Alvin's Formula One Blog

Re-published from Malaysian Insider by Justin Ong Sept 27 — Motorsports costs money . All sports, to some degree, cost money but more to the point, motorsports costs a lot of money. So much money that only the rich or very talented ever get to participate here in Malaysia. First there’s the vehicle itself, but rather than being the bulk of your investment, it is merely the gaping hole into which you would proceed to pour all your money into. Modifications can and often do cost more than the car itself. Or even several times the cost of the car. Once it’s up and running, you need more money to keep it going. Maintenance can be frightening, as things which last years on a normal car regularly run only two or three events, not to mention racing parts are often a magnitude more expensive than standard items. Beyond parts, you’ll also need a crew to keep the vehicle running. That’s money, too. For the average guy thinking of trying to self-finance his own motorsport career, let me tel...

McLaren are back ! Well, at least half of McLaren. Lewis Hamilton won the race from lights to finish in formidable form and without KERS. His start was impeccable and his lead was never threatened even when his KERS malfunctioned and with the numerous on track incidents with the safety car. He started well off the line, controlling the pace after that being chased by Vettel and Rosberg. Rosberg also made a great start, overtaking Vettel into the first turn. Both Vettel and Rosberg pressured Lewis but Lewis kept his cool. Unfortunately, both Vettel and Rosberg suffered in the race which cost them a place on the podium. Kovalainnen again disappoints. Not only did he start the race in tenth but he virtually disappeared fir the whole race. Not much coverage was on him and nobody talked about him in the live online blogs/forum. Rosberg had a moment when exiting the pits at his first stop and crossed the white line thereby incurring a drive through penalty and Vettel damaged his car, first ...

Lewis Hamilton took pole position for the 2nd Singapore GP tonight with a blazing lap of 1.47.891 while Rubens Barrichello crashed into the barriers red-stopping the qualifying session with 30 seconds to go. Lewis was fast all night although it was possible that either Vettel for Rosberg could have beaten him to pole without the red flag. It could have been a close fight with the pole sitter decided after the chequered flag had fallen as has happened many times before, which would have made it that much more exciting. In fact, Vettel was on fire on that last lap that Rubens crashed with a purple sector 1. But then again Lewis could have been unbeatable as his car was rebuilt overnight after some electrical problems and according to Lewis the car was fantastic to drive and he could have gone quicker if need be. But that is racing and it does look like the start later could be an interesting one. Fuel weights could play a role later. We'll see. The Brawns were quite a disappointmen...

It seems we were wrong about the government wasting our money on an F1 team in next years' championship. Or are we? A news report, and this was published in Singapore not in Malaysia (I can't seem to find anything reported in the Malaysian press except by Paul Tan), says that the Malaysian government will not be funding the team. The arrangement is as follows: The Malaysian Government has no equity directly or indirectly in the team, and the team will be funded by a group of companies including Litespeed ( which submitted an application to join Formula 1 next year under the name Team Lotus ), Naza, and the Tune Group, run by Tony Fernandes, current team principal. Petronas, a very familiar name in Formula 1 (BMW Sauber’s sponsor), is expected to join the team via its Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (a Petronas university in Malaysia), which will collaborate with the team together with UTM (University Teknologi Malaysia – a state owned university) to help develop future Malaysian...

Well, the horse has spoken from the mouth . Dr Mario Theissen has confirmed that if and when the new Sauber team gets on the grid next year, they will be using Ferrari engines. And should the team make the grid, their 2010 challenger will be equipped with Ferrari engines. "It will run a Ferrari power-train," Theissen told Autosport. Shame no more BMW engines on the grid. And I had so high expectations for my favorite car brand. Well, back to WTCC.

Re-published from Malaysian Insider SEPT 20 — Alex Yoong. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see the name? If you’re anything like the average Malaysian, Yoong’s name will have become practically synonymous with an internationally broadcast debacle. Which is a bit of a shame, really. Although Yoong did not make a very strong case for himself in that, the pinnacle of motor racing, he’s actually quite a handy racer. His numerous wins in touring cars are testament enough to his skill and talent behind the wheel. Make no mistake, Yoong was good. Just not good enough for F1. I admit I was one of those baying for blood after I watched a struggling Yoong — running sixth in a Melbourne GP that looked more demolition derby than Formula One — meekly make way for seventh place Mika Salo, surrendering without a fight what would have been the sole championship point of his career. That was simply too much. From then on, Yoong’s Formula One career was one embarrassment a...

