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Spaniard takes another

It is with increasing indignation that I report on grands prix of late, for too often the result is influenced by controversial and often curious penalties.

The Japanese Grand Prix was no exception, and while nothing can be taken away from another superb win by Fernando Alonso in the Renault – the second on the trot – much talk will centre around the respective penalties that were handed out to the championship protagonists, Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

The former made a poor start and found the Ferrari pair ahead, jinked to the right and braked way too late into the first corner. This forced Raikkonen to leave the track and lose several places, and Hamilton was handed a drive through penalty for impeding another drive.

Curious, that, as many drivers took to the run off to avoid others at this corner – and notably have done in other races – yet were not similarly penalised.

Massa’s penalty seemed more clear-cut, but this writer begs to differ. Attempting to take Hamilton into one of the chicanes the Ferrari found nowhere to go but the grass – shades of the famed ‘Spa incident’ here – and upon rejoining, nudged the McLaren into a spin. A drive through was duly handed out for Massa, too.

It is this writers desire to ask the question – what happened to ‘racing incidents’? Where is the ethic that went with drivers of yore, who accepted that ‘you win some, you lose some’ – Mario Andretti, I believe – and simply got on with the job? When did the time come when we needed penalties applied race in, race out, for accidents that, let’s be honest, are always going to happen?

Hamilton confessed that the first corner move was ‘a mistake’, but that’s easy to do with the benefit of hindsight. I think it was simply the natural response of a true racer, one who knows that overtaking possibilities are few and far between.

While Hamilton – with a damaged floor and bodywork – could only struggle home twelfth, Massa would fight like a trooper to take a solitary point – depending, that is, on the outcome of yet another investigation! This time the Brazilian found himself alongside Sebastien Bourdais in the Toro Rosso, the Frenchman having just emerged from the pits, and moved over on him, the two cars touching. The incident was flagged as to be investigated after the race and, at the time of writing, the result unknown.

So to the race, and with the first corner melee neatly avoided Robert Kubica, in the BMW, found himself at the front, followed by Alonso.

Up there somewhere were the Toro Rosso pair of Bourdais and Sebastian Vettel, and Nelson Piquet had made a fine start in the Renault from 12th. Heikki Kovalainen, in the second McLaren, looked handy at this point having settled down in third, but the Finn would pull off with a terminal mechanical failure in just a few laps.

Further back and Mark Webber had been driven off the track in the first corner – by an un-penalized assailant – and found himself last. The doughty Aussie would claw back to eight on a one-stop strategy, only to be easily overhauled by the flying Massa with a few laps to go.

The other Red Bull had been a casualty, and having been tipped into a spin David Coulthard found himself heading for the barriers. It was a sizeable smash, but the position of the wreck was such that only yellow flags were needed.

Kubica was the first of the front-runners to stop, and Alonso put the hammer down. Meanwhile, Trulli had a stint at leading for Toyota, as the second of the home cars – that of Timo Glock – retired with a problem early in the race.

Alonso emerged ahead of Kubica, knowing that he had less fuel on board than the BMW, and proceeded to put in a typical Alonso performance. He would emerge from the second stops with his lead intact – give or take a few one stoppers – and would not be challenged.

Kubica came under some pressure in the latter part of the race from Raikkonen, the Finn putting in his customary late race charge, but fended him off beautifully. Once tyre wear began to set in it became clear that Raikkonen had no answer to the Pole, and the two came home second and third.

Fourth – and a great drive, this, went to nelson Piquet, the youngster fighting for his drive in the second Renault, and fifth to Trulli who did the best the car could offer, with the final points paying positions to Bourdais, Vettel and Massa, and Webber and Nick Heidfeld making up the top ten.

Nico Rosberg was first Williams home on a poor day for them, 11th ahead of Hamilton, while the sister car of Kazuki Nakajima was involved in the first lap incident with Coulthard and could only recover to 15th. In between, and the only other finishers, were Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button in the Hondas.

A pity for Force India, as both Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella were running well when they were forced to retire, the former up to 11th at one point before a puncture took its toll.

Win 21 for Alonso, then, on a day when Massa salvaged a point to bring the gap down to six, and Kubica quietly edged to within 12 points of the leader.

We resume in China in one week.

Written: Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:31:06