Psychological warfare: Hamilton and his third consecutive win in China

           

Hamilton serenely cruised to victory in total solitude.
Source: motorsport.com

Lewis Hamilton was in a class of his own as he strolled to victory in Shanghai, taking a third consecutive win for the first time in his Formula 1 career. The Mercedes driver was untouchable throughout the afternoon, building on a lightning getaway to establish a cavernous lead and saunter to his 25^th grand prix win. Team-mate and arch-rival Nico Rosberg recovered from a poor start to bring up the rear eighteen seconds adrift, whilst Ferrari wonder-boy Fernando Alonso managed to capitalise on his F14 T’s surprising pace to take a sensational third place finish.

            Hamilton’s afternoon looked effortless as he maintained the lead from start to finish, setting the second fastest lap of the race whilst simultaneously enjoying less tyre wear and better fuel consumption than anyone in the top five. Rosberg, on the other hand, endured a relatively torrid race and had to drive his heart out to catch his team-mate. The German had his work cut out from the start, as a loss of telemetry ruined his start procedure and saw him slide from fourth to sixth on the first lap. He despatched the Williams of Felipe Massa on lap 4 to take fifth, whilst an early pit-stop on lap 14 enabled him to undercut Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo for fourth place. Rosberg’s fresh tyres facilitated a clean pass on Ricciardo’s team-mate Sebastian Vettel on lap 22, which left the door open to hunt down second-placed Alonso, who had leapfrogged the quadruple world champion in the first pit stops. The Spaniard saw off Rosberg’s challenge by undercutting him at the final pit-stops to come back out in second. Nevertheless, the German proceeded to obliterate the five second gap to Alonso in as many laps, passing the latter on lap 42 to consolidate his position.

            Alonso finished third after staving off the threat from Ricciardo, who had secured fourth after he surged past Vettel on lap 23. Despite being on the same tyre strategy, Ricciardo had managed to close the nine-second gap to Vettel by the time Rosberg passed the latter on lap 22. Red Bull ordered Vettel to let the young Aussie past, but Vettel obstinately refused. Ricciardo brushed him aside in turn 1 all the same on lap 26, leaving him for dead and finishing twenty seconds ahead. Vettel managed to defend against Force India’s Nico Hulkenberg for the rest of the race, who had remained a looming threat since the team orders furore on lap 23. Williams’ Valterri Bottas took seventh close behind, with the Ferrari of Kimi Raikkonen, Hulkenberg’s team-mate Sergio Perez, and Toro Rosso’s Daniil Kvyat rounding off the final points positions.

            In terms of sheer drama, the Chinese GP failed to deliver on the same level as that brilliantly berserk race in Bahrain two weeks ago. Tyres were degrading with all too much ease, covering the track in a sea of rubber marbles and preventing a number of good overtaking opportunities up and down the field. To be sure, the fiery, gladiatorial intra-team battles the Formula 1 community relished in the Sakhir desert were snuffed out in the smog of Shanghai. This ostensibly underwhelming grand prix nevertheless strengthened the intra-team battle lines that materialised so spectacularly last time out; this wasn’t the case in the theatre of wheel-to-wheel racing, but it certainly was in the psychological battleground.

Where is Vettel heading this season?
Source: motorsport.com

            Nowhere was this more apparent than at Red Bull, where Ricciardo continued to rattle the cage of his illustrious team-mate. No one was sure how Ricciardo would deal with the branding of ‘Vettel’s team-mate’ when he graduated to Red Bull – especially in the wake of Mark Webber’s protracted relegation – but the figures thus far speak for themselves: Ricciardo has outqualified Vettel in three out of four races, whilst the Aussie ultimately held the upper hand in all the races bar Malaysia. As acknowledged by the quadruple world champion, Ricciardo has beaten him ‘fair and square’, in equal machinery with equal chances. That is emphatic in itself, but he undoubtedly dealt the biggest blow in Shanghai, where he was lapping 1-2 seconds quicker than Vettel in his first stint and 5 tenths to a second in his final two stints. What is crucial here is that they were both on identical strategies, which suggests that Ricciardo was ultimately the quicker man. He managed to enjoy a similar advantage on his second stint in Bahrain, but that was even more impressive, as he was on the slower medium tyre whilst Vettel was on a brand new set of softs.

            Unfortunately for him, Vettel cannot blame the car for failing to deliver; as he said himself, Ricciardo has identical machinery. The problem appears to lie in his driving style, which focuses on using a sliding rear end to facilitate faster direction change into slow corners. This style was perfect for the exhaust-blown diffusers that Red Bull mastered from late 2010 until last year, and explains how he was able to trounce Mark Webber, who used a relatively unfavourable style. Vettel’s style is not suited to his car this year, which lacks these diffusers and thus favours a smoother approach. Luckily for him, Ricciardo has nurtured this kind of style throughout his career, and has therefore slipped comfortably into the shoes so many thought he couldn’t fill. There is no doubt that Vettel is mightily quick – no one wins four world titles on the trot without an element of speed –, but his inability to adapt to a new set of rules and a team-mate capable of challenging him is holding him back – making him increasingly frustrated. He is his own worst enemy, and he cannot expect to challenge his team-mate until he changes his approach to the task in hand.

