From the weather forecast for the Chinese Grand Prix yesterday, with the
fringes of the approaching Typhoon Krosa influencing Shanghai, it was
obvious that Lewis Hamilton’s chances of clinching the Formula One drivers’
title could be affected by the conditions.
After his masterful performance in appalling conditions to win the Japanese
Grand Prix the week before and set up his title shot in China, however,
expectations were high and even Hamilton was openly talking about finishing
the championship off before the Brazilian Grand Prix in two weeks.
But although the weather was hardly dramatic in Shanghai during the race, its
changeability and the ragged edge between the wet and dry phases early in
the contest presented the teams and drivers with a tricky challenge, and
both Hamilton and McLaren were caught out.
The question of whether Hamilton was pushing harder than his championship
position required him to, or whether it was more the case that the McLaren
pits team erred in not bringing him in sooner, will be debated all the way
to Brazil and beyond if this error proves fatal to his championship chances.
Either way, the driver-team combination got it completely wrong as Hamilton
went from pacesetter and champion-in-waiting to his first retirement of the
season, running off into the gravel while trying to get to the pits.
Hamilton, whose lead was cut from 12 points to four with Fernando Alonso,
his team-mate, finishing second, said that it was a joint decision to stay
out on the wet “intermediate” tyres to try to see out the last of the
forecast rain on a rapidly drying track.
“Prior to entering the pitlane for my last stop, I was constantly talking to
the team,” he said. “Although my tyres were in poor condition, we took a
joint decision to get through the last rain shower before changing to dry
tyres. I was trying to be careful and, as a result, was not really fighting
aggressively with Kimi [Raikkonen, of Ferrari]. It would have worked
perfectly, but I then made a mistake coming into the pitlane and that was
it. We made the right decision and it was just unfortunate.”
Martin Whitmarsh, the McLaren chief operating officer who is part of the team
on the pit wall, suggested, however, that this had not been Hamilton’s
decision but the responsibility of those advising him. McLaren are not known
in the pitlane to be the most nimble on their feet strategically and have
been caught out in the past by sticking rigidly to prerace plans, despite
changing circumstances.
“Quite simply we didn’t call him in,” Whitmarsh said. “I think with hind-sight
we left him out a lap too long and I think his tyres were pretty worn. The
weather was pretty changeable at that time and we wanted to make sure that
we weren’t taking any risks and that we had to cover Kimi. In the end, it
was decided we had to come in, but at that stage it was a lap too late.”
While Hamilton took a scooter ride back to the garage, the race blazed away on
a gloomy afternoon with the switch from wet to dry tyres heavily influencing
the running order. At one point Robert Kubica, the Polish driver, must have
dreamt that his first Grand Prix win was at hand when he found himself out
in front for two laps before his BMW Sauber gave up the ghost for the third
time this season.
Raikkonen was the beneficiary. Despite some brief pressure from Alonso, whose
tyre strategy worked much better than Hamilton’s, the “Iceman” was able
drive comfortably to his fifth win of the season, leaving him with an
outside chance of winning the championship in Brazil.
“For sure he [Alonso] was pushing hard and catching me at first when I had
some problems with the front tyres, but once everything started to work, I
could keep the gap the same and knew we should be fine,” Raikkonen said. “I
kept pushing because you never know, if it rains again, it can change the
whole picture and I was happy to have some breathing space.”
For Alonso, the race and his improvement of his championship chances came to
him largely by virtue of Hamilton’s retirement. At the start, the Spaniard,
who was fourth on the grid, made a valiant attempt to get round Felipe Massa
in third but was repelled. He fell a long way off Hamilton’s pace, but
eventually got past Massa’s Ferrari at the hairpin and held on for an
invaluable second place.
Despite the wet conditions, Sebastian Vettel did his reputation no harm with a
fighting drive from seventeenth on the grid to fourth place, the best finish
for the Toro Rosso team and the perfect way to come back from the trauma of
his collision with Mark Webber in the Red Bull, which put them both out of
the Japanese Grand Prix. Toro Rosso had a good day all round, with Tonio
Liuzzi, Vettel’s teammate, finishing sixth.
Also in the points was the rain-master himself, Jenson Button, who took his
season’s total to six with a fifth place in China, the result of being one
of the first drivers to gamble on the switch to dry rubber. Button then flew
through the field in a Honda that looked supercharged.
