more reading.....

i saw the latest issue out at the news stand....

but i resisted buying cos sometimes i can get a free copy.... so i rather be patient and wait till i get it...

for this month, there's a special on JLC's new range of navy seals diving watches.....

and also a very in-depth and refreshing feature on richard mille (the person) and felipe massa..... which makes very good reading......

thank you..!!

welcome back.....!!

it surely must feel good to be back .....

so it's also my pleasure to say welcome back felipe..!!

and next year will be so tough with fernando alonso right beside him..... but looked at how he handled the pressure of racing alongside kimi raikkonen...... he's now true-blue multiple race winner himself....

notice the watch on his wrist? i wonder if this is the same richard mille rm011 he wore when he crashed at hungaroring.... if yes, isnt that a tough little beast of a watch as well haha....

pic from autoblog

a bruising line-up??

so it has been confirmed....... spanish bad boy alonso joins ferrari next year.....

let's not forget, the last time alonso had a team-mate who was as fast as he is, it created problems that became TOO HUGE for anyone to handle.... and the team imploded!!

so he went back to flavio, who made sure that his favourite will always be number 1 in his team.....

now for 2010, how will ferrari handle both alsonso and massa...???? let's see.....

and one more thing, all ferrari-kimi raikkonen apparel is obsolete from now on haha........ so how are they going to clear stock..??? put them on cheap sale..??

if you dun mind the older stuff, you can already order this "retro" cap for 5 euro dollars.....

the lucky 10.....

oh gosh....... it's another LE edition but ...... this time there's abit of difference in the execution cos hey hey there are only 10 pieces..!!!

i am quite sure at press time, all 10 are already accounted for...... so the rest of us can only admire the picture..... or go for the regular edition.......

indeed over the years there have been many LE for the rm011...... of course there are some winners, in particular the singapore gp edition and the chronopassion black edition etc

in comparison with the rest, the le mans edition looks abit muted ....... and so the regular edition remains the best bet at the most reasonable price.....

all packed up...... for singapura...

immediately after the race at monza the teams have all packed up...... and soon they will bye bye to europe and descent upon singapore for 2nd time in a row......

after so many races this season, i still find it strangely unsettling to see the brawn GP team and drivers fighting for honours at the top.....

it was only 12 months ago where felipe massa was battling lewis hamilton for the drivers' world championship and now? no massa for the rest of the season and lewis hamilton has lost all mathematical chances of defending his world title.........

will i be at marina bay this year?...... well i am kinda undecided at this time........ well if i could get my hands on THE PADDOCK CLUB!!! I WILL GO..!!

cheers....

watch my head 2...!!

oh gosh....

thank god he's ok cos it's such a miracle....... and he survived not only a SMASH on his helmet but also a 5.5g crash into the tyre wall..........

OUCH..!!

watch my head...!!

one was struck by a flying tyre on the head.... and now another was struck by a piece of suspension component.......

once is considered a freak..... but a 2nd is certainly worrying......

one is dead but massa is alive.......

surely we all know motor racing is dangerous but seldom is flying debris THAT dangerous until these recent weeks.....

go go come on..!

in a very short while we will get to know if ferrari is indeed back.....

with a new aerodynamic package and more improvements for the F60, both scarlet cars did look so much better during qualifying yesterday.... pity that raikkonen was kept in the garage and thus out did not even manage to get to Q2 ......

the brawns and red bulls are still pretty fast but if massa can stay out longer during the first stint, there's a good chance for a podium finish....

nowadays there is less guesswork involved as the FIA release the car weights after each qualifying session...... we can all try to be a race engineer during the weekend...... haha....

go massa go!......

a change of fortune??

looking at how things have developed so far, felipe massa and lewis hamilton can be drinking buddies and drown their sorrow in boozzeeeeeeeeeeeeee haha

unless ferrari and mclaren can buck up soon, these 2 can only go backwards..........

what a pity....

count down...

here i am sitting in front of the tv and my computer.......... tension is mounting.....

and we have about 15 mins before the race start ....... of the brazilian grand prix at interlagos..... the final round of the 2008 formula 1 season...... wow time really flew past the 17 races we had.....

ahhhh........ who will be the drivers' champion...????

go felipe go...!!! and may the best man wins.... :)

the fishy tail

surprisingly at the chinese grand prix, felipe massa was on the shark's fin bodywork while kimi remained on the normal package.....

i wonder why...........

looking at the race pace, both seemed to be working ..... but just not as good as lewis's car ...

well never say die and anything is possible...

so GO felipe GO...!

counting down...

in less than an hour, the sinopec chinese grand prix will start......

and i believe today's race will be full of action......... or will it be anti climatic????

hmmmmm...... i really dunno......

btw it's raining heavily here..... how about shanghai???

will kimi let massa pass him at the start??? or will kimi try to beat lewis into turn 1 and 2......???

i think it will benefit ferrari more if kimi can pass lewis and control the race from there..... both kimi and massa may have more fuel on board than lewis.....

