Ten Things I've Missed Blogging This Year

As I set out in a post a few weeks ago, my blog has been more than a little erratic over the last 12 to 18 months as I look to piece certain things back together. To read more about my psychology, click here, but in this post, I wanted to provide my belated opinion on ten of the year's top sporting stories that I never got the opportunity to cover.

This has been separated into the sports that I have previously blogged on, but in the last year I have got into a number of new sports, some of which will be covered here.

Football

1. Leicester win Premier League

I kind of had to do this. Arguably the greatest footballing story in the history of the English game, the ultimate in underdog stories came to fruition this year. While I did give my opinion on the exploits of Jamie Vardy (both in the positive and negative sense) late last year, I never looked at the collective achievement of the squad as a whole.

I suppose here, more than in any other story, there is very little I can say that is new. When you consider that the biggest shock in the Spanish La Liga in recent years was the title winning side from Atletico Madrid, that highlights the scale of the accomplishments. In my mind, the only comparable previous event in recent memory is the Montpellier success in the French league in 2012, but even that pales in comparison to the dramatic turnaround in fortunes.

Without a doubt, momentum played a crucial role, but the performances of a number of individuals was simply outstanding. Whether that's the consistency of signing of the season N'Golo Kante, or the moments of magic from Riyad Mahrez, the Foxes have had quality across the field all season, and thanks to everyone else throwing it away, Leicester run out deserved winners.

2. FIFA implodes and Sepp Blatter found guilty

Who saw this coming? I don't mean in the sense of FIFA's corruption - I'm not naive. We've all known the frankly ridiculous levels of bribes, backhanders and 'favours for the boys' that Blatter and the rest of his cronies have been taking part in. What I didn't expect was for them to be caught, as everyone seemed to be content with the incompetence.

However, what made this moment among the best of the last 12 months was the reaction of comedian Lee Nelson. Though I've never been much of a fan of Nelson's work (his humour always seemed a little too slapstick and PR stunty to me), I have to say his idea at a press conference involving Blatter last year was absolutely brilliant. Having managed to sneak his way into the audience, Nelson took the opportunity to throw a huge wad of cash over the disgraced FIFA chief in one of the most iconic images of the scandal. Though he was instantly arrested as a suspected terrorist, he created a moment that resonated around the world, and highlighted, for the first time, the public opinion of the issue.

3. Footballers as role models: the Adam Johnson story

Like the Leicester story, there is very little that I can add to this story in terms of opinion, as my reaction to this story was much the same as everyone else's - a mixture of disgust and sympathy for the victim. What the latest in a long line of criminal cases against entitled footballers with no concept of other people demonstrates is a point I raised in my first 'Bitesize Rants' post, namely, that footballers should not be considered role models for children, as they have proven time and time again they do not deserve the moniker.

What makes this story particularly abhorrent is the way that both Johnson and the world of football treated his arrest and subsequent case. While I am the first person to stand behind the phrase 'innocent until proven guilty', and it irritates me no end that rape is the only crime where the burden of proof is on the defendant, if you are under investigation for a crime and you have a job in the public eye, you should really be ineligible for selection until the matter is concluded. By all means continue to pay them and treat them the same, but more to demonstrate the seriousness of the situation, you have to ensure they are not being put in the public eye. If it was up to me, no-one would ever be named as a suspect until after they are convicted, but that simply isn't the world we live in.

With this in mind, it is therefore mindless that Sunderland continued to play the winger, and in light of his guilty plea since, only makes the Wearside club look callous and morally bankrupt, willing to play and support a sex offender to gain an advantage. What makes the story even worse is that Adam Johnson, despite knowing he was guilty and about to submit a plea, continued to milk the North East club for all they were worth in wages.

Formula 1

4. Hamilton and Rosberg become best of enemies

Having grown up together through karting and junior formulas, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg formed a close friendship, racing hard but fair and keeping the work away from their friendship. However, like any soap storyline, all friendships inevitably come to an end. Unlike the soap, there were no affairs, illegalities or betrayals, but pure competition.

The breakdown of the relationship started with Rosberg, clearly frustrated at trailing Hamilton in the championship, outbreaking himself in qualifying at the Monaco grand prix in a move reminiscent of the famous Schumacher Rascasse-gate. Further fuel was added to the fire in Belgium, when an angry Rosberg committed the gravest sin in Formula 1 - deliberately hitting your teammate.

After Hamilton's procession to the title last year, the relationship seemed to have settled between the pair to a healthy rivalry. That was until the Spanish grand prix a few weeks ago. Having taken one another out on the first lap, the two very quickly pointed the finger at one another, again stoking the flames and setting the season up for a fiery rivalry.

Tennis

5. Serena completes year grand slam

As much as I hate her hypocritical, have your cake and eat it too, standard feminist mentality, Serena Williams did something amazing last year. To win a Grand Slam is an impressive achievement, but to win all four in the same year is quite extraordinary. She will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the best ever tennis players and dominant champions - it's just a shame about her personality!

Cricket

6. That over...

We've all experienced the feeling where we want the world to open up and swallow us, but I certainly expect that Ben Stokes will have felt this more strongly than most earlier this year. To set the scene, England's cricket team, despite being roundly written off at the beginning of the tournament, and largely underwhelming in the early rounds, managed to perform a Leicester-esque run to the final. In their way stood West Indies, who had already beaten them before.

Having set a disappointing 155/9 in their 20 overs, England were seen as strong underdogs. However, a West Indian batting collapse put England on the brink of reclaiming the title they held in 2010. Step forward Ben Stokes, or more accurately Carlos Brathwaite. With an outlandish 19 required from six balls, Brathwaite smashed four successive sixes off the medium-pacer to claim the title for the West Indies in one of the most dramatic finishes.

Rugby

7. A typically English World Cup

Now, from a dramatic failure to an absolute aborration. The saying 'all good things come to an end' was emphatically proven on home soil last autumn, with our rugby team emulating the performances of the footballing side, and exiting early. The fact that it was a home World Cup only serves to make this point more humiliating, with England becoming the first home nation in the history of the tournament to fail to make it out of the group stages.

Others

8. Mayweather/Pacquiao - Can super fights ever live up to the hype?

When the news that unbeaten Floyd Mayweather, widely considered the greatest pound for pound boxer on the face of the planet, was to fight Filipino great Manny Pacquiao, the fight world went mad. Expectations that this was set to be the greatest fight of all time were far far wide of the mark, however. All I can say is that I am glad I didn't stay up to watch it. From what I've seen, it was 12 rounds of Floyd applying his typical counter punching style, and Pacquiao treading water while he attempted to connect.

Quite often, the best fights do not involve two high ranked individuals, as 'super fights' tend to come with a lot of additional pressure. A high profile loss, especially in emphatic circumstances, can have  a dramatic effect on a boxer's legacy, so it is unsurprising that neither of them left it all in the ring.

It may well have an impact the next time the boxing organisers want to arrange a fight of this size too!

9. Tyson Fury offends everyone

Staying with boxing, Manchester's Tyson Fury shocked the world with his decision win over Wladimir Klitschko. However, rather than just enjoying his victory and rising fame, Fury decided to take a new and different approach - offend everyone he can.

In between making sexist, racist, transgenderist and homophobic statements in public, Fury has also suggested that performance-enhancing drugs should be permitted in boxing. Though he has apologised for any offence caused, I'm still not quite sure how genuine that is. An isolated incident may be able to be forgiven, but multiple occasions makes it a lot less likely that it is true regret.

10. MMA explodes

Last, but by no means least, is the emergence of a sport until recently I had no real knowledge of. Perhaps it is my own ignorance, but it is only in the last few months that the world of MMA has taken an sort of impact on my consciousness. However, ever since watching my first few fights, I have become addicted, and have spent more hours than I care to mention watching old videos and current events.

I'm sure I will be writing enough on this sport in the near future, but the main reason the sport has exploded in this part of the world in the last 12-18 months is Irishman Conor McGregor. Having sensationally burst onto the UFC scene, he captured the company's Featherweight championship in December 2015, beating Brazilian legend Jose Aldo, unbeaten in the last 10 years, in just 13 seconds.

Having lost to Nate Diaz at UFC 196, choosing to go up two weight classes to take on the Stockton native, McGregor has become a global superstar, spending hours on interviews and media to hype fights and talk trash. However, this spectacularly backfired a couple of months ago, with an argument with the UFC over the amount of mandatory PR the Irishman had to do caused McGregor to post the following on Twitter:

Well, the MMA world went mad. Such was the reaction from the fans, McGregor was forced to retract the statement 48 hours later, stating that it had all been a demonstration of the pull and influence that he has over social.

Despite numerous negotiations, the issue seems to be ongoing, despite the announcement that the rematch between McGregor and Diaz is set for UFC 202 - a month later than originally planned.

So there's my top 10 sporting memories over the last 12 months - have I missed any? And what are yours?

Drama Denied: What Was The Double Point?

