Turn 3 - three days later

This morning I got a taxi from outside my hotel in St Kilda, Melbourne heading for the airport and I asked the driver to divert through Albert Park.

This being Wednesday it was three days after the race and I can tell you it was weird seeing the place being de-constructed and put back to its more normal state - a beautiful, quiet refuge of green(or brown) in a busy city.

We drove down the pit-straight and then through the first couple of turns and then through Turn 3. We had actually gone quite a bit past this bit when I asked the guy to stop and, plane-to-catch notwithstanding, I ran back and took these shots. I love the transient nature of a street circuit and, in this respect, Albert Park is just like Monaco where you can stroll on the track within minutes of the race ending. This sort of accessibility is not unique in sport but the way street tracks flip back to normal, everyday use is fascinating and it's strange to be able to walk where, just three days earlier, the world's best drivers were hurtling through at 90mph.

Anyway as you can see, the street lamps are already back, as are all the bollards and the sign posts. The gravel where Kimi took a deep detour and very nearly hit the wall when attacking Heikki on Lap 31 has now been piled high by a digger, ready for loading and carting away I imagine. I thought I could actually see the black marks on the curb where he had gone off. There's a shot showing some peculiar concrete traffic islands which have been plonked in the middle of the road and now divide the traffic as it approaches Turn 3. Fascinating to see it in real life - I hope you get a flavour from the photos.

By the way some of you have noticed that the poll on Lewis and Tiger has disappeared. That's because I took it down. There was a bit of a misunderstanding between myself and London and we ended up asking the wrong question entirely. Sir Jackie is no fool but it is easy to misrepresent what he was saying. Essentially his argument isn't that Lewis and Tiger are comparable in their achievements right now - that would be ridiculous - what he is saying is that Lewis is comparable to Tiger in the scale of the impact he has made worldwide in his first year. That impact is both sporting, cultural/social and commercial. Obviously Jackie is a great admirer of Lewis and he also believes that, provided he does not suffer any big setbacks, he could be one of the great drivers. There is absolutely no harm in him saying this and I don't think it's unfair on Lewis to say it either.

I am in Kuala Lumpur. It's wet and the forecast is for rain/showers every day up to and including the Grand Prix. Are we about to see another anomalous race? 

      

Pics Ed Gorman/The Times; click on image to enlarge(if you're interested)

Comments

[CHIUNDA]

Nice touch Ed, full flavor of the Grand Prix weekend from before, during and after - i must say you are giving us some real quality attention here. Enjoy Malaysia - i can't wait for the practices to begin.

Does anybody know where i can get a link to the video of Lewis making a pass on Kimi sometime last year somewhere in Europe - was it Monza? Thanks in advance for whoever will lead me to the video.

[B Cave]

Fascinating stuff, Ed. The Malaysia race could be equally fascinating if the weather turns wet!

Re. the Tiger Woods comments, it's just another case of the media twisting and exaggerating anything to do with Lewis, then shoving a microphone in his face for a comment, which usually turns out to be measured and modest and truthful, only for his haters and critics to twist it even further. Then people get into a lather about comparing Lewis to anyone great in sport because that is just too horrendous to contemplate - what? He's a loser, he doesn't win by overtaking, he's useless. Oh and did I mention he's arrogant and compares himself to Schumacher. Poor Lewis. I really hope he doesn't read all this ****!

Another thing I've noticed is all the negativity surrounding Stewart's remarks about LH not joining the GPDA. Wow, that sparked off another round of shock horror, isn't he selfish and up his own **** comments. Thank God then, that Pedro de la Rosa has now come out to say that there is absolutely no pressure on him to join, as there also isn't for Kimi Raikkonen, Adrian Sutil and Anthony Davidson who also aren't members. He said: "Clearly, we look forward to Lewis becoming a GPDA member at some time in the future, and the other three too. But it isn't mandatory to join and it isn't our intention to put pressure on Lewis, as he has always been extremely helpful with any safety issue we have engaged in in the past." So what I would like to know is will this positive story about Lewis be as widely reported in the media as the negative ones? I somehow don't think so! I also seem to remember Mark Webber laying into Hamilton over this issue last week. Lovely chap isn't he?

