The rise and fall of Vettel the crash kid

The Mexican Grand Prix was one for ending lengthy runs for the the team in red. Neither Sebastian Vettel nor Kimi Raikkonen made the end which meant it was Ferrari's first double non-finish, astonishingly, since the Australian Grand Prix in early 2006. The team's first in close to a decade in other words.

Strange though it sounds, Sebastian Vettel
was once F1's pariah
Photo: Octane Photography

But for Vettel personally it also marked the end of a distance run. Him binning it out of the race was his first retirement due to an accident or spin in well over five years, since the Turkish Grand Prix in 2010 (yes, that one). And if even this didn't strike as being impressive in itself then add to it also that there was a time when Seb was roundly abused as F1's 'crash kid'.

It sounds silly now, indeed it was rather silly at the time, but there once was a prevailing view in and around the sport that Seb went to pieces in wheel-to-wheel situations. That he couldn't hack it under pressure. That even he was a danger to others.

Related to the barbs he was the sport's number one pariah of choice for a good while. To think too that a suggestion that lingered on rather longer was that Seb always had it easy in his time in F1. Not so.

Brazilian GP Report: Seb's dry run

We've been here before. Eight times on the spin before today to be precise. And sure enough not even the Interlagos venue's legendary capacity for mischief did anything to upset his confident, preponderant strut. Sebastian Vettel won the Brazilian Grand Prix, and did so in familiar style: seizing control of the race early and never relinquishing it, nor ever looking like doing so. In the end, the only thing that was unexpected was that the anticipated rain didn't arrive - well, not properly anyway. Not that greater quantities likely would have stopped Seb.

Sebastian Vettel: rounding off a
triumphant year with another win
Photo: Octane Photography

And as seems to be a race-by-race occurrence at the moment a couple more all-time records went Seb's way today: both Michael Schumacher's mark of 13 wins in a season and Alberto Ascari's record of nine on the bounce - a record before now which always had an untouchable, almost mythical, slant - were matched.

It underlines that Seb is on a pedestal right now, and that his rivals have long since been counting down the days to the season end and to the big shifts in regulations for 2014, which send everyone back to base camp, to put them out of their misery. But there are reasons to think those may not scupper Seb much either.

Further thoughts on the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The promise I made, started to fade
'He's done his job, he's scored points, he's scored podiums, they've earned millions in terms of prize money, millions in terms of sponsorship, it's wrong that they haven't paid him. Pay up, look big, and stand by your deals'.

If you watched the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on TV last Sunday you may recognise these as being the words of Martin Brundle, and on the murky matter that has lingered in Enstone shadows for months, one that suddenly had a lamp swung over it in the course of last weekend. Just what had been eating the Kimi Raikkonen-Lotus relationship: that the team had paid its charge 'zero Euro the whole year'. And, you know what? I agree absolutely with Brundle.

Kimi Raikkonen - driving for free
Photo: Octane Photography

From what I could tell most others agreed also. Though there was the odd yelp to be heard to the effect that 'yeah, but Kimi's loaded' to my mind that point is utterly irrelevant, and thankfully such yelps seemed isolated. The bottom line is that Lotus willingly and solemnly entered a contract with Kimi Raikkonen with various promises and obligations to Kimi agreed to therein, and hasn't stuck to it.

It should not be forgotten that employer-employee obligations, including those via signed contracts, work both ways. And I'm pretty sure that was Lotus in a boot-on-the-other-foot situation wherein one of its staff was not fulfilling its obligations to the team (e.g. by not turning up for work, or not doing their job properly) then Lotus would feel entirely justified in ditching them immediately. Same would go for a supplier to Lotus similarly not doing what it promised. Therefore the team should count itself lucky that Kimi didn't choose to dump Lotus just as readily.

Further thoughts on the Singapore Grand Prix

Truth and reconciliation
What a grand silly season we've had. And to think that up until about 12 months we were complaining that it had all got tepid. Then Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes hadn't changed their driver line ups since prior to the 2010 campaign - it felt almost like we'd reached the end of silly season history. But, starting with Lewis Hamilton giving the drivers' market an almighty shake with his unexpected Merc switch, it's as if all concerned have been determined to make up for lost time.

