#FerrariWeek – The quiz
Exclusive: Steve Parrish Q&A: 20 Minutes with Britain’s Fastest Prankster
I was lucky enough to know that Steve Parrish would be at Snetterton a few weeks back for the BSB meeting, so I decided that after giving him a remote control rat to play around with at home, to get an interview with one of Barry Sheene’s best friends. So, in this exclusive interview, Parrish reveals his racing career highlights, the best race he ever commentated on, the British Talent Cup, why he voted to Remain in the EU and what the easiest prank to play on someone is.
Main highlights of your motorcycle racing career?
Having lots of fun and causing chaos. I suppose you could say, ‘enjoying living the dream’. I guess however that I peaked early; 1977 was my best year in the Grand Prix paddock. I had a cracking bike, it was the old Sheene bike from the previous season and I ended up fifth in the World Championship on it. I had lots of races against the heroes that I used to have posters on my bedroom wall of, such as Giacomo Agostini and Phil Read.
I carried on in British Championship’s and just being involved after that was great. It’s a lovely sport we are in and I met a lot of good friends via the sport, whilst also losing quite a few friends via the sport, as it was probably a lot more dangerous back then. However, I look at it as the best part of my life really and had the best part of 10-12 years racing motorcycles, which were massively exhilarating to ride, although a little bit dangerous and painful at times! I will always look back on my career and I’m often asked, ‘what is your favourite form of racing?’ and it would be motorcycle racing. I have more admiration for motorcycle racers than anyone else.
Who was your fiercest competitor back then?
I have to say Barry Sheene. At the time, he was the guy to beat. He was on the same bikes as I was on and he was pretty special. He beat me a lot more times than I beat him, I grant you!
How about your media career highlights?
One of the best races I have ever commentated on was Colin Edwards vs Troy Bayliss at Imola, for the 2002 World Superbike championship. Two guys, duking it out, whoever took the win, took the title, or near enough to that. It was very, very special and was probably one of the greatest motorcycle races we have ever seen.
Another one was Valentino Rossi beating Jorge Lorenzo on the final corner at Catalunya in 2009, which was very special. Generally, the highlights have been covering MotoGP for a number of years. Watching, admiring and meeting heroes of my world.
The 2017 North West 200 race was one of the greatest too, with Glenn Irwin beating Alistair Seeley. I really rate Seeley, he’s been Mr. North West 200 for a number of years now but for the fans and also for the media, it was nice to see someone else take a win there. I never realised how much Glenn actually expected to win that race. Personally, I didn’t think he had a chance because he had to relearn the circuit and he’d only ever ridden it on a 600cc machine. He came there on a bike that you wouldn’t necessarily say was the ultimate bike for the NW200 but he endured the weird conditions we had. It’s a shame he’s injured now because I think his success at the NW 200 would’ve propelled him to greater things at BSB.
Do you think the NW200 deserves more media coverage?
I don’t think you could say it “deserves” it because if it deserves it would generally get it. In Northern Ireland, it gets more media coverage than what the British Grand Prix gets here in mainland Britain. It is wall to wall coverage over there and I’d say that Seeley, Irwin and Michael Dunlop are all just as famous as any premier league footballer over in NI. You couldn’t consider saying the same for Shakey Byrne or James Ellison over here because not as many people know who they are. Over in NI, motorcycle racing is on the front page of all the major newspapers. It would be nice if it got more over here but then again, we see nothing but women’s rugby and women’s cricket and it annoys me quite frankly.
What would you say to the people who want road racing banned?
I think they need to go first. They need to know someone who does it, who gets the sensation and the satisfaction they get from doing it, the amount of fun they have doing it and the adrenalin rush they get from doing it. Unless they’ve done it, they’re not qualified to say that it should be banned and I doubt that people who have done it would want it banned either!
What about your career in general, what was the hardest part?
I’d say that the hardest part of my career is the travel that you do. I don’t do as much now but at one point I’d be away between 6-8 months a year. It takes a tole on your family, on your marriage – which they all went out the window – it’s difficult to carry that through. I travelled a lot with my racing, then with my team ownership, then truck racing and then the media work. I had 40 years of going all around the world.
