The end of many eras in Brazil

The Brazilian Grand Prix may be the last race of the season, but this year it is far more than just that. Interlagos will play host to the end of many eras. Felipe Massa will race in red for the last time, Mark Webber will bring his Formula One career to an end, and the paddock will bid farewell to Cosworth engines along with the V8. As if that wasn’t enough, McLaren’s long-standing partnership with Vodafone will also draw to a close and reports suggest Formula One will lose its Global and Technology partner LG. It also signals the start of an uncertain period for a number of drivers who have been left in limbo over whether they will be in Formula One next season, or visiting pastures new.

Felipe Massa leaving Ferrari after eight seasons

Felipe Massa joined Ferrari as a test driver in 2003 before being promoted to a race seat in 2006, alongside Michael Schumacher. Since then he has accumulated eleven wins, 36 podiums, 15 pole positions and 14 fastest laps. He became a bit of a Turkey specialist, taking pole position and winning the race three years in a row. He has also won his home race – the Brazilian Grand Prix – on two occasions as well as finishing on the podium two further times. He came close to winning the championship in 2008, but it was not to be int the end. He is second only to Michael Schumacher in terms of races entered for Ferrari. Brazil will be number 139 – meaning Massa is third in the all time list for number of races with one team.  Michael Schumacher managed 181 with Ferrari and David Coulthard reached 150 races for McLaren. He will begin the next chapter of his Formula One career by joining Williams for 2014 and beyond.

Mark Webber retiring from Formula One

Since his Formula One debut in 2002, Mark Webber has become a popular figure in the Formula One paddock. Not one for shying away from saying things as they are, Webber’s frank nature is refreshing in the current world of Formula One. Starting with Minardi, Webber drove for Jaguar before joining Williams, and eventually moving to Red Bull Racing in 2007. Nine wins, 13 poles, 41 podiums and 18 fastest laps make up his Formula One career. The Brazilian Grand Prix will be his 217th race, and his 129th for Red Bull, placing him fifth in the all time list for number of races with one team. He fought right to the last race of the 2010 season for the championship but unfortunately he has never won one. He has, however, been an important part of Red Bull’s rise to the top and part of the highly successful team who have won four constructors championships in a row. He has won at Brazil twice before – in 2009 and 2011. He appeared in the Thursday press conference and said: “I wouldn’t be leaving if there wasn’t things I’m happy to leave behind, and obviously if there’s more positives than negatives then obviously I would stay. But there’s more negatives than positives so, for me it’s something… I want a fresh change, a new chapter in my life basically – I’m ready for that personally and professionally.

Marussia-Cosworth split leading to Cosworth’s departure

Cosworth have been a familiar name in the Formula One paddock for 50 years, supported by Ford for a number of years as they supplied engines up and down the paddock. They have powered cars to 166 victories, the last of these coming in 2003 when Giancarlo Fisichella won the Brazilian Grand Prix for Jordan. After a brief spell away from the sport (2007 – 2009 inclusive), Cosworth returned in 2010 to provide power to the three ‘new’ teams who entered the sport then – the teams now known as Marussia and Caterham, along with HRT who dropped out after 2012. They also provided engines to Williams for 2010 and 2011. For 2013, Cosworth have just one team – Marussia – and they currently lie tenth in the championship, ahead of Caterham (who now use Renault engines) albeit with no points. After Marussia announced that they would be joining in partnership with Ferrari for 2014, when the new 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged hybrid power units come into play, it will mean the Cosworth name leaving Formula One once again.

Last race for Vodafone as McLaren’s title sponsor

Vodafone joined McLaren as title sponsor for the 2007 season, becoming their official Total Communications partners in 2010. Vodafone McLaren Mercedes have enjoyed a successful seven seasons together, including one world championship in 2008 when Lewis Hamilton became drivers champion. During their time together, Vodafone McLaren have won 34 races, secured 30 pole positions and 24 fastest laps. Considering the season McLaren have been having, it is unlikely they will win in Brazil, so Vodafone and McLaren’s last victory together will have been at the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix. The announcement about the split was made before the Australian Grand Prix at the very start of the season. At the time Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh said: “We’re immensely proud that, having been set a number of ambitious challenges by Vodafone back in 2007, together we’ve met or exceeded each and every one.” McLaren will announce their new title sponsor when they launch their new car, early in 2014.

End of V8 era as teams look ahead to V6 in 2014

It will be the end of an engine era at the Brazilian Grand Prix with normally aspirated 2.4 litre V8 engines making their last appearance before they give way to turbocharged 1.6 litre V6 hybrid Power Units in 2014. V8 engines made their debut in 2006, replacing the 3 litre V10 engines that had been around since 1995. In 2007 the FIA froze engine development as part of their cost cutting measures and in 2009 a limit on the amount of engines available to teams and drivers was introduced. Since then, each driver has a limit of eight engines per season, which they can use whenever they want, but with every new engine over the limit comes a ten place grid penalty. The RPM limit has also evolved since 2007 when it was 19,000 RPM, being reduced to 18,000 RPM in 2009. Renault have been the most successful manufacturer in the V8 era, powering two teams (Renault and Red Bull) to five constructors championships (2006, 2010, 2011, 2012 & 2013) along with two drivers (Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel) to five drivers championships (same years as constructors). Along with that, Renault powered cars have won 59 races, taken 65 pole positions and set 55 fastest laps. Seven manufacturers in total have made engines during the V8 era – Renault, Ferrari, Mercedes, Honda, BMW, Cosworth, and Toyota. Only Cosworth and Toyota are without race winners, Toyota having left the sport in 2o10. In terms of race wins, Renault have most (59 victories) while Mercedes have taken 46 victories, Ferrari 39, Honda and BMW with one apiece. In terms of podiums, Renault also top that list with 95. Ferrari and Mercedes have 83 each,  BMW have 12, Toyota have 11 and Honda have three. Who can add to their tally in the last hurrah in Brazil?

LG end five year partnership with Formula One

It was announced at the end of 2008 that South-Korean based electronics group LG would be joining Formula One as Global and Technology Parners from 2009 onwards. Their logo appears on live timing and  Reports suggest that this relationship will come to an end after the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend.

McLaren ’50 in 50′: Gary Paffett

Gary Paffett has been a full time McLaren test and reserve driver since December 2005. In his time with the team he has completed 67 test days, 4,746 testing laps and over 21,000 testing kilometres. He also drives the team’s simulator, helping to develop the car over the year. Away from Formula One, Paffett competes in DTM and is currently in his tenth season. He was champion in 2005 and has been runner up on a number of occasions, including in 2012.

As with many drivers, Paffett started his racing career in karts. He made his debut in 1991, when he was ten years old, racing in the British Junior Kadet Championship. He finished sixth in his first season, improving to fifth in his second and third in his third. In 1994 he started racing in the British Junior TKM championship, coming second in his first year and winning the championship in 1995. He won another championship in 1996 and swept the board until 2000 – winning everything he entered.

In 1999, after becoming the British Formula Vauxhall Champion, he won the prestigious McLaren Autosport BRDC award (the year after current McLaren driver Jenson Button). This earned him a test with the McLaren Formula One team. He said of the experience: “This was my first test in an F1 car and was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. The sheer speed of the cars is something that is impossible to imagine before you get the chance to drive it. I got a day of testing at Jerez in December 2000 and was invited back to a further test at Magny-Cours in January 2001”.

From there he competed in the British and German F3 championships, winning the latter in 2002. In 2003 he made the switch to DTM, driving for Team Rosberg. He finished 11th in his debut year with four points, picked up at the Nurburgring and the A1 Ring (now known as the Red Bull Ring). In 2004 he moved to the HWA team and progressed right up the order to finish second behind Matthias Ekstrom. That year he won four races – Hockenheim, Norisring, an invitational race in Shanghai and Nurburgring. He stayed with the team in 2005 and became champion, ending the year with 13 more points than Ekstrom, with an impressive five out of 11 victories. He took a year out of DTM to concentrate on his McLaren testing duties in 2006 but returned in 2007. A stint with Persson Motorsport in 2007 and 2008 saw Paffett back down the order, but a return to HWA in 2009 instantly saw him finish second again.

He currently lies sixth in the DTM championship as well as continuing his testing duties and simulator driving for McLaren. He recently celebrated his 100th DTM race at Oschersleben, back in early September. Over his career he has claimed 20 wins, 32 podiums and ten pole positions. He is the most successful DTM driver on the current grid, and is the third most successful DTM driver of all time, behind Bernd Schneider and Klaus Ludwig. 75% of his DTM race starts have resulted in points.

Paffett shares his McLaren test driver duties with Oliver Turvey. He also attends Young Driver Tests for the team. He attends races as the team’s reserve driver, and he also stepped into that role for Force India last year at the Australian Grand Prix. There have been times when Paffett has been in attendance at Formula One race weekends and, after Free Pratice on Friday, he has been flown back to the McLaren Technology Centre to work on tweaks and updates for the car. It is a relentless job being a test driver!

