McLaren MP4-19, not their best car ever

The pace of new McLaren MP4-24 is becoming a hot topic these days. The team either got it wrong, or they are sandbagging, or they simply do not care about the lap times and go testing according their plan. We will see in about two weeks in Melbourne …
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But if they indeed got something wrong (as James Allen suggests in his blog) it would not be the first time for them or for another top team. Here is a quick memory refreshing look back to very recent past.

In 2003 Formula One season Kimi Raikkonen finished with his McLaren 2nd in the championship, only 2 points behind Michael Schumacher. A year later after 6 races McLaren only had 5 points to their name. It took a new car – MP4-19B for their fortunes to improve in the second half of the season. The first podium came at the 10th race of the season (British GP) and during the entire 2004 season they only scored 4 podiums (one of them was win). McLaren finished distant 5th in the constructors table almost 200 points behind the champions Ferrari. Their drivers ended the season 7th (Raikkonen) and 10th (Coulthard).

Ferrari F2005

While McLaren struggled in 2004, Ferrari dominated that season winning 15 out of 18 races. But then came season 2005 and the new tyre rules. Instead of the whole season Ferrari dominated only one race in 2005 – the infamous US GP where their only racing competition were Jordan and Minardi. Also thanks to that clean sweep in United States the team still managed to finish the season in 3rd place as did Michael Schumacher but for most of the season the red cars were no match for Renault and McLaren.

Renault R27

Renault and Fernando Alonso won 2 consecutive titles in 2005 and 2006. But then came year 2007. Michelin left F1, Alonso left Renault, few mistakes were made in R27 design and all of a sudden the double champions turned from race winners to not so regular point scorers. Their only podium came in the wet Japanese GP thanks to Heikki Kovalainen’s second place. Renault’s fortunes only started to turn around in the later part of 2008 season.

Honda RA-107

The saddest recent case is the case of BAR and Honda – the second best team in 2004, the race winners in 2006. But then they decided to let a motorbike guy design their F1 car. The RA107 was a dog of a car and could not even compete with the rebadged RA106 used by Super Aguri. Only thanks to Button’s 5th place in the wet Chinese GP the Honda team leapfrogged Super Aguri in constructors championship saving the team from embarassment of being beaten by their B-team. Six points was all the Honda cars managed in 2007. The only thing that made Honda stand out that year was their Earth livery – the beginning of their disastrous concept of going alone without sponsors. The RA108 in 2008 did not turn out to be any better and we know how it all ended – with Brawn GP topping the time sheets 2 weeks before 2009 season kicks off .

Ron Dennis however clearly is not worried about McLaren and their 2009 season:

“Whatever performance level McLaren have today we will be a competitive racing team. That means we will be fighting for the world championship. The objective is to go to Australia and be the most competitive car there, not to come out of every single test at the top of the timesheets. Testing is about a disciplined approach to making the car go faster and you have to ignore the performance of the other teams. Whereas our main competitors are finishing testing in two days we still have the ability to test next week in Jerez. When we get to Australia that will be the first measurement of everyone’s performance.

We expect our car to go faster with every grand prix and we expect to maintain our pace to allow us to win the world championship.”

And he may well be right.

When the top teams got it wrong

Brawn GP logo

Three months after Honda announced their withdrawal from Formula One both Honda and Ross Brawn confirmed the takeover of the team by Ross Brawn and renaming the team to Brawn GP. The team colours appear to be black and yellow (and perhaps white), the logo is quite ugly and their webiste brawngp.com is already up and running. Here is the official press release released not long ago by Honda Motor Company and Ross Brawn:

Honda Motor Company Limited and Ross Brawn are pleased to confirm they have reached agreement to secure the future of the former Honda Racing F1 Team. With immediate effect, Honda will pass ownership to Ross Brawn, Team Principal of the new Brawn GP Formula One Team.

Brawn GP has agreed a partnership with Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines, Brixworth, UK to supply the team with its 2.4 litre Mercedes-Benz FO108W Formula One engines.