It seems that the Renault scandal decision was already decided before the WMSC hearing took place. Discussions were made behind closed doors and a decision was made to keep Renault in the championship in the interest of having more teams on the grid and keeping the money making machine rolling. According to Mohammed ben Sulayem, FIA vice-president and United Arab Emirates' automobile club president, "everybody" wanted Renault to stay in the sport. Everyone with something to gain, that is. According to him, Abu Dhabi made sizable investments into the Abu Dhabi race and they wanted Renault as part of the show. Therefore, Renault couldn't be thrown out but instead they'll throw out justice and rule of law. "We are not here to hang teams, we did our negotiations before and everybody is happy with the result. "Protecting the investments Abu Dhabi has made into Formula One is my duty; it is a big show and it needs teams. But this is the pinnacle of motorsport...

Re-published from The Sun I AM not going to be a wet blanket, in prematurely criticising the government’s plan to enter Formula One. The timing – in the midst of the global financial crisis – is probably questionable as this will cost us at least RM1 billion. The bulk of this money comes from national carmaker Proton, which in effect means the people are funding it. There is a theory that the Finance Ministry will approve more special draws to help fund this venture. However, in the long run, this may be one of our best investments; one of the best things Malaysia could have done in putting itself on the map. In terms of branding we are exposed 18 times a year – the number of races – to a global television audience of around 600 million. Let’s not forget the potential tie-ups, endorsements and sponsorship deals which are a usual spin-off of a massive agreement such as this. It also creates jobs and other opportunities through massive R&D invest...

I say it again, the FIA is useless, fucking useless. The inconsistencies in their regulations and the way they enforce it is really making me sick to the core. I'm of course talking about the latest round of crap policing in the wake of the Nelson Piquet Jr/Renault race fixing scandal of the 2008 Singapore GP. The excuse given by FIA president Max Mosley is so stupid it beggars belief. Even a non F1 person would find it hard to believe such stupid excuses given by Max. He said: "The penalty that we have imposed is the harshest one we can inflict, which is disqualification, and it is complete expulsion from the sport," Mosley said. "However, because Renault demonstrated that they had absolutely no moral responsibility for what took place – that is to say Renault F1 the team did not know and still less did the company have any responsibility – it would be wrong in the circumstances to impose an immediate penalty. I think we've demonstrated that w...

What did I tell you? I'm somehow not surprised that they wouldn't be thrown out of the championship or receive a heavier penalty. What did we expect? Their team name does not spell McLaren. It seems to me that Flavio got out just in time and Max got his going away present. Perhaps losing BMW and the threat of Toyota leaving was just too much of a drain on the sport. Seems that the rules can be bent for some people for not for others. Makes me sick just thinking about it. You can see how short this post is as I'm lost for words.

The WMSC has unveiled the provisional calendar for the 2010 World Championship and it has 19 races on it with Canada still awaiting approval. I do hope Canada is confirmed soon. So far it looks good with Korea the newest track there. Formula One 2010 calendar Mar 14 - Bahrain (Sakhir) Mar 28 - Australia (Melbourne, starting at 1700 local time) Apr 4 - Malaysia (Sepang, starting at 1600 local time) Apr 18 - China (Shanghai) May 9 - Spain (Barcelona) May 23 - Monaco (Monte Carlo) May 30 - Turkey (Istanbul) Jun 13 - Canada (Montreal, provisional) Jun 27 - Europe (Valencia) Jul 11 - Great Britain (Donington Park) Jul 25 - Germany (Hockenheim) Aug 1 - Hungary (Budapest) Aug 29 - Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps) Sep 12 - Italy (Monza) Sep 26 - Singapore (starting at 2000 local time) Oct 3 - Japan (Suzuka) Oct 17 - South Korea (Yongam) Oct 31 - Abu Dhabi (Yas Marina, starting at 1700 local time) Nov 14 - Brazil (Interlagos)

