The ICEMAN cometh!!!!

I had been waiting for this day for the last 2 years. Finally it happened yesterday. I was screaming my lungs out which made my landlord run into my house with a baseball bat. He thought someone was attacking me!!!

Jokes apart, Kimi Raikkonen finally got his due after a real long stint in F1. But the Iceman kept his cool all along and for the first time he spoke longer than he did since his debut in the press conference. Ferrari won its 15th title and found a worthy successor for Schumi. Kimi was close to winning the title twice, once in 2003 and again in 2005. But Schumi & Alonso dominated both these years, respectively. Plus his luck was letting him down all through his Mclaren days. The reliability gremlin was something Mclaren never fixed all thro his days with the team. That's one reason for his failure but mainly his driving style was the one that hit hard.

Kimi drives fast, likes to attack the corners, slides on the chicanes but one strong and the same time, the weak point of his driving was the attitude he carried into every race with a feeble car like the MP420 or MP421. He was and is cool in all situations, yes but with a weak un-reliable car, his attack was always in vain as the car wud give away at one point and he scored more DNFs than any other front runner. His bad luck seemed to have a laugh at him in Ferrari but somehow after all that he is now the 2007 WORLD CHAMPION (I don't care Mclaren takes it away or not, to me Kimi is THE champion – a real worthy one)Kimi has got more calculative now, preserves the car, tires and at the same time when he attacks, he still keeps his cool. Thats one trait he has inherited from Schumi. The Iceman cometh!!!

In F1, anything can happen and most of the time that 'ANYTHING' happens. Want a proof? Watch the last 2 races of 2007 season. Now getting into the race itself, all 3 drivers, Kimi Alonso n Massa showed Hamilton how experience matters in the most crucial first turns of F1. Massa moved in front and blocked him and Kimi managed to get past him around the outside and slide the F2007 into the racing line as if there was no car behind. If you think Kimi's heartbeat was up by about 10% you are wrong. He was cooler than ever to think for the next turn and let Massa go by even as the #6 Ferrari was in front and had a better chance to increase the pace out of Senna Curves and get into turn 3. That's sense and sensibility of an experienced F1 driver. Also Alonso sensed the door opening for him and kept his car right behind the tail of F2007 rather than LHs Mclaren. And at turn 3 as expected the inexperienced rookie or the boy wonder for F1 went for the kill – side by side – on the outside, which was sure to make anyone lose their braking point and run wide. Too bad they removed all the gravel traps else he would be stuck there waiting for someone to push him out!!!
The ferrari pit crew orchestrated a perfect second stop to let Kimi pass without any controversy. Brilliant job guys. And Massa.. he is as loyal as ever to Ferrari. The best lap of the race was at the end, when Kimi put a blistering hot lap reducing the chances of Hamilton much further.

The dark lord of Ferrari rode brilliantly on a revived and stronger than ever Prancing Horse from maranello. The Prancing Horse proved yesterday how it could bounce back into the lead when it mattered the most!!! Ferrari won't even the Constructor's championship fair and square even if the FIA did not strip Mclaren off the points by 1 point. The same margin prevailed for the WDC too. Now 2008 is going to be a different game plan altogether with all the new rules and controls. But as I;ve told before Mclaren is an old warhorse. Given that they now know about Ferrari's 2008 plans, it will be much more closer than 2007. Or will there be any change in luck and fortunes? Only time will tell.

But watever is going to happen in 2008, as of 2007 THE PRANCING HORSE not only did raise its front legs but also stamped its authority on F1. LOUD and CLEAR!!!!

Congratulations Kimi and Ferrari.

- A true TIFOSI.

Canada part 2

So we got bored with the street-car loaded Toronto city life and decided to get back on the road and head for Niagara. The falls looks majestic from the top of the Horse-shoe falls. But I cant watch water falling down for a long time. So we decided to head back to the states and get back home a day earlier than planned. The drive back home was spent sleeping in the back seat. I had not slept for the past three nights.. so. But heard the drive was troubled with hailstorms and heavy rain all over Newyork state (spoiling our impromptu plan to stop over at Ithaca) and Mass. Back home in the wee hours and back to one week of routine life at work.