“A fantastic race and I’m very happy to come away with four points and our
best result of the season,” he said. “When the track dried out, we decided
to pit and go for the dry option tyre and a light fuel load. From then on I
started setting fastest laps.”
Details from Shanghai
Result: 1, K Raikkonen (Fin, Ferrari) 1hr 37min 58.395sec; 2, F Alonso
(Sp, McLaren Mercedes) 1:38:08.195; 3, F Massa (Br, Ferrari) 1:38:11.195; 4,
S Vettel (Ger, Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1:38:51.895; 5, J Button (GB, Honda)
1:39:06.995; 6, V Liuzzi (It, Scuderia Toro Rosso) 1:39:11.995; 7, N
Heidfeld (Ger, BMW Sauber) 1:39:12.595; 8, D Coulthard (GB, Red Bull
Renault) 1:39:19.095; 9, H Kovalainen (Fin, Renault) 1:39:19.495; 10, M
Webber (Aus, Red Bull Renault) 1:39:22.995; 11, G Fisichella (It, Renault)
1:39:24.995; 12, A Wurz (Austria, Williams Toyota) 1 lap behind; 13, J
Trulli (It, Toyota) 1; 14, T Sato (Japan, Super Aguri) 1; 15, R Barrichello
(Br, Honda) 1; 16, N Rosberg (Ger, Williams Toyota) 2; 17, S Yamamoto
(Japan, Spyker Ferrari) 3.
Not classified: 18, R Kubica (Pol, BMW Sauber) 33 laps completed; 19, L
Hamilton (GB, McLaren Mercedes) 30; 20, R Schumacher (Ger, Toyota) 25; 21, A
Sutil (Ger, Spyker Ferrari) 24; 22, A Davidson (GB, Super Aguri Honda) 11.
World
Championship positions
Drivers: 1, Hamilton 107pts; 2, Alonso 103; 3, Raikkonen 100; 4, Massa
86; 5, Heidfeld 58; 6, Kubica 35; 7, Kovalainen 30; 8, Fisichella 21; 9,
Rosberg 15; 10, Coulthard 14; 11, Wurz 13; 12, Webber 10; 13, Trulli 7; 14,
Vettel 6; 15, Button 6; 16, Schumacher 5; 17, Sato 4; 18, Liuzzi 3; 19,
Sutil 1.
Manufacturers: 1, Ferrari 186pts; 2, BMW Sauber 94; 3, Renault 51; 4,
Williams Toyota 28; 5, Red Bull Renault 24; 6, Toyota 12; 7, Scuderia Toro
Rosso 8; 8, Honda 6; 9, Super Aguri Honda 4; 10, Spyker Ferrari 1.
Qualifying: 1, Hamilton 1min 35.908sec; 2, Raikkonen 1:36.044; 3, Massa
1:36.221; 4, Alonso 1:36.576; 5, Coulthard 1:37.619; 6, Schumacher 1:38.013;
7, Webber 1:38.153; 8, Heidfeld 1:38.455; 9, Kubica 1:38.472; 10, Button
1:39.285; 11, Liuzzi 1:36.862; 12, Vettel 1:36.891; 13, Trulli 1:36.959; 14,
Kovalainen 1:36.991; 15, Davidson 1:37.247; 16, Rosberg 1:37.483; 17,
Barrichello 1:37.251; 18, Fisichella 1:37.290; 19, Wurz 1:37.456; 20, Sato
1:38.218; 21, Sutil 1:38.668; 22, Yamamoto 1:39.336.
Final Grand Prix: Brazilian (Interlagos): Oct 21.
I agree with Jem from London - FIA found Mclaren guilty of stealing and making use of the Ferrari spec, so the reason they didn't ban Mclaren from the championship is that they are going to ban Ferrari instead......
Trevor, Bristol, England
it was quite obvious from the relative lap times for at least three laps prior to calling hamilton in that he urgently needed a change of tyres.
given his lead in the championship, mcclaren should have erred on the side of caution. second or third would have been good enough. hamilton could have driven into the pit lane a bit more slowly, of course!
personally, I don't care who wins the championship this year as I am not terribly impressed by the behaviour of either of the mcclaren drivers or of the ferrari team.
