Hall of Fame: Ayrton Senna

I’m going to try something a little bit different on The Eternal Sunshine today. Since there isn’t a great deal to discuss in the world of sport apart from Rangers’ impending doom (don’t worry, they’ll be fine. Pompey on the other hand…) and the return of Carlos Tevez from his Buenos Aires city break (he’s still a massive prima donna) I thought I’d introduce a new segment profiling some of the greatest sportsmen and women ever to grace this planet. So what better place to begin than with in my opinion the greatest sportsman of all time, Ayrton Senna da Silva or Ayrton Senna to you and me.

Ayrton Senna - Perfection behind a steering wheel

To understand Ayrton Senna you have to understand the context of Formula 1 in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The record books say that Schumacher, Fangio and Prost were all more statistically successful than the Brazilian and in a hundred or so years people studying the history of motor sport may well be led to believe that is the case. The majority of people still regard Senna as the greatest driver of all time but why is that when Schumacher dominated the noughties with such ease and Fangio could do things in the fifties that no other driver dreamed of?

The first point of note is that Senna was for most of his career driving inferior cars to the rest of the field. He started in a torrid Toleman in 1984 where he finished second to Prost (in a far superior McLaren) in horrendously wet conditions – more of which I’ll come onto later. He moved to Lotus (who were the third best team at the time) in ’85 where he won his first race in Estoril in rain that was almost biblical; Senna already had a knack for keeping a car in a straight line on a race track that resembled a river. He was an outside challenger for the title in 1986 and was marked out as a future World Champion while he was becoming renowned for his qualifying pace. 1987 saw Lotus fail to make an impression on the dominant Williams outfit and Senna signed up to join McLaren for 1988.

McLaren is who most people remember Senna driving for; the red and white Marlboro sponsored car and the fluorescent yellow crash helmet became synonymous with success in the late 80s and early 90s. McLaren gave Senna three title winning cars and two more that took him to the runners-up spot. The MP4/4 which the team ran in 1988 is the greatest Formula 1 car of all time, winning all but one race in which it competed in. That would not be enough on its own to secure Senna the title as on the other side of the garage was Alain Prost, by now a double World Champion and just entering his prime. Both were fiercely competitive and both would do anything to be World Champion but by different means. Senna went all-out for the win at every race, pushing car and body to the limit while Prost was known as The Professor; he would settle for fifth or fourth if it meant that it built up his points tally. By scoring good points at every race he knew he could be World Champion. These contrasting styles and competitiveness led to the most famous and bitter rivalry in Formula 1 history.

1988 was a dominant year for McLaren but there was no sign of tension between Prost and Senna. Prost was surprised that Senna had settled into the team so quickly and a little put out that he was able to beat him but both were winning races and the title went down to the penultimate race where Senna recovered from a bad start to come through the field and out muscle Prost down the main straight. The gauntlet was set. ’89 was another dominant year for McLaren as the battle between Prost and Senna became psychological. It made the pair of them raise their game in a similar but more extreme way as Hamilton and Alonso in 2007. Senna won most of the early races before his aggressive style had an effect on the reliability of his car and the momentum swung to Prost. Senna had to win in Suzuka, Japan in order to keep his title hopes alive. What followed was a piece of intense sporting drama. Prost led and had kept Senna behind him for most of the race when it began to spit with rain. Prost, who had a staunch dislike to wet conditions, slowed and Senna closed in over a period of laps until he lunged up the inside into the final chicane on lap 46 and collided with Prost. Prost retired while Senna managed to get going again, pitted and retook the lead from Alessandro Nannini on the penultimate lap to win the Grand Prix… or so he thought.

Jean-Marie Balestre, the French head of the FIA, had other ideas. He ruled that Senna had cut the chicane while returning to the track and disqualified Senna from the race handing Prost, his fellow Frenchman, the title. Relations between Prost and McLaren had broken down and he joined Ferrari for the 1990 season. That season was another Prost vs Senna showdown but with Senna now firmly established as the lead driver at McLaren he could relax within his team. The season reached its climax for the third year running at Suzuka and once again it boiled down to Senna vs Prost. Ayrton had already had a run-in with the FIA regarding the strange position of pole on the ‘dirty’ side of the grid. When the stewards refused to move pole position to the other side of the grid, Senna sensed another French-led conspiracy to stop him winning the title. He knew that if Prost failed to finish then he would win his second World Championship; there was only one outcome as the video below, from Senna illustrates beautifully.

1991 saw a rejuvenated Senna in inspired and dominant form, winning the first four races of the season on the way to his third crown. By far his most impressive performance was his first victory on home soil, where his McLaren was stuck in sixth gear for the last ten laps and Senna was forced to wrestle the car home while wringing every single ounce of physical energy to complete a single lap. The video below highlights what an extraordinary effort it was to keep  that 800bhp beast on the track, just listen out for the drive of his car coming out of the corners compared to the chasing Patrese’s and you’ll hear just how hard it was to keep it going.

Williams’ upturn in form during the middle of the 1991 season gave an indication into how dominant they would become in the following years. 1992 was by far their most impressive season though as the car featured a whole stack of electronic gizmos designed to give the Grove outfit the advantage over the rest of the field. Semi-automatic gearboxes, an advanced active suspension and traction control all contributed to the most dominant season by a single driver that the sport had witnessed. Nigel Mansell won the title with ridiculous ease but Senna still took two victories in 1992, in Monaco where he brilliantly held off Mansell while on old tyres compared to the fresh rubber on the Williams and at the Hungaroring.

