The reckoning is approaching. While the expectation grows for the outcome of the great duel between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, the World Championship is up for grabs with the Englishman who comes to Shanghai with 5 points ahead and the chance to take advantage of the first match ball, for days have begun the great maneuvers for Formula 1 that will come, with Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, who has prepared a rescue plan for cost containment, avoiding what he calls a possible failure of the entire world on four wheels, and with the teams (especially the big manufacturers) that reject the idea of the single engine and are ready to relaunch with an alternative project. The meeting between Max Mosley and the FOTA (the newly formed association of teams chaired by Luca Montezemolo) that should lay the foundations for the future of Formula 1 will be held Monday, October 20, 2008. Wednesday, October 15, 2008 The Times, the same that had given great emphasis to the idea of the same engine for all launched by Bernie Ecclestone, anticipates the contents of a letter sent by Max Mosley to the various teams.
"Costs have become unbearable, teams spend more of their revenues. The result is that independent teams risk collapse and the most important ones weigh heavily on their companies".
So standard engines equal for all (from 2010), a new distribution of TV rights (equal with 55.000.000 euros per team) and since 2013 more and more components, the gearbox, suspension, wheels and underbody, common. Ideas that big teams don’t like, contrary to the single engine and the rigid division of money. The teams would prefer shorter races, the elimination of pit stops (but first we will have to reshape the tank, making it capacious to the point to ensure an entire race), points in the standings to those who take pole on Saturday (to be decided whether with free petrol or, as now, with the fuel with which you start the race), a cash prize ($1.000.000) for the team that achieves the best time on Friday, six hours of free practice on the race weekend, with total elimination of tests during the year and drastic reduction of winter ones. There are many ideas, we will have to see on which proposals an agreement will be found, which must be unanimous, with innovations that could come into force only from 2010. The present instead speaks of clear Ferrari messages for Sunday. Felipe Massa says:
"We need a double, we can hit it".
Kimi Raikkonen guarantees:
"I’ll help Massa win".
It is the first time he has admitted this, and he has no hesitation in condemning McLaren’s departure in Japan:
"A behavior that denied me victory".
On the other hand, rival Lewis Hamilton says:
"When you are under pressure it is difficult. I am a human being and I am wrong too".
It happened a year ago in Shanghai.
"What anger in reviewing the images, I mired in the gravel".
He had a 17-point lead over Kimi Raikkonen was the first step in his world suicide.
"Now it must not happen again".
Lewis Hamilton is at the first F1 championship point», as his Wimbledon countrymen would say. It could happen in China, for Lewis Hamilton, accomplice (negative) Felipe Massa. The young Englishman sees victory on the horizon. In fact, he sees her again, and maybe that’s the problem: last season with his final, with the knockout at the finish line. A syndrome that could be repeated, with two Grands Prix to be disputed and only five points ahead of Felipe Massa (and twelve on Robert Kubica). So much has changed for this guy. Yesterday it was 2007, and the whole world greeted the young man of Caribbean origin, the first in the motor elite. Applause, flowers, curiosity, sympathy. Encouragement. Then the results: surprising first, formidable then. So much so that Fernando Alonso, his companion, became mad. But nothing seemed to stop the new F1 hammer, only he could hurt himself. And that’s what happened.
"Thirty seconds of madness".
Admitted Ron Dennis, the mentor. The discoverer. McLaren’s boss. Today he’s the villain. The obnoxious. Colleagues, if they can, avoid it, make a joke (Alonso), criticize (Kubica).
"You’re jealous of Lewis".
An English journalist to Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica, getting spades, as an answer. One thing is certain: Lewis Hamilton has broken balances, broken customs. He simply does what he likes. With the strength of his 23 years. Win, Sunday, would not only be the first driver with Caribbean origins F1 World Champion, would also be the youngest driver, with his 23 years, 9 months and 12 days. But it may not happen, it may just be postponed. And it would divide, curiosity of life, the fate of Barack Obama. The Brazilian Grand Prix is set for Sunday 2 November 2008, the US elections on Tuesday 4 November 2008.
