1988 Italian Grand Prix

The last four laps of the 1988 Italian Grand Prix from Monza. The first Italian Grand Prix since 

the death of Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari.

Prost had led the race from the first lap but began to slow on 

lap 32 with engine trouble and had to retired on lap 34. This 

left Ayrton Senna in the lead with the Ferrari's of Gerhard 

Berger and Michele Alboreto close behind. 

With for laps to go the gap was slowly coming down between 

Senna and Berger, many thinking that Senna had reserved 

his fuel to perfection, something he was always doing.

Lap 50, Ayrton Senna was closing in on the back-marker 

of Jean-Louis Schlesser who was deputising for the unwell 

Nigel Mansell. Senna tried for the inside by Schlesser turned 

in on him and took him out.

This left Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto to take an 

emotional Ferrari 1-2, at of all places Monza, and of all times, 

the first Italian Grand Prix since the death of Enzo Ferrari.

Magic!

F1 Rejects Bahrain GP Podcast

The lastest edition of the F1 rejects Podcast

Including a discussion of "Mosley-an" theory about the new £40 million budget caps. The theory behind this that for teams who sign up for the budget cap will get the more technical freedom and less restriction on wind-tunnel development and in-season testing. And those teams who don't sign up for the budget cap with have to adhere to the tight technican rules and regulations.

Also sounds simple enough, however, if the teams that get the technican freedom to develop the car how they want to, then surely they would have to spend more money on that development. And those who are restricited in how much development they can do, then surely they'll be spending less money. 

It all sounds bit silly. And indeed it will be if the fear that it will create a 'two-tier' system comes true. The teams will come together for the FOTA meeting next week to discuss this and the signs are that they are deeply divided in this matter. Teams like Williams, Red Bull, Brawn GP & Force India, who are independant teams, are in favour of the budget cap. But the manufactuer teams like McLaren, Ferrari & Renault, and deeply against this. Plus, the manufacturer teams are set to lose out because Cosworth are standing in the wings with an engine that will be allowed to rev to 20,000 rpm rather than the standard 18,000, and the teams that have signed up to the budget cap will be allowed to used this engine are part of the deal. Which means that Ferrari, Renault and Mercedes will lose their engine supply deals. 

This could jeapodise the FOTA harmony that has already been restrained after the McLaren 'lie-gate' scandal and the 'Disfuser-gate' issue which is probably what Bernie Eccelstone and Max Mosley want. They were happy enough in the past when Ferrari always sided with the FIA when the big arguements over the Concorde agreement came to a head a few years ago but recently, all of the teams have been seen to work together which caused a threat over the authority of Ecclestone and Mosley. Now with this issue, the cracks that first appeared in FOTA are becoming more and more apparent.

But then again, I could be wrong and they could all agree to it in the end!

Shut the f*** up!

Why I think Jonathan Legard is doing a great job as the BBC's Grand Prix commentator

Well...I've had this blogspace for about two weeks now and I've been putting off writing the first post...until now. And little did I think the topic would be this!

 Yes, I'm here to defend Jonathan Legard from the barrage of illogical attacks upon his commentating for the BBC. Personally, as you would have guessed by now, I think he’s doing a grand job. But unfortunately my opinion is only good enough for me. So, scrolling through the complaints on his blog here there seems to be more morons in this country that I first realised.

Yes, the Legard/Brundle commentary will come nowhere near to the bar that was raised in the Walker/Hunt days, but its miles better than the drivel we had to endure with the Allen/Brundle combination. There is a shared opinion that Martin Brundle is a great commentator, and I am of that opinion too, but he was dragged so far down into the mire in the presence of James Allen that he slowly became half the commentator that he had developed and matured into by the side of Murray Walker. Ok, there had been a few hiccups in the new relationship between him and Jonathan Legard, but you can tell that he has been set free from the Lewisteria that he was forced into during the final ITV days. And what a joy he is to listen too now. Not quite as sharp or aiming for the jugular as James Hunt used too, but he’s getting pretty close to it.

And so to Mr. Legard. For starters, comparing him to Murray Walker is a useless argument, as the role of a BBC commentator has changed drastically over the years. In the 80’s, a BBC commentator was the main reporter of that event, which meant that appearances on the News and filing regular reports during Grandstand was the norm, so Murray had the chance to develop a persona that the general public took a shining too. Secondly, Murray WAS an amateur commentator. People all too easily forget that his profession was adverting, coining slogans for Trill and Opal Fruits (“Made to make your mouth water.” And indeed they did!) He used to commentate only at the weekends on the odd events before he became the regular voice of F1 that we all knew and loved. Legard has obviously come through the professional ranks of the BBC since joining in 1990, so he will not be prone to the regular mistakes that made us warm to Murray Walker. However, what this does mean that he brings an enormous amount of professionalism to the screen. And that is what the BBC thrives on.

Television has become too slick for the likes of the Walkers, Barry Davies’ and Bill McLarens of this world. You have to be a top professional these days to get the cream jobs in sport and in my opinion; Jonathan Legard is one of the best.