Webbo's Spanish Stroll

Wow. He made that look easy, didn't he?

After dominating qualifying on Saturday, Webber managed to get a great start in the Spanish GP and avoid being overtaken by Vettel and assorted McLaren's and Ferrari's. He maintained a small margin until the first round of pit-stops, then gently eased away. No dramas. No mistakes. No problems. Easy win (if there ever really is such a thing in F1). Meanwhile, Vettel struggled with a pit stop problem that let Hamilton through into second, then brake issues that eventually led to the team telling him that the situation was "critical". He was heading for a disappointing 4th when Hamilton suffered a major tyre blowout and said "hello" to a tyre barrier, giving Alonso second and Seb 3rd. Jenson Button spent most of the race trying to overtake an improved Schumacher, but all things are relative. Improved merely meant better than in previous races, not better that most other drivers. Still, 4th is a bit more like the Michael of old. Podium in Monaco, maybe?

Massa seems to be faltering under the onslaught of Fernando and only managed 6th. Sutil, Kubica, a feisty Barrichello and a nippy drive by Alguersuari at his home GP rounded out the top 10.

Not the most thrilling of races... but we're only 7 days from Monaco. And this year there are 24 cars, and some of them are pretty slow and inexperienced. Crashes? Red flags? Front runners getting blocked by back-markers? Random positions in qualifying due to traffic? RAIN?!

Shame I won't be at home to see it ;-(

(Tonight I'm a bit ambient: Tangering Dream's "Rockoon" from 92. Synthtastic.)

Comments

Malaysian Grand Prix - Vettel hot, but not bothered

Malaysia. It's always hot, and it always rains. Except the 2nd part is no longer true (unless you count the drizzly bit around lap 14). Saturday's qualifying session had highlighted the fact that Red Bull and McLaren seemed well matched on pace, but also that Ferrari were struggling. Whilst Vettel bagged another pole, followed by Hamilton, Webber and Button, Alonso was only 5th, and Massa 7th, with Nick Heidfeld an excellent 6th on the grid between the two red cars. At this point, I would like to break momentarily for a small rant: How many times do I have to say Heidfeld is good? Why wasn't he given a top drive years ago? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! ARE YOU BLIND!!!?? Ahem. The Hispanias somehow managed to a) turn up b) remember to bring cars c) get both of them on the track d) actually get both of them within 107%. Pretty remarkable really. Oh, and it didn't rain. Race day looked a more likely candidate for a drop of the wet stuff. The start was exciting, with

I know I'll regret this...

For @Feisty_Onion @BroughtonLass @LizWestmorland Me... before the grumpiness set in. Have a great weekend.

Senna bags Willy drive?

The great thing about F1 rumours is that they change every 5 minutes. Just last week it was looking like Barrichello might be back in at Williams, as new engines, tech staff and a general reshuffle would mean they needed someone who actually knew what they were doing in an F1 car. Which rules out Maldonado, obviously. Now it looks like Senna might be about to get a seat with the team where his Uncle lost his life. I'm sure Bruno's mum must be delighted. I don't hold with all this superstitious mumbo-jumbo though, and with the extraordinary level of safety in modern F1 cars, Bruno should be pretty safe. There is one significant problem with Williams signing him though - and this is going to be a bit unpopular I suspect - Bruno isn't very good. Yes, he put in a couple of reasonable performances with Renault, but Nick Heidfeld (ah... Nick and his lovely beard...) would have been able to do likewise, has he not been dropped. And then they dropped Senna too. Thi

grumpyf1

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