Bob Barnard Track Engineering

Who ever thought this was a good idea to go ahead with this Bahrain GP? I cannot see how the Government thought this was going to generate positive press for them, and it isn't. Nor for F1, who are on a hiding to nothing, just look at the cartoons of Bernie getting off a jet walking over the bodies of protesters. There are some great pieces being written by better journalists than I, and Maurice Hamilton has one on the ESPN F1 site:

http://en.espnf1.com/bahrain/motorsport/story/76129.html

Maurice makes the point that even before the protests Bahrain is not a place F1 should be. It is interesting, albeit on a small sample, but the first comment on adverse blogs or articles is a positive one for Bahrain. You don't think they have hired people to monitor and respond to these do you?

Joe Saward is monitoring the world's press which, apart from the obvious partisan ones from the Gulf and Iran, are all censuring F1 and the Government, great PR there.

And now we have the first incident to F1 people. The fact that they were not "targeted" has absolutely nothing to do with it, they were still nearly fire bombed with a Molotov cocktail. It was four mechanics from the Force India Team on their way back to the hotel on the main highway. It seems at least one if not two of the team have now left Bahrain, and Hulkenburg said it was wrong that the teams had been put in a position where their safety could be at risk. Pedro de la Rosa, Chairman of the GPDA said he thought the drivers were safe. Oh good, never mind everyone else, and as one comment on Facebook said why is it only the F1 teams that are being protected, how about the rest of the population? And why would de la Rosa even open his mouth when he cannot possibly know that?

Has it got to a point where the middle east controls this sport? They seem to be spending money like there is no tomorrow to sponsor teams and events. It is impossible to turn on a TV and not see a team sponsored by Etihad, or playing in an Etihad stadium. Is spending millions on Manchester City really helping the people of the region? I know they will say they are investing for when the oil runs out, but is this really the way to do it? Is England playing Pakistan in the desert really helping anybody and is cricket prostituting itself for money? Smacks of self indulgence on the part of those "sovereign wealth funds," run by the sovereign of course. Is Etihad really making any money? Or are we just trying to buy some respect here? Well I for one don't respect them any more for it, and I suspect not many others do either.

Now I know Nico is not Finish like his Father, but he does know how to finish a race off. There have been the doubters, but he has not been one of them, he just needed the right equipment, set up, and strategy. Congratulations Nico, great drive, but it did bring home the importance in today's era of deteriorating tires that being at the front is a huge advantage. We saw that last year with Vettel, although it was masked by a great car, but we also saw it with Button in Australia. Fighting through traffic after pit stops is quickly taking the edge off the tires, so qualifying at the front and getting there early is key.

Was anyone else surprised my the amount of "marbles" at this race, and so early on? Not something we saw at the end of last year, or at the first two races this year. Not great to see as it limits the overtaking options, although we did see a lot of that despite them.

What an excellent race though, and we are sure to see more of them. Mercedes have cured their tire problem it seems, in these temperatures anyway, but there is Lotus, Sauber, and yes Williams all showing signs they can compete. Now McLaren and Red Bull are going to be at the sharp end week after week, but surely Kimi is going to get in the mix soon, and Perez has also shown he can mix it. Who knows what Ferrari are going to do with that dog of a car. Sad to see Michael's race end that way, and I know I do not like him, but there you are. That's racing, ask Lewis after Malaysia and Jenson yesterday. Pit stops do have the ability to produce some different results. 

I loved our SPEED commentators carrying on about amazing it was that Mercedes won after 57 years! Well they did not race for 55 of them so what's the big deal? I suppose when Lotus win we will have the same carry on? Yes I had to suffer through a recorded SPEED coverage as when it was on I was on a plane coming home from a "Racing Goes Safer" conference in Long Beach where I continued my call for better track safety here in the US. If you have not gone on line and watched the Sky coverage and heard Alguersuari's comments then you are missing a lot, and David Hobbs misses most. Love David, but Jaime has current knowledge and what he can tell about what the driver and car is doing is amazing. An eye for detail I have always admired and wondered at in real racers.

I did watch part of the ALMS race live at Long Beach but cannot admit to being very excited by it. The GT's put on the usual show, but we miss the RISI Ferrari and the other overseas cars. Dyson has decided not to go to Le Mans due to the cost and not being able to raise more sponsorship or drivers who can pay. Sad for Rob and Chris, but an expensive experience if you are not competitive.

Watched part of the Indycar race, and let me say they do not look any better in the flesh. Ask Marco Andretti how well the new design of the cars works to prevent flying after riding over the rear wheels of another car. Waste of time and money come to mind? 

Finally Bahrain. Enough is being written about the situation without me adding my two bob's worth. Bernie and Jean Todt are getting rattled by the press pressure as they should. At least one team member had the courage to say they would not go for moral reasons, and got fired for their efforts which I think is outrageous. As I said, I for one will vote with my TV remote and will not be watching.

