ATLAS F1   Volume 7, Issue 10 Email to Friend   Printable Version
Atlas F1   The Formula One Insider
  by Mitchell McCann, U.S.A.

GRAHAM BEVERIDGE; REST IN PEACE

It's very hard to be frivolous and light hearted when the sport we use as a momentary diversion becomes a matter of life and death. I'm sure I speak for race fans everywhere when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Graham Beveridge. Sad to say but we know from recent experience that Bernie Ecclestone, the teams, drivers and the entire Formula One community will do what they can to help the family and we can only hope that this in some small way makes their loss a little easier to bear.

I am not going to comment on the accident or the safety measures of the track because while being ignorant and opinionated is normally my stock in trade, it would be entirely inappropriate in this case. No doubt this tragedy will be thoroughly investigated and we can hope that the results of that investigation will help to ensure that these kinds of accidents become even more infrequent.

AND YES THERE WAS A RACE

Although they should probably consider lengthening the average GP by about 50% to make up for the vast number of laps we seem to be running behind a Mercedes these days (and I don't mean David's or Mika's). While the season is still young there was plenty to stoke the fires of optimists and pessimists alike. For non-tifosi pessimists and Ferrari optimists, Schumacher's easy domination holds the promise of a season that will be decided before they even get back to Europe. Coulthard professing satisfaction with second, assures the conservatives among us that all is right in a world where everything else seems subject to change. Two Saubers in the points, a Minardi in the points (well it would be if this was CART), and two Jags at the finish line promise an interesting battle behind the Big Two but the gap between the FerrcLarens and the rest holds out not hope of a season with three winning teams. But, by all accounts, next season should be really exciting! But isn't it always.

WHINERS AND LOSERS

In any race there must always be a loser but only in F1 must there always be whiners and losers - sometimes they're even the same person. Frentzen's whining about Barrichello and Barrichello's moaning about Alonso, Irvine (there's a shock) is complaining about …oh who cares! He's complaining about somebody that's faster than him. Meanwhile, seems everybody has stopped complaining about Kimi Raikkonen although Max Mosley, strangely, could not be reached for comment. I guess Kimi gets to keep the keys for another couple of weeks anyway.

2001 PREDICTIONS

Last week you may have seen my predictions for the 2001 championships. Those were of course just for fun. Here are my real predictions:

  • Barrichello will formally renounce his number 1A status in return for an occasional peak at Michael's telemetry.
  • David Coulthard will win the championship next year.
  • At a special ceremony in July, Niki Lauda will be formally introduced to the entire Jaguar team who will all pretend not to recognize him. Having shaved off his moustache in a desperate attempt to emulate Norbert Haug, Bobby Rahal will be asked to put some more paper in the men's room.
  • Somebody will protest something (again).
  • Max Mosley will be re-elected and Bernie will lose F1 to Kermit the Frog in a game of poker.
  • Honda will quickly tire of being torn between two lovers, feeling like a fool. Eddie Jordan and Craig Pollock will take it outside and settle it in the car park.

AND FINALLY

I thought foot and mouth was what Eddie Irvine suffered from.

Mitch McCann© 2007 autosport.com
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