Spa Treatment

I'm the first to admit that when a 20 year old girl talks about going to 'Spa' in the summer, most people assume that they'll return with manicured nails and a whole host of skincare products. My own Spa experience was quite different, and, honestly, far more exciting.

Every year, F1 has a month long hiatus with an enforced two week shutdown. While this is great for those working within the sport, a time for rest, relaxation and seeing family members rather than travelling across the world, for F1 fans the break often leaves a void. Once the season starts back up again, we're often celebrating the sport's return. What better way to celebrate the restart of the season than by going to the first race back?

Back in March, Dad and I ordered the tickets to go to the first race back - Spa. This circuit is one of the most legendary on the calendar, and features perhaps the most well-known corner of any race track: Eau Rouge. Thus, selecting Spa was an easy choice.

After such a long wait, August finally arrived. In the run up to leaving, we were however beset with problems. Numerous health-scares in early August were followed by the discovery that the Range Rover had a serious problem which could not be fixed in time for us to leave. Despite all these problems, we managed to get everything together (thanks to a hire-car company and an understanding GP) and on Wednesday we set off for Belgium.

The journey itself was fairly uneventful. The weather was good as we were heading over the Channel on the ferry, although I did feel like Jack Sparrow once or twice while walking around the shop on board. The car we had hired was pretty boring, although the bonus was we didn't have to worry whether it would overheat or stop working while stuck in traffic near Brussels. When we neared the circuit, there were signs to the green campsite along most of the way. However, once we actually got very close, the signs suddenly stopped, and we were left driving around the forest for quite some time before getting in to the campsite near Les Combes. Luckily, we managed to set up the tent before the daylight ran out, and we spent the evening watching a lightning storm way off in the distance.

Thursday: Stavelot and the Pit Walk

For those of you who haven't been lucky enough to go to an F1 race in person, on Thursday afternoons the tracks usually hold a pit walk. Spa was no exception, and so we planned to get to the pit lane nice and early to get ahead in the queue. As the pit walk wasn't until 4, that left us plenty of time to explore the local area. Before we left for Belgium I'd read about a nearby town called Stavelot. Stavelot Abbey was at the centre, and in the basement was a museum dedicated to the circuit of Spa-Francorchamps. 

We told the people who were camped near to us about the Abbey and museum, and so when we arrived at the town we saw quite a few F1 fans who'd had the same idea as us. Stavelot itself is a gorgeous place, with a market being held and lots of picturesque buildings around. The museum and abbey are also pretty cool, and it was great to learn more about the history of the circuit and what sorts of events were held there. 

Photo Album - Stavelot

Once we'd finished having a look around we headed back to the campsite, ate lunch and started the long walk to the pit lane. We were camping up near the top of the circuit, and of course the pit lane was at the opposite end of the track. Normally, this wouldn't be much of an issue, but on Thursday the gate to the circuit nearest to us was closed, so we had to walk miles to the only open entrance. 

It took us two hours to walk to the pit lane, and once we were there we were pretty tired. We managed to buy something to drink in the shop nearby to the entrance, and then began queueing. When we were in the queue, we were chatting to an Australian couple. They said that they lived practically on the Albert Park circuit, and went to the grand prix there every year and this year decided to venture to Europe for the Belgian and Italian races. This is one of the great things about going to races in person: you get to chat to fans from all over the world, and everyone tends to be incredibly friendly. It makes you realise how one common interest such as F1 can unite people, regardless of their backgrounds. 

Eventually after two hours of queueing, we were allowed into the pit lane. We had to walk through part of the circuit, and so had ample opportunity to take photographs. The pit lane wasn't too crowded initially, however as we headed towards the bigger teams the crowds grew bigger. We managed to see all the usual sites, including pit lane practices, and even a driver or two! Once we'd headed through the crowds, we wandered out of the pit lane and onto the starting grid, where of course I posed for a photograph on pole position. Overall I think we stayed in the pit lane for another two hours, and then headed back to the campsite on our long walk. On the way back we were walking by the side of the road, when a car passed us. Who was in that car? Felipe Massa. That's the beauty of being at a race track!

