Wizard of Oz
Saturday, May 15, 2010 at 02:20PM
So, Mark Webber does it again, way to go Aussie! We actually have two Australians on pole at Monaco with Daniel Ricciardo fastest for the World Series 3.5 race. American Alexander Rossi qualified third in his session before having a big accident that brought out the red flag. They actually ran a split qualifying, with the second group getting the benefit of the track rubbering in at about a second a lap, so Rossi will start fifth on the grid once they put the groups together.
Talking of split qualifying the predictions of traffic being a problem became a reality, but not until there were only the ten fastest and best drivers on track who could not or would not get out of each others way! Massa again being a major culprit. Q1 passed without incident that I could see.
Massa's supposed replacement at Ferrari, Mark Webber, has now apparently signed a new contract with Red Bull, which makes much more sense. Why would he want go and play second fiddle to Alonso, or more to the point why would any of the top drivers, and why would Ferrari really want to replace Massa? Ferrari has rarely fielded two equal drivers, and Massa seems the perfect "other" driver. Not many drivers in the paddock are going to do a better job. He only lost the World Championship by one point two years ago.
Continuing with Ferrari, it will be interesting for us to see Alonso fight his way through the traffic following his accident, but not sure he will enjoy it. He is a fighter though and an overtaker, so it will make for good viewing.
I know Monaco is a slower track, but it is interesting that Virgin and Lotus are now only three seconds off the pace. I guess when you are that slow it is easier to find improvements and it will get harder, and more expensive, as they improve.
Good to see some comments from readers, thanks Eddie, and I will try and follow up where appropriate. I am going to try and give equal thought to most forms of racing, but as I said this is not a news source, there are plenty of those out there. This is a commentary, so it is only when something grabs my attention and I feel I have something worth saying that I will move myself to write on it.
Talking of split qualifying the predictions of traffic being a problem became a reality, but not until there were only the ten fastest and best drivers on track who could not or would not get out of each others way! Massa again being a major culprit. Q1 passed without incident that I could see.
Massa's supposed replacement at Ferrari, Mark Webber, has now apparently signed a new contract with Red Bull, which makes much more sense. Why would he want go and play second fiddle to Alonso, or more to the point why would any of the top drivers, and why would Ferrari really want to replace Massa? Ferrari has rarely fielded two equal drivers, and Massa seems the perfect "other" driver. Not many drivers in the paddock are going to do a better job. He only lost the World Championship by one point two years ago.
Continuing with Ferrari, it will be interesting for us to see Alonso fight his way through the traffic following his accident, but not sure he will enjoy it. He is a fighter though and an overtaker, so it will make for good viewing.
I know Monaco is a slower track, but it is interesting that Virgin and Lotus are now only three seconds off the pace. I guess when you are that slow it is easier to find improvements and it will get harder, and more expensive, as they improve.
Good to see some comments from readers, thanks Eddie, and I will try and follow up where appropriate. I am going to try and give equal thought to most forms of racing, but as I said this is not a news source, there are plenty of those out there. This is a commentary, so it is only when something grabs my attention and I feel I have something worth saying that I will move myself to write on it.
Reader Comments (1)
No, it"s great Bob. I think I"ve actually found a blog that I want to follow. If you have a rant, don"t hold back let"s hear it!! Now I"ve freed myself from the time consuming shackles that was Facebook I"ve got plenty of time in the evening to read some Bob Barnard.
I know you have a bigger audience than just me so it would be good to hear some other peoples reactions hopefully. They could be a bit shy I guess.