With total of 238 laps to go, the outcome of this year’s Formula One season is far from certain. The McLaren drivers have the advantage in the standings but Ferrari hopes to strike back, both on and off the track.
Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton took first and second place, respectively, at Monza leaving Kimi Raikkonen third in the race and third in the drivers’ championship, 18 points behind first-placed Hamilton. Felipe Massa did not finish the Italian Grand Prix and moved down to fourth in the championship with 69 points compared to Hamilton’s 92 and Alonso’s 89.
McLaren, however, could face sanctions, including expulsion from the world championship, if found guilty of benefitting from the dossier of Ferrari data passed to their chief designer Mike Coughlan earlier in the season. The team was censured for possessing the “secrets” at the first hearing, but was found not guilty of any other offence as there was insufficient evidence to prove that any of the information had been used.
New evidence, believed to include an e-mail exchanged between McLaren drivers Fernando Alonso and Pedro de la Rosa, has surfaced, just days before the second hearing. Ferrari believes the new information could be instrumental in proving its side of the argument. Ferrari team boss Jean Todt made it clear that, should things go against them for a second time, he will take the matter outside of the sport’s own jurisdiction to the civil courts.
Despite still believing that it may get a leg-up from the “spygate” hearing, the Ferrari team is confident that it will have a better chance of beating arch-rival McLaren over the final four rounds of the 2007 season than it did on home soil at Monza. Ferrari feel that the remaining four venues on the schedule – Spa (Belgium) on September 16, Fuji (Japan) on September 30, Shanghai (China) on October 7 and Interlagos (Brazil) on October 21 should favour the F2007 more than Monza. “Definitely, we have not been competitive this year on circuits where you need a lot of mechanical grip and where you have some important kerbs like Indianapolis and Montreal,” Todt said. “The worst circuits this year have been Monte Carlo, Canada, Budapest - in qualifying - and Monza. There is a question mark about Fuji because we have not been there, but we feel confident about Spa, Shanghai and Brazil.”
The final European race of the season takes place this weekend as Formula One makes a very welcome return to the popular Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the heart of the Ardennes forest. With a length of seven km, Spa remains the longest circuit and the only one on the calendar where drivers experience vertical G with a significant compression before the climb up to Eau Rouge. It is also the circuit with the longest period of full engine demand. In 2006 Spa wasn’t a Grand Prix venue – the time off was used to renew the pit and paddock facilities, as well as to carry out work on the final corners before the start/finish line. The former left-right-left Bus Stop chicane has been changed into a right-left chicane. The biggest concern is probably the weather, which could turn things into a bit of a lottery, just like the event at Neurburgring back in July.
