Bad day for Ferrari.. Hamilton wins in Monaco

A Bad week guys if you are a true ferrari fan. Chaos chaos chaos.... what else can I say about Monaco grand prix. Hamilton despite being 3rd on the starting grid managed to surpass kimi on the start . Massa clinched up to the first place before he slided off at the Ste Devote corner and handing the lead to Kubica for a long stretch before the pitstops. Hamilton walloped the wall hard on the exit while trailing Massa, Ironically, the early pit stop played into Hamilton's hands as others literally slipped up as he managed a comfortable first place.
Adrian Sutil was heartbroken and full of tears, as the German starting 18th for Force India enjoying the race of his life in fourth place until Kimi misjudged his braking and shunted him out at the tunnel exit with the chequered flag less than 10 minutes away.

Race Results.
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 76 2:00:42.742
2 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 76 +3.0 secs
3 Felipe Massa Ferrari 76 +4.8 secs
4 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 76 +19.2 secs
5 Sebastian Vettel STR-Ferrari 76 +24.6 secs
6 Rubens Barrichello Honda 76 +28.4 secs
7 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 76 +30.1 secs
8 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 76 +33.1 secs
9 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 76 +33.7 secs
10 Fernando Alonso Renault 75 +1 Lap 7
11 Jenson Button Honda 75 +1 Lap 11
12 Timo Glock Toyota 75 +1 Lap 10
13 Jarno Trulli Toyota 75 +1 Lap 8
14 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 72 +4 Laps

Turkish Grand Prix - Massa back on track

Massa had a fantastic race on Sunday by winning the Turkish grand prix from pole position for the third year in a row on Sunday after tyre concerns slowed Lewis Hamilton's. Massa's win was champions Ferrari's fourth in a row ,meant that the Turkish Grand Prix, which made its debut in 2005, has still only ever been won by the driver on pole position.

Hamilton had sufficient in hand over Kimi Raikkonen, however, to keep the Finn in third place and to reduce his championship points lead to seven as they sped to the line 3.7s adrift of Massa. Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen saw his overall lead trimmed to seven points from nine after finishing a close third. The Finn, the only driver to score points in every race this season, now has 35 to Massa and Hamilton's 28.

Race Results
1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 58 1:26:49.451
2 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 58 +3.7 secs
3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 58 +4.2 secs
4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 58 +21.9 secs
5 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 58 +38.7 secs
6 Fernando Alonso Renault 58 +53.7 secs
7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 58 +64.2 secs
8 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 58 +71.4 secs
9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 58 +75.2 secs 1
10 Jarno Trulli Toyota 58 +76.3 secs
11 Jenson Button Honda 57 +1 Lap 13
12 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +1 Lap 2
13 Timo Glock Toyota 57 +1 Lap 15
14 Rubens Barrichello Honda 57 +1 Lap 12
15 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 57 +1 Lap 17
16 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 57 +1 Lap 19

Ferrari Rocks in Spanish Grand Prix

Kimi and Massa make Ferrari's second successive one-two finish, and third win in a row, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton taking third place to revive his title challenge after a disappointing last race in Bahrain. Raikkonen's 17th grand prix win left the Finn with 29 points, nine clear of closest rival Hamilton, and catapulted Ferrari back in front of BMW.

Raikkonen's championship score increased to 29 points and his lead to nine over Hamilton (20), while Massa jumps up to fourth on 18, one behind Kubica (19). Heikki Kovalainen had a bad day. On the 22nd lap, possibly as a result of something causing the front-left tyre and tharim to separate. It took a while to stabilise the Finn at the accident scene, but he gave a thumbs up as he was taken by stretcher to the medical centre.

Giancarlo Fisichella was unable to resist the charging Heidfeld, so brought his Force India home 10th, ahead of Toyota's Timo Glock, who delayed himself running into the rear of David Coulthard. The Scot's left-rear tyre was cut as a result, so he also dropped back but managed to repass Super Aguri's Takuma Sato before the finish to claim 12th.

The first European race of the season ended with an entirely predictable result, with the Circuit de Catalunya setting a record as the track with the longest run of successive winners from pole position. Raikkonen, the only driver to have won twice so far this season, was the eighth in a row to have triumphed in Barcelona from pole.

