Spanish GP: Yet another superb job by Lewis
by John Surtees
 In motorsport the psychological advantage is one which must always be built on. I recall how I was often able to totally demoralise other riders to a point that they never pressured me to the same degree in a race, purely because of my having made a lightening start and put that first lap in.
In Spain it was between two teams with another knocking on the door. There is no question in my mind that Felipe Massa has taken the initiative at Ferrari not only by his speed and wins but the way he has produced those qualifying laps - this against a driver who (it was suggested by certain pundits) Michael Schumacher was fearsome of.
If the commentators are to be believed, Kimi’s response that he was not interested and could learn nothing, when asked as to what Michael Schumacher could do to help the team and drivers in Spain, was to my mind plain stupid. One never stops learning and it is always wise to listen, even though you may not agree with someone who has shown themselves to be such a competitor. So the initiative is now with Massa who drove a superb race.
Not easy for Alonso
We then switch to the McLaren team where you have a similar situation but of course with totally different personalities. Spain would not have been easy for Alonso. The pressure that would have been on him with the support that was there, and with the performance of Lewis during practice, would have been enormous.
I am sure that the ill-judged move to try and drive round the outside of Massa was a result of that pressure. Yes it would be worth a chance if he had been that extra metre or so alongside but Massa is not the type to back off and the only way he could have given Alonso room was to go slower - and he is hardly likely to have done that. I think it extremely fortunate that something more serious didn’t happen when he got back on track.
I have a great respect for Alonso because he won his World Championship in good style. But now he has to fight on two fronts: 1) there are two other teams out there that present a threat, obviously Ferrari, but BMW cannot be discounted, and 2) his team mate, who despite his age and newness to Formula One, is putting to affect all the experience he has gained from racing over the past 14 years.
 There is no doubt that Lewis did a superb job yet again. He will have gained the respect of all his competitors but they will still not know quite how to deal with him - which I am sure Lewis will capitalise on to the maximum.
Alonso however must not be under-estimated. There may be a degree of still coming to terms with the different management style and technical regime that exists at McLaren compared with Renault where he developed around the team.
Lewis, however, has entered Formula One without any preconceived ideas and with a long association with the top management and is taking the testing and racing as it comes and developing his programme as he goes along.
Pictures:
1) On the podium with Massa in Spain
2) Showing Ferrari the view he hopes they'll become accustomed to
14 May 2007
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