Sidepodcast

The Ones We Will All be Watching

Fresh from delving into the new cars and their technical prowess, KerbRider is back to cast his eye over another - just as important - element of a successful team.

I want to attempt a psycho analysis of this years major driver pairings. The ones we will all be watching.

Ferrari

This for me will be one of the most intense and exciting battles of the year, and years to come. Alonso and Massa have a history. Remember the Nurburgring in 2007?

There was some rather close racing which eventually ended up in some argy bargy on and off the track.

Fernando was much quicker and trying to get past Felipe on a drying track. They had a moment at turn 5 with some banging of wheels, and the post race weigh in, and press conference, was a lot of fun to watch.

We have two Latino temperaments in the most emotionally charged outfit in the pit lane. Expect the sky at Maranello to rain fire. Gazetta de la Sport shares would be a great investment this year, as their readership will quadruple.

Fernando is a quiet genius in my eyes, and easily the best driver out there. Although the return of Voldemort will certainly make that more arguable. Lewis still has plenty of room to grow, as brilliant as he is already.

Felipe has been very impressive the past two years, and has grown enormously as a competitor with the benefit of Voldemort as a mentor. Unsurprisingly enough, this didn’t occur until the 7 time WC retired.

We should expect to see plenty of fireworks between FA and FM coming into the last half of the year. They will be media savvy and play it all down until it is obvious their despise for one another cannot be played down anymore.

Both are fiercely competitive and Massa will be territorial as Alonso will be intruding on Massa's home. Fernando wont get the measure of Massa consistently until probably 2011 as the first year with a new team is usually testing the waters. This was evident with Fernando's stint at McLaren. Besides, Massa won't allow Alonso to get the best of him.

Last year's accident is in the past, and I don’t think it will affect his overall approach to a race weekend. He certainly wont be frightened of driving the car, and he wont be slower as a result of the accident. Neither will win the title.

McLaren

McLaren have utilised the press superbly with the fact they have the two reigning WCs in their cars. It makes me wonder if that was a major factor in them hiring Button in the first place.

Lets make no mistake though, Button is quick. Well duh! I hear you say, and rightly so. But let me retort and say that there are still some question marks over Button's ability. Mainly due to the fact that he was not able to optimise his performances relative to Rubens in the latter half of 2009.

He may have been playing it safe, he may not have been as comfortable in the car as he was in the first 7 races of the year. Either way, it tarnished his championship victory.

Jenson is on the record as saying he moved to McLaren to prove he can race against the best, and there is no reason to not believe that, as he would be well aware of his reputation in the F1 community due to his tail off in performance post Turkey.

I think as people, Lewis and Jenson will get along as team mates more than friends. The reason being is that there is a slight age gap, which subsequently makes both have differing interests outside of F1.

Overall, I don’t think the team dynamic will ruffle too many feathers as both are gentlemen, but again fiercely competitive. The anger will be on track, rather than in the garage.

I expect Lewis to win the year for several reasons. One being is that Lewis is ultimately quicker in an ill handling car, and copes when the car doesn’t suit him better than Jenson does. 2009 proves that resoundingly. And with heavy cars and low(ish) grip tyres, this should fit into Lewis's domain more than Jensons.

Also Lewis will qualify consistently better, and create his own luck whereas Jenson will require the luck to fall upon him. Another reason is that Lewis is part of the McLaren furniture, and Jenson was in the right place at the right time. Again!

Red Bull

Sebby V in his third full year of F1 will push hard for the championship. I'd expect him to be top 3 at minimum. Where does that leave Mark? He surprised a bit last year with how close he pushed Sebastian. Especially once the circus got back to Europe, and the leg was healing better.

If it wasn’t for a string of 5 unlucky races for Mark from Valencia to Singapore, the end result might have been quite different. A mistake from the pit crew in Spa cost him a podium. The car was not suited to both Monza and Valencia. Vettel only scored 1 point from these two races. In Singapore he had brake fade, which was probably his own causing, and Japan he made a critical mistake in practice which cost him a Q3 run. He set the fastest lap.

Sebastian created his own bad luck last year which I think cost him a chance to win the championship in Abu Dhabi. He lost 6 points in Australia, which I saw up close and personal. That led to a bad qualifying position in Malaysia. He made a big error of judgement in Monaco with tyres, which he will have no doubt learned from for this year.

