2014 Hungarian GP Executive Summary

(Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images) 

Not your typical F1 race because of rain and safety cars but it was very entertaining.

Want to have a go at rating the drivers this time?

BMW i8: a quick glimpse into the future

I was fortunate enough to get a test drive of the BMW i8 but I'll say right off the bat it was not anywhere near long or in conditions varied enough for me  to offer a complete opinion so I won't pretend to offer a review.   But I did get enough seat time for some initial impressions.

Earlier in the week, on the Axis Facebook page,  I had asked what readers were most interested in knowing about the new hybrid  BMW.   Most replied they were curious about sound and brake pedal feel.  Clearly our readers are as mental as we are but I can reassure them, the i8 brakes and makes noises!

But more on that later.

The first impression of the car is that it manages to be look concept car futuristic yet, somehow, perfectly plausible on the road.  Not Lambo crazy but people did stop and snap pictures.
Naturally, dropping  through the exposed carbon fiber that frames the gull wing doors gives a sense of occasion but once inside, you find the familiar layout of a BMW and are immediately at ease.

Driving position is very good, the interior wraps around you but you don't get a feeling of a small tight car.  Visibility is very good, controls where you expect them to be.

Press the start-stop button and  all you hear are some sci-fi electronic sounds.  Slip it into drive with the familiar BMW shifter and off you go in almost total silence.

Now, that may or may not appeal to you but there is no denying it's a pretty cool experience.

When you set off, the i8 behaves exactly like any auto transmission car:  ease off the brake and it starts rolling,  it's no golf cart.   When you're done being green, a push of the gear lever to the left into sport mode changes the dash from blue to red and snaps the little turbo 3 pot to life.

So,  how does it sound?   It sounds pretty cool.  There is a lot of spitting and popping and turbo snap on the off throttle and on shifts,  Sounds something like a slightly more polite Alfa Romeo 4c engine.

It's augmented you say?  OK,  so what,  you probably changed the exhaust to augment the sound of your car, I know I did.   It is just not an issue in real life.  It's not like you feel the sound is coming from the speakers, the source is from behind of your head, pretty much where you would expect it to be.

Does it go?  yeah, this is not a Prius,  it feels about like an M3 in pick up.   Dynamically I can't say much because of the nature of the test I got but in a straight line? Oh yeah, it's got a very satisfying push.    Geashifts are very quick both up and down.
You CAN disable DSC fully but I had no possibility to try any hooligan moves and can't confirm or deny the i8's  power slide credentials.

Steering is light but not as light as in the latest 3 series sedans.

No, in real life it doesn'tt really look like it ate a 911

The ride is calm in regular mode but stiffer than I imagined it would be in sport mode.   I was surprised you cannot choose, say, sport mode with a soft suspension setting but I may have lost that in translation with my BMW France hosts.

Brakes feel 95% like normal BMW brakes, they are a little more grabby than you might expect in the very first part of the travel but then felt just like on an M car.  An odd little wobble after initial application is the only clue something different is happening underfoot, with regeneration and all but I assure you, it's very subtle.

The best party trick the i8 pulls off is in how perfectly seamless the drivetrain is,  There are no jumps, no shudders when the car changes from one mode to the next, even between full electric to full IC.  The brakes and the throttle feel the same in full electric more as they do in all out sports mode.   That must have been incredibly difficult to achieve.

On a practical note, it has a trunk somewhere between a 911 and an Exige, but BMW teamed up with Louis Vuitton for a custom fitted set of luggage to fit in the rear "monkey seats".

So who would want this car?  That's a very interesting question.  For about the same price you could order a Carrera S with all the available performance options, including the $17k power kit.  Or a no option GT3.  Or a Vantage S. Or a Maserati Gran Turismo.
The i8 might be a better GT car than any of those, I'd love to try it on a long trip one day.  Cruise in near silence and then light it up when you feel the need.  Neat trick.

Even if the milage the i8 returns is spectacular, nobody will buy it to save on gas,  they will buy it for the idea of it, to be different and to be first on a road that, eventually, we will all have to travel.
With the i8, BMW has shown that it does not have to be a dull boring road at all.

