Lotus In Trouble & Introducing: The E22

Lotus today announced that Eric Bouiller will no longer be with the team, and that Gerard Lopez will be taking over.

So let's get this straight.The only man who could stop the sinking ship, has been let go... Whilst the man who caused the ship to sink is taking complete control. Wow... Just wow.

I'm huge Lotus fan and not just because Kimi Raikkonen drove for them for two years, I was a fan of Renault before with Fernando Alonso, so naturally I just support the team.

The funding fiasco and the absolute gall not to pay Kimi Raikkonen last year really annoyed me but I figured every team hits hard times, and Kimi isn't ever going to be short of cash (not that it matters, it is the principal after all).

They then announced that they wouldn't be attending Jerez, but assured us that other teams wouldn't be either. Yet even the poorest teams managed to book their place. So now Lotus look weak and broke.

I unlike many other fans saw the sense of hiring Pastor Maldonado. Give him a half decent car whilst he brings in the cash. It was and still is a better idea than bringing in Nico Hulkenberg who would just have thrown the toys out of his pram because he wasn't getting his own way. 

However letting/making Boullier go is absolutely crazy. Most likely he will be destined for McLaren if you believe the hype. It could also spell the end for Romain Grosjean who is managed by Boullier.

Introducing: The E22

On a lighter note, along with McLaren today, Lotus tweeted an angled picture of their car, the E22. I thought it was a little bit childish to release a photo at the same time as McLaren had their's, but I digress:

Bar the streaks on the monocoque and the introduction of Maldonado's PDVSA sponsors (and others), little to nothing has changed. The stupid red is still present however, the first name of the driver is still atop of the car which I think is a really nice touch.

If you have seen the McLaren or the computer generated version of the Williams car, you'd know that the nose is just as horrific as the experts predicted. Yet Lotus have managed to alter the penis design and have adapted a two pronged/tusk style nose.

I'm no expert so I don't know the benefits and disadvantages of them both but aesthetically, it's a lot more pleasing than the anteater. The E22 is definitely still sexy... And it knows it.

Quick 2014 Update

Hey guys, hope you all had a good holiday season and a happy new year.

Just posting a quick message here to let you know that I am in the process of exams at university, but those will be over soon and I will be setting aside a certain amount of time every week to write here, and on the Let's Talk F1 website.

I've missed writing but education comes first and to be quite honest, university has been so brilliant and there was a million and one different things exciting than Formula 1 this year.

What To Expect

Hopefully later this week I'll do an extremely belated 2013 award post. Shouldn't be too difficult to detail...

A quick look at the newbies of F1. Well, so far there is only two but I'm sure they're both worth a look at!

So far I am in charge of reviewing McLaren's, Caterham's and Force India's car launches for Let's Talk F1. Although expect them to be on the 'lite' side of things. Teams have just gone all out on brand new power train's and engine packages, I'm sure having expensive unveiling's is the last thing on their minds. I will be covering all the teams on here so make sure you check both sites regularly.

Let's Talk F1 will have a brand new look soon enough and with it a new team and a new agenda to bringing you the best in personal opinion and latest news in Formula 1. If you haven't already, make sure you add the page to your favourites and follow us on Twitter.

I'd like to evaluate the current financial state of Lotus, and why I would pick Pastor Maldonado over Nico Hulkenberg any day of the week.

I hope to be more active in 2014, I am also hoping for a more exiting F1 season too, I've always been really heavy into my rallying and motorbikes, and even the 6 hour races of the WEC were more enjoyable than the majority of the F1 races last year. 2014 has a lot to live up too!

Breaking News - Menstrual Maldonado in at Lotus

For an extended version of this article, click here.

It appears Lotus have signed Maldonado for a three year deal after talks with Nico Hulkenberg broke down.

source: http://pitlanetalk.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/pastor-maldonado-signs-for-lotus-for-2014/

I had called this on Twitter a while back, and now that it's happened I wish I was wrong. Hulkenberg despite his commitment issues is far more deserving based on this year alone for a drive. I know Lotus have struggled for cash  this year but signing Maldonado to me seems desperate.

One thing's for sure, and not one person on this planet will argue with me:

He's no bloody Kimi Raikkonen.

7 Most Impressive Drivers So Far: Valtteri Bottas

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.

The Story So Far... Part One

We're a good way through the season now and I think it's time to look at the progress of all the teams and drivers. I had promised to do a driver a day but that would have interrupted Canada which is shaping up to be the most exciting Grand Prix yet again.

Nobody could have guessed who would have won the first race, and no one could have predicted the controversy we have already faced. But we've had a new Monaco winner, progression from some teams and regression from others. Over the next few days I'll be taking a close look at each team and how they have performed so far. Please enjoy!

Marussia
Currently chilling above Caterham in the Constructors Championship which is their goal, I'd say their season is off to a blinder. KERS has appeared to boost their performance and the attitude around the team seems to be rather positive. Keep this up and good things will happen. The disappearance of the 10th place money prize could either make or break their existence in the future however.

Max Chilton
Like a typical pay-driver, he hasn't met the standard. I love the fact he's a Brit, however his performances compared to the rest of the back markers (especially when it comes to qualifying) is poor. I can see him getting better though as the season progresses. The boy will learn but unfortunately he'll always just be a cash flow to Marussia. When they no longer need it, he could find himself replaced.

Monaco proved a low point when he miscalculated the gap between him and Pastor Maldonado, resulting in a major collision. Regardless, Max achieved his best position (twice) and unlike the other three back runners, Max has finished every race so far.

Jules Bianchi
It nearly didn't come together for the young Frenchman! He was overlooked for the Force India seat after they elected to go for Adrian Sutil. In my eyes (and hopefully the masses) they made the wrong decision. This guy is quick. Pure speed and class. He relishes having an unheard of second chance and he is refusing to waste it.

Bianchi constantly out qualifies his team mate and his Caterham counterparts, and places his team in 10th place because of his P13 finish in Malaysia. The guy will not be at the back for long. Someone like Sauber who love young aces like this guy will want him. When Paul di Resta moves up the grid, Force India should definitely give Jules first preference. 

What's even more promising is the fact he is a member of Ferrari's Driver Academy. Future World Champion?

Caterham
Despite having the nicest livery, I've been really disappointed. Caterham's goals just keep on getting bigger and bigger, but their achievements keep getting smaller and smaller.

It's not come together for them yet despite major updates in Spain. A huge design flaw is holding them back, and an inexperienced driver line-up isn't helping matters.



Charles Pic
Last year, I thought Pic's move from Marussia was a smart one. Little did I know Pic would take two steps back. I don't think he's driven badly, I think it's the car holding him back.

If Tony Fernandes would get serious about F1 and stop dicking about with ridiculous second rate soccer ball teams, then we might have Caterham spectacle to watch.

It's impossible to judge based on the awful performance of that CT03, but at least he's remained relatively incident free.

Giedo van der Garde
Not amused lad, not amused (said Nathan to VDG).

He's not impressed me one bit, in fact I think he is very dangerous. His ridiculous move in Bahrain on Jean-Eric Vergne resulted in him t-boning the Toro Rosso driver, this is on top of many instances of poor control and lack of mental confidence.

Why he's driving instead of Heikki Kovalainen I will never know. Caterham are probably trying to milk his cash and then bring the Flying Finn back. Anybody is better than this Dutch clown.

NOTE: I am a firm believer that both these teams are bluffing to prepare for next year. With a Russian Grand Prix due in 2014, the Sociologist in me is saying that Russian President Vlad. Putin will want a Russian driver on the grid (Vitaly Petrov).

Williams
To say they have gone backwards is fair in many respects, but bare in mind, the blocks to the bright future for Williams are there. I've discovered them here.

The best thing they could have done was deport that useless waste of space [Bruno] Senna out of the sport, and thank Christ they did.

Pastor Maldonado
The Pastor Disaster that we seen in the early stages of last season seemed to have disappeared towards the end, and his no incident streak has continued since. The big accident in Monaco wasn't his fault and he has seemed to calm down overall as a driver.

However while cutting down the number of incidents, he has also cut down strong results. While not being helped by the abysmal form of the car, Maldonado failed to out qualify his rookie team mate for some time.

Pastor has failed to finish half the races and hasn't even looked like scoring a point. Constantly complaining about the car isn't going to help matters, but focusing on 2014 is key. Not that Maldonado is safe for next year...

Valtteri Bottas
Is his great form a surprise? Not to me. I called it well before the start that this guy would be an enigma and while not totally evident as of yet, signs and patterns are strongly emerging.

