. After all, it would not pay for the Ferrari team to admit to issuing team orders.

Glad to see that a lot of fans seem to think that the 3 year engine freeze proposed by the FIA is complete bollocks. The results of the ITV-F1 poll still running currently shows that 93% of viewers believed that the engine freeze simply is not what Formula 1 is all about. Max Mosley claims that fans do not care of the "hidden technologies" of Formula 1. I have a suspicion that in fact a lot of people do care for it very much and lap it up as those technologies are revealed in books and publications.

Despite my objections, I know there's nothing much I can do to change the sporting regulations for 2008. Nevertheless, I was intrigued by the use of the word "homologation" when defining the engine freeze. The word of course conjures images of sports, touring and rally cars where vehicles are homologated for competition after the production of a specified number of examples for the road. Nothing wrong with that in the context of tintop or sports cars. Once cars are homologated the chassis and engines can be modified as they wish. In fact, it wouldn't be too bad if Formula 1 followed that example. Development still occurs in homologated series. Its just that the basis of development is the homologated chassis or engine.

I agree that homologation is actually a good basis for cost reduction. In saloon car racing, you can modify the engine but the engine itself must have been homologated and is in production for road use. But how do you tell when a Formula 1 engine is new or is merely an evolution? I'm pretty sure some experts could tell and thats what Max intends to do.

However, the sporting regulations talk about engines "being identical" to the engine delivered and held by the FIA. Then there's the famous clause that states that if an engine is modified and resubmitted it must satisfy the FIA and other suppliers that the engine could "fairly and equitably" be allowed to compete with other homologated engines. I can only conclude that the FIA does not want the engines to be touched at all once submitted. And this is really where it is against the spirit of Formula 1.

In short, homologation is alright but freezing modifications and further evolution is not in my book. Come on Max. People seem to think that you want to put Formula 1 back into the 70s and there's very little anyone can do about that. But surely you must agree at that even the old Cosworth DFV was modified for every year (decades!) that it was in use.

The State Of Play

The winter world championship is drawing to a close now. I should think everyone's pretty excited that the F1 season is only two weeks away. Just one more day's testing remains I believe but I think from yesterday's times we can roughly estimate who's quick and who's not.

Different teams and drivers are on different testing programmes of course. Jenson Button ended up with the quickest time this year at Barcelona but he may have been simply going for glory at the end of the session. Nevertheless, it would seem that despite some sparkling times for McLarens in the last week, indicating some improvement, Honda and Renault remain the teams of the moment.

A pity that Ferrari is not here to join them and yet if we compare the performance of the latest 248 F1 with the latest Hondas at Sakhir, one could say that at best they'll be slugging it out with the BMWs, McLarens, Red Bulls and Williams. You can never discount Michael Schumacher though and for sure he'll be pushing the car well beyond its limits, even if his brother Ralf is saying he hasn't got a chance. Still, Ferrari are facing some reliability issues and the car's speed has not been that impressive. Perhaps once again, those Bridgestone boots aren't simply at the level of the French rubber.

The Renault team are certainly to be congratulated for producing yet another quick car. This despite being the last of the teams to introduce their V8s and having very little V8 experience in the first place. I thought they'd be struggling but I am glad to have been proven wrong. As to which team is quicker, Honda or Renault, they jury is out on this one but I've got to say that perhaps Renault do have the slightest of edge. Their long runs have been most impressive and this is perhaps a better indication of true race pace.

Its now 2006 and that makes it 7 years since McLaren's last championship victory. A long time to be sure and early indications are that they'll have to wait at least another year... at least. With the defection of senior design people the quality of next year's challenger is questionable. As for this year's car, once again Mercedes let the team down. They're in their second iteration the V8 engine having scrapped the problematic and limp version one. Dear Fernando, what have you got yourself into?

What of Toyota? The evidence thus far suggests yet another year spent in the midfield. The cars haven't been quick at all I'd say although they've only just got together their latest aero package. And that still doesn't impress me at all. Perhaps like Ferrari they're suffering from the use of Bridgestone rubber.

As is Williams I should think. This despite topping the timesheets in previous weeks testing. They're expecting an interim year at Williams I believe and perhaps there isn't any harm in gathering experience with the Japanese tyres this year. Seventh and eleventh respectively for Webber and Rosberg yesterday. The signs are not that good.

Hard to judge the pace of BMW. They seem quite happy to be off playing on their own or with Toro Rossos and Red Bulls. Middle of the grid is my best guess but these Swiss and Germans really are a bit of a mystery. I think they'd do well if they're competing against the likes of Red Bull and Toyota for the final world championship points.

At the back of the grid its Toro Rosso, Midland and Super Aguri. The engines in these cars are nothing to scoff at though. Midland have Toyota power whilst Honda clearly is throwing a lot of help in Aguri's way. On the chassis side though, there's no way the Aguris are going to be competitive. I mean, 2002 vintage Arrows? Puh-lease. As for Toro Rosso, we all know about the V10 / V8 argument. I still believe their engine is going to do just fine against the Midland Toyota V8s. With Dieter Mateschitz a guest at Max Mosley's Legion de Honour award ceremony, do you really think Max will slap further limits on the Cosworth V10 if they run away with it?