Sitting in hospital with broken legs and arms and not knowing who or where you are isn’t much fun either. But I think if it was easy then everyone would do it. Truthfully, compared to many people in this world, I haven’t had a lot of hard things to deal with. It’s been hard in my own little world but I’ve been lucky and I don’t think anything I’ve done has been mega, mega tough.
If you could choose one race circuit from your time (except the TT), which would you consider the most dangerous?
The Nordscheife Nurburgring circuit, when the German Grand Prix was held there. I found that very dangerous because it was difficult to learn, similar to TT for foreigners going there. I didn’t think it was right to have the GP at the Nurburgring because Barry Sheene was still battling for the title and it was wrong to try and get people to learn a circuit as long as that, as all the locals had been there before and knew it better than us. Imatra was pretty dangerous in Finland, as was the Czechoslovakian Grand Prix on the old street circuit at Brno. Spa’s old street circuit in Belgium was fierce too.
If you could go back to one race circuit to ride again, which would it be?
I’d probably choose somewhere nice and safe, like Mugello. You get to the stage where you’ve gone through a lot of accidents, so you don’t really want to continue doing the hard stuff. That’s why as you get older, you generally get slower. I’ve ridden a road bike around Mugello but I wouldn’t mind riding a race bike round there. I rode a 500cc two-stroke round there in the 70s but it has changed a bit since then! I wouldn’t mind a blast round on an RCV!
Your thoughts on the British Talent Cup?
I think it is great. I think any championship for youngsters to build up their talent in the kind of country we live in is good. It’s a bit like an academy. The Red Bull Rookies has been brilliant, so many riders of today have come through that, such as Zarco. There can never be enough cups, simply because we need to give chances to kids who don’t necessarily come from privileged families. It’s an expensive sport and if you come from a not – so – privileged family, then you’ll probably end up playing football or rugby or cricket, which you can do down on the village green. However, with motorcycle racing, you need a wealthy parent to get you a motorcycle. If you can get more riders then it’s good because the bigger championships will be choosing from a bigger pocket of people.
I am a believer in the fact that if you can ride a motorbike, you can ride a motorbike, whether that be on a GP bike or Superbike. Danny Kent may be an exception to that and going back to my era, then Angel Nieto never could ride a big bike. Jonny Rea, Ben Spies and Cal Crutchlow have all proved that they can win or do well on either prototypes or road-go bikes. I don’t think it will take away from riders coming to the British championship.
Will Brexit effect British motorcycle racing, or motorcycle racing on a whole?
I think it will effect the country. I voted to remain in the EU because I feel we are bigger and better and a lot easier together. I travel a lot and a lot of people do the same, so I don’t really see the point in Brexit. For me, we’ve gone the wrong way. I’ll get my shoulder behind it like everyone else however. It could, in theory, hinder international based British companies that want to trade with the EU, however I really don’t know. I come from a period where, when I wanted to drive to Italy, I had to get stamps in France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland etc. Open Europe has been a Godsend for everyone and lets hope it stays that way.
The state of other national championships.
They lost their way a bit. We are sat here on a sunny day at Snetterton and the amount of teams, sponsors, motorhomes, personnel etc is huge. I’ve walked around just now with Matt Robert’s and I think it is as good as any WSBK event, if not bigger. I suspect their series’ aren’t as healthy as ours because half the good guys come here anyway. BSB is unquestionably the strongest domestic championship in the world.
What are your favourite pranks?
Oh God. There’s been so many of them! The easiest one to do and anyone can do this at home – it sounds like one of these Blue Peter programmes! If you get they keys to someone’s car, then just wind the window down and put a brick and some shattered glass on the seat. You need some broken glass of course – I always keep a dustbin full of broken glass which I get from Autoglass. Then, when the person comes out, all you have to say is that they’ve had problems with the gypsies or the neighbours. Lend them some tape to try stick it together and then they generally drive down to a garage or Autoglass to get it replaced, when the actual window itself is just wound down! I got my daughter not long ago – she should know better!
