What a thrilling race!
Fernando Alonso winning his 3rd race in a row under enormous pressure from a much faster Michael Schumacher for the last 12 laps of the race. He managed the situation perfectly and prevented Michael from getting by!
Michael Schumacher never gave up after his mistake from second qualifying. He too drove faultlessly and leapt from 13th to second. Ferrari and Bridgestone proved they've made a big step forward.
Jenson Button had a good race finishing 3rd. However he couldn't hold Michael behind him as the two lapped the two Williams!
The second BAR of Sato also finished in the points and that is a good sign for the BAR team.
Alex Wurz did well in his first race in a few years finishing 4th.
Jacques Villeneuve may have surprised many by finishing a credible 6th after being written off by many. He finished ahead of the two Toyotas and the 2 Williams.
The Toyotas and the Williams didn't appear to have the pace this weekend and neither did Red Bull
3 surprise failures with Fisichella, Raikkonen and Barrichello. None of those teams are very reliable at this stage.
Your thoughts ?
Thoughts on the San Marino Grand Prix
Moderators: cmlean, Ed, The Qualiflyer, The Heretic
I have been away for some serious family matters...
Today was a great race..
Alonso won once more and in the process of winning showed why he is by many seen as the "heir apparant". He was as cool as needed when under intense preasure from Michael Schumacher.
Michael Schumacher messed up qualifying, and based on how the race transpired it arguably cost him the race, however this ight of him today reeling 31 seconds in on Alonso from lying thrid, in the process overtaking Button and having 11 laps of trying to get past Alonso was part of what we see way to little of. I venture that Ferrari and Bridgestone will be a factor in most races the remainder of the season. Alonso being 26 points in front he will be very difficult to catch, and I think that we should be cautious declaring the F2005 a car, that is 2 seconds faster than all others. True today it was magnificent, but I think that Michael was as inspired as only he can be, and I think that the weather conditions favored him more than the Michelin runners.
Button did good as did Wurz, there is the possiblity of Wurz being promoted to thrid, we will see what happens there. The Toyota's were woefully slow in the race, at least in the hands of Trulli, who was the cork in the bottle for a group of drivers. Villeneuve finnaly had an adequate race, but as for Michael and Bridgestone, I think that the track lend itself to his style of driving, and he may not really be out of the woods yet.
Webber is not really panning out as the next great one over at Williams, and Williams should hire someone to do a little pit strategy for them. I was sitting agreeing with my brother, that they should get Webber in early and overtake Trulli in the pits. Instead they got in together, and as have become the norm Williams lose between 1 and 2 seconds at a pitstop. These are the intangibles that make the difference from a Championship contender and a midlevel racing team. depending on the Toyota and BAR penalties Williams may end up with 2 cars in the points.
Raikkonen................
If "something" keeps happening to one, and not the other driver it ends being a case of bad luck, and becomes a question of driving style. It was adriveshaft this time, so it could be Kimi riding the curbs the wrong way. I do not agree that Kimi could have won, he was obviously fueled low, and he would have had to contend with some of the slow cars after an early pitstop.
I think that Kimi is a "car breaker" and he will continue being "unlucky" the rest of his career.
Narain was great today.
Driver of the race Michael Schumacher
Today was a great race..
Alonso won once more and in the process of winning showed why he is by many seen as the "heir apparant". He was as cool as needed when under intense preasure from Michael Schumacher.
Michael Schumacher messed up qualifying, and based on how the race transpired it arguably cost him the race, however this ight of him today reeling 31 seconds in on Alonso from lying thrid, in the process overtaking Button and having 11 laps of trying to get past Alonso was part of what we see way to little of. I venture that Ferrari and Bridgestone will be a factor in most races the remainder of the season. Alonso being 26 points in front he will be very difficult to catch, and I think that we should be cautious declaring the F2005 a car, that is 2 seconds faster than all others. True today it was magnificent, but I think that Michael was as inspired as only he can be, and I think that the weather conditions favored him more than the Michelin runners.
