Dennis The Menace Takes Over McLaren

Having stepped down in 2009 after an illustrious career at the helm of McLaren as team principle, Ron Dennis has played a shadow role behind the scenes, and as breaking news hits; he has staged what the BBC are calling an "international coup" to become the new chief executive officer.

Where'd the smiles go?

It's no secret that him and current team principle Martin Whitmarsh haven't always gotten along, and with the 2013 season delivering a battering to Whitmarsh's reputation, many foresaw this coming.

Where did it all go wrong?

Personally, I quite like Whitmarsh. I think the man around him are quite worthless, and the men with any talent have already got up and left. He also had a terrible car package to deal with and a less than co-operative driver line up in lacklustre Jenson Button and disastrous Sergio Perez.

I'm not one to point fingers, but was it not Ron Dennis who let Adrian Newey go to Red Bull? If I had a hen laying golden eggs I'd be making sure it was comfortable and content.

"Yes Martin there's the **** I give."

It's unclear whether or not Whitmarsh's job is on the line, although popular opinion seems to agree. Something had to change but I would have started with the drivers first, although maybe a good shake-up at the top is exactly what's needed.

Double Trouble

As we know by now, one of the more shocking regulation changes for 2014 was to offer double points to the top 10 finishers of the very last Grand Prix of the year.

The idea is that the motivation will increase competition, and make the championship fight extend longer, unlike the snoozefest's of 2011 and 2013 (yawn). 

There are conflicting beliefs within the paddock that the points system is here to stay, Ferrari's Luca Di Montezemolo says that it's only a temporary folly whereas Lotus and Eric Boullier are certain it's a permanent arrangement. 

It's only one more desperate attempt to make Formula 1 look interesting, when in actual fact it's making the sport look like an absolute joke. Imagine making tries in rugby worth double in the last ten minutes of a match, it's complete crazy.

Eddie Irvine was spot on when he said the sport is completely lost.What gripes me the most is that Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA have basically said that Abu Dhabi, and the Yas Marina circuit is worth more than Silverstone, Monza, Monte Carlo and Spa. Why should emphasis be placed on a below par circuit that has existed for all of 5 minutes, above REAL circuits?

Oh wow, you light up, cause that's what the fans want...

One thing is always for sure; leave it to Red Bell and Sebastian Vettel to shy away from the fact that this only helps them. 

I'm not saying they had any involvement with the decision making, that would be stupid-thinking. What I am saying is that Vettel coming out and calling it "absurd," and Christian Horner criticising the FIA is rather cheap considering they are the only ones who truly benefit.

Red Bull perform far better in the second half in a season. Asia is practically Vettel's playground, you know he's just going to pull maximum points every time. And with 3 wins in 5 races at Yas Marina, it's safe to say it's a Vettel track. What if Red Bull scrape by the whole season, get lucky (because we know it happens) at Abu Dhabi and steal it away undeservedly?! It says to the teams just give it your 100% at the last race of the season, it's worth the real points.


This is all assuming the order remains the same with the new engines however, maybe the change is so big that double points might actually prove to be a great thing in the sport. Right now, it makes it look weak.

It seems to me like this is a quick fix to a really terminal problem with Formula 1. Along with the introduction of the Vettel Trophy (trophy for most pole positions), these are just really bad decisions. If the FIA wants to emulate the success of other motor racing series', introduce interesting scenarios like reversed grids, or ballasts like in the BTCC, not something that belittles 18 races of hard work.

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!

My Thoughts On Michael Schumacher

No matter how involved with Formula 1 or sport in general for that matter, I'm sure I don't need to tell you of the awful events that occurred on 29/12/13.

Michael Schumacher's accident and current state has shocked and moved every single motor sport fan in the world. If you're as big a Schumacher fan as I am, the disbelief has just about wore off, and the enormity of the situation is only just becoming clear.

Schumi means quite a lot to me. My earliest memories of anything really are of watching Schumacher and Eddie Irvine racing for Ferrari. I supported Irvine for the obvious reason that he is from the same country as myself, but Michael's skill and talent really made me fall in love with his driving.

It's hard hearing your idol being in such a position that he is currently in. It sounds completely mad being attached to someone who doesn't even know I exist (there's even a psychological term for it called being crazy), but I still remember my first words at Silverstone 2012 which were:

"Holy sh*t, that's THE Michael Schumacher."

It doesn't matter to me that the 2010-2012 Schumacher era was nowhere near the dominant force that he was. We were just truly blessed to see such a true driving force behind the wheel of a Formula 1 racing car.

Things are looking quite bleak at the moment. Medical terms like "coma" and "haematoma" are certainly not what anyone wants to hear. I honestly believe that any other human being would have been dead by now. But Michael Schumacher was never a normal human being. If there's one man who can pull through this, it's the 7 times world champion.

All our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Schumacher, and I especially love the Ferrari vigil that was held today. It was carried out in such a tasteful and respectful manner. If there's one more reason for Michael to pull through this, it's so that he can see all the nice things that everyone is saying about him. 

Good luck Michael, get well soon!

#Red4Schumi

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.

Various Bits & Bobs (2)

Concorde Agreement

After months of back and forth between teams, Bernie and TV chiefs all agreed to improve safety, a new finance structure and the agreement from all parties over a new penalty system.

The deal runs from now until 2020 so we can safely say our beloved sport is good to go, go, go for another while.

