Lightning Strikes Twice!

I thought about sleep, especially after staying up for the Nascar race. I tried, missing most of the pre-race show, which usually isn't a loss, but Martin had control of the show today and from what I saw, it was actually more balanced! Maybe Martin is practising for the Beeb next year. But sleep wasn’t coming so I decided to continue the epic night of motorsport, even if I’m going to feel it later on today. The first few laps at least made it worth tuning in live.

Lightning never strikes twice, they say? Fernando Alonso will raise a point against that. He drove through the Ferrari – McLaren melee at turn one and hooked up behind Kubica. The Spaniard was short-fuelled and was dutifully asked to pound in the lap times to make up the gap. ITV spend all their time making up words for Hamilton and saying how he is doing stuff comparable with Schumacher, Senna et al. What Alonso did, what was asked of him – was exactly what the greats did.

Robert Kubica held off Raikkonen for the second step on the podium. The result leaves him just twelve points off Hamilton. Should a freaky set of results occur in the last two races, the Pole could still be in with an outside shot of the title. It was a day for the underdogs, with Piquet coming home fourth, Trulli in fifth. The Toro Rosso’s coming home in sixth and seventh, with Bourdais out-racing his much vaulted team-mate on this occasion. For Piquet and Bourdais, the results are important towards saving their drives.

It was a disastrous race for Massa and Hamilton. Both were reckless, silly and lacking the composure that the media continue to spew that both have in unequal measure. Schumacher must be kicking himself for not sticking around a few extra years because the way these young pups are driving, it would have been an easy two championships.

On a week where Robert Kubica highlighted his and other drivers opinions to Hamilton’s dangerous driving (which of course was fobbed off by the aforementioned and Ron Dennis), he gets a penalty for such driving. It was only a matter of time before he got penalised for his reckless acts on the track.

Funny how the same people who bitched and moaned about Schumacher’s driving style are the same people now defending Hamilton. Oh lads, get your noses out of Hamilton’s arse, clear off the brown stuff and start calling the race with impartiality!

As for Massa’s penalty, well, for sim-racing, we always say the racing track is the white lines, plus the kerbs. But in real racing, that’s different. I don’t agree with the excess that the ITV chaps were lambasting Massa for it, but he did nerf him off, so a penalty was deserved.

For the first time, I used the Formula1.com telemetry, which is great to have with the amount of breaks ITV insist on forcing on us. Not to mention, when ITV go all quiet on peoples lap times, at least I can keep track. For example, we never heard anything about Hamilton’s horrid middle run which composed of 1m21’s, 1m22’s. That sort of stuff is HELPFUL to us, the viewer!

At the end of the day, the result suits McLaren to the ground. They come out of it smelling of roses despite the dodgy driving. James Allen's dodgy maths aside (claiming that even if Lewis had a seven point lead, he would still win by finishing behind a Ferrari one-two - a Ferrari one two would be four point gain per race), Hamilton enters the final two races with a six point gap and can wrap up the title in China if he outscores Massa by more than four points. On the flip side, a Ferrari one-two in the final pair of races would see Massa the champion.

Personally, I’m getting sick of his paranoia over penalties. A driver sneezes and the ITV guys are calling for heads or there is an incident to be investigated. It is getting pretty sickening at this stage. Maybe for 2009, we should have everyone drive in bubble cars.

PC’s Driver of the Day: Fernando Alonso. Like any great driver, he meticulously drilled in the laps to make his strategy worked. That is why Alonso is a double world champion and the best racer in the sport at the moment.