Vacancy At Ferrari?

As the 2012 Formula One season comes to an end, the attention of the media, fans and teams shift to the changes that each team makes in terms of drivers. For those that are out of contract, we see a time in which decisions are made, from deciding to extend a current contract, or like Lewis Hamilton,  to decide to move on to another team to experience a new challenge. During this time drivers may retire as we saw with 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher and we are also introduced to many of the young and talented drivers, waiting for their chance to grab any opportunity to drive a F1 car with both hands. 
   My last post was regarding the controversial move Lewis Hamilton has decided to make next season but there are still many teams which have not announced both of their 2013 drivers. One of these teams are Ferrari, the oldest team in F1. 
  The only certainty within the team is that Fernando Alonso will continue to drive for the Italian team, but since the start of the season questions have arisen, speculating who will partner Alonso in the future.
  Ferrari kept both the fans and the media out of the loop, neither confirming or denying reports that Felipe Massa would retain his drive. Many drivers on the grid have been linked with the seat from Hulkenburg to Di Resta and Perez and even the possibility of Schumacher returning to the team in which he found his most success. 
  These possibilities have teased our minds and after weeks and months of guessing and predictions, Ferrari announced they had whittled it down to just three drivers, Hulkenburg, Di Resta and Massa. At the time this blog is published, the second driver is still not confirmed.
  Choice. That is one thing that Ferrari have and they will be carefully looking at each driver for the rest of the season, whilst also looking back at the driver's past experience and they will no doubt, being the most experienced team in the paddock, choose the right driver for the job. 
   So should Ferrari maintain Massa for 2013? It is clear to see that at the start of the season Massa needed to seriously improve his performances, after being constantly out qualified and out raced by his team-mate at every event. In some cases he was almost one second off the pace of Alonso and everyone in the paddock noticed this, sparking speculation that Massa would be indefinitely replaced. More recently he has been increasingly impressive, helping Ferrari to restore third in the Constructor's Championship and scoring a podium. I think if Ferrari were to retain Massa, they would do so for 2013 before welcoming Vettel in 2014. Can two World Champions operate within the same team?  Massa also seems content with playing second fiddle to Alonso, and Ferrari would have to consider the fact that a new driver may not be a willing as Massa to do this.
  Di Resta and Hulkenburg. Currently they are team-mates at Sahara Force India, and are likely to maintain this dynamic if neither of them go to Ferrari next year. There was rumours that Hulkenburg would move to Sauber, but what is the point in a sideways move? I can see Force India maintaining their line-up for 2013, especially if Massa stays at Ferrari and as Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes all have confirmed driver line-ups. 
  Di Resta, in only his second year of competitive Formula One racing, has impressed those amongst the paddock, and was considered rookie of the season in 2011. His maturity portrays a man much older than 26 years old, and I predict he has a successful career ahead of him. At some point in his career I believe he will drive for McLaren, but a move to Ferrari would give Paul the chance he deserves to drive for a successful team and to show just how quick he really is.
  Hulkenburg is similar in that he is an impressive talent at 25 years old and I predict he would be an asset to the Ferrari team, but I worry that if Ferrari decide to hire either of these drivers, once the chance to obtain Vettel arises, these drivers may have to back pedal. 
  After considering all the choices Ferrari have in regards to their second 2013 driver, I predict that they will announce very soon that they have decided to retain Massa on a one year deal. However, this prediction is not carved in stone, as experienced this year, the world of Formula One is not predictable and maybe Ferrari have a shock in store for all of us. Imagine if they have decided they do not want any of these three drivers and announce a driver that many would not consider? Exciting times are ahead, and if one thing is for sure, it will be that you will want to know their driver line-up as soon as it is announced!


Tammy
    

The Hamilton Move

The world was brought to light this morning, when we learnt that Eddie Jordan, owner of former Formula One team Jordan GP, had been correct in his predictions. Speaking at the Singapore GP last weekend, he explained how the speculation over Hamilton's future would be over on Wednesday. Although it was not formally announced on Wednesday, Jordan was correct in his predictions, that the 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton would make the move to Mercedes on a three year deal.
   Immediately, the question arose regarding the driver that would be replacing Hamilton. With Red Bull already having announced their 2013 driver line-up earlier in the season and with Fernando Alonso securely positioned at Ferarri, eyes turned to the young drivers of the sport.

