So I’ve told myself to be better this year. Have a finer judgement, be more original, everyone knows about the Olympics, and to be honest, the only thing about that I’m looking forward to is the Closing Ceremony.

Speedway: New Zealand Grand Prix – 31 March

I’ve said it many times previously, but speedway is having a torrid time of it. The domestic scene in the UK is frankly a shambles, the rules in Poland exclude some of the very best from driving in the best league, and the only thing that isn’t going horribly wrong is their showpiece events. On the contrary from the rest of the speedway world, the Speedway Grand Prix is looking good. Especially with the introduction of the race in New Zealand, at the Western Springs Stadium near Auckland.

After Greg Hancock’s World Championship win at the young age of 41, he’s hoping to defend his title, and start by doing so with a win in New Zealand. On the face of it, it is difficult to predict who is going to win the title overall. Runner-up in 2011. Andreas Jonsson, is prone to starting his season slowly, Jason Crump and Tomasz Gollob seem to be on the decline, and the likes of Emil Sayfutdinov have so far failed to continue living up to expectations.

This could be the time for Chris Holder to step up. The Australian is still young, and has shown more than enough times he is capable to challenge at least the podium. Two wins are already under his belt, including the massive British Grand Prix. Failing that, Jaroslaw Hampel has been knocking on the door for two years now, meaning this could be the year he manages to break in.

Formula 1: Bahrain Grand Prix – 22 April

Putting this under ‘events to look forward to’ isn’t probably the right option, but ‘events which will be very interesting’ will certainly feature this. In 2011, despite the constant reports of violence against protestors in Bahrain, forming a small part of the Arab Spring, it was decided by the FIA that the race would go ahead. After some pressure though, it was eventually cancelled for the second time, but strangely placed back on the 2012 calendar.

So far, I’ve been surprised with the lack of anger against this. To the best of my knowledge, their is still protests going on, and those protests are being crushed on by the government. With only four months now until the Bahrain Grand Prix, this one may not actually happen, but it will no doubt continue to make the news.

The race itself is nowhere near being any good, with constant dullness since 2004 (apart from when Robert Kubica got pole, of course, but then I am heavily biased). The cancellation of it in 2011 spared us of another waste of 90 minutes, but the effects of the race on the actions of the protestors, governments, and the bottle of the fractured teams and governing bodies, will be highly interesting to follow.

Rugby League: Super League Magic Weekend – 26/27 May

Sometime next year, the world will be descending on the United Kingdom (and Ireland… and France…and probably half of the rest of the northern hemisphere) for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup. International strength was shown in the recent Four Nations, with Wembley and Elland Road both being used to boost the game and attendances, and it worked. Even if Australia decided they fancied winning again.

This year, while the international scene rests with no World Cup or Four Nations, its crucial that the domestic game is given a bigger stage to stand on. The second biggest selling point of the Super League season is the Magic Weekend, which is very much similar to a model strutting down the catwalk showing how good their costume is. It’s Richard Scudamore’s 39th game proposal, but without the excessive travelling.

For a change though, the sport isn’t trying to venture outside its comfort zones. Previous weekends in Cardiff and Edinburgh had seen the sport go into the unknown, and seemingly work, with the first Welsh club in the Super League coming soon after (albeit they have now lost their licence). This year though, its in Manchester and the Etihad Stadium, and a lower train fare for fans of the twelve of the fourteen clubs (I guess its always long for the Catalan Dragons, and to be honest, I’m sure Harlequins changed their name to the London Broncos so I’d remember they were there).

Football: Euro 2012 – 8 June to 1 July

There are two major football championships coming up in 2012. The African Cup of Nations is being hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea in January, and usually it comes up with fireworks. This year, the fireworks sadly probably happened in the qualifiers, with the likes of current champions Egypt, Nigeria, Cameroon and South Africa all failing to make it to the finals.

For me though, there is one international tournament that is worth watching, that being the European Championships held in Poland and Ukraine. The Euros, for me, always tend to be an exciting occasion. Though sadly, I fear this could be the last time I feel this way, with the expansion to 24 teams in 2016 probably going to ruin the competition.

The groups themselves are tasty, with the group of death featuring Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal, and even the group of… un-death, with hosts Poland, Russia, Czech Republic and Greece, which is bizarrely, looking very interesting to watch.

Despite my positivity, I can’t see a final four, right now, that doesn’t feature Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Italy (I lack any hope for those who qualify from groups A and D), those are the four best in Europe right now and well, I’d love to see the matchups between them too. Can Spain be the first team to win to win back to back Euros? There’s a good chance, but my money, is as always, on the Germans.

Golf: Ryder Cup – 28 to 30 September

I tried watching the Presidents Cup, and I really, really wanted to get into it. But it didn’t work out. Because, for me, and for many others, their is only one team event worth watching in golf.

In 2010, Celtic Manor played host to one of the most dramatic Ryder Cup’s in memory, with the schedule being ripped up because of the rather unsurprising early-autumn weather in Wales. It went down to the final game between Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan, which went to the wire and was effectively won by McDowell on the 16th, which his incredible, unforgettable putt, that rolled in to the cheers of the thousands huddling the green.

2012 should be once again enthralling, lets be honest, when does the Ryder Cup disappoint? The ever popular Jose Maria Olazabal will captain the Europeans, while Davis Love III captains the Americans. With the strength of European golf at the moment, it is difficult to see any other result at the Medinah Country Club, but it would be foolish to suggest what could happen come September.

And with any luck, the whole summer won’t be full of stories with the words ‘Tiger’, ‘Woods’ and ‘Captain’s pick’.

