My 2012 Season Review Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of my season review! If you've not read Part 1, click here to see the first 5 awards.

Here is a quick recap of the awards so far:

QUOTE OF THE YEAR: KIMI RAIKKONEN "LEAVE ME ALONE! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING"

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: JEAN-ÉRIC VERGNE

OVERTAKE OF THE YEAR: KIMI TAKES SCHUMACHER AT EAU ROUGE

MY MOMENT OF THE YEAR: VALENCIA PODIUM

GRAND PRIX OF THE YEAR: BRITISH GRAND PRIX

The first award today goes to the driver who has caused the most upset this season. No doubt this will cause some controversy but there will no doubt be world wide consensus regarding the winner. Here are the runners up for The Villain Of The Year Award.

Romain Grosjean 

Sorry Romain, but despite winning the Race of Champions and being Kimi's team mate, it hasn't been enough to cover up 7 early lap incidents including one that shocked the world. The one race ban for Monza should have shock him into place, but as we seen at Suzuka, he clearly learned nothing.

Sebastian Vettel

No doubt this will bring on the most heat but I have my reasons. For the most of the season he did nothing. He was poor for the overall majority of the season, not even trying for the races. Then come the last 1/4 of the season the puppet master Adrian Newey told his boy to step up and he cruised to 4 straight wins. He ruined Suzuka for me because I was really looking forward to it. People say he had the same amount of bad luck as Alonso did with retirements but I and like any other real fan know, it's not bad luck it's justice. He deserves to have those mechanical failures after being stupidly superior last season. Another of his indiscretions came during Germany where he still pleads to this day that his overtake was legal. What an idiot, something I can call him as he thinks it's okay to call others idiots. He didn't deserve the championship and until he competes in weaker machinery  I will refuse to acknowledge his talent, if any. He's an average driver at best. Plus that finger pisses me off.


And the award for The Villain Of The Year goes to...

PASTOR MALDONADO

No surprise here, Bastard Maldonado gets the award for the twat of the year. Winning a grand prix wasn't enough to salvage this man as he didn't score a point until the latter end of the season. He took out driver after driver including Lewis Hamilton and Sergio Perez. He wouldn't have annoyed me so much, if he would just admit he is a dangerous driver. He constantly blamed other drivers for his mistakes which is unacceptable. 


With every villain comes the man willing to stand up to evil doing, or in this case for every bad moment our villain gives us, the hero delivers a performance that takes our breath away. No runners up for this award because there is only one man for Hero Of The Year.

KIMI RAIKKONEN

There was nobody else up for the award. Kimi wraps up his 3rd award for this title and with good reason. He came back to the sport on a gamble by Lotus, and from this gamble they gained a leader. Though no one knew what to expect. Granted his first qualifying didn't go well after crashing out in Q1. But he raced on to a respectable 7th and it only got better. Bahrain was his first 2nd place of 3 and his first podium of 7. He was a title contender right the way through until he was mathematically out if contention. Although poised to do well, that win was always out of reach with the E20 being mixed on speed from weekend to weekend. Eventually though and with a hint of luck (Hamilton retiring) Kimi stormed to a win at Abu Dhabi, which was the perfect end to a perfect season.

He provided us with funny interviews, amazing on track performances and even better radio transmissions. Even getting lost at Interlagos was a high because it provided so much laughter. He gained more "Driver Of The Year" awards than Fernando and Sebastian put together and lets not forget he broke the record for the most amount of laps completed in a season (all of them). My money is honestly on Kimi next season, not only for his capabilities but because of his love for Formula 1.

Team Of The Year 

This award goes to the team who I think drove a great campaign. It's not necessarily based on speed but more so on reliability and the ability to support their drivers. Here are the runners up.

Force India

The team who ascended from Jordan Racing really came into a power of their own this season. With the team of Nico Hulkenberg and Paul di Resta, this line up completed one of the best campaigns from a middle team in years. The drive to win a Grand Prix by di Resta helped steer the team to new heights, and the skill of Hulkenberg proved they had what it takes, The key weekend was Brazil where Nico could have one had it not have been for a silly mistake. They've helped Nico get recognised by other teams and hopefully when they rehire Paul it's only a matter of time before McLaren will take him on

Lotus GP

They earn a mention for two reasons. One, because of the way they dealt with the Grosjean problem. They punished him when needed to and then supported him when the rest of the world came down on him. Any team that finds that balance deserves a mention. The second reason is the reliability from the E20. Kimi completed every single lap of the 20 race season through a car that was so solid throughout, and Kimi's knowledge of more so lack of knowledge only occured during one race, in China where he failed to score a point. Kimi even managed the highest top speed of any other car at Monza. No other team can boast this accolade and that's why Lotus deserve a mention.

