Formula One (F1) - and more...

God's first name is ROGER!

2007-07-12T01:33:00.000-07:00

As the famous William B Yeats once said: "How can we know the dancer from the dance?"

P.S -> I may be the laziest ass on earth, but the imperishable memories created by Roger Federer warrant a post, even on the lowliest and most unkempt blogs like mine!

L'Attitude 13'05

2006-11-17T13:42:00.000-08:00

I believe that I've found a new reason to become a productive renegade for a while and bunk classes with full conscience. The next couple of months, a bunch of us from b-school are gonna spend our time in finding creative ways to sponsor the dhum(for the non-tanglized, its called smokes,ciggies,etc) bills, booze bills and funding for every other nonsensical activity that other b-schoolers would (or might, to be politically correct) indulge in. It's called b-school competition prize money. Bring out the brains and rake in the moolah. Then get wasted (if you wish to).... (again to be politi....whatever)

And who better to go for money than the corporate junkies who have been on the other side of the table at some point of time or the other? The spin machine shall set the ball rolling..

For those of you wondering why I've spelled Latitude wrongly and put an unnecessary apostrophe there and then uttered some nonsensical gibberish, it's the annual B'School fest of Great Lakes. Of course you can figure out the 13'05 even if you aren't a Great Laker.

End of hibernation

2006-11-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well - I wouldn't exactly blame my b-school curriculum for having not blogged in something like 5 months. Not that a whole bunch of people have asked me why I haven't blogged (in fact, more people have asked me why I've stopped spamming them with my F1 reviews on Y! Messenger) !

Everything has a reason and mine is something credible, something that has been plaguing humanity for like a billion years or something - lethargy. And of course there are the vices that every other 23 year old is addicted to..

Ok. Back to business. Now that Schumacher is gone for good, I'm reflecting on the strange predicament I am going to be in from next season. For the better part of the last decade, I've fought for ages and pages on Forums, IRC's, Orkut, Y!M, my blog etc on why the seven time champion is to be loathed and sets a bad example for budding racers. Much that I dislike chewing cud over and over again, I've come to understand that I will have no new fodder from next season. Who would replace Schumacher as my symbol of evil and the Sultan of Satanic activities?

I do hate to say this, but with the likes of Montoya, Villeneuve and Schumacher gone, the genre of drivers who I'd call the 'messiahs of mayhem' would come to an end. I'd have to endure with only David Coulthard from the previous generation and then a few. A Kimi Raikkonen who prefers to drink from his champagne bottle before he sprays it on the crowd and an Alonso who'd give any stage monkey a run for his money with his stupid jumping act. And of course there is '1-in-120-odd-races-Button'. Not to mention that the British media will make Hamilton realize (without having a single F1 start) that he is the next Clark/Stewart. Famished!!

As an addendum, there's Schumacher, and now that his era is over, I do feel the necessity to agree that I did in fact love his racing style. Well, the liking started at Imola the season before last. The brilliant pit strategy and the Scuderia Ferrari racing out of the pit lane into an empty piece of tarmac with the air-horns of Tifosi blasting the air is the stuff of legends. A chain of thought triggered from there made me realize the unwavering f*ck-you-all-i'm-here-to-win attitude that this man had. It might sound disgusting to the cultured, but how many of us can do that with a conscience as clear as Schumachers? He did it, and as Roy of linksheaven said, in twenty years from now, kids will be asking me what it felt like watching Schumacher race the prancing horse. It's similar to what I used to do in the late 90's. Ask people how they felt watching Senna race.

I did pen down an article for Links, I call it "Magical Memories".

Watch out this space, the hibernation is more or less over!

Alonso wins the people's race.

2006-05-29T10:49:00.000-07:00

One of the most amusing, entertaining and controversial weekends in F1 winded up with Fernando Alonso climbing up the red carpet to receive his trophy from Prince Albert II. Montoya ensured that McLaren would have reason to party at Monaco tonight. David Coulthard, that old war horse climbed the podium to take third, dressed in superman costume. Kimi Raikkonen blew up his engine following a safety car incident. Never mind, he would walk up, strip down and hit the yacht's in true Monaco style.
But..

Our hero of the day is one Mr. Michael Schumacher, who after having started last at Monaco rocketed his way past what were supposedly F1 cars to come fifth. If you call him a SATAN for his sportsmanship (Adelaide 1994, Jerez 1997, Austria 2002...the list continues), then call him GOD for the racing prowess he displays (I can't count those, can I?) He moved up sixteen places to come in fifth.

But offtrack, I loved what Sir Jackie had to say about Schu's misdemeanors.

"When I saw that, I said 'that wasn't an accident'.

"I have never seen anything like it before. I have never seen anyone have the presence of mind to do it."

"It might have been different if he had taken off the front wing."

On the teams :

Renault

Double Whammy for Fernando Alonso. Are we talking about the races (Catalunya and Monaco), or are we talking World Championships? He's still 24. Enough said! As for Renault, they won the Best Team of the Year award in Spain last weekend, so this is indeed a triple delight for the team. Fisi could have done better, but he atleast landed in the points, and that's that.

Ferrari

Michael was surely the 'man of the race' in my opinion. He took out four cars in the first three corners, and made neat work of Button at the Noveau chicane in the first half of the race. He's still obviously the finest, and it might have been a fine battle between Alonso and Schumacher had the latter not engaged in that godforsaken move. I feel angry because I was deprived of a Michael classic. Massa continues to impress and I believe that the Brazilian might have landed a podium had he not started dead last. But ofcourse, it was he who crashed into the barriers yesterday, isn't it?

McLaren

Montoya came in second, but that isn't the main story. Kimi Raikkonen drove what was perhaps his best race. To follow a high downforce Renault for close to fifty laps at half a second's distance was absolutely stunning. How could he handle such air turbulence, yet remain focussed on Alonso's exhaust pipe? It was clear that Raikkonen's engine blew up because he couldn't control the revs when the safety car came out. That's how fragile F1 engines are.

Red Bull

David Coulthard, Superman #1 came in third. Superman #2 couldn't do much, not without his car which failed to shift into gear. A great performance, certainly a lot better compared to last year when both drivers crashed out, and the Star Wars Pit Crew were wasted in the paddocks.

Honda

Rubens was a delight, he drove ever so well, and in the end did just about enough to keep his ex-team mate at bay. For poor old Jensie, he must have concentrated on something called 'the race' rather than give interviews to Star Sports.

BMW

A great race for quick Nick, but I would prefer to see him on the podium rather than just in the points. Jacques Villeneuve - I love him. Not for his racing (which I think has been poor for the past 9 years), but for being the most vocal driver yesterday (You know what I am talking!)

Toyota

Ralfie. Must have been on the lookout for his brother, after what happened last year at Monaco. He managed to salvage one point for the toyota team while the mobile chicane was out of action with hydraulic failures. Maybe Toyota spends more money on organizing F1 parties at Monaco than it does to develop cars?

Williams

Sad one for young Nico, he really ought to have finished the race. Mark, after qualifying second could do nothing but watch on while his exhaust exploded. Poor him, he would have landed a much needed podium for Sir Frank. Maybe Sir Frank must look for better engines to put under his wheelchair.

That's it for now!

Mayhem at Monaco

2006-05-28T02:51:00.000-07:00

Schumachers time has been thrown out officially after the stewards came to the sane conclusion that we fans came to soon after the qualifying session where Schu conveniently parked his car at the La Racasse corner after having set the fastest time.

Schumacher locked up his brakes, but ensured that he released it early enough, then seemed to turn, but straightened out immediately, rolling his 248F1 to a stop. Some say that it was an executive decision that was communicated to him, but I believe that it was not, and it was Schumacher who took the call, since he very well knew that Alonso was just out of sector 1.

Apart from having deprived Alonso of a fast lap, this incident also meant that many drivers including Webber and Fisichella lost potential positions on the grid. So it was only fair that Schumacher be penalised for this, and he would now join his team mate Massa in an all-red back row.

"The driver deliberately stopped his car on the circuit in the last few minutes of qualifying at a time at which he had thus far set the fastest lap time " they said.

"Having compared all relevant data the stewards can find no justifiable reason for the driver to have braked with such undue, excessive and unusual pressure at this part of the circuit," they wrote, "and are left with no alternative but to conclude that the driver deliberately stopped his car on the circuit."

And I would doubly believe in the 'macher's evil intentions considering Ferrari's and Schumacher's own reputations when it comes to issues like this one. The incident also shows that the stewards have finally returned to their senses. Winning is one thing, but trying to win at all costs is something that cannot be tolerated.

Following the incident, there have been reports that Schumacher might be asked to resign fromthe post of board of director of the Grand Prix Driver's Association.

I have to add what David Coulthard once said, "Opinions are like assholes and everybody has one."

For more F1 news and related discussions, go here.

Bulls Eye

2006-05-24T08:19:00.000-07:00

An interesting GP, though it is becoming so obviously true that we DO NEED more overtaking in F1. I did believe that Catalunya would yield more quality overtaking simply because the tracks are marginally broader and there are curves where drivers take so many different lines at every curve. But eventually, it was a multi-billion dollar F1 car parade and I had something else better to do for the evening...

Hence the late post...

Catalunya is one of those rare circuits which test a car so completely. Shaped like a bull's head, she's got elevations and high-speed corners which only the bravest of the brave can take on without stepping off the gas pedal.

We now obviously know that its a two way battle between Ferrari and Renault, no matter how much Ron Dennis prattles that he's got new engines and the best driver. Raikkonen was fast, but he just couldn't match the might of the Scuderia or the Les Blues. In the end, it was a couple of Ferrari and Renault sandwiches.

Alonso was great, it just did not dawn upon me that it was a 24 year old kid under the helmets and not Alain Prost. I find a similarity in their professor-like driving styles, though people would say that its way too early to compare.

Schumacher was brilliant as usual, and I'd say that he doesn't look or drive like he's a day over thirty. He's back, and last year's blip was evidently due to ageing on Ferrari's technology part rather than his part.

What did surprise me was Massa's consistency. At a super-fast track like Catalunya, little did I expect the Brazilian to finish the race, leave alone come fourth. Pretty impressive performances from both him and Fisichella, though I'd like to see them race for themselves rather than for their more illustrious team-mates.

On car performance, I would say that the Renault appeared a bit more faster than their Maranello rivals. Only slightly, and I wouldn't be surprised if Scuderia pull up by Renault's side in a couple of races after Monaco, considering the quality of their improvements from race to race.

Montoya was driving a paltry race, and his misery was put to an end when his traction control gave way and he beached himself on a chicane. A sad performance for the McLaren team, the team is obviously missing Adrian Newey.

Talking of Adrian, his presence at Red Bull does not seem to have improved their standard of racing. Too early, one might argue, but they atleast should be a notch better than their so called 'B' team - STR.

On to BAR - Button had yet another excuse for his performance. The excuse - 'Barrichello was too slow'. But if he was too slow, why couldn't Button overtake him? Or better, why couldn't he put himself ahead of Barrichello during qualifying?

Williams - they promised initially, but now I am sure that they're not up to the mark, and the dream of a privateer team competing with the manufacturer's for the top slot has gone kaput. But ofcourse, that doesn't mean that Webber and Rosberg haven't been driving well. They did well, though I believe that both of them are being wasted in a team that just wouldn't be able to compete (on money) in the long run. And to think that Nico's signed a five-year deal...

Toyota - the usual. Ralf qualified well, and so did Trulli (much to the anguish of those behind him). But they're one lap wonders who just can't keep a pace throught the race.

BMW had a decent race, though it was absolutely ridiculous that Jacques had to start at the back of the pack because of an engine-damage situation during transportation. Heidfeld was good, and I see no reason why the Bavarian team can't be title challengers in a few years time.

Midland, Aguri - I heard they raced, can someone confirm that for me?

Schu sizzles on home turf

2006-05-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

"I'm an artist, the track is my canvas, and the car is my brush."

These immortal words of Graham Hill capture the crux of today's race where Michael the magnificient raced his cavallino rampante past the chequered flag in a race that was as much a joust between Ross Brawn and Pat Symonds as it was between the two title protagonists, Michael and Alonso. An impeccable display of speed and control by Felipe Massa ensured that it would be a Scuderia sandwich with Renault Stuffing. It is now crystal clear that Ferrari's dazzling performance at Imola (their home race) was not a 'flash-in-the-pan' as many had predicted. A perfect homecoming for Michael and a double delight for the Tifosi, considering that Nurburgring is a Michelin-friendly track.

Qualifying saw Alonso take pole position for the first time this year, but he would have hardly celebrated, considering that Michael Schumacher would share row one with him. Michael's newfound minion, Massa would start on P3, along side Rubens Barrichello who for the first time this season, has outqualified his more illustrious(laughs) team mate, Jensen (wrong) Button. The McLaren's had a tame qualifying session with Raikkonen starting fifth and Montoya starting a couple of rows behind him. The McLaren's were obviously heavier as usual, but would Ron Dennis's crew be able to leverage speed with strategy? As the onlooker settled for a nice cool afternoon atop the Hill, a storm was brewing in the paddocks, for it would as much be a battle of brains as of sheer driver brilliance, Nurburgring being one of those tracks with very few opportunities to pass.

The legendary Renault acceleration was evident at the very start and Fernando Alonso raced off into the Castrol-S curve, closely followed by Michael, Massa and Button. That said, we were in for a two-hour long, multi-billion dollar car parade at the Nurburgring. Tracks such as this put the onus on ace-strategists such as Ross Brawn and Pat Symonds who wage the battles from the pit-walls, their minds cranking out possible pit-strategies and reading the opposition's moves so carefully. But today would be one of those Michael-Todt-Brawn day's where the trio would so thoroughly root out competition by operating as a single, well-oiled machine.

After lap one, Alonso led by half a second, with Button, Rosberg and Sato having moved up rapidly. A first corner between Liuzzi and Coulthard would mean that the Scot's race was over. Liuzzi suffered a punctured tyre, his machine stranded on the track. A brief interruption by the maylander ensued.

In the meanwhile, several minor battles started, with Raikkonen trying to gun down an elusive Button and Montoya passing Fisichella. Alonso and Schumacher then started to get ahead of the pack, trading fastest laps between them. Webber then went wide, his hydraulics having gone for a toss.

On Lap 17, Alonso and Massa pitted, rejoining fourth and sixth respectively. Michael pitted the next time around, emerging behind his Spanish rival, in fifth position. Raikkonen then led the race, cranking out fast laps. He pitted on lap 23, knowing very well that the fourteen seconds he had buffered up would not be enough to surge ahead of Alonso and Michael. He rejoined in fourth.
The first set of pit-stops also saw Fissichella regaining the position he lost to Montoya.

As luck would have had it, it was Villeneuve tailing Fiscio, and all eyes were on this pair, considering that Fiscio had complained to the stewards that Jacques had blocked him during qualifying. A verbal battle that had started yesterday at the BMW garage had manifested itself into an all-out war on the track. In the meanwhile, Button lost his engine, Klein his gearbox and Montagny, the F1 debutante, his hydraulics. For the lead pair, they were obviously so oblivious of what ever else was happening on the track.

Come lap 38, and Alonso pitted, the first one of the front runners to do so. Michael Schumacher, taking advantage of the empty track, unleashed two brilliant laps, clocking an amazing 1:32:099 the second time around. A lap later, he was leading Alonso by 25.5 seconds.

At the end of lap 41, Michael pitted. As the crowd, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt (with a stop clock in his hand) watched on, the Ferrari pit-crew bolted on fresh Bridgestones and splashed in fuel, taking just 6.8 seconds to complete the procedure. A few seconds later, Michael emerged to an empty piece of track, with air-horns blaring as loudly as Michael's Ferrari engine. The Champion and his strategist had proved why they were still one of the very best in the business.

Raikkonen pitted on lap 44, the Finn knowing very well that a podium grab was in the offing. However, a determined Massa would hold forte until the very end. Takuma Sato retired on Lap 46, with yet another Aguri hydraulics failure. A couple of laps later, Montoya and Ralf retire with blown engines. Clearly, a dissapointing day for the Toyota's. But retirements meant that Villeneuve would land up in the points, unlike his German team mate Nick Heidfeld.

A jubliant Michael Schumacher took the chequered flag, slowing down to a saunter soon after, saluting his crew-men who made his victory possible. Alonso appeared gloomy, for he sensed the imminent Ferrari danger. For Felipe, it was a dream weekend, the Brazilian taking his first ever podium.

Among the better drivers of the day were Brazilian Rubens Barichello who finally seems to have found his groove with the Grove-car. Rosberg, who started absolute last after completing an engine change drove brilliantly, garnering a couple of points on the way. The old wily fox, Jacques Villeneuve took the last point, his weekend being a tumultous one. Montoya, Button and Webber would find it hard to hide their dissapointment, for their machines and not they were at fault.

All said and done, the 248 F1 seems to have improved by leaps and bounds since Bahrain, and is probably the only other package that can challenge the might of the Renault's in the near future. Though Alonso leads by a 13-point margin, he would be ever so careful, for he is up against one of the most fantastic drivers on the planet.

Looking forward to Catalunya where the Rosso Corsa would attempt to ride the Spanish bull on its home turf.

Talking Point: Schumacher's retirement.

2006-04-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

When Michael Schumacher crossed the unblemished chequered flag at Imola, the sanctum sanctorum of Ferrari, it was celebration time for the omnipresent Tifosi. But for Michael himself, the question of retirement must have loomed larger than the victory itself.

As the Seven-time World Champion ponders over signing a two-year contract with Ferrari, a team he so successfully built around himself, motorsport comes to a standstill. Will HE? or Wont HE? they wonder..

As one reflects, the words of Zinidine Zidane, perhaps the greatest mid-fielder of modern day Football come to mind. He said "I don't think I can improve on anything I've done. Hence, I've decided to retire". And that to him was the deciding factor.

Talking of Michael's achievements, he holds every conceivable record in F1.

Most number of World Championships (Seven)
Most number of race wins (Eighty-six)
Most consequtive race wins (Seven)
Most race wins in a season (Thirteen of Eighteen)
Most fastest laps in a season (Ten of Eighteen)
Most podium finishes in a season (Seventeen of Seventeen)
Most Championship points in a season (148 out of a possible 180)
Most number of pole positions (Sixty-six from two-thirty-six races)

and the list continues...

Talking of the intangibles, one can't forget the slight German who first forayed into F1 in a Jordan car on a cold morning in Belgium, after having promised Eddie Jordan that he knew the Spa track, complete with its notorious Eau Rouge curve, like the back of his hand. In reality, Michael had only been around the track once, and that too on a borrowed bicycle. Michael went on to qualify seventh, shocking the greats, and was signed on by Flavio Briatore for as early as the next race. The rest, as they say, is history.

Buried in the brains are images of a jubliant Schumacher holding the trophy high for the first time at Spa in 1992, and of the emergance of a new King at Australia in 1994. The epic battles with Hakkinen reminded us so much of the Prost-Senna jousts, and will go down in history as one of the greatest. And ofcourse, there were black moments, like the '95 Hill controversy, where Schumacher allegedly pushed Hill off the track to take the championship, the Austria 2002 debacle where Barrichello was forced to let Schumacher win the race, and the disqualification from the World Championship after Schumacher attempted to push Villeneuve off the track at the season finale.

Going back to Zidane's ideology,

Is there room for further improvement?

Talking about it, Schumacher's decline in form might be attributed more to Ferrari's failure to deliver a winning machine than to Schumacher himself. No matter how great the driver, he can only be as good as his machine allows him to be. One could simply put down the argument that we could never know if Schumacher is still as good as he was a couple of years back until Ferrari delivers a powerful machine. On the other hand, we did witness races like Imola 2005, where a ressurgent Schumacher chased Alonso all the way to the chequered flag. Some call it one of his greatest drives, considering his limited resources. But perhaps there is another story. The Schumacher of the young would have spotted those milli-meter wide gaps that Alonso left as he snaked around Imola. The chase would have been won, as it had been won on numerous occasions in the late 1990's with Hakkinen, simply by taking that extra bit of risk. Perhaps the slowdown has started...

Now the logical bifurcation in the road has come, and Schumacher would have to decide. Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo has hinted that he would not be interested in anything lesser than a two year commitment. The ball is in Michael's court now.

Michael, being himself, could go for the gamble and challenge the new order, thereby improving what he has done before. Afterall, how can one forget Nigel Mansell's emotional World Championship in 1992, aged 39? But ofcourse, one has to remember that Mansell had no world championships before 1992, and hence had nothing to lose and everything to gain. But for Schumacher, the situation is quit the opposite.

Is it worth the gamble?

HE is back.

2006-04-27T09:17:00.000-07:00

Apologies (to the few who read my F1 reviews) for the late post...

Come Imola and the only words on everybody's lips are : 'Ferrari','Tifosi','Schum' .... and 'Ayrton'. Eleven years on, the legend lives. Tamburello is perhaps the most well known chicane in modern day Formula One racing, simply because in those haunting 1.8 seconds in the year 1994, a racer died and a legend was born.

Ayrton Senna.

This might sound like the incessant jabber of a mad Senna fan, but guess it all has relevance. Ayrton Senna, over a decade ago, set the record for pole positions at 65 from 161 races. This weekend, almost eleven years since the great racer passed away, Schumacher, widely considered Senna's successor, broke that record, getting his 66th pole in his 236th race. It is indeed ironic that the German great should take his 66th pole on the very track where Ayrton took his last pole position, the very track where he lost his life so tragically.

Long live Ayrton the amazing.

The Grid:

Michael the Magnificient, Jensen the Joker, Barrichello the Bewildered, Felipe the fu*ked, Fernando the Formidable, Ralf the baffled, Kimi the Killer and Montoya the marauding. As for the rest, I'll mention them as and when the tickle the clocks.

Come raceday, it would be interesting to watch a couple of drivers. First up, can Jensen Button come of age, winning his first GP? Unlikely, considering that a hundred thousand and one tifosi would be out to get his a*s, the last one being Michael Schumacher. And ofcourse, lets not mention the Bridgestone tyres and their inability to retain heat.

Felipe. With qualifying, it was pretty evident that Felipe had been reinstated as the resident scape-goat at Maranello. Felipe's got big challenges. He isn't very good at car-control which means that the Villeneuve-Tamburello complexes are going to have fun with him. And Felipe has also got to keep Renault (a.k.a Alonso) in check, thus helping Michael take his eighty-fifth career win. Maybe he needs to learn the 'Make Mike win' tips from Mr.Barrichello.

The McLarens clearly haven't shown the pace that they did in 2005 at this point in the season, but one cannot write them off. Toyota seem to be improving by the hour, and with two people within the top ten, they look good to challenge the McLarens. Williams have Webber at P10, but will the Cosworth stay-put all race long? Only time will tell.

Schumacher, as expected, got off to a clean start and so did Jensen Button. However, Barrichello could not hold on to his position, and Massa and Alonso shot past him. However, the race was stopped after Yuji Ide nudged Albers, making him barrel into the gravel. Perhaps Ide's last race, considering that Montagny has been signed on as Super Aguri's third driver.

A couple of safety laps ensued, followed by another incident. The usually sobre Trulli had hit Liuzzi. It later became evident that Trulli's Toyota had steering problems. Liuzzi continued on inspite of being hit, but Trulli retired shortly after.

The first set of splash 'n' dash affairs ensued, with Barrichello and Button pitting on laps 11 and 12. Clearly, the Honda's have been sand-bagging, running on much lighter fuel-loads compared to the Renault's and the Ferrari's.

Michael set some scorching laps before plunging into the pits on lap 20. It was then Alonso's turn to capitalize on the empty tarmac before him, as he set the tracks ablaze before pitting eventually on lap 25.

Come lap 27, it appeared that Schumacher and Massa were both facing tyre problems. For Schumacher, that meant that Alonso would soon be hounding him.

On Lap 30, there was some action in the pits as lollipop man Alistair Gibson gave Button the all-clear way too early. The Brit pulled off the pits with the fuel-rig still attached to his machine. Clearly, bad luck for Jensie, but too bad, he's now got a reason for race number 105 (or 106, who cares) without a win.

It was now a race to the finish with Alonso chasing Michael in much the same way that the German did a year back at the same venue. Alonso pitted on lap 42 and Michael on lap 43. From then on, the two cars ran as one, as spectators could not differentiate the red blur from the blue-yellow one.

The final few laps saw Alonso back off, as the wise Spaniard noticed brake-dust coming off his rear wheels. The Renault has always been a bit harsh on its rear-tyres, and Imola being the 'brake-buster' track, wasn't going to make things easier.

With the Tifosi blowing their trumpets, a jubliant Schumacher cleared the chequred flag, punching the air with the same enthusiasm as he did fourteen seasons ago. Surely, Michael isn't going to retire this season?
As for the others, they hardly need a mantion. Montoya, to my utter amazement, was third, and Massa drove well to come in fourth. Raikkonen, Webber, Button and Fissichella were the others to tickle the scoreboard.

The next three races are way too close for comfort, and one should lookout for Team Maranello(a.k.a Schumacher) and Team Woking(a.k.a Raikkonen) to come out in full force and challenge Alonso.
Going by the statisitcs, my bet is still on Alonso, but Schumacher being Schumacher may still rattle the young Spaniard.

Over to the European Grand Prix at Nurburgring.

Snapshot of Nurburgring 2005.

Alonso wins at Oz

2006-04-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

In a race where the safety car completed more laps than some regular drivers did, Alonso kept his nerve to come home first, and the man who can keep Alonso at bay, Kimi Raikkonen, bounced back after a dissapointing show at Sepang to come in second. Schumacher (Ralf, for a change) came in third, followed by quick Nick. Fisichella, whose weekend in Australia was nothing like the one he had at this venue last year came in fifth, with Villeneuve coming in sixth to give BMW valuable points for the Constructor's championships. Barrichello was lucky to come seventh despite his dismal driving, and Coulthard took eighth, after a 25-second penalty was imposed post race on Scott Speed for ignoring the yellow flags. Overall, an incident filled race, thanks to the track that was as slippery as an eel.

To talk the race driver by driver, Alonso was clearly a class apart.He showed that the Renault's package was still leagues ahead of the rest. His race pace was amazing, infact amazing enough to keep the freakishly fast Finn at bay. In their battle, Alonso and Raikkonen posted 31 of the 33 fastest laps, each trying to gun down the other, oblivious of the 'traffic' on the circuit. Their respective partners did not have a good day, with Juan Pablo Montoya being silly enough to spin his car on the parading lap (yes, parading lap!), and Fisichella stalling his car after the first parading lap. Montoya then did what he does best, which is disobeying the flags. He overtook Button on the yellows, and perhaps would have got the same penalty as Speed had it not been for the last-corner goofup. Montoya alleged that the car had shut itself down!

