“He (Vettel) recognises that he cannot operate without the team around him and he does not put himself as being above the team” Christian Horner

“There is certainly no one bigger than this football club, as a player or a manager” Brendan Rodgers

What comes first: the individual or the team?

While there have been many incidents in the history of sport that throw this question into the spotlight, the last month has seen two that have raised this dilemma again for teams, fans, sponsors and media.

Both Infiniti Red Bull Racing and Liverpool Football Club have had to ask themselves this in recent weeks as their respective superstars – Sebastian Vettel and Luis Suarez – let their ‘competitive spirit’ get the better of them in the heat of battle. No doubt, Vettel’s misdemeanour in defying team orders to overtake his teammate Mark Webber and steal to victory in the Malaysian GP pales in comparison to Suarez’s biting antics against Chelsea, but both acts throw up the same issues for modern day sporting institutions: just how far can they afford to indulge their main talents? At what point must a line be drawn, that even the biggest of stars cannot cross? And what determines the level of said indulgences? The individual’s on-track/field/pitch performances? Sponsors? The media? The fans? Or plain old-fashioned ethics?

Vettel was subsequently reprimanded both publicly – and we have been led to believe privately – for his actions which undermined both his teammate and Team Principal. He too apologised and repented to the media in the immediate aftermath of the race at Sepang (although his most recent statements suggest this was more for show than anything else). He was not fined or suspended and now finds himself 7 points better off in the race for the World Championship than had he obeyed his team orders. 7 points that could end up winning him the driver’s title next November, an especially significant figure in light of his slim 3-point margin of victory last season.

So, while all about him howled with outrage and wondered at the damage he had done to long term team harmony (something which may well be the case), if this incident proves to be the difference between winning or losing his title, neither he nor Infiniti Red Bull Racing and its fans and sponsors will truly care. Vettel is a winner and chose to win above all else. Ultimately, sponsors, fans and even the media bow to winners and – as appears to be clear given the lack of action against their real Number 1 driver – so too do Infiniti Red Bull.

The Suarez case is slightly more complex as he has been seen to have wandered outside not only the sphere of sporting but general social ethics (the word ‘morality’ should really be kept out of sports as much as possible) that make his act more difficult to deal with and categorise.

There is – and was – no defending his extraordinarily silly attempt to bite the Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic by his club, let alone anyone else who witnessed the incident. Suarez himself issued an apology soon after the match. He was fined by his club (which he donated to the Hillsborough Families Support Group), has been charged by the FA and can now expect a lengthy ban. However, unlike Vettel, this has not sated the calls for additional punishment by some members of the media and public who want him to be kicked out of English football altogether. So badly has he damaged the reputation of his employers, they say, that the only action Liverpool Football Club can take to stem the flow of negative publicity is to sell him in the summer – football’s slightly more rewarding equivalent of being fired.

And yet Suarez, like Vettel, will more than likely not be fired or suspended by his club. Asides from the fact that this action would be counter-productive and excessive in the extreme, it comes down to the basic point that he is too important a performer for the club (and yes, the brand) to be dispensed with. Has he harmed the club’s reputation with his series of misdemeanours? Yes. Has he damaged his own reputation more than anyone previously thought possible? Yes (in fact his own sponsors, Adidas, have reminded him of his responsibilities post-bite and, in the short term at least, he may find the queue of suitors looking for his endorsement has shortened somewhat). However, are both the team and player’s brand and image tarnished beyond repair as long as they stay together? No.

Liverpool may well still sell him for financial reasons but failing that, the only thing that Suarez can do now is take his medicine and come back playing the unique, mesmerizing brand of football that has seen him become one of the best players on the planet during his tenure at Liverpool. People pay good money to see Suarez – the good and the bad – because he belongs in that small pool of athletes who can do things most others can only dream of. Like it or not, the rules are different for this group. If he can continue and build upon his footballing success in the wake of this incident – much like if Vettel wins the World championship by the slimmest of margins again – and keep his hands clean in the process (no mean feat where he is concerned) both he and Liverpool will come out of this stronger. And the fans and sponsors won’t complain. No individual is bigger than the team but no big team – in any sport – exists without its best individual.

