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There are, as you know, rumours of money being tight in the team - I don't know if there's any truth in that. I know nothing whatsoever of the background of the situation, but I wonder if the franchise holder came in on the basis of big sponsors, favourite to win, etc. Scalextric. Payback in year one, etc.
Maybe, now that GP2 is over, Arden's full concentration will be focussed on A1GP. You can't argue with the pedigree of the team, that's for sure. But it's a bit of a mystery why we aren't on the pace ... we're consistently a margin off it.
I looked at New Zealand last race ... I know we came 2nd and all that, but look at the race as a whole. Jonny Reid was much quicker throughout. Now I know Jonny pretty well, and I rate him. I know, completely unbiased you understand, that Alex is quicker, and I don't see Robbie being basically (much!) slower than Alex. It was Jonny's first race, so it seems to me that difference is likely to be in the car setup, and that's interesting.
John Watson made the point today, on Sky, that one of the drivers - I forget who - was maybe trying to get the car to the way HE wanted it, as opposed to getting the car to where IT will go quickest, and I wondered if that may apply to us? Maybe Arden are trying to go in a direction that is unfamiliar to them, based on Robbie's requirements? Robbie, self-confessedly, likes the F3 style of carrying corner speed, and I wonder if Arden are trying to get the car to behave like that, when it inherently could be a far more point-and-shoot sort of vehicle? I really don't know, but I really don't see it's because Robbie is slower as a driver than almost any of these others in front of us - I've always rated Robbie very highly as a driver. Better racer than qualilfier, perhaps. But I also don't see Arden doing a poor job as a team, in terms of setup, etc, so I would throw that thought into the mix. Itths a mythtewy.
Much as I'd like to think it would help to put Alex in the car by way of comparison, as I think their driving styles are different, I don't think it would - Alex will be very rusty, and has hardly driven the car, any car in fact. What WOULD be useful, however, is to see someone like Dan Wheldon in the car, as he is at the top of his game, is very "current", and has loads of experience in these quick cars. If he can't get to the top of the timesheets (albeit that I do think Piquet has really gelled with the car and ART/ASM) then you have to look at Arden's base setups. If he can, then it's a driving style thing, but at least we'd know, and can move forward.
Are ART/ASM running anyone else other than Brazil? I wonder if Brazil have them on an exclusivity basis?
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