Photos - Thursday Pit Walk

Friday - Practice Sessions and The Rain

practice sessions from GP3, F1, GP2 and the Porsche Supercup, and so I thought that I'd have plenty of opportunity for photographs. However, not far into the morning the heavens decided to open, and from that point it did not stop raining until well into the evening. Safe to say, we were soaked, even with the umbrella and raincoat! 

However, being the hardy F1 fans that we are, we stayed out for most of the day and watched F1 cars at Eau Rouge, something that every F1 fan needs to do at least once. We wandered around most of the circuit on Friday, before calling it a day just after the GP2 qualifying. 

When we headed back to the campsite, disaster had struck. The tent that had survived the Nurburgring weather wasn't a match for the Spa rain, and was flooded. Dad had to bail water out of his side of the tent, and so we took the decision to sleep in the car. While this was a hell of a lot warmer and drier than the tent, sadly it wasn't much more soundproof and was infinitely less comfortable, so I didn't managed to get much sleep that night. Still, the F1 was what I was there for, and I could catch up on sleep upon my return home!

Photos - Friday Practice

Saturday - Qualifying and Spa Sunshine

After sleeping in the car we woke up early on Saturday morning to see blue sky and sunlight - a stark contrast to the rain of Friday. In the morning we had the GP3 qualifying and F1 practice, and it was great to finally see the F1 cars getting up to speed instead of holding off in the rain.

I have said this before, and I will continue to do so (at least until the 2014 engine reg change), but the sound of F1 cars is perhaps the best part of watching the sport in person. While you get an impression of the sound on the television, nothing compares to how they sound in the flesh. This year you heard a bit of a difference due to the change in the regulations about off-throttle blown diffusers, but once again the cars sounded fantastic - although we did opt for buying ear defenders after a while!

Once the F1 practice was over, we wandered towards Eau Rouge in time for the qualifying. In between we had the Porsche Supercup qualifying, which we watched near Pouhon. The walk around Spa is really, really long, and if anyone is planning their 2013 trip you need to be ready to walk. The bonus of this though is that we get to see things that aren't spotted on the television - namely, the trucks and transporters. It was here that we got a reminder of how much money is in F1: 14 FIA trucks, each with personalised numberplates.

Photos - Trucks

After posing next to some trucks, we continued our walk towards Eau Rouge and qualifying began. While we'd seen F1 cars in practice 1 coming up the hill at Eau Rouge, we hadn't seen them at full throttle. Watching them at speed during quali was pretty special, although you cannot imagine how disappointed I was that Sebastian didn't make Q3. Also, being the one of few Vettel fans in amongst a lot of Jenson fans was pretty funny, although F1 fans are generally a good-natured bunch (as evidenced by the Italian guys who offered to take a photo of Dad and I in front of Eau Rouge) and friendly banter is expected. Ultimately, Button took pole position and the race was set for Sunday.

Once quali was over, we walked up towards the pit lane and the Bus Stop chicane to watch the GP2 race. GP2 is a new discovery for me this year, and often the races are as exciting - if not more - as F1 races. The race got off to a good start, although Nigel Melker had quite a nasty accident requiring him to be airlifted to hospital. Thankfully, he was unhurt and the race continued after a lengthy delay, making it the longest GP2 race in history. Following this race was the GP3, which turned out to be one of the shortest due to another horrible accident. Luckily, the driver, Robert Cregan, was also unhurt - a testament to the safety of the sport. After the race was over we headed back to the campsite and our now dry tent to get ready for an early start on Sunday.

Photos - Qualifying

Sunday - Race Day and The Chain

 

We got up early on Sunday to claim a spot within the circuit. We grabbed a croissant from the stall on the campsite and headed towards Rivage to watch the final support races (GP2, GP3 and Porsche Supercup) and the drivers' parade. Again, all of those were a sight to see, and during the lunch break we grabbed the Belgian speciality of frites and mayonnaise and stood near the top of the circuit, where we got a view of the start of the race.

