Saina Nehwal - A true sportstar

Saina Nehwal is one of the best sporting talents that India has produced. At the age of just 19, Saina has achieved great things in her chosen sport and has truly arrived at the Big league in international badminton. Saina is not another superficial creation of the media. Indian media is famous for over-hyping and haloing any sportsperson who is worthy of 2 minutes of prime time television. Take for example, Sania Mirza. Sania is undoubtedly the best ever female tennis player from India. But when it comes to the world stage, she is at best an average performer who seldom indulges in giant killing. But our media would make us believe that on her good day Sania can beat even Venus Williams. Well, she definitely can’t – unless Williams is playing left handed and is not wearing shoes.

Things are quite the opposite when it comes to Sania’s namesake – Saina. Few people in India would’ve heard this girl’s name. Maybe she is not sexy enough for prime time television and newspaper front pages. But she is certainly the brightest star in Indian sport (non cricket) at the moment. Away from the media glare, Saina’s career has shown a steady rise ever since she won the national badminton championship 2 years back. Saina has regularly beaten the top 10 players and has been consistent in the big tournaments. Her current world ranking of No. 7 would underline that this girl is truly a world class achiever.

One wishes that this real achiever gets the attention and recognition that she deseves. Saina, in all likelihood, will continue to bring great laurels to India and make us all very proud in the years to come.

Future of Cricket

When we talk about football today, most people will think of the English Premier League or the UEFA Champions League. If you ask someone which is his favourite team, most likely he will say Manchester United or Real Madrid or some other European club name. Football today is synonymous with club football. International matches are once in 4 year rituals like the FIFA world cup or the Euro Cup. Of course there are international friendlies and Olympic qualifiers that happen once n a while. But even in these matches, one rarely sees top international players, since they are occupied with more important club commitments. For football fans, its all about club allegiances. Many an Englishman will adore Portugal’s Christiano Ronaldo, but will loathe a Steven Gerrard who plays for a rival club. Club allegiance/rivalry is much more prominent today rather than nationalistic patriotism which is put on display once every 4 years.

 

For us cricket fans, thankfully the situation is quite different. Or is it?

Well, most of us Indians still identify our favourite team with the colour Blue. And most Australians cheer for the Baggy Green. We all love to watch Hayden vs Zaheer, Bhajji vs Symonds or Yuvraj vs Shoaib encounters on the field. But one wonders for how long. The IPL today is a 6 week annual tournament. Come year 2015. Imagine that the IPL is held over 40 weeks with 15 teams across India. Imagine similar leagues being played in England, Australia, Sharjah and South Africa. To add to this, we will have the so called Champions League, in which top teams from these elite clubs will compete to decide who is the best in the world. Of course, we will still have the World Cup and maybe even the Champions Trophy. After all, they are a once in 4 year commitment and it will give cricketers a chance to play for their country and realize their dream.

 

If you think that the situation I’ve described above is far fetched, then think again. Almost every decision in this world is taken based on economic logic. Every cricket board worth its salt, will take that course of action which is most profitable to itself. Over the past 2 years, it has become clear that 20-20 cricket is the most marketable form of cricket. Clearly it is the future. And the great Lalit Modi has proved that profits can be maximized by adopting the private club franchisee route. The IPL model is already a grand success with all involved making money and the audience is also apparently overjoyed. TV advertisement rates are the highest for T-20 than for any other format. Stadium tickets are equal to, if not higher than ODI matches, even for IPL (which is technically club cricket). Many IPL franchisees have made profits in the first year itself and all teams are expected to make profits from the 3^rd year onwards. Above all, the BCCI’s coffers are overflowing. All this, just from a 6 week tournament making its debut.

 

It is only a matter of time before people forget the Ashes, Border-Gavaskar and India-Pakistan series and instead talk about Chennai Super Kings Vs Bangalore Royal Challengers and Delhi Daredevils vs Mumbai Indians. Cricket as we know today will not exist 10 years down the line. Our children will know and follow cricket the way football is followed today. Is there a way to prevent this? I wish there was..

My favourite sports personalities

In this post I will talk about the people in sports that I have most admired in my life. I will divide the list of people I like based on the sport they belong to. As an Indian, it is obvious that I should start with Cricket.

