France - Ferrari Owners' Club

First of all, apologies for the delay in writing this report. I was suffering from a general lack of motivation brought about by Ferrari's lack of form. North America was all about Lewis Hamilton and I have mixed feelings about his success. Of course, I'm immensely proud that a British driver of Afro-Caribbean descent is doing so well, and as a racing fan I love some of the moves he's pulled, but he does work for the Evil Empire and most of his moves have been at Ferrari's expense!

I still can't get enthusiastic about the current driving staff at the Scuderia, but thought that maybe getting up close and dirty with F1 again might dispel my ennui. The Paddock Club in Monte Carlo doesn't count - that's all about ambiente. I'm ashamed to say that one year I refreshed myself so much in it that I actually missed the race. Therefore I took myself off to the Silverstone test with a thermos and packet of sandwiches and settled on the outside of the Complex.

I'm glad to say that the first car I saw just blew my mind, the speed, the shape, the colour, the crispness of movement, and above all the grip! It seemed to defy the laws of physics - and that was a Spiky MFI on an out lap!

There then followed a feast of F1, Ferrari, McLaren, BMW et al. The telly just does not do the things justice, the flat upshifts, multiple downshifts, over in a brief cacophony of exhaust noise. The only sensual disappointment was the flat-out exhaust notes; the cars are plenty loud enough but it's not a nice noise, not like the shriek of V12, especially a Matra. Once I'd got over the shock of the speed, the most surprising thing is that no two drivers seemed to take the same line - which ain't what you're led to believe should happen.

The only way that this brilliant day - the best value for money in F1 - could have been improved would be for Silverstone to lay on a commentator - not to commentate (God forbid), but just to inform us of who was in the cars (it's impossible to tell) and what the times were - surely that could be done? Thinking about it though, a digital display board would be better and could give speeds and splits as well as lap times. Anyone at Silverstone reading this? (Apparently there was commentary at Woodcote - which makes it even worse).

I left full of admiration, but this had the unfortunate effect of further dampening my desire to write - how could someone like me dare criticise men who can drive like that? But then I thought of the money they "earn". This also dispels any sympathy one might feel for poor ol' Swampy Button!

So to France [at last - Ed.] Little did I realise it, but at Silverstone I was witnessing Ferrari's renaissance. It seems that after the first races they went the wrong way with an update, which allowed the Empire to strike back. Silverstone saw the Scuderia proving the bits which put them back on top in France, the most noticeable being those lateral fins.

Qualifying, as I feared, has become a failure as a TV spectacle. Two and a third of the sessions are a complete waste of time before they even start and the final two thirds is generally made so by abysmal coverage - somehow many directors manage to miss all of the relevant action! For me the most impressive thing was that the cars can now tick over whilst sitting at the pit-lane exit for three minutes without overheating (no fans remember) - it's so important to be first to get track position for the final stint and that often decides the outcome of the Sunday race.

Qualifying was satisfactory with Massa taking pole from Hamilton by under a tenth. Räikkönen was third, blaming himself for not being on the front row. Alonso started from tenth position after a gearbox problem meant that he took no part in the final session.

In the race Räikkönen quickly passed Hamilton and the Ferraris ran one-two. Räikkönen's first stint was two laps longer than Massa's and he halved his lead by dint of quick lappery, including the vital in and out laps. This put him in the ideal place to pounce at the second stops. Räikkönen again ran two laps longer than Massa, who was held up by traffic during the Finn's stop - he came out still in front - job done. The first Ferrari one-two of the current regime.

Hamilton was on a three-stop strategy and finished a distant third. This looked like a cock-up which gifted Ferrari second, but Big Ron says not. He claims that he knew third was the best they could hope for as overtaking was impossible and the strategy was designed to consolidate this place. How awful is that for a sport called motor RACING?

Fortunately no-one told Alonso that overtaking was impossible, though there was one tricky moment where he clearly "lost" the front wing in Heidfeld's wash. Starting tenth, he raced his heart out, many of his moves smacked of desperation and ended in failure, but there was one pass on Heidfeld into the Imola chicane that bore the kiss of genius. Alonso's performance must have brought a nostalgic tear to his eyes of older Tifosi as it was reminiscent of the heroic failures of the Alesi/Berger era, when they would be ecstatic after a performance with loads of effort and wild action that ended up with seventh place - which was where Fred finished.

If this attitude seems strange to modern fans and/or 430 drivers, I'm told by older Ferraristi that proper La Passione should be like keeping a beautiful and sultry but wilful and slightly flaky mistress. Great fun to get around occasionally, but not something for every day use. Also it should involve enough aggravation and expense to confirm that you've "made it" and can afford something so exciting and troublesome! Mind you, a major difference is that a Ferrari will never boil your pets; at least not intentionally.

So all-in-all the last French GP at Mangy Cours was good for two reasons - first, it saw the Scuderia return to winning ways and second it quieted the Hamilton hysteria! Räikkönen came good and maybe there is no point in trying if your car's not spot on, but I still think we signed the wrong bloke...

P. S.
By the time I'd commented on "Stepneygate" it'd be out of date, and there's loads about it elsewhere.