Let us understand what this involves – a somewhat uninfluential team comprising of the two most marketable drivers in F1 (the commercial sustainability of which depends in entirety on these drivers continuing to spar in the matter that they have been over the season) being charged of unbecoming conduct by a high-profile team comprising of, to say the least, two rather unknown and unexciting drivers, whose performance most of the motorsport world could not care less about. Given the commercial reality, the judgment is brilliantly conceived:

1. No penalty on the drivers: Both the exciting drivers will continue to be able to excite.

2. $100m fine: The (relatively) uninfluential team will, in the short term, at least be side-lined, with over 20% of its turnover (and we assume, a larger percentage of its 07/08 budget), disappearing overnight.

3. The high profile team gets even more marketable given both (1) and (2) above, and is assured continued success in the near term, given that its only hint of competition in the last 5 years stands de-limbed.

On the other hand….

1. It was widely reported that Hamilton was by and large ripping off Fonzo’s set-ups, looking at his telemetry, brake setups, tyres and what-have-you. Talented, isn’t he? As a driver, sure. They both are. Pity they’re also a) out and out cheats on a level Schumacher couldn’t conceive of, or b) require plagiarized data to race a car. Information that has now been proven to have been obtained in an unethical manner in the first place. Irony.

How exciting. It’s clear for anyone to see the Ferrari drivers can’t hold a candle to them. F1 would’ve died a slow and painful death if these two were excluded.

2. Here’s some facts for you, vis-a-vis McCheats budget and so on: McCheat F1 have an operating budget of around $450 million. That’s reportedly $100m more than Ferrari’s operating budget. This is not secret information. The only hit they’ve taken for 2008 is that they can no longer use the Ferrari IP they stole. Boohoo. These guys won’t even feel this ‘fine’, especially since Dennis seems to kinda sorta expect Mercedes to foot half the bill.

De-limbed? Their operating budget and existing facilities still far outstrip Ferrari’s. The only basis for this ‘de-limbing’ is depriving them of proprietary Ferrari information.

Also, how exactly are they “uninfluential”? They’re not Spyker. You need no further evidence than the judgment itself to note otherwise. Especially considering they were let off, scot-free, the first time this came up. Rest assured any team apart from the two involved would’ve been excluded lock, stock and barrel for the full two years.

3. Is it Ferrari’s fault these guys cheated? Would you have preferred it gone unpunished? Really? Ferrari have every right to exploit the situation. The constructor’s title is theirs, rightly so. How exactly would Ferrari gain from the likes of Hamilton winning the WDC, anyway? Would that benefit Ferrari in terms of marketability, or McLaren?

This judgment has given Ferrari the barest minimum it is due. The scale of the crime is enormous and unprecedented in this sport. The Ferrari drivers have been punished for no reason. I agree with you on one thing: it was a well conceived judgment, in commercial terms. That’s F1 for you. I just feel bad for the Ferrari drivers. The situation at the top would’ve been reversed if the racing had been legit from the get-go.

Also, only hint of competition in the last 5 years? I’d like to forget the Renault years too! Alonso will drive for Renault next year. Flavio worships the ground Alonso treads on. He might not win anything next year, but at least he will whip Kovalainen.

Hamilton will not drive for Ferrari next year, pigs may fly. This is money well spent for McCheats. They got away with it, gaining a superstar who they can milk indefinitely. Never mind they established him by the most dubious of means…

Fernando Alonso finished in a well-deserved second place, while Felipe Massa stood on the third step of the podium, finishing less than three seconds ahead of his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikonnen.

Hamilton, starting in pole position, didn’t make the best of starts, but it was enough to lead Alonso into turn one. In scenes strangely reminiscent of the previous weekend, Hamilton pulled out into Alonso’s path, forcing the Spaniard to go around him. The temptation to overtake Lewis on the outside of turn one must have been hard to resist though, and the cars went wheel to wheel until Alonso backed off ever so slightly, with memories of Canada still fresh in his mind. Hamilton stayed in front yet again and, barring places dropped due to pit stops, did so till the end of the race.

The first corner of the first lap also saw Ralf Schumacher braking too late, causing him to spin onto the grass bank, taking David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichelo with him. Schumacher ditched his car immediately, but his ‘victims’ staggered on for a little while before giving in. The race was marked with several retirements – the most unfortunate of the lot being Nico Rosberg’s engine blowout four laps from the finish. Rosberg had been running in the points, but was forced to pull onto the side of the start-finish straight with flames pouring from his engine. And he wasn’t too happy about it, as you can see.

The race was also notable for an almighty battle in the middle of the pack, with 6 cars battling for 12th place. Giampaolo Liuzzi successfully held off Alex Wurz, until Giancarlo Fisichella stormed up to overtake both of them, the move on Wurz being particularly pleasing to the eye. Takuma Sato was pulled up by race marshals for overtaking during a yellow flag, but spun onto the gravel and out of the race before his penalty was even decided, let alone served.

Alonso took on less fuel than Hamilton during his first pit, and the onus was on him to get ahead of the young Englishman before the second round of stops. The reigning world champion tried and tried, but to no avail – the only time he really came close, Hamilton blocked him off with a superb display of defensive driving. The contest between the two was much closer this week – expect Alonso to come back much stronger in the next race.

Ferrari had a fairly good weekend – Massa and Raikonnen completed the top 4. The car appeared to be well balanced, even if Kimi tended to lock up his front left tyre on occasion. The two drivers are the only genuine competition McLaren seem to have this season, so I’m hoping for a Ferrari win next time round, if only to make the Championship race more interesting.

On the whole, credit to Hamilton for keeping it together – apart from the record mentioned above, he is also the first rookie driver to take points in seven successive races. After finishing third in the first race of the season, he’s only gotten better – runner up in the next four, before winning the last two. Talk of the championship is probably too soon, but you wouldn’t bet against it on this form.

On a side note: Jarno Trulli received a rude shock when he found a steward’s blue flag stuck in the side pod of his car. The flag had been dropped off the pit wall – by mistake, we imagine. It didn’t cut off the air intake, thankfully. Also, kudos to Sebastian Vettel – the 19 year old replacement for Robert Kubica, and driving in his first race, picked up a point for BMW. Back to Europe in a week or two. Or three.

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit is one of those which drivers love or loathe – not unlike Spa in Belgium. Tight and twisting like Monaco, but with the speed turned up a notch. Not being an F1 driver myself, I imagine the circuit takes a lot of talent to navigate at speeds in excess of 300 kph. Indeed, almost half of the 22 drivers who started the race (except for Jenson Button, who stalled on the grid, so we can’t really count him, can we?) were eliminated in one form or another – disqualification, crashes, and in one case, the almost total destruction of Robert Kubica’s car. On lap 30, His BMW crashed into the wall at turn two leading up to the hairpin before ricocheting back across the track and hitting the other side. Very, very hard. Save the driver’s capsule and the left rear tire, every inch of bodywork was stripped off in one of the most horrific crashes F1 has seen since the tragic death of Aryton Senna in 1994. The fact that the turn on which the accident occurred is called the ‘Senna S’ left me with a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as news on his condition filtered through. Thankfully, Kubica was alright – a sprained ankle appears to be the extent of the damage. And if you think I’m overreacting, have a look.

The race itself was all about one man and how he managed to stay out of trouble. Lewis Hamilton, driving in only his sixth Grand Prix, led from start to finish, ignoring the carnage around him. Nick Heidfeld of BMW came in second, while Alex Wurz of Williams finished third.

The winner has looked threatening all season – finishing on the podium in all of the previous five races. His second place in Monaco was controversial, with rumours floating around afterwards about team orders and Fernando Alonso’s ego taking a knock (it didn’t, but that may have been down to the afore-mentioned team orders). Don’t get me wrong – Alonso is a fantastic driver – but even the best get it wrong from time to time. Or just unlucky. Right from the start, in fact.