Cricket:

Sachin Tendulkar- I started watching cricket from the 1992 world cup. That was the first world cup for the young star Sachin. Those days, Sachin was called “The little big man from Bombay”. He was the favourite among the commentators. Though India didn’t do well in that world cup, Sachin’s performance was well noted by the world. He was marked as a star for the future. And what a star he has been since then..

Mohammed Azharuddin- Despite the match fixing allegations and other scams, I have always enjoyed watching Azhar play. Not just his batting, but also his fielding. He was India’s best fielder for a very long time. I would really love watching him run between the wickets- he was such a wonderful judge of runs. He would almost never get run out.

Steve Waugh- I like Steve Waugh for his never say die attitude. He is one man you can trust to bat for your life. I cannot remember having seen a better fighter in world cricket.

Sourav Ganguly- To me, The prince of Calcutta was the best ever captain of India. The 3-4 odd years that Dada and John Wright were together, was the time I loved watching Indian cricket most. It was a time when the Indian team was characterized by determination, courage and a bit of arrogance. The Natwest Trophy final will remain etched in my memory. Apart from his captaincy, Dada is a fine batsman too and is a delight to watch when in full flow. If there is something more remarkable than his batting and his captaincy, it must be his grit & determination which he showed in ample quantities by making a successful comeback to the national side against all odds.

Tennis:

Michael Chang- He was never a very successful player. I think he won a couple of grand slams, but that was about it. I doubt if Chang ever made it to the No.1 spot in the ATP rankings. What I loved about this guy is that he never gave up. He would chase down every ball. You would hardly see any winners hit by his opponents. Chang would invariably reach every ball in this side of the court.

Formula One:

Frank Willaims- Though he is not a driver, I have been really impressed by this guy’s passion for racing. This has not been the easiest of times to lead an independent team in F1. The past decade has seen more than half a dozen independent teams exiting from the sport as manufacturers started to show their money power. At the end of 2006, most F1 pundits wrote Williams off, stating that it was only a matter of time before the team was sold off to another manufacturer. But old Franky stuck it out though the bad times. Today he has been finally rewarded. His team is fighting in fourth place in the world championship and also has one of the most promising stars of the future- Nico Rosberg- in its ranks.

Fernando Alonso- His reputation may have taken a beating after his unceremonious departure from McLaren last year, but Fernando Alonso remains my favourite driver on the circuit. 2005 & 2006 were the best years F1 has had in a long time. The battle of Alonso Vs Schumacher was just too good- especially in 2006. Even the mathematically closer 2007 championship did not match the intensity of the 2006 battle. If one were to ask Michael Schumacher to tell off the record, who is the best F1 driver at present, I am sure he would say its Alonso.

Basketball:

Michael Jordan- I watched basketball for 2-3 odd years around the years 1996-99. It was Bulls Vs Jazz in the NBA playoffs finals. It was my introduction to basketball, and I loved this guy, Michael Jordan. He was in complete control of whatever he did. He was cut above the rest. And the commentators were saying that this guy was actually making a comeback after a few years of sabbatical from the game. It was amazing. Come crunch time in a game, and Jordan was the man to give the ball to. His fadeaways and slam dunks are legendary. Unfortunately for me, my love for the game faded away as soon as Jordan left the Bulls and the game itself for a few years.

Mallya's leap of faith

Vijay Mallya is undoubtedly the most flamboyant businessman in India. In the Indian press, he is often compared with Richard Branson of Virgin. He leads a colourful life and is a successful businessman. His spirits group- United Breweries- is an industry leader. He also owns ‘Kingfisher Beer’, which is a reasonably known international brand. More recently Mr. Mallya has entered the airline industry. Doing well in this segment will be much more of a challenge as the competitive landscape is extremely tough right now, and the stakes are much higher.

When Mallya’s Kingfisher airlines entered Formula One earlier this year as a sponsor to Toyota F1 team, it seemed to be a good, measured move which would enhance the brand visibility of his airline just as it was about to start services in international routes. But Mallya’s latest move to buy the Spyker F1 team is a much bigger move and an extremely ambitious one. It is to be noted that Mallya will use his own money - rather than involve any of the shareholders of his publicly listed company- for buying and running Spyker. The kind of money involved here is huge. Buying the team will cost around 80 – 90 million euros (450 crore Indian Rupees). In addition to this, the operations of the team will have to be financed. Considering that Spyker is presently a loss making entity (it made a loss of around 30 million euros in the first half of this year), this will be a very costly affair. Moreover, Mallya will be hoping for a turnaround in the team’s fortunes in another 1-2 years. This will be the most difficult part. Teams like Toyota and Honda have proved that money cannot guarantee success in this sport. And anyway, Mallya can never hope to match the budgets of the manufacturer-backed teams.

