In Formula 1 the championship is a definite team effort for not only is there a drivers champion there is a constroctor or team championship to show who the best team is and arguably one of the best teams is McLaren. In 2007 they had a really great year with defending world champion Spain's🇪🇸 Fernando Alonso going for his 3rd championship in a row and newcomer British🇬🇧 driver Lewis Hamilton. With the interesting driver lineup of these two the 2007 season would be one to watch as Finnish driver🇫🇮 Kimi Raikkonen who was driving for McLaren left the team to replace retiring 7 time world champion Germany's🇩🇪 Michael Schumacher. Kimi would be partnered with Brazilian driver🇧🇷 Felipe Massa. The 2007 season started great for Raikkonen who won the pole and the season's opening at the Australian🇦🇺 grand prix with Alonso 2nd and Hamilton starting of his carrer with a podium in 3rd place. The trio would finish on the podium once again in race 2 out of 17 in Malaysia🇲🇾 this time Alonso who encountered radio problems won and Hamilton finished 2nd Raikkonen 3rd. But Ferrari would deliver a blow👊 to McLaren in Bahrain🇧🇭 with Massa 1st Raikkonen 3rd with Hamilton splitting the two Ferraris. Defending champion Alonso finished 5th. 3 races in and Raikkonen and both McLarens tied for the top of the standings with Massa 5 points back in 4th and BMW Sauber's German driver Nick Heidfeld🇩🇪 7 points back in 5th. It already looks to be a great fight with Ferrari and McLaren in the constructors championship with McLaren having the advantage by 5 points. Formula 1 came into Spain for the Spanish🇪🇸 grand prix. It was anticipated to be an amazing race with a new addition to the track with the addition of a chicane to increase overtaking opportunities and safety. Ferrari and McLaren would lockout the first two rows with Massa on pole the Spainard in his home grand prix Fernando Alonso 2nd Kimi Raikkonen 3rd and Hamilton 4th. Massa gets a great getaway from the line but Alonso used the slipstream to go into turn 1 with the lead in front of his home fans. Or at least that was his plan as he and Massa made slight contact, Alonso ran in the gravel and came out losing positions to Hamilton and Raikkonen. The Spanish driver was determined to regain his positions first by attacking Raikkonen but he wasn't letting Fernando by without a fight. But after 9 laps exiting the hairpin The Ferrari of Raikkonen was slow and Alonso overtook him. But the Finn was running abnormally slow. He came in to the pits and was forced to retire from a suspension faliure. And Ferrari's day nearly went from bad to worse. Massa came in for a scheduled fuel and tire pitstop but a small leak of fuel while fueling the Ferrari nearly made it erupt into flames, but the Brazilian survived to win the race with Hamilton 2nd and Spanish hero Alonso 3rd on the podium. The rookie Lewis Hamilton looked good as the British driver now lead the championship with 2 points over teammate Fernando Alonso trying to defend his championship Massa is now 3rd 3 points back and Raikkonen fell to 4th 8 points behind. With Hamilton being on the podium in all of the first 4 races with a 3rd in Australia and 2nd in the last 3 races, it was only a matter of time before he would be on the top step of the podium with a victory. He had to overcome a hurdle after a crash in saturday's practice in Monaco🇮🇩. But McLaren worked hard to repair Hamilton's car which would pay off as he would qualify in second place behind Alonso with Ferrari's Felipe Massa in 3rd. But unfortunately for Raikkonen he would start in 16th place after comming out of the swimming pool chicane he clipped the wall with his right wheel putting him out of Q2. With one of the Ferraris in the back trying to play catch up at a track where passing is difficult to pass now was a chance to gap Raikkonen in the championship and gap Ferrari in the constructors fight. With both McLarens getting a good start now the key was executing. Leader Alonso pited for fuel and tyres on lap 26. This gave Hamilton a chance to overcut his teammate and get his first career win after a breathtaking start to his Formula 1 career. But however McLaren called him to the pits earlier than expected for his fuel and tyres which led him to rejoin behind Fernando Alonso. But the British driver wouldn't give up with 20 laps to go he was on the back of his teammate's rear wing and was minding his time waiting to strike at the right time, but the team asked their drivers not to fight each other. So that left Alonso winning as Hamilton with his fourth 2nd place in a row and Ferrari's Felipe Massa completing the podium. Raikkonen could only recover to 8th place after starting 16th. The championship stands now as Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton tied on points