Jun 25, 2008

The bragging rookie in trouble

McLaren victimized! Lewis conspiracy theory! I wonder how much more shit the British press can throw on themselves by claiming to question FIA's integrity. Lewis Hamilton suffered his 3rd penalty of the season for cutting short the only chicane in Magny Cours in the middle of his pass on Vettel and it has understandably irked the Lewis' baby (aka ITV) n many more of the arrogant and self-opinionated English media. Let me clarify something for all you "little bragger" followers. The stewards are not blind and they could have had only one call for this entire incident and that's to penalize Lewis for not making a pass but keeping that advantage by straight-lining the chicane. I don't know how else you would want the FIA to react especially when the McLaren team seemed uninterested in letting Lewis to back-off nor to have a talk with the FIA seeking a clarification. Unfortunately, the team was seen busy trying to bypass the rules and there they are doing a 2007 all over again.

The problem with Lewis is that he's bathed in the glory of an unexpectedly good rookie season but fast he has to understand that with limelight come shadows. Time and again, he claims that he's mentally tough and is ready to face any uphill task in the pinnacle of motorsport. Well, it doesn't look like he's doing one after the French GP and it looked worse when the darling of the media simply refused to comment on the race when he had a bad day at the office. Also, Lewis doesn't understand what to say when. When the team stumbled in one of the previous races, Lewis seemed to have taken the responsibility by saying "Yeah, I let the team down". Those who think that he has gone one step higher are on the wrong side. Infact, it would have been much better had he came in front of the Canadian press and admitted "Yeah, I made a mess and ruined someone's race". The contrasting opinions may call for a psycho-treatment but that's not the case. When the things are going well, people tend to over-react and the opposite happens when they understand that it's not the things alone but u urself haven't done the bit correctly.

Unlike Lewis, you don't see the other rookies Kubica, Piquet, Heikki endlessly courting fame because they just keep their heads down and drive. It's not over yet. In an interview for ITV, Lewis claimed he doesn't give a damn about the media and that the media always bring u up and pull u down. Oh, I didn't know that! If he doesn't care much about the media then why on earth there was a pity monish in front of the camera "To all my fans, please don't believe what these guys are saying. Nobody can crack me". Can't crack u? Well, u just got a big hole in your heart, a hole much due to blustering and chuntering and that too right in the middle which looks uglier than the one Raikkonen bore in his Ferrari's exhaust last weekend.

Jun 23, 2008

Kimi 'exhaust' ed while Felipe rejoice : Race 8 review

Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!
Just when it looked Kimi was gonna beat the hell out of everybody in Magny Cours, there came the reliability demon in the form of a broken exhaust on lap 35. Not so long before that, Kimi piled up a gap of 6.7 secs to his fellow teammate Massa and was on a class of his own posting the quickest lap time as well. The right rear body work of the F2008 was completed burned causing a big hole in the exhaust region (see pic) preventing Kimi from getting the full HP. As per the commentators, he was losing atleast 40 HP to Massa on the long straight. Being the Iceman, Kimi didn't crumble under pressure and nor did Ferrari when they asked him to stay on track with "let's see what's gonna happen" manner. Balls of Ice :) He did stay on and finished the race in second some 18 secs behind, after letting Felipe pass him. Heartbreak, one has to say when u see a sure shot win slip away but I'm relieved(so does the Iceman) to see him grab some points after a 2 race drought, which might prove precious when the counting's done in Brazil.

You can't get enough of Hamilton and his love affair with the FIA. He is one of the very few to be handed penalties in back to back races. Bearing the 10 place grid penalty from Canada for hitting Iceman, his task was far from over when he started on P13. On lap 2, Lewis got past Vettel on the straight leading to the Nurburgring chicane but was adjudged to have gained an advantage by straight-lining the chicane (see pic) and was given a drive-through penalty which ultimately wrecked his race. Not a pretty sign for the McLaren team after they felt that he had already passed Vettel before cutting chicane. I can't comment on the fairness of the penalty cos like many other TV viewers, I too saw only Lewis' onboard view of the incident. The stewards claim that they have had info from the hidden cameras on track (which are unavailable to the outside world) and that Hamilton was issued the most lenient of the 3 forms of punishment. Having said that, his driving was not that aggressive and was a letdown with a stupid 3-stop strategy.

Massa though conceded he was "lucky" to win after admitting that Raikkonen was too quick for him in the early part of the race. The drive of the day came from Toyota's Jarno Trulli who finished on the podium behind the two Ferraris. His experience and never say die attitude paid off when he saw through challenges from Alonso and Kovalainen for the fight for podium.

Now we head back to the classic Silverstone circuit for the British grand prix. Kimi most likely will change his engine but will not be penalised as per the new rules which allow u to change one engine in the season with no grid penalty. It's Lewis' home track but I can't see him having any chance of winning a race before Valencia or even Monza. Massa has leap frogged Kubica for the lead of the WDC, 4th different driver to do so this season. Are we in for a fierce battle? Yes we are!!!

Standings after race 8/18

1. Felipe Massa 48 points
2. Robert Kubica 46 points
3. Kimi Raikkonen 43 points

Next race : British GP, Silverstone

Jun 18, 2008

Kimi brands 'big mouth' stupid

Raikkonen, the man of few words finally caught in the off-race politics. I can't say he was cribbing but he definitely was seen pissed off in the Ferrari paddock post Canadian GP. This is what he said about the pitlane shunt with Lewis "Maybe I'm not the best person to say about anybody hitting from the back after the mistake I made in Monaco. I also understand that these are two different situations one on the racing speed, loosing car control and hitting somebody and the other under speed controlled circumstances. It's a bit stupid to see someone ramming into your back in a pitlane. I didn't expect this."