Sounding like a bunch of bitter children, they slated the FA, slated Evra, and defended Suarez, who we can now remember has been found as a racist. There is no class, it is no different to eleven footballers surrounding the referee even though it was a clear penalty.

It doesn’t matter about the length of the ban, or if it was just. The reaction of Liverpool Football Club and their fans has been simply appalling. It’s all the FA’s fault, they were always going to do this, they’re a bunch of corrupt idiots in charge, you know.

Well done Liverpool, from the clubs management to their fans, you’ve made me a rather depressed football fan today. Good going.

Part of me thinks this could be just a myth, something that seems like it could be true. So, here’s for a little experiment, the semi finalists of the 2009-10 and 2010-11 Europa League seasons, the 2007-08 and 2008-09 UEFA Cup seasons, and the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons of the UEFA Cup, which were the last to incorporate the knockout stages which seems to be a very popular option for those who want the Europa League to change back to this format.

2002-03 UEFA Cup (13 games including final)

• Porto. UEFA Cup Winners. League Winners.
• Celtic. UEFA Cup Runners-Up. League Runners-Up.
• Lazio. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League 4th.
• Boavista. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League 10th.

All the teams performed well in the far shorter competition, aside from Boavista, who would have had every right to be disappointed after a 2nd place finish in the Primeira League the year before. Celtic were very unlucky after losing the league by one goal on goal difference.

2003-04 UEFA Cup (13 games including final)

• Valenica. UEFA Cup Winners. League Winners.
• Marseille. UEFA Cup Runners Up. League 7th.
• Newcastle United. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League 5th.
• Villarreal. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League 8th.

A lot more mixed fortunes to the team. For the second year in a row, the UEFA Cup winners also went on to win their own league. In this case, Valencia, who were the last team before the Barcelona and Real Madrid dominance to win La Liga.

2007-08 UEFA Cup (15 games including final)

• Zenit St. Petersburg. UEFA Cup Winners. League Winners in 2007, League 5th in 2008.
• Rangers. UEFA Cup Runners-Up. League Runners-Up.
• Bayern Munich. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League Winners.
• Fiorentina. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League 4th.

Zenit St. Petersburg is a difficult team to judge, as the Russian league was completed in a calendar year, so two results could be looked at. They won the league in 2007, but struggled a lot more in 2008 finishing down in 5th. The other league winners were Bayern Munich, while both Rangers and Fiorentina qualified for the Champions League qualifying stages.

2008-09 UEFA Cup (15 games including final)

• Shakhtar Donetsk. UEFA Cup Winners. League Runners-Up
• Werder Bremen. UEFA Cup Runners-Up. League 10th.
• Hamburg. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League 5th.
• Dynamo Kiev. UEFA Cup Semi Finalists. League Winners.

Ukrainian and German teams dominated the UEFA Cup in 2009, with two from each country reaching the semi finals. The German teams had a weak year in the league, with Werder Bremen. However Breman would still qualify for the new Europa League on the basis that they won the German Cup. The Ukrainians were more successful and it was a role reversal.

2009-10 Europa League (Fulham and Hamburg 19 games including final, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool 9 games including final with Champions League)

• Atletico Madrid. Europa League Winners. League 9th.
• Fulham. Europa League Runners-Up. League 12th.
• Hamburg. Europa League Semi Finalists. League 7th.
• Liverpool Europa League Semi-Finalists. League 7th.

The massive amount of fixtures to reach the semi-finals and final took a rather large toll on the teams, Atletico Madrid fell from 4th to 9th, Hamburg went from 5th to 7th, Fulham from 7th to 12th and Liverpool with the worst collapse, 2nd to 7th. There were various circumstances, Champions League had six games on top for Liverpool, while Fulham and Hamburg entered from the Third Qualifying Round being forced to play obscure teams from Lithuania and Denmark.

2010-11 Europa League (Porto and Villarreal 17 games including final, Braga and Benfica 9 games including final with Champions League)

• Porto. Europa League Winners. League Winners.
• Braga. Europa League Runners-Up. League 4th.
• Benfica. Europa League Semi Finalists. League 2nd.
• Villarreal. Europa League Semi Finalists. League 4th.

This is a very difficult one to judge. As three Portugese teams performed above expectations and got to at least the semi final, culminating in an all-Portugese final in Dublin, it levels out the playing field a lot more. Sporting CP were the only team to benefit from the extra matches (although they went out in the Round of 32 to Rangers) and finished third. Villarreal, unlike previous years, improved their position from 7th to 4th.

So lets look at the teams improvement based on the previous year:

UEFA Cup Knockout:  3 Improved. Stayed. 5 Worsened.

UEFA Cup 5 team group: 3 Improved. 1 Stayed. 4 Worsened.

Europa League 4 team group: 2 Improved. 0 Stayed. 6 Worsened.

If anything makes it look less conclusive, its this. No doubt the extra matches have a mainly negative effect. If you ignore the Portugese league, only Villarreal make improvements on their previous year. But the UEFA Cup knockout system also had a more negative effect, as did the group stage.

Overall the UEFA Cup and Europa League, more often than not, will have a negative effect on the teams chances in the league, it could be more useful to look after a few more Europa League seasons. But generally, second tier European competitions don’t help you out domestically.

Brazilian Grand Prix

Pre-Race

So one last race of the seemingly never-ending sleep-inducing Formula 1 season, and really, nothing was up for grabs anywhere in the pitlane. The only interesting battle was for 7th in the Constructors between Sauber and Toro Rosso, and if I can be unbiased for a moment, isn’t anything to rush to the blogs and write about.

