2006: Things Wot We Have Learned

Well that was exciting wasn't it... Now we've all had a chance to sit back and catch our breath, you have to admit it turned out to be a pretty good season - certainly something you wouldn't have counted on after the first few races.

But then F1 always has a way of surprising you. (Apart from when Max Mosley gets involved; then it tends to just disappoint you, depress you, horrify you and make you want to go and follow Extreme Chess or something instead).

The FIA overturning the decisions of its own stewards to ensure the banning of Renault's mass dampers was a piece of predictably unsavoury and ultimately thickheaded politicking that threatened to overshadow the year, and as ever revealed and taught us more about the sport than we knew before. (Primarily, that when it stinks it REALLY stinks.)

However it was only one of many, many things we learned from the 2006 season; and so here in no particular order are a few others:

Things we have learned in 2006...
• That the age-old rule about cutting chicanes no longer stands. Well, sometimes. Kind of... Er, depends who you are.
• That the Red Bull brigade bafflingly value Scott Speed over Christian Klien and should clearly be renamed Complete Bull at once.
• That despite McLaren's wonderful shiny MP4/21 paint-job, you can't polish a turd.
• That Super Aguri weren't that bad after all - and could even be a good deal better next year too.
• That the authorities were actually capable of delivering a pretty entertaining - even compelling - qualifying system.
• That external primarily aerodynamic devices that directly affect aerodynamics aren't actually areodynamic so long as they're on a Ferrari.
• That there are other nox-fixed parts of the car that have a far more direct effect on its aerodynamics than mass dampers and should therefore also be banned... Yes: steering wheels have to go.
• That Jenson Button can win a GP, and that James Allen's voice can reach a pitch audible only to dogs when it happens.
• That Anthony Davidson is as good a commentator as he is a driver (that's 'excellent' by the way).
• That nothing became Schumi like the manner of his going.
• That Ferrari must (and will) change now he's gone, and Ross Brawn's gone.
• That the F1 Digital+ TV channel MUST return. Now.
• That rain is a good thing. Particularly in Hungary, and the event should definitely be moved into their rainy season as a result.
• That sometimes the weight of being hyped up as the uber-rookie doesn't help you make a genuinely great career start: can Hamilton avoid the pitfalls that Rosberg encountered?
• That we missed Spa very badly.
• That we will miss Suzuka equally badly.
• That Max Mosley must go.

And that's it from Motormouth - bye bye and thanks for reading throughout the season; and don't forget you can find all the articles from this year archived online at www.f1motormouth.com