The championship leader Lewis Hamilton’s blunder in the first corner and his collision with Felipe Massa on the second lap worked to Fernando Alonso’s advantage as the Renault driver raced to his 21st victory. By Maurice Hamilton.
Twelve months ago Lewis Hamilton claimed one of his greatest wins, in the rain at Fuji. On October 12, he left the same circuit under a different sort of cloud after finishing 12th and failing to score any points in the Japanese Grand Prix.
It was a small consolation for the Englishman to have Felipe Massa, his main rival in the championship, finish seventh and collect just two points after a similarly troubled race, which was won by Fernando Alonso (Renault). Hamilton goes into the penultimate round in Shanghai (October 19) leading Massa by five points.
Hamilton’s problems began when he made a poor start from pole position and was immediately overhauled by Kimi Raikkonen. Attempting to regain the initiative, Hamilton left his braking too late as he dived inside the Ferrari at the first corner, ran straight on and forced several drivers, including Raikkonen and Massa, to take avoiding action.
Hamilton rejoined in sixth place, directly behind Massa, only for the two to collide on the second lap as Massa hit the McLaren after misjudging his braking and allowing Hamilton to draw alongside. The stewards gave Hamilton a drive-through penalty for his part in the first-corner incident, while Massa received the same punishment for causing the second-lap collision. Predictably, neither driver felt he had been in the wrong. “The duel with Hamilton was hard but fair,” said Massa, who had started from fifth on the grid. “The drive-through penalised my race.”
In Hamilton’s case, the penalty was academic because the clash with Massa had spun the McLaren and dropped him to the back of the field. Massa was not much better off when he took his drive-through in the pits and dropped to 14th place.
“With two wheels on the gravel I could not stop the car and I was there because he (Hamilton) pushed me there,” the Brazilian said. “For me it was a racing incident because he broke late but then I was a little bit wide in the turn. He put the car inside and I was outside, but then he pushed me a little bit on to the gravel and then I put two wheels on the gravel and he closed and we touched.”
He added: “I have a good relationship with Lewis and I will not do anything to destroy something on purpose. We are colleagues. We have a good relationship and I admire him as a driver and a person and I am sure he admires me as well.”
On lap 50, Massa became involved in another controversial collision, this time with Sebastien Bourdais as the Toro Rosso driver left the pits. Bourdais and Massa were fighting for seventh place and the Frenchman was judged to be at fault. A 25-second penalty dropped Bourdais to 10th, elevating Massa to seventh and giving him the two crucial championship points.
Bourdais was charged with having caused an avoidable collision. The three investigations, linked with Hamilton’s 25-second penalty in Belgium, have led to accusations that Formula One has become over-policed, the stewards stifling the free spirit of racing.
The first-corner incident played into the hands of Robert Kubica and Alonso as the BMW and Renault drivers took advantage and moved to the front. Kubica held the lead until the first pit stops, Alonso taking on less fuel in order to rejoin ahead of the Polish driver and open an advantage he would hold until the end of the 67-lap race.
“The start was probably the most exciting part of the race,” said Alonso. “I saw people in front going quite aggressive into turn one, so I was able to go down the inside. I was behind Kubica but knew that if I could get some free air, I would be able to pull a nice gap. I asked the team if I could get out ahead of him, so they had to give me less fuel to do that. The car was perfect and I was able to pull away.”
This was Alonso’s 21st win and the second in succession following his victory in Singapore.
“It’s difficult to believe,” said Alonso. “Singapore was unexpected — there were special circumstances there — but today was straightforward. We won again on a circuit that is not particularly good for our car. We didn’t think we had the pace to win.
When I found myself second then I thought maybe a podium (finish), then realised that if I had no mistakes, I was in a position to win. After a difficult start to the season, we have the feeling now that we can do anything. Podiums are possible in the last two races.”
That is a complication Hamilton does not need. Another is that second place for Kubica strengthens the BMW driver’s third place in the championship and maintains his position as a possible winner.
Kubica is 12 points behind Hamilton and seven behind Massa. Last year, Hamilton was 17 points ahead and lost the title to Raikkonen.
“My clutch was slipping at the start,” said Kubica. “I decided to go inside at the first corner, but I braked too late. Luckily, everyone else seemed to go straight on. If someone had taken the apex (the normal line), I would have hit him! I’m still in (the championship) with a fight, so let’s try.”
Raikkonen’s third place has ruled out the Ferrari driver’s chance of retaining his title.
“I was braking and trying to turn at the first corner when I saw a McLaren coming inside,” said Raikkonen.
“I had nowhere to go and lost many places. Luckily, I was able to get back on circuit and catch and pass people. But I’m a bit disappointed with what happened at the first corner.”
Exit canadian GP, enter Abu DhabiThere will be no Formula One racing in North America next year after the Canadian Grand Prix, a favourite with both teams and sponsors, was dropped by the International Automobile Federation (FIA).
No reason was given for the removal of Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from the calendar. The move comes after the US Grand Prix in Indianapolis was axed last year.
The addition of an event in Abu Dhabi means the competition will still be 18 races long rather than the planned record-breaking 19-race season.
The Turkish Grand Prix has been moved forward to June in order to fill the gap left by Canada’s exit, meaning there will be a three-week summer break. The Belgian Grand Prix will now take place at the end of August while the Italian has moved back to September 13.
The FIA also announced that its president Max Mosley is to negotiate with Formula One teams in order to substantially reduce costs from 2010.
The calendar for 2009:March 29: Australia (Melbourne)April 5: Malaysia (Sepang)April 19: BahrainMay 10: Spain (Barcelona)May 24: MonacoJune 7: Turkey (Istanbul)June 21: Britain (Silverstone)June 28: France (Magny-Cours)July 12: GermanyJuly 26: Hungary (Budapest)August 23: Europe (Valencia)August 30: Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps)September 13: Italy (Monza)September 27: SingaporeOctober 11: JapanOctober 18: ChinaNovember 1: BrazilNovember 15: Abu DhabiTom Bryant/© Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008
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