The Hives put it perfectly - 'hate to say I told you so'. As I mentioned in a critical (and therefore fairly normal) post earlier in the year, I was not all for the double points race being discussed at the time. Having had that race - today's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, I can safely say I am still not a fan. A season full of twists and turns (even though viewers may have wanted a slightly more competitive field) has, thanks to the double points rule, seemingly been won emphatically. And this season review post will demonstrate that this has simply not been the case.

Though no-one can deny that the Constructors title has been long since over - really since about race five or six - the Driver's Championship has gone right down to the wire, with both Mercedes drivers in with a shout as the lights went out in the desert. It's worth saying that this would still have been the case without double points, though admittedly the pressure on Hamilton would have been non-existent.

However, after all the pre-race talk about avoiding technical issues, it was perhaps inevitable that the title would ultimately be cemented by a catastrophic ERS failure for Nico Rosberg. This left the German well outside the points, while his teammate took the top step in Abu Dhabi to extend his Drivers Championship lead to an impressive 67 points. Much like many football results we see, the final score simply doesn't tell the story, and this must be blamed, at least slightly, on the ludicrous double points final race.

Despite his enormous final margin of victory, the 2014 season started in the worst possible way for Hamilton with a DNF handing Rosberg a 25 point advantage. However, four straight one-two victories for the Briton saw him reel Rosberg back in as the pair headed to Monaco, with the Constructors Championship practically sewn up.

But the famous track saw an ugly twist in race, which threatened to break the two lifelong friends apart. In a move reminiscent of the cynical parking manoeuvre pulled off by Michael Schumacher in 2006 at Rascasse, a dubious "mistake" handed Rosberg pole and ultimately victory, bucking the trend of Hamilton wins and left a bad taste in the mouth. This would not be the only time the pair clashed, with Hamilton again feeling aggrieved at the tactics of his teammate at Spa later in the year.

With Hamilton's win at Yas Marina, Mercedes set a new record for most wins by a Constructor in a single season - 16. The only man to taste success was a surprising one - not one of the several world champions littering the field, but Red Bull new boy Daniel Ricciardo. His first race win in Canada was gifted to him, with both Mercedes drivers struggling with ERS problems - forcing Hamilton out, and Rosberg into second. He was also the beneficiary when the two Mercedes collided in Belgium, whilst poor strategic decision-making and changeable conditions handed the Australian the victory in Hungary. Though he has been fortunate, take nothing away from his performance - to comprehensively beat the four time world champion Sebastien Vettel, in the car he won the titles, both in qualifying and the race, is quite incredible.

Likewise, Valtteri Bottas's performances have also been eye-catching. Though the Finn failed to claim victory, he was a regular on the podium, more than matching his illustrious teammate, Massa. Moving back to the title race, the Mercedes pair swapped victories, with both taking their home races. However, after the incident at Spa, the team's sympathy sat well and truly with Hamilton, with a number of the upper echelons publicly blaming Rosberg for the crash. This clearly had an impact on Hamilton, as the Brit claimed the following five Grand Prix to take the initiative in the title race - 24 points ahead with just two races to go.

While in any normal season, that would almost see the title done and dusted, the threat of double points in Abu Dhabi placed more emphasis on the Brazilian GP. This time, the pressure told on Hamilton, with an uncharacteristic driving error having seemed set to jump his teammate in the pits. The spin left Hamilton 17 ahead going into today's GP in the desert, with the ERS problem for Rosberg killing any threat of final day drama.

So as I have mentioned, I am hardly the biggest fan of the double points rule. I was equally against the extension of the points to 25,17 etc... from the more traditional 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 that I grew up with. So, using the older scoring system, how would the season have panned out?

	Hamilton	Rosberg
Australia	0	10
Malaysia	10	18
Bahrain	20	26
China	30	34
Spain	40	42
Monaco	48	52
Canada	48	60
Austria	56	70
Britain	66	70
Germany	72	80
Hungary	78	85
Belgium	78	93
Italy	88	101
Singapore	98	101
Japan	108	109
Russia	118	117
USA	128	125
Brazil	136	135
Abu Dhabi	146	135

So Bernie wants excitement right to the end? Newsflash Mr Ecclestone - you don't want double points, you don't even want the current 25 for a win scoring system - you want the system you used 10 years ago! Under the old system, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg would have come into today's race separated by just one point, knowing that the winner would take it all!

Bahrain GP 2014: Well, At Least We Saw Some Racing...

One year on, and I'm still blogging! After my review of last year's controversial Bahrain Grand Prix kicked off my blogging bug, I have covered the majority of the major sporting events in the last 12 months, and I am massively looking forward to more posts in the future: the Premier League race and the World Cup to name just a couple. This F1 season has begun ominously for the rest of the pack, with Mercedes dominating the open races of the season. Major changes to the regulations have beset the majority of teams with considerable issues, putting world champion Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull on the back foot.

The decision was made at the beginning of the season to make Bahrain another dusk race, to follow the successes of the Abu Dhabi and the Singapore Grand Prix. Whilst I am not necessarily a fan of the night races, as I do not believe that we need to challenge the drivers with unnecessary weather conditions and add danger (though they do make it easier at times for European audiences), it does add another intrigue for Bernie Ecclestone and perhaps levels the playing field a touch. I would be wary of adding new 'unpredictable' weather conditions (such as the frankly ridiculous idea to create fake rain) to any more races, as I am a fan of seeing what the weather throws at you and how you adapt, and that means starting races in the day.

However, news this week overshadowed the importance of the race. With seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher still in his medically-induced coma in Switzerland after his tragic accident on the ski slopes, the news that he is having moments of consciousness comes as a massive relief to Formula 1 fans worldwide. We can only hope that the German continues to see recovery, and we get to see the great man on the track very soon. A controversial but brilliant driver, competitive to the last, we all know Schumacher is a fighter, and it great news that he is showing signs of recovery.

With every car having the #keepfightingMichael emblazoned across it, qualifying began with Mercedes once again the dominant force. With the German manufacturer and the Red Bulls seemingly happy to get through Q1 on the harder tyre, it offered an unusual name the chance to top the initial leaderboard. The honour fell to Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg, who had been unfortunate not to receive a move to a bigger team in the winter break. With the Indian team seeing positive steps, it was almost the opposite for Lotus. The team that won two of the Grand Prix last season has been struggling with the rule change, and have failed to get out of Q1 in each of the two previous races. In Bahrain, their two drivers, Romain Grosjean and Pastor Maldonado, found themselves fighting between them for a place in Q2. This time it was Grosjean who came out on top, beating Maldonado's time by 0.009 of a second. This was despite the interference of Sauber's Adrian Sutil, who clearly blocked the Frenchman off during a lap. This costed the Sauber driver 2 penalty points on his license, with the Sauber man warned about his future conduct.

Q2 saw a complete turnaround of fortunes. Sadly, whilst Mercedes continued their dominance, finishing a second ahead of the pack, Hulkenberg's Force India, who had topped the board in Q1, could not manage to get himself into the final session. Even more shockingly, neither did Sebastian Vettel. The world champion, having not missed out since Spa in 2011 before this season, has now failed to qualify in two of the three races this year, demonstrating the enormous swing away from Red Bull.

The final session of qualifying saw a frenetic opening period, as the battle for pole once again surrounded the two Mercedes teammates. Despite Lewis Hamilton being the one that was largely considered to be the faster of the pair throughout the weekend, it was Nico Rosberg that managed to get himself in front of the Briton in the first run, bettering his team mate's trial by 0.3 seconds. The second runs for both were considerably slower, with Lewis making a huge error at turn one, ruining his chance of pole. However, with the rest of the pack so far behind, no-one could take advantage of this slip. The only surprise of the session was the brilliant effort of Daniel Ricciardo to get himself into third. Though the Aussie would suffer a 10 place grid penalty for a misdemenour in the previous race, it was nevertheless a statement of intent to his more illustrious team mate.

With the race all about the two Mercedes, it came as little surprise to see the pair turning their cars towards one another off the line, indicating that the pair would ready for the fight, and that Mercedes were more than willing to let their drivers race. Off the line, there seemed no difference between the pair, but it was Hamilton that had the better second phase of the start, getting down the inside of Rosberg at turn 1. However, the German did not give up, fighting Lewis all the way up to turns 3 and 4, but just could not make it past. Further back, contact between Raikkonen and Magnusson for the second race running left the Ferrari driver fuming, and his mood would not have been helped by the fact that his car had no performance. Neither Ferrari could live with the pace of the Force India or Williams cars, with Fernando Alonso being passed by Perez on lap 6.

As the pair of Mercedes flew away from the pack, it was not the same story as Malaysia. Hamilton could not break the attentions of Rosberg, though he had managed to escape the DRS zone. This would continue to play a key theme throughout. After his horrendous qualifying session, Sebastian Vettel had not made up the places that many would have expected, though it is important to note that he, unlike the rest of the field, started on the harder tyre. As a result, Vettel was actually doing well to stay on the back of the group in front. The race for third was quickly becoming the most interesting, with the Force Indias and the Williams both seemingly having the opportunity to grab it. Ferrari and McLaren could also harbour outside aspirations of the podium, but they would need to perform better. In that race, it was Force India who grabbed the initiative, with Sergio Perez overtaking Felipe Massa for 3rd on lap 12.

