Ferrari victory DENIED as F1 champion steals win

This year's Formula 1 championship battle between Max Verstappen and Lando Norris has become an absorbing 'cat and mouse' contest.

Evidence of that is how a US Grand Prix dominated by a Ferrari one-two will actually be remembered by the incredible racing between the chief championship rivals for the final podium spot.

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Verstappen's Red Bull just about escaped Austin with a crucial third place after Norris' slightly controversial five-second penalty for overtaking off the circuit.

It gives the Dutchman a little more wiggle room in the final five grands prix, as the world champion seeks to defend his title by limping over the line given his and Red Bull's drop off from the front of the pack since the early part of the season.

History doesn't repeat but it does rhyme so the cliche goes, and it's now 18 years since a similar 'cat and mouse' chase ended with a world champion just about getting the job done to defend his world championship.

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When did Fernando Alonso last win an F1 title?

In fact he's still around now. Fernando Alonso still blasts around the track longing for a car as good as the Renault R26 in the hope that he can pick up a third title that has cruelly eluded him since Sunday October 22 2006.

Like Verstappen now, Alonso started that season well. Very well. He won six of the first nine races, finishing second in the other three and having a comfortable championship lead over Michael Schumacher of 25 points, which in today's scoring system was the equivalent of a 63-point lead - and in an era when finishing second in a race only dropped you two points to the GP winner.

This run ended in the USA at the 10th round when at Indianapolis he finished fifth - although Alonso never did quite enjoy the circuit. He was on hand though to grab another second spot in France behind Schumacher and the title was really his to lose. Then, Renault's world was turned on its head.

The season was dominated by the controversy around the 'mass damper' device on the R26 previously declared legal by the FIA but was suddenly banned at the German Grand Prix. Renault had designed their car around the component inside the front nose, and claimed its removal would cost them 0.3 seconds per lap. It soon showed.

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Schumacher stormed back as Alonso hit a miserable seven-race win drought, with the Ferrari legend winning five of those races. With two races to go, Schumacher had all the momentum and was level with Alonso at the top of the standings with 116 points after Renault somehow bungled victory at a rain-affected Chinese Grand Prix.

In Suzuka, this showed no sign of stopping as Schumacher dominated only for his engine to spectacularly fail, handing victory to his Spanish rival. It was as good as handing the title to Alonso as it meant he only needed an eighth-place finish at the final race in Brazil to retain his crown, and that was only if Schumacher won.

This task was made even easier in Schumacher's final Ferrari grand prix when the German's car broke at the start of Q3, and then on race day, picking up a puncture that dropped him to the back of the field. The title was as good as Alonso's there and then.

Alonso vs Schumacher: End of an era

The race though summed up the season, Schumacher fought back with one of his greatest performances, passing just about everyone before him in a style similar to Lewis Hamilton's famous Interlagos comeback in 2021. He ended the day with a highly credible fourth place, with Alonso in second.

By this point it was long past being obvious that the Renault was inferior to the Ferrari. Evidence of this was in the No 2 drivers where Alonso's team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella finished behind the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa in the championship - having previously made light work of the Brazilian during their season together at Sauber in 2004.

Today, it makes Verstappen's job of defending his diminishing lead look even more impressive given the huge struggles Sergio Perez is having in the sister Red Bull.

But it's worth noting that while Verstappen has an inexperienced (title battle wise) Norris hunting him down, Alonso had the best in the business - which makes it even more astonishing that Alonso's championship victory now over 18 years ago was in fact the last time he would (likely) reach such the summit of motor racing.

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