Why They Tolerate Ferrari

Why They Tolerate Ferrari

  June 03, 2009    MamaeyaYT

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Lets be clear about one thing. Ferrari may sneer at all these new entrants trying so hard to get into grand prix racing. But they themselves were once the newcomers. When Ferrari entered the world championship in the 1950s it was a young team facing up to established names like Alfa Romeo and Mercedes. Enzo was at one time himself a garagiste, as he would call the FOTA teams in the 80s.

In time and over the years Ferrari have continued to compete and win from time to time and have built up the romance and legend surrounding the team, playing on the fantasies and emotions of fans worldwide. I confess to being caught up with this legend. Its hard to resist. Though I despise the dirt behind the legend, nevertheless the cars are so beautiful and more importantly, so characterful. Of course if the basis of supercar choices is based purely on logic, you'd choose a Porsche or even Nissan's latest R35 GTR. But frankly none save perhaps McLaren or Lamborghini arouse the senses so completely.

The revelations of secret vetos (by Ferrari's own admission in arbitration) reveals the advantages afforded to Maranello. Its something non-Ferrari fans have always known and Ferrari fans in turn have accused us (and anyone daring to challenge Maranello, most notably Ron Dennis) of whingeing. Well its not whingeing motherf****ers, its the goddamned truth! Excuse my outburst but I'm ever so sick of idiots.

Ok putting that aside, why would the other teams tolerate all this? The extra monies given to them, the right of veto bestowed on them and even the disparaging remarks made by this most unsporting of teams? The teams actually want to go up against the odds. Perhaps it makes victory against Maranello even more satisfying. But perhaps there's another more practical reason. Particularly where it comes to the big manufacturers.

Think about it. Ferrari have the largest following of all the teams. Some of these fans border on pathological fanaticism, following grand prix racing religiously to see their beloved prancing horse. Most of these fans will never be able to afford a Ferrari road car. Ever! Guess which cars they would be able to afford? Renaults, Toyotas and Hondas of course. Some who are a little smarter and more affluent will be able to afford Mercedes and BMWs in their lifetime. Ferrari fans are captive audiences for these manufacturers. Competing against Ferrari gives them exposure. And, if in the case of Renault, you beat Ferrari, you are even able to shout this out louder to the world.

OK, so the manufacturers are increasingly demanding more revenues from the dogs CVC and Bernie Ecclestone. However, the airtime and the association with the world championship gives manufacturers the reach they desire with their potential customers.

If Ferrari were to leave, it would from a marketing standpoint, devalue grand prix racing. Sure, there would still be fans but a lot of them would be lost. With lost fans, other sponsors would leave as well. Of course I disapprove of all this. But its a fact. The problem of course is that the entire grand prix racing ecosystem has become so corrupted. Its become all about the money and nothing about the sport.

If you aren't sickened by all of this, you should be. There simply must be a better way!

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The List Grows

The List Grows

  April 04, 2008    MamaeyaYT

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Up until now, three motoring federations have joined the four manufacturers in condemning Max Mosley over his expose. These are the ADAC (Germany), the Dutch Federation and the FIA's biggest member club the American Automobile Association.

Max Mosley in the meantime is taking legal action against The News Of The World claiming a invasion of privacy and suing for unlimited damages. As Pitpass notes, he has not sued for libel. And neither has Max Mosley denied these acts. But this is really his private matter.

What isn't private is the fact that the FIA member clubs are beginning to distance themselves from the FIA president. Regardless of whether or not this is a private and personal matter (and the clubs feel that it isn't) the fact is the members want him out. And when leaders are no longer wanted by those who are in their charge then it really is time for them to leave.

If he stays on or even attempts to do so, he will have proven beyond any resonable doubt a fact that true racing fans have long known. That he is a power lusting political animal whose time is long past. And he will do whatever it takes to stay in power.

Max Mosley claims that he is being setup. According to this PlanetF1 article, he is reportedly claiming that this is some sort of plot by McLaren to bring him down. Even Bernie Ecclestone thinks so. But most surprisingly, even Dr. Mario Thiessen agrees that this could be some sort of trap.

Trap or no trap, the fact is he got exposed. And Max is not denying these acts. Its highly unfortunate for him because I think everyone has their own sexual fantasies. Anyone who denies having them is a bloody liar. However, its one thing having fantasies played out with a lover in private. Its another thing when this allegedly involves 5 hookers and gets aired in public. It shocks the hypocrites in the public.

The member clubs and the manufacturers (who guard their corporate image like crown jewels) want that most mythical person as the head of the FIA, the squeaky clean person. Irregardless of whether head of corporations are also known to indulge in lewd acts, in this case Max got caught and this is the mistake he has made.

And so, according to the rules defined by the hypocritically prudish, Max must go. To be honest, had Max been a good FIA president, I would be defending him all the way. But I hate his guts for the things he has done. Sorry Max. Time for you to leave.

Oh and Max... Whilst I see Bernie attempting to defend you, I still do not see your friends at Ferrari and Flavio Briatore coming to your aid despite your favours to them, especially to Ferrari, all these years. And now they are rats on a sinking ship.

