Hamilton penalized in Belgium

After being the first driver to make it to the checkered flag at the Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton was penalized with a 25-second time penalty for cutting the Bus Stop Chicane and gaining an advantage the allowed him to overtake Raikkonen on the first corner. I believe that Hamilton should definitely be penalized, because although he lifted a little bit for Raikkonen to go by, just as Raikkonen went by he already dove to the inside at full throttle trying to get by the Finn. Overall, the time that he lifted did not compensate for the time he gained by cutting the corner. Therefore this is the right decision by the stewards. Since it was on the final laps of the race, it was not possible to penalize Hamilton with a drive-through.

Felipe Massa is the lucky winner, and Nick Heidfeld gets second position. Hamilton becomes third and his championship is cut to 2 points.

More details will sure be given on the Official Formula One website. I am sure McLaren will protest the decision.

--Andre N.

2008 European Grand Prix - Race Analysis

New venue, same old boring Formula One. That is a good summary of last Sunday’s European Grand Prix. I thought about using at least one verb to make it a proper sentence, but I did not think the race deserved that much. Too bad for the organizers, who created a wonderful atmosphere. Unfortunately, today's F1 grooved tyres and excessive downforce do not allow anyone to drive out of the racing line in an overtake manoeuvre.

It was another display of strength by Felipe Massa. At the same time, it was another display of Ferrari’s weakness. Two engine failures in two consecutive races is not what one would expect from a title contender. Especially when the other contender – McLaren – is doing much better in that area. That gives them a big advantage. That allows Lewis Hamilton to be leading the championship, although he has also had his share of ups and downs. That inconsistency was matched by Felipe Massa’s own mistakes in the beginning of the season, so the drivers are equally matched. If that engine had not failed in Hungary, he would Felipe would be the championship leader. And let’s not even mention Ferrari’s other miscues this season.

The Raikkonen situation

Kimi Raikkonen also did not help Ferrari by leaving the pit stall before getting the green light from their new - yet unproven - automated system. When the media is saying that you are not at the top of your form, it does not help to break the bones of one of your crewmembers.

Still, it seems like the media all over the world is obsessed in saying that Raikkonen has no desire to race anymore. I doubt that. The way he drives is a reflex of his personality. He has never been a flamboyant character either on or off the track, Still, he has finished the championship twice in second place, and, more importantly, once on top of the world. He is not as aggressive as other drivers are – e.g. Massa and Hamilton. Still, that does not mean that his driving style is wrong.

Let's think about Alain Prost, for example. The guy was neither a great qualifier, nor the best in overtaking other drivers. I even remember a few times when he had problems overtaking backmarkers! Ok, the blue flags were not as strict as today, but some guys like his arch-rival Ayrton Senna were doing a much better job. All in all, Prost was champion 4 times. Once is luck, two is coincidence, but 4 times is what? That’s consistency. He was always hanging in there even during bad situations, scoring precious points. This is what Raikkonen has been doing. Ok, maybe he has not had the best races of his life, and on average he has just scored 4.75 points a race. Nevertheless, he is 13 points behind the championship leader. That is not perfect, but not bad at all. It allows him to hang in there. Who can blame the guy for thinking that the current F1 is boring?

Quick notes:

- David Coulthard once again decided to try a daredevil overtaking move and overestimated his chances. He hit Adrian Sutil, but at least he only hurt his own race. He is about to retire now, so I guess he decided to have some fun. Maybe too much fun.

- I am not sure what Kazuki Nakajima was thinking when he hit Fernando Alonso’s rear wing on the first lap. He was close, but not so close he did not have room to react. That cannot be called a rookie mistake. That is a total mental lapse by a guy who has not yet proven why he is in F1. Or maybe he has, especially if we read the 'Toyota' on top of his engine.

- Nick Heidfeld seems to be fading behind more and more. I do not think that he suddenly forgot how to drive, but something in that car is clearly not matching his driving style. He needs to watch out or he will lose his job. All BMW needs is to find another German driver to replace him. That seems to be easy in the post-Schumacher era. If they want, they can get Nico Rosberg for 2009 or Sebastian Vettel for 2010. Or Timo Glock. They may have clauses in their contracts, but BMW has enough money to buy them out.

- By the way, Rosberg scored a point, but it is becoming too painful to watch Williams lingering around the track. He is sure desperate to get a better car.

- Vettel scored a 6h place without any safety car appearance, rain or anything unusual. When that is done in a new circuit, it means that the guy knows a lot about setting up a car.

Star of the Race:

Felipe Massa, especially for bouncing back from a dramatic end to his previous race.

Shame of the Race:

Kazuki Nakajima

--Andre N.

2008 Hungarian Grand Prix - Race Analysis

It has been a long time since I was last able to write comments about a Formula One race. More specifically, since the French Grand Prix - 3 races ago. The problem of not being a professional writer is that sometimes my real job gets on the way. I did manage to watch all the action, though – F1 is a ‘religion’ to me! – so some of my comments today will also reflect some of the last GPs.

Drama in Hungary

First, I would like to start with some comments about the dramatic turn of events at the Hungarian Grand Prix. When Lewis Hamilton got a flat tyre, I was thinking: ‘hey, maybe he destroyed his rubber and that was his fault’. I had already noticed that he had some blisters on his front tyres, even more than is normal for his aggressive driving style. Then Felipe Massa's engine blew up. Some may say that Hamilton was lucky. Yes, that is certainly luck, but if he took care of his tyres, as did his teammate Heikki Kovalainen, he would have won the race. I will not blame him too much, though, because of his commanding victories in Britain and Germany.

In Hungary, I think Felipe Massa as a driver deserved to win, because of the way he started the race – passing the 2 McLarens before the end of the first corner – and his qualifying-like-lap-after-qualifying-like-lap performance. I do not think Michael Schumacher could do any better than that. Yes, that was probably the drive of Massa's life.

The thing is: F1 is a team sport, and the car is built by a team. In engineering those cars, nothing happens by accident. I am pretty sure that whatever blew up was something that the engineers considered a 'calculated risk'. That is what engineers - myself included - say when there are so many things that can go wrong and they just cannot be sure about the outcome. Those things are almost a bet. If F1 were poker, Ferrari's engineers certainly did not have a straight flush. Ok, Massa as a driver did not deserve that fate. He deserved it as a team player though, because that’s the way it is.

(Un)Lucky Heikki?

Heikki Kovalainen deserves credit for his win. He kept on pushing until Massa’s engine gave away. In the old time, until the beginning of the 90’s, that was a very common tactic. That does not work so well anymore because of the high reliability the cars have today. Still, his win is as deserving as many of the ones by Jackie Stewart or Emerson Fittipaldi, for example. Those guys would just push whoever was ahead until their engine blew up or they made a mistake.

We also have to consider the fact that now Kovalainen is clearly McLaren’s number 2 driver. I always thought he could drive on the same level as Hamilton, but he was unlucky a few times in the beginning of the year, and that cost him better results. Still, Hamilton was clearly faster. That was the reason they needed to make him number 1. McLaren has always had a favourite driver, that’s the way they do it. I do not blame them for that, but I hate the fact that they keep posing themselves to the media as a team that gives equal opportunities to both drivers. They say that, and they may even believe that they do it, but then they always find ways – maybe unconsciously – to bend their own system to favour one driver over the other. Right now, I am pretty sure that if they have to choose between Heikki's or Lewis' requests, they will choose the latter's. Little things, but the same things that made David Coulthard look much slower than Mika Hakkinen, when in fact the difference was not that much! I just hope they do not ruin Kovalainen’s bid for a championship anytime in the future, just like they did to Coulthard after he was beaten for the first few races sharing the team with Hakkinen.

Rookies on the run

In Germany, I was very happy to see Nelsinho Piquet withstanding the pressure and finishing second. I was happy for him and for myself, because I had predicted him to be the rookie of the year and for once he was proving me right. Then Timo Glock drove a brilliant race this past Sunday and finished second without the help of a safety car. Maybe I was wrong about who will be rookie of the year.

Right now, though, I am still sticking to Piquet. He also had a good race, starting 10th and finishing 6th. I cannot ignore his fight for the GP2 championship against Hamilton in 2006. Piquet lost it, but in 2007 Glock never had any real challengers in GP2. Still, if I am wrong and Glock starts to shine like he did yesterday, I do not mind being wrong. As long as reality is something better than I had predicted for the sport. The little part of F1 that is still a sport, that is.

