F1 Hungary 2011

Vettel's qualifying form returned and netted poll position but for once that did not convert into a race win. Changeable weather on race day played into the hands of Button who has demonstrated his skills under those conditions in previous races. All-in-all, it was very entertaining race with a combination of wheel-to-wheel action and complex strategy.

Light rain forced everyone to start on the intermediate wet tires. Even so, the track conditions were treacherous and everyone struggled with a lack of grip and traction in the first few laps, with numerous drivers having incidents. Surprisingly, despite the high number of underwear-changing moments, the drivers all managed to recover and continue, in a very impressive display of car control. I was amazed that there was no obvious contact in the first lap given the difficult conditions.

Despite the tricky conditions, drivers eventually found the confidence to start attacking for positions. Hamilton and Vettel had a great fight for the lead until lap five when Hamilton finally got the better of Vettel. It was clear that Redbull was struggling and that they were not going to have it their own way this time.

The first shake up was the decision to switch to dry tires. In a surprising move, a few drivers switched to the soft prime tire while most went onto the faster super-soft option tire. The former strategy, if it worked, would eliminate one tire stop. The diverging strategies made the race completely unpredictable at that point. Ultimately, the prime tire was the right strategy which enabled Button to earn another win.

But before that happened, it started to rain again which caused the second shake up. A few drivers, Hamilton and Webber among them, switched back to the intermediate tires. This was a costly mistake as the rain stopped almost immediately, forcing those drivers back into the pits after only a couple of laps. It was this decision that cost Hamilton a chance for the win. The drive-through penalty for forcing di Resta off the road, relegated Hamilton to a third place finish, which was actually still respectable all things considered.

It was clear that McLaren made significant improvements to the car which were able to deliver back-to-back wins. Redbull were definitely struggling as the upgrades they brought to Hungary were reverted to the previous configuration. Since the work required getting the FIA to waive the "6 hour rest rule", which a team can only request a limited number of times per season, tells us it was a major mechanical upgrade. And it did not work. Not good. Not good at all.

Whether this marks a turn in the fortunes of Redbull, frankly, I doubt it. At this point only DNFs could affect the outcome of the championship: Vettel for the drivers'; both he and Webber for the constructors'. I just don't see that happening. But I hope I am wrong. ^_^

And finally, we had a Renault catch fire and explode in a most spectacular manner. What ever the team is doing around their fancy exhaust system, it has caused two fires this season, although the first did not produce such fireworks. If it happens again, I suspect the FIA will be taking a closer look.

F1 Germany 2011

It was yet another great race that was completely unpredictable until the last few laps. Are we becoming spoiled by all this great action? ^_^

It started with an incredible qualifying lap from Webber which put him on poll ahead of Hamilton, but converting poll into a win remains a problem for Webber.

For the first time this season Vettel was not on the front row, which was big surprise. He was unable find a good set up, but both Redbull's struggled on race day, with Webber and Vettel only finishing third and fourth respectively. Vettel also made his first unforced error of the season when he drifted onto the damp grass and spun. Vettel had an uncharacteristically bad weekend.

Hamilton truly earned the win with terrific manoeuvres on Webber and Alonso, and some great heads up strategy by the team. It was expected that the medium compound prime tire would be very slow. McLaren were the first to notice that the cars on a two stop strategy were going very well on the prime tire. The team switched Hamilton onto the primes long before the other the front runners.

It was the kind of race where you had to get everything just right: car setup, start, strategy, pit stops, and a great drive. Miss one and victory was impossible. Note I did not mention poll position. ^_^

McLaren and Ferrari definitely had the upper hand in the race but once again it was difficult to draw conclusions. Was it the unusually cool temperatures that hurt Redbull more than the others? Or was it due to actual McLaren and Ferrari improvements. Neither team admitted to bring any major upgrades, but then they never reveal everything. We won't know for sure how much they have improved until we have a race with ideal conditions.

Alonso pointed out in the post race interviews that, if Vettel keeps finishing fourth or higher, he has the drivers' championship in the bag. It will take the combined efforts of Webber and both drivers from Ferrari and McLaren, to all finish ahead of Vettel in order to starve him of points. Of course, implicit in Alonso's comment was that he would be the winner in every case. Never let it be said that F1 drivers are not motivated by self interest. ^_^

F1 Britain 2011

I keep thinking F1 can't get any better this season, but it continues to prove me wrong. Silverstone delivered some brilliant racing in the changing conditions.

