Who Will Win First? Kimi or Schuey?
I think I was more surprised to learn that Ricky Martin was gay, than when I first heard that Michael Schumacher would be making a comeback to grand prix racing with Mercedes GP (nee Brawn GP).
Here was a man who clearly never wanted to retire and still had the racing-itch, desperately seeking an outlet to relieve the pain. That initially came in the form of motorcycling racing, which was met with limited success.
The seven-time F1 world champion was set to make a sensational return last year following Felipe Massa’s accident. That was until a nagging neck injury curtailed any chance of once again driving for the Prancing Horse.
But the seed was firmly planted, and with his dodgy neck given time to heal, it was fairly predictable that the 41-year-old would be courted by someone. Who better than the Ross Brawn led Mercedes GP outfit, the same Ross Brawn who masterminded Schumacher’s seven world titles?
Just as predictable perhaps was Kimi Raikkonen’s decision to ditch circuit racing altogether and head across to the WRC with the Red Bull-backed Citroen Junior Team.
With Fernando Alonso poised to jump in his grave, Raikkonen quickly discovered that there was no room at the inn that is F1, especially with what appeared to be a vastly over inflated view of his worth.
The Finn didn’t seem that particularly enthusiastic about F1 in the latter stages anyway, and dabbling in a few rally stages in a Fiat Punto mid-season helped decide how he wanted his immediate racing career to pan out.
Both Schumacher and Raikkonen have more than just an unsurprising change of job role in common. Neither has really lived up to the high expectations placed upon them at the start of the year.
If you believed the hordes of followers these two command, then by now Schumacher should have won every single race and Raikkonen should be giving Sebastien Loeb a run for his money. Stop sniggering.
Which begs the question: who is more likely to win first?
Kimi Raikkonen
There were mutterings just last weekend that the Finn would be making his return to grand prix racing with Renault, financed by MasterCard’s many millions upon the credit card giant becoming title sponsor for the Enstone-based team.
Well Vitaly Petrov can breathe a sigh of relief, because according to this week’s Autosport magazine, Raikkonen looks set to re-sign with Citroen for another year. Rumour has it that Raikkonen is keen to develop a long-term relationship with Red Bull, with the possibility of jumping behind the wheel of Red Bull Racing’s RB8 in 2012.
I can’t see this happening, especially if Dr Helmut Marko has anything to say about the team’s line up in a couple of years time. Red Bull’s racing adviser has made no qualms in suggesting that Sebastien Beumi, a product of the Red Bull junior team, could find himself in the Red Bull ‘A-Team’ sooner rather than later.
So instead, I foresee Raikkonen’s long-term future in the WRC, becoming more involved, and with everything falling into place, realising his ambition with a win in rallying’s greatest contest.
His form this year has been so-so, but then, that’s to be expected as he takes his first few steps. He’s only participated in 10 rallies in his career to date, and only seven of those have been in a World Rally Car. His best result so far has been in the Rally of Turkey where he gave a solid performance to finish fifth overall.
His outright driving ability and speed is apparent and in the recent Rally Bulgaria he was running as high as fourth - that was until he crashed out in spectacular fashion.
So this year is one of learning for the 2007 F1 world champion. Yet there could well be a good chance for him to succeed next year when the WRC will experience a major shakeup, with the introduction of the new 1.6-turbo cars levelling the playing field.
Will he win as soon as next year? It’s difficult to say. Unless the usual frontrunners have an off-day, it’s unlikely. But, if Raikkonen does stay on for a third year then who knows? Surely Loeb can’t continue to muster up enthusiasm for a sport he wins merely by showing up?
Michael Schumacher
Herr Schumacher’s F1 comeback has yet to deliver the results most people were hoping for this season.
His readjustment to F1 appears to be taking longer than his loyal fans envisaged, and while there are fits and starts here and there, the German racer still appears to be a bit rusty after three years out of the sport.
Going against pre-season predictions, team-mate Nico Rosberg continues to look good against Schuey. Visiting the podium on three occasions already this season and netting 90 of the 109 points the Mercedes GP team have mustered up to this point in time.