New Teams Championship wise, the only thing to look out for was who would round out the top three, Timo Glock (who finished 3rd in 2010) or rookie Jerome D’Ambrosio.

In 2012 news, HRT surprised a few people by signing Pedro de la Rosa, who just won’t go away, for two whole years. It seems being old is quite ‘in’ at the moment.

Qualifying

Like with most races, Heikki Kovalainen outqualified Jarno Trulli for the 18th time this season. But the big shock of the weekend came at the expense of Marussia Virgin, who locked out the back row while facing the rear wings of Hispania. Vitantonio Liuzzi was ahead of Daniel Ricciardo, while Jerome D’Ambrosio started ahead of Glock.

Race

As is norm these days, Kovalainen flew off the line and shot up to 16th by the end of the first lap, however he struggled to stay their, and the slower starters in Alguersuari and Barrichello soon passed. It had been a bad start for Ricciardo, who had fell to last, while his team mate, for once, was having a half decent race.

Truth be told, apart from the retirements, very little happened for the six cars. On lap 24, Timo Glock was too quick coming out of the pits, and his rear left tyre was quick to dismantle itself from the car. This was crucial in the outcome of who would finish third.

A few laps towards the end, Vitantonio Liuzzi suffered from an alternator failure, forcing him to retire into turn one, even though he was ahead of Ricciardo at the time.

So, for the umpteenth time in a row, Heikki Kovalainen finished in first, in 16th which was also ahead of Bruno Senna, who had horrible luck at his home race. Trulli was 18th, and in second, ahead of D’Ambrosio and Ricciardo.

Post-Race Thoughts

Heikki Kovalainen (Team Lotus – 16th): “All year we’ve kept on progressing and we’ve finished on a real high with that tenth place so we’re set us up perfectly for next year where we can take another step forward in the development of this team.”

Jarno Trulli (Team Lotus – 18th): “It was really just about getting the car home in one piece so we could seal our place in the championship. I want to thank the whole team for the work they’ve done this weekend and all year. We keep on progressing and it’s great to be part of something that shows real signs of where it can go.”

Timo Glock (Marussia Virgin – Retired): “A very disappointing way to end the season. It’s a real shame to have had to retire after losing the left-rear tyre after my first pit-stop but unfortunately these things happen. So it wasn’t the way I would have liked to end the season but, anyway, I want to thank the team for all the effort they have put in during the whole year. It has been great to work together.”

Jerome D’Ambrosio (Marussia Virgin – 19th): “We did a good job in qualifying yesterday and today was one of my best races so far. I’m happy this has happened here in Brazil, as I love this track. I’m also glad to finish ahead of HRT- definitely a very positive way to end the season. I want to thank the team for all their hard work. I have really enjoyed working together with them this year.”

Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania – Retired): “We wanted to finish the season with a strong result. It’s a shame because we could have achieved it. Now we have to work hard for next year and try to recover from this problem and make up for it in the future because we need to be strong and competitive in every race”

Daniel Ricciardo (Hispania – 20th): “It’s been a really good six months and I’m happy with how the season has gone, you always want a bit more but realistically it has been really good and I have learned a lot. I want to thank HRT and Red Bull for giving me the opportunity to come and do it.”

Standings

Drivers Championship

So that’s a wrap on 2011. Heikki Kovalainen finishes a whole 31 points in front of his team mate Jarno Trulli, who was agonisingly close to reaching triple figures. Kovalainen’s 128 points is a record, ten up on last year. He’s also finished the year with seven back to back wins, yes, seven. Vettel-esque.

For the second year in a row, Timo Glock has been beaten by a rookie team mate. Third goes to Belgian Jerome D’Ambrosio, who’s four points in Brazil provided to be crucial.

The trio of Hispania cars are ordered as expected, Liuzzi ahead of Ricciardo ahead of Karthikeyan, although arguably Ricciardo has looked the most impressive driver. Hardly surprising considering of all the drivers, he is tipped for bigger and better things in 2012.

And dead last is Karun Chandhok, with two solitary points from his pretty poor race in Germany.

Teams Championship

As expected really. Team Lotus and Virgin both improve on their points from last year, but Hispania have fewer, no doubt because of better reliability from the arguably two quicker teams.

2012

All but one seat for 2012 has been confirmed. At the former Lotus Racing/Team Lotus and now Caterham team, two time New Team Champion Kovalainen continues alongside two time New Team not quite as good as his team mate, Jarno Trulli.

Former Virgin Racing/Marussia Virgin and now Marussia keep Timo Glock (presuming no bigger team don’t come in and buy him out of his contract (one can hope)), but drop D’Ambrosio, who beat him this year, for Charles Pic. You could say though their line up for 2012 looks pretty as a Pic-ture. Ahem.

Hispania, as previously mentioned, have brought in Pedro de la Rosa, and their second race seat could, frankly, go to anyone who has ever touched a car before. Logic would suggest someone with a bit of cash could get it, or the could keep Liuzzi, or they could bring in a Formula 1 driver who is desperate to stay in the sport at all costs, like Nick Heidfeld, or even Chandhok, just so he can claim to have driven for all three new teams. A unique achievement.

What about the performances, well, I expect Marussia and Hispania to fight with themselves at the back, while Caterham (this will need some getting used to) should be at worst, amongst the weaker midfield cars. Next year is their big test, an improvement is needed, they’ve talked the talk, and a bit more, now the walking of the walk needs to occur.

