McLaren's Problems Are Finally Catching Up To Them

At the end of last years formula one season you could be forgiven for thinking that McLaren had gotten off a little light, after being caught spying on Ferrari. However, now that the '08 season is in full swing, we are starting to see the side effects of the hefty fine and developmental restrictions that McLaren received.

So far Mclaren have only managed one win to Ferraris three so far this year and have at times, looked much slower then their bitter rivals. Infact, BMW have often qualified a driver higher then one of the McLaren boys. This lack of pace is almost certainly the result of the punishments received at the hands of the FIA last year.

The question is, can McLaren get back on track and give Lewis Hamilton a chance at the world title?
I think not. I can only see Ferrari getting better as the season goes on and so long as Kimi doesn't relax too much (as he is prone to do) I think this years title is already sewn up.

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Hamilton Must Learn To Chill

Nobody's perfect I guess. And whilst Lewis Hamilton comes pretty damn close to the perfect race driver sometimes, he does have a flaw. That flaw is trying to do too much when the chips are down.

Yesterdays 13th place finish in the Bahrain Grand Prix lost Hamtilton the lead in the world championship and despite the claims of foul play from the ITV crew, the problems were all of Hamiltons making. And it started when he failed to secure pole position in qualifying.

I don't know whether Lewis was too fired up or too tense, but something happened somewhere that resulted in him having the worst start of all the drivers on the grid. He dropped back several places and could see his race going up in smoke. So he pushed it hard, too hard and ended up driving into the back of old rival Alonso, so desperate was he to get past him and redeem himself.

Once the front wing was broken the race really was over for Lewis. The fact that he managed 13th is a credit to his driving skills but praise alone will not win him the world title. He has to learn that sometimes, squeezing out a points finish when things aren't going your way is far better then blowing it all in a haze of frustration. Whether Hamilton can learn to control this side of his temperament could be the deciding factor in whether he becomes a world champion or not.

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How Does Two More Parades A Year Sound?

Yesterday the team boses for Formula One agreed to an extension of the race calender to include two more races - bringing the season up to 20.

I can't get enough of F1, it's always there for me after the Superbowl and the Six nations have passed by and I need my sporting fix, but I'm not sure that more races are what the doctor ordered right now.

It's not that I don't want to see more Formula-1, it's just that I think this is a decision that is largely based around generating money, much like many other recent decisions. Would it not be better for the FIA and the team boss's to work on how to improve races and make the sport more competitive, rather then give us two more pointless parades a year?

At the moment, with most races being decided during the last three minutes of qualifying on a Saturday, I feel that the focus should be shifted away from the almighty buck. It's not like the sport doesn't make 100's of millions of dollars already, why not spend some of that money to improve the spectacle?

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Formula One is Back!

Phew, the start of February through to mid March can be a bit of a slog, what with only the Six nations to get us through, but Formula-1 returned to our screens this weekend and was action packed to say the least.

Only six cars out of the twenty two that started, finished the race yesterday (Rubens Barichello would have been the seventh but was disqualified). Which kind reminds us why traction control was on the cars in the first place.

It's all very well to demand a more driver orientated F1, but the truth is that these cars are ridiculously fast and Humans just can't keep pace mentally. I mean, two of the guys who scored championship points in this race, didn't actually finish!

Perhaps this was all down to first race nerves in slippery cars, but if the next race in Malaysia has three safety cars and fifteen retirements, the FIA may have to look at back tracking on traction control.

