Tiff talks F1.

Former Formula One driver turned TV presenter Tiff Needell took time out of his busy schedule on Friday to take part in an online web-chat to discuss the new Foundation Degree in Motorsport Technology.

The degree has been developed with input from the motorsport industry, the Motorsport Industry Association and the governing bodies for British motorcycle sport, and aims to provides people with the opportunity to obtain the latest knowledge and experience in the fast moving world of modern motorsport on a flexible and applied basis.

Read on to see what the presenter of Channel 5's Fifth Gear had to say when quizzed about the new Foundation Degree and also see his views on the current state of Formula One...

Q:
I am 19 and currently about to finish a foundation degree at Myerscough College, do you have any advice on how to go about getting a job and what sort of level I should be looking to step in at?

Tiff Needell:
If you speak to your lecturers they will know where your skills are and hopefully guide you to where the jobs are.

Q:
Are electronics and aerodynamics, in your opinion, overshadowing or detrimental to mechanical and material innovations in motorsport?

Tiff Needell:
Sadly yes, I don't want to make half the Motor Sport industry redundant but I do feel holding back on some of the modern technology available would make the racing better.

Q:
Hi, I am a Computer Engineer with specialisation in system software. I have worked on a lot of interfacing projects that are tailored towards controlling interfaced machines through software. I am passionate about F1 motorsport racing and my enthusiasm for the sport has no limits. I would like to know where a software engineer like me could fit into Formula-1 racing.

Tiff Needell:
Again, look at the Foundation Degree courses available. Just go to www.foundationdegree.org.uk for more information but certainly every Grand Prix team needs a growing number of software engineers.

Q:
How does one get into competitive driving?

Tiff Needell:
Obviously, if you can't afford to buy your own car or kart it's not easy, until now the only option was to go to a racing school, but one of the new Foundation Degrees is for Sports Performance Motor Sport Driving at The University of Bath. So go for it!

Q:
Tiff, how did you start in motorsport?

Tiff Needell:
The hard way of course. Nowadays with Motorsport Degree courses you are spoilt. I worked as a civil engineer and went to racing schools at weekends before a dream came true and I won a Formula Ford Racing Car in a magazine competition.

Q:
I'd like to ask, how old were you when you first started racing, and what type of car was it?
Tiff Needell:
I first went to a racing school at 17 as soon as I left school and started racing properly when I won the Formula Ford at the age of 19...and nine years later I was a Grand Prix driver.

Q:
What's the best car you have ever driven?
Tiff Needell:
Oh the McLaren F1 Supercar of course!

Q:
What did your parents think when you told them you were going to be a racing driver?
Tiff Needell:
As it was my father who dragged me to watch racing as soon as I could walk they could only blame themselves!

Q:
I have just been given a conditional offer at Brunel Uni for an MEng in Motorsport Engineering and I am currently doing a HND Motorsport engineering at Oxford Brookes Uni/ Brooklands College for this course. For the MEng I have to do a major Project for the HND - I am doing a gear manufacture in Carbon fibre with screw attachment to a drive shaft. What do you think about my interesting project for the MEng and can I invite you to our presentation on the 18th May at Brooklands museum?

Tiff Needell:
I'm afraid technically you are way over my head already! But, as a trustee of the Brooklands Museum, if I can't make the 18th at least I will be there in spirit.

Q:
What is your view on the FIA/Ferrari conspiracy theories? Do Ferrari have so much power the FIA are scared to bring in changes that wouldn't favour them?
Tiff Needell:
I think all these conspiracy theories are a bit over the top. They're not the best team because the rules have been bent in their direction. They're the best because they have worked hard to build the best car and attract the best driver.

Q:
Who do you think will win F1?
Tiff Needell:
I'm afraid I will still have to go for Schumacher, partly because the other teams still opt for two number one drivers who will take points off each other. But I look at Montoya as the only option or perhaps Alonso.

Q:
Who do you think could be the next British world champion? Do you think Jenson Button will ever make it, and if not, who is our next F1 talent and where are they now?

Tiff Needell:
Button will definitely get there somehow. Maybe not in a BAR but perhaps in a little red Ferrari - Michael has got to retire someday! Otherwise, I'd still like to see Justin Wilson get another shot.

Q:
Which do you prefer F1 or GT racing?
Tiff Needell:
GT racing is more of a driver involvement formula so I love doing it, but F1 is still every drivers dream.

