Categories
2022 Racing Season

F1 ’22 Preview

(Editors note- This piece was turned in for publishing before the author watched FP1 and FP2 for the upcoming Bahrain GP.  The author has already changed many of his opinions that you will read below, but is too lazy to edit the article.  Enjoy the Bulseyeviewpoints from 3/17/22!)

 

F1 2022 is coming like a Mercedes W12 in a slipstream with the DRS wide open.  The timing couldn’t be worse for this languorous blogger.  Lets’ just say that life has gotten in the way of a detailed analysis for the upcoming season, so this will instead be more like a freestyle rap. 

 

Speaking of rapping, I’d like my legal department to look into writing a F1 themed hip hop inspired Broadway play titled HAMILTON, LEWIS.  

 

First scene intro:

Have you heard about the man named Hamilton

He’s a 7 time F1 world champion

Signed by McLaren when he was ten

He was lured by Niki to drive the Benz…….. All right you get the gist.  I like it.  F-Netflix, we are going to Broadway baby!

 

So, what are we looking at for ‘22?  Other than the same power units, it’s basically a brand new formula.  Forget Hamilton-Larbalestier* and Max, ‘22 is the year of the engineer.  Which team has been able to interpret a brand new set of rules and produce a championship caliber car?  Nail this design out of the box and you will be in good shape for years to come.  Fail and it could spell doom.  (Jesus I feel like Will Buxton doing commentary on Drive to Survive.)  

 

(*Yes, Lewis is trying to change his name to Hamilton-Larbalestier)

 

Mercedes – Sidepods?  Who needs sidepods?  The W13 certainly wins the unique design concept award.  Both Hamilton-Larbalestier and Russell seemed to be struggling with the handling of this updated package in Bahrain, but look out when they go to low fuel and turn up the engine on Saturday.  Remember, it was just a few months back when Hamilton was driving by folks on the straight in Sao Paulo like they were driving stock cars.  And how about this driver pairing?  Incredible.  Lewis gunning for revenge and 8 titles, Russell poised to show the world that he’s one of the best.  So much at stake here.  Prediction – Russell gives Hamilton-Larbalestier a tougher time than Bottas and actually beats him on pace a couple of times, but the consistent brilliance of Lewis will be too much for Mr Saturday and Russell will be playing the role of Bottas by Silverstone.  Lewis P2, George P3.

 

Red Bull – World Champion Max Verstappen looks ready to defend his title and start rapidly climbing the pantheon of all time greats.  As brilliant as Max is though, Red Bull CTO Adrian Newey is even more decorated.  He’s got 10 constructors titles to prove it.  As I stated above, this is the year of the engineer, so look for Newey and gang to flex their prodigious brain power and produce a car capable of winning both the drivers and constructors titles.  The questions I have are 1. Can Red Bull improve upon the power unit without the might of Honda behind them and 2. Is Perez now fully comfortable and ready to outperform Russell to achieve both titles?  Prediction – Max beats Lewis to the title in another closely fought championship and Perez becomes more competitive, but Mercedes wins a 9th constructors title in a row.  Max P1, Perez P5.  

 

Ferrari – The Scuderia looked quick and reliable in testing so is this the miracle that the Tifosi have been hoping for?  Leclerc and Sainz are a class driver pairing and I’d like nothing more than seeing the red cars battling Merc and RBR for wins.  The more the merrier.   However, this isn’t the days of Schumi, Ross, Rory and Todt.  I have my doubts that this current management group could actually defeat Toto or Horner over the course of 20+ races when the pressure is ramped up, development is vital, and race strategy is crucial to ultimate success.  Prediction – Ferrari runs a closer 3rd and wins two races.  Leclerc P4 and Sainz P6.   

 

McLaren – The Woking crew were tough to read in testing.  Lando was quick in Barcelona but struggled with brake issues in Bahrain.  Danny Ric missed the second test with Covid so the lack of seat time could put him on the back foot to start the season.  Prediction – McLaren will start the year on a lonely 4th place island, but will eventually catch the red cars to make for some great racing.  Lando will continue to have the edge over D Ric in raw pace, but the new aero regs will allow Danny to show his wheel to wheel prowess again.  Danny got his shock win last year in Monza, this year Lando will pull off another shocker.  Lando P7, Danny P8.  

 

Alpine – I feel like this team is always one boardroom meeting away from getting axed by the Renault bean counters so the race is on to become relevant in F1 on Sundays and sell some damn Clio’s on Mondays.  They have brought in a whole new crew of management, some experienced such as team principal Otmar Szafnauer, but they have chosen to make F1 newcomer Laurent Rossi the CEO.  Will he survive to see ‘23?.   On the bright side, they have retained their excellent driver lineup of Alonso and Ocon.  Last year ALO had a rough start after being out of the cockpit for two years and nearly getting killed by a lady leaving the supermarket while training on the bike.  This year ALO hits the ground running and should be a midfield beast.  Ocon is also in his prime now and should keep the Spaniard honest.  Prediction – Alonso scores a couple of podiums and takes Danny Ric’s seat at McLaren.  Ocon does a solid job and is joined by Gasly in ‘23 to form the French super team.  ALO P9, Ocon P11.

