We are literally ending the 2016 season after a hot finish, I won't give away the winner of the championship. (It was Rosberg by the way, Hamilton still won the race!) The championship allowed Mercedes to be tested in certain ways. But now, now we get to move on to 2017's season, and it will be a hot season too. I have stated in previous entries that teams are moving much faster season to season in becoming competitive or losing their edges than in past eras of F1. Renault came in this year, and has taken just 8 points. But unlike the first time Renault was in Formula 1, the development of the car has changed radically. Next year, Renault will score many more points and will easily pass 8, a safe assumption but an important one. This is an example to all the teams on the grid for the upcoming year.
Another major factor is that the car is going to look markedly different for the first time in many a year. The biggest noticeable changes, a bigger front wing, a bigger set of rear tires, the rear wing is lower. Another great change is an increase in fuel held and the weight of the car. There is another big change, the number of engines allowed over the course of the season, 4 engines for either 21 or 22 Grand Prix races. That means on average the engines will have to last 5 races or more, one advantage though is that the much hated token system on updating engines is being put in the ash heap of history. Teams will rapidly improve engines and make them go farther probably rather than faster, they will have to last roughly a thousand miles at race speeds.
Predictions will be following soon after we see revealing of the cars by individual teams. Being an American, I look forward to seeing Haas do better. My only real concern is McLaren, who decided to ditch Dennis. I hope they have a good season, but if we have another 2016, they'll be found to have made a mistake after all.
Sunday, November 27, 2016
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
The end of the Ron Dennis Era
This is a shock development, McLaren has ditched Ron Dennis, the most influential man in the teams history, from Alain Prost to Ayrton Senna to Lewis Hamilton, this man was a scion of everything about the sport, both good, and bad.
The firing of Ron, for what ever reason given by McLaren, is not going to give them some magic boost, teams do not suddenly perform better by ditching the leader of the team. In fact, evidence suggests the opposite, from Bernie Ecclestone to Ross Brawn, team leaders who go away from the team they're leading, usually take quite a bit with them, and they definitely see a drop in performance. Brabham definitely suffered as Bernie became detached from that team, and was no longer that much of a problem for the F1 competition after 1987, and Ross Brawn speaks for himself, Benetton, Ferrari, Brawn F1, all three teams definitely had worse seasons after Ross disappeared, especially Benetton and Ferrari, the 96 season for Benetton took them from first place in both championships, to just third, and Ferrari, well you might say Kimi won the 07 Championship, but unlike during Brawn's time, especially 2000-2005, it was won by a single point and if McLaren had not been disqualified from the Constructors championship, Ferrari would have only won said championship by a point there as well. Then Brawn F1, which gave us the outstanding performance of Jenson Button, and it was only a single season team. I could mention a couple other driver/owners as well, Jackie Stewart was a definite plus for Stewart Racing, and today might have been a prominent team on the grid, Jackie gives his reasons for selling the team, and they were justifiable, but the fact is Jaguar Racing was no hit wonder. Bruce McLaren is another, though we tragically lost him, McLaren had a bad season in 1971 after he was gone from the team, and it took some revolution type stuff and heroic driving that set those drivers apart from so many others, to bring it back. If Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda left Mercedes for 2017, I would expect them to take some kind of hit based on these teams listed here.
Now how do teams do better season by season, they do it by getting better aero, better engines and a better car, not to mention making sure you have excellent drivers and a pit crew that can pull a tire change in less than 3 seconds. F1 has recognized this, the points system on improving cars, has went out the window, now teams can upgrade at will. The way the FIA got the cost down was the best way possible, make the engines last upwards of 5 or 6 races. Reliability is the new battle in F1, and it will see teams try to make 78 laps on an engine, like a thousand miles is on a normal car, typical and not really much impact. But teams will take advantage of this, and McLaren was in a perfect position to really do just that, but now Ron is gone, and the visions of the 1988 season might very probably disappear for even longer.
Do not take this blog post as some tirade against McLaren, they're one of my two favorite teams, Williams being the other. I simply feel as though this was a mistake, and from the outside looking in, one that might cost em some of the 75 points or more if they do another points finish in the final race for 2017. I really do hope I am wrong, I hope they suddenly come out like gangbusters and win 10 races next season, but I simply do not know and I am even less certain with Ron out.
