1/43 Model Review: 2009 BMW Sauber F1.09

Background

The 2009 season is the last season we see of the BMW works team, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld entering their third full season together. With a successful 2008 season behind them, the expectations were high, and Kubica was running in second in the season opener in Australia, before a tangle with Vettel near the end of the race brought both cars race to an end. A Malaysian downpour meant the race did not run full distance, and Heidfeld earned a second place. But the car was a handful and often struggled to make it to Q2 and development was slow. Things improved with a double points finish in Belgium, and Kubica scored a second place in Brazil. In BMW's final season in F1, they finished 6th in the Constructors' Championship.

Minichamps

Minichamps BMW Dealer Edition

I opted to buy the BMW dealer edition with a high box and special inlay, but it's basically the same as the standard Minichamps model from the Australian GP. But I like the white box and the simplicity of the livery. As is standard with Minichamps in 2009, this is a nice offering, albeit the only offering.
Score: 7/10

Where are they now?

BMW left Formula 1 at the end of 2009 and have only returned to single-seater racing in Formula E in 2018/19 season. 

The team itself was bought back by Peter Sauber competing in 2010 under the odd name of BMW Sauber Ferrari. Though it is still technically a Sauber today, Alfa Romeo dropped the Sauber name in its entry name for 2019. This is just a commercial deal however, and it may be that the Sauber name may return in the future. 

Robert Kubica raced for Renault in 2010 before a near fatal accident in a 2011 rally meant he has not raced in F1 since. However, he returned to test a Renault and Williams F1 car in 2017, earning a reserve driver role in 2018 with Williams, before being promoted to race driver for 2019. A remarkable return story, but it remains to be seen if he can impress in a uncompetitive Williams and next to GP2 Champion, George Russell. 

Nick Heidfeld made a few part-time seasons for Sauber and Renault before bowing out of the sport, competing in endurance racing and Formula E. 

1/43 Model Review: 2009 Williams FW31 Toyota

Background

The 2009 season saw new rules and new looking F1 cars and offered a chance for smaller teams to get the jump on others. Williams was one of three teams to have exploited the double diffuser, although not as effectively as Brawn GP. The team would run in the midfield, with Rosberg showing some very good speed and consistent points finishing. At Singapore, he was in contention for a podium finish and possible victory, but ran wide exiting the pitlane and received a penalty. He often ran well in practice sessions, but it never materialised in qualifying. However Rosberg scored all of Williams' 34.5 points that year, before being snapped up by the Mercedes team.

Minichamps

Minichamps 400090016

This is another nice version of the Williams FW31 in race-trim. As well as the double-diffuser, the car also sported the first iteration of the 'cape' under the nose, a concept which reappeared on the Mercedes cars in mid-2017 to date.
Score: 7/10

My unfinished GP4 Car

I briefly joined the CTDP modding group, having been friends with them for a number of years, following their work. The aim at the time was to make a 2009 mod, and shortly after the car launch, I started work on the Williams FW31. Work on the main shape of the car didn't take me long to do, and I was pleased with the outcome. However my car was not developed past this, as it quickly became clear that the modders in CTDP were too busy and mod never materialised. I, too, became too busy to come back to this car, as the car had quite a few changes from the launch car when it started racing, and as other authors started releasing their work, this car remained unfinished on my hard drive.

devblog.ctdp.net

Where are they now?

Williams are perhaps the only true independent left in F1, perhaps with the exception of Racing Point. Whilst other teams are making use of their links to the top teams and some of their parts, Williams has remained staunchly independent throughout. Sadly their model is hurting their chances of remaining competitive, having only won one race since 2004, and in 2019 looking like another year propping up the field. 

Nico Rosberg won his first World Championship at Mercedes in 2016 before sensationally retiring days afterwards, claiming he had achieved his goal. He has since invested in Formula E and in other forward thinking technologies as well as taking up podcasting and vlogging. 

Kazuki Nakajima still races in WEC, where he won Le Mans in 2018 and leads the current 2018-2019 championship  alongside Fernando Alonso and Sebastien Buemi. As well as appearing in Japanese series Super GT, he has also found success in Formula Nippon/Super Formula, winning the championship twice. 

