And my favorite prancing horse is no where in the fray!! I am distraught. This weekend didn’t go too well for me. It was loaded with great sporting events. And none of my favorites won. First, the Ferrari’s below par performance in Italy and second, Fedex’s loss to Del Potro.
Monza once again proved that F1 as a sport is adequately unpredictable and past form is no indication of future success. Barrichello won when he wasn’t really expected to win, Vettel’s pace was dismal, Lewis’s crash once again demonstrated that he is still immature at the top and F1 is once again staring at a new scandal i.e. ‘Renaultgate.’
Not to say that Monza was dull. The race was quite exciting. The start was as usual electric. The surprise package was Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi. He was slotted in because Fisichella chose to be the Judas and allowed his heart to rule his head. Liuzzi qualified in P7 which itself was quite a feat. He was heavier on fuel and had KERS cars all around him. Despite this, he managed P6 at the end of lap 1. Had it not been for his gearbox, he would have definitely finished in the top 5.
The qualifying was the usual mix of KERS and non-KERS cars taking the top slots. Hamilton landed a pole by beating Sutil by a whisker. The Brawn drivers, heavy on fuel managed a P5 (Barrichello) and P6 (Button) and while Fisichella struggled with his Ferrari, Raikkonen was once again great in P3.
One thing’s for certain though. Ross Brawn was a master strategist during his Ferrari days and he is a master strategist now at his own team. Brawn’s decision to put both his cars on one-stoppers didn’t allow his drivers to do too well in qualifying but the outcome of the race was more or less sealed with this. The Brawn cars ran harder and longer than any other car on the grid.
Barrichello’s recent surge and Brawn’s unbiased approach for both their drivers means that we are left with both their drivers vying for the World Championship title. With his recent strings of wins, Barrichello has proved that he can still be amongst the F1 racing clan for at least one more year. He out-qualified Button, started aggressively, drove flat out and won a ceremonial race.
Button although quite similarly impeccable couldn’t manage to overtake Barrichello throughout the race. I guess it was just the qualifying that did him in. Had he qualified in 5th instead of Barrichello, he would have won the race. He also withstood a lot of pressure from Hamilton in the closing stages of the race and managed a podium after a long hiatus.
Ferrari on the other end were expected to excel at their home track. But they were once again rendered with just driver to look forward to. No I am not comparing Fisichella with Badoer but Fisichella in his first outing at Ferrari couldn’t really manage the car to score any points.
The focus was once again Raikkonen and he didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the weekend. He was great in qualifying with a P3 and was expected to cling on it throughout the race. However, his race pace was questionable as both Button on a one stopper and Hamilton on a two stopper managed to get ahead of him. Ferrari’s strategy and pace both were not apt for Monza and it was only Hamilton’s last lap crash that propelled Raikkonen on the podium. This was Raikkonen’s 4th consecutive podium including the win in Belgium and should help Raikkonen more than silence his critics. It is also just about time that Fisichella finds his feet at Ferrari if they are to manage a 3rd in the Constructors Championship.
4 races to go and a Championship to battle it out. Singapore GP is just around the corner and with its street circuit and night race it is once again expected to provide an ideal setting. The Brawn cars are once again bound to outpace the competition. I am sure that Brawn is facing the predicament of his life cause the only battle to expect at Singapore will be Button vs Barrichello. To top it up, Barrichello will be on the second race of his gearbox and it will be great fun to see a conservative Barrichello against a flat out Button.
Monza once again proved that F1 as a sport is adequately unpredictable and past form is no indication of future success. Barrichello won when he wasn’t really expected to win, Vettel’s pace was dismal, Lewis’s crash once again demonstrated that he is still immature at the top and F1 is once again staring at a new scandal i.e. ‘Renaultgate.’
Not to say that Monza was dull. The race was quite exciting. The start was as usual electric. The surprise package was Force India’s Vitantonio Liuzzi. He was slotted in because Fisichella chose to be the Judas and allowed his heart to rule his head. Liuzzi qualified in P7 which itself was quite a feat. He was heavier on fuel and had KERS cars all around him. Despite this, he managed P6 at the end of lap 1. Had it not been for his gearbox, he would have definitely finished in the top 5.
The qualifying was the usual mix of KERS and non-KERS cars taking the top slots. Hamilton landed a pole by beating Sutil by a whisker. The Brawn drivers, heavy on fuel managed a P5 (Barrichello) and P6 (Button) and while Fisichella struggled with his Ferrari, Raikkonen was once again great in P3.
One thing’s for certain though. Ross Brawn was a master strategist during his Ferrari days and he is a master strategist now at his own team. Brawn’s decision to put both his cars on one-stoppers didn’t allow his drivers to do too well in qualifying but the outcome of the race was more or less sealed with this. The Brawn cars ran harder and longer than any other car on the grid.
Barrichello’s recent surge and Brawn’s unbiased approach for both their drivers means that we are left with both their drivers vying for the World Championship title. With his recent strings of wins, Barrichello has proved that he can still be amongst the F1 racing clan for at least one more year. He out-qualified Button, started aggressively, drove flat out and won a ceremonial race.Button although quite similarly impeccable couldn’t manage to overtake Barrichello throughout the race. I guess it was just the qualifying that did him in. Had he qualified in 5th instead of Barrichello, he would have won the race. He also withstood a lot of pressure from Hamilton in the closing stages of the race and managed a podium after a long hiatus.
Ferrari on the other end were expected to excel at their home track. But they were once again rendered with just driver to look forward to. No I am not comparing Fisichella with Badoer but Fisichella in his first outing at Ferrari couldn’t really manage the car to score any points.
The focus was once again Raikkonen and he didn’t put a foot wrong throughout the weekend. He was great in qualifying with a P3 and was expected to cling on it throughout the race. However, his race pace was questionable as both Button on a one stopper and Hamilton on a two stopper managed to get ahead of him. Ferrari’s strategy and pace both were not apt for Monza and it was only Hamilton’s last lap crash that propelled Raikkonen on the podium. This was Raikkonen’s 4th consecutive podium including the win in Belgium and should help Raikkonen more than silence his critics. It is also just about time that Fisichella finds his feet at Ferrari if they are to manage a 3rd in the Constructors Championship.
4 races to go and a Championship to battle it out. Singapore GP is just around the corner and with its street circuit and night race it is once again expected to provide an ideal setting. The Brawn cars are once again bound to outpace the competition. I am sure that Brawn is facing the predicament of his life cause the only battle to expect at Singapore will be Button vs Barrichello. To top it up, Barrichello will be on the second race of his gearbox and it will be great fun to see a conservative Barrichello against a flat out Button.
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