I am, however, totally fed up with the whining of the spanish fans. whatever the result of the last race, alonso will have to live with being shown up by a rookie. and his reputation as a man has gone.
the fia's reputation (such as it was) has gone the same way. both mcclaren and ferrari should have been banned from the championship.
jem, london, uk
Hamilton made the typical beginner's mistake. We are now happy to see that World Championship is open and Fernando has few but some chance. I hope that Ron Dennis and the McLaren team will be also happy if Fernando wins. Puxa Alonso! Puxa Asturies!
Ana Laso, Vigo, Spain
Fernando Alonso clinched his first World Championship at Interlagos in 2005. He took his second world title at the last race at Interlagos in 2006. He has yet to win a race at Interlagos, but the place stirs up some fond memories among his fans.
Michel Angstadt, Serranillos del Valle, (Madrid) Spain
Ron Dennis is a liar and a tricky. Equity, he say. He don't know the meaning of that word. Spanish people and Fernando won't never forget this F1 campaign and the Maclaren-Mercedes team behavior. I hope only, that if Fernando can't have the oportunity because some other car "problem", Kimi Raikonnen could win the world championship at Brasil.
Humberto, Madrid, Spain
It is certainly amazing. Ron Dennis -british- has be caught in shame saying that "McClaren team" -german and british- was not fighting against Ferrari but against Alonso so that Hamilton -british- could win, while FIA and Mr. Eccleston -british- remain in silence again.
For the tidiness of this sport, I pray for Alonso to win.
joe, valencia, spain
Hamilton is without doubt a good driver. A brilliant driver perhaps? No. I can not recall a single outstanding overtaking manouver by him. (let us remember the way Alonso withheld Schumacker in Imola for over 20 laps, or how the Spaniard drove under the rain in the German race). Talking of water, except for the Fuji Grand Prix, Hamilton has provided ample proof of what a poor driver he is in the wet (namely the german and Chinese races). Hamilton´s crash out into the gravel in a SLOW corner is probably the poor piece of F1 driving I have witnessed as a fan for over 26 years now.
john, Bilbao, Spain
Alonso should win this year!
He´s simply the best.
what a legend...
Lewis, Brighton,
Where does Hamiltons manager/father come into all this, I dont remember him saying anything against anyone. Let keep it in perspective right ?
Verbal, Midlands, Uk
Congratulations Hamilton! Number One Rookie Mistake Ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ah, ah! Go for it Kimi & Alonso, you're the best out there!
Debbie, Chesterfield, United Kingdom
Now we call him PARKING Lewis
J. Fernandez, Teruel, Spain
Ron Dennis tries to convince us that he doesn't favour either driver, but at the same time talks about how "we weren't racing Kimi - we don't care about Kimi". Their entire mind set was focussed on Hamilton beating Alonso. Thats why they pushed the envelope on Hamilton's tyres instead of doing the sensible thing and calling him in. Rather than being a paragon of honesty and integrity, his words are about as hollow as his protests of innocence in the Spygate drama. That said, if Kimi can't win the championship, then good luck to Hamilton - he's been the most consistent over the season and I don't think I could handle the self-righteous bleating fom the Iberians!!!
Stuart, Johannesburg, South Africa
Now is the winter of "your" discontent
Miguel Hernández, Lowlands, Spain
It´s normal that englishman wants LH wins and it´s the same in Spain about FA, that´s a truism...
Nobody have doubt about the LH skill´s like driver. It will be stupid.
There were a lot of "strange" decissions" this year, thats a fact...that´s what the thing is about...
But I think "simple people" are more clever in both countries that the respective "mass media" and the mediatic circus , and the business about F1.
We like F1 and we like fair play, that´s all. And the championship for the best.
Miguel, Barcelona, Spain
Brits: Alonso is a good driver, but has also been lucky to be in one of the best and most reliable cars (or the best car) for the last 3 years.
Brits: Hamiton has been childish at times.
Spaniards: So has Alonso.
Spaniards: Hamilton is a good driver who has had a phenomenal debut season and has the potential to be one of the all time greats, he has also been lucky to be in one of the best cars this season.
Spaniards: McLarens speed this year is not solely down to Alonso, they have been one of the top teams for a very long time and have been winning races and championships long before Alonso learnt to drive and had plenty of time last year to develop this years car because they were not in the running last year.
Spaniards: Alonso will never drive for Ferrari Jean Todt has said as much, he said a few things about their integrity.
