Kimi led the procession, taking the point to Felipe and Hammy home in 1.5 hour snoozer up front. The impressive Renault P2 qualifying run by Fernando Alonso proved the ING squad made some ground to the front runners, but his story flatlined early with a big engine failure. Judging by the world feed video, it looked as if the Spanish crowd collectively were kicked in the groin. Beyond that, up front, I’m not sure if we witnessed a Grand Prix or Parade Laps at the Circuit de Catalunya, save Hekki Kovalainen’s huge shunt. Ferrari easily controlled the pace and undoubtedly slowed pace in preservation mode in the last quarter of the race, as Lewis and Kubica held station at an arms length. At least Kimi is holding up his bargain on making me look somewhat knowledgeable of F1.
Ok that might have been a harsh summary of the Barcelona GP, in the mid-packer world, attrition ruled the day. With Heikki’s big crash and Heidfeld being totally caught out by the ridiculous safety car rules, the door was open for some of the mid-packers to capitalize. Mark Webber, Jenson Button and Kaz Nakajima did just that, keeping their noses clean and running consistent on their way to P6 and P7. Webber is proving that ole’ DC might be obsolete, Honda finally has something to cheer for, and Kaz can relish his first points as a driver.
Next Stop? The Turkish Grand Prix, where the gap between Ferrari and McLaren was close to nil in 07. Continuing to hitch my wagon to Ferrari, I’m giving them odds over McLaren. Going back to another Tilke circuit though, I think the gap from McLaren to BMW will be razor thin and may be the one to watch. After a snoozer Grand Prix in Spain, I’ll go with Ferrari, Mclaren and BMW snoozer of a prediction.
