The official F1 website has a new piece discussing the upcoming movie about our favourite motorsport. From the article:
Production is underway of the definitive feature documentary on Formula One racing. Scheduled for cinema release in spring 2011, the new film will tell the story of the golden Grand Prix age and will include interviews with the sport’s leading personalities, drivers, designers and engineers.
There's no word on who will be in the film, though, so the question is:
If you were casting a film about F1 past or present, who would you give the leading roles to?
It could be as easy as casting Justin Timberlake to play a driver, and Bruce Willis to play a Ron Dennis type figure, or you could give it a bit more thought than that. You always come up with great things, so please, let us know!
Peter Windsor recently spoke of how US F1 were keeping silent as they didn't want to get involved in the vast array of politics surrounding the sport. Bernie's concern over the lack of headlines coming from the team was unfounded, as Windsor claimed:
"We’re all in the entertainment business we call F1 and there seemed little or no point in adding to the situation from the perspective of a new team."
Fast forward just a couple of weeks, and Windsor is diving right on in to the way the sport is set up. The summer shutdown appears to be an issue of contention with the boss of US F1, as it isn't particularly convenient for them and is ultimately unnecessary. Windsor says:
"...remember the August F1 shutdown that was introduced for the first time in 2009? Well, it's happening again in 2010. Understand that most of Europe closes for August and you kind of understand the decision. Unless you're American, that is.
As in Australia, August for Americans is just another working month in which some people maybe take a week or two away. There's no nationwide shutdown, as such – not of the type that regularly afflicts massive F1 teams like Ferrari."
I understand his point, but he also complains about how little the European factories get done over the Christmas break as well. Everyone is allowed a holiday at some point, aren't they?
The real question lies with whether it's fair for the shutdown to coincide with the European shutdown, when not all the teams are in Europe. If it is to be a compulsory shutdown, do they all have to take it at the same time? Last year, the teams were keen to retain the summer break so their employees could have some time off and recharge their batteries after months of travelling to races.
The addition of the factory shutdown came about as an answer to the restriction on wind tunnel usage plus the obligatory cost cutting measures. In the recesses of my not-very-good memory, I recall some teams not being fond of the idea at all. Whilst the race staff could take a break, that didn't necessarily mean the design and factory staff needed to as well.
Nevertheless, Windsor's problem is not that the break exists, but that it is so focused on one continent. Formula 1 is supposedly meant to be global, but definitely rotates around the European industry and audiences. There are a lot of teams based in the UK and nearby, though, so would it be fair to them to move it again?
Windsor will most likely be up against it, though. When the possibility emerged that the 2009 summer break might go missing, there was outrage throughout the paddock. Ron Dennis was particularly vocal about the extra costs involved in rotating staff due to exhaustion and even Bernie got involved in rallying for the break to remain. Now that there's no testing, it only makes sense for the shutdown to occur in the break.
It looks as though Peter is aware of the challenge he faces:
"I was impressed to hear the McLaren guys say that it was a waste of time and that most of their staff had found it all very frustrating, but sadly these were lone voices: the majority of the teams, led by Red Bull, it seemed to me, are firmly committed to the summer shutdown. And so shut down we will."
I don't know the answer to any of these questions, so I am throwing it open to you. Should the factory shutdown remain compulsory? Is it right that it fits in so well with the UK industry, and perhaps alienates other countries? What are your thoughts?
The final point I want to leave on this is from Steven Roy when the topic was brought up earlier:
I just find it odd that Windsor is complaining about something that doesn't happen for 8 months. Surely he has more immediate concerns and more important stuff to put out to the press.
Joe extends the season just a little bit longer as he covers the week's important topics, including the shenanigans at Toyota, BMW and Renault, the long term view at Williams and a free Prius.
Additionally we talk knocking Gino, punching Ron and solving the problem of the Ferrari roof.
As ever, all of this and very 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.
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.
Ah, the meetup yesterday was brilliant and expect to hear more on it soon. Meanwhile, plenty has been happening in the F1 world, and although I haven't had a chance to catch up with the comments yet, I imagine these are the things under discussion:
The diffusers have been declared legal, which is a weight off the minds of Brawn, Toyota and Williams. The others, though, are consigned to either redesign their cars or try and catch up in another way. Ferrari are already suggesting they are "forced" to rethink the F2009, whilst Newey is hard at work trying to incorporate the diffuser into the Red Bull. Expect to see results very soon!
BMW have obviously managed to make some weight-savings on their car, as Kubica is planning to testout KERS on Friday in Shanghai. Particularly because the circuit has plenty of long straights, KERS could be a significant advantage, but they'll evaluate and make their decision during Free Practice.
Finally, AUTOSPORT reports that Ron Dennis is due to make a decision about his future soon, which could see him step back from the team. Firstly, I thought he'd already done that, and secondly, would he really leave them in such a time of crisis?
