End of Season Blues.. what I am missing :(

Like many others, I guess I have been trying to get over my F1 withdrawal symptoms now that the season is over. Weekends seem empty, with nothing to look forward to for months and months. So Kate and Wills got engaged... so what??

I am moping thinking that until April next year, there is no more Wednesday GP picture posts, no Thursday discussion or arguments in terms of the updates brought and which car would be the fastest, no talk of sandbagging or just plain uncompetitiveness of the cars come Free Practice on Friday... No sweet sound of "neeeeeeeyoooooowwwmmm" as F1 cars speed along in Qualis and Sunday races. No utter jubilation or depression after the race (dependent on how Ferrari and Fernando did that race...) AAAAAAAArgh.. how did season 2010 end so fast???!!!!Where did it all go??

One thing that I will sorely miss is the shots of the drivers waiting in the car, studying data prior to the start of the race. I wish I could be there, seeing the data and making sense of what they are actually looking at, (well, of course I regret not being a whizz in maths/physics/chemistry combo that would have allowed me to become a race engineer or F1 car designer/aerodynamician... personal physician...ANYTHING!!!!)

I also miss the butterflies that flutter in the pit of my stomach as the drivers make their way to the starting line, as the red lights get lit one by one, waiting, waiting, waiting for the lights to go off. Can anyone else understand the excitement of the first corner, the first lap of each GP? My heart racing a hundred miles a minute, lips going dry, hands trembling, eyes unblinking...

The elation one gets when the red car gets in among the top 3, wishing, wishing, wishing that the engine will last, praying for no accidents, no tyre blowin up etc. Praying that the pitstop strategy will pay off, and that the stop happens seamless and incident-free.

Need I say more? My weekends already feel annoyingly empty and will remain so for the next few months! I am glad that the drivers are getting some well deserved rest/break from their frenetic pace. However, for a fan like me... winter is indeed, a dreary season! It might be time for me to pick up bungee jumping or something. Either that or... hmmm Ferrari World is looking very tempting!

Oh Well...

I have not been updating this blog for a while.

It does not mean that I have not been following F1 or Fernando's career.
It does not mean that I have not been cheering him on all through 2010 season.
Au contraire... I was elated when Fernando joined the Scuderia. My only sorrow is the fact that I am no longer working for one of the major sponsors of the Ferrari F1 team - would have loved the opportunity to meet the guy!
I danced on tables (figuratively speaking!) when Fernando and Felipe got that 1-2 in Bahrain.
I ranted and raved when it looked like all hope was lost towards the middle of the season.
When Fernando jumped ahead in the WCC points due to a resurgence in the F10 performance, I cheered on.

Well of course, then I was thinking about updating this blog. Yet, I hesitated because I did not want to seem like the "fair-weathered fan," those that only posted when things are going right. I have bitten my typing fingers during his final year at Renault, and through Singapore-gate. So why should I start mouthing off when Fernando began to reap success? Hence the silence.

Now, I am finally picking up the pieces after the disappointment in Abu Dhabi.
Since Sunday, I have not haunted PlanetF1.com or Autosport.com. I have not read a single article or post from fans or foe. I have been stewing in my utter dejection after the Abu Dhabi fiasco.

Hey ho... anyway.. I am back.. and during this off season and for 2011 - I vow to post and share my thoughts on Fernando and the Scuderia. Well, I am not an F1 professional. I wish I was. Yet, as a fan, I guess I reserve the right to voice my thoughts.

Fernando.. have a great off-season. The 3rd WCC crown beckons in 2011. Delayed gratification will taste all that much sweeter when it is finally achieved. Here's to a great 2nd half of 2010 - and to an even better whole of 2011!

Back at Renault...!

