This post, sadly, is about the Singapore Formula 1 Night Race that took place yesterday night.
Nope, I did not have the chance to get tickets to the actual race itself, but it was good enough to watch it on television. However, I must say, that as a Ferrari fan, it was a weekend that took me on an emotional rollercoaster and yesterday was a night of heartbreak and sadness.
It must be one of the first times that I actually watched the entire race. In previous races, I either just waited for the news in the newspapers or on the television to enlighten me on the results. Sometimes, even if I was slacking around in a hotel room on holiday and there was a race on television, I would not take the time to watch it. "How boring", I would say, "cars going round and round and round and round..."
To say that yesterday's night race was a boring one would be to tell a complete lie. Definitely an eventful race, I must say that it was thrilling at the very least.
Car crashes: check (times 3)
Random stuff: check (many)
Unexpected winner: check (Fernando Alonso, finally!)
But back to the Ferraris (is this spelt correctly?).
Felipe Massa was perhaps a little rash in his decisions for the night. He was all out to win and would have easily done so if he had not made a stupid mistake in the pit. Driving out from the pit with the hose still attached? Why!? The only reason that I can think of is that he was too worried about losing his lead or dropping way too far behind. Making that mistake not only cost him the race with him dropping to the back of the pack, but in my opinion, has also cost him the drivers' championship.
Perhaps if we take a lesson from this incident, I can think of a way that I have benefitted from his mistake. I am definitely not going to be a driver like him, but I think that his mistake can be reflected in any other things that we do.
We start off leading, being way ahead of the rest. But we grow too worried about achieving success, we try too hard, and we end up making stupid mistakes that harm us in a way that we never thought was possible. In this day and age, if you are not the best, you are nothing. It is of utmost importance (at least for me) that one keeps in mind that it is the smallest things in life that will trip you up and cause you to fall. The people around you are also not going to help you up, they are just going to trample over you and even mock your downfall.
We also see Kimi Raikkonen, the former world champion. Yes, he may have earned the nickname "Iceman" for him keeping his cool in the worst of situations and yes, I respect him for the fighting spirit that he showed yesterday night, climbing back all the way to 4th in the race. I have no critique on him but I have learnt something from him as well.
He crashed with 4 laps to go. Perhaps a little bitter, a little anger, but all in all, I guess the more likely than not, disappointed with himself. All it took was a slip in concentration, a little mistake, and that sealed his fate on this race.
He was focused on winning and I applaud him for that. We are all focused on our goals and aspirations and need to be reminded that a simple slip in our focus could easily bring down everything that we have worked for in the better part of our life.
As the newspaper put it, it was a nightmare race for Ferrari. And yes, it was also a nightmare race for any Ferrari fans that were fortunate enough to be sitting there in the grandstands. However, all in all, this was a race to remember and I can say that I am proud of this achievement of Singapore's :)
