Finnish Raikkonen's dramatic last-minute F1 title win has closed the chapter in a season that stunningly resembled the events of 1986.
The 2007 season was mostly billed Ferrari vs. McLaren. They were the two teams capable of winning consistently. And true enough, every race victory this season was won by either a Ferrari driver or a McLaren driver.
McLaren however was seemingly a step ahead over its rivals with a more reliable package. As a result, it was the McLaren duo that was first and second in the standings since round 4 in Barcelona. In time, the driver’s title race was shaping up between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.
But after the season ending race in Sao Paolo Brazil, neither McLaren driver walked away with the title. Despite having the most reliable car and the best odds to take the title, McLaren walked away from the 2007 season empty handed. From right under everyone’s noses, Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was the one who clinched Formula 1’s ultimate prize.
It was back in 1986 where a similar event happened. Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet were the favorite title contenders driving for Williams Honda. They had the best car on the grid underneath them. But in the end, Alain Prost snuck by them both to claim a second consecutive driver’s title driving a competitive but not dominant McLaren.
As it turned out, the bitter feud between Mansell and Piquet became a factor leading up to the season ending race. Both drivers knew they had a shot at the title and refused to help each other. For both Mansell and Piquet, one man’s loss was the other man’s gain. Their situation allowed Alain Prost, who was a distant third in the standings to be in a position with a slight mathematical probability to win the title coming into the last race in Australia.
The slight mathematical possibility was all Prost needed. Having led most of the race, tragedy struck for Mansell when he suffered a rear tire blowout in the closing stages of the season finale. Mansell’s retirement handed the lead to his bitter rival Piquet. However, Piquet was ordered to enter the pits for new tires to prevent a similar scenario. As a result, Alain Prost ended up in the race lead that led to the race victory. Prost was champion as he edged out Mansell by two points, Piquet by just three.
Fast forward to 2007, it became clear that Hamilton and Alonso were not the best of friends. The second half of the season became a fight for supremacy between the two. After the controversial Hungarian GP win of Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso was able to bounce back in the next three races. Alonso out-pointed Hamilton in Istanbul, Monza and Spa reducing the championship gap to just two points. Come Fuji, Hamilton extended his lead to 12 points when he won dominantly while Alonso crashed out. A week later in Shanghai, the fortunes were turned when Hamilton retired and Alonso secured second position.
The battle between Hamilton and Alonso allowed them to slash points off from each other. In doing so, they unwittingly left a slight chance for Raikkonen who was third in the standings with 100 points: three behind Alonso and seven behind Hamilton.
The slight chance was enough for Raikkonen. At a time when Alonso just couldn’t find the speed to challenge for the win coupled by an uncharacteristically error-filled race from Hamilton, Raikkonen’s victory in Brazil was enough to claim the title by just a single point from both McLaren drivers thereby concluding one of the tightest battles in formula 1 history.
