Friday, May 12, 2006
# posted by Rich @ 1:42 AM
Europe: race report
Michael Schumacher took his second successive victory, and his second victory of 2006, at the European Grand Prix, and in doing so became a seriou title contender. Fernando Alonso was second, and Felipe Massa was third, making the first Ferrari double podium since the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix.
The race was poised to be a battle between Alonso and Michael, and it didn't disappoint. As expected, Alonso cleared off the line and led into the first corner, with Michael and Massa trailing. Behind them, Liuzzi and Coulthard bumoed into each other, damaging both cars. So much for team Red Bull eh? Coulthard got back to the pits for repairs, but Liuzzi limped around the track with a flat right-rear. However, he couldn't keep it on track, and spun to a halt in the middle of the track. The marshalls couldn't get him moving, and the safety car out.
When the safety car came back in, Alonso got the jump on everyone, and pulled comfortably away. However, Schumacher pegged him - the two traded fastest laps for the first 15 laps of the race. One might have been tempted to suggest that the Ferraris were on a lighter fuel load. They were not. Alonso pitted on lap 16, Michael on lap 18, but Alonso re-emerged in the lead. But the fact that Ferrari now knew Renault's pit strategy was crucial.
Raikkonen inherited the lead, and remained there until lap 23. It looked for a while that he was going to 1 stop, and that he could pull it off, because he was over ten seconds in the lead when he pitted. Alas, it was not the case - he would end up two-stopping (but I believe McLaren were fools not to one-stop him).
Back up front, Alonso and Michael were trading fastest laps again, and by the second round of pit stops, Alonso's lead was barely anything. The problem was that Ferrari had worked out Renault's pit stop strategy by observing their first stop, and they gave Michael some extra fuel for his second stint. Consequently, Alonso pitted on lap 38, but Michael pitted on lap 41. The extra laps on light fuel gave Michael the advantage, and he emerged in the lead, and led all the way to the flag.
The rest of the race was somewhat uneventful, although there was a lot of attrition - more than normal, which is probably a function of the new V8s. the strange thing was that the breakdowns seemed to come in pairs - Button and Klein on lap 28, Montoya and Ralfon lap 52.
So, the race certainly opened up the championship for Michael. But what about the other players, specifically Raikkonen? Well, he has 23 points in the championship. This time last year, he had 17 points and 1 win (Spain). It is still possible for him, but he needs a win badly, and Spain might just be the turning point of his season.
The race was poised to be a battle between Alonso and Michael, and it didn't disappoint. As expected, Alonso cleared off the line and led into the first corner, with Michael and Massa trailing. Behind them, Liuzzi and Coulthard bumoed into each other, damaging both cars. So much for team Red Bull eh? Coulthard got back to the pits for repairs, but Liuzzi limped around the track with a flat right-rear. However, he couldn't keep it on track, and spun to a halt in the middle of the track. The marshalls couldn't get him moving, and the safety car out.
When the safety car came back in, Alonso got the jump on everyone, and pulled comfortably away. However, Schumacher pegged him - the two traded fastest laps for the first 15 laps of the race. One might have been tempted to suggest that the Ferraris were on a lighter fuel load. They were not. Alonso pitted on lap 16, Michael on lap 18, but Alonso re-emerged in the lead. But the fact that Ferrari now knew Renault's pit strategy was crucial.
Raikkonen inherited the lead, and remained there until lap 23. It looked for a while that he was going to 1 stop, and that he could pull it off, because he was over ten seconds in the lead when he pitted. Alas, it was not the case - he would end up two-stopping (but I believe McLaren were fools not to one-stop him).
Back up front, Alonso and Michael were trading fastest laps again, and by the second round of pit stops, Alonso's lead was barely anything. The problem was that Ferrari had worked out Renault's pit stop strategy by observing their first stop, and they gave Michael some extra fuel for his second stint. Consequently, Alonso pitted on lap 38, but Michael pitted on lap 41. The extra laps on light fuel gave Michael the advantage, and he emerged in the lead, and led all the way to the flag.
The rest of the race was somewhat uneventful, although there was a lot of attrition - more than normal, which is probably a function of the new V8s. the strange thing was that the breakdowns seemed to come in pairs - Button and Klein on lap 28, Montoya and Ralfon lap 52.
So, the race certainly opened up the championship for Michael. But what about the other players, specifically Raikkonen? Well, he has 23 points in the championship. This time last year, he had 17 points and 1 win (Spain). It is still possible for him, but he needs a win badly, and Spain might just be the turning point of his season.
Labels: Europe, Formula 1, Grand Prix
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