They may be in league with Max but I hope they trump the Midlands for I simply can't stand that Shnaider bloke. Nor can I abide that incompetent moron Tiago Monteiro. I know he's a favourite in a lot of people's books after being best rookie last year but given the way the bungled into more than one car last year I think he's an idiot who shouldn't be in this sport. NASCAR perhaps but not Formula 1.

Honda and Renault have both won world championships in the past. A great rivalry existed between these two concerns in the late eighties and early nineties. Renault got the upper hand after 1992 and Honda left that same year. I believe we are about to witness a resumption of hostilities between the two that rival those heady days. Make no mistake. These are serious people with a proud racing tradition and when they decide to go for it, the rest had better watch out.

Hopefully with a competitive season this year, Honda will prove to a lot of people that that con man and Mosley cohort, David Richards really is surplus to requirements.

Whilst one can say that Honda and Renault are the cars to beat nevertheless, I think this year will see some close racing between all the teams. Once in a while we might just get a pleasant surprise or two from the rest.

Testing Comments

At last, all the top teams have unveiled their challengers and are testing them in earnest. The scene for the 2006 season is starting to emerge. Prior to this Ferrari have been and still are topping the timesheets with the F2004 fitted with the new V8. Its interesting that Ferrari have been using the F2004 for testing rather than the F2005. Clear indication perhaps that last year's challenger was a monumental mistake for Ferrari. This despite Montezemolo's insistence that it was all the fault of Bridgestone.

My impression so far is that Renault and Honda are looking good during these tests. BMW have also been impressive from the times but with these mid field runners you can never tell until the first race is run.

Unlike 2005 where lap times during the long runs count for more as an indication of race performance, this year, where tyre changes are once again allowed, ultimate lap times I believe give us a better indication of the competitiveness of the teams. Once again, races will be run as a series of sprint races punctuated by stops for fresh rubber.

One team that so far has not looked good at all is McLaren. Neither Juan Pablo Montoya yesterday nor Kimi Raikkonen today have set the world alight with the MP4/21. The MP4/20 with V8 fitted does not impress as well. Perhaps the Mercedes Benz V8 is suffering from a lack of power? They're running pretty much the same number of laps as everyone else but their ultimate pace isn't there at all.

By contrast the lads at BAR are reporting a good and successful first test. Barrichello is said to be pretty pleased by his new mount. The car he says has no vices. Indeed the times look good right from the off.

Renault looks like a car of the same mould. Fernando Alonso leading the 2006 challengers from Button in the BAR. We should be watching for cars like these that look impressive straight out of the box. The teams will spend more time improving rather than playing catch up.

Michael Schumacher's run in the 248 F1 looks pretty decent although its only been a day. If the early months of 2005 proved to be good ones for Toyota, 2006 looks like its gone back to 2004 levels of competitiveness, meaning mid runner levels of pace. Not at all what a team aspiring to race wins wants right now. Especially when deadly rivals Honda looks to be blitzing the rest. I keep harping on this point but its fundamental. Honda's got one thing absolutely spot on compared to their rivals. They're based in the right country. Cologne is not where you want to be to build a championship team. I can't help but feel that if Toyota were based in England, where technical and manpower resources are more readily available, they wouldn't seem to be struggling year on year in mediocrity.

Still, its all early days yet. There are some 20 odd days of track running to go. It should be interesting to see how this all plays out. I still believe that this is still going to be a tough year to predict.

Au Revoir Michelin

After some speculation throughout the tail end of the Formula 1 season, its now official, Michelin will leave the sport at the end of 2006. No doubt the final straw came after the October meeting of the F1 commission where it was voted that Formula 1 would revert back to a single tyre supplier come 2008. Now it seems that the FIA have got the wish a little earlier than that.

In the Michelin press statement announcing their withdrawal, Michelin cites the lack of competition in a homogenous environment and "the result of profound differences between Michelin's long-standing sporting philosophy and the way Formula One is managed by the regulating authorities, which no longer provide a clear and sustainable environment to justify long-term investments." Yee Ha.

This of course prompted a retaliatory statement by the FIA. The final paragraph of which reads: "A single tyre supplier will undoubtedly make Formula One fairer, safer and less expensive for the teams but, above all, it will avoid a repetition of the problem which arose at the 2005 US Grand Prix."

Beeatch. True, Michelin made an expensive and embarassing error there. Also true that Bridgestone did essentially the same mistake in Brazil 2003. And its probably correct to say that a single supplier will at least lead to a reduction in costs. But fairer? Fairer for whom? Ferrari? One of the reasons why a lot of teams bailed out on Bridgestone was because of all the special treatment Maranello demanded after Goodyear's withdrawal in 1998 and it received. This happened even in 1999 when all teams ran the Japanese rubber. Apparently the FIA has some strange definitions of fairness.

Michelin made one mistake. And to my memory thats the only mistake they've made in their entire history of the sport stretching back to the 1970s. They apologised and recovered to whitewash Bridgestone this year. But Max Mosley's incompetence will cost the teams and fans far longer than that. It has no remedy save for his resignation.

In truth, Michelin's grievances with the FIA stretched to 2003 when the FIA changed the rules (or at least its interpretation) mid-season at the behest of Ferrari and Bridgestone.

Bridgestone must be sitting pretty. But what for? As this article on GrandPrix.com states, the promotional value for Bridgestone is vastly reduced with no competition.

And so, we bid farewell to Michelin at the end of 2006. But before they leave, I hope they give an encore to their magnificent performance in 2005.

