The F1 Pit Box

Out of each of the four drivers who had the chance to pull out an early championship lead in this second half of the season, there was only one who stepped up to take the challenge in Germany.  Love him or hate him, Lewis Hamilton proved just how dedicated he is behind the steering wheel of his McLaren racecar as everyone around him fell in his path.

And fall they did.  We can call Mclaren's decision not to call him into the pits during the safety car period risky, short-sighted, brave and fool-hardy, but they knew they had the driver who could pull it back for them.  Told to make 23 seconds in just 7 laps, Lewis made 15 or so, pitted and had four cars between him and the win, one of which was his team mate and the other still had to make a stop.  Once more, he had to dig deep and put his foot down, which he did and won the race.

Rewind a year and imagine the exact same situation with Alonso in Lewis's place, pitting and re-joining behind him, just as he did with Kovalainen today.  Would Alonso have had the steel to forget the pitwall error and drive for the win?  It's not just him either as if anything, Massa was given an opportunity to come second or potentially win, but seemingly he didn't have any answer, preferring to cave under almost no pressure from a charging Hamilton.

The same cannot be said for Nelson Piquet Jr. however, as the McLaren was considerably quicker and the reward of second place to great to put up a fight which may end in tears.  His one-stop strategy and faultless drive under high-pressure was what we expected to see from Piquet some months back.  Let's hope it continues.

Finally, Kimi just didn't manage to make anything of his suspect Ferrari but at least he gained some points.  It was his failure to put up a fight which seemed the most out of place; what is going on with his car?  Even the Micheal Schumacher shaped good luck icon on the pitwall didn't help!