Nico Rosberg is increasingly struggling to compete with his impressive team-mate.
Source: motorsport.com

A similar situation is developing in the Mercedes camp. Yet another dominant victory by Hamilton cannot have failed to make an impression on Rosberg, and goes some way to suggesting that he cannot hold a candle to his faster team-mate. Admittedly, Rosberg was out of position by starting fourth, which could be explained by an incorrect dashboard read-out in qualifying causing him to push too hard and spin on his final flying lap. However, the brutal reality is that he has been outqualified three times this season, and has been annihilated in three out of four occasions on race day. What’s worse for him is that these defeats appear to be amid increasingly difficult circumstances. Indeed, in Bahrain he was quicker than Hamilton, but superlative driving skill saw the latter come out on top; in Malaysia, Hamilton was steaming out in front, and Rosberg couldn’t keep up; and in China, Hamilton stormed ahead in similar fashion, but Rosberg was out of position and unable to take the fight to him once he secured second. As far as Rosberg sees it, he is fighting a losing war, as his situation appears to be getting worse whilst Hamilton is running away with it unopposed. Of course, Rosberg still leads the championship, but that lead is being whittled away chunk by chunk by the imperious Hamilton, and evidence to suggest that he can do anything to refute him is becoming scantier race by race.

In an astonishingly good car and with the intellect to match, Rosberg will be fully aware that this year is likely to be his best chance at seizing the title. In an era defined by calculative thinking and smooth driving, he must think he stands a good chance, and rightly so. All the factors should be in his favour, but they aren’t – his circumstances appear to be getting worse. Conversely, Hamilton has never been stronger both physically and mentally, and is gaining the most out of every opportunity that comes his way. With the same car and the same opportunities at his disposal, such a dichotomy has clearly hit Rosberg hard and, like Vettel, is affecting his performance every race. He made his frustration clear on the podium in Bahrain, telling himself if not the world that he ‘strongly disliked coming second to Lewis’ and that he would ‘be back in China for the win’. The very fact that he didn’t will only help Hamilton further assert his mastery over him, in many more ways than one.

Coghlan's Questions: investigating the issues from Bahrain

                 After a couple of relatively underwhelming races in Australia and Malaysia, the Bahrain GP saw Formula 1 regain its mojo with one of the most exciting spectacles in recent seasons. To be sure, the thrilling performance given by Mercedes will secure the race a place in Formula 1 history as the spark that caused the Hamilton-Rosberg saga to explode onto the scene. It wasn’t all about the dynamic duo up front, however, as the outcome of equally enthralling battles further back permitted some teams to jump for joy, and gave others cause for concern…

A Force to be reckoned with?

Sergio Perez was magnificent, but was Nico Hulkenburg better?
Source: motorsport.com 

               The race in Sakhir will be particularly memorable for Force India, who secured their best ever

result with third and fifth place. As the race couldn’t have come at a better time for Formula 1, a podium couldn’t have arrived sooner for Sergio Perez, who has a big point to prove after his ejection from McLaren last season. The emphasis the track placed on having decent straight-line speed and supreme traction (as well as having the first dry qualifying session of the season) allowed the flying Mexican to finally fulfil his potential, qualifying an impressive fifth on the grid and thrashing team-mate Nico Hulkenberg’s slighty underwhelming twelfth placed effort. A stellar drive to the podium topped off a glorious weekend for Perez, and will undoubtedly give him the psychological boost he desperately needs in the wake of his disappointing performances in Melbourne and Sepang.

In all honesty, the podium place should have gone to Hulkenberg, as he was consistently quicker than Perez in both qualifying and the race. Had it not been for his mistake at turn 11 in Q2 and the ERS issues that plagued him in the closing stages of the race, he would have undoubtedly come out of this weekend the top dog. Indeed, the German’s pace was so great that he could undercut Perez at the first pitstop and leapfrog him to run in front. From eleventh on the grid, and on an identical strategy to Perez, that is no mean feat, and shows that Hulkenberg was definitely the quicker man on the day. Perez couldn't match this pace, and it was only his team-mate's botched attempt to overtake Williams’ Felipe Massa on lap 26 that allowed him to slip in front. Nevertheless, Perez managed to capitalise on that and defend against a quicker Hulkenberg all the way to the finish – much like Hamilton did with Rosberg. It was a supreme demonstration of driver skill, and shows that Perez is certainly a force to be reckoned with on his day.

Where’s Williams?

