The Wait Is Almost Over! – 2012 Formula One Season Preview – Part 3

Williams

Lets face it 2011 was a disastrous year for Williams and with the likes of Sam Michael and Jon Tomlinson having left, 2012 is set to be another challenging year for the team. It was really sad to see Williams struggling last year when you consider their history and prestige in Formula One. Williams are a team that should be challenging for titles.

Pastor Maldonado certainly had a difficult year in his rookie season. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and come the end of 2011, there may have been some people asking why Williams did not hold onto Nico Hulkenburg.

As poor as the FW33 was last year, you could argue Maldonado was able to get the best out of the car. And qualifying ahead of his more-experienced team-mate Rubens Barrichello on nine occasions was a fine achievement. Scoring his first point in Formula One at Belgium will have been one of the major highlights of 2011 for the Venezuelan.

Maldonado will be hoping 2012 is a better year for him and Williams. And hopefully the team will have a stronger season compared to last season.

No doubt Aryton Senna will be looking down on nephew Bruno this year as the 28 year-old will be driving for the nine-times Constructors Champions in 2012. Seeing a Senna back in a Williams will be an emotional moment and I’m sure the Senna family will be keeping a close eye on what Bruno achieves in 2012.

Bruno in my view did a solid but unspectacular job for Lotus Renault GP last year. The Brazilian has come a long way since making his F1 debut in Bahrain 2010 and the progress he has made has been steady.

I would love to see Bruno and Pastor finishing in the points on a regular basis in 2012 but this year does promise to be another difficult and challenging year for Williams.

Caterham

Out of all the three ‘new teams’, you have to say it is Caterham who look like breaking into the midfield and scoring their first points in Formula One. And with Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov driving for the team this year, I reckon Caterham will score their first points in F1.

For the last two seasons, Heikki has been the top dog out of the six drivers driving for the three backmarker teams. The Finn certainly proved in 2011 he can battle it out with the more established midfield teams and there were occasions where Kovalainen finished races ahead of Sauber and Williams.

The former McLaren driver totally dominated Jarno Trulli last year and was only outqualified by the Italian twice. Caterham do have a long-term project and I’m sure Heikki is part of that project.

If Kovalainen can continue to be consistent as he was last year, there is no reason why he cannot challenge the midfield and even pick up the odd point now and then.

Vitaly Petrov will be partnering Heikki at Caterham in 2012 and I expect the Russian to challenge his team-mate on a regular basis unlike Jarno. Having long-term financial stability is crucial for any company and with Petrov bringing money to Caterham from Russian backers, I’m sure Caterham will be on the F1 chipping block for many years to come.

The ex-Renault driver now has two full seasons of F1 under his belt so there should not be any excuses for not doing well. Petrov has proven that he can cut it in Formula One and has the potential to do well. Just remember his podium at Australia last year and of course not forgetting his fine drive in Abu Dhabi 2010.

The in-team battle between Kovalainen and Petrov will be interesting and 2012 could be a good year for Caterham.

HRT

When you consider the difficulties they have had both on and off the track, HRT have done well to remain in Formula One and 2012 will be their third year in the sport. Also beating Marussia in the previous two seasons will have been a boost for the Spanish team.

Pedro de la Rosa will bring bags of experience to the team and no doubt his experience will be vital in the team going forward. He could so easily have remained with McLaren as a Test Driver but the Spaniard has decided to take up as race seat at HRT. Fair play to him.

Narain Karthikeyan was the final driver to have his seat confirmed for the 2012 season and I think he deserves to still be in F1. Narain did a decent job for HRT last year and driving at his home Grand Prix will have topped off his season.

I do expect 2012 to be another season of struggle for HRT and not being able to test their new car at all three Pre-Season tests will have been the last thing they will have wanted.

Marussia

Failing a crucial crash test and not having done any Pre-Season testing. Not exactly the best of starts to the season for the newly named team Marussia. Like HRT, I expect 2012 to be another year of struggle for Marussia. But then again I could be wrong.

Timo Glock has remained with the team despite their struggles and the German has continued to retain his professional focus and managed to deliver strong results for Marussia in the past two seasons.

He certainly does have faith that the team will improve but I just wonder whether Glock will consider his options if Marussia fail to take a step forward this season.

I had not heard of Charles Pic until he was announced as Jerome d’Ambrosio’s replacement. Getting rid of Jerome was harsh because he was consistently finishing races and even getting the better of Timo at times. But obviously Marussia know what they are doing.

I wish Timo and Charles well for 2012 but it could be another year of struggle for Marussia.

Hamilton Back In The Game – German Grand Prix Review

You know how they say things come out of the blue, well Lewis Hamilton’s victory at the Nurburgring certainly was unexpected.

Hamilton had written off McLaren’s chances of challenging Red Bull at the German Grand Prix and yet in qualifying, Lewis only found himself five-hundredths of a second behind pole sitter Mark Webber on Saturday.

The 2008 World Champion put in a sensational lap in Q3 and things were about to get a whole lot better for him on race day. No doubt Lewis will have been on a high come the end of Saturday and that was without doubt Hamilton’s best qualifying performance of the season. Managing to split the Red Bull’s as well was a fine effort from Lewis.

The Brit was able to leapfrog Webber at the start and then went onto drive a faultless race. You could argue the turning point came on lap 33 when Hamilton pulled off a tremendous move on Fernando Alonso by taking the outside line at Turn 2 to get past the Spaniard. That has to be a contender for overtaking manoeuvre of the season so far.

But on the other side of the coin, Jenson Button had yet another weekend he will want to forget. After only being able to qualify 7th and a full second behind his team-mate, qualifying did not go to plan for the 2009 World Champion. And on Sunday, Button made a poor start and was then later forced to retire due to hydraulics problems.

It was not the best of weekends for Jenson and he will be hoping for a strong weekend in Hungary. Being a whole second behind Hamilton in qualifying will have been a concern for Button.

I’ve said this time and time again but Button does need to improve his qualifying to give himself a chance of at least challenging Red Bull and Ferrari. But Lewis’ performance in Germany will give Jenson hope that McLaren are getting closer to Red Bull.

Despite not winning the race, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso put in another strong performance to finish the race 2nd behind Hamilton. Alonso may have been slightly disappointed to have only managed to qualify 4th. But as we have seen in 2011, both Alonso and Felipe Massa have made flying starts in the majority of races.