Now, with this remote control rat, it looks like it could be quite good for ladies toilets. You have to get in there in the first place and whizz it under and then listen for the scrambling of feet and the screaming. In a restaurant would probably be good too. I know you used yours in KFC. If you do it in the right restaurant then you might be able to get a discount with your meal but then again, I might end up in the shit!
I would like to say a massive thank you to Steve for his time, as I know he was pushed for time as his Plummet Airways flight back to South Cambridgeshire was departing very shortly. We wish Steve all the best and look forward to seeing or hearing him in his various forms across the TV.
Interview by Kiko Giles – @MotoGPKiko
Exclusive: Shane Byrne Interview: Why Not Carry On?
I felt privileged to chat to an icon of British Superbikes. Five time champion and the series’ defending champion Shane ‘Shakey’ Byrne gave me a great insight into what it’s like at the top of British Superbike whilst also enduring a tricky start to the 2017 season. This is what he had to say in answer to some questions I put to him, way back at Snetterton.
2017 in your words…
The first part of the year has been really difficult. BSB is BSB and as much as some people dislike The Showdown, sometimes it can work for you. I think that as it turns out, even without The Showdown scenario, we’re slowly but surely clawing our way back to the top. We’ve got our difficult tracks out the way now so I’m very hopeful and here (Snetterton) is the start of a run of circuits that I really enjoy and the bike works very well at.
Whilst it hasn’t been the strongest of starts to the year, it’s not because we haven’t had the speed or because of problems. It’s because I got really unlucky at Donington Park and lost the front on a cold tyre, keeping me out of both races. Then at Brands, I really wanted to win and without question I was going to win race two, then, I lost the front on the bumps and down I went. That’s racing. I’ve been around a really long time and you learn to roll with the lows and enjoy the highs when they come.
Are you surprised at how competitive Glenn Irwin has been this year?
Not at all, why would I be surprised? He’s got exactly the same bike as I have. Glenn has come from a very fast family. His dad was a very quick racer. One of his brothers is leading the British Motocross Championship, his younger brother is doing well here in Supersport and you’d be mad to think that Glenn wouldn’t be there too. He’s had a relatively short circuit racing career but at the same time, he’s come through very quick. He’s had a season and a bit on the bike now and there has to be a point where you say, ‘time to do a job now’. As it stands, he’s got unlucky with an accident at Knockhill and all he needs to do now is get himself back and back strong again. The problem with these bikes is that they are so hard to ride. If you comeback injured, you might not be able to do a proper job. Then your confidence starts to go down and it’s spirals from there.
Do you think he will be in The Showdown?
I certainly think so. He’s a very strong and determined rider and if there’s anything I can do to help him secure a top six place then obviously, I will. However, first things first, I need to secure my own placing! I need to get myself up there in the podium points standings. He should be fine when he gets back at Brands Hatch.
Since joining the paddock in 1999, what has been the standout moment for you, excluding your 5 titles?
I don’t know really. I’ve seen lots of people come and lots of people go. I’ve seen lots of fuss made of some people and not so much of others. I’ve seen people where you think, ‘if you had a good bike, you’d do really well’ and others on good bikes where you think, ‘you’re not that good at all’! That’s not me being harsh, it’s the facts.
At Knockhill, I was 7th in the standings and well down on podium credits. I left Knockhill 3rd in the championship and with two podiums. In some ways, you could say ‘job done’. The problem is that it’s not enough. It’s only enough when you come away with two wins. I think the minute that I start accepting third place is worrying.
It’s not what I am here for. I have to push and your continuously looking for that extra something.
Talk about rider preparation in a top BSB team.
I’ve started doing something at this round in my personal preparation. I’ve never done it in my whole career! You may not find half a second in one change on the bike, but three changes on the bike and you might find 0.1 here, 0.5 there. Suddenly, you’ve found a second. It’s the same with your personal preparation. Everything you do and the way you go about doing it has to be in the manner of ‘chipping away’. You’re at the top of a very professional championship and sometimes, I might be the benchmark of the championship, so other riders will be taking chunks out of you. Therefore, you have to find ways to be faster, stronger etc. It’s good and I enjoy the challenge of that. People say to me “how much longer are you going to be around?” etc, but I’ve got some pretty big numbers I want to hit in the championship. The 100 victories is obviously a target. On average, since coming back in 2011, I win 8-12 races per year. The 100 victories is one of my little missions.