So there I was, standing outside this seafood restaurant at a quay side in Singapore, still mourning the fact that I missed out on the first ever night race and Fernando's first win of the 2008 season when a colleague walked up to me with excitement. "Fernando's signed two more years with Renault!" he said. There we go! Finally, the confirmation and the end to the uncertainty. Funny that while it has almost been certain in my heart since Japanese Grand Prix, the confirmation is a sigh of relief.

I am happy that he will be staying another year at least, and I hope that the second half of 2008 has signalled the Renault Renaissance and next year will be a jubilant one for the partnership. All I want is to see Fernando where he deserves - on the podium. Of course the best place should be at the top of the podium, but I would settle for a consistent podium finish all year in 2009.

My trip to Singapore this time is not just for work - I have been privileged to attend a wonderful session with Dr. Paul Stoltz, the person responsible for "Adversity Quotient" and it is all about harnessing adversity to our advantage. While it is apt for me to be attending this session given the current economic uncertainty, it did not escape me that Fernando has done just that with 2008. He has actually harnessed adversity and turned them to his favour. At the start of the season, he was almost the butt of joke for a gleeful media conspiracy, all targeted towards making him look immature, untalented, bitter person who could not cope with a "faster," rookie partner. The R-28 was a lame horse, poorly developed, it looked impossible to drive - after each race it was clear that it would be a feat to even obtain 1 point.

At this juncture, he could have proved his detractors right and say - "Oh well.. this season's over. My car is impossible. Let's just get on with the season as best as we can and try not to finish behind Force India." Instead, to lag behind was never an option. He mobilised the team to innovate and improve. He pushed the car to get the optimum drive possible, at times over driving the car and ended with DNF. I believe that he pushed himself to walk away from the past, to look forward, to hope and in the process found the drive and passion that he lost at McLaren. Instead of saying, "I can't see myself driving F1 for another 6 years," he began saying that he is in F1 for the long haul.

Wonderful!

I loved the way the season ended for Fernando. Up at the podium, comforting a visibly upset Massa. He gave up his youngest WDC record gracefully. 2007 was his year of adversity, and since then, he has more than grown in stature. He has gained respect for his talent, his leadership qualities, his sportsmanship. His credibility has never been higher.

Now as I look outside the hotel window to the beautiful view of the "Durian" shaped Esplanade, the Singapore River and the Merlion, I am glad that I heard the good news of him staying with Renault when I was in the city where he created history as the first ever night race winner.

Have a great winter break to all F1 fans - and most importantly, congratulations Fernando, for facing adversity square in the face and conquering your mountain. I am proud to be your fan! Keep on ascending!

A few months on...

No, I have not forgotten about this blog. Professionally, life has been very hectic at the new project with the situation being more critical than expected - One more major push till the end of the year, and we should be home free. Another 6 months to stabilise the organisation after that, and I should be looking for new projects to handle by June 2009.

I have also been travelling back and forth between my country and the Middle East and while I am enjoying the changes in scenery, I don't really enjoy long-haul flights. Maybe time for me to look for more permanent projects in the middle east?

So, that's where I am at, and yes, I am still celebrating Fernando's victory in Singapore. Unfortunately, I was not able to see him win in person - having had to fly out of Asia on 23rd Sept - my timing sucks.. but looking forward to seeing him up on the podium more often from now on.

I love the fact that he has been in the news for all the right reasons - giving his honest opinion, and the media has not been able to twist his words. Must be hard to do so, with the number of respectable team leads that have voiced their interest in signing him up for their respective teams. At the end of the day, talent speaks louder than words. How long can his detractors bring out the "Fernando is not a good team player" statement... especially the way he has proven his mark at Renault.

Of course, those who are unhappy about Fernando's win has come up with all kinds of conspiracy theories of Flav's order for Nelsinho to crash out to maximise on Fernando's early pit strategy. Sigh, if nothing else, Fernando's detractors are definitely creative and desperate.. sad state of denial that they are in... sigh.

On the other hand, we have always known how talented and complete Fernando is on the grid. His win was a matter of when, not a matter of if! Great job Fernando. Your fans will hang around patiently, cheering you on as always!