 

Alpha Tauri – Our little team formerly known as Minardi is all grown up now and firmly ensconced in the midfield.  Gasly is an established vet who is going to extract the maximum from the car.  Yuki is still the great unknown.  Based on his performance last year, I’m shocked he made the cut for year two.  The Red Bull driver academy is notorious for being the equivalent of the TV show Survivor, so I’m wondering if Yuki’s people have some dirt on Franz Tost?  We’ll see.  Prediction: Gasly continues to impress and mix it up at the front of the midpack while Yuki improves, but ultimately loses his seat to Norwegian sensation Dennis Hauger for ‘23.  Gasly P10, Tsunoda P16.  

 

Aston Martin – Eventually Mr. Stroll’s investment in people and facilities will likely start paying dividends, but I think ‘22 will be another transition year for the team as they continue to load up on engineering talent and build a state of the art facility.  And let’s be honest, Vettel and Stroll aren’t going to get it done in this loaded midfield.  Prediction- Seb has a handful of nice days and a handful of Seb Spin moments while Lance drives around like The Green Ghost.  Will Sr ever fire Jr?  Vettel P12, Stroll P15  

 

Williams – The loss of Russell will likely be a huge blow for Williams.  Albon has some big shoes to fill and while Latifi is improving, he’s not the guy to lead you to the promised land.  So two average drivers in a small team with a brand new design.  Prediction:  Blahh.  Albon P19, Latifi P20

 

Alfa Romeo – For some reason I’m getting a feeling that Bottas is going to be one of the surprise performers of the year.  He’s got pace and now he will have an entire team backing him up as the number 1.  Give Bottas some confidence and he might be strutting around telling his critics to F-Off again.  For rookie teammate Zhou, the goal is to get the miles in, keep it off the walls and make sure that the Chinese Yuan are being wired to Switzerland on the 1st and 15th of each month.  Having Bottas as a measuring stick will be a great way to determine if Mr Zhou has a future in this business.  Prediction-  I’m seeing multiple Q3’s and the occasional 8-10th place finish among the Alpine’s and Alpha Tauri’s for Bottas while Zhou will be busy racing the Williams boys.  Bottas P13, Zhou P18

 

Haas- I’ll admit it, I hated the Mazespin-Shumacher Russian backed crap wagon that we saw last year and hoped that Haas was going to pull the plug to put this American project out of its misery.  However, Schumacher and K-Mag in a car capable of fighting in the midfield suddenly sounds pretty cool.  Well done Mr Haas for making a tough decision and making your team infinitely cooler.  Prediction – Schumacher won the F3 title in year two and the F2 title in year two so it’s a bit far-fetched to see this trend continue, but he’s going to impress.  Magnussen is going to have his hands full keeping up with Schumi Jr but it’s comforting to know that both of those cars will be given a proper thrashing.  Schumi P14, K-Mag P17

 

So there we have it.  If it’s anything close to ‘21 we are in for a real treat.   I can attest that F1 racing is still alive and well in the US after waiting for two hours to pre-order tickets to the Austin GP, only to get on the site and find out that the grandstands were completely sold out.  So there are now two USGP’s for ‘22 and both are already sold out.  Thanks a lot Netflix!  What’s next, an American entry with heavyweight backing and a fast American driver?  I feel like I’m being priced out of my neighborhood.  

 

Bold Predictions:

-Lewis starts slow, gets Covid again, loses motivation and gets clobbered by Russell.  Lewis then goes on a 3 month bender, adds 75lbs and shows up in ‘23 looking like a bloated washed up rock star with a bald head on top and dreads on the side.

– Lewis starts strong, clobbers Russell and George becomes an entitled little diva crying foul play and claiming the team likes Lewis better.  Toto sacks him after the summer break. 

-Putin decides to lob missiles at the track that replaces his personal Sochi GP, starting WWIII and ending the ‘22 season prematurely.  At the time of the bombings, Max was ahead of Lewis by 1pt and was declared the champion by the FIA.  In the midst of WWIII, the British again go bananas on social media and plan their own all British F1 series.  

-Ferrari win the first ten races and it’s then discovered that nothing on their car is legal, yet the stewards never flagged any issues.  

-The new race control group starts penalizing drivers for “aggressive behavior unbecoming of a gentleman behind the wheel” and hands out an average of 17 drive through penalties per race.  Magnussen is handed down the most drive throughs for the season and sets a record with 9 drive throughs in a single race.  

-Michael Andretti gets awarded the 11th team slot, pays the $200m entry fee, hires personnel, builds a factory out, leases a Renault powerplant, flies the equipment out to the first race, only to find that his investors were indicted for running a crypto pyramid scheme and were all behind bars.  Poor Colton Herta and Kyle Kirkwood never even get to leave the garage for FP1. 

 

Well Let’s Do This!

Categories
2018 Racing Season

F1 2018 Preview

Happy days it’s March again.  Time for Spring weather, longer evenings, March Madness, sundresses (can I still say that?  Ok let’s call it shorts) and F1. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of March. For the true F1 fan, it’s a time for optimism and hope.  Hope that the engineers of the contenders have got all their sums right and are busy at work producing a car that is worthy of fighting the silver cars from Brackley.  Optimism that we are going to witness a fascinating 21 grand prix season with more plot twists and turns than a season of “Falcon Crest.” I’m not going to beat around the bush here, my gut feeling tells me that we are in for a burner of a year.  I’m talking 1981 vintage, or maybe more appropriately, 1986, where we had Prost in the McLaren snatch the title in the last round from Mansell in the Williams while Nelson Piquet was only 3 points adrift in the sister Williams. And don’t forget the the 4th player that year, young Ayrton in the difficult Lotus-Renault, who managed to grab 8 poles, 6 podiums and 2 wins out of the 16 rounds that comprised the championship.  Sound familiar? The buzzardly winds emanating out of Europe are speaking to me and I like what I’m hearing.

 

You may be asking why?  Why am I so bullish on 2018, with these gently whispering hybrid motors, that dreaded dirty air, and the hideous halos bolted over the drivers heads?  How can I make such a claim without even seeing true testing times due to rain and snow rendering Barcelona testing pointless to date? Bottom line, I’m betting big that Renault has made enough gains to allow Red Bull to fight Lewis and Seb from the green light in Melbourne all the way to the giant nightclub finale that is Yas Marina.  I witnessed the beginnings of this perfect storm brewing from the grandstand in Texas last fall, where Lewis and Seb were dueling for the win while Max was coming from last to third, and I envision 2018 as the continuation of this battle. Remember, over the last 6 GP’s of 2017, Max and Lewis were level at 100pts each. There are so many factors that are contributing to this perfect convergence of competitiveness, with 3 transcendent drivers leading 3 legendary teams, that I can’t wait to get to Melbourne to see this play out.  

 

THE BIG 3

 

It’s borderline crazy to publicly state that anyone will touch Mercedes in this turbo V-6 hybrid era, as Mercedes has racked up a remarkable 63 wins out of 79 races, but as we enter year 5 of this engine formula, it’s time for Ferrari and Renault to step up their game.

 

Mercedes-   Everything’s in place for Merc to continue their winning ways.  Lewis has nothing left to prove and is now driving for the record books and his love of competition.  He’s chasing history with 29 more wins needed to tie the Great Michael SchumiSchumacher and seems to be relishing the opportunity to fight with Max and Vettel.  Bottas is driving for his career and it will be fun to see which Bottas shows up this year? The 2017 car seemed to have a narrow set-up sweet spot that Lewis could drive around when necessary, but after a solid start, Valteri came back from summer break inexplicably a few tenths slower than Lewis and didn’t regain his form until Lewis had clinched the title.  I advise Bottas to pay Nico a visit to learn which buttons need to pressed to get under Lewis’s skin.

 

Red Bull-  As I mentioned above, if the Renault engine only gives away 2 tenths a lap to the Mercedes engine, then Adrian Newey’s chassis in the hands of Max and Ricciardo will be able to take the fight to Lewis.  Max is signed long term with the team and is primed to take over the sport. He may already be the best in the business at wheel to wheel racing and both his qualifying and race pace is phenomenal. Ricciardo is driving for a contract and will be desperate to keep up with Max.  He’s already been publicly lobbying for a seat at Mercedes so the interteam battle will be fascinating to watch. If he can step up into the Lewis, Seb, Max realm, then we will be in for a battle royal as Danny-Boy (or Rickey Rocket) is the most exciting overtaker in the game.

 

Ferrari-  Seb won 5 races last year and led the championship through much of the summer, but then made a critical error in judgement at the start of the Singapore GP and was further let down by mechanical issues in Japan that derailed his hopes of a 5th title and glory for the Tifosi.  It will be very interesting to see how Seb copes with Lewis and Max making life difficult for him. Seb seems to turn into a lunatic in a split second so his therapist may be the secret weapon that gets him back to the top. I’m envisioning the first 3 corners of last years Mexican GP becoming a theme in 2018.  And then there’s Kimi. Kimi’s best days are now well behind him and he’s officially a Ferrari employee trying to score constructors points and help Seb win the crown. I hope he proves me wrong and we see the Kimi from Monaco last year on a regular basis, but I’m afraid that 2018 will be Kimi’s last in the sport.

 

The Next Three

 

Last year there was a pretty significant gap from the big three to the rest, my hope is this year a next three or B league scrum forms that is swarming 15-20 seconds down the road at the flag from the leaders and making for great tv.

 

McLaren- McLaren and Alonso, I officially welcome you back to sharper end of the F1 grid.  My how we’ve missed you! I have a hard time seeing McLaren returning to their winning ways this year, but I can see Alonso playing the role of pest all season and grabbing a podium or two when the cards fall his way.  My feeling is it was such a late switch to the Renault powerplant that they won’t truly be up to speed until next year, but we can count on Alonso constantly starting on row 3 or 4 and going for any and all gaps. Vandoorne had a really low key rookie campaign and has the great misfortune of being teamed with a teammate crusher, but he showed signs of pace and will now be on display for the world to see as he navigates the battles in this fierce Next Three pack.  We need competition for Max in the future so let’s hope that he is a star in the making.