It was the 1993 season that I class as Senna’s best. He was placed in a weak McLaren car after Williams chose Prost over him for their 1993 seat. Honda had also departed from their partnership with McLaren and so the team were left with a customer Ford engine which was woefully short of power compared to the Renault and Ferrari engines. Senna even threatened to quit the team but was convinced to stay on a race-by-race basis. He had a new inexperienced teammate in the form of Michael Andretti who replaced Senna’s friend Gerhard Berger. None of this seemed to bother Senna as he put in a series of remarkable drives throughout 1993. Everyone has heard of his spectacular drive at the European Grand Prix at Donnington but there were many others too. In Brazil, he recovered from a stop-go penalty to win with ease and in Germany he came through the field after spinning at the start to finish a brilliant fourth. He claimed five wins in a car that had no right to be anywhere near the top of the podium and in the hands of his teammate it looked like a complete mess. Just a look at where the wins came show how good Senna was: Brazil, a wet Donnington, Monaco, Japan and Adelaide. These are all tracks where the driver can make the difference and Senna’s victories here in an under performing car highlights his talents. His runner-up slot in the 1993 Championship is perhaps more impressive than his three World titles.

Everyone knows what happened to Ayrton Senna in 1994. Imola will always be tainted with the tragedies of Roland Ratzenberger and Senna and the sport will have to live with the fact that no-one like Senna will ever grace a racetrack again.  On paper, Senna’s move to Williams should have yielded a fourth World Championship for the Brazilian as they had been the dominant outfit for the last few years. The fact of the matter is that rule changes ruined Senna’s chances before the season had started; there was to be no more active suspension, no traction control and no other electronic aids. In a car that Senna already felt cramped in, the absence of electronic aids had a noticeably detrimental effect on performance. The car was twitchy and enormous concentration was required to put a fast lap together. This was because the car, the FW16, was designed around the electronic aids and the principle of them being declared legal by the FIA and when the ruling went against them, the whole philosophy of the car was wrong. Senna was never comfortable in the environment either as he had been unable to bring a large number of his McLaren team with him. He failed to score in Brazil having spun out from 2nd and was tagged at the start of the Pacific Grand Prix by Mika Hakkinen before the tragic events of Imola left him with 0 points in his final season. I’m not going to discuss the events of Imola, partly because I don’t feel that I could do it justice but also because I can’t begin to put into words the sense of loss for his family, for the sport and for the nation of Brazil.

So why was Senna the greatest, in my opinion? The first and most important point is the fact that he could win in cars that were half a second or 7 tenths slower than the fastest car and this was particularly true in 1993 when the Williams was dominant but Senna guided his McLaren to five victories. He seemed to relish the challenge of shining up a rough diamond of a car – something that modern Formula 1 drivers shy away from and demand to be competing on a level playing field. No-one had Senna’s ability to outperform the car as all seven of Schumacher’s World Championships came in a dominant Ferrari and only his triumph at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix ranks as a dominant performance in an inferior car.

Another factor is the level of competition that was around in F1 during the late 80s and early 90s. Senna faced Alain Prost at his peak, who would have dominated the era had Senna not come along, Nigel Mansell, Nelson Piquet, Damon Hill and Michael Schumacher – all of whom were or went on to become World Champions. Senna’s ability outshone them all and stopped people such as Mansell achieving their full potential. If you look at the drivers that Schumacher had to face throughout his career then you begin to realise that the standard of F1 at the turn of the century was a lot lower than during Senna’s time.

Perhaps the most clear demonstration of Senna’s talents was in qualifying. His raw pace, his concentration, his ability to wring everything out of the car and push himself to the limits. He went on to score 65 pole positions, a total that had he been afforded the luxury of a strong car throughout his career would have been increased. People point to his performance at Monaco in 1988 when he outqualified Prost by 1.5 seconds but my personal favourite qualifying lap is of Jerez 1990. To set the scene: Lotus’s Martin Donnelly was  severely injured in a horrifying accident during Friday practice that ended his career and left him fighting for his life, Senna goes out on Saturday still personally affected by what happened to Donnelly and produced this lap. It’s the closest thing to perfection I’ve ever seen anyone produce in a Formula 1 car: every single apex is hit, the way he avoids the two cars on the racing line – a modern driver would abandon the lap and go to the stewards and the only mistake he makes is when he gets a slap of oversteer out of the final corner. Just incredible.

Senna’s character and personality made him perhaps the most fearsome competitor in Formula 1 history. He was hugely competitive and ruthless when defending his position. He would engage in psychological warfare with anyone brave enough to try and overtake him. As we saw at Suzuka in 1990, he would be willing to endanger his and other driver’s (in this case Prost’s) lives but Senna was a passionate Christian and those beliefs stretched into his racing. He was visibly moved when Ratzenberger died and famously went to the aid of Eric Comas after he crashed at the Belgian Grand Prix. God also was a vital companion in his journey to success. He thanked God at every opportunity for blessing him with the talent to reach F1 and even claimed to have visualised God when he won in Suzuka in 1988. The best way to describe Senna though is passionate; passionate about everything he ever did and the results of that passion speak for themselves.

All great drivers have a raised level of skill in the wet. Car control becomes much more reliant on instinct and even the smallest miscalculation can have you off and into the wall. Senna is arguably (alongside Schumacher in my opinion) the best wet weather driver ever. He was dominant almost everytime it rained and was never short of grip when others would be sliding off the road. Donnington was his finest performance in those conditions but he also dominated in Estoril in torrential rain and performed miracles through the streets of Monaco in ’84 with his Toleman in what was essentially a river.

