End of the season
Spoilers behind the cut for anyone who's waiting for the highlights, that is, if anyone who has any interest in the subject was doing anything today *but* watching the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The last few years has been a strange mix of interests for me. Last year I kind of half-followed the F1 season and for the few before I'd simply got out of the habit of watching what seemed to be a formation parade. This year, I've been totally hooked. I'm not sure if it's me or that the racing has really become more exciting. In the past I've been fed up with the way the rules and the techiical restrictions have been constantly changed around but I think I'm finally beginning to 'get it', and all credit to Bernie Ecclestone for pushing F1 towards the stunning finale of the 2010 season.
One of the best things, for me about F1 is the mix of technology and human effort. On the technological side, it's the cars, the engines, the tyres, the telemetry and the strategy that goes into producing a car that performs well in qualifying and then performs well in the race - not always the same thing at all! On the human side, it's not just the raw talent of the driver, but the way the driver can feed back information to the team to assist the engineers in development, the emotional commitment of the driver that can literally turn around races and seasons, and the skill and judgement involved in the tactics of not just races, but practice sessions and qualifying.
At the end of the day, both drivers and constructors championships are won on consistent performances throughout the season, not the occasional brilliant result and I think this season has been the essence of that. I find myself realising that there's a big hole now where my weekends were filled with motorsport and kudos to the BBC for providing what has been excellent coverage. I think for the first time I find myself looking forward to the new season and seeing what all the teams can make of the new regulations and, instead of seeing them as an annoyance, I see them as a challenge and as a way to draw a line and say to all the teams, okay, see what you make of this lot then. Because, after all, if there's one thing F1 is about, it's changing/advancing technologies.
Wow, what a race! I'm not sure who I wanted to win the race or the title beforehand, but I think now it's the best possible outcome. Kudos to Red Bull for letting the title race play out in its own way and I'm very happy that the man who won the race and the title was the man who got his nose down and went out there and focused on the win. He certainly seemed the most relaxed before the race and the most confident and while yes, it was luck that the other results played out, I also think that he'd actually put the title out of his mind and simply zeroed in on the race and it worked out perfectly.
Also, very nice that Lewis and Jensen filled out the podium. Very special to have the last 2 years' champions sharing the podium with the race and championship winner in the last race of the season - you couldn't have written a more perfect ending. Somehow fitting, I think, that while all the attention was on the 2 front runners, the 3 back runners in the championship went out there and had a great race.
I did rather have to snigger at Alonso's gestures to Petrov after the race. Winning races is about passing the other cars, either in qualifying times for grid position, or on the race track. It's not just about fast times on an empty track, it's about managing the abilities of your car when matched against the other cars on the track. And I think it's also been proved that a very large part of winning is mental attitude.
And I'm so glad that Schumy walked away from that head-on with Liuzzi, because but for a couple of inches (and I saw him duck as much as he was able) we could have been looking at another Senna. I'm not sure even these helmets are made to take a head-on impact with a front wheel at that speed with the stiff suspension of a racing car behind it.
And, um, oh boy. Pirrelli back in F1. Just wondering if next year's calendar will be a collector's item and how I can get hold of one. ;)
Incidentally, there was a mention during the Saturday practice coverage of a chap who'd mortgaged everything this year to follow the F1 round the world to go to every single race. What an experience that must have been. Apparently, on Friday night, he was sat with Adrian Whitmarsh (McLaren), Christian Horner (Red Bull) and Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari) talking to him about his experience. Wow. :)
No, even if I mortgaged it all, I don't think I could afford it, but maybe it's time to go to at least one race ...
The last few years has been a strange mix of interests for me. Last year I kind of half-followed the F1 season and for the few before I'd simply got out of the habit of watching what seemed to be a formation parade. This year, I've been totally hooked. I'm not sure if it's me or that the racing has really become more exciting. In the past I've been fed up with the way the rules and the techiical restrictions have been constantly changed around but I think I'm finally beginning to 'get it', and all credit to Bernie Ecclestone for pushing F1 towards the stunning finale of the 2010 season.
One of the best things, for me about F1 is the mix of technology and human effort. On the technological side, it's the cars, the engines, the tyres, the telemetry and the strategy that goes into producing a car that performs well in qualifying and then performs well in the race - not always the same thing at all! On the human side, it's not just the raw talent of the driver, but the way the driver can feed back information to the team to assist the engineers in development, the emotional commitment of the driver that can literally turn around races and seasons, and the skill and judgement involved in the tactics of not just races, but practice sessions and qualifying.
At the end of the day, both drivers and constructors championships are won on consistent performances throughout the season, not the occasional brilliant result and I think this season has been the essence of that. I find myself realising that there's a big hole now where my weekends were filled with motorsport and kudos to the BBC for providing what has been excellent coverage. I think for the first time I find myself looking forward to the new season and seeing what all the teams can make of the new regulations and, instead of seeing them as an annoyance, I see them as a challenge and as a way to draw a line and say to all the teams, okay, see what you make of this lot then. Because, after all, if there's one thing F1 is about, it's changing/advancing technologies.
Wow, what a race! I'm not sure who I wanted to win the race or the title beforehand, but I think now it's the best possible outcome. Kudos to Red Bull for letting the title race play out in its own way and I'm very happy that the man who won the race and the title was the man who got his nose down and went out there and focused on the win. He certainly seemed the most relaxed before the race and the most confident and while yes, it was luck that the other results played out, I also think that he'd actually put the title out of his mind and simply zeroed in on the race and it worked out perfectly.
Also, very nice that Lewis and Jensen filled out the podium. Very special to have the last 2 years' champions sharing the podium with the race and championship winner in the last race of the season - you couldn't have written a more perfect ending. Somehow fitting, I think, that while all the attention was on the 2 front runners, the 3 back runners in the championship went out there and had a great race.
I did rather have to snigger at Alonso's gestures to Petrov after the race. Winning races is about passing the other cars, either in qualifying times for grid position, or on the race track. It's not just about fast times on an empty track, it's about managing the abilities of your car when matched against the other cars on the track. And I think it's also been proved that a very large part of winning is mental attitude.
And I'm so glad that Schumy walked away from that head-on with Liuzzi, because but for a couple of inches (and I saw him duck as much as he was able) we could have been looking at another Senna. I'm not sure even these helmets are made to take a head-on impact with a front wheel at that speed with the stiff suspension of a racing car behind it.
And, um, oh boy. Pirrelli back in F1. Just wondering if next year's calendar will be a collector's item and how I can get hold of one. ;)
Incidentally, there was a mention during the Saturday practice coverage of a chap who'd mortgaged everything this year to follow the F1 round the world to go to every single race. What an experience that must have been. Apparently, on Friday night, he was sat with Adrian Whitmarsh (McLaren), Christian Horner (Red Bull) and Stefano Domenicali (Ferrari) talking to him about his experience. Wow. :)
No, even if I mortgaged it all, I don't think I could afford it, but maybe it's time to go to at least one race ...