McLaren finish empty handed

Hamilton and Alonso have tussled for the lead in the Formula One Championship all season, and in the end, they both came away with nothing. Both McLaren drivers finished the season on 109 points, 1 behind eventual winner Kimi Raikkonen.

But what happened to Hamilton and Alonso. Did they get so engrossed in having a go at each other throughout the course of the season, that they forgot what they were racing for. It is true that Hamilton seemed to be coasting with two races to go, but after not finishing in the penultimate race, and Kimi getting max points, the pressure was suddenly on. Superb tactics by Ferrari prevanted Lewis from getting a good start, and when Alonso overtook Hamilton on the first corner on Sunday, he lost his nerve momentarily. He showed the signs of a quality driver though, by recovering quickly, but on lap seven, his championship all but deserted him. The car seemed to cut out, shifting in to neutral and not responding. After sorting the problem out, Lewis had lost 40 seconds on Raikkonen, Alonso, et al, and that as they say was that. Lewis needed a miracle to get himself up to the required 5th place that would give him enough points to overhaul Raikkonen should he win, but no miracle was forthcoming during the race.

However, it has transpired since the race, that BMW and Williams, which have cars which finished ahead of Lewis, had fuel temperature irregularities, which were investigated, but not punished with disqualification. It has been announced this evening, that McLaren will formally contest this issue, although Lewis has stated he doesn't want to win the title by default, and Alonso says it would embarrass the sport.

So, the outcome of that appeal will be known soon, but whatever happens, it has been a great first season for Lewis, lets hope he can produce the goods again next season.