The end of an era in F1, and the start of a new age?

Schumacher waves to the fans at the re-race parade in Singapore 2012

What a season of Formula 1... I haven't been a real fan for very long, more like a casual fan from 1998 until 2005. But WOW what a year of F1! So many plotlines, so much action and so much drama that I'll need bulletpoints to keep from droning on:

• Most former champions ever racing at the same time (six - Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen)

• Seven different winners (Button, Alonso, Nico Rosberg, Vettel, Pastor Maldonado, Mark Webber, and Hamilton), in the first seven races, including two first-time winners (Rosberg and Maldonado)

By Round 7, each of these three would already have a race win. Unfortunately for Maldonado, it would be his only win

• Michael Schumacher's retirement and final season/farewell tour, that netted him all of one podium, due to a combination of declining skills and an unreliable car

• Kimi Raikkonen's triumphant return to F1 after a disastrous end to his Ferrari stint, which crumbled as soon as he won his first World Championship. He improbably placed 3rd in the Driver's Championship, despite driving for a car that many thought would be a second-tier team (Lotus, aka the corpse of Reneault). My favorite moment of his comeback? Kimi telling his pit crew to basically shut up and let him drive

Raikkonen looking as passive as ever

• A former championship contender (Felipe Massa, 2nd in 2008 by just one point) in a competitive car (Ferrari) free-falling into oblivion, causing everyone and their mother to bet that he will not be retained, and then inexplicably returning to form with two podiums and six top-f finishes in the last ten races, while keeping his seat for 2013

• The drama of Lewis Hamilton's decision whether to stay with McLaren or go to another team, which he finally did when he signed with Mercedes GP

• Sebastian Vettel's second ever Perfect Weekend (Pole, Led every lap, Win, Fastest Lap) in Suzuka

• The successful return of Formula 1 in the US, with the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas

• The rise of young talent - Rosberg, Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Romain Grosjean getting podiums and Maldonado and Grosjean's penchant for crashing, especially in the opening lap

• Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest ever F1 Triple World Champion, beating out Fernando Alonso by just 3 points, with the Ferrari ace reaching the podium in all of the last five races

Can Fernando Alonso build on the momentum of reaching the podium in all of the last 5 races of 2012?

It's fitting, i think, that Vettel became a Triple World Champion in Sao Paolo yesterday by finishing just ahead of the last man to claim that title, Michael Schumacher.

Michael under hard braking in Singapore 2010

For the record, even in Micheal's prime, I was more of a Mikka Hakkinen guy. I thought Schumi was a bit too cut-throat for my liking, and I preferred the cool, quiet confidence of the Flying Finn. But there is no doubt in my mind that with everything Schumacher has achieved, he is arguably the greatest F1 driver of all time. With much respect to Ayrton Senna, who might be the fastest driver ever, I think Schumacher had the best combination of speed, mental toughness, technical prowess, adaptability, and public savvy of any F1 driver ever. That is evident with how many titles he has won - seven, with Benetton and Ferrari - in the span of ten years.

I took this  photo at the Paddock of the 2012 Singapore GP, moments before getting Schumi's autograph

I will miss watching him, and despite being a McLaren fan first, I could never root against Schumacher. Someone once said that rooting against such a virtuoso athlete would be like rooting against Picasso or Mozart. I think - Senna and maybe Juan Manuel Fangio or Gilles Villaneuve aside - Schumi is the most revered F1 driver of all time. I was lucky enough to see him in person in the Singapore GP. It was around 10:30pm after a long day of qualifying. And he was just chatting with a Ferrari team member, but the crowd around him was grew within seconds, and many were intimidated to even walk up to him. I was lucky enough to get him to sign an autograph for me. Though he didn't say anything, he graciously accepted the autograph request after a long and grueling qualifying session.

Sebastian celebrates his win in Singapore 2012 after qualifying 3rd

Vettel's story, on the other hand, is just beginning. While it remains to be seen if he can have the longevity of Michael's career, he has proven himself to be a driver for the ages. He joined Schumacher and Fangio as the only Triple World Champions, and did it winning three in a row (Fangio has won 4 in a row, and Schumi 5 consecutive).  After long battling the notion that he is only good when he starts at pole position, his furious charge from the back of the grid to 3rd place in Abu Dhabi proved he can also fight it out with the best of them. And of course, he is still a virtual lock when out in front. Still, it will be interesting to see how he fares when he isn't in the fastest car on the grid.

The Red Bull crew working on Vettel's RB8

I am definitely hooked for next year. So many possibilities abound. Vettel is the obvious favorite. Ferrari and McLaren both finished strong, and with champions like Alonso and Button leading them, they will be in the mix. Button in particular might be stronger now that he has the undisputed number one spot in McLaren. Raikkonen already proved that he can win, and that Lotus can give him a car that will be competitive. And now that Hamilton has moved to Mercedes, Ross Brawn has a top-flight driver to develop a car around, like he did when Schumacher was in his stable. that's five teams that have a chance to do something special, with five championship-winning drivers.

Will Jenson Button's status as McLaren's number one man mean a title?

Bring on the funny season!

Top 10 Most Memorable Cars of My Youth

As with all petrolheads, the cars we grew up with and around played a huge role in our petrolheadedness. For this - my first - installment of my Top 10, I will list cars from my youth (until my 13th birthday) that had an impact on my life. It had to be either something my parents owned, or a relative, or a family friend, and made an impression on me and influenced my taste in cars. (In other words, no pin-up and dream cars - these are cars that I had personal experiences with).

