F1: Singapore did it .. and they did it differently

News about Singapore's featuring in the F1 Grand Prix calendar recently did not came unexpected. However what made the new kid on the block so intriguingly interesting is their wittiness. If KL GP is touted as the hottest race on the planet ... our kiasu neighbour upped the ante by introducing the first night race of F1 ...

Interesting but not totally unexpected though ... our F1 organizers tried the same thing in their proposal to extendt their F1 contract with the FIA body by proposing a night race as well. I do not understand and agree with the need to match Singapore stick by stick. So what if they came up with the night race ? I still think our own F1 GP is one most interesting of F1 races in the GP calendar. KL F1 GP has always been known not only as the HOTTEST race on earth but also the most unexpected race as well thanks to our very own 'unexpected' weather.

How can we forget the race a few years back which caught all the F1 teams by surprise. On a sunny afternoon, all the cars were equipped with dry tyres and were ready for another hot and blazing race. Unbeknownst to them, our 'best friend' the weather give the drivers a very 'warm' and trademark of Malaysian hospitality and welcoming gestures ... by 'offering' a heavy downpour the moment the cars turned to the first corner. To make it weirder, for the first couple of laps ... half of the circuit was raining whislt the other half is still as hot as ever.
I still remembered at that particular time, I was so 'proud' t be a Malaysian because the Mat Sallehs were all sweating because their weatherman apparently got it all wrong. Looks like our bomoh overpowered their costly technology gadgetries...

Thus, so what if Singapore hosts their very own night race ... let them be .... I personally feel that our own F1 race has its own beauty and attraction. In fact I am confident that ours will be much more better than them ... coz Malaysia Boleh !

To Wii or Not to Wii ?

A proud owner of a PS2 console, I gotta admit that I am a self professed Playstation fanatic and without a doubt I very much fancy the latest addition of Playstation console which is PS3. The reason is pretty simple, the raw power contained within the monster itself will simply blow away the competitors and at the same time the likes of game titles such as Metal Gear Solid 4, Final Fantasy XIII, Devil May Cry , Gran Turismo are simply a handful of gamers must have series to play.


Unfortunately, PS3 got off to a rather dissapointing start. Being pested with delays as well as the low amount of gaming titles currently, PS3 certainly wouldnt hope to be in a position they are in today. However, I am quite confident when more game titles starts to grace the PS3 console especially those must play titles which surely will make gamers yearn for more of PS3 in the future . PS3 is still abit too on the higher spectrum in terms of pricing. But then again, its still a fair price for a machine which packs the best of gaming technology all in one sleek box.






However this article is not about my aspirations on PS3, instead I am more interested in talking about the newest in gaming innovation ... Nintendo Wii. Recently I was given the pleasure to have a brief sight of the console which is taking the whole gaming world by storm. Looks like good old Nintendo is not gonna throw in the towel losing the console war to Sony and XBox ( Nintendo Dreamcast dint really fared well against them). The new Wii is touted as the console which will change the way gaming experience will be .... forever ??. Instead of the old button bashing way of experiencing your video gaming console ... Wii tends to be different with their very own Wii Remote - a remote sensing joystick which sense and translates the movement of your movement into the game you played. (Means you just wield your joystick whence you play tennis instead of just button bashing). Not that I am new to the hypes around but reading it on the internet is not the same as experiencing it by yourself and I got to admit ... it is a whole new gaming experience ...

My first game is Tennis under the Wii Sports title belt. A first taste of the game instantly proved why Wii was an instant hit ! I just swing the joystick around and in no time ... I am Roger Federrer. ( At the end of the day, I am officially the best Wii Tennis champ amongst those who played that day having clipped off Calvin 2-1). Wii does offer quite a number of titles such as NFS: Carbon and I gotta admit the experience is pretty different compared to mine of PS2. At the end of the day, I concur that Wii did what it was supposed to do ... bring the gaming world a totally new gaming experience... and it did not dissapoint.

Having said that, I do have some reservation on Wii ... Though the likes of Wii Sport is very interesting the first few tries, in no time you will find it to be abit boring because the gameplay is rather monotonous. Maybe the likes of EA Sports can come with a more commendable title. Another aspect which I find a little intrigued is that though Wii remote joystick might be an instant hit, it might not be an instant hit but then again it might not suit for a games especially the likes of Street Fighter, KOF etc. (Maybe Nintendo and the game publishers has some thoughts workin out as I wrote this blog).

The BIG question ... will I be getting Wii thus the title of this posting ... to be frank ... I am very much tempted to but then again at this point of time I am still very much towards PS3 because I am more of a gamer whcih prefers game titles and I will regret if I missed the opportunity to gaze thru the likes of Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy titles at least. But then, at 1.5K it will still be a good idea for me to get one whislt waiting for my ultimate gaming console.

Preview: Formula One GP 2007

18th March seems to be rather far butthe heat of the Formula One GP Season 2007 has been scorchingly burning through my veins. Leading competitors unveiled their racing cars recently, vying for the title of the ultimate speed monster in the ultimate motorsport competition in the globe. Australian GP will be the first venue for us to witness which team would stand out for the rest ... at least for the earlier portion of the season.
But then again ... why 2007 is so special? Personally, it would be the dawn of a new Formula One era. As most of Formula One fans know, Michael Schumacher [Schumy] whom for me is the best Formula One driver which throned the sport for the last decade [yes i know, some might prefer Senna] has retired from active racing thus paving the way for new blood to battle it out to be the next ultimate maestro of Formula One GP.

