Sunday, April 23, 2006
# posted by Rich @ 2:36 PM
San Marino: race report
Michael Schumacher took his first win since the farcical 2005 US GP in what turned out to be a relatively uneventful race. Fernando Alonso came home a close second, and Juan-Pablo Montoya was third.
Before the start, there was a lot of anticipation - Michael had claimed pole, the two Hondas were second and third, and the highestplaced Renault was that of Fernando Alonso in 5th. The buzz was whether Ferrari were back, had Honda finally got it right, and what fuel strategy were Renault using.
As the lights went out, Alonso, as usual, rocketed off the line, but was squeezed out of making up many places, although he did manage to get up to 4th by overtaking Barrichello, who slid down to 5th, around the outside of the Tamburello chicane. Into the Villeneuve chicane the Super Aguri of Ide and the Midland of Albers touched, sending Albers barrell-rolling into the gravel trap. He came to rest upside down after having rolled two-and-a-half times, and thankfully was unharmed. This precipitated a safety car period, which only lasted 1 lap. After the safety car pulled off, Michael started to stroll off into the distance, taking just over a second out of Button, in second placce, in 1 lap. Button looked as though he was able to stay in touch, but it all came apart for both of the Hondas when they pitted early - Barrichello on lap 15 and Button on lap 16. Barrichello, as it turns out, would only make two stops (his first stop took 14 seconds, and looked like a strategy change), but Buton was on a 3-stopper. The only other driver on such a strategy was Ralf, who pitted on lap 16 also. All the other runners were only 2-stopping. This must have been a real kick in the teeth for the Honda drivers, and the rest of the afternoon would be spent going backwards.
After Button's stop, Massa inherited second place, with Alonso following quite closely. It was clear that Massa's job was to hold up Alonso, as he was running about a second a lap slower than Michael. Massa pitted on lap 19, clearing the way for Alonso. However, Michael pitted from the lead on lap 20 - Alonso inherited the lead but wasn't really able to put in any laps that were significantly faster than Michael before his stop on lap 25. After the stops, Michael retook the lead, with Alonso in second place.
The pace of both Ferraris in their secodn stint was mystifying - they were running about 1.5 seconds per lap slower than they were in their first stints. You could chalk that up to tyres, but for boh drivers to be afflicted seems starnge. Either way, Alonso reeled Schumacher in at quite a rate.
On lap 31, disaster struck for Button. In his second stop, the signal man raised the lollipop too soon - the fuel hose was still attached. The signal man rapidly slammed the signal back down again, but Button launched off the line anyway, and kept going. What Button was thinking, I will never know - why he didn't get off the gas as soon as the sign came back down is a mystery. Either way, the hose was ripped from the fuel rig, and the Honda team were very lucky to avoid a big fire. Button had to stop in the pit lane whilst his mechanics removed the remnants of the fuel hose. What was already looking like a miserable race for Button turned into a disaster.
So, the race came down to a fight between Michael and Alonso. With Michael's slow pace, Alonso managed to close right up to the back of Michael by lap 35, and for 6 laps desperately tried to find a way past Michael. Eventually, impatience got the better of Alonso and the Renault team, and they brought him in early - on lap 41 - to try and leapfrog Michael. However, the Ferrari team responded beautifully - they brought Michael in on the very next lap to ensure that Alonso could not capitalise on his pace. The tactic worked - Michael rejoined in the lead, and controlled the pace of the race through to the flag, with Alonso desperately crawling all over the back of Michael, trying to find a way past. Eventually, Alonso ran wide out of the Villeneuve chicane on lap 59, and lost about 2 seconds to Michael, and from there, Michael put the hammer down and stamped his mark on the race to take the victory. It seems retribution was the order of the day - Michael had repaid the favour to Alonso for the 2005 race.
However, Alonso could have easily taken the victory were it not for a rare tactical blunder by Renault - they should have learned from McLaren last year that, when you have a much faster car but can't find a way past, turn the engine mapping all the way down to save fuel, and pit a lap later than the guy ahead of you. Renault were too reactionary, and it cost them the race.
But nothing comapres to the mess Honda made of the race - Button finished 7th, Barrichello 10th. One has to wonder what they have to do to get their pace back - remember they finished 2nd in the 2004 constructor's championship.
So, Michael put a cap on what turned out to be a succesful weekend. But, on a personal note, Michael Schumacher can go to hell. Having broken the pole position record at the track that claimed Ayrton Senna's life, he rubbed salt into the wound by taking the victory. Furthermore, he basically refused to acknowledge the significance of his achievement. This from a man who claimed he feltlike retiring after the death of Senna. Yeah, bullshit.
Besides, let's not forget that if Senna had raced the same number of races that Schuamcher has raced, then Senna would have scored 95 poles. In that light, Schumacher's achievements pale in comparison.