The team can confirm that its race driver line-up for the 2009 season will combine the talents of two of Formula One’s most experienced drivers in Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello. The race-winning drivers continue their partnership at the team for a fourth consecutive year, forming the most experienced driver partnership on the grid with 423 Grand Prix starts between the pair.

Brawn GP Team Principal, Ross Brawn, commented:

“The past few months have been extremely challenging for the team but today’s announcement is the very pleasing conclusion to the strenuous efforts that have been made to secure its future.

“Firstly, it is a great shame that having worked with Honda Motor Company for so long we can no longer continue together. I would like to thank Honda for the fantastic co-operation and support we have received throughout this process – particularly those members of the senior management who were closely involved with concluding our agreement – and for the faith they have demonstrated in myself and our team.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to pay due credit to our staff at Brackley. The levels of motivation and commitment that I have witnessed at the factory deserve the highest praise.

“I am delighted that Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello will form our race driver line-up for the 2009 season. The vast experience and knowledge that both drivers bring to our team will prove invaluable as we aim to get up to speed in the shortest possible time to be ready for the first race of the season in Melbourne on 29 March. In what will be their fourth season together, their experience with our team in Brackley, our systems and our engineers, will prove a real asset.

“It would be impossible to mention all of the people without whom today’s announcement may not have been possible, however I would like to express particular appreciation for the support we have received from Mercedes-Benz Motorsport, the FIA (Fédération Internationale de L’Automobile), FOM (Formula One Management), FOTA (Formula One Teams Association), BERR (the UK’s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform), Bridgestone, our other team partners and our many fans the world over. The journey ahead will be challenging but exciting and we know we can count on their continued enthusiasm for our team and its ambitions.”

Hiroshi Oshima, Managing Officer of Honda Motor Co., Ltd. responsible for Corporate Communications and Motor Sports, commented:

“Since announcing our withdrawal from Formula One racing on December 5 of last year, we have conducted various studies and discussions so that the team can continue its activities as a new team. We are very pleased that we could sell the team to Ross Brawn, with whom we have been partaking in the challenges of F1 competition, and are grateful for his decision. We offer our sincerest wishes for the new team which will be led by Ross.”

Brawn GP will now focus its efforts on the remaining pre-season tests, in Barcelona (9-12 March) and Jerez (15-17 March) prior to heading to Melbourne, Australia for the start of the 2009 Formula One season.

-end of press release-

Official – Brawn GP takes over Honda F1 – Button and Barrichello confirmed

Nick Fry

Nick Fry resurfaced today in Geneva at the FOTA press conference. And although there is still no official announcement on the future of his team he more less confirmed the team has survived (thanks to FOTA) and that the official announcement is coming soon:

“There is an announcement due shortly… that is all I can say.”

“I think it is correct to say that our team has and will benefit in the future from FOTA in two ways. The first one is clearly the cost reductions will help us enormously in our challenges the team will face in the next two or three years, but I think as important as the cost reduction is the level of support that we have received from all the teams.”

“There has been an enormous amount of activity behind the scenes, everyone on the stage here has helped us preserve our team and I think myself and Ross and our 700 employees all thank them for that. So the answer is yes (the team would have died without FOTA).”

Well, is he sure about those 700 employees full of thanks ?

Fry confirms “Honda” F1 survival, announcement coming soon

One more season for Rubens Barrichello ?

When it comes to Honda F1 it is still difficult to separate rumours from the real developments. But the news coming out in last few days seem to suggest that:

- the team will be renamed to something close the Brawn Racing
- as expected Jenson Button will drive one of the cars
- as perhaps not that expected Rubens Barrichello will drive the second

As reported in many places already the domains brawnracing.com and brawnracing.co.uk were registered last week by Caroline McGrory, the team’s legal counsel. Confirming that information is very easy, this is what a quick domain search reveals:

Registrant:
Caroline McGrory, 28 The Hall Close, Rugby, Cv22 6NP, UK

Domain name: BRAWNRACING.COM

Created on: 2009-02-25
Expires on: 2011-02-25

Administrative contact:
Easily Limited, 3rd Floor, Prospero House, 241 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1GA, UK

Technical contact:
Easily Limited, 3rd Floor, Prospero House, 241 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1GA, UK

Grandprix.com today reports that the same Caroline McGrory has been appointed Honda F1 Racing company secretary and expects the company name change in matter of days.

