Monday, October 27, 2008
Team Antics
If you're in a team sport, it's a given that team priority takes precedence over all else. Be it football, F1 or rugby - it doesn't make a difference. The goal is to pull thru for the team.
Therefore I hope to see Ferrari make this work for them this weekend at Interlagos. It ain't over till the fat lady sings.
And Kimi shouldn't complain.
Life in general is also often a team sport. You've got to stick it up for your team. If someone shoots your guy down at a sales pitch you better have your buddies back. If you're also nitpicking at them in front of the cohort, then you've lost the plot.
Creating a public ruckus is unacceptable. It shows immaturity and a lack of control.
Play the team game.
Therefore I hope to see Ferrari make this work for them this weekend at Interlagos. It ain't over till the fat lady sings.
And Kimi shouldn't complain.
Life in general is also often a team sport. You've got to stick it up for your team. If someone shoots your guy down at a sales pitch you better have your buddies back. If you're also nitpicking at them in front of the cohort, then you've lost the plot.
Creating a public ruckus is unacceptable. It shows immaturity and a lack of control.
Play the team game.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Killing the V8
As I was reading a press release about the FIAs plans to introduce a single engine rule in F1 my thoughts quickly skewed to how single tracked F1 would become. Everyone would be on level packing in terms of power and racing at the pinnacle of motor sport would be reduced to merely aerodynamics, setup and driver skills.
I say merely with some degree of caution. Don’t get me wrong - I rate driver skills as a massively important aspect for F1 however once the novelty of 22 drivers racing on similar terms wears of, F1 will become another A1GP. Cheers for the Country aplenty and not much else.
F1 will become much of the same. If the manufacturers chose to stick around, people will be cheering for manufacturer. Surely some drivers will get accolades but over time morale to drive in F1 will wither and F1 may slowly experience a slow and expensive death.
It’s more likely however to predict that the big name manufacturers will shy away from the sport. As the sport slowly edges towards an being more of a exhibition (much like WWE), technical development will become less of a focus as the FIA continues to look for ways to drive down costs. The big name manufacturers will have fewer technologies to take away from F1 that they can plug into their road cars.
With anything that has to do with money, there are really two ways to understand why you’d want to purchase or spend. First you could set your requirements and look for the product that delivers on those requirements at the best price. Or you could look for the cheapest category-specific item in the market; paying little attention to weather or not it fits your needs.
I fear the FIA is biased towards the later.
Personally, the former should be the rule of the day. Teams should get together with the automobile industry as a whole and begin to understand the aspects of F1 that will make the sport profitable, pragmatic and exciting. Stop trying to save money for the sake of just that. The solution needs to be viable in the long run, not just cheap.
Non-power-sapping traction control systems were unheard of until it was introduced in F1. The trend for sustainable racing and roadworthy technology needs a revival. Here KERS comes in at the right time. Perhaps in future, hybrid F1 cars may be possible too. The possibilities are endless. But don’t stifle competitive development.
Necessity is the mother of invention but in today’s world, value also drives profitability. Bottom line: standardization is not the way to go in competitive motor racing. Standardised engines, if approved, will be the precursor to the demise of Formula 1 as we know it.
I say merely with some degree of caution. Don’t get me wrong - I rate driver skills as a massively important aspect for F1 however once the novelty of 22 drivers racing on similar terms wears of, F1 will become another A1GP. Cheers for the Country aplenty and not much else.
F1 will become much of the same. If the manufacturers chose to stick around, people will be cheering for manufacturer. Surely some drivers will get accolades but over time morale to drive in F1 will wither and F1 may slowly experience a slow and expensive death.
It’s more likely however to predict that the big name manufacturers will shy away from the sport. As the sport slowly edges towards an being more of a exhibition (much like WWE), technical development will become less of a focus as the FIA continues to look for ways to drive down costs. The big name manufacturers will have fewer technologies to take away from F1 that they can plug into their road cars.
With anything that has to do with money, there are really two ways to understand why you’d want to purchase or spend. First you could set your requirements and look for the product that delivers on those requirements at the best price. Or you could look for the cheapest category-specific item in the market; paying little attention to weather or not it fits your needs.
I fear the FIA is biased towards the later.
Personally, the former should be the rule of the day. Teams should get together with the automobile industry as a whole and begin to understand the aspects of F1 that will make the sport profitable, pragmatic and exciting. Stop trying to save money for the sake of just that. The solution needs to be viable in the long run, not just cheap.
Non-power-sapping traction control systems were unheard of until it was introduced in F1. The trend for sustainable racing and roadworthy technology needs a revival. Here KERS comes in at the right time. Perhaps in future, hybrid F1 cars may be possible too. The possibilities are endless. But don’t stifle competitive development.
Necessity is the mother of invention but in today’s world, value also drives profitability. Bottom line: standardization is not the way to go in competitive motor racing. Standardised engines, if approved, will be the precursor to the demise of Formula 1 as we know it.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
McLaren’s dirty boys
Having lost pace off the line and being overtaken by World Champion Kimi Raikkonen Lewis Hamilton executed the dirty tactics mirroring the likes of many world champs before him by driving both himself and Kimi off the road.
