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Post by Kiro on Apr 4, 2005 20:48:23 GMT -5
I watched the Bahrain race live on TV. Congrats Fernando. It seemed to be a race of Mclarens though. ;D Kimi did a fairly good job, and De La Rosa was just too active . Throughout the whole race you can always see Mclarens drivers chasing other cars. Under the pressure of Kimi, Webber and Ralf Schumacher both committed mistakes and dropped behind. De La Rosa really made me laugh, his drive was not clean at all (he ran wide for several times) but he was driving ppl mad ;D
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Post by Ilhame on Apr 5, 2005 14:36:24 GMT -5
I watched the race too and I looooooved Pedro! ;D
He made it an entertaining race!
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Post by TennisHack on Apr 21, 2005 18:52:41 GMT -5
Red Bull And Jordan Defect?Saturday April 16 2005 www.planet-f1.com/features/editorial/story_19210.shtmlSo, the big question after Friday’s meeting in Paris is – Have the Nine become the Seven? Up until now the nine teams (everyone bar Ferrari) had maintained a unity in resisting the overtures of Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA to sign up to F1 beyond 2007. They had also joined forces to oppose Ferrari’s unlimited testing in 2005. Now, after Red Bull and Jordan joined Ferrari in Paris to discuss the schedule for the technical regulations that would be brought in from 2008 onwards it looks like the gang of nine may well have become the gang of seven. Bernie Ecclestone had hinted that he had signed two more teams but neither Jordan or Red Bull had been very forthcoming about their prospective futures. So was it just a case of the new boys in F1 not wishing to be rude and upsetting the governing body, especially after the FIA agreed to Red Bull’s demands and changed the third driver rule? In siding with the FIA they both have given themselves potential big problems beyond the disdain of the other teams in the pitlane. Jordan owes its existence to Toyota, without Toyota engines for 2005 the team would have folded. Yet new owner Alex Shnaider is risking a fall-out if he continues down this path. Toyota remain firmly with the Seven. Red Bull have a massive brand problem. The drink itself is built on image and the marketeers for the company have tried hard to pick rebel, edgy sports to sponsor to give the drink street cred. Yet here they are siding with the blazers of the FIA, sucking up to the establishment. That is brand suicide. Next thing we know they’ll be saying Conservative leader Michael Howard is a cool dude and that they’re out to capture the ‘grey’ market. Certainly David Coulthard has the beard for it. Unofficial Seven shop steward Paul Stoddart was defiant, though. "The line has really been drawn in the sand now. When you have five manufacturers and the two oldest established independent teams not going (to the meeting in Paris), that sends out a clear enough message." "The whole process has no credibility and will only have credibility when all of the teams currently competing in Formula One sit down and discuss it properly." AD
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Post by TennisHack on Apr 21, 2005 18:58:16 GMT -5
Ecclestone looks to change Q-formatTHURSDAY 21ST APRIL 2005 www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=1&nid=109087^--the picture accompanying this story is priceless! F1 ringmaster, Bernie Ecclestone is campaigning to once again alter the qualifying format, after the new aggregate system - set over Saturday and Sunday morning - has gone down like a lead balloon! According to British newspaper, The Guardian, Ecclestone wants to revert to a single Saturday-afternoon session, so that the grid is decided the day before the race. Furthermore the 'paper reports that qualifying will again be on the agenda this weekend, when F1 arrives at Imola, for the start of the European season. Although no specific time scale was disclosed, Mr. E is understood to want to make the alterations as soon as possible, especially as TV broadcasters have reported that viewing figures are down for qualifying compared to 2004. Red Bull boss, Christian Horner told the broadsheet that he could see why it needed changing. "I think a lot of people agree that the format is rather meaningless at present as it falls short of reaching a conclusion on Saturday afternoon," he stated. The issue of qualifying incidentally was once again discussed last week at the FIA meeting in Paris, however as only three teams - Ferrari, Red Bull Racing and Jordan - attended, no decision could be made.
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Post by TennisHack on Apr 21, 2005 19:00:52 GMT -5
Schumacher to ink new Ferrari deal? THURSDAY 21ST APRIL 2005 www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=1&nid=109081Ferrari number one driver, Michael Schumacher has revealed that he has been talking with Scuderia team boss, Jean Todt about post-2006 - and that could stay on rather than retire. The German told Italian newspaper, Gazzetta dello Sport, that while he and Todt had been chatting about who could replace him there was more talk on him actually remaining with Ferrari and signing a new deal when his current one expires. "To tell you the truth, Jean at the moment is talking with me about extending my contract," confirmed the German. "Sometimes we talk about drivers, but in very general terms." Schumacher, who has re-written the F1 record books, joined Ferrari in 1996, and he will be nearly 38 when his current deal comes to an end. Furthermore despite lots of speculation - often unfounded it must be said - that he might retire, the German has always insisted that while he continues to enjoy what he does, then he has no intention of giving up. "I don't think Michael will stop in 2006," Schumacher's father, Rolf, told German newspaper, Bild recently. "I have a feeling he will carry on." As for possible replacements, Michael admitted that while current championship leader, Fernando Alonso would be a smart choice, there were others to consider too. "I consider him [- Alonso], [Kimi] Raikkonen, [Felipe] Massa and [Mark] Webber to be very good drivers," he added.
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Post by TennisHack on Apr 24, 2005 15:28:05 GMT -5
San Marino GP Race Result: 1. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 62 laps 01:27:41.921 2. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari +0.2 3. Jenson Button Britain BAR-Honda +10.4 4. Alexander Wurz Austria McLaren-Mercedes +27.5 5. Takuma Sato Japan BAR-Honda +34.7 6. Jacques Villeneuve Canada Sauber-Petronas +64.4 7. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +70.2 8. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota +70.8 9. Nick Heidfeld Germany Williams-BMW +71.2 10. Mark Webber Australia Williams-BMW +83.2 11. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Red Bull-Cosworth +83.7 12. Felipe Massa Brazil Sauber-Petronas +1 lap 13. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Cosworth +1 lap 14. Narain Karthikeyan India Jordan-Toyota +1 lap 15. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Jordan-Toyota +2 laps Rtd Christijan Albers Holland Minardi-Cosworth 20 laps completed Rtd Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari 18 laps completed Rtd Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 9 laps completed Rtd Patrick Friesacher Austria Minardi-Cosworth 8 laps completed Rtd Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault 5 laps completed
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Post by TennisHack on Apr 24, 2005 15:29:47 GMT -5
Schumacher penalised, loses points SUNDAY 24TH APRIL 2005 www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=1&nid=109306Ralf Schumacher has been demoted from the eighth place he collected at the end of the San Marino Grand Prix, elevating Nick Heidfeld into the points. The race director referred Schumacher to the stewards for an incident involving his Toyota and Heidfeld's Williams following the second round of pit-stops and, having reviewed the evidence, the stewards decided that Schumacher had indeed made an unsafe manoeuvre. They duly applied a 25-second penalty to the German's race time, which was good enough to drop him behind both Williams-BMWs and the Red Bull entry of debutant Vitantonio Liuzzi. Toyota, which also took seventh place with Jarno Trulli, is not about to let the matter rest, however. "In view of the extremely vague description of the regulation, and a number of similar incidents which have gone unpunished, Toyota has decided to appeal the decision of the stewards in order to clarify this issue for the future," confirmed team principal Tsutomu Tomita.
