We’re only a third of the way through the F1 2011 season and I’m already approaching every Thursday press conference, every post-qualifying press release and every post-race driver interview with a sense of trepidation. Why? Two words: “for sure”.
I’ve no idea who first introduced it – was it Prost? Mansell? Jacques Villeneuve? – but the dreaded “for sure” has become an essential and hugely annoying part of every self-respecting Formula One driver’s verbal baggage. Take one of this year’s rookies Pastor Maldonado, for example. Who would have guessed this was his first year in Formula One?
Q: Was it very frustrating not to have got that good result?
Pastor Maldonado: Yeah, for sure.
Q: Do you remember Canada?
PM: Yeah, I remember. For sure it is my first time here. The track seems amazing. Let’s see what we can do. For sure at the beginning it will be a bit difficult especially tomorrow for me.
How he can remember Canada if this is his first time here is beyond me, but that’s not the point. Three “for sure”s in two questions is pretty damn good for an F1 novice. Not that that makes him the top 2011 “for surer”: if I was a betting man I’d put my money on all Ferrari front row, with Felipe Massa just pipping Fernando Alonso. And if a “for sure” was worth four-tenths a lap, the Maranello squad might well be leading the championship by now.