but Alonso has the tiebreaker due to having two victories, Massa 3rd 5 points back and Raikkonen now 15 points behind in fourth. McLaren led the constructors championship by 14 points over Ferrari. Heading into Canada🇨🇦 Hamilton wanted to ensure he'd outdo his teammate and win the race. He would win his first career pole with Alonso alongside of him so now it was all about nailing the start into turn one and execute for Hamilton but Alonso wasn't going down without a fight. When he was asked about giving Hamilton advice from starting on pole he jokingly said to let him through after nailing the start. The teammates are definitely competitive against each other in the media center after qualifying, but it wasn't all straight forward for the Canadian grand prix for the top two constructors. Hamilton would win the start as Alonso locked up in turn 1 and ran wide and lost 2nd to BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld. Alonso would also lose to Massa after making another mistake into turn 1. Hamilton would make his pit stop at lap 21 for fuel and tyres. But just after that Skyper's Adrian Sutil🇩🇪 hit the wall at turn 8 bringing out the saftey car. Massa, Raikkonen, and Alonso would take advantage of it by pitting but the question is were the pits open? It wasnt open so the procedure was to wait at the end of the pit lane for the light to turn green but Massa and Renault's Giancarlo Fisichella🇮🇹 didn't get the memo as they and Raikkonen would rejoin at the rear of the field after the saftey car went in. But on lap 26 BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica 🇵🇱 have a horrific crash going to turn 10. The Polish driver gets taken to the hospital for checks, he is ok but due to bruises and a sprained ankle he would miss the U.S grand prix🇺🇸 and be replaced by future 4 time world champion Sebastian Vettel🇩🇪. After a red flag the race would resume but not good for Fernando Alonso who had a 10 second stop go penalty for pitting too soon under the saftey car. Alonso would begin his charge back through the field before the Skyper of Christijan Albers🇳🇱 would wreck on his 47th lap of the race bringing out a 3rd saftey car. Things would end badly for Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella, remember when they left pit road after the first saftey car too soon? They made that mistake again! And now they have been disqualified from the race. With Hamilton still out front Alonso was now Raikkonen's tail and after their stops Alonso would come out in front of the Ferrari driver from Finland for 8th place. Now with the restart despite not being a world champion Toro Rosso's Vitantonio Liuzzi🇮🇹 crashed into the wall of champions bringing out another saftey car. When it went in Alonso and Raikkonen would fight their way through traffic but Alonso lost out AGAIN into turn 1. But things couldn't have gone smoother for Hamilton in his 6th F1 start wins his first race at the Canadian grand prix. Honorable mentions to Heidfeld and Williams's Alexander Wurz🇦🇹 from Austria who finished on the podium, and Japan's Takuma Sato🇯🇵 who scored points in 6th for Supet Aguri in a crazy race. Alonso would finish 7th,Raikkonen would finish 5th as Massa was disqualified in 15th. Hamilton now has an 8 point lead over Alonso, Massa 15 behind and Raikkonen would now be 21 points off the pace. Tides were turning as it appeared that McLaren have the best car they are 28 points clear of Ferrari. Now approaching the halfway point of the season some might say the title would be between the McLarens and that would prove true as they would have a 1-2 finish with Hamilton ahead of Alonso ahead of Massa in 3rd in USA. But things would get slightly more difficult in France🇫🇷 as in a friday practice session Hamilton had technical issues with his Mercedes powered McLaren. Despite that the British driver would start 2nd behind Felipe Massa, Raikkonen would take 3rd place on the starting grid as a gearbox problem in Q3 forces Alonso to start in 10th. And behind the scenes of McLaren tension was starting to rise between their drivers. In Monaco Hamilton was bought in early for his pitstop which took the Brit by suprise since he was fueled to go longer but he shock it off. But after Canada Alonso spoke to Spanish media and said that because Hamilton is British McLaren favored him cause they are a British team. Hamilton denies that statement and believes since Alonso joined McLaren that they have been really motivated to put both drivers in an equal winning opportunity at every race. Alonso then states he wasn't comfortable and was just concerned about the situation in USA. He still pushes to do his best to win his 3rd title in a row. But in USA he asked the team to get Hamilton to let him through but the team did not interfere