MOTORSPORT: Hamilton a $100m man

And that's probably irrespective of whether Hamilton beats McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso -- world champion the past two years -- to this year's title.

If Hamilton becomes champion this month he will be the sport's youngest -- a mantle he will take off Alonso.

Word of the size of Hamilton's new contract surfaced at the weekend in Bild, a newspaper in Germany -- home of McLaren's engine supplier and long-time partner, Mercedes-Benz.

The deal is reportedly for five years.

As enormous as it seems, at this price McLaren could be getting -- or, rather, keeping -- Hamilton cheaply.

Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen, a former McLaren driver now with Ferrari, are already earning more than the US$20 million a year that the contract to which Bild alludes would effectively be worth.

Hamilton probably isn't overly concerned about that as he ought to be able to live quite comfortably on a salary that is about 10 times what he will earn this year, including bonuses for having four grands prix already.

Only Jacques Villeneuve in 1996 has won as many GPs in his debut year, but Hamilton may yet add to his tally -- with the Chinese race in Shanghai this Sunday, followed by the Brazilian race in Sao Paulo two weeks after that.

Hamilton is now 12 points clear of Alonso, who basically needs to win in Shanghai with Hamilton not getting any points, then finish ahead of the rookie in Sao Paulo -- or a couple of places in front if they are not at the front of the field -- to win the title for the third straight year (the past two with Renault).

Relations between Hamilton and Alonso continue to deteriorate -- and the youngster is starting to manipulate the situation to his advantage.

Hamilton says the team is rallying around him and that it was not pleased at Alonso laughing and joking at Spa in Belgium when he (Hamilton) and team chief Ron Dennis arrived from the World Motor Sport Council hearing in Paris at which McLaren was fined US$100 million and stripped of all constructors' championship points this year.

Hamilton also has made public now that he would prefer that Alonso not be at McLaren next year.

While Alonso will be in demand at his former team, Renault, and the massively under-performing Toyota if he becomes available, he is indicating that he is prepared to stay at McLaren as he has a contract there for a couple more years yet.

The Spaniard may simply be being pragmatic in saying that, but the reality is that it is unlikely any other team can give him as good a car as McLaren again next year (even if it has to be vetted by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile to ensure no use has been made of the infamous Ferrari dossier) -- so staying there would be the best thing, irrespective of the environment.

Hamilton is showing one of the traits of the greatest champions, including Alonso: that's the ability to get a team revolving around him.

Hamilton is happy to conveniently overlook that the vast majority of McLaren personnel were not happy that he defied team orders shortly before the better-known incident during qualifying at the Hungarian GP when Alonso deliberately held him up -- for which Alonso was penalised five places on the grid.

That aside, and despite Ron Dennis' insistence that McLaren treats its drivers equally, any team is likely to favor a driver turning in the better results -- and, on that front, the pendulum swung back Hamilton's way with that brilliant win in the wet at Japan's Fuji track yesterday, after Alonso's strong performance through the previous four GPs.

Even now, Alonso should not be counted out.

This is the man who fought and beat Michael Schumacher to the past two crowns -- and he won't lie down in Shanghai or Sao Paulo.

As last year's championship came to its climax Schumacher seemed set to go out on top but Alonso pulled it off, and it's not beyond him again -- but it now depends on some misfortune befalling Hamilton.

And that would be almost cruel for the black youngster who has driven so brilliantly in just his first season.

Ron Dennis has been Hamilton's great patron, but even he says: "I didn't think anyone could climb up the staircase of F1 so quickly."

And Mercedes-Benz motorsport chief Norbert Haug adds: "Lewis is the perfect example for a movie. He approached Ron 10 years ago, and you all know the story by now, but nobody could have expected a newcomer in F1 to have performed like Lewis has."

As the cars formed up at Fuji it occurred to us that, if ever Webber was to win a GP, this might have been the day.

He's proven himself before in the wet, and those conditions can throw up amazing outcomes.

It is on days like that that it's less likely the McLarens, Ferraris and BMW-Saubers will fill the first six places.

It was all unfolding for Webber, on a one-stop strategy, and he led the race for a few laps -- even getting as much as 25 seconds ahead, despite having vomited before and even during the race from food poisoning.

While Hamilton always had to be favourite once Alonso had crashed, because he was in the best car, Webber -- sitting second with less than a third of the race to go -- was poised to pounce if the remaining McLaren man made a mistake.

Sebastien Vettel, at 20 the youngest driver in the field and who had also led the race for three laps, lost concentration as the field circulated behind the safety car, distracted by Hamilton slowing in front, and hit the back of Webber's Red Bull, putting him -- and ultimately both of them -- out of the race.

Webber's annoyance was clear from the brief interview with him on the telecast, and the unfortunate use of an expletive.

Having never finished better than third place twice in 100 GPs, Webber's anger at having second -- and perhaps even victory -- denied him in those circumstances was understandable.

It was made all the worse by Vettel driving for Red Bull's "sister" team, Scuderia Toro Rosso, and Webber's teammate, David Coulthard, ending up fourth -- and ahead of Webber in the championship.

While Coulthard undoubtedly has the racecraft of a man who has won a dozen or so GPs, Webber's 14-1 thrashing him of him in qualifying this year is evidence of the Aussie's ability.

Had Webber made it to the finish line as well as Coulthard, Red Bull could now be sitting fourth in the constructors' championship.

Another opportunity like yesterday might never come along for Webber.

He's unlikely to find the stars lined up again the way they were yesterday, with one McLaren out of the race and both Ferraris and BMWs behind him.

Even if he does, Japanese manufacturers Toyota and Honda surely will be better next year, so he may find one, some or all of them ahead of him next time there are such crazy conditions.

It was a cruel blow for a guy who has had horrendous luck in F1.

Vettel was in tears and profusely apologetic after putting Webber out.

He has already been penalised 10 places on the grid in Shanghai, but that is of little consequence -- and certainly no consolation to Webber.

Kimi Raikkonen's third place for Ferrari marked the first time two Finnish drivers had been on an F1 podium.

A Canadian contact, Michael Cosgrove, tells us that Finland is the 10th country to have achieved that feat.

It's something Australians have never done.

Cosgrove advises that the other times two countrymen first (n.b. first) made it to the F1 podium were:

Italians Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Faglioli, first and second at the 1950 British GP.

There have even been three GPs at which all the drivers on the podium were of the same nationality.

We will happily supply the details on request.

F1 drivers' world championship standings after 15 of 17 season rounds - Lewis Hamilton 107 points, Fernando Alonso 95, Kimi Raikkonen 90, Felipe Massa 80, Nick Heidfeld 56, Robert Kubica 35, Heikki Kovalainen 30, Giancarlo Fisichella 21, Nico Rosberg 15, Alexander Wurz 13, David Coulthard 13, Mark Webber 10, Jarno Trulli 7, Ralf Schumacher 5, Takuma Sato 4, Jenson Button 2, Adrian Sutil 1, Sebastian Vettel 1.

F1 constructors' world championship standings: Ferrari 170 points, BMW-Sauber 92, Renault 51, Williams 28, Red Bull 23, Toyota 12, Super Aguri 4, Honda 2, Spyker 1.

In the sprint race at the famous Zandvoort, Australia's Ian Dyk had a problem as the cars formed up and finished 21st of 22 starters -- almost 48 seconds behind the winner.

In the later feature race Dyk finished 12th -- and this time was 1½ minutes behind the victor.

One consolation for Dyk was that behind him in both races was the American driver in the series -- former Indianapolis 500 winner Buddy Rice.

South Africa's Adrian Zaugg won the sprint, but in the longer feature he was runner-up to Englishman Oliver Jarvis.

United Press International reports that Giuseppe Lippi of the University of Verona in Italy says the death rate in all types of car racing around the world rose from 28 in 1979 to 37 in 2006 -- and that the worst year for deaths in that time was 2005, with 45 fatalities.

Lippi's report apparently suggests lowering cornering speeds, making cars heavier and safer, strengthening track barriers further to protect drivers and spectators, and improvements in protective clothing for drivers.

Further evidence that the state is over any broken heart it had from the loss of its GP to Melbourne in the mid-1990s came at the weekend, amid an announcement that South Australia's Tour Down Under cycling race is to be upgraded to what is called a Pro Tour event.

This will make the tour the only event outside Europe with that status and SA premier Mike Rann is claiming it's going to mean more valuable exposure for the state to a worldwide TV audience than the GP did in its time.

They don't feel Villeneuve has paid his dues in NASCAR's minor leagues.

He finished 21st in his sole pick-up truck series race a week ago.

Another start in that series before the Cup race at the Talladega superspeedway in Alabama is a very light preparation for the rough and tumble of NASCAR's big league.

He hasn't had a start in the second-tier Busch series in which Aussie Marcos Ambrose races.

When Kyle Busch heard of Villeneuve's sudden graduation he said: "Holy cow, that's not good. Talladega definitely isn't the place to start."

And Jeff Gordon said it's "just crazy".

Gordon is particularly worried as the Cup is coming towards its climax, with points vital for championship contenders.

Even fellow F1 refugee Juan Pablo Montoya, who is coming to the end of his first full season in NASCAR, says: "I'm surprised they do it so early, especially at a place like Talladega.

"When you go four-wide around him it's a very different experience from anything he's experienced, because what he will experience he hasn't before.

"But, hey, it's not my problem."

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