McLaren-Honda

The BBC has yet again proven their insight to the future is precise and accurate when it comes to delivering breaking news about Formula 1. Way back in March of this year, the BBC F1 team revealed that McLaren were in talks with their former engine partners Honda about securing a new deal for a supply of engines.

McLaren have been supplied by Mercedes since 1995 and have won the constructors championship just once. They could have had two if it wasn't for the spy-gate scandal in 2007.

McLaren-Honda will always be remembered for the period of domination the pair held over the sport during 1988 until 1992, a period where they won four constructors titles. 1988 was a particular stand out season where Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost won every race bar one for the Woking team.

With statistics in hand, it's easy to see why they have elected to go back to the Japanese manufacturers, but let's not forget Honda's chequered history in Formula 1. From 1964-1968 they won only two races before electing to pull out of the sport. They would continue to supply engines to teams but they entered a factory team from 2006-2008. Success would prove very minimal again with Jenson Button winning only one race. Then just as easy as a click of the fingers, they pulled the plug on Formula 1 yet again, leaving Button and his team mate Rubens Barrichello without a drive for the following season. Fortunately for them, Ross Brawn put money into the team and would go on to complete a fairy tale story in 2009.

It definitely seems that Honda should stick to making engines and engines alone, but F1 has moved on leaps and bounds from the late 80s/early 90s. There is so much more affecting cars now than engines, look at the mess Pirelli has got the sport in.

The deal is for 2015, which means for the first season of the brand new 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engines in 2014, McLaren will have to run whatever Mercedes gives them.

Renault 2014 Engine.

What happens though if things don't go as planned, what if McLaren do become the new Williams (an article you must read by my friend over at Let's Talk F1) and become a former shadow of themselves? They are very happy to end any relationship with F1 if things don't go their way. It's a very big risk and as this season has shown, big risks do not pay off for McLaren.

One of the other worries I have is that they want to keep on Jenson Button for this new era. I've had some issues with Jenson's attitude this season but setting them aside for the moment, by the time this deal comes I reckon there will be plenty of thriving talent from other drivers. Paul di Resta, the Toro Rosso boys, even Jules Bianchi in the Marussia looks good. If they are hell bent on making this an entirely new era then I say ditch Jenson. He's a great driver and a phenomenal talent, but there isn't another title fight in him. His luck unfortunately ran out with Lewis Hamilton as his team mate, and Adrian Newey gifting Red Bull with title wins for three years. 

Don't get me wrong, he's made his own mistakes but the point I am trying to make is that a fresh perspective in driving should be accompanied by fresh driver line up. 

In my eyes, the move is too risky. I've said it many times before but 2014 will be a lottery in terms of who will be on top. I'm going with Renault because they seem to be the only engine manufacturer who have made progress, and with them looking to supply less teams in 2014, the demand will be fierce. 

I personally would have shelved the idea of bringing in a new deal with Honda. History looks good but it has also been brief and not looking great in the long term. Stability is what McLaren need, I fear with Honda they may not get it.

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.

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.

The Way It Should Be

If you've not read my previous blog regarding Bernie and my disdain for certain tracks on the Formula 1 calendar, click here.

I'm not going to add or replace any tracks, I'm only going to re-order them in the way which  I see fit. In my opinion, the calendar has a roller-coaster design in the sense that it starts off with a slow incline followed by a drastic exciting drop, and then all of a sudden we're in Bahrain. If you've not seen the calendar for the 2013 season, click here.

I'm a firm believer in the classics. Having been to the 2012 British Grand Prix at Silverstone I've fallen in love with the history surrounding it. Memories I'll hold for the rest of my life seeing Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen live. Surreal. Monza is undoubtedly my favourite track, high speeds broken up by the amazing chicanes, the lesmos and of course the ever important Curva Parabolica. I'm torn every year knowing that for the German Grand Prix, we're either visiting the F1 Nurburgring or Hockenheim, never both. In the summer of 2013 I'm visiting the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcalona, not to watch the race but just a track visit. My bucket list doesn't consist of jumping out of a plane, or having sex with Brad Pitt, but to visit Monza, Spa, BOTH German tracks, Interlagos, Suzuka, and even though I am not fond of street circuits, I would love to visit Monte Carlo. It's something all F1 fans should witness.

