Hamilton confirms class in drive to history
By David Tremayne in Bahrain
Published: 16 April 2007
He said before the race that he hoped the result would create "a different championship" for him. Well, Felipe Massa certainly got that after a splendid third grand prix triumph for Ferrari. But the presence of Lewis Hamilton in a challenging second place, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and, more crucially, well ahead of his McLaren team-mate Fernando Alonso, has turned the series on its head.
The rookie sensation not only established a new mark by scoring three successive podium finishes in his first three races, but now shares the points lead with Alonso and Raikkonen, the men who were supposed to be the stars.
Yet again, it was a superb race. It began with Massa on pole position, desperate to redeem himself after his gaffe last week in Malaysia, Hamilton was alongside him on the front row for the first time in his Formula One career, and Raikkonen and Alonso were apparently discarded on row two.
As in Sepang, the start would be crucial. On the cleaner side of the grid Massa got away well. Hamilton, on the dirtier side, did a decent job and protected himself. Alonso failed to beat Raikkonen to the turn, but went around him as the Finn momentarily faltered midway through, while Nick Heidfeld signalled immediately that he would be a threat for BMW-Sauber.
The first stint went Massa's way, but Hamilton pushed him hard and was only a second adrift when the first pit stops began as he stopped on lap 19. Massa came in a lap later, followed on ensuing laps by Alonso and then Raikkonen. The Spaniard's late stop at least explained why he trailed Hamilton in qualifying, but this day he would have no answer to him.
Massa resumed the lead, and opened it to more than 10 seconds as Hamilton and Alonso struggled in the middle stint. The champion had already lost a place courtesy of Raikkonen's later pit call, and on the 32nd lap lost another when the underrated Heidfeld pulled off a wonderful passing move round the outside.
Hamilton was thus indisputably McLaren's prime hope, and girded with the harder compound Bridgestone tyres for the final stint, on lap 44, he changed status from the hunted in Sepang to the hunter in Sakhir. Massa's advantage shrank dramatically, from 7.6sec to 2.3sec by the flag. Raikkonen, by contrast, fell back while Alonso never made a move stick on Heidfeld.
Massa, eyes shining, savoured the success and sheepishly dedicated it to his girlfriend Rafaela, "because she had such a tough time last week". He added: "We put everything together and, hopefully, now we are back to fight. The championship is very, very close. The second stint was crucial, and in the third I had a few tenths' margin if I needed them, but that was not necessary."
Hamilton's performance once again was the highlight of the race, particularly as it left Alonso in the desert dust, and his new benchmark prompted a single-word response: "Sweet!"
It was another bitterly disappointing day for his countrymen - Jenson Button was taken out on the opening lap; David Coulthard's Red Bull failed him with a broken driveshaft after he had demonstrated that he has not forgotten how to overtake, and Anthony Davidson drove splendidly in the thick of some fantastic midfield fights only to suffer a cruel Honda engine failure near the end.
Hamilton's only real fright came as Davidson's Super Aguri spat a cloud of oil in his face. "It didn't cause me any trouble," he said. "I don't think I made any mistakes that cost me much. I struggled a bit on used tyres, locked up the brakes a couple of times, but otherwise it was pretty smooth. The car was good today so I had a base from which to put pressure on Felipe. We had great pace in the first stint and I could keep up with him. If I'd been able to get in front, I would have pulled away, I'm sure."
The first win thus remains to be secured, but it will come and it will come this year. Of that there is no doubt. And, as Hamilton demonstrated so clearly yesterday, he will have as much chance to fight for the world championship as the man who won it for the last two years.
"I don't see why not," Hamilton said matter-of-factly, the very calmness with which he accepted the idea a clear indication of what is really going on behind those warm brown eyes, "as long as I can keep up this consistency. For the remaining races I'm going to feel a lot more comfortable and try not to make any mistakes, and at McLaren we will all be trying to take advantage of the four-week break to the next race".
It is nine weeks since he was home and in that time his life and career have changed for ever. He reflected on that with the same mental precision he brings to his on-track performances. "It's been a fantastic achievement, and I am extremely proud. We have worked extremely hard to get where we are today, me and my family, and also the team, and I am looking forward to going home. The support is growing but I have not experienced it yet. It's all still new to me, so I hope I'm still able to walk on the streets."
If not, perhaps on water?
Great drivers trail in boy wonder's wake
Lewis Hamilton made history yesterday with a third podium finish on the trot.
Mario Andretti, Carlos Reutemann and Jacques Villeneuve all put their cars on pole position for their first race; Giancarlo Baghetti even won his. In 1970, Swiss racer Gianclaudio Regazzoni finished fourth for Ferrari in the Netherlands, fourth in Britain but retired in Germany.
That same season, Brazil's Emerson Fittipaldi was eighth on his debut for Lotus in the British GP and fourth at Hockenheim but retired in Austria. Michael Schumacher burnt his clutch out at the start of the 1991 Belgian GP, then finished fifth and sixth in Italy and Portugal.
Nobody, not even the greats, has achieved three podium finishes - third, second, second - in their first three grands prix. Get used to the Hamilton trivia; there will be more.
Standings
1 F Massa (Br) Ferrari 1hr 33min 27.515sec
2 L Hamilton (GB) McLaren 1:33:29.515
3 K Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:33:37.523
4 N Heidfeld (Ger) BMW-Sauber 1:33:41.315
5 F Alonso (Sp) McLaren 1:33:41.519
6 R Kubica (Pol) BMW-Sauber 1:34:12.520
7 J Trulli (It) Toyota 1:34:48.518
8 G Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1:34:49.215
9 H Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 1:34:56.915
10 N Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:34:56.524
11 A Wurz (Aut) Williams at 1 Lap
12 R Schumacher (Ger) Toyota at 1 Lap
13 R Barrichello (Br) Honda at 1 Lap
14 C Albers (Neth) Spyker at 2 Laps
15 A Sutil (Ger) Spyker at 4 Laps
Retired: A Davidson (GB) Super Aguri on Lap 51; M Webber (Aus) Red Bull on Lap 41; D Coulthard (GB) Red Bull on Lap 36; T Sato (Japan) Super Aguri on Lap 34; V Liuzzi (It) Scuderia Toro Rosso on Lap 36 ; J Button (GB) Honda on Lap 1; S Speed (US) Scuderia Toro Rosso on Lap 1
Drivers' standings
1= Alonso, Hamilton, Raikkonen 22pts; 4 Massa 17; 5 Heidfeld 15; 6 Fisichella 8; 7 Trulli 4; 8 Kubica 3; 9 Rosberg 2; 10 Schumacher 1; 11 Kovalainen 1.
Constructors
1 McLaren 44pts; 2 Ferrari 39; 3 BMW-Sauber 18; 4 Renault 9; 5 Toyota 5; 6 Williams 2.
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