Late surge by Alonso

Losing the drivers’ championship last year for Alonso was heart breaking. He’s at his prime (actually…still is) and to think he’s driving a technologically advanced car like the McLaren… it’s so hard to imagine or should I say ironic that he lost his winning streak. Well, the human factor at McLaren last year failed him and though it might be a wrong move on his part, he returned to his previous team (Renault) whose car as critics would label technologically inferior.

The early and mid season races were more heart breaking for Alonso. Critics can’t be more accurate as season start predictions become a reality. But you can’t just discount him right away. Out of the blue, at the historic first ever night race in F1 history at Singapore, the all too familiar white, orange and yellow blew the competition! Everybody is awed with what happened though deep down inside happy that this once… twice F1 Drivers’ Champion finally scored a first place podium finish for 2008.

The successful Singapore GP pushed the drivers to the edge even though it’s considerably well lit compared to Le Man’s 24-hour Race. Frankly, I never expected Alonso to win it. Everybody’s saying his Renault F1 car is slow that it cannot keep up with the Ferrari’s and the McLaren’s. The only comfort I guess with the Singapore GP track that may have swayed in Renault’s favor is that it’s not a fast track with 23 turns... some bumpy. Steady drive for Alonso coupled with other drivers having problems with pit stops (Massa could have won the race if not for issues with the auto/electronic lollipop) and again the bumpy portion of the road at turns sealed the deal. So after the race blessed with no rain (which could have made the race more exciting but unsafe) thanks to modern technologies… I thought the win by Alonso was a fluke.

The Japan GP track unlike the Singaporean GP track is much faster and there are only 16 turns. Again, Alonso with his Renault is not expected to win. But then, a controversial “turn 1” resulted to a drive through penalty for Hamilton (which he deserves by the way!) and Massa incurred the same penalty after hitting Hamilton (which caused him to spun… which he deserves again!) in a later turn cost the race for both drivers. Kubica who’s a consistent podium finisher this season could have or should have won the race. But excellent strategy coupled with an inferior car that can’t do anything wrong, Alonso won for the second straight time.

Winning two races in a row is not unusual for Alonso. But really winning this season although already late because Massa, Kubica and Hamilton are the only drivers competing for the drivers’ championship is somehow a prelude of what is to come for F1. Contention of the drivers’ championship, which started last season, is no longer limited to two well-known drivers. I have to give credit to Hamilton who’s been competitive since his first year and have stirred excitement and controversies with his on and off the track antics. Next year would be more exciting for F1 as BMW, Renault together with some emerging teams as they get more competitive would be able to bring the heat to the Ferrari’s and McLaren’s. For Renault however, it would depend on Alonso should he decide… to stay.

Forza Ferrari!!!

The recent F1 season is by far the most exhilarating and dramatic season with the spying scandal and drivers’ feud thanks to McLaren that added human spice to a sport that seemed to focus on speed and technology.

I really thought the race is between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. I was dead wrong! I know that Kimi Räikkönen is still in contention but I kind of dismissed the idea of him winning. Like his moniker “Iceman” suggest, Kimi was like a predator stalking the two McLaren drivers and when he had the chance, pounced and ran away with the drivers’ championship. Very very sneaky! Not to downplay Kimi, he actually had a good start this season winning the Australian Grand Prix. His teammate Massa and the two McLaren drivers outpaced him until the 7th and 8th race, French and British Grand Prix respectively. And come winning time, he won 3 of the last 4 races, the Belgian, Chinese and Brazilian Grand Prix. He won a total of 6 races this season compared to Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton each having 4 wins. Also notable this season is his tenacity, which made him at striking distance of the driver’s championship. At times he did not finish on the podium, with 2 retirements in Spain and Europe, he still managed to score points by finishing no. 8 in Monaco (1 point), no. 5 in Canada (4 points) and no. 4 in the US (5 points). Kimi Räikkönen finished with 110 points, both Alonso and Hamilton with 109 points, truly a heartbreaker for the two… as cold as it can get by Kimi.

Felipe Massa racing on his home track (Brazilian Grand Prix) made complications for the two McLaren drivers. Starting on pole position, I am pretty convinced that Massa should have won the race but would have cost Kimi Räikkönen the drivers’ championship. But knowing he’s the number two driver and already out for the drivers’ championship, I suspect that he gave way. That’s the Ferrari winning formula that Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello have used in the past and the McLAren driver’s should learn it if they want to be on top. A clear line of who is number one and two must be drawn.

The Ferrari Team once again proved that they are at the top of the sport. At one point in the season, when the spying scandal broke out, the question that’s bothering me is how they can beat McLaren? But somehow towards the end, they were able to win 9 races over McLaren’s 8 or they were just lucky Hamilton made a mistake in the wet Chinese Grand Prix?

Lewis Hamilton is truly surprising and is the future of F1. He could have won it, first ever as a rookie, if not for the mechanical failure early in the race that cost him to start from the back. But due to his superb driving, he still managed to finish 7th including a brave curve overtaking Rubens Barrichello. BMW and Williams allegedly made some refueling irregularities and if they were penalized, Hamilton would have moved up to 5th place and won the drivers’ championship by a point. But Hamilton, the competitive gentleman he is, expressed no interest in winning by a protest… he prefers to win the title on the track. A few more seasons or maybe next season, he’ll surprise us again but I hope not with race retirements!

