03/28/2012
Alonso sets the standard
Fernando Alonso's face as he stood on the top step of the podium said it all - a mixture of extreme satisfaction, delight and disbelief.
"Incredible, incredible," he said in Spanish in his television interviews immediately afterwards, and that seemed as good a summing up as any of one of the most remarkable and thrilling grands prix for some time.
Alonso's victory was the 28th of his career and it moved him ahead of Sir Jackie Stewart in the all-time list of winners - he is now behind only Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Nigel Mansell, whose 31 wins are his next target.
The Ferrari team leader's presence in such celebrated company is a reminder, as if one was needed, of what a great grand prix driver Alonso is and it was appropriate that his drive on Sunday was one that befitted such a landmark.
Alonso moved up to fifth on the all-time victories list with his win in Malaysia. Photo: Getty
Arguably not the greatest qualifier, Alonso has produced some stunning races in his career, and the one in Malaysia on Sunday ranks up there with the very best.
The Ferrari in its current form has no business whatsoever being able to win a race. In normal, dry conditions, it is way off the pace of the McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes and Lotus, and almost certainly slower also than the Williams and the Sauber.
And yet there was Alonso, up in fifth place from eighth on the grid by the end of lap one, challenging world champion Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull, which he moved ahead of thanks to stopping one lap earlier for wet tyres in the downpour that led to the race being stopped on lap six.
What won him the race, though, were the laps after the re-start.
He emerged in the lead on lap 16, helped by McLaren having to hold Lewis Hamilton in the pits as Felipe Massa came past.
After everyone had stopped for intermediate tyres, Alonso was 2.4 seconds ahead of Sauber's Sergio Perez - of whose stunning performance more later - and 6.2secs ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren.
At that point, most would have expected Hamilton - one of the greatest wet-weather drivers in history - to close in on the two cars ahead of him. Instead, Alonso pulled away from Perez, who himself pulled away from Hamilton.
This was, as BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard said, "Alonso at his brilliant best", as he built an eight-second lead over Perez in 12 laps.
Alonso is such a benchmark, so peerless, so utterly relentless and unforgiving when he senses a sniff of a win, that it seemed impossible at that stage that he would not win the race.
But then Perez began to come back at him - showing the differing characteristics of the two cars that have been apparent since the start of pre-season testing. The Ferrari is hard on its tyres and the Sauber is the opposite.
Closer and closer Perez got, first by fractions, then by full seconds until by lap 40 he appeared to have Alonso at his mercy.
Stopping a lap earlier than Perez for 'slick' dry-weather tyres put his lead back up to seven seconds, but on these the Sauber was even more superior.
Perez was within a second of Alonso by lap 48 - with eight to go - and what would have been a fully deserved victory by a man who from the beginning of his career last year has looked destined for great things seemed inevitable.
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F1 being what it is, a lot may well be made of the radio call that Perez received at about this point. "Checo, be careful, we need this position," he was told by his team, who use Ferrari engines. Was this simply a team that is known to be struggling for finance sensibly warning an excited young driver to make sure he didn't bin it when a valuable podium place was up for grabs? Or was it, as some will surmise, team orders in disguise, an order not to try to deprive the company on whose largesse they have depended in many more seasons than this one of a much-needed win? If it was a team order, Perez didn't seem to pay any attention - he continued to push hard until he made that fateful error. And team principal Monisha Kaltenborn dismissed any thoughts of a conspiracy.
"What we meant was get the car home," she said. "It was important to us to get the result - there was nothing else to it. There was no instruction."
Either of them would have been a deserving winner after two superlative drives - and there were other noteworthy performances down the field, too.
Bruno Senna showed something of his famous uncle's wet-weather skills with his climb up from last place at the restart to finish an impressive sixth.
And Toro Rosso's Jean-Eric Vergne, who narrowly missed out on a point on his debut last weekend in Australia, delivered in spades with a sure-footed drive in the treacherous conditions at Sepang.