And in the Friday of the Singapore weekend silly season scaled a sheer rock face, that we thought never again would be scaled. For years it was assumed that, despite what other rumours might be doing the rounds, Fernando Alonso joining McLaren was about as likely as Kimi Raikkonen joining the temperance movement. It would never happen in other words, due to 2007 and all that.

Martin Whitmarsh - getting everyone into a flutter
Photo: Octane Photography

But it's merely the latest reminder that one should never say never, particularly not in F1. As McLaren's team principal Martin Whitmarsh on that Singapore Friday practice day got everyone into a flutter by confirming to several media outlets that he would indeed consider doing the un-doable regarding Alonso, in welcoming him back to the fold. 'Yes, any team would (be interested in signing him)' he said. 'He's the best driver.'

On one level of course it's a statement of the obvious. But this being the business that we're in, it was taken to mean so much more than that. Alonso's Ferrari relationship has indeed imploded many inferred, and McLaren will be his destination. And/or that Whitmarsh isn't happy with Perez. Or Button. Or both (after all, neither McLaren pilot yet has been confirmed to remain at the team for next year). As it was, it was a firework that burned bright upon ignition but was out almost as quickly, as Alonso took the unusual step of arranging an impromptu press call after Free Practice 2 that day in order to nip the rumours in the bud (though, equally, left the door ajar for the future with some kind words for McLaren).

Further thoughts on the Belgian Grand Prix

Where it started for Seb
Sebastian Vettel's Spa win looked routine, but nevertheless something from the race, and from Seb's drive, grabbed my attention in particular. It happened on lap 15. I'll come to this later.

Many complain that Seb's dominance feels by now like it's being going on for ever. But, if we're to be pedantic about it, it can actually be traced back three years. Almost exactly.

Sebastian Vettel - back where it began for him
Photo: Octane Photography

Why the precision? Well, this is where the roots of the Seb we all are familiar with today sprouted from, in the Belgian Grand Prix of 2010. That was a day on which his race ruined by a collision with Jenson Button, entirely the young Seb's fault after losing control of his car attempting a passing move. It was the latest of a number of incidents, some of which were Vettel's own errors, that squandered much of the technical advantage conferred by the Red Bull that year. And after the race it was open season on Seb, with many - especially those from the McLaren camp - lining up to trash his reputation.

McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh afterwards in particular twisted the knife, describing Vettel's move as 'more reminiscent of junior formulae', his punishment (a drive through) as 'pretty light', as well as essentially calling Vettel too error-prone. And, not missing an opportunity to refer to the incident with Mark Webber earlier that year in Turkey, Whitmarsh said: 'I would rather he did it (collided) with his team-mates rather than do it with us'.

Further thoughts on the Belgian Grand Prix

Raising the standard
That Sebastian Vettel was faster than everyone, and Fernando Alonso faster than everyone aside from him, meant that up front the cars didn't often get close to one and other in last Sunday's Spa race. Those behind it seemed were determined to make up the deficit though, with much dicing among them and a few dollops of controversy. One of the most notable of the latter was that Sergio Perez picked up a drive through penalty for seeing fit to to squeeze Romain Grosjean off the track while passing him as they proceeded along the Kemmel straight and into Les Combes on lap 8. Not everyone agreed with the sanction - Martin Brundle for example on the Sky commentary said he thought it harsh, while Perez's boss Martin Whitmarsh suggested that it reflected Perez being somewhat targeted by stewards these days due to previous controversy.

