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9 novembre Time to earn your keep boys Dan Trent writes: The F1 season is barely over but the star drivers are still working hard. But they ain't driving round racetracks at 200mph. Nope, it's time to start really earning that fat salary as sponsors start calling in favours and use their F1 stars to garland PR opportunities that, let's face it, could probably do with a bit of spicing up. Which is why Lewis Hamilton finds himself lunching with Mercedes truck salesmen and pressing the flesh at this weekend's Powered By Mercedes-Benz Live event at the firm's Brooklands centre.  Even world champion Jenson Button hasn't escaped, crashing back to earth after his title-winning drive in Brazil with a meet and greet at ... Bluewater shopping centre. And who's this promoting Renault's new Pro+ commercial vehicle service centre initiative? Why, it's Red Bull F1 driver Mark Webber. Feel the product synergy.  And I thought I was looking forward to the new season... Dan --- Share It
2 novembre A great spectacle ... but what about the racing? Photo: Red Bull (Mark Thompson/Getty Images) Dan Trent writes: So, that's F1 done for another season. But what was it with that Abu Dhabi track? Everyone seemed to be tripping over each other to praise Bernie Ecclestone for his 'vision' in adding such a spectacular venue to the F1 calendar. But that's all it was, a spectacle. Because, as with so many of these new circuits, the actual racing seems way down in the list of priorities.  Photo: Mercedes-Benz I know, if I want proper racing I should forget F1 and watch touring cars or rallying instead. And with F1 the show, in-fighting and razzamataz is, and always has been, a huge part of the deal. But, as we've seen this year, it doesn't to necessarily come at the expense of the racing. Sure, Bernie's coffers are swelled by the likes of Abu Dhabi, Singapore, China and other recent additions to the circus. But the divide between the show tracks and the racing tracks is now huge.  Photo: Mercedes-Benz I'd rather trudge through the Ardennes forest at Spa or sip lukewarm tea in a plastic cup at Silverstone and watch a real race than enjoy the VIP treatment in some air conditioned booth in a soulless luxury hotel while vaguely aware of racing cars going past. But then, I guess, F1 isn't really interested in folk like me. Still, there are reasons to remain optimistic. Such as the return of one of F1's great institutions, namely a wildly unpredictable Japanese driver. Step up my new favourite racer Kamui Kobayashi, a man who could, single handedly, make Toyotas look interesting. I like his style. And so too do the team apparently. After all, if you're not actually going to win stuff getting stuck in and generally irritating the front runners is a great way to ensure the cameras follow you round and get coverage for your sponsors.  Photo: PA The car in front is, it seems, a Toyota. And, whether you're a recently crowned champion or drive a McLaren or Ferrari, isn't about to let you through without the fight of your life. My dream F1 on-track battle? Kobayashi versus Schumacher. Forget your corporate mega tracks and sunset races - that would be a show and half. Dan --- Share It
26 novembre Looking forward to F1 2009 already…Dan Trent writes:
Michael Schumacher’s retirement was the best thing to happen to F1 in the last few years. I don’t have anything against him, it’s just that the combination of his cool, tactical (and very effective) approach to motor racing coincided perfectly with one of the most boring periods in the sport’s history. Great for his victory tally but god it made for dull viewing. But just look at the last two seasons for how the sport has changed. And that comes despite the concerted efforts of the FIA to the mess it all up. So I’m looking forward to 2009, and one of the most potentially open and competitive seasons yet. Even more exciting is the official confirmation of the BBC presenter line up. It’s bye-bye James Allen’s often bizarre proclamations. And farewell to Mark Blundell’s unique approach to punditry that seemed to involve little more than looking baffled and then repeating the question just put to him and claiming it as valid insight.
Brundle stays though, and this is a good thing. Now he’s got over the need to constantly remind us he too was an F1 driver a few years back he’s matured into a real authority, and an entertaining one at that. Plus he seems to really get up the nose of Max Mosley, which can’t be a bad thing. He’ll be partnered in the commentary box by Jonathan Legard, an experienced sports broadcaster and official BBC safe pair of hands and anchor Jake Humphrey. But it’s the drafting in of David Coulthard and Eddie Jordan as pundits I’m most looking forward to. Post-McLaren era ‘Crazy Dave’ Coulthard has reinvented himself and isn’t shy of the odd bitchy comment against his fellow drivers. And Jordan is a sly old dog with, no doubt, a few axes to grind. I’ve got in mind The Muppet’s Statler and Waldorf, flinging sarcastic comments from the commentary box and sparing nobody in the process. Tempering this cynicism the ever keen Ted Kravitz makes the transition from ITV and will be partnered by Lee McKenzie, sparing us the slightly queasy spectacle of mumsy Louise Goodman’s ‘ooh, young man’ flirtations with the drivers and stating the bleedin’ obvious interview technique: “Driver X, you’ve just crashed out and lost the race, how do you feel?” Driver X: “Um, pretty annoyed actually.” Really? All I need now is confirmation Fleetwood Mac’s The Chain will return as the theme tune and I’ll be in F1 heaven.
