Fun F1

A Bridgestone engineering was seen wearing protective clothing and a gas mask in the paddock at Monza last weekend. This has raised speculation that Bridestone may be spraying a chemical agent on their tyres to increase performance. Such a practice is illegal under the F1 technical regulations.

The Bridgestone employee claimed he was wearing the overalls and mask to protect from small rubber particles that are released into the air when the tyres are cut for post-race inspection. The FIA has accepted this explanation and is not investigating the matter any further.

Michelin however are still said to be unhappy. They claim this type of protective clothing is not needed for tyre deconstruction and would only be required in the case of fumes or a toxic by-products (ie. from spraying the tyres).

A photo has surfaced of the Bridgestone engineer eating yoghurt (or ice cream), resulting in many jokes about the FIA ruling that “Bridgestone was not found to have had a performance advantage by applying yoghurt to their tyres.”

Bridgestone’s yoghurt man.

Michael Schumacher’s manager Willi Weber believes Fernando Alonso should apologise to Michael over recent comments he made about Schumacher being “the most unsporting driver in the history of F1.” I for one found Fernando’s comments hilarous. Alonso is simply venting his frustrations regarding the stewards at Monza treating him unfairly, but still managed a classic line with:

Zidane retired with more glory than Schumacher.

Willi, I think you’ll be waiting a long time for that apology.. probably as long as Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve will wait for their apology..

Very interesting quote from Flavio Briatore here in Fazzetta dello Sport (made recently in regard to Michael Schumacher retiring):

The last stars I saw in Formula One were (Ayrton) Senna and, even if he won only one world championship, Jacques Villeneuve. If we want, we could also add (Juan Pablo) Montoya.

He went on to say both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso won’t be missed in the same way Ayrton Senna was..

Well, Toyota won’t really decide the outcome of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, but their performance in the Italian Grand Prix may give an indication as to what we can expect for the rest of the season..

At the start of the season it looked like Ferrari were going to have a similar season to 2005, but then, all of a sudden, they started to fight back. They went from average pace to being the pace-setters. Toyota meanwhile, went from absolutely pathetic performances to regularly finishing in the points.

The link? Bridgestone tyres.

The most interesting part of the Monza Grand Prix is that Toyota were well off the pace. It seems Michelin have finally reacted to Bridgestone’s attack on the championship. To confirm that Bridgestone were not as quick as Michelin in Monza, look how Williams qualified in the previous grand prixs..

If it wasn’t for Michelin looking stronger in Monza, Michael Schumacher would have walked to his 8th Formula One World Championship without even breaking a sweat. Now, thankfully, it seems we’re going to be in for a fantastic fight to the end!

When Kimi Raikkonen goes to Ferrari next year he’ll be filling some big shoes. Well, not that big. Probably size 9 or 10 but….

Ok, seriously, Kimi is going to face his biggest challenge next year. At McLaren there was never much pressure on him. At Ferrari he will feel the pressure not only from the whole of Italy, but from the majority of F1 fans around the world.

Was going to Ferrari a good move? From a financial point of view, certainly. Although this wouldn’t be the motivating factor as he’d get some good coin wherever he went. I personally think he’s going to find it hard at Ferrari. Sure, he’s going to have the advantage that they have a kick arse car and a great relationship with Bridgestone, but there is no doubt the team will take a little while to “warm up” without Michael Schumacher around.

A big part of winning in F1 is managing relationship. This is where Michael Schumacher excelled. He found the people he worked with best (Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne etc) and formed a bond so strong that he even took them to another team with him. Does Kimi have that same bond with anyone?

The importance of a special bond can’t be stressed. I mean, look at the success Jacques Villeneuve had with Jock Clear at first, but then when distance grew toward the end of his career the performance dropped..

The even bigger question for next year is tyres. With all the cars on the same control tyre next year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the difference between Ferrari, McLaren and Renault even smaller.

And the million dollar question is, if you’re a Kimi/McLaren supporter, who do you support next year!?