Hmmm, looks like my blog will be inundated with F1-related posts again :D
The Malaysian GP will always hold a special significance to me as the 2006 event was my virgin live race. I got to see Kimi Raikkonen drive for McLaren at Sepang for all of 0.3 seconds before a first corner incident took him out.
Since then I have managed to attend 2 more GPs. Another Malaysian GP in 2010 and the latest being the Singapore GP in 2011. In both those GPs my driver was on a sabbatical though so I had no vested interest in the races except for the pure enjoyment of the racing machines. In fact, at the Singapore GP, I did not even watch the race from my pricey grandstand seats since I had to get to the concert area for primo standing access to the Linkin Park post-race concert :D.
As I mentioned in a post last year, despite not going through the whole physical torture of a GP weekend with a favorite driver in the lineup, it is a rather hollow experience when you watch/follow a race without a specific driver to root for. It just doesn't feel quite right. I guess if I had a team I was anchored to it would make the races more meaningful but when each team I look at has some kind of unsavory history in regards to Kimi's time in F1, it just doesn't make supporting any of them appealing :)
Anyways, with Kimi back in the fold this year, all that is in the past and the insanity of F1Kimi commences again. With Sepang, we should get a true idea of where things lie for all the teams. Melbourne, as I've mentioned before, is an anomaly race - mainly due to the fact that it's a street circuit. But the Sepang circuit is a true racing track and is said to be one of the most technically challenging and possibly physically hardest race on the calendar. Mix in the unpredictable weather and we have ourselves a game-changer my friends.
So, this weekend should be an enlightening race - the grid shakes down with more clarity. Can't wait!
The Malaysian GP will always hold a special significance to me as the 2006 event was my virgin live race. I got to see Kimi Raikkonen drive for McLaren at Sepang for all of 0.3 seconds before a first corner incident took him out.
Since then I have managed to attend 2 more GPs. Another Malaysian GP in 2010 and the latest being the Singapore GP in 2011. In both those GPs my driver was on a sabbatical though so I had no vested interest in the races except for the pure enjoyment of the racing machines. In fact, at the Singapore GP, I did not even watch the race from my pricey grandstand seats since I had to get to the concert area for primo standing access to the Linkin Park post-race concert :D.
As I mentioned in a post last year, despite not going through the whole physical torture of a GP weekend with a favorite driver in the lineup, it is a rather hollow experience when you watch/follow a race without a specific driver to root for. It just doesn't feel quite right. I guess if I had a team I was anchored to it would make the races more meaningful but when each team I look at has some kind of unsavory history in regards to Kimi's time in F1, it just doesn't make supporting any of them appealing :)
Anyways, with Kimi back in the fold this year, all that is in the past and the insanity of F1Kimi commences again. With Sepang, we should get a true idea of where things lie for all the teams. Melbourne, as I've mentioned before, is an anomaly race - mainly due to the fact that it's a street circuit. But the Sepang circuit is a true racing track and is said to be one of the most technically challenging and possibly physically hardest race on the calendar. Mix in the unpredictable weather and we have ourselves a game-changer my friends.
So, this weekend should be an enlightening race - the grid shakes down with more clarity. Can't wait!
