Twitter and it's impact on F1 fandom...

A week or so ago, I stumbled across an online article about the racing scene in America. There the various teams and drivers interact regularly with their fans. It pointed out that Formula 1 is pretty inaccessible by those who follow it and stated that the fans rarely get the chance to get close to their heroes. But I think that’s changing thanks to the wonders of the internet….

I resisted the social network sites for while but now I’ve taken the plunge. Many teams have their official Facebook pages where various updates appear, but it’s on Twitter where fandom really takes a hold and forms a solid source for F1 news and views. Twitter democratises the internet in a way which is almost impossible anywhere else, I can tweet comments and I have access to the same 140 characters as esteemed icons such as Mark Webber, Jenson Button, or official team accounts like McLaren or Ferrari. Of course – I have far less people viewing my comments - but I still get a chance to put across my views, and as long as I tweet things which are occasionally interesting then they may get re-tweeted to a wider audience.

I follow as many F1 fans as possible so I can see what they think and enjoy their comments. Some of them stand out more than others with their witty, thoughtful, and often controversial views. I can respond to them, I can forward their messages on, I can try to continue the topic – something I could never really do before in such a casual manner because none of my friends/colleagues actually like Formula One!

The argument that F1 is not accessible by fans isn’t as strong now; many of the Formula 1 teams have gone out of their way to engage with fans. For example the guys at McLaren ask for people’s predictions on race results, they offer comments and promote competitions, and Mike Gascoyne from Lotus has offered his personal views on the developments surrounding the recent Lotus-Renault re-branding project. Some teams are a bit slow in utilising the service, Ferrari do have a twitter feed but they offer little more than boring official statements (“Massa is coming out for first practise”) rather than anything of any real interest. Other teams have engaged with absolute enthusiasm, Virgin Racing may be the new kids on the block but they are prolific tweeters, and instead churning out boring official press releases there seems to be a real human touch behind them, and coupled with super fan Alex who has gone to watch every race of the season they have provided F1 Fans with a level of access only a small minority would have previously been able to experience.

There may well be teams and drivers tweeting away merrily, but the majority of content comes from fans – and particularly those who are involved in blogs (much grander than mine!) and websites dedicated to the sport. Over the last year or so I’ve enjoyed the sport more than ever before because I’ve been able to share the experience with hundreds of others who range from casual fans to those who have in-depth knowledge of the engineering of each flap and wing of the cars. There are fans who make me laugh, fans who swear a lot, fans who share my own views and fans who have given me a different perspective. Folk like myself who have never been to a race (I will one day – it’s my mission in life!) can feel closer to the sport because of the fantastic network which links fans, drivers, websites and teams.

If this is the way forward then I embrace it – for a sport which is infamously expensive to watch live, Twitter has provided a common medium for everyone involved in the sport at all levels to congregate. As more fans tweet, and as more teams realise the value they can provide by joining in too – then the experience is just going to get better. After all, where else can I read a comment direct from a Formula 1 world champion and then reply directly? Sport is always best when it's a shared experience and Twitter has enabled a thriving F1 community to develop.

F1 Legend: Jackie Stewart

Sometimes a sport struggles to contain a character who transcends the sport because of their ability to make it all look so easy. They work hard at getting involved in all levels of their sport from the highest level down to the minutia of behind-the-scenes development in order to make their performance look effortless. 

Jackie Stewart was one such sportsman – this triple world champion was a master of the track and at one point out-performed so much that he even had his car investigated to make sure he wasn’t cheating! It’s hard to think of a driver who has had a big an impact on Formula One as Jackie Stewart – the Flying Scot. Here’s a brief history of the legend himself….

Jackie had an unhappy time at school. His dyslexia was undiagnosed at the time and he was seen as an underachiever. He refers to his time there as “mentally abusive” as he was routinely made to feel stupid, but he also considers that it made him work harder to try and succeed at whatever he tried his hand at. When he left school at 15, despite his petrol-head family (his father ran a garage and his brother Jimmy was a fairly successful local racing driver) Jackie focused on a different sport; he was an excellent clay-pigeon shooter and won many awards, he nearly made it into the Olympic team but he botched his trial and didn’t make it, it’s something he still regrets.

