Still Unacceptable

My love letter to the Sebastian Vettel fans 

"Every Vettel fan is still so far up their arse with lies they can practically taste their brain."

After I cooled down from the weekend's events and taken a step back to look at my previous blog, I've come to the conclusion: that I'm still right and every Vettel fan is still so far up their arse with lies they can practically taste their brain. The fact that you're stilll defending this event that has put the sport in an awful light shows you're an absolute joke of a supporter.

The response to the situation has been absolutely staggering. The drivers are appalled, the media are surprisingly one sided, commentators are disgusted, one even wants Vettel banned! The response I got to my blog as overwhelming and Twitter was fuming too, I'd personally like to thank all those who got in touch. The fact that you're as passionate about this as I am, and that you're willing to be as open and as honest about it as I am is absolutely amazing. It really goes to show how many real fans there still are. Don't get me wrong, there's still the odd arsehole on Twitter and Instagram who cannot admit that they are wrong, or see the issue here, and it's these arseholes I'm aiming today's blow at.

Any 'fan' who has supported Vettel are quite keen on giving what I like to call; a politicians answer. This means in their messed up head, they think they've answered the question when in reality they have completely avoided it. So from now on, any Vettel 'fan' will now be called a patient, as you must have suffered some severe trauma to still miss the big picture.

Guys, it's nothing to do with getting points, or having the hunger. I'm not pro team orders or against them. It barely has anything to do with racing, it has to do with ETHICS. In the working world, if your boss tells you to do something, you bloody well do it. It's a case of them saying "jump" and you saying "how high?" But Vettel thought himself above his team principle Christian Horner, and thought he knew best.

So you can put away your silly points about wanting it more, or that Mark Webber was too slow, Sebastian was told to stay behind by his authority, and he didn't.

The point that really irritates me about the patients, is one of their favourite people to quote. Bare this in mind, I love Ayrton Senna. He is the greatest driver in the history of Formula 1, and I don't appreciate his name being used, but these patients are low enough like their idol Vettel to drag his name through the dirt. If you're not familiar with the famous Senna quote, here it is:

"And you [Jackie Stewart] know a lot about racing. And you should know that by being a racing driver, you are under risks all the time. By being a racing driver means you are racing with other people. And if you no longer go for a gap that exists, you're no longer a racing driver, because we are competing. We are competing to win, and the main motivation to all of us is to compete for victory; it's not to come 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th"

Senna lived his life by this, and his career, which has inspired a lot of drivers including Vettel obviously. It brought the Brazilian lots of success, 41 race wins and 3 world championships, so I can see why it's a great quote to use in an argument, and let's be honest, it instilled him as a legend forever.

Here comes the controversial point and the one the Vettel patients are missing. Alain Prost, Senna's rival for years lived by a completely different philosophy. He believed that if you only need so many points or a certain finish, then that's all that you need to do. He's a smart, well educated man, nicknamed 'The Professor' for a reason. You could say this makes him the polar opposite to Senna.

Now, do you want to know why his philosophy is better than Senna's, and why in the argument's case it renders Senna's quote moot? Because Prost was more successful than Senna. It's not a matter of talent (Senna was far more talented and the better driver), it's a matter of statistics and unless you are severely brain damaged and in the case of the hardcore Vettel fans, a total brain dead rabbit, you'll know statistics are a huge part of F1. Prost won 51 races and 4 world championships, all of which came before Senna's death. Not that I hope anyone would use that as an excuse.

I can see why pushing the limit is attractive, it gets results. But Prost's way, adopted by drivers like Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, gets the results more fairly. The only reason Vettel has won more championships is because of his car. 

The other point I absoutely adored was the whole "it has nothing to do with the car" or "Newey has nothing to do with it." It made me realise just how desperately pathetic some Vettel patients are and instead of arguing with you, I'm going to pity you. Because like your driver, you are a lost cause and a waste of my time.

Vettel and Webber have never had the same car. They've never had the same backing or resources. There's very simply the Red Bull corner, and the Webber corner. There is a car designed for Mark Webber, then there is the car designed to win the championship, all because of Adrian Newey. Vettel has nothing to do with it, if the roles were reversed, Webber would be a triple world champion, and maybe I'd be supporting the German. This should hopefully answer why Webber hasn't been champion yet. Not because of his (perceived) lack of ability, but because he has been oppressed by his team. Anybody denying this should really get themselves checked out for criminal levels of insanity.

The other arguments that have surfaced from the rats are the fact that Vettel is in it for himself, and the team are lucky to have him. When I challenged one, he tried to tell me that if Vettel was still in a Toro Rosso, he would still be a triple world champion. Well, I'll let you guess among yourselves what my response was.

