Formula 1 Jam

In what can be described only as probably the most dominant qualification this year saw the Ex-World Champ take the record breaking pole in Ferrari’s backyard. Michael’s lap of 1:22.795 was the fastest in the 3rd segment sealing the pole ahead of the pair of Button and Barrichello.

The first section of qualification saw Michael struggling thru traffic for a 8th postion performance and his determination was clear as he destroyed the times in the 2nd and 3rd parts of qualification. Alonso was the fastest in the first session but somehow looked like he lost the plot in the 2nd segment(or maybe there was traffic his lap was not clearly shown). He managed to qualify only 5th behind Massa who produced a brilliant effort only to be bettered by the Honda drivers.

Kimi and Montoya were clearly off the pace, their 8th and 7th positions somehow did not satisfy the speculation that Mc Laren would make quantum leaps this week end(probably they meant opposite direction) but the race strategy and fuel load may be the answer for their dismal show. Montoya will also incur a 10 place grid penalty coz of an engine change that was inevitable after a fuel pumping problem in his engine.

Among the top runners to miss was Fisichella… People expected him to perform better than Alonso considering he got the latest B spec engine but the elimination in the second segment was more an unfortunate incident to be forgotten. He was stuck in the garage with time running out and being pushed from 4th to 10th within no time thanks to some making up laps by the rest of the grid. The positives being that he can start with the fuel load of choice and will start 10th thanks to Montoya’s grid penalty.

Predictions: Well I frankly think nobody can beat Michael Schumacher tomorrow… He clearly has the best car and looked to be in the same form he showed in 2004(where he was almost unbeatable)… The only reasons MSc might not win might be car problem or a mistake in the pit lane. Save the two if any driver beats MSc to the line tmrw… I can promise you that driver will be in the league of Michael Schumacher for sure…

That leaves only position 2 and 3. I for this race will also make a prediction for place 4 as I am defaulting the driver that will win tmrw.

1. Michael Schumacher
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Massa
4. Button/Fisichella

Reasons: Alonso will jump Massa in the start or pitstops for sure and will probably chase MSc the way MSc chased him last year towards the end. I am certain he will not get a way thru but am equally certain he will get ahead of the other 3 cars between him and P1. Button… well he looks good and set for a good race tmrw but the Honda’s race day performace is never as good as qualification and he might hangon to the final step of the podium. As for Fisichella… the 11th place can be a boon in disguise… he has a better engine than Alonso and I believe that he can really do wonders with it just that Quali was not the place to show it. Nevertheless, he will be an handful for Webber, Ralf and the struggling Kimi.

This probably marks the return of Ferrari’s winning ways in F1 but lets not count our eggs before they are hatched… Remember last year MSc 2nd all the cries of “Ferrari is back” got silenced in 2 weeks. I personally hope they are back and can watch Alonso and MSc fight with equally good cars like in Bahrain. Now thats good racing

Qualification Times for the 2006 San Marino Grand Prix

   Driver		Team			1st Seg  2nd Seg  3rd Seg
1  Michael Schumacher 	Ferrari 		1:24.598 1:22.579 1:22.795
2  Jenson Button 	Honda 			1:24.480 1:23.749 1:22.988
3  Rubens Barrichello 	Honda 			1:24.727 1:23.760 1:23.242
4  Felipe Massa 	Ferrari 		1:24.884 1:23.595 1:23.702
5  Fernando Alonso 	Renault 		1:23.536 1:23.743 1:23.709
6  Ralf Schumacher 	Toyota 			1:24.370 1:23.565 1:23.772
7  Juan Pablo Montoya 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1:24.960 1:23.760 1:24.021
8  Kimi Räikkönen 	McLaren-Mercedes 	1:24.259 1:23.190 1:24.158
9  Jarno Trulli 	Toyota 			1:24.446 1:23.727 1:24.172
10 Mark Webber 		Williams-Cosworth 	1:24.992 1:23.718 1:24.795
11 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 		1:24.434 1:23.771
12 Jacques Villeneuve 	Sauber-BMW 		1:25.081 1:23.887
13 Nico Rosberg 	Williams-Cosworth 	1:24.495 1:23.966
14 David Coulthard 	RBR-Ferrari 		1:24.849 1:24.101
15 Nick Heidfeld 	Sauber-BMW 		1:25.410 1:24.129
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi 	STR-Cosworth 		1:24.879 1:24.520
17 Christian Klien 	RBR-Ferrari 		1:25.410
18 Scott Speed 		STR-Cosworth 		1:25.437
19 Tiago Monteiro 	MF1-Toyota 		1:26.820
20 Christijan Albers 	MF1-Toyota 		1:27.088
21 Takuma Sato Super 	Aguri-Honda 		1:27.609
22 Yuji Ide Super 	Aguri-Honda 		1:29.282