The first few laps were tricky on a half wet and half dry track. After it dried enough for slicks, things got very interesting. Passing (and there was lots of it!) required venturing off the safe, dry racing line. Several drivers attempted some supremely brave overtakes. Sometimes it was pure poetry; sometimes it was a smash up derby. All this action culminated in a classic final lap, with Webber chasing Vettel for second place, and Hamilton banging wheels with Massa over fourth place, right into the last corner. It was fantastic, absolutely incredible! ^_^

But F1 would not be F1 without some controversy.

Although team orders are legal now, it is still an ugly subject. I have no problem with Redbull instructing Webber to maintain position, as that is their perogative as a team. However, I feel a driver has the right to ignore the orders, just as Webber did, because the driver also has a responsibility to himself to maximize his championship points whenever possible. If drivers are totally subservient to team orders, what is the point of the drivers' championship? Why not just return to the pre-F1 days when there was only a constructors' trophy?

What really bugs me is that, with such a healthy points lead, Redbull could comfortably have let Vettel and Webber race each other. If they crash, they crash. That's racing.

The bigger controversy was the driver-off-throttle-but-computer-on-throttle-blown-diffuser. @_@ Never mind. I'll just call it the thingamajig. It's all about hot exhaust gases (and almost as stinky as other tail pipe emissions).

Typically, the FIA changes the rules after the end of a season. For some reason, they decided to ban thingamajigs mid-season this time. It was a huge mistake. The technical issues are very complex because of how different engine manufacturers use the drive-by-wire throttle. Although the thingamajig was banned for this race, I am still not sure about the rest of the season.

So what effect did the ban have on track? McLaren depended heavily on the thingamajig and appeared to suffer a huge loss of performance in qualifying, but their race pace was much better. Result: inconclusive.

Ferrari do not use the thingamajig and appeared to benefit (they won), but maybe it was their upgrades that made the difference. Result: inconclusive.

Redbull also depended on the thingamjig and should have lost performance, but they still locked out the front row in qualifying, and still finished second and third, which was more the result of bad pit stops than anything else. Result: inconclusive.

So, it seems that all the fuss over hot exhaust gases produced... nothing, except more hot air. I love Formula 1! ^_^

F1 Europe 2011

The Valencia track has never produced exciting racing and this one was no exception. During the early stages of the race, Vettel, Webber, Alonso were close to each other, which offered tantalizing possibilities of good racing to come, but that never materialized. There was some action lower down the field but nothing at the sharp end of the racing order. Thanks to the Pirelli tires, DRS, and Kers, the race was better than previous years but it was not a barn burner by any stretch.

In fact, it was very much a return to regularly scheduled programming as Vettel and Redbull dominated both qualifying and race day. Vettel's win looked quite serene. Second place was like a win for Ferrari who were reasonably competitive but were still not capable of challenging Redbull for a win. Webber had a good race, but lost the chance for a second place finish when he changed to the prime tire too early, and then had to nurse an ailing gearbox to the finish. Mclaren was way off the pace and were quite disappointing with Hamilton and Button finishing fourth and sixth respectively.

The next few races are critical for Ferrari and McLaren if they have any hope of challenging Redbull this season. Both teams must deliver upgrades that will enable their drivers to race for wins, because second or worse is not going to be enough any more. The season is not lost yet but the point where conceding this season and focusing on next year's car is not far away.

I am still hopeful that Webber can challenge Vettel but it depends on Webber getting a better feel for the Pirelli tires. Webber has acknowleged that this is one reason he has been out performed by Vettel this season, even though they are driving identical cars.

The bottom line is someone needs to start chipping away Vettel's points lead. And soon.

F1 Canada 2011

It is a testament to the talent in Formula 1 that, even after a deathly dull two hour rain delay, it still produced what was easily the most exciting race of the season to date.

Button's win was a thing of beauty. He had been through the pit lane six times for five stops stops and one penalty. One of those stops put him in last place. His speed in the last few laps, on a drying track, was just stunning.

Button is known to be a very precise driver which enabled him to avoid the damp patches and go faster and faster each lap. He pushed Vettel very hard until the latter went off the racing line and almost spun. It's the first time this season Vettel has actually been pressured into making a mistake.

Granted, it was a small one. Vettel still finished second. He and Redbull still have a commanding lead in the points. However, it reminds us that there are better drivers than Vettel. What the other drivers lack is a car that can compete with the Redbull under normal conditions. Lets not kid ourselves: the rain definitely played a part in the outcome this time.

