So many thoughts, so little time.
It’s great to sit in front of a TV and watch a grand prix once again.
I miss that feeling…though I gotta admit, the whole “feel” this year is completely different. (More on that later.)
Jenson Button
First things first – I’m very happy to see Jenson Button enjoying the success that he’s having now.
He’s been in F1 for like, what, 9 years? And he’s finally got a car that allows him to win races.
Jenson’s only won 1 other race in his entire career, and that could have been considered a “fortuitous” win in the sense that a lot of the top names retired from that fateful race in Hungary in 2006.
It’s not that he never had the skills. He just never had the car to compete. (It goes to show that in F1, it’s about 70% car, 30% driver.)
You’ve got to feel for him somewhat for enduring all those long hard years in cars that were uncompetitive, especially the Honda in recent seasons.
I think this is definitely his season, his best shot at a world title. If he doesn’t do it this season, I’m not sure if he’ll ever get another chance for the rest of his career.
He drove a brilliant race in Melbourne on Sunday, and let it not be said that it was an “easy win”.
I don’t think there is such a thing as an “easy win” in F1. You either gotta be incredibly good, or incredibly lucky…and on Sunday I think it was the former.
Which leads me to my next point…
Brawn GP
What to make of Brawn GP?
The come from nowhere, out of the ashes, and suddenly they’re the class of the intensely competitive F1 field.
The word that comes to mind after Melbourne is “ominous”.
It’s like they’re telling the rest of the world “Hey, you think this is fast…you ain’t seen nothing yet!”
If they keep up this pace (or get even better)…I think it’s gonna be a long season ahead for everyone else, including Ferrari.
Silly New Season
How shall I describe this new F1 season to the layperson? What analogy should I use?
It’s like the English Premier League this season decides to allow the use of the right arm to play football.
Obviously, the traditionally weaker teams might stand a better chance of winning games, especially if they spent most of the previous season training for this new “right arm” brand of football (which is exactly what teams like Honda did last season).
And say Manchester United last season was too preoccupied with winning the domestic league and Champions League title that they didn’t spend any time training for the new “right arm” football.
Which means that this season they’re severely underprepared.
And that’s what’s happening to McLaren now. They’re severely off the pace because they hadn’t spent enough time last season developing the car for this new season, cos they were too busy fighting for the championship last year.
And guess what?
The Sunderlands of the Premier League are now topping the table. And the likes of Manchester United are struggling to stay off the bottom.
Which is surreal, if you asked me.
But that’s exactly what’s happening to Formula 1 this season.
It’s the most “reshuffled” pecking order to a new F1 season I’ve ever seen, thanks to all the new rules and regulations.
Lewis Hamilton
Say what you like about Lewis.
You know I’ve never been a fan of his, but you’ve got to take your hat off to quality when you see it.
It’s drives like his on Sunday that prove that he’s a real top-class driver, probably up there with Alonso as one of the best drivers in F1 right now.
It’s relatively easy to score points when you’ve got a fast car and you’re out in front…but not everyone can charge up the field in a very uncompetitive car the way Lewis did.
Shades of Michael Schumacher if you asked me.
In my opinion, Lewis Hamilton is one of the most amazing talents there is in Formula 1.
Ferrari
No blog post is complete without a take on my beloved Ferrari.
Same story as last year. They totally bombed at Melbourne once again.
No points to show for in opening weekend this year.
Let’s hope they get their act together fast.
It’s hard to tell what their true pace is at the moment. I think we can only get a better picture in Sepang.
Hmm…from your review, I think it will be quite interesting. Something to expect.
What’s the new “right arm” reference about?
Oh, it’s just an analogy cos this year’s F1 season has introduced a lot of radical rule changes, so it’s almost akin to saying football players can now use their right arm to play football…which has kind of turned the whole F1 hierarchy upside down.