Iceman at Interlagos, Brazil

Kimi Matais Raikkonen, the World Drivers Champion 2007.

Now, who would have thought that two weeks a month back...with two races to go and 17 points behind leader 'rookie' Lewis - I use the word rookie very loosely here. No driver has come as prepared into the gruelling cauldron of F1 like Lewis Hamilton. From the age of 10 he was groomed to be formula 1 and McLaren have been polishing and fine tuning him to be their ace in the pack and on his debut season gave him a bulletproof machine that was not only fast...but extremely reliable. Deliver he did, from the first race in Australia till Japan less than a month away before self destructing magnificently, proving to most outside UK that beyond all the hyperbole of him being the greatest F1 driver ever...he was just another rookie. He screwed up twice in a matter of two sundays to handover an unlikely victory to Kimi ' the iceman' Raikkonen. McLaren and teh whole of the British will cry hoarse that it was McLaren's fault and not Lewis's, but it was apparent to everyone that it was he who drove the silver car into the gravel in Shanghai and it was he who went on to the grass when he unnecessarily tried to take back a place from Alonso losing places before accidently hit the neutral switch that lost him 30 seconds and the drivers title.

No one will grudge Kimi this title. Surely it looked like a third time unlucky for him after missing out on the 2003 and 2005 titles to Schumacher and Alonso. But driving like a dream in the second half of the season, he not only upstaged his team mate Felipe Massa, but also slowly but steadily caught up with the leaders and then amassed an amazing 26 points in the last three races to snatch the title away by just 1 point. Kimi also won 6 races this season to 4 each for Lewis and Alonso and set 7 fastest lap races for the season. Massa has to be thanked for his supporting role and though he wanted to go for the win himself, he knew that if Kimi stood a chance he had to move over...but it must be said, aided by a small mistake by Massa, Kimi on sheer pace came out in front of his team mate.

The title may yet change hands as McLaren has appealed against a technical infringment by the BMW and the Williams cars and the disqualification of the cars will elevate Lewis's points making him the 2007 WDC. It would be shame if Lewis wins the title on court when he and McLaren managed lose it on the track and F1 will not cover itself in glory if that happens.

So that brought to an end one of the most exciting of F1 season. 2008 promises and Lewis will am sure come back with experience under his belt, but it remains to be seen if McLaren can deliver a good car for two seasons in a row, else Lewis will be fighting with the midfield and then we will know how good the 'greatest' F1 driver of all time will fare, cause it was evident that he had problem making crucial decisions. Kimi as usual will be fast and will be in contention as will be Alonso whichever team he will be driving. Massa will definetly mix himself in the fray, so will Kubica, Heidfeld, Kovalainen and Vettal.

Oh, did I mention that we will have an Indian team among the lineup for the 2008 season