Perhaps what extends Senna’s appeal outside of motor sport and what sets him apart from other sportsmen and women is his charity work. He was a deeply passionate Brazilian at a time when Brazil was rife with poverty and looting and riots were commonplace. Senna would often donate vast sums of money to various good causes and individuals and was inundated with letters of appeal from all across Brazil. Of course many other sportspeople have their own charities or foundations but none are as involved as Senna was. He wanted to improve the lives of children in particular and designed the Senninha cartoon to entertain kids and raise money through worldwide sales of merchandise. Before his death he was planning to launch a range of products from Europe into Brazil with the profits going to charity. Everything from Audis to watches were going to be introduced with the aim simply to improve living standards in Brazil. The Intistuto Ayrton Senna was founded after his death to consolidate all his charity efforts under one umbrella and it is still going today, having raised millions for underprivileged children in Brazil. You get the impression that once he had retired from racing that his charity would have been his new career and that is about as genuine a person as you can get.

So there we have it, Ayrton Senna the racing driver and humanitarian. Apologies  if this was just a fawning love letter to him but he is an inspirational figure to me and he still astonishes me whenever I see any footage of him behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car. Anyone who hasn’t seen the sensational documentary, Senna, I urge you to go and buy the DVD as it does a far better job of explaining Ayrton Senna to the wider world than I ever could. All I know is this, my biggest regret when it comes to sport is that I never saw Senna race – I was three when he died – his life was cut too short and all we are left to talk about is half of what he could and would have achieved. Perhaps that is the greatest testament of all, that half of Ayrton Senna’s probable achievements are enough to rank him in the very upper echelons of the sport.

P.s Let me know what you thought of this, if you think it worked then I’ll do some more and if you didn’t like it I won’t.

Reflective Celebrations for Zambia

Be honest, who had Zambia down to win the African Cup of Nations at the start of the tournament? No-one? I thought they’d win one game or maybe two at a push but this victory goes beyond the imagination of any Hollywood screenwriter. In fact, Zambia went unbeaten throughout the tournament with only draws against Libya and in the final last night to taint their perfect record. What makes this success more special is the history of Zambian football.

In 1993 the Zambian football team were on their way to play a World Cup qualifier against Senegal when they landed for their second refuelling stop at Libreville in Gabon. The team was young, talented and growing in confidence. They had already impressed at the 1988 Olympic Games and looked set to make a mark on African football. The plane had already displayed warning signs of engine failure but the pilot continued with the journey – this would prove to be fatal. Shortly after take-off from Libreville, the left engine caught fire but the pilot, led by a faulty warning light and suffering from fatigue, shut down the right engine causing the aircraft to plunge into the water. No-one survived.

During the 1994 African Cup of Nations, Zambia’s hurriedly assembled new team battled their way through to the final against Nigeria (although there were less teams in the tournament back then) and prepared to bring the trophy home for their fallen colleagues. The match started well and they took the lead after three minutes but as Nigeria grew into the game, their confidence grew and they ran out 2-1 winners. Despite this, Zambia’s players could hold their heads high and returned to Zambia as national heroes.

The triumphant Zambian players salute the heroes of '93

When the Zambian team of 2012 arrived for this year’s tournament, they must have felt the usual pre-tournament mix of excitement, trepidation and pressure but also something new: expectation. The Zambian people expected a talented squad to qualify from a fairly easy group and with less big teams in the competition this year, there was every chance of a quarter-final spot. The players would have dreamed of reaching the final at Libreville but to them it must have always been a dream for there were better sides in the competition than them.

They actually played some beautiful football at times during this tournament. They beat Senegal with consummate ease in their first group game before an entertaining 2-2 draw with Libya in a game that they really should have won. That ensured that they had virtually qualified by the time they played co-hosts Equatorial Guinea in the last group game. Even at this stage though, the chances of actually winning the cup were very slim. That said, the first game that made me sit up and take notice of the Zambians was their quarter-final game against Sudan. Sudan were also growing in confidence and had run Ivory Coast very close indeed in their group match. Zambia though, tore Sudan apart with a brilliant performance from their talisman Christopher Katongo and they had finally announced their arrival onto the tournament stage.

Their semi-final opponents were my tip to win the competition: Ghana. The Ghanaians boasted a squad full of top European level players such as the Ayew brothers and Sunderland’s Asamoah Gyan. Zambia knew that they were just one win from an emotional return to Libreville. The game started badly for the Chipolopolo when they conceded a penalty in the opening minutes. Gyan stepped up confidently but the spot-kick was tame and was easily saved by Zambia’s goalkeeper, Kennedy Mweene. Mweene had been very good throughout the tournament but this night was to be his finest hour. He made save after save and almost everything about his performance was spot-on – from the positioning down to his reflexes – and they certainly wouldn’t be in the final if it wasn’t for him. Despite Ghana pressing they couldn’t find a way past Mweene and Zambia capitalised on a stretched Black Star defence when Emmanuel Mayuka rifled a shot past Adam Kwarasey to send Zambia into their first final since 1994.

