Wednesday, June 24
England 2009!
It is an unwritten rule of sports that however fierce the competition is, adversaries should be able to shake hands and show respect for each other. Well, we are lucky. Within the last three days, Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber dominated the British GP in Silverstone at the wheel of the modified Adrian Newey Red Bull, and shook hands after an intense, high speed battle; likewise, in Paris, Place de la Concorde, FOTA and FIA were able to bury the war hatchet, shaking hands as well, at least symbolically. No doubt some egos are badly bruised, but this is the essence of sports, and life: a diehard competition where the strongest win and the others better learn to live with it.
Thursday, June 11
Turkey 2009!
"If you are blessed with talent, then work hard and never give up". Jenson Button has to be a perfect example of this, and his outstanding drive on the difficult Istanbul Park circuit comes as another well deserved reward for the Englishman. No wonder he's smiling all the time! Having said that, the low number of spectators around the Turkish race track (not to mention the Paddock Club count...) came
as yet another reminder that Formula One is in trouble, and has to find perennial solutions in order to secure its survival. Menacing black clouds have gathered, and are surrounding the F1 circus; common sense simply must prevail, and this is not the time for overblown egos to get in the way of the indispensable aggiornamento that will define F1 for years to come.
Wednesday, May 27
Monaco 2009!
It is always funny to see how a new game is something very difficult to accept for most people.
The old scenario is something reassuring, it seems, and new paradigms based on power shifts
are fiercely opposed. Formula 1, being as always a microcosm of the larger world, is currently
giving us two examples of this: the rise and dominance of Jenson Button and the Brawn team,
where race after race each victory is seen by many as "lucky", for one reason or another; and
the massive change that is taking place in the high spheres of F1 governance, where the rules
of dominance are being reshuffled as if Formula One were at the crossroads of several tectonic
plates being irrevocably torn apart. Let us hope that the true spirit of racing prevails, instead of
crystallized power games, setting an example of well needed sportsmanship for all to see.
Thursday, May 14
Spain 2009!
Historically, a well born race car, one that is immediately fast out of the box and easy to drive
and setup, has been virtually impossible to beat. That's why Jenson Button is now the definite
favorite for the Championship, the Brawn team having furthermore showed in Spain that they
have already decided to sacrifice the chances of teammate Rubens Barrichello, now effectively tagged as second driver. Unfortunately, the on track passion and drama is being overshadowed
by the off track politics which threaten to destroy the very foundations of the F1 Championship.
The coming days and weeks will be crucial, and we can only cross our fingers in the hope that overblown egos, selfish financial interests and short sighted views will give way to common sense,
in the interest of all the actors which really matter in this sport: drivers, teams, sponsors, organisers and fans.
Wednesday, April 29
Bahrain 2009!
In a way, Bahrain was a "normal" race. It didn't rain, no one was sanctioned or disqualified
(if you except the Sutil/Webber incident). A brighter mood, under the scorching heat of the
Bahraini desert. F1 was back to its ususal self, and in the end the newly established top
teams, Brawn, Red Bull and Toyota, showed how dominant they actually are: they swept
the podium, and after the first four races, the top six places in the Championship are occupied
by their drivers! Two men emerge as rivals for the title; Jenson Button of course, who again
drove his Brawn-Mercedes to a flawless and convincing victory, and Sebastain Vettel, who
will become increasingly dangerous for Button as Adrian Newey succeeds to implement an
efficient modified diffuser to the Red Bull-Renault RB5.
Wednesday, April 08
Malaysia 2009!
A race under the Tropics at five in the afternoon? Well, that's thunderstorm time, as everyone knows. Well, nearly everyone... Regardless, Jenson Button drove the Brawn GP to another indisputable success, and there are many big, well established teams which must be working frantically at either designing a new car (which is mission impossible at this point) or desperately lobying the FIA to have the diffuser cars banned next week in Paris. They may well succeed, but the political price they will have to pay will be a heavy one.
On another subject entirely (entirely?), the Hamilton storm: from a basically nonevent in Australia (unintentionnally trading places, and then reversing, under yellow), the stewards of the meeting somehow managed to create a trap, into which Hamilton fell. It must be said that the political and business pressures have forced the emergence of a form of dual personnality: torn apart between his own mind and judgement, and the interests of his Team, the driver often has no choice but to become a kind of Corporate Parrot. And this is especially true in the case of McLaren, obviously obsessed with their public image (it just got worse) and terrified by the power of the FIA's sporting authority. You have to feel sorry for Lewis, who is only human after all. Whatever happened to racing in all that?
Malaysia 2009 GP
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Tuesday, March 31
Australia 2009!
They said it couldn't be done, but Ross Brawn proved them wrong and won the Australian GP for his race machine's debut. But then, he is the man who always knew how to extract the maximum from a given set of regulations, be it in the Benetton days or the Ferrari ones... Well done to all, and a special bravo to Jenson, who has shown throughout trying times, which would have discouraged many, that he is well endowed with the legendary British fighting spirit and has lost none of his talent.
On a different note, let us express our bewilderment regarding the $50 000 fine given to Sebastian Vettel for "causing a collision and forcing a driver off the track". What the whole world saw as a race incident was obviously seen as "unsafe driving" (F1 is supposed to be a riskless activity? Obviously...). This is neither the first nor the last time that the stewards of the meeting decide to impose such unnecessary punishment, and Sebastien was also given an additional ten place grid penalty for the Malaysian GP for continuing on three wheels . Well, the stewards were obviously not around when a certain French-Canadian driving a Ferrari drove an entire lap around Zandvort, on three wheels, during the 1979 Dutch GP. In those days, the words that came to mind were "daring", and "determined"... Rejoice, the world is turning into a safe place!
Australia 2009 GP
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Wednesday, December 13
Virtual Book 2008!
The Formula 1 Virtual Book 2008 is now available!
With 234 stunning high-resolution photographs, and
the now famous "real book" feel, it will amaze you.
Virtual Book 2008
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