How Raikkonen Became 2007 Formula One World Champion

Now then, to most people, Kimi Raikkonen seems to be a surprise Formula One World Champion… and in a way he is. But, you can also argue that he is the most deserving of the three protagonists going into Brazil – Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso and himself. Indeed, a couple of hours before the race I wrote an entry detailing each of their prospects and how likely they were to win. I didn’t say, but I thought Hamilton would sneak it.
So, how did Raikkonen actually be in contention for the title in the first place, I don’t hear you asking. I’ll tell you anyway, race by race in some kind of thought out idea…

Round 1: Australia
Raikkonen dominates, winning from pole position on his debut for Ferrari, Alonso is second and Hamilton third on his race debut.

Raikkonen 10 points, Alonso 8, Hamilton 6

Round 2: Malaysia
Alonso wins, Hamilton secures the one-two and Raikkonen is third.

Alonso 18, Raikkonen 16, Hamilton 14

Round 3: Bahrain
Brazilian Felipe Massa wins, Hamilton is second and Raikkonen finishes off the podium in third. Alonso comes in fifth creating a three-way tie at the top.

Alonso 22, Raikkonen 22, Hamilton 22

Round 4: Spain
Massa wins again with Hamilton second, beating Alonso on home soil. Raikkonen does not finish.

Hamilton 30, Alonso 28, Raikkonen 22

Round 5: Monaco
Alonso wins in a controversial McLaren one-two, with Hamilton complaining that he wasn’t allowed to race for victory. Raikkonen gets a point for eighth.

Alonso 38, Hamilton 38, Raikkonen 23

Round 6: Canada
Hamilton takes the first win of his short career. Alonso finishes seventh and Raikkonen fifth.

Hamilton 48, Alonso 40, Raikkonen 27

Round 7: United States
Hamilton wins again from pole position, Alonso is second and Raikkonen fourth.

Hamilton 58, Alonso 48, Raikkonen 32

Round 8: France
Raikkonen returns to winning form in a Ferrari one-two. Hamilton is third and Alonso seventh.

Hamilton 64, Alonso 50, Raikkonen 42

Round 9: Britain
Raikkonen makes it two in a row, Alonso beats Hamilton into second place.

Hamilton 70, Alonso 58, Raikkonen 52

Round 10: Germany
Alonso wins, Hamilton fails to score in ninth place, ending his run of nine races on the podium. Raikkonen fails to finish.

Hamilton 70, Alonso 68, Raikkonen 52

Round 11: Hungary
The big bust-up of the season and where the controversy really began. Alonso was demoted from pole to fifth after preventing Hamilton from being able to complete his final qualifying run. However, Hamilton wins, Raikkonen is second and Alonso fourth.

Hamilton 80, Alonso 73, Raikkonen 60

Round 12: Turkey
Massa wins, Raikkonen is second and Alonso third. Hamilton comes in fifth.

Hamilton 84, Alonso 79, Raikkonen 68

Round 13: Italy
Alonso wins, leading a McLaren one-two. Raikkonen is third.

Hamilton 92, Alonso 89, Raikkonen 74

Round 14: Belgium
Raikkonen wins, Alonso third, Hamilton fourth.

Hamilton 97, Alonso 95, Raikkonen 84

Round 15: Japan
Hamilton gets what will be his fourth and final win of the season, looking to have the title all but sewn up. Alonso crashes out. Raikkonen finishes third.

Hamilton 107, Alonso 95, Raikkonen 90

Round 16: China
Hamilton fails to finish on worn tyres as he pitted for the second time. Raikkonen chalked up Ferrari’s 200th Grand Prix win. Alonso finished second.

Hamilton 107, Alonso 103, Raikkonen 100

Which brings us to…

Round 17: Brazil
As it turned out, Lewis seemed to make more mistakes today than at any other race so far – or at least suffer more misfortune than he’s encountered before. He dropped from second on the grid to fourth by the first corner, then went off the round under braking further round the opening lap. On lap 9, he lost a huge chunk of time when he a gearbox problem putting him 18th before he could sort it out and remap the settings. He ended up 7th after putting in a superb drive with many outstanding passing manoeuvres.

I’m certain his time to be champion will come.

Fernando Alonso finished the race third having few dramas. Never in the frame for victory, he was lapping around a second slower than the Ferraris, briefly falling as low as fourth when BMW’s Robert Kubica passed him. He got his podium slot back when Robert pitted for the final of his three stops. Raikkonen’s win was enough to overcome Alonso’s three point advantage – third wouldn’t be enough.

Final standings
Raikkonen 110, Hamilton 109, Alonso 109

Raikkonen, in my view, deserves to be champion. A McLaren winner would seem to be tainted given all the spying scandal stuff that’s gone on over the summer.

Alonso has behaved like a spoilt child recently with his constant whining, even going as far as persuading the Spanish motor sport authority to convince the FIA that McLaren needed a fair-play steward over the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend – all basically to protect his ego and reassure himself he wasn’t being screwed over.

Hamilton has a long future in Formula One, and yes, it would have been amazing for a rookie to win the championship, but the weight of expectation really did seem to be too much for him to take in the end. I’m sure he’ll go into next year even stronger.

So, while I have my misgivings about the way Ferrari go about their racing and their conduct this year, I pass on my congratulations to them and to Raikkonen because at the end of it all, they’ve contributed to some wonderful racing.