The GSOH - Round One - 2007 vs 1972

[crmalcolm]

The next match of the GSOH bracket puts 2007 up against 1972.

Summaries from Wikipedia:

2007 - A major talking point of the season had been an espionage controversy involving Ferrari and McLaren, which led to McLaren being excluded from the Constructors' Championship. As a result, Ferrari clinched the championship at the Belgian Grand Prix.

Renault, who were the defending Constructors' Champions proved to be uncompetitive with their R27 car taking them to third in the constructors' standings (after McLaren's disqualification from second). Renault achieved one podium during the season, with Heikki Kovalainen finishing second at the rain affected 2007 Japanese Grand Prix.

The 2007 season heralded the end of the existing Concorde Agreement between the existing Formula One constructors and Bernie Ecclestone. In particular, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Honda (collectively the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association) had a number of outstanding disagreements with the FIA and Ecclestone on financial and technical grounds. They had threatened to boycott Formula One from the 2008 season onwards and instead stage their own rival series, before signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix.

2007 also marked the seventh and final season, since its reintroduction in 2001, in which the use of traction control was permitted in Formula One. Standardised electronic control units (ECUs) were mandated by the FIA from the 2008 season onwards, which prohibited teams from using this kind of technology.

Honda ran with an "Earth livery" on their RA107 car. It was the first time since 1968, the year in which sponsorship in the sport became widespread, that a team ran sponsor-free for an entire season. Michelin's withdrawal from F1 at the end of 2006 meant that Bridgestone was the sole tyre supplier for 2007.

The season started at Albert Park in Australia on 18 March. Kimi Räikkönen led the whole race, and became the fourth driver to win on their debut for Ferrari. Fernando Alonso came second and debutant Lewis Hamilton finished 3rd. Felipe Massa took his first pole of the season in Malaysia but Alonso won his first race with McLaren while Hamilton finished second. Massa led the entire race to win in both Bahrain and Spain, and in both races Hamilton finished second, becoming the first rookie to finish on the podium in more than his first two outings. McLaren dominated Monaco with Alonso winning from Hamilton after the pair had lapped everybody apart from themselves and Felipe Massa, who was not too far from being lapped.

The Canadian GP included four safety car periods and one of the biggest crashes of Formula One in that era. The race started off with the second all-McLaren front row with Hamilton taking his first pole position followed by Alonso. Alonso made a mistake in turn 1, losing several places while Hamilton was opening a gap between himself and Nick Heidfeld. On lap 22 the first safety car period began after Adrian Sutil hit the concrete wall. The safety car went into the pits on lap 28 but before the lap could be completed Robert Kubica had a massive accident. He had lost his front wing after hitting Jarno Trulli. He then went wide and hit a bump on the grass that launched him into the air and into a violent impact with the retaining barrier at a peak deceleration of 75G. The safety car was once again deployed and went in on lap 35. Hamilton once again opened up a gap to second-placed Heidfeld until lap 50 when Christijan Albers left a lot of debris on the track after a crash forcing the deployment of the safety car. The race restarted on lap 55 and the safety car was deployed again on lap 56 after Vitantonio Liuzzi hit the so-called 'Wall of Champions'. The safety car period was extended after Jarno Trulli hit the tyre barrier at the exit of the pitlane after trying to catch up with the field. On the restart Hamilton led to the finish to claim his maiden win in his sixth race. The next race at Indianapolis saw Hamilton lead from the start until victory after a 300 km/h side by side battle with Alonso for the lead. Ferrari took their first 1–2 finish of the season in France with Kimi Räikkönen winning from polesitter, Felipe Massa.

In Britain Hamilton took his third pole position, going on to finish a distant third behind winner Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso. Europe (Germany) would see Hamilton's run of nine consecutive podiums come to an end. After a large crash in qualifying he started in 10th in the race. On lap 4 he aquaplaned off the circuit in a torrential rainstorm but the race was stopped. He restarted after his car was pulled out of the gravel but after taking a gamble to change early to dry tyres on a drying track, he spun off several times but recovered to finish 9th, just missing out on the final point.

Hamilton and Alonso variously led the championship from the second until the final race of the season, when Räikkönen claimed the crown
After a qualifying incident between Alonso and Hamilton in which Alonso prevented Hamilton from completing his final flying lap, Alonso was demoted to 6th on the grid at the Hungarian Grand Prix while McLaren was made ineligible for points for the constructors' championship for that race. Hamilton then took victory with Räikkönen coming second. In Turkey Felipe Massa took a dominant victory followed by Räikkönen and Alonso. Hamilton finished fifth after he suffered a tyre failure while running in 3rd. In Italy Alonso won from Hamilton followed by Räikkönen. Following that Grand Prix McLaren was excluded from the constructors' championship after having been found guilty of theft and illegal usage of confidentional technical information of Ferrari. The team did not receive any constructors' points from subsequent races. In Belgium Räikkönen won from Massa and Alonso, thus allowing Ferrari to clinch the world constructors' championship from BMW Sauber following McLaren's exclusion.

The Japanese Grand Prix moved to Fuji Speedway. The event was marked by treacherous weather and was started behind the safety car. Lewis Hamilton survived a brush with Robert Kubica to win from Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Räikkönen. At the last three corners Kubica and Felipe Massa ran side by side in a battle for 6th, while Fernando Alonso aquaplaned and crashed on lap 41 of 67. In China, Hamilton won his 6th pole of the season and led up to lap 28 when he was overtaken by Räikkönen and he then spun off entering the pitlane. The season finale marked the first time since 1986 that three drivers had a chance of becoming World Champion at the season finale, and the first time since the inaugural season in 1950 that the man who stood in third before the final race went on to win the championship (the driver in 1950 being Giuseppe Farina). Hamilton was the favourite with 107 points followed by Alonso with 103 points and Räikkönen with 100 points. Hamilton started 2nd but dropped to the back of the pack after a gearbox problem. He recovered to 7th but Räikkönen won the race and the championship. The final standings were Räikkönen with 110 points followed by Hamilton and Alonso each with 109 points. Räikkönen's late charge, following worse luck at the start of the season, would narrowly give him the World Drivers' Championship.



1972 - Formula One returned to Argentina in January for the first time since 1960. The short No.9 arena configuration of the Buenos Aires city autodrome was used, and Argentine Carlos Reutemann, in his first ever F1 race, took pole position in a Brabham-Ford/Cosworth. Defending World Champion Jackie Stewart of the UK won in a Tyrrell-Ford/Cosworth.

The South African Grand Prix took place at the Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg in March. Denny Hulme won the race in a McLaren-Ford/Cosworth, which was McLaren's first F1 victory since 1969.

With the cancellation of the United States Grand Prix West at the Ontario Motor Speedway near Los Angeles, Formula One started its 4-month European tour in Spain at the Jarama circuit near Madrid. The Lotus 72, improved after suspension revisions to the chassis to make the car better suited to slick tires, won in the hands of Brazilian Emerson Fittipaldi, in only his second F1 race.

The Monaco Grand Prix in 1972 was run in extremely wet conditions. The circuit had been changed to move the pits from the start-finish line to the harbour straight, though they were moved back to their original location the following year. Frenchman Jean-Pierre Beltoise won his only championship F1 race.

The Belgian Grand Prix took place at the Nivelles circuit just outside Brussels, replacing the Spa-Francorchamps circuit because of safety concerns. Fittipaldi won again in his John Player Lotus 72D.

There was a four-week break between Grands Prix as the Dutch Grand Prix was cancelled due to safety issues with the Zandvoort circuit. The French Grand Prix was run at the 5.1 mile Charade circuit, consisting of closed-off public roads located in hills surrounding an extinct volcano above Clermont-Ferrand. The circuit's twisty, undulating and sometimes fast nature provided a considerable challenge, and the circuit had been lined with more Armco and had a few more safety features. New Zealander Chris Amon took pole with his new Matra MS120D, ahead of his countryman Denny Hulme in a McLaren. Amon led until suffering a puncture, which dropped him to third place, behind Stewart and Fittipaldi – the former returning from illness after missing the previous race in Belgium. Austrian Helmut Marko was hit and blinded in his left eye by a rock thrown from Fittipaldi's Lotus; the injury ended his racing career. The Charade circuit was never used again for F1, with subsequently planned events being cancelled over safety concerns.

The British Grand Prix was at Brands Hatch in 1972, and Jacky Ickx in a Ferrari took pole ahead of Fittipaldi and Stewart. Fittipaldi won the race, 4.1 seconds ahead of Stewart.

The German Grand Prix was held at the 14.2 mile (22.8 km) Nürburgring Nordschleife – the longest, most demanding and most difficult circuit of the year for Formula One. The race distance was extended from 12 to 14 laps, and Jacky Ickx took pole with a record-breaking time of 7 minutes and 7 seconds, ahead of Stewart, Fittipaldi, Swede Ronnie Peterson in a March and Stewart's teammate Francois Cevert in a Tyrrell-Ford/Cosworth. Ickx went on to dominate the race – he set fastest lap and led from start to finish. Fittipaldi retired with a seized gearbox, and Stewart and Clay Regazzoni in a Ferrari battled until they collided on the last lap at the Hatzenbach. Stewart went off and crashed, but Regazzoni was able to finish behind his teammate Ickx to make it a Ferrari 1–2.

The Austrian Grand Prix was held at the fastest circuit of the year – the Österreichring in the Styrian mountains. Stewart and Fittipaldi fought for the lead early on, but Stewart, with a new model Tyrrell-Ford/Cosworth 005, eventually fell back and finished 7th, while Fittipaldi won ahead of Denny Hulme and American Peter Revson.

The European season concluded four weeks after Austria at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The Monza autodrome had been slowed compared to previous years by chicanes fitted just after the pit straight and at what was the flat-out Vialone left hander. Fittipaldi's win in Austria and Stewart's failure to score points meant that Fittipaldi could become World Champion at the race, and after Stewart retired at the start with gearbox failure, he was able to take the win and his first Drivers' Championship. At the age of 25, he was the youngest-ever World Champion, a record not beaten until 2005.

The Formula One season traditionally concluded in North America, and the first of two North American rounds was in Canada, at the Mosport Park circuit near Toronto. The race was originally supposed to be held at the Circuit Mont-Tremblant in northern Quebec, but a dispute with the local authorities saw the race moved back to Mosport, which had received safety upgrades after a fatal accident during a Formula Ford race during the previous year's event. Jackie Stewart won the race from McLaren drivers Revson and Hulme.

Two weeks after Canada, the 12th and last race of the 1972 Formula One season was held at Watkins Glen International circuit in New York State. Stewart won again ahead of his teammate Cevert, in a race that had 31 cars and drivers start the race.