Lewis Hamilton vs. Kimi Raikkonen: Who Will Earn the Championship Title?

I’m sure all of you are with me in thanking the lucky stars that Lewis Hamilton finally rediscovered some of his form in the Turkish Grand Prix last weekend. He drove the race brilliantly, despite having to do a three-stop strategy, and even completed a pass for the lead.

This is it—you must be thinking—Super-Hamilton has begun his charge and no one can stop him now. Though this may be taking the image a bit far, it’s pretty close to the one that ITV is painting. But do we really think he can beat Raikkonen to the title this year?

Let’s look at the statistics first.

Raikkonen has a seven-point lead over third-ranked Hamilton. Even at this early stage in the season, it will be very hard for Hamilton to close that gap if the Ferrari formulas remain as bulletproof as they have been through the first five races.

But, as we saw over the weekend, McLaren's car is capable of running at a higher pace than Ferrari's. Was this just the product of lighter fuel loads though?

Indeed, there are a couple of places where Ferrari seems to do better than McLaren.

Firstly, Ferrari is infinitely kinder to its tyres than McLaren. McLaren’s Bridgestones heat up more quickly than Ferrari's, which is good for qualifying, but in a race the tyres will begin to grain within seven laps.

Secondly, during practices and qualifying, McLaren seems to be harder to set up than Ferrari, which means that it is tougher to find a good setting for a circuit. However, there are going to be places where McLaren will have the edge and places where Ferrari will have the edge.

Also, you must look at experience.

While Raikkonen has driven in just 18 more competitive races than Hamilton, he has six more years of Formula 1 track experience than Hamilton does. The Brit has experienced each track only in one kind of condition, and it is pretty much guaranteed that the conditions can't be the same every year.

But, back to the question at hand. Can Hamilton beat the Iceman for the championship?

Well, I’d like to come up with an answer here, but I just can’t. Trying to predict who will win this championship is like trying to decide who is superior, Michael Schumacher or Juan Manuel Fangio?

It's just too hard to decide.