Button the talkative, who was looking to win his maiden grand prix from the third pole position of his career had a bad sunday. Despite fending off super-starter Alonso on lap 1, he couldn't hold on to the lead after the safety car pulled off the first time around. Clearly, the Honda's tyres were at fault, for it looked like Alonso overtook a near-stationery and cold Button. A re-enactment took place a couple of laps later, only this time it was Raikkonen who overtook Button for second spot. A spectacular blow-up of his engine just meters before the finish line meant that he would finish tenth instead of fifth. And a blown engine would also mean that the best he could qualify at Imola would be eleveth. The other Honda driver Barrichello still could not find his groove with Honda, and after an amazingly poor qualifying managed to tumble into seventh, after a record number of drivers pulled out owing to a myriad of reasons. Clearly, Barrichello does not have the pace, and he would be in big trouble if he can't fit himself into the Brackley-made car soon enough.

Schumacher had an anonymous race until lap 25, after which, for a brief period of time he did show us why he was considered one of the best drivers ever to grace a formula one cockpit. But as luck would have had it, the German pushed his machine a bit too far, running wide into the last corner, and ending up in the barriers. With Schumacher displaying such driving prowess, and Todt promising a whole new package for Imola, I still wouldn't count Ferrari out of plucking a race or two from the Renault's and the McLaren's.

Toyota did reasonably well, and something that's a lot closer to the budget they are spending. Ralf came in third, inspite of having done nothing dramatic. Trulli didn't even have a race, after he, Rosberg and Massa came together on lap 1.

BMW had a field day, with both their drivers landing in the points. Mario's blue-eyed boy, Nick, came in fourth, and Villeneuve, who started ninteenth, thanks to the silly engine rule, came in sixth, proving that he still had it in him to race. A good show by the French-Canadian, and I hope he can carry this form into the European leg.

As for Redbull, Coulthard gained the solitary point despite driving poorly, thanks to an aggressive Scott Speed who incurred a 25-second penalty because of disobeying the flags. Klein, on the other hand, made a silly error very early in the race, braking too hard on a bump and ending up in the barriers, strewing enough debris on the track to bring out the safety car.

The Super Aguri team continues to impress, with Sato coming in twelveth. Though only Ide was behind him, Sato did show us how fast he really could be. After running well, he left some of the more experienced and respectable drivers in his dirt-trail. Surely, Sato might spring some surprises with the SA06, due to be released mid-season.

The Toro Rosso did impress too, for otherwise the Taxi team (read: Midland) wouldn't cry foul and ask for the Masechitz's B-team to be excluded from the WCC points ratings. The junior Red Bulls are indeed trying to match their elder brothers.

Overall, an incident filled race, one where Alonso stamped his authority yet again, proving to the crowds that Renault was still the best team and he was still the driver to beat.

A 3-week hiatus, as the Formula One juggernaut rolls on to more the traditional pastures of Europe. Come Imola, and I would forever be reminded of the man who continues to rule the hearts of F1 fans all over the world, twelve years after his death at this very track. Long live Ayrton Senna da Silva.

I yearn that Imola 2006 would be as interesting as the 2005 edition, where a ressurgent Michael Schumacher chased the crown Prince Alonso to the very finish. I would expect a strong performance from Ferrari, who should, hopefully, mount a challenge to the supremacy of the Renault's and the McLaren's.

The Tifosi shall holler at Imola!

Writing elsewhere

2006-03-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

Folks who read my F1 scribbles,

I've started writing at linksheaven, a fan based F1 site. Do check out my posts there too!

Four articles till date on Links:

Save Monza!

Another twist to the engine tale...

An ode to Suzuka

Stoddart back in action?

I'll continue spewing F1 reviews race after race here too!

The season is young.. tra.. la .. la..

Rules galore!

2006-03-23T20:36:00.000-08:00

The rules for Formula 1 from 2008 onwards have been decided and approved by the World Motorsport Council.

Here's the crux of the story: (my comment in red)

Teams would have to 'submit' engine designs for the 2008 season before June 1 2006. No further changes to the engine can be made after this date, without approval from the FIA.

Nice, what if the Ronster or Mario get stuck with an unreliable engine? I'd like to see Ron's face when
he discovers that his engine is defunct, and he knows how to repair it but he actually isn't allowed to.

Not only can't teams change their engines every race, but now gear-boxes cannot be changed too. A gear box would have to survive four races straight.

Some way to do cost cutting. I wonder how many dollars it costs to put a gear-box together.

Change of engine/gearbox would invite penalty, although not in the form of grid penalty but in the form of a 15kg weight penalty.

Some solace, atleast the stupid grid penalty rule is being removed.

A single tyre supplier will be chosen for the three season 2008,2009 and 2010. They would supply standard material to all teams - two dry weather , one wet and one extreme weather compounds.

Michelin leaves F1 this year. Max doesn't have a choice, rather.

Teams cannot test for more than 30000 km a year.

Ferrari could lease out their Fiorano/Mugello tracks to host F1 parties then.

Parc Ferme conditions would start on friday evening, at 18:30. Currently, parc ferme starts after qualifying is over.

No last minute changes, eh!

Major engine manufacturers cannot supply engines to more than two teams without approval from the FIA.

Not only their development, but their earnings are restricted as well.

To join the series, teams would have to pay just 300 thousand euros. Currently the fee is a staggering $ 48 million USD.

Dummy. I don't think anybody would be interested in F1 anymore.

Verdict: F1 is one step closer to becoming a factory-manufactured sports car event.

Fissi sizzles at Sepang

2006-03-21T05:40:00.000-08:00

"Fantastico! Bravo!" cackled Flavio Briatore when Fissi crossed the chequered flag ahead of his team mate Fernando to win the Malaysian GP. A perfect Renault 1-2, followed by Button who must be dissapointed, considering that his battle cries were the loudest before the race. Montoya had an anonymous race, and the two Ferrari's came in next, albiet in reverse order. Villeneuve had a fantastic race, coming in seventh. The Toyota's were next, and they clearly don't do justice to the wads or rather truck loads of cash that they are pouring into this game. Overall, a great race which only could have been better had the two stars of the previous race, Raikkonen and Rosberg not been struck by bad luck and bad driving.

Qualifying started with a bang. I mean, a bang of engines. Schumacher, Massa & David Coulthard would all have to change engines before the session. This would add to the "confusion" that's called qualifying. In the end, one would have to wait for the FIA to "sort" the grid positions after all those engine busts and whatever else.

Without much ado, here's the qualifying result.

Fissichella, Button, Rosberg, Webber, Montoya, Raikkonen,Alonso, Klein, Toms, Dick's Schumacher and Harries. There was talk of rain and hurricane Schumi hitting the track, but then, in the end, neither event happened.
The Renault's, known for their acceleration, got off to a good start. Rosberg forced his team-mate off track for reasons totally unknown to himself. First lap was eventful with Kimi losing control after being scratched by Klein, who then went into the pits for a "missing" left front suspension. Patrick head must'nt have been amused to see "Rookie Rosberg" nailed Nick Heidfeld after a poor start. Seventh lap saw a spectacular blow-up of Rosberg's engine. Did the youngster rev it up a bit too much? A few laps later, Webber too had to go with yet another Cosworth failure.

Fissi was told after his pit-stop that he had to be "blinding quick" but then, could it be possible that the radio's were switched? Alonso responded with a blistering 1:35:980, about half a second faster than Fisi, who was loitering around the kerbs. Alonso then made a pitstop on lap 26, making the onlooker wonder if it was a one-stop strategy. However, 7.3 seconds later, those thoughts were put to rest. Way too fast, if that had to be a one-off stop.

The rest of the race was two blue blur's and Button trying to stay as close to them as possible. At one point, Alonso showed his class by lapping almost a second and a half quicker than his team mate. Renault look all set to repeat 2005's performance with a string of brilliant performances.

The Woking team would have to start working, for Montoya did not show the pace, and Raikkonen exited even before his race had begun. Would Ron Dennis be interested in playing 'catch-me-if-you-can' with Briatore again?! I hope not.

Button did well, but Barrichello had problems. And if HONDA hopes to win, they can put their money on Barrichello rather than on Button who can be quick and get to the podium but can never win a race. Race 102 for Button, without a single win.

Ferrari's must be lauded, for the ugly-game of team orders did not happen at Malaysia. And ofcourse, they could do without the engine changes too. They finished sixth and seventh, and Michael said he was 'delighted'. Is he actually getting old?! And hope the Ferrari front-wing legality issue gets solved, or the Maranello outfit might find itself stripped off race results.

Red Bull and Williams were on the backfoot, all four cars retiring. Since Melbourne would be a "first-race" for many engines, I hope to see these teams do much better there. This way, they could do well in 'one half of the season'. Very encouraging outlook, I must say.

Villeneuve had some good timein his BMW-Sauber, showing us that he still could, if he wanted. It would have been a double-points finish for the German team had it not been for Heidfeld's demise just seven laps before the chequered flag.

Toyota's game seems to have gone horribly wrong. Perhaps they are spending too much money on 'Corporate Hospitality' and tracks in Fuji rather than on their car and engines?

Monteiro drove his taxi home, and so did his team mate Albers. But so did Super Aguri who have to be lauded for the finish! The Japanese team is indeed impressing.

Over to Melbourne!

Alonso ambushes Schumacher

2006-03-13T05:38:00.000-08:00

Before I begin the race review, I've got to talk about one man, Patrick Faure, without whose contribution, Renault would not have garnered the two championship trophies last year. Renault and Faure officially made the announcement this afternoon. In the twenty-seven years that he has been with Renault, Faure has served at Renault Austria , and Renault UK and Renault France. In 2001, he was named as Executive Vice President of Renault and President of the Renault F1 team. Since January 2005, Faure has devoted himself exclusively to his duties as President of the Renault F1 team. Patrick Faure would be replaced by another Renault veteran, Alain Dassas, currently Senior Vice President of Financial Operations and member of the management committee. Thanks Pat, for the wonderful years!

First things first, and it was Alonso, who drove as if Suzuka had happened last weekend. Schumacher, then, was second, and he drove as if last year had not happened, and he was back from a wonderful 2004 season in which he won thirteen of the eighteen races. And then, there was Raikkonen, whose race bore semblance to his season last year, wrought with traumatic qualifying sessions, followed by brilliant performances, leaving the audience enthralled and wondering as to what would have happened if the Finn had started from the front line. Would he have almost lapped the entire field like Senna did at Donnington, 1993? And a very special mention to Nico Rosberg, who came in seventh, in a debut that's probably comparable to the mercurial Schumacher's blitz at Belgium, 1991.

A qualifying session that was probably as interesting as all qualifying sessions of last season put together set up a brilliant and totally unexpected grid, with two Scuderia's on the front row. Messrs Alonso and Button were third and fourth, counting on their horse-power's to get them ahead of the rejuvenated prancing horse. But that was not to be, and Massa confirmed that the Ferrari pecking order still worked by fending off Alonso at turn one. Michael gained, but Alonso pipped Massa soon. Button, who lost ground during the first round bickered with his team mate Barrichello for fourth position. After a couple of laps, he gained it for good. Rosberg spun on lap one and there was in-fighting at Toyota for positions I wouldn't care to remember.

In the meanwhile, Raikkonen, who started at the back of the grid was behaving as if the track was empty, and raced to thirteenth before I could say 'abracadabra'. Todt must be happy, I would say. Michael and Alonso parried with brilliant laps, even as Liuzzi raised eye-brows, going quickest through the speed-trap at a crazy 190 mph. Rosberg went in for a nose change and returned, and promptly raced past most old pro's. By lap five, the mobile-chicane a.k.a Trulli had gathered enough F1 cars behind him for the crowd to click at gleefully. On the other side of the track, Massa tried to take out Alonso and nearly did. He went into the pits a little later, and stayed there for a whole minute. Is this Todt's way of saying 'Welcome to Michael's team' ?

In other regular and expected developments, Raikkonen had past four other cars in as many laps, and was upto ninth.

At the end of lap 11, Button pulled off a brilliant move on an unsuspecting Montoya, perhaps the Briton is finally beggining to show his 'class', something that the British media had prophecized, only a hundred races earlier. What followed were pitstops, with all cars going in, and Raikkonen racing as if he were in the early 90's when no pit-stops existed. Sources close to the Ferrari pits said that several house-flies had entered Jean Todt's mouth during the time he kept it open - the thirty laps Raikkonen went without a pitstop. On the other side of the track, Rosberg had passed his team mate, making up for lost time.

Michael the magnificient posted some of the most brilliant laps of the race, and when on lap 32, he skidded because of the mobile-chicane, the Renault radio of Alonso cackled 'We need to be closer'. But frankly, was that a personal comment from Flavio that he did not like Alonso moving over to McLaren for 2007?

Lap 41 deserves special mention, for Nico, son of Keke Rosberg, proved that he had inherited his father's racing genius by posting a best lap of 1:32:408. A couple of laps later, he made a superb move on Red Buller Klein, taking seventh spot from the bewildered Austrian. Meanwhile, Raikkonen was all over the back of Button for third slot, the final place on the podium. The other HONDA, the one that Barrichello literally ushered, was having gear-box problems, and it was evident that the Brazilian would not bother the score-keeper. Alonso kept his cool after the second set of pitstops and emerged the leader, thanks to a slow Ferrari pit-stop. Surely, this is all Michael could do, given that Alonso has a machine thats superior to Michael's 248 F1.

In the end, it was Alonso, Michael, Raikkonen and Button followed by Montoya, Webber, Nico and Klein. Massa put up a good fight to come in ninth. The other's did what they consider their duty, which is to fill up empty slots on the number card.

I was dissapointed though, with the Super Aguri, for I expected Sato to do some lawn-mowing for the Sakhir folks. But clearly, I did not expect the BMW's or the Toyota's to perform the way they did this race. Perhaps, just perhaps, this would be a one-off, and the teams would bounce right back at Malaysia? Lets hope!

Schumacher, that old wily fox is right back in action, and frankly I don't think he's going to allow Alonso and Raikkonen to gallop ahead like they did last season. Talking of Raikkonen, I sincerely wish that he would be a little more careful during qualifying, or is it just that he prefers competition and challenges? Anyway, adios till the next race.

It's a blood bath at Bahrain!

2006-03-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

Michael Schumacher, the seven time champion couldn't have started what many consider to be his last F1 season in a better manner. Breaking the jinx of the 2005 season, Michael took pole, equalling the late great Ayrton Senna's long standing records of sixty-five pole positions. Felipe Massa drew blood in his first outing on a prancing horse by coming in second to set up an all-red front row. British driver Button came in third ahead of Alonso the reigning champion, Montoya and former Ferrari door-mat Barrichello. Last year's runner-up Kimi Raikkonen season started his season with a bang, literally, losing his rear-tyre in the process. In as much, a brilliant first and second sessions and a farce of a third session helped set-up an entirely unexpected grid for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Old viewers would have been reminded of the 1-hour or 12-lap flat out qualifying rule while they watched the pit-lane exit with bated breadth and waited for their favorite driver's to appear. Yuji Ide emerged, followed by Trulli, David Coulthard, Monteiro, Liuzzi and Sato. The laziest of the pack sauntered around the track with none of the big wolves venturing outside the paddocks. With under seven minutes remaining and pressure mounting, the Ferrari's, Williams' and the McLaren's were out on track. Raikkonen showed promise by setting the fastest timing for first sector, only to go out seconds later, losing control at turn 10. His session was over, a rather customary start to the season for the Finn.

With under five minutes remaining, the Honda's and the Renault's appeared for the first time amidst a dozen other cars, the pit-lane filled with multi-colored, multi-million dollar automobile marvels. The game was on! Expected performances fromt the big wigs would mean that Raikkonen, Sato, Ide, Monteiro, Albers and Ralf would fill in positions seventeen through twenty-two.

With the tail-grid decided, the pilot's were now ready for the second leg of qualifying. Teams settled for a 'one hot lap' strategy here too with Villeneuve, Trulli, Coulthard, Rosberg, Liuzzi and Speed missing the cut. The battle was now set between the two Renault's, Honda's and Ferrari's along with the McLaren of Montoya and the Williams of Webber.

The final twenty-minute qualifying leg was for pole position, and teams had to run with race fuel loads, unlike in the first and second sessions. A procession of beautifully sculpted Formula One cars cruised the tracks for an agonozing eight minutes, as if posing for shutters to click and fans to take a clearer look at the whites of their eye-balls. All totally legal exploitation, with teams trying to burn off as much fuel in as little time as possible.

Eight minutes later, Alonso broke the cavalcade, and soon all cars were at top-speed, Michael setting a blistering 1:31:595, only to better himself with a fresh set of hooves four minutes later. He returned to the pits, having posted a solid 1:31:431, confident that pole had been secured. A bolting Button could not catch up with the Scuderia's as they went on to secure Row #1 for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

A far more interesting qualifying session than one in years, and this seems to have set the stage for a good race tomorrow. The title-challenge will be four way, with Renault, Honda, McLaren and Ferrari showing strength.

However, viewers would be advised to keep a close watch on a certain silvery-red Bazooka which I am certain would emerge from the back of the pack.

The race is going to be a rarity, one of those few races when not only we the fans, but the drivers, pit-tacticians and team-bosses would gear up for the show without a clue about race-strategy. And if Ferrari really weren't light on fuel (and I don't think they were), then one can expect Ross Brawn and Michael Schumacher to take honors at Sakhir, for they are the best when it comes to ad-hoc strategy!

Can't wait for the red lights to go-off tomorrow!!!

Let the games begin

2006-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:00

My take on the pecking order for this year.

Renault

Renault would hold the psychological advantage, considering that they have won both driver's and constructor's championships with a budget that was far lower than that of some of the other high flying teams. Winter testing isn't as much a gauge for speed as it is for reliability. However, Renault engines have proven to be stable, with their RS26 V8 engine coming out smooth and clean with some very long outings. Heikki Kovalainen sizzled during winter testing, and will fill in for Fernando once the Spaniard moves over to Woking. Renault would be my pre-season favorites, but with engines, tyre rules and qualifying rules changing, its a wild wild guess, mind you!

McLaren

Brilliant new bodywork from Woking, but appears that the Mercedes-Benz FO 108S V8 engine might be as unreliable as any of its predecessors. If their V10's were unreliable, god knows how their V8's might fare. Kimi and Montoya might have impressed with brilliant times at Valencia, but it remains to be seen at Baharain as to how much of the challenge McLaren sans Adrian Newey can pose this season. Equipment apart, Ron Dennis has stepped up the pressure on both drivers Kimi and Juan Pablo, considering that one of them would have to be moved out to accomodate Alonso in 2007. 'Sane driving' should be the words on the lips of the two Woking drivers.

Toyota

Toyota's has shown that it has the eye and the intent by spending close to a thumping half a billion US dollars last season. A V8 program that started off long before any rival dusted the design boards and an impressive aero package might suggest that Toyota are serious title contenders this season. However, I fancy their chances, considering that Trulli is more than happy to finish where he starts, and Ralf isn't just talented enough to make winning a habit.

Ferrari

With Ferrari testing at Bahrain, it was difficult to gauge their competitiveness vis-a-vis the other big teams. However, considering that they were toying with their restricted V10's and ancient F2004 chasses, I'd say that things don't look rosy for the Maranello team. But on the other hand, I don't see Messrs Schumacher, Brawn and Todt leaving their F1 legacy in tatters before they hang up their helmets/head phones/boots. Schumacher isn't the type who would brood over one bad season. Given a competitive car, the German would still give the young turks a run for their money. Who knows, with the slate being wiped clean with fresh qualifying, engine and tyre rules, the master strategists might be back in the reckoning.

Honda

Honda might turn out to be the one dark horse of the season. With BAR out of the way and the annual Buttongate fiasco coming to a closure, it appears that the Brackley team is finally set for the big stage. They V8, their chassis and their run up to the 2006 season has been impressive. I'd like to see who takes the lead role at Honda. With the fetters being removed from Barrichello's hands, it would be interesting to see how the Brazilian fares. Button might land up on the podium, but unless things go very wrong for all the other big teams, I don't see him winning a race this season.

--
Those would be my five-pronged title contenders. The two Japanese teams might be young, but well, they have the money and the necessity to succeed. So I'd put them on par with the traditional European teams.
--

Red Bull (and Torro Rosso)

The team that's shown incredible commitment to F1 in terms of money and man power. Signing Adrian Newey was no mean feet, and the Ex-McLaren design guru's presence would be felt a bit into the season. I really don't see Klein winning races, but with David Coulthard, you never know. The old man fails to rest, and perhaps his travails would pay off. Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi who would race for Torro Rosso are promising drivers, and perhaps the junior team would keep the seniors on their toes.

Williams F1

The divorce means that Frank wouldn't get those free Bayerische Motoren Werke engines anymore, but with a change to V8, a Cosworth partnership doesn't sound that bad either. Cosworth, along with Toyota have the V8 advantage, in my reckoning. And Nico promises to deliver, with impressive testing times. However, racing is a whole different game, and it remains to be seen if Nico has it in him to achieve what his father did, twenty four years ago. Webber - its time he shakes off his 'one-lap wonder' tag and delivers more consistently.

BMW Sauber

The marriage by convenience. Reliable, they might be, but I doubt the punch that BMW engines have. Sauber would, no doubt, have one of the best aero packages in the pitlane, thanks to Peter Sauber's legacy, but their speed would be a matter of concern. Also, it remains to be seen if the BMW folks gel well with their Hinwil counterparts. Robert Kubica, by the way, impressed in winter testing.

Midland F1

The first all Russian entrant in F1. They've got a new car and new engines, thanks to Toyota. However, they winning races or even landing in the points is a distant dream, considering that Monteiro likes to complete races rather than compete in them and Albers lacks the perseverance required to be an F1 driver.

Super Aguri

Aguri's enthusiasm is infectious. The Honda 'B' team as it is referred to would be an interesting watch, and it's a great thing that the SA05 is ready for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Mark Preston guarantees a new machine for the European leg of the season starting at Imola, so it remains to be seen if Aguri is to be taken seriously. Takuma Sato, for one, should concentrate on driving on the tarmac, rather than cutting grass with the world's most expensive lawn mower. Yuji Ide - I wouldn't be able to differentiate him from a Nepali, so no comment.

Michelin and Bridgestone

Last year the French swept the Japanese off the floor, but with tyre rules changing, the balance might be a bit better. Not an interesting battle to watch, considering that Michelin bids adieu to F1 for the god knows howmanyeth time forever.

Five

2006-03-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

An inspiration from a fellow blogger.

Five things I can't live without

1. Formula One
2. Google
3. My bike
4. Caffiene
5. Playing basketball in the weekends ;-)

Five movies I'd see as many times

1. La Vita è Bella
2. The Godfather
3. Anbe Sivam
4. Hum Tum
5. A Streetcar Named Desire.

Five places I've loved

1. The dunes at Kheri,Jaisalmer.
2. Besant Nagar beach, Chennai.
3. An unnamed Dhaba enroute from Pilani to Kulu.
A tea I'd call 'Elixir' at 4 in the morning in January..
4. Karur..it's a place called home.
5. The Ganges.. the sheer power of water.

Five placed I'd love to visit

1. Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
2. Monaco, on a race weekend.
3. The Louvre.
4. Periyakulam (and buy a farmland there).
5. Tibet.

Five websites I visit day in and day out.

1. Collabsuite.oracle.com (not my love, its my work)
2. www.google.com
3. www.pitpass.com
4. uk.sports.yahoo.com
5. kihsuok.blogspot.com (to see if there are any additional hits :-D)

Five things I love doing during work time.

1. Chat on yahoo/google.
2. Listen to Illayaraja.
3. Read F1 news.
4. Blog F1 on monday mornings, after a race weekend.
5. Bask in the hot sun at Cyber Gateway.

Five books I've loved.

1. Papillon.
2. The Godfather.
3. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
4. The Fountainhead.
5. Straight from the gut (Jack Welch).

Five songs I'd listen to anyday.

1. Oru Kadhal Devadhai (Idhaya Thamarai)
2. Idhu oru pon malai pozhudhu (Nizhalgal)
3. Kadalin Dheepam Ondru (Thambikku entha ooru?)
4. Mandram Vandha Thendralluku (Mouna Raagam)
5. Yen Iniya Pon Nilave (Moodu Pani)

$

2006-03-06T09:04:00.000-08:00

Fiji,Mongolia, Bhutan, Barbados, Antigua, San Marino, Rwanda and Laos. So what do these countries have in common? That you wouldn't be able to put your finger on the map if asked to locate these places? Probably yes, but there's something else thats common to these countries. They are all 'cheaper' than F1. To put it simpler, the GDP of these countries is lower that $2.6 billion, the amount of money that F1 teams spend in their quest to win the Driver's and Constructor's trophies.

'F1 racing', the magazine, has come up with some mobile phone like numbers which are claimed to be the costs involved in organizing F1. Spendings range from salaries for drivers to buying umbrellas for the pitbabes in hot Baharain. Ok, now a closer look at the pie.

So who spends most of this money? That answer is simple. 'Toyota'. Spending close to a thumping half a billion US dollars, Toyota takes pole position ahead of Ferrari which comes in with a $ 437 million budget. Renault, which happened to win both the Driver's and Constructor's trophies sauntered along with a mere 200 million dollars. Some efficiency, isn't it? Oh, not only that, perhaps its drivers came a bit 'cheaper'. Michael Schumacher, who happens to be 'unemployed' according to Swiss records takes home an amount thats greater than the GDP of a country named "São Tomé and Príncipe".

For the sake of statistics....

1. It takes close to a million dollars to put one Minardi on track per race.
2. It costs $12 per second in wear and tear just on the wheels, brakes and engines.
3. Redbull and Toyota spent close to fifteen and a half million dollars on 'Corporate Hospitality'.

It's a smoke free world, isn't it?

Oh, and a new season

2006-02-24T08:55:00.000-08:00

Well, what might have woken this erstwhile blogger from a slumber that has lasted sixty nine days and fourteen hours? Was it Jensie's flash in the pan performance at Barcelona? Was it the disappearance of Spa Francorchamps from the 2006 racing calendar? Was it McLaren's new livery? Was it the Red Bull-McLaren "steal your men" contest? Or was it atleast Mr.(Super) Aguri being 'delighted' with the 'shake-down' of his SA05? Oh hell no!

In F1 where money and power take pole position ahead of talent, it isn't the Michael Schumacher's and the Ayrton Senna's who rule the roost, but old men with coffers full of money and work ethic like dervishes who have held the reigns. In this charade of power and politics, the double act of Bernie and Max has prevailed, with the former controlling the telivision rights, and the latter controlling the FIA. With Bernie selling his stake in F1 (ok, he's still the CEO of F1 though, god knows how and why) , it remained to be seen as to what Max would do.