                After a season defined thus far by missed opportunities, Williams desperately need to get their act together. As was shown in qualifying, their car is genuinely fast, thanks to a sound aerodynamic package and that mighty Mercedes powertrain. In terms of raw pace in dry conditions, they have easily been the third fastest team in Formula 1 this season. Indeed, their fastest lap in both Australia and Bahrain was third only to those set by Mercedes and Red Bull. The Williams racers made a good enough start in Bahrain – Massa and Bottas maintained third and fifth place respectively until their first pit-stops –, but persistently bad tyre degradation meant that they both had to run a three-stop strategy, which allowed the tyre-friendly two-stopping Force Indias to leapfrog them in the middle stages of the race. Qualifying demonstrated that Williams were ultimately as fast as – if not slightly faster than –  Force India, but they failed to convert that speed into race pace. This was entirely avoidable, as the team completed a mere 65 laps over the practice sessions on Friday and Saturday, claiming that they had plenty of tyre data from the pre-season tests. Force India, on the other hand, completed 115, and were thus able to get a better understanding of the set-up required to maximise both pace and tyre management. Had Williams done this, we probably would have seen a Brazilian driver standing on the third step of the podium and a flying Finn holding off Daniel Ricciardo for fourth. Williams need to capitalise on their car’s ability at this stage, as it is unlikely that they will be able to maintain the level of development required to put a car on the podium throughout the season. If they don’t consolidate their position soon, not even their Mercedes powertrain will save them from an unceremonious slide down the pack.

Not bad for a number two driver?

Daniel Ricciardo looked like the top dog in Red Bull last weekend.
Source: motorsport.com

                Unlike the wasteful Williams, Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo made use of every opportunity he could get to gain a psychological edge on quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel. The manner in which Ricciardo walked over Vettel in this race was truly astonishing, and would have undoubtedly made Mark Webber squirm with delight. Despite starting three places behind Vettel, the young Australian took the challenge to him by calculating a superior tyre strategy. Starting on the soft compound tyres proved to be an inspired decision, as it allowed him to simply walk past his team-mate on lap 16 – not something traditionally seen in the Red Bull camp as fans of Webber will remember. What’s more, after his pit-stop on lap 35 Ricciardo managed to close the three second gap to Vettel by the time the safety car emerged on lap 41. That is mightily impressive, as Ricciardo was on a set of medium compund tyres, whilst Vettel was on a brand new pair of softs. Considering the fact that the softs were supposedly half a second faster than the harder mediums over a single lap, it is safe to say that Ricciardo was on fire. To add insult to injury, the Australian pulled a fantastic manoeuvre on lap 50 to snatch fifth from the Weltmeister, walked past Hulkenberg on lap 54 and proceeded to hunt down third-placed man Perez at a rate of a second per lap. All things considered, Ricciardo wiped the floor with Vettel on the Sakhir circuit, comprehensively beating the German throughout the weekend and giving a one-fingered salute to any notion of a number two philosophy. Without a doubt, his surge from thirteenth to fourth more than made his presence in the race - and the intra-Red Bull pecking order - felt.

Formula 1 is back: Mercedes and the resurgence of Formula 1 in Bahrain

The scrap between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg was the best seen in years.
Source: motorsport.com

Mercedes continued their scorching form in the Bahrain desert as Lewis Hamilton secured his second consecutive victory of the season, with team-mate Nico Rosberg finishing one place down close behind.  The pair were untouchable throughout the race, as both cars stormed off at the start and moved away from the field at the rate of a second per lap. The thrilling duel between the two culminated in a ten-lap dash to the finish, as an horrific accident between Lotus’ Pastor Maldonado and the Sauber of Esteban Gutierrez triggered a safety car on lap 40. After the race resumed on lap 47, second-placed Rosberg mercilessly challenged Hamilton for the lead, the former having the pace advantage on the faster soft-compound tyre. Hamilton managed to fend off the attacking Rosberg with a rigorous defence all the way to the end, as the Silver Arrows came home to secure the team’s second 1-2 finish of the season.

            The race yielded its fair share of excitement further down the field as well, with a frantic contest for third place being settled in favour of Force India’s Sergio Perez. Using an inspired two-stop strategy, the Mexican managed to challenge for the top five throughout the race, and was in third when the safety car emerged. On a similar strategy, team-mate Nico Hulkenburg was running fourth at this point, and took the fight to Perez for the final podium spot once racing resumed. ERS issues ended the German’s challenge on lap 54, as Red Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo overtook him and proceeded to hunt down Perez. Despite being half a second a lap quicker, Ricciardo couldn’t quite catch the former McLaren driver, finishing a mere four tenths behind to secure fourth and his first points for Red Bull. Hulkenburg managed to limp home in fifth, having held off a train of close running cars including Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull, the Williams drivers Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas, and the Ferraris of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, who took the final points positions.