This pairing will be the one to watch for purely sporting reasons I think. RBR will stick to their equal opportunity philosophy until the last minute, as will McLaren. Ferrari will have no choice.

Sebastian is driven to win. He has a genuine need to win like Schumacher does. It bodes well for a future champion. Whereas Mark, has more of a point to prove. He is as determined as anyone out there, and his fitness is unquestionable. Tony Purnell once commented that he was amazed that Ferrari were not looking to Mark to replace Schumacher once he retired. A big rap, I believe.

Sebastian may be more prone to errors than Mark, but Mark, as is his nature, will be more prone to catching bad luck. So again I expect a close battle between the two, but ultimately, Sebastian should end up on top in what again will be the car of the year.

Mercedes

Voldemort V Rosberg. This will be interesting to see how this dynamic reacts to the media bewilderment. Will it be a master and apprentice situation like Schumacher and Massa? Or will Schumacher do what he always has done, and hide his telemetry from his internal rival. I, for one, hope he doesn’t. I, for one, hope Ross doesn’t allow it.

His testing point of view alone should see Mercedes develop a strong car. It remains to be seen whether it will be up the pecking order in Bahrain.

Make no mistake, Schuey will be quick, and the pressure is really on Nico now to deliver. I hope he does, because I think he has matured well under Williams and last year he had some impressive races. Singapore was one until he blew it exiting the pit lane.

I'm predicting Schumacher to win this battle, but I cant wait to be proven wrong. This could ruin Nico's career. I don’t think either way it will propel him to superstardom. He lacks the charisma and personality. Fernando, Lewis and Sebby V have it all in spades. Nico has the Finnish persona that Kimi carries so well.

The questions at this point pre-season will be, if Nico beats Schumacher, will he fulfil the three year term at Mercedes. If Schumacher beats Nico, will he go the way of Heidfeld as an also ran that never reached a peak anyone noticed?

This is the team that will define careers. Schumacher could go the way of Alan Jones as a former world champion that never got back in the game, or he could launch an even greater legend in f1 folklore. I doubt he will go the way of Alan Jones.

Nico could be made to be a great number 2, or the man who beat the statistically greatest driver F1 will ever see, and create his own legend.

Jenson's First Task at McLaren

The sun has barely set on 2009, and Jenson is up at the crack of dawn working with his brand new team. Perhaps not, perhaps these are pre-recorded things that had to wait until his contract came into effect, but still, it's nice to see a team so very pro-active.

This first came to light when the Fifth Driver tweeted about JB in his new McLaren garb, with an exclusive picture to boot, and it's fair to say there was a mixed reaction in the comments. At first, I thought it did look a bit odd, but I am getting used to it after only a couple of glances. Heikki never looked comfortable in the gear, but I think Jenson will make it his own as the season progresses. Mr C's first viewing of the new-look Button garnered only the comment: "He's still got his beard!" I wonder how long that will last.

In the comments, Becken also alerted us to the fact that Mr Button has graced us with a video from his brand new headquarters:

The thing that strikes me is just how very happy he looks. It's the same kind of smile we saw at the very beginning of 2009 when things were going his way and the pressure hadn't hit yet. Maybe this McLaren move isn't ideal for him, and maybe we are still sure that he's going to be outshone by Lewis, but it's clear that the man has made the move he wanted, and for now, at least, the optimism is still there.

In which case, I raise a glass to Button and hope he does well in his new team.

Heartbroken or Heartless?

This time last year, following on from the Brazilian GP, half our attention was on newly crowned champion Lewis Hamilton, while the other half was on race winner Felipe Massa. The Brazilian had been astoundingly gracious in defeat, losing as he did, the world driver's championship on the last corner of his home Grand Prix.

One year on and all of our attention has been on Jenson Button, who won the championship in style this weekend. The two contenders who just missed out on the title haven't had much look in, not to mention the race winner, Mark Webber.

All the pictures I've seen of the young Sebastian Vettel have featured melancholy expressions, and never a smile. Even in the team photo celebrating Webber's win, where everyone is supposed to cheer loudly, Seb doesn't appear to be in a cheerful mood.

It's understandable, of course, that he is sad to have missed out on the title, but he had already thrown his toys out of the pram on Saturday. A terrible qualifying session wrote him out of what would have been a really tough fight back to the win anyway, so he must have realised that it was asking the impossible. Surely he can't still have believed he would be still able to do it come Sunday? He didn't hold back when it came to post race soundbites either:

"Second is the first loser. I don't really care about second or third."