The big issue with these people, is that you cannot cure stupidity. Vettel patients will always defend their boy because they cannot see beyond the bigger picture. The pity I have for you guys is astronomical, but I have no time for idiots.

Unacceptable

"The sports fan in me feels quite numb."

Right I don't know where to begin so off the bat I'm just going to say this; I've never liked Sebastian Vettel. He's not a real driver, he was gifted three world championships on a silver platter, he's had the easy route his whole career and has been protected by some people who are deemed untouchable. He is the puppet boy controlled by the puppet masters. Furthermore, on a Sunday or, race day, for most of them I am working which generally means I can only catch highlights, which is fine because I'm out earning a living to keep me afloat at university.

So I work hard for roughly ten hours on a Sunday 7-5 kind of job, long days work which I do enjoy, but come 5 o'clock I'm tired. I generally want to come home, have a nice dinner and relax watching some Grand Prix action and then I come on here and do my thing. So how does it feel knowing that I find out prematurely that one of only nineteen races this year has been tarnished in controversy by a driver who I despise more than any human being on the planet? Revolting.

I've not watched the race. I'm not going to. Read autosport, BBC, eurosport, Sky if you have too, it's all the same but it has to be sugar coated in order to remain "partial." Well, bias is a luxury I can afford, except it's not called bias and it means something completely different. It's called honesty, and here is what those websites all want to say:

Sebastian Vettel disgraces everything F1 by deifying team orders.

Yes, "disgraces". He is a disgrace to his team, to his country, to his fellow drivers but worst of all, he has had a total lack of respect for his team mate and us the fans. I don't want to hear any of this "racing" bollocks. he was told to stand down by his boss, and he refused. He has thought himself a better mind than his team principle, his arrogance sickens me.

There is no further doubt in my head, and I am not ashamed to say: Sebastian Vettel is utter scum. Any die hard Vettel fans who are reading this and thinking of commenting, don't bother your opinion is now and forever invalid (I will still publish just to let the world see how fickle you are). 

"Mark is too slow get him out of the way." Piss off you immature excuse of a human being. How can anybody criticise their team mate like that? Mark Webber has nothing to show for it because of Vettel being easily played, but he is the better racing driver and character of the two. It's him today I feel so sorry for because I can't see him wanting to be at Red Bull any more. If you gave him a drive in a Marussia he'd be happy to get away from that sly piece of work. Christian Horner and Adrian Newey need to handle this correctly. Who am I kidding, no they won't. 

Sad thing is, nothing will get done. As Webber says, "he is protected." The FIA can't do anything, it wasn't illegal. Red Bull can do something, but they won't. What they can actually do, is flag up something to do with the FIA, even something made up about Seb's car that deems it illegal, thus disqualifying Vettel and giving Mark his rightful place. The team are going to win the championship any way, they can afford to give up the points. But they won't for fear of upsetting their cry baby "world champion."  

This is how soccer-ball fans must feel every week, complete and utter jokes and mugs for actually watching nonsense events such as this. I'm not proud to be a fan of F1 today. I will be tomorrow again when I clear my head and realise there is still a long way to go, but right now the sports fan in me feels quite numb.

No Malaysian GP Reviews!

Those of you outside the UK may be unaware that we have been hit by a wonderwall of snow storms, Northern Ireland (where I live) has been hit pretty bad and as a result, I've decided to help work by doing a few shifts for people who have been snowed in.

Unfortunately I have come to the conclusion that I will be unable to provide, and even watch any live or highlight coverage of the Malaysian Grand Prix meaning I am unable to provide any type of a review.

However all is not lost, if you click on this link, you will be directed to a site where comprehensive and perfect articles about Formula 1 are posted. This is a great review of qualifying and if you check back tomorrow you'll find a great race review, I know I will!

Thank you for reading My Formula 1, I will be bringing my thoughts on the first rounds of the season so far later on in the week. Keep it here for some great coverage! I'm away to cook me up some steak!

Kimi Triumphs Down Under

Kimi Raikkonen stormed to his 20th career win and the 1st of the 2013 season after a moderately quiet Australian Grand Prix.

The story once again revolved around tyre management and race strategy as Raikkonen completed a two-stop race while managing the wear on his Pirelli's very accurately. Consistency was the key to his form last year, and it looks as though he's immediately found his form. Last year he scored some very reasonable points after starting in 17th following a qualifying blunder, this year he capitalised on P7 after a signature Kimi start allowed him to slot into 4th after a couple of turns. 

Pole-sitter Sebastian Vettel reminded us of how dangerous Newey's RB9 can be be setting off quite far early on, but a surprise chaser emerged from the pack, Felipe Massa managed to turn down a 2s lead to actually leading the Grand Prix at a point. He was followed by Ferrari team mate Fernando Alonso the whole way who eventually managed 2nd behind Kimi and in front of Vettel in 3rd.