Ferrari's struggles were demonstrated just one lap later, when Alonso became the first of the front runners to pit. However, this strangely aided the Spaniard, giving them the undercut that we have already seen be effective in the last two races. Kimi Raikkonen, after his first stop, began setting fastest laps, however, that new found speed was short lived. Once all of the first stops had been completed, the Ferraris found themselves on older and slower tyres than the rest of the pack. They quickly became mobile chicanes for the other top teams, with the Williams and the Force Indias passing them.

However, this was not the only battle, as the race for the lead began to hot up once more. With the stops coming up, Rosberg managed to close the gap to his team mate to just a few tenths. Another wheel to wheel battle insued, with the German managing to get past Hamilton. The Brit, knowing that he needed to be in the lead to get the first choice on stops, and he nipped back in front at turn 4, before grabbing the initiative and diving into the pit lane. Interestingly, the pair opted for different tyres, with Hamilton choosing to continue on the option tyre whilst Rosberg went for the harder prime. As we had seen throughout, Hamilton, due to the fact that he pitted earlier, managed to stretch his advantage to 3 seconds by the time Rosberg emerged two laps later. By this point, the race saw 2 Mercedes followed by 2 Force Indias and 2 Williams, all 6 cars powered by Mercedes power systems.

The battle for third continued to hot up, as the Williams chose to use a different strategy to their rivals. Unlike those around them, Bottas and Massa used a three stop strategy, seemingly putting them out of the race for 3rd, and favouring the resurgent Force Indias. Daniel Ricciardo, who had been toiling in anonymity for the majority of the race, beginning in 13th, had found some pace, managing to get his way into the lower end of the points by passing Kimi Raikkonen. With Hamilton pulling away from Nico Rosberg on his quicker tyres (though not as quickly as initially expected), his chances of winning were dealt a hammer blow. Pastor Maldonado, having emerged from the pit lane, seemingly failed to judge the speed difference between himself and Esteban Gutierrez. As a result, the collision ended up flipping the Sauber, leaving debris littering the track and bringing out the safety car.

With both Hamilton and Rosberg pitting, the Briton's 9.5 second lead had been eradicated, and he had to survive the remainder of the race on the slower tyres. A mean feat even if facing a slower car, but against the Mercedes seemed impossible. The crash had benefitted the Red Bulls and Jenson Button's McLaren, who had managed to jump the three stopping Williams drivers. However, Sebastian Vettel was instructed by his engineer that the Williams' newer and quicker tyres meant that they would come under threat later in the race. The final few laps of the race saw two enormous battles, with the lead taking the majority of air time, whilst the battle between the Force India driver and Daniel Ricciardo for the final podium was equally as interesting.

From the restart, the Mercedes flew away from the rest, opening up a 10 second gap within just a few laps, demonstrating their dominance over the rest. However, a furious battle continued to rage between the pair, with Rosberg making a number of lunges down the inside into turn 1. However, no matter how hard he tried, he simply could not keep his nose in front of his team mate. On several occasions, the Briton had to get aggressive in his defence, forcing his team mate off the circuit in an attempt to keep his place. And keep it he did, beginning to slowly but surely ease away from Rosberg as his tyres began to lose their edge. This led the cameras to switch their attention to battle for 3rd, as Hamilton seemed to have the race under control going into the final few laps.

As Jenson Button's McLaren fell off completely, dropping behind both Willams, Red Bulls and Ferraris, the battle continued between the two Force Indias for the final podium, with Daniel Ricciardo reeling the pair in quickly. Sergio Perez, who has had to play second fiddle to Hulkenberg for the majority of the first few races, finally got his chance to shine, holding on to his first podium for the team ahead of his team mate, and slowly edged his way away. This meant that Hulkenberg fell back into the clutches of Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian managing to get himself into a remarkable fourth. But there were not enough laps left to pull off a podium. Another nice moment for the Aussie will have been the overtake he pulled on Vettel (not the one that was due to team orders) as he showed the world champion that he is not there simply to make up the numbers.

But the day, as has been the case at every race so far, belonged to Mercedes. As the cars get more reliable, we will see this kind of thing continue to happen, with the Silver Arrows seemingly having by far the superior package. Unless we see a huge swing in fortune, I fear more races where the battle for third is the most interesting spectacle. However, at least the racing between the pair, and the fact that Mercedes have said they will not stop this with team orders, means that we may have something interesting to watch up front.

Not as controversial as a year ago, nor (arguably) as interesting a race, but we are ushering a new era of Formula 1. Love it or loathe it, it seems as though it is here to stay, so we had all better get used to it, and hope that another team can develop their car throughout the season!

Malaysia Grand Prix: Different Team, Same Result?

New house, new start. My move has freed me up to go back to what I've missed: writing. And what better way to restart than with the revamped F1 season? After a season dominated by one car and one man, a monumental rule change, one that has been described as the 'largest for a generation', has levelled the playing field this year. Gone are the enormous shouting V8's, in favour of the energy saving hybrid V6s (despite the noise issue that still rankles with Bernie Ecclestone). Along comes a bizarre new chassis, which sees the nose dip in places I never thought possible. New moves, fresh faces. And yet the spirit and prize is the same.

These changes and the new equaliser took effect in the opening race in Australia. After a miserable winter testing session, Red Bull and world champion Sebastien Vettel came to Melbourne on the back foot. The winner of 13 grand prix last term, and the previous nine on the bounce will have left Albert Park in similar mood, after a mechanical problem forced the German out on just the seventh lap. This will be a common theme for this season, with the most reliable car being most likely to be the most successful. The pole sitter on the day, Lewis Hamilton, was also victim to the mechanical curse, falling the lap before Vettel. That left the win to his teammate Nico Rosberg, and a space on the podium for hometown hero Daniel Ricciardo - the first Australian to take to the rostrum at their home event. Given the success of his predecessor Mark Webber, that is quite an incredible statistic! We saw the return to form of Williams and especially McLaren, with new rookie Kevin Magnusson matching the feat of Lewis Hamilton in 2008 by getting himself into 3rd. With Jenson Button following in close behind, McLaren left Australia leading the Constructors Championship. Who would have guessed that at the end of last year?

If the teams thought Australia was bad, they would have been dreading Malaysia. Traditionally one of the most testing circuits on reliability, with temperatures pushing 50 degrees on track, it is a car killer. However, after Mercedes dominance in Melbourne, the rest of the field were granted the ultimate leveller in qualifying: a monsoon. Delaying the beginning of Q1 by fully 45 minutes, the rain just carried on. When the session eventually started, the cars were more concerned with tip-toeing around the circuit to keep it out of the gravel than taking it to the limit. As a result, Q1 began by maintaining the status quo, with a comfortable Mercedes 1-2. However, this safety was obliterated for Vettel with the news that he had a problem with the car and needed to pit for a reboot. Though this seemed to leave his place in qualifying in the balance, Red Bull managed to turn him round quickly and get him safely into Q2.

The next part saw an even more incredible turnaround as Q2 began in a blaze of drama. Toro Rosso's impressive youngster Daniil Kyvat had a nightmare, locking up and careering into the slow moving Fernando Alonso. The Ferrari driver, who had quite wrongly elected to run with the intermediate tyres, saw his front left suspension and wishbone broken, leaving him to limp back to the pits with his qualifying campaign seemingly in tatters and bringing out a red flag. Impressive work from the Ferrari mechanics meant that not only did the Spaniard get back out, but he qualified for Q3 ahead of his illustrious new teammate Kimi Raikkonen. The only real surprise to come out of Q2 was the failure of the high-flying Williams pair to reach the top ten shootout, with both Massa and Bottas unable to make the cut. However, up front Vettel managed to split the two Mercedes to give fans an indication of a competitive final part of qualifying.

Q3, like the two parts before it, began rather anti-climactically, with cars looking to set a banker lap. With the initial fears that Mercedes would run away with the pole, the initial 1-2 seemed set to stay. However, both Red Bull and Ferrari had other ideas. Fernando Alonso, who seemed to have completely recovered from the crash in Q2, got himself between the two German cars, before Sebastien Vettel came within a whisker of grabbing pole. As the chequered flag loomed large, the fight was on between the German and Hamilton for the top spot - or so it seemed. Whilst squabbling with Nico Rosberg to be the last one across the line to start their flying lap, Vettel inexplicably failed to make it before the flag fell, losing his final lap, handing Hamilton the pole on a silver platter. The only other change was Rosberg managing to drag himself into third and within striking distance of the lead. After a qualifying session that began slowly, with everyone assuming a Mercedes coronation, this handed fans some hope of a competitive season. For Hamilton, a personal milestone: he equalled the British record for pole positions that has stood since 1964 and Jim Clark.

In typical Sepang fashion, Sunday saw the return of baking conditions, with the teams preparing for the most challenging weather of the year. As the lights went out, pole-sitter Hamilton got away well, leaving team-mate Rosberg to jump the slow-starting Vettel into 2nd. The big winner was Daniel Ricciardo, who managed to sneak his way around the outside of the two Ferraris before hanging his teammate out to dry on the outside of turn two. With the Mercedes in clean air, Hamilton clearly relished the chance, repeatedly setting fastest lap after fastest lap to ease the gap out to five seconds after just 8 laps. Further back, Ferrari continued to struggle, although not entirely of their own doing. Kimi Raikkonen, embroiled in a close battle with the rookie McLaren of Daniel Magnusson, found himself carrying a right rear puncture after a tussle got too close. This left the Finn limping back to the pits and ending any realistic chance of a large points haul.

The collision hardly did Magnusson any favours either, breaking his front wing and causing him to hold up a gaggle (I believe that is the correct term!) of cars. In a frenetic start up front, Sebastien Vettel began homing in on his teammate before cruising past under DRS. It was the first time that the two had been wheel to wheel since becoming teammates, and the world champion seemed intent on sending a message to his less illustrious companion. As the cars began to look at pit stops, it became clear that the undercut would play a significant part in the race. Ferrari's Fernando Alonso, having made his first stop, began lapping at over two seconds a lap faster than the cars ahead. Although the Red Bulls acted quickly enough to keep Vettel in front of the Spaniard, Daniel Ricciardo eventually fell foul of this. However, by this point, the Mercedes drivers were out of sight of the chasing pack, bringing F1 fans a reminder of the dominant scenes seen so frequently last year.

However, all is not lost. With Rosberg struggling with the balance of his rear tyres, the Red Bull began reeling the German in at almost a second a lap, giving F1 fans an indication that perhaps Mercedes would not run away with races. However, it is worth remembering that Rosberg's was a wounded car, with his teammate continuing to scamper away up front. By the time Hamilton pitted for his second stop, the gap was up to over 10 seconds, at it was looking simply a battle for second.

With this, and the battle for the minor places the only close track action, attention turned towards the skies. Radio transmissions between Raikkonen and the Ferrari team intimated a spattering of rain around turn 14, threatening to spice up a rapidly predictable race. As it happened, it wasn't to be. Between the revelation and the chequered flag dropping, there was only one more piece of action worth commenting on. Daniel Ricciardo, after the misfortune of being disqualified in Australia (his fuel level gauge stopped working - something that strangely happened again here, but not on Vettel's car-coincidence?) found himself battling with Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg for 4th place as he arrived at his pit box for his final stop. However, a wheel failure, followed by a front wing failure a few laps later (both completely unrelated - coincidence?) seemed another example of the German world champion's teammate having the most outrageous bad luck. Where have we seen an Aussie get a raw deal at Red Bull before?

Nevertheless, hats off to Lewis Hamilton, who led home a Mercedes one-two for his first win in Malaysia by fully 15 seconds. Vettel's return to the podium was a welcome one for a man who has been too accustomed to the rostrum in recent years, but I get the feeling we will be seeing silver on that podium a huge amount of times this season. With the mind-numbing repetitiveness of last season, Formula 1 can ill-afford another season as one sided. Unfortunately, this rule change seems to have favoured one car, and until the rest can catch up, there seems little sign of changing.

Korean Grand Prix: Mid-Race Mayhem, Same Result

                      After Sebastian Vettel's dominant win in Singapore last time out, there has been little in the way of controversy and talk in Formula 1. The majority of drivers places have been sorted out for next season, there have been no significant bust-ups, and the titles both seem pretty much sewn up. This means that the last few races can be just be enjoyable on the part of both the drivers and those watching. All we can hope for is more in the way of competitive races, as it has become a bit repetitive with the German winning the last 4 races. Certainly the Red Bulls have adjusted better to the mid-season rule change, after the 'Silverstone-gate' tyre problems prompted a swift rule change. Whether the German has lucked into a fortuitous situation is up for debate, but it could certainly be argued that the title race would be considerably closer had the tyres not been forced to changed.

                        Yesterday saw the beginning of the end of this 2013 Formula 1 season, with the cars making the short trip from Singapore to Yeongam in South Korea. As I stated earlier, we are now hoping for more competitive races from her to the end of the season. And in the practice sessions, we appeared to get our wish, as the Mercedes seemed far closer to the Red Bulls, Hamilton being ahead of Vettel in both. This set qualifying up much more nicely than it has been ordinarily, as we are currently used to seeing the Red Bull and Vettel dominate. This time, whilst the result was the same, the manner was rather different, promising a rather different type of Grand Prix on the Sunday.

                         The early minutes of qualifying saw the Mercedes drivers setting the pace, with Hamilton leading his teammate. The structure of the qualifying was unusual, with all the drivers fuelled for three to four timed laps. This meant that the session had the appearance of being slow and tedious. The challenge for those in Q1 was seeing who could get through without using a set of the super soft tyres. As the session progressed, it seemed obvious that it would only be the pace-setting Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel that would get this advantage. However, moving onto the super softs, Hulkenberg, Rosberg and then Raikkonen all beat the Hamilton time. Towards the bottom, Paul di Resta, who has been going through a poor patch of form recently, was blocked on his final lap by Jules Bianchi, leaving the Scot perilously close to the cut-off. Fortunately for Force India, the two Williams' drivers struggled in Korea, meaning that di Resta got away with his poor time to qualify for the first time in three races. Q2 had the same structure to it, with Hamilton going quickest early on his new super softs, leaving Vettel to beat that time much later on. This already looked to be far closer than usual, and promised a much more exciting Q3. Further back, the big winners of Q2 were Sauber, with both Hulkenberg and Gutierrez making it into the final session. The Mexican's feat was particularly impressive, having qualified for Q3 on each of the last 2 races. The losers were McLaren, with both cars unable to make it into Q3, despite having started the session well.

                             Q3 began slowly, with only 5 of the 10 cars choosing to leave the garage immediately. In the race for pole, Red Bull won the first round, with Vettel and Webber edging out Hamilton and Rosberg. Even worse for the German driver, Romain Grosjean managed to get his Lotus between him and his Mercedes teammate. Red Bull were not having things all their own way however, as Mark Webber would have to take a ten place engine penalty after his qualification spot, as punishment for his misdemenour in Singapore. One thing that would have helped Mercedes enormously would have been Vettel to make just a small mistake on his out lap, as he cut it extremely fine with time to get across the line to start a lap. Fortunately for Red Bull, he just about made it. But as it was, he needn't have bothered. Lewis Hamilton was the only car to improve on his previous lap, jumping Webber, but he couldn't beat the world-champion elect. This handed Vettel his 6th pole of the season, and fourth in succession. There remained just a glimmer of hope for his rivals though, as no pole-sitter had ever gone on to win the Grand Prix the following day.

                                 The Yeongam track in South Korea is one I find particularly unusual. Having watched all of the Grand Prix held there, as well as having driven around it (albeit in my bedroom on the Playstation), I find that whilst the short first straight before the first corner avoids the majority of first corner incidents, cars infront are at a distinct disadvantage when it comes to the third and fourth corners. As there are two 1km straights for the drivers to negotiate, those behind have the opportunity to get a fantastic tow and fly straight past. It is little wonder, then, why the pole sitters have traditionally not been particularly successful. The middle section I also find bizarre. Whereas in other tracks I feel like the corners fit the circuit, like at Monza, the Yeongam circuit appears to have deliberately overcomplicated the twisty middle section. The pit entrance/exit also looked similarly overcomplicated, though I was glad to see that the pit exit had been altered for this year. Rather than feeding back into the heart of turn 1, which was certainly dangerous, it now feeds out on the exit of the turn, leading down onto the straight. Though it may not be one of my favourite tracks, it always provides us with great entertainment, and yesterday was no different.

                                    As the cars lined up on the grid, Vettel would have known that here, more than anywhere, a good start is essential. Fortunately for the Red Bull driver, he got one, catapulting himself away from the stranded Lewis Hamilton. The Mercedes instantly came under pressure from the fast-starting Grosjean, and found himself behind after the third corner. Further back, the two Ferrari's came millimetres from disaster, as Felipe Massa span, causing teammate Fernando Alonso to take avoiding action. This left the Brazilian way down the field, and compromised Ferrari's goal of securing 2nd in the Constructors Championship. This chaos allowed Daniel Ricciardo, who had started the race in 12th place, to jump to 7th. Even more incredibly, Pastor Maldonado, who had started the race a disappointing 18th, managed to jump to 11th by the end of lap 1. There was no such jump from Webber though. The Australian, having started 13th, could only make up a single place on the opening lap, and was struggling to pass those in front. The McLaren's were particularly troublesome, but having cleared the pair of those, he made his way to 8th by lap 8.

                                      Back up at the front, Vettel had managed to break the DRS gap, but he was not scampering away from the rest as we are so accustomed to seeing from the German. Interestingly, it was Hamilton that seemed to be struggling most during this phase, beginning to fall back from Grosjean and forcing him to pit on lap 9. Just a lap later, presumably to cover the Mercedes stop, the Frenchman was in. However, Hamilton's pace on his out lap was such that he and Grosjean came out side by side, with the Lotus clinging onto second place by the skin of its teeth at the end of sector 1. Vettel, having seen the change in pace, pitted the next lap, but he too lost time to the pair of them, rejoining just 1.5 seconds ahead. Just behind this trio, Daniel Ricciardo, who was trying to 1 stop, occupied 4th. However, this was swiftly taken from him as Rosberg quickly reeled in and passed the Aussie, forcing him to abandon his race strategy and pit.

