Forgotten success

Reflecting on 2011 - titles were sadly overshadowed on Sunday. (Paz Chauhan)

The motorsport world was busy handing out trophies last Sunday before a lovely day of racing was cruelly ruined by the terrible events in Las Vegas. While I can’t quite bring myself to deliver a full review of each it is worth noting the titles won and lost over a packed yet bleak weekend for the sport.

Formula One saw another Sebastian Vettel victory at the somewhat sterile environment of Yeongam in South Korea. More importantly but no less inevitably Red Bull wrapped up the Constructors Championship with Mark Webber finishing third after a thrilling duel with Lewis Hamilton who came home second after starting on pole for the first time this year, a great effort from the 2008 champion.

Unfortunately Moto GP was a little disappointing for all but the Aussies as Casey Stoner romped to a home win at Phillip Island and clinched the final 800cc title in the process. Good on Casey and Honda who have been the class of the field in 2011, but the edge was taken off the race by the non-starts for Yamaha’s Ben Spies and Jorge Lorenzo, the latter’s hopes of defending his title were left in tatters after a very nasty finger injury on race morning.

Back home at Silverstone the BTCC boys had a refreshingly respectful end to the season despite heading into the final triple-header of the year with five still in title contention. Matt Neal’s win in race one set up an all-Honda duel between himself and Gordon Shedden as Plato and Jackson suffered punctures while Nash just didn’t quite have the ultimate pace although that didn’t stop him taking the indie trophy in his dated Vauxhall Vectra. Shedden seized the initiative with a win in the second race but it was Matt Neal who kept it cool to take his third title in the final race of the day as Tom Chilton won the reverse grid race.

Honda have fought against a competitive field, a certain moaning rival and even against themselves to take the crown with a rich variety of different machinery chasing them. I just wish the final rounds were held at Brands, Silverstone is too smooth and fast to lend itself to truly thrilling touring car racing in the modern era.

Then there is the crown that is destined to be forgotten; Dario Franchitti’s Indycar title. It is a trophy he will barely be able to look at, champagne will be toasted to the memory of a fallen comrade rather than sprayed in celebration. He is the Indy driver du jour, but this isn’t the moment to dwell on that. It was already a rough year for Indycar even before the horror of Sunday, let’s hope for a brighter 2012 for the fastest and friendliest racing series of them all.

Making history – Vettel style

Double digits - Vettel joins the greats and rewrites the records. (Infiniti)

There can be no more fitting place for a Grand Prix coronation than Suzuka. Yesterday Sebastian Vettel became the 11th driver to be crowned World Champion at the supremely challenging Japanese venue by taking much more than the single point he needed to do the job. His third place sealed the title and made the Red Bull star the youngest ever back-to-back champion in Formula One, booking himself a seat amongst the greats. Throw out your history books, Sebastian Vettel is rewriting them.

There can be little doubt that the Red Bull racer has driven a near-flawless season, I can barely recall any significant errors with the one exception of losing the Canadian Grand Prix to Jenson Button on the final lap. Not bad for the ‘crash kid’ as Martin Whitmarsh of Mclaren dubbed him little more than a year ago. So he has added consistency to formidable speed, a sobering prospect for anybody with designs on a Formula One title over the coming decade. Not only is he eradicating errors Vettel has also pulled off a few daring overtakes, something he was less adept at in 2010. It is fair to say that the guy has taken the step from good to great as he strides to become the benchmark athlete of F1 for years to come.

Of course the title was as good as settled before the weekend begun with Jenson Button needing to win the final five races with Vettel out of the top ten, an impossible task despite the Briton being on the form of his life. Button did everything right, winning a tense race in front of the adoring Japanese fans with Ferrari’s Alonso a surprise second and Vettel taking plenty of points to seal the deal with a third place. This prompted Seb to do that most un-Formula One trick of celebrating with a couple of donuts on his slow-down lap while an overjoyed Button stood atop his car and waved to the Suzuka faithful who mean so much to him.

