Haih...

'The-other-fella' won the British Grand Prix

And Federer lost the Wimbledon finals

The lansi tortoise @ 31900; 6th July 2008

*haih*

I think I'd better stop jinxing anyone by supporting them...

-LV-

British Grand Prix 2008

And it's my pleasure to present to you... Heikki Kovalainen, the man on pole for the British Grand Prix this weekend!!!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24377114@N04/2328851559/

After being overshadowed by his teammate for the earlier 1/3 of this season,

this is his chance for a breakthrough.

Will he score his maiden race victory tonight? My prayers are with him...

Oh btw, mum's convinced that I'm supporting him because I oh-so detest 'the-other-fella' in the team. Part-truth.

Why? 3 races into the 2007 season, I grew sick of the British press that's been all too eager to lap up news after news about 'the-other-fella'.

And my gosh, I shall not comment about the very public Alonso-Hamilton spat.

I recall complaining to Dan last year and his reply was apt (in some ways),

"Dan.... All ITV's showing nowadays during live race coverage is Hamilton, his dad, Hamilton, his dad, and back to Hamilton... then his dad again!!!!"

"Well, you can't blame us. It's been ages since Damon Hill won the World Championship."

So perhaps, you can't blame the press for lapping up 'sensational news' about their fast-rising star (back then). He was lucky last season. And for once I was glad that a Ferrari driver (so long as it's not Schumacher) won instead of him (though would have personally preferred Alonso as the 2007 WDC).

Look at the-other-fella's 2008 season. I hope it continues this way, and that Heikki will elipse him in the near future! *teehee*

But still, with reference to the above statement made by Dan. Hmmmm... such words coming from the mouth of a guai lo who's country has had so many drivers in the likes of Button, Coulthard and Davidson (from the now defunct Super Aguri).

And what we've got? Alex Yoong!!!! *period*

ANYWAY...

God speed Heikki!!!! Your predecessors Rosberg, my evergreen favourite Hakkinen and my so-called 'ex-bf' Raikkonen have done it. So can you!

Starting grid line up: Kovalainen, Webber *wow*, Raikkonen...

Game on!

-LV-
PS: I realise that I sound very much like an old-broken record whenever I talk about my pet-peeves in Formula 1. Singing the same old-tune over and over again!
He he... but then, so long as ITV continues with its worship of 'the-other-fella', my rants will continue...

Awesome Weekend

More pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45142&l=f5fd5&id=721856256

Note: Many people whom I've met have commented that they seldom meet a girl who's such a sport fan. I was brought up by a MU die-hard, and am currently in the process of converting the MU die-hard into a McLaren die-hard too! ;)

Yes, I love sports... both as a participant and as a spectator...

However, rest assured; sports aside, I do have my "Oh, that dress is so pretty!", "I wanna buy that nail polish", "I need a haircut!", "Oh I'm having a bad hair day" moments too!

(Geddit?!)
I hope you get the point *lols*

________

McLaren Pit Garage

And so.... I was in Sepang and back...

Heikki Kovalainen (front) and his teammate Lewis Hamilton (behind)

It was marvelous nonetheless! I was there to witness Raikkonen's maiden victory in the same track in 2003, and am now back to witness his first victory in 2008 (albeit with a certain Red team!). Apart from the fact that the 'wrong team' won... I had an awesome time! Watching the race unfold right in front of your eyes is a different experience altogether!

Fernando Alonso (Renault) heading back to the pit lane after the race

And of course, taking pictures with random strangers was part of the Formula 1 hoo hah and moo lah too!!!

A bunch of guai los.... Obviously from England!

My personal favourite! Interesting that he used the Kuda Kepang in place of the Prancing Pony (horse) ;)

Oh, the adrenaline rush... when you see the race cars line up on the track, the mechanics and engineers scurrying back and forth doing last minute preparations for the race. And of course, the sound of engines revving up minutes before the race begins.... And the best of all... the piercing sounds and the vibrations felt everytime a car whizzes pass you...

No water bottles allowed.... so I had to empty my 500ml bottle at the gates.... But *shhhh...* I managed to sneak in a 1.5l bottle ;)

Cars lining up at the start of the race

Race result: Raikkonen, Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen ....
It would have been perfect had McLaren won the race. But with a 5 place penalty for Heikki and Hamilton respectively, they were no match for the Prancing Pony (Horse) *lol* But still, the sight of Massa spinning out of the race, and his car being lifted up by a crane back to the pitlanes... Priceless! Would have been better if it was Michael Schumacher though... *ho ho ho*

Reigning World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, followed by Anthony Bourdais during the driver's parade

The final order of the day...