But the winner for the Team Of The Year goes to...

SAUBER

I think Sauber deserve this award purely because of the way they helped promote their drivers, although it did not work for one of them. Sauber delivered their drivers an extremely competitive car, and Sergio Perez took every single drop of performance from the car, gaining a drive for the quickest team on the grid (McLaren). Kobayashi was also blindingly quick but I think the car preferred Checo a lot more, hence the better results.
Even though Kamui enjoyed a great season, it wasn't enough to salvage a seat with any team. To read my disappointment, click here to read my previous blog about Kobayashi and his departure.

Driver Of The Year

The final award goes to the driver who had the most impressive campaign. This award was not easy to decide but I am honestly comfortable with the choices I have made. First of all, here are the runners up.

Lewis Hamilton

Lewis has bounced back from a God awful couple of years and truly became his own man this season. The only reason he is not the winner of this award is the same reason as why he didn't win the championship: Because of his car and crew. His pit crew made far too many mistakes. Regardless of the quickest stop ever and a fine 5 wheel pit stop, they were totally unprofessional and messed up his race weekends. And then there's the car. A Complete disaster piece. Nevertheless, he completed some fine race weekends and was a true great this season. All I will say is do not expect to see him on any award panel next year.

Kimi Raikkonen

What can I say that hasn't already been said? 1 race win, 7 podiums, completed every single lap, made us laugh, showed the best how it's done and he achieved a third place finish in the drivers championship after being 2 years out. DRS and Pirelli tyres were all new to him and he still managed to out race the best and quickest. He won more driver of the year awards than the false champion and Alonso, but even for me, it wasn't enough to award him this trophy.


So without further suspense, my 2012 Driver Of The Year is...

FERNANDO ALONSO

In my eyes, this is the man who deserved to win the drivers championship. In inferior machinery he drove to 2 pole positions and 3 race wins. This was the year I fell back in love with Fernando. He proved that he is the ultimate driver in terms of skill, temperament and all round ability. He is without doubt, THE greatest driver on the planet. If Ferrari can get it together, he is the man to deliver them back to the heights of the Schumacher or Raikkonen days. He drove so much better than the rest and his luck got beat on more than one occasion without justice. If it wasn't for the determination of Lotus and Raikkonen, I'd tip Fernando for the win next season. But he will definitely still be a contender.

Here are the full list of winners:

DRIVER OF THE YEAR: FERNANDO ALONSO

TEAM OF THE YEAR: SAUBER

HERO OF THE YEAR: KIMI RAIKKONEN

VILLAIN OF THE YEAR: PASTOR MALDONADO

GRAND PRIX OF THE YEAR: BRITISH GRAND PRIX

MY MOMENT OF THE YEAR: VALENCIA PODIUM

OVERTAKE OF THE YEAR: KIMI TAKES SCHUMACHER AT EAU ROUGE

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: JEAN-ÉRIC VERGNE

QUOTE OF THE YEAR: KIMI RAIKKONEN "LEAVE ME ALONE! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING"

I'd like to thank you for reading my season review! It has been fun reliving the memories of the greatest season in history! Keep reading on in the new year as I'll be presenting reviews of every race weekend including my predictions for every qualifying session and the podium for each race, complete with race reviews and in depth analysis. 


Thank you again for reading and have a safe and happy new year!

My 2012 Season Review Part 1

What a season it has been! We've seen 7 different winners in the first 7 races, Alonso and Ferrari fooling us all and Kimi handed out some more ice creams. The reason why this is coming so late is because I never knew how successful this blog was going to be! For this, I thank you all.

The 9 awards have been carefully selected by my wonderful self by watching extensive footage of the 2012 season. I'll be naming the 2 runner ups before the winner of each award so you have an idea of how difficult the choices were. Here are the first 5 awards, please join me for Part 2 where I'll name the rest of the winners!

The first award goes to the driver who came out with the funniest line that made me laugh out loud hard. Here are the runners up for the Quote Of The Year Award.

Sergio Perez

"He is a driver who does not respect [others]. Doesn't he know we are risking our lives? He's just a stupid driver."

Regarding the incident where Pastor Maldonado took him out of the race at Silverstone. This made me laugh so hard at first but at the time highlighted a serious issue, he was a very dangerous driver who does not think. Nonetheless, Checo was spot on!

Mark Webber

"It was that first lap nut case Grosjean again."

