Brazilian GP F1: after
Miroslav Sanytrák / foto Jiří Křenek | 2.11.08 | Komentáře - M.Sanytrák 2008
F1 comments Miroslav Sanytrák
Finally, I got to writing the commentary, it took me quite a while, because I kept thinking about the end of the race, the result, who did what, or did not do to win the Championship.
The last race was meant to decide the World Championship, Lewis Hamilton was the main candidate, however it could also be Felipe Massa. The race went pretty well for the driver of the Italian team Scuderia Ferrari Felipe Massa, who did well in the qualification and took the pole position. I already explained the details of their relative standings before the race, however, the simple truth was, that even if F.Massa had won, Lewis Hamilton would have had to come not worse than fifth, should they both finish the race. The weather could also play its part, which, in fact, proved to be right in the end.
Starting grid of Brazilian GP F1 :
| F.Massa |
J.Trulli |
| K. Räikkönen |
L.Hamilton |
| H.Kovalainen |
F.Alonso |
| S.Vettel |
N.Heidfeld |
| S.Bourdais |
T.Glock |
| N.Piquet |
M.Webber |
| R.Kubica |
D.Coulhartd |
| R.Barrichello |
K.Nakajima |
| J.Button |
N.Rosberg |
| G.Fisichella |
A.Sutil |
After the start L.Hamilton fell back to the sixth place. Already on the first lap luckless D.Coulthard retired from his last race. During the rainy period Lewis slowly made it to the fifth place, despite the change of tires, while F.Massa kept his leading position. Three laps before the end Hamilton was overtaken by the predatory Vettel and, at that moment, Felipe was the Champion. The atmosphere not only in the paddock but also on the stalls and in front of the TV screens was getting thicker. Felipe was on the first position, Hamilton on the sixth. Just as F.Massa crossed the finish line, Ferrari broke into cheers, only for ten seconds though, as it turned out that T.Glock fell behind unexpectedly from the fourth to the sixth position in the last seconds of the last lap, putting Hamilton to the final fifth place. Until then T.Glock was faultless and there was nothing obviously wrong with his car. Felipe Massa got the info to his car and you could see tears of loss going down his face. His victory was decided in the last seconds and although he won the Brazilian GP, he lost the World Champion Title by one point to L.Hamilton.Quite a few people have commented on the last lap's result. Some claim that Timo Glock let Lewis Hamilton to the front, others say it was the tires. I would not want to question Timo's conscience, I think he is a straight man. Then again, what is straight and acceptable in the F1?? When it is about prestige and big money!!! Whether T.Glock really let Lewis go we will know for sure in the next years, because if that was the case, McLaren will offer him a job in 2 years for sure. It would be too obvious next year, in two everything can be forgotten. Anyway, these are mere speculations for which I apologize, it just a notice. F.Massa won the last GP before F.Alonso and his team mate Räikkönen. Lewis Hamilton, thanks to his fifth place, won the the World Championship. .Reflecting on the complete season and remembering the previous one, one might ask who deserves the Title more. I heard it often in 2008. Lewis lost the Champion in 2007 and became our Climber of the Year in F1, Felipe was the water carrier for Michael Schumacher and he also helped Kimi's victory in 2007, and Scuderia Ferrari has a lot to pay him back! Felipe is our Climber of the Year 2006. However, sport is sport, the absolution is given not only by the pace, machines and technology, but above all the people (among other, I deal with personal management, which pays my bills. I am in the team atmosphere, though not in F1, constantly. Therefore I dare say that discipline is the same anywhere, whipping up the team's morale is necessary together with diplomacy of any team leader.)There were some personal changes in Scuderia Ferrari, the team's manager J.Todt was made to leave, keeping the function of the manager of the team, making himself seen now and then, although in civilian clothes, which said a lot. Michael Schumacher was counselling Felipe Massa, the managing post was taken by S.Domenicali, former technical manager. I admit I am a huge fan of Ferrari, I cooperated with the former Ferrari dealer in the CR, my heart beats for Ferrari, there is a Ferrari flag over my house, my office is just as if you were sitting in the one of J.Todt's. Nevertheless I have to be objective and just observer here. I do not want to comment on team's manager Mr S.Domenicali, after all I quite like him, he is a nice, talented man, who has always helped me. Felipe's standings were negatively marked by the team's performance though. Mistakes during pitstops, personal discipline are beyond discussion, experiments with the traffic lights, which eventually lead only to additional stress for Felipe, that is outright horror. Although I also want to be the winner at all costs, first on the other side, I support novelty, but in this case it turned out that untested, untrained pioneering with the traffic light did not pay and Scuderia became the laughing stock. I almost felt ashamed to "get out to the street." I managed to take the blows though and excused the team in public among other journalists and friends. I used to hear...that wouldn't have happened to J.Todt. That is just one example of many. I am not some twisted ghetto psycho, but writing these lines is not easy for me. However, that is the deal of a commentator-fan of Ferrari.McLaren Mercedes did everything to win the title after long many years, which Ferrari stole from under their nose last year. There were no personal changes in the team, although you could hear all sorts of rumours during the year. The only worry was mental consistency of Lewis Hamilton, who resisted the negativism and the underrating was the worst harm to him. He had to succeed in winning.From the other teams I especially appreciate the technical improvement of Force India, though they saw some personal changes at the end of the season, the team will probably move towards the front positions in 2009, although with McLaren Mercedes engines, whereas the shift from the successful Ferrari ones to McLaren also brings on expectations of further support from Mercedes. I also praise a huge technical development at Renault, where Fernando Alonso had a car corresponding with his skills. Enough advancement you could also see at BMW Sauber which will fight for the World Title next year.Lewis Hamilton became the youngest World Champion of Formula 1. Enjoy the victory, Lewis.Felipe get ready for the battle, next year it is your turn!!! Beware of the great warrior Robert Kubica though.
Classification after eighteen races:
| 1. |
L.Hamilton |
98 |
| 2. |
F.Massa |
97 |
| 3. |
K. Räikkönen |
75 |
| 4. |
R.Kubica |
75 |
| 5. |
F.Alonso |
61 |
| 6. |
N.Heidfled |
60 |
| 7. |
H.Kovalainen |
53 |
| 8. |
S.Vettel |
35 |
| 9. |
J.Trulli |
31 |
| 10 |
T.Glock |
25 |
| 11. |
M.Webber |
21 |
| 12. |
N.Picquet |
19 |
| 13. |
N.Rosberg |
17 |
| 14. |
R.Barrichello |
11 |
| 15. |
K.Nakajima |
9 |
| 16. |
D.Coulthard |
8 |
| 17. |
S.Bourdais |
4 |
| 18. |
J.Button |
3 |
| 19. |
T.Sato |
0 |
| 20. |
A.Sutil |
0 |
| 21. |
G.Fisichella |
0 |
| 22. |
A.Davidson |
0 |
The youngest F1 Champions:
| 1. |
Lewis Hamilton |
2008 |
Brit. |
23 let 9 mìsícù 26 dnù |
| 2. |
Fernando Alonso |
2005 |
Šp. |
24 let 1 mìsíc 27 dnù |
| 3. |
Emerson Fittipaldi |
1972 |
Brazil. |
25 let 8 mìsícù 29 dnù |
| 4. |
Michael Schumacher |
1994 |
Nìm. |
25 let 10 mìsícù 10 dnù |
J. Button |
|
K. Nakajima |
|
L. Hamilton |
|
Štítky
