First, congratulations to Atlas on a super, super job this year in keeping the serious fan up to date on the details of Formula 1. THANK YOU! Your efforts add greatly to our enjoyment of this most challenging sport.
Second, while I too worry about the future of the sport being over-shadowed by the ever advancing technology of the cars, I am gratified to see that the best drivers continue to win the vast majority of the races. This year just past the best drivers were Hill, Villeneuve and Schumacher. Not coincidentally the top three point earners were the same.
Third, I'd like to suggest that Alesi is, finally, ready to join the top rank in 1997. He has been a "factor" for several years, but while he has had the talent, he has been held back by his inability to avoid untimely lapses in "judgment," and "bad luck." I personally see real progress in Alesi's intangibles, and with Hill's demotion/exile I look for Alesi to seriously challenge Michael and Jacques in 1997. On a closely related issue, Benetton is coming along too. I was amazed to see/hear that they considered other drivers, but they thankfully came to their senses. Now a good driver with real experience in a good car are coming together at just the right time with a real chance for a world title.
Hurry 1997, I can't wait.
Jeff Fisher
j_fisher@atl.mindspring.com
Well, Hill finally won a championship, in the last race, against a "rookie" (if you want to call Villeneuve that). Was there real opposition from anybody?
This Championship was one he should had won in 1994 AND 1995 but could not. He had to wait until he had the best equipment, I mean the best all around, with the second chassis-engine combination, seconds a lap down, and even then he stumbled on his own front wing against Villeneuve.
The way Suzuka went could had been just the opposite, handing Villeneuve the championship. Actually I believe it was a long shot for Villeneuve, but things happen and it could had been Villeneuve into the lead and Hill struggling in 7th. There is absolutely no excuse for Hill to have taken this to the last race. Had he been what British fanatics want to make out of him, the championship should had been decided months before Suzuka.
You could give a thousand excuses, but if you look at it, Hill did a poor job bringing this championship to the wire. In 1994, after FIA gave him a chance to clinch the title (in the form of disqualification and race suspensions to Michael Schumacher), he didn't quite make it.
1995 was a shame for him. With a superior car he let Schumacher walk all over him and made a fool of himself in the second have of the season. With the one race ban suspension hanging over Schumacher he had the opportunity to pay back at Estoril and instead let Schumacher push him aside, and so finishing third to Coulthard and Schumacher. Next he manage to throw the constructor championship away.
What had he done this year? Won 8 races in a superior car and almost allowed Villeneuve to take the title. I believe the only thing you could say is that the guy can drive fast with a clear track...sometimes. I believe he should be very thankful to Williams for allowing him to race this year.
Abdul al-Kanal
abdulito@hotmail.com
What kind of car runs in the Formula Nippon series ?
Terry McCabe
mccabe@mcgroup.com
Max Galvin, Atlas Contributing Editor replies:
In the interests of levelling out the playing field and removing the
advantage that "Super Teams" like Paul Stewart Racing, DAMS and Super
Nova had, the FIA changed the regulations so that the testing was
limited and the series was changes to a one chassis one engine series.
The engines are Zytek (I believe) and the chassis are Lola.
Note: Super Teams is something that Derek Mower the owner of F3000 team
Nordic Racing called them when I spoke to him about the changes. As an
aside, Nordic have their base 2 doors along from Pacific Racing (now
running in F3000 rather than F1), interesting huh? :)
Back to Formula Nippon. The Japanese motorsports people didn't agree
with the new FIA regulations and decided to keep running under the old
regulations (as did British F2). I am not sure if the Japanese series
will move into line with the new regs. or not but I know for a fact that
British F2 is becoming British F3000 next season.
Finally, Formula Nippon is still a VERY good way of getting into F1 as
the Japanese are BIG motorsports fans and put a lot of money into
drivers who do well there (R.Schumacher and Norberto Fontana both raced
F.Nippon last season).
Regards, Max
max@atlasf1.demon.co.uk
Thank you for Atlas.
I have been a frequent reader during the season. The relevant and frequently updated information has made it possible to appreciate the races even more. I especially like your news section which has highlighted topics that I would otherwise have missed.
Keep up the good work!
Kjell Kernen
kjell.kernen@marine.combitech.se
Sweden
As much as I dont Want to upset my fellow country man Rory Gordon I beleive there is room for rule changes in F1 without changing the nature of the sport. As the late great Aryton said. “Fomular 1 is about going as fast as you can for as long as you can”
With this in mind is it in the nature of the sport that engines are limited to 3 liters NonTurbo piston engines. Why limit the cars to the current narrow tyres.(Burnie Please dont even thing about insulting the F1 fans with treaded tyres!!!! )
These are recent “improvements” which I dont thing have added much to the sport. I used to like watching the ground effects cars and the first Turbo rocket ships take off into the distance while the Ford DFV powered cars ploded on till the Turbos Blew up and the V8’s continued on to win.
