The driver's title race - Hamilton vs Alonso

[Rob W]

With so many people talking about who will be this year's driver's champion I thought I'd start this thread - in a couple of weeks we'll know who's predictions were correct - so fire away. Thoughts?

Some comments to start off:

- Most major betting houses now show better odds for Alonos to win the WDC now.

- A good chunk of senior F1 insiders, including Renault's Pat Symonds, back Alonso to take the title.

- Recent form, over the previous six races, Alonso has outscored Hamilton by 12 points. If this trend continues he will beat him to the championship.


NOTE: please - a single thread about racing without the spy/conspiracy stuff in it. I also realise that Kimi is in the running for the WDC and it isn't only about Alonso and Hamilton.

Rob W

[bar555]

a possible retirement of a Mc Laren's driver , technical problem or a collision between them (at Spa the possibility of collision was really high) could open the championship battle again for Ferrari drivers . If none of this happens then i think Kimi and Felippe are out for good . There are only 3 races left and only 30 points (maximum) for a driver to claim . Alonso or Hamilton can be champion even though finishing (in every race left) behind Ferrari drivers

[Keitho]

Remember Lewis had a tyre problem that cost him several valuable points.
This track will test all drivers, but considering Lewis past performance on new tracks this year I feel he will shine. LEWIS GETS MY VOTE.

[naknak_56]

Alonso will win it baring any technical faults

Remember Lewis had a tyre problem that cost him several valuable points

Lewis would have finished behind him in that race anyway.
Think hes been showing signs of cracking for a few races and without Fernandos help with setup hes been slower than him since then.

[tomislavp4]

Alonso looked better in the last few races, Hamilton looked kinda lost
I would tip on Alonso, but we´ll see what happens

[Keitho]

I still fovour Lewis on this new track. We will c.

[Keitho]

Another point of interest, If Lewis benifited from Alonso's set up why was he able to beat him on the track. Better driver or maybe it was luck???

[monkeyboy1976]

My "money" is on Hamilton.

[Militia Est Vita]

If weather gets crappy I think Alonso will have many chances on Sunday, however, IMO a similar track with a long straight and tight corners was Indy which Hamilton dominated easily. So we'll se. I would go for Alonso.

[Tom]

I want to see Hamilton win, perhaps just for novelty value, but I see alot in him and he may never get another chance. Alonso has had 2 champs already and knows how to handle the pressure. I think Alonso has most chance on track though.

I would put the odds at 65% Alonso, 35% Hamilton, Ferrari a big fat 0. Face it, the Mclaren is absolubtly bullet proof, the Ferrari lag a long way behind in the championship and honestly have no chance at all of capatalising on a Mclaren failure to the point where they're championship contenders.

I have to convince the local SU bar to put the race on the projector, if they let me in after karaoke night

[checkered]

First off, the odds

are heavily in McLaren's favor. They do need to push quite hard still, it's not like they can let Ferrari take 1-2's from the remaining races since there's no-one else really that can challenge the Maranello team for the podiums, DNFs notwithstanding. Without adverstities, Ferrari IMO has the best chance of gaining ground as long as the McLaren drivers are very equal in points and on the track because in that situation they need to be really careful in relation to each other.

Dennis is out to prove that he will treat the drivers equally no matter what, so whether the drivers like that or not, that's what they're going to get. Whatever else needs to be delt with will wait until after the season is over. Hamilton stating that he wants to discuss what happened at Spa with Alonso is, to me, an indicator that he needs to get his head straight and concentrate on his own game. It's the Ferraris, in the end, he needs to worry about if he intends to go for the WDC. Ferrari have stated that they will concentrate on the drivers' title from now on.

For what the WDC is worth now, I'd like to see the results from the remaining races are such that the decisive events happen in Brazil. It's likely to be between the McLarens, but I wouldn't mind a Ferrari or two getting an outside chance still. The mood at Interlagos would be incredible if Massa was in contention - on the other hand that would most likely play into the hands of the McLaren drivers unless the two following races are downright disastrous for them.

Hopefully there won't be any technical issues, I'd like to see things decided by all top four finishing every remaining race. I'm afraid in a situation like this there are going to be malfunctions of some sort, though.

[PNSD]

All I will say is who predicted Alonso and Shumacher BOTH having DNF's in the latter part of 2006.

Not alot, it was proof that anything can happen to anyone.

[Ciro Pabón]

Well, my heart is with Alonso, of course. "Spain: go no further", "From Madrid to heaven", "Santiago and close your ranks, Spain", "Spain is different" and all that stuff.

However, Lewis is 3 points ahead, isn't he?

Alonso is a double WDC, that explains the odds. Lewis... well, Lewis is "a monster".

Actually, he is a british monster, that explains my bet. I have told already the joke about Alonso dying and going to heaven. Allow me to repeat it, please (or skip it, it's not very good):

Fernando Alonso dies and goes to heaven. He finds there Juan Manuel Fangio, Graham Hill and Tazio Nuvolari boasting.

Tazio says:

"I won a race on three wheels and another one with the steering wheel in one hand and steering my car with a wrench stuck into the steering column"

Graham Hill adds:

"Well, I won Indy 500, Le Mans 24 hours and the WDC, which nobody has done since"

Juan Manuel boasts:

"I won 5 championships with 4 automakers, guys"

Then, Alonso, mesmerized by the meeting, adds:

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Fernando Alonso, a spaniard. I admire you a lot: I tried to follow your steps. I won the WDC when I was 24 and I repeated the feat next year"

The three older pilots are clearly astounded and amazed by this. Alonso is happy because of that: surely these great drivers must be impressed by him winning the championship so young!

Graham Hill turns and says to the other two:

"Wow! I can't believe it... an F-1 pilot from Spain!"

And that's why I bet on Hamilton.

[Belatti]

After 5 Red years and 2 yellow-light blue years, I would like to see a Silver one at the top at the end of this season. And I think I would see it.

Unless a comet falls over a McLaren car in the middle of a race, but thats not likely to happen.

Now, between McLaren drivers, I think that Alonso will and has better chances to win.

Lewis is awesome, but I would prefer him to stay second this year, all he needs to be the best is to loose at least once.

[m3_lover]

Alonso all the way. Since July he has been winning a lot more. Could be he has come to grips with the tyres or that he does not share set up information anymore to hamilton. I read that he promised to his mechanics that if he wins the WDC he will pay 700 pounds to each mechanic. Now that is motivation right there.