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
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I was tweeting James Allen during the race weekend when he asked who was the driver of the day – my answer was three-fold; Alonso, Vettel and Kubica, but it was Kubica that I was most enthralled to watch.
I think you’re being a bit harsh on Lewis – I was fully of admiration that he made the pass on Webber and he was extremely unlucky to be taken out. Kubica’s move on Sutil was nigh-on identical, the only difference is that Webber (until Sutil) didn’t yield.
Both men (Hamilton and Kubica) deserve respect for having the balls to ‘race’ and it’s down to drivers like these two that we have a 5-way fight for the championship with only 4 races to go.
We’ve said it before, but we’re really in halcyon times in F1 – never can I remember such a rich field of capable drivers that were so closely matched.
We even had a barbeque to end the Singapore race, so how could you say it was boring… 😉
I had to laugh at some well known journalists praising the race as the best all season, anyone would think they’d just watched a tape of the Canadian race. Would love to see Kubica in Massa’s seat, I’m sure Robert cried a little inside when Massa received that bizarre contract extension earlier this.
I also think Lewis just turned in too early on Webber, he can’t just make his car disappear … racing incident.