Spain Again - European Grand Prix Preview

The F1 break that went forever is finally over. I once again have a reason to live on Sunday other than shopping for fresh produce at the right price at the South Melbourne Market (located right near the Albert Park track by the way, try the Dim Sims).

For the second time this year, the Formula 1 circus heads to Spain although this time it's Valencia for the European Grand Prix.

Much has taken place during the break; most importantly the short-lived return of Michael Schumacher. I can't help but feel Michael's return would have made 2009 the mother of all F1 seasons. We've missed out on something special here and it's never coming back.... not ever. Michael's neck was apparently not up to it, due in most part to his unsuccessful foray into the world of superbikes. He spent more time on the asphalt than the bike. Enough said.

Nelson Piquet was finally ousted from Renault. Not a moment to soon in my book. Piquet was outdriven anytime and all the time by big brother Fernando. Bring on some healthy competition in the form of Romain Grosjean. It's just plain unhealthy to consistently beat your teammate like that. The self satisfied go no further and I can't help but wonder how much better Fern's driving could be with some healthy competition in Renault stable # 2.

Looking ahead to Spain, It will be interesting to see if Lewis can repeat his winning Hungarian performance. Valencia is a relatively slow circuit with tight, twisty parts and as such is similar to the Hungaroring. Given the enforced "tools down" holiday period, few updates are expected for the coming race, hence one could expect a similar order or success.

The Brawn team would've undertaken their fair share of mental visualisation in the break; no doubt praying that time away from the golf course will result in an improved showing. Tyres seem to be their key issue and warmer temperatures aren't playing into their hands as initially predicted.

The late charging Red Bull team are probably quietly confident about their chances. Mark's race could have been a lot better had he not made a bad middle stint tyre choice. Sebastian will be out for blood after another DNF which saw him lose a significant number of points to Mark. The big threat for Red Bull is once again the KERS cars which are now dominating starts and doing much better in races, in particular Ferrari and McLaren.

Ferrari has been the quiet achiever in all this. Kimi's 2nd in Hungary has likely encouraged the fiery Italians. Fill-in man Luca Badoer is at this stage, a mystery bag and only time will provide us with an understanding of his racing constitution.

In relation to the best of the rest, expect to see Fernando overachieving in an under performing car and Nico Rosberg trying to improve his racing CV in the hope of landing a gig at McLaren. I get the feeling Nico looks better than he is at the moment. Kazuki Nakajima is not a strong teammate and the Williams could be a better package than perceived. One thing's for sure, Lewis will make him look bad whatever team he's at!

My very safe prediction is that we'll see a couple of Red Bull's and a McLaren on the podium failing a messy start. Can't wait - enjoy the race!

130 is Webber's Lucky Number: 2009 German Grand Prix

Christian Horner: Well done Mark, you're a Formula 1 race
winner!

Mark Webber: Yeeeeehaaa!! Yes!
Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!Yes!

To the casual observer, Mark Webber's radio transmission with team principle Christian Horner may have sounded somewhat like an over sugared minor being told they were going to see the latest Crocodile Dundee.

If you've taken even a slight interest in Webber's career however, you'd appreciate the enormity of his latest result and the significant weight that's no doubt been lifted from his shoulders.
Webber's been on the F1 circuit for about 8 years now. Having started strongly with Paul Stoddart's Minardi team (at which time Australia thought they finally had a new F1 championship contender), all signs pointed to yes with his subsequent performance at Jaguar where he qualified a mid field car on the front row more than once.

Then came that ill-fated decision to join Williams, over Renault in 2005. Whilst Alonso went on to win two consecutive world championships, Webber suffered two years of unreliable cars, retirements and frustration, significantly devaluing his brand equity.

Although a positive move on face value, Webber's first two years at Red Bull again presented challenges. With a "sometimes quick" but mostly unreliable Newey designed car, his reputation was further salted as being strong over one lap but lacking in race craft.

