{"id":20144,"date":"2014-07-07T18:51:29","date_gmt":"2014-07-07T17:51:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/issue_content\/am-i-alone-in-anticipating-the-2010-grand-prix-sea\/"},"modified":"2020-11-24T10:40:36","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T10:40:36","slug":"am-i-alone-in-anticipating-the-2010-grand-prix-sea","status":"publish","type":"issue_content","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/archive\/article\/april-2010\/50\/am-i-alone-in-anticipating-the-2010-grand-prix-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Am I alone in anticipating the 2010 Grand Prix season with more relish than for many a year?’"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Nigel Roebuck<\/strong><\/p>\n

Apparently not. Although Formula 1 history shows it is invariably better to travel than to arrive, there could \u2013 should \u2013 be four ultra-competitive teams this year. And although we may have lost Kimi R\u00e4ikk\u00f6nen, at least temporarily, we have picked up the gentleman who dominated an entire generation of Grand Prix racing, and now feels he\u2019d like to do it all over again.<\/p>\n

Say what you like about Michael Schumacher \u2013 and I\u2019ve said plenty in my time \u2013 the fact is that for a dozen years, following the retirement of Alain Prost and the death of Ayrton Senna, he was the driver against whom all others were measured. And in the short term at least, even if Michael proves to be not quite the force he was, that will not change.<\/p>\n

Ageism \u2013 the only \u2018ism\u2019 tolerated in the contemporary age \u2013 is alive and well in F1, as everywhere else, and there are plenty who believe that, at 41, Schumacher cannot be the driver he was. Frankly, I think that nonsense. Michael was always Olympian fit \u2013 more so than any of his rivals \u2013 and in three years of retirement he has not let that go. So long as his neck injury is behind him, I\u2019ll warrant that no one on the grid in Bahrain will be in better shape.<\/p>\n

A different matter is recovery time. Many a driver of my acquaintance has conceded that as the years roll by it takes \u2013 like jet lag \u2013 a little longer to get over the strains of a Grand Prix weekend than it did. There are 19 races this year (two more than in \u201909), and the schedule includes four double-headers: Melbourne\/Sepang, Barcelona\/Monaco, Hockenheim\/Budapest and, to round the season off, Interlagos\/Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n

However, even if Schumacher\u2019s stamina should prove a little less than that of a driver half his age, consider the weapons at his disposal simply not available to many of his rivals, most notably that unmatched experience. Can there be a scenario in Grand Prix racing which Michael has not faced, and dealt with?<\/p>\n

What fascinates me most about his return is that he will face greater opposition than he ever knew in the past. It was indeed a brief shining moment when he competed against Senna and Prost, but after 1994, while others occasionally bothered him a little, the only true opposition came from Mika H\u00e4kkinen and, in the last years, Fernando Alonso.<\/p>\n

Alonso has always been rightly proud that his two World Championships to date, in 2005 and \u201906, were won in competition with Schumacher, and although he dislikes him personally, we can believe him when he says that he is delighted to see Michael back. Fernando likes his coffee strong.<\/p>\n

Jackie Stewart has pointed out that the overall standard in F1 at the moment is higher than for a very long time, and Schumacher will inevitably have a target on his back \u2013 such as Lewis Hamilton<\/a> and Sebastian Vettel have never competed against him, and they can\u2019t wait to take him on. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some very strong partnerships this year, aren\u2019t there?\u201d says Martin Brundle. \u201cJesus! Schumacher\/Rosberg, Alonso\/Massa, Hamilton\/Button, Vettel\/Webber\u2026 I\u2019m massively excited about the coming season \u2013 I think an incredible story is coming our way.<\/p>\n