Hollywood loves sequels, but I am not sure F1 fans do. The situation in Bahrain is worse now than when they cancelled last year, with demonstrators becoming more violent. As many pointed out, that is what happens if you repress reasonable dissent. The Bahrain Government had only to look to Israel and Gazza, or Northern Ireland, to see just two situations where a majority is not represented. If the human rights activist now on hunger strike dies then we can only imagine what will happen.

How did it get to this, again? Who put this race back on the calendar and why? Bernie has to submit the calendar to the FIA, and I guess he has a contract with Bahrain so is obliged to, but could have chosen not to and borne the consequences. As it is the FIA agreed, and we are all now seeing the consequences. Thanks to a major PR campaign the lid was kept on the teams this year, we were all going to go, except now it is a week away and people are being shot and bombs going off and the cracks in that unity have appeared. One hero who did not want to be named said that the teams want it cancelled. Do the Bahrain Government own so much of F1 and the FIA that everyone is scared of them?

Bernie comes out today and says that the teams don't have to go if they don't want to. Really? At what price? Isn't that what the Concorde Agreement is about, you have to show up? None of the drivers have said a word this year, very strange. The only way the safety of people at the event can be guaranteed is for the place to be an armed camp. Unless you have police or troops linking arms along the track fence you are never going to stop someone climbing a fence. Remember the suffragette who threw herself under the King's horse at the start of the last century? More recently the idiot at Silverstone, and apparently someone tried to disrupt The Boat Race last weekend. I've seen the end of the Suzuka 8 Hour when the crowd comes over the debris fence, and of course who can forget the first Phillip Island MotoGP?

That's just at the track, presumably they are not going to camp there so need to be able to get in and out. Do they have that many troops? Far from being a unifying event I can only see it dividing the country more.

The FIA are missing in action , again. They are monitoring the situation. Someone needs to find enough courage to stand up and say "We're not going." Then we need to find some answers as to why someone thought this was a good idea in the first place.

Why would HRT, a team desperately trying to be Spanish, hire a Chinese reserve driver with no record? Does he bring a big bag of money? HRT are certainly not selling anything in China to warrant trying to gain exposure there. They now have a 30+ Spanish lady driver and a 24 year old Chinese guy, neither with any obvious credentials. Sounds like a great test and back up team. Come to think of it why would we expect anything else. As we would say in Oz, all they need is a tent and elephants and they would have a circus.

Argentina look pretty certain to have a F1 race in 2013, on yet another Tilke masterpiece, while one of his other gems, Korea, is likely to be dropped as they cannot pay the fee. That was a great investment wasn't it? Anyone in Texas watching this?

Meanwhile Magny Cours is asking why no one is looking at their track to stage a revived French GP? It is said that it is too remote, but I have been to both Magny Cours and Paul Ricard, and let me tell you Paul Ricard is not exactly downtown anywhere either. Maybe Bernie's involvement at Paul Ricard has something to do with it, or the politics of the Magny Cours Department?

Spa is supposed to be alternating with a French GP, but the Belgian locals are not much in favor of that and have a petition going. If, like me, you think only seeing a race at Spa every other year while suffering Bahrain each year is too much to bear, please go on to the web site and sign the petition.

http://www.grandprixf1.be/home.html

On a last note, unsurprisingly, Lotus, the car maker, can no longer afford the sponsorship for the F1 team that carries its name, nor will it be able to buy into the team. The real team owners say they are happy to continue with the Lotus name anyway. Thank goodness after all that wrangling.

So we are still going to Bahrain despite a demonstrator being shot last weekend! Bernie and the boys have a big PR campaign going to convince us all is well though, and Bahrain is apparently the best value for sponsors above the European races. This is measured by the viewing audience, so more people watch Bahrain than Spa! Maybe when it was the first race of the year, certainly no one watches it because the track is so great. More PR BS? There are stories of teams having alternative flights from China in case Bahrain is cancelled, so we will see.

Over to Indycar. Some of you will recall that at the time of Dan Wheldon's death I questioned the construction of the safety fence, SMI tracks being different to anyone else. Yesterday I received my March 15 Autosport and was reading the story about the drivers not being happy at going to Texas. The test was cancelled there you recall, apparently to save the teams from switching to an oval set up and then back for St Pete. More to do with the drivers I think. They are not convinced that the 2012 car will prevent pack racing, but they are also unhappy about the fence, which is the same as Vegas. The last paragraph of the piece is interesting as I have not read this anywhere else. "An investigation into Dan Wheldon's accident revealed that pack racing and the Vegas fencing contributed. ... with the supporting poles on the inside (track side) of the mesh." That's what I have said all along. This is not the FIA style of fence. Don't hold your breath for SMI to change it though.