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Nuff Said

Nuff Said

  March 23, 2008    MamaeyaYT

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From this PlanetF1 article :

".....[Massa's] race-ending spin was the result of driver error. It may not have been related to the absence of traction control, however. It's just as likely that it was the consequence of mental turmoil and an unstable union between the determination to keep pace with Raikkonen and the actual ability to do so."

And the annoying little twerp himself admitted his error as reported by Crash.net here.

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Intellectual Property

Intellectual Property

  November 10, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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What a season its been and whilst the curtains should have come down at the end of the Brazilian Grand Prix, we shall have to wait one more week before the FIA confirm Kimi's world championship. Even so, many matters that have arisen during the course of the 2007 season remain unresolved.

You know what I'm talking about. This whole spying issue. That which has left a very sour taste in every fans mouth, no matter which side you take. Its funny to hear people calling McLaren a bunch of cheats because as far as even the FIA can conclude, their car was legal, in the sense that no evidence could be found that Ferrari's intellectual property had been utilised in the 2007 McLaren. What got McLaren the USD 100 million penalty was the fact that certain employees received unauthorised information. The term "spying" is an incorrect one. The fact is, no McLaren employee went into Ferrari to obtain any information. It was a disgruntled Ferrari employee that distributed the dossiers.

What goes around comes around. In 2003, Ferrari (and Bridgestone) alleged that the Michelin tyres were illegal. They were not of course for they complied with the letter of the law. However, the FIA took Ferrari's advice and decided to change the way the tyre width was measured. This of course happened during the course of the season. And of course, Ferrari gets what they want and so Michelin had to produce another tyre that complied to the new measuring methods.

And so in 2007, McLaren, armed with Ferrari's technical information helpfully alerted the FIA that their fancy flexi-bottoms were not in compliance with the regulations. The FIA realised that their measurement methods were inadequate to detect flexible floors and therefore again, mid-season decided to devise new methods of measurement. At the very least the FIA were being fair in this case. The Michelin shod teams were not penalised for their supposedly illegal tyres in 2003 and therefore why should Ferrari be penalised for circumventing the flexible floor ruling?

But whereas the Michelin shod teams back then did not retaliate against Ferrari or Bridgestone (they simply have too much class for it), Maranello's retribution this year was terrible. Again, I state that there is no evidence that McLaren utilised any very intellectual property in their 2007 racing car. The FIA cannot prove this, so why the hell is Luca di Montezemolo talking a whole load of rubbish about there being a lot of Ferrari in the McLaren? In any case and as you know, a great undertaking or witch-hunt as Sir Jackie Stewart called it, was launched against McLaren. And yes, Ferrari got its way. Of course not in full for the drivers remain unpenalised. But I suppose, only because one guy ratted on the team to the FIA and Bernie wanted the other guy to win the championship instead of Kimi because that other fella was orders of magnitude more promote-able.

But I suppose to please his Maranello lovers, Max Mosley now wants to hunt for more than evidence of stolen intellectual property, he wants to hunt for Ferrari "ideas." See, this is what happens when you put a fucking lawyer in charge of racing activities. Quite how he proposes to define "ideas" is beyond me but I would imagine that definition would be far more convoluted but yet vague as the 2007 technical and sporting regulations.

In fact this whole notion of intellectual property stinks. The first time I read something about intellectual property in racing had something to do with the British Touring Car Championship. I cannot now remember the details (and am too lazy to research this right now) but I remember something about the MG racing car could not be taken over by one team because the intellectual property belonged to another. Crikey!

Now, even entire racing series are subject to intellectual property legalities. Say for instance, I want to start my own racing series. I want it to be a one make single seater series, with two races per weekend and two qualifying sessions. The second race start is to have a reverse grid. Sounds familiar? Of course it does because thats how the WTCC, BTCC and even GP2 is run. But if I wanted to do a series like this, I would have to compensate the originator of this format i.e. dish out money to the guys who first invented the format. Of course, the cost of my new series is going to go up. But it all just sounds so silly.

As I said, this is what happens when you have a lawyer in charge of the FIA. And of course, this is what happens when racing becomes first and foremost a business rather than a sport. There's just too much crap that comes in the picture.

Today I read that Bernie has called a crisis meeting among all the other teams save Ferrari, McLaren and Renault who are already embroiled in cases. He wants to root out cases of intellectual property theft. Yes, I'm quite certain that there would be plenty of those that go on everywhere.

But guess who is safe from this intellectual property theft witch hunt? Ferrari of course, whose overlords have done a damned fine job of portraying itself as the sweet innocent injured party. I'm quite certain Nigel Stepney is correct. There are plenty of bones in and around Maranello. But no one shall be investigating them.

