Furrowed brows in Bahrain
Finding myself with time on my hands at Heathrow Airport last year, I decided to treat myself to a meal at the Oyster Bar in the middle of the terminal. At the recommendation of the enthusiastic Italian waiter, I ordered the “seafood surprise” and was soon tucking into a toothsome medley of lobster, crab and prawns washed down with a delicious, chilled Chablis. So engrossed was I in my meal, I all but failed to notice a pair of eyes fixed on my face from the other side of the bar. I only noticed the eyes when I came up for air and a sip of wine. They were the most hauntingly beautiful eyes I had ever seen. Green and piercing like those of a jungle cat and surrounded by an elegantly formed face of unblemished complexion and ringed by a mane of luscious auburn hair, the eyes seriously unsettled me. I found myself almost thrown off my stool in my state of discomposure. I let go of my fork and felt my breath proceed from my lungs in short pants. Things were not good.
Noticing my plight, the waiter ran to me with a glass containing a shot of Remy Martin and instructed me to drink it. The cognac brought some relief but the eyes never left me. I was rescued by a tannoy announcement that the British Airways flight to Bahrain was ready for boarding. The owner of the eyes – an elegantly formed, slim young lady with legs extending all the way to Iceland – got up and made her way round the bar towards where I was sitting. I thought she might want to speak to me but she instead swept past me towards the toilets somewhere behind me. Presently, the eyes returned but this time nothing else about their owner was visible. She was covered from head to toe in black Islamic female clothing. This time she paid no attention to me. All she did was pay her bill and depart from the Oyster Bar.
I was thinking about that mysterious woman as I considered what to write about the Bahrain Grand Prix which takes place this weekend. In many ways she was representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Unlike its loud, overly glitzy cousin, Dubai, Bahrain has maintained a calm sophistication for a very long time while retaining its roots as an Arab country. Dubai shouts “we are an international financial centre!” with little evidence beyond the shouting. Bahrain has had international banks operating out of Manama for decades. Importantly, while Dubai’s illusory wealth is built on a notion (“if we build it they will come”), Bahrain’s prosperity rests on real wealth: oil. Although I am disdainful of the notion of a desert Grand Prix, after five years I have come to accept that if there has to be one then there can be no better place for it in the Middle East than Bahrain.
The Bahrain Grand Prix arrives at a crucial point in this most topsy-turvy of Formula One seasons. Jenson Button is leading the world drivers’ championship ahead of the big guns at Ferrari, McLaren and BMW. This fact alone restores one’s faith in Formula One. For the first time in I don’t know how many years, the words of Prince’s thoughtful song “Money don’t matter tonight” make a great deal of sense in the weird world of Formula One (and perhaps in the straitened circumstances in which we all now live):
Money don't matter tonight It sure didn't matter yesterday Just when you think you've got more than enough That's when it all up and flies away That's when you find out that you're better off Makin' sure your soul's alright Cuz money didn't matter yesterday, And it sure don't matter tonight
Despite Max Mosley’s best efforts, the credit crunch has not yet been felt in certain parts of the F1 circus (although you can bet your house that it soon will be!). The big teams, in their arrogance, never expected that they might be wrong footed by the minnows – but they have. Kimi Raikkonen has gone as far as admitting that this season is pretty much over for Ferrari because they are at least a second behind the leading cars and can’t possibly breach the gap in time to make a meaningful difference. For the highest paid man in Formula One this is not exactly calamitous news. He has proved his talent already by winning a world championship and won’t particularly mind being let off for a few nights of “gentlemen’s entertainment” each week.
It will, however, be galling for Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. There is unfinished business between them from last year. Hamilton won the championship by playing the points game adroitly but it cannot have escaped any keen observer’s notice that, outside the UK, Massa was the people’s champion. Not only did he win more races overall, he won the championship deciding race at his home in Sao Paulo but was denied the championship by McLaren mathematics.
It isn’t only Hamilton and Massa with reasons to be anxious this weekend. There has probably never been as talented and youthful a Formula One paddock as we have the privilege to be admiring today. The list of names is staggering: Jenson Button, Robert Kubica, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Each of these chaps has it in them to be world champion in the right car and the right set of circumstances. I still think the best driver of these is Fernando Alonso but I am happy to view evidence to the contrary. It is too soon to say who among these worthy drivers is likely to gain an unassailable lead this year but I have a feeling that we are in for something of a surprise.