Do you feel that you never got a proper chance at World level?
I’d give up all five BSB titles for one WSBK championship. That’s my dream: to be a world champion. The day you stop dreaming of being world champion is the day to hang your leathers up. I still dream of it but the problem is I’m not in the WSBK series!
Could you return to WSBK in the future?
I don’t know. Listen, people look at me now, at 40 years old and think, ‘when are you going to retire?’, ‘do you think you can do this, do you think you can do that?’ and I feel like saying ‘f*** **f’, I’m here to race and win – which I am doing. When you can put on a performance like I have this weekend and show everyone that you can still do it, then why not carry on?
Who was your standout teammate throughout your career?
Carlos Checa was great as a teammate. Jeremy McWilliams was a lot of fun! Ryuichi Kiyonari is the standout one though. I had, and still have, so much respect for that guy. I’m gutted that he left because even when I was his teammate on the exact same bike, when things were going good for me and not so good him, you could never, ever discount him. There was enough mutual respect between us that we never discounted each other. Lots of things have to be right for Ryuichi but his speed is unquestionable. He’s doing the Suzuka 8hr this year, chances are he will win. He’s undoubtedly one of the fastest guys I’ve ever raced.
Image by Gareth Davies of Full Factory Photography.
Story by Kiko Giles
@MotoGPKiko
Hungarian Grand Prix Retrospective, 1997. So close for Damon Hill and Arrows-Yamaha.
Let me take you back in time. In 1997, the reigning F1 champion was Damon Hill. He’d won the title when driving for Williams-Renault, but had lost his seat to Heinz-Harald Frentzen at the end of 1996.
Nineteen ninety-seven was tough for Damon, but there came a moment in that year’s 11th round in Hungary. He qualified 3rd on the grid with only Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve ahead. After qualifying, he was in a bullish mood and was clearly up to the fight for the win.
After the start, Michael and Damon were running first and second. Do remember that the Arrows were running Bridgestone tyres and most of the others were on Goodyear’s. From lap five to lap ten, Damon started to close the gap to Schumacher’s Ferrari, and at the start of lap ten, Damon pounced and took the lead at turn one.
The reason for Michael’s lack of pace? Well, the Goodyear tyres were blistering in the relentless hot weather that day in Hungary.
So, what happened next? Well, after 15 laps, Damon had a 7.9 second lead over Jacques. He was in the groove! On lap 19, he lapped his teammate, Pedro Diniz who was in 19th place. Twenty-two laps into the race, and the gap between Damon and Jacques was 5.1 seconds.
Lap 23, and Jacques and DC in his McLaren pitted for new tyres and fuel. Damon pitted at the end of the same lap. All the other teams made their stops and Frentzen was in the lead at the start of lap 27, but heading into lap 28, he would start to get a problem with his car, which was highlighted with flames coming out of the rear. At the end of this lap he made his stop for tyres and fuel, but the team would retire the car.
Damon was back in the lead at the start of lap 30, with 47 still to go. Pole sitter Michael was down in 4th. Jacques, David and Michael were running together, 33 laps into the race, contesting 2nd, 3rd and 4th.
However, Michael pitted at the end of that lap, leaving JV and DC to fight.
At the start of lap 36 Damon’s lead over the remaining Williams Renault was now over 12 seconds. The top five was now, Hill, Villeneuve, Coulthard, Herbert, Schumacher. Into lap 40 and the lead was now 18 seconds. Just a remarkable drive from the reigning champion.
Lap 44, and Damon’s lead was now 21 seconds over JV, who was continuing to fight to keep David behind him. Such was Damon’s dominance, he even lapped Jean Alesi during this lap.
Over the next few laps, the lead would grow larger between Damon and JV. Damon and Jacques would make their second pitstops on lap 51. The lead that Damon had was now 26 seconds. To explain how big this lead was, Damon was already turning into the first corner, whilst Jacques and DC were in the penultimate corner.
