USF1 Formula1 Journal

Bahrain Facts and Stats - By Paul_Murtagh

Bahrain GP Stats

This week sees the first race of the season at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama. Although the circuit has only been on the F1 calendar since 2004, there is quite a long list of stats for the race:

Circuit Stats:

·   This will be the 7^th race at the Bahrain International Circuit. But it will only be the second time that the race has started the season, with the only previous time being in 2006.

·   When it made its debut in 2004, it was the first Formula 1 race to be held in the Middle East, being joined by Abu Dhabi in 2009

Bahrain Track Guide - by Paul_Murtagh

This year’s Formula 1 World Championships starts at the Bahrain International Circuit for the second time in 5 years. This circuit was chosen by Bernie Ecclestone to start the season due to it’s favourable time for European fans compared to Australia, and the last time it started the season in 2006 we witnessed a titanic battle between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher, with the Spaniard coming out on top. Once again these two men dominate the headlines going into the season-opener, with Alonso switching to Ferrari, while Schumacher makes his F1 return with Mercedes. However, the debut of 3 new teams and new regulations make this a season waited with anticipation.

 

 

Where is the circuit?

 

It is based in the Manama area of Bahrain, in the centre of the country near the south. However there is little to no life around the circuit, with it being surrounded by desert, meaning that everyone has to travel a bit from the local areas to get here.

 

Lotus vs. Virgin - A comparison by Sportsman and Flood1

 
 

There are new teams on the grid this year for the first time in quite a while as the result of a concerted effort on the part of the FIA, and to some extent, the FOM. One could argue about the need for that effort, and Ferrari has done so in a surprising rant on their official website.

 

The facts are that two of the four new teams, Lotus F1 and Virgin Racing, will be on the grid for the first 2010 race at the Sakhir Circuit at Bahrain. As for the other two new teams, USF1 and Campos, there is serious doubt as to whether either of them will make it to the grid in Bahrain, or any other 2010 event.

 

Virgin Racing and Lotus F1 have both completed all mandated FIA tests and have both put their cars on track for official testing. The two teams have a lot in common, but they also have many differences.

 

Let’s have a look at the major players in both teams. Lotus is lead by Mike Gascoyne. Here is his CV: Force India, Jordan, Lotus, McLaren, Renault, Sauber, Spyker, Toyota, and Tyrrell. He worked for all these teams in one capacity or another. There are mixed opinions about his effectiveness, but the cars often proved themselves after he left the team. He is known as the “bulldog” because of his headstrong and uncompromising demeanor. Many think his reputation exceeds his accomplishments. He hopes to prove that criticism wrong with Lotus F1.

 

Gascoyne matriculated toward a Computational Fluid Dynamics Doctorate at Cambridge but failed to finish his thesis and instead went to work at Tyrrell. In terms of his design philosophy, he is generally conservative. And in spite of his training in CFD, he is of the “old school” of design: he believes in the “design, fabricate, and testing via the wind tunnel” path. He has expressed his disbelief in the “CFD only design” as enunciated by his comments vis a vis the Virgin Racing team and their CFD only effort.

 

The Lotus T 127 (the continuation of the Lotus numbering scheme) does look a little “old fashioned.” It doesn’t have any sexy curves, has a high but unrefined nose, has rather large side pods with much less undercut that the other cars and looks a lot like last year’s Force India. I won’t go into the rumors that he is in possession of the 2009 FI wind tunnel model via his association with Aerolab. But, the car does look like a cross between the 2009 FI and the 2008 Toyota.

 

Virgin Racing, by contrast, has very little recent F1 experience in their resume’. The effort began with veteran John Booth, a single seater champion himself in Formula Ford. The team had success in Formula 3 as well as Formula Renault as Manor Motorsports. Their past drivers include Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen.

 

Manor earned an entry into F1 as Manor F1. The team evolved from that point and made a significant move forward when they partnered with Wirth Research and Richard Branson to form Virgin Racing.

