Much of its success will depend on its longevity, and how much executives here
are able to invest in education and awareness. The recent track record of
new races is not brilliant on that front. India lasted for three years,
while the South Korean race in Mokpo managed only four.
Organisers simply have to hope the fierce economic sanctions do not prompt
President Vladimir Putin, the driving force behind this project, to lose the
patience or the money for this grand endeavour.
The Bianchi crash: a marshal’s view
A lot has been written and said about Jules Bianchi’s terrible accident in the
Japanese Grand Prix in the days since, with questions surrounding safety
rightly resurfacing.
I received an email from a marshal of more than 30 years this week, who made
the point that Bianchi’s accident could quite easily have seriously injured
several marshals clearing Adrian Sutil’s Sauber, not only Bianchi himself.
His thoughts provide a different perspective, and are worth quoting at length.
David Simons, a surveyor by trade, wrote: “It very rarely requires the
intervention of a Safety Car unless the recovery is taking place on, or
close to the track. The retrieval of Sutil’s car was taking place well away
from the track edge near the back of the run-off area when Bianchi’s car hit
the recovery vehicle.
“In my view the Race Director’s actions were entirely correct and should not
be criticised. The other competitors negotiated Turn 7 by taking heed of the
warning flags and lights, but sadly it seems that Jules Bianchi disobeyed
them. Jules is a very talented driver, I wish him well and hope that he
fully recovers from his injuries. However, it is pure chance that he hit a
recovery vehicle, suffering serious injuries. I cannot help wondering how
different the commentaries would be if he had hit and killed a marshal
without injuring himself.”
A marshal could’ve quite easily been hurt when Jules Bianchi shot off the
track
Mercedes on the brink
Unless they suffer the kind of mechanical gremlins which have been all too
common this year, Mercedes will win the constructors’ championship on
Sunday.
The arithmetic is in their favour. They are 190 points ahead of Red Bull.
After this event, there will be 172 points left available. Therefore,
Mercedes can even afford to finish with 17 points less than Red Bull and
become champions.
The only surprise has been that they have not won it already. The pace of
their car is simply awesome. It’s been obvious almost from the first race
that no-one would catch them.
The only thing you could say is that without unreliability and Lewis Hamilton
and Nico Rosberg colliding in Belgium, they could and should have won every
race, finally taking the McLaren MP4-4’s record as the most dominant car in
the history of the sport.
Vettel’s No 1 no more
Understandably given the trauma of Sunday in Suzuka for all the teams and
drivers, one fact that got lost is that Sebastian Vettel’s reign as world
champion is finally over. Mathematically, he cannot win, 127 points behind
with 125 remaining.
It’s fair to say he had a decent run. Four consecutive drivers’ titles is a
feat managed only one other driver: his great hero, Michael Schumacher.
Vettel was champion for more than 1400 days, holding an iron grip on the
championship he won in Abu Dhabi as a tearful young man in 2010.
But as they say, all good things have to come to an end. The German can only
hope a beleaguered Ferrari put him on top again.
King no more: Sebastian Vettel’s four-year reign has come to an end
The momentum is with Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton rightly noted after the race in Suzuka that his win felt
insignificant and irrelevant. But what a win it was. That said, his 10-point
lead in the championship is barely a whisker when the final double points
showdown is taken into consideration.
Hamilton could win the next three races, with Rosberg second, retire at the
final race and lose the title. A driver could win 11 races to his team-mates
five and not be world champion. Work that one out.
Pole position: Lewis Hamilton has a 10-point lead in the title race