#19; Saluting the Loyal Family Pt. 2

Earlier this week I began a two parter blog entry delving into the realms of loyalty within the sport I love to watch, Formula 1. It’s not the easiest subject to discuss I find because we as the fans can never truly see the full side of an F1 driver in modern times due to teams almost providing the words for their drivers to speak rather than the drivers being given full reign to speak their mind should they want to. However, as I previously stated last week, I find this subject quite an interesting area of study. How loyal can you be to a team but have the offer of more money staring down at you from another source? Would a team matter that much to you should a faster, better team come looking for your services? There are many questions that maybe I cannot answer but I am certainly willing to discuss, and in this second parter, I am going to start with the current leader of the world championship in 2009, Jenson Button.

There is absolutely no doubt about it – Jenson is having the Formula 1 season of his life so far. Out of the 8 races we’ve had in 2009, the man has won 6 of them and got 7 consecutive podiums from Australia to Turkey. We’re hearing a lot of famous names from the past being mentioned alongside his name – Schumacher, Clark, Prost and others. If Jenson does become champion (and perhaps even if he doesn’t) by the end of the season other teams will be fighting for his signature – but as much as the rumours suggest big name teams like Ferrari or McLaren want him, is their reputation enough to pull Button away from Brawn? Let’s look at the facts; Jenson has been a part of his team since 2003 where he joined them in their British American Racing days. It’s very much been a rollercoaster ride for Jenson, with seasons of success in 2004 and 2006 but then the depressingly slow final 2 years of Honda’s recent run in Formula 1.

He certainly has a history with conflicts with teams though, as we saw with the Williams dispute in 2004. For those not in the know, Jenson was driving for BAR Honda but his entry into formula 1 was through Sir Frank Williams’ team (obviously Williams F1), and whilst they allowed him to drive for other teams such as Renault and BAR, they kept a form of option for Jenson to return to the team in the future. In 2004, Jenson himself stated that he planned to rejoin Williams for the 2005 season but BAR were on a rising path in terms of performance. As stated previously, he had an excellent season in 2004 – despite no wins yet in his Formula 1 career, he had achieved his first pole position and finished 3rd in the driver’s championship. Williams were not necessarily a step down at the time as in 2004 they had managed to win with Montoya, but they had finished lower in the championship than BAR Honda. Jenson was obviously stuck between the two, a contract he had signed and the possibility of a future with BAR. Eventually, BAR ended up getting Jenson’s services and it is reported he paid £20 million to Sir Frank Williams in order to clear the conflict. This boils down to a very big area though if true – money.

Was Jenson simply offered more from Dave Richards to stay at BAR? He soon signed a new multi year contract after the dispute was over, and a huge payment was involved in order to stay at BAR so this theory is definitely possible and critics of Jenson will say money was the reason he stayed. You can easily accuse myself of being biased which I do appreciate is going to be because of my support towards Brawn GP and long time support of Honda, but I still see Jenson as an honest driver within the grid. The past few years Honda have had an awful time struggling with many issues and after years of good performances and that fantastic first win for Jenson in 2006, he could have easily given up on the project Honda had after 2007’s disastrous year and furthermore in 2008 after another poor year. In November 2008, Honda CEO Nick Fry had confirmed Button had signed a new deal with the team despite all this (and of course no knowledge into the pulling out of the constructor in December 2008), and again when Ross Brawn bought out the team and before this news was confirmed, it could have been very easy for Jenson to jump ship to other places. However, he stuck with the team and it’s paid off without a doubt.

So what about the future for the Frome Flyer, will he stick with what he has now or will he be tempted by bigger and better offers after this season? At the moment the sport is in a grand state of uncertainty due to the every ongoing war between the masters at the FIA and the minions at FOTA, or so it feels. There is no guarantee that we will even see teams like Brawn GP in the sport in 2010, although I personally feel that there will still be a championship in F1 that we have now and will continue to have for years to come. Aside from my own point of view though, Jenson will get offers. If the money is right, teams will bid a lot for him because of his reputation as a smooth, easy and fast driver, and because of how this season has gone for him so far. I still feel that he will stay though – he obviously is comfortable with his place in Brawn GP, and his previous history with the entire setup with Honda and BAR of course. He has stuck with them through thick and thin and they have rewarded  both him and Rubens with the most wonderful car. You have to remember that despite the car being in development for over a year, this is still a brand new independent team set up a month before the start of the season, and despite a good but not excellent Silverstone showing, the car’s performance has been mind-blowing as has Jenson’s drives. Arguments have arisen whether if this was Schumacher dominance we would all be complaining, and it is a fair point as 2002’s year of Schumacher caused much upset, but Jenson has finally got the car behind him to prove he is worthy of being a champion if it happens. For the future, he will remain at Brawn in whatever form the sport becomes, I’m sure of it. Constantly he has shown his support to what the team are doing, and he has a fantastic relationship with his teammate Rubens Barrichello (off the track of course, on track it’s every man for himself as it should be!) and most importantly for him as a driver, the team are obviously willing to support him through whatever lies ahead.

