Few would have expected the Formula One season to develop into a tight race for the finish line.
With five races still to go, it is practically a head-to-head battle between Fernando Alonso of Ferrari and reigning champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull.
The latter dominated the competition last year, making sure of his second crown in a row very early in the season. This year, however, it is a very different story, also because besides the two front-runners, there are other drivers still in with a chance.
Kimi Raikkonen of Lotus has not won a race so far this season, but he has been a consistent driver, and his good placing in many of the races have enabled him to climb up to third place, although still with a 37-gap below the leader. Still, with 25 points given for every win, the Finnish driver is still with an outside chance.
Similarly, Lewis Hamilton on his McLaren – three points below Raikkonen – has his own opportunities, but whether the British driver still has the motivation to win for McLaren after his decision to move to Mercedes at the end of the season remains to be seen.
Mark Webber on Red Bull and Jenson Button on McLaren are still mathematically within reach, but it does not look likely that they will be able to challenge for the championship.
Alonso has been quite unlucky in two of the last four events, finishing the race at the first corner through no fault of his own but because other drivers hit him soon after the green light. This enabled Vettel to almost catch up with him in Japan last week, as the German driver never relinquished the first place from start to finish.
The advantage the Spanish driver built over summer was practically cancelled out, and both he and Vettel have admitted that it is now like a championship in just five races. It now depends mostly on what the technicians do in the pits and luck too, because Alonso would not have obtained zero points in two of the last races were it not for the negligence of other drivers.
Still, starting on pole position makes it easier and less dangerous, and this is where Ferrari have been missing out of late. They have been unable to take Alonso in the top three or four starting positions, which meant that he had to face a stiffer challenge at the start.
As of now, Red Bull seem to have the better car and they are favourites to go all the way. This weekend, in South Korea, we will have a clearer picture.