The Curious Case Of Jenson Button...And Briatore?

As you guys know that today is the ‘D’ day that everyone been waiting for, specially me, yeah…today is the race day of Singaporean Night Grand Prix. It’s the only night race in Formula One and since I missed the last year race over my busy schedule (yeah…right!) then of course, I won’t miss it again this year since it was only two and a half hours flight from Bali to Singapore. So yeah, despite on how expensive the accommodation during the race period is, but what the heck…I am so coming!
Formula One race is one of the biggest events in sports calendar since it was full of prestigious, glamour, and sophisticated people in the world of sports and life style. Most of the driver were always have pretty girls by their side, such as supermodels, singer, actress, or socialites. So don’t be surprise if you come to the events and accidentally bump in to someone familiar to your wall of fame. Yeah, it was more like having an award show in front of you, only with a little sporty touch in it. Not to mention all of those parties that arranged by almost every major clubs in town and all you have to do is just flash your F1 ticket then you can enter any of those party, yay! And since Singapore is a very tiny country, then of course, they don’t have any race track. So, just like Budapest and Monaco, we are talking about street track here and actually that is what makes it more interesting. Unlike Monaco and Budapest, where the tracks were pretty boring and having less overtaking points, this street track is more challenging as it is more bumpy and more dusty. Not to mention the heat and the humidity of the weather, so yeah…it’s going to be tough.
On the practice sessions, Hamilton made the best record together with Red Bull team who was using Ferrari technology for their engine. My favorite was always Button, well…at least since Montoya quit then doing those NASCAR things, then yeah…I have no choice, do I? So if you ask how I feel about yesterday qualifying, then the answer is…for sure, deeply, terribly, disappointed. Why? Because Button was not even made it to third session qualifying! Therefore, he has to start at twelve position on the race tonight. Duh! But yeah, seeing him during practice sessions, I was knew that he wasn’t that confidence about this race as he was one of the driver who constantly complained about the heat, the dusts, and the bumps on the road. But to be honest with you, I think that what makes any street track unique and challenging as it is actually a normal road. And despite on any complaints that made by the drivers, the authorities in Singapore actually already tried their best to fixed the conditions. And compared with last year, this year condition is way more acceptable and if you can say, of course, driver friendly. But of course, it was nothing like a real track and yeah, it still bumpy for sure. I can understand why Button had an issue about this and seeing his body language at the practice sessions these last couple of days, I can see how he felt so annoying and maybe threatening?
That’s it then, my interest on this year Grand Prix was ended last night together with Button’s failure. But I still have another interest on the race since it was the first race where Flavio Briatore won’t be at the pit of Renault team anymore. Yeah, for those who haven’t follow the Grand Prix lately, then let me tell you something. Everything was started by an accident caused by Renault young and promising driver Nelson Piquet, Jr at the Singapore Grand Prix last year. And you got it right, if you guessed that he is indeed a son of the legend Nelson Piquet. Here is the thing, when he was just about finishing his contract with the team this year, he was trying to renew his deal with maybe a little bit raised and since he was ordered by the team to crashed last time so Alonso could win the race, then of course, he used that as a weapon. He was kind of threatening the team that he will speak up if they are not renew his contract with a better deal. This thing is not supposed to be a problem as anyone would do the trick anyway. But what makes this one different was when someone inside the team spilt the beans then the F1 authority found out then questioning Piquet. Yeah, at the end of the day, he had to tell the truth and faced the consequences, which was fired from Renault and everyone reckons that he won’t get any job in Formula One ever again. So much for his new deal, eh?
And as a consequences for the team, earlier this week Renault received a two-year suspended ban from the sport, as for Briatore, he was banned indefinitely from motor sport and Pat Symonds, 55, who was the team's engineering director, was banned for five years. Both men had already resigned from the team, on Sept,16. What a drama! So of course, we won’t see the charismatic old man with his long silver hair who was so intense with the race, managing Renault team ever again. And yeah, for me it was kind of weird seeing Renault without Briatore, as for me, he was the mascot of the team just like Schumacher for Ferrari. Then yeah, we will see how Renault technical director Bob Bell taking over Briatore’s position on the race tonight. It won’t be the same, though.

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