Boring Bahrain 2010
While a trainee in the early nineties, my superiors introduced me to the world of haute cuisine to celebrate the successful conclusion of a large transaction. Dinner was arranged at Chez Nico, a posh French restaurant on Park Lane run by a bad-tempered Greek chef called Nico Ladenis. He had earned himself three Michelin stars but was more famous for ejecting people from his restaurant if he saw anyone attempt to season one of his expertly created dishes without first tasting the food.
I had heard about places like Chez Nico before but prior to then neither had the wallet nor the rarefied taste buds for fine dining. The thought of eating there was so exciting for me that I spent most nights of the preceding week smacking my lips and dreaming of untold pleasures. When the great day arrived, I imagined this burly, bearded fellow hovering over me with a meat cleaver and kept well away from the salt and pepper as I stuck my fork into my L’ouef au Boeuf et Fromage au Cognac. Perhaps my palate is too unsophisticated – after all I was raised on a diet of boiled maize and beans – but to my horror the food was bland and uninspiring.
Yesterday’s painfully dull race reminded me of that experience all too clearly. After all the anticipation of waiting five months, learning all the intrigue and seeing the driver line-up, to sit through one and a half hours of processional driving was just not what anybody had in mind for the first Formula One Sunday of 2010. The new rules were supposed to make races more exciting but they seem to be achieving the opposite effect if yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix is representative of their effect. Admittedly, the Sakhir circuit is a Formula One fan’s nightmare: ghastly location, ill thought-out design and desert heat. It could be argued that a suspension of judgement is the prudent thing to do this early on and I must agree that it is an argument that has its merits. Let’s wait and see what happens when we’re not watching cars in some Arab millionaire’s playground.
The only real on-track action yesterday was three quarters into the race, when pole setter Sebastian Vettel, found he was losing power because of a damaged exhaust and had to give up his lead to Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and then Lewis Hamilton. I don’t think Alonso will be overly troubled by comments about the boring nature of the race, for it gave the Spaniard an important psychological achievement: winning his maiden race for Ferrari and starting his new championship campaign with a victory. Alonso was, therefore, absolutely thrilled with his achievement. I haven’t seen him smile so broadly since 2006.
The most exciting television moment for me happened before the race. Martin Brundle, the ex F1 driver and BBC commentator was doing his usual grid walk when he chose to barge in on an interview with Fernando Alonso by a Spanish television station. Alonso was responding to questions in quick-fire Spanish when Brundle elbowed his way in amongst the crowd and stuck his microphone under Alonso’s nose while hissing “that’s enough questions, this is the BBC!” at the Spanish journalist. The hapless Alonso, who is well known for his “love” of the English, simply had to shrug and switch languages to satisfy the BBC man. Classic!
Three more races like we suffered yesterday will result in fans switching off their televisions in droves. Reading this morning’s race reports was a bit like reading the reviews of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to his record breaking smash hit musical the Phantom of the Opera. The show, Love Never Dies, which opened in London a couple of weeks ago has been so heavily panned by the critics that one wonders if it will stay open long enough to recover its costs. One critic aptly had this to say: “Love Never Dies? More like Paint Never Dries!” A bit like the Bahrain Grand Prix really.
Gitau
15 March 2010
I had heard about places like Chez Nico before but prior to then neither had the wallet nor the rarefied taste buds for fine dining. The thought of eating there was so exciting for me that I spent most nights of the preceding week smacking my lips and dreaming of untold pleasures. When the great day arrived, I imagined this burly, bearded fellow hovering over me with a meat cleaver and kept well away from the salt and pepper as I stuck my fork into my L’ouef au Boeuf et Fromage au Cognac. Perhaps my palate is too unsophisticated – after all I was raised on a diet of boiled maize and beans – but to my horror the food was bland and uninspiring.
Yesterday’s painfully dull race reminded me of that experience all too clearly. After all the anticipation of waiting five months, learning all the intrigue and seeing the driver line-up, to sit through one and a half hours of processional driving was just not what anybody had in mind for the first Formula One Sunday of 2010. The new rules were supposed to make races more exciting but they seem to be achieving the opposite effect if yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix is representative of their effect. Admittedly, the Sakhir circuit is a Formula One fan’s nightmare: ghastly location, ill thought-out design and desert heat. It could be argued that a suspension of judgement is the prudent thing to do this early on and I must agree that it is an argument that has its merits. Let’s wait and see what happens when we’re not watching cars in some Arab millionaire’s playground.
The only real on-track action yesterday was three quarters into the race, when pole setter Sebastian Vettel, found he was losing power because of a damaged exhaust and had to give up his lead to Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and then Lewis Hamilton. I don’t think Alonso will be overly troubled by comments about the boring nature of the race, for it gave the Spaniard an important psychological achievement: winning his maiden race for Ferrari and starting his new championship campaign with a victory. Alonso was, therefore, absolutely thrilled with his achievement. I haven’t seen him smile so broadly since 2006.
The most exciting television moment for me happened before the race. Martin Brundle, the ex F1 driver and BBC commentator was doing his usual grid walk when he chose to barge in on an interview with Fernando Alonso by a Spanish television station. Alonso was responding to questions in quick-fire Spanish when Brundle elbowed his way in amongst the crowd and stuck his microphone under Alonso’s nose while hissing “that’s enough questions, this is the BBC!” at the Spanish journalist. The hapless Alonso, who is well known for his “love” of the English, simply had to shrug and switch languages to satisfy the BBC man. Classic!
Three more races like we suffered yesterday will result in fans switching off their televisions in droves. Reading this morning’s race reports was a bit like reading the reviews of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s sequel to his record breaking smash hit musical the Phantom of the Opera. The show, Love Never Dies, which opened in London a couple of weeks ago has been so heavily panned by the critics that one wonders if it will stay open long enough to recover its costs. One critic aptly had this to say: “Love Never Dies? More like Paint Never Dries!” A bit like the Bahrain Grand Prix really.
Gitau
15 March 2010
posted by Gitau at 2:04 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home