PERSPECTIVE: Pole Precision

Another round done, another dreary street race and another fine example of F1’s current status as techno showpiece first, thrilling sport second.

From the very beginning of the broadcast tyre management, pit strategy and other ‘racing’ buzzwords were thrown around by the triumvirate of BBC presenters who all – as they’re employed to do – proclaimed the climax of the season to be ‘one the most exciting ever!’ You can’t argue that it’s going to be close, but I reject the term exciting.

What was exciting was the performance from the current pound-for-pound best in the sport, Robert Kubica. It didn’t matter that his gaggle of overtakes near the end of the race were on fresh tyres, he produced a sublime display of measured aggression that stunned the mid-field.

He rescued the race as a spectacle particularly when he showed Hamilton how to pass down to turn 7 with that silky move on Sutil. And I imagine it smarted for Massa when the man perennially linked with his seat sailed by in inferior equipment using superior racecraft.

Kubica’s form has been overlooked because of the 5-way title race. He is someone who could easily slot into that championship picture given the opportunity and may even be in the same bracket as Alonso and Hamilton in terms of skill-set and tenacity.

At Monaco he was blisteringly quick as he was at Spa; he seems to thrive at the true drivers’ circuits. He should, therefore, be formidable at Suzuka…

Selfishly, I’d like an uber-talented Kubica/Raikkonen Renault team on the grid in 2011. I just know the odds are long and Kimi’s not interested in walking around like a billboard talking to the media and portly businessmen. And even if he was to come back, would he live with Kubica over a season? I’m not sure, but would love to find out