  It was later confirmed that Sergio Perez, the young 22 year old Mexican, would fill the spare seat at McLaren, on a multi-year deal. Perez has impressed those amongst the paddock, including the McLaren team, managing to receive multiple podiums and points in only his second season driving in the sport. Although on the surface this does not seem as great as an achievement as the likes of Lewis Hamilton in his rookie and second year of competitive racing at Formula One level, you have to consider the fact that Perez is currently driving a car, that with no disrespect intended, is not considered as one of the 'front runners.' Moving to the Woking based team will surely reap the advantages, as McLaren are sure to develop and produce a competitive car for next season.
   Many people seem disappointed that the Scottish driver Paul Di Resta, also only in his second season of Formula One racing has not occupied the vacant seat at McLaren. Di Resta announced that he had changed to the same management as Jenson Button, the other McLaren driver and this could have indicated that he would be making the move to McLaren. One has to explore the reasons for Di Resta not making this move as Formula One has proved in the 2012 season, that the sport is  unpredictable and exciting. Perhaps one reason for Di Resta not filling the McLaren seat is that he already has something planned for the 2013 season, whether it be driving for his current team, Sahara Force India, or not. Another point to consider is that whilst Perez has made spectators and those involved in F1 sit up and take notcie, Di Resta has had more of a subdued season although he has been consistent and currently stands 11th in the World Driver Championship standings, above his team mate Nico Hulkenberg and in the latter part of the season he has really shown the world the incredible potential he holds. 

   Another question that has been circulating the world of Formula One is the position that the 7 time world champion, Michael Schumacher is to undergo in the 2013 season. With Hamilton moving to Mercedes, it has left Michael with seemingly no seat for 2013. There is no doubt however that Schumacher is the most successful driver ever to grace Formula One in terms of achievement  whether or not you 'like' the driver. Perhaps with an empty seat at Ferarri for next season Schumacher will sign to them for a year, going black to the place of which most of his success came before bowing out of the sport. Time will obviously tell.

   Focusing on Lewis Hamilton, many pundits and former world champions were sure that he would sign with McLaren. I myself thought that it be a crazy idea to leave McLaren. Looking at it from a spectator's point of view, I fail to understand why you would leave a team that have every possibility of winning both championships, and join a team, which quite frankly have disappointed, only picking up one win in the 2012 season and suffering numerous amounts of problems and reliability issues. Miracles do not happen in the world of Formula One and with the regulations between 2012 and 2013 not significantly changing, I cannot comprehend how Mercedes will have a better season than McLaren. As it stands, Mercedes are fifth in the Constructor's Championship, and are in serious danger of being leap frogged by Sauber, which does not give them the best foundation for next season.
  Of course, my predictions may be wrong, and this situation could all change by the time 2014 shows it's head as with new engines being introduced, and this could impact positively on the Mercedes team. But McLaren will always be a strong team, they have the experience and will not just suddenly disappear but once again time will tell.  

  It would seem that Hamilton has moved to Mercedes through the temptation of having the role of  'number one driver in the team' and the massive salary that Mercedes has offered him. Consider this however, would you rather be in a team in which you know you can win and succeed, but be paid less (it is important to remember that £15 million is no small salary) or would you rather be paid more, but not have that knowledge and assurance that you will be given a car that is competitive at every race. I know that if it was my decision, and of course I am aware there other factors that play a part in the decision, but every single time I would pick security and assurance over unpredictability. 
  I can't help but feel Hamilton owes a sense of loyalty to McLaren. How many other teams out there would sign and support a driver through his journey into Formula One? McLaren has undoubtedly made Hamilton the driver he is today and Hamilton has helped make McLaren the constructors that they are today. Will we ever see the driver race for the team again? Time will tell. 

 A dilemma has presented itself within both Hamilton and McLaren supporters. Before now, those who have supported Lewis have generally supported McLaren and vice versa, but now a new question presents itself. With McLaren no longer having a British line-up will fans decide to support Lewis and his decisions, or will they continue to support the constructors. Is it even possible to support both? 

Seven different winners in as many races to start the season, the controversial move for Hamilton and two championships which are still to be decided really do sum up how unpredictable and exciting action both on and off the track have been this year. With still some racing seats still available, there is an atmosphere looming to suggest that we may be in store for some more shock and delight. One thing that seems certain is that when we look back at the  vintage years of Formula One in 10, 15, 20 years time, 2012 is sure to have it's place in our minds and hearts.