Ultimately, in sport, in business and arguably even in life, success breeds redemption. Vettel, and to a far greater extent Suarez, have no choice now but to succeed. Just ask Tiger Woods.

So there we have it. Sebastian Vettel, triple world champion and youngest ever driver to achieve such a feat, does not do Team Orders. Nico Rosberg, on the other hand, does.

The reactions to both drivers’ (in)actions at the Malaysian GP were quite telling. While Vettel was greeted with anger and incredulity by his teammate and many within F1, Rosberg was commended for his generous display of selflessness in towing the party line, with his new teammate Lewis Hamilton even going as far as saying that it should have been his German counterpart on the podium at Sepang.

While it is debatable just how sincere Hamilton was in his post-race assessment (ultimately, it is easy to be generous when you have finished ahead of your teammate – just ask Vettel) it does appear that in public at least, F1 teams are still in favour of Team Orders applying during a race.

However, the two incidents in Malaysia do raise several questions. Can anyone really say that the last 10 laps were an example of world class racing by four of the best drivers in the business?

There is something very unsatisfying for any true racing fan about watching a ruthless Vettel blindsiding his helpless partner (who, it has to be said, made little attempt to regain his lead once it was lost) or a frustrated yet obedient Rosberg trundling in behind a clearly slower Hamilton.

Working on the assumption that what most racing fans want more than anything is a good, clean race, with drivers pitting themselves and their cars against each other (including teammates) on the track and where the outcome will be decided by who drives best, smartest and fastest and not by the distant, often pre-determined orders of a Team Principal, this surely begs the question of what Formula One is currently offering its global audience (and, some might also argue, its sponsors)?

Or is this now just another fascinating aspect of the intrigue of F1, with off-track politics and the Constructor’s Championship playing as big a part in determining a race outcome as the actual driving on-track? Do Team Orders add to the spice of a Formula One race or risk it becoming more akin to a WWE event – all bluster and show but with a pre-determined outcome?

How you view each situation will probably come down to which of the two concurrent championships you consider to be most important – the constructor’s title or the driver’s?

If it is the former, then you will most probably be angered by Vettel’s decision to ignore all orders and ensure those extra 7 points for himself regardless of the impact it may have on team harmony. Indeed, as long as Team Orders remain legal (and remember, they were only reinstated in 2010) we can expect to see more days like Sunday just passed (indeed, we’ve been here many times before with Schumacher/Barrichello, Webber/Vettell and Alonso/Massa to name just a few). By his very make up, a competitive driver will not be able to ever fully reconcile himself with this concept. The difference between Vettel and the likes of the compliant Webber and Rosberg, is that in this instance, when for once faced with a personally negative consequence of Team Orders, he decided that no reconciliation was necessary and ignored them completely. Maybe that is a character flaw or maybe it is the reason why he is a triple world champion at the age of 25.

Either way, the two separate incidents in Malaysia have thrown the cat amongst the pigeons only two races into this season, something the F1 hierarchy can only be happy about. Whether it comes at a cost to the sport’s integrity – and, indeed, which action could be felt to have done so – remains to be seen.

As sporting years go, 2012 was up there with the very best. The London Olympics were a huge success, the sheer scale of which took everyone – most notably the British public itself – by surprise. Andy Murray broke his own personal hoodoo by claiming his first Grand Slam Title – and Britain’s first since 1936 – at the US Open, weeks after also bagging himself an Olympic Gold medal. Meanwhile, Bradley Wiggins became the nation’s favourite person, let alone athlete, when he became Britain’s first ever Tour de France winner and followed this up by winning the Olympic Gold in the Time Trial a few weeks later, never once losing his unmistakable sense of cool. The sporting highlights don’t stop there: add in Rory McIroy winning his second Major at the USPGA, Ian Poulter inspiring Team Europe to the mother of all comeback’s in the Ryder Cup – henceforth to always be known as the Miracle at Medinah, Sergio Aguero settling the most exciting final day of any Premier League season in literally the last second, Chelsea somehow winning the Champion’s League against all odds and Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest ever triple world champion in Formula 1 history and you have what can only be deemed a year of sporting greatness.