 

Nick Wirth has previous experience in F1. He worked for March and Leyton House. He also was the owner of the Simtek Formula 1 Team, a partnership started between Wirth and Max Mosely. The team had little success and suffered financial problems. They lasted only 2 seasons in F1. After that, he worked for Benneton for 3 or so years.

 

The Simtek team’s low point was the death of Roland Ratzenburger at San Marino in 1994. Ratzenburger had an off during qualifying and damaged his front wing. He continued thinking that the wing was ok. Approaching the Villenueve Curva at high speed, his front wing failed, he hit the wall and lost his life. This was the beginning of the worst weekend in modern F1 history.

 

I must admit that the Ratzenburger tragedy came to mind when the Virgin Racing VR-01 lost the front wing at their first test. Unfair? Certainly, but I have a long memory.

 

Wirth has been running Wirth Research for many years. It is a very interesting company that is very forward looking regarding design technologies and cost efficient design. They have worked as technical consultants with a number of clients including Honda Indy Car and, in their latest efforts, have been instrumental in the development of the Acura LMP car. The car was designed and built by Wirth Research and was a winner right out of the box. Using only CFD techniques, Wirth designed an ALMS LMP winning entry for 2009. Very impressive!

 

The Virgin Racing VR-01 is much more modern looking than the Lotus. The nose looks very “Newey” like, and the car seems to be less conservative than the Lotus. The sidepods and rear are relatively conservative, but the entire package is modern and contemporary.

 

As mentioned before, unlike the Lotus, the VR-01 has never seen the inside of a wind tunnel. Wirth thinks CFD is all that is needed for design, with all other info gathered on-track. One factor that promotes his point of view is costs. He believes that wind tunnels are not cost effective.  They may be the ultimate testing medium, but he thinks the benefits are grossly overpriced and ultimately unnecessary.

 

 

In testing, both teams have had problems. Virgin had the wing failure that cost them track time. Virgin also had hydraulics problem, as did Lotus. The test times for Virgin have been about 3 seconds behind the fastest times posted, and Lotus has been another second behind.

 

But, both teams will race this year and both have approached the series with serious intent. They have evident differences in design philosophies, and I find that very compelling.

 

I wish them both luck, but I have an affinity toward Virgins, HaHa!

 

 

Update 3/2/2010! The USF1 Drama - A Personal Observation by Flood1

Update, March 2, 2010 -

I am saddened, embarrassed, and furious with Ken Anderson and Peter Windsor. The entire effort has been a fiasco. I started this blog in hopes that a US team would make the grid, would prove reasonably competent, would increase interest in the US for F1, and would not embarrass us with their pace. And, I hoped to have a dialogue with those who shared the same interests as myself.

Instead, they have not made the grid, have proven incompetent, have dimmed any further interest in F1 here in the States, and have embarrassed us with virtually everything they have done in the past few months.

I think it is obscene to hire a driver, collect the downpayment, announce a deal on Argentine national TV with Presedente Kirchner, and then reveal that you never had a chance to put a car on the grid. To lead a driver, some sponsors, and two entire countries on a circular journey to nowhere is almost criminal.

I am dumbfounded that the team's most severe critics were right. I thought the critics were "over the top." They were not. We have been taken as fools, and I feel that way. The joy and enthusiam that I enjoyed while writing about the team on this blog has been replaced with a mixture of anger, cynicism, and disgust.

I have lost a great deal of my F1 enthusiam as well as a portion of my credibility. Those two things are hard to replace.

Sorry guys for being a part of the problem.

Original Post - Feb. 18, 2010

I have been closely following USF1 since the first news came out many months ago. I am not a starry-eyed youngster; I am in my 5th decade, and I had great optimism about the team's chances. I have been professionally involved in technology for 30 years and I know the capabilities of American technical facilities and engineering talent. I was hopeful that the team could pull all of these available skills together and develop a team we could be proud of.

Perhaps they still can, but the rumors, if true, indicate that the team will disappear never to be seen again. I will wait to hear the official team announcement before I throw in the towel.

