FORMULA ONE

• 2007 F1 Year in Review

  
  

  By Steve Schwarz, Motorsports Editor Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - The 2007 Formula One championship was a historic fight that came down to the final laps and was decided by one point between three drivers, yet the season will be remembered for its off-the-field antics rather than the great title battle.

  McLaren-Mercedes was fined $100 million and kicked out of the manufacturers championship after they were found to have pages upon pages of Ferrari data in their possession. Ferrari mechanic Nigel Stepney, accused of supplying those documents to the rival team, was subsequently fired. McLaren chief designer Coughlan was suspended.

  Further, two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso testified, after given immunity, that the team did indeed have and use the Ferrari data.

  The testimony helped caused a riff between the driver and McLaren team boss Ron Dennis and the two rarely spoke to each other for the final two months of the season.

  Alonso was also having a problem with his rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton. When Alonso came to McLaren, having won the last two drivers championships with Renault, he expected to be the team leader and the No.1 choice in every team decision.

  "In Fernando's mind, there is the firm belief that our policy, whereby each driver receives equal treatment, does not properly reflect his status as World Champion," Dennis said.

  Hamilton was no ordinary rookie. He was fast, aggressive and confident. He is also young, good-looking and very popular with the fans.

  The Ron Dennis "protege" (they first met when Hamilton was 10 years old and Dennis signed him at the tender age of 12), began his Formula One career with nine consecutive podium finishes and became the first rookie ever to lead the driver's championship. He won back-to-back races in Canada and the United States.

  When Hamilton fought off rain and fog to win the Japanese GP in late September, he held a commanding 12-point lead over Alonso and 17 points over Kimi Raikkonen with just two races to go and seemed a shoo-in for the title.

  But Hamilton finally showed signed of his youth and inexperience in the penultimate race in Shanghai. With rain on the way, Hamilton and the McLaren "brain trust" tried to stretch his first stint too long. They were losing six seconds a lap to Raikkonen when he finally came down pit lane on lap 30. Hamilton came in too fast and with no grip left in the tires he slid into a gravel trap from which he could not escape.

  Raikkonen went on to win the China GP, but still went into the final race at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil as the longshot to win the title.

  The Finn was seven points behind Hamilton and three points behind Alonso.

  The last time F1 had three men still alive for the title at the final event was in 1986 at Australia when Alain Prost of McLaren beat out Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet both driving for Williams.

  Right from the drop of the green flag things worked against Hamilton. Pole winner Felipe Massa led the field through the first turn, but Raikkonen slid around Hamilton. Then Alonso drew up alongside Hamilton and took third place before the field had completed three corners. The rookie tried vainly to fight back, but ran wide and fell all the way to eighth place.

  On lap eight thing got worse for Hamilton. His transmission failed and he couldn't get the car into gear. He finally limped back into the pits, but he was essential out of it.

  With just twenty-five laps remaining in the 2007 season, Raikkonen was in the "drivers seat" assuming the team would give the order to Massa to let him pass.

  The two Ferraris were more than 30 seconds ahead of Alonso and Hamilton was only up to eighth place.

  Afterthe Ferrari drivers had made their final stops, Raikkonen was "miraculously" in the lead and in line for his first World Championship. Hamilton would have to finish in fifth or the title would slip away. Hamilton set a new fastest lap of the race on lap 58, but he had three cars and more than 20 seconds to make up on Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg.

  Hamilton made up one spot, but that was it and the closest finish in F1 history showed Raikkonen (110 points) winning the title by one point over both Hamilton (109) and Alonso (109).

  Had Alonso and Hamilton worked better together throughout the season, Raikkonen would never had been in position to steal away the title.

  InHungary for example, Alonso won the pole, but was penalized for intentionally impeding his own teammate Hamilton's final qualifying run. Alonso finished fourth after starting sixth on the grid instead of on the pole.

  Of Alonso's four wins, each one came from a front-row start and he was two for two when starting out front.

  After the disappointing finish and the off-track discord, it was no surprise that McLaren and Alonso parted company after the season.

  For Raikkonen, the championship was a great way to replace a legend, Michael Schumacher, who won a record seven titles (five with Ferrari) over his illustrious career.

  Raikkonen will only get better as the years go by as he learns to communicate better with his new team.

  Early in the season that was not the case and although he won the season opener he struggled at the beginning. But after a win in France, Raikkonen finished on the podium in eight of the final nine events including three wins in the final four races.

  After the season, it came out that Renault also received information from a rival team - McLaren. McLaren says that files containing the entire technical blueprint of the 2006 and 2007 McLaren cars were copied in March 2006. Renault has been summoned to appear before the World Motor Sport Council in Monaco on December 6th and the ruling might determine if Alonso returns to the team where he won his two titles. Unlike McLaren, if Renault is found guilty and given a similar penalty, it's uncertain whether the team would be able to continue in Formula One.

  The 2008 F1 season should again be a close race with Ferrari and McLaren battling it out for the top spot. And if Alonso and Renault team up again, they might join the fray as well.

  12/03 15:34:45 ET