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Previously on TJ13:
#F1 History: 1998 Belgian Grand Prix – Hill’s last victory
OTD Lite: 1999 Schumacher’s broken leg OK for football
Willy Wonka looking forward to the challenge of Spa
‘Kid’ Verstappen the big talking point at Spa
…but yeah, I’m not bitter or anything
OTD Lite: 1999 Schumacher’s broken leg OK for football
On the 11th July 1999, Michael Schumacher broke his leg in an accident on the opening lap of the British Grand Prix. His return would be on 17th October 1999 – over three months later.
With an ever improving Ferrari team, many felt that 1999 would prove to be Schumacher’s year and early season victories shared between Ferrari and Mclaren bore this out. However by the time of the British event, Irvine was pushing for a new contract and made no secret that he was going to fight Schumacher equally – which many felt led to the shunt that curtailed Schumi’s title challenge.
With the full support of his friend Jean Todt, Schumacher remained at home recuperating and only ventured into Mugello, on this day, to test his leg for a return to support Irvine’s title challenge. After completing five laps he limped away in ‘pain’.
It was only a chance phone call from Luca di Montezemolo which unearthed the truth about the stricken patient. When asking his daughter if he could speak to her dad, she replied he was out in the garden playing football.
If Alonso’s ear got tweaked last year because he said he wanted a faster car for his birthday, one can only imagine what Michael listened to, but miracle of miracles he was in Malaysia for the following Grand Prix, assisting the team in its challenge.
McLaren feeling confident
After a second season of under performance and woe McLaren will arrive in the Ardennes forest with a renewed sense of optimism that they can finally deliver the necessary results. Barring the extraordinary double podium finish in Australia, the team have not scored at all well – especially given they have the best powertrain sitting within their chassis.
Jenson Button said, “I go into the second half of the season feeling incredibly refreshed and positive. There’s no better place to resume the season than at Spa-Francorchamps. It’s one of the best circuits in the world, and it’s a place where driving a Formula 1 car always feels incredible.” Having fallen out of love with Formula One in the first part of the season, the summer break will have been welcomed, giving Jenson the chance to recharge away from the media circus. The death of such a big influence on his career, his father John, clearly affected the Frome driver as he has appeared closer than ever to girlfriend Jessica Michibata.
Button will be hoping to relive the success he enjoyed in 2012, as will Kevin Magnussen who also won there in 2012 while driving in the Formula Renault 3.5 series. Furthermore, he enjoyed victories in 2013 with the same series and a win with Formula 3 in 2011 at Spa. The Dane said, “Hooking up a quick lap there during qualifying is just fantastic, because the track just flows from one corner to the next, and the car is so fast and assured that it almost feels effortless. It’s fantastic. I think the second half of this season will be incredibly important for us.”
Indeed, incredibly important as the team look to climb the Constructors’ table where they currently lay in 6th place, 1 point behind Force India, but 38 behind Williams. Finally, not to be outdone by his drivers and wanting a piece of the limelight for himself there was the Racing Director, Eric Boullier.
He said in a blinding statement of the obvious, “We had a disappointing race in Hungary to send us into the summer break, but we’ve analysed the issues we encountered, and we believe we now understand what went wrong.”
…analysed the issues….understand what went wrong??? It hardly takes a rocket scientist to work out that putting the wrong choice tyre on a car makes it go slower.
The Frenchman continued, “Spa and Monza are tracks where every team runs a unique downforce package, so it won’t be until Singapore – where we resume with a more conventional set-up – that we’ll get a clearer read on our progress, but I think we have reasons to be optimistic.” To read between the lines is another easy one here. The low downforce of our current package will suit us, but we will need to do our homework for Singapore, a street circuit as tricky as they come.
The optimism is to be expected, but at what point are the staff at Woking going to realise that not everything that glitters is gold? When will the media stop asking Eric ‘The Believable’ questions?
How to spice up an interview
Just to be different, Puma set English comedian James Corden the task of interviewing Lewis Hamilton in a Mercedes, going around a track. Lewis praised the interview as it “was something different” from the norm.
