Singapore ends season’s speculation
When I first began to see lead Pussycat Doll vocalist, Nicole Scherzinger, appearing at Formula One circuits, I would smile knowingly to myself or exchange glances with whomever I might have been watching the race. An enticing girl who sang for a band with as laughable a name as The Pussycat Dolls and thrust her hips alluringly while mouthing lyrics like “Don’t cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me” seemed ideal for discussing Uganda but not a great deal else. More power to the Hamilton boy, I thought, he has found himself a very useful diversion from worries about oversteer and tyre graining and who can blame him!
In a mostly dull Singaporean Grand Prix yesterday, the camera kept moving from the racing circuit, where Lewis Hamilton was driving expertly at the front of a long snake, to Nicole sitting next to another driver’s bit of totty. She – Nicole, that is – appeared to be explaining the finer points of F1 racing to her companion. From her hand gestures and head movements, it appeared to me that she knew what she was talking about. This was a good sign. There is something between the girl’s ears after all. If she is taking as keen an interest as this at what her boyfriend does for a living, there may just be some long term hope in this relationship; notwithstanding that many other young ladies have submitted applications for Nicole’s position expressing a detailed and expert knowledge of Uganda.
It was not Singapore’s fault that the race was not as exciting as one would have liked, it is just that street circuits – with the exception of Monaco which oozes history and tradition - are poor substitutes for well designed, proper overtaking circuits like Spa, Silverstone, or Suzuka. That, of course, depends on what you want to see most in Formula One. Is it wheel-to-wheel racing or beautiful people in picturesque surroundings? Call me odd but I tend to have a fondness for the former.
Having expertly put his car on pole on Saturday, Hamilton never once put a foot wrong from the start of the race to the chequered flag. After his misplaced heroics at the last lap in Monza which resulted in an unnecessarily smashed McLaren, Hamilton negotiated the narrow corners of the Marina Bay street circuit as if his car was on rails. With talent like he has and age on his side, it is almost self-evident that another world championship will soon be his for the taking.
Speaking of world championships, after qualifying appallingly on Saturday - and appearing to all the world like a man who was haunted each night by a succubus – Jenson Button looked like a man determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Nevertheless, he drove a near perfect race to fifth place and, crucially, managed to finish a significant championship point ahead of his closest championship rival, Rubens Barrichello, with three races to go. The gap Barrichello must now bridge is 15 points. This is difficult but not impossible. Remember, Lewis Hamilton was 17 points ahead of Fernando Alonso in 2008 but managed to throw it all away and deliver victory to Kimi Raikkonen at the last race. Raikkonen ended up becoming world champion ahead of both Hamilton and Alonso by a single point.
The mood in F1 circles is not quite as feverish as it has been in recent years. It seems to be received wisdom that Jenson Button will be world champion in 2009 and more attention is, therefore, being devoted to which driver is going where in 2009.
The worst kept secret in the F1 paddock is that Fernando Alonso will be driving for Ferrari in 2009. Anybody with a hint of a working knowledge of the sport will have known that the Spaniard was merely cooling his heels at Renault for a couple of years. He had stormed out of McLaren in 2007 without a suitable home for him as an A-list driver. The only other comparable team to McLaren at the time was Ferrari but both its seats were filled with other A-list names. Now, although the contractual position for both its drivers is unchanged since 2007 – both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen are contractually bound to drive for the scarlet team in 2009 – Ferrari, in their eagerness to sign Alonso up, appear to have done a deal with Mclaren. Raikkonen will go back to his old team as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate in 2009.
As things currently stand, the A-list for 2009 reads as follows:
Lewis Hamilton – McLaren
This is not surprising. Nurtured by McLaren from the tender age of 13, Hamilton is as loyal to his team as it is possible to be.
Kimi Raikkonen – McLaren
I have sometimes doubted Raikkonen’s commitment to F1 racing since winning a world championship in his Ferrari debut year. It had been rumoured that he wanted to leave F1 and begin a career in rallying. This gives him another year at the top end with an A-list salary to boot. Raikkonen is very much his own man, so he is unlikely to be discomfited by the fact that McLaren is virtually built around Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso – Ferrari
For a double world champion, this offers Alonso the best opportunity of competing on equal terms with the rest of the A-list. However, Alonso is a prima donna who expects a racing team to suck his dick on a day-to-day basis. At team Ferrari/Schumacher where loyalty counts for everything, this will not happen. Also, Ferrari loves Felipe Massa. Worse than this, Michael Schumacher loves Felipe Massa. Still, I don’t think Alonso will be subjected to a team intoxicated like McLaren was in 2007 with Hamiltonmania. All in all this is a good choice for both team and driver.
Felipe Massa – Ferrari
Massa is as at home at Ferrari as he could ever be anywhere. He nearly died this year in a nasty accident which nearly ripped out his brain. The man’s motivation after this is nothing short of sensational. No surprises here, then.
Jenson Button – Brawn
Button has made a few career choice blunders but it looks like he has finally found himself a team in which he fits comfortably. Is it conceivable that any driver would willingly walk away from master strategist Ross Brawn? Hardly.
Rubens Barrichello - ?
At 37, Barrichello is lucky to have had a drive at all this year. He has lots of useful experience, though, and I see him ending up in a little bolt-hole like a new or up and coming team. At a guess, I would say Lotus is a good possibility for the next year or two and then retirement in Sao Paulo with enough money for a lifetime of golfing.
