Toro Rosso

Wow, what a weekend of F1 action. It was the prefect reply from the grid after the last few weeks' controversies. An exciting race and a new winner in Sebastian Vettel are just what the doctor ordered.

It all started in qualifying when for the first time ever I was mesmerized and glued to the action. The constant changes, the battle against qualifying cuts with the drying, then dampening track.

A great hour's entertainment!

In the end it was Vettel who snatched pole position in his Toro Rosso and in doing so became the youngest ever man to take pole position for a Grand Prix.

The German has shown glimpses of brilliance this season amongst all the disappointments, and his drive in the wet of Monza over the last two days has propelled him to superstar status.

I woke up this morning just knowing we were in for a classic GP. Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton were well down the grid in 14th and 15th. I thought of them fighting through the pack with Vettel and Mark Webber looking for their best results while looking over their shoulders in what I hoped would be a wet race.

Well, I got exactly what I wanted!

Over the last few races, I’ve written my articles but have generally been a little disappointed with the actual race. I hadn’t found the right word however but I have now.

That word would have to be “repetitive.”

The same teams, the same drivers, the same dull race before the same controversies, week in, week out.

Today though, the Formula One community can stand up again and say we are the highlight of the motor racing industry. F1 is back at the top of the table after a resounding victory at home.

The conditions that those 20 brave men raced in today could best be described as frightening! The skill and bravery added to the excitement of the race, which saw more overtaking than possibly half the Grands Prix so far put together.

That is what I want as a Formula One fan!

It wasn’t fun and games for everyone, though, as Sebastien Bourdais failed to get off the grid from fourth place. He eventually got going from the pit lane but he was already a lap down. It could have therefore been an even greater day for Toro Rosso, if that’s possible!

What could be better than winning your first Grand Prix with F1’s youngest race winner ever?

Another man on the podium, I suppose, but I doubt Toro Rosso are too bothered about that.

One man definitely not bothered (although he is such a nice guy he probably does feel bad for his team mate) about Bourdais' misfortune is Vettel.

What a performance by Vettel. Martin Brundle summed it up when he described the performance as “faultless.” Not the biggest superlative, I know, but when you take into account the conditions, it’s perfect.

On a day when only Lewis Hamilton was making any inroads, Vettel dominated the race from start to finish and not once looked flustered or overawed by the situation he found himself in.

I think we can safely say, he's a future great!

So what of the usual front runners?

Lewis Hamilton stormed through the pack with a vintage performance. Seventh doesn’t really do his performance justice, but he did occasionally find himself off the pace due to tyres and other factors. One thing for sure is that he outshone championship rivals Kimi and Felipe Massa.

The Brit was pretty pushy throughout, however, and won’t have made many friends today with some strong arm tactic’s that Michael Schumacher or Senna would have been proud of. He’ll definitely never be F1’s Mr. Nice Guy.

That will be Mr. Vettel.

It was a really bad day for Ferrari at their home race in front of the adoring Tifosi. Kimi was shocking (0 points for the Finn), and the fact he found some speed towards the end of the race probably made the whole result harder to swallow for the Italians.

The only bonus for Ferrari was that Massa managed to finish a place above Hamilton and therefore reduce Hamilton’s World Championship lead to just one point.

It’s time now for Kimi to back Massa for the title. With just four races to go, Massa is in a great position where as Kimi needs more than just a few outside factors to go in his favour and he isn’t exactly making his own luck.

Just a couple more points before I go.

Timo Glock was impressive today. He was unlucky, with his pit stop coming too early to put on intermediate tyres. As a result, he slipped away from what at one time was a strong chance of a top 5 finish.

I know I complained about F1 being too repetitive, but Formula One just wouldn’t be Formula One these days without David Coulthard running into someone. Well at least I know he was in the race.

What a treat that was, and with 60 percent chance of rain in Singapore, I can’t wait a whole two weeks.