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Formula-1 Teams/Drivers List 2008

The 2008 Formula 1 season gets underway this weekend and will feature races from all over the world. Here is the list of teams and drivers for this year:

Team 1 - Ferrari
#1 Kimi Raikkonen FIN(aka 'Robotkonen')
#2 Felipe Massa BRA

Team 2 - BMW Sauber
#3 Nick Heidfeld GER
#4 Robert Kubica POL

Team 3 - Renault
#5 Fernando Alonso SPA
#6 Nelsinho Piquet BRA(aka Nelson Piquet Junior)

Team 4 - Williams
#7 Nico Rosberg GER
#8 Kazuki Nakajima JPN

Team 5 - Red Bull
#9 David Coulthard GBR
#10 Mark Webber AUS

Team 6 - Toyota
#11 Jarno Trulli ITA
#12 Timo Glock GER

Team 7 - Torro Rosso
#14 Sebastien Bourdais FRA(There is no #13 car)
#15 Sebastian Vettel GER

Team 8 - Honda
#16 Jensen Button GBR
#17 Rubens Barrichello BRA

Team 9 - Super Aguri
#18 Takuma Sato JPN
#19 Anthony Davidson GBR

Team 10 - Force India
#20 Adrian Sutil GER
#21 Giancarlo Fisichella ITA

Team 11 - McLaren*
#22 Lewis Hamilton GBR
#23 Heikki Kovalainen FIN

*McLaren start as the bottom team this year as they were stripped of all constructors championship points due to the spying scandal.

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McLaren (Finally) Admit To Spying On Ferrari

There's something unsatisfying about an admission after the fact. Instead of a genuine apology, it comes across more like a plea of self-pity - 'I'm so sorry I got caught'.

Yesterday McLaren admitted on it's website that
"It has become clear that Ferrari information was more widely disseminated within McLaren than was previously communicated," - translation: 'We lied about how many people had access to the stolen info and about who was using it. And for what.'

"McLaren has written to the WMSC to apologise that it has taken an FIA investigation to find this information and have expressed our deep regret that our understanding of the facts was improved as a result of the FIA inspection rather than our own investigations." - translation: 'We're very sorry you caught us cheating'

The worst thing about this tardy confession is that it came via McLaren's website. If you're going to make a weasel apology, at-least have the sack to do it in person for Pete's sake.

McLaren will now have to overhall many of their new design features for next years car as they were based on the stolen information. This could be bad news for Lewis Hamilton, as design changes this late in the game may affect the cars' performance next season.

[BBC Sport]

This Spy Business Just Will Not Die. And That's a Good Thing BTW.

After last weeks horrendous miscarriage of justice court decision, Ferrari were told that they would not have a right to appeal. Thankfully though, they appear to have found a loophole.

Because only the McLaren team were allowed to present their case, Ferrari have claimed that they have not had a chance to present all of their own evidence. Which is fair enough really, I mean, nobody likes to be kicked out of a room where others are talking about them do they? As a result the court of appeals has now agreed to review the case along with Ferrari and any other teams input.

This is potentially catastrophic for McLaren as the previous court statement said (in plain English) 'If McLaren are found to have gained any advantage from this spying in the future, then they will be banned from the World Championship'. That statement was carefully constructed to not sound like McLaren were being let off scott-free for spying on their main rivals, but the FIA were not planning on the case reaching appeal.

Now the precedent has been set and if Ferrari can prove that McLaren did indeed, gain an advantage from having 780 pages of secret technical data (can we say: 'No Brainer'?) then the court will be forced to ban the McLaren team (which includes rookie Lewis Hamilton) from this years World Title race.

[BBC Sport]

Ferrari Are Not Thrilled About Being Spied On.

Understandably, Ferrari are feeling a tiny bit outraged at the complete lack of punishment the McLaren team received for spying on them.

"We are reflecting on what to do after the incomprehensible and grave decision made in Paris," 

...was the head of Ferrari, Jean Todt's comment after McLaren were let off scott-free. And he's right too; It's a bit like a kid who steals exam results and then claims that his grade is valid because he didn't 'use the information to his advantage'.  Just to clarify, McLaren were found guilty of spying but were not given any punishment because 'There was no evidence that the stolen information was used to gain an advantage'.

