We tend to forget that, in every race, someone has to come last. And the guys fulfilling this useful role most often in 2006 have been the Super Aguri team. I was fairly dismissive of their efforts in my previous post on them, but it may be that I was wrong. A study of the fastest laps in the Brazilian Grand Prix reveals the surprising information that the Aguri drivers managed to be seventh and ninth fastest.

Okay, we can point out that these times were done fairly late in the race after some cars had retired and others were taking it easy to ensure finishing. But the Aguri times are up there with drivers who were still involved in the battle to keep Michael Schumacher back:

4 Jenson Button, Honda, Lap 70, 1:13.053
5 Giancarlo Fisichella, Renault, Lap 70, 1:13.121
6 Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren, Lap 58, 1:13.281
7 Sakon Yamamoto, Super Aguri, Lap 67, 1:13.379
8 Rubens Barrichello, Honda, Lap 48, 1:13.391
9 Takuma Sato, Super Aguri, Lap 47, 1:13.401
10 Vitantonio Liuzzi, Toro Rossi, Lap 69, 1:13.687

To be amongst that sort of company, the car must have become increasingly competitive as the race progressed. The Renault team had the decency to share their championship champagne with the Super Aguri guys, recognizing that Sato’s tenth place finish was an important milestone for the tail-enders.

This was achieved with a car that is still essentially an ancient Arrows chassis, considerably modified and powered by a Honda engine. Next year the team will have to produce a chassis from scratch and that will be an important step forward for them. Their goal must be to move away from the tail end of the field, although it is difficult to see who would take their place. All of the smaller teams go into 2007 with high expectations and it is impossible to predict who will be successful and who won’t.

But things look brighter than I expected for Super Aguri and, when we hear that Anthony Davidson is in with a good chance of racing for them next season, we can have some hope that he will do well.

Now that the last wheel has turned on the 2006 season, the re-shuffles have begun in earnest and speculation is rife as everyone tries to work out what will happen next year. McLaren are hard at work designing a new car specifically for Alonso, Flavio Briatore is looking back over his king-making career and assuring us that the next one will be Heikki Kovalainen, Ferrari are about to announce their biggest shake-up since Michael’s arrival.

In all of this, Michael has remained enigmatic over whatever plans he has for the future. Personally, I believe him when he says that he really doesn’t know what he will be doing in a few months’ or years’ time. He is taking the usual retiree route of getting away from it all, relaxing into the leisure of not having a schedule and generally enjoying life. Who can blame him? The man has concentrated all of his energies, determination, talent and time into F1 for years; he has earned a break.

You can bet that his thoughts will return to racing eventually, however, and he admits as much in an interview reported to Autosport magazine. He has seen how others like Lauda and Hakkinen have returned to racing after a time and knows that the same might happen to him. But he is talking about two or three years down the line; what will he do in the meantime?

We know that his relationship with Ferrari will continue - that has been repeated many times. Most seem to think that he will serve in a public relations capacity, allowing Ferrari to capitalize on his fame and popularity. But I don’t think this will be enough for Michael.

Take a look at the rumors surrounding Ferrari’s re-shuffle (and they are becoming stronger all the time): Ross Brawn is almost definitely going to take a year off, Jean Todt is slated for promotion to company president and Stefano Domenicali, a Ferrari team manager, is backed for taking Todt’s place. Even without the arrival of a very different driver from Michael in the form of Kimi Raikkonen (with Massa muttering in the background that he won’t find it easy to take number one slot), these are enormous changes to a team that had become very settled and was working with well-greased efficiency. Whoever takes over as team chief is going to have his work cut out with all these variables reacting in concert.

Jean Todt is Michael’s man; the two have worked together for so long that it is hard to imagine them apart. And if, as seems quite likely, the stresses induced by the change in personnel begin to affect the competitiveness of the team, there is only one place that Todt will look for a solution: Michael Schumacher.

Michael is the one who can pull everything together through force of his personality and his popularity with existing team members. It would make perfect sense for him to be attached to the team in an advisory capacity yet with considerable power. There would be no need for him to usurp Domenicali’s role - Michael would be there as a sort of “ultimate authority” to heal any splits and feuds that develop.

In a few months’ time, Michael is going to become very bored; people with his amount of drive and energy do not adapt well to endless leisure. And, if the call comes from Todt, I think he will be ready for it.

This is all idle speculation, of course, and things may pan out very differently. But remember that the man who started it all, Enzo Ferrari, began as a driver, started his own team and made it into the most successful outfit Grand Prix racing has ever seen. If anyone can follow in those footsteps, it is Michael Schumacher.