So with the new year merely a week old, we are already wondering if 2013 can hold a candle to the previous year? Here are a few highlights KHP in particular will be looking forward to:

Formula 1:
It will be hard for the 2013 Formula 1 season to match the sheer excitement and drama of last year when the fight for the World championship between Fernando Alonso in his Ferrari and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel went down to the wire in a quite thrilling Brazilian Grand Prix. While we can reasonably expect these two giants to battle it out once more, fans will also be salivating at the intriguing prospect of Sergio Perez challenging alongside Jenson Button at McLaren and Lewis Hamilton facing up to a new life at Mercedes. Bring on Melbourne.

Tennis:
Andy Murray faces an entirely different type of pressure than he has known for his entire career up to date. Can he push on from his US Open triumph and become a multiple Slam winner? Or will he remain a one-time winner – no mean feat in itself – safe in the knowledge that he is the greatest British player of the modern era? Knowing his incredible drive to be the best and with Nadal still injured and Federer (whisper it) starting to fade, the Australian Open later this month should provide Murray with a great opportunity to answer this question sooner rather than later. Expect more tears and smiles from the Scot in 2013.

Football:
It will be tough to match the drama of last year’s Premier League finale but already the season appears to once more be turning into a straight shoot out between the two Manchester Clubs. It’s too early to call a winner yet but thus far the expensively acquired brilliance of Robin Van Persie is beginning to make the difference for the red half of the city. In addition, the Champion’s League should throw up a few classic games as the big boys in European football resume their battles in February, while Roy Hodgson will be aiming to guide his England team to the beaches of Rio as they attempt to qualify unscathed from their World Cup group. This being England, there will no doubt be a few hiccups along the way.

Cycling:
After years of accusations, counter-accusations, denials and lawsuits, Lance Armstrong was finally exposed for the drug cheat that he was in 2012 and stripped of his 7 Tour de France titles for participating in what has been described as one of the most sophisticated doping schemes in the history of sport. However, as cycling belatedly faced up to its dark past, 2012 threw up a ray of hope in the shape of Bradley Wiggins, whose success last summer turned him into a national icon. Can (or will) he retain his Tour de France title in 2013 or is it now the turn of his compatriot Chris Froome to take over the mantle as cycling’s brightest star in 2013? Either way, cycling and all its supporters owe the soon to be ‘Sir Bradley’ a great debt of gratitude

Golf:
With two majors and another Ryder Cup victory under his belt to go with his new and very generous Nike contract, 2013 could prove to be the year when Rory McIlroy steps into Tiger-style dominance of a sport he appears to have been destined to command since childhood. Obviously Tiger Woods will have something to say about that…

Athletics:
We will always have the memories of the summer of 2012 and the names that helped illuminate it: Bolt, Blake, Ennis, Farah, Rutherford, Rudisha and co. However, will this be enough to translate into a surge in attendance at local and international athletic Grand Prix events?

Rugby:
Next month’s 6 Nations tournament will be fiercely competed ahead of the looming Lions Tour of Australia this coming summer. Irish, English, Scottish and Welsh players will be aiming to overcome each other and impress the Lions Head Coach Warren Gatland enough to gain a place on the famous tour. Given that he will also be coaching Wales as they seek to retain their 6 Nations crown, this will add an even more interesting edge to proceedings.

With so much to look forward to, we at KHP cannot wait to see what 2013 will deliver on the sporting front. We expect to be present and working at several of these amazing events and hopefully we will see some of you there, as we did in 2012. So, what are you looking forward to most this year?

Formula One is returning to the US on the weekend of November 16-18. To mark its return, KHP has once again teamed up with The Motor Sport Business Forum (MSBF) to deliver the inaugural Texas Business Symposium in Austin, Texas on behalf of Red McCombs and Bobby Epstein, co-founders and investors of the Circuit of The Americas.

