After what feels like an age, Formula One finally gets back into action this coming weekend in Barcelona, the first European race on this year’s calendar. The last time teams were racing in anger here, the status quo of the Championship had yet to be decided and teams had just cracked opened their shiny new chassis and getting to grips with them. This week on TGTB&TB, I look ahead to (hopefully) sunny Spain and what lies ahead for everyone involved, while also covering all the weeks’ news stories.

But, how can I start the column without the now traditional…

Comments!

Bad news this week F1 fans, last week I made gcw a little bit angry…

“You will have egg on your face after Schumi has some success. Your comments reflect an ignorance of competitve athletes/persons. No one cares that new faces/drivers might get relegated to a lower status in the pecking order if a veteran driver regains his touch from an absence. The exception is the driver and if he is as competitive and motivated as Schumi, he will be entrenched in improving his position in the pecking order through super hard efforts and training otherwise they are a wuss like most journalists.”

Oh dear. How nasty. I’m sure Mr Schumacher will be working hard to get competitive (see, I’m not ignorant of it), as he’s being paid a king’s wage by Mercedes and would look a bit silly if he didn’t. Also, I think the young drivers themselves might care if they get beat by an old man coming back for a bit more glory, but that’s their motivation to do better. Will people care if the veteran driver gets beaten? Not really, it’s called changing of the guard, passing of the torch if you will. Congratulations, your “Schumi” is back, but he’s rubbish. It’s not like Schumacher ever did anything wrong to get people against him, right? I’ll just ask Damon Hill that question too. I respect the guy for his political moves to get him in the best team at the right time, but this move back into F1 was a big gamble and it’s not paying off….yet.

Rant over!

The Good

Most interesting news story of the break; a new tyre manufacturer for 2011 is on the horizon. Three companies, Michelin, Pirelli and Avon are said to have expressed an interest in supplying tyres for F1 next year. While Avon are happy to continue the current tyres as they are, even though they are a small plucky English company, the two giants Michelin and Pirelli want to change the size of the tyres, to more of a sports car size wheel. I personally hope the sport gets more than one manufacturer next season, as a tyre war would spice up the sport nicely. How good was F1 when it was Bridgestone vs. Goodyear, then later Bridgestone vs. Michelin? Competition like that would definitely mean tyres are going to become more of a force in races, which can only be good in the long run.

First race of the European season has been built this year as the first appearance of many major upgrades. Each team has tinkered away in some respect with their 2010 chariots and this weekend we’ll get to see exactly who has done the best job. There is mixed news from teams so far, from Red Bull declaring they’ve shaved 0.3 seconds off the car to Renault expecting to lose pace on Mercedes. Ferrari have been aero-testing new parts, as have McLaren, and all the teams will no longer have the strange mirror on the sidepods that have cropped up in recent years. This weekend should shake the grid up some more, but with more wet weather predicted (again), it looks like we might have to wait past Monaco to see who’s on the pace and who’s off it.

Mark Webber, one of the unluckiest men in Formula One, has been quoted as saying you make your own luck. That was too good to leave out.

On a final note, the new Silverstone layout was unveiled this week. I was lucky enough to tour the facility during the building process, and finally Silverstone will now be one of the best race venues in the calendar, not just one of the best tracks. Fingers crossed for a British winner in July to top off a great year for the home of British motor sport.

The Bad

Another story that got my attention during the past seven days was the accusation of Ferrari using subliminal advertising to promote smoking, especially in youngsters. Ferrari is the last team on the grid to still be associated with tobacco advertising, and have a contract with Marlboro until 2011. I don’t think you can call it subliminal when everyone knows that the barcode represents Marlboro, seeing as everyone who watches F1 knows what measures were put in place to overcome the first tobacco bans over a decade ago. Hell, it says Marlboro in the team name, that not exactly subtle now, is it! Just like Luca di Montezemolo said, ridiculous.

Flavio Braitore also decided to pipe up recently, now that he escaped total banishment from motorsport. I would go into what he said, but honestly, who cares?

The F1 calendar gained, and then swiftly lost, a potential new venue this week. With Bernie still pushing for an American race since the collapse of Indianapolis three years ago, Jersey City became an option…for about 24 hours. Apparently the area that was planned for a race track was seen by the local state authority to be a place associated with trees and greenery that motor racing. It’s a shame they couldn’t just keep it all under wraps instead of announcing it then quickly hushing it all up pretty quickly. America does need an F1 race, but build the foundations on concrete Mr. Ecclestone, not sand.

The Backmarkers

Lotus might be rueing the day they signed Jarno Trulli, as the driver is now making noises that the team may be favouring Heikki Kovalainen. I don’t think that’s the case, but the problem with Trulli is that if you don’t keep him 100% happy, the guy just doesn’t perform. I’m sure someone like Mike Gascoyne can keep him under control. If the update for the team brings them another second in pace, like they are boasting, then Jarno will be a very happy bunny indeed.

Virgin were the major casualty of the ash cloud debacle. The disrupted upgrade plan means only one car will have the necessary changes to the fuel tank, and that chassis will be given to their more experienced driver, Timo Glock. This team can try and say they’ve had bad luck from the start, but any mechanical issues are mistakes from the drawing board level, even though they tout a “revolutionary” way of design, but I just hear “cheap”.

Hispania seem to be growing from strength to strength over the break, with new parts being shipped in from Dallara ready for Barcelona. On top of that, the team also announced the signing of former Red Bull and Jaguar driver Chris Klien to their driver line-up, as tester and Friday practice man. The first non-paying driver for the outfit means progress, but they need to step up their relationship with Dallara if they want to move up the grid. Ordering a kit car just doesn’t cut it in this day and age of F1.

Sauber have recruited Force India’s former technical director, Robert Key, and he hasn’t wasted any time in getting some good ideas to help the team; worry about 2011. He did mention not writing off this season (yet!), but the adjustment from bug budget manufacturer to small privateer is such a big task I just wouldn’t blame him for having one eye on next year. If a Hispania finishes in front of them this season, at least they’ve laid the excuses out already!

That’s it for another edition. Next week I’ll be passing my eyes over the fallout of Barcelona, as well as giving my views on another week in Formula One. Want to get in touch? See that comments box below? Pass on your views! Don’t forget the forum on the mainpage either! See you in seven days!

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