Final Thoughts

Another year over and I’m rather glad for it. While the first two thirds of the season were something spectacular, the end of the year was an immense disappointment. Once again though, the new teams, or whatever they should be called now, provided some entertainment. Whether its upsetting the odds (Liuzzi’s 13th in Canada), or some insane, crazy decisions (Chandhok in Germany), they do tend to provide most things.

I do think Kovalainen should be racing at a team better than Team Lotus, but with they way they are progressing, soon he might be where he deserves. If Renault fancy forgetting Grosjean and Petrov, they could do a lot worse than bringing the Finn back in. Sadly, it will never happen.

So, once again, a massive thank you to everyone who has commented and read my New Teams updates each race weekend. I’m unsure of its future, part of me is tempted to wait until Australia and see how close Caterham are and if its worth continuing for a third year.

I would like to continue doing something that I can update at the end of each race next year, I’ve had a few ideas for a BBC/Sky Championship, and one or two thoughts that aren’t quite there. If anyone has got an idea, please do leave it in the comments. Or, you could keep it to yourself, do it yourself, and gain international recognition while I struggle on here. Whatever is good for you.

Thank you once again, and I promise, a lot, that I will do more ‘proper’ blog posts soon. I’ve had a little less enthusiasm of late to do any.

Pre-Race

Pretty much any meaningful battle in the Championship is over, with only the battle for third up for grabs. Heikki Kovalainen secured his title back in India, and is in the form of his life, easily the quickest of the six drivers in the new teams and even some in the more established teams.

In the two week gap since India, the only news of note has been name changes. For the third year in a row, Team Lotus will be called something else. Having settled the seemingly never-ending battle between Tony Fernandes and Danny Bahar, Team Lotus will be renamed Caterham F1 from next season, with the Lotus name going solely to the team currently known as Renault. Elsewhere, Virgin Racing will also be changing name, dropping the Virgin branding and now simply to be known as Marussia from 2012.

In the two week gap following the race and Abu Dhabi comes the Young Drivers Test. For Team Lotus, American Alexander Rossi will be driving all three days for them. Dani Clos will be driving for Hispania, while Virgin are opting to choose three different drivers, in Charles Pic, Robert Wickens and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs.

Qualifying

There was little surprise at the front, Kovalainen once again outqualified his team mate for 18th place (with Barrichello not opting to set a lap time). Behind them it was Timo Glock, Daniel Ricciardo, who had set an impressive lap time, Jerome D’Ambrosio and Vitantonio Liuzzi.

Because of the grid penalty handed to Pastor Maldonado, all six moved up on position.

Race

Optimism for a good race was slim, but the race start was enthralling. Kovalainen flew off the line, jumping up to 14th after all the pitstops from the contact on the opening lap. For once, he wasn’t the only driver doing well, with Timo Glock in 16th, notably ahead of Maldonado, who hadn’t stopped. Liuzzi had jumped up to 18th, ahead of Trulli, D’Ambrosio and Ricciardo.

Problems for Kobayashi helped Kovalainen into 13th, ahead of both Williams and on good pace, even within sight of the Toro Rosso ahead of him. However problems for D’Ambrosio forced him to retire with faulty brakes.

Meanwhile further behind, the two Hispania cars were scrapping out with each other, which helped both Sauber cars past them, while D’Ambrosio lurked just behind. Not even pitstops would hinder Kovalainen, coming out in 14th, which was ahead of Barrichello. Glock was running as high as 16th before his only stop of the race, where he emerged back in 18th.

The race began to peter out however, with Kovalainen once again flying. His second stop would be when he was in 13th, however he began to fall back on the medium set of tyres, losing out to Alguersuari eventually and ended up in 17th, ahead of Trulli, Glock, Ricciardo and Liuzzi. However another decent race for Ricciardo was to end six laps from the end, with the car coming to a stop.

But once again it was Kovalainen who recorded his sixth straight victory, Trulli finished behind his team once more, and Glock will benefit massively from his team mates retirement in third. Liuzzi was the last finisher in fourth. Ricciardo was only one lap away from being a classified finisher before his retirement.

Post-Race Thoughts

Heikki Kovalainen (Team Lotus – 17th): “What seems to be happening is that in the first couple of stints, as the race sort of settles down, we are able to keep up with the cars ahead, and that’s obviously a sign of how we have progressed, and that’s again what happened here. When we went onto the primes for the last stint the pace obviously dropped a bit but we had another strong push to the end, with Senna losing time on his final set of tyres, and that points to us being able to fight much more closely next year.”

Timo Glock (Marussia Virgin – 19th): “Overall it was quite a good race today. I had a strong start, the speed was not too bad and I was in front of a couple of quicker guys, even though in the end they caught us up. I just drove my race and my engineer kept me updated about the gap to the guys behind, which was quite easy to manage.”

Vitantonio Liuzzi (Hispania – 20th): “The car was suffering from the same balance problems as yesterday. The team worked on the issue all night to try and fix it but, unfortunately, the car wasn’t perfectly balanced today. There was understeer on left turns and oversteer on right turns which meant that it was hard to achieve a good race pace.”

Standings

Drivers Championship

Bad news everyone, Ricciardo simply can’t catch Liuzzi anymore, and that leaves only one battle left in the New Teams Championship, and it looks very exciting. Once again, the two Virgin drivers swap places, and now its Timo Glock who is in prime position to finish third. Two points are in it though, and in Brazil anything could happen.

Amazingly, Kovalainen, with one race to spare, is already on the same number of points he scored during the 2010 New Teams Season. An amazing feat considering he hadn’t led the Championship until Singapore. Timo Glock has also scored more points than last season, which goes to show the mass improvement in reliability from all the three new teams.

