Ferrari

The Italian Grand Prix is a classic event on the international motorsport calendar. The Monza circuit is legendary and has hosted the Italian Grand Prix every year since 1950, except for in 1980 when the race went to Imola. Before the Formula 1 World Championship, the circuit hosted the Italian Grand Prix from 1922.

Monza was traditionally all about slipstreaming: the art of getting a tow from the car in front in order to slingshot past. With no chicanes until 1972, the races frequently featured epic slipstreaming battles. It wasn’t enough to simply slipstream past a car and work your way up to the front. After passing a car, you would have someone behind you–and in your own slipstream.

So, there was a real strategy to consider as you sought the best moment to make the pass.

The advent of chicanes changed the nature of racing at Monza substantially. However, the circuit is still the fastest on the calendar and requires an ultra-low downforce set-up, which would be useless at any other circuit.

In the past, the teams would have a big test session at Monza in the weeks leading up to the race. This is no longer the case with the in-season testing ban. And so, the Formula 1 teams will arrive at the circuit on Friday with a limited idea of how they will fare.

This gives added precedence to free practice, with decisions to be made on the effectiveness of the wings (do they work as the wind tunnel suggested?) and the brakes (their ducting/cooling in particular).

With DRS and KERS, picking the correct gear ratios will be of the utmost importance.

The movable rear wing can be opened anywhere around the lap during qualifying, requiring a high top gear ratio, but in the race it can only be opened in the two specified DRS zones, if you are within one second of the car ahead.

Therefore, you will need a lower gear ratio for the majority of the race. It’s a fine balance, but DRS opens up the prospect of a return to the thrilling slipstreaming Grands Prix of the past.

Last year’s race can be cited as the point at which Lewis Hamilton began to falter. He crashed into Massa at the second chicane on lap one as his teammate, Jenson Button, went on to battle Fernando Alonso for the win.

At the next race in Singapore, Hamilton made contact with Mark Webber and went out of the race. Since then he’s driven some great races, but has made a mess of too many others.

After crashing out in Belgium two weeks ago he will be looking to bag a win, but the aero supremacy of Red Bull could stifle his plans. Mercedes are thought to have the best DRS and Michael Schumacher is driving very well at the moment. He’s one to watch, as is the Toro Rosso team who appear to have made a set-up breakthrough and could pick up some points this weekend, after their disastrous race in Belgium.

Perhaps more importantly, heavy rain showers are predicted for Sunday. It’s a classic event which drips with passion and occasion; the whole of Italy will be watching so make sure you do too.

No matter who ends up winning the Driver's Championship, it seems that the Constructor's championship has been sewn up by Red Bull racing.

They currently hold a 131 point lead over their rivals, so even if they are off the podium, as long as one other team doesn't dominate every race with one-twos, they'll be in the running. So who will pull wrap up second place?

The odds are definitely on McLaren's side. They have a 65 point lead over Ferrari and a much better driving pair in Hamilton and Button. At least one of them should be on the podium for the remaining races and there's a good chance both will be there for a few.  

Their only downfall could be the car itself. McLaren's car has looked very strong recently and if they keep up in the development race—which they have the experience and capability to do—they will easily take second. However, they haven't been spotless in this department and their mistakes could come back to haunt them. 

Ferrari have a very strong driver in Fernando Alonso and if the circumstances favor it, you can't discount him taking the rest of the races in first. So far no other driver has shown much ability to out-think him on the track and he has the natural speed to shine.

Massa is the wild card. If he comes back to his 2008 form, Ferrari could walk away with second. If he continues with his recent results, however, Ferrari will have to hope for McLaren to stumble.

What if McLaren's development keeps pace and Massa comes back to his peak driving abilities? Well, then I'd have to start rethinking Red Bull's grasp on the Constructor's Championship, but at least we'd be in for a great ending to the 2011 season. 

If there is one driver hoping to make a splash when the Formula 1 circuit heads to Spa it is Ferrari's Fernando Alonso.

Widely considered as the best post-Schumacher era driver, the varying levels of forest surrounded track in Belgium have always proved a step too far for the double world champion.

It is one of only four races on this year's calender that the Spaniard has never won (if you omit the debut Grand Prix of India). 

Only in Abu Dhabi has he failed to reach the podium in two attempts, a stat that Alonso passes very little comment on.

Taking the relatively new Abu Dhabi track and Indian Grand Prix out of the equation, statistically Spa is where Alonso has produced the weakest results.