I say Pick Of The Day and 5 stars for the Italian GP.

Action

Sebastian Vettel has made history for both himself and Toro Rosso by winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza today. The win is Vettel's and Toro Rosso's first ever victory in a Grand Prix. The win also means Vettel is the youngest ever Grand Prix winner, beating previous record holder Fernando Alonso.

After taking pole position in qualifying, Vettel held the position for most of the race and won it 12.25 seconds ahead of second placed Heikki Kovalainen, in the McLaren Mercedes. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica took the final place on the podium with his third placed finish.

In very wet conditions, several of the top drivers struggled, including Felipe Massa, who finished sixth, and Lewis Hamilton, who started from 15th and battled his way up to seventh, to maintain his lead at the top in the World Drivers' Championship.

Current WDC champion Kimi Raikkonen could only manage ninth after starting from 14th position. It means the Ferrari driver is now 21 points off the pace in the WDC.

Reaction

It was a fantastic win for Sebastian Vettel, who understandably was thrilled with his victory. "I can't believe it. I am lost for words. It is amazing," the German said over the team radio.

In the press conference after the race, he said: "For sure this is the best day of my life. These pictures, these emotions—I will never forget."

Starting from pole position was also important for Vettel, who went on to say: "Being first and having no visibility problems at all I think was the key. I could make a gap to Heikki straight away."

Runner-up Heikki Kovalainen said that he had no chance of beating Vettel, due to his tires and brake problems.

"It was not possible to win today, I was just trying to push and go faster. I think it was the maximum we could do today."

With the Formula 1 world a-flutter after Belgium's controversial outcome, the Monza Gran Prix will be interesting indeed.

This week's qualifying session in Monza presented tricky conditions, akin to the rain-soaked final laps of last week's race in Belgium. Drivers with excellent wet weather car control got their chance to shine. Here's a recap of the qualifying action:

Q1

With less than optimal conditions, all drivers had to tiptoe through the course. With low downforce, no traction control, poor visibilty and a slick track, there were numerous spins and course-offs. Times were negated as some drivers had to cut corners and take run-off areas due to the slippery conditions. Heikki Kovalainen took an early lead, showing much speed in the wet and besting his teammate in the first qualifying session. Despite the light rain, a semi-dry line began to appear on some parts of the track, improving times. Drivers knocked out (in order): Barrichello, Piquet, Nakajima, Button, and Sutil.

Q2

The rain picked up going into Q2. Some drivers (such as Hamilton) had been contemplating making the switch to intermediate wet tires, but the weather and track conditions did not improve. Sebastian Vettel, showing good pace, lead the field for the majority of Q2, snatching the top time away from Kovalainen. Surprisingly, both Hamilton and Raikkonen were at the bottom of the knock out list for all of the second session, the soaked conditions and intermediate tire gamble proving too much to overcome for the championship points leader. Knocked out after Q2: Kubica, Fisichella, Coulthard, Raikkonen, Hamilton.

Q3

After the surprising Q2 results, Felipe Massa, who just barely squeaked out of Q2, carried the hopes of Ferrari at thier home event, with Heikki Kovalainen left to represent McLaren Mercedes at the front of the field, as he qualified 2nd. Sebastian Vettel yet again topped the time charts at the beginning of Q3. Surprisingly he held his own, and went on to take P1 (becoming the youngest driver ever to take pole, snatching the title away from Alonso.) Both Scuderia Torro Rosso cars ran very well in the wet, with Bourdais qualifying 4th.