And this whole notion of taking it one step further, to look for "ideas" is complete bollocks. Asides from the precariousness of defining the term and eventually enforcing it fairly, it would lead to ridicule. Take for example the Tyrell invention of the raised nose in 1990. It was copied by every other team thereafter in various guises and is standard on all Formula 1 cars today. You could say then that every other team copied the "idea" of the raised nose and if you leave it to that idiot Max Mosley they should all be penalised for this. Furthermore, the entire sport would not have progressed technically along with it. Well, fuck Max Mosley and his legal mumbo jumbo.

Now, its Renault's turn to face "spying" charges and isn't karma sweet? For it was that overaged gigolo who kept harping on about penalising McLaren to the ground. Well, prepare to take your own medicine playboy! And the FIA must, since precedent has been set, they must apply the same penalties to Renault as they did on to McLaren. If they did not, then I think the only recourse is for McLaren to take this matter to court. And I mean a court of justice not the kangaroo variety set up by Max Mosley and cohorts.

And since we are all witch hunting the other teams, in the interest of fairness why not send a team to Maranello as well? Well, we all want to be fair don't we? Has Maranello got anything to hide? Lets see it then. Oh, and lets not just look for intellectual property infringements. Lets see if Maranello has stolen any "ideas."

I rejoiced when Kimi Raikkonen won in Brazil and became world champion. To me, he was the best driver this season. He overcame the challenge of a new team, car and tyres and stuck it good to his moronic teammate and Hamil-shit. 6 races won this season, he truly deserved it. (I just wish it wasn't with such an unsporting team). But it seems that his achievements have been completely overshadowed by these silly legal issues. Formula 1 as it is today, should be flushed down the toilet. If you aren't sick of it, you should be.

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Reasons For Vehemence

Reasons For Vehemence

  September 13, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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In his latest article for Pitpass, Mike Lawrence wonders why the FIA (and Ferrari) are seemingly dead set on bringing down the McLaren team or rather Ron Dennis. And indeed, in light of recent comments by Todt and Montezemolo, this isn't an unreasonable observation.

On the face of things, one might simply suggest that the FIA are merely following standard operating procedures and clamping down on unsporting and dishonest behaviour. But as Pitpass' Lawrence quite rightly points out, the charges against Toyota were much greater in weight. The evidence all to plain to see in the shape of the TF103 which seemed to be a clone of the Ferrari F2002. And yet in that case, the FIA didn't seem too eager to throw out the automotive giant. By contrast this year's McLaren seems an evolution of past racing cars and it is plain to see that the design is conceptually far different.

So why the seemingly disproportionate actions against Woking? The answer I believe lies in events earlier on in the year. Events that the management at Ferrari are seemingly sort about. Last year it was the flexi wings. This year they made entire bottoms that wobbled with the wind. This is specifically banned in the regulations. It was a key technology and it was whisked away from Maranello and I suspect to the chagrin of Messrs Todt and Monty. Someone ratted on them to McLaren and in turn to the FIA and they want blood.

But the fact remains that Ferrari were using illegal devices. And whether or not the information obtained to blow the whistle on them was acquired legally or not, the fact is they were using illegal devices. And now they're mad because they can't use their illegal devices. Illegal mind you. As opposed to countless innovations introduced by other teams that were legal and were banned by the FIA at ferrari's insistence.

As for information about the use of Bridgestone tyres, remember that it was the FIA that insisted on a single tyre manufacturer. The Michelin teams clearly would have liked to keep on using the French rubber. And so, if teams are forced to abandon their tyre of choice shouldn't they all share the same information on these tyres. Why should an FIA decision and rule (which by the way, should be apply equally to all participants) benefit a select few? Or should I say, just benefit Ferrari?

One might argue that getting the flexi floors banned and obtaining information of the best use of Japanese rubber tipped the scales Woking's way. Hold on a moment I say. The scales were tipped. But it was tipped to balance both sides. McLaren's advantage was simply because they built a better car and arguably have better drivers.

However, from Todt and Montezemolo's viewpoint, balanced rules and regulations are simply unsporting. For them you see, the scales should always tip in Ferrari's direction.

Ron Dennis and McLaren have angered the Ferrari International Assistance (FIA) and he must pay. Max Mosley himself has personal grudges against Ron. And now that he has allies in Maranello, allies that bring with them a tangible case, here is an opportunity to finally bring the great man down.

Fight them all the way, Ron. Both Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan I am sure will be forever barred from motorsport participation. I somehow don't think he will for fear of further damaging his reputation and employement prospects elsewhere but I think Nigel Stepney should simply come out and reveal where all the dead bodies are buried at Maranello. I assure you, there are plenty of them.

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Fair and Consistent Application

Fair and Consistent Application

  September 12, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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Well, lots of people are anxiously waiting for the events before the World Council in Paris. As usual, there are plenty of different viewpoints. However, it would seem that most people seem to be behind the McLaren team on this one. I for one think that Ron Dennis is an honourable person and so is his team in general and therefore this whole affair ought to be thrown away.

However, as some people might say and I know dumbass tifosis count among these people, the law is the law and if McLaren are found guilty then they should face some heavy penalties. A sentiment that is shared by the Ferrari and Fiat overlords, Todt and Montezemolo. Luca was quoted as saying that should the results favour the Woking team then the championship would be won in a manner that is "not loyal and not sport." Right, like the way Indianapolis 2005 was won in a manner that reflected the best ideals of sport. Takes one to know one Luca and of course you would brand McLaren in that way for thats the way Ferrari really are.