Both Jenson and Sebastian are as amiable and jolly as top-line drivers get but the start of the race saw a glimpse of title-tension as the Red Bull swept across from pole to ruthlessly cut off the fast starting Button on the run to turn one. This isn’t unprecedented in modern Formula One, although the fact that the two cars overlapped as Vettel ushered Button onto the grass did at least warrant an investigation from the stewards who concluded that it was a fair move. This view wasn’t shared by the English driver who had a quiet word with the world champion before they climbed to the podium.

Behind them was Mark Webber who was hampered by a damaged wing, a legacy of a glancing touch against Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes who scored more solid points in sixth. An already glum Lewis Hamilton suffered a puncture and yet another collision with Felipe Massa but soldiered on to finish fifth with the Brazilian down in seventh. Sergio Perez who battled hard with his fellow midfield runners and with his own health after a nasty fever threatened to ruin his race. Like his rookie rival Paul Di Resta he was looking and sounding rough but the natural painkiller of speed helped the Mexican to score more points in eighth, another sparkling showing. Petrov came home ninth and Rosberg rose from 23rd on the grid to tenth to edge out the frisky Force Indias and Kamui Kobayashi who couldn’t capitalise on his seventh place starting position after a bad getaway.

As in China this year there was only one retirement; a Torro Rosso that shed a wheel. At Shanghai it was Alguersuari and by a bizarre coincidence it was his teammate Buemi this time around – both dropped out of on lap 11 to really add to the symmetry. One safety car punctuated the race to pick up the pieces of Massa’s and Webber’s wings at mid-distance, a sensible move. Aside from that it was another mesmerising display from the class of 2011 who are proving to be one of the finest fields ever, their collective ability to finish races is unprecedented.

None of the new breed epitomise the phrase ‘to finish first, first you must finish’ better than Vettel; third represented one of only two times that he hasn’t appeared on the first or second step of the podium this year. Despite having Adrian Newey in his corner the German richly deserves this second season of success. Mark Webber is no fool but he has been soundly beaten by the boy wonder, a sure sign that there is a lot more than a quick car behind Vettel’s success. At 24 years and 98 days old he becomes the sport’s youngest double world champion. Let’s put those numbers into sharp perspective; Vettel’s childhood hero Michael Schumacher had only taken one of his 91 victories by that age…

The Singapore Flyer

Formula One cars shine under the Singapore lights. (G.W. Wang)

The Singapore Grand Prix is the video game made real – and for Sebastian Vettel’s rivals his ninth win of the season means it is game over for their championship chances. Although Red Bull Racing are clearly in possession of the fastest machine on the Grand Prix grid, the very young double world champion-to-be deserves high praise for shading perhaps the most talented grid of drivers we have ever known. Despite flashes of supreme speed, it seems that after retaining top spot at the start he was cruising around Marina Bay whilst leading every lap.

That doesn’t mean Seb didn’t have competition; second-placed Jenson Button is on the form of his life in 2011 and Singapore was no different. It was a precise and determined drive that saw the Mclaren man tantalisingly reeling in the runaway Red Bull during the last 15 laps. If I was sat on the pitwall instead of my sofa I would have been sorely tempted to skip that final stop and take a chance on Button’s famed ability to keep a set of tyres together. It’s win or bust time with Vettel now only needing one solitary point to earn his second crown in Japan. I may not be party to the reams of information flowing through the pitlane, but I can’t help but wonder if the tyres were really degrading badly or whether drivers going off line were fooled into believing they had lost all grip. The marbles were plentiful and it was often after being passed that drivers started visibly sliding around. Pirelli insisted that the tyres could run for up to 45 laps – that’s well over an hour’s running. Still, what do I know?

Paul Di Resta certainly made the most of his rubber, running one less set of tyres than the five cars ahead of him. His sixth place was the most convincing performance of his fledgling Grand Prix career despite missing most of Friday practice, this time through mechanical woes rather than reserve driver Nico Hulkenberg getting the oh-so-valuable seat-time. This ability to jump into a car and perform in no-time at all marks the young Scot out as well-endowed in the talent department and it seems he is learning to keep his cool during races. There must be a few people in the works Mercedes squad who wish that Michael Schumacher would retire a second time to give Di Resta or The Hulk a go in a Silver Arrow.