Quick notes:

- Since today the topic seems to be good drivers that may be unlucky, what about Sebastian Vettel? He had his 6th retirement in 11 races. Most of those because the STR is unreliable. I guess the young German will have a much better car when he moves to the main Red Bull team in 2009.

- Williams was expecting a good race, but Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima qualified 14th and 16th respectively. There is not much to be done starting behind at the Hungaroring, as overtaking is almost impossible.


Star of the Race:
Timo Glock.

Shame of the Race:
Ferrari.


--Andre N.

Two in a row for Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton has scored two consecutive wins in the UK and Germany. He certainly deserves to be leading the championship, although some may argue that he is getting advantage from being the current number-one at McLaren. That may be true, but he is driving very well. I still think he needs to learn when to push and when to back off a little, but the previous two races were good for his usual 100-percent-attack mode.

I hope I find time to write more about this, but unfortunately some personal issues are preventing me from doing so. I will try to be back soon.

--Andre N.

2008 French Grand Prix - Race Analysis

Lap 30 of 70. The rain threatened but never came. It was the only thing that could possibly take the victory away from Ferrari, but even so the red cars were too far ahead of the rest of the field. Kimi Raikkonen was leading Felipe Massa by 6 seconds, and everyone else was more than 20 seconds behind the latter. Felipe had already given up fighting for the win. Then disaster struck for Kimi. Part of the exhaust pipes on the right side of the car cracked, he started to lose power - which translated to a loss of 1 to 2 seconds a lap - and his side pod began to slowly burn.

The final result? A Ferrari 1-2, with Massa inheriting the victory at a track he is not known to be faster than Raikkonen. And yes, Raikkonen was second. What does it tell us? That Ferrari is so dominant at this point of the season that it is hard to predict them to lose the Constructor's Championship. One may claim that McLaren could challenge for the victory if they did not have to face penalties for both drivers - Heikki Kovalainen 5 grid positions for blocking in qualifying, Lewis Hamilton 10 grid positions for crashing into Raikkonen in the previous race and a drive-through for cutting a corner to go by Sebastian Vettel. I have to disagree. The two Ferrari drivers were certainly racing hard until the first pit stop, but I doubt that they were going for that last chunk of power that they could take from their engine mapping. If McLaren were closer, Ferrari would be even faster. Ok, a 1-2 would be difficult due to Kimi's problems, but Felipe would easily win.


Hamilton Self-Destructs

I have seen it happening to pretty much every driver this year. At one point the guy simply makes a stupid mistake and throws away precious points. This time it was Lewis Hamilton. Actually, it was Hamilton for two weeks in a row. He was already starting 13th after the penalty for crashing into Raikkonen in Montreal. He started the race quite well, as did Sebastian Vettel just ahead of him. When both got to the Adelaide corner - the slowest turn of the track - Lewis had a better entrance and a much better exit. That put them side-by-side going into the Nurburgring chicane, a very fast right-left turn combination. Vettel braked before the turn. Hamilton braked deep into the turn, so deep that it was not enough for him to remain on the track. He basically cut the second leg through the tarmac escape area, and remained ahead of his STR rival. Until then, it was no big deal. Lewis should simply let Sebastian go by and he would get no advantage out of his off-road tour.

For some reason, Lewis thought that the move was legal and never let Vettel go by. The marshalls penalized him with a drive-through. After the race, Hamilton still thought he was right! This time he is the deserving winner of the 'Shame of the Race' award.

Once again, McLaren was blinded by the fact that they think their star British driver cannot make a mistake. It was clear on TV that he gained an advantage, so why not radio him and tell him to return the position? Lewis is a young driver and has a lot to learn! He needs coaching. The 'coaches' at McLaren do not seem very good, though. China 2007 is a good example: They allowed Lewis to stay on the track although his tyres were gone, and ultimately he slid out of the race. They trusted his inexperienced call that staying on the track was ok.


Trulli's Brilliant Performance

Is Toyota a car good enough to finish on the podium, fighting for position with a McLaren and a BMW? Certainly not. Yet, Jarno Trulli somehow managed to do just that, including a wheel-to-wheel fight with Heikki Kovalainen with less than 2 laps to go. As Toyota was mourning the death of one of their greatest team members - the guy who led the team during the golden rallying days, Ove Andersson - it seems like everyone gave it a little more. Hopefully they will learn something from this race, because they have one of the largest budgets of F1 and their results have never matched the investment.


Quick Notes

- Fernando Alonso had a disappoint weekend. After qualifying third on a light-fuel load, reality struck hard as a bunch of drivers returned from their stops ahead of him. His demise was a wide turn going into Adelaide, when he lost 7th place to his teammate Nelsinho Piquet.

- Piquet had the strongest performance of his short F1 career. He qualified reasonably well - 11th, but started 9th due to McLaren's grid penalties - and drove a good, constant race. He was braking much earlier than in the previous races. That means he was braking where he was supposed to, because up to now he had the bad habit of braking too deep and too hard going. Maybe Renault found out that his driving style was the reason why his brakes vaporized in Montreal.

- Nick Heidfeld is having problems adapting to this year's BMW. He finished a lousy 13th, while his teammate was 5th. He should adapt quick, because there are a few drivers waiting for his spot. Bring on the Vettel and Alonso rumours once again.


Star of the Race
Jarno Trulli

Shame of the Race
Lewis Hamilton


--Andre N.

Is Hamilton 3-stopping in Montreal?

After a short while away, I am back with my F1 analyses. I was sitting at the hairpin grandstands today (Saturday), so I could see - and hear - a little more than the TV coverage shows. Lewis Hamilton was definitely displaying great car control. He is the fastest driver this weekend. He is so fast that maybe McLaren decided to try a different strategy. It looks like he will make 3 pit stops tomorrow, or at least go for a very short first stint.

His McLaren certainly looked light, because of the way his car was oversteering coming into, in the middle and going out of the hairpin. If he was oversteering like that with a full tank, as the fuel lowers and the tyres go away, the tail will become looser and looser. If that is the case, Hamilton will have a hard time keeping the car on track tomorrow.

My belief at this point is that McLaren is searching for the extra edge that they need tomorrow by trying a different strategy. They have had problems with tyre consumption this whole year, so why not drive less laps with each set of rubber? Hamilton is probably light, and that seems like a good strategy.

Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, and Heikki Kovalainen seemed heavy. They were braking for the hairpin a little before than Hamilton. Robert Kubica seemed light - not as light as Hamilton. I could not 'read' Fernando Alonso, but if I had to guess, I would say that he is light. His braking point for the hairpin was before Hamilton's, but maybe that is because the Renault is not that good a car.

Whatever happens, the race tomorrow will be fun. Thanks to McLaren and Hamilton for adding excitement to the Canadian Grand Prix! Oh, did I mention that the forecast for tomorrow shows 60% chance of rain? It will be fun!

--Andre N.

2008 Spanish Grand Prix - Race Analysis

If there was such thing as a device that could measure fun, the place to test it would not be the 2008 Spanish Grand Prix. It would just point to 'boring' the whole time, because watching the race felt like watching a funeral procession.

The only moment that probably caught everyone's attention was when Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren hit the tyre barrier at full speed, after his left front tyre suddenly deflated. That moment was definitely not fun at all, as it seemed like he was badly hurt. Luckily, he is ok. Well, he is going to wake up this Monday and find out how sore he is, but at least he did not break any bones.


Kimi led the procession

The other Finnish driver - Kimi Raikkonen - had better luck. He won the race easily. In fact, he returned the favour that his teammate Felipe Massa had given him in Bahrain. Kimi outperformed Felipe in qualifying, although he had more fuel, just like Massa did in the previous race. After that it was just a matter of getting a reasonable start and waiting for Massa to pit first. The race was won after the first corner.

Lewis Hamilton was finally a better driver today than in the past 2 races. No major mistakes this time. He did what he could do, and that was to finish behind both Ferraris. He got a great start, helped by the fact that he was 5th on the grid, on the clean side of the track. His aggressive move cutting to the inside allowed him to overtake Robert Kubica, who started 4th, under breaking. If he did not make that move, he would have finished behind the BMW, because the cars were evenly matched and Barcelona is not the kind of track that allows overtake manoeuvres.


