Hamilton's 1st Title Within Reach

Rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton continued his trek to the championship with another impressive win.

Round 15 at the Fuji circuit was one of the wettest on record - just the 4th ever to be started behind the safety car.

For nearly 20 laps Hamilton showed supreme skill by following behind the Mercedes CLK 63 AMG safety car and boy was it... boring. Once the pack was finally allowed out on its own the race was kept under control by Hamilton who led his teammate by 2 points in the standings.

When teammate Alonso violently crashed his McLaren into a lovely white wall Hamilton was gifted the luxury of a guarunteed lead no matter what his result.

The rain allows for strange things to happen including a wonderful performance by rookie Renault talent Heikki Kovalainen who took his first F1 podium position with a stunning second place.

Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen made it two Finnish drivers on the podium for the first time in the sports' history. His podium finish keeps him in third place for the championship but a distant 17 points behind Hamilton.

1. Lewis Hamilton
2. Heikki Kovalainen
3. Kimi Raikkonen
4. David Coulthard
5. Giancarlo Fisichella
6. Felipe Massa
7. Robert Kubica
8. Vitantonio Liuzzi *

*Liuzzi was found to have passed another car under yellow and penalized 25 seconds on his final time. The penalty bumped Spyker's Adrian Sutil to 8th gifting both team and driver with their first ever points scored. Scuderia Toro Rosso plan to appeal the decision.

Hamilton Puts His Money Where His Mouth Is - Gross!

Saturday qualifying for the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix began in a haze - literally. Rain and fog descended upon the Fuji circuit strong enough to cancel Saturday free practice. Initially, the pit lane light shone red and the cars stayed dry and toasty under the cover of the paddock.

A short wait and the drivers were released to begin Q1. The rain became merely a drizzle and as the cars zipped around the dense fog shod in Intermediate weather tires. The fog began to clear, a dry line began to form, and the lap times began dropping.

By the beginning of Q3 the cars qued up at the end of pit lane in typical fashion to begin the repetitive procession of fuel burning laps. The often exciting build up to pole position lacked its regular enthusiasm. The drivers had less need to change the intermediate tires which are better suited to long term runs without the usual degradation suffered by the full dry weather rubber.

As the last man on track, McLaren rookie Lewis Hamilton pipped his teammate for pole and will start at the front for tomorrow's race.

During the unilateral interviews that follow qualifying, the mood of the three drivers varied vastly when questioned about the session.

Lewis Hamilton displayed a smug confidence that seemed to boast his aggressive pre-race comments directed at his teammate and main title rival, Fernando Alonso.

Seated next to Hamilton, Alonso's closed body language suggested a defeated attitude after being unable to best his younger nemesis. Alonso's focus appeared shaken and his eyes tired.

Third place qualifier Kimi Raikkonen put his Ferrari on the second row and remained indifferent about the entire affair - perhaps even indifferent about the entire event in remarkable Raikkonen style.

Weather is likely to play a large role in the outcome of tomorrow's race and anything can happen in a race to the end of the season. Just three races to go!

Fuji Cancelled after 1977 Race

Formula 1 returns to Fuji this year after a 30 year absence.

Following a deadly crash by Gilles Villenueve the Japanese GP at Fuji was cancelled. It wasn't until 10 years later F1 returned to Japan - this time at the Suzuka Circuit.

This video is pretty graphic.

Don't Anger the Volcano

Just two weeks after McLaren and Ferrari traded 1 - 2 finishes the F1 world heads to the big island of Japan - Honshu - to the newly remodled Fuji Circuit.

Round 15 is the first of the 3 final fly-away rounds of the 2007 Formula 1 season. McLaren's rookie sensation Lewis Hamilton leads double reigning world champion Fernando Alonso by just two points and they're headed to a track that neither driver has ever driven.

The tension is palpable at the foot of Mt Fuji this weekend.

The Empty Seat Saga

Rumors continue to swell throughout the media about the fate of Fernando Alonso at the end of his first season at McLaren.

Alonso, just 2 points back in the points from teammate Lewis Hamilton, has been linked with a number of race seats next year outside of McLaren after just one season with the British team.

Leading theories involve Alonso's return to his former team of 6 years, Renault, or possibly a switch to sit beside Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari. The Ferrari move certainly spells bad news for current driver Felipe Massa. Following the Belgian GP where Massa was spotted hanging around the Toyota camp speculation began growing of the likelyhood of Alonso joining the Italian team and Massa getting bumped.

The point that everyone seems to be overlooking is what will become of the vacant seat at McLaren?

Does McLaren put test driver Pedro De La Rosa in for a season before singing new talent?

It would be unlikely for anyone to be brought up from a lack-luster GP2 season. McLaren could field a veteran and wait until the market for 2009 opens up with names like Kubica, Heidfeld and Sutil are all on the table. Regardless of their decision we must first wait to see what becomes of Alonso.

Cool Spa Video

Listen to how the drivers work the corners differently. Taken from the 07 Belgian GP:


Nice camera work, Dabeuss

Sweet!

Thanks for wasting my typing time, McLaren

Contrary to previous reports, the Mercedes powered McLaren F1 team will not be headed to appeal court in Paris on Wednesday.

The team have opted to skip the appeal of the punishment handed down following the qualifying debaucle at the Hungarian GP.

McLaren's constructors' point were stripped in the judgement by the stewards just weeks before the English team was penalized by the World Motor Sports Council for it's spying actions against Ferrari.

The later penalty finds McLaren dis-allowed from scoring constructor points for the remainder of 2007 in addition to a staggering $100 million fine.