I'm sure tracks like Sepang, Albert Park, Shanghai International Circuit, Circuit de Catalunya, Circuit Gilles Villenuve, Hungaroring and the newest track in Austin will become greats on one condition: Bernie stops preventing them from fulfilling their true potential.

So if you've taken a look at the 2013 calendar you may get the same sort of feeling I got, Australia first, Brazil last, Britain far too early and for some reason the Singapore Grand Prix still exists. It's all getting a bit dull and predictable. But do not mistake my apathy for ignorance. The calendar is structured in the best possible way to ensure the cheapest modes of transport and efficiency.If you've not discovered this pattern or if you're new to the sport, here's a screen shot of the 2012 calendar from Wikipedia: 

Rounds 1-4 are not based on the same continent but they are close together, not exactly what I would call a stint or a leg. Rounds 5-6 are European races but they're split from the rest by round 7 in Canada. The European "leg" begins at round 8 in Valencia and finishes at round 13 in Italy which is the longest stretch in one continent. This is where the bulk of the classics take place. Rounds 14-18 are part of the Asian stretch, it picks up where Bahrain left off. Rounds 19 and 20 then take place in both Americas, finishing off the longest calendar in Formula 1 history. 

What I would suggest is similar to a legendary rock band who embark on a new tour. They play all their new crap first, then they get stuck into what the crowd really want. I Believe Formula 1 should take inspiration and begin shaking things up, building the excitement to an exploding climax (giggity).

The following is my proposal. I will then explain why I have structured it this way. Please bare in mind the 2013 calendar has not been finalised, and the race marked (*) is still subject to confirmation although I hope it's the one we end up going to. This is also not a rating system of my favourite tracks. I'd like to thank Wikipedia for their easy copy and paste system in which I was able to create this table (sorry it's not very neat).

1	Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur

2*	Austrian Grand Prix		Red Bull Ring, Spielberg

3	Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay, Singapore

4	Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir

5	Airtel Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida

6	Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam

7	Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park, Melbourne

8	Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi

9	UBS Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai

10	Gran Premio de España	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona

11	Magyar Nagydíj	Hungaroring, Budapest

12	United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin

13	Grand Prix du Canada	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal

14	Grand Prix de Monaco	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo

15	Shell Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps

16	Großer Preis von Deutschland	Nürburgring, Nürburg

17	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka

18	British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone

19	Gran Premio d'Italia	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza

20	Grande Prêmio do Brasil	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo

The reason why I'm not starting the season off with soul destroyers is because the fans deserve something to look forward to. They deserve to think the season starts off at round 1, not round 3 after Singapore and Bahrain. Round 1-2 (Malaysia-Austria) are circuits which have been around for quite some time. The first is well established whereas I'm hoping the Red Bull Ring makes a return (formerly the A1-Ring). I'm not discussing rounds 3-5 as I'll just be glad they're finished with. Even mentioning them makes me sick.

Round 6 at Korea is underrated, but when the drivers don't like it there's not a lot we can do. Albert Park (round 7) is a great opener, I just feel after these years it deserves to have the burden of opening the season lifted from its shoulders. Round 8 would not be so high up usually, but Kimi Raikkonen has made it a staple in the calendar after a brilliant drive and race win in 2012. Round 9-10 have been put there because they are great races and this is when the season takes its way too long break, so we deserve to leave on a good note so we can be excited for the final stretch.

Round 11 should bring us back to where I personally think will be a classic along the lines of Silverstone. The track is beautifully crafted and I suppose one of the reasons I love this track is that it's the closest home track for Kimi. I turned up to Silverstone with a Finland flag and I was the only one, purely because I love Kimi. Hungary is filled with them, it's fantastic! Round 12 at Austin is high up because of the great race produced at it's debut. It could never possibly go higher because of America's failure to grasp anything more than a left turn. Rounds 13-14 have been grouped together because they're street races. I am not a fan of Monte Carlo but I do respect it's history. Canada can never have an illustrious history like it, but these two back-to-back could produce some title twists. Round 15 begins the final stretch. Spa is the first of the classics. Saddened by the news that they may not be able to fund a Grand Prix in coming years, we should take a look back at the memories we've all gained from watching classic wet races, from the DC-Schumacher incident to Kimi's vodka fuel'd overtake at Eau Rouge.

