From the fans… For the fans
Check out the newest video from Mobil 1 The Grid in which Max Verstappen previews the Brazilian Grand Prix, during which he recalls his epic drive at last year’s race in the rain at Interlagos.
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The things you do for love… early mornings, late nights, moments of utter joy tempered with moments of abject sadness. It is an inexplicable bond, this thing called love, that causes a person to stand by the object of their affection in bad times and to celebrate the good times with an air of reckless merriment and joy.
No, you have not accidently stumbled onto a “how to fix my love life blog” or a tribute to some mysterious love. What you have found is my story on this love affair with Formula One that, as the Brothers Johnson would say, keeps me coming back for more. A few weeks ago my Crew colleague, Aaron Irwin, invoked the Righteous Brothers as he described losing that loving feeling he has for the sport of F1. He inspired me to examine the reason why I am still in love with F1 and keep on tuning in for more regardless of time differences.
I will be honest, much like a relationship with an actual human, there have been moments of sheer frustration that have made me stop and question why I still have this feeling for the sport. My friends, the non-F1 crowd that is, have a hard time understanding F1 to being with and so you can imagine their confusion when I vent about “the silly grid penalty nonsense and artificial feeling tracks”.
It was Michael Schumacher who cemented my attraction to the sport but it was Ayton Senna who formed its foundation. I loved how drivers as openly emotional and passionate as Senna and one who as passionate in a more clinical and equally brilliant manner that Schumacher possessed, could drive beyond what even their cars technically allowed. Schumacher battling with Mika Hakkinen and later Fernando Alonso would result in my family waking up at 5am on certain Sunday’s, due to the time differences to Australia and Japan, to the sound of Murray Walker saying “GO GO GO!”.
But with good times, comes the bad. F1 saw technical changes which resulted in certain teams finding loopholes well within the laws, giving them a technical advantage and negating any real competition for many years. Slowly the personalities of drivers were being controlled and the days of free speakers like Juan Pablo Montoya were ending, (although Kimi will always thankfully be Kimi). F1 was slowly feeling a bit too artificial with even drivers being told what to say and do and how to say and do it so as not to create a PR disaster. Tracks felt more like pandering to big money instead of reaching F1’s heart and soul… its fans.
Right about now, you would be staging and intervention trying to reason with me….
Yet I did not miss a race… not a single one. There were the little things that kept me there, Jenson Button’s empathic maiden championship win, Alonso joining Ferrari, Sauber staying in F1, Schumacher coming back and then breaking my heart by retiring.
You see the uncertainty of F1 is like nothing else. Take this year’s Singapore Grand Prix. It seemed to be all Sebastian Vettel for sure, many online said they would not even watch the procession, but then the first corner happened and changed the 2017 championship forever, similarly the resurgence of the Red Bull team, when many had written them off. You cannot predict an F1 weekend outcome. I still have that feeling, as the lights are about to go out, a nervous excitement and elevated heart rate, which prima facie sounds silly because, after all, I have nothing personally invested in the race. Lately, however, there has been a swing back to more openness and a nostalgic feel to things, the talent of a driver seems to be allowed more room and teams are closer, technically, to each other.
Like any relationship, my love of F1 faced some introspection, what kept me loving the sport? Perhaps Liberty Media have been the correct relationship counsellor? Let us examine that for a quick second. It is evident that fans are less critical of the new regime when compared to that of Bernie and Co. It seems that the more open approach, such as the access to the F1 drivers meeting and more access to the track, have given the fans more of a hands on approach to F1. It is all of that and more. It may sound a bit dramatic, (I am a lawyer, drama is pre-requisite), but my heart and mind and truly invested in F1. While there may be other motorsports that I enjoy, I love F1 and will continue to do so if the ethos remains.
What is this you may ask? For me it is the authentic feel of the F1 of old remaining and the marriage of driver and machine reaching the peak of human physicality and performance, tempered with the emotional and visual entertainment that only F1 can bring.
Check out the newest video from Mobil 1 The Grid which is the tribute to Sir Frank Williams, featuring Felipe Massa, Pat Symonds and Dickie Stanford.
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Check out the newest video from Mobil 1 The Grid in which Red Bull’s drivers are talking about the preparation before the race.
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Here is the lowdown on the newest motorsport driver to attempt the thrills and spills of Formula 1.
Brendon Hartley
Age: 27
Nationality: New Zealand
Current Drive: Porsche WEC Driver
Notable Achievements:
2007: EuroCup Formula Renault 2.0 Champion
2015: FIA World Endurance Champion
2017: Le Mans 24 Hours Winner
History:
Brendon Hartley is an out-and-out racer, whether we say open wheeled racers or prototypes. Hartley’s F1 debut by all means has come to a shock to the New Zealander, after he was dropped by the Red Bull Junior driver program in 2010. The reason he was dropped was after poor results compared to his team mate in Formula Renault 3.5. His team mate at the time was Daniel Ricciardo.
Hartley fluttered in and out with GP2 between 2010 and ’12, but without anything set in stone it was difficult for him to gain a rhythm in the series. Without a full-time drive in 2012 he moved towards LMP2 in his Le Mans 24 Hours debut. In 2012 and ’13 he continued to have his foot still in the door at Formula 1, performing some shakedown tests for the pre-dominant Mercedes team.
From 2014 onwards, he then dedicated his full time to the World Endurance Champion when he signed with the up-and-coming Porsche LMP1 team. He won the 2015 Drivers’ Championship, coming on leaps and bounds in that category of motorsport.
The Kiwi is in good form: he won the 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours and, including that event, has won the last four races, ironically his most recent win being at the Circuit of the Americas. In endurance racing he hasn’t finished off the podium since Le Mans last year.
Chance at 2018?
Daniil Kvyat has now been demoted twice but has been given a reprieve with Carlos Sainz moving to Renault in-season and Pierre Gasly attempting to win the Super Formula Championship in Japan.
If Brendon Hartley impresses could he replace Kvyat when Gasly returns? The World Endurance Championship and Formula 1 do not clash for the remainder of the year. Brendon Hartley on the 2018 Formula 1 grid—something I wouldn’t have thought would even be in discussion few months ago.
Check out the newest video from Mobil 1 The Grid in which Carlos Sainz Jr. talks about the influence of Fernando Alonso and much more.
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Check out the newest video from Mobil 1 The Grid in which Daniel Ricciardo looks ahead to the Singapore Grand Prix.
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Mark Webber made his debut at his home Grand Prix in 2002, driving for the now-defunct Minardi team. When the-then 26-year-old made his debut, no-one could’ve expected points but no-one would’ve thought that the unassuming Aussie would go on to be such a role-model and ambassador for F1. In this feature, I look back on Mark Webber’s stint at Red Bull – a car he became synonymous with from 2007 right up to his retirement in 2013.
Webber made a bold decision to join Red Bull in 2007. The team at the time had only one podium, which was a lucky one at that – at the 2006 Monaco GP, following the retirement of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota just a few laps from the end. Webber himself was also unproven, with just one podium to his name, at the same Grand Prix the year before.
The start to his Red Bull life was nothing spectacular. It took him until the United States Grand Prix to score points – the 7th race of the year. The next time he would score points would be at the European Grand Prix, hosted at the Nurburgring – which turned into be an iconic and memorable circuit for the effervescent Australian.
The race will be one that many of us remember for different reasons. For me, it was because, as an 8-year-old boy, I was listening to Murray Walker commentate for the first time in my life, on the radio in the UK. There was carnage at turn one, with a quarter of the field sliding off in the monsoon-like conditions – Webber was NOT one of them. Mark went on to finish a whole minute behind the winner but it was enough to secure him his first podium for Red Bull. There would be just one more points-finish in 2007, at the Belgian GP where he was 7th.
For 2008, he remained with Red Bull and finished eight races but this time, without a podium finish. His best result was 4th at the Monaco GP – a circuit that was quickly becoming one of his favourites. Just three retirements in the 2008 season also suggested that whilst Mark as a driver was becoming a more complete competitor, Red Bull as a team were making big steps forwards.
2009 beckoned and for once, the grid had been well and truly shaken up. McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari were both struggling, whilst the likes of Brawn and Red Bull took over as the top-two teams. Webber was undoubtedly outshone by his young teammate and Red Bull new-kid, Sabastian Vettel. Webebr’s first podium of the season came in China with 2nd – his best result ever at the time. This was followed by Spanish Grand Prix success and third place, two races later. From the Turkish GP to the Hungarian GP, Webber took four podiums – including his first ever victory, at the Nurburgring in Germany.
Years of doubt had plagued Webber. Journalists and TV pundits doubting him throughout his career.At the time, Australia was also coming good in other Motorsport areas. Casey Stoner was a regular race-winner in MotoGP whilst Troy Bayliss had become World Superbike champion for a third time in 2008. Josh Brookes was a revelation in British Superbikes and Cameron Donald was continuing to take the road racing scene and the Isle of Man TT by storm. Mark Webber had completed the set of Australia’s Motorsport achievements towards the end of the naughties. He became the first Australian to win a race in F1 since Alan Jones at the Caesar Palace Grand Prix, way back in 1981. The drought of Australian F1 success was over and Webber was now on his way. After the Hungarian GP of that year however, it all went wrong. Just two more podiums came his way, with a win in Brazil and 2nd in the Abu Dhabi GP placing him 4th overall in the standings – his highest at the time. However, in the words of the man himself, “It was nothing to what 2010 had in store”.
