Funnily enough, I don't mind the occasional race being shortened by torrential rain or some other disaster; as long as none of my guys are disadvantaged by it, of course. And Heidfeld's superbly timed second place in Malaysia is a good example. It is a pity about the half points but at least Nick gets to kick off BMW's score this year - Nick 2 finishes, Robert 0, is the score so far, I believe.
Timo Glock in Malaysia
I must also confess to a slight smirk at the sight of Vettel spinning off in the wet. So many commenters have been claiming him as the great rain specialist, all thanks to a couple of performances in the wet last year that had far more to do with the characteristics of the Toro Rosso than any particular ability of Vettel's in slippery conditions. He seems competent enough but needs to put in a few more brilliant wet weather displays before we can crown him as rainmeister.
In fact, Webber looked to be the better of the two Red Bull drivers when the rain came and the team has good reason to regret that the end came too soon for him to capitalize on the weather. It needs to be pointed out, too, that Glock's apparent brilliance was purely the result of being on the right tires when everyone else had chosen the wrong ones. It was a gamble by Toyota, almost as dubious as Ferrari's in sending out Kimi on full wets much too soon, and could have ended with Glock looking just as foolish.
But that is the name of the game when the rain comes. The man who picks the right tires at the right time is king for a day. So Glock deserves his third place for tactical choice, but let us not get over-excited with thoughts of a new star emerging; he drove no better than Trulli (who has all my sympathy at the way in which events robbed him of a certain second place).
Nick Heidfeld was lucky too but deserved his reward for his perseverance in starting with a massive fuel load and stopping for tires only once. He was the one who decided against changing the tires again as the rain became heavier and it turned out to be the right call.
And so to Verasaki's comment on my previous post; she wrote the following just before I began to set finger to keyboard and, in the process, she started a whole new chain of thoughts in my head:
When you're right, you're right. I never did see the attraction to kers from the start. I mean, I love the idea of it as far as it is giving the engineers something new and interesting to work on and I can see why a little extra power at a critical moment would appeal but really, I just don't see the ethical difference between this and other driver aids that have been banned.
And I'm very curious to see how you get away with not saying "told you so" today. FIAsco is the correct description if ever there was one.
It is true to say that my post on the dangers of a 5:00pm start in Malaysia turned out to be correct; but many others did the same and so there is little point in saying "I told you so." The combination of poor evening light coupled by rainstorms was always likely to cause problems during the race.
There is an earlier post that gives me much more satisfaction, however, and that is my first look at the new Toyota TF109. I had a hunch then that the new Toyota was going to be good, even tipping it as a good bet for the championship, and it is proving to be all I said it would be.
Admittedly, I missed the trick diffuser - but then, none of the photos of new car launches ever show what is happening in and under the rear. Such important areas are kept under wraps as long as possible by all the teams. It was the overall look of the car that alerted me, its balance and clean design, its avoidance of complex detail. It is a complete concept, not a bunch of ideas collected and joined together by a bit of car in the middle.
I think I caused quite a bit of laughter as a result of that post, so used to Toyota's under-achievement are we, but it becomes my turn to laugh now. In Malaysia, the Toyota was the only car that could live with the Brawns and it was in with a good chance of both pole and the win. Now who would bet against it taking a win or even a few this year?
So there, Vera, you have an "I told you so" from me at last. And I can tell you, it's worth hanging on for that moment - there is so much satisfaction in saying those words when the prediction has been unpopular and the wait long!