Established in 2005, the MSBF was first held in Monte-Carlo and has since been hosted across Europe, Russia, the Middles East, United States and Asia to great success. Considered the foremost marketing and networking event for motor racing’s global commercial community, there is no other comparable event in the world where motorsport industry professionals at the highest level can meet and do business away from the track.

The Motor Sport Business Forum: Texas Business Symposium will introduce leaders of the Texan business and technological community with the leading names in international motorsport and Formula One. In addition, it will enable Texas companies to discover the commercial benefits of motorsport involvement from experienced motorsport sponsors and technical partners as well as allowing international motorsport participants to gain a better understanding of the business opportunities and future plans that exist in Austin and central Texas.

The symposium will take place on Thursday, November 15, 2012 at the AT&T Center at the University of Texas in Austin – starting at 12:00 noon with a light lunch and concluding at 4:00 pm with a cocktail reception.

Speakers on the day will consist of the most high calibre and senior personnel from the world of Formula One, including Team Heads, Stakeholders, Series officials, Sponsors and Commercial Directors such as:

- Nick Fry, CEO Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team – Keynote Speaker

- Paul Hembery, Head of Pirelli Motorsport

- Bobby Epstein, Chairman at Circuit of The Americas

- Geoff McGrath, Managing Director of McLaren Applied Technologies

- Laurie Bowren, President of Sales & Strategy for Global Data & Mobility for TATA

KHP was once again honoured to be working on the Yasalam Responsibly campaign in Abu Dhabi – the community led road safety initiative that was launched to such great success last year. Picking up where last year’s campaign left off, the Yasalam Responsibly campaign has returned to Abu Dhabi for a second year to promote safer driving in Abu Dhabi’s schools and universities, with the slogan ‘Friends can wait, concentrate’.

The first presentation at Khalifa University last week explained the common reasons behind road traffic accidents and ways to stay safe on the roads. The 2012 campaign is bigger and more engaging than ever before, featuring a new, touring double-decker info-tainment bus and competition to develop a road safety campaign video.

Speaking to students at Khalifa University, Youssef El Ouahbi from Emirates Driving Company and Faisal Al Sahlawi, Karting and Racing School Product Manager at Yas Marina Circuit, stressed the importance of key road safety issues. During their talk, the pair emphasised the following messages:

- Passengers have a responsibility to ensure their friends are driving safely
- Mobile phone use: texting or talking can highly affects drivers’ reaction times
- Speeding is the leading cause of road accident fatalities in Abu Dhabi
- Use of seat belts is crucial

New for this year is an ‘info-tainment’ centre, a double-decker bus fitted out with a host of interactive facilities including driving simulators. After each presentation students are invited into a video booth to take the Yasalam Responsibly pledge and record a road safety message of their own.

The Yasalam Responsibly campaign and the new Yasalam Responsibly info-tainment centre will visit 12 universities and schools across the city throughout the month. Then, from 25 October to 4 November, the info-tainment centre will be stationed at the F1 FanZone™ to take this important road safety message to the general public.

To further foster engagement and participation amongst students, the campaign has incorporated a competition for students to create their own road safety advert, which will be presented to the crowds on 1 November at the Corniche in front of a judging panel. Exciting prizes are up for grabs, with the winning the campaign set to receive Yas SuperSport SST Driving Experiences.

Last year’s inaugural Yasalam Responsibly campaign visited 12 universities across Abu Dhabi. Well received by the youth of Abu Dhabi, the campaign engaged 1,876 students, who also took part in wider motorsport flavoured activities like the Art of Racing and Mastering Motorsport. A key activity on the Live Across the City programme, this year’s campaign aims to engage 3,000 pupils.

Following last week’s visit to Khalifa University, the Yaslam Responsibly campaign will go on to make pit stops at HCT Women’s College Khalifa City and Abu Dhabi City Campus, Abu Dhabi Men’s and Women’s Campus, Zayed University Men’s and Women’s Campus, HCT Men’s College Abu Dhabi and four ADEC appointed high schools.

The Yasalam Responsibly campaign is run in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the Abu Dhabi Police, as well as Emirates Driving Company and the Yas Marina Circuit.