and allowed both to fight it out for the victory even though the Spaniard wasn't pleased. Coming to round 8 of the championship after being asked how the relations are in the team Alonso says that nothing us wrong it's just rumours going around and thinks Hamilton would be getting talked about if it was the other way around. Hamilton would finish 3rd in France and Alonso could only recover to 7th as Raikkonen would get his first podium since Bahrain in the form of a victory and Massa would finish 2nd for Ferrari. Hamilton still loked good for the championship, in 8 races he scored 8 podiums and had a 14 point lead over his nearest rival Alonso. Massa is 17 points back and Raikkonen 22 back. Hamilton continued his consistency by getting the pole for round 9, McLaren's gome country, Hamilton's home country the British grand prix🇬🇧. Things did not look as good for Massa who after stalling on the grid to take the formation lap would start from the pit lane after he was supposed to start 4th. So this can mean McLaren can extend their advantage in the constructors championship and with a good start from Hamilton that is what it seemed. But however Kimi Raikkonen wouldn't leave quietly off the back of Hamilton's car and Alonso was not far behind either. Hamilton would pit first but would stall his McLaren in the pits but would get back out on the track. Raikkonen would make his scheduled stop and jumps Hamilton. Alonso would cycle back in front of both Raikkonen and Hamilton. With the knowledge of Alonso doing a short middle stint Raikkonen would push to keep up with the Spaniard who would struggle to get by lap traffic like Toro Rosso's Scott Speed🇺🇸 as the American would tangle with Alexander Wruz leaving Scott out of the race. As the second round of stops would commence Raikkonen used the overcut on Alonso to get the victory over him as Hamilton finished 3rd at his home grand prix as Massa recovered to 5th. The second half of the season is underway now as Hamilton still has the lead in the championship with Alonso 12 points behind Raikkonen who is 18 points back now overtakes his teammate Massa who is now 19 points of the lead and McLaren have the advantage over Ferrari by 25 points. McLaren just had to keep doing what they have beem doimg to win the championship. Formula 1 was off to the Nurburgring in Germany 🇩🇪 for the European grand prix round 10 of 17 in the championship season. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton was on a flying lap in Q3 but a tire faliure made him run into the wall and force the Brit to start P10. There was a slight scare for Lewis who was taken to a local hospital for precautionary scan so McLaren would have to wait to see if Hamilton would be race fit which he was as Raikkonen, Alonso, and Massa would take the first 3 positions on the starting grid. Alonso knew he was over a race behind his teammate and needed a win to close the gap down and McLaren knew they needed to limit the damage from Hamilton starting 10th. A wrench would be thrown into their plan as moments before the start rain was on the horizon. Everyone started on dry tyres except for Spyker's Markus Winkelhock🇩🇪 who was running a one off race appearance to sub for the sacked (fired) Christian Albres who stopped for intermediates. While that happend Lewis Hamilton knowing he needed to make something happen to salvage he lead in the championship gained 4 spots of the start from both Toyotas of Jarno Trulli 🇮🇹 and Ralf Schumacher 🇩🇪, Red Bull's Mark Webber🇦🇺, and Renault's Heikki Kovalainen🇫🇮 but it would all be undone as the BMW Saubers of Kubica and Heidfeld collided Hamilton got a puncture from that. The rain is rapid as everyone was struggling for grip. After only 1 lap Raikkonen would lead the field to pit road, or at least that is what he tried to do, in the tricky conditions he missed pit road so he would have to make another lap as everyone else switched to intermediates. So Skyper's call to put Winkelhock on intermediates at the start worked to pefection! You'd think the intermediates would work in these conditions right? Wrong! On only lap 2 as Jenson Button would aquaplane of the track into turn 1 as the rain would get even worse. Button isn't alone as Lewis Hamilton joins him in seconds, is the question now "Who else is going off into 1?" Well many more would make turn 1 into a car parking lot as Nico Rosberg🇩🇪, Adrian Sutil, and Vitantonio Liuzzi would join JUST as the saftey car came out. All of them will be left in turn 1 forcing them to retire out of the race! But wait, Hamilton's engine is still running he is stuck in the gravel and can't get out but he gets the marshalls to use their their crane to lift him out of the gravel and back onto the track! Lewis Hamilton's great, fast thinking and no give up