Adding to this, Webber is not the easiest of drivers to throw your energy behind and support. No racing pedigree, from a far-away land down under with a small fan base and lacking the party boy pizazz that many f1 drivers are known and loved for, Webber attracts little of the hype peers such as Vettel, Rosberg, Alonso and Hamilton received from their respective medias.

Speak to Webber's colleagues however, and they'll tell you it's no fluke that after 8 years he's still in F1. Webber's dogged persistence, work ethic and "no bull" approach has won the respect of many peers and given him the right to continue in the sport.

Finally now, in 2009 at the Nurburgring, Webber broke his winless drought. In true Webber style, he battled tooth and nail. After an OK start, he survived his swipe at Barichello and love tap with Hamilton (payback for Fuji 07?) on the first corner to settle in P2.

Things were almost too good to be true blue as he sat behind a much lighter Barichello, poised to overtake him for the lead in the first round of stops.

Then, (as all his fans no doubt expected), Webber's luck ran short. Webber was issued with a drive through penalty for his swipe at Barichello, effectively ending his chances of winning.

Quick thinking from the Red Bull camp saw Webber follow Barichello into the pits to take his drive through penalty. Taking advantage of the lead he and Barichello developed, Webber emerged in relatively clean air whilst Barichello emerged behind Kovalainen and Massa. Webber then banked a number of impressive times to re-build his lead to 12 seconds prior to his first of his scheduled two stops.

Webber emerged relatively unscathed in p6 and as cars came in for their first stops, he once again found himself at the front of the field and the rest is history!

Vettel drove a solid race, gaining two positions to finish second, whilst an openly surprised and grateful Massa found himself on the podium for the first time this year.

Brawn had another average race, finishing in positions five and six. The cold temperatures once again did not suit their cars which ultimately compromised their ability to challenge.

For the second time this year, Barichello openly expressed dissatisfaction at how he's being treated by Brawn. One has to question his longevity with such immature and emotive outbursts.
Lewis Hamilton was also surprisingly quick. Had he not overcooked it into turn one which lead to contact with Webber and a puncture, he would have finished strongly.

The season is definitely heating up, as we head to Hungary, no doubt Brawn is hoping the temperature does too!

Bring on Hungary.

Stone Cold in the Stone - 2009 Silverstone Grand Prix Analysis

It's difficult to fathom that Jenson Button, having dominated the Turkish Grand Prix just two weeks prior, would have an incident free Silverstone Grand Prix and yet, finish a paltry sixth.

Red Bull's dominance started in Practice one and finished on the checkered flag with Vettel a convincing 1st, followed by Webber (+15 secs) and Barichello (+20 or so secs).

Vettel drove a faultless race which he was no doubt under pressure to deliver after mistakes in Turkey and Monaco cost him track positions and team points. That said, he not only won the race, but won pole and fastest lap.

Webber delivered his usual "under the radar" performance. After a P3 qualifying effort that was "good without being spectacular", he salvaged his race by passing Barichello during the first round of pit stops to take 2nd. It's imperative that Webber beats Vettel in both races and qualifying sooner rather than later in order to avoid catching 2nd driver disease which has taken the careers of other drivers such as Fisichella (renault) Coulthard (McLaren) and Barichello (Ferrari & Brawn)!

Was Red Bull's success but a mere blip on the Brawn radar, or is it a more permanent sign of things to come? Depends who you ask really!

Brawn is adament that their less than average showing was caused by the cold temperatures Silverstone presented to them. This prevented their tyres (an area Brawn has always had a problem with) from reaching adequate running temperatures. As the season progresses and the average race temperature increases, they are confident performance will return.

Red Bull on the other hand, is convinced that Vettel and Webber's outstanding 1-2 performance was the result of much hard work and Adrian Newey's continued development of the RB5. Christian Horner believes that Germany and beyond will see the Red Bulls far in front.

What is certain is that whilst Brawn and Red Bull will remain at the front of the field, more prestigous teams like Ferrari and McLaren will struggle for podiums!

Bring on the German Grand Prix!

