Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Congratulations to Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull, it is nice to see that good guys do finish first. Red Bull had the guts to stand by their ethics and beliefs when everyone was telling them to do otherwise. I personally was wanting Webber to win for obvious reasons, but Vettel will do. Nice job by Button, and well done McLaren, second and third in the race to sew up second in teams Championship, not a year of failure. Congratulations to Renault, great drive by both drivers, did that win Petrov the second seat? It should, the pressure on him must have been tremendous.

So another season is over, and the next will start tomorrow. New rules, new engines and sponsors/owners for the new teams, so there will be changes, but you can expect the usual suspects out front. The big question will be Mercedes, is Michael coming back, will the 2011 car be better?

So Red Bull let their drivers race, as they should, but I cannot help wondering if they are happy with the Constructors Championship, and congratulations for that, and do not mind if Alonso is the driver's Champion. They probably figure if Mark wins he will leave or retire anyway, so who cares, we've got Vettel who will definitely win it one day and that is who we really want. Helmut Marko looked very happy with the way it finished. It was actually a pretty predictable race, let's hope Abu Dhabi is a bit more exciting, although from last year's example do not hold your breath.

The biggest news out of Brazil is the attempted hold up of Button and the robbery of the Sauber mechanics, which should not be a shock to anyone who has been there. Bernie seemed very concerned, he laughed it off as "someone trying to sell him a hat." I think Bernie was talking out of his. Nice that he cares so much about his stars who have to drive around in bullet proof cars and police escorts. What is it going to take for him to wake up, someone getting shot or kidnapped? And the 2016 Olympics is in Rio!

Peugeot won in Zuhai with some squawking from Audi about the second Peugeot holding them up, but personally I do not see the problem. If Audi could not pass it how were they holding them up, and isn't that allowed, it is hardly a "team orders" issue. The big news is the hybrid Porsche was sixth, ahead of all the GT cars. I checked on the Petit situation for 2011 and my information is that it is not a part of the Intercontinental Cup, wither Petit now?

Lorenzo mad a miracle save and went on to win the race in Valencia, a worthy Champion. Roll on next season when the music stops on the changes in the seats. Ben Spies did well to finish fourth, so watch out for Ben on the works Yamaha next season. Checa finished last and you know my thought about where he should be riding, or not riding, next year.

Just as a reminder I will be in Cologne, Germany, all the week of the 15th speaking at an International Forum on circuit design, construction and operation. It is a very busy week with sessions for me on two of the three days and I am not taking my computer, so you are going to have to find your daily fix elsewhere. If you want to check it out go to http://www.professionalmotorsportcircuit-forum.com.

Is everyone happy now? We had an exciting "race" in Korea. Maybe I am too much of a purist, but all this needed was a tent and elephants to be a circus. Someone can help me out here, but didn't there used to be a rule that if it had not rained all previous sessions then a short practice in the wet would be added? Then there is this stupid parc ferme rule about not being able to change the set up on the car. That is a safety issue in these conditions. I know why they are doing it, it is just how they are doing it that is wrong.

The surface seems to be just like the one we laid in Adelaide in 1985 when everyone was paranoid about the track coming up. Very hard and very tight, like slate, so all the dust sits up on it in the dry and all the water when it is wet. That was why Adelaide was stopped a couple of times in the rain. It is funny that after having complained about the track Friday and Saturday David Hobbs said today how great it was. Some direction there? I loved Steve's comment that the water was sitting above the oil. Not the last time I looked. Engage brain before opening mouth.I know what you are trying to say Steve, just think before you say it.

I wonder if Mark Webber is still "clutching at straws" to find anything to critisize? Wall too close was I think what he said, and he would be right. I was waiting all weekend for someone to spin out of one of these corners and hit those inside walls. And I loved the fact that they drove the crane across the track to move his car when it was right next to an emergency gap. Petrov's accident was entirely predictable, and how Button kept the car off the walls in that Turn 17 I don't think even he knows. I loved the fact that like Singapore and there being marshals right where he stopped, Vettel had to grab an extinguisher and put the fire out himself.

I said a month or so ago that the eight engine rule was about to bite. These next two races will be interesting, but can someone explain how repairing a water pump in an engine can be done without penalty? Is the water pump not part of the engine? They had to take the engine out to do it.

I guess we should be happy this is the Championship no one wants to win. Every time we get a new leader he throws it away. I don't know where Button's head was at, he did not seem like a Champion trying to defend his crown.

