Alice Powell column

My season is coming to a climax.

It is the penultimate race of the F3 Cup season this weekend at Donington Park.

I am leading the championship by a narrow margin of ten points.

You could say the pressure is on, which it is, but I am calm.

I just have to focus well and go and do my best, everything else is out of my control.

In Formula 1, with only six races remaining, the championship seems to be heading the same way as last year . . . a Vettel win.

Sebastian Vettel’s popularity is made clear when he steps foot onto the podium, as boos can be heard clearly.

But is the booing right? I believe not.

Yes, Seb may have made the wrong move by ignoring team orders in Malaysia and saying he would do it again, but he is still winning and driving fast.

He is proving that he is a good driver and I feel people should respect his talent, even if you aren’t a fan.

Another story from the race at Singapore was Kimi Raikkonen’s back injury.

I had a few people ask me why he was finding it sore when he was “only sat down in a race car”.

As I explained a few blogs ago, as a driver, you need to hit those pedals hard, especially the brake pedal.

In this act, you use the muscles in your back too, not just your legs.

Every time Kimi would hit the brake pedal, he would have felt pain on his back, and there are more than ten corners on the circuit where he would have needed to apply hard brake pressure.

Every kerb he would hit and hard bump on the track, he would have felt it on his back.

Not only did Kimi drive a brilliant race, but he did exceptionally well to make it to the end, as Singapore is one of the most psychically demanding races of the F1 season.

To keep an eye on my championship fight this weekend, follow my twitter page @alicepowell.