The Alonso show

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso did a wonderful job, and almost pulled off the miracle of finishing fifth in a car that rightfully would have a hard time being in the top 10. It is a shame that his engine blew up on lap 34. I was not surprised that his race ended like that. I think Renault mapped his engine to get more power just so he could put up a show for his home crowd. It is better to score a DNF and have everyone applauding them than to finish 10th without anyone really noticing they were there. Better from the business point of view, that is.


Quick notes:

- Nelsinho Piquet made a mistake that ruined his first good chance of scoring a point. He was running a solid 10th for 4 laps when he braked too deep into the corner and understeered all the way into the gravel trap.

- Two laps after rejoining the race, Piquet tried a risky manoeuvre to overtake Bourdais for 17th, and ended up hitting the STR. That put an end to Nelsinho's race. It was just a racing incident, but he could have spared himself from this situation had he not lost so many positions due to his mistake.

- Mark Webber drove the miracle race that Alonso wanted for himself, and finished a brilliant 5th. His strong performance in qualifying was a big boost for the race.

- It is not true that Kovalainen's incident left no victims. Nick Heidfeld's race was killed by the safety car deployment. He had to pit for fuel while SC sign was up, which meant by rules that he had to pay a 10-second stop-and-go later on. He scored no points.

- While Heidfeld's BMW was behind the much inferior Force India driven by Fisichella, it was noticeable that it is almost impossible to overtake in Barcelona. Everytime Nick got closer, he lost aerodynamic grip and had no chance of overtaking. Formula One needs more mechanical grip. FIA, please bring back the slick tyres!

- Sebastian Vettel was once again caught in a first lap incident that caused him to retire. It was not his fault, as Adrian Sutil was spinning in front of him and there was nowhere for him to go.

- David Coulthard was the victim of Timo Glock's reckless driving, and had a puncture when the Toyota collided with his RBR. He had already been hit by Sutil during the first lap. This time David was just trying to stay out of trouble, unlike in the previous races. Either way it does not seem to work out for him this year.


Star of the Race:
Mark Webber

Shame of the Race:
Nelsinho Piquet

Raikkonen and Hamilton under pressure?

As I watched Free Practice sessions 1 and 2 for the Bahrain Grand Prix, it was obvious that Kimi Raikkonen was fighting to stay on the track. At one point in FP2 he got a similar time to his teammate Felipe Massa, but that was a single lap. Later Felipe put almost one second between them, but the better part of it was probably due to being lighter on fuel. Still, for the long run, Massa seems better. Raikkonen is struggling for grip and is certainly slower than his teammate.

I still expect a Ferrari 1-2 for the race, but it seems like Massa over Raikkonen this time. Unfortunately I am not in time to change my pick at F1 Pick 6.

It is unclear weather Raikkonen's struggle has anything to do with a faster teammate. Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, made a critical mistake while trying to match his teammate Heikki Kovalainen. Lewis accelerated too much going over a kerb and skid into the tyre barrier, destroying his car. It was scary, because for some reason, he never took his hands off the steering wheel. He could have been hurt.

Is pressure affecting the two championship leaders? More to come tomorrow and on Sunday...

--Andre N.

2008 Malaysian Grand Prix - Race Analysis

For the entire week prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix, talks were about the rain that would likely fall during at least one of the sessions. Formula One does not seem to like probabilities this year, so the unlikely happened again and we ended up with a dry track for all 5 sessions, including the race.


Everything (Almost) Perfect for Ferrari

Kimi Raikkonen showed the world why he is the current world champion, with a brilliant performance that balanced raw speed and strategy. At the start, he might have passed teammate Felipe Massa going into the first corner, but opted to stay behind since he knew he had fuel for one more lap before the first pit stop. For the next 17 laps he shadowed Massa. Both were pretty quick at this point, but later Kimi would mention at the press conference that they had already reduced the engine's at that time. They were still faster than everybody else and, good for us fans, running in equal conditions. When Felipe came in, Kimi got some clean air and made the best of it, gaining the best part of the 2 seconds that he needed.

Some time was handed to him by the fact that Massa stayed in the pits for about 0.6s longer. I am not sure if Ferrari put more fuel on his car - which would not make any sense -, or if it was just a case of not-so-great pit work. Anyway, Kimi got P1 when he returned to the track and started to pull away from Felipe.

Then it was disaster for Massa. Mental disaster, it seems. After he was more than 4s behind Raikkonen, he should have realized that 2nd place was all he could get. Pressure has never been a factor in his career, and his pace in qualifying showed that. He is a fighter, though, and many times that hurts him more than helps. As he tried harder and harder to keep up with his teammate, he hit the kerb very hard in turn six and his car switched ends between turns 7 and 8. Usually cars understeer going around those corners, so it is very likely that hitting that kerb caused some suspension damage. To make matters worse, he got stuck in the gravel trap and had to abandon the race.


The Best of the Rest

That left the door open for Robert Kubica to finish 2nd. He quietly drove his BMW to the checkered flag, and except for some excessive wheelspin at the start, he made no major mistakes. Since the 2 McLarens had to start back in 8th and 9th - after the blocking penalty in Qualifying - and his teammate Nick Heidfeld lost a few positions going wide around the first corner, no other car that could match his pace was close enough to challenge him. His ideal position would be to finish behind the Ferrari, and luckily for him only one of the red cars made it to the end.

Heikki Kovalainen had a brilliant performance. He outpaced Lewis Hamilton in qualifying, despite having fuel for an extra lap. During the race, he was able to save his tyres, although he drove a long time in traffic, which causes major understeer in today's aerodynamically dependent F1.

Hamilton showed some carelessness with his rubber, just as he did a few times in his rookie season. He certainly needs to improve that, but the main issue for him in Malaysia was that he lost about 10 seconds during the first pit stop, due to a problem with an air gun. At the end of the race he pushed as hard as he could to catch Jarno Trulli, who had a surprisingly good performance for Toyota. As Trulli drove some of his best laps of the race, he guaranteed that Hamilton would finish behind. Those laps were so fast - for a Toyota, that is - and so important, that I must give Trulli the Star of the Race award. Hamilton is still leading the championship, so kudos for him for not trying anything stupid.


Quick Notes:
- Fernando Alonso once again showed that he is pushing Renault to better results than they would get without him. He once again had a fantastic overtake move, this time around David Coulthard. That was only overshadowed by the fact that Nick Heidfeld passed both Coulthard and Alonso as they were fighting against each other.

- Nelsinho Piquet showed a promising race pace. He still has a lot to learn, but he is showing that he can have a year as good as Kovalainen had in 2007. We cannot forget that he fought against Hamilton for the 2006 GP2. What if he drove a McLaren?

- Rubens Barrichello turned the speed limiter off too soon while leaving the pits, and got a drive-through penalty. He later stated that the pit exit was not clearly marked. That is too bad, Rubens, but for some reason the other drivers did not have trouble with that. Good for you that Massa guaranteed the Shame of the Race award with his spin, otherwise...

- Both Williams and STR never showed the same pace from Australia. Sebastian Vettel had a strong showing during the practice sections, but that was it. I wish he had a more reliable car, because he is really great. It was a double DNF for STR and a 'no-pointer' for Williams. I thought Williams was at the same level as RBR, if not better, but now I am not so sure.


Star of the Race
Jarno Trulli.

Shame of the Race
Felipe Massa.


--Andre N.

2008 Australian Grand Prix - Race Analysis

For Lewis Hamilton, it was a walk in the park - Albert Park, that is. He managed to get a good start, not great, but enough to keep him in first place. From there on, he was lucky that all three safety car interventions did not ruin his pit stop strategy. The only moment when he had to push was during his second stint, in order to make sure that he would pit and return to the track ahead of a surprisingly fast Sebastien Bourdais, who was to have no more pit stops until the end of the race.

Heikki Kovalainen also did a very good job for McLaren, and posted the fastest lap of the race. He even would have a chance of challenging Hamilton for the win, if the safety car did not happen right before his final pit stop. He continues to impress, and the 5th place finish just does not show how good a driver he was during the race. His only mistake was during his fight with Fernando Alonso, to which I will get back later.

The weekend was full of surprises, but Lewis' win was very predictable after the strong performance in qualifying. Almost everything else was unexpected. Things that surprised me the most: Ferrari with 2 blown engines - plus another one on Bourdais' STR -, BMW's very competitive race pace, and the large number of retirements - even for round one of the season.

