Spa Francorchamps is one of the best driving circuits of the Formula one calendar, with enough room for overtaking at almost all points of the racing track, it makes for a fantastic race. And for the last three years, it was one man who had ruled the Belgian Grand Prix- Kimi Raikkonen. He had won with Mclaren in 2005 and 2006 and won last here with Ferrari as he went on to become World champion. Kimi had a string of poor results and critics had begun doubting whether he had the desire left in him to go for the drivers championship or had Massa become Ferrari’s top driver. Kimi started the race in 4th place, but if there were any doubts of his racing form, they were all swept aside as Kimi took the lead in the first lap itself. On the first corner of the race Kimi overtook Heiki Kovalainen, and went on to clinch the race lead after going past both Massa and Hamilton by the end of the first lap. The Finnish driver led the race for the next 42 laps. But as faith would have it, crashed out in the closing stages of the lap. Hamilton was at Raikkonen’s tail before the heaven gods played havoc and poured in the last few laps of the race. Even the weather stations of the respective teams that are situated at the top of the nearby mountains, were of no avail as all the teams were not ready for this challenge. With the drives having no option but to stay on dry weather tyres, driving on the circuit become really tough. The track begun to get wet and it was left to race leader Raikkonen to look for dry spots and maneuver his car through the circuit. At this point Lewis began putting pressure on Kimi and with the tyres not finding grip on the wet track. What followed was two really determined drivers going wheel to wheel for the race lead. With the track conditions really wet, both drivers slid of the circuit but coming back to join the battle. It was here that Lewis cut through a chicane to have an unfair advantage over Kimi. After the chicane it was lewis leading but backed off thinking that the stewards would give him an instant penalty. The next moment, Raikonnen had crashed and it was now a race left for Hamilton to lose. He crawled on to the finish line amidst treacherous conditions for drivers. Massa too made it to the finish line in the second place.
But the real drama began after the race was over, when the race stewards decided to give Hamilton a twenty five second penalty for having missed the chicane while trying to overtake Raikkonen on the penultimate lap of the race. Thus after the penalty, Massa was declared the winner with Nick Heidfeld coming second and Hamilton making it to the third spot. Though Hamilton didn’t win the race, he maintained his lead over closest rival Massa by two points. As for Raikkonen, his dreams of retaining the drivers championship may not be fulfilled as he crashed out after having driven a stunner of the race and lead the Belgian Grand prix for forty one of the forty four laps. At the end of the Belgian Grand prix, it is Hamilton who still maintains his lead of two points over Felipe Massa whereas Raikkonen has fallen to the fourth position in the drivers championship. With just five races to go in the season, the race for the winner of the Drivers champion will go right down to the wire.
Vijay Mallya’s take over of the Spyker Formula one team resulted in a new team which is now christened Force India. The liquor baron unveiled the soldiers who will be driving the Indian Dream on the racing track. Amidst the entire media blitz surrounding the launch speculation was rife that an Indian Driver would find his way into the team. But it was not meant to be.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella a veteran of 196 Grand Prix’s will be the lead driver of the Team. German Adrian Sutil and Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi will be the other two drivers in the team. Fisichella has 18 Podiums and 3 Race Wins to his credit and has been driving in F1 since Melbourne 1996. Fisichella had partnered Alonso last year. Adrian Sutil and Vitantonio Liuzzi are relatively inexperienced.
Mallya has successfully blended youth with experience. On the issue of not having a F1 driver in the line up, Vijay Mallya said, “We are not against an Indian Driver, but the fact is that we don’t have one. We have to make one” On Narain’s recent win in China, Mallya added, “Narain has just posted his first win in A1 GP, but it’s kind a long way off from the kind of performance we expect from our drivers. The engineering team has to benefit from the Drivers”
Mallya went on to promise that the 2008 car will be atleast one and a half seconf quicker than the Spyker Last year. Thus the team should not be right at the bottom of the points table. Team Principal, “We have been pushing really hard to catch up in the aero department. We are running in a very intensive programme. The Budget has been increased and additional wind tunnel have been possible”
The stakes have been increased from $70 million last year to $120 million this year, which makes it almost on par with the other teams. But Mallya firmly believes that money cannot buy performances. Mallya has also promised a podium finish by 2010.
An Indian team having German and Italian drivers is a sure sign of Globalisation. The Business Acumen of Mallya was depicted in his choice of Drivers. Mixing Business with nationalistic fervour, Mallya is not in Formula one for some philanthropic purpose but is here to make money. Mallya has the Golden Midas touch among India’s entrepreneurs. Comparisons with Sir Richard Branson do not stop at the goatee and the ear ring. Beer bottles, planes, swimsuit calendars, he has done it all. Mallya’s portfolio now extends to 60 businesses, yielding hundreds of millions in annual profits.
