Thanks Dana. Yeah, F1 for me is a mixed bag right now. Here's where I am for those interested: I think Kimi has talent, but his personality conflicts with what F1 is all about to me: adrenaline, thrill, excitement, bravado, balls, drama (on/off track), etc. Meanwhile Massa lacks the charisma and confidence that he has earned--which is frustrating to watch every week. He still puts himself in Schumi's shadow as his mentor. I wish he would break free of that and step it up hard. He started to last season. Good luck to him this season. Candidly, I would like to see him win this year. His heart is invested and his driving is improving. I just don't know if he has the balls to battle with Lewis at key moments. Ferrari--as a team and constructor--is a fascinating, well greased machine. They manage well. They execute (except for their stupid lollypop substitute and the fuel debacles). It's all or nothing every week.

McLaren, as a team has been nothing short of fascinating to watch grow since Kimi left. Better put, since Lewis arrived. He has made the team what it is. Whenever I have F1 on my mind, I still start reeling from the Lewis-Fernando pit debacle in 2007--who can forget that?!!! He is McLaren. He is probably the best consumate driver on the grid right now. But the rest of the team leaves something to be desired. They sometimes make odd strategic decisions to keep Lewis out too long, bad tyre choices etc. So McLaren for me is all about Lewis, and--for what's it's worth--I think he's the most talented on the grid right now. Kov . . . well, I like his enthusiasm. We'll see what McLaren comes with next week (YES!!! only one more week!!!! Finally!!), as they have said and seem to be slightly off pace. Note: I think they are holding back though.

BMW has also been fun to watch. As a constructor and team, I liken them to Ferrari--mostly good decisions, well executed, reliable. It's been exciting to watch Kubica rip out of Turkey07GP to where he is now. His offtrack drama has been an issue, I think, with Thiessen and the team's performance in the off season. We'll see if he's matured at all and what he brings. I've always like Heidfeld. He's there to race and fight. His speed needs to improve, though.

Alonzo. What do you say about Fern? He's a fallen star that is on the rise. I think he and resilient, unrelenting Renault are the joker in the deck this season. They finished 08 strong. Fern is somewhat obnoxious to me, but he is a very talented driver on the whole. Dare I say it publicly, I would put him as second-most talented to Lewis right now. He just doesn't have the right equipment at the moment like he did in 06 and 05. If he mounted a prancing pony this season, I could easily see him taking it all. What I do like about him is his cut-throat competitive attitude every week. Too bad he's a whinner. As a team, Renault should be exciting. They have a sharp principal who knows how to win. Piquet needs more experience, but we all remember the GP last year where he led and fought Lewis for a while.

Red Bull is all about Vettel right now. He's still on the rise. he has good equipment and now he just needs to use it week in and week out to make a difference. The team is FLUSH with $$$, so there is no shortage for R+D there. I am definitely a Vettel face, and hope he penetrates further this year.

The other team for me worth noting right now is obviously BrawnGP. What is going on there?!!! I mean, they go from crappy Honda with the aero package of a Cheverolet to best pace on Brawn's dime. Barichello knows how to win and has almost too much experience. Jensen Button has the drive and heart; we've never seen Button *consistently* contend for the poduim (yes, i know, he did win Turkey two years ago). It remains to be seen whether they are legitimately ahead of the pace or if the other teams are merely holding back. For me, at a minimum, they are an exciting development.

All in all, my dream team would be: Ferrari team and pit crew; Ferrari equipment and engineering; Lewis behind the wheel.

 

^^Had a lot you wanted to discuss I see^^

I can see dealing with ol'Luca Di Mont as being a serious pain in the ass. Todt probably got to a point where his little french self decided it was time to spend more time with the wife, oh yeah and that he never had to work again in his life. Interesting to see what his son continues to do with this racing management career.

 

you would rate him as second most talented yet if he was in a red car you could see him easily taking it all? with the parity between red and silver cars that would mean your gut tells you alonso is the most talented rather than lewis...and your instinct would be right imo.

alonso needs to be in a red car, his talents, racecraft, and cunning are wasted anywhere else. ferrari is the only team that could truly appreciate what he brings to the table. he is the most schumacher-like of any of the current crop of drivers. although i respect every driver on the grid and believe that virtually any of them could win in proper machinery, i would have to rate alonso P1 at the moment. his killer instinct sets him apart.

 

What he said...

Alonso needs to be in red period and I think he will wind up there. No one has more balls on the track.. Oh, I meant to say "Killer Instinct"

 

I think there are two important things to think about here in relation to Brawn GP's potential for success. First of all, since Brawn bought the team and was financing everything with his own money, he probably left his mark on absolutely everything going into the cars and drivers to make sure it was absolutely perfect and not one cent was wasted. He's gotta watch his investment, obviously, but he also knows exactly what he is doing as well. The other thing that could really make Brawn GP a contender this season is the fact that while both Rubens and Jenson are very talented drivers in their own right, it's been ages since either of them had a go in a decent car. Now they've got a car that has simply been leaving everyone for dead in the practice sessions and a huge increase in confidence. Not just in the cars they'll be driving, but in themselves as drivers. I think this will be the single deadliest aspect of the team because it's like Brawn has woken not just one sleeping beast, but two. Rubens and Jenson will complement each other very nicely on the track this year, much like Massa and Kimi support each other at Ferrari.

That got a little long winded but those are my thoughts on Brawn GP at the moment. I'd really love to see them make some tremendous progress this year and I'm really hoping the speed they've been showing in practice lately isn't all just a bunch of hype. These guys are the definition of "underdog".