Problems for Ferrari

Talking about Ferrari, what a messy race that was! Everyone in the team made mistakes. The drivers were excessively aggressive. Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen had each one a couple of close calls. I do not blame Massa for the contact with Coulthard. At worst that was a racing incident, if not Coulthard's fault for not giving him enough room. On the other hand, he had to think about finishing the race that was not going well after he tapped the wall all by himself in the first turn of the race. Raikkonen also cannot be blamed for trying to overtake Kovalainen, but he was certainly too optimistic that he could brake so deep - in fact he could not, hence the drive into the gravel trap.

I was not able to understand Ferrari's strategy, either. Instead of calling Kimi to the pits under the safety car - as did Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica, for example - they waited for the race to restart and 3 laps later he was in, under 'green flag' racing. It would not matter in the end, as he stopped with a damaged engine, just like Massa. Maybe the unpredicted hot weather in Australia caught Ferrari's engineers by surprise, but those engines were in their first one of the two mandatory races.

Bourdais and STR at a Surprising Pace

Sebastien Bourdais drove his STR like a Formula One veteran, although it was only his first grand prix. Team tactics were a big part of the fact that he was about to finish 4th when his engine blew up, but his pace was very good.

Complicated FIA Rules Take Points away from Honda

FIA rules continue to be way too complicated for spectators to understand. Rubens Barrichello received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for refueling while the pits were closed. After the race, he was disqualified for leaving the pits while the red lights were on.

What was he supposed to do in that situation? He was running out of fuel, so there was no other option but to stop. The fact that he had to make the stop-and-go later already guaranteed that he got no advantage in that situation. What was he supposed to do at the pit exit? Wait for how many minutes before the green light? This rule never made sense to me, and it never will. And the fact that Rubens was allowed to finish the race shows that even the stewards do not know what to make of this rule.

A Wonderful Move by Alonso

Fernando Alonso did a fantastic job with the Renault and finished 4th. So did Hamilton, Heidfeld and Rosberg, but the reason that I will give him the Star of the Race award is because he managed to get by both Raikkonen's Ferrari and Kovalainen's McLaren at the same time. What a move that was! Two laps later he was passed by Kovalainen, but the Finn made a stupid mistake - hit the speed limiter by accident while clearing his visor - that allowed Alonso repass him and finish 4th.

Star of the Race
Fernando Alonso

Shame of the Race
Ferrari. Nelsinho Piquet was a candidate for this award after his lousy qualifying run, but during the race he was fine, considering the fact that his car was damaged after he was hit from behind during the first lap.

--Andre N.

BMW: The Surprise of 2008?

Is BMW going to be the surprise of the 2008 Formula One season? According to Saturday's practice and qualifying times for the Australian Grand Prix, the answer is 'yes'. Robert Kubica will start 2nd. Had he not made a mistake in turn 12 during his final qualifying lap, he would have beaten Lewis Hamilton to the top spot.

I believe that they are much closer to the top 2 teams than everyone had anticipated, which puts than as contenders for race wins this season. Well, someone had anticipated that: Nico Rosberg. He mentioned to journalists a few times that, based on his observations from testing, BMW was going to fight for than 5th place in Australia (as published by F1-Live.com). He said that they were very fast during the winter, although lap times did not show. Would that be the biggest case of 'sandbagging' ever? Maybe... It would be good for F1 if that was the case.

Nick Heidfeld's 5th place at the starting grid, though, seems more like reality for BMW. As fast as they may be, I do not believe that they are at the same level as McLaren and Ferrari, especially for the long runs between pit stops during the race. Nick is probably on a heavier load of fuel than Robert, and seems to be in better shape for the race. He will fight for the podium, but I am not sure about the race win.

On the other hand, if I am wrong and Kubica pits with the other contenders, watch out as he may win the race!

One final note is that Rosberg also pointed out that what impresses him the most about McLaren is how they simulated race starts. That is something easy to understand. F1 has a single supplier for the electronic control units this season, and the company behind it was already a supplier to McLaren last season. Therefore, I am expecting a great start from both Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen. Heikki will start 3rd, and the odd side of the grid has preference going into the first chicane. I expect McLaren to be leading 1-2 before turn 3. Deep inside, though, I am cheering for Kubica to go for it and add fun to this championship.

Let's not forget that Ferrari's Felipe Massa also seems to have a car to fight for the win. The only certainty after qualifying is that F1 fans all over the world have more than enough reasons to want to watch the Australian Grand Prix.

--Andre N.

The Battle for the 2008 Formula One Championship Begins

As I write this, Formula One is already 3 free practice sessions into the 2008 season. Due to personal issues, I was not able to post any articles in 2008... Until now! Rest assured that all races will be fully analysed in 2008! This blog is all about the day after each F1 race.

Once again this season will be, in my opinion, a close battle between McLaren and Ferrari. The edge seems to be with Ferrari, but if you recall last season, every subtle difference from one track to the other could cause a shift in balance. This year though, the edge will probably remain with Ferrari most of the times, as McLaren has lost 100 million dollars - after the spy row - and the two-time world champion Fernando Alonso.

Alonso will certainly make Renault better and better, but he will have a tough time making them the best of the rest. BMW is my pick to continue as the third force in F1, but with closer competition from RBR and the already-mentioned Renault. Williams will also score better results than in 2007, reliability allowing. The middle pack will be tightly packed together!

The rookie of the year will be Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr., because as good as Sebastian Bourdais is in adapting to F1 after many seasons in CART, he will have a hard time driving the weak STR. Piquet will certainly benefit from Alonso's experience. Timo Glock is not as good as either Piquet or Bourdais, and Kazuki Nakajima is fast but inconsistent.

Who will be driver's champion? Hard to tell. I will go with my pick from 2007, Felipe Massa. I think he is evenly matched with Kimi Raikkonen, although I read many articles from motorsport writers saying that the Finn is better. My guess is that good luck will shift from Kimi to Felipe this year. That has to happen, statistically speaking! It is not all about luck, though. Let's not forget the end of the 2006 season, when Felipe was matching Michael Schumacher's time lap after lap. And his good 2007 campaign, in which he only dropped out of the title's race due to problems related to the car and team, not his driving.

Lewis Hamilton will have a tougher season, because McLaren will suffer the impact from the spy drama. He will eventually survive as a better driver. I am not talking about natural ability, because it is impossible to get better instincts than he already has. I mean the technical aspect of the sport. He will be better and better at developing car setups - and eventually the whole car. Don't get me wrong: He will still fight for the championship. He will just have a harder time than he had in 2007, when he came very close to winning the big title.

So those were some of my points of view. Feel free to disagree if you want! Now let's watch Australia's qualifying, which starts in about 40 minutes!

--Andre N.

Brazil – Race Analysis

Had I not seen it personally, from the backstretch grandstands of the famous Interlagos race track, maybe I would not believe the results. When I got home and watched the recorded version of the TV broadcast, it simply did not show what I saw live. Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were unbeatable and drove equally. So identically that I was glad that their helmets have different colors so I could tell who was who. Fernando Alonso was very good as well, finding every last ounce of speed that his second-race engine had. And there was a disappointing Lewis Hamilton, one that finally felt the pressure and could not perform to his highest level. In the end the champion got crowned in one of the most unlikely turn of events in the history of F1.

The Iceman kept his cool under the hot sun

Kimi Raikkonen may not be the most exciting driver out there. He certainly is not as aggressive as half of the field and almost never makes mistakes, so there is not much to watch him doing. However he is so competent and fast that no one can complain. He deserves to be the 2007 Formula One World Champion. If we consider the way he partied the night after, he probably deserved to be the 1967 champion as well... Those were the good old times when the drivers were not full-time athletes and half of the fun was just having fun.

Raikkonen drove one good lap after another. So did the hometown driver – Felipe Massa. In fact, I believe Ferrari called Felipe in earlier for his second pit stop, because it was very quick – meaning that he probably had some fuel left on the tank. By the way, did anyone notice that the official FOM TV broadcast never showed Massa’s pit stop times? Make your own conspiracy theory here, but mine is that FOM knew – we all knew! – that Ferrari would do something to switch their driver’s positions and it was a clever way not to let the occasional viewer notice it. If you are reading this, though, you are probably a hardcore fan and you know that Ferrari helped Kimi to win the race. And it makes sense, since F1 is disputed by drivers AND teams.