The best thing I thing that happened to F1 this year was the anocement of a competing tyre company. I race Go Karts in Australia at the top level (Australian CIK class championships) and I have watched Bridgestone’s progress through the past 3 years. I used there tyres during this time. Let me tell you that 3 years ago there tyre wasnt much chop, and very few runners used it. But now nearly 90% of the entrances in the 3rd round of the CIK (CIK is the FIA committee for Karting) championships were on Bridgestone. So many that the distributor had great dificulity supplying the requirements of the tyre pool. As for the results, only 2 out of the top ten placing were not on Bridgestone rubber.
Have a look at the results of the recent World CIK titles, top placings all went to Bridgestone.
I would like to pridect that the teams that have Bridgestone are well worth watching.
Gary Biggs
vidtrendz@winshop.com.au
Australia
To all of the Atlas staff, writers and news editor,
Thank you for your great job and efforts this season in contributing to our enjoyment of F1. You are the best F1 site on the web. Can't wait until next season......
Shelly Tarre
shelly@techunix.technion.ac.il
Israel
Last Sunday Damon Hill get rid off the Chris Amon syndrome. Finally after 3 years of of almost reaching the top, Damon got there.
His goal was achieved. But now comes the worse part of the game. To reach the Top is hard, but to stay there is even worse.
Hill is a great driver. Together with Schumacher and Villeneuve he is one of the 3 top-drivers today. And that is not only because he drives a Williams.
He has qualities that were clearly shown during the years. He also makes mistakes, but who doesn't ?
Now come the winter and it is time to improve. Time to see the machines that will compete next year. As always it will be much noise in every presentation, but we have to wait until march to see the truth.
Next year may finally be Ferrari´s year. If they can deal with the quality control and improve just a bit the car than Schumacher will do the rest.
Let´s wait and see.
Marko Petek
petek@voyager.com.br
Brazil
Well done Damon !!
You have shown the world what you're made of.
You have shown some ex-world champions how to win a championship without
taking your main rival off the track.
You were great, and I'm sure that even your critics are proud of you!
As for Jacques, he will surely have another chance.
Robert Vassallo-Agius
are9531@s4201.tokyo-u-fish.ac.jp
Japan
F1 History has taught us that when pivotal drivers leave a team, that team goes into a,sometimes irreversible, period of decline. From Stewart leaving Tyrrell in the 70's, through to Piquet leaving Brabham and Williams, Senna leaving Lotus and McLaren and Prost leaving Renault and Ferrari. The pattern is always the same.
Unless Benetton can salvage an emphatic victory this season, then Schumacher's departure to Ferrari will be yet more proof of this rule.
Which brings us to Hill. Like Piquet, he obtains results through speed and reliability rather than out-and-out racecraft. He has been central to William's resurgence following a number of post-Piquet years of mid-grid disappointment, ended by Renault V10 power and a few rule changes.
Hill's recent move to TWR, in a way, mirrors that of Schumacher to Ferrari although Walkinshaw is the only boss in this team and is every bit as exciting if TWR's past record is anything to go by.
But with Williams losing the Hill-Newey development team and Renault engines and with only the success-free Frentzen as a trade-off, the team's future has never looked more uncertain, and Hill's departure may yet consign him to a place among some fairly distinguished company.
Jonathan Bracey-Gibbon
jbg@dial.pipex.com
About the current state of affairs, I wonder what beyond economics actually motivates the sport. True the sport must pay for itself, but the crowds and sponsorship far exceed the quality of the product. Perhaps the public just wants a weekend of reckless partying and the ability to say they went to a Formula 1 weekend. Racing it is not. Having raced on surfaces including tarmac, ice and dirt in cars from showroom to formula to a Boss 302 Mustang, I grimace every time I hear the 'no place to pass' phrase. Qualifying and results verify the 'time trial' nature of things. Hill's success further evidence of lack of racing.
I long for the days of clutches, shift levers, skinny tires and a few boys with bravado. Rules makers have every opportunity to decide the series is not for airplanes with auto-pilot. CART seemed to have possibilities, but a glaring lack of leadership (read Craig) has them mired in a fight with a golf kart series. Root of all evil, again economics.
Next step is likely Sego World Championship where everything is simulated and money all goes to software gurus. Pardon the cynicism but looking at a few mags from 35 years back I rue the direction Formula 1 has gone and ache for a return to sport.
Dan Hyde
dhyde@mail.wiscnet.net
U.S.A
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