French Grand Prix 2007 Awards
The Chargers, the racer, the doofus and more.
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 French GP.
Driver of the day
Kimi Räikkönen started in 3rd position and immediately overtook Lewis Hamilton at the start into turn one. He then made sure he got in front of Felipe Massa after the final pit stops and stayed there to claim his second victory of 2007. Massa can say it’s all down to traffic, but at the end of the day it’s the win that matters.
Team of the day
The team of the day has to be Ferrari. With their relatively disappointing races in the Canadian and US GP’s, they had to make a serious turnaround in the French GP, and 1-2 was exactly what the tifosi wanted. Even though McLaren is still leading both championships, Ferrari did close the gap in the constructors championship and a good showing in the British GP could close it even further.
Racer of the day
Fernando Alonso started from 10th due to gearbox problems during qualifying and as a result had various battles against Nick Heidfeld and Giancarlo Fisichella during the race. Alonso did pass both of them, being the first person to pass Heidfeld during a race this year, but at the end finished behind both his rivals. He did end up with the 3rd fastest time in the race.
Charger of the day
As unlikely as it seems Takuma Sato actually finished 6 places ahead of where he started from in 22nd spot, in part due to his penalty carried over from the US GP. The other best “chargers” of the race Adrian Sutil, Alexander Wurz and Jenson Button all moved up 4 places. Button being the best finisher in 8th place.
Honorable mention
Robert Kubica had a horrific accident at the Canadian GP and was told not to race at the US GP. His return at the French GP could not have been better. A strong showing in qualifying (4th) and his consistent driving lead to him just missing out on the podium by also finishing in 4th place.
Disappointment of the day
Even though he moved up 4 places from where he started, Alexander Wurz was once again out paced and out raced by his younger teammate Nico Rosberg. Wurz qualified in 18th spot, and ended up finishing in 14th place, behind the two Red Bull cars. He also only managed to set the 13th fastest lap during the race behind the Honda of Rubens Barrichello.
Doofus of the day
Without a doubt the winner of this dubious title would be Spyker's Christijan Albers. Albers decided to leave his pit box a little earlier than his team would have liked and took the fuel hose with him as he sped out of the pits knocking over a few of his pit crew. He was duly fined (US) $6,800 by French GP Stewards after the race.
"I think I just made a mistake in the pits, I thought the lollipop was going up.” Albers said. “I am pleased that the guys are OK; this is the first time in my life that this has happened, and hopefully the last."
