JUSTICE SERVED; Fernando Alonso emerged on top of a controversial Formula One season.(Motorsports)

Byline: NIGEL ROEBUCK

It happened on lap 36 at Suzuka. Michael Schumacher was cruising to his eighth win of the year and looking to put a lock on his eighth world championship. Seventeen laps remained, and after that, one more race before his retirement.

The year hadn't been easy for Schumacher and Ferrari. Renault's reigning champion, Fernando Alonso, dominated the season's first half, picking up where he had left off in 2005. The gap to Schumacher was 25 points at the halfway point.

Then things began to turn around. Mass damper systems (which, in simple terms, helped a car make best use of its front tires) were suddenly banned by the FIA, having been legal for 18 months. Renault, whose system had been by far the most effective, was greatly hurt by this.

At the same time, Bridgestone, long in Michelin's shadow, began to get its act together. After four straight wins for Alonso, Schumacher took three in a row. A Ferrari, rather than a Renault, was suddenly the thing to have: At Istanbul, Schumacher's new teammate, Felipe Massa, left everyone behind.

At Renault, though, there are steady hands on the tiller. Executive director of engineering Pat Symonds and his boys were angered by the mass damper ban, but they were not about to be destabilized. Calmly, diligently, they worked away at regaining the lost pace, and at Monza, Alonso was confident of giving Ferrari a run.

Then along came qualifying and the season's great scandal. In the dying seconds, Alonso, about to begin a final banzai lap, was accused of holding up Massa, who swore he would otherwise have been on the pole.