Home boy Felipe Massa on the Brazilian GP

I am definitely having the last laugh as far as my exclusion from Ferrari is concerned. I have been with the team for a long time and made a lot of life-long friends there, but well… Get this: Ferrari kicks me out, brings Kimi back again (who was unceremoniously chucked out in 2009), I go to Williams, the F14T is a dog of a car and Williams is ahead of Ferrari in Constructors’ Championship. So much for having two roosters in the same coop. Williams has produced a brilliant car for the first time in many years, and I consider myself lucky to be here when that has finally happened. For a long time now, I have had to don the role of a submissive second driver, and being at a team other than Ferrari is doing wonders for me. Williams too pulled a “_____ is faster than you” card on me at Sepang, but I refused to let Valtteri pass and the message was conveyed.  All I want is to be a racing driver who will fight to keep his position, and I will not regret doing something like that again. Admittedly though, Valtteri has been getting more out of the car than me, and he has the points to prove it. But I am relishing the year, and living to fight the next race after each one.

Second Finn I have had to deal with. This one's a lot easier! :-)

This weekend we arrived at Interlagos, Sao Paulo; the track where I won the race but lost the championship. Home races invoke positivity in the driver, and when the crowd cheers for you, the drive and determination gets doubled. You can feel the energy pulsating through the whole place, and it eggs you on. It is an enormous sensation. Interlagos is a track which is very dear to me because of that, and winning or being on the podium here is the most special emotion in the world.

In other news, four cars were off the grid for the race. Caterham and Marussia ran into organizational and financial problems, and did not compete. It is a huge concern, and having been in a teamwith both limited and unlimited resources, I have come to appreciate the delicate nature of cost-cutting in F1. Caterham also launched a crowd-funding project to raise funds and compete in the remaining races, which is basically an auctioning of used car parts to collectors and enthusiasts. At the time of writing this entry, Caterham has managed to scrape through, and will be racing in Abu Dhabi. I am also very happy for our test driver Felipe Nasr, who has bagged a seat at Sauber next year.

Brazilian Grand Prix

Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace or Interlagos in Sao Paulo always makes me think of gladiator arenas. The circuit is built into an indented piece of land surrounded by the city, and the depression makes it look like a pit or an arena with the grandstands serving as viewing galleries. It is one of the most loved tracks on the calendar, and my personal favourite. It is an anti-clockwise track, but after racing in Austin, we have already got used to it. Interlagos has hosted many season finales, and the races here have always been exciting, more so with the rains butting in sometimes. Pirelli brought their medium and soft tire compounds for the weekend, and the bumpy, abrasive track meant that there will be a lot of pitstops.

Friday and Saturday Practice Sessions

FP1 saw me coming out as soon as the pitlane light was green, and after an installation lap we got down to the business of fine-tuning. We ran both the compounds in the session, and observed that the there was a lot of wear on the Pirellis. I also had a moment in the closing stages when I went off at Mergulho and after a tussle got it back on track. I managed to post a ninth fastest time on the mediums and then dived for soft boots. The change of rubber shot me up to fifth , where I stayed. Nico topped FP1, 1.047 seconds ahead of me.

FP2 was uneventful, except for a fire on Fernando’s car, which brought out the red flags. My position kept fluctuating between fourth and sixth and Valtteri kept doing a slightly better lap than me on the softs every time. There was another red flag courtesy of Esteban, and I stayed sixth fastest behind Valtteri. Nico muscled himself into first place again, and I trailed him by 0.976 seconds this time. FP3 saw a resurgence from me and I beat Valtteri to bag third fastest time by nearly two-tenths of a second. Nico lead this session as well, but I closed the gap to him to 0.429 seconds.

Qualifying

Q1 gets a quick start as I drive car out to the track for the outlap, and to get to the optimum fuel load takes a few laps. On the third lap after the outlap, I set a time better than Valtteri in 3^rd, which is eventually beaten by Fernando and Nico. By the time Q1 ends, Valtteri and I are an easy 3-4 on the charts behind the customary Merc domination. Romain, JEV, Sergio and Pastor get eliminated in the shootout of the 18 cars.

We move on to the 15 minutes action of Q2. I go out after a few minutes into it, and promptly set the third fastest time behind Nico and Lewis. Valtteri is feisty though, when he swoops in to displace me down to fourth. In the final few minutes of Q2, I give it my all, and climb up to second behind Nico, Lewis apparently sand-bagging. Esteban, Hulk, Adrian and Daniel Kvyat get relegated.

The commencing of Q3 sees the air heavy with anticipation in the garage and the stands, because the Williams is clearly in good contention for a podium, and if something goes wrong with the Mercs, a potential win. Q3 is a quick-as-lightning 12-minute shootout, and as the pitlane lights turn green, there’s a scramble on the track. Valtteri locks up more than once, and the team warns me about it. Nico is keen on keeping his spotless record of being right at the top the whole weekend, and Lewis is constantly on the lookout to topple him. It is a crazy session. Nico loses no time in setting the top time, and Lewis is close behind. Valtteri goes third, and then I relegate him to fourth. I am just 0.052 seconds from Lewis after the first runs, and I hear the crowds erupt on every grandstand I pass. The final run sees the same scrap, and the positions remain the same. I have a chance at beating Lewis to second on my flying lap, but a ruined middle sector throws that away. So, qualifying session sees Nico, Lewis, me, Valtteri, Jenson and Sebastian in that order for the grid positions on Sunday.

Lewis looks not-so-happy

Race

There is something about Brazil which is unlike any other racing track; the urge to ace a home race of course, and also the enormous amount of positive aura around the track. This weekend my son also will be watching, and he is at an age where this will be imprinted in his mind forever. I almost am desperate to give a good show, and the pressure is huge as we all line up on the grid for the warmup lap. The fans are in their thousands, and I can spot Brazil colours all over the circuit. The cheers can be heard loud and clear above the meek sound of the V6 turbos as we go around for the usual warmup lap, and it feels me with verve and dread at the same time. After a particularly long weaving around the hot track, we wait on the grid for the five red lights to go out.

The rubber on the tires is hot and in optimum temperature, and Charlie Whiting does the honours of declaring the start. 18 V6 engines rev up and as the lights come on and go out, we launch ourselves out of the grid boxes. I get a quick and perfect start and emerge out of the Senna S in 3^rd position unscathed, and so do all the others. By the end of two laps into the race, we see no incidents but the guys warn me about an oilspill in Turn 2. 3 laps in and I see the two Mercs already 2 seconds ahead of me, and building up the gap further. The Pirelli soft rubber is already starting to show signs of wear, and the team takes the call of calling me in after lap 5. The stop is perfect and I switch onto medium tires. I head out and a lap later the team pits Valtteri. He is safely behind me after he heads out, and I gain some tenths having achieved the undercut.

Snaking through Senna's S after race start

The relieved feeling of having executed a perfect stop is short-lived as the stewards slap a 5-second stop-go penalty on me for speeding in the pits. Dang! This means that the next time I go into the pits, I have to wait for an extra 5 seconds before my tire-changing business. This means that Valtteri has a huge chance of jumping me. To add fuel to the fire, the team informs me that he has set the fastest lap. On lap 15, I am running 5^th, behind Nico and Lewis, who in turn are chasing down yet-to-pit Hulk and Daniel Kvyat. Nico and Lewis soon edge ahead and overtake Hulk and Daniel, leaving it to me to do the same honours. I chase down Daniel rapidly, and overtake him on the starting grid straight and hear the crowd cheer. It is a good energy and I put my foot down to chase Hulk and reclaim my third position only to realise that it already came relatively easy, as Hulk is in the pits the same time I am chasing Daniel. I take my spot at third position behind the Mercs, and I can see Lewis’s Merc ahead, just 4 seconds away. In a couple of laps, I can see Valtteri in my mirrors, around 3 seconds behind me, with Jenson hot on his heels.

Overtaking Daniel Kvyat

In the following laps, Lewis and Nico run their own private race as they edge away further and further from the rest of the grid. By lap 25, I am 16 seconds behind Lewis, who in turn is challenging Nico for first position at less than a second behind the latter. I come in for the scheduled stop on lap 26, when I also do a 5 second stop-go penalty. The team makes me wait longer than 5 seconds and I come back on track in 13^th position behind Daniel Kvyat. I am eager to see if Valtteri will beat me after he stops, courtesy of the ‘7-seconds penalty’, but he doesn’t. His stop also takes long, as the mechanics adjust his seatbelt and he comes back on track in 15^th position, behind Kevin too. By lap 29, the drivers yet to stop do the deed, and I see Hulk 4 seconds ahead of me in 4^th place behind Kimi, who has decided to do a two-stop race. Nico is still the leader, and at a comfortable margin ahead of Lewis, who has apparently gone for donut. I get down to business, which is chasing down Hulk and as we arrive at lap 37, I am o.924 seconds behind him. He chooses the same lap to pit, and I automatically get promoted to 3^rd, as Kimi has pitted already. The gap to Lewis now is 14.267 seconds, and it looks like I am going to have a quiet race from 3^rd position.  But no, I can see Jenson close enough in my mirrors, and it turns out he is trailing me by 4.6 seconds. That is not a problem, because the two cars drift further apart from me as the race progresses. At lap 50, I am 23 seconds behind Lewis in 3^rd, and Jenson is 8.5 seconds behind me. 

I pit on lap 51 for my final stop and visit the Mclaren pit for a quick hello before going to my own pit. It is a funny mistake, but in my defence they all look so similar in their white overalls. I change over to mediums to run to the end. It is a decent 3.6 seconds stop, and I emerge in 5^th behind Hulk and Fernando, who are yet to make their final stop. Fernando pits on lap 53, and I am promoted to 4^th position. Meanwhile, Lewis is still chasing Nico ahead of Hulk, and I am 0.625 seconds behind the Force India. I pass him easily again at the same spot into Senna S as I took Daniel Kvyat, and the crowds applaud as enthusiastically as before.

Hey Ron! I am better than Fernando!

I run a quiet race after that, as Lewis is 30 seconds ahead of me and Hulk’s Force India fades easily behind me, and on lap 62 Hulk pits to let Jenson take the 4^th position behind me. Jenson’s gap to me is a safe 12 seconds, so unless something horrible happens to my car, I have the podium in the bag. The situation ahead is not so laidback as me though, as Lewis chases Nico like a man possessed. He is within DRS distance of less than 1 second for the remaining 9 laps, but eventually fails to rail Nico in. On the last lap, I take the liberty of looking around at the crowd and the support overwhelms me as it always does. The race ends, Nico wins, Lewis comes a close second. I stand on the podium in my home race again, with my son watching and Brazil cheering, and it is the best feeling in the whole world. 

Proud Felipe

Proud Felipinho

Whatever happened to the trophies..

Note: All photographs belong to their respective owners and FOM. Let me know if you need me to take down any.

The Fastest Cowboy in Austin: Daniel Ricciardo

I try to be modest and nice all the time, but excuse me this time mate. I totally kicked Seb’s ass throughout my stint at Redbull and it feels great!*grins*  Seb is facing the same car troubles as Kimi is, and even though I love it, I know it is tough to drive a car you are not comfortable with. The RBR has been kind to me, and I daresay I am used to jittery cars screaming for more downforce since my days at Redbull’s sister team Toro Rosso. And to be fair to Seb, he has spent five years basking in the glory of the era of Downforce Supreme, and switching to this car from that is tough indeed.

The team has been very good to me, in spite of me donning the role of a second driver. The rumours about Mark being side-lined to favour Seb before I came to this team really seem shaky after this. Mark is my countryman, but Redbull is a very impartial team in my experience. Formula 1 is a rat-race. It is the closest thing that I can relate to about the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest. Today, it’s Seb who is facing problems, but that can turn around and tomorrow it might be me.

We Hear No Evil

There has been a lot of stuff happening in F1. First, it was Jules’ dreadful accident, which left all of us drivers shaken. It makes you stop and think about life, which can be so fleeting as to change in milliseconds. What are we really doing? That question inevitably arises in mind and forces you to introspect. But the answer is simple enough for us. We are following our passions, and doing something we are best at doing. Racing is all that keeps us sane, because that is what we have conditioned ourselves to do over all these years. Secondly, Caterham and Marussia are not racing this weekend at Austin due to intra-team problems, and it makes the grid look a lot smaller. On the brighter side for drivers, it means lesser blue flags.

Circuit of the Americas

Circuit of the Americas is a well-loved track in the Formula 1 community, and drivers love it because of the enthusiastic fans, the flow of the track, the Esses, and the fact that it has taken the best out of some tracks and rolled it into one package. It has sections from Germany’s Hockenheim, Turkey’s Istanbul Park and England’s Silverstone. But it has one section that is unique; the steep climb into Turn 1, which ushers you blindly further on. In addition to all of this, the track runs anti-clockwise and this requires a newer set of neck exercises to counter the g-forces on the left side.

Track map of CotA

Friday and Saturday Practice Sessions

FP1 on Friday is disappointing for me because I have to end my run early owing to a problem in the Energy Recovery System(ERS) on the car. We have new youngsters Max Verstappen and Felipe Nasr replacing Jean-Eric and Valtteri respectively. I get 45 minutes on track before that happens, but the jittery feeling with the front and lack of traction is unnerving. We have much to do, but have to wait till FP2 to do it. Lewis tops FP1 behind Nico.

The team gets my car ready in two hours for FP2. I post a seventh best time in the first attempt on prime tires. The option/soft tires improve things later and I manage to split the Mercs and post a second. Nico has gearbox issues and Fernando pips him to third place, and goes on to depose me too. Nico manages to come back and floors it to come second again. Thus, I stand fourth in FP2. FP3 is fun at first without the big guns showing as I post second place in some laps, and then first behind Felipe. After that it is just a fall into the back as I get deported to sixth place. As the chequered flag comes out and I still am on a flying lap, I push and I push but run horribly wide at the corner before last. I stay sixth.

The steep climb into Turn 1

Qualifying

The team takes its own sweet time to prepare me to be sent into the battlefield as Q1 begins. 12 minutes out of the 18 minutes have already zoomed by before I am on the outlap for my first qualifying lap. I give it all and post a fifth best time, purpling the final sector to wrap it up. Q1 relegates are JEV, Esteban, Seb(!) and Romain. The Q2 clock starts with its 15-minute countdown, and we waste no time in getting the car on track this time. I post a seventh position on my first try, with Nico and Lewis leading the pack. Towards the end, I scrape a fifth best lap on the charts, and Pastor, Sergio, Hulk and Daniel Kvyat are knocked out. Q3 sees me the first car out of the pitlane, eager to put on a good show. I am back in eighth after the first runs, and determined to do better. I do more runs after a pit visit and catapult from eighth to fourth. Felipe relegates me soon and at the end of Q3, I am in fifth position ahead of Fernando. Nico, Lewis, Vallteri and Massa are at the front in that order.

Had to take a selfie!

Race

The new protocol dictates that we drivers come to the start of the grid and stand in a file for the local national anthem. It seems like a long walk for backmarkers on the grid, and I have reservations about this. After the US national anthem, we return to our cars and start the nervous preparation for the race. I think that Williams has come through really well this season, and their car could be judged as the best of the rest from the grid at Austin. Seb will start from the pitlane it seems, with a penalty for using the sixth engine.

LOL

We go on the warm-up lap to get heat into the tires, and weave around the track before coming back to the grid to wait for the five red lights to go out. I focus on getting a clean start and as the lights go out I floor the throttle. I get a horrible start as Fernando and Kevin relegate me to seventh place. The first two laps are hardly over and a skirmish between Adrian and Sergio on the Esses brings out the Safety Car. It starts the flurry of pitstops from a lot of cars, most noticeably Kevin for me. The SC goes back in within a few laps and we are racing again. With Kevin out of the equation for now, and Fernando right in front of me in 4^th place, I lose no time in overtaking him and do it from the inside on Turn 1. Close shave! Ferrari crossed out! The team instructs me to reign in the Williamses next. After 10 laps, I am still behind the Williams cars in fifth place, and Nico-Lewis are fighting out their own duel at the front. On the brighter side, I have pulled a good 6 seconds ahead of Fernando in 6^th.

On lap 13, I see Valtteri lock up in Turn 15, and in a plan to undercut him I dive for the pits in the same lap. Felipe also does the same from third position. I put on the medium tires(prime) and head out. The next lap sees Valtteri pit too, and on lap 15, he comes out of the pitlane side by side with me. I have the momentum from a longer run and I dive around the outside of Turn 1 to take 4^th place. One Williams down. But not for long! Valtteri is on the faster soft option tires, by virtue of which he is already all over me. He tries to DRS me on the straight before Turn 12, but I hold off. He attacks me again into Turn 15, but I keep him off. The next two laps are all about defending my behind from the apparently agitated Finn and I think I do a good job. After lap 18, I am 1.6 seconds behind Felipe and 1.3 seconds ahead of Valtteri.

This positions continue to be so for the next several laps. Valtteri seems to have started caring about his tires more than me, and steadily drops off behind me. I still keep a respectable distance to my next target Felipe in front, but somehow I don’t seem to be able to catch him. Meanwhile, on lap 25, Lewis overtakes Nico to lead the US grand prix, and judging from the way the stands erupt, you would think Lewis is American. I pit again on lap 31, and put on another set of medium tires again. I rejoin the track ahead of Valtteri, who pitted a lap before me. Felipe is still a little more than a second ahead of me. He pits on lap 32, and rejoins behind me after a botched stop by Willliams(3.7s). Second Williams down. I am now running third, with 22 laps to go. Everything has gone as planned, and a podium seems a possibility. Amidst all the hullabaloo, I also set the fastest lap.

On lap 35, Nico is 3.6 seconds ahead of me and Felipe is 1.8 seconds behind me. I still have a chance to catch Nico, and I also am not too comfortable with my gap to Felipe. Almost like an answer, Nico raises his game on the next lap and clocks fastest lap. It seems I can’t catch him after all. My immediate problem is Felipe all over my gearbox, and I focus on fending him off. I manage to get 2 seconds ahead of him in the next few laps, and the team reminds me that the battle with the Mercs not over yet. They are involved in a war of their own, with Nico rapidly catching Lewis. They might fight and things might get messy, which spells good fortune for me. But that was too good to come true. I spend the remaining laps catching Nico, a gap which was not working in my favour. Meanwhile, Felipe also manages to stage a brief resurgence and comes as close as 1.5 seconds to me. That remains so until the end of 56 laps. I hold on to third and Lewis wins the race.

And with that, my mathematical chances of winning the Drivers’ Championship are over, with Lewis at 316 points, Nico 24 points behind him at 292. I have 214 points, which 102 down on the leader, and with 75 points now available at last two races, I am officially out of the race for WDC. Good luck to Lewis and Nico!

Of pink helmets, clean shaves and a Russian GP

I have always been considered as a second-rung driver, since right back in 2000 when I debuted in Formula 1 with Williams. Seven team changes (by name only) and a world championship later, I am still not deemed as one of the best on track. Formula 1 is about the right driver in the right car, and after a long hiatus that came true for me in 2009 with Brawn. The car clicked and we were one. Driver and car. Race after race. Regrettably, that has not been taking place after I left Brawn- now Mercedes- to join F1 giants McLaren. Joining them was a no-brainer; who in their right minds will refuse a seat at the one of the oldest teams in Formula 1?

Winning the coveted title with Brawn in 2009

At McLaren, I suppose I did pretty well against their 2007 rookie sensation Lewis. Nevertheless, McLaren had not learned their lesson from the fireworks generated by driver rivalry in 2007, resulting in a lost championship. When I came in, they were all about equal driver status again. But yeah, they had always been about equal opportunity, which is an admirable thing about a team. I liked them from the get go, except a few too many endorsements that were obligatory. Case in question: I have always had a little stubble, but when Gilette became a sponsor of McLaren I was given strict instructions to shave clean. Maybe the rigidity made Lewis leave, but I don’t mind it much.

With Kevin during the Wig Wednesday for a cancer charity for children

In 2014, Kevin Magnussen replaced the brief intern Sergio Perez, who was thrown out unceremoniously. Kevin has shown promise, but I have outdriven him on most occasions so far. Papa’s passing made a huge impact on my psyche, but I did not let that deter me from performing my best. I put on the race suit, donned my helmet, pulled down the visor and raced. That is what I know best. And yet, there is uncertainty about my future at the team. Do I have to be the one to step out to make way for whoever is coming? Am I so unreliable that my team cannot have faith in my talents? Rumour is Kevin might go out too, or both he and I might get to continue. I detest it when the driver market is buzzing with transfers and retirements and Sabbaths looming. Sebastian triggered it by saying he will move to Ferrari next year, and Fernando seems so disillusioned with Ferrari that he will definitely leave. And possibly join McLaren. 

Tribute helmet for Papa

This year has been the most difficult of my entire life, with my old man not having my back anymore. But I raced on as usual, and have had the upper hand in points to Kevin. After Japan, I needed to make a strong statement that I am still the driver that won the championship. I know I am not young anymore, but I still have got what it takes. And though I never expected Sochi to be the place where I prove my worth, it turns out it was.

