Thursday 9 October 2008

Dentist Anyone...?

The orthodonitst after taking out the braces from my mouth asked me to take a walk down the corridor to the chambers of the periodontist, who would disinfect my gums. As a consequence of having braces for so many months one of my molars had caught an infection and had to be reccomended to an endodontist who would perform a root canal treatment. Alas, he only had to cast one eye on my dying calcium chunk before he rushed me off to the exodontist for a tooth removal process. The exodontist who had also spent time pouring over huge volumes of pedodontia told me some spine chilling stories of children he had treated.

Wednesday 1 October 2008

Formula 1 - What it is all about?

Many of us look at those fancy compact cars of Formula 1 as alien vehicles that are helpful only in ozone depletion. However, irrespective of the minuscule negative effect that these cars must be having on the environment, they actually serve a wonderful purpose - that of keeping people entertained, a single race has managed to keep me on the edge of my seat on many occasions. And as all major automobile manufacturers have a Formula 1 team, developments in these cars trickle to passenger cars over the years. So with a two fold positive effect that they have, it is a pity that many of us are not following Formula 1 only because it seems like a technical sport and not just like a simple car race. I will try to put together some information about this sport and present it in such a way so that you could become a beginner in the art of distinguishing between a constructor and a driver championship.

As off 2008 there are 18 F1 races held every year. These cover 5 continents and 17 countries in all. Spain got to hold two races this year, one in Barcelona and another in Valencia. In the past some countries have hosted two races in a year, generally the second race is called the European Grand Prix, the first one being the name of the country. Major countries that have featured a F1 race include Great Britain (Silverstone - Also the home of British Grand Prix), Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, China, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Morocco, Australia, South Africa, Canada, Bahrain, Portugal, Swithzerland, USA, Mexico, Hungary, Monaco, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Netherlands. In the near future India is also to join the league. Not all of the above mentioned countries hold a grand prix anymore. Surprisingly though there is no race to be held in USA for 2008 and 2009, due to differences between Formula 1 organizational body and the Indianapolis (where the official American grand prix was held every year till 2007) Motor Speedway.

There are 11 teams in all (In 2008, but this may vary), the most popular ones being Ferrari, Mclaren Mercedes, BMW, Williams, Toro Rosso, Toyota and Honda. A number of teams have pulled out of the championship over the years due to financial reasons. Some teams also merge to reduce cost and share technology. Ferrari is the most successful team winning the championship 15 times since it started in 1950. Each team has two representatives in the race, so the performance of the team is dependent on two instead of just one driver. Whereas the points collected by an individual driver are dependent only on the performance of the car and the driver on the race day.

A race is held on a Sunday and generally there is at least a gap of two weeks between races. Though there have been instances where the race is held on consecutive Sundays. Saturdays are kept for qualifying rounds and Fridays for practice and getting familiarized to the track. So a formula 1 programme is generally a three day saga, drama packed action from Friday to Sunday. Generally Friday is boring and just gives an idea of how the race could proceed.

Unlike many other sports, a Formula 1 race is a combined team and individual event where both are taking place simultaneously. This is different from a game like tennis, where an individual victory in a Davis cup tie would mean nothing if a team loses a best of five. After every race, both the driver and the team are awarded points depending on their position. There are points only for the first 8 positions in the race, thus out of the 20 drivers that start the race only 8 end up with points. The driver who comes first gets 10 points, second gets 8, third gets 6 and 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grab 5,4,3,2 and 1 point(s) respectively. And all these points add on to determine who the champion is at the end of the year, which is generally decided after the Brazilian Grand Prix, the last one of the year to be held in November. There are two championships, the drivers and the constructors. Former being self explanatory, latter is for the team and is determined by the sum total of all the points collected by its two drivers in all the races held throughout the year. Some of the technical terms are explained below.

The Pole Position – In Formula 1 the beginning of the race is very important, who stands up front is determined by qualifying rounds that are held a day before on Saturday. The person in the front can hold back the guys behind him by not letting them overtake, which gives him a position of power. If used tactfully, it can be used to get a podium finish. This position is called the Pole position.

Qualifying Rounds (Q1, Q2 and Q3) – There are three qualifying rounds held on Saturday. The most important one being Q3, in which only ten participants are allowed. Before the Q3 is the Q1 and Q2. In the Q1 all the cars hit an empty track for 20 minutes and each driver's fastest lap time is recorded; the last five are not included in Q2. Grid positions 15-20 are put out depending on their lap times. In the second qualifying session, the remaining cars (15 for 2008), hit the empty track again (for 15 minutes this time) and the fastest lap time of each one determines if they will go through to Q1 or not. The top ten from Q2 make it to the most crucial and the final session. The last period also known as the 'Pole Position Shootout' runs for 10 minutes and again the fastest lap times determine their position on the grid from 1-10. The driver at position 1 stands at the pole position and gets maximum advantage in the race on Sunday.

There are loads of other technical terms that would mean nothing till you get into the race and start following it seriosuly. But for now as a beginner, this should be enough information for you to get into and start talking FORMULA 1. Enjoy!

To follow this sport, check out www.formula1.com.