F1 season is here at last!
Last year, I gave F1 a pass – the rules, the politics, the general crap that prevailed made me keep my wallet in my pocket (F1 switched to a pay channel last year here). The season was entertaining, but I am still of the opinion the rules decided the winner. Not taking anything away from Button and Brawn – they were the smart ones, but the fact that now people talk about ‘spirit of the rules’ is a bit laughable really. This is F1 – where ingenuity and engineering are supposed to give fresh and brilliant solutions to making an object with 4 wheels and an internal combustion engine go around a track as fast as possible.
Well, there was a bit of a shakeup last year behind the scenes, and so with Michelle Yeoh’s husband in charge of the show, the new season shows great promise. Rules are still silly, but now everyone is playing on the same page. The quality of the competition looks on paper to be as strong as it’s been in a while with the optimistic outlook saying there are 4 teams – McLaren, Ferrari, Red Bull, and Brawn, that could compete for the title this year, with perhaps 2-3 others – Force India, Renault, and Williams that could surprise. The big developments this year though have to be;
- Schumi returning
- Button joining McLaren as Hamilton’s teammate
- Alonso joining Ferrari
- The ban on refueling
These 4 reasons are why I decided that F1 was maybe worth watching this year. The cars still look like crap and all out of proportion, but hey, if the competition is good, the season should be a cracker.
The first F1 race weekend has started, and I haven’t been this excited in a while.
Can you believe that she’s one of the scrutineers?!? You go girl! She’s one of the officials that approved McLarens fancy new airflow system to the backwing which all the other terms whined about saying it was unfair – so I’m a big fan. Hopefully she sticks around for the rest of the season.
Well, at the end of the day, all the Merc powered cars are in front, but since it is the first practice of the year, no-one really knows who’s where in the field. Suffice to say, the three new teams – Lotus, HRT, and Virgin will be bringing up the rear. To make matters interesting, I’ll be watching with Norwegian commentary!!
All images are copyright Autosport.com/Sutton.
