monaco recap

[ mclaren, monaco, lewis hamilton, formula 1 ]

extremely busy for the past week and couldn't slot a time for a post. furthermore, the blogger of f1 @ c.c.c.p. will be out of town (and his blog workstation/tv) for a long period of time. hopefully, i can find time to watch f1 live and to continue with my posts.

anyways, here's a recap of what the monaco gp brought us:

0 overtaking
that was basically the whole story wasn't it? we didn't see any overtaking, at least not on tv, for one and a half hour. quite pathetic. 1-2-3-4 stayed as 1-2-3-4, not even the pitstops could rattle the front runners.

mclaren's awesome speed, a one-off?
the mclaren of alonso and hamilton managed to lap everyone except massa. they even managed to lap some cars not once, but twice. when the silver cars have crossed the line and were celebrating through half of the circuit, massa claimed third only about one minute later. mclaren were truly on a rampage, but was it a one-off for the monaco show? according to alonso, it was.


team order from ron dennis
that shouldn't be a surprise. monaco is notoriously difficult to overtake, and for lewis hamilton to attempt and screw up the party for mclaren would be crazy. the sensible thing to do would be to hold position until the end. however, ron did reveal that if there was a safety car period, anytime during the race, hamilton would have won. and given the very high possiblity of a safety car period at monaco, i would say ron is actually favoring lewis.

kimi continues to disappoint
kimi's weekend was ruined by first screwing up his qualifying through what seemed like an amateur mistake. he hit the barrier and drove through the curb so hard it snapped the front suspension of the ferrari, and was unable to contest for q3. during the race he was consistently stuck behind horrible traffic and horrific strategies. last year, michael managed to finish 5th from last, 22 on the grid (+17), this year kimi could only managed 8th from 16th on the grid (+8). the only good thing for him during the weekend was he proved that 'parking' at rascasse isn't necessary a means of cheating.

another red bull dnf
webber has been quiet recently. well, i would shut my trap too if i have been retiring 3 out of 5 races, and to finish no higher than 10th position for the remaining two races. but of course it isn't entirely his fault. the red bulls are designed by adrian newey, and his cars are well known to be insanely unreliable during its initial stages. we'll see if redbull can fix its unreliability and produce a similar result as spanish gp.

good bye schumacher?
it seems that the topic of conversation around the paddock has been the soon-disappearance of the name schumacher from f1. with michael gone last year, it is possible that ralf will lose his seat this year. ralf's contract has yet to be extended, while jarno is set to stay at toyota. worse still, toyota is honest about their hunt for a new driver.


winner of the race
yeah mclaren was clear winner with their one-two (both qualifying and race) and fastest lap, but i'd also like to give credits to fisichella/renault for finishing fourth, speed to finish 9th from 18, and alex wurz for finishing ahead of nico although nico way out-qualified alex.

loser of the race
toyota and honda share the title. i wonder how long are they going to continue embarassing themselves in the world motosports arena. their dismal display can't be good for their names.



previous posts:
wonderful video by shell
lewis crash! boom! bang!
are you ready for monaco?
f1 circuit chief sacked for corruption
kimi raikkonen is rubbish

awesome shell video

[ ferrari, formula 1 ]

you're gonna want to pump up your speaker for this.


this wonderful ad by shell is called "circuit". after more than 60 years of cooperation with ferarri, the ad shows the evolution of the ferrari racing car, zooming through the streets of rome, new york, hongkong, brazil, and monte carlo. fantastic!

while the ferrariworld blog asks:

This spectacular Shell video sparks off the enthusiasm for the street race tracks of the past, while it seems that this is a tendency that Formula One wants to reintepret these days. Do you think that this is the right way to make Formula One become more exciting?

anyways, there are many many scenes i love about this ad. so many i don't even bother writing them out. watch it, and you'll know which scenes i'm referring to.

shell v-power, ferrari fuel for the road. :)



previous posts:
lewis crash! boom! bang!
are you ready for monaco?
f1 circuit chief sacked for corruption
kimi raikkonen is rubbish
kimi breaks more cars

lewis crash! boom! bang!

