Friday 22 September 2023

Formula 1 2023 - Italian Grand Prix and Singapore Grand Prix

Most of the exclamation marks have been removed, but a few of them are unavoidable.

I told myself not to get excited after the Italian Grand Prix, because everyone knows that Ferrari turn the engines up and damn the consequences at Monza.  It was hard not to get excited though, because, those magnificent beautiful red cars racing each other, even while giving us fans and Frederic Vasseur kittens (I did love the subtle irony he used when saying, "some people have a different concept of 'no risk'" (https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.vasseur-says-he-really-appreciated-sainz-and-leclercs-intra-team-tussle-in.r7NX3jKu0wuHaOelgsLZh.html).

But everyone was talking about Ferrari and how exciting they'd been and how nice it was to see racing, and racing within a team.

My team, held up as what F1 should be.  So lovely!!!

After a couple of weeks to calm down (and it was needed) there was the Singapore Grand Prix.  I wasn't expecting anything from it.  Street circuit.  Red Bull.  Tyre degradation is important.  These were not good signs.

Then Verstappen goes out in Q2.  It's Singapore, so it's difficult to overtake, so maybe that takes him out of the equation.

Then the lovely, marvellous, fantastic Carlos Sainz jnr gets the Ferrari on pole, second race in a row and, it's Singapore, and it's difficult to overtake.

I steel myself, it will all go horribly wrong somehow.

And then ... it doesn't.

It very nearly does, but at least this time it wasn't Ferrari that caused the problems for Leclerc's pitstop.

But, and this is the thing that gave me the most joy was that Sainz jnr worked out a solution by himself.  It shows clarity of thinking.  Is he not the most marvellous and wonderful sneaky darling!!!!

I have accepted that the victory is a one-off, for the time being, but I'm seeing things that give me hope.

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