ADVERT: Brazil vs Argentina

Before a football game between Brazil and Argentina, a condom company from Argentina came out with this ad.


Brazil won, and this is how their football association replied.







Technorati Tags: Football ads, advertisement, brazil vs Argentina

What The Hell Was That??????

I would like to announce a reward of Rs 50 (not much, but what can you expect from a kid?) that will go to the first person who can explain to me, properly, WHAT JUST HAPPENED AT MONACO! The entire race was filled with incident and controversy. First Schumi's pole position being stripped, quite deservedly, if I may say so, and going to Fernando Alonso. It isn't the first time in his life Michael has tried pulling a fast one (can you say Damon Hill?).
Schumi made up for it almost as soon as the race started, moving up from 22nd position (and starting from the pit lane) to climb to 16th within a few laps. A one stop strategy further helped his rise up the standings.
Of course, that wasn't the only eventful part of the first few laps. Kimi almost overtook Webber right at the start, and then did so a lap later, in a daring move that could have found him slammed into a wall if he didn't do it fast enough. Kimi kept closing in on Alonso as the race progressed.
Alonso, tried to slow things down, hence causing Webber and Montoya to catch Kimi and cause problems. Then Alonso had a few problems of his own as the front four got caught in heavy traffic, which finally resulted in Alonso and Kimi lapping the 8th placed driver (and we thought it would be difficult to overtake at Monte Carlo!). In his effort to get past Fisichella, Webber's car stalled and started smoking. The safety car was called onto track.
This should have been Kimi's chance to catch Alonso. Instead, the Mclaren once again got into its vintage pattern of all speed, no reliability, stopping completely because it slowed down (if only my dad's car could do that. It would make him speed up when the bicycles look ready to overtake!). Anyway, as a McLaren fan, I can at least be thankful that this car had a little bit of the pace that last year's car did.

Anyway, by this time, Schumacher had made use of the two trips for the safety car (this would go up to 3 when 3rd placed Trulli pulled up some laps later) by closing in, and then overtaking when it became legal. Usual Schumi style, he took every half chance available to do so, not really mindful how risky the manouevre. Don't forget, this is the same guy who barged his own teammate Barrichello to overtake him on the last lap last year. Again, they found themselves in a race for fourth position, but on different teams this time.
In the end, Barrichello managed to hold on to fourth, with the top three comprising Alonso, Montoya and Coulthard, respectively.
Did you get all that? Nahh!!! Don't worry about it if you didn't. I am still trying to comprehend what happened myself. Only way to get a decent idea of the story of the race, if you didn't watch it, is to do so when the repeat telecast comes. In the meantime, the final result could help you get a fair idea of the way the championship standings are going.

POS	DRIVER	NATIONALITY	ENTRANT	TIRE	LAPS	TIME/RETIRE
1.	Fernando Alonso	Spain	Renault		78	1h43m43.116
2.	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombia	McLaren-Mercedes		78	14.5
3.	David Coulthard	Britain	Red Bull-Ferrari		78	52.2
4.	Rubens Barrichello	Brazil	Honda		78	53.3
5.	Michael Schumacher	Germany	Ferrari		78	53.8
6.	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italy	Renault		78	1m02.0
7.	Nick Heidfeld	Germany	Sauber-BMW		77	1 Lap
8.	Ralf Schumacher	Germany	Toyota		77	1 Lap
9.	Felipe Massa	Brazil	Ferrari		77	1 Lap
10.	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italy	Toro Rosso-Cosworth		77	1 Lap
11.	Jenson Button	Britain	Honda		77	1 Lap
12.	Christijan Albers	Netherlands	MF1-Toyota		77	1 Lap
13.	Scott Speed	United States	Toro Rosso-Cosworth		77	1 Lap
14.	Jacques Villeneuve	Canada	Sauber-BMW		77	1 Lap
15.	Tiago Monteiro	Portugal	MF1-Toyota		76	2 Laps
16.	Franck Montagny	France	Super Aguri-Honda		76	2 Laps
17.	Jarno Trulli	Italy	Toyota		78	6 Laps
R	Christian Klien	Austria	Red Bull-Ferrari		56
R	Nico Rosberg	Germany	Williams-Cosworth		51	Accident
R	Kimi Raikkonen	Finland	McLaren-Mercedes		50
R	Mark Webber	Australia	Williams-Cosworth		48
R	Takuma Sato	Japan	Super Aguri-Honda		46

That's it for now. Alonso's success continues, and so does Spain's sprting renaissance. Can this period of good fortune for the nation carry on into the World Cup and the rest of the Formula One season? Let's wait and watch.

PACE of Alonso and Kimi

Small Update, showing the competition level:

Lap 28:  SEC1    SEC 2        SEC 3
ALO        20.5      38.7            18.9
KIMI         20.5      38.7            18.9


Absolutely brilliant stuff.

Schumi got what he Deserved

" Michael Schumacher has been moved to the back
of the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix after stewards concluded that he
deliberately blocked the track in the closing stages of qualifying, preventing
rivals from beating his time. " - F1.com

Tifosi may cry to whatever extent they want, but if
they think with an open mind, as i mentioned in the last post, his act (he
locked his brakes as he entered the rascasse corner, though he got the control
back without hitting anything, but stalled his car) has costed alonso his pole,
which he has now been given.