The Frenchman was the only driver to stick with intermediate tyres in the early downpour, and he continued to perform impressively on his way to eighth place, just behind last year's rookie of the year Paul di Resta, who also looked good.
Senna, Vergne and most of all Perez clearly have bright futures ahead of them.
But ahead of them all was the man whose consistent excellence over a 10-year career not only they but everyone else in F1 has to aspire to.
"Great race for Alonso, top job, and also Perez," Jenson Button said on Sunday evening in Malaysia. You can say that again.
John Barber Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels
03/27/2012
02/27/2012
Bernie Ecclestone - No plans to put the brakes on
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The way I feel at the moment, why stop? I do it because I enjoy it. And yesterday is gone. I don't care what happened yesterday. What else would I do? People retire to die. I don't get any individual pleasure because we don't win races or titles in this job. I'm like most business people. You look back at the end of the year and you see what you've achieved by working out how much money the company has made. That's it.
Gerry Ashmore Bill Aston Richard Attwood Manny Ayulo Luca Badoer
Protests raise fresh concerns over Bahrain GP
Fresh doubts have emerged about the viability of this year's Bahrain Grand Prix after a human rights group in the Gulf kingdom called on the Formula 1 teams to boycott the race in the wake of continuing civil unrest.
It is the first public intervention by an interested party on the subject of the wisdom of holding the race since F1's governing body the FIA confirmed Bahrain's place on the 2012 calendar last month.
Bahrain's inclusion on the official schedule raised eyebrows. That's because unrest continues there, despite pledges by the ruling royal family to increase human rights and democratic representation in an attempt to move on from the disturbances that led to the cancellation of last year's race.
The call for a boycott - by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) - became public two days after police were accused of beating a leading opposition activist on the back, neck and head at a rally on Friday.
Bahrain's Sakir International Circuit has not had a Grand Prix since 2010. Photo: Getty
That man was the vice-president of the BCHR, Nabeel Rajab, who also happens to be the man who gave the interview calling for the boycott of the race.
Rajab told a leading Arab business magazine: "We will campaign for... drivers and teams to boycott. The government wants Formula 1 to tell the outside world that everything is back to normal.
"Formula 1, if they come, they are helping the government to say [it is normal]. We would prefer it if they didn't take part. I am sure the drivers and teams respect human rights."
F1, then, appears headed for another long-running saga over whether the Bahrain race can go ahead this year - just as in 2011, when it was four months between the outbreak of civil unrest and the race finally being cancelled.
During that time, it became clear that F1 commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone was keen for the event to take place, despite the concerns of many both inside and outside the sport that holding a race would send the wrong message.
Those concerns remain alive today.
Ecclestone was unavailable for comment, but I understand he and the FIA are still determined to hold this year's race.
At the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix six weeks ago, he told BBC Sport: "It's on the calendar. We'll be there. Unless something terrible happens to stop us."
Asked if he had any concerns about the race becoming a magnet for problems in the kingdom, he said: "No, I don't see that."
On Monday, the race organisers insisted the race should go ahead, pointing out that the government had already started down the path to reform and insisting that the race was "supported by an overwhelming majority of people from all sections of society in Bahrain and represents a symbol of national unity".
But within F1 teams, there are murmurings of unease. No-one will publicly comment on the situation, let alone call for the race to be boycotted, but some insiders do believe there is a strong chance the race will be called off.
For the teams and other stakeholders in F1, such as sponsors and suppliers, it is not so much a question of the lack of human rights in Bahrain per se. After all, it is far from the only grand prix venue where there are concerns on that subject; indeed, very few countries have blemish-free records.
Nor, assuming the situation in Bahrain does not escalate, does it seem there is a serious concern that the safety of personnel who would attend the race would be threatened.
Of greater relevance is the effect going there could have on the organisations involved.
The big problem with Bahrain is that the race is so closely tied to the royal family - particularly the crown prince, the King's son. So it will inevitably become a target for protests - as has now happened with Bahrain Human Rights Watch linking the two things directly.
Last year, the opposition declared a "day of rage" for the date of the race, and some in F1 say they expect a similar thing to happen imminently for race day this year - 22 April.
