There are times when the F1 world goes quiet, when all the rumors and off-track excitement goes away and the bloggers are left to dig deep for subjects to pontificate upon. This has been one of those weeks for me - I had a lucky hit on Thursday, when a post on KERS suddenly fired me up about environmental issues, but otherwise there has been little to get excited about.
Atmospheric shot of a Toyota TF108
Mosley's win in court? Hardly the surprise of the year after the star witness for the defence ducked out. Testing at Jerez? Meaningless, since everyone was trying out new stuff for 2009 as well as preparing for the Hungarian GP. And yes, the prospect of the Hungaroring hardly sets one on tenterhooks. Admittedly, the race does sometimes produce a great contest but, in general, it is seen as a processional circuit where overtaking is impossible.
In looking for something to write about, I come eventually and inevitably to Doctor Vee's Vee8 blog. In the short time that it has been given its independence from its parent blog, Vee8 has become a must-read. The good doctor has evolved a format that is ideal as an overview of the sport, including his own thoughts, guest articles, live blogging and the outstanding daily pick of articles from F1 sites and blogs (I never understood the Twitter thing and think it an improvement that it has been knocked on the head, therefore).
It might be thought that I am recommending Vee8 because my own blog gets the occasional mention; but that makes no sense, really, since any of my readers will already know about F1 Insight before they wander over to see what Doctor Vee has to say. I review Vee8 at this time because it is one of the best - honest.
As an illustration of the blog's excellence, note that Doctor Vee has written of his thoughts on the Mosley case, something I decided against as many of my thoughts on the matter are unprintable. In essence, I agree with the doctor's take, although I might have put things a little more strongly. But the point is that Doctor Vee has had the courage to say what he thinks, always a slightly risky matter when commenting on things of a litigious nature. Max has not singled out any blogs as yet, but there is a first time for everything.
The doctor's opinion posts are always well worth a read but I must return to those daily links to other F1 posts - they save me a lot of digging around and invariably point at some articles that I would never have found. Thank you, Doctor Vee.
It might be wondered why I continue to refer to Doctor Vee when he openly admits to being Duncan Stephen in reality. The truth is that I like the assumed name because it gives me a chance to refer to "the good doctor" (and thank you too, Dr Mario Theissen); plus, I enjoy the quote from the doctor's personal blog that states that he is not really a vee. The implication, for those who don't get it, is that he is, in fact, a doctor - and that amuses me as a roundabout way of stating the fact.
So I have no hesitation in recommending a daily visit to Vee8. It really is the blog that reaches the parts other beers do not (sorry - obscure reference to a Brit TV advertisement).