latest........ go felipe go

latest......... so as i suspected........ sebastian bourdais was given a retrospective drive-through penalty = 25 seconds added to his race time....

therefore, massa is now classified seventh........ which means he scored 2 championship points instead of one.....

poor bourdais...... he drove strongly to beat his teammate and now he's tenth and no points for today......

the difference between hamilton and massa is now FIVE....

it's heating up nicely for shanghai....!!

absolute mayhem at fuji

as it turned out to be such a absolute mayhem at fuji speedway today......

why?

simply bcos lewis hamilton outbraked himself and forced more than a few cars to go off their racing line........ spoiling the race for himself and almost everyone else.... at the very first turn of lap 1....

this allowed mr "lucky" fernando alonso to jump on the opportunity to lead the race and even won from there.... not to take anything away from alonso...... he was superb in his 2nd stint and managed to pull away from kubica and raikkonen by more than half a second a lap....... sublime race-craft from the double world champion.....

as i predicted, felipe massa had the toughest job today............ after being forced wide, he banged wheels with hamilton and incurred a drive through penalty (hamilton himself was penalised for the 1st corner incident)............ almost ruining his race right there and then............ kudos to felipe for not giving up......... he took it on and drove a superb race to score 1 point...........

now his clash with sebastian bourdais is being investigated right now.......... and it could go either way.......... massa could lose his point........ or gain more if bourdais is penalised....... i have no idea how the stewards will look at this........ whose fault was it? maybe it's just a racing incident......... and both will keep their position.....

exciting yes...... but not very good for the heart if you are a mclaren and ferrari fan.......

go felipe go...!

uphill it is..... felipe

following his qualifying at p5 on the grid, it looks like felipe has his work cut out for him tomorrow.... however the race is long and obviously no one knows what will happen.......

of cos the pole sitter has the advantage .... it may rain at fuji speedway after all....

felipe is a strong person and hopefully he can make up the ground right at the start on race day....

remember this is japan and it's noon time (local time) for the race on sunday...

it's also up to kimi to show his true worth......

hmmm.... felipe massa might be carrying a little more fuel.... perhaps......

let's see.......

today tomorrow saturday and raceday

tomorrow is thursday.........

and on friday is free practice at fuji speedway............

oh come on, this is a grand prix weekend..........!!!!!!!!

so at the japanese grand prix i believe ferrari will bounce back......

they have the car, the drivers and the package to win............ however again luck will come into play..... one key factor is the weather....

eagerly awaiting the qualifying on saturday and of cos race day....!

go felipe go..!

a blast???

according to the straits times, bernie ecclestone blasted luca de montezemolo........... for calling the singapore gp a "circus"

and he said "if the ferrari president is right about the singapore gp being the circus, then we have to be grateful to him for providing the clowns".....

ha i think bernie felt hurt cos he was the one who mooted the idea of a night race.... but he was a mile off in his comments cos the ferrari president was against street circuits in general....... and the safety car rules.....

to be frank, bernie ecclestone was the one who created the "circus"..... only that he failed to realise this.........

so sad....

thumb down to street circuits....

singapore grand prix..... opening lap

track side action.....

what a drag......

yes what an anticlimax........ and what a way to kick off the inaugural singapore f1 grand prix........

the propaganda will tell you what a success it was ..... yeah but where was the racing..????

lewis hamilton spent close to 1/3 of the race stuck behind david coultard and could do nothing about it..........

and having a circuit lined with concrete barriers is making the intervention of the safety car a given...... and surely it happened.......... not once but twice.....

nelson piquet is a party pooper.......... i am eager to find out the reasons for him smashing the barriers.......... was it a mechanical problem or simply driver error????

in all the biggest losers this weekend: SCUDERIA FERRARI.............. cos they never learn their lesson.......... the lighting system that replaced the lollipop man SUCKS big time........ it failed them previously.... and now it failed felipe massa............. totally embarrasing....

wake up ferrari...!!!!!!!!!!!

here we go...

ah i must admit the experience at track side is irreplaceable...... it was exciting to catch the cars on tv for practice 3..... but it was still tv

but when i was at the marina bay circuit to witness the qualifying ........ AH that was electrifying...... SHIOK was the feeling.....

u know what? one really has to make an effort to get to know formula 1 to enjoy the race at the circuit................ fortunately i can recognise most of the drivers just by looking at the helmets and the colour of the camera pods........... if not there is no other way to know who was in the scarlet car than just went by.......... and they are FAST........ even at the braking areas, what's more the faster parts of the circuit.....

even experienced commentators are mistaken....... either sometimes or most of the times..... but they are professionals and should live and die by the "sword"......

so if you are right there, ask me........ i'll tell you who's in that car.....

kudos to felipe massa ....... he drove a stomper of a lap in the dying minutes of q3 .......P1 is the result........ i hope he wins tonight........ so GO FELIPE GO...!!!!