                                        During the middle section of the race, a number of drivers began complaining of their tyres 'graining'. For those unfamiliar with the term, this is when, due to the extreme temperatures and pressure on the tyre, little balls of rubber begin to form on the tyre's surface. This has the effect of dramatically reducing grip, as the friction means that the tyres begin to slide on the track. Normally, graining cleans up eventually, but too long a period can play havoc with a race strategy and potentially cost vital points. Webber and Alonso both complained about it in the mid-20s lap-wise, but it was Lewis Hamilton that suffered the most. The Mercedes performance dropped dramatically as the race ticked towards lap 30, allowing his teammate to take 2-3 seconds per lap out of the Brit. Eventually, the German caught Hamilton coming onto the pair of 1km straights. He got into the slipstream and opened his DRS. However, no sooner had he moved to overtake, he had a front wing failure. The nose had bent down and was now touching the floor, sending sparks flying everywhere. Much to Hamilton's frustration, Rosberg refused to let him past, and to add insult to injury, then stole the pit stop that Lewis was supposed to have, meaning that Hamilton had to do yet another lap on the ruined tyres. He eventually pitted on lap 30, but that stop pushed him back behind the chasing foursome of Hulkenberg, Alonso, Webber and Raikkonen.

                                          Whilst Rosberg's sparking front wing was dramatic, it was nothing compared to the following 10 laps. Just 2 later, on the same straight, Sergio Perez had a front right tyre delamination, caused by a horrendous flat spot on his tyre. Luckily, this does not seem to be a recurrance of the old Pirelli problems, simply overusage by the driver. The carcass of the tyre was left on the road, along with a sizeable amount of debris. This forced the safety car out, enabling Raikkonen and Hamilton to gain back a few of the places that they had lost. On the restart, Raikkonen took full advantage of a poor Grosjean restart to nip infront of his teammate at turn 1 to claim 2nd. Further back, Sutil attempted to pass Webber on the way into turn 3, but only succeeded in colliding with the Red Bull. The collision must have ignited something in the engine, as Webber's car swiftly set on fire, forcing him to pull over and retire, and prompting the safety car out once again. However, confusion reigned as the marshals car was seen on track before the safety car had managed to pick up the leaders. Eventually, the situation was resolved, but it could have ended very badly.

                                              The race restarted (for the second time) on lap 40, and this time Vettel was not allowed to scamper clear quite as easily, as Raikkonen remained right on his tail. Behind them, Hamilton had a very poor restart, being mugged by the fast starting Nico Hulkenberg for 4th. The Sauber driver was having one of the drives of his career, but he would need to defend superbly to keep this 4th place. Fortunately for the Sauber driver, his set-up enabled him to keep Hamilton behind him in the top speed section, and he used all of his skill and car to keep the Brit behind in the twisty section. It meant that even with DRS, Hamilton could do little about the Sauber, and even resorted to an exasperated question of 'has anyone got any ideas' to his team. Up front, Vettel had begun to pull away from Raikkonen, as the Finn's tyres grew older. This allowed Romain Grosjean to close up on his teammate. Being encouraged by the entire Lotus garage, the Frenchman simply could not make the manoeuver stick, and eventually had to settle for 3rd. The fact that the Lotus team were so keen to have Grosjean ahead of Raikkonen implies that the Finn may have to endure a few tough and awkward races at the British-based team before heading back to Ferrari, as there is a clear sense of favouritism.

                                               But the day, as has so often been the case in recent weeks, belonged to Vettel. Another mature drive from the front to become the first man ever to win the Korean Grand Prix from pole. The records keep tumbling for the German, and I am certain that very soon he will be able to lay claim to the first ever quadruple world champion, where all of his titles have come in succession. For me, it will be interesting to see how Vettel reacts when he is given a car that is not constantly leading races. If he were in Alonso or Hamilton's position now, I think that Vettel may struggle, as we are yet to see him pull off many stunning overtaking moves or come from behind victories. Despite Vettel having won the race, my Driver of the Day is certainly Nico Hulkenberg. A phenomenal drive from 7th, and to keep Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, two world champions, at bay for the best part of 20 laps, is quite incredible. I would be extremely surprised if he doesn't recieve a phone call from a larger team in the next couple of years offering him a seat. Korea once again delivered on drama, action and intensity, but failed to deliver us a different result than the one we all now all too familiar with.

Italian Grand Prix 2013: The Place Where Ferrari's Dreams Died?

                            Today's Italian Grand Prix marked the end of the European F1 season. Next, the Formula 1 roadshow rolls into Asia, with races at Singapore, Japan and Abu Dhabi to come. With Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel so far in the lead in both championships, it looks as though the end of the European season has coincided with the end of the F1 season as a competitive entity. Vettel's victory in the heart of Ferrari territory, at a circuit where they were unfavoured, signals a level of dominance that I fear will continue for the rest of the season.

                            But just how dominant have the Red Bulls been in Europe? It is interesting to look at the statistics of the European season, and the winners of each race. I will do a run down of the races undertaken, the winners, and the points based purely on European races. Spain was the first race of the season, which saw Fernando Alonso take his second victory on home soil. Monaco saw a win for Mercedes and Nico Rosberg, who took their second win in the following European race in Britain. Another home victory saw Vettel take his first European victory of the season at the Nurburgring. He would win another two, in Belgium and today in Italy, after a first Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Whilst the Red Bull man has won the most European races this year, he only beats Nico Rosberg by one, and the majority have come in the latter part of the season. This implies that his dominance is not as strong as initially suspected.

                             This is supported by the points accrued. Though Vettel does remain in the lead on European points, he is only 16 clear of Fernando Alonso. If we compare that to the 53 point lead that the German enjoys overall, 37 points of that must have come outside of Europe. Bearing in mind that there have been only 5 races thus far away from the continent, it implies that Vettel's dominance is considerably greater in Asia and America than in Europe. A little further analysis of the points also indicates that Vettel's dominance in Europe has only occurred since his home win in Germany. 75% of his European points have come in the final four races of the European season. If we compare this to Alonso, the last four account for only 55%, meaning that he has remained the more consistent. Whilst Vettel may not have been as dominant in Europe as elsewhere, Red Bull as a team certainly have. Between them, Vettel and Webber have accrued 206 points on European soil, a full 53 points clear of their nearest rivals, which would be Mercedes, with Ferrari a further four points back. Overall, Red Bull's lead currently stands at 102 points, which implies that Red Bull's dominance as a team is almost identical in Europe to away from it. Obviously, these statistics may alter, with a further 7 races to take place away from Europe this season.

                               In terms of the Italian Grand Prix, the practice sessions were all dominated by the world-champion elect. The qualifying session on the Saturday was expected to have a similar result. After the heroics of the Marussias and Guido van der Garde in Belgium's Q1, they sadly could not replicate the feat, perishing at the first time of asking. Q2 proved far more shocking, as the pole sitter of the four previous races Lewis Hamilton, 'drove like an idiot', in his own words, and could only manage 12th. Both of the Lotuses also had to watch Q3 from the pits, with Nico Hulkenberg and the two Toro Rossos being the shock inclusions to Q3. Having sauntered through to third session, Vettel cruised to pole, with team mate Mark Webber ensuring that Red Bull locked out the front row for the first time since the second race of the season. The big surprise happened immediately behind them, as Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg angered the Italian population, beating the Ferrari pair to 3rd on the grid. In double disappointment, Alonso had to settle for 5th, being beaten by his teammate for the first time in several races. This would do his race victory chances no favours, and would ultimately see his title bid go up in smoke.

                                The start at Monza is always chaotic, with the opening chicane normally causing several collisions throughout the field. This danger will not have been lessened by the start of Vettel. The German locked both front brakes on the turn into turn 1, sending a considerable amount of smoke up, clouding the vision of those behind. This inevitably had an impact on the consertina effect that occurred behind, with Kimi Raikkonen damaging his front wing in contact with Sergio Perez, sending the McLaren driver onto the escape road. Even more concerning for Vettel, the lock-up left worries of flat-spots on his tyres, with the potential to cause damage to the car, and ruin his one stop race. The Ferraris both had excellent starts, passing both Hulkenberg and Webber by the end of lap 2, with Alonso making an exceptional pass around the Red Bull man at the Curva Grande. Inter-team cooperation then started taking place, with Massa offering no resistance to a move from Alonso a few laps later, meaning that the Spaniard could get after Vettel. The German, though, was showing no signs of a flat spot, edging out a gap of 7 seconds by lap 10.

