Didn't come straight home tonight. Qualies finished late, so I ran into 4 "English-Aussies" who were really good blokes and understood F1 on a passionate level. I just finished polishing off 5 rounds of beer and dinner with the boys. Really good people around this area.
A brief note, about my seating issue. If I rip bookf1.com with zeal, I should also note their efforts to correct the situation. Seems the ticket reissue thing is a Sepang Circuit thing. So, when I got to the track, I went to my designated area by showing my ticket, then I just walked through the grandstands to where I wanted to sit. A customer service rep searched the entire grandstands for me, and when he finally found me, he told me I could keep my original seat, and also sit anywhere on the lower deck that I wanted. This isn't what I asked for (moving my seat to a better upper deck location), but was better than what they originally offered me. He mentioned they'd received my email and were working hard to fix the situation. I thanked him. It's not what I wanted, but bookf1.com made a solid effort to correct the situation. It's not perfect, but I must note the effort.
Saturday notes:
- There was a dude in a Ferrari shirt near me, with a huge telescopic lenses, taking nothing but diffuser shots through T9. I thought it was interesting, but he might just be a regular photog trying to get a nice shot of the cars climbing the hill through that hairpin.
- Lewis' first lap in Q3 was super committed. Obvious by the fact that he was 1.6s clear of anyone, but it looked it. That unusual line he was taking through T9 in the dry was the same as in the wet. I think he's found a line that carries the most speed through that corner. I don't think hitting the apex maximizes that turn.
- As qualies was starting, you could see the clouds rolling in. Rain wasn't a question of if, but when. At the end of Q2, I looked down the back straight and you could see the rain filling in the gap between the mountains in the backdrop. As soon as the guys started their out lap, I pointed into the distance for a nearby fan, and we both shared the same grin. Incoming rain on this circuit is crazy.
- I was counting the seconds between lightning and thunder, and I don't think any of the lightning strikes got within 5 miles of the circuit. It made for s nice light show though.
- The grandstands on the straight leak like a mofo. There are tarps over the whole thing, but all it does is funnel the collected water down to the support pillars, where it just sprays gallons of water all over the place.
- The water and rain was welcome. Ambient actually got chilly for literally a few minutes. LOL.
- Vettel's lap was impressive. The track was drying, but he put together a phenomenal lap, whereas Lewis never improved on his first.
- Kimi was a victim of circumstance. Q3 was determined by the order guys left the pits. Lewis was so close to the car in front, he never had a chance of putting in a good lap. He got lucky. The rain hit T8 on the sole hot lap of Q2. It was nuts.
- This was a very dramatic qualification session. More so than I can remember in a while.
- LOL McLaren. That car and engine is bad. They're not running much down force as evidenced by the lack of sparks on the straights...and their slow ass times.
- Who is this guy in the #3 RBR in saw today with a serious face? Where's my grinning Danny Ricky at?
- Contrary to what I assumed yesterday, the Mercs were braking earlier into T15 than most other cars. I found this surprising, given how they demolished other teams on dry pace, and how good Lewis is under braking. I've no idea where they're making their time if it's not under braking. It's probably just that corner though.
- While I'm sweating more than anyone else I see, I'm not smelling as bad.
- All 5 of us tonight agreed that the sport is headed in the wrong direction, revenue sharing needs to be implemented in F1 and privateers are an essential part of motorsports. (We're not alone, GAF)
- We also agreed that GP2 needs to be a bigger part of F1, so we can watch the progression and development of future F1 drivers. Feeder series should do more than fill in gaps in the weekend schedule.
- The Supras I wanted to win the MSS series, didn't do that well. One of them got taken out at the first corner, and the other gained a few positions in the first few laps, but faded after that. The car was lacking in power. It explains why they didn't grab pole despite being significantly better on brakes on their flying laps. Best brakes in the field, but the Integras and Evos were far superior in overall package.
- My boy F. Yu in the TCR series was dog slow. A minutes off the pace after the first lap, but looks like he closed time to the leaders overall. This series is new, so I expect good things over time.
- The Malaysian Super Series race was awesome. The winner was some fat Asian dude who had to be giving up at least 50lbs to the next driver. He dusted the field, and not on some car advantage. Very impressive. The guy who finished 3rr in an Integra deserves a tile sponsor. If he didn't have a poor start, he would've run down the leaders. Very impressive driving from him.
- The safety car has a really cool sounding horn. I've never heard it once before, but today it got stuck behind a barrier in the support paddock and released this musical-sounding horn a few times. Very cool.
- Aussie accents >> British accents
- Malaysia serves huge beers. 660mL each. I'm sloshed right now.
Meeting up with the guys tomorrow. I'm very glad to run into these guys. They not only gave me company to discuss F1 and sports in depth, but also directed me to a good restaurant near my hotel that'll make the rest of my stay much more palletable. I'm warming back up to the idea of buying fix to CoTA. Here's to a great race tomorrow. PEACE.
EDIT: Walked right past Will Buxton today. I'm taller than him. I didn't say hi, as I realized who he was too late. I also used to consider him a muppet, but I would've thanked him for that awesome Lewis article he wrote.