I would love to ask the Koreans who paid for this debacle if they think it was worth $250 million to get bad publicity? Shades of Dallas. I was never interested in going to Korea anyway, but nothing I saw and heard would make me want to rush off to this new city. They need to get rid of the snakes first.

The only people who can really be happy about this race is Alonso and Bernie. It certainly was not a weekend worthy of the pinnacle of motorsport.

So now we have everyone calling Singapore a jewel, just because Bernie likes a parade with pretty lights. Someone said it is a great race, no it is a great event, there is a difference. Now, I know some of you think I am picking on Singapore, but my comments are intended to try and balance the overblown expressions of excellence. We have a track that is almost impossible to pass on. I say almost because we saw a few, when a driver had a much quicker car or better tires, and the overtaken car did not fight it. The rest of the time we saw the consequences of trying with one or both cars out. Vettel said it was too risky to try and pass Alonso, not conducive to good racing. Again we saw a lack of preparation for an incident, both in the track layout and the operations. Nowhere to put a damaged car or a crane to lift it, and no marshals running to remove it. Kovalainen was desperate to find a fire marshal and he was lucky he got that fire out with the small extinguisher they passed him through the pit wall debris fence. I know this is not politically correct, but I have never liked the fence on pit wall. I know the reasoning, but when did we have an accident that sprayed debris over that wall, I'm sure someone will tell me.

Then the NASCAR Channel, sorry SPEED, showed their utter contempt for F1 fans by leaving the race without the winners rostrum or the interviews, not for the first time, to go to a NASCAR talking heads show. SPEED, you know the time this race is going to run so why do you do this, especially hours before the other race is due to start?

Singapore says that they are going to study the true economic benefit of the event, and see what Bernie's fee is, before the ante up for the new contract after 2012. It was a sell-out, but the stands were largely empty Friday, and that tells me they are not tourists coming in for the race but locals, so where is the benefit?

Korea seems even more in trouble now Bernie has finally fessed up that all is not well. "We have to get lucky and hope it will happen." Not the way to run a multimillion dollar sport I think, and not Bernie's style at all.

A friend who works for Musco Lighting has responded to my comment on how "green" can you be using the power for the lights. They have a system coming, that is not for common knowledge at the moment, that will improve the situation, but it still needs power to run which would not be required for a daytime race. And let's not forget the lighting required for the spectators, it is not just the track.

I made a silly comment a month or so ago that Vettel must be dreaming if he thinks he can still win the Championship. Well, here we are and he can still do it, as can Alonso, Webber and Hamilton, and maybe Button. As we have seen anything can happen in the last four(three?) races, it is the Championship no one wants or can take control of.

So Bernie thinks Singapore is a "jewel" that gets polished better every year? That may be the 5000 feet view, or the one from the balance sheet, but closer to the action it's not much of a jewel for us race fans. Why did Massa's Ferrari sit in the middle of the track with no marshals trying to move it, in fact not one in sight, and no cranes to lift it. Do these people not look at other races? Monaco, which is a jewel, shows every year how to do it

Massa apparently had a gearbox problem, but they chose to change the engine as well as he was last on the grid anyway. Sort of follows from my blog a couple of days ago about potential problems for Ferrari. Let's see how Alonso goes in the race. Should be interesting as it is still very close among the five championship contenders. It is really anybody's race, and anyone's race to lose. Webber and Button are the two most likely not to put it in the wall, but I guess we will see.

Murphy The Bear has a new posting today on the state of sportscar, and notes, as I have been saying, the lack of "buzz." Makes it hard for us bloggers when nothing stirs the spirit. Petit Le Mans next weekend, so let's hope for some more interest. Always a great race, second only to the 24 hour for me, and don't forget the Radio Le Mans feed for those of us who do not want SPEED's endless nonsense. I have to take my hat off to them, I could not remember so much useless verbiage to keep spouting, unless they have someone supplying a script. If they do we need to find that person and take away his pen.

The ongoing saga of Korea. Apparently the surface was still not down this last week, and the final inspection is supposed to be Tuesday. Bernie has his money they say, so the race will go on regardless. He who has the gold makes the rules?

I want to thank Peter G for his comments, especially pointing out that for a series that is trying to be "green," night racing uses an enormous amount of unnecessary energy. I have made this comment in respect of NASCAR, video boards at the Cowboys stadium, soccer night matches, etc. Why is F1, or motor racing in general, the only one who has to be relevant in terms of energy saving? Has anyone an idea on the amount of energy required to light Singapore or Abu Dhabi, compared to say, the amount of fuel the cars use?