Going Green And Loving It

Ever since we learned about recycling some two decades ago, we've stuck to it. Waste segregation is just one of the things we can do to save the earth, after all, it's the only planet we have have. Sadly, renewable energy has been an elusive dream in our country due to the high cost of technology and the lack of companies who cater to supplying us with such. Solar panels and windmills are quite expensive here.

As the prices of oil continue to soar, oil companies here are now shifting to green gasoline. My car is quite old but can accommodate the new E10 petrol. Not only is E10 cheaper, it's also environment friendly. I consulted Honda on how much Ethanol my car can take. I found out that it can use up to 25% Ethanol and anything more than that would require modification to my engine.

There are only two companies which sell E10s here and only a handful of their stations carry it. Shell and Petron both have E10s . Shell's E10 has an octane rating of 93 while Petron's is 95. I've tried both and the rumor that it causes knocks is just plain hogwash. In fact, I observed an improvement in my consumption as well as my acceleration. I'm doing 14km/liter now from the 9 to 10 I use to consume. This is city driving alone as we live in the metropolis. My car is 12 years old now but is equipped with an ECU which I am told can still be adjusted. I could get more mileage if I change its settings.

We all have to do our part in saving our planet and I would suggest we all do our share. I've gone "GREEN" I'm loving it.

It's Hamilton In Germany

The German Grand Prix has ended with Hamilton taking the drivers' championship lead. Clearly, Ferrari wasn't up to it. McLaren had the better car today. Massa finished 3rd with Raikkonen a distant 6th. Hamilton blew the competition away and even a late pitstop did not hamper his bid to regain the lead. The race was not without drama as Massa and Hamilton touched tires has Hamilton passed Massa.

The young Piquet seems to be settling down and finished 2nd for his very first podium. What is a sight to see is how the top three acted like true gentlemen and showed what sportsmen are. The drivers' championship is still up for grabs and no one can be certain until the fat lady sings. Even the constructor's title is open to anyone.

In hindsight, and without sounding like sour graping, I now tend to believe that McLaren did benefit from the spying scandal last year. Poor Alonso was made scapegoat by the team. McLaren would do everything just to take Ferrari's title away. It's just unbelievable that management is not aware that information has been passed on. Well, that's all water under the bridge and only amoral folks would celebrate for a victory they do not rightly deserve.

Next stop is the Hungarian Grand Prix. I'm not so keen on Ferrai's chances this year with the way their drivers are performing. They still may end up with the constructor's championship but the drivers' seem to be slipping out of reach. The only consolation is seeing Schumi again. That made my day!

Crowded At The Top

After the British Grand Prix, a three-way has emerged. Massa, Raikkonen and Hamilton now share the top spot for the driver's championship. All with identical 48 points, with Kubica only 2 points down, this year's championship is up for grabs. With eight races to go, we cannot count anybody out.

Thanks to Ferrari's technical blunders, Raikkonen failed to get on the podium while erstwhile leader Massa failed to get any points. The rain-drenched race was full of surprises with Barrichello pulling an unexpected 3rd place finish. The question now is will Hamilton be able to maintain to his composure to the end of the season?

What is clear is that no team has complete domination of this year's races. This has actually made the season more exciting but of course, I will be routing for my favorite team, Ferrari. The German Grand Prix will definitely be a test for Hamilton. He maybe fast on this circuit but Raikkonen holds the the fastest lap record in Hockenheim.

I hope that Ferrari this time shows what they are made of. Stupid decisions like the ones they did at Silverstone would spell disaster for their season.