But, waiting for news from the team has been my greatest personal frustration. The lack of openess is the antithesis of what the team promised. I spend a part of every day scouring the net for info, and the best source has been the manager of their first and only contract driver, Pechito Lopez. Felipe McGough was generally a very good source, but the fact that all the news was "second hand" absolutly drove me crazy.

The events of the last two weeks have left me fatigued. My view of F1 has been somewhat myopic: focused on the USF1 team while desperately waiting for official news, whether good or bad. As a result, I have not taken much interest in what is happening elsewhere in the F1 world.

I am going to back away from the USF1 rumors and cast a wider view at everything else going on in F1. I am tired of the whole subject of USF1, and need to move on. From this point on I am only going to talk about official USF1 news and leave the other dramas behind.

Lotus and Virgin have been doing a very good job of moving their efforts forward, the established teams have presented very interesting cars for 2010, and a new/old team, Sauber, have put their car on track in spite of their own travails due to manufacturer abandonment.

Now if we could just get some dry weather in Jerez!

Halfway Through Testing – By Paul_Murtagh

The end of the Jerez test on Saturday marks the mid-way point of the 2010 pre-season testing schedule. So far 10 of the 13 teams have taken part, and although the times at this point do not reflect the true pace of the cars, just what can we take from testing so far?

 

The leading bunch so far appears to be the usual suspects in Ferrari, McLaren, Mercedes and Red Bull. Three of these four teams have won the championship 10 times in the last 12 seasons, and look like they will be fighting for the title once again this season. Ferrari especially look to have a good package at this stage of testing. They have been both fast and reliable, clocking up over 800 laps in the 6 days of testing so far (353 in Valencia and 449 in Jerez). On top of this, Alonso appears to have settled well into the team, and along with Massa seems to be getting on top of the 2010 Ferrari. McLaren looked to be initially struggling in Valencia, but towards the end of that test, and throughout the full week in Jerez, they now appear to have got on top of their car problems. This belief was further embedded when Lewis Hamilton went fastest of all over the 4-day Jerez test.

FIA vs Todt vs Eccelstone - Three Race (Miss) Allowance?

FIA Statement

“From a sporting and regulatory point of view, each team that has registered for the championship is obliged to take part in every event of the season. Any failure to take part, even for just one championship event, would constitute an infringement both of the Concorde Agreement and the FIA Regulations”

Jean Todt to Italy's 'La Gazzetta dello Sport'

"In the last draft, the World (Motor Sport) Council (WMSC) granted the opportunity for a team not to participate in three rounds of the championship, although they don't have to be consecutive. If one pulls out, the insertion of a new team is not automatic - it is always up to the FIA to decide whether a team is eligible or not."

Bernie Eccelstne in the Sunday Express

Ecclestone has revealed that any team entered in the world championship is eligible to skip three of the season's races without penalty.

Opinion:

The head of FOM, Eccelstone, who is the commericial manager of F1, and the head of the FIA, Jean Todt, who is the sporting and technical manager of F1, have both said that F1 teams can miss three races without penalty. 

However, the FIA has released a statement that says all teams are expected to attend all races and that appropriate penalties will be metted out to those who fail to do so.

This makes it seem as if those who govern the sport, both commercially and technically, do not know the regulations of their respective contracts. My, my!

But, I have an explanation. There are two provisions in the Concorde agreement that deal with this. Provision 4.xx? says that the teams must appear, undergo scrutineering, and attempt to compete in every race for the duration of their agreement. Some factors may be allowed to obviate this requirement, such as force majure (a fire in your shop, a hurricane, other natural disasters, etc).

Elsewhere, the Concorde agreement says in provision 13.xx?, "if a team has failed to participate in more than three events in the same FIA F1 Championship it is considered to have withdrawn from the championship."

So, there is the truth. The agreement is that you will participate in every event. This is expected. However, you will not be excluded until you miss three events. The FIA says that penalties will be leived if you miss a race, but they do not promulgate the penalties.

However, if you miss three races you will be considered "withdrawn." So, Todt, Eccelstone, and the FIA are correct. But, all three tend to obfuscate the true meaning of their own agreements.