Fifty-three laps down, and Jacques was 27 seconds down on the leader. We started to believe that we would witness a famous victory. What could stop Damon and Arrows-Yamaha?
Just as JV and DC lapped Pedro Diniz, Damon’s teammate retired from the race. Lap 57 and Damon was now 29 seconds ahead of second placed Jacques, with DC keeping him close company. How far back was Michael? 54 seconds! Just incredible.
We were in the final stages of the race and there were around 17 laps to go. Brothers Michael and Ralf were fighting over fifth position and Johnny Herbert was ahead of them both in 4th place. Damon’s lead was now over 30 seconds.
On the 65th lap, David retired from the race. Johnny in his Sauber was promoted to 3rd place. With twelve laps to go, the top five was, Hill, Villeneuve, Herbert, M. Schumacher, R. Schumacher.
Damon’s lead had increased again and was now 32 seconds. In fact, it continued to grow with each lap. On lap 72 the lead was now 35 seconds. There were just five laps left. Fourth to seventh was covered by just a few seconds with Michael leading Ralf (Jordan), then Eddie in the other Ferrari and finally Nakano in the Prost Mugen-Honda. Just three laps remaining! I remember thinking, this is it. Damon’s going to do it!
He started lap 75….. He started having problems accelerating and you could see the car was visibly slower. The car had suffered hydraulic failure and it was stuck in fifth gear.
Jarno Trulli unlapped himself at the end of lap 76. Then Gerhard Berger as well, who was in 8th position.
The Arrows was still moving though and it was the last lap. After turn three Jacques took the lead in spectacular style, putting two wheels on the grass! The dream of victory was over for Damon and Arrows. Now it was all about making sure he finished on the podium. JV crossed the line and celebrated his victory, Damon finished in second place and Johnny Herbert third for Sauber. Jacques winning margin in the end was 9 seconds.
It was a remarkable race, which will always remain in my memory and shows just how good Damon was at developing a car. This would also be the last time a driver from Arrows would stand on a podium.
Finishing positions
1st. J. Villeneuve
2nd. D. Hill
3rd. J. Herbert
4th. M. Schumacher
5th. R. Schumacher
6th. S. Nakano
7th. J. Trulli
8th. G. Berger
9th. E. Irvine
10th. U. Katayama
11th. J. Alesi
12th. T. Marques
13th. M. Salo
Those that retired.
Coulthard Lap 65 Electrical
Verstappen Lap 61 Gearbox
Diniz Lap 53 Electrical
Fisichella Lap 42 Spun out
Frentzen Lap 29 Fuel system
Barrichello Lap 29 Engine failure
Hakkinen Lap 12 Hydraulics
Morbidelli Lap 7 Engine failure
Magnussen Lap 5 Steering
Analysis: is Bottas now a title contender?
When Valtteri Bottas crossed the finish line in Austria to take his second career Grand Prix win, the calls from F1’s pundits were all but unanimous—the unassuming Finn, not so long ago dismissed as Mercedes’ number two driver, was now firmly in contention for the 2017 Drivers’ Championship.
Statistically speaking, it’s a solid claim to make. At 35 points adrift in third, it would take a couple of perfect storms in Britain and Hungary for Bottas to assume the lead of the championship before the summer break; but the odds of him overcoming the fifteen-point gap to Lewis Hamilton in second between now and August are certainly far from negligible.
It’s worth remembering too that if Bottas were to rack up another victory at Silverstone next week, as well as making him the first back-to-back winner of 2017, that would also bring the Finn level with Hamilton’s and Sebastian Vettel’s respective win tallies this year. Looking over his other results, Bottas has also taken only one less podium than Vettel and one more than Hamilton this season, whilst his lowest finish of sixth in China is still one better than Hamilton’s seventh place in Monaco.
Furthermore, all that is in spite of Bottas being the only driver of this title trio to suffer a DNF so far this year, when his engine blew at the Spanish Grand Prix—and if we were to assume that that had not happened, and Bottas joined Hamilton and Vettel on the podium in third that day, then the Finn would now be level on points with his teammate.
