Alvin's Formula One Blog

What a race. I thoroughly enjoyed it as there was the beautiful track at night, overtaking, spins, crashes, safety cars and best of all - FIArrari didn't get any points.  I really enjoyed watching Massa screwing up his race with the pitstop incident and penalty. And Kimi ramming his car into the barriers - priceless. And also, Flavio, what an asshole. Everybody knew that the 1st safety car was because of Piquet but he unashamedly said it was for Barichello. Stupid asshole. Alonso only won because of the SC which was brought by Piquet. Lewis drove an incredible race as always. Even though he didn't win, more importantly he finished in front of Massa, something he needs to do in the next 3 races. Go Lewis!

Wednesday 24th September 2008 F1 makes history in Singapore with its fifth Asian GP and its first ever night race. With predictions of a wet weekend it could be another show-stopper. To call the Singapore Grand Prix a leap in the dark is probably not true. Because according to the drivers who have walked the track under the newly installed lights, visibility under the system is pretty damned good. From a safety angle it's great news that F1's first ever night race won't be compromised by the quality of the lighting. But as we saw at Valencia, F1's other brand new circuit, organisers can iron out so many of the anomalies that we're left with a dull, charisma-less track. Valencia was a desperate anti-climax, Singapore is unlikely to be because of the sheer novelty, but it won't be Monaco at night. Now that would be a scary thought. With rain predicted for the GP weekend drivers will have to learn the track in what are likely to be less than ideal conditions. No-on...

Thursday 25th September 2008 Lewis Hamilton has refused to be drawn on calls for FIA rule changes following McLaren's failed appeal and insists he is focused solely on capturing his maiden title. The International Court of Appeal ruled McLaren's protest at the 25-second drive-through penalty handed to Hamilton at the recent Belgian GP as inadmissible. Consequently, Hamilton's lead at the top of Drivers' standings is just a single point over Ferrari's Felipe Massa going into this weekend's historic Singapore Grand Prix. Sir Jackie Stewart has demanded that the FIA employ permanent, professional stewards for each race in order to ensure consistency in their decision-making. However, when asked for his opinion on the three-time World Champion's comments, Hamilton stressed he has put the decision behind him in order to concentrate on picking up the points he needs in the remaining four races. "It's not for me to comment on it," said the 23-year-old...

This is gonna one exciting race. Not only is it another street circuit but it's nearby to Malaysia and it's at night. Too bad though that I won't be able to be there. I could've gone there, been in Singapore during the event and enjoyed the atmosphere. I'm sure it's gonna be an extremely exciting atmosphere even if I can't attend the race. But alas, my plans were thrown into disarray because some people couldn't get along because they were arguing over something so small - which shirt to wear and who can or cannot wear what. Incredible that some people can sacrifice so much for so little. I just don't understand. Anyway, it's gonna be a cracker of a race. For more info on the circuit and the event, go to the official site here . Lewis is looking forward to the new circuit, saying that it is a unique challenge . And Ron Dennis says that McLaren fears no circuit . I hope he's right and the team is prepared. It seems that most teams want to reta...

Hamilton to plead his case in person at the FIA Despite affecting his preparation for the next race, championship leader Lewis Hamilton will attend the appeal against his Belgian GP penalty later this month. The McLaren boss delivered the news at Monza , where the British driver's title lead to Felipe Massa on Sunday was cut to just a single point with four races to run. The appeal, to be held at the FIA International Court of Appeal in Paris on September 22, is a battle over six points after Spa-Francorchamps stewards stripped Hamilton of his victory for cutting a chicane and passing Kimi Raikkonen shortly afterwards. The stewards decided that Hamilton did not properly resume his position behind Raikkonen before attempting another overtaking maneuver. A 25-second penalty was added to his total running time after the Belgian race, dropping him to third place. The 23-year-old will appear as a primary witness, Dennis is quoted as confirming to the German news agency  SID . The hear...