Sergio Perez - in the wars at Spa
Photo: Octane Photography

I don't wish to hammer Whitmarsh, as it's his job to defend his driver - but I thought the penalty was fair enough. Not only is the rule about leaving a car's width at the side of the track clear, moreover I really cannot stand to see drivers squeezing others in a straight line. This is because, for all of the massive strides in motor sport safety, it is exposed wheels coming into contact, surface to surface, that remains a conspicuous danger, particularly around a braking zone where speed differences could be especially great. Such contact will likely send a car airborne, and therefore its driver into the lap of the Gods. Indeed we saw in Saturday's GP3 race at almost the exactly same point of the Spa circuit what sort of carnage can follow such squeezing, when Jack Harvey egregiously did so to Carlos Sainz Jr. And the consequences could have been much worse even than that.

Further thoughts on the Bahrain Grand Prix

Here comes Bahrain again
And thus F1 has endured its second weekend in Bahrain since the Arab Spring, and its second which afterwards private exhalations of relief may be had that the event just about went off without problems. Admittedly, there appeared a slightly lower level of background issues for the F1 bubble this time compared with what there was last year: no protesters died in the course of the weekend (as far as we know), and no members of the F1 fraternity were caught up in clashes as they were then.

Bahrain Grand Prix - a focus for protesters
Credit: Hamel Alrayeh / CC

And yet I'm no nearer to understanding why exactly the sport's decision-makers think going to Bahrain right now is a good idea. Yes, I'm aware that there are (reportedly) 50 million reasons for the fraternity to turn up, and Bernie/CVC are conspicuously wont to follow the money. But even still I cannot fathom why anyone at the top of the sport thinks that this credit outweighs the rather obvious debit. The debit being that F1 is being used as a country PR exercise by a regime (and by extension a PR exercise for the regime itself) at the same time that the regime has a criticised human rights record and faces daily protests and unrest from its citizens demanding democracy and reform (for whom the F1 race is a clear focus of discontent, unsurprising given the regime's closeness to the event and desire to derive prestige from it). And this unrest is prone to descend into violence from both sides. At best the sport appears uncaring, at worst that it's siding with oppression. And the broad perception was that matters in Bahrain hadn't moved on much since F1's last visit 12 months ago.

As outlined on this site before the race, it represents a toxic mix of two of the sport's most notorious vices: taking short term financial gain in return for longer term and less immediately tangible pain, as well as a disregard for how it's viewed more widely and why this is important. The sport relies on the world around it in a number of ways, most notably that's where it gets its fans from. It's also where it gets its sponsorship and technical involvement, and all three of these groups have plenty of options of where to invest their time and money. F1 is inviting peril by disregarding this.

Bahrain GP Report: Vettel wins a race of one

We really never seem to learn, do we? Red Bull, particularly that driven by Sebastian Vettel, simply cannot be disregarded. The combination must always be factored into any F1 equation, unless you're certain that they've all actually left the circuit and are on their way back to Milton Keynes. And rather like the antagonist of a horror film, it has a tendency to suddenly burst into shot for the kill at the precise point that you think it's finally killed off. There has been much agonising over the Red Bull team this year, many talking about it being not quite ruling the roost as it once did, some having it in a state of meltdown. And yet Sebastian Vettel won the Bahrain Grand Prix at a cruise today, and Red Bull is bossing both championship tables after four rounds. Whatever problems it may have they must be nice ones to have.

All of a sudden, from existing in a season that had looked like it would give the established order a bit of a shake, we all seem to still be exactly where we have been for a good while: scratching our heads on how exactly the Vettel-Red Bull combo can be usurped. And the next race, but three weeks away, starts the European season at which point the major plot lines of the year tend to be set. Many at rivals teams will be feeling right now a little like they've received a firm slap across the face.

Sebastian Vettel - bouncing back to win
Credit: Morio / CC

Today's race was in effect a race of one. But few expected that Seb would be the one that was cruising to victory. Alonso's Ferrari would get the jump at the start they said, and the Ferrari has better race pace. As does Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus, coming up from eighth, and indeed Kimi may be able to do a two-stopper thus jumping much traffic. But today is just the latest reminder that Vettel when at the sharp end is always a contender, and so it proved. Alonso did indeed get ahead of Seb at the start, but Seb at turn four gave his first indication that he wasn't willing to cede to convention by decisively sweeping past Alonso. And then two laps later he scythed past surprise pole man Nico Rosberg in similar style to lead, and was never seen again. All the while he showed both a pace and an ability to sustain it over a stint that no one else could get near.