Button did good as did Wurz, there is the possiblity of Wurz being promoted to thrid, we will see what happens there. The Toyota's were woefully slow in the race, at least in the hands of Trulli, who was the cork in the bottle for a group of drivers. Villeneuve finnaly had an adequate race, but as for Michael and Bridgestone, I think that the track lend itself to his style of driving, and he may not really be out of the woods yet.
Webber is not really panning out as the next great one over at Williams, and Williams should hire someone to do a little pit strategy for them. I was sitting agreeing with my brother, that they should get Webber in early and overtake Trulli in the pits. Instead they got in together, and as have become the norm Williams lose between 1 and 2 seconds at a pitstop. These are the intangibles that make the difference from a Championship contender and a midlevel racing team. depending on the Toyota and BAR penalties Williams may end up with 2 cars in the points.
Raikkonen................
If "something" keeps happening to one, and not the other driver it ends being a case of bad luck, and becomes a question of driving style. It was adriveshaft this time, so it could be Kimi riding the curbs the wrong way. I do not agree that Kimi could have won, he was obviously fueled low, and he would have had to contend with some of the slow cars after an early pitstop.
I think that Kimi is a "car breaker" and he will continue being "unlucky" the rest of his career.
Narain was great today.
Driver of the race Michael Schumacher
K-D
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rah
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Good to see MS back in the thick of things. This was a great race to watch. Even if you are a webber fan, which I am.
I think it will be very interesting to see what happens at the next GP. Can Ferrari do better with a higher qualifying spot. I did find it interesting that MS found it hard to overtake cars in front. Looks to me like there are some aero issues, but no-one can doubt the sort of pace he showed when he had some clean air.
Kimi continues to have some problems, maybe he is harder on the cars.
Lets hope the next GP is as fun to watch.
I think it will be very interesting to see what happens at the next GP. Can Ferrari do better with a higher qualifying spot. I did find it interesting that MS found it hard to overtake cars in front. Looks to me like there are some aero issues, but no-one can doubt the sort of pace he showed when he had some clean air.
Kimi continues to have some problems, maybe he is harder on the cars.
Lets hope the next GP is as fun to watch.
Ok, Lewis may win the WDC in 07, but Sato will beat him in 08.
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coronado
- 2006 8 'n' Pole Round Winner
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That was a great race with a lot of good stuff!
I found great the way Ferrari planned the strategia and Mike executed.
But the way Alonso took care of an engine with problems all the week end, how he managed the whole race and the demostration he gave to us (and to others drivers like Button) about how to protect the position, slowing down in the turns before corners with overtaking opportunities to deny Shumacher the chance of gaining the momentum and keeping the exact pace the last ten laps to stay safe behing the slow traffic (the Red Bull and the Williams), THAT WAS OUTSTANDING and was a confirmation that he is, at only 23, a great driver and the future king of the F1.
He is the driver of the race
I found great the way Ferrari planned the strategia and Mike executed.
But the way Alonso took care of an engine with problems all the week end, how he managed the whole race and the demostration he gave to us (and to others drivers like Button) about how to protect the position, slowing down in the turns before corners with overtaking opportunities to deny Shumacher the chance of gaining the momentum and keeping the exact pace the last ten laps to stay safe behing the slow traffic (the Red Bull and the Williams), THAT WAS OUTSTANDING and was a confirmation that he is, at only 23, a great driver and the future king of the F1.
He is the driver of the race
the pressure from michael for so many laps, worrying about his engine, about his tryes, slowing down enough so not to overtake backmarkers that was super stuff only champions can do that
alonso was the driver of the day, he didn't make mistakes and michael did a big one in qualifying
i enjoyed this race much more than the other 3 and hopefully in spain we have another exciting race
alonso was the driver of the day, he didn't make mistakes and michael did a big one in qualifying
i enjoyed this race much more than the other 3 and hopefully in spain we have another exciting race
Hi!rah wrote:I did find it interesting that MS found it hard to overtake cars in front. Looks to me like there are some aero issues
no, in fact is just a characteristic of the Imola circuit. it has been always very difficult to overtake there, as is in spain...
