Kazuki Nakajima, Williams

We entered the last month of 2008 Formula 1 season and after a short period of silence the drivers market there seems to be a lot happening on drivers market.

Williams team confirmed yesterday their 2009 drivers line up will remain the same as this year - Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima. Rosberg’s drive has been confirmed for a while already, Nakajima being the Toyota boy doing a decent rookie job was expected to continue. No real surprises here.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Felipe Massa, 2008 Belgian GP

So, we finally had a race that went to the wire. It actually went even further and the final result was amended about 2 hours after the race with 25 second penalties to Timo Glock (overtaking Webber under yellow flags) and the controversial one to Lewis Hamilton for cutting the chicane. The debate on that Hamilton’s penalty has already begun below another article. I wil focus this review more on the race action itself and later today post my take on the whole controversy.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Nick Heidfeld

Back in July I posted my prediction for the 2009 drivers line up. At that time I did not predict too many changes. Since then there was no announcement that would contradict my prediction. There were few that confirmed it - McLaren will keep both their drivers, Ferrari semiofficially stated that both Massa and Raikkonen will race for them next year, “sources” also say that BMW Sauber took up their option on Kubica and will keep him for another year.

There however have been some summer developments and several drivers may be in danger of loosing their current Formula 1 seats.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Sebastien Bourdais

The Red Bull marketing stunts continue. After the Red Bull run in Pamplona and ride around the Balaton Lake they brought last weekend the only current French F1 driver Sebastien Bourdais with his Toro Rosso F1 car to the streets of Paris. Here is the video:

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Takuma Sato

When I first heard about the possible Sato - Toro Rosso connection I found it to be quite good joke. There is a lot of competition for the vacancy created by Vettel’s move to Red Bull. Well, of course. Many drivers want to get to F1 and Toro Rosso’s is so far the only confirmed vacancy for 2009 F1 season. Now it however looks that Toro Rosso guys are seriously considering Sato for 2009 season and the more I think about that connection the more sense it makes. Here is why I think why:

Business

Japan is a big market (also for the nergy drinks) and one of the few developed ones where Red Bull is yet to make it big. There are several reasons for that but at the end, it is all about marketing. Takuma Sato is still very popular back home (nothing against Nakajima, but it will take him a while to achieve Sato’s status). The combination of Japanese F1 hero with Red Bull brand may be something what Mr. Mateschitz may be willing to try.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

The only confirmed 2009 F1 vacancy is at the moment at Toro Rosso. Sebastian Vettel signed with Red Bull from next year and his current seat is up for grabs. With Sebastien Bourdais struggling and having no contract for next season, the contest is pretty much on for both seats in the former Minardi team. That makes Toro Rosso the most likely route to F1 for the lucky one or lucky pair of Formula 1 newcomers. Therefore it comes as no surprise that a string of young drivers has already been linked with the Faenza based team.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Nick Heidfeld missed out on Q2 on a track where he will have tough time overtaking any of the midfield cars ahead of him. Sebastien Bourdais was demoted 5 places for impeding Heidfeld in at towards the end of Q1 and will start the race from P19. Unless a sudden storm hits the track or safety car comes out in a right time these 2 guys’ Hungarian GP has been ruined already …

After watching the replay of the qualifying session later on in the evening I still did not feel Bourdais really deserved the penalty. I think the violent fist waiving from these days not-so-quick Nick made the incident look much worse than it actually was. But that is not the point. My point is, should the race stewards make decisions in these kind of situations right away ?

Heidfeld finished 16th in Q1. If Bourdais’ demotion came before Q2 has started, Heidfeld could take part in it. It happened to BMW Sauber (even Kubica) already this season that their Q1 was horrible but at the end qualified rather high up on the grid. By making their decision an hour or so after qualifying the stewards basicaly spoiled the race for both drivers. Heidfeld won’t be able to do much from P15 (unless he does Button 2006). And Bourdais from P19 … not exactly what a guy in his situation needs …

The only winner here is Jenson Button who finished at P15 in Q1 and later after great run claimed P12 in after Q2.