Sunday 14th September 2008 Hamilton was in awesome form when he finally turned up, but it was Sebastian Vettel who got it right on Saturday and Sunday and proved that nice guys can finish first. STAR OF THE RACE Sebastian Vettel, Toro Rosso, 1st Ever since Mount Fuji last year, when he ran third in the wet, Sebastian Vettel has signalled that this kind of performance was within him. His trouble this year has mostly been poor getaways and poor opening laps. Given a rolling start, an empty track and a massive visibility advantage in the opening few laps he was able to get the start he wanted and never looked back. It was an exceptionally mature performance, not faultless, with a few skips across the chicanes, but pretty close. Had the McLaren driver behind him been the one with the yellow helmet, then it could have been a lot closer. Heikki Kovalainen looked like he was never going to trouble Vettel - and didn't. F1 is all the stronger for having another GP winner on the grid and you...

Monday 15th September 2008 Sebastian Vettel's victory heralds the birth of a new superstar... A New Superstar Is Born After last Sunday's sinister controversy and behind-closed-door machinations, victory for the infectiously-joyous Sebastian Vettel and the renamed Minardi team was the sweet tonic to Spa's harsh gin. In another mad, mad race, Vettel's performance was the solitary act of sanity. The start-to-finish manner of his victory is worth emphasising because, while F1 has witnessed plenty of unexpected victories before, few have occurred from pole position. Vettel didn't just display skill in Monza, he also demonstrated the temperament and composure of a champion. The next one may be a long time coming, but this will be just the first of many victories. A star is born with a very special talent. Toro Rosso Are Competitive To further underline the point that this was not a fluke victory for either driver or team, take a glance at the fastest laps charts for the ...

What a race ! This Italian GP has got to be one of the best races of the season (unless the stewards spoils it again afterwards) after Spa. And after the crap at Spa, the F1 world has got enough incentive to continue watching F1. And I can say, everybody nomatter what team or driver they support were happy that Vettel won as Vettel is a rising superstar and he is such a nice person. I am not so happy though because Lewis couldn't take Massa. I was hoping that he could at least beat Massa to increase his lead in the WDC. But his lead has been cut by 1 point, at least he's still leading. It does make the title battle hot up though and the next few races is crucial for him. Mistakes cannot be made from this point onwards. Lewis did make a mistake though as during his one and only stop, he didn't go for wet tyres, instead opting for extreme wets which proved disastrous. If he went for inter, he would at least have taken Massa if not finished on the podium. Oh well, here's h...

Well, it had to happen someday and that day was yesterday. Lewis did not make it into Q3 as usual. It was a combination of factors: He and engineer Phil Prew made the wrong tyre choice to start Q2 which was the wet tyres, not the extreme wets. When Lewis came back into the pits to change tyres, race control called him in to weigh his car. Hmm..suspicious? That wasted more time. He waited after everybody else had gone out in Q2 and set their times before going out. The more important point here is point 3. Why did he have to waste so much time in the pits while everybody else had the sense of urgency to go out and set a time before the rain got worse? I noticed that this season he has been so relaxed in this regard. Last year he was always the first to go out to set times. I know he has matured but it looks like over-confidence. In a way it's good because he has to learn the lesson sooner or later. With just a 2 point lead, you don't become so over-confident and relaxed like tha...

Well this qualifying has turned to be a complete reversal of the common order with Sebastien Vettel claiming his first ever pole and becoming the youngest ever pole sitter in F1 history . See the times here . The highest position big gun was Massa at P6. Kubica only managed P11 and Kimi and Lewis P14 and P15 respectively. I have no idea what happened to Lewis as he just couldn't manage to improve his time over a few laps. McLaren or Lewis did make a mistake starting Q3 with intermediates because right after that the rain got worse and Lewis had to pit for extreme wets. Somehow he just couldn't improve. It's unreal. Tomorrow's race is going to exciting to say the least. At least Lewis has another extra set of extreme wets unused. I hope he can produce some is magic as he has started at the back before and gone on to win. He has to as the the WDC is too close with 2 points separating him and Massa.