*******<\/p>\n

“Let\u2019s be blunt: if you were starting an F1 team, there are three guys on the \u2018must-have\u2019 list, aren\u2019t there? You\u2019d need to have one of them: Vettel, Hamilton, Alonso. That\u2019s what I thought a few months ago \u2013 and now you put Michael Schumacher into the mix\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at all the scandals we\u2019ve had in the recent past, and how depressing F1 got at times, with the endless rowing between Max [Mosley] and FOTA\u2026 Yet now, as I start year 14 as a commentator, I can\u2019t remember when I\u2019ve ever been more excited about a season ahead. I mean, what is going to happen next? Bernie must be sitting there, believing he can do no wrong \u2013 thinking that, whatever happens, F1 can weather the storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of the manufacturers have legged it, and so now you\u2019ve got the adventurous entrepreneurs taking their places. When the tobacco companies went, the banks arrived. When the banks go, the entrepreneurs arrive. It\u2019s as if F1 keeps re-inventing itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is a fact that many expect effectively a two-tier F1 in 2010, with the new teams \u2013 all powered by Cosworth \u2013 unable to get on terms with the establishment. Brundle isn\u2019t so sure, believing that at least one of them will cause a surprise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Cosworth will have some grunt \u2013 although whether or not it\u2019s reliable is a different thing \u2013 and some of them will get their chassis right. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll be an embarrassment, I really don\u2019t. Some people are saying they\u2019ll be five seconds adrift \u2013 they won\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cA guy said something recently that made me angry \u2013 he said, \u2018I suppose you\u2019ll be taking the piss out of these new teams\u2026\u2019 I said, \u2018I don\u2019t do that \u2013 OK, if Toyota spend \u00a3400 million a year and don\u2019t win anything I\u2019ll refer to it, but I don\u2019t take the piss out of people.\u2019 On the contrary, I think the new teams need a bit of leeway, a bit of support \u2013 and it\u2019s the same with Cosworth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThink about it: Cosworth have got to get a lot of motors together, for five teams \u2013 and they\u2019re starting off with four \u2018flyaway\u2019 races. The logistics of that are terrifying. So I think we\u2019re going to have to turn a blind eye occasionally, support them, be impressed by what they achieve \u2013 and then, if they\u2019re not showing improvement by mid-to-late season, we\u2019re going to think, \u2018You know what? They\u2019re not going to cut it\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to walk onto the grid in Bahrain, and if there are 26 cars there I\u2019m going to be a very happy man, because the human story of these guys is \u2013 to me, anyway \u2013 so much more interesting than Toyota or BMW. I don\u2019t think I ever did a story on either of those teams \u2013 they just didn\u2019t inspire me at all. That\u2019s not saying anything against any particular person \u2013 it was just that there was nothing whatever inspirational about Toyota going F1. Some of these new teams, though\u2026 it\u2019s going to be \u2018Calamity Jane\u2019 in some cases, I would think, but it\u2019s going to be a great human story. Maybe it will be division one and division two at the end of the race, but I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if a lot of the new teams outperform their budgets, and that\u2019s good news \u2013 David and Goliath\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Bernie Ecclestone has said he has doubts that all the new teams will make it to Bahrain for the first race, but Lotus and Virgin may be regarded as certainties, and it will be fascinating to see what such as Trulli, Kovalainen and Glock make of their new, financially reduced circumstances.<\/p>\n

Ecclestone also reckons that Vettel will win the 2010 World Championship for Red Bull, and there is little doubt that overall Adrian Newey\u2019s RB5 was the quickest car of 2009. Unfortunately for Sebastian, though, attempts by the team to organise Mercedes power for \u201910 failed, and he and Mark Webber continue with Renault engines, good but not the best.<\/p>\n

Amid the flurry of driver changes elsewhere, it has been a quiet winter for Red Bull, the only team of potential championship-winning status which is unchanged for the new season. That stability \u2013 familiarity \u2013 could be worth a lot.<\/p>\n

As I write, though, the new Red Bull has yet to run, the team having calmly skipped the opening test at Valencia, where the pace was set \u2013 apparently \u2013 by Ferrari. I say \u2018apparently\u2019 because this year, more than ever, testing times are not something by which you should set your watch. Refuelling is banned as of now, so educated guesswork is the only guide to who was using how much fuel when a time was set. On the strength of Valencia, however, Ferrari and McLaren, each keen to atone for a disappointing 2009, appear to be in fine shape.<\/p>\n

From the moment I first heard of contact between Ferrari and Alonso, two years ago, it seemed to me an exquisite match: Fernando, surely, is one of those people \u2013 like Clay Regazzoni, like Gilles Villeneuve \u2013 put on earth to drive for Ferrari.<\/p>\n

Brundle agrees that Alonso is the most complete driver in F1. \u201cI know Fernando can be a difficult character sometimes, but boy, does he deliver! I view him as a mercenary \u2013 he\u2019s passing through F1, and he\u2019ll take from it everything he needs, and then disappear. He\u2019s got his circle of management and friends around him, and I don\u2019t blame him for that.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting all that aside, however, Alonso is a great racing driver, of that there\u2019s no doubt at all. When he was at Renault, first time round, he had a bizarre driving style, coping with the car\u2019s terminal understeer, and I began to think that was his natural style. I remember wondering how ever he would get on in a McLaren \u2013 and he went there, and drove in a completely different way. The bizarre style in the Renault was simply him adapting to what the car needed \u2013 it wasn\u2019t his natural style at all, but he could produce it if he had to. He can adapt to whatever he has to drive, and that is a skill that\u2019s a step above the others. He\u2019s awesome.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhenever I\u2019ve interviewed Alonso, I\u2019ve always felt there was a sort of glass wall between us, and at first I thought that was a bit disrespectful. It\u2019s a feeling of, \u2018Will you make any difference to my career? No, so I\u2019ll do whatever it is I have to do with you, but if it\u2019s not affecting my salary or the stopwatch, then don\u2019t expect any more from me.\u2019 And you know what? He\u2019s absolutely right!<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for Massa, well, he impresses me enormously, because he\u2019s just kept polishing his act and raising his game when he had to. I mean, he had much the upper hand over Kimi, didn\u2019t he? Do I think Felipe is a Senna or a Schumacher? No, I don\u2019t, but I do think he\u2019s a seriously good Grand Prix driver, who has improved and improved. It seems pretty clear there are no after-effects from the accident.\u201d<\/p>\n

