F1 Silverstone Race

Welcome to race day at the home of the British Grand Prix. In glorious weather this is going to be a hot day and we Brits must be a little disappointed with Lewis in fourth and Jenson a lowly fourteenth after commenting his Mclaren was undriveable during qualifying.

It was great to see Sir Stirling being interviewed by the BBC team and wonderful to see his recovery after falling down the lift shaft at his home. The fans came out in force and it is a feature of the British GP and the drivers were in awe of their presence. It was also nice to see Lewis with his Dad and that there is no animosity between them.

The new look Silverstone will add to the challenge for the drivers and this weekend Nigel Mansell is on the FIA Stewards panel in case of queries or problems. Silverstone is a wonderful spectacle and has never looked better and a compliment to Damon Hill and his development team.

After the problems in Friday pre qualifying Mclaren removed the blown diffuser as it didn't work which made it difficult for Lewis and Jenson as they didn't get the running time in the changed trim.

A lot of controversy again at Red Bull after they came with only two new front wings and after Sebastian's broke they took Mark's off and put it onto Sebastian's car. That would suggest Red Bull have made a decision to support Sebastian which has caused condemnation in the pits.

Nobody seems to be giving anyone a chance against the Red Bull's but I think Lewis will have something to say about that and obviously ring the neck of his Mclaren at his home grand prix. The season suggests the red Bull's have had reliability problems for one or both of the cars and nothing can be taken for granted.

We have an interesting start to look forward to with conflict between Sebastian and Mark on row one after the spoiler issue, needle between Fernando and Lewis after they didn't hit it off as team mates on row two and Jenson staring fourteenth. Michael had a good qualifying session and is close to Nico compared to recent results and accepting one wants to first beat your team mate that could add a little spice. Throw in Robert in the Renault and Rubens in the Williams and all is set for a great race.

The tyre blankets come off and the warm up lap starts as the fans in the grandstands are flying a mix of flags flying around in the somewhat breezy conditions. Back to the grid all cars managed the warm up lap without hitch and we are ready for the start.

Charlie Whiting has a fantastic view over the pack and off they go. What a start, Sebastian went off with a puncture, Lewis moved into P2 as he launched past Fernando who went backwards after a bad start and when the two Ferrari's came together Felipe finished up with a puncture, Jenson came up to eighth at the end of lap one and Robert up into P3.

Mark then stabilised the position between himself and Lewis up in front and what else can happen as Sebastian is now dead last after this tyre change from the soft to the premium tyre, will that play out through the race.

After ten laps it was Mark out at the front and moving two and a half seconds away from Lewis, Robert comes next but one and a half seconds off the pace and in front of Nico, Fernando, Rubens, Michael, Jenson and Kamui in ninth.

Then we had the first round of tyre stops which benefited Jenson up to fifth whilst Mark and Lewis retained their positions out front with now five seconds between them. Now we had Nico in third followed by Fernando who then received a drive through penalty for an overtaking move on Robert who subsequently had to retire with a broken diff.

Then we had a safety car period to pick up debris from the circuit and this will negate any gaps between the field. When the safety car came in Lewis set off behind Mark and as Fernando went in to serve his penalty it brought Jenson up to fourth and accepting Nico has a barge board missing Jenson could finish up on the podium, we keep our fingers crossed.

Adrian passed Michael who obviously didn't like it and he lost a front wing end plate in the process of trying to stop him. Sebastian was now up to twelfth place after he was helped by the safety car.

After his penalty Fernando was not out to take prisoners from his now lonely sixteenth and sent an instruction to the pits he didn't want any more radio communication as he was to run his own race to the finish. On new tyres he put in some stunning laps and managed the fastest lap of the day on the now rubbered in track.

Mark managed his pace out front with a five second difference between him and Lewis albeit they are trading fastest lap after fastest lap in the mid 1.32's. Sebastian is still coming but his move forward was slightly held up by Adrian in his Force India.

Rubens was still driving well and running in fifth behind Mark, Lewis, Nico and Jenson and in front of Kamui, Adrian and Sebastian. The Mclaren team then confirmed Jenson is running short on fuel and hence the reason he wasn't able to close in on Nico.

So at the chequered flag Mark had driven from pole to finish and we didn't see a great deal of either him or Lewis finishing in second and a great result after all for Mclaren. Some great drives throughout the field including Jenson going from fourteenth to fourth, Sebastian who went from last after lap one to seventh but a bad day for Ferrari who weren't in the points for all sorts of reasons.