[Omar]

Hi Ed, I like this type of off-track info. Keep posting them.

Rain on race day will be fun.

[javiervivaespania]

Thanks Ed!!!
Great pictures. Reality is like a featured film, sometimes. It gets built and unbuilt, it's got actors and people that keep on playing their role when the spotlight is off and others that have a real life, too.
Anyway, I'm getting a little bit philosophical here.
It seems rain could serve us another conspicuos meal on Sunday. A Sunday of Passion, perhaps Spanish Passion.
I am looking forward to watching this on tv.

[Dean Rodrigues]

Having been in Monaco this weekend, I understand what you mean. Being able to walk on the streets that F1 cars race around on is one of the most surreal experiences of my life.

I was having a look at the Singapore and Valencia GP websites yesterday - the Valencia one has got a cool simulation of the track - and I've got to say they look very exciting. The Singapore track, in particular, has some amazing features with the track running (vertically) between public highways and slip roads. I'll be interested to see if these highways remain open during the GP weekend... if it was the UK I have no doubt they'd be considered a security risk!

[Dean Rodrigues]

CHIUNDA:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XCZMNG3lIk

with compliments.

P.S. this has got some epic American commentary, including classics such as "Holy Mackerel", "Watch this" (as if we'd be doing anything else), and "that is Lewis Hamilton ALL OVER"

[Chris G]

"Holy Mackerel!"
Hoho..that cheered me up.
And it was a great pass

[Gabriel]

Hi Ed
Great pictures once again. Must be very strange to walk on the track with all the advertising and barriers still up. Apologies, but your photos also made me think of my ones when I was walking around the track a couple of years ago (sadly, it wasn't at the time of the GP).

1st one: This made me wonder whether some post-race features might be useful for the race - the barrier may have prevented Barrichello being disqualifed. The chicane on the main straight is understandable - if I had a car there I'd take it at full speed! http://flickr.com/photos/gpollara/2346879156/

2nd one: I wonder whether Heiki saw this sign when he almost ground to a halt on the main straight, letting Alonso through... http://flickr.com/photos/gpollara/2339227232/in/photostream/

Not been to Sepang, so no more from me. Looking forward to reading more of the blog though.

[Gary]

Ed, Don't worry. The sensible ones knew exactly what you were talking about RE: Lewis. The general tone of the article was whether or not Lewis seemed destined for greatness not whether he had already achieved it.

The answer is the same, of ANY current F1 driver Lewis is far and away the only one who can be considered destined for greatness. Whether or not he can deliver on it is an entirely different matter.

I do wish our Spanish friends could just calm down a little!!!

[Gary]

I have just watched that video, thanks for posting Dean.

"When I see A BREATHTAKING OVERTAKING MANOEUVRE by Hamilton, I'll believe you all." Juan

Welcome to the fold Juan.

[Anon]

I know the pass you guys are talking about. An I remember how for that pass, Kimi was LOADED with fuel and thus was going faster while Lewis was going faster with LESS fuel.

But for argument's sake, let's PRETEND its a GREAT overtaking move (I think its an OK one. I think he forced Kimi abit more than he neded to, and could have a caused a little accident, which wouldn;t have been breathtaking). Now imagine this. Instead of it being Lewis in the cockpit, its that horrible crybaby, public enemy Number 1, Alonso. Alonso is in a shoebox of a car- a Renault. And he overtakes Kimi. Not only does he overtake Kimi using a bad car, but he also overtakes a McClaren, an even BETTER car relatively to the Ferrari, and much, much better than the Renault. Is that a wonderful overtaking maneuvre, or did Alonso use voodoo against Kimi and Heikki?

Regards

[IDR]

Nice Pics Ed!

For a person who has never been there is difficult to recognize the turns in which three days before there were competing all F1 drivers.