The rank outsiders now faced the tournament favourites Ivory Coast in Libreville, just a few hundreds yards from where the team of ’93 lost their lives. The game was always going to be an emotional affair but if Zambia were going to win then they would have to keep their focus and work together as a unit. Ivory Coast’s squad probably needs no introduction to most of you with players such as Didier Drogba, Saloman Kalou, Gervinho, Cheik Tiote and the Toure brothers amongst others. The match itself was an entertaining if somewhat nervy affair until the tension reached its climax in the 69th minute when Ivory Coast were awarded a penalty for a foul on Gervinho. Up stepped Didier Drogba, one of the best finishers in world football, only to blaze the ball over the bar from 12 yards.

Ivory Coast are renowned for bottling it on the big occasions and from then on you could only see Zambia winning it. The crucial goal didn’t come in normal time, nor in extra time so the 2012 African Cup of Nations went down to the lottery of penalties. What a marathon lottery it was too – 18 penalties were taken and 15 of them were converted – while it fell to Gervinho to become the Ivorian Gareth Southgate after he missed at 7-7 to allow Stophira Sunzu to cooly slot home the winning penalty to send the entire nation into euphoria. It was an impressive win for Zambia, not only have they completed the work started by the ’88 Olympic squad but also they have exorcised the demons of the events in Libreville in 1993. The country can now remember Libreville not just as a scene of tragedy but as the scene of Zambia’s greatest footballing triumph.

The Zambian players celebrate their penalty success

As for Ivory Coast, where do they go now? They were statistically the best team in the competition winning five games and drawing only one (the final) and not conceding from open play in the entire competition. This was their best chance of victory too, they had an easy route through to the final and their biggest test look set to come from Ghana. That’s without mentioning the fact that they had several chances to win the final, not least of which was Drogba’s penalty. There needs to be a thorough investigation as to why once again they failed to bring home the goods when they have arguably the strongest squad in Africa. More importantly, the 2012 African Cup of Nations will be remembered as a brilliant tournament. It breathed new life into a tired competition, there were upsets galore and the football on show was entertaining even if the state of the pitches sometimes left a lot to be desired. Lets just hope that next year, the games will actually be shown on terrestrial TV!

F1 2012: The Contenders

Today saw the return to action for the F1 circus. Testing began in Jerez, Spain and the public got their first view of the 2012 spec cars in action. Kimi Raikkonen capped his return to the top level of motorsport by heading the time sheets at the end of the day with a 1:19.670 in his Lotus E20. Obviously we can’t read too much into that time but it’s nice to see the Iceman back where he belongs. Let’s look at the new cars in full, starting with the Red Bull RB8.

Red Bull RB8

This is the car that Red Bull hope will propel them to a third straight Constructor's Championship

The RB8 boasts the ‘platypus nose’ that is almost a commonplace on this year’s F1 grid. It’s more aesthetically pleasing than other examples on the grid and there is a curious looking vent in the middle of the raised section of the nose, something that designer Adrian Newey puts down as a “cooling device”. There are sure to be a few questions raised over the aerodynamic purposes of that device. Red Bull were the major benefactors of the blown diffuser and with that technology banned for 2012, they have had to find the downforce advantage from elsewhere on the car. Mark Webber’s time today of 1:20.496 was achieved with ease and that suggests that the car is certainly going to be there or there abouts this season. He was also quickest through the most technical section of the circuit and recorded the fastest straight line speed. It is also a very attractive car to look at when it’s placed near some of the other team’s efforts. Finally, the front wing looks more developed than some of the other attempts seen on the grid so far.

McLaren MP4-27

McLaren's car certainly looks the best on the grid but will it prove to be the fastest?

The first thing you’ll notice about the MP4-27 is that it is not tainted with the ‘platypus nose’. McLaren say that they have achieved this by lowering the chassis and you’ve got to admit that it looks brilliant. The U-shaped sidepods of last season have also been changed in line with FIA regulations. McLaren also say that they have a re-packaged rear end of the car and so everything fits more tightly. Button’s times today were extraordinarily consistent, mostly in the 1:22s and 1:23s with a best of 1:21.530 which suggests that the race pace in the MP4-27 is very good indeed but it remains to be seen if they can push on and challenge the Red Bulls in qualifying. McLaren have already stated they have major developments in line for the first race in Melbourne.

Ferrari F2012

Ferrari have certainly been bold but will it pay off?

Throughout the 2011 season, Ferrari said that their 2012 car would be extremely aggressive in terms of innovation and design. They weren’t wrong either as this car has the most defined stepped nose on the grid. It’s also a strong contender for the ugliest F1 car since the ‘walrus’ Williams of 2004. More importantly, in terms of performance, the car features a pull-rod front suspension which they clearly feel will be advantageous this season. Red Bull ran with a pull-rod rear suspension on the RB7 but it’ll be interesting to see how that change works; if it’s successful it is a hard thing to copy. Like McLaren, the F2012 boasts a tight rear-end and a less flexing version of the front wing seen towards the end of the 2011 season. Massa was in the car today and could only muster a 1:22.815, over a second behind Red Bull and McLaren, which suggests that they were running with a heavy fuel load, doing aero tests or that the car is fundamentally flawed. The most likely outcome is a combination between the fuel load and aero tests but if the car is slow then heads will roll at Maranello.

Mercedes

Mercedes have not yet unveiled their 2012 challenger as they want more time to develop it. It should be appearing at the Barcelona test but until then Rosberg and Schumacher are running the 2011 car attached with some 2012 parts. Rosberg again beat his more experienced teammate by finishing 3rd fastest today ahead of fifth placed Schumacher.

