Formula One: Red Bull 1-2 at Sepang

FYI

Motorsports here at home and overseas, has a quite peculiar calendar. Let me clarify. Nothing happens for several months (October –March) but as soon as the engines explode into action, indicating the beginning of the various championships, it is as if you do not have enough eyes to watch all of what is happening. Trying to keep abreast of the races in the different series is like trying to run after and catch a F1 car when the driver is chasing a lap record! But it is a task I am committed to (no, I don’t plan to run after a F1 car), so I have several updates lined up, each racing to hit the blog. 

Grand Prix

Torrential rain intervened in the happenings during qualifying for the Grand Prix of Malaysia at Sepang last weekend. It capsized the status quo boat and left several of the big names in the sport adrift clinging to bales of straw.In what can only be described as a deluge, one which would solve all of our current water woes, Ferrari and McLaren blundered in immense proportions and this led to their unprepared drivers failing to advance beyond the first round of qualifying, Q1.Red Bull Racing didn’t skip a beat however and in difficult circumstances Mark Webber found traction on the sea which was the track and grabbed pole.

Unforeseen circumstances have a way of producing thrilling racing and on race-day the fans could not have asked for more drama. With Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Ferdinand Alonso and Felipe Massa all at the far reaches of the grid (17th -24th), exciting racing was as certain as the Red Bull Racing machines were fast.
In conditions far removed from those which existed during qualifying (rain was said to be 50 miles away), the race got underway and the scrambling and the jostling began at a frenzied pace.

Vettel

Vettel wasted no time and with a bold show of speed he rocketed to the front, at the first corner. Forceful driving, from the 3 former World Champions, at the back of the grid, ignited a bonfire of intrigue not seen in the previous races. My driver for the Grand Prix, must be Lewis Hamilton, who used a combination of his ‘take no prisoners’ driving style and the McLaren’s straight line speed to his advantage and made a mockery of the proceedings. He drop-kicked drivers all over the circuit, even on corners and in a few laps he was in a points scoring position.

The firefight being waged behind them had no impact on the Red Bull Racing teammates Vettel and Webber. They grabbed the bulls by their horns and wrestled them to a Red Bull 1-2 at Sepang. The brittle machines held and if Red Bull Racing has finally divorced the reliability demon which stole their thunder in the first two races, McLaren and Ferrari are in for a difficult 2010 season. With the win, Vettel has hurled himself head first, in the championship race and if Red Bull’s slogan -  ‘Red Bull gives you wings’- holds true, he may just fly to the top of the standings after a few more races. 

Cecil Munroe Gleaner On-Line Writer