Hamilton, starting in pole, tried to pull away, but Alonso caught him on the outside of turn one – only to run out of track to drive on, skidding onto the gravel. Heidfeld nipped into second, a position that he didn’t relinquish. The reigning world champion had a pretty rotten race, even if he did finish fifth – the number of times he outbraked himself up near the final chicane was almost unbelievable. The 10 second stop-go penalty for an irregular pit stop didn’t help either. New regulations in Formula One dictate that when the safety car is on track, no racecars are allowed to pit until they have all lined up behind it. The unfortunate timing of Alonso’s pit stop resulted in the penalty, which pretty much scuppered his chances of a podium place.

I read somewhere that drivers are specifically trained to block out all distractions (including what might appear to be near-fatal accidents) during the race, as well they might, and this is what Hamilton had to do. The safety car was out on track 4 times, thanks to a variety of collisions, crashes and scrapes along the wall. Carbon fiber littered the tarmac at several places, creating a potentially lethal cocktail with an already slippery, fast, narrow, debris-strewn track. In addition to all this, Anthony Davidson had to deal with the local wildlife getting in his way – a beaver wandered onto the track at an inopportune moment. Davidson was shaken, as was the beaver, I imagine. No, I don’t know what happened to it.

Back to the winner – an almost faultless race from Hamilton; his timing in pulling away from the pack every time the safety car went off was spot on. Having watched him all season (six races isn’t much to go on), it is hard to spot a weakness in this man’s game. One for the future, definitely, but also one for the present. He now leads the World Championship by 8 points – incredible when you consider how old he is (22) and the fact that he’s making his debut in the sport. Michael Schumacher retired at the end of last season, but the thought of coming out of retirement to show this upstart who the real master is might have crossed his mind. Remember, you read it here first. (Maybe not, but it’s a shot in the dark)

Classic F1 moments: Mika Hakkinen taking Michael Schumacher at Spa-Francochamps or Nelson Piquet and Aryton Senna having a go at each other.What do you reckon?

But once again it was Lewis Hamilton earning accolades and winning admirers all over the place. He seems to be made up for these rollicking starts, stunning his fellow runners into submission. When the lights went out he was 4rth on the grid and after turn 1 he was running second. Two Mclarens leading the race! For nearly the entire race barring a small breathing gap in between, Lewis was constantly under pressure and the fact that he came through indicates what a matured driver this kid is.

Filipe Massa wanting to make up for his poor start began to hound the ‘rookie’ (not sure if i can still use the term) Mclaren driver trying to pull up a couple of overtaking maneuvers hoping that the young inexperienced driver would crack under pressure, make a mistake or just make a defensive move giving him way. In the end it was the Ferrari driver who came out red faced, out breaking himself and taking a trip down the grass and joining in the 5th position behind the BMW of Heidfeld. It was a rookie move by an experienced driver and it was a champion’s defense by the rookie. If there was any a time for the Tifosis to say, “If only Michael was there….”, this was it.

This left the top 5 as Alonso, Hamilton, Kimi, Heidfeld and Massa which ended up being the top 5 of the race. Also goes to show that if you had slept through the race you didn’t miss much. Renault’s race was not as horrendous as their qualifying and thats not saying much. I hate to say this but it was a nice steady drive from Fisichella to end up 6th in a car that would have refused to go anywhere above that and Heikki achieved his first point (just 1) in his formula 1 career. The finn’s drive was just enough for Briatore to proclaim that he redeemed himself of the Australian ignominy. As i mentioned in the preview, the podium still seems a distant object for Renault but then a few weeks are what it takes in formula 1 to change fortunes (ask the Mclarens) and Renault are capable of improvement during the season.It was a great race for Heidfeld, managing to beat one of the ferraris while his team mate (Kubica) again encountered problems. If anything the gap looks obscene in the result chart with them finishing 4th and 18th respectively. Rosberg looked fast and promising only to retire with a hydraulics fault. But they seem to have the equipment to finish in points and challenge the BMW and outpace the Renaults.Overall it was a shocker for Ferrari and they would be disappointed and we can be rest assured that they’ll come back strong and hard in the desert kingdom of Bahrain. Till then, lets just drink to Mclarens’ first race victory since 2005 and for the F1 world for having discovered Lewis.

