The season is over and all is quiet in the world of F1. At least that’s how it should be, but this winter is different in many ways.
Toyota has gone, BMW too, and Brawn has become Mercedes Grand Prix. The new World Champion has defected from that outfit to join McLaren in what is being hailed as an all British super team, and McLaren itself is beginning the process of buying back the shares owned by Mercedes Benz.
The newspapers and websites are full of speculative stories regarding the return of Michael Schumacher alongside Nico Rosberg at Mercedes – a German super team to counter the British one – and UpdateF1 has been the subject of fervent debate on one of the most read F1 blogs in the business.
While the last point may have been the one that amused me the most, it has been the Brawn/Mercedes/Button/McLaren saga that has interested me to a greater degree. We may be a minor and insignificant web site that is famed for selfishly feeding off others but I do know what it is that interests those whose passion is for the sport.
The prospect of Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton at McLaren has received a fanfare of mighty proportions in the mainstream UK press, yet has been hailed in rather more lukewarm and lacklustre fashion on the forums. It appears that the general consensus is that Button is setting himself up for a fall.
This assumption follows the endless discussions concerning Button’s ‘worthiness’ as World Champion. That he won more races than Hamilton did in his title year, and that he won more than any other driver over the season and scored in every race in which he finished seems to have been brushed under the carpet. Button is not perceived as the world’s best driver and, for many, would not even rank among the top drivers in the sport right now, but whatever criticism one may have of him his early races this season were exemplary. Yes, he had the best car at the time, but that’s part of the game.
Button’s style is silky smooth and very precise, and it didn’t pay off in the cooler races where the Brawn was finding it difficult to get heat into the tyres. There is an interesting prospect at McLaren for next season in that Hamilton is much more aggressive in style. The factor we have to consider is whether the ban on refuelling, and the tyre management that comes with it, will play into Button’s hands rather than Hamilton’s.
Yes, McLaren is Lewis’s team and yes, Button comes into that environment on the back foot, but he also comes into it having achieved his life’s ambition, and with very little to lose. If he beats Hamilton it will be to his credit, whereas if he is beaten it will be – in the eyes of most – simply what we expected. Give Jenson his due – he’s made a decision (one which, it may transpire, was a very late and necessary option) that took some balls.
Before we move on to the Mercedes conundrum, a word about Kimi Raikkonen. Dropped by Ferrari in favour of Fernando Alonso – no surprise there – the Finn declared it was ‘McLaren or nothing’ for 2010. By pricing himself out of the market he closed the doors at McLaren, and now his management are involved in a bid to get him placed at Mercedes, or he is looking to head off to the rallying world.
I cannot see how Mercedes can afford him, or why he would drop his demands, hence I assume we have lost the Finn for 2010. I write this, by the way, with an imminent announcement from Mercedes due in a matter of minutes, so may well be proved wrong!
Mercedes Grand Prix is being touted as the return of the Silver Arrows.
My favourite era in motor racing history is the 1930’s, a time when the mighty Mercedes Benz team ran the likes of Rudolf Caracciola, Luigi Fagioli, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Hermann Lang – great names all – against the likes of Bernd Rosemeyer, Tazio Nuvolari, Hans Stuck and Achille Varzi in the mighty rear engine Auto Unions. Yes, it’s a romantic ideal to look back on these two German teams – funded as they were by the National Socialist Party – as the heyday of Grand Prix racing, but – to a man – who wouldn’t have wanted to be there?
Of course, the new Mercedes Grand Prix team will be replicating the colour scheme only – and the name, of course – but what about the drivers?
How can the Silver Arrows return to F1 without a name of such proportions (after all, in the last incarnation in the 1950’s the driver line up included Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss – no mean pair that)?
The choice is limited thanks to the state of the market, but we do know one thing: Nico Rosberg, a man who is highly regarded but has yet to win a race and did not even feature on the podium in 2009, has signed for the team.
Rosberg is a fine driver, a young talent with a bright future ahead of him, but is he a Hamilton, an Alonso, a Raikkonen even? Is he, in fact, on the level of Vettel or Webber, or Kubica, or even Button?
The truth is we don’t know, but Mercedes Benz have got what they wanted – a German driver. There is more to Rosberg than that, however, for he is multi lingual, good looking and a PR man’s dream. That’s one part of the jigsaw complete.
But what about the star, the serious superstar needed to launch Mercedes Grand Prix as the triumphant comeback it is intended to be?
Enter one Michael Schumacher, a man who stands – in stature – head and shoulders above all in recent years. The statistics are well known so we won’t trouble them here, but having Michael on board would certainly be the biggest publicity coup of all.
There is a problem, however, and it’s to do with Italy, and famous red cars. Michael Schumacher is, and always will be, associated closely and firmly with Ferrari. In a way, the modern incarnation of Ferrari is Michael’s brand. I can’t see him leaving all that behind to race for Mercedes Benz, and I can’t see Mercedes Benz taking on an icon – for that’s what he is – who represents a rival brand in the minds and eyes of fans worldwide.
It makes little sense, would cost a lot of money, and may not have the desired effect. Mercedes, after all, is entering at a time when others are leaving and is doing so with one thing in mind: publicity.
So who are the remaining options to join Rosberg in this mighty team? The most often named are Nick Heidfeld and Kimi Raikkonen.
The appointment of the former over the latter would be ironic given that Heidfeld, a Mercedes protégé, was passed over for a McLaren drive in favour of the latter some years ago.
Furthermore, with Raikkonen asking rather a lot of money, Heidfeld would come at a bargain price. He is consistent and brings the car home, he doesn’t make waves and is highly regarded for his technical feedback, and is – by all accounts – favourite for the drive.
However, Norbert Haug recently inferred that there would be a ‘surprise’ in the line up. Does this mean a deal with Schumacher is done, or has Raikkonen changed his mind and opted to race for a sensible fee? Or what about one of the other drivers on the market? Adrian Sutil, Jarno Trulli and others have all been mentioned with regard to the drive?
Personally, and this is speculation, I believe that Mercedes is waiting for Raikkonen to say yes or no before plumping for Heidfeld – a sensible, if somewhat uninspiring choice.
We shall wait and see, and that’s what this part of the season is all about. As for next year, it’s an open book; my money, if I had to bet now, would be firmly on Hamilton and McLaren.
Written by 3 on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:35:17
[ Print View ][ E-Mail Article ]
