Michael Schumacher last season in F1?

First post since last week. This post is all about Michael Schumacher and Mercedes.

After three seasons since this return to Formula One. Michael Schumacher looks likely to quit after the 2012 season, despite this he was on unofficially on pole at Monaco on the front-row at Shanghai and podium at Valencia this season.

The 43-year-old German, who has won seven world titles with Benetton and Ferrari, retired from Formula One back in 2006 before returning with Mercedes at the end of the 2009 season. But, the team have struggled to keep up with Red Bull and McLaren while team-mate Nico Rosberg, has overshadowed the former world champion. Schumacher is in the final year of his contract. Is it going to be Michael Schumacher last season in F1?

Personally, apart of some great qualifying performances which includes Monaco and the race performance at Valencia to finish in third place, the last two and a half seasons is has been unsuccessful return into Formula One in my opinion. Due to he hasn't won a race in the last two and half season so far and for the last two and half seasons Nico Rosberg has beaten the old champion time and time again. To me, he should retire for good at the end of the season in my opinion. In my opinion is the best driver I have ever seen in Formula 1 despite the last two and half seasons.

So who should replace Michael Schumacher if he does retired? Personally, I would like to see a Paul di Resta, Nico Hülkenberg, Adrian Sutil or a Heikki Kovalainen to drive alongside Nico Rosberg at Mercedes next season.

Also, last week there were rumours from France that Mercedes is considering a partial withdrawal from Formula 1 at the end of next year and might field only a “semi-official” team in 2013, changing the team name to AMG something similar of what Jaguar Racing (Red Bull Racing nowadays) did around after 2002, were they wasn't a full works team and they had to paid their own engines if memory served me right before Red Bull bought Jaguar Racing from Ford.

Anyway end of post/blog for now. New post/blog soon. Bye.

The first guy who won for Citroën in the WRC has past away, Philippe Bugalski 1963 – 2012

Since 1999, Citroën have won 85 Rallies in the WRC and counting. And the first person who won for Citroën was French rally driver and tarmac specialist called Philippe Bugalski (Bug to his fans) in his Citroën Xsara F2 kit car on the Rally Catalunya and then on the Tour de Corse in Corsica a rally later, beating the likes of Didier Auriol, Tommi Mäkinen and Colin McRae on those two weekends. Recently been an official Citroën WRC test driver up until including the development of the Xsara WRC back in 2001 and C4 WRC back in 2007.

But sadly, Philippe Bugalski died on last Friday (August 10th), aged 49, from injuries sustained when he fell out of a tree at his home in Vichy near Paris. Condolences goes out to Philippe Bugalski's family and close friends.

A YouTube video below of Bug (as fans called him) winning his first WRC win on the Rally Catalunya back in 1999 below.



R.I.P. Philippe Bugalski (June 12, 1963 – August 10, 2012)

Dodge pulling out of NASCAR from 2013

I don't usually do any NASCAR post on this site. But, only this time, that on Tuesday (7/8/12) Dodge will pull out of NASCAR at the end of the season. Following. Penske Racing's decision to return to Ford from 2013, which was only top NASCAR team that is using the Dodge Charger in the top series of NASCAR. The decision came due to not finding a top team or big sponsors in the series.





Personally I think this is sad news but not a surprise about the news this week. But, I feel that Dodge could return to NASCAR if a big team could use the Charger as early as 2014 maybe.

But this is not the end for Dodge in motorsport. Dodge Dart is in the Global RallyCross Championship this season driven by former four-time Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana with his own team, which won a round last time out in the championship itself. Also the Dodge Viper has returned to ALMS last weekeend with Dodge's own SRT Motorsports team, were at MId-Ohio the two Vipers finished in 23rd (10th in GT class) and 25th place (12th in GT class) on its race return.



It's not the end for the end of Dodge in motorsport, Still got the Dart and the Viper in Global Rally Cross and ALMS. Just, only the end for NASCAR for now for Dodge. End of post/blog for now. New post/blog soon. Bye.