            Despite yielding action which rendered the viewer helpless in knowing where to look, it was hard to ignore how starkly the race highlighted Ferrari’s woeful lack of performance. It was not so much missed opportunities that characterised the Scuderia’s weekend in Bahrain as missing speed. As evinced by their 9^th and 10^th places, the number 14 and 7 F14Ts were absolutely nowhere. Unfortunately for the team, the cars’ problems look fairly serious, as they seem to extend from the one area they cannot change: the powertrain. The problems with the powertrain couldn’t be any worse, as they appear to be both low on top-end power and high on fuel consumption. With the best will in the world, that is a fairly awful combination, especially on a track that demands consistent high-end speed with its numerous long straights. What’s more, the car appears to suffer from a worrying lack of traction, which is a result of the huge amount of torque these engines produce. Whilst other teams have been able to control this torque by regulating turbo lag, Ferrari haven’t, which means the drivers have to be extremely careful coming out of low-speed corners. These problems thus rendered Alonso and Raikkonen powerless to challenge teams with the Mercedes engine (the number of times a Force India overtook one of the red cars on the run into turn one more than testified to that). All Ferrari could do was focus on their one strong point – reliability – and try to combat the woeful lack of fuel efficiency by simply cruising to the finish line. No wonder Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo criticised Formula 1 for resembling ‘taxi driving’.

            Unfortunately for di Montezemolo, there was no sign of ‘taxi driving’ at all in the Mercedes camp. Hamilton and Rosberg were battling it out in a league of their own at the front of the pack, going at it hammer and tongs in the early stages and vying for the lead from the get-go. After the first round of pit-stops they had no need to worry about the cars behind, as their relentless charge off the line enabled them to build a gap of 25 seconds to third place in as many laps. Fuel consumption was of no concern, either, as the Silver Arrows were 10% more efficient than any other car in the field. With this kind of superiority in mind, Mercedes could have simply called an end to the race after the safety car period and ordered the drivers to cruise to the end. Indeed, Paddy Lowe’s call to ‘bring the cars home’ suggests that they did. As it turned out, they most certainly didn’t. If anything, the drivers were unleashed in the last ten laps and allowed to see what they could really do. They didn’t disappoint, as Hamilton weathered attack after attack from his German counterpart, both drivers drawing upon their deepest reserves of skill and determination to gain the one-up on the other whilst respecting their professional limits. Perhaps most impressive of all, in spite of all this incessant struggling, both their W05s were two seconds a lap faster than any other car.

             Such a performance gap has historically been the reserve of names such as Schumacher and Vettel – names associated with monotonous dominance and a drought of juicy intra-team duels. Unlike the previous approaches taken by Ferrari and Red Bull, however, Mercedes have pandered to the fans of the sport, striving to show that such dominance can be exciting if you allow your drivers to battle off the leash. The seat-of-your-pants excitement engendered by the titanic – but professional – duel between Hamilton and Rosberg did more than enough to testify to that. Mercedes obviously knew the risks, and were brave to have taken them, but they felt they owed it to the sport to provide something special in an all-too-underwhelming era thus far. Mercedes look like heroes, and are undoubtedly the kings of Formula 1 in more ways than one.

In my humble opinion, it would not be too contentious to say that the ten-lap thrash in the closing stages of the grand prix produced some of the best wheel-to-wheel racing seen in recent memory, if not the sport’s history. Yes, it suggested that Mercedes’ have gained the most out of these new rules, and yes, we may be in for the long haul as they usher in another era of dominance, but the amount of eye-watering action it delivered confirms Formula 1 as the ultimate champion in this new era – and long may it continue.

A new era of dominance? Hamilton and his imperious win in Malaysia

Source: motorsport.com

Lewis Hamilton produced a commanding drive to win the Malaysian GP, continuing Mercedes’ stellar start to the 2014 season. The Briton capitalised on his pole position, taking the lead into the first corner and controlling the race from lights to flag. Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg struggled to keep up and finished second seventeen seconds later, whilst Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel maintained the pressure on Rosberg throughout the race to secure the final podium step. Hamilton placed his stamp on victory in the early stages of the race, building up a lead of four seconds by lap 3 and going from there to maintain a steady pace and a comfortable gap to the field. Rosberg made the jump on Vettel at the start to run second, but struggled with excessive rear tyre wear in the first two stints. Vettel kept the limping Rosberg within reach until his second stop on lap 31, from which point the Mercedes driver managed to increase the gap a further 1.7 seconds by lap 37 to secure second place. Ferrari ace Fernando Alonso drove a typically collected race to snatch fourth from Red Bull rookie Daniel Ricciardo, who was running in that position before a calamitous pit-stop on lap 40 allowed the close-running Spaniard to breeze past. Ricciardo’s run of bad luck continued as his front wing failed on lap 43, before being given a ten second stop-and-go penalty for the previous pit-stop disaster and retiring five laps later. The ever-impressive Nico Hulkenburg drove a solid race for Force India, using a bold two-stop strategy to challenge Alonso for fourth place until he was passed by the fresh-tyred Ferrari on lap 53, ultimately settling for fifth.

Despite yielding a number of impressive performances from a number of unexpected places, the Malaysian GP was far from a classic. Low on drama and incident, and even lower on overtaking at the very front of the field, the race merely seemed to confirm what we had all been suspecting anyway: Mercedes are the dominant force in this new era, and no one is even close to touching them. By the end of Friday practice at the Australian GP, after the cars had run with both high and low fuel loads, McLaren’s Jenson Button believed that the Mercedes Silver Arrow had an advantage of a second a lap over the rest of the field on race pace. Thus far, it must be said that the events of this season have done little to suggest that such an assertion was wrong; Mercedes were able to maintain a gap of that magnitude over Red Bull and Ferrari throughout the races in Melbourne and Sepang, even extending it to a second and a half in the closing stages of the latter.

