Lotus Gearing Up For Bahrain

SportTrades like Formula 1, after all it's one of the biggest sports in the world. Formula 1 attracts huge television figures and is one of the richest sports in the world with drivers earning their salaries by driving faster than anyone 'normal' would ever dream of. The season starts next weekend in Bahrain.

For the 2010 F1 Season, we're going to be following the new Lotus Racing team on the blog. The Lotus name has great history in the sport, with the original team founded by Colin Chapman winning six drivers championships, dominating the sport in the 1960's and 70's. Great British drivers like Graham Hill and Jim Clark won titles for the team and although the team declined in the 1980's and 90's drivers like Nigel Mansell, Artyon Senna, Nelson Piquet and Johnny Herbert all drove well for the team.

Driving for the team in 2010 will be experienced Italian Jarno Trulli, talented Finn Heikki Kovalinen and young Malaysian Fairuz Fauzy who is the team's test driver. Trulli comes to the team with experience under his belt having driven for Minardi, Prost, Renault and Toyota in an F1 career that has spanned 13 years winning one race. Kovalinen comes to the team after two dissapointing years with McLaren as team mate to Lewis Hamilton. During that time he gained three podiums, one of those being a win after he won the Hungarian GP in 2008.

Fauzy comes onboard thanks to the Malaysian involvement in the team, although he has good experience in single-seater motorsport having driven in British Formula 3, A1GP and the GP2 series. As test driver for the team his work will be limited this season due to the fact there is little testing involved in F1 thesedays although he will be present at all the races in the season operating as the third driver for the team should anything happen to Trulli or Kovalinen.

The new Lotus team will initially be based in Norfolk, though its future design, research and development, manufacturing and technical centre will be purpose-built at Malaysia's Sepang International circuit. In its new incarnation the team is a partnership between the Malaysian Government and a consortium of Malaysian entrepreneurs.

Team principal of the team is Malaysian Tony Fernandes, who is the founder of the Malaysian-based Tune Group, which owns the Air Asia airline. Bringing experience to the team is Mike Gascoyne. Gascoyne has 20 years' experience in the sport after working with Jordan, Renault, Toyota, and most recently Force India. For a new team his experience and know-how will be priceless and will defiently be of great value to the team.

On February 12th the team unveiled its 2010 challenger, the Lotus Cosworth T127, at a glittering event in London’s Royal Horticultural Hall. Team Principal Fernandes was joined on stage by Gascoyne and drivers Trulli, Kovalainen and Fauzy to take the wraps off the car in front of a 500 strong live audience. The car's livery is green and yellow, which pays tribute to the Lotus name of the past.

Fernandes gave his thoughts on the astonishing achievement the Lotus Racing team has accomplished in launching the car just five short months since the team was granted its entry to the FIA Formula One World Championships, saying: “I am extremely proud to be here today and to be able to show the world the fruits of the team’s hard work over the last five months. It’s humbling for me and my fellow shareholders, to see how a team that five months ago didn’t even exist is now a thriving workforce, full of enthusiasm and passion for Lotus Racing and the challenges ahead and capable of producing such a machine in such a short time.

“Now we’ve achieved two major milestones; confirming our entry and unveiling our car, but now the real work starts. Next we move on to testing and the season ahead and I’m confident that the team will exceed expectations wherever we go, building on the support we've gathered so far."

Mike Gascoyne added his thoughts, saying “The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career, but it’s been a challenge the whole team and I have thrived on since we first started work on the car up in Norfolk. I’m delighted that we’ve reached this point, and now we have a beautiful car that gives us a great base to work from for the season ahead and a fighting chance of going racing in the right way, with a winning mentality. The hard part starts now, and I know everyone in the team and I are up for whatever lies ahead. We want to be racing some of the established teams and be in with a chance of scoring points later in the season. It's a big challenge, but I like a challenge."

Both Trulli and Kovalinen are hopeful of a good season. Although the team will be competiting this season under a Malaysian licence, the Lotus group has great prestige in Britian and alike the new Virgin team look well equipped to have a good season where they will be hopeful of scoring points. The F1 season starts next month in March and with the team undergoing the current test at Jerez this week and the test in Barcelona next week, we have an inkling that the team can cap a dream start to the season with a points finish.

Team principal is Tony Fernandes, the founder of the Malaysian-based Tune Group, which owns the Air Asia airline. Vast experience also comes into the team on Mike Gascoyne's shoulders. Gascoyne has 20 years' experience in the sport after working with Jordan, Renault, Toyota, and most recently Force India. He returns to F1 as the team's technical director and will be of great help to the team.

