Sepang F1 GP: Disappointing

For me, yesterday's race was such a yawn I had to struggle to keep awake after the first half hour.

I had hoped for some rain showers to spice things up. Didn't happen. I had expected Kimi to be more aggressive. Didn't happen. I had expected some wheel-to-wheel banging at the start line. Didn't happen. I had expected some awesome overtaking moves. Didn't happen. Well there was one but one swallow doesn't make a summer. It turned out to be just a uneventful procession of cars with a very predictable ending.

On top of that, the audio quality of the broadcast on Start Sports was absolute crap. The stupid sound engineers cranked up track noise and drowned out the voices of the commentators with the sound of screaming engines. After some annoying minutes trying to hear them above the din, I hit the mute button and watched the race minus the sound. And then I nodded off.

But the most painful part of the GP was seeing the track conditions itself. It was reportedly like hell on earth with track temperatures hitting 59 deg C. Ex driver Narain Karthikeyan described it as driving in an oven. Commentator Steve Slater mentioned searing heat a few times. All drivers who were asked to comment described it as the most punishing circuit of the entire F1 season. You could sense the weariness in everyone.

Now the FIA has always regarded team and spectator comfort as an important criteria in choosing where to host races. Seemingly mundane issues like traffic jams, public parking and lodging have weighed into the decision, putting old favourites like France's Magny Cours and UK's Silverstone on notice.

I have this niggling feeling that when Singapore gets into the calendar, it could spell the end of formual 1 in Sepang because lets face it. Sg's air temperature is 1-2 deg centigrade cooler than Sepang and track temperatures possibly 7-8 degrees lower. A city track has a greater wow factor and promises a higher advertising premium for FIA than a common flat circuit. The benefits of racing on tracks separated by a mere couple of hundred kms may not justify the cost if the demographics are almost identical. If that happens it would be a shame. Well that's just my speculation.

Ho hum. Bahrain GP next week had better be more exciting.