Willy Wonka looking forward to the challenge of Spa
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a book written by British author Roald Dahl about an eccentric chocolatier, Willy Wonka, and a young boy who wins a golden ticket which culminates in the prize of the chocolate factory itself.
No this isn’t a metaphor for the adventures of Mad Max Verstappen but for the eccentric mutterings of one of Formula One’s most out-spoken ex-team owners – Giancarlo Minardi.
Ever since returning to prominence with his observations of a ‘traction control’ blessed Red Bull in Singapore, Minardi is gaining a respect amongst the serious followers of Formula One and with the return to action with the forth-coming Belgian Grand Prix it seems that his finger is on the more intriguing pulses of the traveling circus.
Having mentioned a return by Cosworth, it was only a few days later that TJ13 received word from Brixworth that engineers had been offered offers from the rival concern. In more recent weeks, the suggestions that Bottas could be Mercedes bound due to his manager being none other than Toto Wolff seemed far fetched initially. Until Mercedes revealed that they had extended Rosberg’s contract but were merely talking with Hamilton.
“As we enter the end of the season, traditionally Belgium and Italy are two intense weekends when plans for the future are revealed. We will see what negotiations the various teams conclude over this period. Belgium also holds special memories for me as it was in Spa 2005 that my team passed into the hands of Dietrich Mateschitz.”
“Honda is on the hunt for a super top driver to work alongside Kevin Magnussen as they want to return in a big way after the large investment s they have made with Mclaren. Consequently, Button should not be part of Mclaren’s plans any longer. Also, at Mercedes, only Nico Rosberg has signed a contract extension with Mercedes because the situation between Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull is not clear currently..”
“As to Ferrari, there will be no big changes as Fernando Alonso is waiting for more guarantees on the technical side, but in life and especially F1 you can never tell. Marmorini’s outburst is synonymous with great nervousness, therefore Mattiacci has to bring peace within the organisation.”
“Red Bull has shaken up the market with signing Max Verstappen, the son of Jos Verstappen who raced with me in 2003. He is doing well in F3 but next year will be a new driver with Toro Rosso alongside Daniil Kyvat… the games have begun.”
“Spa and Monza are two very tough challenges and gives the Mercedes PU a proper opportunity to consolidate it’s advantages, despite a few issues recently with reliability. Williams however could well be the outsider to provide a challenge. It will be interesting to see what innovations are part of the upgraded packages because in spite of the holidays, brilliant minds will continue working on new solutions for the end of the season and the upcoming one.”
“Best of all is that we have had some great races, which show that all the complaining since the beginning of the season has been futile. Despite the momentous changes, this F1 has been great to watch.”
(Sourced from GMM – with TJ13 comments)
‘Kid’ Verstappen the big talking point at Spa
F1 has emerged from its summer slumber, but the big talking point at Spa-Francorchamps will be a 16-year-old ‘kid’ who doesn’t even have a license to drive a road car. “Because he lives in Belgium, he cannot start lessons until about six months before his 18th birthday,” manager Raymond Vermeulen told the German newspaper Bild.
He is referring, of course, to Max Verstappen, the 16-and-a-half year old who has been signed up by Toro Rosso to debut next year and make history as F1’s youngest ever driver. But Verstappen, the son of former F1 driver Jos and female karting sensation Sophie Kumpen, is unfazed, particularly as a top-three finish in the FIA’s top F3 category will ensure he receives the most important document — a F1 super license.
“I think the biggest step I had was karting to formula three,” he told the BBC this week. “I think F3 to formula one will be a smaller step. The cars are really safe. I think it’s more dangerous to bike through a big city than race in an F1 car.”
He told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “The biggest adjustment will be the life around it all — the attention, the full agenda, the travelling. But I’m pretty relaxed. I have never had nerves or stage fright, and I won’t now.”
Verstappen may not be worried, but his age and inexperience may make some of his 2015 rivals nervous. “What the senior drivers will think about it? Don’t ask them, because they won’t like it,” admitted F1 broadcaster Tony Jardine. Verstappen said: “These are guys I only know from television, and some of them my dad even raced against. I’m thinking about being in the driver’s briefing and saying to Fernando Alonso, ‘Can you move over, please?’ But once I’m in the car I’m not afraid of anyone.”
