Austin F-1 Triple Champion

Austin F-1 2015 Observations and Analysis

Nicholas Frankl
Senior Editor
The Auto Channel
Formula 1 Racing Desk

Austin TX October 26 2015; Of all the races, our new world champion Lewis Hamilton will remember no.43 more than most, if not the most. Taking the title, his third, in gloriously scrappy style by winning the fourth United States Formula 1 Grand Prix, he becomes the first British Champion to successfully defend his title in 65 years of F1.

Lewis was relaxed and confident all weekend, his manner very different from team mate and arch rival Rosberg who has now been totally outclassed by the superior, faster and more consistent Brit. The AMG cars may be technically identical but mentally car no.44 has totally psyched out no.6. Team Boss Niki Lauda, himself a 3-time world champion joked that Lewis is now “as good as me” but expects him to “get even better “ predicting the best is yet to come, with his star driver winning more and more races. If I was Rosberg, I’d leave for another team. Wouldn’t it be great to see Vettel and Lewis in the same team…

Austin welcomed the F1 community back with warm smiles, big hats and lots of BBQ food. Texans are a friendly well-natured bunch on the whole and still a little bemused by F1 and “us Europeans”. COTA and NBC sports (whose rating are rising every year) have done their best to keep F1 building but it still suffers from lack of consistent local and national media support and from a simple lack of legacy, something from which other races in Europe, elsewhere, benefit.

COTA doesn’t release exact track numbers but reports of 101,000 at the turnstiles for Sunday (down from 150,000 in 2012) isn’t bad, with 171,000 over three days. However with Mexico a week away, and providing at least 1/3 if not more of the fans and, most importantly for circuit revenues, the suite seats, they were obviously down on pre-ticket sales and that was before Hurricane Patricia came calling Friday.

It's only because COTA is new that we could get the cars out at all on Sunday, as I suspect none of the other tracks could have handled that sheer quantity of rain, which left anyone exposed totally drenched within minutes. Hats off to the track workers and the hard working local police and traffic management teams who refined the flow, and stood out in appalling conditions, so we could all go racing.

As we sat wondering what type of qualifying was in store for us Saturday afternoon - and it took more than 3 hours for the officials to decide to call it off - it did give us a chance to hang out with the teams and drivers and chat in a more relaxed manner. It was super to see old friend Alex Rossi starting in a U.S. Grand Prix. He has talent and is very determined. I did notice he had lost weight and trimmed down by at least 10 pounds, looking almost gaunt. With Haas going in another direction with what they define as “more experienced drivers” Rossi looks set to be driving for Manor again next year.

Nico Hulkenberg was in fine form and very happy with his Force India in the wet where he excelled in P3 on Saturday morning. Full wet set up suited the car and his considerable skills – one of the best in F1 in my opinion and in need of a top team to show his talents - but alas it wasn’t to be as it dried out too much on Sunday for him to repeat it when it mattered. His race, like practically everyone's, was filled with drama and whilst making a storming performance up the field with his teammate Checo, going for the gap inside Riccardo, he got hit, breaking the suspension and ending his run. Back in the motor home he was understandably extremely upset, having failed to finish in the last few races with some bad luck and, some say, poor judgment. For sure he’s an aggressive driver, but then again so is Hamilton.

It's better to be lucky than good and certainly Lewis has had more than his fair share of luck this season. My only disappointment in his personal behavior was Monaco when he behaved like a scolded school boy; it wasn't good sporting behavior and unbecoming of a true champion, but the pressure and competitiveness is not something any of us can truly understand even with friends and this was demonstrated with “CAP-GATE” in the greenroom before the podium when he casually tossed Nico his Pirelli cap, which landed on his lap. Nico, who was clearly extremely pissed off with himself, his team and the world in general threw it straight back at a bemused Lewis. Personally, I’m surprised they are so mild mannered and controlled given the adrenalin, the emotions and the stakes: Remember James Hunt? Piquet? They got properly wound up and took swipes at the nearest person – usually a poor marshal!

Red Bull and Toro Rosso enjoyed some strong performances, with both teams clearly tuned in for wet conditions that levels out the power advantage of Mercedes and Ferrari.

