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Fernando Alonso wins the race after Kimi Raikkonen suffered from what appeared to be another engine failure! Alonso couldn't match Raikkonen on pace but had the reliable car!
Juan Pablo Montoya made up for his mistake in qualifying and finished in second place while Jenson Button had a good race finishing 3rd.
Giancarlo Fisichella lost ground at the start of the race but managed to recover a few places finishing in 4th passing the struggling Michael towards the end of the race. Michael did his best to finish in 5th place. His soft tyres gave him a lot of problems from midrace.
Ralf Schumacher managed 6th in the Toyota ahead of Coulthard and Massa. An impressive result for them knowing that they finished ahead of Barrichello and Heidfeld.

A few overtaking moves on the track and some incidents and spins as well. The Championship though looks pretty much over. With 7 races to go, Alonso only needs to finish 4th in every race to win the championship even if Kimi wins all the remaining 7 races!

Thoughts ?

I think Montoya saved his weekend with the qualifying spin. McLaren changed his engine for a reason. I don't trust that Ilmor motor.

Fred

Faker wrote:I think Montoya saved his weekend with the qualifying spin. McLaren changed his engine for a reason. I don't trust that Ilmor motor.

Fred

Welcome, good point. McLaren still have issues. Renault do not have to match them for speed, they only have to stay consistent.

Well done Alonso for another race win. Noone finished within cooee of him.

Faker wrote:I think Montoya saved his weekend with the qualifying spin. McLaren changed his engine for a reason. I don't trust that Ilmor motor.

Fred

Welcome It sure looks that way.

same same but different.........again easy WDC win but by a different driver.

Raikonen picked up where Hakkinen left off but has undoubtedly also inherited Nigel Mansell's luck - just amazing.

Well done to Alonso and Renault - it looks like both championships will be deservedly theirs.

Button and Fisichella were both very strong and both passed Schumacher. Montoya was superb but without his screwup the day b4 he would have won. Another disaster for Williams with Webber screwing up at T1 AGAIN and Heidfeld simply not fast enough, even on a 3 stop strategy!

I am on the verge of dismissing Webber as F1 material, let alone future WDC. This is the second time this year he has made himself the meat in a 3 wide sandwich by not defending his inside. He seemed more interested in getting across in front of his team mate! One more screwup from him and I think Frank will be keen to part company asap. He should pass Driver Rep responsibilities onto someone else - he needs all the focus on his own driving he can get!

I said that I felt Raikkonen will retire 20 laps into the race. Well he lasted a bit longer

Alonso The Cute said "the race is 70 laps, not 30, and we finish the races"

If you think Raikkonen is unlucky, well 2 of his last 3 failures were not during a race so he is lucky in a way! But really McLaren need to give their drivers reliable cars

Montoya did well from last to second but he still stuffed up big time in qualifying!

Button and BAR are looking good and if Sato can start scoring points they could catch Toyota. They have managed to come back strongly after Imola.

Michael was the mobile chicane this time and it was good to see Button and Fisichella both get him on the track. I hope this made Kapel happy

Now I need to go change my avatar

Faker wrote:I think Montoya saved his weekend with the qualifying spin. McLaren changed his engine for a reason. I don't trust that Ilmor motor.

Fred

He did save his weekend in a big way, just imagine what would have happened if he had started from pole....

And i now condemn anyone who starts with the whole "shumacher went from 12th to second" story (as they did previously)

Montoya has got to be the driver of the day. Starting from last to finish second This has to be one of the greatest recoveries of all time. Sure he stuffed up his qualifying lap but has made up for it.

What worries me are McLaren's problems, they keep getting hydraulic and engine failures. That has been the case for years now. Perhaps they should hire someone from Renault or Toyota as those two appear to be the most reliable!

With the reliability of the McLaren, Alonso can't really lose the championship. Worst case will be 3rd and he won't even need to push as the others are so far behind.

Michael, well Germany proved that he is only as good as his car (or tyres). It also showed that Alonso (at Imola) is a better defensive driver than him.

Looks like Williams now trail Sauber and Red Bull. The need a better approach than trial and error!!

Not sure of the stats, but are McLaren the least reliable car on the grid? The only two that come close from memory are Minardi and Williams. But I do have a terrible memory.

Monty stuffing up is qualifying is probably what got him any points at all.

It's been many years since Michael has had to drive defensively, maybe he is out of practice.

Willaim need a better everything. They are terrible.

rah wrote:Willaim need a better everything. They are terrible.

I wouldn't be surprised if Frank sold or simply shut down the team after this season. I doubt his enthusiasm after all these years and all the success of the 80s/90s. Ron Dennis is still going strongly however!

After reading this article - http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=194829 I see Williams are looking at Cosworth for the next few years and perhaps Toyota beyond that. Though I love the idea of a Cosworth-Williams, Cosworth have been as pitiful as Jaguar was in F1 for years, seemingly happy to just be one of the fools making up the numbers.

Apart from a 1 off win with Johnny herbert in 1999, Cosworth have not won since 1994 and have not won a Constructors Championship since 1981 where they actually finished 1st and 2nd with Williams and Brabham. That's a long, long time ago.............in a galaxy far, far away...................

Byron Forbes wrote:After reading this article - http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=194829 I see Williams are looking at Cosworth for the next few years and perhaps Toyota beyond that. Though I love the idea of a Cosworth-Williams, Cosworth have been as pitiful as Jaguar was in F1 for years, seemingly happy to just be one of the fools making up the numbers.

Apart from a 1 off win with Johnny herbert in 1999, Cosworth have not won since 1994 and have not won a Constructors Championship since 1981 where they actually finished 1st and 2nd with Williams and Brabham. That's a long, long time ago.............in a galaxy far, far away...................

Might be worth asking MLittle over in his forums how the "chev-worths" are doing.

Montoya has got to be the driver of the day. Starting from last to finish second This has to be one of the greatest recoveries of all time. Sure he stuffed up his qualifying lap but has made up for it.

That has to be the best thing i have ever heard someone in this forum say

Byron Forbes wrote:Raikonen picked up where Hakkinen left off but has undoubtedly also inherited Nigel Mansell's luck - just amazing.

Well done to Alonso and Renault - it looks like both championships will be deservedly theirs.

Button and Fisichella were both very strong and both passed Schumacher. Montoya was superb but without his screwup the day b4 he would have won. Another disaster for Williams with Webber screwing up at T1 AGAIN and Heidfeld simply not fast enough, even on a 3 stop strategy!

I am on the verge of dismissing Webber as F1 material, let alone future WDC. This is the second time this year he has made himself the meat in a 3 wide sandwich by not defending his inside. He seemed more interested in getting across in front of his team mate! One more screwup from him and I think Frank will be keen to part company asap. He should pass Driver Rep responsibilities onto someone else - he needs all the focus on his own driving he can get!

Ah, poor old Webber, gets kamikazied by Sato before T1 and its all his fault for being competitive, eh! Of course every other driver maintained a straight line from the grid. Lets kick him and the team in the guts while they are down, we might not get another chance.