Still, the law is the law and there are those who believe that the law is rather like a prescription to be followed to the letter. If this is to be the case then so be it. However, I would like to see that this application is done in a consistent and fair manner. For at the moment it would seem that whenever a judgement is to be taken against some (in this case McLaren) then the interpretation is to the letter. And for others (as in the case of Ferrari countless of times in the past) then it is interpreted in the spirit of things.

However, one cannot ignore the view of other team bosses (past and present) in this matter. Such as those recently expressed by Paul Stoddard for instance. Former Stewart Grand Prix boss Jackie Stewart and Frank Williams have also joined in the chorus of disapproval.

The tabloid of the internet racing media, PlanetF1, have some interesting articles here and here.

This whole affair stinks. And really there is nothing more for me to add that hasn't already been said by all the media. Some are expecting McLaren to fall. But heck I don't think Ferrari gives a shit. They of course do enjoy their hollow victories. We should all be jeering.

I need to renew my subscription to Racefax I think. Should have interesting takes on the situation.

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Some Concern For Ferrari

Some Concern For Ferrari

  May 26, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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I must be out of my mind writing this. Its no secret, I loathe the Ferrari team. Yes, their successes over the years are admirable but here is a team high on politics and low on sportsmanship and fair play. It has always been so. However, I am a great fan of the road cars. What can I say? They're usually good looking, fast and have plenty of that inimitable Italian style.

More than any other car manufacturer, their successes in racing have built up the romance and passion of their road cars. Here is a manufacturer that can truly make a link between competition and their products, for they have managed somehow or another to incorporate their racing technologies with their road offerings. From a technical perspective, its all good. However, if Formula 1 goes "green" come 2011, I don't see how a biofuel engine fits into Ferrari's road car plans. But lets leave that aside.

So why or what am I so concerned about? The June 07 issue of the UK Car magazine celebrates Ferrari's 60th year as a car manufacturer. It features a test of 10 of the greatest Ferrari road cars ever made. Glad to see all my favourites made it in. Not least the 288 GTO, F40, Dino 246, 308 GTB and of course, the incomparable 250 GTO. Jeez. Don't you wish car makers still did a 3 litre V12 engine? Sweet!

The magazine also had an editorial feature with some disturbing things to say. Its nothing new of course, for the issue had already been discussed on a few F1 websites not least GrandPrix.com and Pitpass, and it is the rampant commercialism by Ferrari.

GrandPrix.com of course must be truly happy. They have been advocating all sorts of ideas (usually taking some NASCAR example) for yet even greater promotion of Formula 1. The dumbest of the lot was the idea for some silly romance novels based on NASCAR. F*****g romance novels?! So surely I would have imagined they'd be thrilled about the idea of a bloody Ferrari theme park, in some damned fool Middle Eastern country.

These are the worst of it but there are other bad ideas that Maranello are involved with. Ferrari notebooks, badly designed t-shirts, sunglasses and oh my god.... even barbie dolls, teddy bears and musical toys! Then of course there's that extremely frumpy dealership they have at that Las Vegas casino hotel where the extremely tasteless can partake in Maranello magic.

To be sure, old man Enzo was a racing man first, road car manufacturer second. By all accounts, he viewed the manufacture of road cars as a necessary evil to finance his racing cars. Stories of his distaste for customers are legendary. How do you think Automobili Lamborghini got established? Ferrucio was one dissatisfied customer. Now, we all know the price of competing succesfully in Grand Prix racing these days, but would Enzo have resorted to some of this blatant and tasteless commercialism to finance it?

The old man, wherever he is right now, simply cannot be at peace and surely he must be turning in his grave from all this commercialism. I realise the importance of economic realities. Ferrari can no longer dig into Fiat's coffers for its racing budget, because its parent no longer has much in the war chest. Hence Ferrari needs to resort to other methods of financing including relying on tobacco money and of course, expanding its production to sell to ever eager and status hungry customers in the East. I know that they have other shareholders apart from Fiat to please, such as Mudabala for instance who want returns not romance. I know merchandising is easy money. A 20 pound sterling t-shirt for instance costs about 50p to make. But do they really need theme parks and barby dolls?

All this commercialism simply dilutes the name. Out the door goes all that history, all the heritage, all the... shock horror... exclusivity. The name ceases to become special. Just another stupid brand like MacDonalds or Nike. I mean really, does the average Ferrari fan (I refuse to call these people tifosi) really get it? Do they understand why that badge carries so much prestige and magic? The true tifosi who do get it I suspect are far fewer in numbers and some Ferrari owners I know do not count as one of these.

There's nothing much I can do about these things but its still very sad. And in the long run, could counteract as the Ferrari name and image becomes all too common, being increasingly associated with the tacky and tasteless. At least they're smart enough to hire some bloke to do brand management. But why should that position be needed in the first place?

