by Niamh O'Mahony, 13 December 2007
“If you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you”Rudyard Kipling
After all the controversies and scandals of the 2007 season, few would argue that the right man did not come to the fore and claim the Drivers’ championship in Brazil.
Kimi Raikkonen secured six race victories, which was more than any other driver. He arrived at Ferrari faced with the task of filling Michael Schumacher’s shoes and did just that with aplomb, all the while under the shadow of the German’s continuing presence at a squad where he is still adored.
He overcame early criticism and disappointing struggles in qualifying to claw his way back into the championship – something Ferrari’s rising star Felipe Massa failed to do - and then beat the sport’s new favourite, Lewis Hamilton, despite all the odds.
And, just like there are key moments in every championship triumph, setantasports.com has taken a look back over what made Raikkonen’s year.
1. McLaren’s implosion Even Raikkonen himself is likely to admit that McLaren’s driver problems this year did help him to re-establish his challenge in a battle that looked to be sealed and sewn up by the British outfit at one stage.
The fall out from the Hungarian Grand Prix was one factor – the other being Ron Dennis’ refusal to name a number one.
A handful of problematic races for Felipe Massa meant that Raikkonen had Ferrari’s sole efforts behind him from a fair distance out, but the lack of an outright leader at McLaren meant their focus was always split – and ultimately fatally divided after events in Budapest.
It quickly became apparent that Fernando Alonso did not appreciate the fact that his younger team-mate was not being kept in tow by management, and though they suggested otherwise, it was also obvious that little love was lost between the two competitors from the very beginning.
In the eyes of many, Hamilton was still just the rising star until Monte Carlo where he tracked down his McLaren colleague and showed the world that he was well able to take on the World Champion if allowed.
Alonso was publicly unimpressed and privately shocked, and relations never improved.
Hungary brought the scandal of the Spaniard being penalised by race stewards for holding up his own team-mate during qualifying. Post-race, it emerged that Alonso had threatened to turn vital evidence over to the FIA, as McLaren continued to fight off spying claims.
The team never recovered, and under massive scrutiny – even from the FIA – they were forced to complete their season afraid to show the slightest favouritism in a sport that has always historically had lead and support drivers.
The result? McLaren playing the game by the absolutely rules allowed Raikkonen the chink of light he needed to race himself back into contention.
2. Kimi’s recovery in MonacoDespite his victory at the season opener in Australia, it quickly became apparent that Raikkonen was struggling in the new Ferrari during the one-lap shootout at the end of qualifying.
This was never so obvious than at Monte Carlo when a small mistake saw Raikkonen bump his car off the Armco barriers and pull his damaged car over to the side at Rascasse, of all corners.
Twelve months earlier, Michael Schumacher slowed his car at the very same spot - ruining any chance for his rivals to improve - before going on to have a storming race and forcing his way back into the points.
Could Raikkonen do the same under the intense pressure of being the “Flop that replaced Schu?”
Indeed he could. Raikkonen looked strong throughout practice and part of qualifying and used all his guile, determination and fighting spirit to force his way back up to eighth after starting 15th on the grid.
No small achievement in Monaco, and priceless when looking back over the season, given he won the title by a single point!
3. Victory en France!Re-energised by his efforts in Monaco, there was little Raikkonen could do to prevent both McLaren men pulling away in the standings at the Canadian and then American Grand Prix weekends.
However, the Scuderia turned the championship on its head without warning in France when they pushed right back to the top, against all recent form.
Step one for Raikkonen at this stage was to get the better of team-mate Massa; then he could re-focus his attention on the McLaren boys.
The Brazilian put himself on pole at Magny-Cours, with Raikkonen again admitting that he just did not make the most of his best lap in the final part of the session.
He started third on the grid behind Massa and Lewis Hamilton, but jumped ahead of the Briton at the first corner.
Raikkonen then gave chase to Massa and got ahead of his younger colleague courtesy of having later pit stops and some favourable traffic, settling any debate about who was Ferrari’s lead man in the process.
4. Beating Lewis at SilverstoneRaikkonen’s win in France helped him stamp his authority within Ferrari, but it was not until the British Grand Prix a week later at Silverstone that the Finn proved his credentials to the rest of the world.
Home favourite Lewis Hamilton put himself on pole for the event, but Alonso’s demeanour suggested that he had something up his sleeve. Massa was out of the running before it even began after stalling his car on the grid, and so it was left to the Spaniard and Raikkonen to wrestle the honours from Hamilton.
