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Mosleyitis

As some of you have noticed I have been slow to update this site on Mosley. This is for two reasons. First and most important, I am really enjoying the debate about the greatest drivers in Formula One. That would be a discussion about sport, wouldn't it? It is great to see so many points of view and, as I hoped, so many people have contributed who do not normally do so. It is fascinating reading about drivers whom people saw racing years ago. Great.

Mosley is too embarrassing for Monte Carlo as well

Much as I would like to leave this enjoyable place dominated by our poll on the best Formula One drivers of all time(if you haven't made your choice, please have a go below), an update on Mosley is required. Today we report that he will not represent the FIA at Monaco and that his place will be taken in any formal settings - ones where Prince Albert might be involved, for example - by Marco Piccinini.

The FIA have tried to dress this up as their own decision which, in some senses, it was. However it is abundantly clear that Mosley cannot operate any longer and, by taking this step, the FIA itself is recognising this. The moral arguments about Mosley will go on but we have now seen that, chronologically, Bahrain, Spain, Israel, Turkey and now Monaco have found him an unsuitable person to deal with and this is not going to change whether the General Asembly endorses him on June 3rd or not.

In the meantime, the FIA/Mosley is opening up all sorts of smokescreens to distract from this core issue. Have a read of this interesting piece by my colleague Joe Saward.

Who are the top-10 greatest F1 drivers of all time?

Look, I know this is a big question to ask and I know I haven't given you any warning but I have been meaning to ask it for a while and, it being a bit early to get into pre-Monaco predictions, here goes.

Who are the top-10 best Formula One drivers of all time? Err that's it. Send in your votes and one of the talented statisticians who read this blog - or several - will no doubt work out what the readers of this blog have decided(after 10 days). We need loads of you to vote so, if I may, I'd like to encourage the silent majority of thousands who regularly read this column, but do not normally comment, to make a contribution.

Of course I cannot simply pose this question then put my fingers in my ears and run...There have been some interesting stabs at this old chestnut recently which are worth considering. First my distinguished colleague at the Guardian, Alan Henry, brought out a book earlier this year entitled "The Top 100 F1 Drivers Of All Time"(Published by ICON Books/iconbooks.co.uk). Then F1 Racing magazine in its May issue(www.f1racing.co.uk) published the results of an e-mail reader poll, entitled "100 Greatest Drivers Ever".

Now there is a lot to consider here. The only thing I would say is that, if we are talking about Formula One drivers, then in my view, you have to look at the complete package. It is so hard to succeed in Formula One precisely because it is not just about driving and skill on the track but a total "life challenge" if you like. You have got to be brilliant on the track in every department; you need to be good technically; you need to have an educated sense of the business and politics of the sport; you need to understand how to develop your career and make the right moves at the right time and, all of that has got to add up to you being in the right machinery at what, consistently, is the right time. (This, for example, as many of you will have noticed, is why I rate Michael Schumacher so highly).

Henry's book is interesting and provocative. Alan is a great "student of the game" with unrivalled experience and a track record covering Formula One which goes back to when I was in short trousers. It is a standing joke with him these days about how long he has been in the paddock - just now it is something like 37 years(!) I reckon the cheeky-chappy in Alan was having a bit of fun with this pot-boiler, not least because he puts Michael at 11 and Stirling Moss at number one. Big calls both.

Here is Alan Henry's top-10

1 Stirling Moss
2 Jim Clark
3 Ayrton Senna
4 Alain Prost
5 Alberto Ascari
6 Juan-Manuel Fangio
7 Bernd Rosemayer
8 Jackie Stewart
9 Tazio Nuvolari
10 Mika Hakkinen

Darren Heath: A picture from Turkey or "Curvature of the Earth"

Darren Heath is one of the best photographers specialising in motorsport and a veteran of 20 years standing in the Formula One paddock. The Times Formula One weblog asked Darren to select one image from the hundreds he took in Turkey last weekend which best sums up a superb Grand Prix at Istanbul Park.

Darren has chosen this essay on Felipe Massa roaring through Turn 11 at 180mph with the TV chopper in the background. Darren did not name the image but I would say "Curvature of the Earth" seems appropriate. (Imagine the noise).

Here is Darren's own comment on the picture which will enlarge if you click on it.

"As the world  watches from the helicopter-mounted camera, Felipe Massa blasts his Ferrari up the hill on the exit of turn 11 driving towards his third consecutive Turkish Grand Prix win at Istanbul Park last Sunday. 

What I like about this picture, apart from capturing the helicopter in shot, is the light from the late afternoon sun giving the green painted concrete an almost metallic sheen perfectly complementing the dramatic sky, the red of the car and track edge.

