adamrobertk
10-20-2007, 04:22 AM
With all the rubbish going on about the rugby, there seems to be little focus on another world title fight going on this weekend. The formula 1 world championship comes to a close on Sunday night (live on ITV beginning at 4pm BST, or i believe its on Speed in the US at around 11am EST). This is the most exciting battle in years and what a circuit to do it on. 3 drivers, 2 teams, 1 title.
The weather is set to be dry this weekend which should prove for a cracking race.
The situation
Englands Lewis Hamilton leads the title by 4 points over Spains Fernando Alonso and 7 points over Finlands Kimi Raikonnen. The points system goes 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
So here's how it goes.
Hamilton wins the title if
He finishes first or second
He finishes ahead of Alonso and Raikonnen
He finishes 4th and Alonso finishes second (regardless of Kimi's position)
He finishes within 3 points of alonso and within 6 of kimi
If all 3 retire Hamilton is champion
The favourite
Fernando Wins the title if
He wins the race and Hamilton is 3rd (they are tied on points but Alonso wins due to more race wins).
He finishes second and hamilton is no higher than 5th
He finishes 3rd and Hamilton is no higher than 8th and Kimi finishes no higher than 2nd
The contender
Kimi wins the title if
He wins, Hamilton is no higher than 6th and Alonso is no higher than 3rd.
If Kimi and Alonso/Hamilton finish level on points in first, Kimi is champion by race wins
The outsider
The drivers
Lewis Hamilton
Nothing more can describe him this season other than brilliant. His rookie season has been spectacular and he is a shoe in for most sports awards this year. He has elevated the sport like no other driver, possibly the true heir to Michael Schumacher. However it's not without its flaws. Hamilton has got away with a lot this season, the Fuji thing, the tyre thing this morning and generally overly agressive driving. His rookie status has allowed him this leeway but next season it won't be so forgiving. However Lewis has figured out how to play the 1 key element of F1 to perfection. Mind games. He has benefited from having an emotionally unbalanced teammate, and Lewis has played the game to perfection. He has managed to unbalance Alonso and made Alonso question everything but himself. This is a true champion in the making as generally in F1, who ever wins the mind games in a team, wins the battle. If he dosen't win it this season, you can guarentee a future champion.
Fernando Alonso
How the mighty have fallen. Alonso has struggled this season. The tyre change effected him more than others but for a 2 time world champion its a poor excuse. He expected defacto number 1 status but Mclaren value equality more than titles so he never got it. Alonso has always been an emotional driver and this left him open to the battery of mind games from Hamilton. However at times he has been brilliant this season. He is still a fantastic driver. However he is the most vulnerable of the elite 3 as he's the one most at risk of letting outside factors ruining a title bid. Will he be at McLaren next year? No. Will he be a force in the title hunt for years to come? Yes. Is he a good driver? Yes. Is he the collossus we all thought he was last season? Emphatically no. Watch him in the race, as he actually has nothing to lose, so he has everything to gain from an accidental collision.
Kimi Raikonnen
My favourite driver, the ice man has won more races this season than any other driver and is the outsider. Kimi started badly but he has been absolutley brilliant in the second half of the season once he got his set up sorted in the ferrari. He is a completly different driver to the man he succeeded (Schumi) and Ferrari have had to adjust to cope with his style. He is a man of very few words, but he is a no nonesense man who loves driving..anything. He has to be favourite to win the race, but the title is a long shot. However he has the added bonus of knowing if he finishes joint first in the title race, he is champion. Kimi has been un touchable at times this season, at spa with an injured shoulder no one could get near him. You have to wonder, what if he'd got his set up sorted earlier in the season. Well, you would be looking at the world champion.
The weather is set to be dry this weekend which should prove for a cracking race.
The situation
Englands Lewis Hamilton leads the title by 4 points over Spains Fernando Alonso and 7 points over Finlands Kimi Raikonnen. The points system goes 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
So here's how it goes.
Hamilton wins the title if
He finishes first or second
He finishes ahead of Alonso and Raikonnen
He finishes 4th and Alonso finishes second (regardless of Kimi's position)
He finishes within 3 points of alonso and within 6 of kimi
If all 3 retire Hamilton is champion
The favourite
Fernando Wins the title if
He wins the race and Hamilton is 3rd (they are tied on points but Alonso wins due to more race wins).
He finishes second and hamilton is no higher than 5th
He finishes 3rd and Hamilton is no higher than 8th and Kimi finishes no higher than 2nd
The contender
Kimi wins the title if
He wins, Hamilton is no higher than 6th and Alonso is no higher than 3rd.
If Kimi and Alonso/Hamilton finish level on points in first, Kimi is champion by race wins
The outsider
The drivers
Lewis Hamilton
Nothing more can describe him this season other than brilliant. His rookie season has been spectacular and he is a shoe in for most sports awards this year. He has elevated the sport like no other driver, possibly the true heir to Michael Schumacher. However it's not without its flaws. Hamilton has got away with a lot this season, the Fuji thing, the tyre thing this morning and generally overly agressive driving. His rookie status has allowed him this leeway but next season it won't be so forgiving. However Lewis has figured out how to play the 1 key element of F1 to perfection. Mind games. He has benefited from having an emotionally unbalanced teammate, and Lewis has played the game to perfection. He has managed to unbalance Alonso and made Alonso question everything but himself. This is a true champion in the making as generally in F1, who ever wins the mind games in a team, wins the battle. If he dosen't win it this season, you can guarentee a future champion.
Fernando Alonso
How the mighty have fallen. Alonso has struggled this season. The tyre change effected him more than others but for a 2 time world champion its a poor excuse. He expected defacto number 1 status but Mclaren value equality more than titles so he never got it. Alonso has always been an emotional driver and this left him open to the battery of mind games from Hamilton. However at times he has been brilliant this season. He is still a fantastic driver. However he is the most vulnerable of the elite 3 as he's the one most at risk of letting outside factors ruining a title bid. Will he be at McLaren next year? No. Will he be a force in the title hunt for years to come? Yes. Is he a good driver? Yes. Is he the collossus we all thought he was last season? Emphatically no. Watch him in the race, as he actually has nothing to lose, so he has everything to gain from an accidental collision.
Kimi Raikonnen
My favourite driver, the ice man has won more races this season than any other driver and is the outsider. Kimi started badly but he has been absolutley brilliant in the second half of the season once he got his set up sorted in the ferrari. He is a completly different driver to the man he succeeded (Schumi) and Ferrari have had to adjust to cope with his style. He is a man of very few words, but he is a no nonesense man who loves driving..anything. He has to be favourite to win the race, but the title is a long shot. However he has the added bonus of knowing if he finishes joint first in the title race, he is champion. Kimi has been un touchable at times this season, at spa with an injured shoulder no one could get near him. You have to wonder, what if he'd got his set up sorted earlier in the season. Well, you would be looking at the world champion.