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!

Ross Brawn's Vote of Confidence...

I have always loved Ross Brawn and the day he left Ferrari was a sad day for me indeed.

Now I have another reason why I love the guy. In an article published in http://www.f1sa.com/, he stated that Montezemolo's comments earlier regarding Fernando and Kimi is in no way a signal saying that Ferrari would never hire Fernando. It just means that having 2 lead drivers is never a good way of running an F1 team (quoting Prost-Senna, as well as Fernando-Lewis as examples.)

He went on to say that when Honda produces a WCC car:

"We will have to have one of the best drivers."

"I am not saying we want Alonso, I am just saying that, currently, there are two or three drivers that are above the level of the rest, and Alonso is one of them."

The article can be read at the following link:

http://www.f1sa.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1522&Itemid=156

Again, I think the reporters wouldn't be doing their job if they do not ask Fernando what he thinks of Ross Brawn's statement. They would probably then ask, if Fernando sees himself at Honda in 2009. Or, is Honda one of his preferred teams after Renault? What are the chances that he will join Honda with Ross Brawn there?

I think this is a MINEFIELD! It's potentially dangerous to answer any of the questions above or add fire to the speculations.

Fernando did very well this past weekend. The headlines that say "Alonso Keeps His Own Counsel" and "Alonso Positive Despite Early Finish" are so much better than "Improve or I am Gone.." and "Fernando Alonso Frustrated by Lack of Options," for example.

Let's go with "Alonso Keeps His Own Counsel" for now. I would advise addressing those questions along the following lines:

- Thank Brawn for what he said and perhaps add that Ross Brawn is held in very high esteem and his kind words are appreciated.

- However, for now, it's time to continue to dive in and work with Renault to ensure that improvements to R-28 continue to happen. For this to happen, the drivers and the engineering team need to work closely together if we are to be in the position to challenge BMW or the leaders of the pack.

- To add to team morale, add "I am proud to be a part of the Renault team that has worked so hard to provide us with a competitive car and I am proud of what we have accomplished here for now."

I think this should be the line to be adopted in facing such questions from any press, English or Spanish. Do not open any room for "mis"interpretation. Fernando has done so well this past week, let's open more doors towards selling Brand "Fernando Alonso".

119 Laps - Day 2 Testing in Barcelona!

119 laps??? That's close to 2 F1 races! Give the man a trophy! Wonder how many laps Fernando would have completed if not for the engine shutdown in the afternoon session? With that number of laps and mileage, as well as the different packages tested, I am sure it has been a very successful session, with plenty of great data for analysis. Great job to the team and of course, to Fernando.

Pity it's already past midnight here, and I need to get some shut-eye. Gym very early tomorrow then work all day... sighhh.. Tough life!

Really want to hear the comments after today's test session.

Can Alonso Rise Again (ITV Talkback)

Doing my usual rounds today to check out the latest news on Fernando, I came across the article titled "Can Alonso Rise Again?" in ITV Talkback section.

To read this article please click on the link below:

http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Talkback&id=42311

What interested me were the responses from most of the readers, most of whom are based in the UK. Out of 15 responses, 13 were positive. The readers acknowledge his skills and talent, and his strength of character. These people are sure that he will rise again. (Though, not many are confident that he would stay with Renault post 2008 season.) From reading various F1 forums, I always had this nagging feeling that Fernando is not getting the respect that he deserves from the Anglo-world. From reading the responses here, I stand corrected.

There are die-hard fans of teams, such as Ferrari or McLaren who support the teams, and whoever happens to drive for the team. In my case, I have always been a Ferrari supporter. It's hard not to support Ferrari, they are consistent and the display of team-spirit there is great. Just seeing the red cars make me smile internally. However, I don't really like Felipe Massa - don't know why... I never did resonate with the guy. He is an ok driver, but I believe that if not for the might of the Ferrari engine, Massa would be a misnomer at the back of the field.