My guess is that, having entered the deal, Mallya will stick on with Spyker for 2-3 years and control the financial bleeding of the team. He is smart enough not to believe in miracles. He will try and minimize the bleeding of the team financially. He will utilize the 2-3 years to build a well-known brand out of his airline. He will try and bring in an Indian driver and use him to endorse his company. He will also try and make sure that an Indian Grand Prix happens- latest by 2009. At the end of these 2-3 years, Kingfisher Airlines will be known world over and Mallya would’ve achieved his objective. At the end of this period, Mallya will start looking for a good price at which to exit his ‘investment’. Inevitably there will be another corporate entity somewhere which would want to utilize Spyker’s (or whatever it will be called then) services for achieving its own corporate objectives, and the story will continue thus…

Things could go wrong though, if Spyker’s financial bleeding cannot be stopped without severely hampering its competitiveness. Mallya is rich, but he is not stupid. He is not a Roman Abramovich, who is spending his personal fortune on a soccer team to simply amuse himself. Mallya’s move is strictly business oriented. This is a calculated gamble that he is making. He is hoping that the money that he will bleed in Spyker will be compensated by making Kingfisher the airline of choice for flying in and out of India. But this is a risky move since Mallya is totally inexperienced in running an F1 team. I doubt if he has ever owned any motorsport team.

Mallya is going for all or nothing here. He is entering untested waters and the only reward that will justify his risk is if his airline becomes the number one Indian carrier in international routes. Here’s wishing Mr. Mallya best of luck in his leap of faith!

Click Here for more of my views on Formula One

Found this somewhere on the net.


American sports fans kind of pride themselves on following their own sports that no one else in the world really cares about. The people who follow soccer (as it's known over there) are generally not "Sports fans" as such (or of South American descent). Basketball and Hockey may be big in other parts of the world, but US fans don't care about anything but the NBA and NHL - the various World Cup and Olympics apperances of USA teams in these sports are mere blips on the radar compared to Super Bowls, World Series and NEXTEL Cups.

In short, the only way F1 is going to break big in the states is if it becoms unpopular in the rest of the world. That's just how it is.

Juan Pablo Montoya leaves F1

It was in the year 2001 when the world of formula one was introduced to a young Colombian called Juan Pablo Montoya. JPM was brought to formula one by Sir Frank Williams from USA where he won the CART racing championship the previous year as a rookie. Soon the fiery Colombian set the tracks of F1 ablaze with his pace. JPM never shied from speaking his heart out which led many people to doubt his temperament and term him as being too hot headed. JPM was equally hot on the track too. He brought excitement to the sport which had almost forgotten about it. When in peak form Juan Pablo was one of the best over takers the sport has ever seen. Many of his daring overtakings feature in video collections of F1 fans. This single ability to perform spectacular over taking manoeuvres won Montoya fans world over.

His debut season in 2001 was a bit of a disaster. The Colombian was marred by bad luck as a series of accidents and mechanical failures meant that he finished in just 6 races. He finished in the podium 4 times and won his maiden grand Prix in Monza.

In 2002 he was denied any victory by the dominant performance of the ‘bullet proof’ F2002 Ferraris. But a consistent performance throughout the year meant that he beat his team mate Ralf Schumacher and finished the season as the third best driver.

2003 was probably the season in which the Colombian was at his best. He consistently outpaced his team mate and finished the season 3rd, just 11 points off the champion Michael Schumacher. Sweet victories were scored in Monaco and Germany. The season was witness to many exciting tussles between the Colombian and Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher.

Montoya’s pace was obvious to everyone and top teams were vying for the Colombian’s services by now. The 2004 season started with McLaren making a shock announcement at the beginning of the season itself that Montoya will be driving for them from 2005.