Apart from this, i hope this decision, will check the
excessive I-AM-THE-GOD attitude of schumacher, which will be good not only for
the f1 fans but also for him.


btw, as i hoped yesterday, raikkonen did pass p2
williams to get second on track in a brilliant move, at the first corner, and
also clocked the fastest lap during the lap 2. Lap 14 is going on right
now, and schumi has already got up to p16, but his main challenge will be to
get atleast in the points. (It reminds me of last year, when kimi claimed p2
and p3 even after starting right from the back of the grid).


bye for now, and yes, happy racing!!!

Technorati Tags: Kimi raikkonen, schumacher penalty, monaco qualifying

Formula 1: Monaco Qualifying

Well, it really looked that after a dark start for the season (on a relative scale), kimi raikkonen was all set to get to the top, even in the session with the last 16 cars, he got p1, but unfortunately he ended up getting p4 in the final standings, with schumi and alonso forming the first row, and a brilliant performance by webber in williams getting him p3.

Well, even in the final session, kimi has the fastest first sector time, but that doesn't really please me as this is one of the slowest circuits in the world, and perhaps mclaren still haven't got their speed back, and it is just due outstanding driving by kimi that he got those times.

Well on the race day, i hope he doesn't get stuck behind the slower williams and overtakes it right at the start, and for heaven's sake this time McLaren gets their pit stop strategy right, then there is some hope for this guy.

well, in the dying minutes, schumi got a nag with his car and that delayed alonso behind him, which has alonso the pole, now do we smell something over here or is it just a itch in the mind of a McLaren fan.




Technorati Tags: Formula 1, Kimi Raikkonen, Monaco GP

Formula 1 Trivia - Part II

It was only in the 1920's when single seater cars came out,till then two seater's were used. Single seaters came out beacuse of the development of (would you believe it) rear view mirrors, Since the primary use of the second seat mechanic was to warn when another driver was going to overtake!!


THE McLaren MP4 means:
In 1980 Marlboro forced a merger between McLaren and Ron Dennis' Project Four Racing, who had a carbon-fibre F1 car designed by John Barnard on the stocks. This became the McLaren MP4/1 which rescued the team's competitiveness. Eventually Teddy Mayer left the team he helped to found, leaving Dennis in sole charge.Thus the 1st MP4 /1 was out, The first true McLaren was the M1, also known as the McLaren-Elva-Oldsmobile Mark 1 when it was productionised by Trojan.

 From a normal seating position, with all seat belts fastened, and whilst wearing his usual driving equipment, a driver must be able to remove the steering wheel and get out of the car within five seconds and then replace the steering wheel within a total of 10 seconds.

In 1988 Mclaren drivers Prost and Senna won 15 out of 16 races in a season, McLaren scored 199 constructor points. McLaren recorded 15 pole positions,and they would have won the last race of the season too leading till the last lap. All these records set that year hold to date. - yeah i am mclaren fan ;-)

Did you know that Starting No's for the cars are given to the constructor and not to the car driver, except for the current world champion, whichever team he joins will get no 1 no for the car and his teammate will get the No. 2 number.This rule was removed in 1996 and the previous years results determine the No. of the car, also No. 13 is removed from the starting No's.

FIFA World Cup Preview- Ecuador (Group A)

Ecuador
1 GK VILLAFUERTE Edwin - (Deportivo Quito, ECU)
2 DF GUAGUA Jorge - (El Nacional, ECU)
3 DF HURTADO Ivan - (Al Arabi, QAT)
4 DF DE LA CRUZ Ulises - (Aston Villa, ENG)
5 DF PERLAZA Jose - (Olmedo, ECU)
6 MF URRUTIA Patricio - (LDU Quito, ECU)
7 MF LARA Christian - (El Nacional, ECU)
8 MF MENDEZ Edison - (LDU Quito, ECU)
9 FW BORJA Felix - (El Nacional, ECU)
10 FW KAVIEDES Ivan - (Argentinos Juniors, ARG)
11 FW DELGADO Agustin - (LDU Quito, ECU)
12 GK MORA Cristian - (LDU Quito, ECU)
13 DF AMBROSSI Paul - (LDU Quito, ECU)
14 MF CASTILLO Segundo - (El Nacional, ECU)
15 MF AYOVI Marlon - (Deportivo Quito, ECU)
16 MF VALENCIA Luis - (Recreativo Huelva, ESP)
17 DF ESPINOZA Giovanny - (LDU Quito, ECU)
18 DF REASCO Neicer - (LDU Quito, ECU)
19 MF SARITAMA Luis - (Deportivo Quito, ECU)
20 MF TENORIO Edwin - (Barcelona, ECU)
21 FW TENORIO Carlos - (Al Sadd, QAT)
22 GK LANZA Damian - (Aucas, ECU)
23 FW BENITEZ Christian - (El Nacional, ECU)

Coach: Luis Fernando Suarez (not to be confused with Spanish football legend Luis Suarez)


This squad came through South American qualifying without much bother, finishing third behind Brazil and Argentina. They will find the finals a much tougher prospect, however, as they face younger, fresher teams in their group.
The core of the team remains much the same. There are, however, some bright, young faces such as forward Cristian Benitez. The star players still remain Aston Villa's marauding wingbacks Ulises de la Cruz, forwards Agustin Delgado and Kaviedes, and Edwin and Carlos Tenorio.
The team has talented keepers. The problem is that they are still inexperienced, the seniormost keeper, Villafuerte, having won just 14 caps for the national team.
The defence looks solid, but unremarkable. No names stand out apart from de la Cruz, who is more noted for his attacking qualities than his defensive ones. The midfield and frontline have a few new talents, such as Borja, Valencia, Benitez, Lara and Castillo.

