The financial storm clouds are gathering over F1, with team accounts showing big losses, a battle between the teams and CVC possible and rumors of a divorce for Bernie in the offing - with accompanying implications, since Bernie's money is all in his wife's name. But it is business as usual for the teams down in Barcelona, where the first test of the off season commences.
Robert Kubica
Such an early test gives no pointers to potential form in the new year, most of the cars being 2008 versions with adjustments to test aspects of the incoming regulations, but there were some interesting bits and pieces worth looking at. BMW gave us an idea of the appearance of the new cars with wide front wings, a narrow wing at the back and no winglets or aerodynamic protrusions on the bodywork. A lot of commenters seem to find this difficult to get used to but, to me, it seems that we have merely taken a few steps back into the past and it becomes possible to see what the cars look like again. Gone are all the add-ons that interfered with the clean look of a F1 car.
Looking at the midday times, a few things stand out. Old Takuma Sato did well in the Toro Rosso, beating Sebastian Buemi's time by nearly half a second. One could say that this is as it should be, considering the experience of the Japanese driver, but he has also been twiddling his thumbs for most of the season and must be a bit rusty as a result. This is bound to increase Sato's chances of getting a drive with STR, although I think the best thing he could do would be to have plenty of sponsorship. Money is beginning to matter a great deal at STR.
Of course, we do not know what was being tested on the cars and what programs the drivers had to work through, so it is doubtful that the times have any meaning at all. It is fun to compare drivers in the same car, however, and this particular session makes Lucas di Grassi look a bit silly, his time in the Honda being over four seconds slower than Alex Wurz's. Alex is a nice guy but was never exactly the quickest man around, so what does that say about di Grassi...?
Then there was Sebastien Loeb's run in a Red Bull. He did not embarrass himself at all, his time being respectably amongst the rest, and one would have to say that he shows genuine talent. This is always the way when the rally boys have a go in an open wheel racer - they adjust so much quicker than track drivers do to rallying. Judging by the way Loeb has conquered the rallying world and now seems just as capable in a F1 car, he certainly seems worth a seat in one of the teams.
Not that he will get one; there are so few seats still going and far too many young hopefuls lining up to stake their claims. I have said in previous posts that there seemed to be little talent in GP2 in 2008 and my mind has not changed on that score. No one has really stood out as obviously talented and it seems to me that the battle for a seat in F1 is largely a matter of deciding who brings the most money with him. Sebastien Bourdais should have been signed by STR by now but, with the economic climate looking so threatening, he must wait to see whether the team can get enough cash from just one new driver.
Having said which, I still think he should put in an application form at Honda. Le Seb will not have endeared himself to the STR bosses by his attempt to put pressure on them with his mention of other contracts outside F1 awaiting his signature. And we all know what happens when a driver becomes unpopular at STR...