Adrian Newey

Following the shock announcement of Adrian Newey's switch to Red Bull Racing, I noticed a number of interesting comments and analyses. Not least this one from our friends at Formula 1 blog. Jay Steele mentions a number of factors echoed elsewhere about the pressures of working in a stifling big corporate environment that McLaren has become and also the high expectations placed not only on the talented Newey but also everyone at Woking. Both excellent points.

Though it be denied, nevertheless, some have speculated that as ever money was also an issue. This story on Pitpass claims that Adrian had demanded a substantial increase in his current USD 6 million salary to which Ron Dennis understandably refused. If I'm not mistaken at 6 mil he's on par with Mike Gascoyne at Toyota. In this story at F1Racing.net, its speculated that Red Bull offered Adrian a bumper USD 10 million per annum salary.

Adrian himself has said little substantially on the matter, only to say that "it was time for a change." Perhaps Jay Steele is right. He's simply bored. This article on GrandPrix.com discusses it further. The following quote in the article is of interest:

"One of the reasons that Adrian Newey is leaving McLaren is that for a time, a year or so ago, Newey felt that he was being ignored. The cars were not working and Newey reckoned that he knew how to fix them. It turns out that he did and the MP4-20 is, depending on who you talk to, evidence that Newey is someone who makes the difference."

It boggles the mind that McLaren would ignore such a huge talent like Adrian. But then again, Ron Dennis is a great believer of business processes than maverick individuals. I suppose its what any management consultant would advise their clients. Rely less on individuals and let the process produce the end product. I think this started after John Barnard left McLaren in the eighties. Although the wildly successful 1988 MP4/4 was designed by Gordon Murray (former long time Brabham employee), subsequent cars were more of a design by commitee. Successful up to a point until 1992 when the Newey designed Williams in Nigel Mansell's hands conquered all.

Thereafter, many felt that McLaren's design committee was producing journeyman machines all the was to 1997 when McLaren snapped up Newey. His influence was near immediate. World titles in 1998 and 1999 for Mika Hakkinen demonstrated Adrian's worth. Not that it needed demonstrating.

Though I hate to see Adrian go to a Ferrari linked team, nevertheless, I am rather hoping he produces a car along the lines of the '89 Leyton House March. Who could forget its ability to give then dominant McLaren-Honda a huge scare. Ivan Capelli's (or was it Gugelmin?) heroics on the Mistral straight at Paul Ricard was unforgettable. The Judd V8 revving itself to bits in a car, or more likely its peerless aero, that was clearly better than the engine.

One thing's for sure, Red Bull will be the place where Adrian can express his considerable talents to the full, instead of being shackled by the Accenture inspired practices at McLaren. Though McLaren may have depth in their engineering team the corporate environment is unlikely to produce an inspirational racing car. No matter what Ron says, they are going to miss Adrian. I bet folks at Williams Grand Prix Engineering did as well.

Traitor!

I can accept if he was going back to Williams but Adrian Newey's defection to Red Bull, a Ferrari aligned team comes as a huge shock. And what's this? No gardening leave as well. Sacrilege. He'll be taking McLaren's latest to Mateschitz (and Ferrari I bet). Of course Christian Horner is mightily pleased by all of this, proclaiming Newey as bigger than Schumacher.

It comes as a real surprise because if one's been reading Autosport and F1Racing magazine then one would think that Adrian's found a new motivation this season what with his cars doing supremely well and once again the class of the field. I have accused Adrian of being past it and perhaps a little battle fatigued after all this time at McLaren but I would have thought that he'd want to stay on. After such a stunning season McLaren will really miss his services for 2007. The 2006 car I imagine would have already been at an advanced design stage.

Oh well, McLaren can at least take comfort in a bumper 2005 fiscal year.

Michelin To Leave?

First, a note to my friends who are getting married in the future. I know you've probably consulted the feng shui master or the vedic guru on your most auspicious marriage date but spare a thought for your petrolhead friends. In addition to the advice of sages, please consult the official FIA Formula 1 world championship calendar for suitable wedding days. Oh well, needless to say I missed today's grand prix. Guess I'll have to catch the repeat tomorrow night.

Much has been said about the need for cost control in a sport that is in danger of running away with ever escalating budgets. Tyres and more specifically the need for tyre testing has been identified as a major line item in any team's budget. Some say this figure approaches 70 million dollars in the case of the big teams.

In addition to this, the current one tyre regulations dictating a single tyre throughout qualifying and the race has resulted in a safety hazard. Witness, Kimi Raikkonen's Nurburgring incident and today's race in Monza where both Kimi and Juan Pablo Montoya experienced major tyre problems. Raikkonen chose to pit but Juan Pablo decided to take a Kimi like gamble and continue on. Most racing drivers would have taken that decision and why not? They're there to win and sometimes you need to take risks.

Then there was Indianapolis where tyres again were the issue and Michelin declared their products unsafe to run throughout the entire race. So, the problem is two fold. Cost and safety. And so, the powers and some of the teams including Renault I believe, think that the way forward is a single control tyre. And it seems to me a lot of fans seem to think the same way.

However, I do sympathize with Michelin, who during the weekend issued a statement condemning the proposed control tyre proposals. I must say I sympathize with them and I think they are absolutely correct.