OVERALL ASSESMENT: This team is experienced and solid, but the age factor may work against them, as does the fact that the team can be a little one- dimensional. They may have breezed through qualification, but that was mostly on the basis of results in the thin air of Quito. Away from home, Ecuador has always struggled, and they could do so again. They will have to work hardest to qualify from this group.

FIFA World Cup Preview- Poland (Group A)

Poland
1 GK BORUC Artur - (Celtic, SCO)
2 DF JOP Mariusz - (FC Moscow, RUS)
3 DF GANCARCZYK Seweryn - (Metalist Kharkiv, UKR)
4 DF BASZCZYNSKI Marcin - (Wisla Krakow, POL)
5 MF KOSOWSKI Kamil - (Southampton, ENG)
6 DF BAK Jacek - (Al Rayyan, QAT)
7 MF SOBOLEWSKI Radoslaw - (Wisla Krakow, POL)
8 MF KRZYNOWEK Jacek - (Bayer Leverkusen, GER)
9 FW ZURAWSKI Maciej - (Celtic, SCO)
10 MF SZYMKOWIAK Miroslav - (Trabzonspor, TUR)
11 FW RASIAK Grzegorz - (Southampton, ENG)
12 GK KUSZCZAK Tomasz - (Slask Wroclaw, POL)
13 MF MILA Sebastian - (Austria Vienna, AUT)
14 DF ZEWLAKOW Michal - (Anderlecht, BEL)
15 MF SMOLAREK Ebi - (Borussia Dortmund, GER)
16 MF RADOMSKI Arkadiusz - (Austria Vienna, AUT)
17 DF DUDKA Dariusz - (Wisla Krakow, POL)
18 DF LEWANDOWSKI Mariusz - (Shakhtar Donetsk, UKR)
19 MF GORAWSKI Damian - (FC Moscow, RUS)
20 MF GIZA Piotr - (Cracovia, POL)
21 FW JELEN Ireneusz - (Wisla Plock, POL)
22 GK FABIANSKI Lukasz - (Legia Warsaw, POL)
23 FW BROZEK Pawel - (Wisla Krakow, POL)

Coach: Pawel Janas

This is a young and talented Polish team that got an automatic qualification spot, inspite of finishing second to England in its group. The squad looks somewhat different from the last world cup, where Poland finished bottom of a group containing South Korea, USA and Poland, yet there are some familiar faces who have retained their place due to their continued good performances over the last 4 years.
The goalkeepers' list bears the biggest shock of the squad, with Polish football's biggest star, Jerzy Dudek, finding himself out of the national team after a season in which he was second choice to Pepe Reina at Liverpool. Instead the number One jersey has been handed to Boruc of Celtic. Tomasz Kuszczak (West Brom) and Legia Warsaw's Lukasz Fabianski are likely to be the reserve goalkeepers.
In defence, there is a long list of quality players that includes veteran Jacek Bak, Zewlakow of Anderlecht (just moved to Olympiakos), Lewandowski and Baszczynski. There are also less experienced players like Jop, Gancarczyk, and Dudka who have displayed tremendous ability.
The midfield is also strong. Jacek Krzynowek (in pic) has been a star at Bayer Leverkusen for many years, and might be keen to prove a point at the World Cup before moving to Wolfsburg. He has great mental strength and is quite experienced (the most capped player in this squad), and has a great technique as shown by his stunning strike against Real Madrid a few years ago. Kamil Kosowski has had a great season for Southampton, and Miroslav Szymkowiak an even more stunning one for Trabzonspor in Turkey. Sobolewski, Mila, Radomski, Gorawski and Giza are also fairly good. Then there is Ebi Smolarek of Dortmund, who, to be fair, has looked like a pretty good striker, more than a midfielder , at club level. He makes intelligent runs, and scores plenty of goals.
The reason Smolarek plays in midfield for Poland inspite of his proven attacking instincts is the team's stunning strike force, easily the team's biggest strength. The forward line is so strong that the team's star striker (Emanuel Olisadebe) at the last edition couldn't even make it into the squad. Zurawski and Rasiak have fared brilliantly in Britain at club level and even better during the FWC 2006 qualifiers. Reserve strikers are Jelen and Brozek. With Smolarek's goals from midfield added to this, it makes for a goalfeast.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT: Poland are favourites to progress from Group A after Germany, provided they play to their potential, especially against Costa Rica and Ecuador. And expect plenty of goals if they do. They may regret dropping Dudek, though. Janas will hope, however, that this gamble pays off for Poland.

FIFA World Cup Preview- Costa Rica (Group A)

Costa Rica
1 GK MESEN Alvaro - (Herediano, CRC)
2 DF DRUMMOND Jervis - (Saprissa, CRC)
3 DF MARIN Luis - (Alajuelense, CRC)
4 DF UMANA Michael - (Brujas, CRC)
5 DF MARTINEZ Gilberto - (Brescia, ITA)
6 MF FONSECA Danny - (Cartagines, CRC)
7 MF BOLANOS Christian - (Saprissa, CRC)
8 MF SOLIS Mauricio - (Comunicaciones, GUA)
9 FW WANCHOPE Paulo - (Herediano, CRC)
10 MF CENTENO Walter - (Saprissa, CRC)
11 FW GOMEZ Ronald - (Saprissa, CRC)
12 DF GONZALEZ Leonardo - (Herediano, CRC)
13 FW BERNARD Kurt - (Puntarenas, CRC)
14 MF AZOFEIFA Randall - (Saprissa, CRC)
15 DF WALLACE Harold - (Alajuelense, CRC)
16 MF HERNANDEZ Carlos - (Alajuelense, CRC)
17 DF BADILLA Gabriel - (Saprissa, CRC)
18 GK PORRAS Jose - (Saprissa, CRC)
19 FW SABORIO Alvaro - (Saprissa, CRC)
20 MF SEQUEIRA Douglas - (Real Salt Lake, USA)
21 FW NUNEZ Victor - (Cartagines, CRC)
22 DF RODRIGUEZ Michael - (Alajuelense, CRC)
23 GK ALFARO Wardy - (Alajuelense, CRC)

Coach: Alexandre Guimaraes

Okay, I can't honestly say I know enough about this team to comment on its strengths and weaknesses. However, I do remember the performances from FWC 2002, where this tiny nation gave a good account of itself in a group that featured eventual champions Brazil and second runners up Turkey. Many players that were an integral part of that squad remain in the team, including star striker Paulo Wanchope, Brescia's Gilberto Martinez, Mauricio Solis, and Ronald Gomez, who certainly troubled the other teams in the last edition of the FIFA World Cup.
The team seems to be an experienced one, mostly, with the three youngest players born in 1984. Having two 21 year olds and a 22 year old as the least experienced members of the team is not a bad thing. There seems to be a bit of steel in midfield and defence with players like Marin and Solis having earned over 100 caps. The likes of Gomez, Fonseca and Centeno provide good attacking options and can put a lot of pressure on opposition defences, as well as put a few into the back of the net. Young players like Bolanos could make a huge difference as well. It certainly helps the team that many players were part of the Saprissa team that finished third in the FIFA World Club championship last year, putting in many impressive performances in a tournament that featured Sao Paulo and Liverpool.
And then there is Paulo Wanchope. The nation's all-time top scorer has played for clubs like Derby County, West Ham, Manchester City and Malaga, and brings top level experience to a team filled with players who have never left Central America. His long legs set him off on great runs, which, although appearing clumsy to the naked eye, have an unusual level of stability. His unusual style certainly puts off opponents, and this tall, lanky striker is more than capable of scoring brilliant goals, as shown by his 2004-05 strike against Numancia (for Malaga) which was named by ESPN as La Liga's goal of the season.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT: Costa Rica is a well- balanced, experienced team, and is very much capable of making it to the second round if the players play to their potential, and also display sufficient determination against evenly matched teams like Poland and Ecuador. It won't be easy however, given the pedigree of some players in the Polish and Ecuadorian squads, and of course the host nation Germany.

FIFA World Cup Preview- Germany (Group A)

1st squad list- as obtained from http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/060516/1/6svc.html

1 GK LEHMANN Jens - (Arsenal, ENG)
2 DF JANSEN Marcell - (Borussia Moenchengladbach, GER)
3 DF FRIEDRICH Arne - (Hertha Berlin, GER)
4 DF HUTH Robert - (Chelsea, ENG)
5 MF KEHL Sebastian - (Borussia Dortmund, GER)
6 DF NOWOTNY Jens - (Bayer Leverkusen, GER)
7 MF SCHWEINSTEIGER Bastian - (Bayern Munich, GER)
8 MF FRINGS Torsten - (Werder Bremen, GER)
9 FW HANKE Mike - (Wolfsburg, GER)
10 FW NEUVILLE Oliver - (Borussia Moenchengladbach, GER)
11 FW KLOSE Miroslav - (Werder Bremen, GER)
12 GK KAHN Oliver - (Bayern Munich, GER)
13 MF BALLACK Michael - (Bayern Munich, GER)
14 FW ASAMOAH Gerald - (Schalke 04, GER)
15 MF HITZLSPERGER Thomas - (VfB Stuttgart, GER)
16 DF LAHM Philipp - (Bayern Munich, GER)
17 DF MERTESACKER Per - (Hanover 96, GER)
18 MF BOROWSKI Tim - (Werder Bremen, GER)
19 MF SCHNEIDER Bernd - (Bayer Leverkusen, GER)
20 FW PODOLSKI Lukas - (FC Cologne, GER)
21 DF METZELDER Christoph - (Borussia Dortmund, GER)
22 MF ODONKOR David - (Borussia Dortmund, GER)
23 GK HILDEBRAND Timo - (VfB Stuttgart, GER)

