Massive season beckons for F1 ace Massa

Motorsport

Sammy Hamill on who will come out on top in F1 this year

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Lewis Hamilton says he is better equipped to handle the pressure of Formula One.

As he prepares to go into action on Sunday in the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne where he made his F1 debut 12 months ago, Hamilton is a year older at 23 - and a lot wiser.

In the ruthless, self-absorbed world of grand prix racing he has learned that there are few friendships, especially for those who aspire to be World champion.

His public falling out with team-mate, the then World champion Fernando Alonso, heralded the start of a downward spiral for his McLaren-Mercedes team which ultimately resulted in disqualification from the constructors' championship, a record 100 million dollar fine and the probable exit of his long-time backer, mentor and protector, Ron Dennis.

It might all have been worth it if Hamilton had become the first driver in F1 history to win the World title in his rookie year.

But the pressure, both on an off the track, conspired to see it all fall apart in the final two races, in China and Brazil, with Ferrari masterminding yet another winning season, this time for Kimi Raikkonen.

Least anyone forget, it was Ferrari's sixth title in eight years, a period during which McLaren won exactly zero.

It might well have been why Raikkonen chose to leave McLaren for Ferrari - that and a reputed 50m dollar a year contract - but Dennis and his men from Woking did have an unexpected ace up their sleeves to replace him in the precocious Hamilton.

What they didn't expect were the consequences of revealing that ace.

Hamilton proved more successful than they or anyone expected, scoring five straight podium finishes before back-to-back wins in Canada and the United States launched him into the World championship lead.

But that only served to destabilise the team, causing acrimony between Hamilton and the two-time World champion Alonso who, rightly, had anticipated his move from Renault would see him in an undisputed No.1 role at McLaren.

It was Dennis's refusal to allow Hamilton to challenge Alonso at Monaco, where the McLarens were running one and two, that sparked the internal conflict and in the end resulted in neither driver becoming World champion.

"Let them race" might be the cry of the outsider but motor racing is rarely like than - witness Filipe Massa sacrificing the possibility of a much-wanted first home win in Brazil to ensure team-mate Raikkonen became World champion.

Now Alonso has gone back to his spiritual home at Renault and Hamilton is left to assume the role of McLaren team leader in just his second season. He will have the equally young Finn Heikki Kovalainen as his wingman in a team that is still in turmoil following the long-running spying scandal which engulfed them last season.

Whether the off-track traumas, which may yet cost Dennis his position, prove a distraction or an incentive remain to be seen but Hamilton will not have the "surprise factor" this time.

He will be expected to be at the sharp end of the grid; he will be expected to win races and many will expect him to complete the job he failed to do in 2007 - win the World title.

Others, including Renault boss Flavio Briatore, think he may have missed his chance; that he may suffer from "second season syndrome" - a phenomenon whereby a driver is overwhelmed by expectations after an outstanding debut season.

Indeed, Briatore, who guided Alonso to his two World titles, insists it was Hamilton who cost McLaren their first F1 crown since 1999.

"As a rookie, in the first year, you should work for the team," he said. "Your team consists of 1,000 people working together to put two cars on the grid. You need to respect these people behind you - and not only your ego."

Whether the ego will fly again in 2008 or come crashing down to another bumpy landing remains open to question. Albert Park in Melbourne on Sunday morning will provide the first indicators to a season in which the betting men are favouring Raikkonen and Ferrari.

They are usually right but my personal preference is for the gloriously uninhibited Massa - although you can be sure the hierarchy at Ferrari, unlike McLaren, will decide what's best for the team, not an individual driver.