The firing of Ron, for what ever reason given by McLaren, is not going to give them some magic boost, teams do not suddenly perform better by ditching the leader of the team. In fact, evidence suggests the opposite, from Bernie Ecclestone to Ross Brawn, team leaders who go away from the team they're leading, usually take quite a bit with them, and they definitely see a drop in performance. Brabham definitely suffered as Bernie became detached from that team, and was no longer that much of a problem for the F1 competition after 1987, and Ross Brawn speaks for himself, Benetton, Ferrari, Brawn F1, all three teams definitely had worse seasons after Ross disappeared, especially Benetton and Ferrari, the 96 season for Benetton took them from first place in both championships, to just third, and Ferrari, well you might say Kimi won the 07 Championship, but unlike during Brawn's time, especially 2000-2005, it was won by a single point and if McLaren had not been disqualified from the Constructors championship, Ferrari would have only won said championship by a point there as well. Then Brawn F1, which gave us the outstanding performance of Jenson Button, and it was only a single season team. I could mention a couple other driver/owners as well, Jackie Stewart was a definite plus for Stewart Racing, and today might have been a prominent team on the grid, Jackie gives his reasons for selling the team, and they were justifiable, but the fact is Jaguar Racing was no hit wonder. Bruce McLaren is another, though we tragically lost him, McLaren had a bad season in 1971 after he was gone from the team, and it took some revolution type stuff and heroic driving that set those drivers apart from so many others, to bring it back. If Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda left Mercedes for 2017, I would expect them to take some kind of hit based on these teams listed here.
Now how do teams do better season by season, they do it by getting better aero, better engines and a better car, not to mention making sure you have excellent drivers and a pit crew that can pull a tire change in less than 3 seconds. F1 has recognized this, the points system on improving cars, has went out the window, now teams can upgrade at will. The way the FIA got the cost down was the best way possible, make the engines last upwards of 5 or 6 races. Reliability is the new battle in F1, and it will see teams try to make 78 laps on an engine, like a thousand miles is on a normal car, typical and not really much impact. But teams will take advantage of this, and McLaren was in a perfect position to really do just that, but now Ron is gone, and the visions of the 1988 season might very probably disappear for even longer.
Do not take this blog post as some tirade against McLaren, they're one of my two favorite teams, Williams being the other. I simply feel as though this was a mistake, and from the outside looking in, one that might cost em some of the 75 points or more if they do another points finish in the final race for 2017. I really do hope I am wrong, I hope they suddenly come out like gangbusters and win 10 races next season, but I simply do not know and I am even less certain with Ron out.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
2017 Driver Team Reviews Pt 2.
Leaving the big league teams, we come down to three teams I really want to get into, Renault, Haas, and McLaren
Firstly, Renault, let me tell you Joylon Palmer really does have the right idea, I am not guaranteeing that Renault is going to perform as they did in 1981 or 1983 when they really contended for wins and the championship, but it's a well known precedent that Renault as a team improves consistently. I expect points finishes and the like in 2017, Palmer is right to stay on at Renault and he is joined by Nico Hulkenburg, who is a points finisher consistently even this season. What may happen might even be possibly hinted at in the off season. The fact is, Renault is points hungry in 2017, and these drivers will see serious effort put in to make them competitive at some level.
Haas, the American team is coming back for 2017 after getting 29 points, and potentially more at the last grand prix coming up, this season, their Number 1 driver won those 29 points and is contracted next year. They picked that modern marvel, Romain Grosjean, and they are sticking with him, which is brilliant for both, from Romain's perspective it is his chance to get more points finishes and look for that first podium for Haas. From the team perspective, they have a driver they have gotten used to, from the smallest to biggest quirks, and his particulars for set up and drive style and this will lead to a better performance in 2017.
