Sometime back, a certain gentleman (I use the term loosely here, _real_ gentlemen kindly excuse), who had settled into some sort of a lazy routine, was kicked in the butt - not once, but twice, and back-to-back, by the same guy. Realizing that all the people can't be fooled all the time, he quietly took to wearing dark goggles and car-spotting on Sundays. Mind you, he could have stayed on. He could have given a semblance of a fight. There were a few gazillions who wanted him to (as against the few thousands who did not - you know, the "good riddance to bad rubbish" folks). Only, the people who had a say in him staying or leaving thought otherwise.
A significant population went up in arms about the future. They swore it would never be the same without him again. They vowed to stay away from the sport for good. Even the "good riddance" folks weren't sure if they would enjoy the season since their only source of hatred had safely stepped out. That had caused such a big hole of emptiness. It was a strange time.
And then there was Lewis Hamilton. The rookie who was supposed to block all-and-sundry in the backfield while Fernando Alonso ran away with the title.
And Fernando Alonso. The defending champion was who supposed to stand aside and watch his rookie team mate win the honors.
And Kimi Raikkonen. The "Best-Man-but-never-The-Man" who was supposed to struggle in his new team while his established (and well-connected) team mate would show him the way.
For the last race this season, the three of them would go head-to-head for racing supremacy. Would it be a rookie winning the championship (which the gentleman in question never achieved) ? Would Alonso make it three-in-a-row with two different teams (which the gentleman in question never achieved) ? Would Kimi finally win his first championship in his first year with a new team (which, again, the gentleman in question never achieved) after being ever-so-close ? But then, winning isn't the only thing this season.
Frankly, when did a Formula 1 season go down the wire like it did this time ? 2003, did you say ? Not exactly. 2006 ? Probably. 1999 ? Hmm, you can say that. 1990 ? ermm, you are exhibiting my inadequate knowledge of F1 here. All said and done we have three drivers going for the championship in a circuit that goes anti-clockwise, is notoriously bumpy, and can get flooded at the snap of a finger - try beating that.
Read on ... (at your own peril, obviously) ...