Anon,

Alonso did not use voodoo against Kimi and Heikki.

He just "robbed their wallets" meanwhile both there were quite busy fighting between them.

That was funny, not breathtaking, just the same with the overtaking to Heikki some time later.

But I'm afraid that only under extraordinary circumstances we will be able to see something like this during this season.

[CHIUNDA]

Thanks Dean for the video. My point for requesting that video was to provide evidence to the likes of Juan and Anon that even only part way through his first season, Lewis was displaying some very sublime passing moves - on none less than Kimi himself.

My second point was to show the similarity between the passing move to that of Massa on DC at Albert Park. Now if only DC had had a cooler head, maybe he would not have been so foul mouthed on international TV.

To B Cave, can you imagine what this blog would be reading like if it had been Lewis who had mouthed DC's profanities? There is a biased press looking the other way of a clearly bad mannered driver just because his name doesn't have Hamilton in it. Jean, where is the French press moral grand standing now?

[B Cave]

Chiunda, you are so right. Hamilton cannot blink without a ton of hate-bricks being thrown at him and all sorts of dastardly motives attributed to every movement, gesture, comment he makes. But other drivers can say and do what they like without an iota of criticism. It's quite astounding!

Going back to the Tiger Woods remarks, it was quite evident what Stewart was referring to, as Ed Gorman said. It is the impact he is having so soon on a global scale that is comparable to Woods. I am positive he will eventually be proven as good a sportsman as Woods - time will tell eh? One thing he definitely has over Woods is his attractiveness to the opposite sex - I cannot see Woods in the heartthrob role, whereas I know some ladies who get quite giggly and swoony when talking about Hamilton. His appeal is a lot broader throughout the human species, I'd say.

[Mari]

Chiunda, let press moral issues aside, have you read McCann issue? Press is doing bussines, forget the moral. Specially British press, but the rest of the world is learning very quick. As in F1. As in America's cup. As in football.

[Mari]

Chiunda, put press moral issues aside, have you read McCann issue? Press is doing business, forget the moral. Specially British press, but the rest of the world is learning very quick. As in F1. As in America's cup. As in football.

[ramplano]

It comes as a sort of a relieve the withdrawing of that funny poll, that's common sense. I understood from the starts Mr. Stewart's point of view but the Times or Mr. Gorman,apparently by mistake, went too far.

I am not a LH fan but I can spot gold when it's shown so clearly. I said it last season and this one it's looking even better. However, I'd like to see Ferrari and Raikkonen back for the sake of the sport. It would be a bore to watch what you call a processional race after another

Alonso is being brought into this blog day in day out, which is weird to say the less. He is driving a thing which is the 13th best car on the grid if so. Therefore he'll be 60 or 70 points adrift by midseason. What's the use in feeding controversy about a guy who's not going to be a player this year?
He'll have to wait a year or two to be back fighting for something better

[Anon]

To IDR:

I was just joking about the voodoo thing. I also was sarcastic when I said Alonso was a crybaby and public enemy.

I wouldn't say Alonso's move was robbing their wallets, since he was in a slower car anyway and so the fact that Heikki and Kim were fighting doesn't really put them at a disadvantage speed- wise.

But I was just pulling on that example just to make a contrast betwen a Renault overtaking a McClaren and a Ferrari and than a McClaren takin over a worse and fuel- loaded Ferrari.

I think the Mona Lewis- on- Kimi move was OK. Its not breathtaking. Kimi was loaded w/ fuel, Lewis wasn't. Lewswas paticularly unnecesarily aggressive for such an overtaking move. So it is NOT a breathtaking overtaking move.

But hey, Lewis is a great driver. I just don't think he is good at overtaking. Drivers that are good at overtaking include Alonso (eg. Massa in German, Lewis in Brazil, Massa in China, and that's just a snippet of just '07) or Kimi (Lewis in China, Lewis in Brazil, half the grid in Australia '08, Rubens in Australia, Coulthard in Australia, etc.)