"It's difficult to understand that one who is deemed to be guilty goes unpunished," 

And this isn't some small over-blown incident either, McLaren's chief designer was caught with a 780 page dossier of Ferrari's technical information. I am a little less stunned then Ferrari about the lack of punishment here, as Formula-1 has regularly shown a bias against the Ferrari team. The biggest issue here though, is that it sets a dangerous precedent for other sports.  What the court has essentially said is that the act of espionage itself, is not a crime in the sporting world.

It would be fair to say that this is one of the worst judgements in sporting history and it is not going to go away quickly.

[BBC Sport]

Ranking the Formula-1 Drivers

Ranking Formula-1 drivers is not an easy thing to do whether it be pre, mid or close season. The fact is that the cars play a major role in how good a driver looks and in order to rank them, you have to look at how they compare to others in their particular bracket of car strength.

And then you have to bite the bullet and admit that those two assbags that you hate (including that robot who drives for your team, ragnamit) are actually competing for top five spots in your list.

So that's what I did and, for good or for ill, here's my rankings:

#1 - Kimi Raikkonen (Robotkonen) - Yes he's a humourless, personalityless drone but the truth is that when Kimi drives at 100% (and he rarely does) he is the best driver in Formula-1 today.

#2 Lewis Hamilton - Lewis is without a doubt the most difficult man to place. Since F1 has returned to Europe, Hamilton's lack of experience has shown, but but but... this kid is a rookie who made the podium in all of his first nine races and that just doesn't happen in Formula-1. He has constantly bitch-slapped his team-mate, who just happens to be the reigning World Champion and, although it's unlikely, he may just win the whole damn thing this year. Where the heck else can you place him?

Read more »

Hey, Maybe Alonso Doesn't Hate Hamilton's Guts. (yeah sure...)

So, Alonso wins the European Grand Prix in style whilst Hamilton is relegated back to 9th place and zero points. You can read my full report here, but before you do, check out this new Mercedes ad below. It plays on the media frenzy around Alonso and Hamiltons' supposedly strained relationship. And it's brilliant.

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C0I7Ef4gQI"]

For those of you not in the know, the guy at the end is former McLaren Formula-1 World Champion, Mika Hakkinen.

'The Legend That Was Almost Marcus Winkelhock' - EC

Hamilton Hits Barrier at 150mph During Qualifying Session

Lewis Hamilton is shaken but not stirred after a wheel failure saw him hit the barrier at 150mph. After the crash Hamilton had trouble getting out of the car and was eventually taken to the medical centre by ambulance.

The reports are good, no obvious physical injury or loss of conciousness but it is still undecided whether he can race tomorrow or not. On Thursday over on Epic Carnival that Lewios would not win any of the five remaining European based Grand Prix's but I didn't think this would be the reason. The wheel failure was caused by a 'Right wheel gun' malfunction which meant that the wheel was never properly attached in the pit lane. It was fortunate for Alonso that Hamilton went out on track first, as his wheel was also fitted with the same and gun and on checking, the McLaren mechanics found that his wheel was loose as well.

At the end of the session Kimi Robotknen had won pole, Alonso second and Massa third.

[BBC Sport]

U.S. Loses Formula-1 Grand Prix So That Rich Old Man Can Get Richer

I don't blame you if you don't recognise the 77 year old clown in the picture. Despite his craving for admiration, the majority of people involved in Formula-1 can't stand Bernie Ecclestone. Why? Because of decisions like this one.

This five foot fuckhead rules Formula 1 with an iron fist through his control of the circuits and the TV rights and year after year good races in great venues are pushed asside for international tracks that offer 'Big Daddy Bernie' a bigger piece of the pie.

Ruthless control of Formula-1 has made him one of the richest people in the world, but it's not enough for this megalomaniac. The Indianapolis Grand Prix brought in 125,000-200,000 dedicated F1 fans, more then most other circuits and yet it has been dropped in favour of a Singaporean street race which is guran-damn-teed to be knowhere near as entertaining for the fans. And all so this old has been can line his filthy pockets. What a disgusting decision.