The pole sitter led away when the lights went out but failed to lose Raikkonen’s attentions and when the English racer headed for pit lane as early as lap 16, the odds of a home win lengthened considerably.
Raikkonen went to his pit crew two laps later, leaving Alonso in the lead, but he arrived to the McLaren garage two laps later again, taking on a small fuel load in the hope of staying ahead of Raikkonen and bringing a halt to Ferrari’s run of race form.
The Spaniard pitted again on lap 37 and it was then that Raikkonen produced a Schumacher-like performance to reel off six blistering laps and eek out enough of an advantage and stay ahead through his stop.
The message was clear from the former McLaren man: his title chances might have been almost ruined by some unreliability and problems in qualifying, but when he had the machinery there was no one who could match his raw speed.
Suddenly, Ferrari’s decision to bring Raikkonen on board looked a shrewd move.
5. His calmness in BrazilDramatic endings in Formula 1 do not come much better than the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Loveable rookie Hamilton, who reignited interest in the sport with the manner in which he coped with a turbulent first year, was the likely champion, arriving as he did in Brazil - ahead of both rivals in the championship.
Then we had the brooding, but brilliant, defending champion who was just as capable in a car as all recent masters of the racing series. And then Kimi – playing down his chances, talking the right talk and keeping his head down in the hope that the cards might fall his way.
As it turned out almost everything that could have gone wrong for Hamilton did. Alonso seemed a little off the boil compared to his usual standards, and it was Raikkonen – with the help of his team-mate – who came home first, followed by Massa to take a surprising title win.
It subsequently emerged that there were doubts over the legality of the fuel used by Nico Rosberg and the two BMW drivers, and the year ended where it had started and continued – in the courts.
From the moment McLaren launched their appeal against the race stewards’ decision, there was a feeling that authorities could not deny Raikkonen the title on the basis of something he had nothing to do with.
That view was echoed by Alonso, who just seemed glad that Hamilton had not won it; the Briton himself also came out against the action, declaring that he wanted to win titles on the track and not in law courts.
Formula 1 will find it easier to move on from such a traumatic season with Kimi Raikkonen as their champion.
When McLaren were penalised so heavily as a team for their perceived role in the spying investigation, it seemed strange that their drivers escaped totally unscathed.
However, it is questionable whether or not the sport would have recovered if its defending champion and rising star had been penalised or excluded from the first nail-biting, three-way championships in years.
It was therefore ideal that the eventual winner’s record can be reflected on without any blemish, that there is no question of any right or wrong decisions made by a board of people removed from the racing track, and that Hamilton should get the chance to earn his first title solely by his actions on the track...
1. McLaren’s implosion Even Raikkonen himself is likely to admit that McLaren’s driver problems this year did help him to re-establish his challenge in a battle that looked to be sealed and sewn up by the British outfit at one stage.
The fall out from the Hungarian Grand Prix was one factor – the other being Ron Dennis’ refusal to name a number one.
A handful of problematic races for Felipe Massa meant that Raikkonen had Ferrari’s sole efforts behind him from a fair distance out, but the lack of an outright leader at McLaren meant their focus was always split – and ultimately fatally divided after events in Budapest.
It quickly became apparent that Fernando Alonso did not appreciate the fact that his younger team-mate was not being kept in tow by management, and though they suggested otherwise, it was also obvious that little love was lost between the two competitors from the very beginning.
In the eyes of many, Hamilton was still just the rising star until Monte Carlo where he tracked down his McLaren colleague and showed the world that he was well able to take on the World Champion if allowed.
Alonso was publicly unimpressed and privately shocked, and relations never improved.
Hungary brought the scandal of the Spaniard being penalised by race stewards for holding up his own team-mate during qualifying. Post-race, it emerged that Alonso had threatened to turn vital evidence over to the FIA, as McLaren continued to fight off spying claims.
The team never recovered, and under massive scrutiny – even from the FIA – they were forced to complete their season afraid to show the slightest favouritism in a sport that has always historically had lead and support drivers.
The result? McLaren playing the game by the absolutely rules allowed Raikkonen the chink of light he needed to race himself back into contention.
2. Kimi’s recovery in MonacoDespite his victory at the season opener in Australia, it quickly became apparent that Raikkonen was struggling in the new Ferrari during the one-lap shootout at the end of qualifying.
This was never so obvious than at Monte Carlo when a small mistake saw Raikkonen bump his car off the Armco barriers and pull his damaged car over to the side at Rascasse, of all corners.
