On 23 October 2011, the world of MotoGP was in deep mourning, after a horrific crash at the Sepang Circuit, Marco Simoncelli passed away. It was a devastating blow to the Motorcycle racing world both for riders and fans alike as one of the most excitable characters in the sport was gone.
With his eccentric barnet and tall frame he was instantly recognisable in the MotoGP paddock, while on the track he was known for his aggressive riding style. He was no stranger to controversy, indeed his style got him into trouble when incidents happened, the 2011 season saw him caught up in spats with both Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa, but he could not be branded as a "dangerous rider" that easily.
After all, he was the 2008 250cc champion which is no mean feat, two years earlier he was the "Rookie of the Year" in that category. 12 wins, 10 pole positions and 22 podium finishes in just 64 races meant that Marco graduated to MotoGP in 2010 with a CV worthy of a future champion.
Marco Simoncelli, the 2008 250cc World Champion
Another reason not to severely criticise his style was that his debut season in Moto GP saw the Italian deliver a consistent performance, finishing 16 out of 18 races and 8th place in the championship.
But 2011 saw Simoncelli rise up the ranks to be known as "one of the top guys". He took pole position twice and was a threat to the regular front runners throughout his tragically shortened season. His best result came in his penultimate race, 2nd place at Phillip Island. He had another podium finish at Brno, a 3rd place finish was his maiden visit. He remained under contract to the San Carlo Gresini team for 2012 and looked set to build on his performance.
Despite some questionable tactics on the track, 2011 saw Marco
climb up the ranking in Moto GP
But then came Malaysia and what sadly would be Simoncelli's final race. On lap two, whilst running 4th, Simoncelli was exiting turn 11 when the bike began to slide, the Italian corrected this but his bike then swerved into the path of Colin Edwards and Valentino Rossi. Marco was struck in the head by Edwards' bike with such force that his helmet came off, Simoncelli shockingly lay unconcious in the middle of the track as the race was stopped. At the medical centre, he was said to have sustained "very serious trauma to the head, to the neck and the chest". Upon hearing the news that Simoncelli had died, the race was abandoned.
Marco Simoncelli (with a towel over his head) prepares for what would
tragically prove to be his last ever race
At the final round of the MotoGP World Championship in Valencia, Italian veteran Loris Capirossi raced with Simoncelli's number 58, while Marco's friend and mentor Valentino Rossi wore a helmet in tribute to his compatriot. His vacancy in the San Carlo Gresini team was filled by Alvaro Bautista, and the team raced for the first half of the season in black livery as a mark of respect. The Misano World Circuit, located near Marco Simoncelli's place of birth has been renamed to commemorate him.
Marco Simoncelli is gone from the MotoGP circuit, but he will never leave MotoGP memory.
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg will be team mates in 2013
The news that Lewis Hamilton will move to Mercedes for 2013 came to many as a surprise. The 2008 World Champion choosing to sever his ties with the team of which he has been connected to since he was 13 years old. Differing views on the matter are; brave, stupid or smart. On the one hand it could lead to slump in his career, if not decline, while on the other hand it could mark a return to championship glory.
Logically, moving from McLaren to Mercedes would be a mistake. Granted, the team in its previous incarnation, Brawn GP, won the constructors and drivers championship with Hamilton's current team mate, Jenson Button in 2009. And yes, this is more recent than Hamilton's championship year, furthermore the last time McLaren won the constructor's championship was in 1998. But since the German manufacturer returned as a works Formula One team in 2010, they have won only one race in China this year. Lewis Hamilton has won 20 races for McLaren since making his debut in 2007.
Hamilton and McLaren = World Champions.
Since 2008, their fortunes have faded
But since his success in 2008, the Hamilton and McLaren marriage had been slowly heading for divorce and the signs were ever present. Although the 2012 car started the season as the fastest, and has been the class of the field in recent races, McLaren have not produced a car that has been as competitive as it was in '08. 2009 was a difficult season for Hamilton, starting the season with a slow car that was not a winner, after being caught providing misleading information to the stewards in the first race of the season in Australia, he was disqualified from his third place finish. His race engineer, Dave Ryan was sacked, and Ron Dennis stepped down as the team principal. A barren spell followed, with the champion trailing round towards the back of the field. Competent development allowed Hamilton to return to the front and he won in Hungary and Singapore, by the end of the season he had fought back to fifth in the championship but it had been a forgettable season.
2010 saw Hamilton back in championship contention but the McLaren was not as quick as the Red Bull and if the Milton Keynes based team had endured stronger reliability and better luck, its feasible that the championship would not have gone down to the wire given the pace of their car. Furthermore, towards the end of the season, the McLaren had fallen behind the Ferrari in terms of speed. And two consecutive collisions in Italy and Singapore further decreased Hamilton's chances. The Englishman finished fourth in the standings.
