Formula 1 Jam

The press is calling this the closest battle for a World Championship in History. The fact is it is historic, for many reasons the biggest one being its the last season of the most successful Formula One driver of all time.

The teams head to China for the Chinese Grand Prix (GP) where the 22 fastest men compete to win only the 3rd ever instalment of the race. All eyes will be on Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher as the are neck to neck for the driver world championship for 2006. The Chinese have cleverly marketed this as Alonso v/s Schumi event and will hope that the best of the two will be displayed on the track over the weekend.

Technologically both teams(Ferrari and Renault) come to China with an improved car. How improved is the question. Renault came in with 2 engines and decided to go with the more reliable engine(read less horsepower) Ferrari have an upgraded Aero package and engine. Ferrari has also tested in wet conditions in preparation for the race, they might have an upper hand if the Rain gods decide to intervene.

With Michael set to retire winning the remaining 3 races will be the best way to say good bye and thanks to his team and his fans. If he wins it and retires he will be remembered for a long time as one of the few sportsmen that have retired on top of the sport(like Lance Armstrong).

Parts of the press has gone ahead and called Alonso the toughest competitor for Schumi in his career. They have compared the Great Mika Hakkinen, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill as the other top competitors for the German but have suggested that he has never gone one on one with someone like Alonso. The facts read the when ever Alonso and Schumi have gone head to head the one that has kept his nose ahead has held his nerve for the last part of the race. Alonso did it thrice in 2 years (Imola 2005, Bahrain 2006 and Turkey 2006) Michael has done it successfully at Imola in 2006(a payback for 2005). Coming to the end the guy ahead has always won… put that thought into this years championship, Alonso is ahead with 3 races to go… can he hold it? or will Michael break the mold one last time.

The World Championship is so close that its going to be difficult to safely bet on either. Any stray incident can change the course of the World Championship. Look out for things like Safety Car periods or Qualification mistakes or even missing a corner or even pitstop problems… This season is as close as F1 can get and missing the last 3 races will be unbearable for any F1 fan.