f1 @ c.c.c.p.: missing schumacher and brawn

[ ferrari, sepang, michael schumacher, formula 1 ]

first off, wasn't i right to say the first corner will determine everything? alonso passing massa and hamilton passing both kimi and massa before the first corner sealed the race for mclaren. although the ferrari was a quicker car in the first stint, they were not able to overtake the stunning mclaren.

critical move [f1-live.com]

ferrari must be missing micahel schumacher and ross brawn. the race at sepang fell apart for ferrari, with the uninspiring drive from the drivers and the horrible pitstop strategy. in this race, they seemed to have lost the touch.

let's start with felipe massa, from a hero on pole to fifth place loser after around 10 laps. his drive was amateurish, even behind a rookie with two f1 races under his belt. massa's overtaking maneuvers on hamilton were silly to say the least. he tried it once and failed, but then he decided to try it again at the same spot only to end disastrously. he was ballsy, i got to give him that, but silly. furthermore, he threw away his chance to be the number 1 driver in ferrari.

nothing very exciting from kimi either. i'm sure he tried as hard as he could, but it was truly uninspiring. i wonder if michael could have done more. and after the first pitstop, kimi was miles away from hamilton. i wonder if brawn could have done better. are they really the missing pieces?

furthermore, is this the beginning of the downhill for ferrari? personally, i hope not. sepang hasn't been kind to the scuderia recently, so i'm hoping this is just a one off this season. without ferrari there at the top, this season could well be mclaren's for the taking. within three weeks, mclaren has improved tremendously. they weren't lying when they said they have closed the gap to ferarri. in fact, they have surpassed ferrari. so game on!

overall, the race was alright. the first part was very exciting, with hamilton doing a fantastic job of holding back massa. he didn't crack under pressure, not with massa and also not with kimi. this kid is brilliant! now, i think the lewis-hype can get started. he is full of confidence and determination as well, announcing to the team that he will get a win. he just needs to qualify better, and the wins will be his.

i particularly liked ralf's overtaking maneveur on scott speed. ralf set speed up fabulously by making a few dummy moves, tricking speed to go to ther wrong side and opening up the corner. and with that, ralf coyly swerved in and take the spot. however, a horrendous drive for him as he dropped around 10 places to finish close to the bottom.

just a mention on poor nico, running brilliantly throughout the race but only to have the car breaking down. his teammate, wurz, however, redeemed the race for william with an amazing drive up to ninth, beating webber who qualified among the top ten. maybe it is the airasia sponsorship that helped - "now everyone can fly!" including wiliams.

winner of the race:
i think there are plenty of winners. rubens managed to come from the pit to climb to midfield, passing his teammate who qualified better. wurz, as above. mclaren, for getting their first win and one-two since 2005. so this is a tough one and no clear winner, but i'd like to say williams are definitely winners as they have found their momentum back to the glory days.

loser of the race:
simply massa.

flying kiss [f1-live.com]