I felt like a cold war going on during Qualifying 3, no teams wished to rush except for Lewis Hamilton who planned for two runs. He was ordered by the McLaren team to stop the car abruptly after winning the first pole position assumingly on low fuel. For that FIA penalised him and replaced to start from the bottom of the grid on Sunday. FIA rules require that any car to produce 1 litre of fuel sample for any request check at any given moment. Remarkably, Hamilton who seemed to be on his right mind on Race Day advanced to the 8^th position overtaking several cars when he eventually completed the race. His performance was somewhat terrific. Catalunya, the circuit of Barcelona, Spain, is a nice place with an abrasive race track that requires all drivers to negotiate the fact of tyre wear. I feel those Pirelli tyres need to upgrade slightly to a little more conservative level because I find them all forced down to concentrate on tyre conditions from degrading and not seeking chances of speeding and overtaking cars all the way to the chequered flag even in the final few laps after tyre change. The rest of the drivers faced problems too, mostly from tyre degradation. It was a messy race right from the beginning, messy and disorganised throughout the race and a messy ending too. There’s lot to talk about. For instance, Michael Schumacher ran into Bruno Senna resulting them both to disqualify. Frank Williams was celebrating his 70^th Birthday when he heard news that Pastor Maldonado is replacing Hamilton at pole position since Hamilton has been penalised on low fuel run and he will now start from the bottom. It could be a wonderful birthday gift for Sir Frank Williams. It was due to a similar incident from Hamilton in Canada race that FIA brought amendments to the rules on fuel levels in the tanks. And so Fernando Alonso and Romain Grosjean got promoted to the 2^nd and 3^rd pole positions respectively. Alonso’s experience quickly put him in the lead and could have been the driver to win this race if he did not face obstacles from the traffic and particularly the Marussia. I fully support Alonso’s remarks on this matter during the press conference. He too was forced to pay attention on tyre degradation on his final laps. Michael Schumacher did a blunder crashing on Bruno Senna from the rear. Both had to quit the race. At the pit lane stop Hamilton ran over a wheel gun and a couple of Sauber mechanics dropped in collision while Sergio Perez changed wheels. He was ordered to stop his car immediately and quit the race following strict rules that no car is allowed to continue racing with an uncertain wheel fix.

After 8 years Williams F1 Team claimed their first victory at Barcelona. Alonso and Raikkonen who’ll best understand what it means to win the podium for the first time lifted Pastor Maldonado on their arms. It all ended well and after some 90 minutes of celebrations over Williams F1 triumph this lucky team faced tragedy. A fire broke out in the Williams garage and some were seriously injured and flown to a hospital. F1 crew set off the blaze and no credit this time goes to the Fire & Rescue team on standby at the Catalunya circuit. We still do not know what caused the fire, some say the KERS exploded on Bruno’s car and others put it that a cigarette butt ignited the fire in the fuel area and gas canisters exploded. We see in pictures Maldonado saving the life of his cousin by carrying him on his back. We see crew members all stained and some inhaled smoke. The pit lane and the activities that go on here are said to be the third most dangerous and accident prone areas next to such an operation phase on an aircraft carrier deck. Most of the injured are released from the hospital except one. I pray for the early recovery of all affected persons from this fire incident. I’m glad other teams offered help and particularly from McLaren. We wish Williams F1 Team to continue racing in Monte Carlo.

I’m happy because Alonso is now sharing the Drivers’ Championship points with Vettel: 61 points each. 2012 season has produced five different winners in five races. Monaco is one of my favourite venues to watch the F1 race on television. Lotus-Renault holds a strong standing this season. If things go well for McLaren, both Button and Hamilton could do well in Monaco but I place my bet on Alonso.

Formula One qualifying today: Hamilton wins the pole followed by Maldonado and Alonso in the 2^nd and 3^rd positions. This is a call to show that the teams and their cars will be battling through this season in close quarters. Nico Roseberg, Sergio Perez, Pastor Maldonado, Bruno Senna, Roman Grosjean...all have shown such great performance that they’re quite capable to win a race. There’s no argument about the cars this time though they keep technically experimenting every minute. And I’m trying to get hold of every bit about Formula One and what goes on outside the track. It’s very helpful online. Felipe Massa and Kamui Kobayashi are fast guys, no doubt, just run out of luck. The Champs; Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen...we’re still waiting to see more of them. The Red Bull team, Vettel and Webber, who knows why they have fallen behind to start tomorrow’s race in Barcelona, Spain! This season is going to be so great and end up in fighting spirit. Alonso’s tweets tell me he’s in a happy mood after the qualifying. A huge crowd of fans roar at him. Button the driver of patience, he makes less mistakes. He ended in the 12^th position today. It’s getting harder and harder to bet after every race. I just hope it rains tomorrow in Catalunya.

Supermoon this Saturday, 5^th May, 2012, is closest to the Earth.

That was one of the best races ever with traffic rolling fast on the track. Nico Rosberg’s maiden pole position and victory make him a challenging driver this year among six other champs. Mercedes team has brought a powerful car to win a race since 1955. Schumacher quit the race as he was let out before his right-rear got properly fixed. Bernie fined 5000 Euros on Mercedes team but he’ll not fire anyone. McLaren is holding strong and Red Bull needs bit more work to do. Shanghai is getting better year after year.

About Bahrain, I believe the show must go on no matter unrest continues and should be in the face of changing situations everywhere I guess and to keep the economy strong. LOL They need not worry about money.