My personal favourite rookie this year has done quite a lot to show he deserves his spot at the Williams team over that money grabbing monkey Bruno Senna. Bottas was one of the highly anticipated arrivals this year after his impressive FP1 performances last year, often outperforming many drivers with full time drivers.
Despite not scoring any points, he has certainly lived up to the hype. It was highly disappointing to see him not only retire for the first time in Hungary, but also to see Pastor Maldonado to win Williams first and so far only single point. With the pace of the FW35 being highly disturbing, no one could have predicted what would happen in the wet.
During a wet qualifying session in Canada, The Flying Finn managed to put his car on the second row of the grid, P3. It certainly shocked us all but as great as the lap was, the end result was the complete opposite finishing away down in P14.
What sets Bottas apart from the other four rookies this year is where he came from. The other rookies all came from GP2 (Jules Bianchi has raced in the series but came from Formula Renault 3.5). I'm not the biggest fan of the GP2 series, I think it breeds a different kind of driver in a negative way. Bottas is the best of the rest after finishing P11 in Malaysia, and until Maldonado scored the single point he was beating him. I'm not saying GP2 is a bad series, but it hasn't really produced a champion since Lewis Hamilton and it doesn't look as though it'll produce another one any time soon.
Concern is expressed over where he'll be next year. Formula 1 really needs this guy, he is by all definitions a well rounded driver. He never has tyre problems, he manages his race strategy really well and he has a great arsenal of overtaking moves. In a series that is become more and more crowded with pay drivers and over hyped youngsters, Bottas is the breath of fresh air this sport needs. Give him a quicker car and it will pay dividends.
Though his score tally or lack of TV coverage may not be impressive, I think he's one to watch for the future, and I always get excited when he's racing.
I think it's safe to say, Williams need some sort of paradigm shift. Yesterday they confirmed reports that as of next year they will run Mercedes Benz engines. Team Principle Sir Frank Williams released a statement yesterday:
“I’m delighted to announce our new association with Mercedes-Benz for the 2014 Formula One season and beyond. Mercedes-Benz has been one of the sport’s most successful engine suppliers and we believe that they will have an extremely competitive engine package. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Renault for their continued hard work since we renewed our engine partnership at the beginning of the 2012 season. We have enjoyed a strong relationship that has resulted in much success over the years, including powering us to winning ways once again last year at the Spanish Grand Prix,”
It really does give the impression of a match made in heaven. Mercedes Benz love to innovate driving and Williams are world renowned for technological and local innovation, but is this enough to bring back the good ol' days?
First of all, no. The current partnership with Renault only began last year, they made the switch from Cosworth and although it brought them a race win in 2012, afterwards everything went down hill from Pastor Maldonado going on an all out rampage against decent driving, and Bruno Senna displaying that he couldn't be quick on an empty track. In fact, with seven different engine manufacturers (Cosworth twice) since their last drivers and constructors championship's in 1997, history shows it'll take a little more.
Indeed, they definitely took steps forward this season by getting rid of that waste of space [Bruno] Senna by replacing him with the absolute prodigy, Valtteri Bottas. However something went horribly McLaren (or wrong) in the development of this year's car, the FW35. Maldonado called it a step backwards. Had they provided Bottas with a car of last years potential, big points could have been achieved, podium points.
All is not lost however. While an engine change is clearly not a race winning change, Williams already have the blocks for success. It's just a matter of putting them together.
The first step is looking towards next season. My Formula 1 has always placed strong emphasis on next season's formula change, and I believe Williams are playing a decoy here. Let's be blunt, the car this year is crap. It struggles for race pace and rarely exceeds Q1, it's almost like they haven't tried. There is a very good chance they are focused entirely on 2014's challenge, and I wouldn't blame them. Potentially we could see Caterham's (long shot, I know) getting big points next year, so count nothing out.
The next move that Williams should play is to do with their drivers, and I bet you're all thinking the same. Get Maldonado out. He's no worth to anyone. After the death of his country's leader, funding for Maldonado has been under threat from the new government, and since that's all he's there for, it's safe to say he wont have a drive next year.
In terms of Bottas, to start winning races or even performing consistently, that man needs high level Vettel/Alonso treatment. He needs to marked outright as team leader and number one driver. The young Flying Finn has multiple world championships in him, he needs the team to rally behind him. It would be stupid not to!
This year also saw Sir Frank appoint his successor (and daughter) Claire Williams to take over when he retires. A breath of fresh air like this could seriously lift the team to better heights. It could also see the push for Susie Wolff to become a full time driver. This might give women in F1 the push it finally needs. There are a lot of people opposed to having female F1 drivers, but the times are changing rather fast. Indycar seen four women race at the Indy500, and Danica Patrick is breaking records for female NASCAR drivers. As a market, F1 could look unappealing if it doesn't show it's a 21st century organisation.
Everything Williams need is right at their finger tips. While losing Toto Wolff to Mercedes is a big deal, it has bound to have played a part in securing a "long term" Mercedes engine deal. It's whether or not Williams can take a step back, look at the mess they are in, and say "right this is what's happening."
As a British-Irish F1 fan, it's sad to see Williams fail as they are doing. it's actually a joke. Enough is enough with the whole Maldonado thing, Claire should take over the running and Bottas needs to be given the support he deserves. A new engine deal is the first step, not a revolution. That will only come when big changes are made.