Of course, ifs and should-haves aren’t enough to win a championship, and if Bottas is to take the crown at the end of 2017 he will need to continue pushing beyond the base expectations of himself and his car. His triumphs in Sochi and Spielberg have displayed beyond doubt Bottas’ serene control at the front of the field, but he is only just beginning to show the kind of aggression necessary to assert himself as more than just the third-fastest man on track—something he will certainly need more of if he is to keep touch with Vettel and Hamilton across the season.
That is something that will only become more pronounced now that Bottas has been thrust into the title race spotlight. Up until Austria, the Finn has been able to profit from all the media attention being focused on Hamilton and Vettel, allowing Bottas to quietly rack up points in the background without being subjected to the pressures of a declared championship tilt. But now that his rivals are aware of the threat he poses, Bottas can no longer rely on the element of surprise and must come out of the shadows fighting.
Fortunately for Bottas, though, that should just be a case of doing what he’s always done, and doing it more. His two pole positions and near-level qualifying head-to-head with Hamilton are proof that he has more than enough speed to run his teammate hard on Saturday; and even if qualifying doesn’t go his way, the lightning starts he’s made all year (not to mention his stellar recovery from last to second in Baku) will ensure Bottas remains a looming presence in any polesitter’s mirrors.
What’s more, Bottas has proven time and again that he has the focus and mental strength needed to take on a full title challenge—even against opponents as intimidating as a three- and a four-time world champion. His level head has been one of the Finn’s defining attributes ever since winning the 2011 GP3 title at the first attempt; it was particularly evident in 2014 when, partnering a reborn Felipe Massa in a podium-worthy Williams, Bottas dove his way to an outstanding fourth in the final standings. So far, the only visible dent to his determination came under the frenzy of Ferrari speculation in 2015, but from the way Bottas has settled into his new Mercedes seat despite the rumours surrounding it would suggest that he has learnt from that episode.
His grounded nature should stand the Finn in good stead as he wades into the Hamilton–Vettel battle. He will have seen first-hand how unsettled his opponents can be by the championship’s many twists and turns, and know that when that happens (as it undoubtably did in Austria) he has only to drive a solid weekend to take full advantage. If they didn’t already, Hamilton and Vettel will now have their hands full making sure their own turbulent duel doesn’t leave Bottas with an open goal.
Make no mistake, Bottas faces a considerably tall order if he is to wrest this 2017 Championship away from Vettel and Hamilton. No amount of comparisons to Kimi Räikkönen in 2007 will guarantee Bottas comes out on top after Abu Dhabi—as ever, all that counts is what happens on track this year.
But if the Finn can drive home his current momentum with another victory or two before the flyaways in Asia and the Americas, there’s no reason why he can’t push his rivals all the way to the final round. Whether he quite has what it takes to beat two of modern F1’s biggest stars across the ultimate finish line is another matter—but when it comes to his talent, composure and performances so far this season, there’s no denying that Valtteri Bottas is well and truly in this title fight.
Mercedes AMG: from Tyrrell to titles
The Mercedes AMG F1 Team is now the dominant force in Formula 1 after returning to the sport from which it had been absent for over half a century. How did they get there? The team has only seemed to have been in existence since 2010, but this is only a small part of a long story stretching back to the Tyrrell team. And to the Mercedes partnership with Peter Sauber and his fledgling outfit.
The Tyrrell Formula One team, established in 1970 by Ken Tyrrell, had its greatest period when Jackie Stewart drove the team to three Drivers’ crowns and one Constructors’ trophy. They were also the team that brought us the six wheeled Tyrrell P34, a car that was so radical it was banned almost immediately and now is part of Formula 1 folklore. Unfortunately they never really reached those heights again and became also-rans, eventually selling out to the BAR tobacco company.
In 1993 after partnering Sauber to success in other motor racing categories including Le Mans, Mercedes—using their Ilmor badge—supplied the Sauber F1 team with engines. In 1994 Mercedes made it official and the team became Sauber-Mercedes with the 3.5 Litre V10 C13 (all Peter Sauber cars are badged “C” after his wife Christine) At the end of the traumatic ’94 season Mercedes, tempted by an offer from Ron Dennis, moved on to McLaren, where they went on to win three Drivers’ crowns: two for Mika Häkkinen from 1998–99 and Lewis Hamilton in 2008, and a Constructors’ trophy in 1998.