[ mclaren, monaco, lewis hamilton, formula 1 ]

is this a sign of things to come? lewis hamilton crashed his car to the wall, and it was a huge one. was it a mistake? was it the nerves getting to him? or was he really exploring the limits?

i like how updatef1.com puts it:

It had to happen – the vultures have been circling, waiting patiently, for four races now; Lewis Hamilton made a mistake in second practice for the Monaco Grand Prix.

- read complete article to see how practice 2 at monaco went

cynical aren't these people? not everyone is as kind as haug, forgiving their protege. but it's true, people have been waiting for lewis' first cock up, good (or bad, if you're a cynic) thing for lewis it came during the practice. i do hope he can recover quickly from this accident and continue his superb form.

joining hamilton in the crash list is ralf schumacher, anthony davidson, and adrian sutil. i believe you can expect more during qualifying and the race.

remember, no friday practice for monaco - that has been the tradition. so at the moment, mclaren seems to be ahead of ferrari. alonso beating hamilton, and kimi beating massa. will we see a revenge of the number 2, yet again, during qualifying and possibly the race? only two days left for us to find out.

are you ready for monaco?



previous posts:
are you ready for monaco?
f1 circuit chief sacked for corruption
kimi raikkonen is rubbish
kimi breaks more cars
four consecutive poles for ferrari

are you ready for monaco?

[ monaco, formula 1 ]

i'm always very excited when monaco gp is around. not because of the good racing (or the lack of), but because of the glamour, the celebrities, and the ambience.


and i love this tunnel. the only tunnel in f1.



are you excited yet? he sure is...


to be continued...



previous posts:
f1 circuit chief sacked for corruption
kimi raikkonen is rubbish
kimi breaks more cars
four consecutive poles for ferrari
disapproval for singapore gp?

f1 circuit chief sacked for corruption

[ shanghai, formula 1 ]

shanghai f1 circuit chief was sacked in midst of a corruption investigation. mr yu zhifei was accused of using company money to buy a house and taking bribes.

The sackings were related to an inquiry into misuse of Shanghai's pension fund.

The scandal has already led to the sacking of Chen Liangyu, who was the city's Communist Party secretary.

Last September he became the most senior party official to be dismissed in more than a decade.

[...]

Mr Yu has been expelled from the Communist Party and is facing criminal charges, the Shanghai Daily and other newspapers said.

The former district chief, Chen Chaoxian, was also sacked and so too was Ling Baoheng, the former director of the city's state-owned asset supervision board.

Despite China's market reforms, Communist Party officials still have control over large parts of manufacturing, banking and real estate.

Corruption is a widespread and growing problem which the Chinese government is struggling to control, says the BBC's Quentin Sommerville in Shanghai.

- china's f1 track chief dismissed

corruption may be a problem in china, but at least they are taking necessary steps and doing the right thing. punish those who have done wrong, no matter how powerful or influential they are. rather commendable.

if only some country could learn.



previous posts:
kimi raikkonen is rubbish
kimi breaks more cars
four consecutive poles for ferrari
disapproval for singapore gp?
terrible f1 accident

kimi raikkonen is rubbish

[ ferrari, barcelona, kimi raikkonen, formula 1 ]

there, i said it. as much as i would like to embrace kimi as a driver deserved of high praises, his attitude left nothing to be desired.

Sir Jackie Stewart has questions Kimi Raikkonen's commitment after the Finn stormed away from the Barcelona circuit following his retirement on Sunday.

[...]

However, rather than stay behind to watch team-mate Felipe Massa's victory, Raikkonen was reportedly on his way to the airport less than half an hour after retiring from the race.

The Finn's actions have - not for the first time - raised doubts about his commitment to Formula One, with Stewart claiming that Raikkonen isn't willing to make the sacrifices needed to become a World Champion.

- stewart questions kimi's commitment

so why did he stormed out of barcelona so quickly? for the ice hockey final?

"I asked the team if I could go quickly and I'm pleased they saw that giving me permission was the right thing to do," said Raikkonen.

"I arrived home in Wollerau in time to see the final stages of the ice hockey world championship final, but Finland lost to Canada. Obviously, this just wasn't a good day."