Formula 1 isn’t just about the guys at the front though, there are 20 drivers on that grid and everyone deserves to be considered. The next subject of loyalty I want to talk about is with underperforming world champions, for different reasons though perhaps. Renault managed to get back double world champion Fernando Alonso into a slower car from McLaren in 2008 after a controversial year at McLaren, whilst Kimi Raikonnen has never really shown that lightning speed he produced in his championship year of 2007. Alonso, for me, is still the most skilled driver in Formula 1. His car last season was very much a huge disappointment in comparison to that brilliant machine he used to fight alongside Michael Schumacher; it was much slower, it didn’t have the same power as what Renault produced in 05 and 06, and on a vain note, it was freakin’ ugly to look at, unless 200mph creme eggs are your type of thing. Why on earth would a champion want to drive a car that seemed so clumsy? The reason for me is because Alonso has a connection with the Renault setup. Flavio Briatore may make some misjudged and ridiculous comments within the world of Formula 1 but he has brought in some spectacular drivers into the sport and given them a stepping stone to make their name undoubtedly. He himself has said how much he appreciates working alongside Briatore and the two have the right relationship to make the team work so well and to add that loyalty aspect to Alonso’s job at Renault; just look at how disastrous the year of Mclaren was for Alonso after a complete breakdown between himself and the team’s management style with Ron Dennis specifically. he is not the most loyal driver on the grid for me though because of this, the job of a driver is obviously to go for the wins in a race but you’re contracted to a team in the same way a normal person is contracted to their company to work – you are there to work for them. Some of the decisions Alonso made, specifically that pit stop at Hungary 2007, jeopardised his reputation. He is an incredible driver, and he is a worthy name within the sport, but he obviously has a line where loyalty stops and personal choices come in. The Renault he has now in 2009 is still generally below average as it was in 2009, but Alonso proved his own dedication and enjoyment in Fuji and Singapore last season winning the two races in a car that really had no right to be there. We’ve had the huge, huge rumour for years about his move to Ferrari being in the works but who knows? If Renault continue to stagnate in terms of their development and lack of pace, it’s definitely possible. He has already left a team he seems dedicated to once, remember…

On the other hand, Kimi Raikkonen just as confusing to study for completely different reasons. He’s at the biggest name team in the history of the sport, the blood red colours of Scuderia Ferrari and the Prancing Horse following his every move in his Formula 1 life, and he has pretty much always had a sensational car behind him (apart from the start of the 2009 season of course) – so why is it he seems so absolutely unmotivated on the track? He’s an excellent driver as are the previous world champions of the past few years and there’s no disputing that, but if you compare how he was in 2007 to how he has performed after it,  to me he just seems like a transformed man. There’s no consistency to his driving; he can have flashes of utter brilliance, then the next weekend drive unnoticed in the background. We of course had that infamous scene in Malaysia 2009 where nearly all the drivers pretty much worked on their cars in a drenched, ‘undwivable’ grid whilst Raikonnen was seen strolling through the pitlane in flip flops eating an ice cream seemingly in another world completely. His attitude in interviews has never been his strongest point and he has admitted that he hates that aspect of the sport, but he does say he loves the obvious racing aspect of Formula 1. It just amazes me. It’s a little strange because he didn’t have a bad 2008 at all really, he was a contender the championship up until the Japanese Grand Prix. It just bothers me that the second highest paid sportsman in the world seems to have such a lack of motivation and spark in his driving where his teammate, who was ridiculed far more than Kimi at times, showed his brilliance last season and was an incredible challenger for the championship. Where does this all fall into loyalty though? Well for me the lack of motivation is a huge, huge aspect of Raikkonen’s loyalty to not only Ferrari but also to the sport in general.  He obviously has a bank account set for life – as I say he is the second highest paid sportsman in the world behind Tiger Woods, an incredible feat. If the Ferrari rumours about Alonso do indeed materialise, will Raikkonen simply leave the sport that seems so plagued and wallowing in a sea of politics and uncertainty? Honestly, it would not surprised me if he did move away from Formula 1 should that happen. You could just place it down to his personality, the way he acts is just how he is, but if that were the case it would still not prevent him from an inconsistent set of performances and furthermore, it would surely have seen him try to get more out of a car that was still amazingly powerful in 2008. His previous history in the sport has seen him at a few teams so he is certainly not loyal to a particular team, although the wage he is on at Ferrari may definitely see him stay if he had the option. It’s just another case of ‘who knows?’ with Kimi, something I’ve wondered for a long, long time.

