After the Grand Prix, it was time to bash out GP+ and then head for the airport. No sane soul wants to take a flight at 04.15, but half the F1 circus was there at Delhi International Airport, obviously keen to move on. That is not always easy in India because things move rather slowly. Checking out of the hotel at midnight was a leviathan of a process, which was followed by some unpleasantness over a taxi that never showed up. Thankfully we were rescued and whisked to the airport by one of the team security people who nobly came to our assistance as he had an empty taxi. So we rode to the airport looking like an Indian taxi should look with bags everywhere and arms and legs fitting wherever they could. Be warned if you ever go to India that leaving the country is almost as hard as getting a media visa to get in. The only reason for this is that they seem to need to employ a million people to do the job that can be done by one or two. Thus they fiddle about with things that would generate a riot in any European airport. You need to have written confirmation of a flight or else you cannot enter the terminal. The check-in process was slightly slower than compiling a dictionary, security was as lengthy a process as it can possibly be, although at least they did not ask to look into any human cavities. By the time all of this had been completed we were ready to leave India and never go back… The lounge experience was thus shortened to a desperate few minutes trying to finish off the last work and uploading it. Then we were on the plane. And I have no idea what happened after that until final approach into Dubai three and a bit hours later. It was six in the morning UAE time and there were hire cars to find and processes to be followed. Bernie Ecclestone often says that the future of the economic world is in Asia but I sometimes wonder if that will ever happen if they do not find ways to get rid of the thousands of paper-jockeys that slow the fast-movers. Energy levels were thus rather low today and I was off at the local mall, buying bits and bobs when dear old Lotus announced Kimi Raikkonen would be staying in 2013. That was good news for the team. Now we just need to make sure we know who owns the whole thing and all will be well. Still if Kimi has signed again, he must think that all is well there and the one thing we do know about Kimi is that he is not given to wild speculation or eloquent sophistry. One can imagine him negotiating with Gerard Lopez…
“You give me car? You give me money? We do deal.”
However, it is worth quoting the words of Eric Boullier, on the subject.
“Kimi has made an exceptional comeback to Formula 1. From the first time he sat in the car this year it was clear he had lost none of his pace or technical feedback and we have been rewarded by a focused and motivated driver all season. For Lotus F1 Team to be fighting for such strong championship positions this year is in no small part attributed to Kimi’s talent and experience of racing. It was a natural conclusion for us to confirm that we will be harnessing his abilities for next season.”
Absolutely, for me Kimi is one of the drivers of the year. A great job. No fuss. Solid quality performances. Only Fernando Alonso has impressed me more, dragging his Ferrari to stratospheric feats.
As to the rest of the news at the moment, The Vettel-Ferrari stuff rambles on. Vettel denied it in such clear terms that he will have trouble denying that he is a bald-faced liar if it does all happen. I will analyse this a bit tomorrow. The word is that Sauber has now inked deals with Hulkenberg and Esteban Gutierrez, so Kamui Kobayashi looks like he is on the market. Watch out for announcements after November 1. Lawyers love the end of months and so many contracts and options happen at such moments. November 1 should be Pastor Maldonado. If it isn’t the market will start to get interesting, but I suspect that we will be hearing that Pastor will be staying where he is, with Valtteri Bottas alongside him. That would be a shame for Bruno Senna, but someone will pick him up…
Hi
From the TV there looked to be a very poor crowd at the Indian GP. How did it look on the ground?
Does F1 care about the crowd or is it just a prob for the local promoter?
The crowd was reasonable.
Joe, any news on Genii trying to attract new sponsors?? and who might they be???
Genii is not very good at finding sponsors by all accounts. The team has its own operation for that.
Great that it’s confirmed that Kimi stays for another year, though I guess there wasn’t much doubt about it. Sounds like there are awfully many drivers looking for a seat in those remaining mid-field cars of Force India and Williams (Paul, Kamui, Pastor, Bruno, Valtteri, Jaime, Heikki…), who’s going to be left out?
Hi Joe
I agree with you about Kimi, and I imagine its not a bad deal for him to stay at Lotus. There don’t seem to be a lot of alternatives at the sharp end anyway. Just to feed my curiosity, did anything savoury happen in India to Vijay Mallya?
I was sort of expecting fireworks…
Force India confirmed today they offered Hulkenberg a contract, but he’s not signed and they feel he is probably on his way. Sutil now appearsd to be in the box seat for a return according to Mallya. http://wp.me/p2HWOP-hc
Hulkenberg has signed for Sauber, so it is irrelevant what mallya has to say.
Inevitable as he was by far the best driver they have had there for years…Sutil -whilst probably quicker than PDR- is a step backwards and wouldn’t do the team any good in the long term
Joe,
You put waaaay too many words in Kimi’s mouth. The dialogue with Lopez probably went more like this:
“Car ? Money ? Deal !”
Keep up your great work, don’t feed the Trolls.
Trepman
To your point on the future of the economic world being in asia. I wonder if there will be enough well paying jobs for the majority fo the people to lift/change their economic status. Maybe after two generations the population will go down.