On February 12th team unveiled its 2010 challenger, the Lotus Cosworth T127, at a glittering event in London’s Royal Horticultural Hall. Team Principal Fernandes was joined on stage by Gascoyne and drivers Trulli, Kovalainen and Fauzy to take the wraps off the car in front of the awaiting media. The car's green and yellow livery, pays tribute to the Lotus name of the past.

Fernandes gave his thoughts on the astonishing achievement the Lotus Racing team has accomplished in launching the car just five short months since the team was granted its entry to the FIA Formula One World Championships, saying: “I am extremely proud to be here today and to be able to show the world the fruits of the team’s hard work over the last five months. It’s humbling for everyone involved to see how a team that five months ago didn’t even exist is now a thriving workforce, full of enthusiasm and passion for the challenges ahead.

“Now we’ve achieved two major milestones; confirming our entry and unveiling our car, but now the real work starts. Next we move on to testing and the season ahead and I’m confident that the team will exceed expectations wherever we go, building on the support we've gathered so far."

Mike Gascoyne added his thoughts, saying “The last few months have been some of the most challenging of my career, but it’s been a challenge the whole team and I have thrived on since we first started work on the car up in Norfolk. I’m delighted that we’ve reached this point, and now we have a beautiful car that gives us a great base to work from for the season ahead and a fighting chance of going racing in the right way, with a winning mentality. The hard part starts now, and I know everyone in the team and I are up for whatever lies ahead."

Their testing has had its up and downs, which of course is to be expected as any new team will have things to work on. All three drivers got time driving the car but there were still problems with Kovalinen having a crash at Jerez and Trulli suffering from minor technical issues at Barcelona. However those minor problems aside, both Trulli and Kovalinen are hopeful of a good season. Although the team will be competiting this season under a Malaysian licence, the Lotus group has great prestige in Britian and alike the new Virgin team look well equipped to have a good season where they will be hopeful of scoring points.

The F1 season starts next week and SportTrades are hoping that the team get of to a good start with both Jarno and Heikki both getting the Lotus T127 to the finish. Starting the season with points would be great, but with the established teams looking strong it might be too much of an ask. Lets just hope that the team start the season with good reliability so they can learn more about the car and get some good early season performances.

USF1: A Big Opportunity Lost for Formula 1?

With the news of the last few nights that the USF1 Formula 1 team, led by Peter Windsor and Ken Anderson, looks doomed, I thought that I would round up the full ratifications of the teams expected failure to make the grid this season.

First, the whole USF1 concept gathered a lot of European skepticism ever since Windsor announced the team on Feb. 24, 2009, because they could all see the difficulties that the team has had over the last couple of months.

Foolishly perhaps, I wanted to see the team make the grid. Therefore, I have followed its progress (or lack there of) throughout the offseason just as much as I've followed the progress of the other new teams who have also suffered problems.

Campos Meta, run by Adrian Campos, also has had their problems. But according to creditable sources, they have been rescued by a new investor that is rumored to have secured the team's place for the new season. This new investor, ironically, is rumored to be Chad Hurley: the founder of YouTube. Hurley is one of the main investors in USF1 with the millionaire annoyed at the team's lack of progress looking to move onto the struggling Spanish team.

The main criticism of USF1 was always the fact that being based in America would hurt them in the long run. Why? Because they would be away from F1's European heartland, and would be behind other teams in car development. I think that’s a valid argument. But at the same time, after the initial announcement in February when the team was launched, they had a few more months even before they were announced as one of the new teams.

That being said, both Windsor and Ken Anderson have lots of connections in the world of Motorsport. And knowing that the team was going to be based in America, when they were announced as one of the new teams, they still had plenty of time to pull things together.

One of the main problems was the fact the team was called "USF1," which implied that the team would be fully American despite the fact that Windsor, of course, is British. Although the team said it wouldn't favor American drivers, with the team having '"US" in the title it would (and has) make the team look slightly weaker if they didn't have an American driver in their lineup or at least an established name in the sport.

Of course, a driver’s nationality is not the most important thing to an F1 team. However, it's good for national pride if you have a driver from the same nationality as the team.

Perhaps looking back, the team should not have called its USF1: it could still have maintained its "American" background, but not as boldly as it did. Looking around the Internet over the last couple of weeks, there are not too many American/North American drivers with an FIA Super Licences.

Every driver needs a Superlicense in order to race in the sport, although in recent years when push comes to shove (eg. Kimi Raikonnen in 2001) a driver does not necessarily need one to compete.

In fact today, Lotus Racing's test driver, Fairuz Fauzy, qualified for his FIA Super license by completing a required amount of laps driving the team’s 2010 car at Jerez. With that in mind, it shows that had the team got its car finished on time, it could have turned up for the tests. Also, the team's driver(s) could have completed sufficient laps to earn that license.