Some key statistics on Abu Dhabi Road Safety:

- One person dies every 26 hours.
- One person receives an injury every 54 minutes.
- Estimated Cost to the community is AED 3.55 billion per year.
- Pedestrians represent 25 % of Road fatalities .
- 25% of the RTI Death are Emirate. 
- Over 50% of collisions occur with drivers who have less than 5 years experience.
- 91% of RTI death in AD are males.
- Source: (AD Police, AD Health Authority 2011)

If anyone had any doubts that the 2013 Formula One season could compete with this year’s championship in terms of excitement and intrigue, then Lewis Hamilton’s momentous decision to leave the McLaren stable for Mercedes AMG, has firmly put an end to them.

Hamilton has shaken up the F1 running order and taken a huge sporting gamble. In deciding to move to the Brackley –based outfit, he has left one of F1’s most successful and enduring outfits for a team that has won only one race in the last three seasons. McLaren – who have moved quickly and shrewdly in signing up the talented Mexican Sergio Perez as Hamilton’s replacement from Sauber – will no doubt still feel the loss of their most recent world champion, who many would argue has carried a below-par car for the last few seasons. Indeed, Hamilton’s list of frustrations at McLaren was significant. In addition to playing catch up to the Red Bulls of this world, he was growing increasingly exasperated by a catalogue of errors on race weekends, culminating in ‘Tweetgate’ at Spa, when he committed the ultimate sin of making public McLaren’s team data for the world – and all other teams – to see. This mistaken and deeply unprofessional act was the clearest sign yet that his days at McLaren were numbered.

The last few seasons have seen Hamilton slowly but surely cut the umbilical cord that has tied him to McLaren since he joined as a teenage prodigy. Like many other drivers before him, he took umbrage at not being able to keep his own driver’s trophy – something no McLaren driver can do. Furthermore, once he replaced his father Anthony as manager with Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment, the McLaren fit was never going to be an easy one. With Ron Dennis’ team notoriously controlling of their drivers’ sponsorship commitments, XIX – who manage the likes of David Beckham – would have been pushing for a split for some time now. Hamilton, as they no doubt see it, is a global brand in the making and the opportunity to gain greater control of his sponsorship activities and image rights is one they would have been looking to exploit since day one. From a purely commercial perspective, McLaren therefore never really stood a chance of holding on to their prized asset.

However, few would doubt that they will continue to challenge at the top of the pile. Many of the greatest drivers have come and gone at McLaren and in spite of their disappointment at the manner of Hamilton’s departure, we can expect to see Button and Perez challenging again next year.

But what of Mercedes and Hamilton? On the sporting side, the risk is huge. If Hamilton was frustrated at McLaren’s recent performances, then he surely must brace himself for some rocky days ahead with Mercedes. A record of one win in three seasons would not fill most observers with optimism. That being said, the new engine regulations set to come into play in 2014 could play into the hands of manufacturer teams such as Mercedes. And then there is Ross Brawn, the genius behind Michael Schumacher’s seven world titles at Benetton and Ferrari and Jensen Button’s solitary championship at Brawn GP – Mercedes’ previous incarnation. No doubt Hamilton will have been massively attracted by the opportunity to work with Brawn and build a team to dominate F1, much like Schumacher did with Ferrari. Indeed, there is some symbolism to the fact that he appears to replacing the legendary German in the Mercedes driver’s seat. However, symbolism and the expected increase in F1 investment by Mercedes aside, the job of turning the Silver Arrows back into a winning outfit is a formidable one. For a man determined to win another world crown, Hamilton is definitely not doing it the easy way.

And then there’s the money. According to reports, Hamilton will earn £11.5 million a year basic at Mercedes. But the real benefit of this switch, as alluded to earlier, is the freedom he will now gain to increase his personal sponsorship agreements. While at McLaren he was ranked as 24th on Forbes latest annual list of the world’s highest paid athletes with earnings of $28 million. However, only $3 million of that figure came from endorsements. The reason being that at McLaren, Hamilton was allowed only one personal sponsor – Reebok. His other marketing opportunities were restricted to McLaren sponsors such as Santander and Vodafone. At Mercedes, his contract gives him a lot more freedom to increase this portfolio of sponsors. If as expected, he also becomes the public face of one of the world’s most famous brands – Mercedes – his global profile will continue to grow. No doubt this is music to the ears of Fuller, XIX and Co.