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Post by TennisHack on May 4, 2005 11:42:08 GMT -5
Button's season hangs on inquiry into cheatingBy Kevin Eason May 03, 2005 www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5923-1595372,00.html JENSON BUTTON has been dragged through the embarrassment and tension of legal action in his fledgeling Formula One career, but that may be nothing compared with what he faces in the next 48 hours. A court convened by the FIA, motor racing’s ruling body, in Paris will hear evidence tomorrow that could accuse his BAR Honda team of cheating. Button will arrive in Barcelona on Thursday for the Spanish Grand Prix, but he will not be able to concentrate on preparations until the FIA court gives its verdict later that day. The charge is so devastating that the ultimate sanction would be to throw BAR — and Button — out of the 2005 World Championship, perhaps starting from the race in Spain. The charges are no accident, for it has emerged that stewards who spent five hours examining Button’s car after his third-place finish in the San Marino Grand Prix the weekend before last had been tipped off about what to look for by two former BAR engineers who had left for another team. The FIA refused to comment before the hearing, but it is understood that the stewards had precise instructions on the fuel system that is believed to have been deemed illegal by the organisation’s senior technical staff. So certain were they that it was against the rules that they have effectively overruled their stewards to appeal against the post-race decision to clear BAR of wrongdoing. A copy of the FIA dossier is with BAR to give the team time to prepare a defence that could be crucial to their existence. BAR are understood to have hired one of Britain’s leading barristers because a ban, even for one or two races, would be a serious blow to the team and their sponsors, who will not want to be associated with accusations of cheating. It would also rip Button’s aspirations to tatters, particularly because the race in San Marino marked a turning point in what had been a poor season. BAR insist that they are not breaking the rules and believe that the defence they mounted in the hours after the race at Imola will be enough to convince the FIA court of their innocence. Nick Fry, the BAR chief executive, said: “There is no way that we would deliberately break the rules. We are using a system we believe is perfectly legal and the stewards in Imola agreed with us. I am sure that the court will hear our evidence and see that we are doing everything we can to stick to the rules of Formula One.” Button has to hope so. He holds the lap record on the Circuit de Catalunya and was among the fastest drivers in an arduous test session in Italy last week. After more than 1,700 miles around the Mugello circuit, BAR discovered that they have the pace to challenge Ferrari and Fernando Alonso, Renault’s championship leader. The young Briton has every reason to envy his Spanish counterpart, for their careers are intertwined. Button was thrown out of Renault when Flavio Briatore, the team principal, wanted to replace him with Alonso and, while Button had driven a dog of a car, Alonso is in a machine that has seen off all rivals this season; Renault have won all four races, with Giancarlo Fisichella taking the first and Alonso the next three. The dramatic chase by Michael Schumacher in Imola was a one-off, Alonso believes, because Barcelona’s high-speed circuit will suit the Renault-Michelin combination better than Schumacher’s Ferrari-Bridgestone alliance. “We have always been quick in Spain,” Alonso said. “Everything is still there to fight for and I know the atmosphere will be fantastic — like a big party for all three days. That will be an even stronger motivation for me to fight for the podium.”
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Post by TennisHack on May 4, 2005 11:46:26 GMT -5
BAR's Formula One future hanging in the balanceBy Times Online and AP Sports May 04, 2005 www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5923-1597613,00.html Jenson Button's BAR-Honda team should be thrown out of the Formula One championship because it raced an underweight car at the San Marino Grand Prix, a top official from the sport's governing body said today. BAR-Honda representatives were appearing before an appeals body to explain why Button's car ran under the minimum 600-kilogram (1,322-pound) weight at Imola last month. "These are very grave allegations and would not be made without real and serious grounds," Pierre de Coninck, the general secretary of the FIA, motor sports' governing body, said. "BAR failed to comply with the rules systematically. We believe BAR must be excluded and be fined $1 million (US$1.29 million)." Button's car was found to be five kilograms (11 pounds) below the minimum requirement after he finished third at Imola on April 24. Thursday afternoon's verdict could deliver a lesser penalty whereby Button would be stripped of six points. The hearing centred on the legality of two carbon-fiber fuel tanks located in the car's main tank. The team says the tanks pressurize fuel before it is injected into the engine. "A flexible fuel compartment allows a car to stay out for two or three laps when a legitimate car would have to pit," de Coninck said. "This enables cars to complete more laps than a genuine 600-kilogram (1,322-pound) car." The BAR-Honda team — represented by David Pannick — appeared before 18 judges at FIA headquarters in Paris. Pannick, who once represented the Queen in an injunction against a national newspaper, repeatedly denied there was a concealed mechanism in Button's car. "There was no secret chamber in this engine," Pannick said. "At worst, there was a minor misunderstanding. A modest fine would suffice." However, BAR's argument that deliberately racing underweight would have led to an engine malfunction did not convince the FIA. Kris De Groot, a member of the Formula One technical team, said he asked BAR's chief mechanic Alistair Gibson for a "full draining" of the car. He said he then found more fuel, as well as a plastic tube, the function of which was not clear. "Most teams understand the term 'full drain'," De Groot said. "I asked Gibson what the tube was for and I was given no definitive answer." About 250 cars are weighed each season after races. Fewer than ten per cent are weighed after fuel is drained, F1 technical officer Jo Bauer said, adding that BAR was weighed five times last season after fuel drainage.
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Post by TennisHack on May 4, 2005 12:07:40 GMT -5
Button and Liuzzi play drinking gamesWednesday May 04 2005 www.planet-f1.com/news/story_19389.shtmlKimi Raikkonen no longer has the sole rights to F1’s drinking tales as according to reports Jenson Button and Vitantonio Liuzzi recently staged their own personal drinking competition at a West End nightclub. The two were spotted at the Nick House Entertainment party at Umbaba club in the West End on Saturday night where a casual evening turned into a drinking and dancing competition. Although who won, The Daily Mirror isn’t saying. "The two drivers turned up separately with groups of pals," an onlooker told the British tabloid. "But within half an hour they decided to have a drinking challenge.” "They both knocked back bottles of Grey Goose vodka but Jenson then moved on to cocktails. Vitantonio shied away from the mojitos though, so it was definitely one-nil to Jenson." However, it didn’t stop there as the two drivers then decided to have a dance competition. "It was hysterical. They both staggered on to the dancefloor, but Jenson stunned his rival with his hilarious John Travolta moves," the onlooker continued. "They were both taking it deadly seriously. There was a crowd of clubbers standing around them cheering and clapping.” "Jenson particularly likes grooving to a rock house mix of Jay-Z and Linkin Park. Vitantonio was finally forced to admit defeat when Jenson encouraged other partygoers to join his 'train' as he led them round the club in a conga.” "Jenson had about 12 people attached to his waist so in the end Vitantonio had to join on as a passenger!" And according to the newspaper, this isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Button’s been spotted knocking it back as he was also seen “looking a bit wobbly last week with fellow Formula One driver David Coulthard and a couple of girlies at Umbaba.
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Post by Maeby Fünke on May 4, 2005 12:16:34 GMT -5
Formula one is silly.
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Post by TennisHack on May 6, 2005 1:25:49 GMT -5
Button's legal team moves into overdrive to fight banFrom Kevin Eason in Barcelona May 06, 2005 www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5923-1600051,00.html JENSON BUTTON will enlist the help of a judge today to rescue his season and fight a ban that would shatter his dream of becoming Formula One world champion. The Briton’s BAR Honda team described as “appalling” the decision of a court convened by the FIA, motor racing’s governing body, to erase Button’s third place in the San Marino Grand Prix 12 days ago and stop the team competing in Spain this weekend and at the showpiece grand prix in Monaco two weeks later. Nick Fry, the BAR chief executive, described the punishment as “wholly and grossly disproportionate” in a statement signalling that one of the sport’s richest teams is prepared to use all its wealth and power to stay on the track. Fry said: “Honda is the biggest manufacturer of engines in the world and BAT (British American Tobacco) is the second-biggest cigarette manufacturer. We need to clear our name and to clear the feeling that we have done anything wrong. We also need a fair hearing. But our objective is to race this weekend.” The fact that the entire Honda board is flying to Barcelona this morning for the Spanish Grand Prix, along with 16 senior executives from BAT, only adds to the imperative. Both companies were furious at the inference that their team were cheating by running their cars underweight in San Marino, when they gave their best performance of the season. Although the FIA court did not go as far as to give credence to charges of fraud and deception, it left enough room for doubt by finding that BAR showed “at the least highly regrettable negligence and lack of transparency”. Lawyers in London led by David Pannick, QC, were working on a legal strategy last night that would allow Button and Takuma Sato, his team-mate, to race this weekend under an injunction contesting the FIA court’s judgment. But it is a high-risk strategy that will infuriate Max Mosley, the FIA president. Mosley made his stance clear by saying that the court had not been harsh enough. “The facts in this case are clear,” he said. “Under the circumstances, we feel they (BAR Honda) have been treated rather leniently.” Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula One impresario, also advised BAR not to go to the courts. “They would be silly to go to a civil court. It’s a big risk. It was a fair verdict and they got off quite lightly,” he said. The implications of the case are bizarre and complex; bizarre in the way that it has been handled and complex because the offence revolves around arcane regulations that attempt to govern technology equating to rocket science. Under FIA rules, Formula One cars must not gain an advantage by competing lighter than 600kg or use fuel as ballast. When stewards asked for all the fuel to be drained from Button’s car after the race in San Marino, they appeared to have a hidden agenda. The man charged with draining the tank was Chris Fry, a BAR truck driver, who simply carried out the task as required. Asked if the car was drained, he said: “That’s it.” But stewards started a fresh examination and discovered a further 8.92kg of petrol in a second collector tank tucked inside the main fuel tank. After removing that, the car was 5.4kg underweight. BAR say that the car did not race underweight and that the extra fuel tank is part of a complicated high-pressure feed mechanism designed to ensure that the Honda engine has petrol in the system at all times. The San Marino stewards appeared to agree and exonerated the team. Twelve hours later, however, the FIA appealed against a decision made by its stewards and yesterday the FIA court judged the cars to be illegal. Now lawyers will start a fresh fight, moving the battlefield to a court somewhere in Europe — perhaps London, where BAR operate under the jurisdiction of English civil law, Paris, where the FIA is based, Italy, where the offence was alleged to have been committed, or here in Barcelona, in the hours leading up to the Spanish Grand Prix. In the middle of it all is a bewildered Button, who was third in the World Championship last season and arrived here believing that he could win the first race of his career after a sterling performance in San Marino. Now he will turn up at the Circuit de Catalunya this morning not knowing whether he is to be punished for an offence that he had no part in or whether he will be racing for glory this weekend.