Compare Seb's mood to Barrichello, though, who has been the perfect gentleman in the face of losing not only his shot for the title but also his second place in the standings. With one race left to go, he has a chance to grab that back, but he wasn't thinking of that. In the Brawn shots, he's smiling, he's happy. He lent Jenson his private plane for goodness sake.

Part of me prefers Rubens' attitude, it is certainly more constructive. He knows it was Button's fight to lose and is happy for his friend. However, I do quite like the fact that sulky Vettel isn't hiding away is his feelings. We often ask for our drivers to show more emotion, we can't be mad when this happens. Even if it does mean he won't be smiling for a few days.

What do you think? Did Massa raise the benchmark for magnanimity in defeat, and did the home crowd raise Barrichello's spirits as it did Felipe's a year earlier? Should Vettel be cheered or chastised for making such dejected comments?

Jenson Button 2009 F1 World Champion

Jenson Button finished 5th today in Brazil, but it was enough to secure him the 2009 WDC title, making him Britain’s 10th world champion.

After a strong start to the season, Button suffered through a bad few races, but more than made up for it today with a cracking set of overtaking moves. He kept his head under pressure and reaps the reward. Brawn GP also secured the constructors despite Webber's win.

Is Jenson a deserving champion, did Brawn make it harder for him than necessary, and will you be raising a a glass to the man today? Do let us know in the comments.

2009 Championship Contender - Jenson Button

We have reached our third and final driver in with a chance at securing the 2009 title, and it's fair to say the odds are in Button's favour. Having previously discussed Barrichello and Vettel with their points deficit, Button has the maths on his side.

After being rather anonymous at the back of the grid in a Honda car for the past few years, Button certainly made his point this season. He and his Brawn car burst onto the grid in 2009, winning six out of the first seven races, and placing third in the one that got away. That isn't a start to be sniffed at.

With a massive points haul under his belt, things started to go a little bit wrong for JB. His car suddenly seemed to stop working underneath him, and no matter which way they went with the setup, it was as though he was back in the Honda again. Okay, granted, he was still finishing in the points, just, but every race would hear a strangled cry from Jenson over the radio to his engineers.

Immediately, and almost without reason, it became the media mantra to suggest that Button can't handle the pressure. I'm not in the paddock, of course, but from what we have seen, it's not the pressure that's getting to him, it's the frustrating of wondering where their awesome car went. Whether it is other teams catching them up, or Brawn not developing as much as they should, the second half of the season has been a struggle.

Still, if anyone can handle struggles, Jenson can. You don't stick with Honda for two years, to be repaid by the team leaving, and come back with a smile on your face, unless you know how to deal with things when they go wrong. In his super reliable Brawn, Button has scored at least one point in every race, bar one retirement. Let's not talk about it too much, but needless to say, it was not really his fault.

With a 14 point lead over nearest rival Barrichello and a further two points over Vettel, Button has had the potential to sew up the championship for the last few races. Each time, it hasn't worked out, but each time, he is getting closer to his goal. It would take something quite drastic to happen for Button to lose his first Driver's Championship now, and whilst we always say anything can happen, I have a feeling that Jenson can make it happen.

He and Rubens have a very close working relationship, and we've seen plenty of hugs in the Brawn garage as the pair have each made a success of their year. If either of them win it, I think the other will be gracious about it, but both of them know, this could be their best (and maybe only) opportunity for a title.

2009 Championship Contender - Rubens Barrichello

Of our three remaining drivers fighting for the title, Rubens is the one who you really think: "It's about time." He's been in the sport for 16 years and been on the podium almost 70 times, but as yet, the championship has never been his. Could 2009 be the year that changes all that?

It seemed only natural that Barrichello retained his seat beside Button in the new Brawn team. Their partnership worked well in the years previous to the takeover, and despite being at the back of the grid, improvements were being made all the time. Rubens is dogged by rumours of his imminent retirement but out on track, none of that matters.

The Brawn car is one of the most reliable of the field at the moment, and Barrichello has only suffered one retirement so far - in Turkey with a gearbox issue. Other than that, he has finished every race in the points bar one, which puts him on the consistent side of things. Two wins, but a lot of points later, and Rubens is in the title fight.

Generally speaking, no one would be unhappy if Barrichello won the championship this year. He's the nicest guy in the paddock and when he wins, you can tell that even those who just missed out are genuinely happy for him. He's not afraid to show his emotions, and even that 'blah blah blah' blip was sorted out in a reasonable fashion, with everyone able to move on amicably.