At the same time autosport.com claims to have learned that Rubens Barrichello has agreed a deal to race for “Honda”. The contract is set to be finalized once the management buyout is officially confirmed.

GPUpdtade seems to have their sources close to the team too. And those sources confirmed to GPUpdate that the former Honda team will later this week set off for Barcelona for the final pre-season test.

If the above becomes reality it would mean that 19 out 20 drivers who raced in Brazil last year will be on the grid in Melbourne later this month.

Brawn, Button, Barrichello and the secretary

GrandPrix.com now claims that “multiple sources” are confirming their reports that the management buyout of Honda Racing F1 has now been agreed and that Ross Brawn and Nick Fry will run the team, using Meredes Benz engines, Honda money – plus the money that comes from TV income, plus whatever sponsorship can be found. Jenson Button is said to drive one of the cars, Rubens Barrichello is said to be back in the picture if his experience outweighs the money Bruno Senna can bring. See full article here – Honda management buyout to go ahead

At almost the same time TimesOnline brought this exclusive pretty much confirming the management buyout – Exclusive: Honda saved from the Formula One scrapheap

Earlier:
Autosport claims that Honda Racing are getting ready to begin pre-season testing. There is no news on any buyers or takeover but according to autosport.com the team personnel have been instructed to get ready to go testing. Similar claims have been made by BBC.

More here – Honda preparing to test 2009 car and here Ex-Honda team closes on F1 return

Honda getting ready to test ? – Update – Managament buyout approved ?

How rosy all the things may seem after reading today’s headlines.

According to Autosport’s sources Honda’s F1 future is “looking good” (Honda meaning the F1 team). Mercedes-Benz (the engine supplier to be) will hold on as long as it can to make the deal happen. And the deal is to be management buy out involving both Ross Brawn and Nick Fry (although other people’s reliable sources predicted otherwise approximately 24 hours ago).

There are now only hours left to the expected announcement of USF1 team. Peter Windsor himself revealed some information in his interview for Speed TV yesterday (see video here) and according to Joe Savard they (Windsor and Anderson) finally achieved their investment goals two weeks ago, and have the money to do what we want to do.

And as if we haven’t had enough new F1 team news already A1 boss Tony Teixeira revealed (to autosport.com) his plans to enter F1:

“I was one of the guys talking to Honda in the last two weeks. We had done a deal on Spyker, but I let Vijay (Mallya) take it….We then went to Toro Rosso in November and all the (other) teams said ‘no customer boss’ so I had to walk away. Today I’m in a completely different situation. I’ve built my own cars and designed my own chassis. I have my own factory. So I’m not a customer boss. I can now build my chassis and run with a Ferrari engine. I’m now the same as everyone else.”

He plans to locate his team near the Algarve Circuit in Portimao and he wants the A1 winners to make the step up to F1 through his planned team.

Hm… Honda to be saved for 2009, USF1 to enter in 2010, Teixeira’s team perhaps having similar idea (he however  is only saying he can’t commit to this year’s budget). All of a sudden we are talking about possibility of having 12 F1 teams in very near future.

Well, perhaps, but let’s first see if 10 teams can enter 2009 Championship and all the teams that enter this season also finish it …

Honda looking “good”, A1 boss wants his own F1 team and USF1 to make announcement today

There has been a lot of “news” and rumours surrounding the future of the Honda team these days. That had to be expected having in mind that we are now less than 40 days away from the start of 2009 season and the team’s future is yet to be sorted out. Here is brief summary and some thoughts on the takeover by Virgin Group talk.

First the story came out that Senna will race and Petrobras with few Senna’s personal sponsors would help to fund the team. This has been a false alarm. In contrary, Petrobras confirmed they will not sponsor the new team despite planned sponsorship of Honda F1 (before Honda’s withdrawal). The company was only interested in cooperation with manufacturer and as all the manufacturers in F1 already have their fuel partners Petrobras is leaving F1 (at least for now).