Since Monaco, Ferrari and Alonso have been pretty impressive and for me it was no surprise the Spaniard won at Silverstone. But its just frustrating that Ferrari seem to get into their stride during the middle part of the season and not at the beginning of the season as we have seen this year and in 2010.

Make no mistake though Ferrari are back and don’t underestimate Fernando Alonso. Fernando’s team-mate Felipe Massa came home 5th after losing out to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel on the final lap in the final pit stop. Massa was in front of Vettel heading into the pit lane on the final lap but Sebastian left the pit lane ahead of Felipe after the Ferrari pit crew were slow to release the Brazilian.

Massa for me has made a solid start this year and I would love to see him win another race. Felipe is the No.2 driver at Ferrari but there have been occasions where the Brazilian has finished in front of Fernando so Alonso has not had it all his own way in 2011.

Sebastian Vettel is still 70+ points clear of the second placed man in the Drivers standings but Sunday’s race was not a walk in the park for last years World Champion.

It was the first time really where we saw Vettel making rare mistakes although he did make an error on the final lap of the Canadian Grand Prix to allow Jenson Button to take the chequered flag.

For sure Vettel is in the box seat even though he finished the race 4th. And the likes of Hamilton, Webber and Alonso would like to be where Seb is in the Drivers standings. I still fancy Vettel to take the 2011 crown but the last two Grand Prix’s have given McLaren and Ferrari hope that they can take the fight to Red Bull.

As for Mark Webber he put in a fantastic lap on Saturday to qualify pole. But on Sunday, the Australian was unable to capitalise and finished the race 3rd.

It was another missed opportunity for Webber to convert pole into a race win. Just how many chances does he need to try and win his first race of 2011?

Mark did finish the race ahead of Sebastian so that will be a huge boost. But yet again Mark did not make the best of starts to the race. Like Massa, I would love to see Webber win a race this year but he needs to convert pole into race victories.

Along with Lewis Hamilton, Force India’s Adrian Sutil will have been a contender for driver of the day after the German finished the race in a superb 6th place. Sutil was able to make his two stop strategy work and he even beat both Mercedes drivers.

Sutil had a good solid weekend and he will be hoping for more of the same at the Hungaroring. The battle for 6th in the Constructors between Sauber, Force India and Toro Rosso might just go down to the wire and I would not like to call who will come out on top.

There has also been speculation about Nico Hulkenburg wanting a Force India race seat for next season so it will be interesting to see driver line-up at the team next season.

Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher finished Sunday’s race 7th and 8th for Mercedes. It was a double points finish for the team but this was supposed the season where we saw both drivers challenging Red Bull, Ferrari and McLaren on a regular basis. But it has not panned out like that.
I’m one of those who still feel we have yet to see the best of Nico Rosberg. This is Rosberg’s 6th season in Formula One and some will argue he should have won a race by now.

But to be fair to him he has not been given a car in which he can challenge for race victories. Look at how long it took for Jenson Button to record his first victory.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi finished in the points yet again as he finished 9th. And Lotus Renault’s Vitaly Petrov picked up the final point as he came home in 10th.

HRT’s Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in what was only his second start in Formula One. And well done to Karun Chandhok who managed to finish the race. The Indian driver replaced Jarno Trulli for the German Grand Prix weekend and I suppose the best he could have wished for was to finish the race.

The German Grand Prix Podcast will be uploaded tommorow so watch this space.

All The Best Lewis, Jenson and Paul.

It would have been difficult to imagine a Formula One calendar without a British Grand Prix. Tracks such as Spa-Francorchamps, Monza, Circuit de Monaco and Circuit Gilles – Villeneuve must not be taken off the Formula One calendar.

The same applies for Silverstone and seeing the cars go through Copse, Maggots and Becketts really is something special. And Silverstone is right up there in terms of favourite tracks for Formula One drivers.

The new Silverstone Wing looks very impressive and I have no doubts we will be in for a cracking British Grand Prix weekend. And the weather might just play its part too.

Hopefully Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Paul di Resta will give us something to cheer about. The last two races at Silverstone have seen Red Bull come out on top. Will that change this weekend or will Red Bull make it three out of three?

Lewis Hamilton

You would be right in saying that Lewis Hamilton has had plenty of highs and lows this year. From his stunning win in China to disappointing results in Monaco and Canada, it has been a topsy turvy season for the 2008 World Champion.

McLaren never really had the pace to challenge Red Bull and Ferrari in Valencia last time out so I suppose 4th was the best result they could have hoped for. Finishing in the points ahead of his team-mate will have been a relief for Hamilton after what happened in Canada and Monaco.

Hamilton’s future at McLaren has been questioned in the last couple of weeks and there has been plenty of speculation about the Brit joining Sebastian Vettel at Red Bull.

Having Vettel and Hamilton in the same team would be very intriguing and it would be interesting to see who would come out on top. But Lewis has a contract at McLaren and I’m sure Martin Whitmarsh and the team will do everything in their power to keep Hamilton at McLaren.

I still think Lewis can win drivers titles at McLaren and I genuinely believe we have yet to see the best of Hamilton. On any given day and given the right car, Lewis can be unbeatable.

The British Grand Prix is the perfect weekend for Lewis to get his season back on track. After disappointing weekends in Monaco and Canada, at least Lewis was able to score some points in Valencia. With the home crowd behind him, Hamilton will desperately want to get a result to please the British fans and re-ignite his 2011 season.

Jenson Button

Winning in Canada will be Jenson Button’s highlight of 2011 so far. It has been a decent start to the season for Button but I’m sure he and Red Bull’s rivals will be concerned that Red Bull are pulling away both in the Drivers and Constructors.

Eddie Jordan was one of those who felt Jenson needs to improve on his qualifying if he is to stand a chance of winning more races. I do agree with Eddie but Red Bull are simply just too quick and its difficult to see at the minute who will displace Vettel off top spot in qualifying.

Jenson has qualified on the front row twice this season. But if the 2009 World Champion wants to be in contention for race wins, then he needs to at least qualify in the top four on a consistent basis.

Had the Safety Car not come out in the latter stages of the race in Monaco, Jenson might well have had two race wins to his name in 2011. Button however can be satisfied with what he has achieved this year and there have been times where he has beaten his team-mate.

