“The past is the past, the future is the future, and now is now.”
So says Ron Dennis about Kimi. And let me tell you it’s insight like that which is why he’s a team boss and you aren’t.
So what does this weekend hold? It does look like the McLaren dominence at Monaco was a bit of a one off so it should be more closely matched between the Ferraris and the McLarens. But the big question remains which of the team members has the upper hand.
Alonso had a great Monaco and despite what the press said did soundly beat Lewis. This will have helped his confidence. It was interesting to note that Kimi (at least until his shunt) and Alonso were doing better than their team mates. Perhaps this means that they have both got over their tire problems. Or perhaps the tire problems were masked by the strangeness of Monaco.
Lewis has clearly been fired up by what happened at Monaco. This could prove to be very interesting in Canada. We know Lewis is quick off of the line and Canada is odd because you can overtake but only near the begining of the race (off line gets very dirty). The only problem is that Canada is another circuit with Safety Cars a go go (there were two last year). Do you think you’ll have Lewis asking scrupulously fair Ron if it’s not his turn to be on the dominent strategy? It’s a move that might backfire. Lewis was, in some ways, on the better strategy a Monaco – there just wasn’t a safety car so he didn’t win. If he chooses the non safety car option this time and there is a safety car whose fault will it be?
Massa is running well at the moment. His confidence is strong. And any time he gets worried he seems to just phone up Schumacher for tips. If you had access to Michael you’d probably call him too, and I think he’s taking full advantage of it. Not that this should take anything away from Massa as some people have suggested. To cast off Michaels advice for ego reasons is childish. Massa is embracing the edge it gives him.
Kimi has been having some trouble of late, and this may very well be make or break time for him for this season – and even possibly his career. He knows he needs to win. And the thing about Kimi is… Well he’s very fast. Don’t discount him this weekend. He should on paper win the next two races. Whether he will or not is all about his and the teams mind management.
As always, we want the top eight and the pole sitter. Answers on a postcard will be typed in by hand.