Senna himself denied any deal with Honda is in place. He still hopes however he would get the chance with ex-Honda. He would however be ready to grab the opportunity should it come his way even if it meant jumping in F1 with almost zero testing mileage and racing around the wrong end of the pack.

Around the same time Bernie Ecclestone himself has been also mentioned as one of the potential saviours of Honda F1 operation. While it is difficult to imagine Ecclestone putting his own money into the team he does have some potentially helpful financial tools in hand like for example advancing the TV money (as he did in Williams case).

Both the above rumours were linked to the management buyout of the Honda F1 team, the only option that seemed to be on cards despite the alleged dozen parties interested in purchase of the team. Some people who took the team to the back of the grid probably knew they would have no future there unless they get to own the team…

Then however new rumours begun to circulate talking about a last minute high profile bidder.

That high profile party is said to be Virgin Group of Richard Branson. Virgin so far made no official comment on this. Pitpass claims to have learned that it was not Virgin bidding for Honda but Honda (or the team management) contacting Virgin.

Will Whitehorn, Virgin Group’s Brand Development and Corporate Affairs Director:

“I don’t think Sir Richard would be interested in all honesty as he has only been to a handful of F1 GPs and Virgin have never been a sponsor in that field. I don’t think much apart from the fact that I believe Virgin Group was approached by Honda recently. I doubt the appetite will be that enormous given that Virgin recently took over sponsorship of the London marathon.”

According to today’s story from BBC it does look like Virgin Group is indeed one of the parties talking with Honda. Honda spokesman:

“We are negotiating with several buyers and one of these parties is the Virgin Group.”

It is rather carefully crafted statement that does not really say much. Yes, it may mean that Virgin Group is interested in taking over Honda F1 team. But it may also mean that Honda contacted Virgin Group with “Would you be interested ?” question and is still waiting for some reply… The only cause for optimism here is that unlike Petrobras, no one from Virgin came out so far to rule out any chance of them getting involved in F1.

Of course it did not take long for further rumours surrounding the alleged Virgin bid to appear. Some are already connecting Takuma Sato with the race drive as he is sponsored by Virgin Atlantic Japan. There are also speculations about current top management being replaced by team lead by Adrian Reynard who’s company designed the first BAR car and who still owns the land Honda’s Brackley facility uses. These however may also be just rumours created only because both Sato and Reynard have links with Virgin and Branson…

And one final note – It is interesting that while Nick Fry has been the face behind the management buyout bid we haven’t heard anything from Ross Brawn for quite a while. As Pitpass mentioned few days back Ross Brawn has been silent since his claims the Ferrari engine supply (already ruled out by Ferrari) is very much a done deal…

Update February 19, 2009:

Fresh words from Honda – spokesman Hiroyuki Murase to The Associated Press:

“It’s true that we are pursuing several potential buyers. But the team may still have to be disbanded if the negotiations fail.”

Words from Bernie Ecclestone on the management buyout and the possible Virgin arrival in F1:

“I know about the management buyout. But if Virgin are interested and people say they want the same management, then that’s great too.”

“We would welcome them with open arms. He’s exactly the type of person we would want in the sport. Sir Richard Branson is a wonderful guy. I met him at Monza last year and we got on very well.”

In the meantime the word is that Mercedes wants to see the money for the season long engine supply and the deadline is said to be this coming Monday.

The Honda rumours summary post – Updated

Bruno Senna - On his way to F1 after all ?

Grandprix.com reported yesterday that the announcement that the team formerly known as Honda will be going ahead may be made soon. The yet to be named ex-Honda team is expected to be powered by Mercedes engines and Bruno Senna should come on board as Button’s team mate. The main backing is to come from former Williams’ partners Petrobras and Honda itself (for 2009 season only probably). Petrobas’ switch from Williams to Honda has been rumoured long before Honda announced their withdrawal from F1. The Petrobras connections was probably also a reason behind Honda testing Brazilian drivers Bruno Senna and Lucas di Grassi last November. According to grandprix.com additional finances are expected from one or two Senna’s personal sponsors (quick look at Bruno Senna’s personal website reveals names such as Embratel, Santander, Carglass, Hublot, Hilton Racing, Cavalera Jeans). We still have to wait and sea how relaible will grandprix.com’s sources prove to be this time. (Update: Other reports suggest that the financing has been secured but so far only for first four races of the season – see this article at The Guardian)

