mikec

The most embarrassing scene I ever saw was Kirby parading down the Malecon in an old retro taxi during the Festival a year or two back. Maybe they should have had him throwing pesos out to the poor peasants and fisherman, while driving by. It was in very bad taste after all the people had been through so much with Covid and the storms etc. I don't think the cigar community needs that kind of influence (ignorance). Sorry.

I think back fondly to the "cigar tourism" days of the 90's and early 2000's where it seemed at least from the outside that there was some hope for the younger educated enterprising Cuban to get ahead. Paladares opening everywhere and the opportunity to get a slice of Cuban life staying in the many casa particulares. Cigars where plentiful and cheap with new stores opening all over Havana. How times have changes as greed has taken over and "cigar tourism" is long gone due to the Hong Kong standard pricing instituted there and abroad. I don't really understand why Cuba had to be included in the broad sweep of price increases but Habanos as we knew it no longer exists unfortunately. It was a paradise for cigar smokers and I was fortunate enough to partake of the wonderful cultural experience offered then. Oh well, its over for good now but its really too bad that small slice of tourism had to go.

NONSENSE!!

Have been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to order a cab but unfortunately COH orders are hit and miss for us Canadians who would love to sample these fine cigars. Hoping there may be some other options for us Canucks in the near future.

So sad to lose Nino for sure but he did consume Cuba so well over the years and was truly an unofficial Cuban citizen. Will miss his Flying Cigar site. I’m still shell shocked over what has happened to my favourite place to visit since 1993. Let’s hope somebody comes to their senses and realizes how valuable cigar tourism really was and maybe still can be again.

Definitely tune into the DTM race this weekend if you want some great racing action. Looks like Audi will be the ones to beat again this year if you go by the pre-season testing times. My spy at Mercedes tells me the Merc is still a little off the pace but they are not showing all the cards just yet. Wickens has a real cool livery this season but hard to pickup on TV ( cammo green). Watch this kid this season as he has a lot to prove and can deliver if he stays out of trouble. Most of these guys (DTM) are quite happy staying where they are as the payroll to grief quotient is considerably less in this formula.

Always great to hear from you Mike! Unfortunately I missed out going after all as my wife has been unwell of late so I couldn't head out to the GP as I'd have felt too guilty for having all the fun whilst she'd have been stuck at home. I did watch it from home and whilst I love being at the GP in person, looking at it from home and the lack of sound, I feel I'd have lost 50% of the excitement I normally look forward to. Sound and smell is extremely important to the senses, the smell of carbon brakes and the like would have no doubt been there but that sound (Or lack of) is really depressing for Formula 1. I will always LOVE F1 but they need to seriously bring back the decibels. I agree with Mercedes Power in that they have a lot more up their sleeve they are yet to reveal but in saying this two thought come to mind... 1) If they crank up the software to deliver more power, won't they run out of fuel and not complete a GP? 2) How would they manage the torque coming out of the corners? More HP would be great on the straights, I imagine they'd crank it up at Canada, Spa and Monza but it will be interesting to see how well they perform under more POWER! Rosberg will out match Hamilton - He's more level headed and overall a brilliant talent over a race distance. No doubt Hamilton is a brilliant driver, but his attitude the past couple years have made him lose focus comparative to his earlier years in 2008. Hamilton in Qualy is one of the best ever. Williams will do well this season and no doubt the WDC will be between Mercedes, Williams and McLaren. DTM have two years to watch F1 fail with the current Turbos, perhaps they'll learn from this? It's never too late to change their ideas. As for Aussie V8's that will never change mate. Aussies are a passionate bunch with motor racing. Sorry to hear about your wife Mika, hope all turns out well for you. I think we are in agreement on most issues here and I'll guess we will wait and see how the early season pans out. The guys in DTM are actually looking forward to the turbos coming ( we'll see about that) and are quite excited about racing with the GT 500 cars in Asia if all goes well. It looks like Mercedes are going to do well in DTM this year and have gained a half a second over last years times and we shall see if that's enough to hold off Audi and BMW. The Mercedes guys seem more interested in kicking the asses of the new F-1 refugees on their team ( Petrov& DiResta) than anything else. We shall see how the heat affects everyone in Malaysia next weekend and if Williams can keep both cars on the track for full race distance. Like This Quote MultiQuote

So one race in the bag and what does everyone think? Too quiet maybe or is the racing action enough to keep things interesting? My spies within Mercedes tell me that they (Mercedes) turned the motor down significantly on or around lap 14. They have yet to show their hand power wise and have A LOT in hand if they need it. In other words if they had to push it and use all available resources the gap would have been MUCH greater at Melbourne. The other teams say they are a second behind Mercedes but in reality it could be closer to 2 seconds and change. I look for much of the same for all of the fly away races and no catching them until after that. I also predict that Rosberg will prevail as a steady race winner although not out qualifying his buddy Hammy. I would also look to see Williams displacing McLaren on the podium until the mid season break and continuing if they get software updates from Mercedes). Anyway that's just my opinion and I look to Mika for the audience reaction at Adelaide. Hope you had a good one mate and where not too disappointed. I was also disappointed to find out that DTM are going to a similar motor within two years. Oh well we will still have the Aussie V8 Supercars, or will we?