1/43 Model Review: 2009 Renault R29

Background

With the new 2009 rules and very different looking cars to the rest of the decade, Renault produced one of the ugliest cars of this era. Alonso was once again joined by Nelson Piquet Jnr, with Alonso being the most competitive during the season, scoring all the teams' 26 points including a podium at Singapore. Piquet struggled with pace all year, and was eventually dropped by the team in favour of Romain Grosjean, who faired little better. Piquet, annoyed by the situation, revealed the story of crashgate at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, having been asked to bring out a safety car by deliberately crashing and helping team-mate Alonso to victory, on the proviso that he would retain his seat for 2009 - which he thought was the whole season. Various sponsors, including title sponsor ING, pulled their support and removed their logos immediately.

Minichamps

Minichamps 400090008

Neither Minichamps car had the drivers name on the cardboard overlay, but thankfully the driver helmets were present and correct. Correction, Romain Grosjean got a limited run of models and his name is presented. Minichamps have created a nice diecast car, the proportions are nicely done, and the lack of complexity on the real car makes for an easier model to create.
Score: 7/10

Norev

Norev 518952

I've seen that Norev have made a couple of Renault F1 cars, and here is their R29. The model is based on the launch car which didn't have the sidepod vanes and the rear of the sidepods the bulbous shape. It was used during pre-season testing, but I don't think it made it to a race, I could be wrong. The main shape is of similar quality and proportions to the Minichamps models, but where it gets to some of the detail, it's a little blocky and thick. The driver body is not too bad. It's not a bad alternative to the Minichamps, it's a little cheaper, so you don't get quite as good detail.

Score: 6/10

Provence Moulage

Provence Moulage PM0044

I'd never come across this brand before, but they make some F1 model kits. Again, this car is based on the launch car. I'd say it's lacking a bit of detail, but there were no real details to get excited about on the launch car, so it's pretty accurate then! Actually, this is a resin car, so the details on this are pretty nice, the aerial and pitot tube for example is the best one I've seen. The mirrors are nicely defined too. No driver figure for this car. It's just a shame they didn't base this on the race car.

Score: 8/10

Where are they now?

Renault and Romain Grosjean are about to enter the 2019, though Grosjean will be driving for Haas. Fernando Alonso has only just retired from F1, seeking to win the triple crown as well as other prestigious racing categories. 

Nelson Piquet Jnr has burned his bridges with F1, and has competed in a host of other series, including endurance, Brazilian stock car, NASCAR and rallycross, but perhaps most famously winning the first Formula E Championship, where he still competes. 

1/43 Model Review: 2009 Force India VJM02 Mercedes

Background

Vijay Mallya released Mike Gascoyne and Colin Kolles from the team and made a late switch from Ferrari to Mercedes engines for the 2009 season. Major upgrades, first at Bahrain and then again at the European Grand Prix made the car more competitive, particularly on low downforce tracks at Belgium, where Fisichella scored pole position and chased Raikkonen home in second, and in Italy Sutil qualified second and finished fourth with the fastest lap. The team ended up 9th in the Constructors' Championship.

Minichamps

Minichamps 400090020

Similarly to the Toro Rosso, the team had 3 drivers during the year, but it's only the two drivers that started the year who get a model, so there's no Tonio Liuzzi's version of the car. It's another solid model from Minichamps, no real complaints, just a good representation of the VJM02.

Where are they now?

Force India

Force India brought stability to the former Jordan team having been sold and bought out three times in about as many seasons. From being tail enders, the team made steady progress finishing fourth in the Constructors (best of the rest) in 2016 and 2017. The team became known as the best 'pound for pound' team on the grid. Vijay Mallya's businesses had been struggling for some time before driver Sergio Perez instigated a scene of events that led the team into administration and a buyout by Racing Point. 

Adrian Sutil

Sutil raced for Force India for many years up until the end of 2011 and rejoined the team in 2013 before joining Sauber for a disappointing season in 2014. After a year as reserve driver at Williams, he has not been seen racing since. 

