Translated material
McLaren scams
The off-season did not reduce the number of scandals in the Royal Races
In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to make pre-season forecasts in Formula 1. Even predict the approximate contours of the championship. Since 2005, when Fernando Alonso unexpectedly ended Michael Schumacher's five-year championship, Nostradamus could not have predicted the path the championship would take. And two years ago, and even more so last year, the sharpness, tension, and unpredictability remained until the very end.Still, the return of Fernando Alonso to Renault seems to simplify the task for those who nevertheless decide to test their visionary abilities by removing one unknown from it. Only the most desperate admirers of Fernando’s talent can believe that the Spaniard can once again give the French team a championship shine in a few winter months. It will be even more difficult for both the driver and the team to regain lost positions than to win the title for the first time - after all, they will have to fight with more than one opponent, as was the case in 2005. Judging by the tests, the current Renault car is nothing outstanding. On winter tracks, not only the favorites Ferrari and McLaren looked faster and more stable, but also the second-tier teams - Red Bull, BMW-Sauber and even Williams.
The fact that the Spaniard’s partner will be Royal Race debutant Nelson Piquet Jr. does not add to optimism. The son of a three-time world champion, although he skated a full season as a test driver, has not yet smelled real gunpowder. Yes, he showed himself quite well in junior formulas, but in 2006 he lost to Lewis Hamilton in the fight for the GP2 racing series championship title. However, Alonso can be pleased - he will not have to fear his partner, and he will be able to concentrate exclusively on work, forgetting about intrigues and quarrels.
Oddly enough, the departure of the two-time world champion and the most decorated active Grand Prix rider only strengthened his former team. McLaren is still shaking from last year's scandals. The stable, which seems to have admitted guilt, is in no hurry to forgive either Ferrari, where bitter sobs are still heard about the secrets stolen by the British, or the federation, which continues to closely monitor the technical equipment of the cars from Woking for their identity with the cars of the Scuderia, because for which McLaren engineers have to be especially careful. Even a random coincidence of some important element threatens the team with new troubles.
On top of that, permanent team leader Ron Dennis continues to have a bad streak. On February 15, he announced the divorce from his wife Lisa, with whom he had lived for 22 years. How can one not recall the recent interview of Formula 1 eminence grise Bernie Ecclestone with the Daily Mail, where he complained about the absence of sex scandals in his diocese. In his opinion, this would only contribute to the rise in the popularity of auto racing. And then, by a strange coincidence, Mika Hakkinen, a man also related, albeit in the past, to McLaren, announced his divorce. There are persistent rumors about Ron's imminent separation from McLaren, with which he has been associated for an even longer period of time. The German component of the team, the Mercedes automobile company, is going to increase its share in the company, which currently stands at 40%. Naturally, the Germans will want to see their own person in a leadership position. Dennis, at best, is destined for the role of a wedding general, similar to the one that Peter Sauber got in his team after the merger with BMW.
However, the personal failures of their boss do not affect the sports results of McLaren pilots. In any case, the test results allow us to include both Lewis Hamilton and Heiki Kovalainen among the main contenders for the title. In addition, this season the English team will have one small advantage, which in the end could turn out to be significant. Concerns about limiting team budgets, as well as the fight against illegal electronics on the part of the FIA, led to a logical, from the point of view of officials, decision to standardize the engine control unit. The teams seemed to agree. A tender was announced, the winner of which was a certain MES company, which developed its project with Microsoft. By and large, there is no reason not to trust the results of the tender. Only many stable managers were extremely dissatisfied with the choice of contractor. And the point here is not in the products of Bill Gates, but in the fact that MES is an abbreviation for McLaren Electronic Systems, one of the divisions of the McLaren group. Naturally, these units were developed by MES engineers exclusively for their own tasks. Therefore, other teams, especially in the early stages, may have problems adapting the device to their machines. Pat Simmonds, one of the leaders of Renault, has already stated that the unit proposed by McLaren is not suitable for French cars, either in size or software. Of course, in the end everyone will figure out this not so insurmountable problem, but McLaren will have some reserve.