And here's the answer. Max says he's got a substitute in place. A SUBSTITUTE!!

And they (Bernie and Max) lived happily ever after...

More on movements at McLaren

2005-12-17T00:47:00.000-08:00

Well, having talked about Adrian Newey's move from McLaren to Red Bull in a recent post, its time now to talk about what is going to happen to McLaren, now that the guru is gone. And ofcourse, to the avid McLaren fan, the rumors of Nicholas Tombazis too moving from McLaren would have set-off the alarm bells. But ofcourse, it was just a rumor and the former Ferrari chief-aerodynamist is still with McLaren, having played a major role in the design of the award winning MP4-20 and being the driving force behind MP4-21.

Now, to talk of the void that Adrian would leave at McLaren, it was confirmed by Ron Dennis, McLaren team principal, a couple of weeks back that Adrian would not be replaced. And that is eye-brow raising stuff in itself. But perhaps Ron played a careful move in promoting the brilliant Tombazis as Vehicle Director, making him the chief-designer in effect. Perhaps a more subtle way of showing Newey the door? A mutual agreement, considering McLaren's track record of fighting ferociously when in danger of losing an engineer?

With Mike Coughlan heading the design team, Neal Oatley building up the engineering base and Paddy Lowe taking care of aerodynamics and simulation and a Tombazis to overlook all of them, McLaren, in my view, have not lost much.

And ofcourse, Red Bull has a lot to gain from Adrian, although I do not see that reflecting until 2007 when Newey gets to design a brand new car.

Narain rocks at Jerez (Winter Testing)

2005-12-15T08:05:00.000-08:00

On a cold winter morning, somewhere in Spain, Narain Karthikeyan set the tracks ablaze, with a scintillating 1:19:171. While the fastest man today was Narain's former nemesis Fred Montagny, Narain emerged as the fastest among those who ran on V8 engines.

Though none of the stalwarts of 2005 including Schumacher, Raikkonen, Alonso & Fissichella tested today at Jerez, it is of note that the line-up included one-lap wonder Mark Webber, the maverick Montoya, new scape-goat elect Massa, quick(alleged) Nick, bulls-eye Rosa and the freakishly fast Finn Heikki Kovalainen.

Although Karthikeyan (thanks to the flag) was able to put in only thirty-seven laps as opposed to forty-six from Webber, being almost a second faster must have raised a few eye-brows in the paddock. And not to mention that Narain had outpaced Nico Rosberg in a previous testing session at Jerez.

And ofcourse, a special mention to the Cosworth engines, bringing nostalgic moments from the early 90's, when a certain Mr. Schumacher won his first world championship with a Benetton-Cosworth.

This being his last test with Williams F1 until further notice, Narain has signed off in sizzling style. We can only hope that he gets the third cum test driver role at Williams.

The 'bard' of F1

2005-12-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

To me, Stratford-upon-Avon would always be known for two people. One, Shakespeare - who essayed some of the finest plays ever and two, one Mr. Adrian Newey who essayed some of the mightiest machines to have raced on a formula one tarmac. For a kid who grew up tinkering old karts because he could not afford a new one, Adrian Newey has indeed come a long way. The McLaren technical director would now move over to Red Bull, a team that has amazed one and all in 2006, its debut season.

The ace aerodynamist cum designer cum technical director is considered one of the best ever race engineers, with over eighty grand prix titles under his belt. At one point of time in the late 1990's, Adrian stood head and shoulders over his peers with six of the previous ten constructor's championships under his belt. Having served with March Indycar and March F1, Adrian's first taste of success was at Williams in 1992 with Nigel Mansell taking the driver's title. His first would have come a year earlier had it not been for reliability issues and a genius named Ayrton Senna. Adrian then led Williams to two more titles before Ron Dennis lured him away to McLaren.

At McLaren, Adrian would dazzle for a couple of years, winning the constructor's in 1998 and 1999. The year 2000 would see Mika Hakkinen lose the driver's title by a whisker, and thence, Adrian would have to wait for half a decade while Rory Bryne designed Scuderia Ferrari's would rule the roost. However, with the rules changing for 2005, Adrian would come back with a strong performance, and McLaren would power they way back to the top, coming second in the driver's and constructor's championships. Had McLaren sorted out its reliability issues a little earlier in the season and won the Constructor's championship, it would have been a fitting tribute to the master of all designers.

After having been wooed unsuccessfully once by Jaguar racing in 2001, Newey will now move to Red Bull racing, a team that has failed to amaze me in the past year. A stunning 34 points in a transition year, followed by the acquisition of Minardi and the brilliant driver's program, Red Bull will now have the services of Newey for 2006 and more importantly 2007 when the aerodynamics regulations change yet again. And thats exactly what Newey is good at - 'change of plans!'.

All is not lost

2005-12-10T10:22:00.000-08:00

The ice man might have lost the championship battle to Alonso, but he most certainly is not losing out on post-season awards. Kimi Raikkonen has just been named "Driver of the year" by F1 Racing magazine, and has also been presented the "International Racing Driver" award by Autosport Awards.

To add icing to the cake, McLaren-Mercedes has been elected 'team of the year' and the MP4-20 from the Woking stables named as 'car of the year' with a thumping 41.3% of those polled calling it as 'among the greatest ever'.

Among other awards, Renault's chief technician Pat Symonds won the 'John Bolster' award for a lifetime award of technical excellence. Tiago Monteiro, the Jordan driver was named as 'Rookie' of the year. McLaren-Mercedes who lost out to Renault on both counts (Driver's and Construtor's) romped home in style, gathering six of the fourteen awards presented.

"It could have been better this season but it could have been an awful lot worse...so I am happy", said Kimi Raikkonen.

Undoubtably, one of the Finn's best years, leaving audience wonder what Kimi's points tally would have been, had it not been for engine failures, suspension trip-ups and mechanical mayhem!

Meanwhile, Flavio and his blue eyed boy Alonso received their awards at the FIA pricegiving ceremony held at Satte des Etoiles, Monaco.

Alonso who is now officially the FIA World Champion said, "This title has taught me that the most important thing in life is to be happy. Today I really am."

Who ever got the bizzare idea of suspending a Renault F1 car on the stage to 'saute' the team's performance!

Everything I learnt in life was from the Godfather

2005-12-09T07:15:00.000-08:00

A recent thread in a mailing list was titled "Everything I learnt in life was from the Godfather" - and off I went with my list of favorite Godfather qutes and scenes.

Movie 0 - I mean the book, it was a movie in itself!

The Don on his death bed- "Life is beautiful'

Don to Tom Hagen - "A lawyer with his briefcase can steal more than a hundred men can with guns."

Movie 1

Don to Fontane (looking at Sonny) - "A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man."

Mike to Kay - "That's my family, Kay, it's not me."

The Don to Luca regarding Solozzo and the Tataglia's"I want you to see what he's got under his fingernails."

Clemenza to the group - (lazily eating his sphagetti) - "It's a Sicilian message - means Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes at the bottom of the ocean"

Sonny to Tom - "Now listen up - I want somebody very good -- to plant that gun. I don't want my brother coming out of that loo with just his dick in his hands, alright?"

Movie 2

Michael to the Senator - "My offer is this. Nothing'.

Michael - "My father taught me many things keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, he said"

Roth to a group - "I'd give a million just to be able to take a piss without it hurting"

Michael kissing Fredo on the lips in Cuba - "You broke my heart fredo !"

Michael to Fredo - "You're nothing to me now, not a friend, not a brother. I dont wanna know you or whatcha doing..."

Michael to Hagen - "If histoy has taught you anything, it says you can kill anybody"

Pentangeli to Hagen in the Jail - "Like those old Roman soldiers ..They went home and sat in a hot tub n opened up their veins, and bled to death. And sometimes they held a little party before they did it."

Movie 3

Mike to Mary : "I would rot in Hell to keep you safe."

Vincent Mancini to Al Neri before the killing of the arch bishop -
"Neri, take a train to Rome and light a candle for the archbishop."

Altobello to some sheep herd (Mosca ?!)- "I have a stone in my shoe. I want you to remove it!"

(Wasn't Mosca a main character in the novel Mario Puzo wrote before the Godfather? Its some WW II novel based in Germany where they used cigarette as curency! Voila! The Dark Arena!)

Altobello to Michael - "I've lost all the venom, all the juice of what they call youth"

Kay to Mike - "No, I don't hate you. I dread you."

Mike to Don Tomassino -- "Politics and crime , they're the same thing."

Some favorite moments -

-- Michael staring at Al Neri even as he makes his peace with Fredo at their mother's funeral - Francis Ford Coppola at his bizzare best!

-- Quarantined Vito sings out and the scene shifts to the first communion of Anthony Vito Corleone.

-- The look on Kay Adams Corleone's face when Michael cries out after Mary is killed at the end of movie 3.
(Personally, I think Kamal Haasan copied his crying from Al Pacino's crying at the end of movie 3!)

-- The end of Michael Corleone (last scene movie 3) - and the small puppy. Man, that was some artistic touch.

-- The sad 'ocarina' playing when in movie III while Frank Pentangeli slits his hand and dies in his bath tub.

And finally, Francis Ford Coppola himself on the Godfather ---

I always thought of THE GODFATHER as the story of a great king with three sons. The oldest was given his passion and aggressiveness; the second, his sweet nature and childlike qualities; and the third, his cunning and coolness.

OK ! Thats enough GODFATHER for a lifetime :-)

F1 updates

2005-12-03T11:02:00.000-08:00

Bernie sells F1 ... yet again.

Bernie Ecclestone, the famed ring master of Formula One has in a startling move sold his entire stake in Formula One, but has still managed to stay as the CEO of F1. It might be noted that this is the third time in three years that Bernie is selling his stake in F1, and it would be foolish to imagine that the 75 year old elf from Ipswich is out for good. CVC Capital Partners who own Dorna (MotoGP) would now be the biggest stake owner in F1, with 75% of the stocks in their kitty. It appears that CVC would now hold talks with the GPMA, a consortium of manufacturers who threaten a breakaway series if not offered a bigger share of the F1 pie. Time and tide may change, but Bernie would still remain CEO of F1!

Super Mario on his own.

After divorcing Williams and Sir Frank, BMW is now on its own, having bought out Sir Peter Sauber's F1 legacy. Powered by state of the art BMW engines and not outdated Ferrari ones, Peter Sauber's wonderful aero package would perhaps be put to better use under Super Mario. Nick Heidfeld the German would race alongside veteran Villeneuve, who after being left out of plans earlier has been included at the last minute.

Honda Racing is reborn

After buying out British American Tobaco's 55% stake, Honda Racing is now back. Honda Racing was first active in the sixties and then in the eighties, having won eleven championship titles in all. Jensie of Buttongate fame and Barrichello, the former Ferrari driver would race for the Grove outfit, rejuvenated by Honda's fresh commitments to F1.

Red-Bull Part II

Last year it was Jaguar Racing and this year it is Minardi. Red-Bull, the Austrian drink maker has gobbled up yet another privateer team, re-christening it "Squadra Torro Rosso" and then changing it to "Scuderia Torro Rosso" since "Squadra" was a word more common to Football teams than to racing ones. The Italian name is quite a surprising one to me, perhaps it could only be justified if Red-Bull can sign-up one Mr. Valentino and rename their team yet again to "Scuderia Torro Rossi".

A eleventh team at the eleventh hour.

Aguri Suzuki, the former Japanese F1 star would now head Super Aguri F1 team, also known as the HONDA 'B' team. It appears that according to the 2006 regulations, teams can buy engines but not chassis. It is believed that if Aguri plans to race in 2006, he would use the old Arrows chassis, used by Yamaha-Arrows in the late 90's. If Aguri races, Taku who is currently in the wilderness might get a green signal.

Sir Frank signs up a Rosberg yet again!

Nico Rosberg, son of the original flying Finn and 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg has been signed on to race alongside Mark Webber at Williams F1 . Nico will now replace German Nick Heidfeld who moves on with the BMW contingent that has just bought out Sir Peter Sauber's F1 legacy. Nico,20, is the reigning GP2 champion and has already made more starts than his father ever has.It would be interesting to watch how Nico performs in F1, considering that his experience at the wheel of an F1 car is almost zero.

Kovalainen joins Renault.

Heikki Kovalainen, the young Finnish talent has signed up with Renault as a test driver. It was rumored that Heikki would join BMW after his arch GP2 rival Nico Rosberg signed up for Sir Frank Williams. Kovalainen is best known for beating Michael Schumacher at the Race of Champions a year ago. Yet another Briatore managed driver, it is widely rumored that Heikki would partner Alonso in 2007 and Italian Giancarlo Fissichella would be shown the door. However, had Heikki's BMW racing option materialized, it would have been interesting to watch Heikki take his revenge on Nico, who stole his GP2 crown at the fag end of the season!

Thats me, now!

2005-11-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Autograph !

2005-11-25T05:02:00.000-08:00

Kids @ School

Top Row -> Shwetha, Koushik, Tarun, Ganesh Ranjan, Yashpal, Yadav, Mridul, ??, Sushma
Row 2 -> Srinivas, Shyam Sundar, Rajesh, Archana, Dinesh, Anita, ??,Anish, ??,??
Sitting -> Deeptha, Srini, Ganesh Ram, Arvind, Nisha,Andal Ma'am, Monisha, Kaushik, Deepak, Vipin, Sudha.

Not bad, considering I havent seen most of them since 1988 :-)

The Englishman

2005-11-05T00:22:00.000-08:00

He woke up when the first rays of the fine English sun filtered through the stained glass windows. The large stained glass image of "Madonna of the rocks" was imprinted on this fine glass, imported from Southern France, tracing its origins to the gothic era. He glanced at the large bracket mantel clock that was quite the only wall-hanging in his room. It was a little over six in the morning. It made him proud to glance at the same clock that an Earl or a Prince might have glanced at once. He had always liked to be petulant and precise about his house, something that his friends said ran in the blood of Englishmen. He got up from the four poster chest-nut bed and headed for the rest room.

The figure was one of an old man, a frail figure of sixty-four. His hair was white and longish, and he sported white stubble, something that he used to hide the sagging skin. He looked amazingly different now, perhaps not even his father would recognise him if he were to see him now. His face was locked in a careless smile as he splashed water on his face.

Like the proverbial Englishman, he spoke with all his body. He walked down the road, complete with the Saxony Jacket, Moleskin pants, felt hat and stirling silver walking stick. Not that he needed the walking stick, but since the time he had retired from the Bank of England two years earlier, he had always felt like carrying one. And in England, each man is an island, doing what he likes and consulting only his own convenience. He almost walked in the opposite direction out of practice. After all, he had taken the same route for almost forty years, from his house to the gates of Sir John Soane's massive curtain walls that enclosed the three-acre island. The island that was home to the oldest bank in the world, the Bank of England. He chuckled and changed directions. Five minutes later, he entered the church where he had been attending morning service since time immemorial.

As usual, he was one of the earliest. He went to the pew, as if to take an up close and personal look at the lord. He then went back to his seat, the seventh seat on the fifth row, a place he had been occupying since, well, time immemorial. He was well versed in the 'litugry' or method of prayer. The prayer started, and ended as usual. His prayer was intent, never wandering from the sermons that the preacher delivered. He prayed for his family who were now scattered, and he prayed for himself.

Just as he was about to leave the church, the unthinkable happened. A woman, perhaps fifty years old came up to him.

She said, "I was seated next to you in the church, if you had noticed". He had not. Never does an Englishman let another meet his eye. It was almost an affront to see another in the eye when introductions had not been made. Shocked, he said "Err.."

"Never mind", she continued. He was shocked, shocked that a ritual that he had carried out for years had been shattered. In his mind's eye, he said, 'How on earth can people talk to those who have not been introduced to each other? And that too in such a fine, polished country like mine!'

"I saw you praying. You were so deep in your prayers that perhaps you did not notice me." In his mind he thought "What do you want!"

"Just curious, you know". An English man is not curious, neither does he show his unbecoming emotions. Silently, he looked on, waiting for his 'offender' to finish.

"Do you belong to the church of England?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Thats wonderful. How do you find my country?"

The question echoed from the walls of the church, and from the deepest echelons of his heart. Rajith 'Ron' Ramasekharan's world had just been shattered.

'...my country' mutterd the Englishman as he walked back.

And now, a CDG wing in the works

2005-11-04T06:14:00.000-08:00

What you see here gentlemen, is not a mug shot of Ralf Schumacher's car taken after his spectacular crash into the famous Oval Bank at Indianapolis but Max and his minions at work, in an attempt to reduce air turbulence and thereby help increase overtaking. And this, as a result of Max Mosley, the famed monkey from Monaco conducting a survey and being surprised of the outcome - that racing fans wanted to see more overtaking! And so, in his attempt to cater to this, he appoints a couple of his minions and some geeks from a chip manufacturing company to help design a new wing that would effectively reduce the already scarce advertising real-estate available on F1 cars. And ofcourse, Max is so extremely short sighted that he does not see important sponsorship money being placed in jeopardy by this new "radical" design.

Some questions about the "Centreline Downwash Generating Wing" ::

A novice at aerodynamics, but I would still like to see and know if there are two areas of turbulence (over the two smaller wings). The FIA does not talk of this, nor has it given images other than along the vertical plane along the center line.

Even to the naked eye, it seems as though the wings are too close to the rear tyres. (EvenGiles Villeneuve's Ferrari had two wings, but they were way above.) So, did the FIA take into consideration the amount of debris that would be flying on the track if a tyre flattens out and manages to make contact with one of these wings?

Was any top F1 team involved with AMD while it conducted the computational fluid dynamic tests? Or was it just grandpa Max lovingly accpeting the play-car model that his minions have doled out?

Does AMD own a wind-tunnel? Does FIA own one? I am sure that neither Todt (Ferrari) or he Ronster(McLaren) would allow Max's minions to set foot inside the sanctum sanctorum's of F1 technology - a state of the art wind-tunnel.

Does AMD have any previous experience of having designed aerodynamic packages? Don't come up with "NASCAR" - those are bulky 3000 pound tractors that dole out 750 horsepower as against the 950 hp wrung out by a 1300 pound F1 rocketship.

The CDG Wing - reminds me of Williams' (an astounding 16 time WCC) who have come up with awful yet innovative and money-guzzling aero packages time and again - LMAO!

"We are the champions"

2005-10-17T07:03:00.000-07:00

It was more than a race. It was the end of an era for three lesser, yet respected teams in Formula One. Sauber, Minardi and Jordan. They will now join the list, bringing to mind Lotus, Toleman, Cooper, Maseratti, Prost, Jaguar and a dozen other teams that have been silenced for ever from the paddocks ...

Typical of the Swiss, Peter Sauber kept a low profile even while negotiations were going on for the German giant, Bayerische Motoren Werke to take full control of Sauber and enter F1 in its own right. With the race over, Peter must perhaps be thinking of sitting high up in the Swiss alps, smoking his cigars and drinking his whisky, far away from the busy paddocks of Formula One.

For Paul Stoddart, a man whose team name was synonymous in the paddock with "underdog", it was a dream to win a GP. Sadly, that will never happen, not with the team sporting the Minardi banner. "Squadra Toro Rosso" is the name that the little Faenza outfit will now get, with Red Bull deciding to run a second string team, providing a launchpad for its growing list of F1 hopefulls. Minardi might have been the underdogs, but then, coming to think of it, many a race winner including today's winner, Alonso started at Minardi. A look down the pit-lane, and there is a huge question mark of where future talent could make a modest entry, considering today's sponsorship requirements. If not for anything, Paul and his little dream would stay in memory for ever.

As for Eddie and his silverstone outfit, it was game over last year, when Canadian-Russian Alex Shnaider decided that F1 would be his newest venture. Midland F1 would now sport different colors, and drop some baggage on its way, and sadly, that baggage might include Indian racer Narain Karthikeyan. Eddie will always be remembered as a spotter of talents, for after all the indomitable Michael Schumacher raced first in a Jordan on a wet day in Belgian in 1991.

Another lesser known man who would leave the paddocks is one Mr. Pierre Dupasquier, who, after thirty-four years of service to motorsport would retire. Pierre worked with Michelin last.

And away with the odes!

"We are the champions, we are the champions" sang the young Prince over the radio. Back on the pit-wall, Flavio's face resembled one of his caricatures, with the whole gamut of emotions on his face. Alonso took his seventh win of the season, equalling Raikkonen's tally, albiet Renault now get to bag the double, while McLaren would have to go home empty handed, with the phrase "So near, yet so far" on their lips.

It was to be an exiciting day, with the Renault pairs and McLaren duo's being separated by Jensen Button. The rest were there, but this was one day when they wouldn't be mentioned. After all, this is the first time this decade that the Constructor's championship has gone down to the wire. Renault lead McLaren by two points, and everybody including the most innocuous of F1 watchers would remember Ron Dennis's usually calm face resemble a cat that had its cream. Perhaps Ron, one of the most experienced of Paddock campaigners had one up his sleave. Or perhaps the flambuoyant Flavio would deliver, with talks about a set of developments waiting to be unleashed on the unsuspecting Woking folks. All said, it was time for the green lights to flash one last time this season!

Schumacher and Albers crashed out even before the opening lap. As a result, they started off from the pits. Karthikeyan too, pitted on the warm-up lap. Not exactly a dream start for either of the lesser teams, whose last races this would be.
The race started with Fissichella superbly fending off the McLaren duo, hoping that the blue streak in front of him would dissapear into the distance. Sato, whose last race this would be for the BAR-HONDA team jump-started, resulting in a drive through penalty.

A set of blistering laps set Alonso on course for a window stop, with the Spaniard gaining 17 seconds on his team mate, who was still fending off the McLarens. Montoya then ran over a raised drain cover, something that must have made Ron Dennis cry. Perhaps indicative that his hopes of getting the Constructor's trophy were down the same drain! A couple of laps after the safety car pulled out, Montoya pulled over and got out of his McLaren. A sad end for McLaren, it would now have to be fate that would decide the winner. In the meanwhile, Narain Karthikeyan managed to wreck Jordan's 250th and last grand prix, ripping an entire side of the yellow EJ15B.

In the confusion that ensued, Fissichella appeared to have slowed down the peleton that was heading for the paddocks. This would not escape the eyes of the Stewards as they called in Fissichella for a drive through. Meanwhile Raikkonen who had nosed past Fissichella in a well executed pitstop started to get close to Alonso, now sailing well ahead of him. Fissichella emerged fourth, behind Ralf Schumacher.

Inspite of the blistering laps that Raikkonen put in, Alonso would take the flag. This was his seventh win of the season, a season when Renault would take the championships, both of them, back to France!

Ralf came in third, managing to put Toyota on the podium. Fissichella came in fourth, tailed by Klein and Massa. The sole Ferrari that finished was that of Barrichello, with Schumacher not having the usual season-ender that he has. In fact, he was asked to wait for the stewards for the incident that involved Doonboors.

In the end, a fine season, a season that Renault deserved to win, not because they had the fastest car or the best driver, but because they were the most reliable of the teams!

With that, we look forward to the 2006 season, a season when teams will be unable to carry forward any advantage from this season. After all, 2006 will see major changes, including the usage of 2.8 litre V8 engines instead of 3.0 litre V10 engines that are being used.

Adios till 2006!

Raikkonen scintillates at Suzuka.

2005-10-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

"The track is my canvas. My car is my pencil,” said Graham Hill. And on a sunny day at Suzuka, Kimi sketched one such performance, sizzling from seventeenth on the grid after a rain marred qualifying lap to become the Numero Uno at Japan. Fissichella, the more fortunate of the Renault runners came in second and Fernando Alonso came in third after starting sixteenth, silencing his critics with what I would term as “balls-out” racing.

Saturday qualifying saw quite some action, with rain during the later part of afternoon. Perhaps it is the Japanese rain gods at work, ensuring that their teams Toyota and Honda were given the front row of the grid. Ralf started on P1 with the Briton, Jensen Button on P2. Fissichella was for once luckier half of Renault, starting in third as opposed to Alonso’s sixteenth. By the time the youngest ever champion came out, it was raining cats and dogs, but the brave Spaniard put on a show that served as a precursor to what one could expect from him during the race. Kimi and Montoya started at No 17 and No 18 respectively. With the met department predicting a sixty percent chance of rains, it was all set to be a spectacular show of pit strategies, tire strategies and scorching speeds.

Come Sunday and Suzuka saw a clear day, with the rain gods failing to deliver. The grid was all set, and Ralf Schumacher led the slowest warm-up lap in decades. The red lights went off and Ralf made a superb start. Coulthard and Fissichella made good starts, with the latter nudging to second spot. But behold, the back of the pack is where all the action is. Schumacher, who started on row seven, made up seven places, with Alonso and Raikkonen hot on his trail, passing the slower cars as if they were back markers. The first lap also saw the demise of Montoya, with Villeneuve, forcing him to go wide. The incident saw a five-lap safety car parade. Clearly, the drivers seemed to struggle with what was definitely a mismatch – a car set up for wet weather tires running on dries, not even intermediates.

Drama on the track saw an over ambitious Alonso cutting the chicane to over take Klein. He let Klein retake his position not once but twice, the order coming from the stewards the second time around. How ever, with the minor incident out of his way, Alonso set off after Schumacher with Raikkonen hot on his trail, watchful and ready should either Michael or Fernando commit a mistake. Such was the Finn’s great driving that in spite of keeping watch of his two greatest opponents he was still able to post fastest laps.

The first set of pit stops confirmed that Ralf was after all on a three-stop strategy. Flavio, the Renault team boss must have sighed a sigh of relief. Perhaps Alonso would not finish in the points, but so would Raikkonen, where as Fiscio would collect a full house, bolstering Renault’s lead in the race to the Constructor’s championship. Fissichella pitted on lap 20, and Alonso, in a breathtakingly spectacular move swept past the ‘king of corners’ Michael Schumacher at 130R, perhaps one of the fastest and most difficult of corners on the Formula One calendar. The Spaniard then sped off into the horizon, hungry to post fastest laps. Meanwhile Raikkonen was being held up by Schumacher, and in the ensuing lap, both of them pitted together, with the German still managing to come out ahead of Raikkonen.

With both Schumacher and Raikkonen emerging ahead of Alonso after the first set of pit stops, it was now the opposite scenario to what happened a few laps before. Raikkonen swept past Schumacher on the grid-straight, leaving Alonso to deal with the ‘macher’s machinations, where as he, Raikkonen, would post fastest laps. Alonso made the most of it, ensuring that Schumacher locked up on a chicane, thus losing momentum. The passing on the grid straight then became a mere formality.

The racing of these three drivers was so captivating that perhaps everyone but the other drivers failed to notice that there were other cars on the track. Webber had a good run with the WilliamsF1, coming out of the pits ahead of Button, in what might be his first podium in a long time. But then, the glowing silver streak behind him would ensure that such an event wouldn’t happen. After all, if you happen to drive a McLaren Mercedes MP4-20 and complete a race, there isn’t much chance that you would land up outside the podium. And if you happen to be Kimi Raikkonen, you would even dare to dream more, perhaps dream of even standing on the top step of the podium.

With Raikkonen managing to come within striking distance of Fissichella after a splash ‘n’ dash pit stop, the game was all set for an exciting finish. Alonso, meanwhile made quick work of Webber, something that might have made the Australian feel like he was in a passenger train and Alonso in a rocket ship. Meanwhile, Fissichella lost momentum, almost tripping on a Minardi. Raikkonen tried to close Fissichella out on the main straight, but Fissichella would have none of it. With just two laps to go, Raikkonen was all over the back of the Renault driver, eventually managing to sweep past him at the first corner. At the paddocks, Flavio Briatore’s face turned red as the Italian stormed down the pit lane. Clearly, this one move could cost his team the Constructor’s championship. Perhaps it was time to put the second Renault under a better driver.

When Raikkonen headed down the pits, Ron Dennis, the McLaren team boss who seldom loiters towards the park ferme area rushed up from the pit-wall, bear hugging his driver, his beloved Kimi Raikkonen. Perhaps this is the only other time apart from Suzuka 988 when I have seen Ron’s face so animated, so happy to receive the Constructor’s trophy. Perhaps the Finn is his next Prost or Senna.

The race even otherwise was a delight, with Webber, Button, Coulthard giving strong performances. Michael and Ralf gathered the remaining points, coming in seventh and eight. The Minardi’s completed their race, with Albers managing to finish in spite of being involved in a dramatic pit-lane fire incident. Narain finished fifteenth, failing to capitalize on a good qualifying lap.

Overall, the race was a sizzler, with Renault and McLaren switching positions on the constructor’s table. Renault now lead by two points, and it remains to be seen if McLaren can hold fort in the last race of the season, due to happen this weekend at Shanghai, China.

Looking forward to the wire a.k.a China!

Rossi rosy for F1

2005-10-04T02:28:00.000-07:00

'Vale' alias 'Rossifumi' alias 'Valentinik' alias 'The Doctor' alias Valentino the great Rossi - utter any of these at a Formula One paddock, and it would cause more buzz than you can ever hear from a couple of hundred bee-hives. Valentino Rossi is a MotoGP racer unlike any other. Rossi has won the championship a record seven times, and with two different companies, Honda and Yamaha. His dominance in the sport can be compared to that of Schumacher's conquests during the better part of the last decade. And to add icing to the cake, Valentino Rossi is just 26. Enough information to make the mouths of many a team boss water at the prospect of Rossi driving their mean-machines. Will Rossi make the switch?

Valentino Rossi, son of Graziano Rossi was born in Urbino, Italy, and like any true racer, started young. Rossi started to kart at the young age of five, winning his first regional karting championship at 11 years of age. Even before the next season had started, Valentino started off with the minimoto. Had Vale's dad had more money, the world would have never witnessed a wheeling Valentino thunder past the chequered flag a record sixty-eight times to claim seven glorious championships. The 100cc Italian Karting championships followed by the European series and the Formula British championships would have put Rossi on the Formula One track. But that was not to be and Rossi started off with a Cagiva Mito, earning his bread by being a motorbike racer. The rest is history and Rossi went on to become,well, Rossi!

Talking about Rossi's exploits in the world of Moto GP, any article would not be complete without a mention of Rossi's move from Honda to Yamaha. This, I believe, can be compared to Schumacher's move to Ferrari, a team that could not be called anything but an also ran. Moves that were baptism by fire, moves so severely critizied that any one lesser than a Rossi or a Schumacher would have scuttled down under pressure. The tense 2004 season started off with Rossi drawing first blood at Welkom, South Africa and then going on to overpower Biaggi and Gibernau, eventually sealing off their title hopes with a victory at Phillip Island. Valentino would then rub salt to Honda's wounds with a brilliant win at Valencia, making Honda aware of what they had let go.

Having conquered everything in MotoGP, the brilliant racer from Italy may now contemplate a change. The change could come in the form of Ducati. Rossi could switch to the Italian team in the same lines of the Honda-Yamaha switch. Or his switch could be more dramatic, with Rossi entering the pinnacle of motor sport. Formula 1. And who else to enter the magical world of F1 with but Ferrari, a team that shares its genesis with Formula One itself?

Rossi has now tested with the Scuderia outfit, and each time the tests are complete, Vale leaves Maranello with a trail of reporters, journalist and glazed engineers wondering about the talent that is Rossi. Rossi has done the impossible already, clocking 57.5 at the Fiorano circuit, within a second of German great Schumacher's all time record. But a spate of incidents, triggered by Ross Brawn's comment that Rossi could be testing for Ferrari almost twelve times next year has triggered the alarm bells, both at Yamaha as well as in Rossi's mind. Rossi has now said that F1 is out of the proposition for 2007, a year when many think Rossi would race alongside Raikkonen, the budding Finnish talent.

Rossi, if he successfully makes the transition from two to four wheels and goes on to win the championship would be only the second person to do so. John Sutrees, the legendary British racer is by far the only person to have conquered this monumental feat. Sutrees won the 500cc
motorbike World Championships in 1956,1958,1959 and 1960. He then switched devotions to Formula One, racing first at the Monaco GP of 1960 in a Lotus. He then moved to the Maranello based Scuderia outfit, winning his first F1 championship with 'Team Ferrari'. Needless to say, he is an International Motorsport Hall of famer.

Now Rossi has his options. He could either continue to race with Yamaha or Ducati or Honda - and be known as a biker extrodinaire. But a switch to four wheels would make him legendary. And what if Rossi wins more than one championship? Rossi would be called GOD and nothing else. And given Rossi's temperament, his fights with Roman Max Biaggi, so intense at a point that Rossi's website printed "XXX XXXXXX" instead of "Max Biaggi", F1 would be a lot more interesting that it has been in a decade. And personally, I wouldn't mind Rossi spitting at any of the team bosses because they ordered him to let the other drivers pass!

So would Rossi race in a Formula 1 car? Well, I think, Yes. Rossi will race in Formula 1. Maybe for Ferrari, but also, maybe for Red Bull. After all "Red Bull" is "Toro Rosso" in Italian, and Italy is the Austrian drink giant's biggest market. All they would have to change is the one letter in "Rossi" before they can market their products with caricatures of Rossi embozzed all over their blue and silver cans. Maybe Red Bull would make the sixty million dollars that Schumacher gets at Ferrari sound like peanuts. After all, money is everything in Formula 1. And money combined with challenge is the best mix to lure Rossi.

And then there is another factor. To be honest, I find MotoGP a lot more exciting, with more characters in the pitlane at one time than Formula 1 has seen in decades. And the racing is a lot better, there is more over taking, and there are accidents, sometimes spectacular accidents. MotoGP, for all you know, is more worth for your money than is Formula 1, the cavalcade of hyped-up cars with even more hyped-up drivers like Button. Drivers like Button who have achieved nothing, but being haggled over and paid a fortune. So, what makes Formula 1 more popular? Why does Formula One have more viewership and more money than does MotoGP? Well, the answer is simple - "Bernie". And I would be surprised if Bernie does not play a role in bringing Rossi to F1.

So would Rossi bolt on a couple of extra wheels and race for Ferrari? Time and Bernie will tell...

Senna lives on...

2005-09-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

On auction at eBay

"You are bidding on a beautiful, HAND SIGNED, 8 X 10 color photo with the signature of Ayrton Senna. Signed in permanent black pen, this is one of the finest photos of this legend found on eBay. This is an original photo, we do not sell copied or reprinted photographs. Each of our items come with a certificate of authenticity and is packaged for safe delivery."

Needless to say, the avid F1 fan would spot the ridiculous flaw. David Coulthard's Silver-Black McLaren, complete with the WEST livery, first driven at the Australian GP, 1997. Almost three years after the legendary Brazilian great's death at Imola, Italy.

After all, Ayrton still lives on..

Conquistador Fernando claims Crown/McLaren finish One-Two.

2005-09-26T05:29:00.000-07:00

It is said that the Spanish name the most celebrated of their conqueror's as "Conquistadors". The cavalry might have metamorphozied into cars, gunpowder might be replaced by V10 engines, but the crux of the cranium would always hold one idea - to conquer.And that is what Fernando, in his blue silhouette did on a cloudy afternoon at Interlagos, Brazil. The Spaniard clinched his maiden Formula 1 Championship by claiming six points for finishing third at Sau Paulo. McLaren drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen came in first and second in a race that was pretty much a McLaren cavalcade. Michael Schumacher, the reigning champion finished fourth, managing to keep the faster Renault of Fissichella at bay. Barrichello, Button and Schumacher were among others who landed in points.

Qualifying saw a couple of changes at the top with the Finn, Kimi Raikkonen failing to qualify within the first two rows since almost the beggining of this season. Snatching his breaks before turning into corner 1, Kimi lost seven hundredths of a second. A rare mistake from the usually ice cool McLaren driver that saw Alonso take his fifth pole of the season. Juan Pablo, the other McLaren driver came in second, straddling himself between the two Renaults. Kelin's impressive run saw him start on row three along side Raikkonen. The stage was set, and the game was on for Fernando to thwart Brazilian Emerson Fittpaldi's record of being the youngest ever Formula 1 champion.

Just before the start of the race, Mercedes boss Norbert Haug gave Fernando,(Yes! Fernando) a friendly slap and wished him good luck, an excellent gesture proving that not all of the patrons of "Planet Paddock" were soulless money-mongerers.

The race started with David Coulthard, Pizzonia and Webber getting involved in a start line incident that ended the afternoon for all three drivers. Sadly, for the Grove team, the race ended even before it had started. The safety car came out, with Alonso leading Montoya, Raikkonen, Michael and Fissichella. When it pulled off, Alonso made a rare mistake, moving out of the racing line, thus allowing the mercurial McLaren driver to blow past at the back straight. Raikkonen, already having powered his way to third was all over Alonso, snapping at the Spaniards heels at every opportunity.

The first set of pit stops started with Renault predictably going into the pits ahead of their McLaren counterparts. Clearly, the McLarens were faster inspite of being heavier. Montoya and Raikkonen traded fastest laps, even as Schumacher the beleagured fought his way past Fissichella after his first pit stop. Montoya pitted on lap 28 with Kimi making a rather longish pitstop on lap 31. A brilliant strategy that would have allowed Raikkonen a six-lap window at the end of the race that might even see him take the top-step on the podium. However, a flag incident saw Raikkonen make his second stop a lap or two earlier, leaving him at the heels of fellow driver Montoya.

The championship was all over with Montoya leading Raikkonen and Alonso. The stage was all set for the pretender to be crowned King. The Renault mechanics were on the wall to welcome the first Spanish Drivers Champion, even as Ron Dennis, the man behind the McLarens looked on, making sure that a last minute hick-up would not prevent his cars from finishing in a one-two position - an achievement after a gap of five years.

As for the others, it was a great race for the Ferrari's with Schumacher and Barrichello coming in fourth and sixth. Fissichella came in fifth, bringing in vital points for his team in the Constructor's tally. Button, who had a lonely race came in seventh, with Ralf coming in eigth. Sato, who started in the pits as punishment for his Belgian GP incident with Schumacher came in tenth, while Klein's impressive performance saw him come ninth. The two Saubers of Massa and Villeneuve came in eleventh and twelveth with Trulli dragging along at thirteenth ahead of Albers and Karthikeyan.

It was a sad race for Tiago Montiero who was looking to complete his seventeenth successful race. The Potrugese driver had mechanical problems and called it quits with just twenty laps to go.

It was a historic moment for Fernando Alonso and Flavio Briatore the Renault team principal. Incidentally it was Flavio who was leading Benneton-Ford(thence Renault) when Michael Schumacher won his first world championship back in 1994. Surely, a sign of things to come.

Now that the Driver's champion has been crowned, it is time for all and sundry to concentrate on the Constructor's championship. This weekend saw a change of guard at the top with McLaren edging out Renault by two points. This season, McLaren have undoubtedly been the fastest cars on the grid, winning nine out of seventeen races. However, their achilees heel has been the reliability of their cars sans which the Woking team would have had the possibility to claim both the Constructor's and the Driver's crowns. On the contrary, Renault have thrived on reliability, often being able to capitalize on the fast but fragile McLaren's failures.

Do check out this space after Suzuka, Japan - the venue of many a legendary joust, be it for the Driver's or the Constructor's crown.

Hurricane Kimi hits Belgium

2005-09-16T06:12:00.000-07:00

McLaren bulwark Kimi Raikkonen sizzled to victory ahead of his Spanish rival Alonso in a heavily contested Belgian Grand Prix. BAR's fortune, Jensen Button, took third, followed by Williams driver Mark Webber on a foggy Belgian afternoon with just enough rain for teams to joust from the pit-walls in terms of strategies but not enough rain to cancel the grand prix. The ousting of McLaren's other driver, Montoya, with just four laps to go might have dampened Ron Dennis's spirits, but Kimi's performance at the 'Pisspot of Europe' was nonethless a treat to watch.

Qualifying resulted in an all McLaren front row for the first time in five seasons. A blown engine would mean that Fissichella, inspite of setting the third best time would start thirteenth, whislt Jarno Trulli would start along side Fernando Alonso, who, with this race, was hoping to climb to the throne of Formula One. Messrs Schumacher & Schumacher started off on row three, with Button and Massa on row four. As for the others, it was regulation qualifying.

Come sunday and the drivers entered their cockpits, smelling the rain, and smelling the opportunity.The race started with Montoya blistering into the fog, with Trulli almost managing to out-wit the Finn. A little behind, the rain-master had begun to weave his sorcery, ousting his younger brother and the notorious Trulli, who is usually is happy to settle for his qualifying position, much to the irritation of drivers behind him. A struggling Webber gave way to Coulthard, with Fissichella too managing to squeak past the Australian in the nick of time.

A few laps into the race, the struggling Fissichella let go of his car at Raidillon, managing to place a road-block for cars passing by. The truck came out, while all the cars went in for a change of rubber. Montoya pitted first, changing to intermediates, even as Raikkonen was trying to slow down the train heading into the pits until his team mate came out. Villeneuve, the brave French-Canadian did not pit, and as a result, the Sauber driver went up the ladder, splitting the McLaren's along with Ralf, the Toyota driver having benefitted from Fissichella's timely demise. The Ferrari's, BAR's, WilliamsF1's all made daring switches to dry tyres, but a seemingly wrong choice saw them return to the pits to make a quick change to more groovy tyres.

Lap thirteen saw the demise of Michael Schumacher, the German great being whacked on the back by a senseless Sato. The normally cool Scuderia driver had a word or two for the maverick Jap, for afterall, he was deprived of 31 laps more on a track which many acknowledge as 'made for Schumacher'. The Raidillon crash will cost Sato ten places at the upcoming Interlagos Grand Prix in Brazil. As for Schumacher, it was a race of "IF's" - If only the Honda driver had not slammed into him, the German would have romped home, for after all, he is still the best rain-man out there.

Former World Champion and Red Bull driver, Coulthard, exited on lap seventeen, with his Cosworth engine failing on the long pit-straight. A rarity indeed for a Cosworth engine! Ralf Schumacher sizzled in the rain, the German lapping a second faster than McLaren driver Montoya, running first. Villeneuve pitted on lap twenty, only to come out and engage in battle for eigth spot with Button. Button tried to outwit the Canadian, and finally managed to do so after a flurry of tries.

Ralf's brave attempt on the dry tyres ended in tears as the Toyota spun off at the hill(Les Combes). Villeneuve was overtaken by a marauding Karthikeyan who cut across the hill to overtake the Sauber. Montiero, who had a great race, was engaged in bitter battle for eigth position with Pizzonia. The middle of the race saw Kimi fly in his McLaren, trying to gain on his team mate while he was in the pits. He did manage to do so, and the fans started to trumpet their air-horns on seeing the McLaren come out of the pits to an empty piece of track. Trulli spuns off at Fagnes on the same lap, the Italian having left enough debris on the track.

The end of the race saw a lot of drama, as Pizzonia bumped into the back of the McLaren in front of him. The crowd waited in hushed silence and let out a groan of relief on seeing Montoya emerge from inside the car. A thoroughly angered Montoya climbed off from his car, even as the steely eyed Ron Dennis must have wondered, "Well, what more can I/he do?". Surely, victory would not be as sweet as it should have been. Alonso ofcourse, got second spot, happy that a hand full of points that must have gone McLaren's way had crashed into the barriers. On the podium, Kimi shrugged when Alonso asked a question. Might we guess the question was 'Where's your team mate?'.

Kimi took the flag with grace, the Finnish driver collecting ten points as against Alonso's eight. But for disaster for either Alonso or Renault, the drivers championship is over. As for the Constructor's championship, there is still time for a change of guard at the top, with McLaren inching towards Renault. Had Montoya finished the race, it would have been Renault who would have had to do the catching up and not the Woking team.

Jensen Button proved that he had the eye and the intent with this superb performance which I would rate as one of his best ever. His moves on Villeneuve and Barrichello were top-notch, and his run for Alonso during the ending stages of the 44 lap race showed his character. Nick Fry must have breathed a sigh of reassurance, for after all what he was going to pay to Sir Frank Williams for keeping Button at BAR would make the sixteen million (pounds) that Newcastle has paid for Michael Owen look like a walk in the park. Talking of Sir Williams, Webber's performance must have been some consolation for Sir Frank. Webber drove well and thoroughly deserves the five points that he has made. The other stars of the day were old man Villeneuve and Jordan's Tiago Montiero. The Portugese driver secured his first 'genuine' point in F1. Narain, the other Jordan driver managed to come in eleventh, ahead of the two struggling Minardi's.

Overall, a great race, the first rainy race in two years, the Spa proving yet again that it was the most favorite to one and all - the fans, the drivers, and ofcourse the spectators! A great race for Kimi, a performance he would have to repeat in the last three races if Ron Dennis is to see the Constructor's trophy at his Woking garage after a gap of six years. As for Renault, a surprise at the fag end of the race would only make the flambuoyant Flavio burst out :
"Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho Its home from work we go!"

Montoya mitigates McLaren's Monza misery

2005-09-06T21:25:00.000-07:00

Raikkonen : What more can I do?

The "Palace of speed" was set ablaze on Sunday by the Gods of Speed, the McLaren's and the Renault's, on a day that saw the mercurial Montoya take podium, salvaging some pride for the Woking team after ill-luck struck down their championship contender Raikkonen. Alonso, the confirmed Crown Prince to Schumacher's reign came in second followed by his Italian teammate Giancarlo Fissichella. The belligerent Raikkonen came in fourth, followed by the two Toyota's of Trulli and Ralf. Pizzonia, in an eyebrow raising performance proved his mettle, coming in seventh for Williams. Button managed to salvage the last point for BAR Honda in a thoroughly exciting Italian Grand Prix.

Come saturday, the McLaren's were dealt a severe blow with Kimi Raikkonen's engine being detected with a defective inlet valve. An amazing third time in five races that the Finn is losing grid positions owing to the goddess of luck, Fortuna, turning a blind-eye on him. Ironically, the British team had topped the charts in both practice sessions on friday. Raikkonen, inspite of knowing that he could best start off on the sixth row of the grid set blistering pace ahead of team mate Montoya. Thus Montoya would take pole ahead of Alonso, Button and Sato. Button and Sato, it was revealed later, were light on their fuel loads, and their qualifying timings were not to be taken seriously. Trulli was fifth ahead of the two Scuderia's. Ironically, the Maranello based outfit had more than sealed both the Driver's and Constructor's championships by this time last year. But ofcourse, this was the land of the Tifosi, and the Italians would still proudly don their Scarlet caps embroidered with the prancing horse. Fissichella started eigth and Ralf ninth. Raikkonen started eleventh, behind Scotsman Coulthard and aside Villeneuve, both former champions. The race started, with everybody expecting Raikkonen(Yes, Raikkonen!!!) to win.

Montoya started the race in blistering fashion, speeding ahead of the chasing Alonso with ease. However, all eyes were on the middle of the grid, where the fiery Finn sat crouched in his cockpit, ready for an afternoon of toil. Villeneuve kept him at bay and the Finn did not make the brilliant start that everybody expected him to make. The back of the pack saw a flurry of cars grouping together, followed by their returning to the pits for a quick-fix. Karthikeyan, Albers,Webber and Coulthard were involved in the incident. Schumacher cut the chicane and got past Trulli's Toyota but the Italian got back his position in a couple of laps. Montoya and Alonso then traded fast laps as Raikkonen was stuck in the tail of cars, knowing well that the championship might be in jeopardy.

With eleven laps gone and not a position improved, Raikkonen must have been relieved to see the Petronas car ahead of him divert towards the pits. Schumacher also pitted on the same lap, signifying that the Ferrari's were slower in the qualifying despite their lighter fuel tanks. As the pit-crews of teams swung into action, Raikkonen powered ahead to within a second of Ralf Schumacher. Alonso dove into the pits, and came out behind Ralf but ahead of Raikkonen. Raikkonen was all over an Alonso intent on reducing Raikkonen's momentum. A first chicane goof-up by both drivers put them out of rhythm as the Finn mustered ahead at the second chicane, the Renault driver having let his arch rival through. Raikkonen then went into the pits after twenty-five laps, even as drivers like Webber were aligning for a second pit-stop. Raikkonen came out of the pits after a lengthy pit-stop fuelling doubts that the McLaren might after all be on a one-stop strategy.

With twenty-five laps gone, Montoya had settled for first, a clear ten second lead over Alonso. Raikkonen seemed all set to rush to the podium. But luck or rather the lack of it sees Raikkonen limp back to the pits with a right rear tyre damage. Clearly, the Finn appeared to have been charging too hard. Ironically, he emerged behing Villeneuve. The race seems to be a unique one with no retirements what so ever. The second set of pit-stops are over and Raikkonen powers ahead, racing fourth with just the two Renault's and his team-mate racing ahead of him. The Finn makes a rare mistake, losing track time and allowing the "mobile chicane" Trulli to go ahead. He however regains position from Trulli, although over powering Fissichella and challenging Alonso seems improbable if not impossible.

With the race about to come to a close, Montoya's left rear seems to have a blotch. The Columbian, however, nursed his McLaren to victory, even as Ron Dennis must have contemplated a Nurburgring like incident where Kimi Raikkonen spun out in spectacular fasion with just a couple of miles to the finish. Alonso finished second, followed by the delighted Fissichella in third. Raikkonen came in fourth, knowing well that had it not been for the tyre failure, the podium would have seen two McLaren's.

The Toyota's must have been delighted with their performance, the Japanese team managing to grab fifth and sixth positions, ahead of Pizzonia, the make-shift Williams driver who has more than proved that he is indeed race material. Button grabbed the sole point for BAR, denying the Ferrari's something they have taken for granted since 1995, a point at Monza, if not a victory. For the second time this decade, the Ferrari's have failed to win here. Indeed the Tifosi would have to wait for a year, and hope that Schumacher, Todt and the company would power back to victory.

Among others of note were Massa, who came in ninth in a Sauber, ahead of both the Ferraris. The bottom four were made of the usual four cars, the two Minardi's and the Jordans, with even their much hyped B-Spec car failing to impress. News from the paddock suggests that the new Jordan behaves much better in corners and when brakes are applied. It is to be seen if Narain, the wilder of the two drivers at Jordan can showcase his talent better at this race. With the "Silly season" having begun, Narain better come across, after all, there are drivers whose backers are richer than the Tata's.

With four races to go, it is now clear that but for major incidents, Alonso would cruise to the championship whislt Raikkonen can only pray. And pray he should to Sors and Spes, the goddesses of luck and hope. For if he needs to finish races, he needs luck, and if he is to remain in contention for the championship he needs to have hope, an indulgance that Raikkonen can hardly afford. Alonso is on 103, Raikkonen is on 76. Schumacher is on 55, although Montoya at 50 seems likely to pass him. The Championship fight might go to the wire, with McLanren eight points off the French team.

Adios till Spa, the Belgian Grand Prix.

Rottweiler Raikkonen roars past Renault!

2005-08-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Raikkonen roars to victory!

The three week gap does not seemed to have hampered Raikkonen's momentum as a perfect weekend for the McLaren driver saw him take podium and breeze to victory at the inaugralTurkish Grand Prix at the Otodrom circuit. The party would have been perfect had it not beenfor the last minute blip by the Finn's team mate that put Alonso a step higher on the podium that he must have hoped for. Montoya, who was bumped on his back by a Jordan driver with just a lap to go took third and the Renault of Giancarlo Fissichella came fourth in an eventful race.

The Tilke designed track at Turkey promised to deliver right from the word Go! The track isbasically built on four different surface levels, thus providing ups and downs and blind corners which drivers had to take at 200 kilometers an hour. With eight left hand corners and six right handers, the anti-clockwise circuit also boasted the notorious turn number eight, described by veteran drivers as "four corners in one". With plenty of dust from the yet to be landscaped area that surrounds the circuit and a rain-storm prediction for the weekend, Turkey was all set to dish out an undulating race.

Qualifying saw a lot of drama with both BAR's bottoming out at turn 8 and Michael Schumacher
spinning out. But for the title contenders, it was a regular affair, with Kimi grabbing pole ahead of Fissichella and Alonso, with the second McLaren of Montoya completing the first two rows on the grid. Schumacher strated further back on the grid than anticipated after the German decided to change his engines. An interesting note is that Michelin is said to have asked its teams not to "touch the kerbs" in several places. Sources say that the tyre manufacturer had the same worries as they did before the infamous Indianapolis incident. Among those on the 'bad' end of the grid were former champions Villeneuve, the Indian rookie Karthikeyan and Takuma Sato, who seems to like the gravel more than the tarmac.

As soon as the red lights were out, Fissichella took advantage of a Raikkonen who was trying to block him, emerging the winner out of the first turn. However, the Italian lost P1 to the Finn at the fag end of the first lap. From there on, it was boom time for McLaren and Kimi Raikkonen. At the middle of the pack, Massa ran wide and pitted on lap 2. Michael makes spectacular moves, gaining eight positions before the end of lap 1. Meanwhile, the Renault pits directed Alonso to pass his team mate, citing that he was slower. Moments later, Alonso passed Fiscio. Is this a milder form of a team order? We wouldnt know, for we never heard what the pit-wallers had to say to Fiscio! Button, who started on row seven, passed Schumacher, the Ferrari unable to match the speeds of the British-Japanese team.