Being liberated from school allowed him to spend time out with his brother, he soon met a girl and the lovely Helen soon became his wife.  He eventually followed his brother into racing and he did it anonymously for a while so as not to upset his mother, it backfired though and when he announced his intentions to do it professionally she resented his lying and there was an animosity between them. It was clear that he had a natural talent, the young driver mastered every racing tournament he entered, but it was small-time racing. That is until he received a call from Ken Tyrrell to test in single seater racing - he was more than impressive, he was faster than established drivers such as Bruce McLaren! It wasn’t long before he progressed up to Formula 1, though only after knocking back several offers while he fine tuned his skills in Formula 3. His Formula 1 one debut saw him partnering the legendary Graham Hill at BRM. Jackie was surprised by his own pace, he was as fast or even faster than drivers who were his heroes. Hill and Stewart were highly competitive but always respected each other, Hill even helped to rescue him from a terrible accident in ’66 which had an everlasting effect on Jackie – he was sat in a puddle of fuel with no official help available. Spanners were borrowed from the crowd to remove him from the twisted wreckage.

The BRM was becoming less competitive than it once was and old friend Ken Tyrrell formed his own F1 team, he’d heard Ferrari were after Jackie and didn’t want to lose him to a non-British team. The new Tyrrell team with Jackie in the racing seat weren’t expected to be front runners – but in their maiden race at a rainy Nurburgring Jackie convincingly won the race - there were over 4 minutes between him and second place! There were many successes and the following year (1969) Jackie won the world Championship.

Two years later there was real drama in Jackie Stewart's quest for a second world championship. His V8 engine should have meant he languished behind the V12s and simply battled to be the best of the other V8 cars - but he astonished everyone by continually dominating races. Even when he was pipped from the starting grid he would re-claim the lead at the first corners. In fact - he performed so well in an underpowered car that his fuel was inspected and his engine dismantled to check that he wasn't cheating!

During the 1970’s there was a definitive change in the way sports personalities were viewed by the public. Sports stars were now treated like pop-stars and Jackie Stewart merchandise flew off the shelves. He even had a trademark look with large sideburns and long hair peeking out from under his black hat – the style was his wife’s idea, Helen found it very sexy! The look became fashionable and future champion Emmerson Fittipaldi adopted it too. Fittipaldi recently gave one of my all time favourite F1 quotes when reflecting on his thoughts at the time:

“Jackie has big sideburns and he’s going fast – I need to have bigger ones to go faster than him!”

1973 saw Jackie win his third championship title, his second with Tyrrell. The Tyrrell team were a small outfit, and Jackie’s relationship with Ken Tyrrell was more like a father-son relationship rather than Manager-driver. The two never had any contracts in their F1 career together, they trusted each other absolutely. Francois Cevert was a welcome addition to the ‘family’ when he joined as Jackie’s driving partner. He was jokingly described by Jackie as “too good looking” and the two formed a good friendship. Cevert was seen as Jackie’s protégé, someone to continue the winning streak once the Scot retired. Although the year resulted in a driver championship it was a dark year for the team. During practice for what would have been Jackie’s 100th Formula One race, Cevert crashed badly and a metal barrier cut through his car. His injuries were so severe that he was pronounced dead straight away, Jackie was one of the first on the scene and it confirmed to him that it was time to retire. Jackie had been under stress recently as he had involved himself in racing competitions all over the world, it had made him ill (causing him to make mistakes and even miss a race) and coupled with such a personal loss the decision was an easy one, and Jackie Stewart retired on career high – a third world championship.

The championships, the flare, the glamour and the record number of wins  - it was an impressive racing career but if you were to ask Sir John Stewart which achievement he was most proud of, he would no doubt say it was his influence on driver safety. Every year drivers died at tracks which were poorly equipped and badly staffed. Jackie increased pressure to improve conditions and the sport which had previously seen drivers leave if they didn’t like the conditions, realised that it had to change. He became a spokesperson for driver safety, his constant campaigning for improvements helped to make Formula One as safe as it is today. Medical support, ambulances and even fire extinguishers at tracks were introduced as a direct result of Jackie’s insistence that the venues had to provide safe conditions for the drivers there. Such changes are an important legacy which both fans and drivers alike can be thankful for.