Giancarlo Fisichella

Fisichella finished off the 2009 season at Ferrari, but bowed out of the sport at the end of the season and has pretty much been racing Ferrari's ever since mostly in endurance racing. 

Vintantonio Liuzzi

Tonio Liuzzi enjoyed a reasonably good 2010 in the Force India, but was ultimately dropped at the end of the season. He joined upstarts Hispania Racing (HRT) where he trundled along at the rear of the grid for two seasons. Liuzzi has raced in endurance and stock car, as well as a few Formula E races since bowing out of F1

1/43 Model Review: 2009 Toro Rosso STR4 Ferrari

Background

The Toro Rosso was essentially the Red Bull RB5 with a Ferrari engine, with Bourdais retained for a second season and joined by another Sebastien to replace the outgoing Vettel, Buemi. Whilst Red Bull began to dominate the final half of the year with their development at full speed, Toro Rosso were cash-strapped and unable to keep up with the rate of development. Both drivers scored points in the first half of the year, but Bourdais performances were not deemed good enough and was replaced half way through the year by Jaime Alguersuari. However the team finished last in the championship.

Minichamps

Minichamps 400090011

Only the one car to review for the 2009 Toro Rosso, and you can only get the Minichamps car with Buemi or Bourdais, not Alguersuari. I had great hopes for Bourdais from his time in CART, but sadly his Formula 1 career had few highlights.

Where are they now?

Toro Rosso

Toro Rosso continues to be the driver feeder team to the Red Bull lead team. There was a little bit of a bottle-neck when Vettel won four titles with Red Bull, but in recent years, they have struggled to bring as many drivers through, giving 2nd chances to Brendon Hartley and I've lost count of how many chances Kvyat has had. The rules put an end to the technical help Toro Rosso could receive from Red Bull, and running different engines from the sister team put them further apart. In 2019, running the same Honda engines, they teams are able to share more parts once again. 

Sebastien Buemi

Buemi lasted three seasons with the Toro Rosso team before becoming reserve Red Bull driver for a couple of seasons after that. I believe he is still officially the reserve Red Bull driver, but should a situation come up, it remains to be seen whether he does actually deputise. These days, you can find him driving in Formula E and WEC, having won the Formula E title in 2015-16, WEC champion in 2018-19 as well as LMP1 class champion in 2014. He also won at Le Mans in 2018. 

Sebastien Bourdais

As aluded to earlier, Bourdais had won four consecutive CART titles prior to joining Formula 1. Today, Bourdais is mostly found racing in Indycar and whilst occasionally competitive, he has not been in a position to challenge for titles there. 

Jaime Alguesuari

The one time youngest Formula 1 driver to compete at a Grand Prix, spent two and a half seasons with Toro Rosso before being dropped. After doing some Pirelli testing and other sporadic races, he competed in a season of Formula E before retired from motorsports altogether in 2015 to concentrate on being a DJ. 

1/43 Model Review: 1996 Williams FW18 Renault

Background

Damon Hill was in his fourth year with Williams having been runner up to Schumacher for two consecutive years. The German would move to the struggling Ferrari team, leaving Williams to dominate the season. Hill was everyone's favourite to secure the title, but it wouldn't be until the final race of the season until he sealed the title, as his rookie team-mate, reigning Indycar champion, Jacques Villeneuve, proved a worthy contender. Hill won the title, despite not having his contract renewed in 1997, becoming the first father and son to have been World Driver's Champion, Graham Hill being a former three time champion.

Jacques Villeneuve was in his first season in Formula One, in the quickest car of the year designed by Adrian Newey. He lead most of the way on his first Grand Prix only for a mistake in the first corner caused him to lose out to team mate Damon Hill. It wasn't until the fourth Grand Prix of the year when Villeneuve would become a Grand Prix winner at the European Grand Prix after being chased home by Michael Schumacher's Ferrari. He would win a further three Grand Prix during the season, fighting for the championship until the final Grand Prix.

