I covered some of Mark Dickens’ wonderful art in early 2012 with Formula One art, Interview with Mark Dickens, and Formula One art: Part 2 – The images.
Now Sutton Images tells me Mark is holding his latest exhibition at the MAD Museum of Art and Design tonight in Singapore, 10 Tanglin Road. It’s called Tale of Many Cities.
This weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix has become a popular stop for the Formula One paddock. It’s a modern-day classic despite its unusual timings as a night race.
Due to the high humidity the drivers lose up to three kilos in sweat during the race, so preparation is vital to maintain concentration amidst the looming street circuit barriers. The race’s susceptibility for safety cars also makes it one of the longest of the season, and it often finishes close to the FIA’s two hour time limit.
Good traction and car stability are vital for a good laptime due to the bumpy nature of the circuit but unlike other street circuits, overtaking is possible.
Crickey. I only had to mention Bond and Aston. Now I’ve had my hands smacked and must also say that Jaguar Land Rover has a line-up of vehicles featuring in Spectre. These will include the Jaguar C-X75, Range Rover Sport SVR and Defender, which have been provided by Jaguar Land Rover Special Operations.
The Jaguar C-X75 will feature in a spectacular car chase sequence through Rome alongside the Aston Martin DB10. The C-X75 vehicles used in filming have been built with the help of the Williams Advanced Engineering facility in Oxfordshire. I’ll wager not many people know that. I certainly didn’t. Well done Williams.
Scenes including the heavily modified versions of Land Rover Defender and Range Rover Sport SVR (filmed in Austria). The Range Rover Sport SVR is the fastest and most powerful Land Rover the company has produced with 37in diameter off-road tyres to tackle the extreme terrain. They also feature bespoke suspension systems and enhanced body protection.
Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles have been involved in a succession of Bond films. Most recently, in 2012, the rugged Defender 110 Double Cab Pick Up was driven by field agent Eve Moneypenny in the opening sequence to Skyfall.
Photo: Drew Gibson
“Bruce McLaren was a talented engineer and a world class racing driver,” observed Lord March at the start of his tribute to the great New Zealander, the Goodwood Revival this weekend celebrating 50 years of the McLaren marque. “He was highly-skilled, meticulous and always fun.”
An evocative collection of cars associated with McLaren’s career lapped the Goodwood Motor Circuit today, recalling a career that encompassed four grands prix wins as well as victory in the 1966 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The sports racers that carried his name dominated the Can-Am series and an example of these was included in a line-up that ranged from Formula One Cooper-Climax to the Aston Martin Projects 212 and 214; Ford GT40 to McLaren’s own prototype road car, the M6GT.
Bruce’s daughter Amanda and sister Jan joined a host of the great man’s friends and colleagues on the grid, such as McLaren designer Gordon Coppuck and forthright team manager Alastair Caldwell. It was a fitting tribute to one of the sport’s most significant figures.
Saturday also featured a full programme of seven races with part one of the St Mary’s Trophy, for 1960s saloons, one of the most frenetic ever witnessed at a Goodwood Revival.
Nine times Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen blasted through the field from the back of the grid in his Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt to overtake a hectic three-way battle that had been trading places for the lead. The most evocative race of the day must, though, have been the Lavant Cup that, this year, was held for drum-braked Ferrari sports prototypes of the 1950s and which was won by James Cottingham’s 500 TRC from 1957.
The Goodwood Revival is not, though, just about racing and another feature of today was the Bonhams Auction. The highlight was the sale of ‘Blue Lena’, the Bentley S3 Continental Flying Sports Spur Saloon of Keith Richards, which was bought for £763,100, this being the car, named after singer Lena Horne, that carried the Rolling Stones’ guitarist on many a journey.
Lavant Cup start featured an amazing grid. Photo: Drew Gibson
Felipe Massa claimed his second podium of the season in front of a cheering Italian crowd in Monza. Valtteri Bottas finished in fourth, pushing his teammate hard in the final laps. After good starts for both cars they ran third and fourth until Rosberg’s quicker pitstop allowed him to jump ahead of both cars after the one and only round of stops. Both drivers capitalised on Rosberg stopping on track in the late stages of the race to claim a valuable 27 points for the team.