2011 was the worst yet, this time it was more the fault of himself rather than McLaren, though the Woking based squad again could not produce a car that matched the Red Bull for pace. There was even rumours circulating about a move to Red Bull. Hamilton took three victories, all of them great in themselves, but all too often, Hamilton was not driving with his head. His attitude was also up for debate, with the former champion seemingly unable to ever admit blame for any incident he was involved in. Silly manoeuvres in Monaco and Singapore cost him valuable time, while over aggressive driving in Canada and Belgium caused him to retire from both races. For the first time in his career, he has was outscored by his team mate.
The 2012 season has been a case of McLaren's mistakes costing him, to be fair to Lewis his driving has been much better this year. Some poor pit stops early in the season cost him points, then in Spain the team stupidly under-fuelled his car in qualifying meaning he failed to return to the pits after setting the fastest time, thus breaking the regulations and relegating him to the back of the grid, costing him a potential win. A gearbox failure in Singapore meant another possible victory was lost. In Belgium, he upset the team by revealing their telemetry via Twitter, prompting further speculation that the partnership was coming to an end.
But what else is there to this? Money has been cited as the reason, Hamilton's marketing appeal is something Mercedes would welcome greatly. But Ross Brawn has stated that his offer was no more than an offer that McLaren were making for a contract extension. Though Lewis Hamilton does fit the profile of a man motivated by money. Mercedes can certainly afford to pay a huge salary. There is also the chance that Hamilton could weld the team around himself, something that Michael Schumacher did with Benetton and Ferrari, while Ross Brawn was in the team. Mercedes also designed their 2012 car around Schumacher. Both Hamilton and Mercedes have said that this will not be the case, but it would hardly be a surprise. It is certainly more possible to do this at Mercedes, McLaren have never really done this with any driver.
Mercedes have had only one race win since their return
to F1 in 2010
If we were to call Mercedes a lesser team than McLaren, which the results over the last three years suggest they are. History has told us that a world champion moving from a team where he has enjoyed a close and lengthy association to a team for a "new challenge" has not been a successful move. Emerson Fittipaldi moved from McLaren to his family run Copersucar team in 1976, the double world champion would never win a Grand Prix again and four years later retired from the sport. Niki Lauda left Ferrari after winning his second world championship with the Scuderia in 1977. A disappointing two seasons with Brabham followed while Ferrari took the title in 1979. Jacques Villeneuve left Williams to join the fledgling BAR squad for 1999, run by his manager Craig Pollock. 5 years with the team resulted in just two podium finishes, the 1997 champion also ended 1999 without a single point. The only concession to this is of course, Michael Schumacher who left Benetton and joined Ferrari in 1996. The combination started slowly but turned into championship winning material. 10 years later, Ferrari had won five driver's championships and six constructor's championships with Schumacher in the team. There is no guarantee that Hamilton and Mercedes will not be a championship winning combination.
One interesting point is that this is a good move for his own development, not just as a racing driver but also as a person. Some will say he still has a lot of growing up to do. Leaving McLaren will be much like finally leaving home. McLaren have supported him since he was a young karter. Perhaps it is now time to prove that he can make it on his own. Whether he wins races with Mercedes or not, this move will make Lewis a stronger and more mature driver. We already know he is a fast driver with incredible talent, so no harm will be done there, he will be praised for any success and it will be deserved. However, should he fail, and McLaren head for long-term success with his replacement, the bright young star, Sergio Perez. Hamilton will have no-one to blame but himself.
Love him, or loathe him, Michael Schumacher is the most decorated Formula One driver of all time. 7 World Championships and 91 victories, almost the equivalent of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna combined. He's qualified on pole positions than anyone else, recorded more fastest laps than anyone else and scored more points than anyone else. Michael Schumacher's Formula One career will draw to a close at the end of the 2012 season after 21 years and 308 Grands Prix. Here are some of his most successful and extraodinary moments.
1991 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
Michael Schumacher's F1 debut came at the Belgian Grand Prix in 1991. Jordan driver, Bertrand Gachot had been jailed for assaulting a London Taxi driver and Eddie Jordan was left searching for a replacement, but he also needed money. Schumacher was an up-and-coming talent in the World Sportscar Championship, but Eddie Jordan's reasoning for selecting Schumacher over Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Karl Wendlinger, along with his friend Stefan Johansson, was that he was the only one who could pay enough money, Schumacher paid $150,000 for his first F1 drive.
Nonetheless, it was criminal to say that Schumacher was merely a a typical 1990's pay driver. After a test session at Silverstone, Schumacher went to Spa and the Belgian Grand Prix, where he qualified an incredible 8th fastest. This became 7th on the grid when Riccardo Patrese was relegated 17th after a gearbox irregularity. Sadly, Schumacher burnt the clutch out at the start and retired on the first lap, but he had already made an impression on the F1 scene.
1992 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
After that sole outing for Jordan, Schumacher was recruited by the Benetton team. In 1992, his first full season of Grand Prix racing, he finished on the podium 8 times and came 3rd in the final standings. At the Belgian Grand Prix, a year after his debut race, Schumacher displayed his amazing talent in the rain and clever tactical thinking. He timed his tyre changes to perfection in the changeable weather conditions on his way to his first career victory. It would prove to be the first of many.
1994 SPANISH GRAND PRIX
1994 saw Schumacher win the first four races, but the fifth round in Spain was the scene of a truly outstanding performance by the German. After leading the race from pole position, a transmission problem left him stuck in fifth gear but he still carried on for the remainder of the race, changing his driving style in the process and even managing to make a pit stop, despite his gearbox problem he managed to leave in fifth gear. Remarkably, his pace was not drastically slower than that of race leader and eventual winner, Damon Hill. Schumacher finished in second place, 24 seconds behind Hill. The German would go on to win the championship by 1 point from Hill in controversial circumstances.
1995 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
In 1995, Schumacher's rivalry with Damon Hill continued. But it was the German who once again came out on top. At the Belgian Grand Prix, Schumacher started a lowly 16th but quickly rose up through the field, by lap 16 he was leading as he had not yet made a pit stop. He stayed out on the track depsite a rain shower and although he was lapping slower than Damon Hill he was able to keep him behind, until a mistake let the Englishman through. Then the weather changed in favour of slicks again and Schumacher regained the lead. A well timed pit stop when the rain returned meant that Schumacher stayed at the front and he took a sensational win.
1996 SPANISH GRAND PRIX
Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996. The car was not Ferrari's greatest ever, but Schumacher still managed three victories. His first arrived at the seventh race of the season, the Spanish Grand Prix. Torrential rain failed to hamper the German, who after a poor start from third fought his way back up to the lead by lap 13 and dominated proceedings from there. It was a prime example of why he carried the nickname of "The Rainmaster". He won by over 45 seconds from Jean Alesi's Benetton and Jacques Villeneuve's Williams.
1997 MONACO GRAND PRIX
The arrival of Ross Brawn in 1997 saw Ferrari challenge for the World Championship. Ferrari were not quite as quick as Williams, but Schumacher used his talent to fight Jacques Villeneuve for the title. The German's first win of the year came at Monaco, not for the first time in his career he produced a stunning display in wet weather. Running an intermediate set up, Schumacher took the lead at the start and had a 6 second lead after just 1 lap. He extended his lead to 15 seconds at the end of lap 3 and then to a phenomenal 22 seconds by the end of lap 5! He won by over 50 seconds from Rubens Barrichello's Stewart in 2nd and his Ferrari team mate Eddie Irvine 3rd.
1998 HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX
Schumacher was disqualified from the 1997 World Driver's Championship standings after he deliberately crashed into his title rival Jacques Villeneuve in the infamous showdown in Jerez. Thus he entered 1998 with severely tarnished repuatation.
However, he quickly redeemed himself with some brilliant drives and once again challenged for the championship, even though his Ferrari was still not the quickest car on the grid. At Hungary, a track where the two McLaren's were feared to be unbeatable, Schumacher and Ross Brawn's tactical collaboration reigned supreme. The German pitted early on a 3-stop strategy, but then produced a succession of fastest laps to leap frog the McLaren's who were running a more conventional 2-stopper. A gearbox problem for championship leader, Mika Hakkinen in the closing stages allowed Schumacher to close the gap further in the standings after the German notched up his fifth win of the season, and without a doubt one of his most memorable.
1999 MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX
At Silverstone in 1999, Schumacher broke his leg in a crash and was out for the following six races. His championship battle was over.
Schumacer returned at the Malaysian Grand Prix and was stunning in qualifying, taking pole position nearly a second from his team mate Eddie Irvine. He would have to play second-fiddle to Irvine in the race as the Ulsterman was in the running for the championship. Irvine said after the race "Michael basically did all the hard work for me. Not only is he the best number one, he's also the best number two". In reality, Schumacher did not want Irvine to win the championship, his ambition when he joined Ferrari was to bring the drivers title back to Maranello, he would not have liked Irvine to do so.
2000 JAPANESE GRAND PRIX
After coming so close in 1997 and 1998, and being the victim of a cruel twist of fate in 1999. Michael Schumacher finally became the first Ferrari driver to win the drivers title since Jody Scheckter in 1979. The Japanese Grand Prix witnessed an incredibly tense duel between the German and the reigning World Champion, Mika Hakkinen. Some incredibly rapid laps before his final pit stop, and the flawless Ferrari pit crew helped Schumacher to beat Hakkinen on his way to victory and his third world title.
2001, 2002, 2003 & 2004 CHAMPIONSHIPS
From the 2001 Australian Grand Prix to 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher had won 39 races, qualified on pole position 31 times, finished on the podium in 54 races and scored 508 points. He had four successive World Championships, taking his total to 7. In 2002, he finished every race of the season on the podium and clinched the championship with six races of the season still to go. In 2004, he won 13 races in a season. For most, the dominance of Schumacher and Ferrari was boring, but for the fanatical tifosi, they loved every minute of it.
2006 BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX
The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix was Michael Schumacher's final Formula One race until his comeback in 2010. A fuel pickup problem in qualifying meant he started 10th and a puncture early in the race dropped him to last. But thereafter he drove the race of his life, carving his way through the field and setting the fastest lap he clawed his way back up to fourth position at the finish. It was performance that summed up his career up to that point.