He has picked up two second place finishes in the other Grand Prix he has failed to win (Brazil and Turkey) with only a solitary second at Spa in 2005. 

Overall in 2005, he dominated proceedings in heading to his first world championship. Yet he could do little to tackle the Mclaren of Kimi Raikkonen who roared to victory with a near 30-second advantage in Spa that year. 

However, with Ferrari looking defiantly resurgent as this season has progressed, is this the year Alonso will finally break his drought in Belgium? 

His victory in Great Britain in July was monumental in turning around the fortunes of the team considered third best this season.

Five podium finishes in the last six races suggests that although it is Mclaren that have gained more on Red Bull, at least Fernando will not go down without a fight. 

Oddly he has never won another Grand Prix on more than two occasions but his collection of victories at 14 of the 20 tracks illustrates the all-around excellence he has behind the wheel. 

Alonso will also no doubt want to end the last two years of torment he has had in Spa. His worst qualifying of 13th in a lacklustre Renault in 2009 ended in retirement after damage sustained in colliding with Adrian Sutil. 

Last year, the changeable weather conditions also thwarted his final qualifying efforts. He started 10th and suffered a second consecutive retirement at the track after an uncharacteristic spin at the Les Combes-Malmedy complex.

Maybe it will be the weather that dictates again his ability to challenge for the win at Spa. Eager eyes will  be on his qualifying attempts as a career best of only third in 2004 and 2007 can go some way into dissecting the reason he has never dominated the Grand Prix. 

In 2004, it was a spin that edged him out after he had led two laps of the Grand Prix, whereas in 2007 whilst at Renault it was the Ferrari duo of Massa and Raikkonen that the Spaniard found hard to penetrate. 

As long as he betters his previous two efforts then he may be in with a shot. Success would mean he can head of to Abu Dhabi and India later in the year to spearhead a greater challenge and attempt to accomplish in the future a victory at all Grand Prix circuits. 

The FIA have finally found a way to fracture the dominance of Red Bull.

Unfortunately, they will be hard pushed to change the rules in the middle of the race weekend every race for the rest of the season, but their tinkering has final broken Red Bull’s stranglehold on the 2011 Formula One season.

And, if the rumour mill is to be believed, they have done it all at the behest of Ferrari.

Then again, if we believe the conspiracy theorists, Ferrari are responsible for the global financial crisis, climate change and they may have had a hand in the Kennedy assassination.

Certainly, Ferrari's blown diffuser system was not as good as McLaren and Red Bull and they have quietly been complaining to anyone who would listen, but the loud noises were coming from the minnows at the back of the pack.

Nevertheless, it is difficult to understand where exactly the urgency was coming from to prompt the FIA to rewrite the rules in the middle of a race weekend—particularly when it involves something as crucial as how a diffuser behaves.

These cars are developed over many months, changes take a long time to incorporate, and only then after a lot of testing.

Obviously there was a lot of disquiet about the so-called “reliability” exemptions the manufacturers were given, to ensure that their engines weren’t damaged by these changes to how they operate in throttle-off mode.

The unseemly tiff between Christian Horner and Martin Whitmarsh exposed just how much ill feeling there is between the teams. It was handbags at five paces by comparison to more physical sports, but by F1 standards it was a prize fight.

So Ferrari and Alonso have finally got onto the top step of the podium for the first time this year and it was a very solid win.

They have been very close to Red Bull all weekend and although Alonso inherited the lead because of a pit-stop blunder by Red Bull, he looked likely to make the pass on the track anyway.

The prancing horses have been quietly developing and improving all year and have perhaps caught the leaders out. They have a lot to do to catch Red Bull, but McLaren would definitely be in their sights.

McLaren, on the other hand, continued their slide at Silverstone. They didn’t help their cause by not giving Lewis Hamilton enough fuel and forgetting to tighten Jensen Button’s lug nuts.

Hamilton was also at his demolition-derby best when Felipe Massa tried an audacious overtaking move in the final corners of the race. Hamilton managed to hit Massa, pushing him wide for the next corner and allowing Hamilton to squeak across the line for a narrow fourth-place finish.

Hamilton lost a big chunk of his front wing in the process and would have been in even more difficulty had the race not ended when it did.

There is also more trouble brewing in paradise. In the closing stages of the race, Mark Webber was given the order to “maintain the gap” to Sebastian Vettel.

Webber voiced his annoyance at that order in the FIA press conference and appeared to have ignored it on track when he tried to pass his championship-leading teammate. It will make for an uncomfortable team dinner.

All up it was an eventful Silverstone weekend. It’s just a pity none of it was on the track.

Guessing which driver will emerge as the next Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso is incredibly difficult. There are so many drivers racing in a wide variety of successful Formula One feeder series that picking one out is a lottery.

The current drivers in Formula One have come from a variety of series; some are from the defunct F3000 series, while others came straight from national Formula 3 championships. Paul di Resta has famously come from DTM, the German saloon car championship.

Nearly half the current grid came from the official Formula One feeder series, GP2. This series was set up in 2005, but since then only two of its former racers, Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen, have gone on to win a Formula One Grand Prix.

So how can a young driver make the break into international motorsports premier category? Motor racing is expensive, and so money has always been one way of smoothing the ride. Sergio Perez of Sauber and Pastor Maldonado of Williams have been able to tap sponsors from their native Mexico and Venezuela respectively to secure their places on the F1 grid.

But they have the talent too—Maldonado is the reigning GP2 champion and Perez finished second in 2010. Young drivers also need an available seat in Formula One, but since in-season testing has been banned the attention of Formula One teams has shifted to established drivers.

Hiring a known quantity is a safer route than gambling on a rookie. It’s no coincidence that drivers such as Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli are still in the sport despite making their debuts in the 1990s.

A young driver can significantly increase his chances of landing himself a Formula One race seat if he is fortunate enough to become affiliated with a Formula One team. Most teams have a young driver programme, and these programmes are spurred on by the fear of missing out on the next Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher.

Daniel Ricciardo, age 21, has successfully progressed through the Red Bull driver programme and the Australian is now on the brink of Formula One. Ricciardo is currently sixth in the highly competitive 2011 Formula Renault 3.5 Series. This series is similar to GP2, with big, powerful cars which are incredibly fast and require total commitment.

Robert Kubica is a previous series champion and Jaime Alguersuari was driving in the series when he made his Formula One debut in 2009. Ricciardo recently put in a storming performance at the very tough Monaco race, where he won from pole position, setting fastest lap along the way.

He also put in some stunning lap times at the official Formula One young driver test in Abu Dhabi at the end of 2010. He drove for Red Bull Racing on both days of that test, giving him a wealth of rare Formula One experience. He is now hotly tipped to make the step into Formula One with Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso—possibly even at some point during this season.

The pressure is truly on Toro Rosso’s current drivers Sébastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari. Red Bull also has Jean-Eric Vergne, a Frenchman, on their books. Vergne, also 21, is currently leading the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, having scored four podium finishes from six races so far in 2011. He clearly has the consistency necessary to win this prestigious championship and his progress will be closely monitored by Red Bull.

Jules Bianchi is another 21-year-old Frenchman, and he is in the fortunate position of being a member of the Ferrari young driver programme. Unfortunately, his GP2 season has failed to impress so far and he currently sits 13th in the table. He has to pull out some solid performances if he is to better his 2010 season, when he finished third overall.

He certainly has the pedigree though, for like Hamilton and di Resta, he has been a champion of the highly rated Formula 3 Euroseries. He is certainly one to keep an eye on but his path to Formula One isn’t clear. Ferrari has Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso under contract for 2012 and they wouldn’t put a rookie in the car in 2013.

A possible scenario is that Sauber’s Sergio Perez, who is also on the Ferrari young driver programme, could step into Massa’s seat in 2013 and if Bianchi performs well in 2011 and 2012, he could be placed at the Ferrari-engined Sauber team in Perez’s place. But motor racing is constantly evolving and predicting what may happen one or two years in the future is always a risky game.

Also racing in GP2 this year is Sam Bird, 24. The British driver has tested for Mercedes GP in the past and is currently second in the championship after six of eighteen rounds. Setting competitive times in the F1 young driver test in November went a long way in securing his position as an up and coming driver and he attracted strong feedback from Mercedes GP Team Principal Ross Brawn.

The comments given were particularly positive and Sam will be firmly on the radar of a variety of Formula One teams.

These drivers need to continue to focus on their fitness and they need to work hard with their engineers to understand their cars so they can get the maximum from them at every race. They also have to make sure they get strong results; ultimately it is points on the board that count. And they will probably need a bit of luck.

But they all have the potential to realise their dream of reaching Formula One.

Aerodynamic performance has been a huge talking point in Formula One circles, among the teams, the media and the fans in recent years since the reformulation of the rules for the 2009 season. 2009 was the year of the double diffuser and the teams that were able to implement early in their campaign were very successful in the championship, as the Jenson Button's and Brawn GP's championships illustrate.