Love the Outlaws and my father used to take us to Williamsgrove and Celingsgrove in Pennsylvania to see the WOO. I remember such greats as the Kinsers and "The Wild Child". Nothing like clay and alcohol with a hint of nitro.

Very sad indeed, I have two Monsdales left that he rolled 8 years ago when I was visiting Club Habana. They will be very special now and will be smoked in his memory.

As far as Dr H. Marko proclaiming that the Renault is down 165 hp to the Mercedes is total B.S. This guy is the biggest whiner in the pits and I hope he gets his ass kicked by the media for stupid comments that come out of his mouth. We will let the racing in Melbourne silence this nut job for a little while anyway

Ok so testing is over and things begin to get more clear. It actually looks like Massa is going to get a shot with the Williams in the early going and that's fantastic. No one deserves the opportunity to win more than Massa after all the BS he has survived as being the number 2 driver subservient to King Alonso. I hope he whips his (Alonso) ass in the first couple of races and rubs it in his face. We know he won't do that because he is a genuinely "good guy". Alonso is going to miss not having his whipping boy around to assist in set ups and blocking for him. Mercedes powered cars are the early favourite to come out on top in the early season but Red Bull will be back sooner than you think. They will throw money at their problems and will prevail eventually much to my dismay. It all makes for a great set up to the season and in 12 days the action starts. Enjoy the race Mika and let us know what the experience of being there was like. I'm going out on a limb early and picking Nico Rosberg as World Champion for 2014. GO MERCEDES!!!

I'm very envious of you Mika, being able to see the the first race of a new generation of F-1 cars in your backyard. It will require a very select rotation of cigars over the weekend. I'm off to Hockenheim in a few weeks to see my daughters fiancé's first race of the year in DTM. He is driving for Mercedes AMG DTM racing team (Robert Wickens) who won his first DTM race last year. He also tested for Renault F-1 and Marussia last year.

Getting very excited for the start of this season, so many variables. My hopes are that Mercedes AMG can finally pull it off and win the championships this year. Looks good so far but who knows, even Williams/Massa could become dark horses for multiple victories. I predict disharmony and problems for the duo of Kimi and Alonso so ferrari may have to wait another year. Go Nico and Hammy!!!

You too Mika and I hope you are still with the Mercedes fight as next year they have to win...too bad about Ross I guess.

Well Mika, I haven't been keeping up with this forum for a long time but I'll be back for 2014. I will have a little advantage in Mercedes news as my daughters new boyfriend is none other than Robert Wickens who will be entering his second full season driving for Mercedes DTM team. I hope to get some first class info as he is very close to Rosberg and Nico is Roberts formula one driver mentor. Robert may even get a Friday drive or two in the new car if things go very well....we will see. Have a great holiday and we will talk soon.

No it's those damn French Canadians, completely different animal there boys!

I'm with you Mika on the prediction of a Schumacher win in Montreal. If all goes well I'll be at the race with some Mercedes Canada VIP passes (hoping and fingers crossed). I also think it might be a breakout weekend for Kimi and he also has a shot here (dogfight for victory between these two).

Great run by Maldonado and I really didnt expect this one for sure. Looks like Mercedes missed Ross this weekend and Bell played it to safe on the setup being overly worried about the car eating up rear tires. Time to take some chances boys. Even with grid penalty to Shumacher I'm picking him or Kimi to win Monaco.

Hoping for a happy outcome for Guy and his family.

I hope you had the opportunity to witness Mercedes first victory since 1955. A brilliant drive by Nico and of course stellar strategy from Ross Brawn. I must admit I didn't predict this wonderful result and my faith in Merecedes has been restored. Cant wait until Bahrain.

Boy did Vettell's true colors come out with this incident. It could get very ugly before it gets better with the young lad. I'm sure Red Bull will prevail with Adrians newest updates, but it could take a few races. I have to admit I'm quite enjoying watching the boy wonder squirm with a less than perfect car under him. Now only if Merecedes can get their act together before it's too late, it won't help if that big suck Horner gets his way and Merc lose their trick wing after China. I think the powers to be will allow Mercedes to keep the wing as they (Merc) are already threating to pul out of F1 if Bernie doesn't make the payouts a bit more fair. How the politics are playing out is a wonder to behold.

I'm pretty convinced now that Mercedes have fumbled the ball again with the W03. It pains me to say this but it just doesn't look like they got it right again, it's truly worrying news for Ross Brawn, you can tell he is anguishing over the situation himself. I really hope they prove me wrong but I just don't have the faith in them anymore.

Good race but I'm gutted about the performace of the Mercedes. I hope it's only a set up thing and they can recover quickly. I'm also left wondering about Rosbergs driving, I'm starting to doubt the size of his attatchments.

Well that didn't really tell us too much due to weather conditions but you have to start thinking that Merecedes and McLaren are looking pretty good. Seems they have built up the W03 right to Michael's liking and hopefully this won't hinder Rosbergs charge to a first win. The longer wheelbase seems to compliment Schumis driving style for sure. I sense that Red Bull aren't too happy with the balnce of their cars so look for surprises this weekend. Too bad Kimi didn't get too many laps in but that wont slow him down once they get the steering fixed for him. Can't wait until qualifying gets going tonight and find out who the pretenders are (Forcr India?).