Many of us I’m sure were thinking Jenson was going to be trampled easily by Lewis when he joined McLaren. But it has not turned out like that and Button has proven to be more than a match for Hamilton.

It was a frustrating weekend all round for McLaren at the European Grand Prix but Silverstone is the perfect place for Jenson and the team to bounce back.

Jenson I believe has not finished on the podium at Silverstone in his Formula One career so that will be something he will want to change.

Paul di Resta

And the final Brit on this years Formula One grid is Force India’s Paul di Resta. I have been very impressed with the way Paul has adapted to Formula One so quickly and he really does have a bright future in the sport.

The Scotsman might only have two points to his name in 2011 so far but that does not mean he has had a terrible season. This is Paul’s first full season as a Formula One driver and he is bound to make mistakes.

Rookies will make mistakes as we saw with Vitaly Petrov last season. But look at what the Russian has gone onto achieve this year. Di Resta’s inexperience did show in Monaco and Canada but apart from that I don’t remember Paul making any other mistakes. Just give Paul the time and I’m sure he will put in some strong performances before the end of the 2011 season.

Last years DTM Champion has certainly given his more experienced team-mate Adrian Sutil a run for his money. Paul has also out-qualified his team-mate regularly this year so Sutil has not had it all his own way even though the German has scored the bulk of Force India’s points this season.

Force India are going in the right direction and I would not at all be surprised if they end up in the points come the end of the race at Silverstone. We have still yet to see the best on the VJM04 and Paul di Resta might just be the one to watch out for this weekend and he could be the one that surprises us all.

I wish Lewis, Jenson and Paul the best of luck at the British Grand Prix and for the remainder of the season.

It Really Was Worth The Wait! Canadian Grand Prix Review

Formula One fans might not have bothered watching the remainder of the Canadian Grand Prix after the long delay due to heavy rain.

But even the delay could not deny what was a truly pulsating race and yet again Canada served us up with another thriller. Montreal is a must-stay in terms of which circuits should remain on the Grand Prix calendar.

For the first time this season we saw a wet race and the race itself did not disappoint with incidents galore. It was a truly sensational weekend in Canada with drama from the word go in the First Free Practice session.

So Sebastian Vettel is human after all then? All was going swimmingly well for the German until the final lap where he put a wheel off line on to the wet part of the track at Turn Six and half-spun which enabled Jenson Button to get past and take a sensational win.

Despite coming into the pits SIX times and at one point being at the back of the grid, Jenson came through the field and got past Vettel on the final lap. The Canadian Grand Prix will go down in my view as Jenson’s best ever Formula One victory.

Button put in a staggering performance and he was simply supreme in his final stint of the race. The 2009 World Champion is one of those drivers who is able to get the best out of a strategy given to him and Sunday’s race in Montreal was no different.

Jenson was also in the wars as well after playing a part in Lewis Hamilton’s and Fernando Alonso’s retirements from the race. Both incidents could potentially have ruined Button’s race but lets not take anything away from the former Honda driver. Button was sensational on Sunday and that was a World Champion’s drive.

Its now two consecutive frustrating weekends for Lewis Hamilton. The Brit was forced to retire on lap eight after colliding with his team-mate on the pit straight.

Lewis was born to be a racer and I like his driving style but was there any need for him to do what he did on lap eight? There will have been other places on the circuit where Lewis could have got past Jenson.

Button did get a poor exit and there was an opportunity for Hamilton to get past. But Lewis must have known that because it was a wet race and he was close to the wall, there was always that chance he could end up hitting the pit wall.

But whenever Hamilton sees an opportunity to overtake he will go for it and no one can take that away from him. When Hamilton is on it, he is difficult to beat and he now needs to have a weekend where everything goes right for him.

Up until the final lap, Vettel had a faultless race and did everything that was asked of him apart from winning the race. But the German cannot complain with how things have panned out for him this season and he can be pleased with what he has achieved.

Seb will have been disappointed not to have won the race but considering this was a track Red Bull were supposed to struggle on, Vettel did a great job. He did go into the Wall of Champions in the First Free Practice session but last years World Champion did not let that affect him and yet again he put the car on pole.

Mark Webber had a decent weekend and finished the race third. The Australian was involved in a three-way tussle in the latter stages of the race with Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button.

I still think Webber needs a race win sooner rather than later otherwise he will be playing second fiddle to Vettel for the remainder of the season. Any win will do for Mark and the next Grand Prix in Valencia should suit the Red Bull’s so perhaps the European Grand Prix could be the race where Webber gets that win.

Off the track, Webber has yet to sign a contract for next year so could we see someone else partner Vettel in 2012? Only time will tell.

There were bound to be Formula One fans out there who were hoping for Michael Schumacher to finish in top three. But it was not to be.

Schumi has nothing to be ashamed of and for sure he can take a lot of positives away from Montreal. In the race we saw why Michael is a master in the rain and why he enjoys driving in the wet.

Finishing fourth was by no means a disaster although the seven-times World Champion will have been gutted not to have ended up on the podium. I really hope Sunday’s performance does kick-start Michael’s season and I would love to see him on the podium again.

Renault’s Vitaly Petrov went about his business quietly without anyone taking any real notice of him in the race. The Russian put in a sterling performance to finish fifth and score vital points in their battle for fourth in the Constructors with Mercedes.

It has not been a spectacular season for Petrov but it has been a solid start to 2011 nonetheless. Vitaly can be happy with what he has achieved so far and I would not be surprised if we do see Renault and Petrov back on the podium this season.

Had Robert Kubica been in the car, I just wonder whether Renault could have been contending for a race win. But we wish Kubica a speedy recovery and hopefully we will see him in a Formula One car soon.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa finished sixth after getting past Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi on the pit straight on the final lap. Massa will be encouraged by his qualifying performance on Saturday and I’m hoping that this is a sign of things to come from the Brazilian.

Massa is certainly giving his team-mate a run for his money this season and Alonso has not had it all his own way. Had the race not started under the safety car it will have been interesting to see where the Ferrari’s will have been at the end of the first lap.

But Ferrari will be encouraged by what happened on Saturday and Alonso was not a million miles away from Vettel’s benchmark time in qualifying. Ferrari do appear to have taken massive strides forward in recent Grand Prix’s and they could be a team to watch out for, for the rest of 2011.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi finished the race 7th but Friday saw Pedro de la Rosa being drafted into to replace Sergio Perez for the remainder of the weekend after the Mexican was unwell after First Free Practice.

