Melbourne GP Weekend- Qualifying and Raceday

I have got soooo much work to do, its not funny anymore...But anyways, some things take priority over others and so I shall put up this blog first and then endeavour to attend to other matters that demand my attention...

So right...where were we...? Oh yeah...my account of qualifying and raceday.

Saturday, 1st of April 2006

Actually, you'll all know how qualifying went and as far as I'm concerned there was nothing really exceptional about it. Although I must say, I was quite stunned that Jenson took pole. I had just assumed that we'd be seeing Fernie or Kimi on pole (yet again!) and so Jenson was a bit of a surprise...A lot of people were positively gleeful that Michael didn't make the cut for the final 10 contenders, and to be honest, that didn't really shock me all that much...As much as I love my team, I don't think they are quite up to the pace of the damn Renaults or Mclarens at the moment. So yeah, that was basically quali, and my memory is a bit hazy as to what we did for the remainder of the day, so really, it can't have been too important...

Sunday, 2nd of April 2006

Anyhoos, coming to raceday itself, I must mention that the atmosphere at Albert Park was absolutely electric. Lots and lots of F1 fans and it warmed me to the core to see such passion for a sport that I love. I'm not going to bother going into the details of the race itself, but below is a list of the few things that left an indelible imprint on my memory-

1) Driver's photo-shoot/ driver's parade- Now this is where desperate fans like us hope to catch a 5 second glimpse of their heroes and shout loud enough so that they actually turn and wave...I must say that I was totally smitten by Ralf throughout this entire period and my video footage is testimony to this...For a while at least, in my mind, even Michael was overshadowed by the presence of his younger brother...Ralf...very cute...very sexy...totally adorable...
Moving right along, besides Ralf, we got pretty good pics of Kimi waving (he was like right in front of us) and a few of the other drivers too...

2) Start of the race- There is NOTHING like hearing the sound of 22 Formula One V8 engines go VROOM all at once!!!! And I mean NOTHING!! Beautiful sound, although I think I may be suffering from permanent hearing damage as a result of that...Well worth it though!! Very, very wicked!! Just watching the "lights-going-out" sequence had me holding my breath and got my adrenalin pumping...And when the cars did take off...whoa!! nothing can describe the anxiety you feel as you hope that your idol makes it through the first corner safely.

3) Michael's shunt on lap 33- Ok now...this was not as bad for me as I thought it would be. I could see that Michael was struggling and although I have full faith in Michael's driving abilities, I was a bit skeptical that the red machine was doing its bit...However, it was really disappointing for me to see Michael go out of the race like that...I do think that it was Michael's fault in that instance though, but I suppose that my consolation came in the fact that he chose to crash out only a few metres away from me, and so I have pretty good footage of him getting back to the pits.

4) JPM stopping his Mclaren right in front of us was again, a bit unexpected, but was received by me with relief and a little joy...at least Mclaren would miss out on a few Constructor's points a result of that.

5) Jenson's engine failure on the last lap- In my opinion, Jenson can be a bit of a prick at times (I was totally unimpressed with his indecision about whether he wanted to stay with BAR or move to Williams), but I must say...my heart went out to the poor bugger...I had seen something like this in 1998 or 1999 when Mika Hakkinen's Mclaren gave up on him on the last lap and Michael happily took the spoils of victory, and then, to be quite honest, I was completely ecstatic. However, even Mika wasn't THAT close to the finish line...Like seriously, Jenson could have put out the fire which was devouring his car and pushed it all the way past the chequered flag...he was so damn close...he must have been so incensed after that and I can totally empathise with him...

All in all, it was a fantastic race...We had great seats, were right in the thick of the action and the atmosphere in Albert Park was absolutely mind-blowing, so every cent that we paid for those damn tickets was extremely worth it...I wasn't too displeased with the podium either coz I got to oggle at Ralf for a bit and I don't really mind Fernie...I do have this inexplicable thing against Kimi (I think he's hot and all, but I can't bring myself to like him...I think he's too emotionally detached from the sport), but nevertheless, if there was anyone who deserved that podium finish, it was Kimi.

We didn't really do much after the race...just went back to our dodgy hotel and packed up all our stuff to return home. I hated that bit, coz in the few days that I was in Melbourne, I had fallen in love with the place...If I couldn't stay there, I wanted to go on to Imola with the F1 circus, but definitely not return to Perth...

Now, I'm sad and resentful and am desperately trying to hold on to my memories of that glorious weekend (good luck to me...holding on to my memories is like holding on to sand in my palm...damn!!)...which will inevitably fade with age and time...damn...could I not be so damn pessimistic!!

*sigh* so that's it then I guess...my account of the Melbourne GP is done and over with...Will post up some of my pics soon...

But yeah, if any of you'll out there are contemplating going to a Formula One race, I can only say one thing to you..."GO!!!" Don't miss out on an opportunity of a lifetime...it is seriously well worth it...

Arrivederci!

Melbourne GP Weekend- 30th March and 31st March 2006

Alrighty people, since I can't seem to get my head around doing my uni work (which I seriously have to start on soon...*I love procastinating!!*), I shall go into a narrative of my first ever GP...namely the Melbourne GP 2006...

So where should I start...

Thursday, 30th of March 2006

Well, I hardly slept much the previous night...I was so enthused and pumped for the F1 experience that lay at the horizon. I left Perth at 8am which wasn't too bad and reached Melbourne at 14:30 to catch up with two of my friends Leenz, and PJ (who came down for the GP all the way from Singapore)...Our hotel was a bit dodgy (esp. the toilet which had serious flushing problems), but such things seemed minor at the time. Melbourne itself was alive with the F1 vibe drifting everywhere...Fans decked out in their team's merchandise, souvenir shops bursting with people, posters promoting the race and F1 fever in general was everywhere...a true paradise for someone like myself. Have never experienced anything like it before...Usually, its a "Oh, you are an F1 fan? Isn't that like cars just going around in circles??" Damn...some people just don't get it!!