A company enters Formula 1 to prove their worth. It is competition that drives them to excel. A company that supplies everyone with the same component, in this case tyres, have nothing really to prove. There is little need for innovation and improvement. It is competition against a rival that drives the need and promotes technological advancement. Now, in the case of racing, I think very few technologies are actually directly applicable to road users but this is inconsequential. The fact is, engineers are given a challenge and they develop greater understanding and skills that are applicable when developing road car technology.

One thing I admired about Honda's involvement in Formula 1 during the 1980s was that it was less of a marketing effort than a chance given to their brightest engineers to experience competitive pressures and to meet extreme challenges and beat them. And so it is I believe with Michelin. Whether Michelin bids for exclusive supplier status in 2008 is also of no consequence. As fellow blogger Jay Steele states, they have nothing to prove and they are already the world's leading tyre supplier. What they are looking for is competition.

And of course, they're looking for bragging rights. When Goodyear were the sole supplier, I don't think they got much marketing mileage out of that. But when you beat a rival thats a different story. Ask Bridgestone how proud they must have been to remove Goodyear from the top spot in a straight fight. It must have been immensely satisfying and something concrete for the marketing boys to use.

And this applies to components other than tyres. Max Mosley had proposed a single brake manufacturer for all teams but thankfully this has been dropped. I cannot imagine Brembo being the sole brake supplier. Their competition with AP Racing and Carbon Industrie is immense and it ought to remain so. Again, it gives the engineers the experience of innovation. Competition after all should improve the breed. In this case, it improves the engineers.

From a fan point of view, there was absolutely nothing wrong in the years before Bridgestone made their Formula 1 debut. Goodyear stopped making single lap "qualifying special" tyres but the quality of racing did not deteriorate. Yes, tyres were eliminated as a major factor and focus went on other things.

However, as the Michelin statement points out, some manufacturers go to the extent of favouring certain teams when designing their products. No secret who they're referring to. When Bridgestone won their first world championship it was with McLaren. However, when Ferrari were forced to use the Japanese rubber in 1999, Bridgestone started to favour Maranello. To such an extent that all the other major teams switched to Michelin within a couple of years of the marques return.

There are good reasons why Bridgestone does such things. Marketing mileage with such a well known name as Ferrari must be one of them. And hence, I think, they cannot be trusted to favour all teams equally. Inevitably I think, Ferrari will still be the favoured one.

Luca di Montezemolo wishes to see tyres eliminated as a factor in the sport. Of couse, he would. Especially when his cars are finishing a lap down in front of the tifosi. Of couse, he and Ferrari fans would think that races are now boring. Their asses are being whipped but good. We didn't see Luca complain about last year when clearly the Bridgestones were the rubber to have. The problem with Ferrari is that they simply cannot accept that in sport there will be ups and downs. If Ferrari lose, then to them, its time to change the rules. Of course the rules will be changed. Ferrari wants it so.

I say let Ferrari eat shit. Its their insistence of favourable terms that forced teams to switch en masse to Michelin. Now they're suffering and all the better for it.

As for competition per se, imagine a scenario where there was only a single engine manufacturer. After all, why not? Engines are also a huge line item in the budget. Now, would that be any fun at all? Sure, it would probably put more emphasis on the drivers and their skills but it just wouldn't be Formula 1 any more. In fact, I'm all for Goodyear to rejoin the fray and make life more interesting for the two incumbents.

Why should Formula 1 be dumbed down? Its about man AND machine after all. The competition should be multi faceted and multi-dimensional. I think that adds to the interest and the attraction.

As for costs, I think thats a bullshit argument. If sponsor A gives you 100 million dollars a season then you're definitely going to find a way to spend that money. If not on the tyres then you're going to spend it on aero. Do you really believe the new proposals for constant downforce is going to work? No its not because the moment you specify a downforce limit, the designers are going to come up with ways to reduce drag for that amount of downforce. I think they call it reducing the drag to lift ratio or something. Or worse yet, to find a way around those regulations. These designers are geniuses, they'll find a way round anything that stupid FIA lawyer dreams up.

As for the safety aspect, this can be addressed quite simply by changing the regulations. Even Luca agrees on this one. The regulations are just plain silly and artificial. Not to mention a hazard for everyone. That bloody lawyer at the head of the FIA has got to be removed. He's great at politics but just plain incompetent on running the sport.

All in all, I'm against the proposed 2008 tyre regulations. Mainly because I think that the probable supplier will be Bridgestone and those bastards and their Italian masters cannot be trusted. Secondly, I've always believed that Formula 1 should also be the ultimate technological expression. Not through electronic gizmos but innovation in good old fashioned mechanical engineering. That includes the freedom to innovate on brakes, aero, mechanical engine components, transmissions and of course tyres.

Sadly the way things are going right now Formula 1 is headed for a bleak future. We've already seen it with Formula 3000 evolving into this dreadful monocultured formula called GP2. Where once there were multiple chassis and engines now they're all Dallara-Renaults. Is the racing any more exciting? I doubt it.

Williams Cosworth; Rubens to BAR

All over the news yesterday was the official announcement that Williams will be Cosworth powered next year. Pitpass article here, F1Racing.net article here and GrandPrix.com article here. An excellent commentary from the Formula 1 blog is here.

