Raikkonen came, saw and conquered in his first race for Ferrari. He blasted his way to pole in qualifying, he stormed to victory and he set the fastest lap. Afterwards, he said he was "too busy" to talk to Michael Schumacher on the phone. Michael who?
Sepang: Alonso and Hamilton's one-two
Fernando Alonso opened his tally with a convincing win in Sepang, but it was Hamilton who grabbed the headlines on his way to second place, with a stunning overtaking move on Raikkonen. Not bad for a rookie in just his second Grand Prix.
Montreal: Hamilton's first victory
Some say it was destiny. Hamilton had never finished lower than third in any of his first five races of his career. Then, with victory in the sixth, he made F1 history. It was no fluke. He claimed his second Grand Prix victory a week later at Indianapolis.
Nuerburgring: Thunder and lightning
The torrential rain threatened to reduce the race to a farce, but Alonso pace himself perfectly and grabbed victory with a lightning-fast pass on Felipe Massa.
Pitlane Poker in Hungary
This was the moment the word "teammate" ceased to have relevance for McLaren. Alonso, furious that Hamilton had overtaken him at the start of the final qualifying session against team orders, deliberately delayed his pit stop to prevent the British driver from completing his final run. It backfired on the Spaniard as he was penalised by the stewards. Hamilton was promoted to pole position and went on to win the race.
Istanbul: Raikkonen's last-lap charge
Massa was, by August, the favourite to be champion for Ferrari. But Raikkonen, who was dutifully heading for second place behind his teammate, suddenly drove a stunning final lap. Asked why, he said it was because he was bored.
Monza: Alonso harnesses his aggression
Perhaps Alonso's best race of the year. Leaving the politics in the pits, he drove a stunning race with the car in tricky, low-downforce trim. He outshone Hamilton as the two McLarens simply left Ferrari red-faced in their wake.
September: Singapore lights up Formula One
Up till then, it had been rumour and "what if". When a year to the day before the race was due to take place, the International Automobile Federation gave in-principle approval to the SingTel Singapore Grand Prix being run at night, the whole Formula One world started buzzing with excitement.
Hamilton sublime in Japan, then ridiculous in China
"You can tick the box for winning in the rain then," was a line among the delighted banter on the McLaren pit-to-car radio at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix. Hamilton had shown a veteran's finesse to win on a treacherous track. All the more ironic that the next race saw his championship lead washed down the drain with a needless spin, heading into the pits on worn tyres.
Sao Paolo: Prancing Horses and stumbling McLarens
It was winner take all, with 10 points for victory and just seven points separating Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen as they started. The rest, as they say, is history. A gearbox malfunction dropped Hamilton to the bottom of the leaderboard, Alonso finished third, but both McLaren drivers missed out by a single Championship point as Raikkonen claimed victory and the title. What a season!