 

Renault-  It’s time for Renault to stop making excuses for their lack of competitiveness as they have been building up over the past two seasons and start delivering.  This is a factory team with huge resources and I’m sure the company board will start asking questions if they have nothing to show after 2018. In Hulkenberg and Sainz, they possess two drivers in their prime of their careers with much to prove.  For Hulkenberg, it’s a trip to the podium! It’s hard to believe that Hulkenberg is the F1 record holder for the most GP’s without a podium. And for Sainz, he’ll be driving to reclaim his seat at Red Bull and another chance to take on Max. The brilliance of Carlos has been hidden a bit at Toro Rosso and he’s still prone to a foolish mistake 1-2 times per year at the start of a race, but beware of the Spaniard as he now has a legit top 8 car to work with.  Here’s hoping for some epic Alonso-Sainz battles that spill over into the paddock and Spanish media. “Que estabas pensando idiota!?!?”

 

Force India-  If intersquad battles are your thing, then look no further than Force India as the upstart Ocon looks to gain control of the team over the experienced Sergio Perez in his second full season.  At one point last year after a scary coming together on the run down to Eau Rouge at Spa, Ocon tweeted:

 

Damage limitation today, we were having a good race until Perez tried to kill me 2 times! Anyway he didn’t manage to do so ending up P9!

 

Ok this might not have the significance of Senna driving Prost into the wall down the straight at Estoril in ‘88, but it’s pretty cool nonetheless.  Perez is a consistent, rapid driver who is top notch at managing tires throughout a race, but Ocon seems to have that special something and is on my radar as a future champion.  He is the property of Mercedes after all, so I could see him taking

This is getting awkward
This is getting awkward

over for a underperforming Bottas or a retiring Hamilton in the next 2 years. In Austin this past year he was on my buzzard radar all weekend and he passed everything that I’m looking for in a driver, including a dirt track moment in the mist where he kept his foot down and fought a massive 4 wheel drift for a few hundred yards.  What is it about the French GP driver? Overall, I’m predicting that Force India’s run of 4th place constructor championship points finishes is under threat from McLaren and Renault.

 

The Rest

 

What is one to do with the remaining four teams that compromise The Rest?  It seems like a lot of money spent just for the honor of being an F1 backmarker.  Miracles can happen though, as Sebastian Vettel demonstrated in the Toro Rosso by winning at Monzo in the wet in 2008.  Or how can one forget Fisichella’s win in the wet in Brazil in 2003 in the lowly Jordan-Ford. Fisi’s next best finish that year was a 7th on his way to 12th in the championship, while Jordan finished 9th out of 10 teams.  On paper the remaining four teams are all very professional racing outfits well stocked with brilliant engineers and talented drivers, but for various circumstances, are still chasing that elusive 1-2 seconds per lap necessary to be a real player.  In other words, sadly, there isn’t an AGS or Andrea Moda to marvel at the incompetency.

 

Williams- It’s sad to see this iconic, historically great team fall into this category but F1 can be a cruel business.  Williams start the year with two inexperienced young pay drivers in Stroll and Sirotkin attempting to extract the maximum out of Paddy Lowe’s first true design after a wildly successful spell at Mercedes.  Winning seems to follow Paddy so keep your eye on this package, but we may be left wondering in the coming years just how good the FW41 really was. It’s just disappointing to see a team that has Nigel-Mansell-Cappitted Jones vs Reutemann, Piquet vs Mansell, Hill vs Villeneuve, running drivers with no chance whatsoever.  I personally feel that they would have been much better off with an old man lineup of Massa and Kubica, or could have done something really cool like going after Felix Rosenqvist and Josef Newgarden. I think I know what Frank and Patrick Head would have done. In fact, any and all motorsport personnel decisions should be based on the question, well what would Frank and Patrick do?   

 

Haas- For a team to start from scratch and achieve what Haas has in their first two years is nothing short of amazing, but as they embark on year three, I’m still seeing them resigned to the 8th placed constructor.  Their partnership with Ferrari has been very beneficial in getting started and in Grosjean and Magnussen they have two drivers capable in getting after it. When Grosjean has a car to his liking he’s a top 10 talent, but his seemingly never ending frustration with the brakes supplied by both Brembo and Carbon Industrie have got to be sorted out immediately.  With Magnussen, they have an uncomplicated second generation racer who has a heavy right foot and no problem telling a rival to, “suck my balls” on tv after a race. Let’s see how long Gene Haas is happy to spend billions just to be #8 in this ultra competitive environment.

 

Toro Rosso-  Wouldn’t it be amazing if Honda got it right this year and propelled their little works team into the fight?  That would be about par for Alonso as he’s usually in the wrong team at the wrong time. Honda was showing signs of real progress towards the end of last year and I found it very telling when Brendon Hartley stated that his ‘18 Toro-Honda has more power than the Renault powered car that he drove at the end of last year.  But this is Scuderia Toro Rosso (formally Minardi) after all, so I expect that they will be relegated to keeping the Williams and Haas cars honest while the drivers fight each other to avoid the dreaded Franz Toast call into the office. Pink slips anyone? Gasly will have a lot of pressure because at 22 years old and the 2016 GP2 champ, his reputation will be at stake if he’s playing second fiddle to Hartley, who at 28 is a dinosaur by F1 rookie standards.  Hartley, with years of factory Porsche WEC and F1 simulator work may be an excellent development driver, but it makes me ask the question: Has the Red Bull young driver pipeline gone dry?