Watching the start of a race is usually a treat reserved for those who pay mega-money for tickets during an F1 weekend. However, due to the elevation of the Spa circuit we were able to see the grid (with the aid of binoculars of course) and the first movements of the cars.

The crowds were thick and fast where we were stood, and so we decided to get closer to the track and stood near Les Combes, where the crowd was thinner. Here, I was the only Vettel fan in amongst a lot of McLaren fans - something which much have looked amusing as I cheered at different times from the rest of the crowd. Vettel made up for his poor qualifying position by an absolutely amazing drive, landing him second - I finally got to see him on the podium! It was an amazing race, and it's slightly surreal watching the TV coverage on a big screen with the cars passing by right in front of you.

After the race was over, with a great win from Button, we managed to get on to the circuit. We crawled under the fence near Rivage, and wandered down the track towards Eau Rouge. Another thing you don't quite see on the television is how much of a hill Eau Rouge actually is - it was tiring walking up and down so much! On the circuit were a lot of Kimi Raikkonen fans - who apparently felt the need to stand naked at Radillon. Now, I'm a Vettel fan, but I'm not sure I'm dedicated enough to remove my clothes on the middle of a race circuit. Still, in F1, anything goes!

We also had the chance to chat to a GP3 driver while we were wandering around, and it's great to chat to potential F1 starts of the future. The whole atmosphere at the race was just fantastic. It's probably true that F1 fans are the best in the world.

Photos - Sunday

So, once again F1 gave me a great holiday. Honestly, if you get the chance to watch a race in person, go. The sound, atmosphere and spectacle can't be compared to anything else. Now all that's left is to plan next year's trip!

Predict Unpredictability

This morning I saw an article on the Sky Sports website in which Jenson Button claimed this year's unpredictability in the 2012 F1 season is bad for the sport, and will ultimately drive fans away. This was somewhat of a surprise to me, as personally this unpredictability is making the sport more - not less - exciting for most of us fans out here.

The 2012 F1 season has thus far seen 6 different winners in the six races. Jenson Button claimed the first win in Australia back in March, followed by Fernando Alonso in Malaysia, Nico Rosberg in China, Sebastian Vettel in Bahrain, Pastor Maldonado in Spain and Mark Webber in Monaco this weekend. This is the first time that we've seen such an opening to the season in F1 history - and yet Jenson believes this is a bad thing?

Admittedly, Jenson did have a point in saying that we couldn't see who had the best car this year. But, I disagree that this is bad for the sport. In having such variability, we might get a chance at seeing whose driving skill is better at any particular race. Maldonado's win in Spain highlighted that even if you don't have a dominant car, you can still win a race. Whether this is also down to the variability of the tracks suiting different cars is another point, but all of these factors together mean that the races are not a foregone conclusion.

If we think back to 2011, when Sebastian was so dominant, I recall seeing much more complaining that Red Bull were destroying the unknown element to the championship. We all knew that Red Bull and Sebastian would win the championship. This year, there are six drivers within one race win of each other, with Button one win and a 7th place just behind. So, when you have seven drivers in contention for the world championship, surely this is better than having a one-horse race. Admittedly, I loved the 2011 season - I am somewhat biased as Vettel is my favourite driver. Plus, the racing last year arguably made up for the fact that we often knew who was going to win before the race even started. So, having the racing of 2011 plus the unpredictability would surely bring more fans to the sport, rather than driving them away?

Further in the Sky article, Martin Whitmarsh also disagreed with Button and spoke of opinion a few years ago when the racing was seen as processional. Indeed, when Schumacher was so dominant, winning seven world titles, many fans were put off, as it was clear who would win without even watching.