In other news, Lewis Hamilton's challenge for the World title in his rookie year may be under threat after Mclaren were found guilty of spying on Ferrari. Although Mclaren claim it was an isolated incident by one suspended member of the team and they have not received any benefit from this, they may still have points deducted from both of their drivers.

So I guess this is just a bad bad week for Formula-1. Sheesh.

[BBC Sport]
[Ecclestone Wiki]

Missing: One Personality Belonging to Kimi Raikonen

...if you ever wondered why I call him Robotkonen:

[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7c5-DtreTTc"]

Hamilton's lack of experience shows. Robot and Moon-Face take advantage.

Sorry about the sporadic posting of late, for some unknown reason (bigger premises actually...) my place of work is hauling ass to the other side of town, regular service will be resumed just as soon as this is all done with. Thanks for sticking with me in the mean time.

And well... I'm not even going to say 'I hate to say' I'm just going to say (boy this post is sure turning out well isn't it?) "I told ya' so!"

Experience is important in every sport but when it comes to 200mph motor vehicles it's doubly so. After several practice sessions and two qualifying rounds, Lewis Hamilton was fourth fastest out of the elite four cars. In the third and crucial qualifying round however, Hamilton found something somewhere and put in a blistering last lap to squeeze himself onto Pole Position for the British Grand Prix. The record number of home fans went crazy for their new star and it looked like it would be Lewis's weekend afterall.

But that was not to be and experience, or lack of it, was the reason. Alonso, Robotkonen and Massa all ran faster cars on game day and while Hamilton still managed an exceptional third place, the more experienced drivers had the best of him. Robotkonen drove an incredible race to take the victory and Alonso, who lead at one horrible, horrible point, came in second. I've got to believe that if Felipe Massa hadn't stalled on the grid and therefore ended up having to start at the back, he too would have passed Hamilton and that would have meant an end to his incredible all-podium finishes in this, his rookie season.

As I said in a previous post, these European circuits are where the real racing skills are tested and without the years of practice behind him, Lewis may struggle to hang on to his lead in the World Championship.

[BBC Sport]

French Formula 1 Ferrari Fucked-Fernando Fantacular

It's a strange feeling really; There haven't been any good real races in the Formula 1 season so far and yet I'm actually strating to feel excited by the sport again after a two-three year hiatus.

Maybe that's the Lewis Hamilton factor, despite him driving for a rival team, it's hard not to support a guy who is leading the Formula 1 World Championship in his rookie year and has been consistently beating his team-mate, who just happens to be the reigning World Champ, week after week.

It could be, I don't know. His performances have certainly formed a resurgance in the sport and he seems to be filling the enormous hole left by the retirement of Formula 1's greatest star, Michael Schumacher.

One thing is for sure though, the French Grand Prix looks to be a hum-dinger of a race. I mentioned that coming back to Europe would be the real test to Hamilton's Championship challenge, and after yesterdays qualifying, it appears I was half right. Hamilton was knocked back to second on the grid but not by Alonso, as I had thought. It looks like Ferrari have finally stepped up a gear and look to mount a fierce challenge for the win with Massa on Pole position and 'Robotkonen' on third. Alonso was relegated down the grid with engine issues.

Now we will really get to see what young Hamilton is made of. Will he stun the Formula 1 world yet again by beating the Ferrari's or will he find their greater experience to hard to topple this time around? Well, we'll find out in about an hours time.

And I for one can't wait.

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I love football and my reason (one of them anyway) is "Unnecessary Roughness". Having a foul for 'Unnecessary Roughness' implies that, in order to play the game, there is necessary roughness. Which is brilliant and humorous at the same time.

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The competition will run from right now to the 1st of July. Entries can be made by comment or by email to shottonothing[/at/]gmail.com and you can enter as many times as your heart desires. The winner will be announced on Monday the 2nd of July and will be notified by email (so remember to send me your email address if you're answering via a comment!)


Good luck and thanks for taking part!