Am I surprised?

USF1 to Use Concorde Agreement to Miss 3 Races? By Flood1

Rumors have been swirling around the USF1 team since they signed the Concorde agreement in August of 2009. They have been nonstop and have focused on every possible scenario: from sponsors, to drivers, to partners, to every conceivable angle. Much of this stems from a basic skepticism amongst F1 fans about anything new or different, as well as an unhealthy skepticism about the involvement of an American team. The history of American teams and drivers in F1 has been spotty, at best, with only Phil Hill and Mario Andretti reaching championship status.

One of rumors that has been mentioned is that the Team would miss the first three races of the season. Peter Windsor has categorically denied this possibility, but it has become clear today that they are allowed to do so as a provision of the recently signed Concorde agreement. The news came directly from F1 supremo Bernie Eccelstone in an interview with Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid in the Sunday Express.

Bernie said that any team on the grid could choose to miss any three races and that he thought Campos and USF1 would take advantage of that provision. My first impression is that this is a very strange component to include in the Concorde agreement. Did Bernie allow this with particular concern toward the new teams, or did he think that the provision may  introduce a new element in the cost savings derby?

Even though he has an obligation to the promoters of F1 events, he is only required to present 16 cars, as far as I know. But, if you bought a ticket to Montreal and found that several teams decided to stay home, get some rest, and save some money, would you be happy with your ticket purchase? I would be furious!

Regarding USF1, I have become increasingly concerned with their inapparent progress, and this uncertainty has been exacerbated by Windsor's admission that there were sponsor problems and cash flow issues. They have done a pretty good job of building a team from nothing, but the drop-dead deadline is approaching.

With the number of hurdles ahead of them getting closer and closer together, they may have to play the wildcard. If so, I wish Windsor would just play it straight and announce their decision in a press conference with the world motorsports media. He should include their production and testing schedule, their sponsors, their complete driver lineup, and be done with it.

If this comes to pass, it will raise many questions about the team's long-term viability, and it will also raise many questions about Bernie's business plan via-a-vis his relationship with F1 promoters.

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/money/view/156750/Formula-1-in-the-pits-as-newcomers-stall-due-to-lack-of-funds

Electronic Marshalling System - by Flood1

The electronic marshalling system has been used since the first night race at Singapore in 2008. But few of us have seen pics of the hardware involved. The system, controlled by the lead flag marshal at each turn, does not replace the flags, but augments them. The local lights are controlled by the station marshals, not the FIA race command. This is how it should be.

The award winning system (Professional MotorSport World Expo Awards), designed and built by EM Motorsports, improves flagging by providing on-track lights that display the same info as the flag marshals. The advantage is that the lights are positioned in such a way that a driver cannot claim ignorance of the track status due to "problems" seeing the manual flags.

The manual flags are still displayed, just as they always have, but the lights provide another source of flagging information. The Marshal's hand-held display also shows the flagging status at the turns before and after the flag Marshal's station. Other course-wide info, controlled by central command, is displayed on the Marshal's controller as well. This includes data such as safety car deployment, full course yellows, and red flag conditions.

The console also includes radio communications with central race command.

Some Marshals that I know do not like the system as it represents the trend toward electronic control of marshalling duties. I understand their concerns. But as long as the responsibility of pushing the buttons and initiating a flagged response is left in the control of a lead station Marshal, I am okay with the technology.

What do you think?
 

Could USF1 be the Most Important Team in F1? - By Paul_Murtagh

 

This week sees the F1 launch season get into full swing, with teams such as Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes launching their 2010 challengers. But in my opinion, one of the teams who are not launching their car this week could end up being the most important team currently in F1.

 

It is a well-known fact that USF1 are taking a completely different approach to their debut season in F1. Traditionally, F1 teams base their team in Europe, sign at least one experienced proven driver, and use expensive technologies such as wind tunnels to test their latest aerodynamic parts. But USF1 will be taking a completely different approach, and should they be successful, the team could prove to be a turning point in F1 history.

 

Bernie Talks S**t Again - By Flood 1

I typically do not respond to this type of "news," but Bernie has once again brought USF1 into the public eye with comments he has made. In all fairness, these comments were made a day or two ago, were very brief, and have just been currently reported by the motorsports press (original source Salzburger Nachrichten) after his visit to the world cup in Austria.

He says, "Campos and the American team (USF1) have problems -- financial, not technical. But I hope they will be ok."

What's the point of making these comments Bernie? Are you trying to help them attract sponsors, or are you trying to discourage sponsors? I do not know which.

The good news is that he says USF1 is in good shape technically. That makes me believe that reports out of Charlotte via the FIA technical delegates imply significant progress on the car. My question is this: Just what financial info does Bernie have by way of his FOM position to justify his comments? Perhaps he does know what is going on with the Team's finances. But, why does he choose to cast doubt, and where does he fit in during the public debate? Pro/Con?

I agree that the team's move to only hire drivers with substantial outside funding indicates budget issues within the USF1 team, but that in iteself does not indicate that their current resources are not adequete.

This is one more attack on the team's chances. I hope that they prove Bernie wrong, as well as many others who doubt the Team's capabilities. I hope they prove my faith in them, but, if not................So it goes!

USF1 Test Schedule - Conjecture By Flood1

Official F1 Test Schedule:

Valencia - February 1, 2, 3

Jerez - February 10, 11, 12, 13

Jerez - February 17, 18, 19, 20

Barcelona - February 25, 26, 27, 28

Leeds, Alabama - February ?

This is simply conjecture on my part, but based on my understanding of the manufacturing progress of the USF1 car, I have come to some conclusions about their testing schedule. I believe that their first official test will be at Barber Motorsports Park no sooner than February 17, 18, 19, 20. They may not test all of those days, but I believe their first test will be that week.

If so, they will be hard pressed to make the last test at Barcelona the week of February 25, 26, 27, 28. There is only one week between the tests, and USF1 will need to ship their entire effort to Aragon. This is logistically difficult and not resonable considering that the first few races are flyaways far from Europe.

If they could test at Barber the week of Feb. 10, 11, 12, 13, then the transfer to Spain would be much easier. I think they may not make any test dates in Europe and that the Barber test may be their only effort.

If so, I would expect that test to be the week of Feb. 25, 26, 27, 28. If, like Brawn 2009, they have the car sorted, things will be fine. Then, the Euro transport will be just to get the team to the transport airport for the flyaways. 

I have no hard data to base my oinions, but I have an understanding of the process involved in building a team from nothing.

Summary: I would not be surprised if the team only tested once, and that test was at Barber on the last week in February.

USF1 Drivers - Sebastien Bourdais? By Flood1

Back in October I wrote a blog post showing all of the drivers that I thought would be possible USF1 candidates based on my understanding of the Superlicense rules. I had some omissions, notably Takuma Sato, and probably others as well. I have been listening to the readers and have learned about several other drivers that I missed. The most obvious of these is Jose Maria Lopez, "Pechito".

Now that some of the drivers on my list have made arrangements with other teams, both in F1 and many other series, I have looked at those still available and have decided that the best driver to join Pechito Lopez at USF1 is Seb Bourdais.

He won the French Formula 3 title in 1998 with LaFillère. He won the Formula 3000 title with Supernova in 2001. He won Champ Car titles in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 with Newman/Hass racing. He also placed 2nd two times in the greatest race in the history of motorsport, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He has a great racing history.

He entered F1 in 2008 with the Toro Rosso team. This team has a questionable history regarding their drivers: Luzzi, Speed and Bourdais all got questionable treatment.  I do not think he was given a fair chance with that team, suffered many mechanical problems, had inadequete testing opportunities, and was ultimately released with pay (after threatening legal means) midway of the 2009 season.

Seb is well known and respected by American race fans. He has a lot of experience in F1 cars having started 27 Grands Prix, and could be a key element in helping to develop the car for USF1. 

I think the team should make him the partner to Pechito Lopez. Bourdais/Lopez and USF1. 

That would satisfy many North Americans, South Americans, and race fans in France.

Why Alonso is Better for Ferrari than Raikkonen – By Paul_Murtagh

 

When it was announced at the Japanese Grand Prix in October 2009 that Fernando Alonso would be replacing Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari for 2010, it wasn’t so much the move itself that surprised many – more how soon it was happening. Many had expected Raikkonen to see out his Ferrari contract in 2010, with Alonso staying at Renault for one more year before moving across to the Scuderia. But Ferrari had decided to make the move sooner, and in my opinion they have made the right decision.

Peter Windsor's Blog

 

Blog: Peter Windsor's World

January 1, 2010 - Charlotte

It's great to be back in the USA! We're all complaining a little about everything closing down for the New Year but – believe me – America is currently much more industrious than the UK. Here, at our home base, we were quiet on Christmas Day (naturally) and then again today. The UK – and most of Europe – basically shut down on December 18 and will not stagger back to life until January 4. That's 16 valuable days lost in the too-short life of the F1 European winter.

And that's not all: remember the August F1 shut-down that was introduced for the first time in 2009? Well, it's happening again in 2010. Understand that most of Europe closes for August and you kind of understand the decision. Unless you're American, that is. As in Australia, August for Americans is just another working month in which some people maybe take a week or two away. There's no nationwide shut-down, as such – not of the type that regularly afflicts massive F1 teams like Ferrari. For years all of their suppliers have been shutting their doors for the month of August – and for years the European teams have been complaining that the situation has been growing worse, not better.

My Favourite Moments of 2009 - By Paul_Murtagh

2009 - Arguably the best season in Formula 1 for years. Since 1984 only four teams had won a Formula 1 title - Ferrari, McLaren, Williams or Benetton/Renault. But it was all to change this year, when two new forces emerged in Brawn and Red Bull. These teams breathed fresh air into F1, with new regular winners in Button, Vettel and Webber. F1's elder statesman Rubens Barrichello showed that he could still do it, while Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen showed that both McLaren and Ferrari were more than capable of challenging the new regime. Here I look back at my highlights of 2009

Has Schumi Made The Right Decision? - By Paul_Murtagh

On Friday morning it was announced that Michael Schumacher is to make a sensational return to Formula 1 with the new factory Mercedes GP team. He will partner Nico Rosberg, and his return will be welcome by many, but has Schumacher made the right decision in returning to the sport that he left back in 2006?

As with many decisions, there are both pros and cons to the argument.

Points Mean.........What Exactly? – By Paul_Murtagh

 

For 2010 F1 will see the most radical shake-up in the points scoring system in it’s 60 year history. For the first time ever, drivers will be able to score points right down as far as 10^_th place, meaning that 38% of the starting grid next season will score at least one point. But what exactly does this mean in layman’s terms?

 

The first thing to establish is how the points as distributed. Under the previous scoring system, the winner receives 10pts, second place 8, third place received 6, fourth place got 5 and so on as far as 8^_th place. While this rewarded consistency, it had it’s critics right from the minute it was introduced in 2003. Many felt that it began to devalue the win, and previously there was a 4-point gap between 1^_st and 2^_nd compared to 2pts, and it meant that drivers who had built up a sizeable lead at the beginning of the championship, such as Fernando Alonso in 2005 and Jenson Button last season, were able to sustain a championship challenge without challenging for race wins in the second half of the season. This prompted Bernie Ecclestone to try, and fail, to implement a ‘medals’ system whereby the driver with the most wins won the title regardless of how many points he had. Thankfully this was never passed.

 

2010 – What It Means To The Regular Fan? – By Paul_Murtagh

With 2010 seeing the biggest overhaul of F1 in a very long time, I decided to look at what it means. As I am not very technical or business-minded, I thought it was best if I looked at it from a regular fan’s perspective. New teams, new drivers, new circuits and new rules mean that 2010 should, in theory, be a lot different from what we have been used to recently.

 

Let’s first of all start with the glue that holds them all together – the rules. While not much has changed from an aerodynamic point of view this year, the car shapes will change slightly due to the ban on refuelling. They will become bulkier just behind the cockpit, which will affect the airflow to the rear end of the car. The bigger fuel tank will also affect the handling as the cars will be around 160kg heavier at the start of the race than at the end, meaning the balance of the car will change as the races progress. The increased weight limit will also change the way the car weight distribution is designated, and throw into the mix a narrower front tyre in 2010, and all these changes mean that a car will be a different beast to drive from last season. Drivers will have to change their driving styles accordingly to suit the new regulations.

Onto New Challenges - By Kevin McMullin

As the last races of 2009 play out around the world, The focus switches to next season, and new challenges for drivers

For F1 world champion Jenson Button, the challenge is to beat last year's champion, Lewis Hamilton, at his own game, in a team built around the younger, and arguably more successful driver. For Lotus, USF1, Manor, and Campos the challenge is to make it to the grid in time and once there, reel off a string of finishes. The high places can come later. For Fernando Alonso it is to avoid looking like a total prat again when he doesn't get it all his own way at Ferrari. For Ferrari it is to regain the upper hand, for Mercedes it is to live up to last year, for Felipe Massa it is to become fit enough to compete, and for Kimi Raikkonen, it's all about mastering 300bhp of Citroen in time for the first WRC event of the season.

Thanks to Red Bull, Raikkonen will join the Elite drivers of the World Rally Championship in what is considered the best car in the championship – the C4 WRC. It remains to be seen if he will drive for the Red Bull backed works team, or a Red Bull satellite team. Raikkonen (and Kubica) is a rally fan, having competed on several events in his native Finland. Many observers from the world of F1 are expecting him to do very well, and lots of the WRC names are also expecting good results from the Finnish star. And he will get them, but don't expect him to win the first event of the season, The Rally of Sweden. Here's what he's up against.

Different Surfaces.

In F1, the track is either dry, or it's wet. In WRC the road can be loose surface (Gravel), Frozen Surface (Snow), Sealed Surface (Concrete/Tarmac), Muddy, Wet, or a mix of all of the above. Although the WRC car is much less powerful than a F1 car, the lack of traction control and the slippery surface can catch out even the most experienced driver. Racing drivers have a tendency to drive as if they're on Tarmac everywhere... They go very very quickly, then crash very very hard!

Inexperience

Sure, Kimi's been out in the woods before, but the most powerful rally car he's driven is the S2000 Fiat from last year's rally of Finland. The C4 has much more power, more technology, and will take a lot of concentration to wring the best out of. The C4 is a car that takes a lot of time to get used to. Sebastien Ogier left his JWRC C2 behind having won nearly all the rounds of the junior championship in 2008. He was installed into a C4 WRC and promptly crashed it. It took him some time through 2009 to get anything resembling a good result out of the car – and this is a driver who has done nothing but rally in the past!

The Weight of Expectation

This is huge. Kimi is a F1 world champion remember, so there will be some people (Kimi Fans, if we're honest) who will expect him to blow 5 times World Rally Champion Seb Loeb into the weeds. This simply won't happen. Seb knows his car inside out (Literally), he knows how it will react on the different surfaces, and he has been around this sport for all of his career (with two brief sojourns into the world of sportscars). It'll take a lot of effort, and a great deal of luck for a new driver to come in and beat him, no matter how good the newcomer is!

Limited Support

Kimi's going from a big team (Ferrari) to a Smaller outfit – It may say Red Bull on the Door, but the car will probably be run by Bozian. With all respect to the French outfit, the number of support per driver will be much less than Kimi's used to, and remember that once the car leaves the service it can't be touched by a mechanic until it returns. We could see Kimi picking up a spanner next year.

All the WRC drivers can change a front damper in under 10 minutes. Their 6 mechanics can change it in under 5. And as for gearboxes...

Don't underestimate the ability of good mechanics both behind the wheel or in the service park. No Ice creams for the ice man this year!