It was rather wonderful and frustrating to watch their top drivers dicing away, sliding, correcting, apexing so beautifully and at speed, setting fast laps only to see the Mercs just blast past on the straights, rather like passing a caravan up a mountain when you’re in a twin-turbo AMG! Verstappen, who will likely be a World Champion before the decade is out, drove the best and most complete race of his short career and finished an excellent fourth. Mystery still surrounds Red Bulls engine supplier for 2016, they certainly have shopped around and the latest is that Honda are talking to them. That would make a lot of sense for everyone except Ron Dennis, who’s likely to veto it. Honda needs more than one team developing the engine and supplying valuable data and McLaren would benefit from this. How they decide who is ‘top team’ is another matter. Discussions with VW / Audi appeared to be progressing well until the diesel bust, so that’s unlikely to happen, although they probably need the good publicity and distraction more than ever!

There is also a chance that one of the most iconic and successful names in F1 racing might return to supply customer engines, namely COSWORTH engineering. Bernie has had talks with owner / racing magnet Kevin Kalkhoven, but for a small private engine builder to front the investment needed to fund a program on which Mercedes is said to have spent more than $1bn over the past 3 years is a tall order unless guarantees are made.

The parties in Austin were in fine form and well supported even in wet conditions. The hottest party and coolest crowd Saturday night was once again the My Yacht Club / Blu celebration at Brazos hall, with a fashion show and dancing till 4am, a good time was had by all. The drivers stayed in till Sunday but I ran into Alonso in a ‘relaxed mood’ in a pop-up sweet store / night club. I also ran into Jolyon Palmer who has been signed as a fulltime driver at Lotus. He was in great spirits, as you’d expect from a young man with a great year ahead of him. Lewis dropped in around 3am and we chatted – he was clearly emotionally exhausted – so we shook hands and he left for the door and his Challenger 605 back to LA for some much needed R&R.

Ferrari also showed its latest 488 GTB at a private reception with a surprise VIP guest – Kimi! Fellow TACH contributor Annabelle Frankl was bemused at the fuss around the car, which hadn’t previously been seen in Austin, as she had already driven it in August at Pebble Beach and the excellent Ferrari Casa!

This weekend we shall return to Mexico City for the first time in twenty years, when our last great hero ‘Nige’ (Mansell) was chasing his own World Championship for Great Britain. It’s a solid reminder that fame, especially in F1, is fleeting!

Checo Perez and Carlos Slim have managed to sell out the city, that will no doubt be utter chaos. With the high altitude the turbo engines are expected to be noticeably down on power, but with thin air the cars may hit over 200mph on the long straightaway.

The Mexicans know how to throw a good party and I’m sure it will be a great success, just watch out for the local taxi drivers in their famous old school Beetle Bugs. It’s certainly a positive to see more F1 races on this side of the planet and there may yet be another USA F1 race; according to Bernie, he’s looking at Laguna Seca as a possible destination, although who at SCRAMP can pay him $25m I’m not sure.

Until next time

About Nicholas Frankl

Nicholas Frankl has attended more than 250 F1 Grand Prix in the past 30+ years (1st race age six weeks). He has been writing for The Auto Channel since it started in 1995/6. He managed the Asprey/Ferrari partnership from 1996-99 working closely with Todt, Irvine, Schumacher and Stefano Dominicalli. Visiting the Ferrari factory annually he has a deep insight into the inner workings of the team. He is also an three time Olympic sportsman, having qualified and driven a two-man & four-man bobsleigh in Lillehammer 1994, Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympic Games. He has raced cars in the UK and USA, competed in the Cannonball, Gumball and Bullrun rallies, is a certified private pilot and member of both The Royal Automobile Club and Automobile Club of Monaco. Throughout his life he has visited the majority of F1 tracks and shared drinks and many fun times with many of yesterday’s legends and todays hero’s.

A Word from Nicholas:

So where does bobsleigh fit into this mix?

Well, that's me. Gilles Villeneuve I may never (unfortunately) be, but the next best thing (I'm told - and in fact can vouch for) is Formula One on ice. 1994 saw me competing as driver of the first Hungarian bob team in the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, and then onto two more Olympic Winter games. Why am I telling you this? Well, if for no other reason than that you'll at least understand how I gain some insight into the sport we love. Strangely enough, the F1 boys have a real respect for their ice cousins; the speed, G' forces and exhilaration are quite similar. This, however, is only my "off season" hobby. The reason for this intro is to allow me to say HI, From here on I hope we’ll become firm friends, as I follow the F1 circus around the world and you get to pick up all the details. Not just the results, but the gossip too and the first-hand natter you just don't get from the usual sources.

Thanks to my father, whose stories you'll also be reading, I've grown up in the world of motor sport and cars - in fact instead of a birth certificate, I think I was born with a pit pass. It's the sort of life that if you enjoy our sport is tough to beat, so I thought this would be a good way of sharing the fun.