Red Bull’s Mark Webber again had some great dices with Fernando Alonso, the Ferrari driver missing out on the podium and the championship after looking rapid and more than a touch edgy on Friday. As ever Webber started badly while Alonso shot off the blocks brilliantly which set up a nice squabble between the two which lasted most of the evening. Webber twice found unusual spots to get past the Spaniard, including a cracking dive under the Ferrari approaching the vicious turn 10 kerbs on lap 34. It’s easier to be brave when there is trust between drivers, these two have put on quite a show between each other on a few occasions this year.

If Webber and Alonso showed how to overtake, once again it was down to Lewis Hamilton to show us how not to. Clipping Felipe Massa’s rear was clumsy but
ultimately it is just the price that is occasionally paid for being the most exciting racer of his generation. It was a very minor discretion, although clearly not if you are Felipe Massa who suffered a puncture and ranted about Lewis’ on-track conduct after both qualifying and the race. You can’t blame the Brazilian for being frustrated but Lewis nails far more moves than he fluffs so the criticism won’t be taken too seriously in his corner. Indeed, Hamilton fought back to finish in fifth despite taking five trips through the pitlane including a penalty for ruining Massa’s race.

As ever the Singapore Grand Prix was punctuated by the safety car, this time for a frightening incident involving Michael Schumacher who was running quick times but his Mercedes tendency to eat tyres left him desperately dicing for the minor points. After a squabble between Rosberg and Perez ahead of him the seven-time champ misjudged his move on the rookie Mexican and Schumi was sent skywards. He came within a few feet of the fence but luckily he stepped from his shortened Mercedes despite a very hard landing, let’s hope his back isn’t too sore tonight.

It may not have been a classic race by the lofty standards of 2011 but a longer and more arduous test doesn’t exist on the F1 world tour these days, nor is there one with quite such a spectacle for TV. The unique look of Marina Bay was the glittering, flickering, pulsing, neon cherry on top of Formula One’s cake. Vettel didn’t quite seal the title, but after his first lights-to-flag victory of the year you can be sure he won’t miss the match-point at Suzuka, a track that should suit him perfectly.

Formula One in the wild

It is easy to forget just how impressive a Formula One car can be. Seeing the thoroughbred machines around a demanding section of circuit such as the slalom of Silverstone’s Becketts or the big dipper at Eau Rouge is one thing but taking them completely away from their comfort zone is the only way to truly appreciate how viciously fast and edgy a Grand Prix steed can be. The video above features David Coulthard taking a 2009 -vintage Red Bull around the ranches and the streets of Texas before heading to the forthcoming Circuit of the Americas of Texas, the pompously-titled track that will herald the comeback of Formula One to the USA. It currently only exists as a life-size outline in the dirt, who needs to see another F1 car on tarmac anyway? With all the Tilke-designed tracks dominating the Formula One decade we have become numb to the appeal of wide-expanses of flat grey roads, this is something a touch more exhilarating. The glorious slow motion shots convey the energy expended by a racing car even when the driver is being told to reign in the horses and temper the urge to tread the outer-limits of physics in the pursuit of speed.

OK, so driving on dirt, ice or on a beach is only done in an F1 car for show rather than sport, but there is the occasional circuit that takes Formula One into the unknown and gives us a glimpse of their fury, none more so than this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix. The track around Marina Bay is the video game made real, the kind of venue that F1’s futurist ethos and extreme excess deserves.

With the demise of true road racing the street circuit has been elevated to the ultimate challenge for man and machine. Walls reach out and touch the fleet cars, the usually unmoved suspension bucks on the drain covers that we barely notice in our daily existence; it is the morning commute on fast forward. Nelson Piquet once likened driving at Monaco to riding a bicycle around your living room. That must have been muttered by the Brazilian after a dry race, throw in some rain and it becomes even dafter than that. If the weather forecasts are to be believed then the Marina Bay track could become more trying due to the seasonal downpours in that part of the world. Greasy, bumpy city streets lined with solid walls are tough enough in the wet but Singapore’s joker is the fact it is run well into the night under powerful artificial illumination that threatens to dazzle the drivers as it reflects off standing water. The floodlights could very well live up to their name.