So, while it may be annoying for drivers to not know where they stand race by race, and while it's also annoying for statisticians and betting companies, who would like at least a partial element of predictability; unpredictability is not a bad thing for the fans. I say let the championship continue as it is, and bring the question of who wins the titles down to the very last race. How can anyone fail to be hooked on this year? If you want to know who's going to win, you have to watch the races! Thus, we should expect the unexpected, predict the unpredictable and let the races play out as they will. Who knows what we'll see in the rest of the season?

And we're back!

It's 8 in the morning, and I've been awake for 3 and a half hours already. The weekend's race in Australia has just ended and marked the start of the season. I have to say, it was worth sacrificing the weekend's sleep!

On Saturday, the qualifying session presented us with the first opportunity in which to see what teams had the edge. People who aren't so experienced in F1 might wonder why we had to wait until qualifying to see who was fastest what with the weekend's three practice sessions and the preseason testing. Well, testing is notoriously unreliable for predicting who will be the fastest, and so there is very little that anyone can glean from these sessions. In practice sessions, it's often unclear as to who is sandbagging and hiding their pace. So, it's on the qualifying sessions that we can see who is genuinely fast.

After Red Bull's dominance of 2011, a lot of people were wondering whether they could do it again. As the three quali sessions progressed, it looked increasingly like this wasn't the case. Q3 sadly confirmed that the massive gap of Red Bull had diminished over the break, and we didn't see Sebastian's perfect lap. Instead, the McLarens appeared to have the edge over the rest of the field, with Hamilton getting pole and Button second, locking out the front row for the first time in a few seasons. You might expect Red Bull to be just behind this, however you'd be surprised. Romain Grosjean instead took the third spot in the Lotus. So, where were Red Bull? Fourth? Nope. That spot went to none other than Michael Schumacher, suggesting that the experienced racer might be returning to his old form. Of course, it's early in the season so this is a question which may remain unanswered. Finally, in fifth and sixth positions we found the Red Bulls, with Webber out qualifying Vettel. Rosberg followed the two Red Bulls, himself followed by the Williams of Pastor Maldonado, again suggesting that this team might be having a much better season than in 2011. The Force India of Nico Hulkenberg and the Toro Rosso of Daniel Ricciardo made up the last of those in Q3, and I think this year the mid-field battles will be much close than last year. You might have noticed that I haven't mentioned the Ferrari drivers. Well, qualifying for the red cars was a bit of a let down, with Alonso beaching himself in the gravel in Q2, and Massa just not getting up to speed in the session. They eventually qualified 12th and 16th. The final surprise of the first 2012 quali session was Raikkonen's inability to get out of Q3, qualifying 18th.

So, with a fairly jumbled grid set up all we had to do was get up at 6am to watch how the race would unfold. The McLaren of Jenson Button made a fantastic start, overtaking Lewis to take 1st. To my delight, Vettel also had a brilliant start, getting behind Schumacher and Nico Rosberg after another good start for the Mercedes. Alonso also appeared to come from nowhere and managed to get himself in the top 10. The race unfolded fairly eventfully, with a lot of overtaking (not least from Vettel, prompting me to ask whether we can leave behind the argument that Seb can't race - I think he's proven himself as a racer for quite some time now) and one safety car after the Caterham of Petrov pulled over on the pit straight. While the safety car was out, Seb pitted the Red Bull (named Abbey this year, following on from Luscious Liz, Kinky Kylie, Kate's Dirty Sister and Kate) and managed to leapfrog Hamilton's McLaren. From there on, there was a lot of close racing between second, third and fourth places, however eventually this resolved into a train of Vettel, Hamilton and Webber (Webber's best finish in his home race). Jenson Button ultimately won the first race of the season.

Further back in the field, there were a lot of surprises and disappointments. Schumacher's car broke down, so sadly we didn't get to see whether he had returned to his old ways. After Maldonado's close racing with the double world champion Alonso, he dipped a wheel on the grass and crashed into a barrier on the last few laps of the race. Despite Grosjean's amazing qualifying position, the race wasn't quite as favourable after he ended up in the gravel having almost lost a wheel. Raikkonen's fate, however, was much better. Even though he had an abysmal qualifying session, he eventually ended up in 7th place, securing six championship points on his return. Honestly, I think that Lotus will be a team to watch this season, providing their races go without incident and they have decent qualifying sessions. Again, it's early in the season so watch this space!