Formula One is so much more than cars simply completing 60 or so laps on a Sunday afternoon, being  arguably the perfect 21st century sport of aesthetes. My desire to convey this beauty through the lens is what drives me to strive for pictures such as this."

A few notes on Darren

Age: nearly 40
Clients(include): Bridgestone, Sunday Times, Philip Morris, FIA
Mission statement: "The pictures I enjoy doing are the more creative, artistic side of it, a different side to the sport, not just cars going round corners. There is so much more that we see at Formula One and I aim to show that in a creative way using light and colour to maximum effect.
Favourite track: "I say Monaco because it is just the most extreme experience to see cars going so quickly down a track which is narrower than your front room. I love Suzuka and Spa, but Monaco is the best."
Favourite driver: "Senna. The charisma and the ultimate speed. Close to the top of the list of all-time memorable experiences was seeing Senna doing qualifying laps - seeing him on what seemed like a different level to everyone else."
Dislikes about Formula One: "I try to be positive about it. Like a lot of people in the sport, I am impatient, but you have to be patient to do our job."
The future: "I love it. I am enjoying this season. I enjoy each season I do more than the previous one and I can't see that stopping any time soon."
Football team: West Ham United

Darren has his own Formula One blog and website where you can read his reflections on each Grand Prix and see more of his pictures.

Pic of Darren by yours truly(The crap photographer)

Mosley avoidance strategies

If Max Mosley turns up in the Monte Carlo paddock, the race is going to be heavily overshadowed by reporting of his every move. The Formula One teams do not want him there but they are - institutionally - frightened of him. There are going to be some awkward moments and some people are inevitably going to have to end up dealing with him in public. Of course it will be quite amusing on one level - the media will go nuts and his fawning courtiers will be all over him - but on another level it will be very serious. It seems odd to me that Royal families in Bahrain and Spain and the Turkish prime minister could not stomach Mosley, but the Monagasque Royal house are willing - at this stage at least - to put up with him.

Here is the text of my story on the subject from today's paper.

After a gripping Turkish Grand Prix on Sunday, the Formula One teams are nervously eyeing Monaco in 12 days' time, when Max Mosley, the disgraced FIA president, is hoping to make his return to the paddock.

Since the scandal broke over his appetite for alleged Nazi-inspired sadomasochistic bondage sessions with prostitutes, many senior figures in the paddock have admitted privately that they would like Mosley to resign, but few have had the courage to air their views publicly.

Now they are wondering how to avoid meeting Mosley or being photographed with him on the sport's most prestigious stage. The same concerns are afflicting senior corporate executives representing companies sponsoring Formula One teams, many of whom use the Monaco Grand Prix weekend for corporate entertaining.

One principal told The Times that his team will keep an eye on Mosley so they can avoid him and have even considered an informal scouting system around the Monte Carlo paddock to warn them of his presence. Another team source said almost all the teams were making preparations to avoid Mosley. The source, who added that “furtive conversations” on this issue between teams had taken place at Istanbul Park last weekend, said: “The safe majority of teams are considering what they should do about their important people in terms of interaction with the president of the FIA at Monaco.”

The clear majority of team managers are angry that Mosley has refused to resign for the good of the sport and is continuing to harm Formula One's image by fighting on. There are unsubstantiated rumours that the Monaco Royal Family are concerned about Mosley dominating coverage of Formula One's most glittering setting. Mosley was told by the Bahrain Royal household not to go to their race last month and he did not attend the Spanish Grand Prix for fear that he might embarrass King Juan Carlos.

The Times can reveal that, in Turkey, protocol officials from the office of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish Prime Minister, contacted Bernie Ecclestone's staff to make sure that Mosley was not going to appear without warning in the paddock when Erdogan made his formal visit on Sunday morning.

Richard Woods, Mosley's spindoctor, indicated at the weekend that the FIA president was planning to appear in Monte Carlo, where he has a home, regardless of the difficulties this may cause.

The strange saga of Lewis Hamilton and his front-right tyre in Turkey(episode 2)

That was a great race in Turkey which was most enjoyable to watch. A solid performance by Felipe, an even better drive by Lewis and an outcome which certainly helps bring the championship alive going into Monaco with Lewis and Felipe now tied in second place, seven points adrift of Kimi. Any one of those three could end up being world champion this year and, just now, I would not like to bet on which one it will be.