I totally agree that this British partnership will surprise a lot of people for a number of reasons. First, Cosworth are experts in producing V8 engines. In the 70s Formula 1 was accused of being a glorified Formula Ford because everyone except Ferrari were using the famous Cosworth DFVs. Their experience has continued to this day in Indycars and Champcars. Whilst people like Ferrari and Honda complain of vibrational problems, I'm certain Cosworth have none of those issues.

Second, the Cosworth V8 has been in development since last year. This is a huge jump on everyone else on the field. Cosworth have been beating 20,000 RPM on the dyno since early this year. The only problem perhaps is that whilst Honda, Ferrari and Toyota have stuck their V8s behind race cars, Cosworth haven't been able to do the same. Nevertheless, their powerplant is in some advance state of development.

Third, like McLaren over the last couple of years, Williams have been bringing in new facilities on line. Most notably their new windtunnel. Now they have both up and running and I can imagine next year's FW28 to be a totally different and far quicker animal than this year's charge. Clearly, McLaren are now benefitting from their new headquarters and I'll bet next year it will be Williams' turn.

Fourth, I believe Cosworth and Williams will work very well together. They're both British firms for a start. Furthermore, they're located very close together. This is important for I believe it was a clash of cultures that saw the demise of the BMW Williams partnership. Cosworth and Williams are different. Both are specialist manufacturers who cut their teeth in racing. They have a very purist side to them and this should result in a good working relationship.

BMW on the other hand are very much a corporation. Yes, you might say that Ron Dennis and McLaren work very well with Mercedes. But you see, that Mercedes motor is in truth an Ilmor designed and built unit. Ilmor formerly led by Paul Morgan and Mario Illien (both ex Cosworth engineers) are based in England. So the working relationship is inevitably better. Besides, Ron Dennis is a master at the corporate game. He's more corporate cultured than Mercedes. Of course, the Germans are going to like him. Frank Williams and Patrick Head are pure racers and bow not to corporations. As Mario Thiessen told the Guardian, "We made several approaches to achieve that but apparently the corporate culture and the way to run the business is different between Williams and BMW." At the end of it all, you can sense the bitterness thats going on between the two parties right now. Well, perhaps the split will be better for both and I'm sure these former allies will be running hard against one another on track soon enough.

Update: For more on BMW and Williams, read this excellent article on Pitpass.

Some publications are saying that this is a transition year for Williams. The story goes that Williams will be using Lexus badged Toyota engines in 2007. There's no official confirmation of that from Williams or Toyota. And who knows? If the Williams Cosworth partnership works well, then it might do well for Williams to stay with them. But at the end of the day it all comes down to the dollars and euros I suppose.

Here's hoping a return to the true form for Williams. They've wasted 6 years enough with BMW. Time to get a championship under the belt again. Will it happen next year? Some say its a long shot. I say there is a small but significant chance. If it does happen, then a magnificent triumph it will be. Truly David v. Goliath stuff.

Moving on, Rubens Barrichello has now been confirmed at BAR Honda. Its not a big surprise now but 5 months ago it would have been if that suggestion had been made. This despite all the denials Rubens himself was making not a couple of months ago. It seems that in Formula 1, if you hear a denial, chances are its true.

So who will be his team mate next year? Some suggest that Nick Heidfeld is a good candidate. Apparently, BAR hold options on the German in the event Jenson Button leaves for Williams (as well he should). I would've thought that Mario Thiessen has plans for the young German to spearhead his new works BMW team.

Nick Fry suggests that Takuma Sato still has a shot at it if he does well for the rest of the year. But thats like the chairman publicly expressing confidence in you in the old PC game, Championship Manager. Not a good sign at all. Exit visas could be next.

Poor Anthony Davidson. That's two drivers who have a better chance in a BAR seat for next year ahead of him. The word is he's looking elsewhere. To BMW perhaps. All this after getting buggered by BAR last year by not allowing him to test for Williams. At that time, BAR stated they wanted Ant for a BAR seat once Jenson leaves. Now it seems they're still not going to give him a shot.

News Roundup

Following Red Bull's announcement that they had signed the new Concorde agreement, Christian Horner was moved to say a few words regarding its decisions. Just when will people in high places start to tell the truth for once? A good editorial on the matter appears here on PlanetF1. Glad to see other people reaching the same conclusions I did in my last post.

Just speculating here. 2008 sees a new set of rules alongside the new Concorde agreement. Significantly, teams are allowed to purchase chassis in addition to engines. I would speculate that the alliance between Ferrari and Red Bull will eventually lead Red Bull to purchase a complete car from them come 2008. Thats not exactly a bad thing to do. A complete car combined with the existing resources at RBR may produce a situation not unlike sports cars, where it is possible for a crack team of privateers to beat the works cars. If of course, Ferrari allow RBR to have the latest evolutions of their cars.

If you read the PlanetF1 editorial, it suggests that Ferrari's finances, or lack of it, is responsible in part for its poor form this year. Quite apart from the tyre issue, the company's parent FIAT are losing money by the barrel loads and it cannot sustain the current level of spending on its favourite pet. Ferrari must be thanking their lucky stars that someone is stupid enough to bend over now that Sauber has moved on to a bigger and brighter future with BMW.

Enter Red Bull. Very profitable by all accounts and ever in need for more marketing exposure on a global scale. For a start they're buying engines from Ferrari but come 2007 or 2008, who's to say that they couldn't or indeed wouldn't extend and pool their resources further to produce complete racing cars. After all a Red Bull run Ferrari is still a Ferrari and Ferrari itself would still benefit if they won.