Vettel ultimately couldn't keep up with the pace of Raikkonen and Alonso, but his downfall came from the biggest surprise for another driver. Returning Force India driver and resident thug Adrian Sutil managed to hold the 3-time world champion up for a number of laps before he had to make his stop. Force India's form from last season has evidently continued as he was race leader for a while, a similar incident happened in Brazil with Nico Hulkenberg, who now driving for Sauber didn't get to start the race due to a fuel pump failure.  

As I predicted earlier, Mercedes had a disappointing day, despite Lewis Hamilton's 5th place. Although 10 points is a hell of a good haul, he dropped from P3 on the grid, and team mate Nico Rosberg had to retire from the race. I did say Mercedes have been highly over hyped already this season, and it doesn't look as if it'll improve soon. The greatest low from the weekend falls to McLaren who only managed to collect 2 points following Jenson Buttons 9th place finish. 

Their [McLaren] mishap in building an entirely new car has backfired massively on them. Sergio Perez had attempted to complete his feat of recovering a poor qualifying position into a podium, but no such luck today as Checo made a very shaky start to his McLaren debut. His lack of pace was so astonishing that eventually he just let people overtake him, he obviously has no confidence in the car. The feeling is reciprocated with his team mate. Button had to come in on lap 4 to change his already badly worn tyres. The Woking team needs to get it together right now if they are to recover anything, or they will finish behind Lotus and maybe Mercedes.

Albert Park is not well known for it's overtakes and there was no change in story today, but Raikkonen completed an outside overtake on Hamilton in the opening laps that was just sublime. 

Unlike his result in Abu Dhabi last year, Kimi did not just inherit the race, he worked hard for it, yet he described the win as "easy." He is showing massive confidence already and 67% of season opening winners go on to win the championship. The odds are in his favour and my money is fully on Raikkonen at this point. However, it will not be an easy ride.



Final Standings (©Autosport)

 1.  Kimi Raikkonen       Lotus-Renault         1h30m03.225s
 2.  Fernando Alonso      Ferrari                  + 12.451s
 3.  Sebastian Vettel     Red Bull-Renault         + 22.346s
 4.  Felipe Massa         Ferrari                  + 33.577s
 5.  Lewis Hamilton       Mercedes                 + 45.561s
 6.  Mark Webber          Red Bull-Renault         + 46.800s
 7.  Adrian Sutil         Force India-Mercedes   + 1m05.068s
 8.  Paul di Resta        Force India-Mercedes   + 1m08.449s
 9.  Jenson Button        McLaren-Mercedes       + 1m21.630s
10.  Romain Grosjean      Lotus-Renault          + 1m22.759s
11.  Sergio Perez         McLaren-Mercedes       + 1m23.367s
12.  Jean-Eric Vergne     Toro Rosso-Ferrari     + 1m23.857s
13.  Esteban Gutierrez    Sauber-Ferrari             + 1 lap
14.  Valtteri Bottas      Williams-Renault           + 1 lap
15.  Jules Bianchi        Marussia-Cosworth          + 1 lap
16.  Charles Pic          Caterham-Renault         +  2 laps
17.  Max Chilton          Marussia-Cosworth        +  2 laps
18.  Giedo van der Garde  Caterham-Renault         +  2 laps

Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1m29.274s

Not classified/retirements:

Driver            Team                On lap
Daniel Ricciardo  Toro Rosso-Ferrari  40
Nico Rosberg      Mercedes            26
Pastor Maldonado  Williams-Renault    25
Nico Hulkenberg   Sauber-Ferrari      1

World Championship standings, round 1:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Raikkonen      25        1.  Ferrari                    30
 2.  Alonso         18        2.  Lotus-Renault              26
 3.  Vettel         15        3.  Red Bull-Renault           23
 4.  Massa          12        4.  Mercedes                   10
 5.  Hamilton       10        5.  Force India-Mercedes       10
 6.  Webber          8        6.  McLaren-Mercedes            2
 7.  Sutil           6       
 8.  Di Resta        4       
 9.  Button          2       
10.  Grosjean        1

2013 Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying (Sunday Morning)

In in the unprecedented situation where we have qualy on a Sunday, the teams set off early on Sunday morning to pick up where they left off. The weather had continued on and off but the track was still damp.

Q2 - Despite the on-circuit conditions, the FIA deemed it safe enough for the DRS to be used but due to regulations, the driver aid can only be used in the two DRS zones. 