Teams Championship

Team Lotus smash their points record from last year. That’s all that is interesting.

Next Race

Form

Sad news everyone, one race left, and that is in the fantastic Interlagos circuit in Brazil, which means at least we should see an interesting race, hopefully. Right now it would be insane to bet on anyone but Kovalainen to win in Brazil, his performances at the moment are extraordinary, far better than his team mate, and only bad luck would see him not finish this season on 128 points.

In terms of the inter team battle between Glock and D’Ambrosio, it couldn’t be more difficult to guess who will do better, The form in the last six races sees D’Ambrosio pick up 17 points compared to Glock’s 16, so this one could go all the way down to the wire.

I was on holiday when I heard the news. And in Italy, it was an oddly rainy morning. I say oddly, to be fair, there was a surprising amount of rain in that week. The rain gave me an excuse to check my phone, twinned with trying to watch NCIS in Italian, and see Twitter full of fury and rage.

And it wasn’t about the Greek’s failing to pay up (again), or Harry Redknapp trying to pursue Phil Neville (again), but the fact that the coverage of Formula 1 would be shared between its current providers, the BBC, and the pay per view service, Sky.

I’m sure everyone who gives a damn about this knows about the deal inside out. Sky get coverage of all twenty races from next year, from Australia through to Brazil, and covering the new race in Austin, Texas. The BBC only get to show ten races, these including the season opener and finale, as well as the British Grand Prix. They will also show either full race re-runs or extended highlights several hours after the chequered flag on the ten races exclusive to Sky.

To those outside it should seem fine, however to watch content on Sky, you have to pay. And this on top of the enforced BBC license fee. For some, Sky isn’t an option, it just costs too much. And you can’t really argue about that, there is no alternative for what is a sizeable chunk of viewers of the current BBC audience.

But that isn’t my argument. I’m not here to discuss the inside and outside of the deal, I’m not here to defend the decision, I’m not even here to feel sympathy. All I’m saying is thank God F1 is going to Sky.

One of the first feelings I had when reading the reactions of people, is what right did Formula 1 have to be on terrestrial television? I’ll answer that for you, none. It isn’t part of the listed rights Group A sports mentioned in the 1996 Broadcasting Act. The Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and of course, the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final, all have to be aired on either the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 or 5. Formula 1 isn’t even mentioned in Group B, which forces highlights to be aired on the five channels (this list includes the Commonwealth Games and the Six Nations). Formula 1 is given no divine right to be on terrestrial television, it isn’t special, or any better than any other sport at the end of the day. Should Sky want to, they could easily just take it all away from the BBC. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the BBC happily accept.

I’d be glad to. For me, the BBC coverage, something which started so fresh and promising after years of dire we were subjected to from ITV, has become stale and repetitive. It is fraught by smug, poor, and downright annoying people glaring into the camera each week.

The coverage has few redeeming features. Martin Brundle stepped up this year to replace the ever unpopular Jonathan Legard, and has fitted into the role superbly alongside David Coulthard. Part of me is disappointed, if the rumours are true, that the duo won’t be able to continue and develop into their respective roles. There are few genuinely good commentary partnerships in the UK, this could have been one of them. Should David Croft and Brundle go off to Sky like reported, then I remain to be convinced. Both are fine individual commentators, but together I don’t feel convinced about it just yet.

I can’t yet believe how Eddie Jordan is still employed. Between reminding us how he discovered half of the current F1 field (that includes Narain Karthikeyan people), he offers up far too many cringeworthy moments that litter the coverage. Lee McKenzie has also failed to add to her one standard question in her interviews. I feel bitterly disappointed for her. (Cheap and poor, I know.)

Jake Humphrey has provided to be no better, especially after the announcement. His loyalty to the cause is admirable, but each little mention of the viewing figures and clear moments where he wants Formula 1 to have all 2012 races on the BBC have made him virtually unfollowable for me, at least.

And realistically the only thing saving the BBC right now is the fact there is no ad breaks. Something which Sky promise to deliver when they air their first race. The BBC could have developed their coverage into something spectacular, something worth keeping. And while it is still much better than ITV ever achieved, it lacks the ambition of going further. Since 2009, very little has changed in terms of coverage and personnel, and I’m equally tired of hearing the tiresome voice of Christian Horner every race. In some regards the quality has gone down. At the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix, I remember Peter Sauber, who speaks poor English, doing a rare interview in the English language. I feel you wouldn’t get close to that now. I can’t pull myself to watch the coverage anymore, it isn’t worth it. Although this could be well down to my current view of Formula 1 at the moment, or at least qualifying. On purpose, instead of watching the qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, you could find me lying in bed dreaming about scoring the winning goal in the Europa League Final. Sort of.

With the BBC only getting ten races from next year, the coverage will only go downhill even further. The lack of drive, and the ‘talented’ Humphrey no doubt becoming one of the faces of the highly anticipated Olympic Games, and potentially other things, the last shred of decency is fading. The potential new commentators to replace Martin Brundle don’t sound so exciting. I’ve yet to see a favourable review of Leigh Diffey, who just sounds like a foreign Jonathan Legard.

I’m not going to say Sky is going to be perfect. It does cost to get the coverage to start off, and expected anchors and pundits are so far less than inspiring. But the potential is there, the same potential that the BBC had. If they do something similar to their shows in terms of rugby, an extra show to discuss events in more detail, then it will only be an improvement.

Yet Sky will throw money and effort into their coverage, something similar to what they do for the football, both codes of rugby, the cricket. Assumptions based on their over motorsport events are unfair, IndyCars and Speedway don’t attract the same audience, they don’t get the same money that F1 will get.

