Alonso: Hamilton is the favorite for the championship - MotorSportsTalk

Fernando Alonso believes that Lewis Hamilton’s experience from previous title fights makes him the favorite to win this year’s Formula 1 world championship.

The Spanish driver raced alongside the Briton at McLaren in 2007 as both fought for the drivers’ championship, only for Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen to snatch the title at the final round.

Hamilton went on to win his only world title in 2008, but was also in contention for the 2010 championship until the last round of the season. This year, he is looking to secure his first championship since joining Mercedes, and finds himself embroiled in a tight battle with teammate Nico Rosberg at the top of the standings.

For Rosberg, this season marks his first shot at a championship since making his F1 debut back in 2006.

Speaking to NBCSN in the Monza paddock yesterday, Alonso said that he thinks this experience will aid Hamilton come the final few races of the season.

“I don’t think that Lewis needs any learning for the fight,” the Ferrari driver explained. “I think he has the talent and he has the abilities to fight for the championship already from the first year that he arrived.

“It is true that in this fight he is maybe more ready because it is not the first time that he will fight for a world championship.

“That when there is one race to go could make a difference, and probably right now, he is the favorite.”

Alonso was also asked about his future with Ferrari, and once again said that he will be looking to stay with the team for 2015 relying that everything is in place.

“I think my intention is to be with them, and to win with Ferrari,” he said. “My priority is to win the world championship, and I have two more years with Ferrari and we need to create this project to come back to the top.

“If nothing [strange] happens, I should be at Ferrari next year.”

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In a continuing effort to help fans keep track of the on track action, SuperMotocross is in the process of developing and implementing leader lights for the unified series.

Currently Supercross (SMX) utilizes stanchions in the infield that are triggered manually by a race official. At least two stanchions are used in each race as a way to draw the eye to the leader, which is especially useful in the tight confines of the stadium series when lapping often begins before the halfway mark in the 22-bike field. This system has been in place for the past two decades.

Later this year, a fully automated system will move to the bike itself to replace the old system. At that point, fans will be able to identify the leader regardless of where he is on track.

The leader lights were tested in the second Anaheim round this year. An example can be seen at the 1:45 mark in the video above on the No. 69 bike.

“What we don’t want to do is move too fast, where it’s confusing to people,” said Mike Muye, senior director of operations for Supercross and SMX in a press release. “We’ve really just focused on the leader at this point with the thought that maybe down the road we’ll introduce others.”

Scheduled to debut with the first SuperMotocross World Championship race at zMax Dragway, located just outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, a 3D carbon fiber-printed LED light will be affixed to each motorcycle. Ten timing loops positioned around the track will trigger the lights of the leader, which will turn green.

SMX’s partner LiveTime Scoring helped develop and implement the system that has been tested in some form or fashion since 2019.

When the leader lights are successfully deployed, SuperMotocross will explore expanding the system to identify the second- and third-place riders. Depending on need and fan acceptance, more positions could be added.

SuperMotocross is exploring future enhancements, including allowing for live fan interaction with the lights and ways to use the lighting system during the race’s opening ceremony.

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