Well its been quite a long time since my last post. Nigh on two months. Not posted anything since that lad Hamilton won in Canada.

Its the same story in Formula One as has been all throughout this season. After the North American double-headers that Mclaren dominated, the pendulum swung back in Ferrari's favour in France and Great Britain where Kimi Raikkonen discovered his lost form and took two sublime wins for the Scuderia.

Then the Nurburgring turned out to be a lottery with torrential rain playing havoc with the proceedings just one lap into the race, with numerous cars spinning off successively under braking for the very tight and very slippery Turn 1. The race was stopped and when it got underway again rookie Marcus Winklehock found himself at the head of the field with Massa and Alonso right behind him!

The both of them found their way past easily and Massa seemed to be controlling the race from the front while Raikkonen was piling the pressure on Alonso until a drop in hydraulic pressure put him out of the race.

With less than 10 laps to go Massa seemed to be in control of the race and was cruising in order to bring the car home. Then the rain came again. Massa and Alonso both pitted for wets. Massa however had some vibrations coming from his tyres and so Alonso caught him and passed him with an audacious move that saw the cars banging wheels and a heated exchange of words between Massa and Alonso post race. And so Alonso won and Hamilton failed to finish on the podium for the first time in his Formula One career.

Then the Formula One circus moved to the tight and twisty Hungaroring. The hungaroring like Monaco was never going to suit the long-wheelbase Ferrari F-2007 but Kimi finished only 0.7s behind race winner Hamilton, a clear sign of the ground Ferrari has made up on Mclaren since Monaco where Felipe Massa finished 69s behind race winner Alonso.

And so we head into the final six races of the 2007 season, all flowing tracks that should play to the strengths of the F-2007. However for Ferrari to make up the ground in both championships on Mclaren it is going to be very difficult. Jean Todt has set the Ferrari drivers the task of finishing on the podium in all of the final six races, and just one more DNF could decide the championship in Mclaren's favour.

(Spy scandal and team rivalry tomorrow)

HAMILTON WINS CHAOTIC CANADIAN GP

Mclaren driver Lewis Hamilton claimed his maiden gp victory in the eventful Canadian Grand Prix at the legendary Circuit Gilles Villeneuve today. He was joined on the podium by BMW's Nick Heidfeld and Williams' Alex Wurz.

The start of the race was a bit chaotic with Alonso missing the braking point and running across the grass at the first sequence of corners, while pole-sitter Hamilton, holding off Heidfeld, led out of Turn 2.

Behind Hamilton and Heidfeld, Alonso managed to slot in just ahead of Ferrari's Felipe Massa who had started 5th and beaten team-mate Raikkonen off the line who was bundled down to sixth by Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton quickly settled down and was pulling away, when just after his first stop, the safety car came out as Adrian Sutil crashed his Spyker. Alonso and Rosberg who headed into the pits just then were handed out a stop-go penalty.

The Ferraris pitted when the pit lane finally opened and rejoined at the tail end of the field. However, Massa and Renault's Fisichella were disqualified for exiting the pitlane under a red light.

The race eventually resumed only for the safety car to come out again, this time due to Robert Kubica's horrific crash down at the Casino hairpin. The BMW driver was extracted from the carbon-fibre 'tub' , which was turned on its side, and rushed to hospital.


After that the race never really settled down and was interrupted by the safety car a few more times, but in the end it was Hamilton's day, who was in a class of his own, while teammate and double world-champion Fernando Alonso made several mistakes and was eventually overtaken by Super Aguri driver Takuma Sato.

Kimi Raikkonen also had a lacklustre race and finished fifth behind Renault's Heikki Kovalainen. Sato, Alonso and Schumacher, rounded off the points.

Hamilton, the first black driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix, now leads the championship by 8 points from Alonso and Massa while Mclaren lead Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship by a massive 28 points with 11 races to go.

Ferrari Unveil 2007 Challenger

The Scuderia-Ferrari Marlboro team unveiled its 2007 car designated the F2007 yesterday at their factory in the town of Maranello. The F2007, known internally as the 658 is the 53rd single seater built by Ferrari to take part in the Formula One World Championship and the first car of the post Schumacher era.

The post-Schumacher era it may well be but Michael, though not present at the launch, was in the garage checking out the new car.

The new car, though an evolution of last year's 248F1, features an all new front suspension, which has been revised with a view to increase its aerodynamic efficiency. It also features a new specially sculpted 'quick-shift' gearbox which reduces time loss during gearchange. The system is available for all gears (7+Reverse) and in all conditions. The specially sculpted gearbox means that the rear 'coke bottle' section gets narrower thus cleaning up airflow at the back of the car. The engine which according to new regulations had to be homologated is the same 056 unit that Ferrari used at the end of last season. However, the engine has been modified to allow it to reach 19,000 rpm. Because of the narrower rear end, the air intakes and water and oil pipes of the 'old' engine had to be rearranged.