attitude worked as he would be back into the race and the McLaren team are estatic about the Brit's move! The only bad part is Hamilton will have to recover from 1 lap down but with 7 races left after the end of Europe this could be a moment that wins a championship. The rain would be too much so the race was red flaged to wait out this thunderstorm. With the race restarted behind the saftey car Hamilton would be allowed to unlap himself this really makes Hamilton's move to not retire after going off into turn 1 is really going to pay off. Another great call would be by Skyper and Markus Winkelhock by choosing to pit for intermediates and is now leading the grand prix. Unfortunately for him his glory would not last long as he not only was deprived of the lead but was also forced to retire from a loss of hydraulic pressure. Hamilton is now back on the lead lap and it is brought in for dry tyres, that gamble backfires ws Hamilton is in the gravel again, good news is he is still in the race with no help from the marshals however the bad news is he is a lap down again. With Hamilton struggling and Raikkonen trying to come back through the field after missing pit road at the start of the race it was an opportunity for Massa and Alonso to assert themselves back into the championship fight. Raikkonen also needs to assert himself in the fight with Hamilton a lap down the Finn recovers up to the 3rd step of the podium and was looking to stay there until lap 34 when he has to retire from a hydraulic faliure. So now focus is definitely on Alonso and Massa as MORE rain is expected before the race ends. So with that knowledge when the rain does hit Massa and Alonso pits for the wet weather tyres. Massa was looking on winning for Ferrari but the McLaren driver of Alonso would not give up. With the closing stages of the race Massa says he is struggling with a vibration on the tyres he has on. So Alonso was lurking behind him waiting for a gap and when he saw it he went for it. With 5 laps to go the Spaniard gets past the Brazilian despite making slight contact to win the European grand prix by 8 seconds over Felipe. Honorable mention to Mark Webber who scores his 2nd career podium and first for Red Bull. The successful weekend Alonso and Massa put together put themselves back in the fight even though on the cooldown rool before the podium neither was pleased with each others driving style. But nonetheless Alonso is now 2 points behind Lewis Hamilton, the British driver missed out on a podium and points for the first time this year. Massa lies in 3rd 11 points back and Raikkonen is 18 points off the championship lead. McLaren's championship lead in the constructors championship is now 27 points so almost 3 races ahead of Ferrari. Round 11 is at Hungary 🇭🇺 and that weekend for McLaren was just crazy in a nutshell. In mid july the FIA asked McLaren to answer a charge for being in possession of documents and confidential information from Ferrari. This case involved allegations about Ferrari employee Nigel Stepney
giving information about the Ferrari car to McLaren chief designer Mike Coughlan. In the 26th of the month a hearing was at Paris, France so both sides can present their case. McLaren say that no Ferrari information was ever used to develop their car. They also state that the documents were only in possession of Mike Coughlan and no other employee knew about this until july 3rd. It was decided that McLaren was found guilty of possessing the documents but not punished for Coughlan's actions. So after that stressful hurdle things would be going right for the British team right? Well not in qualifying. In Q3 Lewis Hamilton was asked to let Alonso through cause he was on a lighter fuel load. But he did not let the spainard though angering the reigning world champion. But despite that Alonso with 3 minutes and 50 seconds left in the session grabbed pole position with a 1:20:133 but 25 seconds later Hamilton beats his time with a 1:19:781. With 2 minutes and 14 seconds left in the session Alonso would pit for tires to give it one last shot for pole. His engineer strategically makes him wait with a countdown so he can get the cleanest track possible and with a minute fifty remaining Alonso can get going again but he's stopped. Fernando hasn't gotten his engine out of neutral yet and Hamilton is waiting for him to leave and he hasn't, about 10-12 seconds pass and now Alonso leaves as Hamilton then comes in with his pitstop. Now it is going to be a time crunch for the McLarens to get back through the line in time for a flying lap Alonso has but Hamilton didn't! Alonso's slow gettaway prevents his teammate from getting a lap! And the team boss Ron Dennis is furious about this whole situation! But will it be worth it for Alonso? Can he get