Alonso provides happy ending for the tifosi...

If you're not a big fan of Formula 1, you probably thought that race was pretty dull.

Two things: Firstly, why are you reading this then? It's a blog about Formula 1. Are you totally nuts or what?! Secondly, it wasn't dull but in fact very tense. Okay, after the first lap or so it wasn't a thriller (cue Michael Jackson) but it was edge of your seat stuff as far as the championship goes.

For the first time this season there was no Red Bull parked on the front row, with the more traditional Ferrari & McLaren battle reconvened for the Italians' home race, and at the start it didn't look like it was going to go to plan for them. Button got a good start and even though Alonso made a robust move to intercept him (translation: He tried to barge him out of the way), Jenson was first into the first corner... just. Massa held his own against Alonso too, whilst a fast starting Hamilton was up to 4th and then challenged Felipe a bit too late. Floppy front wheels aren't generally a good thing in F1 and Lewis parked up in a gravel trap and headed home on foot. You win some, you don't make it to the end of the 1st lap... er.... some. He admitted it was his fault, which was probably sensible, as he was later than your average train in his attempt to get down the inside.

Button and Alonso fought tooth and nail for lap after lap with the Brit just in front, whilst Vettel encountered what he thought was an engine problem, but seems to have been sticky brakes. The tension remained at high voltage until lap 38, when Alonso's stop finally popped him out just in front of Button. Mind you, McLaren may as well have stuck a bloody great big advertising hoarding out in front of Ferrari's garage saying "We're going to make a stop now, care to plan your strategy accordingly?" so clearly did they signpost when they were about to stop.

Vettel unusually decided to go for his compulsory tyre change on the very last lap, but running on tyres he was happy with had done the trick. Having lost places earlier in the race with his phantom engine problem, he handily made them up at the end, finishing ahead of Webber.

Mark had spent an entertaining race watching The Incredible Hulkenberg taking a naughty shortcut at regular intervals, and can feel justifiably aggrieved as he couldn't get past the cheeky German. No penalty came though so Mark had to nail him big time later in the race.

Hispania were involved in a bizarre incident when Yamamoto bogged off from his pitstop without anyone noticing that the radio guy had his arm in the cockpit. There's some footage on YouTube - the phrase "ouch" comes to mind. They've been fined $20,000 for an unsafe release.

So at the end of the race, the final 3 were the same as in quali, Alonso, Button and Massa. Vettel made it up to 4th, Rosberg 5th, Webber 6th, Hulky 7th, a (completely unnoticed) Bob K in 8th, Schumi 9th and Barrichello 10th.

Webber sneaks back into the lead of the championship (not bad work for a guy who only came 6th) and we have the tantalising prospect of 5 fly away races with the top 5 drivers less that a win apart on points.

Formula 1? Boring? Not bloody likely.....

(NB: I would like to apologise for the flagrant lack of sarcasm and grumpiness in this report. Normal arsey service will be resumed as soon as I'm in a bad mood again. Shouldn't take long....)

(Listening to disc 2 of the remastered A-ha album Scoundrel Days. You know the sort of thing, B-sides and rarities. It's rather spiffing actually.)

Making an exhibition of yourself

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"It's all gone quiet..." said Roobarb

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Suffering from natural obsolescence

You know you’re getting old when it dawns on you that you’re outliving technological breakthroughs. You know the sort of thing – something revolutionary, that heralds a seismic shift it the way the modern world operates. Clever, time-saving, breathtaking and life-changing (and featuring a circuit board). It’s the future, baby! Until it isn’t any more. I got to pondering this when we laughed heartily in the office about someone asking if our camcorder used “tape”. Tape? Get with the times, Daddy-o! If it ain’t digital then for-get-it! I then attempted to explain to an impossibly young colleague that video tape in a camcorder was indeed once a “thing”, requiring the carrying of something the size of a briefcase around on your shoulder, containing batteries normally reserved for a bus, and a start-up time from pressing ‘Record’ so lengthy, couples were already getting divorced by the time it was ready to record them saying “I do”. After explaining what tape was, I realised I’d ...

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