Realistically, the expectations placed upon Schumacher were gigantic. Yes he is a world champion, but he now races in possibly one of the most competitive eras ever seen in F1,pitching himself up against drivers who are twenty years younger than him. No doubt he is a top ten driver, but that’s still some way off reaching the top spot of the podium.
With a contract lasting until the end of 2012, Schumacher still has time on his hands to achieve his first win since making his return. Will it happen this year? Not on your Nelly. Even he suggests it would be “very, very lucky” for him to win a grand prix with Mercedes before 2011.
Confusion also reigns about the car’s true potential. Just how is it possible that Rosberg, a driver who used to be fractionally quicker than Kazuki Nakijima, is suddenly much quicker than Schumacher? You have to wonder what a more ‘experienced’ driver might be able to do with it.
And therein lies the problem. We don’t know what level Schumacher’s operating at, and so, Mercedes GP cannot be certain that the maximum is being extracted from the machinery.
Until that little conundrum becomes clearer, it doesn’t look like either Schumacher or Rosberg will be winning a grand prix anytime soon. At least, not this year.
So who then?
So this is the bit where I put my neck on the line and suggest who I think will secure their first win since changing their trade.
No doubt Schumacher faces the most difficult prospect of them both. Driving against racers half his age, who don’t know what it’s like to fear Grandpa Schuey, in a car that’s yet to reach its potential (much like the man himself) means he’ll most certainly always be on the back foot.
But who knows? Maybe the team will stumble upon a sweet spot in the car (eventually) and we’ll see what Schumacher can actually do. No excuses.
Therefore, out of the two, it has to be Raikkonen who looks most likely to win something. He’s in a decent enough car as it is at the moment and should hopefully benefit from the regulation shakeup and experience next year.
Who knows, perhaps Raikkonen might even win a grand prix before Schumacher kicks in the bucket again for a second time. Stranger things have happened...
Loading ...British GP ’08 – Lewis’s Silverstone Stunner
What is the first thing that I think of when I cast my mind back to the 2008 British Grand Prix?
Rain.
From the moment the shuttle bus arrived ridiculously early on race morning, right up to when the main event was about to get underway, it relentlessly tipped it down. Not just any old rain - this was Northamptonshire's finest, soul-sapping rain.
Within the space of five minutes I was already wetter than a haddock’s bathing costume and thoroughly grumpy to boot. But, through a feat of strength and determination only found in a Hollywood blockbuster, I managed to brave it until the wretched grey clouds went their separate ways – coincidentally, just in time for the race.
I imagine I wasn’t the only one feeling a little edgy waking up on that damp Sunday morning though. It’s probably no exaggeration to suggest that the British Grand Prix was a make or break event for Lewis Hamilton in 2008.
He turned up at his home race amid an ever increasing amount of negative media coverage following weeks of errors and controversies. The Raikkonen-shunt in Canada and a drive-through penalty in France resulted in two non-scores and saw him slipping back in the points, down to fourth in the championship, 10 off Felipe Massa.
To be able to win the British Grand Prix would therefore have been a blessed relief from the dramas of the past month or so. But to do it in the devastating style that he did with his dazzling weather masterclass was simply stunning – and in a different league from his rivals.
Hamilton lined up on the second row of the grid after a mistake in qualifying saw him damage the underside of his car. His final run, with less than three minutes to go, was merely damage limitation. To qualify fourth was as good as it was going to get, and it would be a two laps lighter Heikki Kovalainen who would claim McLaren’s pole on home soil instead.
The track was absolutely saturated as the start of the race approached, and intermediate tyres were the only sensible option. You didn’t need to be an expert to know that the opening few laps of the race were going to be difficult.
Kovalainen led from his pole but Hamilton quickly moved from fourth to second by finding the best grip off the line, or as he would later put it: “it was the best wet start of my life.”
Into Copse he went, inching ever closer to his team-mate who wasn’t going to give away his advantage that easily. The two had a brief love tap, before things settled down for three laps, when eventually Hamilton caught a tow along the straight exiting Stowe and made a bold manoeuvre to overtake the Finn.
With the pace getting quicker and quicker with each passing lap, most of the early stoppers decided to keep their existing set of intermediates bolted onto their cars, expecting the circuit to become even more drier as the race progressed.