Of course, one can draw too many conclusions from two races at the outset of the season, but the consistency Mercedes exhibited on these vastly different tracks indicates that they have an ominously well-rounded package. Indeed, the long, high-speed areas of Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit could not contrast more with the downforce-heavy turns in Sepang, but Hamilton’s W05 was still able to win by a significant margin, set the fastest lap by one and a half seconds to the next non-Mercedes, and use the least fuel of any car in the top ten. This suggests that the Mercedes is not only brilliant aerodynamically, but also that it is able to produce much more power per unit of fuel than any of its competitors, which is ultimately the crucial measure of performance under Formula 1’s new efficiency-focused rules. Nailing this combination at such an early stage of the season is hugely important for Mercedes, as it will ensure that their package can rise to the different challenges posed by the broad spectrum of tracks for the foreseeable future.

Red Bull and Ferrari, on the other hand, appear to be in a somewhat less stable boat. While they both have good performance in the sort of high-speed corners characteristic of Sepang, their powertrains are uncompetitive compared to those in Rosberg and Hamilton’s Silver Arrows, lacking the fuel efficiency and therefore the horsepower to overawe the Mercedes’ raw speed. The emphasis on downforce in Sepang helped Red Bull and Ferrari negate Mercedes’ power advantage to a certain extent, but they will not be able to mount an effective title challenge based upon such contingent factors. Indeed, the repeated low-speed acceleration zones of the next track in Bahrain will probably not suit them as well as the extended high speed corners of Malaysia, so a slump back down the field is almost inevitable.

As we have seen countless times in recent years, however, Red Bull and Ferrari have been the kings of the long-term development race, so it would be foolish to question their ability to bounce back so early, especially in such a revolutionary era. Indeed, if Red Bull’s dramatic improvement between the woes of pre-season testing and a couple of podiums is anything to go by, there is every possibility that Mercedes will not remain unchallenged for very long. For the sake of everyone who values a bit of variety, we better hope there is.

The dawn of a new era: 2014's rule changes and the Jerez test

Source: motorsport.com

Following a series of desperately uncompetitive seasons, it is apparent that Formula 1 is stuck in the middle of a very deep rut. Since the last round of significant regulation changes back in 2009 the sport has witnessed the remarkable ascendancy of Red Bull, who have managed to win eight of the last ten championship titles. In theory, it sounds great – who wouldn’t want to watch the plucky underdogs take on the mighty names of Ferrari and McLaren and give them a bloody nose? Indeed it was great – for about two seasons. Unfortunately for the fans, Red Bull managed to build on the fantastic form they found in 2009 and use it to maintain a form of dominance that has made results in recent years all-too-familiar. This element of incessant predictability has resonated strongly with the sport’s global audience, which has gradually decreased in number since the 2010 season; 2013 alone saw viewing figures drop by a staggering 50 million, which is almost a 10% decline on those from 2011.

As a result of this, many see 2014’s dramatic regulation changes as an opportunity to spice things up a bit and resurrect the excitement of years gone by. Undoubtedly the area that has been most affected going into the new era are the engines, which have been given a drastic overhaul as the sport carries on its relentless pursuit to embrace environmentally-friendly technology. As a result of the sport’s eco-centric goals, the engines have become somewhat less ‘meaty’: the unit itself is a 1.6 litre V6 turbo, which is limited to 15,000 RPM and produces a measly 600bhp. In light of the outgoing V8 monsters these changes are not exactly welcome, and one might be forgiven for thinking that Formula 1 cars are beginning to resemble glorified GP2 cars. However, these engines do have several feathers in their caps, including the addition of the so-called ‘Energy Recovery System’ or ERS, which combines the familiar KERS system with an additional electric motor which is attached to the turbo. Along with the energy gathered by KERS, ERS benefits from the additional motor’s ability to convert thermal energy produced by the turbo into electric energy. This energy is harnessed by batteries and can be deployed by the engine management computer to produce an extra 160bhp for 33 seconds per lap, which is a dramatic increase over the KERS system used in previous years.

The most noticeable changes are those concerning the chassis, which have resulted in fairly odd looking cars across the board. The area of highest contention is undoubtedly the nose, which has been lowered significantly in an attempt to reduce the chance of a car being launched into the air in the event of it hitting the rear wheels of the one in front. Coupled with a complicated set of dimensional requirements and the teams’ desires to maximise airflow under the chassis, this has meant that several of this year’s challengers feature pretty unorthodox designs, some of which resemble anything from anteaters to vacuum cleaners. There are a number of other changes to the chassis as well, including a narrower front wing and the removal of the lower beam rear wing. Both of these changes mean that the airflow around and over the car is significantly less fluid than in the last few seasons, which means that overall downforce will be reduced. The exhaust system has had a bit of a makeover as well, with the dual-pipe layout being succeeded by a single, central one which sits directly above the gearbox. The effect of this has been to eliminate the so-called ‘exhaust-blown floors’, which used exhaust gases in order to boost downforce to great effect.

