Did the game change at Siverstone?
When you see a Pussycat Doll leaping up in horror as her boyfriend slides off the Silverstone circuit onto the grass and an elderly man - who has the same name as the round objects at the front of your shirt - puts his head in his hands as his son loses track position to lesser mortals, you know things are not good for the subjects of Her Majesty. When you then see a German – a German! - express regret that he is not an Englishman because of how important winning the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is to him, you know that the words “not good” must surely be inadequate in description of the feelings of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button yesterday.
For the latter of the two English drivers, yesterday was not a complete disaster. He had a dreadful qualifying session on Saturday – both the mystique of Silverstone and the inevitable heebie-jeebies accompanying racing at home while leading the world championship did for him – and he was only able to manage sixth place on the grid. In a team controlled by the tactical maestro, Ross Brawn, this mishap could probably have been overcome by clever driving and keen race observation, but Button chose to pile on more problems for himself at the start of yesterday’s race. By the time the cars came round to Woodcote Corner, Button had lost three places because of a poor get away from the Start/Finish line. The rest of his afternoon was then all about damage limitation. That he was able to leave Silverstone with 3 points must be worthy of a little sigh of relief at how much worse things could have been. As things stand Button is still 23 points ahead of his nearest challenger, his team-mate Rubens Barrichello. With 8 races still to go this year, this is still a healthy buffer for the Englishman but he certainly cannot afford to be complacent. Things have been known to change very dramatically in F1.
What should keep Button’s management on their toes is the worrying fact that a young German is quietly and efficiently chipping away at the lead in front. The last German to overhaul a seemingly unassailable championship lead was Michael Schumacher. From the metronomic race control from the front to the android-like podium leap, Sebastian Vettel looks almost like Schumacher Mark II. To me there appear to be two main differences between the two Germans. The first is that whereas Schumacher was usually taciturn and uncomfortable speaking English, Vettel is loquacious (I have never known a driver speak so much after a race – this chap has his jaw wired to the national grid!) and perfectly at ease with the language of Shakespeare. The other is that notwithstanding his three wins at Silverstone, Schumacher always struggled at this circuit - and even suffered a bad injury there in 1999 when he broke his leg – while Vettel takes to the Northamptonshire track like a duck to water.
Yesterday’s commanding performance was by no means a fluke for the young lad (he’s only 21!); it was an announcement, an indication of things to come. Sebastian Vettel may be 25 points behind Jenson Button but I don’t think that is a fact which is likely to keep him awake at night. Better still for Vettel is the performance advantage Red Bull racing seem to have cobbled together. A one-two at Silverstone – with Mark Webber on the second step of the podium – is no mean achievement in anybody’s book. Red Bull is not a two-bit team run by some Austrian buccaneer who dares to think he can piss where the big dogs piss. Not any more it is not. Ferrari, McLaren and BMW can only stare in awe as the Red Bull cars lap nearly a minute faster than everybody else. The game has changed.
A chap having to come to terms with the new game is the autocratic boss of the FIA, Max Mosley. Having successfully faced down the mighty British tabloid press over revelations about his sadomasochistic predilections last year, Mosley arrived at Silverstone on Saturday determined to brow-beat the rebel teams comprising FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association) into submission. Describing the team owners as “lunatics” and accusing Flavio Briatore, the Renault owner, of attempting “to be a Bernie when he can’t”, Mosley was in vintage belligerent mode on Saturday. By Sunday it had become clear that FOTA were not listening to him any more and Mosley – perhaps for the first time in his life – was sounding conciliatory, magnanimous even. It is too late now for Mosley no matter how much he tries to lay on the charm; the die is cast. The only way FOTA will remain part of an FIA controlled Formula One series is if it has nothing to do with Mosley. In other words, the future looks simple: it is either an F1 series without Max Mosley or no F1 series at all. Again I say Hallelujah!
There is no escaping the fact that events at Silverstone this weekend marked a watershed moment, if not for the sport of Formula One as we know it, for the 2009 drivers’ championship. I look forward to the future with keen interest.
Gitau
22 June 2009
For the latter of the two English drivers, yesterday was not a complete disaster. He had a dreadful qualifying session on Saturday – both the mystique of Silverstone and the inevitable heebie-jeebies accompanying racing at home while leading the world championship did for him – and he was only able to manage sixth place on the grid. In a team controlled by the tactical maestro, Ross Brawn, this mishap could probably have been overcome by clever driving and keen race observation, but Button chose to pile on more problems for himself at the start of yesterday’s race. By the time the cars came round to Woodcote Corner, Button had lost three places because of a poor get away from the Start/Finish line. The rest of his afternoon was then all about damage limitation. That he was able to leave Silverstone with 3 points must be worthy of a little sigh of relief at how much worse things could have been. As things stand Button is still 23 points ahead of his nearest challenger, his team-mate Rubens Barrichello. With 8 races still to go this year, this is still a healthy buffer for the Englishman but he certainly cannot afford to be complacent. Things have been known to change very dramatically in F1.
What should keep Button’s management on their toes is the worrying fact that a young German is quietly and efficiently chipping away at the lead in front. The last German to overhaul a seemingly unassailable championship lead was Michael Schumacher. From the metronomic race control from the front to the android-like podium leap, Sebastian Vettel looks almost like Schumacher Mark II. To me there appear to be two main differences between the two Germans. The first is that whereas Schumacher was usually taciturn and uncomfortable speaking English, Vettel is loquacious (I have never known a driver speak so much after a race – this chap has his jaw wired to the national grid!) and perfectly at ease with the language of Shakespeare. The other is that notwithstanding his three wins at Silverstone, Schumacher always struggled at this circuit - and even suffered a bad injury there in 1999 when he broke his leg – while Vettel takes to the Northamptonshire track like a duck to water.
Yesterday’s commanding performance was by no means a fluke for the young lad (he’s only 21!); it was an announcement, an indication of things to come. Sebastian Vettel may be 25 points behind Jenson Button but I don’t think that is a fact which is likely to keep him awake at night. Better still for Vettel is the performance advantage Red Bull racing seem to have cobbled together. A one-two at Silverstone – with Mark Webber on the second step of the podium – is no mean achievement in anybody’s book. Red Bull is not a two-bit team run by some Austrian buccaneer who dares to think he can piss where the big dogs piss. Not any more it is not. Ferrari, McLaren and BMW can only stare in awe as the Red Bull cars lap nearly a minute faster than everybody else. The game has changed.
A chap having to come to terms with the new game is the autocratic boss of the FIA, Max Mosley. Having successfully faced down the mighty British tabloid press over revelations about his sadomasochistic predilections last year, Mosley arrived at Silverstone on Saturday determined to brow-beat the rebel teams comprising FOTA (the Formula One Teams Association) into submission. Describing the team owners as “lunatics” and accusing Flavio Briatore, the Renault owner, of attempting “to be a Bernie when he can’t”, Mosley was in vintage belligerent mode on Saturday. By Sunday it had become clear that FOTA were not listening to him any more and Mosley – perhaps for the first time in his life – was sounding conciliatory, magnanimous even. It is too late now for Mosley no matter how much he tries to lay on the charm; the die is cast. The only way FOTA will remain part of an FIA controlled Formula One series is if it has nothing to do with Mosley. In other words, the future looks simple: it is either an F1 series without Max Mosley or no F1 series at all. Again I say Hallelujah!
There is no escaping the fact that events at Silverstone this weekend marked a watershed moment, if not for the sport of Formula One as we know it, for the 2009 drivers’ championship. I look forward to the future with keen interest.
Gitau
22 June 2009
posted by Gitau at 2:54 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home