Mallya went on to add that, “It’s a tough environment, very challenging, but from 2008 the world will see that Force India F1 means serious business, on and off the track.”
It’s the first time in the 58-year history of Formula One that a team is named after a country. Something for all Indians to be proud of. But Mallya would be knowing that in this sport its performance that alone matters. It is yet to be seen whether Force India will become a force in Formula one to reckon with, or will just fade away as many other formula one teams have done.
Wishing Mallya and Force India the very best!
To be honest, Karthikeyan didn’t really set the track on fire in the 2005 season. His best being a 4th place finish in the Indianapolis Grand Prix which had only 6 drivers running after Michelin drivers has decided to opt out of the race. The result of a mediocre season was that Karthikeyan did not feature in any of the teams in the next two seasons but all that may change after his 1st place finish at the Zhuhai International circuit in China.
It couldn’t have come at a better time for Narian and for India. This season in A1 had been a poor one till the scene shifted to China. But what worked for Narain in this race was sheer strategy and team work. Starting from third on the grid, Narian went past the New Zealand driver at the second round of pit-stops. Both New Zealand’s Jonny Reid and the South African Adrian Zaugg had pitstop problems which lost a lot of time. Even Narain gave the credit of the win to the team, “ The team has been working really hard at pit stop practices and they’ve done a really good job this weekend. We had excellent pit stops that really paid off and contributed to our victory. This shows that what really counts is great team work.”
India’s maiden A1 GP victory means a lot to this team. The team that had been written off since the beginning of the season comes back to win an all important GP. Narain’s flawless performance and some great teamwork by the pit crew has brought this glory. The first time ever, we had the Indian National Anthem being played for the winner standing at the podium. A proud moment for all sport lovers. This augurs well, for Indian motor racing. With a proposed circuit coming up in India and Vijay Mallya set to take Formula 1 by storm next season, India has well and truly arrived in this sport. Narain will be looking forward to another stint as a F1 driver next season. For now, its time to enjoy the celebrations because such milestone moments don’t come often in Indian Sports.
Former Formula 1 World Champion, Fernando Alonso will be racing for Renault for the year 2008. Alonso has signed a two year contract with the ING Renault team. Alonso had a successful stint with the French constructors earlier in 2005 and 2006 when he had won the drivers championship and had become the youngest driver to clinch the championship.
Alonso had a spat with his teammate Brit Lewis Hamilton and with the Mclaren Boss and both decided to end Alonso’s contract with Mclaren amicably. Hamilton will be driving for Mclaren while his teammate has not been confirmed yet. On the other hand Nelson Piquet Jr, son of former drivers champion Nelson Piquet will be teaming up with Alonso at Renault as Renault will be sporting a brand new car and a new line up for 2008.
The last season, the most competitive one in the last few years will be remembered for more than the racing on the track. The Ferrari and Mclaren Spying row which was ruled in favour of Ferrari created a furore over the ethics of the sport. Mclaren had to pay a huge fine and were also docked all points of the constructors championship. Ferrari took home the constructors championship. The rivalry between Hamilton and Alonso meant that both of them wanted to be drivers championship and would definitely not be entertaining any team orders. Raikonnen had been the outsider but in the last few races of the season an inspiring performance from the Finn ensured that he won his first Drivers championship whereas the Mclaren team were left musing over an unsuccessful season.
After his spat with Mclaren, the Spaniard didn’t really have too many options as Renault had finished third in the constructors championship with 51 points and it was the one team he could revert back on. The Renault boss had once said that Alonso is the best F1 driver of the post Schumacher era. Well Alonso did prove him right by winning two consecutive titles and just narrowly missing out on the third.
Alonso’s move to Renault also highlights the fact that Renault are probably with the likes of Ferrari and Mclaren in the race for the constructors championship for the upcoming season. If that’s to be realized, they will have to depend on the experience of Alonso who had previously helped them win two back to back constructor championships in 2005 and 2006. Alonso meanwhile would love to get even with Hamilton and Raikonnen after this years disappointing season. The 2008 season promises to be an exciting and pulsating one. It is yet to be seen whether Alonso’s move to Renault will pay off. Or will it yet again be the Tifosi fans of Ferrari having the last laugh. Whichever way the three horse race between Alonso, Hamilton and Raikonnen goes, we are in for a humdinger of a season.