Baffled by Inconsistency

Jarno Trulli during the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Trulli is reportedly in talks with Toyota to re-sign for next year, with the rumour being that Kimi turned down a drive for the team. Trulli has also been complaining about the inconsistency of the tyres this year.

Credit: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

14-Jul-09: Piquet’s Future the Next Called into Doubt

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Today is the 14th July 2009 and this is F1 Minute.

After the news that Bourdais will most likely be leaving Toro Rosso by the time we get to the next race, the attention has now turned to Nelson Piquet. Flavio Briatore hasn’t helped matters by neither confirming nor denying whether Piquet would be in the second car in Hungary. However, Piquet seems to think he will be there, as he says he’s been promised the same car as Alonso.

Elsewhere, the 2010 season is losing races by the minute, as the German Grand Prix could be a no go. Hockenheim officials have already confirmed they are struggling to find the funds to host the event, and today the Nurburgring has said they wouldn’t want to hold the race every year, rather they prefer the alternate years deal that they currently have. However, the managing director of the circuit did say the only way it could happen was if Bernie reduced the fee and quote: “I cannot imagine that he is willing to accept my wish.” Me neither.

That’s it for now, please join me tomorrow for another F1 Minute.

12-Jul-09: Red Bull Take 1-2 With Webber’s First Win

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 12th July 2009.

Webber did it. He managed to convert his pole position into his maiden win, despite being handed a drive through penalty after a first lap incident. Hamilton and Barrichello both made excellent starts, diving up towards the front, and Webber managed to bash into them both, before conceding the lead to the Brawn car. Hamilton suffered a puncture, ran wide, had to pit, and then settled in at the back of the pack.

Webber’s penalty didn’t put him off, he continued to push, and Barrichello suffered at the hands of a rogue fuel rig which meant his strategy was slightly off. Webber retook the lead, with teammate Vettel falling into place behind him, and Massa managed to sneak into third and take the final step on the podium. Button also managed to get ahead of his teammate, which left a frustrated Barrichello in sixth place.

After the race, he told the media that he didn’t want to talk to the team, he did everything he needed to do, and they let him down.

That’s all for today, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

A Quiet Word

Jenson Button puts an arm around teammate Rubens Barrichello following a frustrating German Grand Prix. Barrichello told the media he didn’t want to talk to the team about what had happened, but Ross Brawn seemed understanding that tempers were flared and they would be able to smooth things over.

Credit: Brawn GP

Men of the Moment

Mark Webber talks to Ari Vatanen in the Red Bull Motorhome on Saturday. Vatanen publically announced his intention to stand against Max Mosley for the FIA Presidency this October, whilst Webber scored his first ever F1 podium, with a reasonably strong fuel load to boot.

Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Revised Behind

Lewis Hamilton during Friday Free Practice at the Nurburgring. Hamilton benefitted from plenty of upgrades including a new diffuser, with parts flying out until the very last minute. Kovalainen did not get the new parts and the difference between the two cars was striking.

Credit: www.mclaren.com

Force India – Facts – German GP

This weekend the German GP finally returns to the venue that many folk consider its spiritual home for the first time since 1985, creating a new chapter in a history that stretches right back to 1927.

Of course, the Nurburgring itself has not actually been missing from the F1 calendar for that long, because since 1995 the track has used either the European GP or Luxembourg GP names. But now the German GP title is officially back.
The weekend is also a special one for Force India because under its previous name of Spyker the team actually led the last race held at the Nurburgring back in 2007, so the place has a lot of good memories.

The original Nurburgring track was over 14 miles long, and it hosted the German GP from 1927 to 1976. Regarded as the most challenging track on the schedule, it saw some classic encounters, and the wins by Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957 and Jackie Stewart in 1968 are regarded as among the greatest in history.

The track was also extremely dangerous, and as cars became faster in the seventies, that was ever more apparent. Properly marshalling a track of that length was a major problem, and it was the accident suffered by Niki Lauda in 1976 that finally forced Grand Prix racing to move to the rival Hockenheim venue.

However the Nurburgring authorities were determined to win the race back, and eventually they built a shorter and safer track alongside the old one. It hosted a European GP at the end 1984, and in 1985 it was granted the German GP. But that proved to be a one-off, and for after that the race returned to Hockenheim.

It wasn’t until 1995 that the Nurburgring returned to the World Championship calendar as the host of the European GP. Largely thanks to the interest generated by Michael Schumacher, Germany was able to sustain two races a year.

The circuit remained on the schedule – including two appearances under the Luxembourg GP name – until 2007. That was the first year of an agreement that – with Michael now retired – means that there is now just one race in Germany. There was no event at the Nurburgring last year as it was Hockenheim’s turn, but this year F1 returns. And for the first time since 1985, the German GP name is in use once again at the Eifel track.

The title may change, but one thing has stayed the same down the years – the weather! The European GP was held as early as April and as late as October, so poor conditions were expected, and that often led to some dramatic races.

