Battle of the Arrows

I love my Formula One, and when people come to me and say it's boring I like to punch them in the face because they clearly don't watch it or understand it. This season is panning out pretty much the same as the past few seasons with Mercedes Benz Silver Arrows being pretty dominant and the other teams playing catch up so to speak but it's been anything but boring. It's had its fair share of drama and it's only escalating as the season goes on.

The battle for the drivers title has really heated up between Mercs two drivers though, Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton aren't afraid to square up physically on the circuit to beat one another and while we hope they keep it clean, it depends on the drivers how they handle matters on the track. Mercedes Benz maintain that they will not be giving team orders to either of their drivers and they will be allowed to race each other, which is what the fans want to see. 

Gone of the days where you have a number 1 and number 2 driver in a car that's clearly miles better than the rest. In the era which saw Michael Schumacher dominate the sport with Ferrari, it was made evident that Rubens Barrichello played second fiddle to the German, take nothing away from Michael, he was the best by far but some races the Brazilian had the better of him but the team would issue an instruction via radio for him to move over and let Schumacher claim maximum points. It didn't sit well with many of the spectators and some of the commentators but it worked for the team at the time. 

None of that though, even after the two took each other out in Spain and most recently last weekend in Austria which saw an unbelievable final lap with the two of them coming together and Lewis overtaking Nico who's car suffered the worse after the collision to win the race. Rosberg crawled home in 4th, adding some vital points for his challenged for the title but it could have been much worse for him. There were a lot of different opinions about what happened but in the end the FIA deemed Rosberg the guilty party and subsequently fined. 

This weekend see's Lewis race at "home" in the Silverstone Grand Prix and while the spectators were clearly against him in Austria, he doesn't have to worry about any booing should he visit the podium again on Sunday. I agree with many of the sentiments shared on Sunday about the booing, it's harsh and don't believe their should be a place for it in sport, if you're unhappy with the driver, just don't clap. Show him the bird like what I did from my couch. 

It's the business end of the season with so many races in such a short span of time, so it will be interesting to see what happens. For now it seems like Rosberg and Hamilton are going to be the only two challenging for the drivers title, unless they keep crashing into each other. So while the rest of the season might be slightly predictable, it's still going to be interesting to see how it goes down. 

Also another thing to rejoice on is that everyone's favourite driver, the Iceman, Kimi Raikkonen has renewed his contract with Scuderia Ferrari which will see him in ther drivers seat for the Italian F1 team in 2017. While he may not be the driver he was a good few years ago, he still hasn't lost it, seeing that he was on the podium this past weekend. I think people should just leave him alone because he knows what he's doing...

Bucket Seat: AMG Ride & Drive

This years F1 season was a show of dominance from yet again just one team, Mercedes Benz F1 code named the Silver Arrows proved to be too good for the rest of the pack as they rounded up the constructors title before the last race. Their winning formula apart from the engineering team were no doubt their two drivers who pushed the limits during many of the calendars races and hence saw them fighting for the title in Abu Dhabi, it was a close affair up and until the first lap which saw Lewis Hamilton leap frog his title contending partner Nico Rosberg and coast home to first place, securing his second drivers title.

In celebration of Mercedes Benz winning the constructors title, I was invited by Mercedes Benz Umhlanga along with other budding petrol heads for a day to experience what the engineers in Affalterbach have produced in their AMG range. The day started off at the dealership as we were greeted by some of the staff, Wayne Naidu the AMG specialist and Jarryd Smith, the marketing manager who briefed us on the days events and whats to be expected. We were given the choice of 5 AMG models to drive to our destination in the midlands with various stops to change drivers and cars. 

The line up included the A45 AMG, CLA45 AMG, GLA45 AMG, ML63 AMG and the beast that is the C63 AMG 507 Edition. As luck would have it, well luck being me nagging them for the keys, I got the C63 first up. It was a rainy day and the roads were quite wet so one had to becareful with a car of that much power. The first thing that gets you is the styling, it certainly looks menacing with the lowered stance, massive rims and massive air intakes, the tone of the 4 exhaust pipes roar as you start her. It becomes vey apparent that this car means business. Whilst cruising in traffic, the car goes well with only the stiff suspension making it feel like a racer. Once the road cleared up and became dry I got a chance to throw down the hammer. It's like awakening the beast within, the exhaust cracks noise as the cars automatic 7 speed gearbox changes gear and with almost rocket like propultion you and flown back into your seat. Never have I experienced power like that and even at high speeds the car seems very responsive and assuring to the driver. 

After my brief sprint with the 507 edition it was time to drive one of the smaller engine cars, now the 2.0 turbo engines that come fitting in the A Class AMG range isn't any slouch. It's probably the most powerful 2.0 engine produced at the moment pushing out 265kW making it the fastest hot hatch in production. I got into the CLA which is the sedan version of the A Class, it's killer looks just got to me as it mimics the same design philosophy as the CLS. Whilst the interior cabin does look good, the quality of the finishes in the car could be better for what you're paying. Although less powerful on paper to the C63, the car makes up for it with its 4 Matic all wheel drive system and lighter chasis, as the C63 did get in front but never managed to shake us off. I did however feel the car did get jittery around long bends at high speeds.

At the lunch time stop over, I got a chance to discuss with the other drivers what they thought of the cars, they all seemed relatively impressed by them, one that got raved reviews was the new GLA45 AMG. Recently launched, it forms part of the A Class range but bringing in a new dimension as a compact SUV.  With a higher ground clearance, more spacious cabin and redesigned rear lights, the car is looker in its own right. Once behind the wheel, the differences between this and the other two are more apparent. The GLA just seems to grip the road better giving the driver more confidence, the handling is remarkable and even with the 20" rims and higher suspension, the ride is smooth. 

Overall it was really a fun day out driving cars that would make any man jealous, driving those AMG's was a real eye opener to see what raw power feels like to control and sends the adrenilin levels in your body into new heights. Even 2 hours after I had left, I was still giddy with excitement from the days experience. It is certainly one I won't forget in a hurry, a big thanks to Mercedes-Benz Umhlanga for making this possible. 

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