"But he is not Muhammad Ali, he stopped being a Martian".
Says Thursday, October 16, 2008 Flavio Briatore, just to reiterate what the temperature of the paddock.
"Alonso will help Massa? What others do is none of my business. I go my own way, I do not change approach to racing, it is not necessary".
All right? This is Lewis Hamilton’s eve. Yesterday, 2007, they were saying that the FIA was doing everything it could to get him to win the World Championship. Today, 2008, is Lewis Hamilton to accuse the Federation of wanting to hold in balance the World Championship and, therefore, to favor Ferrari. In between is the spy story first, and the Mosley case later (with Mercedes against the president who then saved the chair). Good Lewis knows nothing will be forgiven him.
"I understand the lesson".
Lewis Hamilton repeats, closing in the fort with Dad Anthony and Ron Dennis. He’s the first to know: either he gets into the legend, or he’ll be a great loser.
Friday, October 17, 2008, all two free practice sessions were held on a dry track. Hamilton was fastest in the first session with a time of 1'35"630, 0.39 of a second ahead of Massa, who was next quickest. Räikkönen, Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren, Kubica, Alonso and Heidfeld rounded out the top seven. Sébastien Bourdais of Toro Rosso was Eighth, having been quickest early in the session. Renault driver Nelson Piquet drove into the gravel beside the pit-lane entry, though managed to rejoin. Hamilton was again quickest in the second session; his early time of 1'35"750 was the fastest of the afternoon. The Renaults were next quickest, ahead of Jarno Trulli of Toyota, Red Bull driver Mark Webber, Massa, Bourdais and Räikkönen. Bourdais spun off at turn two late in the session and beached his car in the gravel. The detail might be disturbing. If the race ended as the second free practice session, first Lewis Hamilton, sixth Felipe Massa, the McLaren driver would be the World Champion on Sunday. A man in history, the youngest to get his hands on the title in the long Formula 1 novel, opposed by many colleagues for his arrogance, but with a talent to be envied. If the Grand Prix were to close like the first day of the Chinese weekend, the game would be done, Lewis Hamilton would be the glory, Felipe Massa the huge disappointment for the missed opportunity. It is not a detail to be overlooked, McLaren and its top man in Shanghai have been strong since the first kilometre, yet Felipe Massa tries to exorcise him.
"On Friday, Hamilton usually enjoys playing, but we are serious. We worked thinking about the race, our race pace is good, the car is competitive, I am convinced that we can finish ahead of him. And I think not only of myself, but also of Raikkonen. I believe in the double. It is in our potential. In Brazil I could become the great favourite".
Where the engine is not enough, words can come. And in this reckoning from the beginning there are sparks. At the shooting on the track of Hamilton, Massa responds with an eloquent arrow. For him, the 0.730 seconds of gap fixed in the second series of tests on Friday are not true, Lewis Hamilton did the trick, took away gas from the tank, in the race everything will be different. The hope of the Ferrari fans is that the Brazilian has got it right. Because judging by the radiant face of his rival, the times achieved in practice, mirror of what could happen in the race, do not seem to have the air of a bluff. Lewis Hamilton on Thursday, with the thumbs pointing at him by almost all the drivers, has definitely understood that he is not loved by the rest of the pack, to find himself in the uncomfortable position of the only against all, but then on the track immediately broke the procrastination and from this exploit draws new sap for its certainties.
"It is normal that I am in the crosshairs, I am in front of everyone and others look at me with anger, but nothing will change my aggressive driving style. If I’ve come to play a world title, it’s because of my attitude. I want to win here because I’m in a hurry to close the accounts. On the other hand, what should I wait for? The car seemed perfect to me. Every lap it improved. They say I’m afraid of winning, but I’m not afraid of anything. Everyone makes mistakes, it happened to me, but I can’t go wrong forever. This time it will not happen".
This time, it is his great dream, history is ready to welcome him, Ferrari cannot always obstruct the passage. Legitimate ambition. But it clashes with the mad desire of Felipe Massa, the other side of the duel, ready to break into the book that counts. To write his name in the meantime it would be better to emulate Michael Schumacher and seize the sixth win of the season with a Ferrari.
