McLaren gets Brawned, Ferrari fumbles as Schumi stalls

The 2009 Formula 1 race in Valencia saw the McLarens qualify 1-2! It was a chance for the silver cars to regain some lost pride. However, current point leaders, Brawn GP had other ideas. Having run the cars heavier, the Brawn GP team was able to run their cars much deeper into the race before pitting. Result? McLaren led the race longer, but it was a Brawn driving Barrichello that crossed the finish line first!

Hamilton made it across in 2nd place and Kimi was 3rd. However, even a podium finish for Ferrari could not save them from the shameful humiliation suffered by the tifosi, thanks to a dismal performance by Luca Badoer, who I feel should be renamed Luca BAD-driver! The guy finished LAST – he ran 2nd from LAST for most of the race – all that in a Ferrari! The same car that took a podium finish in the same race! To say that Luca drove bad is an understatement. The guy seemed totally unprepared, he missed breaking points on the circuits, he skid on a perfectly dry track and made a mess out of the Ferrari drive! It would have been better for the red team to have entered a single car in the race…

Oh Shumi! Why did you have to drive the bike? And if you had to drive it, why did you crash? And if you crashed, why didn’t you save your neck? The biking incident has caused the tifosi to drop their heads in shame and strain their necks today! Come back- Its clear that the team needs you!#

Force India finished at a respectable 10th and 12th position!

# Schumi had a bike accident earlier in the year that caused him neck injuries grave enough to prevent him from racing for Ferrari when their other driver, Felipe Massa was injured in a racing accident. A spring from a Brawn GP car driven by Barrichello flew after Barichello crashed. The flying spring hit Massa on his head causing Massa to blank out and crash at high speed. The spring injury will prevent Massa from driving the Ferrari possibly for the rest of the 2009 F1 season. Schumi was to be his replacement, but the pain in his neck prevented from making a sensational comeback in the Valencia race.

Michael Schumacher’s Comeback 2009

There is no doubt that Michael’s comeback to Formula 1 is the biggest event of the 2009 F1 season. No sooner than the announcement was made, the papers next day were abuzz with pictures and stories about the King of F1. Times of India even had the same title (the king is back or something to that effect) that I had used in my blog a day before. Oh well!

The difference between champions and others is the amount of commitment the former gives to the sport. Within a week of the announcement, Schumi lost 3 kilos of body weight. If you think 3 kilos do not make a difference, think again!
A) In a sport where the time is measured in one thousandth of a second, 3 kilos can make you faster than your competitor.
B) 3 kilos can give you an extra lap worth of fuel, allowing you to pit later than your competitor (and your teammate).
C) 3 kilos less weight can allow your car designers to balance the car better – it can give them the flexibility to re-distribute the weight of the car, allowing it to handle much better!

The last advantage comes with its own little challenge – As the (almost) bankrupt BMW Williams team disallowed Michael Schumacher to test the F-60 (the 2009 Ferrari F1 car) , the car designers will have to entirely rely on calculations and models to “gauge” the cars performance with the new weight distribution and with Schumi in the cockpit. The other part of the challenge is – Schumacher has not driven the F-60 even once! While the competition is close to being half way thru the season, Schumacher will drive the F-60 in Friday practice for the 1st time on a track that he has never driven before (the track was newly made after Schumi retired). While other drivers in F1 (Read Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso) crib and complaint about the lack of their car’s performance openly, Michael has quietly adjusted to the circumstances and started testing in an old 2007 Ferrari with slick tires instead of grooved ones! That’s a champion for you! Perhaps Alonso and Kimi can watch and learn as Schumi shows everyone that “A good craftsman never blames his tools!”.

Not only that, Schumacher has already completed an entire day testing the car and training his injured neck muscles. That’s a champion for you. At the age of 40, Schumacher will be more than twice the age of the youngest F1 competitor (19 yrs 4 months)! It takes sheer guts and Iron-like-will-power to make such a comeback.

Even before he retired in 2006, during the retirement, and post retirement – there were (are) no silly news about Schumacher in the media. The only news you get to see are about Schumi testing! No silly night-club games, no drinking binges, no playing the fool! No sir! Not Schumacher!

Perhaps that’s why he could easily be amongst the fittest F1 drivers, even post retirement!

The comeback could not have been at a better time for Formula 1. A sport that runs on big money, such a comeback means, sold out tickets at the racing venues and big time TV eye-balls! I would not be surprised if there is at least a 30% increase in television viewership for the Valencia race on 23rd August 2009 as the F1 fans, Tifosi and Schumi fans are all eager to watch the king make a comeback! Honestly, for them (and for me), it does not matter if Schumacher performs or not. Just watching him get behind the wheel of the red car will be joy enough for the die-hard F1 fan! There are many F1 fans who stopped watching the sport after Schumi retired. More people did not follow the sport with as much gusto now than when he was racing – Schumi’s comeback will bring these fans back to the sport – Then there will be others who will be watching just to be part of the buzz, while there will be those who will watch the race on Valencia, just to see him fail!