Would all of this ever stop me from aspiring to Ferrari ownership? I must say that its an extreme turn off but a Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole going for under 25,000 pounds sterling is a bloody tempting offer and one that I may just one day decide to succumb to. Nimble, petite and pretty unlike its Eurotrashy descendent, the F430, with lots of style and some small measure of pace and excellent turn in. Brilliant. But soon enough some time in the future (if it hasn't already), I'd wish the Cavallino Rampante wasn't on the bonnet. I'd still drive my car every Sunday though.

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Now That's A Result!

Now That's A Result!

  April 08, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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It seems like ages but finally the boys from Woking have managed a win and in some style as well scoring a 1-2 result thats long overdue. As Fernando himself said in the post race interview, if Filipe had got ahead at the start, it surely would have been more difficult. But too bad he shot himself in the foot.

Oh how the British press will have an even bigger field day now what with their young pup Hamilton performing like he did. Well, its no surprise really after a season in the overtaking rich GP2 series last year. Moves like that which he pulled against Raikkonen and Massa at the start are common place in the junior formulae. And maybe its even easier in grand prix racing since these cars have traction control and electronic diffs. Well, at least at the start of the race anyway.

But you gotta love the way he defended himself against Filipe. The Brazilian attempted two moves against the Briton into turn 4. In the first move, he got on the inside of Hamilton, locked up and ran wide. Hamilton does a switchback and retakes second spot. Filipe was not to learn his lesson however for a lap later the same thing happens. But this time, Hamilton stuck in the middle of the road taking Massa completely offline and quite possibly into the a dirty piece of tarmac for it seemed that under braking Filipe had no traction at all. Hamilton too locked up but I should think that was some premeditated intimidation tactics on his part. Reminds me of kart racing actually. Filipe (to my utter delight, I must confess) ran off the road and lost places to both Kimi and Heidfeld.

Fernando however, ran a majestic race in front. The McLarens are closer now but again here as in Australia, we won't really know how close they are until the faster of the two Ferraris, that of Filipe actually gets into a proper fighting position. But surely the McLarens have improved since Australia. May it carry on season long. Fernando is not one of those drivers that wastes opportunities and he took this one eyes closed. People may be tipping Massa for the title but I think Fernando is really the one to watch out for. It must be a relief for the Spaniard as well seeing how McLaren performed last year but he's landed in the team at just the right time.

For someone of Kimi's reputation I felt he was running a numbers game out there. Certainly he kept his head better than his teammate and if he ends up in the season ahead of Filipe or even wins the world championship then it definitely would be because of performances like today. I am however disappointed that he doesn't seem to be able to assert himself fully just yet. But also remember that there were quite a number of days when Filipe was quicker than Michael himself last season. And surely the Brazilian has improved even more now.

Lest we forget Hamilton was sublimely quick in his second stint setting a 1m 36.701s fastest lap and closing the gap on Alonso. Whats even more impressive was that after the second stops he basically left Kimi for dead. Even in clear air the Ferraris of Kimi and Filipe could not match the pace of the McLarens. Always they were a couple of tenths at least off the pace. And that has to be encouraging. The testing last week must have taught them a lot about the Bridgestones. And maybe the ban on flexi floors must have helped too. And just maybe not having Ross Brawn on the Ferrari pit wall and Michael in the car is hurting their main opposition. But whatever.

Niki, Alain, Ayrton, Mika and now Fernando continues a long line of great McLaren drivers ever since Ron Dennis took charge. Joined by promising young Hamilton no wonder both Ron Dennis and Norbert Haug look well pleased. Hopefully they won't let their drivers down as they did in the recent past. I'd like to see Woking take it this year frankly speaking.

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2007 Australian Grand Prix

2007 Australian Grand Prix

  March 17, 2007    MamaeyaYT

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The Steeles of the recently revived F1Talk feared a Ferrari domination this year. They may be right. The way Kimi Raikkonen quite serenely won the Australian Grand Prix is an ominous sign for the other contenders. Serene is perhaps the right word for this race because nothing much really happened. Unless you're English and are absolutely over the moon with Lewis Hamilton's debut.

As in qualifying yesterday, I would have liked to see how Kimi stands against Filipe Massa during a race. Yesterday the Brazilian experienced gearbox and engine troubles. Today, he was following a completely different strategy having to come from right at the back. Yes, Kimi managed to lap him during the course of the race. And that must have been a psychological blow to him. But it would have been interesting to see how Massa would have run under a normal race strategy.

Do I sound like I'm behind Filipe? Well, actually no. For I still think Kimi will beat him over the course of the year. I just hope though that Ferrari will let the both of them duel it out together come what may.

The other team that had any hope of matching the Ferraris were McLaren. But lets face it, Kimi was really toying with them today. Setting that 1m 25.235s fastest lap was just rubbing it into Ron Dennis' face. He didn't need to go anywhere near that lap time and he was still simply pulling away from the two McLarens.

