Formula One Unveilings

With exactly 60 days remaining for the 2007 FIA Formula One Season to rev up, the excitement is slowly n steadily mounting up. A few teams have already unveiled their cars and teams for the 2007 season. One of the noticeable changes was in the McLaren-Mercedes team, who had two new drivers in 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso and rookie Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. Their new car – MP4-22 – was also geared up newly. The silver & red livery gives way to a rather more subtle Silver and Orange livery. The team will be called Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and even the team uniforms have changed. The bold west logo gives way to a bright orangeish Vodafone markup and a rather diminutive Santander logo.

Ferrari have stuck to their trademark Scarlet Red color and the most noticeable change was Kimi Raikkonen in the line-up alongwith Felipe Massa. Seeing Kimi in the scarlet uniform was something of a revelation for me…esp. after so many races in the silvery outfit of McLaren! Ferrari also has two new managers at the helm, Stefano Domenicali and Mario Almondo replacing Jean Todt (who will continue to the the Ferrari CEO) and technical director Ross Brawn respectively. The Other teams to launch their cars included Toyota - who has the same driver lineup, same engine manufacturer, same tyre supplier and same red-and-white livery - and BMW-Sauber, who stuck to their lineup and livery from 2006. And though Renault did not ‘officially’ launch their car, the new R27 did make an appearance at Jerez and had a Bright Yellow and Blue livery. A quick visit to their website revealed that it will be launched on Jan 24th and also that their team will be called ING Renault hereon. Here’s hoping that the 2007 season will see all of these and the other cars go vrrooommmmm……

Sources: FormulaOne | FerrariWorld | McLaren | Toyota | BMW-Sauber | Renault

Guru – Movie Review

After three days it was released – and wherein it was sold out on all those days – I got to see this much-awaited movie from acclaimed director Mani Rathnam. Hailed as one of the best directors of the country, Mani Rathnam has given us some masterpieces (Nayakan, Roja, Bombay) and even some duds (Iruvar, Yuva). Though his last movie – Yuva – was a well-made one, it failed to capture the imagination of the audience and ended up as a losing proposition. His latest offering – Guru – is a period film which is a semi-biopic but hastily states that it bears no resemblance to any character, living or dead! And while it is arguable, the film itself is a very good one.

My Rating: 3.5*

Story: Guru tells the story of one individual – Gurukant Desai(Abhishek Bachchan) – who dared to dream big. He chases success and manages to get it, even with questionable means. A person who never takes no for an answer, Gurukant Desai rises from a smalltown laborer into the leader of a national corporation with interests in Polyester and Petrochemicals.