2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix Preview

After the thrilling and slightly incident-filled Singapore Grand Prix, Formula 1 moves swiftly on to Suzuka for what will be the 37th running of the Japanese Grand Prix. First held unofficially back in 1963 at Suzuka, and officially in 1976 at the Fuji Speedway, the Japanese Grand Prix has become a firm favorite throughout the F1 paddock.

Due largely to Lewis Hamilton’s surprise switch from McLaren to Mercedes for the 2013 season, the atmosphere within the paddock throughout this weekend will undoubtedly be electrifying. With the Drivers’ Championship still amazingly wide-open, the Japanese Grand Prix will most certainly once again produce some sensational action as the season draws to a conclusion.

Damon Hill won his one and only World Championship in an epic race in 1996.

First officially held in 1976 around the Fuji Speedway, when James Hunt clinched his one and only Drivers’ Championship in the unbearably wet conditions, the Japanese Grand Prix has seen some of the most iconic moments in the history of the sport. From Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost’s controversial collisions in 1989 and 1990, to the emotional crowning of Damon Hill as the first driver to follow in his father’s footsteps and become World Champion.

The Japanese Grand Prix has been held on only two circuits throughout its long and vibrant history, with Suzuka and the Fuji Speedway unquestionably producing some of the most exhilarating racing seen in Formula 1. Fuji hosted the first official Japanese Grand Prix, however in 1978 the race was removed from the calendar until 1987 when Suzuka brought Formula 1 back to Japan. From 1987 to 2006, the Japanese Grand Prix was held solely around Suzuka, and saw the likes of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen crowned Champions.

However, in 2007 the race was moved back to the Fuji Speedway, in what turned out to be one of the wettest races in the history of the sport. Lewis Hamilton took a memorable victory for McLaren, however a year later the Briton endured copious amounts of bad luck when the Japanese Grand Prix returned once again to the Fuji Speedway. This time Fernando Alonso took victory, before Suzuka once again became the sole host of the Japanese Grand Prix in 2009.

Michael Schumacher is unquestionably the most successful driver at the Japanese Grand Prix, like with many races on the F1 calendar. The once dominant German has won six times at Japan (’95, ’97, ’00, ’01, ’02 and ’04), his first coming with Benetton which enabled him to clinch only his second World Championship. McLaren are the most successful team in Japan, having won nine times with the likes of Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen behind the wheel (’77, ’88, ’91, ’93, ’98, ’99, ’05, ’07 and ’11)

The DRS zone for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix has remained in the same location as last season, albeit shortened slightly by 20 meters. The detection zone will be situated 50m before turn 16, and if a driver is lucky enough to be within a second of the driver in front at this stage, he may open his DRS flap at the Control Line which is after turn 18. Last season saw many overtaking maneuvers into turn 1 with the assistance of DRS, and the slightly modified overtaking zone should once again produce some thrilling action throughout the race.

Former F1 driver, Derek Warwick, will reprise his role as the FIA representative steward at this weekends Japanese Grand Prix, a role the Briton last carried out at the German Grand Prix earlier in the season. Warwick raced in 146 Grands Prix during career, racing for the likes of Renault and Lotus before moving to Sportscars and then the British Touring Car Championship in 1995, 1997 and 1998.

The Japanese Grand Prix has become renowned for producing some of the most exciting racing in Formula 1, and therefore is regarded by many fans and drivers alike as one of the best venues on the calendar. In this highly entertaining and still slightly unpredictable season, it’s likely that Suzuka will produce yet another exhilarating Japanese Grand Prix as this unique Formula 1 season finally draws to an epic conclusion.

Picture(s) Copyright © Pirelli & Williams F1 Team

Sir Frank Williams: “If I Wasn’t Still A Fan I Wouldn’t Be Here”

After a relatively tough few years in Formula 1, Williams have started 2012 in tremendous fashion with their first victory in the sport since way back in 2004. Since the glory days of the mid-90s, Williams F1 have gradually declined from World Championship contenders on a yearly basis to a team struggling amongst the midfield.

However, Williams co-founder and team principal Sir Frank Williams has remained glued to the sport which he so dearly loves. With Williams suffering a dismal seven years in Formula 1, Pastor Maldonado’s victory at this years Spanish Grand Prix brought smiles to many within the paddock. In the unpredictable world which is the 2012 season, Williams have already scored 45 points in comparison to 5 from the whole of last season.

During Williams’ dominant era through the 1990s, the Grove-based outfit had the ability to have many drivers striving for the opportunity to race for the legendary team. Drivers such as Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve all raced for Williams throughout the 1990s, with many race victories and Drivers’ Championships coming in abundance for good measure. However, lately Sir Frank Williams has been accused of signing pay drivers, something which the 70-year-old disbelieves greatly.

