McLaren, Lewis differ on Australian GP strategy
Contrasting comments are coming in from the McLaren camp over the Australian Grand Prix result. On the one side is Lewis Hamilton who had a superb race starting from eleventh and is understandably disappointed that it didn’t yield any further than sixth. Then there is team boss Martin Whitmarsh who suggests that there was nothing wrong with their strategy of calling in Lewis for a second pit-stop. Both however have atleast one similar opinion – that McLaren should have had a 1-2. 
It is interesting to note why Lewis is feeling let down after this race. Here comes along a new team-mate who is by the way also the reigning World Champion. To make matters worse, he is a British driver in a British team and a really nice bloke, liked by many across the pit-lane. McLaren have always harped about equality amongst their drivers and adding up all the above, it means that this season more than any other you have to win over the team on the track. The first win of the season going over to Jenson is but a blow for Lewis.
The contentious issue is whether the pit call was right or not. It is very tough to say whether or not Lewis would have been able to cover the entire race on just one soft sets like Button. For he is not known to be kind on his tyres and the biggest hint was when he radioed to his team whilst following Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari that ‘he had lost performance in his tyres’. That was the second set which he had used very well to close the gap to the Ferraris in third and fourth. Would he have been able to close such a gap later in the race if he was on his first sets?
That is the question which makes the call to pit look right. However the point is he probably wouldn’t have been in that position because when he pitted, he was all over the back of Robert Kubica’s Renault (in second place) and rest assured would have gone past sooner or later. And maybe might have taken a shot at overtaking Jenson as well. That is something even the Pole has admitted. This is where the pit call seems to be wrong.
However where McLaren do stand to be in the right is because they weren’t thinking of favoring one driver but the team. For them it was simple: Jenson wins the race if the first four finish on a one-stop strategy. If they do take second pit-stops, then Lewis was the lead driver on-track with that strategy. And Jenson with his nursing approach would have pitted later with an advantage or probably even not as it eventually turned out, bringing home their first 1-2 finish of the season.
Given that Formula One is so highly staked when it comes to results, that is where it must be hurting most for the Woking-based outfit and not the fact that their child prodigy Lewis Hamilton is blaming them for wrecking the ‘drive of his life’.
2010 Australian Grand Prix: Jenson Button takes thrilling win
World champion Jenson Button took a thrilling win in the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, in what was only his second start in the McLaren. Robert Kubica in the Renault showed that his Friday form wasn’t a flash in the pan as he came in a deserved second ahead of Felipe Massa’s Ferrari in third (full results). The race on a whole was in direct contrast to the first one in Bahrain with plentiful action for everyone watching to savor. 
Button’s win was down to a huge gamble that paid off when he pitted on Lap 7. He hadn’t enjoyed the best of starts and was struggling to match the race pace after every one had started on intermediates after showers in the morning had left the Albert Park circuit a bit wet. It seemed a foolhardy and desperate move at that time – a knee jerk reaction possibly as he had just lost a pace to team-mate Lewis Hamilton who made a fast start from 11th on the grid. But Button made it all work as he nursed his tyres for an astonishing 51 laps to drive his way to an eighth career win.
The two Red Bulls ahead of him at the start were in self-destruct mode today. Sebastien Vettel was in fine form, leading away the field until Lap 26 when down Turn 13, his brakes just gave out on him. Mark Webber made a torrid start losing to Massa and then had moments of madness throughout – he twice barged into Hamilton’s car – quite clearly trying too hard for him home race. The biggest losers on the opening lap though were Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.
Going into the first corner, Alonso had contact with Button’s McLaren which had the inside line and the impact thrust him into Schumacher’s front wing. Alonso spun to find himself at the back of the grid, from where he drove a fantastic race to finish fourth. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened had he not suffered initially for he clearly had the pace to battle out in the front. Schumacher though suffered throughout the race, where he jostled with a Virgin and Toro Rosso, unable to find a way past easily. He got a new front wing on his Mercedes but conditions didn’t permit a tyre change then. He wasn’t really impressed with the lack of overtaking in Bahrain and here he couldn’t find a way past Jaime Alguersuari’s Toro Rosso. But then no one said that his comeback would be a walk in the park, pun unintended.
There was a safety car on Lap 2 thanks to Kamuyi Kobayashi losing his third front wing of the weekend and his Sauber also collecting Nico Hulkenberg’s Williams and Sebastien Buemi’s Toro Rosso. But again, it was too early in the race for major tyre changes thanks to the wet track and the cars mostly stayed out on track. Rubens Barrichello and Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Force India collected more points after Bahrain but had relatively quiet races. Schumacher scrapped past Alguesuari and Pedro de la Rosa late in the day to get one point for his troubles. The attrition rate was high though with as many as ten non-finishes. Karun Chandhok however had a good race by Hispania Racing standards as he brought home his car five laps down. Also a useful stint was that of Heikki Kovalainen who finished his second consecutive race.
The star of the race though has to be Lewis Hamilton despite twice getting tagged by Webber twice. After a rather good start, he was pretty decent on the intermediates but started his charge when he stuck on the dry tyres. Since the cars all started on intermediates, they didn’t have to run both compounds and this meant he could attack as much as he wanted. He clipped his front wing when taking in Massa on Lap 22 and a most staggering move off Nico Rosberg on Lap 26, but then pitted on Lap 35 in what was not his call and sort of ruined his race for no one else in front pitted later on. You could argue that Lewis is so hard on his tyres that he couldn’t have continued to be aggressive to see the Chequered Flag as Button nursed his way through. But try telling him that!
Red Bull must be wondering what they need to do to win after taking pole twice in two races. Vettel is now 25 points behind championship leader Alonso already and the team is even further, a huge 52 points in arrears from Ferrari. This just isn’t the return acceptable from arguably the fastest car out on track at the moment.
2010 IPL: Kolkata Knight Riders beat Kings XI Punjab
Manoj Tiwary hit a superb 47-ball 75 to steer Kolkata Knight Riders to a 39-run win over Kings XI Punjab in Match 23 of the IPL 2010 at PCA Stadium in Mohali. Tiwary was ably assisted by his captain Sourav Ganguly who hit a composed half-century to boost Kolkata to 183 which proved beyond the reach of the listless Kings XI Punjab. Tiwary, who got to his second half-century of the tournament in 37 deliveries, blasted two sixes and two fours in the last over bowled by left-arm Irfan Pathan. Kings XI Punjab, in reply, could make 144/6. 
Aussie speedster Brett Lee played his first match. But he was hit for three fours in his first over by West Indies captain Chris Gayle. Kings XI Punjab tasted success in the third over when Gayle was dismissed. It was 45/2 with young Hardeep Singh being held at mid-on. Ganguly and Tiwary resurrected Kolkata Knight Riders innings with a 79-run stand for the third wicket. Ganguly completed his half century but was out at the same score, spooning a catch to long off. Leg spinner Piyush Chawla, who has been selected for the World Twenty20 championship, bagged the wicket of Australia hard-hitting batsman David Hussey, who was beaten in the flight to be bowled. Kings XI Punjab looked liked containing the Kolkata Knight Riders for a below 150 target. But Tiwary changed the script with his lusty hitting in the last two overs.
When Kings XI Punjab began the chase, Yuvraj Singh came out to open with Ravi Bopara. But Kiwi Shane Bond struck with the second ball of the innings to claim England opener Ravi Bopara. Yuvraj Singh (24 off 16 balls) struck three fours and one six before he was brilliantly caught by Manoj Tiwary at deep mid-wicket off Ajit Agarkar. The former Indian medium pacer claimed his second wicket and this time David Hussey held a low catch at mid-off to dismiss Manvinder Bisla. Playing in his first match, Agarkar captured two wickets in two overs. Mahela Jayawardene (16) fell to a poor shot to be bowled by his Lanka team mate Angelo Mathews. Skipper Kumar Sangakarra followed his former Lankan skipper, stumped while playing a clumsy pull shot for 30, and Kolkata Knight Riders were on course for victory.
Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.
2010 Australian GP Qualifying: Vettel storms to pole
Sebastien Vettel stormed to his second pole in two race weekends of the 2010 season as he put in a stunning qualifying lap round the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne. It was a one-two for Red Bull as Mark Webber made it to the front row for his home grand prix and Bahrain winner Fernando Alonso brought in his Ferrari in third place (full results). 