The field for Sunday's race is as follows:

1. Sebastian Vettel
2. Heikki Kovalainen
3. Mark Webber
4. Sebastien Bourdais
5. Nico Rosberg
6. Felipe Massa
7. Jarno Trulli
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Timo Glock
10. Nick Heidfeld
11. Robert Kubica
12. Giancarlo Fisichella
13. David Coulthard
14. Kimi Raikkonen
15. Lewis Hamilton
16. Ruebens Barrichello
17. Nelson Piquet
18. Kazuki Nakajima
19. Jenson Button
20. Adrian Sutil

Ironically, Ferrari was out-qualified by its customer cars. The championship has yet again been shaken up, with Hamilton's uncharacteristically low qualifying position. Massa, who would've no doubt wanted to qualify higher has to battle it out from sixth position. After all the qualifying surprises, the Monza GP is shaping up to be quite interesting.

Ok, this is an article for anyone who realizes that there is more to F1 than McLaren, Lewis Hamilton (I realize I may have just lost the majority of British/Hamilton fans already), or indeed even Ferrari.

If you've gotten this far, well done!

I have just read an article on itv-f1.com, Berger: It's Crunch Time For Bourdais and feel the need to vent some frustration.   

In a nutshell, from the perspective of the Boss at Toro Rosso, Gerhard Berger, it says how great Vettel is (and he is, for sure), how Bourdais needs to prove he can drive a car, and how crap Liuzzi and Speed were, and how it was their fault Toro Rosso sucked the last few years!

Are they really that good now? I mean, excluding the freakish and mostly unique results at Valencia, where they just happened to have the equal best Engine in the field at a track that favors powerful engines.

Are they better than last year? Yes! 

Do the engineers and mechanics deserve some of the credit? You'd think!

Did Liuzzi do a pretty decent job in the latter half of last year when Toro Rosso seemed to find some performance? I think so!

Does total domination of America's Champ Car Series four years running prove you can drive a car fast? Apparently not!

What a guy aye!  I'd sure love to have him as my boss (NOT!). A year after you've worked there and he's still dumping on you!

Bourdais' form this year has been by all accounts inconsistent.

He can get close or even match Vettel at times, but Vettel most often seems to up his game even further while Bourdais just fades into the background. Bourdais started strong, but since a fantastic season opening race, his form and popularity has been on a decline, while Vettel's has soared.

There could be many attributing reasons for this:

(1) Vettel's just a better driver (and he probably is).

(2) Everyone admires Vettel so much and never fails to sing his praises (including his own Boss), the former American King turned European Pauper is struggling with the transition (ah, duh!).

(3) The car suits Vettel better (it does happen, look at BMW, Heidfeld owned Kubica last year but has been outpaced convincingly by him all of this year).

On a final note, and I realize this is hardly professional journalism, but I just have to get this off my chest! 

How much of a total jerk is Berger? See the above mentioned explanations. And for heck's sake, you own a Toro Rosso, not a Ferrari. Pull your head out of where it should not be mate, no one really gives a damn what you think!

I'd love to hear all your thoughts on this topic.

He came to Formula One with the expectations of his minions that he will produce the same way that he produced in Champ Car—four championships that would catch the eye of Dietrich Mateschitz and propel him to the Red Bull junior team, Scuderia Toro Rosso.

2008 had begun, the master of the Champ series was now a rookie in Formula One. He was no longer a big gun, he was the older rookie who had to prove himself.

After taking a very solid two points at the season opener in Melbourne and upstaging his more capable teammate, Sebastien Vettel, for the first part of the season, Bourdais' performance has been lacklustre.

He has retired four times this season, and his highest finish after Melbourne was an 11th place at the British Grand Prix.

While these statistics look bad on Bourdais, I would like to take a different approach: Sebastien Bourdais is not Lewis Hamilton!

We saw what happened last year with a rookie in a winning car, but we forgot that that particular rookie was groomed to be in Formula One since the beginning. Bourdais never met Ron Dennis when he was 12 and said that he wanted to be a Formula One driver!

It should also be added that Sebastien Bourdais was never paired up with a world championship teammate as well as helping to develop a winning car (although the validity of that last claim is up to argument!).

If anything right now, Sebastien Bourdais is on a very steep learning curve, and when you compare it to Nico Rosberg's first campaign, you see that there is not a whole lot of difference when you take out the fact that the latter's car had a tendency to go out on him at almost every single race.