He was quite right too. 2010 was another stellar season. Wins came at the Spanish GP and Monaco GP before a controversial clash with teammate Sebastian Vettel in Turkey occurred. Brits adored him as one of their own and when he won at Silverstone, it was met with great delight. Once more, a win in Hungary proved that he had talent in a Formula 1 car and that he could be a regular threat.
Despite being his most successful season in F1, Mark would have to wait until the final race of the year to become a winner in 2011 – the Brazilian Grand Prix. He finished every race in the points with the exception of the Italian Grand Prix. A damaged front wing tucked under the car at the Parabolica, recording his and the team’s first retirement of the year. Webber finished 3rd in the championship on 258 points.
2012 was disappointing. His first win came in Monaco and his next at Silverstone. However, that was to be his last win in F1. Webber had a poor mid-season and by the time the championship had concluded in Brazil, he was 6th in the championship – his worst championship position since 2008. However, the gritty Wonder from Down Under wasn’t finished.
2013 would prove to be Webber’s last in Formula 1. However, it wasn’t a boring bow-out. He came to blows with teammate Vettel in the Malaysian Grand Prix, after the German ignored team orders and took the win away from Webber. In June, Mark Webber made the announcement that no-one wanted him to ever make. The humble Australian, who had gone from inconsistent driver to accomplished race winner in just a couple of seasons, was to leave the sport at the end of the season to pursue a new career in the World Endurance Series.
Webber finished his Formula One career with nine wins, forty-two podiums, thirteen pole positions and nineteen fastest laps from 215 race starts. An icon for Australians and an inspiration to any young driver. Webber’s defiance to continue in his early years despite mediocre results earned him a reputation as being one of the most determined and most calculated drivers in the modern era of F1. Whilst the world and F1 paddock has gone PC and Red Tape mad, Webber pushed the boundaries and that is what gave him so many fans worldwide. F1 misses Webber but he will be remembered for his success at Red Bull. A fixture and fitting of the team and by no-means forgotten about.
Webber continues with media duties for Channel 4, with their F1 coverage and also interviews the drivers on the podium after the racing.
What is most unique about Red Bull’s junior driver programme is that it predates the team itself. Founded in 2001, three years before the Austrian team would ever enter a grand prix, it is the second oldest programme in motorsport solely dedicated to grooming young drivers to become future stars of Formula 1. The team recruits promising drivers with the proviso of funding and sponsoring their fledgling motorsport careers in junior categories. Providing them with additional physical and mental training is an invaluable asset to their career progression. And the past dictates that it has been a worthwhile venture for Red Bull.
The Red Bull Junior Team has achieved remarkable success. One Sebastian Vettel, signed to the programme in 2002, won four world championships with Red Bull Racing, proving irrefutably that the programme works. It has also produced two more Formula 1 race winners, Red Bull’s current line-up; Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen. What is most impressive about the programme is the amount of drivers it has managed to take all the way to Formula 1. Ten drivers have graduated to the top flight of single seater racing, though not all of them went on to win races or championships, it is an exceptionally high number of junior drivers to make it to F1.
Red Bull have been aided massively by their acquisition of the Minardi Formula 1 team in 2005, which they renamed ‘Scuderia Toro Rosso’ and rebranded the outfit into their sister team, run for the purpose of developing their young drivers further. Usually running in the midfield, the team offers young drivers Formula 1 race experience, with the view to eventually move them up to the Red Bull Racing team, if and when they feel they are ready. This is an asset that other teams have tried to replicate, but never to the same degree of success. A common problem for young racers is that often there isn’t the space for them, but Red Bull’s use of Toro Rosso circumvents this issue slightly, by giving Red Bull four seats they can place their drivers in, instead of the usual two.
The Red Bull Junior Team currently consists of five drivers, competing in four different series. The longest serving current member is Pierre Gasly, 2016 GP2 champion and recent race winner in Super Formula, has been a part fof the team since 2014. Gasly is also touted as a contender for a Toro Rosso seat in 2018. Finnish driver Niko Kari, currently competing in GP3, and Richard Verschoor, racing in both the Toyota Racing Series and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, are in their second year with the programme. While Dan Ticktum and Neil Verhagen are newcomers to the Red Bull Junior Team, both driving in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, alongside Verschoor. With the exception of Gasly, none of these young drivers have been with the programme for a significant amount of time, which is one of the striking things about the Red Bull Junior Team.
