Bleacher Report - Articles by einnahs

So Long Kimi, and Thanks for All the Fish

einnahs — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:12:07 -0500

I'm a little numb right now—still can't believe that this is really happening.

After talks fell through with McLaren, Kimi Raikkonen is sitting out the 2010 Formula One season.

So Luca di Montezemolo wasn't just saying that Ferrari will have the strongest drivers next year...

Looks like the Button-McLaren move is imminent. With Kimi out of the picture, my loyalties and instinct say that the Massa-Alonso combo will kick the asses of Hamilton-Button, provided Ferrari doesn't self-destruct first.

My predictions: WCC - Ferrari, WDC - Hamilton.

I'm not sad for Kimi, I believe he could have gotten a drive if he really wanted to. This all just means he feels he would be much happier doing something else. Some say it's the salary demands, others say it's his motivation. Well, the guy doesn't need to prove anything to anyone, so speculate all you want.

But I am completely upset that I won't get to see Kimi on track next season. It's just...different.

Will Kimi be back to F1 in 2011? Theoretically, Mark Webber's seat at Red Bull would be available then, but who knows what one year away from F1 would do to you? And we all knew what happened the last time a Finn took a sabbatical.

Bye Kimi, thanks for all the great races and memories.

I look forward to supporting you in the next stage of your career.

2009 Brazilian GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:21:15 -0400

This week the Formula One circus returned to Sao Paulo, where for the past four (now five) years, the World Driver's Champion had been crowned.

In my memory, Interlagos hasn't yet failed in giving us an entertaining race. First of all, the Brazilian fans always light up the place with their passion. Then the track itself is pretty great: tight and twisty at the right places, with big sweeping curves and varying terrain.

But more importantly the rain gods seem to adore this place, and a wet track is always exciting.

Brace yourselves, the 2009 Brazilian Grand Prix was a flurry of action:

Timo Glock replaced by Kamui Kobayashi due to a cracked vertebrae from Suzuka. Minus 1 . Ouch, poor Timo. Sounds rather serious though, will he be back for Abu Dhabi?
Massa insists Alonso knew. Plus 1 . I am soooo looking forward to next season already.
Rain soaked Saturday. Minus 5 . I would be lying if I say I wasn't bored out of my brains in FP3, and half-falling asleep during qualifying.
Fisichella stalls his car in Q1. Second time of the day. Minus 2 .
Vettel out in Q1. Minus 5 . When the other three Red Bull cars make it through to Q2, there's no excuse. Minus 10 , for basically flinging his steering wheel out. Hey, that's a million bucks there.
Both McLarens out in Q1. Minus 5 . *frown*
Big shunt by Liuzzi, halting Q2 before anyone could set a time. Minus 2 . Well I know it's not really his fault, track conditions were terrible. But looking at a wet track and nothing much else for nearly an hour is not very entertaining.
Jenson Button out in Q2. Minus 10 . *groan* Seriously, this is not even the first time in the season this has happened.
Both Williams are killing it in the wet. Plus 5 .
Barrichello on pole! Plus 2 . The roar of the crowd was fantastic. Plus 1 , for race engineer Jock Clear's over-enthusiastic radio transmission.
Sutil qualifies P3. Plus 1 . Good job by the Force India boys.
Kimi qualifies P5! Plus 2 . Shameless praise again cos the F60 looked hopeless in the FP sessions.
Seb Buemi on third row of the grid. Plus 1 . Not bad, he does have his moments.
Sunny race day. Plus 2 . The race is looking interesting already.
Rubens does not stall his car during the start. Plus 1 . Hehe.
Great start by Kimi, P5 to P3 by the first corner. Plus 2 . Yay for KERS.
Kimi tags Webber and loses his front wing. Minus 2 . Awwww.
Kovalainen tags Vettel, runs wide and nearly took out Fisichella. Minus 2 .
Trulli taps Sutil's back, both spin out and collect Alonso along the way. Minus 2 . Then Trulli gets in Sutil's face: Minus 2 for unsporting behaviour, but Plus 5 for hilarity.
The Iceman is on fire. Literally. Minus 10 , for the McLaren lollipop man who let Heikki go early. Plus 5 , for the onboard cam view, but poor Kimi, who obviously had a WTF moment when the fireball went up. Plus 10 , thumbs up to the helpful Brawn pit crew. How come no one was quite so nice last year in Singapore?
Plus 20 for the entire action sequence on lap one.
After the race restarts, Button overtakes his way up. Plus 2 . This is more like it.
Kobayashi stands his ground, and holds Button up. Plus 2 . Impressive. If he had scored a point in the end he would have been my rookie of the year.
Heidfeld runs out of fuel. Minus 2 . The hilarity ensues.
Hamilton slowly but surely makes his way up. Plus 2 . Very good.
Webber leap-frogs Barrichello after the first pit-stops. Plus 1 . Oh Rubens, this is not looking good.
Both Williams retire for one reason or another. Minus 2 . Damn, I was hoping they would do well.
Hamilton overtakes Barrichello for P3, and gives Rubens a puncture. Plus 1 to Lewis. I think it's fated, Rubens can't win in Brazil.
Minus 1 , to the rain clouds who didn't turn up for the race.
Mark Webber wins his second Grand Prix! Plus 2 . Completely overshadowed by the WDC victory, but he really did have a great race.
Kubica in P2. Plus 5 . He silently drove the best race of the pack.
Hamilton P3. Plus 2 . Props to him.
Vettel finishes P4. Plus 2 . P15 to P4 is good, but pity it wasn't enough.
Kimi finishes P6. Plus 2 . Attaboy! I can't believe Ferrari and McLaren are still only one point apart.
Button finishes P5 and seals his WDC. Plus 2 . Frankly I'd rather a fight to the last race, but at least now we can get on with our lives. Most consistent driver of the season, well-deserved title.
Plus 2 to my feed cutting out before the chequered flag fell. Apparently Jenson started singing on team radio, I don't think I would have enjoyed hearing that.
Brawn GP is the WCC! Plus 100 . Absolutely brilliant brilliant brilliant. Think we all knew this was only a matter of time, but it doesn't make it any less sweeter. In your face, Honda!
Post-race: Stewards fine McLaren $50,000 and give Heikki a 25-second penalty for the pitstop incident. Minus 10 . What the... again the inconsistency. I was surprised a drive-through penalty wasn't given on the spot. The new FIA president better fix this.

And so we only have one race to go before the 2009 season closes. Ironically, the same two teams that have been fighting it out the past two years to the very last race will be doing the same in Abu Dhabi, except it's for third in the WCC and fifth in the WDC. Meh.

Also, amazingly the drivers' market has still not settled. Whoever said Alonso was the key before the dominoes started falling? By the looks of it we may not get many confirmations till mid-November.

Hope we all don't get too bored during the next two weeks. Cheers!

2009 Japanese GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 10:01:26 -0400

This week F1 returns to Suzuka! I love this old track for the many great moments from past races. Love Japan too, the fans are enthusiastic in the way only Japanese fans can be.

As usually, recapping the highs and lows of the Japanese Grand Prix weekend:

It has finally happened...Alonso in, Kimi out. Minus 5. The decision itself was questionable, but still understandable. The way it was handled though was slightly distasteful and disrespectful. Well, at least next season should be spicy.
Spotted: Kimi walking through the McLaren garage more than once. Plus 2. Excuse me while I stifle a giggle.
Drenched track in FP1 and FP2. Minus 2. No fun.
Mark Webber crashes in FP3, has to sit out qualifying. Minus 5. What's happening? The bad luck streak is unbelievable.
Fisichella out in Q1. Minus 1. Sigh. It's either the lack of testing or Kimi/Massa are supermen. Two more races to go, any chance of points?
Alguersuari crashes in Q2. Red flag. Minus 2.
Glock crashes in Q2. Second red flag. Minus 2. Took a long time getting Timo out, so a little drama and confusion there. Very interesting qualifying, halfway through Q2, only two drivers have set lap times.
Buemi leaves his front wing on track. Yellow flag. Minus 3. Hmm I don't quite get the fuss. Was it the line that Buemi took after the accident? Otherwise I see no difference in parking the car and limping back to the pits.
Kovalainen crashes in Q3. Red flag number three. Minus 3. Alright, this is bordering on ridiculous. Longest qualifying session ever.
Vettel on pole! Plus 2. Wunderkid is back.
Trulli qualifies P2. Plus 2. The old man's still got it.
Heidfeld qualifies P4. Plus 2. Didn't see that coming, good job.
Penalties galore before the race. Minus 1. Confusing grid. Special mention to Alonso, cos he was so sure he was moving up a few places, then slapped with a five-place drop. Minus one.
Red lights go off, and we're racing! No change to the top five. Minus 1. Awww.
Kovalainen/Sutil incident allows Button through. Minus 2. Silly silly mistake by Heikki, a bit of luck for Jenson.
Kovalainen/Fisichella pit exit fight. Plus 1. But a bit pointless really.
Alguersuari crash at 130R. Minus 1. Well I was wondering where the safety car was during the race. Smashing the ING sign looked good though. Plus 1.
Rosberg lucks out when the safety car comes out. Plus 1. How handy, jumps Barrichello for P5.
Vettel wins! Plus 2. Brilliant! The fight is not over yet.
Trulli P2 for Toyota. Plus 2. Japanese bosses should be pleased.
Lewis finishes P3. Plus 1. To be honest I expected better, but good job nonetheless, especially since KERS wasn't working.
Kimi in P4. Plus 3. I have to shamelessly praise him, cos the F60 doesn't belong there.
Heidfeld finishes P6. Plus 1. Nick is solid.
Brawns finish P7 and P8. Minus 2. I'm shaking my head. The phrase "damage limitation" has been popping up too often recently. Oh well, doesn't matter whether you crawl or sprint, as long as you get to the finish line first.
Massa is P11 on the WDC leaderboard. Heikki is P12 with the same number of points. Minus 1. Miraculously Ferrari is still third in the WCC. Nice to see Heikki helping Kimi out in his efforts.

Two weeks break, and we're off to Sao Paolo! Another classic track, where the action should be good, and where at least the WCC should be settled. Hopefully we'll also have more driver announcements to keep us occupied in the mean time.

Cheers!

Ferrari vs. McLaren 2010: 2007 with a Twist?

einnahs — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 10:33:41 -0400

I just wanted to chip in my two cents worth and do a quick straw poll before the news becomes official.

Renault, Ferrari, and McLaren team principals have all but organized a press conference to confirm what many have speculated for months: Alonso will be in red next season and Kimi will be driving a silver car in 2010.

I have commented a few times previously that I wasn't going to believe this until I saw the press release, but the signs from the teams this past week have been impossible to ignore: LdM's slip of the tongue at Madrid, Martin Whitmarsh's silence when asked point-blank at Singapore, and Renault's MD comment about missing Alonso next year.

First of all, I'm completely annoyed that the rumour mongers have got it right.

Secondly, if the rumours are to be believed entirely, releasing Kimi from Ferrari is going to cost the team a bomb. So maybe Kimi didn't demolish the field in 2008 and maybe Massa was delivering a similar performance for a much lower salary.

But wait, Kimi did win the WDC in 2007 and he helped the team deliver two WCCs in the two years since he has joined the team. If he was overpaid, does it make logical sense to pay him not to drive for the team?

It's not like Alonso coming in to replace Kimi would be a whole lot cheaper. The worst part is, Ferrari is releasing their WDC to drive for its main rivals.

Not too long ago, the way I saw the situation was like this: Ferrari retains Kimi for 2010 and it would probably have been his last year in F1. Alonso could wait another year; it's not like he has that many options. Likely only McLaren and Toyota could afford Alonso, (McLaren sure as hell wouldn't have taken him back). Alonso himself probably wouldn't have wanted to drive for Toyota—he hangs in at Renault.