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Post by TennisHack on May 6, 2005 1:28:41 GMT -5
Two-race ban for BAR THURSDAY 5TH MAY 2005
The BAR-Honda team has escaped complete expulsion from this year's Formula One world championship following its alleged misdemeanour at the San Marino Grand Prix, but will be forced to sit out both the Spanish and Monaco races as punishment.
An FIA statement issued after the hearing, brought about by the governing body questioning the decision of its own stewards and demanding an appeal, confirmed that BAR had been banned for two races, with a six-month suspended sentence also put in place, effectively covering the rest of the 2005 season. On top of the ban, the team will also lose the points gained by Jenson Button and Takuma Sato at Imola.
Button's car spent six hours in parc ferme while the scrutineers checked and re-checked its weight. Although, at the end of the process, the three stewards decided to let the result stand, they confirmed that a hidden fuel chamber had been discovered behind a bulkhead within the chassis. This, it was suggested, could have been used to both conceal fuel being employed as ballast and, potentially, allow the car to run underweight as it came close to making a refuelling stop. As neither of these points was proven by the scrutineers, however, Button was allowed to keep both his first points and podium of the season.
They have now been deleted from the records, with McLaren's Alex Wurz moving up into third place - securing a podium on his return to Formula One after a near four-year absence - while Sato's exclusion also means that Mark Webber and Vitantonio Liuzzi - on his grand prix debut - score points for seventh and eighth.
BAR's ban will begin immediately, despite the team having already travelled to Barcelona for this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, and will also cover the season's showpiece event in Monaco in two weeks' time. Pending another appeal, this time from the team, Button and Sato should be back in action at the Nurburgring at the end of the month. BAR CEO Nick Fry has, however, hinted that the matter could be taken to the civil courts should the result not go in its favour.
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Post by TennisHack on May 6, 2005 1:30:15 GMT -5
Montoya insists: It really was a tennis injury! THURSDAY 5TH MAY 2005 www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=1&nid=110121Juan Pablo Montoya insists that the injury that kept him out of the Bahrain and San Marino GPs really was the result of fall during a game of tennis, contrary to rumours that suggested he might just have fallen off a motorcycle. The Colombian has made his return to the paddock in Spain for the first time since the incident, which happened in Madrid in the week after the Malaysian GP. "I heard all kinds of stories," he said, "but I think the story came up to be honest because a lot of people think that in most of the drivers' contracts we're not allowed to do anything, so everybody thought we have a great story, he's breaking his contract. Funnily enough, that's not the way it is. "It was tennis. I would rather say it was on a bike than tennis, it sounds kind of dumb, but that's the way it went." Montoya says that he doesn't expect to have any problems this weekend. "I was in England the day before yesterday and we checked and the crack and that it could stand everything,2 he said. "It looks very good, you know. McLaren has got a simulator and we went in it. I had full steering movements, so it's cool. Tomorrow morning they [the FIA] want to check everything, but I'm pretty happy. "It's nice to see the team still scoring points and everything, but it's great to be back."
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Post by TennisHack on May 8, 2005 17:44:59 GMT -5
Spanish GP:
1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 66 01:27:16.830 2. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault +27.6 3. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +45.9 4. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota +46.7 5. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault +57.9 6. Mark Webber Australia Williams-BMW +68.5 7. Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap 8. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Cosworth +1 lap 9. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +1 lap 10. Nick Heidfeld Germany Williams-BMW +1 lap 11. Felipe Massa Brazil Sauber-Petronas +3 laps 12. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Jordan-Toyota +3 laps 13. Narain Karthikeyan India Jordan-Toyota +3 laps Rtd Jacques Villeneuve Canada Sauber-Petronas 51 laps completed Rtd Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari 46 laps completed Rtd Christijan Albers Holland Minardi-Cosworth 19 laps completed Rtd Patrick Friesacher Austria Minardi-Cosworth 11 laps completed Rtd Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Red Bull-Cosworth 9 laps completed
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Post by TennisHack on May 8, 2005 17:50:16 GMT -5
Raikkonen repaid in BarcelonaSUNDAY 8TH MAY 2005 www.crash.net/uk/en/news_view.asp?cid=1&nid=110402Kimi Raikkonen showed just what he had been denied at Imola a fortnight ago by blitzing the Spanish Grand Prix field from start to finish at the Circuit de Catalunya, and taking his first win of the season as a reward. The Finn had eased himself onto pole position in morning qualifying and, with Mark Webber alongside in the Williams-BMW, must have hoped that he would have an early buffer between himself and the chasing Renaults and Toyotas. The start didn't quite work out as Raikkonen had planned but, in the event, it didn't really matter as, having got the drop on the rest of the field, the McLaren pulled away at almost a second a lap in the opening stages. Webber's getaway was so poor that Ralf Schumacher also got past the BMW-powered Australian, a situation made all the more galling for Webber when the safety car appeared at the end of the lap. At the other end of the grid, both Minardis remained stranded just yards from where they had lined up on the eighth row of the grid, the victims of identical software programming errors Having seen his pace controlled for two laps, Raikkonen was in no mood to hang about when the safety car returned to the pits, and darted away at the resumption, opening an immediate gap on his pursuers. By the end of the lap, the Finn enjoyed a 1.6secs advantage over Alonso, with Schumacher, Webber, Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella in close attention. Seventh place was the first to change hands once racing began in earnest, Juan Montoya atoning for having been pushed onto the grass at the start by diving inside Michael Schumacher at turn one. The Colombian almost undid his good work by spinning through 360 degrees on lap seven, but it was symptomatic of his pace compared to that of the world champion that Schumacher was in no position to re-pass. Indeed, the German has David Coulthard - buoyed by a new Red Bull chassis - sniffing at the gearbox of his Ferrari, with Felipe Massa again keeping tabs on his Imola sparring partner. With the two Minardis having been fired up in pit-lane in order to rejoin the fray, Vitantonio Liuzzi became the race's first retirement, spinning deep into the gravel at turn eleven to cap an erratic second grand prix, The yellow flags had barely been withdrawn when Patrick Friesacher did likewise with his Minardi a couple of corners further on, and team-mate Christijan Albers completed a disappointing day for the Italian minnow by parking up on lap 22. By that stage, the first of the pit-stops had begun, and it was no surprise to see Webber beating everyone in for fuel. The Australian's stunning Sunday qualifying performance smacked of a lighter fuel load, making his problems getting off the line all the more disappointing. The length of stop, however, suggested that what had started out as a potential three-stop race had been switched to a two-stopper in an attempt to snag some points for Grove following Nick Heidfeld's demotion to the rear of the grid. Raikkonen by now enjoyed an 18-second advantage over Alonso, and the Spaniard appeared to be in some trouble as the two Toyotas homed in on the back of the Renault. Of all the races to begin to suffer reliability problems, this was not the one the points leader would have chosen, the stands awash with the blue-and-yellow flags of Asturias, coincidentally mirroring the colours of his car. For four laps, Alonso kept Schumacher and Trulli at bay, before the German dived for the pits. Trulli followed the leader in a lap later, before Alonso followed suit on lap 27. If observers had caught their breath when blue smoke emerged from Raikkonen's exhaust, the Finn did not appear to concerned, rejoining ahead of the field and beginning to re-establish the gap that had served him so well first time around. Alonso, too, was happier, the Renault running cleaner than it had in his first stint and now enjoying clear air back to the chasing Toyotas. The Cologne assault was now being led by Trulli, who had managed to vault ahead of his team-mate during his stop, the legacy of running a lap longer than Schumacher had managed. Temporarily into second and third came Fisichella and Schumacher Sr, both running longer still. The pair eventually completed their first stops on laps 29 and 32 respectively, rejoining in positions either side of crowd favourite Alonso. Fisichella looked particularly racy, and held a comfortable cushion over his team-mate, while Schumacher, now fourth on the road, appeared set for definite points, if not another podium. The German was now untroubled by Montoya, the unfortunate Colombian having had to make a second stop for fuel after the nozzle on his tank refused to open first time around. Having just enough fuel left in the car for another lap, JPM dropped to the tail of the top ten when he finally rejoined again. Montoya was not the only driver to suffer ill-luck, however, for, just as Renault appeared to be able to up its pace in the middle part of the race, Fisichella also appeared back in the pits unexpectedly. There was no obvious damage to the R25, and no puncture to attend to, but the mechanics set about changing the front wing and checking the suspension, eventually costing the Italian around a minute. That dropped him back to 13th, seemingly out of the points. Webber began the second round of 'real' stops on lap 43, only to be followed into the pits by the world champion. Again, Schumacher caught his team on the hop, Ferrari not having expected to see him quite so soon, but, with the left rear punctured, emergency surgery was required on the F2005. Incredibly, at the end of his out lap, having narrowly avoided collecting both McLarens as he rejoined, Schumacher was in trouble again, this time the left front letting go as he braked for turn one. Again, the German managed to keep from making contact with Montoya but, by the time he had limped back to the pits, the suspension had cried enough and the car was parked for good. The shake-up had allowed Toyota to resume its hunt for a podium, with Schumacher Jr sensing his first pot of the year as he closed in on team-mate Trulli. The Italian, however, has been hardened by his own success this season, and successfully defended his position to the flag, again helped by a marginally quicker final stop than Schumacher. On a track used extensively for testing, perhaps it was no surprise to see teams running two-by-two, with Renault and Toyota having managed it at various stages in the race. Backmarkers Jordan and Minardi aside - and both minnows saw their share of inter-necine dicing - Williams also found its two FW27s running nose-to-tail at one point, despite Webber and Heidfeld starting from opposite ends of the grid. The German made his move stick this time, but the situation was skewed as he still had a final stop to make, allowing Webber to resume his pursuit of points alone. The Australian was elevated to fifth when Coulthard and Montoya made their final stops, but now had the recovering Fisichella right on his rear wing. The Italian harried his Sepang assailant for several laps before making the speed differential between Renault and Williams tell into turn one on lap 64. Having given himself a clear road, Fisico then set about dismantling Raikkonen's new lap record, set repeatedly in the early stages, eventually stopping the clocks at 1min 15.641secs - 1.8secs quicker than the old record - on the very last lap. His team-mate, however, was not going to get the prize he most wanted for Raikkonen was too far in front to be caught over the last few laps. Even though Felipe Massa showed that Michelin was potentially in as much trouble with wear as Bridgestone, the McLaren - notoriously easy on its tyres - continued to sail serenely on. Raikkonen had again rejoined in front after his second stop, and the gap was up to almost 30secs by the flag, despite Alonso claiming that his car was working the best it had all race. After Imola, the MP4-20's performance was fitting reward for Raikkonen's frustration, allowing him to underline the fact that the world championship may yet be more than a one-horse race. Somehow, the victory was only the third of the Finn's career, but he must surely head to Monaco as favourite for number four...