Although at first glance you may discount this move as nerves, the replays suggest some form for premeditation in this move. What surprised me just as much was how Hekki Kovalainen also veered into the path of Kimi and Felipe Massa at that very first corner – as though to ensure the Ferrari boys made their way off track.
Sunday afternoon at Fuji also saw some underhanded tactics from championship challenger Felipe Massa as he took Lewis out by running straight over the kerbs.
Perhaps poetic, but both McLaren drivers paid for the opening corners fracas. Lewis took a drive thru penalty while almost at the same time Hekki’s engine went up in smoke. Similarly, Massa also endured a drive thru penalty.
Once the early laps dust had settled, it was straight forward racing from early leader Robert Kubica, Fernando Alonso and eventually Kimi Raikkonen. After the first round of stops, Fernando fueled light and took the lead from Robert. The rest was history as the two-time world champ crossed the finish like to take his second successive victory in 2008 and his 22nd F1 chequered flag.
Robert and Kimi battled it out of the 2nd round of stops but graining on the Ferrari drivers tires didn’t allow him to pass the BMW – a car that hasn’t been updated significantly over the last couple of months. One might even say a lack of commitment from Kimi to get by also contributed to Kimi standing on the bottom step of the podium.
The two championship leaders made up only 1 point between them. Massa managed to salvage a sole point having overtaken Webber in the closing laps of the race. Lewis meanwhile went home scoreless as he took himself home in 11th.
With just two rounds to go, Lewis still leads the drivers championship by 6 points from Massa. As F1 heads to China in a week’s time, the odds are still against Massa. Back to back victories may still be insufficient to see him take the cake.
I’m looking forward to seeing Massa pick up 6 points relative to Lewis in Shanghai. That will take the championship down to the wire in Interlagos.
Although at first glance you may discount this move as nerves, the replays suggest some form for premeditation in this move. What surprised me just as much was how Hekki Kovalainen also veered into the path of Kimi and Felipe Massa at that very first corner – as though to ensure the Ferrari boys made their way off track.
Sunday afternoon at Fuji also saw some underhanded tactics from championship challenger Felipe Massa as he took Lewis out by running straight over the kerbs.
Perhaps poetic, but both McLaren drivers paid for the opening corners fracas. Lewis took a drive thru penalty while almost at the same time Hekki’s engine went up in smoke. Similarly, Massa also endured a drive thru penalty.
Once the early laps dust had settled, it was straight forward racing from early leader Robert Kubica, Fernando Alonso and eventually Kimi Raikkonen. After the first round of stops, Fernando fueled light and took the lead from Robert. The rest was history as the two-time world champ crossed the finish like to take his second successive victory in 2008 and his 22nd F1 chequered flag.
Robert and Kimi battled it out of the 2nd round of stops but graining on the Ferrari drivers tires didn’t allow him to pass the BMW – a car that hasn’t been updated significantly over the last couple of months. One might even say a lack of commitment from Kimi to get by also contributed to Kimi standing on the bottom step of the podium.
The two championship leaders made up only 1 point between them. Massa managed to salvage a sole point having overtaken Webber in the closing laps of the race. Lewis meanwhile went home scoreless as he took himself home in 11th.
With just two rounds to go, Lewis still leads the drivers championship by 6 points from Massa. As F1 heads to China in a week’s time, the odds are still against Massa. Back to back victories may still be insufficient to see him take the cake.
I’m looking forward to seeing Massa pick up 6 points relative to Lewis in Shanghai. That will take the championship down to the wire in Interlagos.
Friday, October 10, 2008
A step backwards
Perodua recently launched what I interpret to be a mid-life facelift of the hugely popular MyVI model. Although the facelift was barely noteworthy, the main aesthetics of the car remained as it was. And that was a good thing.
The makers of the MyVi has now taken it one step further and is now offering a facelited version of its MyVi Special Edition (SE). Special it is - mostly because it now looks like your run off the mill ah beng ride. Note: No racial stereotyping intended.
On a positive note, the MyVi now looks like it comes with Electronic Brakeforece Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist(BA) - two technologies I'd expect as standard on any car sold today. Also the idea to ditch the embedded head unit is a boon to those who'd want to quickly snap out the stock unit in favour of one that plays music (as opposed to noise).
So should you buy the MyVi SE? I probably wouldn't. I'd much rather get myself the non-SE premium variant and snap on my own body kit - assuming I even wanted a body kit.
After all, its a worthy reminder that the MyVi is a passenger car. Not a sportster.
For more info, head on over to http://www.perodua.com.my/index.php?section=ourcars&page=myvi
The makers of the MyVi has now taken it one step further and is now offering a facelited version of its MyVi Special Edition (SE). Special it is - mostly because it now looks like your run off the mill ah beng ride. Note: No racial stereotyping intended.
On a positive note, the MyVi now looks like it comes with Electronic Brakeforece Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist(BA) - two technologies I'd expect as standard on any car sold today. Also the idea to ditch the embedded head unit is a boon to those who'd want to quickly snap out the stock unit in favour of one that plays music (as opposed to noise).
So should you buy the MyVi SE? I probably wouldn't. I'd much rather get myself the non-SE premium variant and snap on my own body kit - assuming I even wanted a body kit.
After all, its a worthy reminder that the MyVi is a passenger car. Not a sportster.
For more info, head on over to http://www.perodua.com.my/index.php?section=ourcars&page=myvi
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