F1: A Contradiction Competition

This morning I checked the F1 news page on the BBC website and was greeted by this article in which Lewis Hamilton states that he is aiming for McLaren to get a one-two at Silverstone. Brilliant, we all think, Lewis getting back on form. Well, I'm annoyed. Formula One seems to be full of contradictions lately and I for one am getting fed up. The mass of contradictions by drivers and officials is making the sport far more confusing than DRS and KERS overtakes ever were.

Let me first explain perhaps the most apparent instance of contradictions in F1: the Bahrain situation. Initially, the Bahrain GP was postponed because of unrest in the country. This is fair enough, as the people of a country come first (something stated by Mark Webber - one of the most vocal drivers about the Bahrain situation). A waiting game then ensued whereby meetings were held or pushed back to discuss and see how the situation would evolve in the country. A deadline was given to the country and FIA officials to decide whether the race could be held. Great, we all thought, we're going to get a firm "yes" or "no" on the 1st of May. Nope. The deadline was then extended by over a month. This was kind of annoying, however most of the fans understood. Eventually, after many meetings and much gossip the FIA took the decision to reschedule the Bahrain race. This seemed like a firm answer, and most fans thought the matter was solved. However, the teams called for a boycott of the race, and more negotiations ensued, along with the usual gossip which accompanies so many big decisions. The teams' protest was officially based on the logistics of the date of the rescheduled race, however many also felt that the ethical implications of going to a country in such a state would outweigh any benefit of F1 returning to the country. While the teams protested, the FIA sought to reassure them, stating that Bahrain was now safe. However, the teams couldn't be ignored and as such the Bahrain race was eventually cancelled - a move which many felt should have occurred in the first place.

When you see the number of articles saying that the race was off-on-off-on-off, you can see how annoying it was to watch this situation unfold. The whole process of decision making seemed completely unprofessional, as it appeared that the officials never spoke with the teams and decisions were made based purely on money alone. The contradictions made the situation so hard to follow, and many were simply relieved that it was over.

Anyway, we moved on from this and got on with the season. However, the drivers seem to have got into a competition for who can have the most contradictions. The first one I noticed was Fernando Alonso. Before the race at Valencia, Alonso was quoted as saying that Ferrari were having a bad year. After the race, during the press conference, Alonso said how well Ferrari had done during the last few races:

Monaco was a very good performance all weekend. We finished second. Canada was a very good performance. We didn't score any points there and here again very good weekend in terms of performance Felipe (Massa) and me and now both cars in the top five is a great team result so definitely moving in the right direction.

To add to this, another BBC article quoted Alonso as giving up on the title fight. So, what's Alonso's position? "Ferrari are bad - we're doing well - I've given up".

Now, to my final example. Lewis Hamilton has been all over the media. Given his run of bad luck lately, this isn't surprising. The previous article quoted Lewis as saying that he had pretty much given up on the next race at Silverstone, let alone the title. He said that he was "really not looking forward to Silverstone", that McLaren had "taken a step back" and that "It's finished really. In the sense of the title it's almost over". So, pretty pessimistic stuff. However, in the next breath Lewis has all of his optimism back and he's looking for the world championship! In terms of the Silverstone race, Lewis's initial comments of "we're just not quick enough to win there. I think we'll really struggle" have been forgotten, and he's now saying that McLaren can get a one-two finish there. In fact, he's said that "nothing is impossible", and the championship is far from over.

So what's going on with F1 lately? People were complaining at the start of the year that the races were confusing what with all the overtaking, but now it seems that the source of the confusion has very little to do with the on track action. Of course, I understand that the media isn't always accurate, but there must be a grain of truth in most of these articles and the drivers seem to be saying two things at once. I wish that the drivers and media would stop speculating, or at least stick with one point of view. For new fans, it must be excruciating to try and get into the sport with all this going on. Personally, I'm considering ignoring what each driver says, simply because I don't know whether they're being truthful or whether next week their views will be completely different. So, if I've sent a hundred links out to media spokespeople or drivers and you're reading this, I implore you to get your stories straight or say nothing at all - these contradictions are giving me a headache!

Valencia - Double DRS and Still No Action

Well Valencia has been and gone and the general consensus is that the race was perhaps the most boring of the season. We all knew that a boring race was looming - especially after the drama of Canada - and Valencia was the most likely candidate, given that a few years back we saw just one overtake in the race. Yes, people were hoping that a double DRS activation zone, KERS and the treacherous Pirelli tyres would spice things up, however we had no such luck.

Watching the race was fine for me - I still enjoyed it, despite that there was little change at the front of the grid. Well, maybe I enjoyed it because there was little change at the front; don't forget that I'm a die-hard Vettel/Red Bull girl! However I do feel for new fans that the race wouldn't give the best impression. It also made me wonder how long Valencia would be hosting the European race. I seem to recall that Europe moved around different circuits each year. The first race at the Nurburgring that I saw was the European Grand Prix for example. The past few years though the European race has been at Valencia, in effect giving us two Spanish Grand Prix races. Good for Alonso fans, not so good if you like variety.

Overall, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Sunday afternoon, despite the boring race. For F1 fans, any race is alright. Yes, it is annoying to have non-eventful races, but rather that than no race at all. Valencia did have some merit to it though: for the first time in F1 history 24 cars have finished a race, which is an achievement for the sport in terms of reliability. Also, Vettel made the record books being the only man to finish in the top two for the first eight races of the season and completing over 1,000 laps in the lead of the race. So, well done to him and to the teams!

One man who wasn't so happy at Valencia was the usual suspect: Lewis Hamilton. He's been all over the media lately, first being quoted as giving up in the championship, then being quoted as a fighter. It's kind of irritating for fans, as nobody really knows what his actual position is and what he's being told to say by PR people. It's more than likely the media twisting words, as is usual - Lewis isn't the only one being represented by contradictory statements this year. Fernando Alonso was first quoted as saying that Ferrari are having a bad year, then in the next breath he rattled off a list of races which Ferrari should be proud of. Generally, I try and avoid the media hype and take each race as it comes. Look at what happened with Schumacher; every media spokesperson out there said that Schumi was too old to race and that he should retire. After Canada, he's back on form! Whatever happens, hopefully the rest of the year will be a bit better than Valencia, and we'll get back to the exciting form of F1.

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