Formula One: Räikkönen retains slender championship hopes after Chinese Grand Prix

Fifth win of the season makes for exciting climax in Brazil

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Ferrari pilot Kimi Räikkönen took top honours at the Chinese Grand Prix, raced in wet conditions in Shanghai on Sunday. While claiming an overwhelming victory, the Finn also retained a shot at this year’s title after the current championship leader Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) of Great Britain skidded out when entering the pits after 31 laps.
      "This is exactly the kind of result we needed", Räikkönen rejoiced, celebrating his fifth victory of the season.
      "We had to win. Today we gained heaps of points relative to Hamilton, and restored our chances of winning the world championship. The last race will be extremely exciting. There we will lay down everything we’ve got, and see what can be done."
     
Räikkönen’s success in Shanghai gives him his best chance so far to win the drivers' championship title. In 2003 Räikkönen entered the last race of the season trailing nine points behind Michael Schumacher. Now the difference between Räikkönen and the leader Hamilton is only seven points. Having said that, the current world champion Fernando Alonso (McLaren) of Spain is between the two, three points ahead of Räikkönen.
      "My current standing is a couple of points better than in 2003. Otherwise the situation is very similar", Räikkönen said. "Anything can happen. We just have to try to win the last race and see what happens to the others."
     
Hamilton’s mishap also revived his estranged teammate Alonso’s hopes of retaining his title.
      "Of course these eight points help, but truly dramatic events are still needed in Brazil if I am to win the championship", Alonso commented. "In a normal race a four-point lead is too much to drag back."
      Alonso's remarks could be seen in the light of what a "normal race" has been this season: the Ferraris or the McLarens have generally taken the top two places, with their rivals correwspondingly in tyhird and fourth. Hence it would be unlikely for there to be a four-point gap between the drivers unless somebody goes out of the race or suffers some other misfortune.
     
Renault’s Heikki Kovalainen came in ninth in Shanghai, just outside the championship points. He was extremely disappointed with the entire weekend.
      "In rainy conditions our car was hopeless", Kovalainen fretted. "The car just does not seem to function with intermediate tyres."
      “I lost crucial seconds after colliding with Nico Rosberg, after which I got stuck behind Kimi for three laps, when he came out of the pits. Without these problems I would probably have made it to the points."
      A small consolation for Kovalainen - who has 30 points and is 7th in the drivers' standings - might be the fact that after the Chinese GP he is the only F1 driver who has finished every single race this year.
      "Well, I suppose it is a merit of a sort", Kovalainen laughed. "Let’s hope I can finish the Brazilian race as well."
      Nico Rosberg’s (Williams) race was spoiled by a punctured rear tyre on lap 29.
      "I don’t know what happened. I did not collide with anybody", said an astonished Rosberg. "The puncture forced me to make an additional pit stop and this spoiled my chances of a better result." He finished in 16th, two laps behind the winner.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Kovalainen and Räikkönen take podium places at Japanese Grand Prix (1.10.2007)
  Räikkönen takes convincing victory in Belgian Grand Prix (17.9.2007)

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