Jenson Button made amends for his Bahrain show and slotted in his McLaren at third, though the team will be highly disappointed with Lewis Hamilton’s shocking inability to get into Q3. The only good thing that could come out of it is that he can opt to start on hard tyres while all in the top ten used softs for their qualifying runs. Talking more of team-mate rivalries, Felipe Massa seemed unable to cope with Alonso’s pace while Michael Schumacher made an improvement from, only 4/100s of a second away from Nico Rosberg but yes still behind.
Rubens Barrichello (Williams), Robert Kubica (Renault) and Adrian Sutil (Force India) completed the top ten and will be in the mix throughout the season presumably. The battle for ‘best of the rest’ it seems will be decided down to whose team-mate plays a better support role. In that sense Vito Liuzzi is the best placed driver as Nico Hulkenberg disappointed while Vitaly Petrov must be downbeat at having not even made Q2.
India’s Karun Chandhok ought to be upbeat that he has had a relatively trouble free weekend so far, barring second Friday practice. At one point he was up to 22nd on the grid only to end up within a tenth of Bruno Senna’s time. Hispania will continue to linger in the back for this race as well unless Virgin’s fuel tanks give out. Twenty-four cars will run on Albert Park for the first time ever and getting past these slow moving back-markers will be a tough job.
Looking ahead to the race, Vettel’s Q3 time was the only sub-1:24 lap so far this weekend and gave ample proof of the Red Bull’s pace here. Even more telling though were Mark Webber’s runs in Q2. He was consistently quicker on prime tyres while Alonso tried hard to catch him on the option tyres. Webber got his quick time then on a run of four laps clearly indicating that prime is the best working tyre here although it will take two to three laps to get it working. That will become a problem towards the end of the twilight race and perhaps that was the reason for Hamilton losing out, not able to work temperatures into his tyres.
Possibility of rain, tyres losing temperature and safety car appearances make for an intriguing race to look forward to.
2010 Australian Grand Prix: Friday Practice
As the second race weekend of the 2010 season began, there was more on-track action in the first practice session alone than witnessed in the entirety of the Bahrain GP weekend. That and the news that wet weather is expected over the weekend makes for a highly anticipated Australian Grand Prix. 
Both the sessions today were highly disrupted. Rain making sure that there was reduced dry running in the second session after Kamui Kobayashi broke his Sauber’s front wing twice to bring about stoppages in the first session of the day. In the morning, Robert Kubica drove his Renault quickest around the Albert Park circuit, with Nico Rosberg’s Mercedes and Jenson Button’s McLaren making the top three (full times). In the afternoon, the McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Button made good use of the limited dry running to head the time sheets while Mark Webber was third in the Red Bull (full times).
While Renault’s quick run in the morning was surprising and possibly a low-fuel one, the McLarens have been expected to do well this weekend as the low downforce circuit will suit their cars more than in Bahrain. However it is too early to say if they will be on par with the Red Bulls and the Ferraris. Sebastien Vettel, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso didn’t really make an outright bid for pace in either session – evaluating tyre wear and grip on the green circuit in the first session while rain hampering any such intentions in the second. Even in Bahrain the Ferraris made their charge only on Saturday and that is something expected of them throughout the season.
Mercedes GP may be the garage where the most intriguing battle might take place. Michael Schumacher could only finish 14th in the morning practice but in the last half hour of the second one, he was putting in some quick laps and even put his car at 3rd before finally finishing up in 4th place, when Rosberg finished 10th. Now the only implication of it all is that the four-time winner here, Schumacher has finally found the sweet spot in his car and a most interesting battle is expected.
As concerns Indian interests, Force India gave Paul di Resta a run in the morning session as Adrian Sutil sat out. All is good with that except that Sutil might have some issues for he missed dry mileage due to rain in the second session. His own set-up work might have been affected but this will only be known for sure much later in the weekend. Meanwhile Karun Chandhok spent the second session in the garage as his car gave out just 200 meters into his first lap. However he had a much fruitful morning practice wherein he even lapped quicker than his team-mate Bruno Senna at one point. At this point though, his primary concern will be racking up mileage.
India announce team for 2010 T20 World Cup
The Indian squad for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies has been announced and the fifteen names chosen are on expected lines. 
Squad: MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Zaheer Khan, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Piyush Chawla, Vinay Kumar, Rohit Sharma
The only problem is that these are pretty much the same names that were there in England last year and that didn’t really go too well for our team, thanks to some injuries suffered in the IPL. Guess what, the injuries have made a return snapping an opening batsman and a fast bowler this time around as well. It was Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan some ten months ago, and now Gautam Gambhir and Ashish Nehra.
