Brilliant Sebastian Vettel and the Boos!!

It is just a matter of time before Sebastian Vettel is crowned 2013 Formula One World Champion which will be for the fourth consecutive time. Vettel was driving on another planet at the Singapore GP as he demolished his rivals. It is very rare to see a car and driver in perfect sync with each but I think that is exactly what Vettel and his RBR managed to achieve this weekend. He has always been quick but for at least 30% of the race he was a whopping 2 seconds faster than the entire field, which is an unbelievable feat that has not been seen in F1 for over 20 years.

One thing that has emerged in the last couple of races is that the battle for 2nd is proving to be the most interesting part of the race. Not taking anything away from Vettel, but there are 6-7 drivers who are so close and battling for position, which is more fun. They all qualify within 2-3 tenths off each other and its anyone's game after. Fernando Alonso has finished in 2nd place in the last three races and this is mainly due to his starts and his aggressive first couple of laps. If you actually look at the first few laps of any race there are only two drivers who are really aggressive on a regular basis, Vettel and Alonso. Even if Vettel loses the lead off the start line he will manage to get it back by the end of the first or second lap. Alonso similarly jumps atleast 3-4 place in the opening laps. This then helps them in controlling the outcome to their race.

Now let's come to the topic that is becoming a regular occurrence at the podium ceremony. Vettel is clearly getting booed at every race and now it's becoming a fashion of sorts to boo him. Many people including RBR Team Boss Christian Horner and others say it is not sporting and shows lack of respect. Vettel did not show any sort of sportsmanship or respect when the whole Multi 21 episode happened so not sure why they should use words like sportsmanship and respect when he did not follow the same. Most of the booing is a result of Multi 21 when Vettel disobeyed team orders and overtook Webber in Malaysia.

Alonso also got booed when Felipe Massa let him through in Hockenheim 2010 but thats just how the sport goes. My opinion is very simple, don't preach or tell the F1 fans what to do - people want to boo let them, people want to cheer let them. The more you harp on the booing the more it will get. And hey if you look at a sport like Football it is a regular occurrence. If the booing goes on I am not sure it will help Red Bull in the long run, but hey as long as they keep winning not sure they will have a problem. But am sure it must be disturbing for the team and a big task ahead for the Red Bull PR and Marketing team to make him more likeable. I am sure many people disagree with me but this is my view.

On that note I do believe Vettel has driven brilliantly to totally deserve this year's world championship. I do not think he was a deserving 2012 winner but this year he has been flawless. I expect him to be crowned 2013 F1 Champion at the Indian GP. So now bring on 2014!!

Why Raikkonen to Ferrari spells doom for the Italian Team!!

#Ferrari are all set to confirm 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen as a replacement for Felipe Massa today. #Raikkonen will partner double world champion Fernando Alonso in what will easily be the strongest driver line-up in Formula One since the early 1990s. In my view this is a huge mistake on the part of Ferrari and I do not see anything good coming out of it. I also strongly believe Alonso will not stay at Ferrari post 2015.

#Alonso has had the best years of his career in Ferrari over the last 4 years even though he has failed to win the championship, albeit coming close in both 2010 and 2012. He has given all for the team and driven over the limits of the car. The only thing that has stopped Alonso from winning the titles in both years has not been Sebastian Vettel, but Ferrari itself. For him take the battle to the last race of both 2010 and 2012 was nothing short of miraculous as the car was maybe third best or second best at times. What has amazed me is Ferrari have had the same problem for 4 years, correlation problems with their wind tunnels. They have never managed to constantly improve the car over the year, but rather improve it in 2-3 races. This move by Ferrari will not impress Alonso and I feel this will dent his motivation as well. He might have made some comments over the last few months but it was only to motivate the team.

Raikkonen arriving at Ferrari will have many many benefits but somehow think the negatives will outweigh the positives. Raikkonen brings in wealth of experience and with big regulation changes for next year it will be good for the team. Raikkonen will push Alonso to the limit, thereby making him even better. One thing that will definitely help Alonso raise his qualifying game will be Raikkonen. The biggest gain will be what Ferrari looking to achieve with this pairing, the Constructors Title. This has eluded them since the Schumacher era and this will be the main focus for next year. But at what cost, Alonso??