Kimi doesn't have too many options other than Ferrari either. The same two teams can afford him: McLaren and Toyota, with the exception that McLaren actually wants Kimi. And once Kimi moves out of Ferrari, I doubt he would be at McLaren for only 2010; 2011 would be highly possible as well.

So, the likely scenario we have in front of us now is 2010 and 2011: Hamilton and Raikkonen versus Alonso and Massa. Apparently, Ferrari seems confident enough that they will emerge victorious in the championship, which I think is slightly arrogant.

If not for Spygate in 2007, McLaren would have taken the WCC easily. I don't see how this could be advantageous strategy-wise for Ferrari and I can't believe sponsorship could have such an impact.

As for teammate dynamics, Kimi pretty much doesn't care who his teammate is and he wouldn't have problems with any one of the other three.

Any pairing between Lewis, Alonso, and Massa, however, should be dynamite waiting to explode. Alonso and Massa should be entertaining—I'm still amused by Nurburgring '07. Compare that with Montreal '08.

Anyway, I have rambled long enough. I'm irritated that I'm facing the prospect of having to support a team with two drivers I don't particularly like, while my favourite driver is in another team I don't particularly like either.

By the way, if this "rumour" turns out to be untrue in the end, we can all have a laugh about it.

2009 Singapore GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:41:52 -0400

And we're racing under the lights in Singapore! Not the most fantastic circuit on the calendar racing-wise, but definitely a serious contender for the best looking one. Certainly helps that the grandstands were packed with fans, the overall atmosphere looked great.

A long, hot, and sweaty race for the drivers—they only just managed to complete all sixty-one laps under two hours in the humidity. Pity that we didn't get a little rain, I'm just a bit curious how a wet night race would look like. Oh well, there's always next year.

This was how everything played out at the Marina Bay the past few days:

Grosjean crashes his Renault at turn 17 during FP1. Plus 10. Priceless.
Very very dusty track. Minus 2. Someone take a vacuum cleaner out there.
Car bottoms sparking. Plus 2. Car exhausts flaring. Plus 2. Cool.
Mark Webber bins his car in FP2. Minus 2. Second red flag so far.
Button whining on team radio in FP3. Minus 2. He really needs to stop doing this.
Both Force Indias out in Q1. Minus 2. Aw man. I was hoping Spa and Monza weren't flukes.
Fisichella out in Q1. Minus 2. Damn, Ferrari is back to being sucky again.
Kimi out in Q2, P13. Minus 2. Sadness.
Button out in Q2, P12. Minus 5. That's not impressive.
Barrichello smashes into the wall halfway through Q3. Third red flag of the weekend. Minus 2.
Lewis on pole. Plus 1.
Rosberg qualifies P3. Plus 2. Best qualifying this season.
First twenty laps - nothing much happens. Minus 5. I'm bored.
Sutil takes out Heidfeld. Minus 2. Ooh that was unfortunate for Nick.
Rosberg crosses the white line on pit exit. Drive-through penalty.Minus 2. Nooooooo.
Alguersuari nearly leaves the pits with the fuel hose still attached. Minus 2. Another deja vu moment. We are certainly nostalgic in Singapore aren't we?
Vettel speeding in pit lane. Drive-through penalty. Minus 5. Noooooooooooooooooooo.
Mark Webber brake failure. Minus 5. Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
Both Toro Rossos retire. Minus 2. Someone hexed the Red Bull teams I think.
Lewis wins the race! Plus 2. Solid drive.
Glock takes P2. Plus 2. Super! Toyota needed this.
Alonso P3! Plus 5. Well done, Renault needed this even more.
Button comes in P5. Minus 1. Whoa, how lucky can this guy get? It's so fated that he wins the WDC.
Nakajima P9. Minus 1. He just missed out again.
Ferraris finish P10 and P13. Minus 2. Sigh.
Post-race: Webber complaining about having to yield to Glock and Alonso. Minus 1. He seems to like quoting Kimi as an example a lot recently eh? Kimi came back to win with one point in 2007, Kimi got away with running wide at Spa.

So that's it then for the second night race in history. The action continues in Suzuka next weekend. Not expecting the red cars to do great there, but never say never.

Cheers ;)

2009 Italian GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 11:56:35 -0400

Monza: the engine-killer track, and the spiritual home of the tifosi. It's always great atmosphere when race venues are packed with fans, but I have to admit this has never been one of my favourite circuits.

Firstly, I'm not Italian, and races here tend to be a bit straight-forward (i.e., blah). Unless it rains, which this weekend it didn't (not for F1, at least).

So as usual, a quick recap of the Italian Grand Prix:

Ferrari-Santander announcement. Plus 1. Biggest non-event ever. Spanish press slink away in disappointment. Will take about another two days before the Alonso-to-Ferrari rumours resurge.
Piquet-Renault crap-slinging fest. Minus 2. I wished I cared more, but I really don't.
Critics go nuts when Fisichella outpaces Kimi by three-hundredths of a second in FP1. Minus 1. Then all goes silent when Kimi is faster in FP2, FP3 and qualifying. Plus 2. Suckers.
Both Williams out in Q1. Minus 5. Wow, they haven't looked this bad in a while.
Both BMW engines die in Q2. Minus 5. Ouch.
Fisichella qualifies P14. Minus 1. More proof that the F60 is really pretty sucky. I hope Fisi does better the next race.
Liuzzi makes it to Q3. Plus 2. Impressive, best debut this season.
Lewis on pole! Plus 2. Looking good.
Sutil qualifies P2. Plus 2. Well done. Should have been good for pole though.
Kimi qualifies P3. Plus 2. Yay!
Red Bulls ninth and tenth on the grid. Minus 2. Hmm, this is slightly worrying.
Pre-race fuel loads. Plus 1. Has to be the most interesting grid so far... Seems like only the top three are on a two-stop strategy.
Not so good start by Lewis, but enough to keep the lead. Plus 1. As expected, KERS-equipped Kimi gets past Sutil at turn one. Plus 1.
Webber taken out on the first lap. Minus 1. Too bad they didn't manage to get an interview straight after, Mark's comments would have been colourful.
Nothing much happens during the race. Minus 2.
Toyotas fighting it out in the last part of the race. Plus 1. Most entertaining battle happening on track.
Lewis loses the car on the last lap. Minus 2. Ooh... hard shunt. Just when I thought the race finish was a goner and started reading the papers, this happened. Plus 1, for waking everybody up.
Brawn 1-2. Plus 2. Good job by both drivers, quick car, superior strategy by the team. Confidence boost for Button, will Barrichello catch him? Four races left...
Kimi finishes in P3! Plus 2. Fourth podium in a row, baby! No doubt, a few dashes of luck involved, but we'll take whatever we can get, thanks.
Sutil picks up P4. Plus 2. Brilliant job by Force India again. And for Sutil, getting stuck behind a red car may be a bit better than getting rammed by one.
Heikki finishes P6. Minus 3. Sigh. It does seem like he dropped the ball on this one.
Sucky day for the Red Bulls, P8 + DNF. Minus 2. Dear oh dear oh dear.
Eddie Jordan criticizes Fisichella-Ferrari move for the umpteenth time. Minus 5. Piss off already.
Post-race: Button telling his race-engineer to chill. Minus 1. Right. Remind yourself of the same before you start whining about the car sucking next time.