pole position? Yes he can with a 1:19:674! And immediately the question remains if he did that to Hamilton on purpose? Well as formentioned their boss is not happy whatsoever about how this went down so he goes to Alonso's trainer to see what happened. When Ron was asked by the media about what what happened he said it will be discussed after he discusses it with the team first. But things would be very interesting race time for when Alonso and Hamilton start from the front row. But unfortunately for Alonso it would be easier said than done. This whole thing now has earned he and Ron Dennis a metting with the FIA! So after being accused of practically spying on Ferrari the McLaren boss did not want to go to this meeting. Alonso says that he was being counted down on the radio by his engineer and was waiting as he was told but his mechanics were sreaming over the radio and signaling to him to get on the track but was waiting to here zero and Hamilton just happened to be in the wrong place wrong time that he didn't ruin Hamilton's lap on purpose. But the FIA didn't buy it as it was found over the radio that when Alonso was signaled to go he had an untimely argument of why he wasn't on softer tires since he set his lap on prime compound. So they deemed their actions prejudicial to the interest of the sport so their punishment is they will not be getting any constructors points from the Hungarian grand prix. So their lead at the top will definitely come down and it is known now that if Hamilton and Alonso weren't divided they are now. And to add insult to injury Fernando Alonso is going to have a 5 place grid penalty from the fact that he didn't leave when he was told to by his mechanics. So since McLaren aren't getting any points in the constructors championship Hamilton and Alonso really need to dig deep and increase their advantage in the drivers championship as Raikkonen would start in 4th and Massa would start in 14th after not getting enough fuel in his car and his tires too cold there was nothing he could do. Anyway Hamilton led from pole and Alonso would fall from 6th to 7th on the start and at one point got loose over the last turn to Webber but after a start gets those positions back and finish in 4th place just missing out on a podium to Nick Heidfeld as Raikkonen would finish 2nd and Hamilton went on to his 3rd victory of the year. This would leave the championship now with Hamilton leading by 7 points over Alonso Raikkonen would get back to 3rd place in the championship 20 points back and Massa's miserable 13th place after starting 14th left him 21 points back. But McLaren would only have a 19 point cushion in the constructors championship after not getting points in the Hungarian grand prix. But now the F1 season went to Turkey 🇹🇷 for round 12 of the championship. Now it seemed Ferrari is surging back and are ready to take the fight to McLaren. This would show as Massa would get pole position and Raikkonen 3rd. But Lewis and Fernando would start 2nd and 4th. The McLarens need a great start to dethrone the Ferrari's pace but they would lose out at the start as Massa and Raikkonen pull away with Hamilton 3rd and Fernando Alonso is all the way back in 6th. It appeared Alonso was being held up by Heidfeld but thankfully for him the McLaren pitstop allowed him to jump the German. As out front the Ferraris were crusing away from Hamilton who is giving it everything he has but he goes off in turn 9 with a puncture and is forced to crawl back to the pits for new tires and comes out and finishes 5th. This would be bad for McLaren as Massa lead Raikkonen to the flag for a 1-2 finish for Ferrari, but at least a McLaren is on the podium with Alonso getting his 45th podium. Things tighten up in the championship as the top four ate separated by 16 points with 5 races left in the season with Hamilton with 84 points(+5) Alonso 79 (-5) Massa 69(-15) and Raikkonen 68(-16). Mclaren's gap in the constructors championship is 11 points to Ferrari. Another thing to consider is that all four of them have 3 wins each so thing are very close as the end of the season is near. Momentum is on the side of Ferrari as we head to Italy 🇮🇹 in their home grand prix. But things weren't starting of great for them after a satuday practice crash from Kimi Raikkonen. The Finn would have to use the T-car for the rest of the weekend but despite that qualified 5th. His teammate would qualify 3rd with Hamilton 2nd and Fernando Alonso would get the pole and this time he gets to keep it. LOL! Things are looking good for the race as after a great start by Alonso is in the lead. Hamilton would lose out to Massa but would get the place back from the Brazilian despite missing the first chicane. The saftey car would come out quickly after Red Bull's David