Amidst all the fuss about Michael Schumacher’s retirement and the Alonso/Renault championships, one little snippet of news about Kimi Raikkonen put a huge grin on my face. It seems that Martin Brundle, interviewing the Finn for ITV, asked about Kimi missing Pele’s presentation of a gold trophy to Michael Schumacher. Ever a man of few words, Kimi responded with a “Yeah”.

Obviously amused at Kimi’s lack of concern over the matter, Brundle suggested that he would get over it. The Finn’s response blew Martin and live feed viewers away: “Hey, I was having a sh*t.”

Oh blessed moment of reality intruding upon the rarified world of F1! Suddenly we recall that this is the man with the reputation for wild nights in nightclubs, in complete contrast to his deadpan public utterances. Ferrari are getting themselves a character.

Now there’s a thought to give one pause. Could there be a greater difference between the Ferrari number ones of 2006 and 2007? Michael is probably the greatest exponent of press-handling ever seen in F1; Kimi is a public relations bomb waiting to explode.

This surely has to be a worry for the team that Michael built. Yes, they are getting probably the fastest guy on the grid but he will not be quite the same team player as his predecessor. And I can see trouble in store as a result.

Imagine Ron Dennis’ reaction to hearing of Kimi’s statement to Martin Brundle - a loud guffaw would be inevitable. But Jean Todt (if he’s still there next year)? Or Montezemolo? Somehow I can’t see them being very amused. Ross Brawn would probably shrug it off but strong rumor puts him on sabbatical for a while at least.

Historically, Ferrari have always been a difficult team for a driver to win over. Lauda managed it and Schumacher, obviously. Gilles was their darling. But other great drivers have departed in a huff: John Surtees, Jean Alesi, Alain Prost, to name just a few. It seems to me that, unless Kimi starts winning races immediately in 2007, a certain tension will develop in the Ferrari camp. And, once that happens, everything could fall apart.

Raikkonen has made no secret of the fact that he is moving to Ferrari because he wants to win races. I have heard no mention of a lifelong love of the Italian team or anything like it, something that is almost required of new Ferrari drivers. Maybe I’m wrong but it looks to me like a recipe for disaster.

Another interesting item was the news that the Turkish GP organizers have asked that their appeal against the FIA fine be withdrawn. Obviously, they’ve been reading my blog…

The Brazilian Grand Prix was an exciting end to a season that became nerve-wracking towards the end. Strangely enough, Michael Schumacher’s puncture actually added to the tension, bringing back memories of other races where he has seemed to be out of contention only to win in the end. Had things gone to plan, Michael would have won, Massa come in second and Alonso third; in other words the net result would still have been Alonso’s second championship.

So the race delivered beyond expectation. Massa won, to the delight of all Brazil, Fernando collected his second championship in a row, Michael supplied us with yet another determined drive all the way from last to fourth and Jenson Button underlined his potential for greatness next year by grabbing a podium spot. What more could we ask for?

There were sad tales as well; Williams ended one of their worst ever years by their drivers colliding on the first lap and Toyota remained consistent, shooting themselves in the foot (well, okay, the rear suspension) and exiting stage left very early on. Kimi Raikkonen did his best but the McLaren was just not up to the task of beating the front runners on the day; fifth was a poor reward after a long, hard season for him.

So now the accolades and reviews of Michael Schumacher’s astounding career begin. Such has been his stature in the sport that his leaving has overshadowed Alonso’s achievement of the 2006 championship. But some remembered Fernando and Autosport magazine has an interesting interview with Damon Hill and Jackie Stewart in which they assess Alonso’s skills.

Damon Hill: “He’s a very determined competitor, and I like that. I’m sort of riding with him a little bit when I watch him drive.

“In Suzuka, he was just pounding away at Michael. I think he broke Michael. The car broke. It had to break some day.

“Michael has had six years without an engine failure, but put under serious pressure for lots of laps and something had to give.”

Jackie Stewart: “Of the 22 Grand Prix drivers there’s usually only about six that are really, really good. And out of those six there are usually only three extraordinary talents at one time. And out of those three there is generally only one genius at any one time.

“For a short window of time there might have been Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna together, but that was a rare occasion.

“There is generally only one genius at any one time and I think you’re going to see Alonso taking on that mantle.

“I think the time has come when it is clear that Alonso is tomorrow and Michael is yesterday.”

Food for thought. And one more thought from me: on Sunday we may have seen an instance of the FIA at last bowing a little to common sense. It is well known that the practise of the winner accepting his national flag from a fan and then waving it on his slowing down lap was banned several years ago. So, when Massa did exactly that, I think we must all have held our breath in anticipation of dire penalties being imposed by the officials. Yet so far there has been nothing; perhaps the FIA decided to be looking the other way at the moment of Felipe’s achievement of a lifelong ambition.