Mark the Shark hitting out at his premature retirement at the hands of the maniac Grosjean. The thing is, if you asked Mark the same question today, he'd still give the same answer, proving it wasn't in the heat of the moment. Rather, it was an accurate assessment of a dangerous driver who had a ban not so long ago.



And the award goes to...

KIMI RAIKKONEN

Could it honestly be anybody else? Being a DIE HARD Iceman fan, I watched the Abu Dhabi GP on the edge of my seat, breaking out in sweats and fits of fear. Then, with one quick, smooth radio transmission, I knew he was going to go on to win the race. This is actually a picture of the shirt I own, I love him so much and he completed my season by winning the race, and giving us all something to remember it by.


Also, this happens to be one of the funniest interviews he's ever given and nearly made the cut.


The Rookie Of The Year Award goes to the driver who impressed me on his first season at the top of Motorsport. Before I announce the winner, here's the runner up.

Charles Pic

To be fairly honest, it was between him and the eventual winner. And Pic lost. Without going in to detail why, read my previous blog on my feelings about Pic.



And the award goes to...

Jean-Éric Vergne

Considering his team mate Ricciardo had the biggest hype about him, JEV has came into the sport and not only stole the spotlight, he also secured his seat with the Red Bull feeder team Toro Rosso. Out scoring his team mate by 6 points and showing he could race wheel to wheel with cars near the same capability as his own, Vergne has proved he belongs in the sport.

The next award goes to the driver who made that jaw dropping pass. You know, the one that made you exude vast amounts of swear words? Yep that one. I watched a ton of Youtube videos to make a short list for this category, and even then it took me hours to come up with a top 3. The first of our 2 runners up is maybe debatable but other than that the one after and the winner are well deserved, some would say they could even be swapped around. Here are your runners up for Overtake Of The Year.

Lewis Hamilton, Canada. The moves on both Vettel and Alonso may not have been the flashiest, but it was the fact he was in a different pit window, he was 6 seconds behind and he still managed the win. The video also contains a double overtake by Sergio Perez.

Felipe Massa, Singapore. This makes the list purely for one reason. The move could either have gone as it did, scary, dodgy but really cool looking. OR, it could have ended in a massive crash and Felipe's expulsion from the team. He held it well and it payed off. To be honest, it was Rob Smedley's facial expression after it that made it for me.


And the award goes to...
KIMI RAIKKONEN, SPA. The King of Spa may not have won, but he certainly proved with this overtake on the illustrious Eau Rouge corner that he is more than deserving of the crown. Kimi doesn't just pass drivers because there's a gap or slipstream, he overtakes after evaluating every situation with precision. He knew he could only get Michael at that [articular time so he'd have the DRS to escape a retaliation. The man is a genius, no way around it.


This next award is quite personal, and is only based on my emotions. My Moment Of The Year Award goes to the one time in the season where my heart strings were well and truly tugged. The runners up included the Japanese chanting Kamui Kobayashi's name and God himself, Michael Schumacher achieving pole at Monaco. I firmly believe if he hadn't been so foolish at the race before to receive a grid penalty, he would have won. But that's neither here nor there, my moment of the year belongs to this photo:

VALENCIA PODIUM, SCHUMACHER 3RD, RAIKKONEN 2ND, ALONSO 1ST. This picture contains the three greatest drivers of my generation. They also happen to be my 3 favourite drivers and even though I'm heartbroken to see Schumacher go, this memory will last with me forever.




Grand Prix Of The Award is the title given to the race where I felt had the most excitement and enough action to lay a mark in history. For me personally, the winner was a no brainer and I'll explain why, but it was the runners up that was so difficult! I had 17 amazing Grand Prix's to chose from (India & Singapore do not count as they are pure filth) and I really do wish I could give them all a place. But here are the runners up.

Malaysian Grand Prix 
I will never forget the moment when I heard the result. Neither will my partner, she still has the bruise from where I went mental. I could not believe that after the pre season disaster, Alonso had managed a win in a Ferrari. It's also hard to disagree with the fact that this made people sit up and look at Perez.

Brazilian Grand Prix 
Interlagos never fails to disappoint as the season closer. This year with the title closer to the wire than ever before, it threw us a massive blast of hope when Vettel spun on the opening lap thinking he won't gain another title based on the Newey factor. Regardless of the fact he did, I still loved every second, including Hulkenberg storming to the front, and Kimi getting completely lost.