Could Jordan, soon to be Midland Grand Prix be having the same idea? Hot on the heels of Red Bull's announcement comes the news that Jordan have also signed up for the new Concorde. Their decision seems inexplicable. However, I think Alex Shnaider's relationship with Bernie is strong and I'm sure he must have bought into Bernie's arguments that staying with him gives Midland long term security as an independent team. I'm sure Alex has nightmares about the big manufacturers eating him and spitting him out should he go with them. And who knows, maybe Jordan could buy cars from Ferrari as well.

So, thats one more team who's going the Bernie way. And those Jordan, like Red Bull, are basically agreeing that Ferrari should get the privileged position it feels it deserves. That to me is simply bullshit. Perhaps someday far, far into the future, the truth will be revealed as to why these guys signed up for something that immediately gives their rival a headstart over everyone else. For now, there's this comment on GrandPrix.com thats quite interesting.

I shouldn't think anyone else is interested in the Concorde agreement in its current form. There have been suggestions that perhaps a championship backed by a new agreement and one which includes Bernie in it, could be formed to take Formula 1 into the future. After all, Bernie has got those annoying banks to deal with. A new entity would get rid of them.


On to other matters now. I don't know whether this story is a joke or not but there are suggestions that Williams Grand Prix Engineering is up for sale. The buyer is reportedly a Korean consortium that includes Hyundai and Samsung. Koreans owning that quintessential British team? That somehow sounds sacrilegious to me. I know you lot are getting old but Frank, Patrick, please say it isn't so. But interestingly enough, heading the consortium is ex-BAR boss David Richards.

I'm speculating again here but though BMW offers Williams engines for next year, essentially the team has lost its "works" status. BMW itself have wasted no time in getting straight to work with their recently acquired Sauber team. Frank and Patrick are now busy looking at alternative engine supplies for next year. Cosworth being on pole position for the job. However, Cosworth is not manufacturer backed having been dumped by those disgusting Ford bean counters. So perhaps someone like Hyundai jumping in may just give Cosworth the backing it needs. Much like how Mercedes give Ilmor the backing it requires and how Ford did the same once with Cosworth.



Moving along, Michelin have announced that they are "completely open to allowing for a more balanced split of teams among tyre manufacturers, starting as early as the 2006 season." As you know, Michelin are supplying the majority of teams with tyres at the moment. An short analysis of the situation appears on Pitpass here. The question is, if Michelin is calling for Bridgestone to supply more teams, then who are Michelin going to drop? I think we can count on Red Bull to be taking up Bridgestone tyres. That just leaves with one more team for them to drop.

One thing's for sure, both Michelin and Bridgestone will be fighting tooth and nail to remain in Formula 1 despite the calls for control tyres. I think this is simply a ploy for Michelin to remain in the sport. After Indianapolis, one could say that Bridgestone is looking extremely good to be the sole tyre supplier in Formula 1. Michelin's argument is that a tyre competition is beneficial not only to the sport but to the motoring industry as a whole. Hence, having two manufacturers supplying teams equally would go a long way towards that aim.

Finally in a scene reminiscent of a bygone era, Professor Prost has beaten Il Leone, Nigel Mansell, in a charity "race of legends" at Norisring in Germany. Other competitors in the race included Jody Scheckter, Emerson Fittipaldi, Mick Doohan and Johnny Cecotto (now there's a name I haven't hear in ages). The drivers raced in DTM cars. Prost apprently enjoyed it a lot and has given thought to racing in the DTM. Now that would be something having two former world champions, including Mika Hakkinen, in the series.

Meanwhile Nigel Mansell has criticized the current Formula 1 rules. In particular the silly one tyre per race rule has come under fire from the 1992 world champion. I must say, I didn't quite like Mansell's drama queen shenanigans when he was racing but on this matter, I hear you Nige. Though its quite unlikely that Max would.

Red Bull Signs 2008 Concorde

I don't think anyone is surprised that Red Bull have announced that they have signed up to the new Concorde Agreement that will see them racing in Formula 1 until 2012. They are the second to do so after Ferrari signed up earlier this year. Red Bull of course will be using Ferrari engines from next year onwards. I wouldn't be surprised if they switched to Bridgestone tyres as well. Bridgestone will definitely welcome it.

Just a reminder on some of the salient points in the new 2008 Concorde agreement. Quoted from this article in the BBC :

"

* Ferrari are guaranteed $67m (£34.8m) every year - an estimated 15-20% of their budget - before any money is distributed to the other teams.

* Ferrari have absolute veto over all changes agreed by the other teams, even if the other teams agree unanimously.

* Ferrari would get more of F1's commercial revenue if they finished last than any other team would if they won the world championship.
"

Despite the young, trendy and sporty corporate image Red Bull likes to project, make no mistake they are first and foremost marketing (and hence business) driven. Because of that there is no difference between them and the GPWC manufacturers. I suppose, like Bridgestone, the suits at Red Bull seem to think that being associated with one of the most glamorous and well known names in the world, Ferrari, will give them enormous exposure and promotional benefits.

Now why would I think that? Well, just look at what they signed up to. The new Concorde gives Ferrari unfair commercial benefits and unacceptable veto powers. Is that sporting? No. And do you really think Maranello would allow Red Bull to consistently beat them? I don't think so. Therefore, I conclude that Red Bull must be in it simply for the marketing exposure. Yes, just like the manufacturers. The difference is the manufacturers want to win and win it fairly.