The crowd did not seem to believe what they were seeing. As the race went on, more and more people started cheering for Raikkonen. When he drove past Massa at the pit exit, most of the crowd applauded, although many felt that the home driver was being robbed. After the end, when Kimi drove back to the pits side by side with Felipe, the crowd finally understood what happened. He got loud cheers, but not as loud as Massa and Michael Schumacher got last year – the former for winning the race and the latter for putting up one of the most amazing drives in F1 history.

Hamilton lost the title

There is no way I can write that Hamilton’s car electronic failure was unfortunate. Yes, it cost him more than 30 seconds, but if it were not for his stupid mistakes during the first lap, he would have a better chance of scoring more points and winning the title. The failure only magnified a problem that Lewis had already caused in China. There he tried to win a race that he did not need to. How come no one advised him not to repeat the mistake? In the beginning he tried to win the Brazilian race! He should have coasted to a 4th place finish, should he not? I guess he does not know how to do it. He won everything he has ever raced before F1. He does not know how to finish 2nd or lower.

Lewis’ first mistake was to allow Alonso to overtake him. He was trying to gain momentum on Raikkonen after braking for the first leg of the Senna Esse. When Raikkonen made a mistake, Hamilton had to steer wide not to hit him, and this allowed Alonso to dive to the inside and finally overtake him exiting turn 3. Hamilton should just have braked behind Massa and simply allowed the Ferrari to go by without a fight. That way there would be no room for Alonso.

Well, Alonso had gone by. Just stay behind him, Lewis, this is all you need to be the champion. No, the kid decides to outbrake Alonso going on the outside into the left hander after the backstretch. He moved to the outside very late, and braked later than I had ever seen anyone over the whole weekend. The crowd went nuts as they knew he would shoot straight past the corner. No one could understand why he was doing that, yet it was fun to watch. Lewis kept making mistakes all around the first lap and a couple after.

Then there was the electronic glitch that cost Hamilton half a lap. He dropped back to 18th, but suddenly his car started to race normally again. I do not believe in conspiracy theories, especially because McLaren clearly wanted Hamilton to win, but it was very strange. Not so strange was his race position, though. I had seen this movie last year with Michael Schumacher. I expected the same amazing comeback from Lewis. He gave signs that he would do so when he got to a pack of 5 cars and in about 2 laps was ahead of them all. He was never constant enough, though. He made small mistakes all around the laps. He never had enough speed. He lost the championship and disappointed me a lot. Even if the media keep praising him so much, now I truly believe that other drivers would be as great as Hamilton if they had a car as good as McLaren to drive. Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica, and Heikki Kovalainen, for example. If Hamilton survives this defeat to become a better driver, he eventually will be world champion. If he cannot put it behind, his career will be ruined. This is not an exaggeration.

This century’s Fittipaldi

Back in the 1970’s, two-time champion Emerson Fittipaldi was the driver who took care of his car and always waited for the opportunity to win the race. Sometimes he got victories because the guys ahead of him could not preserve the equipment and had to retire. Fernando Alonso won two championships doing exactly the same thing, especially for the later part of the 2006 season.

Alonso had a worse equipment than his teammate and both Ferrari drivers. Because of the huge accident in Japan, he raced with a new engine in China. Since engines can be only switched after 2 races, Alonso had a disadvantage going to Brazil. His competitors could run the engine temperature a little bit higher, maybe use a different kind of lubricant, things like that. It was clear that Alonso lacked power and torque. I believe that he compensated the lack of power by having less wings, but that cost him some time in the middle portion of the track. And especially in that twisty section, there was nothing that he could do to compensate for the lack of torque. However, he just kept enough rhythm to stay third and snatch the title if one of the Ferraris hit misfortune. They did not, but last Sunday it was like if I was watching a documentary about Fittipaldi. Fernando Alonso deserved the title as much as Raikkonen. It was just not meant to be.

Brazil’s quick notes

- Nico Rosberg had a great race and his amazing battle against Robert Kubica for 4th during the last few laps was exciting enough to make the crowd stand up. With this kind of performance he is probably on top of Ron Dennis’ wish list – if Alonso leaves McLaren.

- Hekki Kovalainen’s accident was impressive. I was looking at his car when lots of parts flew from the rear end. He hit the wall that is know by fans and drivers as the Berger Wall – named after Gerhard Berger, who once hit it hard when he drove for McLaren. I am glad that Heikki is ok, because it was a pretty heavy collision going backwards. The HANS device probably helped, but I am sure that his neck will be sore for a week.

- Kazuki Nakajima showed the same form that he was known for in GP2. He was lighting fast at times – he was the 5th fastest driver of the day – and very slow at others. He needs time to settle, but I do not think he will ever be constant enough. His pit crew will appreciate, though, if he is able to stop the car without hitting them.

- Honda had a bad season, but this race was particularly bad as both Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button retired because of engine problems. This sort of problem may explain why the two cars seem to be so different, with Barrichello being faster all weekend. When an engine starts to fail, it never does it in identical way. This would show in the telemetry, though. Maybe Honda already knew why Jenson was slower during qualifying.

Star of the race:

Nico Rosberg

Shame of the race:

Lewis Hamilton

--Andre N.

China – Race Analysis

Without writing anything about the penultimate round of the 2007 Formula One Championship, just stating what is left for the last race would be enough to quantify all the emotions involved in last Sunday’s race. There will be a three-way championship battle in Brazil, as 7 points separate leader Lewis Hamilton from 3rd place Kimi Raikkonen, with current world champion Fernando Alonso between them. Even a boring race with this type of outcome would be good to watch, but the Chinese Grand Prix reserved us enough excitement – and many battles – throughout all racing field positions. Add to that some very unstable weather conditions, with rain coming and going faster than one can say ‘Shangai’, and you get the picture of an exciting race.

Hamilton sunk the title clinch in the gravel trap

Many times this year I have said that Hamilton is a rookie who has still a lot to learn. His weaknesses are so subtle, though, that sometimes it is even hard for me to make the point. Well, at least for one race analysis it will be easy. Lewis is a rookie, period. It just showed during the race. Why in the world did he push so hard during the battle with Raikkonen, ruining his already worn-out tyres? Why did he drive so fast going into the narrow pit lane when he could barely turn his car in the very wide corners in Shangai? Because he is a rookie. One of the fastest ever, but still a rookie.

It was not completely his fault, though. McLaren should have called him in for a tyre change at least one lap before, when he lost 7 seconds to Raikkonen. They also got carried away by the possibility of a race win and forgot to protect Hamilton’s championship lead.

On the other hand, Alonso was just constant enough to keep his championship very alive. Lewis still depends only on himself to win the title, but Fernando certainly has a good chance. It is clear to me, though, that McLaren will give the better equipment to Hamilton. I do not blame them. If I worked there and heard all Alonso has said about the team, I would not want him to win.

One last shot for Raikkonen – again

Kimi Raikkonen has already been runner-up in the drivers championship twice, he will not be able to stand it happening once again. He will fight until the end. Being the ‘Iceman’ is something that helps him a lot as the season goes down to the wire. The same amount of patience that Hamilton lacked, Raikkonen had in excess. Even while overtaking the struggling Brit, with a car that was at least 3 seconds a lap faster, he had enough patience to obey all yellow flags – and there were many, because cars slipped out as the rain picked up – and to wait for the a mistake from Lewis that gave him enough room.

His run against Alonso depends only on Ferrari, they ‘just’ need to finish 1-2 in Brazil. He still needs some help from mother luck in order to beat Hamilton. The Finn is not known for his good luck, but he is certainly helping his chances of winning by having strong performances such as the one yesterday.

If he ultimately wins the championship, it will be a lot like in 1986. Williams’ teammates Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet were the favourites going into the last race of the season. But running on the outside was Alain Prost, who took advantage of the internal fight at Williams to beat both its drivers. It was arguably one of the greatest upsets in the history of F1.

Sebastian’s turnaround

Sebastian Vettel showed that his mistake from Japan is a thing from the past. The kid is growing up with every race. Driving a mid-pack car is a good way to become a better driver. Finishing 4th in that car is certainly something remarkable. Doing that after starting 17th is amazing.

He is finally showing why he got his ride. I have said it before and I will say it again: Scott Speed’s departure was just a political decision. It does not matter to Vettel, who just took advantage of the opportunity and is now showing to be a proper replacement. I am pretty sure that Speed could not have done better. In fact, I think Vettel has that extra ounce of talent that Speed lacked under pressure.