The developments in 2010 were also developed by the top two teams in Constructor's Championship. McLaren introduced the F-duct system, to remove downforce on their car and to give them higher speeds in low downforce stretches of circuits. Utilizing the system on both straights and even some corners where high amounts of downforce isn't necessary.

Red Bull Racing's contribution to aerodynamic developments in Formula One were exhaust blown diffusers, which works by funneling the exhaust gases out of the engine into the diffuser in order to creating low pressure in the diffuser and this creating downforce. The concept is similar to the ground effect aerodynamics cars from 1978-1982, which also used the underside of the car to create downforce.

Double diffusers have been banned for the 2011 Formula One season while exhaust blown diffusers are still allowed. Teams have further tweaked the concept, this time led by Renault. Renault's development of exhaust blown diffusers is to run the car at part throttle at all times. Letting exhaust escape through the front facing exhausts even when there is no throttle being applied.

But with all of this obsession with the aerodynamics in Formula One engineering and competition, something important has been lost: the importance of mechanical grip. That is the answer to the puzzling question of the Ferrari's lackluster qualifying and race pace so far in 2011. Tires and mechanical grip.

A major change for 2011 was the switch of tire supplier from Bridgestone to Pirelli, which granted is a dependent variable for all the teams and drivers, but Ferrari have somehow fared worse with Pirelli rubber than they did with Bridgestones. The 150 Italia has scored two podiums and one fifth place in the last three races. All of those results are a story of how the 150 Italia is dependent on mechanical grip and the right tire to perform well.

At Istanbul, Fernando Alonso started fifth on the grid and finished the race in third place only 10 seconds behind the time of Sebastian Vettel. The Ferrari as mandated by the rules started on the option soft tires and moved up to P3 by the first pit stop on Lap 10 of the Grand Prix.  As a result of running the first three tire stints on the option tire the 150 Ferrari moved from fifth to third. 

While on his third and fourth pit stops Ferrari ran the prime hard tire, according to their allotment and to the sporting regulations. Alonso and Ferrari also adopted a strategy of covering whatever move as Webber. As a result of this strategy and the slow pace on the prime tires, Alonso lost his second place to Webber's RB7. 

According to the charts on gpupdate.net and provided by the FIA, Alonso ran 36 of 58 laps on option tires, 62 percent of the race, and it netted him a third place and only a deficit of 10 seconds on Vettel.

Pirelli had brought a harder version of the prime tire for the Spanish Grand Prix which was supposed to be more durable but had much less grip. That turned out be Alonso's and the Ferrari's undoing in Spain. At the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo, Alonso qualified fourth and would the the race in fifth position finishing one lap behind the winner Vettel.

Alonso had a perfect start coming from fourth and overtaking both of the Red Bulls and Lewis Hamilton's McLaren to be in first position at the end of the first lap. Alonso's first pit stop on Lap 10 was uneventful and he quickly reclaimed the top stop. For his second stop on Lap 19, Alonso took his last set of options while Vettel who had come in one lap before Alonso was able to make up ground on the Spaniard.  Both McLarens wouldn't come in for their respective pit stops until Lap 24 for Hamilton and Lap 30 for the notoriously smooth and controlled Jenson Button.

After all of the top five cars had changed their tires twice, Hamilton sat first with Vettel behind him, Alonso third in line, Button in fourth place with Mark Webber in fifth.  Fernando Alonso's Ferrari 150 Italia and his main rival Webber's RB7 the only cars on prime tires on Lap 30.

Vettel, Hamilton and Button would run for much longer on their option tires and built a large lead on both Webber and Alonso. Alonso's fourth and fifth tire stints were both on what Hamilton termed "disastrous" Pirelli extreme hard tires.  Alonso ran 37 of his 66 laps on the prime tires, 56 percent of the race. He was fifth and one lap behind the leader Vettel.

In the famous streets of the principality of Monaco, Alonso put his Ferrari on fourth on the grid. Although Hamilton wasn't able to post a quick time because of Sergio Perez scary crash and the resulting red flag. Pirelli had brought the soft tires as the primes and the brand new super soft rubber as the option. Monaco is the highest downforce and the least aero dependent of all the circuits of the world championship. Meaning that tire usage and mechanical grip proves to be more important than normally.

