Mystery Monday: Karun Chandhok – I Wish F1 Would Sort Itself Out

For me, though, there’s a bit of an asterix next to his name. I can’t help thinking that once his team-mate Lewis Hamilton gets into his stride and bats off this poor run of form, some of it self-inflicted, we’ll have a real fight on our hands. I’m looking forward to Lewis v Nico, 2016-style, starting properly – hopefully at this weekend’s Spanish GP in Barcelona.

We’ve had the Australian, Bahrain, Chinese and Russian GPs already and Nico’s notched up the perfect score of 100 points. Lewis is 43 behind, but don’t forget that’s only a win (25) and a second (18). I’m not an expert in voodoo but Nico’s luck has to run out soon.

The Mercedes package seems slightly less reliable than last season. The team have had some technical issues, all with the #44 car of course, and that may swing in the direction of the #6 garage soon.

Comparing and contrasting all the drivers and teams, as I do in my role as a pundit with Channel 4’s new team, it’s interesting to analyse who’s where and doing what as the circus returns to its European heartland.

Ferrari are closer than last year, that’s for sure, although the team have under-delivered thus far. You can tell by Sebastian Vettel’s audible frustrations! There have been issues of one sort or another in all four races. The SF16-H’s race pace is better, in relation to the benchmark Mercedes, but a problem-free weekend is what the Scuderia need.

After a dire 2015, everyone inside Red Bull and Renault, sorry TAG Heuer, is smiling again. The chassis is an improvement and the harmony between the team and engine builder Renault seems to have returned. After Daniel Ricciardo stuck the RB12 on the front row in China, the smiles on the faces of [team boss] Christian Horner, [team fixer] Helmut Marko and [Renault chief] Cyril Abiteboul were clear to see.

I’m intrigued to see what effect the planed upgrades for round seven in Canada have. They could be really good. Renault know how to win, winning titles with V10s and V8s, so once they get up to speed with the hybrid engines, they’ll be a force I’m sure.

Williams are once again in the fight for best of the rest, knocking on the door of Red Bull for third in the constructors’ championship, a position it sealed comfortably over the Milton Keynes outfit in 2015. If you use a money-versus-results graph as a barometer, Williams are punching above their weight for the third year in a row.

Along with Mercedes and Ferrari, they’ve scored in every race so far this year. I’d love to see them win one – this weekend is the fourth anniversary of their most recent victory which came before the start of a return to regular competitiveness with the Mercedes engine in 2014.

I have to mention McLaren here. Although they sit behind Haas and Toro Rosso in the points race, there are clearly signs of improvement. But there really had to be, didn’t there?! I think Fernando Alonso’s fastest lap in Russia – on old tyres on the penultimate lap – was very telling. He did a 1m40.3, compared with Felipe Massa’s 39.7 on new rubber. Even Kimi, who finished third, about nine seconds behind Lewis, only managed a 40.1s.

The MP4-31 has some pace in it and could be a genuine contender for fifth in the makes’ race. What will be interesting will be whether Honda can develop the engine, given that they are still battling with the original architecture, i.e. the turbo inside the V angle. It may be, of course, that they are waiting to start again for 2017 with whatever gets decided – or not – on the rules front.

Talking of the rules and the to-ing and fro-ing, the atmosphere inside the paddock has been pretty toxic of late. Don’t get me wrong, F1 is still mega, with quality teams and drivers, but the indecision and politicking is horrendous. The gamesmanship among the six distinct camps – Bernie Ecclestone, Jean Todt, Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull, and the rest – is staggering.

Look at the qualifying fiasco at the start of the year. That was nothing to do with the actual qualifying procedure or if it worked or not; it was all about politics and who could outdo the other.

It’s a shame as the racing has been good. The qualifying issue perfectly highlights the problem with the governance of F1. It’s very easy to jump on the bandwagon and have a pop at F1. The sport doesn’t help itself though; its marketing is all negativity and not everyone is on message. That’s the opposite in Formula E and the World Endurance Championship, where they just sing their own praises, which is the right thing to do.

As for me, I’m enjoying my role with Channel 4. I seem to have found my niche as a technical and strategy analyst, dissecting the weekend bit by bit and helping commentators Ben Edwards and David Coulthard. F1 is still very much top of the tree, if you can avoid the politics! The cars, drivers and teams really are top quality.

I’m not sure whether I’m going to get any modern racing in this year. A return to Le Mans, which is such a fantastic race and event, is looking ever less likely – I keep getting bumped out of rides by paying drivers!

I will definitely be out at the Festival of Speed, though, which is an absolute overdose for petrolheads. I’m set to take two special Williams F1 cars up the hill: an ex-Thierry Boutsen FW13B from 1990 and one of Damon Hill’s race-winning FW17s from 1995. That’ll be very cool.

I’m hoping to do the Revival again, too. It’s another incredible event and the attention to detail out of this world. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that Lord March and his team can find me something fun to race…

Images courtesy of the teams and LAT