Kimi Raikkonen was now beginning to carve into Hamilton’s lead by up to a second per lap as they both came in on lap 21. In unison they arrived in their respective boxes in the pitlane, but while McLaren produced a fresh set of intermediates, Ferrari opted to send their Finnish racer back out on his used rubber that had already done more than a third of the race distance.
It worked out perfectly for Hamilton as the rain returned on their out-laps, his fresh intermediate tyres cutting through the rain like a hot knife through butter. A complete nightmare for Raikkonen however, who had difficulty trying to find grip on his now slick-like tyres. Over the next few laps, it was as if they were driving in different formulae, as in just nine laps Kimi dropped more than 50s behind before he stopped for fresher tyres.
Hamilton’s main rival was now out of the picture, but his serene progress was almost derailed when heavy showers arrived on lap 35, shortly before his second stop of the day. While others changed to extreme wet tyres, McLaren gave Hamilton another set of inters and a splash of fuel to see him to the end.
He did an impressive job. Marginally slower than those on the extremes, but much quicker than anyone else on the inters. Hamilton secured the win around this stage of the race, despite a brief trip at Abbey on lap 36, right at the start of the heavy rain.
It was an impressive performance, one that – after Fuji 2007 and Monaco 2008 – confirmed Hamilton as one of the greatest wet weather specialists ever to grace Formula 1. He not only finished 68 seconds ahead of his closest rival, Nick Heidfeld, but he lapped everyone up to third place. Both of these statistics are very unusual in the modern era of the sport, when the cars are so evenly matched and safety car periods often serve to bunch up the field.
Had it been dry on race day, the outcome would have been very different for Hamilton has never really found the Silverstone groove. But in 2008, the Northamptonshire circuit was the scene of a truly astonishing wet-weather performance, which I’m pleased to say I bore witness to. Soaked to the skin and risking hypothermia. Or was that hypochondria?
Surviving the British Grand Prix
Are you going to Silverstone for the British Grand Prix this year?
That's a coincidence, so am I. And being the kind hearted soul that I am, I thought I would share some of my pearls of wisdom for making it through the big weekend.
Feel free to chip in with any tidbits of information you think I may have missed...
Friday
Friday is when the spectator banks aren’t quite so rammed, and it’s when some of the most enjoyable moments of the weekend can happen.
While the majority of folk are busy at work, you can walk relatively unhindered around the track and be wowed at Copse, Becketts and Stowe. As well as hours of F1 free practice, there’s some GP2 qualifying for you to enjoy.
Oh, and make sure you walk anti-clockwise around the circuit. Better to have the cars coming towards you than having your back to them.
Get there nice and early
The good news is that even on a general admission ticket, there are still some good vantage points to be found – but you will need to get up at the crack of sparrows to grab them.
Not only does this ensure that you have a pitch that doesn’t require a contortionist’s feat of neck-cricking to see anything, but it also means you’re certain of catching some of the excellent support races. GP3, Porsche Supercup and the reverse-top-eight GP2 sprint races are likely to provide some decent action in the lead up to the main event.
Maggots
Head for this corner at some point during the course of the weekend. There are better places to watch the race from, but the outside of Maggots is where you will see and hear an F1 car pushed to the limit, and you don’t even need an expensive grandstand ticket to see it either.
Cool box
These bulky horrible looking things can be a life saver.
Imagine it: it’s midday Sunday and there’s a decision to be made. Having arrived at the crack of sparrows to stake your claim in a decent spot, you have minutes to go before the race starts. While at 6am you were shivering like mad, the temperature has risen and you’re now sweating buckets. Only an over-priced burger and beer will do. But you want to keep your sacred patch. What to do?!!
Should have brought a cool box along with you, that’s what. Ram it full of beverages and various treats. You’ll save yourself time negotiating the maze of stands and your wallet will love you as well.
When the race starts, you can then just hop on top of your box, obstructing the idiot who has been annoying you all morning, and get a better view of the action. Tada!
Sunscreen
It never amazes me to see the number of painfully pink-looking people dotted around the circuit each year. Even if it is overcast (which it will probably be), there’s no sense in taking any chances with the sun.