The low stress, speeds and lateral side loads proved to be a recipe for keeping the fragile Pirelli rubber intact and there were relatively few pit stops compared to other races so far in 2011

Alonso only pit twice, starting the race on the options and staying on them for the second stint running the first 35 laps on super soft Pirelli tires reaching first position and running mostly in third.  Meaning Alonso had to run more than half of the 78 laps on prime rubber, which was very easily achievable because of the relatively low wear rate around Monaco and his superb car control skills.What's more since the prime tires were the soft compound, Ferrari didn't lose the mechanical grip that is usually connected to having to run primes for the majority of the race. 

Button had to pit to change to prime rubber on Lap 48, which gave the double world champion second place behind Vettel, Button would come out third and stay there for the rest of the race.  If not for the red flag and the fact that all of the cars were able to change tires, Alonso might have taken first from Vettel.

The lesson of the past three Grand Prix is that Ferrari isn't missing downforce or aerodynamic performance compared to the Red Bulls and McLarens the Ferrari major issues involve how they use their tires and the lack of mechanical grip on hard and the revised "extreme hard" tire.

Lucky for them they'll be able to run the super soft compound in both Montreal and Valencia. While the medium tire will be introduced for the latter race, these tire allocations may result in Ferrari being able to stay in the championship, or what's left of it to gain, until a major proposed upgrade at Silverstone that will hopefully fix the issues with mechanical grip.

Wow.  That’s all that can be said for either a die hard race fan or the leisurely sports watcher tonight. That’s what may make this years “Holy Race Day,” as I’ve come to call it, so special.

It was one of those days where even someone who didn't know what in the world was going on, Still had their voices shouting in amazement of what they were seeing. 

Starting with the Indianapolis 500, one had originally thought that Dario Franchitti would smoothly drive a conservative last stint of the race, slowly allowing everyone ahead of him to pit while staying ahead of anyone on his same strategy. 

When Dario began to back off substantially, you then thought it was Scott Dixon’s day, who had been as dominant as Dario all race.  If not him, then Dan Wheldon, who was also quick and not worried about fuel. 

Then in the most incredible fashion, a driver who I didn’t even know was In the race itself, put himself ahead of Dixon and Wheldon solidly.  “He must be some guy that's about to pit,” I thought; but he wasn’t. 

With two laps left, the math worked out for him to win considering the gap he had on Wheldon.  Where did this kid come from?  Well, that was the answer in code, as he was a rookie with little experience. 

The disaster that occurred off the final corner of yesterday's 500, may be the biggest choke in Indy 500 history, or maybe even racing history period. 

Of all possible last-second chokes, it wasn’t about getting passed at the last second while trying to drive as quick and smooth as possible in either a slower car or a scenario where a faster car was coming through the field (Marco Andretti, Indy 500 in 2006.  The only other time in history that a driver lost the lead of the 500 on the last lap. 

And by the way, what a race that was with the Andretti story and Hornish's story all occurring simultaneously), running out of fuel (fairly common) or stupidly thinking the race was over and slowing down too soon (Bjorn Wireheim in an F3000 race at Monaco in 2003, or Mark Martin at Bristol in 1994); it was a crash on the 800th corner of 800, with 99 percent fault on the driver. 

One could say it was bad luck that he had to catch a lapped car at the worst possible place, but passing lapped cars to leaders of races is like passing cars on the way to work when one is late. 

It’s part of the common task that one must accomplish at a subconscious level.  But this does bring up something else; I personally, put this utterly atrocious calamity to the spotter of JR Hildebrand. 

His spotter should have told him before going into turn 3, that A. there was a lapped car coming up that he would catch, and B. he had a substantial enough lead to relax, and substantial enough to not even attempt a pass on that lapped car. 

This is something you would tell a driver of Jim Clark's ability or a rookie, especially with how easy it has been to accidentally go one inch too high in the high groove at Indianapolis and put your car on a red carpet ride to the wall lined with no buffet, no girls in gowns, and no wine.  All of this is even more amplified with two corners to go. 

The young kid, as he explained after, kept pushing because he thought Wheldon was too close behind, and tried to get to the finish line as soon as possible.  For now – the rest is history. 

With it, maybe the first second-place finisher to be remembered as much if not more than the winner. 

Regardless, the young Trevor Bayne made a couple of brilliant decisions in the last mile of the Daytona 500 to win as a 20-year-old rookie.  JR, good information by his spotter or not, made a terrible mistake that will live with him until his memory is destroyed. 

This he is probably trying to accomplish by Monday morning.  He will unfortunately and undoubtedly fail. Poor Kid. 

I must say how unbelievably impressed I was with how calm and composed JR was in the post-race interview. 

