Kunal Shah seems inspired by MJ's 'This is it' as he attempts to bring to our notice the importance of Feb 1st for F1. A must-read before season 2010 officially commences on Monday, Feb 1! An iSport exclusive!
The headline might just sound not so common, but that was exactly what prompted me to write this piece.
This is it! Come Feb 1 and all the bullshit will be over!! Schumacher’s comeback would’ve finally happened and all the contemplation would finally be put to rest when he takes to the track. Its time that the clock did the talking and it will when the pre-season testing ban is lifted and all Formula1 teams will start testing their 2010 challengers.
My thought just crossed across the last 5 months or nearly when there’s been no action on track. The only action that has been on track are the winter karting races that F1 stars organize and participate and of course Ferrari’s traditional winter program. Now, honestly is the time when the nonsense stops and the real racing starts!!
This is it! All cars would’ve been launched by then (well almost all!) and they would be on track going head to head against each other. The funny thing about each launch is that there are comments all over about the wings and the chassis and almost everything. (eg: one wrote Ferrari’s nose is like the Red Bulls and yet another claimed it looked like a ‘crocodile’!!) Ironic, when the teams claim outright that their show car is much different than their race car!! I just wonder why people can’t refrain from commenting!!
Will it be Ferrari’s F10 or the MP4-25 or the Merc GP car that will take honours? Or will old timers Williams make a come back? Or will we see yet another debutant come up with the magic formula and take honours? Questions and more will come to rest once the engines fire up on the 1st!
This is it! The mid-race refueling ban also comes into effect, which means that the cars will be bigger and heavier. Most modern fans are used to re-fuelling stops and hence faster laptimes, but this might just be a thing of the past. The first test itself might show us increased overall laptimes!!
This is it! All inter-team rivalry will come to the fray! Has Massa lost his pace since his crash last year and will he match up to Alonso? Will Nico wipe away an age-ing Schumacher? Will Lewis Hamilton get Button-ed in his own Mclaren? Will the other Nico (Hulkenberg) challenge an experienced Barrichello? We will know from Feb 1st itself!
This is it!! After loosing 3 top manufacturers in one year, F1 has managed to add 3 private teams. However, there is rumour that they might not fill up the grid in Bahrain in March. Come Feb 1 and we indeed will know if these private teams can stand the test of Formula1, or will they struggle to even make it to the grid in the opening race!
This is it! I believe the brand F1 is at its lowest low. With the withdrawal of manufacturers, mixed with the ‘racing-fixing’ scandal, the F1 brand had taken a huge beating! However, the return of its finest drivers, also being hailed as the sport’s biggest comeback ever, might just turn the tide back in its favour!
This is it! This really is it! FIA might have goofed up most rule changes, but they’ve really got this one right i.e. the test ban and limited testing opportunities. We for once will see F1 teams really using every kilometer they get to test their machines rather than sandbag their way on track. We will see resource optimization, something that the F1 teams could be accused of not being good at. And if this really is it! It might just lead us into an era in Formula1 where you need to get your magical F1 formula right in the first go, else your formula is a no-go!
(The author is a former racer and currently works with Sport18 - a div. of Network18. Kunal can be contacted at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )
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