McLaren-Honda, Oh Jenson how we knew ye, and how ye have left us for a higher plane. Button is out, in comes the commodity of GP2 racing, Stoffel Vandoorne, he did get a 10th place finish in 2016 and I think he will acclimate quite well in his first season, considering Max Verstappen, we may even see yet another rookie win in his first season. As for Fernando Alonso, credit where it is due, he has stuck with McLaren, I do not know what magic potion they promised for 2017, but it was enough to keep him on, when he could have the pick of the lot and start saving his driving statistics average for posterity. A truly unknown thing to me, what McLaren can do in 2017, they may walk away with the championship, on the other hand, this 2016 season looked rough, they did get points finishes, but I feel as though they want podiums next year at the very least!
Firstly, Renault, let me tell you Joylon Palmer really does have the right idea, I am not guaranteeing that Renault is going to perform as they did in 1981 or 1983 when they really contended for wins and the championship, but it's a well known precedent that Renault as a team improves consistently. I expect points finishes and the like in 2017, Palmer is right to stay on at Renault and he is joined by Nico Hulkenburg, who is a points finisher consistently even this season. What may happen might even be possibly hinted at in the off season. The fact is, Renault is points hungry in 2017, and these drivers will see serious effort put in to make them competitive at some level.
Haas, the American team is coming back for 2017 after getting 29 points, and potentially more at the last grand prix coming up, this season, their Number 1 driver won those 29 points and is contracted next year. They picked that modern marvel, Romain Grosjean, and they are sticking with him, which is brilliant for both, from Romain's perspective it is his chance to get more points finishes and look for that first podium for Haas. From the team perspective, they have a driver they have gotten used to, from the smallest to biggest quirks, and his particulars for set up and drive style and this will lead to a better performance in 2017.
McLaren-Honda, Oh Jenson how we knew ye, and how ye have left us for a higher plane. Button is out, in comes the commodity of GP2 racing, Stoffel Vandoorne, he did get a 10th place finish in 2016 and I think he will acclimate quite well in his first season, considering Max Verstappen, we may even see yet another rookie win in his first season. As for Fernando Alonso, credit where it is due, he has stuck with McLaren, I do not know what magic potion they promised for 2017, but it was enough to keep him on, when he could have the pick of the lot and start saving his driving statistics average for posterity. A truly unknown thing to me, what McLaren can do in 2017, they may walk away with the championship, on the other hand, this 2016 season looked rough, they did get points finishes, but I feel as though they want podiums next year at the very least!
Saturday, November 12, 2016
2017 F1 Driver Team Reviews Pt 1.
As I stare at the new line up of F1 Drivers, I find myself greatly pleased to see that some drivers are remaining right where they need to be.
For one, Mercedes has stuck with the two most solid and winning-est drivers in the sport during this new Turbo Era. This is the team from which all others set their standard, and the drivers are really the best, they have talent in addition to the excellent cars that Toto Wolff and Mercedes give them. As I stated in a previous article, this is the winner for 2016, and will with keeping these two drivers represent a potent force for 2017. Mercedes is the team to beat as well, they love winning and will keep on doing so, raking in the trophies.
Red Bull oh boy oh boy, the team that did the remarkable, win races in 2016, and they have kept their all star line up for 2017, Ricciardo and Verstappen are really two great drivers, tough, hard charging and unafraid to cross that limit when they have to, and they have done so, especially in Mexico. Red Bull will contend for wins next year, especially with new engines. Watch Tag Heuer give them something really special for 2017 and then you may watch them give Mercedes real guff.
Ferrari not the best year, but they will have the best drivers for their team, Kimi and Seb are two first rate drivers that make the best out of second rate cars at present, Ferrari has realized this and will be giving them first rate cars for 2017, another team that will try hard for at least a couple to four or five wins in 2017. Who knows what will happen though, the new regulations might mean the cars are totally different. But there are a lot of mights and ifs coming for teams not named Red Bull or Mercedes. Revealing of the car will possibly give us some indication if it will be up to the job. Testing will really tell us enough, but we have to wait till spring to see.
Speaking of regulations, you'll be hearing about those soon in another article after I have done part two of these Driver Team Reviews.
For one, Mercedes has stuck with the two most solid and winning-est drivers in the sport during this new Turbo Era. This is the team from which all others set their standard, and the drivers are really the best, they have talent in addition to the excellent cars that Toto Wolff and Mercedes give them. As I stated in a previous article, this is the winner for 2016, and will with keeping these two drivers represent a potent force for 2017. Mercedes is the team to beat as well, they love winning and will keep on doing so, raking in the trophies.
