Raceday.

Raceday.

I would just like to say that Mark Webber is my hero, despite having been involved in a racing incident that he could be directly implicated in. Then again, we could also blame it on Raikkonen’s blown tyre, so it totally depends on your perception of it. Despite my own bias towards it, Williams really does look good this year [even though we’re two races into the season], and the reportedly “new” aerodynamic parts [14 of them] have played a major role today.

Basically, today has taught me a lot of things…

#1: Alex Yoong might look like a jock, but he’s quite the nervous type on television
#2: I might have to start smoking Mild Seven from now on because it’s currently the championship tobacco label
#3: I’ll start drinking a bottle of Red Bull a week because I kind of like the team
#4: The new rules split my mind up.

First, the logic. The fact that you can only use one set of tyres for one race leads to a lot of problems…Barichello had to retire due to increased tyre wear, and constant regressive state of the tyres are, for a fact, discouraging. On the bright side, brilliant engineering and adaptive driving come into play, because 1) the teams have to at least come up with a package remarkable enough to support the lack of tyre mortality and 2) drivers should basically be experienced enough to handle it. It was only a pity that Barichello was on a softer compound, but, yea.

Secondly, the cost cutting. One engine per two races, one set of tyres per race; it’s meant to cut costs, and simultaneously, make things harder for the teams and drivers, thus, giving the viewers something to watch. But, let’s face it; Formula One is still boring unless someone runs over tyre shrapnel and subsequently gets run over, and the trailers are still trailing. Look, I mean, Jordan’s still slow. Sauber uses Ferrari engines, but they don’t run like they do. And honestly, who cares about Minardi (besides the aforementioned Mr. Yoong, who, currently, is trying to disassociate himself from the memory of it)?

My personal man of the race would be Webber, because he got miffed and wasn’t afraid to show it. Ralf Schumacher deserves a good thrashing. He might have almost died last year, but he’s still ugly. And Mark drives a Williams…you can’t go wrong there. Kudos to Renault, though. Like I said…Mild Seven.

So, next up is Bahrain. Fabulous. Ferrari might not even want to bring the new car over, and that might be a double-edged sword. Then again, with 19 races this season, they’ve got plenty of time to catch up and give everyone else a run for their money. But on the bright side, I haven’t received the obligatory Tiffosi phone call, complete with nagging Tiffosi theme-song (Italian flag, indeed) from that one super-annoying Ferrari fan.

I only wonder how long it’d be before I get that one ring. One ring to rule them all, the tagline says. Hopefully it won’t be that one.