Alonso on the other hand - it doesn't matter to me which team he is with. If he stays with Renault this year, and ends not in the top 10 of the table - it is fine. It will be disappointing of course, but all the great drivers have had bad seasons. At least he had a year of introspection, and racing without pressure. It's racing for the heck of it - and that is, I think the best kind of racing.

Of course, in an ideal world, he would also stay at Renault for 2009, hopefully his input would result in a better, more competitive car and he will be up there, challenging Kimi and Kubica for the WDC. However, if the pace of development and budget allocation make rapid progress unlikely, I don't think anyone would blame him if he goes to another team.

F1 drivers do not become F1 drivers just to make up the numbers. The challenge is to be the fastest and the best. If the development process in Renault is too slow, if Renault is not capable of showing their commitment towards staying in F1 for the long term with a justified amount of money spent for research and development, at the end of the day, Fernando needs to go to greener pastures. He is much too talented to be wasting away in the midfield. We all understand that!

Professional Fan for Alonso??

Yup, I got back from my trip to a beautiful secluded beach on an even more beautiful island - so, am all burnt to a crisp now. Well, yes, there are things called sunblock - but, I had also forgotten how much fun body surfing is, and doing it all day for 3 straight days has to be counter productive to ANY amount of sunblock applied. No complaints though.. it is so worth it!

Anyway, yes... just before I left for holidays, I came across the advertisement by Aficionado regarding the search for Alonso's Professional Fan. Yes, I was excited. In fact, so excited that I actually wrote to the ING sponsorship department regarding the Spanish content of the advertisement, and why it appears that only Spanish people were allowed to apply. (Yes, they replied saying that their counterparts in London would let me know why, but I never heard from London...)

So I wrote to Flavio's (Briatore) email address (from his website,) and again.. Nada. Nothing. (OK, OK.. that was a bit of a long shot, even I know that!)

Today, I got back and saw in Planet F1 Forum that the applicants were supposed to submit a video of themselves on YouTube. Just out of curiosity, I decided to check out some of the submissions. What's my personal take of the process? More power to those who submitted, but certainly not something that I would do, no matter how big a fan of Fernando Alonso I am - (though this certainly pains me, as the free F1 passes and access to the pit etc is like A DREAM come true for an F1 nut like me!)

So, why not? If it meant that much to me, why not send a video, after all, who is going to see it? The following are my most honest reasons:

1. It matters to me because I guess my self-esteem is not strong enough to withstand the potential ridicule by any Tom, Dick or Harry who has access to You Tube. (Oh, and videos posted on public domain has a tendency to come back and bite you in the butt in future...)
2. Am confused as regards to the role. I thought the role of the fan is to bring the fans closer to Alonso and vice versa. How is doing public commentary on You Tube going to show the person's aptitude for the role? Surely the role of the Professional fan is supposed to be more strategic rather than public?
3. The whole process sounds too much like a three-ring circus...

So, I will concentrate on my strengths and focus on what I am actually willing to do... I will continue working on this blog privately, doing the research that I need to do quietly, posting logical and objective comments on F1 forums in defence of one of the most talented and complete F1 drivers of this generation when needed. And to all the applicants, Good Luck! God Speed! May the best fan win!

I was gonna lay off.. but then...

Had lunch - my usual F Combo - Fruit and Fillet of Fish - dunno why I am writing this down - not important, but just felt like sharing.

Came back to this from the following link:
http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3265_3393813,00.html

Fernando Alonso, Renault, 10th
Renault are striving hard to show that Alonso did nothing wrong in Bahrain but there's something odd going on. If they were the innocent party why aren't they a bit more angry at Lewis Hamilton for modifying their car's rear wing with his front tyres?