The signing of Jose Maria Lopez brought a few snickers from the media. Lopez had been racing in Argentina for the last couple of years at Touring Car Level after being released from the Renault Drivers Development scheme in 2006.

Lopez is not necessarily a bad driver, but with USF1 even at the time of Lopez's appointment looking shaky of making the grid in Bahrain, perhaps the team should have appointed an older wiser driver. It would have given the team some credibility in the face of the media and fans.

With drivers like Jacques Villeneuve, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Christian Klien all on the market, the team perhaps should have taken a risk and gone out for one of them. Having someone of that caliber would have been good for development of the car, which is so important for a new and small team. But it would also have made things easier in attracting sponsors to invest into the team. With a creditable driver leading the team, it would have attracted more national and local media exposure.

Villeneuve would have been the team's dream-driver, and with his popularity in the states, Europe, and in F1, would have brought immediate income to the team. Also, with an established driver on board, it would have made it easier to sign a second driver for the team.

Of course, the team never had the money to sign an established driver and it had to go for the "pay driver" in Lopez, who was backed by the Argentinian government and other minor sponsors. Had the team planned the project better, it would never have gone for someone of Lopez's quality and would have ensured that their driver choice would have been focused more on quality than 'money' quantity. That's not to say the team didn't try that though.

The team also promised that its car was going to be designed and built with innovative on the car that would be different to the other teams. It was claimed that they would be bringing in concepts that had been used on Indy/Champ Cars and that they would be using these within the rules.

Formula 1 is a sport that showcases itself as the most technically advanced sport in the world. In terms of the sport, it is always interesting to see different ways of building a team car and not only potentially be interesting for the sport, but for the automobile industry which has strong relationships within the sport.

In terms of the American market, which for years Bernie Ecclestone has never been able to master: it’s a big blow, as American companies might not want to get involved. The news also means that any future bid by an American owned F1 project will just be laughed at and won’t gather any support worthy to get selected as a future F1 team. It’s a shame for the American public who have been treated badly, as have the workers at the factory in Charlotte, N.C.

Windsor promised that the team would look to have a great relationship with the fans and as well as the team having a website, they have also stepped into social media like Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Videos of the development of the car and interviews were put on YouTube whilst photos and short messages were put on Facebook and Twitter to help gather the team some support. Even with that, very little has been heard on those networks in the last couple of weeks when it looks from the outside that the team does not care about the supporters, who are losing interest in the team. That, of course, does not look good for prospective investors in the team, who may see little real need for the team to exist.

With Formula 1 looking to move away from its historical European base, this was a great opportunity missed for the sport to increase its profile in the 21st century. There could have been countless big American-based multinational companies looking to get involved in the sport and of course with USF1 involved the chances of a US Grand Prix would also have greatly improved.

The sport has never really recovered after the disaster that was the 2005 Grand Prix at Indianapolis, Ind. In that Grand Prix, Michelin had tire issues and only six cars raced in front of almost a sold-out crowd.

There are more than a few American drivers waiting in the wings for a chance in the sport like JR Hildebrand, Jon Summerton, and Alexander Rossi. Rossi is clearly a future star and is doing well in the GP2 Asia series.

Ex-Torro Rosso driver Scott Speed should not be forgotten either. He is experienced and now, as a mature driver, could have been tempted back in the future.

Following in the footsteps of Villenueve, is the young Canadian Robert Wickens who is racing in the FIA F2 Championship. He is an option for the sport in the near future as well.

However, perhaps all the blame shouldn't rest on Windsor and Anderson's shoulders. The selection process that the FIA used in selecting the new teams should also come into question as with Campos and USF1 struggling, it appears that other candidates such as Lola, Prodrive, and Epilson Euskadi should have been accepted.

Another problem that all the new teams had to deal with was the fact that the actual regulations for the 2010 season were not finalized until the FOTA/FOM argument was settled over the summer. This definitely did not help USF1 or Campos and certainly set them back. There were also issues with Cosworth engines not being delivered on time.

Overall, it looks like it is going to be a sad and complicated end to the USF1 project that looked slightly flawed at the start. It is a real shame for the American public who I am sure would have taken great pride in seeing a car designed and built in the United States representing them on the world scale.

If the team does fold, it's a shame for the sport, which will, as a result suffer in the short and long-term in the States. Fans unfamiliar with the sport will lose interest, and sponsors will not be willing to get involved. There are small rumours that the team could be merged with Campos and that they could just buy a chasis from Dallara. If there is any truth in that, that would still be a failure in most people's eyes and tarnish the original concept of the team.

