Ferrari

Porsche or Audi could be on the Formula 1 grid soon, Porsche chairman Matthias Mueller said Friday at the Paris Motor Show.

That’s right. Porsche may return to F1 or Audi might bring the rings to battle the Prancing Horse and the bulls and… umm…. a virgin?

Here he is, via Autocar:

“With LMP1, there are two classes and two brands – Audi and Porsche. We do not like to both go into LMP1 [against each other]; that is not so funny.

“So therefore we have to discuss whether it makes better sense for one of the [two] brands to go into LMP1, and the other brand into Formula 1. So we will have a round-table to discuss the pros and cons.”

I love the “that is not so funny” quote. Paging Red Bull!

The idea seems to be — this part is obvious — that one of the brands goes to Le Mans and the other into F1. On the F1 front, Porsche likely would return as an engine supplier, and Autocar adds this:

Autocar also understands VW Group’s vice president for powertrains Wolfgang Hatz has been heavily involved in discussions with the FIA regarding the proposed new four-cylinder turbocharged engines the sport plans to introduce from 2013.

(Quick digression: I love, LOVE the “Autocar also understands” phrase. I get it, but it sounds soooo Transformers.)

OK, I’m not sure that there was a story that drove more people crazy (at least in the F1B Forum) than “Audi to F1″. But here it is, right from the brand’s mouth.

Should Cosworth be a bit worried? How does a Williams-Porsche (or BMW Sauber Ferrari Porsche) team sound? How would you go about entering the sport if you were the VW group? And why the idea that Audi might switch series? That seems strange given its success and the great battle it now has with Peugeot.

Kimi Raikkonen’s official website has an article up with a very straight-forward title: “Article on potential F1 comeback for Kimi.”

Go on…

The reprinted Turn Sanomat — Finland’s third-largest daily paper — story basically is a bunch of short Q&As with Formula 1 personalities — drivers, owners, etc. — on the topic of Kimi’s possible return.

I’d share highlights, but Kimi’s website doesn’t allow for copying. (Change that!) Go here to look and then come back to discuss.

Highlights for me?

• Nick Heidfeld saying that a single year out of the sport won’t be as difficult to rebound from as the three-year hiatus has been for Michael Schumacher. Maybe true, but for sure “ouch.”
• Jenson Button saying that Kimi didn’t seem to like the sport much last year so he doesn’t expect him back.
• Button and Chris Dyer both talking about how much Kimi seems to love rallying.
• Felipe Massa on Kimi: “Only Kimi himself knows what Kimi wants.” Seems like Felipe was paying attention while the two were at Ferrari together.
• Nico Rosberg, always the pragmatist, figures the lower pay Kimi can expect might not be a big inducement.
• Red Bull’s drivers are divided (who’s surprised?), with Mark Webber saying Kimi’s moved on to rallying and Sebastian Vettel wanting Kimi back. (Did you hear that Mark?)
• You’ll have to read what Kimi’s doctor has to say for yourself. (Hint: Subtle jab at Schumacher!)

So… thoughts? When Kimi first went to WRC, I suggested that, freed of the yoke of F1, he should use his website to really promote himself and his, shall we say, special personality. He hasn’t done that, which makes this post fairly unusual. That speaks volumes to me. I’m just not sure if it says, “Oh, yeah, I’m serious about coming back” or “Red Bull and Citroen, you better fork over some more cash to keep me.”

It didn’t take a ghost come from the grave to tell him, but Felipe Massa has admitted in his latest “diary” that his drivers title chances are over.

The comments come near the very bottom of what effectively is his review of the Singapore Grand Prix: “In the end, I made up a few more places thanks to a couple of Stewards decisions after the race and although personally, it does not mean much to me, given that obviously my own hopes in the Drivers’ championship have gone, it did mean I got a couple more important points for Ferrari in the Constructors’ classification.”

See, Felipe is at least a team player!