Toro Rosso gave another teenager his F1 debut this year, and Daniil Kvyat is now regarded as a new star of the sport. “Everybody has the right to an opinion about my age,” said Verstappen. “Of course its beneficial if you have more experience, but you only gain that from driving the car. At Red Bull and Toro Rosso there will be plenty of people to help me.”
John Watson, another broadcaster and a former driver, sides with Verstappen in the new era of cars that are easier to drive and unprecedented safety conditions. “The age aspect is no longer as compelling as it was in my generation,” he told the Mirror. “They can put the kids with talent in simulators and help make the technical side second nature.”
And as far as F1 legend Gerhard Berger is concerned, Verstappen is a cut above. “To switch from karting straight into formula 3 and go straight to the front is something I’ve never seen,” said the Austrian, who is now the FIA’s junior series chief. “Max stands out,” Berger told Auto Bild.
Sports physio and performance expert Camiel van Druten told the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf: “Does it matter whether you’re 17 or 19? Max is strong and mature.” But all that doesn’t mean the speed of Max’s rise to the pinnacle of motor racing hasn’t given father Jos – whose first F1 teammate was the great Michael Schumacher – pause for thought.
“The past few weeks has sometimes felt unreal,” he admitted. “In the middle of negotiations, I was constantly asking myself — ‘Is it the right decision? Is it too early?’. Of course he is missing experience, but it was a well thought out decision. The bottom line is that I am the one who knows Max best. People need to understand that he is extremely adaptable and he learns extremely quickly. And formula one is different now to what it was twenty years ago, with all the advanced simulators for example.”
Just before Red Bull signed on the dotted line, Verstappen was put at the wheel of a much more powerful Formula Renault 3.5 car. “Straight away he went like hell,” said Jos. “He will also know how to drive a formula one car. Red Bull is also the benchmark when it comes to building young talent. This is especially true for motor sports.” Verstappen snr said he will travel to all or most of the grands prix next year, but only to be there for Max rather than play an overly active role.
“I will not interfere with the team or the car,” Jos promised. “I will just be there for when he needs me. I’ve done everything for my son and now it feels as though I have to let go. I think with Red Bull and Toro Rosso, he is in the right hands.”
TJ13 comment:
As Max said, F1 is safer than cycling through a big city. With the simulators available to these kids F1 has become a real life Playstation game. When people like John Watson and Gerhard Berger speak people usually listen or mock but Watson is right, age is no longer a valid concern it seems.
As to Berger, it may serve him to watch a few season reviews – a certain Kimi Raikkonen went from karting to Formula Renault to Formula One within a year. Not F3 will say the pedantics. In which case, I’ll mention Jarno Trulli. World Karting champion, he entered and won a few F3 races at the end of 1995 due to his karting commitments. In 1996 won the German F3 title and was in F1 in 1997. By mid season had replaced an injured Olivier Panis and led the Austrian Grand Prix until his car failed.
Whichever way his career goes, be it like Vettel’s or like his father’s – his signing has ultimately revealed what many fans have long suspected – it’s far too easy now. Welcome to the dawning of a new era…
Ron’s Revolution
Some call this the silly season, others realise it is the time of year when the movement between the tectonic plates is accentuated. Last year it was Kimi and this year another big name is reputedly on the move.
TJ13 is hearing that by Monza… Jenson will be joining Martin Whitmarsh in the Ron Dennis Revolution… and is JEV is moving up … and not on…. after all?
…but yeah, I’m not bitter or anything
There’s nothing quite like forgiving and forgetting is there Fernando? Maybe time to let bygones be bygones…
“It was only a chance phone call from Luca di Montezemolo which unearthed the truth about the stricken patient. When asking his daughter if he could speak to her dad, she replied he was out in the garden playing football.”
Hey Carlo, I’ve read about this incident a few times. It’s intriguing. As well as finding it amusing, I also dread to imagine what a younger and voracious LdM spewed forth over the phone. Especially considering the desperation Ferrari were in, trying to regain a title after decades. and the Euros they were spending.
