F1Break

Following my post yesterday, I thought it'd be worthwhile being a little more specific about exactly which drivers could take Williams forward. The candidates aren't necessarily blindingly fast over a single lap, although I believe four out of the five would be perfectly capable of giving Nico Rosberg a run for his money, when at their best. The team appears to have the requisite engineering talent on-board already, but lacks a driver who's able to push their development programme forward.

5. Luca Badoer

The former Formula 3000 champion has spent an astonishing 11 seasons as test driver for Ferrari. Even when he returned to the sport as a race driver, in 1999 with Minardi, Ferrari kept him on in a testing role. It's unlikely that the Maranello-based squad would have shown such loyalty, and entrusted Badoer with so much millage, if he wasn't reasonably competent when it comes to helping develop a winning car. He's not slow, either, and was never embarrassed during the five seasons he raced in Formula One.

4. Anthony Davidson

Williams attempted to sign Davidson for 2005, but were blocked by BAR who weren't prepared to release the Briton from his testing contract. Having spent five years as a test driver, there are very few people who can match Davidson's experience when it comes to developing a modern Formula One car. He's unquestionably talented, the only downside is that his only regular racing experience since Formula 3 has been the time - just over a season - he spent driving for Super Aguri.

3. Giancarlo Fisichella

Although Fisichella only occasionally bettered Fernando Alonso for pace during their time together at Renault, when the French team were no longer fighting for the title last year, he did a respectable job. This has been demonstrated by the fact that Alonso has struggled to push the team much further forward in 2008. It's when driving for midfield teams that the Italian has been at his best, having no trouble blowing away drivers such as Jenson Button in equal equipment, and scoring consistent points finishes in somewhat mediocre cars.

2. Giorgio Pantano

In recent years, Pantano has made a living for himself driving in GP2. But he's regularly been seen in teams not previously considering to be front-running. He's managed to drag a number of former midfield teams up to the front of the grid, regularly challenging for wins. Admittedly, this task has been made somewhat easier by the fact that all teams run the same cars, but it hasn't been matched by any other driver. The veteran Italian has a wealth of experience, having previously raced in a wide variety of series, including both Formula One and the IRL.

1. Pedro de la Rosa

Despite having started racing very late in life - at the age of 18 - de la Rosa has won championships at every level he's competed, bar Formula One. He's not the kind of driver to take the role of car development lightly. He won't just turn up at a test, provide feedback to engineers, and then run off home. As we learnt throughout spygate, de la Rosa is always looking for ways to make his team faster, even away from the track.

During Alex Wurz's two years at Williams, the team moved from eight to fourth in the constructors' championship. In 2007, when racing - rather than testing - he had a solid, if unspectacular, season, scoring a total of 13 points.

We're not talking about a driver who was ever going to be out-qualifying team-mate Nico Rosberg on a regular basis, yet he made a vital contribution to the team. Well respected for his technical contributions, the input Wurz made to Williams' development programme proved highly valuable.

Before the season got underway, it looked like 2008 was going to be a successful year for Williams. They were on the pace in testing, and some even speculated that the team had a chance of returning to the top step of the podium.

The team enjoyed a strong start to 2008, with Nico Rosberg on the rostrum in Australia. But despite this positive result, during the course of the season Williams have slipped back so far that they're now fighting with the Force India cars for last position.

At Williams' disposal are two young, quick drivers. But both lack experience, and the FW30 hasn't been successfully developed throughout the course of the season.

During Damon Hill's time with Williams, a number of journalists would point out that he was in the best car. This was meant to be somewhat disparaging, but as Hill often retorted, having worked with the engineers at Williams over a number of years (initially as a test driver), the team's successful development programme was obviously influenced by his own contributions.

Williams have engineers who are well respected with the paddock, although their budget doesn't match that of the manufacturer teams. With testing millage heavily restricted these days, and given the team's current lack of competitiveness, attracting an experienced, respected driver to the role of test driver would be difficult.