Both: Finally on the seasons performance Raikonnen is head and shoulders above both drivers but reliability has let him down.
A German, Berlin, Germany.
I have read several comments from readers complaining about the number of spaniards participating and laven coments, wether intelligent or not.
As far as I can read in all the British media (tabloids & spreadsheets) the information you get is just like in Spain....totally biased!!! The difference is that we can compare, digest and conclude.
I predict that in the next two weeks we could see an investigation on the weatherman, a sanction to the person that laid the tarmac or the one that made the tyres. Well maybe we can blame 1.3 billion chinesse for not knowing what type of gravel to use!
Get information from other sources and you will see that we are not talking about Hamilton (superb driver by the way) vs Alonso (2 times world champion....got that??)
Hamilton is the best thing that has happened to British Sport after Tim Henman and F1 owners want to see a Britsh as the worldchampion...though the tricks used have been absolutely hilarious
Peter, Barcelona, Sain
mr hamltion keep your coll on your next race
just remeber you are the best make sure you just get your self in a postion to take the championship with the miimum points you need do not take chances
you derserve to win on your current driveing skill
remember do not over strech your self and i belive
aiyh your skills you can do it best rgards from
all your supporters
best regards duncan todd
duncan, littlehampton, bn176qy
Only few things to remark.
Alonso tyres on the 3q on saturday were hardly over pressured
1.5 pounds against 0.2 they should be....it is not the first time this happends.. too suspicious. isnt it?
Ron Denis declarations.. We were not fighting Kimi, we were faithing Alonso....Good declaration from a man who talks about team imparciality...Dont you think so?
Alonso got 2nd place, we all saw on on tv Maclaren team jumping happily..sorry!!!! jejeje it was Renault team....why they were happy if Alonso was as bad as the English media treats to show him?
After that all the spnish people know that for Alonso will be imposibly to be champion because not the race but his own team. in Brasil the one who gets pole position will win championship, i am sure that presure in Alonso tyres will be fine because MA FIA will be paying attention to it, but what about engyne car or whatever thing cant be prooved..?
Hamilton will win but this championship wont be remembered for being too legal
itziar, salou, tarragona
The FIA warns McLaren that should not sabotage to Alonso in Brazil Alonso's wheels in the third round of the classification they had slightly more than 1,5 pounds of pressure when the habitual thing is 0,2 and one aims that the motive can be an excessive overheating of the covers
owsky, Manchester, UK
Nice race, for everyone. Its normal that we spanish wan´t ALONSO to win and Brits Hamilton to do the same. Just think that everyone wants the glory for themselves (Alonso, Hamilton ). Maybe one its better treated than the other but for sure both are wondeful pilots. For me its not so important who wins, I think that for both of them this year is going to be remembered. No matter the final result both need to learn from life, relationships, and squeeze what happened so they would get more experience in the future not to commit the same errors.
By the way. do you think both of them have to worry like the rest of us to finish the month with cash in our accounts?.
Rafael Alonso
brussels
rafael alonso, brussels, belgium
Hamilton's clearly a great driver. So is Alonso. Hamilton evidently has an ego the size of a small planet. So does Alonso. Hamilton has always beaten every one of this team mates (so he says..?). Alonso has probably never been beaten by one of his. Hamilton has not won anything. Alonso is twice world champion. Was it ever going to be "happy families"? Only among the Ecclestones!
Does Brit, Ron Dennis, favour Hamilton? Probably. Does that make all the accusations of partisan crane drivers, FIA machinations and tyre-deflating McLaren engineers true? Probably not. Are most of these discussions fuelled by a violent spewing forth of ill-informed bile? Certainly.
Fernando and Lewis are quick to drive and speak. They both make mistakes. They both share good luck, and bad.
Whatever the result in Brazil, we'll have one great champion and a future of riveting F1 seasons to savour; something missed since Imola, whether Hamiltonian or Alonsian.
For the record: go Lewis!
JP, Madrid, Spain
Dennis: no one to blame for Hamilton exit
By Jonathan Noble and Steve Cooper Sunday, October 7th 2007, 11:15 GMT
Interestingly, Dennis said that the team's focus in making a decision about delaying Hamilton's change of tyres was not in what Ferrari were up to, but what Fernando Alonso was doing.
"The problem was rain and his (Hamilton's) tyres were in the worst condition. But we weren't at all fazed about Kimi. We weren't racing Kimi, we were basically racing Fernando.
