Alvin's Formula One Blog

It seems that the old playhouse rules still apply. You know the one where I appoint you and you appoint me so that we both control everything, so we can have it our way, have our cake and eat it too. Even if we both have no idea what we're doing. Not only is Tony Fernandes the team principal at a F1 team, he is a team principal with no prior training or experience in F1. And now, to add icing to the cake, he has appointed his 2 partners in the venture to the position of deputy team principals. This is highly unusual having deputy team principal, what more 2. Having a team principal with no F1 experience is mad enough, appointing 2 deputies with no F1 experience also is just dumb. I thought before that Mike Gascoyne would be advising Tony on the pitlane during races but now Mike is even further removed. I wonder how Tony will make split second decisions during races when the message is being passed from Mike to Nasaruddin to Kamarudin and then to Tony and vice-versa. Lotus, oh Lotu...

Finally after all the talk and work, Lotus has launched their brand new car in London. It has a lot of historical weight to carry as Lotus has been successful in the past and Tony Fernandes better not screw up that history because then the whole of Malaysia will be blamed by motorpsort nuts worldwide. A first look at the car makes me feel nervous. Why? Because it doesn't really look like a F1 car. The nose is too thick, it looks like an F3 car. The rest of it is pretty simple and the sidepods are very big. Keith from F1Fanatic has had some articles lately with explanations about the new diffucers and how a slimmed down sidepod helps airflow to the diffusers. The Lotus' sidepods looks huge. The only part of the car that is interesting is the front wing. It is pretty complicated on an otherwise dull car. The funny thing is the wing is devoid of any sponsors, which is weird. I also noticed that Naza has only 1 sticker on the whole car. We'll have to wait for the car to hit th...

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...

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...

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?

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...