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A GREAT race thanks to MS mistake in qulif. ... =)
Button and Webber too bad
About Alonso, I can just agree with the above commentaries ( alonsofan,coronado) !! spectacular!
I don't agree with K-D about Kimi... if the car would last till the end I think he would certainly won. he'd be fuel-low in comparation to MS but not to Alonso, who was the only was near him in the first sint. Anyway the car failed and has little sense to disscus that.
I WANT MONTOYA BACK!!!!!!!!
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JayVee
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Should've logged on last night but was too tired after watching that race!
What a race! I couldn't stand the ads towards the end.
After this performance, I don't think anyone doubts Alonso to be the next champ
Reading the press conference I was amazed. This guy won the race even though he was adjusting to the track as he was racing with virtually no running in practice wanting to save the engine, running the race with very low revs, controlling the race brilliantly when Michael caught him not giving him any real chance and not catching the Red Bull in front.
And the guy is 23
He is The Cute of course
This race will be remembered
Of course thanks to Michael who stuffed up his qualifying
This defeat will affect Michael a lot. You could tell from his body language on the podium and in the conference. He lost this race, not his car, not his tyre but him
Finally someone to unsettle him
This guy will not only be worshipped in Spain but the world over
Villeneuve rocked and shocked, he forced Webber into a mistake (
julian)
His performance guaranteed him a few more races at least
So much to say so little time
Hope things are alright K-D
What a race! I couldn't stand the ads towards the end.
After this performance, I don't think anyone doubts Alonso to be the next champ
Reading the press conference I was amazed. This guy won the race even though he was adjusting to the track as he was racing with virtually no running in practice wanting to save the engine, running the race with very low revs, controlling the race brilliantly when Michael caught him not giving him any real chance and not catching the Red Bull in front.
And the guy is 23
He is The Cute of course
This race will be remembered
Of course thanks to Michael who stuffed up his qualifying
This defeat will affect Michael a lot. You could tell from his body language on the podium and in the conference. He lost this race, not his car, not his tyre but him
Finally someone to unsettle him
This guy will not only be worshipped in Spain but the world over
Villeneuve rocked and shocked, he forced Webber into a mistake (
julian)His performance guaranteed him a few more races at least
So much to say so little time
Hope things are alright K-D
I'm back and yes supporting Alonso "The Cute" in the Ferrari!
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F1greyhound
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It was a fantastic race, unbelievable run from Michael through the field.
But credit to Fernando who was absolutely faultless and looks the 2005 WDC as for the moment. Obviously it is clear who might have an albeit tough chance to catch him.......
Great to see BAR back at the top teams with TOYOTA and WILLIAMS the big disappointments of Imola. SAUBER have jumped RED BULL pacewise and one or the other top result for Felipe is on the cards.
Interesting to see RENAULT, FERRARI and MCLAREN still struggling for reliability, they cant take a break now before they get this ok(Barcelona?).
Kimi reminds me of Nigel Mansell, no mercy for the car....makes one wonder if Juan Pablo, being of the same kind, would have brought home more points than Pedro and Alex??
Anyway, the odds are now pretty strong for Michael and FERRARI to come out tops at Barcelona...
But credit to Fernando who was absolutely faultless and looks the 2005 WDC as for the moment. Obviously it is clear who might have an albeit tough chance to catch him.......
Great to see BAR back at the top teams with TOYOTA and WILLIAMS the big disappointments of Imola. SAUBER have jumped RED BULL pacewise and one or the other top result for Felipe is on the cards.
Interesting to see RENAULT, FERRARI and MCLAREN still struggling for reliability, they cant take a break now before they get this ok(Barcelona?).
Kimi reminds me of Nigel Mansell, no mercy for the car....makes one wonder if Juan Pablo, being of the same kind, would have brought home more points than Pedro and Alex??
Anyway, the odds are now pretty strong for Michael and FERRARI to come out tops at Barcelona...