"Kimi winning and Lewis coming second was adequate. It just didn't quite work out that way."
www.autosport.com
gerardo, Almeria, Spain
Dont do stupid thing anymore, you´ll bring shame on Ron Penis, Bernie.
Alfonso, Murcia, España
Fate did justice where the FIA did not want to
Ricardo, Madrid, Spain
it was quite obvious from the relative lap times for at least three laps prior to calling hamilton in that he urgently needed a change of tyres.
given his lead in the championship, mcclaren should have erred on the side of caution. second or third would have been good enough. although hamilton could have driven into the pit lane a bit more slowly, of course!
personally, I don't care who wins the championship this year as I am not terribly impressed by the behaviour of either of the mcclaren drivers or of the ferrari team.
I am, however, totally fed up with the whining of the spanish fans. whatever the result of the final race, alonso will have to live with being shown up by a rookie. and his reputation as a man has gone.
the fia's reputation (such as it was) has gone the same way. both mcclaren and ferrari should have been banned from the championship.
jem, london, uk
now, the FIA will penalize the asphalt by destroy Hamilton´s tyres and the grave´s driver for arrive too late!
ALONSO is the best driver in F1, happen what happens.
Inda, Granada, spain
He should have been black flagged. Surely the canvas showing through the tyre, which we could all see on TV, made this car dangerous not only for Hamilton but all the other drivers. The sight of Ron pushing the car on the monitor was hilarious.
Garry, Newtownards, N Ireland
Alonso ia gonna be Ferrari pilot next year and, of course, The Number 1 will be for Ferrari once again.
Dennis, Madrid, Spain
Hamilton, who has taken the taxi this time?
Susana, Madrid, Spain
I see the Spanish fans are placing their usual 'intelligent' comments.
Shame the spanish hero couldn't perform in qualifying again or indeed take a lead from a ferrari, even though his Mclaren had dry tyres on earlier and therefore and advantage !!!
Chris, Manchester,
Ron Dennis: We were against Alonso not against Raikonnen. Jajaja, that's been impartial.
Leonardo, Tenerife, Spain
McLaren just a team of patriots not of professionals. Unbelievable what they did to Alonso's wheels on the Saturday qualifying...!!!
Mercurio, Madrid, Spain
McLaren's nightmare: Alonso tries to overtakes Hamilton and Hamilton crashes out of the race, leaving Alonso's car quite damaged. Unopposed, Kimi wins and Alonso is 4th, after Massa and Heidfeld.
Final results: Kimi wins the WC, with Alonso second and Hamilton third.
Wow, I would laugh!!!
Ignacio, Talavera, Spain
Spanish fans are sad again. And I`m gonna explain why. Once again, the F1 star Mr. Anthony Hamilton didn`t show up after his son couldn`t manage to keep his car on tarmac. We`re all amused by Mr. Anthony`s performances but those never happen after a Lewis`s failure. We know it`s so hard to show up when things get screwed up and your little boy doesn`t look the smartest guy on earth. But you must think, Mr. Hamilton, you shouldn`t let the audience without the thrilling moments you have been giving during most of the season. Otherwise, some people could wrongly believe your a CHICKEN. So, wether your son wins or not in Brazil, think you have millions of fans waiting to see you perform. God save Mr. Anthony Hamilton!!!!!
Alatriste, Mozoncillo, spain
Mark Webber gave us a definition of Lewis Hamilton's erratic driving behind the safety car in Fuji. For the sake of economy, let's call it an 'FSJ'.
Today we saw that he can play the trick two races in a row. I have to admit that the 'SSJ' made my day.
Thanks, Lewis. We'll have to wait another 10 years or so until another genius comes around to show us how to park on the gravel in just one manooeuvre. I think I'll send my wife over so you can teach her how to park the car.
Michel Angstadt, Serranillos del Valle, (Madrid) Spain
As McLaren are out of the constructors you would think that would concentrate minds on the driver’s championship, but this error has given Raikkonen a chance to take that away as well.
Has all the telemetry readouts stopped teams looking at their cars, that car looked sick.
Maybe it is a long time and McLaren seem to have lost the mindset to lead.
I would be interested to hear a recording of the Team radio for incident.
Anyway Good Luck to Lewis in Brazil.
Andrew, London,