Round 16 will be either of the two German tracks. I'll abstain from commenting on either as I am a firm believer in having them both on the one calendar at all times. 

Suzuka should host round 17 because I like the idea of having the "make one wrong move and you're finished" track towards the end. It's only one further down than the actual 2013 plan.

 Round 18 takes place in sunny Britain. Silverstone, the home of motor racing. Being that it's my home Grand Prix, I would just love the fact that my favourite driver could clinch the World Championship this far down. Silverstone is probably the biggest problem I have with the calendar, year after year. I compare it to the Foo Fighters: when they play live, their greatest song "The Pretender" is always top 3 or 4 during their set. And while this tune is an adrenaline pumper, it should be saved for an encore! The same applies for Silverstone. It should be kept to the end where it belongs.

Monza, my favourite of all the race tracks takes the penultimate round 19. I like to think I've played this track enough times in various racing games that if someone gave me a car, I'd be able to drive round it without instruction. It's the fastest of all the tracks and along with Britain, the Italian Grand Prix has remained every single season with Monza hosting all but one (1980 at Imola while Monza was under construction). Even with the Berniezation of all the great tracks being lost to the sand people circuits, Monza will always be featured, year after year, just like the final race of the calendar.

Round 20 remains the same for me. Brazil is the perfect finish to the racing season. Bar Newey's dominent 2011 season where he won the drivers and constructors championship early on, the title has been decided here quite often. Interlagos is by any definition, the perfect race. From the Senna's S to the amazing pit straight this track should only ever be the perfect place to finish a season. Brazil is the home of the greatest racing driver of all time. If the sport is to continue to pay homage to him, this needs to stay the final race.

We all have our favourite tracks, I can respect the fact that even though it's boring, Monte Carlo is the ultimate test for drivers. But for any racing fan, having all of the great tracks in a row is an amazing idea. It's something that never can come to fruition but the thought of a championship being won or lost because a driver showed he has the capability of riding out the challenges and demands of this calendar, or would he burn out and fade away while a predator waits to take the lead. 

I'm sure many of you have your own preferences, maybe you'd have all the street races in one go, or maybe you'd do away with a few tracks altogether! I'd love to know what you think so get in touch by posting a comment and I'll get right back to you! Or you can tweet me @Houston60 and let me know your favourite track!

Force India: Ireland's Greatest Contribution to Formula 1

Confusing title, I know but there is method to my madness.

(I recommend you skip down to the picture if you don't care for history).

If you haven't already gathered, I'm a massive fan of Formula 1 (this post is just FULL of revelations right?).  Like any sport I want to support my nations team, or nations driver. Which is why in spite of Kimi Raikkonen being my favourite driver, I am a huge fan of Jenson Button, Paul di Resta and even Lewis Hamilton. Lotus would be my favourite team even if they weren't British, but I am fond of McLaren's history (not so much their present attitude) and even though I don't agree with their recent past I do think Williams are on the mend after hiring a competent driver such as Valtteri Bottas. But these are all British achievements and even though I am still proud of each and everyone of them, I would still like to have a little Irish charm about the sport.

Ireland has a very quick history in Formula 1. Unfortunately I don't mean pace. The first Irish racing driver was Joe Kelly who competed in the British rounds of the 1950 and 1951 seasons. Both were at Silverstone and he failed to finish either. The next Paddy was Derek Daly who was close to being the most successful Irish driver with a career total of 15 points spanning four seasons. Soon after him came Dave Kennedy, Tommy Byrne & Ralph Firman with only the latter receiving a grand career total of 1 point (and he wasn't even Irish, born and bred English but Irish racing licence). Sufficed to say, these aren't accolades to boast about for them. But what about the North of the country, my country?