Lotus E20

With Kimi Raikkonen back in F1, can Lotus deliver a car that is capable of winning races?

Despite having a name that sounds like it belongs on EastEnders, the Lotus E20 actually topped the time sheets on day 1 of testing. As you’ll know if you read my last F1 blog, Lotus (along with Ferrari) designed a reactive ride-height system that was banned by the FIA last month. The implication is that this hurt Lotus more than Ferrari. The team have tried to regain some of downforce that the ride-height would have given them through a series of subtle aerodynamic improvements although their car still has the stepped nose. I think it’s one of the better looking cars on the grid and in Raikkonen’s hands it seemed planted to the track today. As I already said, Raikkonen was the fastest man out there but with Lotus’ sponsors present, it was probably just an attempt to grab the headlines. They should still be in the top five teams come the end of the season.

Force India VJM05

Can the Force India team make some headway up the grid this season?

The VJM05 immediately strikes you as being somewhat beautiful. The sculptured sidepods, the intricate front wing design and even the stepped nose looks vaguely attractive. Rumour has it that this car could be the surprise package of the season with BBC and Autosport technical guru, Gary Anderson calling it “the best overall package yet”. Today’s times come close to backing that statement up with Paul di Resta putting in a 1:19.772 to finish 2nd behind Raikkonen and the car seems reliable with 101 trouble free laps being completed for the team. With a young and talented line-up of di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg, could this be the year that Force India challenge the big boys of F1. It’d be brilliant if they could but we won’t know until later in the testing window if they have what it takes.

Sauber C31

It's not really a looker is it?

The Sauber, unlike the Force India, is not beautiful in any way, shape or form. The car does feature a pull-rod rear suspension, similar to the Red Bull of 2011 and this has allowed them to improve their rear packaging. Their major issue comes regarding updates throughout the season as their technical director James Key resigned his post last week. This means that the team will struggle to get any major upgrades out for Melbourne so the car will have be fairly quick from the off. Today, it was distinctly average with Kobayashi’s best effort being a 1:21.353 in a 106 lap day’s running for the Swiss outfit which was ended when Kobayashi ran out of fuel at the end of a consumption test.

Toro Rosso STR7

Can Toro Rosso prove that they're much more than Red Bull's feeder team?

The STR7 is quite an innovative little car. It features what the team describe as a “revolutionary evolution” – which is a great bit of PR speak – with improved parts from their 2011 car such as the twin floor, revised sidepods and a longer gearbox. The team’s outspoken technical director, Giorgio Ascanelli, has already called their version of the stepped nose “not aggressive enough” and has promised to upgrade that area significantly. By sacking Buemi and Alguersuari and hiring Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Vergne, the team have been bold and Ricciardo at least repaid some of their faith in his abilities by popping up 5th fastest today with a 1:20.694. Could this be the year that Toro Rosso climbs up through the midfield?

Williams FW34

Williams need to forget about a disastrous 2011 season and hope that the FW34 can be successful in 2012

The FW34 is Williams’ first car since the technical reshuffle following the debacle that was their 2011 season. It also marks a little bit of history repeating itself as the Renault engine makes a comeback in the Williams garage, reigniting hope that the partnership will be as successful as it was during the 1990s. The car was designed by former McLaren man Mike Coughlan (he of the spygate scandal) and is to be driven by Bruno Senna, nephew of the late, great Ayrton Senna who died in Williams at Imola in 1994. What does the FW34 feature? The stepped nose looks very similar to the one on the RB8 while the team have improved on the tight rear-end that everyone admired at the start of last season but ultimately failed to produce the goods. The signs look ominous though as Pastor Maldonado managed only 26 laps today and finished second bottom with a 1:23.371.

Caterham CT01

Can Caterham make the move from the back of the grid to the midfield?

The CT01 was the first car of the new season to be unveiled and was the first glimpse for those outside of the F1 community to see just exactly how ugly the ‘platypus nose’ would be. It also gave a clue as to what the bodywork of an F1 car in 2012 would look like. The Caterham is, as you would expect, fairly rudimentary in terms of aerodynamics but the lack of blown diffusers should help the team push towards the midfield. The team seems to be heading in the right direction with a fairly competitive 1:23.178 from Heikki Kovalainen although their running was cut short thanks to a damaged starter shaft.

HRT

The Spanish outfit haven’t unveiled their new car yet and are at testing with their 2011 model. They have announced Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan as their drivers for 2012 with a combined age of a staggering 75 years! De la Rosa promptly returned the 2011 car to its rightful place in last place at today’s test.

Marussia

The team formerly known as Virgin have not unveiled the car they hope to beat HRT with. The team have announced the experienced Timo Glock and rookie Charles Pic as their driver line-up for 2012.

So there we have it, the line-up for the 2012 Formula 1 season. The cars might not look the best but as long as we get some close racing then I’m sure few people will mind. There are three days left of the Jerez test before two tests in Barcelona before the season gets underway in Australia on March 18th. It promises to be a cracker!

Super Bowl Analysis

I hate to say I told you so but er, I kind of told you so. Emphasis on the kind of. It was another Super Bowl classic but not a perfect game. Mistakes were prevalent, sandwiched between moments of brilliance from both sides.

He did it again, now is it time to stop calling him Peyton's brother?

