Part of the reason for F1's new found competitiveness lies with the slightly fortuitous nature of the spread of drivers. Firstly, Massa and Hamilton, who, in the shape of the Ferrari and Mclaren had by far the best cars on the grid, lack the consistency that previous championship contenders have displayed. Although Massa has made huge advances in reducing the errors that blighted his Sauber days, there is still the nagging sensation that he may lose his concentration at any moment. Hamilton, who it must be remembered is still a novice in many ways, is also prone to the odd mistake. For example, witness him getting distracted by Kubica, running wide, and allowing Vettel to take 5th position in Brazil.
That Massa and Hamilton were the two battling it out for the title is more down to the teams a number of arguably superior drivers are placed at. It's difficult to argue against the suggestion that Alonso is a better driver than either Massa or Hamilton, just look at his two world championships and wins in Singapore and Japan this year, yet he spent the entirety of this season stuck in a very ordinary Renault car. Then there's the likes of Vettel at Toro-Rosso and Kubica at BMW Sauber, both excellent young drivers, arguably capable of greater consistency than either of Hamilton or Massa, but whom ultimately cannot hope to compete with the superior abilities of a Mclaren or Ferrari.
What's really surprising is that these drivers are toiling away at medicore teams while the frankly shocking Heikki Kovalainen gets a Mclaren drive. The Finn spent 2008 behind the wheel of a car as good as Lewis Hamilton's, yet managed to finish the season in a really quite dismal 7th position. The blame for this partly lies with his clear status as the second string driver at Mclaren, yet many times this year Hamilton was left fighting two Ferrari's at the front by himself, while his teammate was stuck a few laps back getting overtaken by a Toyota or something retarded. Thanks to Kovalainen's ineptitude Ferrari comfortably won the constructor's crown, and Ron Dennis really should be considering the Finn's future at Mclaren, especially with a number of completely superior drivers on the market.
Still, F1 2009 should be epic. Renault are widely tipped to produce a car that can upset the Ferrari-Mclaren monopoly, BMW Sauber are getting stronger by the year, and Honda may yet even pull it out of the bag. The only downside is the frankly disgraceful manipulation of the race calender. Not content with neutering Spa and Hockenheim, the FIA have now rid themselves of France and Canada. This is rendered even more tragic by the knowledge that this action has most likely been taken to free up more slots for processions around Middle Eastern industrial estates. These new circuits are just so, so, dull. Getting up at 6am to watch a pathetic Chinese Grand Prix was not one of the highlights of my year. The only exception to this depressing rule is Singapore, where the novelty of a night race and the street circuit format made for a brilliant grand prix this year.
And the comedy was consistently there. David Coulthard's crash in qualifying at the Monaco GP was incredibly LOL, although really a 'you had to see it' moment. He randomly accelerated into a wall, and then proceeded to steer his sliding wreck of a vehicle down a hill and past the camera in a slo-mo wah-wah-waaah way. Massa driving off with the fuel hose attached, and then a load of fat Ferrari mechanics running after him was more universally acknowledged as funny. And then there was the video of the Ferrari team celebrating winning the world title...only for their faces to morph into shock as they realised Hamilton had won the title, thanks to Timo Glock being unable to drive around a corner at more than 10mph. ROFL. Here's to 2009! Oh, and the Codemasters F1 360 game which, along with Beatles Rock Band, will probably keep me entertained until the end of time.