The main difference is that at the moment the two players are expected back shortly while Sehwag supposedly carried his injury to England and Zaheer altogether missed out. However this does reflect on the losses that are being incurred due to an unduly long T20 tournament played just before important world events. My only prayer is that Lalit Modi schedules next year’s IPL after the ODI World Cup.
R Vinay Kumar is one new name in the side and it has come deservedly for he has been giving wonderful performances for Karnataka on the Ranji scene for the last couple of seasons, and has managed to carry his form into the IPL. Saurabh Tiwary and Manish Pandey are two others like him but to select them would be too radical a step, their turn will come. Piyush Chawla is the surprise selection for he hasn’t been in that fiery a form. That decision seems more due to West Indian conditions then and also the fact that Ravindra Jadeja will be the left arm spinner in the side, so the selectors neglected a fifth pace bowling option. As it is who would you pick? Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth have been bordering on the poor and awesomely poor for quite some time now.
Dhoni has a back-up in Dinesh Karthik this time, something he didn’t have last year and therefore the need to include another pure batsman. But Rohit Sharma’s inclusion is even more surprising than that of Piyush Chawla. As a leg spinner atleast he brings some variety to the table, but Sharma’s only claim to fame so far has been that he has great talent/potential. And so Virat Kohli is really unlucky to have missed out here. He may not measure upto Sharma on talent in some people’s books but he has worked off his socks to earn his spot in the national side. And he looks like he wants to be in the thick of things at all times while Rohit, to his discredit, seems content performing only for Deccan Chargers while laid back on most other occasions.
The one question on everyone’s mind was whether Sachin Tendulkar would reverse his mind and step forward to play. As an eternal Sachin fan, one wanted him to. For, he is in stupendous touch and that touch could be the difference between India making it to the knock-out stages and exiting early. But knowing the way he has carried himself on and off the field all these years, one didn’t expect him to renege on his decision of three years ago. Now only if Dhoni’s men can repeat their feat from 2007 as well.
My Radio One (94.3 FM) gig as Dr.IPL
Here are a couple of recorded clips of my gig on Radio 94.3 FM. Especially for all those outside Delhi (or India) and thus can’t get access to it.
They have nicknamed me Dr.IPL and have also made a jingle used for introduction, and it never fails to bring a smile to my face.
94.3 FM – Dr.IPL for BRC v DD 25th March 2010
94.3 FM – Dr.IPL for BRC v CSK 23rd March 2010
Thanks all for your wishes. Keep the comments (or brickbats) coming. Cheers
2010 IPL: Bangalore Royal Challengers beat Chennai Super Kings
Robin Uthappa (68 off 38 balls) took Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 36- run victory over the Chennai Super Kings in Match 18 of the IPL 2010 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Royal Challengers rattled up 171/5 and then contained Chennai Super Kings for 135/7 in 20 overs.
Orange Cap holder Jacques Kallis looked shaky today. His run-spree finally ended when he was dismissed for a 17-ball 19 in the fifth over. Chennai Super Kings who started off very well, lost the way from the 15th over, thanks to Robin Uthappa, who single handedly changed the script with some bold batting. Royal Challengers Bangalore blasted 41 runs in the last two overs with Uthappa all guns blazing. The hard-hitting Uthappa, dropped at 5 and 25, made most of those chances, when he went berserk in the 19th over, clouting 4, 6, 6, 6 as medium pacer Lakshmipathy Balaji leaked as many as 24 runs in that over. Uthappa’s blitzkrieg overshadowed off-spinner Muthiah Muralitharan, Sudip Tyagi and Albie Morkel splendid bowling. Muralitharan was outstanding as he scalped the wickets of Rahul Dravid (bowled), Manish Pandey (caught in the deep) and Virat Kohli (stumped) to finish with figures of 3/25. But Muralitharan snatched the Purple Cap for his performance, from his fellow countryman Chaminda Vaas (Deccan Chargers) to emerge as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with nine wickets.