- kimi upbeat despite woes

and i don't understand why is massa always doing the testing. what is kimi doing? partying? for me, kimi is definitely one of f1's most overrated and biggest brats. he's acting like a super star even before becoming one. i just don't get why people can't see it.


look how proud he is:

Kimi Raikkonen has vowed to continue to be his own man - despite whatever input Michael Schumacher has to offer Ferrari these days.

[...]

But when asked whether he would listen to Schumacher if he offered advice, Raikkonen replied: "I still drive the car.

"With my engineers I do what I want, so..."

Finishing the sentence, the questioner inserted: "So no then?" to which Raikkonen merely shrugged his shoulders.

- kimi: 'i'll do it my way'

he reminds me of montoya - too damn proud of nothing, really. just slightly better packaged.



previous posts:
kimi breaks more cars
four consecutive poles for ferrari
disapproval for singapore gp?
terrible f1 accident
from champions to insignificance

kimi breaks more cars

[ ferrari, barcelona, felipe massa, formula 1 ]

i tell ya, this kimi is a car breaker. he's a fast driver, but he'll drive the shit out of any car given to him. frankly, i won't be surprise to see more car failure for kimi this season. i think peter sauber had it right: kimi needs to get more technical, in order to understand his car. if kimi's attitude doesn't change, perhaps ferrari should think about grabbing hamilton.

speaking of hamilton, he is leading the championship! for a rookie in only his fourth race, that's just amazing. granted the season is still very long, so i don't think it would stay that way till the end. or could it? we all know that f1 is all about consistency, and for the moment he is having that. plus he is such a calm and mature kid, and most importantly he has a great attitude. future champion, for sure!

the reigning champion, however, was blamed by the media for making a wrong judgement. naturally, alonso blames massa for the incident, but it was pretty clear that alonso gave massa no space, and they had to touch. it was a racing incident, and alonso lost out. he may have won the race if he had given massa more space, as the next corner would have been his. however, it was basically over from then on.

as i've predicted, the win would be easier with the lighter fuel load. massa stormed away after the first corner and never gave lewis or alonso a chance. i got to say, it is looking very good for massa to lift the championship (and progressively bad for kimi). why? he's driving perfectly, he's calm (not even the fire could startled him), and he has the team behind his back. he is probably just a nicer bloke to work with, as compared to kimi.

speaking of predictions:

i'll make some predictions for the race. ferrari one-two, and alonso third. heidfeld continues to get fourth, with hamilton not managing to finish for the first time. one of the renaults (kovalainen perhaps) scraping for top eight, trying to fend off a super aguri. hahahaha... and coulthard will be up there somewhere as well.

- four consecutive poles for ferrari

1. ferrari one-two: half right - ferrari one
2. alonso third: correct!
3. heidfeld fourth: wrong :(
4. hamilton not finish: wrong :(
5. one of the renault fighting for top eight: correct! although wrong driver
6. renault trying to fend off super aguri: correct, simply amazing!!!
7. coulthard up there: correct!

4.5/7, i think i'm getting pretty good at this. especially number 6, i think i can see the future. ;)

winner of the race:
super aguri for getting their first championship points, and other perks that come with it. congratulations to sato for achieving that for the team, and significantly beating the two honda factory cars (incidently, they are 'celebrating' their first top ten finish). i believe the real party will be at the super aguri's camp tonight.

loser of the race:
toyota just can't seem to do well. after trulli put a toyota at sixth, the best qualifying of the season, the car died after the warm up lap. what gives?



previous posts:
four consecutive poles for ferrari
disapproval for singapore gp?
terrible f1 accident
from champions to insignificance
star of bahrain qualifying

four consecutive poles for ferrari

[ ferrari, barcelona, felipe massa formula 1 ]

that's impressive. more so for massa, who has been on pole for three consecutive times. i have to admit, it was rather fulfilling to see massa spoil the spanish party. if you paid attention, you could actually hear the sound of a few hundred thousand heartbreaks when massa stormed through the line.

however, qualifying is no longer about who's the quickest; rather who is the lightest. it seems quite clear that massa and alonso are on a light fuel strategy, while kimi and hamilton have the heavier one. will the heavier strategy come into play? i don't think so. i personally think it's easier to win the race if you're up in front.