The middle part of the race saw some spectacular events, with both Willaims losing their right rear-tyres like clock-work and Webber colliding with Schumacher, something that would lead to the eventual race retirement of the seven-time champion. Button sets blistering pace, taking out Barrichello, Coulthard, Klein and Trulli within six laps. Later, he also made a great move on Alonso whose car was heavier from a recent pit-stop. Clearly, Sir Frank must be impressed with his performace, and must be upping the pressure on the BAR driver. Fissichella lost his third place to the Columbian, Montoya, after a poor pit-stop.

Towards the end of the race, things seemed perfect for a McLaren 1-2, but the collision between Montoya and Monteiro made it clear that the top step of the podium was out of rach but the second and third places were still up for grabs. The Monteior incident led to Montoya developing a flat-spot on his tyre and losing second position to the Renault of Fernando Alonso. Fissichella, Button and Trulli did well to grab points, and so did the Red Bull drivers, for their flawless performances.

Trully, it would have been a McLaren 1-2 had it not been for the Jordan driver's fault. Kudos to them, McLaren, for keeping up their challenge to the title leaders Renault. Mixed results for the Grove team, with Button proving that he could be a future race winner. Sato, on the other hand, managed to stay out of the points yet again. A poor race for the Williams' team, with tyre problems that could probably be setup issues. A great race for Toyota, the team managing to grab a couple of points.

The Ferrari's must have been unsurprised, for their car has failed to deliver, with both their drivers tottering along, finishing outside the points. Michael had a brief outing after the clash with Webber, a trip to ensure that he wouldnt be the first of the drivers out on qualifying at Monza. As for the Indian, he managed to stay ahead of his team mate, although Dutchman Doonboors seems to have done a very credible job, coming in thirteenth. Incidentally, the other Minardi retired, owing to a technical problem.

With five races to go, the title challenge seems to be hotting up. With all due respects to Kimi, the Driver's challenge is over, with 24 points being the gap between the speeding Spaniard and the flying Finn. On the constructor's front, however, just nine points separate Renault and McLaren, and a couple of good performances from McLaren should ensure that the championship goes down to the wire.

Looking forward to Monza, the circuit built within a king's garden and also the fastest track on the calendar. It would be interesting to see if Michelin comes up with the same kind of warnings it did for this race, and it would also be interesing to see how Ferrari performs, for afterall, this is the closest race to their Maranello outfit and has been a happy hunting ground for the Scuderia team.

Adios till Monza!

B-A-Rrichello!

2005-08-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Rubens Barrichello, an evangelist amongst drivers for having sacrificed his own career for the sake of Ferrari (read: Michael Schumacher) has finally decided to convert, signing a "multi-year" contract with BAR. Rubens will give way to Felipe Massa, another Brazilian driver who will now don the Scuderia cap, knowing fully well that he is in for atleast one season as the Number 2 man. Rubens will join BAR after having contributed to five Constructor's (read: Constructor's and Driver's) championships.

Rubens Barrichello, considered a great driving talent, took the traditional silk-route taken by all great Brazilian champs. He was a Brazilian Kart champion who went on to win his maiden GM Lotus Euroseries and then whizzed into British F3 Champioships inspite of financial problems. And like his mentor (the late Ayrton Senna) he won there too, and no one was surprised when Eddie Jordan decided to give him a run in 1993.

"Rubino" showed talent, running as high as third at Donnington (European GP) in just his third race. He glittered in other races like Monza and also at the erstwhile Estroil and Adelaide circuits. And inspite of being linked with McLaren for the 1994 season for the seat left vacant by his mentor, Barrichello remained at Jordan,loyalty personified. He left Jordan a couple of years and several "might-have-been" performances topped by a blistering second at Canada in 1995.
Having served the fledging Jackie Stewart team that was later packaged as "Jaguar Racing", Rubens Barrichello swapped seats with Eddie Irvine for a Ferrari drive. What Rubens must have known even at that time was that Ferrari was a team that revolved around one man : Michael Schumacher.

Ferrari had undergone quite a fantastic change in the four years that Michael Schumacher had been with the team before Rubens joined. Todt led the initial ressurection, putting the team together after Enzo's death. And in 1996, a young colt, aged 27, already with a title under his belt made a decision to join the team, a team that could hardly be called top-brass during the time. The package that Ferrari signed for included Michael and his Benneton buddies, a stunning team that would consistently deliver for the better part of the next decade.

Perhaps a driver always likes to drive the best car, but then, a diligent person does not drive for the same team which also employs a man whose records suggest that he has won 39 GP's and a couple of World Championships more and still expect to be treated the same. Barrichello was/is hardly comparable to the German maestro. A true example of that would be the 2005 season in which Michael has managed to rake in a staggering fifty-five points in the thirteen races that have happened so far. The F2005 is a mediocre car, and Michael being the master that he is, has managed to take the car beyond its limits. Barrichello, on the other hand is a true reflection of the idiom "The driver can only be as good as the car is."

Rubens joined Ferrari and called himself "1B" instead of number 2. A couple of days after he renewed his contract with Ferrari, Rubens faced the ignominy of Austria 2002, where he was ordered to slow down his car to let Schumacher pass and take victory. A visibly shaken Barrichello was just reminded of what his fate would be for as long as he partnered Schumacher. Perhaps the last straw in Barrichello's decision was Monaco 2005, when Schumacher over took him in the last lap to come in seventh.

BAR presented Barrichello with an opportunity to lead a team, perhaps his last chance of leading a competitive team. And Barrichello decided to jump ship. Afterall, no driver likes to be remembered as another's assistant, no matter how great the other might be. And had Barrichello remained with Ferrari, the world would have seen him as Michael's minion, a teeth-less driver who sought a safe second rather than as a driver who contributed to five championships.

The decision has been made, Ferrari would get Massa and Rubens might just get to lead the BAR team, bringing with him the impeccable Ferrari discipline, one which once saw him sail for fifty-eight races without a single retirement.

Long live Barrichello!

Support McLaren, drink JW Black Label!

2005-08-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

The new McLaren design Source : Pedro Medeiros @ www.orkut.com

Woking based McLaren-Mercedes team would now prescribe "Johnny Walker's Black Label" whisky instead of "West" cigarettes from the Imperial stables as a partnership that started one cold October morning in 1994 comes to an end. The silver-black McLaren first driven to victory by David Coulthard at the Australian GP in 1997 would now be replaced by the design shown in the picture.

The Hungary 2005 GP was the last race when McLaren ran with the West livery. "West McLaren" has won two driver's championships in 1998 & 1999 (Mika Hakkinen) and the Constructor's championship in 1998. After 38 race victories , the silver-black screamer will finally stop spewing smoke and sign off in style.

Kimi roars at Hungaroring!

2005-07-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

A well deserved win for Kimi

"Which, if not victory, is yet revenge" - Kimi Raikkonen must have taken Milton's words to his heart after his ruesome showing at Germany. After all, if sport is war, you ought to win. And when you dont win and your opponent does, you ought to have revenge. Kimi had his, setting the track ablaze with a stupendous performance. Great racing combined with brilliant pit-wall strategy from the McLaren paddock helped Kimi emerge victorious at Hungaroring, ahead of Messers Schumacher Sr & Schumacher Jr - the podium starved brothers. Alonso finished high and dry at eleventh, the Spaniard having won six of the twelve previous races. Among the others in points were the Toyota's, the BAR's and the William's, all six of them!

Saturday qualifying was a bit of a surprise with Michael Schumacher grabbing pole position, closing in on the late Ayrton Senna's record of 65 pole positions. Michael is now on 64 from 225 races as compared to Ayrton's 65 from 161 races. Montoya. whose fortunes seemed to have reversed over the past couple of races came up with P2 while Trulli, the dreaded mobile chicane started abreast Raikkonen who well knew that his race would be over if he were to see the tail of Trulli's Toyota for more than a couple of corners. That said, Alonso was on sixth, banking on the Renault's acceleration to get him the much needed initial thrust. Alonso's last corner screw-up during qualifying is one of the very few mistakes that the Spaniard has committed this season. Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan was sandwiched between the Minardi's with Tiago not managing to set a timing.

The race started with everybody expecting Montoya to either overtake Schumacher at the first corner owing to better equipment or take him out altogether, the latter being more convenient for Raikkonen the Finn. However, a perfect start from Schumacher annuled those possibilities.
Raikkonen made quick work of Trulli and Montoya and went on to trade laps with Schumacher.
Klein's Red Bull went for a toss after he made contact with Villeneuve's rear tyre. Barrichello and Alonso brushed each other, while David Coulthard the other Red Bull driver spun off after hitting a stray piece of wing. With David Coulthard gone, it was game over for the Milton Keynes team even before the first lap was completed.

Raikkonen had a brilliant race with the Finn matching Schumacher's speed for starters and then pounding out lap after lap of sheer ecstacy that eventually culminated in a wonderful win. Raikkonen ran light, pitted on the eleventh and chased Schumacher on a track on which overtaking was an almost impossible affair. When Schumacher pitted, Raikkonen's car was nothing more than a blur of silver and black. And when his own second pit stop came up, it was a literal "splash and dash" affair, the ultra-quick pit stop putting the Finn out ahead of the German. Schumacher gave up after a couple of laps, and Raikkonen hurried past the chequered flag, the Finn punching his fist into the air in jubliation.

Schumacher, who started on pole drove ultra-quick, his each turn and bank proving to the on-lookers that it was the machine and not the man who was the culprit. However, Ross Brawn, undoubtedly the most brilliant of pit-wall thinkers could not hold his machine on the front for long after the Woking team's pit strategists out thought their Maranello counterparts. A great race, a well deserved second, the Macher's second podium of the season, ofcourse discounting the Indianapolis sham. Brother Ralf was hot on Schumacher's track, but then, as already said, catching up and over taking are two different things when it comes to Hungaroring.

Montoya was the unlucky one of the race, the Columbian putting up a fine display before eventually retiring on lap 41 in slow trot back to the pits. It was bad time for Championship leaders Renault, with both their drivers not finishing in the points. Alonso finished eleventh, a far cry from his first position a couple of years ago, when at this very circuit he became the youngest ever driver to win a Formula One race. Fissichella, the other Renault driver would have managed to land in the points, but his grassy moments ensured that Webber would hound on him and grab a couple of points.

It was indeed ironical to see the BAR's and the Williams' twined in the points table. Afterall, Sir Williams and Nick Fry arent the closest of buddies in planet paddock, especially after their wrangle over Button! Taku managed to grab his first points of the season and Webber, cashing in on Fissichella's mistake managed to ensure that both the William's were clear.

It was a sad race for Villeneuve, for whom no race seems to go well. Villeneuve retired his race after smoke bellowed out of his Sauber. His team mate's fortunes were no better, with Massa's fuel tank blazing while he was on a scheduled pit stop. Massa managed to saunter to the finish, down seven laps on Kimi.

Karthikeyan, the Indian driver managed to come in twelfth, ahead of team mate Monteiro who seems to have slacked down in the last two races. The Indian driver managed to stay away from most of the other drivers, displaying control as he pulled up to allow the front runners. As for the Minardi's, what else but to say but "No points as usual"?

The driver's championship table looks much the same as it did a couple of weeks ago, with Raikkonen managing to come within 26 points of Alonso. Schumacher lurks behind him, while Trulli seems to have sealed his fourth spot. On the constructor's list, McLaren are within striking distance, twelve points down on the French team.

With Hungaroring completed, the teams break for a summer vacation. Vacation it might seem, but a lot of teams, rather every team has got a lot of work to do. First up, the McLaren's would be analysing their almost unacceptable engine failure rates. The problem ought to be nailed down and the rest of the season should see Kimi Raikkonen joust for the championship. Surely, the Finn deserves a fine car. The Renault's would be working on their top-line speeds and would also try to improve their tyre handling. The Ferrari's would be back in action at home, with the Maranello team being the only one that would be testing.

Next up is the race at Turkey, a country hosting an F1 event for the first time. Turkey should be an interesting race, considering that it would be an anti-clockwise race. More on turkey after the vacation!

Kimi's luck puts Alonso on top

2005-07-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

Its Alonso all the way!

Fernando's eyes must have swirled with a rich speckling of scarlet triumph when he saw the silver-black blur in front of him come to a rolling halt. And with his own screaming blast rolling past it, the mind's eye tends to reflect on the lines of a strange poet who once said, "Nothing is unplanned, even luck…it's what you do with it that counts". This is true for the F1 season 2005, in which a flaming Fernando backed by a flambuoyant Flavio has gone on to prove that the Renault's are a force to reckon with not only because their cars are fast but also because they are the ones who tend to capitalize the most when others make mistakes. Alonso finished first, followed by Montoya, another star of the race who started last from grid and rocketed to a startling second place. Button, the BAR driver, secured a much needed third place for BAR Honda.

Kimi Raikkonen had a perfect start after having secured the pole. The atmosphere was great with the Mercedez Grand Stands screaming "Go Kimi Go Juan". With the threat of rain hovering over the Hockenheirming circuit and the great German rain-master lurking behind the title contenders, the race was all set to be a great treat. A determined Kimi would set blistering lap timings all the way up to the middle of the race, holding back a Spaniard who was looking for a sixth victory this season. But as luck would have had it, Kimi's engine failed mid-race. A travesty for the budding Finnish driver, who has been eluded the chance of finishing a race at this great circuit, a circuit so ironically close to the Mercedes head quarters at Stuttgart. The Finn walked away, knowing well that his chances for Hungary were hindered as well.

A little solace for the McLaren outfit, with Juan Pablo Montoya managing to work the magic that his driving counterpart so perfectly managed in the last two races. Montoya started right behind the pack, buldozing his way to ninth even before the first lap was out. A superb pit-strategy saw McLaren outwit Renault with Montoya coming out of the first set of pits ahead of Fissichella who was running before him. A strategy well worked, Montoya would do the same to Button, rocketing to second position, knowing well that had it not been for his own unenforced error the previous day, he could have stood atop the podium, avenging the bad luck of his team-mate.

Alonso, the eventual winner was a class act all through the race. Raikkonen and Alonso pulled ahead of the rest of the crowd at remorseless speeds, each mocking at the other's capacity with a better lap. Alonso would know well that he ran a lighter car than the Finn, for it was he who pitted first before, as against common views that Raikkonen was lighter and hence the blistering laps. Despite being in an obviously slower car, Alonso managed to hold on to Raikkonen for the first half of the race. And when Raikkonen fell, Alonso was ever so keen to grab the spoils. The site of Flavio and Fernando hugging each other at the paddocks is now common sight, for the Renault's seem to have found a better balance between speed and reliability than the McLaren's have. Fissichella, the other Renault driver, managed well to come in fourth, thus helping his team increase its Constructor's lead. Clouted initially, Fissichella managed to romp home after clipping an elderly prancing horse, which was sauntering rather than racing owing to a deceitful set of hooves.

Putting the bad events of the season behind his back, Button managed to secure podium, fending off Fissichella for third. Button had a great race, making some great moves on the German master, proving yet again that his 2004 performances were not flash in the pan incidents. Finally, something to celebrate about for the BAR team, whose 2006 season has been fraught with disasters. Their other driver, Sato, managed yet again to have a poor race, first clipping Fissichella's back and then running wide so many times that even his race engineer would have lost count.

Tyre woes continue to haunt the prancing horse, with situations getting so worse that Button, who happened to tail the German master complaining of being hit by pieces of tyre. Schumacher had to give way to Button initially after the latter made a superb move at the hair-pins and later to Fissichella on the back-straight. Barrichello also had a bad race, with both the prancing horses failing to make a mark. Schumacher finished fifth, Barrichello tenth.

It was "game over" for Webber, after a mechanical failure puts him out of action for ten laps after which he rejoined, the Grove outfit having managed to put their lead driver behind the wheels once again. Heidfeld tottered along, not managing to finish in the points.Among others, Villeneuve had a torrid time, managing to pulverise his own and an unsuspecting Monteiro's car. Massa, the other Sauber driver managed a respectful eigth position, proving that he was a good driver. David Coulthard and Klein had a good race too, with the latter stunning Barrichello in the later part of a race with a clean overtake. Some solace for the Toyota's whose good strategy saw their driver Ralf come out ahead of David Coulthard. Their other driver, Trulli, was penalized for ignoring the blue flag whislt Montoya was moving ahead of Heidfeld and himself. Trulli retired the race with a couple of laps to spare.

Overall, an eventful race, a great showing from Alonso and Montoya, a sad race for Kimi, whose hopes of winning the driver's championship this season are over. Kimi will now be the first to qualify at Hungaroaring, putting himself at a terrible disadvantage. On the standings, Alonso leads Raikkonen by an astounding thirty six points, and only a brave man could tout against him becoming champion. Renault's burgeoning success has put him at the helm of motor racing!

Montoya puts McLaren on top

2005-07-11T00:20:00.000-07:00

Surging ahead

A brilliant performance from a podium hungry Columbian followed by an angry Spaniard caught unawares as early as the second curve of the race tailed by a super-charged albeit unlucky Finn peppered by a few promising jousts in the peleton sums up the happenings at Silverstone 2005.

Alonso set the tracks ablaze on Saturday, taking pole position ahead of a frustrated Kimi Raikkonen, whose race weekend started with a blown engine. Thanks to the new regulations, he would start from P12 instead of P2 for no fault of his. Montoya mustered third, ensuring that there was ample help for Raikkonen at the top once he was done with the formalities. Button was as surprised as anybody else, managing to come in fourth. Narain Karthikeyan managed 17^th again, heading the rookie line-up for Silverstone, the erstwhile Jordan’s home venue.

The race was supposed to start after the drivers and the one hundred thousand strong crowds were supposed to hold a minute of silence. But as it happened, nobody was sure of when exactly the moment of mourning began, with Bernie Ecclestone, the promoter of F1 looking insulted when an engine was fired during the minute of “silence”. A sham, clearly indicative of the attitude of these paddock pimps in recent years. Later in the day, Britain held a moment of silence in salutation of the heroes she lost to World War II. Sixty years down the line the killing has not stopped yet.

Race day started with Sato managing to get his car stuck in gear at the end of the warm-up lap. He later rejoined the race after a long bout at the pits. Nonetheless, the race was underway and Alonso sped off into Copse, but Montoya managed to stay abreast of him into Maggots and emerged the winner after Beckets. At the back of the pack, Raikkonen had a blistering start, into ninth even before the first curve. At the end of the second lap, the safety car pulled off, with Montoya leading the pack ahead of Alonso, Button, Barrichello, Fisichella, Trulli, Schumacher senior and Raikkonen.

Thereafter, it was a display of power from the cars either in silver and black or blue and yellow, as Alonso and Montoya pulled off from the rest of the pack, each answering the others challenge with a faster lap. Trulli, as in France held up the rest of the pack, much to the dismay of Michael Schumacher and Raikkonen. Meanwhile, Narain retired his race after a mechanical failure on lap 10.

The first of the big cars to hit the pits was the Ferrari of Barrichello, who was clearly on a three-stop strategy with a lightning quick pit stop that would help him stay clear of the fuel-reds for a mere 11 laps. Button pits, followed by Trulli, much to the relief of Raikkonen who manages a few quick laps ahead of a pit stop. Montoya pits on the twenty-third and Alonso on twenty-fourth. Raikkonen pitted on the twenty-sixth lap, joining ahead of Michael Schumacher. Old horse Villeneuve managed to sneak ahead of David Coulthard, the two stallions locked up in a battle that reminded the old timers of the jousts they had in the mid-late 90’s.

With Barrichello’s poor strategy aiding him, Raikkonen surged ahead, closing in on the Briton with every lap, as the front-runners were caught up with the back markers. Clearly, this was the most brilliant piece of racing in the day so far. With Button and Trulli pitting, Raikkonen posted yet another blistering lap time. Montoya pitted, joining the pack ahead of Button and behind his teammate who was yet to hit the pits. Alonso was caught up behind Trulli the mobile chicane, as Fissichella found an advantage to pit. However, a stall on the pits ensured that the Finn would emerge the winner for the last place on the podium.

Thanks to the mind-blowing speed of the McLaren’s and the brilliant pit-strategists, the boys managed to finish one-three, with a Renault between them. The Renault’s managed a two-four, with a McLaren between them. This is as close as a Constructor fight can get. Button later agreed later that fifth was honestly the best he could hope for, conceding that the McLaren’s and the Renault’s were in an altogether different league.

Another dreadful weekend for the Scuderia outfit, with their drivers managing a six-seven situation. Schumacher’s worst Silverstone weekend, with the German finishing outside the first four for the first time in fourteen races. Clearly, no matter how brilliant Michael Schumacher might be, no matter how quick Ross Brawn’s pit-wall mind might be and no matter how hard Jean Todt works, a 2005 title dream will never materialize. All the Maranello marauders might be thinking about is the 2006 season and how they can ambush the mind-blowing McLaren’s and the rocketing Renault’s.

Williams F1 shares a similar fate, with their machines failing to deliver yet again. Their drivers just managed to stay ahead of a couple of raging Red-bulls, a defunct BAR, an unimpressive Jordan and a couple of Minardi’s. The Toyota’s whose season started with stellar performances from both their drivers share a similar fate, with the Japanese team on a downward slope since Catalunya.

A piece of humorous (humiliating) race gossip - Bob McKenzie, yours truly, did take to the 3.22-mile track in his birthday suit. Following the Woking team’s poor start to the 2004 season, the F1 journalist was harsh enough to write them off for the season. But a change of fortunes fired by the introduction of a “B” spec chassis saw Kimi wipe out competition at the Belgian Spa. Ron Dennis, commenting on the incident, said that, “McLaren only won once last year – but once was enough. A bet is a bet”. In the process McKenzie raised money for the baby charity Tommy’s, which is supported by Dennis. “I will put up £1 for every minute on the track or a minimum £100, just to add financial pain to my physical agonies,” Bob said.

A couple of weeks rest for the bystanders, as the Formula One juggernaut rolls on into Germany for the second time this season. Raikkonen sans his ill luck would still be the favorite and Alonso, holding the key to Michael’s F1 kingdom would be his archrival. My heart goes out to Kimi Raikkonen, who, with no places at stake set a fastest lap on lap sixty, even as his teammate took the chequered flag. Montoya, who has now proved to Ron Dennis that Ron now has two race-winners, would be looking forward to make it two in a row.

All set for the Huns to holler at Hockenheim!

Fantastic Fernando fires at France

2005-07-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

Powering ahead - Fernando Alonso

Alonso's crushing and almost mocking superiority at Magny-Cours must have made even the most sober director of Renault jump up in sheer ecstacy. Its been draught-time for the blues at a place they call home since the celebrated their last full-blown victory when Alain Prost took the podium in 1983. And it came at a time when it appeared as though the Britain based McLaren outfit was all set to outpace their foes from across the English channel after the race at Montreal which saw both Renault's bite dust after showing initial superiority. But that was not to be, and in a race that was awfully more exciting than the previous race (or the lack of one), Fernando grabbed the honors followed by a blistering Kimi Raikkonen with Michael Schumacher now staging a serious come back.

An intense qualifying session saw the top eight drivers separated by no more than 0.994 seconds. Alonso took pole position, finding himself alongside his close-pal and ex-teammate Jarno Trulli. Schumacher lurked behind them in P3 with the other seven of the top ten comprising of a menagerie of BAR's, Sauber's, a Ferrari and a Renault. Raikkonen, inspite of a splendid third during qualifying had to start thirteenth owing to an engine change. The crowd waited with bated breadth and exhaled only when all 20 cars were well past the pit lane. Settling back in their arm chairs, they watched an enthralling race as the god's of speed swept across the long straights and the lazy, sweeping corners of Mangy-Cours on a perfect mid-summer's day in France. If anybody could rest, it were the spectators, ensured of a 20-car race. But that was not to be for the drivers, especially the one's that were deprived of a race at Indianapolis. They sat in their cockpits, ready to use their steel behemoths to joust their hearts out at the start of the second leg of the European chapter. Off go the red lights.

A sweeping Alonso took off from pole, oblivious of the fact that he was being followed at all. Trulli and Schumacher spread out and resumed their positions behind the race leader. The McLaren-Mercedes's gunned by Kimi and Juan Pablo were quick to gain inspite of their heavy fuel tanks. A poor start by the Sato saw one Mr.Barichello scream ahead, tagging behind his band-leader Michael. In less than three-quarters of a lap, Raikkonen was all over the back of Massa, after having passed three other drivers, former world champion Villeneuve included. With all cars getting in and out of the first few corners without incident, the stage was set for a battle of strategy, good pit stops and tyre wear. Games that McLaren and Renault would play out to perfection.

With the lead Renault rocketing away, Trulli found his rear suspenders being under close scrutiny by the seven time World Champion. Trulli fended off Schumacher until the first set of pit stops, serving as a mobile chicane, one that would allow Alonso to extend his lead and Schumacher to scowl in frustration. Consecutive pitting from the rival teams makes it a two-three for the McLaren's, their pace rivalling that of Alonso. Raikkonen was the last to make the first pit stop, pitting on lap 28, thus indicating a two-stop strategy as against three from most other teams with the exception of the lead Renault.

With the top four ripping away, the middle part of the race saw a lot of action. Sato ventured out into the wild at times, ensuring that the track had an even supply of gravel and grass. Coulthard almost collided with Heidfeld coming out of the pits while Sato and the lesser of the two Renault's fought for fourth and fifth positions. Alonso made no mistakes and continued to set impressive speeds. Raikkonen followed suit with team mate Montoya. Schumacher pitted on his 34th, leading to gossip about a possible plan change for Ferrari. The Mindardi's bailed out as if by clock work, both owing to some form of tyre-problems.

The final section of the race saw Alonso lap every racer with the exception of car no's two and three, ones that belonged to Raikkonen and Schumacher. The unfortunate Montoya slowed down and retired the race owing to an engine problem. It appears as though the weight of ill-luck has shifted to the other pillar of the McLaren outfit. Taking the chequered flag on a trot, Alonso stuck out five fingers to a sea of blue that was bristling all over the grand stands. The bosses of Renault, headquartered in France were among the many who were impressed by the Spaniard's show of dominance at Magny-Cours. Raikkonen bellowed in twelve seconds later, with Schumacher coming in a distant third.

Jensen Button came in fourth and was elated at getting points which he could keep, with the Renault and Ferrari of Fissichella and Barichello grabbing points ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Canadian Jaques Villeneuve, the latter managing to get team Sauber its first points at Magny-Cours. A dissapointing race for the WilliamsF1 team, with both drivers failing to land in the points.

As for the Jordan's, Monteiro impressed, lapping in the 1 minute 21's, finishing thirteenth eventually. Karthikeyan, who has failed to prove his worth after the first few races found himself staring at the tail of Heidfeld's car even after the latter pitted six times which I presume must be a record of sorts for any racer completing a race.

All said and done, the French Grand Prix proved that Michelin were back in the offing. An expression of relief was evident on the faces of Pierre Dupasquier and Nick Shorrock, the Michelin "minions" after Alonso crossed the chequered flag.