There were no big incidents like yesterday, Valtteri Bottas and Jean-Eric Vergne both going off track but the biggest moment came from Kimi Raikkonen who hit oversteer in the penultimate corner during a fast lap.

McLaren decided to be the first team to try the option supersoft tyre, Sergio Perez embarked into unknown territory and soon regretted it after he found that the conditions were too harsh for the option. Jenson Button soon realised this and before the curtain came down on Q2 he came back on the intermediate tyre to set a quick lap in order to enter Q3. To be quite honest, it was an absolutely hopeless move. Teams around McLaren were putting on fresh inters, yet they decided to try the least grippy tyre for a track that was still changing. Madness. 

In the end though, Nico Rosberg was fastest again.

OUT: HULKENBERG, SUTIL, VERGNE, RICCIARDO, PEREZ, BOTTAS

Really disappointing for Checo to go out on such a silly call, really doesn't instill a lot of confidence in your young driver if risks like that are going to be taken. Martin Whitmarsh was quoted as saying the team will "only be looking to score points" at this part of the season. Surely then the best thing to do would have been to get them in to Q3. Although Perez has managed to salvage podiums from these positions, different car, different pressure.

Q3 - No drivers were in any hurry to leave the comfort of their garages early, inters were the preferred choice when they did but it wasn't before long that the option supersofts became the fastest tyre.

In the end as the session finally came to a close, my predicted Red Bull front row lockout came to fruition as Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap with a 1m.27:407s, 0.4s quicker than his team mate Mark Webber. The closest challenger to the already dominant Bulls was Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton who was 0.6s off the pace. Rosberg who was quickest in the earlier sessions only managed 6th, a disappointing position considering his earlier pace.

The biggest down point of the morning was Button who was nearly 3s off Vettel's time down in 10th. After the session, he was quoted with saying "I'm surprised we're in Q3." Not good enough Jenson, McLaren as usual hitting out with an epic fail.

Grid:
1. Sebastian Vettel - Red Bull
2. Mark Webber - Red Bull
3. Lewis Hamilton - Mercedes
4. Felipe Massa - Ferrari
5. Fernando Alonso - Ferrari
6. Nico Rosberg - Mercedes
7. Kimi Raikkonen - Lotus
8. Romain Grosjean - Lotus
9. Paul di Resta - Force India
10. Jenson Button - McLaren

11: Nico Hulkenberg - Sauber
12: Adrian Sutil - Force India
13: Jean-Eric Vergne - Toro Rosso
14: Daniel Ricciardo - Toro Rosso
15: Sergio Perez - McLaren
16: Valtteri Bottas - Williams

17: Pastor Maldonado - Williams
18: Esteban Gutierrez - Sauber
19: Jules Bianchi - Marussia
20: Max Chilton - Marussia
21: Giedo van der Garde - Caterham
22: Charles Pic - Caterham

My Thoughts - Honestly, it's the nightmare start I was dreading. The fact of the matter is, Vettel was able to slip and slide everywhere on the lap before his fastest, and still went 0.9s quicker at the time. If this keeps up by China I have to say the interest in Formula 1 will just deteriorate.

Felipe Massa out-qualifying Fernando again is a great sign for his form, no immediate questions over the formers future early on will be a big change to debates around the paddock. Kimi Raikkonen is in a far better position that this time last year but just like every piece of machinery that wasn't designed by Adrian Newey, his Lotus team was miles off the pace.

For the race later on, expect the Bulls to tear away, Vettel-Webber 1-2 is guaranteed. The race will be for third, just like the whole season. Naive people will say "it's early days yet" but if anyone really knows the sport, you'll understand my negativity. As I've said before if it's the same story by China, well I can't see there being anything even close to 2012.

The teams should start thinking about 2014 right away, voices at Ferrari have stated they aren't even discussing it but after this result, there will be notes jotted down.

2013 Australian Grand Prix - Qualifying

I have to say, after watching Sebastian Vettel leave the competition behind in both the free practice sessions on Friday, I was not looking forward to the beginning of the 2013 Formula 1 season. Then in FP3, the heavens opened and Romain Grosjean came out on top, so there's hope yet... So long as every GP gets rained out...

In my opinion, the season is over as soon as China if this Red Bull streak continues, 2011 was a horrible year for Formula 1 and this season looks to follow suit if his dominance continues. Expect my blog to continue but there will be no enthusiasm if he does, and if you are for some season a brain dead Vettel fan beware, I will not hold back on anything. Also, for every race that the BBC does not have live, I am forced to watch Sky, my hands are unfortunately tied and there will be Brundle-bashing.

Before the session got underway, there was quite a lot of focus on F1's rookie drivers. This year features the most inexperienced grid ever for an F1 season. The focus was placed primarily on Valtteri Bottas who has the strongest car out of the five newbies. He is also the only rookie not to come from GP2, his lack of combat racing may hinder him.