There are few scenarios short of Red Bull’s antics in Texas that will turn the F1 car into as much of a fish out of water as what awaits them this Sunday. Even without the added complication of rain the DRS system and Pirelli’s adventurous tyre compounds will provide extra excitement in a race that scarcely needs more livening up unlike the other modern cookie-cutter tracks.

Although Red Bull are due to wrap up the titles sooner or later, Sebastian Vettel is likely going to have to wait to be crowned for a second time. If Vettel wins then Alonso and the Mclarens will need to be on the podium with him to keep their slim hopes alive. There is a great chance of this; Fernando has been the driver to beat here with while Lewis Hamilton is the ultimate street-brawler who exhibited admirable restraint last time out at Monza when faced with Michael Schumacher’s Mercedes which failed to show up on the radar of race control. Whatever the result Singapore has fast become one of the truly great Grand Prix hosts, if nothing else it will be great to see the grid battling for glory in as unique a setting as any. There won’t be any cowboys or lassos, but if anything I think it will be more of a spectacle.

Raging bull

Sebastian Vettel took an emotional win, now for another title. (Infiniti)

No other Grand Prix pulls on the heart quite so hard as Monza bathed in the hazy autumnal sunshine. The sound of racing engines bouncing off the trees, their leaves showing the merest hints of turning, the Tifosi with their flags – there can be no finer place for a race. Sebastian Vettel certainly thinks so as he triumphantly returned to the scene of his first win and delivered a brilliant drive to score his eighth victory of 2011.

Monza was predicted to be a Mclaren track, as was Spa too, but it was Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel who once again bettered the Mercedes and Ferrari-propelled machines. For me it has been these last two races that have elevated Seb to the level of a truly great Grand Prix driver. In both races he made daring 190mph passes without using DRS that were to prove crucial to the outcome of the races – this time he gamely passed the leading Ferrari of Fernando Alonso. After his now customary stunning start Fernando in his Ferrari got the Tifosi cheering and willing his car on using their waving hands. Sadly it wasn’t to last, although Fernando still made it onto the Monza podium in third with the ever-clever Jenson Button between he and the race winner.

Behind them were Lewis Hamilton and Michael Schumacher to make it an unprecedented five world champions in a row for just about the entire race. The old Schumacher came to the races on Sunday, not just in terms of speed but he also brought his suspect racecraft to the table. On multiple occasions he made more than one move on Hamilton to defend his position. Lewis commendably showed patience despite a likely second place being ruined by 27 laps of battling the senior Mercedes driver. There have been people punished for a lot less this year, but Michael received some deliberately stern messages from Ross Brawn on the radio just when the stewards minds were turning to their rulebooks and Lewis was promptly allowed through. Although the Mclaren’s quickly pumped in fast laps after escaping Schumacher’s grasp it is unlikely they would have stopped Vettel who was on peerless form.

Meanwhile Mark Webber made a clumsy move on Felipe Massa and took himself out of the race, although this has barely dented Red Bull’s constructor’s championship hopes. Behind the top dogs Liuzzi in the HRT found himself in the midfield for once, albeit not in the way he hoped. Unfortunately he arrived there backwards and took out notable runners such as Nico Rosberg along the way as the field funnelled into turn one in a typical Monza incident. Other notable moments were Bruno Senna’s first points, another fighting drive from the back for Jaime Alguersuari and a solid points-score for Paul Di Resta.

The championship could be settled next time out in Singapore, although the fight for second is still firmly on. We’ve just had the two tracks where Mclaren should have shone and Vettel still took the honours. The others will do well to even take a win or two during the final fly-away events.