By this point in 2006, Rosberg had six retirements, only one of which was an engine blowing up. In that entire campaign, he had amassed only four points, and three more retirements totaling up to nine, or roughly half of all the races that year.

It was a tough year, but look at Nico now! He's not winning races, but he's making strides to get to that point.

Overall, I do not think it should be over for Sebastien Bourdais. The Frenchman who made his name in the Champ Car series should be given a race seat next year.

Through his driving, he genuinely appears to be trying, with the full knowledge that it's not his name, but his performance that makes him a winner or loser.

I will reserve my judgment on Bourdais until we see him more in tune with the car and not making rookie errors like driving into a gravel trap.

We are now all aware that rising F1 star Sebastien Vettel is moving on to greater challenges next season. But who will take his seat at Toro Rosso?

Toro Rosso, being a lower-placed team, probably won't sign anybody who is already on the F1 grid at the moment. An exception to this could be Nelson Piquet Jr. as he is failing to get the Renault up to where it should be at present.

With only two points scored so far this season, the pressure is on. If he continues to underperform, he could be saying goodbye to Renault sooner than expected.

Another possible exception is that of Timo Glock. He has struggled to match the performance of his teammate in the Toyota. However, I think it is highly unlikely that Glock will join Toro Rosso.

The final driver on the current grid who could possibly join the sister team of Red Bull is Adrian Sutil. He hasn't scored any points for Force India yet, but he had an exceptional race in Monaco before his dreams were shattered by World Champion Kimi Raikkonen. He could take a small step and move up the grid gradually.

So, with only three possible drivers even in contention to move to Toro Rosso, that leaves the door open to the drivers in the GP2 feeder series.

The current top three drivers are Giorgio Pantano, Bruno Senna and Sebastien Buemi.

The first candidate, Pantano, has been racing in the series since it began in 2005 and has been better placed every season. He finished third in the 2007 standings.

Many think that his time has come, and he has had some very good results in 2008. Excluding retirements, he has finished fourth or above in every race, be it the feature race or the sprint race. With three wins so far, he leads the championship by 13 points.

Bruno Senna, the nephew of the three-time world champion, is also performing well this season. He won in the streets of Monte Carlo and also won at Silverstone. With three podiums, he is second in the championship; however, it might be his name that earns him an F1 seat, just as Piquet's did.

Sebastien Buemi has already driven an F1 car, because he the test driver for Red Bull. This could prove critical, as Toro Rosso are the "sister" team to Red Bull.

He came second in the GP2 Asia series and is currently third in the world championship with one win. Buemi tested the RB3 at Jerez in 2007 and set the third fastest lap of the day.

It is also worth noting the names of Lucas Di Grassi and Roman Grosjean, as they too are performing well in GP2.

Di Grassi is the test driver for Renault. Although he is fourth in the GP2 standings, he has only raced in four events this season, finishing second in three of those.

Grosjean is also a Renault test driver. He won the 2008 Asian Series and won the sprint race in Turkey earlier on in the season.

So who will replace Vettel and possibly Bourdais also? I personally think Senna will get the seat and if Bourdais leaves also, Buemi will fill his boots.

Tell me in your comment what you think and don't forget to rate the article!