Q:
Do you think there is an equal chance for females in Formula One?

Tiff Needell:
The equal opportunity is definitely there. I don't think there is any bias against women racing drivers. But I do feel as with 99% of sports Motor Racing at the highest level is so physically demanding that women will find it a tough challenge.

Q:
What are your thoughts on future for hybrid cars, hydrogen power/electric power?

Tiff Needell:
Yes, certainly I see hydrogen as a viable option for the future. But, everything you use with batteries always seems to let you down just when you need them the most.

Q:
Tiff, is Jeremy Clarkson as blunt and forthright in real life as he is on Top Gear?

Tiff Needell:
Absolutely! And he is just as fat as well!

Q:
How did you get into the TV side of your career?
Tiff Needell:Top Gear were looking for a racing specialist at a time when my voice was on television co-commentating with Murray Walker as the expert analyst for Formula Two and Three races when James Hunt was doing the Grand Prix's. I was also writing track tests for Autosport Magazine - so obviously I was the man for the job!

Q:
Do you miss the race track?

Tiff Needell:
Fortunately I am still racing, not as much as I used to, but I actually won my last race at Brands Hatch in an Aston Martin DBR4 - but I still want to do more.

Q:
Would you have benefited from a degree in motor racing and would you like your children to do a motorsport degree?
Tiff Needell:
It definitely would have been more useful than the Civil Engineering degree I did and undoubtedly taught me things which I had to discover by trial and error. As for my boys, if they show the same interest I did... why not?

Q:
The new regulations in F1 are designed to slow the cars and increase overtaking but this wasn't the case at Melbourne. What regulation changes would you make to bring back racing to F1?

Tiff Needell:
Aerodynamic ones! Everyone knows this is the real problem that all these tinkering rules are trying to cover up, but the team owners with all their powers want to keep the car design as free as possible so they can never agree on any changes.

Q:
Do you think the GPWC will succeed in producing a breakaway series, leaving Ferrari out in the cold?
Tiff Needell:
Now that's a tricky one, but I can't help feel that as long as Bernie remains fit and healthy he'll eventually manoeuvre everyone into his way of thinking.

Q:
How about PR for Formula One? Are there opportunities here?

Tiff Needell:
Not sure about that. The only way to find out is to log on to www.foundationdegree.org.uk

Q:
Is the F1-GPWC spat heading towards something like the CART-IRL scenario from about a decade ago, over in the States?

Tiff Needell:
That's the ultimate danger but I really don't think it will go that far.

Q:
Would you suggest that young drivers try as many different formulas or stick to single-seaters?

Tiff Needell:
That all depends if you are obsessed with becoming a Grand Prix driver or realistic enough to just enjoy whatever you can do whenever you can do it - there is life outside of the fickle world of Formula One.

Q:
You can do degrees in anything now like pop music...are they really worth doing?
Tiff Needell:
These Foundation Degree courses really are vocational. They're created in conjunction with the Motor Sport Industry so you will be learning things that are relevant to a job in Motor Sport.

Q:
What is the inspiration behind your all-orange helmet paint scheme?

Tiff Needell:
Now there's a real fan! It's actually because I raced junior powerboats as a teenager and of course boat racers all have to wear... orange helmets!

Q:
Qualifying is a disaster! I think we should revert to the old system of 12 laps each in an hour. The new system is meant to provide more TV coverage for the sponsors of the smaller teams, but I find it so boring, I video it and then fast forward to the teams I am interested in! I see less of the smaller teams sponsors now than before. What do you think about the current system and what, if any, changes would you make?

Tiff Needell:
Personally, I like the purity of single lap qualifying. The problem is it all goes wrong because we are trying to make qualifying a television show and that's never going to work to everyone's satisfaction. So lets keep it behind closed doors and have more free time on Saturdays.

Q:
I am a third year Mechanical Eng Student finishing this June. I would like to pursue a career in Motorsport Eng. Would it possible for you tell me which Universities are good for the course? I am currently in UK.
Tiff Needell:
I think that's back to www.foundationdegree.org.uk.

Anyway that's all I've have time for, thanks for all your questions. Fifth Gear is back on 21 March - see you there!

Further information on the Motorsport Technology degrees can be found by visiting www.foundationdegree.org.uk.