Lewis Hamilton became the first driver for 43 years to reach the podium in his first two Formula One (F1) races when he took a brilliant second place in the Malaysian grand prix in Sepang last weekend.
It rounded off a superb McLaren Mercedes one-two behind his teammate Fernando Alonso and extended a remarkable introduction to Formula One that will surely not require many more races for a first victory. The 22-year-old is no ordinary driver.
It is only three weeks since he opened his grand prix career with third place in Australia and he now emulates Peter Arundell — teammate to the legendary Jim Clark — in 1964.
Hamilton pushed impressively hard from the start of a torrid race, vaulting from fourth on the grid to second by the time he had negotiated the first two corners on the opening lap.
After fending off the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen in the opening stages, he found himself on the defensive in the closing laps as Raikkonen mounted a ferocious counterattack, closing to within a second of the McLaren as they took the chequered flag in tight formation.
”It was the most difficult race I have ever had,” said the sport’s most celebrated novice. ”To see two Ferraris behind you, two red blobs in the mirror, knowing they are slightly lighter than you and slightly quicker, it was very, very difficult to keep them behind.”
It was a race that forced Hamilton through the full range of his abilities. The start required aggression and cunning: Massa’s Ferrari was first to move but, as the cars drew level with the end of the pit lane, Alonso’s McLaren pulled alongside the Brazilian. Then, as they went into the braking area for the first tight right-hander, the world champion slipped seamlessly into the lead.
A couple of lengths behind, Hamilton demonstrated yet again that he is not intimidated in such exalted company, first grabbing third place from Raikkonen and then boldly running round the outside of Massa to pop up second as the pack streamed away from the next corner.
”Felipe had a couple of moves, but fortunately I was able to trick him to outbrake himself and get fortunate,” said Hamilton ”I could cut across to the point he went off, so I apologise for that. Then I had Kimi hunting me down for most of the race.”
He had more than the other drivers to contend with. Few circuits exact the physical demands of Sepang, with it searing temperatures and oppressive humidity, and dehydration was a worry for Hamilton.
”I can’t explain how tough it is, hot in the cockpit,” he said. ”I ran out of water so, halfway through the race, I didn’t have enough water. It was getting hotter and hotter. It was nice to have a gap but I pushed to the end.
”The team did a great job, they worked long hours, longer than other teams, and they have done a fantastic job.”
In truth Ferrari’s two drivers squandered what could have been a winning opportunity from the moment Massa failed to transform his pole position into a leading edge at the first corner.
By the time the volatile Brazilian had calmed down and Raikkonen got into a competitive rhythm, the two McLarens had hammered home their advantage. Ron Dennis, the McLaren chairman, thought ”nobody gifted us anything today” but that was not quite true. Raikkonen and Alonso gave them an inch but Alonso and Hamilton took a mile.
Qualifying in the torrid conditions at Sepang reinforced the message from Melbourne: that the 2007 championship contest is already developing into a straight race between Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes.
Massa, after his challenge was blunted in Australia due to gearbox problems in qualifying, bounced back there as a serious title contender with a smooth run to edge out Alonso in a close-fought battle for pole position.
Only 0,3 seconds behind the Ferrari, Alonso was pleased to be in the front row again for only his second race with McLaren, although acknowledging the Ferrari F2007 still had a slight performance edge over his McLaren MP4-22.
”I think we have to be realistic,” said the world champion, ”and accept that our pace, particularly on long runs, is not as good as the Ferrari. But we certainly improved the car during last week’s test.”
Raikkonen qualified a moderately satisfied third, Ferrari opting not to change the engine in his car, which had developed a slight water leak in Australia. The Melbourne winner lined up alongside Hamilton’s McLaren, while behind him Nick Heidfeld kept his BMW Sauber fourth ahead of Massa to the finish. Giancarlo Fisichella rounded off the top six for Renault. As for Hamilton, his team and fans celebrated.
Jenson Button emerged from the cockpit of his Honda dejected and frustrated after another afternoon battling an obstinate car. It must have seemed light years away from his first podium finish here in 2004 driving the BAR-Honda. — Â