His results have been impeccable, winning the qualifying battle with Maldonado and coming close to scoring his maiden point in Malaysia have all shown signs of supreme driving talent.

It's a pity the only thing holding him back is a crap car. I really hope it doesn't dictate his 2014 drive. If it does, the sport will have passed up on a great star, and a definite future world champion.

The Next Step For Williams

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.

Team Battles Occurring Early On & Remembering Ayrton Senna

Starting off, I'd like to apologise for my lack of activity. Poor connectivity to Twitter and the internet have all resulted in an F1 blackout, plus whenever Vettel flukes a win, nobody wants to write anything. Starting today I will be posting a blog everyday. Keep up to date on Twitter @Houston60. Also over on Let's Talk F1 I'll be continuing my 'Where Are They Now?' series.

When team mates clash, the whole world suddenly stops in disbelief. "Did he just do that?" Sometimes the blame is evident, sometimes it is not. Everyone even if they were not born during the era saw the most famous crash between team mates when it was depicted in the movie Senna, whenever Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost came together at Suzuka 1989. The most famous one of my era definitely has to be Turkey 2010 whenever Sebastian Vettel saw fit to drive like a maniac into Mark Webber, and then had the audacity to blame it on Webber. Not wanting to get into that argument now but my point is they don't happen often. 

This is why it is a shock that we've seen three already this season! Is this a theme we're going to see? Will Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado play up to their old habits and take out their Finnish team mates? Will the new dangerous drivers in Esteban Gutierrez and Giedo van der Garde create grey hairs on their bosses heads? I'm gonna take a look at the team mate clashes we've had so far this season.

Malaysia - Vettel proving that he is without a shadow of a doubt, an utter bell end.

Even though they didn't physically come together, the fallout from the puppet boy's ignorance and disregard for his team and our sport proved that the fake three time world champion is nothing more than a boy in a man's world. Vettel ignored orders from his bosses to steal the win from Webber who had turned his whole car down to minimum power to save rubber and fuel. 

Given the pair's rocky history, many Formula 1 commentators (me included) predicted that the incident was the straw that broke Webber's back, and as a result foresee that Webber will find fields anew next season. Even if it's a step down, it would still be better than being oppressed by every single Red Bull employee.

China - Feel the Force... On each other?

It seems that Adrian Sutil doesn't release his inner hulk on just his rivals. he also saves a bit for his own team mate. During the opening laps Paul di Resta was battling to get up the field but was eventually pushed wide by his team mate. Contact did occur but nothing serious to damage anyone's race. Racing incident or not, it all came back to Sutil after he endured a massive shunt from the most dangerous man in 2013, Esteban Gutierrez.



Bahrain - How can it get any worse?


If it's not an absolutely dismal qualifying performance, it's poor race pace, but on this particular day it was both and worse. McLaren have always had a "no team orders policy," one which we all thoroughly enjoy. But I guess Jenson Button only enjoys it when it's going his way. For the first time this season, Sergio Perez showed his class and produced a near classy drive. That was until he got too greedy and suddenly wanted a bite out of Button's car. The Brit was quick to get on the radio and complain, but that was the only speedy aspect of his race. it was only a little push, these things happen all of the time, and to tell your boss to tell your team mate to slow down is very Vettel-ish, and therefore frowned upon. Jenson needs to grow up quick and realise that it's a team effort in order to turn their season around. Checo's performance in this race was just what they needed. Combine that with Jenson's master-class and some big updates at Barcelona, and you've got yourself a tidier package. 

Three consecutive races with three consecutive team mate incidents is a heart stopping scenario, especially for the team bosses. Like me, they (and the rest) will be hoping they don't see any repeats. But can that be guaranteed? 

We all know Perez has A LOT on the line, and Webber WILL be looking for revenge. 2013 could throw up just about anything at the minute, but inter team collisions is something nobody wants.

Gone But Never Forgotten

RIP Ayrton Senna.

On the 13th of May 1994, not only did Formula 1 lose its leading light, the world lost a wonderful human being.

I never got the chance to watch Ayrton drive, I only have to watch archive footage to know that he was something special.

There was more to the man than just motor racing. He was a hero, a saint to his people in Brazil. Never letting the glam and glitter of Formula 1 divert him from his true cause, helping people especially children out of poverty.