My query is this: in all the years I have never seem this confirmed. Is it one of F1’s urban myths, perpetuated on over the years? Or did indeed LDM, or a Ferrari spokes person, or Michael himself ever confirm this? Even indirectly? LdM doesn’t seem to backwards in coming forwards about such things, ala Alonso’s verbal year downs.
I also love the Malaysia 1999 story. A master class of Michael’s talent and evidence that indeed Ferrari’s no1/no2 policy would indeed switch if another team mate a better title prospect. Despite the naysayers, and those anti no1/no2, at least the Scuderia at the time were consistent.
You know the saying, ‘don’t hate the playa, hate the game… ‘ no1/no2 wasn’t schumi’s game per se’, despite him having been the primary beneficiary most of the time when he wasn’t already wiping the floor with Irvine/Barrichello/Massa.
But you know, 2 of Irvine’s 4 or 5 wins came from being in the “Ferrari no1” team order status, and very nearly the won the title based on that.
if you read closely, the article insinuates that schumi had the backing of jean todt in “playing ill”. i’d say ferrari was split over the no.1 and no.2 policy and not all of the team wanted to see irvine win the title. jean todt, who together with ross brawn and schumacher implemented the policy obviously didn’t, while montezemolo did. a bit like the assumed sitution at mercedes one might say. and as with mercedes, where one of the parties might manage a driver who they would like to line up for a seat in the near future, and the distribution of competences between the top brass is a bit murky, the reasons were political and about power and the future direction of the team. getting schumi to ferrari was a jean todt project, ross brawn was lured to ferrari along with schumi. had irvine won a title, the position of todt and brawn would have been undermined. similarly, getting lewis to mercedes was a project of brawn and lauda. brawn is already out, and if nico wins the championship and lewis doesn’t, i’m pretty sure lauda will be out of mercedes soon after.
Ok, I think I have kept up…
But where do the Lannisters come in this?
you didn’t pay attention, ferrari are the lannisters…
And I suspect McLaren fits well the Starks.. 🙂
@landroni
or house targaryan, ruminating through the desert in search of former glory
@anijs
House Targaryen had dragons, and a spanking hot blondie. What does Big Ron have: sidekick Eric? 🙂
Although, come to think about it, Magnussen is blonde and does look hot. Hmm, if only he could hatch a pair of dragons..
@SiS
Gina-Maria, daughter (DOB 19/01/97) son Mick (DOB 22/03/99)
Playing Baby football with Mick aged 4.5 months? or one of Corinna’s horses?
Off topic but I attended the Formula E test yesterday and it not only was it absolutely fantastic but it highlighted just how far behind Formula 1 is in terms of fan engagement.
Firstly, there was the pit walk. Thousands of fans in the pit-lane, talking to the teams and the drivers as well as getting up close to the cars. I’ve never had that experience at Silverstone and the tickets cost hundreds. I paid nothing yesterday and got to have a great chat with many of the drivers in attendance.
Secondly, the track layout..oh man, what a joy it was to watch cars with minimal downforce tackle the fast chicane at the back of the track. Almost every car went sideways at one point throughout the corner and watching the drivers tackle it was fantastic. On top of that, they were gravel on the corner exits so if they made a mistakes throughout the corner, they were buggered. We watched 5-6 cars go off and it made me appreciate the skill and bravery of the drivers much more than F1 ever has (and I’ve had grandstand tickets at Eau Rouge, Copse and Maggots/Becketts before). My view was also not obstructed with ridiculous amounts of fencing which made the experience better.
Honestly, I genuinely think that the fan experience at FE will be much better than at Formula 1 races, and many people that I spoke to seemed to agree. Formula 1 has a lot to learn, and with over 5000 people attending the test yesterday, I don’t think the F1 teams can ignore the value of what Formula E is offering.
Silverstone will not be getting my money next year until they sort out track limits and reduce the price of the tickets, because it’s simply not worth it.
