Soporific Silverstone
I have worked it out. There are demons inside Fernando Alonso's helmet. When he does not have his helmet on he behaves like a rabbit caught in the glare of a car's headlights. He blinks rapidly at the endless camera flashes and responds to questions in a diffident, almost scared manner. You can see him thinking hard about his responses. He does not want to say anything wrong. To watch Alonso before a press conference makes one think of a little boy who has been told by his mother "now look, these are grown-ups here, so behave yourself!" Human beings like to revel in celebrity. They like to bask in the adulation they receive following their achievements. Observe any footballer celebrating after scoring a goal for some idea of what I mean. Not Alonso, though - at least not when he has his helmet off.
When Fernando Alonso dons his racing helmet the demons take over. He becomes a man possessed. In qualifying, nanoseconds into his flying lap, he received a message from his pit-crew telling him that Michael Schumacher had just nailed the pole position. The demons told him to sort this out. Not only did he do so, he did it by a full half second - an eternity in Formula 1 terms. Alonso wins races in his head - or rather, his helmet. Yesterday's British Grand Prix was one of the most boring races ever staged at Silverstone. Alonso had done the maths in his head and knew exactly what he had to do to win the coveted gold trophy. His victory yesterday was eerily reminiscent of the processions Michael Schumacher used to lead in 2002 and 2004. It is no surprise that Michael Schumacher is unnerved by Fernando Alonso. Alonso at the early part of his career, at the tender age of 25, is doing what Schumacher was doing at the top of his game. Unless somebody kills the little Spaniard - or steals his helmet - we could be seeing the beginning of history in the making.
So bothered is Michael Schumacher that he did not even make an attempt at disguising his disappointment. He looked like a man who had swallowed an unpeeled pineapple whole. Normally Schumacher would have been rather pleased with his achievement. Coming second after qualifying third behind Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen was quite an achievement. In fact it was probably the best performance of the afternoon - for Schumacher had to work hard and employ the skills of Ferrari master strategist Ross Brawn to get to where he did. Making an early second pit-stop and coming out flying caught everyone on the hop. Everyone, that is, save the reigning world champion. Schumacher was never going to get anywhere near Alonso. Schumacher had, once again, been out-Schumachered. This he does not enjoy. He tells us that there are still ten races to go and some are at circuits - like Canada - which present very different challenges but I think the seven times world champion is clutching at straws. Fernando Alonso is going to be world champion 2006. The Schumacher era is over.
The Brits always wanted an end to the Schumacher domination. They wanted a home-boy to put on the championship mantle. Smiley Somerset lad, Jenson Button, was supposed to be that boy but seven years and counting he is yet to deliver. Before a home crowd who had paid a minimum of £99 for Silverstone tickets, Button delivered his usual recipe: disappointment. He had a disastrous qualifying session on Saturday which resulted in him starting the race from nineteenth place. He made up for this by driving the wheels off his Honda on Sunday. By the ninth lap he had got up to twelfth place and was chasing down David Coulthard for eleventh position when in his rear view mirror he saw the thing that every driver dreads: flames. His engine had gone the way of so many others and blown up expelling oil all over his tyres. Poor old Jenson was forced to walk the gauntlet of fans while biting his lip to hold back the tears. It was not what the Brits were expecting. The talk now is of the young Brit who won the GP2 race - a super fast fellow called Lewis Hamilton. McLaren have their eyes on him for 2007. An Alonso-Hamilton combination may be just the ticket..
There may be more to this than mere speculation. I think the feeling within McLaren is that it is time for a change. I don't think either of their two current drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen are particularly keen on remaining with the team. They both feel let down for two years in a row. Both see themselves as championship contenders and would love to have a car as bullet-proof as Alonso's Renault or Schumacher's Ferrari. 2006 is being viewed resignedly by both drivers. One seeks solace in his family. Juan Pablo Montoya was happily being interviewed with his baby son in his arms ("that's the spitting image of Montoya," said Chipo, "there is no questioning that child's paternity!"). The other has intensified the partying. For Kimi Raikkonen, champagne is supposed to go down one's throat not one's overalls. Whenever he makes it to the podium - as he did in third place yesterday - he makes sure he swigs at least half the magnum of Mumm before he leaves. Look at the cheeky grin on his chops in the subsequent press conferences. The guy appears to be floating. Raikkonen is a cool guy. I like his style.