Massa does detail how his strategy — which worked so well for Fernando Alonso at Monaco this year — didn’t quite do the same for him:

But I’m not the sort to give up and in the debrief with the engineers on Saturday, we decided to go for a similar strategy to the one used by my team-mate Fernando in Monaco this year when he could not qualify either: as Marina Bay is also a street circuit, we felt there was a good chance that a Safety Car could come into play and at least let me move up a few places through a strategy gamble. That gamble did not pay off on Sunday evening, because having come in immediately to switch to the hard tyres, the Safety Car did come out, but really it was too early by maybe just one or two laps. Without that, I might have got in front of Hulkenberg and had a different sort of race. But, as it turned out, I had a rather boring, but very tough race. I was stuck in a train of slow cars with no possibility of overtaking and the heat and humidity feel even worse when you are in someone’s slipstream all the time.

I love that last bit about the heat and humidity, and I’m sure Grace can commiserate with poor Felipe.

I wonder how his admission about his season will play out on the track during the next four (three?) races. And I wonder how having a supportive team mate will help Fernando Alonso versus his four title competitors — who are all competing with their team mates still.

The Petit Le Mans in Atlanta Georgia is a terrific race…there’s really no other way to describe it. It has a cast of characters as long as your arm. If you are a Formula 1 fan and haven’t been following sports car racing lately, these character may be new to you. Drivers in the Le Mans and American Le Mans series are professionals who drive very well and handle some of the toughest tracks in the world. The talent and skill on this weekends Petit Le Mans grid is terrific but there is one man, other than former F1 driver Allan McNish, that you may recognize.

Giancarlo Fisichella is no stranger to many F1 fans world-wide. He is a fan favorite within the ranks of F1 and is rapidly becoming a fan favorite here in the ALMS series as a driver for Risi Competizione Ferrari. Teamed with another former F1 driver, Mika Salo, Fisichella is looking forward to this weekends race:

“It’s a good track.  I had a chance to drive Saturday and Sunday in testing.  Saturday was a full day and I did enough laps to learn the track and now I feel confident and comfortable here.  Today has been a very good day for us, we are second quickest and, considering the amount of laps on the tires when I drove, I was the quickest of the three of us so I am very happy with that.  The car looks good, has a good balance and I’m looking forward to the rest of the weekend.
 
“It’s a very challenging track, especially the first part of the circuit with a lot of high speed corners.  It’s going to be difficult I’m sure on Saturday with the traffic, but it’s going to be an interesting race to follow for sure.”

I have to be honest, it’s a delightful image to see Fisichella, in classic Roman form, sitting on the pit wall watching the process. It is devoid of the F1 pageantry and maybe that’s what’s so compelling about it. He is a F1 transplant who seems as comfortable as he has ever been and as a fan, you wonder if “Fisi” isn’t a peace with his surroundings and more apt to enjoy his life behind the wheel.

The team look fiercely competitive this weekend for the championship and what a fitting way to say farewell the Ferrari 430. The team have a storied history with the F430, since its introduction in 2006, achieving 19 ALMS victories, two Le Mans GT2 titles and four Championships. With Fisichella at the wheel, relaxed, at ease with the calm surroundings, it may just net a championship for the Scuderia…except this Scuderia is not based in Maranello but in Houston Texas and this Roman driver is looking as competitive as he ever has.

Two competing views of Michael Schumacher are making the rounds on the Interweb today.

In one corner, Ross Brawn is adamant that Schumacher hasn’t lost it. In the other is BBC pundit Mark Hughes, who says the Schumacher of old has been replaced by an old Schumacher.

Which one of them is right?

Both do agreed on one point: This year’s tires are not friendly to Schumacher’s driving style. They do differ on just how much that is affecting him. Here’s Ross:

Michael’s driving style depends on a strong front tyre that can withstand his hard braking and the steering manoeuvres that he prefers. Nico has simply understood better how to handle these front tyres. I have to say that this year’s front tyre is very uncommon. That stems from the fact that the FIA wanted to promote KERS and had asked Bridgestone to develop tyres that would fit a certain weight distribution and thus create a specific tyre characteristic.