Before you give up on it, the 2009 season isn’t over yet. There is, after all, a race next weekend at a Japanese classic. Yes, you guessed right. Suzuka it is.
Gitau
28 September 2009
In a mostly dull Singaporean Grand Prix yesterday, the camera kept moving from the racing circuit, where Lewis Hamilton was driving expertly at the front of a long snake, to Nicole sitting next to another driver’s bit of totty. She – Nicole, that is – appeared to be explaining the finer points of F1 racing to her companion. From her hand gestures and head movements, it appeared to me that she knew what she was talking about. This was a good sign. There is something between the girl’s ears after all. If she is taking as keen an interest as this at what her boyfriend does for a living, there may just be some long term hope in this relationship; notwithstanding that many other young ladies have submitted applications for Nicole’s position expressing a detailed and expert knowledge of Uganda.
It was not Singapore’s fault that the race was not as exciting as one would have liked, it is just that street circuits – with the exception of Monaco which oozes history and tradition - are poor substitutes for well designed, proper overtaking circuits like Spa, Silverstone, or Suzuka. That, of course, depends on what you want to see most in Formula One. Is it wheel-to-wheel racing or beautiful people in picturesque surroundings? Call me odd but I tend to have a fondness for the former.
Having expertly put his car on pole on Saturday, Hamilton never once put a foot wrong from the start of the race to the chequered flag. After his misplaced heroics at the last lap in Monza which resulted in an unnecessarily smashed McLaren, Hamilton negotiated the narrow corners of the Marina Bay street circuit as if his car was on rails. With talent like he has and age on his side, it is almost self-evident that another world championship will soon be his for the taking.
Speaking of world championships, after qualifying appallingly on Saturday - and appearing to all the world like a man who was haunted each night by a succubus – Jenson Button looked like a man determined to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Nevertheless, he drove a near perfect race to fifth place and, crucially, managed to finish a significant championship point ahead of his closest championship rival, Rubens Barrichello, with three races to go. The gap Barrichello must now bridge is 15 points. This is difficult but not impossible. Remember, Lewis Hamilton was 17 points ahead of Fernando Alonso in 2008 but managed to throw it all away and deliver victory to Kimi Raikkonen at the last race. Raikkonen ended up becoming world champion ahead of both Hamilton and Alonso by a single point.
The mood in F1 circles is not quite as feverish as it has been in recent years. It seems to be received wisdom that Jenson Button will be world champion in 2009 and more attention is, therefore, being devoted to which driver is going where in 2009.
The worst kept secret in the F1 paddock is that Fernando Alonso will be driving for Ferrari in 2009. Anybody with a hint of a working knowledge of the sport will have known that the Spaniard was merely cooling his heels at Renault for a couple of years. He had stormed out of McLaren in 2007 without a suitable home for him as an A-list driver. The only other comparable team to McLaren at the time was Ferrari but both its seats were filled with other A-list names. Now, although the contractual position for both its drivers is unchanged since 2007 – both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen are contractually bound to drive for the scarlet team in 2009 – Ferrari, in their eagerness to sign Alonso up, appear to have done a deal with Mclaren. Raikkonen will go back to his old team as Lewis Hamilton’s team-mate in 2009.
As things currently stand, the A-list for 2009 reads as follows:
Lewis Hamilton – McLaren
This is not surprising. Nurtured by McLaren from the tender age of 13, Hamilton is as loyal to his team as it is possible to be.
Kimi Raikkonen – McLaren
I have sometimes doubted Raikkonen’s commitment to F1 racing since winning a world championship in his Ferrari debut year. It had been rumoured that he wanted to leave F1 and begin a career in rallying. This gives him another year at the top end with an A-list salary to boot. Raikkonen is very much his own man, so he is unlikely to be discomfited by the fact that McLaren is virtually built around Hamilton.
Fernando Alonso – Ferrari
For a double world champion, this offers Alonso the best opportunity of competing on equal terms with the rest of the A-list. However, Alonso is a prima donna who expects a racing team to suck his dick on a day-to-day basis. At team Ferrari/Schumacher where loyalty counts for everything, this will not happen. Also, Ferrari loves Felipe Massa. Worse than this, Michael Schumacher loves Felipe Massa. Still, I don’t think Alonso will be subjected to a team intoxicated like McLaren was in 2007 with Hamiltonmania. All in all this is a good choice for both team and driver.
Felipe Massa – Ferrari
Massa is as at home at Ferrari as he could ever be anywhere. He nearly died this year in a nasty accident which nearly ripped out his brain. The man’s motivation after this is nothing short of sensational. No surprises here, then.
Jenson Button – Brawn
Button has made a few career choice blunders but it looks like he has finally found himself a team in which he fits comfortably. Is it conceivable that any driver would willingly walk away from master strategist Ross Brawn? Hardly.
Rubens Barrichello - ?
At 37, Barrichello is lucky to have had a drive at all this year. He has lots of useful experience, though, and I see him ending up in a little bolt-hole like a new or up and coming team. At a guess, I would say Lotus is a good possibility for the next year or two and then retirement in Sao Paulo with enough money for a lifetime of golfing.
Before you give up on it, the 2009 season isn’t over yet. There is, after all, a race next weekend at a Japanese classic. Yes, you guessed right. Suzuka it is.
Gitau
28 September 2009
posted by Gitau at 4:48 pm
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