Alonso or Hamilton? For pure speed I think there's very, very little to choose between them. They are both equally as fast. My word, this could be quite a driving partnership for Ron. They've both got long careers ahead of them. One is a double world champion, the other can match the former. One slip, and its easily one or the other. There is very little margin if today's performance is anything to go by. Still, Alonso's strategy was the better one. Yes, Sato got in the way but even if he didn't I estimate Alonso would still have come out ahead of Hamilton at the end.

The ITV commentators were over the moon with Hamilton but lets put things into perspective. The 2005 GP2 champion, Nico Rosberg also had a great debut in the first race last year. Somehow it seems the GP2 championship does prepare a driver quite well for the challenges of Formula 1. And why not? The GP2 cars do have some massive performance all without traction control and other driver aids. But the challenge for Lewis now is to sustain this performance and not fade away like Nico did last year. Although one could say that Williams did not give Nico a great car to show off his talents.

Can McLaren catch up? Well, if you look at their qualy performance particularly on low fuel they do have some pace. Its when the fuel goes in and the races progresses that they seem to lose out to Ferrari. I think McLaren will need to work very hard to get the best out of those Bridgestone tyres if they are to have a chance. On some of the tighter circuits however, I think McLaren have an excellent chance of besting Maranello. The Ferrari you see has a longer wheel base. Great on circuits where aero performance is all important. Not so great in some of the slower bits. Still I think for McLaren, optimizing the aero with the Bridgy tyres is the key. As for driving talent, the do not lack any.

The BMWs much touted long distance pace could eventually was not enough to sustain a challenge to the front runners. But nevertheless, they have vastly improved and I believe they will improve still further as the season progresses and they have a better understanding of the new Japanese rubber.

And I was somewhat disappointed that the Super Aguris could not beat the works Hondas during the race. But Sato beating Jenson was a nice thing to see. Nico Rosberg did well I thought beating both the works Toyotas to seventh ahead of "I'm one of the top three" Ralf Schumacher. The fact that the Toyota engined cars have had a years greater experience on Bridgestone rubber is perhaps one of the reasons why the Hondas simply could not get on terms with their deadly rivals.

Again, if there is to be a Ferrari domination of 2007 I hope the two teammates will put up a good show for the rest of us. Kimi did a supreme job of the race today bar the odd mistake whilst fooling around. It'll boost his confidence and standing with the team and I'm sure he's going to get even better still in the car.

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At Jerez 10 Seasons Ago

At Jerez 10 Seasons Ago

  December 08, 2006    MamaeyaYT

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Murray Walker : “Case of champagne from Ferrari to Sauber, because the Argentinian newcomer Norberto Fontana, up from Formula Three, really, really, helped Michael Schumacher on his way there."

Martin Brundle : “What engine have they got in that Sauber, Murray? Isn't it a Ferrari?”

Murray Walker : “Well, it is, yes. Martin you are a cynical chap.”

At Jerez in October of 1997, something sinister was afoot. That Michael Schumacher attempted to punt Jacques Villeneuve off the road that day is plain to see. But less obvious was the collusion between the Ferrari and Sauber teams. Ferrari have often denied any unsporting behaviour and they continue to do so. Recently, Jean Todt was heard denying that there ever was a number one driver at Ferrari. Which we all know is complete rubbish.

I had just spotted this new article by that man of controversy, Tom Rubython, which was published in F1i a few days ago. And it sheds light onto events of that day. Now, collusion between teams to my mind should be allowed and it is all part of the game. But as the article explains, this was a case of colluding to force a back marker to delay the progress of Jacques Villeneuve. Not a front runner fighting for the lead of the race but a back marker under blue flags. All because that back marker was in a car powered by a Ferrari engine and with it came certain obligations.

Well, Michael would be paid back 2 years later at Suzuka when David Coulthard delayed his progress during the race when David was about to be lapped. But the funny things was, Michael the cheek to complain about it in the post race interview. Takes one to know one eh Michael?

In any case the events that day forever destroyed the career of the back marker in question, not that he was especially brilliant in a Formula 1 car that day. However romantic the story of Ferrari's success in later years with their string of championships, at the heart of it all was a team that had very little moral principles about them.

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The Toyota Way

The Toyota Way

  December 02, 2006    MamaeyaYT

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Last night I watched a repeat of the documentary called Anatomy Of A Formula 1 Team that was shown on Discovery channel. The documentary featured the Toyota F1 team and highlighted various aspects of the operations of a modern grand prix racing team. Track testing, design, manufacturing and logistics were some of the topics covered on it. The documentary featured events prior to the 2006 Canadian Grand Prix.

One thing that was repeatedly emphasized was the Toyota Way embodied by the Toyota Production System (TPS). This incorporate the Kaizen philosophy, which is Toyota's process of continuous evolution and improvement. The idea being taken from management guru W Edward Demming. At the time the documentary was made Mike Gascoyne had already been sacked (oops, I should say voluntarily parted company) and replaced by Pascal Vesselon, formerly of Michelin.

