Another statistic

Phil: A quick check of the F1 stat-o-meter reveals that it's no wonder the Turkish GP was so confusing: there were more pitstops (82) than in any other race since F1 began in 1950.

Senna, Schumacher and Vettel

Phil: As usual an excellent summary of the last race from my co-blogger, although a detailed account would take more space than we can spare. So much was happening each lap at Istanbul that even a seasoned commentator like Martin Brundle could barely keep up, and commented at one point I believe how the leader pitting doesn't even merit air time, there's so much else happening on the track.

One thing is beyond doubt, though, as my co-blogger admirably explained: Vettel is in a class of his own. I half expected he might be: he certainly had the pace last season but lacked the maturity, as his collision with Webber at Istanbul a year ago showed. A year on, however, and the confidence that being reigning world champion gives, he is in a different class. I confidently expect him to be the first driver in five years to successfully defend his world title.

The funny thing is, last year we had an enthralling, season-long battle for the title that we couldn't really call until about half way through the last race, but of the races themselves, none of them really stick in the mind. This year, although the championship will probably have been wrapped up by Hungary, you can't look away from the races for a minute.

I've said before that I don't really know why Schumi came out of retirement, and still think he'll regret it in the long run. There are two reasons why he probably un-retired: firstly, because he thought he could be genuinely competitive again, and secondly, because he simply enjoys driving a F1 car. I don't think anyone seriously expects him to win a race again, let along a championship, and as he said after Turkey: the joy isn't there. It's hardly surprising. This is a driver who broke all the records, who barring a few years in the late 1990s when he was building Ferrari into the force it is today was accustomed to being virtually unchallenged and unchallengeable. Why would he now enjoy not winning, and being outraced by men half his age? Johnny Herbert, his team mate at Benetton in 1995, thinks he'll retire permanently at the end of this season, and I think he may be right.

Speaking of great F1 drivers of the past, there's a great interview with the man some call the Gavin Winston of F1 in the Guardian (which may even be linked to this blog, or maybe not). Newey, who designed the car in which Ayrton Senna was killed, talks about how his death affected him and how he won't be watching the new film about Senna.

Finally, I think my co-blogger will agree that the only date that needs to be in anyone's diary in the next few weeks is the I Was Having a Blog live event of the year at Monaco. Well, actually in High Wycombe, which is like Monaco. Well, they're both hilly...anyway I digress.

Red Bullshit

Phil: I don't think we are the only voices out there in cyberspace sticking up for Mark. But we are the only ones to have published that birthday card photo.

Anyone with half a brain, and Eddie Jordan, can see Vettel caused the accident. Anyone except Red Bull, of course. Although he has since tried to backpedal, Christian Horner is on record as saying that, 'it is important that they [Vettel and Webber] give each other a bit more respect and concede if one has got a run on the other'. The implication is that Red Bull are, or were, blaming Webber. A cynic might be tempted to suggest Red Bull see Vettel as 'their man', and Webber as a Barrichello to Vettel's Schumacher, a driver who can be relief upon to pick up plenty of points for the constructors' title without doing anything silly. Never mind Mark, there will always be a place for you on the I Was Having a Blog sofa.

My co-blogger ('teammate' is a bit of a dirty word right now) pointed out one of those historical ironies which I'd missed. Earlier on in the season, we questioned the widsom of McLaren putting two world champions in the same team, pointing out that the last time they'd done it, it had all ended in disaster. Well, maybe not disaster, seeing as they won both titles four years on the trot, but certainly in a certain gravel trap at Suzuka. The irony, of course, is that Lewis and Jenson seem to be managed their professional rivalry perfectly fine, and it's Red Bull who are on the verge of civil war. It's not even as if Red Bull can say they've fallen out over the spoils like McLaren did: it's McLaren, after all, who are now leading the constructors' title race.

Without wanting to sound too much like a back-slapping session for McLaren, it's easy to forget that Turkey was actually a 1-2 for the Brits. What's more, another British driver, Dario Franchitti, won the Indy 500 on the same day. A good day for the Brits, I think.

Vettel cocked up big style

Phil: I think that's a fair summary of the afternoon's racing.

A few years ago there was a running joke in my family (at least I think it was a joke) where every birthday my Mum would send me the birthday card with Mauricio Gugelmin airborne at Monaco after a first corner shunt, and the incredibly funny thought bubble, 'Mirror, signal, manoeuvre...oh bugger!', pretending that she'd forgotten she's given me the same card the year before. A roundabout anecdote, I know, and not a terribly interesting one, but Vettel probably had one of those moments. He's rumoured to talk to himself inside his helmet, so the conversation probably went something like this: 'pass Mark up the inside, turn in nice and early for the corner, hold on, wasn't I overtaking someone? Oh cock.....' Maybe that explains the international slightly loopy hand gesture he was doing as he walked off across the gravel trap. The alternative is that he deliberately sabotaged his teammate's race, which is really too sinister to contemplate. Either way, Lewis and Jenson gave us an object lesson in how world class drivers overtake their teammates, and Vettel showed us how things are done in....Formula 3, or something.

What happened to the Ferraris this weekend? I was expecting Alonso to come scything through the field after his disappointing twelfth place on the grid, but he didn't. In fact, he only managed eighth, and even that after Vettel disgraced himself and Alonso managed to shunt Petrov off while passing him.

Skiver of the day normally goes to someone who's showered and changed before the chequered flag falls, and today is no exception (see above).