Lotus may have started off the car launches with the E21, but Woking based team McLaren hold the honour of starting off six consecutive days of car launches, a truly wonderful time for Formula 1 fans! I covered the launch live this morning and published a full report on Let's Talk F1. To see the new MP4-28 take a read by clicking here.
2014 Comeback For HRT (sort of)?
As the FIA published the 2013 season entries last November, Spanish outfit HRT were not included due to their financial instability and insecure future, thus only 11 teams will be appearing on the grid this season.
However, an American/Canadian company called Scorpion have been attempting a buyout bid in order to salvage an entry onto the grid. Bernie Ecclestone even gave a nod to the bid but the FIA ruled out any possibility this year as the deadline is long gone, stating they will not accept any specialist circumstances.
They shouldn't worry about pushing hard to get a 2013 slot because the regulations are more or less the same, meaning they would still be hopelessly uncompetitive. The best thing to do would be to develop a monster of a machine for the 2014 seismic shift in performance. They might even catch up with the rest of the pack!
Nurburgring Gastgeber 2013 Großen Preis (Nurburgring To Host 2013 Grand Prix).
Finally we have been guaranteed a German Grand Prix and will be returning to the wonderful Nurburgring!
Bernie Ecclestone has cast doubt over both the event and venue after the group who owns the circuit failed to raise the funds necessary. This means that we will most certainly have 19 races next season with the European venue still to be decided. Hopefully if anybody had any sense they'd be straight back to Hockenheim for both German tracks. That would be the definition of epic.
Time is Slowly Running Out
This is a message to Force India, Caterham and Marussia. It is time to get your finger out of your arses and get us a full driver line up. I'm sick to the death speculating, my #HireHeikki campaign has been working flat out (like 2 tweets every month, whatever), testing starts very soon and it's ridiculous how we don't know who's driving. I can't remember it every being this late!
The closest rumour I've heard yet is that Luiz Razia (pictured) has been linked to the Marussia seat but these are unconfirmed rumours and to be honest, I'd take Vitaly Petrov or dare I say it, Bruno Senna before another rookie.
Force India launch their car tomorrow, I would like to think they would have the common courtesy for us the fans and Paul di Resta to name a second driver. I even think I'd take back Adrian Sutil at this late stage.
Both Caterham and Marussia launch on the morning of the Jerez test on the 5th of February so at the end of the day, they have no choice but to name drivers soon.
This is however great for Max Chilton, Paul di Resta and Charles Pic as their team mates will be nothing more than a second thought, meaning the team will focus on them first.
UPDATE:
It appears Glock has turned towards the DTM driving for old F1 outfit BMW (ESPN). For those who are unaware, the DTM is the German version of touring cars and has had a number of former F1 stars such as David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher.
I will personally miss him but since I have access to the DTM I am still excited to see him race and I'd like to wish him the best of luck!
"I don't see any reason why I can't do well in Formula 1." - Valtteri Bottas
Today I received the news that I had been waiting for since FP1 at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix. For those of you who have not heard, I shall not spoil the news for you:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20524465
Yes so at long last the ghost that is Sir Frank Williams and the powers within have decided that they finally have milked both the money cows that are Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna to the point where they can afford to let the latter go, and in his place appoint a driver with that one trait you think all drivers should have: TALENT.
Quick rewind back to 2010. The 2009 season had finished, we had a British champion in the ever impressive Jenson Button. Brawn transforms into Mercedes, but as an entirely new outfit with new executives and new drivers in Rosberg and God (Schumacher). Jenson (with no surprises) replaces the outgoing Kovalainen at McLaren, leaving the other contributor to Brawn's championship double unemployed. Enter Williams.
Williams hire the ever consistent Barichello and the new exciting rookie, Nico Hulkenberg. We didn't know it at the time, but because it's clearer than a pane of glass now, the Hulk has got it! So they had a promising young talent, and Rubens had finally been able to shake his number 2 status (Mark Webber, Felipe Massa take note). They had a great 2010! The Hulk was on pole for goodness sake! It was a great time and things were looking good.
What went wrong in 2011? For reasons unknown, the team fell away. They collapsed. The Hulk had been dropped for the bank of Venezuela. It was a disaster unknown to this day. But no matter what you think or say, it was the last time (to date we see Rubens in a Formula 1 car). His replacement in 2012? A young boy who did not buy his seat with money (although it was plentiful) but with his name. I'll say no more other than, funding was low, so they increased their cash flow with a boost from Toto Wolff and the bank of Brazil.
The disaster of that is Maldonado essentially ruined the majority of races or more importantly, endangered lives. And Senna? Lets just say it made us think we forged his application. Let's not forget, this isn't the first time Williams had hired a man who was detrimental to the sport. Montoya was no Keke Rosberg or Alain Prost but that's a different story. But after everybody caught a grip, and Sir Frank Williams stranglehold over the team is loosening has resulted in THE best move for the team since hiring the wonderful talent that is Jacques Villeneuve (to name one).
I honestly believe Senna's exit is honestly far far too late. I would've loved to seen a mid season switch (first season in a long time we haven't had one) to give Valtteri Bottas a real showing. But I guess he doesn't need it. After all, he is Finnish. I would love to give him the title of the Flying Finn, but I believe this chap is still learning. He'll love to follow in the steps of Kimi Raikkonen, Keke Rosberg or Mika Hakkinen, and I believe he will. Watch this man, I guarantee you'll be well impressed.
