sofaF1

Well with F1's resident Pole having a quiet lie down it's time for us to have a quick recap of what Indie is all about. Indie is in many ways the oddest circuit that we go to. The mechanics have to set up the cars in two different opposing directions. On the one hand there is the need to deal with the high speed straight but you can't go too far that way because otherwise the car will be undriveable in the twisty bits.

Traditionally the cars with the higher top speeds have more flexibility here which is part of the reason Ferrari have always done well here (they've only lost one race). This tire advantage should be gone for this year except that Ferrari have shown that while the new Bridgestone's are different than previous years tires they still have a slight advantage. With that famous banked corner being so crucial for tires expect Ferrari to do well from that.

Because of the mix of strategies about being fast in different parts of the track, the fact that although most will two stop anything from one to three is possible, the wear rate on the tires from having to deal with that banked corner and the long straight leading into two tight corners all conspire to make Indie traditionally one of the circuits most suited to overtaking. That alongside that there is a safety car more often than not tends to keep the racing tight and exciting. I just hope Ralf doesn't try and crash into that wall again.

So McLaren look dominant at the moment and so it may be a fight between Lewis and Alonso at Alonso's bogey circuit. Although to be fair to Alonso his record isn't as bad here as some have made out. Also there's a chance that because of the likelihood of a safety car it may be Lewis's turn to be disadvantaged.

Ferrari have always gone well here. But was that the tires or raw pace? Kimi must get back on track here if he's going to stand a chance in the championship. He really needs a pole to checkered flag victory to get his confidence back.

BMW are going awesomely at the moment, maybe even faster than Ferrari. And because Kubica is off we will have the utter thrill of seeing Vitel in the car. Now that's guaranteed excitement right there!

It should be an awesome race, so lets hear your predictions!