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QotD: “Why I was wrong about men” – http://wp.me/pfJre-289

I caught myself indulging in some paths of thought earlier which skirt the line of misogyny. I read this post and bristled. I wondered if and how to reply. Then I realised – the author writes from her experiences – who am I to tell her she is being harsh?

The truth is, if we (that is, men) are to challenge perspectives like this, we need to start by challenging ourselves and our behaviours. The MRAs and MGTOWs of this world, who see fit to blame women for all their problems without once stopping to look at themselves, are fuelling the anger of feminists, especially radical feminists, who write this sort of article. 

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Onwards and upwards! The baking desert of Sahkir, Bahrain is the venue for round four of this fictional championship, and I will admit that for a time this circuit kicked my ass. Once or twice in practice I’d nail the track and do some great laps – but more often than not I’d run wide at turns 1 and 4, and turn 11 wasn’t always my friend. It took me ages to find my stride with this circuit, and in fact this didn’t really happen until the race itself. I somehow managed to grab pole, and I started well, but I was taking a gambit – I had done a long run on the hard tyres in practice and felt they could last 22 laps or so – so my aim was to run a two stop race, as opposed to my usual three stop strategy. To begin with, it appeared this had backfired, as I struggled around turn 1 and turn 4. In fact, turn 4 would cost me the lead, as I ran particularly wide at one stage and Button got by me. 

I wasn’t quick enough to keep pace with him, slipping a few seconds back. I regained the lead when he stopped, but such was my pace that I slipped down the order at my first stop. From there, I had to work hard to try and keep up with my rivals. I did eventually manage to put myself in a reasonable position by the time of my final stop, where I donned soft tyres, for the final 14 or so laps. It was here that my race came alive. I came out of the pits and had the two Red Bulls ahead of me, but on fresh, soft tyres and a smaller fuel load, I was able to catch Webber in short order. Vettel was further up the road, and I harboured doubts as to whether I’d catch him, but with a few laps still to go, he got caught in traffic at turn 8, and I was able to sweep past. I would net win three of the reason, extending my championship lead.

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In a season defined by the pendulum (I’ve mentioned that before), it seems it is currently well and truly swinging in Nico Rosberg’s favour. He became the first non-championship winning driver to win at Singapore yesterday, and did so with a fairly comfortable margin over Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton. Not that Rosberg had things entirely his own way – a dramatic late charge from Daniel Ricciardo put Rosberg under pressure, but backmarkers provided a key shield at a crucial moment, allowing Rosberg to see out the win.

That victory moves him back into the lead in the title fight – by some eight points – and the seeds of this win were sown in the practice sessions. Hamilton just couldn’t find a setup he was happy with, and was robbed of time in P2 due to a hydraulics problem. As a result, Rosberg was .700 of a second quicker in Q3, and Hamilton only managed third on the grid. The Red Bull of Ricciardo sat between the Mercedes pair – there had been signs of a challenge from Red Bull at Singapore, but Ricciardo was still half a second slower than Rosberg in Q3. 

The race started with a bang – literally. Nico Hulkenburg was clipped by Carlos Sainz off the line and punted sideways into the pitwall, triggering the immediate deployment of the safety car. It was lap four when the safety car came back in – though someone forgot to tell one of the marshals, who was still on the start/finish straight as the cars came around! Thankfully he was able to get out of the way. 

As the top four (Rosberg, Ricciardo, Hamilton and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen) peeled away from the pack, things behind them would get a little feisty. Max Verstappen had qualified fourth but had a poor start and lost a few places, ending up duelling with firstly Carlos Sainz (in a Toro Rosso that was eventually forced to pit for safety reasons; a piece of body work was hanging loose) and then Danill Kvyat in the other Toro Rosso, in a battle that got pretty intense. Kvyat was replaced by Verstappen at Red Bull earlier in the year and had a point to prove, defending aggressively. The superiority of the Red Bull would eventually tell, but it was enjoyable to watch the scrap. 