Overall, it looks as though the season will be a close fight between McLaren and Red Bull, with Ferrari having some catching up to do like last season. Sauber also appeared to be moving up the mid-field, with (the remarkably entertaining) Kobayashi ending up just behind Alonso in 6th place, and Perez finishing 8th. Williams appear to be having a better season than last year, however some bad luck during the race meant that they couldn't reap the rewards this time round.

2012 then looks like a good one. With 19 races left to go, the championship is far from decided and anything can yet happen. I can definitely say that the sleep deprivation was worth it, but if you weren't as keen on getting up a stupid o'clock then go watch

I Love F1. I'd Love To Drive. But I Don't Envy The Drivers...

If you're a regular reader of this blog you'll be aware of my obsession with motorsport and F1 in particular. I really love watching the spectacle of motorsport, and I honestly feel that motorsport and racing is so unique that you don't get the same experience with any other sport. I also enjoy competing in motorsport through off-road trials in Land Rovers. I've done a few rally experiences over the years too, and found that I quite enjoy driving fast, and I love getting a car to go exactly where I put it, whether through slow maneuvering in the trials or the fast-paced actions in rally driving (I turned 18 exactly while executing a handbrake turn in a Subaru rally car). In short, I'd love to drive competitively for a career. However, I don't envy professional racing drivers.

This seems quite an odd thing really - kind of paradoxical. I'd love to drive professionally, however I wouldn't want to be in the same position as a professional driver. This isn't because of the pressure that drivers come under - I thrive under pressure. It's not because of the danger - I can be quite an adrenaline junkie. No, it's because of the sponsors.

Tonight I was watching the television when the ever annoying ad break came on. Alongside the usual 'Cash-for-Gold', 'Have you been injured?' and Hovis ads was an ad for Santander, the bank which sponsors McLaren. Two Santander ads came on, in fact. In the first, McLaren's own Lewis Hamilton was pictured standing on a podium - all three slots on the podium were occupied by Lewis to be accurate (the stewards would have a field day!). The second Santander ad (which admittedly, I quite enjoyed) featured Lewis and Jenson Button building a massive lego F1 car. Once the Santander ads had finished, an ad for the new Fiat 500 came on, this one featuring Fernando Alonso (although not, I noticed, Fernando's voice). Finally, an advert for Head and Shoulders shampoo aired, featuring Jenson Button and the worst acting I've ever seen. This final ad pushed me over the edge.

I understand that F1 is big business, with sponsors galore and lots of people involved in the apparent corporate machine. Yes, drivers need to be sponsored to even get into F1. Sponsorship is part and parcel of racing. However, do drivers really need to feature in adverts like those listed above? Head and Shoulders, Jenson? Really? Drivers should be just that; drivers. While the sponsors obviously need the reciprocity (we give you money, you give us advertising) can't they leave the drivers to get on with their sport? This is one of the reasons why I don't envy the drivers. F1 in particular is getting more like big business and moving away from being a pure sport. (Ok, other sportsmen are involved in advertising, I realise this, however I have to point out this feature in racing too).

A second reason why I don't envy racing drivers was highlighted when I went to the Nurburgring. During my trip to the Nurburgring I attended a pit walk and an autograph session. I also watched the drivers' parade before the race. Now, I had a choice whether to attend these events. I sense the drivers are more limited in their free will. Fair enough, I'm guessing the drivers understand that they have to meet fans, but would I want to walk out to hoards of people screaming my name and hounding me for a signature every single working weekend? I'm not so sure.

A third reason became apparent today on Twitter. The usual suspects were in attendance at Monza, and so for people who are slightly addicted to Twitter we got an interesting insight into a Thursday on a race weekend. Loads of Twitter/F1 people were posting pictures of the media sessions on a Thursday, and it made me realise how many interviews, press conferences and general publicity sessions that the drivers have to go to. F1 is a team sport, however you rarely see the mechanics giving interviews - the drivers are the ones who face the questions. Would I enjoy my every move being questioned a hundred times over by different journalists? I doubt it.

