Joe came to London to talk Formula 1 in February, and in part two of this special podcast the man returns to tackle more of Formula 1's difficult questions. A brief break gave attendees the chance to stretch their legs, before settling down for more insight from inside F1.
On the agenda in part two - Joe covers investing in the future of Formula 1 and self drive hill climbs, dangerous sports and keeping oneself young, plus art directors and the genius of Murray Walker. Finally the evening is wrapped up with a look at the mindset of a world champion and the motivation of a famous son.
2009 was a busy year for the Williams F1 team, almost as busy off track as it was on. The start of the season saw Williams caught in the middle of a "diffuser row". In May the team managed to get themselves expelled from the Formula One Teams Association, for a full four months and to close the year off, they dropped both drivers and their engine partner.
It seems no F1 season is complete without a "Williams are Struggling to Survive" headline to round the year off, and given all that has happened, plus the fact Royal Bank of Scotland announced it would end its partnership with the team after 2010, the story almost writes itself.
Except this year is different. The past 12 months have seen no less than three well-heeled manufacturer teams exit the sport, whilst the boys and girls from Oxford remain steadfast and strong. New smaller teams are entering the sport (or at least they're trying) and they likely have less money to throw around than anyone. In the meantime Williams appears to be siding with both the sport's commercial rights holder CVC and the sport's governing body the FIA. I don't believe anyone from the headquarters in Grove ever sent out a press release confirming the re-admittance to FOTA, while the decision to select independent Cosworth power over a Toyota engine won't have hurt their cause in any way.
It has been pointed out several times this year, that Williams are a team who solely exist to race. In fact the team's own facts and stats page quotes this very mantra and they're rightly proud of it. They don't have tins of energy drink to shift, neither do they have a range of high-performance vehicles to promote. They race in Formula One and that is pretty much all they do.
Admittedly there was the small matter of designing an F2 car for the FIA's (them again) pet feeder series project but everything else is essentially Formula One related. Or is it?
I get the impression Sir Frank may have taken a longing look over at the success of the McLaren Group. An F1 team that expanded its horizons to include catering, marketing, technology, and who recently spun out the automotive arm to launch their own range of elite road cars. McLaren once solely existed to race too.
Williams Hybrid Power, the recently rebranded energy storage technology company looks for all the world like it has ambitions beyond Formula One. Let's be honest, if you looked at the backwards way KERS was implemented in the sport, you'd have to have bigger aspirations than that. A couple of weeks back Williams also announced a deal with Qatar Science and Technology Park, and this project has plans to extend current research even further. I believe if you look closely the press release mentions "road cars" too.
At some point the FIA may decide that F1 needs a standardised KERS system, and it would be quite handy if there were a team out there with readymade flywheel system (arguably the more ecologically sound solution), who also had experience with a Cosworth engine. Additionally, it's worth keeping in mind that McLaren's exclusive standard engine control unit deal expires at the end of 2010. Given the success of the system, it makes sense that the SECU concept be retained beyond 2010, but one wonders if a new tender will be put out to interested parties? Integration with a standard KERS system might reduce costs considerably.
Clearly all of the above is nothing more than pure speculation, but it's worth keeping in mind that next year Williams likely won't be the only team existing solely to race. There will be smaller and more needy teams present too. Is it time for Williams to step up and break out beyond Formula 1? I think the F2 project went too well to waste that amount of talent on Formula One.
A third attempt at mastering troublesome technology finally pays dividends, as we catch up with Joe upon his return from Monaco. Christine is the notable absentee, although less chatter means more insight and this episode features plenty of that.
Topics under discussion include - the future of the French Grand Prix and what the BRDC should do next, governance of sport and the plays for power within, as well as the talent of some and the lacking of others.
All of this and much, much more in this episode of An Aside With Joe.
Guest writer Jeremy laments the disappearance of a top name in the sport, but ponders whether he may be coming back.
I've been a McLaren fan since Ayrton Senna joined the team in the late 1980s. They have been a frustrating team to follow at times, but over the years, I have developed a liking for Ron Dennis. He seems to be a perfectionist, bringing a clinical precision to Formula 1 that appealed to my Apple (Steve Jobs) influenced personality.
I rejoiced in Ron's clever plan that brought Lewis Hamilton to the top of the sport and was bitterly disappointed when the title went begging in his first year. I marvel at the McLaren Technology Centre and feel Ron's pain when I read that employees don't understand how disappointed he is that they have dented a chequer plate panel in a service elevator through carelessness.
The sport of Formula 1 is in crisis at the moment, and the popular opinion is that the teams are ready to fight against the perceived mismanagement by FOM, and the FIA. The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) recently lost a key member when Ron stepped away from the McLaren Formula One team to concentrate his efforts on the road car division.
The public perception is of Ron removing himself from the F1 side of the McLaren business, to help convince the FIA that the culture in the team had changed following a serious charge of lying to the stewards. He had already handed the running of the F1 team over to Martin Whitmarsh (his long standing right hand man), so completely stepping away from the team was not a difficult move to understand. Despite the announcement that the news was a surprise to Lewis Hamilton, it made sense.
I've heard nothing of Ron's whereabouts for a while. The reported disconnection with Lewis has been playing on my mind, and the thought that 'we the public' never really know what's going on in F1, keeps bringing me back to the suspicion of other forces at play.
Is Ron preparing for a role in the possible F1 breakaway series? Or even a role at the FIA in a few years time, as was rumoured for Jean Todt when he left Ferrari? Part of me would love to see Bernie Ecclestone (and CVC Capital Partners) lose financial control of the sport to FOTA, and Max Mosley removed from the FIA. I want the teams and circuits to make the amount of money necessary to ensure the continuation of all forms of motor sport, and I want sensible regulation of Formula 1.
McLaren, Ron Dennis and Lewis Hamilton seem to polarise opinions. I would love to hear your thoughts on the questions I have posed, and on the future of Formula 1 governance.