It was a great race for Heidfeld, managing to beat one of the ferraris while his team mate (Kubica) again encountered problems. If anything the gap looks obscene in the result chart with them finishing 4th and 18th respectively. Rosberg looked fast and promising only to retire with a hydraulics fault. But they seem to have the equipment to finish in points and challenge the BMW and outpace the Renaults.

Overall it was a shocker for Ferrari and they would be disappointed and we can be rest assured that they’ll come back strong and hard in the desert kingdom of Bahrain. Till then, lets just drink to Mclaren’s first race victory since 2005 and for the F1 world for having discovered Lewis.

[tag]Sepang[/tag] is arguably the toughest race of the formula 1 season. It’s tough on the drivers as well as on the machines. Temperatures usually soar to around the 35 degree centigrade mark and along with the humidity makes it the most physically demanding race. The high temperatures and the abrasive track is also very unforgiving on the tyres and will definitely be a stern test of how well teams have adapted to the new Bridgestone compounds.

If the way Kimi won the Australian GP is anything to go by, he is the favorite to win at Sepang. But there are other variables. For starters, Kimi and [tag]Ferrari[/tag] have the dilemma of an engine change. Should they change it and therefore suffer a penalty or should they risk it and go for another victory? Ferrari had some issues with cooling during the Australian GP and it will be interesting to see what happens here. And the way ‘Kimster ‘ pushed the car even when he was comfortably leading will be put in context if he does suffer a penalty and then fights for a podium finish here. It’s these little things that may come to haunt Ferrari this season with Kimi.

Ferrari are still favorites to win this race by a long way followed by [tag]Mclaren[/tag] and then perhaps the Renault or the BMWs. [tag]Fisichella[/tag] won the race here last season although I doubt if he’ll be going anywhere near the first step of the podium this time around. Heikki meanwhile has to buckle up, put his head down and start putting pressure on his more experienced team mate. Another bad race and he’ll earn the full wrath of Mr. Flavio. Not good for an F1 career. Sepang will give answers to a lot of questions. Will it be Massa’s race? Will Hamilton sustain his brilliance? Will Alonso hit back? Will Renault come stronger? And the most important question of all, Will it rain? Lets wait and watch.

2007 was the season where [tag]Kimi[/tag] was supposed to get his deliverance and early signs appear that way. The ‘Iceman’ led the [tag]Australian grand prix[/tag] from start to finish with a performance that would worry Ron and his two talented drivers at Mclaren. Let’s just put Kimi on hold for a second and look at the real hero of the race: [tag]Lewis Hamilton[/tag].

Mildly put, a Briton lived up to his hype for a change. If his podium finish wasn’t indication enough of the arrival of a special racer, his start was out of this world. His first ever race in formula 1 and what does he do? He looks to take the inside line in a bid to overtake the BMW in front but thats not the best part. When he finds that he does not have space going on the inside he changes strategy, swings to the outside and sweeps past the BMW and the double world champion. Perfect start to what I am sure is going to be a mightily succesful career. Leaving all the adulation I have for [tag]Alonso[/tag] aside, Hamilton deserved second place today which he lost out due to team orders. Let the [tag]Mclaren[/tag] talk no more of [tag]Ferrari[/tag] and their team orders.