Q1 - The start of Q1 was delayed by a total of 30 minutes. This is due to the lack of drainage around Albert Park. Throughout the year these are just normal roads and therefore lack the high quality drainage systems that come with race tracks.

Eventually the session got underway and it wasn't long before the first incident occurred, Giedo van der Garde lost control of his Caterham and collided in a tyre wall, as a result his front wing got trapped beneath the car, extremely dangerous in these conditions. Martin Brundle criticised him for not coming in straight away, but he failed to see the brand new front wing in front of the car! Idiot... It wasn't long before similar incidents occurred, Felipe Massa was lucky to get away with only front wing damage, his Ferrari could have lost a wheel or two. Lewis Hamilton continued his run of poor performance in his new Mercedes after he beached the car in a dangerous position. He was able to reverse out and continue on but after his rear wing collided in the impact, he came in to have it changed.

As if this wasn't enough drama, Sergio Perez, Mark Webber, Esteban Gutierrez and Pastor Maldonado all lost control of their cars resulting in running of the track and in some cases spinning. Paul di Resta suffered a similar fate not too long after.

Towards the end of the session Charles Pic also made contact with the wall meaning both Caterham drivers lost their front wings but the biggest incident came not too long after his first. Gutierrez was unable to avoid the wall this time and lost his front wing but also had to stop the car. Yellow flags were deployed meaning nobody could set any faster times.

Nico Rosberg was on top at the start of the session and after Vettel, Grosjean and others set faster times, Rosberg found his way back to the top. In the end though six of the slowest drivers had to depart and the big name to miss out was Pastor Maldonado after his team left a tyre switch too late. Williams were supposed to struggle but his inexperienced team mate Bottas managed to do just fine out-qualifying him. The usual suspects both Marussia and Caterham dropped out as is expected, the other casualty was Gutierrez who was unable to set a fast time.



Q2 - Q2 was delayed by a further 40 minutes following an increase of rain, talk already started circulating about qualifying being postponed and surely enough after plenty of speculation and debate, qualifying was cancelled. The question was do we call the grid the way it already stood as the starting grid, or will we continue tomorrow morning?

The FIA announced Q2 and Q3 will take place at 11:00 tomorrow morning meaning any support race will be cancelled. Conditions are set to improve but there is no guarantee.



My Thoughts - As I said before, I take this as a victory for F1 fans, the opening race of the season won't be dominated by the puppet boy because of the rain. Granted it's a nuisance but at least we can expect some kind of drama tomorrow.

Many commentators and Ferrari test driver Pedro de la Rosa criticised the track paint for the lack of grip. In a tweet he stated "black paint over white road markings is causing problems for drivers. Very slippery." It just wasn't pleasant driving conditions for anybody, during Massa and Gutierrez's incidents you could see the water just piling into the cockpit.

It would have been nice to continue on today in order to have a mixed grid for the race but it was getting too dark. If conditions are dry tomorrow I expect a Red Bull front row lock out followed by Grosjean, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in some kind of order. A wet qualifying followed by a dry race is my idea of a perfect race weekend, but a wet race could also throw us up some excitement, as usually Button and Alonso excel in wet conditions, but Vettel looks quick in the rain which is something I've never seen before. Hamilton and Mercedes isn't working out as I predicted but it is still early days yet.

He needs to get it sorted if he is to salvage anything from this season. But like any point I've made, it's early days yet.

Preview: 2013 Australia Grand Prix

There is no better track to open a Formula One season than that in Melbourne. Albert Park or Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit is a 16 corner street circuit which traditionally since 1996 (bar two seasons) has been the calendar opener. There is a unique focus on this weekend because we don't know how the teams are going to preform. Yes from testing we have an idea, but there are some things that teams hide from us. After the lights go out, we'll have a clearer picture.

Track profile courtesy of Caterham Racing

Track Characteristics
Melbourne is a high downforce track which is also very demanding on the brakes. Pirelli have decided to open their campaign by providing the teams with supersoft and medium compounded tyres, the first time supersofts have been used at this circuit. Let's hope they hold out during the high speed corners. Grip levels will improve as the race goes on and with the average track temperature being 25°C, rain is highly unlikely. Going by testing figures, commentators expect a 2 or 3 stop race. The double DRS zones (which are now mandatory for each circuit) are on the pit straight and the straight between turns 2 & 3.

Jenson Button was the most recent winner, a circuit he tends to favour and succeed in. The story couldn't be more different for national hero Mark Webber who always seems to find nothing but disappointment at his home GP, however the odds are often reversed come Silverstone for the pair. An Australian driver has never won here.