Red Bull oh boy oh boy, the team that did the remarkable, win races in 2016, and they have kept their all star line up for 2017, Ricciardo and Verstappen are really two great drivers, tough, hard charging and unafraid to cross that limit when they have to, and they have done so, especially in Mexico. Red Bull will contend for wins next year, especially with new engines. Watch Tag Heuer give them something really special for 2017 and then you may watch them give Mercedes real guff.
Ferrari not the best year, but they will have the best drivers for their team, Kimi and Seb are two first rate drivers that make the best out of second rate cars at present, Ferrari has realized this and will be giving them first rate cars for 2017, another team that will try hard for at least a couple to four or five wins in 2017. Who knows what will happen though, the new regulations might mean the cars are totally different. But there are a lot of mights and ifs coming for teams not named Red Bull or Mercedes. Revealing of the car will possibly give us some indication if it will be up to the job. Testing will really tell us enough, but we have to wait till spring to see.
Speaking of regulations, you'll be hearing about those soon in another article after I have done part two of these Driver Team Reviews.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Formula 1 in 2016 Part 3 of 3
Toro Rosso, MRT, Sauber- Excepting
Toro Rosso which is not perfect, but was a junior team anyways, and has
seen several talented drivers pass through it and score excellent
points positions. The other two teams are multi million dollar
operations that resemble teams we used to hear about all the time
Arrows, Minardi, Lola, sure they're in the Circus, but are they teams
with chances to win, not really. But do not discount them on points
finishes, it is totally possible they finish in the points in 2017 as
there is a shake up on car design.
Pirelli- I include the official tire of F1 here for one reason, they are a winner this year, no real complaints about the wear, or the quality of the rubber, and they've reacted to the 2017 rules by changing the tires again for the future of F1. Count this Goodyear Eagle fan of olden times, truly impressed and I hope 2017 goes well for them as well. The only expectation here is that F1 may open up for companies to buy from Goodyear and Michelin, but I expect Pirelli to be the preferred for some time to come.
That roughly sums up the Formula 2016 season, who wins the championship? Really both Lewis and Nico, even if Nico wins on points. For one, they both really are the best drivers in the sport, and are made so by their ability and by the ability of Mercedes to build a superb car. 2017 will be a hot season to watch and I encourage all to get ready for some interesting reveals as March draws near.
Pirelli- I include the official tire of F1 here for one reason, they are a winner this year, no real complaints about the wear, or the quality of the rubber, and they've reacted to the 2017 rules by changing the tires again for the future of F1. Count this Goodyear Eagle fan of olden times, truly impressed and I hope 2017 goes well for them as well. The only expectation here is that F1 may open up for companies to buy from Goodyear and Michelin, but I expect Pirelli to be the preferred for some time to come.
That roughly sums up the Formula 2016 season, who wins the championship? Really both Lewis and Nico, even if Nico wins on points. For one, they both really are the best drivers in the sport, and are made so by their ability and by the ability of Mercedes to build a superb car. 2017 will be a hot season to watch and I encourage all to get ready for some interesting reveals as March draws near.
Formula 1 in 2016 Pt. 2
McLaren-Honda- Oh,
what a load of memories I never personally experienced but I have read
about. With 1988 to 1992 being astonishing seasons, perhaps the hype was
a little too much, even I was excited beyond reason for their chances.
Was this season improved, definitely, but this season was not what was
hoped for by the fans. 2017 will likely involve podiums if they truly
are done playing catch up to the rest of the field, it's only a
disappointment we are only going to have Jenson for an advisor next
year, unless McLaren surprises even further and starts running three
cars. Great things can still happen in this partnership, but then I
think the hype train was wholly overloaded, so I can clarify for some as
to why McLaren didn't come out winning 15 or 16 races in 2014. The
first Honda turbo engines came in 1983 for Williams, that partnership
took till 1985 to produce real great results, and till 1986 to win a
championship, and 87 to win a Drivers championship, so the 88-91 seasons
were the result of years of progress at Williams. They are not losers
by virtue of improving, next year may be particularly exciting however,
so do not count McLaren-Honda out!