In 1999 British American Tobacco came into the sport as BAR (British American racing) with a big budget and even bigger ambitions, running the Supertec engine, the rebadged and once all-conquering Renault power plant.
In their first year and with the reigning world champion Jacques Villeneuve, and despite a move to Honda power, the project was doomed to failure, and after only six years and no wins, tobacco advertising was banned from F1 and BAR sold out to Honda in 2006.
Honda with Jenson Button as lead driver looked a much more promising prospect. They brought in Ross Brawn in 2007 from the dominant Scuderia Ferrari; a man with a proven track record of building winning teams.
Alas, once again the outfit was thrown into chaos and in 2008 with a worldwide recession Honda was unwilling to continue with its $300 million budget and announced its withdrawal from Formula 1. The team was eventually saved by a management buyout headed by Ross Brawn and Nick Fry and was renamed Brawn GP; and with help from up and down the pit lane, not least from Mercedes, they where able to run in the 2009 season. What followed was one of the greatest stories in Formula 1: a true rags to riches tale; a team on the brink of disappearing, turning into a World Championship-winning success
With the now-banned double diffuser (a clever reading of the rules to enhance the downforce effect of the rear diffuser) Brawn GP took the season by storm with Jenson Button winning six of the first seven races and winning the Drivers’ title—and along with Rubens Barrichello, landed the Constructors’ title for Brawn in their maiden and only year of competition. On the 16th of November 2009 it was announced that Daimler AG and Aabar investments had bought a 75.1% stake in Brawn GP and that they would race under the name Mercedes GP from 2010. They brought in an impressive driver pairing, bringing Michael Schumacher out of retirement to partner Nico Rosberg. After deciding to finally close the curtains on his record breaking career Schumacher was replaced with the last man to win a championship with a Mercedes engine, Lewis Hamilton.
The 2014 season had been as dominant as the Fangio–Moss days of the early 1950s. More success followed in 2015 with consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles for Lewis Hamilton followed by Nico Rosberg’s success in 2016.
This year looks like shaping up to be a battle royal between Hamilton’s Mercedes and Vettel’s Ferrari.
Mercedes have truly lived up to the legendary Silver Arrows team.
Will they conquer this term? I’m betting they will.
Mercedes Week: Mercedes AMG F1 2016 Season Review – Nico Rosberg Takes His Chances
The 2016 World Championship was a topsy-turvy, unpredictable fight between two drivers at the peak of their powers.
Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton slugged it out in a car that was the class of the field, with only two Red Bull victories blemishing a perfect Mercedes record.
Rosberg’s consistency was the deciding factor as he became the second man to follow in his father’s footsteps by winning the World Championship, with consistency also a factor for Keke’s 1982 victory.
Rosberg ended 2015 with three straight wins and carried that form into Australia at the traditional curtain-raiser in Melbourne, and followed it up with another in Bahrain as Hamilton suffered from an early collision with Valtteri Bottas.
Hamilton was to suffer again in China as engine woes left him well down in qualifying and a first-lap melee damaged his car. He finished seventh, but Rosberg won again.
Rosberg won the fourth race – and his seventh in a row – in Sochi as Hamilton again battled back from a hampered qualifying, this time to take second. The duo then followed this result up with a shambolic collision at the Spanish Grand Prix that took both of them out of the race and allowed Max Verstappen to claim his first ever win.
Rosberg then proceeded to wobble for the first time. He struggled to seventh at a wet Monaco Grand Prix while Hamilton thrived and took the win after a duel with Daniel Ricciardo. Hamilton won again in Canada as Rosberg’s error-strewn race saw him fifth, before Nico redressed the balance with victory in Azerbaijan while Hamilton was a distant fifth.