And yes, I got myself a team t-shirt.... *sigh* There I go, contributing to the McLaren building fund @ Tabung Kebajikan McLaren again! But then, I figured out since I got the tickets FOC, I could spare some money for the t-shirt.... And I'm glad I did, though I doubt when I'll wear it again... Maybe to class someday... But certainly not Baljit's ;) (Don't wanna attract unnecessary attention for unnecessary questioning)

The McLaren marquee....

We arrived at 1130pm, and it was 12pm when we got to the Mclaren place... Hence, I missed this! *hits self*

Anyway, some pictures during the race...

Safety car

Hamilton (McLaren) leading Trulli (Toyota) at the hairpin....

Torro Rosso (Vettel, I think)

Massa, after the first pit-stop (if I'm not mistaken)

Kovalainen!!!!!

Podium.... See the 3 tiny dots in the middle... :P

Plus... guai los will be guai los whereever they are.... They worship the sun!!!!! *sot sot dei*

I had a my cap and sunglasses and sunblock on throughout the day, yet I ended up with slight sunburn, and the burning sensation on my skin afterwards... Wonder how they tahan the 36'c (or maybe more) effects of the sun....

Needless to say, I enjoyed myself....

And yes, to those who would be attending a race in the near future. Learn up your teams, driver helmets, numbers, and the different identifying marks on each car... It pays... Otherwise, you will be left sitting down, watching the cars zoom past without even knowing who's is who....

And home I went..... Straight for 2 back to back EPL clashes.... MU-Liverpool and Chelsea-Arsenal! *lols*

'Committee members' of our self-declared 'Asian Fan Club' in front of Old Trafford, Manchester; March 2008

(FJ fr China, and Anil and I fr Malaysia) *lols*

MU won 3-0, Chelsea won 2-1... *yay* We're leading the title race now!

It was certainly a long and enjoyable day!

To quote from my UPSR karangans... "Saya berasa letih tetapi gembira!"

-LV-

*enough of madness and fooling around.
(or else the Teochew lang will be screaming at me (or us), right SW?) *winks*
Time to sit down and do some serious studying from today onwards...

End of race...football next!

End of race. Im on my way back! More updates later... Had an awesome time although my 'ex-bf' won and my 'current bf' ended third ;)

PS: I'm as red as a lobster...

The sponsor

Notes fr the race track...

Petronas cupcake... *cute*

Race starting in 50mins. Im surrounded by a sea of reds... Go mclaren, go heikki! God speed...

There!

Im there.... :)

Formula 1: Sepang 2008

I'm so excited (and lucky)!!!!!!!

Res ipsa loquitor (i.e. the story (here, picture) speaks for itself)

Yours truly will be at the Sepang racetrack tomorrow, watching the live Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix unfold in front of her own eyes.... *excited!*

(Now, who says I won't miss classes!?!?! I'll skip class IF and ONLY IF there are GOOD and LEGITIMATE reasons... :P)

*lols*
I recalled stating yesterday how I wished to be in Sepang this weekend. *right? ;) *

And yes, dreams do come true....
Got a call from Dad yesterday afternoon asking if I wanted to go watch the race, courtesy Petronas... And *ahem* it would be rude to say "No", wouldn't it? *winks*

*lols*
Honestly speaking...
One would be silly to decline the offer! (Die also go la!!!!) :P
And Li Vyen being Li Vyen... (you all should know me well enough to understand my love affair with Formula 1, I believe)
I JUMPED at the opportunity, WITHOUT any further deliberation....

It really made my day.... :)

*lols* It doesn't take much to make me happy... just a free ticket from Petronas will make me smiling and grinning all day long!

And so, we took up the offer from Petronas...

And home came the tickets.... Oh yes, the ticket came with a goodie bag from Petronas too! :) Earplugs, lanyard, ticket holder, limited edition t-shirt (L sized, hence it goes to Dad) and complimentary meals from Petronas too!!!!!

Man, I am a happy camper!!!!

I LOVE PETRONAS!!!!
Thank you so much for making my wish come true!

And thanks to Dad as well! ;) It wouldn't have been possible without him.... *muaks!*

Oh yeah, btw... qualifying results not too bad either! Massa, Kimi, Heikki, Hamilton.... *Thanks KH for the updates during class today! CNN esok ya? ;)

*May the right team win!!!*

-LV-

*Vyen's one happy camper

My team

And so, the season begun...

My GP league team:

(i) Drivers
- Raikkonen
- Kovalainen
- Heidfeld
- Kubica
- Webber
- Piquet
- Trulli
- Davidson
- Sato

(ii) Constructors
- Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
- Force India
- Super Aguri

*lols* I know I could have put Hamilton in, but I chose deliberately chose Kimi over him (protest vote).
And Sato? Davidson? Force India? Super Aguri??? Yeah yeah yeah, I know I know I know... there's only so much I could do with my budget of $75m.