It's Official - The Doctor is back at Yamaha for 2013 and 2014 MotoGP seasons

Just as the title says Valentino Rossi will return to Yamaha for 2013 and 2014 seasons after leaving Ducati at the end of the season, that means he will rejoin Yamaha alongside Jorge Lorenzo, who was his team-mate at the team before he decided to leave for Ducati for 2011, Yamaha confirmed on Friday (today). Ducati announced this morning that Rossi was leaving the team following a disappointing two-year spell at Ducati, where the Italian rider struggled to be competitive, managing just two podiums and no victories so far in his Ducati career.

In my opinion, great news for Rossi his rejoining Yamaha. Like I said when he decided go to Ducati back in 2011 I said that:

"Rossi leaving will be a shame in my opinion, I fell that Rossi and Yamaha are a perfect match for the last seven seasons developing the best bike on the grid, possibly making a great brand as well in that period."

To this day Rossi and Yamaha are still a perfect match, despite trying to make the relationship work a Ducati for the last two seasons, which it has failed. Rossi going home to Yamaha will be a good thing for the Doctor. If anyone said Valentino Rossi going back to Yamaha four weeks ago I would say never going to happen in my opinion. But it has, you got a possibility that Valentino Rossi can be the old Doctor again who can still win races and championships. I am also guessing that Rossi will bring back Jeremy Burgess and his crew from Ducati to challenge the likes of Lorenzo, Pedrosa and Marques in 2013.

And so who will replace Rossi at Ducati in 2013? There is a strong possibility it will be Cal Crutchlow being team-mates with Nicky Hayden for 2013, or perhaps his Tech 3 team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, or even a three bike Ducati works team. But, would Ducati try and get Casey Stoner who won the MotoGP championship with Ducati back in 2007, who is retiring at the end of this season perhaps? Casey Stoner and Ducati is still a good fit in my opinion and can be a great team if the bike and rider are in the right mind. But here is the thing, Casey Stoner is retiring at the end of this season and Honda did offer Stoner a ride for 2013 and 2014 which he declined and announced his retirement back in May. But, could Ducati change his mind on retiring. Just a thought at the end of the day.

So good Luck to Valentino Rossi for riding at Yamaha next season, will we see the Doctor back in winning ways? who knows. End of post/blog for now, that is all, Bye.

Half Term Review of F1 Season so far and My top Formula 1 drivers of 2012 so far

The half term review of Formula 1 season so far, with the next race is in three weeks time. Last year I use twitter (@JHonMotorsport) for the half term review. But, instead of using twitter from last season, I will typing it on the blog itself this season. Which I will say one sentence that will be positive with each team. And one sentence that will be negative for each team. Also, I will include with this post my Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2012 so far below.

Red Bull:
+ Best car on the grid so far with the RB8.
- Their advantages are disappearing with areo spec and engine mapping name as a few.

McLaren:
+ Fastest car on the grid when need to win (Melbourne, Montreal and Hungaroring)
- Have not been constantly that may cost McLaren a constructor championship and Lewis Hamilton a drivers championship.

Ferrari:
+ Best driver on the grid with Fernando Alonso, with one of the ugliest Ferrari F1 car ever that took Alonso on top the driver standings so far, has done some brilliant driving this season too (Sepang, Valencia and Hockenheim).
- Filipe Massa has been the weakest link in the team, only 25 points compare to Alonso 164 points in the drivers standings so far, that may cost Ferrari a constructors championship this year.

Mercedes
+ Mercedes first win as a constructor since Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1955 Italian Grand Prix with Nico Rosberg at this seasons Chinese Grand Prix.
- Michael Schumacher been unluckiest driver this season, should have more points he has got with 29 points so far this season, the only crumb of comfort is a third place podium at Valencia.

Lotus
+ The first time for six seasons for the team, the car is at its best to challenge for both championships if the luck is there with some great driving between returning Kimi Räikkonen and Romain Grosjean so far this season.
- Both Kimi Räikkonen and Lotus are missing out a few race wins this season (Bahrain, Barcalona and Hungaroring).