The sidepods have also taken on a new shape as a result of the new cooling system. The rear suspension remains unchanged and will be modified according to how the new Bridgestone tyres perform. The front wing also remains unchanged but before the first race in Australia a major aero update has been planned that will entail the use of an all new front wing.

Expectations are high within the Scuderia's ranks that this machine will return the title to Maranello.

It is Over...
The dream has been shattered. For Ferrari, for Schumacher, for me. It all ended with 17 laps to go in the Japanese Grand Prix. Schumacher and Ferrari had done everything right from the moment the race started. The pit stop strategy was executed to perfection bringing Schumacher out ahead of Alonso at the end of both the stops. Then it all went up in smoke. Literally. As Schumacher exited the pit lane ahead of Alonso after his second and final stop, and as he went through the esses and the up the Dunlop curve, the left bank of the Ferrari 2.4 litre V8 056 engine spewed acrid smoke and ended Schumacher's race.

Although there is still a chance for Schumacher to win the championship, it is a highly unlikely scenario. In the last race in Brazil, Schumacher not only needs to win the race but he also requires Alonso to retire and score no points. Only then will he clinch his eighth world title. Schumacher himself conceded that the title was lost but he isn't giving up, no sir. He is one hundred percent focussed on helping Ferrari win the Constructors' Championship.

Even though I was disappointed when I saw that smoke spewing from the car, I realized and was able to draw satisfaction from the tremendous effort made by Ferrari and Schumacher to take the fight to Renault and Alonso. From being 25 points behind Alonso, Schumacher, in a matter of seven races was able to draw level on points with Alonso. And that is truly amazing stuff. Ferrari and Schumacher just never give up and fans like me draw great satisfaction from that. They are like a family, the whole team. After Schumacher walked back to the pits, he found it in himself to console all the members of the team personally, some of whom were in tears...that is how close they are.

Well, if Schumacher doesn't win the championship this year, he doesn't. You can't put it more simply than that. But what is satisfying and consoling is that if Ferrari and Schumacher do go down, they'll at least go down fighting. And thats what defines Michael Schumacher - he is a fighter to the very end.

Exams. Again. Just when you finish a semester, its vacation time....which flies by...as fast as Schumacher on his qualifying run. Then the next semester begins and before you know it you are inundated with projects. Then the projects are over and you barely have time to get your head out of the quagmire of work and draw a deep breath and in you go again to prepare for your exams. Will there never be any respite. Isn't it enough that we prove ourselves in the practical war that we have to face the armies of theory every six months? Man its frustrating!

And, moving onto my favourite topic, what of the Chinese GP eh? A gritty performance in qualifying to line up sixth on the grid, followed by a sublime drive in changing conditions to win and take the lead in Drivers' Championship for the first time, albeit on account of more number of wins? Thats Michael Schumacher...still the at the top of his game at the end of his career.

And what of Alonso feeling the pressure? Making comments in the press about feeling alone at certain times and saying that some people in Renault don't want him to win because they don't want the number one going to Mclaren next year?

As for the championship, I'm so tensed, I'm not placing my bets either ways, especially since its more open now than it ever was.

So, this is how it ends

Today, 10th September, 2006, heralds the end of one of the finest chapters in Formula One history. Michael Schumacher, announced his retirement today at the post race press conference mere moments after winning the Italian Grand Prix in dominant style.

Personally, for me, today marks the day when the face of Formula One was changed forever. The world of Formula One suddenly seems to me to be strange and now I feel like an outsider. I became aware of Schumacher at the age of six in 1994. As I grew older and lonlier, I embraced Formula One and dived headfirst into Schumacher's legend. Soon, Formula One became like a good friend for me and, having idolised Schumacher, Michael became my only connection to that world to which I felt a sense of belonging.

Soon, I was completely immersed in my world and detached from reality. The other day my friend said to me, "You live in your own little world of Formula One and Michael Schumacher. Its just you and Schumacher. You don't let anyone in." Well, my friend was right. I was and still am completely immersed in that world where I find comfort. Its like a bubble within which exist Formula One, Schumacher and I and I look at the outside world through the bubble. However, when Schumacher announced his retirement today, I suddenly felt naked, I suddenly felt the jolt of reality, the bubble has withdrawn from around me. I try to fight my way into the bubble's embrace but in vain. It has shrunk so that I can no longer be safely ensconced within it.

All the Best Michael and thank you for everything. Cheers to the greatest driver ever in Formula One history and for me the greatest driver forever. Thanks a lot. There will always be an emptiness in Formula One without you. I will forever remember you in my heart and memory. You are the true Weltmeister! Forza Ferrari! Forza Schumacher!

Wow! Its been two months since my last post. As cliched as it may sound - how time flies. The reason my last post seems like yesterday is that not a lot has happened in these two months. Its been the same thing, more or less, everyday. Change, change is what makes even two weeks seem like a long time. Yet when there is no change and everything is routine, time seems to drag endlessly, or so we perceive. In the end we become so used to the constant that we don't realise how time has passed and how long it has been since the last change.