I’ve always dubbed GM and Ford As the tottering duo and if at all the opposite fits any duo it would have to be Alonso and Hamilton. The two are just exceptional and they always seem to hog up the limelight ever since they have become members of the same team.
Istanbul Grand Prix was an average experience for the two as both managed to finish in the first five but no one took the top position this time around. A relieve for the buffs who believe that the F1 is all about the cars and not the drivers who drive them for this time around the cars to capture the limelight were not the ones hailing from the McLaren Mercedes Contingent.
It was for the fifth time this year that Lewis and Fernando had qualified second and fourth respectively. At the start, Lewis dropped to third behind the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkönen whilst Fernando was sixth at the end of the opening lap.
Fernando was stuck behind Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber). When Heidfeld’s teammate Robert Kubica pitted on lap 12 Fernando improved to fifth. On lap 17, Heidfeld also came in and Fernando was fourth.
Fernando made his first routine stop on lap 18 (9.1sec) together with Raikkönen, whilst Massa came in on lap 19 and Lewis on lap 20 (9.4sec). After that, Massa went back into the lead ahead of Raikkönen and Lewis; Fernando passed both BMW Saubers during his pit stop and was fourth.
On lap 43, Lewis suffered from a damaged right front tyre and drove slowly back to the pits for half a lap. Meanwhile, Fernando came in for his second routine stop (6.6sec). Lewis pitted just a few moments later (10.2sec) and resumed in fifth place behind Massa, Raikkönen, Fernando and Heidfeld.
After 58 laps, Fernando crossed the finish line third whilst Lewis ended up fifth. In the end the result wasn’t all hat bad for the two but I dub it as an average outing because the Grand Prix world has got used to watching these two bagging podium finishes and a different result is nothing but average.
As an enthusiast, the only positive one can take from the Istanbul Grand Prix is the fact that this time around the winners were different. This creates hopes for a more intense battle as the year closes in and the misconception that ‘it’s the machine that matters’ could do lesser rounds making the entire affair more exciting and enthralling.
