Two months are complete in 2019, we are a sixth of the way through the year and the ball is starting pick up some speed. The month started with a cracking endurance race from Bathurst. Then Speedweeks closed from Daytona in what was a more unforgettable few races. Testing has been taking place all over the world, from the heart of Texas to the hills of Catalonia to desert of Qatar on two wheels. Between it all there has been news, both good and bad and it is time to go over what was the month of February 2019.
Once again, this is just for fun. In case you are new, this is my gut reaction to headlines without reading the article. Of course, the gripes I have may be answered in the article.
We start with IndyCar...
Dixon: Rosenqvist could be this year's Wickens in IndyCar
I touched upon what to expect from Rosenqvist in 2019 in the Chip Ganassi Racing team preview. He could be great this year but there is something I don't like about using Robert Wickens or any driver as a benchmark. I don't think it is fair to Rosenqvist and I don't think it is fair to Wickens. A great season is going to be a great season and I think we set the bar that Rosenqvist has to meet for each race. He probably isn't going to win pole position on debut. He probably isn't going to finish second in his first oval race. When he is pegged against Wickens that is what we are hold him to and every year is different.
There are going to be things that are out of Rosenqvist's control that happen and those things didn't happen to Wickens. And this is coming from his teammate of all people. Geez, Scott, talking about putting pressure on a guy.
Barnhart: Harding Steinbrenner Racing isn't going anywhere
Yet... What once was the underdog team that everyone pulled for has turned into a bit of a snake of a team that no one trusts. For a team entering its second full season it has pissed off a fair number of people.
It left Gabby Chaves on the curb, it pissed off Santiago Urrutia and now Patricio O'Ward was screwed. Is this a bad time to point out the coincidence that all these drivers are Latin Americans? I am sure it is just a coincidence but it doesn't look good.
The team is likely fine now that George Michael Steinbrenner IV is a partner but if Steinbrenner is responsible for Colton Herta's entry and Mike Harding was responsible for O'Ward's ride and failed to make it happen, why is Harding's name on the door? This team might not be going anywhere but if Steinbrenner can figure this out on his own we may be dropping the "H" from HSR in the near future.
HSR won't immediately fill second seat
But if you have a check for $5,000,000 we will get you in that car as soon as humanly possibly. HSR might even put your last name on the door and add another letter to the acronym.
Rahal: Other series can't match IndyCar's recent rise
Formula E came from nothing and has television deals around the world as well as manufactures such as Audi, BMW, Citroën, Nissan and Jaguar in the series while Mercedes-Benz and Porsche will be joining the series next year.
So I think Formula E has an argument.
I get what Rahal is trying to say and IndyCar has come a long way over the last five and ten years. I have written plenty of times that IndyCar is in a much better place and atmosphere around the series is positive. It wasn't long ago that every race was a headache and something seemed to go wrong. That is not the case now. I think everyone is having a good time. There is no need to gloat and call every other series out.
Rahal is an ambassador for IndyCar. I am glad he is proud of what the series is doing but I think this could have been said differently.
Staying in the United States...
'Making of Mustang' looks at Ford's design process
They took the Ford body and just put Mustang decals on it. That's it. That is all it takes. It could have been a Ford Focus or Ford Fiesta or even a Ford Pinto. It all comes down to the decals. Ford wants to push the Mustang to the NASCAR market, especially when Chevrolet is racing the Camaro.
Harvick calls Johnson "one of the most disrespected great drivers"
Kevin Harvick has a point. Johnson is disrespected. It is unfortunate Johnson's success came at the same time of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s career and while many wanted to see Earnhardt, Jr. match the level his father instead NASCAR fans got a first-generation NASCAR driver from California dominant the start of the 21st century. I think that is part of the reason people despise Johnson. If his success had come 15 years later and if the championship system not had been changed a half dozen times people would look at Johnson differently.
I think a better term is most unappreciated. I don't think fans appreciate the success of Johnson. Yes, the championship format is different from the time of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt but Johnson found a way to win the championship each year. He has won over 80 races, which only a handful of drivers has accomplished. The championship format change didn't change what it takes to win a race and Johnson is at another level in that department.
I think ten years after Johnson has retired people will start to realize how great he was especially if NASCAR doesn't have a driver that has won four or five championships and none of the drivers are approaching 50 victories.
Roger Penske gives 'solid B' on debut of NASCAR's aero package
What would have been a failure? The Atlanta race was similar to the 2018 race.
