Three wins in three races - it almost looks like a repeat of the 2004 F1 season as Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa made it a Ferrari one-two at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on Sunday. It was a dream win for Schumacher at his home Grand Prix in front of thousands of Tifosi supporting the Scuderia Ferrari team. With this win, Schumi has further eroded Alonso's lead in the driver's championship this year and is now only 11 points shy of the world champion. Alonso suddenly does not look like the calm, invincible juggernaut he was at the start of the season. Ferrari have put a sudden stop to Renault's & Alonso's quest for a second successive world championship. The Ferrari 1-2 has brought back memories of the era when the two scarlet cars of Schumacher and Barrichello used to race alone, far ahead of the rest of the pack. The second place result for Massa has also robbed Renault of precious points in both the drivers' and constructors' championships.
The Renault team looked a pale shadow of itself with a fifth and a sixth place finish for Alonso and Fisichella. Alonso did not look comfortable in his blue-yellow machine and never looked like challenging Schumacher. Renault will have to do some serious brainstorming and out-of-the-box thinking to stop the momentum that Ferrari have built up over the past three races. Renault top-boss Flavio Briatore seemed to be doing just that as he was seen discussing animatedly with the Michelin guy after the end of the race. It will take them more than just sheer speed to topple Ferrari's combination of speed, strategy and skills.
Another outcome of the Hockenheim race was the return to form for Kimi Raikonnen. Although a two place drop after a pole position in qualifying, he atleast managed to appear on the podium after almost a month. Raikkonen, although a brilliant driver capable of beating the world's best on his day, seemed to have been blessed with rotten luck as his McLaren Mercedes failed him on more than one occasion. Now, the battle for the third place in the driver's championship would get hotter if Raikkonen continues to finish amongst the leaders. I just hope that McLaren gets their act together and allow Raikkonen to be competitive over the remainder of the season, so that it does not end up being only a Ferrari-Renault battle.
With three successive race wins under his belt and able support from Massa and the Ferrari team, Schumi has all the momentum on his side to win more races going ahead. The action now shifts to the Hungaroring for the Hungarian Grand Prix. Lets see if Ferrari makes it four in a row and further dents Renault's chances or will Alonso rise from the ashes (or should I say the pitlane?) and stop Schumi in his tracks?
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