Counting Down to Catalunya

It has been a whirlwind week - major decisions made have to be revisited. I wonder if we ever know if we make the "right" decisions? It is something that I am grappling with and it will continue to bother me as we go into May, 2008.

I am counting down to the Spanish GP, which will be held this weekend in Catalunya Circuit.

Testing had gone well with Renault last week, and we all heard what Fernando and Pat Symonds had had to say about the upgrades. I hope the Spanish GP will go well for the team and that they will get more points for 2008.

Last week, I finally joined the ING-Renault F1 Team Fan site. It is great to be among those who also believe in Fernando and his abilities. Sometimes, I get really frustrated posting in some forums because there are fanatic fans who are intent on bashing drivers. IMHO, if not for drivers and their quirks and characteristics, F1 would be a dead sport. An example is Kimi Raikkonen. It has been pointed by some forumers that Kimi lacks personality - isn't it obvious that it is precisely the fact that Kimi is so different - quiet, understated, almost a "flat" character in any Dickensian novel, that makes his position as reigning WDC unique? We don't expect flat characters in novels to become heroes. But, Kimi proves that, in his case, life does not imitate literature.

F1 is a beautiful sport. We can enjoy watching it without having any feeling of hatred towards any driver. I am biased towards Fernando, but that is my preference. After what happened last year, yes, there is a little bias against Hamilton in my heart. But, I am not saying that he could never be a WDC in the future. He IS talented. If not, he wouldn't be there in McLaren. However, in my mind, Alonso is one of the best that I have seen - after Senna - ok if you count those missing years when I stopped watching F1 after Senna's death. because I missed seeing some drivers rise to the top then.

However, we all need some grip of reality and perspective of the whole situation. It's the new year, new season, a new ball game. Let's just enjoy F1 at its finest.