Most of us would have been taking bits and pieces of the car and hurl them at the nearest inanimate object or corner marshal until there were no pieces left to throw. 

In the end, Dan Wheldon was a highly deserving winner.  He was more emotional than anyone I have ever seen win anything at Indianapolis. 

He had a story concerning his mother with Alzheimer’s, and he was racing for a small team that was fully behind him, led by his friend Bryan Herta. 

Most of all, this was a one-off race for Wheldon in 2011.  He is not a regular driver in the 2011 season.  What a one-off it was. 

As a remarkable side note to this the 100th Anniversary of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, Dan Wheldon led only that last lap for the win: the fewest laps led by an Indy 500 winner.  The previous record was two laps in 1912. 

Furthermore, Dan came in second place in both 2009 and 2010.  He led no laps in either of those races.  Hence, one lap led for a second, second, and win over three years.  Realistically, about ¼ of a mile led, but the only ¼ of a mile that matters.    

For JR Hildebrand, no matter how you cut it, without even beginning to go back in our minds to think of every single race we have ever seen in any series from 1900 onward, this event that was seen on Sunday was no doubt in the Top 10 greatest driver chokes of all-time in motor sports considering the magnitude that is the Indianapolis 500.  More likely, Top 3. 

To touch on the Coca-Cola 600, can one say “Who Won?”  In the seemingly more common fuel mileage races, Sunday’s fuel mileage freak show provided more lead changes at the end of a race than any I can remember in recent memory in the sport of racing. 

Greg Biffle seemed like he might have a chance to hold off Charlotte master Kasey Kahne, ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Ragan, Matt Kenseth and Denny Hamlin.  Matt was flying 0.500 seconds quicker a lap than both Kahne and Biffle, but had to pit with just a few laps to go. 

During the yellow flag that came out with less than a handful of laps to go, Biffle had to pit giving the lead to Kahne.  Easy win for Kahne now?  No, as Kahne ran out of fuel at the restart, bottlenecking up anyone on the high side. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. would of course take the lead, and do so until the last corner of the longest race on the NASCAR schedule. 

So that means David Ragan got the win?  No, as he was on the high line when Kahne stalled.  Denny Hamlin for the checkered flag?  No, as He ran out of fuel on the final corner just as he was catching the newly fuel-less Earnhardt.

So then, who the heck won?  Kevin Harvick from absolutely nowhere.  Well, kind of. 

He was third in line on the bottom of the restart behind Earnhardt and Hamlin.  Kevin was about the most undeserved winner possible for this race as for one, he stated in the post-race interview that he hates Charlotte as a track, and most importantly Harvick had his teammates (luckily in the right place at the right time) pushing him while he had his engine shut off under the yellow flag, trying to save as much fuel as possible. 

So a car that was being pushed by his friends at 50 mph, ends up winning the 600-mile race three minutes later.  How this is legal, is completely beyond me.  It gives yet another advantage to those teams with more cars, hence those with the most financial power.     

Although, the biggest heartbreak of the day may have actually come in the Formula 1 race at the principality.  We as fans were robbed of probably the single greatest Formula 1 battle ever seen at Monaco, and just possibly one of the greatest Formula 1 battles in its history. 

All of this disaster, because of a monstrous contradiction of definition, which was not a problem just recently.  When do you ever get three considerably different sets of tires on three cars right next to each other? 

When do you get this situation where the oldest tires are on the car in first, the car with moderately old tires is second, and the car with the newest tires sits third?  Moreover, when do you get all of this, at Monaco??  Never.  

Well, it happened Sunday, and was going to continue into the remaining 10 laps with lapped cars ahead, making the battle even that more exciting. 

But the cars ahead had an accident, causing a yellow flag and then a red flag.  As bad as that might be, the race would be resumed, so not much lost at all in terms of entertainment. 

That was until the world heard that you could actually work on your car during a red flag, and yes, change tires.  I don’t know if I have ever been more disgusted at Formula 1. 

In an age where so many things are changing for the better and if not, much better, this was a travesty.  A red flag is to suspend the race as if in mid air.  Even touching the car would change the outcome of the race to the tiniest of a degree, outside of restarting the car. 

But to change tires, and worse off, be able to fix the rear wing of a car (Lewis Hamilton), is absurd.  Completely absurd. 

I am, and have been a major Sebastian Vettel fan since 2007.  But this was not the finish I, nor anyone wanted. 

Alonso would have dove down for a pass in a do or die fashion after a couple of laps of fighting hard.  He has nothing to lose.  And who knows what Button may have done? 