But the winner has to go to the greatest experience of my life;

BRITISH GRAND PRIX
The reason why this is my winner is because it was my first Formula 1 event live. I have never experienced anything like it. To say I saw 6 world champions race on the same grid that day honestly impacted my life in only positive ways. The rain wasn't enough to get my spirits down, it added to the occassion because it's not British without rain! I was standing at Luffield on race day and witnessed Bastard Maldonado taking out Checo, Kimi chasing down the pack constantly and the best moment of the weekend, Webber's overtake on Alonso. I was routing for Alonso the whole weekend, but I cannot deny how great the move was. It wouldn't have been the same without the group of guys I was with so to Stephen, Cillein & Patrice I'd like to say thank you very much!


Well I hope you enjoyed the first set of awards. I'm sure you each have your own opinions and I would very much like to hear about them in the comments below, or on twitter @Houston60.

Here is a recap of the awards, and what awards you can expect to see soon:
QUOTE OF THE YEAR: KIMI RAIKKONEN "LEAVE ME ALONE! I KNOW WHAT I'M DOING"

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: JEAN-ÉRIC VERGNE

OVERTAKE OF THE YEAR: KIMI TAKES SCHUMACHER AT EAU ROUGE

MY MOMENT OF THE YEAR: VALENCIA PODIUM

GRAND PRIX OF THE YEAR: BRITISH GRAND PRIX

The awards in Part 2:
HERO OF THE YEAR
VILLAIN OF THE YEAR
TEAM OF THE YEAR
DRIVER OF THE YEAR

Happy Christmas

From myself here at the Formula 1 blog, I would like to wish you all a big and safe happy Christmas. 

I'd also like to thank you for your continued support, the blog has been an instant success and I look forward to expanding in the new year with much more features.

Taking a Pic at Caterham

Charles Pic apparently had a stormer of a rookie season in 2012 and has been awarded a move to Caterham. The first pictures of the young Frenchman have emerged with him spending a few weeks at the teams HQ in Leafield, in an interesting Q&A session here.

I say apparently because, I don't pay a lot of attention to the back runners. I did a little bit in their first year because it was exciting to see new teams, but after the repetition of Q1 fallouts, I got bored. From what I did recall, he impacted very little. Paired up with Timo Glock at Marussia, you're going to look like a second rate driver. He never wowed me and rarely out performed Glock.

The reason given by Caterham was that Pic's performances were enough to reward him with a seat for next season. I think it was based on a lot more than that.

Marussia have confirmed their driver line-up for next season which will consist of the ever impressive Glock and the new kid on the block, Max Chilton. Chilton who despite not winning the GP2 series impressed with a 4th place finish in the championship and two wins at Hungary and Singapore. Coupled with financial backing a move up was almost a certainty. The decision to sign for Caterham was maybe a decision made on long term thinking.

What's confusing to me is the strides Marussia have took recently in terms of development and pace. The gap to Caterham closed significantly this season which for competitiveness sake is always a bonus. This progression can only carry on and who knows, maybe Marussia could have overhauled Caterham this coming season? Chilton's move up was almost a certainty, but not for definite. He could have held on to his seat and helped Marussia overtake Caterham. My point is if Chilton is more beneficial to the team in terms of R&D, and Glock leads them in the right direction, Pic could be left with egg on his face.

The scenario however could work visa versa. If Pic is everything he's cracked up to be, he could be the element Caterham need to make it into the points. In the last race of the season, Petrov managed an 11th place which was the highest by any of the three slower teams to date and enough to secure that all important 10th place in the constructors championship. This could be the season where they compete with the Toro Rosso's! The all important factor is Pic's team mate. Caterham have yet to confirm their complete driver line up for next season. And with only a seat left at Force India, options are running thin for drivers. A move to Caterham for a driver who has not ran in a back runner is a career killer for sure. That's why it is essential to bag the one man on the grip who has shown nearly as much consistency as Kimi Raikkonen.

I am of course taking about Heikki Kovalainen. As I've said in various blogs before, Heikki for his contributions to Caterham deserves a a quicker drive. But with everything except the Force India gig gone, it looks like Caterham is his only option. Even that may be out of reach with gossip suggesting Caterham are going for money over talent and selecting Vitaly Petrov. This would be an extremely detrimental move for Caterham because neither Petrov nor Pic can provide the team with that essential leadership quality. 

Pic's arrival may only boost Caterham's campaign for a point. But he is not enough. Caterham need Kovalainen to help keep the momentum going. He has enough experience, but not as much as Pic's previous team mate Glock. This can help Pic grow as a driver out of the shadows and into his own personality.

I really don't know what to make of the move. All I know is, we probably won't notice. At the end of the day it could take a decade of being in the sport for either of the teams to make a difference. Maybe Pic can be around to provide the stars of that time with experience, but as per usual, I am not expecting much and neither should you.

Lotus Don't Know What They're Doing!