I’m getting on a bit now with this entry and I apologise if it’s a lot of reading but there is a lot to say I feel. I’m going to finish though with the big talking point within the sport at the moment – the FIA and FOTA ‘war’. There’s no intention to delve into the tiresome world of the politics we’ve all been subjected to of recent months, and years even. We’ve heard enough of that. All I plan to say is that loyalty is obviously being thrown about in FOTA at the moment – Force India and Williams placed their own entries alongside the conditional general entry that FOTA applied for 2010 with all the teams. Can you be loyal at the same time as confirming your teams future? I believe so but it’s obvious that the teams in FOTA do not agree with the suspension of these two teams from the organisation because of their choice to enter. It’s a shame because FOTA have the potential to present ideas to an authority that seem adamant on taking the sport into a direction no fan seems to have any support for, but with these suspensions question if any problems are happening within FOTA themselves. Will we have a breakaway series in 2010? I don’t think we will. Hopefully, within the next few years we will get Formula 1 with cheaper tickets, with the rules the team wants and what they are suggesting with their breakaway threat. But you must remember – this is the Formula One Team Association. They make their threats for a breakaway and confront the FIA where necessary but every single team wants Formula One to have a future. I feel that even with the doubts of futures for teams like Toyota and Renault, they still want the sport to survive through everything that is going on. If we do indeed get a breakaway, I will be watching but at the same time, I will know at the back of my my mind that it is not what it should be, and I wonder whether this is the case with several teams within FOTA. As loyal as they are to the organisation and their goal to bring power to the teams, you have got to wonder how loyal they are when their future within the sport is in disrepute. Max and even Bernie Ecclestone as the commercial rights holder have shown how they treat loyalty – they simply don’t have any. They have thrown tracks with a huge history in formula one out of the window like a piece of litter because of financial reasons and provided us fans with the loss of some excellent circuits for their own benefit. After further thoughts of the whole subject, and especially after these bog entries and researching deeper into the various aspects of Formula 1, I can’t help to feel that loyalty in formula 1 is something hard to achieve when the people who run it seem to have no knowledge of the word.

So… that’s it. The Loyal family has been discussed, criticised, saluted and thought about. Thanks for reading these entries, a lot of thought has gone into them and again I apologise if there’s simply too much writing. There’s a lot more I could have gone into but I feel that enough has been said for now, and who knows, maybe a part 3 in the future ahead depending on whatever happens in the sport I love so much. I hope you guys have enjoyed reading this!

#17; Saluting the Loyal Family Pt. 1

Formula 1 can be a very fickle sport at times for it’s inhabitants. For a sport that speaks volumes in racing, it’s just as much about the politics and money transpiring between the various spokespeople, principals, liars and folks behind the scenes that both build up and break down what we love about the sport; what happens out on the track. The drivers themselves are not the lovable gentlemen and characteristic playboys of the 60’s that we so often study and read about, and often remember and love to reminisce about. Concerning modern day drivers, I have been wondering a question recently to my mind about the personalities we watch driver around circuits many times a year to much enjoyment from myself and millions of others; at what price does a team become a team before an opportunity to these sportsmen? In what case do they see a team that may provide a future over an team that may provide economic providence? Does money rule over reliability to some?

It’s an unfair accusation personally to simply say that formula 1 drivers are simply there for the money; it’s simply not true. In the same way that footballers may be provided with the most ludicrous wages at times per week, and no matter how ghastly they may perform on the pitch at times, their role within their employment is the same as any of our employment roles within normal life; to turn up, get on with our job, and get rewarded for out input. Every driver has his own personality and opinions, of course, much like I have my own opinions that may vary from you the reader. The following content of this entry however is just my personal view of how I see the drivers in their position in the teams, and wondering just how loyal they are to their employers. You may think I’m right, you may think I’m wrong, that’s perfectly ok, but it’s something that has been on my mind and something that might be quite interesting to discuss. So… just how loyal are they?

The original plan was going to be to go through every driver and study their loyalty and previous history. However, after reviewing the blog, the ideas and after a bit of lovely feedback, I did decide that would be simply too much to write about. I love Formula 1 just as much as the next fan, but it seemed a tad ridiculous to study every area so thoroughly. There are new drivers to the grid, and there are drivers I don’t know so well in comparison to others, for example, look if I were to analyse Barrichello alongside Buemi – the difference in experience and history would be a huge difference! For me it seems best to simply look at the drivers who’s loyalty could come into question in the current climate of formula 1, and how the future could shape out to them. This is only the first part of this, and I hope to do another in the nearby future (this week) to conclude my thoughts and feelings and break up things a little. This, I feel, would make for a far less demanding read and also not so much content to include. I hope you agree!