A lot of people are speculating about this issue, whether the Crashgate incident would have affected the 2008 championship. Of course Massa fans now are crying foul and speculating left, right and centre how Lewis didn't deserve the title and how Massa should have won it and now the proof is there with Crashgate. They will continue to whine about it with or without Crashgate anyway. The way I look at it is that it didn't make a difference. As Lewis has stressed, he deserved the title and fought hard for it. He was hampered a few times by the rules but he still won anyway. There are a few things that could have happened with Crashgate: There were a few more races after Singapore, even if Massa won there Lewis could still win the other races or Massa could have screwed up and Lewis would still have been champion. Or Massa could have won the other races and become champion outright but he didn't. It still came down to the wire in Brazil. During the Singapore race, Massa/Ferra...

Lewis is at it again. The last time he started by fighting with Alonso over who was better, at the hotel, on the road and almost everywhere else. They were both trumped by Mika in the end. Then Lewis tried it again with Steve McQueen. Now, he's arguing with Mika over whose idea it was to come out with the Johnny Walker Join The Pact. If you don't believe me, watch the video here . Picture courtesy of emercedes.com

What rubbish is this? Just announced the setting up of the team with his name as Team Principal then now saying he'll be TP for a few races. Just to taste the glamour of being TP is it? Able to hang around with Vijay and Martin on the pitwall for a few races. My advice is don't even bother. Let somebody like Gascoyne run the show from the start and get things moving. Also, they announced the car will be ready by January and testing in February. 1 month of testing with last years' car is bad enough as we've seen before but this is suicide. I'm sorry to berate the team so much but I can just see their downfall. I just can't stand the wastefull lifestyle that these people lead. If they waste their money it's ok but this is our money. What the hell?

Reports from German press are speculating that the new owners of BMW Sauber might be using Ferrari engines and transmissions when they line up on the grid next year. The entry is almost a certainty on then grid as the team has been sold for EUR80 million to Qadbak Investments and all the infrastructure is already in place. I'm just sad to see no BMW engines will be on the grid next year. I'm such a fan of BMW (the car) and was hoping they'd be able to show their engineering prowess there but F1 is such that the whole has to be more the equal sum of its parts to succeed. Enter the Malaysian F1 team....sigh.

It's official, Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds have stepped down from their positions at Renault in the middle of all this crashgate fiasco. Or were they asked to leave by Carlos Ghosn the boss of Renault? Could be either way. At the very least, Max got his going away present, that is to see another team boss axed. I'm not sure though whether this has any bearing on the on going trial for cheating by Renault F1. Renault has decided not to contest the charge which leads one to believe that they admitted to cheating and voluntarily causing the crash. A statement from the team read: "The ING Renault F1 Team will not dispute the recent allegations made by the FIA concerning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The radio transcripts were also released but did not show much. It does sound genuine but then again, there's always 2 sides to every story. If you were going to cheat, you wouldn't want to make it look like you were cheating right? It seems that in this case, anythi...

Oh My God ! That was my first reaction when I heard rumours about Malaysia wanting to have a F1 team. I fainted when the news came true . This is the last thing that we need. There are so many reasons why we shouldn't just jump into it like this. I am so pissed off that these people actually thought about it. The first and most important reason that we shouldn't jump into this is because it was thought up, run by and will controlled by politicians. Like most Malaysian sports, it will be fucked up because these people are in charge. Secondly, we have no racing history and knowledge to speak of. There are not that many Malaysians trained and with experience in motorsports of any level. We don't even have a proper grassroots program. The absence of such a program speaks volumes of the government's commitment to motorsports. What makes them think they can just create a F1 entry and become successful at it? Thirdly, the Malaysian government's attitude is not like other c...

