"Dear Michael, today, January 3rd, you have a birthday. You're blowing out 43 candles, you've been dyeing your hair for at least six years, you have two children, you probably don't even know about millions in the bank. Other than 'Poor old Michael'.
But is the championship played between March and November or between November and March?! In short, in the last two weeks we have witnessed New Year's Eve bangs in advance... First of all, the bang of bangs. Kimi's return. Everyone thought he didn't care about F1 anymore, after experiences in WRC and Nascar, and here he is on the grid.
For our F1 student drivers it is time for end-of-season grades, so as to definitively close the 2011 school year and concentrate fully on 2012. I made use of my small Facebook user group for the grades, so as to create a minimum of interaction and also bring an 'extra' voice for seasonal votes. And I'm happy with the fact that, overall, the opinions reflect my impressions more or less. Apart from a few small differences, I see that fortunately the sensations are as hoped for.
I read (in bed..) the comments on the previous article. Even on our forum the story of what we can call a "defense ban" for 2012 has turned everyone's noses up. It also made something happen for me. And I'm happy I'm not the only one. I have been passionate about this sport since I was little, for what it gave me in terms of emotions and entertainment.
After a few days of rest and an 'extra' visit to Motorionline (an article on Smog in Milan), I express a small concern about what I read in the new 2012 F1 regulations. Going in order, some reflections on some of the rules introduced:
The first impression of the mobile wing was negative. When I saw the first images on Youtube of Kobayashi's Sauber, with the flap going up and down, I thought "next lap they'll take inspiration from Fast and Furious and who knows what they'll invent".
I have not yet read defeatist articles on Kaiser Schumi's second season of return. Even those who widely criticized him (or derided him, you see) both in 2010 and 2011, these days are strangely benevolent towards the Official Uncle of the Circus, who I remember will be 43 years old in a month or so (3 January). Also this year Unk obtained fewer points than Nico. But there are some nice positive aspects to his progress.
Two days have passed since the end of the 2011 World Cup. But it already feels like weeks. Because he had been closed for a while, and had nothing to say except for the backup positions and the fight for second place, which had little or nothing interesting. Here, two days and the first winter bomb arrives, namely Kimi's return to F1. It wasn't a surprise, the contacts were there, we knew. I was told 'Watch out for Kimi' as recently as two weeks ago. The Williams hypothesis puzzled me. However, that's good, one more World Champion is always welcome.
This period marks the twentieth anniversary of Ayrton Senna's victory in the last World Championship. Ayrton is the demonstration of how sporting and non-sporting legends can survive the law of time and always be present in the minds of fans and those who loved them dearly.