Dan --- Links: ---
8 septembre The future of F1 Dan Trent writes: So it fell to Spa in Belgium to prove that real excitement, the kind of racing drivers and fans love, comes not through spending millions on a new track but through good old fashioned racing - unpredictable, thrilling and incredibly dramatic racing.
But those in control of F1 don’t seem to want that. And the on-track action at Spa delivered an insubordinate slap in the face to their vision for the sport. One that they clearly took great affront to. The answer? Subvert one of the most exciting race results of recent years with an incredibly officious and ill-judged ruling that makes a mockery of the fantastic on-track battle. I’d quite like to see Hamilton win the championship this year. But that’s not why I’m so furious. I’m just really upset a fantastic race, one rewarding the drivers with the most skill (and, it has to be said, luck) has been corrupted by the very people supposedly looking after the sport’s interests. Yet again a race, possibly a championship, isn’t going to be decided on the racetrack but in the courtroom. And, other than the lawyers, who does that help?
So where does F1 go from here? Well, I reckon the FIA plan for the sport is to link the cars together like one of those ‘petit train’ things you get in French tourist resorts. A noisy, sponsor covered version that can parade around some hugely expensive autodrome slow enough for people to read the logos while paying through the nose for overpriced ‘hospitality’. Just think of the increased profit margins – no need for overpaid drivers or troublesome car companies whining about getting a cut of the TV rights. Step one of this plan seems to be to convince the drivers there’s no point actually racing and leave them as demoralised and disillusioned as the rest of us. After Spa it seems like job done on that score.
7 juillet Honda's Dream(field) come true Dan Trent writes: F1 is a world of hierarchies, most of them dictated, marked and governed by the power of the laminate. Yes, that little bit of plastic dangling off your neck suddenly becomes currency governing where you go, where you sit, where you eat, how much you pay and - most pertinently at Silverstone this weekend - whether or not you stay dry.
'Myhab' cardboard tents were our homes for the race weekend. Fortunately for this, my first ever F1 race, my laminate was a good'n, courtesy of those nice folks at Honda. For not only did it get me a seat in the grandstand at Beckett's - the covered grandstand at Beckett's - it also meant I was fed, watered and accommodated in Honda's Dreamfields compound.
After qualifying it looked like dreams were all Honda could hope for - but Rubens proved us all wrong! Honda called it 'posh camping', our beds for the night being in quirky - and terribly right-on - cardboard pod things, neatly arranged in a field beside a complex of dome-like marquees housing a bar, catering and various other entertainments. We also got a temporary laminate upgrade that gained us access to the inner sanctum of the paddock and garages. A jealously guarded laminate that we were forced to surrender on our re-entry into the 'real world' outside so the next group could enter. Still, this brief behind the scenes glimpse was fascinating, the Honda team relentlessly cheerful despite their cars' dismal qualifying positions.
Dreamfields HQ, gatecrashers just out of shot... Back at the Dreamfields on Saturday night the party hit full swing, livened up further by the arrival of various gatecrashers from neighbouring campsites reckoning they had a chance of blagging a few drinks at Honda's expense. But they'd reckoned without the power of the laminate. Or the swiftness of the response. Here's a clue chaps, if you're going to try and blag your way in somewhere, don't walk straight to the bar with huge grins on your faces giving each other the thumbs up. And if you do get collared try and come up with a more convincing false name than Dave Tabloid. Dave Tabloid! No laminate = swift ejection by chaps in high-viz jackets in this world, though we did enjoy the chap scampering across the dancefloor as security gave chase, drink still in hand.
I think this bloke might have won the race.. Anyway, the weather wasn't ideal for camping but it certainly made for a classic race and being present for Hamilton's first home win was magic. Better still our hosts celebrated a podium courtesy of Rubens Barichello - a result even our unendingly optimistic hosts could have predicted. The power of dreams, eh? Dan
The hard working and incredibly hospitable Honda PR team take a well earned breather - thanks chaps!