His move to McLaren in 2005 sparked off expectations of an intense rivalry with team mate Kimi Raikkonen. Everyone in the paddock knew that there was no love lost between the two new team mates. But Montoya struggled with the Woking based team in his first season there. New regulations in the sport meant that tyre changes were not allowed during the race. This added to the Colombian’s woes as it did not suit his aggressive driving style. As he was consistently outpaced by his Finnish team mate, Montoya’s frustration grew. After he became a father in 2005, Montoya seemed to lose some of his aggression both on and off the track. In the beginning of 2006 McLaren announced a major coup- that of having signed Fernando Alonso from 2007. This meant that either Montoya or Raikkonen had to make way for the young Spaniard. As Raikkonen continued to outpace him, experts gave JPM little chance of continuing with Ron Dennis’ team for 2007.

The announcement that Montoya will be racing in NASCAR in 2007 has come as a shock to many of his fans in F1. Montoya was more that just another fast driver. His daredevil driving attracted many people to the sport. In his best form, he knew no fear and was undoubtedly the most exciting driver to watch. With Montoya in the picture you could always expect to watch exciting racing. He would never give an inch. Montoya has also been active in the social scene, helping underprivileged children in Colombia and the world over.

I still hope that he returns to F1 some day. He will surely be remembered by formula one fans long after his departure.

Montoya fans will enjoy this tribute

A Comment on the Schumacher incident

The following is an article by Steve Turnbull for updatef1.com. The link is http://formula-1.updatesport.com/magazine/article/Comment--The-Schumacher-Incident/1148908415.html
I am posting the entire (presumably copyrighted) article here for the benefit of those readers who are behind corporate firewalls which block such sites.



The Monaco Grand Prix, as is often the case, provided one of the more captivating races of the season so far. The duel around the twisting, heavily contoured streets of Monte Carlo proved exciting and unpredictable, as Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Mark Webber all displayed the talent that has enabled them to reach the very top echelon of world motor sport.

Yet, for all the on track interest, the race was far from the major talking point of the weekend; that accolade went, as again is often the case, to the antics of one Michael Schumacher, whose last second manoeuvre at the Rascasse during Saturday qualifying brought the sport of Formula One back to the mainstream news, and not in the fashion we would like it to be.

Michael Schumacher and Controversy (the capital is deliberate) need no introduction to each other. It is as if the brilliant German arrived in Formula One, all those years ago at Spa Francorchamps in 1991, carrying ample supplies in his briefcase.

Indeed that very debut was littered with the stuff: Bertrand Gachot was in jail, courtesy of a disagreement involving the Belgian Jordan driver, a London taxi driver, and a can of CS gas. Michael arrived with good references, and a healthy dose of Mercedes-Benz money for Eddie Jordan’s young team, on the back of assurances that he knew Spa like the back of his hand. In fact, he had never seen the place, let alone driven there. As history relates, he qualified eighth, went to the grid in seventh place, and promptly burnt out his clutch on the grid. Such a mistake was excusable, as the ripples he had caused when he first dropped into the pool were already spreading wide and far. ( A side note; what is not remembered is that the other Jordan, in the hands of Andrea de Cesaris, was rapidly gaining on the leader, Ayrton Senna, when mechanical failure put him out of the race. It is general opinion that he would have won.)

As history again relates, Michael next encountered controversy at the following race, the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where he entered in a Benetton. Jordan was incensed, as he believed he had a contract; Benetton countered that none existed, and Mercedes-Benz stood back and let things take their natural course. As we say, the rest is history and, seven World Championships later, we can look back and see how this controversial debut set the precedent for years to come.

Let us remind ourselves, in brief, of the incidents that have coloured Michael’s multi-hued career over these past fifteen years. Variously, and without detail we have: 1994: the ‘plank incident’ at Spa; the constant talk of ‘illegal’ traction control; the Damon Hill Adelaide incident. That was a good year. Then there’s Jerez, 1997; Austria and the USA 2002; these are the major incidents that stand out. There are many more, minor, less reportable ‘Schumacher incidents’ but, it must be said, Michael really pushed the boat out on Saturday in Monaco.

I don’t think there is anyone who, having seen the moment in question, could seriously doubt that at least some part of it was deliberate, was pre-meditated.

Sir Jackie Stewart was ‘willing to give Michael the benefit of the doubt’; he believes the initial ‘accident’, the lock up of the wheels into Rascasse, was just that, an accident. However, what followed, the neat parking of the car that brought out the yellow flags, Stewart puts down to Michael, and Michael only.

Keke Rosberg, on the other hand, expressed the opinion that Schumacher should ‘go home’; while Flavio Briatore explained that Michael had ‘parked the bloody car’.

