Malaysia’s big winner … Daniel Ricciardo?

The big winner in this weekend’s second round of the 2013 Formula 1 season wasn’t race winner Sebastian Vettel or even the resurgent Mercedes, resplendent as they were in a validating 3^rd and 4^th position. Rather, the big winner in Malaysia just might have been Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo, who finished 18^th, retiring his Toro Rosso after 51 laps. 

 Come again?

A rather lively Malaysian Grand Prix became even more riveting after the final pit stops as the 1^st and 2^nd place Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel, along with the 3^rd and 4^th place Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, were ordered by team leadership to conserve both fuel and tires and ensure the cars made it to the finish with maximum points toward the ever important Constructors’ World Championship. The dutiful soldiers Webber, Hamilton and Rosberg obeyed. Vettel did not, racing Webber, taking the position, and driving off to victory.

One need not make a career of observing human behavior to recognize Webber was incensed at his teammate’s autonomously made decision to rebuke team orders. On the post-race podium, after ignoring Vettel in the celebratory spraying of the Moet champagne, Webber even went so far as to suggest Vettel would be “protected as usual,” a reference to Vettel’s preferred standing in the team.

Red Bull certainly gives Webber his best chance at Formula 1 victories, but not his only chance. As he will never usurp wunderkind Vettel as the team’s number one driver, and as assuredly the team will not voluntarily depart ways with the defending 3-time World Champion and 27 race winner Vettel, Webber is racing for racing sake and the opportunity for ever-so-difficult-to-come by F1 race victories, and with nary a realistic thought of winning a World Championship.

With an already tense and somewhat fractious relationship between Webber and Vettel, Malaysia may very well have been the final straw, the one that broke the camel’s back. With a one year contract, Webber is most likely gone at the conclusion of the current season, either through his own impetus or with a gentle push from the team. With a departure by Webber, a seat at Red Bull, the defending 3-time Constructors’ World Champion becomes available.

All that supposition brings us to Ricciardo, one of two drivers (along with Jean-Éric Vergne) of Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s de facto “junior team.” Ricciardo has made no secret of his ambitions for 2013:  Outrace teammate Vergne and secure a ride with Red Bull for 2014. Malaysia’s intra-team fireworks gives him the opening to squeeze into.

It’s now up to Ricciardo, a driver who routinely outpaces his teammate Vergne in qualifying, to press to the most of his abilities. At stake is a ride in a car fully capable of race wins and championships. Granted, 2014 brings new technical specifications for the teams, perhaps leveling the field. But with the wizardry of Adrian Newey being sketched on the whiteboard, is there a team better positioned for success than Red Bull?

Three cheers to this weekend’s podium finishers, Vettel, Webber and Hamilton. But, save the biggest cheer for perhaps the weekend’s big winner, 18^th place Daniel Ricciardo.   

Rub wheels on Twitter @RayHartjen

An Rx for IndyCar’s Ills

Today, Will Power won his fourth consecutive pole for the St. Petersburg Grand Prix, the annual opener of the IndyCar season, which beckons the philosophical question, “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” Just 20 years ago, IndyCar, then known as CART, was the premier motorsports series in the world, and that included the global circus of Formula One. Now, thanks to a divisive split engineered by Tony George, IndyCar once again starts a season awash in a sea of irrelevance. It’s a long race back to the top, but the prescription for IndyCar can be really simple.

It’s TV, stupid

Perhaps no sport is as much a live spectacle as motorsports – the sights, sounds and even smells bring the event to a roaring life, and most every fan who goes to a race becomes a fan for life. Simply, there’s no sporting event like a day at the racetrack.

However, IndyCar won’t grow racing to fans at the track alone. Success is dependent on TV for two purposes: 1) selling the sport to fans who have yet to attend a race in person, and 2) bringing in sponsors and their marketing dollars, the funds of which are crucial for all motorsports, as funding equals speed, in turn equaling competitiveness. 

Key for IndyCar is finding one single network family for its series, and a network that can broadcast not only the race, but qualifying sessions and perhaps even practices. Currently, fans have to jump between NBC and ABC to find IndyCar. In this era of nearly countless entertainment options, if it’s not easy, it’s often ignored. The IndyCar brand can only grow with a partnered affiliation with its broadcaster.

Variety is the spice of life

IndyCar is essentially a formula-spec series, with a single chassis for all teams, the status quo for the last several years. Car development, and hence differentiation by teams, have been limited pretty much to shock absorbers and mirrors.

I nearly fell asleep writing that sentence.

The introduction of Chevrolet engines last year, to battle alongside long-time series runner Honda, was a start. Differentiation means unequal cars, and unequal cars means overtaking on the track, good for those in attendance, and great for those watching on television.

 IndyCar needs to develop technical specifications and invite constructors to design and build chasses to a set of common rules. The heyday of CART saw three chassis builders and multiple engines, allowing for a variety of “mix and match” possibilities, with competitiveness up and down the field, and storylines carried throughout the season.

Close the gap

With nearly six months from the last race of 2012 to the first race of 2013, any momentum created last year has disappeared quicker than a scheduled pit stop. NASCAR only takes a three month break and benefits by opening its season with its crown jewel, the Daytona 500. Formula one likewise takes a three month break, but is buoyed by an off-season of constructor and car development news, along with three organized, multi-day test sessions.

IndyCar needs to both close the gap between one season and the other and create a reason for news to hit, much like player trades and drafts in other sports. One is easier than the other, of course, and running the last race in October and the first in February would be a good first step.

A new track experience

IndyCar can learn a lesson from the NHRA drag racing series, the motorsports series with perhaps the most loyal fan base. The secret? Everyone at an NHRA event can walk through the paddock and watch the crews prepare the cars and motorcycles.

A long-standing tradition in most motor sports series is the prevalence of “knucklers,” those fans holding onto a chain link fence, their knuckles on the other side, peeking at a part of the race where they desperately want to be. 

It’s not realistic for every fan to be able to walk through the garage on race day, but walkabouts on Friday of race weekend, and even Saturday after qualifications, would give fans a more complete experience and an opportunity to rub elbows with their heroes, much less post awesome photos to Facebook and other social sites. It’s all about growing the sport.

A big deal

The Indianapolis 500 is the crown jewel of the series, although it’s popularity has also waned over the past two decades. This year, more superspeedways return to the race calendar. Like the horses do, IndyCar and its horsepower should create a “triple crown” or “grand slam,” and offer up a staggering monetary award for anyone who can sweep all the races, like $5 million, and lesser amount for the driver who scores the most accumulated points in the select races, say $1 million. It’s a storyline that covers multiple months, garnering attention for a sport and series that much needs it.

So, there you have it, a short five-step prescription to fix the ills of IndyCar. Time is short in the sports universe, and the time to move fast, like the cars, is now.

Run hot laps on Twitter @RayHartjen

F1 Mid-Fielders Turn to Malaysia for Answers

In the final year of a relatively stable rules package for Formula 1 constructors, pressure is on the mid-field to catch up with the front runners, the rationale being time affords teams to develop when tighter financial resources hamper initial development. At the end of this season, time runs out on the old car and big financial resources will help the front runners with the new chassis.

Last week’s season opener in Melbourne saw the mid-field in many story lines. This week’s second round will go a long way in telling a more complete story, either validating first impressions or turning them on their heels.

Maybe, but not quite yet

Force India and driver Adrian Sutil were somewhat the revelation of the Australia Grand Prix, holding the lead for a number of laps and finishing in a solid 7^th position, one place in front of Paul Di Resta in the second Force India. Race results suggest a possible breakthrough to the top of the mid-field, and maybe even a latching onto the bottom of the front-running cars.

Not so fast.

Sutil started the Melbourne race on the harder, more durable “medium” Pirelli tire and greatly benefited from a longer first stint before pitting. As front running teams come to grips with, well, grip, and the durability of the Pirelli rubber, those types of good fortunes are likely to be much harder to stumble upon. Perhaps a truer test of the Force India’s capabilities lies in the outright pace of the car in qualifying. Di Resta managed to break into Q3 for the first time in a long while, while Sutil managed 12^th in his first race weekend in 15 months.

Melbourne was a solid start for the Force India team and final positions were certainly earned on merit. Malaysia’s second round will provide observers more data on whether the team’s start was as best as it’s going to get in 2013.

Needing a U-turn

Pastor Maldonado spent the season’s first weekend talking about how his Williams chassis was “undriveable.” That’s quite a statement coming from a driver whose sponsorship funding is considered by many in the F1 paddock as his most serviceable skill.

Williams had a very decent car early in 2012 and Maldonado provided a long overdue victory for the team with his magical win at Barcelona in early May. From then on, though, the rest of the season was pretty dismal, with then Williams driver Bruno Senna most often outperforming the often crashing Maldonado.

Maldonado’s race in Melbourne ended in the gravel trap after Maldonado spun in first corner, a fitting end considering the car’s performance in the first 34 laps. Despite showing promise in pre-season testing, Williams managed only 16^th and 17^th in qualifying and a 14^th place race finish by rookie Valtteri Bottas. Malaysia is the team’s first chance to turn it around and will go a long way in determining the prospects for 2013.

To start, you have to … start

Sauber got off to the shakiest of all possible starts when lead driver Nico Hülkenberg had his car withdrawn before the race’s start due to fuel system issues, spoiling an 11^th place qualifying position. Rookie teammate Esteban Gutiérrez improved upon his 18^th place in qualifying to finish the race in 13^th.

The Sauber car has garnered a reputation over the past two seasons as being very kind on its Pirelli race tires, and if ever an opportunity was squandered, last weekend’s tire management-plagued Australian Grand Prix was it. Having team leader Hülkenberg, one of the top young drivers in the sport, on the track is critical for this team to succeed. Mistakes like last weekend have to stop. Now.

A second chance to make a first impression

With teams going directly from Australia to Malaysia, most developmental upgrades will wait until next month’s third round. As such, this weekend provides the second of back-to-back opportunities for teams, and observers, to evaluate car and driver prospects for 2013. There are many races in F1 and sometimes the closest and most compelling happen away from the sharp end of the field. The mid-field looks to Malaysia to confirm or rebut the season’s first impressions, with some teams looking for a change while others look for more of the same.

Run laps on Twitter @RayHartjen