With the magnificient Magny-Cours chapter coming to an end, the battle shifts across the English channel to Britain, the heart of Formula One engineering for many decades. Silverstone has handled many a controversy over the decades, but neverthless has managed to stay in the Formula One circuit. Renault lead the series with 89 points, with McLaren and Ferrari vying for second and third on 71 and 69 respectively. On the driver's front, Alonso leads Raikkonen and the now ressurgent Michael Schumacher, whose dream of an eigth title is far from over. Schumacher is still in the reckoning albiet 25 points separate him and the current leader.

Renault would now ferry across the English channel, closer to the McLaren headquarters, knowing very well that the victory might not have been theirs had Raikkonen not been unlucky enough to blow an engine. A duel with both Kimi and Alonso starting from the front of the grid peppered with the uncertainities of the British weather should prove to be a treat to watch as Formula One rolls on to race no 10 in a month packed with as many races as weekends - the busiest one in fifty-six years of mind-blowing speed!

Rendezvous

2005-07-02T10:31:00.000-07:00

With a flushed countenance she snapped her laptop shut and got out of her chair. She admired the brawny sun which was falling heartless behind the high-rise buildings. She sighed and lied down on her bed. Pulling the baby blue sheets over her head, she snuggled into her comfortable bed. She was a bit pensive about the meeting, but the tiredness of the day intervened in her thought process and she was soon fast asleep. She dreamed of a dove. When she tried to touch it, it moved away. She didn’t understand why. She was so desperate to touch it and she was ready to sacrifice herself, her heart and her soul simply to touch it for a fleeing second. It was just a moment’s grasp away, but it slipped through her pale, lifeless hands like so much sand between a child’s fingers. A moment later, the dove soared towards the moon as the breeze from the glide of the wings caressed her cheeks as if mocking at her. She looked up at the dove, a look of sorrow on her face. When the dove came between her and the moon, it cast the shadow of a bat on the moon. Startled, she gazed back at the bird. The dove had turned into a bat and with an ear-splitting scream, swept across the skies. With a jump, she got up in cold sweat.

The normally neat single bedroom condo was in a state of disarray. The cupboard was open and the bed spoke of an occupant who had extreme difficulty in choosing what to wear. The dressing table was strewn with several short and stout bars in shades varying from pale red to a bright shock of pink. The jewel box was intact, except for a string of pearls. The rings were sealed tight into their little compartment. The car in the garage below was missing as well, it was racing away towards the Mumbai Airport at break-neck speed.

She pulled into a deserted parking lot. After all this wasn’t the busiest hour of the day. The servants were already up, sweeping and cleaning the air-port. The only occupants of the waiting area were a few children, sucking at huge bars of MARS chocolate. Their mother’s had spread themselves across three or more chairs depending on their sizes and were sleeping. “I can’t believe this is me” she thought to herself. “This is something that I would yell at others for doing” she muttered to herself. I still have time to get out.

She heard Raj’s voice then, a muttering of some ill-formed syllables as his year long courting culminated with him on one knee, thrusting softly at her a bunch of red-roses. Strangely, he had said “Be my wife”, rather than the traditional “I love you”. It was a variation she liked. She shook her head. She thought to herself, “Ranjith isn’t Raj, he won’t hurt me”. Ranjith was nothing more than a chat friend initially. With time, Ranjith and she had grown as friends and confidants over the past year and a half. Strangely she had known him even while she was going out with Raj. “He has always been there for me, for my laughter and my tears” she comforted herself about Ranjith. She had found Raj strange. He was too manly, too aggressive and a lot more physical than her conscience told her was right. He reasoned, “You can’t stand by the river of life and stick a toe in. You ought to take a hearty swim”. She wanted somebody softer, somebody who would show their care for her. She closed her eyes. That was almost a year back. It was to be forgotten.

The accented voice came over the loud speakers, making the mother’s rustle as if someone had knocked on their bedroom doors. She sat up and waited for the gate number to be announced. “Relax”, she told herself. “There is nothing to be nervous about anything”. I am fucking nervous.

She tried to walk nonchalantly. But any bystander could have said that she was approaching a gate like a skittish student approaching a board where his results (read : fate) hung. She tripped over her sandals, glossy new ones which she was not accustomed to. Her hair was bunched up and tied in a pony tail at her nape. She was too cautious about her appearance today. She had seen his passport sized photo once, but then he could have grown a beard or wore spectacles, in which case, she could miss him. A handsome face with a muscular jaw and a set of twinkling eyes showing one’s passion for life. This was her mental image of the guy who she was going to meet. She watched the first passengers come out of Gate 3. He has never seen me.

The passengers walked away towards the luggage area. She examined each one’s face slowly. She saw a man of American-Indian descent with a blond on his arm. The face is a lot similar, but the eyes weren’t this small. A huge man brushed by her. He smelled strongly of vodka. He told me he does not drink. When everybody was gone, she thought to herself. Had she been tricked? “No, its impossible. And I know he loves me” she said to herself.

Then, she saw someone being wheeled out by an air-hostess. She stared at the face. The man thanked the hostess and turned towards the waiting area, his eyes searching for someone or something. Even from the distance, she could say it was him. She was taken aback, shocked. He never told me about it in any of our conversations.

She slid behind one of the large pillars. She was in a state of dilemma now. Maybe he was too shy to tell me about this. No, he should have told you about it come what may. He is a nice guy. Raj was, too. Raj was different, he never cared for me. Ranjith has not been totally honest with you. Is this guy your Prince Charming? I don’t see him fit within your framework. Would it have made a difference? I wouldn’t comment on that darling. Its up to you to decide.

…

Maybe she met him, maybe she walked away.

Utter disgrace

2005-06-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

Compounding problems...

If anyone says lightning does not strike the same place twice, then ask Ralf Schumacher. Same race, same driver, different car, different year - but same result. Ralf Schumacher crashes into turn leading from the oval bank(turn 13) at high speed owing to a punctured tyre but fortunately escapes unhurt this time. Zonta, the other Toyota driver also punctures his tyre. And Michelin blew the whistle, giving out a statement asking their teams not to race because they could not "guarantee the safety of the drivers". Michelin also failed to produce alternate tyres on time, adding to the throes of the teams.

The FIA then came into the picture and offered to help the Michelin runners by monitoring their speeds at the main corner and penalizing any excess. However, the Michelin teams refused to agree to this and wanted the Bridgestone runners to be slowed down as well - by placing a chicane.

Formula One is a sporting event and it operates on clear rules. At no point must these rules be negotiable just because certain teams are incompetent.The reason for this debacle is absolutely clear. Every team is allowed to bring two sets of tyres to the race. One is an on-the-wire potential race winning tyre and the second is a not-so-good but still very reliable set of back-up tyres. And the Michelin runners did not have the second set of tyres. Later they said that the back-up tyres were on the way from France, but they too were not safe enough. And though the mistake was theirs, they wanted Bridgestone runners to be penalised as well.

By adding a chicane, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would have been turned from a high-speed track to a twisting and winding circuit. And the two are fundamentally different with everything ranging from aerodynamics to tyre configurations to gear box ratios changing for the two types of circuits. Now this would be totally unagreeable to teams like Ferrari who have prepared for the race in their own fashion with the circuit in mind. For no reason could a team that has prepared for a race agree to constrict itself for faults which are alien to themselves.

Live pictures streaming in from Indianapolis on race day showed groups of gentlemen huddle up into conversations,pat each other's backs in approval and wink like school boys in a playground who had something up their sleeve. Only in this case, these gentlemen are multi-millionaires, richer than we would dare dream and the plan they had up their sleeve was nothing less than what would lead to the demise of a great sport and a great heritage. And the venue they chose was the second oldest and perhaps the most celebrated track in the history of motor racing on this planet.

This is a group of elite gentlemen, citizens of Planet Paddock,a planet completely cut-off from the real world in terms of communication, a real world filled with disgruntled fans of Formula One. This is perhaps the nadir in the graph of Formula One. A weekend filled with disgrace which saw seven teams retire their races after the warm-up lap, much to the dismay of fans who had every right to relish a race after hours of sweaty in-vehicle waiting.

By taking the warm-up lap, they technically fulfilled their contractual obligations to the race promoter, but in doing so, screwed the sport and screwed its fans.

With the seven Michelin runners retiring their races, the red-lights went out to a hollow gird with Schumacher on "pole" position with Rubens Barrichello on second. Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan were third and fourth, with Albers and Friesacher completing the running six. The Ferrari's soon pulled off from the lower teams and were in a competition of their own, ducking the bottles thrown by fans , and managing to finish the race in a 1-2 win. An absolutely delighted Tiago Monteiro was third for Jordan, their first podium since Fissichella was awarded the Brazilian grand prix a few years back. Narain Karthikeyan came fourth, taking five points for his team and was delighted too, stating that points were points, no matter how they came. Friesacher and Albers finished the race too, with this being the first ever race since the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix where all cars that started finished the race. On the podium, Ferrari did not toast their win with champagne given the graveness of the situation and left the stage to Tiago Monteiro, the first ever Portugese driver to grace the podium.

Overall, a black day for Formula One, and that too in a country that is very important for the future of this sport. On the championship front, Renault still lead with 76, followed by Ferrari and McLaren tied for second at 63. On the drivers front, Alonso still leads with 59, Raikkonen is on second with 37 and Schumacher lurks behind them at 34.

Showdown at the Brickyard!

2005-06-17T06:22:00.000-07:00

The Brickyard!

Its time for the second trans-atlantic race in as many weeks, even as the car's are being freighted overhead from the scenic Montreal to a bustling Indianapolis. Teams would have already reached the spacious garages of the legendary "Brickyard" and started laying out their wares and race day setup simulations would be underway.

Originally designed with four turns, each measuring nine degrees and twelve minutes and connected by a pair of longish straights and two short ones to provide for a two and a half mile shot of pure ecstacy a.k.a SPEED, Indy was perhaps the first ever "testing" venue, allowing the booming Indianapolis motor giants to display their new-fangled wares during the 1920's. With a surface of crushed rock and tar, Indy proved disastrous initially and its founders bustled around and laid more than three million bricks and refitted the track with mortar, thus giving the track its famous name, "The Brickyard". Replaced by asphalt in later years, now only the Start/Finish line exposes the legendary "yard of bricks" as a reverie of past glory.

If transporting the machines and assorted Formula One paraphernalia in time is a logisticians nightmare, then Indianapolis, throughout the evolution of this track has given more trouble to its teams in terms of aerodynamics. And with new aerodynamics regulations in place, Indy should prove to be a gamble for all teams. Untested aerodynamic packages for a track that boasts the longest flat-out straight and some of the slowest turns in the entire calendar year. And for a long straight, a smaller wing would let the driver gun his machine at full throttle, but for a shorter and tighter turn like turn one, the drivers would prefer a lot of wing - for they need not worry about the drag in the infield. Speaking in terms of lap times, simulations wouldnt show differences if one used either types of wings. But when a car with lesser engine power but a lot of wing happens to over take the ones with the faster ones, then the faster ones lose lap times significantly.

If aerodynamics in isolation gave such problems, then factoring in engine cooling and tyre selection with aero-packages can catapult the problems sky-ward. To add to all this, the Indy pits are right in the middle of a long straight. So at some point of time, two cars are bound to come off the pits within seconds of each other. This could create an air-void for the second car, allowing it to go faster, but with reduced downforce and drag problems which could lead to a crash if the driver were to try to overtake the person in front of him.

All said and done, complex laws of physics and theoritical aerodynamics would be the last things that drivers like Kimi or Alonso would think of, especially with the thunder of a Scuderia gunned by Schumacher all over their backs. As for you and me, we would sit back and enjoy the pure rush of speed over the weekend at the local pub screening F1 on a large screen :-)

Ressurgent Raikkonen rocks Montreal

2005-06-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

Reversal of Fortunes

The last images that a die-hard McLaren fan would remember from Nurburgring would be the moist eyes of a dissapointed young colt, Raikkonen, who after a dramatic right-wing suspension breakage retired the Nurburgring race, thus handing the trophy to Alonso on a platter. But all that was to change and the Grand Prix du Canada at the 'Circuit Gilles Villeneuve' witnessed a reversal of fortunes for the McLaren driver.

The race started spectacularly with both Renaults shooting out of the second row of the grid in a pincer movement, rattling past the BAR of Jensen Button whose car would not take off from first gear and an unusually slow Ferrari. The smile on Briatore's face said it all. The Renault's were carrying fuel unlike the BAR and the Ferrari and a shoot out at the start only proved to him that his machines were faster. But fast that they were, they couldnt hold it for long, as Fissichella retired with a mechanical failure and Alonso made a rare mistake walling the R25 into turn four and damaging his rear suspension, leading to retirement. This makes Canada the only race where the Renault's have failed to finish, still managing to hang on to the Constructor's top slot, although McLaren are much closer than the Renault's would have anticipated them to be.

The belleagured Ferrari's would go home with their snouts held high, after seeing two of their racers in what would have been a familiar sight last season. The Ferrari's though had a lot of luck, with Schumacher able to close a thirty second gap between himself and the McLaren's; courtesy Jensen Button. The 47-th lap crash happened after Jensen Button got his tyres dirty, went into a wide swoop off the hairpin, locked his rears momentarily and understeed a tad too much at the final chicane and hit the wall off the kerb. The yellow flag was waved and the safety car came out, meaning that the precious thirty seconds that the McLaren's had gained over the others was reduced to zero. To make matters worse, race leader Montoya was just ahead of the pits, making it an advantage for Schumacher and Raikkonen who pitted like clock work. A defiant Montoya raced into the pits and out of it, not aware of the red-lights at the pits and was soon given the black flag.

Massa proved impressive, managing to come in fourth, getting much needed points for team boss Peter Sauber. The Brazilian managed to fend off Mark Webber and would have made it to the podium if the prancing horse of Barichello had not taken advantage of a wide running Webber and his own delayed Sauber.

Villeneuve, the famous son of a famous father, Gilles, after whom the scenic Montreal circuit is named made early noise with a good qualifying lap, but then found his start-line software erroneous and his race hopes died completely when he crashed into the rear of Takuma Sato damaging his own nose in the process. Peter Sauber wouldnt be happy and we could soon see Villeneuve out of a drive.

The Toyota's who have finished in the points in every race this season, found their tally a lot lower after Trulli crashed out of a potential podium position and Ralf Schumacher just managing to finish in points. The Williams combine and the Toyota's are now tied at 47 for third position, with a ressurgent Ferrari right behind them at 45.

A bad race for BAR Honda, who after a perfect pole winning lap from Button, found themselves poised for their first points this season. But unfortunately for them, neither could Button or Sato finish the race, leave alone landing in the points. Narain Karthikeyan would have to blush again in front of the Jordan bosses, not managing to finish the race, first spinning out to give his team mate a lead on lap 7 and later crashing into the wall at turn four in the same fashion that Alonso did. Albers, who seems to be having a good time in the past three races landed 11th though his team mate Friesacher could not finish the race.

Overall, a superb race for the McLarens and also the Ferrari's who finally seem to be moving in the right direction. If anything is to be noted from this race, its Raikkonen's little nugget of a comment, saying that the Montreal circuit had been a bogey for his team. Had Montoya finished the race, Indianapolis may well be witnessing a change of duty at the Contructor's castle. The Renault's must be raring to go, putting behind their backs the thought of a perfect Kimi Raikkonen who is just twenty-two points adrift of Alonso for the driver's title.

Waiting for the red lights to go off in a weeks' time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Lucky Renault strikes back at Nurburgring.

2005-05-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

So near, yet so far!

Kimi Raikkonen is perhaps one of the unluckiest drivers of all time. In a race where he lead right from turn one right up to a position where he was poised for victory, a spectacular breakage of the suspension sent him,his car and with it the hopes of catching up with championship leader Fernando Alonso spinning into the gravel. Had Raikkonen's machine been intact, the race for the top slot would have been wide open with Alonso and him taking three a piece in the last six races. McLaren salvaged some pride with Montoya coming in seventh and picking up a few points on the way.

Alonso, who eventually won the race was in a position which any formula one racer would envy. He did not have to handle the pressure that a race leader would have to. Neither was he too close to Raikkonen while the former crashed out in which case his own car could have come under a rain of gravel and pieces of McLaren,which, no doubt would still be trying to stop him from winning. And to make things better, Alonso was well informed of Raikkonen's uneasyness with his front right-hand side suspension and the actual crash as and when it happened on his on-board radio. Neither could Flavio or Fernando control their emotions after they realized the stroke of luck and genius that had surpassed them and broke into celebrating a race that neither would the Renaults, nor the McLarens or any other person related to Formula One for that matter would forget for a long time!

For Nick Heidfeld, the man who set the tracks on fire in a blistering qualifying lap on saturday had a good early race but a pit stop late in the race made him lose a possible first ever victory in Formula One. His team mate, Webber, was not as lucky, getting involved in a multi-car imbroglio into turn one and facing an early exit after a promising P3.

Ferrari showed signs of comeback with Rubens Barichello taking the first podium for the F2005 and Schumacher coming a respectable fifth. It now seems more than evident that Ferrari and Bridgestone seem to be moving ahead in unlocking the massive potential that the F2005 has. Infact, thinking of where Michael Schumacher would have been had he not had to make an unscheduled pit stop after the Webber-Montoya jam points to only one direction - and that is the podium. Still, a fair amount of work needs to be done by the tyre manufacturer. As far as qualifying is concerned, Bridgestone tyres do not seem to heat up fast enough to be able to react to the way the quickish F2005 operates.

In other news, David Coulthard managed to drive amazingly well and come a respectable fourth inspite of the fact that he had to drive through the pits once. Infact, the Scotsman claims that he could have been on the podium had it not been for the penalty. Fissichella, the other Renault driver who had a stall on the starting grid would have to be happy for landing in the points, coming sixth, just ahead of the Mercedes of Montoya and the Toyota of Trulli. Trulli managed to keep the Toyota's in the points after his team mate Ralk spun out on lap 33.

The Brackley based British outfit BAR Honda, who returned to the tracks this weekend after a forced vacation that saw them sit out of Catalunya and Monaco were not as lucky. Starting first and second during qualifying, the BAR's could not match the speed of the Renault's and the McLaren's. Button and Sato managed to finish the race Tenth and Twelveth respectively, with the former being lucky enough to avoid a spinning McLaren later in the race. Sauber's throes continue with both their drivers missing out on the points once again.

As for Indian racer Narain, a small mistake late in the race cost him his position ahead of team mate Monteiro who seems to have a far smoother approach than Narain who prefers to catch his Jordan by the scruff of its neck. The Jordan did not seem to find its grip on the high downforce track. It remains to be seen if Jordan's and with it Narain's hopes of a better finish would improve with their new car all set for release at Mangy-Cours.

Overall, a different race, a sad one for those whose hearts lie in the West, a lucky one for the Mild Sevens and a rejuvenating one for the Tifosi.It would be interesting to see Kimi's mind set from now on as no driver, not even the great ice-man should be able to digest such a huge dissapointment in the course of two weeks. Incidents such as this temper the attitudes of Formula One racers and helps in the metamorphosis of would-be champions. Kimi,I am sure, would put the ghosts of Nurburgring to rest and rejuvenate to become a champion of the future.

"So near, yet so far!"

Street race sets up a rat race...

2005-05-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

Now that the street race is over and all the glamour and the haze surrounding Monaco has settled, its time to ponder about the performance of drivers and more importantly the constructors since the beggining of the season.

With Kimi Raikkonen, the young Finn clinching the cup at the most glamorous event in the Formula One calendar, Monaco, McLaren have proved in style that they still are among the top constructor's in the world. The team, which boasts of the maximum number of Grand Prix victories by any constructor in the world including Ferrari finally seems to have put the finger on the knot after a disasterous 2004 season. The MP4-20 seems to have leap-frogged quite a bit in terms of Chassis design, aerodynamics and engine power in comparison with its predecessors, the MP4-18A and MP4-19 which rarely completed a race without problems.

A special mention must go to Ron Dennis, the McLaren team boss who struck the right cord in choosing the softer tyres for his cars. Neither of the drivers had any problems related to oversteering, thus enabling Kimi to keep the lead and an unlucky Montoya who started at the back of the grid to take his chances inspite of a slightly fuller fuel tank.

The BMW-Williams combine, which took a two podium positions was the surprise package of the race, considering the maneuverability issues that the FW27 seems to have had over the past five races. Webber must be a little dissapointed after standing a step lower than his less celebrated team mate Heidfeld. Being wiser in choosing the harder tyres to strike a balance with their unrelenting chassis, the two sledge-hammers powered their way ahead of the Championship leader Alonso who could do nothing but nurse his wheels to a respectable fourth finish. Fissichella was not as lucky, taking to the fag end of the train and not landing in the points. Renault, which swept away at break-neck speed at the beggining of the season now have to ponder about their chassis design and tyre choice, considering the fact that neither of their machines were kind to their rear tyres during the past two races.

Monaco did not go the right way for the high-flying Toyota team, losing its second position on the Constructor's table to the ebbing McLaren's. Trulli, the defending Monaco champion, made a daring move on Fissichella and ran as high as second after the Albers accident, but lost momentum and soon found himself at the end of a long chain of cars. Young Ralf Schumacher came from the back of the pack to get a respectable sixth after being chased right upto the finish line by his brother Michael.

Talking of the Ferrari's, the race did not go well for them with band-leader Michael Schumacher just edging out comrade Barichello at the finish line for a seven-eight finish. Ferrari though, have a point to ponder. Afterall Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of the race, managing to go even faster than his own qualifying lap. And this inspite of the fact that he was carrying a lot more fuel on lap 40 than when he was during the qualifying. What the Maranello team and their Japanese tyre maker must be doing right now is to strike a balance between their car, which seems to be faster when it is heavy, and the tyres which seem to work better when in warmer conditions and in the longer run.

A dissapointing day for the Saubers and the Red Bull's with Sauber losing a potential fourth or fifth position after an ambitious move from Villeneuve on his own team mate at Sainte Devote. For the Red Bull's, they had no luck with Michael Schumacher crashing into David Couldhard's rear after the Albers' spin which caused a road block leading to a traffic jam of Formula One cars. Liuzzi faced problems right from the start with his tyres succumbing to the heavy fuel load. Liuzzi eventually retired at the fag end of the race after hitting a barrier.

As for the Minardi's, they had a promising set up with both their PS05's ahead of the Jordan's. But they soon lost track positions with Albers' spinning out and Monteiro taking advantage of the situation and landing ahead of him.As for the Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan, the race couldnt have gone worser. The Indian damaged his hydraulics after brushing the wall early in the race. A last position start that failed to improve and ended with a retirement. Surely, he must get out of his Monaco mood and try to impress at Nurburgring and edge out his team mate Monteiro who seems to have gained the upper hand after Monaco.

The Championship seems to have gotten tighter after Monaco, with heavy weight McLaren clawing their way up the ladder. With 51 points, they are closing in on leaders Renault who are on 63. Williams' have taken a huge jump and are now closer to Toyota with the difference between them reduced to eight now. The Ferrari's donot seem to have moved any where, failing to improve their constructors' tally and must be consoling themselves that there still are thirteen races to go.

Overall, a mouth watering set up for the next four or five races which should be exciting with Kimi Raikkonen closing in on Alonso for a possible championship summit clash, with tough competition expected from a ressurgent Williams' team and the mercurial Toyota's and possibly a darker prancing horse if the Maranello's manage to unlock the potential of their undelivering F2005. Waiting for Round 7 - the European clash.

A Prelude to Monaco

2005-05-21T11:31:00.000-07:00

Glorious sunshine and gleaming white yacht's lace the picture perfect city-state of Monaco. Monaco or Monte Carlo as some prefer to call it is a principality located on the Southern edge of France bordering Italy. The tax-free heaven is home to many a Formula One driver of the past and the present. Come Sunday and this small city-state that has the Meditteranean to one side closes her streets and opens her heart to the most glamorous race on the Formula One calendar.

The love story between Monaco and Motor Racing is indeed an old one. For it began on a sunny April morning in 1929, a time when Constructor Greats like Ettore Buggati and Enzo Ferrari were in their middle ages, the charismatic Fangio was a young lad of 18 and driving legends Stirling Moss and Graham Hill had not taken their first steps out of their cradles, leave alone enter a race car. Since then she has cradled legendary cars ranging from the Mercedes W 196 of the late Juan Manuel Fangio to the priceless Ferrari's of the yester years to the latest zooming McLarens and Toyota's of the golden years of Formula One.

As one wonders about the finesse of this one unique race track, the thought process is flustered by the noise of a helicopter moving overhead. And that reminds the viewers of the royal connection that this Grand Prix boasts like no other. For the helicopter holds none other than the ruler of the country, Prince Reineer and his family. This after all was the fiefdom of the actress turned royalty HGH Princess Grace, the late wife of Prince Reinier whose penache for motor sports has only risen over the decades.

As the race starts, those sitting in the tribune along the Start-Finish straight draw the envy of every true Formula One fan on the planet. For the viewer not only gets to catch glimpses of the fast and shiny cars but also of the beautiful Princess Stephanie, daughter of Prince Reinier. Those sitting along the hill after the first curve are the second in the heirarchy. They get to see the cars power their way up the steep curve even as the drivers click through their gears in their effort to billow ahead.

Those sitting on the balcony of the Hotel De Paris can perhaps order a bottle of ice-cold champagne and oversee the cars as they zoom under. The view along the Marina does not host seats officially, but then one can spot plenty of partying yacht's and people going overboard with party fervor as the power of the cars reverberate on to the rocks and on to the sea and then on to the yacht's.

Overall, a great venue, a great party atmosphere, a place that one with money and passion for this wonderful sport should be in during the third week of May. For, when the slight traces of fuel vapour drift off into the clear blue sky, the viewer knows that Monaco in all her glory is set to start her romance with the chequered flag all over again.

Raikkonen sinks the Spanish Armada.

2005-05-11T22:00:00.000-07:00

Kimi Raikkonen, the young Finnish talent, finally seems to have ended his unlucky stint with a stupendous ambush on the Spanish Armada, an attack laced with the same agression that a Matador has when it takes on its old foe - the Spaniard clad in his suit of light. Raikonnen, dubbed as the next "ice man" seemed too cold to handle for the fiery Spaniard who was looking to take a fourth consecutive victory. The Spaniard was the favorite, not that he knew his home track like the back of his hand, but rightly because he had won three races in a row and his team had proved that it was the one to beat this season.

