World Driver's Championship: The Title Nobody Wants

This 2008 World Driver's Championship in Formula One has been hotly contested for many seasons. This year, things are closer even than last year's effort. But how have we come to this point? After the British Grand Prix four weeks ago, there's a three way tie and another driver two points further behind? Let's examine why this looks like the Championship nobody wants.

The Races

Australia

The season began with a win from the Mclaren of Lewis Hamilton but it was not a dominating performance all around for the Silver Arrows. Finnish team mate Heikki Kovalainen had quite a low-key afternoon. Here, we witnessed the first indication that Mclaren would struggle for Constructors points.

Ferrari had a miserable time of it at Albert Park, with BMW being the second team clearly. Raikkonen drove like an amateur all weekend and took at least two off-road adventures while Massa ran into David Coulthard.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS (D & C): 18

FERRARI: 1 (Raikkonen 1; Massa: 0)

MCLAREN: 14 (Hamilton: 10; Kovalainen: 4)

BMW: 8 (Kubica: 0; Heidfeld: 8)

Malaysia

Raikkonen bounced back in Malaysia after Australia's dire performance to win in sensational and dominating style. Yet even here Ferrari did not capitalise as they should have. Massa had 'another one of those days' and spun away good Constructors and Drivers points for himself and the team.

Hamilton suffered due to a wheel nut problem in his pit stop. Kovalainen managed a third place, but it was Kubica again who managed to drive to second. BMW scored more consistent points.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 10 (Raikkonen: 10; Massa: 0)

MCLAREN: 10 (Hamilton: 4; Kovalainen: 6)

BMW: 11 (Kubica: 8; Heidfeld: 3)

Bahrain

Here we saw Ferrari finally making two cars in the points and one team seeming like they wanted to make a decent stab at the championship, as Massa led Raikkonen home

It was Mclaren, though, that seemed now to be throwing points away left, right, and center with Kovalainen managing only a distant fifth position behind both BMWs and Lewis Hamilton having a needlessly messy race and involving himself with Alonso.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 18 (Raikkonen: 8; Massa: 10)

MCLAREN: 4 (Hamilton: 0; Kovalainen: 4)

BMW: 11 (Kubica: 6; Heidfeld: 5)

Spain

Another Ferrari one-two at Barcelona saw the Scuderia cementing a dominant performance at Bahrain. It was a role reversal as Massa finished behind Raikkonen this time. However, consistent wins were not forthcoming. Even BMW slipped up this race, with Heidfeld finishing outside the money in 9th.

Hamilton had another troubled day and Mclaren continued to throw their early dominance away as an accidental failure on Kovalainen's car pitched him into the wall.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 18 (Raikkonen: 10; Massa: 8)

MCLAREN: 6 (Hamilton: 6; Kovalainen: 0)

BMW: 5 (Kubica: 5; Heidfeld: 0)

Turkey

Ferrari continued to show that they perhaps wanted this Championship after all, with Felipe Massa scoring a good victory. Lewis Hamilton took second place and Raikkonen was back in third.

The ghosts of Kubica and Heidfeld were there again, collecting good points as best they could. Kovalainen had a disaster of a weekend and thus, so did Mclaren, with 12th the best that the Finn could manage.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 16 (Raikkonen: 6; Massa: 10)

MCLAREN: 8 (Hamilton: 8; Kovalainen: 0)

BMW: 9 (Kubica: 5; Heidfeld: 4)

Monaco

It was all good for Mclaren at the drenched Monte Carlo circuit. Hamilton took a convincing and masterful win and the team also managed to squeeze Kovalainen into the points in 8th place. The other teams did not manage to score both cars in the points.

Ferrari and BMW dropped the ball big time, with Raikkonen bouncing around the track like a 6-year-old playing a PlayStation and Nick Heidfeld also struggling in the conditions. Kubica and Felipe Massa were second and third respectively.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 6 (Raikkonen: 0; Massa: 6)

MCLAREN: 11 Hamilton: 10; Kovalainen: 1)

BMW: 8 (Kubica: 8; Heidfeld: 0)

Canada

Ferrari and Mclaren made good progress in putting right their poor runs during the season with two 1-2's for Ferrari and some strong finishes for Mclaren and Hamilton. Hamilton and Raikkonen, however, were eliminated from this race in pit lane after some silly driving, which was initiated by the two BMW's; Robert Kubica in particular.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 4 (Raikkonen: 0; Massa: 4)

MCLAREN: 0 (Hamilton: 0; Kovalainen: 0)

BMW: 18 (Kubica: 10; Heidfeld: 8)

France

After a strong but admitedly lucky race in Canada, BMW struggled in the French Grand Prix. Mclaren had their problems with penalties and punishments at this circuit as well, meaning they too could not push an advantage.

It was Ferrari who came back and took the top honours, once again throwing the championship into their own hands and those of Felipe Massa. Raikkonen was on course to win but struggled later with a sick car.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 18 (Raikkonen: 8; Massa: 10)

MCLAREN: 5 (Hamilton: 0; Kovalainen: 5)

BMW: 4 (Kubica: 4; Heidfeld: 0)

Britain

And so to that memorable British Grand Prix. Lewis Hamilton cemented his position as favourite of the British fans but also as a man who is serious about winning the championship. On the other side, Ferrari did not continue their momentum from France.