Sundays Formula BMW Internationals Race here in Monte Carlo, Monaco should've become an American holiday! Team Sauber Red Bull Racing and it's two American drivers, Brook Johnston and Matt Jaskel, came into this weekend qualifying 1-2 and finished the weekend 1-2. This team has been strong all weekend and many have doubted the American's ability and connection to test trials with formula one's Scuderia Torro Rosso, yet they have remained determined and still hold the top spot in the Championship. The Formula BMW Internationals series opened up to great interest after this Sunday's race and the public and myself seemed to enjoy the series European introduction to the utmost extent here in Monte Carlo. Sunday's race kicked off with Jaskel taking over his teammate, Brook Johnston's, pole position on the green flag and holding it into turn one. Jaskel, Johnston and Sciutto began pulling away from the field for the first 20 laps of the race, as MNR Racing tried to hang onto the quick Sauber Red Bull Racing machines. The first round of pit stops came bye and both Suaber Red Bull drivers pitted on lap 23. Jaskel's pit stop proved to be unfortunate as the jackman lowered the race car just before the right rear tire changer was finished, causing Jaskel to lose a few seconds and put teammate Johnston ahead out of the pit lane line. As Jaskel managed to pressure Johnston gaining momentum on his teammate, Taren Alainz of Pannera Racing spun his car into turn 7 bringing out the caution flag and forcing debris onto the race track. As the green flag was brought out once again, the Sauber Red Bull Racing drivers quickly pulled away from the field and there became a tight battle for points with 6th and 7th place between Cole Collier of Euro Internazionale and Frederic Hettleworth of Bavarian Werks Racing, passing Collier for the 6th spot. The race ended with Sauber Red Bull Racing domination as Brook Johnston took the checkered flag with teammate Matt Jaskel placing second and Alain Sciutto finishing third. Johnston now leads the Championship points standings by 8 points over teammate Matt Jaskel, with a total 43 points after Sundays race. Johnston looked extremely pleased with the win and the recently announced ESPN Extreme Athlete Rookie of the Year recipient will look to widen the gap next Sunday at Canalizzazione Internazional Di Monza in Italy for Round 6 of the Formula BMW International Championship. I was very pleased with the whole race and foundation of the series itself and I will continue to follow these drivers and teams throughout the season. It would be amazing to see some of them in Formula One, especially with such great talents including Johnston, Jaskel, Sciutto and Collier. Johnston has announced his testing with Formula One's Scuderia Torro Rosso for the 2009 season in August, while Cole Collier of Canada has announced a test run for a team in ALMS. After viewing this weekends talents, I would love to see another American driver in Formula One and Johnston certainly seems to have the F1 ability. 

I had the opportunity to speak with Red Bull Racing driver Scott Speed, who runs the #2 car for Eddie Sharp Racing in the ARCA series, and the #22 for Bill Davis Racing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Scott scored his first win in a stock car in the Kansas Lottery $150 Grand ARCA race at Kansas Speedway in April. He followed that up with a win last weekend at Dover in the Truck Series. 

Speed, 25, was picked as the winner of the Red Bull Driver Search program, an attempt to get an American into Formula 1. Speed eventually drove for Scuderia Toro Rosso in F1, only to part ways with the team in the summer of 2007. Since then he has switched his focus to oval tracks and stock car racing. He is honing his skills in ARCA, while running the Truck Series part-time, with the eventual goal of running the Sprint Cup Series.

This weekend, Scott will be doing double-duty - running the NCTS race at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night, and racing the ARCA race at Pocono, Pennsylvania on Saturday. You can see both races on the (no pun intended) Speed Channel. 

Adam Amick: Scott, how does it feel to have the confidence and support of Red Bull and the owner there, Dietrich Mateschitz, to make such a dramatic change from Formula One to stock cars? 

Scott Speed: For me, at my age, it’s an incredible opportunity. It would be very easy to go from Formula One into any other form of open-wheel racing or even road-racing for that matter. To have the ability and the relationship with Red Bull where they would support me in a venture like this is awesome. I mean I’m basically getting to start over with an amazing backing from Red Bull. So I get to start over with a full learning curve, starting from nothing, and that’s real exciting because it’s neat to learn this new form of racing. 

AA: That’s interesting that you talk about starting over. We look at the recent influx of open-wheel drivers coming into the stock-car world, and you look at names like Dario Franchitti and Juan Pablo Montoya. These guys are coming into stock cars and they’re ten years older than you are. So you’re getting quite a jump on them whereas you’ve also got some young guys – just last week Joey Logano, just turned 18 and he’s getting into the Nationwide Series now. So you’re kinda in between the two and in a position where you can really have a full career in stock car racing. 