                                 Further back, after a good start, Lewis Hamilton was still struggling in the midfield. Having made up two places from the start, the Brit had failed to surge through the field, instead being stuck in a battle with Jenson Button for 10th. However, his afternoon was ruined by a couple of early problems. First, the engineers discovered an issue with the radio communications between the driver and the team, meaning that no message could be delivered throughout the race. Even more dramatic was the announcement that the Mercedes had a slow puncture, meaning that the Brit needed to pit, wrecking his plans for a one-stop race. This also explained the slow progress that Hamilton had been making. That message could not be delivered to the driver though, meaning that Hamilton stayed out for a further 2 laps before finally recieving the message and making the stop, but this will have cost him valuable time. He rejoined behind Kimi Raikkonen, who had been fighting back from the first lap incident. The Finn had been setting a succession of fastest laps, and looked like flying through the field. Hamilton, on fresher tyres, got right among the fastest laps, swapping the honour with the Lotus. As a result of this scintillating pace, the pair of them managed to pass those they were fighting before they made their stops (Button, Perez, Grosjean, Ricciardo). But would they have to stop again?

                                  Vettel's suspected problems seemed to be coming back to haunt him, as when he past the 20th lap, he began to lose half to three-quarters of a second a lap. Clearly concerned, the Red Bull mechanics decided to pull him in on lap 23, when the lead was just 5 seconds. After a quick inspection (2.7 seconds), they concluded that all was fine, and sent him back out. Alonso, attempting to press home his advantage, stayed out. Unfortunately for the Ferrari driver, this plan completely backfired. The Red Bull team's decision to keep Vettel out there was vindicated, as the German extended his lead to 10 seconds by the time Alonso made his pit stop. Instead of retaining the lead, the Spaniard nearly fell back behind Webber. Further back, Hamilton and Raikkonen continued their onslaught on the field, passing the other Mercedes in Nico Rosberg. However, this was halted by the unsurprising decision by Lotus to pit Raikkonen a second time, dropping him way down the field. Hamilton pressed on, passing Nico Hulkenberg for 5th, but ultimately his progress came to the same end, requiring another stop. However, just like the stop before, continuing radio problems meant that he stayed out a further two laps than they intended. Despite the best efforts of the Mercedes pit crew, he rejoined behind Raikkonen once again, in 14th, meaning that he would need to pass him on track. But would they be able to trouble the points?

                                     Up front, whilst Vettel scampered away at the front, Alonso was challenged heavily by the other Red Bull of Mark Webber. The Red Bull team would have liked nothing more than a 1-2 on Ferrari territory, further showing their dominance. However, once again misfortune struck the Aussie, who was told that they had a gear issue between the 2nd and 3rd gears. This meant that he couldn't get the necessary acceleration to reel in the Ferrari, meaning that he began to fall back a little. Even worse news was to follow for Christian Horner and the boys on the pit wall at Red Bull. Vettel seemed to be developing the same problems as his team mate. Fortunately, he had built up a healthy lead of over 12 seconds, meaning that he could take it a bit easier without costing himself the race. However, the news that the Red Bulls were having problems had filtered back to the Ferrari pit wall, and the drivers were soon pushing hard to catch the pair in front.

                                       In the battle for the points, Hamilton took the lead in the push for the top 10, passing the Lotus brilliantly round the Curva Grande, before getting past Perez's McLaren to make it into the points. But he wasn't finished there. He quickly managed to catch and dispatch the other McLaren of Button, before chasing down the pair in front of him. This led to a final lap dash for 7th place, with both Grosjean and Ricciardo in the Mercedes's sights. Up front, despite struggling through the final few laps, Vettel managed to nurse his car home for the maximum 25 points, winning by just 5.7 seconds. His 53 point lead seems insumountable, but this race could have been a different story had the problem emerged a few laps sooner. Perhaps he will have a bigger fight from his new Australian team mate, but for now he remains the top dog in Formula 1.

The 2013 Belgian Grand Prix: Questions Asked, Questions Answered?

                             After the traditional four week break, Formula 1 was back with a bang this weekend, travelling to the idyllic and historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. With recognised corners like Eau Rouge and Pouon, the longest circuit in Formula 1 is also a drivers and fans favourite, making up one of the traditional 'big 3'-Monaco, Italy and Belgium. Those races were always the ones to win to be a successful race driver. The considerable break did nothing to prevent the rumours and gossiping up and down the paddock about potential changes and moves among the drivers and teams. Top of the list was the second Red Bull seat. With the news that Mark Webber will be leaving Formula 1 at the end of the season a few weeks ago, several names have been put into the frame, making it one of the most hotly debated topics in the sport. As the team currently lead both the Drivers' and Constructors' championships, it was assumed that a big name would be announced.

                               The initial reports suggested that the race was between Fernando Alonso, who had seemingly become disenchanted with Ferrari, and the Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn, being the most consistent driver in the field, having just broken Michael Schumacher's record for the most consistent points finishes, has yet to be in a title challenging car since his return to Formula 1. The thinking was that the Finn would jump at the chance to join a title-winning team. Those reports were refuted by Alonso, albeit after a reprimand from the head of Ferrari, Luca Demontezemalo. Nevertheless, Alonso's chances were seemingly kai-boshed by Sebastien Vettel's admission that he would far rather see Raikkonen at Red Bull than the Spaniard. However, after extensive negotiations between Raikkonen's representatives and Red Bull, no agreement was made, and the Finn decided that Lotus was his preferred destination. With the two obvious big-name options extinguished, a third contender had been quietly but effectively putting his name forward. Australian youngster Daniel Ricciardo, who drives for Red Bull's sister team Toro Rosso, has been putting in remarkable performances so far this season, finishing consistently in the points in a much weaker car, and regularly getting into the final session of qualifying. For me, he is the sensible choice, as Red Bull have always attempted to bring through the younger drivers in the sister team (with the likes of Vettel, Sebastien Buemi and John Eric-Vergne all coming through Toro Rosso's ranks). To bring in a big name seems to undermine the work that that team does.

                                Moving back to the events in Spa, qualifying proved one of the most exciting and unpredictable of the season. With rain teeming down before the session, only to stop minutes before the drivers were to begin their qualifying, the changeable conditions meant that tactics would play a bigger part than in many other grand prix. Fortunately for the top drivers, they managed to negotiate session 1, with the main casualty being the man touted for the Red Bull job, Daniel Ricciardo. With both Toro Rossos and Williams out of contention, the Caterham of Guido van der Garde and both of the Marussias made the cut, thanks mainly to the risky, but ultimately justified decision to swap to slicks before the end of the session. Q2 saw a relatively dry session, meaning that the top teams could return to the normal setup. Once again, this saw little in the way of surprises, with the mid-grid teams the ones that perished. Q3 was the one where all the action lay. With rain threatening to arrive, there was a queue of drivers at the pit exit waiting for the beginning of the session. As the rain will inevitably slow the cars down, the one that can get a dry lap in will be the one on pole. Unfortunately for those cars, the rain began heavily on their outlaps, meaning that none were able to set a fast lap on the dry tyres. With the weather only looking likely to deteriorate, it was Paul Di Resta that took full advantage. The Scot had elected to run on the intermediate tyres, meaning that he was able to take advantage of the conditions before they worsened. His 2:02 time seemed nailed on for pole, especially with his closest challenger Massa a full 0.5 seconds behind. However, events took another twist, with the weather clearing again as the clock ticked down. As the flag dropped, Nico Rosberg beat Di Resta's time by 0.08 seconds, ensuring that the Force India driver's heart did the same. However, the two Red Bulls and Lewis Hamilton had played the clock to perfection, meaning that they had an additional lap in the drying conditions in which to take the pole. All three went massively faster than Rosberg's time, as firstly Webber took pole, before Vettel and finally Hamilton beat the time. This meant that the Mercedes driver took his fourth consecutive pole, and 7th consecutive front row start.

                                           In order for the Mercedes man to take his second consecutive win, a good start would also be required. Off the line, it looked as though he had got the jump on the Red Bull, with both Vettel and Webber struggling. Webber in particular had an atrocious start, falling from 3rd to 6th within a matter of moments, threatening to wreck his race. Vettel fought hard to keep both Rosberg and Button behind him, coming under pressure from the German into turn 1. Further back, Fernando Alonso once again proved his ability to start quickly in his Ferrari, moving from his 9th slot to an impressive 5th by the end of the first sector. After a good start from Hamilton, he struggled at the top of Eau Rouge, giving Vettel the chance to slipstream him down the back straight. The triple world champion seized the opportunity to gain an early advantage, taking the lead at Les Combes. He then set about breaking the DRS zone, a feat he had achieved by the end of the lap. With a comfortable 3.5 second lead within 5 laps, the German was instructed to keep an eye on his tyres, as wear would become increasingly important as the race went on.

                                             Vettel's tyre issues were not the only concern in the paddock, however. Just behind, Kimi Raikkonen was struggling with brake problems. Almost from the very beginning of the race, his front left brake duct seemed to be pouring smoke at every braking zone, with the disc glowing a bright shade of orange. This was a danger warning for what was to come. On lap 26, after a long and protracted battle with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, the Finn attempted to overtake down into the Bus Stop chicane. Instead of making the pass stick, the Lotus driver was unable to slow his car down for the turn, indicating that his brakes were in severe risk of failure. As the speeds reached at part of this track are unthinkable, risking a failure was not an option, forcing Kimi to retire the car. A shame, as this broke his record of 30 consecutive points paying finishes, eclipsing the record held by Michael Schumacher, however we always knew that eventually the run would come to an end.

