My Formula 1 Experience So Far, Part II (Post #200)

When last we left out intrepid explorer, he had discovered Formula 1 purely by accident after having ignored his fellow race fan for two years. Let's join the action, already in progress...

...and that's how Octoberfest started. So the Stewards screwed up the finish at Spa, but that didn't stop what was destined to be one of the greatest seasons of motor sports ever.


One week after Spa, the boys of F1 rolled into the legendary course at Monza, Ferrari's home track. I truthfully wasn't very impressed with Monza, but Robert later informed me that Monza is a track built for speed. Since this year's race was a torrential-rain-soaked affair, I hadn't seen the track at it's best. I guess we have to wait until next year. The interesting thing about Monza 2008 is the winner: Sebastian Vettel. Vettel, driving for Scuderia Toro Rosso, became the youngest driver ever to win an F1 race. He's driving for the "B" team now, but in 2009 he moves up to Team Red Bull (a move he might not be too happy about, considering that Toro Rosso pretty much cleaned Red Bull's clock this season), where he will team with the Aussie veteran Mark Webber.

Two weeks after Vettel's stunning wet-weather victory at Monza, the circuit rolled around to Singapore, and a first for Formula 1: night racing. Robert was actually in my neck of the woods for Singapore weekend, as we had the GRE that Friday. We awoke early enough to catch some of the practice, and I'd like to think we were both fairly impressed. The track was very nicely lit, almost to the point of daylight from the driver's perspective, and the novelty of actually driving under the grandstand caught me by surprise. Fernando Alonso won the race, but the big story was Felipe Massa, who was in a semblance of control up until a pit stop error. Ferrari, using the light system to tell their drivers that it was okay to leave the pit, fell victim to a malfunction. Massa gassed his Ferrari up before the team had finished fueling him. He ripped the fuel hose free of the harness and nearly killed half his pit crew. They went to work to fix the mistake and everyone got back on the track safely.

A fortnight later, I realized just how hooked I was on Formula 1. The Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix from Fuji came around. The race started at 12:30 am local time, just after midnight. I got home late from being out with friends, wasn't really tired, and thought, "Hey, I'll watch the first few laps. They're replaying it tomorrow on SPEED, why not at least check out the start?" Well, the race started just fine. Lewis Hamilton, driver of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, was on the pole, and he got off to a horrible start. To try and save face, he very nearly decapitated his teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, and he forced Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen wide in the first turn. Hamilton would later be assessed a drive-through penalty for his actions.

A mere three laps later, Hamilton found himself in a battle with Championship rival Felipe Massa. Going into one of the last turns before the start/finish line, Massa basically pulled what the cops call a PIT maneuver on Hamilton, spinning him out and forcing him to the back of the pack. (Sorry, fans, but the video isn't in English) Massa, like Hamilton was awarded a drive-through penalty by the Stewards. Again, it seemed that the Stewards were favoring Ferrari. Fernando Alonso went on to win his second straight race.

The penultimate race of the 2008 season, the Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix from Shanghai, witnessed a dominant performance from Lewis Hamilton, as he won the pole, and then went on to dominate the race, winning and extending his championship lead to seven points going in to the last race. History, though, seemed hellbent on repeating itself. Hamilton held a seven point lead over Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, and he lost the title by one point. Once again the McLaren driver found himself pitted against a Ferrari, battling for supremacy.

The final race on the 2008 Formula 1 calendar was scheduled for Sao Paulo, Brasil. The Grande Premio do Brasil would feature everything an F1 fan could hope to see. Felipe Massa trailed Hamilton by 7 points. He won the pole, and Hamilton found himself starting fourth, with Alonso behind him and Raikkonen beside him. Quite possibly the worst spot for Hamilton to be in.

As the race wore on, Hamilton held on to fifth place. It was all he needed. A fifth-place finish, regardless of Massa's outcome, would secure the title for the Brit. Then, the improbable happened. Thanks to a bit of help from Robert Kubica, Sebastian Vettel found a way around Lewis Hamilton. Then the rains came, and as Toto once said that God bless the rains down in Africa, I began to pray for God to bless the Rain in Brasil. Hamilton, a fantastic wet-weather driver, dove into the pits for his rain tyres. The rest of the field did so as well, except for two cars, Team Toyota, who had nothing to lose.

Hamilton, though, seemingly had nothing for Vettel. He pushed with everything his Mercedes had in it, but it seemed he would finish sixth, and with Massa having already crossed the finish line thirty seconds ahead, the Brazilian had done the impossible, and Hamilton had once again watched the title slip away.

Oh my God! It's Glock! Timo Glock, driver for Toyota, slid, losing control in the rain, his dry-weather tyres unable to handle the wet conditions. Vettel sped past, and then Hamilton jumped by him as well, propelling the Brit into fifth, and locking up the title for Lewis Hamilton.

In Massa's pit, raucous celebration came to an end as they learned Hamilton had gained fifth place. Massa took top spot on the podium, but Hamilton won the day... and the World Driver's Championship.

So, after nine races, I find myself completely hooked. Nay, jonesing for more. I'm a junkie, plain and simple. I've already circled the last weekend in March, when the boys and their cars blaze into Melbourne to start the 2009 campaign. I may even have a Vodafone McLaren t-shirt by then. Who knows?

Also, the Right Wing celebrates our bicentennial with this post. 200 times we've come here in the past year-and-a-half. Wow, where did the time go?