Everyone’s going to talking about that Manningham catch and the Wes Welker dropped catch but they were only the tip of an intriguing iceberg. Tom Brady was the best player on the field in my opinion. If he had been given the Giants wide receivers to shoot for then the result would have been reversed. I said that he would produce moments of magic and he didn’t disappoint; that perfect drive at the end of the first half was amazing to watch and it seemed no matter what the Giants defense did, Brady would always have time to pick out a pass. Even the Hail Mary pass at the end of the game was pretty much perfect and it was the ailing Gronkowski that cost Brady another completion. I thought Gronkowski’s injury would have an impact on his game and it did. I think it’s a fair assumption that a fit Gronkowski would have made the difference in the game.  Branch had an alright game I suppose, he didn’t impose himself on it but didn’t embarrass himself either.The Patriots offense were a decent force with the exception of Welker. Welker’s dropped catch in open space in the fourth quarter was the real nail in the coffin for the Pats. He was in open space, the ball was coming at a comfortable height but he couldn’t hold onto it. That would be bad enough but when you consider that there was only four minutes left on the clock, the Giants only had one timeout left and the catch would have taken New England deep into Giants territory. In every essence it was a game changer.

The Giants defense were the major disappointment of the game for me. They did a good job of containing Brady and co in the first quarter but after that you felt as though New England had the edge over them. There were times when the linebackers elected to follow guys who posed no threat instead of going after Brady. The winning margin should have been much greater and it would have been if the defense had actually stuck to their jobs. They played no real part in the fourth quarter turnaround and when Brady threw an interception it was a simple one for Blackburn as he had an age to set himself and the knowledge that a weakened Gronkowski was behind him. Should Welker have made the catch and the Patriots gone on to win then the defense would have been blamed but as it is they are sharing a slice of the credit for masterminding an unlikely victory – such is football!

Other players who failed to shine were Victor Cruz but he was targeted by the Patriots defense. Incidentally, the Patriots defense put in one of their best performances of the season tonight and they were nowhere near as bad as I thought they would be. They let themselves down a bit in the final quarter but there wasn’t a great deal that they could have done against the Manningham catch. Hakeem Nicks looked promising in the early stages before a heavy tackle pretty much ended any threat he could pose. As for Manningham himself, he will be remembered as the guy who made THAT catch at Super Bowl XLVI. It still wasn’t quite as good as Tyree’s from ’08 but it was still pretty spectacular and more importantly it set up the winning drive. I thought Manningham was the best of the Giants’ wide receivers today but he had to be if the Giants were going to win the game. Cruz and Nicks were taken out of the game by the Pats and Manningham stepped up to the mark beautifully.

Tom Brady cuts a lonely figure as he walks from the field at the end of the Super Bowl

I’ll talk about Eli Manning in a minute but what must Tom Brady be thinking now? He threw for 241 yards and completed 27 passes and it still wasn’t enough to get the job done. He even scored a passing touchdown more than Manning did. It was his offensive teammates that let him down badly in this game. He set Branch, Welker, Gronkowsi and Hernandez up with simple passes and at one point or another each one of them failed to perform. The Patriots have been somewhat lucky this season: Gronkowski has become an impressive addition to the offensive line but there is no indication that he will be able to continue that into next season and the Patriots defense despite being inherently weak has not cost the team too badly. This Super Bowl was personal for Brady though. He wanted revenge for 2008 and having his place in the record books taken away from him, he wanted to win for Myra Kraft and the Kraft family and that will make this defeat hurt even more than the last one. He must be left wondering where the Patriots go from here. He’s fiercely loyal to New England but I’m sure he doesn’t want to face a situation similar to Peyton Manning: all the praise, all the records but moderate Super Bowl success due to a team that do not match the standard of their quarterback. He’ll be demanding some good draft picks and  some extensive training work with the wide receivers and some heavy investment into the defense. Brady lives for the Super Bowl, to be better than anyone else around at that point in time but with Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers seemingly raising the level of quarterback performance even higher, he needs a capable team alongside him in order to catch up. Crucially, Brady knows that this could be his last Super Bowl appearance for the next few years.

If the ball had fallen into a pair of Patriots hands then we'd all be talking about a different game.

Finally, let’s talk about Eli Manning. He was absolutely sensational tonight. He did everything he had to do to ensure his side won and although I said he has a better offensive line to work with, no-one can deny just how special his performance was. The stats speak for themselves: 30/40 completed passes, throwing for 296 yards and 1 touchdown. He seems to be the polar opposite of his brother; he is average during the regular season but he really comes alive in the post-season. I think Eli relishes playing the Patriots as he has a good idea of how to counter Belichick thanks to some clever tactics from Tom Coughlin (who completely deserves his second Super Bowl as well). Eli has earned the right to be considered separate to Peyton and no longer has to be regarded as a lesser player. In 2008, I thought Manning matured throughout the course of the game but tonight he was simply in the zone from the off. Nothing distracted him from winning, even when the Patriots had possession with the Giants holding only one timeout. He trusted his wide receivers more than Brady trusted his. I think Brady was still technically better and is still in a class of three with Brees and Rodgers but Eli is knocking on the door of that class. There’s no reason why he can’t go on and win another couple of Super Bowls, especially if they keep that offense together.