 

Sauber-  And last but not least, it looks like it will be Sauber yet again.  However, with a new significant Alfa Romeo partnership and access to more Ferrari components, this team should be able to avoid getting lonely out there and set their targets on Toro and Haas.  I’ll be very curious to see how Ferrari protege Charles Leclerc fares in his highly anticipated rookie campaign. He looked like a surefire next big thing in GP2 last season, but when I saw him drive in the damp FP1 in Texas, I wasn’t very impressed.  He was tender footing around at the bottom of the time sheets and did nothing that says future world champ. Hopefully he proves me wrong. If he routs veteran teammate Marcus Ericcson and scores a handful of points then he very well may be in Kimi’s seat for 2019.  

 

So after unloading that stream of consciousness, here are the official Bulseyeview picks for 2018:

 

  1. Hamilton – 7 wins
  2. Vettel – 5 Wins
  3. Verstappen – 5 wins
  4. Bottas – 2 wins
  5. Ricciardo –  2 wins
  6. Raikkonen
  7. Alonso
  8. Sainz
  9. Hulkenberg
  10. Ocon
  11. Perez
  12. Vandoorne
  13. Stroll
  14. Grosjean
  15. Sirotkin
  16. Magnussen
  17. Gasly
  18. Hartley
  19. Leclerc
  20. Ericcson

 

Enjoy the Show!

 

Categories
2015 Racing Season

The New Unofficial F1 Weekend Format

It’s my understanding that the FIA is actively seeking recommendations for improving the F1 race weekend experience and after a few closed door meetings, the geniuses involved were unable to come up with any solutions that trump the current format.

Well, this is an opinion from the wrong side of the fence.

In the simplest terms possible, here is an easy solution for enhancing the fan experience, brought to you by a man who has invested way too much time and money into being an F1 aficionado.

For starters, here are my requirements for the on track entertainment that travels to all 18-22 venues with the big show.

  1. F1
  2. GP2
  3. Porsche Supercup
  4. Past F1 Driver Touring Car Shootout

These 4 classes would keep the masses entertained for three days.  I’m already loving the thought of Mika Hakkinen punting Nigel Mansell at Copse and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

3 DAY FORMAT:

Friday

  • 10:00 – 11:00: F1 Free Practice 1:  Nothing like traveling hundreds or thousands of miles and getting to the track on Friday AM all revved up for the first car on track.  It has to be an F1 car.  (And it has to be loud).
  • 12:00 – 2:30:  Support Series Practice
  • 3:00 – 4:00:  F1 FP2
  • 4:15 – 5:15:  REWARD THE BUZZARDS – Pit straight is opened to the fans for 1 hour to walk down and look into the garages.  Teams have to keep the doors open AND drivers have to hang around to greet their fans.  I know, poor guys have to slum it for a bit.  I can already see the promoters pulling their hair out over this proposal, but it needs to be done.  Sure there will be a few drunks or over zealous buzzards to police, but they can manage I’m sure.

 

Saturday

  • 8:00 – 10:30:  Support Series Qualifying
  • 11:00 – 12:00:  F1 FP3
  • 1:00 – 2:30:  F1 Qualifying
  • 3:00 – 3:30 – Past F1 Driver Touring Car Shootout Race 1
  • 4:00 – 5:30 GP2 Feature Race

 

Sunday

  • 9:00 – 10:00:  Porsche Supercup Race
  • 10:30 – 11:00:  Past F1 Driver Touring Car Shootout Race 2
  • 11:30 – 12:30: GP2 Sprint Race
  • 2:00 – 4:00:  F1 Race
  • 4:15: Track gates open to allow spectators to walk the track and run for the podium.

 

For traffic management purposes, give the fans the option of sticking around and watching Manu Chao do a 90 minute concert in the infield after every race. (is there anybody with more world appeal than Manu?)

This is so simple, yet so pleasing.

One other piece of business:  Simply watching and listening to F1 cars is no longer enough to satisfy our frenetic minds, so we need to be able to interact with F1 through our mobile devices as well.  My thoughts, take a page straight out of the NFL book and push fantasy racing leagues.  Fan Duels.  Draft Kings.  PROMOTE GAMBLING!

My game would look something like this:

Pick 10 head to head match-ups, determined after qualifying on Saturday (ex. Nico vs Lewis, Perez vs Hulkenberg), and then rank them 1-10 by the level you feel comfortable with.  If you are positive that Verstappen is going to beat Sainz, then make that your #1 head to head pick that is worth 50 points.

Example:

50 points – Head to Head Pick 1 (ex Verstappen def Sainz)

40 points – Head to Head Pick 2 (ex Vettel def Kimi)

35 points – Head to Head Pick 3 (Rossi def Stevens)

and down the line you go.

