The first ever Singapore Grand Prix could influence the F1 title battle in many ways.
But one of the most interesting changes could be in the role the team mates of championship leaders Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Robert Kubica have to play in the subsequent races.
Any one of their team mates ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ Heikki Kovalainen, Kimi Raikkonen and Nick Heidfeld ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ could be out of the championship running by Monday morning.
Kimi Raikkonen
57 points, 21 behind Hamilton*
Raikkonen?óÔé¼Ôäós title hopes are over if he fails to score at Singapore and Hamilton or Massa wins. Raikkonen hasn?óÔé¼Ôäót scored in the last three races and hasn?óÔé¼Ôäót won a race since the Spanish Grand Prix in April.
Since finishing ninth at Monza and falling 20 points behind team mate Massa, conflicting remarks have come from Ferrari about whether he will be expected to support his team mate ?óÔé¼ÔÇ£ and whether he will comply.
Asked if he would support Massa over the final four rounds Raikkonen answered: ?óÔé¼?ôI don’t know. We will see what happens.?óÔé¼?Ø He later admitted he hasn?óÔé¼Ôäót given up on winning the title yet:
It’s not over yet, but now it will take a miracle, one that makes lightning strike twice. I will never forget what happened last year and I want to repeat it again.
Given the astonishing deficit he overcame in the final races of last season you can?óÔé¼Ôäót blame him. But team boss Stefano Domenicali seems to be leaning towards Massa:
I’ve always said that our main interest is the team. Of course, that’s the most important thing and the drivers know it. At this moment, at this stage, you can see that we haven’t, in our situation, taken away points from one or the other, and for sure, considering from now up to the end of the season, in the way that it’s possible to do, of course Kimi will do his best to be as aggressive as possible but also consider the fact that Felipe is much closer to the leader, Lewis.
Heikki Kovalainen
51 points, 27 behind Hamilton
Part of Ferrari?óÔé¼Ôäós concern about getting Raikkonen to help Massa is probably motivated by Kovalainen being further behind Hamilton.
In fact before Monza he was even further behind, but took six points off his team mate and probably postponed the date when he will be expected to support Hamilton?óÔé¼Ôäós title bid by one more race. That could prove crucial.
Kovalainen has repeatedly denied he was required to support Hamilton from the beginning of the season, often quoted as saying ?óÔé¼?£[Hamilton] doesn?óÔé¼Ôäót need my help?óÔé¼Ôäó, and similar.
But McLaren won?óÔé¼Ôäót hesitate to use Kovalainen to support Hamilton?óÔé¼Ôäós title bid once he is mathematically incapable of winning the title himself, just as Ferrari did with Massa last year. That will happen if Hamilton takes three points off his team mate or if Massa beats Kovalainen by four points.
Nick Heidfeld
53 points, 25 behind Hamilton
Heidfeld is Mr Consistency: he?óÔé¼Ôäós finished every race since France last year and if he does 55 laps around the Singapore Marine Bay on Sunday he?óÔé¼Ôäóll break Michael Schumacher?óÔé¼Ôäós record for most consecutive finishes.
Heidfeld, 11 points off Kubica, is closer to his team mate than the other two ?óÔé¼?£number twos?óÔé¼Ôäó are to their. But there?óÔé¼Ôäós an air of tension in the team as Mario Theissen postpones confirmation of BMW’s driver line-up for 2009, presumably while he checks Fernando Alonso?óÔé¼Ôäós terms and conditions.
Meanwhile Kubica is pressing the team to seize the initiative, stop worrying so much about 2009, and throw its weight behind his title effort this year. With the BMW not quite on McLaren/Ferrari pace on a clear day, Kubica probably needs that kind of support more keenly than Hamilton or Massa.
If Heidfeld loses five points to Hamilton or six to Massa this weekend his championship chances are over. We’ll be keeping a close eye on these developments and more during the F1 Fanatic Live Blogs.
*These calculations are based on the championship standings prior to Lewis Hamilton?óÔé¼Ôäós appeal against his Belgian Grand Prix penalty. Were Hamilton to get his win back, his title lead over Raikkonen would increase to 25 points. Kovalainen and Heidfeld would be 31 behind, as Heidfeld?óÔé¼Ôäós race classification at Spa would change from second to third.
Which F1 drivers do you think will be out of the championship running after this weekend?
Madurai
23rd September 2008, 7:50
KOVI was just signed to just to protect HAMILTON on occassions……
Nick Caulfield
23rd September 2008, 9:14
I think you mean “…by Kovalainen being further behind Hamilton” rather than “…by Kovalainen behind further behind Hamilton”
Madurai
23rd September 2008, 9:21
Nick I was just trying to tell that KOVI was just signed to mclaren to act as second fiddle to HAMILTON just like MAS was signed to ferrari in 2006….
Madurai
23rd September 2008, 9:23
KOVI was maginally faster tnan HAM at the starting of the season.But only GOD knows why he is so far behind now…..
Jonesracing82
23rd September 2008, 9:26
depends on the appeal outcome but if hamo gets his pts back, maybe they all could b just about out of it, but i doubt weather of them can still win in any case……
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd September 2008, 9:34
Nick – Fixed, thanks.
Madurai – he was referring to the error in my article, not your comment.
Madurai
23rd September 2008, 12:54
Sorry that was my mistake…
Whewbacca_the_Cookie
23rd September 2008, 13:03
Realistically speaking Kovalainen or Heidfeld does not stand a chance on winning the title anyway. Even Raikkonen will need another miracle to do so. What happened last year will not be repeated this time around.
That said I think Kubica’s chances are pretty slim as well. He may be quick but not enough to pass both Massa and Hamilton.
DG
23rd September 2008, 13:31
I think Heidfeld is the only one likely to lose out, but he has been ahead of Kubica in a few races, so there’s no reason why he cannot still keep trying.
