Race analysis - bitter pills commonplace in Hungary.


McLaren’s first came in the form of the grid place penalty that moved Fernando Alonso from the pole down to sixth place, guaranteeing that he had no chance of victory. Their second was the stewards’ decision that the team would not be eligible for any constructors’ points after the qualifying incident. Considering that they ‘scored’ 15, that had to hurt.

Ferrari had some nasty things to swallow, too. The first pill for them was the oversight in not refuelling Felipe Massa’s car in the second session of qualifying. They don’t normally have to do two runs in Q2, and that caught them out.

Starting from 14th, of necessity with a heavy fuel load, Massa was damned from the get go and never made any inroads into the bunch of cars ahead. He was quite right when he described his race as “horrible”.

Their second pill was the knowledge that their F2007 had the pace to have won the race, after struggling in qualifying. Kimi Raikkonen traded fastest laps with winner Lewis Hamilton, and set the best one on the very last lap.

Nevertheless, there were silver linings in both sets of clouds. Hamilton put McLaren back in the winner’s circle for the second consecutive race, and increased his championship lead. And Alonso, for all that he had a very tough afternoon, added a further five points to his score. And Raikkonen added eight to his, and eight to Ferrari’s, so they now have 119 points to McLaren’s 138.

One of the obstacles that Alonso could not overcome was Nick Heidfeld and his BMW Sauber. The German, ironically, was one of the men who did not benefit from Alonso’s penalty, since it moved him from the clean side of the grid to the dirty side. This was a double blow, because it meant that he was slower away and, conversely, Raikkonen was faster. The net result was that he got stuck with third place, when he might have been able to have defended second. With team mate Robert Kubica making a great start, driving as strongly as he ever does, and some excellent pit work, the Swiss-German squad were on track for another healthy dose of points, their 10 actually outscoring everyone else and bringing their score to 71.

Ralf Schumacher hung in for sixth place, having fended off Alonso for a long time early on, and the Toyota driver was very happy with his car once front flap adjustments during his first stop had eliminated some nervousness. He was also satisfied that his two-stop strategy was the right one. Team mate Jarno Trulli, however, faded down to a 12th place finish and was highly disappointed to find himself stuck in traffic almost all race. Unlike Schumacher, he found his TF107 a handful on the super-soft tyre in the final stint.

Williams’ Nico Rosberg looked likely to do better than the two points he got for seventh place, but his three-stop strategy dropped him back in the final analysis. He was far enough ahead not to be troubled by Heikki Kovalainen, who once again took the final point after a better run in the race than he’d had in qualifying. Interestingly, he ran and Renault team mate Giancarlo Fisichella (together with Honda’s Rubens Barrichello) were the only runners to start on the Bridgestone super-soft tyre, which had demonstrated a tendency to grain quickly in practice, and the Finn’s R27 loved them. He did 27 laps on the first set, and 22 on the second, before doing his final stint on the soft prime tyre. And no sign of graining at all. Fisichella’s chances disappeared pretty much when his penalty for impeding Yamamoto in qualifying dropped him to 13th, but going off track and losing a place to Trulli, and later colliding with Super Aguri’s Anthony Davidson as they left the pits together, did not help his cause.

This time there were no points for Mark Webber and Red Bull, but at least the RB3 was reliable. The Australian felt he got the best from the available package on his way to ninth place, but David Coulthard, who finished 11th behind Trulli, found his RB3’s behaviour very inconsistent on the three sets of tyres he used.

Renault thus remain fourth with 33 points, Williams have 20, Red Bull are still on 16, and Toyota have 12.

Behind Coulthard, 12th place was the subject of an intense fight between Fisichella, Massa and Williams’ Alex Wurz. None of them were happy, for their different reasons, and Wurz felt he lost out when Spyker’s Adrian Sutil inadvertently brushed him on to the grass at one point as he was being lapped by the trio.

Takuma Sato was Super Aguri’s only finisher, struggling with low grip on a heavy initial fuel load. He was happier with his SA07’s balance on the super-soft tyre in his third stint, but by then it was too late. He nearly distinguished himself by tripping up Hamilton in Turn One as he rejoined after a pit stop; fortunately Hamilton just missed him.