Coming back to the race winner, the flying Finn stuck to his name. He blasted off from the start and never looked back. Ferrari look ominously fast and other teams have quite a bit of catching up to do. Kimi is fast. Let no one have any second thoughts on that. He kept rattling off one best lap after another and except for a little moment of carelessness drove a flawless race. But Kimi is no schumi. He put in two blisteringly fast laps on laps 41 and 42 when his closest rival was a good 15 seconds behind him.The next race is at Sepang and it cannot get more demanding than that. If the engine blows up there he will have himself to blame. Overall an awesome performance from the Finn on his debut which earned him the distinction of being the first man to win on his team debut since Nigel Mansell did it for the Scuderia in 1989.

The reigning world champion was insipid. For a majority of the race he stuck to the back of his debutant team mate and didnt look any quicker than him. The pit strategy saved him the blushes of ending up behind his rookie team mate in the first race with the new team. Overall, it looked like he was satisfied with a podium either way. But the Mclarens have quite a bit of catching up to do if they are going to beat the Ferraris. They would have most likely fallen one more place behind if Massa didnt have reliability issues. Good drive from him to end up 6th from the back of the grid although given Ferraris pace it was expected.

Meanwhile in the BMW’s [tag]Kubica[/tag] looked set to beat his team mate for the 4th place (attributable to the team strategy) until he retired out of the race. Their battle will be interesting to watch.

Oh and yes, I almost forgot. [tag]Giancarlo Fisichella[/tag] beat his team mate fair and square and ended up a distant 5th but thats not saying much. [tag]Heikki Kovalainen[/tag], with his horrible qualifying and a matching drive, exaggerated quite a few things. He showed the magnitude of Hamilton’s achievement and the talent of Fisichella as a driver. But as I already said, that’s not saying much. Renault don’t look like a championship winning team this season – neither the package nor the drivers and my dream of Briatore losing it with the drivers has come true in the very first race. Only, the man at the receiving end was the rookie Renault driver and not Fisichella as I would have imagined.

[tag]Honda[/tag] is a team going backwards. While a fellow Briton was setting Albert park alight, [tag]Jenson Button[/tag] was brooding at the back of the pack ending up in the 15th place. Barrichello was only marginally better in the 11th place. The team’s performance was as bad as their livery and only the latter looks like something that could be improved in a hurry.

The caravan moves to Sepang – a circuit that’s  demanding both for the drivers and the machines. Ferrari and Mclaren look the only teams capable of fighting it out for the title at the moment and there is very little to choose between the 4 drivers. It’s now a matter of which team blinks first and if the past record is anything to go by then Mclraren have to keep all their fingers crossed. They would like both their drivers finishing at Sepang – one of Alonso’s favorite circuits. He has won here the last two years. Can he repeat it? Can he close down the gap with Ferrari? We’ll wait and watch.

Ferrari
Rating: 9 / 10

As far as liveries go, [tag]Ferrari[/tag] continues to rule. The designers have gone all red obliterating whatever little white that remained before. The F2007 is all Ferrari although the ‘Vodafone’ logo is conspicuous by its absence. However the Ferrari livery loses out on the ‘best looking’ livery on the grid to their main rivals. 

McLaren
Rating: 10 / 10

[tag]McLaren[/tag] has the best looking livery on the grid. Over the past few years the McLaren’s have slowly been morphing from black to chrome. The MP4-22 is all silver with a bit of red thrown in. It looks sleek as hell while remaining simplistic and smooth flowing with accented curves. Definitely the meanest looking machine on the grid.

Renault
Rating: 2/10

Imagine orange, imagine blue, imagine white and imagine yellow and imagine if someone threw up all these colours. You would have imagined the [tag]Renault[/tag] livery. The only good thing about the renault livery is that its just the interim one. First, they put Fisichella as the lead driver. Then they unveil this visual crime. What next?

Honda
Rating : NA

[tag]Honda[/tag] have not yet revealed their livery. But the news is that its going to be green and it is going to be a surprise. Hope they also surprise us with their performace.

Williams
Rating: 4 / 10

No surprises – pleasant or unpleasant – here. [tag]Williams[/tag]‘ livery sports the same white and violet, cut-edged look popular perhaps in the late 90s.

