Sunday, September 14, 2008

Anyone else see a new 'kid' on the podium? :)

I'm not very sure,what to write today. I have not made any draft this time(made one for the previous post!).I'm going to type in every 'meaningful' thought that my brain processes in the next fifteen minutes.

Monza 08 happened today. I speak of Monza itself as an event because this place personifies action,speed,drama,energy and most of all, passion. Just to be there at Monza,on a race weekend,must be mind-blowing. The crowd is so extremely passionate abo
ut the sport!(yes,like always I'm talking about Formula 1) If there is one place I could kill to be at,it would be Monza,on race day. At every Italian GP that has been held at Monza,when you get an aerial view of the track,all you can see is red! This is the home of the Tifosi,my adopted family. To see thousands of fans,all dressed in dazzling red,carrying flags with the prancing horse on them surround the parc-ferme area,as the podium celebrations go on is a wonderful feeling.Don't get the feel of it? These pictures may help.And they're just two,out of the millions. All this gets better,when you have the German and/or the Italian anthem playing in the background. And today, I got to witness all that I wished for-only,Schumi wasn't on the podium.

But,I did see three Schumachers today.
1. The real Schumi,all cute,sitting in the pit lane area with head phones on.
2. Someone who I don't like but can't dislike either. Lewis Hamilton killed the wet-track,driving around it sensationally well. He moved up from 15th on the grid to 2nd,getting past cars like they were mere road blocks. Yes,he had the best car but no one can deny that he is exceptionally good at driving in the wet. Just like good ol' Schumi.
3.No points for guessing. Sebastian Vettel. Inspite of making it clear to the world that he's not aiming to be the next Schumacher, The German media calls him 'Baby-Schumi'. (Heck,why would anyone not want to be called that?!).

I must clarify, I'm not someone who has blindly jumped onto the Vettel bandwagon after his record-setting-first-victory in Formula1. For me to like you,you only have to be German.When Vettel came around the international racing circuit, I instantly liked him.But it was not until The Race of Champions(December 2007),that I became a fan.Vettel and Schumi,together took the German team to victory,after superbly driven races. And this is what Schumi had to say about him : "
Sebastian has shown he has the talent.He entered Formula 1 at the right time and at the right place I think. He has shown things with that car that no one has shown before. There is a bright future ahead of him. He has the potential to win the F1 championship one day." Now do I need any better reason to like the fellow?
I must admit,he was extremely lucky to sit at the pole for this race. The Rain Gods seemed to be determined to help him win. But, He did drive a perfect race. He has shown before,what he is capable of and today,with a healthier Toro Rosso and of course some luck,he showed that he can win races. And he's only 21 years old(and cute! With a good sense of humour et all ). I can definitely see him win a championship in the future,if he makes the right choices and gets into a good team. Oh,how I'd love to see him in Ferrari! As he stood on the podium today,the German anthem played-followed by the Italian anthem(After all,the team is called SCUDERIA Toro Rosso FERRARI ). Reminds you of someone else? Whether he likes it or not, after Alonso-Kimi-Lewis, I'd like to call him my next Schumi. I sincerely hope he lives up to the expectations of the million others,who feel just as I do.

Apart from Vettel and Lewis,many others were impressive today. Many drivers did a Lewis,cutting chicanes. But they all obeyed the rule this time,clearly. Alonso was brilliant and so was Massa.Its another thing that none of them improved much upon their qualifying positions. Kimi was disappointing,but he made up for it towards the end. He came in ninth,just one place short of the points scoring position. The drivers championship gets even more interesting, but what worries me is the frail five-point lead that Ferrari have over Mclaren.
Let us(Ferrari fans) hope for the best!

Oh and do I have to tell you that I'm excited about the next race? Singapore-the first ever night race. As I cannot find adjectives good enough to describe how amazing that race is going to be,I'm going to conclude right away.If you do not intend to watch this race,atleast a single lap around this track-at night-cars zooming around the streets at 300kmph,you live a SAD life,friend.
September 28th,Star Sports. Watch it! :)



P.S. Shocker to those who 'really' know me... I 'really' miss seeing Alonso on the podium!

9 comments:

gautam dn said...

ok Now that this one is unbiased...I can comment on the blog...Impressive for your first try...All i can say is i like it...and this weekend was perfect...after liverpool beating man united, atleast heikki finished second to close the gap.(only 5 more points..it looked sooo far off at one point.yay!)..and congratultions to vettel...so u have finally got your german to support..like i finally got my british chump to support...but in my opinion i think nico has a little more potential than vettel( among germans)...and yes, i agree with you...Alonso deserves to be on the podium...somehow it doesnt look right without his arrogant face there...Vamos Ferrnando Alonso...im behind you...You definitely deserve atleast one podium this year...I hope it rains in singapore...Night+ Rain+ street circuit + Ham= mercedes win ...lol!

Merin Mandanna said...

Well,thank you...
The fact that there's just five points separating Ferrari from Mclaren absolutely took away the josh i would have otherwise had,seeing Vettel win. Now i know who will win every time it rains! :( Good for you I guess. Things are looking good for you,in your half of the sporting world.
I plan to simply TRY and enjoy Singapore :)

soda said...

Really good blog...very well written
and...im definitely gonna watch the singapore race :)

Merin Mandanna said...

Thanks Sod!! :)
Kimi in your heart,you say ;)

nihalv said...

A clinical round-up of yet another GP.Very well written.
Yes,Alonso is in need of a podium.can never stop wishing for a four way even fight between Ferrari,Pink Vodafone(Mclaren),BMW Sauber and Renault.imagine atleast four of them finishing within 5 seconds of each other,like Canada '03.Dream on,i say!
Singapore,although glitzy,will turn out t be a dead rubber contest,in my opinion.hope Herman Tilke proves me wrong.

gautam dn said...

dead rubber? So a mercedese win is now being called a dead rubber?BTW awesome forum to have discussions about F1 in general...keep it up!

Merin Mandanna said...

Thanks,Both of you :)

I think Tilke will live upto the expectations..I mean,he designs most of the new circuits anyway,and I love the one at Sepang.
Has he been asked to take charge of the 'Indian Gp'?'

As for the race,yeah,cant really speak of how interesting the race will be-in terms of true racing.If it rains,I'l blindly place my bet on Lewis.
Oh i remember 2003! didn't some 8 drivers win races that season?? When in Renault,Schumi vs Alonso battles,as much as i hated them back then, were beautiful. And i SO miss Montoya!!! he was fun,really. People don't take risks like he used to..sad,I say.

*Pink Vodafone?? hahaha :D

Namita Gopal said...

well,as u know, i dont ve a single clue bout formula 1 or sports lol..yea.. but all i can say is u ve written it really well,doesn look like ur first atempt at all...way to go!!!:)

Merin Mandanna said...

Thanks Nami!! :)