Coulthard🇬🇧 went into the gravel as the man from Britain made contact with Giancarlo Fisichella and lost his front wing. Alonso leads from Hamilton Massa and Raikkonen with a good start gets up to 4th and would get 3rd by Massa's experience. Unfortunately for Felipe he has to retire from the race after a problem with his rear suspension. When pitstops are over Alonso keeps his lead but his teammate loses 2nd to Raikkonen. But the British driver refused to give up as he gets by the Finn into turn 1 in a sideways style which excites McLaren and depress Ferrari. The British team would get even more delighted as Alonso lead on to victory with Hamilton coming second. Alonso and Hamilton lost out on their home turfs to both Ferrari drivers so a 1-2 in a way returns the favor to the Italian team. This gave the McLaren drivers a big lead over the Ferraris in the drivers championship with both Raikkonen nearly 2 races behind and Massa nearly 2 and a half races behind. This would also allow McLaren to get a 23 point lead over Ferrari. Man McLaren is looking really good now and things are looking at an all time high for Ron Dennis and the whole McLaren organization. With only 4 races left and McLaren have the momentum advantage or at least until controversy strikes them again. Remember when McLaren had to answer a charge for being in possession of Ferrari documents before the Hungarian grand prix? It now has come back to haunt them. The world motorsports counsel would have a meeting following new evidence about the whole scandal on the thursday before round 14 of rhe world championship the Belgian🇧🇪 grand prix. The paddock in Belgium speculated that the rouge McLaren employee was getting information from the rouge Ferrari employee. The new evidence revealed true that key McLaren personnel through email and text messages. McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa🇪🇸 ,race driver Lewis Hamilton, and team boss Ron Dennis went to the hearing to answer the charge in person. Alonso already proved evidence about the scandal so he stayed in Belgium. But Hamilton also provided evidence about this scandal. This whole thing would come back to bite McLaren in the butt because not only do they have to pay the biggest fine in F1 history which is 100 million dollars, they would be stripped of ALL of their constructors points AND would not score any points for the rest of the year! MCLAREN HAVE BEEN DISQUALIFIED FROM THE CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP FOR A ROUGE EMPLOYEE PRACTICALLY SPYING ON FERRARI! Both teams definitely definitely fired both men involved in the scandal. But Hamilton's and Alonso's points remains unharmed because they both provided evidence. Ron Dennis may not be able to win the constructors championship but he is twice as determined now to either get Hamilton or Alonso the 2007 world championship. They will have to beat the two Ferraris who after clinching the constructors championship after McLaren being disqualified locked out the front row for Belgium. It would pay dividends as they would both make a clean getaway from Fernando and Lewis and win the Belgian grand prix with Raikkonen first, Massa second, Alonso third, and Hamilton fourth. 3 races remain in the season now with Hamilton leading in the championship by 2 points over Fernando Alonso. Raikkonen is still in a decent position should something happen to the McLarens 13 points back and Massa needs to make something happen as his title chances are slim to none 20 points off. Round 15 will be the Japanese🇯🇵 grand prix. It would definitely be a tough weekend for all the F1 teams as saturday's practice session would be canceled due to bad weather. The bad weather slightly improved for qualifying but golly visability was a major issue from the fog and the spray that came of the wet weather Bridgestone tires. But despite that Hamilton pit his McLaren on provisional pole and his nearest championship rival and teammate Alonso starting alongside. The longshots of Raikkonen and Massa locked out row two for the race and just like saturday sunday's weather would be absolutely miserable so the race began behind the saftey car. The FIA recommended that everyone starts on the full wets but the Ferrari boys are on intermediates thinking the saftey car would be out for a while. Massa would spin off the track and Raikkonen would struggle for grip. Massa would reovertake the Sauber of Heidfeld but would backfire since he had to stop for full wets followed by Raikkonen a lap later. In the rules if you start behind the safety car you MUST have full wets. So as long as the McLarens would have a problem free race the championship can be settled between Hamilton and Alonso. The race would finally go green flag racing after the saftey car comes in on lap 