Most athletes will tell you that it’s never about the money. However, it is hard to look beyond the financial in this instance. Young, immensely talented, relatively clean cut, good looking and with a celebrity girlfriend in tow, Hamilton’s earning potential has been relatively untapped so far. That is about to change in a big way. Whether this coincides with more sporting success, only time will tell. One thing is for sure though: it will be fascinating to watch and that surely can only be a good thing for Formula 1 next season.

The F1 circus rumbled into Monza after the madness of Spa where a mass pile up at Turn One, courtesy of a certain Mr. Grosjean, took out half the field in one fell swoop to allow the ever-popular Jensen Button claim his second victory of the campaign at a saunter. And with the chaos on-track mirrored by Lewis Hamilton’s ‘Tweet-gate’ (as these things now have to be named!) and continuing uncertainty over the McLaren driver’s future, fans had every reason to expect the drama to roll on onto the famous Italian circuit.

In this regard, KHP couldn’t have picked a better race to re-join the fun and our team was present throughout the weekend, playing host to our friends and colleagues from Austin, Texas as part of our current partnership with the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). With Formula One now only two months away from its return to the US, COTA was keen to tell the world about the progress of the world-class multi-purpose race circuit that will host the US Grand Pix on November 18th.

Joining the American contingent at Monza was none other than the Governor of Texas and former U.S Presidential candidate Rick Perry, who took time off a holiday to Italy to pay a visit to the world famous circuit and experience the magic of F1 up close.

Never ones to miss an opportunity, the KHP team on the ground arranged live interviews for the Governor – who will be hosting all F1 Drivers and team heads at his Governor’s Mansion on the eve of the US Grand Prix – with Speed Channel and one on the grid with Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle. See the interview for yourself here at 6 minutes 25 seconds:

Other prominent COTA delegates at Monza included COTA’s Founding Partner Bobby Epstein and Rad Weaver, CEO of McCombs Partners and right hand man of billionaire businessman and chief investor in the new Austin circuit, Red McCombs.

In between entertaining our American colleagues, KHP found time for some really productive meetings, the results of which we can hopefully share with you sooner rather than later.

Of course there was the small matter of the race itself and what better way for Lewis Hamilton to silence his critics and strengthen his own hand in both the World Championship and at the negotiation table than to dominate and win the Italian Grand Pix and close the gap on Fernando Alonso.

At this rate, the championship could well be decided in Austin. Here’s hoping!

The summer break is over and the Formula 1 season is back upon us once again with the Shell Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps in what promises to be one of the most exciting run-ins in years, with no less than 5 drivers realistically vying for the world championship.

Fernando Alonso, currently leading the pack, has surprised many – perhaps even his own team – with the performances he has managed to get out of his Ferrari this season, winning three races and finishing in the points in every race so far. Indeed, were he to finish in the top 10 again this weekend, he will equal Michael Schumacher’s record of 24 consecutive points finishes – a testament to the unique driving abilities of Ferrari’s undisputed Nr.1.

Closely following the Spaniard are the Red Bulls with Mark Webber leading his teammate and current world champion Sebastian Vettel by just two points. Webber will be looking to extend that lead and end the season as Red Bull’s top driver, something that will no doubt be extremely satisfying to the charismatic Australian given the battles he has had with his team’s hierarchy over the last few seasons as the young German swept to two consecutive world titles. Vettel, however, won’t be giving up his crown without a fight and we can fully expect to see him coming out fighting in the second half of the season, starting in Spa, as he tries to cut the gap on Alonso, let alone his teammate, and re-establish himself as the dominant driver of his generation.

