Japanese GP round-up
Is this 2007, all over again? Lewis Hamilton missed out on an opportunity to all but secure the 2008 world championship with a unnecessarily risky drive that left him with twelfth place and no points at the Japanese Grand Prix.
In a post-race interview, Hamilton openly acknowledged that his first lap performance was a massive gamble, and admitted that his aim for the rest of the season is to win races. Ron Dennis may have something to say about that. In Singapore two weeks ago, Hamilton raced with the championship in mind. He may have “only” finished third, but he increased the points gap over Massa to seven points.
So, what went wrong in Hamilton’s opening lap? After losing the lead from the start line to Kimi Raikkonen, Hamilton made a desperate attempt to regain the lead into the first corner which forced Raikkonen off the track. On the second lap, sixth-placed Hamilton sneaked past Massa at the turn 10 chicane after the Brazilian ran wide. Massa then clipped Hamilton into a spin as he rejoined the racing line.
Both Hamilton and Massa earned drive-through penalties for their efforts, which were both justified – Massa did not acknowledge Hamilton’s presence on the racing line, whereas Hamilton managed to disrupt half of the grid behind him in his lunge at Raikkonen into the first corner.
Where does this leave Hamilton’s title chances? He was fortunate to only drop two points to Massa this weekend, leaving him five points in front. McLaren must control Hamilton’s final two drives and focus on points over victories. If he doesn’t, he will be runner up for the second consecutive season.
Fernando Alonso drove another opportunistic – but perfectly judged - drive to take his second consecutive victory. His performance in the last two races will leave both Honda and Renault salivating at the chance to secure his services for next season. Honda have put every resource into next year’s car, at the expense of this year’s development programme.
Will Alonso leave an improving team to join Honda, based purely on their own hype for next year? His best shot at victories next season must lie with Renault.
