Italian GP – The good, the bad and the ugly

Competition goes off-track

Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen

Just when everyone thought the Drivers’ Championship could go down to the last race with a probable four way finish, it now virtually remains a tussle between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

The remaining two drivers, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton seem to have fallen by the way side. Both the title contenders were left wanted for a car that could see them surge ahead in the qualifying and later in the race.

Hamilton finished ninth after some fight, while Kimi was left struggling at eleventh place. Kimi’s two consecutive non-points finish at Spa and Monza meant he was stranded in fourth position with an 88 points deficit to catch Vettel.

Lewis Hamilton also has some distance to catch up, with his 81 points gap to Vettel. The fans though would be hoping the trio of Alonso, Hamilton and Kimi can win a couple of races and keep their hopes alive to deny Vettel his fourth title.

As they say, it isn’t over till you cross the chequered flag.

The boos continue

Sebastian Vettel was booed at the podium by the Tifosi

If there’s any indication of how agonizingly boring it is to see Vettel on the top of the podium race after race, the boos are the proof.

That’s just one aspect of it though. The other one being the fact that ‘Multi 21’ has come back to haunt the three time Champion again.

But that’s how it has been at different races and venues (Silverstone, Montreal, Belgium). That goes to show how unpopular Super Seb has become. He though shrugs it off and is trying to use it as a motivation.

But let’s face it. Which champion wants to get on the wrong side of the fans who help keep the sport alive. He’s a talented champion alright, but he needs to be careful with his attitude both on and off the track.

It will be very interesting next season to see his tantrums as he gets a younger teammate in Daniel Ricciardo. Whether he mentors him or bullies him needs to be seen.