AL2 from the Cockpit: India

by **RosstheIcon** Fri Feb 28, 2014 10:48 pm

If there had been any doubt about AL2 being the most action-packed league on this game, it was wiped away as swiftly as Whiteside's turd in an outstanding Indian Grand Prix.

Qualifying was as close as it has been all year, with the top 3 separated by just 0.1s, with con-reece again finding the speed to take pole ahead of myself and barwell. As it turned out, though, this was merely a taster of what was to come.

At the start there was a case of deja-vu for Will and Barwell, as they collided into turn , although hints of a lag bubble have been mentioned. This left con leading from me. That is until I outbraked myself into turn 3, thought "screw it", and turned it into a passing move. We then went side-by-side down the straight, with con getting the run on me out of the hairpin. This would not be the last time we were side by side as yet another epic duel was about to unfold. One where Con and I swapped positions an unprecedented number of times (if anyone can be bothered to count on the footage please let me know), battled to cross the DRS line last, and went side-by-side though the high-speed corners of the second sector.

The battle was decided when it rained. Yes, it rained in India. For about 10 minutes, just to say "Fuck you" to us drivers. anyway, con pitted early while I stayed out for 2 extra laps. The ideal time to pit was probably right in the middle, but I decided to gamble. If all had gone to plan, I probably would have exited about a second behind Con, however I decided that I was Lewis Hamilton, and went into the gravel at the pit-lane entrance, costing me a few seconds. This proved crucial.

From that point I never got back into a challenging position, despite coming close towards the end as Con's tyres degraded. While this was going on, Barwell recovered from the lap 1 collision, as well as becoming yet another of CHM's victims, to finish a strong 3rd, even briefly threatening 2nd.

Todays debutant in the Ferrari was sofiazkye (which is a bugger to spell), who had an unremarkable race until an odd incident on the last lap, where he and S007PS made contact as the latter came through to lap him. This may be another argument for the reintroduction of blue flags in W2WR.

Will_I_Am-3001 was poor.

Drivers' Championship Review:

1st. ConnorH1996: 257pts

Another fantastic weekend for the apparent champion elect. Con now requires just 31 points for the championship assuming that I win the last 3 races (a massive assumption). Rumours are that he will miss Abu Dhabi, but that should have little effect.

2nd. RosstheIcon: 212pts (-45)

2nd position will not do. Still mathematically in with a shout, but not realistically. Would need to win every remaining race to stand a chance.

3rd. Barwell74: 267pts (-80)

Despite a very impressive race in India Barwell has now officially dropped out of the running for the title, with only 75 points available.

4th. S007PS: 161pts (-96)

AL2's resident photographer has now also officially dropped out of the running, although making it this far without winning is quite impressive.

Constructors' Championship Review:

1st: RBR Renault: 344pts

Red Bull benefitted this weekend from entering 2 drivers. Despite Will being well off his game, he managed 6 precious points to pull away from Toro Rosso. The double is very much on for this team.

2nd. STR Ferrari: 338pts (-6)

With the STR drivers occupying their now customary positions of 3rd and 4th, they keep the pressure on Red Bull. Consistency remains key to this team.

3rd Sauber Ferrari: 267pts (-77)

Sauber still haven't got a hope in hell of winning the championship, but can still mathematically. They are not owned by Red Bull, and are therefore better than the two teams above.

But who do you think will win the Constructors' Championship? Answer the poll at the bottom correctly to win a massive pile of shimmering nothing.

Finally I would like to congratulate Rob-Lee on the birth of his third daughter. 3 daughters? God help you, sir.

Awards:

DOTD: barwell74
Hakkinen-Schumacher Battle of the day: con_reece and RosstheIcon
Lewis Hamilton Award for going into a pit-lane gravel trap: RosstheIcon
Sergio Perez Award for going missing: Will_I_Am-3001
The other Lewis Hamilton Award for consistenly hitting Ferraris: S007PS
CHM1945 award for being CHM1945: CHM1945
John Button Dad of the Day award: Rob-Lee77

2nd in the race, 2nd in the championship.