I cannot believe I did not know about this! :(

Apparently, right after the Malaysian GP, Lewis Hamilton of McLaren headed straight to the Philippines as part of a charity event for UNICEF! He spent two days in Binondo to spend time with 85,000 street children as well as filmed some footage for Soccer Aid!

Read the full article here.

He may not be my #1 Formula 1 driver but reading this totally melted my heart. What he’s doing is truly great. Lewis has got a big heart! :) I just wish there was a huge announcement about this so Manila could’ve shown him tons of Formula 1 love! :)

The rain during the Malaysian GP proved that Formula 1 is definitely unpredictable. Which is probably why I’m doing so bad in the Castrol EDGE Grand Prix Predictor. :))

The 2nd race takes place in Asia and just like how the weather has been so bipolar here in the Philippines the past few days, it was pretty much the same in Malaysia.

First of, I wanna start by saying how much I love the Sepang circuit. Turn 1 is just made to push cars into the sand and the start-finish strip is a DRS zone that made overtaking such a delight!

In qualifying, McLaren dominated once again taking the front row of the grid with Hamilton and Button, and imagine the smile on my face when Schumacher took P3! I hoped that this race would be the race he’d finally make it back onto the podium (of course, I was mistaken)! The Red Bulls weren’t deep into the grid either with Webber at P4 and Vettel at P6. And former world champ Kimi Raikkonen was at P5 for Lotus.

The rain was already pouring before the race started so I was a bit scared that they’d start behind the safety car - didn’t take long for them to send it out though! As usual, here are my highlights of the race:

1. On the first turn, Michael already loses a couple places.
2. After one trip around the circuit most of the cars headed to the pits to change into the wet tires that mixed up the order while the rivalry between teammates Jenson and Lewis heated up as they lead the pack 1-2!
3. Grosjean slips into the gravel (another messy start for him) and retires from the race. He’s quick alright, but he’s fragile.
4. Safety car is deployed as the rain was predicted to go on for 30 minutes.
5. RED FLAG on the 9th lap and the cars head back to the grid to wait for the weather to get better.
6. The rain lets up and the race restarts behind the safety car.
7. Race is back on, with HAM-PER-ALO.
8. Jenson makes contact and wrecks his front wing. He heads to the pits and ends up at the back of the pack.
9. Vettel makes use of the DRS and overtakes Rosberg, he moves up to 4th.
10. Battle for 16th between Button, Massa and Ricciardo! - Button prevailing.
11. All teams become concerned with tire wear and most cars head to the pits to put on slick tires.
12. Sebastian’s rear tire blows out!
13. Things get heated between Alonso and Perez for the lead.
14. Maldonado fails to finish the race on the last lap AGAIN. (I’m starting to feel really bad for him.)
15. Engine trouble for Vettel, he’s instructed to stop the car.
16. The Spaniard takes it! Wonderful race for Ferrari!

Race ends with ALONSO - PEREZ - HAMILTON at the podium.

I was a bit thrown off by Perez’s appearance on the podium but Sauber definitely had great strategy as well as pitted at the right time with consideration to the weather. The win boosted their spirits and there’s no way but up for Sauber! They’ve proven that they’ve got a car worthy of a podium finish and a hella smart team to back up Sergio.

Sad that Jenson finished 14th, from the top to the back of the grid. Hamilton was a bit happier this time at the press conference for finishing 3rd considering the race conditions. Great driving on his end for being careful out on the track.

I’m extremely happy for Fernando and Ferrari. While I was reading my copy of Formula 1 Racing, in the driver’s profiles, they were waiting on Ferrari to give Fernando the car that’ll reinforce his great driving skills - and it looks like they have. 

Starting to get really concerned about Red Bull though. It’s only a matter of time before Sebastian gets frustrated that he’s not taking P1 at qualifying. I guess the RB8 isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?

Next race is the Chinese Grand Prix, April 15 at 3pm! :) 

No F1 for two weeks! :((((

(All images © Sutton Images, via formula1.com)

Well here’s something I have never done before - full on blog about a Formula 1 race. :)) It’s obvious that the favorite sport of Filipinos is basketball, and yes, I am one of them hoop junkies but I’m also a sucker for Formula 1 racing. It became a ritual for my Dad and I be parked in front of the TV on Sundays to catch the races ever since I was a little girl. It was the Michael Schumacher era and the sport just won me over.

This sport is so beautiful - the science that goes into the car, the little adjustments that make a car faster 1/10ths of the seconds faster than the other is crucial, the superb driving and strategy - it made Sundays a whole lot more awesome. 

I almost peed my pants yesterday from all the excitement for the first race of the 2012 Formula 1 season and the race did not disappoint! If last season 5 world champions were in 1 grid, this year it’s 6 with the return of Kimi Raikkonen! I had caught the qualifying the day before and I did not expect the turn out at all. 

I knew Red Bull was having trouble with the car - its a great car but it hasnt been tweaked to give it its edge over the McClaren and Mercedes. What surprised me the most was Michael Schumacher’s rise to P4 (which I was ecstatic about because Vettel and him are my favorite drivers! GO GERMANS!) and the dude that came out of nowhere, Romain Grosjean, securing P3 on the Lotus-Renault. It became obvious what cars were close to their best. Jenson and Lewis expressed that they had a good winter having great tests on the cars and it proved its potential in qualifying giving McClaren the front row on the grid. Red Bull disappointed me a bit with Vettel and Webber settling for P5 and 6, as well as Ferari - Alonso failed to make it into Q3, leaving him at P12.

I won’t give a lap-by-lap analysis or anything, but here’s my list of highlights of the race:

1. The start was huge! Jenson took over Lewis, Michael moved up, superb driving by Rosberg moving up a couple spots, Vettel, then Grosjean losing a couple spots.
2. After Grosjean wowed the crowd in qualifying, there was also a lot of talk on how he’ll make it without getting eaten up by the big drivers that are starting behind him on the grid. After losing a couple spots at the start of the race, he later on retired early after being pushed into the gravel. All the hardwork and P3 spot down the drain.
3. Schumacher experienced some mechanical issues. He pits and declares retirement due to gearbox issues.
4. It was all about strategy when the safety car came out with Vettel at the helm. Red Bull and Mercedes took this advantage and Jenson reclaimed #1 as Vettel headed to the pits but still made it out to take #2.
5. A huge crash by Maldonado - clearly a driver’s mistake - on the last lap. Contact with another driver, hits the wall, gets a crooked tire and spins off.

Race ends with BUTTON - VETTEL - HAMILTON at the podium.

In the press conference, you could see that Lewis was incredibly upset on the turnout of events. But nevertheless, it was excellent driving by Jenson and great strategy by Sebastian.

Looks like McClaren has great cars on their hands! I hope Red Bull makes a couple adjustments to make Abbey (Sebastian’s car) better for Malaysia.

The next race is the Malaysian Grand Prix, March 25, Sunday at 4pm. :)

Side notes:

I loved the mini feature on Daniel Ricciardo before the race. He is such a cutie pie! :)) New happy crush!

It was hilarious when Raikkonen thought the blue flags were for him. He’s been away from Formula 1 for quite some time alright. :))

(All images © Sutton Images, via formula1.com)