5 points adrift of Vettel lies the former world champion Lewis Hamilton, whose confidence levels will be soaring after his last successful outing at the Hungaroring back in July. The McLaren driver appears to be more at ease, both with himself and his team, this season and clearly still believes he has it in him to claim the world championship for the second time. Given that he is undoubtedly one of the most talented and exciting drivers in the field, you would not count against him. McLaren have made steady improvements to their car since the beginning of the season and with talk of the team preparing a ‘double DRS’-like system in Belgium, similar to the one employed Mercedes already this season, it will be fascinating to observe how Hamilton fares this weekend.

The man who finished behind Hamilton in Hungary, Lotus’ Kimi Raikkonen, will also be hoping to repeat history this weekend by claiming his fifth win at the famous Belgian circuit, having won here on four previous occasion, the most recent being in 2009. There would be few more popular winners than the very cool Finn, were he to guide his Lotus to their maiden season victory, having come in second place three times this season already at Bahrain, Valencia and Hungary. And in light of his record here, who would bet against him doing just that.

So with 5 of the world’s best drivers all still in contention to claim the coveted world title as the second half of the season nears its start, we are set for one of the most exciting Formula1 seasons in years. Add to the fact that the legendary Michael Schumacher will be competing in his 300th race in Belgium – a feat only bettered by Rubens Barrichello – and there really is no excuse not to tune in this weekend and enjoy the show.

One of the favourite national pastimes to emerge from the Olympics was picking on our overpaid, inaccessible, ego-driven footballers who, so it goes, lack the passion, humility and sense of fair play of Team GB’s Olympic heroes.

Anyone who witnessed the animosity between both sets of fans and players in last Sunday’s Community Shield would struggle to disagree. Given that the ugly atmosphere at Villa Park took place on the very same day the Games bade a triumphant, almost delirious goodbye to London in the Olympic Stadium, one could not have failed to be struck by the difference in interaction between fans and athletes in both arenas.

And yet, for all of this, for all the negativity currently surrounding the sport, when the Premier League kicks off again this Saturday we will once again follow its every twist and turn from here until the last weekend in May. Every pass, every shot, every cross, every goal, every celebration, every foul, every dive, every tantrum, every transfer, every transfer request, everything. Like it or not, football is the national game but more than that, it is the national obsession. There is a sense of tribalism to being a football fan, a weekly ritual built up over years of following your team week in, week out. It is a tribalism that demands certain codes of loyalty and signs of allegiance in the form of replica jerseys, songs, chants and having an identifiable rival against whose values and style you can project your own. In many cases, this tribalism can go as far as defining an entire city or even region – can you imagine Liverpool, Manchester or Newcastle without their respective football clubs? Just ask the blue half of Glasgow or the people down in Portsmouth what their team means to them and their city and what impact losing them can have on the greater psyche?

By the same token, this tribalism is not always a force for good. There is no excuse for the venom that has so characterised the Old Firm derbies in recent years nor for the type of unadulterated hatred present during Liverpool and Man United’s encounters last season. These are just the most high profile examples but each offer a clear indication that for some fans, going to a match has less to do with enjoying the sport they profess to love but more with unleashing abuse en masse for reasons that go deeper than mere sporting rivalry.

There is no doubt that something is rotten in the world of football, Clubs, players and supporters must all share some of the blame for creating this state of affairs. Indeed, the relationship between clubs, players and fans is currently in a very precarious state. Never before has the divide between football’s protagonists and their adoring public been wider. When even lower league players and those fresh out of the youth academy are already earning thousands (if not tens of thousands) of pounds a week – let alone the £150k plus of the Premier League’s highest earners – how is the ordinary fan supposed to connect with them in a meaningful way, especially when season ticket prices keep going up every year to subsidise these wages? You can understand this frustration when the codes of loyalty and dedication that fans adhere to do not get replicated on the pitch. In an era when the rather handsomely paid Carlos Tevez decides he’s not coming off the bench and Joey Barton spends more time tweeting Nietzsche quotes he googled twenty minutes earlier and head-butting his way into trouble rather than helping his struggling teammates, it says something about the fans and the sport itself that they keep coming back for more.

And why?

