Bore-mula One at the Nurburgring

Well, my title might sound a bit harsh as the race was not as bad as the title suggests especially if you are supporting the colour red but still it was a race where nothing much really happened. Everything was so predictable and this inspite of the fact that this race track, unlike Imola has more than one overtaking opprtunity. Right from the beginning anyone having the slightest idea of F1 would have predicted that one of the world champions either in red or blue is going to win. All of us knew Alonso will fly from pole and Schumacher will chase him all the way. And whoever blinks first at the pits will be losing the race. Everything happened exactly that way. Michael won the game at the pits and out he was, a whopping 6+ seconds ahead of Alonso after the final pit-stop. What remained to be seen was after which stop will he be able to leapfrog the Renault. It did not happen first time and surely it happened the second time around. It was a 2-horse race last year as well but at least then we had the notorious Mercedes engine and the Mclaren car which could just stop anywhere, anytime and at any position (along with two bad-luck magnets in Kimi and Juan - being done in either by flat spotted tyres or maniacal backmarkers) . But this year its two equally reliable, fast cars driven by two drivers who just dont make mistakes (and are equally averse to bad-luck). With such a back-drop how better can I describe the situation but Bore-mula one? Most of the other factors remaining constant, its right now down to Bridgestone V Michellin.

And the others?? What about them? They were also considered championship contenders.

McLaren: Kimi tried his best but the car did just did not go fast enough. He pushed Massa at the end to get a face-saving podium finish but even the most ardent Mclaren fan would not have bet on him getting past Massa. Michellin blamed it on the wrong choice of tyres. Could be. But what is the bottomline? It is that Kimi has to look out towards Ross Brawn or Flavio Briatore now. As for Juan, he was all at sea. He pushed hard too. But a horrible start and inability to get past Heidfield was taking him nowhere and he should be lucky that his Mercedes engine finally blew up to save him of furthur 7 laps of misery (and of course a new engine at Barcelona). A 'silver' lining for Kimi however is that he finished a race on German soil after ages (He effectively lost 2 world championships on this very track).

Honda: Mclarens still do have a chance. Just a bit more and they might be well up there with the blue and red cars. But I suppose its time for Honda to pack up and get ready for 2007. Rubeno seems to have found his feet but the Honda car needs to find some pace.

That's it from me. Hoping for a better race in Barca. For that to happen we need Fisi to not screw up in qualifying. Fisi up in front can at least put some life into the proceedings.