[snip]

Next year we expect the Pirelli tyres will work better for Michael’s driving style and only then will we know if Nico really is quicker than Michael.

[snip]

If you take the telemetry data in fast corners or his reaction time when the car breaks away, I don’t see any difference. There he’s still the old Michael. But in the slow corners he cannot make full use of the tyres as Nico can. Nico has put the bar very high in this respect. But I guess that’s okay for Michael as he clearly sees where he has to improve. I predict that in 2011 we will again see the true Michael – when we’ve delivered him a better car.

Here’s Hughes:

It is now accepted as normal that he qualifies a few tenths of a second behind team-mate Nico Rosberg, as he did here. But a scrappy, slow, incident and error-filled race underlined the fact that Schumacher has got worse, not better, as his first season back from retirement has progressed.

[snip]

Having stood trackside at some stage of every grand prix weekend for the last decade and a bit, witnessed Schumacher at his peak and in his comeback, the visual evidence of the dimming of his skills is obvious.

In his Ferrari years, to see his first lap out of the pits through a corner such as Spa’s Pouhon was to witness awe-inspiring genius that left you barely comprehending how what you had just seen could be possible.

He would commit totally to the blind exit, flat-in-top downhill entry corner, a down-change just after turning in and the car would be shuddering on the edge of adhesion, visibly faster than anything else – and Schumacher would make not a single further input because to do so would have sent the car off.

He would sit on this delicate knife-edge until the car was fully loaded up and pointed directly at the apex and then simply power his way out.

To be able to sit immediately on this incredibly narrow balancing point was a skill beyond the reach of his rivals. It is now beyond him, too.

[snip]

Schumacher says it is to do with how the gripless control Bridgestone tyres do not allow him the front-end grip to be able to drive in his natural way. There is a logic to this.

With a grippy front end, he would previously get the car pointed early at the apex using his delicate feel to transfer the weight under braking and cornering, pivoting the car around so it changed direction early, with the minimum of steering lock.

The less steering lock, the less speed-sapping front-tyre scrub, the earlier you can get the car pointed at the apex, the earlier you can get on the power. These tyres do not allow you to drive in that way.

But in the past Schumacher has adapted brilliantly to understeering cars. He used to adapt his style corner by corner, lap by lap, to whatever was appropriate.

Hughes’ take is pretty harsh, but seemingly pretty well reasoned. He neatly answers the tire question, but I suppose it could be taking Schumacher more time to get that most superb quality back than we might have imagined it would. Or, at age 40-plus, there’s just no way to get that extra something he once had back.

It seems reasonable. He’s not 25 anymore.

I’m interested, though, if others think Michael has actually gotten worse this year. That strikes me as the most damning charge and as one that would play into any rumor about his choosing not to come back.

What’s your assessment of Schumacher’s season? And do you think a more suitable tire would make the difference between winning and… what he’s been doing?

Former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney was sentenced to jail today in Italian courts for his role in the 2007 “Spygate” sagga that saw leaked information from Ferrari to McLaren. The incident was the largest scandal in recent history in F1 that saw the regulatory body of F1, the FIA, fine McLaren 100 million dollars.

Today the Italian court sentenced Stepney to a year and eight months in prison and a 600 euro ($817) fine. It seems, according to Reuters, that the Italian legal system will actually see Stepney serve no jail time.

Reuters carries the story here:

“We are satisfied, even if my client has always denied sabotage,” his lawyer Sonia Bartolini was quoted as telling the Gazzetta di Modena website after a hearing in Sassuolo — near Ferrari’s Maranello base.

“We have to thank the prosecutor for agreeing to a plea bargain. Initially the sentence was much higher.”

Stepney was accused of not only leaking technical information to a McLaren employee but he was also suspected in attempting to sabotage Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen’s car at the Monaco race in 2007.

Join Paul, Mark and me as we discuss the Singapore Grand Prix. We talk Ferrari, Red Bull passes, donkey’s, drives and even fire extinguishers.

