If, before the 2008 Italian GP, you had bet your house on who was going to win that GP, who would you have picked? Be honest. Massa? Hamilton? Kubica? Not Sebastien Vettel, though. Although the whole world of motorsports knows the news by now, it's just nice to say that Sebastien Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.
Sadly, though, the other Sebastien, Bourdais, (not Loeb, though it would be nice if he tried a taste of F1), finished in 18th, after stalling from 3rd on the grid. However, he set the 2nd quickest lap of the race. He may even have won the race if not for that stall! Anyone with me? Anyway, I hope that this will get Gerhard Berger to keep Bourdais--I don't want him to become another Alex Zanardi!
This race highlighted 2 weaknesses in 2 teams, both of which we all know. One, Ferrari have problems keeping their tires warm during wet conditions. And to think that Bridgestone was tailoring their tires for Ferrari just a couple of years ago! Also, Red Bull would do well to switch from Renault engines to Ferraris, like Toro Rosso. Ferrari probably put in a few performance upgrades along with reliability upgrades after Turkey and Hungary, giving them this massive edge over Renault. I mean, think about it. Red Bull are being outpaced by their supposedly "junior" team, Toro Rosso. They have the same chassis as Toro Rosso, and far more experienced drivers, too. But yet, they're behind the curve, so to speak. Which, of course, points to the engine.
If I were Vettel, I'd be seriously wondering what 09 would hold for me. For example, at the moment, switching from STR to RBR is rather like going from a Ferrari to a Honda--an analogy that makes sense both in F1 and in road cars.
Stay tuned for a NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup edition, and of course, the 2008 Singaporean GP edition.
(Photo: Vettel testing at Monza earlier in the year; from lucam of Flickr)
No comments:
Post a Comment