11 juin Lapping Silverstone in a 425bhp Formula RenaultPhotos from Jakob Ebrey/Renaultsport UK Dan Trent writes: This job gets you some pretty special rides in some amazing cars. But nothing could prepare me for my first ever run in a proper single-seat racing car ... even if this one actually had two seats. Whatever, it's as near as dammit. And where better than Silverstone, which in a few weeks will be hosting the British Grand Prix and last weekend was home to the Renault World Series. Now the specially converted Formula Renault 3.5 I was riding in wasn’t as fast as a F1 car. But with a 425bhp race-prepped version of the Nissan 350Z’s 3.5-litre V6, automated sequential gearbox, proper aero kit and slick tyres it’s as close as you’re going to get. And plenty fast enough to punch the air from your lungs and teach you new respect for the Hamiltons of this world (pitlane muppetry notwithstanding). It ain’t comfy though, with even the specially lengthened chassis forcing you into a strange squatting position with your shins up against the back of the driver’s seat. But for a ride like this you’ll endure any discomfort.
Lurching from the pit box the view before me was pure PlayStation – the dome of the driver’s helmet, a scrap of bodywork, two dinky mirrors and the Beckett’s complex framed by spindly suspension and two fat, slick racing tyres. Exploding out of the pitlane and into the famously fast left-right-left-right sequence as the g-forces cut in I was glad there was no room for me to move in the cockpit. It didn’t stop my internal organs rattling around inside my torso though, or my head flying forward as we hit the braking zone for the surprisingly tight right-hander at Chapel at the end of the complex. I say surprisingly tight because when you see the F1 boys tackling it they barely seem to slow but from inside the car it feels a lot more dramatic. And from this tarmac-skimming perspective I began to appreciate quite how challenging Silverstone’s super fast corners can be – because it’s so flat here you have hardly any reference points to aim at and how the F1 drivers manage to be so fast and so precise beggars belief.
My driver was keeping things very smooth but even so I completely failed to anticipate how late he would brake at the end of the Hanger straight and once again my head – seconds before pinned back by the slipstream – snapped violently forward. The rest of the lap passed in a blur but the flat right-hander at Bridge sticks out as perhaps the most thrilling single moment. Mere seconds later we were back in the pits, the next lucky passenger waiting to be strapped in for the most exciting couple of minutes of their life. I managed a thumbs up as I staggered, stunned, from the car and will be watching every second of the forthcoming the British GP with new fascination. Dan LinksMore info on Formula Renault 3.5
13 mars Safety car gets seriousDan Trent writes: I really, really, enjoyed driving the CLK63 Black Series the other week and the news that it’s been retired from its front line role as F1 safety car saddened me a little. Until I saw its replacement.
This is, without doubt, the meanest, most badass Merc SL I think I’ve ever seen. And much as I don’t want to see anyone hurt in F1 I’m impatient for my first sight of this car in action. Sight? Oh, and sound too, the succession of AMG safety cars we’ve seen over the years getting steadily louder and louder, to the point where even Martin Brundle was forced to break off mid-flow and murmur “that sounds a-mazing” when the CLK was on track last year. And anyone in any doubt of how hard Bernd Mayländer has to drive the thing just need check the footage from last year’s race at the Nurburgring, where he not only had to wrestle the car around in torrential conditions but also dodge various spinning F1 cars.
It’s also whetted my appetite for a Black Series version of the newly revised SL – something that must surely follow given that the safety car provided the basis for both the Black Series SLK and CLK. The SL’s new MCT-7 gearbox should answer my only real beef with the CLK Black, while the fact the SL safety car has lost 220 kilos through the removal of the folding hardtop and its replacement with a fixed carbon fibre roof means it now weighs a relatively slimline 1,750kg. That new front valance looks the business too. And with 519bhp it’s likely not to be too tardy either. The C63 estate medical car looks pretty damned cool too.
Like anyone I’d love to be an F1 driver. But given what he’s allowed to play with I have to admit I wouldn’t mind Herr Mayländer’s job either… Here’s looking forward to Saturday! Dan Links: CLK Black Series sideways on track
1 octobre Lewis: Can we start hoping?
What an amazing race yesterday? Seeing the TV footage, I can't believe anyone managed to get around the race circuit once, let alone get around one lap - let alone 60-odd, and to win it. Quite amazing really - and of course with the added bonus of Mr Alonso spinning out. All of which leaves Lewis a chance of clinching the title next weekend in Beijing; we will be keeping our fingers crossed! Our first F1 World champ since Damon Hill in 1996... How about that - and in his first season too... Tom |
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