Formula One Controversy! Don't you love it? ;)

Finally! After several years of boredom to all but the hardcore fan, F1 racing is making some noise. This season has gotten off to a dramatic start, and now with the exciting finish this past Sunday, and the controversy surrounding Jensen Button's car perhaps being underweight, and Ralf Schumacher's dangerous driving in the pit lane, there is plenty to talk about around the water fountain.

Speaking of dangerous driving, allow me to pick on Ralf's brother for a minute, as I enjoy to do from time to time. ;)

The only dangerous move I saw during the San Marino race (when CBS wasn't away at commercials, promoting the "oh so exciting", nail-biting edge of your seat golf tournament that was coming up next), was when Michael Schumacher "straight-lined" through a chicane and overtook Button, just barely missing getting clipped.

Of course, to hear the CBS announcers call it, you might have thought you just witnessed the pass of the decade, not to mention the most important race of the season.

My only concern at all this week, as I ponder the events of the past few days,
was the way Ferrari was so much faster, nearly 2 seconds a lap faster for much of the race. It brought back memories of the past few seasons very quickly.
Ferrari knows, with their reliability and Michael's driving ability, if they are on the pole, the race itself is just a formality.

Congratulations to Alonso, for holding off the much quicker Ferrari. Let's hope Renault, McLaren and most of the rest are up for the challenge in Spain!

bad luck for kimi...

...after a blistering qualifying round that put kimi on the pole for the first time this year, and taking a commanding lead in the early part of today's race, a drive shaft failure forced kimi to retire the car...

...disappointed, i headed to the laundry room to put some clothes in the dryer, but left the tv on, and the next thing i knew schumacher had climbed from 14th position to 3rd! ...now, i'm no ferrari or michael schumacher fan, and was quite glad he was starting from the 13th position on the grid, but the pass he put on mark webber and the pit strategy was quite amazing! ...and this coming two days after i said...

"the race is almost anti-climactic after the first turn, with the leaders running off to an insurmountable lead, barring an engine problem or sudden downpour or pit stop screw up...with the real fun being played out in the practice and qualifying sessions to determine the starting positions..."

...and even more amazing, how alonso held off michael in the final 15 laps, winning by only 0.2 seconds! perhaps we will see more racing like this in the weeks to come...

on a negative note, CBS, which did a fine job with the broadcast for the most part, had the audacity to break away for extended commercials with just 8 laps to go...
with schumacher trying to pass alonso on every turn...??? no excuse.

we have the spanish grand prix to look forward to in two weeks, where i'm sure the fernando alonso fans will be ought in full force!

formula one

...reckon how many americans closely follow formula one? millions follow nascar, but i'm willing to bet all of the obsessive F1 fans in this country would barely fill up the local Hooters...obviously talent, precision, and cutting edge technology isn't the reason, where one quick trip around any track would snap the neck of a mere mortal...

the real reason is there is no connection to any of the drivers...in nascar, the locals do feel a connection and right at home with the good 'ol boys, and within 3 beers can fantasize without much trouble that "hey, i coulda been a driver too if my daddy was in the business"...but it takes quite an imagination to follow the path and find yourself on the starting grid next to a michael schumacher.

...you'd think Ford or GM could funnel some of that billion or so dollars they "brag" about losing every quarter into sponsoring a top notch formula one team, with a local born and bred driver...heck, jeff gordon showed he was within a second of montoya a couple of years ago... (remember "trading paint" at indy?)

...of course, any serious fan F1 will tell you, the race is almost anti-climactic after the first turn, with the leaders running off to an insurmountable lead, barring an engine problem or sudden downpour or pit stop screw up...with the real fun being played out in the practice and qualifying sessions to determine the starting positions...and that is why you will find me up at 4 am on a thursday, friday, and saturday morning, when the race isn't even til sunday! and no, you can't tape it and watch it later, you have to experience it "live", whether it's from malaysia, bahrain, or italy.

...and one last thing, speaking of rain...why in the hell can't nascar run in the rain??? change tires, slow down, but keep running!!! i just can't watch, all the cautions, stopping, finishing under caution when 100,000 fans have sat there all day watching...or even postponing half the race until the next day due to rain...what a brainwashing job on those fans!

...thankfully, for the first time in recent memory we have a good F1 championship race on our hands this year...i am definitely not a ferrari fan, but they will have my respect if they can pull back in the pack quickly...specifically, schumacher...

CBS is carrying this weekend's race from Itay in a tape delay at 1pm eastern, "the grand prix of san marino", but catch the qualifying on speed tv if you have it...

oh, and go kimi!!! (-: