How to Fix the Formula One Schedule

The future of Formula One and its races are looking bad. All Bernie Ecclestone wants to do is have Hermann Tilke design these so called “beautiful circuits.” Yes, they might be beautiful from the outside but not so much when it comes down to racing. Look at Yas Marina for a second, they have the beautiful skyline and glowing hotels around the track but no real good racing to show for it. Same thing with Valencia (this year’s Valencia race was a little better). Personally I hate the Tilke tracks. There snooze fests. The Port Imperial Street Circuit in New Jersey isn’t bad at all for a Hermann Tilke track. On the other hand Bahrain, Malaysia, China, and Circuit of the Americas are terrible.

Today we saw a fantastic season finale at Interlagos (a non Tilke track) plenty of passing and NOT a snooze fest. This year the Canadian Grand Prix was my favorite race to watch because of the wet conditions first and then dry. Most of that race was in the rain and I think that we saw more passing in that race then the China and Malaysia races combined and that with without no DRS in pretty much the whole race!

To me Formula One is all about history. Let’s think for a second what are the best Grand Prix? British at Silverstone, Belgian at Spa, Monaco, Italy at Monza, German at Nurburgring. Those races all have a ton of history around them. The British Grand Prix is the oldest race in Formula One. Monaco is right up with it. Belguim and Italy are always a great show with historic tracks, same thing with Germany. What about the other races though? Well, Australia is always a great show at Albert Park. Japan at Suzuka is okay. Hungaroring is one of my favorites on the calendar. You can’t leave out Brazil. Some races do need to return such as the Argentine Grand Prix. What about the San Marino and South African races? The French Grand Prix is always being left out.

I do commend the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone on trying to grow Formula One’s population in Asia and the Middle East. There are easier ways of doing that though.

I think that there is a easy solution to this problem for the future. Break the schedule down into 3 regions. The first region is North and South America. Next is Europe and Middle East and the last one is Asia and Australia. Say if you get 5 or possibly 6 races over in the first region just because of travel. The main thing is that you have to stay in Europe  because that is where most of the teams are located. Make the Asia and Australia region as like season ending or season starting stretch of races. While it is important to branch out to Asia/Australia and North and South America its important to have double the amount of races in the Europe/Middle East region due to traveling. With all of this being said. What Grand Prix/tracks should be on this so called “dream” schedule?

First I’m going to start off with the North America and South American region. This region needs to have 6 races. You have your traditional one in Canada. Brazil. Add Argentina, and Mexico and have your two United States races. Three tracks remain the same and you add in three tracks that are very good.

• Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villenueve (June)
• Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos (March)
• Argentine Grand Prix at Buenos Aires (March)
• Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (March)
• Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial Street Circuit (June)
• United States Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport (June)

Next is the Europe and Middle East region. There won’t be too many changes to this leg of the schedule because there are already good tracks in place. Some additions include returns to France and San Marino. This part of the schedule will be 9 races long.

• British Grand Prix at Silverstone (July)
• German Grand Prix at Nurburgring (July)
• Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring (Jul/August)
• Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps (August)
• Italian Grand Prix at Monza (September)
• French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard (April)
• Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya (April)
• Monaco Grand Prix at Monte Carlo (May)
• San Marino Grand Prix at Imola (May)

The last region is the Asia and Australia. Five races should be in this part of the schedule. Two of them are in Australia, two in Japan and one in China.

• Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park (November)
• Pacific Grand Prix at Adelaide Street Circuit (November)
• Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit (October)
• Asian Grand Prix at Mt. Fuji (October)
• Chinese Grand Prix at Macau (September)

The final schedule will look like this.

Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos (March)

Argentine Grand Prix at Buenos Aires (March)

Mexican Grand Prix at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (March)

French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard (April)

Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya (April)

San Marino Grand Prix at Imola (May)

Monaco Grand Prix at Monte Carlo (May)

Canadian Grand Prix at Circuit Gilles Villenueve (June)

Grand Prix of America at Port Imperial Street Circuit (June)

United States Grand Prix at Burke Lakefront Airport (June)

British Grand Prix at Silverstone (July)

German Grand Prix at Nurburgring (July)

Hungarian Grand Prix at Hungaroring (July)

Belgian Grand Prix at Spa Francorchamps (August)

Italian Grand Prix at Monza (September)

Chinese Grand Prix at Macau Street Circuit (September)

Asian Grand Prix at Mt. Fuji (October)

Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit (October)

Pacific Grand Prix at Adelaide Street Circuit (November)

Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park (November)

*All photos are from wikipedia.

There are many reasons why this region system would work. My first reason is cutting down on flying costs by staying in one region than more than two weeks. Second reason is because these are tracks that made Formula One what it is today (history etc). Third reason is that it brings back the flare of the 1980s and 1990s.

What is the World Endurance Championship?

Photo Credit: lemans.org

What is the World Endurance Championship exactly? For people that haven’t heard about it. The series is the former Intercontential Le Mans Cup.  The car classes will remain the same. LMP1 and LMP2, GTE-Pro and GTE-Am. The schedule features a joint event with the American LeMans Series to start the season at the 12 Hours of Sebring presented by Mobil 1.  Here’s the schedule.

12 Hours of Sebring- Sebring International Raceway -USA- March 17, 2012

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

6 Hours of Spa- Spa Francorchamps- Belguim- May 5, 2012

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

24 Hours of LeMans- LeMans- France- June 16/17, 2012

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

6 Hours of Silverstone- Silverstone Circuit- England- August, 25, 2012

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

6 Hours of Sao Paulo- Interlagos- Brazil- September 16, 2012

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

6 Hours of Mt. Fuji- Fuji Speedway- Japan- September 30, 2012

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

6 Hours of Bahrain- Bahrain International Circuit- Bahrain- October, 20, 2012

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

6 Hours of China- TBA- China- November 11 or 18, 2012.

TBA

The teams are looking pretty clear for next season. Speedtv.com’s John Dagys has more on this topic.

The 24 Hours of LeMans Invites have been confirmed also here.

There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to this series for next season I think because A. I haven’t really followed it and B. Its a brand new series. Time well tell if it is good or not.

 

 

Practice and Qualifying Results from Brazil

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

The Formula One weekend kicked off in Interlagos on Friday morning with a Free Practice.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

1. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:13.811

2. Jenson Button McLaren 01:13.825

3. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:13.961

4. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:14.025

5. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:14.507

6. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:14.541

7. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 01:15.162

8. Nico Hulkenberg Force India 01:15.178

9. Paul di Resta Force India 01:15.241

10. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 01:15.321

11. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 01:15.468

12. Romain Grosjean Lotus Renault 01:15.547

13. Rubens Barrichello Williams 01:15.663

14. Bruno Senna Lotus Renault 01:15.732

15. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 01:15.747

16. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:15.836

17. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:15.979

18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso 01:16.052

19. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 01:16.514

20. Luiz Razia Team Lotus 01:17.595

21. Timo Glock Virgin 01:18.140

22. Jerome d` Ambrosio Virgin 01:18.653

23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT 01:18.952

24. Jan Charouz HRT 01:19.577

Some notes on FP1.  Nico Hulkenburg is Force India’s third driver and he was in Adrian Sutil’s car he ended up with an impressive eighth. The reigning GP2 champion Romain Grosjean was in Vitaly Petrov’s Lotus Renault and ended up in 12th place. Jean-Eric Vergne is Toro Rosso and Red Bull’s test driver, yeterday morning he was in Sebastian Buemi’s car and placed eighteenth. Luiz Razia was in a Team Lotus car and placed twentieth. Jan Charouz got his turn to run FP1 in the HRT camp he was last. Fernando Alonso did blow his engine he is on a used engine.

Yesterday late in the morning they had another practice all of the main drivers were back in there cars and there were no drastic changes to say. Results:

1. Lewis Hamilton McLaren 01:13.392

2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull 01:13.559

3. Mark Webber Red Bull 01:13.587

4. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 01:13.598

5. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 01:13.723

6. Felipe Massa Ferrari 01:13.750

7. Jenson Button McLaren 01:13.787

8. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 01:13.872

9. Adrian Sutil Force India 01:14.144

10. Paul di Resta Force India 01:14.807

11. Vitaly Petrov Lotus Renault 01:14.856

12. Bruno Senna Lotus Renault 01:14.931

13. Sergio Perez Sauber 01:14.970

14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 01:15.019

15. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso 01:15.264

16. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso 01:15.388

17. Pastor Maldonado Williams 01:15.679

18. Rubens Barrichello Williams 01:15.903

19. Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 01:16.298

20. Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 01:16.338

21. Jerome d` Ambrosio Virgin 01:18.031

22. Timo Glock Virgin 01:18.051

23. Daniel Ricciardo HRT 01:18.367

24. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT 01:18.476

This morning Free Practice 3 took place. Lap times got very fast in this session. Sebastian Buemi took no time in the session.