We just cannot forget one fact: Driver’s aside, RBR and STR are improving because of Adrian Newey’s work. In my opinion, the guy is one of the best engineers ever. Although he is known as an aerodynamics specialist, I have to say that his best quality is his problem solving skills. Like all the chief engineers in F1, he divides one big problem – a bad car, for example – into smaller problems – such as a bad front wing. The difference is that he keeps the link between those problems and never loses track of the big picture. The result is constant overall improvement.

China’s quick notes

- Jenson Button finished 5th, one day after his miracle qualifying run put his Honda in the top ten. Besides clocking some of the fastest laps of the day as the track dried out, the most important thing for Honda is that the 4 points put them ahead of Super Aguri in the constructor’s standings. It also helps them not to be beaten by Spyker.

- Ralf Schumacher was racing pretty well until he tried to overtake Vitantonio Liuzzi. He left no room for the Italian, after making a move on the outside and returning to the inside to take the apex. Later, he spun out of the race. He has already announced his retirement from Toyota, but maybe he should retire from F1. For which team could he drive next year? The only option I can think about is Prodrive.

- Alexander Wurz tried a different tactic and switched to the option dry-weather tyres in lap 22. The rain returned and he could not do more than finishing 12th. He then announced his retirement, which is actually a euphemism for ‘Frank Williams kicked him out of the team’. Does it mean Alonso returning to Renault and Nelson Piquet Jr. going to the empty race seat at Williams? Let’s wait for the Brazilian Grand Prix to have more clues.

Star of the race:

Sebastian Vettel

Shame of the race:

Lewis Hamilton, with Ralf Schumacher in the runner-up spot for the most unwanted award.

--Andre N.

Japan – Race Analysis

Not even the huge Mount Fuji is able to shield Formula One from the curse that plagues it at Fuji International Speedway. F1’s bad luck at that venue started during the 1970’s and seems to continue today. The 2007 race started under the safety car because of the heavy rain, a decision that was basically commercial – so that sponsors and TV stations would be happy. For 19 boring laps we watched the entire grid moving around behind the pace car. No one can call that competition, so it has got to be business. The only things that kept the fans awake were some pit stops and an off-track excursion by Felipe Massa.

When the race actually started, it became one of the epic races of the modern era, with brilliant performances by the drivers with the most natural talent. Lewis Hamilton’s performance was certainly one of those, and helped by the fact that McLaren was the best car of the weekend, his victory was no surprise – although no one could be sure about it until the last few laps.


Unlikely but deserving win by Hamilton

If Lewis Hamilton were to be tested at any point this season, it would have been at Fuji Speedway. And it was. Without any references from the previous year and the internal McLaren break-up that would prevent him from getting Fernando Alonso’s settings, the rookie would have a hard time setting up a fast and constant car. He seemed to be on the right track on Friday, at least for one flying lap, but if it were dry on Saturday and Sunday I would still put my money on Alonso.

It rained, though. As usual, the wet track levelled most of the equipment differences and made driver talent a very important factor. Hamilton is a gifted driver, everyone should know that by now, but that only meant that under rain he was in equal terms to the equally gifted Alonso. Unfortunately for the latter, it just was not his day. When he pitted, he rejoined the race behind a group of cars. Hamilton, who had opened up a bit of a gap because of his better visibility as the race leader, was able to return ahead of this pack. That meant that Fernando would have no visibility for a while and about 4 cars between him and Lewis. Then Sebatian Vettel, who had not pitted and had a lighter car, hit Alonso’s sidepod, damaging it quite heavily. Finally, he aquaplaned and hit the outside wall just before turn 6, ending his race and most of his title hopes.

Hamilton also had his share of bad moments, especially when Kubica hit him during an overtaking attempt. Luckily, both drivers were able to return. After Fernando crashed out, Lewis had ‘only’ to hold his position for the win. Mentally, he had one of the greatest challenges of his career. Everyone was behind Lewis, but just imagine driving the last few laps of the race, looking at the mirrors, seeing nothing more than water spray, yet having a phobia that someone was always there. Just like the classic song ‘Fear of the Dark’ from Iron Maiden.

Hamilton got it all together and opened up quite a gap to second place Heikki Kovalainen. Just like any former champion such as Alonso would had done with a car as good as the 2007 McLaren. If Hamilton wins the championship, this is the race that proved that he deserves the title as much as any of the previous winners.


Ferrari almost out of driver’s title chase

Somehow the ‘F1 Fuji curse’ seems to be stronger to Ferrari. In 1976 there was torrential rain that made Ferrari’s Niki Lauda retire due to unsafe conditions. He was not the only one, but he lost the title in that race to McLaren’s James Hunt, who decided not to retire so that he would still have a shot at the title. One year later there was an accident that killed two spectators as Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferrari flew into the crowd after hitting Ronnie Peterson’s Tyrrel. In 2007, it was misery again for the red team, as they started with the wrong tyres – intermediates instead of the FIA-imposed extreme wets – and were forced by the marshals to pit under the first safety car, dropping both Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen to the back of the pack.

When Massa returned to the track after a spin – under the safety car, just to point out that the intermediates were certainly not the best choice - he was penalized with a drive-through for overtaking Nick Heidfeld. My complaint here goes to the FIA, once again for not knowing how to deal with safety car periods. They should just follow an American series rules for full-track yellow flag; the IRL, for example. If the driver is at a position in which he should not be with full track yellows, just make him allow the other drivers to go by and there is no need to penalize him. Anyway, that would not have changed Massa’s race a lot, and now, after finishing 6th, he is mathematically out of the title hunt. At least his battle with Robert Kubica during the last lap was alone worth the admission tickets! It is also good to know that both Felipe and Robert had a laugh about it after the race. F1 should be fun, because it is still a sport – for the drivers at least.

Kimi Raikkonen can still be world champion, but now he is 17 points behind Hamilton with 2 races to go. It is probably not going to happen for him.


Japan’s quick notes

- Adrian Sutil got his first F1 point ever after Vitantonio Liuzzi was punished with 25 seconds for overtaking under a yellow flag. Sutil’s performances for the past two races confirm that he is a very good driver.

- Another driver that impressed me a lot was Sebastian Vettel. He led the race for a brief moment and was in third during the second safety car period. This sort of performance reminds me of Ayrton Senna in his rookie season – 1984 – when he drove for Toleman. I felt really bad for him when he got distracted and hit Mark Webber – while the safety car was still out. This stupid mistake will either make him a much better driver – one capable of winning championships – or will ruin his career altogether. I am hoping for the former, especially after seeing the great car control that he has. As much as I like him, he will be the ‘Shame of the Race’, and he knows he deserves this kind of award.

- I only wish I could see Mark Webber fighting for the win...

- Veterans David Coulthard and Giancarlo Fisichella had the experience that Vettel lacked and were able to protect themselves from disaster, finishing 4th and 5th respectively.

- Rubens Barrichello has been struggling lately at Honda. I expected more than 10th from him yesterday, as he is really a ‘rain specialist’. He needs to be careful, because getting beaten by a teammate time after time is the easiest way for someone to lose the job in F1. Yesterday he was helped by the fact that Button was not on a good day and had to retire with suspension damage on the final lap.


Star of the race:

Heikki Kovalainen. Lewis Hamilton certainly was great, but I picked Heikki because I am sure that he had a harder time driving the not-so-well-balanced Renault. His last lap battle with Raikkonen was an artwork itself. He got overtaken by Kimi in turn 6 and then overtook him back on the outside of turn 10, with the car barely making the turn. Had Sebastian Vettel not hit Webber, he would probably get the award, because STR is certainly a lot worse than most of the cars. His mistake was so bad, though, that he will be the ‘shame of the race’ instead.

Shame of the race:

Sebastian Vettel.


--Andre N.

Belgium – Race Analysis

After the McLaren unexpected win last week at the high speed Monza circuit, I expected another at Spa-Francochamps. The hilly, curvy layout should have favoured the better mechanically adjusted Mclaren and its high-torque Mercedes engine. I was wrong. The deciding factor in today’s F1 is always aerodynamics, and Ferrari is known to have, at this stage of the season, a better aero package than McLaren.

The race itself was again nothing to write home about, as it has been the case for most of this year. A few battles for position were exciting, but except for Lewis Hamilton vs. Fernando Alonso, they had no major effects on the championship standings.