Davidson had the upper hand at Super Aguri all weekend, and did well to fend off Wurz for so long. But his race ended in a collision with Fisichella exiting Turn One, which broke his rear suspension.

Toro Rosso debutant Sebastian Vettel took 16th after a tough afternoon in which he found the STR02 to be a very different proposition to the BMW Sauber F1.07. He ran a lot more fuel than team mate Tonio Liuzzi, who was ahead of him when he suffered electronic gremlins.

Spyker lost Sakon Yamamoto early on, when he crashed into the tyre wall in Turn 11, but as Sutil survived some off-track explorations to finish 17th the Dutch team drew succour from beating Honda on a terrible day for the Japanese enterprise. 2006 winner Jenson Button had a torrid time trailing round at the back until a throttle sensor problem put him out of his misery after 35 laps, while Barrichello was obliged to soldier on for another 33 laps on his way to 18th, two laps down.

With no testing and a three-week gap to Turkey, everyone will now work away in their factories, ready to regroup for battle in Istanbul at the end of the month.

David Tremayne: http://www.formula1.com/news/features/2007/8/6603.html

Lewis: Alonso not talking


Hamilton: problem
Lewis Hamilton has claimed that McLaren Mercedes team-mate - and increasingly fractious rival - Fernando Alonso has stopped talking to him.
The Hungarian GP winner said that the world champion has maintained a wall of silence following the contretemps in qualifying which saw Alonso demoted from pole position to sixth on the grid.
"He doesn't seem to have been speaking to me since yesterday. So I don't know if he has a problem," Hamilton said.

Alonso was punished after holding station in the pits longer than necessary during qualifying, thus preventing Hamilton from trying to better his time.
McLaren's argument that the situation had resulted from Hamilton's own disregard for team orders earlier in qualifying - not allowing Alonso past him on the track - was also turned down by the stewards.

Argument
The team were therefore docked constructors' championship points for the race, with events clearly angering both Hamilton and boss Ron Dennis - the two arguing via radio.
"With Ron, obviously yesterday he wasn't very happy. We just had to be professional and sat down and spoke about it and I told him my views," Hamilton continued.
"He respected those and said 'Okay, I respect that because its part of your personality', so we came to a mutual understanding and started with a clean slate from today.
"It was difficult to stay focused because obviously you had this feeling in the team, that the team weren't getting any points.
"So you didn't know whether the team hated you, or whether they just hated the situation, who they blamed."

Forgiven
But, although Dennis quickly forgave both his drivers, one prominent team member apparently has yet to forgive Hamilton.
"So I did go around to the whole team and I said 'come on, let's do this, good luck.' There was only one person that didn't (respond). That didn't really affect me, I just got on and did my job," he added.
[url]http://msnsport.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12523_2642213,00.html[/url]

It looks pretty certain that Alonso will leave McLaren at the end of the year, if anyone wants to know more about F1 please ask as its my job to know! I write for a magazine read by the technical staff in all the teams.

Not F1 but it may interest you http://www.sevenoaksmotorclub.com/acorn/may2003/gravel.html

Work to begin on Singapore street circuit

With its inaugural Grand Prix just over a year away, Singapore has already begun preparations for its new street circuit. The Asian city, which will host the race in September 2008, is currently finalising the design of its paddock complex and plans to start construction next month, once the FIA has approved the design.

“I am pleased that the planning for the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix is progressing well,” explained Mr Lim Neo Chian, Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, who chairs the event’s working committee.

“We have refined the proposed street circuit and submitted the plans to the FIA for its assessment and endorsement. It is heartening to note the commitment and professionalism demonstrated by every member of the team in delivering a Grand Prix that all Singaporeans will be proud of.”

The Singapore event, which was confirmed back in May, will take place on public roads around the city’s Marina Bay area. The 5.05 kilometre-long track has been designed to offer a number of overtaking opportunities, fast turns and technically-challenging sections to test the Formula One drivers to their absolute limit.

With more than 70 percent of the circuit utilizing existing Singaporean roads, the design stage required local government agencies and race promoter, Singapore GP Pte Ltd, to work very closely together. As part of the planned work, a new 1.2 kilometre road will be constructed to form the eastern section of the circuit, while the famous Raffles Boulevard will be widened.

“It’s going to be very exciting to see all this take shape,” added Colin Syn, deputy chairman of Singapore GP. “The sheer scale of the task required is simply staggering, but the support that we’ve received from all the government agencies involved has been tremendous.”