1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:12.460

2. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.547

3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1:12.597

4. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.622

5. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1:12.765

6. Adrian Sutil Force India-Mercedes 1:13.113

7. Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP 1:13.286

8. Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP 1:13.393

9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1:13.419

10. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:13.583

11. Vitaly Petrov Renault 1:13.838

12. Rubens Barrichello Williams-Cosworth 1:14.283

13. Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1:14.286

14. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1:14.311

15. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Cosworth 1:14.454

16. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1:14.547

17. Bruno Senna Renault 1:14.551

18. Jarno Trulli Lotus-Renault 1:15.843

19. Heikki Kovalainen Lotus-Renault 1:16.026

20. Jerome d’Ambrosio Virgin-Cosworth 1:16.616

21. Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT-Cosworth 1:17.143

22. Daniel Ricciardo HRT-Cosworth 1:17.296

23. Timo Glock Virgin-Cosworth 1:17.984

24. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso-Ferrari No Time

 

Qualifying took place at lunch time and here are the results from that. Seb Vettel broke Nigel Mansell’s pole record.

1. Sebastian Vettel, , Red Bull, 1 minute, 11.918 seconds.
2. Mark Webber, , Red Bull, 1:12.099.
3. Jenson Button, , McLaren, 1:12.283.
4. Lewis Hamilton, McLaren, 1:12.480.
5. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, 1:12.591.
6. Nico Rosberg, , Mercedes, 1:13.050.
7. Felipe Massa, Ferrari, 1:13.068.
8. Adrian Sutil, , Force India, 1:13.298.
9. Bruno Senna, ,Renault, 1:13.761.
10. Michael Schumacher, Mercedes, No Time.
Eliminated after second session
11. Paul di Resta, Force India, 1:13.584.
12. Rubens Barrichello,Williams, 1:13.801.
13. Jaime Alguersuari, Toro Rosso, 1:13.804.
14. Sebastien Buemi, Toro Rosso, 1:13.919.
15. Vitaly Petrov, Renault, 1:14.053.
16. Kamui Kobayashi, Sauber, 1:14.129.
17. Sergio Perez, Sauber, 1:14.182.
Eliminated after first session
18. Pastor Maldonado, Williams, 1:14.625.
19. Heikki Kovalainen, Team Lotus, 1:15.068.
20. Jarno Trulli, Team Lotus, 1:15.358.
21. Vitantonio Liuzzi, HRT, 1:16.631.
22. Daniel Ricciardo, HRT, 1:16.890.
23. Jerome d’Ambrosio, Virgin, 1:17.019.
24. Timo Glock, Germany, 1:17.060.

 

What Can You Do Over the Offseason in Racing?

Obviously tomorrow will be sad for all racing fans like me. So I can pose the question what can you do over the off season to make yourself kind of happy and read racing stories. This post will give you a list of links to go to for good racing information other than this site. I will give you my reasons why also.

INDYCAR:

IndyCar.com: IndyCar.com is your source for up to the minute  breaking news in IndyCar also check out IndyCar Nation also on there site they have some good reads on there. Plus some games also.

anotherindycarblog: Eric Hall who is anotherindycarblog is an excellent writer. He has great views on IndyCar and really digs into history well. He has helped me a lot with this blog and I will appreciate the reads.

Triple League Racing: Dylan over at Triple League Racing will keep you up to the minute with any racing news but mostly IndyCar. His views on IndyCar are debatable but overall Triple League Racing is a great blog also check out his co-writers on their a lot too mainly Ross Fujibayashi(who has done a few posts for Racing Mania), James Beavers, John Hull,Ryan Anthony and Eric Hall who runs Another IndyCar Blog.

Pop Off Valve: Tony Johns will keep you always going at Pop Off Valve, if you are a blogger for IndyCar you better do good and impress him a lot to make his Wednesday “Paddock Pulse.” Tony also has Haiku Tuesday which can be quite humorous.

Oil Pressure:  George Phillips is one of the reasons why I wanted to get into blogging. He is an amazing IndyCar blogger who will just smack down the truth about anything. He does a feature called “One Take Only” which has been a hit at Oil Pressure.

More Front Wing: Paul and Steph normally have a lot to say over the offseason in IndyCar. Personally I think you readers would like reading there writing a lot. Also they do a podcast also which is a good listen normally.

IndyCar Advocate: Zach always runs some great stories across his blog. Its one of my all time favorites to read. Once again like George, Zach will deliever his opinions on topics also he does some writing for IndyCar Nation as well.

FORMULA ONE

Adam Cooper F1: Adam Cooper from speedtv.com delievers up to the minute news on Formula One. Its always great reading at his site.

Buxton Blog: Even though Will Buxton doesn’t do that much blogging his blog is very popular in the Formula One world. Must read also during the offseason.

The F1 Archive: Leigh O’Gorman delievers race recaps during the off season as well as a lot of Formula One topics. I think any reader would enjoy reading his blog.

Joe Saward’s Grand Prix Blog: Joe Saward delievers some of the best Formula One content around there defnitely worth a read.

OTHER

SpeedTV.com: Delievers all racing news and opinions from writers such as Robin Miller, Marshall Pruett, John Dagys, Mike Hembree, Tom Jensen, and Jimmy Spencer to name a few SpeedTV is also a hot one in the offseason.

Racer.com: Racer.com brings all news and updates from all over the racing world. They also include driver blogs such as Marco Andretti and Conor Daly.

Autosport.com: Autosport.com is mainly a Formula One site that has a lot of great reads.

Also there are video games for sim racing to play over the offseason. Forza 4, Gran Turismo 5, F1 2011 to name a few. Also a ton of twitter and facebook can be helpful to talk to other fans and get there opinions on this stuff.

New Teams, Returning Teams, and The Up Start Teams

Yesterday I wrote about the rookies for the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series Season. Today I’m going to write about the new teams coming into the series, the returning teams, and the up start teams.

Last October, Michael Shank announced that his racing team would go racing full time in the IZOD IndyCar Series for 2012. I was kind of excited because this is the next big thing for him. Yes he has been successful in Grand Am but he’s always wanted to get into open wheel. Mr. Shank also announced that the team will be going with Lotus engines. Shank announced also that the team will be co-owned by business man Brian Bailey and NASCAR Sprint Cup driver A.J. Allmendinger whom has raced for Shank at the 24 Hours of Daytona in Grand Am. I pose the question who will drive for Shank? I posted on Wednesday in my Silly Season article that possibly Vitor Meira but maybe there’s another possibility out there. The MSR program is a major feel good story for IndyCar.

After the storybook Indy 500 win last year for Bryan Herta Autosport everything has changed. At Vegas the team lost there so called savior Dan Wheldon who won his second 500 with the team. After the horrific Vegas accident the team has been very quite. They did announce that they will be going with the Lotus engine package which didn’t really surprise me. Its rumored that their Las Vegas driver Alex Tagliani will be in a full time ride for 2012. I think its great that Bryan Herta is finally getting his team into a full time situation for 2012. The field for the series needs to be bigger and Bryan Herta and his team will do all they can to get on the grid for 2012 in St. Petersburg. If BHA can get on the grid full time it will be a huge advantage for them because they were the anchor team for testing the new car in the summer.

About a month ago Kentucky winner Ed Carpenter announced that he would be starting his own team up with his step dad Tony George. At first I thought wow why would he be leaving Sarah Fisher Racing? They had a great relationship with Ed. Fuzzy’s Vodka announced a multi year sponsorship deal. Its  unknown what engine company they will go with. I’m thinking maybe Honda or Lotus. At first Ed Carpenter Racing will be slow but then they’ll get at together at Indy, Texas, and Iowa because Ed is an oval guy not a road and street course guy. I see them being towards the bottom of the pack for next season. Maybe by the second or third year they will be a contender for the championship.

When Raphael Matos came into the series with Dragon Racing a lot of things looked good for that team. In 2010 Gil de Ferran announced a merger between Dragon and deFerran’s teams’. Then in the offseason of 2010. Gil announced that they would be getting rid of Raphael Matos.  In December of 2010 the team announced their 2011 driver would be Tony Kanaan. I thought to myself finally they get a great driver. Then it went down the drain from there. They announced that they’d be shutting down and Tony Kanaan was out of a ride. Jay Penske brought back the team with Paul Tracy as its driver for 5 races. The team struggled but did okay considering the circumstances. Jay Penske has confirmed they will run 1 full time car in 2012. Maybe with Paul Tracy as their driver. Expect them to be in the bottom of the pack this year. They haven’t announced a engine deal yet either.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing is back! After a three year absence from full time IndyCar Racing. Yes they ran the 500 every year and 1 or 2 other races. This team could be a major sleeper when it comes to the championship. It looks like Takuma Sato is heading over there to be teammates with Pippa Mann or Jay Howard. Sato has sponsorship in place with “Pray for Japan” and Panasonic. That’s a huge win for the team considering they don’t have to get sponsorship for one car. Both Pippa Mann and Jay Howard have sponsorship from Service Central. If that happens it would be huge because they have an engine contract already in place with Honda. And they could be very competitive.

I think that Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing will be the strongest team out of the teams I just mentioned. I say this because they’re getting Takuma Sato and possibly Pippa Mann. Expect Sato to  be strong on the road and street courses and Mann on the ovals. That could be a tandem to be wrecking with.

 

Turkey Day Special: Exploring the Rookies for 2012

Yesterday I confirmed that Josef Newgarden might have a full time ride, maybe even Simon Pagenaud. Giorgio Pantano looks all but confirmed at Dreyer & Reinbold Racing in Justin Wilson’s former ride. Maybe Wilson’s brother Stefan gets into the series. Andretti Autosport tested IndyLights veteran James Davison a few weeks ago. You could still consider Wade Cunningham a rookie. Pippa Mann might get the second ride at Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Ho Pin Tung maybe in a second car at HVM (not yet confirmed).  Now what I’m going to do is breakdown every driver I just listed. I will state if they belong in the IndyCar Series or not.