It's also a huge blow to the FIA, who will have missed out on a huge opportunity as well, which will embarrass them greatly. Regardless of USF1, I hope that an American driver does get involved in the sport. The whole escapade should though be remembered and should always be thought about for any future investment/team looking to get involved in the sport to learn from.

Why Brawn And Jenson Are Worthy Champions

SportTrades Adam Dennehey Writing

With it being almost a week since Jenson Button and Brawn clinched the Formula 1 World Drivers and Constructors titles. As I'm a big Formula 1 fan i felt that it would be appropriate to write about the small subject of whether Button and Brawn are worthy champions or not. The reason for this is that in the build up to the Brazilian Grand Prix there was a small question emerging about the fact that Jenson’s results since the Turkish GP in June have not been as good as results earlier in the season. But does that theory mean that Jenson and the team are not worthy of what they've won this season - no it does not!

Jenson’s performances at the start of the season were nothing short of brilliant. Matched with a fine car in the Brawn BGP 001 and a reliable and quick Mercedes engine, Jenson as we should now know won 6 of the first 7 races. In the only race he didn’t win in the first 7 he still managed a fine third in Bahrain behind the two Red Bull drivers (Vettel and Webber).

In fact in those early parts of the season it looked like this year’s season was going to be a boring processional one. No disrespect to Button or Brawn whose achievements were quite sensational, but if it wasn’t for the Red Bull’s finding some form and the other leading drivers making steps forward, Brawn’s dominance may have been seen in a negative light. After all at the start of this decade we had Michael Schumacher winning a staggering 5 championships on the bounce. Between 2000 and 2004, only the 2000 and 2003 seasons were ones where Schumacher and Ferrari didn’t have it all their own way.

Since Turkey though, Button ‘struggled’ in the eyes of a few people and began to struggle for the front in qualifying yet alone the races. However in the races since Turkey, he has still only failed to finish in the points once. Even in Spa where he retired after a handful of corners on the first lap, it wasn’t really his fault. Heading into the tricky Les Combres section of the track, Jenson spun out only after Renault’s Romain Grosjean ran into the back of him.

That blemish aside he has still had what most drivers would call good point’s finishes, especially a good second at Monza behind fellow team mate Rubens Barichello. So bad days of 5th and 7th placed finishes at the end have helped him to the title because they were not DNF’s where his championship lead would slip further behind.

This year Jenson has had a car worthy of his talents. After dogged years where he was driving a crap car which even a driver with the combined talents of Schumacher, Senna and Moss wouldn’t be able to do well in. Right from the word go, Jenson’s driving was spot on and he matched some brilliant qualifying performances with excellent race results. During those races in particular and the whole season to be fair, when Jenson needed a good spell of laps to put pressure on his opponents he put in some great lap times that earned him the success in the races. It was very much a year of Jenson getting in the car and expressing himself behind the wheel, something he had not been able to in past years.

Now I’ll focus on the team and team owner Ross Brawn. When the 2009 regulations were announced in December 2006, Ross Brawn sacrificed Honda’s 2007 and 2008 seasons for a chance to be the top dog in a year where the technical and aero-dynamical regulations of the car were to be the most radical in years. However after dismal performances and the current world economic recession Honda decided to pull out of the sport in December last year and everyone involved within the team was out of a job.

Thankfully Ross Brawn brought the team and kept the team on the grid. There were casualties with hundreds of people at the base in Brackley losing their jobs. But those high up knew that they had a competitive car under their belts and the rest now is history. The car baring the odd mistake has been reliable and the team have won 8 races so far this season. It’s a credit to everyone involved with the team through their previous incarnations of Honda and BAR that there has been a fairytale ‘light’ at the end of the tunnel – even if they were not present at Interlagos last weekend.

Ross has shown once again that he is one of the key figures in F1. Under his work he has been part of championship winning seasons with 3 different teams; Benetton, Ferrari and now his own team. Of course beforehand he was working with a certain Michael Schumacher who at his peak was the best driver in the sport. This year’s championship i would argue means more not just because of Brawn’s fairytale story but the fact that they have overcome the bigger names in Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and BMW in getting there.

In conclusion both Button and Brawn are worthy champions. Yes they were slightly fortunate at the start of the season that no-one could really match up to them, but the team still had to do their job and Jenson had to get to the car to the finish. Time and time again this year, when it has really mattered Jenson has produced the pace and consistency needed to win the title. The team have continued their fine work and with limited resources at the start of the year have worked their way to a stunning conclusion. Between now and next season the likes of Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren will be working their hardest to chase down Brawn and start next season well. It will be hard for both Button and Brawn to retain their titles; however I don’t think that they’re a team scared of a daunting challenge