03/21/2005
The 2005 Formula One season has had a surprising start with Renault winning the first two events at the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park and The Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang International Circuit. Ferrari is fourth behind Renault, Toyota and Red Bull (formerly Jaguar) in the Constructors title race. It appears that if Ferrari is to salvage this season, it must begin racing the 2005 car soon.
Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia: The first session of qualifying at Albert Park was marred with rain forcing many teams to shod rain tires. Despite predictions of rain, conditions at the beginning of the first qualifying session were merely damp allowing cars to run on slick tires. Fisichella’s Renault posted the time to beat of 1:33.171 seconds. Then the rain came with a vengeance. The Ferraris of Schumacher and Barricello posted times of 1:57.931 and 1:45.481 seconds putting them in 18th and 12th qualifying positions respectively.
Race day was “fine and dry.” Fisichella was able to leap into first place ahead of Trulli on the start. David Coulthard out drove Mark Webber’s Williams to gain a third place position for Red Bull. Rubens Barrichello drove a fabulous race and was able to put the Ferrari into the lead, though briefly, by lap 18. In the end, Fisichella won the race with Rubens Ferrari as number two followed by the second Renault of Fernando Alonso. Giancarlo stated after the race, “This was a fantastic weekend, and a great way to mark my debut with Renault!… we are optimistic for Malaysia. Rubens was proud of his strong showing, “I enjoyed every second of the race. The other teams have obviously made a step forward, but I must congratulate our team on producing a good car.”
Did Renault simply get lucky during qualifying, or will they be a contender for 2005?
Kuala Lampur, Malaysia: The second chapter in the 2005 Formula One series was held at the Sepang International Circuit and Renault intended to prove that Australia was not a fluke. The track conditions were sweltering hot reaching 53 degrees Celsius (126 degrees F) but were consistent through the qualifying session. The Renaults again showed that they are strong contenders in 2005 posting qualifying times placing Fernando Alfonso (1:32.582 s) on the pole and Fisichella in the third qualifying position. The biggest surprise of Malaysia was the strong showing of Toyota. Jarno Trulli took a second place qualifying position after posting an impressive 1:32.672 seconds!
The race on Sunday displayed the strength of Renault. Alonso took the first place spot on the start and only traded with Trulli during pit stops. Fisichella held on to the third position for most of the race despite a handling problem following his first pit stop. In the end, the podium finishers were Alonso, Trulli and Fisichella. The jubilation of the Renault pit was evident in Fernando Alfonso’ statement following the race: “… the way I was able to do it demonstrates that we are competitive with our rivals this season, on every type of circuit. Everything went well from start to finish: the car, the engine and the Michelin tires… At this stage, I think we have a real chance to fight for the title.” Renault dominated so far this year, but Toyota has emerged as a force has also emerged as force to be reckoned with. As far as Ferrari is concerned, Michael Schumacher quipped, “We are simply not strong enough in several areas at the moment. We are well aware of that and we are and we will continue to work hard to deal with that. Now I head to Mugello to drive the F2005 for the first time. Driving a new car is always something special, so I am looking forward to that."
04/07/2005
The Kingdom of Bahrain – After round three of the 2005 Formula One season at the 5.4 km Bahrain International Circuit, Renault and Toyota are continuing their strong performances. Even with the debut of the F2005, Ferrari was unable to finish on the podium. We also saw Michael Schumacher’s incredible streak of 58 races without retiring due to a mechanical failure come to an end after only 12 laps. Ruben, starting on the back row due to an engine/gearbox swap, worked his way to 5th place but could only manage a ninth place finish, with no championship points. He quipped, “I think this has been a weekend to forget for me.”
During qualifying, the Renault of Fernando Alonso took the pole position with a lap time of 3:01.902 with Michael’s F2005 taking the other front row position with a best qualifying time of 3:02.357. Jarno Trulli was able to secure 3rd position for Toyota with a time of 3:02.660. Ferrari appears to have made some strides since Malaysia, but not enough to wrestle the pole away from Renault.
After an exciting start, the order was Alonso, Schumacher and Trulli. The Toyota nearly drove around the Ferrari before the first corner, but Schumacher was able to hold him off. The order remained unchanged for the first 11 laps until a hydraulic failure forced Michael into the pits on lap 13. Alonso and Trulli went on to finish first and second, with the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen finishing in third place. Ralf Schumacher in the second Toyota completed the race in fourth place. A chink in Renault’s armor showed with Fisicella’s car retiring after only four laps with an engine failure.
As we move towards the Spanish Grand Prix in Imola on May 8, the driver’s championship rankings stand with the Alonso with 26 points, Trulli with16 points, and Fisichella with 10. The constructor’s championship has Renault followed by Toyota and McLaren with 36, 25 and 19 points respectively. No doubt that Michael, Ruben and the Ferrari crew will be doing some serious testing before then. Stay tuned; this season is developing into a truly interesting competition.