So, on a race weekend a driver has to answer a never ending barrage of questions and meet their adoring (and at times, crazy) public. When not racing, they have to please the sponsors and become the face of a brand - be that Fiat, Santander or, indeed, Head and Shoulders. However, that's not all.

Last weekend I took an unexpected trip to Cardiff to watch the Red Bull Speed Jam for which I won tickets. In attendance were Mark Webber and Daniel Ricciardo. It was their weekend off, however they were still being made to get back to the day job and entertain us. Don't get me wrong, I loved it. However, it does seem a bit much for the drivers to have to drive around and show off when they're not actually racing. You wonder how much choice a driver has in this matter. No doubt they enjoy the actual driving - if they didn't then they wouldn't be in that career - but do they enjoy having to go to these events? If someone went up to Mark Webber and said 'you have to drive this car round this place at this time and go and sign a hundred-odd autographs', would he be that willing? I doubt I would be, and that's another reason why I wouldn't envy the drivers.

The Summer's Over. The Battle Has Resumed. Oh Yes!

Did we all have a lovely summer break? Yes? Wonderful! Or were you like me, and desperate for the F1 to come back off of its holidays? Yes? Excellent! Either way, you have to say it's good to be back, and it feels good to dust off the old blog.

So this weekend just gone saw the Spa Grand Prix - one of the most iconic races on the calendar. There was the usual talk around the paddock over the weekend, and there were questions about Red Bull's performance after their lack of wins at the previous races. Would McLaren and Ferrari overtake them? Has Sebastian Vettel finally cracked? Will Mark Webber say 'to hell with this' and leave at the end of the season? Well, no. None of these things happened and Belgium just proved what a strong team Red Bull are.

The Friday practice sessions were very wet, and we didn't see a whole lot of action there. What was lovely to see was the return of Bruno Senna to F1. He took over from Nick Heidfeld, and is set to race once again in Monza, and possibly for the rest of the season. However, it has to be noted that a lawsuit is currently in progress as Heidfeld is technically locked into the contract until the end of 2011. Whether this lawsuit is successful is another matter of course. What wasn't so good was that Ayrton Senna's nephew got caught out in the tricky conditions and stuck the Lotus Renault into the barriers. At least Senna can be comforted by the fact that Paul Di Resta did exactly the same thing, and that both cars were repaired before qualifying.

After wet running in pretty much every session up until qualifying, everyone seemed cautious about what quali would bring. McLaren looked on brilliant form during qualifying and at the last minute Lewis Hamilton looked set to take pole... Until Sebastian Vettel came along and went almost half a second faster! Well, normal service resumed from the German driver and his Red Bull team then! The big surprises in qualifying included Schumacher losing a wheel on his first outlap and crashing into the barriers. Turns out, the wheel nut was cross-threaded and so the accident was kind of inevitable. However, this wasn't much of a comfort as Schumi qualified in 24th place. Heikki Kovalainen had some good luck though, as he managed to get his Lotus into Q2 once again, showing that Lotus are indeed improving and are approaching the pace of the mid-field. Another surprise was that Jenson Button could only qualify 13th, after slowing to let team-mate Lewis Hamilton past - something which must have been (to use a common F1 phrase) 'bitterly disappointing'. After Senna's crash on Friday, everyone was thrilled when he managed to qualify in 7th place - clearly, this man is one to watch in the future.One final thing to mention about quali was the crash between Hamilton and Maldonado - a crash which looked like revenge from Maldonado after Lewis Hamilton passed him when setting a fast time. Maldonado was given a 5 place grid drop (surprisingly lenient in my view) and Hamilton given yet another reprimand for the incident.