Before the start, there was a lot of anticipation - Michael had claimed pole, the two Hondas were second and third, and the highestplaced Renault was that of Fernando Alonso in 5th. The buzz was whether Ferrari were back, had Honda finally got it right, and what fuel strategy were Renault using.
As the lights went out, Alonso, as usual, rocketed off the line, but was squeezed out of making up many places, although he did manage to get up to 4th by overtaking Barrichello, who slid down to 5th, around the outside of the Tamburello chicane. Into the Villeneuve chicane the Super Aguri of Ide and the Midland of Albers touched, sending Albers barrell-rolling into the gravel trap. He came to rest upside down after having rolled two-and-a-half times, and thankfully was unharmed. This precipitated a safety car period, which only lasted 1 lap. After the safety car pulled off, Michael started to stroll off into the distance, taking just over a second out of Button, in second placce, in 1 lap. Button looked as though he was able to stay in touch, but it all came apart for both of the Hondas when they pitted early - Barrichello on lap 15 and Button on lap 16. Barrichello, as it turns out, would only make two stops (his first stop took 14 seconds, and looked like a strategy change), but Buton was on a 3-stopper. The only other driver on such a strategy was Ralf, who pitted on lap 16 also. All the other runners were only 2-stopping. This must have been a real kick in the teeth for the Honda drivers, and the rest of the afternoon would be spent going backwards.
After Button's stop, Massa inherited second place, with Alonso following quite closely. It was clear that Massa's job was to hold up Alonso, as he was running about a second a lap slower than Michael. Massa pitted on lap 19, clearing the way for Alonso. However, Michael pitted from the lead on lap 20 - Alonso inherited the lead but wasn't really able to put in any laps that were significantly faster than Michael before his stop on lap 25. After the stops, Michael retook the lead, with Alonso in second place.
The pace of both Ferraris in their secodn stint was mystifying - they were running about 1.5 seconds per lap slower than they were in their first stints. You could chalk that up to tyres, but for boh drivers to be afflicted seems starnge. Either way, Alonso reeled Schumacher in at quite a rate.
On lap 31, disaster struck for Button. In his second stop, the signal man raised the lollipop too soon - the fuel hose was still attached. The signal man rapidly slammed the signal back down again, but Button launched off the line anyway, and kept going. What Button was thinking, I will never know - why he didn't get off the gas as soon as the sign came back down is a mystery. Either way, the hose was ripped from the fuel rig, and the Honda team were very lucky to avoid a big fire. Button had to stop in the pit lane whilst his mechanics removed the remnants of the fuel hose. What was already looking like a miserable race for Button turned into a disaster.
So, the race came down to a fight between Michael and Alonso. With Michael's slow pace, Alonso managed to close right up to the back of Michael by lap 35, and for 6 laps desperately tried to find a way past Michael. Eventually, impatience got the better of Alonso and the Renault team, and they brought him in early - on lap 41 - to try and leapfrog Michael. However, the Ferrari team responded beautifully - they brought Michael in on the very next lap to ensure that Alonso could not capitalise on his pace. The tactic worked - Michael rejoined in the lead, and controlled the pace of the race through to the flag, with Alonso desperately crawling all over the back of Michael, trying to find a way past. Eventually, Alonso ran wide out of the Villeneuve chicane on lap 59, and lost about 2 seconds to Michael, and from there, Michael put the hammer down and stamped his mark on the race to take the victory. It seems retribution was the order of the day - Michael had repaid the favour to Alonso for the 2005 race.
However, Alonso could have easily taken the victory were it not for a rare tactical blunder by Renault - they should have learned from McLaren last year that, when you have a much faster car but can't find a way past, turn the engine mapping all the way down to save fuel, and pit a lap later than the guy ahead of you. Renault were too reactionary, and it cost them the race.
But nothing comapres to the mess Honda made of the race - Button finished 7th, Barrichello 10th. One has to wonder what they have to do to get their pace back - remember they finished 2nd in the 2004 constructor's championship.
So, Michael put a cap on what turned out to be a succesful weekend. But, on a personal note, Michael Schumacher can go to hell. Having broken the pole position record at the track that claimed Ayrton Senna's life, he rubbed salt into the wound by taking the victory. Furthermore, he basically refused to acknowledge the significance of his achievement. This from a man who claimed he feltlike retiring after the death of Senna. Yeah, bullshit.
Besides, let's not forget that if Senna had raced the same number of races that Schuamcher has raced, then Senna would have scored 95 poles. In that light, Schumacher's achievements pale in comparison.
Labels: Formula 1, Grand Prix
If the fonts on this page look blocky and naff, it's probably because you are using Internet Explorer, which currently does not display antialiased (cleartype) fonts consistently when alpha transparency is used. I suggest you upgrade to Safari, Camino, Opera, or Firefox. While you're at it, get a Mac.
