It’s been a very tough week and even though I wanted to get some time off to write here, I used it just to switch off and rest. A very draining week has passed but I expect to catch up in the following days with some new entries.

Tomorrow is Bahrein GP and there is a big wall in the paddock saying 999th GP Countdown to 1000. I am super thrilled! Next GP is in China and well, yes, I will be there ❤ ❤ I will be able to tell I was in the 1000th GP.

Shanghai is hosting it from 12 to 14th April and I expect to get a good good show there.

This year is the year I have most closely followed F1 and it is maybe because I am more focused on the technical side and I understand better how hard is the sport, making me more of a fan. Today was Bahrein qualy and Leclerc got the first pole of his career and beat track record. Previous track record was from Vettel at 1:27:958, Leclerc shockingly made the same time for the first qualy lap on the 3rd part. How on earth can you get the same exact time?!?!?! Later, though, he beat his own time and got it faster at 1:27:866. Vettel, Hamilton and Bottas following the quite normal 2 front rows by now. Verstappen 5th, another expected outcome. Normally Red Bull follows but since Ricciardo is not there anymore and Gasly is having a hard time to get used to the car, I think Red Bull counts as 1 car for now.

Midfield, something not usually seen by the common eye, Haas had a really great qualifying with Magnussen 6th and Grosjean 8th, only separated by Carlos Sainz in 7th with the first of the Mclaren’s in the 10 first places, Norris getting P10. Raikkonen P9.

Quite cool mix up and for 2 races so far, and it’s very interesting to see results engine-wise. Teams getting Renault engine are, of course Renault and Mclaren (after a rocky situation with Honda last year). Honda having Red Bull and Toro Rosso on its side. Now, between Renault and Mclaren…looks like Mclaren has improved a lot already but not by switching the engine; perhaps Alonso might rethink his retirement and stop criticizing engines for a while?; Renault team is nowhere to be seen. On the other side, Red Bull with Honda has Verstappen high up in qualifying with a podium in Melbourne, but Toro Rosso is lost.
Red Bull is having a good driver and more effective aero than its lower branch Toro Rosso, maybe that is the only difference. Because reliability on Honda engines are not so strong even though hugs and smiles are down the podium. But then, why Renault is behind? I suppose most of the questions will be answered with more races to settle down the theories.

It was a great satisfaction to see Ferrari on top, and put away doubts and fears of them repeating Melbourne fiasco. Finally, Barcelona winter testing is proving to be right and Wolff was very serious by the end to today’s session. By neumatics choice, Mercedes is not that far behind, with soft compounds difference is not abismal, but still, strategy and engines will tell the truth tomorrow.

I am looking more on aero and to find an answer on the different approaches taken this season. Very inconclusive so far. Raikkonnen getting a P9 shows nothing and since the sport is very multidimensional, it’s very difficult to judge one performance based on one type of engineering. I do hope to write more conclusive stuff on this.

Kubica and Russell, yeah…just leave as not even getting Head out of retirement will fix this mess.

Another short thing. I started to listen to the F1 podcast (I got to know about its existence this week, terribly sad and ashamed of that). And Hamilton is on the first episode. Each podcast is around 50 min and I was very surprised to have an insight of Hamilton that went so in contrast of my opinion on him. I listened the converstation, fluid, personal, variety of topics. I liked it, I liked him, yes he has a crazy side of having his bulldog as a model…but also more mature now, has a better understanding of himself and I quite share many opinions he has. A bit I really liked and stucked in me:

“I really do truly believe that somehow you can manifest certain things that you either envision or you dream”

Lewis Hamilton

And I agree. It is true that we become somehow what we think of ourselves, at least in one tiny part. For me, that I am not a professional F1 driver making millions a year, I did dream of working at aerodynamics, I did dream of getting to F1 and I don’t know how, things just unveil themselves. We do become what we really want and that’s an amazing thing. Could be destiny, could be determination. But there is an unspeakable force out there; sorry, not out there but INSIDE us, that forge us.

I recommend the podcast. Can be found in many places but I give here the link to it via Spotify: