BLOGMAS DAY 2: A NEW ERA BEGINS

With one era ending (Fernando Alonso), another era begins. Or, in fact, resumes.

Welcome to Blogmas Day 2.

February 2011. Pre-season testing begins in Valencia, Spain. Polish driver; Robert Kubica is testing Renault's, his team for that year, new car, setting the fastest time of that session.

Kubica had been in Formula One since 2006, becomming the first Polish driver to enter the sport. With one win and numerous podiums to his name, Kubica was one to watch.

However, a few days after pre-season testing in Valencia in 2011, Robert Kubica suffers a "near-fatal" crash during the first stage of the Ronde di Andorra rally, changing his life and almost ending his motorsport career altogether.

After being trapped in the car for almost an hour, Kubica was extracted and air lifted to hospital where it was confirmed that he had suffered severe injuries to his forearm, elbow, shoulder and leg. Due to this, his motorsport career, for that year at least, was done.

2012 arrived. A new year and a new season. But, another setback for Robert. A broken leg in January that year meant another year of zero racing. So we thought, anyway.

Kubica returned to racing in September 2012, winning the Ronde Gomitolo Di Lana rally by more than one minute. This was the start of a comeback you couldn't imagine.

In 2013, Kubica was back to racing full time. Focusing only on rally. In 2016, he moved onto sports cars, taking part in GT3 and LMP1, the following year. And then, his chance in single seaters came about once more. A test in a Formula E car was organised and Robert took part. However, this never led to a race seat for the Polsk.

Less than a month later after his Formula E test, Formula One team Renault gave Kubica another test but this time in a Formula One car. The first one he would have driven since his accident back in 2011. The test ended positively. Cyril Abitebol, the team principle at Renault, confirmed that there were "no obvious road blocks" for an F1 return for Kubica. Could the unimaginable happen? Will this story bring a happy ending.

You bet.

Just before the end of the final race of the 2018 Formula One season, Williams Formula One team announced that Robert Kubica would race for them in 2019, alongside Brit; George Russell. Many people were excited by this announcement. A driver with incredible talent getting a second chance. Kubica returning had everyone talking. However, for some, this wasn't positive news.

Of course, the story is unimaginable. A driver who's career was almost ended by an accident, returns. It is a fairy tale. But, is Kubica's return fair on younger drivers?

As we know, there are hundreds and hundreds of young drivers trying to make it into Formula One. We also know that if a driver comes in with a tonne load of money, they're likely to make it over the driver with talent. That is what Formula One and motorsport in general has come to. It's no lie Kubica comes back with money from sponsors. But, I think this case is different from others. Robert has experience on Formula One. Robert has proved himself in Formula One. He didn't plan to have an accident, potentially ending his career. I think it's more than fair to bring Kubica back. Give him another chance and let him end his Formula One career the way he would have wanted.

I for one am excited to see what he can do. Obviously, Formula One has changed dramatically since 2011. But, I guess that's all part of the challenge in this new Kubica era.

BLOGMAS. DAY 1: END OF AN ERA

Image from: motorsport.com

So, here we are. It's the 1st of December and the Formula One 2018 season is officially over. In order to keep a bit of motorsport in our lives over this festive period, I will be posting a blog everyday (she says!) between now and the 23rd of December. So, sit back, relax and enjoy!

BLOGMAS DAY 1: END OF AN ERA!

Abu Dhabi 2018. A circuit, which in my opinion, shouldn't be the final race of the season. This season, however, was different. It delivered. It wasn't entertaining in the fact that there were incidents but there was actual racing, all the way through the field. However, this race won't be remembered for that, and it doesn't need to be. It will be remembered as the race that two time double world champion; Fernando Alonso left the sport.

I won't lie, it was very emotional for me. Fernando Alonso was my childhood hero. But is he the greatest ever to grace our sport?

A cheeky chap who takes no nonsense, Fernando was born in 1981 in Oviedo, Spain. He took an interest into motorsport thanks to his father, who was an amateur kart racer. This led to the Spaniard winning the 1996 World Karting Championship before entering Formula One four years later in 2000 with Renault. Alonso won the Formula Championship with the team in 2005 and 2006, making him the then youngest ever double world champion. A record broken by German, Sebastian Vettel, later on. After leaving Renault in 2006, Alonso raced for McLaren, Ferrari and then McLaren again before retiring at the end of the current season; 2018.

