Valencia!

Such is life, but 2012 is flashing by while throwing up challenges of greater complexity and frequency than I'm used to.      Therefore, it is somewhat a shame that I'm not free to sit back in further dissect this amazing F1 season.

This season has already produced more uncertain outcomes than the prior five or six seasons combined.     If I had more time, I'd do some serious research to back up that assessment.

The European Grand Prix at Valencia was no exception.  

Valencia looks a blast to drive . . . especially the practically flat out blind weaving back to the start/finish straight . . . but until yesterday the venue had never offered much in terms of racing.   Last year's GP was probably the most boring in recent memory.

Therefore it was very much a surprise on Sunday to be treated to the stuff from which F1 legends are drawn, and Fernando Alonso's sensational drive from 11th to an emotional victory in front of his native Spanish fans will be replayed on highlight reels for years to come.   

It's hard for me to ignore the potentially symbolic nature of the Valencia podium:     Alonso, overcome with emotion, standing between Ferrari's two most recent world champions.    This crazy season is a long way from becoming subject to internet trending but if I were a betting man I might put a small fortune on this moment.

Alonso won from midfield on this circuit aforementioned for guaranteeing lackluster racing.     He came into 2012 with a dog of a car that would confound most drivers, and has demonstrated remarkable tenacity driving beyond the car's capability and respect for his team in patiently, diligently working for improvement.      Sunday Alonso and Ferrari were rewarded.   

I found Alonso parking his somewhat revitalized F2012 in front of the grandstand and unrolling his newly gifted Spanish flag reminiscent of Senna's celebrations at Interlagos.

What makes this year's European Grand Prix so exceptional, however, is that Alonso's drive was not the only noteworthy performance on display.

Alonso benefitted from a couple of key retirements, most notably Sebastian Vettel, who in typically ho-hum fashion sped away from the front.   Whatever I personally feel for the marketing entity he drives for, I have to hand it to Vettel for remaining a driver not to be discounted.    

Romain Grosjean was also sensational, and had his Lotus Renault electrical system not packed up he might have ultimately robbed victory from Alonso.     Grosjean's path into F1 has been rocky, but his speed and fight are very real.     Despite that his 2012 has so far proven a collection of peaks and valleys, he's holding his own against Kimi Raikkonen.    If he can continue to mature and avoid some of the mistakes which have cost him, he may very well finish ahead of Kimi in the final tally.

Raikkonen put in another solid drive to 2nd.    Kimi capitalized on good fortune when Hamilton's tires went off in the closing stages, but after what happened in China that pendulum was due to swing his way.     I still find Kimi perplexing.    His flashes of brilliance are often segued by moments where it appears some young lady in the grandstands might have caught his attention.      That said, he's an amazing talent, a great benefit to the sport, and I fully expect him to provide quite a show over the remainder of the year.

It was great to see Michael Schumacher back on the podium.     Two and one half seasons following his 2010 return?     I doubt most of us thought it would take that long.      It was fantastic.   I'm hoping he finds his way one or two steps up before year's end.

Finally, a word about Hamilton.    I really have to feel for the guy.      He has been thwarted by his own crew at some point in practically every GP this year.      I'm not anti-McLaren, but when it comes to how passionately and fervently many McLaren fans lash out at Ferrari, I can only laugh at their calamitous pit stops.  

I lost respect for Hamilton several years ago because he'd spend more time on the radio yelling at his team than driving the car.     The irony is that if he were doing that now I'd probably back him up!    LOL

Regarding his clash with Maldonado, I laugh at claims that Hamilton was an innocent victim of an overly aggressive overtaking attempt.     Hamilton was not t-boned.    Much to the contrary, he drove over Maldonado's wheel as result of an ill conceived attempt to squeeze Pastor and protect his position.     The accident was a racing incident, nothing more, with both drivers carrying equal blame.

All in all an absolutely fantastic European Grand Prix . . . and we've much to look forward to as the circus now moves to the core of the European season and some of the fastest, most fabled circuits on the calendar.

  

Moving on . . .

With news that the legal dispute between Tavo Hellmund and his former partners with The Circuit of the Americas has been resolved, its time to get back to everything we should be focusing upon with the return of the United States F1 Grand Prix.

Tickets have finally gone on sale, and despite the all of the nonsense associated with the Personal Seat License fiasco, they have arrived fairly consistent with the prices of Grands Prix I've attended in Europe and Montreal.    I realize many do not share this assessment, but to be honest I get the suspicion that their orientation on F1 ticket pricing is based solely upon the very unique way things were at Indianapolis.

Austin may not offer Indianapolis' expertise and infrastructure when it comes to getting everyone to and from the circuit.     Those of us who chose not to cough up the dough for a PSL will be shuttled.     Given the lack of road improvements and parking, this actually makes a lot of sense, but it must be adequately funded and properly executed.     I must wonder whether the surrounding roads will be able to handle the shuttle traffic alone, so I can only hope that they've got a solid plan in place to keep those buses moving.

That said, I'm looking forward to a great weekend in Austin.     There's plenty of positives to focus upon and that's what I intend to do from this point forward.     Looking back over the past eight months The United States Grand Prix has teetered on the brink of disaster.     The fact is that we are still here, the race is a certainty,  and Hellmund's vision, more than partially intact, is about to become reality.  

We've much to be thankful for.    The race could have remained attached to Montreal's June date thus requiring all of us to sweat it out under an oppressive Texas summer sun.    Cooler heads prevailed, and the November date comes with the added potential that the title could be decided on US soil.     (Speaking of Montreal, Sunday's Grand Prix du Canada convinced me that the world championship will be wide open when the lights go out in front of all of those PSL premium seats, but I digress . . . )
Having cleared all of these hurdles, I fully expect that the buzz surrounding the USGP in Austin will finally begin to pick up momentum.  

Growing up in Atlanta, I'd always hoped that the USGP might one day come to Road Atlanta.    I remember a good friend and Porsche race car mechanic musing that the F1 cars would shave ten seconds off the lap times set by the GT Prototypes of the era.     Ten seconds was probably fantasy, but I could only imagine what it would have been like to see Senna, Piquet, Prost attacking that wonderful undulating circuit in the mid to late 1980s!

I have no idea whether the people of Austin realize this, but my belief is that this is the beginning of something for which they'll be very proud of in years to come.