F1 - Singing in the rain

I usually despise rain when it comes to racing. It slows down the action, or, depending on the series, cancels races altogether (see: shortened Grand Am series race at Barber this weekend...). But one series I actually don't mind seeing rain is F1 because that little bit of water equalizes what is usually a completely out-of-parity series. Hence, the heavy rains is why the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend was probably one of the best F1 races in recent memory.

The weekend started out in "high drama" because the stewards spanked both Alonso and Michael Schumacher for being stupid during practice and qualifying. Alonso, while the youngest F1 champion ever, tends to act like an immature brat when he thinks other drivers should bow to him on the track. He loves to wave his hand at people as he passes them with an "I'm the world champion, move out of my way when I say to!" attitude. Well, he attempted to run Friday driver Robert Doornbos off the track and then brake-checked him in the first corner and he suffered a two-second qualifying penalty which put him back with the "scrubs" of F1. Not to be outdone, Michael passes a bunch of cars under yellow and received the same penalty.

Anyway, long story short, drivers pushing their cars too hard or electing to use slicks on a wet track (hello, Scott Speed!), a crazy accident that destroyed Kimi Raikkonen's car, bizarre mechanical failures that led to both championship-eligible drivers with zero points for the day and England's Jenson Button with his first-ever win. Sweet! How refreshing to see someone new on the podium! Two people, in fact, as Pedro de la Rosa scored his first F1 podium finish. Congrats to both drivers. Now, maybe critics will get of Button's back for never winning a race. Maybe. Anyway, Sunday's race was definitely one to remember and the most exciting race since at least 2002.

On a side note, it looks like former F1 champion Jacques Villeneuve's career in F1 is done. He was released by BMW Sauber today in favor of newcomer Robert Kubica, the first Polish F1 driver. That news comes as a shocker to.....absolutely no one.