Two weeks to Singapore! Should be pretty entertaining, chance of safety car high even without Piquet Jr.'s help, and there may be some rain to spice things up.

In the meantime, the Renault trial and endless silly season drivel should be enough to keep everyone occupied.

See you all under the floodlights! Cheers ;)

2009 Belgian GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:28:34 -0400

Spa rocks my socks off. Has there ever been a boring race at this circuit? I can't get enough of the curves and the undulating terrain of this track.

Yet in another what-the-feck moment brought to you courtesy of Bernie Ecclestone, he thinks Spa should alternate hosting duties with the Nurburgring. And this just after the wonderful news from Valencia that we will have races there for the next five years! Thanks Bernie, after all the only reason why we watch F1 is so that we can line your pockets further. We should race at Daytona soon you know, so to help everyone reduce costs. Or maybe the Top Gear track, if they would lend it to us.

Anyway, moving on. Many great moments from Belgium this past weekend:

Badoer sticks it in the gravel in Q1. Minus 1. Rob Smedley must be pulling his hair out.
Both Force Indias in Q2. Plus 2. Not the first, but never with one driver topping Q1.
Shock: Button, Hamilton, Alonso & Kovalainen out in Q2. Minus 5. Woohoo. This is getting interesting. Only 0.5s separates the top ten.
Both BMWs and Toyotas in Q3. Plus 5. Looking good.
Fisichella on pole! Plus 5. Wow. It's ridiculous how tight the times are.
Kimi qualifies in P6. Plus 1. Not great, but will do.
Sunny race day. Plus 1.
Barrichello stalls at the race start. Minus 3. Umm, deja vu.
Kimi tries to out-drag the BMWs to La Source, runs wide, thanks to a Trulli-Heidfeld squabble joins back in third, then KERS his way past Kubica to second at Raidillon, nearly losing it at Les Combes. Plus 2. Whoa... very very aggressive stuff.
Grosjean and Alguersuari take out Button and Hamilton at Les Combes. Minus 1. Would deducted even more points, but the shot of Jenson and Lewis standing around looking non-plussed was highly amusing.
Race restart after safety car: KERS at Eau Rouge, Ferrari leads the race! Plus 2. Props to the magic button. It would be absolutely no fun if all cars had it.
Webber is released into the path of Nick Heidfeld. Drive-through penalty. Minus 2. I can't decide if this is pure bad luck that the same thing keeps happening, or if the RBR lollipop man needs to wake up a bit.
Alonso retires, left front wheel problems. Minus 2. Another deja vu moment, without the bouncing tyre.
Kimi takes the chequered flag! Plus 20. Yeah baby! King of Spa!
Fisichella scores Force India's first-ever points and podium! Plus 20. Super super super job.
Seb Vettel in P3. Plus 2. The RBR-05 was blistering during the race, but pity not when it counted during qualifying.
BMWs in P4 and P5. Plus 2. Finally a positive weekend for the team.
Luca Badoer finishes in P14! That's not l... oh wait, that's still last. Minus 2. Sigh.
Post-race side track: FIA to investigate Piquet's crash at Singapore '08. Minus 5. Wtf? FIA should form a performing theatre troupe, cos they are really getting the hang of this drama thing. And if it turns out that Piquet himself started the rumour of race-fixing, I would be seriously disappointed.

Congrats again to Ferrari and Force India for a great job well done. I was positive that FI would score their first points before the end of 2009, but I always imagined it would be Sutil rather than Fisichella. A podium finish blew everyone away! The old boy's still got it in him eh? I'm very interested to see if the team can keep the momentum going for the rest of the season.

As for Kimi, I'm still completely ecstatic over his win. To quote Jenson, "Chuffed to bits." The BBC team was bemused that Kimi appeared passionless even though it was his first win in twenty-five races. Actually he did break quite a few smiles after the race --- that's bursting with joy for Kimi's standards. Also kudos to the team for two faultless pitstops, I was half afraid Ferrari would give us another "memorable" pitlane moment here.

Round 13 at Monza in two weeks! Cheers ;)

2009 European GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:35:17 -0400

So, we're back to racing in Valencia after a rather eventful four-week break during which we saw Piquet Jr. get fired and replaced by Romain Grosjean, who brings the most outrageous hairstyle to the F1 paddock.

Michael Schumacher helped to sell some GP tickets by dangling the prospect of his return, then backed out to have Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer take Massa's seat. Massa is recovering well from his injury, and may or may not be bothered that Kimi did not call him.

Last but not least, BMW announced that they are pulling out of F1 by the end of 2009, not forgetting to inform their drivers via email the day after the official press release.