USF1 - Looks like they mean business

Only about a week ago rumours broke out about new F1 team being formed in the United States with intention to enter F1 from 2010 season. I was not the only one having serious doubts about that story. But less than 10 days on it does look like the people behind this team mean business. Here is what Peter Windsor had to say to Speed TV:

“Ken Anderson and I have been looking at the possibility of designing and building an F1 car in the USA for the past four years” said the former Williams and Ferrari team manager. “So I guess the real surprise is that we were able to keep it quiet for so long. The news broke this week but the real announcement is going to be live on SPEED, potentially on Feb 24.”

“Since the leak, the response has been overwhelming – and we’re speaking of millions of fans here, plus people in the industry and the media. Of course there will be the usual cynics but right now it feels as though we’ve got maybe ten people against us and 10 million for us.”

“Of course it’s not easy raising money in the recession. Having said that, the recession is all about adapting to changing times and re-setting the boundaries. That is what we are going to with USF1 – and that is what the FIA are doing with the F1 rules. We know that we’re primarily in the entertainment business and so every aspect of USF1 will reflect that.”

Thanks to Sidepodcast tweet I found and read Dieter Rencken’s article at autosport.com that makes lots of sense of the USF1 project. I do recommend reading the whole story, the access to the article however requires subscription. Here is summary of some interesting points Rencken made:

- While Charlotte offeres all the technical facilities (incluidng the Wind Shear wind tunnel) required to build an F1 car the university in Clemson (an hour’s drive from Charlotte) is first-class and offers all the necessary facilities required to undertake aerodynamic and vehicle dynamic calculations. The Wind Shear is believed to be the best wind tunnel in the world.

- The F1 calendar these days comprises of three parts – four Asian flyaways, nine races in Europe, a final four flyaways. This makes the logistics for USF1 simple – design and build in the USA, move to Europe for testing, four flyaways in a row, back to Europe, final block of four flyaways, end of season. Not that much difference compared to European based teams

- The US is likely the most important market for BMW, Mercedes, Toyota and Ferrari. With no USGP currently on calendar association with USF1 team may be what the F1 remaining car manufacturers may actually fight for. Chances of USF1 team eventually getting engines and some technical support for free are not small.

- And then there are Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson

The official USF1 team announcement (as mentioned in the interview for Speed TV) is expected on February 24.

Update: Daniel from F1Bloggen spotted that there is a countdown to the launch running now at USF1 website.

More on 10th and 11th F1 teams – Updated

Bernie has spoken again

We haven’t heard too much from Mr. Ecclestone since his FOTA and FIA shelved his medals idea. But he is back. Last week he told us what teams he would not want loose, later last week he confirmed he advanced payment of £14.5 million to Williams to help to balance their books. Now he came with an alternative to cost cuts –  letting the manufacturers spend whatever they want. At a price of course, long term commitment to F1 that could prevent the 2008 Honda scenario:

“I always said we should give all those fancy engineers gold-plated consoles and send them off somewhere to play. That’s all they do anyway and it would be far cheaper. We could get the real job done. If the manufacturers are prepared to make a long-term commitment, say seven to 10 years, we should let them spend what they want to spend, providing they supply engines and gearboxes at an affordable price. Whether they will commit to that I don’t know. Getting them to agree on anything has always been the problem. But if they did it would prevent the kind of thing we have seen with Honda because we could sue the arse off them if they left. They wouldn’t like that.”

I see the logic behind this idea but I am not sure if at this time spending sky high amounts is what the manufacturers are after (although I am sure the engineers would not mind) …

But while suggesting an option for manufacturers to spend freely he does not seem be to be convinced that spending the big bucks on KERS development was such a good idea:

“I have always been against KERS. Whatever they use in F1 they won’t use in a road car, but if that is to be the idea then why not develop it in touring cars. It costs a lot of money when we are trying to save it.“

Has he ever mentioned this to Max Mosley ?

