It is easy to say it now but I had a feeling about Raikkonen all weekend; the doubts seemed to have vanished and he looked like the determined Kimi of old. That may have had something to do with the Ferrari team knowing they had the fastest car but I think there was more to it in Raikkonen's case. He has the car as he wants it now and will be the Ferrari driver to beat for the rest of the season.
Third win for Kimi in 2007
The race was all about strategy, of course, and I think McLaren did the best they could in the circumstances. Certainly, they gave Alonso a chance of winning, to the point where it seemed within his grasp mid-race. When he peeled off for his second pit stop, however, it was immediately apparent that this was Kimi's day - the stint was very short and extremely short-fueled, whereas Raikkonen was as quick on more fuel. The Ferraris had a considerable performance advantage, that was clear.
Hamilton's strategy is being criticized now but it was reasonable in the circumstances. To stand a chance of pole (and therefore the win, judging by previous races this season), McLaren had to go for a light fuel load. It was not enough for Hamilton to build a lead in the first stint and that decided his finishing position. Third was all he could hope for from then on and I believe McLaren when they say that he protected the engine in the second half of the race, rather than try to stay with the leading pair.
Massa's drive through the field to fifth place was no more than one would expect from a competent driver in the fastest car on the track. Had he not leap-frogged Heidfeld in the final pit stops, it is likely that he would have been stuck behind the German rather than Kubica; the performance difference between the Ferrari and the BMW is small enough to make passing extremely difficult.
Further down the field, it seems that Renault are getting there gradually. Still not on the pace of the BMW's, they have closed the gap and are looking capable of challenging for third spot in the constructor's championship. Both teams have young second drivers who are beginning to come good, but note that the old hands, Heidfeld and Fisichella still put in faster race laps on the day.
Having promised much in practice and qualifying, the Toyota team did a great job of fading in the race, neither driver making it to the end. Ralf must be wondering if he will ever get the chance to protect his seat for next year.
Honda are making the best of a bad job, at last having returned to the 2006 car, and are showing the other chasing teams a thing or two about strategy. Both Barrichello and Button finished well above their qualifying positions purely because they went for one pit stop rather than two. This gave them a chance to move up the order and then keep the better position by being awkward to pass. It makes sense to me, anyway.
One of the teams that really ought to follow Honda's example is Toro Rosso. During the early pit stops, Scott Speed rose as high as tenth and I was hoping that he was on a one-stopper. But no such luck; he stuck with the two-stop crowd and dropped down amongst the also-rans as a result. On one stop he might have also been elsewhere when Alonso came up to pass Wurz, thereby avoiding an unnecessary accident...
Ah, the might-have-beens of F1. At least Scott was quicker than Liuzzi all weekend and has a slim chance of retaining his seat for next year if he can keep that up. For much of the race he was putting in similar lap times to the Renaults so the potential is there. But he really needs the breaks to start going his way so that he can score a point or two.
So it was a race of strategy more than anything else. And Ferrari showed that, when you have a performance advantage, the strategy tends to fall naturally into place. Whether they keep that advantage remains to be seen but I doubt it. From now on I think it will be a matter of see-sawing fortunes, according to which circuit the race is on.
It may be a two-horse race but the twists and turns, including the political chicanes, make it an interesting one.
Third win for Kimi in 2007
The race was all about strategy, of course, and I think McLaren did the best they could in the circumstances. Certainly, they gave Alonso a chance of winning, to the point where it seemed within his grasp mid-race. When he peeled off for his second pit stop, however, it was immediately apparent that this was Kimi's day - the stint was very short and extremely short-fueled, whereas Raikkonen was as quick on more fuel. The Ferraris had a considerable performance advantage, that was clear.
Hamilton's strategy is being criticized now but it was reasonable in the circumstances. To stand a chance of pole (and therefore the win, judging by previous races this season), McLaren had to go for a light fuel load. It was not enough for Hamilton to build a lead in the first stint and that decided his finishing position. Third was all he could hope for from then on and I believe McLaren when they say that he protected the engine in the second half of the race, rather than try to stay with the leading pair.
Massa's drive through the field to fifth place was no more than one would expect from a competent driver in the fastest car on the track. Had he not leap-frogged Heidfeld in the final pit stops, it is likely that he would have been stuck behind the German rather than Kubica; the performance difference between the Ferrari and the BMW is small enough to make passing extremely difficult.
Further down the field, it seems that Renault are getting there gradually. Still not on the pace of the BMW's, they have closed the gap and are looking capable of challenging for third spot in the constructor's championship. Both teams have young second drivers who are beginning to come good, but note that the old hands, Heidfeld and Fisichella still put in faster race laps on the day.
Having promised much in practice and qualifying, the Toyota team did a great job of fading in the race, neither driver making it to the end. Ralf must be wondering if he will ever get the chance to protect his seat for next year.
Honda are making the best of a bad job, at last having returned to the 2006 car, and are showing the other chasing teams a thing or two about strategy. Both Barrichello and Button finished well above their qualifying positions purely because they went for one pit stop rather than two. This gave them a chance to move up the order and then keep the better position by being awkward to pass. It makes sense to me, anyway.
One of the teams that really ought to follow Honda's example is Toro Rosso. During the early pit stops, Scott Speed rose as high as tenth and I was hoping that he was on a one-stopper. But no such luck; he stuck with the two-stop crowd and dropped down amongst the also-rans as a result. On one stop he might have also been elsewhere when Alonso came up to pass Wurz, thereby avoiding an unnecessary accident...
Ah, the might-have-beens of F1. At least Scott was quicker than Liuzzi all weekend and has a slim chance of retaining his seat for next year if he can keep that up. For much of the race he was putting in similar lap times to the Renaults so the potential is there. But he really needs the breaks to start going his way so that he can score a point or two.
So it was a race of strategy more than anything else. And Ferrari showed that, when you have a performance advantage, the strategy tends to fall naturally into place. Whether they keep that advantage remains to be seen but I doubt it. From now on I think it will be a matter of see-sawing fortunes, according to which circuit the race is on.
It may be a two-horse race but the twists and turns, including the political chicanes, make it an interesting one.