2014 Hungarian GP: Does it really need fixing?

Mark Thompson/Getty Images/Infiniti Red Bull Racing

The Hungaroring used to be known for really dull races but that certainly was not the case Sunday.  What we ended up with was one of the most exciting races in years,  certainly the best this season so far.

So, is F1 all right or does Bernie really have to wrestle Flavio Briatore from the supple arms of his Elisabetta to come in and "fix" the sport....pardon me, "THE SHOW"?

Let's have a look at what made the Hungarian GP special.

Cars were especially difficult to drive,  sliding around a lot more than usual.

We need more of that, nothing is better than watching cars slide around, nothing is better than being able to see what drivers are doing, those who turn in early, those who turn in late and fighting for grip.     Part of that is the track of course, it's effectively a go kart track that, especially so in mixed conditions, really puts a premium on driver feel.

The Delta between prime and option seemed to have worked out especially well.

Pirelli should figure out why and repeat.

Banning FRIC made a difference.

Mercs advantage is still there but rather than being 1+ secs a lap it's now much less.  Combine with a short, twisty track and everyone was bunched up.

Rain at the start and cold temperatures

basically most of the work done the previous two days, dry and hot, went out the window.

To be fair, Mercedes were far from 100
Accidents and safety cars.

Safety cars worked out for those further back: Hamilton and Ricciardo and that mixed it up even more, much to our delight.

Amazing driving from the top drivers.

Vergne in the first part of the race,  Hamilton's pass on Vergne and his defense against Rosberg at the end.  Ricciardo's super late pass on Alonso,  yes he had much better tires but that move, very reminiscent of the one he pulled in Canada for the win, was spectacular.
And what to say about Alonso, 30 plus laps on a set of tires nobody thought would last more than 27... brilliant.

To be fair, Mercedes were off this week end

Between Hamilton's fire, too much tape on the brake ducts and that botched team order moment, the Silver arrows were a bit less sharp than usual.  Had they been on their regular footing we might be having a different discussion.

Se yes, there were a lot of special circumstances conspiring to make the Hungarian GP a classic but, all and all,  does F1 really need Flav to come in and add rewards weight, machine gun turrets and Super Mario points and whatever else they can think of?

I'd say no.  Nominally this is still a sport, concentrate on keeping the cars close and let them at it.  The racing will sort itself.

Hamilton's bad luck could be great for us...

...the spectators.

It's almost like Bernie has perfected his remote engine detonation device and has plotted to repeat Hamilton's exciting climb from the back in Germany.

Hungary historically produces major snoozers come race day but having Hamilton obliged to make one of his charges from the back might make it exciting.    It would have been perfect had both Mercedes had to start from the rear and cut though the field.

Seb got his mojo back (Dan Istitene/Getty/RBR)

Red Bulls are fast and Vettel seems to have his mojo back.  In practice Red Bull better tire wear on long runs than Mercedes, so that might be a factor.  But in outright pace, Rosberg was able to give Vettel a half second without much apparent effort.

Pat Fry

Once again Bottas drove like he belongs with world champions, Massa was a second behind in the same car, he blamed traffic this time.

As for Ferrari,  what can you say?   Not sending Kimi out "to save tires" was a mistake the like of which I cannot remember.     Alonso, once again ahead of the curve when he called Ferrari's brain trust on pit wall idiots last year in Monza.

Heads got to roll Marco or you'll end up losing Alonso too!.