Now, should Renault neglect to share the telemetry result, or go on an offensive against Hamilton, there will of course be yells from all corners saying that Alonso is a primadonna and why aren't they sharing the telemetry if they are so blameless, etc etc. Oh, oh.. don't forget the fact that Alonso has it "in" against Hamilton hence the cries for investigation, and if it had been Kubica, or Rosberg that had run against him, things would have been forgotten - (if you are not following my train of thoughts here - the word IF above shows that this paragraph is hypothetical.)

In this case, Hamilton has already said it was his fault (though he also claims that Alonso was at fault as the latter had moved to the right, when he himself showed movement to the right.. whatever - the child's trying to get someone to kiss his little boo-boo!) Renault has chosen to be the "bigger" guys and walk away - incidents happen, accidents happen, no harm no foul. But then again, it just shows the level of bias in comments against Alonso and his team.

Let's go on to the next item brought up in the same link:

In the race today he decided to indulge in some more by waving his gloves at Timo Glock for daring to drive his Toyota on the racing line.

Or maybe Pat Symmonds will explain that Fernando had an insect in his glove that he was trying to shake out.

urrr.. honestly? All I saw was a guy putting up his hands in his car seat, but it seems to be more out of frustration given the pace of his car. It is to be expected for a person as driven and passionate about performance - to be overtaken by a Toyota must be extremely frustrating. The writer must have done the same at some point in his/her life - putting his/her hands up in the face of insurmountable obstacles, it is a normal thing to do if you are human. In my case, I would probably have banged my head against the steering wheel... but then again, that's why I am not an F1 driver.

Alonso was waving a hand and I don't see it being directed to Timo Glock, NOT the way Hammy was obviously showing his finger at Fisi. Who is the brat here? Are we seeing the same coverage?? But then again, it must have been a REAL slow news day, for the writer to comment on hand-waving in the face of all the other REAL racing stuff.

And the ending of this "enlightened" paragraph was:

Alonso is the Naomi Campbell of F1, the man most in need of anger management therapy. Perhaps it's the lack of progress at Renault that's getting to him.

hmmm... so the guy's passionate. He has YET to throw a mobile phone at any unfair commentators or writers. If he finally does it.. I will applaud him all the way!

Fed-up and Disgusted!!

Ugh!! I am so sick and fed-up with the coverage of F1 - biased commentators so quick to jump on Alonso's back for things that he did not do!

I was watching the coverage via the ESPN Starsport - I HAVE no choice being in Malaysia and the moment the incident happened with Lewis climbing up Alonso's back - there was all fury and statements being thrown up and about. I wish that I have short term memory loss, cause then I do NOT have to remember some of the remarks like the ones below:

"Ohhh that is a weird place for it to happen...",
"Alonso must have brake-tested him...",
"had that been Robert Kubica that Hamilton was fighting a place for, that would not have happened.."
"yeah, Kubica is a person who drives hard and fair - unlike certain other drivers that we shall not name..."

AAAAAAAAAAARGH!!! And this went on throughout the race and frankly - it kind of ruined the whole Live event for me. Each time there were comments such as - "ohhh, it was a really weird place for it to have happened, and it sure looks to me like Fernando "lifted" and got Hamilton."

Come on people!!! Get a grip! I know, I know as commentators, you guys are human too, and have your favourites - but the way you went on and on about how it was Alonso's fault before there was any proof, ugh.. I suggest you call up Hammy and arrange for a tryst immediately. I wish there are less unbiased commentators around - look.. You don't have to like the guy, but COME ON! You are supposed to be PROFESSIONALS!

I am disgusted! HONESTLY!

Nelsinho Says...

As I start my day in the office, the first thing I do, (besides checking my mail,) is to go to Planetf1.com. I am rather addicted to that site and a few other F1 sites, but I find PlanetF1 to be one of the best. The forumers are really funny and some of the posts there really make me laugh. And yes, they do give me fodder for some of the speeches that my partner and I write - particularly when it is linked to F1 type functions.

Anyway, today, as I scan through the news items, I came across an article on Nelson Piquet Jr. Well, generally he says that life in F1 is much harder than he had originally thought it would be.