These were just a few of the comments made, but the general consensus was that Michael was, quite frankly, out of order.

The Stewards, after several hours of deliberation, examination of telemetry and witness statements, agreed. Michael had deliberately impeded the progress of other cars and, as the regulations recommend, was promptly stripped of all his qualifying times and sent to the back of the grid. Most thought this fair, some thought it a tad soft, Ferrari and Michael, naturally, thought it harsh.

“Watch the video, I did nothing wrong” seemed to be Schumachers defence. Watching the video, however, condemns Michael somewhat. One fellow driver commented, dryly, that the German ‘should have covered the camera with one hand while he turned off the engine with the other…’

So, the verdict given, no appeal allowed, Sunday saw Schumacher storm through the field to an eventual fifth position, again giving us a display of awesome talent and unparalleled genius. The sheer pace made one wonder whether Michael needed pole position to win. It also begged the question – why? Why stoop so low when ones talent is so great?

Some have offered the explanation that all genius is flawed. This may be so but, I ask, could you imagine Jim Clark pulling his car to the side to protect a pole position? Or Fangio, Moss, Brabham, or even great 1980’s champions such as Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet, Prost or Rosberg? The answer is, unequivocally, no. None of those would have even considered such a move; it simply was not done. And yet, when one asks the same of Ayrton Senna, one could easily answer in the affirmative. Ayrton and Michael are from the same mould, the same mindset, where win-at-all-costs is the only way.

This manner of thinking has done Michael Schumacher no long-standing harm across his lengthy career. Many of those who have watched, with justified awe, his performances from 2000 onwards at Ferrari, will be too young to remember 1994, or 1997, or may simply have been uninterested back then. Many of those new to the sport will be questioning why such a seemingly draconian penalty was imposed for such a minor transgression. Good questions, too, but when a role model such as Schumacher, a man whom to many of the young drivers of today is still a hero, behaves in such an underhand manner, something has to be done to bring the message home: Formula One is, first and foremost, a ‘SPORT’ and, as such, must involve a level of sportsmanship. Sportsmanship involves courtesy, as well as competition; it embraces fair play, as well as ingenuity; and it is a sad fact that, in many parts of the world, Formula One only reaches the headlines when Controversy is involved (yes, the capital is, again, deliberate.)

Michael’s body language at the post qualifying press conference said it all; sheepish, guilty, embarrassed were all descriptions used on the day, and all may be right. How soon after he ‘parked’ the car, we may ask, did he realise the mistake he had made? How soon after the blatant move at Jerez, 1997, did he realise that the on-board camera would betray any excuse? And how soon after the embarrassment that was Austria, 2002, did this great driver realise how foolish, how ridiculous, he had made himself, his team, and the sport appear?

It stands to reason that the punishment may, in the eyes of the stewards, the FIA, and the many Schumacher and Ferrari fans world-wide, have ‘fitted the crime’, but consider this. From the back, Michael raced into the points – admittedly, attrition aided his cause – points that many, including myself, believe he should not have been entitled to. What discouragement is it to the younger generation that a blatant, clear as daylight attempt to contravene the rules is met with mere relegation to the back of the grid? Very little, I would say. For next race, all is forgotten.

The incident also adds heat to the fire that currently burns around Schumacher with regard to the ‘will he/won’t he’ retirement debate. This one incident, while presumed of ‘little importance’ to the future where Ferrari are concerned, has clearly had major impact on Michael. He is annoyed that he has been pilloried by just about everyone bar his team mates.

Why? Did he really believe he would get away with it? Did he seriously consider that we, who have watched him driver countless brilliant races in underperforming cars, pulling rabbits out of hats at the most unlikely places, would not question why a man of his ability could not recover a car from such a minor upset as that at the Rascasse on Saturday? If, indeed, he did believe so, serious questions should be asked of himself.

Michael Schumacher is, and always has been, a quite brilliant racing driver; he is, and always has been, superb to watch in a crisis, wonderful to watch on the limit, and controversial more often than the rest.

He once said, I seem to recall, that he would consider retirement once the younger generation begin to beat him, fair and square.

If, Michael, you have to resort to underhand tactics such as those displayed on Saturday in order to beat Alonso, or Raikkonen, or any one of the pretenders to the crown, surely that time has come?