Coach- Juergen Klinsmann

German coach has selected his squad mostly along the expected lines. The squad appears to be a young one, with a few experienced faces thrown in, including players like Jens Nowotny, who has been recalled to the national team after a lengthy absence to add some steel to an inexperienced defence, and the evergreen Oliver Neuville, who made it to the squad ahead of an underperforming Kevin Kuranyi. Others, such as Chelsea's Robert Huth and Dortmund's Odonkor, were surprise inclusions, selected purely on ability and talent rather than on experience.
In the goalkeeping department, Jens Lehmann gets the nod ahead of the legendary Oliver Kahn following a stunning season with Arsenal. A surprising, if welcome, move from a country that often puts past glory ahead of current form in the goalkeeping department (Kahn himself has played in only 1 world cup, though this will be his fourth time in the squad). Timo Hildebrand, a talented shotstopper who has proven himself time after time to be at least as capable as his senior partners in the squad, is third choice after a somewhat below par season.
In defence, Per Mertesacker seems to be the only one who has been involved in first team action for Germany for the last one year. Metzelder and Lahm are somewhat injury prone, Huth has had no first team action at club level with Chelsea, Nowotny has the same problem at international level. Jansen is somewhat untested. All in all, a fairly weak defence.
The midfield is fairly strong. Frings has plenty of experience and proven ability, as do Kehl and Schneider. Hitzlsperger is a good utility man with fantastic technique and explosive power. Odonkor has had a good season with Dortmund, and may be just the unknown factor Germany needs. The pacy Schweinsteiger is among the best young players in the world, and often leaves his markers for dead with his bursting runs from midfield. Tim Borowski is a fabulous talent, arguably the best in the squad in terms of technique and creativity. A little international experience could turn him into a world class player. Then comes the skipper Michael Ballack. Among the best midfielders in the world, he boasts of superb technique, a great eye for goal, tremendous stamina, amazing vision, and great desire. He is experienced, faring superbly in the last world cup. He is also keen to do well this time for he missed the final last time around after picking up a necessary yellow card in the semifinal. This is a strong midfield and could pose a challenge to the best in the world.
Up front, Asamoah is experienced and in form, as is Klose, a veteran of the last World Cup, where he finished with 5 goals. Podolski is a fan favourite, and is almost guaranteed a starting place. Mike Hanke doesn't have the pedigree of the others, but he is another player capable of surprising opponents, particularly with his aerial prowess.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT- Germany is almost certain to go through to the second round, but need decent cover for a weak defence if they are to do anywhere near as well as last time. The keepers may be world class, but no keeper can survive 90 minutes cleaning up after such a defence, as was seen in last year's Confederations Cup.

Formula 1 and Overtaking

Unfortunately on the pretext of safety, the two words mentioned in the heading (FORMULA 1 and OVERTAKING) are slowly becoming an OXYMORON. I agree that was an exaggeration, but while considering circuits of Italy, Spain and Hungry it isn't even very far from reality. Compare the situation with about a decade or so back, and you can feel the pain. Though in 2005 Kimi Raikkonen, smashed all the conventions of modern day formula 1limitaitons on overtaking by going p2 and p3 right from the back of the grid, but that was majorly due to his extraordinary talent combined with the supreme speed of McLaren in that season.
These days, winning a gp, is primarily about, taking the lead at the start, overtaking while in pits and defending your position once in lead, you hardly get to see some great overtaking maneuvers between the top teams.
Let us all pray that in future, overtaking the drivers who are lap down, doesn't become the only overtaking we see in a race.
What say???

Formula 1 Trivia

Though this blog as we say, isn't just about plain facts and news but about our views, but here due to the exceptional nature of facts, i will break the rule.
According to me Formula 1 should replace the word perfection in the English Dictionary, and here are some amazing facts about Formula 1, and i am sure, after reading them you will agree with me ;-")

01. An F1 car is made up of 80,000 components, if it were assembled 99.9% correctly, it would still start the race with 80 things wrong!

02. F1 car engines last only for about 2 hours of racing mostly before blowing up showing the extent to which the engines r pushed to perform…

03. An average F1 driver looses about 4kgs of weight after just one race due to the prolonged exposure to high G forces and temperatures for little over an hour (Yeah thats right!!!)

04. The brake discs in an F1 car have an operating temperature of approx 1000 degees Centigrade and they attain that temp while braking before almost every turn.

05. To give you an idea of just how important aerodynamic design and added downforce can be, small planes can take off at slower speeds than F1 cars travel on the track.

06. The amount of aerodynamic downforce produced by the front and rear wings and the car underbody is amazing. Once the car is travelling over 160 kph (they travel at over 300kmph),an F1 car can generate enough downforce to equal it’s own weight. That means it could actually hold itself to the CEILING of a tunnel and drive UPSIDE down!

07. The refuelers used in F1 can supply 12 litres of fuel per second. This means it would take just 4 seconds to fill the tank of an average 50 litre family car.They use the same refueling rigs used on US military helicopters today.

08. TOP F1 pit crews can refuel and change tyres in around 3 seconds.

09. Race car tyres don’t have air in them like normal car tyres. Most racing tyres have nitrogen in the tyres because nitrogen has a more consistent pressure compared to normal air. Air typically contains varying amounts of water vapour in it, which affects its expansion and contraction as a function of temperature, making the tyre pressure unpredictable.

10. Normal tyres last 60 000 - 100 000 km. F1 Racing tyres are designed to last 90 - 120 km.

waiting for more, don't worry, they will keep coming ;-)

Drivers Lineup: UPDATE

"'The title battle will be fought between Ferrari and Renault,'' the 26-year-old told La Gazzetta dello Sport after finishing a distant fifth in Sunday's Spanish Grand Prix."

and in addition to his quote saying that the car isn't good enough this season, combined with the 150 million $ offer for kimi from renault, and a public scolding by ron dennis for turning late for friday practice (this is like that beckham-shoe-alex thing), hints more than strongly at disastrous reality for mclaren/kimi fans, that he is leaving the team for sure.

btw, i personally think that valentino rossi will do brilliantly in f1 too, afterall he crossed the 300 kmph barrier, right in his first practice session in a f1 car with ferrari.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL PREVIEW

