20/10/2008
NEWS STORY
Lewis Hamilton did what he had to, and he did it to the best of his ability. Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen did the same, but they didn't have the car. The Chinese Grand Prix, scarcely the best of races, strengthened Hamilton's grip and Ferrari's on the Drivers' and Constructors' titles respectively, if not Massa's on the Drivers'.
I guess it was a predictable race and no one seemed to do anything particularly wrong, it just didn't go right for Ferrari. Team principal Stefano Domenicali reckons that China was as bad as this year's German Grand Prix, where, coincidentally, Bridgestone supplied the same combination of tyres: hard and medium.
McLaren, however, don't seem to have these 'off' races. They are more consistent in terms of qualifying and race pace and performances like Lewis's in China put any doubt out of question. Several times this year we've heard Ferrari drivers complaining that they haven't had the pace, but that rarely seems to happen with McLaren.
And the criticism of Lewis? That seems to have dissipated. Lewis said he was largely unaware of it. Flavio Briatore apologised for comments made; Lewis said he didn't even know that he had made them.
The weird thing is that in the press room there is quite a large body of anti-Lewis feeling. I don't agree with being anti-any driver. As journalists, we have to be impartial - even though we are often accused of bias, but that's because we've made a comment against some team or driver of whom our accuser is a fan. He/she is therefore the one who is biased.
I've always said that there was only one driver with whom I didn't get on, and that was because he was turned against me for a secondary reason outside of my job. It was his decision to turn against me, not mine. Indeed, I still had to work with him, and we get on much better now than then.
But I digress. I'm not sure of the reasons for this anti-Lewis bias by my colleagues. Perhaps it is associated with his on-track or off-track demeanour. I fear that in some cases it may be caused by race - that is, the colour of his skin, which is wholly unacceptable. As I say, I feel it is wrong for any journalist to be biased against a driver. They may not like his character, and how many of us get close enough to a driver to say that we know him, but that shouldn't make us biased against him, particularly professionally.
Admittedly, we don't have to love them all, but we can and surely should appreciate flawless performances like Lewis's on Sunday. I do think that some of the anti-Lewis feeling has come from his rapid rise to the top, starting in a top team and never having to earn his spurs in some lesser team, like the majority of drivers. Some see him as a jumped-up arriviste who, when the going gets tough, gets dirty. I kind of alluded to that attitude in my Saturday blog.
He didn't make history on Sunday by emulating Mike Hawthorn fifty years ago to the day before him, by winning the World Championship, but now it's down to Brazil, where he can clinch the title. On the other hand, and perhaps putting greater pressure on him, he can also lose it. Ferrari are confident of being strong there. Lewis just has to put together a solid performance to get enough points to deny Massa the title, even if Ferrari are first and second.
How much, though, would Lewis love to clinch the title with a win, to show that he can take the pressure, to send the ultimate message to his rivals? Advisors - principally father Anthony and Ron Dennis - will no doubt warn against it, telling him to keep out of trouble and get into the position to win the points that he needs and stay there.
But who knows best? The championship is his for the taking. In two weeks time Britain may have a new World Champion, and the world in general cannot wait.
Bob Constanduros