os  Driver             Team/Car              Time       Gap
 1.  Nico Rosberg       Mercedes              1m22.715s
 2.  Sebastian Vettel   Red Bull-Renault      1m23.201s  +0.486s
 3.  Valtteri Bottas    Williams-Mercedes     1m23.354s  +0.639s
 4.  Daniel Ricciardo   Red Bull-Renault      1m23.391s  +0.676s
 5.  Fernando Alonso    Ferrari               1m23.909s  +1.194s
 6.  Felipe Massa       Williams-Mercedes     1m24.223s  +1.508s
 7.  Jenson Button      McLaren-Mercedes      1m24.294s  +1.579s
 8.  Jean-Eric Vergne   Toro Rosso-Renault    1m24.720s  +2.005s
 9.  Nico Hulkenberg    Force India-Mercedes  1m24.775s  +2.060s
10.  Kevin Magnussen    McLaren-Mercedes
Q3 cut-off time:                       1m24.647s
11.  Daniil Kvyat       Toro Rosso-Renault    1m24.706s  +1.396s**
12.  Adrian Sutil       Sauber-Ferrari        1m25.136s  +1.826s
13.  Sergio Perez       Force India-Mercedes  1m25.211s  +1.901s
14.  Esteban Gutierrez  Sauber-Ferrari        1m25.260s  +1.950s
15.  Romain Grosjean    Lotus-Renault         1m25.337s  +2.027s
16.  Jules Bianchi      Marussia-Ferrari      1m27.419s  +4.109s
Q2 cut-off time:                       1m26.728s
17.  Kimi Raikkonen     Ferrari               1m26.792s  +1.851s***
18.  Kamui Kobayashi    Caterham-Renault      1m27.139s  +2.198s
19.  Max Chilton        Marussia-Ferrari      1m27.819s  +2.878s
20.  Marcus Ericsson    Caterham-Renault      1m28.643s  +3.702s
21.  Lewis Hamilton     Mercedes
22.  Pastor Maldonado   Lotus-Renault

Michael Schumacher's private jet is for sale

It was reported on Germany's Bild that Corinna Schumacher, Michael's wife, has put his Falcon 2000EX up for sale.

Schumacher had used the plane to fly himself and his family,  well... wherever he wanted.  Sadly though  things will never be the same for the champion and Mrs.Schumacher's fiscally sensible move is a measure of that.

The plane, tail number M-IKEL, is said to worth about $27 million.

2014 Spa 24 Hours Live Stream

If the sounds of F1 have got you down, this week end you might check in with 66th running of the Blancpain Endurance Series Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

The race proper will start Saturday at 4:30 PM CET  10:30AM ET.   It will be streamed live HERE.

Kevin Estre was fastest in pre-qualifying

Parades, support races  and qualifying have already started.   Quickest in pre-Qualifying was the ART Grand Prix Mclaren  driven by Kevin Estre with a time of 2:20.944.    ART was not so happy about its other car which was destroyed by Alvaro Parente at Pouhon.  The team have said they will rebuild a car for the race.

Right behind the Mclaren was Italy's ROAL Motorsport BMW Z4 driven by Stefano Colombo, running in the Pro/Am class.

Top eight drivers were within 2/10ths thanks in part  to adjustments in the BoP index for this race which hopes to keep, Mclaren, Bentley, Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes Porsche Larborghini, Astons and Nissans all playing nice together.

2014 German GP Executive Summary

Hamilton Locking up into Raikkonen.

The German GP gave us some pretty exciting racing but why is it that people are not so excited about F1 this year?

Part of it is the Mercedes domination, when Ferrari dominated, when Mclaren dominated or Williams, it was different. I guess Mercedes is not warm and fuzzy in any way, it's hard to cheer for the teutonic giant.
Turns out not even Germans are that excited and the GP at Hockenheim had fairly low spectator turnout. 50 some thousand vs the 200 some thousand who crowded the Austrian GP.

Of course the Austrian GP was subsidized by Red Bull and tickets were uniformly inexpensive, and order of magnitude less expensive than any other race... Hint, hint F1.

Like at the Red Bull Ring though, there is something about Hockenheim which makes for good racing. Both are simple layouts with not too many corners and some slow turns.
Slow turns are a feature of Tilke tracks but simple certainly is not. One could argue Tilke tracks started with good intentions but became too clever for their (and the sport's) own good.

Perhaps F1 has done the same.

Massa flipped

Full marks for having one Mercedes start from the back, At least Hamilton had a good time slicing though the field as you would expect with a car capable of finishing 20 seconds ahead of P2. Lewis was lucky to escape a penalty for barging into Raikkonen and compromising his race somewhat.

