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Most people would say that this was one of the most dramatic climaxes to a Formula One Season ever and it all came down to the last race here in Brazil to determine the World Championship and any one of three Drivers, Raikkonen, Alonso or Hamilton could have clinched the Title. This was a very exciting race, right to the very end, and Kimi Raikkonen who drove a superb race, and very deservingly so, won this fantastic race at Brazil and at the same time clinching himself the world Championship by 1 point, and although Lewis Hamilton was favourite to win, he hopes were dashed right from the very start when he had technical difficulties with his car and lost time while he was trying to sort it out, tyre changes and having to make three pit stops did not help his cause either and through some pure expert driving skills he some how still managed to finish 7th in the race, but it was just not enough to see him win the World Championship as he needed to finish in 5th place or below.

As Raikkonen celebrated becoming Finland’s third world champion, Raikkonen said: “We were not in the strongest position but we always believed that we could recover and do a better job than the others, and even with the hard times everyone was sticking together and we did not give up. I was not really 100 percent sure if someone would stop but there were people who needed to finish and we did not know 100 percent and it took a long time to hear that we had finally won it. It has been a good finish of the season and I am really happy. An amazing day!”

Hamilton was very gracious in the face of defeat and he said:
“It’s been a crazy year, but I can’t really say that I’m gutted or that I feel I was robbed, he said after losing by a single point. It was just unfortunate. We’ve all of us had some bad luck this year; it’s just a shame that mine seemed to come all at the end of it.
All along I said to myself that, whatever happens today, who would ever have thought that I would lead the world championship? It’s been a great feeling, having the possibility to win it. The team has done a fantastic job for me all season, and of course I wanted to win. But I guess it wasn’t our turn after all this year. But I will come back next year stronger, for sure. The start wasn’t that great and I got boxed in behind Kimi, then Fernando came past me and I locked up a bit behind him and lost some ground. But I knew that we had the pace to get that back. But then when I was downshifting for Turn Four the gearbox just went into neutral. And I coasted for an awful long time. I still don’t know how but I managed to coax it back into operation and get going again, but I had to be careful to manage the engine because the revs were very low. When that was happening, coming so soon after China, I just found myself thinking that for sure somebody didn’t want me to win the championship! Even after that, though, I refused to believe that it was over. The first time I thought that was when I saw the chequered flag. I never stopped thinking it was still possible. Our pace wasn’t bad today. Not quite the same as Ferrari’s, but we could have been a little bit quicker with more luck. At the end of the day I’m second in the world championship, and I beat my team mate who is a double world champion. That’s a great result. I said I would be a winner, whatever happened today. I think that, apart from the start, I drove one of my best ever races today, so that’s why I say I don’t think I was robbed.”

After Lewis Hamilton’s unfortunate retirement from the Chinese Grand Prix, who do think will now win the Drivers Championship. There are three Drivers in the running, Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen, their current Driver standings are as follows –

01 Lewis Hamilton 107
02 Fernando Alonso 103
03 Kimi Räikkönen 100

As you can see it is very tight, and there are only 3 points in it, between Hamilton and Alonso, but the Drivers Championship is within the grasp of all three of them. Next weeks race at Brazil is going to be a show stopper and formula 1 fans are set to be on the edge of their sets until the very end.

Take a look at the Drivers quotes from the Chinese Grand Prix, who do you think will win the Drivers Championship? Can you decide!

Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari
“I am very happy! It is a really great result for me and the whole team, who have done a truly excellent job. We needed this win and we got it. At the start of the race, I had a lot of under steer but then the situation improved. I was one of the last to switch to dry tyres but this was a help as after a little while the rain began to fall again. Even after the second stop I had a bit of under steer, but as before, the situation improved in the final stages. I knew Alonso was very quick but I was in full control of the situation. The car overall was working well both in the wet and in the dry. Last week in Fuji, we were unlucky but today things went right for us. We have had yet another example that in this sport anything can happen. The situation in the drivers’ classification is still difficult, but I will try everything to win in Brazil, even if the final outcome does not just depend on what we do. It should be a great battle, very hard to predict and interesting.”

Fernando Alonso, McLaren
“Today was a very good result for me. I had a battle with Felipe at the start, but unfortunately I was not able to finish the first lap in front of him. As a result I lost a lot of time behind him in the first stint because there was a loss of down force when following him in the high speed corners. It was difficult towards the end on the wet Bridgestone tyres as they were practically slick, but we stayed out as long as possible to get through the final shower, which was the right decision as I was able to come out ahead of Felipe on my final stop. Although this result is a boost to my chances in the Championship it is still not going to be easy. However I will not be giving up until the chequered flag in two weeks time.”

Lewis Hamilton, McLaren Mclaren
“When I got out of the car I was obviously gutted for both myself and the team. I haven’t made a mistake all year but I am over it now. There is still one race to go, so I can still do it. I made a strong start to the race and my first stop went well. Prior to entering the pit lane for my last stop I was constantly talking to the team. Although my tyres were in poor condition we took a joint decision to get through the last rain shower before changing to dry tyres. I was trying to be very careful and as a result was not really fighting aggressively with Kimi. It would have worked out perfectly, but I then made a mistake coming into the pit lane and that was it. We made the right decision, and it was just unfortunate. I will now focus on attacking in Brazil where I will do everything I can to bounce back.”

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The V8suprecars champ for 2006 Rick Kelly is currently leading the championship with 173 points after 3 rounds. Garth Tander has won an impressive five of the eight races so far this year and narrowly missed out on one more but had technical problems with a wheel nut of all things.

The next race is at Winton Raceway on the 18th - 20th of May and is sure to have some awesome racing action.

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Odds on James Courtney 13.00
Odds on Jamie Whincup 15.00
Odds on Mark Winterbottom 26.00
Odds on Russell Ingall 81.00
Odds on Steven Johnson 81.00
Odds on Will Davison 101.00
Odds on Steven Richards 101.00
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Odds on Greg Murphy 151.00
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Not long to go now motor heads. Yep that’s right how fast has it rolled around to the 2007 championship start for the V8 Super cars?

Kicking off on March 1-4 on the Adelaide Street Circuit with the Clipsal 500 in South Australia this years champs if they where anything like the tremulous spectacle of 2006 will be another great year to remember.

Along with Craig Lowndes and the Kelly brothers this year we see new team that is taking it up before they have even entered the race.

Team Australia is to have its own V8 Supercar! The Falcon will be in good hands with driven Max Wilson behind the wheel.

Team heads are talking a top 10 finish for the season. Not any easy task given the field the new team will need to carve through if they are to succeed.

Team Australia who will sport the WOW Sight & Sound Superstores colors is certainly not lacking the experience and is sure to have the competition looking in the rear view for this team.

For my money I would be looking at all the normal hot shots to take the series but don’t expect the serious to be as tight as last year.

Ford or Holden it’s anyone’s race in the V8Supercars.com

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