Autopinionsbyvolk's Weblog

New Caterham Leaked

volkjosh — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:57:14 +0000

A day before the official launch of the car via F1 Racing Magazine, the world got it’s first look at the new Caterham F1 car thanks to Twitter. I have to say, it certainly doesn’t look all that fast, but it is still from a bottom third of the grid team I suppose. And the new nose is quite high up and pointy. More to come on new cars as they hit the Interwebs and the circuits.

The new Caterham F1 contender

Brazilian Grand Prix Results and Winter Stories Already!

volkjosh — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:43:03 +0000

And so closes the 2011 Formula One season. In Brazil, as is traditional. And as is becoming tradition for this race, the winner came not from pole, but from second on the grid. Mark Webber brought home his first win of the season in a fully Red Bull dominated race. And were it not for Sebastian Vettel’s car having a gearbox problem (or so the team says) Mark would have finished a distant second methinks. But aside from that, the battle for second in the championship came down to this race as well, and with Alonso, Button and Webber all in the hunt, it would be up to those three men to fight it out. As it turns out, it wasn’t much of a fight, as in the second half of the race, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso became anemic and very uncompetitive against the surging Jenson Button, who flat out destroyed Alonso down the straight with his DRS enabled. From there, the team told him that he could do qualifying paced laps till the end, and he did so to finish third, and in doing so, securing second behind Vettel. Webber, with his win and Alonso’s fourth took third in the final standings, by one point from Alonso. Hamilton finished a distant fifth after his gearbox let go while chasing Felipe Massa. If not for Schumacher having a coming together with Senna and Hamilton’s gearbox letting go, I would have once again called exactly who finished in the top 10. However, because of those two going down or out, the finishing order looked like this:

1. Mark Webber

2. Sebastian Vettel

3. Jenson Button

4. Fernando Alonso

5. Felipe Massa

6. Adrian Sutil

7. Nico Rosberg

8. Paul di Resta

9. Kamui Kobayashi

10. Vitaly Petrov

And so it is on to next season and already there is a lot of intrigue. With the US Grand Prix looking like it is about 100% unlikely to take place and a returning driver in the Ice Man, Kimi Raikkonen taking a spot at Lotus Renault in place of the still injured Robert Kubica, there will be plenty of stories. Plus, coming up in just a few days time, a lot of this current crop of drivers will know whether they will be still be Formula One drivers or not. This includes Vitaly Petrov, Adrian Sutil, Rubens Barrichello and quite a few others. Also, there is now the story emerging that Bernie Ecclestone is saying that Europe is finished in F1 and that there will be only five races to be held there out of the 20 on the calendar in the next few years. WHAT LUNACY! I’m pretty sure I call for Bernie’s head every year, but seriously, can someone please get this senile octogenarian out of a position of power soon!?!

2012 can’t come soon enough. Next up, the Australian Grand Prix in March.

Brazilian Grand Prix Predictions

volkjosh — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 21:03:13 +0000

Well, this is the final race, and much like the rest of the season (15 times now in fact) Sebastian Vettel is sitting on the pole. This is a new record in F1, as Vettel passed the mark set my Nigel Mansell in 1992. Will we see a return to the top step of the podium as well? Chances are no doubt good, as the only thing preventing him from scampering away from the rest of the field last time was bad luck in the first corner. However, I don’t foresee anything ruining Vettel’s race this time out, and he will simply run off into the distance, never to be challenged until the checkered flag flies.

1. Sebastian Vettel

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Mark Webber

4. Fernando Alonso

5. Jenson Button

6. Michael Schumacher

7. Felipe Massa

8. Nico Rosberg

9. Adrian Sutil

10. Paul di Resta

All the positions on the grid are pretty much as you would expect, with the Red Bulls ahead of the McLarens ahead of the Ferraris, so I don’t think much in the way of movement is going to take place, but Alonso has a good history of moving up from where he starts, and I think he could show some more of that tomorrow.

Work Comes To Screeching Halt In Austin!

volkjosh — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 02:00:18 +0000

I know I’m an eternal pessimist, but c’mon, I’ve been saying this thing ain’t getting off the ground for a year or two now. I will not be convinced of any Grand Prix taking place in these United States until loud, buzzing engines are making people put earplugs in on a Friday morning. Here are two news stories that have just broken today.