The Singapore race is scheduled to take place on September 28, 2008.

In the meantime, the Brits are battling tooth and nail to keep their GP on the calendar. . . . meetings are being held between M. Damon and FIA officials.

Dear all,

FRom which site can i download video clips of F1 racing session onto my nokia 9300i phone. Please help out.

McLaren have been stripped of their points in the 2007 Formula One constructors' championship after the outcome of the "spygate" row.
The team were also fined a record $100m (£49.2m), which includes any prize and television money they would have earned from the constructors' championship.

But drivers Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso can keep their points.

The team must also prove there is no Ferrari "intellectual property" in their cars next year before racing.

The decision means Ferrari, who go into this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix second in the constructors' championship, 57 points ahead of third-placed BMW Sauber, are almost certain to be crowned champions.

Having been at the hearing I do not accept that we deserve to be penalised or our reputation damaged in this way

McLaren boss Ron Dennis

The row centres on McLaren being in possession of a confidential 780-page technical document belonging to Ferrari.

When he left the hearing, FIA president Max Mosley was asked if justice had been done, and replied "Yes".

A Ferrari statement said: "In light of new evidence, facts and behaviour of an extremely serious nature and grossly prejudicial to the interest of the sport have been further demonstrated.

"Ferrari is satisfied that the truth has now emerged."

The World Motor Sport Council said it would publish the reasoning behind its verdict on Friday.

And McLaren team chief Ron Dennis said he would wait until then before deciding whether to appeal.

"We believe we have grounds for appeal but of course we are going to wait for the findings of the FIA which are going to be published," Dennis explained.

"The most important thing is that we go motor racing this weekend, the rest of the season and next season."

Although he was clearly relieved that the team could continue racing, Dennis was understandably upset at what he saw as the besmirching of the team name.

"Having been at the hearing I do not accept that we deserve to be penalised or our reputation damaged in this way," he said.

"Today's evidence given to the FIA by our drivers, engineers and staff clearly demonstrated we did not use any leaked information to gain a competitive advantage.

"The WMSC received statements from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Pedro de la Rosa stating categorically no Ferrari information had been used by McLaren, and that no confidential data had been passed to the team.

"The entire engineering team in excess of 140 people provided statements to the FIA affirming they had never received or used the Ferrari information.

"We have never denied that the information from Ferrari was in the personal possession of one of our employees at his home.


Lewis Hamilton and team-mate Fernando Alonso keep their points

"The issue is: was this information used by McLaren? This is not the case and has not been proven."

At the first hearing into the row, on 26 July, McLaren got off without punishment, but another hearing was convened after new evidence emerged, and that led to the points deduction and huge financial penalty.

Three-time world champion Sir Jackie Stewart believes there is more information to be made public.

"All I can say, without being in full command of all of the information, is that the offence must be considerably larger than has been projected either by the governing body of the sport or within the media," he told BBC Radio 5live.

"This isn't murder that has been carried out, this is something that has happened before and there wasn't even a fine or disciplinary action taken by the same governing body.

"There is something very strange going on, there is no doubt about that.

"From what information we have been given so far, this does not constitute a penalty of this scale with regards to the crime that has been carried out.

"And even if they were found guilty of that particular crime, it doesn't justify this kind of penalty."

BBC Sport

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen was fastest in the first free practice session ahead of this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, free to race after avoiding punishment by the FIA in the 'spygate' case, were second and third fastest.

Raikkonen's team-mate Felipe Massa had an early set back when he went off on his first warm-up lap at Spa.

The Brazilian approached the Rivage hairpin too fast and slid off, through the gravel trap and into the barrier.

It means Massa will be behind his rivals in terms of the time he has preparing his car, which could harm his chances of setting it up to behave to his liking.