You get the impression that the whole Toyota F1 team is organised using the TPS principles, which had been proven successful in the design and manufacture of Toyota road cars. One gets the impression that the team exists to validate Toyota's methodologies. As Patrick had pointed out, the whole project seems like some sort of corporate flagship exercise. A big promotion exercise if you will with the Toyota Way being the product ultimately on display. Success in grand prix racing if achieved, would serve as a parade of its superiority both on the track and on the road.

So, the question is after billions spent and some 5 years in grand prix racing, why hasn't it worked out? Never mind championships, even a grand prix win has not been achieved. Although the team has come close. There is very little doubt that the Toyota way has been very successful in producing road cars. To some, the Toyota production line is among the very best in the world, if not the best. Cars are produced efficiently, cheaply and comes built in with very high quality and reliability. All the things you need to produce some of the most boring vehicles on the planet. But then Toyota knows that the average joe on the street is just looking for some boring, reliable car with huge space to stuff his shopping, the grandparents and the rugrats into. And therefore, its methodologies work there.

But could it be that the Toyota way is simply the wrong way when it comes to racing? Essentially the TPS is a design by committee methodology where everyone focuses upon his domain but with emphasis on open communication among the various groups and team members. Theoretically, why shouldn't this philosophy work? After all it had worked for Ferrari. Up until the new aero rules introduced in 2005, Formula 1 Ferraris have been constantly evolving a basic design reaching back, oh I don't know, perhaps to 1998. Some innovations were introduced here and there but it was a work of evolution rather than revolution. So why hasn't it produced magic in Toyota?

Perhaps magic is indeed the missing ingredient in the form of an excellent technical director. I hear howls of protest but bear with me a moment. The 2005 Toyota challenger was the first car under the Mike Gascoyne. It had to be all new. For with the new aero rules, a revolution was indeed the right step. I mean look at Ferrari. Whilst Luca di Montezemolo lay blame on tyres but Ross Brawn was more forthcoming. The basic design itself was wrong. It evolved the F2004 into the F2005 but the basic DNA was all wrong for survival in the new aero environment, no matter how much it was mutated. A revolutionary leap in the basic design was needed. Gascoyne produced it with Toyota, the Ferrari F2005 was basically an extinct dinosaur.

For a brief moment, the 2005 Toyota was the only match for the Renault R25 until McLaren's MP4/20 hit form. If Ferrari hadn't stolen victory at Indianapolis and if Toyota hadn't screwed up Ralf Schumacher at Spa, then for sure the team would have had their maiden win and in turn would have beaten Ferrari to third in the constructors.

So what the hell happened in 2006? Well, thats what happens when marketing idiots tamper with racing objectives. And marketing of course, is a huge thing in a road car company like Toyota. Some clever genius decided that it would be good for the team to use Bridgestone tyres for 2006, since that is the brand that is used on all Toyota road cars. The decision of course came late in the day after plans for the TF106 had already been in place and the car optimized for use with Michelin rubber. Do not underestimate the effect this had. It was enormous and no matter what Gascoyne attempted to do, it was to no avail. The car was simply unsuited to its rubber. Whatever is said of Gascoyne, I think he was made the scapegoat for the debacle.

And now the team lumbers on. Like McLaren, that other ailing Formula 1 team, the principals at Toyota believe a team approach, a design by committee arrangement is the best way and of course would fit in that holy of holies, the TPS. Now I realise, no one can do everything these days. Even 20 years ago, the thought of one superstar designer doing everything had long been banished. Gordon Murray, the man in charge of the mighty McLaren MP4/4 pointed out way back then that he never drew up the detailed blueprints of the car. At most, he sketched a few lines on a piece of paper. But I still feel a strong technical director, that is able to aggregate all the minute detailed work of others, with a clear understanding on the application of various technologies and able to provide strong design direction is still needed.

Of course, all Formula 1 teams have extremely clever people working for them. Its just that some are brighter still than the others. In the book, the Wisdom Of Crowds by James Surowiecki, the best results are apparently obtained when a group contains people of many different backgrounds, experiences and even intelligence. A group of similar minded people rarely produces the best results mainly because points of view are the same. In a group of the extremely talented then, everyone is useful from the merely smart to the Einsteins of the team.

That is the ideal situation but in small groups, it has been found that force of personality can dominate and set the direction of the group, whether it be right or wrong. The guy who talks first and most often usually drowns out everyone else, even those who may have had better answers. Situations like these have led to disasters like the NASA Columbia accident. If this is so and groups will be dominated by forceful individuals or leaders, then risky as it may be, you may just as well put the most clever person in charge of the whole group. Like a superstar designer for instance. Constant evolution is also a Ferrari philosophy but just look at the people at the helm of the technical team. Would anyone argue that Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne were key ingredients to Ferrari's unprecedented success?

Watching the documentary, I have no doubt that the Kaizen methodology at Toyota works beautifully on the production side. Once designs are approved, I wager the Toyota team can then produce a component faster, more efficiently and cheaper than any other team in the paddock. But in racing and in Formula 1 especially, speed and lap times are the ultimate priority. The design team led by a genius is key to such objectives. The Toyota Way I feel is unlikely to achieve that performance leap required by the team to be "the best ever team in Formula 1." Great at pumping out cars in volume but hey, in Formula 1 you only need two.