Preview
A number of the teams will certainly feel uncomfortable following a rain ridden testing campaign in Barcelona. Lotus lost their impressive Jerez pace and a day without Kimi Raikkonen following his illness, they join a number of teams who will have very empty data logs. Due to no dramatic technical changes for this year, the cars performance's are expected to remain the same, so expect strong charges from the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, the Ferrari of Fernando Alonso but most importantly, the McLaren of Jenson Button. No doubt though, all eyes will be on Lewis Hamilton in his new Mercedes.

The surprise form of the midfield teams like Sauber and Williams looks unlikely to make a re-insurgence, though do not rule it out. Challenges from the Force India of Paul di Resta would also be a welcome feature, and expect home boy Daniel Ricciardo to try and impress his crowd.

Qualifying
Always ridiculously hard to predict, I would always refuse to but since I've started this blog I feel obliged to. As quick as Sergio Perez was last year, I can't imagine him getting his first pole position in Formula 1, the same goes for team mate Button's chances. Pole position is most likely going to come from Vettel, Alonso or Raikkonen. I also think the people on the bandwagon are going to be highly disappointed after they see Mercedes's qualifying performance.

The Race
Expect a frantic 290m sprint to turn 1 as all drivers attempt to establish their roles within their respective teams and the grid's pecking order. However I genuinely think the drivers who will come out on top will be those who were in the title hunt at the tail end of last season. Vettel, Raikkonen and Alonso will take 3rd, 2nd and 1st respectively whenever the race Down Under comes to a close.

After Sunday there are going to be a lot of satisfied F1 fans as this weekend ends the draught we so desperately hate. The last season of the current engines will not see a mighty unpredictable turn of events like last year, but round 1 will certainly give us the opening we know it can provide. 

Editors Note
Every weekend I will be providing qualifying and race reviews but due to my future Marshall and work commitments on a Saturday and Sunday and the BBC selling all my rights, I'll not be able to provide live coverage on Twitter or immediate reviews. To amend this, I plan to watch every highlight session with a note book on hand to jot down even the tiniest of details. Remember to keep it here for everything Formula 1, and follow me on Twitter @Houston60. 

2013 Predictions

As I type this, every single driver, team, mechanic, race official and a surprising number of local and international fans are already in Melbourne, getting prepared for the roaring start after the lights that we all desperately crave. Over on Let's Talk F1, we (the team) came together to provide our predictions for the 2013 season over a number of categories. You can check out our thoughts here but today I'm going to elaborate on my answers in order to make my points a little more clearer.

First just a few small thoughts. I don't think we can expect to see as much unpredictability as we did this time last year. Seven different winners in seven different races was magnificent and I would give anything for it to happen again, but if anyone below Lotus wins then I'll be slightly surprised. As much as the hype being Mercedes, and today's statement from Toto Wolff, I can't see the team or more directly, Lewis Hamilton winning. I'd like to hope I'm wrong but I just can't see it. Sergio Perez must find the strength that gave him three podiums last season, and make it last the whole 19 races, not just half.

If the F1 bad boys such as Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado don't show any signs of improvement, it'll be the end. Maldonado's future overall is in doubt with money issues back home already, so he needs to be absolutely focused.

Drivers World Champion

There are a few guys I would consider for the title, Fernando Alonso for his sublime driving and Jenson Button for his outright dominance in his McLaren team this season. Despite all these attributes, Kimi Raikkonen is the man whom I'll be backing this season. He showed his everlasting quality when everybody said he would dwindle, he managed to salvage a win whenever the questions were asked of the team's capabilities  and he became the leader we all know he can be following his completion of every single lap of 2012. With the early signs of form from Lotus's E21, I reckon he'll be at the forefront to challenge the title. Anything to stop puppet boy from fluking a 4th title.

Constructors Championship

Love them or hate them, there is just no other answer. I'd like there to be, but there just isn't. Red Bull have (in my eyes) the only driver line up this year who are capable of scoring consistently high points and multiple wins. Mark Webber and the puppet have the genius of Adrian Newey behind them, a quality that no other team will ever hope to impress.

Rookie To Watch

For me there can only be one answer, and plenty of evidence to back it up! Valtteri Bottas showed last season during the FP1 sessions that he was quicker than most other drivers, his future team mate Maldonado and more importantly, that waste of space Bruno Senna. The Williams team have decided to ditch a money bag for some real driving talent. The rest of the rookies don't seem to have the edge that Bottas already has. They also come from GP2, a series where contact and crashes are rife and almost common practice, Bottas has come from a different series which again adds another advantage. I expect big podium finishes here and there for the second Flying Finn.

