As we mentioned in a recent post, the Formula One season, for the first time in 21 years we might add, came down to the very last race at the Brazilian Grand Prix on Sunday. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, sitting in third place behind McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso respectively, could only win the driver’s crown if he actually won the final race, Alonso finished in third or lower and Hamilton, who came in leading the points standing, finished fifth or lower. We’ll give you one guess as to what transpired on the reverse layout course in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
That’s right, in one of the most exciting finishes ever to a Formula One season, the underdog Raikkonen pulled a “Buster Douglas” and did the unthinkable, driving a perfect race to bring the driver’s championship home for Team Ferrari. With Raikkonen’s win, Ferrari also takes home the F1 sweep, by having its driver win the individual crown, while the team won the constructor’s title, albeit as a fall-out of the now infamous 2007 “spygate”.
"This is a great feeling," Raikkonen said. "We had some hard times, some reliability problems and lost some points. A lot of people didn't believe in us, but we showed that they were wrong and we were able to come back. It was a great season."
We’ve been plugging Formula One on this blog since we began writing a couple of months back. And if you are even the least bit interested in racing or cars, and didn’t follow the 2007 F1 season, you missed out one of the most dramatic and exciting sporting seasons ever – even Quentin Tarantino couldn’t write a better script.
You had the young repeat champion in Fernando Alonso, moving to a new team and looking for a three-peat. You had the once-in-a-lifetime rookie Lewis Hamilton, seeking to become the only first-year driver, and incidentally black driver, ever to win the individual crown. You had the constant bickering between Hamilton and Alonso, which left many wondering if the lack of team cohesiveness would be McLaren’s downfall. You had the first year after the legendary Michael Schumacher era at Ferrari, with new teammates Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa looking to keep the “prancing horse” legacy alive. And of course, you had “spygate”, filled with its own heroes and villains, and an unprecedented $100 million fine that left McLaren reeling just a little.
If you missed all that, shame on you. Maybe, you’ll pay a little more attention next year to what is easily the most thrilling and entertaining motorsports competition around.
If you missed all that, shame on you. Maybe, you’ll pay a little more attention next year to what is easily the most thrilling and entertaining motorsports competition around.
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