Innocent

It looks like all the smoke blown up Max Mosley's arse and a little persuasion from Ron Dennis and Christian Horner on behalf of the Michelin Seven, the FIA have decided that "disciplinary proceedings against the teams had ceased to be appropriate and were no longer in the interest of the sport." Furthermore, "The Senate will therefore recommend to the World Motor Sport Council that the guilty verdict of 29 June against the teams be cancelled."

That lets the teams off the hook with the FIA and as well they should be. However, I'm not so sure it will go down well with the plaintiffs in the on-going class action in the courts in the United States. Perhaps, coming to some sort of agreement between them will give them some sort of coherent defence in those legal proceedings.

I'm not certain about this but that must be the first time that the FIA have reversed their position on a ruling. But then again, it must have been in their interest to do so as well. Whereas in previous cases, it was against individual parties, in this case it was against 70% of the Formula 1 grid, with serious consequences to their own image and their crown jewel, the Formula 1 world championship itself.

Will the politics end or at least go back down to previously normal levels? I doubt it but I'm sure the FIA must have learnt a lesson here about going up against a whole group of dissatisfied teams. Its ugly and is bad for the sport. And likewise, the teams too will decide in the future to these more civilized methods of solving problems.

I am happy about this but you see the Indianapolis debacle was never about the tyres alone. Whether there's a single tyre manufacturer in Formula 1 or 10 manufacturers is irrelevant. The politics in Formula 1 is caused be a deep dissatisfaction with the FIA on issues and views that have been long held by the teams. Issues like rule stability, the FIA's dictatorial style and stupidity, the equitable distribution of income and, though it is not often said publicly by the teams themselves, by the lopsided and blatantly favourable treatment of Ferrari by the FIA. For the politics to go away these issues must be resolved.

It is unfortunate that the fans in general and those at Indianapolis in particular, were caught in the crossfire of that on firefight. For there to be peace, the underlying issues must be addressed to the satisfaction of all parties. Hopefully, the recent mood of reconciliation between the parties paves the way to a long term solution. And the fighting will hopefully be confined to where it should remain, on the race track.

2005 is the best season in years. Its a two horse race to the championship with many supporting acts along the way. Its captivating in the sense that predicting a winner is a lottery. Lets hope the FIA and the teams keep it that way or improve it, not just for this season but for many years to come.

Williams' Engine

There have been many rumours and speculation on this topic over the last couple of months and especially once it was confirmed that BMW will now have a works team in Formula 1.

GrandPrix.com is carrying this story telling how Williams might use Cosworth next year before switching to a Lexus badged Toyota engine for 2007. It has also been speculated that Honda might do a deal with Williams if they agree to let the BAR team keep Jenson Button for next year and beyond. Meanwhile Sam Michael, the Williams technical director, is screaming for some sort of decision to be made, obviously so that he can get on with designing next year's car. The later the decision comes, the less time he has.

There are pros and cons of each supplier. With Cosworth, Williams will presumably be getting their near exclusive attention, notwithstanding a supply to Minardi of rev limited V10s next year. On the flip side, Cosworth cannot command the resources of the manufacturers. But would they need to? V8s have been Cosworth's speciality for ages ever since the introduction of the famous double four valve (DFV) Cosworth engines in the 1960s. Today, Cosworth still supplies V8s to Indycar and Champcar. And their V10s are pretty handy as well. Also, their new F1 V8 is already in an advanced state of development over the rest. Whether they can sustain that lead is another matter but Cosworth is specialist manufacturer par excellence.

With Honda, Williams would still be tied to a manufacturer although it probably means a "customer" unit. The Toyota deal looks more promising. With all three options, Williams just might have to pay for engines next year but thats something they want to avoid. Williams could also stay with BMW, as Mario Thiessen have an open invitation to them for a continued supply. That to me is actually the best option especially since BMW promises them works quality engines. But the problem is most likely a human one. The relationship between these two companies have been soured and damaged perhaps to a point of no return now.

In the final analysis, the choice of engine partner is irrelevant for one reason. Williams have got to get the car sorted out first. In the May 2005 issue of F1 Racing magazine, it is estimated that the most powerful engines in F1 are Toyota, BMW and Ferrari in that order (930-970bhp). And yet, the fastest car at the moment is the McLaren powered by perhaps the most puny engine (around 900 - 920 bhp) of the lot (Minardi excepted). However, McLaren have got things absolutely sorted. Williams are still screwing around.

Unlike in the 1980s or the mid-1990s, when one absolutely and simply must have a Honda and later a Renault engine for any chance of championship success (Ford powered Benetton being the exception), the glut of manufacturers involved in Formula 1 today ensures that the choice of engine is not such an important factor. If your car is sorted, you will be competitive. All engines are producing roughly the same power, all around the 900 bhp mark or more. But could you imagine a Toyota powered McLaren? Renault and the rest would be eating dust every weekend. But as it stands they're still doing the business.

Never mind BMW, this is the leanest spell for Grove ever since they started grand prix racing. Come 2007, this spell would have stretched to 10 years without a world title. The previous lean spell would arguably be the period between Keke Rosberg's 1982 title and Nelson Piquet's third title in 1987. After the successes of the 90s with the likes of Mansell, Prost, Hill and Villeneuve, Williams are starting to lose their credibility.

