Formula 1 Bahrain 2014

Thanks to Fox Sports, I was denied my usual Saturday afternoon baseball.  I spent the whole afternoon in front of my computer, writing pure piss and vinegar.  Sunday, for the second week in a row, I’d planned on blogging NASCAR, but Texas was a rainout.  Fox Sports went on broadcasting anyway.   After that crap in Bristol, where they said they’d be back if the weather cleared, I watched fruitlessly for a couple of hours, only to find out they’d completed the race on Fox Sports 1 (where my baseball went).  See if I watch any more Fox rain delay coverage.

Thankfully, F1 was on in the morning, so I would have something to write about.  I meant to watch the Australian GP a couple of weeks ago, since it was on live at midnight, but unfortunately I forgot about it.  The next race, the Malaysian GP, was on at 2:30 am.  Forget it.  Besides I heard one of the cars disappeared off the track and hasn’t been found yet.  (What?  Too soon?)  The Bahrain GP was on at a more reasonable 8:30 am. 

As usual, I’m watching Uni-mas in Spanish for the coverage.  My first surprise of the morning was their new co-host, Milka Duno.  She, a former Venezuelan IRL driver, was an interesting addition.  Milka was only in the series thanks to Hugo Chavez’s Citgo gas sponsorship.  Competitors referred to her as a “moving chicane.”  Still, she adds a dash of glamour, looks and pedigree-wise.  Frankly, my Spanish isn’t good enough to tell you if Milka was doing a good job as a commentator, but she seemed to be keeping up her end of the conversation during the race.  

The race began with a very impressive sunset over the desert.  A giant reddish hued sun hung over a pinkish horizon.  (That picture is from testing on Thursday.  Trust me it was a pink sky.)  The track looked antiseptically modern and out-of-place amongst the waves of sand.  Dare I say, it looked a bit quaint compared to the newer Yas Marina track in Abu Dhabi.  There was no Turn 1 chaos at the start, just one blown tire.  The dust on the track made every brake lockup a fog of white smoke. 

This F1 stuff is important to you NASCAR fans.  It’s where they got the “Knockout” qualifying format.  Soon stockcar fans can look forward to processional races, Push-to-Pass, penalty weight, and, my favorite, and option tires (you must optionally use a set of tires during the race that won’t work as well as the other type, as opposed to the single option of exploding Goodyears in NASCAR).  Hey NASCAR, feel free to copy F1 in their short, tight races shown without commercial interruption too.    

Surprisingly (again this morning), the transfer seems to go both ways.  I couldn’t help but notice that some of the drivers had numbers that were not 1 to 23.  Previously, these numbers were handed out to the teams based on how they finished the previous year (traditionally skipping #13).  Some of the drivers had their number on the back of their helmets so that their in-car view would show them.   Further, the numbers were no longer uniform, but were stylized.  Daniel Ricciardo’s #3 looked strangely familiar. 

The shock of Ricciardo’s number was nothing compared to what happened on-track.  His Red Bull teammate, four-time and current world champion, Sebastian Vettel, was asked to move over for him, because he was faster.  Further, these guys weren’t even in the lead.  Up front, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes were battling for the lead.  Hold it.  Let me re-read that sentence and check my memory.  Yes, two cars in an F1 race battling for the lead on track.  It’s unbelievable!  Cats and dogs living together unbelievable!      

Late in the race, one of the Mexican drivers, Estaban Gutierrez, got flipped in a wreck.  The in-car view was spectacular (he was okay).  This brought out the Safety Car and bunched up the field.  Both Hamilton and Rosberg were warned by their team to “Bring both cars home.”  They promptly went side-by-side in a NASCAR-esqe dogfight.  Rosberg gave it a valiant go to get past him, but Hammy proved stronger. 

In Parc Ferme, there was no animosity between the teammates.  I think they genuinely enjoyed the competition, especially as they’re on the same team.  Rounding out the podium and to the delight of the broadcasters was Sergio “Checo” Perez, the other Mexican driver in the series.  He and Hulkenberg had good finishes for Force India.  Force India?  Backmarker Force India?  Will wonders never cease?  When Brian Johnson of AC/DC came out and interviewed the drivers afterward, I was in a state where I could no longer feel surprise.  (Though I did know he was a racing fan.) 

I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to baseball on the radio.  Fox Sports radio said the race would be on at 5:00.  I turned on the TV and got Family Guy.  I went back to the radio, where they reported that the race was rained out for the day, and they’d try it again tomorrow.  Thanks for jerking me around some more Fox Sports.