"I must win and I will".
China, he vows, must be the springboard, not the terminus, the presumptuous Lewis Hamilton will notice. Muscle challenge with a third wheel in the background, Robert Kubica, not yet completely cut off. He throws it up, but it’s his project:
"The two of them kill each other and I go to win...".
They also go to 300 km/h in formulating proposals, revolutionizing Formula 1. Max Mosley, Flavio Briatore, Bernie Ecclestone: between Fuji and Shanghai was a verbal Grand Prix that few precedents in the history of engines. On the other hand, when it is a crisis, it is a crisis for everyone. Also for F1, which wants to run very fast to repair.
"At least we have fast decision times".
Flavio Briatore guarantees, thinking of the meeting in Geneva of FOTA, the new team association. The agenda of the team principals was full of topics to discuss, but on Friday we recorded the surprise move: that of Max Mosley who announces that he has started the process for assigning to third parties the supply of engines and transmission system that will be used in the World Championship of 2010, 2011 and 2012. But Ron Dennis says:
"Let’s think about the championship, I only talk about the next two races, I say nothing about everything else".
Position shared by Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari team principal:
"For now no comment on the issue, we will do it when the time comes".
It would be more than a revolution: all with the same engine. Comments Fernando Alonso:
"For me driver is fine, I know I can count on my skills. But I don’t know if it’s good for F1".
Teams like Williams, Red Bull Racing, Scuderia Toro Rosso and Force India are right behind the idea. Says Gerhard Berger, co-owner of Scuderia Toro Rosso:
"As an independent team I am happy that things are moving. Finally we are understanding what a difficult economic situation we are in".
The general surprise is followed by distrust, in the paddock:
"Who knows what lies behind this move by Mosley".
Actually the confirmation comes from Bernie Ecclestone:
"With the homologated engine, the same and with the same characteristics, all will start at par".
Although the homologated word used by Bernie Ecclestone opens a few doors because it seems unlikely that engine manufacturers such as Ferrari, McLaren, Bmw, Renault, Toyota and Honda will accept a third supplier just working on aerodynamics: you could therefore hypothesize a series of specifications well defined by the FIA for all, a project to work on, within which the big ones could build their own engine, leaving the unique one to the small teams. The choir of the no goes up immediately:
"Manufacturers will leave F1".
But Bernie Ecclestone replies:
"Why should they leave? Perhaps because they will save a lot of money?"
There is no doubt for Bernie Ecclestone:
"We want it to be less necessary to spend to fight at the top".
Flavio Briatore reiterates the desire to free himself from the engineers who have taken too much power:
"They think only of machines, and instead the show should be privileged".
The economic crisis is obvious: in 2009 there will be two Grands Prix less, Canada (which does not pay the debts) and France, which admitted the financial incapacity. The names of the possible suppliers are already circulating: Cosworth (with Williams until 2006), Mecachrome (already supplier of Williams) and Ilmor Engineering (formerly owned by McLaren Mercedes). Bernie Eccleston also proposes a penalty system similar to that of football with yellow, red and disqualification cards.
"I would like a super partes referee, able to issue a sentence immediately".
On Saturday 18 October 2008, Heidfeld was fastest in the final session with a time of 1'36"061, ahead of Hamilton, Kubica and Kovalainen. Massa, Räikkönen and Alonso failed to enter the top ten. Webber stopped at the end of the session when his engine failed on the rear straight, requiring a change of engine before qualifying. That would give him a ten-place grid penalty. A few hours later, Hamilton took his seventh pole position of the season with a time of 1'36"303. He was joined in the front row by Räikkönen, who qualified 0.342 seconds behind Hamilton’s time. Massa got the third place, needing a good result to keep the chance of a championship win. Alonso qualified fourth ahead of Kovalainen, fifth after struggling for tyre grip during the final session. Webber was the sixth fastest in the final session, but was relegated to the 16th on the grid due to his penalty. Heidfeld qualified sixth, but was penalized by three positions for impeding Red Bull driver David Coulthard in the first session. As a result, Toro Rosso driver Sebastian Vettel inherited the sixth position, ahead of Trulli and Bourdais. Piquet took tenth position. Kubica’s 11th place was his worst qualifying result at that point of the season, struggling with his car’s setup during his two sessions. Rubens Barrichello of Honda finished 13th behind Timo Glock of Toyota, to reach the top 15 for the first time in ten races. Williams driver Nico Rosberg finished 14th on the grid. Coulthard failed to pass the first session; the Red Bull driver qualified for 15th place and blamed Heidfeld for his poor performance. Kazuki Nakajima of Williams, Jenson Button of Honda and the Force Indias of Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella would line up on the back two rows of the grid.
