Posted in Qualification on Sep 30th, 2006 No Comments »
No driver came close to Fernando Alonso as he stormed his way up to pole for tomorrows Chinese Grand Prix. The Renaults looked brilliantly setup and with Michelin’s wet weather tyres superb performance reminiscent of Hungary, were miles ahead of their Red competitors. The Renaults locked the front row in all 3 qualification stages implying quiet simply that Ferrari has the work to do for the rest of the weekend.
Michael’s performance was possibly the best of the 22 drivers. In a car which looked no where close to best in performance and on tyres that struggled all the way thru quali Michael’s greatness came thru as he delivered on prompt. He was in danger of elimination in Q2 and simply went out and banged a hot lap which took him from 14th to 9th. The rain master looked out of sync with the group but that was probably all Bridgestone’s mistake.
The other major hit of the weekend was Doornbos who out qualified all his colleagues(Red Bull and Torro Rosso) in his very first attempt showing that the Red Bull team made a great decision in banking on him. The wet track helped a little as it threw off a few surprises, Massa managed only 13th which automatically means that he will be in the back row thanks to the engine change on friday. The Toyotas struggled and managed only 17th and 18th with Webber and Rosberg qualifying just ahead of them.
Among the drivers 2 clearly stood out. Michael and Alonso, its amazing to watch how dedicated the top 2 drivers are as the fight goes to the finish. Michael was working overtime to get the best result possible and Alonso on the other end of the grid just put up faster sector after faster sector. Twice Alonso put a fastest sector just before pitting(knowing well that the lap wont count). He was on pole by a mile(over 1 sec to the next guy) and he just banged in another faster lap. If he continues this form in tomorrows race(and no bad luck) mathematically he could lap the entire field twice over(which is a tall prediction, I know).
Now to the Predictions. I have 2 sets for this race based on if its wet or not
Wet:
Alonso
Fisichella
Raikonnen/Button/their team mates (discounting accidents of course)
Dry:
Alonso
Michael/Fisichella (Ferrari is extremely competitive on the dry and it will be a close call but doubt Michael will catch Alonso either way)
Read Full Post »
Posted in Pre Race Talk on Sep 29th, 2006 No Comments »
The press is calling this the closest battle for a World Championship in History. The fact is it is historic, for many reasons the biggest one being its the last season of the most successful Formula One driver of all time.
The teams head to China for the Chinese Grand Prix (GP) where the 22 fastest men compete to win only the 3rd ever instalment of the race. All eyes will be on Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher as the are neck to neck for the driver world championship for 2006. The Chinese have cleverly marketed this as Alonso v/s Schumi event and will hope that the best of the two will be displayed on the track over the weekend.
Technologically both teams(Ferrari and Renault) come to China with an improved car. How improved is the question. Renault came in with 2 engines and decided to go with the more reliable engine(read less horsepower) Ferrari have an upgraded Aero package and engine. Ferrari has also tested in wet conditions in preparation for the race, they might have an upper hand if the Rain gods decide to intervene.
With Michael set to retire winning the remaining 3 races will be the best way to say good bye and thanks to his team and his fans. If he wins it and retires he will be remembered for a long time as one of the few sportsmen that have retired on top of the sport(like Lance Armstrong).
Parts of the press has gone ahead and called Alonso the toughest competitor for Schumi in his career. They have compared the Great Mika Hakkinen, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill as the other top competitors for the German but have suggested that he has never gone one on one with someone like Alonso. The facts read the when ever Alonso and Schumi have gone head to head the one that has kept his nose ahead has held his nerve for the last part of the race. Alonso did it thrice in 2 years (Imola 2005, Bahrain 2006 and Turkey 2006) Michael has done it successfully at Imola in 2006(a payback for 2005). Coming to the end the guy ahead has always won… put that thought into this years championship, Alonso is ahead with 3 races to go… can he hold it? or will Michael break the mold one last time.
The World Championship is so close that its going to be difficult to safely bet on either. Any stray incident can change the course of the World Championship. Look out for things like Safety Car periods or Qualification mistakes or even missing a corner or even pitstop problems… This season is as close as F1 can get and missing the last 3 races will be unbearable for any F1 fan.
Read Full Post »
Posted in Race Results on Sep 11th, 2006 No Comments »
Schumacher produced an inspiring drive in front of the Tifosi to win the 2006 Italian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen kept close to Schumi for the entire race coming in second. Kubica’s superb drive saw him take the his first podium and the first podium for a Pole. Alonso’s fight back from tenth was halted after his engine blew giving him a DNF in the race.
Race Results
Read Full Post »
Posted in Formula 1 on Sep 6th, 2006 2 Comments »
The Renault F1 team made an official announcement of their driver and test drivers lineup for 2007. Heikki Kovalainen will join Giancarlo Fisichella to represent Renault in the quest for the 2007 world championship. The Finn has been the test driver for the French team this year helping Alonso and Renault to hold onto the lead in the Championships.
This leaves Mc Laren and Ferrari to announce their driver lineup for 2007. Ferrari have promised an announcement after the Italian Grand Prix later this weekend. They are expected to announce the names of Michael Schumacher, Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen.
Read Full Post »
