Sunday 10 April 2011

Since when did Formula One become confusing?

Sebastian Vettel cruised to his second win in two races, I say cruised because he did so without (we are led to believe) the help of KERS, the Red Bulls seem to have a great deal of pace in their pocket and the rest are trailing in their wake.

However I think there are more important issues afoot, Formula One has suddenly become infinitely more confusing than it used to be. I'm not sure if its a case of a lack of on-screen information, or the different variables that have been introduced, but I am sure it is now a much tougher sport for the layman, and even the ardent fan to follow.

I don't think it is clear enough who is running on which tyre, there should be an on-screen graphic detailing which tyre is currently in use by any given driver. Given the extent to which the rubber affects performance this year I really think this is a critical element of understanding the sport.

Anyway, back to the racing. Vettel was never really troubled by the Mclarens and although the Ferrari's appeared to have good race pace they were nowhere near. A good drive from Nick Heidfeld saw him snatch third place and Renault's second podium in as many races.

The main point of controversy came between Hamilton and Alonso, who clipped the rear of the Brit's Mclaren. Hamilton was adjudged to have moved too aggressively to defend his position and Alonso was penalised for hitting Hamilton. Hamilton whinged that while he suffered a one-position penalty because of his penalty Alonso did not. A bit like Valencia 2010 then Lewis when your drive through cost you nothing...what goes around comes around. Seriously though, I don't think Hamilton deserved a penalty on this occasion.

Vettel is now 24 points clear at the top of the standings and it is getting more and more difficult to look beyond him and Red Bull cruising to the 2011 titles. But there's still a long way to go!

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