Further thoughts on the Australian Grand Prix

What next?
In F1 there are no ends; it is a continuum. For weeks and months we predict with supreme confidence that the opening race weekend will answer the key questions of who's hot and who's not. And indeed it does answer many of them. But the trouble is that it creates a few more at the same time. And so it was at Melbourne.

Does Sebastian Vettel remain the title favourite?
Credit: Alex Comerford / CC

Sebastian Vettel's Red Bull didn't run and hide in the race after all, despite practice and qualifying suggesting that it would. Instead, Kimi Raikkonen's Lotus won dominantly, and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari cleared Seb too. And while it was a surprise triumph for the Enstone team, perhaps we should have seen it coming. Lotus can be considered the forgotten contenders in 2013 season previews: the E21 had after all looked to handle extremely well in Jerez testing, and Romain Grosjean undertook an ominously pacy longer run in Barcelona. Yet it seemed the car's reliability troubles diverted attention somewhat. And Alonso and Ferrari will also be well satisfied with their debut. It's early days of course, but even after one round a Raikkonen-Alonso-Vettel battle for title honours in 2013 looks by far most likely.

But, without wishing to play the role of the bad fairy at Sleeping Beauty's christening, did Melbourne's race contain a clue that Kimi and Lotus will suffer from the same overarching problem as last year, that while it may be the fastest car on race day it too often gives its drivers too much to do from low grid slots? Kimi after all qualified seventh in Melbourne, some 1.3 seconds over Seb's pace. As it was, circumstances meant that he wasn't held up much in the race, and indeed was right on the tail of Seb and the Ferraris from early on, but can he count on that every time?

Kaleidoscope shaken: implications of Lewis Hamilton joining Mercedes

In F1, as in life, everything is connected to everything else. Every action has a ripple effect throughout the pitlane; every gap created has to filled.

Indeed, in the case of the movements of Lewis Hamilton, one of the biggest beasts of the F1 plains, one is put in mind of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's celebrated quote on Canada's relations with the USA: 'Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.'

Lewis Hamilton - not in McLaren
colours for much longer
Credit: Ryan Bayona / CC

And unless you've been living in a cave these past couple of days, you'll be aware by now that Lewis has decided to shake the kaleidoscope, not only of his own career but of contemporary F1, by announcing that he'll be leaving McLaren for Mercedes at the year's end. It's the first time since the off season of 2009/2010 that a major driving player in a major driving team has switched employers. The ripple effect of this switch will be felt throughout F1, most heavily at the McLaren team he's leaving and the Mercedes team he's joining but also felt much further potentially. It only remains to be seen where the kaleidoscope pieces settle, and when, both for Lewis and for everyone else.

There has been a lot of speculation as to what encouraged Lewis to reach his decision, and in reality it's likely that no one aside from Lewis himself and a few close to him know the real reasons. It cannot be denied that on competitiveness grounds the move is hard to justify, at least in the short term (though Lewis may be looking a bit further ahead, for various reasons).

But while it seems the basic retainers on offer at McLaren and Mercedes were pretty similar, at his new abode he'll have much more freedom to develop 'brand Lewis' (and he must be interested in this, he wouldn't have signed up with XIX Management in the first place if he wasn't). Many auxiliary reasons have been touted too: that he feels constrained at the 'paternalistic' McLaren and, rather like kid who grew up, is keen to flee the nest and prove himself 'on his own'. The sporting challenge of building up a team that's all potential but currently struggling may also be tempting (as Michael Schumacher was tempted by the Ferrari challenge in 1996), as might the possibility of making a team very much his team, as Fernando Alonso has done so transparently at Ferrari.

