test blog - end of era

Monaco: Full of drama but result all the same

This is a track which has absolutely no overtaking opportunity. All we see most of the time is a train of cars moving round and round 78 times and yet a race at the Principilality is never dull. Monaco never lets its fans down. There might not be any breath-taking overtaking but still it never short of drama. And this time the drama started well before the drivers even lined up for the grid courtesy our number one man and seven times champion Michael Schumacher. A day after the race as I logged on to the F1 websites and I saw people talking only one thing. Hate mails to Schumi, some hailing it a scandal, some calling him a cheat, some saying he should have been thrown out of the race and what not. I was just wondering whether this event was that important to just go on and on with it? Is F1 only about one man? People forgot that we also had a race of 78 laps and for 2/3rd of the race it was edge-of-the-seat stuff all set for a grand stand finish until the all too familiar anti-climax happened. Yes, it happened again. First Webbo and then that reliability bug striking Kimi - once again in Ron Dennis' car. Till that fateful lap 50, it seemed Alonso's Renault had some kind of a glue stuck on its rear which just refused to leave the silver car behind it (All glue behind the blue). Needless to say, the result was a formality after that. Alonso enjoyed a lonely drive to the chequered flag. But such is the beauty of this circuit that even after the winner was all but known, the drama siezed to stop behind him. Schumacher, after being a lap down, putting in some stunning laps and hunting down Barrichelo towards the end for p4 and Trulli's car stalling just when it looked he would break his season duck thus handing over a first podium finish to Red Bull were some of the incidents which just did not let you leave your seat. This race provided some much needed excitement and drama after the big Spanish yawwwwn even though Webbo and Kimi's exits robbed us of a possible wheel-to-wheel classic right down to the wire.

Juan Pablo gave my McLaren team something to smile by taking a safe 2nd place and for old-timers in F1 it could have been no better than to see 'superman' DC giving Red Bull its first podium. And this could be the first of many to follow. Rubens finally got the better of Button and unlike last year did not let Schumi pass through in the final corner. Fisi showed sparks of brilliance but qualifying 9th in Monaco doesn't do anyone any good. So Alonso takes one more step towards a second world championship. A man whose worst performance this year has been three 2nd places will surely sail through the rest of the season especially since the blue cars look to be in a different league altogether.

While I sign off I must say that I love the sight at Monaco when the cars are turning into that Grand Hotel hairpin (see pic) down the slope.

Formula Yawwwwwwn: Alonso cruises in front of home fans

As I ended my article on the Euro GP last weekend, I had mentioned that Fisi up in front might just add some life to the proceedings. Well, he did not get stuck behind JV this time, and he did qualify up in front. But as the red lights went off, all what he could do was just shield the Ferraris for as long as possible while his team-mate vanished into the distance in front of his home crowd. None of us know whether this was team-orders playing or Fisi was actually that much slower than his team-mate. If the latter is true then its most likely Fisi should look for an alternate drive next year if not an alternate profession. Anyways, that is not the subject we are talking about here so let's get on with the topic in hand.

We had the second of the back-to-back races last Sunday and for the 2nd race in succession there were 2 things similar - a home hero cruising home and we the fans, yawning. While Nurburgring did provide some contest, this was an absolute cake-walk, the only notable event of the day being Juan Pablo spinning and inching one more step towards retirement.
At the end of the day it was down to Bridgestone V Michellin which caused the disparity. Fernando Alonso earlier remarked after the Nurburgring defeat that there will be some circuits which favour Michellin and some which favour Bridgestone. An utterly defensive statement after coming 2nd in only 2 races. He also hoped that in the 'Michellin' circuits, there will be more 'Michellin' boys to take points away from Schumacher. Well, he was wrong in that as the McLarens were nowhere and once 'Bridgestone' boy Schumi leap-frogged the other Renault at the pit-stops, the race was a foregone conclusion.
What I can conclude is that now we have a Michellin tyre with a blue Renault car attached to it which is competing with a Bridgstone tyre with a red Ferrari attached. Some days the M wins and on other days the B wins. And yes, there are two highly accomplished drivers who are there in the cockpit to take those tyres round and round for 66 laps.
Thank God this tyre war ends this year and we have one brand of tyres running in 2007. You never know, people may come up with a new thinking that Bridgestone is giving special tyres for Ferrari OR a new excuse could come up that Ferrari is more suited to the Bridgestones.

