It’s reliability versus speed as Formula 1 title chase revs up

THE battle for this year’s Formula One world title would appear to have been boiled down to two components – reliability versus speed.

McLaren and Lewis Hamilton have the reliability, whilst Ferrari, and in particular Felipe Massa, have the speed as the championship chase heads into the final six races of another enthralling season.

That was evident again during the course of the European Grand Prix weekend in Valencia as Massa was almost out on his own when it came to pace, with an unwell Hamilton just able to hang onto his exhaust.

As for the rest, they were nowhere, with nearest challenger Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber a yawning 37 seconds down the road in third.

Hamilton’s second place behind Massa was remarkable given the fact he was suffering with flu and woke up on Saturday morning with a neck spasm so painful he almost withdrew from qualifying. Fortunately, his car was able to nurse him into the runner-up position, helping him increase his world title lead by a point to six.

Without wishing to tempt fate, in his 29-race Formula One career, Hamilton has yet to suffer a single mechanical issue, with only tyre problems previously proving his undoing.

In contrast, Ferrari’s power is undeniable, but question marks hang over the team when it comes to reliability.

For the second successive race an engine blew with, first, Massa in Hungary three weeks ago, and yesterday team-mate and reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Engine problems in Australia at the start of the season also led to the retirement of both, and there must be a considerable amount of head-scratching at the Maranello headquarters.

At this stage of the season, a more experienced Hamilton feels he perhaps has the advantage, given the McLaren appears bullet-proof.

“As you can see, reliability is the key,” insisted Hamilton. “I’m not worried about the reliability of my car, as you can tell, because for the past 18 months we’ve had phenomenal reliability. That’s obviously due to the whole package the whole team has put together and the (Mercedes) engine’s great, the car is great. We’ve not really got any problems which means we can focus on developing the car rather than worrying about reliability, which is a bonus for us.”

If Mercedes are able to eke a bit more speed out of their unit for the remainder of the season, especially with the next two races at power circuits Spa and Monza, it could be game, set and match.

As far as Massa is concerned, if Ferrari can give him a reliable car then it could be his title for the taking.

“We need to work very hard to fix these engine problems, as it will be the key for the end of the championship,” said Massa. “I’ve already mentioned consistency is crucial, and reliability is part of being consistent. If you have a single problem, you’re not consistent and, in being consistent, you are talking about the performance, reliability and the drivers. All of these things are very important from now through to the end of the season.”

It is why Raikkonen is feeling so disenchanted as his engine blow-out, on top of his qualifying issues, are undermining his bid for back-to-back titles. The Finn is now 13 points adrift of Hamilton and seven behind his Brazilian team-mate following a winless run of eight races.