Azerbaijan GP; A Classic or a Danger?

For the past two years the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has succeded in everyway to keep us, the viewer, glued to our seats from the moments the lights go out to the moment the chequered flag falls. But with a number of accidents slowly giving this track a reputation, I ask, is this track a classic or a danger?

The Baku City Circuit which is home to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, first came to the calendar in 2016 as the European Grand Prix. It is a 6km temporary street circuit located in the midst of Azerbaijan's capital city; Baku. The first race held at this circuit in 2016 was relatively quiet leading fans to label it as "boring." Little did we know what was to come.

For the following 2017 season the European Grand Prix was renamed and thus the Azerbaijan Grand Prix was born. The 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was one we would all remember. Lewis Hamilton started on pole with Daniel Ricciardo being the eventual winner. This race was the start of something classical. Accidents throughout the race caused the field to be completely mixed up but most noticeably, it was Sebastian Vettel's anger towards Hamilton in which we would all remember.

Going into the 2018 race, the hype was high. Sunday was forcasted to have upto 80kph wind gusts and with the craziness involved with last season's race, hopes were high for a cracker and boy, that is what we got. Vettel led the cars off the line and within a couple of corners came our first accident involving Esteban Ocon and Kimi Raikkonen with resulted in a retirement for the young Frenchman Ocon. As the race went on more retirments came including a big accident caused by Red Bull drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo. Verstappen is known for his aggressive moves (and I will write a post about this) which of course would start a debate. Who's fault was it? Verstappen or Ricciardo? It's unfair to pinpoint the blame on one driver. It was racing incident. But thanks to this, things kicked off big time including a crash for Romain Grosjean under the safety care and a cruel retirement for Valterri Bottas while leading only a few laps from the end. Lewis Hamilton was the winner with Kimi Raikkonen and Sergio Perez taking up the final two podium places.

So, if this track is giving us some races to remember, why am I asking if it's a danger. Personally, I've never seen it as a danger. The long straights and tight corners makes for some good racing. The unusual amount of safety cars and accidents has led many people on my twitter feed to say they think this race should be taken off the calendar. But I do not agree with this. Every track is dangerous, this is a dangerous sport. As mentioned before, this track is tight and twisty at times, the corners come up to you from nowhere. It's a challenge. (Trust me, I can't complete this one for the life of me on the game.) These are the best drivers in the world and no matter what circuit you go to, accidents happen. I do not think this track is a danger. Its proven to be anything but a bore and frankly I'm already looking forward for next years round.

Hello, Halo.

I think it's more than fair to say the 2018 Formula One season is upon us. Testing is only a week away and cars are being revealed left, right and centre. This time of year is always interesting. The anticipation of testing and the first race of the season to the eagerness to see new and old liveries on cars alike. As of the time this post is being written, not every 2018 car has been revealed but in my opinion they're looking good, bar one thing. The not-so-anticipated halo. (Cue Beyonce's hit Halo.) If you've been living under a rock for the past few years you might be thinking "what is the halo?" Well, it's a structure made from titanium that sits over the cockpit in order to protect the driver from flying debris such as tyres and car parts. It is mandatory on all cars this season.

So far, the reception of the halo has been somewhat negative and unfortunately, I am with the majority on their negative views. I find it difficult to get my head around the fact that this is a safety feature and I know with all of the tests the halo has been through, if it wasn't safe, the FIA wouldn't have gone down this route. I'm going to talk to you on why I don't really like the halo and I think these are points you can agree with me on.

1. It's Ugly

The creation of the halo was to ensure extra safety to drivers while keeping the sport as it's recognizable open-cockpit status. But in order to increase safety it looks as if the beauty of these cars has been sacrificed. Something fans, such as myself, are not happy with.

2. Visibilty

I can't get my head around the visibility. The halo is connected to the chassis by a pylon which is placed right in the drivers line of vision. Numerous tests have proven that the majority of drivers are not fazed by this but I like a clear view when driving and that pylon is an obstruction. Also, wouldn't the halo be a problem at tracks such as Spa that have elevation? Apparently not.

3. Exit Time

As you may or may not know, to drive a Formula One car you need to be able to jump out in a certain time frame. Thanks to small cockpits and having to remove the head rest, exit times are already a challenge to achieve. And, if I remember correctly, drivers had problems with achieving these exit times when the halo was first introduced. Practice and evolution of the halo have reportedly improved these times. I still see it as a problem.

4. Upside Down Car

As we see from time to time, accidents can cause a car to somersault and land upside down. For example, let us look at Fernando Alonso's accident in Australia 2016. After a collision with then Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez, Alonso's car was flung in the air landing on an angle, pretty much upside down. We saw Alonso scramble from the car with only minor injuries but what if the halo was there? You would need to be extremely small to slip through that gap. The FIA have a solution to this. According to ESPN the safety car will carry tools that will cut through metal in order to extract the driver from the car more easily. It just means a longer wait time for the pilot.

5. Debris

The halo does not provide full protection. Although it stops debris hitting the driver head on, there is still enough space for small objects to get through and hit a drivers helmet. And at fast speeds, it can still cause damage. Remember Felipe Massa in Hungary 2009? I suppose though with a halo damage that bad would most likely by avoided.

So there we are. Five reasons why the halo sucks. But, maybe we shouldn't look at it that way. The halo is here as a safety precaution. It might be ugly but we've seen uglier. Drivers say it doesn't hinder their vision. Exit time isn't a big problem like first thought. The safety car will carry tools. And, finally, it will protect the driver in some shape or form. I know F1 is a dangerous sport and drivers are risking their lives for our entertainment every weekend. It doesn't hurt for us to give the halo a chance. It's something we need to get used to. The FIA have no plans to remove it so until they are proved wrong we need to just ignore it and enjoy the racing as we always have.

Money, Money, Money.

Hey readers. Hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas and New Years! I sure did. I am now back with some more crazy, opinionated posts that I hope you'll relate to and agree with on some level. My first post of 2018 is related to an article I recently spotted on some well respected motorsport news sites and it got me thinking. So, sit back and relax!

The article in question is one that appeared on Autosport on 7th January and was titled; "Pierre Gasly: I've proved you don't need money to reach Formula One."And as much as I respect Pierre as a driver and a person, I have to completely disagree with the above statement he has made. Long story short, in this day and age, it's all about money. Talent is starting to mean jack-sh*t, in some sort of context.

First of all, let's look at Pierre and drivers in a similar position; junior team drivers. Usually, the most easiest way into a junior team is talent, performance and potential. But that doesn't mean a free entry. Although the purpose of a junior team is to give a driver a stable and finance free (?) way off getting to Formula One, at the end of the day the junior team is sponsoring the said driver so despite what I just said, is it really money free?

Still on the subject of junior drivers, although backed by a junior team, some of these drivers also bring their own sponsorship. Example; Carlos Sainz bringing Spanish brands Cepsa and Estrella Galicia to the sport. (I should mention that Cepsa was with Toro Rosso before Sainz's F1 appearance but he was still sponsored by them in junior series.) As a Carlos Sainz fan, I am not saying he did this at all as he has proved himself on raw talent, but it makes you think, if drivers are bringing their own sponsorship to a junior team, how long is it until drivers are buying their way in?

Unfortunately, this is the story in Formula One in this day and age. Young, talented drivers are missing out due to richer, not as talented drivers paying for their seat. The sad thing is, due to the expense of F1 these days, these said pay drivers are keeping teams viable and in my opinion this shouldn't be the way. Of course we need to understand that in some way, every driver is bringing some sort of sponsorship to their team. So, the point I'm trying to make here, no matter how much it pains me, it is next to impossible to get a Formula One drive without money, but of course, in Pierre Gasly's case, talent does help.