Month: June 2019

You’ll have a difficult time finding a better performance in the world of Formula One than Lewis Hamilton in his Mercedes on Sunday afternoon. He nearly had a perfect race, coped with several small concerns in the cockpit, and conquered his teammate by more than 18 seconds to win the French Grand Prix. However, perfection is nothing without perspective, and with no other racer close enough to provide a decent challenge for most of the race, it’s nearly impossible to get excited about Hamilton’s fourth victory in 2019.

The French Grand Prix, in many ways, was a showcase of problems in the modern world of Formula 1. One team dominated the entire race from the start, the whole Grand Prix was decided after the very first corner, and the only excitement in the race occurred when Daniel Ricciardo overtook on the final lap only to be blotted out by the racing stewards following the chequered flag. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that the storyline behind the Formula One championship in 2019 has very little left in terms of a narrative.

Why is the Formula One Season so Dull?

If Ferrari was competitive in the French Grand Prix, it’s highly likely that the focus would have been entirely different after the race ended. However, if anything, team Mercedes looked even more dominant during the race when compared to the previous races in the 2019 season. The reasons for Ferrari’s struggles are plentiful and varied. However, it essentially boils down to Mercedes being far more adaptive to changes in terms of the aerodynamic regulations as well as the construction of tyres during the winter.

What’s quite hilarious is the fact that these changes were put in place to make the racing experience for spectators better, and the racing on Sunday would have been far more tedious if they weren’t in place. If the regulations in 2018 continued for another year without being checked, the cars’ aerodynamic surfaces might have become far more complex which would have ended up in the vehicles losing performance while attempting to overtake another vehicle. However, if there’s one thing you can take from Mercedes and their dominance in 2019, is that the team is quick to adapt to new changes this year.

Mercedes vs Ferrari

Mercedes worked extremely hard to successfully adapt the aerodynamic concept from 2018 to coincide with the new rules of 2019, while the development direction of Ferrari has managed to lead the team down a dark, blinding alley. Ferrari has an advantage when it comes to engine performance compared to Mercedes, but downforce is their biggest weakness on most of the tracks this year.

Ferrari introduced plenty of upgrades to the car at the French Grand Prix to assist in the new development direction. However, it only created more questions without any real answers during the race. Will it continue to stay a one-sided affair for the rest of the 2019 season or will Ferrari find a winning direction?

Gary Woodland, who hasn’t managed to finish in the top 10 until 2018, successfully held off a potent charge from Brooks Koepka, a two-time defending champion, to claim victory at the 119th U.S Open for his first major win at Pebble Beach on Sunday.

Woodland, who began the final round with only a one-stroke lead, managed to go 2-under par and ended 13 under for 72 holes to claim victory by three strokes against Koepka, who was attempting to become the first golfer in 114 years to claim victory in 3 successive U.S Open titles. If you don’t know much about Gary Woodland, here are a few things that will impress you about him.

He was a viral video star earlier in the season

When Gary Woodland made his arrival at the Waste Management Phoenix Open during January, the officials of the PGA Tour asked him if he would mind playing with Amy Bockerstette, a Special Olympics golfer with Down syndrome, on the famous 16th hole par-3.

Gary Woodland was happy to go ahead and play with Amy. He met her father and Amy Bockerstette once he reached the tee box on the 16th. Amy, who recently accepted a scholarship to play golf in Phoenix at the Paradise Valley Community College, knocked her tee shot straight into a bunker, chipped it out to just over 8 feet, and then sank the ball for par. Gary Woodland stated that it was awesome.

It was also the most-watched video of the PGA Tour with over 5 million views. Gary stated that he had done quite a bit in his life, but this is something that he will never forget.

Father’s Day Comes with Special Meaning for Woodland

During March 2017, Gary announced on Instagram that his wife was expecting twins. In the same month, he unexpectedly withdraws from the prestigious WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play that took place in Austin, Texas due to personal reasons.

After a week, Gary made another announcement that informed his fans that they lost one of their babies. Jaxson, Woodland’s son, was born in June 2017, ten weeks premature and had to stay at the hospital for 40 days. Thankfully, he is healthy and managed to walk with his dad during the par-three contest in April.

Gary Initially Wanted to Play Basketball

Woodland was raised in Kansas and was considered a golf and basketball star at Shawnee Heights High School. However, Division I schools didn’t recruit him even though he averaged 18 points and was named an all-state player. He loved playing basketball but ended up playing golf instead. Woodland initially signed to play basketball and golf at Washburn University Division II.

However, after he opened his freshman season, he quickly realized that golf is the sport for his future. Once he made that realization, he decided to transfer to Kansas, where he would play golf the very next year. Woodland stated that basketball still manages to assist him on the golf course.