Let's just hope by then someone puts an end to Red Bull. Not literally...




22 Races in 2014? Nathan Says:

Piss off. 22 Grand Prix weekends? No absolutely not what a disaster of an idea. I love Formula 1, it is a huge part of my life, whenever it isn't on I do feel a little emptiness and boredom, but 22 races is a dangerous amount of Grand Prix weekends.

The world's economy is still recovering, some more slowly than others. Take this factor and put it with rising costs in Formula 1, we will see that the smaller teams especially will find it increasingly hard to compete in Formula 1. One guy has said to me (sarcastically of course) that Formula 1 couldn't live without Caterham or Marussia. He was a dick to be quite frank but what about Toro Rosso? Then Force India and we all know Sauber and Williams are struggling for cash. Imagine a season without Williams on the grid?

The current stranglehold that Vettel and Red Bull have over Formula 1 is disturbing, people who don't follow the sport have started to ask me 'isn't it boring with one guy winning all the races?' Hell yes it is, why would you want more races where Vettel can run away with it again? Less races, less chances of this happening.

I know you can't structure a calendar just to stop one team and one driver, but don't add races where it's going to hinder the situation.

There are too many events in far out countries, and not enough fans attending them. Bahrain, Korea, Abu Dhabi and especially India have very disappointing turn outs. Cut them along with the New Jersey track, Mexico and maybe Malaysia (like it but I think it has run its course) and we have an okay number of races. Glad to see Austria back though.

What's great though is that Christian Horner is against it, and we all know that him, Newey and the Newey driving the car will stamp their feet until they get their way.

F1 2013 Video Game

I've had all the Codemaster F1 games since the first one for the Wii and every year I've noticed vast improvements over the last. This years installment has been the best so far.

The AI are so aggressive and smart, it is unreal. In my first race, Bottas hounded me for P8 which was incredible. And in every event in either qualifying or the race I have had an incident with one or the other McLaren, with Perez bringing out red flags after a violent crash.

It's only a video game and I'm talking about it like it was an actual race. The addition of classic F1 cars is absoutely fantastic, each car has their own individual traits and characteristics. Tyre wear is the exact same in the game as in real life, either look after them or prepare to lose positions fast.

I strongly recommend buying this game, must have for any fans.

Korean Grand Prix

Lots of people have problems with this circuit, it's one I don't mind watching. Of course it is an Asian track, therefore Vettel had it won before he jumped on a plane but unfortunately the key focal points were negatives.

The marshals were unresponsive to a fire from Mark Webber's car, resulting in the chassis being destroyed. They had to build a brand new car in a few days for FP1 in Japan. They should do what Abu Dhabi done in 2009, bring in British marshal's to train the locals properly.

The other talking point was the low turnout and possible exclusion from next year. Whilst I like the track, I won't care if it's not featured next year, but it is a shame when fairly decent tracks are omitted for disaster tracks like Singapore and this stupid New Jersey track.

Various Bits & Bobs (1)

Hi guys, back at long last, it's been a while right? Instead of just getting ripped in to the latest news and stuff, I'm gonna just do a quick brief of little bits of news, everything from short Grand Prix summaries to the new Formula 1 game. I hope you enjoy!

Rush

The highly anticipated Formula 1 movie directed by Ron Howard was a massively speculated motion picture among us F1 fans, but how excited were the general public? Well out of all my friends who aren't to keen on the sport, not one person has said anything bad about it. 

My experience of the movie was absolutely epic. I loved every single second of the movie and honestly couldn't wait to watch it again. The noise was incredible, the cinema I saw it in captured the noise of the engines wonderfully, and the near fatal Lauda crash was enough to make any man tremble. 

There were a few moments that I would have considered 'silly' for example, a certain moment with James Hunt and a reporter, let's be honest if that had happened, we would have heard about it.

It may be too late to see it if you already haven't, but I would seriously consider pre-ordering the DVD. I know I have, blu-ray steel book edition.

Italian Grand Prix & Sebastian Vettel's Dominance

My pre Monza build up was essentially me gloating about how much I love the track and the aura surrounding the event.

So imagine my disappointment when Newey managed to dull the best event on the calendar. Setting the dominance aside for one second, it's getting annoying whenever Vettel has the race won on the Friday or Saturday. How people can justify him having any level of talent is still beyond me but it's come to the point where I just don't care anymore.

I've put Vettel fans in the same category as cyclists, annoying unwanted abusers. If you have any complaints to make about that statement, please keep it to yourself because nobody cares.

The most annoying aspect of that weekend was Fernando Alonso and Ferrari's qualifying. I'm gonna touch on this a little more in the next few days, but it's just not good enough. I can only assume they're focusing on 2014 but their Saturday performance is killing them, and it slowly got worse.

Singapore Grand Prix

From the absolute greatest Grand Prix on the calendar to the worst abomination since they let Louis Walsh judge talent. Yes for some reason Bernie Ecclestone thought it would b a great idea to run around a track where no overtaking is permitted and its greatest attraction is a few lights above a track.

What's worse is I never realised how many of you like it!! What's up with that? Where are all the real F1 fans who love real tracks like Silverstone and Spa?!?! It just weirds me out how so many people actually enjoy this track.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion (except for the aforementioned Vettel fans and Cyclists), my opinion was that the race was boring and Vettel had this won before he left Italy.