Silverstone Preview: Impressive surroundings, but a lot of hot air

Incessant showers. Must be the British summer time. Fast, challenging corners, and a surprisingly big and enthusiastic crowd for a Friday. Must be the British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Track conditions were treacherous in both practice sessions
Credit: Alex Comerford / CC

Not for the first time in history foul weather and the British Grand Prix weekend came together today. Both practice sessions were run in wet conditions, turning both into, effectively, wet and intermediate tyre testing sessions. And the elements are expected to fine up for tomorrow and Sunday, meaning today's running offered few clues to who's hot and who's not this weekend. Felipe Massa topped the times in the second session, and while it was welcome to see him atop a final timesheet for the first time since before his near-fatal 2009 accident, it was essentially an exercise in setting a time latest on a drying track, and when many established front runners weren't out on track to take advantage at the same time.

The new Silverstone, with the new 'wing' paddock and pit complex, certainly looked in good nick (though there seems something rather parallel universe about Copse not being the first turn), to the point that not even Bernie could find much to complain about.

F1 not full of Middle Eastern promise

Not for the first time F1 has found itself encroaching on the front pages rather than the back in recent days, and not for the right reasons. Protests and unrest in Bahrain, against the ruling government and Khalifah royal family, have dominated news bulletins, particularly as security forces have sought at various stages to counter protesting crowds by firing on them, killing several people. And this of course gives F1 a problem, as the fraternity are due to gather at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain for a pre-season test starting on 3 March, and then for the season's opening race on 13 March.

Bernie's current line is 'wait and see', but at the time of writing it's impossible to see how either the test or the race meeting can go ahead in Bahrain. The security risks are obvious, even if there is a period of relative calm in coming days it will only take one protester to decide that the global audience of an F1 event is too good an opportunity to miss drawing attention to their cause in an extreme fashion to give us a catastrophic outcome on several levels. In addition to any human tragedy, the legal implications (not to mention the damage to F1's image) of the event going ahead and, perish the thought, someone being killed amidst the unrest don't bear thinking about, especially since the official advice of the UK and US governments is not to travel there unless it is essential.

Further, this whole case is perhaps an inevitable consequence of F1 'following the money' via holding rounds in countries with such regimes, despite well-documented concerns about their human rights records. The financial benefits of the Bahrain round to F1 are obvious - they throw sums of money unthinkable to 'established' F1 countries at the Formula One Group for the rights to hold a race (in the case of Bahrain it's thought to be in the region of £37m annually), despite the absence even of much local demand for tickets. And the reason they do this is as an elaborate application of admittance to the 'international community', or a 'branding exercise' as the Crown Prince of Bahrain called it. Further, F1 doesn't just have a stake in terms of the race events, McLaren is 42% owned by the Bahrain government. But the flip side is that oppressive regimes have a tendency to oppress people.

Does the Vettel collision fall-out confirm this season's battle lines?

The collision between Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button was a major talking point from the Belgian GP at the weekend. However, for me, it was the response to the incident from McLaren that was more intriguing.

Martin Whitmarsh missed several opportunities to keep his mouth shut on the matter, describing Vettel's move as 'more reminiscent of junior formulae', his punishment (a drive through) as 'pretty light', as well as essentially calling Vettel too error-prone. And not missing an opportunity to refer back to the incident in Turkey, wherein Vettel collided with his team mate, Mark Webber, Whitmarsh added: 'I would rather he did it (collided) with his team-mates rather than do it with us'.

Ted Kravitz in the BBC's TV coverage of the Spa race recounted to us how a number of McLaren mechanics apparently went out into the pits to perform a 'passive aggressive' stance as Vettel completed his drive through. Even the normally mild-mannered Jenson had a pop, calling Vettel's move 'weird' and alleging that Vettel was 'rattled' and 'confused'.

You could argue that all of this reflects no more than a highly-competitive team expressing disappointment at having one of their cars taken out of the race at the business end of the season by, let's face it, a rather ham-fisted move. Yet this reaction is also the latest in a lengthy succession of needling emanating from Woking and in the direction of Milton Keynes.