Just a day away from the final of the UEFA Champions League final. Ask any footballer about his greatest professional dreams, and you will find that playing (winning, rather) the Champs League final comes second only to doing so at a World Cup final. To many fans, this match represents more than even the World Cup final. This match is one of the greatest exhibits of class, excitement and mastery on the football fieeld, traditionally. Who can forget last season's final, when Liverpool came back from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win on penalties? Or Manchester United's stirring comeback in 1999, to defeat Bayern 2-1 with two injury time goals from Sheringham and Solskjaer? Yes, the Champions League final seldom fails to produce classic displays of what is truly the Beautiful Game.
This year, it is another English team that has the opportunity to add the celebrated trophy to its cabinet. Arsene Wenger's young side have produced many stirring performances en route to the final, upsetting the odds many times in a fairy tale run that may see them banish the ghosts of previous seasons' memories come May 17 at the Stade de France. Standing in their way, though, is Barcelona. Frank Rijkaard has, in just a few seasons, transformed a struggling side into arguably the best team in the world. The only hurdle left for the Catalans is to prove this by triumphing against Arsenal.
One of the main reasons behind Barca's success has been Ronaldinho, the two-time reigning FIFA World Player of the Year. The Brazilian knows how to entertain, but he does so without compromising any chance to make the opposition pay. He has proven time after time that he can't be stopped. The only chance Arsenal have against him appears to lie in having five players marking him and hoping that he has a bad day.
Even if, by some miracle, Ronaldinho fails to live upto expectations, Barca have Samuel Eto'o up front. The Cameroonian has sealed the Golden Boot award in the Primera Liga, and is desperate to display his wares in Paris, especially as he is one of the few men in this match who won't be going to Germany as Cameroon failed to reach the World Cup finals. In addition to Eto'o, the team also boasts the talents of the mercurial French winger Ludovic Giuly and former Champions League winner (with Porto) Deco. All in all, a potent forward line.
Arsenal's main man is skipper Thierry Henry. Having won the English Premier League's Golden Boot award yet again, the Frenchman is keen to do well on his return to his hometown. Recent speculation about a possible move to Barca in the summer can only serve to fire him up. With Adebayor and Theo Walcott unable to play the final, his allies in attack will probably be Fredrik Ljungberg, Robin van Persie, Aliaksandr Hleb, Jose Antonio Reyes and Robert Pires.
And then comes young Spaniard Francesc Fabregas. Following Patrick Vieira's move to Juventus, Fabregas made the central midfield spot his own with a string of brilliant displays. Arguably Arsenal's best player this season, he will be crucial, given his prowess to break from defence and his crisp passing, coupled with his innate ability to create space in which to manouever. What makes this match interesting for him is that he was a product of the Barcelona youth system before he moved to North London.
On the opposing side, he will face his childhood mate, Argentine wonderkid Lionel Messi. Messi, however, may not get to start or even play due to an injury suffered in the Round of 16 against Chelsea. Instead, another Barca youth system product, Andres Iniesta, is going to trouble the Gunners with his marauding runs and ability to find the right person with every pass. If Ronaldinho is heavily marked, this lad could take advantage and make Arsenal pay.
All right, now that we have seen the people who are going to try and get the ball into the back of the net, let us focus on the people trying to stop them. First the defensive midfielders. Barcelona has two good options. Marc van Bommel has been in fine form of late, and along with a decent defensive setup, he provides good attacking instincts. In contrast, Jose Edmilson is a centreback by trade, and may be the hard man Barca want to keep tabs on Henry. Arsenal will probably let Gilberto Silva handle the defensive midfield duties for them. He did a great job marking Riquelme in the semis, but he knows that his compatriot Ronaldinho is on a completely different level. Gunners fans will pray that he knows something about Ronaldinho from their time in the national team that could give him the edge.
Now to the defences. At rightback, Barca can choose between Belletti and Oleguer, both good players in their own right. Arsenal have young Emmanuel Eboue, fast and brutal, if the situation demands it. He will need all his abilities to keep the rampaging Catalans in check. The Barca centrebacks are the experienced campaigners Rafael Marquez and skipper Carles Puyol. A tough, experienced combination, but they will be tested by the pacy Henry. Their Arsenal counterparts are Kolo Toure and Sol Campbell, with a slight possibility that Philippe Senderos may be fit to play. While not bearing the pedigree of Puyol and Marquez, they can boast of a record run of clean sheets in the Champions League, and will be tough to get past. At leftback, Barca has former Gunner Gio van Bronckhorst, who has made the most of his second chance in Catalunya after a few seasons on the Arsenal bench. His backup is another former Gunner, Sylvinho. The corresponding position for Arsenal is Wenger's greatest worry, with a large number of players having been used over the course of the season in that position, including the injured midfielder Flamini. Gael Clichy appears to be fit to play again, and may get the nod.
And finally, the goalkeepers. Barca has Victor Valdes standing between the posts. He has a good campaign, and is statistically the best goalkeeper in Spain this season. Arsenal can boast of arguably the most in-form 'keeper in the world this season in Jens Lehmann. Newly appointed Germany's chief custodian ahead of Oliver Kahn, he has had a stunning season, and has played a great role in Arsenal's road to the final, not least of which involved a spectacular penalty save against Riquelme in injury time in the second leg of the semifinal against Villareal to get Arsenal to the final.
Overall prediction- if Barcelona display their talents even a little bit, they can rip apart any team in the world, including Arsenal. If they have an off night, however, Henry, Fabregas and co. will make them pay. If both teams play equally well, Barca still retains the favourites tag. However, if Arsenal manage to keep Super Ron quiet without leaving the other Barca stars to do as they like, they could take the game to penalties, which is probably what most would feel they should aim for. In a penalty shootout, Lehmann has to be favoured to fare better than Valdes, and the trophy could be on its way to London.
One thing is for certain, though, in this final held 50 years after the first one was won by Real Madrid. Like all Champions League finals, there will be plenty of excitement, and the odd surprise is possible, so nothing written on this post so far really matters. All I can say is, enjoy, cause you might just be in for the ride of your life!