Formula One 2006- Mid Season Review

It’s almost midway in the 2006 FIA Formula One championship season. And Fernando Alonso seems to have one hand on the cup already. The season started in Bahrain this time instead of Australia. But it didn’t make much of a difference to Renault. They started much like last year. They had the fastest car in the first 4 races. Schumacher and Ferrari upped their game in Imola. Imola was a good race, and ironically for Alonso, it was a complete reversal of last year’s race as Alonso tried in vain to get past a struggling but determined Schumacher. In the next race Ferrari were the better car and deserved the win they got. Going into the Spanish GP everyone thought Ferrari will do it again but Alonso and Renault pulled in some magic and won a memorable race. It was a fantastic win for Alonso- his first ever in Spain. And I must admit I ve never seen the kind of reaction from a driver as was seen from Alonso after winning the race. He was REALLY HAPPY!

Then came Monaco. It was another exciting race. Uncharacteristically, there were lots of over takings in the race. In fact I think so far in the season this has been the race with most no. of over takings. The weekend started on a sour note as Michael Schumacher was back with his prankster stuff. What he did in qualifying was disgusting and he thoroughly deserved the punishment he got. Everyone remembers what he did to Villeneuve and Hill and more recently (last season) to Barrichello. But one would’ve thought that he would’ve matured as he gets towards the end of his career. But no! he’s proven that bastards remain bastards, no matter what. I’ve always maintained that Schumacher is one of the best ever drivers. Not many have the kind of understanding of the car one drives and the track on which one drives as Schumi does. He’s a fantastic talent. Till last year I’ve said that he’s the best driver on track and this year I put Alonso and Schumi together as the best drivers. But despite his talent, Michael Schumacher’s attitude sucks. And that’s why I hate him. His drive in the race proved once again that he is a superb racer, but that cannot undo what he did in qualifying. If any of you haven’t seen the incident, you can view it here and make up your mind.

(if the link doesn’t work, just search for- Schumacher Monaco – in google videos)

Renault have upped their game since monaco. They realised where they were being beaten. Farrari were always faster at the end of the stints. So they made changes to their set up to make the car go fastest at the end of the stints. One could see this start to work in Monaco itself. Alonso was building gaps to Raikkonen towards the end of stints. It would’ve been a tight finish had the Mclaren lasted the race. Looking at Mclaren’s reliability I am really worried for next season as Alonso’s fan. The strategy of making the car go fastest at the end of the stints worked even better for Renault in Silverstone.

I expect Ferrari to up their game as the season proceeds. I think it will be a tough fight till the end. But for Schumi to win the championship, Renault and Alonso will need to have a lot of bad luck- like Alonso slipping in the bathroom and breaking his back.

News has just come in that fisichella will stay with Renault for 2007. more or less expected news. And it also means that Briatore has not been successful in roping in Webber.

There are 10 more races to go. I think the championship is not over yet. Its definitely much closer than last year. And we all know that Ferrari and Schumacher are fierce competitors. I expect a close and exciting tussle till the end.

Go Fernando, Go!!!

Formula One 2006

A new season is all set to begin of the FIA Formula One world championships. Renault and Mc Laren have been topping the time sheets followed closely by Ferrari and Honda in the winter testing. With a lot of changes to the regulations this season- the most prominent being changing the engines from V10 to V8 and allowing tyre changes- its difficult to predict who will be on top at the beginning of the season. Once again I will be rooting for Alonso and Renault this season. But I think the going will be much tougher for them this season. One might question Alonso’s motivation level after having announced his plans to shift to McLaren next season. Also, tyre supplier Michelin will be in its final year in the sport. So their commitment can also be questioned. The inclusion of Super Aguri will mean that there will be record number of lappings done by the race leader over the last placed driver this season. I cannot imagine the competitive level of Aguri who will be racing with an Arrows chassis which is atleast 4 years old ! I expect Ferrari to be more competitive this season with the V8s. I am sure Felipe Massa will be a worthy successor to Reubens Barrichello. He will play second fiddle to Schumacher perfectly. This will most likely be Schumacher’s last season. I think Raikkonen will be the most obvious target for Ferrari to replace him next season. Massa will then continue to play second fiddle to him. I hope my old favourite Williams team gets back to competitive form this season although there are little indications that this will be the case. So the competitive teams this season are likely to be Renault, mclaren, Ferrari and Honda. Lets fasten our seat belts and get set for another season for high speed action. Go Alonso !