To read the whole story, you can click on the following link:
http://www.planetf1.com/story/0,18954,3213_3373294,00.html

what interested me was how the article ended. The short, almost forgotten paragraph stated:

Piquet Jr also paid tribute to his team-mate Fernando Alonso. "He's been very good with me. He's been a great team-mate," Piquet Jr said.

I am betting that:

a) this statement will not be picked up in the British press because it will put paid to their

conspiracy that Alonso is a bad team mate and cannot get along with anyone in any team -

not just McLaren and Hamilton;
b) if it gets picked up, the slant will be towards, - all lovey dovey in Renault-
land, but that is to be expected because Nelsinho is not seen as a threat
to Alonso's alpha-male status in Renault.

I guess at this point in time, you cannot really win if you are Alonso. Any nice statements about him, it gets written in as an afterthought. Any picture of him getting along with other drivers gets shoved down the dusty rows of the archives. The media needs an antagonist, and at this point, Alonso is the chosen one.

IMHO, there needs to be a quiet but visible "transformation" of sorts in terms of his profile - sort of Alonso Comes of Age slant for 2008. This will definitely help with his public image with the sponsors and potential teams in the near future. While 2007 season can never be erased, it can certainly be utilised in crafting an image of a more worldly, matured and centred Alonso today.

Oh well, enough time for conjecture... back to the real world, and my piling emails.

How it started...

I have always been an F1 fan. I remember being fascinated by the sound of the engine of the cars as they sped around the tracks. Even at a very young age, I remember watching with trepidation for the red lights to go off, and as the cars sped towards the first corner, jostling for positions - my stomach would literally curl. The dry lips, the clammy hands. Funny, I didn't even personally know anyone in those cars. It was such a thrill.

My elder brother loved cars too. We did not have many toys, we were not rich... but we used to sit down for hours and draw F1 cars over and over on pieces of paper. My world grew wider when I learnt how to read and discovered the Encyclopedia Britannica. Whatever information I needed to know, there it was. So I read about the famous drivers of the past, the history of F1 - to a certain extent, the engine models etc. Not that I understood half of what I read. Just the thought of reading those words and looking at the diagrams or pictures, made me feel that much closer to the mystical realm of very fast cars, and the pinnacle of racing.

As a young girl, I developed a sad, but very real crush on Ayrton Senna. I never hero-worshipped anyone before. I didn't even know what I had was called a "crush" - but I spent whatever I had on magazines with pictures of Senna, reading hungrily of his latest news. As by then I was a school girl, we had very strict bedtime routine. However, my dad is a sports fanatic - all I needed to hear was the sound of an F1 race starting, and I would be out of bed, hidden on the top floor landing, peeking a very distorted view of the race on tv. However, the day Senna died, something inside me died too. I stopped watching F1 for a while. Concentrated on my own sports and school achievements, studied abroad, graduated and came home to a new life.

I decided to lay off F1 for a while. I was busy with work, trying to claw my way up the corporate ladder, until one day, I accidentally flipped channels around, and fell upon the start of an F1 race. The rest is, as you say it.. history. Once again, I have relinquished my sanity and decided to put F1 up there in one of my list of top priorities. This blog is more of a self-indulgent past-time, marrying my passion for the sport, with my passion of communication.

Why does Fernando Alonso's name become the title of my blog? Because of all famous sports personalities of his generation, he seems to be one who is frequently misunderstood, misquoted, misinterpreted - which is a pity because behind the headlines lies a humble, shy, funny human being with an excellent sense of humour, not to mention his more than a gallon of talent. Without Fernando Alonso, the world of F1 would indeed be a dull place. Even if Bernie wants us to believe that Hamilton saved F1.... without Alonso's contributions, Hamilton's rookie year would have been less dramatic. He probably would not have received the kind of frenzied adulation from the public as he did, if not for Alonso.