When Christian Horner spoke to Mark on his slowing down lap after the flag Mark commented not bad for a number two driver as he just proved a point. As the drivers met prior to going onto the podium they donned their promotional hats and watches and chatted happily after a great grand prix. So it was a win for Australia, a second for Great Britain and a third for Germany albeit all the cars are built in the UK.

The winners trophy was presented by the Duke of Kent who always officiates at the British Grand Prix and Sir Stirling presented the trophy to Lewis to the sounds of tumultuous applause from the crowd, presumably for both of them.

Whilst it was little processional at the front there were some great drives behind them. Well done Mark and poetic justice after the insult of the spoiler change yesterday.

Fernando is not well pleased again after his penalty and latter puncture even to a point he was furious enough not to talk to anyone after the race. All he needs now is for Spain to lose the World Cup Final tonight and his day will be complete!

After a great British GP the drivers left with Lewis still heading the chart on 145, Jenson 133, Mark 128, Sebastian 121, Fernando 96, Nico 89, Robert 83, Felipe 67, Michael 36, Adrian 35, Rubens 29, Kamui 15, Vitantonio 12, Sebastian B 9, Vitaly 6, Jamie 3, Nico H 3 and finally Pedro 1.

In the constructors championship Mclaren left Silverstone with 278 points followed by Red Bull 249, Ferrari 163, Mercedes 125, Renault 89, Force India 47, Williams 32, BMW 16, Toro Rosso 12 and Lotus, HRT and Virgin still left without a single point.

So not a lot changed at the front of the drivers and constructors and only Mark moving ahead of Sebastian was of any consequence. The battle at the top still rages with all the teams trying to match the pace of the Red Bull's and when they get it right they are pretty unstoppable. It was only Lewis who offered spirited resistance today and one feels he is the only one who can maybe apart from Jenson.

Now we are off to Hockenheim and the German Grand Prix in two weeks and "if" Mclaren can get the blown diffuser working properly we may see them approach the speed of the Red Bull's. What is unusual is that Red Bull always seem to have something that affects one or both of their drivers and I suppose that is a blessing or it could become boring at the front of the field.

Bye for now and enjoy the great spell of weather we are experiencing.

BTCC Championship 2009

2009 BTCC Awards

By way of a change this time it is appropriate for me to mention the BTCC. This series has provided we armchair enthusiasts with thrilling racing for many a year and I have watched every race avidly. The British championship offers the thrills and excitement tin tops have provided we enthusiasts with for ever. Having been there myself I suppose I will always have an affinity with the sport.


This year has seen the emergence of Colin Turkington in his BMW 320si run by West Surrey Racing headed by Dick Bennetts. Throughout the year Colin has provided we TV viewers with some outstanding drives and none more than the last race of the season at Brands which must have been the closest and most thrilling for many a year.


I was happy to see him overcome the season long challenge from Fabrizio Giovanardi and Jason Plato who again both drove brilliantly throughout the season. I was also pleased he played down the threat from Matt Neal in the last race who was there to stop Colin winning!

So Colin won the 2009 HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship and it couldn't have gone to a nicer guy or a nicer team. In all the interviews we heard through the season he was pleasant, informative and above all completely realistic. Congratulations Colin on a job well done and more of it in 2010 would be appreciated.

Behind every good driver has to be a team dedicated to achieving ultimate glory. That team was Team RAC, the West Surrey Racing ran team headed by Dick Bennetts who were confirmed as Independents Team Trophy Champions for 2009, winning 348 points.

At the recent BMW Awards 2009 staged in Munich's Kesselhaus, Saturday 7 December Colin was also recipient of the BMW Sports Trophy title, presented to him by none other than Mario Thyssen of BMW F1 fame.

2009 saw 198 drivers from 24 countries score points towards the overall Trophy standings in 29 international racing series. As in 2007, Colin's performance earned him the trophy and we should all be proud of his achievement. The last time a BMW driver won the award was 16 years ago in the hands of Joachim Winklehock.

Colin's 6 victories in 2009 culminated in the final race of the season at Brands and any 1 of Colin, Fabrizio or Jason could have won. Whilst things didn't go as well as expected he scored enough points to take the championship.






2009 Autosport Awards
Staged for the 28th time in the Great Room at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Park Lane the event was sponsored by the 2010 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix.

Jenson obviously took centre stage after his epic drives in 2009 in becoming our second F1 World Champion in a row after Lewis's title triumph in 2008.

