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| F1 Monza Blog, All the news that's fit to print |
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| Written by Kate Walker | |||
| Friday, 10 September 2010 09:00 | |||
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A host of information relating to the 2011 Formula 1 season was published, including the calendar and a long-expected decision on the 13th team. First and foremost, there will be no 13th team in Formula 1 in 2011. "Following the press release of 19 March 2010 calling for expressions of interest to participate in the 2011 and 2012 seasons of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, a number of interested parties expressed their interest. It was considered that none of the candidates met the requirements to be granted and entry into the Championship," the press statement read. "Consequently, the allocation of the 13th team will not be granted." The news is hardly surprising. Once ART and Cypher dropped out of the bidding, the options for a new team were thin on the ground. Epsilon Euskadi have the facilities, the determination, and history to be a viable candidate, but Joan Villadelprat was open about the prospective team's lack of long-term funding. Prodrive and Lola, the favoured 'rejects' of the 2010 season chose not to apply for 2011 entry, citing a combination of budgetary constraints and concerns about competitiveness. While 2010's three new teams should be applauded for their efforts this season, there is no doubt that none will be in a position to challenge for wins this year. At the start of the season, the gap to the backmarkers was so great that pre-race chat focussed on the 107% rule, and whether or not it was safe to have the new teams on track during the race. Lotus, Virgin, and HRT all signed up for the F1 circus in an era of resource restriction and theoretical budget caps. The goalposts were then moved, causing all manner of headaches for the new entrants who had to rethink financing. It is no wonder that they have not been competitive, but that lack of competitiveness is one of the key factors behind the withdrawals and lack of entries from Prodrive, Lola, Cypher, and ART. Should any of those outfits wish to enter Formula 1 in future, the 2010 season has shown that it is easier to be competitive when rebranding an existing outfit than it is to start from scratch. *** The confirmed 2011 calendar was published this week, and it served to highlight the divide between those who watch Formula 1 and those who work in it. As a fan, I want races every weekend. If not, 26 races a year would do. Anything that means I only have to go a fortnight between hearing the engines, seeing the cars, and biting my nails to the quick as I watch wheel-to-wheel battles. As an F1 journalist, the ideal season is 16 or 17 races long. F1 journalists who complain of the travel demands are often criticised by fans for not appreciating just how lucky they are to be a part of the circus. The excitement of being in the paddock, of watching every race live, is such that there should be no room for complaint. But journalists are people too. And the F1 lifestyle – optional though it is – is a punishing one, make no mistake. A typical race weekend involves arriving at the track on Thursday morning, either straight from an overnight flight or after a 3am wake-up call, working around 12 hours at the circuit, working until the early hours at the hotel, and then waking up at 6am to do it all over again for the next three days. Five hours' solid sleep is a luxury. While some employers consider the Monday after a race to be a rest day, huge swathes of the F1 press corps are expected to be in the office at 9am, no matter how late the flight back the night before. That's the downside to the F1 lifestyle. There are millions of ups: visiting a different country every fortnight; the camaraderie found within the paddock, despite the competitiveness; the privilege of being in the paddock, watching the races, and having a professional relationship with one's heroes; being lucky enough to have a job so exciting it's worth surviving on caffeine, insomnia, and piles of junk food. While team employees and the press have very different grand prix experiences, the punishing hours and jetlag apply to everyone in the paddock. Teams also struggle with the ever-expanding calendar, especially now that headcounts have been reduced across the board. Their workload hasn't decreased, but the number of available personnel has done, so the remaining employees have to work harder, for longer hours. The 20-race season, a boon to Formula 1 fans, makes life that much tricker for those with a golden ticket to the world's biggest travelling circus. For those with 20 days of annual leave, and not 20 races to attend, the best F1 bang for your buck comes from taking advantage of one of the four double-headers: spring break in Asia, with Malaysia and China; early summer in Europe, with Spain and Monaco; summer moving east, with Germany and Hungary; or autumn in the Far East, with Japan and Korea. 13 March Bahrain *** The WMSC meeting also saw two decisions taken that were lifted straight from recent F1 headlines. First, in light of Lewis Hamilton's 'hooning' incident in Melbourne, the FIA have decided to take a firm line on drivers misusing the roads in their private lives. According to the statement on the subject, "the FIA, both in its motor sport and mobility roles, has a strong interest in promoting road safety. Competitors at FIA events must act as ambassadors for the sport, be aware their conduct on the road must be exemplary and respect road safety rules. A proposal to amend the international sporting code will be submitted to the FIA General Assembly to clarify that any holder of an International Super Licence must also be in possession of a current road driving licence. Additionally, the Code will be amended to clarify that if an International Super Licence holder is involved in a serious road traffic offence recognised by a national police authority, the FIA, depending on the severity of the case, may issue a warning or refer the matter to the International Disciplinary Tribunal, which may temporarily or indefinitely withdraw the competitor's International Super Licence." Secondly, and most importantly, the WMSC announced that a proposal to issue licences to key team members would be submitted to the General Assembly. This stems from Flavio Briatore's successful overturning of his lifetime ban from the sport, which the French courts ruled illegal on the grounds that the FIA had no jurisdiction over non-licence holders. "The World Motor Sport Council will submit a proposal to the General Assembly that a specific licence is created for a restricted list of members of staff of the competitors entered in the FIA World Championships. The aim is to introduce a system that ensures they are subject to the criteria set out in a new FIA Code of Good Standing. This would apply to a minimum of six people per competitor, including the Team Principal, Sporting Director, Team Manager, Technical Director, and two race engineers (or equivalent)," the statement reads. "A new mechanism will be introduced to control access to areas under the jurisdiction of the FIA and nop pass of any kind will be issued to any person or body who is not in good standing for the purposes of the FIA International Sporting Code. Entrants will also become responsible for their staff, meaning any person connected directly or indirectly with the entrant in connection with their participation in an event." This decision, the FIA equivalent of a fit and proper persons test, has been widely welcomed in the paddock. Kate Walker Girlracer magazine Worth Checking - F1 News - Kate Walkers F1 blog
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| Last Updated on Friday, 10 September 2010 09:02 |
