Ferrari

In moralistic terms the worst aspect of this year's Formula 1 season was the denial of victory for Felipe Massa exactly a year after his Hungarian accident.

Here was a driver who had taken a defiant stance in the face of adversity. When the piece of Brawn went inches from his eye he could have thrown in the towel then and there.

Yet he chose not to.

He did, however, find himself partnered in his full return with double world champion Fernando Alonso as a teammate.

And today Felipe proclaims that he will not be another Rubens Barrichello for Ferrari. In his view, when the 2011 season begins he will be an equal to the man who now seems to spearhead Ferrari's hopes of driver glory.

One of Massa's most adamant proclamations is the mention of Alonso in comparison to his former teammates. He states that Fernando "is not better than my other team-mates."

Some would see this as an idea born out of fantasy, whist others will revel in the Brazilian's renewed optimism.

But is Massa in a position, or will he ever find the circumstance, to beat Fernando Alonso throughout a whole racing season?

In his early seasons at Sauber the Brazilian partnered teammates such as Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Jacques Villeneuve. For much of this time he did play second fiddle, although it has to be said that in his final season he was a good match for Villenueve.

Of course back then we all knew Felipe to be slightly reckless and prone to the common racing incident. He built himself a negative reputation of inconsistency.

Then things started to spark up with his surprising move to Ferrari. Many felt the drive was undeserved for someone who had shown little legendary potential so far in his career.

Michael Schumacher, in the latter stages of his own career, saw Massa as the perfect   protégé, however, and took him under his wing,

Felipe learned a ton from the seven-time world champion, and both his reputation and speed behind the wheel improved.

Two wins towards the end of his debut season at Ferrari in 2006 gave him some momentum to build upon. When Schumacher retired and Kimi Raikkonen took his place, Massa proved his worth on many occasions. Yet it was still Kimi who took the title in his first season at the Tifosi.

It was in 2008 that Massa came into his own. He finally laid down the foundations for a furthered run and almost took the title in Brazil.

Since then, sadly, he has seen a slight decline, one which led up to his accident in Hungary.

Massa still has some way to go, though.

It is easy to argue that Alonso is the strongest teammate he has ever had to tackle.

Heidfeld was always consistent but not revolutionary. Fisichella and Villenueve simply did not cut it, and then former Champion Michael Schumacher became his teammate when he was already past his peak.

We can argue as well that Kimi Raikkonen did not fulfill his true potential. His motivation was not always there, and he should really have dominated Massa in a more productive fashion.

Now Massa finds himself in an awkward position. He is on a team which has taught him so much and has turned him from an unpredictable entity into an efficient and sometimes excellent competitor.

Yet Ferrari's decision to name Alonso as his new teammate has put the development of Massa's career in jeopardy. Few are surprised that Alonso has instated himself quickly into the lead role.

Even despite some early mishaps, Fernando was quick, powerful, and most importantly, he was driving like a former champion. His recent consecutive triumphs highlight his abundance of warranted credentials.

In Massa's defence we can say that he is still recovering from his accident. Yet even he should not deny that Alonso is the most difficult teammate he has had to face.

If he can come to terms with a more realistic approach, then he can force himself into a better direction and hopefully to a more successful 2011 campaign. Conversely, underestimating Alonso could prove costly.

Unless things do improve, you have to feel that Massa will never become a Champion with a teammate like Fernando Alonso. This, for someone who came so agonisingly close two years ago, may indeed be a travesty.

Yet it may be also be one for a driver to require a better car beneath him and a weaker teammate besides him to achieve World Champion status.

Luca di Montezemolo’s said today that Felipe Massa “is and will always stay a number one driver for Ferrari,” a show of support that is getting pretty healthy coverage at the usual motor sport sites and via the Twitter.

Anyone believe him?

I’m sorry to be skeptical, especially because I’m more or less fond of Felipe, but I don’t think any tire issues or slow starts this season mean anything. As soon as Ferrari brought in Fernando Alonso — a two-time champ with a reputation for being the alpha dog — Felipe Massa immediately was the No. 2.

Would beating Fernando change that? Maybe, for the short term. (Until Fernando pulled out the “clause” in his contract!)