Post on Grosjean retaining his drive, Max Chilton becoming the 4th Brit on the grid, Kobayashi's premature departure and a possible convict on the grid?!

"Leave me alone, I know what I'm doing." - Kimi Raikkonen over the radio before winning the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Lotus today published a statement saying Romain Grosjean has been resigned for next season. This photo will prove otherwise:

As you can see, it is noneother than myself driving along side the Kimster next season. Nonetheless, I'll write the blog just as if Goujon (it's funny because he's french) was for driving.

Grosjean to stay at Lotus.

It's the wrong decision. No point of sugar coating it. Aside from all the early race incidents and the attempt on Fernando Alonso's life, Goujon is not a great driver. In fact he's average at best capable of one good over take a season. Of course when you're number 2 and let's be clear, he is a DEFINITE number 2 to Kimi Raikkonen, you're going to look just awful. Lotus have not only taken on a heavy damage bill for next season, but they've over looked so many better suited drivers. I've said it before, but Heikki Kovalainen deserved a step up. After carrying his team for three years he deserves to be set in some powerful machinery. Two Finn's would have been terrific as there is no doubt, they know how to win World Championships. 

However it is not the worst thing in the world. They could have resigned Bruno Senna (reserve driver in 2011). Goujon may improve. And I do believe he's a very good provider of feedback for R&D so his intuition can provide Kimi with some top notch resources. Hopefully that is all Romain will be, a resource. Lotus know how to run a team, and they know as well as I do that Kimi is the undisputed number 1 driver. So long as Goujon knows his place, everything will run smoothly.  

Fourth Brit Chilton.

21 year old Max Chilton has made the step up from reserve driver to a full time seat at Marussia following the departure of Charles Pic to Caterham. He is also British which makes me a very, very happy fan and I'll be supporting him throughout! Usually from all the back markers I supported Caterham just for the funsies, but now I have a genuine reason to support Marussia.

I do have one issue. The guy has never won a championship, and between Formula Three and GP2 he's only bagged three races. I know there's no chance of winning the title in a Marussia, but I have to question his speed and determination if this is all he can muster. 

He could either be a world champion like Lewis Hamilton or Jenson Button. Or he may be more of a Paul di Resta character who only wants to win races.

Krazy Kob Krashes out of 2013 season.

Yep sadly Kamikaze Kobayashi will not be on our screens next season in a competitive car due to a lack of funding. He seems confident of a 2014 drive but despite fans setting up a donation site in order to provide funding, it wasn't enough. As previously stated in my debut blog, a seat in Formula 1 is mostly decided on by who can flash the most green. Kamui just didn't have the backing for it.

It's not hard to see why. His Sauber partner Sergio Perez stole the spotlight with an absolute wonder season. This was enough to secure a seat at McLaren, but this was also aided by backing from Mexico. Yep, like Maldonado and Valenzuela, the actual country of Mexico funds Perez through Telmex. Why does this matter to Kobayashi? Well unfortunately for him, Sauber's reserve driver, Esteban Gutierrez is funded by the exact same company effectively filling Kobayashi's seat as Perez was replaced by Nico Hulkenberg who also had a storm of a season. 

I am quite proud of Kamui because he is not settling for anything less than a Sauber. And I believe he may have actually left at a good time. Sauber tend to have one good season followed by a mirage of bad seasons. However this may change under the control of Monisha Kaltenborn.

The grid has lost a great talent for next season, I can't see it being the same without him. But there may be a spot open for him midway through the season where he could just slot right in. It's about keeping his fitness to a maximum and more importantly keeping his health in check.

Thug Life.

Despite what he says, there is no guarantee he will actually be back. It's looking more and more likely and with certain tragedies like Grosjean staying and Kobayashi leaving I think the F1 gods still would like to punish me by putting Sutil back on the grid. If he were to re-join Force India however, this could benefit our Paul as he was a far better drive than Sutil in 2011.

Force India needs somebody different than Sutil. If they are set on getting experience then they need too reward either Kovalinen or Glock with a more powerful racing car. Or to continue from where The Hulk left off, get a speed demon like Kobayashi in the chair.

The grid is definitely taking shape for next season. I look forward to hear more team announcements and gauging my opinions on them.

Formula 1 Has No Personality?

This rather short blog comes as Formula 1 has had little impact again on the BBC Sport Personality Of The Year (SPOTY).

For overseas readers, SPOTY awards are given out by the BBC at the end of any year to sports stars and people in the comunnity who have been found to have a profound effect on the world of sport.