This is getting tiring, commenting about this issue. This will be my last comment on it, well at least until the appeal is done. Now suddenly after the GPDA asked the FIA"T" for clarification on the rules of chicane cutting, the FIA"T" have come out with a statement clearing the air . Funny, it was made by Charlie Whiting, the race director. The stupid thing is this rule is not written in the FIA"T" rule book, nobody can find it anywhere. We'll see how they implement this next time there's an incident. Somehow, I see the red cars benefiting again. And finally, the Lewis comment that has everybody stirred up. He said that Kimi did not have the balls to fight him or brake late at that corner. First and foremost, I have to agree. Kimi was invincible 90% of the race but when it started to rain and Lewis made his move, Kimi just crumbled. Why? Because he doesn;t have the balls to drive aggressively in the wet. We've all seen it, everybody now knows...

I just knew that the moment Max returns to the paddocks that he's gonna say something stupid and which doesn't help the FIArrari bias theory. He says it doesn't exist but his actions are louder than his words. Read what Pitpass has to say about it here . Oh and by the way, he says us fans who watch races with our own eyes and see stupidity by the stewards and FIA"T" are actually the stupid ones. Down with Max.

The race is this weekend, today is free practice and the rain is expected . Woohoo! It's gonna be another great race or maybe not, depends on what kind of stewards they'll have there. Keith of F1Fanatic has made his predictions of the outcome of the race and how it's gonna pan out here, so check it out. Personally, whether wet or dry I'm putting my money on Lewis to win as he needs to push his world championship effort. I do pray for rain though. Rain is good cos then it would hurt FIArrari a lot as Massa and Kimi are both not very good in the wet . We saw at Silverstone and Spa. In fact, Massa is already worried at the prospect of rain and was wishing it would not rain. In your dreams!

And here's the stewards showing us just how smart they are. Thursday 11th September 2008 Following their great success at re-arranging the result of the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, the race stewards are now turning their attention to other sporting events that have finished. Outraged sports writers from the world's news media have slammed them for having no experience in judging football or athletics or swimming, but now the stewards have hit back. They have rightly pointed out that they have just as much knowledge of floor gymnastics and athletics as they have of F1 Notices of Re-Classification Olympic 100 metres The Olympic 100 metres final has been reviewed by the stewards and Usain Bolt has had 25 seconds added to his time. The stewards verdict was that Bolt... "didn't run across the line properly and started celebrating way too early". Tour de France Carlos Sastre has hung on to his position as winner of the ...

The next race is coming up pretty fast, just the week after the last race. I feel this 2 weeks is kinda compact compared to the 3 week summer break. Although I should be happy that this month has 3 races in it, I'm a bit down after what happened at Spa. Yep, it's not over yet. The petition to return the results is going strong. For those of you supporting Lewis, please file your petition here . It's important because as Pat Symonds of Renault puts it, it has serious repercussions for the future. Who wants to go all out to race when the stewards are a bunch of amateurs who don't know much about racing. And last but not least, here's Alonso being the asshole that he is. Aww..how sour.

Here's a video with explanation on the Lewis-Kimi overtaking saga which shows that neither driver was really at fault and that the results should stand. This is racing, not a textbook exam.

This joke I got from John Harris at the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Facebook page. Damn good. Got a Ferrari? Not quite good enough at driving? Are other boys faster than you in the wet? Then you need: Ferrari International Assistance (FIA) This exclusive Ferrari only membership club has many benefits. Including: ● Anti overtaking assurance o Been overtaken? Feel a bit silly? Don’t worry, we’ll rule out the other party even if it’s embarrassingly obvious that they’re faster than you ● Exclusive access to a secret “second lane” in the pits o Just to make things a little bit easier we’ve arranged a private second lane just for you ● Guaranteed world championship? O Had a crash? Need to win the world championship? Don’t worry, just limp across the track and take off your nearest championship title contender – we’ll do the rest. ● A bit strapped? Need extra cash? o Simply get one of your team to tell someone else how you make your cars. ● Bits falling off your car? Looking a bit dangerous? O...