Faces could say anything. Or lie outrageously. Lewis Hamilton’s is radiant.
"I answered with facts in the most difficult week of my career".
The reply was the pole position, thirteenth of his life, seventh season, good start for the great dream, close the accounts with the World Championship, enter history, the youngest driver ever to take home, this morning, the world title. He took to the track convinced he had the whole world against:
"Except for my team, McLaren, and my family".
And he did the perfect lap:
"With a car that allows you anything, given how fast and balanced it is".
Actually, the masterpiece failed him on the first shot. For a moment, in Q3, he trembled, both Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa were ahead:
"While I threw 0.8 seconds at turn 8, where I went wide and lost a lot of time. I went back to the pits and the team tried to explain to me where I was wrong, but I answered: I know and it won’t happen again. I have one more try, it will be the right one".
The blow that allows him to start in front of everyone, uncomfortable hare for two Ferraris in pursuit. The feat that illuminates his gaze and gives a distressed look to Felipe Massa, only third on the grid and beaten by his teammate, Kimi Raikkonen.
"I’m disappointed, I thought I could be faster. As in Japan when it counts the tires have lost grip. We will fight, I think I have a good race pace, but I would have preferred to start from the front".
Ferrari’s tactic seemed clear: unload the tank of Kimi Raikkonen’s car (same level of fuel present in Lewis Hamilton’s car or even less) and place it in pole position, to try, with the Finn in the lead at the first corner, in the initial laps to block the possible escape of the British McLaren driver. An ideal brake, which should then have allowed Felipe Massa to overtake with a more delayed pit stop. The game may not fail anyway, but Kimi Raikkonen is second and now he has to pass Lewis Hamilton at the start. This is not an easy task and this is probably what worries Felipe Massa, as well as a car that had set-up problems, oversteering in some corners and understeering in others throughout the weekend.
"But I’ve been chasing for a whole year, it doesn’t scare me, it will be hard, but I can do it".
And Kimi Raikkonen adds:
"Finally, things seemed to go right for me in qualifying. It’s too late for the title, but we definitely learnt a lesson which will be useful for next year. All weekend we’ve struggled to find the right settings on the car, but then all the work we put in finally came good in [the third session], when the car was pretty good. Certainly, even putting aside what the choices have been in terms of fuel loads, today it would have been difficult to beat the McLaren, but I am happy with the overall result for the team".
For the future, however, there are four hours of team meeting after the force action on the unique engine by Max Mosley.
"We found a common line, a compromise to be submitted to the FIA at its meeting on Tuesday in Geneva".
That the builders even planned to defect in protest. The teams rely on a mediation, but the FIA has already fixed the dates for the tender: by Friday, November 7, 2008 must be submitted the application, Friday, November 28, 2008 you choose the supplier company, on August 1, 2009 the engine must be finished for checks. He also made known the characteristics to follow (if the thesis of the homologated passes and not the only one) for those (most) who want to build it on their own: 714 horses and not more than 100 kilos of weight.