Life after Formula One was no less interesting, his appearance in adverts led to a growing popularity in America – which was something of a surprise considering his thick accent. Aware of ‘brand Stewart’ he built himself up as a commercial brand and also took part in TV commentary for racing events. His natural charisma and strong personality shone through and led to regular TV work. He also found himself back as a car tester, but this time for domestic manufacturers. He actually earned more after F1 than he did as a racer!

Of course, he returned to Formula One twenty years later when along with his sons they created Stewart GP.  Murray Walker described the business world of F1 as a ‘Piranha Club’ where the businessmen cut each other to ribbons. Jackie and his two boys didn’t enjoy the experience, it was tense and stressful. Things looked good for the team – a 2nd place finish at Monaco in the teams 5th ever race signalled a bright future. But it never really happened and the team struggled to win points. The third season, though not great, saw some successes however and the team finished 4th in the constructor’s table. The three Stewarts were tired by the whole thing and son Paul was very ill fighting cancer, after three seasons and a place on each step of the podium it was a dignified bow out of the sport as the team was bought by Ford and renamed Jaguar.  That team went on to eventually become Red Bull – but that’s another story.

Jackie Stewart was a great Formula One driver whose influence extended well beyond that of race winner and champion. He raced during a time where the sport was transforming into the modern, media-attracting, glamorous spectacle that we love today. He was a driver who did what only a few great racers can do – he existed symbiotically with the car and could squeeze out of it levels of performance that few others could. He also made racing take a progressive attitude towards safety, without Jackie Stewart perhaps we would have been robbed of more great drivers.

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F1 2011 Car Launches

I always get excited about the car launches, I watched as much online as possible last year and shall be doing the same this year!

To help me get organised I will maintain a schedule of car launch dates - it's a sparsely populated list at the moment but I will add to it as more teams announce their launch dates. Expect a flurry during January as testing begins in February - hopefully HRT will be ready this year.

Red Bull          -->  1st week of Feb (RB7)*

Mclaren           -->  4th  February (MP4-26)

Ferrari           -->  28th January  (F150)

Mercedes          -->  1st  Feruary  (W02)

Renault           -->  31st January  (R31)

Williams          -->  1st  February (FW33)

Force India       -->  10th February (VJM-04)

Sauber            -->  31st January  (C30)

Toro Rosso        -->  1st  February (STR6)

Lotus             -->  1st week of Feb (T128?)*

HRT               -->  10th February (F111?)

Virgin            -->  7th February (MVR-02)

* Exact date not yet confirmed.

As I say, I'll keep updating the list.

The 2010 Formula 1 Constructor's Beauty Contest:

The championship is over; 2010 saw Red Bull and Seb Vettel take the top prizes in a season where the drivers crown wasn’t decided until the very last race.

As Renault and Force India battled for 6^th in the Constructor’s championship and McLaren strove to keep 2^nd place, the top five finished thusly:

1 Red Bull

2 McLaren Mercedes

3 Ferrari

4 Mercedes GP

5 Renault

But how does the Championship look if we do away with the necessity to actually win races and score points? What if we take the Championship down to the shallowest level there is and base the positions on how nice the car looks?!!

So here it is, “The Top 5 2010 Formula 1 Constructors Beauty Contest”….

5 - Red Bull

I’d never been a fan of the blue Red Bull livery, but when you see it during a night race, the blue takes on an electric sparkle and it never looks the same again. Toro Rosso’s brighter twin – the Red Bull has a mass block of blue, tipped with the signature red and yellow from the Red Bull logo. It’s a look which goes with the brand, it’s modern, a bit funky – and full of energy!