Today, we were robbed of what would have likely been a historic finish to a moor race.  What we saw for those few laps before the yellow flag was just an appetizer to what the remaining laps would have been. 

Still, one of the greatest Holy Race Days of all time.  Just depends on who you were rooting for.

        Musically and Racingly -

                                   Cory Pesaturo  

www.CoryPesaturo.com  

World Digital Accordion Champion        

It’s time for the first European race of the season as the Formula One circus heads to Barcelona for the third time this year for the Spanish Grand Prix from May 20-22.

The Circuit de Catalunya has already hosted two stints of preseason testing, one more than usual, on account of the political unrest in Bahrain earlier this year.

Because of the huge amounts of testing done here over the years, Formula One drivers and mechanics are extremely familiar with the venue. This has often led to criticism as it has significantly reduced the amount of on-track action.

The circuit also has a history of radio-related problems. During one of the practice sessions in 2009, Mark Webber claimed that he overheard Spanish truck drivers talking to one another over CB radios.

Imagine traveling at speeds of over 300 kmph in sweltering conditions with nothing but hot cocas on your mind!

So what can we expect to see at Barcelona this year? Except, of course, Fernando Alonso’s red brigade!

Track and Conditions

The Circuit de Catalunya measures 4.6 kms and consists of 66 laps amounting to a total of 307 kms. It is one of the most advanced circuits on the grid and is constantly upgraded due to the amount of testing done.

It has everything—a short straight, a long high-speed pit straight and a variety of corners including some demanding fast corners as well as a few slow corners and sweeping bends.

The sweeping corners are very dependent on downforce, while the long straights require a low level of drag.

Unfortunately, all those fast corners come at the cost of reducing the chances of overtaking. Turn one remains a favourite place to try a move. It is one of the very few natural overtaking points on the circuit.

The wind direction at the circuit can change drastically during the day, a factor which highlights the importance of aerodynamics in the cars. However, it is hard to find the ideal setup as the cars can have massive aerodynamic drag and understeer on one part of the circuit in the morning, but suffer oversteer at the same part in the afternoon.

Messrs. Adrian Newey and Co. are, thus, bound to be kept busy.

These characteristics are made even more challenging by changing gradients as the circuit runs up and down the hillside overlooking the massive pit and paddock complex.

The cars are at full throttle for about 60 percent of the lap which is not too hard on the engine. However, front-left tyre graining has been pointed out in the past. It will be interesting to see how the Pirellis handle this.

This all-rounder of a circuit is, thus, quite challenging from a technical viewpoint. With the new overtaking add-ons, you can’t quite rule out the possibility of a humdinger of a race!

Last Year's Strategy

In its last 10 editions, the Spanish Grand Prix has been won by the pole-sitter.

Last year’s race saw Red Bull’s Mark Webber lead from pole and eventually take the chequered flag ahead of local favourite Fernando Alonso. Webber’s teammate Sebastian Vettel, who started from P2, took third after an absolute disaster of a race.

Vettel struggled early on with the balance of his car and made his pitstop on Lap 16, expecting Lewis Hamilton, who was third, to make his on the same lap. But the Brit stayed out for another lap and eventually took second place from Vettel after the German was delayed in the pits by the outgoing Alonso and the incoming Jenson Button. Vettel came out of the pitlane shoulder-to-shoulder with Hamilton and had to steer wide to avoid contact.

Things got worse for Vettel on Lap 54 when he went wide with a suspected front-brake failure and headed into the gravel. Vettel dropped in for a new set of tyres—a move that dropped him behind Alonso. Vettel did well to nurse his brakes for the remainder of the race and took the last place on the podium.

Vettel’s podium finish was helped by a left-front tyre puncture on Hamilton’s MP4-25 which lobbed the second-placed Englishman into the wall, gifting second to Alonso.

Ironically enough, Mark Webber was seen nowhere near any of these incidents.

This Year's Strategy

The Spanish Grand Prix has, more or less, always been a one-stop Grand Prix. However, with Pirelli’s extra-sensitive rubber, you could expect a norm of two stops this year.

Get P1 in qualifying, get P1 on the podium. This has been the winning formula at Barcelona.

However, recent results show that qualifying on pole position is no longer key to winning at certain circuits. A combination of new tyres and overtaking aids has made it easier to pass for position this season and has put an onus on pit strategy.

At the recent Chinese Grand Prix, Mark Webber failed to make it out of the first round of qualifying, but raced from 18th to third on Raceday. He was helped by the fresh sets of soft tyres he saved by not taking part in the final two stages of qualifying.