So, with the grid set it was time for race day. Spa is typically a circuit suited to those cars with great straight line speed - traditionally not Red Bull. Sectors 1 and 3 are characterised by long straights, whereas sector 2 is more to the Red Bulls' liking. With this in mind then, it would be interesting to see who had the advantage this year. Another problem for Red Bull was that their tyres suffered from blistering (possibly caused by Newey experimenting with more camber than Pirelli recommended) to such an extent that the bosses and drivers were worried for the safety of their drivers. So worried in fact that they appealed to change their tyres on the grid - something which is not permitted for those in the top 10 qualifiers. Of course, this request was denied, provoking anger among the team - not less Sebastian who could be seen having stern words with a Pirelli worker. Red Bull are though a racing team and so rather than face a penalty for changing tyres, extensive calculations were carried out and the team figured that Mark Webber's tyres would last until lap 3, and Sebastian's would last until lap 5 - both pitted on these respective laps. With disaster averted in this respect, the race could continue.

Although Sebastian started on pole, it was Nico Rosberg who had an awesome start - seriously one of the best starts I've ever seen - and took the lead on lap one. However, this lead was short lived and eventually normal service was resumed. You all know I'm not one to describe the race in every detail, so I recommend you watch the race to see Rosberg's amazing start, and to see an edge-of-the-seat overtake by Webber on Alonso. Really, an overtake on the outside of Alonso at Eau Rouge is something else - no wonder Christian Horner said he closed his eyes! Spa wasn't so kind on Lewis Hamilton however, and he clocked up another DNF after crashing into Kamui Kobayashi. Lewis did later say that it was 100% his fault and apologised to the team, however you have to wonder whether Hamilton is becoming one of the unluckiest men in F1 right now.

After one of the most thrilling races I've seen this year, Sebastian Vettel overtook several other drivers (who said he wasn't a racer?!) and eventually won the race, with Mark Webber bringing in a second place for Red Bull and Jensonwatch the race if you haven't already - it's convinced me and my Dad to take a trip to this race in 2012! With Sebastian's victory comes another blow to the championship rivals - Sebastian can win the driver's championship in Singapore should he win the next two races. However, F1 is increasingly unpredictable and so we can only wait and see what happens. No doubt we'll still get some thrilling action throughout the rest of the year. Bring on Monza!

The Unsung Heroes of Formula One

Been a while since I posted last, sorry about that! Anyway, I wanted to post a quick one about the unsung heroes of F1, the people who we see but don't ever hear about. I'm not talking about the marshals and officials, not because they don't deserve a mention but because we know that without them events wouldn't run. I'm talking about the people who do the strange jobs which put the finishing touches to a race meeting.

Firstly, there is the man who announces the winners of the grand prix (my personal favourite). This guy apparently loves his job, although of late it seems that the only name he really has to announce is Sebastian Vettel. He is a hero of F1 for doing this job and for making a fine effort in announcing "THE CHAMPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGNE!!!". Seriously, when he shouts that it goes on forever! I take my hat off to him.

Speaking of hats, my second unsung hero of F1 is a man who I term 'Sinister Hat Man'. After every race it's this guy's job to hand out the hats, watches, water and towels to the top three finishers. He seems like a lovely man, however he looks incredibly sinister and seems to stand in total silence. Whenever a race winner takes his time on putting on his hat, you can rely on Sinister Hat Man to be waiting patiently until the reluctant driver gives in and places the hat on his head. Bravo!

Third and finally, there is the Parc Ferme Man. This man directs the cars to Parc Ferme after a race, however I'm not sure whether he actually does anything else. He can be relied upon for standing in the road, blocking all other paths which would lead away from Parc Ferme. Without him, the cars would possibly get lost - just look at what happened to Jenson Button in Monaco a few years ago! Truly, Parc Ferme Man is an unsung hero of F1.

So, three of my unsung heroes of F1. You might not agree with my choices, you might not agree that I haven't bothered to find the real names of these heroes, but you have to say that there are far more people in F1 than just the 24 we see each weekend and among these unseen and unsung people there are true heroes. Bring on Valencia