Red Bull
Rating: 4 / 10

No radical changes from 2006. [tag]Red Bull[/tag]’s livery continues to look unassuming and dull.

Toro Rosso
Rating: 5 / 10

Looks more radical and inspired than red bulls’. However it looks too cluttered and is not very easy on the eye.

So, who do you think has the best looking livery on the grid?

 

 

The Superstars

Fernando Alonso

Two consecutive world championships right under the noses of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikonnen. One would think that should have settled the champion debate but Fernando still has as many doubters as there are supporters. If the championship in 2005 was attributed to lacklustre competition, the victory in 2006 was claimed to be the result of a singularly unlucky race for Schumacher in the Japanese grand prix. Agreed, Fernando has had the lady luck smiling on him the past two seasons but is that all there is to him? I don’t think so. In fact, I believe that the best driver won both the seasons and would rate Fernando above Kimi Raikonnen in any case. There is no way in the world that Kimi can match Alonso’s little salsa post victories. But that’s just my personal opinion. The truth of the matter is, Fernando came through with a steady hand and a calm head when the Schumachers and the Kimis were having some problem or the other. Fernando is fast – there is no doubt about that but he is not ‘Kimi fast’. Fernando is of the schumi variety. Moments of mad speed coupled with steady drives. I would call it ‘race control’. He isn’t the best at it but would figure quite closely behind Schumi in that aspect.

With Schumi gone, Fernando would become the new benchmark. The new look Fernando (did you see his close cropped head) begins a new era too. After shocking the F1 world and more importantly the mercurial Flavio with his defection announcement, Fernando has received mixed response for his decision from the paddocks. But If the testing sessions at valencia are anything to go by, Fernando has been having quite a nice time adapting to the MP4-22 apart from a little oil leak scare he had early on. Ever since Flavio decided to let his protege have an early go at a Mclaren machine ( his contract with renault was till new year), he has been setting up fairly good lap times but more importantly finding himself at home in his new silver car. One would have to wait for the new season to begin to see if Mclaren make a new beginning or just continue where they left off – raking up DNFs.

Kimi Raikonnen

Seeing Kimi in red is the single most shocking change of 2007. Given that Kimi in Mclaren was as much of a cult as schumi in red was, seeing him taking a shot at the world title in a Ferrari is so surreal. But it was coming. Kimi was going nowhere with the Mclaren. He’s had a little too many spontaneously combusting engines and unyeilding gear boxes. 2005 was the closest he came to the world title when he came a distant second to Alonso. If he had had any doubts about continuing in Mclaren, the 2006 season made the choice easy for him. A distant 5th behind the likes of Fisichella was not what Kimi was aspiring for this late in his career.

In many ways, this season in Ferrari is a test of Kimi as a driver. After years of attributing his failure to win titles to bad equipment (I would totally agree with that), he finally has an opportunity to do exactly that. Win a convincing drivers championship and show the world that all the noise surrounding him is real. If Kimi, infact, goes on to do that, it would also re-inforce the belief that F1 now is a two way fight between him and Alonso; at least for the moment. However, if Ferrari too suddenly becomes ‘unreliable’, then there would be serious doubters to Kimi as a driver. Kimi, so far, has been having a rather quiet induction to his new team. He started testing later than his chief rival but appears to have adapted well to his new Ferrari. His detractors would believe that his driving style is not suitable for Ferrari. His supporters would say that this is when Kimi shows what a great driver he is. One would have to wait and watch. Apart from all this, Kimi faces added pressure from his team mate – Felipe Massa, who put in some impressive performances last season.