Back towards the front, Raikkonen would snatch third from Hamilton after the Englishman made an error, leaving Hamilton pleading for options. Such an option would come when Mercedes pitted Hamilton for a third time, putting him on fresh supersofts, and Ferrari felt they had no choice but to pit Raikkonen to cover Hamilton off. Unfortunately for Raikkonen and Ferrari, it didn’t work, and Hamilton regained third. 

The stops also triggered a stop for Ricciardo, which in turn gave Mercedes a new headache with Rosberg. After his stop, Ricciardo was 2.5 seconds a lap quicker, and Mercedes had to commit to keeping Rosberg out; otherwise he might have lost a podium altogether. He pushed on, and took advantage of traffic to see off the threat, claiming a noteworthy win. 

A word on Vettel in the other Ferrari – he had been forced to start from the back of the grid following a roll bar failure in Q1 – he finished fifth, a highly credible result, especially given the difficulties in overtaking here. He is my driver of the day. 

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The first of two Formula 1 related posts deals with my fictional adventure, as round three of season four comes and goes. Shanghai is the venue for the Chinese race, and there are a couple of pressure points to this track. Turns 1 and 2 (really, it’s just one big corner) can easily be taken too fast, which naturally compromises the lap. In practice, I would run too deep around 2, and therefore mess up my path around 3. Practice makes perfect and eventually I nailed the turn, but another corner would prove far trickier across every session, including the race.

The key to a good race is using trackside objects to judge breaking zones. At the very tight hairpin that is turn 14, coming at the end of a long and very fast straight, it was all too easy to get things wrong and swing wide. Even when keeping the car on the track I would go deeper than I’d planned more often than not. Still, despite this, I would manage to qualify on pole and I would make a clean getaway at the start. Lapping comfortably quicker than the rest, I pitted on lap 13 and though I slipped behind Button and Webber, I knew they’d both have to pit, therefore handing the lead back to me. Nonetheless, I wanted to consolidate my advantage, so I got by Webber and was around four seconds behind Button, when disaster struck on lap 15. My rear-left tyre developed a puncture, forcing me back into the pits. I fell back to 11th, though cars stopping in front of me saw me climb back up the order.

In fact, by the time the first stops were over, I was only six or so seconds behind Button and before long I’d caught him, diving up the inside of turn 11 to regain the lead. However, I would have to stop again for my scheduled stop on lap 26, and would lose the lead again. A short chase began, and before long I was squeezing by Button into turn 1. By the time I’d made my final stop, I was able to get in and out without losing the lead, and would not only close out the win, but move to the top of the standings, in what is so far a pretty crowded group.

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There’s nothing quite like the Singapore Grand Prix. This amazing venue has swiftly established itself on the calendar as one of the premier venues of the sport, not only because of the circuit itself, but also because of the glitz and glamour that goes with it. Held under floodlights, F1’s only full-night race is spectacular.

It also hard. Held in hot, humid conditions that boil the drivers in their cramped cockpits and stuffy, flame-proof suits, the track provides challenges for other reasons too. Firstly, the circuit (being a street track) is bumpy. It rattles the drivers like no other venue. Secondly, the race runs very close to (and often hits) the two-hour time limit set for F1 races. All in all, everything about the circuit conspires to provide the drivers with an immense challenge. Is it a coincidence that only champions have won here?

Like only a very few tracks, Singapore is a counter-clockwise race, and features several sharp corners. The opening sequence is a left-hander, followed by a dinky right corner, immediately followed by a left hairpin, and then a quick dive toward turn 5, which is a little faster than it looks, but with barriers on either side of you, your focus needs to remain sharp, for one twitch, one little mistake, and your race is over. Next is a tight left-hander at the end of a DRS zone, and then punchy right and left-handers in quick succession.

Turn 10 is not what it used to be. A chicane with high kerbs used to bounce cars here, but it’s been turned into a more conventional corner following concerns about safety. Several tight corners later, you arrive at the end of the lap, suitably jostled.

