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.

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.

Kimi Raikkonen: Where To Put His Signature?

Following a public telling off on his birthday, harsh comments made over the radio after a dreadful qualifying session and intense media speculation about an impending 'gap year' it looks as if Fernando Alonso is heading for the exit on his Ferrari career.

Usually, it's Felipe Massa driving to keep his seat but this year the tables have been switched. Of course Massa isn't safe either, and there is the possibility of both long term men leaving the team, opening an unprecedented two driver vacancy search. And of course there is one man on everyone's mind for at least one roll.

Kimi Raikkonen may or may not have lost the Red Bull drive, he may have turned it down or Red Bull may be looking for a long term deal with Daniel Ricciardo. I'm not so glad Kimi missed out on this opportunity. Raikkonen's problems stem from bad Saturday performances in the Lotus, so if the chance comes when you can drive the best Saturday car on the grid, would you not take it? 

As I said, it may have been out of Raikkonen's hands. The one thing I don't buy is this term; 'longevity.' It doesn't matter if you want to look to book a long term option, offer a longer contract then. It's easy to secure new drivers, we're always complaining about the vast number of young talent coming through. Plus (for example), if you could have Raikkonen for two years and then someone like Jules Bianchi for the future, surely that would be better than hiring Bianchi outright.

It's not that I'm annoyed at Ricciardo getting the Red Bull seat, at the end of the day that's what Toro Rosso is there for. It would just have been better for Kimi to have a better qualifying car which would knock Vettel off that smug perch of his.

I think for the sole reason of the Saturday, Kimi should definitely make the move to Ferrari. I know it's not exactly a pole sitter but it's better than fighting to get in to Q3.

Fernando Alonso hasn't exactly had the most successful time at Ferrari. Yes he's won races but that's not enough when you're driving for the most successful team in F1 history. You need to win World Championship's. Kimi Raikkonen was the last man to win a World Championship at Ferrari. Vise versa, Alonso was the last man to win a World Championship at Enstone, makes sense to return them both back to whence they came.

I know everyone keeps going on about the relaxed atmosphere at Enstone and how beneficial it is for Kimi but look what it has done for him, they let James Allison go, resulting in a Grand Prix winning car slipping down the grid. That's even more reason for Kimi to return home, he'll be reunited with James Allison for the all important 2014 regulation changing season.

Whether he's partnered with Massa, Alonso or even Nico Hulkenberg, The Iceman needs to think about how long he has left in the sport. As much as it pains me to say, he is getting on a bit. Maybe Lotus's plans go beyond Kimi's limit in the sport. 

The only scenario I wouldn't like to see is an Alonso-Raikkonen pairing. That cannot and won't work.  It would be too volatile and would only aid Adrian Newey's dominance.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Kimi sign on for a couple more years at Lotus, but it would disappoint me to see him make the same mistake twice. But Kimi Raikkonen is no ordinary driver, he knows what is best for him, and the teams are tripping over each other to sign him. He holds the key to winning the title again. Let's hope he unlocks the red door.

7 Most Impressive Drivers So Far: Daniel Ricciardo

When I set out to write this thing, I had intended not to post two drivers from the same team but I really had no other choice because as much as I prefer Jean-Eric Vergne, I still really like Daniel Ricciardo.

As previously mentioned when I covered Vergne at the start of the week, I have been impressed with both Toro Rosso driver's this season. With Mark Webber opting to leave Formula 1 at the end of the year, after titan names like Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso Red Bull have been considering their sister team for younger talent.

As time goes on and as Spa looms upon us, the odds tell us that Red Bull will announce their new driver for next season at the weekend, but this is still speculation and not my opinion. German and Finnish newspapers seemed to have gotten mixed up in their media circus as one said Kimi was going nowhere and the other said he's signed the Red Bull contract. Today his manager has said he will not be joining Red Bull.

The way Alonso is getting on, it looks as though he wants out of Ferrari, but I honestly can't see Sebastian Vettel liking that too much, he'll probably run and cry to Helmut Marko if Alonso steps anywhere near a Red Bull building. 

That only leaves two people and considering the hype has always surrounded Ricciardo and not Vergne, despite the Frenchman being more successful, it looks as if Ricciardo is stepping up in the world for 2014.

So hypothetically, what can Ricciardo bring to Red Bull that Mark Webber lacked?

Fantastic qualifying. He has made it into Q3 four times this season and has scored well in two of the races where he started quite high up on the grid. If he hopes to better Vettel he'll need to do this on a consistent basis.

There's not that much difference between Webber and Ricciardo. Both Australian's are great fun, they both have fantastic personalities and smiles, the fans love them and they are both dedicated drivers. I just worry that Ricciardo will be bred as another number 2. 

It could be a totally different story when he gets there. He could turn up to race one next year and take the whole world by storm. Two years separate him and Vettel, so if there's anything Vettel can do, Ricciardo should be able to do it just as well in a Newey designed car.

Let's just hope Red Bull learnt the meanings of the words 'biased' and 'equality' before next season.