Following his much-praised drive in Singapore, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso is not holding back on the challenge that lies ahead or his confidence that the driver’s title is his to claim:

“Right now, at this point of the championship, I’m at a peak – 100% motivated, focused etc,” said Alonso.

“A championship that is nine months long rarely happens in other sports.

“We are in a sport where you cannot be completely fit, focused and motivated 100% at every race, every month. You are up and down.

“Sometimes in past championships in September, I was getting tired, what with all these long flights, getting very stressed.

“But this year it is different. It feels like the championship is starting now, so I feel very happy we will be going to Japan next race.”

That’s via the BBC.

So… is the Spaniard right? Is he now the man to beat? As a reminder, here’s where the top five drivers stand with four races left (if Korea makes it):

1 Mark Webber Australian RBR-Renault 202
2 Fernando Alonso Spanish Ferrari 191
3 Lewis Hamilton British McLaren-Mercedes 182
4 Sebastian Vettel German RBR-Renault 181
5 Jenson Button British McLaren-Mercedes 177

Your view: Who is in the driver’s seat for the 2010 title? Is it Alonso? One of the other four?

Fernando Alonso qualified on pole position for the 2010 Singapore Grand Prix after the Red Bull team faded away in the final part of qualifying.

Red Bull, who were widely expected to get another pole position after dominating qualifying sessions this season, found drivers Vettel and Webber in second and fifth positions respectively, while McLaren drivers were sandwiched in between in third and fourth.

Felipe Massa, the other driver from the top three teams, found himself knocked out in the first qualifying session after having problems and stopping out on track. He starts from last position after not setting a time, and will pick up a 10 place grid penalty for using his ninth engine this season. However, he is likely to gain places rather quickly and could finish in the top ten.

Hispania driver Bruno Senna was the slowest driver to set a time, and starts behind his teammate Christian Klien. After posting on Twitter that he had comfortably beaten Klien in practice on Friday, Senna finished over a second behind his teammate.

Klien was only in his first qualifying session in a Hispania car after Yamamoto had food poisoning (but still managed to watch the drama unfold from his garage on Saturday). Sunday is likely to be a pointless race in every way for the Spanish team.

Ahead of them on the grid was Jarno Trulli, who looked as if he might lead the charge to be the fastest of the new teams, but faltered as the other drivers put in faster laps, to leave him 21st, five tenths behind Virgin Racing driver Lucas di Grassi.

Trulli and di Grassi could battle it out to gain their best positions this season, but it is unlikely that they will gain points.

The new team battle continued further up the grid as Virgin Racing driver Timo Glock qualified in 18th, one place ahead of Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen. Glock is likely to make the better start, but it would take a very strange but not impossible sequence of events to see either of them reach their best position and even a points scoring finish.

In the second qualifying session, Force India looked surprisingly uncompetitive, seeing Liuzzi qualify 17th and Sutil qualify 16th. Despite having a good performance in Belgium, their results in Italy and today's qualifying in Singapore seemed slightly strange. This looks set to continue in the race, with the experienced Heidfeld in front of them.

Heidfeld, playing a part in his first race weekend since 2009 after replacing veteran Pedro de la Rosa, finished the second qualifying session in 15th. Compared to last season, when replacement drivers brought in for the final races of the season were very competitive. He is doing well which could be because he has been testing Pirelli tyres in a Toyota car from last year.

Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi will start the race in 14th place, and is likely to finish the race without any points. Ahead of him is the Russian rookie Vitaly Petrov, who hit a wall during qualifying.

Petrov's inexperience is likely to see them switch places at the start, despite Petrov seemingly having the better car. However, it would be good if he could pick up some points to prove that Renault should keep him.

Williams driver Nico Hulkenberg and Toro Rosso driver Jaime Alguersuari were both knocked out of the top ten in Q2 by Schumacher and Kobayashi, as the German will start in 12th with the Spaniard slightly ahead of him in 11th.

Hulkenberg has had some good races, and I expect him to get ahead of the young Alguersuari and into the points.