My excitement was growing out of control ad the week progressed as we were getting ready for F1 and Montreal. The day arrived and this time were tripping in the beamer. I had promised to get to Montreal in 4 hours max as we had to start late. So it was a blinding drive all thro Vermont. The state of Vermont has unmarked patrol vehicles but I knew the game now well enough to not get caught. So I was constantly clocking 120mph(194kmph) and reached the Derby line in just under 2 hours. From then on it was real berserk thro the Canadian Highways.And we were in Montreal much ahead of schedule. J. So after checking in at the Youth Hostel (Hell yeah!!! The place was awesome. Thanks to some comedy by Manu and his girlfriend was super nice to Me) we headed straight for Rue St Catherine. After a half cooked – supposed to be Indian food – at the so called Indian Palace, we headed into the place for some action. Not knowing French was a big mistake in Montreal.

Being single and eager get into a party scene, we cornered a French woman – who knew very little english. She was kind enough to give us a custom map to some clubs in the place. But little did we know wat was running in her mind when she drew the map. So we trailed the map and finally reached the club. Whilst crossing the door, I saw 2 guys kissing each other and since it was normal here, I dint think of anything. But as soon as we landed up inside, the club was almost devoid of girls. There was a dirty Ba$%^%^ who gave a filthy look at me. Then something fired up inside my brain and connected the dots. The stupid brain was working overtime to digest the half cooked meal I had sometime earlier and wasn’t firing on all cylinders. But when it fired up, I was already a good 200 meters from that place. Yes I had made an official visit to a Gay Pub in Montreal.

After effects of the previous night made me cautious of the crowd around me inside the Circuit. I am not gonna say about the race or F1 part of the trip. As most of you know, I have been ranting about it for a long time. So I will stop my blabber right here right now.

The Cityscapes are the next series of blogs – a brief description of the cities I have set foot on. Until then… Au revoir. A la Fontaine(or something like that... dont know wat that means... but the French caretaker at the hostel told us before we left)!!!

Canada Part 1

Living so close the border and F1 happening some 4 hours from my house was not the only motivation for making a trip to Canada. There were some GUY-FACTORS involved too. (I meant the driving u #$^%$^ minds!!!). The drive was simply amazing. We made 2 trips. Once to Toronto – Ottawa – Niagara and then again to Montreal.

The Toronto-Ottawa trip was the longest road trip I ever did in my life. And wisely I decided to rest my babe for that one and we took the spanking new Accord. Though it lacked the power and punch of my beamer, it was fun driving the big car. Especially cos it was new. The owner sat next to me and kept his eyes fixed on the Tacho (I clocked 115mph – 185kmph) all thro the trip!!! But after some time I had to give up the speed and stick to the 100kmph speed limits cos of the stupid traffic near Montreal and on the worlds busiest highway that has like a zillion lanes on either side (actually 14 lanes on each side) Also the insects martyring themselves on the windshield was really pissing me off cos u cant really use the wiper to clean em. That will only make things worse. It was nice that Canada gas pumps had full service just like India. We cud get it cleaned every now and then!!!

First stop was Ottawa. Its really sleepy city but very clean and orderly. York St night life just rocks!!! Too many Indians were around too. The Lebanese food places were mind blowing!!! But we spent only the night and the early morning to visit the Flight Museum there. Museum was the main agenda and I was more than eager to be there for a long time. The collection is too gud and you have to be there to believe it. Awesome place.

Next stop Toronto. Again a sprawling metropolis with too many Indians. There is nothing really to luk for in Toronto except the CN tower. The glass floor was gud fun in the CN tower. The only place worthwhile talking a walk and enjoying the evening is Kings street with the long line of Restaurants and Clubs. But the place we stayed was a new experience. We planned to ditch the boring and over formal NA hotels and holed up in youth hostels. I wud say U can never see people from all over the world in one place. And its all co-ed. (With drinking allowed.. need I ask for more???)

To be continued in the next post....