-Tammy

        

Time for a break?

One thing I've realised lately is that no matter how much you think you have done, you could always do more. This is true in every aspect of life you look at, whether it be work, friends, family or school. After finishing my AS studies in late June, the 25th to be precise, I thought that I would be able to relax and enjoy the following 3 months before starting all over again in September, for my final year of Sixth Form. It seemed that all the energy that I previously had vanished, along with the self motivation that I had improved over the past year. There was however, no time to rest and unwind because as soon as half term had been and gone, I was expected to start work in prepartion for Year 13. At the time it seemed like a brilliant idea, getting a head start on the year ahead, meaning there would be less work to do over the summer and perhaps even a less stressful September. So I was then given the work I was expected to complete. This consisted of a variety of tasks throughout my subjects, such as reading, writing letters, sketching, writing analysis and taking photographs. There was also the added pressure of beginning to write my personal statement for University. There was nothing I desired more at this point than a rest. The opportunity to sit back and not have to worry about the work mounting higher and higher and trust me, it did. The more I sat at home pretending that I was relaxing, wasting the days away, the more work that was put on the pile to do. It was only last week that I realised I had got myself into a horrible situation. A situation I told myself I wouldn't let myself fall into. Overwhelmed with work, one day I had to face the fact that this work wasn't going to go away and decided it was time to actually do something about it. As weird as it sounds, I think I actually like feeling stressed and the satisfaction of finishing a task. Naturally I am very ambitious and determined, yet I feel that after working so hard for this past year my mind is trying to tell me it needs a break. Having a break isn't as simple as just putting the work to one side and forgetting about it though, because no matter how hard you try you always have that niggling voice at the back of your head reminding you about reality, and that you have lots of work to do. Even if you actually do all the work that has been set, I always find that there is something more you can do. For example, if I finish reading a book and making notes on it, I can always read another book. It is never ending. Of course, you may ask, if you do not like this level of work then why study at Sixth Form. I am not trying to explain that I dislike Sixth Form, it is one of the best experiences of my life so far, I am purely explaining my current thoughts and feelings after completing the first year. As I conclude this post, I feel that I have cleared my mind. I always like making plans and so now I propose this one. I think in order to enjoy the summer break as much as possible, I will need to complete as much work as possible within the next 2-3 weeks so then I have less to worry about for the rest of the summer. Obviously this is much easier said than done, but I will keep you posted on my progress!

Life at Sixth Form

Isn't is funny how all of a sudden your life can change so drastically? Before starting sixth form last September, I thought life was easy. Although GCSE's were a challenge, I found that even though I didn't revise as much as I should have done, I still managed to achieve A*-B grades in all 11 of the GCSE's that I took.
   My life literally changed on the first day of Sixth Form. I no longer had three lessons every day and instead found myself with five one hundred minute lessons called 'study periods.' I found that I as receiving more and more work from subject teachers, realised that most people I was surrounded by actually wanted to be there and that everyone was given a lot more independance.
   I made a number of mistakes during my first year at Sixth Form, and arguably my biggest one by far was to think that these 'study periods' could be used to socialise, with both friends and on sites such as twitter, and then not complete any of the work that had been set in my lessons. However, I soon realised the purpose of these lessons was not the above and then started to use them to be as productive as possible. Well, most of the time.
   Recently, I was asked to participate in the Sixth Form taster day, a day in which students from Year 11 spend the day finding out what Sixth Form is really like. I hadn't reflected much on the year until this point and found that as well as helping the Year 11's to make the correct decisions, this gave me the opportunity to consider my attitude, work ethic and success over the past year. I realised on this day that no matter how many Sixth Form students explain to you how much work there actually is, students will never realise the reality until they are experiencing it. It was exactly the same for both myself and everybody in our year and will most likely be the case for the Year 12's next year and in years to come.
  The most important thing I have learnt from the first year of sixth form is that I was wrong to think that life at Sixth Form would be easy. Is it difficult? Yes. Is it really a step up from GCSE'S? Yes, a massive one. However it is also important to stress that throughout the stressful and saddening moments, it has probably been one of the most rewarding and successful years of my life so far and I wouldn't change any of it. - Tammy