Before talking about anything, I should note that Mark Webber is my favorite driver with Fernando Alonso being second. Webber is a good driver but never really had a car he could get a result with. I’ve liked Alonso since the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix, when he tried to lap Ralf Schumacher’s Williams coming out of the tunnel but spun out on the marbles and spun backwards into the wall. The gesture Alonso gave him under the circumstance, I believe, was not only incredibly awesome but cool as well. When picking a favorite driver, it’s events like that which show a driver’s personality that gets you to like them, and not only their achievements. That’s why Honda drivers still have fans.
Knowing my driver bias should make my opinions clear in this post and the ones I will make in the future. Onto the Hungarian Grand Prix though, it started with all of the cars seemingly struggling with the tires Bridgestone opted to bring; the soft and super softs. With a lack of high speed corners, it seems like a good decision until graining was an issue with nearly all cars. The Ferrari’s were quick in the free practice session but the McLaren cars weren’t far behind. During the second qualifying session, Hamilton showed the true McLaren pace by setting a 1:19.301 compared to Alonso’s 1:19:661 and Raikkonen’s 1:20.107. Surprisingly, Massa struggled and qualified 14th.
In the third qualifying session is when the weekend’s controversy started. Allegedly, near the beginning of the session, Hamilton was ordered to let Alonso pass but he didn’t. In retribution, during the second pit stop of the third qualifying session, Alonso was held up by the team to time his exit from the pits but after the lollipop was lifted, Alonso remained stationary for 10 seconds before setting off while Hamilton was stacked behind him. The effect this had is Alonso was able to start a timed lap but Hamilton was about three seconds too late.
Before this grand prix, I had the opinion that Alonso was looking for a seat elsewhere for the 2008 season, possibly back at Renault but now, the situation is a bit different. The following is a transcript of conversation that allegedly took place over the pit radio:
Hamilton: “Don’t ever f—ing do that to me again.”
Dennis: “Don’t f—ing talk to me like that.”
Hamilton: “You can go and f—ing swivel.”
Swivel is referring to swivelling in his chair on the pit wall. Allegedly. As a result of those qualifying antics and McLaren’s lack of transparency to the race stewards, Alonso was docked five grid places and McLaren was punished by not being able to receive any potential constructors points. I could understand McLaren being punished for that but why was there any official enquiry about the incident in the first place? It was certainly unsporting but definitely not illegal. I am by no means an expert on the rulebook but I’m certain it doesn’t have any rules against that type of blocking. Pits were stacked before and nobody was questioned but since this was intentional, it needed enquiry and possibly punishment? That is just ridiculous. This should have been sorted out by the two drivers and the team, not the FIA.
As for the race, it was as boring as any dry weather Hungarian Grand Prix.
Plenty of reports after the race are documenting the relationships between the two drivers and other people at McLaren: According to Hamilton, Alonso hasn’t spoken to him since qualifying and if you believe the earlier reports, Alonso isn’t sharing his data and car setups. Also the mechanics and engineers may not be happy with Hamilton. This problem stems from McLaren choosing to treat both drivers equally. It’s certainly no problem when you have a Raikkonen and a Montoya on the team where one is clearly better than the other so one driver accepts his secondary role but this season with two almost equally talented drivers, it doesn’t work. A driver uses his team’s support to build his confidence and for a driver like Alonso, that’s very important. Thinking back to the end of the 2006, he accused his Renault team of not doing well enough, of sabotaging his championship hopes, because he was moving to a different team next season. For a driver as “emo” as Alonso, he needs the support of the whole team.
If in the next few weeks he doesn’t get that support and it seems to him that McLaren is still treating Hamilton better, Alonso will be jumping ship. Personally, I wouldn’t mind seeing him in a Ferrari as they are able to deliver a championship winning car and I’m certain Ferrari would sack Massa given the chance of getting Alonso. I also believe that Alonso will win the championship this year and if he moves to Ferrari next year, he could be the only driver to win that many championships with multiple constructors. It’s definitely a unique achievement to strive for.