Paddock included Mclaren signing Williams’ Sam Michael as Sporting Director and Jarno Trulli keeping his Team Lotus drive. Except the outfit is unlikely to be known as Team Lotus for too much longer as a deal appears to have been struck between Group Lotus and Tony Fernandez that will see the Renault team re-branded as Lotus and Team Lotus switch to their Caterham brand. A slice of Malaysia’s national airline appears to be the sweetener that Fernandez was looking for, although I’m sure a supply of Lotus Elise patents would go a long way to helping him bolster Caterham’s model range, especially if he finds himself missing out on money in 2012 if changing the name of the Lotus chassis proves problematic with the tail-end charlies…

The best of the best

Hallowed ground - fans descend down Eau Rouge after the race. (Raul Soler)

While the glitterati and the glamorous declare Monte Carlo to be the jewel in F1’s crown, the true fans know that it is Spa that is the greatest Grand Prix venue of them all. The sweeps, swoops and straights of the longest circuit on the calendar provided yet another memorable race for the faithful, albeit one that saw a one-two finish for the rampant Red Bulls which did the prospects of a close finish to the season no good at all. Sebastian Vettel’s seventh win of the season all but assures him of his second title but it was a race that could so easily have gone to any driver from the top three teams.

Qualifying was a thrilling mix of wet and dry that didn’t faze pole-meister Vettel who duly lined up first on the grid – he is certainly the speediest Saturday specialist we’ve seen since Mika Hakkinen. The young German put in a calm and committed lap to land the top spot while an older German lined up at the opposite end of the field. Here is where Michael Schumacher made his debut 20 years ago, won his first race 19 years ago, took perhaps his most thrilling victory 16 years ago and claimed his record-smashing seventh title back in 2004. This weekend he added another milestone – starting last on the grid after a wheel went walkies from his Mercedes on his out-lap in qualifying. Not the ideal way to celebrate the start of his third decade at the top level of the sport, but he turned things right around come the race.

Bruno Senna was the hero of Saturday but became the first villain of Sunday as he squandered his excellent seventh place on the grid by running into fellow surprise front-runner Jaime Alguersari at the start. This triggered the traditional first corner calamity from which the Mercedes drivers came out smiling. While Schumacher negotiated the chaos to move right up the field his teammate Nico Rosberg took second place out of turn one and used the straightline pace of the silver arrow to power past Vettel down the Kemmel straight. The lead wasn’t to last, but Nico stayed in contention for the podium until his final stint when Schumacher who was enjoying his best post-comeback performance took fifth from his teammate after an encouraging race for Mercedes.

The Mclaren drivers are never ones for quiet races. The British pair battled hard after a somewhat trying Saturday that saw Button lining up 13th and Hamilton hauled in front of the stewards. From where I was sitting on the sofa Pastor Maldonado’s tackle on Lewis was an instant red card – driving towards another driver after the session has ended just isn’t on. But the aggressive action rated less of a punishment than an engine blow-up according to the stewards as Maldonado’s lunge into the side of Hamilton’s Mclaren warranted a mere five-place grid drop while Lewis got reprimanded for it too.

During the race Button made his way through the field with aplomb. He finished third despite changing a front wing after the opening lap. Jenson
overtakes so coolly and calmly, thoroughly deserving his podium appearance. He may have received help from a safety car but he also suffered hindrance from a damaged rear end.

The aforementioned safety car was for Hamilton who clumsily clipped Kobayashi as the pair diced for position. The resultant knock looked nasty as Hamilton lay prone for a few seconds before getting his breath back and slowly rising out of the car. To his credit Lewis has apologised publicly to the Sauber driver, although it is his Mclaren team who he should be saying sorry to – they gave him a competitive car and now their championship chances are all but gone.

After battling hard in the early-going, Red Bull took their first one-two since May and now look unassailable in both titles. Even more ominous is the fact that the team have completed every lap of the season so far, an astounding feat. Mark Webber looked quicker than Vettel at times although yet again he was compromised by a shocking start. A Red Bull clean-sweep may look ominous but Button was just as quick as them and even Rubens Barrichello in the Williams turned in a faster lap than Vettel giving a little hope to those competitors who usually have none.