However even a July date in 2007 didn’t make much difference, and as the cars left the grid we had a shower of monsoon proportions. It helped to set up a fascinating race, and thanks to a brilliant piece of strategy that saw him pit for wet tyres at the end of the formation lap, Spyker rookie Markus Winkelhock moved into the lead as others either crashed or stopped for tyres. Unfortunately for both him and the team the race was then suspended because of the conditions. Winkelhock started from pole when the action got underway again, but on a drying track, he soon slipped down the order.

Equally frustrating for the team in its Jordan days was the 1999 event, when Heinz-Harald Frentzen led only to retire after failing to follow the usual procedure and press a button on the steering wheel as he left the pits, which led to his engine cutting. At the time the German was in contention for the World Championship. Ironically another driver who could have won that same race was none other than Giancarlo Fisichella, who spun his Benetton while leading in the wet. Ten years on, he’s hoping for better luck!

This is of course also a big weekend for Adrian Sutil, since Germany is his home event. In fact it was when making his F1 debut while running as a third driver in Friday testing at the ‘Ring back in 2006 that Adrian showed the world that he had real potential.

Silverstone demonstrated that the VJM02 has made good progress with its latest package of updates – let’s hope that both drivers have a chance to make their mark this weekend.

08-Jul-09: FOTA Walk Out of FIA Meeting in Germany

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Welcome to F1 Minute for the 8th July 2009.

Here we go again. FOTA, the FIA, and the five non-FOTA teams gathered today at the Nurburgring to discuss the technical regulations of the sport for next year and onwards. It did not go well.

The FIA’s side: “The eight FOTA teams were invited to attend the meeting to discuss their further proposals for 2010. Unfortunately no discussion was possible because FOTA walked out of the meeting.”

FOTA’s take on things: “During the course of this meeting, the team managers were informed by Mr Charlie Whiting of the FIA that, contrary to previous agreements, the eight FOTA teams are not currently entered into the 2010 FIA Formula One World Championship and have no voting rights in relation to the technical and sporting regulations thereof.”

The FIA confirmed that there was progress in terms of the regulations but at this point, the future of Formula 1 becomes an unknown once again.

That’s it for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with another F1 Minute.

Bridgestone Motorsport German Grand Prix Preview

Bridgestone returns to the circuit of Nurburgring after a year’s absence where the medium and super soft compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres will be used for the German Grand Prix on July 10-12.

Last year’s race in Germany took place at Hockenheim, so this will be an interesting return to the venue which provided a very exciting wet weather race in 2007. The medium and super soft allocation is the same as used earlier this season in Australia, China and Bahrain.

This is a location which has good historical importance for Bridgestone. The first major European race win on Bridgestone tyres occurred here on the Nordschleife circuit in April 1981, when Thierry Boutsen crossed the line first in his BMW-powered March 812 in the Formula 2 championship.

Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, said:
“Germany is a good market for Bridgestone and one where we experience high levels of brand awareness. Our participation in Formula One has played a big part in building this brand awareness and we always have strong support in the home country of so many major motor manufacturers. We are always happy to return to a venue which has rich history for us in the early days of Bridgestone’s motorsport participation.”

Q&A with Hirohide Hamashima – Bridgestone Director of Motorsport Tyre Development

What are the challenges of the Nurburging?
“The Nurburgring circuit features an interesting mixture of very fast, medium fast and slow corners, so finding the correct set-up compromise is a challenge for competitors. Our tyre allocation of the medium and super soft Bridgestones should mean exciting racing. Sectors one and three are more demanding on tyre grip, traction and braking performance than in the middle sector, and it is an exciting undulating circuit. The first corner, which has a variety of racing lines, and the chicane provide good overtaking opportunities. Braking balance is also important here and care has to be taken not to lock-up and flatspot the tyres when slowing.”

Are there particular weather considerations?
“Last time we visited this circuit there was a very exciting wet weather race. The location of the Nurburgring, in the Eifel region of Germany, does often present unpredictable weather. The time of year should mean quite hot weather, but we have previously seen quite cool temperatures there, even in the summer. When we look back on Bridgestone’s history at the Nurburgring, we’ve even seen snow on a DTM race weekend in April, so we never know quite what to expect!”

Stats & Facts
Number & Spec of tyres brought to Nurburgring 1800 (Medium & super soft dry. Intermediate/wets)
Pole position time 2007: 1min 31.450secs (Raikkonen)
Fastest race lap 2007: 1min 32.853secs (Massa)
Top three 2007: Alonso, Massa, Webber

The Not So Long and Winding Road

Juan Pablo Montoya steers the Williams FW26 around the winding Nurburgring during the European Grand Prix in 2004. The circuit returns to glory as the host of the German GP this year, with five German drivers hoping to impress the home crowd.

Credit: BMW AG

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