Three's Company
Just two races into the season, and it seems obvious who the three main protagonists of the championship will be. Richard Barnes analyses how the season is likely to evolve after the Malaysian Grand Prix
When Kimi Raikkonen, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton filled the podium at the season opener in Australia, they represented (at a combined age of just 74) the youngest podium trio in the history of Formula One. Repeating the feat at Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix didn't just confirm the talent of the young stars in the immediate post-Schumacher era, it also set a notable benchmark of its own.
In its 57-year history, modern F1 has followed a tradition of either early-season dominance or unreliability among the championship front-runners. On 14 occasions, the first two Grands Prix of the year have been won by one dominant car and driver package. Ten drivers managed the feat once - Fangio, Stewart, Fittipaldi, Lauda, Laffite, Prost, Senna, Mansell, Damon Hill and Hakkinen. Michael Schumacher did it a staggering four times, three times with Ferrari and once for Benetton.
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