SS: Yeah, I try to experience everything and given the opportunity to try this it’s a huge personal challenge for me to see if I can change my driving style from that of a Formula One car to a (NASCAR) car. So it’s completely different. Just the fact that I can learn in such a great environment and have Red Bull support me in ARCA and the Truck Series and put me in these great positions to learn it’s a great adventure. 

AA: Now, what do you feel was a bigger win? Your ARCA win at Kansas or your truck win at Dover last weekend and why? 

SS:  Well I’d say certainly the truck win, because in ARCA I expect to win races there, and I feel like I’m probably one of the best drivers in the ARCA Championship. But in the truck series certainly I have a lot to learn. There’s guys out there like Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson who are definitely a better racing driver than me right at the moment in the series. And to put myself in a position with the team to where we can get, where we got a bit lucky – the team made an aggressive strategy, and we made really good calls. To come up with a win already when, I wouldn’t say we didn’t deserve it, but, you know it’s premature for where we are in my learning state. I mean, that’s a huge deal. 

AA: Do you attribute this, and maybe put a little more weight on the truck side because the truck handles a little more like the new Car Of Tomorrow (COT) in the Cup Series, at least the front-end design is a little more similar with the splitter and the way the aero works with it, whereas the ARCA cars are essentially old cup cars. You’re going from the old-style car to something that handles a little more or aerodynamically is a little more like the new car you’ll encounter when you work your way up to the Cup series. 

SS: Absolutely, that’s exactly right. This is why we went to the Truck Series instead of the Nationwide Series. And this is kinda our thinking behind it as well. It’s going to be a huge help to race with cars that are similar to the COT, as well with guys that are really, you know, really great. You know the competition level in the Truck Series is amazing. So, everything is good there. 

AA: Yeah the Truck Series is very impressive. You’ve got up and coming drivers like yourself. You’ve got young guys like Kyle Busch who race there who also race in the Cup Series, but are young and are building seat time continually. And then you’ve got some of the older dogs in guys who are even former Cup drivers such as Ron Hornaday, Mike Skinner, and Johnny Benson. So you’re getting kinda both ends of the deal and getting a really good balance there of competition to help build your skill set toward your Sprint Cup debut. 

SS: Yes, absolutely. And I’m with guys who are really helping me. I mean I’m in a great situation with Bill Davis Racing right now where I’ve got two amazing truck drivers Johnny (Benson) and Mike (Skinner) who are just completely open with me. Who kinda even look after me like I’m, you know, like they’re a real part of my learning experience. And both those guys and everyone on the team have been amazing in helping my career. I think that’s, you know, the hidden value behind the situation we’re in the fact that I’ve got those two guys who really have my back and are looking out for me. 

AA: Now how do you feel about coming to Texas Motor Speedway? This is going to be you first time here at the track? 

SS: Yes. 

AA: Have you run on one of these quad-ovals yet? 

SS: I’m not quite sure, I probably have. I mean it’s all kind of a… 

AA: Have you run at Atlanta or Charlotte? 

SS: Yes, I’ve run both in the truck actually. So I assume that it’ll be like everything else. I mean honestly, all of the tracks from one to the other they’ve all been pretty easy for me to learn. At the end of the day it’s just two corners. If you can’t figure it out in a hundred laps then you probably never will - in my opinion. But the challenging part of it is not taking the truck or the car and driving it around the track fast. That’s relatively easy. 

What’s really hard is setting the truck up or the car and having a communication with the team about what the truck or car is doing. You know, I have so little experience in these it’s difficult for me to tell whether I need to make a sway-bar adjustment or a spring adjustment or a caster adjustment. I mean, it’s a totally new world and that’s the most challenging. And then of course there’s the racing is so different. I mean, you’ve got to pass guys around the outside. There’s really hard, close racing all race long. That as well is so new it’s a huge challenge. 