                                                The pit stop began for the top teams on lap 12, with Lewis Hamilton coming in and rejoining behind Romain Grosjean. Despite the Frenchman being on much older tyres, he struggled to pass the Lotus driver, losing time to both Vettel and Alonso. The Frenchman's reluctance to allow the Briton to pass was perhaps born out of the events of a few laps ago, where Grosjean got into a battle with the McLaren driver Sergio Perez. After the Mexican reeled in the Lotus in the DRS zone, overtaking him, he then forced Grosjean off the road, leaving the Frenchman angered, and the McLaren with a drive through penalty. Hamilton's inability to pass Grosjean was compounded by Alonso rejoining from his pit stop directly behind. After the Brit finally passed the Lotus, he was hunted down and eventually passed by the Ferrari. This battling allowed Vettel to extend his lead to nearly 8 seconds. There was more memorable battling down the field, as both of the Force Indias' and Perez attempted to go through Eau Rouge together, with a perfectly organised overtake the end result.

                                                After the final stops, Alonso had managed to extend his lead over Hamilton to 3.5 seconds, whilst Vettel had a full 13 seconds over the pair. With the result of the race seemingly decided, the most exciting thing that happened was further down the field. In a four way battle, Esteban Gutierrez attempted to overtake Pastor Maldonado around the outside in the final sector, before being forced off the road by the Venezuelan. Though it seemed that the move was over, the Mexican appeared on his inside at the Bus Stop chicane, forcing the Williams driver wide. In trying to rejoin ahead of the Force Indias behind, Maldonado firstly clipped Sutil, before smashing into the side of Di Resta. Questions were raised as to whether this would bring out the safety car, meaning that Vettel's substantial lead would be erased. Fortunately for the Red Bull, the car was cleared, and the German could continue on his path. The only further excitement in the final few laps was the idea that Webber could be able to chase down and overtake both Mercedes' drivers. As it was, that never materialised, with the Red Bull having to settle for a respectable 5th place. For Vettel, this grand prix represented a Sunday afternoon stroll, with the German eventually winning by almost 17 seconds from Alonso, and a full half minute in front of Lewis Hamilton, the man he started on the front row with.

                                                 Before Spa, questions were being asked over whether Vettel was under threat from those behind him in the championship race. After this response, the firm favourite for this year's title is unequivocally the Red Bull driver. Something is going to have to go seriously wrong to prevent the German from taking his fourth consecutive world title, and I simply do not see it happening. Are we in for a reign of dominance that eclipses even that of Schumacher?

The Hungarian Grand Prix 2013: 'Miracle' Maiden Win For Hamilton

                         With the spectre of gender equality being the main topic of conversation in Formula 1 over the last two weeks, the Hungarian Grand Prix gave the sport a chance to escape the controversy. With Red Bull dominating the first two practice sessions, however, fears were raised that this weekend was going to be the most boring of the season. Fortunately, this was not the case. This blog post will review the events of the weekend in Hungary, but first, I wanted to give my own view on the issue that has dominated Formula 1 news over the past few weeks.

                           During the 'young driver' test scheduled for last week at Silverstone, Williams opted to run 30-year-old Susie Wolff, making her the first female driver to run in an official Formula 1 test for 10 years. This sparked great debate, with the BBC Sport website having only the news that a woman would be running a test at Silverstone as their F1 news on the front page. Despite what feminists across the country would have us believe, in my opinion this is a much lesser story than it has been made out to be. I do not hold the same, slightly bigoted views, of Sir Stirling Moss, that women lack the 'necessary mental attributes for Formula 1'. There are two logical reasons behind my view. Firstly, the accusations of nepotism. The fact that Susie Wolff, the Williams test driver, is married to Toto Wolff, the Executive Director of Mercedes, is suspicious enough. It becomes even more suspicious when you learn that he also holds 16% of the shares in Williams, giving him adequate sway to suggest potential test drivers.

                             However, argument one is irrelevant without argument two. I am a great believer that jobs should be earned on merit, meaning that the best driver gets the drives in the Formula 1 teams. I recognise that with the influx of cash and sponsors that this is often not the case, which is a shame. I also believe that positive discrimination is not 'positive' as its name suggests, but can often be as sexist and discriminatory as the alleged treatment of women in the first place. In such a competitive economy, reserving jobs for any gender, race, or ethnic group, which may result in a second-rate candidate being selected over the best, is unacceptable. The results of the Silverstone test reinforce my point. Had Susie Wolff blown the rest of the field away, setting faster times than her male counterparts, then I would absolutely say that this was newsworthy, and she would be a name to remember for the future (though the fact that she is 30 kind of makes a mockery of the 'young' part of the 'young driver test'). This would also have made my initial argument of nepotism irrelevant, as she could rightly have claimed to be there on merit. The fact remains that she was not, setting a pace a second off race driver Maldonado, and, even worse, 0.4 seconds slower than her fellow male test driver, who had less experience than herself in the same car. We do not make a massive issue of male drivers who set slower times than their male counterparts. Women say they want equality, so why should a female race driver who is slower be given any more airtime? It would be good to see a female Formula 1 driver, but when, and only when, the individual is fast enough to merit the drive.

                               Moving back to the events of this weekend, qualifying proved to be a major shock, based on the results from practice. Q1 gave us initial indications of the end result, with both of the Mercedes looking strong. With Vettel appearing to be off the pace, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton took advantage, finishing in a strong 1/2 for the German team. Romain Grosjean, who had also looked strong in practice, finished 3rd, giving Lotus hope for a positive qualifying session. Red Bull had further problems in the shape of Mark Webber, who suffered firstly from an electrical problem, and then with a failure of the KERS system. This ensured that he would not be challenging for the pole, forcing him to withdraw from Q3. The main shock in Q1 was the disappearance of Paul di Resta. The Scot, whose team had been performing well in qualifying at the start of the season, struggled with the new Kevlar-lined Pirelli compounds, and found himself in 18th. Force India's loss was McLaren and Williams's gain. The two teams have made significant improvements since Silverstone, which we can only assume is to be attributed to a better handling of the new tyres. Q2 saw a continuation in the trend, with Mercedes once again securing a 1/2 finish, beating out the improved Vettel. Q2 will be best remember for the incredibly tight finish on the bubble at the end, with 8th to 12th all within the 1:20.5 bracket. This time, it was Sergio Perez who was the beneficiary, the Mexican fighting back from a crash in P3 to get into the top 10 for the first time this season. Q3 saw Vettel out of the traps early, to set a stunning 1:19.5, the fastest time of the day. This threw down the gauntlet to the rest of the pack. Could Mercedes respond? Rosberg crossed the line first of the pair, with his effort only good enough for 4th. But Hamilton is supreme around the Hungaroring, winning on 3 of his 6 races there. His 1:19.3 managed to beat Vettel's last-ditch attempt by 0.04 seconds to secure the most unlikely of poles. His third in a row, but could he now go and convert it into a victory?

                                  From the lights out, Hamilton managed to navigate the opening turn without losing a place, unlike in Germany. If Mercedes thought they had had a good start, they were sadly mistaken. Rosberg ran wide at Turn 3, before clipping Massa. This saw the German tumble down the field, going from 4th to 12th in just one lap. After trading fastest laps with Vettel, Hamilton eventually managed to break the vital DRS 1 second window on lap 8, ensuring that Vettel did not have the advantage in straight line speed. Vettel's inability to catch Hamilton was dropping him back into the clutches of the impressive Grosjean, and soon the young Frenchman was on the triple-World Champion's tail. Behind that trio, the Ferraris were struggling to keep up with the pace, heaping further pressure on Alonso's title aspirations. Hamilton's lightning-fast start had appeared to catch up with him when he had to dive into the pits on lap 9 for a fresh set of tyres. Rejoining behind Button, he quickly dispatched his fellow Brit on fresher rubber the following lap. This would prove to be the most critical pass of the race.

                                   Hamilton's early stop seemingly handed the advantage to Vettel, as it suggested that the Mercedes struggled with tyre wear. However, just two laps later, Vettel's tyres went 'off the cliff', and he was forced into the pit lane. He too, rejoined just behind McLaren's Button, except he found it far more difficult to pass the Englishman. After the first round of pit stops, the order was the same, but Vettel being held up behind Button allowed Lewis Hamilton to scamper clear at the front, and backed the Red Bull man into Grosjean, Alonso and even his teammate. Eventually, on lap 24, after 13 laps of trying, the German passed Button, but by this point Hamilton was already 11 seconds up the road. Vettel's pass left space for Grosjean, who took full advantage, only to bang wheels with the McLaren and force the Frenchman onto the escape road, cutting the chicane. This would have devastating consequences on the Lotus's race. Just a few laps later, he was handed a drive through penalty for 'exceeding the track's limits', dropping him into 8th.