There may be silly season/driver circus/whatever-you-may-call-it in full swing, and lots of rumours floating in the air, but let's concern ourselves with news only when it is official, shall we?

Recapping the highs and lows of the European GP:

Another new boy on track. Plus 1. I can't get enough of Grosjean's hair. How does he fit into his helmet? But anyway, not too far off the pace, and I can't say that Piquet would have been faster, so good job so far.
Not so, new boy on track. Minus 1. Luca, I feel bad for saying this, but a red car in dead last, even in practice, does not look good. How did Ferrari let this happen?
Alonso's glory run in practice 2. Minus 1. Just to get in the Spanish headlines? *shakes head*
Vettel loses an engine and lots of oil on the track. Minus 1. Oh dear, well, at least no penalty for changing engines this year. Yet.
Martin Whitmarsh "confirms" Alonso's move to Ferrari. Minus 5. Boooooo.
The McLarens are scorching the field in qualis. Plus 2. Their pace is impressive.
Badoer qualifies in P20, 1.5s off from P19. Minus 5. 'Nuff said.
Button and Webber struggling for pace. Minus 1. Rather disappointing, really.
Kimi presses his KERS button and moves up to P4. Plus 2. Hahaha, I'm really liking the "magic button" now.
Horrific start by Button, loses four places. Minus 2. Not impressing anyone here.
Vettel's engine blows out. Again. Minus 2. Oh dear, only two new engines left. Should Webber and Renault start to worry?
McLaren does not have tyres ready for Lewis. Minus 5. Right.
Rubens Barrichello, no longer the oldest driver on the track, leapfrogs Lewis to lead the race. Plus 5. Alright!
Kimi leapfrogs Heikki in the second round of pit stops. Plus 2. Yessssss!
Badoer, despite being in front, lets Grosjean past when exiting the pits. Minus 2. Then promptly gets a drive-through penalty from the stewards for crossing the white line. Minus 2. *groan*
Timo Glock sets the fastest lap on lap 55 from P14. Plus 1. But seriously, what?
Barrichello wins his first race in five years! Plus 2. Tremendous job, well done. I'm tempted to deduct points for crying on team radio though, haha.
Lewis finishes P2. Plus 1. Good job all the way.
Kimi on podium again! Plus 2. Yay! Keep them coming ;)
Martin Whitmarsh claims that McLaren pit stop error did not cost Lewis the win. Minus 10. Whatever you say, Martin.

That about wraps it up for the weekend. A little boring since the championship leaders (save Barrichello) did not really bring the fight to this race, and I'd never thought I would say this, but I miss Massa already. Please come back soon!

Next week we go to Spa! Not sure if Ferrari has the goods to do well there, but Kimi almost never disappoints. Keeping my fingers crossed all the way...

Cheers folks!

2009 Hungarian GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 11:13:42 -0400

This has been an absolute roller-coaster of a weekend at the Hungaroring. Without further ado, recapping the high and low points over the past few days in Budapest:

New boy on track. Plus 1. Almost inconceivable that Toro Rosso will hire someone not named Sebastian as a driver. Looking from the practice sessions, Jaime is doing pretty decent despite his lack of experience.
Sutil crashing into the tyre wall in P3. Minus 2. Urgh, I bet his mechanics did not appreciate having to rush re-building his car in time for qualifying.
Both BMWs out in Q1. Minus 2. Oh dear.
Barichello out in Q2. Minus 2. Then we hear him complain about something breaking off from the back of the car.
Massa crashes in Q2. N/A. At first I thought he just went off track again. Then you see the tyre marks. Then you see Massa not getting out of the car. Uh oh.
The eerie similarity between Massa's and Surtee's accidents. Minus 100. I'm not quite sure how this can be avoided to be honest. There's always the risk with open cockpits.
Massive failure of live timing at the last second of Q3. Minus 10. Like, did someone accidently tripped over the power cord or something?
Alonso on pole! Plus 1. Then as suspected he is super light on fuel. Minus 1.
The McLarens are back. Plus 2. I'm impressed. We had a glimpse of this at Germany, both cars in Q3 again confirms it.
Button qualifies in P8. Minus 1. Right.
Cockpit camera from Massa's car. Plus 1. Not saying I enjoyed it, but seeing the suspension spring from Barichello's car bouncing merrily along before hitting Massa and the subsequent heavy shunt into the tyre walls, well it was almost surreal.
The three KERS cars shooting to the front when the red lights go off. Plus 2. Yeah... this never gets old. Great starts by Lewis and Kimi.
Championship leaders Button and Vettel dropping back at the start. Minus 1. Well ok, they were on the dirty side of the track.
Alonso's front right wheel flies off. Minus 5. In the light of the recent accidents, lucky this didn't end up in another driver's face.
Kimi squeezes past Mark Webber during their first pit-stops. Plus 2. Alright!
Vettel retires. Minus 2. Apparently there was damage from contact with Kimi at the start. Stewards still investigating.
Flavio Briatore leaves the track mid-race. Minus 1. Oh-kay... Guess that's not exactly good news for Piquet, then?
Button complaining on radio about the car. Minus 2. Maybe it's me, but I found it a bit too whiny. Just drive, man.
Lewis Hamilton wins the race. Plus 2. First KERS car victory this season, hopefully not the last either. Very good pace throughout from Lewis.
Kimi on podium! P2. Plus 2. Something positive for Ferrari then. At least, before the stewards have their say... I'm betting on no action.
Nico Rosberg finishes in P4. Plus 2. Another solid result.
Both Toyotas finish in points. Plus 2. Pretty good, especially Glock who started in P13.

Guess that's it from me. A long, long break before more racing in Valencia, but in mean time all thoughts are still on Massa and crossing my fingers for his speedy recovery.

Some forums are already ablaze with rumours on who to replace Felipe for the rest of the season, but that can wait till at least we get news that he's up and running healthy again.

See you all in four weeks!

2009 German GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 10:57:02 -0400

Well, that was an exciting GP weekend. I suppose any circuit that has a castle for a backdrop and a roller coaster at its doorstep can't go too wrong.