Russian GP

A week was very less time to recover from what happened to Jules Bianchi in the Japanese GP. He is still fighting for his life after that freak accident, and the whole F1 world is united in their support for him. What took place is a sign that motorsports is dangerous no matter what they say. Even a sport as safe as F1 is not really safe. I hope with all my heart that Jules comes back to racing sooner rather than later.

A Formula 1 race has never been held in Russia after the sport was christened so in 1950. The last F1-like event was held in St. Petersburg in 1914. So, Sochi and Russia was a new experience for both the Russians and the drivers. On first glance, the track looks a lot like Abu Dhabi in terms of its environs, with the Black Sea replacing the Marina Bay. Hermann Tilke ‘designed’ the street circuit, and it seems he wasn’t given much leeway in terms of any ‘designing’. The flow of the track is like Valencia, and despite the praise I showered upon it on live TV, I think Sector 1 is its only saving grace. The track is not very exciting, with all the turns feeling exactly the same, and it has way too many 90-degree ones. That may have been because of the constraints of integrating it in the Olympic stadium.

A panoramic shot of the circuit

We all watched the GP 2 race for getting maximum information about the track, as no one had gone racing here before. It seems the first sector, especially Turn 2 and the sweep into Turn 3 was a good place to overtake. The start was going to be extremely crucial because it was a long 800-metre run to the braking point of Turn 1. DRS zones could also have some overtakes. The race was predetermined to be a one-stopper, because Pirelli did not want to take chances with an unknown variable and went conventional on the tire compounds. It turned out the tarmac was very grippy and not so abrasive, which is unusual about a new track. 

Sochi track map

Friday & Saturday practice sessions

Practice was mostly about getting a feel of the track and trying it out for real after all those long hours in the simulator. In FP1, I did the installation lap and then proceeded to understand the track. Six minutes into the session I start trading a few fastest laps with the boys. After the first runs, I top the list with a second clear over all. I get a spin at Turn 8 in the second run, and the asphalt run-off came in handy. The session ended with me third after the two Mercedes cars. The car continues to feel good in FP2 and I post a fastest time of the day. I start exchanging laps with Lewis and Nico, who beat me by a few hundreds of a second every time. But that was inevitable with them being Mercs. FP2 results see me 6^th on the charts with Kevin going second after Lewis. That could only mean one thing. There is pace in the car this weekend. FP3 was a slight anti-climax with me in 9^th position and Kevin in 15^th after he suffered a driveshaft problem. We had gone a bit radical with the car setup and it didn’t work out. So it was a real challenge to pick ourselves together and do better for qualifying, on the old car setup. Well, let’s see if we do redeem our performance, shall we?

Qualifying

The first few runs in Q1 saw me in 13^th position. I decided I had had enough and put up a lap that pushed me up to 5^th. The next run I go 4^th fastest, and Kevin tails me in 5^th. Q1 saw the Felipe eliminated with some problem, along with Pastor. And the Marussia and Caterhams. I do well in Q2 as well, with initial laps placing me at 5^th, but Kevin and Daniel Kvyat beat me down to 6^th place at the end of Q2. Q3 was a scrap between the Mercedes at the front and amongst the rest of us behind them.  The first runs see me go 3^rd fastest, but Lewis promptly relegates me downwards. I get a few more runs, but at the end I am not able to best Valtteri, who looked good enough to play with the Mercs. Kevin finished 6^th, and local hero Daniel Kvyat got rousing applause for a well-qualified 5^th. The pole, you ask? Lewis, of course! I was very elated to find the speed on the car again, and it was a cheery Saturday.

Race

I will not take long to finish this, because despite being a 53-lap race, nothing interesting really happened. The sure-to-feature safety car, as predicted by most pundits failed to turn up too. Fuel-saving was going to be a crucial factor, and a safety car would’ve helped with that. The race was reminiscent of the late races in 2013, when Pirelli went conventional with tire compounds, and it resulted in one-stop races. Nevertheless, flat-spotting the tires was a major concern here, so we needed to try our best not to lock-up or spin. We had gathered from the sessions so far that the race was going to be heavy on fuel, and not-so-heavy on the tires. Qualifying 4^th after the bad showing in Q3 had given me some hope going into the race. I was going in with a determination to do my best.

Marussia with a message for their driver Jules

Before the race starts, we follow some new protocols regarding the national anthem where all drivers have to line up at the front of the grid. We also shook hands with Vladimir Putin and other Russian politicians. The Russian fans had turned up in full capacity, and it was good to see that. The main objective for me in the race was to get ahead of Valtteri Bottas, and snatch the third podium step.

The race starts and I get off pretty clean. It is a long dash to the first braking point, and I see a Mercedes car having a massive lockup into Turn 1. Turns out it was Nico, who got bad flatspots and had to pit immediately. Thanks to Nico hitting the pits, I am up to 3^rd position. The start proves to be a blinding one for Fernando who started from 7^th position, and he is in my mirrors by the end of lap 6. The team reminds me on the radio that he is 0.8 seconds behind me. He is rapidly closing in on me, and Valtteri is 5 seconds ahead. Which means I am falling off on pace. By the end of another lap, I pull away slightly from him, though still within 1 second and DRS range. The Ferrari goes off my trail in the next lap by 2 seconds, when Fernando puts in a slow lap. The drop-off continues with Fernando and me, and at the end of 10 laps, he is 3.6 seconds behind me, and I am trailing Valtteri by 9 seconds. Nico’s relegation to the back may have changed things, or not. The team lets me know that he intends to run the whole race on the tires he just put on. I grin to myself saying it is too early for him to do that because he doesn’t know if the tires will last.

Valtteri and me squabbling over grid position at race start

The next few laps involve me nursing my tires and keeping Fernando at bay. He closes in, and then I start matching his pace. It was the good old back and forth, with no one losing or gaining in the end. The team and I decide to stick with Plan A, which is to do 20-odd laps on the soft tires and then pit. The Ferrari doesn’t prove to be much of a threat, and I keep Fernando at a respectable distance. I pit on Lap 21 and go out in 9^th position after a good one. I get Kimi in front of me, who pits in a while. Meanwhile, Nico has managed to overtake or stop-jump a lot of cars and is in front of me after JEV pits. Mercedes have managed to make it work till now, but will they be able to carry on with such heavily-used tires till the end? I am hoping Nico’s tires go off and I am able to overtake him in my new boots.

Fernando was in my mirrors for half the race 

The next few laps sees me maintain a steady gap to Nico at 3 seconds, and even though his tires are old, the car is working good. After lap 28, I am in 5^th position, having achieved the undercut on Fernando, who is now down in 7^th behind Kevin. Valtteri and Nico are still ahead of me, and it looks like I will finish 4^th, unless Nico’s tires go off in closing stages. But by lap 30, Nico is closing in on Valtteri, and both of them are stuck behind Sebastian, who hasn’t pitted. He pits, and they are unleashed into clear air. Nico takes the opportunity and makes a bold overtake on Valtteri. He seems desperate to do damage control.

With 19 laps to go, the result seems written for me and Kevin, in 4^th and 5^th position. Unless a safety car features. Valtteri is 3 seconds ahead of me, and I start in pursuit of him. To no avail. The Williams car too is racing after the Mercedes of Nico, who is still expected to drop pace due to old tires.

With 10 laps remaining, I am still in 4^th, and fuel consumption is looking good according to the team. The effort to rope in Valtteri proves futile as he notches up fast laps one after the other in the chase for Nico. The race ends in the same positions and that is that. I am obviously happy with a good showing, but a racer always wants to win. I feel that we did the best we could. And I hope I made my mark to be considered for the seat next year. Wrinkles or not, I beat Kevin and 45 points ahead of him in the championship. And congratulations to Lewis and Nico for the now mundane one-two and Mercedes for winning the Constructors' World Championship.

That pink helmet really stands out

- Jenson Button, driving the MP4-29 for McLaren

Phanfone & the Prancing Horse come calling

Redbull does not give me the kicks anymore. And that’s a lot coming from me considering the numerous highs that have come my way courtesy them. I am Sebastian Vettel and I was inducted into the Redbull family when I was 11 years old, after I joined their Junior Team programme. In Formula 1, I have spent 7 successful years with them, graduating from the feeder team to the main team in a matter of 1 year. The most coveted trophy in the world of motorsports has been mine for 4 straight years, some coming easy-peasy and some going to the wire. The frequent formula changes in the sport had proved to be a boon for me, with the newer rules in 2009 making aerodynamics the centre of the F1 universe. It wasn’t only about the ICEs (engines) anymore; it was about how well your car can stick to the track at turns at high speeds and how better your car is at harnessing the energy being wasted at turns into KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems). This new era in motorsports ushered in innovations like exhaust blown diffusers and holes in the car floors. And of course, it gave wings to a certain aero genius whose wet dreams had come true post announcement of rule changes. 

3rd WDC celebrations with the bosses

But the same formula changes acquired the characteristics of an utterly inconvenient bane for me this season. 2014 escorted along with it the turbo-charged engines, with many other rules handing the reins over to the ICEs(with a kickass turbo unit). Aerodynamics had a minor role left in comparison to the limelight it had bathed in in the last few years. Mind you, aero still rules the roost, how else will the cars go as fast as they do? But it matters in a lesser impactful way as compared to Redbull’s heyday. Anyway, the 2014 changes have brought forth a dry spell for Redbull’s dominating ways. And more importantly, though I hate to admit it, it has pulled down the curtain on my dominant, pole-to-victory races.

A strong sense of déjà vu takes me on whenever I look at Daniel Riccardio, because he also has been promoted to the main team in quite the same manner as I was. In 2013, when Mark announced he would be leaving the team, the driver market had come alive like a fish market. There were speculations that Kimi would come over to replace him, along with rumours that I had refused to accept him as a teammate. Helmut stepped in finally and dropped the cat out of the hat: Daniel would be promoted to the team from the feeder team Toro Rosso. And he was. With great fanfare, the man with the 400-watt smile became my teammate. No offense, he is a decent guy. 

I wonder how many selfies Daniel has

Well, Daniel, I hate to say, has outgunned me on all fronts this year. He is the better driver in this car. I am having difficulty adapting to Suzie and her feel, not to mention her jittery fronts. (Yes of course I name my car!) People are under the assumption that a world champion will be able to tame any car, but that is not the case at all. Every driver has preferences as to what kind of car setup they want, more so in a Formula 1 car where even the differential of 0.007 seconds between qualifying times is a huge deal. It is all about finding that extra two-tenths to up your nearest rival. I am used to the superbly designed aero beast that Redbull was until this year. I need a strong front on the car, which this year’s design has not been able to provide me with. I won’t argue or make any more reasons for my dismal performance, and I want to give all due credit to Daniel. He clearly has got the hang of it faster and better than I did.

Yes, I am spraying champagne. I am being nice.

The fact that Daniel has won races this year and I haven’t has nothing to do with my moving to Ferrari next year. Yes, I am donning the red overalls next year, probably alongside Kimi, if he continues at Ferrari. The driver market has been buzzing with Fernando’s increasing discontent at the Scuderia, and his alleged plans to move away next year. He is taking a leap into the unknown and unproven by negotiating a move to McLaren Honda next year. That, or Ron Dennis might seek revenge for 2007 and leave him high-and-dry by not giving him a seat at all. In which case, our Samurai might opt for a sabbatical. I think I want to move on to a new team for the necessary change of air, as Lewis did successfully. And Michael spearheading them since 1996, when they had been languishing in obscurity for two decades, and finally steering them to winning ways in the 2000s has been an inspiration for me. Ferrari are a team which every driver wants on his CV, and although I love Redbull and I am grateful to them with all my heart, I want Ferrari to feature on my resume as well.

Japanese GP

Suzuka has been a firm favourite with all drivers I know, and it goes without saying that we adore coming to this place. It is not just the track, which by the way is phenomenal, but the enthusiastic fans and the love and respect that Formula 1 receives in this country. The Japanese GP also takes place at the Fuji Speedway, but personally I prefer Suzuka for the track layout. The high speed corners and especially the Esses at the start are my favourite part of the circuit, it gives you an idea how good your car is aerodynamically. 11 out of the track’s 18 corners are taken at 200kmph or higher. I have been winning here since the last four years, and pole position is crucial because overtaking is difficult. At Suzuka, you don’t compete with the other drivers, you compete with the track. Being a technical circuit in spite of being a high speed one, Spa requires a high downforce setup on the car. The safety car has featured quite a lot of times here, so chances of that considerable.

Track Map: Suzuka, Japan

The main concern for the race at Suzuka was the typhoon coming its way on the weekend. Phanfone, as it has been christened, had gotten everyone worried because the race wouldn’t be held at all if conditions worsened. Most importantly, it was going to be followed by strong gusts of wind and torrential rains, which are both causes for red flags.

Phanfone looming over Japan

Friday Free Practice

One of my many firsts was snatched during the first practice session when Max Verstappen stepped in for Jean-Eric at Toro Rosso, our feeder team. At 17 years, he broke my record for being the youngest driver to sit at the wheel of an F1 car and compete in a session. Being Redbull’s young protégé like myself, I was a little more interested in him than others. He did well, but retired with an engine failure. It was a pretty normal FP1; we did some changes to the setup to extract as much downforce as possible without compromising on the straightline speed. In FP2, I managed to post a time worth a fifth place, though I think we had a car worth more than that. The car felt good, but we were far behind the times the Mercs were clocking.

FP2 also featured quite a lot of spectacular crashes and cars going the wrong way. We were just 7 minutes into the session when Kamui found himself in the barriers in the Esses. Daniel took a huge shunt into the final corner, when he lost control at the chicane and after a lockup, slid through the gravel into the barriers. He was ok, though he couldn’t continue further. In the last few minutes of the session, it started raining, due to which the session was cut short by a few minutes.

Gravel visit for Daniel

Saturday Free Practice and Qualifying

FP3 was not so memorable because there was nothing to remember about it, it ended before it got started. I was 35 minutes into the session and was asked to pit with a technical issue. First corner before the Esses saw Lewis crash into the barriers after he ran wide and flew off a kerb, passed the asphalt runoff and found himself land into the untameable gravel area. I came out to be 15^th fastest, and we didn’t know what to expect for qualifying as we could do fast timed laps in FP3.

Over to qualifying. Almost everyone had already done installation laps and set times before the team sent out me and Daniel. By that time, Lewis had grabbed top spot from Nico, and their scampering for the pole was well and truly on. It makes me reminisce about the Redbull era. On my first run, I post a time which slots me in 8^th (Daniel 9^th). We returned to the garage for some more tinkering, and did not come onto the battlefield for the rest of Q1. Q1 sees the usual relegates going out of the shootout. Q2 again sees us going out 5 minutes into the session, and the car slots into 9^th place (Daniel 10^th). We are not getting a lot of pace from the car, we need to be higher. With 3 minutes left to go in Q2, Daniel and I were fighting 8 other cars to avoid the relegation zone. 3 minutes left means we will have only one chance at posting a better time. Will we make it to Q3? Yes we do, as I rank 7^th and Daniel beats my time by a few tenths and slots in 6^th. It is close, because by the time Q2 is done and dusted I am 10^th and perilously close to the dumping zone.

Q3 sees me on the track one minute into it. The first lap I post is not so good, worth only a 9^th position. Is this all the pace we have? Because during practice it certainly felt we were second only to the mercs. Well, I don’t improve a lot and remain 9^th at the end of the session. What a bummer. Daniel outperforms me. Again. Dang! At the front, Nico beats Lewis to pole by 0.197 seconds.

Looking on at Suzie after qualifying

Race

Phanfone the super typhoon strikes and the race day begins wet like an infant’s nappy. We do our parade laps and duly wave to the amazing fans here in Japan from under a huge umbrella. I witness a lot of support for me in the stands and that feels good; Japan is one place where my dominant wins weren’t booed at. After the parade, we line up on the grid as our pole positions indicate. The race is to be started behind a safety car, as the heavy rains have created rivers and streams all over the track. And Suzuka being a bumpy circuit, the puddles are worse here. 

I adore the Japanese

There is no warmup lap as dictated by logic, and the five red lights go out at the appointed time, as dictated by Charlie. There is lot of water on the track, and the danger of aquaplaning ever looms. We are one lap into the race when Marshall spins at the first corner and visits the sandbox. He gets back on track with the marshals’ assistance. The race is red-flagged at the end of second lap as the rain continues to pour, and visibility deteriorates. We return to the pitlane with our baggage and wait for the weather to improve. I hop out of the car and go into the garage to speak with the boys.

Lined up behind the SC for the start

It seems no points will be awarded if the racing does not resume. Two laps need to be completed to earn half points and 75% of total laps to earn full points in bad conditions. As the race was red-flagged before the second lap was completed, it means zero points for the effort. The rain comes down a few notches and we scurry out behind the safety car to start lap 3. I climb up to 8^th place in the space of a lap after Fernando stopped with a technical issue on his car. The conditions were still bad, but the officials were getting mixed reviews on the need for the safety car on track. On one hand, drivers wanting to defend their positions on track wanted the safety car on and duly reported ‘spray and poor visibility’. (You can’t overtake under a safety car situation, and you have to hold position.) On the other hand, drivers wanting to attack and overtake wanted the safety car out, repeatedly requesting so over the radio. I was still sceptical, as the visibility was indeed poor.

Pitlane restart after first red flag

On lap 9, the safety car retreats into the pitlane and we get to racing. The Spoon curve tests me on lap 10 as I run wide but manage to hold on to the kerbs. Kevin of Mclaren is ahead of me, and I concentrate all my energies into taking that car ASAP. I get Suzie alongside him into the hairpin, but he gets the racing line. Kevin eventually dives into the pits for taking on the intermediate tires (ones used on slightly wet tracks) and as do some others. I am discussing with the guys whether to go for inters myself, because the track surely is drying and I will get better laps with inters. In all the pitting drama, I climb up to 4^th. That position is short-lived as I go for a tire change myself. The late change pays off as I come out ahead of Daniel in 7^th place, and rapidly looming large over Felipe’s gearbox. In the matter of a couple of laps, I take Felipe on the hairpin through a very narrow gap. Phew, that was close! I am now in 5^th place. There is clear air ahead and I race on, and by the time Daniel takes a dig at Felipe I am nearly 3 seconds ahead of them.

Meanwhile, the rain is back, and it starts drizzling slightly. Few laps and I am all over the back of Valtteri’s Williams. I tackle him at the same place as his teammate -at the hairpin and around the outside- for 4^th place. I feel good about it, and most importantly Daniel is behind me. I look set to beat him fair and square. That will shut the haters up. Suzie is performing well at the wet circuit, mostly owing to the fact that she can take the corners better than most cars. Thank you, Adrian Newey. Daniel though is not far behind as he has overtaken Felipe and is now targeting Valtteri. I am in clear air again and can run the race on my own terms for now.

Third-placed Jenson is 14 seconds ahead of me in 3^rd place, and he is next on my bucket list. On lap 20, the guys tell me I am the fastest on track, lapping one second faster than the mercs. By lap 22, I am 11 seconds off Jenson. And Daniel is close behind me. I lap a second faster than anyone(except Daniel) for the next few laps, and rapidly rope in Jenson to a 8.2 seconds distance. Am I trying to get to the third place as fast as I can or I am keeping Daniel at bay? Both, but predominantly it is Daniel. By lap 28, I am no longer lapping as good as earlier, and I decide it is time to pit before Daniel does and undercuts me. The team promptly calls me in and I go out to rejoin in 5^th place behind Daniel. Crucially, both the Williams are behind me. Daniel is yet to pit, but I am keen on making sure he doesn’t outdo my undercut. Rocky (my race engineer) calms me down by assuring that the undercut is quite powerful and I don’t need to push so hard.

Jenson pits on lap 31, and looks set to join ahead of me. But somehow McLaren botches up his stop and he lines up behind me. That came in too easy. Suzie sets new fastest laps in her new shoes, and by lap 35 I am 3.4 seconds ahead of him. Daniel is still ahead of me as he hasn’t pitted yet. Is he even going to pit? Or has team strategy handed him this race as well? It seems he is waiting for the track to dry and continue with inters. Now I want the rains to come lashing! And they do. I am gleeful as Daniel does pit at the end of lap 36. He rejoins behind Jenson, and I smile maniacally behind my helmet. The rain is falling harder now, and the spray makes it difficult to see ahead. On lap 39, I experience a heart-in-my-mouth moment as I slide wide and go into the gravel in the Esses. I recover and maintain 3^rd but lose ground to Jenson as he is now only 2 seconds behind me. More crucially, Daniel is close behind Jenson too.

Jenson and Daniel closing in behind me

The rain is now falling harder and everyone on track is on intermediate tires. I ask the guys if we should change over to wet and they reply that we should probably bide some time. On lap 41, Daniel overtakes Jenson and brings the fight to me. Almost. Adrian Sutil has crashed his Sauber at the end of Dunlop and the safety car comes out on lap 44. I pit for new inters on lap 45, trusting Daniel will do the same. I come out behind Daniel, and it turns out he is going to stay out on old tires for now. Rocky comes on to tell me that Jules Bianchi has had an accident at Dunlop, where Adrian crashed his car. An ambulance comes on track and the guys tell me it is serious. In a short while, the race is red-flagged and we are all called back to parc ferme, which means the race will not be resumed.

Adrian Sutil's Sauber at Dunlop

I finish 3^rd, because in spite of him being ahead of me on lap 45 when the race was red-flagged, the result is determined from the order on the penultimate lap. And that means I got the podium behind Lewis and Nico. In the podium room, we ask each other of what happened to Jules, and the atmosphere is very subdued. We get done with the necessary podium ceremony, though the champagne is not sprayed.

Jules being taken out by doctors

It was a good result considering I get beaten by Daniel every now and then. But it did not matter in the face of what happened with Jules. It turns out that he aquaplaned into the crane that came on to lift out Adrian’s car on Dunlop. He was unconscious when he was driven to the nearest medical centre and while I am writing this he has got operated for severe head injuries and is currently in the ICU. I wish him all the best. Get well soon Jules, we miss you!

A very subdued podium

Dear Agony

From being a nice, smiling, silent killer, I’ve become an aggressively-competitive-to-the point-of-crashing-your-teammate kind of F1 driver in the space of a few races. (Oh and yes, I’m now a married man!) Yes, Formula 1 does that to you. Lewis and I have known each other since karting days, and we were like an excited bunch of kids when it was announced back in 2012 that Lewis would be my teammate. Good ol’ karting days back again? Hell no! 

Back in the karting days

F1 is a competitive sport and the competition is so intense that it will destroy any bond that you have with your teammate. He is your worst competitor, because he is using the same gear as you are. If a driver in the team performs worse than his teammate, he is judged more harshly than if his performance was worse than a different rival. As much as I pretended to be glad Lewis came over to Mercedes, I knew the team had brought over a ‘first driver’, who I will have to humour in various ways both on and off track. It was left unsaid, but it was evident that Lewis would be the boss, and I will need to help him keep the lead in the championship by tackling other rivals, move over for him in races, and generally do a lick job. And that is exactly what happened last year after Lewis came in.  

I have now spent a full season and a half with Lewis. 2013 taught me a good many things. The ugliness all hails back to one incident in which I was completely side-lined. It was Malaysian GP 2013. The season had just started and the team was already showing signs of favouring Lewis over me in races in terms of strategy. But there was no clear evidence. The skeletons came out of the closet one warm afternoon in Malaysia when the race was in its closing stages. On lap 51 of the 56-laps race, I was hovering over Lewis’s gearbox with much fresher tires and hence a faster car. I asked Ross (Team Principal) over the radio to ask Lewis to let me past, but he refused. I desperately repeated my request over the radio a number of times, pleading to be let past, but the “Negative Nico, negative” response I received was there for the whole world to hear. The ominous signs of a broken relationship with my teammate were all there. And when I said “Remember this one” after Lewis took 3^rd place in the race that was deservedly mine, the scarring was done.

You don't need to pretend to be nice, Lewis.

That is why I made a plan for 2014: To be at the lead of the championship so that the team could not have the audacity to request a "move over". And Ross would no longer be team principal, so the Hitleresque team orders will drastically come down. It has gone down well so far, with me 22 point ahead of Lewis in the championship before the Singapore GP. I must admit, Lewis had some major issues with Lady Luck, with five races ruined (two salvaged) due to unreliability issues in the car and one race was wrecked by us coming together on the track at Spa. *looks around guiltily* (But that wasn’t totally my fault, I did what a racing driver would do!) *guilt wiped off the face* Spa changed a lot between Lewis and me. In addition to other un-pleasantries, it cemented the fact that we were no longer friends, just teammates who are both gunning for the title. 

Singapore GP

We came to Sweaty Singapore last week, prepared for the most taxing grand prix on drivers in terms of endurance. Did you know we drivers lose 3-4 kg of body weight in just one race session of less than 2 hours in Singapore? Marina Bay may look glamorous on television with its skyline and the track lit up distinctively in the night, but it is a mean beast. It is a tough track to overtake, and hence grid position matters a lot. The first ever night race in Formula 1 was held at Singapore in 2008, which was won through dubious means by a certain Spaniard. Also, there has been a safety car (or more) featuring in every race held at Marina Bay, so safety car had a 100% chance of making an appearance.

Marina Bay circuit map

Free Practice sessions

The first practice session was quite uneventful, and we went about fine-tuning the car setup. The car felt good under me, and the problem I had in down-shifting the gears was fixed promptly. Ferrari looked to have improved a lot, Fernando topped the first practice. But then, they always disappoint their fans in the main event- the race! Practice session two featured Pastor Maldonado shunting his poor Lotus. Again. I really pity his cash-strapped team. 

Oops, I did it again!

Lewis topped the second practice session, and I was not able to best his lap thanks to the red flags courtesy of Mr. Crashtor. I came in only 13^th on my flying lap on super soft tires. FP3 saw Ferrari shine again(it doesn’t really matter, but the Reds are improving pace) with Alonso taking the top spot. I came in third after Daniel. Lewis did not star in the top 10, but no worry apparently.

Cycling to the paddock for practice

Qualifying

Q1 was delayed due to an issue with the brakes on my car; we had to replace them. Kimi took the place of honour at the top of the table with the fastest lap in Q1. It seemed to me that Alonso and Kimi were well in the mix. We in the Mercs scraped through and took 3^rd and 6^th position respectively. The relegation zone had its regular mix of Caterhams, Marussias and a Sauber and a Lotus each. 20 minutes of Qualifying 1 done.

15 minutes of Q2 got underway. My first attempt put me only third fastest behind Lewis and Fernando. The team slacks in giving me information and I duly scream into the radio for “Traffic information”. I am suffering a bit of understeer in the car and I tell the guys so. In my final attempt in Q2, I storm up to the top of the charts with a lap of 1 minutes 45.825 seconds. I am elated. For the time being. Grosjean is out with engine failure and a very colourful comment which made me laugh afterwards: “I cannot believe it! Bloody engine! Bloody engine! We break our balls for this?"

Lewis was second in Q2 behind me, and I know this guy well to expect the worst for me. I was careful from the very start. The competition gets to your head, as we saw it happen in Italy when I lost my car under pressure from Lewis. I wanted to beat this guy, all the time pushing my limits, and trying to keep the car in the right places. Singapore is a very bumpy track, and one mistake can cost you dearly. Q3 shortly began and I post a time worth of a 7^th position in the first run on scrubby used tires. Meanwhile, in all the heat, Kimi loses power on his engine and limps back to the Ferrari garage. In the last few seconds of the session, I take provisional pole, 0.2s off from Daniel. Lewis is yet to complete his last lap, and I hope fervently that he does not beat my time. Singapore has not had a single winner who did not win from pole(except Fernando, and we all know what he did). I desperately wanted this pole position. Lewis flies on his last try and snatches pole from me for a mere 0.007 seconds! That’s like 30 centimeters!!! DAMN IT!

See? We are practically holding hands!

