(Note: Lengthy discussion on Formula 1 ahead.)
A Frightfully Chilling Ad
When I first chanced upon this ad a few weeks back, my immediate reaction to it was: What a cute ad!
I mean, here you have two young, talented F1 drivers - Lewis Hamilton & Fernando Alonso, displaying their ultra-competitiveness in such a charming & loveable manner.
However, it is only upon further introspection that one realises how frightfully chilling this ad is.
Why?
Because an F1 fan would know that there is definitely this dimension of realism in the ad…and the ultra-competitiveness that is portrayed in the ad is in actual fact not a whole lot different from what is happening in real life.
I mean, if Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa were to do this ad, you’d go “Ah, that’s a laugh!” cos you know that there is hardly any chance of them actually being competitive with each other in real life.
But for Alonso and Hamilton, it’s a totally different story.
…
An Intriguing Season
I’ll have to say that the Alonso-Hamilton saga that we are witnessing this season is one of the most intriguing sub-plots I have ever seen in F1.
It’s far more epic, far more intense than any partnership I’ve seen before. It’s bigger than Raikkonen-Montoya, it’s bigger than Raikkonen-Coulthard, it’s bigger than Alonso-Fisichella, it’s bigger than Hakkinen-Coulthard, it’s bigger than Schumacher-anybody.
In fact, it’s reached Senna-Prost proportions…which is saying a lot.
Why do I say this?
Quite simply, we’ve never had 2 premier racing drivers, both very much in the hunt for the WDC, and both not exactly liking each other, in the same team since Aryton Senna joined Alain Prost at McLaren in 1988. (Why does it always have to happen in McLaren?)
The Raikkonen-Montoya pairing never really fulfilled it’s potential. Montoya never realistically had a shot at the WDC.
During the 2 Alonso WDC years at Renault, Alonso basically destroyed Fisichella. There was no fight.
During the Schumacher championship years, his teammate (whoever they were at that time, e.g. Irvine, Barrichello, or Massa) was never truly a threat to his superiority. Michael was numero uno, no questions asked.
As for David Coulthard…well, he was always going to be the No 2 at McLaren, wasn’t he?
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The Rivalry
Somehow I just find the Alonso-Hamilton rivalry extremely fascinating. (Hands up those of you who thought at the beginning of the season that the two of them would get along just fine the entire season?)
Here you have a 2-time WDC, the guy who defeated Michael Schumacher in his prime, coming to team McLaren with the undoubted “superstar” status, as is only befitting a driver of his stature & accomplishments.
He is the man who delivered 2 WDCs with Renault. He is the driver who was quick when he needed to be, smart when he needed to be, patient when he needed to be, and ruthless when he needed to be. He is the driver who scored championship point after point, when his teammate Fisichella couldn’t in the same machinery.
I remember being extremely impressed with his calculated performances on the track. I remember how he would be patient and simply collect vital championship points when it was apparent he couldn’t fight for the win on the day. I remember how he totally tore up the field in the rain at Hungary last year. Those few opening laps at the Hungaroring were some of the most magnificent laps I’ve ever seen. I remember how he proved he could pass too, when he overtook Michael Schumacher, of all people, at 130R (of all places!) at Suzuka in 2005.
Quite simply, I thought Alonso was the next great F1 legend.
Then comes the little British rookie who (unfortunately) is made to undergo the quintessential baptism of fire by having to be teammates with the next great F1 legend.
At the start of the season, everyone thinks Lewis would not only be blown away by Alonso, they also believe that his loss of confidence at the annihilation by Alonso might irreversibly damage his racing confidence for good.
Nobody ever comes straight into F1 and starts keeping pace with a 2-time WDC in his first season. It’s just not happening, no way.
But what do you know?
Lewis Hamilton comes into F1 and proceeds to set the world alight with some of the most remarkable performance of any driver this season, rookie or not. And would you believe it? He is now the points leader in the world championship.
I’ve gotta admit I never saw this coming.
But honestly, this rivalry is as intriguing as it can ever get.
How in the world can a 2-time reigning WDC be struggling and trying to pull out all the stops (ethically or otherwise) to stop this young rookie of a driver?
We now know that the “we’re-teammates-but-we’re-still-friends” act the two of them have been putting on for the media all this while is finally over, since the rivalry reached its tipping point at the Hungaroring last weekend.
We can safely say the act is over. The gloves are now off.
Ron Dennis is like the father who has no control over his household, Hamilton is sitting pretty atop the championship standings and has not much to be bitter about (although deep inside, I believe his friendship with Alonso is effectively over), while Alonso is contemplating life in another F1 team.
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Alonso – Deliberate?
I still stand unconvinced that at last year’s Monaco qualifying, Michael Schumacher deliberately stalled his Ferrari in an attempt to cheat.
You can say what you want…I still remain unconvinced.
And lest it be said that I am a biased Ferrari fan, I also want to state that I am also unconvinced that Alonso was fully responsible for holding Hamilton up at Hungary qualifying last weekend, deliberately delaying his leaving the pit so as to leave Hamilton with no time to clock his final hot lap.
Even if hordes of observers believe that Alonso deliberately delayed Hamilton with unsportsmanlike intentions, I remain unconvinced and choose to withhold judgement on this particular issue.
Let’s put it this way: If Alonso really masterminded the whole thing in order to put Hamilton at a disadvantage, it must certainly have been the most ingenious ploy I’ve seen in F1, effectively carried out with the utmost precision…right down to the last second.
Somehow, Alonso MUST have known that by leaving his pit only when there was exactly 1:38 left in the qualifying session, he would not only have enough time for himself to clock his final hot lap…but he would also leave Hamilton with a few seconds too short to cross the start/finish line in order to clock a final hot lap.
It was quite simply the most precise operation ever. And we can start to crown Alonso as the most intelligent F1 driver ever to drive an F1 car, because in the midst of fighting for pole position in the frenzy of the qualifying session, he not only has the time to concentrate on putting in a perfect qualifying lap, he still has the time and composure to calculate for himself how many seconds he needs to sit in the pits so as to shortchange Hamilton by a mere few seconds.
It’s brilliant thinking. And kudos to him if it was all indeed planned out.
…
I’m really keen to see how this F1 season plays out.
This Alonso-Hamilton rivalry is just too good to miss.
(Ok, enough F1 rant for one day.)