If Ferrari or McLaren can get ahead in the development race, Vettel and Redbull's lead in the points will not last long.

F1 Monaco 2011

Without exception, the drivers enjoy Monaco because it is such a dangerous and difficult circuit, which requires precision to achieve a good lap time. Mistakes, even small ones, are punished with a quick trip to the scene of the accident.

Both McLaren and Redbull had made huge errors in the race. When Glock retired with a suspension failure, McLaren somehow misunderstood where he had stopped on track and assumed that it was a safety car situation. It was not, but McLaren immediately brought in Button, which cost him the race lead and the chance for an easier win. Button fought back into second place but still needed a third stop to satisfy the "use both tire compounds rule". Button rejoined in third place and demonstrated the benefit of fresh tires as he rapidly caught Alonso. It was some impressive driving.

Due a miscommunication, the Redbull mechanics mounted hard prime tires instead of soft option tires on Vettel's car in his first stop. Since the tire compound rule was satisfied, Redbull boldly switched to a one stop strategy, but it would require Vettel to eke out 61 laps from the prime tire which was only expected to last 45 laps! This set up a fantastic three way fight for the win between Vettel on old tires, Alonso on slightly fresher tires, and Button with the newest tires.

The race's final major incident, involving Alguersuari and Petrov, red flagged the race which allowed everyone to change tires under the suspended conditions. The equal tires nullified Button's advantage and deprived us of an epic finish.

Hamilton had a torrid weekend. When Perez crashed in the third qualifying session, it was red flagged while the track crew reposition the barrier he had displaced. At this point Hamilton had not set a competitive time yet. When the session restarted, he managed to qualify seventh, only to have the time deleted because he cut the chicane. Using his Q2 time, he qualified ninth.

Hamilton's frustration showed on Sunday as he barged around the track, incurring two penalties for causing avoidable accidents. The saddest one involved Maldonado, who was having an excellent race and looked set to score good points for Williams.

Barrichello scored Williams' first points of the season which demonstrates how a good driver can carry a car around this track, and why the drivers love the circuit so much. I doubt that the Williams improved that much since the previous race.

Tires, KERS, and DRS all contributed in some way to more passing than is usually seen in Monaco, a notoriously difficult track on which to pass. And yet the passing still required obvious skill and daring. The new rules worked very well in Monaco.

F1 Spain 2011

So Vettel won again but Hamilton mounted a credible challenge in the closing stages of the race. Both were on equally worn tires, but relative car performance and pit stops were very important. The Redbull still has KERS problems but it has more grip in the high speed corners, which allowed Vettel to open the gap to Hamilton, effectively negating his KERS and DRS advantage. The McLaren is better on a lighter fuel load which enabled Hamilton close in on Vettel in the slower corners. It was a classic see-saw battle where neither driver could afford a single mistake.

Qualifying is no longer as dramatic as it was in recent years. The nature of the Pirelli tires means that teams are saving new sets for the race by running as few qualifying laps as possible. DRS creates more opportunities for passing which diminishes the need for a good grid position. Consequently, it has become common for the leading teams such as Redbull and Mclaren to set a fast time early in each qualifying session and then only go out again if it is absolutely necessary. For the last couple of races, the poll sitter was out of his car long before the final session was over. I doubt they will be doing this in Monaco, though, where grid position is still important as passing is all but impossible.

I'm still hoping Webber can challenge Vettel but it's looking more difficult with each passing race as Vettel is driving superbly. Webber is third in the standings which is not too bad, until you realize he has a little over half the points that Vettel has. Webber is qualifying better than he did earlier in the season, but I wonder if he should be focusing on race strategy instead of getting poll position.

It is sad but the once mighty Williams team is looking like they will be the first be beaten by one of the new teams, probably Lotus. Williams is the only established team to have scored no points so far this year, a status they share with Lotus, Virgin, and Hispania. I wonder how much longer Williams can survive as team.

The DRS zone was poorly positioned again, but this time it rendered the system completely ineffective so we got very little passing using DRS. The activation line was positioned about a quarter of the way down the main straight. Unfortunately, the entry to the straight is a high speed corner which allowed the leading car to pull away as the following car struggled for grip in the dirty air behind the leading car. The DRS enabled the following car to close in again but not enough to make the pass. This seems like an obvious problem so I wonder how the race officials actually decide where to place the DRS zone. It seems a little haphazard to me.