By far the most interesting detail of the weekend, to my mind at least, was the revelation that not only were McLaren the only team to have tyre safety concerns but, within McLaren, it was only Lewis who had a problem and not Heikki as well. It is so easy to miss this kind of detail in the feverish atmosphere of a Formula One paddock after a race when you are dashing around trying to get interviews and pick up the thread of the race before everyone heads off to the airport.

At Istanbul Park on Sunday afternoon, it was noticeable that neither Martin Whitmarsh nor Lewis himself, in the interviews I heard at least, alluded to the fact that Heikki was supposed to have been on a two-stopper(he only made three stops because of the bang against Kimi's car which forced him to pit just after the start). I understand it was Ron, talking to other journalists, who mentioned that it was only Lewis who was required to three-stop. So suddenly it became clear that this was not a problem for the McLaren "team" as a whole but just Lewis's side of the garage.

And this is where it gets fascinating. What better illustration of the importance of different driving styles, which are often hard to see with the naked eye, could you want than the fact that Lewis alone among 20 drivers has a technique which causes excessive stress on his front-right tyre at Turn 8, while even his team-mate in the same equipment did not encounter the same problem.

Lewis's harshest critics will say this is because he is a "bad" racing driver who murders his tyres. But this, of course, is to simplify a complex issue with many inter-related factors at work, not all of which are in Lewis's control. In any case, Bridgestone sources privately do not agree; they argue that every driver's style is different and the effects they exert on the tyres are subtly different, not better or worse. As one source at the Japanese manufacturer put it to this blog: "Somebody who finished second in the world championship is already an exceptional driver."

It seems the problem with Lewis's front-right tyre going through Turn 8 was a failure in the inside sidewall area of the tyre as it experienced extreme lateral load for a period of around 6 seconds on a cornering sequence with a sustained G-Force of around 4.5. Among the factors which caused the problem are these:

Lewis's overall car set-up and level of downforce/wing angle
His performance over the entire lap at Istanbul
His preferred angle of entry going into the sequence
His speed of entry
His mid-corner speed(Kimi set the fastest apex speed at 226.6km/h)
His throttle inputs
His steering inputs
The slip angle of the tyres(the difference between the trajectory of the wheel and the trajectory of the tyre itself)
The toe angles of the tyres(pointing in or out)

Somewhere in all of that and combining it all produced a safety issue for Lewis alone and only at Turn 8 at Istanbul. I got the impression from Lewis that the team were more or less told to adopt a three-stop strategy on safety grounds. It turns out this is not quite correct. Bridgestone in fact advised McLaren that they could run two stops but they would have to go for a short middle stint(20-18-20). Assessing this, the McLaren strategists decided to go for three stops and four sectors(hard, hard, hard and medium).

Equally remarkable in this story is the fact that Lewis had a similar problem last year when his tyre delaminated after Turn 8. It was only him again and, despite improvements in the tyre over the winter, a similar failure was on the cards again this year. We will have to wait for Istanbul Park in 2009 to see if this syndrome repeats itself for a third season in succession.

Pic of Lewis on track in Turkey courtesy of mclaren.com

Glory for Felipe again in Turkey; top drive from Lewis

Felipe pulls off three wins in a row at Istanbul Park in a race for the cognoscenti which saw Lewis manage to make a three-stop strategy work and finish in second place, one better than where he started. Kimi was third just behind Lewis with the two BMWs led by Robert Kubica fourth and fifth.

The race was low on incident with 17 finishers, the most dramatic being a "climb-over" coming together featuring Fisi and Kazuki Nakajima just after the start. Another casualty at the start was Heikki who, after a poor get-away from second on the grid, tapped Kimi's Ferrari going through turn 2 and picked up a puncture which forced him to pit. This put him to the back of the field. After some entertaining battles, especially through turns 12, 13 and 14, the Finn finished 12th.

A great drive from Felipe who was understandably delighted at the finish with his second win of the year, raising three fingers to the sky in celebration. Lewis too had an excellent day. He pulled off a nice pass on Felipe going into turn 12 and managed to build a gap at the front of the field in the middle of the race which was enough to keep him ahead of Kimi and Robert at the end. In his short final stint in the soft tyre he looked reasonably comfortable ahead of Kimi and held onto second place by half a second.

Kimi incidentally drove the race's fastest lap despite going through the whole Grand Prix with a broken front wing as result of his tangle with Heikki.

The result leaves Kimi still in the lead in the championship with 35 points but with his advantage over Lewis(28pts) cut from nine points to seven. Felipe is now level-pegging with Lewis in joint second, with Robert third on 24 points.