With 71 points, he sits in second place in the championship at the moment. He's 14 points behind Button, and with just two races left to go, it's going to be tricky to get the maximum out of each race weekend. Rubens has been more consistent than Button, but he needs JB to have two poor weekends to be able to make the leap. All the while, he needs to keep an eye behind him, as Vettel has had a last-minute spur and is now only two points away from second place. It won't be easy, but it's still entirely possible.

Rubens has seen it all, and his experience speaks volumes. We know that he has had opportunities robbed from him due to his secondary role at Ferrari, but perhaps it is time for the Brazilian to step up, and show that he's not a number two driver anymore.

2009 Championship Contender - Sebastian Vettel

It's been a season long battle between Red Bull and Brawn GP, but now that we are down to the final three drivers fighting for the title, there is only room for one RBR driver. At the start of the season, this would have been an easy prediction to make, with Webber still recovering from off-season leg injuries. However, it hasn't been a straight foward fight for Vettel, and he's still got a lot of work to do.

The pressure has been on for Vettel since the very start of his season. Faced with such a positive review from Toro Rosso, heralded as the next multi-world champion by many, and shouldering all the testing responsibility himself, Seb has been treading unchartered territory in 2009. He's handled it well, continuing to maintain his upbeat attitude and only letting the occasional inter-team challenge get him down. The team clearly have a lot of faith in him, and have signed him up until 2011.

Results-wise, it wasn't exactly a great start to the year, but Vettel was soon fulfilling his promise. In China, he took his first win of the year, his first win for Red Bull, and more importantly, their maiden victory. Webber stood beside him on the podium. This must have boosted Seb's confidence again, and definitely took the edge off notching up two non-scoring finishes in the first two races.

It hasn't been a very consistent season for Vettel, but he does seem to have made the most of it. He has scored two other victories, in Britain and at the last race in Japan. He's been on the podium a further four times, and when he hasn't retired from a race, he's been mostly in the points. Of the three retirements, only one could be attributed to driver error.

For the next two races, then, he's in a good position to dent the gap between himself and the Brawns. He is already close behind Barrichello, although Button is much further ahead with a 16 point lead over Vettel. He needs two brilliant weekends to make it work, but that is not out of the question. He'll have the momentum of a win behind him, but it all depends on the car. The engine is the weak point of Red Bull this year, and Vettel will miss out on some important Friday running at the next two weekends. It hasn't harmed him too much yet this year, but at the brand new Abu Dhabi, practice could be crucial.

In terms of championship material, I personally think Vettel is a bit young to start driving the number one car. Almost everyone is sure that he will win titles, and a few of them, but would it be too much too soon? Plus, there is the fact that if Vettel can overturn his points deficit and take the championship this year, the pressure would really be on for 2010.

And It's Goodbye From Him

Toro Rosso confirmed today that they'd be waving goodbye to Sébastien Bourdais. This didn't come as a surprise as the rumour has been doing the rounds for a long time. Speculation stepped up prior to the German Grand Prix, and I suppose as Bourdais didn't do anything to impress the bosses during the weekend, his exit was inevitable.

It did seem to come as a surprise to the man himself, though, as he has issued a statement suggesting he will seek legal action against the team. Obviously he feels he hasn't fallen below whatever performance related clauses are the excuse for seeing him out.

I have a funny feeling he will lose that battle.

I supported Bourdais pretty much from the beginning, because he is small, and he is French, and he seemed like an all round nice guy. I even put up with his constant moaning in radio transmissions because, let's face it, the car isn't exactly stellar.

Except, last year that car won, and it wasn't Bourdais putting his foot to the floor to make it happen. His brief flashes of potential just as quickly sputtered out, and it didn't seem like he would get another chance. However, I really wanted him to, and was pleasantly surprised when he did.

But what has he done with that opportunity? Not very much. This year was supposed to be the making of the four-times Champ Car Champion, as the new regulations, and particularly slick tyres, brought it back to a level he was comfortable at. It doesn't seem to have worked, and as the STR's trundle around at the back, it's easy to forget they are even there. Buemi has shown the flashes of potential this year, but Bourdais has proven very little.

