Welcome back ladies and gentlemen; I hope you all had a fantastic weekend.  To kick things off this bright October morning we have a recap of the final F1 race of the season that took place in Sao Paulo, Brazil over the weekend.  As usual, if you have it TIVO'd and plan on catching it later, read no further; otherwise hit the jump to see who emerged this year's F1 champion.

In qualifying, both Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso performed well, with Hamilton capturing the second spot on the grid while Alonso was a row back in the fourth starting position.  For Hamilton, however, things quickly took a turn for the worse, when after the race started, he immediately dropped to third behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen; followed by being overtaken by his teammate Alonso on the third corner; and finally, dropping to eighth after encountering a short off at the end of the back straight.

On the second lap, Lewis regained his composure, overtaking Jarno Trulli of Toyota to move into seventh.  On lap seven, Hamilton moved up again, passing BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld to take sixth. Unfortunately, a lap later, Lewis' unfortunate luck again returned, when a gear-shifting problem resulted in a loss of speed, dropping the F1-title contender to 18th.  After resuming normal racing speed, Hamilton managed to mount a comeback, working his way back up to 11th by lap 17.

On laps 20 and 21, the race leaders Kimi Raikkkonen and Felipe Massa (both of Ferrari) made their first pit stops of the day, allowing Alonso to move into first. A lap later, Alonso and Hamilton both pitted, resuming the race in the third and 13th positions, respectively.

By lap 33, Hamilton managed to improve slightly, moving into the ninth position; meanwhile, Alonso lost a position to BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica, moving the Spaniard back to fourth. On lap 36, Hamilton made his second stop of the day, resuming the race in ninth.

On lap 44, Lewis improved one position, moving into eighth.  Eight laps later, Alonso made his second stop of the day, resuming the race in fifth.  On lap 56, Lewis made his third and final stop of the day, resuming in eighth.

After the remainder of the field pitted, Alonso managed to move up two spots into third; while Lewis moved up one position into seventh. Both drivers managed to maintain their positions through the end of the 71 lap race; with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa earning the top two finishing positions, respectively.

The result gave this year's F1 championship to none other than former McLaren Mercedes driver (and current Ferrari driver) Kimi Raikkonen; while Lewis Hamilton finished second in the driver's standings.  Interestingly enough, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton finished the season with 109 points each; however Hamilton's higher number of second place finishes gave him the nod over his teammate.

While it's without question a disappointing result for Hamilton, it was a tremendous year for the young rookie nonetheless, and we wish him the best of luck next year. To Kimi, congratulations my friend; it was long overdue; it's just a shame you weren't able to do it with our team.

To read more about the final F1 race of the season as well as what both the drivers and team managers thought about the finale, keep reading for the official press release.

Enjoy.








OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


F1 Sao Paulo: Lewis Hamilton Runner-up

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton finished the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship second overall with one point behind the new Champion Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari). In the final race, the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo, which he started as the overall leader, Lewis came home seventh due to a temporary gear shifting problem. His team mate Fernando Alonso finished the race third behind Räikkönen and Felipe Massa. Both Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers are on 109 points each; Lewis took the runner-up position because he has more second places than his team mate. It was only the seventh time in 58 years of Formula 1 that World Champion and runner-up were separated by only one point.

The start: After qualifying second, Lewis started from the front row for the 12th time in 17 races. Fernando was fourth on the grid. At the start, Lewis dropped to third behind Kimi Räikkönen, at the third corner, he was overtaken by Fernando and was fourth. At the end of the back straight, Lewis had a short off and dropped to eighth place.

The race: Lewis passed Jarno Trulli (Toyota) for seventh place on the second lap. On lap seven, Lewis overtook Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and was sixth.

One lap later, Lewis suddenly slowed down; the reason was a gear shifting problem. He dropped to 18th position before he was able to resume normal racing speed. Lewis charged through the field: 17th on lap 10; 16th on lap 14; 12th on lap 15; 11th on lap 17.

On laps 20 and 21, the two Ferraris made their respective first stops and Fernando took the lead. The Spaniard came in one lap later (8.7sec) followed by Lewis on the same lap (5.8sec). On lap 26, Fernando was again in third place whilst Lewis was 13th.

Lap 29: Lewis was 12th. Then he was stuck behind Sebastian Vettel (Toro Rosso Ferrari). Lap 33: Lewis overtook and was now ninth whilst Fernando lost one position to Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber) and was now fourth. On lap 36, Lewis came in for his second stop (6.5sec) and remained ninth. Fernando was now third.
On lap 44, Lewis improved to eighth place and was in a points scoring position.

Fernando pitted for the second time on lap 52 (6.5sec) and rejoined the race in fifth place. Lewis came in for a third stop on lap 56 (5.4sec) and resumed in eighth place. Fernando was back in third place.

After Trulli’s third pit stop on lap 64, Lewis was seventh. He took the chequered flag after 71 laps in the same position. Fernando finished third. Both Vodafone McLaren Mercedes drivers ended the championship on 109 points each, Lewis is second overall because he has more second places – five instead of Fernando’s four.

Comments

Fernando Alonso
“The result today is of course disappointing but we already knew that it would be difficult starting from fourth to win the race and the Championship today. I predicted at the start of the season that it was going to be very close and that it would come down to the race here in Brazil, I just hoped that it would have been in my favour, but that is not the case and I just have to accept that for this year. It was a difficult race for me. During the first laps, I thought I was able to match the Ferraris’ speed; however, when they began pushing they were just too fast. Our car was fast and competitive throughout the year and I won four races. I am still satisfied with this season”

Lewis Hamilton
“Obviously I am pretty disappointed with the result today, having lead for so much of the season and then not to win the Championship. However I have to put the result into perspective, this is only my first year in Formula 1 and overall it has just been phenomenal. I am still very young and have plenty more years in me to achieve my dream of becoming World Champion. I have to thank absolutely everyone in the team for everything they have done for me this year, without them and all their hard work I wouldn’t have even been in this position today.”

Ron Dennis
“Having fought a close and thrilling battle in the Drivers’ Championship all year and then not to win it at the final hurdle is obviously extremely disappointing. However, we as a team can only feel very proud of all our achievements this season and the way in which we have conducted ourselves. To come into this championship showdown with two drivers both with a chance of winning is a testament to all the hard work and dedication everybody in the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team has put in throughout this difficult year. We would like to congratulate Kimi on his achievement today.”

Norbert Haug
“Not the result today we wanted to achieve with both Lewis and Fernando having been so close to winning the World Championship. But even two times 109 points is not making up for 110. It hurts very much if you are missing just two points to win a Championship. However, I want to thank the entire team for their hard work during this season. It is sad for everybody in the team that we couldn’t capitalise on our second chance following China. Congratulations to Kimi and Ferrari on winning the World Championship.”

Copyright © 2007, Daimler AG