He also made 2 statements on the 2009 grid following the departure of Honda. To Daily Telegraph he said:

“We are not pessimistic in the slightest. Nine teams won’t make any difference. It is about drivers, not teams. Young [Sebastien] Vettel is fantastic. I think he is super talented and ballsy. It would be interesting if we could see him in the same car as Lewis Hamilton. Just as it would have been to see Senna and Schumacher in the same car.”

Then to DPA he clarified how the 9 teams grid might work:

“If the manufacturers supply engines to other people, they can run three cars themselves. It is better to have 20 cars on the grid, whether they are in the hands of manufacturers or in private hands, that doesn’t make any difference.”

I am wondering what would happen to the drivers’ market if all of a sudden an extra Formula One race drive with Ferrari and McLaren became available for 2009 …

Photo: Renault/LAT

Bernie on free spending F1, KERS and third cars

The glory days - Williams dominated F1 in 1996

Only 2 days ago I posted the article “What current F1 teams I would and what teams I would not miss ?” I listed three current teams that I believe F1 can’t afford to loose. Yesterday the news broke out that one of those three – Williams – was close to giving up.

Not that long ago (2002-2003) Williams were still one of the top teams fighting for race wins and top championship places. But following the split with their engine partner BMW during 2005 season there were not too many reasons to celebrate for the Grove based team. Williams moved from the top 3 towards midfield (and lower midfield) with regular points and an odd podium here and there being the most they could hope for.

Where did all the 2008 sponsors go ?

It did look rather well for them ahead of 2008 season though. The car seemed to be quite competitive during winter season, the space on the car was decently filled up with sponsor logos. Unfortunately some of them left (Lenovo, Petrobras), others got caught up in collapse of Iceland’s economy (Baugur group – All Saints, Mydiamonds, Hamleys…) and we all could read about the troubles of RBS. Add to this mix the fact that the team has been loosing money for at least 3 years in the row (details further below) and the recipe for disaster is almost complete. Adam Parr, the team’s CEO, to FT.com:

“I think it would be fair to say we have reached a point where further borrowing is not acceptable to the board of this company.”

Following the departure from F1 of Honda many predicted that Williams (without manufacturer or a billionaire backing) is the team in the biggest danger. Reading all that came out yesterday only confirms those predictions. But as it worked out, the demise of Honda and the cost cutting action that followed proved to be blessings for Williams, at least for now. Sir Frank Williams:

“[Given] the financial pressure we are under, the consequent changes to the rules to reduce the cost of racing are a major benefit.”

It also emerged that Bernie Ecclestone advanced payment of £14.5 million to Williams – the money the team would eventually receive after signing the new Concorde Agreement.

“It’s a prepayment. They are entitled to some back-payments only due for payment when they sign the Concorde. We said to them we will pay you now.”

Hearing about Ecclestone forking out millions in advance and ahead of contracts being signed suggests that the situation at Williams was serious. It looks like Ecclestone really meant it when he said this few days ago:

It’s bad for me to say this, but the only team we would really say we would miss is Ferrari. I wouldn’t want to lose McLaren for sure. I wouldn’t want to lose Williams.

It is funny to think that while Williams races with Toyota engines it may be thanks to Honda (end their exit) that the team is still around …

According to Financial Times Williams team cost about £100m last season, three times as much as 10 years ago, made a £21.4m loss in 2007, on top of a £27.7m loss the previous year, and its net debt for 2007 tripled to £24.7m. Sir Frank Williams:

We need to make a profit. To be successful and to be certain of staying in business, we need to be successful financially too. So, we need to make a profit every year. We’ve lost in the last two years, or three, I think, but we have the reserves and resource to manage that.

At the moment according to Adam Parr, more than 60% of Williams’ sponsorship target was committed for 2009 and RBS (for what it is worth) was tied to two more years of a three-year sponsorship deal. They clearly still have some job to do …

Photos: Williams/LAT

So, F1 almost lost Williams team …