I suppose it would be right to say that Perez has not quite shaken off the affects of what happened in Monaco. But an accident like that is bound to have an affect on you.

Williams’ Rubens Barrichello finished ninth for the second race on the trot and both Toro Rosso’s finished in the points. Jaime Alguersuari finished eighth and Sebastian Buemi picked up the final point by coming home in tenth.

Jaime really needed those points and finishing eighth in Canada will do his confidence the world of good. He is still under pressure from reserve driver Daniel Ricciardo but if Alguersuari can put in strong performances in the coming weeks then the pressure will ease.

And once again Sebastian Buemi finished in the top ten. Like Petrov, Buemi has made a solid start to 2011 and he could be someone in line to replace Webber at Red Bull.

A quick mention to Hispania as well. Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan finished the race 13th and 14th and this result could be crucial come the end of the season in terms of where they end up in the final Constructors standings.

2011 Candian Grand Prix Podcast on Formula1 FanCast

Formula1 FanCast’s Manish Patel and Scratch Radio’s Paul Hadsley reflect on a thrilling 2011 Canadian Grand Prix. I do apologise for the background noise in this podcast.

The Bahrain Grand Prix has been called off which is no surprise after the teams objected to rescheduling the race. We also react to the new Aryton Senna movie that was released in the UK on 03/06/11.

Jenson Button pounced on a rare Sebastian Vettel mistake to take his first win of the 2011 season in an enthralling Canadian Grand Prix.

Vettel ran wide at Turn Six on the final lap allowing the 2009 World Champion to get by and take a crucial win. Button was at one point at the back of the grid however he came through the field and managed to get past Vettel on the final lap to take a truly sensational win. And to top it all off he won the race by making six stops.

Lewis Hamilton had another weekend to forget as he was forced to retire on lap eight after colliding with his team-mate on the pit straight. Lewis had already been involved in an incident with Mark Webber two laps earlier.

The Red Bull’s of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber came home in second and third. Seb will have been disappointed to have finished second considering he led the whole race until his mistake on the final lap. But the German cannot complain with the way things have gone for him this season.

Mark Webber had an eventful race and was involved in an intriguing battle in the latter stages of the race with Button and Michael Schumacher. Webber did well to recover after his early spin and the Australian managed to get past Schumacher to take the final podium place.

Schumacher showed us in the weekend why he is a master in the rain and the seven-times World Champion just missed out on a podium finish. But Schumi can no doubt take a lot of positives from the weekend and this could be the result that kick-starts his season.

Renault’s Vitaly Petrov put in a sterling performance to finish fifth and Ferrari’s Felipe Massa came home in sixth after getting past Kamui Kobayashi on the pit straight on the final lap.

Friday saw Pedro de la Rosa being drafted into to replace Sergio Perez for the remainder of the weekend after the Mexican was unwell after First Free Practice.

Rubens Barrichello finished 9th for the second consecutive race for Williams and both Toro Rosso’s finished in the points. Jaime Alguersuari finished eighth with Sebastian Buemi picking up the final point by finishing tenth.

You can follow both Manish (@Baggies20) and Paul (paulhadsley) on Twitter.

You can also read about Manish’s views on every Grand Prix weekend by visiting his blog: http://mannyi.wordpress.com/

To listen to the longer version of this podcast visit: http://podcasts.footballfancast.com/f1/301217/button-has-the-final-laugh-cana…

You can visit http://www.formula1fancast.com to keep up to date with the latest Formula One news. You can also follow Formula1 FanCast on Twitter (@Formula1FanCast).

Vettel’s Maiden Monaco Success – 2011 Monaco Grand Prix Review

Glitz, Glamour, the streets of Monte Carlo could only mean one thing as the Monaco Grand Prix came to town. Monaco certainly served up a thrilling race and had the Safety Car not made a late appearance we were in for an intriguing finish between Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

But the German once again came out on top. Red Bull and Vettel seem to be having all the luck go their way and no doubt Alonso and Button will have felt robbed after Sunday.

However the Spaniard and Jenson can take many positives from the Monaco weekend and on any other circuit Alonso and Button will have got past Vettel.

Before I do go onto to talk about the race I want to touch on the incidents involving Nico Rosberg, Sergio Perez and Vitaly Petrov. Nico Rosberg had a heavy crash in the third Free Practice session and managed to stop his Mercedes hurtling headlong into the barriers.

And then in qualifying Sauber’s Sergio Perez crashed heavily into the tyre wall at the Nouvelle Chicane with five minutes to go in Q3. Vitaly Petrov crashed into a barrier coming out of the first Swimming Pool chicane in the race.

These accidents highlight how dangerous Formula One remains and nothing can be taken for granted. Hopefully we will see both Speedy Gonzalez Perez and Petrov competing at the next Grand Prix in Canada.

The tyre wall at the Nouvelle Chicane did its job and Perez came out of the incident with concussion. Hearing from Sauber chief executive officer Monisha Kaltenborn saying Perez was in good spirits and spent a good night in the Princess Grace Hospital was great news.

Perez’s accident was the third over the weekend suffered by a driver coming out of the tunnel and heading to the Nouvelle chicane. Renault’s Vitaly Petrov also crashed there on Thursday and Rosberg suffered a similar incident at the same place in final practice.

The exit from the tunnel is very bumpy and this may be one reason why we saw Rosberg, Perez, Petrov and Vitantonio Liuzzi suffer from crashes in that area of the circuit. You get the impression something needs to be done about the exit coming out of the tunnel. Only time will tell whether that part of the track will be improved.

Sunday’s race did not disappoint and I suppose the only disappointment was to see the Safety Car appear at the end of the race with Vettel, Alonso and Button slugging it out at the front.

Once the red flag came out and Vettel was able to change his tyres, last years World Champion was comfortably able to hold off the two-times World Champion Alonso and Button from the re-start. You have to give credit to Seb who did a tremendous job in nursing his tyres for over 60 laps although he was under severe pressure from Fernando and Jenson.

Red Bull and Vettel are unstoppable at the minute and its difficult to see who will stop them. But there is hope.