On Sunday, October 19, 2008, the conditions on the grid are dry before the race. The air temperature is 27 °C and the track temperature is 30 °C; weather forecasts suggest a small possibility of rain. Hamilton and Alonso begin the race on harder compound tyre; both Ferraris opt for the softer compound. At the start of the Chinese Grand Prix Hamilton accelerates faster than the Ferraris off the line, and retaines his lead into the first corner. Kovalainen overtakes Alonso to take fourth in the opening corners. However, Alonso pushes Kovalainen hard through the middle sector of the lap, and passes him at the turn 14 hairpin after drafting the McLaren along the back straight. At the end of the first lap, Hamilton leads from Räikkönen, Massa, Alonso and Kovalainen. Heidfeld is able to move from ninth on the grid to take sixth, after Bourdais drives into the back of Trulli at the first corner. Bourdais drops back to 18th; Trulli pits at the next opportunity as a result of the damage and retires after the second lap. Webber is able to climb from 16th on the grid to take 12th behind Glock, and passes the Toyota on the second lap. Kubica, further up the field, improves on his grid position, moving from 11th to take eighth behind Vettel. However, Hamilton is the quickest on track, as he set new fastest laps on laps three, six and eight, to extend his lead over Räikkönen to more than four seconds. This trend continues until lap 10 when Räikkönen fought back and closed the gap. However, Hamilton extends his lead when he sets the fastest lap of the race, a 1:36.325 on lap 13. In the other McLaren, Kovalainen is struggling, running two seconds a lap slower than Hamilton, and drops back from Alonso to Heidfeld. The Red Bull of Mark Webber is the first to pit, on lap 12. Webber has passed Barrichello and Piquet in separate manoeuvres to take ninth, but his pit stop drops him back down to 18th position. Massa and Alonso come in to pit on lap 14, from third and fourth. Kovalainen takes the lead of the Grand Prix when Hamilton and Räikkönen pauses their battle to take harder tyres and fuel on lap 15. By the time Kovalainen and Heidfeld has pitted on laps 17 and 18, Hamilton has established a commanding lead: 6.9 seconds over Räikkönen and 14.1 seconds over Massa.
Räikkönen begins to pull back Hamilton's lead over the next ten laps, before losing 1.4 seconds on lap 30. At the back of the race, Bourdais begins a slow climb back up the field. The Toro Rosso driver passes Sutil (who later spins out and retires with a gearbox problem), Nakajima and Coulthard, to sit in 15th by lap 30. Rosberg fights Glock for 12th, until he passes the Toyota at the turn 14 hairpin on lap12. Rosberg's pit stop relegates him to 18th, dropping six places. Kubica pits late, on lap 25, dropping from third to ninth, one position outside of the points. Kovalainen suffers a puncture on lap 35. The McLaren limps around the track back to the pit lane on the disintegrating tyre, rejoining in 17th on a replacement. Alonso, Massa, Hamilton and Räikkönen all pit for the final time over laps 36 to 38. Coming out of the second round of pit stops, Hamilton led Räikkönen by 13 seconds, Räikkönen more than 2.5 seconds ahead of Massa. The gap between the Ferraris began to close, and Massa eases past Räikkönen on the back straight on lap 49, to take second place on the track. Meanwhile, Kovalainen parks his car in the McLaren garage and retires from the race, his team not taking any chances with a problem which has developed with the engine's hydraulics. Hamilton takes his fifth win of the season when he crosses the line at the end of the 56th lap, almost 15 seconds ahead of the second-placed Massa. Räikkönen takes third ahead of Alonso. Heidfeld manages to jump from ninth on the grid to finish in fifth place, just ahead of his teammate Kubica, who climbs from eleventh on the grid. A one-stop pit strategy works well for Glock as he finishes seventh; Piquet takes eighth. Vettel, Coulthard, Barrichello and Nakajima take the next four places; Bourdais recovers from his early contact with Trulli to take 13th. Webber's initial success with a two-stop strategy faded as he finishes 14th. Rosberg takes 15th, ahead of Button and Fisichella. Trulli, Sutil and Kovalainen are the three retirements from the 56 lap race. A football image to show how complicated the situation has become. Massa the Brazilian imagines himself in the final of the World Cup.
"I’ve already missed two penalties, my opponents have scored. Now I have to beat the third, I can’t fail anymore. And I have to score in the fourth and in the fifth. But it is not enough: we must also hope that my rival will send them all out".