There is an element of luck required for all three – Kimi will be rejuvinated after getting a new contract (we hope), and may be pushing harder again. Kovi is learning all the time, and has shown that he can beat Hammy, so why not give him as much chance as possible?
Mathmatically it may be harder for all three, but stranger things have happened…..
Nick
23rd September 2008, 13:53
Raikkonen has the only chance with Hamilton and Massa both incapable of handling pressure, wouldn’t be a surprise to see two dnfs from the pair.
SamS
23rd September 2008, 14:50
Nick: “Raikkonen has the only chance with Hamilton and Massa both incapable of handling pressure, wouldn’t be a surprise to see two dnfs from the pair.”
I think that that is a bit of a sweeping statement, I think last year showed how hamo can handle the pressure. Massa I think would sturggle if it was him defending to win the championship. I rate him but I just think that maybe he will make silly mistakes.
I think that Kimi and below are out of the running, and Kubica, BMW just havent put enough emphasis on their 2008 campaign on the backend of the season.
Sumedh
23rd September 2008, 15:04
Looking at your report and my own calculations: I figure, Nick, kova, Kimi need to finish 1-2-3 and Hamilton finishes 5th or lower so that all 6 remain in title contention.
That would be a fitting gift for Mr.consistent, for his reliability record.
But, I guess its asking a little too much.
Ofcourse, all this will be meaningless once Hamilton wins his appeal
todd
23rd September 2008, 15:35
yeah they are all out, its down to hamilton and massa.
we’ve seen some pretty crazy things happen this year, engine failures, safety cars, so many wet tracks, crashes at red lights, penalties and more. I think for the last 4 races we wont see too much more silly stuff – or DNF’s.
the next 1-2 races will be crucial, if they both finish high, then it could go down to the wire, otherwise if in the next 2 races there’s a dnf, or a low finish it could be a bit of a blow.
As much as i want massa to win the WDC, my money would be on hamilton, faster car, some more wet tracks coming up and he is consistent and fast on track – just seem some stupid mistakes that i think he’ll be avoiding from here on in.
i wouldn’t be too worried about the 1 point difference if i was a hamilton fan, i am worried as a massa fan.
Dorian
23rd September 2008, 16:05
‘i wouldn’t be too worried about the 1 point difference if i was a hamilton fan, i am worried as a massa fan.’
Agreed. Whilst it’s a mathematical possibility for the others to stay in contention, I believe it will still come down to Massa and Hamilton. Though, anything can happen…
But as Todd said: Hamilton is in a better and more adaptable car and in my opinion is a much better driver than Massa. If I had a fiver, i’d put it on Hamilton to take the championship this year.
Juhhi
23rd September 2008, 17:48
There is only Kimi who has faidingly little chance to win championship, but I think it is not realistic target anymore… still hoping I´m wrong=)
Anyhow….Massa is not same level as Hamilton(my opinion) when talking driving skills, or even handling pressure(Hamilton too is not very good to handle pressure). BUT,there is that little thing…Kimi is better driver to support his team mate, and takeaway points from Hamilton than Heikki to do this for Massa.
Anything can still happen,so let´s see…
James B
23rd September 2008, 20:30
I’m not counting out Kubica just yet. He is only 14 points behind Hamilton with 4 races left, he’s still in with a chance.
He might not have been on the pace of the top two, but he’s capitalized on others mistakes and has always been there when others haven’t. Canada and Monza springs to mind.
If Kubica wins this race, then 3-way battle, here we come. :D
beneboy
23rd September 2008, 20:51
I’d like to think so too James B.
I just hope BMW are still committed to this season and aren’t going to do a Honda and put all of their resources into maximising the performance of next seasons car.
Even though I’m a Schumi fan I’ve got to say I’m loving that seasons are now going down to the last few races with several drivers still in with a chance to win it.
I loved watching him win but with so few drivers able to challange him (for a huge range of reasons) it was rare to get several drivers having a go for the DWC for so long.
michael counsell
23rd September 2008, 22:57
Out of contention for the drivers title and they could be battling for 4th place and helping out with the constructors title.
Wesley
23rd September 2008, 23:09
I think it is down to Massa and Hamilton for the title but,I am supportive of Heidfeld to break a Schumi record and become F1’s new Iron Man.
F1Fan
24th September 2008, 1:44
If they let Kimi race, he will win in Singapore. If not, Massa will. I am sticking w/ what Keith called my Unified Temperature & Tire Theory.
27+ C and soft tyres = Ferrari win
27- C and medium/hard tyres = McLaren win
… unless it rains again, in which case Lewis has the advantage.
the limit
24th September 2008, 4:18
If last season taught me anything, its that only a fool would write off Kimi Raikkonen. As I have suggested before, alot depends on the weather, and on improvements made to the Ferrari since Monza. The Ferrari has looked very loose in wet conditions, in the hands of both drivers, compared to the McLarens. If Ferrari can do anything to counter that problem, then they are in good shape. Ferrari need, four dry, clean races. If that happens, then Raikkonen and Massa, will benefit.
Kovalainen, I think, will be eliminated from the running at Singapore. Heidfeld maywell do just enough, but the favourite of the three to stay in the hunt has to be Raikkonen. For Raikkonen to go to Sao Paulo at the end of the season as an also ran is unthinkable for him I would imagine, so my money is on him.
Chris Neil
25th September 2008, 20:12
I’m sure its just Massa and Hamilton now. Unless they get a bit too competitive and take each other out. Though they might have to do that in two races.
I notice Ferrari are being very careful with their words. “main interest is the team” sounds a bit like “team orders”. I don’t suppose the FIA will appoint anyone to watch Ferrari to make sure they give both drivers every chance to win.?