Hoping for some Mclaren magic....

I have been a little bit all over the place this week. I have been on different shifts at work for one reason or another (although maybe there should be a "paperwork" shift given the amount of filing I have done today from vets not emptying their paperwork trays, sorting lab reports etc). My poor little car had to go down to the garage AGAIN, this time to have a new fog light fitted, a stone broke the other one on the motorway. However, this trip was not so bad, given the amount of free coffee they were plying me with. In retrospect, drinking 5 cups of coffee in an hour is not a good thing; trying to take blood from a small puppy, with shaky hands, is not easy!
But, it has been a good week and today the build-up to the best race on the Grand Prix calendar started for me; Monaco. Unfortunately I will be at the race track for 3 days so will end up watching a recording, which means I have to avoid results on tv, radio, other people who love to remind me just how badly my beloved Mclarens are doing etc.
I love the Monaco race. Not just all the glitz and glamour of it (although I wouldn't mind one of the larger boats in the harbour to watch it from) but the circuit itself. It's all on the roads around the city and incredibly challenging. Given that its quite a slow circuit as well means that my little Mclarens might actually have a chance this weekend. Maybe Jenson Button will develop a case of vertigo where he will be unable to climb onto the top of the podium...again.
I really don't know what is going on with them. Last year we were the team to follow (on the track, into the gravel, into the wall etc), but this year we are showing everyone how not to do it. I know we like to race the Reds, but that doesn't mean we have to be going as slow as them! I'm sure the scale lego model Mclaren I have would go faster than they do (yes, I said lego, I really do have a set, 456 pieces to be exact, plus stickers and a steering wheel that moves). The team say its a lack of grip, due to a lack of downforce, and the KERS system is too heavy. (Translations available, free of charge). I say its a sneaky way of getting a good look at the diffuser on the Brawn car (or at the back of any of the other cars, they're all in front of us!), only problem is we can't keep up with them.

If a pokey little team like Brawn GP can win with a budget of 50p, a packet of crayons and a cereal box, then on a budget of x million pounds we should be able to build a car that is relatively competitive. We have wind tunnels, computer design software, so what is the problem? Unless that x million is being spent elsewhere...apparently floating duck islands are all the rage. Personally, I would attach this years car to such an island, sink it and start all over again.

This weekend (and monday) the cars I will be keeping an eye on at the track are old style Grand Prix F1 cars, with gear sticks and round steering wheels. No one was really bothered about aerodynamics then, no onboard computer changing fuel mixtures, it was all about getting your car across the line before anyone else did with pure driving skill. I hope to see plenty of that this weekend anyway.

So, if all goes to plan, on sunday evening I will be sitting down in front of the tv with one of the cats (Rusty loves to watch the racing, I'm sure she's a Mclaren fan too...) and I will finally see my team win this year, hopefully...