Minichamps

Minichamps 430960005

The standard model comes with the early season livery before they moved the number off the rear wing to the winglet. Some of these models have a Japanese GP sticker on the lid.
I actually bought this one with the lid of this model signed by Damon Hill.

The rollover bar is too big and wide, and the sidepods also too tall. The nose is a little too rounded along the top edge too. The bargeboards are too small too. For me, it was one of the nicer looking cars on the grid, but Minichamps, to me, haven't done a great job in reproducing it.

Minichamps 433960205

The UK were able to purchase a special run of 4 cars with Damon Hill driving. The FW18 came with a driver figure (with no effort put into the face, they could have at least given him bushy eye brows) lifting the trophy aloft. They also amended the rear wing end places and removed the winglets, but they didn't put a low downforce rear wing on it. They also added an onboard camera, not that they bothered to paint it or put any detail on it. It's nice to get a different version with an amended shape, but all the failings from the original model remain.

Minichamps 402969701

Minichamps also did a run of twin car sets celebrating 2 World Champions at a time - this one with the 1996 and 1997 World Champions. This is the standard model again, but with the added onboard camera, and the number moved onto the winglet from the rear wing endplate. 

Minichamps 436960005

The World Champions Collection version came a few years afterwards with another updated version of the FW18, but with factory applied tobacco logos. They have updated the suspension, the driver figure and the driver headrest which makes the airbox look much better. Whilst the World Champions twin set had stickers on the onboard camera, strangely this one does not. 

Minichamps 400960206

The latest FW18 from Minichamps to be released is the first win of Jacques Villeneuve from the European GP. This has an additional camera on the rear wing, though there's no stickers on that, but the camera on top of the rollover bar has the most detail yet.

I will score these together, even though there are many versions. If it was just the original car, I probably would have given it a low 5 score, but with some of the newer additions and the amended cockpit area means I have upped the score by a point.
Score: 6/10

BBR

BBR Met59

I went for this BBR version of the Australian GP model. This is a really lovely model. The nose, the airbox and bargeboards are all a massive improvement on the Minichamps offering. I like the cooling outlet just under the winglet at the rear of the sidepods. It's a shame the Rothmans logos are a different blue to the car, and the whole inside 

Score: 8/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK215

I like the Tameo version too, this version from the Argentine GP. The nose is a little thinner than the BBR version and a bit more realistic to me. I like the exposed gearbox casing detail on this model too, although it is present in the BBR version too. The logos on the engine cover are just a bit too small, and the opening of the airbox is just a little too boxy and square for me, and so these things prevent it from getting top marks from me. Still a stunning model though. 
Score: 9/10

Onyx

Onyx281

Onyx's 1/43 model of the FW18 isn't great. The front wing is too big. The wheelbase seems too short making the whole central part of the car seemed squished. Minimal effort has been applied to the upper rear wing both in terms of shape and decals.
Score: 3/10

RBA/Altaya

RBA have produced a German GP model of the FW18 and caters for fans on a budget. All the issues I have with the Minichamps model are the same for this one, their moulds looking very similar indeed. But the finish is nowhere near as complete as the Minichamps model.
Score: 4/10


To read more reviews from the 1996 season, click here: https://fongugp4.blogspot.com/p/1996-model-review.html
This is also featured in the World Champions Model Reviews, for more click here: https://fongugp4.blogspot.com/p/f1-world-champions.html

1/43 Model Review: 1996 Ferrari F310

Background

Reigning Double World Champion, Michael Schumacher made a big money move to Ferrari for the 1996 season, which led to him eventually winning 5 titles in a row. The John Barnard designed F310 was not on the level of Adrian Newey's Williams, and the F310 was nicknamed "the truck" for how it handled. However, Schumacher was able to bring home 3 victories, the first in the F310 in extremely wet conditions in Spain.

The car was unreliable particularly in the hands of Irvine having 8 consecutive retirements. The highlights of Irvine's season came at the opener at Melbourne where he finished in third place.

The car ran unique high sidepods, reminiscent of the 1992 car which attempted a double floor concept. I suppose it's a very early version of the sidepod undercut, similar to modern day cars. Ferrari also ran one of the highest side head protections out of all the teams.