That was Super Bowl XLVI then. I thoroughly enjoyed it with the exception of Madonna’s half-time show – LMFAO as special guests, really? – and it was as tense as XLII right up until the very last seconds of the game. A special kudos to Ahmad Bradshaw too for scoring the game winning touchdown. It wasn’t really the most spectacular in Super Bowl history but it was well deserved and I’m glad he stamped his mark on the game. The Giants can look forward to a ticker tape parade through Times Square while the Patriots have to take a long hard look at themselves and ask how they let the lead slip away so easily… again. It’s been a great season of NFL and this was the perfect finale. Don’t forget that this year’s International Series game at Wembley is between the St Louis Rams and the beaten finalists tonight, the New England Patriots. Tickets go on sale today at 2pm and the cheapest seats are £50 (it’s worth it, trust me!). If you’re new to American Football, I hope the wackiness of the game and the event didn’t put you off and instead you embraced it. Either way, I’m sure everyone will remember Super Bowl XLVI for a very, very long time to come!

Super Bowl XLVI Preview

So, I know I said there’d be a Six Nations preview and a look at all the F1 cars launched so far but time restrictions have meant that the plan is altered slightly. Firstly, the Six Nations will have to be done in weekly reviews seeing as a preview would be pointless now and secondly, the F1 car analysis will be done tomorrow after the launch of Red Bull Racing’s RB8. But forget about all that, tonight is about one thing and one thing only: Super Bowl!

For anyone who doesn’t follow American Football, the Super Bowl is the biggest event on the American Football calendar and on the American sporting calendar as a whole. The two teams who contest the Super Bowl have had to qualify from their respective divisions – teams are allocated a division based on which Conference they are part of (either AFC or NFC) and their geographical location) – as well as at least two Playoff games. That’s a grand total of 18 games of hard-hitting, bruising football just to reach the toughest game of the season. The two teams who have made it this season are the New England Patriots and the New York Giants.

For those of you who are familiar with American Football then I apologise for wasting your time. This Patriots vs Giants contest is an exciting prospect. The last time these two teams met in a Super Bowl was in 2008 and the game turned out to be an all-time classic and my favourite Super Bowl ever. Back then, the Patriots were aiming to become the first NFL team to go 19-0 for the season and an unfancied Giants team were just looking not to embarrass themselves. The video below shows just how amazing the finale to that game was:

There’s no reason why tonight’s game can’t match what happened in 2008 as the teams are much more evenly matched. The Patriots have looked strong if not overwhelming in the last few months while the Giants surged back into form after a torrid start to their regular season when a playoff berth looked unlikely. We’ll preview the two teams and round it up with one of my famously wide of the mark predictions!

New England Patriots

The Patriots are most famous for winning three Super Bowls in the last decade namely in 2001, 2002 and 2004. Their success tonight relies, as ever, upon their star quarterback Tom Brady. He is widely regarded as the best all-round quarterback in the game at the moment and can pick out a wide receiver from virtually anywhere. His former receiver of choice, Randy Moss, left the Patriots in 2010 and after initially struggling to find a WR capable of replacing Moss, they have turned to Tight End Rob Gronkowski  throughout this season. He has really stepped up to the mark, having a storming season by anyone’s standard without even considering the fact that he is a Tight End. He’s broken the record for the most touchdowns made by a Tight End in a single season and amassed the second highest total of touchdowns in the NFL with 18 for the regular season. He has been able to carry his form through into the post-season and was instrumental in the Pats 45-10 win over the Denver Broncos in their first Playoff game. Yet he might not get his chance to shine in the biggest game of his life as he is a major doubt to even feature tonight due to an ankle injury. The latest reports are that he will play but the ankle injury is a major opportunity for the Giants defense to exploit.

Will Rob Gronkowski be able to cap his impressive campaign with a Super Bowl ring?

That being said, the Pats have a formidable offensive line as Wes Welker and Deion Branch are both capable of producing big plays at key moments. It is on the Patriots defense that there is real cause for concern. It finished the regular season ranked as the second lowest defense in the NFL and has not really improved in the post-season. Against the Baltimore Ravens they were shaky and relied on a fluffed field goal attempt to get the win and in the otherwise convincing win against the Broncos, the defense were the major weak link. That could be the Giants way through tonight’s game: target the defensive weaknesses and make sure their own defense is tight. Bill Belichick has to make sure his defense is working as a unit tonight while coming up with a game plan that does not solely involve getting the ball to Gronkowski.

New York Giants

The Giants game plan all depends on one man: Eli Manning. If he can get his A game working like he did in 2008 then he could be looking at being a double Super Bowl winner. He has improved as a quarterback since Super Bowl XLII and has better wide receivers than he did now. His main option is Victor Cruz who broke the franchise’s single season record for receiving yards this season with 1,536 of them. His pace is fearsome and could pose some major problems for the weak Patriots defense. He also has Hakeem Nicks to aim for, who also surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the Giants this season. Nicks’ routes can bamboozle the best defenses in the NFL and that could be where the Patriots find themselves in real trouble.

The Giants offense isn’t solely based on the passing game. Ahmad Bradshaw has proven himself to be a class running back who adds another string to the Giants offensive bow. He’s not quite at the same level as Brandon Jacobs but he’s getting there and this could be his moment in the sun.

The defense of the Giants aren’t exactly going to give the Pats an easy ride into the endzone. Michael Boley is about as good a linebacker as you will find in the NFL right now and Osi Umenyiora has stated his determination to disrupt the Patriots offensive line with some hard tackles.

Can Eli Manning lead the Giants to another Super Bowl win?