So perhaps they should just swallow their pride and start dishing out dosh for engines. They aren't as blue chip as before. Perhaps the most insulting thing I've read about them is a Reuters journalist calling them wannabes a few seasons ago. Williams??? A wannabe?

At the moment, Jenson Button would probably be wise to remain at Brackley. The continuity and commitment by Honda will probably produce better results for him over there than at Grove. Williams will still be finding their feet for at least 2 to 3 seasons more the way it looks. Unless of course they can play nice with BMW.

Finally, I have no doubt that young Sam Michael is a genius. But is a software developer really qualified to lead the technical department at Williams? I would imagine they'd be better off with someone who has some mechanical or aero engineering qualifications, as in an Adrian Newey, a Pat Symonds or a Mike Gascoyne. Oh well, in this I'm no expert and I'm sure Patrick Head knows what he's doing. Despite the dismal results.

Update: Toyota says no to Williams for 2006 but is a possibility for 2007. Honda meanwhile says that time is running out.

Mark Webber and Williams

Mark Webber, despite scoring his first ever podium and the best result of his career, didn't seem very pleased with it as he got out of the car and stepped up to the podium. F1Racing.net story here. More team quotes here.

Of course, Mark had a very bad start to the race but given those circumstances you would have thought he'd be doubly pleased. I think the real problem was that he got beaten by his teammate. Especially since Nick managed to get by him with the aid of an earlier pitstop. I think Mark simply couldn't stand to be beaten by someone who could really be counted as Williams number two.

All credit to Nick Heidfeld. This is the second podium he's bagged for Williams BMW. He looked happier on the podium than Mark but only slightly mind you. Ever the cool understated chap.

Speaking of Williams, former BMW Motorsport director Gerhard Berger is predicting a split between the Grove team and its Munchen based engine partner. That's the feel he's getting apparently from meeting 'from time to time' with his former colleagues at BMW.

This adds to the numerous speculations in the past few weeks regarding this issue. Conflicting statements from the team, Sam Michael asserts that they will be continuing their relationship with BMW here. Frank Williams saying that he doesn't really know the full situation with Sauber here. Patrick Head refusing to comment in this story here.

To be fair, they aren't mentioning anything about a split between themselves and BMW but that the eventual outcome with Sauber is still unknown. Anything could happen though. There are many unhappy people in Munich as Gerhard suggests and I wouldn't bet against a split between these two parties. Mario Thiessen is said to be keeping a 'careful eye' on Grove.

But is buying up Sauber a good option? They do have good facilities but as we have found out from one of their drivers, they face a severe lack of funds. Something I would imagine, there is no shortage of at BMW. But there's no denying that BMW want to remain at the top flight of the sport. From an image standpoint, it would hurt them if they turned tail and ran away now. Especially since their deadly Stuttgart rivals are winning again and BMW have yet to win a single championship in the current era.

Keep watching this space.

Secret Testing

This article on Pitpass suggests that a number of teams are currently engaged in covert development programmes in Elvington Park in Yorkshire, to the annoyance of the residents nearby the circuit. A follow up article is here.

Now back in the day, it was pretty common for Formula 1 teams to test on some way out circuit somewhere to shakedown the cars. Oulton Park and Snetterton for instance isn't well known to many outside the UK, but Formula 1 teams have used these facilities in the 80s for development.

But this Elvington Park is a bit of a mystery to me because I have to admit, I've never heard of it before. But then there are lots of circuits in the UK, befitting its title of the home of motor racing. Looking around on the internet, its a tiny little circuit with a grand total length of exactly 1 mile. That'll be 1.6 kilometers to the metrically inclined.

According to the Pitpass report, Jaguar (?), McLaren and Jordan were present for the tests. Also, according to their sources, McLaren will be returning this coming Thursday for more tests.

I say. What exactly is going on here? McLaren and Jaguar (Red Bull?) have been seen testing in Jerez and simultaneously they are also in this Elvington Park. And if it is true that McLaren will return on Thursday, then the Suzuka accords shall be broken as well.

Quite recently, Ralf Schumacher has been heard lambasting his brother's team for their extensive testing. Mike Gascoyne in this interview on PlanetF1 have said that Toyota have put off running in bad weather at Silverstone to save up on their 30 day limit. But here, we have three teams apparently throwing testing limits out the door. Now, Jordan and in particular, Red Bull aren't exactly the hottest supporters of the Group Of Nine and chances are they'll be going Bernie's way but what is McLaren doing in their company?

Perhaps, commercial pressures are beginning to show. After all, its all about winning. If Ferrari wins, you can bet that the vast majority don't know and even wouldn't care that they've essentially cheated. The television would simply show them winning. End of story. And perhaps big guns like Mercedes have had enough of being thrashed on telly by the likes of Maranello. So, can't beat em, join em.

Another interesting thing is that with Jordan running at Elvington, you can bet there would have been some Toyota engineers in attendance as well. Gaining some mileage for the works team perhaps?

This is sad in a way. Costs will skyrocket for sure. The top teams will extend their gap even further from the minnows behind. But more importantly, if McLaren are doing it, chances are Williams, Toyota and Renault will not be sitting still. Especially Toyota, since more than most they can afford a no holds barred testing programme. And you can bet if they do it, then Honda are coming along. Secret fuel tank and all.