Belgian Grand Prix first free practice times:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:47.339

2. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 1:47.881

3. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 1:47.994

4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:48.052

5. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-BMW 1:48.372

6. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:48.605

7. Alexander Wurz (Aut) Williams-BMW 1:48.920

8. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:48.994

9. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:49.138

10. Jenson Button (GB) Honda 1:49.330

11. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:49.380

12. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1:49.548

13. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:49.894

14. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull 1:49.931

15. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:50.264

16. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso 1:50.482

17. Takuma Sato (Jap) Super Aguri F1 Team 1:50.640

18. Anthony Davidson (GB) Super Aguri F1 Team 1:50.648

19. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Spyker MF1 1:50.768

20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso 1:51.628

22. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari

FIA releases full WMSC judgement on McLaren
------------Coughlan, De la Rosa, Alonso shared data obtained from Stepney

A number of McLaren employees - including Pedro de la Rosa and Fernando Alonso - knew about the team’s unauthorised possession of confidential Ferrari information, and some intended to use that information in the team’s own testing.

That was among the findings of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC), which published its full judgement on Friday afternoon following its decision to strip McLaren of their 2007 constructors' points and fine the team $100 million.

The findings contradict previous claims from McLaren that the Ferrari data had not spread beyond suspended chief designer Mike Coughlan, who allegedly received it from former Ferrari engineer Nigel Stepney.

In its judgement, the Council cites evidence of ongoing communications between Coughlan and Stepney, as well as between Coughlan and McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa, who the FIA claim “requested and received secret Ferrari information from a source which he knew to be illegitimate” and shared that information with world champion Fernando Alonso.

Emails between Coughlan, de la Rosa and Alonso formed part of the new evidence that prompted Thursday’s second hearing into the affair. July’s original hearing had found McLaren in breach of the International Sporting Code, but had not sanctioned the team due to lack of evidence.

The emails covered topics such as the weight distribution and braking system of Ferrari’s car, a flexible rear wing design and a gas used by the Italian team to inflate its tyres. They also suggested that Stepney had fed Coughlan real-time information on Ferrari’s pit stop strategy in this year’s Australian Grand Prix.

According to the Council, “The e-mails show unequivocally that both Mr. Alonso and Mr. de la Rosa received confidential Ferrari information via Coughlan; that both drivers knew that this information was confidential Ferrari information and that both knew that the information was being received by Coughlan from Stepney.”. In submitting their evidence, de la Rosa and Alonso were granted immunity from any personal sanctions.

The other new evidence related to communications between Coughlan and Stepney, which, according to reports from the Italian police, was of a far greater level than the Council had previously thought, leading it to conclude that Coughlan “was in receipt of a flow of confidential Ferrari information from Stepney.”

According to the Council, the new evidence makes clear that:

", Coughlan had more information than previously appreciated and was receiving information in a systematic manner over a period of months;
- the information has been disseminated, at least to some degree (e.g. to Mr. de la Rosa and Mr. Alonso), within the McLaren team;
- the information being disseminated within the McLaren team included not only highly sensitive technical information but also secret information regarding Ferrari’s sporting strategy;
- Mr de la Rosa, in the performance of his functions at McLaren, requested and received secret Ferrari information from a source which he knew to be illegitimate and expressly stated that the purpose of his request was to run tests in the simulator;
- the secret information in question was shared with Mr. Alonso;
- there was a clear intention on the part of a number of McLaren personnel to use some of the Ferrari confidential information in its own testing. If this was not in fact carried into effect it was only because there were technical reasons not to do so;
- Coughlan’s role within McLaren (as now understood by the WMSC) put him in a position in which his knowledge of the secret Ferrari information would have influenced him in the performance of his duties."

The Council concluded that “some degree of sporting advantage was obtained, though it may forever be impossible to quantify that advantage in concrete terms.”

CONSTRUCTOR STANDINGS

01 Ferrari 161
02 BMW 90
03 Renault 39
04 Williams-Toyota 28
05 Red Bull-Renault 18
06 Toyota 12
07 Super Aguri-Honda 4
08 Honda 2
09 STR-Ferrari 0
09= McLaren-Mercedes 0

DRIVER STANDINGS

01 Lewis Hamilton 97
02 Fernando Alonso 95
03 Kimi Räikkönen 84
04 Felipe Massa 77
05 Nick Heidfeld 56
06 Robert Kubica 33
07 Heikki Kovalainen 22
08 Giancarlo Fisichella 17
09 Nico Rosberg 15
10 Alexander Wurz 13

Ferari 1, 2 @ the Belgian Grand Prix. . . . Alonso 3^rd
Now Hamilton's lead is cut down to 2 over Alonso, 13 over Raikkonnen and 20 over Massa. with 3 races and 30pts up 4 grabs, can Hamilton hold on to cop the drivers' title
I'd love for a classic finish where 1 one of ferrari's drivers zooms out from behind and snatches. . . . what about u ?

with the constructor's title almost assured. . . . . . . the question in ferrari's camp is if their efforts should be focused on Raikkonnen's bid for the drivers' title - he's just 13pts adrift and winning it isn't a far-fetched ambition. . . . . what do u think ?

