Round and Round We Go

It’s been a year since my last proper Formula 1 entry. That of course does not mean I haven’t followed this year’s races all the way from every Q1 to the every checkered flag, I just haven’t had the time to bother you with my F1 ramblings.

Here’s a quick recap of the 2011 season so far: Renault’s Robert Kubica was seriously injured in a rally crash even before the season started and whether or not he will ever return to F1 is being decided these days. The first race of the season, in Bahrain, was canceled because of the political situation in the country at the time. Pirelli is providing the tires this year. The introduction of DRS has proven absolutely genius in terms of the number of overtakes per race, but some argue that overtaking is now actually too easy on some tracks. Hamilton and Massa has not been too focused on racing this year, but far more interested in playing bumper cars and then throwing crap at each other after each race. Hamilton is pretty sure he gets penalized for his actions on the track because he’s black. Alonso is still the driver that never, ever gives up. Michael Schumacher’s F1 comeback is still a failure and anyone has yet to be surprised about that. There are some really interesting, young and up-and-coming drivers on the grid this year, like Paul Di Resta and Sergio Perez. And even though there are four races left, Red Bull’s German wonder boy Sebastian Vettel has already secured the world championship title, making him the youngest ever double World Champion and also the youngest back-to-back Champion.

The speed, the technology, the cars, the drivers, the drama and the potential for massive crashes! How is it possible not to love this sport?

I’ve been watching the racing on BBC One this year, which proved to be a very welcome change from the horrific coverage on Norwegian pay TV. The only issue is that the commentators are retired British F1 drivers, and this naturally makes them very biased towards the British drivers, especially Lewis Hamilton, whom I can’t stand for no apparent reason - although the “maybe it’s because I’m black” statement didn’t do anything in his favor. To a certain degree I can understand Hamilton’s frustration. He entered the F1 world as a kid and went almost straight to the top, but this season has been one of his weakest so far. This weekend, however, he’s on pole in the Korean Grand Prix, with Martin Brundle and David Coulthard in the BBC circle jerk commentary box claiming that “the old Hamilton is back”. We’ll see if a single pole is what will bring the old Hamilton back, but with the speed he’s had this weekend it’s likely that he’ll be the first to cross the checkered flag, though.

Since the Formula 1 site is still kind enough to allow me to generate high quality versions of all the pictures they publish, here are a few snapshots from the 2011 Formula 1 season so far.

Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull Racing RB7. Formula One World Championship, Rd 1, Australian Grand Prix, Race, Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, 27 March 2011
Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull Racing RB7. Formula One World Championship, Rd 1, Australian Grand Prix, Race, Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia, Sunday, 27 March 2011
The Hispania Racing F1 Team (HRT) F111s in the garage. Formula One World Championship, Rd 2, Malaysian Grand Prix, Race Day, Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, 10 April 2011
The Hispania Racing F1 Team (HRT) F111s in the garage. Formula One World Championship, Rd 2, Malaysian Grand Prix, Race Day, Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, 10 April 2011
Sebastian Vettel (GER) Red Bull Racing RB7 leads at the start of the race. Formula One World Championship, Rd 2, Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, 10 April2011
Sebastian Vettel (GER) Red Bull Racing RB7 leads at the start of the race. Formula One World Championship, Rd 2, Malaysian Grand Prix, Race, Sepang, Malaysia, Sunday, 10 April2011
Worn Pirelli tyres. Formula One World Championship, Rd 3, Chinese Grand Prix, Race, Shanghai, China, Sunday, 17 April 2011
Worn Pirelli tyres. Formula One World Championship, Rd 3, Chinese Grand Prix, Race, Shanghai, China, Sunday, 17 April 2011
Felipe Massa (BRA) Ferrari 150 Italia locks up. Formula One World Championship, Rd 4, Turkish Grand Prix, Race, Istanbul Park, Turkey, Sunday, 8 May 2011
Felipe Massa (BRA) Ferrari 150 Italia locks up. Formula One World Championship, Rd 4, Turkish Grand Prix, Race, Istanbul Park, Turkey, Sunday, 8 May 2011
(L to R): Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari 150 Italia passes Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull Racing RB7 and Sebastian Vettel (GER) Red Bull Racing RB7 to take the lead at the start ofthe race. Formula One World Championship, Rd 5, Spanish Grand Prix, Race, Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, 22 May 2011
(L to R): Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari 150 Italia passes Mark Webber (AUS) Red Bull Racing RB7 and Sebastian Vettel (GER) Red Bull Racing RB7 to take the lead at the start ofthe race. Formula One World Championship, Rd 5, Spanish Grand Prix, Race, Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, 22 May 2011
The damaged car of Felipe Massa (BRA) Ferrari 150 Italia. Formula One World Championship, Rd 6, Monaco Grand Prix, Race, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, Sunday, 29 May 2011
The damaged car of Felipe Massa (BRA) Ferrari 150 Italia. Formula One World Championship, Rd 6, Monaco Grand Prix, Race, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, Sunday, 29 May 2011
The race is red flagged. Formula One World Championship, Rd 7, Canadian Grand Prix, Race, Montreal, Canada, Sunday, 12 June 2011
The race is red flagged. Formula One World Championship, Rd 7, Canadian Grand Prix, Race, Montreal, Canada, Sunday, 12 June 2011
Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) Hispania Racing F1 Team (HRT) HRT F111. Formula One World Championship, Rd 8, European Grand Prix, Race, Valencia, Spain, Sunday, 26 June 2011
Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) Hispania Racing F1 Team (HRT) HRT F111. Formula One World Championship, Rd 8, European Grand Prix, Race, Valencia, Spain, Sunday, 26 June 2011
Ferrari 150 Italia of race winner Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari. Formula One World Championship, Rd 9, British Grand Prix, Race, Silverstone, England, Sunday, 10 July 2011
Ferrari 150 Italia of race winner Fernando Alonso (ESP) Ferrari. Formula One World Championship, Rd 9, British Grand Prix, Race, Silverstone, England, Sunday, 10 July 2011
Nick Heidfeld (GER) Lotus Renault GP R31 crashed out of the race after contact with Sebastien Buemi (SUI) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR6. Formula One World Championship, Rd 10,German Grand Prix, Race, Nurburgring, Germany, Sunday, 24 July 2011
Nick Heidfeld (GER) Lotus Renault GP R31 crashed out of the race after contact with Sebastien Buemi (SUI) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR6. Formula One World Championship, Rd 10,German Grand Prix, Race, Nurburgring, Germany, Sunday, 24 July 2011
Nick Heidfeld (GER) Lotus Renault GP R31 retires with a fire. Formula One World Championship, Rd 11, Hungarian Grand Prix, Race, Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, 31 July 2011
Nick Heidfeld (GER) Lotus Renault GP R31 retires with a fire. Formula One World Championship, Rd 11, Hungarian Grand Prix, Race, Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, 31 July 2011
Sergio Perez (MEX) Sauber C30. Formula One World Championship, Rd 12, Belgian Grand Prix, Race, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, Sunday, 28 August 2011
Sergio Perez (MEX) Sauber C30. Formula One World Championship, Rd 12, Belgian Grand Prix, Race, Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, Sunday, 28 August 2011
Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) HRT Formula 1 Team F111 crashes into Vitaly Petrov (RUS) Lotus Renault GP R31 and Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes GP MGP W02 at the start of the race.Formula One World Championship, Rd 13, Italian Grand Prix, Race, Monza, Italy, Sunday, 11 September 2011
Vitantonio Liuzzi (ITA) HRT Formula 1 Team F111 crashes into Vitaly Petrov (RUS) Lotus Renault GP R31 and Nico Rosberg (GER) Mercedes GP MGP W02 at the start of the race.Formula One World Championship, Rd 13, Italian Grand Prix, Race, Monza, Italy, Sunday, 11 September 2011
Michael Schumacher (GER) Mercedes GP MGP W02. Formula One World Championship, Rd 14, Singapore Grand Prix, Race, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore, Sunday, 25 September2011
Michael Schumacher (GER) Mercedes GP MGP W02. Formula One World Championship, Rd 14, Singapore Grand Prix, Race, Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore, Sunday, 25 September2011
Sebastien Buemi (SUI) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR6 loses a wheel and retires from the race. Formula One World Championship, Rd 15, Japanese Grand Prix, Race, Suzuka, Japan,Sunday, 9 October 2011
Sebastien Buemi (SUI) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR6 loses a wheel and retires from the race. Formula One World Championship, Rd 15, Japanese Grand Prix, Race, Suzuka, Japan,Sunday, 9 October 2011
Timo Glock (GER) Virgin Racing MVR-02. Formula One World Championship, Rd 16, Korean Grand Prix, Practice Day, Korea International Circuit, Yeongam, South Korea, Friday, 14October 2011
Timo Glock (GER) Virgin Racing MVR-02. Formula One World Championship, Rd 16, Korean Grand Prix, Practice Day, Korea International Circuit, Yeongam, South Korea, Friday, 14October 2011
Pastor Maldonado (VEN) Williams FW33. Formula One World Championship, Rd 16, Korean Grand Prix, Qualifying Day, Korea International Circuit, Yeongam, South Korea, Saturday, 15October 2011
Pastor Maldonado (VEN) Williams FW33. Formula One World Championship, Rd 16, Korean Grand Prix, Qualifying Day, Korea International Circuit, Yeongam, South Korea, Saturday, 15October 2011

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