Rob Smedley, Head of Performance Engineering: “It was a good race for the team. The mandate from the start of the weekend was that we had to have a clean weekend. If there were 15 points on the table, we had to come away with 15 points. The great news is that we’ve taken 27 points and a podium. We’ve moved away from the people behind us in fourth by a good amount, which was the absolute priority. We’ve kept pace with Ferrari, so in championship terms it’s been a good weekend for us. We came out of what was not a particularly good race in Belgium, from both a performance and operational point of view, and we’ve reacted really well. The team were absolutely spot on all weekend which is a great show of the strength and depth we have at Williams now.”
Felipe Massa: “It’s really emotional to have been on the podium. It was a difficult but fantastic race. I didn’t have the best start but I was still able to pass cars so it was good enough. I worked hard to open the gap to Valtteri, but when I pitted early it gave him the advantage on tyres at the end of the race. It was hard to keep him behind as he really wanted it, but I just about managed it. I am delighted for myself and the team, we got a lot of valuable points. It’s special to be up on the podium at Monza again, and I really thank the team for their effort today.”
Valtteri Bottas: “It was a good result for the team today, good points which is important. My pit stop lost me too much time which was crucial for the second part of the race. I managed to get extremely close in the end but it was too late. As I saved my tyres and brakes I was able to attack in the final laps but we had system issues on the last lap, so we need to investigate what happened because I also lost an opportunity there. It’s a shame for me that I couldn’t be on the podium but it’s still good points for us.”
The team scored 14 points in the Italian Grand Prix as Sergio Perez raced to sixth place ahead of Nico Hulkenberg in seventh. The result moves the team back up to fifth place in the constructors’ championship.
P6 Sergio Perez VJM08-02
Strategy: Used Softs (23 laps) – New Mediums (30 laps)
“I had a really enjoyable time today. I had very strong pace from the beginning to the end; I managed the tyre degradation well and I feel we got the maximum that was possible from the race. The first stint was fairly calm: I found myself in clean air and I managed to open a gap over the cars behind so I wasn’t under any pressure. After my pit stop, I knew Kimi was closing in behind me: he was really quick and there was nothing I could do to keep him behind any longer than I did. I am very pleased with our performance over the whole weekend and the team really deserves these points. Today’s result is important because it moves us back to fifth in the championship with a nice gap over our rivals. We did a good job and we deserve this result.”
P7 Nico Hulkenberg VJM08-01
Strategy: Used Softs (18 laps) – New Mediums (34 laps)
“Seventh place brings some useful points, but I finished the race feeling a little bit frustrated because we didn’t have the pace we know is possible. I actually think we had a problem with the car and it’s something we need to investigate because I was losing downforce, the car was sliding and the rear tyres were heating up too much, all of which really hurt my pace. The second half of the race was quite difficult defending against Ericsson and that’s when we were considering changing to a two-stop strategy because I was struggling so much with the tyres. In the end we decided against it and I was able to hang on to seventh place for some important points.”
Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal:
“To be leaving Monza with 14 points in our pocket completes a very competitive weekend for Sahara Force India. It means we’ve regained the advantage in our battle for fifth place in the standings and gives us a nice boost ahead of the fly-away races. The circuit certainly played to our strengths, but the team has worked incredibly hard this weekend to get both cars home in the points. Sergio and Nico both drove very mature races, fighting hard when they needed to and looking after the tyres. Nico was less comfortable with the car, so we will explore those issues, but all things considered we can feel extremely positive about our performance today.”
Lotus F1 crashed down to earth with incidents on the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix leading to a double retirement. Both cars started in the top 10 but damage to each car in separate incidents meant that Pastor Maldonado parked his car in the garage at the end of the first lap whilst Romain Grosjean parked his at the side of the track early in lap two. The team now heads to the next Grand Prix in Singapore on 18-20 September.
Grosjean started from P8 on the grid on his qualifying soft tyres. Contact with Felipe Nasr’s Sauber at the first corner meant damage to the rear of Grosjean’s car and retirement early in lap two. Maldonado started from P10 on new soft tyres but contact with Nico Hulkenberg’s Force India meant damage to Maldonado’s front suspension and he retired at the end of the first lap.