Josef Newgarden: The 2011 Firestone Indy Lights Champion is searching for an IndyCar Series ride. He is rumored to go to Sam Schmidt Motorsports, the same team that he won IndyLights with. He would be teammates with another so called rookie Simon Pagenaud. Newgarden would be a good fit for Sam Schmidt Motorsports because he knows the team and we need Americans in IndyCar.

Simon Pagenaud: For Simon this is easy. He was a fill in driver last year and performed excellently. He has experience with Sports Cars and Prototypes so with his driving ability, I expect him to be a front runner every week on the road and street courses. When he had to fill in for Ana Beatriz at Barber this year he finished 8th! Simon was Champ Car’s rookie of the year in 2007.

Stefan Wilson: Stefan Wilson drove the 2011 Indy Lights season with Andretti Autosport, he won a race at Toronto. He could be moving up with the team in their fourth car but it seems that is highly unlikely. I would love to see Stefan in a car. He’s got a bright future ahead of him but he should stay in Lights for another year.

James Davison: James recently tested with Andretti Autosport at Palm Beach International Raceway in effort to land a spot with the team. It looks like he will be a full time driver in 2012 with Andretti Autosport. Odds are he will take Ryan Hunter-Reay’s old ride and Hunter-Reay moves into the GODADDY car. Davison is a perfect fit for the IndyCar Series.

Wade Cunningham: Wade made a few starts in 2011 with AFS Racing and Sam Schmidt Motorsports. When Wade raced he was very impressive. Wade would be a perfect fit with AFS Racing or Sarah Fisher Racing in a ovals only program. Wade is a Indy Lights champion that needs to be in the series.

Giorgio Pantano: The 2008 GP2 Champion had filled in for an injured Justin Wilson at Infineon, Baltimore and Motegi. He had his best run at Infineon where he should have finished sixth! If he gets this ride with DRR expect him to be strong on the road and street course section of the schedule.

Ho Pin Tung: Ho made a few starts in 2011 with Dragon racing. It was mostly crashing so we don’t really know what he has yet. If last year repeats it could be a disaster. He doesn’t belong in IndyCar if thats going to be the story of his career.

Pippa Mann: Pippa made three starts last year with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Those three starts were about expected from her. The other start came at Indy were she finished in the bottom but still proved that she could race. I believe that Pippa will be even stronger if she gets a full time ride next season.

Overall I think the rookie of the year race for 2012 could be a tight one. It could be a four way battle between Newgarden, Pagenaud, Davison, and Cunningham. If I had to pick a winner out of those four I would have to go with Pagenaud just because of his ChampCar experience and with the road and street courses.

Next up in this series is exploring the new teams/returning teams for 2012.

Happy Thanksgiving!

F1: Brazilian Grand Prix

There has been a lot of news that has led up to the season finale for Formula One. Pedro de la Rosa signed a contract to drive for Hispania Racing this week. Obviously the Austin, Texas saga. Robert Kubica has told Lotus Renault GP that he won’t be ready for 2012 in Australia. Hispania Racing announced a new team base. Honda and McLaren might hookup again. Many more news stories were out there but I just was focusing on a few of the key ones

The former McLaren third driver signs for his home country's team

The 2011 racing season comes to a close on Sunday at about 1 eastern time. The final race of the racing season is Formula One’s Brazillian Grand Prix at Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo. The race track is also called “Interlagos.”

Senna at his final home Grand Prix in 1994

Typically the Brazilian Grand Prix is an interesting race. For instance last year it saw German rookie Nico Hulkenburg take pole. Who hasn’t forgot the 2008 championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. Hamilton passed Timo Glock in the final corner to win the championship. Who could forget Ayrton Senna’s last home Grand Prix in 1994 where he took pole and finished a dismal 13th. Or even Michael Schumacher’s last race for Ferrari in 2006.

A Single DRS Zone this week

Expect a lot of passing in Sunday’s Grand Prix. There will be one Drag Reduction System activiation zone. The detection zone is in between turns 2 and 3 and the activation zone is just off of turn 3 down the back straightaway to turn 4. The reason why they didn’t put any zones from turns 12 to 1 is because of the risk of excessive speeds. The cars will already reach over 220 mph going into turn 1.