There can be no denying that Williams has failed to developed their car throughout the season. Employing a more experience race driver, even if he doesn't have the ultimate pace of Rosberg, may be what's needed to ensure the Grove-based outfit can fight with the well financed manufacturer teams.

An article has appeared over at f1complete.com suggesting that the McLaren four-paddle steering wheel may not be as significant as first thought.

Mark Hughes, writing in the Telegraph, had previously hypothesised that the system may be a driver-controlled featured to limit wheelspin. Subsequent speculation has linked it with McLaren's recent improvement in form.

The photo on f1complete.com shows that the four-paddle system was in use as far back as Australia. The website goes on to report that Renault is thought to have had a similar set up on their cars since Silverstone.

We may have a visit to Hungary beforehand, but already the attention of the Formula One paddock has started to shift towards the European Grand Prix, at Valencia. The event is likely to be forced into a name change in 2009, although Bernie Ecclestone believes it was given the wrong title this year as well.

"It should have been the Gran Premio Mundial (World Grand Prix)," said Ecclestone. "This is not only the best street circuit in the world, it is one of the best circuits in the world."

If you are a little sceptical, and feel that Bernie may be doing little more than playing to his Spanish hosts, then take a look at franxd's video. As you can see, this is no ordinary street circuit. The scenary is truly spectacular, and will provide an unrivalled backdrop. The circuit is fast too, with top speeds estimated to be in the region of 200 mph.

Monaco is oft-mentioned as being Formula One's signature event, but that may all be about to change. The principality has iconic landmarks, but can they really be described as spectacular? A lap of the Valencian track takes in some magnificent architecture, including the stunning swing bridge.

Valencia doesn't just offer a circuit that's easy on the eye. It's wide and fast, built for modern Formula One cars. Monaco, on the other hand, is not. In actual fact, you'd struggle to find a course more unsuited to current Formula One machinery, unless you were to enter a car in a round of the F1 Powerboat World Championship.

There are few more impressive sights in motorsport than a Formula One driver showing his skills over a single lap around Monaco. That will continue to be the case, and the race will go on providing an opportunity for assorted Hollywood celebrities to lose a few quid in various casinos. But Valencia may be about to provide fans of the sport with something else - a Formula One race on a spectacular street circuit, designed with modern Grand Prix cars in mind.

I've noticed some discussion in the Formula One blogosphere recently about how the sport is covered by the various worldwide television broadcasters. As I result, I'm going to provide a brief overview of how the land lies in some key markets. If you have any information about countries I haven't listed, then please leave a comment below, and I'll amend the posting later in the week.

One country I haven't mentioned is the United Kingdom. The reason for this is that I plan to write a couple of more detailed posts, looking at Formula One television coverage in the UK, over the next week or so.

Catalonia - TV3 provides live coverage, and has been a longtime supporter of Formula One. They had been the host broadcaster of Grand Prix at Barcelona, up until Formula One Management took over responsibilities in 2007. Even when no nationwide coverage was available in Spain, TV3 broadcast Formula One live in Catalonia. Their loyalty hasn't been valued by FOM, though, and the television rights to Formula One within Catalonia will transfer exclusively to the Mediapro Group in 2009, who will broadcast races on their La Sexta channel. As La Sexta transmits only in Spanish, those within Catalonia will no longer have the option of watching Formula One races in Catalan.

France - The rights are owned by Groupe TF1, and broadcasting is usually split over two channels. Eurosport France shows live coverage of all practice sessions, and offers delayed coverage of both qualifying and the races. Usually, live coverage of the races is broadcast TF1, although the 2008 Canadian Grand Prix was televised live of Eurosport France, with TF1 providing coverage of Euro 2008 at the same time.

