LONDON, England (CNN) — 2007 was clearly one of the most exciting years in recent Formula 1 history. But will renewed public enthusiasm for the sport continue through 2008?
Lewis Hamilton gets close to Avril Lavigne at the MTV Europe Music Awards but will the public embrace?
Lewis Hamilton’s debut season saw him achieve the best performance ever seen from a rookie driver. Although he led the championship for the last months of the season, he should feel no shame in coming second. But who will partner him at McLaren in 2008, now that Alonso has — to the surprise of noone — left the team before his contract expires?
Heikki Kovalainen and Nico Rosberg have both been tipped to partner the 22-year-old Briton. Kovalainen, currently at Renault, has proven himself to be an extremely capable driver, and scored 30 world championship points) in a car that has not proved competitive (though he scored second place in the rain-sodden Japanese Grand Prix). Rosberg, currently at Williams, has also had an impressive season, recording his best ever finish at the Brazilian Grand Prix where he came in fourth place.
Hamilton-mania — which reached its height in the summer when he appeared at two events in his home country, the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and Goodwood Festival of Speed — may be under threat by the young driver’s decision to leave Britain for Switzerland. Seen as a people’s champion in his home country, his decision to leave to avoid being pestered for autographs, will strike many as ungracious. The fall-out from McLaren’s involvement in the spying scandal, in which it was fined $100 million for making use of confidential Ferrari technical data, will continue to be felt in 2008. Later this year McLaren will learn whether it is eligible to compete in the constructors’ championship next season (the FIA will impose further sanctions on the team if it is thought that its 2008 car contains technology that could have been influenced by the leaked Ferrari data).
Ferrari believes the FIA was too lenient with McLaren, by allowing Hamilton and Alonso to keep their drivers’ championship points. Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo said: “I had already thought about taking part [in 2008] with an 8000cc engine. They’d disqualify the team, but the driver would win anyway.”
And it is not just McLaren that has been affected by “Spygate”. The proposed Prodrive F1 team, which was granted licence to enter F1 competition for 2008, looks unlikely to join the grid. Prodrive was expected to run customer versions of McLaren’s 2008 car. But a combination of McLaren’s woes, and a change of heart about customer cars from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and FIA chief Max Mosley, has scuppered Prodrive’s plans. Ecclestone and Mosley both believe that F1 should be a showcase of automotive technology. So that the presence of customer teams who do not develop their own technology, and are contractually obliged to finish behind the teams whose technology they are licensing, is both at odds with the quest for technological excellence and the spirit of competition.
This U-turn could jeopardize the futures of Toro Rosso and Super Aguri who both race with the technology of parent teams (Red Bull and Honda, respectively).
With Alonso released from his contract to McLaren, the two-time world champion is now free to find a new team. But, having failed to secure a third world championship, will Alonso be able to find a team that will give him a fighting chance next year?
Judging by this year’s performance, there are only two teams with enough of an edge to deliver a world championship to one of their drivers: McLaren and Ferrari. But Ferrari is out of the question, as both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa are under contract.
Current speculation is that Alonso may go back to Renault (for whom he won his world championships) or move on to Red Bull. Renault’s fall from grace in 2007 was spectacular. In 2006 it won the constuctors’ championship with 206 points. In 2007 it came third (fourth, had McLaren not been disqualified) with a paltry 51 points. Renault is confident of putting in a better performance for 2008. It had realized the faults of the R27, their 2007 car, early in the season. But rather than improving the car throughout the season in an effort to claw back points, the team thought it would be better use of their engineers’ time to concentrate on the R28 and have a determined contender for 2008.
Renault does not have contracted drivers for 2008. Of its current pair, Kovalainen is tipped for McLaren, and Giancarlo Fisichella may well have seen his last season in F1. There is space for Alonso, but would Renault want him back? Rumors suggest that Alonso will take a temporary home at Red Bull for 2008, before launching a serious bid for his third world championship at Ferrari in 2009. A current Red Bull driver, likely Mark Webber, will be transferred to Toro Rosso. Driver movements at other teams are likely to include a transfer to Super Aguri for Rubens Barrichello. The 35-year old Brazilian is contracted to Honda for 2008 but his flagging talent would suggest a kick downstairs to the B-team. If he completes the 2008 season he will become the most experienced driver in F1 history — in terms of races started. His team-mate Jenson Button is to stay at Honda.
Toyota has lost Ralf Schumacher who, despite years of underwhelming drives, is likely to secure a drive with a back-of-grid team (possibly the new Force India) thanks to his industry contacts. Two exciting additions to the F1 season are the new Grands Prix at Valencia and Singapore. The European Grand Prix at Valencia is to be held in August on a street circuit around the Spanish city, passing the other-worldly architecture of Santiago Calatrava’s City of Arts and Sciences.
The Singapore Grand Prix will also be on a street circuit, around the city-state’s Marine Bay. To maximize television exposure, the race is to be held at night, under floodlights — thus assuring that European viewers will be able to watch the race live. Some F1 drivers have expressed concern about the safety of racing at night — particularly the dangers of under- or over-illumination.
This year’s scandal, and its nail-biting finale, will likely keep F1 converts watching the opening races of 2008. But will they keep watching if popular heroes become petulant recluses or if there are many more grands prix that seem as stage-managed as Brazil’s season-closer?
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Ferrari has announced that Stefano Domenicali will replace Jean Todt as head of its Formula 1 team next year, as part of a significant reshuffle of its senior management and technical staff. On January 1 Domenicali – currently the team’s sporting director – will be promoted to director of the Gestione Sportiva, the Italian marque’s motorsport division. Other changes include technical director Mario Almondo stepping up into the role of operations director while Aldo Costa will become the new technical director. Gilles Simon has been promoted to engine director. Meanwhile it remains to be seen what role Todt will take at the team and whether he will stay on as the head of the Ferrari automobile company. The announcement follows Honda’s revelation this morning that it has signed renowned former Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn as its team principal.