10. 1980s Toyota Tamaraw

This humble tin box was the car that used to take me to and from school, delivered bakery goods and other products to my mom's little bake shop, and was the workhorse of the family. It had no seat belts and no airconditioning, just a flap below the windshield that you could open and close to reveal a few holes punched into the sheet metal that allowed air to come in. Still, since it had bench seats, I could change gears while my dad or whoever else was driving operated the clutch. I'd just slot the lever in the gear that they told me to. And when you're 6 years old, that's something to look forward to.

9. 1984 Toyota Landcruiser FJ40

My uncle had one of the coolest cars ever - an FJ40. Rugged and tough as nails, it was noisy, bumpy, and spartan, but that just made its character stronger. I imagined being on safari, or in a military expedition, or traversing rivers and rocky terrain, and the Landcruiser just taking everything in stride.

8. 1990 Mercedes Benz 500SL (R129)

I remember coming out of church one day and my dad's friend waiting for us a the bottom of the church steps. Behind him was a gleaming red 500SL, black canvas top up. As I ran up to the car to admire it, dad's friend said, "stand back! Watch this!" and with a push of a button, the convertible roof slowly folded itself away into the boot, completely automatically, as I watched wide-eyed and amazed. To this day, everytime I see one, I have this urge to own one.

7. 1990 Volkswagen Type 2 Vanagon Multivan (T3)

Dad bought this as a family runabout, with the idea of using it to take my mom, my brother and myself on long road trips. And road trip we did - most memorably from Vancouver to Edmonton, and later, from Vancouver to San Francisco. It had a little fold-away table, a cupboard, curtains, and a pop-up bed up on the roof where my brother and I would take naps in when my folks would take rest stops. Thanks to this wonderful dark blue minivan, we were able to have great family vacations that were truly memorable. But this wasn't our first VW Bus...

6. 1980s Volkswagen Type 2 (T2)

...This was. In a typically VW-like yellow-and-creme two-tone color scheme, this VW Bus was the first car we ever had with a moon roof, which was operated with a rotary windup mechanism. I can't recall how many times we would open up the top and poke our heads out while the good old VW cruised around the Manila streets. nearly 20 years later, my cousin snapped a picture of it, still alive, in Baguio. It feels great to know that this part of my childhood lives on.

5. 1987 Volvo 740 Turbo Wagon

This was my first encounter with forced induction. On the left side of the instrument cluster was a turbo gauge, with an orange band at the end to tell you that you were entering boost territory. I remember watching that gauge waiting for the dial move and approach turbo range, and scream "TURBO!" when it finally got there. It also had a pair of jump seats - a third row that face rearwards - that my brother and I would ride in (even if nobody sat in the second row) to play "punch buggy" or pretend to be gunners in a fighter-bomber.

4. 1984 Mercedes Benz 230E (W123)

My dad's first Benz is certainly a memorable one. When I went missing as a 6 year-old, the best place to look was the garage. My favorite place to be was inside our white 230E, marveling at the vacuum-operated central locks. I looked forward to seeing the 3-pointed star on the hood as we drove past, imagining it to be crosshairs on the nose of a fighter jet. Such was the magic of the 123 Benz.

3. 1991 Mitusbishi Montero

This was one of the cars I learned to drive in. And yes, I was 13 years old. When the family would take trips to Batangas, I waited eagerly to approach the sparsely populated back roads and dirt paths for my dad to finally tell me to get in the driver's seat. He didn't have to tell me twice! I begged and pleaded for my dad to keep the car 'til I was old enough to get a driver's license, to no avail. I still would love to own one, or its later iteration, the Fieldmaster.

2. 1988 Ferrari 308

A trip to San Francisco to visit family rendered a big surprise - my first REAL encounter with the most famous marque of all - Ferrari. My uncle's 308 was tucked away in his garage, and it seemed unreal that I was so near automotive greatness. It was a the treat of my life 'til that point to get in the back seat and get a ride around town while my dad drove and my uncle riding shotgun, but that lasted just a few minutes. But it was then that I realized that dreams can come true, and if it could happen to my uncle, then I may be able to make it for myself. I still hold on to that dream to this day.

1. 1989 BMW 525i (e34)

This was my first encounter with the marque that would capture my imagination. Because of this car, I started reading up on both classic Bimmers and (then) current ones, leading to my infatuation with the 6-series shark, the exotic M1, and my favorite sports car of the time, the 850 CSi.The 5-series blended performance, reliability, sporting character, and luxury all wrapped in a handsome package. Even today a clean one catches my eye, and is a reminder of those magical days when the Bavarian brand first stole my heart.

just the two of us

Gani texted me this great idea for an ongoing topic. To paraphrase:

"What 2 cars would you want for a 2 car garage?"

Wow. What a tough question. Because its easy to list down cars that we want. But if you could only have 2? Wow. Would you just go balls to the wall and say "a Ferarri F40 and a Mercedes Benz SLS" (2 of my favorite supercars of all time). But assuming we are trying to inject some realism in here (realism with an unlimited budget), then the choices must be a bit more practical. So then we would think about ride height, fuel efficiency, etc. If its important to you, one might even go with hybrids or a hydrogen engine car.

A few years ago, an Austrian BMW test driver (his name escapes me now) answered a similar question very well. The question was "what car would you have in your garage". His answer went something like:

"I have my dream cars in my garage. I have an [BMW] e90 330i Touring (wagon) for the weekdays, and a [BMW] Z4 for the weekends".

Not a bad garage. Not bad at all.

So right now, at 10:50pm on July 26, 2011? Fighting off the itch to go with an F40 as one of my pics, lets try to be a bit more "practical" and give these 2

1967 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500

BMW F11 530d

Hmm...ok maybe those choices weren't that much more practical. At least I chose a diesel for everyday driving...