The BBC could have done so much with Formula 1, but it didn’t, and for me, it has left me very disillusioned with the coverage. Roll on Sky, I can’t wait to see what you can do.

Pre-Race

Formula 1 headed to a new race in India, for the inaugural race at the Buddh International Circuit. Much of the discussion for the new teams prior to the race was whether Karun Chandhok and Narain Karthikeyan would race at their home event. Karthikeyan had already been confirmed, but to the surprise of some (basically me), HRT decided to replace Vitantonio Liuzzi for this weekend.

Karun Chandhok was not so lucky, with Team Lotus believing that the combination of Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli would be the best to secure 10th place in the Constructor Championship, to follow up on their victory in the New Teams Team Championship (I need to work on the name a bit more). Chandhok’s only duty was to drive in the first practice session, where he promptly spun in the pitlane.

Thankfully Virgin Racing didn’t pluck some random Indian driver with no ability, and got on with their duties as usual.

Qualifying

Timo Glock’s qualifying though wouldn’t be defined as ‘usual’ (although it could depend on how you see things), a gearbox problem forced him to sit out the first session. But thanks to a time he set in one of the practice sessions, he was allowed to qualify within the 107% rule.

His non-lap caused a load of issues later. Daniel Ricciardo already had a five place penalty for changing his gearbox, but set the 21st quickest time, ahead of his team mate Karthikeyan and both Virgin’s. At the front as usual were Kovalainen and Trulli.

But penalties made things awkward. A three place grid penalty for Sergio Perez for ignoring yellow flags promoted the two Team Lotus cars up a position. Then, Narain Karthikeyan was given a five place penalty for impeding Michael Schumacher during his qualifying run. Confusion ensued.

On the grid though, it was Kovalainen and Trulli in 18th and 19th, D’Ambrosio, despite setting the slowest time, was in 21st, ahead of Glock (who had initially been given 24th), with Ricciardo in 23rd and Karthikeyan 24th. Despite what was arguably their best qualifying performance of the year, HRT would still start the race on the back row.

Race

The race could see Kovalainen be crowned Champion for the second year in a row, and as usual, he managed to avoid the carnage at the start. Rubens Barrichello ran into his team mate Pastor Maldonado, who also forced Kamui Kobayashi wide. Koabayshi’s return onto the track though was questionable, and hit Timo Glock. Further around the lap and into turn 4, Narain Karthikeyan hit the rear of Jarno Trulli and sent him into a spin.

Glock and Trulli pitted, but despite both coming out, Glock was forced to return and retire the car. Trulli never really recovered as well, his spin putting him last and well out of contention with the other drivers.

The carnage had seen the order, from 14th, as Kovalainen, Ricciardo, Karthikeyan and D’Ambrosio, all ahead of drivers who had pitted on hard tyres, Sergio Perez, Paul di Resta and Vitaly Petrov. The trio blitzed through the pack, but only got ahead of Kovalainen through the pits.

Kovalainen as usual was flying, keeping a good gap to Bruno Senna and at one point was in 10th, although that was down to not pitting. D’Ambrosio was also having a strong weekend, and managed to get himself ahead of both Hispania cars.

Hispania were not doing to bad either, keeping a good gap and it was a respectable performance for the home driver, who managed to get ahead of Ricciardo and keep position (although, being cynical, it could well be down to certain team orders). Saying that though, Karthikeyan’s race was a lot better than what has been seen by Liuzzi in recent races.

But it was Heikki Kovalainen who recorded yet another win, and because of Trulli’s 5th place, his second consecutive New Team Driver Championship victory. Jerome D’Ambrosio finished second, benefitting a lot by his team mates retirement. Karthikeyan rounded out the top three well ahead of Ricciardo.

Post-Race Thoughts

Standings

Drivers Championship

Benefitting a lot from Trulli’s spin, Kovalainen finished first and Trulli was only fifth, which was enough for Kovalainen to retain the title. Kovalainen is now 23 points ahead of his team mate with 20 points to play with, and unless the car is highly illegal and has to be disqualified, then I don’t see that being caught.

There has also been a position change as well! Glock’s retirement, along with D’Ambrosio’s fine finish, shoots the Belgian up into third, two points ahead of his team mate.

At the back, Karthikeyan is one point closer to Ricciardo, while Liuzzi is only eleven points ahead of the Australian. Two races left, he can’t catch him… can he?

Teams Championship

All done and dusted.

Next Race

Form

Five wins in a row for Kovalainen, he’s trouncing the rest of them at the end of the day. Even if Chandhok had been in the car instead of Trulli, I doubt he could have done much better. I don’t see how he is going to stop and can easily see him dominating the next two races as well.

Last years Abu Dhabi race saw Kovalainen win, ahead of Lucas di Grassi (remember him?). Glock and Trulli were both forced to retire with car related issues.

Two main battles to look out for, the battle of the Virgins and the battle of me being highly optimistic and hoping Liuzzi can be caught. Only one, I feel, will be worth watching.

Korean Grand Prix

Pre-Race

Team Lotus came into the race knowing they could take the Teams Championship. Practice saw heavy rain, and mistakes by many of the new cars happened in the soaking track.

Qualifying

Qualifying is getting quite boring now. As expected, Heikki Kovalainen qualified in 19th ahead of his team mate Jarno Trulli. Behind them was Timo Glock and Jerome D’Ambrosio, while Vitantonio Liuzzi managed to outqualify Daniel Ricciardo, purely on the basis that a technical issue meant that the Australian didn’t set a lap time.

Race

In this week’s ‘not really a surprise anymore’ Kovalainen made a fine start, managing to overtake a few cars from the start once again, but this time, it wasn’t to last long and was quickly passed again. But in more surprising starts, Ricciardo jumped from 24th to 21st, ahead of Glock, D’Ambrosio and Liuzzi. Glock found his way past, but the other two struggled behind him. Liuzzi soon had contact with the Belgian, and was forced to pit on the first lap for repairs.

All of this resulted in a damaged front wing for D’Ambrosio later in the race, and was forced into making an unscheduled pitstop. The other pitstops mainly went without a hitch, but Daniel Ricciardo ended up with a fine at the end of the race for an unsafe release.

Kovalainen though was doing well, and managed to, along with Trulli, stay close to Kobayashi and Senna after contact between the two slowed the Sauber down, and was eventually forced to stop. The Safety Car came, and no one was really able to challenge.

It was a far better race for Timo Glock however, who managed to be a lot closer to the Team Lotus cars after Japan. At one point an actual overtake between two different cars occurred, when Jarno Trulli used DRS down the long straight. I was actually quite excited when that happened.

Ricciardo was showing up Liuzzi too, while D’Ambrosio spun off and struggled behind him, in a poor weekend for the Belgian. But it was Kovalainen who took the spotlight, finishing ahead of both Saubers (who lacked pace and made one extra stop than most drivers), and only two seconds down on Bruno Senna, who had similar problems. Jarno Trulli’s second place saw Team Lotus become Team Champions.

Post-Race Thoughts

Heikki Kovalainen (14th – Team Lotus) : “As it was we finished ahead of both Saubers on pace and strategy and that’s a very good feeling. We’ve been strong all weekend and it’s great for the whole team that we’re heading towards the end of the season with a car that is giving us a chance to really show what we can do. Honestly, I’d like to get straight back in now and do it all over again – now I can’t wait for India!”

Vitantonio Liuzzi (21st – Hispania) : “We had pretty good pace during the first stint but the safety car came out at the worst time possible, just as the leaders had lapped me, so I was a lap down with respect to my main rivals. The race was very difficult after that and the balance was all over the place, it was really hard to drive. But with all those problems we endured, we still made it to the checkered flag which is a positive thing”

Standings

Drivers Championship

It’s now four in a row for Kovalainen who is starting to walk away with it, now a rather large 15 points ahead with three races left. The gap between Glock and D’Ambrosio extends to four points, while it will be interesting to see if Ricciardo can close the gap further to Liuzzi.

Teams Championship

One year after taking the 2010 Teams Championship in Korea, they win the 2011 version at the same venue. They are 64 points ahead, with the maximum Virgin can take being 48. Virgin have also secured second place, being 58 points ahead of Hispania, basically meaning this is pretty much pointless for the rest of the season.

Next Race

Form

There is technically no ‘form’ to be applied to India’s new track, the first time Formula 1 will visit the circuit near to New Dehli. Based on recent races, it’s Kovalainen’s to throw away, four wins in a row is a joint record with himself, after he won the last four races of the 2010 season as well.

Liuzzi really needs to up his game, he hasn’t beaten Ricciardo since Belgium, when the Australian retired, and has actually only out raced him twice. He isn’t showing anyone why he should be in the Hispania next year, especially as he barely brings any money to the team.

It is important to remember that because we are heading to India, Narain Karthikeyan, and presumably Karun Chandhok, will return to the cockpits for Hispania and Team Lotus respectively. As of now it isn’t clear who they will replace, but I am hoping its Liuzzi and Kovalainen, although no doubt it will be more like Ricciardo and Trulli.

Permutations

This time out its the Driver Championship which is up for grabs. Kovalainen can win the title in India should he score more than five points than his team mate, Trulli. So he can win by:

• Kovalainen finishing 1st, Trulli finishing 3rd
• Kovalainen finishing 2nd, Trulli finishing 6th, because of Kovalainen’s far superior win ratio, winning 8 times to Trulli’s 4, which can not be caught by the Italian with three rounds to go

All of this does depend on who Chandhok, if he does, replaces. Should it be Kovalainen, then the title fight goes to Abu Dhabi, should it be Trulli, all Kovalainen has to do is finish in the top two, which would secure him the title without an opponent to fight in the final round. The recent form of Kovalainen suggests it could be easy ride for him.

With the release of the 2012 Speedway Grand Prix calendar however, the riders and their teams would once again be going to the southern hemisphere, this time to Auckland in New Zealand, a less well renowned location for speedway.

But it isn’t to say that is a bad thing. And in a year when speedway has seen more bad headlines than it needs, this is the one bit of news which has got me excited about the potential prospects of not only the Speedway Grand Prix, but the sport itself.

Reaching out to the masses is a must for the sport. The Grand Prix is only held within six countries in Europe, with three events in Poland, and two in Denmark and Sweden. It’s hardly a productive set up, and shows a stay-safe standard by the FIM. Let’s stay where we know its going to work, the fans will pack the stadiums, especially in Poland. But at least, going out to places like New Zealand, where there is some support, albeit (very) limited. But get the promotion right, there’s no doubt that there will be some interest from new supporters.

And New Zealand is a new venue, there is the chance to give the sport a massive boost in the area. It is of course a massive rugby country, but the popularity of speedway in the nearby Australia could help. In 2012 there will be three Australians on the track, three time world champion Jason Crump, as well as race winner Chris Holder and one of the hottest prospects for the future, Darcy Ward. More fans from Australia, where there is a reasonable following, can make for a packed Western Springs, for the first time since 2002 they can get to a Grand Prix without a ridiculous cross-planet flight to the other side of the world. More fans there will get more New Zealanders interested, it’s a promising prospect.

