Anti-Climax at Suzuka

Lap 37 of 53 at Suzuka, Michael had everything in control or at least it seemed like. But then the unimaginable happened. His first retirement due to an engine failure in over 5 years, a rare incident considering the reliability of Ferrari over the years. It has happened at the penultimate race virtually assuring Alonso his second championship. Alonso is now 1o points clear of Michael and just needs to finish in points at Interlagos to win the title. With a strong 3rd place finish from Fisichella, Renault have a 9 point lead which could be just enough for them to clinch the constructor's championship.

Chinese delight

Before coming to the Shang, Alonso was leading by a mere two points from Michael. The wet qualifying session here had given Alonso P1 where bridgestones failed to impress. Michael at P6 was the only bridgestone driver in top 10. But in the end it is Michael Schumacher who had the last laugh.

It was another wet race to begin with. As expected Alonso raced ahead of the field while teammate Fisichella held his position and slowed things down as he held Kimi for good part of the starting few laps. Kimi inspite of making a great start saw another DNF to his name. Meanwhile Schumacher was playing the waiting game. As the track dried up, Schumi on his bridgestone intermediates started to close-in on the Renaults. Alonso's huge lead was all gone in a matter of few laps as his wrong choice of tyres played into Michaels hands. From then on it was Schumi all the way. With Alonso coming second, now both are tied at 116 points each, Schumi having won a race more than Alonso.

With two races to go, WDC and WCC can go either way from now on. Winner takes it all at Interlagos.

End of an Era

Michael Schumacher finally announced his retirement from racing. Schumi's 11 long years at Ferrari is coming to an end, Schumi will no longer be seen next season as a racing driver. So all those who were hoping to see Kimi and Schumi as teammates will be disappointed. Its not going to happen after all.
Another much awaited decision was made public today. Kimi Raikkonen will join Ferrari as No.1 driver for 2007. Its going to be a new beginning for the Iceman, who was an automatic choice as Schumi's replacement at Ferrari.

Before all these was an exiting race at Monza, where Schumi made most of his front row start by converting it to a comfortable win. Championship leader Alonso was victim of a rare engine failure which reduced the gap to just 2 points in drivers championship. Also now Ferrari have taken the lead in Constructor's championship. The last three races are going to be as important as ever for Schumi in his pursuit of 8th title, which would be a fitting end to one of the greatest careers in F1.

Expect the unexpected!

Hungarian GP and exciting, something's not right. Yes, it was unlike any Hungarian GP and full of incidents. Having Schumi in 11th and Alonso in 15th in the grid itself gives one heck of an imagination and add rain to the picture, one of the most exciting races in recent times. It turned out to be an anti-climax though in the end with Kimi, Schumi and Alonso failing to finish. Schumi inspite of retiring with two laps away from finish got 1 point for all his efforts, thanks to the disqualification of rookie Robert Kubica. All the incidents meant a certain Jenson Button claimed his maiden win in his 113th race start. More on this here.
The contenders Renault and Ferrari had a disappointing weekend with both their No.2 drivers failing to shine. Ferrari managed to reduce the gap by 3 points and Schumi is now 10 points away from catching Alonso. But what matters now is that momentum is with Ferrari.

With the season reaching last stages its time for the teams to finalize their lineup for next season. Kimi still holds the ace and his decision is going to be one of the most expected announcements ever. The rumours are strong that he has signed a 5-year deal worth €€160m with Ferrari. Everything is expected to fall in place at Monza next month where Schumacher is also expected to announce his future plans. If he continues for another year and Kimi joins Ferrari its going to be in the league of prost-senna combination.

Champions and Gamesmanship

Its one thing to be a world champion and another to be matured enough to deserve that. This race weekend has seen two of the champions getting penalized for unsporting behavior. Its more than just a coincidence that Alonso features in three separate incidents that resulted in 2-second penalties for Alonso and Schumacher. Its also not a coincidence that Flavio Briatore is the mastermind behind this as was the case in 1994 when Schumi deliberately collided with Damon Hill to claim the title.

Alonso break-testing Doornbos
Schumi-Alonso incident

With the main contenders out of the equation, The Iceman Kimi Raikkonen earned a well deserved Pole for his 100th GrandPrix start. He definitely deserves the win in what he calls his home race due to the large number of Finnish fans at Hungarian GP.

This clip is from last week's race. Great men dance alike :P
The leg dance