And to spice the game up, throw in a bunch of bonus questions:

5 points – First retirement

5 points – Most positions made up in the race

5 points – fastest pit stop

5 points – safety car yes/no

5 points – Race fastest lap

5 points – fastest speed trap mph

Should I keep going here?  You get the idea.  To keep people at home or in the stands engaged, the fantasy leader-board has to be constantly changing with “as they run” scenarios.  Have F1 promote the hell out of their fantasy game and get sponsors to reward prizes for race wins and season wins.  Allow fans to start private leagues and have a overall, season long champion.

Lastly, get up to speed with Social Media!  F1 needs a heavily promoted site where fans can share their content from a race weekend.  Selfies with Bottas, drunk buddy passed out in a McLaren hat, hot girl in Kimi bun shorts, sunrise pic in the campground, new friends in the stands from Columbia.  I just don’t see F1 keeping up with the mind of a millennial.  It’s time to loosen the reigns on their intellectual property.

Lastly 2.0 – They have to get back to loud motors and cars that look difficult to drive.  More decibels, more HP, wider rear wheels, more mechanical, less aero grip, and for the love of Jan Lammers, get rid of the silly DRS.

Categories
2015 Racing Season

F1 2015

With the rise of the self driving Google electric car just a decade or so away, I’m viewing the coming years as the swan song for motorsports as we know it.  Sure there will still be underground petrol heads engaging in club racing activities in places such as Siberia, but in general, the world will soon cease caring about man’s pursuit of driving excellence.  Therefore, I’m aiming to cherish F1 2015 as if it may be the final season.  And why not, the computers have won, so let’s just enjoy it while we still can.

If you were turned off by the dominance of the Mercedes W05 in 2014, I’d advise you to take up a new hobby to fill your Sunday’s in 2015.  Mercedes are back with a dominant car and should continue on with their winning ways.  But if you prefer to buzzard by the glass half full belief that it only takes two cars to make a great race, here are a bunch of random thoughts as to why this year will be mega.

Nico Rosberg has learned from his mistakes.  Last year Nico surprised the paddock with his pace and had Lewis reeling for much of the year.  In qualifying Nico beat Lewis 11-7, but Lewis still seemed to have the edge at stringing together quick laps on fading tires and pressured Nico into two critical errors while leading.  But Nico is a cerebral man who will have spent his winter addressing his weaknesses and will come back fitter and more mentally prepared to deal with his freakishly talented teammate.

I see this Mercedes situation as the McLaren-Honda team of ‘88-’89 all over again.  In ‘88, Senna (the freak of all freaks) came in and overwhelmed Alain Prost with his sheer speed and audacious on track etiquette.  The Professor took his lumps, went into his lab and came back to beat the mighty 1988-McLaren-Honda-MP4-4Brazilian the following year in part because of his mastery of psychological warfare.  I expect Nico to do the same.  This mano-a-mano battle should be fascinating.

Ferrari, Vettel and Raikkonen, the three biggest letdowns of 2014, are now one big happy family.  After last years embarrassing campaign, Ferrari have cleaned house and brought in an ensemble of highly paid personnel to restore glory to the Scuderia.  Most notably, their new lead driver Sebastian Vettel.  The fact that the 4 time World Champion had his helmet handed to him by Ricciardo last year was downright shocking.  I’ll admit it, after foolishly proclaiming Vettel the equal of Senna, I’m now officially in the buzzard camp who believes that 100% of Vettel’s success was due solely to the ingenious diffuser that Adrian Newey had bolted on the back of that Red Bull.  This will be Seb’s chance to restore his reputation and emulate his German idol, Michael Schumacher.  Sebs new best mate, Kimi, is coming iceman2_1280off having his helmet, steering wheel, ass and balls handed to him by Alonso but should benefit greatly by having a 2015 car more tailored to his driving preferences.  When Ferrari started designing this 2015 machine, Kimi was their lone contracted driver so I’m expecting the Iceman to deliver the goods once again.

Kvyat!  There is a high likelihood that Russia will be able to lay claim to a GP winner by years end. (note: Will there ever be an American F1 champ again?).  It will be fascinating to see how Daniil Kvyat fares in the spotlight.  One thing’s for certain, he will be feeling the heat quickly if he’s not a match for the sensational Daniel Ricciardo and young Max Verstappen is lighting it up in the junior team.

McLaren.  Remember last year when the Red Bull could barely complete three consecutive laps in testing with a myriad of teething issues and then showed up and placed 3rd in the opening round? (note: Ricciardo was later DQ’d for some minor infraction).  I have a feeling that while it may take time for the Honda package to come together, the car is fundamentally quick.  Button and Magnussen both have been quoted as saying that all of last year’s issues have been sorted and they have laid down some quick lap times in their limited amount of track time.  And of course if the car is a dog, it will be great to watch Alonso vs Ron Part II.

Bottas.  2015 is the year that Bottas cements his status as a future champ.  Keke, Mika, Kimi and soon……BOTTAS!  Let’s get the clear booze out now and start celebrating.  I wish he could accomplish this feat driving a Williams but I think he’s going to have to slip into a seat at McLaren in a year or two to get the job done.

