Hamilton and McLaren must be wondering what they should do to win a race, much less the Formula One championship.
The 25-second penalty that the stewards docked on Hamilton for cutting a chicane and hence (according to the Stewards) the McLaren driver gained unfair advantage over Kimi in the tension-filled closing moments of the Spa race, indeed was debatable. The decision that pushed Hamilton to third spot behind Massa and Heidfeld even as Kimi crashed, only strengthens the belief that the witch hunt continues.
McLaren are just about recovering from a messy 2007 season that ended with the Woking-based team excluded from the constructor’s championship in the wake of the “Spygate” scandal. Hamilton also lost out to Kimi for the driver’s title. And now, there are justifiable fears that the 2008 series could possibly end in another disaster for the British team.
Of course, McLaren might yet win the appeal that would reinstate Hamilton as the race winner at Spa that he was by a mile, provided of course, their plea comes up for hearing at all. The news from the McLaren camp is that they might drop the appeal as the penalty was in lieu of a drive through that could not be executed since the incident occurred at the very end of the race. But until the appeal is heard and decided upon, Hamilton stays third.
I am a huge fan of Michael Schumacher despite his many acts of indiscretion on the track. The fact is that he got away with quite a few thus strengthening the belief that the Stewards always favoured Ferrari and guarded the Italian team as if their very lives depended on it.
The point is that when Hamilton cut the chicane, his car nose was virtually buried in Kimi’s gearbox. It was visually obvious that the McLaren car was quicker and was gaining on the Ferrari with each sector, not just lap. Thus, it was only a matter of time before Hamilton passed Kimi.
When Hamilton got back on track, he allowed the world champion to pass him before coming up with a breathtaking overtaking to get in front. McLaren now say that they checked with the Race Control soon after the incident and were told that the officials did not see anything wrong in Hamilton’s move.
Regardless of the fate of the appeal, Hamilton proved that he is the man to beat this season, only the second of his blossoming career. McLaren’s straightline speed and their ability to even better Ferrari’s pace were clear indicators that the British outfit has found the fractions that were missing in the previous season.
Overall, Hamilton drove a brilliant race. Towards the end, when he caught up with Kimi, he was clearly beyond the limit. The dicing at 300-plus Kmph between the two was as spectacular as it could get and it was clear that Kimi was feeling the heat. It was the Finn’s desperation at the finish that led to the spin and the headlong slide into the wall.
Although just two points separate Hamilton and Massa with Kimi a distant fourth behind Kubica, with only five races to go, my money will be on the McLaren pilot to deliver the championship. Granted the next race at Monza is a virtual homecoming for Ferrari, but for sure, Hamilton would be hell bent to rub the prancing horse’s nose in the dirt in front of the tifosi. That alone should make the race a spectacle not to miss.
Ferrari have gained every time McLaren received a rap on the knuckles. It was so last year and nothing much has change this season. For the life of me, I cannot understand as to why it is always McLaren who are marked out for such a close scrutiny. It is as if Ron Dennis and his gang are a bunch of villains plotting a short cut to success.
If anything, 2008 will see a new champion and should witness a straight fight between Hamilton (76) and Massa (74) who are well clear of both Kubica (58) and Kimi (57). The only way Kimi can retain his title is by winning all the remaining five races to take his tally to 107. But to do that, he will have to drive out of his skin. Realistically, the Finn is definitely out of contention leaving Hamilton and Massa to slug it out.
The pressure will be on Massa whose Spa win was gift wrapped and delivered on a platter following Hamilton’s demotion. The Brazilian looked rather subdued at Spa and just did not have it in him to hold off Kimi on the first lap when they raced wheel-to-wheel.
In terms of consistency, there is little to separate Hamilton from Massa. The British driver has four wins and four podium finishes, one retirement, a 10th in France and 13th in Bahrain. Massa has five wins (counting Spa) and three podium finishes besides a 13th at Silverstone, 17th in Hungary and two retirements.
Thus, the last five races should make for an intriguing contest that could go down to the wire like it did last year when Kimi beat Hamilton and Massa by just one point.
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