Who would it be ?
Kimi on the Prancing Pony be fast enough for the Fin to give a serious shot at the throne tis year ?
Will the defection of Alonso to McLaren gives him another title this year?
Button whom long has been a promising driver would break out and mount a serious challenge ?
or Old Guard Fishicella with R27 will roar his way to the throne ?





Then what about battle of machines?
Can R27 of Renault, the master of straight line last year blew away its competitors again ?
Or Ferarri will be able to provide the best overall package to upstage the dominance of Renault this year?
What about MP14-22 of McLaren, is this a car which provides the stability that McLaren always yearn for for the past years , and without Adrian Newey ?
Red Bull Racing ? With Adrian Newey as the designer of the car ... would it be a masterpiece ?
Toyota again announced that this will be their season ? Samurai threat or mere Japanese fiction ?

Whom will we miss ?
Michael Schumacher ? Not so much though. For me, he has scripted a new chapter of Formula One with his rewriting of the record books. But that chapter has been closed and a new chapter will be written. The author ? We will find out by October ...
Battle of tyres ... Michelin vs Bridgestone. This epic battle has added the dynamis to the sport. Michelin does stood out to give Bridgestone a run for their money. In fact, I personally rate Michelin way higher than their Japanese nemesis. However, with F1 ruling that only ONE tyre supplier shall provide the "black gold of motorsport" for the upcoming season, Michelin has no choice but to pull out from the sport.
Andy Murray ? Even though he left commentaring for about a year now, I still miss him in many more of aspects. Legendary of equivalence in commentaring as to Schumy in the race track, Andy Murray will be greatly missed.

Whom do i put my money on?
I have my trust on Kimi to lead the crimson wave. For me, he is the successor of 2 champions of the last generation. Succesor to Finnish hero Mika Hakinen and Ferarri Michael Schumacher. Have the drive and hunger to deliver. I believe with Ferarri ultimate racing package, Kimi will drive all the way home with his first World Championship in his career. However one thing remains uncertain is the way Kimi drives. He is the kind of driver whom will push the car to the limit. Banging on the accelerator all the time and it would take an ultra-stable car package to cope with Kimi's aggresiveness. Ask McLaren about it ...

Why not Alonso ? After all, he is the double reigning World Champion. Well, I personally thinks that the main reason Alonso won last year's championship is due to the heavy support he got from the ultra-speedious R26 package he had which brings me to the next topic F1: Man or Machine ? . He was a relative unknown before the might roar of R25 and R26 helped to propel him as the youngest F1 ace of all time. However, he shall not be underestimated as I see him battling it out neck to neck with Kimi this season around.
So may the best man wins !

F1: Man or Machine
Had a few arguments with my friends on this topic. I personally thinks that the ratio factor that ascertains the drivers success in F1 is approx 75% car/package and 25% human. Whilst some of my friends would be very dissapointingly disagree with me, my reasoning has always been that no matter how good the driver is ... an inferior package would not guarantee success. On the other hand, a mediocore driver with superb package will give them something to cheer about.
Example ? Loads of it .... ask Rubins Barrichello [Rubins was 2 times runnerup] , David Coulthard, Jensen Button, Jacques Villenueve [former World Champion] ... they were from a pack of elite challengers to fringe drivers that forms the backline of the grid.
However we cannot discount the drivers ability in the frame as well. Drivers like Takumi Sato does not deserve his place in F1. Luckily Alex Yoong from Bolehland realized about it and quitted [or fired ?] the sport earlier enough before being recognise as the clown of F1 like Sato. I do not think that my statement here will convince most of you to agree with me but I stood by my opinion as I am entitled to.

Before I sign off, have a look at the upcoming line up for the season:

ING Renault F1
Engine: Renault Tyre: Bridegstone Country: France/UK
Driver Line-up - Giancarlo Fisichella(Italy) - Heikki Kovalainen (Finland)

Scuderia Ferrari Malboro
Engine: Ferrari Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Italy
Driver Line-up - Felipe Massa(Brazil) - Kimi Raikkonen (Finland)

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
Engine: Mercedes Tyre: Bridgestone Country: UK
Driver Line-up - Fernando Alonso (Spain) - Lewis Hamilton (Britain)

Honda F1
Engine: Honda Tyre: Bridgestone Country: UK/Japan
Driver Line-up - Jenson Button(UK) - Rubens Barrichello

BMW Sauber F1
Engine: BMW Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Germany/Switzerland
Driver Line-up - Nick Heidfeld(Germany) - Robert Kubica (Poland)

Panasonic Toyota Racing
Engine: Toyota Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Japan
Race Driver Line-up - Jarno Trulli(Italy) - Ralf Schumacher(Germany)

Red Bull Racing
Engine: Renault Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Austria/UK
Driver Line-up - David Coulthard(UK) - Mark Webber(Australia)

Williams F1
Engine: Toyota Tyre: Bridgestone Country: UK
Driver Line-up - Nico Rosberg(Germany) - Alex Wurz (Austria)

Scuderia Toro Rosso
Engine: Ferrari Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Austria/Italy/UK
Driver Line-up (both drivers yet to be confirmed)
PossibilitiesVitantonio Liuzzi (Italy)Scott Speed (USA)Neel Jani (Switzerland)

Spyker F1 Racing
Engine: Ferrari Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Holland/UK
Driver Line-up - Christijan Albers (Netherlands) - Adrian Sutil (Germany)

Super Aguri Formula One
Engine: Honda Tyre: Bridgestone Country: Japan/UK
Driver Line-up - Takuma Sato (Japan) - Confirmed - Anthony Davidson (UK)