His issue with Button was more of a 50/50 thing, Button left a hole so you can't blame Hamilton for going for it. In any case, hats off to Hamilton for putting on a good show.

Ricciardo, Alonso and Bottas were the true stars of the race. Ricciardo was, as even Fernando said, amazing. His move on Button was textbook, I can't believe a world champion fell for that dummy. His fight with Alonso in the end, what we all wish F1 would be but in a fight for at least the podium.

Alonso as usual was able to get more out of, in Niki Lauda's words, "a shit car" than anyone else can. It's very interesting how F1 drivers have come to modify their lines to get the most traction out of their tires in slow corners. Reminiscent of Moto GP riders where try to lift their bikes as soon as possible, the cleverest drivers are avoiding a traditional line to minimize the time spent turning and squaring off the corners as much as possible. Alonso,Vettel, Bottas, all very adept at that trick.


Bottas was able to hold Hamilton at bay for many laps with that way. We will hear much more from the Finn in coming years.

James Garner 1928-2014

A great movie career, for us he will always be Pete Aron but also a great life in Motorsport.

Garner entered the Baja 1000 in a 1970 Cutlass 422

Garner was team owner of American International Racing which scored a second place at the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona in a Lola T70 MkIII with Lothar Motschenbacher  and Ed Leslie.

You can read a nice remembrance of that race by our old friend James Galanos (a.k.a. Nigel Smukatelli)  HERE

No Cup for you!

FIFA have succeeded in the impossible: making F1 rights management seem warm and fuzzy.

Nico Rosberg had a special helmet made celebrating Germany's win in the world cup last week.  He was going to wear it this week end at the German Grand Prix.  

Rosberg management received a letter from FIFA warning the helmet was in violation of copyright because it depicted the World Cup trophy.  

A quick search of Amazon shows you can purchase replicas for as little as $3.95 but the sticker on top of Nico's head was apparently too much for FIFA and the design had to be changed, the cup replaced by stars.  Those are still copyright free apparently.

Rosberg's team should send FIFA a bill for the extra  exposure the cup has gotten in the last week.

A former F1 doctor speaks.

Gary Hartstein, the badass, cigar smoking doctor who was Formula One's Medical Delegate from 2005 to 2012,  has been very much  in the public eye in the first half of this year because of his frank, sometimes brutal, comments about Michael Schumacher's medical outlook after his skiing accident.

His articles on the subject were a respite from the tidal wave of non scientific drivel and misinformation printed about Schumacher and head injuries in both the mainstream media and in the tabloids.

Hartstein eventually got a quite a bit of flack for it, very unfairly in our opinion, mostly from those for whom the grim reality of scientific data did not fit a wish of a happy ending scenario for the German champion.

The Doc finally became fed up of being misquoted and stopped discussing it.  But all that needed to be said, was.

This interview, part of the same ShakeFree series as the Derek Warwick clip you saw recently, was shot before that all happened.

Along with remembrances of Professor Watkins and speculations about what led to his dismissal by Jean Todt,  there is a section where Hartstein talks about how F1, thanks to the application of scientific method has, since 1994, become very low on the list of dangerous sports.
No small irony ironic that one of its greatest champions, after twenty years in the sport,  was so injured in a mundane activity.

Hartstein also makes the point that safety is never perfect and that while top tear single seater racing in now very safe, the greatest dangers lie in the minor formulas,  semi pro, amateur and club racing.    

We wonder if the doctor might be interested in the work of the Motorsport Safety Foundation,  there is much more room for safety improvements and big returns on investments at the bottom end of the sport.

So light up a stogie and listen to this  Former F1 Doc

(thanks to Mario Muth and ShakeFree)

Sexy Beast: The only original Ferrari P4 on track.

Nobody can touch Petrolicious for video productions, they are now the cream of the crop. Want proof? This piece about the only all original 1967 Ferrari P4.

This unique masterpiece is owned by Lawrence Stroll, a Canadian Ferrari collector with a long connection to Maranello, Tommy Hilfiger, one of Stroll's companies, used to be an official sponsor of the Scuderia. His son Lance (16) has been part of the Ferrari Academy for a few years now and making his way up the development ladder.