Germany - Coverage is split between three broadcasters, offering the most comprehensive Formula One coverage of anywhere in the world. Free-to-air broadcaster DSF televises both Friday practice sessions live, in addition to delayed coverage of qualifying and the races. RTL (Germany's largest free-to-air broadcaster) shows both qualifying sessions and races live. Finally Premiere, a pay-TV platform, offers a complete live and interactive service - of practice, qualifying and the races - with a choice of six screens.

Italy - State-owned Rai Uno televise races live, whilst qualifying is shown live on Rai Due. SKY Italia, meanwhile, provide a similar service to German pay-TV company Premiere.

Spain - Traditionally Formula One coverage has been limited in Spain. With the likes of Alex Criville and Carlos Sainz enjoying success in motorcycle racing and rallying respectively, Formula One struggled to hold much interest in the country. However, with two Spanish drivers set to compete in 1999, public service broadcaster TVE came to an arrangement with TV3 (who held the rights for Spain, but only broadcast in Catalonia) which allowed them to televise Formula One. More recently, coverage has been shown on Telecinco, and will switch to La Sexta in 2009.

United States - Speed has been the primary broadcaster for Formula One in the United States for some time. The channel has tailored its coverage towards more knowledgable fans, an approach that has earned Speed a great deal of respect. Their line-up of Bob Varsha, David Hobbs, Steve Matchett and Peter Windsor is generally very highly regarded. Speed, however, has a limited audience reach, so FOM is keen to increase the amount of network TV coverage the sport receives. This year, the Canadian, French, British and German races were broadcast live exclusively on Fox Sports (part of the same media group as Speed). During the 2002 season, a limited number of races were broadcast of ABC, using F1 Digital+ commentators Ben Edwards and John Watson. Although in Europe they are often acknowledged as being amongst the very best Formula One broadcasters, their commentary was not well received in the US.

Sports people should really exercise a little caution when it comes to making comparisons to opponents. Following his dramatic win over Richard Gasquet on Tuesday, Andy Murray showed off his newly-enlarged biceps to the world.

Inevitably, subsequent questions from the press contrasted Murray's beefed up appearance with Spaniard Rafa Nadal, renowned for being one of the more muscular players on the tour.

"You've not seen me with my shirt off," enthused Murray. "I'm probably not going to be as big as him, but in terms of definition I think I'm up there."

This was some claim, and I suspect not entirely true. But despite Murray's declaration of matching Nadal in terms of physique, the world number two proved comfortably superior on-court, winning their quarter-final encounter in straight sets 6-3 6-2 6-4.

Jenson Button may not have enjoyed Nadal's sporting success, but there can be little doubting his commitment. Despite having something of a playboy reputation upon entering Formula One, Button has worked hard on his physical preparation and is acknowledged as one of the fittest drivers competing.

It's not all gym work for Button, though, and he's been willing to prove his fitness in public, regularly taking part in triathlons. Recently he competed in the Royal Windsor event, finishing an impressive 117th out of 1,700.

On the back of the widespread media coverage Button's exploits have received, this week Lewis Hamilton stated his belief that he is in fact fitter than the Honda driver. Somewhat unsurprisingly, this lead to Button laying down the gauntlet, and a challenge was issued in today's (Thursday) press conference.

After consulting his phone to ensure no prior commitments, Hamilton agreed to join Button in the Bath Triathlon on 27 July. Whoever came out on top would select a charity for the other driver to provide a donation of £10,000. All very sporting, and potentially could have offered great publicity for both men and the sport as a whole.

McLaren certainly had no objections, according to Ian Parkes of the Press Association. Sadly, though, someone else did.

"Lewis accepted the challenge like the good sport he is, and in the spirit with which he accepts things," stated Anthony Hamilton [Lewis' father]. "Unfortunately for Lewis, we are withdrawing him from this."

Oh dear. I'm not sure that welching on an agreement less than an hour after making said arrangement necessarily could be described as being a 'good sport'.

Image courtesy of JMP Photography

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.