Indeed, for the first two-thirds of the year it looked rather more likely to be Felipe Massa who would take the fight to the two runaway Silver Arrows, as the Brazilian revelled in the support of former team-mate Schumacher, but as the German's presence at races became less and less noticeable, so Massa's challenge faded. In the end a costly suspension failure on Ferrari's home turf of Monza in September saw the balance swing irreversibly in Raikkonen's favour, as the team henceforth placed all their eggs into the Finn's basket and Felipe was reduced to the subservient role of having to support his title-challenging team-mate.

Raikkonen's eventual success, whilst somewhat of a surprise given he had headed into the final meeting some seven points adrift of Hamilton in the standings, was no less well-merited after he had twice finished as runner-up for McLaren, in both 2003 and 2005.

The constructors' honours also went the way of Ferrari, but only after the most contentious and perhaps defining issue of the season, the 'Spygate' saga. As Formula 1 scandals go, this was a fairly substantial one, and the press leapt on it with apparent glee as first Ferrari, then McLaren and finally Renault all found themselves embroiled in an espionage row that threatened to steal all the attention away from the real action – that taking place on the race track.

McLaren was sensationally fined a sporting record $100 million USD and excluded from the constructors' championship for its part in the affair – having been deemed by the FIA, the sport's governing body, to have been in possession of illegal Ferrari data – whilst after facing a similar charge after the season had concluded, Renault was let off without penalty, the World Motor Sport Council stating it could find no proof McLaren data had ever found its way onto the French manufacturer's car. Many, though, believe the only reason the FIA did not punish Renault in the same way as it had McLaren was because it knew if it had done, the Régie would simply have bid adieu and walked away which, given its position as one of F1's major participants, the sport could ill afford.

That, though, was the only real good news for Renault in a season that began badly and never really improved. Solid points-scoring finishes from the experienced Giancarlo Fisichella in the early races, and the emergence of team-mate – and newly-signed Alonso replacement at McLaren – Heikki Kovalainen as a genuine future star later on, particularly in the light of the young Finn's superb drive to second place in the rain-lashed Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji, were the only real bright spots of a generally dispiriting campaign. Alonso will return to Enstone in 2008 and, given his double world champion status, will clearly be hoping for rather more…

Part 2 to follow tomorrow...