Small crowd in Istanbul sees Bruno Senna hit dog

A thin crowd at Istanbul Park witnessed a strange and dangerous moment in the GP2 race before the the Formula One Grand Prix when Bruno Senna(nephew of the late, great Ayrton), hit and killed a stray dog. The animal was running along the track with another when the GP2 cars approached at speed. One car missed them but Senna had no chance of avoiding the black and white dog when it suddenly ran into his front left wheel. Result: smashed suspension; dead dog.

This is, needless to say, highly dangerous. Had Bruno hit it head on, it could have killed him. The young Brazilian looked angry when he got back to the pits. It seems he was annoyed with his pitwall for not warning him there were animals on the track. With all the sharp-shooters around Istanbul Park where the security level is high, it is surprising the dogs ever made it to the track. Apparently this area of land used to be a big wild dog nightclub before they built the track and dogs keep coming back. Let's hope none of the Formula One drivers hit a white elephant during this afternoon's Grand Prix.

Afterwards Senna commented as follows:
“The race was going really well up until the incident with the dog. I made a good start, kept out of trouble and seized every opportunity that came my way without taking any risks. The car was really good and I knew we could score some useful points. I was following Mike Conway quite closely when he suddenly moved to the right. I thought he had a problem so I went to the left… and that’s when I saw the dog for the first time. It ran right, so I went left, but then it turned again, hit my wheel and that was that. I couldn’t believe it.”

Ferrari's current rich vein of performance is causing grumbling elsewhere on the pitlane. Have they got 30 extra horse-power? Have they been subject to the same level of scrutineering of their engines as everyone else? I checked with the man from the FIA and the rule-making body is quite happy that all is in order and Ferrari are operating under the same rules and regs as everyone else.

A few "rubbish" pics of the Renault garage for your enjoyment. Click on image to enlarge.

The boy Felipe done good

Just as he dreamt it, Felipe fought off his rivals and put his Ferrari on pole at Fortress Massa(aka Istanbul Park) by a hefty margin - that's three poles in a row here for the Brazilian who has most definitely got his season back on track.

Now all he has to do is win the Grand Prix for the third time in three years. In 2006 he needed a slice of luck, last year he was all-conquering, can he do it again? Congratulations to Felipe who was watched from the garage by his father and his wife.

As had looked on the cards on Friday, Heikki got the better of Lewis by a tenth which is a fantastic reposte from the Finn after his big crash in Spain. Equally it is a worry for Lewis who will have to rely on fleetness of foot off the start line to try and get past his team-mate.

This is the second time in five races that Kovi has qualified ahead of Lewis. The good news for the McLarens is that they are two and three on the grid and have split the Ferraris(with Kimi back in fourth). However watching Felipe's final flyer, as compared with that of Lewis, you could see(could you not?) how the red machine seemed better balanced and less of a handful than the McLarens which is hardly a surprise given recent form.

Robert was fifth this time, again well ahead of his team-mate Nick who was ninth. After his heroics in front of his home crowd two weeks ago, Fernando was back where the Renault looks to be realistically ranked - in seventh place. This was miles ahead of his struggling team-mate Nelson who could do no better than 17th(ouch!). There are two Red Bulls in top-10 for the first time.   

Vijay Mallya brings back the glamour and the glitter

You can't fault Vijay Mallya's commitment to Formula One. The Indian billionaire has come into the sport he loves with serious intent and he is revelling in the opportunity he has created for himself to play the game in motor racing's toughest arena.

Having been out to Bombay to meet him and got a sense of how he operates - I was at the team launch in early February - I have a strong feeling that he will not be content to see Force India remain as a backmarker for long and Mallya will gradually put the people and funding in place to enable the team to move up the grid. You only have to look at his business interests - especially his airline Kingfisher - to see how ambitious he is.

Mallya strikes me as a classic Formula One team owner - fabulously wealthy with a huge appetite for life and a real passion for motor racing. Despite his extensive business commitments, he hasn't missed a minute of this season and last night he hosted an enormous party on his superyacht, the Indian Empress. The boat was moored out on the Bosphorus in a setting which gave a great view of Istanbul at night(which is worth seeing, if you've never been here, with the many mosques and bridges spectacularly lit along the shore). We accessed the yacht via the Kempinski Palace hotel which is quite a setting itself, and then went aboard via ludicrously large launches which were on the move, to and fro, all night. It was no shoes on deck but we were offered extra red socks and a fleece to help us keep warm.