Race Results
1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 66 1:38:19.051
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 66 +3.2 secs
3 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 66 +4.1 secs
4 Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 66 +5.6 secs
5 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 66 +35.9 secs
6 Jenson Button Honda 66 +53.0 secs
7 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 66 +58.2 secs
8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 66 +59.4 secs
9 Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 66 +63.0 secs
10 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 65 +1 Lap
11 Timo Glock Toyota 65 +1 Lap
12 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 65 +1 Lap
13 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 65 +1 Lap

A Wonderful speech on Managing Failure - APJ Abdul Kalam

Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam : 'A Leader Should Know How to Manage Failure'

India Knowledge@Wharton: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources - but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 - I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal . It was a big failure. That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India ]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite - and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, "You conduct the press conference today."

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

Its Ferrari again in Baharain GP

This Time it is Massa's Turn.

Brazilian Felipe Massa led Ferrari to a one-two victory at the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday with team mate Kimi Raikkonen seizing the championship lead from McLaren's Lewis Hamilton. Massa really needed this victory, and he barely put a wheel wrong in achieving it. His Ferrari had all the pace it needed, and he could control the race. His only problem was ensuring that there was no repeat of Malaysia. Raikkonen was quick, but not quick enough to challenge his team mate.

Massa's sixth career win brought him his first points of the Formula One season and came at the same Sakhir desert circuit where he fired up his title challenge last year with a pole-to-flag victory.

World champion Raikkonen collected the 50th podium finish of his grand prix career and the Finnish 'Iceman' took over at the top with 19 points, three clear of BMW Sauber's German Nick Heidfeld, after three races.

Race Results:
1 Felipe Massa Ferrari 57 1:31:06.970
2 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 57 +3.3 secs
3 Robert Kubica BMW 57 +4.9 secs
4 Nick Heidfeld BMW 57 +8.4 secs
5 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +26.7 secs
6 Jarno Trulli Toyota 57 +41.3 secs
7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 57 +45.4 secs
8 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 57 +55.8 secs
9 Timo Glock Toyota 57 +69.5 secs
10 Fernando Alonso Renault 57 +77.1 secs
11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 57 +77.8 secs
12 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap
13 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +1 Lap
14 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 56 +1 Lap
15 Sebastien Bourdais STR-Ferrari 56 +1 Lap
16 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 56 +1 Lap
17 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 56 +1 Lap
18 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 56 +1 Lap
19 Adrian Sutil Force India-Ferrari 55 +2 Laps

Malaysian Grand Prix... Kimi is Back..

Kimi is back and back with a bang.

The World champion failed to finish last weekend's season-opener in Australia but the Iceman's 16th Grand prix victory was sealed when he took the lead from team mate Felipe Massa who was in pole position for the Malaysian Grand prix. Kimi's victory has put Ferrari back to its winning streak taking a three point lead from Lewis Hamilton.

Massa had a tough race, he spun out of an easy second place on the 31st lap, leaving Robert Kubica BMW Sauber finish second, the best result of his Formula One career to date, and McLaren's Heikki Kovalainen was third.

For Lewis Hamilton, it was a race spent playing catch-up. He made a great start to jump from ninth up to fifth place behind the Ferraris, Kubica and similarly fast-starting Mark Webber in the Red Bull. But then a problem with the right-front wheel during his first pit stop dropped him down to 11th place, and he lost time hand over fist in the traffic.

Toro Rosso’s Sebastien Bourdais was the first retirement, falling off on the opening lap. Rosberg clobbered Timo Glock then, too, necessitating a pit stop for a new nose cone. The Williams continued, the Toyota was through for the day. Adrian Sutil suffered a mechanical problem that stopped his Force India out on the track, while Sebastian Vettel suffered either engine or transmission failure that brought him to a smoky halt.

The result leaves Hamilton still leading the world championship for drivers with 14 points, ahead of Raikkonen and Heidfeld on 11 apiece. In the constructors’ chase, McLaren lead with 24, ahead of BMW Sauber on 19 and Ferrari on 11.