18 years Alonso graced this sport for. 18 years of beautiful yet aggressive racing. 18 years of winning. (Okay, he hasn't won since 2013 but still). 18 years of interesting and amussing radio calls. And, 18 years of breaking records. The Spaniard has taken part in 314 races; 311 of them he actually started. He's managed to take pole 22 times and with 97 podiums and 32 wins to his name, he's a pretty decent driver.

However, despite these stats and how Fernando performs on track. He has been involved in some crazy controversies. The one that will spring to everyone's mind has to be "Crashgate." Where Alonso's teammate at the time; Nelson Piquet Jr, crashed on purpose at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in order to give Alonso a chance of winning thanks to a safety car period. There has never been any evidence found if that was the case and frankly, we will never know the truth. Other notable controversies include brake testing David Coulthard at the 2003 European Grand Prix and Robert Doornbos at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix as well as the infamous "Fernando is faster than you" incident at Hockenheim in 2010 and "Spygate" in 2007, amongst others. Should a driver with Alonso's reputation be getting into controversies such as these? Everyone's human but the list keeps on going. A number of times, these controversies were team related but still goes against the two time world champ when debating about who's the greatest.

Despite this, stats are just a number. Alonso is one of the greats. No one is the greatest. They are all different in their own way. The way Alonso races is magic. His skills are like no other. And, after putting up with a deadbeat McLaren for the past few years, he has pushed that car to the absolute limit. Alonso is my childhood hero. I want to be biased and say "yes, he's the greatest," but look at what I said before. There is something special when it comes to Fernando Alonso and I for one think Formula One will be a stranger place without this guy.

Stay tuned. Day 2 comes tomorrow!

WHERE ARE ALL THE LADIES?

On the morning of Wednesday 10th October 2018, news broke that a women’s only racing championship was going to begin in 2019. Between fans, drivers, journalists and motorsport personnel alike; opinions on the matter were divided. Myself being on the negative side. But I ask myself, “could this really be a good thing for women in motorsport?” 

As the daughter of a former rally driver and navigator, all I wanted to do when I grew up was race. I remember sitting and watching Formula One races and British Touring Car Races, among others, with my dad throughout my childhood years. I wanted to be the best. However, apart from my mother, who was my rally driver father's navigator, I never had any female racing idol to look up to. This made me think racing wasn’t for girls and my dream died. 

So, the news of the new “W Series” would be good for the likes of me, right? 

Wrong. 

Upon hearing the news, I felt insulted by the plan of segregation. And this is the main issue I have with these plans.

Motorsport is a very male dominated sport. And I, for one, am extremely opinionated and defensive when it comes to women racing. But why do I think this new championship to be a bad thing?

Ok, I understand that it would encourage women and young girls to race, but, we want to race against the best and the only way that could ever happen is to start racing at the bottom and this is where the problem lies. 

Young girls may start karting professionally between the ages of 8-10 with a very small number making it into a professional racing car. I believe the reason for this is financial backing and support. It’s pretty much guaranteed that a sponsor or a team would chose a young lad over a girl to back because men have had the opportunity to prove themselves. This is where my opinion starts to sound conflicting, as females need a chance to shine. 

We’ve seen plenty of females racing in the likes of Formula 3 and GP3 but where are most of them now? 

Alice Powell, for example, the first female to ever score a point in GP3 who, in my opinion, was quite a consistent driver, never made it past that level. No team was ever interested. It would be for drivers like Alice where a women’s championship could come across as sustainable and a success. 

Then we look at the likes of Carmen Jorda. I think it’s more than fair to state this driver has zero talent. What if she won this said championship and ended up with a seat in Formula One where she faltered against the male dominance? It would be a waste of time and money. 

And, finally, Colombian driver, Tatiana Calderon (pictured above). A female with potential, fortunate enough to be snapped up already by Sauber Formula One team. But will and when will she get her Formula One chance? There’s not much more she can do. 

The moral of this story is females need to be nurtured into great racers by starting at the bottom, just like our male companions. The FIA should be investing money here, helping young females get the start in motorsport that they want. Honestly, something should be done in order to encourage more ladies into the sport, however, I among others believe that this is not a sustainable way.