One of the most exciting Formula-1 finales of my time. The rookie, the pretender and the king, all locked in a fierce battle for the crown. The pretender triumphs – and the world championship is back in the Ferrari stables.

This was the season Kimi grew up – stopped acting like a spoiled brat, and gave his machine some respect. Maybe he realized the enormity of the shoes he was asked to fill, maybe it was being associated with the most legendary name in Motorsport or maybe it was the silent practice of Omerta – he fought his battles on the racetrack as his rivals washed dirty linen in public.

Never one to talk much, couple of incidents involving him stand out:

- In Brazilian GP qualifying, his final hot lap was disturbed by Hamilton. Not a word to the press.

- Accused of being unfriendly with reporters, he said “I’m not supposed to be good at this. You are the guys with polished speaking skills. I drive a car faster than anyone else around – thats my job. If you can do my job better, do it.”

Kimi has been my favorite for a long time, and it was disappointing to see him at McLaren. When he moved to Ferrari, my loyalties in Formula-1 were not conflicting with each other anymore – and I hoped he would eventually get his deserved championship one day. In his first season with his new team – thats a fine start.  One of the unsung heroes of this great victory will be Felippe Massa, donning the role of Barrichello in hopefully what is going to be the beginning of the Raikkonen era.

Interlagos on 21 Oct, 2007  reminded me of Istanbul on May 25, 2005.  Maybe its about underdogs beating the odds , or maybe its just about painting canvasses red.