Yeah they should give Raikkonen all the support he needs meaning Massa should play his part too. Its obvious Massa has little or no chance of winning the drivers championship.

Alonso showed some ruthless driving at the beginning of the race throwing Hamilton off the track but I don't think I'll blame him for that, it was needed because Hamilton was trying to make a move on him.

Its going to be tough but Alonso seems to be edging it at this latter stage of the season.

dinozzo:

Yeah they should give Raikkonen all the support he needs meaning Massa should play his part too. Its obvious Massa has little or no chance of winning the drivers championship.

And they did just that. . . . . . McLaren's blunder, they couldn't do just that on their own side!

Raikkonen wins in Brazil to clinch drivers’ title

In one of the most dramatic climaxes to a Formula One season, a gripping Brazilian Grand Prix saw rank outsider Kimi Raikkonen burst through to snatch the world championship on a day when favourite Lewis Hamilton’s hopes were eroded right from the start.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa made a great start from pole position and defended himself against Hamilton’s McLaren on the rush to the first corner, as team mate Kimi Raikkonen squeezed alongside and then ahead of the Englishman in the famed Senna S.

As Hamilton had to back off to avoid colliding with Raikkonen, McLaren’s Fernando Alonso spotted his chance and squeaked through on Hamilton’s left to grab third place. The points leader’s efforts to regain the position saw him run wide further round the lap, and drop down to eighth.

At the end of the lap, extrapolation of the points scoring positions revealed that Raikkonen, running second to Massa, had 108 points. Alonso, in third, had 109, Hamilton, in eighth, 108. And that balance was to see-saw throughout the afternoon, especially as Hamilton gained and lost places during three pit stops.

Massa pitted for the last time on lap 50, but crucially Raikkonen went three laps longer. That enabled him to take the lead, and now only retirement could stop him as he amassed 110 points. He and Massa had easily outpaced Alonso, whose third place gave him six points and brought his tally to 109.

Hamilton’s feisty recovery from his off-road moment, and then a gearbox problem when the system momentarily stuck in neutral on the eighth lap, brought him up to seventh place, thus giving him 109 points too. But with one second place more than Alonso, he got the nod for second place overall over the Spaniard.

Between the two team mates, fourth place was a pitched battle between Nico Rosberg’s Williams and the BMW Saubers of Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld. They finished in that order after some gripping racing. Behind Hamilton, Jarno Trulli took the final point for Toyota ahead of Red Bull’s David Coulthard and Williams rookie Kazuki Nakajima, who collided at one stage. The Japanese driver also clobbered two members of his crew during his pit stop. The other finishers were Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher, Takuma Sato (who had a tight battle with Super Aguri team mate Anthony Davidson early in the race), Toro Rosso’s Tonio Liuzzi whose nose was damaged in a first-corner fracas, and Davidson himself.

Neither Renault finished. Heikki Kovalainen was shoved off in the first corner, and later crashed there; and Giancarlo Fisichella is under investigation by the stewards after going off the road and rejoining in such a dangerous manner that Sakon Yamamoto ran straight into the back of his R27. Neither of the Hondas finished, both succumbing to engine failures, leaving Rubens Barrichello pointless at the end of a season for the first time in his Formula One career.

Mark Webber’s chances of helping Red Bull to catch and pass Williams in the standings evaporated with a engine/gearbox interface problem; Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso had hydraulic failure; and Adrian Sutil had several incidents and six pit stops before retiring with a brake problem.

As he celebrated becoming Finland’s third world champion, Raikkonen said: "We were not in the strongest position but we always believed that we could recover and do a better job than the others, and even with the hard times everyone was sticking together and we did not give up.

“I was not really 100 percent sure if someone would stop but there were people who needed to finish and we did not know 100 percent and it took a long time to hear that we had finally won it. It has been a good finish of the season and I am really happy. An amazing day!”

