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Hi anyone interested or watch F1 here :D
I've like F1 since it starts telecast in the local sport channel a few years back but then after the sport channel ceased to operate, only recently then I can watch it on TV after I sub to cable.
before that I can only rely on papers, mag & internet for news :D
yesterday nite at Italy San Marino, M Schumacher successfully hold Renault's Fernando Alonso at 2nd place, a very exciting breath taking race indeed :thumbsup:
News from Official F1 Website :supz:
For a while Ferrari’s grip on the San Marino Grand Prix looked tenuous, after Michael Schumacher had initially built up a lead after sprinting away at the start. By the time he pitted for fuel on lap 20, arch-rival Fernando Alonso had worked his way up to second place, and then took the lead until his own stop on lap 25. Schumacher just beat him for the lead as Alonso rejoined, but then the Spaniard began to put the Ferrari under massive pressure. If he could keep up this pace, it seemed, victory would be assured by the next fuel stops. It wasn’t to be.
Schumacher said that he lost pace in the second stint because of tyre graining and a problem on the car that he did not elect to identify, and began lapping up to two seconds off the pace as a frustrated Alonso got bottled up behind him. Now instead of a festival of pure speed it had become a chess game. Who would pit first? The answer finally came on lap 41 when Alonso suddenly sprinted into the pit lane. After a 6.7s stop he was back out again. Schumacher, meanwhile, was suddenly able to catch backmarkers Nick Heidfeld and Scott Speed, whom he had apparently been unable to catch earlier on. But any hope in the Renault camp that they might impede their rival ended when Schumacher swept outward on lap 42, after remaining stationary for 7.1s.
Both teams had changed their strategy to pit early, and this time Schumacher just got out of the pit lane before Alonso arrived at Tamburello, setting up a finish that was a reverse carbon copy of last year’s race. Lap after lap Alonso gave Schumacher no breathing space, but as Michael appreciated last season, Imola is a tricky place to pass a determined rival. Alonso got partially alongside on one lap, but when he slid over a kerb and ran wide exiting Villeneuve on lap 59, the great chase was over. He settled back to the second place that Renault had already agreed would be acceptable, and wisely preserved his championship lead.
An ecstatic Schumacher, already the new pole record holder after qualifying, sped on to the 85th victory of his career and his first since the ‘Bridgestone-only’ US Grand Prix in 2005, and his first against a full field since Japan in 2004.
Behind them, a very long first stint helped McLaren’s Juan Pablo Montoya to third place ahead of a challenging Ferrari of Felipe Massa, who had Kimi Raikkonen right behind him in the second McLaren as the three of them crossed the line.
Mark Webber brought his Williams home sixth after a good run, aided again by a long first stint. Jenson Button should have finished a lot better than seventh for Honda, but had another unhappy race. He was the second leading runner to refuel (on lap 15, a lap after team mate Rubens Barrichello), and later had a disaster when he was signalled prematurely to rejoin after his second stop on lap 30. The lollipop man signalled him to go, then changed his mind as he saw that the refuelling hose was still connected. By then Button was already on his way and got swiped on the head by the lollipop as it was hurriedly lowered again. He stopped a few feet beyond his pit garage as team members ran to retrieve the now broken fuel nozzle from the car, and he finally resumed after the delay, dropping from third to eighth place. His third stop went okay on lap 44, but it was another disappointing result for him and the team.
The final point went to Giancarlo Fisichella, who started 11th with a full Renault tank and sat it out in the pack until things improved as others stopped.
Ralf Schumacher was the only other driver apart from Button to opt for three stops, but could not quite squeeze enough performance from his Toyota to score a point. He headed home a disappointed Rubens Barrichello in the Honda, Williams’ Nico Rosberg, and Jacques Villeneuve and Nick Heidfeld in their BMW Saubers. Vitantonio Liuzzi spun from 16th place down to 18th behind Red Bull team mates Scott Speed and Christian Klien after running off at Variante Alta on the fifth lap, but a tigering drive brought him home 14th, ahead of Speed. Tiago Monteiro was 16th for Midland.
Neither Klien, nor David Coulthard, finished the race. The Austrian struggled with his Toro Rosso team mates before retiring on lap 41 with an hydraulic problem, while the Scot disappeared on lap 48 with a broken driveshaft.
Neither Super Aguri made it home either. Yuji Ide prompted deployment of the safety car on the opening lap after shoving Christijan Albers’ Midland into a barrel roll in Turn Six. The Dutchman was unhurt, while after a lengthy stop for repairs Ide later rejoined but spun off at Variante Alta with suspension damage after 23 laps. Following the race, Ide was officially reprimanded over the Albers incident by the race stewards.
Team mate Takuma Sato stopped on lap 45, interrupting the team’s finishing record. Jarno Trulli was the other retirement, driving his Toyota into the pits with a steering problem after only five laps when he was running eighth.
The race puts Ferrari back into contention for a championship that has 14 races left. “The championship had never really gone away even after two difficult races,” Schumacher said, “but now it’s looking two points better and there is a long way to go.”
Summary of 2006 season :thumbsup:
Bahrain 12/03/2006 ->Fernando Alonso Renault
Malaysian 19/03/2006 ->Giancarlo Fisichella Renault
Australian 02/04/2006 ->Fernando Alonso Renault
San Marino 23/04/2006 ->Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2006 Race Day
Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix <Bahrain> 10 - 12 Mar
Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix <Kuala Lumpur> 17 - 19 Mar
Foster's Australian Grand Prix <Melbourne> 30 Mar - 02 Apr
Gran Premio Foster's di San Marino <Imola> 21 - 23 Apr
Grand Prix of Europe <Nürburgring> 05 - 07 May
Gran Premio Telefónica de España <Catalunya> 12 - 14 May
Grand Prix de Monaco <Monte Carlo> 25 - 28 May
Foster's British Grand Prix <Silverstone> 09 - 11 Jun
Grand Prix du Canada <Montreal> 23 - 25 Jun
United States Grand Prix <Indianapolis> 30 Jun - 02 Jul
Grand Prix de France <Magny-Cours> 14 - 16 Jul
Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland <Hockenheim> 28 - 30 Jul
Magyar Nagydij <Budapest> 04 - 06 Aug
Petrol Ofisi Turkish Grand Prix <Istanbul> 25 - 27 Aug
Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia <Monza> 08 - 10 Sep
Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix <Shanghai> 29 Sep - 01 Oct
Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix <Suzuka> 06 - 08 Oct
Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006 <Sao Paulo> 20 - 22 Oct
:D
starscream
24-04-2006, 02:42 PM
Yeah I like F1 but seldom watch now. Long ago there was this Nelson Piquet, Aryton Senna, Nigel Mansell etc ;)
Yeah I like F1 but seldom watch now. Long ago there was this Nelson Piquet, Aryton Senna, Nigel Mansell etc ;)
yah, that was way long ago....F1 only comes to me on the day that Senna crash out & die....:cry:
Honda did quite well in the 2005 season but this year seems like lady luck had left them :(
The luckless Honda team must be wondering just what they have to do to change their fortunes after another bitterly disappointing race performance in Imola.
Once again, to begin with it all seemed to be going so well. Jenson Button put in another stunning qualifying performance, putting his car on P2 and lining up next to the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher. Neither Renault nor McLaren were able to match the Honda’s pace.
And there was more good news in Rubens Barrichello’s welcome return to form. After a miserable start to the season, the Brazilian finally came to terms with his car and recorded a flying lap good enough for a third on the grid.
But, once again, everything started to go wrong for Honda almost as soon as the red lights went out. Button held on to second after a strong start, and proceeded to stay in touch with Schumacher’s flying Ferrari. Barrichello, however, suffered a disappointing opening lap and was quickly overwhelmed by both Felipe Massa’s Ferrari and Fernando Alonso’s Renault.
Button held second until his first stop, but by the time the other front-runners had made their respective visits to the pits, he had dropped to third behind Alonso. He still looked to be in the running for a podium position until a disastrous second stop effectively ruined his chances. After his stop-board was lifted too soon, Button exited with the refuelling nozzle still in his car, knocking over several mechanics - although fortunately there was no further mishap when the nozzle was torn off the hose. He lost more time as the team recovered the nozzle from the car, and only managed to salvage two world championship points with an eventual seventh place finish.
Barrichello had, if anything, a more miserable time. Having dropped down the order after the start, he found himself battling for pace - emerging from an over-long first pitstop in only 13th place. From there to the flag, the race barely got better for him and he eventually finished out of the points in 10th, a demoralising 40 seconds behind team mate Button.
Honda will know that if they want any chance of making a serious impression in this year’s championship, things will have to improve dramatically and quickly.
shadowdancer
24-04-2006, 08:02 PM
Cool a F1 thread! Although I'm not really a big fan of that sports, I'm amaze by the car that running on the circuit! Not bad, keep it coming!
Btw, whats the overall ranking for the drivers and the company for the race?
Driver Standing :D
1 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 36
2 Michael Schumacher German Ferrari 21
3 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 18
4 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 15
4= Juan Pablo Montoya Colombian McLaren-Mercedes 15
6 Jenson Button British Honda 13
7 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 9
8 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 7
9 Mark Webber Australian Williams-Cosworth 6
10 Nick Heidfeld German Sauber-BMW 5
10= Jacques Villeneuve Canadian Sauber-BMW 5
12 Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 2
12= Nico Rosberg German Williams-Cosworth 2
14 David Coulthard British RBR-Ferrari 1
14= Christian Klien Austrian RBR-Ferrari
Constructor Standing :D
1 Renault 51
2 McLaren-Mercedes 33
3 Ferrari 30
4 Honda 15
5 Sauber-BMW 10
6 Williams-Cosworth 8
7 Toyota 7
8 RBR-Ferrari 2
World drivers' champion Fernando Alonso believes that Michael Schumacher's victory in the San Marino Grand Prix here Sunday has blown the world championship race wide open.
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Spaniard Alonso, 24, said that five drivers will now fight it out for the title this year - and that his Renault team should be wary of the threat that Ferrari will pose for the rest of the season.
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Alonso said: "Michael for sure will be a contender and a big rival at the end of the championship, but he is not the only one.
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"Both McLarens will be there and I hope (Renault team-mate Giancarlo) Fisichella will be there at the end fighting. It can be more than two or three drivers at the end of the championship.
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"Imola is a quite different circuit (to most of them) so we will find out in the next two or three races which are the quick cars in 2006."
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Schumacher's 85th career win - his first for 13 races - cut Alonso's championship lead to 15 points and left him hopeful that Ferrari can challenge for wins on a regular basis for the rest of the season.
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The German though, stopped short of insisting that Ferrari were now genuine title contenders, saying that Renault were simply unable to show their clear speed advantage at Imola.
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Schumacher, 37, added: "They (Renault) feel less competitive here than elsewhere, but they still had a very quick package.
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"To do it (beat Renault), we have to keep on maximising our performance like we did here.
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"We've had good testing in Barcelona and I think we should be pretty good from now on honestly. It's honestly getting very close between the top teams."
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McLaren, the third team that Alonso earmarked as title contenders, had a disappointing weekend by their standards at Imola, with Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, 30, and Finn Kimi Raikkonen, 26, taking third and fifth.
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But Dennis dispelled Ferrari's race victory as a one-off and does not think that the Scuderia will keep up their momentum over the coming races - starting at the European Grand Prix in Germany two weeks from now.
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Dennis said: "I could be wrong, but look at the gap between them (Ferrari) and the other Bridgestone runners. It's the same as it has been all season, so you know it's not their car that is making the gains - just the tyres.
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"We tend to measure performance with Renault, who are the dominant force in f1 at the moment." — AFP
:D
Michael Schumacher's victory is pretty long as he had a drought of finishing with the checked flag. Hope F1 and Singapore tourism board can see eye to eye and Singapore may have back F1 racing which is gone for 40+years due to the "old man's decision"(billion dollar mistake).:angry:
And the 12th team for 2008 is…
28 April 2006
…Prodrive. Former BAR team boss David Richards is set to return to the Formula One grid after it was confirmed on Friday that his Prodrive motorsport group have had their entry for the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship accepted. Prodrive will join the existing 11 teams, all of whom have retained their places in the series.
“This is wonderful news for everyone in the company,” Prodrive chairman, Richards, told the group’s official website. “We have won World Rally Championships, British Touring Car titles and the GT1 class at Le Mans, and have been saying for some time that we would also like to be in Formula One with our own Prodrive team. We are now one step closer.”
Prodrive’s previous Formula One involvement with BAR spanned the 2002, 2003 and 2004 seasons, during which time they managed the team, taking them to second place in the constructors’ championship in their final year, prior to Honda’s takeover. Richards was also team principal for the Benetton’s Formula One squad back in 1998.
Prodrive are currently awaiting planning permission for a new purpose-built facility in Warwickshire in the UK where they plan to house their Formula One operation. Should that permission be granted, the group intend to commence construction at the end of this year. In the meantime, Prodrive will run their Formula One programme from their existing facilities in Banbury.
“An entry is just the beginning,” added Richards. “We now have less than two years to build a team and put two competitive cars on the starting grid for the first race of the 2008 championship. The task is enormous and the expertise and experience of the established teams well recognised. However, Prodrive has more than 20 years of motorsport experience and all of us relish a challenge.”
Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, is introducing new regulations for the 2008 season, designed to make the sport cheaper and more accessible to smaller teams. This prompted no less than 22 entries for the 2008 championship, with Trevor Carlin’s Carlin’s Carlin Motorsport and former Minardi boss Paul Stoddart among those to miss out.
“We are confident that the new regulations will not only allow Prodrive to be competitive on an affordable budget, but will also make Formula One more exciting and, ultimately, even more entertaining for spectators and TV audiences around the world,” concluded Richards.
Since their formation in 1984, Prodrive have won more than 200 international rally and race events, including six World Rally Championship titles, five British Touring Car Championships and a GTS class win at Le Mans in 2003.
:D
3 days, 10 hrs 29 mins to go to European GP
Lets have some history lesson on European GP :D
The European Grand Prix has been held at a total of four locations since its inception in 1983, but it is the legendary Nurburgring in Germany that has been its most recent - and most frequent - home.
The track, located around 80 kilometres (50 miles) south west of Cologne, has enjoyed over 80 years of motor racing. Work began on the original circuit back in 1925 and in its longest form it had a lap distance of over 28 kilometres (17.5 miles). The majority of races, however, were staged on the 'shorter', 22 kilometre (14.17 mile) Nordschliefe section.
The Nurburgring's first major event was a sportscar race, run in 1927, and won by a name from motor racing folklore, Rudolf Caracciola. However, it wasn't until 1931 that the track held its first Grand Prix. Again Caracciola was the victor.
Other famous names to win at the 'Ring' in the pre-war era included Hans Stuck, Tazio Nuvolari and Bernd Rosemeyer. Not surprisingly, in the venue's early years, local knowledge of the extraordinarily long circuit gave German drivers a distinct advantage. With famous corners such as Pflanzgarten, Bergwerk and the Karussel, the Nurburgring became known as a supreme test of driving talent.
Racing was halted by the war in 1939, but in 1951 the Nurburgring round became part of the official world championship calendar, with Ferrari’s Alberto Ascari the inaugural winner.
The Nurburgring then hosted the German Grand Prix every year bar two until 1976. The exceptions were the 1959 race at Avus and the 1970 event at Hockenheim. Among the illustrious names to master the sport's most challenging track in this period were Juan Manuel Fangio and Jackie Stewart, who both won on three occasions.
Such was Stewart's skill around the mammoth course that in 1968 he took victory by over four minutes. However, with the Nurburgring's vast length came danger. With over 170 corners, memorising the track was next to impossible. Also, its mountain setting meant weather conditions could vary dramatically within the space of a lap.
Accidents were commonplace, some of them fatal. Argentine driver Onofre Marimon, a protege of compatriot Fangio, died in practice in 1954, while three-time Grand Prix winner Peter Collins was killed in the 1958 race.
Pressure from the drivers, in particular Stewart, led to organisers introducing safety improvements in time for the 1970 race. The circuit's worst bumps were eased, barriers and run-off areas added and the track widened in places.
However, the changes weren't enough to prevent the crash that led to the removal of the Nurburgring's traditional Nordschliefe layout from the Formula One calendar. In 1976 Ferrari driver Niki Lauda was lucky to escape with his life after suffering horrific burns in a first-lap accident. The race was promptly switched to Hockenheim for the following year.
The Nurburgring that reappeared for the 1984 European Grand Prix bore little resemblance to its historic predecessor. The length of the new circuit, built alongside the old, had been slashed to 4.5 kilometres (2.82 miles), and most drivers felt the new design to be uninspired in comparison to the challenging Nordschliefe.
Alain Prost won that first race on the new circuit, before the European Grand Prix switched to Brands Hatch in England the following year, with Nigel Mansell taking top honours. Meanwhile, the Nurburgring staged the 1985 German Grand Prix, but was then absent from the Formula One schedule until 1995.
The circuit has staged a Grand Prix every year since, all of them bar the 1997 and '98 races European Grands Prix. Michael Schumacher was the 1995 winner for Benetton, after a close battle with the Ferrari of Jean Alesi.
In 1996 it was Jacques Villeneuve who took the chequered flag for Williams, the first win of his Formula One racing career. The 1999 event also marked a first when Johnny Herbert was victorious for the Stewart team, their one and only Formula One triumph.
The next two European Grands Prix were both Michael Schumacher affairs. In 2000 the Ferrari driver won by over 13 seconds from the McLaren of Mika Hakkinen, while 2001’s race was slightly closer, with Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya finishing eight seconds adrift of Schumacher.
The 2002 event marked another stage in the Nurburgring's history. The circuit was altered yet again, with an additional complex of three tight corners, known as the Mercedes Arena, added to the existing Castrol-S. As well as slightly increasing the circuit's lap distance, the changes were implemented to improve the safety of the track still further, as well as increasing overtaking opportunities and spectator capacity.
That year’s race was won, yet again, by Ferrari, though this time it was Rubens Barrichello who led home the scarlet one-two for only the second victory of his Formula One career. The Brazilian made a superb start to go from fourth on the grid to first by the end of lap one, from where he didn’t look back, aided by a well-judged two-stop strategy and a rare mistake from team mate Schumacher who recovered from a spin whilst in pursuit.
In 2003, Kimi Raikkonen took his maiden pole position and looked set for certain victory until his Mercedes V10 expired on lap 25. It was Williams’ Ralf Schumacher who came through for the win, while his older brother was left temporarily beached on the kerbs after a clash with Montoya. The Colombian continued to ensure a Williams one-two, while the champion eventually recovered to finish fifth behind Barrichello and Fernando Alonso.
The Ferrari formation returned in 2004, with an imperious Schumacher taking the chequered flag from Barrichello and the BAR of Jenson Button. However, last year the Italian team had to be content with a single red car on the podium - that of Barrichello in third. Alonso clinched his first European Grand Prix win, with Nick Heidfeld equalling his best-ever Formula One result in second, having taken his maiden pole position in qualifying.
Michael Schumacher drove his Ferrari to his remarkable 86th career victory in front of his home fans at the Nurburgring this after, turning what had initially appeared to be a nip and tuck race into a rout of Fernando Alonso and Renault after the second pit stops.
Content to trail the series leaders for the first 38 laps, the former champion swept into the lead when Alonso refuelled for the second time on lap 38, and was still ahead of the Renault when he rejoined after his own second and final stop three crucial laps later. When Kimi Raikkonen refuelled his leading McLaren on lap 44, Schumacher went back ahead and was thereafter never threatened as Alonso had fallen more than seven seconds behind.
As Michael cruised to the flag, Alonso, who had seemingly settled for second place and another eight points, was obliged to speed up a little as he responded to pressure from Felipe Massa and a recovering Raikkonen, but though the three of them finished nose to tail there was no stopping the jubilant German. Making it a great day for Ferrari, Massa celebrated the first podium finish of his burgeoning career.
Fifth place was the focus of an equally intense battle between Honda’s Rubens Barrichello, Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella and Williams’ Nico Rosberg. They crossed the line nose-to-tail too. Jacques Villeneuve, who had earlier held his BMW Sauber ahead of qualifying nemesis Fisichella, brought the car home eighth for the final point.
Jenson Button lasted only 28 laps, his Honda appearing to blow its engine going past the pits as he lay fifth; Juan Pablo Montoya lost ninth place when his McLaren stopped on lap 53, and Ralf Schumacher lost sixth when his Toyota blew its engine at the same time.
Jarno Trulli’s TF106 was a lapped ninth ahead of Nick Heidfeld’s BMW Sauber, Scott Speed’s Toro Rosso and the battling Midlands of Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers.
Tonio Liuzzi was a first-corner casualty after tangling with Red Bull stable mate David Coulthard. Liuzzi got his damaged Toro Rosso as far as Turn 10 where it spun to a halt as the right rear tyre was off the rim. That brought out the safety car for the first two laps. Coulthard later pulled off after a first-lap stop for repairs. Making it a bad day for Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz, Christian Klien stopped on lap 29, while battling Heidfeld for 13th.
Mark Webber also pulled off track, having run strongly from the back of the field with a full fuel load. Neither of the Super Aguris made it home either; Franck Montagny’s engine broke on lap 31 and briefly set the back of the SA05 alight, while Takuma Sato, having made a brilliant start to run 14th at the end of the first lap, pulled straight into his garage on lap 43.
“A great race, great strategy and great performance all the way through,” Schumacher beamed after his victory. “I’ve had no doubt all season that we would be in a position to fight for the championship, and this proves it.”
The result puts Schumacher a little closer to Alonso, 44 points to 31, but Renault still have a sizeable advantage in the constructors’ stakes with 62 points to Ferrari’s 46 and McLaren’s 39. With Barcelona coming up next week, Alonso believes that Renault and Michelin will be very strong there, but Michael Schumacher also believes that Ferrari will be just as good as they were here. The Championship is well and truly hotting up.
2006 Drivers Championship
1 Fernando Alonso Renault 44
2 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 31
3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 23
4 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 18
5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 15
5 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 15
7 Jenson Button Honda 13
8 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 7
9 Rubens Barrichello Honda 6
9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 6
9 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 6
12 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 5
13 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 4
14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1
14 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1
2006 Constructors Championship
Pos Constructor Points
1 Renault 62
2 Ferrari 46
3 McLaren-Mercedes 38
4 Honda 19
5 Sauber-BMW 11
6 Williams-Cosworth 10
7 Toyota 7
8 RBR-Ferrari 2
6 Days 10 Hr to the next GP - Catalunya, Spain
:thumbsup:
Analysis - Renault playing catch-up
Ferrari prove they plan to push champions all the way
08 May 2006
For the second race in succession, Ferrari headed home with their tail up. Ultimately, theirs was a dominant performance at the Nurburgring, though at times it did not seem so. It was the second victory of the season for the team and for Michael Schumacher, and the first podium of Felipe Massa’s career, and set them strongly on course to challenge Renault over the balance of the season. In some of the Michelin teams there was the feeling that Bridgestone had a small but crucial advantage this weekend, and Michelin themselves admitted that some of the compounds they had selected were probably too hard for the prevailing conditions.
Beaten for the second time in a row, Renault were resigned in Germany. Generally there was an air in the camp that their package was not on a par with Ferrari’s, with Michelin’s contribution arguably among the key factors. There were allusions to grip problems all weekend, however, and afterwards Flavio Briatore said: “We have to admit that the combination of Bridgestone and Ferrari was too strong for us today, and in those conditions finishing second is like winning.”
While Fernando Alonso said he was quite happy with second place and another eight points, Giancarlo Fisichella had a tougher race in the pack after starting 11th. He was in traffic the whole afternoon, first trapped behind Jacques Villeneuve whom he had criticised so strongly after allegedly being blocked in qualifying, then behind Rubens Barrichello. He was very pleased with his second stop, which finally enabled him to beat the French-Canadian, and overall the team still garnered 11 valuable points.
Frankly, the best that McLaren realistically hoped for was third, and Kimi Raikkonen failed to achieve that by a mere 0.432s. The Finn said he was unhappy with the performance of the car after beating Barrichello away at the start and diving by Jenson Button on the fourth lap, but agreed that it was an improvement over Imola. He set the second fastest lap of the race, albeit four-tenths shy of Schumacher, and was the fastest man out there in the final stint. Juan Pablo Montoya spent most of his race stuck in the traffic, and was struck down by a Mercedes-Benz engine failure.
Once again Honda didn’t have the pace when it mattered. They ran a different strategy to usual, with Barrichello stopping on lap 19 and Button on 20, rather than being among the very first to stop. Button found his car inconsistent, partly because of the wind, with the balance changing from corner to corner. Things were improving in the second stint and he said he would have been happy with fifth in a car he didn’t like, but then his engine let go as he started his 29th lap. Barrichello fought poor balance and fifth place was more a matter of surviving than anything else.
Midland enjoyed a great race between team mates Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers, and a return to solid reliability. Monteiro was very happy with the consistency of his M16’s balance all the way through, but Albers lost ground in the Ralf Schumacher-induced Tonio Liuzzi/David Coulthard clash in the first corner, then got stuck for a while behind Takuma Sato after Monteiro had found a way by. The Dutchman was then slowed before the finish by a rear-end vibration. It was a more promising performance for the team to finish just a lap down, the same as Jarno Trulli (Toyota), Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) and Scott Speed (Toro Rosso).
Williams had a frustrating time in Germany, which began when both cars required engine changes before qualifying. That compromised everything as Mark Webber had to start 19th and Nico Rosberg 22nd. Both naturally began with high fuel loads and after making a great getaway Webber was nicely placed for what the team believed would have been a fourth or fifth place finish when his FW28 lost hydraulic fluid. Rosberg fought well for seventh place, and believed he might have made that sixth had he felt more inclined to take a risk with Fisichella.
BMW Sauber picked up the final point, but Villeneuve suffered on the first laps after pit stops trying to get sufficient heat into the tyres. He was able to keep ahead of Fisichella for a long time early on, but ultimately lost out to the Italian because of that problem second time around. Interestingly, he felt the F1.06 felt better on worn Michelins. Nick Heidfeld made a great start and moved up four places, but his performance was soon hurt by poor balance. Overall the team garnered another point, but were not fast enough.
Toyota benefited from Bridgestone’s performance in Ralf Schumacher’s case, and a long first stint, and having survived hitting Liuzzi at the start the German was on target for sixth place when he suffered a rare engine failure on the 53rd lap. Trulli, however, could not get grip from his car’s set-up and struggled home a disappointing ninth.
At Toro Rosso, Liuzzi made a great start but then suffered damage after Ralf Schumacher’s assault launched him into Coulthard. The front wing was hanging off and the right rear tyre was off the rim. The latter caused him to spin when he got to Turn 10, and as the safety car came out for two laps, his race was over. Speed believed he was quicker than Heidfeld and the Toyotas, but that he and the team jointly lost crucial time in the pit stops. He finished11th.
Red Bull had a lousy day. Coulthard made one pit stop at the end of the first lap to have his RB2’s nose replaced, but then other associated problems stopped him for good on lap four. Christian Klien showed reasonable pace as he chased after Heidfeld, but was taken out by gearbox issues.
Neither of the Super Aguris finished; Franck Montagny suffered what appeared to be an engine failure but which was described by the team as a hydraulic problem which momentarily set the back of the car alight. Takuma Sato made a superb start to run 14th at the end of the opening lap, but later suffered a flapping engine cover wing at one stage before retiring with a hydraulic problem.
The Grand Prix of Europe posed some fascinating questions in the run-up to Spain next week, and spelled out in the clearest terms that the 2006 World Championship is going to be a great struggle between Renault, Ferrari and McLaren. What happens in the next clutch of races will be crucial to aspirations and performance as the tight deadlines place a premium on individual teams’ abilities to develop their cars quickly and efficiently.
Alonso reigns supreme in Spain
14 May 2006
Spanish Grand Prix, Race, Barcelona, Spain, 14 May 2006
Fernando Alonso, Renault and Michelin responded in the best possible way to Ferrari and Bridgestone’s recent run of success by handing out a crushing defeat to Michael Schumacher on the Spaniard’s home territory this afternoon.
Snatching the lead from pole position as team mate Giancarlo Fisichella slotted in behind him - crucially ahead of the Ferraris of Schumacher and Felipe Massa - Alonso led until his first pit stop on lap 17. That came early enough to prompt suggestions that the champion might be on a three-stop strategy. Fisichella stopped a lap later, handing the lead to Schumacher who did not refuel until lap 23.
Now it became a matter of waiting to see when Alonso stopped again. The window for a three-stop would be laps 30 to 36, but this time the Renault went until lap 40, right at the beginning of the two-stop window. Again, Fisichella stopped a lap later, but this time Schumacher was in on lap 46. It was not enough. Alonso regained the lead and maintained a comfortable 13-second cushion until the flag. As he approached the finish line he swerved happily from side to side, and later did his supposed Jim Carrey ‘Grinch’ imitation as he climbed on to the scuttle of his R26. Schumacher had no answer, but had beaten the hapless Fisichella - who survived an trip through a gravel trap - to second place after those second stops.
“It felt fantastic to take the flag,” Alonso said, “and for the last five or six laps I saw that Michael was slowing down as well, no longer pushing. To finish first in front of my supporters gave me my best feeling so far in a Formula One car. In some ways it was equal to the Grand Prix of Brazil when I finished third and won the world championship last year. But I didn’t enjoy that race so much as I did today’s, because it is a better feeling to cross the line and to win. And without worries about the title I was just free to drive and win the race.”
Behind Fisichella, Massa drove an unremarkable race to fourth ahead of McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, who made a superb start to move from ninth on the grid to fifth on lap one. And in a race somewhat lacking in overtaking, Jenson Button soundly beat Honda team mate Rubens Barrichello to sixth place, while a good drive from Nick Heidfeld netted BMW Sauber the final point for eighth.
Mark Webber was only 1.3s behind the German after a fighting drive for Williams, leading home a battling Jarno Trulli and Nico Rosberg. One-stopping Jacques Villeneuve was 12th, ahead of Christian Klien and David Coulthard, who completed his 200th Grand Prix. Klien battled past Toro Rosso teamsters Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi, neither of whom was running at the end. Speed retired on lap 48, while Liuzzi pitted on lap 65 of the 66. He was classified 15th ahead of Tiago Monteiro and Takuma Sato, having run ahead of Coulthard all race despite a down-on-power V10.
Christijan Albers made four pit stops before retiring in the Midland garage on lap 54; Ralf Schumacher eventually did likewise after losing most of his front wing running into the back of his team mate on the 15th lap; Montoya spun and beached his McLaren on the 18th; and Franck Montagny failed to finish with drive-shaft failure on the 10th after running ahead of team mate Sato for several laps.
The result boosts Alonso’s championship score to 54 points to Schumacher’s 39. This was a day when the blue cars had the legs on the reds. “We just weren’t quick enough,” Schumacher admitted. “But sometimes were are better than them, and that’s the way it will be this year. There’s still a long way to go.”
:D
FIA post-race press conference - Spain
Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA
14 May 2006
Post race press conference (L to R): Second place Michael Schumacher (GER) Ferrari; race winner Fernando Alonso (ESP) Renault and third place Giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) Renault. Formula One World Championship, Rd 6, Spanish Grand Prix, Race, Barcelona, Spain, 14 May 20061st Fernando Alonso (Renault), 1h26m21.759s; 2nd Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 1h26m40.261s; 3rd Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), 1h26m45.710s.
Q: Fernando, that looked like 66 perfect laps.
Fernando Alonso: Yeah, I think we did our maximum race performance today. The tyres performed really well throughout the race. We had some doubts before the start and everything went perfectly. As we planned, we pushed in the first stint, we were lighter than the Ferraris so we needed a gap. We found the gap quite quickly and then it could have been a defensive race from there on, but it was not the case. This time Ferrari was not coming really strongly so I was just maintaining the gap and especially in the last stint, controlling the revs and trying to finish a race that was obviously very long for me today.
Q: It certainly looked as if you were enjoying the closing laps of the race. Can you just describe to us your emotions as you took the chequered flag?
FA: During the last five or six laps, I saw that Michael was slowing down as well, not pushing any more so it was just four or five laps just cruising to the end and for sure the chequered flag finished the race and I finished everything in front of everybody here, in front of my people, my supporters. I think it was the best feeling so far in Formula One, equal to the Grand Prix of Brazil, when I won the championship. I finished third in that race with a lot of problems, defending the third place and I didn’t enjoy it so much as I did today, when I was alone, leading the race.
Q: Michael, a very strong second place for you, splitting the Renaults. How much was it defined for you having to sit behind Giancarlo Fisichella?
Michael Schumacher: The race result didn’t really have anything to do with that, because Giancarlo was going at a certain pace, which at certain moments I couldn’t match and clearly, as the weekend developed, it started very well for us and then it sort of went away from us over the weekend which we obviously have to understand and look into. But we were simply not quick enough today.
Q: Obviously he won the drag race into the first corner but you obviously carried a lot more fuel into the race, a lot more than the Renaults.
MS: Yeah, I mean if you consider the amount of fuel we carried, it would have been easy to achieve pole position yesterday but our strategy was obviously different. It worked out at the Nurburgring. Here, it would have worked out had we been quick enough, but because the speed wasn’t there it didn’t work out.
Q: Your thoughts on that second place and a good solid eight points.
MS: Yeah, absolutely, it’s eight points. You have to understand at certain moments what is possible and what is not possible. You can only try so much yourself. You have to rely on your package, and again, it didn’t work out today but there’s a long way to go until the end of the season, so as we have seen, I was probably not so happy just to gain two points in the last two races. Now I’m reasonably happy to lose only two points. It’s the way it’s going to go and we’ll have to see what happens through the year.
Q: Giancarlo, P3 for you, a very strong start to the race, leading Michael, obviously very important from a team point of view, the position you took.
Giancarlo Fisichella: Yes, of course. We did a great start, even better than Fernando and after the first corner, we were able to hold first and second places. We set a good pace and for the first part of the race we were a bit lighter than Ferrari but the pace was quite good. In the second stint, just after the first stint, Michael came across the circuit and just passed me at the pit stop. After that, when I was in turn three, my engineers called me to say something and I was in the middle of turn three, and I lost control of the car and I went onto the gravel and maybe I damaged the car. It wasn’t bad, the car balance was OK but the grip wasn’t great, but apart from that it’s a great result for us and as we expected, it was a tough race between us and Ferrari.
Q: Fernando, returning to you, you said yesterday that you didn’t think 66 laps were going to be enough for you to enjoy but you have conceded that it seemed like a long race towards the end. Again, just talk us through those few emotional moments for you.
FA: It’s true that to race here and to race in front of an all blue grandstand is a different feeling compared to all the other races and it’s true that 66 laps is not enough probably to enjoy all the race but when you are leading with ten seconds or whatever I think you want to finish the race, already, and celebrate victory if you can. It was a fantastic day, difficult to forget for me.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Fernando, does it get any better than winning at home and being greeted on the podium by your King?
FA: No, so far it’s the best thing that has probably happened to me in Formula One, apart from Brazil where I won the championship, this one was maybe a better feeling because I crossed the line winning the race. In Brazil it was a dramatic race because I had to defend third position to be champion mathematically and it’s a different feeling. Here, with no thoughts in my mind, just free to drive, to win the race, the happiness is better.
Q: Tell us about the start, Giancarlo nearly got you there.
FA: Yeah, Giancarlo had a better start. Probably the reaction time was not great for me and for sure, Giancarlo started better this time and I was lucky to defend the position from the inside line and to get first position thanks to Giancarlo, also in the first corner. It’s always better to fight with your teammate than with any other driver.
Q: Then you did a short first stint but quite a long final stint.
FA: Yeah, the strategy played well today. It was a little different to Ferrari this time. I think it worked OK because we had pole position, we had a gap after the first stint when we were lighter and then we controlled the gap, more or less, so I’m quite happy.
Q: What animal were you copying on your car at the end?
FA: It’s a secret. It’s not an animal, either.
Q: Michael, you’ve been quite confident this weekend, so when did you realise you didn’t have the necessary pace?
MS: Basically when I had free air and couldn’t really make up enough ground.
Q: That was after Giancarlo’s pit stop?
MS: Yeah, although I wasn’t that close behind him before the first pit stop, so already there it seemed very difficult. But then we obviously knew that maybe later in the race, with a better set of tyres, it may work out differently. But I still had the option and possibility to close down but as we couldn’t do it in the second stint, we couldn’t really make any real impression and win any ground in terms of lap time, so it was clear it would be difficult.
