Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Even after a good night's sleep, I'm still confused as to the eventual winner of the Turkey Grand Prix. The newspaper headlines suggest it is Ferrari's Felipe Massa, but I'm not so sure given Lewis Hamilton's rhetorics and histrionics after finishing second.
"I am so thrilled with today's race. I think it's the best race ever for me," the Briton enthused. "It's not about winning, it's about feeling that you extract 100 per cent from yourself and the car, and I did that today."
For a change, Formula One looked more like showtime wrestling where the loser is also a winner, if you know what I mean. There was everything in it, yet something seemed to be missing - like real sparks of competition.
Even when Hamilton drove the inside of Massa on lap 24 and nudged the Ferrari driver wide to surge ahead, it was clear what was happening. It did not need a rocket scientist to suggest that the lighter car on fuel was going faster.
Hamilton was clearerly light on fuel and made the most of it. He was past Massa in a flash and kept going at an incredible pace. But it was only a matter of time for Massa to regain the lead. The race followed the script which seemed to have been written on the first day of practice on Friday when the McLaren team conceded that Ferrari had the race winning pace and they had a problem with their tyres.
The race was as good as over once Hamilton drove in for his third pit stop and came out splitting the two Ferrari cars. The rest provided only artificial excitment, like the last stages of showtime wrestling - carefully rehearsed and brillianlty camouflaged.
At another level, this year's championship seems to be losing its multi-dimensional edge. Ferrari is getting increasingly dominant, McLaren fast losing pace and BMW, which was supposed to be the exciting third angle, fading in the background despite some spirited performances from Nick Heidfeld and Robert Kubica.
This is exactly the bane of Formula One. At its best, it can be the most exciting spectacle, but when it gets predicatable it can be pedestrian.
It was a bad week for Formula One off the track too. The disappearance of Super Aguri and the continued Max Mosley saga are professional and social blots on the sport.
Economics is not my area of expertise, Formula One economics in particular. But I have watched the changing scenario of the sport with much amusement. Eddie Jordan struggled with his Jordan team before selling it off. Jaguar and Sauber disappeared and appeared in quick succession under different titles. Then Spyker became Force India and now Super Aguri has come and gone.
Here is a piece of statistics to prove my ignorance of Formula One economics. Honda is reported to have backed Super Aguri to the tune of £35 million, including a cheque for £100,000 just to make sure the Japanese team started the Spanish Grand Prix last month. This is big money and Honda knew it would never it get back right from the beginning.
My sympathies are with Super Aguri, but I still can't fathom Honda's benevolence.
Same is the case with Vijay Mallya's Force India. I not only share the first name with this charismatic and billionaire businessman, but also hail from the same city. But right now my heart goes out for his miseries not only in Formula One but also the Indian Premier League cricket championship.
Mallya may be a sauve and sophisticated businessman turning everything he touches to gold in the world of business. The success of his Kingfisher Airlines is another testimony to his acumen and judgement.
But when it comes to sports sponsorship Mallya, I'm afraid, has faltered repeatedly. He first backed the West Indies cricket team and burnt his fingers badly as the Caribbean side went on a free fall in international cricket. That period was also marred by a players revolt for higher remuneration.
Now Mallya is the owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League and co-owner of Force India. He has already spent over $150 million on the cricket franchise and another $500 million on the F1 team.
But both have turned into commercial and sporting disasters. The cricket team has lost six of its eight matches so far and has become the butt of many jokes while his sojourn into the racing world is yet to yield a single point.
Mallya's Twenty20 team is being branded as a Test outfit in coloured clothing because of the aged stars (Dravid, Kumble and Kallis) in the side while Force India is simply not living up its name.
Mallya must surely be turning red reading newspaper headlines like 'Force India lacks pace' or 'Force India crash out'.
Mallya's cup of woes must have come to a boil on Sunday when Force India's Giancarlo Fisichella ran over the back of Kazuki Nakajima's Williams and crashed out spectacularly. The second Force India driver Adrian Sutil finished last and was lapped.
However, Mallya was unfazed. He continued to be himself ... larger than life as usual and is reported to have thrown a great party on a yacht in Isantbul.
But then isn't Formula One larger than life too just like the Indian Premier League?