Hamilton was philosophical in defeat.

“It’s been a crazy year, but I can’t really say that I’m gutted or that I feel I was robbed,” he said after losing by a single point. “It was just unfortunate. We’ve all of us had some bad luck this year; it’s just a shame that mine seemed to come all at the end of it.

“All along I said to myself that, whatever happens today, who would ever have thought that I would lead the world championship? It’s been a great feeling, having the possibility to win it. The team have done a fantastic job for me all season, and of course I wanted to win. But I guess it wasn’t our turn after all this year. But I will come back next year stronger, for sure.

“The start wasn’t that great and I got boxed in behind Kimi, then Fernando came past me and I locked up a bit behind him and lost some ground. But I knew that we had the pace to get that back. But then when I was downshifting for Turn Four the gearbox just went into neutral. And I coasted for an awful long time. I still don’t know how but I managed to coax it back into operation and get going again, but I had to be careful to manage the engine because the revs were very low.

“When that was happening, coming so soon after China, I just found myself thinking that for sure somebody didn’t want me to win the championship!

“Even after that, though, I refused to believe that it was over. The first time I thought that was when I saw the chequered flag. I never stopped thinking it was still possible.

“Our pace wasn’t bad today. Not quite the same as Ferrari’s, but we could have been a little bit quicker with more luck.

“After my mistake in China it was tough to have this luck here, but that’s racing. I’ve gone from GP2 to being ranked second in the world and I have every confidence that in 2008 I will come back even stronger, do an even better job and win. I’ll be better prepared and I have the experience of the whole thing.

“At the end of the day I’m second in the world championship, and I beat my team mate who is a double world champion. That’s a great result. I said I would be a winner, whatever happened today.

“I think that, apart from the start, I drove one of my best ever races today, so that’s why I say I don’t think I was robbed.”

I always felt McClaren was g'onna push the self-destruct on 'emselves. . . . i'm sure they'll be kicking 'emselves right now cuz they had this one in the bag - inspite of the spygate scandal, they had this one almost wrapped up but they took their eyes of the bigger picture and let a little teeny-weeny issue kill their glory and now they've lost both the Drivers' and Constructors' titles!

I think they never really addressed the Alonso-Hamilton rift and i dare say, that they were somewhat too engrossed in tryna ensure that Hamilton gets the Drivers' that they never really gave much th'ot to the other driver. . . . .

well, their loss. . . . . . Ferrari's gain!

There's still hope 4 McClaren's dream 4 Hamilton however. . . . .

BMW Sauber, Williams escape penalty; McLaren could appeal

The BMW Sauber and Williams teams have escaped penalty after being investigated by Brazilian Grand Prix stewards over fuel irregularities on their cars at the end of Sunday’s Interlagos race.

Under Formula One racing’s technical regulations fuel temperatures are not allowed to fall more than 10 degrees Celsius below ambient air temperature at any time. According to FIA data, Williams and BMW Sauber exceeded this range during the race, but after deliberating for several hours stewards decided the evidence was insufficient to justify sanctions.

However, McLaren are expected to appeal the stewards' decision, which if overturned could have serious implications for the 2007 drivers' championship.

Nico Rosberg finished fourth for Williams, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld fifth and sixth respectively for BMW Sauber. If they were to be disqualified, Lewis Hamilton would move up to from seventh to fourth, giving him enough points to beat Kimi Raikkonen to the title.


What a topsy-turvy season. . . . this!

I am glad my people at Ferrari won.Too bad Hamilton didnt get it as a black i would have wanted him to win it but at least Alonso didnt get it either.Ferrari is back yall

Hamilton was McClaren's mistake. . . .

yea he gave those experienced drivers a good run for the helmet

in a way it's a good thing he didn't win, now he will never be overlooked as just one of them grid warmer like those spyker boys.

He'll probably win the title mid-season next year

Alonso - how the dream came undone


Amid the razzamatazz of McLaren’s 2007 launch party back in January, the one thing that stood out was just how calm Fernando Alonso looked. After two world-championship winning years at Renault, he’d have been forgiven for seeming a little nervous about the prospect of defending his title with a new team, but in Valencia, Alonso was all smiles.