Force India
+ Both Paul di Resta and Nico Hülkenberg are showing why they have the potential to be in any top four team within Formula 1 so far this season
- VJM05 is lacking all-round pace to give great results for the team this season and getting a sixth or a seventh place in the constructors championship for Force India

Sauber
+ Some impressive races from both Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Pérez this season that could give Sauber a shot of finishing fifth in the constructors championship, if the luck is there.
- C31 needs some more race pace to be more constantly because the car can give Kobayashi and Pérez a few more podiums this season.

Scuderia Toro Rosso
+ Both Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Éric Vergne are showing why they are in Formula 1 with some decent performances
- STR7 is showing why both drivers isn't competitive this season with only 6 pionts so far.

Williams
+ A better car and year from last season, which gives Pastor Maldonado a famous race win at Barcelona for Williams Renault.
- Pastor Maldonado has cost Williams too many points this season that the team a possibility of having a possible top five in the constructors championship this season, but with too many silly mistakes that cost him some points positions since winning at Barcelona.

Caterham
+ Some impressive race performances from both Heikki Kovalainen (Monaco and Valencia) and Vitaly Petrov (Sepang and Valencia) this season.
- Caterham have improved their performance to catch up with the midfield teams this season, but not close enough to catch up with the midfield teams above.

HRT
+ Despite his only 41, but Pedro de la Rosa is still showing how pace his still got to give for HRT this season.
- Narain Karthikeyan pace isn't impressive this year, despite his bringing in sponsorship from India.

Marussia
+ Charles Pic has been impressive during his debut season, even out performing team-mate Timo Glock in recent races.
- Despite Marussia have got a wind-tunnel to develop their car this season, but they are not catching up the likes of Caterham in race-pace, more like HRT are catching up Marussia for race-pace at this part of the season so far.

I did this last season for my end of season review of my Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2011. So it returns, my Top 10 Formula 1 drivers of 2012 so far this season, this is the part who was in my top 10 so far this season, not in championship order, so his list doesn't includes Felipe Massa, Bruno Senna or Pastor Maldonado for example. So here is my list below.

My Top Formula 1 drivers of 2012 so far this season:

1. Ferando Alonso (Ferrari) - Best driver on the grid this season so far with strong possibility of winning the drivers championship.
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull) - Being constant with his finishes this season and winning important races this season (Monaco and Silverstone), can still win the drivers championship.
3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) - Only one win so far from the double world champion, should be more wins if Vettel had a bit more luck, can still win the drivers championship still the second half of the seson.
4. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) - Still fast as ever, but still inconstant by the constantly of McLaren this season, still can win the drivers championship.
5. Kimi Räikkonen (Lotus) - Return of the former champion back into F1, been constant this season, still can win the drivers championship but need wins to win it.
6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) - Some great results this season (Shanghai and Monaco), but Mercedes inconstantly has cost Nico a challenge for the drivers championship this season.
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) - Started well in Melbourne, then after Shanghai things started to feel apart, poor luck and no luck with the Pirelli tyres that possibly cost him a second drivers championship this season.
8. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) - His first stint in F1 was poor, his second stint to the sport is way better, and few podiums so far this season and more to come from the GP2 Champion.
9. Sergio Pérez (Sauber) - Race pace is great as ever, when he uses old tyres for a one stop strategy to collect impressive points for the Sauber and could have won in Sepang, Ferrari drive possible for 2013.
10. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes) - Despite the luckless start to the season, and showing some of his old form, Schumacher can match the pace of the best on his days.

End of a super long post/blog for now. A new shorter post soon. That is all. Bye.

Rally America Round 5 Recap, IRC Round 7 and 8 Recaps and WRC Round 8 Recap

Recaps of last round of Rally America, the last two rounds from the IRC and this weekend recap of the WRC in round 8 at Rally Finland. First, with Round 7 and 8 of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge rounds at Rally San Marino and Sibiu Rally Romania. Seventh round of the Intercontinental Rally Challenge at the Rally San Marino (6-7th July) was won by 2007 IRC champion Giandomenico Basso in his Ford Fiesta RRC, three seconds ahead of current IRC Champion Andreas Mikkelsen in his Škoda Fabia S2000 who finished in second place in the rally. While, Umberto Scandola finished 3rd in his Škoda Fabia S2000.