ARGENTINA WORLD CUP SQUAD ANNOUNCED; MAJOR SHAKEUP IN POLISH SQUAD

Argentina coach Jose Pekerman announced the remaining players going to Germany for the World Cup Finals in addition to retaining the 16 players he had named originally, which included the likes of Gabriel Heinze and Lionel Messi, both recovering from injury. Shockingly, veteran wingback Javier Zanetti (Internazionale) has been left out of the squad, with Lionel Scaloni (on loan at West Ham from Deprtivo La Coruna) going to Germany. After a good season at Sevilla, Javier Saviola finds himself back in the national team. The last time he played a string of games together for the national team was at the FIFA Confederations Cup, the only time in the last 2 years.
Elsewhere, the Italian and Portuguese squads were unveiled. No major shocks in the Portuguese side. As for the Azzuri, Pippo Inzaghi capped a superb run of form since his comeback from injury with a call up to the World Cup squad. Morgan De Sanctis (Udinese) has lost his place as third choice goalkeeper to the in-form Marco Amelia (Livorno).
The Polish squad has undergone a major shakeup. Liverpool 'keeper Jerzy Dudek, second choice to Pepe Reina at Anfield, now finds himself out of the national team. Other high profile casualties include Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Tomasz Frankowski who had top scored for Poland in qualifying, former captain Tomasz Klos and full-back Tomasz Rzasa. West Brom's Tomasz Kuszcak looks likely to be moved up to second choice 'keeper for the Poles.

The full squad lists are available at the following Wikipedia link, with FIFA publishing the squad lists only after 18th May.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_FIFA_World_Cup_%28squads%29

Elsewhere, rumours abound that Xabi Alonso has not made it to the Spanish squad, but according to most reliable sources, the squad announced by Luis Arragones does feature the Liverpool midfielder. All such rumours shall be cleared up when the squad lists are published by FIFA in 2 days time.

DEADLINE FOR NAMING WORLD CUP SQUADS:

Today, May 15, was the deadline for the nations that qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2006 to submit their final squad list to FIFA and the organizing committee. Most teams announced their squads for the benefit of the football fraternity and the world at large, but some are still to do so. FIFA will publish all of the squad lists on February 18. Most managers have gone with the teams that were expected to be named, but there have been some surprises.
France, for example, has chosen not to go with Robert Pires, following a season where he spent a great deal of time on the Arsenal subs bench. A tragedy for the 'veteran,' who spent the 1998 World Cup looking on from the sidelines, and then missed the 2002 edition due to an unfortunate injury, at the height of his powers. Alas, the talented Frenchman has lost what appears to be his final opportunity to shine on the greatest stage of all.
Spain, somewhat surprisingly, have left out the experience but somewhat out-of-form veterans Fernando Morientes and Ruben Baraja. David Albelda has retained his place in the squad but is likely to be third choice for the central midfield role, behind Xabi Alonso and Cesc Fabregas. Iniesta has been given a chance to display his talents as well.
The only real surprise in the Swiss squad was the exclusion of Hakan Yakin, the playmaker who has returned to the form that made him arguably the greatest Swiss player ever. On the goakeeping front, with Jorg Stiel now out of the way, Euro 2004 understudy Pascal Zuberbuhler has been handed the gloves.
Back to France, Dhorasoo and Chimbonda have been named in the squad in addition to the regulars. No real surprises in the Japanese and Croatian squads, except for Aston Villa fans, who will be dismayed to learn that Bosko Balaban has been in fine form since leaving the club a few years ago and has hence become a key member of a rising Croatian squad.
The Brazilians have gone as expected, the closest thing to a surprise being the inclusion of an in-form Fred (Lyon).
The Americans haven't gone for too many changes to the usual team, except for bringing in Chris Albright in place of the injured ex-Leverkusen player Frankie Hejduk. The main surprise, though, is that Tim Howard has been handed the number one jersey ahead of the in-form Kasey Keller. It seems likely that Keller's age and Howard's Manchester United stamp played an important part in this selection Elsewhere, Ghana has included three players who have come out of retirement after 8 years, including Stephen Appiah (Fenerbahce) and Eric Addo (PSV), and the Czechs have named a squad almost identical to the Euro 2004 one, inspite of some players being injured and Milan Baros' lack of form.
Mexico coach Ricardo Lavolpe has created some controversy with his selections. He has left out a few talented young players and also the veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco, widely regarded as the country's greatest ever player. The ones to profit include 37- year old defender Claudio Suarez and Lavolpe's son-in-law Rafael Garcia, along with foreign- born talents such as Naelson and Guillermo Franco (the much-maligned Villareal 'striker').
Angola coach Goncalves has named the expected squad, the sole ecxeption being the uncapped goalkeeper Mario. Serbia- Montenegro has also gone with the expected, with Basel's Ivan Ergic being called up to the national team for the first time.
In the Dutch squad, Seedorf, inspite of a slight resurgence in form for Milan, remains out of Marco van Basten's squad. Andy van der Meyde paid the price for leavin Ajax 2 years ago and then going to Inter and Everton by losing his place in the national team. Roy Makaay was another surprise exclusion from the squad.
Argentina is yet to announce the full squad, but we know for sure that Gabriel Heinze and Lionel Messi, neither completely fit yet, are in the squad and are likely to start for the team as well.
Sven Goran eriksson named four strikers in his squad, of which 2 (Owen and Rooney) are recovering from injury and one is an untested 17- year old (Theo Walcott). The fourth striker is Crouch, with Defoe and Andy Johnson named as backups. Darren Bent, the highest scoring English striker this season, hasn't been considered, presumably due to his lack of pedigree. Some are surprised that Owen Hargreaves, injured most of the season, has regained his place in the England squad, and also that talented youngster Aaron Lennon has burst into the squad. The expected selection of Scott Parker as a possibilty for the holding role never came up, with Gerrard, Jenas and Carrick likely to be used in that role at various stages of the tournament. Robert Green has managed to keep his place as third-choice keeper. A somewhat surprising squad, but it may be likely that Sven has decided to focus on youth and pace, and also hope that the newcomers may make the same impact that Owen made at France 98 and Rooney at Euro 2004.
Germany has left out Kevin Kuranyi (he has been named among the backup players). Instead, veteran Neuville has been recalled along with Gerald Asamoah, with David Odonkor being a surprise inclusion. In midfield, veteran Bernd Schneider has kept his place, as have talented youngsters Hitzlsperger and Tim Borowski, but veterans Paul Freier and Fabian Ernst are going to be backups.
No surprises elsewhere, with teams such as the Czech Republic and Ukraine choosing to retain their star players still recovering from injury. Previews for the eight groups to start next week.