Once human rights groups have linked the race to the problems in the country, it becomes very uncomfortable for the major global companies in F1 to be associated with it. For them, it would directly contradict with their global social responsibility programmes, which have become so important to many international companies.
This is one of the main reasons the situation came to a head last year. While the teams were careful to say nothing along these lines publicly, several of them let it be known privately to Ecclestone and the FIA that either they or their sponsors were not happy about attending the race.
Among those with the biggest concerns were Mercedes - which runs its own team as well as supplying engines to McLaren and Force India - and F1's only tyre supplier, Pirelli. Neither was available for comment on Monday.
I'm told, though, that these two, among others, remain concerned about holding a race in 2012. If Mercedes were to decide not to go, that would mean a grid shorn of six of its 24 cars. If Pirelli followed suit, no-one could race.
It is unlikely to come to that, of course.
One insider said that, of those with the power to do so, no-one wants to call the race off, as whoever does will be out of pocket.
If Ecclestone or the FIA jump first, the Bahrainis don't have to pay their race fee, whereas if the Bahrainis themselves decide to call the race off, F1 gets to keep the cash. And when it is a reputed £25m you're talking about, that's a serious consideration, whoever you are.
Last year, it was Bahrain who ultimately made the call - after it became clear that there was a serious threat of a boycott if they did not.
Will it get that far this time? No-one knows, but Ecclestone is unlikely to be in any hurry to move the situation along.
What would you do if trouble did flare up in February or March, I asked him in Brazil.
"I'd wait and see what happened and then decide," he replied. "Up to now they [the Bahrain royal family] have done everything they said they were going to do."
The next two months are likely to be a game of brinksmanship over who blinks first, with quiet diplomacy taking place behind the scenes. Whatever solution is found is unlikely to be a quick one.
Marcel Balsa Lorenzo Bandini Henry Banks Fabrizio Barbazza John Barber
02/26/2012
Formula One gets ready for another enthralling season
Formula 1 2012 effectively starts now. The first race is not until 18 March, but by the end of this week the world will have seen two of the cars expected to be competing at the front - and one of them will have had its first run on the track.
The McLaren breaks cover first, with a launch at the team’s base in Woking, Surrey, before Ferrari reveal their new challenger in Maranello on Friday.
Ferrari plan, weather permitting, to run the car briefly at their Fiorano test track on Saturday ahead of the start of pre-season testing in Jerez, Spain, on 7 February.
On Sunday, the new Lotus (formerly Renault) will be unveiled on the internet – and F1 designers and engineers across Europe will be losing sleep about what they will see when the new Red Bull breaks cover in the same fashion on Monday.
Ferrari Formula One team and drivers including Fernando Alonso (right) of Spain and Felipe Massa of Brazil (left) take part in a winter training session in Lanzarote, Spain. Photo: Getty
These new cars will be pored over for hints of the key themes of the new season – and it will not just be to do with the cars.
At McLaren on Wednesday, the issue of Lewis Hamilton’s mindset will inevitably be raised after his wildly up-and-down season last year – indeed team principal Martin Whitmarsh has already delivered a robust, if familiar-sounding, defence of his driver in an interview last week.
Hamilton has kept a low profile over the winter, training in the US, and whether he can find the mental equilibrium to consistently access his very best form is already one of the talking points of 2012.
At Red Bull, Mark Webber says he has “had a good winter, recharging my batteries, and now I can’t wait to get going again”.
But can the Australian rediscover the form he showed in his title bid in 2010 and challenge team-mate and world champion Sebastian Vettel more strongly than he did last year?
Just as importantly, will Webber stay on at the team for 2013, or will he make way for either Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, the Red Bull juniors going head-to-head at Toro Rosso, to prove they deserve a chance in the senior team?
Over at Mercedes, the pressure is on to start winning after two lacklustre seasons, while another question is whether Michael Schumacher will decide he wants to stay on beyond the end of his contract into 2013 - and will the team want him to?
Schumacher is so clearly a shadow of his former greatness and has only just begun to get on terms with team-mate Nico Rosberg, and even then only in races.
Already ex-F1 driver Gerhard Berger has said he cannot see his former rival continuing.
"I do not think he will extend his contract,” the Austrian told Auto Motor und Sport.
“He will be tired. I have to admit he drove better in 2011 than in 2010, especially in the second half of the season, and I can imagine he can improve even on that but still he has no chance against Rosberg.
“Schumacher will have to admit that, with an age over 40, it’s impossible to beat a young driver on the level of Rosberg.”
Ferrari, too, find themselves with serious questions hanging over the future of one driver – Felipe Massa – and a need to raise their game after a single win in 2011.
A lot hangs on the new car – and the early evidence is they have lived up to their promise to push the boat out in terms of aggressive design.
The veteran Italian technical journalist Giorgio Piola has produced one of his famous drawings based on leaked details of the new Ferrari.
Italian journalist Giorgio Piola has attempted to draw an image of Ferrari's 2012 Formula One car. Photo: Getty
“If the pictures are accurate,” BBC F1’s technical analyst Gary Anderson says, “Ferrari seem to have gone a different route by shortening the sidepods and having the crash structure (beside the driver) separate and in front of the sidepod.
“They’re trying to remove the blockage the sidepods create to the airflow coming off the front of the car.
“It’s a total concept thing – in that it is integral to the whole car design. So if it works, they’ve got one up on everyone else.”
It’s clear already, in fact, that the look of the new cars will attract even more attention than usual – and that’s because, as Anderson puts it, “the first thing that will stand out will be the ugly noses”.
These are the result of new rules that dictate lower noses to improve safety, but keep the height of the front bulkhead – the front of the chassis – the same.
A glimpse of these has already been seen on the new Caterham (formerly Lotus) – which features a kind of platypus look, with a long rectangular nose, ahead of an ugly lump on the chassis around the area of the front suspension.
The other major talking point will be how teams deal with the banning of last year’s must-have technology, exhaust-blown diffusers, where downforce was increased by blowing the exhausts along the rear floor of the car even when the driver was not pressing the accelerator.
Governing body the FIA has attempted to end this by stipulating that the exhausts must exit on top of the rear bodywork, well in front of the rear wheels, as well as heavily restricting ‘exotic’ engine maps.
But already there is talk of teams directing exhausts at the rear wing – either upper or lower – to try to increase downforce there.
“The exhaust acts like a compressor,” says Anderson. “It moves the air quite effectively, increasing the air speed, and that gives more downforce. The return will be small, but that’s always the case because the regs are so tight.”
This being F1, there is plenty to talk about – and that’s without touching on the politics, which will be intense as teams, the FIA and commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone negotiate a new Concorde Agreement, the contract that ties them all to F1 and which expires this year.
As ever there is a lot going on – and, as always, you can bet something else will emerge to surprise everyone, too.
Walt Ader Kurt Adolff Fred Agabashian Kurt Ahrens Jr Christijan Albers
Video: What makes the BMW X5M better than the M3?
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If anyone was given the opportunity to choose between the BMW M3 and the BMW X5M, many would probably choose the M3. That is, of course, unless they had a bunch of kiddos and groceries to haul around. For those that don’t, or have a second car for that, the M3 is enough to thrill with its sportiness and agility, and the fact that it looks great.
With those features going for the M3, the X5M would seem to have very little going for it, but BMW is out to prove that’s not the case. They grabbed up both vehicles and planted them in Laguna Seca for a little one on one action. With its all wheel drive system and 555 HP Twin Turbo V8 engine delivering exceptional performance on the road or the track, the X5M may have a few tricks up its automotive sleeve to outdo the M3.
Take a look at the video to see for yourself. You may change your answer if ever given the choice between the two.
Video: What makes the BMW X5M better than the M3? originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 26 February 2012 12:00 EST.
Mauro Baldi Bobby Ball Marcel Balsa Lorenzo Bandini Henry Banks