Q: But you had at least overtaken Giancarlo?
MS: Sure. Knowing that I was so close behind him and saw him going in reasonably early, compared to what we could do, it was sort of clear although I almost lost it because I had a little moment in one of the corners, in those important laps, had a bit of traffic, so there were a couple of factors that didn’t really help, but I still made it.
Q: So it was a little bit tight to come out ahead of him.
MS: Yeah, because of the issues I just mentioned; normally it would have been a bit more clear.
Q: Obviously second place was not where you hoped to be, but only losing two points is not so bad.
MS: Yeah, that’s the way you have to see it. You have to understand that you can’t win every race. At certain moments those guys are better than us and maybe at other moments it will be the other way around. It’s a long year to go. We will keep on fighting.
Q: Giancarlo, How close were you to overtaking Fernando at the first corner?
GF: It was close, but it was just the first corner so…It was important to get through the first corner and carry on in the first two positions for us and that as done. I got a good reaction time, better than Fernando, but its okay. I’m happy.
Q: What prevented you from staying ahead of Michael at the first stop?
GF: Obviously I was pushing and we were able to be a little bit quicker than him. Obviously I was a little bit lighter then the Ferraris. I think the car balance was little difficult in the rear end and a bit unstable in high-speed corners and the grip wasn’t great to push very hard. Apart from that it was a good race and just after the first pit-stop, when I was behind Michael and my engineers called me in turn three and I lost control of the car and went into the gravel. That was a critical part of the race.
Q: You were talking about the car not having fantastic grip or whatever. Was that in the first stint or did it change after you went off in the gravel?
GF: No, no. Already in the beginning of the race I was pushing, but not 100 per cent because it wasn’t comfortable enough to do that. Maybe after the exit I lost some piece but not sure.
Q: It didn’t change that much?
GF: No, not that much.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Salvatore Zanca – Associated Press) Fernando, what’s the one thing you remember about today and what did the King say to you when he handed you the trophy?
FA: The thing to remember today is a little bit of everything. The lap I did with the king in the car this morning with all the people enjoying seeing us together, and then the start, the first lap, then Michael coming out of the pits behind me. I think the people realised I was still leading the race so the next two laps were everything blue in the grandstand moving, jumping and for sure the last two laps, the emotion I have in the car. And finishing the race, so a little bit of all. With the King, nothing really, just a little bit of congratulations, a nice race and normal things in the podium
Q: (Fritz-Dieter Rencken – The Citizen) Michael, the incident where you say you nearly lost it. Was that at turn seven or was it somewhere else?
MS: Turn seven.
Q: (Mathias Brunner – Motorsport Aktuell) Michael, you were so confident yesterday of the race pace – it’s hard to believe where the pace went. Are we talking about a tyre problem here because the car apparently worked fine?
MS: I don’t believe it’s fair to blame anything on one area without studying, because, as you quite rightly say, in qualifying, if you put a bit of maths in, I would have been two or three tenths quicker than the pole position time, so it would have been reasonably possible to achieve that, but, all the long runs we did on Friday and Saturday were very quick and quite good. In the race we just weren’t able to quite match it in this situation for whatever reason. We have been here for testing in the winter, it’s sometimes a wind direction change, a temperature change or whatever, could just trigger things to shift one or the other way. We’ve seen it in the past and we’ve seen it in the last test we did here and maybe that’s what happened today. Obviously I’ve just been in the car and not been able to analyse what’s happened. I don’t know exactly what’s going on, I just know that it’s not what happened before.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Fernando and Michael, normally this track shows the real performance of the cars. If you look at all the other cars, they are a whole way behind you. Are you surprised at that?
FA: I am a little bit surprised, yes, because the last two races was only a fight between Ferrari and Renault and no-one has come in really strongly. Sometimes they show potential in the tests, sometimes on Fridays, sometimes in qualifying, but in the races the fight has been, at least in the last two races, between Ferrari and Renault. I think though that they can come back, especially McLaren and I’m pretty sure before later they will fight with Ferrari and Renault too.
Q: (Mike Doodson) To Michael & Fernando, the two of you have dominated this season and given us lots of pleasure. But both of your successes have been the results of team-work. Do you ever think of the prospect of having a straight race between you? Does that prospect appeal to you?
MS: So you want us to go back to go-karts? I think in any kind of motor racing, you have to rely on the team. It’s the nature of our sport – that team element and it’s a very interesting one, to me at least. Even in go-karts, you have to have a package. It’s not like playing tennis or soccer, no, even in soccer, you have to have the team.
FA: I agree.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Michael, when Alonso made his first pit stop, the gap was about 12 seconds and when you came out, the gap was similar. At that point, did you still have hopes to win the race?
MS: For me, I only start to give up when I see no sense. Most of the time that is on the last lap. Knowing the nature of the circuit where you have basically no chance to overtake, in particular if you are not quick enough. I had to give up after the last pit-stop. I drove home from then.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Giancarlo, yesterday you were saying you want to go for victory. After this race, what is your feeling for the rest of the season?
GF: It’s a good feeling. I have a great team and a great car and the potential of the car to improve and today I was slightly slower than Fernando and Michael maybe, but apart from that I proved I had a chance to win again like in Malaysia. I’m confident for that.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Giancarlo, how do you explain the almost half a minute difference between you and Fernando today?
GF: Just at the beginning, Fernando was able to go a bit quicker than me. And was just more comfortable, I was struggling a little bit with the grip and was not confident to push 100 percent. That’s all. :D
Who is top of the team mates?
Why same car and same tyres doesn't mean same results...
We take a look at which drivers have the upper hand over their respective team mates a third of the way into the 2006 Formula One season. Part one - Renault, Ferrari, McLaren, Honda and Toyota.
Renault - Fernando Alonso, Giancarlo Fisichella
It only takes a brief look at the drivers’ standings to see who the dominant driver is here. While Alonso leads the championship charge on 54 points, Fisichella has amassed less than half of that. Admittedly, Fisichella has had the misfortune of one retirement (a hydraulic failure in Bahrain) to Alonso’s none, but for the most part he simply hasn’t had the pace of the reigning champion. Poor qualifying performances have also cost him dear - on two occasions he has failed to make the top-ten shootout. Alonso may not have dominated the field on Saturdays - indeed he has made the front row only twice - but in the race he has always found the speed necessary to get him out of trouble. In fact, he has finished no lower than second so far. In contrast, Fisichella has just two podiums to his name. The net result is that as Alonso gears up for another title and a move to McLaren, the media are already questioning Fisichella's future with Renault.
Qualifying: 4-2 Alonso
Race: 5-1 Alonso
Points: Alonso 54, Fisichella 24
Ferrari - Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa
Joining Ferrari as Schumacher’s team mate was never going to be easy, but to date Massa has done a pretty solid job, scoring 20 points from five race finishes. His Ferrari career started well, with a front-row grid slot alongside Schumacher in Bahrain, before he spun away any chance of points in the race. He made amends in Malaysia, coming from the back of the grid to finish fifth and beating Schumacher in the process. Since Australia, only the Renaults and Juan Pablo Montoya have come between him and his illustrious team mate and at the Nurburgring he scored his first Formula One podium. Schumacher has clearly out-performed the young Brazilian - indeed, some would argue it is the German and not Ferrari that has beaten Renault on two occasions - but not by the margin many had expected.
Qualifying: 6-0 Schumacher
Race: 4-1 Schumacher (neither driver finished in Australia)
Points: Schumacher 39, Massa 20
McLaren - Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya
As in 2005, Raikkonen has been the far more consistent force at McLaren. He has been out-qualified several times by his Colombian team mate, but only once has the Finn been beaten to the flag. In a season in which Renault and Ferrari are already being regarded as the only title contenders, Raikkonen has twice managed to put a silver car on the podium, backing it up with one fourth and two fifth places. His only retirement came at Sepang, when he was shunted from behind by Red Bull’s Christian Klien. Montoya too has been on the podium - a third at Imola - but has also suffered three retirements, two of which were arguably down to driver error. While paddock rumours revolve around which top team will land Raikkonen for 2007, like Fisichella at Renault, Montoya is another currently pondering exactly where his future lies.
Qualifying: 3-3
Race: 4-2 Raikkonen
Points: Raikkonen 27, Montoya 15
Honda - Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello
Many had predicted that Barrichello would upstage the incumbent Button at Honda this year. In reality the Brazilian - in the early races at least - struggled to adapt to his new car after his years behind the wheel of a Ferrari. The result was some disappointing qualifying performances - tenth in Malaysia and only 17th in Australia - and just two points from the first three rounds. In contrast, Button was the field’s strongest qualifier over the first four rounds, finished on the podium at Sepang and took pole position in Melbourne. Since San Marino, Barrichello has closed the gap somewhat. He started third on the grid at Imola - immediately behind Button - and then out-qualified his team mate at the European and Spanish Grands Prix. He may have beaten Button only once in a race they both finished, but the signs are that this could develop into a fascinating contest.
Qualifying: 4-2 Button
Race: 4-2 Button
Points: Button 16, Barrichello 8
Toyota - Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli
A rather one-sided contest at the Japanese team, though to be fair, comparison here is not straightforward, as only twice have both Toyota drivers made it to the end of a race. However, there’s no denying that Schumacher has proved more adept at making the best of a bad situation. He has scored all the team’s points to date, including a fine podium at Albert Park and a storming drive to eighth place in Malaysia, having started last on the grid. In contrast, Trulli’s best results have been two ninth places at Sepang and the Nurburgring, and he has been regularly out-qualified too. A former master of single-lap qualifying, it seems the Italian is far less at home with the new, knockout format.
Qualifying: 3-3
Race: 4-2 Schumacher
Points: Schumacher 7, Trulli 0
Part two - coming soon.
Top of the team mates - part two
Why same car and same tyres doesn't mean same results...
23 May 2006
We take a look at which drivers have the upper hand over their respective team mates a third of the way into the 2006 Formula One season. Part two - BMW Sauber, Williams, Red Bull, Toro Rosso, Midland and Super Aguri.
BMW Sauber - Nick Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve
As the points tally indicates, there has been little to separate the two BMW Sauber drivers. Whatever BMW’s reasons were for keeping Villeneuve, the former champion has surely done enough to justify his seat. He has matched the highly-regarded Heidfeld in qualifying and race. In fact, Villeneuve’s consistency has arguably been the greater, with three point-scoring finishes to Heidfeld’s two. Theirs is surely another battle unlikely to be resolved before the latter end of the season.
Qualifying: 3-3
Race: 3-3
Points: Heidfeld 6, Villeneuve 6
Williams - Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg
Rosberg’s has been one of the most talked about talents of the 2006 season to date. Take the overall picture, however, and more experienced team mate Webber has more than kept him in check. Despite three retirements to Rosberg’s two, Webber has scored 50 percent more points and out-qualified the young German an all but one occasion. That’s not to say Rosberg hasn’t been doing a fine job - quite the opposite in fact. Highlights have included fastest race lap on his Formula One debut in Bahrain, third on the grid in Malaysia, and a highly convincing drive at the Nurburgring from 22nd on the grid to seventh at the flag. He has also finished in the points twice - the same number of times as Webber. If any team mates on the grid are going to push each other to bigger and better things, it is surely the Williams duo.
Qualifying: 5-1 Webber
Race: 3-1 Webber (neither driver finished in Malaysia and Australia)
Points: Webber 6, Rosberg 4
Red Bull Racing - David Coulthard, Christian Klien
There has been plenty of talk in the paddock over Klien’s future with Red Bull, even though his performance has at least matched that of veteran team mate Coulthard. The team’s reliability has been poor (just five race finishes) and the drivers have taken just a single point apiece. Take a look at qualifying and the scores are again pretty much level. Klien started the season well, making the top-ten shootout (something Coulthard has yet to do) at the first two rounds, but in recent races, where the team have struggled for pace, the Scot has had the edge. Klien’s problem is that if he is to assure himself of a Formula One future, then he really needs to do more than merely match his team mate. And just to add to the pressure he knows Red Bull have a whole stable of young drivers ready and waiting to take his place.
Qualifying: 3-3
Race: 2-1 Klien (neither driver finished in Malaysia, San Marino and Europe)
Points: Coulthard 1, Klien 1
Toro Rosso - Vitantonio Liuzzi, Scott Speed
No points yet for the former Minardi team yet, though Speed did come home eighth in Australia only to lose the place for a yellow-flag infringement. He was subsequently classified ninth, which remains Toro Rosso’s best result to date. That doesn’t mean Speed has had the edge over team mate Liuzzi though. In the two races that both have finished, it has been the Italian in front. Liuzzi has also dominated the qualifying battle, bettering the American rookie on five out of six occasions.
Qualifying: 5-1 Liuzzi
Race: 4-2 Liuzzi
Points: Liuzzi 0, Speed 0
Midland - Christijan Albers, Tiago Monteiro
Towards the rear of the grid it is often harder to distinguish between team mates’ form and at Midland there is no exception. On more than one occasion Albers and Monteiro have spent Sunday afternoon locked largely in a race of their own, often the result of a closely-contested qualifying hour the previous day. Albers has had the advantage on Saturdays, but race comparisons are harder, as only twice have both men made the flag. Albers finished one place up on Monteiro in Malaysia, while at the Nurburgring the order was reversed. The team’s Johnny Herbert says his two drivers are very different in their approach to Formula One racing, but so far the results are remarkably similar.
Qualifying: 4-2 Albers
Race: 4-2 Monteiro
Points: Albers 0, Monteiro 0
Super Aguri - Takuma Sato, Yuji Ide/Franck Montagny
No surprises here, with Sato dominating newcomer Ide in the opening four races. As expected, the former BAR star comprehensively out-qualified and out-raced the Japanese rookie. Less expected was Ide losing his seat following FIA intervention over his driving standards. His stand-in at the European and Spanish rounds, former Renault tester Montagny, may not have beaten Sato yet, but has at least been pretty much on his pace. If he continues with the team, few will be surprised to see him occasionally upstage his more experienced partner.
Qualifying: 6-0 Sato
Race: 6-0 Sato
Points: Sato 0, Ide/Montagny 0
:D
FIA invite tenders for single tyre supplier
22 May 2006
13 May 2006,Formula One racing’s governing body, the FIA, has opened the tender process for a single tyre supplier to the championship in 2008, 2009 and 2010. Tender bids must be submitted by the deadline of June 23, 2006.
There are currently two suppliers involved in the sport - Bridgestone and Michelin - with the latter having already announced their withdrawal at the end of this season. This is likely to mean all teams running on Bridgestone rubber next year, ahead of the official move to single supplier in 2008.
That move is part of the FIA’s plans to cut the costs of competing in Formula One racing. It should also help to curb cornering speeds by eliminating the competition between tyre suppliers.
Another bad move by FIA in my opinion :shooting: & the teams currently using Michelin will be at a disadvantage :(
Cazy FIA to only allow a single tyre supplier! Many tyre company should gang up to compliant against this monopoly. This will make F1 more boring to me!:cry: :bang: :angry:
always like that lah....later Ferrari dominate again fans kao pei the LL gotta change back to more than 1 tyre supplier liao :laugh:
they always joker lah..... :shooting:
Alonso wins, Red Bull on podium
29 May 2006
Monaco Grand Prix, Race, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, 28 May 2006
Mark Webber (AUS) Williams FW28 retired from the race with a blown engine. Formula One World Championship, Rd 7, Monaco Grand Prix, Race, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, 28 May 2006 Michael Schumacher (GER) Ferrari 248 F1. Formula One World Championship, Rd 7, Monaco Grand Prix, Race, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, 28 May 2006
Renault’s Fernando Alonso took victory in an eventful Monaco Grand Prix this afternoon, extending his lead in the world championship to 21 points. It was the world champion’s first triumph in the Principality.
For 50 of the 78 laps it was gripping nip and tuck stuff between the Spaniard and McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen, who had burst up to second place on the second lap after a remarkable passing move on Mark Webber on the climb out of Ste Devote.
The seeds of the Finn’s downfall came shortly after Webber’s brave and challenging run in third ended on lap 49 as his Williams expired as he headed for the first corner. As the Australian rolled to a halt in the last section of the lengthy pit exit lane, an exhaust failure having set light to the rear of his FW28, the safety car was deployed. While running under it, Raikkonen’s Mercedes-Benz engine apparently ruptured as he headed out of the Loews hairpin on that 50th tour.
That took all the pressure off Alonso, and the race for the lead evaporated as he cruised happily to the flag, 14.5s ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya’s McLaren. The Colombian never ran lower than fourth but suffered some oversteer at crucial stages and was never quite able to stay in touch. They were joined on the royal podium by Superman, who flew in for the afternoon in the personna of former Monaco winner David Coulthard, who took an excellent third place - and the best-ever result - for Red Bull Racing.
The Flying Scotsman had a tough afternoon, after getting away seventh at the start. After Webber and Raikkonen quit, he chased after Rubens Barrichello’s fuel-heavy Honda and the fast-starting Nico Rosberg. A relatively light fuel load and a correspondingly early stop accounted for Rosberg (who later crashed as the safety car pulled in on the 52nd lap), and Barrichello spoiled an afternoon on which he was headed for the podium by speeding in the pit lane and having to take a drive-through penalty on lap 63. That left late-stopping Jarno Trulli third in his Toyota, until it expired with hydraulic trouble on the climb to Massenet on the 73rd lap.
Behind the leading trio, Barrichello had his hands - and doubtless his head after the last lap here last year - full keeping Michael Schumacher under control. The Ferrari was very fast on a low fuel load towards the end, and after losing a lot of time in the early stages in the midfield traffic, the former champion was able to push and to benefit from the retirements to hassle Barrichello for fourth. In the end the Brazilian held fast, and they finished less than half a second apart. After starting from the pit lane following the penalty the stewards awarded him after qualifying, Schumacher had to be content with a four-point haul.
Giancarlo Fisichella was seventh for Renault after making some spectacular overtaking moves earlier in the race, and Nick Heidfeld claimed the final point after a drive in which he made sure his BMW Sauber was always just on the piece of track that Ralf Schumacher and Felipe Massa wanted to put their cars.