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Post by TennisHack on May 8, 2005 17:51:08 GMT -5
F1 DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP (AFTER ROUND 5 OF 19) POSITION DRIVER TEAM POINTS 1. FERNANDO ALONSO RENAULT 44 2. JARNO TRULLI TOYOTA 26 3. KIMI RAIKKONEN MCLAREN 17 4. RALF SCHUMACHER TOYOTA 14 = GIANCARLO FISICHELLA RENAULT 14 6. MARK WEBBER WILLIAMS 12 7. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA MCLAREN 10 = DAVID COULTHARD RED BULL RACING 10 = MICHAEL SCHUMACHER FERRARI 10 10. NICK HEIDFELD WILLIAMS 9 11. RUBENS BARRICHELLO FERRARI 8 12. ALEXANDER WURZ MCLAREN 6 13. JACQUES VILLENEUVE SAUBER 5 14. PEDRO DE LA ROSA MCLAREN 4 15. CHRISTIAN KLIEN RED BULL RACING 3 16. FELIPE MASSA SAUBER 2 17. VITANTONIO LIUZZI RED BULL RACING 1
F1 CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP (AFTER ROUND 5 OF 19) POSITION TEAM POINTS 1. RENAULT 58 2. TOYOTA 40 3. MCLAREN 37 4. WILLIAMS 21 5. FERRARI 18 6. RED BULL RACING 14 7. SAUBER 7 8. JORDAN 0 = MINARDI 0 = BAR 0
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Post by TennisHack on May 8, 2005 18:29:56 GMT -5
Spanish GP Report: Kimi Storms To VictorySunday May 08 2005 www.planet-f1.com/news/story_19453.shtmlKimi Raikkonen stormed to victory in the Spanish GP. However, with Fernando Alonso still taking second place despite his lacklustre pace, Kimi only made a minor dent in Alonso's WC lead. Jarno Trulli held off Toyota team-mate Ralf Schumacher to take the third and final podium place, while Giancarlo Fisichella (fifth) and Juan-Pablo Montoya (seventh) were left to rue costly problems with their front-wing and refuelling respectively. But the man leaving Barcelona in the worst mood must have been Michael Schumacher. The World Champ struggled for much of the race and then, just when it appeared that he was set to make one of his customary charges, he developed not one, but two problems with his left-front tyre and was forced to retire with his aspirations of retaining his title in tatters. Race Report: The track temperature was up to 46 degrees Celsius with an ambient of 25C as the grid lined up at a packed-to-capacity Circuit de Catalunya. When the red lights went out, the two Minardis were stranded immobile at the back of the grid. Normally this wouldn’t have been a problem with them last on the grid, but with Monteiro, Barichello and Heidfeld changing engines, they were now behind a tricky obstacle. The two PS05s presented a narrow gap which Heidfeld and Barrichello managed to steer through with exceptional judgement. The yellow flags came out and the field slowed down awaiting the Safety Car which was dispatched to slow the field down while the two non-starting cars were removed from the grid. As the red lights went out Alonso had got the drop on 2nd place Webber off the line, but the Mclaren of Raikkonen was a match for the Renault’s acceleration into Turn 1. Webber was in fact so slow that Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota snuck inside it as well. So as the cars lined up behind the Safety Car the order was Raikkonen from Alonso, Ralf Schumacher, Mark Webber, Jarno Trulli, and Giancarlo Fisichella in 6th. Michael Schumacher got past Juan Montoya who put a wheel onto the dirt going down the start/finish straight and dropped behind Schumi into 8th. Coulthard was 9th, Massa 10th and Jacques Villeneuve 11th. The Minardis were thought both to be suffering from a programming problem in the master software – it was probably good, then, that Paul Stoiddart had been called away on business in Australia and wasn’t there to witness the problem. Eventually both cars were started and joined the race after the re-start. When the Safety Car came in after Lap 2, Raikkonen backed up the field cannily and sprinted away at the front. Further back Juan Pablo Montoya used his Michelin tyre adavantage on colder tyres and overtook Michael Schumacher into Turn 1. Immediately Raikkonen set off on a breathtaking charge that was to see him successively lower the lap record and drive off into the distance, away from Fernando Alonso who could do nothing to respond. Indeed, Raikkonen showed an improved pace from his Imola start, opening the gap to 1.9 on lap 3, then 2.6, 3.1, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.6. By Lap 11 he had a 7.7 lead over the Spaniard. At the same time he was setting the timing screens purple Lap 4 1:17.651 Lap 5 1:17.377 Lap 6 1:17.253 Lap 7 1:17.196 Lap 8 1:16.962 Lap 9 1:16.963 Lap 10 1:16.760 Lap 11 1:16.592 Lap 12 1:16.468 Lap 13 1:16.345 Back down the field, with the Barcelona track not favouring overtaking there was little movement. On Lap 9 Montoya managed a 360 degree spin and continued on his way, not losing a place to Michael Schumacher who couldn’t keep up with the pace of the McLaren and seemed to be holding David Coulthard’s Red Bull back. On Lap 10 Tonio Liuzzi compounded his poor start with a spin into the gravel and retirement at Turn 11. His early retirement from the race was bad enough in his battle to match Red Bull team-mate Christian Klien, but his exit will also mean that he starts Monaco qualifying very early. With less fuel on board his BMW-Williams, Mark Webber was being held up behind Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota; further back down the field Narain Karthikeyan was coming under pressure from the sister Jordan-Toyota of Tiago Monteiro. Karthikeyan ran wide in Turns 7/8 and Monteiro took advantage and was through, but the Jordans came perilously close to each other. Alonso was now running so slowly that he was falling back into the clutches of Ralf Schumacher. On Lap 15 while Patrick Friesacher's Minardi was running off the road and into the gravel trap and retirement, Ralf had reduced the defecit to just 2.2 seconds. In fact a couple of laps later you had to go down as far as 11th place Jacques Villeneuve to find a slower car than Alonso. Raikkonen was already 15.4 seconds in front and what proved to be an unassailable position. The BMW-Williams of Mark Webber was first to pit at the end of Lap 18 but no other cars pitted quite so early. By Lap 20 Alonso had Ralf Schumacher on his gearbox which allowed Jarno Trulli to close on the pair of them. This battle was allowing Raikkonen to edge out his lead even further as he continued to put in 1:16s laps while Alonso was in the 1:18s. The pursuit ended on lap 24 when Ralf came in for his first pit-stop while Jarno Trulli pitted a lap later. Kimi Raikkonen had such an advantage that he was able to pit on Lap 25 and still come out in the lead. con'd
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Post by TennisHack on May 8, 2005 18:30:17 GMT -5
When the Spaniard came in for his first pit-stop a lap later the crew were quick to adjust the pressure on his rear tyres which were thought to be affecting the balance and handling of the car.
All the while that the cars were taking their first pit-stops Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari was picking up pace and picking up places. Just like at Imola two weeks earlier Schumi was making a quiet move up the order and putting in personal best lap times.
On Lap 28 Raikkonen led from Fisichella (not stopped), Montoya (not stopped) and Michael (not stopped). A lap later when they disappeared, Michael was up to second on the road. On Lap 30 Schumi put in the fastest lap of the race with a 1:16.019 and on Lap 31 he reduced this to a stunning 1:15.648 that would stand as the quickest lap of the race right up until the final lap.
Was this going to be Imola all over again? Schumi pitted on Lap 33 and when he rejoined he had leapfrogged the two Toyotas and had jumped from 8th place to 4th place. The second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello got as high as 7th place (on the road) before his one and only pit-stop of the race.
So the order after the first pit-stops was Raikkonen now from Giancarlo Fisichella, who after pitting much later than team-mate Alonso and putting in a series of quick laps, had jumped into second place. Alonso was third a long way ahead of Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, who had passed team-mate Ralf Schumacher in the pit-stops. Mark Webber was 7th, David Coulthard 8th, Massa 9th and Juan Montoya 10th.
Montoya had been forced into a second pit-stop on Lap 31 after the Mclaren team failed to get any fuel into his car the first time he had come in. Ron Dennis later maintained that it cost him 3rd place in the race.
After the pit-stops the Renaults stepped up their pace and began to pull away from 4th place Michael Schumacher. At the same time Alonso rapidly caught Fisichella when on Lap 40 the Italian suddenly dived down pitlane. The Renault team scurried to change his front wing and remove debris from the “tea tray” under his car.
Fisichella had to rejoin in 11th place, but with fuel for the finish on board.
On lap 42 Raikkonen’s lead was an enormous 28.9 seconds and he began his cruise to the finish. Two laps later and Michael Schumacher was in pitlane surprising the Ferrari team by his sudden arrival. Schumi had suffered a puncture on his rear left tyre, but luckily it had been close to the end of the lap and he wouldn’t lose too much time.
Three laps later, though, and the Ferrari slowed again, this time with a front left puncture. This time, the deflation had come at the beginning of the lap and the World Champion was faced with a very slow tour to the pits for another emergency replacement. When he got there he drove straight into his garage.
At the end of Lap 49 Raikkonen again had the luxury of pitting and rejoining in the lead, though this time Alonso pitted on the same lap. Further back, the two Toyotas had lost touch with the Renault they has been pressuring in the early stages. Instead they were involved in an intra-team battle.
Ralf was right on Jarno Trulli’s gearbox and showing signs of impatience. He couldn’t get past though. At the end of Lap 51 he pitted and Trulli did so a lap later, but the positions remained the same to the flag, despite a great deal of pressure from the German.
Juan Montoya was now showing the kind of pace that team-mate Kimi Raikkonen had demonstrated putting in a 1:15.184 on Lap 55. He was the last driver to pit for the second time, on Lap 57, and when he rejoined the order was Raikkonen, Alonso, Trulli, R Schumacher, Webber, Fisichella, Montoya in 7th, Coulthard in 8th and Rubens Barrichello up to 9th.
Fisi was right on Mark Webber’s tail and Rubens Barrichello was homing in on Coulthard as the race entered its final phase. Though Rubens got the gap down to slightly less than a second he was never in a position to overtake the Scot.
Fisichella’s Renault was now the quickest car on the circuit. On Lap 61 he was right behind Webber’s Williams. By Lap 64 he was past, diving up the inside of the Aussie into Turn 1 in one of the few overtaking moves of the race.
Jacques Villeneuve had retired his Sauber with a water pump problem on Lap 52 and now on Lap 65 Massa’s Sauber developed a front left puncture like Schumacher’s (The front left taking an enormous load on this abrasice clockwise circuit).
Fisichella set about showing what he could have done with the fastest lap of the race on his final tour a 1:15.641 but he was never going to get near the Toyotas who ran round together to the flag. Ahead of them was Alonso and way beyond him the Mclaren of Kimi Raikkonen.
It was a tremendous result for the Woking team, but they will need to start scoring a lot of 1-2 finishes if they are to seriously erode Alonso’s points lead in the World Championship.
Though Schumacher insisted after the race that there was not a problem with tyre wear on his Ferrari F2005’s Bridgestones, and that he had picked up debris both times he punctured, statistically that is very unlikely - considering there were three punctures in the race and he had two of them.
So Ferrari will need to do a lot of tyre and engine work before the next race at Monaco. But for the mean time, the team in silver and black are most definitely back. A.D.
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Post by TennisHack on May 8, 2005 18:32:15 GMT -5
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Post by TennisHack on May 14, 2005 0:58:49 GMT -5
Nick: 'I won't let Jense take my seat'Wednesday May 11 2005 www.planet-f1.com/news/story_19496.shtmlNick Heidfeld has warned Jenson Button to think again if he believes he’s just going to slide into a Williams seat in 2006. Jenson Button is expected to return to Williams, with whom he made his grand prix debut in 2000, next year having already tried to do so at the end of 2004. That move though, was blocked by F1’s Contract Recognition Board who ordered the Brit to stay with BAR while Heidfeld took his place at Williams. However, with his current point BAR yet to score a single point this season and banned for two-race weekens, the likelihood of Button making a play for Heidfeld’s seat in 2006 have grown. Heidfeld, though, has warned the Brit that he faces a fight as he doesn’t want to give up his position as Mark Webber’s Williams team-mate. "There have been rumours for a long time that if I didn't perform then our test driver, Antonio Pizzonia, would take over. Now the talk is of Jenson coming here,” he told the Evening Standard. "But I don't feel under any pressure. The best thing I can do is perform well on the circuit." "If you don't perform then you're out. But if I do well I will have no problems." Heidfeld also spoke about Williams’ start to the Championship, which has not been what the team had hoped for. The German, though, believes the situation will improve as the season progresses. "Over the past couple of years Williams always seem to struggle at the beginning of a season. But they always end up winning and finish the season very strong.” "So I really believe I can win this year."
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Post by TennisHack on May 21, 2005 7:59:50 GMT -5
F1 qualifying set to change (link embedded) Friday May 20 2005 Formula One is likely to introduce a new qualifying system within the next few days after the 10 teams unanimously approved a change. The current format, which was only introduced at the beginning of this season, sees two one-lap sessions - one on Saturday and the other on Sunday morning - after which times are aggregated. That system has proved deeply unpopular, chiefly because the spectacle of Saturday qualifying was diluted with the grid only being decided on Sunday morning. That was problematic for television broadcasters who joined a growing lobby for change. Changes have been mooted all season without agreement but on Friday the teams agreed on a new system which will go before world governing body the FIA's world motorsport council and Formula One commission for approval. Under the new format, qualifying will revert to one session on a Saturday afternoon with drivers completing one flying lap in race set-up. The running order of that session will be decided by the previous grand prix result. Providing the format is approved by the two FIA bodies - the most likely outcome - the new system would be introduced for next weekend's European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Drivers have long complained about the current system and they have encouraged Formula One bosses to make the change - and stick with it if they introduce the fourth new qualifying format in three years. World champion Michael Schumacher said: "I would prefer coming back to one qualifying session. "I think that is reasonable but then it would be nice to stick with that qualifying for once. If we change it now hopefully we won't change it again and again." Renault driver Fernando Alonso said: "To be honest I prefer that it changes because from the second race everyone has talked about changing qualifying and every race I have to answer the same question about qualifying." "I hope they change it so I do not have to answer this."