On any other circuit both Alonso and Button will have got past Vettel and I’m sure Jenson would have won the race if we did not see the Safety Car. However both drivers (Alonso and Button) could not have driven better races and can take plenty of positives from the weekend.

Alonso is like marmite, you either like him or you either hate him. But there is no denying the Spaniard is a class act and he does have momentum heading to Canada. Can he halt the Red Bull and Vettel surge? I would not back against it.

Having the benefit of hindsight, should Jenson have gone for a three stop strategy? A three stop strategy at any other circuit will have worked and Button would have got past Vettel and Alonso.

Jenson will have been disappointed not to have won the race but the Frome star can take heart from the way he performed at Monaco. Button is one of those drivers who always seems to get the best out of a strategy given to him and he was unlucky that three stops did not quite come off at Monaco.

But it was a weekend to forget for Lewis Hamilton. Throughout Free Practice, Hamilton was right on the money and was the one driver who you felt could get close to Vettel in qualifying. But things took a turn for the worse in Q3 in qualifying and from there his weekend went downhill.

Lewis was only able to set one timed lap in Q3 and in that lap he cut the chicane which meant he started the race from 9th. And in the race Hamilton received a drive-through penalty after he bumped into Felipe Massa on lap 34. Lewis then had to have his rear wing repaired after Jaime Alguersuari went into the back of the McLaren.

And then to make matter worse, Hamilton was penalised with the addition of 20 seconds to his finishing time after colliding with Pastor Maldonado’s Williams at Sainte Devote. Hamilton went onto finish the race sixth.

The 2008 World Champion certainly took his anger out on the stewards in his post-race interview with Lee McKenzie. It was the first time I saw Lewis being petulant and venting his frustration out unnecessarily.

What Hamilton needs to do now is forget about Monaco and look ahead to the weekend in Canada where he won last year and in 2007. Lewis had a frustrating weekend in Malaysia and yet the following weekend he bounced back in China.

Come the end of Sunday, Sauber had something to smile about as Kamui Kobayashi finished the race in fifth. Once again Kobayashi made his one stop strategy work and in the end was just unable to hold off Mark Webber for fourth. Kamui is a star for the future and I would not be surprised if one of the big teams snapped him up. And fingers crossed we will see Sergio Perez racing for Sauber in Canada.

Adrian Sutil despite losing his right rear tyre in the latter stages of the race finished 7th and scored much needed points for him and Force India. Paul di Resta had an eventful race and had he not had a drive through, di Resta could have finished in the points. His inexperience did show at times but he is still a rookie and is still learning.

Rubens Barrichello scored Williams’ first points of 2011 by finishing ninth. It will have been a relief for everyone associated at Williams to see the team pick up their first points of the season.

It was a disappointing end to what promised to be a decent weekend for Pastor Maldonado. Maldonado managed to get into Q3 yet again and was on course to score his first points in Formula One until he collided with Lewis Hamilton in the final stages of the race. Through no fault of his own, Maldonado was sent into the barriers at Sainte Devote and the Venezuelan will be wondering when is my luck going to change.

And finally Sebastian Buemi picked up the final point and the Swiss driver has made a solid start to 2011. Buemi is one of those drivers who is no doubt aiming to drive for Red Bull in the future. One man who is under pressure is Jaime Alguersuari and if his performances do not improve then Daniel Ricciardo could be drafted in.

Tyre degradation was a major talking point in last years race in Canada and if that race is anything to go by then tyre degradation could yet again be a factor in who ends up victorious in Montreal.

Same Old Story Again!

It is starting to look a little bit ominous for Red Bull’s rivals now. Three wins out of four for Sebastian Vettel and its difficult to see who will stop Vettel and Red Bull retaining the Drivers and Constructors crown.

But there is hope and there is still a long way to go. Red Bull will have off days and it will then be up to the likes of McLaren, Mercedes, Ferrari and Lotus Renault to take full advantage.

You can only run out of superlatives to describe Sebastian Vettel. Not for the first time this season, Seb yet again qualified on pole and then went onto win the race. Is there anyone who can stop the 2010 World Champion?

Despite having a spin in the First Free Practice session and not having completed any laps in Second Free Practice, Vettel never looked back. Once again, the former Toro Rosso driver put in a stunning lap on Saturday to take pole.

There was no repeat of the poor start to the race in China and Vettel guided ‘Kinky Kylie’ to the chequered flag for his third win of the season. The RB7 and Vettel are a match made in heaven and the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Mark Webber, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso have a stern job on their hands if they are to get the better of Seb.

A 1-2 in the race was the icing on the cake for Christian Horner and Red Bull. It was a much better weekend for Webber and he will have left Istanbul in bullish mood.

Qualifying on the front row will have been a relief for the Australian and even though Nico Rosberg got past him on the first lap, Webber was able to get past Rosberg soon after. Mark also got past Fernando Alonso late on in the race to take second.

But I still feel Webber does need a race win sooner rather than later. He will not want to be playing second fiddle to his team-mate throughout the year. However Mark does appear to have got his season back on track and he will go to Spain with some momentum on his side.

One man who will have been happy with his weekends work will have been Fernando Alonso. Again he qualified 5^th and the Spaniard drove the wheels off the Ferrari in the race.

Fernando gave Red Bull something to think about throughout the race and the Ferrari hierarchy and Luca di Montezemolo will have been delighted with the result in Turkey.

You can never underestimate Alonso even if he has not got the best of cars and on Sunday he proved he was back. The Turkish weekend may be the springboard for Alonso and Ferrari to go on and have a strong season.

It was not the best of weekends for Felipe Massa but the Brazilian has still made a decent start to the 2011 season and I’m sure Turkey was just a blip.

Mercedes also had a decent weekend despite Michael Schumacher finishing outside the points. The team showed a lot of promise in the Free Practice sessions and Nico Rosberg was able to take that form into qualifying whereas Schumacher did not.

Nico qualified a superb 3^rd just behind the two Red Bull drivers and made a great start to the race by getting past Webber. Rosberg will have been hoping to finish on the podium but he can still take many positives from the weekend.

Mercedes will be hoping to compete against the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari on a regular basis. And from what we have seen in the last two races, Mercedes are heading in the right direction and significant improvements have been made.

But Schumacher will no doubt have been frustrated with the way things went at Turkey. Everything appeared rosy in Free Practice and you seemed to have got the impression we were starting to see the best of Michael.