Behind them, Toro Rosso’s Tonio Liuzzi drove well to hold off a desperately unhappy Jenson Button who struggled all afternoon with his Honda, Christijan Albers (who received a drive-through penalty after pushing Midland team mate Tiago Monteiro into the pit wall at the start), Scott Speed in the second Toro Rosso, BMW Sauber’s Jacques Villeneuve (who was given a drive-through for passing Rosberg under the safety car), Monteiro (who had to pit at the end of the opening lap after his clash with Albers) and Franck Montagny (who went so slowly through Casino Square on one lap that Monteiro ran into the back of him).
Takuma Sato’s Super Aguri failed to finish, as did Christian Klien’s Red Bull, which the Austrian had just ahead of Coulthard until creeping into the pits on the 57th lap to retire.
“First of all I’d like to dedicate this victory to Eduoard Michelin,” Alonso said, referring to the tyre manufacturer who tragically drowned in a boating accident on Friday. “Michelin did a great job the last two or three years in F1 and especially this year, and gave us the tools to beat our competition this afternoon.
“For sure, starting from pole things became little bit easier. Kimi gave me some pressure but I was controlling my tyres. It was not an easy race; you have to keep your concentration, not touch any barriers and push to the limits. But Monaco was one of the races that was a cross on my calendar, and it feels great to win again so soon after Barcelona.”
The result gives Alonso an even more comfortable lead in the drivers’ championship, with 64 points to Schumacher’s 43. In the constructors’, Renault now lead Ferrari by 91 points to 63.
2006 Drivers Championship
Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Fernando Alonso Renault 64
2 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 43
3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 27
3= Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 27
5 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 23
6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 20
7 Jenson Button Honda 16
8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 13
9 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 8
9= Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 8
11 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 7
12 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 6
12= Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 6
14 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 4
15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari
2006 Constructors Championship
Pos Constructor Points
1 Renault 91
2 Ferrari 63
3 McLaren-Mercedes 50
4 Honda 29
5 Sauber-BMW 14
6 Williams-Cosworth 10
7 Toyota 8
7= RBR-Ferrari 8
Silverstone countdown 13 days more :supz:
I really think Fernando Alonso can win this year's F1 championship.:D And Michael Schumacher should consider of retirement after this season as age is catching up with him. :|
I really think Fernando Alonso can win this year's F1 championship.:D And Michael Schumacher should consider of retirement after this season as age is catching up with him. :|
but I think Michael will only consider retiring after he wins another championship.
for Alonso, he might win this year again but he's win will not be long....he's not the 真命天子.
gotta see Kimi's performance when he goes to Ferrari.
Kimi in Ferrari is very interesting!:D But sadly Ralf Schumacher is stuck in TOYOTA. He will never be near his elder brother's abilities if he chooses to stay for another season.L-)
Kimi in Ferrari is very interesting!:D But sadly Ralf Schumacher is stuck in TOYOTA. He will never be near his elder brother's abilities if he chooses to stay for another season.L-)
actually Ralf is far from near his bro....Toyota might be a good choice for him.
Juz that they need to keep their car from heating up.
Else Toyota is quite a reliable & good car.
Last year they got quite good result...hopefully they buck up for the rest of the season.
Alonso cruises to first British win
11 June 2006
For once, pre-race wisdom was proven correct at Silverstone this afternoon, as polesitter Fernando Alonso romped away to win the British Grand Prix with consummate ease despite pressure from Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher. It was his fifth win of the year and his eighth consecutive podium.
The Spaniard took the lead at the start, and only lost it during his two pit stops. Raikkonen initially chased hard, running a lighter fuel load as suspected, and Schumacher was right with the McLarem. The Finn and the German had some great side-by-side, wheel-to-wheel racing before the order became more established up until they made their second stops. Schumacher made his first, on the 41st lap, and was stationary for 6.8s. Raikkonen came in a lap later and stood still for 8.0s. By the time he rejoined, the Ferrari had already swept through Copse and into its eventual second place. While Raikkonen had no reply, Schumacher likewise could do nothing about Alonso even though they were running at similar speed.
Not quite 14s after the Spaniard had crossed the line after 60 laps, the German took the flag 4.7s clear of the Finn. Giancarlo Fisichella had got the better of Felipe Massa during the first pit stops, and closed to within a second of Raikkonen at one stage before finishing 1.3 adrift.
It was not a classic race, and means that Alonso could almost finish second to Schumacher in all of the remaining races and still be champion.
A distant sixth place fell to Juan Pablo Montoya, whose McLaren's sidepod was damaged, upsetting the car's balance, at the start when he briefly made contact with the side of Jacques Villeneuve's BMW Sauber on the run down to Turn 1.
BMW Sauber had a good day as Nick Heidfeld and Villeneuve took seventh and eighth and the final points. Nico Rosberg chased hard but had to settle for ninth for Williams.
It was a disastrous day for Honda, with Jenson Button going off the road on the ninth lap after spinning on his own oil, having climbed from 19th to 12th, and Rubens Barrichello finishing a lapped 10th ahead of Jarno Trulli’s Toyota.
David Coulthard led home three of Red Bull’s four entries, with Tonio Liuzzi’s single-stop strategy keeping him ahead of Christian Klien for 13th. Christijan Albers beat Midland team mate Tiago Monteiro home, with the Super Aguris of Takuma Sato and Franck Montagny taking 17th and 18th three laps down.
An incident involving Scott Speed, Ralf Schumacher and Mark Webber accounted for all three on the opening lap. Speed’s move on Schumacher Jnr at Becketts saw his Toro Rosso damage the rear of the Toyota. Schumacher was seemingly nudged into a spin and consequently ran smack into the innocent Webber. The stewards are currently investigating this.
As Schumacher and Raikkonen were philosophical, Alonso savoured a great win. “It is fantastic to win in Silverstone, after winning in Spain and Monaco,” he said. “Winning the last two was a dream come true. They are circuits with big names and great emotion in the grandstands. To win in this country, 20 minutes from my home in Oxford, is a really good feeling. It’s been a fantastic day. We are on the limit with our car, but the reliability is fantastic. We have to take advantage of that. And the best defence from now on will be attacking.”
The result means Alonso extends his drivers’ championship lead over Schumacher by a further two points, with 74 to 51. Raikkonen is another 18 adrift on 33. In the constructors’ standings, Renault break through the 100 barrier, heading Ferrari by 106 points to 75, with McLaren on 59.
sorry news abit out dated :red:
2006 Season Review
Grand Prix Winning Driver Team
Bahrain Fernando Alonso Renault
Malaysian Giancarlo Fisichella Renault
Australian Fernando Alonso Renault
San Marino Michael Schumacher Ferrari
European Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Spanish Fernando Alonso Renault
Monaco Fernando Alonso Renault
British Fernando Alonso Renault
Canadian Fernando Alonso Renault
Looks like this year is another Renault's year :D
2006 Drivers Championship
Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 84
2 Michael Schumacher German Ferrari 59
3 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 39
4 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 37
5 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 28
Current Top 5 Standing :D
Race analysis - Ferrari close the gap
Renault still in the points, but Ferrari are dominant in America
03 July 2006
Sometimes you just get a feeling about the way things will turn out, and that was what happened in Indianapolis. All through practice on Friday Ferrari looked strong, and the team didn’t disappoint either during qualifying or during Sunday’s race. Game, set, match and 18 points to Maranello and tyre-manfacturer Bridgestone. The result came just in time for the team to do something about Renault’s runaway progress. After Canada the scores in the constructors’ championship were 121 to 87, with Renault 34 points ahead. But they left Indianapolis on 131 and 105 respectively. The least convincing performance of the season by Renault and Michelin thus reduced their advantage to 26.
There was, of course, jubilation in the Ferrari camp, and rightfully so. Bridgestone were also pretty pleased. No doubt the running they did here in last year’s race helped.
At Renault there were long faces, though long-term this may simply prove to have been a case of Bridgestone getting the tyre situation absolutely right and Michelin being a little too conservative. Certainly, for the first time this year, Renault’s R26 lacked its habitual poise and balance. While Ferrari enjoyed the maximum result, ‘les bleus’ had to be content with a haul of only 10 points, for third and fifth places. On this occasion factors worked in Giancarlo Fisichella’s favour; the Italian had the latest engine whereas Fernando Alonso’s was a little tired, and Fisichella was happier with his car’s set-up. It wasn’t a great weekend for either of them, but equally it wasn’t the end of the world. Most other teams fared a lot worse and, for Renault, the United States Grand Prix was probably just a glitch.
Look at McLaren, both cars wiped out in the first two corners. Or Honda, who lost Jenson Button in the same incident. Or BMW, Red Bull, Williams, Toro Rosso or Super Aguri who also lost a car apiece. This was undoubtedly an expensive start to a race.
Let’s look at how the first incident evolved. First of all, five or six cars tried to go into Turn One abreast. There was the inevitable funneling and bottling effect, as Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button, Nick Heidfeld, Juan Pablo Montoya and Scott Speed all got caught up behind the group comprising Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve. On the inside, Raikkonen had to brake. At the same time Button was looking for a way round him in the middle of the track, with Heidfeld on the outside of him. As Raikkonen braked, Montoya struck the back of him. Both spun. Montoya caught Button, who in turn flipped Heidfeld into his series of rolls. Speed couldn’t avoid either Button or Raikkonen.
Further back, Klien overcooked it under braking and took out Webber before brushing Albers, and an innocent Montagny couldn’t avoid hitting Klien. The result was immediate retirement for Raikkonen, Montoya, Heidfeld, Speed, Klien, Webber and Montagny, while Button retired after three stops to investigate damage sustained.
Not long afterwards, the second Super Aguri was out of the race after Takuma Sato’s inside passing move sent him into the side of Tiago Monteiro’s Midland. The Japanese driver was out on the spot; Monteiro made a series of stops before retiring with bodywork and radiator damage. Team mate Albers had earlier sustained bodywork damage, and eventually succumbed to a transmission problem.
After Heidfeld’s early retirement amidst the carnage of Turn One, BMW Sauber’s chances were ruined when Villeneuve exited the fight for fourth place thanks to engine failure.
It’s funny how some races see nearly everyone finishing, and others witness carnage. Six cars started here last year and all six finished (equalling the 1961 Dutch Grand Prix when all starters made it home); whereas this time only nine cars finished out of the 22 that started.
Behind the Ferraris, and splitting the Renaults, Toyota’s Jarno Trulli had a great day that he could never realistically have expected after starting the race from the pit lane. His Toyota TF106B had required some new rear suspension parts and Trulli had been put to the back of the grid by the officials; a long first stint hoisted him well up the depleted field, and he easily stayed ahead of the troubled Alonso to the flag. Toyota’s only disappointment was Ralf Schumacher’s demise on lap 63, but their five point haul brings them to 16 points, only three away from BMW Sauber’s fifth place.
Honda had something to cheer about as Rubens Barrichello brought his RA106 home sixth. Generally, this was a better weekend for the Brackley team despite the early loss of Button. The Brazilian reported that his car was pleasant enough to drive in, and the resultant three points helped increase their cushion over BMW Sauber in the constructor’s championship.
Red Bull and Toro Rosso had something to celebrate, too. David Coulthard must have grown very tired of seeing Vitantonio Liuzzi right on his tail for the first half of the race. The Italian exploited his new engine for all it was worth but still suffered poor straight-line speed which denied him the chance to attack going into Turn One. Eventually Liuzzi stopped for fuel before Coulthard, and the Scot’s ability to run over eight laps more before pitting (47 to Liuzzi’s 39) settled the issue of seventh place firmly in his favour. Liuzzi drove a blinder to haul in and pass Nico Rosberg’s Williams, and scored his first point of the season and Toro Rosso’s first ever when Ralf Schumacher retired. Rosberg, meanwhile, struggled with a poor-handling car, and to make matter worse for Williams, Red Bull’s two points took them ahead of them in the constructors’ stakes.
So that’s Formula One racing’s North American leg over, and once again it was beneficial to Ferrari as they scored 30 points. But Renault took away 25, and they will be back strongly at Magny-Cours as they seek to beat the Ferrari team on home ground.
:supz:
2006 United States Grand Prix
Pos Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 73 1:34:35.199 1 10
2 Felipe Massa Ferrari 73 +7.9 secs 2 8
3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 73 +16.5 secs 3 6
4 Jarno Trulli Toyota 73 +23.6 secs 22 5
5 Fernando Alonso Renault 73 +28.4 secs 5 4
6 Rubens Barrichello Honda 73 +36.5 secs 4 3
7 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 72 +1 Lap 17 2
8 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 72 +1 Lap 21 1
9 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 72 +1 Lap 22
Ret Ralf Schumacher Toyota 62 +11 Laps 8
Ret Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 37 Transmission 14
Ret Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 23 Engine 6
Ret Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 9 Accident damage 15
Ret Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 6 Accident 18
Ret Jenson Button Honda 3 Accident damage 7
Ret Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes Accident 9
Ret Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 0 Accident 10
Ret Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 0 Accident 11
Ret Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 0 Accident 12
Ret Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 0 Accident 13
Ret Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 0 Accident 16
Ret Franck Montagny Super Aguri-Honda 0 Accident 20
Fastest Lap: Michael Schumacher 1:12.719
a fast & furious race only 9 cars finish the race :supz:
Alonso beaten by Ferrari and Fisichella
02 July 2006
After a miserable time at Indianapolis, Fernando Alonso will be hoping to rediscover his normally scintillating form in time for the forthcoming French Grand Prix. It was certainly a trying race for the world champion, one in which he was unable to match the performance of either Ferrari - or (more alarmingly for him) team mate Giancarlo Fisichella.
After battling with understeer throughout qualifying, Alonso ended the session in fifth place - behind not only the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa, but also Fisichella and the flying Honda of Rubens Barrichello.
At the start of the race, Alonso’s luck seemed to have changed as he made another of his spectacular starts. He leapfrogged both Barrichello and Fisichella on the way to turn one and then went up the inside of Michael Schumacher into Turn Two. For a moment it looked as if the Spaniard would prevail, but Schumacher managed to escape and quickly began to draw out some distance.
It was soon apparent that the Spaniard’s car was still far from on the pace. Not only was he dropping away from the front-running Ferraris, but he was also visibly slowing Fisichella, who was sitting on what was a clearly faster car, but was unable to find his way past. After trying his best, Alonso was forced to yield, allowing the Italian to streak ahead in pursuit of the Ferraris, as he fell further back, now struggling with oversteer.
It was a gritty performance, however, with Alonso having to fight hard to hold off the challenge of Barrichello, with Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve running right behind. After the first round of pitstops, Alonso dropped from fourth to fifth as the one-stopping Toyota of Jarno Trulli entered the equation and it became apparent that he was going to have to battle to even stay in the points.
As the race progressed, attrition among the chasing pack eased Alonso’s immediate predicament, with both Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher retiring with mechanical problems. But, crucially, nobody running ahead of him ran into difficulties. That meant as Alonso crossed the finish line 28.4 seconds down on Schumacher, he had only managed to take the four championship points that come with fifth place.
At least Alonso and Renault can take comfort in a still-comfortable margin in both drivers’ and constructors’ championships - Michael Schumacher is 19 points behind. But Ferrari’s new-found pace makes it clear Alonso is going to have his work cut out holding onto his lead during the second part of the season.
Looks like Alonso's form is dying down liao:|
Eighth French win for Schumacher
16 July 2006
At Indianapolis it was assumed that Bridgestone had an improved tyre while Michelin were being conservative. At Magny-Cours this afternoon, however, it became clear just how much progress the Japanese tyre manufacturer has made in recent weeks as Michael Schumacher, Ferrari and Bridgestone decimated the challenge of Fernando Alonso, Renault and Michelin. The Spaniard ultimately finished 10 seconds behind as Schumacher scored his 88th victory, but in reality the gap may well have been closer to 30 as Schumacher undoubtedly backed off in the closing laps.
The gap between them may only have shrunk to 17 points after Renault’s two-stop strategy put Alonso ahead of three-stopping Felipe Massa, but the writing on the wall would suggest that Michelin may have an awful lot to do before Hockenheim in a fortnight’s time.
This may not have been a classic race, with little overtaking, but the opening lap was entertaining as Alonso so nearly squeezed ahead of Massa before the Brazilian discouraged his attempt to pass. Thereafter Alonso ran third through the first pit stops but eventually moved ahead thanks to a very long second stint compared to Massa’s two further stops. Schumacher also stopped three times, but though Alonso maintained his record of leading each race this season (laps 39 to 42) he was never in a position to challenge for the win.
Behind Massa, a two-stop strategy also helped Ralf Schumacher to a useful fourth for Toyota ahead of three-stopping Kimi Raikkonen, two-stopping Giancarlo Fisichella, and three-stopping Pedro de la Rosa who scored two more points on his return for McLaren, but came to a smoky halt on the slowing down lap. The final point went to two-stopping Nick Heidfeld and BMW Sauber ahead of David Coulthard and Scott Speed, who battled against back pain throughout the afternoon. They were all a lap down, together with Jacques Villeneuve, Christian Klien and Vitantonio Liuzzi. Nico Rosberg was 14th, two laps adrift, ahead of Christijan Albers and Franck Montagny.
Super Aguri lost Takuma Sato early; after having trouble leaving the grid for the formation lap, he only got as far as Turn Six on the first lap before his SA05 ground to a halt. Tiago Monteiro retired on the eighth lap after spinning behind Montagny in the final chicane and then damaging his Midland as it took off after hitting the kerb. Honda’s problems deepened as neither Rubens Barrichello nor Jenson Button finished after weak performances, while Jarno Trulli’s chances of fourth place evaporated with brake problems after 39 laps.
And at Williams, Mark Webber’s hopes of a much-needed point fell victim to problems with his left-rear Bridgestone tyre running over temperature. After surviving a spectacular spin as a result, he eventually retired after five stops following a wheel rim failure which caused too much damage for him to continue.
The race result gave Michael Schumacher yet another new record - that of winning a race for the eighth time, and marked his 150th podium result.
hahaha the race is still on, go Schumacher! :D
Race analysis - Renault put on red alert
17 July 2006
The French Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher suggested, was another near-perfect weekend for Ferrari. If they had anything to complain about, it was that Renault’s late switch from a three- to a two-stop refuelling strategy allowed Fernando Alonso to sneak ahead of Felipe Massa, who had played the dutiful team mate role early on to keep the Spaniard at bay while his team leader built up an advantage.