Race Results
1 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 56 1:31:18.555
2 Robert Kubica BMW 56 +19.5 secs
3 Heikki Kovalainen McLaren-Mercedes 56 +38.4 secs
4 Jarno Trulli Toyota 56 +45.8 secs
5 Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 56 +46.5 secs
6 Nick Heidfeld BMW 56 +49.8 secs
7 Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 56 +68.1 secs
8 Fernando Alonso Renault 56 +70.0 secs
9 David Coulthard Red Bull-Renault 56 +76.2 secs
10 Jenson Button Honda 56 +86.2 secs
11 Nelsinho Piquet Renault 56 +92.2 secs
12 Giancarlo Fisichella Force India-Ferrari 55 +1 Lap 17
13 Rubens Barrichello Honda 55 +1 Lap 14
14 Nico Rosberg Williams-Toyota 55 +1 Lap 16
15 Anthony Davidson Super Aguri-Honda 55 +1 Lap 21
16 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 54 +2 Laps 19
17 Kazuki Nakajima Williams-Toyota 54 +2 Laps 22

Trip to Coimbatore.......

Phew..!!!. Chaos again.
Had been to Coimbatore last weekend (15th & 16th March'08) to attend my ex-colleague Prakash's wedding. Had booked up the tickets a month ago. Me and my colleague Yuvi had planned to fly down to Coimbatore and then return by train. All done and here we get prepared to fly down to Coimbatore on a bit cloudy Saturday morning (15th). We planned and got to meet up at the Chennai airport at around 9.30 am for our 10.15am flight. We were to board the Paramount Airways and guys I say the service was great.

We managed to take up few snaps on our way to the flight which was actually not allowed but dint bother about things. After about 10 mins of getting the boarding passes and waiting for the bus to take us to the flight, finally I see the first airhostess of the flight and she says.. Vanakkam Sir..(meaning welcome)..and makes us comfortable on boarding the flight. To my surprise I see an kollywood actor sitting next to me in the bus waiting to board the same flight. It was none other than Karthik (Paruthiveeran hero)..or you can say it also as Suryas Brother. Great start I said to yuvi(who was enjoying his first flight experience).

(sorry for the photo clarity)

All set and the flight starts with the routine stuffs like the airhostess asking us fasten our seat belts and serving us refreshments. We both were enjoying taking good snaps and having few chit chats in between. Our flight lands sharp at 11.00 am in Coimbatore airport and we get down and again start our usual business of taking snaps next to the flight. Managed to take a snap with karthik also in the meanwhile.
The wedding went well, good food and happened to meet few friends of Coimbatore who had some plans also of taking us to few good places in and around Coimbatore. We visited the temple in Marudhamalai( abt 15 kms from Coimbatore) and had a good dharshan with the help of few counselors were over there who took us directly inside the temple without making us stand up in the que.

The fun begins here... Must be wondering why is the hurry all about... hmm.. we were suppose to catch up our train which was scheduled up at 2.10 (which was written in our e-ticket) on Sunday afternoon(16th). We finished up our visits and had to rush up to the room to pack our bags and board the train as it was already about 1.30 pm. Luckily the room was next to the station where we had stayed up. We said all the bye bye stuffs and started running to the station to board the train. We had booked up the AC compartment(B1 Coach) and to our surprise we had covered the train 4 times by running to both the ends of the train and were unable to find the compartment. Tired and sweating and the train starts moving and we had to get on to some AC compartment so that we could ask the TTR where is our coach. And the TTR says cooly, this train which you guys have booked up is at 2.10 am. Whattttttttttt..( we both r blank)... after few arguments me and Yuvi finally get down from the moving train.

We were damn tired of running up and down and finally managed to walk up to the same room were we had stayed up. I told Yuvi..give me a moment and lemme check with this guy who is sitting in the May I Help you counter.. and there comes the best part. I showed up the ticket to the guy and he says the train has already left in the morning 2.10 am i.e 16th early morning. Ohh God.. what have we got into this time..(Yuvi watches me and says sooper..you have booked the tickets great.)

As yuvi was not comfortable in traveling by bus, we had no other option than booking up another flight to Chennai and this time it was Spice Jet. The flight was scheduled at 8.00 pm and we stayed up at the room for about 2 hrs and finally reached the airport. As soon as we reached the airport it started raining heavily and we were again confused as the flight had been delayed for about an hr and we had to wait. Finally at about 9.30pm the announcement comes to board the flight. We both again started taking snaps next to flight and all of a sudden a police fella comes and says " don't you know you are not allowed to take photos here???".. me and yuvi see each other and say "no" and walk up to the flight. The police fellow had no other words to say rather than watching us both board the flight. After a lot of running , confusions and miscalculations we managed to board the flight which dint even provide us refreshments. But we weren't much concerned .. Just wanted to reach Home Sweet Home...

PEACE AT LAST!!!!!