BlogF1

One of BlogF1’s readers has asked, “…why a pitstop under the safety car is considered free?”

This might get a bit convoluted as I have a habit of going off on tangents, so I apologise in advance…

…When an accident occurs on the circuit during a race, and the Race Director - Charlie Whiting - considers that waved yellow flags will not be enough to ensure safety of marshalls who will have to venture onto the track, he may order the safety car (SC) to be released. The purpose of the safety car is to slow the F1 cars down and to keep them all together. Imagine trying to cross a busy road. Just when you think there is a big enough gap to safely cross, another car comes along that hinders you. Now imagine that car travelling at 200mph! If all the cars are grouped together behind the safety car, there will be at least a couple of minutes each lap for marshalls to move around the track without too much fear of a stray car heading their way.
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Honda have ben extensively testing their new car over the Winter, and if the lap times are anything to go by, the Japanese squad look like they are potential race winners. Whilst Renault have continued their form, and McLaren and Ferrari have made progress, it is the newly bought (and renamed) BAR team that look like the biggest gainers since last year.
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Scuderia Toro Rosso - Italian for ‘Team Red Bull‘ - have paid homage to their original guise as Minardi by naming themselves in the language of their predecessors, Italian. The ‘other’ Italian team had managed to keep themselves going for 20 years, but eventually decided late last season that enough was enough and gave in to the dollars offered by the energy drinks company. Since then, the team has been rebranded, renamed and remotivated to help its older brother, Red Bull Racing.
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What can I say about Super Aguri?

They were the latest of the late in terms of entry to Formula One, only getting in because the other 10 existing teams allowed it. SAF1 put their entry in on time, but failed to mail the $48m cheque (I suspect the mail-boy got fired!). Thus, their entry was void and ignored by the FIA. However, despite all the problems faced by the former Formula One driver and now team owner, they have made it and should be qualifying on Saturday 11th March.
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The 2006 Formula One season is almost upon us, and it seems like only yesterday that I was shouting at the TV in utter joy as Fernando Alonso finally clinched the title to become the youngest ever F1 World Champion. Since then though, vacations have been taken, awards have been handed out and thousands of kilometres have been racked up in winter testing, all in preparation for the season start at the magnificent Sakhir circuit in Bahrain.

I must admit, I had gotten used to starting the F1 season at Albert Park in Australia, but at least it won’t be quite as early a start this year, with Bahrain only being three hours ahead. The Sakhir circuit is quite fabulous, and is wonderfully designed. Like Hungary, it can be quite a dustbowl at times, but this new date for the race should help matters. The circuits facilities are up there with all the other modern tracks, and it should prove to be a good season-opener.
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Should Kimi Raikkonen stay at McLaren or should he venture elsewhere in 2007?

So far, there has been no word on the future of McLarens’ line up in 2007 other than the current reigning World Champion - Fernando Alonso - joining the squad. Currently, the team have Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya on their books, and both are capable and fast drivers. McLaren must surely be looking to keep Kimi though, as his outright pace is putting Montoya in the shadows. Kimi’s focus and dedication appear to be there whilst Montoya’s has often wained a little. Having said that, the Finn has been known to get frustrated at the reliability of the Mercedes engine, but I think that is understandable with the team.
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Comments are currently going straight to moderation. This isn’t my intention and I am working on fixing it. Please accept my apologies for now and bear with me while I look into it.

I have just read a really good post over at F1 Links Heaven which asks if standard ECUs (Electronic Control Units) in Formula One is a good thing. One quote which I must share really stood out from the page.
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It has been reported recently that ITV may be doing away with commercial breaks on their British Formula One coverage, and instead following Germany’s lead by splitting the screen in two. One part of the screen showing the live action, and the other part showing the various purchasing opportunities. This story came from PitPass and via F1Fanatic.

This is welcoming news to me, as adverts have really hindered the viewing of races since ITV took over from the BBC in 1997. The most recent and worst offense of advert interruption came at last years San Marino Grand Prix, where Alonso and Schumacher were locked in battle in the final laps. ITV then cut away to their commercial break and the race finished without witness. Admittedly, ITV did show a replay straight after coming back on air, but it was too late for F1 fans who were already throwing their arms in the air in disgust.

ITV have also recently had a shake-up of the show, replacing the exiting Jim Rosenthal with Steve Ryder, and Tony Jardine has also recently left the show. Now all they need to do is confirm the new strategy on advert breaks and partner Martin Brundle with Murray Walker again in the commentary box.

The renamed Jordan team - Midland - have declared their intention on scoring regular points this season, and believe they can compete with BMW Sauber and Red Bull Racing as they progress through the 2006 campaign. This has bouyed their lead driver Tiago Monteiro and he is said to be “thrilled” with the testing pace of the new car whilst lapping the Barcelona circuit yesterday.

With rain pouring onto the track, he managed to be 1.1 seconds shy of the pace setting Williams piloted by Mark Webber. However, I an slightly dubious of testing times, and try not to read too much into them. So many times in the past, a car has gone very well in pre-season testing only to be hoplessly off the pace come the first race.
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