F1 back in action this weekend

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Well, we thought we’d be seeing Michael Schumacher, but with his decision not to race, the temperature has lowered considerably on this, the first race back after Summer holiday.  It’ll be interesting to see who has benefitted from the long break.  McLaren showed some signs of life last month, even though the team is out of the running for this year’s championship.  I’m still liking the push from Red Bull and young Sebastian Vettel (pictured above).

The future of the sport continues to be a bit of a question mark.  What will the cars look like next year?  Will there be a uniform budget cap?  Also, we’re starting to wonder who will be racing where.  We known that Massa is out for this race, at least, but will he be back this season, or even next year?  BMW has left, but the Sauber team may yet be bailed out, and there’s already talk of Ferrari power.  Yet, it is doubtful that a proven Kubica, a proven race winner and up-and-coming young driver, will stay with the team.  Where will he be next year?  And is Kimi bound for rally racing, leaving F1 altogether?

So, with all these murmurs and rumblings quietly roiling in the background, i think it will be nice to have an actual race to distract us form the mysteries of the future.  by this time tomorrow, we’ll know who is on pole for the street course in Valencia.

Amen, Mark Webber!

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After seven years in the sport and over 132 races, Australian Mark Webber has won his first ever Formula 1 race at the German Grand Prix.  He qualified fastest yesterday for his first ever pole position and today he brought home the bacon.  When I started following the sport in depth a few years ago, Webber was thought to be the unluckiest man on the grid, victimized mostly by a substandard ride – but not with today’s Red Bull.

I have not yet  seen the race, but from the reports, Webber really dropped the hammer in the last laps before his second pit stop.  He would have been light on fuel and sensing his firs victotry was within grasp.  Just need to stay cool and drive really fast.  In the end, he outpaced his young teammate Sebastian Vettel (driving identical hardware) by nearly ten seconds, and Vettel finished in second place!  That’s a strong statement from the 33 year-old Aussie.