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#775 2007 United States Grand Prix

2023-01-18 00:00

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#2007, Fulvio Conti, Translated by Margherita Schiatti,

#775 2007 United States Grand Prix

New evidence surfaced against McLaren ahead of the Italian Grand Prix. In a dramatic turn of events that spiced up this summer for Formula 1, on Wedne

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Fernando Alonso feels marginalised. He took down badly the defeat in Montreal , the flood of praise pouring down on Lewis Hamilton, and he did nothing to hide it.

 

"I don’t feel comfortable in McLaren. It’s been that way from the start. It’s a British team, with an English driver, everybody is cheering for him. They are making him a genius, all the help is for my teammate. Hamilton started very well, but here we are exaggerating. The fact that everyone applauds him leaves me indifferent, but we cannot go on like that!".

 

Harsh words, considering that in Formula 1 everything is muffled, and the statements often resemble programmed bulletins. The tip of the iceberg of a conflict between the two drivers that has been going on for some time, a duo that broke up right from the very first races, a tandem with a deteriorated relationship, that brings to mind ancient and fierce internal struggles, those between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost in 1989 right in McLaren, the battles in 1990 between Alain Prost and Nigel Mansell in Ferrari and further back in time some quarrels between Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann (1981 in Williams) or Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi (1982, Scuderia Ferrari). Fernando Alonso, the two-time World Champion, wrested from Renault by the force of many millions of euros, feels neglected. Everyone goes after the rookie, the terrible freshman, while he has to fight on the track alone, against the fury of Lewis Hamilton and the desire for a comeback of the two Ferraris, with a car that he still knows little about (he is in his first year in McLaren) but that has already brought to success twice.  No, this cannot continue, Fernando Alonso with the Spanish press immediately after Canada did not use half measures. Money makes happiness and somehow must also determine the hierarchies: if the Spaniard earns thirty times more than the young Lewis Hamilton there must be a reason. The team must adapt and, as early as Sunday 17 June 2007 at Indianapolis, go back to pampering the driver who has to defend the title. The problem is that in McLaren these delicacies are not fashionable. Ron Dennis is categorical: 

 

"Alonso and Hamilton have the same means, the same kind of help, the same opportunities to win within the team. There may be healthy competition between the two groups working on each car. I think that this is inevitable, but it does not mean giving preference to one or the other. Alonso knows us a little yet, but our relationship can have a highly positive development. And the team has no intention of wasting this great opportunity".

 

Therefore, Alonso should not complain, he will not become a second driver, even if at the moment he is eight points behind Hamilton. But the Spaniard driver feels betrayed. After all, the first signs of a difficult marriage had already been seen at the debut, in Melbourne, with Alonso who remained behind Hamilton for almost the entire race and and only in the final stage did he forcefully take second place behind Kimi Räikkönen. In Malaysia, his manager Luis Garcia, annoyed by what he had witnessed in Australia, goes to watch free practice in the Renault pits and is severely reprimanded by Ron Dennis for this. Then comes Monaco, Alonso in front, the impertinent Hamilton, who complained about staying behind, with an outburst that led the FIA to open an investigation on alleged team orders, which resulted in nothing. Now in Canada, Alonso who is wrong all the time, is struggling at the back and finishing seventh, while the entire team brings in triumph the pupil Hamilton. The Spaniard tries to stay calm: 

 

"I have 40 points, I can win the World Championship. Maybe at the last race". 

 

But he suffers, from the fear of a mockery that is even greater than envy and jealousy. He had to be the saviour of the homeland. He just has to hang on to his Spain. Because England, the home of McLaren, already has a hero. Fast as a missile. In Indianapolis, the two separated in the house do nothing to get back together. 

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Lewis Hamilton, the new hero, is still prey to the great euphoria after the triumph in Canada, he feels he can win the World Championship at the first shot and pretends not to understand the anger of Fernando Alonso. 

 

"I’m English, he’s Spanish, what does that mean? In the team they love me because I’ve been in McLaren since I was 13. I know everyone, but that doesn’t mean I’m a favourite. Alonso, when he arrived, was very excited, I do not understand what has changed in these months, because now he claims not to feel comfortable. Perhaps he did not believe that I could go so fast, he did not expect a teammate so close to him and now he is a little shaken by this sudden battle. Usually he has always dominated his partners, it may be that he suffers from the situation. I have a good relationship with him. But I cannot agree with what you said. There are two extremely motivated working groups that want to win. One works on my car, the other works on Alonso’s. It’s a challenge for us too. Since for Dennis we are two drivers on equal terms, I think the internal rivalry can only do good". 

 

Lewis Hamilton shoots straight ahead. 

 

"It’s the happiest moment of my career. I feel I have to learn a lot more, I know that sooner or later I will make some mistakes, but in the meantime I enjoy this great moment. And I hope to win again very soon". 

 

Lewis Hamilton gloats. Fernando Alonso, the angry man, on the other hand, does not back down. Trying to clarify, he reiterates. 

 

"There is no civil war within the team, I did not say anything against the team, we have a competitive car that can allow me to win the third world championship. I repeat that I do not feel comfortable, but I have every chance to triumph anyway". 

 

But with Lewis Hamilton, there is no peace. 