There are a ton of drivers fighting for there faith in Formula One for next season. Some of the names include Brazilian Rubens Barrichello who will not return to the Williams team for 2012 and is still searching for a ride. Adrian Sutil is rumored to be out at Force India. He looks like a front runner for the second Williams seat or the open seat at Renault. Jaime Alguesari and Sebastian Buemi are fighting for there jobs at Toro Rosso. Odds are that Buemi will be gone and their third driver and HRT fill in driver Daniel Riccardio is a favorite for the open Toro Rosso spot. So is Jean Eric Vergne who has driven Free Practice 1 the past couple of race weekends. Bruno Senna is fighting to stay with Renault for 2012. He has GP2 champion Romain Grosjean breathing down his neck for that spot.  Will this weekend be Jerome D’Ambrosio’s last race or does Marussia Racing stick with him for another year? Or will Kimi Raikkonen make a return for next season?

Pit strategy will be key because the forecast in Brazil is calling for light rain on Sunday. This could make the race like this years Canadian Grand Prix. Start in pouring rain and on wets, finish on primes and options. I think if it is raining the backmarker teams (Lotus, Virgin, HRT, Williams, and Toro Rosso) will gamble and start on intermediate tires and the top teams will go to full wets and be cautious.

Who will take sixth in the constructors standings? Force India looks like the favorite but Sauber and Toro Rosso are mathematically alive. I take Force India because both of their drivers Paul di Resta and Adrian Sutil have been very consistent of late. Meanwhile Sauber has been up and down lately. And where did Toro Rosso go in Abu Dhabi?

Speaking of di Resta. Who will win the rookie battle? The battle is between Sauber’s Mexican rookie Sergio Perez and Force India’s Paul di Resta. I go with di Resta because of what I said about Force India above and the up and downs of Sauber. If Sauber has a good package for Brazil it could be a dog fight until the last lap.

As for my winner I got to go with Felipe Massa because he is a two time winner at Interlagos and he needs to win.

 

Readers: If you are traveling for Thanksgiving, please be safe!

We will be back on Friday to discuss F1 Brazil Practices 1&2 plus some more interesting news.

 

2012 Silly Season: IndyCar

There has been a lot of questions about the 2012 silly season for IndyCar.  Some questions that come up are:  will Sebastian Bourdais be back for next season? Will Vitor Meira get a ride? What about IndyLights champion Josef Newgarden? Who will drive for Mike Shank Racing Indy? Will this be PT’s final drive in 2012?

Well I’m going to answer this with the best of my ability in a silly season chart. This chart is all the teams confirmed for next season plus some of the team news for 2012.

FULL TIME ENTRIES:

Oriol Servia- Newman Haas Racing- Honda

Helio Castroneves- Penske- Chevy

J.R. Hildebrand- Panther- Chevy

Justin Wilson-KV Racing-Chevy

James Hinchcliffe- Newman Haas- Honda

Ryan Briscoe-Penske-Chevy

Scott Dixon-Ganassi 1-Honda

Dario Franchitti-Ganassi 1-Honda

Will Power-Penske-Chevy

Bertrand Baguette-AJ Foyt Racing-Honda

E.J. Viso-KV Racing-Chevy

James Jakes-Dale Coyne Racing-Chevy

Sebastian Bourdais-Dale Coyne Racing-Chevy

Ed Carpenter-Ed Carpenter Racing-Honda

Giorgio Pantano-Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Lotus

Marco Andretti-Andretti Autosport-Chevy

Ryan Hunter Reay-Andretti Autosport-Chevy

James Davison-Andretti Autosport-Chevy

Takuma Sato-Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda

Tony Kanaan-KV Racing-Chevy

Sebastian Saavedra-Conquest Racing-Lotus

Graham Rahal-Ganassi 2-Honda

Vitor Meira-Mike Shank Racing-Lotus

Simona de Silvestro-Lotus-HVM Racing-Lotus

Charlie Kimball-Ganassi 2-Honda

Simon Pagenaud-Sam Schmidt Motorsports-Honda

Alex Tagliani-Bryan Herta Autosport-Lotus

 

PART TIME, ONE OFF, AND FUTURE AND POSSIBLY ENTRIES:

Paul Tracy-Dragon Racing-Honda

 

Townsend Bell-Davey Hamilton Racing-Lotus

Neel Jani-Highcroft Racing-Honda

Raphael Matos-AFS Racing-Lotus

Jean Alesi-Dreyer & Reinbold Racing-Lotus

Ana Beatriz-Dreyer & Reinbold Racing

 

Pippa Mann-Conquest Racing-Lotus

Bruno Junquiera-A.J. Foyt Racing-Honda

Buddy Rice-Panther-Chevy

 

Tomas Scheckter-Sarah Fisher Racing-Honda

 

Jay Howard-Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-Honda

Ho Pin Tung- Lotus-HVM Racing-Lotus

 

Josef Newgarden-Sam Schmidt Motorsports-Honda

 

This is all speculation for silly season, some stuff has been confirmed which is on this page.