As I said though, this all boils to Eli Manning. Tom Coughlin will have tried to dispel that awful mid-season slump from the mind of his prized player but the Super Bowl has a habit of exposing hidden frailties in teams and there have been questions about Manning’s mental toughness in the past. He really wants to win this though, not just because it’s the Super Bowl but because if he does he’ll have overtaken his more illustrious brother at least when it comes to how many Super Bowl rings on the hand. If he wins tonight, he’ll have finally stepped out of his brother’s shadow. It won’t be ‘Eli Manning, brother of Peyton’ anymore, instead he’ll be known as ‘Eli Manning, two-time Super Bowl champion’ and that is a powerful motivation for victory.

I’ve not been as excited for a Super Bowl since the last time these two met on the greatest stage of them all. If you’re not American, like me, then sit back and enjoy the Americanness of the spectacle. It promises to be a great game and it should even be a laugh to see Madonna pretend to be 21 again!

So, it’s prediction time. This game is so tight to call. If the Giants get their offense and defense working then the Patriots really aren’t going to win but if Brady is on top form and his defense starts to close up the holes that have been there throughout the season then the Vince Lombardi Trophy is coming back to New England. I’m going to stick my neck out and say that the Giants are going to win this one; they have the better package all-round and I’m excited to see what their wide receivers can produce tonight. My one worry is that the mid-season slump comes back to haunt them. I’d love to see a Patriots win too; Tom Brady really deserves it and they deserve some form of compensation for not going 19-0 don’t they?

Whatever happens, have a good one!

John Terry,The England Captaincy and A Bigger Issue

My plan today was to write a single post previewing the RBS Six Nations but plainly today’s events mean that will not be possible… thanks John Terry! So today will turn into a bumper three post session. One about the Terry affair which you will be able to read if you scroll down, the Six Nations preview and one looking at the new F1 cars that have been unveiled so far.

Anyway, onto the Terry affair. For those of you who haven’t seen the news yet then I suggest you click this hyperlink as it forms the basis for this whole article. For those of you who read my blog on the Tom Adeyemi incident (thank you if you did) then you will know what I think of Mr Terry. Here’s the link if you didn’t: https://theeternalsunshineofthesportingmind.wordpress.com/2012/01/08/tackling-race-in-football-not-just-a-foreign-problem/

My first question regarding today’s news is why has it taken this long to take the necessary action? If this was any other industry or any job then Terry would have been suspended (from both club and country) with full pay while the investigation was carried out with the distinct possibility that when the case reached court that he would be sacked by Chelsea and ineligible for national selection. Yet this is not the case. He is still collecting his 150k a week wage packet and is still playing top level football every week. I’m not saying that Terry is guilty because he is innocent until proven otherwise but it seems as though this court case has been taken too lightly by Chelsea in particular. An accusation of racism is a highly serious matter and Terry should have been stripped of the captaincy at Stamford Bridge at least while the case continues.

John Terry will no longer but England captain but should he be in the squad at all?

I respect Terry’s past abilities but his latest performances have let him and his side down but to many Chelsea fans he is irreplaceable and I disagree with that. Chelsea have signed numerous centre-backs in the last couple of years and Gary Cahill could step up and do the job that Terry currently does. Now, England is a completely different matter. When you play for England you’re not just representing a corner of West London but the whole country, every single corner of it. England is a country that is proudly anti-racist despite the BNP’s attempts to penetrate that solid foundation. That is why it is inconceivable that Terry should be allowed to remain as captain; he is playing in a team that contains a number of black players and the cloud surrounding this accusation would be hugely damaging in the dressing room. Besides, there are a number of other players who could step in and take the reins as captain – Ferdinand, Gerrard, Scott Parker to name but three.

So, it’s right that the FA have stripped him of the captaincy but he is still allowed to be selected for Euro 2012, despite his court case beginning just a week after the tournament ends. We can’t let this happen again. Our World Cup campaign was damaged by the Terry/Bridge scandal and Capello struggled to cope with a divided squad. Look what happened in South Africa, we barely raised so much as a whimper in the group games while Germany would have walked all over us even if Lampard’s goal had counted. If Capello picks Terry (which he will despite  younger players who are in better form being available) then this issue will dominate the build-up to the Euros and it’s not like in the 50s and 60s that when you leave to go to a major tournament you can just switch all the damaging stories off. You can’t switch off the internet, you can’t stop people checking Twitter despite clubs trying to. The point is that this issue will follow the team everywhere, journalists will keep prodding it in people’s faces and the tabloids will cover it as much as they can. Granted, the FA has been dealt a tough hand by the seemingly stupid decision to delay the court case by a massive ten months but I don’t think removing the captaincy from Terry is a big enough step to improve England’s chances at Euro 2012. He shouldn’t be on that plane to eastern Europe, not just because of this incident but because he has been shown to be lacking the form and ability of old and considering our weakest area of the team is our defence, that could be highly dangerous.

Players flee as the rioting crowd head towards them

This week in football has been about a much bigger issue than that. The riot in the Al-Ahly game was shocking and shameful. There is a reputation for violence in Egyptian games and the lack of police presence allowed what took place to happen. Reports of knives being brought into the ground is completely unacceptable and the consequences of this event reach far beyond football. It has de-stabilised the entire Egyptian revolution and left the interim government in a real mess. The sad fact is that because of a shock 3-1 win for Al Masry, the reputation of the African game has been thrown into disrepute. The African Cup of Nations has been a fantastic tournament so far but this will overshadow the remainder of it. The Egyptian revolution should have brought people together and allowed football fans to rally behind a common cause instead of throwing hate towards each other. It may be the case that the revolution wasn’t as perfect as everyone thought in the spring of 2011.