Toro Rosso!  The Helmut Marko/Franz Tost driver finishing school has their two most exciting students to date.  If there were ever children bred to be drivers, Verstappen and Sainz Jr are it.  Young Max is the product of the legendary Dutch Devil and his Belgian karting mom, Sophie Kumpen. Carlos-SainzCarlos Sainz Jr is the product of…well…Carlos Sainz, the legendary Spanish rally driver who I believe is the inspiration for the Dos Equis “World’s Most Interesting Man” commercials.  I can’t wait to see how they fare in the big time.

Mexico is back!  It’s so cool to see the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez back on the calendar.  Sure the track had to be Tilkefied to some degree, but judging by the track map it’s still a unique circuit that should produce a great race.  Kudos to Bernie for bringing Austria back last year and Mexico this year.  That place Mexicowill be packed with Perez mania in full swing.

Drivers have to keep their helmet colors!  I know that I sound a little neurotic for calling this out but these drivers who change their colors every other race drive me nuts.  I want to look at a car for a split second and say Arnoux, Fabi, Boutsen, Alboreto, Alliot, De Cesaris, Warwick, Tambay, Cheever, Laffitte, etc.  Their helmet is their identity and they should be proud of their colors.

 

Having said that, here are the picks to take to the bank:

 

  1. Hamilton – 9 wins
  2. Rosberg – 7 wins
  3. Ricciardo – 3 wins
  4. Kvyat – 1 win
  5. Raikkonen
  6. Bottas
  7. Vettel
  8. Alonso
  9. Massa
  10. Button
  11. Hulkenberg
  12. Grosjean
  13. Perez
  14. Verstappen
  15. Maldonado
  16. Nasr
  17. Sainz
  18. Ericsson
  19. Merhi
  20. Stevens
Categories
2014 Racing Season

Racing Round Table

If you are a fan of motorsports in the USA, particularly the various forms of road racing, you know that it can at times be a nomadic experience.  Do the math.  The Indy race on Sunday in Toronto drew an average of 484,000 viewers during the telecast on NBCSN.  Sounds great until you factor in that there are over 317,000,000 people living in this great land.  So, with only roughly .153% or 1 out of every 655 people watching, it’s easy to understand why there isn’t a lot of Monday morning office motorsport talk around the water cooler.

But don’t let those depressing stats get you down.  Simply invent some imaginary friends to have a chat with.

For this first installment of the Bulseyeview motorsports round table, I’ll be moderating and firing questions at my “friends” Alfred Haybale Murphy and Tab St Claire.  To give you a quick background, Haybale is a big old lug with a Duck Dynasty beard and a love of anything with a motor.  Tab is an urban metro-sexual who takes his motorsport flashy.  Haybale is a working class family man who loves to get his hands dirty and karts on the weekend while Tab rides ten speeds, dates beautiful women who always look annoyed and attends races with a button-down shirt tucked in and cologne on.  But they are both passionate racing fans so they are hired!

Bul Bulifant:  Well gents the racing has been fast and furious the past few weeks and we are still no closer to figuring out who will prevail in the F1 or Indycar title fights. Haybale we will start with you.  What’s on your mind today?

Morgan In His Prime
Morgan In His Prime

Haybale Murphy:  Bul I still can’t shake the vision of a 72 year old Morgan Shepherd taking out Joey Logano in the Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire a few weeks back.  I thought Morgan Shepherd hung up his helmet with Cale Yarborough and Harry Gant!  It sucks for “Sliced Bread” but it gives me hope to be out there when I’m 70 something.

Bul Bulifant:  How is your racing coming along these days Haybale?

Haybale Murphy:  3 cracked ribs this past weekend after I launched over the rear wheel of some clown who checked up early into the first corner of the main.

Bul Bulifant:  Cool!  Over to you Tab.  What did you think of the German GP?

Tab St Claire:  Two Words — Daniel Ricciardo!  This guy is rapidly becoming my favorite driver in the field.  I’m starting to sing the Elton John song “Daniel” when I’m on a long ride and thinking about racing.  His fight with Alonso was exceptional and his moves into the turn 7 -10 complex were like a page out of the famous Gilles Villeneuve/Rene Arnoux battle at Dijon.  I also love how he just gets out of the car and has a laugh about the whole affair.

Bul Bulifant:  Agreed. The kid has no pressure on him and is basically playing with house money.  Nobody saw this coming.  I may try to write some revised lyrics for

Oh Daniel!
Oh Daniel!

our F1 “Daniel”.

Haybale Murphy:  Damn the both of you are a couple of queers!

Tab St Claire:  I was wondering how long it would take for Haybale to use the gay card.

Haybale Murphy:  What am I supposed to do?  Elton John and F1?  Queers!

Tab St Claire:  Mark Knopfler wrote a song about Nigel Mansell

Haybale Murphy:  Must be a British thing.  I don’t recall Bob Seeger singing about AJ Foyt.

