Malaysian GP 2010

Oh what a qualifying session... Ferrari and McLaren are amongst the last 6 cars on the grid with Red Bull, Mercedes and Force India in the top 2 rows...! The weather achieves what the new F1 rules have not and brings excitement to a wet Malaysian GP due to start in less than a few hours! Interesting stats? 5 Germans in the top 8 qualifiers. Schumacher is the highest qualifying world champion in 8th position...with Button, Alonso and Hamilton in 17th, 19th and 20th spot.

I'll be happy if they all finish the way they start this race... It'll lead to a big twist in the championship. But when the circuit is wet, spins, thrills and crashes cannot be far behind; not to mention race strategy calls from the teams and their engineers.

I'm all set for an exciting race with my money on the Red Bulls, Force India and Mercedes. I really want Vettel and Sutil to break their Jinx and start scoring some points that they deserve# And I want my personal favourite, Schumi to show his true potential in his comeback after 3 years. Amongst the sporting greats, Tendulkar has left his mark this year by scoring the only double century in One Day Internationals, Tiger Woods is making a comeback after putting behind some personal issues...

I want Schumi to win another championship in his comeback. Crossing my fingers that it doesn't rain too much to stop the race, but just enough to make the race as unpredictable and exciting as the qualifying session was! Only if wishes were horses...

Go Schumi, Go Vettel, Go Sutil !

# Sutil has made it to Q3 in all races, but points have eluded him till now.

2008 F1 season

2008 was a crazy season... the drivers championship was won by Ferrari's Massa for a minute before it was taken from him by Hamilton by pulling a last minute overtaking maneuver on a 5th place driver... The reason 2008 was undecided till the last lap of the last GP in part because of good driving by drivers, and in part because of fumbles in the pit.

Top drivers erred like novices - case in point, a) Hamilton bumps off Raikkonen in the pits when he fails to see the pit lane is closed for exit...Hint for Hamilton : If 2 cars in front of u are stopped, take a cue from them and don't think about your girlfriend when you exit the pits. [Pit light was a stupid stupid introduction in 2008 F1... This is not Nascar... If F1 has lived without pit lights for so long, this rule change was completely dumb and an unnecessary introduction...]

b) Hamilton spun the car on a clear dry track proving again that his focus was elsewhere...

c) Raikkonen takes out a Force India car in Monza and ruins their chances of a point scoring 5th place finish... He demonstrates (again) that he was never totally committed into F1 and bringing him to Ferrari was a humongous mistake by the bosses at Maranello - Raikkonen never truly represented the Fierce Ferrari brand in spirit. It takes something special to drive a Ferrai - a passion that a dead-fish-expressioned Raikkonen can never exude.

F1 is unlike any other motorsport - it is the pinnacle of motor racing - the opportunity to convert a mistake by the opponent and capitalise on it presents itself for a brief moment and in those precious milliseconds, if the driver is not 100% committed and focused on the racing and the sport, it is lost equally fast...

The worst performing team, in my opinion was not a rookie team, but it was my favorite team Ferrari - fumbling in the pits, releasing Massa with the fuel hose still stuck in car, it made the tifosi feel Ferrari drivers are battling internal team chaos along with other teams on the track. They had so many lost chances to clinch the championship - chances that were lost by rookie mistakes made in the pit in earlier races... (Both cars queued up in the pit lane, the early release of Massa are the 2 infamously memorable mistakes that come to mind.) The season showed a lack of spirit... a lack of cohesiveness within the team and the cracks in the team were evidently visible after a long reign of superiority and performance expected from the Scarlet champions.

It was clear from what happened in the season that Ferrari had put their money behind the wrong guy. While it was Massa who consistently delivered superior performance and took the fight to McLaren, his championship was lost in the pits when Ferrari fumbled under pressure and internal team politics. Personally speaking, Raikkonen was never a great racer. he can handle an F1 car, but he cannot bring an underperforming car to the top slot. Also, its one thing to muscle a lower order car out of the way, but another thing to hold back a top driver... This is where Raikkonen fails, and Massa fights - Case in point - Belgium GP when Hamilton takes Raikkonen and later Raikkonen puts the Ferrari into the wall... not because he is trying too hard, but in frustration.

The 2008 season was chaotic... The rule changes did manage to achieve what it intended to do - bring F1 fans a season that was not decided till the last lap of the last race - but the achievement arrived with more drama and less style...

F1 also felt the pinch of the global economic crisis and the year saw 2 teams leaving F1. Super Aguri and Honda. And if these were not enough blows to F1, there was Crashgate when the Renault team asked their driver, Nelson Piquet, to deliberately crash his car at a strategic point, thus prompting the deployment of the safety car, right after their other driver Alonso had pitted. F1 hit an all time low in recent times.

But it was not all bad... there were good moments in 2008 which saw some excellent overtaking maneuvers taking place on the circuit... Hamilton proved to be an expert at muscling the competition out of the way and his aggressive moves on the field were a delight to watch.

PS: Shouldn't McLaren be banned in 2008? In moves 12, 11 and 10 in the above vdeo, the front wing of the McLaren is seen to be flexing at high speeds...... As far as I know, F1 cars are not supposed to have moving and flexible wings... Wonder how that was not caught by any of the other teams (unless all has a similar problem or the rule is non-existent in 2008) - can someone enlighten me on this?

Some good overtaking in F1

Enjoy some good overtaking in F1 in recent times!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3c_a9qR65k

McDowell Signature Indian Derby 2010

First things first - This blog is alive again... that doesn't mean the other one is dead! Just that with the comeback of Schumacher in Formula 1 racing, I decided its time to revive the blog and keep it exclusive for Formula 1. The other blog can be for other stuff as well as racing :-)

Now before you ask, why am I blogging about the derby here? The answer is simple... Mallya = Force India F1 team... Enough said!