With a crowd of one hundred and fifteen thousand cheering him right from the word go, Alonso was indeed a confident man. But unfortunately, this was not to be his day. The day belonged to one Mr. Kimi Raikkonen who was unfazed by the sea of blue around him and went on to take the third victory of his career. And team boss Ron Dennis was only too happy to receive the constructor's trophy. For once, things seem to have gone the right way for the British constructor. Raikkonen must have been frustrated at Imola, where he took pole position in style, only to lose it eight laps into the race when his car had a mechanical problem. But come Catalunya, there were only two classifications. Raikkonen and the rest.

Trulli and Ralf Schumacher of Toyota's have now made it a habit to land up in the points. Only too good for the team that spends almost as much as the Maranello outfit does. Coming third and fourth for Toyota followed by the other Renault of Fissichella who never seemed to have regained form after that early display of finesse at Albert Park,Melbourne. Montoya, the other McLaren driver who had a bad crash on friday practice, came back from a fuel nozzle problem to gain a couple of points for himself and more importantly his constructor. Mark Webber, who did not have a car during friday practice came in sixth for BMW Williams, a team that has been struggling with car control for some time now. Coulthard grabbed the only other point that was left ahead of the Ferrari of Rubens Barichello who nursed his car to the finish line despite all odds.

As for Michael Schumacher, the seven time champion, things couldnt have gone worser. A perfect plan was in place, as the master pit strategists drew a daring one stop strategy for Michael and Barichello. But a blown tyre late into the race spoilt the plan as Michael Schumacher tottered into the pits, only to retire the race a lap later due to a blown front outside tyre and a spoilt suspension. A dissapointing show for the Ferrari team, and especially Michael Schumacher who had not lost a race at the Catalunya circuit in this decade.

Among others, Heidfeld and Massa came in ninth and tenth for Williams and Sauber respectively. Narain Karthikeyan, the Jordan driver was the last to finish, after making a mistake early into the race. Monteiro, his team mate over took him, albiet trimming some grass while doing so. Villeneuve, who like Schumcher showed signs of a come back at Imola retired due to a faulty engine. The Minardi team also suffered the ignominy of seeing both its cars get stuck on the starting grid like clock work. The team has failed to finish a majority of the races this year.

With the fifth race of the year completed, the lines are becoming clearer. This year seems like a three way title challenge, with Renault, the leaders on one side, the McLaren's on the other and the prancing horse completing the triad, although the horse can now be rated a dark horse in comparison to the galloping one that we have been seeing since the fag end of the last decade.

The next race is scheduled to happen at Monte Carlo and is one of the most glamorous events on the Formula One calendar. A street race, contested not on a circuit but on the roads of the small city-state of Monte-Carlo, it should be an interesting watch, since it is a track that involves more maneuverability than speed and over-taking maneuvers should be spectacularly accurate since the track breadth by itself is really narrow!

Adios till Monaco!

Alonso makes it three in a row!

2005-04-25T03:45:00.000-07:00

Fiery Fernando held up three fingers to the on-board camera,signifying his third straight victory, and then gave a thumbs up to a jubliant Michael Schumacher, a man who had more than shown his mettle in a race that was filled with as much ups and downs as does the slippy, hilly Imola track itself. In the end, it was a Renault, a Ferrari and a BAR Honda on the podium.

Starting the race at P2, Alonso stepped up to the lead after the unlucky race leader Kimi Raikonnen slipped out during lap eight owing to a mechanical failure. From there on, there was no stopping Alonso as he sped to the podium. Fending off a Scuderia scare during the last twelve laps from the German great Michael Schumacher, Alonso proved once again that he is not just a pretending contender to the top slot, but the crown prince to the Formula One fiefdom.

The race might have belonged to Alonso, but my applauds would go to another man. A man whohas done more than merely stamp his name on the Formula One hall of fame. Starting from 13th position after a poor second qualifying, very few people expected the German ace to stand on the podium. But an inspired Schumacher with ace strategist Ross Brawn made it possible for the Scuderia's to ensure that their Tifosi did not go home empty handed at the most important racing juncture for the Ferrari's. Between lap 30 and lap 40, Michael Schumacher gained at a rate of almost two seconds a lap, reducing the 21 second gap between him and Jensen Button, the BAR driver who eventually finished third, and then going on to take race leader Alonso to a nail-biting finish, one where the first two cars were just 0.215 seconds apart at the end.

Almost thirty thousand Tifosi thronged the Enzo e Dino Circuit at Imola, a circuit that is just an hour away from Maranello and Mugello, the locations of the Ferrari factory and testing circuit. And the chequered flag interlaced with the prancing horse flew higher and higher and the roar of the Tifosi grew louder and louder with each lap that Michael Schumacher gained on. And a superb second pitstop made it possible for the German to quicken up and catch the tail lights of Alonso the race leader, a man whose car was almost 40 seconds ahead of his own during the first round of pit-stops. From there on, Alonso made sure that Schumacher's quest for a sixth victory at Imola would be kept at bay for twelve more months. In a superb show, Alonso managed to keep the seven-time world champion at bay, even giving the veteran a few defensive lessons at times.Fernando's driving was so sublime that it managed to bring a smile on the nervous face of Flavio Briatore, the Renault team principal, inspite of the fact that the red dot on Alonso's rear-view mirror kept coming closer and closer with each passing lap.

Among the others, Alexander Wurz salvaged some pride, coming fourth for McLaren. Takuma Sato completed a good weekend for BAR Honda, grabing five points. A revitalised Villeneuve backed up by clevar thinking from the Sauber pit came in sixth, ahead of the tottering Toyota's of Trulli and Schumacher Jnr. Massa found himself in an awkward position, getting caught in traffic and coming in far behind his usually flummoxed partner Villeneuve. The Williams' drivers Heidfeld and Webber were caught in a fight of their own, Heidfeld managing to catch up with his team mate Webber and pass him. Liuzzi, the fresh driver from the Red-Bull stables blew off team mate David Coulthard. Coulthard had to settle for thirteenth place after a determined Massa shouldered him for twelveth position.

As for the Jordan's, Narain Karthikeyan proved once again that he was the most impressive rookie of the lot, setting the twelveth fastest lap and giving David Coulthard a scare. Narain eventually came in 14th. Tiego Monteiro ruefully followed his team mate to the finish, coming in fifteenth. As for the new look Minardi's, they couldnt salvage anything for a race, their new look PS05 failing to impress even their own drivers.

Overall, a great start to the European leg of the season and one of the most competitive races that i have seen in a long long time. With the coming of age of Alonso and the rejuvenation Ferrari, one can expect the competition to grow harder in the coming races.

Forecast for Catalunya :: Maranello thunders followed by heavy Scuderia style blood-rains that would leave the Tifosi intoxicated and the rest incarcerated!

Pearl

2005-04-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

When i wrote this short story, i did not know whether to publish it or not. I was not very sure about it as i felt that this particular story was effusively sentimental. I sent it to a few friends who bear with my short stories and encourage me with their comments. And only since they felt that the story was good and should be published, i am publishing it. Thanks sangee,avi,pram,zillia & nanu.
--

I walked down the rocky path. The sun was going down behind a haze of orange-pink puff of clouds. The sodium-vapor lamps were already lit, though it still was not all that dark. It was as if we in America lived in a time of peace and prosperity when every other country on earth was having a shortage for anything and everything.Europe was mired in a war that transformed the picturesque Paris and a dozen other great cities into piles of concrete trailer-park trash. Russia, which looms large over the European Continent appears to be nothing more than a starved scare-crow, one which is likely to be torched by one Mr.Hitler and his minions. Asian countries are nothing but a reflection of their European owners. Africa, at the moment, seemed to have been blackened off the map of the world by Rommel and his troops. We in America were sitting safe and sound and concentrating on our own industrialization drive.

I reached my favorite wooden bench, which i identified by the tall coconut tree which stood behind it. It was a tough spot to get to, especially if you were forty plus and had not exercised any other muscle in your body except those in your fingers (for typewriting) in the last fifteen years. I came here not because i was fond of climbing rocks, but because it gave me a breath-taking view of the bluish-green sea that lay stretched-out in front of me and the nice breeze that blew and made the tender coconut trees sway slightly.

I stretched out and set down the books on one side and unpacked the ration of bread that i had obtained from the military canteen. It had been a long day. I work as an accountant with the American army. And the evenings, i spent in this wooden bench, reading my favorite auhtors - Milton and Homer. I was looking forward to another evening with two of English literature's greatest doyens. I was half way through the third volume of Paradise regained. Somehow i could enjoy this particular epic better in this location because the calm seas and the swaying coconuts made me think i was in paradise.

At first, i did not notice the small boy in grey formless overalls come and sit next to me. When he jumped on to the wooden bench, i gave him a sideways look and a quick smile and returned back to my tome. I did not know the racial classifications in this part of the world. So going by his appearance, i thought he must be a red-indian. And these were poor people, people who had not had the strength to defend their lands when the Americans decided to use the strategic advantage of these small islands. Japan, i was told, is pretty close to these islands. So perhaps these people were descendents of the Japanese. I opened Milton and read on.

The boy looked sheepish and started staring at the bread packet that was lying opened on my side. After a few minutes i saw the boy staring at it and motioned him to help himself. He stuck out a tiny hand and grabbed a large piece of bread. I returned back to my book. When i looked back at the boy after a couple of minutes, the large bread had dissapeared and small pieces of bread were clinging to the boy's chin. He continued to stare at the bread. I was amused at the look on the boy's face and ashamed at his hunger. A hunger that had been brought upon them by my ruthless countrymen on these unsuspecting fisher-folk. I signalled him to take the entire ration with him. The boy's eyes did not leave my face as his eyes began bulging out and his thin straight lips stretched into a wide smile. He lifted the bread along with the wrapper and folded it carefully and lifted it as if it were the crown jewels. All this while, the boy's eyes did not leave my face. His eyes were so expressive. By this time, i had laid Milton to rest and was admiring the young chap in front of me.

He walked a little down the path. I watched his tiny feet make dents in the sand. He stopped abruptly, turned his head backwards toward me and started smiling and shaking his head as if asking me to follow him. I stood up, collected my belongings, and followed him.The boy walked furiously for the next hour and a half. I did not know where i was going, nor did i know the way back. All i knew was that we were climbing upwards. This i knew because i started feeling cold and attributed it to the altitude. Neverthless i decided to follow him for reasons that i have not fathomed till date.

The boy reached the entrance of a small cave and dissapeared inside it. Unsure of whether to follow him or not, i entered the cave. I could hear some faint whimpering. I searched for the boy, my eyes now aquainted with the darkness that had loomed. I spotted the boy with the aid of the shiny silver foil in which his bread was wrapped. I put a hand on his small shoulder and he guided me somewhere into the cave.

My shoes touched something soft and i stepped back out of instinct. The whimpering was coming from right below me. I could not see anything and i was afraid to put my hand down and feel whatever it was. I searched inside my pocket and tookout a matchbox. It took me sometime to light the match stick as my hands were trembling and my drenched fingers could not clasp the thin match stick. Finally, i lit one.

I was taken aback. The whimpering creature was an extrodinarily tired looking red-indian woman, and a pregnant one at that. I staggered back for a moment and the match went off from wind that was blowing out of some opening in the cave. When i lit the matchstick again, the woman's eyes met mine. I could see the pain in her eyes. The small boy was trying to move a small rock underneath her head to use it as a pillow.

I searched my pocket again and found my lighter, which i must have found at the first instance. I quickly took off my coat and poured the little gasoline from the lighter on it. I then grabbed a stick that was lying nearby and tied my coat on it. Lighting it, i struck it in one of the cracks on the lime-stone wall. The pressure was showing in the woman's eyes. Her eyes. It struck me that this small boy must be her first-born. The hazel colored expressive eyes were like finger-print. I knelt down and touched the woman's forehead. It was burning. For a moment i wondered if i could lift her and take her to the army camp. But i dismissed the idea since i knew that the baby was almost on its way.

After an hour of intensive labor, the baby came. It was stark white. I was taken aback and quickly concluded that it must have been the expedition of one of those boys from the hill-camp regiment. I cleaned the baby with the litte water that was there in my leather bottle. The woman had passed out and her voice had died down. And so had my fire. But i was afraid. The baby had not made a single cry. I tried to breathe into its mouth, but i felt the coldness. I concluded that it must be dead. Even viewing a woman in labor is tiresome beyond words. I felt my body reaching for the ground in an awkward fall.

I didnot know what exactly made me wake up. Was it the distant boom that shook the hill or was it the sound of some young voice crying? I shuffled and saw the baby lying before me, kicking with life and crying out loud. I was delighted and reached for the baby when the second explosion rattled the hill. Then a third came and then they came in such torrid succession that i lost count. I rushed out of the cave with the baby in hand and reached a hole the size of a man. I was standing somewhere in an opening which oversaw the other side of the hill. Beyond these hills lay the vast American army, which for reasons i could hardlly fathom was now in a state of utter chaos. A jet with a large red dot zipped down and released a torpedo which tore the hull of a navy ship. The very ship had been my home for quite sometime now. The baby started to cry again.

I clasped my chest and started praying. I prayed long and hard and i cried as i prayed. I knew not whether i prayed for the infinite mercy God had shown in bringing back the child to life, or for the souls of my comrades who had died by the thousands or for my own stunning survival,the chances for which would have been null had i been in that navy ship.

I christened her Pearl.

Fernando flies higher!

2005-04-04T08:55:00.000-07:00

Fiery Fernando zoomed past the chequered flag just as the car radio crackled to life with the voice of a jubliant Briatore, one who was overjoyed that his young pilot had breached the unblemished chequered flag yet again. For Fernando, it was a perfect race from start to finish. The cool Spaniard set the brand new track at Sakhir International Circuit ablaze with a performance that stunned everybody but him and his team. For the Renault's know that they are the team to beat in 2005. And the confidence of the team reflected in the performance of the driver. In my view, i would compare this one performance of his to one of the numerous wins of Michael Schumacher in 2002 and 2004. One where he knew not where the rest of the pack were, except for the backmarkers, bettering his own performance with every succesive lap. Such was the performance of the Spaniard and such a victory infuses even more confidence into a team that has roared to victory in three consecutive races.

A brilliant show from the Toyota's, their drivers Trulli and Ralf coming in second and fourth respectively. The Toyota's, i have heard, have a habit of spending their way to the podium of any motorsport, and that seems to hold true for Formula One as well. It indeed is refreshing to see an Eastern team challenging the likes of Ferrari and BMW in a sport that still is essentially a European one.

A good race for Kimi, a racer whose chances are usually riddled with bullets called luck. Kimi in my opinion is a bright prospect to fill into the big boots of 'Macher the immaculate. If Kimi's race was good, then his fellow driver De La Rosa's drive was better. De La Rosa sure must have made the brows of a couple of team bosses rise. Taking out Button, Barichello and eventually Webber was a treat to watch. And the battle between Webber and Rosa was indeed an epic one. And Webber gave Rosa a tough run, putting his BMW just where the Spaniard so badly wanted to be before finally relenting on lap 55.

Barichello, a driver who had very limited knowledge about the mechanical beast he was controlling, showed that he was indeed a great driver by nursing the F2005, a car that was running on bald wheels to the finish. As for Schumacher, starting the race on the front grid must have been a good feeling, with the F2005 under him, a brand new machine, one touted by Todt as a race beater, one that would break the break-away success of the Renault's. But alas, lap 11 turn 10 must have given Jean Todt a mild heart ache, for it saw Schumacher plunge down the turn, instead of taking it smooth and on the left. A minute later, the seven time champion retired the race for good with a hydraulic problem, one that did not allow him to shift gears smoothly. Incidentally it was the first time in a staggering fifty-eight races that Michael Schumacher has retired with a mechanical failure. Kudos to the Ferrari's for having shown such discipline for such a long time.

Speaking of failures, mechanical mayhem ruled the tracks at Bahrain with as many as seven drivers failing to complete the race owing to such problems. THe bright Indian driver, Narain Karthikeyan, who showed much promise initially, taking out his team mate, a Minardi driver and the once great David Coulthard, all in one and a half laps stalled at the beggining of lap 2. The Red Bull also seems to have hit a temporary road block with one driver failing to start off the grid and the other having a paltry race.

All said and done, we have come to the end of what i would call the pheripheral races or races that were brought in as part of the globalization "drive", a move to convert the masses of Asia to the religion of Formula One. The formula one juggernaut now rolls into the the more familiar tracks of Europe. And Europe is home to some tracks which most drivers on the grid know like the back of their palms. And at Imola, the very heart of the holy land, one should not write off Todt, Schumacher and the rest of the Ferrari juggernaut. For this is the very place that the Ferrari's are most likely to come back and stage an assault on their competitors, even as Fernando Alonso and Renault would be looking to continue their domination and Toyota and McLaren would be planning to gate-crash their party!

Waiting for Imola, commemorating the 11th anniversary of the most loved driver in Formula One history, Ayrton Senna da Silva.

Blogging in Yahoo!

2005-03-31T21:01:00.000-08:00

I guess i shall start blogging using yahoo 360, yet another social networking site with yet another blog option. Not that i dont like to use blogger. com, but i guess the one thing that might tilt me towards yahoo would be the smileys. Yahoo smileys are simply unbeatable. They are thoroughly funny and at the same time help a person express himself clearly. Afterall at times actions help better than words.

But it remains to be seen whether yahoo blogging allows as much customization as blogger.com allows. For example setting the cricket update box and the weather updates and the myShoutBox thing. I guess i'll evaluate this for some time before i shift entirely.

Adios!

The Fastest Indian!!!

2005-03-25T08:11:00.000-08:00

I have been a Formula One fan for many years now. But this season evokes a lot more passion than any other has in the past barring 1994. The simple reason being that this would be the very first time that one could wave an Indian Flag at a Formula One race. And do so with a reason. Narain Karthikeyan has achieved the distinction of being the first Indian in world of Formula One.

Formula One is a fascinatingly different sport. I choose to call this a sport in itself and would not club it under "Motor Racing". The reason is quite simple. If a cricket player were to start at the District Level tournaments and then moves on to County Levels and then makes his International Appearance, he has a footing. For he knows how fast a bowler can bowl and the average speed that the ball travels with, when he strikes with the middle of his bat. And in Cricket, the dimensions of the pitch or the quality of the wood that is used in the Bat or the material used to make the balls donot differ much.

But in Formula One, the equations change drastically from the lesser rated Formula 3 or NASCAR races. Suddenly, drivers find it difficult to control beasts in slim armors roaring like a thousand lions. It is like nothing that they have ever driven before. The least of the mean-machines, a Minardi, is about twice as fast as a Formula 3 car. And not to mention that the aerodynamics, the engine technology and the fuel used make a Formula One car a ground-level rocket. It is for this reason that one cannot club it under "Motor Racing". No amount of experience in any other form of racing would be of any value when you sit in the cockpit of a Formula One car. And when you cannot draw parallels, then the sport becomes a new one, and more ruefully an unfamiliar one.

If controlling the car is one beast, then there is another. A beast that is clothed in a three-piece suit and carries a suit-case. And the beast demands that the suitcase be filled with cash, if one wanted a Formula One drive. It is said that Formula One car runs on money rather than on petrol. It is an unarguable fact that Money takes pole position ahead of talent when it comes to this 21st century sport. And when you come from India, all your money gets divided by that magic figure "forty-five" and your pockets become shallower and dissapear even before you can knock on the door of the measliest of Formula One bosses.

The path that Narain has taken has been a tough one. For in any sport, the first is the one who suffers the most. Because there are no examples and no one with similar background and experience to guide them. And when one does not have guidance, it results in experimentation. And needless to say, experimentation and time are two things that are inextricably hitched to each other. When Narain tested for the Jaguar's and the Minardi's in 2001 and 2002, he was 24. It wasnt the best age to begin a Formula One career, but it still gave him atleast ten good years of life in the fastest Lane. But to his frustration, Narain could not find the sponsors to support the demands of the measliest of Teams on the biggest arena.

Finally, in 2005, Twenty-eight year old Narain signs up for the Jordan-Midland F1. It is a team that holds sentimental value to many of the old fans of Formula One. For it is the car in which the great Michael Schumacher made his debut. And i would have been happier had the team still remained with the mercurial Eddie Jordan, the master talent-spotter. Had Eddie spotted Narain, i would have sat back and waited for Narain to find his way into better teams. It would have been a matter of a few seasons. All said and done, Narain starts racing.

If two beasts weren't enough, there was a silent third. A beast who would hybernate till Narain would win the fight with the other two beasts and secure a drive. This beast is tougher, larger and has the power of a billion people. And if the first two beasts are atleast predictable, the third one isnt. For it is called "India".In a country starved of original sporting heroes, Indians in sports find themselves at the wrong side of the stick way too often and for reasons they can hardly fathom. I was alarmed to see a title page in a local newspaper say, "Narain closing in on Schumacher". I shuffled in my seat uneasily and mopped my forehead. If Narain had seen this, he sure would have had a minor heart attach. For Schumacher, the son of a German Brick-layer, went on to become a legend in one of the most demanding sports on earth. And this huge, out of the world headline for the small fact that Narain had clocked just a few seconds slower compared to Schumacher in a testing session. If this were to be the expectation that Indians had for Narain karthikeyan before the season started, then wonder how it would be once the races start.

Before we start mounting our expectations on Narain who is barely a couple of races old, let us keep in mind that Fissichella who won the Albert Park GP is 144 F1 races (approx 13 seasons) old but with only Two wins and 126 points. Jarno Trulli has raced in 132 GP's with only 2 wins and 125 points.Webber started 53 races but has had just 30 points and no podiums at all. Heidfeld's been in 87 races with just two podiums and 34 points till date.And mind you, these drivers have been in F1 since their early 20's. And Narain is already 28. I seriously donot expect him to do very well. As long as he can be quicker than the Minardi's and his own team-mate, i am satisfied. Afterall one cannot expect a Jordan to win the race even if 'macher the immaculate were piloting it. Afterall each driver is only as good as the machine he is strapped into. I donot expect anything more from him this season. All he has to do for now is to complete races and look to impress rival team bosses who might be on the lookout for better talent. Webber, inspite of his seemingly poor record has done just that.

This is a good beggining for India in Formula One. Perhaps one day we might get to hold an Indian flag in one hand and a Scuderia Flag in the other. Not with Narain in the cockpit, but with some other Fresh talent who sure would know that it was a legend named Narain who broke the barrier for him to enter into the Sanctun Sanctotum of the best of Formula One cars.

Adios!

Fernando the formidable

2005-03-21T19:51:00.000-08:00

Fernando and Flavio

"Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" - those were the words on the lips of Flavio Briatore when his young colt Fernando Alonso took pole at the Sepang GP. And as the Spaniard went flying from pole to podium, the smirk on Flavio's face metamorphosized into a smile and then into an all-knowing grin. A tell tale grin that said that red-hot Renault were the team to beat in 2005.

Alonso flew from the start and increased the gap between himself and Trulli and went on to win the Sepang GP hands down in front of a packed crowd. A third at Albert Park and a first here moves him to the top slot on the drivers' points table. As for Renault, it would have been even better had Fissichella fired too. Unfortunately a lapse of concentration from the young Italian cost himself and the promising Webber a few valuable points. Fissichella braked a millisecond slower, thereby crashing into Webber who was trying to overtake him on the outside.

Toyota's Trulli, in a truly remarkable performance came second and gave Toyota one of its first podiums. The fact that Ralf Schumacher came in fifth proves that Toyota racing is going to be a force to reckon with in 2005.Heidfeld in a display of mastery proved that he is a capable enough driver, coming third for BMW Williams. David Coulthard and his minion Klein seem to have done really well. Red Bull have landed in the points yet again!

Unlucky is thine middle name. Kimi Raikonnen could have landed in the points were it not for a blown tyre. It was a sad picture to see the Finn limp into the pits on three tyres and a rim.For the second time this season, Kimi has been denied a podium position by the Gods of Luck. I only hope that a fine driver like him shines well.

Good old Narain seems to have hung on there and getting a respectable eleventh inspite of a bird-hit qualifying and half a race sans radio. Due to the radio problems, Karthikeyan came into the pits a lap behind schedule with only half a litre of fuel in the tank.

As for Michael the Great, his car seems to have been outclassed. But only a man of Michael Schumacher's finesse could have nursed the F2004M to the finish line. If Bridgestone does not come up with a better set of tyres, no matter how good the F2005 is, Ferrari wont go anywhere. And i sure did pinch myself when Alonso lapped a Ferrari. It truly is a humbing thing to be lapped. And an ashaming one when you are in the cockpit of a Scuderia Ferrari Malboro.

All eyes will be on Italian constructor at the desert grand prix as the opposition will wait with bated breath as the knight mounts the brand new prancing horse christened "F2005". But i only hope that the Stallion is given a good set of hooves. I believe that to be the achilles heel of the Scuderia team.

Ironically, in mythology, a horse with only two legs on the ground means a martyr who died in battle. I donot know why this suddenly came to my thought, but this sudden "Prancing Horse" realization sure does send shivers down my spine. And not to mention that the "creator" of the prancing horse logo, an Italian pilot from World War I who painted the first ever prancing horse on his craft died in action and his mother suggested that Enzo use the logo for "Good Luck" !

Waiting for "Operation Desert Storm" a.k.a Ferrari F2005 :-)

Adios!

love sans eternity

2005-03-15T05:15:00.000-08:00

The tired and worn out soldiers staggered into Dusseldorf, still wary and looking out for lone gunmen who might be hidden in the forlorn and broken buildings. It had been a tiring day like anyother but today was different. It was a day with an end. The end of the Battle of Dusseldorf. Dusseldorf was the last bastion of the German soldiers in the soon to be British Sector. Initially the regiment had started with fifty-seven on board. Now twenty kilometers and twelve days later just seven of them walked into dusseldorf.

Private Stentham tottered along, his lips parched and bleeding from a freshly burst boil. His leg was broken from falling in a deep trench just outside the city. It hurt. He was sure that every bone in his body was broken. He would have fallen there and slept had he not noticed the vultures looking encouragingly at him. The scene around him was one of absolute devastation. Broken buildings lined potholed roads. Rotting bodies were strewn all over the place. The Captain, who was wallking a few feet in front said something . Stentham turned to the soldier next to him and gestured to him as to what the Captain had said. The solider shook his head. Months of fierce fighting had left most of the soldiers almost deaf from the continuous sound of artillery firing and air-planes shreiking abovehead. Stentham lowered his head and walked on.

That night there was no tent set up. Partially because there was a dearth for camping equipment and partially because none of the soldiers could lift themselves, leave alone a pole. The soldiers kneeled on the harsh concrete floor and dropped to the floor. They had no spare clothing and no beds. Some stuffed hay into their helmets and used it as a pillow. Stentham curled himself up in a corner and hugged his rifle whose barrel was still warm from the day's action. He quickly fell into a state of deep sleep. When the grenade exploded, none of the soldiers gave so much as a cry.