But qualifying did not exactly go to plan and Schumi will not have been pleased qualifying eighth. Things were about to get a whole lot worse for the seven-time Champion. The German finished outside the points to cap off a disappointing end to what promised to be decent weekend for Schumi.

It was literally a case of damage limitation for McLaren as Lewis Hamilton finished 4^th and Jenson Button came home in 6^th. Both drivers were off the pace and never really got close to the Red Bull’s.

It could have been a different story had Lewis got past Webber on the first lap but it was not to be. Hamilton also had a number of battles in the race with Jenson which was pretty exciting at least for the spectator. Not if you were Martin Whitmarsh and McLaren.

Finishing 4^th was a decent result for Hamilton but he will be hoping for better in Spain. Same goes for Button as well. Jenson was struggling with his tyres in his final stint and Rosberg got past him to take 5^th in the latter stages of the race.

It was just one of those weekends for McLaren but they will bounce back and I have no doubts about that. Lewis and Jenson will have better weekends and they will win races before the end of the season.

Both Lotus Renault drivers Nick Heidfeld and Vitaly Petrov finished the race in 7^th and 8^th. The last two races have seen Renault fall back into the midfield but Petrov has made a solid start to this season and the Russian can be happy with the way he has performed so far this year.

Nick Heidfeld has recovered well after his failure in Australia but you just wonder if Robert Kubica had been driving the car, would Renault have picked up more points? Everyone in Formula One wishes Kubica a speedy recovery and hopefully we will see him in a Formula One car soon.

Also well done to Sebastian Buemi for picking up two valuable points for Toro Rosso. Both Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari are under pressure to deliver with Daniel Ricciardo waiting in the wings. But give credit to Buemi and finishing in the points will do his confidence the world of good.

And finally Kamui Kobayashi. After starting the race from the back, the Japanese star finished the race in 10^th. Everyone was looking forward to seeing Kobayashi come through the field and he did not disappoint.

Kamui is bound to be a favourite amongst the paddock and with Formula One fans. And dare I say it; some of the big teams might well be looking to sign him up in the near future. So Sauber have got a big job on their hands if they want to hold on to Kobayashi.

The European adventure continues as we head toSpainfor the next Grand Prix. The season so far has been Vettel and Red Bull domination and its difficult to see who can stop them.

Frustration the name of the game for Force India

It was a frustrating end to the Chinese Grand Prix weekend for Force India as Paul di Resta finished the race just outside the points in 11^th and Adrian Sutil finished 15^th.

However there were positives to come out of the weekend and Force India should not be too disheartened by what happened on Sunday. There is still a long way to go!

Paul put in another solid performance and the only disappointment for the Scotsman will have been not finishing in the points. Adrian was also in contention to finish in the points until Sergio Perez tried to pull off an optimistic move on the German late in the race. Both drivers collided and Sutil was forced to make another pit stop.

It was an unfortunate end to the weekend after a promising start but China proved the team are making significant improvements.

Qualifying

The Force India’s made it into Q2 comfortably with Sutil posting the 13^th quickest time and di Resta finishing Q1 in 7^th.

Things were about to get even better for last years DTM Champion. Paul managed to get himself into Q3 for the first time in his Formula One career and finished Q2 in tenth. A great birthday present for himself to get into Q3.

Adrian just missed out on the third qualifying session by finishing Q2 in 11^th. But the German had the option of starting the race on any tyre.

At this stage of the Chinese weekend, Force India will have fancied their chances of finishing in the points and adding to their points tally.

Once again di Resta outqualified Sutil to make it 3-0 and Adrian really does have a job on his hands if he wants to be the leading driver of the team.

Unlucky

Adrian and Paul made flying starts to the race with di Resta climbing up one place and Sutil moving up to eighth at the end of the first lap.

I’m sure Force India and their faithful in the early stages of the race were confident both of their drivers would finish in the points. Both drivers were looking good to finish the race in the top ten.

Throughout the race it appeared to be that di Resta was struggling with his tyres and this proved costly in the end.

On a two stop strategy, Paul came in for his second stop on lap 33. Having to do more than 20 laps in his final stint was always going to be difficult as well as keeping Vitaly Petrov and Kamui Kobayashi behind him.

Unfortunately di Resta was unable to prevent Petrov and Kobayashi getting past him and the 25 year-old Scotsman came home in 11^th. Perhaps Paul would have been better off with a three stop strategy. But that is something he and the team can look into as they head to Turkey for the next round.

But Paul had another solid weekend and it was just unfortunate he was not able to finish in the points for the third race on the trot. And yet again he finished ahead of his more experienced team-mate in the race.

Adrian Sutil could also have finished in the points but his race really came to an end when he had a coming together with Sergio Perez. Perez caused the collision and rightly got a drive through.

And Sutil through no fault of his own was forced to pit again. To make matters worse for the German he was also lapped. It was just one of those days for the ex Spyker driver but I am confident he will bounce back.

Positives

Had Sutil and di Resta gone for three stops then they may well have finished in the points. But lets not be cynical of the way Force India performed in the weekend. Qualifying went well and Adrian and Paul were just unlucky in the race.

Sutil could do nothing about his collision with Perez and di Resta was trying his best to look after his tyres after his second stop. Petrov and Kobayashi were on fresh tyres and there was nothing Paul could do to stop them getting past.  

There are no doubt positives Force India can take from the Chinese Grand Prix weekend. Despite the team not scoring any points in China, I have seen signs of improvement and we have still yet to see the best of the VJM04.

I’m sure Force India will be looking to score points at the Turkish Grand Prix and if they can have a strong qualifying then who knows what can happen.

If the Grand Prix in China was anything to go by, then we are in for another cracker at Turkey.

Click on the link below to listen to the Chinese Grand Prix Podcast.

http://podcasts.footballfancast.com/f1/301092/talk-about-bouncing-back-chinese-grand-prix-podcast/

You can also follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/Baggies20

What A Difference Seven Days Make!

Exhilarating, exciting and thrilling are three words you could use to describe the Chinese Grand Prix.

And what a difference a week can make for Lewis Hamilton. After a disappointing and frustrating Malaysian Grand Prix, Hamilton could not have asked for a better race in China.

