The third round of the Formula 1 season takes place this weekend, as the boys with the fast cars take to Shanghai for the second time in less than half a calendar year, and the second time in the span of 5 races. This track hosted the penultimate race of 2008, and now hosts the third race of 2009.
Sebastian Vettel scored the first ever pole for Red Bull racing, and Fernando Alonso finally found some speed in the zamboni they call the R-29. A Red Bull - Renault front row marks the first time this season that Jenson Button and Brawn have failed to be on pole. And now that the Diffusers have been declared legal, look out for a more level playing field... in about six weeks or so. Ferrari still has to sort out what they're doing wrong, Force India would just like to get some points instead of just reliving the glory days of Spyker F1.
McLaren is praying that the FIA suddenly inherits some common sense. At the start of the season it appeared as though there would only be an 18 car grid, which no one wanted. Now, though, it seems like the FIA is clamoring to have that same 18 car grid. Did McLaren lie? Yes. Have they been penalized? Let's see, you took away all the points they scored at Australia, the race in which they lied... so, yeah, I'd say they have. Anything more is just beating someone while they're down.
Speaking of McLaren, Ron Dennis stepped down from his position with the company. No one was surprised.
BMW Sauber is still trying to figure out what has happened to Robert Kubica. His run-in with Vettel at Melbourne seems to have created a snowball of bad luck for the Polish driver. His car broke down and subsequently caught fire at Sepang. And this morning in Shanghai he failed to get out of Q1, landing him P18 to start. I was hoping that the team would get it together, because I like Kubica. And as for that run-in with Vettel, that was what we call a racing incident, no one should've been fined for it, but Vettel took the fall.
Now, on to Shanghai. This track looks like it came straight from mid-Cold War Soviet Russia. Just watch the video and you'll see what I mean. The imposing columns along the outside of the main-straight grandstands look like abandoned-then-converted missile silos. The trademark hairpin turn at the end of the incredibly long back straight is relatively common in F1. All in all, fun track.
Last year Lewis Hamilton drove one of the more dominant races of the season here, winning the pole and never looking back, the Brit won his fifth Grand Prix of 2008. The cars are radically different, so expect a much different outcome this season.
Our Predicted Podium:
1. Fernando Alonso - ING Renault
2. Jenson Button - Brawn GP
3. Sebastian Vettel - RedBull Racing
No comments:
Post a Comment