They need to put on a show
Formula One has been criticised many times in the past on the performance of their ‘shows’. For me, Saturday would be a true test of the ‘show’ as I watched the first of two Practice sessions, and was left very disappointed.
The first half hour saw only a couple of laps by the smaller independent teams as the others tried to save their engines, some still having another race weekend to complete in 2 weeks time. I was very frustrated by this, as you want to see all the cars out there and not view an empty racetrack. It was left to the final 15 minutes before any form of action commenced, which lucky woke me up from a standing sleep. From a fans point of view all the restrictions on engines, tyres and cars has got to stop, as by restricting teams, restricts on track action, restricting what the fans sees. If Formula One wants to be for entertainment, and for the fan, they should get their cars out there from the beginning to the end of sessions. I could understand how it must had felt during the first half hour of the old Qualifying system, waiting for the cars to arrive, and not getting much in terms of on track action. If I had it my way, skip the politics, lets get some cars out on the track from the moment the pit lane opens till the chequered flag comes out.
Careless of weather and track conditions I’d put on a show for the public, which was lacking throughout all of the Practice Sessions.
Toyota looking even more promising
As with so many times before this season, Toyota ended the fourth and final Practice session with a strong finish; Jarno Trulli edging out Ralf Schumacher by a tenth of a second to end up third and fourth. Watching the cars from Club coming into Abbey from the BRDC Grandstand gave me an excellent opportunity to see how the cars brake from a flat out straight and enter a sharp left hand corner. As before, the Jordan’s and Minardi’s seemed to suffer from a lack of downforce whilst the McLaren’s were glued to the racetrack,
seemingly not even needing to slow down, their car so compressed into the tarmac.
With Toyota looking so strong at this stage of the weekend, I was confident of a return to form for the team, expecting a similar result to what we had in Spain with Qualifying just a couple of hours away!
Button sends the crowds wild, whilst Toyota drop back
An hour before Qualifying I was down in the paddock, and whilst on one of the BRDC Golf buggies, almost ran over ITV’s Martin Brundle, who very kindly signed by Autograph book a few minutes later. 15 minutes to go, I made my destination at Vale where I would see the cars scream out of Stowe before braking hard into Club, then firing down the straight into Abbey. Tuning in my radio, I was ready for some on track action, knowing that this was the start of my weekend for real. The first man to run a little bit too wide was Christian Albers in his Minardi, kicking up the dust the Minardi roared into Club, clipping the kerb before hurtling off into the distance.
McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen and Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher would recreate Christian’s wide line on their hot laps as well. Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher seemed at sea with his lap, only taking ninth at the end, a bit disappointing after considering their stellar pace throughout practice. Thankfully Jarno Trulli put in another of his stunning laps, his Toyota working nicely around the circuit, lining himself fifth on the grid for Sunday’s race.
But the highlight had to be Jenson Button, his provisional pole lap sent the crowds crazy, and on his slowing down lap the horns were sounding and the crowds cheering, even though Jenson showed little emotion, Silverstone had erupted to their hero, but would he remain on pole?
Sadly from my point of view, Fernando put in a clear lap on a circuit which Renault struggle on to take pole by a tenth from Button. But still, the British fans had a Brit on the front row, and you can’t really complain about that!
Qualifying format… hit or miss?
Once Qualifying was over, it was time to evaluate. From where I was, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, on television it is slightly more boring, but being at the racetrack, with the atmosphere and the tension, you never really have time to collect your thoughts until the final lap has been completed. But saying that, I would prefer to have seen a single hour, 12 lap Qualifying session with the final five minutes containing bumper-to-bumper action. So if I had to pin a verdict on the single lap scheme, I’d give it a miss unless you’re at the circuit and understand whats going on, so from a fans point of view: bring back the old system!
The final count down
Friday and Saturday had been amazing; I went to sleep knowing we had a Britain on the front row, and a great race in prospect as Kimi Räikkönen was made to go 10 places back on the grid after an engine change. Sunday was going to be every fans dream.
Bookmark or share this story with: