Alvin's Formula One Blog

Well, finally Petronas signs back into F1 after flirting with a possible move to Sauber to Lotus F1. I knew somehow Petronas wanted to stay in F1 and that the strongest candidate would have been Sauber but I did not expect this at all. Now all Mercedes will have to use Syntium instead of Mobil 1 and Petronas ads will use Mercs instead of BMW cars. Should be exciting times for Petronas staff as they'll have new merchandise to use. I can't wait to see the new livery and merchandise. The best piece of news is that Alex Yoong is speechless . Ha ha..what did he expect? That Petronas would just roll over and obey? Support a so called national team? Petronas is not stupid, they have been left in the dark before by these useless glamour hungry idiots and they won't repeat the same mistake. Yoong said on Twitter: "Petronas signs with Mercedes GP," he wrote. "Words fail me. Mercedes is a good team, no doubt, but what Lotus is doing is completely ground-breaking and br...

Well, it was bound to happen, just a matter of when the announcement would be made. And here it is: "..former Malaysian F1 driver Alex Yoong as Head of Driver Development (Asia).." "Yoong and Judge will co-host Lotus F1 Racing’s driver development programme with the aim of nurturing young drivers for future development in Malaysia, Asia and Europe." I wonder what kind of advice would Yoong be giving - how to spin more than 8 times in a single race perhaps. Or how to be snot nosed in public.

Re-published from Malaysian Insider SEPT 20 — Alex Yoong. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you see the name? If you’re anything like the average Malaysian, Yoong’s name will have become practically synonymous with an internationally broadcast debacle. Which is a bit of a shame, really. Although Yoong did not make a very strong case for himself in that, the pinnacle of motor racing, he’s actually quite a handy racer. His numerous wins in touring cars are testament enough to his skill and talent behind the wheel. Make no mistake, Yoong was good. Just not good enough for F1. I admit I was one of those baying for blood after I watched a struggling Yoong — running sixth in a Melbourne GP that looked more demolition derby than Formula One — meekly make way for seventh place Mika Salo, surrendering without a fight what would have been the sole championship point of his career. That was simply too much. From then on, Yoong’s Formula One career was one embarrassment a...

Re-published from The Sun I AM not going to be a wet blanket, in prematurely criticising the government’s plan to enter Formula One. The timing – in the midst of the global financial crisis – is probably questionable as this will cost us at least RM1 billion. The bulk of this money comes from national carmaker Proton, which in effect means the people are funding it. There is a theory that the Finance Ministry will approve more special draws to help fund this venture. However, in the long run, this may be one of our best investments; one of the best things Malaysia could have done in putting itself on the map. In terms of branding we are exposed 18 times a year – the number of races – to a global television audience of around 600 million. Let’s not forget the potential tie-ups, endorsements and sponsorship deals which are a usual spin-off of a massive agreement such as this. It also creates jobs and other opportunities through massive R&D invest...