YOURS IN SPORT
Narain Karthikeyan finished in Imola 1 lap ahead of Monteiro!!! 
N almost overtook DC
A race that would be remembered as a mid-race staggering charge by Schumi and the Ice cool controlled will power by Alonso. Just wonder if Kimi hadnt retired,my wish for a 3-way-championship would have been fulfilled
Maybe in Barcelona
It was good to see Ferrari's revival,but was surely disappointed with Mclaren(Kimi looked to harsh on the kerbs though).
Fisi has become the Rubens of Renault,all the bad luck happens to him(not saying "prefrential treatment")
Another failure for Rubens,reliability is still not restored for Ferrari though they have found the pace and bridgestone arent melting
Button did a good job,but wonder if they are back on pace with Trulli holding up all the cars behind,though a serious challenge would have come only from Wurz.
Toyota knew they would struggle but what happened to Williams .Webber starting from 4th had the best chance to score his podium but stuffed up at the start.( what was he thinking?? Mayb about Julian )
Jacques survives for another few races with that drive,but what inspired him for that??? Mayb he needs more track time in that Sauber for him to get in points often
Alonso is definitely the heir-apparent to the WDC throne,but will Schumi let him have that easily??
Want Alonso-Michael-Kimi battle for Barcelona.
This Season doesnt look to be boring anymore
N almost overtook DC
A race that would be remembered as a mid-race staggering charge by Schumi and the Ice cool controlled will power by Alonso. Just wonder if Kimi hadnt retired,my wish for a 3-way-championship would have been fulfilled
Maybe in Barcelona
It was good to see Ferrari's revival,but was surely disappointed with Mclaren(Kimi looked to harsh on the kerbs though).
Fisi has become the Rubens of Renault,all the bad luck happens to him(not saying "prefrential treatment")
Another failure for Rubens,reliability is still not restored for Ferrari though they have found the pace and bridgestone arent melting
Button did a good job,but wonder if they are back on pace with Trulli holding up all the cars behind,though a serious challenge would have come only from Wurz.
Toyota knew they would struggle but what happened to Williams
.Webber starting from 4th had the best chance to score his podium but stuffed up at the start.( what was he thinking?? Mayb about Julian )Jacques survives for another few races with that drive,but what inspired him for that??? Mayb he needs more track time in that Sauber for him to get in points often
Alonso is definitely the heir-apparent to the WDC throne,but will Schumi let him have that easily??
Want Alonso-Michael-Kimi battle for Barcelona.
This Season doesnt look to be boring anymore
An F1 Idiot!!!
today remembered....
near Tue Apr 05, 2005
K-D wrote:
"Since 1998 no-one not named Schumacher have won the San Marino Grand Prix."
and I wrote: "Wow 6 years, that is good from the family... it was a long time they winning... almos a tradition BUT: (almost) everything has an end, and this, for sure. And i see its end is VERY near!!! sad isn't it? =P"
I also prediceted MS doing a sato-style-spin, i turned to be wrong, it just was a sato-style-wideride....
near Tue Apr 05, 2005
K-D wrote:
"Since 1998 no-one not named Schumacher have won the San Marino Grand Prix."
and I wrote: "Wow 6 years, that is good from the family... it was a long time they winning... almos a tradition BUT: (almost) everything has an end, and this, for sure. And i see its end is VERY near!!! sad isn't it? =P"
I also prediceted MS doing a sato-style-spin, i turned to be wrong, it just was a sato-style-wideride....
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Graham Ross
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That was a close race. Reminds me of the Monaco race in 92 when Senna took the lead after a late pit stop by Mansell. Interesting that the gap then was also 0.215 second!!
Ferrari/Bridgestone had the better package. I guess the lower temperatures gave Bridgestone an advantage. All the Michelin runners started to slow down from mid race!
Looks like we're back to Michelin at hot races and Bridgestone at cold ones!
It is hard to decide who the driver of the day is. Michael drove at 100% all the time, his package helped him of course but I don't think Barrichello would have done the same (just look at the difference in qualifying).