I’m pleased for Kimi actually – I was very sceptical about his return. He’s been quick, clean and fair. What can anyone expect more than that?
He’s also one behind in the qualifying battle with Grosjean.
Qualifying doesn’t pay points though.
Indeed it does not. If it did, Hamilton would be leading the world championship – strange but true.
It was simply an observation that I was genuinely surprised at when I checked it. And it arguably says a lot more about Grosjean than about Kimi.
I’m not belittling Kimi’s performance this year, I’m a fan of the driver and of the man himself (what of himself he allows the world to see) and he’s undoubtedly put in a great season so far. I’d personally say that he’s done a better job than Alonso but in less glamorous surroundings.
However, his qualifying performances have been one aspect of the season in which Kimi, a man reputed for his one lap pace when he was last in F1, has not outshone his less experienced team mate.
More often than not, Kimi starts behind Grosjean and on average qualifying positions Grosjean bests him too. Kimi has missed out on Q3 more often (4 to 3, equal if you generously ignore Australia) and has only qualified in the top 4 once (Spa, obviously) compared to Grosjean’s 4 times (Australia, Spain, “Europe” and Hungary).
But as I say, I like Kimi a lot so let’s have the rest of the picture :
Ignoring Grosjean’s retirements (Kimi has not had a single DNF this year) the Finn has finished ahead of Grosjean on all but two occasions (China and Canada). Raikkonen has more podiums (6 to 3) and only one finish outside the points to Grosjean’s 3.
And because I love playing with numbers, how about this : based on average race results, Kimi is actually the best driver out there.
Bearing in mind that a number of drivers have had difficulty with tyres this year (eg Massa until recently – and even JB) maybe that would explain a little – also, he was off for quite a while to be fair. I think he’s changed for the better – I rather like his no ‘bull s**t’ approach now. Your figures say quite a lot.
but points make prizes!
Shame on you TimW – I was going to use that but thought better of it! You’re right though.
sorry, I should have been more inclusive and said, What do points make?!
That’s the Indian experience for ya: joyous rapture one moment, aching frustration the next hour or four… No country on earth is more vibrant. Great issue of GP+ by the way.
Bruno Senna has respectable race pace and his “sponsors” pay on schedule. Exactly what Caterham is looking for in a number two driver.
Bruno Senna hasn’t done that bad this year, and Komui has always been a charger, so it’s a bit of a shame that they will be without a drive for 2013, unless there’s another shuffle going on elsewhere?
There’s no sentiment in F1…..
Glad you got out of India in one piece!
Wouldn’t mind Senna going to Lotus, but my guess is that they will keep RoGro. I think that once he calms down he has the potential to be a strong driver.
has there been any more talk of Kubica’s possible return to F1?
none
Senna to HRT then..
And yeah, I have to rub my eyes every time I see where Kimi is in the WDC. There’s 6 drivers who should be in front of him, even if you rule out Mercedes and Herr Schuey.
“Vettel denied it in such clear terms that he will have trouble denying that he is a bald-faced liar if it does all happen.”
Not really. What Vettel said yesterday was that there was “nothing to report”. He might do a deal with Ferrari later for 2014 or whenever without having lied yesterday.
I absolutely agree with your comments re. Kimi. A great season where he has outscored both McLaren drivers and a Red Bull! Why was there no mention of Grosjean for next year do you think?
Interesting blog piece Joe. In your opinion, should Sauber pick Kamui or Nico?
Any insight into the driver line up for Caterham?
“That would be a shame for Bruno Senna, but someone will pick him up…”
Caterham?
Would Bruno go back to HRT? if he’s desperate for any drive and they’d like any sponsorship money they could get?
Loved the Kimi impression – though I think you used more words than he would. Probably he’d just neck a double vodka and mumble ‘okay’….
Why speak when a nod will do?
A Finn I met once told me a Finnish joke. Two Finns were in a bar. After drinking for 5 days, one said to the other ‘do you want another drink?’ To which he replied ‘are we here to talk or to drink?’
Joe, you appear (unless I’m mistaken!) to be implying that Bruno Senna might have a deal with another team for next year…
Is it a coincidence that Romain Grosjean wasn’t confirmed in the same news item that mentioned Raikkonen’s confirmation, or is he on the way out?
Are the two points linked? Will we see Bruno return to Lotus next season?
No chance. Lalli has been comprehensively beaten this year.
At least when Maldonado crashes, it’s fighting for points/podiums.
Bruno has never looked like getting a podium, hell, when he has spins the cameras don’t even watch it (like Silverstone).
He’s there for his name, not talent. There are more worthy drivers.
Hopefully he goes away and doesn’t waste his time in F1…
I think your view is overly harsh. He has a right call himself Senna. Otherwise you would have to refer to Nelson Piquet as Soutamayor
I thought “Senna” was his uncle. And Ayrton’s mother’s name. Not overly related to Bruno’s parents.
Where I live I can’t do such fancy naming change schemes. Anyway, it has worked out for him. Until now.