Renault- two years ago I wrote about how we should have Renault back as a team in Formula 1, they are back and they did manage to score some points, again, we don't have to over hype it, this isn't 77 and the teams are not mixing Turbos and Atmos like then. They will improve with time but again, time is not always kind in Formula 1. Next year look for Renault to try for higher points finishes and see more money invested into the team. When the wins will come, no one knows, but they can happen, just as they can happen with all teams mentioned so far.
Renault- two years ago I wrote about how we should have Renault back as a team in Formula 1, they are back and they did manage to score some points, again, we don't have to over hype it, this isn't 77 and the teams are not mixing Turbos and Atmos like then. They will improve with time but again, time is not always kind in Formula 1. Next year look for Renault to try for higher points finishes and see more money invested into the team. When the wins will come, no one knows, but they can happen, just as they can happen with all teams mentioned so far.
Formula 1 in 2016 Pt. 1
Red-Bull Tag Heuer- The great F1 has seen a number of remarkable events this year. Firstly, Max Verstappen, did something his father Jos never did, win a F1 race, to his credit and to the credit of Red-Bull Tag Heuer, who I suspect may just want to use the 2016 race spec engine for 2017 and they may end up winning three or four races or the whole show considering that Niki Lauda at Mercedes needs to calm Lewis and Nico for 2017 and get them back to being friends, we need no repeats of Prost/Senna, which then does bring us to Mercedes. So watch out for Red Bull, they have not forgotten 2013, and they will not be lax in the off season. Definitely rate them a winner this year.
Mercedes who despite what some people think, has dazzled me with their drive for Number 3 Constructors Championship and now, three in a row for Drivers Championship, something only accomplished by Schumacher and Ferrari and McLaren and Senna/Prost. Honestly we have two of the best drivers in Formula 1 in the same team and making outstanding drives every single race just about. There is a definite feeling in the air, and I can tell this feeling is there, the usual suspects are complaining that Mercedes is winning everything and there is no competition in Formula 1. Despite that feeling, do not think Mercedes is going to rest on their laurels, you can definitely be sure that Toto Wolff and his drivers and Niki Lauda are getting the new car ready right now.
Ferrari has this most unique habit of managing to get two number one drivers on a team and then having a difficult time with them in the first couple seasons. In this case, the working relationship between Kimi and Seb Vettel is possibly the best in F1, so that is a definite plus for Ferrari, the real problem is the car, competitive to say the least, and definitely contender to be best of the rest, but this year, there is a huge problem with the fact they might come third against a resurgent Red Bull. The season started with a potential fight for first with Mercedes. The weight on Ferrari's shoulders was large, and self imposed. 2017 has to be a better year or expect heads to roll at Maranello, definite loser this season, upside? Imola may come back as a track in 2017 or 2018 which would be a good psychological boost as there would be two races in Italy and that always energizes the tifosi.
Haas, the home team for the first time in my life time, what an astonishing performance on their part, the season isn't over, but we may see at least 30 points from them. Definite wins in the future of Haas and we may see some cooperation with Ford to bring back a new turbo engine from them. Ferrari engines have worked well, outside chance of podiums next year and 2018 might even bring us wins. It could be a stunner to do wins next year as well, a winner this year, and if Haas is impressed with his team, he will probably make a bigger investment. I also have an outside hope that he may pick up an American driver of a decent caliber who has expressed interest in Formula 1 racing in the past, I will not name that driver here, but I will say he has championships under his belt already and while he had retired, is certainly a candidate to go back to racing.
Force India and Williams- I pair these two as they are the primary Mercedes engine customers and are excellent teams, will I call them winners, not necessarily, Williams has had a weaker season this year, but you have to give all four drivers credit for being very consistent on the points. They share three podiums between all 4 and all have finished in the points at least 10 times, there is no internal conflict in the teams either, two excellent teams who if they had a little extra power in their engines, would have more podiums and give Ferrari and Red Bull and even Mercedes themselves a little trouble. So they are unchanged and are not losers in any respect. 2017 will be interesting among these two teams.
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