F1 MOMENTS #5

I don't even need to think about this! And I don't even need to elaborate on it very much as I wrote quite a lengthy paragraph on it in my race review. In fact, I bet you already know what it is...

They say a picture speaks a thousand words so I'll let the two above do all the talking. I think you know why this was the moment of the Grand Prix.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

F1 MOMENTS #4

I won't lie to you, the Grand Prix in Hungary could have been a lot more exciting and certainly needed to be to live up to the level we've become used to in 2012. Even Valencia provided a thrilling race when many had written it off and called for its removal from the calendar. Therefore, it's a bit difficult for me to think of just one moment that really stood out for me.

However, I gave it some thought and there was one stand-out moment. When Kimi Raikkonen came out of the pit lane after his second pit stop he emerged only slightly ahead of his Lotus teammate Romain Grosjean. It became apparent later on that Grosjean's engineer told him to really push on that lap when they knew Kimi would be coming out of the pit lane. Teams have lots of data to work on when planning their strategy to give them a rough idea of where their driver will emerge when they pit. How Lotus overlooked this is beyond me...

The two then came very, very close and race-ending contact between the pair could easily have occurred. That battle for second place was particularly tense but it was the 2007 world champion that won it and therefore took that podium place. All wasn't lost for Grosjean, except for what may have been a nice boost to his ego, as he took third to give Lotus another double podium; the first came in Bahrain.

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

F1 MOMENTS #3

My chosen image for Setting the Scene; Germany could easily double as my pick for the best moment of the Grand Prix as well but it isn't. My choice does, however, involve both Vettel and Button.

In my opinion, that tense moment of the race when you near the edge of your seat, clench your fists and wait anxiously to find out what the outcome of a particular move will be had to be after Sebastian Vettel went into the pit lane for his second stop of the day. Jenson Button had already been closing in on him, Lewis had held him up whilst trying unlap himself and McLaren delivered a lightning-fast pit stop. Vettel came out of the pit lane and he and Jenson were neck and neck but Button had the momentum and he had gotten his tyres working so he was able to pass Vettel before they went into the next corner. That moment was crucial in the outcome of the race. These two would certainly have a battle for second and Alonso was able to pull away and go on to win the race. 

Depending on who you support your reaction to this moment would have been either jumping for joy and punching the air or squealing with anxiety at what may be lost. 

This has just been a short and sweet post as the moment of the race, for me, lasted almost a split second! Do you agree with my choice? What would yours be? You know what to do...

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

F1 MOMENTS #2

So this is the feature where I pick the best moment of the weekend's race. For the European Grand Prix I picked the Hamilton-Maldonado collision that ended Lewis' race. Last time out we were in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and so when I was thinking about what my absolute favourite moment of the weekend was I realised that I am going to have to cheat and choose a moment that doesn't actually have anything to do with the racing. Or any of the drivers...

My favourite moment from the British Grand Prix weekend took place on the Saturday, but it has nothing to do with Qualifying. Well not directly... Ok, I'll end the suspense now! My moment of the weekend had to be when Murray Walker, the man, the legend, appeared on the BBC's coverage of Qualifying to join commentators Ben Edwards and David Coulthard in the commentary box during the red flag period. Murray Walker was commentating on F1 before my time, well before I was old enough to actually understand and enjoy the commentary so I never got to experience everything he added to an F1 race. Nevertheless I, like any true F1 fan, have heard his commentary on certain classic races and understand why he is a legend for the sport. So to hear his classic '"GO, GO, GO!" live on TV was a truly special moment!

I know this isn't directly related to any of the great track action Silverstone treated us to but it was the best moment of the weekend, in my opinion!

So, what was your moment from the British Grand Prix weekend? Would you agree with my choice or were you watching with Sky/ do you live abroad meaning you didn't get to see it?

Aqsa, @aqsasformula

F1 MOMENTS #1

Time for a new regular feature on Aqsa's Formula and it's called F1 Moments. I'd just like to add that I know we are now much closer to the British Grand Prix now than we are to the European GP, and a preview to Silverstone will be posted tomorrow, so adding posts about the race in Valencia might seem a bit outdated now but this will be my last post on this race specifically.

Let me begin with explaining the new feature. It's just where I will pick my one favourite moment from the race. You know that 'OMG' moment when you jump out of your seat and you need a second to take in whether it really happened? Yeah, that moment! It will be hard to pick just one, my absolute favourite, but I will give it a go and sometimes there may be a tie between two but I'll try not to let that happen. This is different from 'Setting the Scene' as that is a feature when I pick one picture to sum up a whole race.

The European Grand Prix was an incredible race with many awe-inducing moments. There were quite a few shocking events and retirements that changed the entire outcome of the race but I have managed to pick just one; the Hamilton and Maldonado crash! It certainly took me a while to realise what had happened and I watched replay after replay trying to establish who was at fault and how two race winning drivers could allow an easily avoidable collision to occur towards the closing stages of a race. It was definitely the moment in the race that got the Twittersphere talking and heatedly debating.

Everyone had an opinion on it, as is always the case with such F1 Moments, and that is why it has to be my moment of the race. Lewis Hamilton was very mature about the incident after the race and Maldonado was clear that, as far as he was concerned, it was all Lewis' fault. The stewards disagreed and subsequently awarded Pastor with a 20-second time penalty meaning he lost the single point he won in the race. Considering it's been almost two weeks since the race and this collision is so vivid in my mind, there was no doubt that this had to be my pick as F1 Moment for the European Grand Prix.

What was yours?

Aqsa, @aqsasformula