But most importantly it allows for the chance to gain a foothold into New Zealand and push the good word of speedway to new locations around the world. While Formula 1 is going to Korea, India and the UAE, whilst every year reportedly losing the Australian Grand Prix, speedway is going for the grounds that Bernie doesn’t want or feel necessary. And with a good TV contract, there’s a small chance speedway can become a competitor to the biggest motorsport event in the world.

Obviously going all the way down to New Zealand isn’t perfect right now. The March 31st date coincided with the start of the main speedway seasons in Europe. Many of these seasons have now been delayed to accommodate the new race, and with the Easter weekend now being missed, many of the top teams will miss out on revenue. The long haul will take its toll out on the riders, and with a tight turnaround, it may have a long term effect.

But that shouldn’t stop the race, I love the prospect of the Speedway Grand Prix going to new venues, especially that on the other side of the world. The sport shouldn’t just be limited to the small cluster of countries that give a damn about the sport and are in a nice transportation link between them. Be brave, it’s how the sport gets to grow.

Pre-Race

The second Asian leg of the Formula 1 season continued at the world renowned Suzuka Circuit in Japan.

Practice saw little happen, although Liuzzi struggled, completing only ten laps. Water pressure problems in FP2 and engine problems in FP3 limited his testing.

Qualifying

Liuzzi’s bad weekend continued as his engine forced him to sit out of qualifying, however was given dispensation from the stewards to race, despite never really being within the 107% required in practice. Similar car problems for Nico Rosberg meant he would start in 23rd, allowing for the other five new team drivers to move up on position than normal.

Apart from that it was the traditional formation. Heikki Kovalainen from Jarno Trulli. Jerome D’Ambrosio surprisingly was quicker than Timo Glock, who all finished ahead of Daniel Ricciardo.

Race

It was a fine start by both Team Lotus drivers, as Kovalainen managed to get themselves ahead of the slow starting Rubens Barrichello, Pastor Maldonado and Sergio Perez, with Trulli behind the trio. The Williams cars got by the Finn easily, but it was another story for Perez, who was overtaken by Trulli on lap 5.

Rosberg made his way up the field easily, passing a struggling Jaime Alguersuari, and along with Perez, managed to overtake Trulli three laps later. Kovalainen was the next to be dispatched in easy fashion.

It was though a massive weekend to forget for Liuzzi, who made a mistake early on, making a trip through the gravel at the S-Curves.

There was a good battle between the two Virgins and Daniel Ricciardo as well. Ricciardo driving well and was at one point beating both cars on merit. The pitstops though allowed D’Ambrosio to move ahead of the Australian.

A weak Safety Car bunched the cars up again. Kovalainen was ahead of Maldonado, who easily dispatched him on the restart.

The rest of the race was a bit of a procession for the new teams, Glock eventually got past Ricciardo and his team mate. The race finished off with two of the cars having problems being lapped. World Champion Vettel was unhappy with D’Ambrosio, while Liuzzi nearly swiped the front wing off the race winner Button on the last lap.

All in all, Kovalainen recorded his third win in a row, in yet another 1-2 with Trulli. The Team Lotus cars finished on the lead lap, the first time it has happened, although arguably helped by the Safety Car period. Still, it is a big step forward for the team, and far better than what Virgin and Hispania have so far achieved. Glock finished in third ahead of D’Ambrosio and Ricciardo, while Liuzzi’s disastrous weekend finished one lap down on his team mate.

Post-Race Thoughts

Heikki Kovalainen (18th – Team Lotus) : “The fact that this is the first time this season we didn’t see any blue flags is very satisfying. Every time you have to let someone pass you are artificially slowing up your own race, and it shows our car keeps improving, as does the whole team. Ok, the safety car helped us, but then you have to be in the right place to take advantage of whatever happens on track, and today we did just that.”

Daniel Ricciardo (22nd – Hispania) : “The race went quite well considering yesterday’s pace, we’ve got to be happy about being only a few tenths behind the Virgins. At one stage I was in front but the safety car didn’t help. It came out at times that didn’t suit us. But I’m happy with the performance and, personally, I’m pleased with the way I drove and I don’t think I could have done much more.”

Standings

Drivers Championship

Kovalainen’s three in a row has shot him up to an eleven point lead, a full race win ahead of the man who has led most of the way, Trulli. The battle for third is still tight, Glock only two points in front of his team mate.

Teams Championship

Still quite predictable.

Next Race

Form

The first race in Korea last year was cruel for Virgin. Timo Glock was in a great position but a mistake by Sebastian Buemi saw the end of his race. The rain in the end allowed for Heikki Kovalainen to power through ahead of his team mate, and allowed for the team to become the Teams Champions, a team that could be replicated in Korea next weekend.

The on form driver is certainly Kovalainen, who has won three in a row. On the other hand, Liuzzi is struggling with a R-4-6 record in the last three.

Permutations

Unsurprisingly, the Teams Championship can be wrapped up in South Korea next weekend. Virgin are 49 points behind with 64 to play. Now I may get this totally wrong here (likely), but should Team Lotus score a 1-2 in the next race, then they will become the Teams Champions for the second year in a row. Realistically, if Virgin don’t score two more points than Team Lotus next weekend, then it’s all over.

The Driver Championship is still up for grabs, but again, it’s looking likely which way that will be going, although it could depend on who Karun Chandhok replaces in India, if anyone.