Last year’s race was memorable for two reasons. Firstly, the complete failure of Mercedes to be competitive. Inexplicably, they lacked pace, but Singapore is a track that suits downforce rather than raw power, and therefore the Red Bulls in particular might fancy their chances here. Ferrari might also go better here than in previous races. The second reason last year sticks in the memory is for the act of outrageous stupidity of a spectator, who decided to take a casual stroll down the side of the track.

So what’s the situation, championship-wise? Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton leads by just two points from teammate Nico Rosberg, who has won the past two races. As alluded to, Mercedes struggled here last year, and the Red Bulls could go well here. Might they interfere with the title battle? The potential is certainly there for drama, and Singapore usually serves up exactly that.

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Following on from an Australian grand prix I had looked like winning, only for engine failure to rob me of 10 points, I would take on Sepang, Malaysia, and continue my efforts to master tracks more thoroughly. As established last time, there’s no racing line to assist me in braking or cornering, so I need to learn the appropriate braking zones. Malaysia was trickier than Australia. 

Grip is a touch more important here, with the winding, bending turns 1 & 2, the sweeping turns 5 & 6, and the sequence from turns 9 to 14 all requiring good downforce. It’s easy to let the car drift wide at turns 11 & 13, by carrying too much speed and too little grip. Meanwhile, turn 4 is a beefy and bumpy right-hander and turn 9 is a similar beast (only 9 is a left-hander). Meanwhile, turn 7 requires only a gentle application of the brakes, proving faster than it looks, and turn 8 is flat out. 

The practice sessions, once I had found my rhythm, brought about some good times. The aforementioned danger points did get the better of me a few times, but by and large, I had nailed the track. Unfortunately for me, every practice session took place in dry conditions, and Q1? Torrential downpour. In fact, it’s the first occasion I can think of where full wets were required. With zero practice in wet conditions, I would end up qualifying last, a second slower than the next slowest car. 

Had the race itself been a wet one, I doubt it would have yielded any points. Thankfully, the race itself was to be dry, and therefore I felt I’d have a chance. Still, coming right from the back… Well, I would just have to see how things went! The start of the race was excellent – I was late on the brakes into the first corner and managed to jump several cars, getting up to 11th, and by the end of the first couple of laps I was in ninth. 

My chase of the points positions was on. As the laps progressed I’d manage to sneak my way the field, including some nice drag races down the outside of the final straight, before diving down turn 15 and using my better exit to blast past several cars. Then came the most fun moment of the race. 

Barichello was leading but I was closing in nicely, and on lap nine (I think) I was racing side by side with him down the back straight. Once again I darted down the inside of turn 15, and a second drag race took place toward turn 1. Barichello had a little too much pace so I stayed behind him around turns 1, 2 and 3, then lunged down the inside of turn 4.

So, I now led the race, and truthfully I hadn’t expected to end up in that position. With the first set of stops looming, I eked out a gap of around 6.5 seconds, but would slide back down the order after my stop. It was a short-lived situation, as I would soon catch and pass Barichello again. 

From that point on I would build a substantial lead, and would close out a remarkable and unlikely victory. It’s the first time I’ve won from the back of the grid, and it means I am up and running in my title defence. Sebastian Vettel (who had been second in Australia) was also second here, so he leads the title race, but I am coming from him!

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I tweeted this earlier but I feel my latest act of brilliance is worthy of a more thorough recap. It’s right up there with asking if Tango & Cash was ‘the one with the dog’ or mixing up my pronunciation of Kirk and Spock (I’ll leave that one to your imagination).

I’m not always a morning person. Sometimes I am, and sometimes, like this morning, I’m not. Still, time waits for no one and besides, the bins needed putting out. So I roused myself, slightly earlier than usual, then set about: emptying the food bin, putting out the rubbish sacks, feeding the cats, making tea and making myself some breakfast. At some stage, my brain decided it was time to do things a little differently. 

Yes folks, I had a eureka moment. I decided it made perfect sense to pour boiling water over my bran flakes. Mmmm, soggy. 

As realisation dawned (and why was I still pouring, even as said dawning took place???), I ordered a full reverse. The cereal was salvageable, albeit a bit warmer than I’d planned for. 

Stay tuned to see if I repeat this remarkable achievement tomorrow! 

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