THALAIVAR!!!!

No words!!! No comments!!! THE BOSS just rocks!!! Just go and watch the movie. The long and hard wait for an out and out Rajni movie is just the worth!!!

"Panninga dhaan kootama varum... Singam single ah dhaan varum!!!! "

FIERY FELIPE AND AWESOME HAMILTON SILENCE SPAIN!!!

Spain’s favorite son was measured, overwhelmed and silenced to a distant third [infact it wud have been a 4^th if Kimi had finished] along with 140000 spainards in Spain. Courtesy Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton.

Before I go onto Ferrari – The main rivals Mclaren was indeed awesome though it lacked the pace of Ferrari – even after adding a movable element onto the front wing after whining about Ferrari n BMW’s movable boards. They were indeed on par in performance with the BMW’s and Kubica n Heidfield were catching up fast to challenge Alonso. BMW is proving to be better with every weekend that passes. They might actually win some races this season. Sooner or Later.

Alonso cant stop whining. He went on to start an altercation in the post-race interview with Felipe. Felipe aint a calm n cool person like Kimi. He retaliated back and there was a war of words flying – in other words they were just like kids fighting over a chocolate!!! Accept the defeat Alonso. U cant do anything more if take a driver on the outside and when he has the right to close the door on you.. he will. And that leaves no option other than going into the gravel pits. Just cos u r a double time world champion – Felipe need not consider safety n risks and let you pass!!! If you really need that switch to FERRARI and put butter to Jean Todt and get it done!!!

Now back to FERRARI. The car was perfect and it was flying alright. But reliability issues have taken over from Mclaren to Ferrari this season. 4 races – 3 wins – 4 poles – 3 fast laps – 2 retirements aint looking good for a team of this caliber. Come on guys… get ur foot down and set things right. Go back to the golden days. All thro 2000 – 2005 there was not even a single retirement and now 2 in the first 4 races?? Wake up and work fast. There are couple of teams waiting to pass!!!

Felipe was impressive. Actually more than that. The best lap of the race was not the first lap or the last one. It was the qualifying. He just took off 300^th of a second from nowhere. Another MS in the making??? Don’t think so. But impressive enough to win over some of the red painted Spaniards!!! The car was perfectly balanced – no mistakes from him too. The first lap incident was a normal one. He was on the racing line and had every right to block an intruder. Even if it was a whining Alonso. He did the right thing and pulled off very fast from the apex to avoid car damage. Way to go Massa. Keep up the good run.

Lewis – I cant believe he is leading the world championship in his debut season. He was impressive enough too. Real raw talent. After watching him for the last 4 races I tried to form a pattern on his driving style. [there are diff patterns and some of the drivers adopt these to learn the game quick and develop on it later.. For instance – MS starts real quick from the grid and no matter which position he is in – puts on fast lap after fast lap for the first 10 laps or so. Then he slows down to look after the car. Then pit time comes where he puts in fast laps in and out. These are usually his best timed laps and normally the records at most circuits.] Now back to Hamilton – He somehow manages to qualify within the top 2 rows. Don’t matter what position. Then he jus starts as fast as others in front of him do. Jus follow them close into the first corner – preferably the racing line for better grip – then once the 2 in front starts to fight for a position , he sneaks off outside the racing line and take them on their outside. The best he can get is 1 r 2 positions and not to lose his current position. Then maintain the position all along. Cruising thro almost until the second stint and start putting fast laps to close in on the car in front. Real smart!!! Hope he stays in long to provide some entertainment in the grid.

Kimi – Nothing to say. He has to wake up yet. And that will happen probably in another race or two. He was all over the rear mirror of Hamilton for 19 laps before the alternator wiring decided to stop his car. Another surprise package from yest race was Takuma Sato. He finished 8^th. Yes that’s right. He secured one championship point. And also another amazing thing was both the Honda’s finished. And they did that pretty decently and Jensie smashed his front wing into the rear wheel of Rubeno. Good job with the Elephant ears. Hope Jensie gets in front soon.