The Empress is absolutely vast and was previously owned by the Saudi Royal family, so that gives you some idea. Multiple decks, acres of immaculate teak and enough space for more than a thousand people to enjoy without feeling cramped. Who(apart from Vijay) knows how much the party cost - £50,000 maybe, £100,000 - probably even more than that. Just as in Bombay where I last went aboard, the music was ridiculously loud and so it was a bit of a shouting match. There were people there from all walks of Formula One plus plenty of the local party set. There were at least two sessions of fireworks from barges moored nearby and, despite the evening chill(which felt more like England than Turkey), Mallya created a fun atmosphere. I arrived at nine and left before eleven by which time the food was just beginning to appear so it looked as if this was going to be a long evening.

It was not all pleasure for Vijay. When I arrived a fairly comprehensive group of team principals(Red Bull, BMW, Ferrari, Renault to name a few) plus Bernie were leaving after what appeared to have been a mini Formula One summit on board in one of the many drawing rooms which were out of bounds to us ordinary mortals. Interesting that this gathering was held on Vijay's territory. No doubt we will find out in the coming days what was discussed...

Pic of Indian Empress by Anirban Bonnei via flickr

Flying in Turkey with Vodafone

I apologise for being late with an update from beautiful, downtown Istanbul where it's actually quite cold and even rained briefly this afternoon. As I write I am in a traffic jam....

It's surprising how even a piffling two-hour time difference combined with a delayed late-night flight and then an early Turkish start, can knock the stuffing out of you. By the way, for those of you who haven't been to Terminal 5 at Heathrow yet, I can report that it is a real pleasure. The building is spectacular(very similar to Shanghai airport) and feels airy and spacious, though there is perhaps a little too much open space in the area where you first arrive and maybe not enough when you go airside. We'll see how this pans out as the years progress. The lounges upstairs into which I managed to blag myself, courtesy of ITV's very own James Allen, are excellent. I could go on etc.

Anyway, as usual Formula One continues to amaze and surprise in equal measure. I get to Turkey with a strange invitation in my computer asking me to a tented theatre in downtown Istanbul where Lewis is going to take part in a play on Thursday morning. Just for the record, I sent a reply to the Vodafone PR before I left England expressing puzzlement and incomprehension at what we were being asked to attend. This looked like a turkey from the word go and, in the event, it proved a cast iron one as most of you have no doubt seen by now.

Sebastien Loeb is projecting a poor image says the FIA(!!!!)

This story by The Times's correspondents in Paris is worth a read. There's not much to add...

I notice also that Charles Bremner, our chief Paris correspondent, has done a nice piece on the old Citreon Deux Chevaux on his blog which some of you might enjoy.

Stop press: apparently this picture of Loeb at the end of the Mexico rally was the one which offended the FIA...

A big weekend for Felipe

If Felipe is going to mount a serious challenge to Kimi and Lewis for this year's world title, you would think he must win at Istanbul Park this weekend. This, of course, is one of Felipe's favourite tracks where he drove to his first emotional Grand Prix victory in 2006 from pole. He then managed exactly the same feat last year and it would be quite something if he could do it a third time in succession.

Kimi is growing in confidence all the time and there are few in the paddock who do not regard him as already the de facto "number one" at Ferrari. Another win this weekend for him - it would be his third in five races with one second place to boot - would put him in the driving seat in more ways than one and Felipe will be left, arguably, playing catch-up for the rest of the season.

The track in Turkey is superb and should be capable of producing exciting racing. The pitlane exit is spectacular(downhill), turn eight is a monster and turn 12 is ripe for overtaking. However last year the race was dull apart from a "chunking" incident for Lewis with 15 laps to go(his front right tyre stripped just after he exited Turn 8, dropping him from third to fifth). Istanbul Park has some of the fastest sections on the calendar(from 9 to 12), but also some tight corners(4 & 5 and 12 & 14), but few are expecting McLaren to be quick enough in either department to take advantage.

The battles ahead thus look to be between Kimi and Felipe for glory and Lewis and Robert for third on the podium. As mentioned before, if Robert can qualify ahead of Lewis and then get a good start in the race, Lewis could have his work cut out to beat him. It is interesting that while Robert has struggled at the start, Nick made an excellent get-away in Spain, so it can't be long before the Pole gets it right.

We go to Turkey much earlier this year than last(August) and this will be my third visit to a track now run by Bernie himself after the local organisers were nearly bankrupted by an FIA fine for breaking the rules on the podium ceremony in '06. While the track is great, this race is infamous in Formula One because of the horrendous traffic congestion on the roads from downtown Istanbul, across the Bosphorous to the Asian side where the track is based.

So here we go again. Eight hours watching cars go very fast and at least four hours-a-day stuck in them, trying to get there and back, very slowly...

