This year’s Formula One season would be remembered more for the off-track drama rather than the brilliant title-winning performance by Kimi Raikonen in Brazil and the rookie driver Lewis Hamilton’s rise to the racing folklore in his very first season. Starting from the spying scandal to the current court speculation over the decision regarding the driver’s championship, the 2007 season has been far from ideal for the FIA’s efforts to make Formula One driving a spectacle to watch compared to other sporting events.
Apart from Mclaren, I don’t think there is any doubt over who is the deserved champion on the track. Even Lewis Hamilton and outgoing Mclaren driver Fernando Alonso have made it clear that the Flying Finn, Kimi Raikonen is the legitimate winner. But the Woking-based Mclaren team is adamant to to settle championship appeal via the court. After the massive fine imposed on Mclaren along with the team’s disqualification from the constructor’s championship as a result of the spying scandal, team boss Ron Denis wants to score some points over bitter rivals Ferrari, not on the track but through the courtroom.
There is a widespread belief that Lewis Hamilton has missed out on the title due to Mclaren’s own technical mistakes, notably the tyre incident in China and the gearbox problem in Brazil, over the last few races rather than the ‘cool fuel’ issue at Interlagos involving the Williams and BMW Sauber team cars.
Although the Mclaren lawyers are stating previous precedents to support their appeal, as far as the sport of Formula One is concerned any upholding of the appeal would be injustice to the driving skills of Kimi Raikonen who had been very unlucky over the last few years not to win the championship even though being the best on track on many occasions. With a growing dominance of Ferrari and Mclaren in the sport, viewers are demanding more competition among all the twenty racing cars and at this moment if there is any off the track awarding of the driver’s championship, the FIA is sure to feel the heat in justifying the court’s decision to scrap the Iceman’s much deseved world title.
Image Link: Sydney Morning Herald