Here’s Luca in full from the Ferrari site:

“Fernando sounded very focused and determined, just like the whole team,” the President told ferrari.com. “It’s an important time and I’m sure that everyone will give everything they have in order to achieve our objectives. Felipe is and will always stay a number one driver for Ferrari. I expect the performances of a number one driver from him – both in the next four races and, with different tyres, next year. Those will be crucial to bring us wins next season and to take important points from our opponents in the battle for this world championship.”

(I have to digress one second. The lead-in to that quote at the site talks about how Luca wanted to have some close contact with both drivers, but he couldn’t do it in person “but technology came to his help courtesy of the telephone.” I love that image. Maybe it’s one of those times when a colloquial phrase doesn’t quite translate, but even calling a telephone “technology” is hilarious. If he’d Skyped them, maybe…)

I understand and appreciate what Luca is trying to do, but I think there is the possibility of this backfiring since we all know full well that Massa is the No. 2 driver — and if Alonso wins the title this year? We might be looking at Massa as the No. 2.5 driver by comparison, wishing he had Rubens Barrichello’s status at the team.

Perhaps it is a sense of damning with faint praise.

Now, I know Felipe is remaining feisty and says Fernando isn’t better than him, it’s all the tires and that Felipe just hasn’t lived up to his own expectations. But I’m afraid Felipe might want to take some instruction from these final races when he is without any doubt going on the grid to support Alonso’s pursuit of the drivers title. (The constructors isn’t going to happen.)

Next year, Felipe will be racing for that team win… and pretty quickly aiming to help out Fernando again. (And I feel bad for him.)

Unless he’s the No. 1 at Renault, of course!

Now that the Kimi to Renault rumor has died, what Silly Season rumor are you hoping the media either picks back up or creates entirely out of thin air?

Robert Kubica to Ferrari in a seat swap with Massa?

The Flav returning to F1 to create the greatest team ever?

Michael Schumacher to be replaced by a langur monkey?

The classic “Rossi to Ferrari” rumor or maybe F1B Twitter follower extraordinaire JasonSCarter* who offered the Scruffy McLoeb return to STR for Abu Dhabi as the next rumor.

So let’s hear what you have to offer and who knows, maybe some random paper in Italy will even start to carry it like it’s fact.

*It’s was Jason’s post who sparked the idea in the first place and I try my best to acknowledge those who are funnier than I am at any given moment.

With Ferrari on a big roll (or at least Fernando Alonso’s side of the garage), Red Bull still looking strong and McLaren’s development seeming to have it in the hunt, Formula 1 this week heads to Japan for the grand prix at Suzuka.

That means it is time for your predictions, and this week we are going to branch out a bit.

As always, we want to know: Who will win and who will be on the podium, plus which driver will claim pole to start the race?

But there’s more:

Which driver will be the big surprise of the weekend?

Which of the three new teams will finish the highest?

Who will be first out?

And… who will finish higher — Michael Schumacher or Rubens Barrichello (this is one of his favorite tracks)?

The New York Times story this week from David Jolly suggest that Fiat would consider selling part of Ferrari but it’s not in the cards at the moment. As Fiat angles to increase its ownership in Chrysler to 35% in 2011, the Italian daily Corriere della Sera suggested that it could sell up to 85% of its holdings in Ferrari to fund the acquisition.

This is apparently not the case according to Fiat and Chrysler chairman Sergio Marchionne who says that the funding for such an acquisition is in place without the sell of Ferrari stock. According to Jolly, the chairman said:

“No, we have enough financial resources to do everything we have to do,” Sergio Marchionne, who heads both Fiat and Chrysler, said during an interview at the Paris Motor Show.

“We would consider selling a part of Ferrari,” Mr. Marchionne added, “but it’s not in the cards now, and I have no project on my desk.”

“With Ferrari,” Mr. Marchionne said, “we’re not selling cars, we’re selling works of art.”

There is an interesting twist on the Mubadala investment in Fiat and sponsorship of Ferrari. Mr. Marchionne said:

“We’ll either buy them out or they’ll convert their shares into something else.”

