It's fair to say that Silverstone is one of the more popular circuits on the calendar. Whilst the racing isn't always superb, the track is supported by lots of history, plenty of emotion, and of course, passionate fans. Why is it, then, that Silverstone is the one track that always seems to have a shadow hanging over it? If something is about to kick off in F1, just wait until the British GP for it all to become clear.
2007 - And Honda Makes Three
In 2007, we were knee deep in the middle of the spying scandal - McLaren and Ferrari were arguing bitterly over who was to blame, and Coughlan and Stepney's names were making F1 headlines for weeks on ends. On the Friday of the British GP, Honda dipped their toe into the water as well, by revealing that they had met with both Stepney and Coughlan. The pair had approached Honda for work, and the team were quick to point out that they were offered no confidential information. Many of the details must be marked with a big "allegedly" sticker, and there's no need to go over old ground again now.
I remember that day vividly, as we listened in on Radio 5live's broadcast from a tent in the Honda campground. Wait for it, there's more name-dropping to come. Our ears perked up at the discussion, but having missed the start, we had to wait to grab hold of Maurice Hamilton and pump him for information. He was very forthcoming, told us about the Honda involvement, and the rest of the evening/weekend was spent discussing the espionage events in great detail.
2008 - Could This Be the End?
With spying out of our minds, 2008 was a fresh start and to Silverstone we trotted, happy with what was turning out to be a fascinating season. In the midst of Friday Free Practice, it suddenly emerged that Bernie Ecclestone had handed Donington Park the contract for the British GP. Silverstone was no longer. Bernie couldn't have timed it to better effect, and you could feel a collective gloom fall over the paddock. Where previously fans had been snapping up merchandise and enjoying what they could of the weather, there were slumped shoulders to be found everywhere.
We all sort of thought it wasn't going to be possible, we kind of knew in the back of our minds that it wasn't really the end for Silverstone, but it certainly felt like it that day. Have a listen back to our podcast for the British GP that year and see what you make of it.
2009 - We Don't Want to Play Anymore
Just twelve months ago (is that really all it was?), F1 faced one of it's bigger challenges, and Silverstone took the brunt of it once again. With radical plans for a shakeup of the way Formula One works, including budget caps, lots of new teams, maybe even a two-tier system, things were looking shaky as the paddock descended upon Britain.
On the eve of Free Practice Friday, the Formula One Teams Association held a press conference and announced they were setting up their own breakaway series. There were so many questions regarding their announcement, and all the possibilities it created, that people talked of nothing else for the rest of the weekend. What do you mean there was a race on? Did someone win? It didn't matter. The important topics were - would Raikkonen follow Ferrari to the new series? Which one will you follow?
Of course, it all came to nothing, a waste of breath and poor Silverstone was buried underneath headlines that were out of date almost as soon as they were printed.
2010 - ?
So the question is, what massive revelation is going to come before the British Grand Prix this year? Will Silverstone finally manage to stand up and be proud without a shadow hanging over it?
Hello and welcome, this is our extended mini series - F1 Advent Calendar 2009. We’re opening up a new door every day to find bite size snippets of the 2009 season. So far we’ve covered all the goings on up until the Monaco Grand Prix, and now we’ll have a peek at Day Eight - Two Tribes.
The 2009 season had only been underway for a couple of months, and already attention had turned to the following year - and it was turning out to be a contentious issue. The FIA had opened up the grid to three new teams, and in trying to entice new entrants to the grid, had revised the regulations significantly. The idea was that teams signing up to a proposed budget cap had a lot more freedom when it came to engine and aerodynamic regulations. Those that didn’t sign up to the budget cap could spend what they wanted but were seriously locked down when it came to what could be on their car.
From the outside, this seemed completely ridiculous - potentially allowing the unrestricted teams several seconds advantage. From the inside, it was also an unpopular decision. The existing teams - in a new group known as the Formula One Teams Association - announced the so-called two-tier championship was completely unacceptable, but they were willing to work with the FIA on ways to reduce costs and still keep things fair.
They refused to enter the 2010 season until they could sort the matter out but it was to be a lot harder than that. They met up on Flavio Briatore’s boat during the Monaco Grand Prix weekend, to discuss the matter, and subsequently offered a combined conditional entry. So if one pulled out, they all pulled out. And the conditions were that the rules were basically the same as the 2009 season with maybe a few tweaks.
Williams and Force India both signed up independently of FOTA and were subsequently suspended from the association. Williams in particular defended themselves saying they owed it to their sponsors and employees to continue in Formula 1 regardless of how the regulations evolved.
