When it comes to Formula 1, I was once a blinkered Philistine. Whenever Robert would talk about it, my eyes would glaze over, and then roll back in my head, and, in his words, I would fake seizures to make him stop talking about. Now, though, I’ve started to solidify my spot as a Formula 1 fan(atic).
Last weekends race at Mt. Fuji was televised live in the United States at 12:30am Sunday morning. I got home late Saturday night, wasn’t really tired, and decided to stay up and watch the events unfold. As the race kicked off I had a sense of dread that Robert would later echo in a telephone conversation. Something bad was going to happen in turn one.
Lewis Hamilton, who is my favorite driver, had a terrible start, dropping from the pole to 4th in a matter of .003 seconds, but he pushed his McLaren Mercedes hard into turn one, nearly decapitating his teammate Heikki Kovalainen, and bunching up the field behind them all. Kimi Raikkonen, driver of the #1 car for Ferrari, pushed to the lead.
Robert Kubica, who drives for BMW Sauber, sits third in the Championship points and was well back in the pack watching this develop. He came through cleanly.
Sadly, David Coulthard, who drives for Team Red Bull, had to be thinking, “Hey, this is good, I might have a chance this race. The season’s sucked out loud so far, you might even say it’s been chock full o’ fail, but this looks good.” Then his right rear suspension broke and he slammed hard into the outside retaining wall. Williams driver Kaz Nakajima followed him into the grass, losing his front wing but continuing on.
It was less than two laps later that Felipe “Hit-Everything-In-Sight” Massa decided to take out Championship rival Lewis Hamilton. In what is supposedly the more gentlemanly auto sport, the Ferrari pit crew celebrated wildly as Massa spun Hamilton around and forced him to wait until the rest of the field passed before falling back into line.
Fernando Alonso went on to win his second straight Grand Prix, but the focus was on Massa and Hamilton and their shared antics. Oddly enough, as the conspiracy theorist like myself are starting to believe, Massa spun Hamilton and drew a drive-thought penalty for his actions. Early on the first lap Hamilton had supposedly forced Raikkonen wide in a turn, causing the Ferrari driver to lose about 2/100ths of a second, but for his actions Hamilton also drew a drive-through penalty.
The conspiracy theorists are starting to believe that Ferrari as the FIA and the Stewards in their back pocket.
But Hamilton leads the championship standings by about 5 points, meaning that if he wins at Shanghai and Massa finishes outside the points, Hamilton could clinch the title before going to Massa’s home track at Sao Paolo.
Football Future-see Week 8
(16) Kansas at (4) Oklahoma
This game looks good on paper, but paper doesn’t play football. Oklahoma is mad after a 45-35 loss to rival Texas. The Sooners dropped a mere three spots after the loss, showing that there really is nothing fair about college football. Kansas is rolling into Norman at a bad time. QB Sam Bradford looks to bounce back from the loss in new and exciting ways.
Final Score: Oklahoma 42, Kansas 21
(12) Ohio State at (20) Michigan State
Ohio State hasn’t looked like the same old Buckeyes since crashing and burning against USC. Michigan State is a team on the rise, though. RB Javon Ringer is one of the best in the nation and can carry the Spartans far. Ohio State will try to rally around a relatively young offense. We’re calling for the upset, though.
Final Score: Michigan State 27, Ohio State 24
(22) Vanderbilt at (10) Georgia
Georgia just knocked off Tennessee last week while Vandy traveled to Mississippi State and lost, just as we predicted they would. Looking ahead, this game is Georgia’s to lose. The injury bug is doing its best to pick apart the Bulldogs. QB Matthew Stafford remains healthy, as does RB tandem Knowshon Moreno and Caleb King. Freshman WR A. J. Green has been spectacular in his “rookie” season. Close for a while, but Georgia pulls away at the end.
Final Score: Georgia 34, Vanderbilt 20
(11) Missouri at (1) Texas
Missouri is still smarting from a tough loss to Oklahoma State. The Tigers can rally around Chase Daniel, as the Heisman candidate QB is a miracle worker on the field. Texas may be carrying too much emotion into this game. It could be an upset, if it was played at Missouri, but since it is in Texas, we’re giving the benefit of the doubt to the Longhorns.
Final Score: Texas 27, Missouri 24
(7) Texas Tech at Texas A&M
Texas Tech is still one of the most potent offenses in all of college football. They’re averaging around 965 points a game, and QB Graham Harrell, also a Heisman contender, is throwing for about 6500 yards and 34 touchdowns a game. All joking aside, the Red Raiders offense is brilliant. Texas A&M would like to upset a top ten team, but this isn’t their year.
Final Score: Texas Tech 63, Texas A&M 13
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