Super Aguri throws in the towel; Mosley fights on

The gap between Spain and Turkey has been flat and now we get the bad news that Super Aguri has gone to the wall. There is a lot of sympathy for the Japanese minnows but spare a thought for Honda which has been behaving like a very benevolent charity for the last 12 months baling out a commercial disaster area.

I understand Honda has handed over £35 million in that time including a final payment of £100,000 to enable Super Aguri to race in Spain - this is serious money in anybody's language and money Honda will never get back. There is some grumbling about the way this largesse was received at Super Aguri but it is probably best not to get into that at this stage.

From a British perspective this all means one less man on the grid which is a pity, especially for Anthony Davidson himself who is a pleasant, modest chap who did pretty well with the tools at his disposal. Takuma was also a popular figure in the paddock and a driver who had his moments.

You might think the loss of two cars is a retrograde step which Formula One can ill-afford. Strangely however Bernie doesn't seem remotely bothered, even if he did expend some energy and time trying to construct a lifeboat for Super Aguri.

On another subject, Max Mosley, as we all know, is well on his way to redefining the concept of "over-staying ones welcome." The latest strategem in his arsenal is the appointment of Anthony Scrivener QC to provide an opinion for the FIA on whether the News of the World was right to describe Mosley's sado-masochistic fantasies as "Nazi-inspired". Mosley's man, Richard Woods, says the appointment was not Mosley's idea but that he may have taken part in discussions about it subsequently with "senior officers" of the FIA                                                                                       

The gameplan here is Mosley's strategy to choose the ground on which to fight his battles. He wants the debate to be about the allegations of Nazism and not whether or not he is a (remotely) fit and proper person to represent the FIA. Why? Because Mosley genuinely seems to believe that most ordinary right-thinking people will have no quarrel with the rest of it - the five prostitutes, the sado-masochism, the prison-camp role play, the personal/private deception and so on. Of course most of the 100 million or so ordinary members of the FIA would be quite happy to know that they are being led by a self-confessed pervert. I think not.

It will be a very bad day for the FIA if its members fall for this on June 3rd. Nothing has changed. Mosley should have resigned immediately to protect the sport and the FIA from damage by association with his personal predilictions which have made him a social and professional embarrassment.

Another tough weekend ahead for McLaren?

In the official McLaren preview for this weekend's Turkish Grand Prix, Norbert Haug spoke candidly about the inferior competitive position of the McLarens just now and indicated that Turkey is going to be another tough weekend. Reading between the lines, you sense the guys at Woking and Stuttgart are expecting another Ferrari one-two at Istanbul Park and the overall situation in the points is going to get worse before it starts to get better.

Here are two answers from Norbert:

Prior to Barcelona, it has been the opinion of experts that on this track the real balance of power would become obvious and that the team which is in front in Barcelona would remain in front for the rest of the year. What is your opinion?

“Barcelona as the first Grand Prix of the European season and, with its challenging track layout, is definitely a yardstick for the following races. In qualifying, we missed pole position by less than three tenths of a second; however, we carried a little more fuel and therefore more weight. Anyway, even with the same fuel load we wouldn’t have been fast enough to beat Ferrari. Since winning the season opener in Melbourne, our car has improved gradually and has become significantly faster. Unfortunately, we didn’t score all possible points, neither in Melbourne, Malaysia, Bahrain or Barcelona, mostly due to self-induced mistakes and this is the reason for the gap to the top of the rankings, after Ferrari had scored only one point in Melbourne. Our aim is to improve further over the next few races, however it is possible the Turkish Grand Prix might be a challenging race for the team.”

How do you evaluate the chances of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes in the Turkish Grand Prix?

“We didn’t really shine here in the past, and also this time we are not the current benchmark. The team wants to score as many points as possible, but after three consecutive wins Ferrari obviously arrive here as the favourites.”

Lewis will have taken some comfort and renewed confidence from a solid race at Montmelo and we know he loves Istanbul Park(just think back to his epic GP2 race there in 2006) but, as last year's Grand Prix, underlined it is a tricky place to overtake, notwithstanding the obvious one under braking at Turn 12. The British driver knows that qualifying well will be critical but, again, it looks a tall order to get ahead of the red cars.

As for Heikki, however much the team big him up - he's "fighting fit" and so on - you have got to expect, at the very best, another steady weekend from him after his huge wipe out in Barcelona. And then there is BMW to think about. Will Robert get a good start to his race this time to match his performance in quali? It's going to happen sooner or later.