Hamilton was to rise again in the following three races. Rosberg’s penalty for alleged “Driver Coaching” saw him fall back to third as Hamilton won the British Grand Prix, and he was to win once more in Hungary. Rosberg at his home race was fourth after another penalty as Hamilton once more took honours.
However, the advantage Hamilton now held in title fight was to be short-lived. Rosberg reeled off three straight race victories in Spa, Monza and Singapore as bad luck twice cost Hamilton second place and he was forced to settle for third.
The World Championship took a decisive twist in Malaysia. While Rosberg was only able to finish third after a first lap collision with Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton retired with an engine failure when comfortably in the lead.
Rosberg then took the spoils in Japan with Hamilton again third to stretch his lead to 33 points. It meant that all he had to do was finish second in the remaining four races. Which is precisely what he did.
Three comfortable second places in Texas, Mexico and Brazil set up a nervy finale in Abu Dhabi. Hamilton attempted to back Rosberg up into the pack as he needed Rosberg off the podium to stand a chance of winning the title.
The Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo plus a hard charge from Vettel made things interesting, but in the end, it was not enough as Rosberg clung on for his maiden – and sole – World Drivers’ Championship.
The debate will rage over Hamilton’s reliability issues and bad luck at the start of the season, and there will always be talk among F1 fans about the deserving winner. But one thing is for sure. Nico Rosberg extracted from himself the maximum and took every single chance given to him.
The Spark and the Fire
Mercedes is one of the most successful teams in Formula 1, during the recent years, they have won the constructor’s championship for three consecutive years and Lewis Hamilton celebrated his last two titles with the silver arrows, whilst Nico Rosberg won his one and only world title with Mercedes in 2016 (check out our article about Nico Rosberg).
The Silver Arrows made their appearance in 1930, where they won all the European championships after 1932. Their first official entry in Formula 1 was in 1954 which they were known as Mercedes-Benz. Juan Manuel Fangio signed a contract with Mercedes and moved from Maserati to the silver arrows in order to drive in Mercedes’ debus at the French Grand Prix in 1954. That season Fangio won three races and finished first on the drivers’ championship. The following season, Manuel Fangio repeated his success and with four victories and won his second consecutive championship with Mercedes-Benz. A terrible accident which took place at the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1955 led to the cancelation of the Grand Prixs and Mercedes retired from Formula One.
The miracle and the firework
There is one specific year which I believe that most of the young and non-young fans will never forget, the year where a team dominated with almost zero financial support, with only the basic crew and with two very experienced drivers which both had a great “coach”. Of course you will know where I am referring to, the name of the team was Brawn GP and the two drivers where Jenson Button and the Brazilian Rubens Barrichello. The master behind the success was Ross Brawn, who believed in his team and led them to the top.
Brawn GP participated in 17 races, won eight Grands Prix, finished 15 times on the podium, took five pole positions and scored 172 points. The team became the first to achieve a 100% championship success rate.
Mercedes played a critical role in Brawn GP’s success as they were supporting them with engines.
That season indicated Mercedes’ return to Formula 1, on November 2009, Mercedes with Aabar Investments purchased the 75.1% of Brawn GP. Mercedes had the 45.1%, while Aabar the rest 30%. The next year the team renamed to Mercedes GP. According to reports Mercedes and Aabar paid £110m for the 75.1% and the remaining percentage remained to Ross Brawn in partnership with Nick Fry. Ross Brawn remained as team principal until the end of the 2013 season.
Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg were driving for Mercedes the first three years, they managed to get three poles and win three races. After Brawn’s departure the turbocharged engines returned to Formula 1, Mercedes had an advantage as Ross Brawn managed to improve the team’s power unit.
Mercedes dominated during the first three years of the new turbocharged engines, Lewis Hamilton replaced Michael Schumacher, and both he and Nico Rosberg secured 56 pole positions and won 51 of the 59 races. In all these years the two drivers have scored 2169 points combined.
This season, Mercedes is leading in the constructors’ championship by 24 points and Lewis Hamilton is second in the drivers’ standings, 14 points behind his main rival Sebastian Vettel.
Undoubtedly, Mercedes is one of the strongest teams on the grid, Ferrari looks able to challenge them, but it is still too early to make a prediction.