Wow! The irony is that Lewis made even Kimi speak :) The 'big mouth', as we Kimi fanatics mercifully call Lewis, just cannot stop talking. I'm afraid, he's on the Alonso way just ranting about what he did and what he didn't. As in the previous blog, I have pointed that he spoke a lot about the MP4-23's pace and that he was breezing to victory. I'm gutted to see such an arrogant shameless self-obsessed F1 driver, I mean u can't just keep boasting when u have just ruined someone's race. Look at Kimi, he always shuts his mouth and drives and he's still winning. F1 is the only sport where the so-called "mind games" never work and I don't see any point in Lewis blabbering like a kid when he hasn't won anything in the sport. Well, all I can say is barking dogs won't bite.

Time to get a life Lewis

Jun 8, 2008

Lewis screwed Kimi's bid for win : Race 7 review

Kimi Raikkonen, who looked the likely winner of the Canadian GP and who clocked the fastest lap of the race, was reduced to disgust by a spoiled brat from Briton. Just when it looked the race was gonna be interesting, in came Hamilton who rammed his McLaren on the back of the halted Ferrari of Kimi who along with Kubica was waiting for the red light to go off in the pitlane exit (see photo). It was such an amateurish maneuver from an F1 driver who not only spoiled his but that of his main title rival as well. Schoolboy stuff!!! It's interesting to see that the Hamilton family has now completed the trifecta of destroying aPorsche, a Ferrari and a Mercedez :)
Watch the mess which Lewis made
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ap--XNi5sak

I was so annoyed that the situation was all set for a good race with Kimi n Kubica on the same line, Lewis on 3rd and it would have been a good fight but for Lewis' self-obsession. He keeps saying "I can adapt to any situation" "I let the team down".....I would ask him to adapt to the basics of F1. We all accept that the pitlane exit rule is stupid but if a 21 year Robert Kubica, let aone Kimi, can have the presence of mind to see that it's RED, why can't Hamilton after winning 6 races in his career, see that. If everyone else is following it, no matter how stupid it is, u have to follow. Inspite of all these, there came Lewis again posing for the itv camera n saying "It looked like an easy win for me....I was breezing".........haha......I came to know how much self-obsessed one can get after seeing this spoiled brat

Now coming onto Kimi
People say that his cool gesture of letting Hamilton hear "hey dumb boy, look it was RED n not GREEN" reminded them of Senna. Some drivers would have just went on and slapped Hamilton but a gentleman he is, Kimi didn't use a foul word but a sarcastic gesture. Hats off to u Kimi.....time n again, u proved that u are the Mr cool. And for those who say, Kimi deserved this after hitting Sutil in Monaco, I feel really sorry to say that u cant compare a racing incident with a silly incident. I too feel bad about Force India team not to win any points but during a race, someone just lost braking and that too not deliberately......hey, these things happen!

One clear comparison from 2007 and 2008
Lewis then had Alonso to guide him how to set his car up even when they were enjoying "absolute equality" (thanks to Ron Dennis for preventing me from searching the dictionary) but now with the whole team backing only him and using Heikki as a back-up driver, Lewis is still struggling to compete with Ferrari (that's where absolute equality crap can be found). Just because of him, they lost a former champion n now McLaren is limping in 3rd position in constructors championship. One thing Lewis has to do from now on is just forget all these cameras n start thinking about how you can win races. Though hes not a great driver, he has the potential of winning races

Finally,
I'm really happy for Robert that he could win a race after all these struggle. He had a chance and he grabbed it with both hands which is a sign of a good driver. Nick Hiedfeld seem to enjoy playing second fiddle to his younger teammate. I'm sure BMW are gonna beat the crap out of McLaren for the Constructors championship.

Standings :
1. Robert Kubica 42 points
2. Felipe Massa 38 points
3. Lewis Hamilton 38 points
4. Kimi Raikkonen 35 points
5. Nick Heidfeld 28 points


Next Race : French GP Magny Cours Circuit, 22nd June

Jun 2, 2008

Lewis broke the jinx : Race 6 review

McLaren and Lewis Hamilton put an end to the winless streak in the streets of Monte Carlo even after a start from row 2 on the grid. After loosing the first 2 positions in the qualifiers to the two Ferraris of Raikkonen and Massa, Lewis looked good right from the start to clinch a surprise. To add more spice to the matters, it rained. A wet race in a tight circuit like that of Monaco is the last thing a driver would want considering the fact that a little mixup can make your title chances go for a toss. That's exactly what happened to Kimi when a badly timed safety car and a drive through penalty along with some not-so-common mistakes ruined his whole race. The same is somewhat true for Massa as well as he had to settle behind the BMW of Kubica for a 3rd.

Raikkonen was driving more like a world champion. Hold on, what I mean is he was not so much worried about the victory but just tried to drag points out of the Ferrari which lacked pace at the right moment. I really hope that the 'Alonso' demon won't come and influence the Iceman inturn making him a defensive driver. But knowing Kimi, I doubt whether he will continue to drive like a champion rather he'll enact a Suzuka 05 or a Spa 03 or even a Shanghai 07. Massa though is the clear beneficial from his team mate's downfall. He is now a point adrift from Kimi who trails Lewis by 3. The championship fight is already exciting and I'm sure there will be more to see when F1 goes to Circuit Gillles Villneuve in Canada.

Next race: Canadian GP, Montreal Sunday 8th June