What can I say? It was shaping up to be a great race and in a way it was. Lewis was on pole, Sutil in the Force India was P2, even Liuzzi was up there in 7th. A lot of cars were on a one stopper which should have mixed up the strategies. For the first time in years, the start of the Italian GP at Monza did not have a first turn smash up . That first turn is notoriuosly tight and is at the end of a long straight. Either there is a mash up there or people would be all over the place cutting corners. Surprisingly, everybody got through safely. The only close call was when a few cars touched here and there causing damage to front wings like Kubica. The worth mention was Brawn GP and Ross Brawn. A brilliant strategy from Ross, with both his drivers starting from 6th and 7th but with a one stopper and the pace that they had, they managed to win the race with a 1-2. The thing that wrecked my weekend was when after chasing down Button from 4s to 1.2s, Lewis was pushing too hard and crashed h...

That was one of the tightest qualifying ever. It was bright and sunny in Monza, a perfect day for getting the tyres up to temperature and pushing the car through Parabolica. McLaren did an excellent strategy and both cars got into the groove pretty easily and quickly in every session. Q3 was the most interesting as Lewis did a fast 2 lap run on the soft tyres to make sure he stayed near the top and then with a few minutes remaining changed to the harder tyres for the banzai lap that got him the pole from Sutil. He was surprised though at his pace. And talking about Sutil, what a performance. He was on fire the whole day and would have gotten pole if not for a small mistake in the last lap. In fact, the situation tells us a few facts about the current balance of power. It seems that Force Indis has found the sweet spot on their car since Spa. It has performed incredibly fast and well balanced. Not only was Sutil fast without KERS (a he managed to stay about 2 tenths apart from Lewis)...

It seems now that Crashgate is confirmed as leaked transcript of the investigation interview with Piquet is available and reported widely. It's only a question of who is the culprit - was it Piquet or Flavio that suggested/instructed the crash. Either was, a deliberate crash was orchestrated and cheating happened at the 2008 Singapore GP. Alonso has denied any knowledge of the planned crash, saying he was "shocked" to learn of this. Funny thing is, according to Piquet Alonso was put on an aggressive strategy where he would pit on lap 12 because the crash would happen on lap 13/14. This is what Piquet said: "The key to this strategy resided in the fact that the near-knowledge that the safety car would be deployed in lap thirteen/fourteen allowed the Team to start Mr. Alonso's car with an aggressive fuel strategy using a light car containing enough fuel to arrive at lap twelve, but not much more. I wonder why didn't Alonso question that strategy call? Didn...

Well part 2 of this epic battle could start again when Ferrari reveal the worst kept secret in F1. I'm inclined to believe and have accepted the fact that Alonso will be moving to Ferrari soon. It could be next year or the year after that but the fact is he will move there. It has got closer now that Santander is officially signing with Ferrari . With Renault now accused of race fixing, this move would be a good idea. Provided of course, Alonso doesn't get caught up with the whole sorry mess as he himself has denied it . What is interesting is that Lewis is actually looking forward to the battle . With Alonso in a Ferarri, it would present a huge challenge to him and he likes challenges. Somehow, I would like to see it too. Yes Alonso is good and Ferrari are strong. But the stronger they are, the harder they fall. Go Lewis.

This is about Crashgate again. Beware though as the reports are currently unsubstantiated but it gets us drooling at the prospect, doesn't it? These "reports" are now saying that : Piquet Jnr is alleged to be claiming that he was told to deliberately crash his car at Turn 17 on either the 13th or 14 lap of the race. The exact timing of the incident was important because it would need to happen after Fernando Alonso hade made his pit-stop, while the location was vital because at Turn 17 there isn't a crane with which cars can be lifted to safety. In other words, the Safety Car would have to be deployed. For their part, while Briatore and Symonds admit that a meeting did take place, they allege that it was Piquet Jnr who came up with the cunning plan. So the finger pointing has started. What is interesting is and this is if the reports are true, whatever the outcome and whoever is responsible, Renault did commit a crime. They did plan to cheat and they did cheat ...

What is it with the teams suddenly especially Ferrari wanting 3 cars per team for next season? This talk about it has been going on for some time. I know historically, F1 has run 3 car teams because of a shortage of participating teams therefore not enough cars to make an exciting race. But at the moment, there are more than enough cars on the grid and next year there will be 3 more new teams adding clutter to the grid. Why should 3 car teams be introduced? Why would we want 39 cars on the track at any one time? That's too many cars for my taste. 26 next year is fine. Or is it because Luca di Montezemolo wants Schumacher to race again? Because Ferrari sucked hard this year? And I don't understand why is McLaren supporting the idea? In fact, wouldn't 3 cars increase the cost when everybody is talking and has implemented measures to reduce cost?

McLaren has finally revealed their new supercar for the road. It is called the MP4-12C, the naming convention follows their F1 cars. It seems that this car is slotted between their race winning MP4-12 and the world championship winning MP4-13 driven by Mika Hakinnen. The engine is built by McLaren (3.8 V8 twin turbo pumping out 600bhp) which is interesting as the previous supercar built by McLaren had an engine supplied by BMW, the McLaren F1. It looks a beauty and if I had a few million bucks to spare, I would surely order one. For more images click here .

When Singapore says they are going to do something, you bet they will do it and do it right. Now after only their second year into hosting the F1 race, they are already talking about developing a motorsports hub with 3 proposals being put forward. Sleepy Changi could soon stage motorcycling’s equivalent of Formula One, have a race driving academy whose graduates include top F1 drivers, or be transformed into a family-friendly shopping and entertainment destination. When they plan something, they plan it properly from the start. A race track will not be much, it must be accompanied by other facilities to attract a bigger market. They know how to tap the thirst for motorsports there. Sepang has been in existence for 11 years and nothing resembling a hub has come up. The government adn powers that be keep talking and wasting money. Soon Singapore will overtake us and again, money around the region will flow into Singapore. No wonder a small country with no natural resources is richer tha...

A bit off topic from F1 but still related. The Changi Airport Group, in promotion with the Singapore GP organised an event at the airport where a Porsche 911 GT3 was put alongside a Boeing 747 and the Porsche beat the jet after 200m with the jet airborne at that point. Power to weight ratio.

Renault have been summoned by the World Motorsport Council to answer charges that they orchestrated the Piquet accident at last years' Singapore GP in order to make Fernando Alonso win the race. The hearing is set for September 21st. It seems quite logical for this to happen after watching the race. Immediately after the crash, I remember thinking to myself this was typical Piquet, that he couldn't handle the car but there was a niggling feeling at the back of my head that it could have been fixed. He could have done it on purpose. The accident looked fake even with Piquet's bad driving, he couldn't be that bad. To add fuel to the fire, Massa remarked to Flavio after the race, albeit in an accusing tone that the accident looked strange . What wasn't so strange was that Massa drove off with his fuel hose down the pitlane. After the race, there was some discussions that he faked it, he crashed on purpose. Now the worms are out of the can and Renault could be in for a...

This is interesting. It's not wrong to dream and dream big at that. It seems that rumours are now circulating that Malaysia wants to have a sort of national F1 team . There's 3 possibilities. One is via Lotus as what is happening now. Lotus has just recently brought in Dany Bahar as CEO. Dany was previously the Commercial and Brand Development & Partners director at Ferrari. I don't know what's so special with Bahar but he did work with Red Bull to setup their F1 strategy. And Lotus is owned by Proton. Second is via Petronas buying up BMW Sauber and running it as its own team. This option is expensive as the whole team is ready to run but it is the best in terms of getting competitive straight away. Thirdly, there is Team Meritus which is Malaysian based and is the most successful Asian motorsports team to date. The team has rapidly progressed up the Asian motorsport ladder, winning 32 international titles in just 12 years, and is currently the only Asian team gr...

Well, that pulled the carpet from under me. I know of the possibility of this happening because of the reported rumours but I didn't really put any thought into it. Now I'm pleasantly surprised . I'm really happy for Fisi now that he's got into his dream drive (being an Italian and all) and a competitive car. The question has to be asked though, who will replace him at Force India? More importantly, will he remain a driver at Ferrari next year with the return of Massa and possible arrival of Alonso or will he become a test driver? I guess that depends on his performance but given his age and the lure of Alonso's potential, it's more than possible that he will become a test and reserve driver. And Stefano confirms it: "Furthermore we considered what could be his role inside the team in the near future, also taking this year's experiences into account. He will be the reserve driver in 2010." McLaren better wake up now, especially Heikki as they need...