We head to the 'jewel in the crown' of F1 - Monaco in 2 weeks time. Forget having a good race there and be prepared for a procession. But at least it is expected over there. And there are countless other things to watch. So whatever the situation, heading towards Monaco is always something to look forward to.

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.

Imola throws up another classic....but with roles reversed: Alonso-Schumi - Part II

It was like watching a great film and being greeted to an equally engrossing sequel. We, the fans, saw a great race last year where two great drivers gave it all they could to win and while one tried his best to get past the other, the other showed one of the best defensive drives of all time. The drama unfolded in Imola, San Marino on Sunday. The stage was the same, the lead actors were the same, only the roles were reversed. Last year it was Michael Schumacher who was glued to Fernando Alonso's rear for the last 12 laps of the race, in a faster car desperately trying to find a way past. One year later on Sunday it was exactly the reverse. Michael ahead and in a slower car, the new champion Alonso on his rear view mirrors hunting him down and trying desperately to pass him on a circuit which showed us that overtaking is impossible. Alonso tried every trick in the book just like Michael did last year but Michael remained unruffled. All that experience was put into use and with thousands of 'tifosi' fans cheering there was simply no way that Michael would be forced into a mistake. While Alonso had to hold of Schumacher for 12 laps last year after the final round of stops, Schumacher had to do so for 20 (and also for around 10 laps before the 2nd stop). Someone had to make a mistake that would seal the race once and for all. Michael did not but Alonso did with three laps remaining. He was pushing hard with time running out and sure enough he ran wide leading to a huge roar of applause from the 'Tifosi'. The gap which never went beyond 0.6 secs now went up to 2 point something secs and effectively sealed the race. This was a 2-horse race with all other drivers reduced to also-rans leaving me nothing to write home about. Well, almost. The Honda team did not allow that to happen. They provided us with solid entertainment in the pitlane when the lollypop man momentarily let Button go when the fuel nozzle was still in. It was hillarious to say the least much to the misfortune of Jenson Button who has to wait for another day for that elusive first win. And yes, the final podium was taken by my Mclaren boy Juan.