The second award of the night went to Colin Turkington who was rightfully named as National Driver of the Year. Saturday in Munich and now Grosvenor House on Monday, will he ever come back down to earth ready for 2010! The award was presented to Colin by none other than Tom Kristensen and our very own Andy Priaulx.

Dick and the WSR team are obviously very proud of their achievements in 2009 and so they should be. Colin & Stephen (Jelley) provided a formidable partnership and supported the team's car building efforts throughout the season. No DNF's is a quite remarkable achievement in what is a very strenuous event for the cars.

There were other notable award winners including:
Sarah Moore - Club Driver of the Year - Ginetta Junior Champion
Kris Meeke - Autosport Rookie of the Year
F1 in Schools - Autosport Pioneering and Innovation Award
Brawn BGP001 - Racing Car of the Year
Adrian Newey - John Bolster Award for Technical Excellence
Citroen C4 WRC - Rally Car of the Year
Mikko Hirvonen - International Rally Driver of the Year
Enzo Ferrari - Gregory Grant Award
Ron Dennis - Gregory Grant Award for Lifetime Achievement
Jenson Button - British Competition Driver of the Year
and finally and the highlight of the evening
Dean Smith - Mclaren Autosport BRDC Award Winner

Congratulations to all all the drivers, teams and marshalls during 2009 and we look forward to it all starting again 2010.

Formula 1 2009

The 2009 Formula 1 season started in Australia as has been the norm over past years, however, controversy wasn't far away. Liegate started the problems as Mclaren were accused of lying to the stewards and Lewis was eventually banned from the results and Mclaren disgraced.

Then the Diffuser issue had to go to the world council to confirm whether the teams using the double diffuser were actually legal. Eventually the fitment was deemed legal so the teams that adopted it from the start obviously retained their edge. So, this gave teams like Red Bull, Mclaren and Ferrari on the back foot.

However, no-one can take away the fairy tail developing at Brawn. After a critical winter after Honda's retirement from the sport the Brawn team didn't even exist. Out of the ashes came the team rebadged with Ross Brawn's name above the door and the fairy tale began. Jenson and Rubens had remained loyal through the winter and the rest is history.

A drivers World Champion and consecutive British champions on the back of Lewis last year and of course the Constructors Championship. Well done to all at Brawn for a fantastic team effort.

Then came a major storm as FOTA came into conflict with the FIA. The threat was to create a breakaway championship and I cannot report any further about that as I am too close to the sport. Fortunately for us all the threat went away and a new Concorde Agreement signed to the relief of all concerned.

Then came a report that Renault had instructed one of its drivers to crash at the Singapore GP in 2008 allowing its other driver to win the race. After a major storm 2 of Renault's top men were banned from the sport, one for life and the other for 5 years.

Once again the sport was thrown into disarray but it soon went away as there were other issues developing in the background.

Max had decided he wasn't to continue as President of the FIA and 2 men came to the fore. Jean Todt and Ari Vatanen went head to head but Jean Todt won the day and took up his position straight away.

There were some great drives on the circuit and Jenson proved overtaking is possible all season long. Mclaren started way behind but Lewis scored more points than anyone else in the second part of the season. The team had advanced 2.3ish seconds from the beginning of the season and stand alone at the front.

Red Bull confirmed their class and were kneck and kneck with Brawn all the way through. Surely one of their drivers will win the championship at some point. Sebastian Vettel, having age on his side may be the one to achieve it.

Rosberg drove brilliantly all year showing Williams are not far away. New stars emerged in Jamie Alguersauri, Adrian Sutil and in the latter stages Kamui Kobayashi starred and hopefully we will see him on the grid in 2010.

On the team from Force India confirmed they are now in the mix and whilst I appreciate Fizzi's desire to drive a Ferrari one has to say it hasn't done his career any good at all and he would have been better staying with Force India.

We all welcome the new teams coming in for the 2010 season and it will be great to see the name Lotus back on an F1 grid. Let us also hope we see BMW back in whatever guise after the manufacturers confirmation it is pulling out at the end of the season.

The driver line up has still not been confirmed with only a few placings known. Fernando is off to Ferrari to join Massa on his return. Red Bull is retaining its very strong 2009 line up, Jenson has not secured his drive yet with Brawn but it is felt to be very close. The talk is that Rubens will swap with Nico but not confirmed as yet.

The rest will I have no doubt become known fairly shortly and once known I will publish it on the blog.

So by the time we came to the last race the past problems of the season gone had settled down and hopefully we can all enjoy a better start in 2010, concentrating on Motor Racing and leave the politics behind.

I will talk again soon.