This is the very company that Ferrari are working in conjunction with on Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. This prompted another quote from the NYT story from Luca di Montezemolo:

“will remain for us a very important industrial partner,”

I am not sure what that means but perhaps converting stock to something else like sponsorship or something similar may make sense. As the story says, Ferrari have significantly boosted their efforts in brand and marketing initiatives. Ferrari World is a very large, expensive, tangible example of that effort. With double-digit margin growth in 2010, it seem Fiat would be silly to consider selling their interest in Ferrari but then car companies do odd things don’t they?

What does all of this mean? I would say that Ferrari’s F1 program is not going to be lacking funding any time soon and that can’t be good news for Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren and other teams working hard to defeat them. The resource limitation agreement may be a saving grace for some of the other teams working with smaller budgets as defined by the board members.

A tip of the hat to Mr. Jolly for a nice article summing up the Ferrari machine and Fiat’s intentions.

There are many great debates in Formula 1: Should F1 have legal team orders, should F1 allow in-season testing to return to the sport, should we give Michael Schumacher another chance? All topics of conversation around the virtual F1B water cooler (ok primarily the last one) however today I’m going to focus on one that doesn’t come up all that often: What to do with the blue flag.

Sure, Ferrari and McLaren don’t want to have their races mucked up by slow pokes but equally, it’s a race and doesn’t that apply to everyone and not just those racing in the front? Whether or not Formula 1 should continue to use blue flags to signal to slower backmakers that faster cars are coming is only part of the larger discussion of what to do with backmakers. Sure, all series have them but not all of them give them the blue flag treatment.

So today, Virgin’s “guy” Richard Branson (what is his official title anyway) supports a previous statement by Lotus’s Tony Fernandes calling F1 to eliminate the use of the blue flag. Funny that two newcomers that are only saved from being last ever race by HRT would feel this way, right? After all, its all about the overtaking man:

Fernandes:

Drivers are paid to overtake, whether they are back markers or at the front. I think it would be good for the sport to get rid of blue flags. In the days of Ken Tyrrell, he would never let any car pass. If it’s really hard for a world champion to get past a backmarker then I think it’s a sad day for racing. I think racing is all about getting past people and overtaking and adding a little bit of ‘je ne sais quoi’. You’ve got a driver saying it’s ridiculous that he’s lapping someone four times, so why should he be complaining about overtaking a guy that he’s lapping four times?

Hey Tony, are you new to F1? Have you watched a race? There is no overtaking. And it’s not like this rule was instituted yesterday either. Why not man up and tell us the real reason why you hate the blue flag: Because you’re guys are the ones being passed!

Branson:

It would be a lot more fun if they didn’t have blue flags. I am sure some of the more established teams would not like it, but it is a racing track and they should not have to be told to pull over. If that is what Tony is saying, I definitely agree with him. It doesn’t sound like racing – and it makes a bit of a mockery of the sport.

A mockery of the sport? Yeah I’m pretty sure you can’t pin that one on blue flags. Max’s sex-capades maybe, but not really the uses of blue flags. Was Virgin punished lately for not seeing the flag?

And then the article concludes with a bit by Virgin Racing’s CEO Graeme Lowdon:

We get a blue flag three seconds before someone approaches us, and at the moment three seconds is almost a lap and you have to let them by within four corners. So we have situations where our guys are pulling to one side and the car behind cannot catch up. It’s a massive compromise over the whole of a race. We do this graph of time against distance, and you look at the graph and you immediately see where the blue flags start because up to a point of the race we are there or thereabouts in terms of pace, but then it drops away. The issue is that you get the flags so early – and three seconds is quite a long time. And you have to tell your driver to let the guy past but you cannot speed the car up behind. It has ruined a lot of racing for us.

Wait, what’s this? Sanity prevails? Lowdon’s explanation makes perfect sense and isn’t really a call for eliminating blue flags but more the time between telling the backmarker to get out of the way and the arrival of the faster car.

So what do you think? Blue flags: yeah or no way?

For Monday, October 4, 2010

As I am writing this and considering this week’s topics, I am in a bit of a “transition”. After an incredible Saturday at Petit Le Mans and Road Atlanta, my tired-but-happy (and perhaps a little sunburned) brain is moving from American Le Mans Series-mode back to Formula 1-mode.

So how convenient it was that two of ALMS’s star players, Audi and Porsche, announced this week that they may cruise onto the Formula 1 grid.

