This morning I turned on the TV to watch the start of the inaugural Indian Grand Prix. What a wonderful spectacle - all the pizzazz that we have grown accustomed to when India is on the global sport scene (maybe Commonwealth Games last year aside...), and all the expectation of a new nation on the Formula One calendar.
After the first corner of the race, I turned to my Dad and said: "That's it, Vettel's won." How formulaic. How annoying. After 10 seconds, there was no point in watching the next 90 minutes. The following coverage was mainly the battle for second, and the occasional flash of the ongoing saga of the Hamilton/Massa will they, won't they, oh yes, they have, kind of battle.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of F1. Even when it was on ITV. And I am also a huge fan of Sebastian Vettel. Rare thing, especially in F1, as I remember loathing that man Schumacher for many a year for winning over and over again. That kind of race was only made interesting by having the likes of Ukyo Katayama, and his will he, won't he, yes he will crash again.
Vettel victorious is something you will hear for a long, long time to come - and though the words go together like peas in a pod, it just means that we are watching for who comes second. I was talking to someone the other day who was saying how exciting it was when Webber was racing Hamilton a couple of weeks ago. I agreed - it was fantastic to watch. It was just, how can I watch it that intently when I know that Vettel is so far in the lead? It's like watching Tyson Gay when Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record - what's the point? When Bolt ran 9.58, the race for second was the battle, and actually led to Gay setting a fastest second world time - but because Bolt was so far in the lead, who cares?
The same goes with Vettel. What a superb driver, and what a fantastic team. What they do on a week to week basis is incredible. But by winning all the time, it means that people, like me, will resign to knowing that he will win after just 10 seconds. I for one cannot wait for another team to challenge again.
The old school song goes 'First the worst, second the best...' - and that's pretty much what TV coverage is going to have to get used to.
Here's to finishing second.
After the first corner of the race, I turned to my Dad and said: "That's it, Vettel's won." How formulaic. How annoying. After 10 seconds, there was no point in watching the next 90 minutes. The following coverage was mainly the battle for second, and the occasional flash of the ongoing saga of the Hamilton/Massa will they, won't they, oh yes, they have, kind of battle.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm a huge fan of F1. Even when it was on ITV. And I am also a huge fan of Sebastian Vettel. Rare thing, especially in F1, as I remember loathing that man Schumacher for many a year for winning over and over again. That kind of race was only made interesting by having the likes of Ukyo Katayama, and his will he, won't he, yes he will crash again.
Vettel victorious is something you will hear for a long, long time to come - and though the words go together like peas in a pod, it just means that we are watching for who comes second. I was talking to someone the other day who was saying how exciting it was when Webber was racing Hamilton a couple of weeks ago. I agreed - it was fantastic to watch. It was just, how can I watch it that intently when I know that Vettel is so far in the lead? It's like watching Tyson Gay when Usain Bolt broke the 100m world record - what's the point? When Bolt ran 9.58, the race for second was the battle, and actually led to Gay setting a fastest second world time - but because Bolt was so far in the lead, who cares?
The same goes with Vettel. What a superb driver, and what a fantastic team. What they do on a week to week basis is incredible. But by winning all the time, it means that people, like me, will resign to knowing that he will win after just 10 seconds. I for one cannot wait for another team to challenge again.
The old school song goes 'First the worst, second the best...' - and that's pretty much what TV coverage is going to have to get used to.
Here's to finishing second.
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