19.10.10

Three GPs, Italy, Singapore and Japan to be covered in a big catch-up as Winston D'Arcy is still missing. I don't know about you, but if I don't watch the GPs "live", which often happens during the summer if I'm actually going to race meetings, especially those that include the Club's own excellent competition series', I sometimes never get around to watching the recording.

Sunday 12th September was the Italian GP at Monza, but also the Club's Prescott Picnic - no contest, though this was one race which kept me awake and glued to the recording. What it boiled down to was a tense duel between Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Jenson Button. Despite being blighted by chicanes, Monza is still is a high speed track and Button had taken full advantage of the F Duct system to fly in the face of conventional wisdom and run a big rear wing for more grip when he needed it, relying on the F Duct to give him the necessary speed in the high speed stuff. It's interesting that despite intense effort none of the other teams seen to have developed as effective an F Duct as its inventor. Alonso ran the conventional low-downforce configuration, albeit F Ducted, and to the delight of Monza ticket sellers stuck it on pole. JB was second 0.122 seconds behind, but his ductless low-downforce team mate Hamilton was fifth, over half a second down. To make it even better for the Tifosi, Felipe Massa qualified third.

At the start Button out-dragged Alonso and ran straight and true into a first corner lead, despite unattractive intimidatory tactics by the Ferrari driver. I wonder if that scything towards your opponent off the start ever works? As the old saying goes, if you're going sideways you ain't going forwards. Alonso dinged Button, breaking a strake of his diffuser, but as Alonso and Massa banged wheels and raced side by side, Button opened up a gap. Hamilton made a great start and lunged up inside Massa. It was a move that was never going to work and Hamilton's o/s front hit Massa's n/s rear, breaking the McLaren's steering arm and one championship contender was out before the end of lap 1. At the end of the lap Button was in front, with Alonso behind and then Massa. Mark Webber was another championship competitor to have a terrible first lap. He qualified fourth, but ended up ninth, for the opposite reason as Hamilton - excessive caution.

There then followed a long, long period where in some places Button in the draggy McLaren was quicker than Alonso in slippery Ferrari and vice-versa. The Ferrari could close, but could not get through. These two and Massa pulled away from the rest. This continued until lap 32 or so, when Macca telegraphed their stop by radioing Button to push as a pit stop was imminent. He did and then stopped. Alonso went a lap longer and juust came out in front of Button, nearly dropping it in one corner. However in this one stop the Spanish double world champion reminded us why Ferrari hired him. He delivered on speed, skill and pugnaciousness and was fault-free. Ferrari were in the lead at Monza!

Thereafter the scarlet car drew away with the grey one second with Massa comfortable in third and this was how it finished. Excitement came from the Red Bulls. After his dismal opening lap Webber charged through until he came up to Hulkenberg. Despite any number of swerves and missing-out of chicanes in his efforts to stay ahead, the Stewards declined to take notice of the German's antics. Webber was forced to pass him to finish sixth. Webber's team mate Vettel had qualified sixth, was slow early on, but speeded up after Renault technicians told him to fiddle with various settings! This has to be the modern equivalent of a loose plug lead. He had started on the softer tyres on which he had qualified and could have run through to the end - demonstrating once again Bridgestone's excessive conservativeness. Don't forget more variety means more choices and better racing. He pitted on the last-but-one lap to switch to the harder tyres (as demanded by the regulations) to come home fourth.

Thus Fernando Alonso secured his place with the immortals - winning an Italian GP at Monza in a Ferrari, the first since 2006 and becoming only the tenth driver to do so. Forza Ferrari!

A fortnight later, the Singapore GP or Monoposto Croft? Again no contest, especially when a Saturday night out in Darlington is involved. It was interesting to go straight from the oldest venue on the F1 calendar to the Brave New World of one of the newest. Could they compete? Err no. Despite the spectacular skyline and contrary to the sycophantic scribblings of the motorsport hacks the Singapore GP track is a Tilkedrome in an underground car park - rubbish, and it was a dull race. Alonso won for Ferrari, Felipe started from the back after a gearbox problem and worked his way up to tenth at the flag which became ninth after Sutil was penalized. Hamilton bashed into someone (Webber) for the second race in succession and retired. Nuff said.

A fortnight after that a return to a classic circuit, the Japanese GP at the majestic Suzuka - elevation, scenery, 130R etc. On Saturday night I looked forward to watching qualifying but of course it was rained off. Despite this I watched the recording and it was actually quite good! The BBC commentators, forced to fill in, asked good questions and they were answered. Winston has got it right in that the smarter F1 becomes, the dumber the coverage is, but maybe F1 would give better answers if they were asked better questions. Not everything has to be as dumbed-down as the X Factor.

Qualifying eventually took place on the Sunday morning and Red Bull were back on form with Vettel 1 and Webber 2. There had been speculation that Red Bull had been hurt by toughened up "bendy wings" rules, though this was strenuously denied by the team. Hamilton was third for McLaren and Kubica fourth for Renault with Alonso back down to earth with a bump in fifth. Massa was a poor 12th, blaming traffic. Again despite a contract and strenuous denials [which usually means confirmation - Ed], rumours are increasing that Massa and Rob Smedley, disgusted by the "team orders" affair at Hockenheim, will be off elsewhere. This can't have been helped by Luca sticking his oar in saying that Massa has not been driving well for the team. How Stefano Domenicali must love it when Luca "helps"......

Vettel won from pole as he pleased, with Webber a comfortable second, he was gifted the place after Kubica, who had jumped him off the line, had a wheel fall off. Alonso was best of the rest in third and Massa did his prospects of remaining a Ferrari driver no good at all by crashing into Tonio Liuzzi on the opening lap. Button was fourth for McLaren, taking the place from his team mate when the latter lost fifth gear. As often happens with Japanese drivers in Japan Kamui Kobayashi was on a banzai run, forcing his way past Sutil and Jaime Alguersuari at the hairpin before his stop and getting Alguersuari again after, together with Rubens and team-mate Nick Heidfeld, who finished eighth to score his first points on his return to Sauber.

So with three races to go Webber tops the championship table again with team mate Vettel and Alonso tying for second place. Hamilton and Button are fourth and fifth. The Red Bull drivers are prone to make mistakes, Italy and Singapore brought Alonso back into contention and if anyone can do it he can - if Ferrari can give him a good enough car. The McLaren just doesn't look quick enough at the moment.