Romain Grosjean, DNF, E23-04:
“We had the potential of a good race ahead of us. I made a strong start but got hit by a car from behind in turn one which broke my rear suspension so that was it for us. It was a too optimistic move from Nasr who hit me which meant my race was over. It’s been a tough weekend but everyone has made the most of the opportunities we have and the spirit of the team and the support from the F1 world has been amazing. The E23 still feels good so we head to the next races optimistic of more good results to come.”
Pastor Maldonado, DNF, E23-03:
“It’s been a tough weekend and this is racing sometimes. We keep united and keep pushing as there are still seven Grands Prix to go so time to recover and keep fighting. I had contact in turn one where the Force India came into the side of me and took out my front-right suspension and that was the end of my race. We were looking for a strong finish and we had potential for that. Everyone knows that turn one at Monza can be tough and that’s what we saw today.”
Federico Gastaldi, Deputy Team Principal:
“What can you say? Everyone at Enstone, at the track, our sponsors, partners and suppliers would have liked to see a favourable result for us today but the cruel mistress that is motor sport gave us a resounding slap in the face. Both drivers had their race undone at the first corner and this was a real blow to all of us. We now focus on the next Grands Prix where we’re determined as ever to score more points and keep fighting. Thank you all for your support.”
Alan Permane, Trackside Operations Director:
“A disastrous race for us with our cars retiring following incidents at turn one. Both drivers started in the top ten and we had potential for a good points haul but Monza’s turn one can get very crowded on the first lap, which is what we saw today. It’s been a challenging weekend for us, but the response from our fellow competitors has been tremendous and we thank them all for that. We’ve seen that the E23 has still got strong pace so we’re heading to Singapore and Japan eager for clean races to re-ignite our championship fight.”
Well, good for you Lewis. Well said in his BBC Lewis column. Just what any man would do if he had the money and means to do what he felt he could do.
That’s a sign of maturity and says he’s in a good place, in case you were wondering.
Williams says the partnership of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas will be retained for a third season which closes the door on a return of Jenson Button to the team.
Massa joined for 2014 and has so far scored one pole position, at the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix, and four podium finishes. Bottas is one of the sport’s most promising talents, with seven podiums to his name in the last two seasons.
Both drivers quickly developed an exceptional working relationship from the beginning of 2014 and, while they remain fiercely competitive as rivals, you could say they’ve played a pivotal role in the rejuvenation of Williams.
Monza is home to some of the most passionate fans in Formula One. The Italian Grand Prix was first held during the inaugural Formula One season in 1950 and has been on the calendar ever since. Four times during a single lap the Williams FW37 will exceed 195mph due to the circuit’s layout. Monza’s history surrounds the circuit with corner names linking back to past greats and the original banking from the 1950s is ever-present. Monza hosts the last visit to Europe for the Formula One fraternity before it heads to sunnier climes. The Italian Grand Prix has had six Williams victors, with Felipe Massa securing an emotional podium in 2014 in front of the tifosi.
Rob Smedley:
“Monza is a specialist circuit and, like the rest of the teams, we will be taking a dedicated aero package. It’s a great circuit and a challenge for both engineers and drivers to get right. There are some very high speed straights with big braking zones with some fast and medium speed corners too. Ascari is a real challenge and Parabolica needs a good front end which fortunately the FW37 has. It’s a test for the drivers as they will have the lowest drag set-up of the year which takes time to get used to during the first Friday session. Last year we were on the podium so we look to replicate that performance and carry on outscoring our closest competitors. Italy is fantastic and the fans give the team a great reception, despite being a completely British team and of course the tifosi are some of the most passionate fans in sport.”
Felipe Massa:
“Monza is one of the best circuits to drive – the layout is quick with some very fast corners. The local area is fantastic with good weather, great food and fans who are very passionate about Formula One. There is a lot of history at the track and as a team we have had some good results there, including our podium last year. Standing on the Monza podium is very special and I’m lucky enough to have a lot of supporters in Italy. Our car should be suited well to the characteristics of the circuit but we will have to work hard to make sure that we leave Italy with a good result.”
Valtteri Bottas:
“I always look forward to racing in Monza. It’s an old school track with a lot of history and is one of the fastest circuits on the calendar which gives you a real buzz when driving. It requires a low downforce set-up from the car which should be good for us. The passionate fans also make the weekend a special one. We are aiming for a strong weekend here. We have learnt from our mistakes and will bounce back even stronger!”