Photo: Red Bull / GEPA

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

With nine races gone it is perhaps good time to look at the surprises and disapointments of the first half of the 2008 Formula 1 season. Here are my picks:

Surprises

Kazuki Nakajima - It is probably fair to say that without Williams’ engine deal with Toyota it would be unlikely for Nakajima to get a race drive alongside Nico Rosberg for 2008 season. Before the start of this season Kazuki Nakajima had only one Grand Prix under his belt. Although he did not do too bad in Brazil last year most F1 fans will remember his race debut for running over his pit crew. The expectations were not too high and few people have expected Kazuki Nakajima to match the pace of his highly rated team mate Nico Rosberg. Well, if we still can consider Nakajima a rookie after racing one race last year, I would rate him as a rookie of the year, I may not be the only one. Although he has been outqualified 7 to 2 by Rosberg and is yet to make it to the podium, he scored points in four races (Rosberg only in 3) and his total after nine races is 8 points, same as his team mate. But it is not only about the points. He seems to be maturing too (if that can be said after only his 10th F1 race) as his drive in the tricky wet Silverstone may suggest.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

After Part 1 it is time for part 2 - Sebastien Bourdais and Jarno Trulli

Rookie no 2 - Sebastien Bourdais

Bourdais may be a F1 rookie but he ain’t no rookie driver. The F3000 title (2002), 4 consecutive Champ Car titles (2004 - 2007) is probably the best he could achieve in open wheel racing outside Formula 1. Few people can understand why it took so long for someone in F1 to bring him in…He himself was quite confident before the season about his racing abilities but expressed worries about qualifying form. The first couple of races pretty much confirmed that. He was outqualified by Vettel in Melbourne and in Malaysia. In Melbourne however his smooth drive, keeping out of trouble and great thinking (his and his pitwall crew) during the final safety car period elevated him as high up as 4th. Only a late engine failure meant DNF, but still 2 points for 7th place. Bahrain saw him for the first time to outqualify his team mate Sebastain Vettel. The new Toro Rosso car is due to arrive in Turkey and if it is as quick as the current Red Bull we may see some more points next to Bourdais’ name before the season comes to a close. Bourdais seems to be the quiet achiever next to a highly rated team mate … I did not know what to expect from Bourdais this season but I must say he has been quite impressive so far …

Veteran no 2 - Jarno Trulli

Jarno Trulli is one of the few drivers with no contract for 2009. His performances this season may well determine whether we will see him on the grid next year or not.

Read the rest of this entry »

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here

Toro Rosso fields one of the least experienced driver line ups of 2008 season - Sebastian Vettel with just 8 races to his name, and Formula 1 rookie, Sebastien Bourdais.

Sebastian Vettel - Germany
Born: 3 July 1987
In F1 since 2007 BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso (he tested for Williams in 2005 and BMW Sauber in 2006)
Best Result: 14th in 2007
Career wins: 0
Pole positions: 0
Podium finishes: 0
Point finishes: 2
Best result: 4th place, Chinese GP 2007

Sebastian Vettel debut F1 race was 2007 US GP, where he replaced Robert Kubica (following his Montreal crash). He drove solid but not exactly spectacular race. But he brought the car home in 7th place, scoring 2 points in first Formula 1 race. It was more difficult after he took over from Scott Speed at Toro Rosso. The STR02 was no BMW and further points did not look very likely. Then the wet races came. In Japan Vettel even lead the race for 3 laps and looked set for an amazing podium finish. A lapse in concentration behind the safety car ruined his and Webber’s race and all that was left were tears. But another wet weekend followed in China. Vettel ran pretty much perfect race and scored sensational 4th place for the Toro Rosso team. His half season of racing experience may come handy early on in 2008, especially when the team will start the season with the old (updated) car. The STR02 looked rather competitive during the winter tests and I would not bet against Vettel finishing in the points here and there.

Sebastien Bourdais - France
Born: 28 February 1979
F1 rookie (tested with Arrows in 2002 and Renault in 2003)
2002 F3000 Champion
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Champ Car Champion

It will be interesting to see how will Sebastien Bourdais handle his switch to Formula 1. It took some time, but finally, after winning the Champ Car series in the U.S. four times in a row, he got his Formula 1 break. It will not be easy for him though. He himself expects early season difficulties in qualifying and starting low in F1 seldom results in point finishes. He will have to get used to mid to back of the field battles, quite a different story from his Champ Car dominance. Most of the recent arrivals from North American racing struggled in F1 and that is what I expect from Bourdais too … I do however wish him well and I hope that I am just too pesimistic in his case.

F1Wolf’s prediction for Toro Rosso drivers in 2008:
Sebastian Vettel will emerge as Toro Rosso number 1 driver early on in the season and will score the teams first points of 2008 season. Bourdais will have tough time.

2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Ferrari
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - McLaren
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - BMW Sauber
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Renault
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Williams
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Red Bull
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Toyota
2008 F1 Season - Team Mates - Honda

F1Wolf

labels: plugin code here