however, it isn't going to be straightforward. i think mclaren and ferrari are very evenly matched, with maybe ferrari being slightly quicker. so ferrari may be in front of the mclaren, i don't think they'd be able to lose the silver cars from their exhausts. it could come down to some fiery overtaking battles, or it could come down to some intelligent pitstop strategies for the win. i'm praying for the former.

away from the leaders, the bmw are consistently the third best team on the grid. they appear to be a low profile team, just quietly doing their job. nobody has paid much attention to them, as you hear more discussion on the demise of toyota and honda teams. i think they are going to be a team to watch out for this season, as they will spring some surprises. with superior bmw engineering, the biggest wind tunnel within the f1 fraternity, and a smaller ego for being a copycat, i believe they may even have a chance to win a gp. mark my word.

finally, fantastic stuff from super aguri again! although their cars aren't reliable at the moment, it's definitely fast. well, at least faster than the 'original' honda team. they managed to qualify both cars into q2, and was looking very strong to even get into q1 - before the cars broke. i'm actually quite looking forward to the day when both cars get into q1, embarassing button and rubens even more. good luck super aguri.

i'll make some predictions for the race. ferrari one-two, and alonso third. heidfeld continues to get fourth, with hamilton not managing to finish for the first time. one of the renaults (kovalainen perhaps) scraping for top eight, trying to fend off a super aguri. hahahaha... and coulthard will be up there somewhere as well.

so bring it on barcelona! it's going to very exciting. the european leg is always so much better than the opening leg because of new car developments, better comfort level from the teams, and more passionate ambience. so i hope this year's spanish gp won't disappoint us.



previous posts:
disapproval for singapore gp?
terrible f1 accident
from champions to insignificance
star of bahrain qualifying
missing schumacher and brawn

disapproval for singapore gp?

[ singapore, formula 1 ]

is this a sign of disapproval for the singapore gp?

The apparent return of street circuits in Formula One is contrary to the sport's push for better safety, according to Marc Gene.

The occasional Ferrari test driver told the Spanish news agency EFE that he is opposed to Bernie Ecclestone's negotiations with Valencia, Singapore and other potential venues for Monaco-style city races.

- f1-live.com

is that why the announcement of the singapore gp has been delayed since the malaysian gp? negotiations are said to be ongoing, but the longer it takes, the more unlikely it'll materialize next year. perhaps due to opposition from the gpda on the grounds of safety, or perhaps the malaysian government has been pressing hard to disallow the singapore gp.

to be frank, i can't decide whether the singapore gp is going to be a good thing for the f1 circus or not. personally, i think it'll be exciting to have another street circuit. and singapore, more so than valencia, or even india, would be ideal. i was just in singapore last weekend, and the city looks ready (in every sense) to transform itself to accomodate f1.

singapore is a 'fine' country well known, among others, for its hardcore cleaniness, no nonsense law, and systematic transportation structure. yet, they are also embarking on an ambitious plan to make it a friendly destination for all. with two new casinos, world class art/cultural theatres, and soon-to-be (?) f1-on-the-street, it is going to be a city very difficult to resist.


on the contrast, malaysia is not comparable to its southern neighbour. after hosting the gp for close to ten years, it has yet to make itself indispendsable on the f1 calendar. it just doesn't appear to be a place 'serious' enough for f1, and there's a malaysian gp just because there's a pretty good circuit in the country. no passion, no commitment, just obligation. plus, we're not even going to talk about the lack of transportation infrastructure, the lack of tourism integration, and the unfriendly frontliners of the country, all of which are super turn-offs for the tourists.

so, when i place myself in the shoes of a tourist deciding to watch a live f1 race in south east asia, presented to me are the malaysian gp (march) and the singapore gp (october), i would probably choose the singapore gp. just because it'd be more value for my money to watch one of the only two street races in the world. plus, i could easily visit malaysia if i were at singapore - just cross the straits.

the malaysian government can't possibly bank on winning if they want to direct compete with singapore. instead, they should try and work together by proposing to have the gps one after the other. then, present an attractive package for the tourists to catch two live gps for one visit to the region. win-win for everyone! ;)

only if singapore is that stupid to agree.



previous posts:
terrible f1 accident
from champions to insignificance
star of bahrain qualifying
missing schumacher and brawn
come! and get some airasia kisses