Longer Events

Okay, so an F1 event lasts 3 days. Total track time, a 2 hour race, a 1 hour qualifying session, 4 1 hour practices plus two half hour warm ups = 8 hours

WRC event can last between 3 and 4 days, days usually start around 6am, and finish around 6pm, but can go on even longer. That's 36 hours minimum of hard stage driving, mechanicing in remote services, sorting out problems, night stages (The stages are floodlit – The floodlights are on the front of the cars!), Not getting lost on the road, Traffic jams, and the small matter of doing all that whilst dodging the local wildlife, crazy spectators, not breaking any road traffic laws in a car built for speed in any conditions, and never, ever, ever, arriving either too early or too late, in anything and everything the climate can throw at them.

Kimi is also something of a rarity. Not many circuit racers, particularly from the heights of F1, jump ship to rallying. Stephane Sarrazine was the last, and he did well – but not well enough. His arrival in the WRC will surely tell us if the old stereotype of a racing driver gone rallying is true or not. He's also got stiff competition... There are currently 14 drivers I know of for next season, Plus three whose movements are a little uncertain. Loeb and Sordo will be hard to beat, particularly on tarmac, Hirvonen and Latvala hard to beat everywhere else. Petter Solberg is more than capable of springing a surprise, Ogier is coming good, Rautenbach... is terrible, Wilson isn't great but will still out do most newcomers. Villagra doesn't drive long enough to make any difference, Henning Solberg can be surprisingly good, Mads Østberg is crazy, and if Atkinson gets a drive with the newest rumoured WRC team, Monster, he could well provide serious competition. Burkart and Prokop are both level headed, but will probably be spending more time learning their cars, if they turn up at all.

 So what then of the other newcomer to the series, Ken Block. Already a rarity – an American Rally Driver – Block is a millionare playboy with a penchant for Subaru Group N rally cars. And is to all intents and purposes a pretty good driver. But he's also a total showman, and spends a lot of his time simply messing around with outrageous stunts, huge jumps, and basically being something of an attention seeking adrenaline junky. How the other competitors will see Block remains to be seen. He will need some good results before many in the championship take him seriously. For lots of people however well he does, he will still just be a rich man playing with his toys. But he could be very important for American rallying, and very important for the WRC, giving an important reaching point to a great untapped market in the USA.

The fact that only Ford sell cars in the USA (and even then not the same Focus as the one used in the WRC) makes tapping in to that market even more difficult. Next year with the change to S2000 rules, Ford will at last have a car with a global presence in the Fiesta - which will be seen in the hands of Xavier Pons and Janni Tuohino in next year's inaugural World Rally Cup.

Even so, with two big name newcomers to the series next year, and 13 of the best rallies in the world on the calendar, it could be a great year for world rallying next year. Bring it on!

 

Just who is Jose Maria Lopez? - By Paul_Murtagh

According to reports surfacing on Saturday, Argetine driver Jose Maria Lopez is on the brink of signing for the new USF1 team. Reports state that he had agreed a deal with the team, and has around 80% of his funding secured to make his signing public. But just who is the driver ready to take one of the seats?

Very little is known about Jose Maria, especially in European racing. I recall seeing him race in the final Formula 3000 season against future Formula 1 drivers Robert Doornbos, Patrick Freisacher and that year's champion Vitantonio Liuzzi. Lopez did impress, scoring in 7 of the 10 races that season including two podiums finishes at the majestic Monaco and ever-challenging Spa-Francorchamps. He finished the season in 6th place, and was signed to the DAMS team for the new GP2 Series in 2005. Another strong season in 2005 seen him finish 9th in the final standings, and he replaced Adam Carroll at Super Nova for 2006. His success in F3000/GP2 also led to few test outings with Renault F1, giving him some experience of an F1 car, but a disappointing campaign in GP2 followed, with only two podiums in 21 races, compared to Carroll's 3 wins the previous year, meant he finished down in 10th in the final standings. And that was where his GP2 career, and what looked like his hopes of an F1 drive, ended.