7 Most Impressive Drivers So Far: Jean-Eric Vergne

When Mark Webber announced he was leaving Formula 1 at the end of the year, speculation immediately turned to the sister Red Bull team Toro Rosso and their young talents.

Despite scoring more points than Daniel Ricciardo this season, Jean-Eric Vergne has failed to finish four races this season while Ricciardo has only retired from two, one being Monaco where he was shafted majorly. It is because of this and Ricciardo's supreme qualifying results that has saw Jean-Eric Vergne being overlooked for the Red Bull seat.

Rumours in the world of F1 have suggested that heavyweights such as Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso have pushed JEV off the short-list entirely, and looks to be staying with Toro Rosso next season.

To me it's a huge shame that the Red Bull hierarchy (Christian Horner, Adrian Newey, Helmut Marko and The Godfather, Dietrich Mateschitz) have chosen to review Ricciardo's progress rather than JEV's.

Regular readers will be aware that I like Ricciardo and have nothing other than positive things to say about the young man. That being said 10 out of 10 times I would pick Jean-Eric Vergne for the simple season of him scoring more points. I think over the course of a season, JEV has the energy and the will to provide over an entire season. This was always Mark Webber's problem, he would do well in parts but under perform in others.

While he may not have been a superstar in 2013, Vergne has definitely continued to deliver time and time again and even though he looks to have lost out, he still remains committed to his own personal cause.  

Where Does Allison's Departure Leave Lotus?

As I am sure many of you have already heard, Lotus technical director James Allison, mastermind behind the team's current heavyweight E21 car has handed in his notice at the Enstone outfit. They certainly weren't long in replacing him, instead of luring outside talent, they elected to promote within, and Nick Chester (ex engineering directer) was the unlucky man to fill huge shoes.

James Allison (Centre)

When the news first broke, my immediate thought was: please don't let him go to Mercedes. After their recent recruitment drive spurred big names like Toto Wolff and of course, Lewis Hamilton to join, and with the looming threat over Ross Brawn's future, it looked like a perfect fit. But the team were quick to quash all rumours, stating that they had "a wealth of technical talent."

Considering he is one of the brightest technical minds in F1, it was always highly unlikely that he was for Red Bull, considering they have Adrian Newey controlling the show over there. There is also no way he'd want to join the sinking ship of McLaren, so that only leaves one team.

Sources are already confirming that talks have begun, but a deal has yet to be signed. Truth be told, it's the only place where he has now. He'll be going back to the team where he worked for 5 years, arguably 5 of the most successful in the Scuderia when Michael Schumacher dominated the sport.

Lotus's number 1 driver Kimi Raikkonen will be out of contract at the end of the season, and with increasing interest from Red Bull, it looks as though Allison's departure could be the deciding factor for his future. His title challenge will also suffer. Even though Nick Chester will have been kept up to date with future update packages, there's only so far that will take them. The pressure of the drivers championship may hit him hard, leaving Kimi with no foot to stand on.

Kimi in his own unique style brushed off the news, saying "for me it does not make a difference" and that counting him out of the title would be "stupid."

Allison's departure to the Lotus faithful is a huge blow considering the blistering start to the 2013 season. Questions I want answered are: Why, and how much does he know about 2014? 

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.

Barcelona: Day One

Here we are. One step closer to the beginning of something very beautiful, the 2013 Formula 1 season. Barcelona hosts yet again another four days of testing, raising a couple of issues; will the rain play havoc once again? And will we see pace closer to the race pace we'll see in Australia? Fan favourites like Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Felipe Massa are all in action today. Rookies Valtteri Bottas and Max Chilton were also piloting their Williams and Marussia's respectively. Chilton looks to be in the car for the whole four days unless Luiz Razia can get his sponsorship issue sorted.

Final Standings

  1. Mark Webber (Red Bull) 1:22.693s

  2. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1:24.348s

  3. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1:25.017s

  4. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1:26.458s

  5. Sergio Perez (McLaren) 1:26.538s

  6. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1:26.574s

  7. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1:27.107s

  8. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1:27.541s

  9. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1:28.166s

10. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1:28.644s

11. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) 1:34.928s

Well... What can I really say? Other than, it looks as if we're in for another 2011. If you're unsure what that means, essentially it boils down to puppet boy getting controlled by the wonderful mind that is Adrian Newey. If you're unsure what THAT means, Sebastian Vettel will fly away to another title that someone has won for him. Red Bull's Mark Webber dominated the session by going 1.6s quicker than Lewis Hamilton in second place. That is an insane pace made on a drying track after rain hit the circuit all morning.

The Toro Rosso of Jean-Eric Vergne and Williams of Valtteri Bottas enjoyed quick pace as did Sauber's Esteban Gutierrez who at one point had the quickest time. Max Chilton also continued Marussia's quicker pace over their rivals Caterham.

Felipe Massa had to end his day early after his Ferrari ran out of fuel on track. Reports are that this was deliberate and part of a data programme designed to read how the car reacts under dangerous amounts of low fuel. Going by earlier pace, Massa could have been closer to Webber if he had continued the session, this could contribute to the difference in speed. Another factor that reciprocates throughout every single session is that no one knows just how much fuel anybody has on board at one time, thus affecting the time sheets.

