Formula 1, post-Schumi

Ever since this humble blog began, the gap between posts has been increasing exponentially. Well, over are the student days. And I can finally tell people the line I've heard to death, 'I am busy'. Also, the posts are now more topical and less personal or about routine things.

So Michael Schumacher has called it a day. Sportsmen should retire at a point when fans would be begging for them to stay. Not wait for the natural demise and deterioration of a talent. Not see an erstwhile superhuman become a mere mortal like us. Schumacher's falls somewhere in between. He didn't go out on a high, he wasn't at his peak, so fans wouldn't pose the question "Why now?". Ofcourse the tifosi would disagree. Neither was he bad enough for people to question his presence in Formula 1. But his time was up.

Nevertheless, the future looks good. The youngest double world champion, Fernando Alonso, displacing Schumi himself. Ice-cool Kimi Raikkonen, now in arguably the fastest car in the paddock. Jenson 'Eternal Loser' Button, who used to be the next big thing, will announce a title challenge for the nth season with Honda and go on to top winter testing to keep the sponsors happy. Some exciting youngsters in Kubica, Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

It is the future of the regulations that is cause for worry. Ferrari's domination necessitated some change in regulations. But they did not stop once the sport reached good health. They have gone from bizarre to diabolical. I disagree with more than a few.

Sport is about rewarding the good and not punishing the poor. And the 2 race engine rule and erstwhile one lap qualifying did exactly that, they punished the poor. The 2 race engine rule was said to cut down engine development costs. But rather I think they should have increased since teams would have to spend more to develop an engine to last 2 GP's. And a 10 position penalty for an engine change punishes teams with unreliable engines!

Coming to the one lap qualifying. Good riddance to that, not that I am a fan of the current one. Drivers who finished last would go first to register their timed lap. Going first meant a disadvantage on an unused track. As a result it handicapped their chances to achieve a good position. A poor qualifying would further hinder their prospects in the race. As a result teams get stuck in a vicious cycle of mediocrity. The winners would meanwhile continue to register faster times as they would go out last.

Now the current system. I am a purist. IMHO, the current qulaifying system has been 'American-ized', i.e. rings a bit hollow and act as gimmicks. Session 1,2..., knockouts, fuel credits, race fuel levels blah blah blah. I crave for the return of the 60 minute 12 flying laps system. Gone are the days when drivers would time their flying laps just in time to start before the chequered flag was waved to end the 60 minutes. The mad rush in the last few minutes to give it one more shot. The point of qualifying is to decide the 'fastest' driver per say. So give em only enough fuel to last the laps and level the playing field and then lets really have the deserving pole sitter. No more deciding your race strategy before qualifying, leave that for raceday.

The tire changes were thankfully bought back this season. Pitstops ceased to be pitstops without the tire changes last season. One tire supplier, I can live with that. If only it will further level the playing field.

Formula 1 is seen as the pinnacle of cutting edge technology. Freezing engine developments for another 2 (or something yrs) is silly IMHO. Let the development continue. F1 is not F1 without all the technology on view.

Another aspect the FIA seems to harp on is slowing down the cars. Despite a raft of regulations every year, this never happens as record laps are registered at track after track. They rather concentrate their brain cells on trying to cars the safer and ensure that the speeds are not increasing beyond an unsustainable limit.

My expected 3 horse race for the title has not materialised for the last 2 seasons. Ferrari last season and McLaren this season went AWOL for different reasons. All the 3 big teams, Ferrari, McLaren and Renault go into the next season with a hint of uncertainty and unknown. The reshuffling of Ferrari with Jean Todt's promotion to CEO of Ferrari and Ross Brawn's sabbatical is underway. Coupled with the fact that the 2 main title contenders in Alonso and Raikkonen will be in new teams. Only one team and driver with a hint of continuity comes to mind. None other than the ex-next big thing, Jenson 'Eternal Loser' Button whos been at Honda for 2-3 years (or more). Could he finally step up to the plate and give me the 3 horse race that I crave for?

Gentleman, start your engines... err sorry... not for another few months. I can barely wait.