Turkish Grand Prix Revelations

The 2009 Turkish Formula 1 Grand Prix was an incidentless (and crowdless) race. Even so, some significant conclusions could be drawn from its results.

1. Brawn GP still have the superior car
2. Jenson Button is Brawn GP's superior driver this year
3. Barichello has had more opportunities to win a championship than I've hot dinners and still he seems to be struggling!
4. The Red Bull's are strong, but not as strong as what Christian Horner made out.
5. Vettel's inexperience is starting to creep in. His lap 1 mistake in Turkey now means that out of seven races, mistakes have been made in three that have cost him points (spin in Malaysia and a crash in Monaco being the other two).
6. One could also start to paint a picture of Vettel's personality. One got the sense that he threw his toys down at the end of the race, having lost fair and square to his team-mate. In addition, light fuel loads in qualifying combined with him trying to get the fastest lap with a couple of laps to go point towards a man that feels the need to market himself heavily.
7. Mark Webber's experience (and perhaps some luck?) is showing in the results. Sensible fuel loads in qualifying may not give him pole position however have allowed him to take full advantage in the race. It seems that Webber and his crew have outstrategised Vettel thus far.
8. Toyota is back from the grave! Clearly short, twisty circuits such as Monaco do not suit the TF109.
9. Last year's title winner is this years potential wooden spooner. Who'd believe that Force India's entry was almost 15km quicker through turn 8 than Hamilton's McLaren?
10. Fillipe Massa's dream run in turkey (three wins in the past three years) came to an end.
11. Nico Rosberg finally turned some of that practice pace into a result for Williams.
12. Kimi's racing continues to reflect his personality...boring!
13. Piquet Jr was again out driven by Alonso. I'm guessing his wealthy, more successful father is paying for his seat!
14. Istanbul's days on the F1 circuit are numbered.

Silverstone in just under two weeks should be a more interesting race. It's the final time we'll see the F1 cars there as next year Donnington Park looks to be taking over.

Expect large crowds, showing up to see if Jenson Button can win on home soil. If it's wet, The Red Bull's will likely win given their superior wet weather handling.

Should things stay as they were in Turkey though, I dare say Jenson will be unstoppable!

Monaco Grand Prix - Webber's opportunity knocks

It's been many years since Mark Webber had his dream start to Formula 1 back in 2002 with Minardi.

Since that glorius moment when every Australian F1 fan thought things were looking up, we've had nothing but disappointments, including bad starts (2nd to last in Malaysia) 3rd degree burns (Japan 04), poor career decions (Williams over Renault 2005), bad team strategy (Monaco 05), unreliable cars (FW025, FW026, RB3, RB4), vomit in helmets (Japan), overzealous sister teams (Vettel in Japan 07), spins (Silverstone of P2 in 08),  electrical shortages due to tram tracks (Singapore) and of course those brokenbones (leg and collarbone) in the off season to name a few.

But now it seems, the stars may have aligned for our unlucky Aussie friend. Monaco 2009 may be Mark Webber's (who shares his surname with a carburettor) best opportunity to take home his first Formula 1 victory. Why so?

Webber has two podiums under his belt from four races hence his confidence is up. He has a high quality team mate in Vettel, whom he is fiercely competitive with and needs to beat in order to prove his critics wrong. Most importantly, Webber has a real fondness for the technically challenging street circuit that is Monaco, having both qualified well and scored reasonable points there over the past few years.

Also, should all go to plan, the RB5 will be at it's strongest point for the season thus far. There have been reports that the RB5 will finally be running the much discussed double decker diffuser which took longer to incorporate than on other cars due to Adrian Newey's innovative pull rod suspension design. The double-diffuser represents a significant performance gain which most teams implemented by Spain.

With all that said, based on his past track record I think it's best to keep my hopes and dreams under control and expect nothing from my fellow Aussie.

He's just as likely to be abducted by aliens, hit by an asteroid or eaten by a stray shark that wanders onto the Monaco circuit!