This post is in three parts. Hopefully next Wednesday I will have the second part which explores the rookies of the 2012 season.

 

An Interview With an IndyCar Blogger

I was sitting at home on Sunday, thinking and thinking deeply about ways to get this blog a little spark. I thought maybe some longer posts but I thought “how cool would it be to interview my favorite sports writer Robin Miller.

So before the Sprint Cup race on Sunday I sent him an email asking him if I could interview him. Last night I got a reply and he said yes. I was so excited then I sent him 15 IndyCar topic questions and he responded late last night. Here are the questions with Robin.

If you do not know who Robin is. He is speedtv.com’s IndyCar writer. He has been covering IndyCar for more than 40 years. He’s been featured on “Speed Center” and “Wind Tunnel.” Also known for his weekly “Miller’s Mailbag” which gives fans an opportunity to email him and he gives answers to all IndyCar topics.

1. With Lotus signing Dreyer & Reinbold, HVM, Mike Shank, and Bryan Herta Autosport, what other teams do you see going to Lotus for engine backing for 2012? Also where does Newman Haas Racing land in this equation

RM: Possibly Dale Coyne and Eric Bachelart for Lotus engines. I imagine Honda for Newman/Haas.

2. I remember a few weeks ago when you were on Wind Tunnel with Mario Andretti and I remember you saying that the NASCAR build ovals aren’t good for IndyCar. I then thought of some solutions to that. I thought maybe Pikes Peak, and Richmond. Would Randy Bernard explore those two tracks possibly? Is a return to Loudon a possibility too?

RM: Richmond is certainly in the conversation for 2013 and Loudon still has an outside shot for next year. Milwaukee and Phoenix need to be on the schedule but finding promoters won’t be easy.

3. What direction do you think the IndyCar schedule should go in now since the whole oval thing has been a disaster lately?

RM: Depends on what the engineers come up with for the 1.5-mile ovals. But I’d rather seeMichigan and Fontana than Vegas, KC or Chicago. The heritage of Indy cars is ovals and the magic of the series is that it’s the most diverse in the world and that must remain. We just don’t need 10 ovals and 10 road courses. I’d like to see 7-7-7 (streets, road courses and ovals).

4. Who do you think Andretti Autosport goes after for the GoDaddy car and who will be there fourth driver?

RM: Good question because GO DADDY wants a high profile driver and there’s not many out there. I’d think Bourdais would be a good choice but he’s not American so maybe move Ryan Hunter-Reay to the GO DADDY ride. Not sure they’ll have four cars in 2012.

5. A few weeks ago I was listening to an edition of the Dan Dakich Show which you were on with Kevin Lee. What are some ways of incorporating the one day shows at ovals RE:Iowa, Texas, Fontana etc?

RM: Simple. Practice in the morning, qualify an hour later and race at 2 pm — saves the promoter and teams a fortune and gives the fans a day of non-stop action

6. Where will Vitor Meira go in 2012? I’ve heard Rahal but I’m not believing it.

RM: Naw, not there (Sato will be with Rahal I think). Not sure Vitor will have a ride.

7. A.J. Foyt recently got rid of Vitor Meira but I think that team won’t find a driver for next season. Is Josef Newgarden or Stefan Wilson an option or what other driver is out there?

RM: AJ wants Justin Wilson.

8. What race track could replace Baltimore if it goes down the drain? Or does Randy just pull that race because of the travelling schedule in August/September?

RM: Elkhart Lake would be my best guess but I think somebody will step in and rescue Baltimore.

9. Will the Milwaukee race ever come back to the IndyCar Series?

RM: Only if I hit the lottery and promote it or we can convince John Menard to buy the track.

10. Which new engine partner will have the better year next year; Chevy or Lotus and why?

RM: Ilmor has a lot of experience so it would appear Chevy could have the edge but I’d never count out Honda and John Judd could be the sleeper.

11. Did Roger Penske do the wrong move in keeping Ryan Briscoe?

RM: No, I don’t think so. Briscoe is still as quick as anybody, just had some terrible luck and made a couple mistakes on top of that. But I think The Captain will go after Graham Rahal for 2013.

12. Is 2012 Helio Castroneves’ final year in racing?

RM: Not necessarily. Depends on if he gets back to his Indy 500 prowess that’s been missing the past two Mays. That’s what Penske cares about most.

13. Will the Cleveland GP ever make a return to the IndyCar Series calendar, if so does Randy take the risk of running the proposed 1 mile oval layout also.

RM: Mike Lanigan wants to do it but only if he gets a big time title sponsor. A doubleheader would be cool but possibly a logistical nightmare.