 

F1: Age is just a number

In the last week a rumour surrounding a possible return for Rubens Barrichello has been doing the rounds. Apparently he is being considered by Sauber, who look set to sign Russian driver Sergey Sirotkin – provided he earns his superlicence. The Barrichello rumour has generally been met with one of two responses: “Yay, I love Rubens!” or a variation of: “he’s past it/he’s had his chance/he’s too old!”.

He’s too old!

At 41 years of age, many consider Barrichello too old to make a comeback in Formula One. Remember, this is the same age that Michael Schumacher was when he returned in 2010. Back then that particular announcement was met with a few question marks being raised about his age, but generally it was accepted. He is, afterall, a Formula One legend. It would be fair to say that he did not set the world alight on his return but, had it not been for so many mechanical failures, it might have at least read differently on paper. He took pole position at Monaco but was docked five places on the grid (due to an incident in Spain) and also finished on the podium once. It wasn’t like his dazzling first career, but compared to that, anything less than at least race wins and multiple podiums was going to look bad. He retired again at the end of 2012, saying it was not in his nature to continue doing something if he wasn’t 100% committed.

Now, Barrichello could be set to make a come-back. He did not retire from Formula One, instead going into Brazil at the end of the season in 2011 with the belief he might still retain his Williams drive in 2012. However, early in 2012 it was announced that Bruno Senna would join Pastor Maldonado and by that stage it was too late for Barrichello and he had a rather low-key departure from the sport where he has the most race entries (326 with 322 starts). He moved to Indy Car racing instead.

A shelf-life in Formula One?

Not counting Mark Webber, who has chosen to retire from the sport at the end of the season, there are currently four drivers over the age of 30 in F1. Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen are both 33 while Fernando Alonso and current team-mate Felipe Massa are 32. The first three have drives for 2014, but Massa currently finds himself with no contract. He has made no secret of the fact he is searching for a competitive drive in Formula One, having spoken to at least Lotus and McLaren. The responses to Massa’s plight have been similar to the response to the Barrichello story: “he’s had his chance, give a drive to somebody younger instead”.

Certainly, there are a number of talented ‘young’ drivers waiting in the wings in GP2, GP3, and Formula Renault 3.5 (to name but a few series). It is the natural progression in a driver’s career to move to Formula One, but only if there are seats, which unfortunately there are only 22 of. Lots want them, but few get them.

Heikki Kovalainen is an incredibly popular Formula One driver. He was forced out at the end of 2012 and since then many have been calling for his return. Contrast his situation with that of Massa, as mentioned above, and the difference in responses is startling. At 31 years of age, Kovalainen is just a year younger than Massa but that doesn’t seem to be a consideration for many. People want Kovalainen to return while they think Massa’s time in Formula One has come to an end because he’s ‘older’ and has had his chance. Yes, Massa has had more years to succeed, but Kovalainen has driven for top teams such as Renault and McLaren before joining Caterham.

Age is just a number! A driver who is late 30s (Mark Webber) can perform just as well as someone in their early-mid 20s, if not better. They come with that valuable experience that a rookie just doesn’t have, no matter how many feeder series he or she has raced in. That’s not to say that young drivers don’t deserve their chance in Formula One, because they do – but just because a driver is getting on a bit age wise, doesn’t mean they should automatically be shown the door!

So, to sum up – Barrichello might be past it, he might not – but his age should play no bearing on whether he deserves a return to Formula One. Massa is a fast driver who is capable of winning races – maybe he lost his way at Ferrari. A new start with a new team may be just what he needs to revitalise his supposedly flagging F1 career. And I leave you with this thought: imagine Alonso in Massa’s current situation. No drive as yet for 2014. He is a two-time world champion, wins races and consistently finishes on the podium. Should he leave the sport because he’s ‘had his chance’? He is, afterall, 32…

McLaren ’50 in 50′: Emerson Fittipaldi

Emerson Fittipaldi was McLaren’s first world champion. He joined the team in 1974 and it was that same year that he secured the world championship – his second (his first being won in 1972) but the very first championship for McLaren. As well as the drivers’ championship, McLaren were also victorious in the constructors’ championship. They beat Ferrari by eight points.

Brazilian Fittipaldi was born in 1946 to respected motor sport commentator and journalist Wilson Fittipaldi Snr. His older brother, Wilson Fittipaldi Jnr, was also a racer and later became a team owner. He started racing from a young age, trying motorcycles and karts. Before joining Formula One in 1970, Fittipaldi raced in Formula Vees, Formula Ford, Formula 3 and Formula 2.