Massa and Raikkonen had awful days and the team was trounced. BMW too could not keep both cars in the hunt and it was Kubica the championship man who fell off the circuit not Heidfeld.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 5 (Raikkonen: 5; Massa: 0)

MCLAREN: 14 (Hamilton: 10; Kovalainen: 4)

BMW: 8 (Kubica: 0; Heidfeld: 8)

Germany

Finally managing to string two race wins together and dominating in awesome style, Lewis Hamilton looks as though he is now taking the intiative for keeps in the championship. Raikkonen has had another worryingly ordinary race weekend where he has appeared dissinterested and off the pace.

BMW again have been there somewhere and Massa kept the Italian team's flag flying for third place. Perhaps we are entering a period of closer action and consistency? For the first time this weekend, all three teams managed to get both cars home in the points.

ACTUAL AVAILABLE POINTS: 18

FERRARI: 9 Raikkonen: 3 Massa: 6

MCLAREN: 14 Hamilton: 10 Kovalainen: 4

BMW: Kubica: 2 Heidfeld: 5

Team Politics

In the olden days of the Ferrari domination machine, Ferrari would only be celebrating victory from one driver, and he would be backed to take the World Championship at all times. Michael Schumacher is no longer around, though. Ferrari is allowing (for the moment) both drivers to gun for the title. It is spectacular to see and fair as it should be, but it is hurting their chances in real terms. By not selecting one driver to be the breadwinner, Ferrari has seen the chance to lead by a big margin slip away.

Mclaren has an equal driver policy, too, though off the record it is clear between team and drivers that Kovalainen is no number one driver. Of the top teams, only Kovalainen has scored so badly. In the few chances he has had to perform well, he has failed.

Hamilton has had penalties and has made silly mistakes. Is Mclaren still paying for Spygate? Or is it simply that Hamilton has made some quite serious errors? Either way, Mclaren's actions have stung them quite a few times this season, leading to the loss of points.

BMW is the most curious team with political machinations. Throughout the season they have scored consistently, driven well, challenged whoever is the second team on a given weekend and even won a race this year with a one-two at Canada. Yet, Mario Theissen and both drivers have talked themselves out of a fight for the championship when clearly there is a battle to fight; a curious decision given their results. BMW may not be able to take the title, but they have given it away before it is half over. They seem not to want it.

Cars

Ferrari started the season with without doubt the best Formula One racer on the grid. Kind to its tyres, reliable and with two quick drivers, it was the class leader. Since around the French Grand Prix however, Ferrari has allowed what they haven't allowed in many years: Mclaren to surpass them in the development race. Perhaps it is because they are catering to both Raikkonen and Massa. In the old days, Ferrari catered only to Schumacher. The number two had to like it or lump it and get on with the job.

Mclaren started and still has a car which savages its rubber. Soft tyres and hot conditions will stifle the progress of the Mercedes-powered car. Yet since the French Grand Prix, the Mclaren team has had a better run than the Ferrari thanks to hard work and impressive updates. They are ahead of Ferrari in the development race this season as it stands now; impressive considering that certain elements of the car are suspended from development under the Spygate legislation.

BMW, it seems, has perhaps slipped back. Theirs was a tidy, reliable and consistent racer. They were steady rather than quick before some impressive speed came forth in the middle stages of the season. Now BMW appears to be cruising to third place in the Constructors Championship and are not keen to develop the F108 further to catch Ferrari and Mclaren, even though the gap is relatively small.

Drivers

Kimi Raikkonen is the reigning world champion. That should be all we need say about the 'Iceman'. However, there have been at least two lukewarm performances from the Finn and his tendancy to turn up to circuits not ready for the competition is a serious flaw, especially since the racing is so hot and heavy and the points so tight. It is Raikkonen's desire to win more than anyone's that appears lacking.

Hamilton is Hamilton. Anyone who saw him racing in GP2 will know about his racing style. Robust and frightening at times, Lewis has had a tendency to overdrive. This has caused him headaches in many places, including Canada, France and Bahrain. Nobody can question his lust for the top position, though, and since the German Grand Prix, it is he more than anyone else who seems to be putting the blocks together to climb to the top.

Felipe Massa is a driver with a schizophrenic race performance. Watch highlights of the Turkish and British Grands Prix and then try to remind yourself it is the same driver in the car with the '2' plate. Felipe lacks the consistency to maintain good runs and to stay on top of his car. This is what has cost him the championship lead since he took it in France. Despite being second in the standings, it has to be said that he looks more on course for third place at season's end. His desire is not in question; his quality is.

Kubica. What can one say about Robert Kubica? He doesn't have the technology to reach the top and his team has no desire to change that this year. Yet the Pole is a talented driver and one whom Lewis Hamilton is keeping an eye on. It is difficult to quantify how badly Robert wants the championship but he is a Grand Prix driver used to winning. But with BMW having talked themselves out of contention, it would seem Kubica has the least chance of challenging for the title now.

The championship has ebbed and flowed, stopped and started. Drivers have taken the initiative and then let it go again. But that was only the first half of the season. In the first race of the second half, it is Lewis Hamilton who appears hungriest and fastest with Raikkonen looking on worriedly as if he doesn't really care. 

It also appears to this writer that you can read in Felipe Massa's eyes that he knows he doesn't have the skill nor the speed to take the title fight to Hamilton in the improved Mclaren. With Ferrari making error after error for their drivers as well, it will be interesting to see if this season continues in the manner it began.

Of course if it does, it makes for spectacular viewing for we the fans! So come on Robert, it's your turn in Hungary!