Miscellaneous ramblings on an Easter Weekend
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| Formula E on the streets of Long Beach |
The world's first all-electric racing series debuting on the historic streets of Long Beach, highlighted an otherwise empty slate of major circuit racing during this past Easter weekend. Today, we'll look at the Long Beach ePrix, and a host of other subjects making news in the world of motorsports starting with the world of Formula One.
Red Bull
Much has been made in recent weeks over the deteriorating relationship between engine-supplier Renault and the Infiniti Red Bull Racing Formula One team. Of course, Renault powered Red Bull cars to four straight Formula One titles from 2010-2013. And in retrospect, the French marque certainly didn't reap the commercial benefits. While one could argue that was in large part Renault's fault for not capitalizing on the commercial opportunities four straight world titles provided, the simple truth is the narrative overwhelmingly focused on the team during that time, particularly the genius of design-guru Adrian Newey. With the performance of team and engine both having dropped off in the last year-plus, the partners have exchanged some less-than-flattering words for one another.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]After the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner noted "It's been a very tough weekend for Renault. "I mean the engine is just quite undriveable. You can see and hear that from the comments the drivers are making."
Renault would hit back in the days preceding the Malaysian Grand Prix. Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul had the following to say about Newey: ‘It's difficult to have a partner who lies. Adrian is a charming man and an engineer without parallel, but he's spent his life criticizing engine partners. He's too old to change his ways.'
Suffice to say, the rhetoric towards one another has not been pleasant, leading many to the conclusion this is a marriage headed for divorce. While it's certainly a marriage that has seen better days, for a divorce to occur one has to ask what the likely destinations for each might be.
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| Red Bull appears stuck with the Renault engine |
Limited options
Obviously, as things stand now, Renault is clearly behind Mercedes and Ferrari. However, it would be difficult if not impossible to imagine either of those two manufacturing giants compromising their factory efforts by supplying a recent quadruple-world championship competitor that still has Newey – albeit in a diminished role – on the payroll. And while Red Bull would probably want nothing to do with the woefully under-powered Honda engine, the same logic applies to Honda, and their de facto factory team McLaren.
Now, Horner had previously stated Red Bull may look to build its own engine. However, Horner said this wasn't happening Friday before Malaysia, noting Red Bull was more likely to pull out of F1 than build its own engine. As for pulling out of F1, that to me seems more like an acknowledgement of Red Bull's lack of viable engine options than it does a legitimate threat. The reality is that Red Bull's best option in the coming years may in fact be, sticking with the less-than-ideal marriage it's currently in.
With that being the case, look for Horner and Red Bull in the meantime to agitate for change on the rules front, with engine development and the like.
Renault
While engine suppliers tend to come and go in F1, Renault has a pretty consistent track record of not only participation but major success in Grand Prix racing. With the recent shenanigans between the company and Red Bull, rumors have surfaced that Renault may buy into Red Bull junior team Toro Rosso. To be clear, I don't know how plausible that is. Renault, of course, was a factory team for many seasons through 2009, when they surrendered their status as owners of Enstone-based team now known as Lotus after the fallout of the Singapore crash scandal.
While the current fracas with Red Bull is doing neither side any favors, Renault has too large an investment in the sport to withdraw entirely. Further, with the development costs of the new hybrid engines largely in the rearview mirror, one has to think they have incentive to stay in F1.
Considering, there will always in the middle-to-rear of the grid willing to pay for engines, there is a place in F1 for Renault. Plus, when you throw in that they need a team at the front of the grid to remain competitive, the appeal of Red Bull becomes pretty apparent.
Yes, this is a marriage that has seen better days. But removing emotion and looking through the nasty rhetoric, the best option each may have seems ironically to be, each other.
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| FanBoost, not driver skill, wins in Long Beach. |
Speaking of the old Renault factory team…
Former Renault driver Nelson Piquet scored a convincing win this Saturday in the Long Beach ePrix.
Piquet, of course, was ordered to crash intentionally in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by then-Renault boss Flavio Briatore to help teammate Fernando Alonso move to the front. Alonso won the race, and the allegations of impropriety didn't surface until Piquet was fired from Renault in 2009. The penalties led to Briatore's ban from F1, and the dissolution of the Renault team.
This weekend, driving for China Racing, Piquet seemed to have the bit between his teeth so to speak. What was a good race for positions 2-15, the Brazilian made the battle for P1, relatively uneventful. And right now I don't see anyone in Formula E with the momentum and confidence of Piquet, who is only one point behind championship-leader Lucas di Grassi.
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| If not for the fact that admission to Formula E races were free, would anyone show up? |
About Formula E
While I like Formula E, I don't subscribe to the notion the series is immune from criticism. For example, it seems odd for any event that professes to be a world-class competition to have fan voting play a role in determining its outcome. Likewise, I'm not sure I'll ever get my head around the whole deal about a race car driver being penalized for using too much power.
However, the constant criticism of Formula E – by intelligent people I should add – over the lack of noise produced from its power plants is growing very tired, very quickly. It's an electric racing series people, a fundamentally different concept than more established forms of racing.
Now, maybe the whole electric racing thing isn't your cup of tea. Fine. I am not telling anyone what to like or not like. However, criticizing Formula E for its lack of sound would be synonymous to criticizing NASCAR for being too loud.
Silly!
Speaking of NASCAR
It's not often that you'll find me claim that IMS/INDYCAR out shined NASCAR on the P.R. front. However, in light of the highly controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act that went into law last Tuesday in Indiana, which opponents say gives legal basis to discrimination against homosexual, bisexual and transgender people, that very thing happened.
"NASCAR is disappointed by the recent legislation passed in Indiana. We will not embrace nor participate in exclusion or intolerance," read a statement by the sanction.
Fair enough, although I wasn't exactly ready to publish a column claiming that NASCAR was a participant in active exclusion. But considering it was their words, and words mean something, I now have to ask how serious is NASCAR about not participating in exclusion or intolerance? Are they serious enough that they would consider canceling the Brickyard 400 at IMS in July?
Of course not. And no reasonable person would expect them to do as such, just as no reasonable person believed the NCAA should have moved the Final Four this weekend out of Indianapolis in light of the legislation.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]However, by upping the ante, NASCAR seemed not only grossly unaware of its own self-importance but needlessly injected itself into a debate no one thought had anything to do with them. Now, with no real cards to show should someone call their bet, NASCAR's statement appears to have simply been an ingenuous attempt to score points on the P.R. front.
IMS on the other hand, hit a P.R. home run issuing a statement through track president Doug Boles that read in part, "IMS will continue to warmly welcome all who share our enthusiasm for motorsports – employees, participants and fans." A deft touch was added to the statement as the IMS scoring pylon had a welcoming message for fans.
While the statement was clearly a response to the legislation, Boles didn't address that specifically. Rather, the track president merely stated that it was business as usual at his track. Oh, and if you didn't already know, IMS welcomes anyone; just bring along your "passion for motorsports."
Brilliantly done!
While NASCAR needlessly interjected itself into an explosive political topic in a ham-fisted attempt to claim the moral high ground, it was in fact Boles and his team who managed to do just that.
Yes, IMS and INDYCAR have lost many a battle to NASCAR on the P.R. front in the past 3 decades. But go ahead and give this latest round to the folks at 16th & Georgetown.
Brian Carroccio is a senior motor racing columnist for AutoRacing1. He can be contacted at BrianC@AutoRacing1.com.