The man may have won Le Mans but he’s still got the bug for F1 it seems even though the wiggle room for 2016 seats is a bit tight. Hulkenberg is now on a two-year contract extension which means he’ll race in the team’s colours until at least the end of the 2017 season.
Nico Hulkenberg: “I’m very pleased to finalise and announce my plans for the future. I know this team inside out and I feel at home here so it made perfect sense to make a long-term commitment. The progress the team has shown over the last two years has really impressed me and gives me confidence for the future. It’s a great group of people who are hungry for success and want to keep improving year-on-year. I think we have the important things in place going forward and I want to continue growing with this team as we move even further up the grid.”
Dr Vijay Mallya, Team Principal and Managing Director: “I make no secret of being one of Nico’s biggest fans and so it’s fantastic to confirm him as our driver for the next couple of seasons. He has spent almost four years with us already and in that time we’ve seen him develop into one of the best racing drivers in the world. Nico has the speed, the technical knowledge and the maturity to help us achieve some great results in the years ahead. We will do everything we can to continue delivering a car to match his talent.”
Five university engineering students have been given the career opportunity of a lifetime in Formula One, as Infiniti announces them as the winners of the 2015 Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy.
Muhammad Zafar (20, Saudi Arabia), Andre Plakhotnichenko (25, Russia), Daniel Sanham (24, UK), Zhang Zitong (22, China) and Alex Allmandinger (22, US) were chosen from a global selection process, with each now set to receive a 12-month work placement split between Infiniti Red Bull Racing and Infiniti, both in the UK, complete with full salary.
The winners will move to England in mid-September to work across a variety of roles spanning vehicle dynamics, vehicle design, aerodynamics and electronics, spending eight months at the Infiniti Red Bull Racing factory and four months at Infiniti’s European Technical Centre working on road car development projects. With F1 technology more relevant to the automotive industry than ever, they will play a key role in the ongoing transfer of technical knowledge and expertise between the race team and Infiniti.
Now in its second year, this year’s academy saw thousands of top level engineering students enter the programme.
After a series of intense interviews with the best entrants, 10 finalists in each region (Europe, US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and China) were selected to attend a regional final event where they were put through their paces in a structured assessment day by a panel of judges from Infiniti and Infiniti Red Bull Racing. Of these 10, one winner per region was selected for the main prize.
It was back in 2012 that Laverstoke, owned by 1979 F1 World Champion Jody Scheckter, was home to the very first of these entertainment-fuelled, fund-raising weekends conceived and hosted by Radio 2 broadcaster, Chris Evans.
Between then and the start of this year, the six CarFests had raised more than £3.5m for BBC Children in Need.
As tradition now dictates, this weekend’s CarFest South again combined the magical worlds of eye-catching cars, pulsating live music and mouth-watering food. Scheckter’s personal collection of Grand Prix racers topped the daily Track Sprints alongside Evans’ own ‘Dirty Dozen’ classics.
Many celebrities took part in the hill climb show. Scheckter himself blasted several of his own F1 icons up and down what is the Laverstoke Park Farm drive for 362 days a year. The track show also featured a selection of rally cars, supercars, hot rods and even a road-legal powered sofa driven by Edd China.
Following recent tragic events, there was no air display programme. A fly-past by the Gnat Display team honouring Kevin Whyman who lost his life during a display at CarFest North did go ahead as planned on Saturday afternoon and was accompanied by a minute’s silence in honour of Kevin and the victims of the Shoreham Air Show.
Ross Brawn. ITMA – didn’t I see you at Brighton?
Team Principal, Dr Vijay Mallya, looks forward to the final European race of the 2015 season.
“The high-speed challenge of historic Monza is always one of the highlights of the year. It’s the final race of the European season and it’s important that we score strongly to regain the initiative in our fight for fifth place in the standings.
“The last race in Belgium showed that the updates we’ve brought to the VJM08 are working as intended. We’ve taken some big steps forward over the last couple of months and with more developments in the pipeline I think we can keep up this momentum.