There were some cracking overtaking moves, the best of which was surely
Webber’s move on eventual fourth-placed finisher Alonso into Eau Rouge. It was the most daring pass of the year, no question. It brought to mind another heart-in-the-mouth moment between them back at the magnificent Japanese Grand Prix of 2005 when Fernando took to the grass to pass Mark back when their cars weren’t quite so evenly matched. Another DRS-free overtaking move of note was Vettel’s on Rosberg around the outside of Blanchimont – perhaps the quickest corner in F1. It went someway to disproving the doubters assertion that Vettel’s weakness is his ability in traffic. A few more of those and he’ll have us convinced, although I quite like him having at least one fault…

Before the race there was a bit of a bluster over blistered tyres with Red Bull and others lobbying to be allowed a fresh set of Pirelli rubber before the start without the need to start from the pitlane as the rules decree. The Beeb featured some interesting footage of the famous Vettel finger being used to make a point with a Pirelli employee but the powers-that-be rightly told the teams that the rulebook needed to be followed and the tatty tyres held together well enough to give Red Bull the result it wanted. To me there didn’t seem to be much of a problem. Due to the changing conditions the cars were out for the whole of Q3 on the same tyres which were due to start the race. That meant at least ten minutes of quick running along with a long warm-up lap on Sunday afternoon, it seemed obvious that Pirelli’s edgy compounds would be past their best by this point. The fact that Red Bull went beyond Pirelli’s guidelines on camber meant their argument was a moot one anyway. Still, it only added to the intrigue and action as the Red Bull’s appeared more cautious than they might have been in the early running, exactly what the fans wanted to see.

The viewing public were treated to tremendous spectacle all afternoon, Spa is the perfect fit for a Grand Prix machine. While an F1 car around Monte Carlo is akin to a killer whale confined in Seaworld, Spa remains the natural habitat for the world’s most sophisticated racing machines. The fact that the talk of Spa becoming a bi-annual event continues is shameful for F1. While Monaco is given a nearly-free ride the other traditional tracks are being squeezed for the sake of investors in the sport that are clearly only here for the short-term. Anybody with their eye on the long-game would surely accept a compromise that would see a guaranteed place on the calendar for the most inspiring and exciting venue on the calendar and leave the Tilke-dromes to play the swapping game.

The drizzle-meister strikes again

200 not out - that was vintage Button. (pic ph-stop)

So F1 produced another thriller, yet that man Vettel still moved further ahead in the driver’s standings while Red Bull’s advantage was barely dented in the constructors. The 2011 season puts me in mind of Alex Zanardi’s CART championships; exciting races but no one clear challenger to the main contender. All this action is making Sebastian’s job easier. If Lewis or Fernando had produced the goods then we would be looking at a clear-cut rival to Vettel, instead it was the plucky Jenson Button who took a win at his 200th Grand Prix.

I have a confession to make here – I haven’t seen the full Hungarian Grand Prix as I was working. Oh how it pains me to say that, it was the first F1 race I’ve missed since 2002 – and that blip was due to being at a race meeting myself so it wasn’t such a disaster. So I’ll steer clear of ruminating too long on the event, suffice to say it was classic Button – changing conditions, keeping a cool head, confidence when others were lacking. He’s maturing into the thinking-man’s driver.

My second and final observation is that the stewards love him so much that they appear to have invented a new penalty just for Lewis Hamilton. I’ve never seen a driver punished for spin-turning the car in traffic or not. To be fair it was a dangerous move, it just shows how the FIA are clamping down on driving standards which is for the most part a good thing. Although dragging an exploded car the wrong way down the pitlane right into the championship leader’s path did rather make a mockery of their “make roads safe” campaign…

A chink in the armour

Still something to prove - Seb can't quite match Lewis' racecraft. (Infiniti)

After starring in qualifying Lewis Hamilton put in a spectacular drive to win a fine race this afternoon at the Nurburgring. The Mclaren star had to go wheel-to-wheel with Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber, while Sebastian Vettel took until the last lap to grab fourth from Felipe Massa in the pitlane and Adrian Sutil picked up a superb sixth for Force India in his home Grand Prix. Hamilton has rarely looked happier and rightly so. He had the pace all race and put in two very different but equally brave moves on Alonso and Webber, using his ability to strike hard when his rivals are vulnerable.