This package should not be graded based off one race. The Fox booth sounded daft for saying it was an outstanding success before the Atlanta race was over. It was like crowning a baseball team divisional champion after six innings of scoreless baseball on opening day.
There should be no grading at this point. There are 34 more races to go and people could be livid come July. How is that "solid B" going to stand up?
Moving to international land...
Haas title sponsor likens doubters to moon landing truthers
Not really the same thing at all. This is hyperbole, boys and girls.
Haas makes it really difficult to pull for the American Formula One team. Can this team be likable at all? It gets a break for year one when the brakes kept failing. It accomplished a lot in its first two races but the team has a poor image. From saying there was no American ready for Formula One when Alexander Rossi was winning races in GP2 and eventually ended up on the Formula One grid to Guenther Steiner not having a filter to the team constantly saying it can't stay in Formula One at the rate the team is spending to it signing a sponsor that just comes off like a jerk, can the team do one thing that gets people behind it?
I wish this could be a fun team but it isn't.
Bottas hasn't "achieved anything" in F1
This is a bit harsh. Bottas hasn't won a World Drivers' Championship like his teammate Lewis Hamilton but other than Hamilton only two other drivers on the grid have won the World Drivers' Championship.
Bottas has won three races, a handful of pole position and he has had a fair share of podium finishes. No one is saying Bottas is one of the 50 greatest drivers ever or even the greatest Finnish drivers but he has been good.
He has achieved a whole hell of a lot more than a lot of drivers and this is garbage saying he hasn't achieved a thing.
Ticktum pulls out of Asian F3 Winter Series
This might be my favorite story of the year to date. Dan Ticktum entered this series hoping to get the last few points he needed to earn a FIA Super License and potentially get into the Toro Rosso at some point this year because Alexander Albon and Daniil Kvyat were never in the team's top two options for 2019 and Ticktum is this year's young driver that Red Bull is rushing through the pipeline.
It was bad enough that Ticktum was doing poorly in the series and wasn't going to finish high enough to get the necessary Super License points but he wasn't going to get the points anyway because the series did not meet the standards necessary to give away Super License points, as the Asian F3 Winter Series only ran on two different circuits and there has to be at least five different circuits for a series to qualify.
This is actually a great idea for a series and I think Indy Lights could use this to make it more attractive to drivers. Indy Lights pays 15 Super License points to the champion, the same as a regional F3 championship. For some reason the Asian F3 Championship pays 18 Super License points to the champion but 15 points is a good chunk of points.
Indy Lights could easily put together a five-round winter series over January and February. It could run at Sebring, Laguna Seca, Sonoma, the Homestead oval and/or road course, Austin, Barber, the series could run into March and end the season at St. Petersburg if it wanted to.
There are options and Indy Lights should take advantage of this. If it can get Formula One teams to pay for a development driver or two to get Super License points than it should do it. The teams could make money off this and Formula One teams should want this. There is a market for winter series now. Instead of having a driver have to bank on one season, whether it be Formula Two or Formula Three, a winter series could get a driver 15 or 12 or ten points and then lower the number for when the main season starts. Imagine if a driver won the Indy Lights winter series championship and got 15 points, now he or she only needs 25 points to qualify for a Super License.
Formula One teams should want this and it should be pushing for more of these winter series that take no more than two months to complete and Indy Lights and Andersen Promotion should see the opportunity, especially for a series that is still struggling to stand on its own two feet.
Now on to two other series to close this month...
Porsche: GTE-Pro "Still Healthy" if Ford, BMW Exit
And it is still healthy because Porsche will still be there and two fewer manufactures means fewer competitors to beat. Porsche is all about winning races and adding to its decorated trophy cabinet. It doesn't care about Ford or BMW. It would be happier if those two manufactures weren't in GTE-Pro. Porsche counts all its Porsche Supercup and Porsche Carrera Cup races from around the globe in its yearly total of victories. It doesn't care. Porsche just wants to win races and Ford and BMW not being in the class increases its chances of collecting more trophies. Porsche knows it isn't going anywhere and it is fine with manufactures coming and going.
Has (Formula E) created motorsport's best racing rules?
No! Do not feed Formula E's ego. That is the last thing we need. Formula E does some things right and Formula E does some things wrong. Formula E needs to be kept in check, not get more sunshine blown up its backside.
The shortest month is behind us and spring is coming up. Warmer days should be ahead of us and with the warmth comes more motorsports. IndyCar, Formula One, MotoGP and Supercars all start their seasons while the FIA World Endurance Championship returns to competition at Sebring in a doubleheader with the 12 Hours of Sebring.
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