13 Nov – Well, That Was Rather Nice
I just finished watching the Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi and I have to say it put quite a smile on my face. This of course is very different from the expression that I was wearing at the end of this race one year ago. Remember, I like red car, big eyebrows.
Here’s a quick re-cap: Vettel on poll, lights go out, Vettel already several car lengths ahead by turn one, Vettel increases lead by turn two (what a shocker), Vettel has tire puncture (!), Vettel makes it back to pits, car damaged beyond repair. Vettel OUT, (small voice inside me says yippee) (Editor’s Note: It was quite a loud outside voice, actually), at this point we have not yet finished lap one. Now everyone else is able to actually have a meaningful race. That last line is a compliment to Vettel and Red Bull really if one thinks about it, but let’s not. Lets instead focus on the drivers that did finish the race particularly Lewis and Fernando. Sometimes to really make one’s point, one must let someone else make it for them. So here you go. These are from the comments section of one of my favorite blogs, and I have to say the best overall F1 site. The author is James Allen and it is required reading if you consider yourself even slightly an F1 fan. The comments below were posted after the Abu Dhabi race in response to James Allen’s question “Who was Driver Of The Day?”, meaning who drove the best regardless of his end result.
Posted by Jon:
Tough call this one, was between Hamilton and Alonso, voted Hamilton, as think he had the pace to hold off Alonso. Alonso had a stunning drive in an under-performing Ferrari to hold onto 2nd. Never really challenged for the lead, and I’m sure Lewis would have had more pace if needed.
Posted by Matthew:
It’s a tough one not to give driver of the day to Lewis, as he drove a great race but Fernando Alonso had no right to give him such a hard time – an amazing performance. Alonso continues to show why he’s the best out there in my opinion. His complement to Lewis on Friday was great to hear. I really think Seb would find himself up against it in equal machinery against those two.
Posted by **paul**:
Easy this one, Alonso. Massively out performed his car and kept a very fast McLaren in sight for much of the race. Huge credit goes to him for that, he simply drives the wheels off that car.
Posted by RedFive:
Even as a Lewis Hamilton fan I have to admit that Alonso was mighty yesterday. How anyone could vote for anyone else is beyond me.
Posted by DavidC:
It has to be Hamilton this time around. He was driving within restraint, looked after his tires well, made no mistakes, yet was able to pull out a 26 sec advantage over his teammate Jenson Button (who supposedly looks after his tires well).
Posted by Ben:
Simple, Alonso. Actually he’s been amazing pretty much all season. Given he’s in the 3rd fastest car he should be nowhere near 2nd in the championship, stunning performance.
Posted by Khan:
Surely has to be Alonso. What a competitor he is, absolutely relentless. Love him or hate him, he is the best driver on the grid and for me clearly better then Vettel & Hamilton.
Posted by DC:
Fernando, without question. In my opinion, no other driver currently in F1 can ‘outdrive’ the car to the level Fernando can.
Well, I think you get the picture Lewis was back to his old self, and Fernando was yet again a super driver in a not-so-super-car. It should be noted that Mr. Allen at the end of this post in addition to these comments asks for his readers to vote for the driver of the day, here are the results:
Lewis Hamilton 33.68% (1,233 votes)
Fernando Alonso 45.34% (1,660 votes)
Jenson Button 13.96% (511 votes)
Mark Webber 2.59% (95 votes)
Nico Rosberg 2.08% (76 votes)
Kamui Kobayashi 2.35% (86 votes)
And here is a link to James Allen’s Driver Of The Day post if you want to check it out.
Well, one last race to go, and at least for the next 13 days, until Vettel and Red Bull are back, I will keep that smile on my face. Now don’t get me started about Mark Sanchez and the Jets (that is football speak for all you non-Americans).
AmerF1can 