Would you welcome Porsche’s return to Formula 1? Would Audi be a good addition? If they joined F1, what would be the best role for each? Team or supplier?

What other motorsports series do you follow besides Formula 1? What could F1 learn from them to enhance your experience as a fan? And what could F1 learn from other sports leagues in general?

Looking ahead to the Japanese Grand Prix, can Fernando Alonso and Ferrari maintain their momentum for another win or place on the podium?

Who do you predict for the podium in Suzuka? Who will struggle? And who will surprise?
Finally, we’ll spotlight our driver of the week. Of course it’s only fitting to take a look at Japan’s own Kamui Kobayashi.

Join #F1Chat on Twitter this evening at 4 p.m. Eastern US/Canada, 5 p.m. Brazil and 9 p.m. UK. If you are new to the Twitter chat, follow the #F1Chat hashtag to track the conversation and add the hashtag to your tweets to participate. If you are not on Twitter tune in to the feed here and share your thoughts about the chat topics below.
A P.S.: It was great to meet Negative Camber and welcome him to Atlanta this week! Hope you caught and enjoyed the spirit of Petit Le Mans as much as we did!

The day-long battle between Peugeot and Audi rivaled some of the best motorsport duals in history. The race started like many battles with swords drawn and slashes taken. The bravado of driving for 1,000 miles as if each lap were a qualifying lap was astounding. Early race incidents for Audi cost them dearly as the Peugeot’s were consistently showing pace and durability––something that betrayed them at the 24 hours of Le Mans this year with mechanical failure.

Ultimately you could reduce this race to a balaclava. All the time, toil and resources equalized by a simple under-the-helmet head cover that Dindo Capello struggled with approximately mid-race. As he entered the esses, the balaclava slipped down over his eyes temporarily blocking his vision and forcing him to pit so veteran teammate Allan McNish could take over driving duties. That unscheduled stop placed the team a lap down and was nigh on impossible to make up given Peugeot’s stellar pace.

The dual had been close the entire day with Audi and Peugeot trading the lead with each pit stop and Audi beating Peugeot in the pit stop times. This left many Audi team members wondering what might have happened if the balaclava had not decided to assault Capello and foiled Audi’s race. The race, quite honestly, was insane! The lap times being set by Audi and Peugeot was on record pace and the cars were never more than 20 seconds apart from each other lap for lap. It was boiling down to a tactical battle of pace, skill, pit stops and brain power. It was going to be epic in scope and result.

This, as they say, is racing and anything can happen. Balaclava or not, Peugeot was the best LMP team today taking their second Petit Le Mans win in a row. The French team is making a habit of unseating Audi as the dominant force in LMP class sports car racing with their 1,2 victory at the Petit LeMans today. They were there at the finish even after some dodgy moments themselves. They faced Audi lap for lap and matched the pace with stellar drives from Franck Montagny, Anthony Davidson and Marc Gene. Stephane Sarrazin who brought the number 08 Puegeot home for the victory but he nearly cost them the race with a suspect passing move early in the day.

Peugeot have come of age in the world of sports car racing and have risen to the challenge offered by the world dominating Audi. They called Audi’s bluff, matched their tactical skills and outpaced them as well as pounced when the Audi stumbled. It was precision work from a team who has served notice that they are here and willing to take on all comers. Audi was looking for redemption this weekend and only found remorse while Peugeot earned a well-deserved victory and convincingly so. It should lead to an interesting race in China in three weeks time.

The GT2 class battle was anyone’s game for the entire day. Risi Competizione certainly seemed destined to take the victory with car 61 as drivers Jaime Melo, Mika Salo and Giancarlo Fisichella were setting a blistering pace all day. Then disaster struck. The GT class leader #61 came into the pits at 4:49 pm while pits were closed to GT cars for urgent refueling (5 seconds worth of fuel allowed under regulations).  Unfortunately due to a team communication mix up, drivers started to effect a change over.  This was stopped, and the team pitted again 5 minutes later for full driver change and new tires.  The team was given a 60 second penalty for servicing in a closed pit. Fisichella said:

“I had a problem with the fuel and the engine stopped as I was coming through Turn 10.  I was lucky to be coming towards the pits so I came in for the 5 seconds of fuel.  But then I had to come back again to change drivers and tires.  It was a shame because until then we were leading and it was going very well.  The handling was good and the Michelin tires were fine – everything was good until the stop but the race is long so we shall see what happens.
The sister car picked up the slack and had sure victory until running out of fuel on the last lap handing Corvette the victory. A amazing finish that also delivered manufacturer and team championships to the BMW team. Anything can happen in racing and today it did.