Raikkonen’s last championship thrust

Kimi Raikkonen had one of the cleanest wins of his career. Based on his lap times, I do not think that he made any mistakes. He had perfect lap after perfect lap. Maybe on Saturday during qualifying he had a little bit of a bad moment during his last flying lap, but even with that he was still on pole position. Of course when he beat Felipe Massa on Q2, by Ferrari internal rules that meant he would be the one with the lighter car. With the long lap around Spa – 7.004 km/4.352 mi – that meant Massa would carry added weight that would cost him about 0.1 to 0.2s a lap.

By the way, Massa also did a good job. The problem for him is that he is now 20 points behind Hamilton with 3 races – maximum 30 points – to go. Therefore, Raikkonen, 13 points behind the championship leader, is the only real remaining hope of a Ferrari driver winning the title. Even so, it will be very hard to happen.

Kimi’s last championship thrust does not depend on much more than only him or his team. If they finish 1-2 and Hamilton finishes third for the remaining three races, the Englishman would still be world champion by 1 point. In Ferrari’s favour is the fact that Alonso is now constantly getting the upper hand on Hamilton. Against them is the fact that, based on what we have seen this season, McLaren will probably have the best car for at least one of the remaining tracks.

Kudos for Raikkonen for pulling a donut after winning the race. This is what the fans want to see. If you have ever seen Valentino Rossi’s victory celebrations in MotoGP – like the one yesterday in Portugal – you will understand what I am saying. Maybe the FIA will give him a fine, but it was worth it. The fans deserve it.

Alonso continues to one-up Hamilton

What a battle between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton going into turn 1 all the way to the exit of the famous Eau Rouge! At that point one would have to brake, or they would end up in a pile of carbon fibre debris. Luckily Hamilton did, as it seemed Alonso was determined not to do so.

After Hungary, Alonso has constantly beaten Hamilton. This probably means that the press rumours are true: The team has divided into two since that pit melee in the Hungaroring, and no setup information is transferred from one car to the other over the course of a race weekend. As good as Lewis is, he does not have yet the same setup finesse as Alonso.

The Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji Speedway will be a good place to prove my theory. If it stands, Alonso should beat Hamilton by a large margin there. The last time that Formula One was there was in 1977. None of the title contenders were even born then and they certainly do not have any setup references.

The only other explanation is that pressure has finally affected Hamilton, but I think that he is the kind of driver who turns pressure into good results. By the way, that wide turn into the safety track on the penultimate lap was probably just because he lost his concentration as the race had become very boring.


The effects of the spy scandal closure

McLaren was able to race, besides the fact that it is now clear to me that many people in the organization were aware of the illegal information obtained from Ferrari. At this point I agree with Flavio Briatore’s comments during Friday Press Conference: Although the drivers were benefited by some sort of illegal advantage, it is not their fault. They have not stolen the blueprints from Ferrari and more than that, they may not even know what is legal and what is not regarding an engineering project. Engineers and technicians, on the other hand, absolutely know where the line that they should not cross stands. Good luck to Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan. They will need it if they do not want to go to jail.

The better decision from the legal standpoint, in my opinion, would be to exclude McLaren from this championship and for at least a few races of the next. From the sporting standpoint, on the other hand, you should let the drivers compete. The decision was based on that fact that Formula One is still a sport for the drivers, although it is just business for the teams. The 100-million-U.S.-dollars fine will make sure that no team will even try something similar in the future.

With all that as part of the past, Ferrari has won the 2007 Constructor’s Championship, as BMW does not have any mathematical chances of beating them. Not that the general public cares.


Belgium’s quick notes

- Adrian Sutil did a fantastic race by Spyker’s standards, starting 19th and driving as high as 12th. He finished 14th. The B-spec car, Mike Gascoyne’s first full design for the team, is certainly an improvement. Sutil had his first chance of showing how good he actually is and he is pretty good.

- Heikki Kovalainen had a good start and moved from 9th on the grid to 6th after the first corner. His 1-stop strategy did not seem to be the best, but even so he got 1 point, after two excellent battles with Robert Kubica. Heikki won the most important, i.e. the final one.

- Jarno Trulli is continuing to struggle on race starts. He had to avoid contact going into the first corner and could not manage to retain his position at the starting grid – 8th. He finished 13th, one place behind teammate Ralf Schumacher.

- Alexander Wurz was again beaten by teammate Nico Rosberg. During the race Wurz had fuel pressure problems that made him drive behind the slow Sakon Yamamoto. That was no excuse, though, as Rosberg started the race in 5th place and Wurz only in 15th. If it were not for the problems, which were not his fault, he would be the ‘shame of the race’.

- Mark Webber showed that he is still that lightning-fast driver that got to Formula One in 2002. He finished 7th, ahead of better-balanced cars driven by Kovalainen and Kubica. I think his performance was a bit underrated by the media, so I will give him the ‘star of the race’ award.

Star of the race:

Mark Webber, with an honourable mention to Adrian Sutil.

Shame of the race:

Giancarlo Fisichella. Getting beat by your teammate in qualifying is not good, but it happens. Hitting the wall because you misjudged the braking point and damaging your suspension before the end of the first lap gives you this award.

--Andre N.

Italy – Race Analysis

A good race with a magnificent drive from winner Fernando Alonso: That was the story of the 2007 Italian Grand Prix. With four races to go in the Formula One season, it seems like the final battle will be among the two McLaren drivers. The 18-point difference from championship leader Lewis Hamilton to 3rd place Kimi Raikkonen is unlikely to completely go away, especially because we have seen so few retirements this year.

Alonso stole the show in Monza

Pole position, best lap, race win. I could stop here and it would be enough for everyone to understand what a great race Fernando Alonso had. The details show that it was even greater. For every lap of the whole weekend, he was 2 to 3 tenths of a second faster than Hamilton.

He saved the best for the race, though. When it became known that Ferrari had prepared a single-stop strategy for Raikkonen, Alonso would have to drive as fast as ever to stay as leader after his 2nd stop. Kimi pitted on lap 25 and was about 15 seconds behind. Alonso would need a 28-to-30-second gap to guarantee that he would rejoin the race ahead of the Ferrari. He had fuel up to lap 43, which meant 18 laps to open up 15 more seconds – more than 8 tenths a lap. Although Raikkonen had a lot more weight due to the larger fuel load, it would be hard. Not for Alonso. He just drove some of the fastest laps of the race. By the end of the stint he was consistently lapping at around 1min23s. Just so everyone can understand how fast that was: 1) His fastest lap of the race was 1min22.871s, and he was consistently lapping close to that time; 2) Lewis Hamilton’s fastest lap was 1min22.936s, barely beating the 1min23s that Alonso clocked many times, lap after lap.

There were a lot of great performances in Monza – including those from Jenson Button, Heikki Kovalainen, Robert Kubica and Nico Rosberg –, but as emotional as the other choices may be, the lap chart tells me that I must pick Fernando Alonso as the star of the race.

Second was not bad for Lewis

What else could Hamilton have done? Nothing, in my opinion. Racing is like this: one day you beat your teammate, the other day he beats you. Sometimes he beats you badly, like Alonso did to Hamilton in Monza. It was just one of those days, and hopefully for Hamilton there will not be many more of those until the end of the year. Fernando is just 3 points behind Lewis in the championship standings.

Hamilton’s overtaking manoeuvre over Raikkonen was one of the greatest this season. In fact, I think it is tied for number 2 this year – number 1 has to be Nick Heidfeld’s brilliant move around Alonso in Bahrain and the other number 2 is Kubica’s move around Rosberg yesterday. He had to go by Raikkonen, and it was only a matter of time before he did, because his car was faster. By surprisingly pulling aside just as he barely got close to Ferrari, he made his job a lot easier, as Raikkonen did not even have the chance to close the inside line. Even the Formula One Management TV transmission lost the exact moment when Lewis got by Kimi, so surprising that it was.

I am a bit worried about the way Lewis started the race. Maybe I am too old-fashioned, but in my opinion the start is a drag race towards the first corner. In drag races one driver must respect the other driver’s line. I know that in today’s F1 it is very important to get to the clean racing path, but Lewis just threw his car towards Felipe Massa and hoped that the latter would avoid the collision. Hamilton usually makes a lot of moves going into the first corner. If all drivers were to zigzag like that, half of the grid would be out of the race before the first corner. In the old days, the other drivers would have spoken to Lewis and they would respectfully get to an agreement about how to proceed at the starts. Today, it seems like they do not talk to each other anymore.