Would Bruno have gotten to F1 without the Senna name? No.
I feel bad for the guy, he missed out on karting and development after Aytron died, so he is never going to be fully developed.
That said, he doesn’t deserve to be in F1.
I’m sure he could do a great job in WEC
He is in F1.
So was Jean Dennis Deletraz
In name only.
Some reports are saying that Esteban Gutierrez was not that impressive and Suaber are having second thoughts.
makes me wonder how long McLaren will keep backing Perez (and coming out with the usual McLaren PR platitudes) if he doesn’t live up to expectations next year
Joe: no comment on the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s $400 million deal with the Formula One Group? This was reported in the Globe and Mail newspaper.
There was also a US teachers pension fund that bought 2%. It will be ok if the fund remains actively managed and knows when to get out again. But it needs to keep an eye on the amount of F1 sponsorship over the next 5 or so years. Whilst the income to FOM is guaranteed for 8 years the sport itself could be in danger from a lack of sponsors as the audiences continue to fall.
I am aware of these deals, but for the general race fan market this stuff is of no interest. I have written about this in my Business of Motorsport newsletter
Agreed about Bruno and it being a shame. He’s done well in that Williams – not as well as he could, but still. The name “Senna” at Williams… it felt right this year.
Welcome back to the UAE Joe! Sorry about the weather yesterday, its been brilliant until F1 flew in
Out of interest, with V8 Supercars supporting this weekend, do you ever watch the support races at GP weekends or are you flat out with F1 work?
Ther Vettel-to-Ferrari noise will flare up and down until time is ripe. If you became the editor of the Playboy as of 1 January 2015 you would not announce it now, would you?
The question to ask here is : If Seb wins 2013 & 2014 why would he leave?
Answer : Good question, thanks for asking.
Very interesting, could always use more travel posts.
Hope the next race can swing something points-wise to keep the race alive until the last corner of 2012…
Joe,
Any possibility Kobayashi still retains his seat at Sauber if he gets some good points in the last 3 races? If no, will he get a chance to get a good seat somewhere else? Force India?
I think not.
Difficult to see where Kamui meight possibly end up next year. I will miss him. Thanks for all that overtaking Kamui!
But I won’t shed half a tear for Bruno. He got his chance and that was it. I never had a doubt about his average talent. I am looking forward to Bottas next year. And I can’t wait to hear which European race will get the axe! Oh Bernie, I hate you!
What is that? “Dear old Lotus”???
Yes, it would be great to have the Senna name in a black gold car one more time, but it is not the “dear old Lotus” of old but the Enstone squad.
As you surely know that, Joe, I am amazed by that uttering. Finally making peace with “Lotus” now that Dany Bahar has been disposed off?
Well, it makes sense – Caterham will remain Caterham in the future and “Lotus” with Raikkonen opened up a new era, albeit one that has no direct links with “dear old” Lotus.
Why would lotus choose to announce that kimi is staying on if he had already was on a two year contract?Or is it a new contract with a payrise?
Shame to lose Kamui but to be fair he’s been pretty anonymous this year apart from in Japan. He’s better than Senna but unfortunately comes with less backing… is it possible that Saubers car / strategies this year have been more suited to Perez, or was Kobayashi a bit of a flash in a pan… I thought on the BBC coverage, Monisha said ‘definitely not’ to EJ, on their test driver getting a race seat next year? I still hold out a bit of hope
Perez got his podiums from using different strategies. KK out qualifies him and uses a standard strategy.
That’s not to say that Sergio isnt quick though!!
KK leaving is F1′s loss and another series’ gain. Fast, friendly, and man can he overtake!!
I suppose Kamui’s only hope is Caterham, taking over Kovalainen’s seat. He would fit in with Tony F’s Asian marketing focus, possibly provide some traction for AirAsia/Tune in Japan as well as shifting a few 7s, and be as quick as Kovalainen for less money. He would also attract a surge in fan support to the team.
I can’t be the only one who thinks Kamui has been treated pretty shoddily by Sauber? It’s coming back to bite them, though — they’ve destroyed the focus and speed of their strongest driver, just as they try to overhaul Mercedes in the standings. Well done.
So what are the chances Grosjan keeps his seat, given that Lotus made no reverence to him in the Kimi statements? If its up in the air, who realistically could challenge for that seat you reckon Joe?
good
lotus need a ‘french’ driver for sponsorship reasons
better than grosjean would be ?????
I do not believe this is right. Grosjean is there because he is quick. OK, he’s been a little wild but if he calms down a bit in 2013 he will be a very good asset. If he doesn’t, he’ll be flipping hamburgers in a few years from now.
Hey Joe,
Where do u stay for the AD Gp? I just drove a big circle through AD as I am here for the race. Any tips to visit at the track? I have a ticket to go in the pits on Thursday too..
Any tips are much appreciated!!
I stay in Dubai because the hoteliers of Abu Dhabi are too greedy.
Hello JOE….Of all the drivers available who do you think is best option alongside Paul DiResta……..
Drivers are worth what the World Championship table says they are worth.