Minichamps

Minichamps 430960002

Irvine's car comes in a bright red box rather than the original Minichamps chequered flag box. The model with the early season nose is a nice accurate model.

Minichamps 510964311

Schumacher's cars from 1996 are all a part of the Michael Schumacher Collection. This one, from the Spanish Grand Prix, is still quite a rare and valuable model, even though the model itself is pretty much the same as the standard car, though the number has moved from the rear wing to the winglet in front of the rear wheels. A nice detail is the slightly different helmet shape that Schumacher ran during the 1996 season - he used to always run his head to one side of the cockpit on the straights to help the air get into the airbox.

Minichamps 510964321

Ferrari finally returned to a high nose concept from the Canadian Grand Prix with the F310/2. I always liked the angled front wing supports, similar to the Minardi ones. This model also featured an onboard camera. It would have been nice to have the updated rear wing winglet. The high nose Ferrari brought Schumacher victories at the Belgian and Italian Grand Prix.
Score: 7/10

Ixo/La Storia/Altaya

The Ixo version of the low-nose F310 is not a bad one shape wise, but there have some off-putting versions, like the La Storia one having a red floor, and having the numbers on both the rear wing and the winglet, and not painting the area around the front suspension red. It also lacks much of a diffuser. It's a shame, as if they made a few small changes, it would be quite a nice model to collect.
Score: 6/10

BBR

BBR BG90

This BBR model is from the Australian GP. Besides the rear diffuser being quite small on this model as well, it's otherwise a very nice model. The front wing end plate could be a little larger, but of the 1996 models by BBR, this is one of the highlights for me.
Score: 9/10

BBR Met73

We also get the high-nose version from BBR from the Belgian GP. At both the Belgian and Italian Grand Prix where high speed and low drag set ups were required, Ferrari lost their winglets, running a more traditional rear wing endplate. My problem with the high nose version is that the nose is too long and so the front wing is too far in front of the rear wheels.
Score: 8/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK418

Tameo have produced this excellent model from the Spanish Grand Prix with excellent wet tyres. It has lovely proportions and excellent details throughout. The treatment of the upper rear wing elements is lovely too.
Score: 10/10

Tameo TMK431

The high-nose version is from the Italian Grand Prix, losing the upper element from the front wing and running a miniscule rear wing. It also has an updated diffuser. Again, hard to find any fault with this model, it's re-created the car perfectly for me.
Score: 10/10


To read more reviews from the 1996 season, click here: https://fongugp4.blogspot.com/p/1996-model-review.html

1/43 Model Review: 1996 Benetton B196 Renault

Background

Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger joined the reigning champions from Ferrari with Schumacher going the other way. The car would be the last to be designed by Rory Byrne with the influence of Ross Brawn before they too would head to Ferrari. The drivers found the car difficult to drive, as many of Schumacher's previous team-mates have in the teams cars, but the team did compete for victories at Monaco and Germany before reliability problems halted their progress. The drivers took 10 podiums between them earning the team third place in the Constructors' Championship.

It was interesting that Brawn admitted recently that Berger blocked Alesi's progress with the team due to his behind the scene antics. There's also stories of how neither driver could get their head around a simple change in the starting procedure as the grid sped past them at the European GP. The car was clearly no match for the Williams FW18, but you still wonder what Schumacher may have done in this car had he stayed with the team.

Minichamps

Off the back of the success of the Michael Schumacher collection and the various versions of the B195, Minichamps continued to sponsor Benetton and produce several versions of the B196, albeit the interest has waned with the departure of Schumacher to Ferrari. However, there is no change in shape in any of these versions which is a little disappointing, so I'll give on score at the end.

Minichamps 430960003

Minichamps 430960004

I post both cars because Berger's car had an inverted colour logo by the drivers helmet. I can't find any Grand Prix where Berger ran that nor at the launch or in testing, and its weird how it only appeared on one car. The model itself is not bad. The nose is quite chunky, and it's annoying how the under side of the nose is not flush on any of the models.

