Michael Schumacher - Brazil GP 2006

Awesome race ... This is why he deserves to be called The Best ... Have a look at this last race of his ...

First-Of-Its-Kind

Woooohoooooooo ... Just a week and a couple of hours over it left for the Singapore Grand Prix ... Some drivers' techniques to prepare for the first ever race under artificial lights plus the added feature of a street circuit, as quoted by formula1.com are -

I am staying up late at night, I am going out to nightclubs, and I’m eating a lot of carrots because they apparently help you to see better in the dark. I will work on the simulator on Monday. You see I’m doing all the preparations that I can possibly do. I will touch down in Singapore Tuesday morning and then I will head for the track. I will walk it, crawl it, will cycle it, have someone take me around it on their back - you name it, I’ll do it! - David Coulthard , Red Bull Racing , GREAT BRITAIN

This will be tough because it means trying to stay awake until 8 am, then sleeping for practically the whole day before starting the engineering and running schedule at around 5 pm. The first night race is very exciting for the sport and I can’t wait to see what conditions the floodlighting will present. It’s going to be quite a challenge but one that I’m looking forward to. - Jensen Button , Honda , GREAT BRITAIN

Nothing dramatic - mostly I am curious. The other day I read the schedule of our team and it said: the drivers may leave the circuit at 3.30 am! Isn’t that crazy? But in the end it is going to be pretty much on European timing, so I think we are going to be quite used to the schedule. To learn the track we use a lot of videos and the simulator. When I arrive I like to walk the track with the engineers, or I take the scooter if I want a little more feeling - like in Valencia, as there were 25 corners, and you could not get a proper feeling with only one lap of walking. I will arrive on Monday, and have two days to spend with my wife in the city, and then most probably I will have a very lively nightlife to get used to the schedule. - Rubens Barichello , Honda , BRAZIL

It will be more than just a motor race, we envsion it to be a national festival, and one that presents many opportunities for participation for everyone, both visitors and Singaporeans alike. - Mr. S Iswaran, Minister of State and Inudustry, Singapore.

Really looking forward to the drivers zoom around areas such as the Marina Bay, Raffles Boulevard , Anderson Bridge and St. Andrews Road ... It's gonna be a challenge for the drivers and teams , but a real memorable experience for the viewers ...

FORMULA 1

Hmmmm ... So this is it where it all begins ....




Formula 1 (or F1 as many call it) is one of the few things for i which i live ... Fanaticism , Mania , Craziness - such words just cant express my love for this sport; it is much more than that ...



So for all those needing a brush up about it, here's how wikipedia describes this sport :

"Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motor sport's world governing body. The 'formula' in the name is a set of rules which all participants and cars must meet."


The first championship race was held in Silverstone , UK in 1950 ... (the track, by the way, still is in great shape but has been left out for the last two years from the F1 calender due its new rotation policy to spread the sport by constructing new tracks in various countries ...)


With the new inclusion of the Singapore Night Race (the first one of its kind) in the 2008 F1 calender and the ventures of building new F1 tracks in India, UAE along with China's last year's entry have been viewed as promoting the sport across Asia ...

Dr. Vijay Mallya, the Indian Industrialist, has also purchased the Spyker F1 Team (previously, Jordan F1) which is now named the Force India Team ... F1 has really spread over leaps in the past couple of years in our part of the world with such moves ...



My devotion (as I prefer calling it) to the sport started more than a decade back ...
The first race i watched on TV was the Monaco GP in 1997 - the same year Schumacher lost the title to Jacques Villeneuve after the controversial championship deciding last race ....
Since then , there's been no looking back for me ... :)