Me.
The Belgian F1 GP.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
As you can read from the title, this is going to be another one of those posts about how great a recent race was. If you're not interested in listening to me ramble on about one of my passions, the address bar is at the top of your screen.
Woot!
The race was a short 44 laps, and for the most part it was like any other race - a case of one car/team dominating another. But the start and end of the race was simply amazing.
The Start
Raikkonen proved to the world that he wasn't losing his spark, and he was still in the business to win. When the lights turned green, he shot off from fourth place into third place, both he and Massa (second place) left Hamilton (the race leader) with little room to breathe. And then it turned to a wheel to wheel fight for second place between the two Ferraris! Raikkonen proved his mettle and powered past his teammate Massa with superb skill to take second place. It was not long after that where he pushed past Hamilton to take the race lead! Amazing!
The Middle
It was a safe race at this point, nothing incredibly interesting happened here. Raikkonen kept his position with a solid five-second lead over Hamilton, with Massa not far behind in third place.
The End
Yes, in the final ten laps of the race, Hamilton started to pick up the pace, and he lowered the gap to a stunning 0.5 seconds to Raikkonen by the third-last lap!
It was on the second-last lap where things got bloody amazing. Hamilton pushed up to the side of Raikkonen, almost taking the lead from the Flying Finn. But Raikkonen proved too difficult to overtake because of the turn, but shortly after Hamilton made another go - with one swift manuever, he overtook Raikkonen and made it into first place! Raikkonen, being one who doesn't back off easily - pushed back, and it was a wheel-to-wheel race, till a minor mistake on the wet road forced Raikkonen off the track and into a wall, officially ending the race for him.
Hamilton played it safe then on, and with only one lap to go he steered his car to victory.
And while everyone was focusing on Hamilton and Raikkonen, Heidfeld surprised everyone when he flew in from fifth-place into third, at the final few turns of the very last lap!
Brilliant stuff! Simply brilliant!
People know that I'm a huge fan of McLaren, and being so it's easy to understand that I am not fond of Ferrari or its drivers. But Raikkonen has to be given credit for today, because he drove an amazing race. The final moments kept my father and I on the edge of our seats, and we were ecstatic with the way these two masterful race leaders raced one another. I am a little sorry for Raikkonen for not completing the race, but I'm sure he'll bounce back next week and give everyone a run for their money.
Formula One baby! Yea!! :D
Given a certain level of thought byAdam Dewind at 9:37 PM