In the same preview Martin Whitmarsh provided a more positive outlook on the team's prospects at the open and free-flowing track in Turkey. What struck me, however, was the confidence Whitmarsh expresses about high-speed corners as against the under-performance of the car on tight turns. This would seem to be a reversal of the form of last year when the MP4-22 was the king of the twisty tracks but struggled against the Ferraris on the faster, sweeping circuits. The interesting element here is that Lewis's supporters have been arguing that the current run of poor form will come to an end at Monaco. After reading this you would have to question that assumption.

Here's Martin replying to two questions:

The Istanbul Speed Park tends to be quite a demanding circuit on tyres, what are your expectations in this area for the race?

“The circuit has actually some terrifically demanding corners, and it is therefore positive that we are coming away from Barcelona where the MP4-23 was very strong in high speed corners. If you can have a well balanced car through high speed corners then you can be kinder to the tyres. So we have every reason to be optimistic that we will be able to preserve our Bridgestone Potenzas at this track. A key part of the practice sessions is understanding the conditions we find when we get to the track, we will be very careful in these sessions to analyse, working together with Bridgestone, tyre wear and degradation with representative race fuel loads”.

Has the team been focusing on any particular areas of development prior to this race, what is required from a car to be quick here?

“Given the challenging nature of the circuit, we have come away from Barcelona with some confidence for the high speed corners, but we also come away knowing that we have areas where we need to strengthen the car. The tighter, more twisty parts of the Circuit de Catalunya were certainly our Achilles heel during the race weekend, and there has been a lot of analysis and study of that as we endeavor to strengthen our car in that area.”

Pic of Heikki at Barca courtesy of www.mclaren.com

Anon's stats; comparing this year with last

EG writes: Anon is a busy blogger. Here is some interesting analysis from Anon to keep us going through the weekend.

Anon writes: Well, it seems IDR has been putting the pressure on. Awesome work. Here are what I find interesting in terms of stats: These stats will focus on the difference the new regulations are making.

Drivers in the points
Right now 13 drivers have scored in the points - 59% of the grid. At the same time last year after the Spanish Grand Prix, 13 drivers were in the points. So no difference.

Retirements
By averaging the numbers of retirements, we find that in '07 there were 5.75 cars per race that crashed out (up until Spain). This year (I include Bourdais and Kimi who did not finish the Australian GP, I also include Rubens's disqualification as a retirement), there are 8.25 retirements per race.

Teams in the points
This year, nine teams are in the points. At the same time last year, there were eight teams in the points.

Importance of pole position
Out of the first four races of last year, three races were decided from pole. This year two races have been decided from pole.

Performance of McLaren/Ferrari
McLaren had won only one of the races last year, Malaysia. Like last year, they have only scored one win. However, last year they out-scored Ferrari in every race except Bahrain. Now Ferrari have out-scored them in every race except Malaysia.

Conclusions
In terms of who has scored points, this year is the same as last. In respect of which teams have scored more points, it is more generous this year. There are many more retirements this year. Ferrari have the upper hand, but it is true that McLaren are scoring the same amount of wins as last year and last year they were very competitive, so there's light at the end of the tunnel.

IDR's fitting tribute to Hunt the Shunt

I'm sure we have all enjoyed the thread about which drivers we would like to have drink with. I know I have. As most of you will have spotted, one of this blog's most loyal correspondents, "IDR", has once again done the maths(in fact he's done it twice, with a second update in the comments), and produced the following results.

The top three current drivers you would like to have a drink with
1. Kimi 26%
2. Fernando 15%
3. DC 13%

The top three drivers from the past you'd like to have a drink with
1. James Hunt 13%
2. Ayrton Senna 8%
3. Eddie Irvine 6%

To top it off IDR has assembled this superb collage of James Hunt which he sent me this morning and which I now share with you. Fantastic. (Click on it to enlarge it). Does the picture of the young James in orange remind you of anyone? (F Torres maybe?)

Which Formula One driver would you like to share a pint with?

Michael Bowen suggested this would make an interesting subject(in a comment on the post "The power of Kimi") and I agree. It will be interesting to see who comes out on top. To make it worthwhile, let's have at least one reason behind your choice. There are two categories - current Formula One drivers, and drivers from the past. (You never know we may even get some statistical analysis from IDR at the end if enough of you have a go). Of course in Europe, America or South America, it is unlikely to be a pint...

To get the ball rolling here are my choices:

Current drivers
My choice would be Kimi. When I met him in Barcelona during pre-season testing, I was amazed by his general easy-going warmth and humour. The guy may not be the biggest intellectual on the grid but you can tell he would be a laugh and a half to have a drink with(and I would imagine one pint would certainly not be enough).

