The format used in 2011 was simple. For race one, drivers had to draw a number between one and ten, multiply it by 2×Π, then aim to complete their lap in that many seconds. The grid was based on how close to the time drivers got, with faster drivers being penalised extra. Race two used the same system, but with an upside-down grid for the top seven.
However, this system was not deemed successful enough. So for 2012 the system is being revised.
The new format will see drivers do a handstand for 30 seconds before they start their hot laps. Anyone deemed to be going too quickly will be given a five place penalty. However, to give drivers an incentive to perform well nonetheless, they will be given points for the style of their handstands. Race two will be an inside-out grid.
As I described in my previous post, early on Saturday morning we ventured underneath the tunnel at Copse to head towards the World Series by Renault ‘village’. This is where all the bustle is.
World Series by Renault is as much a festival of motorsport (or, more accurately, a festival of Renault) as a day at the races. That is underlined in this ‘village’. There is so much to do here. World Series by Renault is a great event for families, with plenty of stuff for kids to do.
There is a Renault F1 area, where they fire up the engine and get it to ‘sing’ God Save the Queen.
It’s mildly entertaining the first time you hear it. But this engine is so loud you can hear it for miles away and the novelty soon wears thin!
Another draw in this area is the stand of classic Renault Sport cars. The highlight is the awesomely streamlined-looking Étoile Filante, an experimental car that drew heavily on aeronautic technologies.
Across from the classic cars is a stage with display versions of each of the Renault cars that were racing at Silverstone that weekend — Formula Renault 3.5, Formula Renault 2.0, Mégane Trophy V6 and the Clio. Alongside them are a couple of concept cars. These are a bit too stylish-looking for their own good, but interesting to see anyway.
I was beginning to wonder quite why this area was so crowded. Someone was banging on about how if I wanted autographs I need to join the queue at the back. A little while later I turned round, and there was Renault F1 reserve and test driver Romain Grosjean shaking a Sharpie around!
I am quite sure that, even across two days, we did not see everything that was worth seeing in the village.
Just next to the village is the paddock, where you can wander pretty freely. Here there were loads of Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup cars parked up after their qualifying session.
I was tempted to stick my head into the Fortec Motorsports garage. But just as I was about to crane my neck, an angry mechanic stormed past me and slammed the door behind him! I played things more conservatively from then on.
When we visited the paddock again on the Sunday, I managed to have a peek into the pitlane. There we saw Côme Ledogar waiting to go out during the qualifying session. He always seemed to be on the verge of getting going, but never did while I was there.
The World Series by Renault organisers also put on a great show on the track in between the races. The schedule is jam-packed on both days from 9am until after 6pm. The track is almost never empty. Combined with the attractions in the ‘village’, there is no way a petrolhead will get bored. This is especially brilliant considering the tickets are free.
Between races, a number of demonstration runs take place. There were at least five demonstration runs of the Renault R30 F1 car, driven by Romain Grosjean and Jan Charouz. It is the first time I have ever seen an F1 car driving at speed, and it is quite something else in comparison to everything else I saw during the weekend.
Romain Grosjean put on a good show, doing lots of doughnuts for the fans on the pit straight. Unfortunately I never managed to get myself in a really good position to see it. I managed to get a slightly hazy photo from Copse.
There is also a ‘Renault Sport Show’ (which is basically synchronised swimming on wheels) and Jean Ragnotti doing his automotive magic tricks in his Renault 5.
But the main draw of the weekend is of course the racing itself. That will be the subject of my next post.
Last month I attended the World Series by Renault event at Silverstone. I have become a big fan of the World Series by Renault. I have already recently enthused about its centrepiece event, the Formula Renault 3.5 series. So I was pretty excited to go and see it for real.
Despite having been massively interested in motorsport for over 15 years now, I have never managed to get myself to any kind of motorsport event before. I haven’t even been to watch a race at Knockhill, which is an hour down the road. So I was pretty excited to be making a trip to Silverstone to see some top-class international motorsport action.