Thunder Down Under as Alonso seals Melbourne epic

That was one heck of a race yesterday. A look at the results sheet and any F1 fan can be forgiven for mistaking this as a Monaco race. How else would you explain 12 finishers (out of 22), 4 safety car periods and an unexpected podium finisher.
Well, it was not Monaco but Albert Park Melbourne that threw up a dramatic race - the drama which started in the formation lap and continued even after the race winner took the chequered flag.
The formation lap saw Juan Pablo spin while trying to warm up his tyres and just when it looked that he will lose his grid position came out the yellow flags as our other bad luck magnet and Sepang race winner Fisichella had a dead engine sitting at p2. Fisi had no option but to start from the pitlane resulting in an extra formation lap thus allowing Juan to work his way up to his p5 grid position.
Now to the race as the five red lights go off. Last night as I was getting ready for my saturday night bash at 'Liquids', I just managed to get the news that Jenson Button is on pole. I just wondered that this could be the day when that long wait for the first race win will be put to rest. It took just a couple of laps and the first safety car intervention for all of us to know that Jenson still has to wait. After just about surviving Fernando Alonso into the first corner, Button somehow stayed in the lead but once the safety car was in it was all over for Jenson. His tyres lacked grip and were cold (that's what i read in the various sites) and soon it was everyone, starting with Kimi, getting past him.
It was familiar stuff after that with Kimi chasing Alonso. However, the Renault was far too fast for anyone. A Maclaren 2-3 was most likely as Juan Pablo was finally driving like... well like him and fast catching up on his team-mate. This was till the time Michael crashed and the safety car came out again. Dash for the pits for everyone and oh! Kimi needed a nose change and Juan Pablo was help up. This allowed Ralfie's Toyoya to sneak in and while Montoya recovered a couple of places to P4 it was Ralf who was ahead in line for the final podium. This was when Juan, pushing too hard to get p3 made the mistake and the race was over for him (Too bad for him as there is only one seat left at Maclaren between him and his team-mate next season).
The drama was still not over as Fisi recovering from a pit-lane start closed in on Button and pressed for p5. Button looked to have secured p5 but meters from the finish line his Honda engine blew up and what looked like a likely first win after the quali turned on into a nightmare all going up with the smoke of the Honda engine. Of course the team revealed that it was a deliberate ploy to not finish in order not to lose 10 grid places at Imola. Smart move.... who cares for 3 points for a p6.
Inspite of all this drama however the result was nothing different..... Ice cool Alonso the winner and Iceman Kimi second after clocking the fastest lap, well all too late in the last lap of the race.

All in all, all that talk about this being the most competitive season ever is all going up in smoke just like the Honda engine and it looks likely that it is going to be a repeat of 2005 - Renault taking an early lead and Maclaren doing the catching up for the rest of the season with Fisico and JPM continuously running into some sort of bad luck (either self imposed or by fate).

Verdict....
For all the drama in the race, the result was never in doubt. Alonso drove like God and no matter how many safety car interventions were there and no matter how many times his lead was nullified because of that, he was unruffled and made it look all too easy. This race would have probably been a classic like San Marino and Suzuka 2005 had Fisi started on p2 and Montoya finished. What a cracker it would have been then to watch Alonso V Fisi and Kimi V Juan...... After all there is nothing more fascinating in F1 than team-mates battling it out a la Senna V Prost.

Its the other Renault at last at Sepang

Oh! It was an all to familiar sight at Sepang Malaysia in round 2 of the F1 season. Two blue cars on the podium, a silver car spinning and crashing out and a smiling Jenson with that all too familiar "what else can i do" look standing on the lowest step of the podium.
There was, though a small and significant difference - we were hearing the Italian anthem for the winning driver instead of the Spanish one that we have got so used to. Yes, it was Fisi over Fernando after 56 laps of Sepang under extreme heat and humidity. Fisi led from pole and never really looked threatened except for a few heart-stopping moments after the final round of pit-stops when his team-mate and world champion almost threatened to do a 'Suzuka 2005' all over again. But Fisi responded to the pressure well and brought the car home..... and with his more illustrious team-mate on his way out, the win could not have come at a better time. Flav!! take note of this..... we have a fight at renault this year.
With the pace displayed by the renaults and the engine penalties to both the ferraris, the other cars were reduced to 'also rans' with jenson leading the pack. He did all he could, pushed his honda to the maximum but all he could see was the blue cars disappearing in front of him. That elusive first win still awaits for one more time.
JPM had a dull and un-eventful race starting on 5th and ending on 4th. Being the sole Mclaren left, Ron Dennis should be more than happy with that. His team-mate had his run of misfortune continue and could not last a lap. A blow from Klien from the rear was enough to damage the suspension and soon after we had the all-too-familiar sight of a silver car spinning and 'game over'.... well Kimi... its another race gone, another time when he will say "what if....".
The only other eventful part of the race was the battle of the Ferraris for p5 and p6. Felipe held his nerve and kept Schumi at bay.... and hold on there was no message on the radio to let big boss through.
So, on to Melbourne park where we all go in with the hope that both Honda and Mclaren come back with a bang and we have 4 way fight for the chequered flag.