19. But the conditions are still pretty bad as Wurz in the Williams tangles with Massa in the Ferrari. Hamilton leads early from Fernando Alonso as Massa would have to come into the pits to serve a drive through penalty for passing under saftey car conditions. Incidents would be plenty as Honda's Jenson Button 🇬🇧 would lose his front wing to Heidfeld on lap 23 and Japanese hero Takuma Sato🇯🇵 for Super Aguri damaged his front wing forcing both drivers to pit for repairs. Lap 27 arrives and Fernando pits for his fuel and tires but he comes out in traffic as Hamilton comes in the next lap who is behind the Toro Rosso of Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull of Mark Webber who is racing with food poisoning so good job for the aussie. But most importantly he is ahead of Fernando Alonso. The spainard went of the track slightly trying not to lose too much time but it didn't work as Alonso will have to get past his teammate on the track. But the spainard is being held up behind Kubica, Kovalainen, Fisichella, Coulthard, and Heidfeld who have to stop before the race ends. Halfway in the race Fernando gets by the Sauber but the German get back past the McLaren. The reigning champion is struggling in these conditions, but he's not alone as Hamilton gets spun around by Kubica and it would cost the Brit the second place to Hekki Kovalainen. Trouble strikes McLaren again as Alonso would be spun by Sebastian Vettel. The conditions looked fairly reasonable but the rain is getting harder as Skyper's Sakon Yamamoto 🇯🇵 spins off the circuit with 26 laps to go. And it shows as championship contender Fernando Alonso spins and crashes out of the race. His chance for a third championship in a row has taken a massive hit now with his wreck that brings out the safety car. And heartbreak shows its ugly face with 22 laps to go under saftey car conditions Vettel inadvertently crashes into Mark Webber's car putting both of them out of the race when they were running 2nd and 3rd! This could have been big for those teams both owned by the same man Dietrich Mateschitz Red Bull being the senior team and Toro Rosso the junior driver developing team and now its down the toilet. The saftey car would come in with 19 laps to go all Hamilton has to do is bring it home and he will put himself in a great position to win the world championship in his first try. And thats what the Brit did, Hamilton wins as his other championship rival Kimi Raikkonen recovers to 3rd place and Felipe Massa's championship hopes are officially over as a 6th place eliminates him from the fight. But will done by Hekki Kovalainen and Renault who finished 2nd, David Coulthard gets 4th for Red Bull, Renault's other driver Giancarlo Fisichella finished 5th, Kubica is 7th and Skyper scores in front of their home crowd with Adrian Sutil after a crazy race at Fuji. Lewis Hamilton now leads the championship by 12 points over his teammate Fernando Alonso and 17 over Kimi Raikkonen. Heading into the Chinese grand prix🇨🇳 Lewis Hamilton all year has shown that be deserves the world championship and he is a rookie and he is having a masterclass year. The Brit emphasizes that as he gets 6th pole position of the year. Now all he needs is to finish a point behind Alonso and the championship will be clinched. It is going to be interesting as it's raining for this race but that shouldn't concern Lewis especially after his win in worse conditions in Japan. The race begins as Hamilton leads Raikkonen, Massa, and Alonso trying to keep his championship fight alive. On lap 15 Hamilton comes in for fuel but keeps the intermediates he started the race on. Massa would pit two laps later also kepping his starting tires. Alonso and Raikkonen would do the same thing for their stops. Hamilton goes back into the lead but Raikkonen cut the British driver's gap in half, when pitstops started Raikkonen was 9 seconds back now he is 4 seconds behind the leader. The Finn posted a fast lap which was a 1:43.853 and that is around the time when dry tires can be faster. Hamilton would respond with his personal best a 1:43.1 trying to gap Raikkonen. The track appears to be getting faster as Mark Webber pits for dry tires as well as Alexander Wurz, Robert Kubica, and Rubens Barrichello🇧🇷. The leaders stay out though cause they think more rain is coming. Lap 26 Massa comes for dry tires. A lap later Hamilton is struggling with his worn tires as it is raining a little bit once more but Raikkonen is now all over his rear wing. Lewis Hamilton's lap times are in the 1 minute 55 range so he is really struggling with his worn tires and it cost the British driver the lead. Alonso and Raikkonen are way faster with their worn tires but Lewis's pace has fallen off the cliff he needs to come in for fresh dry tires. But