Qantas

Minichamps 430960003

For the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, a number of 1996 cars were released in a Qantas, and the Benetton is the only affordable one I have managed to get a hold of. The models themselves are the basic models, but even today, they command high prices close to £100 - though they rarely get traded at those prices.

Monaco GP (Lemaco)

Minichamps 430960063

After Hill retired from a commanding lead at the Monaco Grand Prix, Alesi actually ran in the looked on course to take the victory, but for mechanical issues forcing a retirement. There's not too many differences, other than the Hype logo now being in florescent yellow and a slight change on the nose front wing support. What's odd on all of these race specific liveries is the box with the information, most of which is covered by the car. You have to look at the back of the box at the barcode to actually confirm which GP its from. Minichamps changed their logo for all these races,

French GP (T2M)

Minichamps 430960033

The French GP was the first non-tobacco race in this Minichamps run. It's good that they remembered to move the refuelling decal to the left side of the car. The French GP was not only a non-tobacco sponsorship race, but also non-alcohol, so the Kingfisher logo was replaced. It was the first race with Rollerblade on the side.

British GP (Amerang)

Minichamps 430960054

Jean Alesi's British Grand Prix version was one of my first models I had whilst growing up, but I eventually got a hold of Berger's car as well. I do like the mid-season change of the headrest to bright green from the French GP. 

Belgian GP (Homble)

Minichamps 430960023

The Belgian GP version is one of the harder ones to find as its limited to only 500pcs, although they all sell for around the same value. 

Minichamps 430960043

I'm missing the Italian GP version (RIPA) from my collection, but I have found a picture of one with Nordica running on the sidepods.

To the score, and because of the nose, I am going to give this a slightly below average score. The rear wing is a bit low too, there is not enough gap between the upper and lower rear wings.
Score: 6/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK216

Tameo's version is from the Argentine Grand Prix. The shape on this is really nice, as is the livery. There's just something about how it all fits together, something doesn't quite fit for me, I can't put my finger on it, but it's a very minor complaint.
Score: 9/10

BBR

BBR Met60

I can't find any pictures of a built version of this, but it's here purely because it exists.

Ixo

This is  not a terrible offering from IXO, the front of the car is really not bad at all. I like the cockpit area, and the engine cover and roll-hoop looks very similar to the Minichamps offering. The sidepod opening is OK, but where the blue decal stops, it remains white which doesn't help. Ther ear of the sidepod doesn't look great, and the Benetton splashes look rushed, like I asked my toddler to draw it. The skinny rear wing gives a nice alternative, but the rims are laughably bad. So overall, some nice bits sadly ruined by some glaringly bad bits. 

Score: 4/10

To read more reviews from the 1996 season, click here: https://fongugp4.blogspot.com/p/1996-model-review.html

Winners of the 1st Race vs Champions (1990 - 2019)

We just witnessed a reinvigorated Valterri Bottas dominate the Australian Grand Prix. He was close to Hamilton in qualifying, but snatched the lead convincingly at the start and drove away to win by over 20 seconds. Granted that Hamilton's car was damaged, it was still an impressive margin of victory. Verstappen had to overtake cars in front of him to finish where his pace deserved and Ferrari's pace had vanished this weekend having to settle for 4th and 5th, unable to find a good set up and use the tyres properly.

But, as they all say, this is Australia, and it throws up some odd results and can give false readings as to how the season will pan out. Melbourne has hosted the opening round of the F1 World Championship since 1996, though Bahrain opened the season a couple of times in 2006 & 2010. There used to be a trend where the winner of the first Grand Prix usually goes on to win the World Championship. I've gone back and looked through race winners compared to champions from 1990 through to today to see how true it is.

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1990s

Only twice in the 90's did non-champions win the first race.

1997 David Coulthard

Minichamps 530974390

Here is Coulthard's McLaren in pre-season testing livery. Coulthard would win another Grand Prix that year, as McLaren and Mercedes were starting to become more competitive, but they weren't title contenders. That would come in 1998, but it would be Hakkinen who would win the Championships.
Villeneuve was taken out by Eddie Irvine's Ferrari on the first corner of the season and retired, opening up the opportunity for McLaren to take their first victory since Senna won in Adelaide in 1993.