Despite a spot of wheelspin off the startline Lewis seized the top spot from polesitter Mark Webber, although at least the Australian finally led some laps in 2011. Mark fought back briefly as he passed Lewis for all of one corner but it wasn’t until the leader’s pitstops were completed on lap 17 when the Red Bull man assumed control, before dropping to third the next time he stopped for tyres on lap 30 on a day when the lead three cars were tightly matched. This time it was Alonso who emerged ahead of Hamilton out of the pits, though it was short-lived as the Mclaren driver powered his way around the outside of the Ferrari in turn two as the Spaniard emerged on colder rubber. Webber then lost touch on a rare day where the Red Bull looked like it was only the third quickest car on circuit leaving Lewis Hamilton to take his 16th Grand Prix victory.

Vettel was way out of sorts with a spin on lap 10 during a very difficult first half of the race for the world champion which left the homeboy locked into a battle with Massa for a distant fourth place. A last lap switch to the prime tyre for both of them came out in Sebastian’s favour but it took the pitcrew to make the pass for him. Sebastian is arguably the outright fastest driver but he still hasn’t quelled the doubts over his ability in traffic. There remains something to prove for the youngest ever champion of the world when it comes to racecraft.

Suffering far more than any other title contender was Jenson Button who not for the first time made a bad getaway before eventually succumbing to a hydraulic failure just after fighting his way past Rosberg into sixth place. Button was left down in the dumps while Hamilton was up in the clouds.

Within a week we will go from one ring to the other as the teams pack up their kit at the Nurburgring and drive to the Hungaroring where the heat will literally be on Mclaren and Ferrari to keep up their current run of form. The higher temperatures in Hungary should help Red Bull regain ground once more. For either Lewis or Fernando to overcome Sebastian’s 77 point lead in the championship it isn’t enough to just beat him into second, they need a day like today where both their teams are able to take points away from Red Bull. That is a tough ask but the German Grand Prix will give both squads real hope.

An afternoon of perfect laps

Webber wasn't alone in smiling after qualifying at the 'Ring. (pic Infiniti)

So Lewis Hamilton delivered a “wicked” lap that was “as good as it gets” to split the Red Bulls in qualifying for tomorrows German Grand Prix. Mark Webber sits on the pole with a lap that he said he could barely of driven any better, stoking his hopes to finally lead some laps and win in 2011. Finally banished from the front row is his teammate Sebastian Vettel who lines up third ahead of the two Ferraris, Nico Rosberg was a competitive sixth with Button, Sutil, Petrov and Schumacher completing the top 10.

According to the top two drivers they both drove the perfect lap – fast, committed, yet seemingly undramatic. But the perfect lap means different things to different people. Nico Rosberg out-pacing his illustrious partner is nothing new, but 1.2 seconds ahead of Schumacher at their home race will seem like perfection where he is sitting. You don’t even need to finish ahead of your teammate to feel you have done the perfect job, if not the perfect lap. Karun Chandhok finished just eight tenths behind Heikki Kovalainen for Team Lotus, the Indian driver lines up 21st having only been announced as replacing the troubled Jarno Trulli a few days ago. Given the circumstances faced by Karun it is fair to say that this was the closest to the ideal lap that he could have delivered and he is now in the frame to achieve his dream of driving in the first Indian Grand Prix and beyond.

Even at the tail of the field the HRTs were fighting hard with the other new(ish) teams and Daniel Ricciardo in only his second Formula One qualifying session was within thousandths of Tonio Liuzzi, a guy who has been in F1 since 2005. Again, for the rookie this must have felt like the perfect lap, even last place can feel special when you are in F1.