The current awards are:

"Sports Personality Of The  Year Award" (the top award)

"Overseas Sports Personality Of The  Year Award"

"Sports Personality Team Of The Year Award"

"Sports Personality Of The  Year Lifetime Achievement Award"

"Sports Personality Of The  Year Coach Award"

"Sports Personality Of The  Year Helen Rollason Award" (awarded to someone who has shown outstanding achievement in the face of adversity)

"Young Sports Personality Of The  Year"

"Sports Personality Of The  Year Unsung Hero Award"

All but the Sports Personality Of The  Year Award are chosen by a select body of people. Only British sports stars are elected for the top award and this is voted by the people. I'm not going to lie to you, I'm going on a full on rant at the bottom of this but I'll give a quick lesson on Formula  1's history in the ceremony.

The first driver to receive an award was Sir Stirling Moss who won the Sports Personality Of The  Year Award in 1961. Jim Clark came 3rd in 1963 with Sir Jackie Stewart winning in 1973. James Hunt was then the last to gather an award with a 2nd place in 1976 until Nigel Mansell won his first in 1986. He then went on to win again in 1992, the most gathered by a Formula 1 driver until Damon Hill achieved the same feat in 1994 and 1996. British Formula 1 then took a bit of a break until Lewis Hamilton entered the scene. His close championship in 2007 and then his title in 2008 earned him a nomination in both years where he received 2nd place in the award. Jenson Button has then been the last British driver to receive and award with his 2nd place in 2009.

This year in particular was rather unfair. Yes I get it the Olympics and Paraolympics means a lot of things to a lot of people. It is not the be all and end all. Formula 1 had it's greatest ever season. 8 different race winners, title fought right down to the wire, the last of Michael Schumacher and Kimi was a funny guy as per usual. But our sports nominations this season? I couldn't honestly tell you. I didn't watch the award show because I knew exactly what would happen. Somebody with a gold medal would win. I had no idea it would be a cyclist twat AGAIN but I'll get to that later. As far as I recall Sebastian Vettel has nominated for Overseas winner but that was handed to the Lightning Bolt (Usain Bolt).

Formula 1 has received the most wins than any sport apart from athletics. There is no way to compete with athletic sports stars. There's so much emphasis placed on the Olympics, and any year with the Olympics is going to be a biased one. That however is acceptable and I understand that. But here is my disgust. Cyclists. These people are the worst human beings in history. Any idiot can peddle a bike up and down a mountain, most of it is down hill anyway. Cycling is not a sport, it is a hobby. Why would you want to watch men on a bike without an engine? Here's a quote I always refer to when discussing cyclists and this ends all arguments:

"Real men ride women."

I have no respect for cyclists. They are awful people and as far as I'm concerned, Darren Clarke, Jessica Ennis and whoever else has been cheated out of 1st place by a chain monkey are the real winners. I can't take cyclists seriously so if any of you have anything to say, pay your road tax and then come and talk to me. Until then get off the road and stop slowing the rest of us law abiding citizens down. 

Bitter-sweet exit Norbert?

I'm not sure what quote to start with tonight so I guess I'll just leave this space blank.

This is quite awkward post tonight because, there's so many stories and so many views on one point. To be entirely honest I'm not really sure what to make of it. So I'm going post each story, splitting the blog into bits and hopefully I'll develop a view along the way. It could either turn out to be a terrific blog or a complete dive so here goes.

Haug leaves Mercedes

After 22 years in Formula 1, German Motorsport journalist and businessman Norbert Haug is to step down from his post from Mercedes a company of great racing pedigree. In fact if you take away Formula 1 from the equation just to set Ferrari aside, the greatest manufacturing company in the world. 

He was at the centre of reintroducing Mercedes to Formula 1 in 1992 when he and Peter Sauber negotiated an engine deal.  After that he essentially re-branded the McLaren name as we all know today, titling it McLaren Mercedes.

There is no doubt about it, this man is Motorsport in his brain! Aside from Formula 1, he basically created the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) which if you're not as fluent in German as I am (cough, cough) is the German touring car championship. This 60 year old is way cooler than just a suit and a tie, he races in the Porsche Carrera Cup, tested an F1 car and; he came SECOND in the 24 Hours Nurburgring in 1985. Sufficed to say this man doesn't just sit on his arse.

But it's not all a love story. In 2010 his dream was complete of having a Mercedes F1 Team. However unfortunately due to whatever reason, even under the direction of Ross Brawn and with the driving brilliance of Michael Schumacher the team only managed one victory in three seasons (and that came from Schumachers supposed protege Nico Rosberg).

