Brazil Grand Prix – Pressure at Felipe Massa or at Hamilton?
By Cindy Ferguson
The key to become a Formula 1 Champion probably relies on being able to handle pressure, so the one who can achieve it will possibly succeed.
Right now the highest amount of pressure is definitively on Ferrari’s Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, who will have to overcome some difficulties on Brazil GP in order the winner of the season. The Brazilian still has a chance to become Formula 1 World Champion 2008, although the fact that Hamilton won in China’s Grand Prix decreased a little bit his chances.
Last weekend on China, Massa added some of the necessary points to his table, thanks to his teammate Kimi Räikkönen, who allowed him to pass on the final laps; but Lewis Hamilton took an early lead and is now winner of the Chinese GP 2008, which places him a quite closer to the world title.
Hamilton has a 7 point lead against Massa, who has 87 points until now; this means that just by finishing on the top 5 in Brazil’s Grand Prix in two weeks, he will be the 2008 World Champion.
Lewis Hamilton drove almost perfectly at the enormous Shanghai Circuit on Sunday October 19th and never seemed in danger while being at the head of the race that basically had nothing out of the usual. Hamilton’s team made an outstanding job preparing his McLaren Mercedes MP4-23, this one surpassed the Ferraris from Massa and his teammate Kimi Räikkönen.
As you would have thought perhaps, after the extensive criticism Hamilton received for his impulsive driving at the start of the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji the preceding weekend that cost him a penalty, the British felt he had answered back to the critics with his presentation in China.
Felipe Massa, who is pursuing his first world title, stated he is ready to beat Hamilton on the last race of the season and called on his team to prepare his car for it. Massa won pole position in Brazil on the last two seasons, besides finishing triumphant in 2006 and concluding second last year after allowing Räikkönen pass him over.
At present, both contenders Hamilton and Massa are on five wins each, but in case of finishing with the same amount of points, only a sixth victory would crown Massa as winner.
With a second place position in Brasil, Felipe Massa will earn 8 points, putting him on the same level on the board as Lewis Hamilton; so basically the bottom line here is winning at all cost.
Bottom line is, the only way I can see Hamilton failing to attain a winner position is either with a goofy move at the start of the race, like what happened in Japan a couple of weeks ago and in Brazil on last period.
What's more, poor weather circumstances could distress any plan and push the favor towards Ferrari.
I gave a brief statement about mistakes in my article (Formula 1 – Rules cost points, money and Championships) in cooperation both drivers have made mistakes this year with tire choices and pit stop calls. Even Ferrari has outstandingly confused a few actual pit stops themselves, but the truth is that both teams could mess it up under extraordinary conditions and pressure could be one of them.
In this great sport, the one who is most aggressive and strongest emotionally will be the champion.
About the Author
Cindy Ferguson is a high-ranking sports writer, currently writing reviews on Formula One for the sports betting industry. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.