Race

I will get done with this part of soon enough, as we all know what happened. (The rest will all be in the present tense, as if the race is being run right now. It’s exciting that way, isn’t it?) The bad omens start to reveal themselves during the drivers’ parade lap itself, when we drivers sit in different fancy vintage cars or a huge truck and wave to the fans. It is different fancy vintage cars this time, and I am assigned to a beautiful red Mercedes. Well, what do you know! The car breaks down before the start, and has to be pushed to get it started! Sign of things to come? You will see!

The First Sign

I encounter a problem on the installation lap once the pitlane opens, and I return to the garage to resolve it. Pre-race jitters? Tell me about it! I am only 22 points adrift of Lewis in the championship table, and with Lewis on pole position and me languishing in the pits with problems on the steering wheel of my car, it looks like that advantage is only going to be short-lived. With the glitch in the gearbox fixed, I am back on the grid once more. And to make matters worse, I’ve to don a new steering wheel. There are a lot of fans around, and though you can hear them, you can hardly see them under the floodlights. I have become a hot favourite for podium boos nowadays, which was strictly Sebastian’s forte before. I can understand why. After the Spa debacle, the fans have likened me to Seb. 

Singapore will also be the first race without the usual radio cackle; FIA has banned teams from giving drivers vital technical information to gain an advantage in the race. I am personally happy with this; mainly because Lewis has benefitted in various races from the data fed to him by his engineers on the settings he needs to put his car on to gain advantage. Let us now see him try to defend by copying my settings!

The cars rev up for the warmup lap, and I can feel the car beneath me not responding so well. The team tells me to try manual settings to pull the car off the gridbox, but in vain. I am utterly, helplessly stranded on the start-finish straight. The guys push me back into the pitlane and I dejectedly realise I’m going to start last, from the pitlane. Provided the problems are fixed. My only thought during the whole thing is: Lewis is going to get ahead of me in the championship! I morosely start from the pitlane and after lap 1 I’m the last car on the grid. (Kobayashi retired on the parade lap) I’m told Lewis is running first from Seb in second and Fernando third.

Being wheeled back to pits

By lap 5 I am up to 20^th place, but my teammate I’m told is lapping 3 seconds faster than me. They tell me things that will only serve to depress me more; why can’t FIA ban the entire radio?!  Lap 10 and I’m 19^th , with more problems being fed my way. The team informs me I’m to come in soon and I will need to stall the car in the pits; a new steering wheel will go on me again. For quite some time I can’t make out what the cackle on the radio is. Lap 12 I am told to box, in first gear and strictly under 6500 RPM. Normally, a pitstop which includes tires change is 2-4 seconds. I wait in my cockpit as they work on my car, and it seems like ages. They are tinkering, changing the steering wheel, tinkering again. And I am waiting. Finally, it’s decided that the problem cannot be fixed and I have to retire. 

I walk out of the car and my thoughts are still resting on Lewis. 22 points behind me and 25 points are available for the winner of Singapore GP. If Lewis wins, he’ll be 3 points ahead of me. That doesn’t sound good. Doesn’t sound good at all. I tear up a bit at having lost out on an easy race due to reliability and not my mistake. I do not take the helmet off for quite some time. I go over to my side of the garage and start discussing what went wrong with my car. He says t’s probably an electronics thing. I groan.

Meanwhile, Lewis is 8 seconds ahead of Seb and 11 seconds ahead of Fernando at the end of lap 15. That does not seem like too big a gap, or maybe it is. I don’t care. I am not rooting for my teammate anymore. The first set of stops have proved to be a bane for other drivers than me too. Felipe has jumped Kimi by pitting earlier. He is now running 8 seconds behind Daniel in 5^th place with Kimi trailing him in 6^th. I feel bad for Kimi. He had shown good pace in practice and qualifying. I would’ve been his fellow countryman had I taken up Finnish citizenship. Jean-Eric was an unexpected gainer in the first round of stops, with a 9^th place. 

The race goes on but I have eyes only for Lewis. (Ha, that sounded gay.)It gives me some relief when Daniel, who is behind Fernando, takes off a few tenths off Lewis with the fastest lap. Only with Lewis responding with a better lap. On lap 21, I feel delighted as the race engineers warn Lewis of debris in his front wing and his lead over Seb is now 9 seconds. Could the debris be his undoing? Sadly not, as he responds that the car feels fine.

Please crash Lewis!

The second round of pitstops start and Lewis comes in. Felipe, Fernando and Seb are already done with theirs, and Fernando has crucially jumped the Redbull by undercutting him. Lewis takes a long time in the box, with the mechanics clearing debris from his front wing. I chew on my fingers as I watch the car from the pitwall. Will he ever give up? He goes back out and the lead Fernando had on him is reduced drastically to 3 seconds. Sounds good. But no! Lewis extends the lead to 5 seconds by lap 29. Lap 30 sees Sergio bring out the customary safety car at Marina Bay, when his wing breaks and debris is strewn all over the track. Adrian and him clashed together, and the Force India did not leave enough space. The pitlane buzzes with activity as the pitstops commence under SC.

Perez limping back to pits without his frontwing

The debris takes a long time to clear. On lap 38, the SC dives into the pits and we are racing again. I mean the others are. I am especially waiting for this, because this is the only chance anyone can overtake Lewis after getting that close to him. Seb is running second now, with his teammate Daniel third. Can they do it? Lewis is on super softs, so he needs to pull a qualifying lap everytime on the 7-odd laps that those tires can survive. He does it. He gains lead of seconds after seconds on Seb, who is on the prime tire(softs) which last longer than super softs but are slower. The building-the-gap goes on for quite some time, and by lap 48 his lead over Seb is 20 seconds. To make his pitstop and come out ahead of Seb again, he needs a gap of 27 seconds. And Seb has no pitstops remaining, which means he’ll be going to the end on his worn-out tires. Is it possible for Seb to take Lewis? Atleast I hope so. 

Lewis comes into the pits with 9 laps to go and a lead over Seb of 25 seconds. The stop is good, and as expected he rejoins behind  Seb and ahead of Daniel. Crucially at this point we should keep in mind that Seb is on worn-out tires in his Redbull with a freshly-booted Mercedes behind him. And Singapore is a circuit where overtaking is tough. I am desperately hoping Seb would keep the lead as I watch the race with the boys from the pitwall. For a moment, Daniel is sniffing the back of Lewis’s car, and I am egging him on(silently). Only for a moment though, as Lewis is bolting behind Seb to catch him. In a single lap, Lewis is already looming large in Seb’s mirrors. Lap 8 starts and Lewis makes mince-meat of the struggling Redbull with a burst of DRS to assist him. I cringe inwardly. So much for having a 22 points lead! Lewis prances on ahead of the field and opens up gap to Seb lap after lap. I wince with every second of his closeness to victory at the Singapore GP. And it happens in another 7 laps, and by then Lewis is 8 seconds clear off Seb. A healthy gap and he takes the victory. I curse myself silently and in agony walk to my truck.

“You were made to make it hurt!

Dear Agony! Just let go of me!”

The Perks of being a teammate to Lewis

(Blogger: In case you didn't know, that was Nico Rosberg)