British Grand Prix 2007 Awards
From Kimi, Felipe, Lewis and Fernando to a chap named Speed
Every race has its highlights. Some drivers shine while others confound us with what they try to achieve. Here are some of the winners and losers of the 2007 British GP.
Driver of the day
Kimi Räikkönen started in 2nd position but was unable to overtake the pole sitter, Lewis Hamilton. Pushing hard throughout the race he kept up with Hamilton but after the 1st pit stops found himself chasing Fernando Alonso. However his constant charging and a great pit stop put him ahead again after the 2nd stops and he easily won the race, in the process overtaking Massa in the points standings as well.
Team of the day
Even though McLaren started from pole and 3rd and could not convert that into a win, they made sure that the gap between them and Ferrari did not increase by having both drivers finish on the podium. Consistency wins championships.
Racer of the day
Felipe Massa had to start from the pit lane and raced his Ferrari through the field. Finishing in 5th place he had battle with almost everyone in the field except for the front-runners. At the end though he just could not find a way past the calm and collected Robert Kubica. He did however set the 2nd fastest lap of the race.
“Felipe drove an extraordinary race but was penalized with a technical problem at the start, which meant he had to start the race from the pit lane. Considering this handicap, finishing fifth is really impressive.” Jean Todt said.
Charger of the day
Massa was also the charger of the day. Starting from 21st in the pit lane and finishing in 5th saw him move up 16 places. Other notable chargers included Jenson Button who moved up 8 places and Rubens Barrichello who moved up 5. The 7 places gained by Sato and Albers was only due to retirements by other drivers in front of them.
Honorable mention
Honda has had a horrible season, and even thought they did not light up the track today with their speed they did both finish the race and in 9th and 10th spot at that. Barely missing the points. Good for you boys.
Disappointment of the day
The Toyota drivers qualified in 6th spot (Schumacher) and 10th spot (Trulli). They finished the race in 20th and 17th respectively. Both cars suffered technical retirements during the race and as a whole, the effort, and more particularly the cars, are the disappointments of the day.
Doofus of the day
Scott Speed got a wave from Alonso, and while still seeming to think about it decided to turn into Alex Wurz, or did Wurz overshoot and ran into Speed? Either way Speed retired when he didn't need to.
Wurz said “Around lap 30, I used the opportunity of the blue flags to out-brake Speed after he left the door open, but after I went through, he hit my rear wheel.”
According to Speed ” …Alex decided to take a very optimistic move down the inside but he couldn’t hold it and ran wide into me.”
A special mention needs to be given to Lewis Hamilton, who even though he finished on the podium, could have had a better 2nd stint and a possible shot at 2nd place if he didn’t try to almost imitate Christijan Albers by leaving his pit too soon. Fortunately for him he stopped right away and waited for the lollipop to be lifted before pulling away, losing only crucial seconds and not looking like a doofus, but just like a rookie.