Whatever be the race viewer’s category – the weekend of 21, 22, 23 August, Valencia Spain will see F1 fanatics have eyes only for one car and one driver. That car will be a red Ferrari and the driver will be Michael Schumacher! Period!

Michael makes a comeback! … and an overdue award!

Its a done deal! The king of F1 is scheduled to make a comeback to replace an injured Filipe Massa. I cannot wait for Aug 23 to see the racing legend’s comeback in the European GP!

A lot of Questions will be answered there…. A few on my mind are – Will he be the same Schumi after the break? How good will he be in the new car? Will he be fit @ 40? By how much margin will he beat Raikkonen? Suddenly August 23 is so far away when all these questions will be answered…

The circumstances are sad as Massa is badly injured, but I’m glad Ferrari roped in the king to fill the void! Anything to see the legend behind a Ferrari yet again!

Welcome back Michael Schumacher! You were missed!

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The PROXIMITY award was given to me by Vee and Smita in Dec 2008. I did not pass it on to anyone because at that time, I did not know 8 people who didn’t have this award!

Off I go to find 8 blogs worthy of this awards.

This award is given to a blog that invests and believes in PROXIMITY – nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award. (Note added by Eye-in-sty-in: At their own time and convenience)

I pass it on to -

Sujata – http://sujatasengupta.blogspot.com/

FE – http://udtahaathi.wordpress.com/

Ripples – http://verbalfiend.wordpress.com//

Lynn – http://trippinwithrip.wordpress.com/

Aparna – http://aparnadasgupta.blogspot.com/

Ekta – http://ektakhetan.blogspot.com/

Andaa Curry – http://grey-orgasms.blogspot.com/

Shanu – http://fullonbakwaas.blogspot.com/

ForeignDesi – http://foreigndesi.wordpress.com/

Wits n Nuts – http://witsnnuts.wordpress.com/

Americanising Desi – http://2short2sweet.blogspot.com/

Kamana – http://musings-ephemerallyeternal.blogspot.com/

Shayari – http://bukkichowta.blogspot.com/

Purpleheart – http://marshmallow–cream.blogspot.com/

Anamika – http://theselfspace.blogspot.com/

The award has been given based on the comments left by these bloggers on my blog. If u want such awards, the trick is to visit my blog more often and also leave intelligent comments.

PS: Their writing ability n wit may also have played a little part in the selection.

For those who have not yet received this award, it does not make you less worthy by any means. So please dont go about slashing ur wrists yet! Your time will come soon

Bizzaro begining – 2009 F1 GP season!

The day finally dawned or should I say “Brawn”(ed)!

As is traditional with season openers, the race sprung a lot of surprises! The most delightful came in terms of Brawn GP. This is the Honda team of last year that was taken over by Ex- Ferrari Technical Director Ross Brawn and sponsored by Virgin!

This team came out of the blue and ended up winning the GP in its debut! The impressive thing is that they beat the stalwarts of racing like Ferrari, McLaren and Renault! So much for their legacy!

The biggest disappointment of the race was none other than the prancing horse! Both their cars retired from the race – a rare happening in the illustrious Ferrari legacy that is known (now just a “has been known”) for their bulletproof cars! Wonder if after this result, does Luca de Motezemollo still thinks that all the choices he made in 2007 were good!

The most pitiful event of the race was the collision between BMW’s Robert Kubica and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel (running 3rd n 4th at that time). Both had a good chance of scoring high points, but greed for the podium prevailed and all was lost!

The biggest beneficiary of the race was McLaren’s Hamilton. Having started the race from the 18th position following a dismal qualifying session and a gear box penalty, he would have finished the race 6th, but thanks to the crash b/w Vettel and Kubica and an error by Trulli, he finished the race in 3rd! A winning driver needs more than skills in F1 and hamilton is once again proving that luck is on his side along with skills! I think he is the best driver to fill the huge void left by the exodus of Michael Schumacher.

With the next race in Malaysia – on the coming weekend, Ferrari had better pull themselves out from this deep hole that they are stuck in – and they better do it fast! Running the cars light on fuel is not a good way to capture grid positions and certainly no way to win races and championships! If they have forgotten how to do it, here is a reminder – it is thru hard work, determination and team spirit! (remember 2006?) Sulking and spinning the car in frustration is not the way to do it either! (R u reading this Kimi?) Show some class or did you wanna take another dump!

For now, its Brawn GP’s exciting debut that has me pepped up for the 2009 F1 season! Well deserved victory, I’ll say!