05/25/2005
Monaco – McLaren, Williams, Williams. Is this the end of the Renault winning streak? After starting second and fourth in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella were able to finish only 4th and 12th respectively. The Ferraris of Schumacher and Barrichello could only manage a seventh and eighth place finish. Michael, however, drove a splendid race. After starting 8th on the grid, the reigning champion lost the nose of his car in an incident with Coulthards Red Bull car. Down a lap after a new nose was fitted, the German was setting the fastest lap-times while chasing down Juan Pablo. The Williams cars were able to get around Alonso as the tires on the Renaults were giving way. No one was a match for the Finn in his McLaren. Kimi Raikkonen sailed around the streets of Monte Carlo with ease resulting in McLaren’s first win of the season. "This is great. To win is always fantastic, but Monaco is a special challenge…. Our World Championship battle has gained momentum today. We will take one race at a time and continue to do our best."
05/31/2005
Ferrari on the podium at the Nurburgring! A misfortune for Kimi Raikkonen results in another win for Fernando Alonso, and second and third place finishes for Heidfield with his Williams-BMW and Barrichello in the Ferrari. The flying Finn leapt to the lead and looked strong throughout the race, however, Kimi flat-spotted the right front tire causing a suspension vibration that caused a dramatic failure on the final lap and handed the win to the Spaniard in the Renault. Alonso was very lucky to be in the place to take advantage as a first lap incident with Ralf Schumacher could have easily caused him to retire early. The other Ferrari piloted by Michael Schumacher ended in 5th place following a disappointing race for the Champion. The Ferrari’s nose delaminated following some off-track excursions resulting in some lost time when the front was replaced.
Ferrari has still not found the magic – but they are progressing. In Ruben’s words “The car was very reliable, the engine strong and the tyres were great. I feel we are coming back to where we should be and hopefully, we can start winning races soon.”
06/10/2005
Quebec, Canada – BAR-Honda on the pole and a Ferrari on the front row! This was only the beginning of the surprises in store for the 2005 Grand Prix of Canada. Jensen Button made an impressive show during qualifying piloting the 007 to the pole position. Michael Schumacher pushed his Ferrari onto front row. The two Renaults qualified 3rd and 4th beating out Juan Pablo Montoya who landed the 5th position on the starting grid. The Ferrari of Rubens Barichello had to settle for 20th place on the grid when the Ferrari started smoking due to a gearbox problem that also plagued Michael’s car earlier in the morning.
An exciting start had the Renaults swamping the BAR-Honda and the Ferrari with Fisichella leading Alonso for the first 32 laps. Then the surprises began to show up. On lap 33, the gearbox on the lead Renault developed problems allowing the Fisichella to snatch the lead from the Spaniard. Under pressure from Montoya, Alonso hit the wall on lap 39 causing him to retire from the race for the first time this year. The McLarens were now leading the race, with Button working hard in third place. So hard, in fact, that he made a rare mistake and smacked the “Wall of Champions” taking off his right front wheel. Then, following an error by his pit crew, Montoya missed his pit stop handing the lead to Kimi Raikkonen. Upon leaving the pits, the angry McLaren driver left the pits against the red light, causing the stewards to issue a black flag penalty. This in turn placed Schumacher in second place. The Ferrari team, playing an excellent pit strategy put the 20th place Barrichello onto the podium. Barrichello commented, “In over 200 grand prix, this is the first time I have ever started a race from the pit lane… What happened in qualifying was a shame but to come from last to third is a great achievement.”
06/20/2005
Indianapolis, USA – "Certainly today was a very unique Grand Prix” M. Schumacher. Following two tire blowouts, one preventing Ralph Schumacher from competing in the USGP, Michelin declared that their tires were not safe to last through the race at the famed Brickyard. Michelin and the FIA could not agree to a rule compromise, resulting in only six Bridgestone-cladded cars competing in Sunday’s race. Two Ferraris, two Jordons and two Minardis completed the 74 laps of the USGP after the 14 Michelin-equipped cars pulled into the pits following the formation lap. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello easily piloted their cars to 1st and 2nd place. Tiago Monteiro of Portugal rounded off the podium by placing his Jordon in third place. Tiago was the most jubilant driver scoring his first podium win, and driver points of his career. Officials of the Indianapolis Speedway did not share the podium with the drivers.
The problems with the Michelin tires stemmed from the high speeds reached in turn 13, part of the banked high-speed oval. "The corner is not a corner," said David Coulthard. The high speeds place a lot of stress on the tires, too much for the Michelins apparently. Rubens Barrichello, whose Ferrari team uses Bridgestone, said he had no problem with the tires in practice or qualifications. “We have in the past, but we've sorted them out,"
Race officials tried to reach a compromise between the teams, Michelin, and the FIA. A chicane was proposed at the entrance of turn 13 to slow down the cars and reduce the loads on the tires. This was unacceptable to 1 of the 10 teams, Ferrari, and to FIA. With the hope of a last minute agreement, all 20 cars were out on the formation lap, but, signaling the lack of a compromise, the Michelin teams entered the pit lanes and the cars were quickly placed into their garages.