An immensely strong driver pairing at Ferrari, then, and the same is true of McLaren. Like everyone else, I was more than surprised when Jenson Button announced his decision not to re-sign with Brawn\/Mercedes, but I\u2019m not one of those who believes he will be completely shaded by Lewis Hamilton. Very well, you might expect Lewis to have it on sheer pace, particularly over one lap, but in the race it might sometimes be a very different matter. With no more refuelling, it will be essential, particularly in the early laps of a Grand Prix, to be relatively kind to your tyres, at which the Prost-like Button is historically rather more adept than Hamilton. That said, if the MP4-25 sometimes requires a bit of bullying, you would look to Lewis to get more out of it than Jenson.<\/p>\n

Brundle sees it in more clear-cut terms. \u201cThere\u2019s only going to be one winner there, isn\u2019t there? And one loser. I really don\u2019t understand why Jenson opted to leave Ross Brawn for McLaren \u2013 but then I think his thought processes in the past have sometimes been questionable. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt all depends on how it plays out, doesn\u2019t it? If it turns out that the cars need nurse-maiding a bit through the race, particularly with regard to tyres, Jenson will look very good. But if the cars need manhandling through various stages of oversteer\/understeer imbalance, I think Lewis will have him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at all the multiple World Champions \u2013 Schumacher, Senna, Prost, Lauda \u2013 they\u2019ve always owned the team, haven\u2019t they? They had a team inwardly focused 100 per cent on them, and I\u2019d have thought Jenson had a chance to do that at Brawn\/Mercedes. But he walked away from it \u2013 and into the lion\u2019s den.\u201d<\/p>\n

So he did, and, whatever else, it was not for the money, McLaren\u2019s offer being somewhat less than the final one made by Brawn. People have said that Button was bowled over by the McLaren Technology Centre, not least by the lobby area, with its long line of cars that have taken people to the World Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, sure,\u201d Martin responded, \u201cbut the MTC\u2019s lobby area won\u2019t give you one point of downforce or one horsepower. Don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I\u2019m a former McLaren driver and extremely proud of it. I remain impressed to this day by the expertise of McLaren. But I can see the sales process \u2013 I can hear the words\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cTime will tell. We don\u2019t need to second-guess what\u2019s going to happen \u2013 but somebody\u2019s going to get burned, and at this point I\u2019d have thought it was going to be Jenson.\u201d<\/p>\n

For much of last year the word was that it would be Nico Rosberg at McLaren in 2010, replacing Kovalainen, but in fact it was some time ago planned that he would take Rubens Barrichello\u2019s place at Brawn\/Mercedes as team-mate to Button. Once Jenson had made other arrangements, Nico looked set to be de facto number one, perhaps with Nick Heidfeld as his team-mate. The return of M Schumacher necessarily changes that, although Ross insists that the two will have identical equipment, and that there will be none of the team orders for which Michael had such a taste in his Benetton and Ferrari years.<\/p>\n

\u201cNico\u2019s a great little driver,\u201d said Brundle, \u201cand I said that to Ross. I really enjoy watching him race. Nice kid, too. The big question is: has he had it too comfortable? Actually, I fancy him fighting his way through it.<\/p>\n

\u201cA guy we haven\u2019t talked about yet is [Robert] Kubica and I must say I was amazed, when the future of Renault was up in the air, that someone didn\u2019t step in and grab him. I think Nico and Robert would have been an awesome partnership \u2013 and Nico and Michael\u2026 that\u2019ll do, won\u2019t it? I\u2019d have that\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Difficult to argue, really.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":753,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"tags":[34586,34090,167,35145,34089,229,34621,34088,34098,115462,198,34635,34101,34092,35731,35085,34619,34629,34008,35729,35885,227,34640,34415,115727,115466,228],"issue_decade":[121600],"issue_year":[121601],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/20144"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/issue_content"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/753"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20144"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/20144\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":711189,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_content\/20144\/revisions\/711189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20144"},{"taxonomy":"issue_decade","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_decade?post=20144"},{"taxonomy":"issue_year","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/issue_year?post=20144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}