It’s not a great circuit and has never been a great race but in an unpredictable season like 2009, I would rather be watching the Bahrain Grand Prix than doing anything else. I hope you too will,
Enjoy Bahrain!
Gitau
24 April 2009
Noticing my plight, the waiter ran to me with a glass containing a shot of Remy Martin and instructed me to drink it. The cognac brought some relief but the eyes never left me. I was rescued by a tannoy announcement that the British Airways flight to Bahrain was ready for boarding. The owner of the eyes – an elegantly formed, slim young lady with legs extending all the way to Iceland – got up and made her way round the bar towards where I was sitting. I thought she might want to speak to me but she instead swept past me towards the toilets somewhere behind me. Presently, the eyes returned but this time nothing else about their owner was visible. She was covered from head to toe in black Islamic female clothing. This time she paid no attention to me. All she did was pay her bill and depart from the Oyster Bar.
I was thinking about that mysterious woman as I considered what to write about the Bahrain Grand Prix which takes place this weekend. In many ways she was representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Unlike its loud, overly glitzy cousin, Dubai, Bahrain has maintained a calm sophistication for a very long time while retaining its roots as an Arab country. Dubai shouts “we are an international financial centre!” with little evidence beyond the shouting. Bahrain has had international banks operating out of Manama for decades. Importantly, while Dubai’s illusory wealth is built on a notion (“if we build it they will come”), Bahrain’s prosperity rests on real wealth: oil. Although I am disdainful of the notion of a desert Grand Prix, after five years I have come to accept that if there has to be one then there can be no better place for it in the Middle East than Bahrain.
The Bahrain Grand Prix arrives at a crucial point in this most topsy-turvy of Formula One seasons. Jenson Button is leading the world drivers’ championship ahead of the big guns at Ferrari, McLaren and BMW. This fact alone restores one’s faith in Formula One. For the first time in I don’t know how many years, the words of Prince’s thoughtful song “Money don’t matter tonight” make a great deal of sense in the weird world of Formula One (and perhaps in the straitened circumstances in which we all now live):
Money don't matter tonight It sure didn't matter yesterday Just when you think you've got more than enough That's when it all up and flies away That's when you find out that you're better off Makin' sure your soul's alright Cuz money didn't matter yesterday, And it sure don't matter tonight
Despite Max Mosley’s best efforts, the credit crunch has not yet been felt in certain parts of the F1 circus (although you can bet your house that it soon will be!). The big teams, in their arrogance, never expected that they might be wrong footed by the minnows – but they have. Kimi Raikkonen has gone as far as admitting that this season is pretty much over for Ferrari because they are at least a second behind the leading cars and can’t possibly breach the gap in time to make a meaningful difference. For the highest paid man in Formula One this is not exactly calamitous news. He has proved his talent already by winning a world championship and won’t particularly mind being let off for a few nights of “gentlemen’s entertainment” each week.
It will, however, be galling for Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton. There is unfinished business between them from last year. Hamilton won the championship by playing the points game adroitly but it cannot have escaped any keen observer’s notice that, outside the UK, Massa was the people’s champion. Not only did he win more races overall, he won the championship deciding race at his home in Sao Paulo but was denied the championship by McLaren mathematics.
It isn’t only Hamilton and Massa with reasons to be anxious this weekend. There has probably never been as talented and youthful a Formula One paddock as we have the privilege to be admiring today. The list of names is staggering: Jenson Button, Robert Kubica, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen. Each of these chaps has it in them to be world champion in the right car and the right set of circumstances. I still think the best driver of these is Fernando Alonso but I am happy to view evidence to the contrary. It is too soon to say who among these worthy drivers is likely to gain an unassailable lead this year but I have a feeling that we are in for something of a surprise.
It’s not a great circuit and has never been a great race but in an unpredictable season like 2009, I would rather be watching the Bahrain Grand Prix than doing anything else. I hope you too will,
Enjoy Bahrain!
Gitau
24 April 2009
posted by Gitau at 3:41 pm
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