Anil’s a spin doctor over at formulaediary.com; just in case some of you hadn’t noticed 🙂
@anil
You may have missed my post, but I was at one of the earlier tests…
Couldn’t agree more with what you say, plus the cars were a huge handful at the hairpin…
I thought the cars looked a little impotent on the pit straight, but street circuits are unlikely to have a straight as long….
My main concern is they get the camera angles right… But seeing as there will be no charge to watch… It could be more a spectator sport than one for the TV…. In year one particularly….
Rons Revolution: maybe they got a promising 12 year old driver?
Don’t be so ridiculous… Clearly 13 is the cut off age. Even the FiA regs state, and I quote, “…as per driver ages, a driver must be no less than thirteen (13) years of age, so as to ensure fully descended testicles. A drivers capacity to take big-balls corners is paramount. As well as random drug testing by WADA, a driver will submit to the FiA’s new randomly checked, ‘full driver scrotum’ exam, carried out by scrotum specialist and FIA representive Max Moseley, so as to ensure continued descension up to and including a drivers eighteenth (18) birthday…”
It goes on, but you can clearly see suggesting a driver of 12 boarders on the ridiculous. Tsk tsk…
😀
@thejudge13
Alonso joining Mclaren??
And Vettel to Ferrari? With JEV to Red Bull?
Vettel to McLaren
“TJ13 has been informed, before Monza… Jenson will be joining Martin Whitmarsh in the Ron Dennis Revolution. Maybe JEV is moving up after all…”
Noo!! Judge, are you implying—because this is what I’m inferring from the above—that Jense gets dropped mid-season?
If so, then I’m wondering if Grosjean is in for a sudden jump from the sinking Enstone. Lately he has been making squeals on how much he loved Enstone, to the point of desiring to move anywhere else at the first opportunity. And if this is what is happening, then Big Ron could put Grosjean on probation until the end of the season to see what he’s cut of. Anyways, thinking out loud..
Probably not, more that Button is entering the final races in McLaren colours
Is F1 easy when a 16 year old can do it? I think it was the same in the 80’s. At 16 you have such a good physical health that you can use that to compensate for lack of experience.
Mind you: if you’re a top talent like Kimi, Jarno or Max. No way your average teenager can drive F1, or anybody average for that matter.
In the era of Fangio when you had to repair your car and fight of kidnappers, 16 probably was too young. And maybe later when there was so much death… But then again who can deal with that? Does age matter in that?
“Is F1 easy when a 16 year old can do it?”
Yes.
Clearly.
This season is silly!
Lotterer in @Caterham for Spa.
Once he got the OK from Audi to drive this weekend instead of doing Super Formula (Caldarelli summoned from holiday to drive his car there), it was simply a case of whether he would be doing FP1 or the full weekend.
Lets hope he can show us what we missed ten years ago, when he was beaten to the 2003 Jaguar seat by Pizzonia + money.. that said, Pizzonia looked good in British F3.. and Lotterer seems to have kept up his standards (like Webber) in WEC, Super Formula etc.
PS. If the Caterham needs development work, then he can steer it in the direction of the Super Formula car.. it’s probably not that much slower…
Yeah,but…..have they worked out how to keep the Renault pu puing? If the wheels aren’t going round it all becomes a bit hard developmentally.
True.. although if Red Bull get involved then there’s more chance of that happening! Maybe call it an Infiniti engine..
I already told you guys… kobayasi to McClaren. Did I stutter?
I admit it’s a real possibility, given Honda.. but I would be surprised if that were to happen.
I’m sticking with Grosjean to McLaren. A match made in heaven if Boullier remains there…
Would that put JEV in the Lotus then?
Renault-Grosjean-Vergne-Ocon would be an ideal outcome!
Yes. JEV is heavily backed by Total who are also in bed with Lotus.
This little love-in you two have going; where’s Maldonado? Him with the dollars……
Total and the PDVSA worked together to extract oil reserves in Venezuela. They are linked heavily so for Total to walk away from Lotus would not make sense. Vergne is French so would be a good fit for the marketing department.
Only if JEV brings cash to the table.. That’s the only selection process at Lotus at the moment.
They may as well bring Sato back from Indycar.
The pair of them are only crash test dummies.