 

"I was surprised, in the winter he was not so strong, but I have no problems with him. It was Hamilton who created them when he complained after Monte-Carlo, pressing the FIA to open an investigation. When I talk about discomfort, I refer to technical issues, a still poor feeling with the team on specific things, such as reading telemetry or strategy. I know that McLaren has a precise philosophy, two drivers on equal terms, and I accept that. However, it is not true that I am not used to challenges: Trulli in Renault in 2004 gave me a lot of trouble, I won a World Championship against Räikkönen’s McLaren and another against Schumacher’s Ferrari. But now I think of Indianapolis, the only race I’ve never been able to get on the podium. It’s a haunted Grand Prix. It doesn’t have to be anymore".

 

In the meantime, Robert Kubica can still be called a miracle worker, as on Thursday 14 June 2007 in Indianapolis he talks to everyone and swears he is in top form, but the Polish BMW racer will not race on Sunday. On Thursday, after a long visit, the doctors did not grant him permission. As a precaution they decided to stop him, fearing that a new violent accident, a new physical impact could have a devastating effect. Robert Kubica, who showed up early in the morning in Indianapolis with great optimism, was disappointed. 

 

"I’m disappointed because I felt good. I understand that it may seem strange, even I, after having reviewed on television the images of my accident, am amazed to be here among you, without any pain, but since everything seemed okay, I was convinced I could race. I am sorry. But I respect the decision of the doctors. They say they’re doing it for my sake". 

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Bmw would not comment on the denied permission. It was only announced that the place of Robert Kubica will be taken by 19-year-old German Sebastian Vettel, Michael Schumacher's protégé. Vettel was in the spotlight towards the end of last season, because in Friday’s free practice he was always among the fastest. Now he does not expect miraculous debuts. 

 

"Last year I was strong, but now I have to be cautious, learn, it will not be easy. I have never driven on this track, it is useless to make proclamations". 

 

However he knows that he is held in high great esteem in Germany. After all, he can be said to be predestined. He started racing in Kerpen, at the kart track owned by the Schumacher family, and the expert Michael immediately noticed him. His eye had picked up the talent of the boy, to whom he began to dispense advice. This was enough to push Germany to consider Vettel the true heir of Schumacher. Indianapolis is the first great opportunity. To prove that such consideration is not undeserved. Instead, speaking about Ferrari, if the United States Grand Prix is not a last chance, we are not far away. This is made clear by Felipe Massa, the Maranello team driver best placed in the standings, 15 points behind Lewis Hamilton and 7 behind Fernando Alonso.

 

"Monaco and Canada are two atypical tracks, they may not matter, but this is a traditional circuit, where I expect a different Ferrari, very strong, as fast as at the beginning of the season. I am confident, I expect a much more exciting weekend than the last ones. I am convinced that Sunday night we will see a completely different ranking. Woe betide us if we fail to do so".

 

It has to be. Otherwise, everything could get incredibly complicated. Because if the Maranello cars were to suffer from McLaren even here at Indianapolis, the wildcard track par excellence for Ferrari, capable of dispensing joy even in the depressing 2005 (the only success of the season), the race for the title would become very troublesome. Felipe Massa’s conviction is based on precise technical data: 

 

"Ferrari suffers on tracks where tyres have poor grip. It is a matter of asphalt: both in Monaco and in Canada we could never find the right balance, this was the origin of all our troubles. But here the picture should change, this track does not give adherence problems. We should be very fast right away". 

 

Kimi Räikkönen is also optimistic, even more forced to win because he is 21 points behind Lewis Hamilton. 

 

"This is a very important race for me, I have to impose myself. All points matter a lot, but these can have a decisive effect. I expected in the first year to find some difficulties in settling in, and in a season there are always very happy moments and other unpleasant moments, so I am not complaining. The last three races have been a little enjoyable, but the World Championship is still open, there is room for a comeback. Provided we start now".

 

Friday, June 15, 2007, the first breakthrough was by Fernando Alonso, leader in both free practice sessions, on the circuit where he never managed to get on the podium. McLaren also leading at Indianapolis, as Lewis Hamilton was second, while Felipe Massa was third at 0.279 seconds and Kimi Räikkönen was fourth at 0.431 seconds off. Ferrari is again in trouble, although the Finnish driver says:

 

"We are very close to McLaren, we can beat them".

 

And the Brazilian driver confirms: 

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“We can play on a level playing field because they have often been running on low fuel”.

 

Meanwhile, the American temple of speed has scored a point in favour of the F1 by Night wanted by Bernie Ecclestone, which should make its debut next year with the Singapore Grand Prix. The first 4 corners of the Indianapolis track served as a guinea pig to experience driver safety and visibility of spectators, both in the grandstand and in front of the TV. For 30 minutes a Safety car and several cars of the medical rescue took to the track.

The asphalt was also artificially wet, to test the effect in case of rain. In addition, there were voluntary excursions on the gravel, to check how much the view of those behind is compromised. The FIA claims that the experiment was perfectly successful. And the TVs are also satisfied. Flavio Briatore’s Renault is behind, but the boss of the French team boss has made up his mind about the Ferrari-McLaren duel. There are those who miss his provocations. 

 

"But I keep making jokes. I remain convinced that here we must minimise, and not take ourselves too seriously". 

 

Why is Renault so slow? 

 

"Because last year, in order to win, we always had to develop the car. And this winter, to make it fast, we didn’t verify the data. A bit like your girlfriend for seven years: perfect, then takes a skid. Now we know where to act". 

 

Your former protégé, Fernando Alonso, is a little nervous. 

 

"But he’s a 25-year-old boy, not a board member. He got angry after a bad result". 

 

Maybe McLaren is missing a Briatore.

 

"I think the approach is crucial. These are guys who prefer soccer to private jets. You must treat them so that they take responsibility. Do not overload them with marketing decisions". 

 

How did Briatore do it? 

 

"With Fernando, I discussed the things he understood, where I could see he was reacting. You have to be human. They are young without a youthfulness. You can’t expect to change them". 

 

No secret methods, then. 

 

"Do you know why Fernando never freaked out? Because there was a lot of work behind it. You have to take away the problems, put them at ease. Before every Grand Prix we played cards to relax". 

 

Now the rumours have Alonso at Ferrari. What do you think? 

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"It’s just a rumour. For me, in the future, if one day changes, but in three years, because the current contract lasts so long, Alonso won't want any new adventures. He will choose the place he already knows".

 

It would be a resounding return. 

 

"At Renault he won two World Championships and had a certain kind of relationship. I don’t see what would be surprising. I conclude and say that these rumours also destabilise my drivers. Fernando made a professional choice, and he will respect it". 

 

Briatore would have put a champion and a rookie on equal footing? 

 

"Things must be clear in the team. For example: Fisichella knew that in some Grands Prix he was faster, yet he made himself available to the team to win the World Championship. Clear pacts, and the drivers will be serene". 

 

Back to Briatore: you seem changed, quieter: did you make a decision? 

 

"I don’t say it anymore, that it’s my last year in Formula 1. It’s a job I love, and as long as I’m passionate about it, I’m staying". 

 

Is it possible to imagine you in F1 in another role? 

 

"I don’t know. There may be situations that can happen. Or not". 

 

Whatever happens, you will be leaving something behind.

 

"Apart from the results, I invented GP2. Where Hamilton, Rosberg, come from. The problem is another". 

 

And what is it? 

 

"It takes vision, to understand in ten years where we will be". 

 

And what do you see? 

 

"A new foundation. Always a technological F1, but with more show. We must entertain people, have more unpredictability".

 

And Italy? We would need a vision... 

 

"It’s hard there. You live in the day. And there are too many drivers around". 

 

They say Luca Montezemolo might be involved in politics. 

 

"Luca said some things. But in general I see politics made up of young people, who do not think about their benefits. Or their seats". 

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What are they supposed to think about? 

 

"To do four things: order, cleaning, getting people to the end of the month and to pensions. Instead we are still talking about garbage".

 

Saturday, June 16, 2007, David Coulthard and his Red Bull-Renault were the first to leave the pit lane in part one of the qualifying session. His teammate, Mark Webber, was close behind followed by the Spyker and Williams cars. Later in the session, with about six minutes left, Coulthard spun out at turn eight. Fernando Alonso was first, Nick Heidfeld second, and Lewis Hamilton closely behind in third. Although they struggled, both Ferraris made it, as well as Vettel. Scott Speed failed to make it out of Q1 in his native country, along with teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi. Adrian Sutil, Takuma Satō, Alexander Wurz, and Christijan Albers also missed the cut. McLaren and Ferrari began part two of their battle with Hamilton taking the top spot early. However, his teammate, Fernando Alonso took top spot midway through. Felipe Massa, Kimi Räikkönen, and Heidfeld along with the two McLarens made the top five again. Webber made it to the next session, although his teammate Coulthard was relegated along with 2002 United States Grand Prix winner Rubens Barrichello. Barrichello's partner Jenson Button was also relegated, along with Nico Rosberg, Anthony Davidson, and Ralf Schumacher. In part three Hamilton was first out and set the quickest time with a 1’13”089. Alonso was about four-tenths behind, followed by Heidfeld and the Ferraris. Giancarlo Fisichella and Heikki Kovalainen, both Renault drivers, also were near the top, but Jarno Trulli and Webber knocked Fisichella out. With about 5 minutes left, Massa took first spot and Räikkönen took second. Hamilton was bumped to third, Alonso fourth, and Heidfeld remained fifth. About one minute later, Hamilton took the top spot, and Alonso second. Alonso had one lap left, but could only get within about 2 tenths of a second of rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton. Massa and Räikkönen were dropped to third and fourth respectively. Heidfeld held on to fifth, with Kovalainen in sixth, bouncing back from his disappointing 22nd starting position in Canada. Vettel finished seventh, just two spots behind his temporary partner, Heidfeld. Trulli was 8th, with Red Bull-Renault's Mark Webber ninth and Fisichella tenth. Blessed and undaunted, Lewis Hamilton continues his magic moment in America. With his McLaren, he gets the second pole position, subtracted in extremis to the World Champion, Fernando Alonso, and keeps behind, in the second row, the Ferrari of Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen. This terrible rookie does not stop anymore, despite not having slept well, on the eve:

 

"The truth is that perhaps the holidays of these last days have been a bit too much".

 

Far from satisfied, then. But always honest in his evaluations: 

 

"I wasn’t expecting a pole, honestly I’m a bit surprised. I admit it. I knew that Fernando would be fast here, while I had not yet found the right optimal setup of the car and I entered qualifying with doubts about the performance. That is why I am ecstatic". 

 

The Spanish driver, with a serious face, contains thoughts and words (after the controversies of the last days) and is limited to technical analysis, and minimises the final mockery. 

 

"I was the fastest in free practice and in the first two qualifying sessions. But not in the third, the decisive one. Oh well, there is no doubt that it is a good weekend for me, I thank the team and remain confident for the race". 

 

 It is clear that Fernando Alonso thinks (and hopes) to win:

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"Although I have only one certainty: it will be a hard, hard-fought Grand Prix. And having Hamilton in front won’t help me". 

 

There is only one argument that brings the two fellow rivals together: Ferrari. 

 

"It’s important that they stay behind, that’s fine". 

 

On everything else, each goes his own way. Lewis Hamilton reiterates:

 

"I couldn’t be happier". 

 

The Englishman driver reveals that he did not have an easy Friday, and for the first time the feeling was not so positive: 

 

"I had a problem, and once again the team did a great job. For this reason, thinking about the fact of having achieved the best lap right at the last chance, I repeat that I really did not expect it". 

 

The young Englishman admits that the second pole is more beautiful than the first, he confesses that he shouted shamelessly in the helmet as soon as he crossed the finish line and saw the P1 sign, and is proud of the behaviour of the American audience: 

 

"I saw so many people cheering for me: so many fans who ideally accompanied me. And I also thank them for their banners". 

 

Young Lewis does not want to wake up, then. But he knows that he will have to be very careful at the start: 

 

"I expect a hard attack from Fernando, from the straight to the first corner". 

 

And Alonso replies: 

 

"He is absolutely right". 

 

Start aside, the paddock voices say that Fernando Alonso would be thinking for the race, and not just for qualifying, and would have a little more fuel than his teammate. Lewis Hamilton must have made the same considerations with his engineer: 

 

"In general my philosophy is step by step. One at a time. We did a great job. We have improved since the beginning of the season, and these are the facts. I’m having fun, I try to keep doing that". 

 

The Alonso-Hamilton duel will certainly not end in Indianapolis. On the other hand, there is a new disappointment. It will not be the same as the one in Canada, with Ferrari forced to watch McLaren through binoculars, but it still stings. Because even if it is of lesser intensity, as the men of the Maranello team guarantee, it still does not dispel the bitter taste of defeat, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso filling the first row, Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen taking the second with a thousand struggles, proud to have fended off the surprise Bmw, but not satisfied at having turned out to be slower than their most dangerous rivals. You can also pretend indifference, but the face of Felipe Massa, immediately after the end of the battle for pole position, is far from cheerful. 

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"We were 0.4 seconds off on the single lap, we don’t understand why, we have to work hard to solve some problems. Of course, we’re in better shape than Montreal, but we had to be faster. Saturday in Canada was a disaster. I started in the third row, it was better here, but I can’t smile. When you drive a Ferrari and you’re not in front of everyone, you can’t be happy". 

 

Especially when for days you talk about Indianapolis as the turning point race, you know you are on a friendly track, one of the best in the entire World Championship, and you believe you need to make full use of it to make up for the heavy deficit in the championship standings. Therefore, it is surprising that Räikkönen, who finished half a second behind Hamilton, still manages to find only positive readings. There are two cases: either he is one who is satisfied with little, or he must have a particular strategy, a lot of fuel that allows him to think big for the race. The fact is that the Finnish cold driver says with little discouragement: 

 

"We’re not far from McLaren. We couldn’t get the pole, I think the second row is the best possible, but between us and them there is not much difference. Here the race is very long, the chances of overtaking are not lacking. I think the strategy can be decisive, I’m curious to see who will stop first in the pits. My feeling with the car is not bad even if we can do better. And for sure it’s an advantage that the BMWs are not in the way, Not having them in front of us is a help".  

 

Yes, because at one point it was feared that even BMW, very fast throughout the weekend with Nick Heidfeld and rookie Sebastian Vettel, could create problems for Ferrari. Now, from the secret rooms of the red-coloured pits emerges the suspicion that the BMWs can have a lot of fuel in the tank and be the protagonist of a particular tactic, insidious for everyone, should they be able to keep up with the pace of the two best teams, a belief equal to that that the McLarens are a bit lighter than the two cars driven by Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen. Another hope for Ferrari fans: here the straight just after the start is very long, the first corner can be really a dangerous appointment and an opportunity to attack, Felipe Massa or Kimi Räikkönen Felipe Massa or Kimi Raikkonen could exploit the slipstream of the two McLarens well and perhaps squeeze through the middle. Hopes or utopias, it will be discovered today, in a race that Ferrari must straighten out at all costs. What was certain yesterday was that the last lap of the two heroes in red was not flawless. Luca Baldisserri says:

 

"In the end we missed something".

 

He was not referring to the car,  to some aerodynamic appendage, to some particular adjustment.  Usually the epilogue is the peak point and instead the decisive effort was less effective than the penultimate one. Translated: Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen could have done more. The hope is that they can do it today. Massa swears: 

 

"Our race pace is similar to that of McLaren".

 

The data analysed on Friday seems to comfort him. If it is true, it will scuffle, especially in the final, when everyone will have soft tyres. Nick Heidfeld is behind the Ferraris. And he is disappointed. The German driver was hoping for something better with his more and more surprising BMW. 

 

"It was my fault, I made a mistake in the last corner, otherwise Massa and Räikkönen would have been behind me. Because the balance of the car is perfect, we are very fast. In Montreal the pace in the race was good, I hope it is like this here too". 

 

Nick Heidfeld is fifth. But what amazes the audience is Sebastian Vettel, the rookie who was able to finish in seventh place.

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"It was an exciting experience. I confess I didn’t sleep last night, I knew I was facing a great challenge". 

 

Pupil of Michael Schumacher, the young German driver must replace Robert Kubica and does not want to waste the occasion. 

 

"I’m seventh, I start from the clean side of the track, I want to score points. It would be an unforgettable debut".

 

Sunday, June 17, 2007, at the start of the United States Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton maintained the internal trajectory and defended the first position, rejecting the attack of Fernando Alonso. He is followed by Felipe Massa, Nick Heidfeld, Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Räikkönen, the only one starting on hard tyres. A contact immediately eliminated the three veterans Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello. At the same time, Giancarlo Fisichella spun and had to restart at the back of the group. Lewis Hamilton built a 4-second lead over Fernando Alonso, with positions that seem crystallised. During lap 21, Nick Heidfeld spun at the first corner, restarting between the two Finns following him. At the end of the lap, the German refuelled, as did Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa. Fernando Alonso refuelled on lap 23, while Kimi Räikkönen stopped at the pits during lap 24. Heikki Kovalainen moved up to first position for five laps; while leaving the pits, Kimi Räikkönen, now at ease with soft tyres, passed Nick Heidfeld, who had the hard ones, placing himself in front of both. In this phase Fernando Alonso was faster than Lewis Hamilton and, taking advantage of some lapped drivers, he approached the British driver. During lap 38 the Spaniard managed to pull alongside the Englishman on the main straight, but Lewis Hamilton’s defence on the inside left no room. Nico Rosberg,  fourth, made the refuelling during lap 40, with the aim of going to the end of the race. At that point behind the two McLaren drivers were the Ferraris of Felipe Massa, at 12 seconds, and Kimi Räikkönen, at 17 seconds. From lap 50 to lap 52, the second set of pit stops did not change positions. Kimi Räikkönen, the only driver to use the soft tyres, was the fastest on the track, he joined Felipe Massa and attacked him at every turn but failed to finish the overtaking. In the meantime, at the Ferrari pits it was clearly decided that the McLaren duo’s 15-second lead was too big a gap to orchestrate an exchange of positions. The retirements of Nick Heidfeld, who was fifth, and Nico Rosberg, sixth, set the remaining points in which also entered the rookie Sebastian Vettel. Lewis Hamilton won the United States Grand Prix and secured his second consecutive triumph. 

 

Fernando Alonso was second, followed by Felipe Massa, Kimi Räikkönen, Heikki Kovalainen, Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel. He has got a taste for it. Not a rookie. Lewis Hamilton triumphed in Indianapolis, no rookie has ever done it. And he did it perfectly, almost gracefully, without doing anything wrong. Infallible at the start, when he kept behind Fernando Alonso at the first corner, a piece of granite at lap 39, when behind him the Spaniard was trying his hardest and he with derisory ease kept ahead. Annoying, almost irritating. Because he is the newest guy and he is beating everyone. But above all, he is beating Fernando Alonso, and this is a fact. It is making him nervous, since yesterday too the Spaniard gave ample signs of impatience. On the track, when he approached the McLaren wall menacingly, perhaps to protest the team behind him, or when he put the tyres on the grass, which cost him a second and a half in the pursuit of Lewis Hamilton and in fact closed his dreams of overtaking. And even outside, when he did not want to comment on some of his unusual gestures and when asked why he often finds himself behind the teammate he called on Ron Dennis, as if the final standings were decided by McLaren's team principal and not by the merciless stopwatch. Lewis Hamilton is making his most famous teammate eat his liver. Let's not talk about what belly aches he is giving Ferrari, even in Indianapolis completely out of the game, far from victory, from the two wild fugitives, on the podium with Felipe Massa almost by inertia, because the rest of the world is weaker and the other competition (the third-wheelers) is not yet fearsome. Lewis Hamilton runs fast towards the victory of the World Championship, while Ferrari, after the merciless verdict of Indianapolis, remains immersed in its anguishes, with a car that improves too slowly and with Bridgestone tyres that work worse than those fitted on McLaren. The race, apart from the skirmishes between Hamilton and Alonso, offered few emotions, simply because it was clear from the start that there was nothing for Ferrari to do.

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The terrible rookie sublimely started his car, Alonso preferred to settle for second place, Massa third, while Räikkönen collapsed. The Finn’s race was decided in those few metres. It was Heidfeld, who had more problems than usual with BMW, and his compatriot Kovalainen, the Renault driver who blocked him for 24 laps. Räikkönen should have gone to the assault, but instead, he stayed quietly in his slipstream, not bothering anyone, but not even glorifying the team. They say in Ferrari he had the best strategy. All this allowed him to finish still fourth but without the flicker of an overtake (apart from the one on Heidfeld, with the German driver struggling with the tyres), because Kovalainen was blown away by the tactic studied in the pits, not by the aggressiveness of the driver. There remains the benefit of the doubt about what happened in the last laps. Räikkönen had reached Massa and appeared much faster: if the team’s order had stopped him, nothing to say, the Brazilian driver has more points, it is right, without running the risk of an accident because of the battle. If he was the one who backed out, then he had better give his grit a shine. Definitely tarnished. As for the rest, Indianapolis tells of the miraculous sixth place of Jarno Trulli, with a Toyota constantly struggling, of Sebastian Vettel's debut with a point, of the incredible ninth place of Giancarlo Fisichella, first a buzzer for ending up on the grass and moving from eighth to nineteenth position and then unleashed in overtaking, with no less than seven victims, Albers, Davidson, Button, Speed, Sutil, Wurz and Liuzzi. Pointless emotions, good only for bored Americans. He brings nothing home. As said, Lewis Hamilton now leads the World Championship by 10 points, and it should always be remembered that no one, at the debut (excluding the first year of F1, 1950), has won the title: 

 

"After seven podiums in seven races I would say that it is legitimate to think about the World Championship. If there is even a small chance I will try". 

 

But this 22-year-old phenomenon gave a further test of his abilities, and this time he showed off his mental ones: to do it again after the victory in Montreal was not easy. 

 

"And in fact I don’t believe it, it’s like a dream. I put it down to battle: I always pushed, even if I felt behind Fernando, who, I repeat, is a great champion. I could feel his breath, he almost stepped on my feet. He really put me under great pressure". 

 

Maybe, but it was not enough. Alonso tried twice to overtake his teammate at the start and lap 39: both times he was rejected and was forced to take note: 

 

"I tried, but my efforts were not enough, I always tried to respect the car, not to create dangers and accidents. Never had the right conditions to overtake him, also because I had to be careful to check and not to wear the tyres too much. Now I must immediately concentrate on the French Grand Prix". 

 

Controversy? A little bit. 

 

"Why did I move, brushing past him? To get out of his slipstream, I was hot. But Hamilton did well. I’m happy because in Indianapolis I was never lucky. My pit stop? I didn’t anticipate it. It had all been agreed with the team on Saturday. I should have put less gas in qualifying? Ask Ron Dennis". 

 

The very boss who, on the eve, had decided not to enter into the merits of the relationship between the two drivers:

 

"It is not part of my job to advise drivers on how to drive. They are professionals, I don’t even want to know what they might have said to each other".

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The McLaren team principal is still mindful, evidently, of the accident that saw protagonists in 2006 Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Montoya, both out after the first corner. It did not happen this time, because Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso are too smart to hurt themselves, to commit suicide especially when the title is at stake.

 

"The important thing is always finishing in points, possibly on the podium. Personally, I don’t want to finish my Grand Prix at the first corner".

 

This is Alonso’s philosophy, repeated yesterday after the Grand Prix. Despite the great confidentiality of the team, spite will remain and will be a way - between the two - to create mutual stress and pressure. Or simply, to annoy each other. There are those who consider it a weapon, also because McLaren are increasingly convinced that the technical overtake of Ferrari has been completed and the World Championship affair will increasingly be a domestic affair between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. It will be up to Ferrari to make Ron Dennis and his team think again, but for sure this duo, with their blatant and ultimately sincere and legitimate rivalry, takes Formula 1 back a little to the 1980s, a time when the paddock was run in a more artisanal way. The future bickering between champion and rookie will spice up what seems the most interesting championship. Meanwhile, the North American trip which will remain unforgettable for young Lewis Hamilton, goes in the archives:

 

"I never thought, in a million years, I would be here fighting with these drivers, to win against them. It’s the biggest leap of my career. Thanks to my family and team". 

 

These are the words of Lewis and he speaks softly. 

 

"They were great, from England to Germany. Without them we would have achieved nothing, they are the ones who give me strength and energy". 

 

Now it is a leader’s expression. The boy has quickly studied and learned the rules of the system. The last thought contains humility, which never hurts: 

 

"In fact, it was the team that did a perfect job. I just put the icing on the cake". 

 

And he blows a kiss to the camera, obscuring it for a second: it is his thanks to the world.

 

Five points gap after three races. McLaren 44, Ferrari 39, a tight battle in the Constructors' World Championship, an inevitable mirror of what can happen in the Drivers' Championship. Thirty-five points difference, a chasm, after seven runs. McLaren at 106, with three one-twos already in the bag, Ferrari at 71, with three successes (Räikkönen in Australia, Massa in Bahrain and Spain), but never a weekend to be framed, with the podium seized. And above all, thirty points less in the last four Grands Prix, five weeks of hell, which have launched Lewis Hamilton into orbit, made Fernando Alonso feel a bit sick (still victorious in Monaco and on the podium three times out of four). He laid bare all the troubles of Ferrari. The fans who love the Maranello team wrinkle their eyes, they do not understand how they ended up in such a nightmare. However, unfortunately for the Maranello team, it is all true. These merciless numbers capture exactly the reality. Not even Indianapolis, the friendly track par excellence, has been able to stop this collapse. Catchphrases are good:

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"We took a terrible slap to which we will all respond together".

