The F1 2011 season starts here

It should have started a couple of weeks ago but what with one thing or another, today saw the first race of the Formula 1 world championship. To be honest, I always thought Australia should have hosted the first race because, for me, it always has. Just as Brazil should host the last race. (Abu Dhabi, grumble grumble. Even though it looks stunning, grumble)

I hadn't realised how much I missed the thrill of the race. The new rules, DRS, KERS and new tyres from Pirelli, have shaken things up a bit. The top teams, Red Bull, McLaren, Ferrari, etc, are all performing at full steam, though, so we still have the big guns fighting it out for points. Meanwhile, the smaller teams, Sauber, Lotus, HRT, etc, have been having their own problems. HRT didn't even get to start the race due to the 107% qualifying rule!

There was plenty of action in Melbourne, right from the moment the lights went out. Vettel had a clean getaway and led to the finish, Hamilton lost a place to Webber then regained it at the first corner and Alonso went wide, allowing three cars to pass him.
During the course of the Grand Prix, there were battles aplenty. Button passed Massa using an exit road, after being held up by the slower Brazilian for several laps, and got hit with a drive through penalty.
The Saubers of Kobayashi and Perez scythed their way through the field finishing 7th and 8th, Perez pitting only once for a tyre change, to everybody else's two and three stops.
Congratulations to Vitaly Petrov who made it onto the podium, finishing in 3rd place, driving in his 2nd season with Renault, now Renault-Lotus (don't ask).
And no safety car was deployed at any point in the race :)

With such a thrilling start to the season, I can hardly wait for the next race in Malaysia. And I'd like to make a small prediction for 2011. Keep an eye on Toro Rosso and Force India. That's all I'm saying. Just keep an eye.




Unfortunately, I have since learned that Sauber have been disqualified for a breach of the aero rules. It remains to be seen whether the team will appeal or not.

Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami

It's been over a week since the Japanese earthquake/tsunami and the biggest problem facing the country, apart from keeping most of it's population housed and fed, is the threat of meltdown from a badly damaged nuclear reactor.




Shit happens and then some.

I really feel for these people. Firstly, their country is shaken by one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history. Then, with aftershoocks still taking place, a tsunami sweeps along the east coast, rearranging everything the quake had already disturbed. The figures keep changing but about 20,000 people are missing or dead. The survivors are only just managing to remain so. And if we're not all very lucky the nuclear fallout from the damaged reactor could wipe out untold more. Certainly, much of Japan could be a toxic no-go area and who knows which way the wind will blow?




But amidst the chaos, brought about by this disaster, there is still hope. Where help arrives, the Japanese people have formed orderly queues. There has been very little, if any, fighting. They have remained a proud race, calmy coping with their dire situation. My only concern is that the Japanese government seems as calm regarding the threat of nuclear meltdown. If it was me, I'd be begging for help. The consequences of failing to repair the reactor could affect us all.




Chernobyl still glows...

Science fiction double feature

When it comes to books and movies, science fiction is my genre of choice. Not that I won't read or watch anything else, because I will, but ever since I first saw Star Wars (long, long ago) I've been hooked.

That set the standard for all Sci-Fi to come, and very few movies have come close, but what about pre-Star Wars? Well, as it turned out, there's absolutley loads of old black and white B movies rarely seen by today's kids. Fortunately my nan used to let me watch them on BBC2 at 6:00pm, weekdays (she helped look after me while my mum was at work and a damn fine job she did, too).

This Island Earth, The Day The Earth Stood Still, and Forbidden Planet immediately spring to mind (I know FP wasn't B/W), along with such classics as War Of The Worlds, The Time Machine and The First Men In The Moon. I would disappear for an hour or so each day to another reality, my horizons broadening, possibilities without end. Thank you BBC2.

As I matured, 1950's Sci-Fi found it's way into my life through such authers as H G Wells, Jules Verne, Harry Harrison and the great Phillip K Dick. Who? Well, you may not recognize the last name but I'm sure you've heard of the movies made from his books. Remember Total Recall? Minority Report? Blade Runner? All were written many years before they hit the silver screen.

I think what I find so exciting about these stories, is that they were being written about the time we live in now, 2000 and beyond. Often, I would find myself reading about some futuristic device that I now have at home or even carry around in my pocket! But, somehow, owning the equivilant to Star Trek's Tri-Corder isn't quite enough.

The future isn't all I was hoping for, which is why I still read these books and watch these movies. Don't get me wrong, I think we are living in very interesting times. It's just not a patch on the dreams planted in my head by my literary heroes.

Lorem Ipsum

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

F(ighting for Freedom)1

While I wasn't particularly looking forward to returning to Bahrain, due to last year's boring race, I still wanted to get my fix of F1 action, all the same. Now I'll have to wait a couple more weeks because the Bahrain Grand Prix has been cancelled.

This is how the recent unrest in the Arab nations has affected me. The people of Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and Libya have been up in arms against their political leaders over the past month or so, some more successful than others, and usually it has next to no immediate effect on my life. But not this time.

While I'm a bit put out by missing the first race of the 2011 season, it helps to put into percpective, for me, how much this must be disrupting the lives of the people living and working in these contries. Some of these people have lost their lives! Let's not lose sight of what's really important here; fighting on track for glory or fighting in the streets for you and your kind?

Respect.

Not going to happen

The F1 2011 season starts next month and I'm way too busy keeping up with testing and Kubica's accident to finish last seasons review. It's far too late now and I'm barely finished the teams and drivers.

I have decided to write an ongoing review of the 2011 instead.

Easy Rider

I got my mountain bike back from the repair shop on Saturday and I haven't felt so alive on the road since the end of last year.

I won't bore you with the mechanical and meteorological details but it involved a lot of gear/cog/chain slippage and a whole heap of snow piled up everywhere. So because my bike was a bit dodgy and the roads were dangerous, I decided to get a train into work for a week or two and have my bike repaired at the same time. Two birds, etc. But it wasn't to be.

When I collected my bike I found that it was just as dangerous to my family jewels as before. New parts had been fitted but nobody had checked to see if it was safe. Lucky I wad only in the car park and not on the busy main road outside the shop. I left it with them to do whatever was necessary. After couple of weeks passed, I hadn't heard from them and phoned them myself. I was told it wasn't fixed as they were still waiting for parts to be delivered which would take another week or two.

The very next day someone rang to ask when I would be collecting my bike(!)

Needless to say, when I tested my bike I wasn't happy because, yes, you guessed it, the problem still hadn't been rectified. Another week passed and more silence from the repair shop and another unhappy customer voiced his opinion. The bike was fixed within the hour free of charge. I should bloody well think so, too.

My bike is as good as new again and you have no idea how that feels.

I've been kidnapped

Twitter has me and there's nothing I can do! I won't ask for help, though because I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

@SleepsAllWinter has more followers than I have by a large margin. I'm almost jealous if the bear but I'm more proud of him really.

I'll try to get that F1 review finished when I can.

Memory loss...

I'm telling you, writing this F1 2010 Season Review from memory was a bad idea. Can you remember every driver in every team? Can you remember every circuit in every country? Can you remember every overtaking move and every point scored?
I'm buggered if I can. The Review is going to be full of holes and inconsistancies (and badly spelt). But I'm going to Carry On Regardless.

Do you ever get deja vu?

Memory loss

I'm telling you, writing this F1 2010 Season Review from memory was a bad idea. Can you remember every driver in every team? Can you remember every circuit in every country? Can you remember every overtaking move and every point scored?
I'm buggered if I can. The Review is going to be full of holes and inconsistancies (and badly spelt). But I'm going to Carry On Regardless.
;-)