One Hour Fifty Minutes into Glory… Not Destined To Achieve It Though.

What a race day it was. As if the Monte Carlo streets where not enough rain joined the party to add more chaos. It was expected to be an exciting race and so it was. McLaren capitalising on their established strong hold at Monaco won yet another race here. Lewis Hamilton was splendid with his drive and won the race comfortably after initial minor collision with side barriers which made the right rare tyres come off his car, proving his mastery over this sport yet again. This victory takes him at the top of the drivers raking.

Ferrari performance was not up to the mark at all. With both their cars starting on the front row of the grid after a fantastic qualifier session from them, only Felipe Massa’s car managed to get them some points finishing 3rd after starting on the pole.

Brilliant show from Robert Kubica for BMW again. He is turning a great find for them. Robert Kubica finished 2nd after starting 4th and being the race leader for quite some time in the race.

Well other than being a thrilling race for me this race was quite a frustrating too, with Force India team being deprived of their few initial points that too because of silly mistake of my favourite driver.

Lot of expectation was there from Giancarlo Fisichella of Force India team who was driving in his 200th GP. But after a disappointing qualifier session and both the Force India cars starting on the last row of the grid; it was the other Force India driver Adrian Sutil who managed to get good track position just after chaotic race start and from there on drove beautifully to be on 4th position on the grid. Yes believe or not but Force India car was ahead of the best in the race and could have managed to register their season’s best performance so far if only it wasn’t for the accident from Kimi which got the car out of the race just 10 mins before the race ended.

I am a big fan of the scarlet team but for some part of the race i saw myself supporting the Force India team, cheering for Sutil hoping for his 4th place finish. I almost jumped from my seat when Sutil raced Kimi while Kimi was coming out of pits. And then went added to increase the lead until a very bad crash of Rosberg’s William-Toyota car. May be the patriotic me had suddenly come into act and India in the name of the car was making all the difference. It was the glory the Force India team and Adrian Sutil deserved today and was stolen from them just 10 mins before the race end. I bet Sutil will cry all night today.

All and all it was a thrilling race with disappointing results for me. Looking ahead to the Canadian GP now. Hoping the race on 8th of June will bring better performance and results from both Ferrari and Force India team!

Some Stats:

Monaco GP 2008:
1st Lewis Hamilton, 2nd Robert Kubica, 3rd Felipe Massa.

Driver Standings as on 25th May 2008:
1st Lewis Hamilton 38pts, 2nd Kimi Raikkonen 35pts, 3rd Felipe Massa 34pts.

Constructor Standings as on 25th May 2008:
1st Ferrari 68pts, 2nd McLaren Mercedes 53pts, 3rd BWM Sauber 52pts.

Jewel of the Formula One Crown.

Monaco Grand Prix (GP) has enjoyed the status of being the most glamorous race on the Formula One (F1) calendar. It is the most awaited race of the every season and a favorite track for many F1 drivers. And why shouldn’t it be? With all the uniqueness it has compared to the other F1 circuits.

Monaco GP circuit has been part of F1 calendar since its first season and has gone through very few changes from its original form. The race is held on the actual city streets of Monte Carlo. Narrow streets with many elevation changes and tight corners make it one of the most demanding tracks of F1. Harbor along the track adds to the beauty of the circuit. Circuit length is 3.34 km and the race is of 78 laps making the total distance of the race 260.52 km.

One important unique thing about the circuit is top-gear bend through a seaside tunnel. Darkness falls as you enter the tunnel and at the end of the circuit when you break into the Sun at high speeds it becomes really difficult for the driver, more so when this is repeated almost every 90 seconds.

Monaco has been a strong hold of the McLaren team who has won here record 24 times. F1 legend Ayrton Senna enjoys maximum six wins here with consecutive five wins from 1989 to 1993. Graham Hill won five times here in 1960s and the F1 Hero Michael Schumacher too has fives wins in his name at this circuit.

This weekend we will be witnessing the 66th Monaco GP. With Ferrari and McLaren matching speeds this race will be a treat to watch. It will be important race in deciding positioning on constructors and drivers ranking for the season. All drivers will be giving their best to win this prestigious race.

I am awaiting a great race this Sunday. Hope to see you’ll here to for post race analysis. May the scarlet team win!

Rain.

Standing by the sea shore I was watching the grey clouds approaching from the horizon. I could smell the rain in the air. Sun was no more visible and faint shadows of the ships at the horizon were slowly fading. Pace of winds had become faster and it was carrying small water droplets with it. I could feel a sense of joy inside me.

People sitting at the shore started moving away. Some school students where still playing football on the beach. For once I thought of joining their game but then I was too busy with my excitement of watching the first rain of the season coming. I moved my sight along the shore to watch it in its abandon form and realised how beautiful it looks in its nakedness without the entire crowd. Not a very common sight for a city beach.

Now the sea had started to get rough too. High waves were splashing water at much further distance on the shore. Waves were fighting among themselves. This was a totally different form unlike a normally calm sea. There was a thrill to watch this face of it. I stood right there just starring at the sea just to show acknowledgement at its gestures. Nature has its own way of displaying anger and terror, to define it supremacy over everything else in this world. I bowed to it to respect the superior nature.

I don’t know why but I was not feeling lonely all this while. It was like nature was accompanying me, expressing itself to me in all forms.

I could finally feel water droplet falling on me from the heaven. Suddenly I had turned into a small kid. Rather than behaving in an elderly manner try to find a shelter I was enjoying getting wet in the rain. I guess it was the rawness of the movement which was giving me all the fun, just wishing that it doesn’t stop raining.

Such a beautiful moment and I was wondering why all the people ran away from it. But I was thankful to them for doing so and letting me enjoy it all by me. Perhaps if they hadn’t left I would have just missed it all.

We have made ourselves so used to artificial world that we fear the nature. In chase of fake beauties the true ones go unnoticed. In search of pleasure, happiness is missed.

Sky had started clearing and sun was shining again. It had stopped raining now. Cool breeze was still blowing. Scene around was awesome. On the other side I could see the mountain all fresh.

Crowd had started gathering again and it was time for me to make move. Wonderful experience, ended to leave me alone in the crowd again.