"The star who won't even play the last encore"

I don't imagine Tony Blair or his advisers watched the Italian Grand Prix this afternoon. A shame, really, because someone who wants to be the 'star who won't even play the last encore' could have learned a lot from watching the star of the past ten years defeat both the current leader in the Championship and the person who will be replacing him, and then announce his retirement while celebrating victory in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans - the motor racing equivalent of 'Progress' conference.