As usual, bringing you the quick and dirty at the Nurburgring over the past couple of days:

The mad circus of Q2. Plus 5. Nothing like a little rain to get everyone rattled up.
Both McLarens in Q3. Plus 2. Finally.
Mark Webber on pole! Plus 5.
Adrian Sutil qualifies in P7. Plus 10. Bonus points for having the heaviest car in Q3. Plus 5.
Piquet out-qualifies Alonso! Plus 2.
Eddie Jordan gushing over the progress McLaren has made. Minus 5. Progress - yes, one of the top three runners - not in a long shot. Go suck an egg.
Action at turn 1. Plus 5. I love how the Ferraris and the other KERS cars manage to jump the rest at the start.
Hamilton gets rear puncture at turn 1. Minus 5. *Groan* Well at least the car is looking somewhat competitive.
Kimi clips Sutil's front wing. Minus 2. This is mildly hilarious. Why does this always happen to Sutil when he is in position to score points?
Kimi retires due to engine trouble. Minus 5. Noooooooo.
Heikki Kovalainen builds a train behind him at least twice during the race. Plus 2. Hey the guy scored a point, even without the new parts his teammate got.
Rosberg starts P15 and finishes in P4. Plus 5. Great drive.
Massa scores his first podium of the season. Plus 2.
Brawns finish in P5 and P6. Minus 2. Well ok, I'm actually secretly glad they didn't finish at the top.
Mark Webber's maiden Grand Prix victory! Plus 5. Fantastic race, all the more impressive cos he had to serve a drive-through penalty.
Red Bull 1-2. Plus 2. Alright! The fight for the championships is looking good.

So here we are, nine races down, eight more to go. A couple weeks' wait before we get to the Hungaroring, but expecting more political rubbish and drivers' market rumours to keep us entertained in the mean time. Cheers!

2009 British GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:01:52 -0400

It's time again where I post my inane thoughts on the various highlights of the GP weekend. This week, we're at Silverstone: fantastic atmosphere.

Then again, we just came from Istanbul Park, so any place would be hyper in comparison. Throw in all the nostalgia packages and British driver features BBC has to offer, and you have a pretty entertaining weekend.

FOTA calls FIA's bluff. Breakaway series! Plus 20. Gotta admit I was a tad surprised, but F1 or not, I know which series I'll be following in 2010.
The Red Bulls are blistering. Plus 5. Wow, they got past both Q1 and Q2 on the harder tyre.
Lewis Hamilton out in Q1. Minus 5. Sutil crash or not, still a jaw-dropping moment.
Massa out in Q2. Minus 2. *Frown*
Jenson Button qualifies in P6. Plus 2. Not trying to be mean spirited, but it makes for nice change!
Vettel on pole! Plus 2. Yay.
Vettel makes a great getaway, no mistakes, and scampers away from Grandpachello and Webber to victory. Plus 5. Yesssssss!
Alonso + Hamilton + BMWs battling for, I don't know, some position. Plus 0. This was hilarious, entertaining, yet a bit sad all at the same time.
Piquet finishes in front of Alonso! Plus 1. There's a first for everything.
Fisichella finishes in P10 for Force India. Plus 1. I'm still rooting for them to score their first points this season.
Kimi has a great start, but drops down after his pit stops. Minus 2. Why-oh-why :(
Massa starts P11 but ends the race in P4. Plus 2. I don't know how on earth, but I have to give credit.
Jenson finishes in P6. Plus 2. I'm just enjoying the times when he is not on podium while I can. There is still hope yet for a championship fight.

Overall a positive weekend - just when I thought things were destined to be boring (ie. Brawn dominance) I'm thankfully proven wrong.

Thanks to Silverstone for another great race, I won't say goodbye just yet, we might be back here sooner than we know it ;)

No racing for three weeks before Nurburgring. Lots of time meanwhile for FIA to scramble for a solution. We'll wait and see how the soap opera continues. Cheers!

2009 Turkish GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 11:40:38 -0400

Something didn't feel quite right about the Turkish Grand Prix starting from when I watched Friday's practice session. Even during Qualifying on Saturday where the times were ridiculously close I wasn't really into it at all. Then my worst fears confirmed over the past few hours: a boring race!

I think my lack of enthusiasm shows in the recap, so this will be quick:

Lewis Hamilton dropped in Q1. Minus 2. What?
Lewis Hamilton condemns the MP4-24 to the scrap yard. Minus 5. While it's not exactly untrue, I don't think your team appreciates hearing you say this to the press.
Massa qualifies in P6. Minus 1. I was expecting a bit more to be honest.
Vettel on pole! Plus 2. That put a smile on my face :)
FOTA + drivers meeting, sans Williams and Force India. Plus 0. Ok I didn't really get the point of this. At least the photos of everyone crowding around a table was mildly interesting.
Jake Humphrey asks Stefano Domenicali pre-race if Kimi will be in a Ferrari in 2010. Minus 2. Idiot.
Barrichello makes a horrific bad start. Minus 5. P3 to P13?!
Barrichello makes contact with at least three other cars. Minus 2. I would have deducted more points for desperate driving, but it was good tv.
Vettel loses his race on lap 1. Minus 5. Sigh. Can I put this to inexperience?
Good race from the Toyotas and Nico Rosberg. Plus 1.
Jenson takes the chequered flag. Again. Plus 1. I have nothing against him personally, just that as DC said (and I hate agreeing with him), for non-Brits/Honda/Brawn/Button fans, this is getting incredibly stale.
Kimi finishing out of points. Minus 2. I need to go sulk for a while.

So that's that. More drama expected this coming week as FOTA continues to battle FIA. Will FIA have the balls to deny any of the existing teams entry? And who will be the next team to withdraw from FOTA if that happens?

Will I follow F1 next year if the red cars are not on the grid? Probably not. But they'll definitely be there in Silverstone in two weeks time, so I'd be watching then.

Cheers folks, see you all at the British GP.

2009 Monaco GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 24 May 2009 12:05:54 -0400

I love street circuits.

I have to admit, most of the time the circuits themselves don't make for great racing (overtaking) action, but that's not the point. They are meant to be spectacles—fantastic backdrops and cars just kissing the walls at the tricky corners. And if you want a F1 spectacle, what better place than glitzy Monte Carlo?

But enough intro mumbo jumbo. Here's my take on the Monaco GP weekend.

Drivers strutting it up on the catwalk. Plus 1. Only at Monaco, this always cracks me up.
Lewis losing it during Q1. Minus 1. Oh dear, practically ending his entire weekend at this one corner. His pace was looking pretty good too.
Both BMWs and Toyotas out in Q1. Minus 10. What?!
Kimi qualifies in the front row! Plus 1. I'm completely biased.
No debris during the first lap. Plus 1. Whoa, this is even more impressive here than the usual crashes at turn one.
Vettel forms a train, then shunts his car. Minus 1. I'm disappointed.
Piquet crashes, but it's not his fault! Plus 1. How often do I get to say that?
Jenson lapping Lewis. Priceless. Just goes to show how quickly fortunes change in the world of F1.
Heikki finds the final nail for the coffin for McLaren's weekend in a wall. Minus 2. The crystal encrusted helmets seem a bit silly now do they?
For two seconds, it looked like that Force India would get their first points. Plus 1. The way Alonso swerved, it was almost like he was thinking, WTF? Then we realised it was Sutil, not Fisichella.
Jenson wins! Five out of six. Plus 2. Can't find fault at all, not a single toe out of place the whole weekend. I will be very surprised if he does not win the WDC this year.
Rubens comes in second, again. Minus 1. He looked like he was about to cry after the race.
Ferrari third and fourth. Plus 1. Things are looking up, though if not for the slight delay during Kimi's second stop, it could have been even better.
Kimi's fat cap. Plus 2. I frankly never noticed it until this weekend, because so many people commented on it, but the cap is extra large and flat beaked. Hilarious.

I'm in a happy place. The race was a teensy bit boring, as expected, but enough action to keep me entertained throughout. And always good to see my favourite driver back on the podium with champagne.

Two weeks to Istanbul! Let's hope FOTA and FIA sort out all their nonsense before that.

Brawn vs Button vs Barrichello

einnahs — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:04:11 -0400

It was a wierd weekend watching Brawn GP. For the 2nd race in the row, Rubens Barrichello was the only man in the front few rows of the grid to have a 3-stop strategy - and it didn't work both times. As if that wasn't strange enough, the team went on to further claim that the 3-stop in Spain was their intended winning formula as their simulations predicted that it would be quicker than the more conventional 2-stop. Funny then, Jenson Button, who was swapped onto a 2-stop, ended up winning the race. Even then it wouldn't have caused too much of a stir, until team principal Ross Brawn stepped out to say that basically Rubens lost the race for himself because he was slower than expected. The conspiracy theorists are now having a heyday - Button favoured over Barrichello! A suspiciously familiar scenario with the same 2 out of 3 men in the triangle, though in a different coloured car. In the name of skeptism and curiosity, and also hoping to add more fuel to the controversy, some number crunching was in order. Armed with the official FIA 2009 Spanish GP lap times and MS Excel, I did just that...

Begin Slideshow

2009 Spanish GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Sun, 10 May 2009 10:54:01 -0400

And so the European season begins in Barcelona.

This wasn't a particularly happy weekend for Ferrari fans (or should I say, all non-Brawn GP fans). After millions spent on update packages, the pecking order hasn't changed too much.

Brawn and Red Bull are still at the top; Force India unfortunately is still way at the bottom. Ferrari showed the biggest improvement, but also proved that it's more than their car that's in serious trouble.

Renault, BMW and Williams are not moving forward, but at least are faring slightly better than McLaren and Toyota who seem to be sliding backwards. Toro Rosso is just, well, I'm not too sure what I was expecting from them.

But as Yoda would say, an in depth analysis of team performance, this article is meant to be not. Critiques of the various high (and low) lights of the 2009 Spanish GP, I bring you:

Terminator Salvation + Brawn GP. Plus 0. Right... what's next, Harry Potter?
Kimi not making Q3. Minus 10. Seriously, I don't care whose fault it is, wake up Ferrari!!
Jenson gets pole. Minus 1, only bcos I cannot stand his excitement on team radio.
Bad start by Vettel, overtaken by Massa and stays behind for most of the race. Minus 2. Meh.
Trulli spins and takes out 3 cars at turn 1! Plus 10. Love watching carbon fibre fly. Tough luck for Toro Rosso though.
Heikki retires. Again. Minus 5. This getting pathetic.
Kimi's car dies. Minus 100. OMG, I need to stab someone.
Massa running out of fuel. Minus 200. You've got to be kidding me.
Jenson makes it 4 out of 5. Plus 1. This is getting a bit stale.
Daddy Button. Minus 2. *Frown* Stop wearing pink.
Barrichello loses the race. Minus 2. Something is not quite right. Ruben's race strategist is almost at the same level at Ferrari's this year.
Mark Webber leapfrogs to 3rd. Plus 2. Yay, this is the only thing I'm happy about the whole weekend.
Ferrari gets another 3 points. Woooo... Yayyyy... Now everybody please go back to your gigantic motorhome and slap yourselves hard 3 times. Minus 3.

As usual, feel free to add your own points. Looking forward to Monaco already, where I hope my favourite ice-cream man in red will fare better. May the force be with us, or at least put us out of our misery by choking all the brilliantly human (ie. seriously flawed) mechanics and race engineers at Ferrari.

2009 Bahrain GP: Reality Check

einnahs — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:41:30 -0400

I really should have started this going from the Australian GP, but oh well, better late than never. Basically this is how it works: I award or minus points for the various highlights of each Grand Prix, based on their entertainment (or lack of) entertainment value.