Indeed so convinced was the Spaniard that he had made the right move at the right time, he was even cautiously looking forward to cementing his reputation with a third consecutive title. With Michael Schumacher out of the picture and the McLaren already looking quick, few observers doubted he could pull it off. The reality, however, would prove much less straightforward, with a season that would evolve into arguably the toughest test of his career.

Firstly there was the stellar performance of his team mate Lewis Hamilton to contend with. No one, especially Alonso, had expected Hamilton to be such a strong competitor and having never faced such rivalry in any previous team, the reigning champion looked a little spooked.

Of course, the inconsistency of Alonso’s early McLaren outings - there were some uncharacteristic unforced errors - may have been down simply to the demands of settling into a new team, but whatever the cause, in the face of Hamilton’s rock-solid performances, the Spaniard’s title defence looked somewhat shaky.

Yes he won races - his Monaco victory was a particular high point - but there were also a few too many disappointments. Indeed, seventh in Montreal was his lowest placing since 2005. Cumulatively it meant that by mid-season he was languishing 14-points adrift of his rookie team mate. For the first time in his Formula One career Alonso was on the back foot and he didn’t seem to be enjoying the sensation.

As the title began slipping from his grasp, the relationship between Alonso and McLaren suffered, the two parties increasingly at odds with each other. The now notorious qualifying incident in Hungary and its aftermath appeared to be just the tip of a very large (and increasingly frosty) iceberg. And when it emerged that emails between Alonso and test driver Pedro de la Rosa had formed part of the evidence in the McLaren-Ferrari ‘spy scandal’, the media quickly branded him a ‘traitor’.

Rather than an impediment, however, the very public breakdown of relations seemed to smooth the progress of Alonso’s title hopes; forcing him to refocus on his original goal and draw on his own reserves to up his game. Several authoritative performances later - including victories at Monza and the Nurburgring - and Alonso’s hit rate was going rapidly upwards.

The upshot was that he gradually closed in on Hamilton’s lead. Looking more and more like the driver who had bettered Schumacher the year before, Alonso’s decisiveness, ruthlessness and speed saw him reel in his upstart team mate. As if to prove his point, after his rare slip-up in the wet Japanese event, he got right back in the saddle and drove a sterling race to second in China, keeping himself in title contention for the final round.

In Brazil too, he showed why he’s a double world champion. As Hamilton’s youthful impetuosity got the better of him at the start, Alonso kept his head and did everything right. But even he was powerless against the speed of Ferrari and the other recovering driver in the mix, Kimi Raikkonen. Thus was lost the chance to achieve something even Schumacher never managed - match Fangio’s feat of consecutive titles with different teams.

There is little doubt that Alonso will return much stronger in 2008, though whether it will be with McLaren remains to be seen. A great driver is not just someone who can win, but someone who can take on adversity and triumph over it, and this season Alonso has proven he can do just that. If and when his next driver title comes along, it will no doubt be all the sweeter for it.

McLaren lodge Brazilian Grand Prix appeal - updated


The FIA has confirmed that McLaren have appealed the decision of stewards not to penalise BMW Sauber and Williams at Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos.

Both teams were investigated after the race, following suggestions that their cars had run with fuel more than the permitted 10 degrees Celsius below ambient temperature.

Stewards ultimately decided there was insufficient evidence to justify sanctioning the teams and the result of the race, which saw Nico Rosberg finish fourth for Williams, with Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld fifth and sixth for BMW, was declared official.

Commenting on their decision to appeal, McLaren released the following statement on Tuesday:

“The team has taken the view, from the information that we currently have available that there was non-compliance with the Regulations. The team believes that the FIA has, in written clarification of the Technical Regulations and in its minutes of two Formula 1 Team Manager meetings, made clear how it would interpret and manage the Regulations and Procedures associated with the control of fuel temperatures. This process was followed in the normal manner by the FIA Technical Delegate following the Brazilian Grand Prix and the irregularities were reported by him to the Stewards of the meeting. Consequently the team does not understand the justification as described in the decision published late on Sunday evening.

“The significance of this matter and its timing is, of course, regrettable. The team wishes to win races and Championships on the track. However, if there has been an irregularity, which is not the fault of the team, we feel that the matter must be properly examined to ensure that the rules are applied. This is something that we believe the FIA would fully support and would wish to be seen to have done.