Lotus's misery continues for another day as Romain Grosjean drifted off the racing track. The E21's brilliance from Jerez seems nothing but a distant memory at this point for the fans.

Jerez: Day Three

Day Three saw even more driver switches with some stepping into the car for the first time like, Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, Charles Pic, Jean-Eric Vergne and Valtteri Bottas. This was the biggest day for me as it saw The Iceman step into the E21 for the first time and I wasn't disappointed.

Final Standings

1. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) 1m17.879s
2. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) 1m18.766s
3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 1m19.052s
4. Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) 1m19.200s
5. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) 1m19.247s
6. James Rossiter (Force India) 1m19.303s
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) 1m19.603s
8. Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber) 1m19.934s
9. Max Chilton (Marussia) 1m21.269s
10. Valtteri Bottas (Williams) 1m21.575s
11. Charles Pic (Caterham) 1m22.352s
12. Paul di Resta (Force India) 1m23.729s

After a pretty quiet and bleak start to testing, Ferrari's Felipe Massa topped the time sheets, a stark contrast to this time last year for the team and the Tifosi. 

This was a day of many positives for a lot of teams. Reigning world champion Sebastian Vettel managed to repeat the similar set times by his team mate in the days before him, showing just how consistent the RB9 is at this stage. Though be under no illusion I'm sure it'll be absolutely magnificent as Newey always makes it. So long as there's no repeat of 2011 we'll be fine. Max Chilton managed to beat Charles Pic in the battle of the back markers. The greatest achievement was Nico Rosberg finally getting a good lap out of the Mercedes to go second overall.

More disappointment for Jenson Button and McLaren as his time wasn't overly quick and he stopped towards the end of the session. Valtteri Bottas (who was the subject of my very first blog) was a bit of a disappointment for me, but a reminder here that Williams are running their 2012 car with 2013 livery and some 2013 parts. We will not see the full potential until Barcelona.

RB9

It's hard to think of any other launch that could have had more eyes upon it than Red Bull's unveiling of the 2013 car from the genius that is Adrian Newey.

Easily the most secretive and most 'touchiest' team about the details of the RB9, team principal Christian Horner made sure he gave nothing away, keeping the environment of which the launch took place in near utter darkness, sparing just the purple lighting of new sponsor Infiniti which now makes the team Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Camera's were also banned from the room preventing any details getting leaked. 

It would be wishful thinking to ask for anything else, the mind that is Adrian Newey has delivered them the double for three years on the trot, it's no surprise that Horner used the most expensive cover in history in the shape of drivers Mark Webber and triple world champion Sebastian Vettel at the RB9's rear.

In contrast to every launch so far, Red Bull did not do a live launch online for fans in order to keep the utmost secrecy possible. Instead, Red Bull delivered something a little more personal in the form of an exclusive video on YouTube. RB9 Rhythm Of The Factory shows how some components of an F1 car are created and then pieced together. In the end it shows a promo shot of the RB9.

First thing I noticed was the continuity of the stepped nose, but since that's one of the only technical aspects I can see, I'll come back to it. There's no hiding that in the past I've been highly critical of Red Bull and in particular Sebastian Vettel. But this isn't a bad looking car, the colours are brilliantly bright and the purple tint is a fantastic addition. Infiniti has replaced Red Bull on the sidepods of the car, and is also a feature on the rear wing.

Chief designer Adrian Newey called the car an "evolution" stating that 2013 will be difficult, giving that there are no real regulation changes. Youngest ever triple world champion Sebastian Vettel echoed Newey's words, stating that "it will be a tough challenge." No doubt Sebastian, you'll find a late surge at the almost purpose built Red Bull circuits in Asia. If there was ever a case to exclude India, Singapore and Korea, it's most certainly the fact they seem to gift Red Bull 1-2's or close to.

The stepped nose rears its ugly appearance on the second car this season, suspiciously on another Renault powered car. McLaren/Force India (Mercedes powered cars) and Ferrari/Sauber (Ferrari powered cars) all opted for the optional vanity panel which allows teams to cover up the monstrous indiscretions. However the Renault machines of Lotus and Red Bull have kept the look of the 2012 models. In my Lotus E21 review I was highly critical of them choosing the boxers nose but If Adrian Newey has kept it, then it has actually given me hope about the E21 being competitive.

Red Bull will be putting every last belief they can into the RB9 in order to bring about a fourth consecutive double. One can't help but wonder if the RB9 will be the last laugh for the Milton Keynes based team or in my opinion, the last fluke. As I've mentioned countless times before, 2014 will provide a huge shake up of the pecking order. Red Bull have had their day in the sun, making the 2011 season boring and blinding everybody by saying Vettel had a stormer in Abu Dhabi last season (two safety cars and several retirements do not count as a sensational drive). They could find themselves in a rather different midfield positions in 2014, something even Adrian Newey may not be able to prevent. I can only hope.

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!