Poor "Ice man" Kimi Raikonnen. Last year's championship eluded him because his Mclaren car had reliability problems big time, so much so that it became predictable. Whenever he's this close to clinching a race, you'll know there's bound to be a suspension problem here, a tire problem there to force him into early retirement. You could even set up a betting counter to accept bets on what part of his car will go bust this time and you'd make money. The gods weren't smiling on him.
He must have heaved a sigh of relief to join Ferrari whose cars' resilience is legendary. Never a breakdown in years. But alas it was not to be. Kimi was forced out of the race yesterday due to an electrical failure that killed the engine as his teammate Massa roared on to win the race. I don't recall Ferrari ever having a problem like it. Did the unsmiling gods pack up and move over to Ferrari with him? I'm beginning to think so.
Man, what does Kimi need to do to win a race. He's got the grit. He's got the experience. And he's fast. But his luck is like crap.
On to other news. I'm elated that Singapore's officially on the 2008 F1 calendar, the year when Sepang's contract with FIA expires I believe. There's talk about night races in the street circuit, an idea promoted by Sepang at one time. And even more interesting is the fact that the private party behind Singapore GP Pte Ltd that'll tie up with the FIA, tycoon Ong Beng Seng, is Malaysian born. Very interesting.
So will F1 continue in Sepang after 2008? I hope so but I have some doubts. Only time will tell.
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4 comments:
I think the Malaysian GP will continue until after 2008. Can hardly wait for the Singapore GP! It's gonna be kickass! :-)
Oh yeah, a Monaco-style circuit in Asia would be fanntastic!
What has the Sg GP confirmation got to do with the expiry of the Sepang F1 track contract with FIA? Sepang has extended it's contract another 5 years... with an option for night race in 2008.
Singapore's first F1 race promises to be an exciting night race. And there are cheers from every corner of the city-state. Everywhere I turn, everyone's excited about the news...
Hold on... I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but there's no point to zoom into conclusion that it is a success from a sporting standpoint because safety remains an issue with night racing. I don't want to see my favorite driver lose his life just for a night spectacle.
It's difficult enough to keep up with the 22 drivers on a racing track in mid day... let alone with floodlights? Two-time world champion, Fernando Alonso, didn't believe floodlights will ever be enough to make night racing safe, so why isn't anybody listening? Must we have another Ayrton Senna-style death before we put safety back into the priority instead of looking for a novel way to make money?
Get excited with the prospect of the first Singapore GP, but I mourn the arrival of night racing, as an F1 purist and enthusiast.
read-my.blogspot.com/Singapore F1 GP (Yippie?).
Hi Kenny, I must have missed the news about FIA's contract renewal with Sepang. I stand corrected. Anyway Sg's request for a night race is not a sure thing yet. I'm sure the F1 drivers asscoiation will have a say in it and so will team owners.
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