The iceman cracks!

Ha!  So good to see Raikkonen proving everyone wrong and not being the stronger Lotus driver, qualifying a pitiful 18th.  Well done to Romain for his 3rd place on the grid.  See what can be achieved if you go out to practice in the rain Kimi...

"Practice in the rain!  Not for me."

What a start!

Ha!  What a fantastic start to the season for Schumacher.  Barely mentioned by any of the pundits or commentators as a strong contender for this year, look what happened in practice 1 and 2.  3rd and 1st fastest, whoop whoop!  

Of course its early doors and the Redbulls will probably storm FP3, but for now, I'm happy!

Having just read an article by James Allen, I feel worried about a possible move to Mercedes for Lewis for 2013.  Using the expertise of Schumacher to help develop the team, then moving in Lewis to reap the benefits?  That's not right, and imagine if Ferrari had done that for the 2000 season. 
Obviously this is just speculation but it will make watching Schumis races horrendously nerve shattering. 
Hopefully McLaren will be ultra competitive and Lewis won't want to snaffle up anyone's seat.

F1 on Sky

Like everyone else I felt angry when it was announced that half the races wouldn't be shown live on the BBC in 2012.  I thought the BBC coverage was great and was not impressed that we should have to pay to see live F1. 

But can you be a true fan if you don't pay to make sure you catch every bit of action?  Highlights don't give the whole picture.

Having upgraded my sky package I have to say I am very impressed with their coverage already, and the season hasn't even started yet.  I am getting to watch things never seen before; testing, car unveiling. 

Mercedes unveiling

There are reviews of classic seasons and interviews with drivers, current and legendary.  The 2011 season review has shown footage you wouldn't normally get to see.  The BBC just don't have the airtime to show all of this.
Martin Brundle recognised what Sky had to offer the fans when he decided to move, and now I understand why he made that decision. 

A STEP in the wrong direction?

Yuk.  What is going on with the beaky nose of the 2012 cars?  The new stepped nose looks like a that of a witch.

 Notice any similarities?






How have Mclaren managed to avoid having his piece of grotesque machinery?

As usual, Mclaren take a different approach to the rest of the field.  Whether this affects their performance positively or negatively remains to be seen, but personally, I hope it is positive.  Then we might see the back of the stepped horrorshow and a return to beautiful cars. 

Roland Ratzenberger

A tribute to the man who died at Imola on Saturday 31st April 1994 when qualifying for the San Marino Grand Prix.

His death, so often overlooked because of Senna's death the next day, was just as tragic but hardly ever heard about.  Does being a better driver mean your death is more of a loss?

Senna - the other story

Whether people were trying to stop themselves crying or they were just in deep thinking mode, there wasn't a sound from the audience watching Senna as we left the cinema.  After this initial emotive experience, I began thinking about how Prost had been portrayed in the film.   Let's face it, he didn't come off well, kind of reminding me of  Jack Lemmon's character in The Great Race, but without the comedy.






Prost on the left.  Senna is the 'good' one in the middle, played by Tony Curtis.












Having previously read about, and seen photos of, Senna taking a swing at his new young rival Schumacher...

 ...I wondered if there was another side to the way Senna was protrayed in the film.

Reading Senna versus Prost by Malcolm Folley I have found there is.  It is ironic that the pictures above show Senna threatened by the new talent on the grid, when as a young driver, he came into a Mclaren team built around Prost and took over making it HIS team, ultimately making Prost leave.   Did Prost try to bash him up?  No.

Does the film show the incident in 1987 when marshalls failed to move his Lotus the way he wanted, he got out of the car and hit one of them?

Does the film talk about the lack of testing he did on the Mclaren? Following his winning on the championship in 1988 he went home to Brazil leaving Prost to do all the testing.  Prost got just

2 weeks holiday.

Does the film talk about his inability to give in depth feedback, and make changes to the car? 

Was he a selfish driver?  After all, when he saw Williams becoming better than Mclaren he jumped ship.  When we talk about the great champions, are they really the ones who just follow the best cars, turn up and drive on the day? Or are they the ones who help and support the development of the car even if it means not winning for 4 years?

Was Senna such a great driver, or is it a case of a rosy glow because he died so tragically?...