Thursday, October 04, 2007

~ Formula 1:2007 ~


After being an ardent fan of Michael Schumacher & Ferrari all these years, I thought 2007 season would be one sided with Alonso taking the championship for his new side,The McLarens. Not to write off Ferrari, even though Kimi has the potential & experience, didn't feel he had the machine which would get him the championship. Half way through the season, Massa was performing well & winning the races for prancing horse. I thought Massa would be the Ferrari's hope for 2007 championship. Thats when Kimi Räikkönen, the Iceman, responded with back 2 back wins @ the French & the British grap prixs to close upon his team-mate & be a contender for the championship. Its never easy for any racing team, if the championship points are held evenly by their drivers.

If that was the case with Ferraris, things were only getting worse for McLarens. Alonso, having moved to the McLaren, probably thought (or may be promised) that he would be given the 'Numero Uno' driver status. Guess, McLaren would have honoured Alonso the status, if their rookie driver, Hamilton wasn't winning them races. No one, at least myself, ever expected such a brilliant performance from a rookie. Despite being the youngest double champion, Alonso never got any preferential treatment from his McLarens team; which seem to have upset the Spaniard.

With so much of competition among drivers, the spy gate brought new twist to the season. It became more exciting when Alonso threatened McLaren Boss, Ron Dennis, regarding the usage of the Ferrari’s confidential data to tweak the performances of their cars. The differences between Alonso and the McLaren team was/is no longer confined behind doors.

Just when Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese race, everyone thought the rookie would be creating history in Formula 1 in the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix. But, there comes yet another twist to this season's championship, 'Hamilton faces Japan win inquiry' & 'Ferrari accused in F1 spy twist'.

This season, post-Schumacher era, so far has had everything - best performances from the drivers, good competition, high drama & spy-saga - which in all could be made into an Hollywood movie ;)

One thing which I learned from this season is that there can be only one 'Numero Uno' driver in a team. The team needs to decide that & convey the same to their drivers, which would enable him to win the championship. Now, I understand why Ferrari had always adopted that strategy of honouring Michael Schumacher the 'Numero Uno' status. Otherwise it would be a nightmare for both the team management & the drivers, if there is no clear stance on the 'Numero Uno' position.

Lets see what the next two grand prix & the Japan GP inquiry hold for us, am sure they won’t be disappointing. Let the best driver win this season’s championship. My bet on the championship would be in the following order:
  • Lewis Hamilton
  • Kimi Räikkönen
  • Fernando Alonso

Whom are you betting on?

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