F1 Turkey 2011

Wow! Considering I almost didn't get to see the race, it was worth the wait. With the exception of Vettel, who basically led the race from start to finish, there was great wheel-to-wheel (and wheel-banging) action all the way down the field. For the second race in a row, Webber demonstrated great race craft by passing Alonso when it counted. Most memorable pass was Button going around the outside of Rosberg in turn fourteen, which is not the usual tactic in that corner. Unfortunately Button opted for a three stop strategy which did not work well for him.

Ferrari made a noticable step forward which allowed Alonso to get the team's first podium of the season. MacLaren seemed to a have slipped back a little which is not good news as Redbull had a few major improvements. The development race is just beginning in earnest now, so nobody can afford to slip back too much.

Kobayashi continues to impress after starting dead last in twenty third and finishing tenth. Not as big a jump as Webber in China, but Kobayashi was driving a Sauber, not a Redbull! Kobayashi is rapidly becoming my favourite of the new drivers. Watching him make a passing manoeuvre is pure delight. His driving style suits the new regulation this year which makes passing an important skill again.

The DRS zone in this race was not well placed which made the passing much too easy. The FIA is still learning where the DRS zone should be placed so it's hard to be too critical, but I wish they would consult the drivers more on the DRS location. Curiously, due the nature of the circuit, there was as much passing happening outside the DRS zone, so perhaps not having one should be a option.

The burning question is who will be the next driver to beat Vettel? Driving an identical car, Webber has the best chance but Vettel qualified 0.4s faster than Webber. He will need to dig deep to find that much more speed within himself. Or try a radical strategy. But the other drivers can try that too, so it is not as good as driving faster.

F1 China 2011

What a thrilling race! Hamilton became the first driver of the season to beat Vettel. Even Webber seemed relieved. ^_^ But the best part was Hamilton did it as a true racer would want to, by passing people on track, including his team mate. However, while Hamilton's win was brilliant, Webber's drive was absolutely stunning. Starting eighteenth after a shocking qualifying session, and yet still finishing third was a fantastic achievement.

Tires and strategy created one of the most unpredictable dry races ever. Look at Hamilton. He started third but was in second before the first corner. He led the race briefly until his first stop, after which I actually lost track of him! After his third stop, he popped up in fifth position again! And yet, he still won the race, even after moving up and down the running order like a yo-yo.

The difference was that Hamilton's tires were a few laps newer than the cars ahead of him after his third stop. Webber had a similar advantage at the end of the race and was over two seconds per lap faster than the front runners. The drivers on a three stop strategy were basically mugging those who did two stops. The conventional wisdom was that the fewer stops, the better. Whether this was a peculiarity of this circuit or a new trend, is anybody's guess.

Even though Webber had a great finish, he had a torrid weekend. His problems started when his KERS started smoking during the Saturday morning practice. The team scrambled to find the problem, but could not fix it before qualifying. Then the team over estimated the car's performance on the harder prime tire, which left Webber unable to graduate from session three. Thankfully, even an ailing Redbull is much faster than either Lotus, Virgin, or Hispania, which avoided the embarrassment of being out qualified by them.

So who had the best car in China? Despite Hamilton's impressive win for McLaren, there is little doubt that the Rebull is still faster. On equal tires, Hamilton's job would have been much more difficult. Look at it this way: which team had two drivers on the podium? Which team had a car start eighteenth and finish third?

On the other hand, what this race clearly demonstrated is that, this year, having the best car is not the only way to win a race. Strategy can make up the difference.

F1 Malaysia 2011

Well, we are still looking for someone to beat Vettel who took both the pole and the win again. Hamilton looked like a contender when he missed pole by only 0.1s after he made small mistake on his qualifying lap. Unfortunately, while his pace was good in the early part of the race, he was not able to maintain it throughout the race. However, McLaren have clearly drawn closer to the Redbull, which is encouraging.

Redbull's weakness is KERS which completely failed on Webber's car, and had to be disabled during the race on Vettel's. Without KERS, Webber was a sitting duck on the start where he lost six places and on the long straights the lack of KERS boost was very obvious. Redbull still has an overall performance advantage which is what enabled Vettel to score the win, but Mclaren is improving quickly so Redbull's advantage may not last long. They need to get KERS sorted out soon, like by next week end! Lack of reliable KERS will hurt in China, as the Shanghai circuit has the longest straight in F1.