4 - Lotus

I was initially disappointed when I saw Lotus’ green paint-job. Like many others I was hoping for a new John Player Special with black and gold (which we’ll get to see next year!). But it’s grown on me and the classic green is a great nod to the heritage of the Lotus name.

3 - McLaren

I’ve got a soft spot for McLaren, I’ve collected a few models and the colour scheme looks beautiful. There’s no real change to the paintwork in 2010 from last year – but the metallic silver and rocket red is superb. The reflective body has an almost organic quality, as light conditions change – so does the car as lights dance along the sleek lines. The McLarens have demonstrated to Mercedes what a silver car ought to look like!

2 - Virgin

This is the most exciting car paintwork of all the teams. Even Gok Wan would agree that black and red are a killer combination, but it’s not just the colours that make this design stand out – look at the ‘tattoo’ on the front wing! The swirly decal looks like a cross between a floral print and a Celtic symbol – but whatever it is, it looks cool. It features on their merchandise too and is the second best reason to buy a VR shirt*! If I can scrape together enough pennies then I hope to be wearing a Virgin top as well as my McLaren one next season! Virgin show flare and creativity, they are the only team which can start from the back of the grid and still look like the cool kid at school, they would have been number 1 on the list if it weren’t for the sheer bravery of….

1 - Renault

Renault! They’ve dumped French Euro-Chic and but stuck to their old racing colour – yellow. Yellow cars get a tough time, nobody seems to like them – but Renault have made it work big style with the R30.  The yellow and black design make it look like a supercharged wasp. This is going to be a controversial choice for number 1, when it was launched I saw people recoil in horror when they saw the photos, but I feel I have to defend it. The colour scheme is so simple and yet so bold. It’s glossy, and smooth and uncluttered. I absolutely love it.

So here’s the new adjusted Constructors top 5.

FIA official standing:       Beauty Contest Winners:

1 Red Bull            -->    1 Renault

2 McLaren Mercedes    -->    2 Virgin

3 Ferrari             -->    3 McLaren

4 Mercedes GP         -->    4 Lotus 

5 Renault             -->    5 Red Bull

Want to see the cars? I would have posted pictures here but I want the blog to be as uncluttered as possible (for reading on smaller/mobile screens) – don’t be lazy – do a Google image search!

[* The first reason obviously being that they are a Yorkshire team! It’s something I mention quite regularly!]

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F1 2010 Driver Championship: The Movie!

With the tension building to almost unbearable levels over who will clinch the 2010 Driver Championship, I've read many opinions and statistics on the possible outcome. It's the sort of drama you experience watching a film which makes you wonder how the race could be interpreted on the big screen. 

So here are a few possible conclusions to the Abu-Dhabi race presented in various film styles...

 

Lewis Hamilton on top of the world: The Period Drama.

The Lord Lewis of Hamilton (wearing his lucky tights and favourite codpiece) strode up to the Gentleman known as Master Fernando and announced that he intended to duel him. The good sir agreed and the two entered their chariots to commence racing. Pretty soon the silver steed of Hamilton managed to tire Fernando's prancing horse and the red-clad stallion sputtered to a halt. As Master Fernando walked dejected to the side of the arena, Lord Hamilton witnessed another duel up ahead. Markus Webber and and Sir Bastion Vettel were coming close to fisticuffs as the wheels of their chariots met on several occasions. "Thou art driving like a lunatic" exclaimed Sir Bastion as he gestured that Webber was perhaps mentally defective. The two rode parallel, pushing to the very limit as each sought to complete the race first. However, as both steered to the left, further contact was made and the bull powered chariots collided in such a fashion that both were rendered quite useless.
Lord Lewis sped on through the carnage, waving his handkerchief to the crowd and bidding farewell to the gentlemen who had tried but failed to reach the end of the race. That evening over crumpets and tea, Lord Lewis felt positively on top of the world as he looked over at his new trophy. 

Webber wins the championship: in French film-noir.