Austin GP construction grinds to a halt

Ecclestone on verge of scrapping Austin Grand Prix

Take what you will from each of them, but this isn’t looking good. There have been rumors of this for a few weeks now, but it is starting to look officially official that there is just going to be a bunch of dirt moved around for no reason in the middle of Texas. Don’t get me wrong, I would like to see this Grand Prix take place, but I’m on the verge of saying I saw this coming from a mile away.

United States Grand Prix?

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Results

volkjosh — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:59:30 +0000

Well, I guess I can honestly say I never saw that happening. Sebastian Vettel’s tire blows out all on its own in the second corner, and it’s Hamilton who is off to the races. He made his lead and strategy insurmountable, and bagged himself his third victory of the season. With Alonso coming home a strong second, followed by Button, it really is going to be all about who gets that coveted second position in the driver’s standings. That is what I’ll be watching for in a couple of weeks at the season finale in Brazil. Until then, here are the final points paying positions for an otherwise pretty typical race. Honestly, if Vettel doesn’t retire, my lineup for finishing position looks pretty solid.

1. Lewis Hamilton

2. Fernando Alonso

3. Jenson Button

4. Mark Webber

5. Felipe Massa

6. Nico Rosberg

7. Micheal Schumacher

8. Adrian Sutil

9. Paul di Resta

10. Kamui Kobayashi

Abu Dhabi Predictions

volkjosh — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:16:28 +0000

All right, so qualifying just ended and once again, Vettel is top dog. With this pole, he has tied Nigel Mansell’s record of 14 pole positions in one season. Will he be able to beat that record at the final race in Brazil? Considering his competitiveness, I’m guessing yes. But that’s for the next race. My predictions for this weekend go something like this.

1. Sebastian Vettel

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Jenson Button

4. Mark Webber

5. Fernando Alonso

6. Felipe Massa

7. Nico Rosberg

8. Michael Schumacher

9. Adrian Sutil

10. Paul di Resta

Yes, this is the exact order they will line up in on the grid too. Personally, I don’t see much happening in this race, unless someone really gets it wrong somehow and they crash out, causing a safety car. Vettel will just do like he always does and scoot away from the others, immediately putting over a second on them so they cannot use the DRS to try and catch him. The others may jostle for positions, but at this point in the season, the performance of the drivers and cars is very well set and I don’t see any change in that order. Plus, Abu Dhabi’s track is not one of the best for passing and actually makes for a very uninteresting race. Sure, it’s beautiful to look at, but it’s boring as hell if you actually pay attention to what’s going on and aren’t distracted by the shiny lights. The track is very cookie-cutter with no personality, but (puts on optimism hat) maybe something fun will happen to make this race a bit more fun… Torrential downpour somehow? That would be the greatest.

Indian Grand Prix Thoughts and Results

volkjosh — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 23:30:09 +0000

Well, the first every Indian Grand Prix just took place and everyone is calling it a huge success! But of course they would because they want to generate buzz and hype and make it out to be better than it was so that Indian doesn’t become the next Turkey, or Korea. But let’s get down to brass tacks here, this race was BORING. My god was it dull. If we face the true facts they end up looking like this: Vettel stormed off into the distance again, the passing on the track was dull and unexciting and didn’t come that often, and the only meaningful pass for a position happened in the pits when Alonso overtook Webber. Sure, Schumacher had a big day coming through the field, but even he wasn’t highlighted that much of the race. I don’t really care how great the track is to drive for the racers because the fans are the ones who turn up or tune in to watch, and if nothing happens, why am I watching? At least the typical Massa v Hamilton fight came into being again.

And I know that its great when a driver can get the grand slam (pole position, leading every lap and fastest lap) but that’s not exciting. If there is no change for the lead… AT ALL, then I’m not going to be very interested. Sure, it’s the end of the season and the points no longer truly matter, but still, there was no drama or story to this race, and I was unenthralled. And I’ll just say this one more time, but just because the drivers love the “rhythm” they can get into doesn’t mean that fans will find it interesting to watch. That whole section where they find that rhythm is single-file only and that makes for very uninteresting viewing. I really hope there is more of a story next year, because if no one is going to put up a fight or challenge anyone for a position, then what’s the point in racing? But I digress. Hopefully the championship can come right down to the wire again next year, as it has in year’s past, so that the title isn’t out of reach when new tracks are being ushered in. I think that is another major factor. If the title is still up for grabs, this race has a lot more implications, but it didn’t have anything to suck the viewer in with. Either way, hopefully it sticks around because if it ends up like those other tracks, it will be a big disappointment. Here’s how they finished.