When Stentham woke up, he saw a smiling white face mouthing something to him. It was a white figure dressed in a white blouse and a white skirt. He could not hear what it was saying. Stentham was sure that he had died and it was his fairy god-mother who was tending to him. He closed his eyes in bliss and fell back. wWhen he opened his eyes again several hours later, the same figure was still trying to tell him something. He could hear a few muted sounds now. But when he tried to prop himself up on the pillow, his elbow and back hurt. He fell back unconscious. The first word that he heard when his hearing returned was "Matilda". He could feel someone feeding him when he felt hungry but couldnt express his hunger, clean his almost unliveable body at regular hours and sing songs when he shivered with wild nightmares of white children with blonde hair and blue eyes and no skin asking him when their parents would return.

Three months later, Captain Robin Stentham MC was ready to leave the military hospital. The doctors had told him that he had been lucky to have escaped the war with nothing more than a partial limp and a half-deaf ear. Robin waited expectantly for his Matilda to come.She was the only hope that he could see for up to the horizon was filled with burnt buildings and charred remains of human beings. He had told her several times that he could not fathom as to how she maintained a smiling face amidst such devastating ruin. He had fallen in love with her the instant he had seen her. She was beautiful beyond words. He could not think of any words to describe her. Nor could he remember any word while she was in his presence. When he came back from his trance, he saw Matilda standing before his bed, checking on his blood pressure. He blurted out, "Will you marry me Matilda?"

Captain Stentham returned to Dusseldorf a month after he had gone back from Germany after his wounds had healed. He was now in-charge of the knowledge transfer from German Scientists to their British counterparts in the field of radios. Stentham had returned to Britain a month earlier. When he went to his small village in Yorkshire, he had found that his house was destroyed. Ang with it had perished his parents. After days of crying, his senses numbed, Stentham walked into the General's office with a cold face, demanding that he be posted to Germany. He now had one aim. He wanted her. He decided on a plan of action. He asked for Dusseldorf in particular. The General found the request peculiar but did not question Stentham's intentions. He already had a queue of officers waiting to return from Dusseldorf. Afterall nobody wanted to live in a ravaged city.

Stentham pondered on what had happened that fateful day at the Military hospital. Matilda had refused to marry him. She told him that she loved him. But she loved him as a mother would love her children. She told him that she marvelled him because he was one of the very few she had ever seen who had escaped such severe physical traumas. He had pleaded with her like a child. She told him, "I'm married". Stentham looked at her hand. She bowed down and said, "With the pawn broker. My husband...."

Stentham was given a huge apartment in one of the posh areas in Dusseldorf. It was a city that had put the war behind it and was rebuilding itself at a fast rate. Stentham walked into his apartment and without even removing his coat, he lifted the unlisted phone off its hook and murmured, "The Dean, Dusseldorf Military Hospital. Use an alias". A sober voice on the other end said, "Yes Captain." A few minutes later the dean of the hospital came onto the line. Stentham said, "Wonder if i could speak to one Ms.Matilda of Ward-F?"

"I am sorry Herr Greffold. I am afraid she has left the hospital" came back a broken voice. Stentham waited silently for more explanation. The dean continued, "She gave the reason that her old and ailing husband required continuous attention. They have shifted from Dusseldorf to their village house somewhere in the vicinity of Wesel."

"I see. Could you give me her present address please? I believe we at the American Embassy have some information about her relatives in our sector" he said.

"Just a minute Herr Greffold" came the reply.

That night a sleek looking officer came into Stentham's private quarters. Stentham, in his night gown and sitting by the fire with a glass of fine French Clarinet studied the man. Stentham wondered if the man in front of him had so much as seen a dead body. These were one of the new generation of youths who in their jingoisitc fervor had signed up for the army without knowing about its hassles. Stentham knew that such officers would go to any extent to please a high ranking officer such as himself. Just the kind Stentham needed.

The officer saluted him and stood at attention. Stentham said, "We have information about a certain Mr. Hans Kruger who headed the third Panzer division that invaded Greece. He lives off Wesel in a small village. The man is not concerned with radios. But he poses the threat of organizing a resistance network. I want you to take him out. And do not attempt to capture the man alive or make contact with him. Just take him out." The officer nodded and walked away.

The next morning Stentham's maid came rusing out of the house, screaming at the top of her voice. When the officers rushed in, they found Captain Stentham lying askance on the carpet with a gun in his hand and fresh blood was oozing out of his forehead. On the floor beside him was a newspaper that read:

Fire in Wesel kills two
July, 1945
------------------------

" An ailing man Hans Kruger and his wife Matilda Kruger were killed in a fire yesterday night. It apears that the fire broke out in the couple's barn in the little village of wesel. Both of them died on the spot from third degree burns. No further investigations are to be made as the officers have concluded that the fire was accidental. A service will be conducted for the late couple today afternoon"
Source: Reuters, Dusseldorf

Formula 1 Season KICKS OFF!!!

2005-03-08T04:57:00.000-08:00

This year i looked forward for the Australian GP even more that i have ever before. Two reasons for it. The first one being that - for the first time i would be able to support an Indian in Formula One. The second being that the R25 and the MP4-20 from the Renault and McLaren stables respectively showed a lot of promise in the winter testing sessions.

I was pretty amazed to see Narain race with so much confidence in the first qualifying session. And that too in the rain. And coming 15th wasnt that bad. Infact i did not expect him to finish the race. And it did warm my heart to see that he wasnt just intent on finishing the laps. He actually tried to be fast. Those few times when he actually put his tyres on the grass proved that he was trying to push the machine beyond its limit. Am sure he would do well this season and in the seasons to come.

I think Narain has potential. I just wish he had gotten to drive that Minardi way back in 2001 when he first tested for them. But for Indians in alien sports like Golf and Formula One, sponsorships have always been a problem. Had Narain gotten to drive that Minardi,i am sure i would have been holding an Indian flag in one hand and a BMW/McLaren flag in the other for this season. I atleast hope those who succeed him(eg: Karun Chandhoke) would get the right sponsors at the right time. And for those of you who have watched Formula 3000, you sure know that this isnt the empty babbling of a patriotic Indian. We have seen Narain beat the likes of Jensen Button and Alonso in races in Britain.

Coming to more Formula season centric talk, this season holds a lot of promise. McLaren seem to have delivered a good car and Renault have leaped leagues ahead with the R25. So i see a challenge from these legendary teams rather than a prostration ceremony before the prancing horse.

The rain gods smiled on the young Fissichella and for the first time in some seasons, we heard the Italian anthem being played for the winning driver rather than for the winning constructor. Though i would have to agree that young Fissi had the best track conditions during Q1he did hold on to that luck and capitalized on his pole position, losing the flag for only a lap or two to Rubens Barichello who came a good second. A pretty promising display for the young champion groom. He and Alonso are a great pair. Look out for them this season and for aeons to come :-)

For the young Kimi, things just go wrong at the most important moment. The MP4-20 wouldnt select any gear just before the right lights went out. He and Montoya may have landed in the points table, but they sure havent proven to the crowds that they are a dream pair. I think Kimi is unlucky with the McLaren and should change teams. Perhaps he could fill into Michael's great boots after the German great retires for good.

David Coulthard was the one surprise package - as the whole Formula One contingent went drowsy after a shot of RED BULL. And Christian Klein proved to the onlookers that it wasnt just the driver but also the car :-P. Finally Jaguar Racing has come of age :-P

DC's succesor Jensen Button (laughs) and his team BAR made a real good decision by retiring at the fag end of the race. BAR HONDA sure has a couple of good strategists amidst them. Watch out for them at Sepang!

As for the phenomenon called Michael Schumacher, things could not have been different from the last Australian GP, thanks to Nick Heidfeld and his unmaneuverable BMW. A 1-2 pole conversion to a 1-2 podium finish was indeed a dream start for them Ferrari last season. But behold, Schumacher with the advantage of a fresh engine for the Sepang GP should not find it difficult to wrap up the proceedings. And the F2005 sans its ocupant sure must have made a lot of McLaren's switch loyalties for this season :-P

See you after Sepang...

Bhansali's B(L)ACK!

2005-02-20T21:34:00.000-08:00

My first movie in a theatre in four months. And Sanjay Leela Bhansali's B(L)ACK was worth the time. The movie starred Amitabh - the biggest hero of Indian cinema and Rani Mukherjee, whose acting i doubted until Black. And the best of the lot - young Ms. Ayesha whose acting prowess i daresay humbled even that of fellow actor Amitabh.

Bhansali has weaved his magic once more on the celluloid screen. As for the characters, i would have to talk of one young child, describing whom involves the usage of every possible superlative known to me. Rani was very good too, trying to express the whole gamut of emotions known to man in a role who cannot talk, hear or see. The film was dedicated to Hellen Keller,a poet who had similar disabilities. "Can you tell me what is blue?" - one of Keller's verses. Unforgettable indeed. Good old Amitabh "Sahay" Bachchan. No one else could have done justice to this role except for him. The way he treats the child Michelle is tough. And too tough for the screen mom Shernaz who completes the awesome four.

On the darker side, Bhansali has not lost his love for costly sets. This movie would have had the same appeal to me had it been taken in the slums of Mumbai.The lush styled sets made it appear like a European movie rather than an Indian one . Perhaps Bhansali shows a wealthy Anglo-Indian family so as to make the sets costlier and the movie more dramatic. Audiences might have been able to associate with the movie better had the location been different. And Bhansali has at places has tried to tug at peoples emotions. Not that he did not succeed. I could hear a few tiny sobs in the theatre after the movie. But the movie could have done without these at places.

Its a story that shows how tough life is to each and every one of us. And that some choose to defy all odds and do what they want to do inspite of our disabilities. It shows one's passion for life, learning and achievement. And that there are other benevolent people who choose to help such physically challenged ones. As the movie says, those people are not mere teachers or paid servants. They are "magicians" who in my view are superior to the creator himself. The very idea that such a disabled person returns the beautiful present back to her "magician" was indeed touching.

Bhansali's BLACK - a must watch!

(I LOVE SENNA) Ayrton Senna Da Silva

2005-02-08T02:30:00.000-08:00

I put this article in a small in www.orkut.com in a Formula One community. Thought i could as well paste it here in my blog. Senna forever....

Back in 1993, the Williams Renault combine was ruling the roost with Prost and Hill at the helm. Thanks to the traction control, active suspensions and Renault's superior engines the team took P1 and P2. P3 in the grid went to Schumacher's benetton which was said to be the next best to the williams-renault's. P4 was Senna, in what i consider to be the worst ever McLaren ever built. P5 was a rookie named Karl,W.The green lights out, Prost and Hill zipped away, retaining their positions at turn 1. Karl in a junk Sauber made a blistering start and grabbed position 3. Michael tried to close Senna from the outside, but Senna pulled back on the inside and went on to P3 ahead of Schumi.A pair of a left-hander, then a right-hander followed. The track was extremely wet, forcing all drivers to take the left-hander moving in the inside, so that they didn’t risk overshooting the turn, while maintaining a correct "racing line" for the right-hander.However, this was not the case for Senna. The Brazilian moved in the outside, taking a line completely different from all the other drivers and, seemingly, completely wrong. However, Senna taking the outside overtook Wendlinger easily, while placing his car in time in the correct position for the right-hander that was coming. It seems that the outside line had much more grip than the inside line; how Senna was the only driver to realise it remains a mystery. Hill and Prost were ahead, in the extremely fast Williams. But the heavy rain was all Senna needed. Driving courageously, he was coming out of the corners much faster than Hill and Prost. Driving "as if the track surface was dry", he passed Hill aggressively, then Prost after an S-bend, Ayrton moving so much faster and smoother through the S, as if the Frenchman was driving an F3. So before lap 1 the Brazilian had grabbed 1st place, in what remains the best opening race lap I have seen. But the show wasn’t over, not for seventy more laps.

Senna started building a gap on the following Williams, dominating in the wet conditions. The Brazilian was in a race of his own, gaining about 1 second per lap on second Prost. However, the odds changed dramatically when the sun started appearing over the wet track. The track started drying out, and by lap 20 Senna ‘s advantage had been reduced to 5 seconds. Then the rain started again, and all drivers started pitting for wet tyres, Prost being the first to make to do so. Senna decided to gamble, driving in slicks for a few more laps before pitting, a tactic that payed out well, as the advantage over Prost increased to 15 seconds. Lap 30, the track started drying again and Prost, being in the superior Williams, started his attack on Senna. The two drivers pitted for slicks, and a problem with Senna’s pit stop handed the lead to Prost. Lap 35, the weather was changing continuously that afternoon, and the rain started once more. Prost pitted for wets, Senna stayed on slicks and managed to record fastest lap in the partly wet track. Senna was pushing hard with slicks, extending continuously his lead over Prost and passing one backmarker after the other, leaving only himself, Prost, Hill and Barichello on the lead lap. Meanwhile, the advantage over Prost continued to extend, so the Frenchman decided to pit for slicks. It proved to be a disastrous pit stop, the car stalled and re-entered the track one lap behind Senna. The show continued, Hill and Barrichello were lapped also and Senna was the only driver on the lead lap. At some time he pit stopped, waved to the pit crew and left. The race ended after 71 laps, Hill being the only driver finishing barely in the lead lap, more than 80 seconds behind Senna.

Stirling Moss once said that Senna was "the greatest 'racer' of all time". And that race at Donnington (plus his 66 pole positions) is probably the best proof of the above statement...Perhaps the finest victory of his career, this was the European GP at Donnington Park, where Senna won after picking up five places in the rain on the first lap, cementing his place in history as the rainmeister.

Perceptions...

2005-02-03T04:16:00.000-08:00

This is an adaptaion. Read on...

A rich man went into a forest for hunting. Tired from his physical exercise, he sought a pool to quench his thirst. He found one and drank from it. Just as he was about to return he noticed something strange. A dog was actually walking on water. He was amazed and ordered his men to catch it. Bringing it home, he couldnt keep quiet and decided to flaunt it.

So one day he called on all his neighbors to his lake and took them on a boat to the centre of the lake. There he whistled towards hgis house. The "water-dog" came running out of the house and trotted on the water towards the boat. The neighbors were amazed and flocked around the dog and started praising the owner for his unique pet. The rich man gloated with pride. But in all this, he noticed that one man was silent and unperturbed and appeared to have not noticed the dog at all. The rich man's ego was hurt and he decided to confront the silent man.

So while returning from the trip, he went to the man and asked him,

"Did you notice something unusual today?".

"Yes, i did. Your dog does not know to swim!" the man replied.

patti sonna kadhai (grand ma tales...)

2005-01-21T06:21:00.000-08:00

A farmer and a grocerer were involved in a barter trade. The farmer would give the grocerer one pound of butter and the grocerer would give the farmer one pound equivalent of bread. They were maintaining this arrangement for about a month. One fine morning, the farmer got a summon from the village judge and when he went there, found the grocerer sitting there too. The judge asked the farmer, "This grocerer here says that you have taken one pound of bread from him but have given him a lesser amount of butter. This is his complaint. Now you may give your justification for the same."

The farmer smiles and says to the judge, "Sir, i know not the trickery of the Grocerer. Everyday when the Grocerer's aid comes and gives me a pound of bread, i put it on one side of the scales and keep an equal weight of butter on the other scale. This is how i give him butter everyday."
The result of the case is obvious.

an inspiration

2005-01-21T05:55:00.000-08:00

I read this inspiring story in a book whose name i donot remember. Neverthless, the story will always remain in my memory. Read on...

Rahul, a 14-year old school boy used to go to a football stadium everyday to get coached. He was an average player and he never figured in the playing eleven. On rare occasions, he used to be fielded in as a substitute. But inspite of this Rahul never missed one training session and came with his dad to the stadium everyday. His dad would go and sit at the far end of the stadium.

On the day of the club finals, Rahul went to the coach and said, "Sir, can i also play in the main team?". The coach said in a merciful voice, "Son, you know that there are many players who are more talented than you are. Play well the next season and i will surely put you in the team." But Rahul was adamant. He fought with the coach. The coach was taken aback but he gave in as he knew that Rahul was not a kind of kid who asked this way everyday. So with plenty of opposition from within his team, Rahul stepped into the field.

On the field, Rahul played like a house on fire. His coach and his team mates were amazed. The home team won the match. After the celebrations were over, the coach, a man with a keen eye asked him, "Son, frankly i have never seen you play so well. I felt a certain force inside you. What was it?"

Rahul answered, " Sir, today my dad watched me play". Confused, the coach looked in the direction where Rahul's dad used to sit everyday. But no one was there. The coach looked at Rahul for an explanation.

Rahul said, "Sir, my father was a blind man. He has never seen me play. Yesterday he died. So today is the first day that he is seeing me play. All the while he was watching me through God's eyes from heaven. I wanted to show him my best performance. That is what inspired me to play the way i did!"

another boring story...

2005-01-20T23:35:00.000-08:00

Daring the weather, the thief crouched beneath the wooden bench on the side of the pebble strewn path. The dog's bark pierced through the night. She hated dogs. She didnt know why, but she had hated them from her childhood. She crouched lower out of sheer instinct, out of fear of being caught. With bated breadth she looked at the path for some signs of movement that would give her away. Five minutes.. it felt like an eternity.Thankfully for her, the cries of the dog had gone unnoticed. With a smirk on her face, the thief came out of her lair.

Like any good assaulter, she had scouted the place for days. The previous day she had seen the owner of the house place the valuables inside the room and lock it shut. She had immediately hatched a plan. The wheels were set in motion. And she was a born planner. She had been trained from childhood to do this. And today would be her day of crowning glory..

She glided along the wall, her black attire blending into the pitch dark night. Like a well practised gymnast she jumped on to the sunshade with one single sweeping jump. 'Thud!'. Any judge would have given her a perfect jump for the astounding performance. Recovering quickly from the fall, she moved from window to window checking on them. This was the first step. If she got through, she would be lucky. Otherwise she would have to resort to other means. It turned out that it was her lucky day. The bedroom window was open. She slipped in.

She slipped in, her shadow making eerie shapes in the moonlight. She crouched on to the carpeted floor and looked around. So far so good! She glanced at the door. It was locked as expected. She would have to wait now. She hid herself expertly below a large dining table. A couple of minutes passed.

Suddenly there were footsteps and a sharp cracking noise was followed by a light flickering on to life. Some one opened the door. A stream of light from the inside made the room glow brighter. Her eyes gleamed.

Pouncing on the meat kept for the next day's christmas feast, she sped away even as Harry shouted, "Momma! Greta has stolen from the fridge again!!'.

Back in the courtyard Greta sat chwing the rewards of her campaign. "Meow!" she purred in juicy delight.

a short tale....

2005-01-08T05:31:00.000-08:00

I drove along the causeway on a pleasant evening. I thought of the day that had gone by. A pleasant one. It seemed as if the world was made for me. Everything was so perfect including the bucolic environment through which i love to cruise. Suddenly there was a low rumble, a sound that i prayed not to hear. The engine was having choking. Soon after, my twin turbo engines came to an abrupt dismal halt. It was night by now. I realised that i had to pass the night somewhere nearby. A beautiful day had come to a bad end. Locking my car, i walked along the road. It was 1 AM now. I walked through a field. At the end of it i could see a small sodium vapor lamp glowing. Giving a sigh of relief, i made a bee-line towards the house.

Knock knock knock - i heard noises from inside. Then i heard what sounded like whispers. Naturally the inhabitants of this house hadn't expected a visitor this late at night. And the rickety door opened slowly and a meek little man put his head outside the door, straddling his body between the door and the bolt, as if preventing me from entering inside.
"What business may you have at my place at such an unworldly hour?"

"Sir, i had engine problems. My car stopped for reasons i could hardly fathom."

"Uh-Huh." he said.

"Would there be a place nearby where i could spend the nite" i asked.

After pleading with him for fifteen minutes he looked at me and said - do you see those benches over there? I stared in the direction he pointed. I could see some marble tables. Stuffing a blanket on my face he said "Go and sleep there." Before i could react he closed the door and bolted it.

I walked towards the marble with the piece of cloth he had so generously given me. I tripped all the way as the marble benches weren't arranged in any particular order. I chose the longest of the benches by feeling them. There was no light for me to discern anything. I laid down on one bench and shrouded myself in the blanket. I hung my coat in what seemed to be a pole. It was a breezy night. And i loved it. Such a nice place. The last thing i remember was trying to find patterns in the star strewn sky.

Some one was pushing me. I heard distant voices shouting "Who are you? Who are you". I got up and stared at the old puckered face staring from directly above me. It took me a few seconds to fathom where i was. And then it all came back to me. The car...the noise..the sodium vapor lamp.. the old man.. and the cloth. The cloth. It was missing. I saw the man and i stared around. The marble benches were graves. I had spent the last night in a cemetry...

Juvenile Delinquency!!

2005-01-03T22:55:00.000-08:00

A small incident during Class 9.. Bhawan's Rajaji Vidyashram

There was a fast food joint outside the school. Evenings saw the place swarming with students from class 11 and 12 who got pocket money. We class 9’ers weren’t so fortunate. The only capital we had were our devilish minds. So we would walk-in, order what ever we want, eat it and scoot. The plan was simple but dangerous. Occasionally the storekeeper would produce the bills on time. So we would start making conversations with the class 11 guys while eating and leave before they did. This was to make the shopkeeper believe or assume that the class 11 guys were treating us or paying our bills. And we would leave before they left the shop. The fact that we wore the same uniform made us un-identifiable targets. This worked on well for almost a month. But then – all criminals are caught, no matter how sleek their means. One fine day, we were caught red-handed. We tried to run, but the shop boys out ran us. The shopkeeper was a Moslem, one with gray eyes, a white beard and a topi on his head (I am trying to make him the villain here). He smiled at us. For one moment, I thought that he might excuse us (I was too dumb struck at that point of time). But the man decided to walk us down to the police station after giving us a few whacks on the butt. We begged the rascal all the way to the police station. But he wouldn’t budge. I thought of my mother’s face when she would come to know that her kid was after all a juvenile delinquent (chuckles). Bile rose in my throat as we neared the station. Just a few feet from the police station, a 50-rupee note magically came out of my friends’ pocket. Quite honestly, that’s the most valuable piece of currency I have ever laid my eyes on. The shopkeeper gave my friend a raised eyebrow. My friend gave him a cool look and said, “You may keep the change”. My eyes bulged out. The shopkeeper seemed to consider it for a while. My heart raced like Michelin tires on a formula one tarmac. Looking at us as if we were moths on his bridal-bed, he said “OK. Now Run”. My heart was filled with gratitude. I ran all the way to school, picked up my bag and ran home. Only the next day, when I had fully recovered I asked my friend why he hadn’t remembered having money with him before we got the beating. “I forgot,” he mumbled.

TSUNAMI :-(

2005-01-03T19:20:00.000-08:00

tsunami terror

On December 19th 2004, i sat watching a program called "Earthquake" on the History channel. The program featured some of the worst earthquakes in history. It featured the great quakes and fires of San Francisco of the early 1900's and the giant San Andrears fault quakes of the western coast of America in the later part of the century. The "featured" quake was the great quake of 1964 in Alaska. Though the quake was a powerful one, it wasnt the biggest killer. The true killer of the quake turned out to be the Tsunami's. The tsunami's struck even as the tremor was still shaking the ground. While i sat watching this, little did i know that the same force would strike closer to my heart a week from then.

The morning of December 26 was a lazy one. I was still drowsy from the previous night's food. When i switched on the TV, the SUN Network news reader was shouting out to someone. Unruly behavior for someone who was supposed to read news with sobriety. "Building shake aguthu" (the building is shaking). For an instant, my body froze. The broadcaster was sitting in Chennai, my home town. After making frantic phone calls to Chennai and confirming that nothing had happened to my brethern, i sat before the TV still not fully aware of what had happened. News reporters said that tremors had been recorded all over the eastern coast of South India and the Andaman Isles. A few minutes later BBC reported that a quake measuring 8.6 on the richter scale had been recorded somewhere in Indonesia. At this time there was no news of the Tsunami.

It was well into the evening that we came to know of the tsunamis. NDTV news reporters were scampering all over the place, trying to find out about the affected areas. And several presentations were made about what Tsunami's are. Afterall the last tsunami in India was a minor one and had occured in 1941. Then the death count started :-(

It started with news reporters telling that the number of dead were around 3000. This kept on increasing...at one point i felt that these people were making a mistake with the zero's. Unfortunately, this wasnt true. The whole of next day, all our inboxes were flooded with mails containing an assortment of photos, stories of terror and appeals to contribute towards the relief fund. I read through all of them.

That evening, we at Wilson Manor made an effort to collect clothes and an assortment of other things to contribute towards the relief effort. The children did a wonderful job of going to the 300 odd houses and collecting the stuff. And we tried to arrange and sort out the mass of clothes. There were some truly marvellous people who contributed without hesitation. And ofcourse there are some black sheeps who contributed things like used soaps, tooth brushes, torn shirts - as if this were a "bhogi". It was evident that these people were lazy to drop whatever they did not need in the dust bin and instead decided to drop it into the relief boxes. After cursing them enough, we started with the packing. The next day we sent two truck loads of material to the affected areas. I strongly feel that in times like these, we get to glimpse at the true mental maturity of people...

New Year's was spent listening to news about the growing death toll. And amidst the devastation, there were stories of hope and of recovery. Like the little child that was born blind. She got money for her eye operation, thanks to NDTV. Like the German mother of two in Pucketh who was forced to decide which child she had to let go as she waded the waves. A situation that no mother should ever face. The "abandoned" child survived, clinging to a door. The little angel of the sea who saved a whole village, thanks to her recollection about her social sciences classes about tsunami's following quakes. Truly, these are the incidents that make an atheist like me wonder if there really is GOD...

Cheers

Koushik

"Faith and Belief begin where Reasoning ends..."

Back to Chennai Patnam!

2005-01-03T17:58:00.000-08:00

me@home

I somehow missed Chennai. Having been here for the first 17 years of my life, i took it for granted. It always existed, i felt no attachment towards it. And now that i've been away from Chennai for four and a half years, i really really miss it. The food, the roads ( too good to zip on) and ofcouse my own home and the locale surrounding it..and more importantly the people!

After 7 really good months in Bangalore, am here in Chennai. For 7 days. Then the traveller moves to Hyderabad....i some how feel that its in my fate to keep moving from place to place...once every 6 months..

A New Year, a New Job, a New Place & i hope a New Beggining :-)

@ HOME SWEET HOME !!

Koushik

sys core dumped

2004-12-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

A vetti day at office triggered the creation of this blog. One of my last days at the present place where i work. So not much work today. Not that i was too busy otherwise. I am still wondering about the nature of this blog. What do i write here? Do i make it a diary? Do i write short stories here?

Christmas is nearing - so let me come back from vacation and start blogging ....