Sidepodcast

Championship Contenders: Lewis Hamilton

It can't be easy being Lewis Hamilton. Your fellow drivers have turned against you, the British media has turned against you, legions of F1 fans appear to have turned against you, and every tiny little thing you do is watched and analysed a thousand times over.

If I was him, I would probably never say anything ever again, just in case someone takes it the wrong way. But has he let it get to him? I don't think so.

One thing you have to admire Lewis for is his complete focus on his job. He lives to race, and that's all that matters. It's not about winning friends and influencing people, it's about getting out onto that track and putting his foot to the floor. Perhaps this is how it should be, however Formula 1 no longer promotes out-and-out racing. It's a team game, with strategic decisions to be made, and a championship to be won.

At the beginning of the year, Hamilton's season got off to a perfect start with a sublime win, but it would be five more races before he would see the top step of the podium again. Even so, he remained in contention throughout. I wasn't backing Lewis to win the championship last year, because I wasn't sure I'd seen enough to justify the hype. Everyone said he was a great driver in the rain, but I hadn't witnessed it. I was constantly informed that he was brilliant at racing through the field, yet he never needed to. On both counts, in 2008 those arguments have proven to be correct.

There have been some questionable races, of course, but all the championship contenders have had their off days. As many pundits are keen on saying at the moment, the title will go to whichever driver makes the least number of mistakes when it really counts. Last year we saw Hamilton's error rate increase, the closer to the end of the season we got. It almost looks as though this year could see history repeat itself, but I believe Lewis is made of stronger stuff than that. Heck, this is a man who can win at Monaco after hitting the wall.

Hamilton is now sitting on four wins, without a victory since Germany, and has but five points on his nearest rival. It's his championship to lose from this point onwards, the question is will his desire to win at all costs will overcome his teams desire to bag those points.

Championship Contenders: Felipe Massa

Massa had possibly the worst start to a season that a championship contender could have, retiring in both Australia and Malaysia. However, it was definitely a case of third time lucky, as Massa went from zero to 10 points in Bahrain. Since then, his fortunes have improved drastically, but has he made the most of his opportunities?

Everyone knows that Massa has a reputation for being fast but reckless, and this year seems to be the first time he's really managed to tame his racing style enough to concentrate on the long game. I’m pinning it down to Monaco, where he spent all week telling us how the circuit didn’t suit him, how he didn’t enjoy it and wasn’t expecting to do well. Then, he nailed the lap, and pole position was his. Granted, the race didn’t work out, but since then, we’ve seen some of the spark that makes a champion.

Of course, we’ve also seen the other side of Massa. Silverstone was possibly the most embarrassing race drive I have ever seen. Any time you can lose count of the number of spins one man achieves in a race, that is a bad afternoon’s work.

Nevertheless, Massa has won five times so far this season, which is more than anyone else. He had Hungary in the bag too, before suffering a cruel mechanical failure. Things have often happened to Massa that were beyond his control. The engine retirement. The pit lane traffic lights. The traffic light system again, and again. Through it all, Massa has demonstrated a level head, and taken it on the chin. He’s defended anyone who makes a mistake, including himself, because he knows it’s a team game. Whilst the driver is out there on the limit, if it all goes wrong in the pits, as it often has at Ferrari, then it’s game over.

So, he’s won more races than any other driver, he’s matured, improved, and tamed his wild style, and has worked with his team to make it happen. Surely this makes him the worthy champion? Well, I’m not sure. You can’t forget those little errors that creep in, and his driving in Fuji frequently crossed the line between being on the edge and being reckless.

Massa is just five points behind the leader, which means it’s entirely possible for him to sneak through and take the championship title. But will it be a tainted title? The all too regular penalties that fall in Massa's favour I have deliberately ignored, because while they may be biased in favour of Ferrari, they don't specifically appear biased in favour of Massa.

Championship Contenders: Robert Kubica

BMW have been on the radar all season, but only as a support act, there to pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong at the front. Kubica collected his and the team’s first win at Canada this year, and even though it was an important moment, it didn't mark a defining improvement for them. In fact, BMWs fortunes dropped slightly after that impressive 1-2.

Nevertheless, and much to Bernie’s dismay, consistency keeps you near the top, and with only two races left, Kubica is still in contention for the driver’s title. If you had to choose between Kubica or Raikkonen making it to the final battle, wouldn’t you have picked the defending champion?

There’s an argument to say that Kubica doesn’t necessarily deserve this year’s title. He certainly hasn’t scrapped as hard as the top two, but who’s to say that’s a bad thing? Whenever there is any faltering at the top, Kubica is there to maximise on the opportunity. Keeping your nose clean is more than half the battle, especially this season. Not only that, but compared to some of the performances Heidfeld has put in this year, it’s clear Kub is getting more out of his car.

Perhaps the secret to his championship potential is the silent but deadly variety. To me, he has never really stood out with an outstanding performance, but at the same time, when has he ever done anything wrong? Aside from a slight slip up at Silverstone, I honestly can’t recall another single mistake by the man, and the most controversy he has inspired this year is whether those “Pole on pole” headlines should ever have been allowed.

The one thing Kubica has against him is the team are resigned to being third. They know that McLaren and Ferrari have the extra pace to keep them at the top, and their only goal was the solitary win this year. Having achieved that, they were already looking to 2009, whilst Kubica stood at the back of the garage shouting: “Hey, guys, you know, we could still win this!” Of course the odds were against them, but to be the only guy believing you still have a fighting chance must be quite draining in a team as clinical as BMW. When their objectives are aligned, the team are a force to be reckoned with, but when the bosses turn on you, as Heidfeld learnt earlier in the season, you’ve got to stand your ground and prove your worth. BMW finally figured out this week that Robert had been right all along, and he now has the full backing of Theissen and his boys for the remainder of the season. The big question is, have they left it too late?

Picking up 12 points in the last two races is entirely possible for the Pole, but the added problem comes from requiring the other contenders to fail. In fact, to remain in contention post-China, he really needs to finish at least two places ahead of Lewis. Of course, we saw last year that you can never say never in this business.

Video 20 - Brazil Preview

• Length: 07:56 
• Size: 90.1 MB 
• File: video20.m4v 
• Transcript: video20.pdf 
• Torrent: video20.torrent 

It's the last race of the 2007 season, and three drivers still in with a shot at the title, so it's going to be a corker! We at Sidepodcast are a little bit sad though, because it means this is the final race preview for a while. In order to go out in style, we've pulled out all the stops to bring you the freshest news, an in-depth track guide and the state of play at the top of the tables.

Don't miss the very last ING Race Index of the season as well as checking in with Alex Wurz on why he's missing this last hurrah in Sao Paulo.

We're Demob happy, so join us, won't you?

Music played: Zach Ashton, Ocean

Music comes from music.podshow.com, with special thanks going to Allianz SE, Brembo, Toyota Motorsports GmbH, Honda Racing F1, ING Group, Red Bull Racing and RTV GmbH for the use of their video footage and images.