Despite the loss of of KERS on his Redbull, Webber drove an excellent race and recovered from the poor start to finish a respectable fourth. With a few more laps and fresher tires he might even have passed Heidfeld for third. While it was only a modest success, he was clearly miffed in the post race interviews, instead of focusing on the fact that he scored the most points that he could have given the condition of his car. It's an important skill and it's a shame that he brushed it aside to easily.

Renault had the most incredible start, with both Heidfeld and Petrov hurtling through the pack from sixth and eighth respectively. With a longer run to turn one, it's entirely possible one of them could have taken the lead, which would have been very entertaining. It was actually one of the cleanest starts when consider how tightly packed everyone was through the first few corner ones. One the other hand, Petrov's exit from the race on lap 52 was spectacular (and a little scary).

Unlike Australia where tire wear was not very high, in Malaysia we got to see the true impact of Pirelli's high-wear tires. Each set of tires only has an around 15 laps of useful life before the performance "falls off a cliff", so there were lots of pit stops and strategy was very important. Of all the changes introduced this year, there is no doubt that the tires are going have the greatest effect on the racing.

This is good because it makes the racing less predictable. The bad side is the high number of the pit stops also makes it a little harder to follow the race. Martin Brundle mentioned that there is talk of adding the tire compound that a car is using to the timing feed. This is actually useful information now as it might explain relative performance differences a little bit better.

Does DRS work? Absolutely! It created many more passing opportunities than we usually see in a race. What most of the nay sayers don't seem to realize is that DRS only creates the opportunity for a pass. Getting along side is one thing, but actually make the pass stick is a totally different matter that depends on many more factors, such as driver's skill, aerodynamics, and tires.

DRS is new, though, and some teams are having problems getting to work right, which means that the benefits are not evenly distributed yet. There is also a loop hole. If a car passes another between the DRS available and enable lines, the passing car still gets to use the DRS, which allows it to pull away easier. This is unfair and hopefully will be disallowed later.

After only two races, I'm going go out on a limb and predict that this season will be better than the 2010 season was.

F1 Australia 2011

I'll start with the bad news. The Redbull is still the best car and Vettel is still the fastest driver. He grabbed poll position almost .8s faster than Hamilton's McLaren. He did it without KERS on a less than perfect qualifying lap. And he won the race. Talk about total domination!

The good news is that both McLaren and Ferrari were competitive so as long as both can develop their cars fast enough, there's a good chance Redbull won't have it all their own way. McLaren was a surprise as their performance in winter testing was horrid. Having Hamilton take second place on the grid and then finish second in the race was a remarkable turn around.

Ferrari's qualifying performance was poor but they had very good speed in the race, as demonstrated by the great fight between Massa and Button. Ferrari would have had a podium finish but for Alonso's poor start, which compromised his entire race. You can't win a race in the first corner, but you can lose it.

Petrov and Renault were very impressive. Pretrov qualified sixth, drove a faultless race, and finished in a well deserved third place, his first F1 podium in only his second season. Renault may not be as fast as Ferrari or McLaren (there was no opportunity to compare on track), but Renault is close enough that they will definitely be snatching podium places if either McLaren or Ferrari slip up.

Button blew his chance for a podium finish when he did not immediately concede the place he had gained by cutting the corner. If he had conceded the position back to Massa, Button would not have been given the drive through penalty, which cost him many more than two positions. It was suprising that both the McLaren team and Button would make such a basic tactical error.

Webber had a disappointing weekend. He only qualified third and had much higher tire wear than Vettel, which wrecked any chance of a podium finish. I hope they get this sorted out by the next race as Webber is the only one who can keep up with Vettel, being in equal equipment. Pirelli was asked to produce a tire with a high were rate, and they succeeded brilliantly.

The rookie Perez was impressive, originally finishing seventh, but was later disqualified along with team mate Kobayashi, when the Suaber's rear wing was found to be illegal. It's a shame as it casts doubt on their true performance, but they'll get another chance to prove themselves soon enough.

It's hard to tell if DRS is effective as turn one is not the best passing opportunity on the Melbourne circuit. DRS did enable two passes which may not have been possible with out it. More importantly, DRS did not gift the passes and the driver's skill was still very much required. It would be nice if the the organizers asked the drivers where the DRS would be most effective. Drivers? There are drivers in F1?

F1 2011

Cancelling the Bahrain Grand Prix was the right, and only, thing to do. It shows that common sense can still prevail over powerful business interests. Still, the decision took much longer than it should have, so I was worried that the big business of F1 would somehow take priority. You never know. Dumber things have happened.

The F1 season will start at the traditional opening venue in Melbourne which is as it should be.