Schumacher's Opinion

It's also no secret that Haug was the one who pushed for Schumacher to become a part of the new team and Formula 1 again. They look like brothers in arms when they're together. They happen to be quite good friends outside the sport. It's no surprise Schumacher would be disappoitned and so outspoken about his departure. But this next article is the inspiration for the blog.

Haug's Reason

Bad results Norman. Sure. His dream turned out to be a bit of a damp squib of course. Although Schumacher is God and his stint at Mercedes is no way a bad mark on his status, it's hard to deny that one misfiring cylinder was always going to hurt the teams points tally. And one podium in three years for God is not good enough.

Mutual consent in Formula 1 is the same as every sport. It means jump before you're pushed. I think it's just too much to be a coincidence that the moment Lewis Hamilton replaces Haug's man, he's gone at the end of the season. And Hamilton's purchase was always branded as a Brawn move. I'm not saying he's gone because of Schumacher's retirement, maybe the company decided he's had enough. Whatever the reason, I hope it's not because of Niki Lauda joining the board because despite his driving acomplishments, I'd hate to see him directing Mercedes, they will almost certain focus the majority of their energy in Formula 1 and that will be devastating for Motorsport in general.

 At the end of the day he was chief boss at Mercedes. So I guess this won't impact on track, but I just dread to think that a Motorsport lover will be replaced with somebody with money in their eyes. Although this could maybe even benefit the team. After tasting victory and with Hamilton in his prime, he could upset a lot of the odds next season, maybe within two a world championship could be on the cards! You heard it here first!

The Way It Should Be

If you've not read my previous blog regarding Bernie and my disdain for certain tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, click here.

I'm not going to add or replace any tracks, I'm only going to re-order them in the way which  I see fit. In my opinion, the calendar has a roller-coaster design in the sense that it starts off with a slow incline followed by a drastic exciting drop, and then all of a sudden we're in Bahrain. If you've not seen the calendar for the 2013 season, click here.

I'm a firm believer in the classics. Having been to the 2012 British Grand Prix at Silverstone I've fallen in love with the history surrounding it. Memories I'll hold for the rest of my life seeing Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen live. Surreal. Monza is undoubtedly my favourite track, high speeds broken up by the amazing chicanes, the lesmos and of course the ever important Curva Parabolica. I'm torn every year knowing that for the German Grand Prix, we're either visiting the F1 Nurburgring or Hockenheim, never both. In the summer of 2013 I'm visiting the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcalona, not to watch the race but just a track visit. My bucket list doesn't consist of jumping out of a plane, or having sex with Brad Pitt, but to visit Monza, Spa, BOTH German tracks, Interlagos, Suzuka, and even though I am not fond of street circuits, I would love to visit Monte Carlo. It's something all F1 fans should witness.

I'm sure tracks like Sepang, Albert Park, Shanghai International Circuit, Circuit de Catalunya, Circuit Gilles Villenuve, Hungaroring and the newest track in Austin will become greats on one condition: Bernie stops preventing them from fulfilling their true potential.

So if you've taken a look at the 2013 calendar you may get the same sort of feeling I got, Australia first, Brazil last, Britain far too early and for some reason the Singapore Grand Prix still exists. It's all getting a bit dull and predictable. But do not mistake my apathy for ignorance. The calendar is structured in the best possible way to ensure the cheapest modes of transport and efficiency.If you've not discovered this pattern or if you're new to the sport, here's a screen shot of the 2012 calendar from Wikipedia: 

Rounds 1-4 are not based on the same continent but they are close together, not exactly what I would call a stint or a leg. Rounds 5-6 are European races but they're split from the rest by round 7 in Canada. The European "leg" begins at round 8 in Valencia and finishes at round 13 in Italy which is the longest stretch in one continent. This is where the bulk of the classics take place. Rounds 14-18 are part of the Asian stretch, it picks up where Bahrain left off. Rounds 19 and 20 then take place in both Americas, finishing off the longest calendar in Formula 1 history. 

What I would suggest is similar to a legendary rock band who embark on a new tour. They play all their new crap first, then they get stuck into what the crowd really want. I Believe Formula 1 should take inspiration and begin shaking things up, building the excitement to an exploding climax (giggity).

The following is my proposal. I will then explain why I have structured it this way. Please bare in mind the 2013 calendar has not been finalised, and the race marked (*) is still subject to confirmation although I hope it's the one we end up going to. This is also not a rating system of my favourite tracks. I'd like to thank Wikipedia for their easy copy and paste system in which I was able to create this table (sorry it's not very neat).