Best Grand Prix

The Brit that I am, I should be shot for not saying Silverstone. First race I ever attended was 2012 and I loved the circuit even more after. My favourite track is without doubt Monza, mainly because I love the speeds achieved and the fact that Red Bull can't get it right here, but neither of these two compare to the GP I'm looking forward to this season. The Canadian Grand Prix is the round I'm most looking forward to because of the sheer levels of entertainment it has given us year after year, the greatest Grand Prix I ever watched was Canada 2011, Jenson Button coming from 24th to take the win from the false driver everybody seems to think was untouchable. I reckon it'll throw us up a game changer this season. 

Worst Grand Prix

Singapore. It's not even getting a photo because I hate it that much. I won't even watch it so don't be expecting a race preview or review.

The Driver Who Has To Improve

I mentioned Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean earlier as drivers who need to hit the ground running. Others include the Toro Rosso boys who face the axe due to the team's politics if they don't show anything and Felipe Massa who's job will no doubt be under threat. The man for me is none of these drivers because he has completely different circumstances. Paul di Resta is no longer a young driver, he is now experienced, knows every track and seems to have a very quick car this season. It's about high time he showed his talent and get his arse on a podium ASAP. I know he can do it and I am not alone. This is the season where Paul must take his opportunities because I hope for 2014 he is with a faster team.

The Team Which Has To Improve

Obvious answers would be Williams but they've hit their improvement peak last season, they need to shake that time waster Maldonado and bring in another quality driver. Mercedes would be the other one but I have genuine belief not to fall into the hype or jump on the bandwagon. Through being a fan for a number of years, I have to see Sauber maintaining their semi-amazing season because I've noticed their year-on-year performance is like a wave, always rising and coming down again. They have the money in place again and talent so they need to utilise their chances and not fall back.

That concludes my F1 2013 predictions. For every race this season (bar Singapore of course, haha) I'll be providing track previews, race predictions and reviews in order to bring you my opinion on current events as they develop. Australia will be up very soon and I am very excited that I can bring you this coverage.

Remember you can follow every story with me here on my blog, over on Let's Talk F1 and Twitter @Houston60. 

Komeback Kobayashi

On a statement published on his official site, former Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi has announced that he will join Scuderia Ferrari in the FIA owned World Endurance Championship.

Statement:

Maranello, 11 March – Kamui Kobayashi is joining the ranks of Scuderia Ferrari, which makes him the first Asian driver to play his part in the history of the Prancing Horse. The Japanese driver will take part in GT races, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) thus strengthening the team of drivers on the Ferrari books. His first event will be the Silverstone 6 Hours on 14 April. Kamui was born in 1986 in Amagasaki and made his Formula 1 debut on 18 October 2009 for Toyota, in his home race, in Japan. Driving for Toyota and Sauber, Kobayashi took part in 60 Grands Prix. He scored a total of 125 points and his best result was a podium finish in the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix.

“I am pleased to be able to announce today my new role,” said Kobayashi. “It’s an honour for me to become part of the Ferrari family. It will be the first time that I compete in endurance races in a championship featuring GT cars. I can’t wait to start working with AF Corse and I really hope I can aim for the title, along with my team-mates. I will work hard and give my all in this new chapter in my career, knowing I can count on the support of all my fans. I would like to thank Scuderia Ferrari for this opportunity and, finally, would like to dedicate this season’s new adventure to everyone in Japan, who on this very day, commemorate the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake that hit our country.”

The photo on the website shows him shaking hands with Ferrari team boss Stefano  Domenicali, and this can only boost his chances of making an F1 comeback in the future. Hopefully this is the start of something very beautiful as he will be a sorely missed character this year, a driver of his talent should not have been forced out by the size of his bank account.

I'm very glad that I'll have a competition to watch him in. His original plan was to save up enough money to re-enter F1 in 2014, but it's not as simple as taking a year out to fund raise, he's being proactive about the situation, but he also has the sense to keep himself in the spotlight, and he could not have picked a brighter light.

Barcelona: Day Two, Three & Four

Pre-season testing is nearing a very sudden end, it's then only two weeks away until the lights go out in Melbourne, it still seems a lifetime away! It hasn't gotten any drier for the teams, something which is really hampering development of the 2013 models. 

Day Two Final Standings

1. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1:22.716s
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 1:23.181s
3. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1:23.628s
4. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 1:23.743s
5. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 1:23.744s
6. Adrian Sutil (Force India) – 1:24.215s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – 1:25.483s
8. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1:25.598s
9. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) – 1:26.316s
10. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 1:26.655s
11. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 1:27.878s

As a Lotus fan, the words 'THANK CHRIST' have never came out of my mouth accompanied by much needed relief. Although set on a drying track it's not much to take away, but it's a bloody start! Romain Grosjean was followed by another let down of testing in the form of McLaren's Jenson Button but really, it doesn't really matter beyond this point. If testing pace is no relation to race pace during the season, then wet testing is just a waste of time. It would be a lot more cost effective for the teams  just to pack up for the day and go home, but then I'm not sure if the spectators pay to watch testing or not so it wouldn't exactly be fair. 

