The most boring race of the season

Thats what it was. On an excellent street circuit of Valencia, the race was a total bummer. There was virtually no overtaking. Though Massa managed to win comfortably ahead of Hamilton, I did not enjoy the race 1 bit. Results

Track was amazing. It seemed like a dangerous one, but turned out to be safe. Only Sutil drove into the wall, but you cannot blame the track for that. The view was fantastic and good camera work made it perfect. Aerial view of Ferrari passing over a bridge was a real treat. Steve Slater expressed a valid concern about the camera work. It was evident from the qualifying session that we would have seen Local Hero (or Brat!!) Alosno for the better part of the race. But he retired on the first lap itself (courtesy: Nakajima…god bless him!) so dodged a bullet there. Did not have to see him at all!

Kimi’s season looks grim. He expressed concern over qualifying performance. He improved that by qualifying 4th. But lost track position to Kovalainen on the starting grid itself. Things got worse during 2nd pit stop when Kimi started with refuelling hose attached in a hurry to overtake Kovalainen, dragging the refueller with him. Scene was pretty ugly. As if this was not enough, Kimi’s engine blew on the following lap. Thats 2 in a row. Man, whats up with Ferrari? Fisichella and both the Torro Rosso Ferrari engines survived with relatively good results but the main Ferrari engine blows with 9 laps to go.

Hamilton has taken important lead of 6 pts over Massa. Things are not turning out in the right direction for Ferrari even after a win.

Hamilton can’t make it 3 in a row

Hungaroring maintained its tradition of producing unexpected results as Kovalainen emerged an unexpected winner after Massa’s Ferrari engine got blown up with only 3 laps remaining. Timo Glock finished his magical weekend with a well deserved 2nd position. Kimi showed that he is not finished yet with a podium finish. Results

The weekend began with everyone speculating a hat trick for Hamilton. Kovalainen was 2nd fastest which meant 1st all Mclaren front row of the season. Massa was 3rd and Kimi at a frustrating 6th position. But Massa overtook both the Mclarens on the 1st corner itself with an excellent overtaking maneuver from the outer racing line and put pressure on Hamilton straightaway. The dust factor played a significant role in the 2nd stint as Hamilton’s tyres could not bear his excessive aggression, leaving him limping on the track with a flat front left tyre. This meant a clear run for Massa, but ultimately, it was not meant to be. With 3 laps to go, Ferrari engine blows up on the fastest segment of curve leaving no choice for Massa but to park his F2008 near the pit wall. A real depressing scene! Reminded me of 2006 season when Schumacher had to retire from P1due to tyre failure with 3 laps to go and Alonso retired.

Pit stops were eventful as well. As many as 3 pit fires were seen as Bourdais, Barrichello and Nakajima experienced refuelling rig malfunctioning. Pit crew showed tremendous composure to bring the situation under control. All other teams had to check their rigs thoroughly as well. I hope the event will be properly investigated.

Some important news in F1 world. Kovalainen will stay with Mclaren for the next season as well. He proved the decision right with an emphatic win. With Coulthard retiring, Vettel will join Webber in Red Bull for the next season. The guy can produce wonders given a stronger car. And Bruno Senna is being speculated as his replacement at Toro Rosso. If it happens, F1 will see the next generation of Rosberg, Piquet and Senna together back on track. Toyota is showing consistent pace and have potential to challenge BMW later this year. The new technology is not quite working out for Force India as of now. But experts believe that they are better prepared for the next season.