A good place to start would be the world champion. Let’s face it, we have a champion who seems to be Formula 1’s marmite driver in the UK; you either love him or hate him. Lewis has a great deal to be loyal for personally concerning McLaren. The team, and Ron Dennis in particular, had a lot of faith in putting a new, inexperienced driver to the sport into the very top rank of cars in his first season. It paid off; Lewis has proved time and time again he has the skill to be at McLaren and as we all know by his second season he was World Champion, which is quite a fait. This season, it seems Lewis’ loyalty to the team that brought him into f1 and watched over his rise from karting into the big bad world of Formula 1 has bee brought into question plenty of times so far. His attitude towards the team has been very dismissive at times, and whilst frustration is bound to boil over the current world champion when he is struggling to get any pace out of a car still progressing towards the front again, it is imperative that he sticks with what he has for me personally. Of course, the ‘era of Ron’ is over and McLaren seem to be putting plenty of emphasis upon this new, honest setup they appear to be throwing at both us as fans and the FIA. Lewis is a very, very good driver, but he has a lot to learn if he wants to be remembered anything like his idol Senna; he has had plenty of challenges to overcome this season, and step by step, he can build his way to be in the top tier once more. He certainly has the skill, now he needs the head to go with it to remind him just what he has at McLaren. All that being said, McLaren haven’t been an honest team this season and have caused problems for Lewis themselves, as well as unnecessary headlines to accompany a frustrating entry into the 2009 season so you yourselves can ask where you feel blame is to place where loyalty is concerned with Lewis.

Let’s compare the top driver at McLaren (Sorry Heikki, or for Sidepodcast readers, sorry Amy!) to the top driver, for me, over at rivals  Ferrari. I have a lot of time for Felipe. When I see him in the car, and around the paddock on TV, there appears to be a great deal of hunger in his style of racing and the attitude he has towards his role at Ferrari, not to mention how impressive he was in 2008 concerning his title challenge. He also seems genuinely delighted to be at a team such as Ferrari, which I’m sure anyone would in all fairness considering the pay packet you would be picking up and the team themselves with that iconic heritage orbiting the team, but there is a genuine loyalty to succeed in that car for me in Massa. When Schumacher retired from the team after 2006, he stayed on with Ferrari for various little roles but also as a mentor for the drivers, and it seems more specifically with Felipe. This has worked wonders personally; Felipe has matured, his driving ability has increased tenfold since those days at Sauber (Ah, good comedy) and he is a big landmark on the map of Formula 1. In the future, I can easily see Felipe staying but only at the teams choice; many a time have us fans been held to accusations within the rumour bank that a certain Mr. Alonso and Vettel may be driving in the blood red of Ferrari’s colours in the nearby future  – only time will tell.

As a sport always pushing for the future, as with most recent seasons we have quite the amount of drivers with youth on their side and generally inexperienced with the sport yet apparently ready for the demands of Formula 1. I’m looking at the likes of Sebastien Bourdais, Sebastien Buemi and Nelson Piquet, who have only a single season or two’s history within the sport or, in Buemi’s case, a few races. How can we analyse the loyalty of a driver that is new to this world? Everybody has to start somewhere, even if you have criticism left right and centre, it’s your role as a driver to prove why the teams should sign you on. Formula 1 is now a very expensive world where money is constantly a centre point of discussion for several different reasons, so I question, are some of these newer drivers coming into the sport for the heritage of teams and the sport itself, for the passion of racing on the pinnacle of motorsport, or simply to ensure themselves a financial future in a job willing to embrace them? Piquet, in particular, seems to hold a very negative attitude to the way he addresses his job. He recently did an interview with F1 Racing magazine in which his responses to the way Flavio works as a boss, and how Alonso is as a teammate, showed how frustrated he was with his position in the team. You can sympathise I suppose in this aspect; he’s very much the number 2 under, as he calls it, “Flavio’s favourite son” and Flav himself gets little praise from myself. At the same time, Piquet’s performances on track have been far less of what should be expected of a team who just a few years ago were world champions, and the positive he has done is vastly overweighed by the negative in his driving whether it be his poor qualifying performances or inconsistent driving. Would he be better with another team? Possibly. He may have a chance to get out of how he feels is Alonso’s shadow and possibly get a car he feels he can get a better drive out of, but in his current role, there is obviously no loyalty to Renault. I have mentioned plenty of times myself how he expresses no real connection to the team, and if he had the chance to up his money and go, I feel he would happily take it over this seemingly secure drive.

There is plenty more to discuss about the various aspects of loyalty within the ranks of Formula 1, and possibly not just with the drivers. But for now, I shall leave it at this and move onto my next areas of discussion in my next entry, including Jenson Button’s domination of the 2009 season and what could be next for him. Again, this is all simply how the world of Formula 1 appears to me as a diehard fan, and there is no wrong or right necessarily in what I have mentioned. I do hope though that you return for the second part of this later in the week!