The world sorely needs more Ayrton Senna's in it. Throughout his life he emphasised that family is key to a happy and healthy life. As much as a phenomenon that he was on track, I'll chose to celebrate Ayrton Senna's life through his actions as a person during his time on Earth.

Gone, but never, ever forgotten.

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.

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. 

Let The Games Begin

"In comparison with Seb [Vettel's] rising form, it seems to me that Mark's form somehow flattens out." - Helmut Marko on his own driver, Mark Webber

Yes you read correctly, in an interview with autosport, Red Bull's Motorsport advisor Helmut Marko actually criticised his own drivers form calling him inconsistent and says Webber fails under pressure. More on this later but I'd like to start off with his first interview when this story went live on Tuesday.

The blog title basically says it all, the games have indeed begun, the mind games. Pre Season testing hasn't even finished yet and we're already at each other with Mark accusing Fernando Alonso and Ferrari of being too political in their approaches. Click here to read the interview.

I have no hesitation in admitting that Ferrari are all about the politics, and I dare say it has won them a number of world championships, but that is all part of the Ferrari philosophy, anything to get a win! Was that not Enzo Ferrari's message to the team? But that's the team for you. I don't think there's any question that Fernando Alonso has the politics game bestowed upon him. Therefore I don't think it's fair to call him a political tactician just because he's been inducted to a team with this kind of ethos.

If he's looking for people who play the mind games I'll tell him directly; "Helmut! LOOK IN THE MIRROR." He's basing all his comments, all his insults on last season. If he had these issues last season then why didn't we hear from him last season? If Alonso and Ferrari were so keen on a little bit of mind warfare then why did't he join in then? The answer to these questions are because now he can start the mind games nice and early.

Ferrari had a dreadful pre season test last year and we all know the cause of it to be a fault in their wind tunnel giving out "up the left" data. Marko is probably thinking if they serve up the sneaky mind games now, Ferrari will be put on the back burner early on. They are very cheap words from a man who let's be honest, is more or less Dietrich Mateschitz's bitch. Harsh I will admit but true. He's being an absolute hypocrite and in this industry that will come back to bite him.

I also love the way he's hiding behind Red Bull's own magazine. Yeah Helmut, as if the rest of the world can't read it. He's almost like a highly paid idiot  And when I say almost, I mean he certainly is a highly paid idiot. His comments certainly didn't get by Fernando Alonso who hit back on twitter. I saw the tweet live from Fernando, but Eurosport have the whole scenario summed up nicely.

Back to the introduction, to start off with the final set of paragraphs is unorthodox I'll admit, but I genuinely couldn't believe what I was reading. To criticise your own driver by calling him inconsistent is beyond me.

I stood and watched Webber's Silverstone win and I seen his overtake on Fernando Alonso to win the race and I'll say this now, Webber is no lazy driver who falls under pressure.

That being said, it's no surprise he is what's known as a number 2 driver and when you've got a puppet like Sebastian Vettel, Mark is really only there to fill up numbers. But if you take a handful of number 2 drivers, Massa, Grosjean, Perez (at McLaren), Webber is by far the most talented out of the lot. In 2011 where Adrian Newey (for newer readers this is what I call Vettel) had his dominant year in the Red Bull who was the only driver keeping up with him? Webber in the sister Red Bull. He's also been better this year than in seasons gone by so I have no doubt or fear in saying that Marko has pulled these comments from his own backside.

If you take Williams, they supported Maldonado through ALL of his crashes and still maintain he is a good driver, they're wrong but they still support their driver.Lotus, after Grosjean nearly took out half the grid at Spa and after serving a one race ban, what did they do to show their support? They gave him a seat for 2013. Webber who won 2 races this season (one being Monte Carlo), didn't cause any major accidents, without his points tally Red Bull would not have won the constructors championship, bit his tongue yet again when Newey got all the attention and backing to win the drivers championship and he gets told by one of his superiors that he crumbles under pressure. What a joke. To top it all off there were even unconfirmed rumours that Red Bull are looking to replace Webber in 2014 with Nico Hulkenberg what these are unconfirmed, I have no proof to back this up so I can't comment too much but these rumours are getting louder.

Marko really needs to remind himself of who he is, he's the smaller devil that sits on the bigger devil's shoulders whispering him what the technicalities of Formula 1 mean. If he honestly thinks his games are going to impact the season in Red Bull's favour then he is sadly mistaken. This is the year Red Bull get toppled. You read it here first.

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!