We entered the circuit on Saturday morning at the new Wing pit complex. It is a very impressive building to see in real life.
While this is the location of the new international pit straight, World Series by Renault was using the old start–finish straight, so there was no bustle here. But the first piece of excitement was watching Daniël de Jong spin at Club corner during Formula Renault 3.5 qualifying.
My friend’s mission was to walk round the perimeter of the circuit, which I was all for. For this World Series by Renault event, you can freely walk in and out of almost any grandstand you choose. So during the qualifying session we made our way round the circuit, travelling anti-clockwise (the opposite direction to the cars).
Here is me posing at the bridge at Hangar Straight as though I am standing next to the pyramids of Egypt.
It is amazing how close you can get to the circuit at some points. I was dead proud I managed to take this photograph of Felix Serralles at the apex of Aintree during the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup qualifying session.
We continued on to Copse. Here there is a tunnel that goes underneath the circuit and leads to the inside. This is where most of the World Series by Renault action takes place. World Series by Renault is as much a festival of motorsport (or, more accurately, a festival of Renault) as a day at the races. That is underlined in this ‘village’. But I will write about that in a separate post.
After visiting the village, we walked along the national pit straight. All of the World Series by Renault pitlane action happens here. However, it is very difficult to see what is going on in the pitlane, even from high up in the grandstands.
But a little creative thinking enables you to see what is going on in the reflections from the pit building! This photograph is of Kevin Korjus being wheeled into his garage following Sunday’s Formula Renault 3.5 race.
We then went round Woodcote to visit the old Bridge corner. We were able to freely walk around this disused part of the circuit. It is pretty cool to walk across such an amazing, historic corner.
But it is also a bit sad. While I was taking a photograph of Bridge, I didn’t notice that a wheelie bin would be the most prominent feature of the photo! It kind of sums up what has become of Bridge.
I found the newer parts of the circuit harder to access. When walking round the perimeter, it is easy to completely skip past the new inner section. We didn’t manage to properly explore the Loop section until late on in the day.
You might wonder if we managed to watch much racing given all this wandering round! That will be the subject of a separate post to be published in the near future.
But the wandering round was certainly beneficial. We got a good feel for the best places to view. I can’t imagine there is a better place to sit than the stand at Becketts.
This photograph doesn’t demonstrate the best view available from this stand. I later discovered that by sitting further to the right, it is possible to see the entry to Maggotts, through Becketts, Chapel and the first part of the Hangar Straight. Then you can also see the ‘opposite’ end of the circuit, when it doubles back on itself at the Loop, then all the way along the full length of the Wellington straight. The end of the Wellington straight is very far away, but you can see it nonetheless.
When we sat up here for Saturday’s Formula Renault 3.5 race, there was almost always a car in view. Neatly, these two parts of the circuit are at exact opposite ends in terms of lap time, so you get an update on a car’s progress twice a lap in an even fashion. Brilliant stuff.
Yesterday Toyota pulverised the electric car lap record around the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife with its TMG EV P001 driven by Jochen Krumbach (via Axis of Oversteer).
Peugeot’s old record of 9:01.338 is in the bin. The new benchmark is 7:47.794. To put it in perspective, the official lap record for any car round the Nordschleife is 6:11.13.
It is not difficult to guess what Toyota’s goal might be with this project. As their press release says:
Such performance shows TMG’s electric powertrain is ideal to power any future single-make electric motorsport series…
With the FIA planning its Formula E Championship for electric cars, due to start in 2013, who can bet against Toyota playing a role?
Many wonder if the lack of noise would be a turn-off to motorsport fans. But I think the sounds of electric cars are fascinating. Everything is not drowned out by the engine sound. There are new sounds to be mesmerised by. Listen to tyres squeal. The wind rushing past! To my ears, it sounds more dangerous and exciting.
There is a surfeit of motor racing championships that aim to usher in the next generation of Formula 1 stars. But only a few are worth paying serious attention to.