The F1 circus moves to Monaco next. Nothing much to overtake there and qualifying almost decides the winner. So lets hope for the best. And got my canadian GP tickets yesterday. After the Monaco race, I’ll be watching the 6^th round live in Montreal!!! Until then adios amigos!!!

SEPANG n MCLAREN

NOT WORTH TALKING MUCH ABOUT IT.

Awesome driving from Hamilton. Frikkin crappy one from Massa. Kimi dint have much choice to stop Alonso!!!

Hope Bahrain will be good enough.



PS: Championship just got better!!!

KIMSTER ROX DOWN UNDER!!!

Wat a start to the 2007 season!!! The most exciting n at the same time the most boring starting race I’ve ever seen. Exciting for the fact that Lewis Hamilton lived upto the hype he was given and he did even better than that!!! Taking a chance on the left and losing to Kubica and then seeing a gap on the right, took the favor and slingshot his way past the illustrious team-mate who happens to be a double time world champion!!! Just awesome!!! Even better – He had Alonso trialing him almost all the race. The frikking fast BMW’s were on light fuel loads!!!Way to go Hamilton. Hope Mclaren doesn’t spoil his talent with unreliable cars and team-orders for Alonso.

Now back to the man who gave THE finger to his critics once and for all!!! I have always said KIMI is much much faster than Alonso and Schumi given he is driving a superior car. Now he did just that. The F2007 seems to be miles ahead with the seamless quickshift and the much much improved aero compared to other motors on the grid. He had a dominant race right from the start. In the first 5 laps Kimi was able to open up the gap to Heidfield by 6 seconds. That’s pretty awesome. But Kimi is still the same Kimster he used to be. He went off the road once – later apologised it was his mistake – cos he was watching another car on the track!!! Hope Todt has some good spanking left for the Iceman to behave – both on and off track.

People favorite Massa had his bad luck run wild again in the season opener!! He has started 4 times before this race in Melbourne. Thrice crashed out. Once scored a tenth. But today he started at the back and climbed back to 6^th by the end of the race. If it was not for Button who was holding both Rubeno and Massa for a long time, we could have witnessed a good dog-fight between Massa and Fisi. The less I talk about Button, better it is for his reputation. I strongly recommend him to quit racing and go do some prediction stuff for F1 as he is really good at that!!

The best part of the race was Alonso!!! Fernando was fighting to stay on the top. No… not with Ferrari. The Ferrari was not even in his sight!! It was Nick Heidfield’s BMW which was tormenting him with a light fuel load. And to add more to his woes Hamilton was already up there in front, driving a perfect stunner race like a pro. If it was not for the BMW’s wrong decision to load lightly, He would have never passed the car. The BMW looked like a beast covering ground faster than ever. Mario Theissen was right in saying they are the 3^rd best team in F1. Renault was no where in the picture. And poor Hamilton had to go thro the same Rubeno phase in letting his more illustrious Teammate pass thro. The pit stop was a calculated slow one. Hypocrites!!! Atleast Ferrari was blatant and outspoken about the team orders. But this one was too obvious. Why would a team so perfect and professional like Mclaren falter in a pitstop on a car that’s been running strong in second and allow a 8 second gap to close and let Alonso thro??? Simple crap!!!

Hope Kimster keeps his run going for long in the stunning F2007. Now the poor thing Massa has to keep up to the pace of Kimi and stay on top, close to him. Else Jean Todt will choose to help out the more performing and highest paid driver of F1!!! If Todt decides to go with Kimi in the later part of the season, then Massa will be on his own. Hope to see the Ferrari drivers fighting for position. Its been long since we saw Gilles Villenuve and Didier Pironi’s super driving and fights in the Schuderia!!!

Now to the tech details of F2007. The first main difference is the Front and Rear wings. I had told before that these modifications force the car to take the corners smooth and fast like never before. Kimi was putting very less inputs to the steering and the car was perfectly balanced on the tarmac. The only problem that the F2007 seems to have right now is the seamless quick shift transmission!!! Looks like a very very fragile unit compared to the former steptronic transmission. The new shark fin vents and 3^rd outlet for cooling the transmission kit seems to be a very wise choice. Overall a perfect balance!!!