“People who accused me of that are in the wrong business themselves.” Said Sir Frank Williams in an interview with Formula1.com. “They take money from what they do. Journalists are that way, aren’t they? In the old days the price of running in Formula 1 was probably one tenth or at most 15 percent of what it is now. It is very expensive to be in Formula 1. And it might happen that you take on a driver who brings along some money. There is no shame in that whatsoever.”

Whether or not Sir Frank Williams signed Pastor Maldonado due to his huge sponsorship from Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company PDVSA, the former GP2 Champion has undeniably showed his worth to the Williams outfit. After a relatively mundane debut season last year, the Venezuelan driver has already taken his maiden victory in 2012. Sir Frank Williams believes the change of fortune for Williams has a lot to do with Adam Parr, who left the team in March.

“Adam Parr – to his credit – played a significant role in his all too short time with the team.” Explained Sir Frank Williams, “I am very sad that he left as he is a terribly clever man who took on two or three key people, like Mike Coughlan for instance, and some key people in engineering, and that makes all the difference.”

With Formula 1 set to introduce some stark changes to the regulations in years to come, including the possibility of yet more additions to the already bulging calendar, Sir Frank Williams amazingly seems unbothered with the future of the sport. He believes that with Bernie Ecclestone at the helm, all should remain fine.

“I am not one of these people who sit back and dream about what Formula 1 should be.” Continued the 70-year-old, “We have Bernie to do that, God bless him. I hope it will be the same speed, the same noise – and so far I see that model going on. I love speed, I love noise, I love competition and if I wasn’t still a fan I wouldn’t be here.”

With Sir Frank Williams blatantly still in love with the sport 33 years after Clay Regazzoni won his teams first ever Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1979, it seems as though the Williams name will remain strong in Formula 1 for years to come. With Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna currently carrying the hopes and dreams of the Grove-based team, the 2012 season will always be one to remember for Williams F1.

Picture Copyright © Williams F1 Team

Romain Grosjean Becomes 200th Different Driver On The Podium

Romain Grosjean made Formula 1 history in Bahrain, becoming the 200th different driver to step onto the podium since the sports inaugural season in 1950. With Grosjean joining his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and reigning World Champion Sebastian Vettel on the podium, it was all change once again on the top step of the F1 rostrum.

For Grosjean, it was his first step on an F1 podium in only his 11th start. The Frenchman began his career in 2009 with Renault, however he was replaced by Vitaly Petrov for the 2010 season. Grosjean then returned to the GP2 Series and in 2011 won both the GP2 and GP2 Asia Series’.

In 2012, Grosjean has returned to the top tier of motorsport along with his team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, and the two have already shown high amounts of competitiveness in only the first four races of the season. Although Grosjean failed to complete more than seven laps in the first two races due to two DNF’s, he seems to have made up for his errors with two points finishes in China and Bahrain.

The last Frenchman to step onto the podium was 14 years ago, when Jean Alesi did so in unforgettable circumstances at the crazy 1998 Belgian Grand Prix for Sauber. The French veteran was joined by the Jordan duo of Damon Hill and Ralf Schumacher, who had memorably achieved Jordan’s first F1 victory with a 1-2 finish in the rain at Spa.

Romain Grosjean has ended this drought for France and has returned the French flag to the podium once again, becoming the 21st Frenchman on the podium. He now joins the likes of Jean Alesi, Rene Arnoux, Alain Prost, Didier Pironi and Olivier Panis as French drivers’ who have reached the podium in their career. 

With Grosjean only several races into 2012, his aim now will naturally be to become the first French winner since 1996, when Olivier Panis won the Monaco Grand Prix for Ligier in a race which amazingly saw only three cars eventually cross the finish line at the end of the race, the least amount in F1 history.

Lotus showed promising pace in pre-season testing at both Jerez and Barcelona, with Raikkonen and Grosjean both setting the fastest times throughout the testing period. It now seems that Lotus are beginning to show that pace once again, when it all counts during the race on Sunday. Both Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean know how to win races, and they will undoubtedly be striving to do so in 2012.

Picture Copyright © AFP 

Williams Confident On 2012 Improvement

After a disastrous 2011 season which saw Williams suffer one of their worst seasons in their long career in Formula 1, Williams are confident on improvements throughout the 2012 season. With the Australian Grand Prix only days away, both the Williams drivers’ and team are confident after pre-season testing.

Throughout pre-season testing, Williams completed the most amount of mileage of all the teams with 5,330kms. The last time Williams won around the Albert Park circuit was 1996, when Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve fought a race-long battle for the win.