Fast forward to June the 18th, and with no agreement forthcoming on the rules for 2010, FOTA announced they would be setting up their own breakaway series. At the time, a statement was issued saying: “These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.”
Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it? Well, it was not to be.
The FIA considered launching legal action against FOTA, they re-entered talks with each other and the entire mess dominated and ruined the atmosphere during the British Grand Prix.
Just six days later, another statement from FOTA confirmed they wouldn’t be breaking away after all. The regulations would continue as they were, with added cost cutting measures such as reduced personnel and less wind tunnel usage. Technical help was offered to the new teams who were signed up under the budget cap regulations. More crucially, though, Max Mosley was prepared to stand down from the presidency of the FIA, with FOTA urging for a fresh start come the elections in October.
That’s all for today. I hope you’re enjoying the F1 Advent Calendar 2009, and the chance to remember both the good and bad of the season. I’ll be back tomorrow with Day Nine.
Our Sidepodcommunity have many talents amongst them and we do like to showcase these whenever we can. Lukeh for example is a whizz on Photoshop and if anyone has a thought about something that would make a good photo, just a word or two in the right direction and he's the man who can sort it out.
In the last few days he has come up with some brilliant work regarding Luca Badoer. You can skip down and see it at the bottom of this post if you like, but bear with me and we'll work through some of his older, but timeless works of art.
Don't Take Away My Breakaway
Let us begin with this cleverly doctored article from the BBC F1 website discussing the possibility of an F1 championship breakaway.
In case the text is not clear, the image reads:
The new FOTA-created world championship that has broken away from Formula 1 will in fact be sponsored by Breakaway Chocolate, it was revealed this evening.Current FOTA President Luca Di Montezemolo this evening confirmed rumours that the actual breakaway was inspired by the sponsorship deal with Breakaway. Di Montezemolo told reporters "They do make a nice chocolate snack, I must admit. We at FOTA had to decide what we wanted more; Max or chocolate. It was a no-brainer."
Get Me Out of Here
Next up, we're hoping Nintendo will consider releasing this Formula One related game for the 2010 season.
You know you want a go.
Time Travel, Baby. Yeah!
We have no recollection of why or how championship leader Jenson Button took on the role of The Doctor, however, he's clearly made for the part.
Now who would he have as a companion?
Just an F1 Minute
After Jon commentated at the 2CV race at Snetterton, he found the following picture.
The sign originally read 1 minute. It makes sense for a guy to be advising the drivers of the time remaining. However, Lukeh thought maybe they needed to be made aware of a rather important podcast instead.
Sacrificial Lemming
This next image freaks me out, but Mr C said we had to include it. Recently, we introduced Steven Roy to the joy that is Lemmings, and somehow those forfeited for the greater good, turned to Heikki Kova-lemming.
Naturally, it only took a few moments for this picture to appear before our eyes.
That is all kinds of wrong.
Ooh Betty
Moving on, then, to the final and most recent installment of this crop of Lukeh greatness.
Luca Badoer has caused us all kinds of merriment for the last week or so. It's easy to feel sorry for the guy, but really, he is bringing a lot of it on himself. Mr C thought that Luca's antics last week and this reminded him a little of Michael Crawford's portrayal of Frank Spencer - a walking disaster of epic proportions. Nick also pointed out this video, showing how Luca very likely made his own way from Valencia to Spa.
Lukeh is clearly a rare and exceptional talent. His creativity has made 2009 considerably more enjoyable for us than it might otherwise have been, and for that we owe him a huge debt of gratitude.
If you've enjoyed these images, don't forget to keep a close eye on the Sidepodcast drop. You can follow Lukeh on his blog or his Twitter stream. Thank you for the laughs, Lukeh!
The Formula One Teams' Association has announced that it is setting up a breakaway championship. Eight of the current Formula One teams met up at the Renault factory in Enstone and concluded that enough was enough, it's time to do things their own way.
A statement from FOTA read:
The teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship. These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners.
Then they really twist the knife on the FIA President Max Mosley, with the rather excellent:
This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.
Fighting talk indeed.
While there's nothing to say any of the above will come to fruition, is does mean that today's FIA imposed deadline is all but shot to pieces. Evidently current drivers and sponsors will migrate to the new series on mass, and importantly so will "promoters". Which begs the question where does Bernie stand in all of this?
Now the cat is really amongst the pigeons. Finally the sport has taken a significant step forward and suddenly we find ourselves interested in the politics of F1 again. As ever, feel free to discuss events in the comments.