That'll do for now. It's serious catchup time at Sidepodcast Towers as we fly headlong into the race weekend. Before you know it, Free Practice will be upon us. Until then, I'll see you in the comments.
Testing continues in Barcelona, and we're really starting to see a pattern in the times, even if we can't trust that Brawn GP are topping the timesheets and McLaren are at the bottom. Whatever they're doing, at least they are consistent. Elsewhere:
Briatore is kicking up a bit of a fuss about the rear diffusers again. Williams and Toyota found a clever design loophole that the other teams had missed, Mosley said it was smart but not illegal and now Flav isn't happy. Really, though, isn't he just miffed that he didn't think of it?
Ron Dennis has told us that the poor McLaren form in testing is nothing to worry about, which I don't think we were anyway. He said that testing is a discipline and the times are not relevant to what will happen in Australia.
Dank shared the news that the Mark Webber Challenge won't be held in 2009, due to economic troubles. It doesn't seem all that positive that the event will be back at all, which would be a shame, because it certainly brought publicity and money to the charities involved.
That'll do it for now. I hate Thursdays, remember, but don't worry about that, I'll still see you in the comments.
This article was originally written for BellaOnline, but is republished here for posterity.
McLaren have never been one to shy away from the glamour of Formula 1. There motorhome has recently been one of the biggest in the paddock. A few years ago, they launched the new car with a night-time display in Valencia, fireworks included.
Most F1 teams have a factory tucked away behind hedges to hide the uniform feel of the buildings. McLaren decided that their new Technology Centre would be a piece of stunning architecture, built to work with the landscape instead of blight it.
Ron Dennis had a strong idea of what he wanted, and teamed up with architect Norman Foster to make his vision come to life. Building work began in 1999 and the employees started work in 2003. The Centre was opened by Queen Elizabeth, with a lot of media coverage.
The concept of the building is a circle, with half making up the factory, and half a man made lake of water. The two are in the shape of Ying and Yang, and look stunning from the air. The lake isn't just for show, however, it is pumped through heat exchangers to cool the building and specifically the wind tunnel. The tunnel itself is at one end of the building, and is used for testing aerdynamics - currently of the Formula 1 car, although that will be less prominent as the new regulations reduce wind tunnel testing allowances. However, McLaren build all their cars at the factory, and not just the Formula 1 machines.
The lake attached to the building is just one of five bodies of water. The other four are ecology lakes and designed to encourage and conserve nature. Inside the building, many of the walls are made of glass, there is a lot of light and working areas are very spacious. Facilities include a restaurant, coffee bar, swimming pool and gym. There's also a visitor centre, although that is not part of the main building.
In all of the video footage and photographs shown off the Technology Centre, the building is always spotless and gleaming. I would hate to be the cleaner there, but then again, to work every day in such a beautiful spot might make up for it. You can find out more information about the centre, plus a video tour of the building, on the official McLaren site.
Christine ponders Ron Dennis's recent announcement that he'll be turning up to many of the races in 2009, despite changing jobs.
Transcript
Christine: Hello. This week, Ron Dennis said he would be turning up to most, if not all Grands Prix this season. Big surprise. When he announced he was "stepping aside", we all said well, it's the end of an era, but he's never going to be able to give it up completely. Turns out that was true. However, this has raised some thoughts that I just wanted to share with you.
If you leave your job, but then continue to hang around, isn't that a little bit weird?
I'm sure he said he didn't want to have to organise his schedule around Grand Prix weekends. Maybe he's not going to have as much work as he's leading us to believe.
He says he'll be in the paddock as an "influential member and proponent of FOTA." Any excuse for some Ronspeak, I suppose, but does this really mean he just doesn't want Ferrari getting their own way all the time?
I feel sorry for Martin Whitmarsh because it's not nice having your boss look over your shoulder all the time.
His two reasons for turning up at the races were the FOTA thing and quite simply because he loves the sport. Can't argue with that, if I was in his position I would do exactly the same thing.
Phew. A hectic week of launches has come to an end, and whilst it's great to see some F1 action, I'm glad for the weekend! We've seen a sleek Ferrari, a similar Toyota, and a sexy McLaren, I can't wait to see what else is on the horizon. However, there is plenty going on to keep us entertained.
Ron Dennis finally announced his departure as Team Principal from the team. We're talking about it here, but the big question is, will he still be around on the grid all the time, or have we seen the last of Mr D?
Meanwhile, the McLaren boys have been discussing their attitudes for the upcoming season, with Kovalainen saying he feels he did alright in '08. In fact, he thinks he needs to relax more this year. This seems like a bizarre thing to say from someone who was completely outshone.
Finally, it's Sidepodiary Friday, so check out the new video on the Wiki. It's all about Toyota, although I don't really say anything nice about them. As you would expect. Anyway, let me know what you think, all feedback gratefully received.
Let us know what you're up to this weekend, especially if you have any exciting plans. We'll be around for the majority of the weekend, so I'll see you in the comments.
