Posted in Race Results on May 14th, 2006 No Comments »
Fernando Alonso became the first Spaniard to win the Spanish Grand Prix and joined an exclusive club of drivers who have won their home Grand Prix. In a race which saw the fastest lap in Qualification being posted by a Ferrari(Michael Schumacher Session 2- 1m 14.637s) and a Ferrari posting the fastest lap of the race (Felipe Massa), Fernado Reigned supreme being fastest on 90% of the laps. The grit and the determination by the Spaniard helped him seal the most dominating victory in a very long time… more importantly at home.
Michael Schumacher could not reply to Alonso’s pace the German in comparison was faster than Alonso only for a handful of laps(not considering the laps Alonso pitted). Michael had no choice but to settle for the second spot. His strategy in the pits helped him leapfrog the other Renault and helped him keep the damage in the world championships to the minimum. Fisichella came in with a much better performace than he managed earlier in the year save the one occasion where he went into the gravel while lapping the midlands.
Massa came in 4th close behind the Renault. Kimi followed the top two teams in a Mc Laren that clearly needs to improve to give Kimi a shot at the world championship. The two Hondas lead by Button finished 6th and 7th with Heidfeld picking up the last point.
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Posted in Qualification on May 13th, 2006 No Comments »
Feeling : Anticipative Listening to : Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark Watching : F1 Qualifyings
The stands covered in a sea of Blue and Yellow with spots of red. The competetion between 11 teams, 22 drivers each trying their hardest to get to the only spot that matters to most, the Pole position for the Spanish Grand Prix at Circuit de Catalunya located in Barcelona Spain.
The qualifying produced all that was expected and more. There were really only two contenders for the front two rows, Ferrari and Renault. Alonso driving at his home grand prix was absolutely magnificent keeping up all the expectations that is expected of him and giving all the fans something to cheer themselves hoarse about.
But Michael was the one who really impressed me. In the first two sessions of qualifying, Michael ran only three laps in total, but in those three laps, he treated all the other drivers with such disdain like they were running street cars. In both those sessions, he out-classed everyone else to come out on top.
Unfortunately in the 3rd, he could not produce a similar finish, maybe when it mattered the most. He could only finish 3rd fastest which I would guess be due to a slightly higher fuel load (although why it would be so is beyond me). Alonso produced a classic lap running extremely fast and clean to secure the pole position. He was followed by his team mate Fisichella. The ferraris will occupy the second row tomorrow when the red lights go out. Mclaren were a sore disappointment with my second favorite Kimi managing only a 9th place. I was also disappointed by my current rookie favorite, Nico Rosberg who will languish at 13th place.
The complete qualifying timings and another review of today’s qualifying, can be viewed in Haas’ review.
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Posted in Qualification on May 13th, 2006 1 Comment »
Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella produced the special 2 laps Renault have been waiting for since the Malaysian Grand Prix to seal the front row ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. Michael and Massa will form the all scarlet second row.
The pace of the top 2 teams was such that the next best time was over 0.6s slower than the bunch. Barrichello put in a sterling performance on his Honda to take the 5th spot on the grid. Ralf and Trulli impressed in their Toyota beating the other major contenders Button and Raikkonen.
Kimi’s dismal 9th left a lot to be desired as Montoya(12th) could not make the cut in the second session. The Mc Laren looks in deep trouble this race as the track will be very difficult to overtake on. Kimi seems to hv a large fuel load but that will only be clear in the race.
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Posted in Pre Race Talk on May 10th, 2006 No Comments »
This weekend the Spanish Grand Prix will not just be a race, It will be a celebration welcoming back the World Champ to his home race… The sea of Blue and Yellow will engulf the Circut de Catalunya… As for the Tifosi, well you will be lucky to see a speck of scarlet. This race for millions in Spain will be the true “Return of the King”.
Alonso has clearly stated that he wants to win “this one”… The best result for the Spaniard here was 2nd in 2003 and 2005. In 2003 driving a mediocre Renault(Ferrari, Mc Laren and Williams were a class above, that season), Alonso produced one of the best performances of his career chasing Michael in an unstoppable Ferrari to the finish. The brilliance of the victory was the fact that he finished 13 s ahead of Barrichello in the Ferrari and 5.7s behind Michael.
There is no settling for second place this race… Renault hv always delievered when the going got tough(remember China 2005) and looks like they will this weekend too. Something tells me this race is one for the record books… There is just one place in the mind of the Champ and its ‘Numero Uno’
There is the birth of a new term in racing and it is “AlonsoMania“. The word is going around and looks like Catalunya will be full of AlonsoManiacs.
Go Champ Go…
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Posted in Race Results on May 7th, 2006 1 Comment »
The Phoenix has risen… Ferrari confirmed its comeback with a thumping 1-3 at Michael’s home track. It was Michael’s amazing skill combined with Ferrari’s flawless strategy which took the race away from the current World Champ.
The race unfolded to what would be a series of deciding laps between Alonso’s and Michael’s second pit stop and those brilliant laps allowed the 7 time champ to lead the rest of the pack to the chequered flag. Massa’s superb race saw him seal 3rd place just seconds ahead of Kimi Raikkonen in a charging Mc Laren. The Mc Laren’s strategy for the first time this season showing decent results.
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Posted in Qualification on May 6th, 2006 No Comments »
Alonso was the hero at the Ring as he produced the only sub 1 min 30 sec lap to take his first pole of the season. Fisichella disappointed as he failed for the second time in a row to make the cut and to the 3rd session of qualification.
Michael was strong right throughout the session along with team mate Massa as they took places 2 and 3. Barrichello for the first time this season out qualified his teammate to p4 as Button had to settle for p6 right behind the Mc Laren of Kimi Raikkonen. Trulli, Villeneuve, Montoya and Webber makeup the remaining 4 places in the top 10.
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