What a Grand Finale to the F1 2007. Couldn’t have asked for more. Thrilling, gripping, exhilarating…I was on the edge of my seat right from the word GO … It was one hell of a race at Interlagos, Brazil… with Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen all going for the kill… the tracks were set on fire…
All thru the season, McLaren had it very much in their control. A superb car, a two time world champion in Alonso… and the Best of all, the wonder kid Lewis Hamilton, Ron Dennis’ very own boy… For a rookie (he never seemed to be one, the way he monstered his Mclaren and gave every other driver in the circuit a chill down the spine…) he did drive his heart out. He had the championship, well within reach, going into the penultimate race of the season…. So near…and then he literally drove the tires off his Mclaren to park in the gravel…at the very entrance of the pit lanes…. and later to see from the pit lanes a Ferrari 1-3… and his “Best Friend “this season ,splitting the two Ferraris. This just set the stage up for the final showdown in the “FORMULA 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007”.
Hamilton was under enormous pressure...not from other drivers… but his own teammate Alonso… In the former part of the race…he had proved that he wasn’t the one to break down under pressure…but towards the latter part it just was too much for him to handle…In the final race, he gave it his all...but was outdone by some splendid driving by Kimi, Massa and Alonso. Lewis came back strongly, and at times I felt like, he was asking too much from his car… that it almost gave up once or twice… but then he and his car fought back to the 7th position…That was all he could manage, for the drivers ahead were way too far ahead for him to catch-up with !!.
I’m a die hard fan of Kimi....yet my heart went out to Hamilton… But then there lies the beauty of Formula1. You just can’t count anybody out till the last race, the last lap….
Alonso was there, very much in the race for the championships… close on Hamilton’s tail…both on the track and the points table. Coming into the final race all he needed to do was to get to at least the 2nd place if not 1st and pray that Hamilton didn’t finish the race :-) ( and if he did, not better then 7th)….but that was not the case to be …. on RACE DAY…
Ferrari had other plans….a plan tailor made and executed to suit the very situation…starring Kimi Raikkonen, Fillipe Massa. Directed by Jean Todd, Screen Play- Chris Dyer (Kimi’s Race Engineer) and the entire Ferrari crew for support…They were just one COHESIVE unit (as Sidhu would put it)… Fighting it out for one mission…The championship for Raikkonen… and how well did Massa played his part…He was a guinea pig in the Race in Shanghai…Ferrari testing out during the race as to how the dry tries would work in the wet conditions… and then clearing it for Raikkonen to go flat out to the chequered flag. He is one hell of a team man. Without his support Kimi wouldn’t have made it…
A plan Mclaren couldn’t even think of, let alone executing it….They had the best of everything… the Car, the Drivers, the strategy, sponsors….They had it all, but for mutual respect and understanding…When you are fighting it out.. all for your glory alone…nothing else will help… It’s good to have a healthy rivalry... but not like what was there between Alonso and Hamilton…And to add insult to injury, Alonso was in war with everyone within his team… lots of controversies… Still he drove like a champion….There’s no doubt on his capabilities… But only on his attitude…
This is a lesson for all... as in how not to be within a team… Had it not been for this unhealthy rivalry, Hamilton or Alonso could have easily sealed the tournament for themselves and Mclaren…
Having said all that…let me get to my favorite driver…the ICEMAN…the FLYING FINN… After a superb start to the season, he fell back… Sometimes the car giving up and sometimes he not delivering…But he came back strongly. Did he not drive that Scarlet of his, right up to the limit.., if not over it? He gave it his all, setting lap times, each bettering the previous, lap after lap… When under pressure… he is the one… he delivers. Keeps him cool… Cool as ice…he was simply superb... “When the racing got tough…Kimi got going...”
For him to win the championship…his efforts were not merely enough…He needed the support of Massa and the rest of his team…on which he never had the slightest of doubts…But he badly needed his stroke of luck and fortune. But then fortune favors the brave… and Kimi was brave and fortunate enough……. to be the F1 Champion 2007.
Hats off to Team Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen.They were a treat to watch… and F1 can’t get better than this…
Looking forward to the next season... India too is to have its own team… A Ferrari Engine powered Car... Thanks to Vijay Mallya…