Bul Bulifant:  Haybale if this was a debate competition I would award you two points.  To your point Tab, I’m starting to think that the turn 7-10 complex is my favorite piece of racing real estate on the F1 calendar!  A fast kink, no DRS, heavy braking into a corner where you can use a couple of different lines and then a fast S bend where you can run two wide.  Beautiful!  My early driver of the race, Russian sensation Daniil Kvyat, tossed away his chances in turn 8 for big points by trying to go around the outside of Perez, but hey, that’s what the Torro Rosso is for.  Get it out of the system now before he takes over Vettel’s seat next year!

Tab St Claire:  Ouch

Haybale Murphy:  Confession:  I’m rooting for Ricciardo because he went with the Dale Earnhart 3 for his number.

Bul Bulifant:  Haybale did you just come out of the closet?   A quick moment of silence with 3 fingers raised.  Okay silly season starts now!  Tab what happens next year?

Tab St Claire:  Ferrari dumps Kimi and hires Bottas.  McLaren pries Alonso to lead the Honda project and Button goes back to Williams.  Ferrari, in a panic, then buyout Lewis Hamilton, leading Vettel to jump on the Silver Arrows ride.  Red Bull roll the dice and promote Kvyat to partner Ricciardo, leaving Hulkenberg on the sideline another season waiting for his big break.

Bul Bulifant:  Wow!  I like your thinking!  Shifting to Indycar: Last weekend in Toronto we witnessed a 2004 Sebastian Bourdais rout in the morning race and then Mike Conway won the afternoon lottery in the mixed conditions.  Indycar is so bizarre!  In Conway’s ten starts this year he has two wins and a next best finish of 11th?!  Haybale who wins this Indycar title?

Haybale Murphy: First off, those guys in Toronto always remind me of a C-Main at the Silver Dollar Speedway in Chico.   I would like to say Power but I think that Aussie has a screw loose.  Probably too many concussions.  Trust me I can relate.  Montoya is my guy but I’m going to  have to go with that goofy Helio.  At least they finish with Mid – O, Milwaukee, Sears and Fontana.  That’s cool.  By the way, if you want to join us, two of my brothers and a few cousins will have our RV on the S’s at Sears all weekend and we are towing our Big Pig Trailer Rig.  All you can eat brisket and unlimited bottles of Bud!

Tab St Claire:  I’ll try to stop by on Sunday Haybale.  I’m taking my girlfriend Guinevere wine tasting in St Helena on Saturday and we have tickets with the Infinity Q50 club in an air conditioned tent near turn 3 for the race.

Bul Bulifant:  Oh boy!  Moving along, the F1 match score is now 5-5 for Rosberg and Hamilton.  Who wins in Hungary and who finishes third?

Haybale Murphy:  Hamilton wins, Vettel finishes 3rd.

Tab St Claire:  Hamilton wins, Ricciardo P3.

Bul Bulifant:  Can the Williams win Monza?  That car is a rocket ship in a straight line and seems to have excellent traction out of the slow stuff.

Tab St Claire:  That may be the only race left where the Merc’s have to fear the competition.

Bul Bulifant:  Well gents.  Anything else that you would like to talk about?

Haybale Murphy:  If Marc Marquez wins the next Moto GP at Indy he will tie Giacomo Agostini for 10 wins in a row!  That’s badass.  I’ll be there by the way.  Camping next to the circuit with some of our Midwest aluminum suppliers.  These aluminum guys like to get a little rowdy if you know what I mean.

Bul Bulifant:  Love it Haybale!  Tab?  Final word.

Bentley-Continental-GT3Tab St Claire:  I’m into this Bentley GT3 World Challenge program.

Haybale Murphy:  Gee really?

Tab St Claire:  I can’t wait to see the car at Sears.  What a gorgeous machine!  I’ve got this cool white and green linen team shirt that I purchased and can’t wait to unveil.

Bul Bulifant:  Can it Haybale!

Tab St Claire:  You know the more I see the World Challenge series, the more I think that the Tudor Series should drop prototypes all together and just become an exotic factory GT series.

Bul Bulifant:  Like your style Tab.  Well your choice of cars anyway.

Haybale Murphy:  Zing

Bul Bulifant:  My final thought is of the recent sale of Caterham F1 by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors.

Moreno at Work in the Eurobrun
Moreno at Work in the Eurobrun

Under Fernandes, the team competed in 86 GP’s and never scored a single point.  Not a single finish by either driver in the top 10!  Hard to believe.  It’s not like the team was a farce such as the Eurobrun’s or Andrea Moda’s of yesteryear.  This was a professional looking outfit with competent people such as Mike Gascoyne designing the cars.  F1 is just that competitive these days.  Let this be a warning to Gene Haas.  How do you make millions in auto racing?  Spend billions!

Haybale Murphy:  What we aren’t going to talk about the Brickyard 400 this weekend?  Look out for my main man Kyle Larson!

Bul Bulifant:  My call is Bad Brad K.  Tab?

Tab St Claire:  This pick is for Haybale.

Haybale Murphy:  Oh Lord I’m bracing myself

Tab St Claire:  I’m going with whoever drives the ExtenZe car.

Bul Bulifant:  Well there you have it folks.  The experts have spoken.  Until next time.

 

Wheel to Wheel Combat
Wheel to Wheel Combat