“We have had a productive pre-season test programme, with the Williams-Renault FW34-RS27 completing 5,330kms, which is the most mileage of any of the new 2012 cars.” Explained Mark Gillan, the teams Chief Operations Engineer, “During the three tests Pastor, Bruno and Valtteri [Bottas] drove exceptionally well and the two new drivers have integrated seamlessly into the team ahead of the new season, with weekly visits to the factory and simulator. The whole team has worked very hard over the winter to eradicate areas where we were weaker in 2011, in addition to integrating the new Renault Sport F1 engine, and are now looking forward to starting the season.”

Both Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna have raced on this track once in their relatively short careers’, with Senna winning several Formula 3 races back in 2006 supporting the Australian Grand Prix.

“Albert Park is a nice track. I really love that kind of street circuit, so I hope we will have a good weekend.” Said Pastor Maldonado, who retired during last years race, “I know the track this year and I’m more confident with the team and the car, so that will also help. The whole team have been pushing so hard all winter to improve, and I’ve also been pushing myself. It’s exciting to get back racing and to see what speed everyone has when the weekend gets underway.”

“I am really looking forward to going to Australia.” Said Bruno Senna, who replaces Rubens Barrichello for 2012, “About a month after the last race of the season you are itching to get back racing, so four months later I really can’t wait to get started. Getting into the car on Friday will be very exciting, and I hope we can be competitive from the very beginning. I know the Albert Park circuit, having driven there for HRT in 2010. I’ve also had success, winning three of the four Formula Three races supporting the Australian Grand Prix in 2006, so I have good memories of the place.”

Last year both Maldonado and Barrichello failed to finish the season-opener, both due to transmission failure. Williams will be hoping these kind of technical issues don’t plague the team this year, and that their drivers’ can have a trouble free Australian Grand Prix.

Picture Copyright © Andrew Ferraro/LAT Photographic 

Bernie Ecclestone Confident Bahrain GP Will Go Ahead

Formula 1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, has spoken out about the recent concerns regarding April’s Bahrain Grand Prix, stating the teams have no concerns regarding the race. This comes after several peers from the UK House of Lords and the leader of the Green Party wrote to The Times voicing their concern.

However, speaking to The Daily Telegraph about the situation, Bernie Ecclestone seemed unconcerned by the continued violence in the Kingdom.

“We are planning to go. I’ve always said that if there was going to be any drama it would be on the Day of Rage. They would have to do something then. People there seem confident that a race two months away will be alright.” 

As the Day of Rage escalated, petrol bombs were thrown at police cars whereas the police retaliated with tear gas and rubber bullets. With this in mind, people can be forgiven for believing this is no place for an international sporting event such as Formula 1 to take place. 

Last month 1996 World Champion, Damon Hill, returned from Bahrain with FIA President Jean Todt and was happy to see the race go ahead, contrary to last season when Hill was behind the agreement to cancel the event.

Last season the Bahrain Grand Prix was initially postponed, then canceled as Bernie tried his hardest to keep the race on the calendar. GP2 will also visit the nation in April, supporting the Bahrain Grand Prix as well as staging their own standalone race weekend the following weekend. 

Picture Copyright © AFP

British Peers Call For FIA To Cancel Bahrain GP

Several peers and the leader of the Green Party have called for the FIA to cancel the planned Bahrain Grand Prix in April, after more civil unrest has rocked the Kingdom. With last years race cancelled after months of uncertainty, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights has also urged the FIA to rethink revisiting Bahrain this season.

Seven members in total of the UK House of Lords including the Green Party leader have written to The Times expressing their concern of the forthcoming race, becoming the latest in a long list of people who wish the FIA to cancel the race for second consecutive season.

The letter they sent read: “We note with concern the decision by Formula One to go ahead with the race in Bahrain scheduled for April. The continued political crisis in Bahrain is a troubling source of instability in the Gulf region, and the lack of any move towards political reconciliation concerns those who wish to see Bahrain move in the direction of greater democratic accountability. It was hoped the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) would provide a starting point for political reform which both government and opposition forces could agree upon. However, two months on we see an entrenchment of the positions of both sides which risks letting more extreme voices dictate the progress of the conflict. Given the current dire situation, with daily street protests and the deaths of more civilians, we do not believe that the time is right for Formula One to return to Bahrain.”

However, only last month 1996 World Champion Damon Hill returned from the Gulf after a visit with FIA President Jean Todt. Damon Hill stated how he was now keen on seeing Formula 1 return to Bahrain, after initially fully backing the cancelation of last years Bahrain Grand Prix. 

Whether the FIA will listen to the growing call for a second consecutive cancelation or not, time will tell. Lets just hope the correct decision is made, without any of last years uncertainty.