A beautiful car, tastefully shot.  Nick Longhi is a very lucky gentleman!

Inside a 1974 Porsche RSR at Le Mans

LehKeen/Facebook

Leh Keen driving the WeatherTech 1974 Porsche RSR at the 2014 Le Mans Classic.

Looks like a pretty tight squeeze for Leh  but you sit back, relax and, as they say, enjoy the show.  Don't forget to turn the volume up to 11.

Derek Warwick: Raw Racing

Getty Images

A fascinating video interview from a series by Mario Muth of Shakefree Films in London.     This episode features a no holds barred interview with Derek Warwick, who drove over ten years on the F1 circuit in the first Turbo era of the 1980s.  

Warwick is one of those drivers that never quite had the right brake at the right time in F1 and the interview is a lesson on how luck is just as much a part of the equation as talent and determination.

If you like racing history, the hour long interview will fly by and you'll want to have a look at the other episodes shot by Muth.   I will post them here over the next few weeks.  Among those interviewed, F1 photographer Darren Heath, Former F1 doc Gary Hartstein and David Coulthard.

(thanks to Mario Muth and to Andrew Rapp)

What the FRIC is going on?

XPB photo: AutoMotorSport

At Hockenheim, Mercedes will not run the suspension it has spent two and half years perfecting.

Faced with a ominous yet vague  message from the FIA, Championship leader Mercedes is not willing to risk being penalized according to an article published on Auto Motor ind Sport.  Red Bull may do the same.

FRIC, as you know, is the acronym for Front, Rear InterConnected (or Interactive Control) suspension,  think an evolved version of the circa 2002 Audi RS6 suspension, or the more recent Mclaren MC12c where front and rear are interconnect hydraulically to keep the car's attitude, in roll and pitch, constant.

In the current era, the system was first tried by Lotus and perfected by Mercedes and Red Bull but the basic idea itself is far from new having been first seen in the early 90's on a Minardi,  the engineer in charge then ...wait for it...  Aldo Costa, now engineering director at Mercedes AMG F1.

Most teams on the grid are said to run a more or less successful version of it.  It is set to be banned as of 2015 and replaced, eventually, with active electronic suspension which is actually less expensive to develop then the current "analog" system.

What the FIA have intimated is that they might consider banning the system effective immediately, despite it having been seen as perfectly legal for the past nine races.  The impetus behind this move, according to the article, are possible protests (or requests for clarification) from Mclaren, Ferrari and Caterham.

The argument against it is similar to the Renault mass damper issue of 05/06, that the suspension, by keeping the wings at a fixed angle, is effectively a movable aero device.

It's not very likely that a FRIC-less Mercedes will all of a sudden be within reach of Mclaren, and Ferrari in Germany, a smooth fast track.  Hungary may be a different story.

Formula Donk

Pirelli tested 18" tires and wheels on a Lotus E22 today at Silverstone.

I can understand the marketing reasons behind a wheel that looks like something you or I might use  but, 12 inch rotors inside an 18" wheel  look as silly on a Formula 1 Lotus as they do at your local mall.

2014 British GP: the fans win!

Lewis Hamilton won the British GP to the delight of the home crowd but it's F1 fans the world over who really won. Sunday's race had almost all you could ask for in a race. Surprise, drama, fights and redemption. The only thing that could have made it better was if the Mercedes were not quite so dominant and you had one race rather than two separate ones.

In race #1, I'm not convinced Hamilton would have caught Rosberg despite the certainty British commentators seem to have. Hamilton only started making ground up when Rosberg's gearbox started acting up. In the end it had to be that the German's reliability streak would end and Hamilton inherited a win. He was so far ahead of the field Mercedes made an extra pit stop for safety, even with the extra stop, he finished 30 seconds ahead of second place Bottas.
Comparisons with Mohammed Ali aside, the championship is now reset which is more fun than if one of the two ran away with it and redemption for Hamilton after a string of unforced errors.