The only thing that is alarming so far is the ability of the two riders to work as a team. Not only the overall team atmosphere, but also the ability to clearly and harmoniously find the necessary settings during the racing weekend depends on how quickly the partners are able to get used to each other. It is in fine-tuning the car that both pilots experience a certain lack of experience, which last year was compensated for by the experience of their partners. Now they will have to look for optimal solutions themselves, which, given the difference in piloting style, will require a lot more effort and time.
But in the camp of the champion Ferrari, everything is calm. While during the winter tests, alarming signals were constantly received from other teams about various shortcomings in the new chassis, the scarlet cars were doing mind-bogglingly fast laps, managing to practice both a simulation of the entire race distance, where Kimi Raikkonen constantly became the best, and qualifying training, which was more successful mastered by Felipe Massa. About 0.3 sec. on the lap - such superiority on average was demonstrated by the Scuderia pilots over their main rivals. And this despite the fact that Italian chief Stefano Dominicali never tires of repeating about the hidden reserves of the new car. By the way, if the sports courts have already made their decision in the case of the theft of secrets from Ferrari, then criminal trials are still ongoing. In the UK and Italy, investigators continue to find out all the details of this scandalous story, so many unpleasant details may come to light.
But still, let’s hope that this year there will be much less behind-the-scenes fighting and all the main events will unfold only on the asphalt of racing tracks, and not in the halls of various courts. While things are more or less clear with the leaders, the second echelon, as usual at the beginning of the season, does not have a clear composition. And the already mentioned “Renault”, and “BMW-Sauber”, and “Red Bull”, and “Williams”, and “Honda” with “Toyota” - this is the circle from which there is a way to the top - to the top. teams and downwards - to outsiders. All teams have their trump cards. They just need to be played correctly to achieve success. Japanese concerns, which have been investing huge amounts of money in their racing projects for years, are hungry for returns. And it seems that this year will be decisive for both factory stables. If they do not achieve any serious success this time, funding may be cut. BMW and Red Bull spend money on a much smaller scale, but with greater efficiency. The Bavarian company came closest of the entire listed cohort to the level of leaders. They only have to take a very small step to move to the next level. The rest of the middle peasants are quite happy with the current state of affairs, when they manage to pinch the leaders and from time to time win prizes.
Among the outsiders, just before the start of the championship, one vacant place almost appeared. The Super Aguri team, which had problems with financing throughout the last season, was preparing to withdraw from the championship. But at the last moment, the Magma group of companies came to her aid, which managed to agree on technical cooperation and the supply of Honda engines. So the entire planned lineup of participants will gather in Australia.
As for the actual sporting aspects of the upcoming championship, this year there are much fewer changes in the regulations than in past seasons, which were sometimes characterized by drastic changes. Firstly, the already mentioned standard engine control unit led to the ban on the use of traction control and engine braking systems. Now the car's electronic brains are under strict control, and teams will not be able to use illegal programs. This increases the demands on the skill of the riders, who will not be able to rely on electronic assistance at the start or when negotiating difficult turns. The ongoing policy of reducing the price of Formula 1 has reached the gearbox. Now this unit should withstand four races without replacement. Allowed only are the adjustment of gear ratios before each Grand Prix and the replacement of damaged parts under the supervision of an FIA inspector, but such replacements must not be carried out on a regular basis.
Starting this year, it is prohibited to bring a third car to the Grand Prix. So pilots will have to be more careful in training and during qualifying. And finally, the changes affected the qualification itself. This season, viewers will not be bored watching the pilots run laps in the final session, burning fuel. Now refueling is prohibited during the third part of qualifying and after it, which means that drivers will try to use only one fast lap so as not to waste the fuel reserve with which they will start the race.