Northern Ireland has had it's success with racing drivers. Lesser known drivers include Desmond Titterington (who raced for a team called Connaught!!!!!!), Damien Magee & Kenny Acheson who between them have had a handful of races, no wins or points. They aren't the only ones however, Martin Donnelly is probably one of the names that come to mind. Partially for racing in the Senna era, mostly because of a career ending crash he had in which he mangled his whole body. The most successful Northern Irish driver? Depends on how you define so I guess it's subjectional. Eddie Irvine racked up 191 career points over 10 seasons and came a close 2nd to winning the World Championship in 1999. However he only won 4 races. Not that I'm taking anything away from his achievements (I do think of him as a hero), but (maybe) the most successful driver from my beautiful home country is John Watson. With a total of 169 career points through 5 race wins, he's also grabbed 2 pole positions to Irvine's 0. All in all, Northern Ireland whips the South's ass in terms of drivers. But today's topic is all about Ireland's greatest contribution and I'm not talking about drivers. A team however, if managed and nurtured carefully can become a powerhouse like Infiniti Red Bull Racing. And this is why Force India is Ireland's greatest contribution to Formula 1.

Sahara Force India F1 Team started in 2008 and is owned by Indian Tycoon Vijay Mallya who also owns Cricket powerhouse Royal Challengers Bangalore. Their 2012 driver line up consisted of the ever impressive Paul di Resta and the consistent and magical Nico Hulkenberg, with the latter making a step up to Sauber, Paul will continue on presumably as team leader where I personally think he will prosper. Apart from the colours of their livery, how are Force India even remotely connected to Ireland?

WELL. Before they were Force India, the team was known as Spyker who ran through four drivers in one season. Their only season. They received their debut four races from the end of the 2006 season where they took over from Midland F1 Racing, and then subsequently completed  full season in 2007. But who did Midland F1 buy before all these events? In 2005 they bought the team known as the face of Formula 1 rock n roll. Yep, Midland bought over Irishman Eddie Jordan's racing team, Jordan Grand Prix. From 1996-2005 Jordan graced the land of Formula 1 with a bright attitude, giving starts like Rubens Barichello, Gianfranco Fisichella, Damon Hill, aforementioned Eddie Irvine, Heinz-Harold Frentzen (who won 2 races with the team) and most importantly, Michael Schumacher. They competed in 250 races with 4 Grand Prix wins.

There is no doubt in my mind, they were never going to be championship material. But they were back markers in their day! That never stopped them though, something which Caterham Marussia & HRT... ooooh awkward. Something slower teams today could learn a thing or two from. You only need to watch BBC programming to see the personality that is Eddie Jordan. The man's a fashion genius with the sense of humour you couldn't find if you lived in Ireland for fifty years! He's not the only personal who have made it big in F1. Mike Gascoyne went on to design cars for Benneton/Renault, Toyta and even back to Force India! He is currently doing his best with what Caterham are providing him. Rob Smedly went on to be an engineer for Ferrari and even made it on to their wall providing his with hilarious conversations between him and Massa. Gary Anderson also enjoyed stints with Jordan racing rounding off an ever impressive roster of employees for Eddie. The team was full of characters  giving the sport some much needed character. 

The point of making the Force India connection was to highlight a story of which I read a while back that actually startled me. Up until this season or the next (2013 or 2014) Force India still used components from the Jordan era. I feel that's worth highlighting by looking at what the team has accomplished this season! To name one example, Nico's amazing run in Brazil! He was leading the Grand Prix for a distinguished set of time! The only reason he dropped it was because of personal error, nothing to do with the car! Through time, Force India have taken a team from being a back runner, into a team who I can honestly see winning the constructors championship. With Paul hopefully heading the team, hopefully Force India can supplement him with a young driver who can provide plenty of R&D time and data, or maybe even an experience veteran who can push Paul to become the best, or even become a great in his own name. I have only one driver in mind, Heikki Kovalainen. If he doesn't get the Lotus job I think he is perfect and for his performances over the past three years he deserves a reward. However I think the more beneficial choice is the currently unemployed Kamui Kobayashi. Krazy Kob would be a huge gamble, but since Sauber got Force India's old driver, I think it's only fair a swap is made.

Whatever the decision is, I'm sure it's only going to be positive to build on the foundations of Eddie Jordan. That's why even though it may say India on the car, I like to think of them as Force Ireland. After all they have a whisky sponsor on the car!