“Vodafone McLaren Mercedes wishes to stress, however, that it does not question the integrity of either the BMW or Williams teams. We know, without even enquiring, that neither team would have sought to achieve a performance advantage by such an irregularity and that the situation could only have arisen as the consequence of an operational error within the team on the day.

“Ultimately we feel that the FIA should determine whether an irregularity occurred or not, and the team will fully respect the process and any decision that is ultimately given.”

The FIA has yet to announce a date for the appeal.


Hamilton himself has said that winning the Championship off the tracks rather than on it wouldn't be favorable for the sport and is something he wouldn't want to happen.

The winners and losers of 2007 - Part One


With all the excitement of the championship fight over the closing rounds, it has been easy to forget what has been going on further down the grid. Whose value has gone up this season, and who has found himself plummeting down the pecking order? We compared the 2006 and 2007 driver standings to discover the biggest movers - in both directions.

The winners…

Nico Rosberg
2006 - 17th, 2007 - 9th (+
There were flashes of brilliance in Nico Rosberg’s ’06 debut season, but a mixture of inexperience and poor reliability ultimately meant nine retirements and just four points. This year the young German has come of age, proving not only spectacularly quick, but also consistent. In qualifying his speed was awesome, humbling veteran team mate Alex Wurz as he made the top-ten shootout on no less than nine occasions. Some mature, aggressive racing meant he also took the bulk of Williams’ points (20 of 33) and he capped an excellent season with a career-best fourth place in Brazil. No wonder there’s talk of him replacing Alonso at McLaren, should the Spaniard move on…

Takuma Sato
2006 - 22nd, 2007 - 17th (+5)
Takuma Sato remains Japan’s most successful Formula One driver. He may not have qualified on the front row or finished on the podium this year (he has done so in the past), but he more than proved his worth. His 2007 season started superbly, when he gave Super Aguri their first top-ten qualifying result in Australia. He went one better in Spain, landing the fledgling team their first point. And in Canada he scored their best result to date, with an impressive sixth place. Thanks in no small part to Sato’s hard work, no longer are Super Aguri a permanent feature on the back row of the grid, rather genuine mid-field contenders.

Kimi Raikkonen
2006 - 5th, 2007 - 1st (+4)
What can you say about Kimi Raikkonen? We already knew he was a potential world champion and this year the right equipment at the right time finally enabled him to prove the point. And what a contrast to 2006. Then he failed to win a single race with McLaren. A year on and he has won six - and the drivers’ crown - with Ferrari, frustrating his former team’s title aspirations in the process. He signalled his intent early on, with victory in the Australian opener, but from round two onwards he became the hunter rather than the hunted. Keeping his ‘iceman’ cool throughout, only at the deciding round in Brazil did he regain the championship lead. The only downside - how does he top it in 2008?

Nick Heidfeld
2006 - 9th, 2007 - 5th (+4)
While his Ferrari and McLaren rivals were busy slugging it out for the title, Nick Heidfeld was quietly putting in one of the most assured and consistent campaigns of 2007. Having raised his game to tame hotshot team mate Robert Kubica, the experienced German was the mainstay of BMW’s rise to second spot in the constructors’ standings. He qualified in the top eight at every round, and in the 15 races he finished, only once did he fail to score. He took second place in Canada (the team’s best ever result), third in Hungary and was fourth on a further five occasions. In essence, he didn’t put a foot wrong - remove the red and silver cars and Heidfeld was the class of the field. Not only that, with his new look of unkempt beard and seventies’ shades, he also became the coolest man on the grid.

Coming soon in Part Two - the 2007 losers.

Kimi proved his worth at the end, 2007 was damn unpredictable & Im sure 2008 will be more intriguing given the interesting driver line up for this season - Alonso back to Renault, H.K. in McLaren, the new F1 drivers - Piquet, Kazuki, Timo Glock e.t.c. and of course the banning of traction control, My dough is again on Ferrari for both drivers + constructors, McLaren, Renault & BMW (maybe Honda too with Ross Brawn's onboarding) will definitely put up a strong challenge but i still think we have the best driver line up for this season, i guess we'll have more info on the 2008 cars from January - Ferrari's F2008 (14-Jan-2008 @ Jerez) and McLaren's MP4-23 should be out on the track by then, more luck on massa's side in 2008,