Intrigued by these McLaren rumours. I think it would be sensible to let Vettel bed in as much as possible so McLaren-Honda can hit the ground running, so the early move makes a lot of sense. Exciting times!
Hmmm interesting, I post a link yesterday and today it’s in the DN&C section…..hmmmm
Should I bill the court for my services? 😄😄😄
To provide some extra context and detail, I posted a comment at another blog a few days ago:
“Probably too late, but Max’ sister tested a serious kart a few weeks ago. She’s 14 but she [has] the right name: Victoria. According to Jos she’s fast.”
It is still in moderation and for a moment I thought my comment is so interesting that the blogger wants to use it. But I guess he just forgot to unmoderate it…
Indeed, lets hope she’s the next Simona in 5 years’ time 😀
Ron’s Revolution
Might much hoohuh for nothing. What do we mean by big name. Last year I thought we were talking about one of the big 3, but in the end it was about Kimi. This time round, maybe the big move is about…hmmm…Button! To some lesser team or retirement, who knows. And simply the gap is filled by Grosjean and Vergne off to Lotus. Lots of speculation for not such a seismic event.
Then again it might be Vettel running away from Ric and off to Macca.
Vettel wouldn’t be running away from Ric; half a season doesn’t tell a the whole story and I know you are smarter than that @McLaren78. If the Japanese want a big name then with Vettel they would have one. Vettel would likely get a big payday and also provide room at RBR for all the talent they have coming into they system. Ron probably would like Vettel’s old fashioned way of doing business (e.g. no Twitter, willing to put in long hours).
Alternatively, Vettel could be mad as hell about engine failures, bad strategies, and as being a multi-WDC being told to throw a race to his teammate.
As for Jenson, I would hope McLaren would give him a senior role with the team as RBR has with DC. Button could probably race in another series, do some TV, perhaps show car runs for McLaren-Honda. Jenson is a good guy and deserves a graceful exit if that is what is happening.
My comment of ‘running away’ was tongue-in-cheek. Have to admit though that some journos out there will perceive his move as such only to take a dig at him.
Jenson do TV????????????????
Richter scale 1.
RE: Alonso Photo
That’s interesting… I think that’s a mistake he posted that.
It clearly to stayed with him. I know enough about racing to know you need to move on quickly after accidents, or indents where you barely escaped serious injury. You can’t keep joining the dots. Once you do, it’s like a growing cancer. That self awareness comes with racing age.
I find that comment by Alonso terribly interesting. Nothing good comes of showing his rivals the import he places on that moment, not to mention that he feels he was jipped out of a title due to that moment.
Hmmmm. The 30’s are a sh|t time for racers. The talent doesn’t die down, but the mortality kicks in. The awareness kicks in. The attitude of win of die melts away but you only know when accidents you once didn’t give a toss about stay with you. Not nessecarily in a fearful way, just the fact it’s conscious in him is enough.
You might think it’s too much to make of a tweet, but Alonso isn’t a tweeter who posts his meals, selfies, etc. it’s all thought out and/or significant to him.
Totally agree.
He’s said he’ll drive as long as he’s having fun. In not so sure he enjoys it as much any more.
From a psychological point if view his samurai quotes are almost him reenforcing his opinion of himself, which one doesn’t need to do if your opinion of yourself is highly positive.
He needs a new challenge away from Ferrari. They’re dragging him down with crap cars. 8 years of a gap from the last championship is far too much for a driver of his ability.
Target his team. Drop the asking price for a one year contract. Win the championship. Renegotiate.
I wouldnt worry about Alonso’s mental stability. He didnt collapse after his title loss in 2010, nor in 2012, the tyre farce last year or the dumptruck that is called the F14T. Somehow he still is highly motivated to perform a 100%.
I need a real good example apart from this 1 tweet that Alonso is losing his mojo…
Alonso Photo
Or an oblique reference to Grosjean moving to Ferrari, mind games in advance.
Lol, that would be an even bigger earthquake than the Raikkonen event. Sadly I dont see it happening, especially as Ferrari isn’t going to take the risk (even though Mattiaci wants Ferrari to be less conservative).