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Post by TennisHack on May 23, 2005 6:16:38 GMT -5
Monaco GP Race Report: Kimi Wins Monte Carlo ThrillerSunday May 22 2005 Kimi Raikkonen won a Monte Carlo Grand Prix that had it all from crashes, to penalties, to overtaking. Raikkonen won an utterly compelling Monaco GP that like so many, sprang to life in the final 20 laps. However the Finn was well clear of all the action. Behind him there was action and drama aplenty with the two Williams' finishing on the podium, a crazy accident blocking the track, six-car trains and Jacques Villeneuve trying an unwide move on his team-mate into Ste.Devote The end result was a second successive win for Raikkonen, another podium for Nick Heidfeld and a very first top-three finish for Mark Webber. And for the first time this season, Fernando Alonso fell short of a podium finishing, coming home in fourth place ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Meanwhile Ferrari bagged their first double points-haul of the campaign with Michael Schumacher beating Rubens Barrichello to seventh place on the final lap. Race Report: The sun was shining bright over Monaco harbour as the cars toured round on their formation lap. The track was up to 42 degrees Celsius with an ambient of 23 degrees - perfect conditions. All eyes were focused on the front of the grid and the battle between Raikkonen and Alonso as the red lights went out. The McLaren swiftly moved over to take Alonso’s line and there was no way past for the World Championship leader. Further back Mark Webber had a dog of a start, painfully slow away from third on the grid and immediately slipped behind Fisichella and Jarno Trull, falling back into the clutches of his BMW-Williams team-mate. Further back, Juan Montoya in the second McLaren, starting from 16th on the grid, had got through to 12th by the end of the opening lap. So the order on Lap 2 was Raikkonen, from Alonso, Giancarlo Fisichella in 3rd place, Trulli in 4th from Webber, Heidfeld, David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher in 8th, Felipe Massa 9th, Jacques Villeneuve 10th and Rubens in 11th. Kimi Raikkonen set off down the road to put the kind of gap between himself and Alonso that he had done in Barcelona, however by Lap 8 it was still only 2.4 seconds. Ralf Schumacher was gradually picking off the tail-enders as he moved his way past the Minardis and Jordans unseen by the TV cameras, however he couldn’t do anything about Tonio Liuzzi. On Lap 11 Karthikeyan pitted with what was reported as a pneumatic valve leak, two laps later he was back in with a broken wheel rim. On Lap 21 he was back yet again for the team to check out his right rear and he promptly stalled the car. By lap 23 his troubles had been diagnosed as a broken track rod and he drove straight into the Jordan garage and retirement. At the front of the race Raikkonen was steadily putting in faster and faster laps and by Lap 13 he had reduced the fastest time to a 1:16.495 with a gap to Alonso of four seconds. More significantly, Giancarlo Fisichella had moved closer and by lap 17 was right on the gearbox of his team-mate. The BMW-Williams of Webber and Heidfeld were being held up by Jarno Trulli’s Toyota but there was little shuffling of the order. That all changed on Lap 24 when Cristijan Albers spun at the Mirabeau turn, bringing out the yellow flags. David Coulthard, whose Red Bull was the closest car slowed as he came across the Minardi parked at the apex. Though the yellow flags came out quickly, an unsighted Michael Schumacher didn’t respond in time and came crashing into the back of the slowed Red Bull car, taking his own front wing off and terminally breaking Coulthard’s suspension. What happened next was slightly mystifying in that Schumacher’s Ferrari pulled ahead a little and then stopped on the racing line. Behind him the rest of the cars backed up in a traffic jam. Because the track leads sharply down hill there, it would have been possible for Schumi to freewheel down to the Grand Hotel hairpin and out of the way, but instead he stopped. TV replays showed that he didn't need marshal assistance to get away. The Safety Car was put on standby as marshals attempted to move the Minardi out of its dangerous position on the apex. Last year the teams that had taken advantage of the Safety Car had profited hugely, while those that stayed out, lost out, so there was a general dive into the pits as both Schumacher and Coulthard hobbled back to the pitlane. Because there was a delay in the deployment of the Safety Car, leader Raikkonen was past the pitlane entrance before he got the call while Renault brought both cars and queued them as BMW-Williams did with Heidfeld and Webber. Like Raikkonen, Jarno Trulli stayed out on track, so as the cars lined up behind the Safety Car the order was now Raikkonen, from Trulli, Alonso, Nick Hiedfeld, Felipe Massa up to 6th, Jacques Villeneuve, Giancarlo Fisichella (a big loser, down to 8th), Rubens Barrichello and Montoya. Before the race Ferrari had worried that they might be lapped and because of his stop Schumacher was already a lap behind the leader and the race hadn’t even gone half distance. Michael rejoined in 13th place. A dejected David Coulthard, whose pitcrew had been rigged out in Star Wars helmets revealed that he had been fuelled long. The fact that he wasn’t losing a great deal of time to Heidfeld with that kind of fuel load onboard pointed to a potential podium that had been lost for DC. The Safety Car came in and on Lap 29 we were racing again. Though there was the thought that Raikkonen had missed his chance by not pitting, very quickly it became clear he had done the right thing. As the Finn, with a much lower fuel load, started to lap between 2-3 seconds a lap quicker than Alonso. By Lap 32 Raikkonen had a lead of 14 seconds over Alonso; by Lap 35 he was reducing the fastest lap to 1:16.046 and opening a 22 second gap to Alonso. Further back, though, it was a red car that was setting the timing screens ablaze. Michael had taken fuel on board during his pit-stop and despite this and his position in 13th place he was matching Raikkonen for pace! He had more fuel, yet on Lap 37 he did an astonishing 1:16.421, on Lap 38 he did a 1:16.319, on Lap 39 he did a 1:16.516 (all this while the rest of the field were doing 1:18s laps). Then on Lap 40 he set the fastest time with a 1:15.995 and he followed this up with an even faster 1:15.842 on Lap 41. He was still seventeen seconds behind Jacques Villeneuve so it looked like an exercise in car development more than anything else. As each lap passed, so the likelihood that Kimi Raikkonen would need to make two stops faded. He came in on Lap 42 (out of 78) and so that was effectively that, barring reliability problems. He rejoined fifteen seconds clear of the second place man Alonso and set out to balance his pace to the following cars. Alonso at this stage was going backwards. His rear tyres were visibly losing their groove judging by the views from the rear facing camera on the Renault. Having refulled on lap 25, it also looked as though the Spaniard was deliberately lapping slowly to conserve fuel and get him to the finish without stopping again. On Lap 43 the order was Raikkonen from Alonso with Webber and then Heidfeld tucked up right behind him. Further back, Massa was 5th, Fisichella was up to 6th, Rubens Barrichello was 7th and Montoya 8th, but neither had stopped yet. On Lap 45 Barrichello pitted, stalled his car and then rejoined in 13th place behind Tonio Liuzzi, handing his place to Montoya who came in a lap later. Rubens in his haste to get away, forgot to switch on the rev limiter and immediately incurred a speeding penalty and a drive-through a few laps later. Though Monaco is known as a car-breaker of a circuit, at this late stage of the race we had 15 out of 18 cars still running. On Lap 49 we had two small trains forming out on track. Alonso had Webber and Heidfeld trailing round behind him – 2nd, 3rd and 4th all together, further back down the order Jacques Villeneuve had Ralf Schumacher and Michael Schumacher behind him for 9th, 10th and 11th. By Lap 55 Alonso was showing signs of being unable to steer the Renault where he’d like. He got it all wrong through the Swimming Pool section and jumped the kerbs rather than going round them. Mark Webber tried hard but couldn’t capitalise on the frantic braking Alonso had to do to avoid the barriers on the harbourside of the Swimming Pool. At the same time Michael Schumacher tried to get past his brother in the Toyota into the tunnel