Reverend
October 7th, 2007, 21:15 PM
Lewis Hamilton's world championship lead was slashed to just four points after the McLaren star retired from a dramatic Chinese Grand Prix.
The Englishman slid off the track on his way into the pit lane to change his tyres in a tricky wet-dry race.
He had already ceded the lead to Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and was being pressured by team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Raikkonen won from the Spaniard - and they will stage a title showdown with Hamilton at the final race in Brazil.
Hamilton leads with 107 points, ahead of Alonso on 103 and Raikkonen on 100.
Hamilton had led from the start on a damp track and appeared to be on his way to a second brilliant victory in a week following his triumph in Japan.
The 22-year-old had a lead of more than eight seconds when he made his first pit stop on lap 15 of the 56-lap race. That was cut to four by Raikkonen by the time the Finn had made his stop four laps later, but Hamilton still appeared to have the race under control.
The Briton's hopes started to unravel as the track began to dry a few laps later.
After his early burst of pace, his tyres started to wear out quicker than those of his rivals.
Raikkonen quickly closed in on Hamilton, who held his title rival off for two laps before falling foul of his lack of grip.
The McLaren ran wide going into turn eight on lap 29, allowing Raikkonen to sneak past on the inside at the next corner.
And then it all went wrong for Hamilton. His right rear was completely worn out - a white line appearing around its circumference - as he battled to stay in front of Alonso on lap 30. And coming into the pits, the rear of the car twitched away from the Briton as he tried to turn into the left-hand corner at the start of the pit lane. Hamilton corrected it, but the car slid straight on into the gravel trap, where it was beached.
Hamilton tried to get the car out, but the rear wheels spun helplessly and, after imploring the marshals to help him, he finally admitted defeat and climbed out of the car.
Chinese Grand Prix:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari one hour 37 minutes 58.395 seconds
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes at 9.8 seconds
3. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari at 12.8 seconds
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari at 53.5 seconds
5. Jenson Button (GB) Honda at 1:08.6secs
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Ferrari at 1:13.6
7. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber at 1:14.2
8. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault at 1:20.7
Championship standings:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 107 pts
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 103
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 100
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 86
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 58
6. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 35
7. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 30
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 21
Constructors' championship:
1. Ferrari 186 pts
2. BMW Sauber 94
3. Renault 51
4. Williams-Toyota 28
5. Red Bull-Renault 24
Full report: BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7032263.stm)
The Englishman slid off the track on his way into the pit lane to change his tyres in a tricky wet-dry race.
He had already ceded the lead to Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari and was being pressured by team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Raikkonen won from the Spaniard - and they will stage a title showdown with Hamilton at the final race in Brazil.
Hamilton leads with 107 points, ahead of Alonso on 103 and Raikkonen on 100.
Hamilton had led from the start on a damp track and appeared to be on his way to a second brilliant victory in a week following his triumph in Japan.
The 22-year-old had a lead of more than eight seconds when he made his first pit stop on lap 15 of the 56-lap race. That was cut to four by Raikkonen by the time the Finn had made his stop four laps later, but Hamilton still appeared to have the race under control.
The Briton's hopes started to unravel as the track began to dry a few laps later.
After his early burst of pace, his tyres started to wear out quicker than those of his rivals.
Raikkonen quickly closed in on Hamilton, who held his title rival off for two laps before falling foul of his lack of grip.
The McLaren ran wide going into turn eight on lap 29, allowing Raikkonen to sneak past on the inside at the next corner.
And then it all went wrong for Hamilton. His right rear was completely worn out - a white line appearing around its circumference - as he battled to stay in front of Alonso on lap 30. And coming into the pits, the rear of the car twitched away from the Briton as he tried to turn into the left-hand corner at the start of the pit lane. Hamilton corrected it, but the car slid straight on into the gravel trap, where it was beached.
Hamilton tried to get the car out, but the rear wheels spun helplessly and, after imploring the marshals to help him, he finally admitted defeat and climbed out of the car.
Chinese Grand Prix:
1. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari one hour 37 minutes 58.395 seconds
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes at 9.8 seconds
3. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari at 12.8 seconds
4. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso-Ferrari at 53.5 seconds
5. Jenson Button (GB) Honda at 1:08.6secs
6. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Ferrari at 1:13.6
7. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber at 1:14.2
8. David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Renault at 1:20.7
Championship standings:
1. Lewis Hamilton (GB) McLaren-Mercedes 107 pts
2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes 103
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 100
4. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 86
5. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 58
6. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 35
7. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Renault 30
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 21
Constructors' championship:
1. Ferrari 186 pts
2. BMW Sauber 94
3. Renault 51
4. Williams-Toyota 28
5. Red Bull-Renault 24
Full report: BBC Sport (http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7032263.stm)