In other news, rumours are beginning to circulate that Juventus may be relegated to Serie B if allegations of referee- fixing are proven. While these rumours seem almost impossible, they aren't without precedent, with Milan and Lazio being relegated in 1979- 80 in a match- fixing scandal. If such an event occurs, Milan wins the Scudetto. However, with Milan and Firentina now also accused of such charges, the title could somehow end up at Inter. This all seems too far- fetched, though. In this commercial age, few football associations would relegate their most glamorous clubs. Some monetary penalty is more likely to be imposed if, by some tragedy, the allegations are found to be true.
Comments are invited.

SPANISH GP:


Well until you are a I-DON'T-WANT-ANYTHING-BUT-ALONSO type of person, the spanish GP was pretty much ordinary when compared to the earlier races of the season. Renault has found the magic formula of a reliable and faster-than-anyone-else-on-track car and were able to win their 100th GP. Kimi Raikkonen showed some sparks at the start of the race, overtaking 3 guyz right at the start of the grid, reminding us of the glory days of McLaren dominance. But due to the slow straight line speed (i will be taking up this issue in more detail later) he didn't prove much of a threat to the front runners. Michael Schumacher did well to get p2, breaking the hopes of Renault for a 1-2, but that was pretty much expected after the devastatingly fast lap by Schumi in the 2nd round of qualifying. Well that pretty much sums up the race according to me.

This race along with the previous ones, is giving a constant hint, that in massa ferrari have found a more than decent driver (he is doing better than barri, though i agree a little early to say that). With Kimi, Valentino Rossi up on grab, a stable second driver (massa) and schumi back with his form, will schumi bid farewell to the magic of F1 next year at his prime? the mystery remains.

Race Result
p1->p1 Alonso
p3->p2 Schumi
p2->p3 Gincarlo
p4->p4 massa
p9->p5 Kimi Raikkonen

Formula 1 Teams and Drivers Lineup

well, when predicting the future (2007) driver lineups for formula 1, one things you can say for sure is that it will be really interesting, nothing else is for sure except ont fact that probably both the drivers of renault are leaving, it is sure, courtesy flavio briatore and alonso himself, though obviously even this may change.

so let us discuss individual lineups of the top 3 teams

1) McLaren : Are more than ready to throw out montoya, even for the slightest possible itch, and considering the fact tha montoya is the most unpopular driver, he may not even have the back up of crew and kimi. Also given his over aggression, he frequently pushes the car over the limit (tyres, brake disc etc).

McLaren will do probably what they can to save kimi, he suits their cars, which has always been relying primarily on pace rite from the legendary 1988 season. kimi as we all know can easily be the fastest man by a huge margin on the track if the car allows. But kimi given his really tragic luck with mclaren, will most probably looking for a change, and till the start of the season it was confirmed it was ferrari but now renault has proved that there victroy last season wasn’t a fluke, and ferrari have found massa (he is doing really good), renault is looking a good option for him

2) ferrari possibly has the most stable lineup as of now, compared to ren and McL.
schumi is doing fine, massa is doing great, rather probably better than barri, in the first season itself. i won’t be totally surprised, if they continue this lineup.

3)Renault: NO ONE, just abt no one knows anything abt it. as reddy just said, and even i read on a few sites, the offer does seem good for kimi, and i also explained earlier in the post as why kimi may accept it. (strong team + massa + money)

now having said all this, there is one guy that i would like you all to keep an eye on, and he is ROSBERG, i reckon he may be a part of the MRF (mclaren, renault ferrari) next season, if he continues the way he is driving now.

also in F1, the saying “money rules” applies very strongly, if it can happen with Jacque villeneve (sorry for the spelling), it can happen with anyone.