Yeah, the picture, a direct consequence of yesterday’s Ferrari disaster, is terrible. Massa clings to the miracle, to his Brazil, to the push of his fans. Massa is disappointed. He hoped to play his chances better.
"We struggled all weekend, we never managed to find the right balance of the car. Sometimes there was understeer, sometimes there was oversteer. And then the grip, the tires had no grip, I slipped all over. And again the speed: we were slow, impossible to keep up with Hamilton’s pace, the only thing was to limit the damage. We bring home excellent points for the constructors' title, Raikkonen and I ended up on the podium, more could not be done".
Lewis Hamilton’s was an absolute domination. Only once in this season we saw the Ferrari so in difficulty, on July 20, 2008, in Hockenheim, coincidentally on the Sunday of the last victory of the McLaren Englishman. Stefano Domenicali observes:
"The tyres here in China were the same as in Germany. But it may not be enough as an explanation".
We are looking for other causes for the defeat, Ferrari technicians are at work, maybe it is not right to blame all the tyres, maybe there is more and it is better to find out quickly. Stefano Domenicali doesn’t want to hear about surrender:
"We will fight until the last meter, we do not give up. We are at the head of the constructors' classification and meanwhile we try to bring home that title. But we also have hopes for the drivers. We want to put Massa in a position to win the race, Raikkonen can finish second, at which point we’ll deal. And if the feat is not enough, we will congratulate Hamilton".
Don’t raise a white flag. Felipe Massa, thinking about the cheering he will find in Brazil, is the champion of this slogan.
"My people are special supporters, they can give you a huge boost. In the last two years at Interlagos I had the fastest car and on both occasions I could have won easily. It is the first time that a Brazilian has played a world title in São Paulo and already this fills me with pride. If I don’t make it, I’ll have the satisfaction of trying".
You will have to ask for help from Kimi Raikkonen who, in team order, has fulfilled his task in full. Someone was shocked by that fake overtaking on lap 49, but Stefano Domenicali immediately recalled the previous McLaren of this year, in Hockenheim.
"Kovalainen passed Hamilton and it was right. He had a better chance of winning the race. The same goes for Massa. He is still in the race, Raikkonen no. In a team sport there are team games".
It is useless to be hypocritical. Kimi Raikkonen also says:
"I knew what the team wanted from me, it’s normal to have slowed by 2 seconds per lap to wait for Massa. In my World Championship that overtaking did not change anything".
The joke is that it might not do any good. The Englishman who comes to São Paulo with seven points ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and squanders everything.
Fate is sometimes curious, certain courses and recollections are disconcerting: Lewis Hamilton jumps on the Chinese podium, talks about God and immediately they point out that the advantage at the last race is the same, of seven points always it is, changes only the opponent, Felipe Massa, a driver who also has the uncomfortable advantage of running at home. Just a fifth place (and not a seventh as in 2007), a small effort, but the fear of winning, the arm that takes the tennis player but also the Formula 1 driver could again mark the difference in negative. You want to say that the superstition does not exist, at the thought shakes the whole of England and not only McLaren, the same way in which you cling the Ferrari. The spontaneous Stefano Domenicali, the Ferrari team principal, cannot pretend:
"I imagine a tense Hamilton, with a lot of pressure on him. He knows he has the title in his hand, he feels it at a step and starts to be afraid. While Massa has nothing to lose, he wins and performs the miracle".
When you are desperate, it is clear, you cling to everything and Ferrari is not ashamed, all the more so since Hamilton has already taken that tunnel once and could rewind. Only this time it doesn’t seem to have any intention.
"My mood compared to 12 months ago is completely different. In 2007 I arrived in Brazil as a boxer played, back from the tremendous blow remedied in China, now I feel loaded, confident, convinced of my abilities and the strength of my car. I am back from a great victory, my morale is at a thousand".
Ghosts are there, but the English pilot, at least in words, found a way to fight them. It remains to be seen how it will behave in the moment that matters, when the day of reckoning has come, the World Championship will rattle its last laps. The field factor will certainly have its weight, but the sentimental Hamilton has an antidote for this:
"Massa will have many fans, he is a loyal driver, he deserves them, but I will have my family. She has always been close to me, she is worth more than anything else".