Had a real good time that day...Was my first time in Melbourne and I really loved the place. The F1 Official Program said that there wasn't much F1 stuff happening on track that day (seemingly they were wrong, coz some of the F1 drivers, such as Ralf Schumacher were giving autographs...Leenz was so pissed!!), so we didn't go to track but went about Melbourne city. Then in the evening, on our way back to the hotel, Leenz caught a glimpse of something happening down at the Hugo Boss store on Collins Street and so we went along coz Hugo are the official sponsors of Team Mclaren Mercedes and we were kind of hoping to catch Kimi Raikkonen there too...Turns out that Kimi wasn't there, but David Coulthard was!!! I dunno what the hell he was doing there!! True he's like an ex-Mclaren driver and all, but you hardly think that he would be there at an event like that, instead of Kimi or Juan who are current drivers for the team...It was good though...He gave an interview or two and I swear that I saw him applying lip balm...totally unexpected!! After that he just casually walked down the street with his girlfriend Karen Minier...shocking, probably coz I've always thought that F1 drivers were just not completely ordinary people...A limousine pulling up in front of the store would have suited my imagination a bit better...

I think after all that excitement with Hugo Boss and DC, we headed out to St. Kilda for a nice dinner and an even nicer glass of champagne...

Friday, 31st of March 2006

Was really looking forward to this day as it would be the first time I'd see an F1 car. We went out to the practice sessions...OMG!! I loved the cars and their associated V8 sounds made me feel warm and fuzzy...There is nothing like seeing an F1 car in person...TV images don't do them enough justice...the damn things are so fast that I caught only blurs of the cars on camera...Even on videocam, you can just see them whizzing past...So cool though hey!!

The key moment for me in the entire day was in the first practice session when Michael came out for a lap. I cannot describe the emotions I felt then. My heart was seriously pounding as he came down the main straight and passed by us (we were in the Fangio grandstand right in front of the team pits and the start-finish line). I'll be honest with you...I love Michael a lot...I don't think he's cute or anything...(Kimi and Ralf are more serious contenders in that category), but I think he's looking fantastic at 37 and that he is a fantastic driver...I've seen him drive in the crappy Ferrari's of the late 90's when his car would break down every other race...I've seen him drive in conditions which have earned him the title "Reinmeister"...I have seen him lose the World Championship in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and boy! didn't those hurt!!! Anyhoos, to see him drive in the flesh was a surreal moment for me...It rekindled all my admiration and awe for the man...I am a true Ferrarista or whatever it is you call Schumi fans...

After the practice sessions, Leenz, Pam and me went totally wild buying merchandise...I spent such a lot of money that day!! Damn!!

Another observation I made at the race track was that there were soooo many people, even though it was only practice...and that most of them were decked out in Ferrari gear :)

For an in-depth breakdown of our activities/more first-hand accounts of the GP, visit pjlifesucks.blogspot.com and blogabtnothing.blogspot.com

My F1 background

For someone who claims to be an F1 fanatic for 8 years now (namely, me!), it sure has taken me a while to go to my first Grand Prix...

See, this is the way it goes...When I was 13, I used to live in Kuwait...I stumbled across F1 by accident really...I was bored and flipping through channels and I saw this car, a really fast one zip past on telly...Curiosity got a hold on me and I lingered on...After sitting through the remainder of what happened to be a Formula One race, I decided that I liked the car in red and that I didn't quite mind that bloke named Michael. After that, well...following races became a necessity for me...I used to get up at unearthly hours, cheer Ferrari with unprecedented passion and seriously pray that Michael and his then crappy Ferrari would last the race in question.

At that time, all the races were held everywhere except the Middle East...so I just resigned myself to watching F1 at home, like everyone else I knew at the time...I joined Michael Schumacher's Official Australian Fan Club (the damn thing decided to close half way through my membership!!) and followed Ferrari's progress via the internet which was still in its infancy.

Anyhoos, years later, what do you know...I come to Australia to study, and the FIA decides that its the perfect time to bring a little bit of entertainment to the Middle East, and so they brought F1 to Bahrain...Since fate was against me, I decided that the only way I would ever be able to do this right, would be to go to Melbourne (not a very enticing prospect, coz my beloved Ferrari don't really have a scintillating track record at Albert Park!)...but yeah...it was either go to Melbourne and see Michael before he retires, or don't bother and regret the fact for the rest of my life...So yeah, I decided to go...a minor question of financing still remained though...

Being a student, I'm always poor, and so my beloved parents stepped in to help me fulfill a dream...Between them, they paid for my Grandstand tickets, accomodation, flights and shopping/other expenses...I am very grateful to them for that...Love ya folks!!

And now, finally, after all this time, I got the chance to go to a GP...I started my countdown six months ago...and on the 30th of March 2006, I was off to my first ever Formula One Grand Prix!!

Intro

Hello all!

Right, first of all, I'm CQ and this is my first ever blog, so please excuse any errors or cardinal sins of blogging that I may commit during my time in cyberspace. I had been "planning" to publish this blog for ages but didn't get to doing it until now coz I was just too busy being lazy...However, I have finally decided that it was time that got off my backside and did something "productive", so instead of doing my 1001 uni assignments which are due next week, I shall blog instead...(I love blogging already...allows me to rant and rave on like a lunatic!!)...

Anyhoos people, I shall leave it at that but will have my first post up soon...its gonna be about my trip to the Melbourne GP, so keep an eye out for that...

Forza Ferrari!