Because in spite of all its many glaring faults, football has moments of glory that eclipse all its current difficulties. In the last year alone think of the sheer drama of Man City wrenching the title out of Man United’s grasp in literally the last seconds of the season, Chelsea somehow emerging as Champions League winners against all odds in Munich, the mesmerizing beauty of Spain’s Euro 2012 final performance against Italy and the genius of Lionel Messi. And on these shores there are the fans themselves, whose unwavering support of their teams make the Premier League the most exciting on the planet. The same fans that at first stood silently in horror and then came together last year to pray for Fabrice Muamba. Ah yes, Fabrice Muamba. Who came to these shores in exile. Who worked his way up to realise every little boy’s dream and play at the highest level, representing England U21’s thirty-three times on the way Who this week announced his retirement at 24 years of age as a result of the cardiac arrest he suffered at White Hart Lane last March, with the best wishes of every supporter still ringing in his ear. Proof, that not all footballers and fans are lost just yet. Proof that at some level this game still matters. We at KHP for one will be staying up for Match of the Day on Saturday…

It is safe to say the 2012 Olympic Games in London have been a resounding success. Who couldn’t fail to be excited by everybody’s favourite new sport, Beach Volleyball, with its magnificent setting in the Horse Guards Parade? Or Michael Phelps breaking more records before finally retiring as the greatest Olympian of all time? Then there were the likes of Lochte, Le Clos, Ye Shiwen, Sizwe Ndlovu, Ledecky and Katie Taylor- to name but a few – who all announced themselves on the biggest stage. All this before Team GB began to hoover up every medal in sight. And then there was Usain Bolt…

Of course there have been some gripes. The rows of empty seats in the opening days certainly raised question marks over just how fair the allocation of tickets has been. It also wouldn’t be an Olympic Games without accusations and counter-accusations of doping and to this effect, China and the US willingly obliged. And unfortunately the Badminton players of South Korea, China and Indonesia provided the Olympics’ most shameful moment with their pathetic attempts at throwing their respective group matches in what has predictably been termed ‘Badmintongate’.

Those grievances notwithstanding, the London Games have been a triumph. So, what next for the heroes of Team GB? It is inevitable that after running, rowing, jumping, cycling and throwing their names into sporting history over the last two weeks that the top brands are lining up to offer new and improved sponsorship deals to the likes of Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy, Jess Ennis and Mo Farah but also to the ‘new’ faces of British sport such as Greg Rutherford, Nicola Adams, the Brownlee brothers and Lizzie Armitstead.

Heptathlete Ennis, already heavily backed by the likes of Adidas, stands to at least double her earnings over the next two years. Similarly, Farah, already affiliated with Nike, can expect his earnings to go through the roof after his double gold medal haul. He has the added advantage of having trained in Oregon, thereby opening him up to the US market. Rutherford also stands to see a huge increase in his earning potential. Considering he is already backed by the likes of Nike and Maximuscle, his thrilling long jump victory has created a huge opening for the ‘Ginger Wizard’ to capitalise on and hit the big leagues in terms of sponsorship earning. Indeed, Britain’s other medal winners will equally be hoping to maximise the earning potential fashioned by their successes.

Does all this point to a change in sponsors’ approach to sports that fall outside the more established ones such football, rugby, golf, Formula 1 and Tennis? Inevitably, comparisons have been drawn between the less celebrated Olympians who have captured the world’s attention over the last two weeks and the better paid, less accessible global sports stars, with the former held up as shining examples of what sporting role models should be. And yet, when the glow of the Olympics fades away and the next big sporting event arrives – be it the start of the Premier League, the 2012 Ryder Cup, the Autumn Rugby Internationals, the resumption of the Formula 1 season – where will the heroes of Track & Field, Rowing, Cycling and Swimming stand? The Olympics is the ultimate platform for these sports and while their respective profiles will have been raised considerably they still have a long way to go to compete with the more established sports on the calendar on a consistent basis. As such, one would hope that the successful Team GB Olympians have got their representatives working around the clock to identify and secure the best deals for their clients while their worth is at an all time high. Strike while the proverbial iron is steaming hot.

We leave you with this nice montage put together by the folks at BBC who did an amazing job covering the games.