F1Break

Whilst shopping in my local supermarket, I was somewhat surprised to notice a range of Formula One branded toiletries. As it turns out, these products have been on the shelf for over a year now, so I suppose my surprise says more about how regularly I pay attention to the toiletries isle in supermarkets than it does about anything else.

A quick bit of research later, and it transpires that these products are from Alfred Franks and Bartlett, who also market the Slazenger range of toiletries. This suggests that the Formula One brand has come a long way. I could understand someone buying a gift set for a motorsport-loving friend at Christmas, but are fans themselves really spending money on these products every time they need a new can of deodorant?

The range is firmly aimed at the mass market - they're no more expensive than any of the other lines you see heavily advertised, and in some cases, are cheaper. This is an incredibly competitive industry, with brands such as Lynx and Sure having millions of pounds spent on them to establish consumer awareness.

It's a little difficult to see how AFB can compete with their F1 branded line. I could understand, to an extent, Eddie Jordan launching his EJ-10 energy drink. Okay, so it was a failure, but the Jordan Formula One team had a relatively cool image. Can the same be said for the sport itself?

Image is everything with this type of product. In the UK we're constantly bombarded with adverts for mass market men's toiletries, which emphasise coolness and make few, if any, references to the products' performance. When I think of the F1 brand, Bernie Ecclestone tends to come to mind. Not cool, I'm afraid. And I've often heard it said by those who don't follow the sport that they just associate it with big automotive industry. Again, not especially cool.

A cornerstone of NASCAR's success was their arrangement with R. J. Reynolds Tobacco, which ran for 31 years. As well as income from the title sponsorship agreement, NASCAR gained from having R. J. Reynolds market the series alongside their Winston brand of cigarettes. This type of deal with sponsors lead to a huge increase in awareness of NASCAR racing amongst consumers throughout the United States.

If this product range really is proving successful for AFB, then it can only be seen as a positive reflection on the awareness and popularity of Formula One. Both companies gain, with AFB having an established brand to market, and FOM in effect receiving payment for someone else marketing the sport.

It has been a difficult beginning to Nelson Piquet's career as a Formula One racing driver. His team-mate has out-qualified him at every race so far, and amassed nine points, compared to none for Piquet. Now to be fair, he is up against two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, and the Renault team are going through a difficult period, struggling to find speed in their car.

Even taking into account the obstacles Piquet faces, it's still difficult to argue that he's doing a good job. Having failed to finish four out of six races this season, he hasn't been making any notable progress in his attempts to close the gap to Alonso. And Piquet's boss, Flavio Briatore, is not a man known for his patience. It's therefore somewhat surprising that Piquet has generally been supported in public, but this could be explained by rumours suggesting he was awarded the drive due to commercial reasons.

Public support isn't something you can rely on from Briatore, even as an inexperienced rookie. Just ask Heikki Kovalainen about the comments made to the media following his debut Grand Prix. Whilst Briatore's initial stance may have been somewhat out of character, don't expect unlimited patience to be shown, as indications begin to emerge that Piquet may not survive for much longer.

Personnel from Renault were very clear that Piquet needs to raise his game, during a recent team podcast. Then there are the rumours currently doing the rounds that title sponsor ING is less than happy with the team's current performances, and is demanding swift improvements. On top of this, Motorsport Aktuell is reporting that Alonso's testing time, following the Canadian Grand Prix, has been cancelled in order to give Piquet three days worth of running in the car. Rumours state that he's been given the opportunity to turn his performance around. Should he fail to do so within three races, Renault will look elsewhere.

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Before the 2008 season had even got underway, people were already writing off Felipe Massa. Many thought that without the benefit of traction control, the Brazilian would struggle to match the pace of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen. Two races and two retirements later, there was speculation that he wouldn't even survive the season.

Massa's fightback began at the third race of the year, in Bahrain. He qualified on the front row, and dominated the race to secure victory. Another win in Istanbul has moved the Brazilian to second place in the drivers' championship, seven points behind Raikkonen.

Istanbul Park is one of the most difficult tracks on the Formula One calendar. It's the kind of circuit where conventional wisdom would suggest that Massa should struggle. Turn 8 is amongst the most challenging corners in the world. The triple-apex left-hander sees drivers reach speeds of 160mph, pulling up to 5G for seven seconds.

A driver who some claim relied on traction control more than most, really shouldn't be able to excell at a circuit like Istanbul Park, but that's exactly what Massa has done. The Brazilian has won three out of the four Formula One races held at the track. And the time he failed to secure top spot? He was driving a Sauber.

It's true that Ferrari have always provided Massa with one of the most competitive cars in the field, but it'd be unfair to labour this point. His first victory at the circuit came in 2006, after he out-qualified and out-raced none other than seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. For all the pre-season ridicule, Massa has proven to be peerless at one of the world's most demanding race tracks.

The big question throughout the F1 world at the moment seems to be, will Super Aguri continue to race or not? The future of Super Aguri has been under question for some time, given the rules to be introduced just before the 2010 season about customer cars. But more recently there has been doubt over their more immediate future. Last weekend we saw them race in Spain but whether we will see them race in Turkey in 7 days time looks more and more unlikely. After the potential takeover deal with the Magma group fell through last month, the team have been desperately looking for a substitute deal. It appeared that they had found such a deal in the Weigl Group, a German automotive company. But this weekend has proved to be an eventful one for Super Aguri.

Yesterday while checking the news I found two headlines that caught my attention, both sounding positive about the possible Weigl deal. The first, found on Formula1.com, was ‘Super Aguri optimistic over new Weigl deal’. The second, found on autosport.com, was ‘Weigl optimistic of Honda support’. Do you see a pattern appearing here? Both parties seemed happy about the deal. Aguri Suzuki saying,

Such a partnership as the one proposed by Weigl Group will allow us to race for the foreseeable future and I am hoping that all parties will find the Group’s offer a realistic package. Aguri Suzuki

And Weigl CEO, Franz Josef Weigl saying,

I am very optimistic for the meeting, because I believe Honda see the same as me - that it is necessary to keep private teams in the Formula One business. Franz Josef Weigl

If only Nick Fry, Honda Racing's CEO, shared their optimism, he has made his feeling on the matter pretty clear saying,

It would appear unlikely that a company the size of Weigl is able to support a competitive Formula One team, unless of course there are other partners of which we have not been made aware. Nick Fry

Back in Barcelona last week Fry made it known that he did not want Super Aguri to continue to use the resources of the Honda F1 Team.

Our position is that Honda have given Super Aguri every available bit of support over and above what was anticipated. Nick Fry

Nick Fry has made his feelings even more clear today by apparently informing Formula One Management that Super Aguri would not be racing in Turkey. This has led to the Super Aguri’s trucks and motor home being refused access to the paddock. They are currently parked outside the track awaiting further information from the team management. It is apparently believed by Super Aguri that they have been barred from the paddock to avoid any embarrassment to Honda should the Weigl offer be rejected by Honda during the week. So will they or will they not race? Well with their cars still in Britain and spares trucks and motor home not able to get into the paddock it’s not looking good for the Oxfordshire based team. Their future is most definitely in the hands of Honda and The Weigl automotive company.