Whilst ten drivers might seem like a large number of drivers to take all the way to Formula 1, since its creation in 2001 the Red Bull Junior Team has had sixty-one different drivers on its books at even given time – not including the five currently part of the team. And most young drivers only stay with the team for a year or so before either leaving or being dropped. There are a few exceptions, but on the whole, there is an unusually high turnover of drivers entering and leaving the programme.
The mission statement of the Red Bull Junior Team states that their drivers are under ‘permanent pressure to perform’, and this is clearly the case. Often if a driver has an off-season, or fails to live up to the standards set by Red Bull, they are swiftly dropped. It is very clear that the young drivers in the programme are in a precarious position, with no guarantee of a secure place in the future.
Being dropped by a programme such as Red Bull’s can be detrimental to a young driver’s career. One of the reason why places on Formula 1 teams’ junior programmes are so sought after is because of the financial backing teams can provide. Something which is essential for drivers who do not come from wealthy backgrounds or have ample sponsorship deals. For drivers such as these, to suddenly lose their backing could spell the end of their Formula 1 dream, or even their racing career.
There are also cases where drivers who were dropped by Red Bull have gone on to have very successful motorsport careers outside of Formula 1, proving that Red Bull were perhaps too dismissive of their talents when they had them on their books. This is apparent in the case of New Zealand born driver Brendon Hartley who spent four seasons in the Red Bull Junior Team before being rather harshly dropped in the middle of the 2010 season. Most recently, Hartley was part of the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans winning team with Porsche, an achievement contrary to Red Bull’s implications that he wasn’t up to racing at the highest level.
The junior single seater circuit is littered with ex-Red Bull backed drivers, F3 title contender Callum Ilott and F2 entrants Alexander Albon and Sergio Sette Camara being a few examples, which is a sign of their merciless attitude towards their junior programme. But this is an ethos firmly engrained within the wider Red Bull motorsport programme. One only has to look at the infamous promotion of Max Verstappen to Red Bull, at the price of Daniil Kvyat’s own Formula 1 career. It was a cut throat move, but it ultimately proved to be right one.
It should be no surprise that the Red Bull Junior Team has so many casualties, whilst it may seem unfair or even cruel, it is a technique that works perfectly for them. Ricciardo and Verstappen, both products of the Red Bull system, are widely considered the most competitive driver pairing on the grid and have the potential to bring the team any number of championships, if given the right machinery. There is no doubt that if Red Bull believe that their junior drivers have the ability then they will take them all the way.
Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has said his American team is looking forward to this weekend’s power-dependant Belgian Grand Prix, having struggled in the low-speed races prior to the summer break.
Haas began July with its best result of the season so far, when Romain Grosjean finished sixth in Austria. But since then the team’s form has hit a considerable slump: at Silverstone, Grosjean dropped back from a top ten start to squabble with Saubers and McLarens outside the points, whilst in Hungary Kevin Magnussen was the sole Haas finisher in thirteenth, only three places higher than his disappointing qualifying position.
But Steiner believes that the engine-favouring characteristics of the upcoming races at Spa and Monza ought to bring about a return to form for the American team.
“We struggled a little bit in Hungary with it being a low-speed track,” Steiner said. “We are bringing some items for low downforce or low drag for Spa and Monza, and we are as confident as we can be that it works.
“If you’re good in Spa, you normally should be good in Monza too…so, let’s hope we are good in Spa.”
Steiner added that Haas has “tried to hit the reset button” in its preparation for the second half of the season:
“Hungary certainly tested the team, but it showed how hard we work to overcome adversity while remaining positive. Belgium is a new race and a new opportunity. Everything is possible here. We will try hard and we will come back again.”
However, the Austrian did also confirm that Haas will revert back to using Brembo brakes this weekend, despite successful running of Carbon Industrie alternatives in Britain and Hungary, as they continue hunting for a solution to their recurrent braking issues: “At Spa we will be running Brembos to start off with and then we will see, but at the moment the plan is to run Brembos.”
In addition to that, Steiner said that there will be no major performances updates fitted to the VF-17 this weekend (besides the usual adaptations for Spa’s low-downforce demands), though the team is “working through the data we gained from our last wind tunnel test” ahead of a possible upgrade package for Japan or the United States.
Whether or not Haas opts to bring a last raft of updates in October will likely depend on the progress of its 2018 car development, which Steiner says has been complicated by the late mandating of the Halo system:
“We’ll [have to] work on how we get the weight down on other parts of the car because we are at the minimum weight, otherwise our car just gets too heavy [with the Halo]. We also need to find the best solution aerodynamically to integrate the Halo into the overall body.
“It’s head scratching. For sure, there is work to be done.”