“Of course, the result in Spa was bittersweet as we could only compete with one car, but we’ve shown that the VJM08 is capable of qualifying and racing well inside the top ten. At the same time, Spa reminded us that we cannot take our progress for granted and we must continue to work hard to remain at the front of the midfield battle.
“Monza is a track where we expect to be competitive. We go there aiming to get both our cars in Q3 on Saturday and in the points on Sunday – that must be our target for all the races to come.”
Sergio Perez looks to the Italian Grand Prix with optimism, following his best result of the season in Spa.
“The race in Belgium was good fun: it’s always nice to battle at the front and, even though we didn’t manage to get onto the podium, it was good to come away with our best result of the season so far. Our performance is improving and we are taking the opportunities when they arise. We have seen that we can now fight with nearly everyone and it’s important we keep aiming for the podium.
“Monza is a place with lots of memories for me. I had one of my best races in Formula One there in 2012, finishing second after a clever race managing tyres. The circuit is probably one of the most beautiful in the calendar: there’s history wherever you look and you can feel it’s a unique place from the very moment you arrive at the track. The Italian fans are amazing – they remind me of Mexicans, in a way, and it’s a good warm-up ahead of the race in Mexico City!
“Monza is a true power track and so we go there confident of being competitive. It’s never easy to overtake and the strategy options are quite limited, and so getting the job done in qualifying is especially important. In the race it’s a case of being flat out all the way and being accurate with your braking points.
“My feeling with the updated car is very good now. Spa was the most comfortable I’ve been this season and it showed in the results. We need to go to Monza and deliver a similar performance.”
Nico Hülkenberg aims to bounce back from a disappointing weekend in Belgium as he returns to Monza.
“When you have a frustrating weekend like the one in Spa, the best cure is to get back behind the wheel and go racing again. I know we could have been very competitive in Belgium without the technical issues on race day and we missed an opportunity to score good points.
“Monza is special. It’s a high-speed track that pushes the car to the limit: it may look easy but the margin for error when braking for the chicanes is very small and you end up paying heavily for every mistake. It’s a fun and challenging circuit to drive and the atmosphere makes it even better. The fans are very passionate and knowledgeable: the town lives for the race and you have a feeling that you’re in one of the temples of Formula One.
“The layout of the track should allow us to be competitive and it’s an opportunity for us to score important points. I had a very exciting race there in 2013 and I wouldn’t mind a repeat performance. We have seen what the VJM08 is capable of in the last few events and I think we will have the chance to compete in the top ten.”
Deputy Team Principal Federico Gastaldi looks ahead to the Italian Grand Prix.
Pastor suffered a retirement in Spa, what is the team doing to make sure this doesn’t happen at the next race?
“First the team will prepare the cars as usual for the weekend sessions and hopefully, with a clear weekend, we can hope for a good performance by both drivers.”
Where do you feel the team is at currently?
“We are facing challenges but we are a united team. We have shown many times that we are fighters and that we punch above our weight. We are now fifth in the Constructor’s Championship and that makes me proud of everyone at Enstone. We want to continue to show our worth and fight on each and every lap these coming races.”
How important is Monza, and Italy, for Formula 1?
“It’s very important for me personally. Monza, Spa, Silverstone, have all been part of the original history of motor racing. Monza is and will always remain a classic in the Formula 1 calendar. The fans – or tifosi in Italy – are simply amazing and there are so many of them at all these historic venues no matter if it pours with rain or even if it snowed!”
This is the last European race of the season, what are your thoughts heading to the final batch of long-haul races?
“We will be heading to races overseas after Monza and we’ll be visiting some great countries and venues. From Singapore which always offers a great night spectacle, to the US that is extremely popular, to Mexico, a new venue that we are looking forward to visiting this year, and of course Russia, Brazil and Abu Dhabi, places where F1 is warmly greeted and where the promoters are doing a fantastic job. We shall be looking forward to visiting all these places in the latter part of the season..”
Fresh off the back of his Belgian third place, Romain Grosjean sets out his targets for a similarly strong performance in Monza.
How goes the high after your Spa podium?
“I still have a massive smile on my face about it! What a race and what a performance from everyone in the team. We have a great car in the E23 and it worked so well around Spa Francorchamps. Everything came together so well. I probably drove the best race of my career, but it was thanks to the hard work of everyone at Enstone that I was able to perform at the top of my ability on that day. It felt almost like a race win.”