Jenson Button

Within a span of few years Jenson button has transformed from a man who was aspiring to be a world champion to one who was making predictions on who the next world champion was. He is not doing a very good job; i mean, with the predictions. Midway through 2006, he said schumi would win the title and we all know what happened. So 2007 would be a good time for him to transform back into a guy who would look to win titles but again he is with Honda. It took him 113 races and some rain to claim a victory. If i had’nt seen some really sweet drives from the Briton I could have easily dismissed Jenson Button as the most overrated driver in Formula 1. But ‘Jense’ is indeed a good Formula 1 racer and with the right equipment he would consistently rake up the podiums. It’s an altogether different story whether he is champion material.

The big question now is whether Honda can deliver what button needs. Like kimi, time is running out for him too. 2007 could well decide whether he is ever gonna compete with the top contenders or just remain one of those drivers who flattered to deceive.

The up-comers

Lewis Hamilton

If you were reading a media article about F1 in the last few weeks and you didnt come across the name of Lewis hamilton, you would probably miss a huge flying saucer towering above your head with its tail lights flashing (yeah, my image of a flying saucer is slightly skewed). It all started when Kimi professed his love for Ferrari, Montoya agreed that he was no good at F1 and Alonso decided that he had had too many wins with Renault that it was time for a bigger challenge of driving a Mclaren to the finish. Mclaren had a bad math problem to solve – two drivers out and only one coming in. They panicked and so goes the story about Lewis Hamilton’s entry into the world of Formula 1. Without a single test stint on an F1 car, Mclaren dared to try out the talent they had groomed for all these years in the unforgiving world of F1.

Lewis has reason to be doubly nervous what with his team mate being the world champion that last two times. Let’s all agree that it is a huge gamble from Mclaren – expecting a driver who has never before driven an F1 car to come in and start racing straight away. Let’s not read too much into the 185 kmph crash that Lewis had on Jan 26 while testing at Valencia but the implication is that his testing time has now dwindled even further. Ron wouldn’t want a situation wherein the radio contact is broadcast live during the race and Lewis goes, ‘hey dudes,where’s this traction control button’. But Lewis re-start to the testing session at Jerez has gone beautifully where he set better lap times over his more illustrious mates in McLaren and Ferrari.

But I do hope he does well, not just for Mclaren but for F1 in general. If he really is as good as he is made out to be then F1 will only be all the more richer with better talent. At the same time nothing could ruin careers like a bad first season.

Heikki Kovalainen

The Finn comes in with very little hype but could very well be the surprise of the season. He has spent 23000 kms behind his Renault in 2006 alone as a test driver and that’s a lot of time to get used to a car. But as they say, you can drive in all the test tracks you want but nothing beats driving in a real race. Kovalainen has the advantage of starting in a team that has won the last two constructors and having a team mate who isnt gonna make you look like shit (Fisi fans excuse me!). Who knows, he will probably perform better than his team mate.

My wish list for 2007

1. A real clash for the title. A two or a three way battle between Alonso, Kimi and one of Massa, Button, or the rookies. The top two should rarely be seperated by more than 15 points.

2. Alonso proving to the world that Mclaren arent that bad. Kimi having a real shot at the title.

3. A solid season for Lewis. An ideal finish would be in the top 4.That would be a great first season.

4. Kovalnainen showing that Renault made a big mistake in retaining Fisi.

5. Button should get 2 wins. That would make a hat-trick of wins in his career. Some achievement, at least.

6. Barrichello realising that he would probably have been better off at the Ferrari, now with schumi gone and all..

7. Ferrari not favouring their lead driver and assuming that happens, Massa proving an equal match for Kimi.

8. Flavio should reach a new high and Fisi a new low when he gets slapped by the temperamental Renault boss after one really bad race performance.

9. Schumacher to make a special appearance for the German grand prix and see Kimi take a trip in his Ferrari over the gravels and into the barricades. Ouch! My dear Ferrari.