I feel like Toro Rosso knew this was going to happen, but had very little option other than to sign Bourdais when it came to it. Now, they know that rather than spend their time watching Le Seb retire from each race, they can give the seat to a young driver who needs the experience. It makes sense, and I understand their decision. I'm still a little sad to see Le Seb go, but I concede that he has been about as useless as Piquet.

Still, Bourdais has provided two very special things this year, if nothing outstanding out on track. We've seen the first active Formula One driver for a long time compete in Le Mans (and finish second!), and now we have our first midseason shuffle for well over a season too. Now, if only Renault could sort out their second seat, all would be well with the world.

Stepping Out From the Shadows

Last year, there was no question that Heikki Kovalainen was the number two driver in McLaren. He was new to the team, spent a long time finding his feet, and when he did, discovered they were two steps behind teammate Lewis Hamilton. Now, given his disappointing performance last year, part of me doesn't really blame McLaren for focusing their attention on their star driver. He won the championship for them, didn't he?

However, there are always questions about whether he could have done more if he'd been given the right fuel load, or the optimum strategy ahead of qualifying. Whilst Hamilton was often to be found on the top step of the podium, Heikki's one inherited victory trophy must look quite lonely on its shelf.

That is all in the past though, and it is to 2009 we now turn our attention.

Granted, the start of the season needs to be forgotten. Two races, zero laps completed. It was much too easy to write off Kovi, though, before the racing really gets going. To put it into perspective,  Massa had a supremely awful start to 2008 and came so close to winning the title. Vettel also couldn't complete a lap in the early stages of last year, but is now F1's rising talent.

Heikki's performance in China was a vast improvement on both the previous two races, and most of 2008 as well. Whilst he didn't pull out any spectacular overtaking moves, or make a case for being driver of the day, he did the job as required. In a clearly underperforming car, one that Hamilton (who admits he loves to drive in the rain) couldn't keep in a straight line, Heikki finished fifth. Hamilton may have been just one place behind him, but his scrappy race did his reputation no favours. Kovi had the edge and to me, this is impressive.

And so, I wonder if it is also impressive to McLaren. Perhaps 2009 will be the year when Heikki can step out from Hamilton's shadow and no longer be number two. When the car was on winning form, they needed to pick one driver over the other to secure the championship. Now they are racing in the midfield, that's not necessary.

I believe rumours of a rift between Hamilton and the team are highly overstated, but there can be no doubt that the closeness of the Ron Dennis days is gone, and Lewis has to tough it out and go it alone, keeping the garage onside by his own actions. Perhaps, things will be slightly tougher for him going forward.

The only question that still hangs over Heikki's head is what will happen when the car becomes more successful. They are clearly improving at a rate of knots, qualifying further and further up the field, and moving gradually into the points. Hamilton is a supremely talented driver, and won't release his favoured status easily. But perhaps going forward the team really will be equal. If more victories are in store for McLaren this year, perhaps another number one could emerge? Does Heikki stand a chance at taking that role on? Could he lead the team the way a top driver needs to? Share your thoughts on whether Kovi is moving up the F1 ladder, or if China was just a one-off race of good fortunes.

Just Like Buses

A few days ago, Bourdais appeared to be pondering his future with no secure plans for 2009. In the space of two days, he's been confirmed at Toro Rosso, and now will appear at this year's Le Mans. According to ITV-F1, he'll be the first active F1 driver to appear at the endurance race in... a long time. At first, I was disgusted that they couldn't present an actual fact, but after a little bit of research myself, I forgive them. If anyone can find this out, or remembers, we'll give you a mention.

Update: From the comments, R.G has found: "I’m confirming Franck Montagny, in the break between the 2006 Canadian and British Grand Prix, he took part in the Le Mans event." Not that long ago at all, then.

As a Frenchman, Bourdais has naturally signed up with Peugeot Sport, and the announcement is due on Monday. That's the same Peugeot Sport that Montagny will be driving for as well. Imagine if they were in the same team! That would be some kind of super-Le Mans team. I'd definitely stay awake for that. All it would need is Loeb in the car as well, and I wouldn't even need Red Bull to stay up all night.

The 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans is on the weekend of the 13-14th June, and I'm already planning out the Live Commenting post that will go with it. Bourdais says that if he gets in the car, he plans to win. He's taken part in the event six times already, the most recent (and most successful) in 2007 where he finished second. That must have been before we were aware of him, and before I was interested in 24 hour racing. It's also worth noting that Le Mans is Bourdais' home town, so he should know the event inside out.