His final stint was very impressive and Lewis managed to get past his team-mate Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Felipe Massa and Sebastian Vettel to take his first win of 2011. It was just what the 2008 World Champion needed after his Sepang misery.

Sebastian Vettel finished the race in second with his team-mate Mark Webber finishing the race in a superb third place after qualifying 18^th.

And give credit where it is due to Pirelli. There were one or two people who questioned the Pirelli tyres before the start of the season. But the tyres and strategies have played their part in all three races and I’m sure they will continue to do so for the rest of the season.

Here are my team by team reviews of the Chinese weekend.

McLaren

Well if there was one man who was extra determined to have a better weekend it was Lewis Hamilton. He bounced back in fine style after what happened in Malaysia.

Hamilton might have been slightly disappointed not to have qualified on the front row but third was still a good position to be in. But he almost failed to make it to the grid on time due to a fuel leak.

Thankfully he did. Lewis and Jenson made flying starts to the race by getting past Vettel which was exactly what the doctor ordered for McLaren.

On lap 15, the neutral F1 fan was in for a comedy moment. Both Button and Vettel came in for their stops and Button for some inexplicable reason went into the Red Bull pit box with Seb right behind him.

It was a grave error and that allowed the 2010 World Champion to get past Jenson. The former Honda driver will have been gutted not to have ended up on the final step of the podium but there was nothing he could do to prevent Mark Webber getting past him on lap 56.

Jenson should not be too disheartened by what happened on Sunday and there is still a long way to go. For Lewis, he proved Red Bull and Vettel can be beaten. Great weekend for Hamilton and the team and they now have momentum heading to Istanbul.

Red Bull

It wasn’t quite the perfect weekend for Red Bull. But with both of their drivers coming home in second and third, the 2010 Constructors Champions cannot exactly complain can they.

Sebastian Vettel yet again qualified on pole and there will have been fans who thought Seb would go on to win his third consecutive race this year. But this time round, that did not happen.

The German made a poor start to the race with both Lewis and Jenson getting past him on the first lap. However Sebastian was able to finish the race in second despite being overtaken by Hamilton for the lead on lap 52.

I’m sure Vettel will have been disappointed not to have won the race but finishing second was by no means a disaster.

After qualifying in a lowly 18^th place, Mark Webber put in a scintillating performance to finish third. For Lewis, it was a case of what a difference seven days can make and for Webber it was a case of what a difference 24 hours can make.

The Australian will have been absolutely distraught after what happened in qualifying on Saturday. But come the end of race day, Webber will have been delighted with the way the race unfolded for him.

Perhaps this result could be the kick start Mark needs and may be China will be a turning point in his season.  

Mercedes

It was a much better weekend for Mercedes after two below-par weekends for the team in Australia and Malaysia. Nico Rosberg finished the race in fifth and Michael Schumacher came home in eighth just behind Fernando Alonso.

Like Webber, China could be the weekend that kick starts Mercedes season. Rosberg and Schumacher were in contention for strong points finishes after both made strong starts to the race. Nico was at one point leading the race.

Even though Rosberg lost a couple of places in his last stint, he can be very happy with his weekends work. I would love to see Nico win his first race in Formula One this season.

There is no questioning his talent and if Mercedes can continue to improve the MGP W02 throughout 2011, then Rosberg could be in with a chance to win his first Grand Prix.

For Michael, it was not a brilliant weekend but it was an improvement. He will have been disappointed not to make it into Q3, but he certainly made a flyer to the race.

Schumi was competing with the Ferrari’s and he had an interesting battle against Fernando Alonso. Schumacher was up against Alonso for the 2006 Drivers crown.

Maybe we are now starting to see the best of the seven-time World Champion and in the race he pulled off some great moves.

Rosberg and Schumacher will be optimistic heading to the next Grand Prix in Turkeyand they will be hoping to build on what they achieved in China. All of a sudden things are not looking too bad at Mercedes.

Ferrari

The team from Maranello were expecting the same levels of performance in Malaysia at the Chinese Grand Prix. But for a team like Ferrari, they should be competing at the front against Red Bull and McLaren.

From pre-season testing we expected Ferrari to be Red Bull’s main competitors but things have not panned out like that. McLaren have made vast improvements since the final pre-season test and at the minute they are the team challenging last years Double World Champions.

But Felipe Massa yet again finished ahead of his team-mate Fernando Alonso and the Brazilian will no doubt take confidence from the fact he has beaten Alonso in two out of the three races so far.

Massa put in a solid performance in China and he should rightfully be pleased of what he achieved. He also managed to jump his team-mate at the start of the race again.

For Fernando he will have been disappointed to have finished the race in seventh but the Spaniard will not be too concerned at this stage of the season. With 16 races to go, there is plenty of time for Red Bull’s rivals to catch up and I’m sure Alonso will win races this year.

Other teams

For Renault, it was not quite a stellar weekend. Vitaly Petrov finished the race in 9^th to pick up two points. And Nick Heidfeld finished outside the points.

Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi finished in the final points scoring position ahead of Force India’s Paul di Resta. Sergio Perez did not have the best of weekends and he ended up getting a drive through late on in the race for causing a collision.

Scotsman di Resta is punching above his weight and yet again he qualified and finished the race ahead of his team-mate Adrian Sutil. Paul obviously will be frustrated not to have finished in the points but he has no doubt made a solid start to his Formula One career.

Williams had another miserable weekend with Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado finishing outside the points. To make matters worse, Maldonado finished behind Lotus driver Heikki Kovalainen.

Williams are now under a serious amount of pressure to deliver. They are now not the potent force they used to be in the 80’s and 90’s which is a real shame.

Like Force India, Toro Rosso will have been disappointed they did not pick up some points in China. Drivers Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastian Buemi had great qualifying sessions ending up seventh and ninth. But both were unable to capitalise and Alguersuari lost his right rear tyre and Buemi finished outside the top ten.

But many congratulations to Team Lotus and Kovalainen. The Finn finished ahead of Perez and Maldonado on outright pace and with big upgrades planned for Spain, Lotus will be looking to move further up the grid. Jarno Trulli was not far behind Maldonado and Perez so Lotus are making big strides forward for sure. 

Also congratulations to Virgin’s Jerome d’Ambrosio and Hispania. Jerome beat his more experienced team-mate Timo Glock in both qualifying and in the race. And despite their problems on and off the track, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Narain Karthikeyan finished the race on Sunday for Hispania.