Taking A Break...

It's been a time of topsy-turvy for me as today is my first day in a new workplace. I loved the old one, but it was time to move on for new challenges, new situations.

Due to the fact that I am re-starting a new project, I will need to take a break from this blog for a few weeks at least. I am still following Fernando's progress, still yelling myself hoarse during F1 weekends, but for now, every minute of my waking hour is being spent thinking about work, and/or travelling.

Will post when I can, but am afraid, I won't be as regular until my new role has somewhat stabilised.

Balderdash... Yawn.. Yawn...

The media must be really missing statements from Fernando these days. With little being said, there is little to twist and turn and crochet into another stupid yarn of lies for the readers. So what do they do? Drag up old stories, insinuations, and then slap on it the question that need not even be asked... "Can Fernando Ever Rise to the Top Again?" (YES!) then, he gives the most obvious answer to that: "Only Time will Tell..." Whoo hoo! Excellent piece of journalism. You MUST be blushing with pride.

Am not even bothering to copy and paste the link to this article, but seriously - Mike Doodson, whoever you are, can you be MORE original?

The thing is, we are tired of old stories. Let me help you come up with some new storylines that could potentially be of interest to F1 readers.

- The future of Anthony Davidson and Takuma Sato (that has to be at LEAST a few pages worth of speculation that you could come up with.)

- How about surprising us with a re-cap of Barichello's career since he has HAD so many races under his belt?

- Oh, here's a nice thing to write about, since you are so into re-cap, let's look at the number of career wins that Lewis Hamilton has had, and include the mesmerising wins that he has had from the back of the grid? This from the wunderkind who *choked* and threw away his lead in the WDC standing. Seriously. You give the kid too much credit in terms of him affecting Fernando's performance last year.

- Oh I read something today, about Lewis Hamilton comparing himself to 90 year old Nelson Mandela... That HAS to be something to write about. Here's the suggested headline:

"Lewis Hamilton is the Next Nelson Mandela, because like Mandela, He TOO makes mistakes.."
If you want to put a spin to a story, at least do it with style - and use new materials please.

Rehashing the 2007 story is OLD. It's 2008. CATCH UP WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD!

Yawn ... Yawn... Yawn....

Strategising...

OK, I am tired of thinking and writing things that require a lot of thought. So, I am going to come out of my closet and disclose the extent of my "fan"atism where Fernando is concerned.

I have developed a strategy of how I would meet him for the first time, and this was planned for the Malaysia F1 in Sepang or Singapore F1.

Plan 1:

Camp outside the hotel he stays in and ambush him on his way in/out with a bag full of merchandise along with 10 cameras snagged around my neck. This way I get to detain him for a few mins while he signs the merchandise items and take photos with all the 10 cameras with me.

- urr not gonna happen. He will probably sign one merchandise, take 1 photo and run! Run like the WIND! (and who would blame him...?)

Plan 2:

Wait for him to come out of the hotel, pretend to stumble and go into anaphylactic shock so that he would be forced to help me...

- urr not gonna happen either. Chances are, I would fall flat on my face and with me not knowing what anaphylactic shock entails, would display the wrong symptoms resulting in him assuming that I was suffering from rabies and make his exit quickly!

Plan 3:

Be really nice to my journalist friends and borrow their press tag so that I can gate crash the FIA press conference and run after him as he exits the stage and engage him with some delightful banter.

- urr not really gonna happen. My friends would rather interview him themselves. Even if it worked, and my friends take a leave off their senses and risk losing their jobs to give me my 3 minutes with Fernando, given the extent of my awe of the great man, I would probably end up giggling and ogling like an imbecile instead of garnering enough brain-power to engage him in any kind of conversation.

Well, there are other plans, but they get more and more ludicrous, so will not share!

So there you have it. So much for the master planner and strategiser, aye?

Anyone else out there have any plans to share?