411: From Korea to Brazil
Over a week since Korea and we’re still talking about it! Mark Webber’s untimely crash threw the championship wide open allowing Fernando Alonso to sweep in and claim the top spot.
So what has happened since the first Korean Grand Prix?
Flavio Briatore (quite the controversial figure in F1…namely for his somewhat questionable decisions) is the manager for Fernando Alonso, Mark Webber and Heikki Kovalainen. One would think that he would keep his opinions to himself considering how much commission this guy gets…
“Alonso will lose the world championship only with a disaster,” the Italian told Sky Sport 24.
Hmm…but not is all as it seems, it may have been reported that Briatore has put all his chips on the Italian but read the rest and you’ll see that he’s challenging Red Bull to get behind Webber. That’s more like it, and others agree.
Heard about the infamous Korean ‘Love Hotels’?
Well I can’t do better than Maurice Hamilton on this subject…truly a laugh out loud article that you have to read.
Read: Hamilton and the Love Hotel
Well we couldn’t just have Flavio speaking out could we? Max Mosley piped up and added his two cents about the 2010 season…he seems just as intent on causing controversy. This time saying that if Alonso were to win it would devalue the championship. This would be due to the call Ferrari made when they informed (instructed) Massa that he was slower than his teammate Alonso.
Well; there might be some truth in it, especially when Ferrari were fined for the incident. But unfortunately this is a sport where vast amounts of money is shored up against fragile machines and hugely competitive egos. An explosive mix where things like this do happen; and have happened. When Mosley was in charge no less. So yeah; when I first read this I threw a fist into the air in agreement; but taking a second to think allows the bias to fall away.
Nah, you’re alright Mosley. We’ll chat after the season finishes…
Read: Mosley just had to say it
So what’s going on over in the McLaren garage?
Jenson Button finished his race and slinked back to the garage, possibly in an attempt to avoid Lewis Hamilton’s celebrations, but not before letting out a manic laugh. He struggled with his car all weekend and with a disappointing finish; what else could he say? Well this actually…
It’s a shame really as he is the defending world champion…moreso that this is supposed to be a top car…oh how he must wish for Ross Brawn! But almost instantly he was put into a supporting role; shoved back behind Hamilton who won in 2008…but not for long. As soon as the story broke, Martin Whitmarsh spoke up and said they were supporting Jenson through Brazil; but another bad race and it’s surely all for his younger teammate in Abu Dhabi.
Read: ‘It’s not over yet’, says Whitmarsh
And a final story for this update is a gem from Bernie Ecclestone…in an effort to encourage more teams to join the F1 grid in the coming years he derides some of the rookies this year as ‘cripples’ and ’embarrassing’, placing his focus on Lotus, Virgin and Hispania. And not content with that, he also lets us in on his retirement plan…vowing to stay ‘as long as I can deliver’.
It might be time to go then Bernie!
Read: Bernie embarrasses himself
So that’s one update for you! Just over a week since we left Korea and that’s just scratching the surface; and who said F1 was boring?
See you in Brazil!
Rookie F1 