Button On Pole For Brawn GP

On St Patrick`s Day I blogged about the success of the Formula 1 team Brawn GP. I am glad to see that Jenson Button and Ruben Barrichello have done their parts by sticking the Brawn cars on the front row of the grid in Australia. What is more surprising is that Richard Branson has now come in as their main sponsor, just weeks after declining to enter the sport because of the excessive costs and the lack of clean fuels. I am also glad to see that the BBC coverage has kept Fleetwood Mac`s The Chain as its theme tune. With the tightness of the grid it looks like it`s going to be a very exciting season.

Now Is The Time To Set Yourself Up

With the economic downturn Honda announced in early December that it was quitting Formula 1 which left the team unsure as to who would own it, if anyone, for the 2009 season. With various potential buyers dropping out of the frame it was looking like Honda was more than likely to not appear on the grid at all.

It took Ross Brawn to step in to save the team and now he’s reaping the benefits. Brawn, an englishman was the ex-team principal for Honda and the former technical director who was instrumental in building Ferrari into the superforce that aided Michael Schumacher into becoming the most successful racing driver of all time.

So why then after only making it onto the grid at the 11th hour are the Brawn GP drivers of Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello appearing at the top of the timesheets? I reckon that the main reason is because they gave up work on the 2008 car early in the season when they could see that they would have had no hope in making a dent in the championship and focussed all their energies on the 2009 car. Given that there are a whole raft of changes coming into F1 from slick tyres to smaller rear wings to the largely untested KERS braking system any team who spent more time focussing on the new car would reap the benefits.

After some speculation as to whether or not Brawn GP cars were running light with fuel in order to obtain some much needed sponsorship main racers are now saying that they are in fact the real deal. With all the changes (and Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren languishing at the bottom of the timesheets) you can bet we are in for a great season. And Honda are missing out on a big slice.

This is all a great metaphor for the current economic climate and the fact that no matter how bleak it all looks there are great opportunities. You just have to make them yourself.

Lewis Hamilton To Drive A Storm From The Sidelines In 2009

Rumour has it that F1 World Champion is considering racing from the sidelines this year so her can wear his medal the Queen gave him without too much hassle. By inserting a bluetooth chip in his card he can use the new Blackberry Storm to control his vehicle whilst his Pussycat Doll girlfriend can dance and sing in front of him. Jenson Button is said to think it is a good idea and is looking for his own Pussycat Doll to help him out but apparently there are none left. A new order has been put in and the new releases should be available for the 2010 season.

Lewis Hamilton Wins The 2008 World Championship!

What a dramatic race in Sao Paolo, Brazil! There will be a film made about this season. And the 2007 one. And a prequel. Also the conspiracies will start – did Toyota slow down to take the limelight away from Ferrari? My verdict? A great season with the better driver and the better team won. Congratulations Lewis!

FIA vs. Formula 1!

Another year and another contentious decision in Formula 1 to the detriment of McLaren Mercedes and to the benefit of Ferrari. It seems nowadays that every time Ferrari can benefit from an inquiry the decision is made to their benefit. Last year the sport was a laughing stock and today the FIA have made a mockery of the entire Formula 1 season. Shame on them.

Just to recap. Lewis Hamilton was chasing down Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari and was catching him in the closing laps of the Belgian Grand Prix when the rain started soming down. Lewis, who won a fantastic rainy race in the British Grand Prix has already proved himself as the new rain master now that Schumacher has retired. Lewis was catching Kimi and it was obvious that Lewis had the better confidence under braking in the corner before he made the move that mattered. On that move Kimi squeezed Lewis out and Lewis had to cut the chicane. Lewis then yielded so that Kimi had the lead when they crossed the start/finish line. But then Lewis attacked Kimi in the following corner with the same confidence as we are now accustomed to. Lewis nailed it and the move stuck. Kimi eventually crashed out and Lewis won the race… until the stewards launched an inquiry and judged Lewis to have ”cut the chicane and gained an advantage”, thereby breaching Article 30.3(a) of the sporting regulations and Appendix L chapter 4 Article 2 (g) of the International Sporting Code.

30.3 a) During practice and the race, drivers may use only the track and must at all times observe the provisions of the Code relating to driving behaviour on circuits

2g) The race track alone shall be used by the drivers during the race.

Lewis was handed a 25 second penalty and he was demoted from 1st to 3rd meaning that his lead has been slashed from 8 to 2 points. Last year where he lost out by one point then these 6 points are all the more vital.

So today Lewis and McLaren are the losers again but more importantly the fans are losing out. And would you believe it if I told you that I am writing as a Ferrari fan? What a sad day.

Happy Easter!

Lent is over so we can all eat chocolate like a right old bunch of sinners.  Going from 5 cups of coffee down to none my kidneys started to hurt so I went back onto one cup a day. Now I am just on the tea. I went back on the chocolate soon after the beginning of Lent as it`s just too damn nice. TV I managed to stay off for the whole of Lent except for the last week when I went on a family holiday.  It doesn`t help that my cousin is Orla Chennaoui, a reporter for Sky News. Still, today I will return to London and I think I will stay off TV except for the Formula 1 races. Looks like Ferrari will take this tournament away with themselves though with the pace Raikkonen showed in Malaysia this morning.