If that wasn’t enough, here’s another help. Politically correct Hamilton never misses hyperbole:
"I have a phenomenal team, it works for me, it would make anyone go strong. Here it made me feel comfortable from the beginning, it left me calm, relaxed, ideal for someone who is close to his first world title. This will happen in Brazil".
In short, the story was written and for him, after a year of poisons for the spy story and the war with Fernando Alonso, it was very bitter, but there is always time to rewrite it, as a consummate revisionist. The Brazil nightmare still hangs over his head, but Hamilton can’t wait to throw him out the window.
"Ferrari is strong, in Brazil it could go faster than us, but for the first time I could decide to settle".
The stakes are too high. His idol Ali in the ring loved to win for kappao, he also really likes it. But the rankings are made with points. If the referee lifts your arm, it’s done. The World Championship is yours. Twenty-four years in January. The earliest winner ever. The sky on the podium. Lewis Hamilton explains:
"God was by my side today, as always".
Mystic. Perhaps he needs it. One more weapon to exorcise certain ghosts, cast out the spells, eliminate all the nightmares. The first task was successful: to eliminate the Chinese syndrome. The one that makes you throw away a World Championship already won, that makes you get stuck in the gravel, that does not allow you to get to the finish line, first act of the great suicide, champagne back in the refrigerator, while on the highest podium of Shanghai celebrates Kimi Raikkonen. What a disaster that day, twelve months ago. Now in Shanghai champagne could gush out. Ferraris have been annihilated, China is no longer a curse, the end of dreams, but the ultimate springboard for gliding in history, the youngest world champion in the great book of Formula 1. Shanghai is now a word that sounds good in the ears of Lewis Hamilton. But the ghosts are not over, there is another one and it’s called Brazil, the other chapter of harakiri. perfect From the first meter.
"I made the best start of my life".
It was enough to annihilate the Ferraris, who have always seen him with binoculars. And he puts in his pocket much more than half the World Championship. To put it to Briatore, now Lewis Hamilton is in the classic forward position only in front of the goal: he just has to put the ball inside. Lewis, he has experienced the Grand Prix that all drivers would like to have in their career.
"It would be easy now to say that it was an obvious victory".
Let’s face it: they admit it to Ferrari.
"Well, she got off easy at the first corner. One of my best starts, I made few mistakes and I just had to stay focused".
Why did Ron Dennis ask for attention on the radio?
"It was difficult to stay focused. After the second pit-stop we were pretty sure of the win".
He took revenge on everything they said about her after Japan.
"I spent the week not reading about Formula 1 in the newspapers or watching television reports. This allowed me to avoid distractions and save energy. And then I did something else".
Can you tell us what?
"I’ve been with my family".
How was the reception in China, in the paddock?
"Normal, as usual".
Do you know what Briatore said? A great player who does spectacular things but without goals.
"I repeat, nothing I knew and nothing matters".
What about Felipe Massa’s overtaking of Kimi Raikkonen?
"Inevitable".
But team orders are off limits, so you could have had a nine-point lead right now.
"I don’t have much to say. They are a team and, from my point of view, they did what Kovalainen would have done with me if he had been in front of me. They play together, they did a good job".
And now?
"Another step towards the dream, mine and the team to which goes my heartfelt thanks. I have seven points ahead and only one race left: the numbers say that things are going like last year".
But then last year, the ending wasn’t happy for Lewis.
"This time the situation is very different".
He has the same advantage as 2007 over Raikkonen. Ron Dennis said he was not superstitious.
"We have the chance to do a great job".
What do you expect?
"Let these two guys, Felipe and Kimi, push the accelerator to the maximum".
And Lewis? Will he fight or change his approach?
"I already said I understood last year’s lesson".
And in fact, Ron Dennis has always anticipated the intention to leave the double to Ferrari, of course in exchange for the World Championship.
"We have to finish the race, I know we’ll get the car ready. So far everything has worked out so well and we don’t see why it has to go wrong. We will definitely do our best. And we hope that God is with us, as he was this week".