chicane and had to take to the escape route - bypassing the chicane - when it was clear the move wasn’t going to work. A few laps later, on Lap 57, Nick Heidfeld pitted for fuel from P4 and managed to rejoin without losing a place. It was ultimately the difference between 2nd and 3rd because when Mark Webber pitted a lap later, he came out behind the German who was able to put the hammer down, not held up by Alonso. However Alonso was still in front of them both and seemingly safe – he was twenty-five seconds down the road and not intending to pit. But the tyres on both Renaults were now degrading so quickly that he was losing handfuls of seconds a lap. Michael Schumacher also pitted on Lap 58 and appeared to cut the yellow ‘blend’ line with his rear tyres on the pit exit. He was very keen to get ahead of the one-stopping Liuzzi who was just in front of him on the road. Luckily for Schumi, Liuzzi suffered a puncture two laps later and he was through and off to joint the biggest train of the afternoon. Giancarlo Fisichella’s tyres, like Alonso’s, had started to go off very badly. On Lap 61 he was still hanging on to 5th place, but he had acquired a huge train of Jarno Trulli, Montoya, Massa, Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Michael at this stage was 11th. His afternoon’s work was then made a whole lot easier when Jacques Villeneuve decided his Sauber team-mate was too slow and tried to pass him into Ste Devote. Jacques steamed up the inside of Felipe, who left his braking late. Jacques went straight on into the barriers and to avoid him Massa had to take to the run-off road at Ste Devote and then drive a big circle rejoining behind the two Ferraris. Given the place-swapping that ensued it was difficult to know if JV had robbed Sauber of a points finish because both cars looked to be having difficulties, but from the outside it looked complete madness. Jarno Trulli, for the first time in a long while, was looking very racy in his Toyota as he harried the sluggish Fisichella all the way round the track. Finally on Lap 65 he decided to have a go into the Grand Hotel (Lowes/Station) hairpin a move that Fisi saw coming and for which he moved out wide. Trulli’s Toyota bounced heavily over the kerbs at the apex of the corner but he made the pass and at the same time Montoya nipped cleanly inside the Renault. As Fisi was slow to accelerate away, the lurking pack moved in for the kill and within seconds Ralf, Rubens and Michael were past. By the time Fisi got to the tunnel entrance he had been mugged from 5th down to 10th place. The action wasn’t over, though, because in making the pass Trulli had damaged his car and the Toyota mechanics’ joy was short-lived. Jarno slewed his car into the tunnel chicane and Montoya was alongside him in the run down to Tabac, the Colombian narrowly avoiding getting squeezed against the barriers by the Toyota. Ralf took his chance too as Jarno opted for a pitlane visit to check out any damage. So on Lap 66 the order was Raikkonen from Alonso, Heidfeld, Webber, Montoya, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello and Schumi. Montoya had the following cars on his tail, while by Lap 67, Alonso had Heidfeld and Webber to contend with. On Lap 70 the two Williams almost tripped over themselves trying to overtake Alonso’s Renault into the tunnel chicane. On Lap 71, Heidfeld took advantage of a backmarker that Alonso was about to come across and nipped up the inside for an extraordinary clean overtaking move. He came from late back and miraculously got the car stopped in time to negotiate the chicane using only black bits of the road. Webber tried the same manoeuvre a lap later and it resulted in Fernando taking the escape route across the chicane and Mark taking a route across the kerbs. Though the BMW-Williams had tried harder to gain the racing line, no wheels actually made it onto the circuit through the chicane and Alonso continued in front seemingly unwilling to give up the place – even though he’d taken a short cut. The following lap we had a replay with Mark diving for the inside and then driving over the escape route, while Fernando had a half-hearted attempt to keep on the track and not really making it. This time, the Williams came out in front, though it was all very messy. In next to no time Alonso found a black and grey McLaren Mercedes in his rear view mirrors as Montoya approached at speed (four seconds a lap) with the intention of demoting him further. JPM in turn had Ralf, Rubens and Michael on his gearbox. However in the final two laps everyone looked like holding position, a thrilling end to a race that had only really come alive in the last 25 laps. However there was a twist in the tail when Schumacher eased his car past his Ferrari team-mate into the tunnel chicane for the final time. Afterwards Rubens was adamant that he didn't let him past. Raikkonen took another dominant win, while the Williams team looked overjoyed with their 2-3 finish - Mark Webber’s first podium position and his best result since he drove for Minardi. It had been a day of what might have been for David Coulthard and yet more incredibly unlikely points for Michael Schumacher rescuing something from a seemingly impossible position. Renault will need to quickly address their tyre wear problems if they are going to resist the charge of the Mclaren team. On this form Raikkonen looks irresistible.
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Post by TennisHack on May 23, 2005 6:17:55 GMT -5
Monaco GP final times:
Times 01 Räikkönen McLaren 1:45:15.556 02 Heidfeld Williams + 13.877 03 Webber Williams + 18.484 04 Alonso Renault + 36.487 05 Montoya McLaren + 36.647 06 R Schumacher Toyota + 37.177 07 M Schumacher Ferrari + 37.223 08 Barrichello Ferrari + 37.570 09 Massa Sauber + 1 laps 10 Trulli Toyota + 1 laps 11 Villeneuve Sauber + 1 laps 12 Fisichella Renault + 1 laps 13 Monteiro Jordan + 3 laps 14 Albers Minardi + 5 laps Did not finish 15 Liuzzi Red Bull + 18 laps 16 Friesacher Minardi + 48 laps 17 Coulthard Red Bull + 54 laps 18 Karthikeyan Jordan + 59 laps
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Post by TennisHack on Jun 3, 2005 20:37:19 GMT -5
European GP result:
1. Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 59 laps 01:36:46.648 2. Nick Heidfeld Germany Williams-BMW +16.5 3. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +18.5 4. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Cosworth +31.5 5. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari +50.4 6. Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault +51.8 7. Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia McLaren-Mercedes +58.1 8. Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota +71.0 9. Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Red Bull-Cosworth +71.5 10. Jenson Button Britain BAR-Honda +95.7 11. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes +1 lap 12. Takuma Sato Japan BAR-Honda +1 lap 13. Jacques Villeneuve Canada Sauber-Petronas +1 lap 14. Felipe Massa Brazil Sauber-Petronas +1 lap 15. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Jordan-Toyota +1 lap 16. Narain Karthikeyan India Jordan-Toyota +1 lap 17. Christijan Albers Holland Minardi-Cosworth +2 laps 18. Patrick Friesacher Austria Minardi-Cosworth +3 laps 19. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota 33 laps completed 20. Mark Webber Australia Williams-BMW 0 laps completed
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Post by TennisHack on Jun 3, 2005 20:38:36 GMT -5
F1 DRIVERS' CHAMPIONSHIP (AFTER ROUND 7 OF 19) POSITION DRIVER TEAM POINTS 1. FERNANDO ALONSO RENAULT 59 2. KIMI RAIKKONEN MCLAREN 27 = JARNO TRULLI TOYOTA 27 4. NICK HEIDFELD WILLIAMS 25 5. MARK WEBBER WILLIAMS 18 6. RALF SCHUMACHER TOYOTA 17 = GIANCARLO FISICHELLA RENAULT 17 8. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER FERRARI 16 = JUAN PABLO MONTOYA MCLAREN 16 10. RUBENS BARRICHELLO FERRARI 15 = DAVID COULTHARD RED BULL RACING 15 12. ALEXANDER WURZ MCLAREN 6 13. JACQUES VILLENEUVE SAUBER 5 14. PEDRO DE LA ROSA MCLAREN 4 15. CHRISTIAN KLIEN RED BULL RACING 3 16. FELIPE MASSA SAUBER 2 17. VITANTONIO LIUZZI RED BULL RACING 1
F1 CONSTRUCTORS' CHAMPIONSHIP (AFTER ROUND 7 OF 19) POSITION TEAM POINTS 1. RENAULT 76 2. MCLAREN 53 3. TOYOTA 44 4. WILLIAMS 43 5. FERRARI 31 6. RED BULL RACING 19 7. SAUBER 7 8. JORDAN 0 = MINARDI 0 = BAR 0
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Post by RogiFan on Jun 11, 2005 21:46:01 GMT -5
Imagine, J Button, F Alonso, J Villeneuve et al. in Montreal this steamy hot 40C+ weather... grandprix.ca/site.phpCOOL site...
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Post by Lee on Jun 11, 2005 22:30:51 GMT -5
40°C+ in Montreal
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Post by TennisHack on Jun 13, 2005 1:08:26 GMT -5
Canadian GP Race Result:
1. Kimi Raikkonen Finland McLaren-Mercedes 70 laps 01:32:09.290 2. Michael Schumacher Germany Ferrari-Ferrari +1.1 3. Rubens Barrichello Brazil Ferrari-Ferrari +40.4 4. Felipe Massa Brazil Sauber-Petronas +55.1 5. Mark Webber Australia Williams-BMW +55.7 6. Ralf Schumacher Germany Toyota-Toyota +1 lap 7. David Coulthard Britain Red Bull-Cosworth +1 lap 8. Christian Klien Austria Red Bull-Cosworth +1 lap 9. Jacques Villeneuve Canada Sauber-Petronas +1 lap 10. Tiago Monteiro Portugal Jordan-Toyota +3 laps 11. Christijan Albers Holland Minardi-Cosworth +3 laps
Rtd Jarno Trulli Italy Toyota-Toyota 62 laps completed Rtd Jenson Button Britain BAR-Honda 46 laps completed Rtd Nick Heidfeld Germany Williams-BMW 43 laps completed Rtd Takuma Sato Japan BAR-Honda 40 laps completed Rtd Patrick Friesacher Austria Minardi-Cosworth 39 laps completed Rtd Fernando Alonso Spain Renault-Renault 38 laps completed Rtd Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Renault-Renault 32 laps completed Rtd Narain Karthikeyan India Jordan-Toyota 24 laps completed
Dsq Juan Pablo Montoya Colombia McLaren-Mercedes disqualified
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Post by TennisHack on Jun 13, 2005 1:12:38 GMT -5
What is it with Kimi winning the crazy races? Raikkonen wins amid chaos and controversy (link embedded) Kimi Raikkonen got his world championship challenge back on track with a win in an incident-packed Canadian Grand Prix that saw several leading runners forced to retire, and one more excluded after a pit-lane misdemeanour. The Finn was only seventh on the grid after qualifying at Montreal's Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, but that mattered little as those ahead of him - including both Renaults - self-destructed on a hot and humid day. Renault appeared odds-on for victory in the opening stages, with both Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso vaulting past the front row pairing of Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher to lead by the first corner. Button had reported a gear selection problem on the warm-up lap, and appeared cautious at the getaway, while the BAR's slow formation pace did for Schumacher, as the Ferrari's Bridgestone tyres cooled below the ideal temperature for a slingshot start. Such was the world champion's laggardly reaction to the lights, Juan Montoya was able to muscle his way through between turns one and two, and Raikkonen not long afterwards. Schumacher eventually settled into sixth, with Jarno Trulli, Takuma Sato and the fast-starting Felipe Massa keeping him honest. Out front, the two blue-and-yellow R25s began to stretch away, with Fisichella and Alonso taking it in turns to set fastest laps, while Button also enjoyed a couple of seconds' advantage over the chasing McLarens, courtesy of their having to get around Schumacher. The order remained the same through the first ten laps, but the question of qualifying fuel loads was soon to be answered. Already visiting the pits - and causing thousands of local hearts to sink - was Jacques Villeneuve, the Sauber driver asking for a new front wing, despite his original part not looking too damaged. Mark Webber delayed his attempt to move up the order by running too deep into the hairpin while trying to replicate Ralf Schumacher's early pass on David Coulthard, while Narain Karthikeyan continued his Montreal spin-fest with another rotation, this time at turn one, causing Jordan team-mate Tiago Monteiro to take avoiding action. The first scheduled pit-stop came on lap twelve, and it was no surprise to see Schumacher Sr the man to set the klaxons blaring. Ferrari's gamble in running the world champion light to try and give him a good starting spot to overcome Bridgestone's qualifying woes dropped the German to eleventh, but with much of the race to unwind, still in with the chance of points. Polewinner Button wasn't far behind Schumacher, stopping three laps later and rejoining in seventh, handing the battle for the race to Renault and McLaren, as many had expected to be the case from the start of the weekend. Fisichella continued to lead, despite Alonso appearing to have the quicker Renault, but refused to let his team-mate past as he sought to exorcise the bad luck that has plagued him since Melbourne. The pair continued to run in tandem, Alonso closing in unless delayed by backmarkers - particularly Christian Klien after the Austrian exited the pits in front of the championship leader - until lap 24, when the Spaniard finally pitted for fuel. His edge in pace was not only down to a lighter car, however, as Fisichella pitted a lap later, but Alonso was unable to make the most of stopping first as he resumed in second once the window had unwound. Fisichella managed to hold his lead through the pit-stops, but Alonso should, by rights, have dropped to third, as Montoya appeared to have the advantage as he exited from his stop. Instead, however, the Colombian's haste to remain in the fight got the better of him, the McLaren's rear stepping out of line as he applied the gas, and sending the car on a rough ride over the verge before Montoya could regain the track. The error wasn't enough to allow team-mate Raikkonen to take advantage, but set the tone for the rest of Montoya's afternoon.... Karthikeyan retired from the fray having whacked the wall and damaged the right rear of his Jordan before limping back to the pits on lap 26. Webber, Barrichello and Villeneuve were still to stop for fuel at that point, although the Canadian was already hampered by having made his early call for repairs. Webber finally stopped on lap 28, his Williams clearly having been heavy in qualifying to try and make up for his early spot in the running order, while Barrichello had been topped up in pit-lane after his qualifying disaster left him at the back of the field. Renault continued to enjoy a distinct advantage over McLaren as the halfway point loomed, but Alonso only got his chance to pass Fisichella after the team had tersely told him to try and overtake, rather than complaining that he was faster than the Italian. When the move came, it appeared that Fisi had decided to let it happen, but the long-time leader was actually in trouble, as Montoya and Raikkonen also caught and passed him in short order. A hydraulics problem was diagnosed, and it was an understandably frustrated Fisichella that stalked to the back of the garage. Twelve months ago, the first cracks began to show in Renault's defence of second place in the 2004 constructors' championship, as both Alonso and then team-mate Jarno Trulli were forced out of the running. Incredibly, within six laps of inheriting the lead, Alonso was also spotted slowing on the track, the rear of his R25 looking wayward as he tried to make it back to the pits. Under increasing pressure from the chasing McLarens, the Spaniard had lost his customary cool and repeated Karthikeyan's error of slapping the turn four concrete. Hoping that the resultant puncture could be rectified, Alonso was dismayed to find that the accompanying suspension breakage could not... Renault's suicide pact meant that, with 40 of the 70 laps in the book, Montoya assumed control of the event, leading for the first time as a McLaren driver, but with the spectre of Raikkonen's championship challenge casting something of a shadow over the achievement. Would McLaren decide to engineer a change of position? Or would the team recognise JPM's own proximity in points to the Finn and allow him to run unhindered to the flag? The answer came seven laps further on, as the chasing Button lost his BAR over the recently raised kerbs at the final chicane. The Briton had been coming under increased pressure from Schumacher's Ferrari, but decided not to opt for the escape road in an attempt to make up for his mistake on entry to the corner. The result was a wild ride into the so-called 'wall of champions', breaking the 007's right front suspension on contact. As the BAR slid to a halt against the outside wall, so the safety car was scrambled to facilitate its removal. That created just the opportunity McLaren may have been looking for, and it was Raikkonen who joined the rush for pit-lane as the pace was slowed. Montoya, by contrast, was left out to trundle around behind the safety car for another lap, eventually coming in for his top-up when most of the field was already back in line. Whether frustrated or over-enthusiastic, the Colombian sprinted out of pit-lane for the second time in the space of an hour, muscling his way in front of David Coulthard's Red Bull, despite the Scot appearing to have held track position. The move was expected to attract the attention of the stewards - as had McLaren's decision to release Raikkonen in front of DC as both exited the pits at the same time - but when notification of the investigation was confirmed, it was for an altogether different offence. While Raikkonen's exit was not deemed worthy of further examination, Montoya was accused of having left the pit-lane while the red light was still illuminated. With the pace car passing the pits at that exact time, the McLaren man should have held back, rejoining at the back of the line. Instead, regardless of his shouldering of Coulthard, his race was done, the offence bringing punishment by black flag... Montoya joined a growing list of former competitors on the sideline, with Patrick Friesacher having stopped his Minardi three laps after Alonso, and Nick Heidfeld parking his smoking Williams just one tour further on. The German had been warned about rising temperatures as he diced with Massa, but eventually the BMW V10 could take no more. Scratching his name from the list, meanwhile, was Takuma Sato, the Japanese driver having rejoined the race after 24 laps of work on his stricken BAR. Sato seemed to have become the first casualty of the race when his gearbox went sick on 22, but the team took the decision to scavenge what they could from the spare car in an attempt to get the 007 back on track in time to boost its position in the running order for USGP qualifying. Sato eventually rejoined shortly before his team-mate hit the wall, but still required quick attrition to rise much higher up the order. The mixture of chaos and controversy left Raikkonen out front, despite the presence of the about-to-be-lapped Ralf Schumacher at the head of the queue when it was finally released. The German was quickly disposed of, but Raikkonen would have the word 'Schumacher' firmly at the front of his mind for the rest of the day. The world champion's mix of reliability and resilience had elevated him to second on the road - and the Ferrari, now with its tyres up to temperature, was closing slowly but surely on the leader. To add to the confusion, there were reports of rain in the air, a possible pre-cursor to thunderstorms to accompany the humidity, but these eventually amounted to nothing, leaving Raikkonen and Schumacher to go head-to-head to the finish. Montoya's exclusion had lifted Trulli into an unexpected third place, but the Italian was not destined to take another podium finish as his Toyota suffered brake failure on the run to the final chicane. Fortunately, Trulli was able to direct his car at the escape lane built in to the obstacle, but it wasn't until the first corner that he was finally able to park up and climb out. The Toyota's exit completed Barrichello's recovery, allowing the Brazilian to slot in to third despite having started from the pit-lane. The Ferrari driver was comfortably clear of the battle for fourth place between Massa and Webber, but equally not in a position to threaten the leaders, having already conceded around 40 seconds to them as he fought his way through the field. Massa and Webber continued their fight right to the flag, the Australian missing out by 0.6secs despite a concerted look into the final chicane, Ralf Schumacher followed them across the line, but enough of a distance to ensure he was the first of the lapped runners home. Coulthard and Klien completed the scorers, thanking the Red Bull team's reliability rather than outright speed, while the recovering Villeneuve missed out by one place on adding to his tally. Raikkonen and Schumacher Sr continued their dice to the line, too, but the world champion was never quite able to close the gap sufficiently to have a look at the leader. As they flashed across the line, just over a second split silver from red, Raikkonen celebrating as he redressed the points balance after his last-lap exit at the Nurburgring.
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