Taken as a whole, these changes are certain to offer one thing: unpredictability. Not only will the cars be very difficult to drive thanks to the unsavoury combination of increased torque and reduced downforce, but also hideously unreliable; indeed, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner suspected that failure rates could reach as high as 50% of the entire grid in the early stages of the season. If you are the sort of fan who misses the exciting spectacle provided by the notoriously uncontrollable cars of the ‘80s, this news will be of some comfort; there is no doubt that Formula 1 cars of recent years have been rather conservative in their design, so the reintroduction of turbocharged engines and limited downforce will hopefully revive some of the excitement of an era where the emphasis was on the skill of the driver and poor reliability meant that everything was to play for.

Source: motorsport.com

If the first pre-season test at Jerez is anything to go by, it looks like these hopes may be justified. When the cars were actually running, you could see them consistently power-sliding out of corners, scrabbling for virtually non-existent grip at every turn. The drivers were incessantly complaining about how they were much harder to drive than their 2013 forerunners, but I see this as a positive – an opportunity to sort the men from the boys come race day in Melbourne. Then there is the reliability: the teams knew that it would be a significant issue at this very early stage of proceedings, but I’m not entirely sure they were expecting just how unreliable the new powertrains would be. The complexity of the new technology means that a number of teams have struggled with a number of issues relating to consistent ERS functionality, and have consequently experienced some desperately limited running. Nowhere has this been more prevalent than at Red Bull, which managed to rack up a grand total of 20 laps over the 4 days of testing when their car wasn’t confined to the garage. One could blame the RB10’s ERS overheating issues on Adrian Newey’s constant drive to package his cars as tightly as possible to ensure the best possible aerodynamics, but these issues have reared their head at a number of other teams, namely Caterham and Toro Rosso. The fundamental problem is with the Renault power unit, whose construction means that ERS issues are effectively inherent in the design and therefore cannot be rectified without some significant changes. Mercedes, McLaren and Ferrari on the other hand experienced no such issues, all three teams racking up an extremely healthy number of laps without a single blip; indeed, Nico Rosberg was able to put in a full race distance on the last day and come back to the pits under his own power.

At this moment in time it is difficult to discern who is on top in terms in raw pace, but that seems to be of relatively little concern for most of the paddock; there is no doubt that the usual suspects at the top of the grid have produced quick cars, but it’ll be for nothing if they can’t get them going. With that in mind, it looks like reliability will be one of the most decisive factors in progress of this year’s championship, and will undoubtedly rekindle some of the fire lost in previous years – and about time too.

Battle of the Broadcasters: Sky Sports F1 vs BBC F1

Source: motorsport.com

2009 was a good year for British Formula 1 fans; not only did it see the ascendance of yet another British driver to the illustrious hall of champions, but it also marked the end of an era dominated by ITV’s somewhat underwhelming coverage of the sport.  Following the conclusion of a five-year deal the BBC obtained exclusive rights to broadcast Formula 1, which proved immensely satisfying for those of us who preferred watching races to adverts for car insurance. The team spearheaded by Jake Humphrey and co. proceeded to move far beyond the standards set by ITV, introducing a perfect blend of professionalism and banter that captivated the viewing audience and redefined their expectations of how the sport should be covered. However, thanks to an unwelcome licence fee freeze and ensuing cost-cutting campaign, the BBC was forced to share broadcast rights with Sky, which promised to dedicate an entire channel to covering the sport with a commitment never before seen on UK television. And so, since the beginning of 2012 fans in the UK have been able to choose between two very different ways of experiencing Formula 1. But, the question is: which one delivers the experience best?

The viewing experience

Part of the reason that the BBC secured exclusive rights to broadcast Formula 1 in 2009 was that it had a number of innovative ideas intended to liven up coverage and expand the sport’s UK fan base; indeed, in its first year it introduced the idea of broadcasting live video coverage of F1 on the internet, and also made use of interactive TV by offering an onboard camera view, the post-race ‘Forum’ and rolling highlights on its ‘Red Button’ facility. Since then the level of coverage that they offer has gone off into space, introducing neat services like the brilliant ‘Driver Tracker’ (which offers viewers the opportunity to follow the progress of every single driver in real-time), multiple on-board cameras and even a pit-lane feed. What’s more, the BBC made their coverage of the 2013 F1 season available on their new BBC Sport smartphone app, bringing together its live and on-demand video coverage along with news, features and stats. All this is extremely impressive for a free-to-view service, and demonstrates the BBC’s willingness to use modern technology in ways that ITV never endeavoured to explore.