For the uninitiated, the McDowell Signature Indian Derby is THE racing event in the country. If you are a racing fan, this is a must attend event. If you are a horse racing fan, it is a must attend event. And if you are not either, the fashion is simply outstanding! Anybody who is somebody will be seen at the derby. This is one time when the fashion is as competitive off the field as on it. Women in their sexy best and men at their charming best. But wait, the derby is not just about being sexy... Its very important to be elegant as it is to be sexy. Its about being classy and especially about not being cheesy :D

Watching a race on the telly is one thing, and watching it live is a completely different beast! The atmosphere is electric as your favourite horse (or racer) is nearing the finish line with the 2nd place racer pushing him as the finish line draws closer. The roar of the engine and the rhythmic sound of hooves against the dirt are music to the ears of a racing enthusiast - both make the heart pump faster, as the adrenaline rushes thru your veins... will my favourite win? or will the competitor snatch away victory in the final moments... the wait is nerve-wrecking, yet exciting! A test not only of horses and machines, but really of the Jockeys and drivers as well, for the latter have to be equally fit as the horses and the machines they race.

The derby has lots more to offer then just glamour, glitz and racing. Performances by various artists and entertainers are a must watch. And there is the inevitable fashion show - a necessary evil, yet exciting... after all who doesn't like watching the lovely models do their thing on the ramp!

The big day this year is in the coming weekend and I so wish that I could attend it! Who would want to miss a day at the races and if one can rub shoulders with the whos who of tinsel town, its just icing on the cake!

Here are some pics from the 2007 McDowell derby ... enjoy! And if you can make it to the Mahalakshmi Race course on the 6th and 7th Feb, I'll envy you!

Adieu blogger - Moving to Wordpress

Hello friends.... This blog is moving to wordpress!
The new address is .... http://spikeville.wordpress.com/
See you there! :-))

Blogging troubles!

This blogger is having blogging trouble since the past 3 weeks.

You know how there is an option to get follow-up comments when one posts a comment on other blogs? Well, for the past 3 weeks, I have been unable to get 90% of follow-up comments on comments I have posted!

Whats worse? I have been unable to get comment alerts on comments on my own posts! And the woes have not subsided! And it seems to be affecting only blogger! Wordpress alerts are fine! Its so frustrating I've even considered migrating the blog to wordpress!


Is any one else facing or has faced similar problems?

Michael Schumacher's Comeback 2009

There is no doubt that Michael's comeback to Formula 1 is the biggest event of the 2009 F1 season. No sooner than the announcement was made, the papers next day were abuzz with pictures and stories about the King of F1. Times of India even had the same title (the king is back or something to that effect) that I had used in my blog a day before. Oh well!


The difference between champions and others is the amount of commitment the former gives to the sport. Within a week of the announcement, Schumi lost 3 kilos of body weight. If you think 3 kilos do not make a difference, think again!
A) In a sport where the time is measured in one thousandth of a second, 3 kilos can make you faster than your competitor.
B) 3 kilos can give you an extra lap worth of fuel, allowing you to pit later than your competitor (and your teammate).
C) 3 kilos less weight can allow your car designers to balance the car better - it can give them the flexibility to re-distribute the weight of the car, allowing it to handle much better!


The last advantage comes with its own little challenge - As the (almost) bankrupt BMW Williams team disallowed Michael Schumacher to test the F-60 (the 2009 Ferrari F1 car) , the car designers will have to entirely rely on calculations and models to "gauge" the cars performance with the new weight distribution and with Schumi in the cockpit. The other part of the challenge is - Schumacher has not driven the F-60 even once! While the competition is close to being half way thru the season, Schumacher will drive the F-60 in Friday practice for the 1st time on a track that he has never driven before (the track was newly made after Schumi retired). While other drivers in F1 (Read Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso) crib and complaint about the lack of their car's performance openly, Michael has quietly adjusted to the circumstances and started testing in an old 2007 Ferrari with slick tires instead of grooved ones! That's a champion for you! Perhaps Alonso and Kimi can watch and learn as Schumi shows everyone that "A good craftsman never blames his tools!".


Not only that, Schumacher has already completed an entire day testing the car and training his injured neck muscles. That's a champion for you. At the age of 40, Schumacher will be more than twice the age of the youngest F1 competitor (19 yrs 4 months)! It takes sheer guts and Iron-like-will-power to make such a comeback.


Even before he retired in 2006, during the retirement, and post retirement - there were (are) no silly news about Schumacher in the media. The only news you get to see are about Schumi testing! No silly night-club games, no drinking binges, no playing the fool! No sir! Not Schumacher!


Perhaps that's why he could easily be amongst the fittest F1 drivers, even post retirement!


The comeback could not have been at a better time for Formula 1. A sport that runs on big money, such a comeback means, sold out tickets at the racing venues and big time TV eye-balls! I would not be surprised if there is at least a 30% increase in television viewership for the Valencia race on 23rd August 2009 as the F1 fans, Tifosi and Schumi fans are all eager to watch the king make a comeback! Honestly, for them (and for me), it does not matter if Schumacher performs or not. Just watching him get behind the wheel of the red car will be joy enough for the die-hard F1 fan! There are many F1 fans who stopped watching the sport after Schumi retired. More people did not follow the sport with as much gusto now than when he was racing - Schumi's comeback will bring these fans back to the sport - Then there will be others who will be watching just to be part of the buzz, while there will be those who will watch the race on Valencia, just to see him fail!


Whatever be the race viewer's category - the weekend of 21, 22, 23 August, Valencia Spain will see F1 fanatics have eyes only for one car and one driver. That car will be a red Ferrari and the driver will be Michael Schumacher! Period!