After the uncertainty of Indianapolis, where observers put much of Ferrari’s advantage down to Michelin’s assumed (and understandable) conservatism, it transpired that Bridgestone had made much greater progress than suspected. At Magny-Cours, Alonso estimated that the red cars had two to three tenths of a second advantage over his blue steed. They were as reliable as ever, too, after their Saturday morning practice dramas (in which the rear of Schumacher’s car was briefly engulfed in flames), and the 16-point haul for first and third places cuts the deficit to Renault in the constructors’ championship from 26 points to 21.
Renault and Michelin put a brave face on things, but they must be on red alert in Enstone, Viry-Chatillon and Clermont-Ferrand after two heavy defeats. Alonso’s second place was a fine bit of damage limitation by all concerned, but Giancarlo Fisichella didn’t add much to the campaign with only three points for sixth place, complaining of tyre graining in his second stint and then brake problems. Overall, they lost five points to Ferrari.
Toyota kept up their recent momentum with another haul of five points for Ralf Schumacher’s fourth place, overtaking BMW Sauber for fifth place and creeping ever closer to arch-rival Honda. But if Jarno Trulli hadn’t succumbed to brake problems while running ahead of his team mate - the pedal movement just got longer and longer until the Italian deemed the situation dangerous - they would have made even greater inroads. Honda remain stuck on 32 points, while Toyota now have 21. BMW Sauber are still right behind them, however, as Nick Heidfeld’s single point from Sunday keeps them in play on 20. The German was satisfied with eighth place as he felt the team could not have aspired to anything better, but crucially he overtook David Coulthard on the first lap which later paid the dividend of that point. Jacques Villeneuve believed his F1.06 was very good all through the race, but could never break free of the midfield traffic.
At McLaren, the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya did not outwardly appear too disruptive as Pedro de la Rosa got back into the swing of racing. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen was really happy with the handling of his MP4-21 on his way to fifth place, as was the Spaniard after claiming seventh. Each had to put up with traffic problems that blunted their challenge, but the silver arrows were quick. Schumacher set the fastest lap in 1m 17.111s with Massa close behind on 1m 17.141s, but they were next with 1m 17.625s (De la Rosa) and 1m 17.717s (Raikkonen). That put both ahead of Alonso, whose best was 1m 17.770s. De la Rosa had a minor drama after the race, as his McLaren expired for undisclosed reasons on the slowing-down lap.
Williams deserved a point courtesy of Mark Webber, who was running ahead of Heidfeld when his FW28 sustained damage to the left-rear Bridgestone. The car was generating excessive heat on the inside edge of the rear tyres, but the failure was due to the wheel rim failing. The incident typified the bad luck that both Webber and Williams have had to endure in 2006. Nico Rosberg brought the sister car home, but could only muster 14th place after starting from the rear of the grid and struggling throughout with a car that was difficult to drive.
Red Bull’s drivers started ninth and 12th, and finished ninth and 12th, courtesy of David Coulthard and Christian Klien respectively. Understandably, both felt frustrated not to have made any progress, but judging from the fact that both of their Toro Rosso colleagues lapped faster on their way to10th (Scott Speed, 1m 18.674s) and 13th (Tonio Liuzzi, 1m 18.241s), it may be that Red Bull’s development budget is now going fully into next year’s RB3.
Midland got Christijan Albers home 15th, two laps down with gearbox problems that included loss of first and subsequent selection difficulties, but lost Tiago Monteiro after 11 laps when the Portuguese driver appeared to out-brake himself chasing after Franck Montagny, spun in the first quick chicane, and then thumped back down after the kerb had launched his Midland. The car lost hydraulic pressure, and he was forced to retire.
Super Aguri also lost a car early on. Takuma Sato had a clutch problem leaving the line for the grid formation lap, and retired by Turn Six in the race. Franck Montagny soldiered on to finish 16th and last, three laps in arrears. But though the bad news for the Frenchman was that this was his last scheduled Grand Prix outing in the foreseeable future, the good news is that it should also have been the last race for the faithful SA05. The team hope to have two of the new SA06s in Hockenheim, for Sato and Sakon Yamamoto.
Finally, what can one say about Honda? The drivers might have tried to put an optimistic spin on a terrible race, but the facts were all too apparent. Rubens Barrichello never ran higher than 12th before succumbing to an engine-related problem after 18 laps, while Jenson Button lasted until lap 61, albeit without rising above 11th position. Then his engine appeared to suffer a similar fate.
So that was the French Grand Prix. With seven races left Fernando Alonso could still win the title by three points even if Michael Schumacher wins them all and he only finishes second in each, but life is rarely like that. Suffice it to say that the world championship fight gets better with every race.
2006 Season Review
Bahrain 12/03/2006 Fernando Alonso Renault
Malaysian 19/03/2006 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault
Australian 02/04/2006 Fernando Alonso Renault
San Marino 23/04/2006 Michael Schumacher Ferrari
European 07/05/2006 Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Spanish 14/05/2006 Fernando Alonso Renault
Monaco 28/05/2006 Fernando Alonso Renault
British 11/06/2006 Fernando Alonso Renault
Canadian 25/06/2006 Fernando Alonso Renault
United States 02/07/2006 Michael Schumacher Ferrari
French 16/07/2006 Michael Schumacher Ferrari
2006 Drivers Championship
Pos Driver Nationality Team Points
1 Fernando Alonso Spanish Renault 96
2 Michael Schumacher German Ferrari 79
3 Giancarlo Fisichella Italian Renault 46
4 Kimi Räikkönen Finnish McLaren-Mercedes 43
5 Felipe Massa Brazilian Ferrari 42
6 Juan Pablo Montoya Colombian McLaren-Mercedes 26
7 Jenson Button British Honda 16
7= Rubens Barrichello Brazilian Honda 16
9 Ralf Schumacher German Toyota 13
9= Nick Heidfeld German Sauber-BMW 13
11 David Coulthard British RBR-Ferrari 10
12 Jarno Trulli Italian Toyota 8
13 Jacques Villeneuve Canadian Sauber-BMW 7
14 Mark Webber Australian Williams-Cosworth 6
15 Nico Rosberg German Williams-Cosworth 4
16 Pedro de la Rosa Spanish McLaren-Mercedes 2
17 Vitantonio Liuzzi Italian STR-Cosworth 1
17= Christian Klien Austrian RBR-Ferrari 1
2006 Constructors Championship
Pos Constructor Points
1 Renault 142
2 Ferrari 121
3 McLaren-Mercedes 71
4 Honda 32
5 Toyota 21
6 Sauber-BMW 20
7 RBR-Ferrari 11
8 Williams-Cosworth 10
9 STR-Cosworth 1
Analysis - Ferrari raise the pressure
Title race well and truly on as Renault struggle in Germany
31 July 2006
Not even an aero package described as the team’s ‘most significant’ update of the season could save Renault from another beating by Ferrari in Germany. From the start of the weekend the red cars had that same edge they showed in Indianapolis and Magny-Cours, and the runaway one-two scored by Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa was testament to the current strength of the Italian package.
Once again, the race was a story of tyre performance. The Ferraris were in a class of their own, and after the opening laps neither of their drivers really had to push at 100 percent. “Driving on the limit would have been difficult today,” Schumacher said, “but we didn’t have to.” That said it all.
As they swept on majestically, the wheels came loose on Renault’s world championship campaign, with Fernando Alonso a weak fifth ahead of team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Both complained of blistering Michelin tyres, but nobody was prepared to estimate how much that might have been down to the decision not to run with the controversial mass dampers after the FIA indicated their intention to appeal the decision of their own stewards that such dampers are legal.
Alonso said his first set of Michelins was poor, his second good, and his third poor again, and blamed his big slide on lap 61 on a combination of the blistering and the need to push hard after Jenson Button. Fisichella, however, said that his first set was good, the second bad, and the third good. Renault’s strategy this weekend called for all of their race sets to be scrubbed, to try to avoid the graining to which new tyres are prey, but it didn’t pay off.
As Schumacher and Massa set the fastest race laps - 1m 16.357s and 1m 16.392s respectively - Alonso languished in ninth place (one behind Fisichella) on 1m 17.256s. Worse still for Renault, those times were bettered by McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen (1m 16.475s), the Toyotas of Ralf Schumacher (1m 16.763s) and Jarno Trulli (1m 16.807s), Mark Webber’s Williams (1m 16.812s) and Button in the Honda (1m 16.818s). Some of those were explainable because of the Bridgestones, but for Renault to be behind fellow Michelin runners McLaren and Honda indicates the depth of their distress at Hockenheim. To make matters worse, only 10 points now separate them from Ferrari in the constructors’ championship: 149 to 139. Renault won’t have the same type of tyres at Hungaroring next weekend, and therein lies their current hope of retrieving the ground lost so spectacularly to Ferrari and Bridgestone in recent weeks.
While Renault sweated, McLaren and Honda left with their tails up. Were it not for a glitch in which less fuel than intended was put into Raikkonen’s tank for the third session of qualifying, the Finn might not have taken pole position and might not, ironically, have had such a good race. He reported that his Michelins were all but finished after his 10-lap opening stint, but then he got into a good run which was compromised by an electronics problem that prevented his engine from developing full power and sent the gearshift awry. “Without that I think we could have been a lot closer to the Ferraris,” reported the Finn, who was the only front runner to make three refuelling stops. Part of McLaren’s upturn is down to a new front wing first tried in Jerez the previous week. Pedro de la Rosa should have been a strong points contender, but retired early with fuel pump failure.
Lots of separate programmes to improve parts of the RA106 added up to a significant improvement in performance for Honda in Germany. They began to look like the team that had started the season with such high hopes. There was disappointment when Rubens Barrichello’s engine broke early on, but Button buoyed everyone with his strong run to fourth. “I just have to hope that we can carry this progress through to Hungary now because everyone has been working so hard to make this step forward,” Barrichello said.
Toyota continued to hold on to the fifth place in the standings that they relieved BMW Sauber of at Magny-Cours, courtesy of Jarno Trulli’s strong run to seventh place. Had it not been for Fisichella ahead of him when Alonso had his grassy moment in the stadium, the Toyota driver would probably have jumped the Spaniard, such was his pace. Team mate Ralf Schumacher had a torrid day, hitting David Coulthard on the opening lap, getting a pit lane speeding drive-through penalty and then a driving lesson from Tonio Liuzzi, but his fourth-fastest lap showed that the TF106B is a contender for points now that its tyres are working well.
Williams should have left Germany with four valuable - and desperately needed - points, as Mark Webber drove his heart out in the FW28. There had already been the disappointment of Nico Rosberg’s second shunt of the weekend on the opening lap; then, with nine laps to go, Webber’s Cosworth succumbed to, of all things, a water leak. It was a bitter blow, especially as that would have moved the team ahead of Red Bull Racing. As it was, Christian Klien took the final point for Dietrich Mateschitz’s team after a measured drive, which left team mate David Coulthard so disgruntled - he was assaulted by Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota early on and then overtaken later by Tonio Liuzzi;s year-old Toro Rosso design - that he refused to make any meaningful comment afterwards.
The Toro Rosso’s were actually pretty quick, Liuzzi and team mate Scott Speed setting the 10th and 11th best lap times ahead of the two Red Bulls, but Liuzzi reported that he did not have to grunt to keep ahead of the two Toyotas.
Midland started two cars and finished both, only for them to be disqualified after stewards decided there was too much flex in their rear wings. Christijan Albers had a solid dice with Speed’s Toro Rosso and was ahead when his Toyota engine began to lose power in the closing stages, costing him a place. Tiago Monteiro chose softer Bridgestones that were less durable, and suffered accordingly, and his race was further compromised by a drive-through penalty for ignoring blue flags. He also had a spell chasing Takuma Sato’s new Super Aguri SA06, until the latter lost so much oil that its gearbox cried enough. Sato’s team mate Sakon Yamamoto made his Formula One debut from the pit lane on the race’s second lap, but was an immediate retirement with a driveshaft failure.
And so to BMW Sauber. They had the worst possible opening lap as Jacques Villeneuve ran into the back of team mate Nick Heidfeld in Turn 6. Both made pit stops at the end of the lap, and resultant damage to Heidfeld’s brakes eventually prompted his retirement. Villeneuve got going again with a new nose, but serious oversteer caught him out in Turn 17 on lap 31, and he got off line on to the marbles and crashed heavily.
The 2006 championship chase is now at two-thirds distance as everybody heads for Hungary next weekend. Whether there is time for Renault and Michelin to get back into the groove by then remains to be seen.
:hello:
Drivers
F.Alonso 100
M.Schumacher 89
F.Massa 50
G.Fisichella 49
K.Räikkönen 49
J.Montoya 26
J.Button 21
R.Barrichello 16
R.Schumacher 13
N.Heidfeld 13
D.Coulthard 10
J.Trulli 10
J.Villeneuve 7
M.Webber 6
Schumacher is getting closer to Alonso liao....:hello: he did very well in the last 3 race....go schmi :supz:
Constructors
Renault 149
Ferrari 139
McLaren-Mercedes 77
Honda 37
Toyota 23
Sauber-BMW 20
RBR-Ferrari 12
Williams-Cosworth 10
STR-Cosworth 1
MF1-Toyota 0
Super Aguri-Honda 0
haha more 1-2 from Ferrari & they'll be on the top again :supz:
German Grand Prix Result
Round 12 - 30/07/2006
1. M.Schumacher
2. F.Massa
3. K.Räikkönen
4. J.Button
5. F.Alonso
6. G.Fisichella
7. J.Trulli
8. C.Klien
9. R.Schumacher
10. V.Liuzzi
11. D.Coulthard
12. S.Speed
too bad Mark Webber's BMW fail, else Alonso wil be 6th liao.....dame BMW performance drop like shit....:bang:
Think Webber will be moving to other team after this season liao :D
Schumacher confirms his retirement
10 September 2006
After an emotional win in Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Michael Schumacher has announced he will retire from race driving at the end of this season. His relationship with Ferrari will, however, continue.
"Words are not enough and whatever I could say now will never fully express how much I love this fascinating world of motor sport and all it has given me," said Schumacher. "From go-karting to Formula One, I have lived through moments that I will never forget. I am profoundly grateful for everything I have had. I want to thank everyone who has accompanied me, supported and inspired me, right back to the days of my childhood.
“Above all, a special thanks goes to (my wife) Corinna and our two children, who have given me the strength to do what I have done. All these years in Formula One have been amazing, especially those spent alongside my friends in the Scuderia. Soon my future will belong to my family, while I am happy to be still part of Ferrari. But for now, what matters is this world championship."
Schumacher has been with Ferrari for 11 seasons, securing five of his drivers' titles with the team and contributing to six of their constructors' crowns. No other driver has won as much with the Italian squad, who were keen to pay tribute to their great driver.
"I had always said that the decision to retire would be his alone, but now that decision has been taken, I feel a sense of sadness," commented Ferrari President and CEO, Luca di Montezemolo. "We have lived through some unforgettable times together, some good some bad, achieving results that will be hard to equal. To Michael goes the thanks of everyone in the company and supporters of Ferrari for all the dedication he has shown to our colours, for the determination and courage with which he has worked, which has provided immense satisfaction. He is both sincere and passionate and has earned the affection of all of us and of our fans. His relationship with Maranello will continue, albeit in a different form and I am very happy about that."
"Michael has been the author of a unique chapter in the history of Formula One and of Ferrari in particular. It has yet to reach its conclusion and what he has achieved extends over and above the results obtained," added Managing Director, Jean Todt. "He is an exceptional man and will become a legend as a driver. For me personally, he is a great friend and together we have lived through unrepeatable experiences. Having had the opportunity to work alongside him has been and will continue to be a privilege."
Ferrari will announce a new team structure at the end of the year, including a definition of Schumacher’s new role.
Schumacher wins as Alonso suffers DNF
10 September 2006
Michael Schumacher scored an emotional and dramatic 90th victory at Monza on Sunday afternoon, and closed to within two points of Fernando Alonso in their fight for the world championship.
Schumacher had to follow Kimi Raikkonen until the first pit stops, but took the lead by running two laps longer and thereafter never surrendered it. The Finn clung on to finish second, and Robert Kubica became the first Pole to finish on a Grand Prix podium with an excellent third place for BMW Sauber.
Alonso was headed for that final podium position after a feisty race, but was forced to retire when his engine exploded going into the first chicane on the 44th lap. Behind him, Giancarlo Fisichella shored up some of the damage for Renault, who lost their lead in the constructors’ championship to Ferrari. The Italian ran to a one-stop refuelling strategy, where most of his rivals opted for two.
Jenson Button took fifth after a strong run for Honda, who also had Rubens Barrichello in sixth after a one-stop run.
Jarno Trulli brought his Toyota home seventh ahead of Nick Heidfeld, who could have been a podium contender but for a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. He just held off unlucky Felipe Massa who spent most of his race bottled up behind Kubica and then Barrichello, and flat-spotted his right front Bridgestone in the aftermath of Alonso’s dramatic exit and had to make an extra pit stop for a replacement.
Christian Klien and David Coulthard one-stopped their Red Bulls to 11th and 12th places after a race-long fight, heading home Scott Speed and Tonio Liuzzi who did likewise in their Toro Rossos. They were followed by Toyota’s Ralf Schumacher, Takuma Sato in the Super Aguri and Christijan Albers' Midland.
Tiago Monteiro had to retire his Midland, and Williams’ Nico Rosberg, Super Aguri’s Sakon Yamamoto and McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa also failed to finish.
Immediately after the race Ferrari confirmed that Schumacher will retire at the end of the season, and that Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa will spearhead their 2007 campaign.
Kubica makes history for Poland
10 September 2006
Robert Kubica (POL) BMW Sauber F1 celebrates third place. Formula One World Championship, Rd 15, Italian Grand Prix, Race, Monza, Italy, 10 September 2006Robert Kubica has become the first Polish driver to score world championship points - and achieve a Formula One podium finish - after his third place for BMW Sauber in Sunday’s Italian Grand Prix. The race was only Kubica’s third Formula One start after he was promoted to Jacques Villeneuve’s race seat last month.
Having qualified fifth on the grid, Kubica made an excellent start, quickly moving up to third place. From there he spent much of the afternoon locked in an intense battle with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, the pair trading positions on several occasions. Their fight was eventually resolved when Massa was forced to pit for an unscheduled stop after flat-spotting a tyre.
He also had to contend with a hard-charging Fernando Alonso, and almost got the better of the world champion as they went side-by-side exiting the pit lane following their second stops. When Alonso retired on lap 44, Kubica’s podium was all but assured.
