Last week one interweb dweller suggested the necessary introduction of sprinklers to spice up the seemingly lacklustre proceedings in Formula One. Perhaps Mr Eccelstone has been listening, or as is more likely the way, foreseen this necessity several years ago by introducing Sepang, a track where it rains on cue and apparently not in uniform spread. Of course if you prescribe to Alonso “Chicken” FerNando’s way of thought, Formula One is clearly not about overtaking, fun nor excitement and is simply a good opportunity to observe one of Spain’s national heroes driving very, very fast and very, very accurately in his shiny red Ferrari and occasionally whinging about a lack of parity in his team. He’s obviously wrong, but it’s always nice to feel vindicated in such exceptionally stark circumstances.
Anyway, Bahrain could well have done with a bit of the ol’ Malay weather last month and indeed random atmospheric interruptions, or RAI for short, might make a welcome addition to many of the season’s less than exuberant venues. If anything, it would be nice to see the RAI abbreviation making an appearance again this year, its associated unpredictable performance has been sorely missed.
So, after that little ditty let’s get back to the qualifying. And what a qualifying it was! Sensational, certainly not Jensational, nor predictable, and by all accounts Red Bull fans should be celebrating with more jubilation than Cambridge this evening, but we won’t be, because it will All. Go. Wrong. Trust me. Brakes, yeahp, they’ll break. Being a fan of this team is simply at times… exhausting! With Webber on pole, at least there’s no one for him to drive off the track, yet similarly, and with possibly worse consequences, the Aussie will set pace off the start of the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix, with a Tsunami’s worth of spray kicked off the Bull’s tractor-esque tyres. It’s gonna be exciting, messy, unpredictable and possibly the only way in which Vettel will manage to usurp the dominance of the McLarens and Ferraris this side of Silverstone.
This morning’s qualifier was similarly entertaining, not least because of the BBC commentary team’s rather healthy prognosis that there was little to no point in Charlie Whiting’s interruption to the third session. In fact, rarely agreeing with Mr Jordan’s haphazard pronouncements, I did find myself nodding vigorously along with his outburst, whilst also shielding my ears at that tender hour. The track didn’t appear to have dried up one bit, by the time the session got back under way, but it was nice to see that Force India were learning very quickly just what it means to be competitive in Formula One. Today it may have been blocking off the pitlane exit from the cheeky advances of one Robert Kubica, but it’s a start and set them in good stead to boost Adrian Sutil, the most underrated driver in the paddock, into a comfortable fourth.
With Button, Hamilton, Alonso and Massa all starting the race from near the back of the grid, it will be exciting not only to see them battle up the rankings, but also entertaining to see the quality of wheel to wheel onslaughts that result from the inequality in midfield. Hey, you never know, we might see Hamilton racing Schumacher for position at some point!?
So set your alarm clocks, catch the rest of Badger’s excellent pre-race build up and we’ll see you back here for more stunning tales from the Grand Prix.