1999 Eddie Irvine

Hot Wheels 24626

1999 was meant to be the season that Michael Schumacher finally won the title in a Ferrari, but a broken leg half way through the season put an end to his challenge. So Ferrari rallied behind Irvine, kind of, to take the challenge to Hakkinen and McLaren. Hakkinen should have ran away with the title that year but mistakes from him and the team made it much more difficult. And Ferrari? Well I think they'd rather wait a year than break their duck with Irvine to be honest. Hakkinen retired from the first race with throttle problems, whilst Schumacher had issues before the start of the race that meant he started at the back of the grid and finished outside the points.

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2000s

Similarly in the noughties, only twice did the race winner not go on to win the title.

2003 David Coulthard

Minichamps 530034305

Coulthard makes the list again in 2003. Ferrari were so dominant by now that they started the season with the previous years car and were still competitive. Having said that, McLaren did the same for 2003 and ran the updated car for the whole year. Schumacher damaged his car whilst battling with Raikkonen, whilst Montoya spun out of the lead, leaving Coulthard to pick up the pieces and win the race.

2005 Giancarlo Fisichella

Minichamps 400050006

Remember F1 went through a phase of single shot qualifying, where drivers took one turn each to set a qualifying time? It comes unstuck if the weather changes half way through, which it did in Australia 2005. Alonso qualified in 14th position whilst team mate Fisichella took pole. Fisichella showed the potential of the Renault car by taking victory at the opening round. But it would be his team-mate who would take the title, whilst Fisichella faded into the number 2 driver role.

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2010s

However, when you enter the last decade, 6 times, more than half of the winners of the first race has not gone on to win the World Championship. Before we delve into why that is, let's have a look at the each case first.

2010 Fernando Alonso

Mattel Elite T6289

Alonso's debut with Ferrari ended with victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix. The car wasn't that quick, but a late season charge meant that he was in contention for the championship going into the final round, but a strategy error cost him the title to Vettel. 

Minichamps 530104311

Australia was the 2nd race that year and Jenson Button justified his decision to leave the team whom he won the Championship with, to go to Hamilton's team and prove himself. Button took an opportunistic victory at Melbourne, making the best strategy calls in a race with changeable conditions. But over the course of the season, Button was not able to mount enough of a challenge to defend his title.

2012 Jenson Button

Minichamps 537124303

Button won in Australia again in 2012, but the first half of 2012 was about the teams trying to get their heads around the new Pirelli tyres, which saw seven different winners in the first seven races. It wasn't until mid-season when Vettel gained the upper hand on the Championship despite a plucky challenge from Alonso in a much slower Ferrari.

2013 Kimi Raikkonen

Minichamps 410130107

Kimi Raikkonen started off the 2013 season with a win, having won at the tail end of the 2012 season as well. Whilst the car showed flashes of pace, it was not quick enough to mount a serious title challenge.

2014 Nico Rosberg

Minichamps 413140644

Mercedes were miles ahead when the 2014 season started in the new turbo hybrid era, but it was Rosberg, not Hamilton who would take the first victory of 2014. Hamilton was on pole, but engine issues meant he was third in the first corner and fifth at the end of the first lap before retiring. The battle between the two teammates ran to the final Grand Prix where Hamilton was triumphant.

2017 Sebastian Vettel

Looksmart LSF107

With a major change in regulations, Ferrari built a competitive car, though it wasn't quite on par with the Mercedes, but Vettel made good use of it, leading the championship for more than half the season - not the important half though. After mid-season, mistakes and misjudgments were costly and their challenge fizzled out. At the Australian Grand Prix, again Hamilton took pole position, but Vettel remained close in 2nd. When Hamilton pitted early, he was held up by Verstappen who was yet to stop, allowing Vettel to come back out ahead of Hamilton after his stop.