                                     With Hamilton now in clean air, he could attempt to peg the gap. However, a rampant Vettel began eating into the considerable lead, and with Hamilton still unsure about Vettel's strategy, he knew he had to keep pushing. The Mercedes man pitted for a second time on lap 32, rejoining behind Mark Webber. This had potentially serious consequences, as the Red Bull man could easily back up the leader into his team mate. Fortunately for the Brit, he pulled an outrageous passing manoeuvere around the outside of the Aussie at Turn 2, once again giving himself a clean track ahead. Vettel's race strategy seemed certain once he had pitted just two laps later, as going a full half distance on a single set of tyres would have been highly unlikely. With Hamilton's lead now out to 15 seconds, a maiden race victory looked in the bag for the Stevenage-born man. The fight was now on for the podium places. With Raikkonen and Webber both 2-stopping, and with Grosjean now out of contention, both had a chance at 3rd, or even 2nd.

                                        Hamilton's final pit stop, on lap 50, meant that he had a seemingly comfortable run to the line. However, Vettel's pace once the Brit had stopped, forced the Mercedes to up his game again. Taking well over a second a lap out of him, Vettel rapidly brought the gap down to 10 seconds, and left Hamilton concerned once more. Lap 56 would have been a sight for sore eyes then, as the German finally pitted. As he made his final stop, it became obvious that the intended target with those laps was not to catch Hamilton, but to avoid slipping behind Raikkonen! He rejoined a full 5 seconds behind the Lotus man, but was now on fresher tyres. Quickly reeling in the Finn, he relentlessly attempted to pass, a pass which would have handed him another vital three points in the title race. However, despite the German's best efforts, Kimi kept him at bay for the remaining laps. Up front, Hamilton, who looked to be cruising, would have had a nervy last few laps when he learnt that his team mate, Nico Rosberg, had been forced to retire with an engine problem. This capped an incredibly disappointing Sunday for Nico, who had looked on course for a podium before the first lap incidents. Fortunately for Lewis, no such problems occurred, and he took the chequered flag in Hungary by a full 10 seconds from Kimi Raikkonen, with Vettel having to settle for third.

                                          A maiden Mercedes win for Lewis Hamilton, who, after so many pole positions, has finally converted one into a race win on Sunday. A mature drive, especially considering his personal circumstances, events that have been made all too public. Predictions of Lewis coming roaring back into the title picture are perhaps a tad premature, but I see no reason why we will not see that distinctive yellow crash helmet in the winner's enclosure more often this season.

                                

2013 British Grand Prix: When Will The Tyres Get Sorted?

             The 2013 Formula 1 season is in full flow, as the roadshow moves onto British soil. The home grand prix of 4 drivers in the field, and home to the owner of the entire franchise. After years of turbulence between the governing body and Silverstone, racing fans will be pleased to see the grand old track claim its rightful place on the Grand Prix calendar. In contrast, a name we will soon see disappearing from Formula 1 is, sadly, Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who announced his retirement from the end of the season before one of his favourite races. The feisty but likeable Aussie will be sorely missed from the paddock, but conspiracy theories have begun emerging that this was a case of 'jump before he was pushed', as his relationship with the World Champion Sebastian Vettel has deteriorated in recent months. With Red Bull inevitably plumping for their three-time World Champion, Webber has arguably been cast out into the cold by Christian Horner after 7 years of loyal service.

                With this news initially detracting from the build-up to the British Grand Prix, thoughts were transferred back onto the job in hand for qualifying. With the early favourites in practice being the traditional one-lap specialist Mercedes cars, it was Ferrari who found themselves lacking in pace in the early stages, with Felipe Massa nearly failing to make it out of Q1. As it finished, it was the usual suspects who ended the first session at the bottom, with home debutant Max Chilton finishing at the back, a full 1.7 seconds behind his teammate. Q2 saw further woe for the usually big teams, as Felipe Massa could only manage 12th. McLaren also struggled, with neither of their cars able to make the top 10 shootout. This time, Britain's Jenson Button outqualified his Mexican counterpart, with 11th the best he could manage. Q3 was all about the battle between the Red Bulls and the Mercedes, with the resurgent Austrian team fighting back against the Silver Arrows' dominance in Q2. However, the Germans were not to be denied, completing a lock-out of the front row. To the home support's delight, it was Stevenage-born Lewis Hamilton who took pole, with a scintillating lap. The question now, though, was could Mercedes translate their qualifying pace into race pace?

                  Even before the start of the race, there was further controversy and heartbreak, with Britain's Paul di Resta being disqualified from his all-time highest qualifying position of 5th, for performing in an underweight car. This meant that he cascaded to the back of the grid. A silly mistake from the Force India team, and one that threatened the Scot's chances of a good points haul on the Sunday. The race itself began equally eventfully. A first corner incident between Webber and Lotus driver Romain Grosjean forced the Red Bull driver off track and way down the field. Back up front, Lewis Hamilton and Vettel began trading fastest laps, with the Mercedes man eventually breaking free of the vital DRS activation point of 1 second. With Hamilton's lap times comparable with Vettel's, the question began to be asked whether the Mercedes had developed a race winning car. Unfortunately for the British driver, disaster then struck. He suffered a left rear tyre failure mid way through lap 8, forcing him to limp back to the pits, costing him bags of time, and any chance of winning the race.

                     With Hamilton's demise, Force India's disappointment the previous day was beginning to be recified by the achievements of Adrian Sutil, who moved into the final podium position. The racing was brought to a shuddering halt just two laps after Hamilton's incident, as Felipe Massa also exited the track courtesy of a left rear tyre failure. Just 5 laps later, in almost exactly the same part of the track, John-Eric Vergne suffered a left rear tyre failure. With three such similar incidents in quick succession, concerns were once again raised over the condition of the Pirelli tyres. With the recent controversy over the Italian manufacturers, they can ill-afford this type of debacle. Whilst spokesmen for the tyre supplier claimed it was more to do with the kerbs at Silverstone than the tyres, these claims fell on deaf ears, with a full inquiry to be held in the future days. After these incidents, the safety car was deployed as sweepers were used in an attempt to clear the track of any debris. When racing eventually resumed on lap 21, Vettel scampered away at the front, eventually taking a lead of 3.2 seconds before his second, and final, pit stop of the afternoon.

                      Further down the field, the action was coming thick and fast. Brits Lewis Hamilton and Paul di Resta found themselves locked in an enthralling battle for the 7th place, with the Mercedes driver beginning to make his way back through the field. With both Alonso, and Raikkonen, coming through after their second pit-stops, Hamilton attacked the Force India, only to fall back behind the chasing pair in successive corners. Back up front, Nico Rosberg made his second pit stop before Vettel, in an attempt to undercut his rival. Advantage Mercedes? The Red Bull mechanics instantly recalculated, bringing their man in the following lap to cover off the Rosberg threat. Vettel rejoined 3 seconds ahead of the Mercedes, with the race now his to lose.

                       Then lap 42 threw the race, and arguably the championship, back into the balance. After a few laps of Rosberg gaining on the triple World Champion, Vettel's Red Bull coasted to a halt, with a gearbox problem ending the leader's Grand Prix, and opening the door for his title contenders. The fact that this was the first time the championship leader had failed to finish anything lower than 4th this year, and the fact that this was the German's first retirement since Italy of the previous year says a lot for the consistency of the Red Bull, clearly illustrating the bedrock upon which Vettel's success has been built. With the safety car once again being deployed, race leader Rosberg used his 13 second advantage to make a precautionary pit-stop, leaving him on fresher tyres to complete the final few laps. Once Vettel's stricken car was removed from the racing line, the contest could begin again. However, after nearly 50 laps without tyre controversy, Sergio Perez's left rear also let go on lap 46, causing further worries of another safety car period. Fortunately, the carcass was cleared quickly, and racing could continue.

                       Immediately after the restart, it was clear that Mark Webber had not given up on his chances of, at least, a podium finish. He began cutting through the field, dispatching Ricciardo and Sutil, before a stunning pass on Kimi Raikkonen secured the Aussie 2nd place. Could he now catch Rosberg for the most unlikely of wins? Similar movements were going on behind, with Alonso and Hamilton also making late dashes through the field. From 8th and 9th places at the race restart, the pair finished in a remarkable 3rd and 4th place respectively, overtaking 5 cars each in 6 laps. Just up the road, Webber was closing in on Rosberg, getting the gap down as low as 0.7 of a second. This was going to come down to a final corner finish. Unfortunately for the Aussie, he had perhaps one lap too few, running out of time, and having to settle for 2nd place. Whilst the fairytale send-off from Silverstone will not happen, he can nevertheless be extremely proud of a tremendous drive, on a day where, for once, he got the better of Sebastian Vettel.

                        The events of yesterday has heaped further doubt onto the reliability of the Pirelli tyres, with many in the FIA undoubtedly questioning whether it they are more trouble than they are worth. I would not at all be surprised if we saw a switch back to the Bridgestones or Michelins of yesteryear in the very near future, as Pirelli have demonstrated they cannot be trusted. As for the title race, whether yesterday was a blip or the beginnings of a collapse or reliability issue cannot be decided in one race. The next few races will certainly be interesting, as it now gives those around Red Bull hope that they can push their cars into failure.