AA: You’re looking at coming in from Formula One – from arguably the most high- technology racing vehicles in the world, into what’s relatively a low-technology vehicle. Albeit there’s a lot of technology in the development and the design but it’s really a hands-on mechanic’s (car), and you’re not looking at the computers running the machine and the ability to make adjustments on the fly; the pit crew has to make adjustments.

Plus, you’re going from Formula One where again, you don’t get a lot of side-by-side racing – to racing door-to-door in very narrow confines of tracks here. How has that adjustment come, and how have you been able to adjust your psyche to that vast difference in technology and in racing? 

SS: (Laughs) It’s certainly a lot different. I mean the technology and the, let’s say, I don’t know, the quality of the cars here are nothing, they’re crap at the end of the day. I mean they’re really old, old, old, technology, and it’s kinda interesting to see how the way the engineering works as well. I mean, In Formula One there are no old engineers – there’s not anyone who’s been around forever. I mean those guys get passed up by the new up and coming, you know, geniuses of tomorrow from college. 

So there’s always this venting and venting and venting in Formula One and here, it’s almost as like, you know, the technology hasn’t changed in so long. It’s just been perfected and perfected and perfected. So you’ll see a guy walking around the garage area who’s, you know, looks old, looks weathered, looks like he’s been around for thirty years, and like, that’s the man. You know he’s been around for so long he knows the ins and outs of everything, and the technology hasn’t changed. And that guy still is very wise and helpful in this era where that would never be the case in Europe. So it is [a] totally different atmosphere and the fact that it is relatively simple, most people can understand it. Formula One is a place where, you know, it’s so hard to understand because it is on such a different level it almost loses its… pride I would say. 

You know when you win a race here, you can look into every single person who’s touched and made that car, and you can understand what they’ve done. In Formula One it’s almost, you know, untouchable. 

AA: Such is the vast difference between the racing series. Has a specific date or track been established for your Cup debut? I think the teams are very pleased with your progress to date and are looking forward to possibly getting you in the Cup car later this season. 

SS: I’m sure we’ll be in a Cup car sooner or later. No date’s been set, nothing has really been organized. I’m sure they’re working on something. I mean, I’m personally in no rush at all - The longer the better for me. But in saying that, it’ll happen sooner or later. 

AA: One more question here before we let you go. Scott, talk about your post-race pose. I mean, you’ve got guys out there who’ll do backflips, they’ll climb the fence, they’ll give a bow. It looks like you’ve brought your own unique little signature, “Hey. I’m here, I’ve won. This is my thing,” kind of deal into NASCAR. 

SS: Uh I don’t know. I like to mix it up a little bit. I’m not one normally to copy. I like to be my own. If it something strikes me in my head to do, I do it. I’m at a bit of a different place than most people here just because, you know, I’ve lived in so many other areas. And I’d say I’ve experienced a fair bit more culture than most people here. So I have different ideas and different things that I do and I don’t mind being different or if someone things that because I have my toenails manicured/pedicured that I’m crazy. I don’t care. I mean, I do my stuff my own way and leave it at that. 

AA: That’s fantastic, well Scott Speed we wish you the best of luck and look forward to hopefully seeing you Friday evening when the Craftsman Truck Series comes rolling into the Texas Motor Speedway along with the Indycar Series this weekend. We appreciate you taking time with us.

SS: Thank you.

In reply to my previous article "three way switch", I am now explaining why switching ¨Coulthard for Piquet at Renault and bringing in Vettel at RBR whilst leaving the empty "chair" at STR for Nelsinho is pure business thinking.