10. With the Adrian Newey magic, Red bull should become the third best team behind Mclaren and Ferrari.

11. An answer to the question: Who sucks more? Toyota or Ralf

Technorati Tags: F1,, Formula, 1,, Alonso,, Raikkonen,, Button,, Hamilton,, Kovalainen,, Ferrari,, Mclaren,, Renault,, Honda

Four Five races left in the calendar year and only eleven points (when the post was written, now ten) separate the leader(Fernando Alonso) and number two(Michael Schumacher) in the World Drivers Championship. Now that’s the sort of Formula One season that brings back the fans that abandoned the sport during the years of Michael Schumacher’s absolute domination. The reliability of Alonso and Renault pitted against a Ferrari resurgence and Michael Schumacher’s desperate need to win.

Two Horse Race:

The season began well in Bahrain with a tight finish for the first spot between Alonso and Michael after which Ferrari slipped in Malaysia and Australia. Thereafter it turned into a two-horse race as the two of them together won eleven of the thirteen races; Fisichella, in a rare drive surpassing his team mate in Malaysia and Button, winning for the first time on a wet track in Hungary, were the other two victors. In the other Ferrari car, Massa did a good job of helping Schumi along the way, taking valuable points off Alonso in a couple of races and managing (sometimes) to keep pace with his illustrious team mate. Fisichella, on the other hand, seemed largely uninterested in the ongoing season but for the one brilliant race in Malaysia and all the points he acquired can be attributed to Renault’s unfailing car -a sad declaration to make about a prodigiously talented driver who everyone expected would achieve much once he got an opportunity to handle a decent car.

Mclaren and Montoya

Mclaren were unchallenged as the third best car on track with Raikkonen occasionally beating his rotten luck and scoring some points. With Mclaren already having contracted Alonso for 2007, Montoya looked ready to quit F1 at the start of the season and most of his drives spoke of the same intent, until he finally did chose to leave F1 for NASCAR after causing a seven car pile-up at Indy- a “fitting” end to one of the more “exciting” drivers in the past few F1 seasons (read hasty dingus who too often pushed his car too far). In all seriousness, Montoya was one of the only things tolerable about F1 in the afore-mentioned Michael dominated years. He was not very consistent, but he fought hard and for every F1 fan, there will be many a brilliant Montoya maneuver, imprinted in your head forever.

Honda led the midfield pack, with a few good drives from Button and points from the practically invisible Barrichello, followed by BMW-Sauber and Toyota.

Bitter Jacques:

As always, F1 offers as much controversy and transfers as on track brilliance and this season was no different, with Toyota suddenly dropping sought after technical director, Mike Gascoyne, and Geoff Willis parting ways with Honda. Once again, Michael was universally berated for his disregard for rules and sportsmanship as he stalled in front of Alonso during Fernando’s final qualifying run at Monaco. He protested innocence of course but no one was really willing to believe him anymore and so he started from the pits, finishing fifth with a typically competent drive aided by a little luck. And of course, the latest of Jacques Villeneuve’s verbal attacks on Michael (there’s one every five minutes) – “He’s a racer – but a pure racer, nothing but a racer and, because of that, I think the day he hangs up his helmet people will just forget him.” Oh, and Schumi’s not a great human being and Senna played dirty tricks with greater style and will hence be remembered better than him. Really, Jacques! Even you ought to know that just sounds bitter. The man who won five continuous seasons, who battled the likes of Senna, Prost and Mansell to win his first world driver’s championship, who’s beaten Mika Hakkinen, who’s broken practically every record in the F1 books is NOT going to be forgotten. Jacques Villeneuve, proving once again that his prodigious talent deserves a better behaved vessel.

Predictions! :

With a close fight at the top, both in the drivers and construction titles, numerous verbal battles, and even Michael, Kimi and Massa undecided as to where they’re driving next year (In Michael’s case, if…), everyone should do their best to catch the remaining of the season. Alonso will no doubt give it his best shot but I expect Michael and Ferrari to emerge triumphant, simply because their car has looked better since France, and also because Michael, though the oldest on the track, still remains the man with the greatest will to win…

- MR

(Guest Writer)

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PS: MR is a good friend of ours. She is an engineering student in Chennai, who loves sports. She might be posting more regularly henceforth.

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