However, all this technological magnificence seems to pale in comparison to the host of features offered by the Sky Sports F1 channel. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sky Sports F1 offers everything that the BBC does and more; its ‘Sky Race Control’ interactive service, for instance, not only has a cool name and even more feeds than the BBC’s, but is also available on multiple platforms, which means you can experience the thrill of an on-board camera on your tablet, PC and Mac. However, the most impressive feature of Sky’s coverage by a country mile is the quality of its television feed. As tedious as the endless promotions of “incredible 5.1 audio” and “stunning high definition” are to listen to, they do make a superb double act and combine to make sitting down on your sofa more of an event than it should be. Indeed, if Sky goes ahead with its proposals to broadcast Formula 1 in 3-D it almost won’t be worth going to see the races live. As unfailingly excellent as the BBC’s services are, they cannot match Sky’s for innovation and the level of sensational experience they provide.

Sky 1, BBC 0

The presentation

In my view the current line-up of pundits at the BBC works extremely well, as each one is able to offer the viewer a very different perspective of events; with ex-driver David Coulthard, former team owner Eddie Jordan and his brilliant technical director Gary Anderson, the team can provide detailed and role-specific analysis of any development that comes their way, which ultimately results in thoroughly colourful and diverse analysis. Ben Edwards’ commentary style is highly effective, combining sharp observations with a level of excitement that makes watching a bunch of cars going round a track a fantastically entertaining experience, even if you can’t always make out exactly what he’s saying. Star mention has to go to lead presenter Suzi Perry, who has successfully managed to fill and outgrow the fairly substantial shoes left by Jake Humphrey. Thanks to her vast experience in the world of motorsport presentation, Perry is able to deliver a level of technical insight that seemed to be beyond her otherwise brilliant predecessor, but couched in the same sort of light-hearted, jocular manner that made the BBC’s coverage such a big hit in the first place. However, she is let down at times by her slightly nervous disposition, which has a noticeable effect on her interviews in particular. It is a great shame, as it means that she often can’t use her brilliant knowledge of the sport to full effect.

Source: motorsport.com

Sky’s presenters are a highly professional bunch and combine to deliver some very slick coverage. Leading the team is former rugby union presenter Simon Lazenby, who has managed to ease relatively comfortably into the world of Formula 1 after two seasons presenting the sport. Despite being prone to the odd controversial clanger (Monaco 2012 springs immediately to mind), he seems to be far more confident and composed than Perry, which helps to offset his limited technical knowledge. Expert pundits Damon Hill and Johnny Herbert more than make up for this, however, as they are always on hand to chip in with coherent explanations and insightful analysis when Lazenby’s reserves run dry. Where Sky’s analysis really excels is in its use of the ‘Skypad’ facility, which provides a highly digestible breakdown of all the most complex and exciting parts of the on-track action. In the hands of another expert analyst in the form of Anthony Davidson, the Skypad adds a significant amount of value to post-race discussion and gives the viewer a much clearer understanding of the race’s most important developments. Whilst the BBC’s post-race analysis is brilliant, I feel that it could do with something like this to help direct the pundits, as they are often left with only a couple of ten-second replays and expected to cover all the bases. This is a problem that they need to address, as it means that Sky is nudging ahead in post-race analysis.

The race commentary is an area where Sky is not ahead at the moment. That’s not to say that the combination of David Croft and Martin Brundle is bad by any means, but it’s fairly disappointing if you want the race to sound exciting. In comparison with the brilliantly-berserk commentary provided by the BBC it feels pretty flat, and doesn’t contain the sort of chummy banter needed to engage anyone who isn’t a Formula 1 bore. This highlights a wider problem with Sky’s presenting team as a whole: they’re a bit boring. Nowhere is this more apparent than in their extensive 90-minute build-up, in which they attempt to replicate the sort of fun-filled adventures characteristic of the BBC’s coverage. This would be fine if the presenters could provide the sort of entertainment engendered by the tremendous trio of Perry, Jordan and Coulthard, but they can’t. The problem is that there is no tangible chemistry between them all, which makes any attempt on their part to make the programme entertaining slightly awkward to watch. This wooden working relationship puts Sky’s presentation on the back foot, and helps to make the BBC’s format look far more appealing.

Sky 1, BBC 1

The verdict

It’s quite clear that the UK’s Formula 1 broadcasters offer viewers very different ways of experiencing the sport. Sky is fantastic for the viewer who wants to indulge in a Formula 1 experience that combines technological innovation and extensive analysis, and will therefore appeal most to the hardcore race fan. The BBC on the other hand seems to cover all the bases, combining technology, expertise and light-hearted entertainment to create a package that appeals to a wide variety of people. The reception that this approach received back in 2009 demonstrated what a dramatic improvement over ITV it was, and provided Sky with the formula for success. Whilst Sky may have nailed its tech and analysis, it has failed to incorporate this with the all-important entertainment factor, which continues to make the BBC such a big hit with the fans. As a result, I believe that the BBC is still the king of the hill.

BBC wins

Battle of the Brains: the scrap for Formula 1's top tech personnel

                                                                                                                                                       Source: motorsport.com

If the past five seasons in Formula One have taught us anything, it’s that major rule changes afford immense opportunity. The briefest of glances at the most recent front covers of Autocourse would provide more than enough evidence to confirm this, seeing as they have been dominated entirely by the portrait of one man and his Red Bull racer for the past four years.