While, Round 8 at Sibiu Rally Romania (20th-21st July) in Romania. Was won by current IRC Champion Andreas Mikkelsen in his Škoda Fabia S2000, has over five and a half minutes ahead of Patrik Flodin in his Ford Fiesta S2000. While, François Delecour finished third in his Peugeot 207 S2000. Highlights below of the rally.



While in the Rally America Championship (13-14th July), was at New England Forest Rally in New Hampshire and Maine, United States. Was won by 2010 Rally America champion Antoine L'Estage in his 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X. While, 2011 champion David Higgins finished second place, 21 seconds behind in his 2012 Subaru WRX STI.

Which gives Higgins the 2012 Rally America Championship with a round to spare over L'Estage who's currently second in the championship. So contractions to David Higgins and his co-driver Craig Drew for winning the 2012 Rally America drivers championship and winning the Rally America championship for a second time in a row and for the forth time as-well. Some Youtube footage from Day 1 and Day 2 of the 2012 New England Forest Rally.





While in this weekends Round Eight of the World rally Championship at the Rally Finland (2nd-4th August) was won by Eight times World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb in his Citroen DS3, just 7 seconds ahead of Citroen team-mate Mikko Hirvonen, to make a Citroen one-two for a fourth time in a row this season. While, Jari-Matti Latvala finished third in his Ford Fiesta RS ahead of Ford team mate Petter Solberg in forth place.

Sébastien Loeb is still leading the WRC drivers championship, while Citroen are still leading the manufuters championship from Ford. Highlights bellow of Day 3 at Rally Finland, enjoy.



End of blog for how, new blog soon, that is all. Bye.

MotoGP US Grand Prix thoughts of the race and Ben Spies leaving Yamaha at the end of the season

Quick thoughts on the race from last Sundays race (29/7/12) at the US Grand Prix at Laguna Seca and thoughts on Ben Spies leaving Yamaha at the end of the season.

The race itself was a good race overall and a great win for the current champion Casy Stoner at Laguna Seca, on his works Repsol Honda, a great battle from the start to the middle of the race between himself and Jorge Lorenzo, then Casey Stoner took the lead from Jorge Lorenzo (who started from pole (anyway) till the checkered flag. A great win from Casey Stoner. Jorge Lorenzo meanwhile on his Yamaha finished second overall, three and a half seconds behind Stoner. While, Dani Pedrosa on his Repsol Honda was only eight seconds behind team-mate Stoner at the end, who finished in third place.

It was announced last Tuesday (24/7/12) that former World Superbikes 2010 champion and current Ben Spies will be leaving Yamaha at the end of the season. Which was a complete shock in my opinion, I thought he would have stayed at Yamaha in 2013. But, Spies was offer by Yamaha a contract for 2013. Also strong rumours Spies has got a two year deal with BMW in World Superbikes in 2013, maybe in 2014 with BMW in MotoGP if costs are cheap.

But, my opinion about Ben Spies is a talented rider won the 2009 World Superbikes Championship in his first season. Top rookie in MotoGP back in 2010 with Tech3 in his first proper season. Last year with the Works Yamaha, won the Dutch GP, very convincing. Valencia GP he almost won the race on the last lap. This season he looks so unlucky this season, behind all the Yamaha riders in the standings, had a horrible race weekend in Laguna Seca. If his going back to BMW in World Superbikes next year it will be a wired choice because he is a talented rider in MotoGP. But, could he win a MotoGP championship, doubt it. Leaving Yamaha last week was a complete shock out of the blue. I even heard a rumour he could be ridding for Suzuki for the next two seasons. Riding the new Suzuki GSV-R machine at the later end of 2013 season.

So who would replace Ben Spies at Yamaha for 2013 and strong possibility this weekend that Valentino Rossi could be returning/joining with Jorge Lorenzo at Yamaha for the next two seasons instead of extending his contract at Ducati, with will be the surprise of the year if he returns to Yamaha.

Speaking of Ducati, Nicky Hayden has signed a contract with the works Ducati team for another season with a strong possibility of Cal Crutchlow being his team mate for 2013. Last two week been surprising with all these rumours and news and time will tell at both works Ducati and Yamaha teams for 2013.

Anyway, end of post/blog for now, that is all, bye.