Driving the point home vs. driving at home

Looks like the boffins of the McLaren Mercedes F1 Team read my blog last week. And may have been mighty upset with my views about F1 racing. Or it might be just sheer coincidence. Considering the number of people who read my blog (the count is 3 as of last time I checked, I, me and myself.) I think it might have been the latter. I switch on the TV and what do I see? McLaren team came up with a footage which compared a roadcar (Merc C-Class), a souped up roadcar (an AMG modified C-Class), a rally car (yet another Merc) and an F1 car to actually show how an F1 car is different from the normal cars we drive. The road car was driven by a lady who's a professional driver, the souped up version of the roadcar by the same guy who drives the safety car in front of the F1s when the safety flag is up. The rally car was driven by a professional race driver. Of course the F1 car was to be driven by Fernando Alonso. And the venue was the Silverstone Racetrack. The home of the McLaren. Did I mention that all the cars were either Mercedes or McLaren Mercedes or AMGs? Naturally! Top of the line in their categories. So what was the end result? The F1 car won the race by a full 15 seconds. This after starting a full 30 seconds after the first car drove off and then taking the mandatory pit stop too while the other drivers were sweating it out among themselves. The roadcar was beaten by a full 48 seconds. Awesome! And to drive the point home (on second thoughts, I think they did read my blog), Mr. Alonso said that sometimes people don't get the idea as to how powerful an F1 car is. Point noted, Mr. Alonso, with due apologies. My bad. F1 is serious racing and not just driving in circles. And if I had been one of the drivers, I'd have arrived at the finish line just about the time these drivers would be having their dessert after having a 3-course meal. After finishing the race, of course. Slowpoke.

Well, being a slowpoke is the order of the day here. Let me give an example. I commute to work by car. The total distance one way is 11 kilometers. Now on a normal work day, if I start at around 8:30 am, the average time I take to travel these 11 km is 35 minutes. Doing some math based on my school Physics formula which says speed is equal to the distance upon time, this works out to an average speed of just about 19 kmph. No, don't get me wrong. I'm not driving a 1940 vintage which has a habit of breaking down, its just that I'm driving in a city where the smallest of errand can turn out to be a massive exercise in patience and self-control. Its also a great memory class on how to cope up with bumper to bumper traffic at every red light without forgetting where you wanted to go in the first place. The traffic's unreal! There's a joke here that we are supposed to be wearing the seatbelts (mandatory as per the law) just in case someone dings your car or you bump into someone, your seatbelt will keep you tied down in the car and you won't get out stark raving mad and chase the perpetrator of the evil deed with a carjack or some such lethal weapon. Safety restraint system (SRS). So imagining myself performing well on a test track is a bit far-fetched. I wish I knew how to ride a bike. I could weave in and out of traffic just like that if I did ride a bike. My average speed might come upto 25 kmph. That's lightning speed for me. Unfortunately, that's one art I could never ever master. Maybe some day.