But the real treat was what happened in race #2 after the crazy qualifying and the nasty first lap accident for Kimi Raikkonen. Kimi's annus horribilis continues with no sign of respite. That was a 47G hit, head on into the guard rail. It took an hour for the British track workers to replace the piece of armco he bent.  Not sure why he decided to go on the grass, perhaps he was thinking he was still on the lawnmower?



Great races from Bottas and Ricciardo, both going long on their tires, Bottas came from 14, while Daniel from 8th on the grid. fantastic drives from both.

Everyone would have loved to have seen Button on the podium, if anything just to see the expression on Ron Dennis' face after his somewhat harsh remarks before the race. But, that was not to be.

Arguably the best show of the race were the Vettel- Alonso battles.

Alonso, after shooting himself in the foot twice, first in qualifying and then at the start of the race where he had a senior moment and overshot his grid spot, had just an epic drive.  The sheer determination in dragging a car that was clearly nervous and twitchy from 16th on the grid all the way to fourth before his pit+ 5 sec. penalty stop.
 He passed people in every possible place and in every possible way. His pass on Vettel, on the outside of Copse was epic.  Interesting to watch the onboard and see how we was taking some very different lines in the slower corners to help with Ferrari's traction issues.

Vettel, on a two stopper, chased down Alonso who was on older tires and their dogfight was one of the best in many years.  Alonso knew he did not have the speed but man did he make Vettel work for it.

What a show, fans won!

Enjoy this driving master class

2014 Le Mans Classic Live!

Hopefully this works,  race should go live at 3:30PM European time  Saturday, 9:30 AM Eastern time

Kimi Raikkonen mowed a lawn today...

Ding Dong: the time has come for Bernie.

A day after our rant about Mr.E and The Guardian publishes a report that, if confirmed, spells the end of Ecclestone's incredible 40 year reign over Formula One.

CVC Capital Partners , according to an insider who spoke with the paper,  will sell off  much of its 35.5% controlling interest in the sport.

Decision makers at the City-based private equity firm have decided that Ecclestone, the sport’s chief executive and commercial rights holder, must go even if he wins his court case in Munich, where he is fighting bribery charges. 

They are convinced that Ecclestone, who will be 84 in October, will continue to be an embarrassment, with HM Revenue and Customs likely to ask further questions about his complex tax affairs, which formed the basis of a Panorama investigation.*

In the last weeks Ecclestone has declared social media irrelevant, wished upon the demise of smaller teams and said "bye-bye" to the Italian GP after 2015.

Of course, having followed F1 long enough, I will hedge on Bernie's vampiristic ability to transcend time and hire the very cream of the lawyer crop and make a deal.  Certainly he's made many people very much money along the way and that buys a lot of looks the other way.

You can read the complete article on the Guardian HERE

*the Panorama show is a must see,  yo might want fuse Chrome with the Hola plug in

Because history matters: The first ever Formula One Grand Prix

history?

This week end the Formula One circus will be at Silverstone where the very first Formula One race was held in 1950..  

There has been a British GP every season since, just like there has been an Italian GP every season since.  Now Bernie Ecclestone is pulling his usual stunt, threatening to erase Italy from the calendar because the current contract is not earning enough for F1's investors.   The impression is F1 has become closer to an elaborate pyramid scheme than a sport and the only thing that seems to matter is feeding it more money.

F1, wawaweewa!

History cannot be adequately monetized, bring on the Borat GP.

Alienating long time fans or refusing to embrace new ones via social media because money cannot be charged, none of it seems to matter to people who will to go away and let a new generation take over.

"Apres moi le déluge"  seems to be Bernie the XV's motto.

Kimi, the legend

laRepubblica

Fresh on the heels of Bernie Ecclestone kvetching about contracts teams force drivers to sign "limiting their ability to be characters" while at the same time bitching about the contract he signed with Monza limiting his ability to make more money.  Kimi Raikkonen was at the Goodwood Festival of Speed where he drove his 07  Ferrari up the hill along with John Surtees in his 158 from 1964.  

How excited was Kimi about the historical moment linking two Ferrari World Champions is that glorious automotive showcase on Lord March's fabulous estate?..