Toyota must break away from their current thinking. Showcasing corporate philosophies and marketing are really not the point of racing. Racing should be done for racing's sake alone with winning being the only objective. Toyota would be best served by looking at the way Renault organise. Just let the team get on with the business and stay out of their way. Thats how you win.

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Latest News From The Frontlines

Latest News From The Frontlines

  November 15, 2006    MamaeyaYT

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In the battle for the future of grand prix racing, peace seems such an overused word. Seen it too many times in the past so naturally, I'll take the latest peace declaration with a large grain of salt. Having come to terms with commercial arrangements, the GPMA have finally (or so it seems) kissed and made up with the FIA and Max Mosley. In a meeting in Munich which up until now had been kept under wraps, some significant details emerged.

Social relevance, green technologies, road car relevance were all hailed as the major objectives for the future. All very nice but significantly, the governance of the sport and decisions over the rules will be made by the FIA and the manufacturers, which indeed bypasses the teams. Of course, many teams now are owned by the manufacturers but this really puts folks like Frank Williams in a spot.

Of course they FIA and the manufacturers say they will make decisions in consultation with the teams. But then Max Mosley has rammed down things people's throats in the past in direct contradiction to clauses in the Concorde, so I doubt if teams like Williams will take it too kindly. And really, for a person who supposedly was championing the cause of the independent teams, this latest development seems like a big discrepancy. From this article in ITV-F1 :

"In future individual teams’ management will relinquish their involvement and instead be represented by the manufacturers themselves, who will discuss prospective rules with the FIA at main board level."

Though the teams may hate this but they brought it upon themselves by not uniting strongly against Bernie, Max and indeed, even the manufacturers. Though indeed many team bosses have already cashed out and made lots of money in the process. And it seems increasingly likely that Ron Dennis will be making even more money than all of them when he and Ojjeh finally sells out to Mercedes.

But there are some good points about this latest development. One of Max Mosley's plans was to see a return to the old fuel consumption formula of the eighties but with a significant twist. Consumption of fuel would be defined in terms of energy content rather than volume of a specific fuel type. Instead of limiting fuel to say 150 litres of pump petrol for the duration of a race, it would be defined as limited to say xxx Kilojoules of energy for the race. This is significant for it means that alternative fuels could be used.

Also, the engine type and configuration would be free. And this means the possibility of vastly different types of engines and of course technical innovation and most of all, variety. There would no longer be just V8s or V10s in the field. There could be a methane powered turbocharged V16 and it wouldn't matter. But of course, in focusing on energy consumption, it is the manufacturers who have the advantage. They have been researching these technologies for decades now. At the beginning, I foresee many technologies introduced will not be new ones but simply redeveloped and redeployed for racing purposes. And in the broader scheme of things, as marketing tools.

There are many factors involved with Cosworth's departure from grand prix racing but I wonder if this new future is not one of them. Though they have built alternative fuel powerplants in the shape of methanol Indy race engines, I wonder how their comparatively meager budget could cope with the full weight of different technologies from manufacturer labs, already in advanced state of development. The effort required by the likes of Cosworth to catch up would I think be too much for them.

Change can create new opportunities. There are literally dozens of small, highly innovative companies out there whose main purpose is to develop alternative powerplants. Perhaps from these companies will emerge the new Cosworths and Ilmors of the future. Personally I feel that they should simply specify a simple hydrogen internal combustion (IC) engine formula. It is far easier to adapt your road car to burn hydrogen than it is to say, methanol. In fact, BMW themselves have made significant research into this and if I'm not mistaken, some buses in Los Angeles already use hydrogen IC. Fuel cell technology is expensive so why not use a cheaper, proven technology instead? Hydrogen combustion is clean and the technology is already in use everyday by you and me. This would have been better for it meant that companies like Cosworth could still be relevant to grand prix racing.

So much for Cosworth but what of Ferrari? I mean, they are a manufacturer of road cars as well to be sure. But theirs are high performance road cars. I mean, I love Ferrari road cars (in stark contrast to the racing team) but try defining the social relevance of a Ferrari 599 GTB. Ferrari are in many ways are in the same boat as Cosworth. Though their business be highly profitable and thus affords them a larger R & D budget but how will they steal an edge over the manufacturers who, as I said, already have alternative technologies long in development. That will be interesting. And as far as governance in the sport is concerned, it will be interesting to see how they plan to get their way what with the GPMA scoring such a significant victory by being at the "board level" in future decision making.

It seems slightly sinister then that the sport will effectively become a manufacturer testing facility. What started as a championship to find the world's best driver and racing team have now been infused with new objectives of road, social and industry relevance. In the past, I have condemned this as an unnecessary corruption of what is racing's pinnacle. But I am in the minority I know. Predicting the future one way or another is often foolish, so I'll just hope that at least the (new) Establishment will form detailed regulations that bring about more spectator excitement, such as measures to improve overtaking.

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