GP2 — the ‘official’ way to progress to F1
The most well-known by a long way is GP2. Backed by Bernie Ecclestone, GP2 is the closest thing there is to an ‘official’ feeder series to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Since its inception in 2005, GP2 has been a stepping stone for some of F1′s biggest names. With a solid F1-style car and a unique status as the support race to almost every European grand prix (thereby giving drivers vital experience at many F1 circuits), there is no doubt that GP2 is a strong category.
The main alternative: World Series by Renault
But beyond the ‘official’ routes to F1, World Series by Renault (sometimes known as Formula Renault 3.5) has established itself as a series to take seriously.
No fewer than 18 F1 drivers have raced in World Series by Renault or one of its earlier incarnations. Among them are Robert Kubica, Heikki Kovalainen and Kamui Kobayashi. In 1999, World Champion Fernando Alonso also won what was then the Euro Open by Nissan series.
Most impressively, in 2007 Sebastian Vettel was leading the championship when he became an F1 driver mid-season. We all know how that story ends.
Strong drivers in World Series by Renault
This year’s World Series by Renault field has some very strong drivers in the field. Two of the favourites for the championship, Daniel Ricciardo and Robert Wickens, are currently already F1 test drivers, for Toro Rosso and Virgin respectively. These drivers are so hotly tipped that both have been rumoured to become race drivers before this season is even finished. I will certainly eat my hat if they are not racing in F1 in 2012.
The pair put on a wet weather masterclass in Race 1 at the Nürburgring two weekends ago. In changeable conditions, they had the measure of the rest of the field while engaging in a tense battle for the lead.
The talent doesn’t end there. Other current F1 test drivers participating in World Series by Renault include Fairuz Fauzy and Jan Charouz (both for Renault F1).
Meanwhile, Jean-Eric Vergne is next in the queue behind Daniel Ricciardo in the Red Bull Young Driver sausage factory, and rightly so. His performances at Spa-Francorchamps were at times jaw-dropping.
Young Estonian Kevin Korjus (Race 2 winner at the Nürburgring) has also turned heads in his rookie World Series by Renault season.
Scrappy driving in GP2
When you compare it with this year’s GP2 field, the ‘official’ feeder series seems to lack that edge slightly. No driver has managed to take full control of the championship — nor has anyone shown signs that they deserve to.
Romain Grosjean has come the closest. But you could argue that he ought to be. He is highly experienced compared to most of his competitors, and even has some F1 races under his belt. He is this year’s Giorgio Pantano. He has been involved in some questionable incidents. He managed to crash into his teammate at Barcelona. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he then climbed all over him as part of the truly farcical scenes in the qualifying session at Monaco.
Meanwhile, the hotly-tipped Jules Bianchi (who is a Ferrari test driver) has been surprisingly clumsy, lurching from needless crash to avoidable gaffe. After a promising (albiet curtailed) GP2 Asia campaign last winter, Bianchi currently languishes in 15th in the championship, having managed to score points in just two of the eight races so far.
Giedo van der Garde has arguably been the most consistent, but still manages to make needless errors. In Valencia, he was penalised for overtaking under yellow flags.
Beyond this, it is difficult to see where the F1 stars of the future are in this year’s GP2 field.
A good alternative for both viewers and drivers
Moreover, the World Series by Renault season has been more action-packed for my money. This season’s calendar visits seven current Formula 1 venues, including some of the best circuits in the world. Spa, Monza, Silverstone and even Monaco all have slots in World Series by Renault. The calendar is refreshingly light on Tilke designs.
The Formula Renault 3.5 cars themselves are impressive, providing an ideal bridge between the well-established Formula Renault 2.0 cars. They typically run just a few seconds a lap slower than GP2 cars.
From next season, the car will step up a gear with a more powerful engine and greater downforce. But most eye-catching is the introduction DRS-style moveable aerodynamics. It could well be that the new Formula Renault 3.5 cars will prepare drivers for F1 better than a GP2 car can.
The combination of superb F1-style cars, excellent circuits and promising drivers is creating great entertainment. For me, it is the feeder series to watch.
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