Rumours regarding Coulthard as replacement for Piquet at Renault would have raised a few eyebrows. Why him in particular, since there's so many aspiring young talents in F1 today (Sutil, Glock Rosberg the list goes on) it is more than a surprise Renault would be considering an aging DC as no:2 driver for the rest of the season. Yet the answer to this ever so simple: Vettel!!!

and here is how it works

Matezitsch, RBR and STR owner made it clear a few months ago he would no longer participate in owning STR next year in light of new rules to come into force in 2009. However Vettel the promising young talent is racing at STR right now, and Matezitsch is fully committed to keeping Vettel under his wing thus the downside of splitting with Toro Rosso means splitting away with Vettel. Unless Vettel was to race for sister team RedBull instead and that's the business thinking behind it all; however there's only one problem, how to make this happen? In other words how to convince David Coulthard to relinquish his seat?

Simple make him an offer he cannot refuse i.e. a drive for Renault; also there is another issue to look into, and that's getting the timing sequence right... Business as it were

Back to DC, Surely Matezitsch could have waited till the end of the season for Coulthard to resign and then offering Vettel his dream drive at rising sister team RBR. However this would have been a very risky move, why? because in the meantime between now and the end of the season would have been more than enough for Vettel to shine and teams like Toyota or even BMW to try lure the young German away from RBR. Therefore preventing this from happening, offering Vettel an upgrade to the better of the two sister team, a guarantee in itself for the young German to be in a car that has the potential to lead the midfield and next to take it to the pecking order (if only..) . Moreover knocking two birds with one rock; testing Vettel in a better car, check whether he's more real than hype ...

That's the reasoning behind moving Coulthard as Piquet's replacement because let's face it Vettel is more than good enough to race for Renault but to that extent Matezitsch would be losing his new apprentice as it were; I mean can you imagine (star wars) the emperor without his darth Vader exactly!!!

Moving Piquet away from Renault is also brilliant business thinking from Renault; allowing him to stay in F1 is even better, realising he does have potential yet was brought out in this game a little too early is his main weakness; however he cannot be sent back to GP2, once you made it to Formula 1 you just don't go back, you can try your luck in NASCAR or even DTM ? but not GP2...

In many regards this article is based on rumours, and i fear I may have given more credance to these speculations.

bottom line, not this time I'm afraid.

Alex

Heading into the coolest race of the year in Monaco, bad news has struck the Faenza-based squad.

In Monte Carlo, Scuderia Toro Rosso plan to introduce their new STR3 car. However, as a result, Sebastien Vettel will incur a five-grid penalty.

The new car requires a new gearbox, yet under current rules gearboxes have to last for at least four GP's in a row.  Regardless of the defense Toro Rosso can mount against the penalty imposed on Vettel, the young German will be relegated five places.

This is unfair considering the circumstances.

In my view this penalty is misplaced—there is a difference between deliberately changing gearboxes and introducing a new car that, under its specifications, will require a different gearbox altogether.

Why can't the FIA see this? A fairer ruling would have been to penalize the team with a fine or something—but not the driver.  He has nothing to do with it.

On a race track like Monaco, where overtaking is next to unthinkable, the young German talent will feel the bite. 

Being retrograded five places in qualifying will definitely entail finishing five places behind.

And Vettel's teammate, Sebastien Bourdais, will not incur a five-place grid setback since he failed to finish in Turkey. If this is not adding oil to the flame, what is?

This situation is unfair.  Why doesn't the FIA turn around and remove the penalty in Vettel's case? Why can't the FIA understand that Toro Rosso is bringing in a new car, which will have a different gearbox setup to the previous one?

If you don't agree with this take a look at the 10-second penalty incurred when you drive through a closed pit lane—understandable to some extent, but not when you're on your last lap of fuel.

On the positive side, this is a very good opportunity for the young German hotshot to harness character and tenacity—an opportunity to return fire in the face of injustice.

The bottom line is seen under similar circumstances.  Some people will turn the other cheek, but I hope Vettel won't go down in that fashion.

In the face of tough times I am looking forward to seeing the boy slap back twice as hard!!!