1	Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur

2*	Austrian Grand Prix		Red Bull Ring, Spielberg

3	Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore

4	Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir

5	Airtel Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida

6	Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam

7	Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park, Melbourne

8	Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

9	UBS Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai

10	Gran Premio de España	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona

11	Magyar Nagydíj	Hungaroring, Budapest

12	United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin

13	Grand Prix du Canada	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal

14	Grand Prix de Monaco	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo

15	Shell Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps

16	Großer Preis von Deutschland	Nürburgring, Nürburg

17	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka

18	British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone

19	Gran Premio d'Italia	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza

20	Grande Prêmio do Brasil	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo

The reason why I'm not starting the season off with soul destroyers is because the fans deserve something to look forward to. They deserve to think the season starts off at round 1, not round 3 after Singapore and Bahrain. Round 1-2 (Malaysia-Austria) are circuits which have been around for quite some time. The first is well established whereas I'm hoping the Red Bull Ring makes a return (formerly the A1-Ring). I'm not discussing rounds 3-5 as I'll just be glad they're finished with. Even mentioning them makes me sick.

Round 6 at Korea is underrated, but when the drivers don't like it there's not a lot we can do. Albert Park (round 7) is a great opener, I just feel after these years it deserves to have the burden of opening the season lifted from its shoulders. Round 8 would not be so high up usually, but Kimi Raikkonen has made it a staple in the calendar after a brilliant drive and race win in 2012. Round 9-10 have been put there because they are great races and this is when the season takes its way too long break, so we deserve to leave on a good note so we can be excited for the final stretch.

Round 11 should bring us back to where I personally think will be a classic along the lines of Silverstone. The track is beautifully crafted and I suppose one of the reasons I love this track is that it's the closest home track for Kimi. I turned up to Silverstone with a Finland flag and I was the only one, purely because I love Kimi. Hungary is filled with them, it's fantastic! Round 12 at Austin is high up because of the great race produced at it's debut. It could never possibly go higher because of America's failure to grasp anything more than a left turn. Rounds 13-14 have been grouped together because they're street races. I am not a fan of Monte Carlo but I do respect it's history. Canada can never have an illustrious history like it, but these two back-to-back could produce some title twists. Round 15 begins the final stretch. Spa is the first of the classics. Saddened by the news that they may not be able to fund a Grand Prix in coming years, we should take a look back at the memories we've all gained from watching classic wet races, from the DC-Schumacher incident to Kimi's vodka fuel'd overtake at Eau Rouge.

Round 16 will be either of the two German tracks. I'll abstain from commenting on either as I am a firm believer in having them both on the one calendar at all times. 

Suzuka should host round 17 because I like the idea of having the "make one wrong move and you're finished" track towards the end. It's only one further down than the actual 2013 plan.

 Round 18 takes place in sunny Britain. Silverstone, the home of motor racing. Being that it's my home Grand Prix, I would just love the fact that my favourite driver could clinch the World Championship this far down. Silverstone is probably the biggest problem I have with the calendar, year after year. I compare it to the Foo Fighters: when they play live, their greatest song "The Pretender" is always top 3 or 4 during their set. And while this tune is an adrenaline pumper, it should be saved for an encore! The same applies for Silverstone. It should be kept to the end where it belongs.

Monza, my favourite of all the race tracks takes the penultimate round 19. I like to think I've played this track enough times in various racing games that if someone gave me a car, I'd be able to drive round it without instruction. It's the fastest of all the tracks and along with Britain, the Italian Grand Prix has remained every single season with Monza hosting all but one (1980 at Imola while Monza was under construction). Even with the Berniezation of all the great tracks being lost to the sand people circuits, Monza will always be featured, year after year, just like the final race of the calendar.

Round 20 remains the same for me. Brazil is the perfect finish to the racing season. Bar Newey's dominent 2011 season where he won the drivers and constructors championship early on, the title has been decided here quite often. Interlagos is by any definition, the perfect race. From the Senna's S to the amazing pit straight this track should only ever be the perfect place to finish a season. Brazil is the home of the greatest racing driver of all time. If the sport is to continue to pay homage to him, this needs to stay the final race.

We all have our favourite tracks, I can respect the fact that even though it's boring, Monte Carlo is the ultimate test for drivers. But for any racing fan, having all of the great tracks in a row is an amazing idea. It's something that never can come to fruition but the thought of a championship being won or lost because a driver showed he has the capability of riding out the challenges and demands of this calendar, or would he burn out and fade away while a predator waits to take the lead. 

I'm sure many of you have your own preferences, maybe you'd have all the street races in one go, or maybe you'd do away with a few tracks altogether! I'd love to know what you think so get in touch by posting a comment and I'll get right back to you! Or you can tweet me @Houston60 and let me know your favourite track!