Oh the weather outside is frightful.

But the tires are so delightful.

So if we're testing in Spain,

Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain.

My man Reubens Barrichello had a big day during testing in Jerez Spain on Friday of last week.  It looks like the Honda may be the fastest team on wet tires.  And since it will likely rain during at least one F1 race this season, I am going to look forward to the wet stuff.

You see, once again, this is not your fathers NASCAR.  F1 runs in the rain.  They put on tires with grooves and go at it.  Wow, novel thought, if it rains the fans still see a race.  None of this postponing the race to Monday stuff.  None of this gee should I stay till Monday and watch the race since I've got $200 bucks tied up in it anyway or should I go back to work so I don't get fired instead?

And in case you have missed the story, Lewis Hamilton was fastest on day two of testing when it wasn't raining.   Hamilton will become F1's first black driver when the season opens next month.

p.s.  If you spell it tyres and you say Honda are, you might be English. 

Honda’s Rubens Barrichello topped the timesheets in Jerez on Friday, clocking a lap time of 1m 19.981s. Barrichello ended the session just under two-tenths faster than team mate James Rossiter.

Although heavy rain at the Spanish circuit during the morning caused a delay to the start of testing, Honda managed to complete their programme. Both Barrichello and Rossiter went out initially on Bridgestone’s extreme wets before switching to dry rubber as the weather cleared up.

Lewis Hamilton, who had set the fastest time on Thursday, ended the session in third for McLaren. Hamilton’s team mate, Pedro de la Rosa, was just over one-tenth slower. Both drivers continued to evaluate tyres, but while Hamilton focused on suspension work, De la Rosa spearheaded the team’s aerodynamic development programme.

 

 

OK. I know I am weird.  But, yes I also follow F1 racing.  With Juan Pablo Montoya moving to NASCAR this year, I pledged my allegiance to Reubens Barrichello.

Yes, it is true many "Americans" do not watch F1 because few "Americans" participate in it.  Six years ago, when I started following the sport there were no "Americans", so I picked a South American among five racers I chose to follow.  Now this "American" has worked his way up to my number one spot (I am sure he is just thrilled about that).

You may have missed it, or forgotten, but Reubens is the fine young gentleman (turn on sarcasm detector it's going to get worse) that pulled over to allow that fantastic German racer, Michael Schumacher to win a race about three years ago after being given team orders to do so.  Of course, gentleman that he is, Schumacher practically insisted Reubens hold the trophy on the podium as Reubens played along to a small degree, smiled sheepishly, and acted much to gentlemanly himself to hold Michael's trophy (pull on hip waders, Shinola may be getting deeper).

Of course later in the season, after he had the championship clinched, Michael pulled over to let Reubens win a race thus returning the favor (yeah right) [If it didn't happen this way just play along with me huh, if it did please verify my recollection.  After all, I can not be sure this is all correct since I slept since then.  But at any rate, it makes a good story, doesn't it (rhetorial question, does not require a response, naturally, positive feedback would be appreciated [no, I know nothing about ebay]).

This is not your father's NASCAR.  There are team orders.  You probably can't even find a tenderloin sandwhich at the track, but mass quantities of wine and cheese will be consumed.  "Rubbin" is not "racin", it is downright suicidal.  There are often local cautions instead of full track cautions so the pace car stays behind the wall most of the time.  You do not lose a lap when you pit because circuits are 2 or 3 miles in length.  Gas is pumped in (imagine that), there is one lug nut per tire and a gaggle of attendents are allowed over the wall allowing pit stops to take place in 4, 5, maybe 6 seconds, and there are no mysterious TV time outs that bring out the caution.

Don't get me wrong, I love NASCAR (Go Sterling) and prefer watching and following it to F1, but still, I believe F1 is the purest form of racing in motorsport. So, if I haven't already bored you to tears, check the following article from F1.com out.  Wouldn't it be great if we could see more NASCAR drivers doing this at the local karting track? 

Formula One drivers Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa struggled during Sunday’s Granja Viana endurance karting event. It was the tenth running of the annual 500-mile race, which takes place in Sao Paolo and regularly attracts Brazil’s biggest motorsport names.

Barrichello, despite leading the winning team on six previous occasions, finished in second, two laps down on the victorious squad led by 15-year old Otavio Bonder and his team mates Antonio Ventre, Jose Eduardo Ventre, Bruno Pacetti and Lucas Rodrigues. Barrichello’s team, which also featured CART driver Tony Kanaan, narrowly bettered that of former Jaguar and Prost driver Luciano Burti, which eventually finished in third after the team’s kart stopped with 10 laps to go.

“We’ve got to celebrate - our kart was not as quick as the ones driven by the drivers that arrived in front of us and even some that we happen to get passed,” explained Barrichello. “We faced problems with a poor engine all the time.”

Massa finished down in 69th despite clinching pole position during Saturday’s qualifying session. Although the Ferrari driver lost the lead at the start, he was enjoying a strong drive in second for the first hour before colliding with another runner. The accident left Massa’s kart with a broken axle and after 30 laps spent fruitlessly in the pits he rejoined the race. The Brazilian was replaced in turn by team mates Joao Paulo Bertuccelli, Ruben Carrapatoso and Rafael Derani, but a third engine failure saw the team retire.

“There was nothing I could do,” said Massa, who won the inaugural Granja Viana back in 1997. “When I realized, the guy just a few metres ahead. It was a shame, because our pace was quite good and we were capable of finishing in the top three positions.”

Nelson Piquet Jr, meanwhile, competed with two teams, which finished ninth and 15th respectively, whilst fellow Renault tester Ricardo Zonta crossed the line in 32nd with his team.