The Finale in Brazil

            Well, this is the weekend. The final weekend of the year for the F1 World Championship is upon us. After 17 rounds, some crashes, passes and disasters (almost rhymed), it all comes down to this. Seven points separate Felipe Massa from leader Lewis Hamilton. This year went by really fast and I can’t believe it is down to the final race again, just like last year. And just like last year, a McLaren is leading a Ferrari by seven points down the homestretch. Can Lewis hold of a charging Massa? Probably, but we will definitely find out by Sunday.

            Of course the other big stories this week include David Coulthard in his last F1 race ever, and the FIA trying to sabotage the best race series on the planet. David is one of the elder statesmen of the F1 community and is leaving the sport after this season. I was never a fan of him – mostly because he drove for McLaren – but he is a very talented Scotsman and a true competitor. He is also very candid and speaks his mind, which in this Formula One, is somewhat of a rarity. He will be driving his car with a different livery this weekend (all white with ads for a charity he supports). Is it time he stepped down? He certainly thinks so, so I’ll agree with him. Maybe he will have some sort of role in the F1 circus after this, but who knows. He has had a long and distinguished career with many notable wins (coming in that McLaren of so long ago) and has raced against many of the best there ever was. Hopefully he can at least finish his final race and get a good result.

            Meanwhile, if you haven’t heard by now (and if you are any sort of F1 fan, of course you have) the FIA wants to implement cost-cutting measures in the form of a uniform engine package. What this would mean is that Ferrari, BMW, Honda, Toyota and all the others would be running the same engine from one manufacturer. If this ever happened (which it won’t) Ferrari has vowed to quit Formula One. This is a great move by the Italian firm as they are the face of F1 and without that team, no one would care. This is because Ferrari polarizes people; you either love them or hate them. Viewership would tumble and the series would not live much longer. Of course, it also helps that the other big hitters have also come out and said that this sort of cost-cutting measure is ludicrous and they will have no part in it. F1 is, and always has been, the top technological racing series in the world. From the mind blowing aerodynamics to the incredible power the engines make (around 750 to 800 hp from a 2.4 liter naturally aspirated V8 spinning up to 19,000 rpm!) this has always been the series to watch. But if the FIA had their way, it seems like there wouldn’t even be a Formula One to watch. Maybe this weekend will make them realize the error of their ways as they have another nail biter in Brazil.

            On another note, I have no idea what I am going to be writing about after this race. Obviously there will still be news and next years cars are going to look very different and I will keep those who read this updated on that, but other than that I guess I will have to come up with something else to write about dealing with cars. Anyway, go Felipe and go Ferrari.

One Week To Go

Boy I had a busy week last week. I figured that I had better get this out of the way early in the week and I can maybe update later in the week too if more news comes up. I haven’t updated this blog for a couple of weeks and since then Fernando Alonso won in Japan, and Hamilton walked it in China.

Going into the final race of the F1 season in Brazil, Felipe Massa is seven points behind championship leader Lewis Hamilton. For anyone who loves a good stat, at this point in the season last year, Kimi Raikkonen trailed Hamilton by the same number of points – and look what happened with him. As I have said all along, if Massa wins and becomes world champion (which is probably more of a long shot than last year), the country of Brazil will probably explode. Massa would become the first Brazilian world champion since the late, great Ayrton Senna if he were to win. I cannot reasonably see Hamilton making a mistake like he did last year, but the one thing going against him (other than the drivers who don’t like his driving and want Massa to win – i.e. Alonso, Raikkonen, et al) is the fact that he is on a second race for his engine. The McLaren has had great reliability all year, but Heikki Kovalainen’s engine just failed him in China, and Lewis was dialing it back during that race too. If he pushes too hard at the start, we could see a big kablooey from the back of Lewis’s car.

Of course this would mirror what happened to Ferrari this year too. In Hungary, Massa was walking it and his engine exploded with just two laps to go (read about it in my earlier entry), and then the next race saw Raikkonen’s engine let go. So first it was Heikki, and next it will be Hamilton, right? Maybe. But in this day in age; unlikely. So what do I expect? I expect Lewis Hamilton to finish in the top five (which is all he needs) and become the first black world champion – not to mention the youngest. But Massa will put up a good fight and has already said that all of the pressure is on Lewis to finish the race. He has nothing to lose, and I expect he will leave nothing on the track. As for right now, there are less than six days left until the race, and I cannot wait.

Ariel Atom 300

            Well, it’s time for another installment in the top ten list. This time, I will be writing about the always exciting and not well known (at least in this country) Ariel Atom 300. The name aside, this car is not really much of a car. In fact, it only really qualifies because it has four wheels, an engine and a place to rest your butt. The rest of this car is comprised of metal tubes that are both part of the chassis and the exposed skeleton of the body work. There are no doors, so getting in and out is a bit of a chore, but once cocooned inside the carbon fiber bucket seats, you will get a driving experience that is second to none.

            The Atom is powered by your choice of either Honda or GM power and can be equipped with a supercharger to produce up to 300 horsepower. This, if you hadn’t already realized is where the Atom 300 gets it moniker from. This vehicle that weighs about 1,000 pounds has 300 horsepower! The power to weight ratio is off the charts high (about 650 hp/ton) and that means it accelerates, brakes and turns like a supercar, but costs much less. The 0-60 time has been timed at around 2.7 seconds (less if you are good and don’t weigh a lot and can change gears that fast) and the 0-100-0 time is an eye-watering 10.88 seconds.

            Yes, this car will pin you back in your seat. Yes, it has the brutal accelerative force of a much expensive car. But what do you get for your money? For about $50,000 to $70,000 (depending on the specs of your particular Atom) you get that sweet and buttery 300hp Honda unit, your choice of eight colors, the amazingly distinctive looks and the satisfaction of knowing that you can blow just about anything – minus a $1.3 million dollar Veyron or an Ultima GTR (both of which you will never see on the road) – out of the water.

            No one will touch you on the track either as this car can go round the corners like nothing else close to the same amount of money. It will destroy a Caterham and even take out such supercars as the Porsche Carrera GT and the Mercedes McLaren SLR. If you like getting a ton of attention when you drive your car, you will love driving this car. It might be prudent to pick up a helmet though because this car lacks any real windscreen and will make your face look like jelly when you put your foot in it (see Jeremy Clarkson video on the Internet).

            If you like your cars to be different and want to be able to drive to the track or the autocross and be able to have a ton of fun and still have the dependability that comes with a Honda engine and gearbox, then an Ariel Atom 300 is for you. Just know that you won’t be taking any luggage with you though, because this car has no storage space whatsoever. But who cares. If you love cars, this is one that should be on your list too. The Ariel Atom 300 is one of the best new cars around and has a place reserved in my dream garage.

            There is also a big V8 powered Atom with 500 horsepower out there (see pic below), but this seems like overkill, both on speed and on your tires.