The biggest problem Ferrari will face is both drivers taking points off each other. This will make things a lot easier for Vettel again, with his new team-mate not good enough as yet to pose any problems. Race strategies will also be compromised.

I feel that Ferrari should have gone with  a driver like Nico Hulkenberg, young and super quick and will definitely push Alonso but not hamper him. Ferrari's problem stem from the top and thats what they have to fix. They need Flavio Briatore or Ross Brawn at the helm, guys who are totally efficient and leave nothing to chance. Not sure Stefano Domenciali is the man to the lead them to the next title. And when things erupt between Alonso and Raikkonen, he is definitely not going to be the man to handle it and neither is Ferrari boss Luca di Montzemolo.

So next year Ferrari will have Rory Bryne, Pat Fry, James Allison and Nicholas Tombazis working on the the 2014 challenger that will be driven by Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. On paper it sounds most exciting and I can see media talking about it all through winter to the first race in Melbourne. I for one am not jumping up and about can see Vettel taking title No. 5 next year!!    

Forget F1!! MotoGP is where all the action is

F1 is easily the most popular form of Motorsport in the world and I don't think anyone can discount that. But if anyone watched last weekend's MotoGP from Silverstone you will know why MotoGP has suddenly the in thing with riders putting everything on the line to fight for the championship. I am not sure that there is any competitive sport in the world where competitors participate despite having broken collarbones, dislocated shoulders, broken legs, hands etc. This year in MotoGP the three leading contenders are so desperate to win the championship that they are willing to ride at all costs, putting their bodies on the line.

MotoGP has always been competitive, like any other racing category, with two guys always fighting it out for the championship. The last 6 years has seen Stoner vs Rossi, Rossi vs Lorenzo, Stoner vs Lorenzo and Lorenzo vs Pedrosa. But this year the interest in MotoGP has gone up ten fold because of one man, Marc Marquez. The 20 year old Spaniard is in his rookie season in MotoGP and has gone on to not only exceed expectations but is currently leading the riders championship by 30 points, with 6 races to go.

Marc Marquez battled for the 2011 Moto 2 (level below MotoGP) championship but eventually lost out to current LCR Honda rider Stefan Bradl, after not participating in the last two rounds. Marquez decided to stay in Moto 2 for another year rather than move to MotoGP with an average team. His second season in Moto 2 gave him the experience and maturity he needed as he won the title with 9 wins and only 3 races off the podium. He has had to fight from last on the grid in quite a few races and this has helped him improve greatly.

This year's MotoGP title was always going to be between Lorenzo and Pedrosa but Marquez has been brilliant in almost every weekend. Race by race he has improved greatly and is now totally comfortable on his Honda. Most people expected him to crash regularly but it is actually his more experienced rivals that have done so. He took full advantage of injuries to his rivals to win 4 races in a row and lead the championship. Injury or no injury Marquez slides the bike all through the race and it is always great to see a rookie kicking ass!!

Which brings us back to the Silverstone MotoGP race. Marquez drove out of his skin to put his HRC on pole after Lorenzo also put in one of the greatest laps of his career. Marquez then dislocated his shoulder in Sunday morning warm-up and looked very doubtful for the race. The medical team managed to the 'pop the shoulder back in' and he was confirmed to race an hour before the start. After Lorenzo jumped him at the start they stayed together for the whole race. Marquez got ahead with 3 laps to go before Lorenzo got him back. The last lap saw one of the greatest finishes ever with 4 lead changes before Lorenzo got Marquez in the second last corner to take a brilliant win. The Yamaha team have been struggling to find pace behind the Honda's so Lorenzo's win makes it even more special.

Lorenzo broke his collar bone earlier in the year at Assen and rode after putting a steel plate in there. He crashed again the following week damaging the steel plate. Pedrosa also got injured but raced despite being injured. The three title contenders are willing to put everything on the line to win this year and with 6 races to go it is all to play for. In my view if I had a MotoGP race and F1 race at the same time, this year it is MotoGP for me.