The season is far from over and lots of things can happen in the ten races to come. But if Fernando Alonso carries on with current form we could be witnessing the crowning of the world champion well before October. Canada is to follow. I look forward to it.
Gitau
12 June 2006
When Fernando Alonso dons his racing helmet the demons take over. He becomes a man possessed. In qualifying, nanoseconds into his flying lap, he received a message from his pit-crew telling him that Michael Schumacher had just nailed the pole position. The demons told him to sort this out. Not only did he do so, he did it by a full half second - an eternity in Formula 1 terms. Alonso wins races in his head - or rather, his helmet. Yesterday's British Grand Prix was one of the most boring races ever staged at Silverstone. Alonso had done the maths in his head and knew exactly what he had to do to win the coveted gold trophy. His victory yesterday was eerily reminiscent of the processions Michael Schumacher used to lead in 2002 and 2004. It is no surprise that Michael Schumacher is unnerved by Fernando Alonso. Alonso at the early part of his career, at the tender age of 25, is doing what Schumacher was doing at the top of his game. Unless somebody kills the little Spaniard - or steals his helmet - we could be seeing the beginning of history in the making.
So bothered is Michael Schumacher that he did not even make an attempt at disguising his disappointment. He looked like a man who had swallowed an unpeeled pineapple whole. Normally Schumacher would have been rather pleased with his achievement. Coming second after qualifying third behind Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen was quite an achievement. In fact it was probably the best performance of the afternoon - for Schumacher had to work hard and employ the skills of Ferrari master strategist Ross Brawn to get to where he did. Making an early second pit-stop and coming out flying caught everyone on the hop. Everyone, that is, save the reigning world champion. Schumacher was never going to get anywhere near Alonso. Schumacher had, once again, been out-Schumachered. This he does not enjoy. He tells us that there are still ten races to go and some are at circuits - like Canada - which present very different challenges but I think the seven times world champion is clutching at straws. Fernando Alonso is going to be world champion 2006. The Schumacher era is over.
The Brits always wanted an end to the Schumacher domination. They wanted a home-boy to put on the championship mantle. Smiley Somerset lad, Jenson Button, was supposed to be that boy but seven years and counting he is yet to deliver. Before a home crowd who had paid a minimum of £99 for Silverstone tickets, Button delivered his usual recipe: disappointment. He had a disastrous qualifying session on Saturday which resulted in him starting the race from nineteenth place. He made up for this by driving the wheels off his Honda on Sunday. By the ninth lap he had got up to twelfth place and was chasing down David Coulthard for eleventh position when in his rear view mirror he saw the thing that every driver dreads: flames. His engine had gone the way of so many others and blown up expelling oil all over his tyres. Poor old Jenson was forced to walk the gauntlet of fans while biting his lip to hold back the tears. It was not what the Brits were expecting. The talk now is of the young Brit who won the GP2 race - a super fast fellow called Lewis Hamilton. McLaren have their eyes on him for 2007. An Alonso-Hamilton combination may be just the ticket..
There may be more to this than mere speculation. I think the feeling within McLaren is that it is time for a change. I don't think either of their two current drivers, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen are particularly keen on remaining with the team. They both feel let down for two years in a row. Both see themselves as championship contenders and would love to have a car as bullet-proof as Alonso's Renault or Schumacher's Ferrari. 2006 is being viewed resignedly by both drivers. One seeks solace in his family. Juan Pablo Montoya was happily being interviewed with his baby son in his arms ("that's the spitting image of Montoya," said Chipo, "there is no questioning that child's paternity!"). The other has intensified the partying. For Kimi Raikkonen, champagne is supposed to go down one's throat not one's overalls. Whenever he makes it to the podium - as he did in third place yesterday - he makes sure he swigs at least half the magnum of Mumm before he leaves. Look at the cheeky grin on his chops in the subsequent press conferences. The guy appears to be floating. Raikkonen is a cool guy. I like his style.
The season is far from over and lots of things can happen in the ten races to come. But if Fernando Alonso carries on with current form we could be witnessing the crowning of the world champion well before October. Canada is to follow. I look forward to it.
Gitau
12 June 2006
posted by Gitau at 11:03 am
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