Kobayashi just negotiated his way into the top ten, and went out late in the final qualifying session to finish 10th, over one second behind ninth place Michael Schumacher.

The Japanese driver may cause some problems to the old German, but if rain hits the track sometime before or during the race I would suspect Schumacher will move up into the top six after his performances in damp practice sessions.

Polish driver Robert Kubica qualified eighth behind Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg, who are both likely to stay in their positions, as ahead of them is the highly experienced Barrichello, who is likely to be a barrier between the field and the top five drivers tomorrow.

However, with a street circuit, the prospects of rain and yellow flags and the idea that the race may actually take two hours, it is an exciting prospect.

Then we hit the top five. Webber lost out in qualifying at a track where the Red Bull is supposed to do well, leading some to suspect that passing the FIA tests may have sacrificed some of the speed of the car. Despite this, he should do well and has the ability to win this. The problem is, the drivers ahead also possess that ability.

Jenson Button looks like the first championship contender to be written off, after qualifying in fourth and not seeming aggressive enough. I remember when he won the championship last year, and I can't imagine it happening again. If he wants to be considered, he will have to do well on Sunday night.

In third, British driver Lewis Hamilton, who is currently second placed in the standings, did not seem to be fast enough on the track, and he would have to rely on mistakes from the top two to finish on the top step of the podium.

Second is Sebastian Vettel, who I think will win the race. This is based on his fastest lap being ruined by going too close to the wall, and I think without that he would be fastest.

After controversy in Germany, Fernando Alonso managed to get a race victory that didn't seem to be marred by any team orders in Italy, and became the only non-Red Bull driver to qualify on pole position twice in 2010.

As I mentioned earlier, I suspect that Vettel's inexperience may be the advantage as he may find an overtaking spot that no other driver would have the guts to use, so I predict that Vettel will win, followed by Alonso and Hamilton.

However, you can never tell what might happen under the lights in Singapore tomorrow.

The economic recession and disputes within Formula 1 killed USF1′s chance of making it to the grid this year, co-founder Peter Windsor says in his first interview on the subject.

Windsor spoke to the BBC. Here’s highlights:

“We had our backer, we knew what we were going to do, we felt we had everything in place,” said Windsor.

“We did miss the crash test by three weeks – and if we had had those three weeks we would have been racing now.”

[snip]

“We were confirmed as an entered team in July [2009] but that was when there were still two championships,” said Windsor, a reference to the then possibility of the teams launching their own rival world championship as a result of a seismic political battle in F1.

“The two championships only came together in September and that was when we effectively pressed go.

“At that moment, if we had gone to perhaps Lola, or a company like that who was building cars, I think we would have been OK.

“But the premise of our team, the foundation of our team, was a) to be a national team and b) to do our car in America.

“I think if we had a year we could have done it, but it was either the whole car or nothing at all.

“It was Ken Anderson’s call and he said it would kill our team if we didn’t build our own car. He would rather go down doing our own rather than race someone else’s. I didn’t agree with that.

“It was just a question of time – and most of the existing teams will be two thirds of the way through their 2011 cars already. We didn’t start a 2010 car until too late, in retrospect, but we didn’t know it at the time.”

So we have a little peek inside. Peter is distancing himself from the decisions that, in his opinion at least, led to USF1′s failure — the desire to do it all on their own and in America. Hindsight probably tells us that was a losing proposition, but that was the basis for things so, to an extent, I understand why Anderson wanted to press on with the program.

The story doesn’t dive too deeply (at this point) into any specific economic issues. Maybe broadly calling on the “recession” is enough explanation.

But I’m really interested in the “split” championships line of thinking. Did that really slow things up that much? If USF1 had just pressed ahead with an attitude of “we’re going to be in F1 whether Ferrari and McLaren are,” wouldn’t they have made the grid? Again, I can see how that might be a stumbling block, but if you are a brand-new team trying to get into the sport, don’t you just worry about getting into the sport and not whether the biggest and baddest teams will still be there?

Well, that’s what I see from a quick, first-blush look. Thoughts, folks?