Driver from the past
There will only ever be one James Hunt. My wife adored him so did millions of Britons. A vulnerable individual in many ways from what I can tell but with a wild and rebellious streak. A night in the pub with him would certainly have been character-forming. (Interesting that Kimi chose to call himself "James Hunt" when entering that skiddoo race in the pre-season last year).

Pic of James Hunt by Michael P. Whelan via flickr

The Times's very own James Major gives you the low-down and the prices on the Spanish GP

EG writes: James Major is the online sports editor at The Times. He travelled to Montmelo as a corporate guest but watched the race as an ordinary punter sitting in the stands. (I tried to get him a pass for the paddock but failed!). Here are his impressions of the value for money side of it, the racing and the crowd. Completing the job, James has filed his best pictures at the end(click on images to enlarge).

James Major writes: With only the 1992 British Grand Prix under my belt - I watched Nigel Mansell storm to victory on a terrific day at Silverstone in 1992, paying £5 for entry - I approached the Spanish Grand Prix as an F1 novice. Let me know whether you agree with my first impressions of the "Formula One Experience"...

The power of Kimi

Having read the many comments on the action at Montmelo, there is little to add. You guys have done the analysis already. One point I would make, however, is about Kimi. Are we seeing the beginning of a Kimi hegemony in Formula One? I must admit I have never believed Kimi would stick around long enough to dominate the sport for more than one or two seasons but there are signs this may yet happen.

I mentioned in an earlier post a conversation I had in Barcelona with one of his closest advisors and the view there is strikingly positive. Not only is Kimi's driving bang on the pace, he is enjoying himself in a way he certainly was not in his last years at McLaren where he felt suffocated by Ron's strict regime and so on. And the bottom line is Kimi may well stick around for a good few years yet. I hope he does.

The less formal atmosphere at Ferrari and the less demands on his time out of the car there suit Kimi's understated and straight-up style perfectly and you have to credit Jean Todt for getting this right. There is no doubt that Kimi feels far happier in red than in grey and the mood set by Todt has been carried on perfectly by Domenicali who is a pretty chilled guy himself.

Another point to make is that Kimi is handling the role of being world champion extremely well. He has come to terms with it and is using the positives - the bounce, the extra confidence - without appearing to have succumbed to any of the pitfalls. He must be one of the more modest, unassuming champions in Formula One for a long time. I, for one, have never heard Kimi throwing his weight around, demanding equal treatment, imposing himself, displaying even a hint of vanity or any of that sort of stuff. Kimi never involves himself in politics and if he complains at all it is usually a general observation about his car. The Iceman is a perfectionist and if the set-up isn't quite right, he is happy to share that. In general however, he just gets on with it and, in the car, he is starting to look ominously consistent.

For those of us lucky enough to watch him at work, it has been interesting to gradually get to know him, even if from afar. There is no doubt that having reached the pinnacle, Kimi has relaxed a little more and we are all seeing more of his sense of humour(which was always there of course) and his natural charm. He is quite a shy individual and is still criticised(especially outside the sport) for being dull, but I think he is finding the public side of his role less intimidating than before.   

It is instructive to compare where he is now with what was happening 12 months ago. Looking through the coverage in this paper, we ran a story around this time last year entitled "Ferrari dismiss Raikkonen troubles as Massa shines". There is a neat symmetry with what was happening to him at that stage with what is happening to Lewis this year. Both won the first race in Australia with ease, but then went into the doldrums. While Lewis may be suffering a touch of "season two" syndrome, in Kimi's case it was more about settling in at Ferrari and getting used to being the man in Michael's car. He also had a team-mate in Felipe who was enjoying a purple patch(going into Monaco, Felipe was on a run of five poles in six races). There were more troubles to come for Kimi at Monaco(crash in qualifying - driver error, started 16th) and the coverage got worse("Raikkonen misfiring in bid to close gap on pace-setters), but the Iceman gradually found his rhythm and by the end of the season he was the most consistent driver in the field and has been ever since.

This year, by contrast, Kimi has started in devastating style. Once the team had recovered from its collective woes in Australia, the Iceman has taken full advantage and dropped only two points; he followed a win in Malaysia with second in Bahrain, and now a win in Barcelona and he is already nine points to the good over the chasing pack led by Lewis. 

In terms of the battle between Ferrari and McLaren(and BMW) this season, it is still far too early to say how it will turn out(even if the red cars have the whip hand at the moment and are likely to be strong again in Turkey). And it is still way too early to write Felipe off in the battle at Maranello. But you have to like Kimi's chances just now of defending his title at least once - and maybe a third time and after that, who knows? 

Pic of Kimi by spiegelbild via flickr