Ferrari beaten at their home turf

Considering all teams and all countries where F1 goes to, the most painful defeat has to be that of Ferrari in Italy, because the Italian fans are so passionate about the red team. This time it hurt even more. Ferrari was expected to win the race. Their longer wheelbase should have helped them around the Parabolica curve. In reality, McLaren could not only match Ferrari’s straightaway speed, but could also beat them at most corners, including the critical Lesmo and Ascari curves, just before two short straightaways. My only guess is that the Mercedes-Benz engine is stronger than the one from Ferrari, so McLaren could use more wing and have better results at the high speed corners.

The one thing that should never have happened was the suspension breakdown in Massa’s car. That was critical. Now he is 23 points behind Hamilton and I believe Ferrari has only one shot at the drivers’ championship – with Raikkonen. Unless the spy scandal changes everything...

My two words on the spy scandal

As an engineer myself, I have sworn to follow the law and never to deviate from what is known as ‘integrity’. This oath is taken by engineers everywhere. If half of the information released by the press about the spy scandal is true, I am sorry, the two engineers that are involved – Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan – should go to jail, McLaren should lose all of its constructor points and be banned from the 2007 season – and possibly from 2008 as well. If the drivers had no involvement with the illegal procedures, they should be allowed to keep their points. Just the fact that they will be forced to change teams in mid-season – if they can – will compensate for the points they got by indirectly benefiting from the illegal information. Again, this is my opinion only if these accusations are true. Ok, maybe I wrote more than two words.

Italy’s quick notes

- Robert Kubica had a really bad first pit stop, as he stopped the car in the wrong position and the mechanics had problems with the jack. Later, his bold move around Nico Rosberg was one of the season’s highlights and compensated for anything that went wrong.

- Sebastian Vettel had very good practice and qualifying sessions, but during the race he made a small mistake and ran into Davidson. Overall he was much better than in Turkey, though, but still not better than the replaced Scott Speed.

- I expected more from Jarno Trulli, but another bad start put him out of contention for the points. He finished only 11th.

- Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg showed what it is like to race wheel to wheel, respecting each other’s racing line. I wish all F1 drivers were as respectful as them.

- Heikki Kovalainen finished 7th, leaving his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella far behind in 12th position. Another great race by Heikki, especially because the Renault engine does not seem to be very strong this year.

Star of the race:

Fernando Alonso

Shame of the race:

Ferrari as a team – especially for having the single race retirement related to mechanical failure.

--Andre N.

Turkey – Race Analysis

This past weekend Formula One headed to Turkey for the 12th round of the 2007 season. There is not much history in Turkish motorsport, but having the third Grand Prix there seems to be a good start. The track is one of the favourites among the drivers. It is very demanding and has already one of the famous corners in F1 – the magnificent turn 8, a long high speed corner with one apex for each of its four radii and lateral g-forces in excess of 4. I only wish today’s F1 did not rely so much on aerodynamics, so that two cars could race closer to each other there... Well, this is another chapter of my long-time campaign, which I could call ‘FIA, please bring back the slicks and reduce downforce’.

Overall the race was not the most exciting ever, but for the 2007 standard of completely uneventful races, this one at least had its share of surprises. Felipe Massa’s win was not one of them, as he had beaten Michael Schumacher there last year. The same cannot be said of the unexpected fact that 20 of the 22 drivers finished an event that was held in very hot weather – air temperature in excess of 35°C (95°F). The top surprise had to be Lewis Hamilton’s blown tyre, which cost him two championship points and gave Fernando Alonso one as he dropped from 3rd to 5th.


Ferrari is on a mission

Felipe Massa drove a great race, helped by the fact that teammate Kimi Raikkonen also started on the clean side of the track, in 3rd position. After Raikkonen beat Hamilton going into the first corner, victory belonged to Ferrari, the only remaining battle being which driver would have the better pit strategy. This was already decided in qualifying, as Massa had one extra lap of fuel, which meant that Raikkonen would never have the chance of remaining on the track longer to overtake him when both pitted.

By the way, a distracted fan may not have noticed that Ferrari gives the opportunity for their drivers to fight for the best time in the equally balanced Q2. Whoever has the best time races with was calculated as the ideal fuel load, and the other driver gets one extra lap. It makes sense, since the quickest driver is given a chance to start from pole and the other is given a chance of being more consistent. The two mistakes by Raikkonen during his two hot laps in Q3, though, cost him two positions on the grid. Starting third, all he could do was to hope that he could beat Hamilton at the start, which he did. From there on, he knew he could not get past a car that was exactly like his. Sad but true in modern F1.

Ferrari raced an improved chassis this weekend, and it seems to be better than the previous version. From the onboard camera I could notice since Friday practice that their cars were the ones to beat. Alonso and Hamilton had to fight a little bit with their equipment to keep them on the road. Massa and Raikkonen had minor understeering problems in the first session, but that was it. After that it seemed like they were racing slot cars. During the race, the advantage showed more in terms of better tyre wear than in single-lap times. Over the course of each stint, though, McLaren could not beat them.

Ferrari is certainly on track to make the ideal strong season finish that they need, and the next events certainly suit the red cars. Their best one should be Monza, 2 weeks from now. And they may get an extra help from BMW. There and in Spa-Francochamps I expect BMW to come even stronger as their car is really good at high speed corners when using a mid-to-low downforce setup.


Damage control at McLaren

Lewis Hamilton equalled his career worst streak of finishes without a podium finish: one race. Seriously, the guy is consistent. Since he has the same number of victories as Alonso, Massa, and Raikkonen – 3 for each –, consistency is what gives him the championship lead. He was going to get another podium finish when his tyre blew up. His driving style certainly had an effect on the rubber. I mean, tyres are supposed to last, but it seems like Alonso does a better job saving his equipment during the race than Hamilton does. Not to much to worry about, though, as in the beginning of their careers Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna were pretty much like Hamilton is today. I just think it is no coincidence that Hamilton’s tyre blew up and Alonso’s did not.

Hamilton’s advantage is raw speed, and that he showed during qualifying. Alonso was outpaced by him. Fernando even tried a gamble by running his laps in Q3 with the prime tyres. The idea was that he could take back the time that McLaren was losing on the 3rd sector. The option tyres could not keep that first layer of softer rubber for an entire lap. The starting grid shows that the gamble did not pay off. In the end, 3rd was a good result for Alonso.


Kovalainen shows how good he is

Finally we have seen the best of Heikki Kovalainen. After a struggling start of the season, he has consistently improved and is now outpacing teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. In Turkey he also beat one of the superior BMWs – Robert Kubica. He finished 6th, which does not sound like a lot, but his better consistency and speed in comparison to his veteran teammate, even if the Renault is still a very tricky, ‘twitchy’ car to drive are enough for me to call him the star of the race. All I can say to Fisichella is ‘goodbye’. Nelson Piquet Jr. is ready to race and Flavio Briatore will probably drop the veteran driver to give the upcoming star a chance.


Turkey’s quick notes

- Anthony Davidson had a great performance on Saturday, qualifying 11th with his Super Aguri. In the beginning of the race he had to leave the track to avoid a spin by Jarno Trulli and lost a lot of positions. He probably would not get any points because of the few retirements, but dropping back was probably frustrating.

- Giancarlo Fisichella touched Trulli’s rear end, causing the latter to spin. Both had no major damage, but Trulli returned to the race very far behind. Although he had nice battles with the Hondas, he could not finish better than 16th.

- Ralf Schumacher completed the bad Toyota performance by finishing 11th. After the dismal qualifying run that put him 18th on the grid – later he got 2 positions after the Hondas switched engines –, there was not much he could do. I believe his career at Toyota is about to be over.

- Sebastian Vettel is only a very young rookie, but I expected more from him. His qualifying lap was 0.6 seconds slower than his STR teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi, and that was the story for the entire race. He had a hard time holding Adrian Sutil in the slow Spyker during his first, long stint. Not a problem had he picked up the pace during the shorter stints, but that was not the case. Every day Scott Speed’s release from STR seems more political than anything else.

- Nico Rosberg had a great race and finished 7th, showing that he is racing hard despite the poor performance by Williams in the past years. Let's hope that his car improves before this desire to win goes away.


Star of the race:

Heikki Kovalainen

Shame of the race:

Sebastian Vettel.


--Andre N.