Here goes:

Bernie Ecclestone + Santander boss in red jackets on the grid. Minus 20. Urgh, my eyes!
Mad scramble at the 1st corner + many clipped front wings. Plus 10, this is always good.
Felipe Massa making contact with Kimi Raikkonen. Plus 2, because the Ferrari garage must have stopped breathing for 2 seconds.
Toyota tyre strategy. Minus 5. Which part from practice + qualifying did they not understand the medium tyre is way slower?
Hamilton vs Vettel, Piquet vs Webber, Raikkonen vs Glock. Plus 2. Hey, KERS is useful!
Rubens Barrichello 3-stop strategy. Minus 1, drama, but didn't really work.
Jenson Button winning. Plus 10, well-fought victory.
Jenson Button screaming on team radio after winning. Plus 1 for enthusiasm, minus 5 for damage to my ears.
Giant sigh of relief from Ferrari as Kimi Raikkonen scores the 1st 3 points for the season. Plus 3, cos the situation is sadly amusing.
Nelson Piquet + Adrian Sutil not crashing. Plus 2.
Bahrain Special: No Champagne! Minus 5.
Richard Branson hanging in Brawn GP's garage. Minus 3. Alright, we geddit, you're their sponsor!

Feel free to add your own... Will be back for more in Spain. Cheers!

F1 2008 Season Recap: The Almost Quick Version

einnahs — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:52:44 -0500

While waiting out the 141 days 15 hours 10 minutes 31 seconds the formula1.com countdown clock says I have before I can officially start obsessing about the next race, thought I would share my round-up of the past nine months of racing.

Mind you, the following is all seen through scarlet-tinted glasses, but least this will be brief. Or kinda. Heh. Here goes:

Grands Prix

1. Australia, Melbourne
Almost amusing start to the season with only 6 cars finishing. 1st blood to Lewis.

2. Malaysia, Sepang
Normal race. Kimi wins.

3. Bahrain, Sakhir
Massa comes alive. 1st Ferrari 1-2 of the season.

4. Spain, Catalunya
Horrific crash for Heikki. Second Ferrari 1-2 with Kimi on top, Lewis rounds out the top three.

5. Turkey, Istanbul
Different order but same three drivers on podium. Massa pockets another 10.

6. Monaco, Monte-Carlo
Ah Monaco, never boring. Lewis takes his second win.

7. Canada, Montreal
Home of the infamous pit-lane incident. And Kubica's maiden win.

8. France, Magny-Cours
Third and last Ferrari 1-2 without too much competition. Massa takes it.

9. Great Britain, Silverstone
Woo, the wonders of rain. Lewis collects another.

10. Germany, Hockenheim
Um, I have to admit I missed watching this one. Oops. Another to Lewis.

11. Hungary, Budapest
Heikki finally makes it to the top of the podium, with a wee bit of help from a tyre puncture and engine failure.

12. Europe, Valencia
Second Ferrari engine blow-out in as many races. What the *beep*. Massa nearly hits Sutil while Kimi really does hit someone. At least Massa got a win out of this.

13. Belgium, Spa-Francorchamps
The drama escalates off the the track. Ferrari showing again they are a bit crap in the rain. Kimi spins, Lewis wins then loses it, Massa picks up the points.

14. Italy, Monza
Sebastian Vettel is the new rainmaster, and youngest GP winner!

15. Singapore, Marina Bay
F1 has never looked better on TV. Ferrari provides the entertainment, and Alonso steals the victory.

16. Japan, Fuji Speedway
Alonso makes it two in a row! Thanks to the antics of the the two WDC leaders.

17. China, Shanghai
The one where hardly anything happened. Lewis inches closer to his title.

18. Brazil, Sao Paulo
I stayed up till 3AM on a Sunday night for this—worth every second. Massa is champion for about three seconds before Lewis snatches it back in the last turn. The new champion also owes Timo Glock a big kiss.

Drivers

1. Lewis Hamilton
Love or hate the man, he's just that good.

2. Felipe Massa
100% respect!

3. Kimi Raikkonen
Disappointing season for sure, but no matter, I still love him.

4. Robert Kubica
Really good run, pity it fizzled so quickly at the end.

5. Fernando Alonso
No matter what car you put this man in, he will drive the heck out of it.

6. Nick Heidfeld
Another solid season, but just missing that extra bit of speed and luck.

7. Heikki Kovalainen
Lacklustre. Victim of team strategy?

8. Sebastian Vettel
Revelation of the year, the one to watch in 2009.

9. Jarno Trulli
Rather inconsistent, but did have a few bright moments.

10. Timo Glock
I'm undecided... he does seem to be improving though.

11. Mark Webber
Not bad actually, just nothing too spectacular.

12. Nelsinho Piquet
I'm not impressed.

13. Nico Rosberg
Sooooo deserves a better car.

14. Rubens Barichello
My sentimental favourite, reliable despite the ride.

15. Kazuki Nakajima
Did an ok job i suppose.

16. David Coulthard
Oh dear, an anti-climatic retirement for sure.

17. Sebastian Bourdais
Has to be capable of better.

18. Jenson Button
Definitely capable of better.

19. Giancarlo Fisichella
Took a few risks, but didn't really work out.

20. Adrian Sutil
Uneventful except perhaps in Monaco, which isn't too good.

Constructors

1. Ferrari
Could have won both championships by a mile, should be smacked for all their mistakes.

2. McLaren
Appears to really only had 1 title in mind and line of sight.

3. BMW-Sauber
The most consistent team around.

4. Renault
Much improved, but can they be back in top form next year?

5. Toyota
Pretty much ended up where they belong I think

6. Torro Rosso
Good year, but propped up mainly by 1 driver.

7. Red Bull
A few spots of bad luck, but surprisingly uncompetitive compared to their sister team.

8. Williams
Needs to get their act back together.

9. Honda
Ditto.

10. Force India
Well, it is their 1st season...

*No Super-Aguri, Sato and Davidson cos they only had 4 races, and also well, I can't recall too much of what they did.

That about wraps it up. On to 2009!