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has admitted that Webber’s performance has made his team rethink their strategy.

Each driver has three sets of primes and three sets of option tyres available to them for qualifying and the race. Popular approach has been to use all three sets of soft tyres in qualifying, carrying the final set in to the race before stopping once for hard tyres.

However, with this year's Pirellis degrading more quickly, Horner believes that drivers would be better off saving fresh sets of soft tyres for the race, even if it compromises grid position.

This approach, however, could not necessarily work at Barcelona given the non-overtaking nature of the track. A pole-sitter will always have that extra advantage.

The DRS zone at Barcelona is reportedly going to be one of the longest seen so far—all of 830 metres—and is, thus, most likely to be situated on the start-finish straight. The DRS and KERS have produced quite a few exciting spells and results in the season so far, and it will be interesting to see what they throw into the mix at Barcelona.

Notable Incidents

Last year, Ferrari were fined $20,000 following an incident involving Fernando Alonso and Nico Rosberg in qualifying. After pulling out of the Ferrari garage on his first run in Q3, Alonso cut Rosberg as the Mercedes driver made his way down the pit lane.

The German was forced to brake sharply and was understandably infuriated. After much deliberation over the incident, the race stewards issued a fine on the Scuderia.

Ferrari were also involved in a controversy over one of their decals which sported the Marlboro “barcode” pattern that subliminally promoted the brand’s cigarettes. Ferrari eventually changed the livery of the F10.

In 2008, McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen suffered a large crash at Turn 9 of the circuit. After the race, Mark Webber, the then director of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association, said that standards at the track should have been better.

Webber said the run-off area at Turn 9 was too tight, which could cause an even more serious accident in the future without improvements. In response to this, the FiA made modifications to the track, which would minimize the chances of such a severe accident happening again. 

The event also took place under the shadow of incidents that had taken place at the same circuit during preseason testing earlier that year. At one of the sessions, Hamilton was subjected to racist taunting by some of the spectators. 

In response, the FiA launched a "Racing Against Racism" programme, and placed the Spanish and European Grands Prix on probation. Hamilton is highly unpopular in Spain due to his acrimonious relationship with Spaniard Alonso during their partnership at McLaren the year before.

The 2007 edition witnessed a barrage of retirements right from the start when Toyota’s Jarno Trulli stalled on the grid. However, the highlight of the event was when Felipe Massa’s Ferrari avoided disaster by a whisker while he was leaving the pits after some fuel fell on the exhausts resulting in a flash of flame.

There were doubts as to whether Massa had taken the intended amount of fuel on board but the Brazilian managed to preserve his lead and go on to win the race.

The 2004 edition of the race is best known for the antics of the notorious Jimmy Jump—an infamous pitch-intruder of major sporting events. 

Jimmy Jump ran across the starting grid sporting his popular red barretina during the warm-up lap and was criticized for risking the lives of the drivers, even though the cars were still traveling at low speeds at this point.

Previous Winners

In 10 attempts in front of his adoring fans—eight Spanish Grands Prix at Barcelona and two European Grands Prix in Valencia—Fernando Alonso has managed just one victory back in 2006 with Renault. 

YEAR	DRIVER	CONSTRUCTOR
2010	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing
2009	Jenson Button	Brawn GP
2008	Kimi Raikkonen	Ferrari
2007	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
2006	Fernando Alonso	Renault
2005	Kimi Raikkonen	McLaren
2004	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari

 

Predictions

Red Bull has been so dominant on Saturdays this season that it is very difficult to bet against them. Sebastian Vettel has never won the Spanish Grand Prix and will be looking to set that record straight.

However, the German defending champion will have to combat 120,000 vociferous Spaniards around the circuit and one alongside him on the track as Fernando Alonso arrives at his home Grand Prix.

Alonso will want to reciprocate his fans’ support and win his first Spanish Grand Prix in Ferrari colours. He will, however, be hoping for some miracle from his garage as the F150° Italia has really struggled for pace so far.

However, the Scuderia can draw courage from how Alonso drove at Istanbul and grabbed his first podium finish of the season.

Going by numbers, Alonso is a whopping 52 points behind Championship leader Vettel. But statistics also tell you that the Spaniard has notched up 13 more points in the four races completed so far than the same ones last year.

The numbers game also points out that Alonso was 47 points off the top after Silverstone last year with eight races to go and still managed to take the fight right down to the wire in Abu Dhabi.

Alonso has 15 races left this season.

Over to Barcelona!