2018 Sebastian Vettel

Bburago 18-36808V

2018 started so promisingly for Ferrari. Though Hamilton aced qualifying, an opportunistic pitstop by Ferrari under Virtual Safety Car propelled the German to first place. By half way through the season, Vettel was leading the championship, and in a strange case of deja-vu, Vettel's challenge faded in much the same way it did in 2017.

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So what can we conclude? Formula 1 is a lot less predictable than it used to be and whilst it's not as competitive as we'd like, it's still in a better place than it was. We still moan that it's only ever going to be one of two, possibly three, teams who can win the title, but there were seasons in the past where one driver dominated for much of the season.

Is Bottas going to win the title, challenge for the title, or was this a one off? Time will tell, but all the predictions for Melbourne turned out to be wrong, as Ferrari were slow and Mercedes were well ahead. Nobody gave Bottas a chance, but the reality is, if the Mercedes can be competitive throughout the season, Bottas has all the tools to challenge. But his team-mate is five-times World Champion, Lewis Hamilton, and when he was on it, he was unstoppable last season. However we haven't seen that kind of form throughout an entire season yet, and he has been beaten before, but that took Rosberg using everything at his disposal to throw Lewis off his game, personally, I can't see Bottas doing that this season. Hamilton has been on pole 8 times in his career, and has won 4 of the last Championships, but has only won this race twice and only one of those times in a Mercedes.

1/43 Model Review: 1996 McLaren MP4/11 Mercedes

Background

After a near death crash in the final race of 1995, Mika Hakkinen recovered to take part in the 1996 season alongside David Coulthard who came from Williams, a relationship that would last 6 years. It was the last McLaren to wear red and white Marlboro sponsorship, which decided to back the Scuderia Ferrari team fully, after over 20 years in the classic yet simple livery. Hakkinen was able to score four podiums during the season, leading the team to fourth in the Constructors' Championship

In pre-season testing, Alain Prost drove the car, as he had done for the previous 3 seasons since retiring from Williams. In 1997, he would be busy running his own team.

Whilst the final result may have been a disappointment for the McLaren team, it would be a positive sign of progress in their quest to return to the front of the grid.

Minichamps

Minichamps 530964308

As was usual for McLaren cars, they would be released under the McLaren Collection rather than in the regular box. 

Minichamps B66005905

I did also get a Mercedes box edition, but it's unchanged standard car. Proportions are nicely modelled on this Minichamps car, there's nothing spectacular about this model and there's nothing particularly wrong with it either. I do like the dayglo red/orange however. 

Score: 7/10

Tameo

Tameo TMK211

I bought this Tameo car already built, but the rear wing obviously doesn't quite sit right. Putting that down to how it was put together than Tameo's kit itself, this is a lovely version of the car from the Australian Grand Prix. 

Tameo TMK225

The McLaren MP4/11B was introduced at Silverstone, which propelled the car up the grid. Outwardly, there was very little difference, the nose being a bit longer, and the front wing supports angled. a slightly more moulded headrest to direct air more cleanly over the helmet into the airbox, and they also played with front suspension covering the steering arm and foremost upper suspension arm. This model is from the Hungarian GP where they also added the mid-wing back onto the car - first seen on the 1995 MP4/10 and at the 1996 Monaco GP.

To the model itself, it is just a step up from the nice Minichamps car, adding nice details to the cockpit, the fuel cap, onboard cameras, stickers on the wheels, suspension mounting points, pitot tubes, and all of this adds up to a very nice model indeed. I also like their treatment of the sidepod outlet at the rear of the sidepod, it has a nice curve to it. The rollover hoop is slightly better on the Minichamps and BBR, the Tameo having a smoother curve - and the front of the cockpit (by the mirrors) doesn't come down far enough. But these small nitpicks hardly detract from the rest of the model.
Score: 9/10

BBR

BBR Met62

BBR's offering is also from the Australian Grand Prix. Like Tameo, there are more details than the Minichamps version, to add to its nice base proportions. My only complaint is that the nose cone is too long and the front wing too far away from the front tyres.
Score: 8/10

To read more reviews from the 1996 season, click here: 

https://fongugp4.blogspot.com/p/1996-model-review.html