But Alonso had several issues to manage, his car, his opponent and the backmarkers yet he didn't make any mistakes. He was the star on Sunday!
The others, well Raikkonen continues his bad luck. It is funny how people jumping to blame his driving. Well this year this was his first failure so what are you talking about
I think riding the kerbs caused Raikkonen's problem, if he were a bit luckier it would have happened in practice!.
This all helps Montoya as he can still fight.
Wurz did a good job. Better than de la Rosa or not, one can't tell but he was more consistent. Poor test drivers waiting that long to race!!
Happy to see BAR back, you don't want them to be a complete flop and pull out!!
Toyota struggled as soon as the race started but somehow they managed to keep the Williams behind them
Williams struggled too, that car was hard to drive and in Webber's case the engine was slowed down but I was still dissapointed with Webber as it is in these situations that your oppurtunity comes to shine and sadly he didn't dropping from 4th to 10th
I must admit that I was surprised with Villeneuve! I was sure that Massa would get him even though he started from the back. Villeneuve did well and I was proven wrong
Let's see if this isn't a one off!
Red Bull are back where they really belong!
Toyota are emerging as the bullet proof car/engine. BAR have fixed their gremlins but for how long! but the rest are all struggling.
I think Michelin will have the upper hand in Spain. Conditions should be warmer and it is their test track so to speak!
Ferrari/Bridgestone had the better package. I guess the lower temperatures gave Bridgestone an advantage. All the Michelin runners started to slow down from mid race!
Looks like we're back to Michelin at hot races and Bridgestone at cold ones!
It is hard to decide who the driver of the day is. Michael drove at 100% all the time, his package helped him of course but I don't think Barrichello would have done the same (just look at the difference in qualifying).
But Alonso had several issues to manage, his car, his opponent and the backmarkers yet he didn't make any mistakes. He was the star on Sunday!
The others, well Raikkonen continues his bad luck. It is funny how people jumping to blame his driving. Well this year this was his first failure so what are you talking about
I think riding the kerbs caused Raikkonen's problem, if he were a bit luckier it would have happened in practice!.
This all helps Montoya as he can still fight.
Wurz did a good job. Better than de la Rosa or not, one can't tell but he was more consistent. Poor test drivers waiting that long to race!!
Happy to see BAR back, you don't want them to be a complete flop and pull out!!
Toyota struggled as soon as the race started but somehow they managed to keep the Williams behind them
Williams struggled too, that car was hard to drive and in Webber's case the engine was slowed down but I was still dissapointed with Webber as it is in these situations that your oppurtunity comes to shine and sadly he didn't dropping from 4th to 10th
I must admit that I was surprised with Villeneuve! I was sure that Massa would get him even though he started from the back. Villeneuve did well and I was proven wrong
Let's see if this isn't a one off!Red Bull are back where they really belong!
Toyota are emerging as the bullet proof car/engine. BAR have fixed their gremlins but for how long! but the rest are all struggling.
I think Michelin will have the upper hand in Spain. Conditions should be warmer and it is their test track so to speak!
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JayVee
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Yes Kapel Narain drove a good race but to be fair to Monteiro, he had 4 pit stopsKapel wrote:Narain Karthikeyan finished in Imola 1 lap ahead of Monteiro!!!
N almost overtook DC
Villeneuve was allowed time to setup his car to his liking and hence the improvement
Michael certainly will try to get back at Alonso but after Imola the gap actually increased!
Spain will be very different. Alonso will have a new engine, the weather will be warmer and hopefully we'll see a close fight
BAR and McLaren will be strong too
I'm back and yes supporting Alonso "The Cute" in the Ferrari!
[quote="F1greyhound"]Kimi reminds me of Nigel Mansell, no mercy for the car....makes one wonder if Juan Pablo, being of the same kind, would have brought home more points than Pedro and Alex??
Kimi reminds me of his predessesor Mika. Imola is a track that rewards the driver who know when to be conservative and when to attack. The really heavy foot drivers don't always do well there, yet it is a track wherein if you are a bit conservative early, you can attack later if you can keep pace with the leader.
