Autosport 70: Kimi snatches F1 title
25 October 2007
In one of the most remarkable turnarounds in Formula 1 history,
Kimi Raikkonen snatched the world title from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso at Interlagos this week in 2007.
Following his victory in China two weeks earlier, Raikkonen started the Brazilian Grand Prix seven points behind Hamilton and three behind Alonso – at a time when a win only yielded 10. The Ferrari F2007 appeared to have the edge over the Mclaren MP4-22, but Hamilton still managed to qualify second to Raikkonen’s team-mate Felipe Massa.
Things started to go awry for Hamilton at the start, Raikkonen immediately jumping ahead. He then forced Hamilton to back off into the first chicane, allowing
Alonso to pass his team-mate. When rookie Hamilton tried to retaliate at Turn 4 he slid off, falling to eighth.
Hamilton quickly recovered to sixth – one place off what he needed, assuming Massa would move aside for Raikkonen – but then his chances really took a dive when he suffered a gearbox software glitch that cost him 30 seconds on lap eight of 71. He fell to 18th, and that, combined with high tyre wear, encouraged Mclaren to switch Hamilton from a two-stop strategy to a three-stopper. From there he could only make it back to seventh.
A struggling Alonso couldn’t stay with the Ferraris and suddenly Raikkonen’s chances looked good. Massa left it until their second stops to put in what Autosport called “soft” in and out-laps, allowing Raikkonen into the lead he needed. Raikkonen duly recorded his sixth win of the season, with Massa second and Alonso third. Both Mclaren drivers finished on
109 points, one behind Raikkonen.
The final chance for Hamilton was that three cars that finished ahead – both BMW Saubers and the Williams of Nico Rosberg – were alleged to have inadvertently run illegally chilled fuel. Autosport reported that the stewards “did not have sufficient evidence to impose a penalty” and the results stood.