The results from today's qualifying:
- Hamilton *sigh*
- Kubica *yay*
- Kovalainen *yay*
- Heidfeld *yay*
- Massa *ok la*
...
AND
Kimi's car koyak, Webber's car koyak....

-LV-

Caricatures

Note: Oh dear! Just realised I'll be missing out on the race on Sunday. Classes at the Torture Camp. *sulks*

___

The Formula 1 season of 2008/09 officially kicks start today with the Australian GP. Friday practices, Saturday qualifying and Sunday racedays! Ah!!! My weekends are gonna be so fun from now on... :P I'm so looking forward to it!

No more Mika, no more Kimi, BUT... here comes Heikki!

http://es.motorfull.com/2006/12/22/kovalainen-asume-su-condicion-de-segundo-plato

Was browsing through my usual sites for Formula 1 gossips, updates and news when I chanced upon some caricatures of drivers, drawn by their teammates. It was for a charity event last season (not sure what the event was though). I thought the drawings were refreshing....

Errrmmm, 'showcasing' the 'artistic side' of the drivers...

Here's the link

http://www.f1-mclaren.de/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1522

(Not sure if the link is viewable by non-forum members, but do give it a try)

I personally liked the one done by Kimi of Massa and the one by Heidfeld of Kubica.

BTW, do try out http://newsnow.co.uk/ for international news. And of course, http://www.f1-mclaren.de/ for Formula 1 updates *yay-ness*

And now, for the start of another thrilling season....

My team....

Team McLaren Mercedes

And its boss....

Please Ron, don't screw up anymore this season...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nuvisionmedia/184201331/

And my man this season...

Hekki Kovalainen

(A conscious choice since I won't support any team other than the Silver Arrows, plus I hate Lewis)

Yeah, I know that's a picture of him in a Renault outfit...

-LV-

Raceday: Melbourne, Australia

The Formula 1 season will begin in 3 days time. Friday testing, Saturday qualifying and Sunday raceday. Australia; 16th March 2008 will be the first stop of the season, followed by back-to-back races in Malaysia and Bahrain.

Malaysia first hosted Formula 1 races back in 1999, and it was during then my interest in this sport grew. Mika Hakkinen was the man to beat back then, and Michael Schumacher, his nemesis. Hakkinen has since retired and Schumacher has gone on to take a multiplicity of world titles and has now retired as well. I could still recall the days when I was a true-blue Hakkinen and McLaren fan, till the day Hakkinen retired.

Mika Hakkinen, my favourite driver of all times...

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrickmayon/550258005/)

Kimi then joined the fray. Things did not look good for McLaren as they went through one of their worst few seasons. Kimi has since left McLaren (and been branded a traitor by some McLaren diehards, oh well.... the Ferrari-McLaren debate) and is the newly crowned world champion. Well done!

2007/08 was a season of ups and downs for McLaren. 2 new drivers joined the team; double world champion Fernando Alonso, and newbie Lewis Hamilton. Watching Formula 1 races in UK (was studying there then) did not contribute much towards my liking towards Hamilton. Yes, he was good for a rookie, but biased reporting on ITV and the British press made it revolting! And so, I supported Alonso. Then came the McLaren-Ferrari Spy Espionage. They were not innocent, and were lucky to have gotten away with minimal punishment i.e. being stuckoff the Constructors Championship.

The last race in China was interesting. Glad that Lewis got knocked off early in the race, and that left Fernando in the hunt for the world title. But alas, the dark horse won the race! Kimi Raikkonen (my 'ex') was crowned the World Champion 2007/08.

As much as I'm looking forward to the season opener this weekend, I'm indifferent. I still support Team McLaren Mercedes, but I'm not as enthusiastic and passionate as before. I'm indifferent, mainly because I don't support Lewis, and oh well.... Heikki Kovalainen.... I'll decide come Melbourne.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gnd/1734818261/

Alonso will face an uphill task this season, having rejoined Renault; judging from the team's dismal performance last year.

No more Mika, no more Kimi, no more Fernando... Should there be a World Champion from McLaren, let it be Heikki. Lewis is getting too big-headed for his own good...

Will MP4-23 impress? We will know in 3 days time....

-LV-
*looking forward to Melbourne in 3 days time, but is left without a driver to support. Anyhow, Team McLaren Mercedes here we come!

Oh yes! Time to register for the McLaren Formula 1 Grand Prix League... :P