Alonso and Hamilton v Ferrari
Posted by Nick Trott at 1:00PM on Monday 23 July, 2007 4 Comments
What a brilliant Grand Prix, eh?
Makes you wonder if F1 tracks should have a sprinkler system installed, and at a random time every race they should be activated to give the circuit a good watering...
Certainly spices up the action.
Anyhow, for me the most interesting fact about the European Grand Prix was that despite Ferrari's clear pace advantage, a McLaren won.
Looking at the stats, in the dry conditions Massa's Ferrari F2007 was easily the quickest.
Massa's fastest lap of 1m 32.853s was around half a second quicker than the best time Alonso could manage in the McLaren MP4-22.
Half a second? That is a lifetime in Formula One.
McLaren may find half a second hidden behind the sofa, or under the bed, but Ferrari will probably find another few tenths themselves.
Status quo.
But what we're increasingly seeing is the two Ferrari's drivers outraced, outdriven and outfoxed by the two McLaren drivers (ignore Hamilton's 'Ring blip; he'll be back).
And therefore what we might be about to see, for the first time in ages, is the best driver - not the best car - winning the F1 World Championship.
The question is, with just two points separating Alonso and Hamilton at the top of the standings, which one will be champion?
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4 Comments for "Alonso and Hamilton v Ferrari"
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I agree with the sentiment but not all the facts I'm afraid - massa may well have been half a second faster than alonso, but think you'll find that he was rarely faster than hamilton, even if he did manage to secure the fastest lap. And to say that this was a blip for Lewis is remarkable. I'm not one for overdoing the lewis Hype, but his drive was extraordinary - he never gave up, he was faster than Alonso throughout the entire race, and all we should really be concerned with is whether it was his decision to go onto the dry tyres or the teams. If it was his - then that was HIS mistake - if it was the teams - they should have known better - because it was that decision and that alone that cost him the podium.
I would have to disagree. McLaren is only winning due to Ferrari's reliability problems. Infact, the races Ferrari hasn't won are the ones the cars DNF or were having problems (Massa's Ferrari was having tyre problems on the last few laps.). It's still a matter of the better car, and in this case it's Reliabilty vs. Speed. And with both Mclarens consitently finishing the race in the points, it's no wonder they are ahead. I highly doubt Alonso or Hamilton would fare better than Massa and Raikonnen if they were driving the Ferrari's.
The best driver winning the championship? That's what we've had for the last two years! In 2005, the McLaren was clearly the faster car than the Renault after the frst third of the season. The same thing happened in 2006, with the added twist of Ferrari once again trying to use their political underhandedness to help their driver. For 2007? I don't see eny reason whey Alonso shouldn't do the same, esoecially sinc it seems he is now being a little bit more crafty in enuring that others don't, uhm, copy his car setups...
Who cares who wins, the main thing is we have a championship worth watching again, after a dozen or so years of Schumacher dominance this is the breath of fresh air the sport so badly needed.