Fittipaldi joined Formula One mid-way through the 1970 season, and became Lotus’ lead driver for the following season. He stayed with Lotus and became the youngest world champion (at that time) aged 25 when he won the championship in 1972. In 1975 he took two race victories and a handful of podiums but it was not enough to beat an impressive Niki Lauda. He finished second for McLaren that year. In a shock twist for 1976, Fittipaldi chose to leave McLaren for his brother’s team Copersucar Fittipaldi. His highest championship finish between leaving McLaren in 1975 and retiring from the sport in 1980 was tenth place in 1978.

After retiring from driving, Fittipaldi moved into a team management role, but the team folded in 1982. He resumed his racing career in 1984, racing in CART. He won the championship in 1989. He continued racing until 1996 until an injury put paid to him continuing. Since 1996 he has still been involved with racing, however, as a team owner in Champ Car, as well as team principal for the Brazilian A1GP entry. He has dabbled in racing returns, racing in the GT3 Championship with his brother in 2008 for example.

Fittipaldi is now a regular blogger for the McLaren team. He blogs about a number of different topics, including a recent post where he outlined his highlights of racing for McLaren.

Tomorrow’s ’50 in 50′ post will look at the iconic McLaren Technology Centre, which houses the McLaren Group.

 

McLaren ’50 in 50′: Introduction

As you may or may not know, I am a big fan of McLaren and have been since I started watching Formula 1. I wanted to mark their 50th anniversary by doing something special and so ’50 in 50′ was born.

For the next 50 days, including today, I will be looking at the different aspects of McLaren that have made them the team they are today. From their founder Bruce McLaren to other key personnel such as Ron Dennis and world champions, along with other important components that make up the McLaren Group as it currently is.

McLaren is, of course, about more than just the racing team. The McLaren Group comprises six companies overall and these are McLaren Racing, McLaren Automotive, McLaren Applied Technologies, McLaren GT3 Racing, McLaren Electronics and Absolute Taste.

The McLaren story started 50 years ago in 1963 when Bruce McLaren founded Bruce McLaren Motor Racing Ltd. Look how far the team have come since then – continuously evolving and remaining at the forefront of technical development. The McLaren racing mantra is ‘McLaren exists to win races’; something which was clear early on when Bruce McLaren himself wrote the now iconic words:

‘Life is measured in achievement, not in years alone’

They are the most successful Formula One team post-1966, the year they entered the sport, with 182 race wins. Along with that they have 20 world championships in total – 12 drivers and eight constructors’ – ranging from 1974 to 2008. In recent times McLaren have also set a new record for most consecutive races in the points. They managed 64 races, between the start of 2010 and the 2013 Candian Grand Prix (where the record ended), with at least one car finishing in the points.

So, where better to start ’50 in 50′ than looking at the man who made it all possible: Bruce McLaren. His name lives on in the team he started 50 years ago. He died at age 32, leaving behind an impressive legacy.

“Bruce McLaren wrote the beginning of the story, and the legend is going to continue for many years to come”

~Ron Dennis 2013 

Please join me on this journey of celebrating 50 years of McLaren in 50 days.

If you’d like to get involved in any way you can:
Follow me on Twitter: @hannahhou
Like ‘The H Duct’ Facebook page
or email thehduct@hotmail.co.uk

Is Sebastian Vettel cruising towards a fourth world championship?

At the halfway point in the season, Sebastian Vettel has a commanding 38 point championship lead. Having taken the lead after round three, he has been unchallenged at the front, with second place currently belonging to Kimi Räikkönen, having previously been in the hands of Fernando Alonso. With at least a race win in hand, and a fourth place, Vettel is certainly in a commanding position going into the second half of the season, but is he cruising towards a fourth world championship?

So far, Vettel has taken three very different routes to his championships:

1) Leading when it matters

In 2010 he never led the championship. Going into the last race he was one of four drivers who could clinch the title at Abu Dhabi, with a number of permutations. Alonso had an eight point lead over Mark Webber, who in turn was seven points ahead of his team-mate Vettel. Lewis Hamilton was an outside chance, having to win the race with Vettel finishing third or lower, Webber sixth or lower and Alonso outside the top ten. In the end, Alonso and Webber got caught up behind Vitaly Petrov, with Alonso becoming particularly frustrated. Vettel qualified on pole and went on to win the race. So, for the first and only time that year he led the drivers’ championship, and what a time to do it. He became the youngest world champion with a four point advantage over Alonso.