This race was fantastic. Alonso is a bonafide star now that he kept his wit for 12 some odd lap to hold off a faster Michael Schumacher. MS served notice however that he is not out of tricks up his sleave. Schumacher was simply brilliant putting in fast lap after fast lap to catch Button and Alonso. Great Stuff!!
Too bad for Jenson Button who probably had no tires or brakes left to really put up a fight against MS. Having said that, Schumacher suggested that he may have had more difficulty getting past JB if Mark Webber had not helped him out with yet another rookie-esque move. I think Williams should focus on Heidfeld and let Webber learn something from the vet.
BAR came through big time.
Jacques Villeneuve redeemed himself temporarily after stepping in it again. Massa should clearly be the team's focus.
Red Bull needs to bring back Christian Klien.
Toyota needs to think about race/pit strategy to give themselves a real chance at consistently getting on the podium. Having said that, Ralf Schumacher is woefully slow compared to ... everyone!
Renault needs to keep pushing for development. Fisichella's retirements are bad news especially now that we know Schumacher can win in this new car.
What is going on at McLaren? Alexander Wurz looked brilliant all weekend in San Marino. Three weeks ago, Pedro delaRosa looked like certain second place if you erase a few of his mistakes. Kimi looks good in qualifying and early on during races. Montoya, who I heard has not really gelled with the team yet, should feel like he needs to prove something. Ron Dennis has 4 good drivers.
Does anyone follow the Formula Mazda series here in the States? I checked out a race on Speed Channel just recently. Great stuff! Open wheel racing with guys drifting all over the place kinda like Formula 1 in the mid-Seventies.
Chris
I miss Damon Hill and Eddie Irvine
Kimi reminds me of his predessesor Mika. Imola is a track that rewards the driver who know when to be conservative and when to attack. The really heavy foot drivers don't always do well there, yet it is a track wherein if you are a bit conservative early, you can attack later if you can keep pace with the leader.
This race was fantastic. Alonso is a bonafide star now that he kept his wit for 12 some odd lap to hold off a faster Michael Schumacher. MS served notice however that he is not out of tricks up his sleave. Schumacher was simply brilliant putting in fast lap after fast lap to catch Button and Alonso. Great Stuff!!
Too bad for Jenson Button who probably had no tires or brakes left to really put up a fight against MS. Having said that, Schumacher suggested that he may have had more difficulty getting past JB if Mark Webber had not helped him out with yet another rookie-esque move. I think Williams should focus on Heidfeld and let Webber learn something from the vet.
BAR came through big time.
Jacques Villeneuve redeemed himself temporarily after stepping in it again. Massa should clearly be the team's focus.
Red Bull needs to bring back Christian Klien.
Toyota needs to think about race/pit strategy to give themselves a real chance at consistently getting on the podium. Having said that, Ralf Schumacher is woefully slow compared to ... everyone!
Renault needs to keep pushing for development. Fisichella's retirements are bad news especially now that we know Schumacher can win in this new car.
What is going on at McLaren? Alexander Wurz looked brilliant all weekend in San Marino. Three weeks ago, Pedro delaRosa looked like certain second place if you erase a few of his mistakes. Kimi looks good in qualifying and early on during races. Montoya, who I heard has not really gelled with the team yet, should feel like he needs to prove something. Ron Dennis has 4 good drivers.
Does anyone follow the Formula Mazda series here in the States? I checked out a race on Speed Channel just recently. Great stuff! Open wheel racing with guys drifting all over the place kinda like Formula 1 in the mid-Seventies.
Chris
I miss Damon Hill and Eddie Irvine
Christoforo
You're not getting old, the music just sucks!!
Fernando Alonso is currently the best... Period!!!
-)_ (-
(_!_) Inclined to get behind!!!
You're not getting old, the music just sucks!!
Fernando Alonso is currently the best... Period!!!
-)_ (-
(_!_) Inclined to get behind!!!