Bruno Senna Pleased With Williams Progress

Bruno Senna made his first track appearance of 2012 today, testing the new Williams FW34 on the Jerez circuit. Last season Bruno Senna partly raced for the Lotus team after replacing Nick Heidfeld midway though last season. After being replaced by Raikkonen for 2012, he moved to Williams to replace Rubens Barrichello.

Today at the Circuito de Jerez, Senna completed various system checks and set-up work for Williams, as well completing 125 laps throughout the day as Senna got to know the team and the car.

“It was a great day today.” Said Bruno Senna after a long day on track, “Although there is a lot of work to do outside the car as well as in it, it was very satisfying to finally get behind the wheel. We have had a very productive day and managed to cover all of the things we needed to. We found some interesting things out about the tyres in particular. I feel that there is a lot of potential in the FW34 and also in myself driving the car. The team has done a great job and I’m happy we have had a trouble-free day. I’m now looking forward to continuing our test programme tomorrow to learn more about the car.”

With Williams suffering their worst season in their long career in 2011, the team are in desperate need of making progress. They are now powered by Renault engines, reuniting a partnership that brought the team five Constructors’ Championships between 1992 and 1997 with drivers’ including Nigel Mansell, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.

“I am very pleased with both Bruno’s first day in the car and the team’s performance today.” Announced Mark Gillan, the team’s Chief Operations Engineer, “We managed to finish the whole test programme without any issues, completing 125 laps in total. Bruno’s feedback has been very precise and we now look forward to continuing to understand and optimize the car set-up during the final day of testing here in Jerez tomorrow.”

With 125 laps completed today without any technical problems, reliability seems to be a major improvement with the Williams team that is already visible. With both Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna and the team confident on an improvement from 2012, Williams seem to be making steady progress at the pre-season tests.

The last time Williams won a race was at the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, achieved by Juan Pablo Montoya when the team was powered by BMW.

 

Hill: Formula 1 Can Return To Bahrain

Damon Hill has spoken out about Formula 1’s planned return to the kingdom of Bahrain for this coming season, stating in an interview with The Times on Wednesday that he is now in favor of the race returning to the sports calendar this season.  

The Bahrain Grand Prix was initially postponed and then eventually cancelled last season after civil unrest within the kingdom, which resulted in the Grand Prix not taking place. With Shi’ite protesters clashing with riot police within the city of Manama on a daily basis after Martial Law was lifted in May last year, many feared the protesters would use the Bahrain Grand Prix as a means of protesting throughout the Grand Prix weekend. 

Former World Champion, Damon Hill announced that although he fully backed the cancelation of the Bahrain Grand Prix last season, he has changed his mind for this season after visiting the nation with FIA President Jean Todt.  

“It is clear that the situation in Bahrain is better understood and I don’t think anyone would want to go back to Bahrain if there was suffering just because of a grand prix.” Said Damon Hill in The Times, “I listened to a lot of people there, including eye-witnesses. I believe they are making change for the better. There is no question they have issues, but every country has issues; we had riots here in the UK not so long ago. This time, Formula One can go to Bahrain with a clear conscience and not just as a tool for some sort of cover-up.”

The 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on April 22nd later this year, back-to-back with the Chinese Grand Prix. 

Damon Hill Becomes Sky Sports F1 Pundit

1996 Formula 1 World Champion, Damon Hill, has become the latest pundit for the new dedicated Sky Sports F1 HD channel which launches on 9th March. Hill joins fellow F1 drivers’ Martin Brundle and Anthony Davidson both of whom have switched from the BBC. 

Damon Hill began his F1 career with Brabham in 1992 and quickly become a household name in the mid-90s when he joined Williams and fought alongside Michael Schumacher, creating some of the most memorable moments of the 1990s. Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher had numerous comings together, most notably at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix where many believed Schumacher turned in on the Brit, causing himself to become Champion by default. 

In 1996 Hill was joined at Williams by reigning ChampCar Champion, Jacques Villeneuve, as the two became locked in a season-long Championship battle which ended at the Japanese Grand Prix when Villeneuve lost his right-rear wheel and Hill won the race. Damon Hill ended his career in 1999 with Jordan, and has commentated on numerous occasions for ITV’s coverage of F1 when Martin Brundle was absent as well as working on the F1 Digital+ channel 10 years ago.

Damon Hill will appear only at 10 of the 20 races of the 2012 season for Sky, those being the races in Australia, Bahrain, Monaco, Britain, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, India, USA and Brazil. With this announcement coming as a surprise from Sky, it is no question that their Sky Sports F1 team is getting stronger and stronger.