2) Never losing the lead

2011 couldn’t have been more different for Vettel – 15 pole positions and 11 wins. He didn’t finish outside the top four once during the whole season, and only had one DNF result. After winning the first race of the season, Vettel held the championship lead right the way through to Brazil. The end result was a commanding 122 championship point win over Jenson Button. At that rate, Vettel could have afforded to take four races off with Button winning all of them, and he would still be champion. He wrapped it all up at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he arrived needing only one point, with four races left.

3) A late surge to win

Already a two-time world champion, Vettel faced different challenges again in 2012. It was the year that saw seven different winners in the first seven races, with no one team or driver dominating. Vettel’s first race win that year came at round four and he had a mixed season after that. It wasn’t until the Singapore GP that he won again, and went on to win the next three races as well. Well on his way, it again went down to the last race of the season as had been the case in 2010. This time, however, it was advantage Vettel as he had a 13 point cushion over Alonso.

But what of 2013?

With nine races of the season remaining, Vettel looks in good shape to secure his fourth successive world championship. He has won the most races of anyone so far – four to Alonso and Nico Rosberg’s two apiece – and has the most podiums (seven) along with nine out of ten points finishes. But, as we have seen in the past anything can happen. At this stage of the season in 2010, Hamilton had a 12 point lead over his nearest rival, team-mate Button and 24 ahead of Vettel. The most significant gap, however, was his 47 point advantage over Alonso. By the end of the season Vettel had won the championship by four points from Alonso, who had negated the gap to Hamilton. In total the Spaniard made up 59 points in nine races over Hamilton.

In Vettel’s runaway year, he already had a 82 point advantage over Hamilton – his nearest rival – by this stage in the season. This figure grew to 122 by the end of the year when the Red Bull driver secured the title ahead of Button. 2012 is the most similar in terms of this year’s championship. Bearing in mind 2012 had 20 races, it is necessary to consider the results after 11 rounds, leaving nine races. Last season Alonso had a 42 point lead over nearest rival Vettel and was 47 points clear of then third placed Hamilton. Vettel was the driver overcoming the big deficit, making up 45 points to win the championship by three points over Alonso. This was certainly helped by four wins in a row, although Alonso was on the podium three out of those four occasions.

So, for Alonso, Räikkönen and to a certain extent Hamilton, all hope is not lost. A 38 point lead does seem rather large, but there are still nine races remaining in which anything can happen. Räikkönen came from behind to win the 2007 world championship by one point while Alonso overcame a deficit in 2010, although narrowly missed out on winning the title. Is Vettel cruising towards a fourth world championship? Probably. But can he be beaten? It’s not impossible.

The F1 season so far in numbers

It is hard to believe that the halfway stage of the 2012 season has already been and gone, and that there are only nine races to go, but it has been an exciting season so far which has seen a number  of different race winners, different drivers on the podium, and Fernando Alonso proving that consistency is key. You can read a detailed analysis of the numbers and statistics which make up the season so far over on EnterF1, but here is a simple breakdown.

Yellow = most; Light Blue = fewest overall laps; Blue = fewest by race driver

Check out The H Duct Lap League – a fun F1 championship based on laps completed by drivers.

Highest average qualifiying position: Lewis Hamilton 2.90
Lowest average qualifiying position: Narain Karthikeyan 23.63
Most post-qualifying grid penalties: Silverstone and Hockenheim – four at each
Driver with most post-qualifying grid penalties: Pastor Maldonado – three
Most places lost in one penalty/exclusion: L Hamilton – 23 places at Spain
Highest total of qualifying places lost through penalties/exclusions: L Hamilton – 28 places
Highest total of qualifying places lost through grid penalties alone: P Maldonado – 25 places
Number of drivers given post-qualifying penalties: 13
Most places gained (grid – chequered flag) overall: Sergio Perez – 49 places
Most places gained (grid – chequered flag) at one race: L Hamilton – 16 places in Spain
Most finishes in points (driver): Fernando Alonso – 11/11 points finishes
Most finishes in points (team): Red Bull – 19 points finishes
Most wins (driver): F Alonso – three wins
Most wins (team): Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari – three each
Number of different race winners: Seven from five teams
Most podiums (driver): F Alonso – six
Most podiums (team): McLaren – eight
Number of different drivers on podium: 11 with seven different teams represented
Most race finishes (driver): F Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg – 11/11 each
Most race finishes (team): Red Bull and Ferrari – 21 finishes each
Most fastest laps (driver): Sebastian Vettel – three fastest laps
Most fastest laps (team): Lotus and Red Bull – three fastest laps each
Total number of visits to pit-lane: 549
Race with most visits to pit-lane: Bahrain (74)
Race with fewest visits to pit-lane: Monaco (31)

You can find more driver and team statistics right here!