“Before the race some guys from the team came to me and told me they would like to see me on the podium, I thought it was a joke and now we are here,” said the delighted 21-year-old. “I had a good start, but unfortunately locked the front wheels in the first corner, had flat spots and the first stint was quite difficult as I had a vibration. It was always a tough race as I had to fight with Massa and Alonso. Lapping the guys did not help as I was the first one of the group to lap them and I always lost one second.
“I came out of the second pit stop side by side with Alonso. Then his engine blew up and it was really risky as there was oil, Massa went off and I think had a puncture. The end of the race was quite easy for me and I just had to bring the car home. I now have the first podium of my life in Formula One. I want to thank the team for giving me this opportunity. We all are very, very proud.”
The six points Kubica earned means he is now 15th in the drivers’ championship - just one place and one point behind Villeneuve.
Kubica did a wonderful job by finishing 3rd, staying cool of Alonso's continueous threat till Alonso's Renault fails....good work Kubica....:thumbsup:
Michael Schumacher - the end of an era
10 September 2006
After 90 wins, 1354 points and seven world championship titles, Michael Schumacher has announced he will retire at the end of this season. Statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen, Schumacher has, over the past 16 years, set a new standard to which younger drivers can only aspire. He may have courted controversy at times, but with his departure, the sport will lose one of its leading lights.
Born on January 3, 1969, Schumacher’s beginnings were surprisingly unremarkable. The son of a bricklayer who also ran the local kart circuit, the young Michael took to his father’s track like a fish to water. He won his first championship at the age of six - an early demonstration the natural talent and raw speed which have since defined his career.
Successive teenage triumphs in Formula Ford and Formula 3 followed and established his reputation as a driver to watch. By his early twenties, the Formula One fraternity had finally taken notice and in 1991 the Jordan team took a gamble, asking him to stand in for a jailed Bertrand Gachot at Spa. Schumacher seized the opportunity with characteristic confidence. He qualified seventh on the grid, impressing rival team Benetton so much they offered him a permanent race seat for the rest of the season.
The talent which had carried him this far now blossomed with Benetton’s backing. At the 1991 Italian Grand Prix, Schumacher finished fifth, claiming the first of four points he earned that year. The next season, he enjoyed a maiden win in Belgium, racked up 53 points and beat his more experienced team mate Martin Brundle to take third in the championship. A year later he was fourth in the championship and reigning supreme within the team.
The rest has become the stuff of history. Motivating Benetton to greatness, Schumacher became the lynch pin of a group of immensely capable people. His dedicated work ethic and passion for winning paid off with back-to-back drivers’ titles in 1994 and 1995. Just three years into his Formula One career and Schumacher was well on his way to becoming a legend.
In 1996, the world champion made a brave move. After four seasons with Benetton, he signed to Ferrari - a team which hadn’t won a championship in almost 20 years. Arriving in Maranello, Schumacher set about rejuvenating the Italian squad, attracting two of the founder members of his title-winning outfit at Benetton to join him later that year. Ross Brawn became technical director and Rory Byrne chief designer.
Schumacher’s first season at Ferrari was a trying one. Nevertheless, relying for the most part on his natural talent, he took three victories out of an under-performing car. By ‘98, things were looking more promising and he finished second overall in the title race to Mika Hakkinen. Then in 1999, Schumacher was forced to show his mettle once more after a heavy crash in Silverstone broke his leg and put paid to his title chances for another year.
It was during these early days at Ferrari, when his stakes were down, that Schumacher’s determination and obsessive dedication shone through. As a result, in 2000, everything finally slotted into place and Schumacher, after winning nine races, became the Italian team’s first world champion in 21 years. The German legend would continue winning for the next four seasons, racking up 39 victories and four further championships. He dominated the sport in a way never seen before and firmly ensconced himself in the record books.
Only in 2005, with the rise of Fernando Alonso and Renault, did that dominance begin to wane. Then, as in ’96, Schumacher’s strength of mind came to the fore, as he pushed an uncompetitive car to go faster. The result was third in the championship - five places above a team mate in identical machinery. And in 2006 Ferrari are back and fighting, revived in small part by Schumacher’s resolute ambition and refusal to lie down. Even now, at the age of 37 and heading into retirement, he is still fighting for every win.
Of course, such success rarely comes without controversy, and Schumacher has courted his fair share over the years. His first title in 1994 was tainted (and clinched) with a timely collision with the Williams of rival Damon Hill. Then in 1996, he was stripped of second place in the championship after crashing into Jacques Villeneuve - another title challenger - in Jerez. And more recently the German’s ethics have been called into question following his qualifying accident in Monaco this year.
Schumacher’s insistence on number-one status at Ferrari also drew criticism from some quarters. Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, and Felipe Massa were all compliant number twos and doubtless played a role in his success. But that cannot diminish the great on-track rivalries Schumacher enjoyed - and won - with the greats from other teams. The likes of Hill, Villeneuve, Hakkinen were all champions themselves, but in the long term none could match his all-round ability. Be it speed, natural talent, ruthlessness or hard work, Schumacher had it all. He rarely made mistakes, his prowess in the rain has been well documented, and he has become so attuned to the development of the cars he drives that he can continually adapt their set-up mid race to his advantage.
The other world champion to leave the sport this year, Jacques Villeneuve, questioned whether Schumacher’s legacy will be as long-lasting as that of Fangio, Senna or Prost. But with 90 wins, 68 pole positions, 75 fastest laps, 1354 points and those seven world titles, most would say Michael Schumacher will never be forgotten - or beaten!
Ferrari confirm Raikkonen, Massa for ‘07
10 September 2006
One of the longest-running rumours in the Formula One paddock was finally confirmed on Sunday when Ferrari announced that McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen will join the team next season.
Raikkonen has signed a three-year deal, covering the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons. His team mate will be Felipe Massa, the Brazilian’s contract having been extended until the end of 2008. Luca Badoer stays on as Ferrari’s official test driver.
"Whilst I have taken the decision to leave Team McLaren Mercedes, I want to stress that I really enjoyed my time with the team,” said Raikkonen. “I have the deepest respect for everybody and will be giving my all in the remaining races."
The Finn has been with McLaren for the past five years, scoring nine victories, 10 pole positions and 321 world championship points. His place at the team will be taken by world champion Fernando Alonso, whose 2007 partner will be revealed by McLaren before the end of the year.
Paying tribute to Raikkonen, McLaren boss Ron Dennis commented: "I have enjoyed working with Kimi over the past five seasons and as a team we have achieved a lot of success. He is a very special driver and obviously everybody at McLaren wishes him all the best in his future career. Looking forward we remain confident that our 2007 line-up will be a strong and exciting one."
FIA post-race press conference – Italy
Reproduced with kind permission of the FIA
10 September 2006
1st Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 1h14m51.975s; 2nd Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 1h15m00.021s; 3. Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber), 1h15m18.389s.
Q: Michael, an amazing day, a great start alongside Nick Heidfeld, taking second place early on and an emotional scene there on the podium.
Michael Schumacher: Yeah, it’s been a very special day and to finish it in this style as we have been doing today, looking at the championship as well, but much more at what’s going to happen somehow in future. There’s been a lot of discussion for a long time concerning my future and so on and I think all the fans, all the people interested in motor sport, they have a right to have explained to them what’s going to happen. I’m sorry it may have taken longer than some of you wanted but you have to savor a moment, and you have to find the right moment and we feel this is the right moment.
To make it short in a way, this is going to be my last Monza race that I’m going to do. At the end of this year, I’ve decided, together with the team, that I’m going to retire from racing. It has been an exceptional, really exceptional time, what motor sport has given to me in more than thirty years. I’ve really loved every single moment of the good and the bad times. Those ones make life so special.
In particular, I should thank my family, starting, obviously, with my Dad, my passed-away Mum and obviously my wife and my kids who, at all times, supported what I was doing, and without their support, without their strengths, to survive in this business and this sport, and to perform, I think would have been impossible, and obviously I can’t be thankful enough, obviously to my family but also to my mates from the Benetton time and obviously, specially in the Ferrari days when I have made so many friends. I have so many great guys in that team and it has been a really tough decision to decide to not work together at this level with all my friends, my engineers, everybody. They are just so great but one day, the day has to come and I felt that at one point that this is the moment as well as, in terms of timing the decision, I thought that it was fair to find that moment so that Felipe has a chance to decide his future, because I think he is a very great guy. He has been doing a very good job for the team, very supportive, a really great teammate, and there was a moment for him to decide for his future, and there was no point for me to take my decision any later than his decision had to be taken and this was the conclusion.
As well as in a way my future replacement, it’s a driver – at some stage the team will tell you – but I was always pleased and I knew a long time ago – to hear that he was the person, and now I would just like to concentrate on these last three wins and finish it in style, and hopefully with the championship, we have made a big step today for that and I really look forward, and I want to thank everybody who has been on my way, or supporting me at all stages. They have been a lot of people. Thank you very much.
Q: I’m sure everybody in Formula One wishes you well on that decision, Michael. Just looking back to this great win today, what were your thoughts when you were behind Kimi in those early stages?
MS: Well, I was hoping that he was stopping a little bit earlier than we would, and so it happened, and the nature of this track is that if you stop earlier you obviously lose out because you run heavy against a car which is light, and that was enough to get by.
Q: Thereafter, it looked to be a race you were in control of. A slight moment with Scott Speed, going into the chicane on lap 31, you lost a little bit of time there, but otherwise relatively troublefree.
MS: Yeah. Absolutely.
Q: Kimi, a great start, pressure from Michael in the early stages of the race.
Kimi Raikkonen: Umm. Yeah. The start worked very well. I was a little bit concerned about our starting, because the previous starts haven’t been exactly good, but the guys did an excellent job fixing the start system and everything worked well. I had a good start and I was just trying to go as fast as I could before the first pit stop, because I was thinking that they might stop a little bit later, so if I could pull out any gap, any chance we could have to try and fight for a win, but as it turned out, we were not quick enough today. But second was quite easy, so in the end I just slowed down and brought the car home and got second place. Unfortunately that was the maximum that we could have today, but it is still a good weekend.
Q: Robert, on the podium, third place in your third Grand Prix, a fantastic drive, a lot of fuel in the car, and unbelievably quick off the line with your teammate Nick Heidfeld.
Robert Kubica: I’m really surprised to finish third. We knew that we had good tyres this time for the race, not only for qualifying as happened in Istanbul so we were concerned about qualifying, but when we saw that we could be competitive in qualifying as well, and go easily into third qualifying, I knew that we would have quite a consistent car for the race and that’s what happened. Good start, unfortunately I locked my wheels in the first corner and I flat-spotted my tyres, so I got a lot of vibration. Then we changed the tyres and it was always a tough race because I had to fight with Felipe and Alonso and also lapping doesn’t help me because I was the first one of the group who was lapping and I always lost a second. Then we just came out of the second pit stop with Fernando, side-by-side. Anyway, he blew up the engine and it was really risky because there was oil. Felipe went through and I think he got a puncture or something and then the end of the race was quite easy for me, just bring the car home and the first podium of my life in Formula One.
Q: Michael, tell us about your mindset now as you look ahead to those three closing races in the championship, now only two points behind Fernando Alonso.
MS: I think it is very easy to say what my mindset is. It’s not right to say, I’m more focused than ever because I’ve always been focused on only one thing once I’m in the car, so it is now. It’s a championship which started difficult in the beginning, but we returned to it after another difficulty mid-season and now we are two points behind with three races to go, so if I look back to Canada, nobody would have thought we could be in that position. Now we are, due to some luck, but if you look at the retirements over the year, it’s now equal and there we are, so 100 percent focused for the Constructors’ and Drivers’ championship.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Michael, one of the things I think you like doing most is standing on the top step of a rostrum on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and today was probably one of the best. How are going to give it up?
MS: Yeah, Monza is just unbelievable, always has been very special particularly after the race when all the fans are allowed to celebrate this moment so close to us and with us and due to the nature of the circumstances, it’s obviously an unbelievable feeling that I had out there today.
Q: You said to Peter just now that you knew a long time ago who was going to be driving in the team next year, so how difficult has it been for you to make your decision?
MS: It has obviously, naturally, been difficult in a way but at one moment I simply knew that all the effort, all the energy, all the motivation you need in order to be competitive - and that’s the only reason I want to be here - I can’t see I’m going to have that for further years. It has been such a good time for all this time and there’s no point just to hang in there and maybe take away the future of a very young talented driver like Felipe. Obviously my replacement… I was aware of this for quite a long time, but with Felipe it was obviously around Indianapolis that his future had to be decided and I didn’t see a reason to just hang in there and maybe take away his opportunity and I believe he’s a very talented and great person.
Q: You still have that competitive instinct, how are you going to get rid of it?
MS: Well, we will have to see. I always said that the day I will retire, I will just do nothing for a while and then I will see what I’m doing, what is my mood and what’s going to happen, but I will always be part of that Ferrari family, I will have to find out how, but I will always stick with my friends there.
Q: Today’s race: in the early stages were you just holding station behind Kimi, were you quite happy with that position?
MS: There isn’t much sense to go much closer honestly, because you just start fighting the car much harder for not much gain, so I had to wait close to the pit stop time and then we both picked up the lap times and tried to stay as close as possible and luckily I had two extra laps and that worked out.
Q: No problem with the car today?
MS: No.
Q: How difficult will these future races be do you think, now that you’ve made your decision?
MS: I think this was my most tough one, in a way but it worked out fine. It’s not as if I’m lacking anything to make my decision, and this is the reason for it. I don’t want to be going away when I’m well over it and I want to leave while I’m still at the top level, so I don’t have any reason to have a problem for the last three races.
Q: Kimi, a little bit disappointed?
KR: Yeah, of course you want to win but unfortunately we didn’t have the speed today. The car was working well, it was nice to drive but it was just not quick enough to challenge Michael today. Second was easy, but that’s not what we want but anyhow it was a good weekend.
Q: And your feelings about joining Ferrari next year?
KR: Of course, it’s next year. I want to finish this year as well as I can. I’m happy to join a team with a history and all the great things, but first of all I want to finish this year as well as I can and then see what happens next year.
Q: Robert, what a fantastic result in only your third Grand Prix; could you ever have imagined that at the start of this year?
RK: No. For me it was already a really great opportunity which BMW Sauber gave me to be a test driver, and then, as everybody knows, I replaced Jacques in the Hungarian Grand Prix and this is my third Grand Prix. In Hungary, I scored points but unfortunately our car was too light. Here: podium, which we were not expecting. After qualifying we thought about some points but when you’re starting on the third row and you have two Renaults behind you, which are really strong… After the start, I was third I think. I had the Ferrari of Massa behind me and it was not easy to hold him but anyway, I think we had a good strategy, good car and thanks to the team for giving me such a good opportunity and thanks to our guys.
Q: And a big battle with Nick at the first corner?
RK: It was big? After the start, I knew that it was important to go out of the first chicane really well so he went in too quick, I got on the throttle earlier and just overtook him.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Dan Knutson - National Speed Sport News) Michael, when exactly did you decide to retire?
MS: In Indianapolis.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Michael, how emotional is this moment for you?
MS: It was obviously pretty emotional to take the lap back after the race. I was talking to my team and informed everybody of my decision and probably this was the most emotional moment along with being on the podium to celebrate and at that moment knowing it’s the last opportunity I would have to finish so well with such a crowd with so much they gave to me in terms of their feeling and it just overwhelmed me.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Kimi, can you describe the reasons why you chose Ferrari as your future team?
KR: There are many reasons. I have had five years at McLaren and they are a great team and nice people to work with, but in the end I wanted something else and there were only two choices – to stay with McLaren or to go to Ferrari and for me personally I wanted to go there one day and this was the best moment and I think it is a great team to join and there will be people I will miss in McLaren, but that’s how it goes. Sometimes you want something in your life.
Q: (Matthias Brunner – Motorsport Aktuell) Michael, you said you decided at Indy. Does that mean you informed the team at Indy?
MS: Immediately after Indy, yes. I informed the team as well then.
Q: How much did you involve the team. Was there any discussion or was it your decision alone?
MS: The team left me every opportunity and every door open. Obviously I have a lot of friends there and naturally we discussed the up and the down sides and so on, but in the end of the day it was Corinna and myself.
Q: Mr Schumacher I have a question: may I get you for a one-to-one interview?
MS: Nice try. Promised it already.
Q: (Marco Evangilisti - Corrriere dello Sport) Kimi, are you somehow concerned at taking the place of the most winning driver of all time?
KR: Not really. It’s a nice place to go and of course the team will expect a lot but in the end I also expect a lot from myself and I want to win and this is different again to McLaren where there was Mika world champion twice and wasn’t easy then and it will not be easy this time and I will go there and do my best and hopefully it will be enough for everybody.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Michael, do you have an idea what you are going to do with your life?
MS: I said before, no,.part of it will be to keep a relationship with Ferrari and we will talk about that before the end of the year but now the focus is on the last three races so now will look after that.
Q: (Matthias Brunner – Motorsport Aktuell) Michael, there was one part of the unilateral that I didn’t quite understand when you said you first waited for the decision about Felipe before then making up your mind. What did you mean exactly?
MS: Maybe it was misunderstood. I said that he had a point of decision around that time that he had to go and he needed to know from my side what my decision was going to be -- at that moment my future was to retire so there was a chance for him to negotiate.
Q: Michael you said for months and for years that you will decide to stop when it was no pleasure anymore or you are not so competitive anymore? Is that the case? One of these two things?
MS: No, there is another reason that developed and I explained that before.
Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) Michael, you look competitive at the moment with no sign or any deterioration in your driving. Was there any thought of going on for another year against Kimi and to see how it went?
MS: Well you can see what I am able to do now. It was not really a thought. You need all the energy and motivation and strength and getting older does not make it easier. And to keep that for a whole year and go on. I just could not see that I had this. I had no need to worry for anybody, I guess, and I thought it would be nicer at this point than when you are at the other end.
Q: (Bob McKenzie - The Daily Express) How much discussion did you have with Corinna and did she support your decision?