The sound of a Rouge-Bull engine fills the speakers as a grainy black and white RB6 enters the screen before disappearing into the dusky Yas Marina Bay distance. After dominating the race with monsieurs Webber and Alonso behind, Vettel with one hand on the wheel, slowly removes his cigarette before mumbling that it's time to "balance things out, mon amis". His hand replaces the cigarette so that it hangs loosely on his lips, he then relaxes the throttle and Webber pulls ahead to take the win. As the two team mates step out of their cars after a lap of honour they embrace and walk away with arms around shoulders. The champagne sprayed over the crowd moments later is an oak matured, zesty little number from a compact family-run vineyard.

Alonso clinches 3^rd Driver crown: The American dream – a Hollywood account.

It's the last race of the season - the Philadelphia Grand Prix. We see Fernando 'the Fonz' Alonso talking in an American accent during an interview before the race. His record breaking qualifying lap has created a buzz and the paddock is in awe. He starts the race well in his Ford Ferrari (sporting a 'stars and stripes' paint-job) and looks set for an easy win. But there's disaster in the pits for team mate Randy Massa, and Fonz Alonso stops to assist the mechanics. Now at the back of the pack Alonso has to battle through to the front. As he attempts overtaking manoeuvres never before believed possible he inspires those who watch him and battles with nemesis Petrov in a shameful exploitation of Cold War prejudice to clinch a win in front of a whooping crowd.  As he stands on the highest step on the podium he shouts "God bless America" and tells kids that drugs are wrong before marrying his fiancée at Elvis themed ceremony.

Vettel becomes world champ: The ‘Carry On’ film style farce.

Seb Vettel is a cheeky young driver  who has enjoyed an night of naughty exploits in order to relax for the big race. He stifles a grin as Alonso (played by Sid James) boasts to him and Webber that he’s already done it twice already and fancies doing it a third time in front of everybody on the track. He moves along the pit wall to be interviewed by mini-skirt clad journalist who giggles before asking him if she can touch his helmet. After a series of innuendo-laced questions (“Will Alonso come at you from behind?”) it’s time to clear the track and start the race.

Vettel doesn’t get off to a good start, he falls to fourth behind his team mate, Hamilton, and Alonso. But midway through the race both Webber and Hamilton are distracted by the local outdoors keep-fit club when a move involving arms being flung out to the side results in the pinging off of a bra. Both drivers swerve off into the gravel and Alonso’s car overheats when an air-duct is blocked by a rogue airborne brazier. Vettel cruises to an easy victory while a group of girls giggle at the commentator referring to Kubica as an “excited Pole”. 

Catch up with me on twitter: twitter.com/F1_Dan1980

Lotus, Virgin Racing, HRT: The 'other' championship...

The Driver's (and Constructor's) Championship could be decided in Brazil, but chances are it won't be over until the final race in Abu Dhabi. Although you may be cheering on one of the three teams in contention - make sure you double the fun by getting behind one of the new three teams as well.

The three new teams have lagged behind the rest, but by doing so they have effectively formed a second division, and only one of the new three can take the coveted tenth spot in the Constructors Championship and secure the prize money that comes with it.

But who exactly are these new kids on the block? And why should you cheer them on...?

LOTUS:

Who are they?:
The team with the most lucrative name in the F1 2nd division; "Lotus"  -  attracts press attention and sponsorship money. They are currently at the top of the league but simply having the historic marque "Lotus" on the car doesn't automatically make it fast  - Mike Gascoyne does that! Mike is a respected (and some would say feared) car designer and it is hoped that his management of the team will get them finishing further up the field over the next few seasons.

Reason to support them:
It's Lotus! The same name on the cars which brought us world champions such as Jim Clark and Graham Hill when F1 cars looked like canoes with wheels. It's also the name on the most iconic F1 livery car  ever seen - the John Player Special! Okay, admittedly they are now a Malaysian Team arguing over the Lotus brand - but they're still (kind of) Lotus!


VIRGIN RACING

Who are they?:
Although Virgin Racing are a new name on the grid, Manor Racing (the technical bods behind the car) are no strangers to racing. They are a small outfit who have racked up impressive results in single seater racing - Lewis Hamilton won a 2003 Formula Renault championship with them, and he's not done bad for himself since. With extensive sponsorship from Virgin (hence the change of team name) this will hopefully be a team to stick around. Despite a major glitch at the start of the season when it was discovered that the fuel tank was too small to fuel the car properly to the end of the race, the team have secured a few double finishes and form the strongest competition to Lotus.