Red Bull-backed Australians bookended the time sheets in a qualifying hour that promises much for tomorrow, especially with Vettel finally out of the top two. Sebastian obviously will not be chuffed with this at his home race, even if the Grand Prix circus is itching to knock him off his pedestal everywhere he goes. Surprisingly the Mclaren looks competitive on the harder compounds as well as the softs, at least in Lewis’ hands during qualifying, though Mark Webber produced a special drive on F1’s last visit to the Nurburgring to overcome a penalty and score his debut win so he has still installed himself as the favourite even if all eyes were on Hamilton. The weather could be the curveball that wipes the smile off a few faces on race day, though you suspect that Hamilton could find himself with an even bigger grin if the rain comes. He’ll need to do an awful lot more “wicked” laps to keep this competitive top five in check either way.

Driver in knowing his sport shocker!

Moments like this aren't lost on Karun Chandhok. (pic lukehmuse)

I remember reading a Nigel Roebuck column many, many moons ago that mentioned in passing that many racing drivers aren’t too clued up on their own sport. To my fast-developing sense of motorsport geekery this was akin to being a Milli Vanilli fan then finding out about their dastardly miming or being an Evertonian when Rooney put on a red shirt – I was disillusioned to say the least. These superstar drivers didn’t deserve to have my dream job! I’m sure the astronauts currently orbiting the Earth in Atlantis know exactly who Neil Armstrong is.

Every driver who drives a Formula One car is well aware of what a great opportunity they have from a career perspective, but do they know why Grand Prix racing is so magical? Do they know the legends that have shaped the sport they play? One driver who emphatically does is Karun Chandhok. He’s fast becoming my unsung hero for his encyclopedic knowledge of Ecclestone-era Formula One and his appreciation of turbo-charged Indycars. On the track Karun is not shabby either, his GP2 win at Spa was a great effort and taking a totally untested HRT out into qualifying at Bahrain last year was a minor piece of heroics. On top of that he is a pleasure to listen to on BBC 5live’s excellent commentary team, another dream job for a motor-mad man such as he, though one he must be wishing he wasn’t doing right now.

Dario Franchitti is also pleasingly aware of his place in history, the photo of him looking at Jim Clark’s face on the Borg-Warner Trophy is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Tales of Valentino Rossi watching Norick Abe on video every day before school tells you a lot about how the great man feels about his sport, that is the sort of obsession usually reserved for the anoraks. I also loved this video of Lewis and Jenson exploring Mclaren’s vaults of obsolete yet iconic racing cars, I just can’t picture Kimi and Juan Pablo ever going in there and knowing their MP4/1 from their MP4/4. They probably didn’t know what MP4 even signifies.

As ever, I digress. Senna may be the racer’s racer, but Chandhok is the geek’s racer for sure – and he got himself another page in my good books this week by putting VJ Mallya in his place. It’s well worth a click, fellow Indian star Narain Karthikeyan also has a message for Mallya. The big businessman and former amateur racer (who was a rival of Karun’s Dad once upon a time) has given the former Jordan team an Indian makeover to create the Force India squad, but Mallya’s lack of faith in racing drivers from his part of the world is a little bit disheartening. Both Chandhok and his recently side-lined countryman Karthikeyan, another fellow with a keen interest in racing’s past, have not even been invited to test with the nominally Indian team.

Karun Chandhok delivered the man with the posh yacht an eloquent and accurate dressing down saying, “I think it’s a bit sad that in one breath the chairman of our Indian ASN is talking about how much he has done for Indian drivers and then in the next breath he is criticising India’s only two Formula One drivers.”

Mallya has been accused in his brief time in Formula One of not paying bills and using Force India as a giant ego-trip. This is from respected journos and insiders, as I’ve never been invited to party on his big boat I will defer to their knowledge. I doubt very much that he’s the biggest scoundrel this sport has ever seen, nor is he the best representation of it either. Unlike the two Indian drivers who are currently within touching distance of a proper F1 chance, Mallya clearly isn’t aware of the footsteps he is treading in. He is a speed, money and glamour man, while the drivers he belittles appreciate the artistry of racing.

So here’s to Karun Chandhok for telling Mallya that he’s wrong and generally being a great ambassador for his sport and his country. He knows a lot about the past of his beloved racing, it is so apt that he is amongst the few Indian drivers to be carving out their own pages of history.