Leading the P2 class is none other than ALMS veteran David Brabham in the HPD ARX car. The closest competitor was 2 laps down but that doesn’t negate the terrific drive and performance by the Patron Highcroft team.

Results:

P1

08 Stephane Sarrazin Peugeot
07 Anthony Davidson Peugeot
7 Tom Kristensen Audi

P2

1 David Brabham HDP ARC-01c
6 Klaus Graf Porsche RS Spyder
35 Jacques Nicolet Pescarolo P01 Judd

GT 2

4 Oliver Gavin Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
01 Dominik Farnbacher Ferrari 430 GT
62 Toni Vilander Ferrari 430 GT

LMPC

95 Marco Werner Oreca FLM09
89 Kyle Marcelli Oreca FLM09
52 Luis Diaz Oreca FLM09

GTC

63 Andy Lally Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
54 Jeroen Bleekmoien Porsche 911 GT3 Cup
77 Andrew Davis Porsche 911 GT3 Cup

Winning on two very different tracks at Monza and then Singapore has Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso feeling good about his title chances, he says in his latest Ferrari diary.

Here’s Fernando:

The wins in Monza and Singapore inspire confidence, especially as they came after a difficult season, in which our championship chances have often hung by a thread. Winning on two very different types of track confirms that our car is very versatile and so we can tackle the coming races without any fear.

What do you make of the Ferrari at this point? Do you agree with him that he should feel good about the machine around him — in particular compared to the Red Bulls?

Alonso also had this to add:

I have been asked which was the best win, Singapore or Monza. Well, any win is great, wherever it comes, but I would have to say that winning in Italy at the wheel of a Ferrari was a really special and unique feeling.

It’s refreshing to see a driver not say his last win was the best. +1 for Fernando.

As an American, I can regretfully say that the American Le Mans Series is unequivocally the most relevant racing series in the United States. I know that will not sit well with hardened NASCAR fans but it is a truism that has been proved yet again this weekend at the Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta. It’s not because I am a Formula 1, road course snob (although I admit that I am), or that I have some latent frustration with NASCAR (although I admit that I do) or that I am bereft of what real acing is (although I have been accused of such).

It is because the cars I’m watching battle for the GT2 championship today are cars I could actually purchase. They are modified for racing but remain the same marque that the showrooms across America have proudly displayed. Ferrari, Corvette, BMW, Porsche, Jaguar and Ford all participated in this weekends battle at the storied circuit Road Atlanta. They remain relevant because unlike NASCAR, they are actual chassis’s that the manufacturer makes. They have no carburetor’s and have working headlamps. They are real and not neolithic cars with an engine that still looks like a 1970’s muscle car.

NASCAR hasn’t been relevant for many years, in my opinion, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. It just depends on your motivation for watching. I prefer racing series that utilize road course as a more entertaining measure of the car and driver. I like that the cars in the GT series are real manufacturers and that they possess technology that is current in road cars. I find ovals boring and without the nuance and essence of racing as I was raised of road course and not ovals. That may differ completely with a fan who was raised on ovals and loves the gladiatorial nature of NASCAR regardless if the series is relevant or not. That’s fair, we all have our reasons for watching.

In the end, The American Le Mans Series is, in my opinion, a far superior series than NASCAR because it is more closely related to its fan base from a consumer and market appeal. NASCAR may ahve the stickers that represent the marketing appeal for sponsors but ALMS has the actual car itself that harkens back to the reason road racing in America began back in 1948 at Watkins Glen.

An the LMP class in ALMS? That’s just the icing on the cake. A glimpse of what the technology could do with larger budgets and manufacturer support. Those are the cars by which the series is measured but the cars that represent the heart and soul of American racing is the GT class. I am aware of the different worlds of NASCAR fans and ALMS fans but I’ll be damned if I can understand it.