CHAMPIONSHIP leader Fernando Alonso arrived in Japan with a healthy 29 points lead over his nearest rival Sebastian Vettel. However, luck balanced itself out as Alonso retired in a first lap-first corner spin and Vettel went on to dominate the weekend in Suzuka. Such was his domination that he scored a ‘Grand Chelem’ by securing pole, leading every lap of the race from start to finish and of course winning it! As a result, Alonso’s lead is now cut down to only 4 points and with 5 races to go this season, the title race is now wide open!
Raikkonen and Hamilton still have a mathematical chance of winning the title but both drivers are around 40 points behind Alonso. I would expect the title battle to be a two horse race – Alonso vs Vettel with Mclaren out there to share the spoils. However, Alonso’s title chances are in the hands of Ferrari who need to develop the slower F2012 for it to take on the might of Vettel’s RB8. Who is my money on? I would say Sebastian Vettel.
Narain Karthikeyan was on the backfoot in the qualifying session on Saturday after he damaged his car’s floor during FP3. As a result he had to use the old-spec for qualifying and was 1.5 seconds off his team-mate’s pace. He started the race from P24, alongside the legendary Michael Schumacher who had a grid penalty. Karthikeyan was running consistent pace in the race but the team decided to retire his car during his second pit-stop due to precautionary measures. This was Karthikeyan’s fifth retirement of the season.
There are talks about where Karthikeyan will be in 2013 and while he has indicated that he would like to re-sign for HRT, talks of him moving to Indy Cars also popped up during this weekend. Karythikeyan has raced in the US before but personally I wouldn’t like to see him move away from Formula1 as he has been a good ambassador for the sport in India. And even if he does, it will be interesting to see if TATA will back his move or go hunting for a new sponsorship avenue in Formula1?
Sahara Force India added six more points to their Championship tally courtesy Nico Hulkenberg’s 7th place finish. The Indian Formula1 team is only 19 points away from scoring a century of championship points. However, Sauber extended their lead over Sahara Force India with Kobayashi scoring a maiden podium at his home Grand Prix. The difference between the two teams is now 35 points. Regaining 6th place in the Championship will be an uphill task as the season nears close.
For Indian Formula1 fans, the opportunity to watch their only Formula1 driver and team in action at the second edition of the Indian Grand Prix only got better. The organisers have discounted their ticket rates and have even introduced Race Day only tickets to attract more fans to the venue. If you’ve not already purchased your tickets, it would be a good time now to do so. With the 2012 Championship going down to the wire, the Indian Grand Prix will only get that much more exciting!
The other big news in Formula1 which is now slightly stale is that of Hamilton leaving Mclaren to join Mercedes from 2013. This means that Schumacher was forced into his second retirement and Sergio Perez got promoted into a Mclaren seat. This is the biggest movement in the driver market since Schumacher’s return in 2010. Hamilton’s move will ensure him commercial success and make him the face of one of the world’s largest luxury car manufacturers. However, whether he will enjoy sporting success with his new team waits to be seen.
And finally, speculation is rife that the FIA has set out a new proposal that will result in a dramatic increase in fees for the participating Formula1 teams from next season. The entry fee would be split into fixed (GBP 308,000) and variable (for every point scored). The proposal indicates an additional GBP 3,080 for every point scored in the Championship. Going by the numbers, Red Bull Racing would need to pay about GBP 2.7 million to participate next year as opposed to GBP 245,000 from this year.
The FIA has sought an increase in their fees to fund their operations and pay for investments made to improve the safety of the sport. Whether their demands are justified or not, the near exponential increase in fees would certainly burden the Constructors. And I am not in favour of a system where a team pays extra if it performs better. In this day and age of cost reduction, this proposal seems to be going the other way!
And back to on-track affairs, Kobayashi’s podium on home soil was much celebrated by the Japanese Formula1 fans. While Karthikeyan might not be able to pull off a similar feat at this year’s Indian Grand Prix, Sahara Force India is the Indian Formula1 fan’s best hope!