 

Declares solemnly the sports director Stefano Domenicali on Sunday evening, how useful pacts of honour are, with the whole team ready to swear on even harder work in the week in the Silverstone tests and on an immediate ransom in the next race in Magny Cours, but at this point, it is mainly necessary to identify the many problems and solve them quickly, because McLaren, it has been understood, does not wait and the early invoked by the men of Ferrari may be already late. It certainly did not help to lose both Michael Schumacher and strategist Ross Brawn. Felipe Massa at the end of the season with two victories (Turkey and Brazil) had a bit of an illusion for everyone, he is not doing badly, but he is not a leader like Michael Schumacher was and he is not as talented. The German driver drove the development of the car and then, not happy, in the race still stole a few tenths of the optimal performance, Felipe Massa can already be satisfied when he does not make mistakes. As for Ross Brawn, Luca Baldisserri is an excellent strategist, he certainly has nothing to learn, but perhaps the Englishman lacks a little charisma, the ability to get out of any complicated situation. And we must think that at the beginning Ferrari was better than McLaren, it had the advantage of already knowing the Bridgestone tyres (although they are different from last year), only it did not take advantage of the wild card. It was reliability that betrayed them, Massa stuck with the gearbox in Australia, Räikkönen with the lowered engine revs in Malaysia and with an electrical problem (which forced him to retire) in Barcelona, troubles that cost heavy points. Ferrari could have run away and did not. When McLaren (always crossing the finish line and in the points) exploded and pulled away.  Now the tyres work better on the cars of Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Felipe Massa explains: 

 

"On some particular tracks such as Montreal and Monte-Carlo where the tyres have little grip, we cannot find the right balance of the car". 

 

Even in Indianapolis, the grip was not optimal. So much so that Kimi Räikkönen preferred to start with new hard tyres, rather than with used softs. Sacrificed the performance in the name of grip. Which then served no purpose, with his uncertainty at the first corner. Not to mention that little grip means trouble in qualifying. And as Räikkönen says: 

 

"If you always start behind, winning becomes impossible". 

 

The Fin is also a problem at the moment. He started with a triumph in Australia, then went into decline. At Indianapolis Ferrari defended him strenuously: 

 

"Nice race, the champion we know is back". 

 

But he missed the start, he remained 24 laps behind Heikki Kovalainen, and he did not attack Felipe Massa in the final. Moreover, Ferrari has always been a master in development, but since this year the tests are limited, a few days, in precise periods (collective tests), only one car and one driver at a time. Maranello’s usual miraculous comeback is in danger of not happening this time. A new aerodynamic package is planned, but Kimi Räikkönen at Silverstone will test it only on Wednesday and Felipe Massa on Thursday. 

 

"It is a problem that affects everyone". 

 

But the development of Ferrari has been slower than that of McLaren, how can it now accelerate? At present there is no fight, with the aggravating circumstance that Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso never make mistakes. Either the cars of Maranello return to being competitive, or it is all over at the dawn of summer. In short, the men of the Maranello team are not overwhelmed but certainly beaten. 

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And it is a new defeat that stings. Because if in Canada the two Ferrari drivers had blamed the particular asphalt, which gives little grip to the tyres and did not favour the balance of their cars, here the fault is all the speed. Especially in qualifying, on Saturday, on the single lap. 

 

"We must learn to start further ahead".

 

This is Räikkönen’s ruling. 

 

"The fight for pole position is the key factor to win races. If you start behind, overtaking becomes a tremendous feat". 

 

The eve that has been cursed for some time. But Sunday is no joke either. Because Ferrari is also slower in pace during the Grand Prix. Felipe Massa acknowledges this more openly than Kimi Räikkönen. 

 

"We’re not that far behind".

 

The Finn stubbornly asserts. The Brazilian, on the other hand, seems more honest. 

 

"Right now, the McLarens look like they’re from another planet. I tried to keep up at first, but they were impregnable, especially Hamilton. In the first part, I managed to contain the gap, then there was nothing more to do". 

 

Rivals went for a walk, immersed in their internal feud, the two Ferraris had only to win the battle with the rest of the world, closing the competition from Renault and BMW. There was no problem for Massa. He was third on the grid, he passed in the same position at the first corner, he eventually got on the podium. Räikkönen’s performance was more eventful. His start was a disaster, he himself acknowledges. 

 

"I had run out of new soft tyres, so I preferred to start with the hard ones, to favour the grip. Unfortunately, I made a mistake right away, not so much at the start as at the first corner, I lost two positions and I compromised everything. Because on a circuit like this, with the same tyre compound, you don’t overtake. It's even worse if you're on hard tyres and the person in front has softs. It is no coincidence that I did not manage to pass Kovalainen, he had the softs, I had the hards, while with Heidfeld, where there was the opposite situation, I made it on the first try". 

 

What makes the news, however, is above all his final battle with Felipe Massa.

 

"There was no team order".