Even though Kimi wasn’t pushing hard to get his pace thro the race, I suspect there might be problem all around the grid, let alone Ferrari in Sepang. Sepang is a very hot engine-consuming track. Needless to say the gear changes are more than any other race which multiple straights and numerous corners. Hope Kimi and Massa cruise thro the race in Sepang.

PS: Micheal called Kimi before the podium presentation. Quite funny remark from Kimi given his Icecold nature. Also Kimster hasn’t grown up yet!!! He signed in for a snowmobile race in Finland after the Bahrain testing under a false name and won!!! Only to be found out by Ferrari later and blasted by Todt!!! All said and done KIMSTER roxx.

TAGGED!!!

TAGGED by the Mystery Woman again....

1. Were you named after anyone?
I guess so.

2. Do you wish on stars?
Nope

3. When did you last cry?
I guess sometime during the post-traumatic condition in 12th...

4. Do you like your handwriting?
Yes..i love it..

5. What is your favourite meat?
chicken

6. What is your most embarrassing CD on your shelf?
No shelf... so no CD...

7. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you?
I think YES...

8.Are you a daredevil?
Yea…I love taking risks

9. How do you release anger?
Punching the wall!!!

10. Where is your second home?
The current one in COncord, New Hampshire.

11. Do you trust others easily?
No…don’t trust anyone easily..

12. What was your favourite toy as a child?
I think some car or jeep 1:18 model...

13. What class in school/college do you think is totally useless?
Was never a regular to classes... so I wud say ALL OF EM!!!

14. Do you use sarcasm a lot?
yea..mostly

15. Have you ever been in a mosh pit?
What the hell is a mosh pit??a pit full of mosh???

16.What do you look for in a guy/girl?
lively sporty and intelligent...

17. Would you bungee jump?
Searching for a place nearby!!!

18. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
Yupp...

19.what's your favourite ice cream?
Hate em all!!!

20. What are your favourite colours?
Black and Blue

21. What are your least favourite things?
Working.

22. How many people do you have a crush on right now?
I guess 3!!!

23. Who do you miss most right now?
Nobody!!!

24. What are you listening to right now?
Vaazkhaya yosingada - Chennai 600028

25. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be?
Blue

26. What is the weather like right now?
A bit HOT. 17C

27. Last person you talked to on the phone?
I guess Soddy or GK or Dad.

28. The "first" thing you notice about the opposite sex?
Their eyes

29. Do you like the person who sent you this?
hmm…not so sure about that…;)..…

30. How are you today?
hyperactive..

31. Favourite non alcoholic drink?
PEPSI!!!! I Live on it!!!

32. Favourite alcoholic drink?
JW Black on the rocks!!!

33. Natural hair colour?
Black.

34. Eye colour?
Brown

35. Wear contacts?'
No

36. Siblings?
yea one Bro

37. Favourite month?
November

38. Favourite food?
chicken biryani

39. Favourite day of the year?
Almost all days!!!

40. Have you ever been too shy to ask someone out?
Shy??? Nope... just straight question!!!

41. Scary movies or happy endings?
Scary movies

42. Summer or winter?
Winter!!!

43. Holi or Diwali?
Diwali..

44. Do you like your name?
yea..

45. What book/magazine are you reading?
Some LUDLUM novel... Lost it!!!

46. What's on your mouse pad?
No Mouse pad... only touchpad!!!

47. What did you watch on TV last night?
MI-2

48. Favourite Smell?
FRESH INDIAN SPICY FOOD!!!

49. Have you ever regretted breaking up with someone?
NO

50. Most tiresome thing you’ve ever experienced/done?
Driving in the Kancamagus Highway during a snowstorm!!!


PS - F1 is starting in2 days. Will be back to the normal blogging mode from sunday!!! Cant wait to see the cars on the tarmac!!! And satz is one lucky A**H****!!!! He is going to the Season Opener in Melbourne!!! Watch out for more from next week. And People who are vetti and bored - please get urself TAGGED!!!