1. Sebastian Vettel

2. Jenson Button

3. Fernando Alonso

4. Mark Webber

5. Michael Schumacher

6. Nico Rosberg

7. Lewis Hamilton

8. Jaime Alguersuari

9. Adrian Sutil

10. Sergio Perez

Indian Grand Prix Predictions

volkjosh — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 13:34:12 +0000

Are we surprised yet? Nah, didn’t think so. Once again… for the 13^th time, Vettel is on pole. Webber made it a one-two by virtue of Hamilton’s demotion, and Alonso will start third. I feel that, because of the short straight into turn one there won’t be too much action, but if I had to guess, based on the majority of races so far this season, someone or someones will pass Webber because of his awful starts. However, no one is going to catch Vettel, and he will cruise to an easy Buddh victory.

1. Sebastian Vettel

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Fernando Alonso

4. Jenson Button

5. Mark Webber

6. Nico Rosberg

7. Felipe Massa

8. Michael Schumacher

9. Adrian Sutil

10. Sebastien Buemi

Wow! New Jersey Now?!

volkjosh — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 01:03:59 +0000

So, New Joisey is getting themselves a fancy ass F1 race eh? Sounds intriguing, but it will be a street circuit, which could be problematic as most street circuits (barring Monaco) are lame, but who knows, maybe it will be good. I am a bit confused as to why the US was left off of the F1 calendar for so long, and now, all of a sudden, there are going to be two races here. If it was all about money, that can’t be the case, because there were probably many major cities clamoring for a race behind the scenes. And if it’s about reviving the economy, I don’t buy that as it’s only one weekend out of the year and, traditionally, most F1 races don’t make back any sort of profit. Again, I say most, although there are certainly some great races on the calendar.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see how the track is going to look and what the lap will be like and the fact that the US has two separate places to go to, but the realist in me says that something will have to give. Will this race take over the spot from Turkey? Or Bahrain? What about Australia? Or possibly Korea? Or might this be a case of switching off every year like the German and Japanese Grands Prix do? I would love every race to succeed, but I am also torn at the prospect of possibly losing more of the European circuits (minus Valencia… that thing can get the hell out).

Again, the optimist in me – which constitutes a very, very miniscule portion of me – would love for this to work out so well that the US finally embraces F1, but the realist in me just doesn’t see how this will work out in the long run. Bernie loves money, and I think that most countries are enticed by the prospect of a race, but in the end, the only person who will win in this deal will be Bernie because, again, most of these races always loses money. And when that happens, it’s only a matter of time before this NASCAR loving country attempts to pull the plug.

Story link.

Korean Grand Prix Results

volkjosh — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 01:30:09 +0000

Predictably, Vettel won again. In fact, I think he’s probably the winningest driver to be on TV the least. All he does is scoot off into the distance to never be bothered. He drives races in which he just has to sit out front and think to himself about what he’s going to have for dinner after winning. Meanwhile, behind him, that Webber v. Button v. Alonso v. Hamilton race is about to pick up. Those four will be fighting it out for that second overall place in the driver’s race (not that it really matters other than for their egos of course). With the race in Korea now over, it is Button with a 10 point lead over Alonso, with Webber just three behind him. But if Hamilton has more races like this one, he will be climbing back up to the pack very soon indeed. The next race isn’t for another week, and it is a brand new venue in India, so it should be fun to see who acclimates to the track the fastest. Here are the results from the past race.

1. Sebastian Vettel

2. Lewis Hamilton

3. Mark Webber

4. Jenson Button

5. Fernando Alonso

6. Felipe Massa

7. Jaime Alguersuari

8. Nico Rosberg

9. Sebastien Buemi

10. Paul di Resta

Also, here is a video of the new circuit in India for the next race.