As the circuit is built upon what was once a wartime airfield, it is out in the open, and as such, the wind has a good habit of masking the fact you are slowly sizzling away.
Umbrella.
It’s Britain. Take one.
Camping
It’s probably too late to advise you not to bother, but heed my advice when it comes to next year’s race.
Access to Silverstone along the A43 is actually pretty good, so it’s easy to commute from nearby towns like Bicester, Aylesbury, or the roundabout laden metropolis that is Milton Keynes. You’ll enjoy hot running water and a nice comfy bed, as opposed to looking like you’ve spent the weekend with the Territorial Army.
Queues
One of the biggest drawbacks to visiting the grand prix is the massive queues to get out of the car park as quickly as possible after the race. Even though the nearby road network was vastly improved some years ago, it can still take a couple of hours to get out of the car park alone.
So instead of baking inside your Fiesta waiting to reach asphalt, you could dive into the middle of the circuit for the traditional ‘Grand Prix Party’ for a few hours, where no doubt Eddie Jordan will be taking to the mic once again...
On second thoughts, probably a better idea to bring a bicycle along and chain it to anything solid while you watch the racing. Jump back on it in double-quick time when it’s all over, and you’ll be back in your car and off down the road while everybody else is still packing away their deckchairs.
The Grand Prix Priest
Who can forget Irish priest Neil Horan running up the Hangar Straight in 2003?
On paper the 2003 British Grand Prix looks like a fairly ordinary race. Rubens Barrichello qualified in his Ferrari in pole position, and then went on to win the race by just over five seconds. But as afternoons go, this was anything other than straightforward.
Formula 1's spectators are rather renowned for their passion and for also wearing outlandish clothes in support of their favourite teams or drivers. But on July 20 2003, someone wearing a green and white top, kilt, and bright green socks might have seemed a little bit peculiar.
Down by the Hangar Straight, former priest Cornelius "Neil" Horan, 56, was preparing to ignore the terms and conditions on his entry ticket which mentions that motor racing can be extremely dangerous. Carrying a banner which read: "Read the bible, it's always right!" Horan leapt over the safety barrier on lap 12, before legging it towards the oncoming traffic.
As he embarked upon his protest, Jaguar Racing's new boy Mark Webber, was coming out of the extremely quick Becketts section and was on a collision course with the beret wearing nutter.
"As I came onto the straight I saw what I thought was a piece of bodywork on the track," recalls Webber. "One second later I decided that it wasn't a bit of car and a second after that I realised it was a person."
"I simply couldn't believe what I was seeing. I wasn't particularly worried about what might happen to the idiot on the track. I was more concerned about the other drivers and the effect on any kids watching if a car did hit him. That was absolutely my first thought. It's the kind of incident you don't forget."
The Aussie racer managed to dodge Horan, who was tackled to the ground by Silverstone marshal Stephen Green. Once dragged to safety, he was was taken away to nearby police cells.
In the meantime the safety car was deployed and dropped Barrichello back down the order to eighth. What happened next was a rather brilliant recovery drive in which he passed Raikkonen for the lead on lap 42 and took his sixth grand prix win. Sadly, most people remember the race less for Barrichello's performance and more for the antics of a complete and utter loon.
Horan served two months for his crazy behaviour that day, but that didn't stop his appetite for causing all manner of havoc. He was arrested again the following year at the 2004 Epsom Derby horse race when police reasonably assumed that he was like to run onto the course. A few months later he travelled abroad to Athens and impeded Olympic marathon leader Vanderlei de Lima, who struggled to break free, but then lost his advantage and finished third. His last one-man protest was thwarted at the 2006 FIFA World Cup where he was arrested by police once again.
And the message he was so desperate for us to see? He believes that the end of the world is nigh. If Stephen Green hadn’t taken him down five years ago, his prophecy might have been self-fulfilling.
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- A Nostalgic Treat – Silverstone Classic
- Review: Rally Champions of the 80s
- Brands Hatch – Fencing Not Required
- Who Will Win First? Kimi or Schuey?
- Silverstone Classic 2010
- British GP ’08 – Lewis’s Silverstone Stunner
- Surviving the British Grand Prix
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