Could you have passed Sebastian Vettel if he hadn’t had his tyre issue?
“I was closing in on him pretty quickly and I’d have done everything I could to get past him. He’s a pretty tough competitor, but I was very determined at that point. It’s only a shame that he did have his tyre issue on track as I was really looking forward to fighting him for that position and I’m convinced I would have taken the final podium spot.”
How do you like Monza, the Theatre of Speed?
“I like Monza a lot because it is so distinctive. It’s a great track that has a lot of racing history. This makes it nice for us to compete at a place where all our heroes raced too. There is a lot of atmosphere around the track and to race in the setting of the royal park makes for a really special ambience. Of course the Ferrari fans are a big part of it and it is really nice competing at such a legendary venue.”
Any special memories from Monza?
“One of my first ever races in cars was at Monza back in 2003 when I was driving in a category called Formula Lista where I won and then went on to win every race of my rookie season in that formula. I have had some other big results at Monza too throughout my career, so it holds lots of good memories.”
What aspirations do you have for Monza this weekend?
“On paper, Monza should suit our car better than Spa so in theory a podium could be possible again! Of course, we don’t know how our performance relative to our rivals will stack up until we get there, but I’m certainly going out for the strongest result possible, as I always do.”
What’s the key to a strong result in Italy?
“You need your car to be as slippery as possible and quick in a straight line, and in that regard we’ve looked pretty strong so far in 2015. Then we have to manage the tyre degradation. Also for us it will be tricky in the big corners like the Lesmos and the Ascari chicane because the less downforce you have then the more difficult it is to get good grip in the turns. It is a tough compromise but one I am sure that the team will get the best solution possible.”
Pastor Maldonado looks forward to the 2015 Italian Grand Prix at a place where so much of his race craft was learned.
What are your opinions of racing in the Parco di Monza?
“I like Monza and I love Italy. I actually used to live very close to the circuit when I was starting my career here in Europe. I have won races here so it holds some good memories and special feelings for sure. I have a lot of friends here and a lot of supporters who come and see me at the track, so it is very nice to catch up with them all. The track is totally unique and of course it is great to be racing where all the old heroes did too. Monza has changed only very slightly over the years and it still has the character of the old banking and the parkland trees as you drive through it and of course the fans create a great atmosphere which is a great soundtrack to the Grand Prix.”
Any particular expectations for the Monza weekend?
“I am really looking forward to Monza this year. We’ve shown our car to be pretty good through the speed traps this season and Monza is where you want to be as fast as possible in a straight line. Coming off the back of our performance in Spa it’s going to be really interesting to see how we go; I have a good feeling.”
Tell us one word that comes to mind when you hear the word Monza?
“Speed. It has to be speed because the track is all about how fast you can go on the start/finish straight and then also on the back straight too. We are reaching the highest speeds of the season on these stretches. One of the critical points is the Parabolica corner. You have to get this right at the end of your lap to ensure a good time, and if you get it wrong it also compromises you for the next lap. It’s difficult to do this as the car is set up for low downforce on the straights, so it’s more difficult to drive on the corners – especially a long corner like Parabolica, which is tough and fast, the most crucial at Monza.”
Last year the outside of Parabolica was changed from gravel to tarmac; did this make a difference?
“The approach was still the same, which is to take it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Of course you are aware that it’s safer and there’s less penalty in going off and this is good from a safety point of view because it is a quick corner with not that much room on the outside.”
How frustrating was your Belgian Grand Prix?
“Of course, it’s frustrating not to finish any Grand Prix, but it was particularly so in Belgium as we really had potential to go well. Romain did a great job to finish on the podium and I started my race ahead of him on the grid. We know what is possible and our car should go well in Monza. I would love to score a very strong result in Italy as I have so many fans there.”
Were there particular lessons learned?
“We’ve gone through the data and we think we know what we need to do to avoid a similar situation again. Spa’s a pretty unique place so it’s unlikely we’ll see the same set of circumstances again. It was good to watch the team get a good result, but it would have been better to have been part of a strong result for both cars on track.”
CLIVE COULDWELL: Formula One as it is... 