Reason to support them:
VR may as well stand for Vitual Reality here - Virgin's 2010 car is the first ever to be designed completely using computer software rather than traditional models and wind-tunnels, they are the TRON of the sports world! Virgin seem to ooze cool too and the car decal is simply beautiful - the front wing print is a work of art. For me though, the ultimate reason to support Virgin Racing is because they're from chuffing Yorkshire!


HRT

Who are they?:
Hispania Racing Team have the brains of Campos Motorpsport behind them, a fairly successful racing team in Formula 3. Unfortunately the venture into F1 hasn't seen the team achieve anything other than a mystery element to race weekends as we guess who'll be behind the wheel - (why is Karun Chandhok not in the driver seat!?) They only just got the car ready before the first race of the season, they nearly didn't make it to the grid.

Reason to support them:
They are the underdogs. F1 teams make many adjustments to the car and apply significant upgrades throughout the season, but HRT haven't - they are like the poor old guy you sometimes see when you're driving through town, no matter what the weather, he always wears exactly the same clothes and the fact he makes it out of the house is a minor cause for celebration. And then there's the name ..."HRT"; the most unfortunate acronym since the Teenage Wakefield Amateur Theatre group was formed. If you have enough money in the bank, there's a good chance you could jump in the cockpit and tackle the curves of Abu-Dhabi in a couple of weeks driving alongside Bruno Senna. In short - HRT get the sympathy vote.

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2 Races Left - how things have changed!

There are two races left and it's still all the play for - though some need to play a bit harder than others, here's a quick summary of the teams who are in contention for having a no.1 on their car next year.

Red Bull:

Surprised many by taking the first Pole of the season and being obviously faster than the rest of the pack. Red Bull have been consistent in qualifying and have taken 1st grid spot in all but 3 of 17 races so far. Their raw pace has not converted to points though - surely Christian Horner must be wondering how the fastest car on the track hasn't got the driver championship in the bag already. Reliability issues and two drivers chomping at the bit to win the F1 crown has left RBR finding the driver championship falling through their fingers. McLaren fans not wanting Alonso to win it, and Ferrari fans not wanting Hamilton to win it would be happier to see RBR walk away with both titles than the 'opposition' get either.


McLaren:

Struggled with qualifying early on and Button started further up the grid than Hamilton which raised a few eyebrows. The MP4-25 is a class act and the car deserves better results than it has achieved.  A few wins and regular podiums have kept McLaren in the hunt, it all seemed over when Lewis failed to finish several races recently - but a double DNF for Red Bull in South Korea has seen luck work in favour of the Woking team (though not as lucky as it was for Ferrari). McLaren are strong, but perhaps not as strong as their two biggest championship rivals at this stage - but Lewis is a born racer and won't give up until the last lap. The question is, will Button help him?


Ferrari:

What a disappointment at one point! Quitting during the 2009 season to focus on the F10 for this year put them as favourites before the first race had started. A fluke win at Bahrain was followed by results which fell short of expectations. A few races ago Alonso's chances of a third championship were being dismissed by most, but he kept scoring enough points to keep his chances alive without drawing attention to himself - until the German Grand Prix anyway! From a lucky win, to mediocre results, to convincingly leading the championship - it's been one hell of a season for the Tifosi, and it's far from over.


Renault:

Okay - they aren't championship contenders, but Kubica is in the mix when it comes to races.  It's not unrealistic that he'll finish on the podium or start from the front two rows - he could stand in the way of any of the Championship leaders by earning those precious points for himself. As long as the wheels stay on his car, Kubica's finishing position could help determine who gets the championship.



No team has been lucky, all of the above have been dogged by reliability problems, human errors and driving mistakes. Who knows what's going to happen in the next two races?!! Anyone could retire, anyone could win.