MS: It is natural with the relationship I have with Corinna that we discuss every little thing and the good thing as I mentioned before is that without the support of my family and in particular Corinna all these years I don’t think I could have done it so naturally she supported me in my decision as well. She gave me her point of view and we discussed it, but there was no time when she went in another direction. She simply helped me take my decision.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Michael you said it became harder to find the motivation and the energy to be at the top level…
MS: That is not true… I can see it becoming harder. I don’t see I am going to have that in future.
Q: (Michael Schmidt – Auto Motor und Sport) Well what is it that takes the most energy out of you? Is it the traveling? Is it the pressure? The expectations of the people? What is the toughest to take?
MS: I don’t know and I don’t really want to think about it too much. If you forgive me, it is not really a good time for me to enter into every little detailed area of my decision and answer these questions because – and I hope you can understand me – I really want to focus on the championship. I think I gave you basically what I am pretty sure of and I tried to express myself as well as I could. But I don’t think I really want to, from now on, go any deeper into it.
Q: (Heikke Kulta – Turun Sanomat) Kimi, three years contract with Ferrari… How quickly do you expect to become a world champion?
KR: I have been expecting it to happen already so you never know what will happen but for sure we try next year again and hopefully we can do it, but there are so many things that can go wrong or right so we just need to work as hard as we can and I have full confidence that the team will give me a very good car so we will see what happens next year.
Q: (Takeharu Kusuda – Lapita Magazine) Mr Kubica, can you tell us about the key to your success in getting a third position in your first year?
RK: What key? I have a good car, a competitive car, we didn’t make any mistakes choosing the tyres as we have done in Istanbul. We had good ones for qualifying, but not for the race and this time I concentrated with the team to choose the right tyres for the race and the key I think was qualifying. I could qualify better, but unfortunately I made some small mistakes at Lesmo, and for us anyway third row was really good with the tyres that we had and we knew we had a lot of fuel compared to the others and with the good start that we always had in Hungary and in Turkey I hoped to win some positions. We won more positions at the start than we expected and then it was just to keep the pace and the pace was good. Maybe the second and third stint could have been quicker but you know when you are third and there are still some laps to go and you are third in the third Grand Prix of your life you are not pushing really, you just want to stay on the track and to bring the car home to the finish line and I think it was a really good race for me and for all the team and we were not expecting it. Some of my team told me they wanted to see me on the podium before the car went to the grid. I took it like a joke, but it happened so we are really proud of it.
continue......
Q: (Carole Capitaine – L’Equipe) Michael do you think Ferrari will continue to be so strong without you?
MS: Ferrari existed before and Ferrari will exist after and I think Ferrari has taken a very good decision with their driver line-up to make sure that the success can continue.
Q: (Juha Paatalo – Financial Times Deutschland) Michael, can you imagine your life without Formula One?
MS: I don’t need to do that right now. We shall see afterwards. It is difficult to answer that now.
Q: (Dan Knutson – National Speed Sport News) When did you decide that Ferrari was the better of your two options?
KR: It doesn’t matter when I took my decision. It is just that decision that I took in the end.
Q: (Anthony Rowlinson - Autosport) Is there one rival who stands out as your toughest competitor over the last 15 seasons?
MS: I think the nicest battles I had were with Mika in the end -- always at a very high level without any animosities, pure racing.
Q: (James Deakin - F1 Racing) Michael, seven times world champion, every conceivable significant statistic you’ve got, any regrets? Anything you wish you could change?
MS: Yes, sure I have them. But I am not in the mood to go through them now.
Q: (Stephane Barbe – L’Equipe) Michael how much do you think you will be distracted in the final three races by this decision?
MS: I don’t think the pressure is going to be high, as I told you, I explained and expressed myself and if you understood me then you know that what is most important is the championship. I will keep every focus to that and everything that has to be done to do that I will do. I am not getting into this subject any more. I will express myself once here this weekend and then I am not talking about it anymore I am just going to be focused.
Q: (Niki Takeda - Formula PA) Michael, what went through your mind when you crossed the finishing line?
MS: Many things, many things. Particular about the team all the great friends there and I was talking the whole lap to them.
Q: (James Roberts – Motorsport News) What is the greatest thing you will miss?
MS: Excuse me…(sighs)
Q: (Mattias Brunner – Motorsport Aktuell) How much did last year’s difficult season influence your decision?
MS: Not really, because I did not see that that would happen again because we learned our lesson and I am very sure that next year they will have a car that is going to be highly-competitive.
well, the last three will be great to watch. especially the next race...this is :shooting: me
Michael Schumacher - the end of an era
10 September 2006
After 90 wins, 1354 points and seven world championship titles, Michael Schumacher has announced he will retire at the end of this season. Statistically the greatest driver the sport has ever seen.
So sad he wants to retire, F1 fans learn to love and hate him but he got so much class and talent.
no choice, he already 37, already consider very strong liao....his only challenger is only 23 :D
dont think we will see another Schumacher in a long while....which might make F1 a little bit more interesting :D
no choice, he already 37, already consider very strong liao....his only challenger is only 23 :D
dont think we will see another Schumacher in a long while....which might make F1 a little bit more interesting :D
yeah i agree. he should retired after he won his 7th world championship and let the young driver with potential to take over. i know not staying for the money, he want to drive for a life time in F1, but he need to consider that is there anyone to challenge him or not? i know we have Raikonnen, Alonso and don't know who.......but now we have some others driver coming up the rank like Massa, Niko, Speed, Kubica and Button. they should have been given a chance to win a GP, but MS is dominating for so long...:evil: :evil:
yeah i agree. he should retired after he won his 7th world championship and let the young driver with potential to take over. i know not staying for the money, he want to drive for a life time in F1, but he need to consider that is there anyone to challenge him or not? i know we have Raikonnen, Alonso and don't know who.......but now we have some others driver coming up the rank like Massa, Niko, Speed, Kubica and Button. they should have been given a chance to win a GP, but MS is dominating for so long...:evil: :evil:
totally agreed with you Bro :D
with MS moving to the back stage, hopefully the race will get more exciting :evil:
today from the new i heard that MS is confirm retired and will stay in the sport as an ambassador for F1 and he's going to stay in the Ferrari team untill don't know when for his new job.:D i think he's a great guy to have around the pit lane, in the comentator's room as so on, as long as he don't make his way to race again that's fne with me...:D
Ferrari confirm Raikkonen, Massa for ‘07
10 September 2006
One of the longest-running rumours in the Formula One paddock was finally confirmed on Sunday when Ferrari announced that McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen will join the team next season.
Raikkonen has signed a three-year deal, covering the 2007, 2008 and 2009 seasons. His team mate will be Felipe Massa, the Brazilian’s contract having been extended until the end of 2008. Luca Badoer stays on as Ferrari’s official test driver.
"Whilst I have taken the decision to leave Team McLaren Mercedes, I want to stress that I really enjoyed my time with the team,” said Raikkonen. “I have the deepest respect for everybody and will be giving my all in the remaining races."
The Finn has been with McLaren for the past five years, scoring nine victories, 10 pole positions and 321 world championship points. His place at the team will be taken by world champion Fernando Alonso, whose 2007 partner will be revealed by McLaren before the end of the year.
Paying tribute to Raikkonen, McLaren boss Ron Dennis commented: "I have enjoyed working with Kimi over the past five seasons and as a team we have achieved a lot of success. He is a very special driver and obviously everybody at McLaren wishes him all the best in his future career. Looking forward we remain confident that our 2007 line-up will be a strong and exciting one."
Bro, posted this news yesterday liao :D
Bro, posted this news yesterday liao :D
really?? sorry i didn't notice, thenk for the reminder.:evil:
really?? sorry i didn't notice, thenk for the reminder.:evil:
no prob Bro :D
so do you think the MS will get the championship this year?
I think he stands a great chance....it'll be nice to end his career like that :D
no prob Bro :D
so do you think the MS will get the championship this year?
I think he stands a great chance....it'll be nice to end his career like that :D
i also think so, because now the pressure in on Alonso, and if MS win the next race, we can see Alonso's chance of a back 2 back championship go down the drain....that will be a big boost for the Ferrari.
i also think so, because now the pressure in on Alonso, and if MS win the next race, we can see Alonso's chance of a back 2 back championship go down the drain....that will be a big boost for the Ferrari.
further more, after renault had removed the 2 disallowed parts from their car, their car had not been performing well, can see from Alonso's car that run into engine problem in the Monza race......
further more, after renault had removed the 2 disallowed parts from their car, their car had not been performing well, can see from Alonso's car that run into engine problem in the Monza race......
yeah after all that they still want to install a new system in the car, they call it mass download system. i wonder if that's really working in their favour. now that the Ferrari is geting stronger, i think MS and Ferrari have an edge on Alonso and Renault.
i got this rumour early this morning, saying that MS may be driving for Renault next year and he's not retiring either. is this true??
Schumacher - the title is all that counts
13 September 2006
Michael Schumacher has dismissed suggestions he might be distracted from the title race by his plans for retirement. Instead, with the end of his Formula One career now in sight, Schumacher insists that winning an eighth world championship is his only concern.
“We still have three races left and we have to take our chance,” he said. “We have almost made up the gap in the drivers' championship and already overtaken Renault in the constructors' standings. Both titles are within reach. From now on, all that counts for us is the title. Everything else can wait."
The opportunity to end his career on a high seems to be one of Schumacher’s main reasons for choosing now to retire. At 37, he is the oldest driver in Formula One racing and although still at the top of his game, the German admitted he had begun to question how long he could keep up the fight.
“I am not getting any younger and it is only natural that I ask myself whether I have the strength, energy and motivation to drive for another year and stay at the top", he explained. "Obviously, I am still fit and competitive but would I have still been in the future?”
His decision made, Schumacher has since remained deliberately tightlipped about his plans for the future. But one thing that is clear is his relationship with Ferrari and with manager Willi Webber is far from over.
“Simply 'driving' is not enough for me,” he revealed. “It is not my style. My Formula One goodbye, as announced, will not be a goodbye to Ferrari or Willi. We will work together again in the future and I am happy about this."
Ferrari are expected to announce Schumacher’s new role with the team when they formally reveal plans for their 2007 structure at the end of the year.
Dont think the rumor is true Spy, MS is going into technical development for Ferrari I think :D
more new blood into F1 :D
So just who are Spyker Cars?
The history of Formula One racing's newest team owners
14 September 2006
Prior to last weekend, few but the hardened car enthusiast knew the name Spyker. All that has changed, however, after the company’s purchase of the Midland team, making the Dutch sportscar maker the latest auto manufacturer to enter Formula One racing. But the Spyker name is far from new to motorsport - indeed its involvement in racing dates back almost a century.
It was in 1898 that brothers Jacobus and Hendrik-Jan Spijker, coachbuilders in Amsterdam, built their first Benz-engined motorcar. The craftsmanship of the car’s bodywork won immediate acclaim and from that moment on the Spijker brothers changed the focus of their company. The pair committed fully to producing motorcars, changing the name of the company to Spyker to ease recognition of the brand in foreign markets.
The brothers were inventive and from the start the company pushed back technological barriers. In 1903 Spyker introduced the extremely advanced 60/80 HP, the first car to boast a six-cylinder engine, as well as permanent four-wheel drive and four-wheel brakes. In the same period the company devised and patented a special chassis fitted with a streamlined under tray which prevented the car from making dust on unpaved roads. It was innovations like these that came to characterise the Spyker brand, quickly making it famous for quality and engineering ruggedness.
In 1907 a privately entered standard model Spyker 14/18HP Tourer successfully competed in the infamously gruelling Peking to Paris raid. After the car arrived back in second place, the Spyker name became even more fashionable. The company’s models, with their characteristic circular radiators, were especially successful in the Dutch East Indies and in Britain, where Spyker became known as 'the Rolls Royce of the continent'.
The period preceding World War One saw a worldwide slump in the luxury car market and Spyker was forced to diversify its production. The company merged with Dutch Aircraft Factory N.V. and started to develop and build fighter aircraft. In all, the Dutch firm produced 100 planes and 200 aircraft engines for the war effort. The merger also prompted a new slogan - 'Nulla tenaci invia est via’ (meaning ‘for the tenacious no road is impassable') - which is still used by the company today.
After the armistice, Spyker resumed car production and true to its motto, continued to build record-breaking cars. One of the most innovative examples was the Spyker C4. Built by the famous German engineer Wilhelm Maybach, the car boasted a special engine with a double ignition system. In 1921, one example established a new endurance record, after driving continuously for 36 days and covering a distance of 30,000 kilometres. And a year later British driver Selwyn Edge broke the Brookland's Double-Twelve speed record in a C4, clocking an average speed of 119 km/h.
Although the original firm ceased trading in 1925, the name was never forgotten and 75 years later, the Spyker brand was re-established by two Dutch businessmen, Victor Muller and Maarten de Bruijn. In October 2000 the pair unveiled the new Spyker C8 at the UK’s Birmingham Motor Show and since then the brand has experienced a renaissance both in terms of commercial success and sporting achievement.
Since 2002 Spyker have made regular appearances in the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race and this year fielded a two-car line-up for the first time. It followed a successful 2005 campaign for the company’s Spyder GT2R machine, including a podium finish and second in class at the Nurgburgring 1000 kilometre race in Germany.
And the Spyker brand is even becoming known to cinema goers, Basic Instinct 2 and upcoming title Rogue just two of the movies in which a Spyker car has featured. All that’s needed now is a starring role in Formula One racing…
well, when Spyker bought over the midland racing team, they ensure that they will have all their tech brought in to the team. i think this is a good developement for the midland team. so next season will have a more compatative race even MS is gone......
do you:thinking: midland can challenge for point next season?
high possibility since they have racing back ground.
would like to see they use their own developed engine & technologies for the race :evil:
high possibility since they have racing back ground.
would like to see they use their own developed engine & technologies for the race :evil:
me too, they will be a hand full for Minardi, and Super Aguri....and maybe Redbull as well.:evil:
Schumacher wins rain-hit Chinese Grand Prix
SHANGHAI (AFP) - Michael Schumacher delivered one of his most dazzling virtuoso drives on Sunday to win the Chinese Grand Prix and move within reach of his eighth drivers world championship. The 37-year-old German, in his Ferrari, overcame the challenge of wet and dry conditions at the Shanghai International Circuit to triumph in a stirring and dramatic race after starting from sixth on the grid.
His title rival, defending champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso, of Renault, started from pole, led for 30 laps but ended up finishing second after being beset by tyre problems. Schumacher led him home by 3.1 seconds.
Alonso's Renault team-mate Italian Giancarlo Fisichella finished third, but like Alonso was overshadowed in all departments by the excellence of Schumacher.
His Ferrari team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa failed to finish after a late collision with American Scott Speed in a Toro Rosso. This cost Ferrari their lead in the constructors championship.
It was Schumacher's first win in China after two poor results, his fifth win in seven races and arguably the most important of the year and, possibly, his long career before he heads into retirement.
His win meant he moved up to 116 points in the title race level with Alonso, but leads the championship by having won seven races to the Spaniard's six.
Briton Jenson Button profited from chaos on the final lap to finish fourth for Honda ahead of Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa, Brazilian Rubens Barrichello in the second Honda, German Nick Heidfeld in a BMW Sauber and Australian Mark Webber who was eighth for Williams.
After another morning of steady drizzle and intermittent heavy rain, the build-up to the race was overshadowed by conjecture about the relative performance of the tyres in such wet conditions.
A Bridgestone spokesperson insisted their tyres, as supplied to Ferrari, were excellent in the kind of consistent wet conditions that had left thousands of spectators sitting in sodden misery waiting for the race.
But it was clear that Michelin, the tyre suppliers to Renault, Honda and McLaren would have the upper hand if the rain continued as it did.
At the start, after an uneventful formation lap, Alonso pulled clear with Fisichella following him away from the grid.
It was overcast, wet and miserable and the prevailing conditions signalled that Alonso had a perfect opportunity to re-open a commanding lead in the drivers' championship race.
Alonso reeled off five fastest laps in the opening 14, during which there was a flurry of activity behind him on lap 13 when Schumacher, having passed Barrichello, found his way past Button in the other Honda to take fourth place.
At the end of lap 21, Schumacher came in and refuelled but did not change tyres and a lap later he was followed in to the pits by Alonso, who did.
Once all the leaders had stopped once, Alonso had an advantage of 9.8 seconds on Fisichella who was in turn only 1.2 seconds ahead of Schumacher.
By lap 28, Fisichella had closed the gap at the front to 0.4 seconds and Schumacher was on his tail - the chase for a decisive blow in the championship was truly on.
The two Renaults changed places at the front on lap 30 and almost immediately, on lap 31, Schumacher passed Alonso on the inside to take second.
In the changing and unpredictable conditions, Schumacher clocked a fastest lap when he became the first man under 1:41 after 35 laps and then Alonso pitted again, apparently for dry tyres.
This cost him places and time. He fell to sixth and was 53.7 seconds off the leader, Fisichella, while Schumacher sat one second behind him in second running on his original set of tyres.
Schumacher finally made his second pit stop and first for new tyres, when he switched to a dry set, after 40 laps.
One lap later, Fisichella did the same, but it was costly and as he exited the pit lane, struggling for control, Schumacher swept past him on the inside to take the lead on lap 42.
Alonso lapped fast and closed the gap, passed Fisichella eventually and then ran second in a vain pursuit to the finish.
Driver's Championship
Fernando Alonso 116
Michael Schumacher 116
Giancarlo Fisichella 63
Felipe Massa 62
Kimi Raikkonen 57
Jenson Button 45
Rubens Barrichello 28
Juan Pablo Montoya 26
Nick Heidfeld 22
Pedro de la Rosa 18
Ralf Schumacher 18
David Coulthard 14
Jarno Trulli 12
Mark Webber 7
Jacques Villeneuve 7
Robert Kubica 6
Nico Rosberg 4
Christian Klien 2
Vitantonio Liuzzi 1
Alright Schumacher! Now on par to Fernando Alonso's driver's championship score. Rain dominator! Michael Schumacher is the one.;)
Exclusive with Spyker’s Michiel Mol
Formula One racing's newest team boss reveals all
03 October 2006
A new face in the Formula One paddock is always a source of excitement and curiosity, but Michiel Mol is not the newcomer many might think. He has been involved in the sport for many years. The difference now is that he has stepped into the spotlight of team ownership, as Spyker’s Director of Formula One Racing. We caught up with him in China to ask about the change, and about what the future holds for the new Spyker MF1 team…
Q: Obviously you were the driving force behind the consortium that took over MF1 Racing. What is your Formula One background?
