The 2006/7 A1 Grand Prix Season Preview

Many thought it wouldn't get this far, but A1 Grand Prix is about to start its second season, although with slightly less hype than there was one year ago.

That's not anyone's fault, it's just natural that a second season doesn't create the buzz that the first does. But this one is just as important, as the brainchild of Dubai's Sheikh Maktoum must now establish itself in the motorsport world.

This series started well more than 12 months ago, as a packed Brands Hatch witnessed the first A1 GP event. Track specialist Nelson Piquet Jr was able to draw on his British F3 experience to dominate the weekend, and immediately doubts were raised over the competitiveness of the series.

Maktoum was asked after Brands Hatch if he was worried about a 'Schumacher' situation arising, with one car being so dominant it harms the series. He wasn't flustered, but as it turned out, A1 GP did suffer from the 'Schumacher effect'.

It wasn't Brazil, though, for they wouldn't win again all season, but Team France got the ball rolling at only the second round of the series in Germany, and dominated most of the season thereafter.

Those not watching the races would look at the results and see the same car winning over and over again, naturally assuming the racing was dull. But that was far from the truth, as several drivers did their best to make life difficult for the French, they just couldn't do it for an entire race.

Brands Hatch wasn't that great for wheel-to-wheel racing, but that wasn't a fair reflection on the series as most of the drivers admitted it is now too narrow for high-powered single seaters.

The true indication of how good the racing was came at the bigger tracks, and most notably, those that are also on the Formula One calendar. Sure, A1 GP cars were 20 seconds per lap slower than F1 around Sepang, Malaysia, but as Neel Jani and Alexandre Premat diced for the lead in spectacular fashion, nobody could honestly say that lap times mattered that much.

A terrestrial TV package in several countries will enable fans to at least see some sort of highlights this year, which should also boost the popularity of the championship, where all eyes will be on who can beat the French car.

The A1 GP Cup trophy © LAT

The Contenders

Unfortunately, A1 GP can't boast a full grid of top-line drivers, but that's not to say there isn't some quality at the front. France may have made their opposition look average for most of the season, but they didn't get anything particular right, they just hit the sweet spot way before anyone else.

Somehow, the DAMS-run car was able to look after its tyres impeccably, meaning that even if someone like Robbie Kerr in the Team Great Britain car could get into the lead, he was a sitting duck in the latter stages of the race.

Switzerland and Mexico also benefited from the DAMS touch last season, and it's no coincidence that both nations also scored victories last time round.

But a rule change means teams can only run two nations, and this time only South Africa will share the experienced team with France.

So France will be the benchmark heading into Zandvoort this weekend, but providing Red Bull allow Jani to compete regularly, Switzerland should again be a strong threat.

Last season's third place team, Great Britain, are brimming with confidence after a reshuffle behind the scenes and the addition of Darren Manning to the driver line-up, after his spectacular debut in China, which nearly netted him a victory.

They have parted ways with experienced F3000/GP2 team Arden and are going alone - well, almost. Great Britain have a unique tie-in with Canada for this season, essentially meaning their drivers will run like teammates over a weekend.

It worked for the DAMS teams last year, and as long as the rules permit some sort of collaboration, it's going to be a very useful tool to have another team to work with.

Despite their high finishing position in the series, though, Great Britain didn't score a victory all season, while several other nations, including Canada, were there to pick up the pieces whenever the French faltered. The pressure will certainly be on Kerr and Manning to take Team GBR's first victory this season.

Other race winners last season included the Netherlands, Malaysia, Mexico and the Czech Republic. Mexico shuffled drivers in the early part of last season, but Salvador Duran was their standout performer, proving it with a double in the rain at Laguna Seca.

He's heading to Zandvoort rather than the British F3 finale at Thruxton, as he looks to put a disastrous F3 campaign behind him. Many believe that Duran's A1 GP exploits hindered his F3 efforts, so he will be determined to prove his speed again, and if he is as suited to the car as some say, he should be at the front despite a torrid summer.

Another team worth looking out for this season will be Germany, who have bolstered their line-up with GP2 race winner Michael Ammermuller and youngster Niko Hulkenberg. Timo Scheider was impressive at times last season, and his experience could also prove valuable, so he is retained to complete a line-up that should push the Germans to the front.

Tuka Rocha, Team Brazil © XPB/LAT

A Renault testing contract probably rules Nelson Piquet Jr out of any more A1 GP activities, but Emerson Fittipaldi's Brazilian team should still have plenty of good drivers at their disposal. However, even in the races where they had Piquet last season, they failed to get anywhere near their Brands Hatch form again, so success is by no means guaranteed.

Another famous name could grace the Brazilian car, though. Bruno Senna hasn't set foot in an A1 GP car yet, but rumour has it he will, and he has admitted that he will drive anything he can to gain more experience.

Also, without being tied down in any long-term contracts, Senna is the perfect candidate for A1 GP, but Fittipaldi is keen to give other young Brazilians their shot too, and a rules tweak this year should allow him to do just that.

Rookies

On the Friday of each race weekend this season, there will be two rookie-only sessions, aimed at drivers with little or no A1 GP experience. This new initiative has been applauded by teams, who can now start to develop drivers for the future without taking the risk of running them in the races themselves.

An example of an eligible driver is British F3 race winner Oliver Jarvis, who will take advantage of these sessions for Team Great Britain. But the sessions are especially useful for nations that don't have many ways of developing talent, as they can now give young drivers the experience of an A1 GP car, and let them get a proper taste for international motorsport.

If the teams make proper use of this new idea, expect a vast amount of drivers to appear in these rookie sessions throughout the season, and also look out for successful rookie tests to lead to race drives later on.

It's a clever idea by the organisers, as it opens doors for several more drivers to enter the series, potentially boosting the strength and depth of the grid.

The Calendar

Rnd  Country          Venue                           Date
 1.  Netherlands      Circuit Park Zandvoort           1 October  2006
 2.  Czech Republic   Auto Motodrom Brno               8 October  2006
 3.  China            Beijing (street race)           12 November 2006
 4.  Malaysia         Sepang International Circuit    26 November 2006
 5.  Indonesia        Sentul                          10 December 2006*
 6.  New Zealand      Taupo                           21 January  2007
 7.  Australia        Eastern Creek                    4 February 2007 **
 8.  South Africa     Durban (street race)            25 February 2007
 9.  Brazil           TBA                             18 March    2007 *
10.  Mexico           Mexico City                     25 March    2007
11.  China            Shanghai International Circuit  15 April    2007
12.  Great Britain    Brands Hatch                    29 April    2007

 *   Venue subject to approval
**   Subject to reaching an agreement for support of the event

While a couple of venues remain tentative confirmed, A1 GP has announced the nations that will host races for this season, and they have clearly reacted to lessons learned in the first season.

Some events lacked any sort of promotion last time round, so dates in Portugal and Germany, for example, are gone. The Dutch fans certainly deserved a round in their homeland, and the Czech Republic is another new addition to the calendar. With Tomas Enge sneaking a victory at the end of last season, organisers will be expecting a good turnout there too.

Bizarrely, China has two races this season, with the new race to be a street event in Beijing. This is the series capitalising on last season's Durban street race in South Africa, which was very well attended.

Just like Champ Car, those in charge at A1 GP realise that a good way of getting fans to go to races is to bring the races to them. Australia is likely to host a street race as well this year, while no venue has been named for the race that will take place in Brazil.

The start of the 2006 Shanghai race © LAT

Sepang and the Dubai Autodrome maintain their slots after producing thrilling racing last time round, while South Africa obviously returns after the success of Durban. Mexico's round has moved from Monterrey to Mexico City, the former host of the Mexican GP, while Indonesia will host the fifth round at Sentul.

The Taupo circuit in New Zealand is another new addition to the calendar with a January date, while Brands Hatch moves to the opposite end of the calendar for the second season, hosting the season finale a month later than last season, at the end of April.

The Format

Along with the venue changes, a key change to the weekend structure is the race-day timetable. Last season, the sprint race was closely followed by the feature, which often left teams in a mad panic getting prepared for the second event.

For this season, the races have been separated by a few hours, so that sufficient repairs and other maintenance can be carried out properly, and teams should not have to miss the feature race.

Last year's format initially had hardly any time between the races, and at Brands Hatch drivers were dashing straight from their debriefing from race one to get on the grid for race two, but that was quickly changed.

The gap was still small, though, to make it convenient for one TV broadcast, but now it is likely that most broadcasters will show the feature race live, but with a sprint race re-run preceding it.