I haven't a terrible lot to say on the matter, there's nothing that can be taken away from wet running other than seeing how the cars react under the conditions. However one would think that after one session the teams would have all they need. No point in chancing a collision or crash. The forecast for the next two days is set to improve, let's up the action does too.

Day Three Final Standings

1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) – 1:20.558s
2. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) – 1:21.266s
3. Adrian Sutil (Force India) – 1:21.627s
4. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1:22.305s
5. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – 1:22.468s
6. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) – 1:22.553s
7. Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 1:22.658s
8. Sergio Perez (McLaren) – 1:22.694s
9. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) – 1:23.223s
10. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 1:23.380s
11. Davide Valsecchi (Lotus) – 1:23.448s
12. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) – 1:24.028s
13. Giedo van der Garde (Caterham) – 1:24.235s

I'd like to start this post off by wishing my favourite superstar Kimi Raikkonen a very speedy recovery. The Flying Finn was due to begin his test today but has succumbed to food poisoning... Or is just really, really hungover.

On a completely dry day, Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton set the fastest time over any of the Barcelona days. The Brit put in blinding laps to top the time sheets and will be hoping that his form carry's over into Melbourne. One thing to note about every team is how close the grid was. Liittle under 4s seperates 13 drivers which is an encouraging display, very delighted to see.

Bianchi's Second Chance

Jules Bianchi who suffered a recent career defeat when he lost out to Adrian Sutil (opinion coming VERY SOON) for the Force India seat got a second chance when Marussia offered him a race seat. This was following the immediate dismissal of Luiz Razia after his sponsors failed to provide the team with the funds that were promised. The team had no hesitation in cutting their loses and signing up this ever impressive young man to partner fellow rookie Max Chilton. 

Bianchi also represents the sports 4th French driver, If there was ever a case to pull out of those tragic desert/Asian races and return to Europe, it is this very statement. Imagine the riots there would be if Britain didn't run a Grand Prix this year. There wouldn't be any, because anybody in Formula 1 rolls over and simply buries their dignity because Bernie says so. It's a joke he couldn't be bothered to lower his prices to accommodate a 20th GP this season. 

Bernie needs to be reminded that it's not his 'yes men' who pay to see races, it is us. The real fans.

Day Four

This is it. The final day to make a mark and stand your ground. Another day of drying running means the teams will simply be trying to showcase their speed. Personally, the results of today will be the closest in terms of race pace. Not exact readings, but very closely related.

Final Standings

  1. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) – 1:20.130s

  2. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 1:20.494s

  3. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 1:21.444s

  4. Nico Hulkenberg (Sauber) – 1:21.541s

  5. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) – 1:21.658s

  6. Paul di Resta (Force India) – 1:21.664s

  7. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) – 1:22.415s

  8. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 1:22.514s

  9. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) – 1:22.524s

10. Charles Pic (Caterham) – 1:23.115s

11. Jules Bianchi (Marussia) – 1:23.167s

12. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) – 1:23.628s

13. Max Chilton (Marussia) – 1:24.103s

I have to say, this was probably my favourite day of any test. What a grid! Everybody thought Lewis Hamilton had pulled off a wonder feat yesterday by stunning everyone with the fastest time set, and then his dark horse of a team mate Nico Rosberg breaks his team mates 2013 record by 0.5s! 

The end result certainly looks like it should come the first race, except from Red Bull cause they would have to be special and look like they're struggling (idiots). Great to see Kimi back in action and set some more consistent laps, he even done far fewer laps than anybody above him, he is certainly looking to be a contender for a podium down under.

Nico Hulkenberg finishes off Sauber's pre season campaign in style after grabbing himself a top 5 finish. Today also marks the first time that Caterham have got the better of their closest rival Marussia in any of the Barcelona days. Charles Pic set a faster time that either of the Marussia drivers who each had a go out on track.

Daniel Ricciardo and Valterri Bottas were among the disappointments, both have shown that they have quicker pace than their rivals but each failed to make any relevant impact on today's proceedings. Bottas's team mate Pastor Maldonado couldn't break into the top 5.

It has been a terrific few weeks of testing, and I have really enjoyed writing up about them even if my posts have been ridiculously late. Expect more frequent blog posts and a lot more from me in the future. 

Thank you very much for reading!