Michiel Mol: I started as a sponsor for Jos Verstappen at Arrows eight or nine years ago. That lasted three years because in the fourth year of my involvement they went bankrupt. Then I took interests in Christijan Albers’ career - mainly to find him an F1 drive. All in all you could say I’ve been around for almost a decade.
Q: But there’s a big difference between being a sponsor and a team owner…
MM: Yeah, for sure. But the longer I have been involved in F1 the more the ambitions grew. And with the new regulations coming and the re-shifting of TV money, that suddenly opened the door for a sound future for a smaller team. That chance we took.
Q: But then why name it Spyker? True, it’s a car manufacturing company, but one that produces for a niche market. Why use the global awareness Formula One racing generates to promote a niche-market product?
MM: Spyker is indeed hardly known - we are aware of that. Last year they produced 40 cars, this year they doubled, but, yes, compared to other manufacturers it is marginal. But I know that they have the ability to produce in larger quantities. For a start we want to have posters over the beds of countless young boys saying, ‘I want a Spyker car’ - and that wish then grows up with them till they are old enough to be a consumer. And I know that F1 can get us there - to re-animate the brand.
Q: Formula One racing is a high-investment sport. What is the core financial basis of the team? It cannot be Spyker or any other sponsor that is on the car right now…
MM: That’s obvious. And for the next year we will rely on a combination of TV money, driver financial income and sponsor income. The first two were pretty secure at Midland, but sponsoring was hardly there. But we already see that with the new livery and image of the team, lots of potential big sponsors show their interest and I am very confident that we will get better every year.
Q: The team takeover was a lengthy process, the negotiations seemingly on and off for months. Why did it take so long?
MM: Firstly, my experience has shown that you cannot buy a company in a week. Secondly: Formula One is a special business because it is a sport that creates high emotions and one where you immediately draw the attention of the media, which can trigger turbulences. It sometimes was a real rollercoaster ride. At one moment we were sure to do the deal and then 24 hours later we almost were at the point of stepping out. Even on the day we announced the deal in the morning we were not sure if it would materialize. But I have to say that my relationship with (Midland’s) Alex Shnaider was good during all that negotiation process. And we finally did it. That’s what matters.
Q: The team’s livery has changed, but the management stays the same. Will it remain that way?
MM: Yes - because for now we don’t want to rock the boat. Over the winter we will make an audit to see for ‘07 where changes are needed and what will remain. Very likely we will add a financial expert to the team.
Q: For the last four years this team seems to have been surrounded by an air of financial uncertaintly. Will that change from now on?
MM: Yes. We already have a budget for next year secured, so we know that we can run the team without any financial issues and if we get additional key sponsors on board we can do even better. But the base line is there.
Q: The team just has announced a 2007 contract extension with Christijan Albers, but the second cockpit is still open. Will you be basing your line-up on the concept that drivers bring money and / or sponsors?
MM: For next year we have to. Maybe if we get a title sponsor that might change. Sure, we are looking to get into the position in the future to select our driver line-up based on talent, but for now we have to look both ways.
Q: The signing of an engine deal with Ferrari was another big moment in the early history of Spyker MF1…
MM: I am very proud of the co-operation with Ferrari, because if means a big step forward and it shows our clear intention to succeed. The engine will run under the Ferrari name and the team very likely will be running next year as Spyker-Ferrari. With the signing of Mike Gascoyne, Christijan Albers and now Ferrari we clearly put the team on an upward path.
Q: It was a British team under the Jordan brand, then a Russian one under Midland, and now a Dutch one, complete with orange livery. What would you say the team stands for?
MM: We do not necessarily want to be a Dutch team, but rather an international team with a Dutch flavour. In the future we want to have the best of everything - drivers, engineers, mechanics - from wherever they might come. The colour for now is predominantly orange, but if we get a title sponsor who wants it green then it’s green tomorrow. We are still running with a Russian license for the moment, and have to see over the winter how we can change that too.
Q: And what has changed for you personally, now being one of the key players in the sport?
MM: Emotionally nothing. But I have walked the paddock for years almost unnoticed and suddenly people are interested in me. People want to talk to me, shake my hand, so I realized there is a change - and it is nice.
Japan 2005 - Raikkonen at the last
03 October 2006
The weather played a crucial role in last year’s Japanese Grand Prix weekend. Nothing as extreme as 2004’s typhoon, but the rain was enough to conjure up a topsy-turvy grid which helped produce one of the most thrilling races in living memory.
Qualifying started with a damp track and ended with a soaked one, the tricky conditions claiming the cars of Jarno Trulli and Tiago Monteiro, both men spinning off at Degner, the latter on his out lap. Ralf Schumacher, at the wheel of the heavily-revised Toyota TF105B, brought consolation for the team in the shape of their first pole position on home soil. As 13th man out, a great lap, fortuitous timing and, as it turned out, a very light car helped him take P1. Just minutes later, heavy rain made running all but impossible, even on full-wet tyres, leaving many of the big guns - Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya among them - languishing in the bottom third of the grid. Joining Ralf on row one was the BAR of Jenson Button, while row two comprised Giancarlo Fisichella (great news for Renault’s constructors’ title hopes) and the Red Bull of Christian Klien.
A dramatic race start saw Takuma Sato understeer off at Turn 1. Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello did the same, tagging the front of the BAR as he did so, though miraculously both were able to crawl from the gravel and rejoin. Less fortunate was Montoya. At the final turn of the opening lap he was forced off track by Jacques Villeneuve’s Sauber and the McLaren star was into the wall and out of the race. The safety car was deployed for five laps, ruining Ralf’s ambitious three-stop strategy. Things got worse for Toyota shortly after racing resumed, when Sato slew into the side of Trulli with a do-or-die overtaking attempt, eliminating the innocent Italian. Then, when Ralf made his first stop, he handed the lead to Fisichella and the real pattern of the race began to emerge.
It featured some classic racing between arguably the three greatest drivers in the field. Alonso twice had to find a way past Michael Schumacher - the first time he audaciously went round the outside in the 130R - while Raikkonen eventually muscled past the Ferrari into Turn 1. It was the Finn who had the real pace, and it was he who moved into the lead when Fisichella made his second stop. That lasted until lap 45 of 53 when Raikkonen made a late final visit to the pits, leaving an apparently straightforward victory within Renault’s grasp.
McLaren and Raikkonen had other ideas. By lap 50 the gap to Fisichella was down to half a second and as the pair crossed the line for the penultimate time it was just a tenth. As they went into the Turn 1 braking zone for the final time Raikkonen was wheel-to-wheel with the Italian and pulled off a fantastic move to go round the outside and into the lead. The win was his. A gutted Fisichella was left to pick up the pieces, while Alonso clawed his way up to third after passing an impressive Mark Webber in the closing stages. The result left Renault leading McLaren by just two points in the constructors’ championship, leaving everything to play for at the final round in China.
Links: Results / Live Timing Archive, Photos, TV images.
now Alonso is blaming the Renault team for not letting him go to Maclaren as a world cham....what a loser attitude...
Alonso turns it around in Japan
Suzuka exit leaves Schumacher with it all to do at final round
08 October 2006
Victory for Fernando Alonso and retirement for Michael Schumacher at Suzuka means just a single point at the season finale in Brazil will make Alonso champion for a second time.
For 36 laps of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher could see the Renault of Alonso in his mirrors and the 2006 drivers’ crown in his future. From the start he had pulled away from the Spaniard, taking the lead from polesitting Ferrari team mate Felipe Massa on the third lap, and though the Renaults were much more competitive than they had been in qualifying, everything was under control.
But then a plume of smoke erupted from the back of the Ferrari in the second Degner Curve on the 37th lap, and the unthinkable happened as the German’s V8 expired. It was his first non-crash retirement since Spain 2005, and this one really hurt.
As Schumacher trudged back to the pits, where he shook everyone by the hand and wore a philosophical smile, Alonso made the most of his good fortune. He had passed Massa during the first pit stops after the Brazilian stopped three laps earlier than scheduled because of a puncture, and been keeping Schumacher honest and the gap between them around five seconds, when his arch-rival dropped out. Now he was able to stroke his Renault home to his first victory since Canada in June, secure in the knowledge that eighth place in Brazil will be sufficient to retain his crown.
Massa backed off hugely over the final laps - possibly on the advice of his team - but was never challenged for second by Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella, who had fought through to beat Honda’s Jenson Button, McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen and the Toyotas through better pit work. Button was a distant fourth, Raikkonen fifth, and Jarno Trulli led team mate Ralf Schumacher home for sixth after a race-long fight.
Behind them, Nick Heidfeld clung on ahead of BMW Sauber team mate Robert Kubica to take the final point, the Pole having caught back up a 10-second deficit after a big off in the second Degner on lap 31.
Nico Rosberg was Williams’ sole finisher in 10th, after Mark Webber crashed heavily exiting the chicane on lap 39, leading home McLaren’s Pedro de la Rosa and Rubens Barrichello, who needed a new nose on his Honda after a brush on the opening lap.
Robert Doornbos emerged from an early scrap between all the Red Bull runners to finish 13th ahead of Tonio Liuzzi, who performed a neat 360-degree spin early on exiting the chicane. Their respective RBR and Toro Rosso team mates David Coulthard and Scott Speed (who also spun) both failed to finish.
The two Super Aguris were 15th and 17th, sandwiching Tiago Monteiro’s Spyker MF1. The other Dutch car of Christijan Albers was in the thick of the Red Bull battle, but retired in spectacular fashion on the 20th lap when a rear suspension breakage removed its rear wing as the Dutchman exited the chicane. He was lucky it happened there.
The Suzuka result was a massive fillip for Alonso and Renault, who increased their lead in the constructors’ championship to nine points. It may not all be over, with one race left, but now it is Schumacher and Ferrari who have the mountain to climb.
:D
Drivers
F.Alonso 126
M.Schumacher 116
F.Massa 70
G.Fisichella 69
K.Räikkönen 61
J.Button 50
R.Barrichello 28
J.Montoya 26
N.Heidfeld 23
R.Schumacher 20
P.de la Rosa 18
J.Trulli 15
D.Coulthard 14
M.Webber 7
Constructors
Renault 195
Ferrari 186
McLaren-Mercedes 105
Honda 78
Sauber-BMW 36
Toyota 35
RBR-Ferrari 16
Williams-Cosworth 11
STR-Cosworth 1
MF1-Toyota 0
Super Aguri-Honda 0
Schumacher dont have the fate for the 8th world championship liao....even if alonso crash out in brazil & Suhmi got 1st, they'll be on par.....:|
Japanese Grand Prix
Round 17 - 08/10/2006
1. F.Alonso
2. F.Massa
3. G.Fisichella
4. J.Button
5. K.Räikkönen
6. J.Trulli
7. R.Schumacher
8. N.Heidfeld
9. R.Kubica
10. N.Rosberg
11. P.de la Rosa
12. R.Barrichello
13. R.Doornbos
14. V.Liuzzi
15. T.Sato
16. T.Monteiro
17. S.Yamamoto
18. S.Speed
now alonso just need 1 point to win the championship. this is getting nowhere now, when schumy is out of the suzuka race it all over....now alonso need to do is hope that his car don have problem and finsh he race in interlagos in 8th place at least to win the driver championship...
BlackTape
17-10-2006, 02:46 AM
in brazil, the renault will crash and MS will win the driver's title. FORZA SCUDERIA FERRARI!!!!
in brazil, the renault will crash and MS will win the driver's title. FORZA SCUDERIA FERRARI!!!!
but like that .......:thinking:
it's good that suchmi can retire with the 8th world champion but will not be very glorious leh....:thinking:
every one also think so, but we don't know what will happen in Interlagos race track....as far as i'm concern is the constructor championship.
if Alonso really crash out of the brasil gp and MS win it, MS will be the world champion for the 8th time eventhough they are on par....the FIA will give MS the worlchampion for most win in the season. now Alonso 7 win, MS also 7win.
in brazil, the renault will crash and MS will win the driver's title. FORZA SCUDERIA FERRARI!!!!
is it possible for Schmi to ask his team-mate to take Alonso out? :thinking:
maybe it's Renault who play alonso out....:evil:
anywhy he's going to Mercede next yr :evil:
BlackTape
17-10-2006, 01:44 PM
is it possible for Schmi to ask his team-mate to take Alonso out? :thinking:
too risky. ferrari need to win the constructor's too.
well, renault chief engineer had already said they will give Alonso a car that are capable of winning the brasil gp. is up to Alonso himself to do the damage.
BlackTape
17-10-2006, 04:32 PM
ferrari is gonna push their engines to 20,000rpm for brazil. looks like it's all or nothing for ferrari.
ferrari is gonna push their engines to 20,000rpm for brazil. looks like it's all or nothing for ferrari.
Nah, the war is 99.9% over before the battle can began. Remember M.Schumacher can only be on par in the drivers championship with Alonso (unless Alonso fail to rack in a point or crash)1
BlackTape
17-10-2006, 06:59 PM
i know the drivers' title is all but lost but i was refering to ferrari chasing the construtors'.
Massa take the checker flag in interlagos...alonso and renault with both championship.....
starscream
23-10-2006, 10:12 AM
Renault beats Ferrari! :D
BlackTape
23-10-2006, 07:52 PM
haiz was quite disappointed.. but still, the pace the ferraris were doing was truly amazing.
I'm not a fan of Ferrari but I think on straight road, they're 2nd to none...
I'm also not a fan of Schmi, but the way he came back from a broken type in Brazil is amazing... I'm a fan of McLaren but they're going nowhere, hopefully, with Alonso in next season, things would improve :pray2:
no use having Alonso but Mecede cant produce a reliable car, that's why Kimi left them for Ferrari....if Mercede dont come out with a good & reliable car, they'll face the same fate next season....:(
McLaren-Mercedes has been unable to produce good & reliable F1 cars for a few seasons laio. I remember the "best" car they produce with good balance between speed and reliability is when Mika and david were still together. Is there any light in the end of the tunnel for McLaren-Mercedes team.:thinking:
let's see why Mecede can come up with next season or is it Kimi is the jinx....:laugh:
cutieboy86
18-03-2007, 12:37 PM
hi bros, i juz tinkin anyone here in this forum watch Formula 1? :D
Bro, already got a thread liao :D
http://forums.hobbyhype.com/showthread.php?t=3329&page=7
anywhy, new season, new thread, think we'll tcss on F1 under this thread for the 2007 season :D
Raikkonen triumphs in Melbourne
Ferrari dominate as Hamilton stars on McLaren debut
18 March 2007
Kimi Raikkonen became the first Ferrari driver since Nigel Mansell in 1989 to win on his debut with the legendary Italian team on Sunday, barely putting a wheel wrong in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. His only problems were one minor off when he lost concentration on lap 46, and the lack of a radio throughout the race.
“The weekend has been very good, but today the race was not that easy,” he reported. “Maybe it looked like it but I didn’t have the radio as it stopped working before the start, so it was quite complicated. But we had our plan so I knew what had to do even if it was not the ideal situation.”
As the Finn sped into the distance, setting a string of fastest laps, the focus of attention fell on Lewis Hamilton and his sensational debut for McLaren. Beaten off the line by Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber, the 22 year-old Briton simply drove round the outside of the Pole - and team mate Fernando Alonso who found himself trapped behind Nick Heidfeld in the other BMW - and held a confident second place ahead of the double world champion until the final pit stops. He even led the race for a couple of laps when Raikkonen made his first pit call.
After being blocked by Takuma Sato just prior to his second refuelling stop on lap 43, Hamilton lost second to Alonso when the Spaniard rejoined from his own stop on lap 45. Thereafter he dutifully followed his team leader home to finish an excellent third on his debut. He did a terrific job.
“It’s been fantastic, to lead in the race in my first Grand Prix,” a remarkably fresh-looking Hamilton said, “but it was extremely tough having the two-time world champion right behind you! The team have done a fantastic job here and back at the factory.
“I got a pretty decent start but the BMWs were very quick off grid and Robert got past me. There was no way to stay on the inside so I thought I would dive back to the outside, and there I managed to out-brake nearly everyone. Obviously leading Fernando was then extremely intense, and for sure I made a couple of mistakes, but it’s been another new experience and I am ecstatic be here on the podium in my first race.”
Heidfeld brought BMW Sauber fourth place after a very strong showing, but it was a bittersweet result as the team lost Kubica to mechanical problems when fifth also seemed likely.
That place ultimately fell to Giancarlo Fisichella, but only just. The Italian kept his Renault a bare 0.3s ahead of the closing Felipe Massa at the end, the Brazilian recovering strongly after losing huge amounts of time bottled up behind the slow Hondas early on. Once he was clear of them he was able to make the most of a single-stop strategy after starting from the back of the grid following an overnight engine change. They were the final unlapped runners.
The final points went to Nico Rosberg and Ralf Schumacher, for Williams-Toyota and Toyota respectively. The former pulled an aggressive overtaking move on the latter on the 36th lap to settle the matter once and for all.
Jarno Trulli brought the second Toyota home ninth, inches ahead of Heikki Kovalainen who had an incident-packed debut for Renault that included a spin and a couple of off-road adventures. Inevitably he was overshadowed by Hamilton.
Rubens Barrichello was the leading Honda in only 11th place, despite brushing a wall early in the race. Team mate Jenson Button had a terrible run which included a drive-through penalty for pit-lane speeding, and could only manage 15th, separated from Barrichello by Sato, Mark Webber and Tonio Liuzzi. The Japanese driver had his usual boisterous run and several adventures, while Webber was off the road once and spun his Red Bull in the pit lane during his second stop. Liuzzi was Toro Rosso’s only finisher after Scott Speed went off the road while running ahead of him.
Anthony Davidson’s debut with Super Aguri got off to a bad start when he was all but left on the grid and then got turfed off by Spyker’s debutant Adrian Sutil. The German was given a drive-through penalty for that and compounded it by speeding in the pit lane and getting another penalty. Davidson led him home, in 16th and 17th places.
David Coulthard accepted responsibility for a dramatic collision with Alex Wurz in Turn Three on lap 49, neither having featured strongly prior to that.
Besides Speed, the other retiree was Christijan Albers, who crashed his Spyker in Turn Three early in the race.
The result leaves Raikkonen atop the driver standings, while McLaren’s double podium means they head the constructors’ championship from Ferrari.
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