China certainly gave us a Grand Prix to remember and I just hope Turkey can serve us up with another cracker.

Vettel Makes It Two Out Of Two

Two races and two victories already for Sebastian Vettel. An ominous sign for Vettel’s rivals but with 17 races to go anything can happen.

Red Bull and Vettel have continued where they left off in 2010 and at this point it is difficult to see who will beat them.

But qualifying for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday was much closer and it could so easily have been Lewis Hamilton on pole. However Seb put in a great lap when it mattered.

Vettel back in his BMW Sauber days

Qualifying proved McLaren are closer to Red Bull in pace and considering where they were in pre-season testing, McLaren have done a tremendous job in developing the car in a short amount of time.

There are encouraging signs coming out of McLaren and they will be hoping to close the gap further between themselves and Red Bull at China.

Here are the winners and losers of the weekend at Malaysia in my opinion.

Winners

Sebastian Vettel: You can only run out of superlatives to describe the 2010 World Champion. Vettel has been in sensational form so far this year and there are those who have feared already that 2011 could turn out to be a year of total domination for Vettel and Red Bull.

The 23 year-old yet again led from the front and never looked troubled. Sebastian is without doubt the man to beat and when he is on form no one can stop him. On Saturday when under pressure, Seb produced a scintillating lap to take pole off Lewis Hamilton in qualifying. However Vettel is beatable and I’m sure the likes of McLaren and Ferrari will win races this year to put pressure on Red Bull.

Jenson Button: In Australia, it was Lewis Hamilton who was the happier of the two McLaren drivers at the end of the weekend. But at the end of the Malaysian Grand Prix it was Jenson Button who got the better of his team-mate and the 2009 World Champion finished Sunday’s race in second. Jenson drove a great race and he kept Vettel honest throughout the race.

After a disappointing race Down Under, Button had a much better race in Malaysia and he looked after his tyres very well. His result at Sepang was exactly what he needed after only finishing sixth in the season opener at Albert Park. The Frome star will be hoping to make it back to back victories in China and I would not back against it even though Vettel is in impressive form.

Nick Heidfeld: After a miserable Australian Grand Prix, Nick Heidfeld was back at his best and finished Sunday’s race in a superb third place. This was Renault’s second podium of the season and Heidfeld as well as his team-mate Vitaly Petrov got off to flyers in the race. More so ‘Quick Nick’ as the German climbed from sixth to second on the opening lap of the race.

Like Button, this was a result Heidfeld needed after his disappointing showing at Albert Park. But Nick bounced back in fine style and both Renault drivers could be in for a season where they can challenge Red Bull, McLaren and Ferrari on a regular basis. Heidfeld has experience and his experience will no doubt prove crucial for Renault for the remainder of the season. Just wish Robert Kubica a full speedy recovery and hope we see him in Formula One soon.

Felipe Massa: Felipe has not had much luck on his side in recent years but perhaps Malaysia could be a turning point in his career. Yes he was only able to qualify seventh but it was a case of damage limitation for Ferrari since they were not expected to be close to Red Bull and McLaren. Both Fernando Alonso and Massa were expected to qualify between fifth and tenth.

But for Massa to beat his team-mate in the race will give the Brazilian confidence and it could be the kick start he needs. Alonso was given a 20 second penalty after what happened with Lewis Hamilton but Felipe had a solid weekend in my view.

Kamui Kobayashi: Kamui is one driver who will guarantee you entertainment and he is turning out to be a favourite amongst Formula One fans. The Japanese star made it into Q3 for the second time this season and he had a long duel with Mark Webber in the race. Kobayashi finished the race in eighth but was promoted to seventh after Hamilton was given a 20 second penalty.

Finishing in the points will have been satisfying for Kamui and the team after what happened in Australia. Disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix spoilt what was a great weekend for Sauber after both of their drivers finished in the points. Kobayashi is a star for the future and I would not be surprised if he is driving for one of the big teams in the near future.

Paul di Resta: Sebastian Vettel may have gained the headlines in winning the opening two races of the 2011 season. But Paul di Resta has also made it two out of two after scoring points in Australia and Malaysia. Last years DTM Champion has made a solid start to his first season in Formula One and finishing in the points in two consecutive races is not a bad way to get your Formula One career underway.

Paul is certainly giving his experienced team-mate Adrian Sutil a run for his money. The Scotsman has out qualified Adrian on both occasions and this will give him plenty of confidence. Di Resta will have been disappointed not to have held onto ninth in the closing stages of the race but to finish tenth was by no means a catastrophe.

Losers

Lewis Hamilton: Lewis Hamilton was the big loser at the Malaysian Grand Prix and things were going well for the Brit until his final stint of the race. He was struggling with his tyres and ended up being under severe pressure from the likes of Nick Heidfeld and Fernando Alonso. And Hamilton’s body language in his post-race interview with BBC Sport’s Lee McKenzie summed it all up as to how he was feeling.

Alonso lost part of his front wing after trying to overtake his former team-mate and both drivers were given 20 second penalties (Hamilton was not given the penalty due to the incident). The penalties for both drivers were harsh in my view and it capped off a weekend Lewis will want to forget. But the 2008 World Champion can take heart from his performance in qualifying and all is not lost.

Mercedes: Things just seem to be getting from bad to worse for Mercedes at the moment. Nico Rosberg finished outside the points and Michael Schumacher was only able to finish ninth and pick up two points. It has been a dreadful start for Mercedes and results must improve drastically.

Rosberg will have been hoping to score some big points in Malaysia after finishing last years race in third. But after making a poor start to the race, the former Williams driver never recovered and could only finish outside the top ten. Schumacher has qualified 11^th twice this year and this is something he needs to change quickly. Schumi will be wanting to make it into Q3 on a regular basis.

Williams: It was another disappointing weekend for Williams with Rubens Barrichello and Pastor Maldonado retiring from the race. Maldonado was eliminated from Q1 and Barrichello just about made it into Q2 after posting the 17^th quickest time.

The race was not much better for the team either as both Williams drivers retired from the race and they have been unable to transfer their promising pre-season form into race results. I have yet to be convinced by Maldonado and I still feel releasing Nico Hulkenburg was the wrong decision. But nowadays money does the talking.