he goes off into the gravel trap JUST before the pit lane! He's looking for a push from the marshals to get him in the pits. But it doesn't work as Lewis Hamilton is forced to retire for the first time in the season and the chance of becoming world champion a race early is now out the window! This opens the door now for Fernando Alonso to get back into the fight as he pits for prime tires while everyone else are on options but it would work out for the spainard with a 2nd place finish with Raikkonen winning and Massa 3rd. Attaboys of the race go to Vettel who finished 4th after the heartbreak of Japan, Button finished 5th, and Liuzzi 6th.Alonso now has a realistic to defend his championship in the season finale with 4 points separating him from his teammate and longshot Raikkonen is 7 poins of the lead. Fernando said when Hamilton won the pole in China that his championship hopes are 99% done but this race shows you never give up until the checkered flag falls and this could be the momentum Alonso needs to defend his championship and win his 3rd in a row at the final race of the 2007 Formula 1 season in(drumrool)............ Brazil🇧🇷. This race would be action packed intense finale for the title contenders, can Hamilton redeem himself after China? Can Alonso win 3 championships in a row? Or can Raikkonen come out of nowhere to snipe the championship? Well the championship leader Hamilton would qualify 2nd Raikkonen 3rd after being caught off guard from Hamilton's car and Fernando Alonso will start 4th. It's race time and all Hamilton needs to do is finish 2nd to Alonso and no matter what Raikkonen does he'll be the youngest ever world champion. The race begins and he loses out to Raikkonen and Fernando. The British driver is determined to assert himself in the race but locks up in turn 4 and goes wide! Lewis Hamilton is now down in 8th place and so far advantage in the championship goes to Alonso. Lewis gets back up to 6th and he's starting to look good and getting back in his rhythm but all of a sudden he is slowing down! Lewis Hamilton is slowing down on the track! Out of all the races for Hamilton to have a gearbox problem this is the worst time for it! But somehow the problem fixed himself but Lewis Hamilton is all the way back in 18th and needs to deliver the BEST drive of his rookie year if he is to become world champion. This definitely puts his teammate Fernando Alonso in the catbird seat for the championship as he runs in 3rd place. Lap 22 comes as pitstops finished Kimi Raikkonen is now 2nd Alonso 3rd and Hamilton has come out in 13th. Meanwhile Robert Kubica gets past Fernando Alonso just before the halfway point of the race. Hamilton recovered up to 9th with the option tires and stops again to put the primes on for another short stint. McLaren is trying to keep his car as light as possible trying to keep Lewis on the offensive after his early gearbox glitch but Lewis still has to stop again for fuel to make the end of the race. Unless something happens it appears that Hamilton's world championship is beginning to slip away. This opens the door for Fernando Alonso running 3rd winning his 3rd championship in a row and career by 1 point with other championship contender Raikkonen currently 2nd with his teammate Felipe Massa leading and Hamilton now just in the points in 8th. The closing stages are opon us with 21 laps to go and Massa pits for the last time in 2007. Kimi Raikkonen is now flying after his teammate pitted and successfully pulled the overcut Felipe Massa and gets the lead. Lewis Hamilton needs to get up to 5th for the title and Alonso needs 2nd to get his 3rd title but the spainard is over 40 seconds off the Ferraris. Both Mclarens need a miracle to get the drivers championship now but it would never come, Lewis Hamilton finished 7th and Fernando Alonso finished 3rd losing the title to race winner Kimi Raikkonen by 1 single point. After a whole seasons worth of work and the championship was decided by just 1 point. After 8 wins, 24 podiums, 8 pole positions, 523 laps led, and 2076 completed laps combined from Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso and all they have to show for it is 2nd and 3rd in the drivers standings and last in the constructors after being disqualified from the constructors championship in Belgium. This leads people to ask many questions like, "What if Hamilton never got stuck in the gravel at China?" "What if Alonso never wrecked in Japan?" "What if McLaren never spied on Ferrari?" And many more questions like "What might have been for Hamilton, Alonso, and McLaren in 2007? Or as a Youtuber by the name of "The Iceberg " would say, what if in 2007 McLaren Mercedes, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso would all have captured their missing ring?