14. Is going to China a bad move for IndyCar?

RM: Not at all. The sanction fee is huge and maybe it can attract some sponsorship over here.

15. What do you think the final schedule will look like?

RM: No clue until we find out about the ovals.

I want to say thank you to Robin Miller for doing this enjoy!

My China Rant and News and Notes of the Week

When I saw the IndyCar China race announcement last week I said a ton of bad things. The first thing I did was tell my mom (who isn’t the average IndyCar fan even though she watches with me sometimes) ” I’m never watching IndyCar again,” She said “Knowing you, you still will.”  Then she asked why was I mad. I said that “IndyCar announced another 3am parade how frickin great. Her response was “Kent, you are a late night person thats no problem for you.” After that I said ” Mom, you don’t understand, After Dan Wheldon’s death all they want to do is dump the ovals and go to stupid street courses.” Then the conversation got dropped. After the conversation hit the dead end, I went into my room and read the announcement. I was excited that it was a long street circuit but thats all I was excited about. I thought to myself, racing in China isn’t bad but go to Macau, Zuhai or any other road course in China not this stupid street circuit. IndyCar is going be up to 11 road and street circuits for 2012. I would like to see 5: St Pete, Toronto, Long Beach, Sao Paulo, and Cleveland. Thats it! Not, Baltimore, Las Vegas (probable), Fort Lauderdale, and Houston. Not Barber, Mid Ohio, or Infineon either. When IndyCar raced at the Twin Ring Motegi road course I wasn’t excited about it at all but yet it created more passing than the other 3 natural terrain road courses on the schedule.

So with that said it got me thinking. Where should the China race be held instead of the Quingdao street course? As I listed earlier there are a few choices I would like to see: most especially Macau.

Macau is a 3.8 mile track with a few long straights.

Overall I would love to see IndyCar race there.

In other news;  Austin Dillon clinched his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series title in the #3 Bass Pro Shops Chevy with Richard Childress Racing aka his grandpa. The race got rained out with 15 laps to go. Jonny Sauter ended up so called winning.

Lotus announced three team/engine deals on Thursday at the Los Angeles Auto Show. HVM Racing will be anchor team. HVM Racing will carry a Lotus livery in 2012 with driver Simona de Silvestro. They also announced that Dreyer & Reinbold Racing will be a co-anchor team. The DRR team hasn’t confirmed any drivers for 2012. I do know this Justin Wilson is out and Ana Beatriz is close to re-signing. It looks like Townsend Bell or Giorgio Pantano will be in the 24 car for 2012. The last team announced on Thursday was Bryan Herta Autosport. This is huge for them because it looks like they will be running a full time car in 2012 with Alex Tagliani as driver probably. Lotus won’t be strong next year I don’t think but I think that they will get stronger and stronger as the year goes. Part of that has to deal with the delay of signing teams to engine contracts.

Novo Nordisk retained its sponsorship with Charlie Kimball and Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing.

Panther Racing picked up driver J.R. Hildebrand’s option for 2012 and 2013. Team owner John Barnes is still optimistic about fielding a second full time car for 2012 with driver Buddy Rice behind the wheel. He has confirmed there will be a second car for sure at Indianapolis.

Infineon Raceway will get a redesign for 2012 for IndyCar ONLY. This is a big sign for the track because there is a lack of passing there. Marshall Pruett has more on that topic here.

IndyCar announced today that they are working with teams and race engineers on the 1.5 mile oval solution. Robin Miller has more on this topic on speedtv.com.

Sarah Fisher was named Team Principal of the Year on Thursday. The team won the Kentucky race with then driver Ed Carpenter.

Star Mazda Champion Tristan Vautier signed with Sam Schmidt Motorsports in Firestone Indy Lights. He will run the number 77.

Bryan Clauson clinched another USAC Championship and IndyCar Schloarship last week.

Honda wants to go back to Formula One racing with McLaren. When McLaren ran Honda they won four consectutive constructor championships.

The Young Driver Test took place in Abu Dhabi this week. Jean Eric Vegrne of Red Bull topped the sessions.

Renault driver Vitaly Petrov slammed the team this week saying he wants a different ride but yet he said I over reacted and acted stupid.

Renault’s team boss has admitted to conversations with 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen about a seat with the team. I will have more on the Renault saga at a different time.

Lastly Jimmie Johnson announced that he will skip out of the 24 Hours of Daytona next season.

 

In blog news: The Brazil Preview will be up Wednesday or Friday (got it done but still undecided for when I want to post it)  Expect to see only 1-3 posts a week until the regular season of racing kicks up again. I am super busy with school and work but over the Holidays I will post a lot hopefully (time permitting) I do want to state this I’m not quitting the blog for no means at all.