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Why Verstappen will be counting sheep in F1's 70th Anniversary GP
For once, Will Power can afford to relax a little during the off-season. After taking pole and then leading his home race in Surfers Paradise before being hit by Sebastien Bourdais, Power rebounded to score his first ever Champ Car podium with a third place in Mexico City.
In doing so, the Team Australia driver sealed Champ Car's Rookie of the Year title, and also became the only driver other than Bourdais to have won the Bridgestone Passion for Excellence Award (given to the driver with the fastest aggregate race lap over the 14 rounds of the season).
So while previous years have seen Power sitting down to Christmas dinner with no idea of where he'll find the budget to go racing again next season, this time around he has the security of another Team Australia deal for 2007, and the satisfaction of having nailed his targets from 2006.
"It does feel good," Power agreed. "The first priority was to win Rookie of the Year, that was always the plan, and to finish in the top 10 in the championship, and to get a podium finish. So all in all, it was a good year.