The fans, many who traveled thousands of miles to see their heros, were clearly upset. Some spectators (obviously not fans), threw debris on the track including beer bottles. Michael Schumacher stated “there were beer bottles by the smell.” Others booed and still others left after only a few laps. The fans did not get a show, the sponsors did not receive the exposure, the race officials did not get a race, and drivers and teams lost an opportunity to gain points. No one was a true winner here. Even Ferrari, now second in the constructors championship, found little glee in their win, the drivers stepping off the podium before popping the champagne.
This is the second race that has been adversely affected by the new tire rule. First, Kimi’s chances at a win at the Nurburgring were dashed by a broken suspension on the last lap caused by a flat-spotted tire early in the race. Clearly something must be done. But there is apparently a struggle for control with Minardi’s chief calling for Mosley to resign. Another question also remains. What is the future for Grand Prix racing in the US? Are the American fans and race promoters sick and tired of the Europeans and their rivalries? Or will the “reality-TV’-like, dysfunctional family of F1 racing entice them back next year?
07/03/05
Magny-Cours, France – After the debacle in Indianapolis, the French are redeemed with a win by the Michelin-shod Renault of Fernando Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen placed a close second piloting his McLaren with 11 seconds of the leader. M. Schumacher rounded off the podium with a third place finish. BAR-Honda, even though a lap down, finally scores points this year with a fourth place finish.
During qualifying, the Michelin tires had an edge over the Bridgestones in the 25 degree C temperatures. Alonso posted a 1:14:412 laptime, placing him first of the starting grid. Jarno Trulli, also on Michelins, managed an impressive 1:14.512 placing his Toyota in second position. Although Kimi Raikkonen’s time of 1:14.559 was the third fastest time, and engine failure on Friday penalized him by ten places, putting him in the 13th starting position. This was good news for Ferrari, placing Michael’s car in the third starting position. Sato secured 4th position for BAR-Honda and Rubens’ Ferrari completed the third row in the 6th starting position.
Though not the winner, Kimi certainly provided McLaren fans with a stellar performance by finishing only 11 seconds behind the winning Renault despite his 10-place penalty for replacing his engine. Juan Pablo Montoya also drove an impressive race, running in second place after 25 laps. Unfortunately, a mechanical problem slowed his pace allowing Schumacher to pass him before the Columbian retired on lap 47. Alonso drove a remarkable, yet thankfully uneventful race securing first-place and giving him a 24 point lead over Kimi in the drivers championship. “I am very proud to win here today, for the team, for Renault, for Michelin who have had a difficult time in the last two weeks, and for all the fans who came to support us.”
The British Grand Prix and Silverstone stands to be an exciting race. Will McLaren shine in their home circuit and make the race for the championship more interesting? How will the politics of the FIA affect the remainder of the season ?
July 10, 2005
Silverstone, England – Following a minute of silence to honor those killed in the horrific terror bombings in London, the sold-out British Grand Prix was run under increased security. Though McLaren did not quite “walk-away” with the win, Juan Pablo Montoya led the race from the beginning (excepting about 5 laps), getting a jump at the start and passing the pole sitter and points leader, Alonso in the Renault, who finished third. Kimi Raikkonen, starting from 12th position and ending in third place, drove a magnificent race, running the fastest laps and able to capitalize on an opportunity when Fisichella, running in third, again stalled in the pits on lap 46. It was clear at Silverstone that the McLarens and the Renaults are extremely fast and it will be difficult to believe that the Championship will go to any other team or driver. The hometown favorite, Jenson Button, was in the points with a respectable fifth place finish. This marks the second points race of the season for BAR-Honda, and may mark a turnaround for the battered team. The Ferraris of Schumacher and Barrichello could only manage sixth and seventh places respectively.
If not for an engine change for Kimi Raikkonen following qualifying, McLaren may well have fulfilled Buttons prediction that McLaren would walk away with the race. The fastest time of the race, 1:19.905 was posted by Alonso. Kimi managed a 1:19.932 but suffered an engine failure that moved him to twelfth place on the grid. Jenson Button ran the third best time of 1:20.207 and placing him on the front row following the Finn’s foul luck.
7/31/05
Budapest, Hungary - Michael Schumacher started from the pole and led the Hungarian Grand Prix for much of the race. The McLarens however were very formidable and Kiki Raikkonen was able to snatch the lead from the champion. On lap 36, the red Ferrari pitted allowing the Finn the first position. On lap 37, Raikkonen came in for a magnificent pit stop coming out ahead of the red Ferrari. The Ferrari was no match for the McLaren. With a light fuel load, Raikkonen was lapping nearly 2 seconds quicker than the German allowing McLaren a 24 second lead by lap 48, and an easy margin for victory. Juan Pablo Montoya was running very fast and led the race between laps 15 and 40, when the Columbian drove slowly into the pits with a broken driveshaft. Michael’s brother Ralf finished 3rd with his first podium finish in the Toyota.
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