October 21, 2007
Raikkonen Wins Formula One Title
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 8:40 p.m. ET
SAO PAULO, Brazil (AP) -- Kimi Raikkonen is known as ''The Iceman,'' and he more than kept his cool Sunday, winning the Brazilian Grand Prix and capturing the Formula One title in the tightest race for the championship in 21 years.
Raikkonen won his first F1 crown by taking advantage of Lewis Hamilton's mistake on the first lap and a subsequent gearbox problem with his McLaren, combined with Fernando Alonso's disappointing run.
The Ferrari driver took the lead with 21 laps to go, rallying from third in the drivers' standings to win the closest title race since 1986. Teammate Felipe Massa was second Sunday.
''We had very good speed in both cars,'' Raikkonen said. ''Were just taking it easy, saving the tires and the cars. We could have gone much faster it we wanted to. It was perfect teamwork from the team and it paid off very well.''
Hamilton, trying to become the first rookie to win the title and F1's youngest champion, went off the track on the first lap and went on to finish seventh. Alonso finished third.
''I went into the race and said to myself, 'Whatever happens today, it's been a phenomenal year,''' Hamilton said. ''Who would've thought I would be leading the world championship during the last races? It's a great feeling being in that position. The team did a phenomenal job all year.''
Alonso would have had to finish second and Hamilton fifth to keep Raikkonen from winning the drivers' championship after his victory.
There were some doubts after the race whether Raikkonen would keep the title, however, as Formula One's governing body -- FIA -- opened up an investigation into possible fuel irregularities.
FIA called a meeting involving representatives from BMW-Sauber and Williams, whose drivers finished fourth, fifth, sixth and 10th, and if at least two of them were punished, Hamilton could have moved up to fifth and taken the title.
Nearly six hours after the race, FIA said there wasn't enough evidence to penalize the drivers or the teams.
Raikkonen erased a seven-point gap behind Hamilton coming into the race to finish with 110 points, one more than Hamilton and Alonso.
''This is a great feeling,'' Raikkonen said. ''We had some hard times, some reliability problems and lost some points. A lot of people didn't believe in us, but we showed that they were wrong and we were able to come back. It was a great season.''
The Finn was reserved in his celebrations on the podium, waving his cap to the crowd before briefly throwing his arms in the air.
He finished the race on the 2.6-mile Interlagos track in 1 hour, 28 minutes, 15.270 seconds -- 1.493 seconds ahead of Massa and 57.019 ahead of Alonso.
Raikkonen -- second in the drivers' championship in 2003 and '05 -- became only the third Finn to win the F1 title, and the first since two-time winner Mika Hakkinen in 1998 and '99. The first Finnish champion was Keke Rosberg in 1982.
It was a hectic start for the Brazilian GP.
Hamilton, who started in the front row beside pole-sitter Massa, was passed by Raikkonen and Alonso on the first turn. Hamilton then made a mistake trying to recover the position from Alonso three turns later.
''I locked up behind Fernando to avoid hitting him and I went a bit wide,'' Hamilton said.
''When I saw Hamilton going off, I knew that maybe we had some chances,'' Raikkonen said. ''I wasn't 100 percent sure, I was really just waiting. It took a long time to hear that we had finally won it.''
The Englishman moved back to sixth place after six laps, but his car slowed dramatically with a gearbox problem two laps later and he seemed on the verge of retiring from the race. His car suddenly picked up pace again, but he had already dropped to 18th.
''Lewis has enjoyed phenomenal reliability from his car this year,'' McLaren team chief Ron Dennis told British television. ''It was just a default in the gearbox which selected neutral for a period of time, but then sorted itself out.''
Hamilton's car was without problems for the rest of the race as he moved past the slower cars with ease. By lap 18 of 71, Hamilton was 11th, but he couldn't manage to move up past seventh.
He had needed a top-two finish to guarantee the title Sunday without depending on other drivers.
''It has been an incredible season,'' Hamilton said. ''Under extremely difficult conditions, I beat the two-time world champion, which was my objective from the very beginning.''
Massa and Raikkonen stayed 1-2 from the start. Raikkonen took the lead after a final pit stop, coming ahead of Massa as the Brazilian apparently slowed his pace.
''Felipe worked hard ... he's been a big help,'' Raikkonen said.
Massa, who had won four times in the previous five races he started from the pole, had an emotional victory in Interlagos last year as he became the first Brazilian to win at home since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993.
Alonso was trying to become only the third driver to win three consecutive titles in the history of F1, along with Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
''I knew it was going to be a difficult situation for me,'' Alonso said. ''It was impossible to keep the pace from Ferrari. I was just waiting for something.''
It was the third year in a row the F1 season was decided at the Brazilian GP. Alonso won both of his titles at the Interlagos track in 2005 and '06.