One cannot help but marvel at the enormity of Red Bull Racing’s 
achievement, making the jump from innocuous also-rans in 2008 to genuine championship contenders by the middle of the 2009 with their star driver Sebastian Vettel. Seeing as F1 experienced one of the most comprehensive rule changes in its history at the beginning of that season, it does not take a genius to work out the reason for the team’s miraculous turnaround. However, it did take a genius to take maximum advantage of these new regulations: Red Bull’s acquisition of technical guru Adrian Newey marked the beginning of a new era for the team, allowing them to reproduce the level of dominance achieved by the immensely strong combination of Ross Brawn, Michael Schumacher and Ferrari in the early noughties.

The story of Red Bull Racing’s rise to prominence is nothing short of astounding. Naturally, such an awesome story has had a profound effect on the rest of the paddock, causing the demand for engineering demi-gods like Newey—the main driving force behind the success of Williams in the early-to-mid nineties and McLaren in the late nineties—to reach stratospheric levels. Formula 1 is becoming increasingly technical, no doubt about it, but this scramble for intellectual superiority has been escalating for a while now; even in this period of relative stability (technically speaking), the pursuit of the sport’s finest minds has never been more fierce. Rather unsurprisingly, the teams’ preparations for next year’s wholesale regulation changes have been dominated by a monumental scrap for technical personnel. In terms of complexity and chaos, the only thing I can think of that comes anywhere close is the final stage of the Premier League’s transfer window.

Amid the abounding chaos, it can be deduced that, despite their recent poor form, Ferrari are looking fairly handy for a strong campaign in 2014. Not only have the Maranello outfit managed to secure the services of the highly-rated engineer James Allison and expert aerodynamicist Dirk de Beer, both moving across from Lotus, they are also planning to put their wind tunnel back into service later this year following a sizeable upgrade. By employing Allison as chassis technical director and de Beer as chief aero man, Ferrari have given director of engineering Pat Fry the freedom to concentrate more on what matters the most next year: the powertrain. As acknowledged by many engineers up and down the paddock, fuel economy and engine performance will be two of the most influential factors in determining the outcome of next year’s championship. Let’s not forget also that Allison and de Beer, both highly rated in their respective fields, are certain to push for intensive chassis development throughout the season. All in all then, it looks like Ferrari have managed to lock off a solid development department all round for next year.

                                                                                         Source: motorsport.com

If one was to look at the calibre of the top brass running Mercedes, one might think that their future looks rosy; after all, having Ross Brawn, Paddy Lowe, Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda under one roof can hardly be detrimental, can it?  If you think about the precarious battle over leadership of the team however, it actually can. Brawn appears to be at the centre of a power struggle that has engulfed the Mercedes management, with his role as team principal next year hanging in the balance. The man himself seems determined to hold onto his position, emphasising the need for a senior reference at the very top and adopting a keep-me-or-ditch-me philosophy. To add to the threat posed by Brawn’s ultimatum, Austrian heavyweights Lauda and Wolff have clashed over Paddy Lowe’s role within the team, the former acting as Brawn’s champion with the latter wanting Lowe to be groomed as Brawn’s successor. There is no doubt that Brawn’s departure would detriment Mercedes’ pursuit for championship glory, especially as Honda, who are set to return as engine suppliers to McLaren in 2015, are thought to be lusting after the Englishman’s services. That said, Mercedes are looking strong for 2014, the team having developed its 2014 challenger from a very early stage. Furthermore, Mercedes is rumoured to have developed an engine that is produces up to 100 horsepower more than either Renault or Ferrari’s offerings.

If Ferrari and Mercedes look fairly handy for a successful 2014 campaign, Lotus look comparatively vulnerable. The Enstone-based team have undoubtedly lost out the most in the fight for personnel, having lost Allison, de Beer, and of course their lead driver Kimi Raikkonen to Ferrari. They may be on the verge of securing a bigger budget for next year as a result of an investment deal with the Abu Dhabi-based consortium Quantum Motorsports, but the loss of key members of their engineering staff will undoubtedly affect their 2014 campaign. Red Bull hardly look infallible either, particularly as they are set to lose expert aerodynamicist Peter Prodromou to McLaren in 2015. They will still have Newey overseeing the design of next year’s RB10, but the rule changes for next year focus primarily on the powertrain—an area over which Newey has relatively little control. As Renault’s most prolific customers, Red Bull will be able to influence the new turbocharged V6 units’ development to a degree, but it is ultimately up to Renault themselves to deliver a competitive package in the face of stiff competition from Ferrari and Mercedes.

So, in the face of F1′s next technical era, the tables seem to have turned; Red Bull has inspired its competitors and they looked to have armed themselves well for the coming revolution. Red Bull seized the opportunity to steal a march on its rivals back in 2009, but there’s every chance a rival team could do likewise next year.