The Chennai Super Kings batting fell apart chasing 172 runs for victory. Swing bowler Praveen Kumar dismissed Parthiv Patel in the first over. But Royal Challengers Bangalore dealt a severe blow to Chennai Super Kings’ hopes in the 10th over when Rahul Dravid ran out the dangerous Mathew Hayden for 32. It was a brilliant throw from short covers to the non-striker’s end that caught Hayden off guard. The impressive Vinay Kumar made it 59/3 in the same over by packing off Tasmanian George Bailey (18). The medium-pacer scalped his second wicket by having Chennai Super Kings skipper Suresh Raina caught at deep third man. The match slipped further away from Chennai Super Kings’s grip when leg spinner Anil Kumble sent back Murali Vijay (74/5). Chennai Super Kings could never recover to lose their second match in succession.
Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.
FIA invites entries for 2011 grid spot
The FIA has invited entries for the 2011 and 2012 Formula One world championship seasons, as they opened the selection process for the one remaining slot left on the grid. 
Now we know the story behind that one remaining slot, don’t we? It became quite a messy affair with USF1 getting an entry and then not able to plan their way through for lack of finances, even though they had You Tube backing their efforts. This led to questions about the FIA’s selection process in the first place and the most noise was made by the Stefan GP – yes the ones who bought the Toyota chassis – as they fought to be included in the 2010 season. End result: there are only twelve teams on the grid today with no one having a clue about the fate of USF1 and Stefan GP sulking somewhere.
Coming back to the fresh selection process however, the FIA this time also intends to name back-up options keeping the above episode in mind. What is also interesting to note is the four-point merit guideline laid down for any new teams that might be submitting their names. These are: a) technical ability and resources of the team, b) ability to raise and maintain sufficient funding to allow participation, c) team’s experience and human resources and d) FIA’s assessment of the value the candidate may bring to the Championship as a whole.
Of the above four, the second and fourth points are of relative importance. The ability to raise and maintain funding is but the bread and butter of a Formula One team. The prime example of that would be the ex-Jordan team. It became Midland and then Spyker, but not until Vijay Mallya arrived on the scene did stability come to the fore for that unit. Today in the mould of Force India, they are doing well for they know that their owner is financially sound and passionate about Formula One at the same time.
The FIA assessment of the value the new teams brings to the championship is an equally thought provoking clause. If this is indeed the case then some one like Stefan GP or even USF1 who are likely to be trying again, may not get a look in. Whereas it would be a decent shout for Prodrive or even Volkswagon, who have been rumored to be looking for a way into Formula One for long.
Any which ways, the last date to submit entries, April 15, isn’t too far off and we can surely expect some interesting rumors to abound until and after then.
2010 IPL: Mumbai Indians beat Kolkata Knight Riders
Sachin Tendulkar (71 off 48 balls) helped Mumbai Indians to a seven-wicket victory over Kolkata Knight Riders in Match – 17 of IPL 2010 at Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. The win also put the Mumbai Indians back at the top of the league standings.
Skipper Sourav Ganguly and West Indies skipper Chris Gayle opened the innings in place of Manoj Tiwary and Brad Hodge, who were both dropped for this match. They made a sedate start, putting on 70 runs in 11 overs. Ganguly was bowled for 31 by Harbhajan Singh who went on to finish a fine spell of 4-0-17-1. Gayle opened out after reaching his 50, which came off 47 balls. Kolkata lost their second wicket in the 20th over when Zaheer Khan bowled Owais Shah. Shah (31 off 23), promoted in the batting order, added 82 runs in 8.2 overs with Gayle, who was declared lbw off the last ball off Zaheer by Sanjay Hazare. Gayle justified his selection with a 60 ball-75 as Kolkata Knight Riders put up 155/3.
The Mumbai Indian’s chase of 156 runs began in right earnest as left-hander Shikar Dhawan, who came out with Sachin Tendulkar in place of Sanath Jayasuriya who was rested for the game, set the tone by slamming three fours off New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond. Tendulkar followed it up with same number of fours against Ishant Sharma. Tendulkar continued his onslaught as Mumbai Indians raced off to 50 in 4.2 overs. Left-arm spinner Murali Karthik provided the first breakthrough dismissing Dhawan for 23 (21 balls, 4×4) against the run of play, as he played a loose shot to be caught at short mid-wicket. Saurabh Tiwary made a quick-fire 24-ball 30, while Kieron Pollard the next batsmen in, was dismissed cheaply with the Mumbai Indians cruising home quite comfortably in the end
Match report courtesy Adfactors PR.