Fernando Alonso’s winning streak on the other hand has been singed. Was going to McLaren a mistake on his part? For McLaren, it was truly a gain. There’s a lot of question for Alonso right now and since the season is over, everybody’s wondering whom will he race for. Ferrari looks content with their present lineup. Will he go to Toyota to replace Ralf Schumacher? His best chance of winning is with a team with a superior car and at present, that’s Ferrari and McLaren. Or he might as well return to Renault, BMW? The whole world is guessing right now.

With Michael Schumacher out of the picture and with Alonso’s failure to win this season, the playing field is pretty much leveled which makes next season exciting… Especially the newly added Singaporean Grand Prix night race!

F1 Super Season Ender

What a way to end a season! Three drivers are deadlocked on winning this season’s F1 Drivers' Championship. At the end of the Chinese Grand Prix, Hamilton still leads the pack with 107 championship points followed by Alonso with 103 points and lastly Räikkönen with 100 points. The final race to resolve the dispute… the Brazilian Grand Prix.

I watched the other night the replay of the Chinese Grand Prix on Star Sports. The Drivers' Championship would have been considered in the bag for Hamilton if not for the mishap (probably his own doing… rookie mistake). He was leading considerably and made a mistake in not changing his tires to dry weather ones much earlier (in the early part of the race, the track was wet). He opted to stay with his wet weather tires and drove fast as Räikkönen attacked him. As the track was beginning to dry, his tires deteriorated loosing grip and as he was entering the pit (there’s a sharp curve leading to the pit), he slid off to the gravel trap and got stuck forcing him to retire.

Any of the three driver’s mentioned earlier are now given a chance to win the Drivers' Championship with the following scenarios using the top eight point system (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1):

• Hamilton can be on top and make history as the first rookie champion if he wins the Brazilian Grand Prix. He will end up with 117 points.
  

• If Hamilton finishes 2nd and Alonso wins the race. Alonso will have 113 championship points and Hamilton with 115 points. Hamilton still wins!

• If Hamilton finishes 3rd or 4th, he’ll end up with 113 and 112 points respectively. Alonso finishes 1st or 2nd, he’ll end up with 113 and 111 points respectively. So, with Alonso at 1st and Hamilton at 3rd, we have a tie.

• If Hamilton does another rookie mistake and not finish the race… the dream is over and it’s up to Alonso and Räikkönen to slug it out.

• For Alonso to win, he must finish 1st with Hamilton finishing lower than 3rd place.

• For Räikkönen to win, he must finish 1st with Alonso finishing lower than 2nd and Hamilton lower than 6th place.

Felipe Massa in 4th place with 86 points is already considered out for the drivers' championship but he can surely complicate things for the top three if he won the race like he did last year (2006 Brazilian Grand Prix).

Nobody can really predict the outcome of this season even if McLaren outnumber Ferrari wins in the Brazilian track (11 to 8). If we are to consider the race wins from year 2000 onwards, Ferrari outnumbers McLaren (3 to 2). See the details on Wikipedia!

Will the raging Spaniard do a three-peat? Will the rookie make history... or history with another mistake? Or be surprised by the Finnish in red! I guess we’ll just have to watch the ultimate race on October 21!

McLaren

Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Renault, and BMW are considered the top F1 teams. Renault’s Fernando Alonso snatched the driver’s championship from Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher back in 2005 and 2006. Alonso is now with McLaren and the constructor is back at the pole position early in the current 2007 season. McLaren’s early dominance is not only attributed to Alonso but also to the surprising rookie F1 driver, Lewis Hamilton and for the fact that they have a better car this year.

I’m a Ferrari and Schumacher fan but I am starting to be a fan of Alonso for the fact that he did not suffered adjustment snags just after transferring to McLaren and he’s currently on the number two spot in the driver’s championship before going to the Japanese Grand Prix. You might be thinking why just number two? The number one spot for now belongs to… again… the surprising rookie… Hamilton (leading by 2 points with 97 pts). The Alonso-Hamilton tandem backed by a superior car is pretty solid from the beginning but serious cracks from the two drivers relationship is beginning to surface… obviously, since Hamilton is not playing the part of the no. 2 driver. At the end of the first half and the early third quarter of the season, Hamilton took the opportunity to be in front of Alonso and might even go down in history as the greatest rookie sensation ever in F1 not to mention that he is British with Caribbean descent.

For McLaren, they are set to capture the constructor’s championship this year until… the spying issue. McLaren’s chief designer Mike Coughlan allegedly received top-secret data (780 paged technical dossier) from Ferrari’s chief engineer Nigel Stepney in April. The FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile) penalized McLaren by removing them from the constructor’s championship.

Somehow, Ferrari’s technical information was used to McLaren’s advantage and although Alonso and Hamilton were not involved, they have benefited from it. To prove that they are really the best, they have to win the remaining races and repeat the feat next season. But whether Alonso will still drive for McLaren is in question. There are news that he might return to Renault, go to BMW or even Ferrari because of ongoing rift with Hamilton.

Alonso amidst all of these is already one of the best… Hamilton, again… the surprising one, must prove his worth next season.