Twelve months earlier, Michael Schumacher slowed his car at the very same spot - ruining any chance for his rivals to improve - before going on to have a storming race and forcing his way back into the points.
Could Raikkonen do the same under the intense pressure of being the “Flop that replaced Schu?”
Indeed he could. Raikkonen looked strong throughout practice and part of qualifying and used all his guile, determination and fighting spirit to force his way back up to eighth after starting 15th on the grid.
No small achievement in Monaco, and priceless when looking back over the season, given he won the title by a single point!
3. Victory en France!Re-energised by his efforts in Monaco, there was little Raikkonen could do to prevent both McLaren men pulling away in the standings at the Canadian and then American Grand Prix weekends.
However, the Scuderia turned the championship on its head without warning in France when they pushed right back to the top, against all recent form.
Step one for Raikkonen at this stage was to get the better of team-mate Massa; then he could re-focus his attention on the McLaren boys.
The Brazilian put himself on pole at Magny-Cours, with Raikkonen again admitting that he just did not make the most of his best lap in the final part of the session.
He started third on the grid behind Massa and Lewis Hamilton, but jumped ahead of the Briton at the first corner.
Raikkonen then gave chase to Massa and got ahead of his younger colleague courtesy of having later pit stops and some favourable traffic, settling any debate about who was Ferrari’s lead man in the process.
4. Beating Lewis at SilverstoneRaikkonen’s win in France helped him stamp his authority within Ferrari, but it was not until the British Grand Prix a week later at Silverstone that the Finn proved his credentials to the rest of the world.
Home favourite Lewis Hamilton put himself on pole for the event, but Alonso’s demeanour suggested that he had something up his sleeve. Massa was out of the running before it even began after stalling his car on the grid, and so it was left to the Spaniard and Raikkonen to wrestle the honours from Hamilton.
The pole sitter led away when the lights went out but failed to lose Raikkonen’s attentions and when the English racer headed for pit lane as early as lap 16, the odds of a home win lengthened considerably.
Raikkonen went to his pit crew two laps later, leaving Alonso in the lead, but he arrived to the McLaren garage two laps later again, taking on a small fuel load in the hope of staying ahead of Raikkonen and bringing a halt to Ferrari’s run of race form.
The Spaniard pitted again on lap 37 and it was then that Raikkonen produced a Schumacher-like performance to reel off six blistering laps and eek out enough of an advantage and stay ahead through his stop.
The message was clear from the former McLaren man: his title chances might have been almost ruined by some unreliability and problems in qualifying, but when he had the machinery there was no one who could match his raw speed.
Suddenly, Ferrari’s decision to bring Raikkonen on board looked a shrewd move.
5. His calmness in BrazilDramatic endings in Formula 1 do not come much better than the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Loveable rookie Hamilton, who reignited interest in the sport with the manner in which he coped with a turbulent first year, was the likely champion, arriving as he did in Brazil - ahead of both rivals in the championship.
Then we had the brooding, but brilliant, defending champion who was just as capable in a car as all recent masters of the racing series. And then Kimi – playing down his chances, talking the right talk and keeping his head down in the hope that the cards might fall his way.
As it turned out almost everything that could have gone wrong for Hamilton did. Alonso seemed a little off the boil compared to his usual standards, and it was Raikkonen – with the help of his team-mate – who came home first, followed by Massa to take a surprising title win.
It subsequently emerged that there were doubts over the legality of the fuel used by Nico Rosberg and the two BMW drivers, and the year ended where it had started and continued – in the courts.
From the moment McLaren launched their appeal against the race stewards’ decision, there was a feeling that authorities could not deny Raikkonen the title on the basis of something he had nothing to do with.
That view was echoed by Alonso, who just seemed glad that Hamilton had not won it; the Briton himself also came out against the action, declaring that he wanted to win titles on the track and not in law courts.
Formula 1 will find it easier to move on from such a traumatic season with Kimi Raikkonen as their champion.
When McLaren were penalised so heavily as a team for their perceived role in the spying investigation, it seemed strange that their drivers escaped totally unscathed.
However, it is questionable whether or not the sport would have recovered if its defending champion and rising star had been penalised or excluded from the first nail-biting, three-way championships in years.
It was therefore ideal that the eventual winner’s record can be reflected on without any blemish, that there is no question of any right or wrong decisions made by a board of people removed from the racing track, and that Hamilton should get the chance to earn his first title solely by his actions on the track...
Source: setantasports
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