 

Kimi Räikkönen immediately points out, perhaps sensing the suspicion that hovers in the pits. 

 

"Both Massa and I were told just not to exaggerate with the engine revs, since we will have to use it in France. Otherwise, the race was free, only he never made a mistake and didn’t let me overtake him. He made a small mistake, which allowed me to approach him, but at a point where any manoeuvre was impossible. I was waiting for another, which did not come". 

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So Felipe Massa was able to bring home a third place that puts him 19 points behind Lewis Hamilton, while Kimi Räikkönen remains seven points behind his teammate: 

 

"Nothing is lost, but we must improve quickly and start winning, otherwise the comeback is impossible". 

 

Felipe Massa is even more realistic:

 

"It’s normal to be concerned, I would be, even if we had a significantly smaller gap. We’re behind them, we have to acknowledge that. Now there are two weeks before Magny-Cours, you have to catch up at all costs before it is too late". 

 

The alarm has now gone off. However, in both, there is no resignation. 

 

"We must work hard".

 

 Kimi Räikkönen declares it. 

 

"We are not giving up".

 

Felipe Massa echoes him. In the hope that the next tests at Silverstone, Tuesday Luca Badoer, Wednesday the Finnish driver, Thursday the Brazilian driver, will be of use. Unfortunately, this year's regulations are limited in quantity, so the Ferrari miracle, which with testing away from the Grands Prix had accustomed them to great comebacks, risks not materialising. Not to mention that Kimi Räikkönen made a mistake at the start and was not enthusiastic in the race. Unintentionally, to perfectly photograph the situation indirectly is Felipe Massa. 

 

"Kimi had a better strategy than me, but he made a mistake in the beginning and ruined everything". 

 

Once again upsetting the team. For the moment he prefers to remain calm, but meanwhile, with the sporting director Domenicali, he admits: 

 

"It is clear that we cannot be happy with third and fourth place. The goal was to win". 

 

Which they have not managed in three races. With the aggravating factor: 

 

"With Räikkönen we had a precise tactic. The mistake at the start complicated everything".

 

You talk about Alonso-Hamilton, and you think about Senna-Prost. The current rivalry at McLaren can only bring back to the three years 1988-90, years of domination of the English team (with an engine, at the time, Honda). For many, the pair Senna-Prost was the most beautiful of Formula 1, perhaps the strongest (but there are many other nominations: Lauda-Regazzoni, Scheckter-Villeneuve, Piquet-Mansell, Fittipaldi-Peterson), certainly the most impressive. Today’s rivals, Alonso-Hamilton, represent the most surprising pair, no doubts about it:

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"Raise your hand and say who would have thought, at the beginning of the season, that he would be going so fast".

 

Fernando Alonso talks about his teammate, and no one can deny it: Lewis Hamilton is a rookie. With the blessing of Bernie Ecclestone, one who knows a thing or two about drivers: 

 

"If someone were to put the helmet of Michael Schumacher on him, they would have the impression of seeing Schumi driving". 

 

The Spaniard feels overwhelmed and has every reason to be. Looking past his nose, he understood that the cycle was over at Renault and, by choosing McLaren, he knew he was doing the right thing. Anything, however, could have been expected except to find the new champion, now a blossoming phenomenon, coming from the team's academy. English, as the team. Protégé, as he was in Renault at the time of Jarno Trulli. Today Fernando Alonso, who thought he was being carried in the palm of his hand, understood that life will be hard and that nothing will be given to him from here to the conclusion of the World Championship. The only hope is that sooner or later the competitive trance of the young Lewis Hamilton will break, a fact that - statistically - sooner or later will come. But how will the internal rivalry develop? The first frictions have already been there, and one suggestion - to McLaren – comes from the former survivor, Alain Prost, who won in 1989 against Ayrton Senna, but lost in 1988: 

 

"I think that having two identical cars is a mistake. In the long run they will end up hurting each other because too much tension is generated". 

 

And the French driver speaks from experience. But he also explains the exploits of the English rookie, and it can also be an interesting reading of how today’s Formula 1 is. 

 

"I think Hamilton is benefitting from McLaren’s simulator. These simulators today have reached perfection, they can reproduce all the climatic conditions you want: rain, heat, humidity. Everything. Well, Hamilton worked with the simulator much more than Alonso. And you can see from his driving: smoother, less tough than the Spanish. I think that’s what makes finding the right set-up for Hamilton’s car so easy".

 

After the 2007 United States Grand Prix, the question is: will Formula 1 remain in the USA? And, if so, in Indianapolis or elsewhere? Bernie Ecclestone is under pressure from the American organisers, whose contract with the FOM expired with this Grand Prix. There was a meeting between the parties, but there was no official announcement. In fact, Bernie Ecclestone says he will decide by mid-July. In the local newspapers, however, the organisation sticks: 

 

"There is no promotion of the event. You arrive in the city centre, and there is not a single poster, an advertisement. This is just not good". 

 

The truth is that the Indianapolis circuit hosts other car races, and it is not only structured for F1, as Bernie Ecclestone would like. Fans are there, but television coverage is not extended to all of America. Indianapolis has allies though, some teams. Toyota, BMW and Ferrari thinking about their own commercial market, push to keep a Grand Prix in the United States.


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