June 17th, 2007 -- Lewis Hamilton proved that he wasn't a one hit wonder and dominated the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis from start to finish. The young British driver showed that he was capable of being calm under pressure and delivering the goods for Ron Dennis, much to the disappointment of his reigning world championship team mate, who still doesn't quite know what to do with a team mate that can hold his own.
What has been confirmed is that the performance difference between McLaren and Ferrari that was evident at Monaco is real. The McLaren battle has become the race for the lead (the Hamilton/Alonso show) and the Ferrari battle has become the race for who gets to go to the press interview (the Massa/Raikkonen show). Ferrari was the best of the rest this weekend with Massa claiming the lowest level on the podium, but the Italian press is looking for blood at this point. I know that no team can stay at the top forever, but that will not stop the blame game from happening in Maranello with nasty phone calls coming from Turin. The red cars were clearly outclassed in North America, racing in France will tell if the gap has been closed.
The Start
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The rest of the weekend was pretty much just a fast parade minus the first turn mess that involved Ralf Schumacher running out of talent, again, and taking out Rubens Barichello (seen telling the Honda bosses that it wasn't his fault this weekend and he needs to keep his job) and David Coulthard who can still drive a crappy car to a decent finish.
Kovalainen proved yet again that his Italian team mate is worse than he is and that the reigning constructor doesn't have a championship car this year. The rookie Finn has been outshining his senior teammate most of the season and you have to believe that the latter may not be asked back next year.
Kimi Räikkönen
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Jarno Trulli felt a little bit safer by finishing the best of the Japanese manufacturers and bringing the Toyota home in sixth, but I'd hate to be the accountant in Toyota City trying to figure out the cost per championship point ratio.
Mark Webber finished seventh, the best of the Red Bull contingent and the result was probably worth a nice check from Bernie when the pay for performance money is issued to the teams. Not great, but probably a positive cash flow for the team.
The last points paying position set a new record for F1 with Sebastian Vettel becoming the youngest person (at 19 years and 11 months for the trivia buffs) to obtain a world championship point, displacing Jenson Button in the category. The German replaced a recovering Kubica who still needed some time off from his nasty shunt in Montreal. The result will definitely lead to a better contract for 2008.
Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa
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As for the rest, well, it's the same song, second verse. Williams was a flash in the pan. When everyone is running well and follows the rule book, Sir Frank's team is an also ran. Super Aguri beat the factory team (but Sato-san had issues this week) and Spyker was happy to sell two t-shirts to fans that had never been to an open wheel race before.
The race itself wasn't all that exciting. I'll be honest, Le Mans received more of my attention this weekend and it wasn't the fact that the French race lasted longer. F1 is still too sterile and controlled and too far removed from the cars that I have in my garage. Even though I've got three red cars with prancing horses on the badges, the Scuderia cars are still nothing like what is on the road. Mind you, there are days where I think the Mondial's electronics were only designed to last an hour and a half on Sundays. And my wife is sometimes surprised they last that long. F1 is in need of change again and a new generation of hangers-on during the pit formation isn't the right approach.
The circus goes back to Europe for the first weekend in July. Expect the return to the continent to bring new bits (or even a new car for some teams). We'll be able to see if silver arrows can hold up there lead. The season isn't over yet, but the tea leaves are easier to interpret...
Felipe Massa
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Race Results
