Tag Archives: 2006

14 May 2006

Alonso, first spaniard to win his home race

Alonso won the Spanish Grandprix infront of his home crowd at catalunya and also helped Renault extend their advantage in both driver’s and constructor’s championship along with his teammate Fisichella, who took the final podium position. Schumacher came second after clearly blocked by Fisichella untill the first round of pit stops and his teammate Massa came home in the fourth place.

At the start Alonso holds his lead from Fisi and Schumacher as the pack rush down to the first corner. Alonso takes 1.6 secs out of Fisi and 3.1 secs out of Schumi on the first lap alone. It looks like Alonso is on a light fuel load compared to the rest of the pack and he keeps going away from from Fisi and Schumi. Schumi responds with some quick sector times but Alonso slams fastest laps one after another and he is 4.3 secs ahead of Schumi by lap 3. It looks like Alonso gonna make an early pitstop with Fisi effectively holding up the pursuing Ferrari’s. Lap 12 and Alonso is still flying with 10.2 secs ahead of Schumi. The 4th placed Massa is 11.2 secs ahead of 5th placed Raikkonen by lap 14 which shows how strong the Renault and Ferrari are. Schumi makes another fastest first sector on lap 14 but Fisichella is clearly holding him off. (more…)

14 May 2006

Schumacher and Ferrari on 2nd row at Catalunya

Schumacher and Ferrari, dominant all weekend to date swept the second row while Renault secures the front row at Circuit de Catalunya. Alonso celebrated his second successive Pole position and first at his home race with his team mate Fisi grabbing the second spot on the front row. Schumacher now has a real fight in his hands, but his 248 F1 does seem to have a straight line speed advantage here in 2006 Spanish Grand Prix. So, the scene is set for another epic duel between Ferrari and Renault.

In other news Schumacher announced on Thursday that he could delay his decision to continue with Ferrari or quit the sport until the end of the year and Ferrari is quite happy to wait until the end of the season. Technical director Ross Brawn thinks someone of the magnitude of Michael gets as much time as he wants and we have to work around it. This news could mean that Schumacher is still considering retiring, and after two-straight wins he has the form to win this year’s championship. What will be better than for the Ferrari legend to go out than by securing an eighth title?.

07 May 2006

Schumacher and Ferrari does it again

EGP

Schumacher and Ferrari did it again in style in the European GrandPrix at Nurburgring. Its almost a replica of the season opener where Schumacher led the race from the start and lost the position to Alonso during the second pitstops. The main difference here at Nurburgring is Ferrari is faster almost all the race and the Renault just holded them untill the second pitstops. But a superb drive from Schumacher saw him crossing the line with a comfortable margin. (more…)

06 May 2006

Can Ferrari win again at Nurburgring

Michael Schumacher and Felippe Massa are 2nd and 3rd in Nurburgring Qualifying, the European Grandprix. While Alonso grabbed the pole position, the Ferraris certianly look stronger here. Schumi was the fastest in the morning practice and looked all set to grab the pole untill the final laps. Looks like championship leader Fernando Alonso has urged Renault to give him a pole-winning strategy and got it while his team mate, Fisichella was out of final ten for the second succesive race. Unlike Alonso, however, Schumacher does not overly prize Pole Position and said strategy is so much more important. So, if Alonso is on less fuel, Ferrari and Schumi will have a good chance of winning the European Grandprix at Nurburgring. Schumi has already won 4 times at his home grandprix, Nurburgring and I hope he will do it again.

24 April 2006

Brilliant Schumi and Ferrari Victorious at Imola

Michael Schumacher won the San Marino Grand Prix after withstanding the pressure from Championship leader Fernando Alonso in the second half of the race. While Schumacher took the chequered flag, it really was a case of a race lost for Renault as much as a race won for Ferrari. The result was Schumacher’s 85th Grand Prix success, the first competitive win since Suzuka 2004. Michael Schumacher ended the Renault’s winning streak, holding off the fast charging Renault of Fernando Alonso for almost final 26 laps. (more…)

02 April 2006

Drama filled 2006 Australian Grandprix

Aborted start! 2 Formation laps! 4 Safety car sessions!. Incident, accident and drama and though it all came Fernando Alonso walked away with his 1st Australian Grand Prix and his second of the season to strengthen his early stranglehold on a second straight drivers’ title. The only thing missing is rain on a perfect day of Formula1.

It was not such a good day for Giancarlo Fisichella and Juan Pablo Montoya in the second Renault and McLaren as both had their own drama even before the race had got underway. Montoya, who qualified in fifth position, was bust warming up his brakes and tyres as he exited the final turn to approach the starting grid. The Colombian lost control of his McLaren and it seemed he was in for a long day from the back of the pack. Fortunately for him Giancarlo Fisichella inexplicably stalled his Renault on the front row of the grid. This forced another formation lap and Montoya was able to regain his position and Fisichella started the race from the pit lane. (more…)

01 April 2006

Button stuns with Australian pole

Honda’s Jenson Button beats both Renaults to pole position in Melbourne. Second fastest in qualifying this afternoon was Giancarlo Fisichella followed by teammate and reigning world champion Fernando Alonso. Australia’s Mark Webber will start in seventh place after a personal best lap of Albert Park in his Williams. Most of the session had been about the Renaults and McLarens until Button put that stonking lap time in. Montoya looked most likely to take pole position and set the mark for much of the 20-minute final session. But a spin on one hot lap and then a curious drop in the final sector of what would have been Montoya’s quickest tour rendered him fifth overall.

Ferrari’s World Champion Michael Schumacher failed to make the top 10 for the final shootout as rain ruined Michael Schumacher’s flying lap in the final minutes of the second knock-out session. His team-mate Felipe Massa caused the second red flag of the day when he crashed out at Turn 9. The Ferrari driver lost out on the entry to the chicane and skated across the gravel before smaking the wall and ripping off the right rear corner.

Rubens Barrichello has been knocked out of Australian Grand Prix qualifying after the first 15-minute segment. The Brazilian Honda driver, who has once again been struggling with the handling of his car, left his fast lap very late in the session and was then baulked half way through it by Yuji Ide. Check back for more details.

19 March 2006

Fisichela and Renault all the way

Italian Giancarlo Fisichella won the Malaysian Grand Prix from pole, making this a 1-2 for Renault. World Champion Fernando Alonso finished seven seconds behind, while British driver Jenson Button came home in third place in his Honda some 12 seconds behind the leader.

Juan Pablo Montoya finished in fourth place in his McLaren-Mercedes, followed by Ferrari team mates Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher in fifth and sixth.

Jacques Villeneuve finished in seventh place, with Ralf Schumacher in the Toyota finishing in the final points paying position.

18 March 2006

Fizzy pops up!

Giancarlo Fisichella has had a difficult time so far this season but an engine change after Bahrain, allowed because his car failed to finish for other reasons, meant that the Italian went to steamy Malaysia with the potential to outshine his rivals. And so he did in the final minutes of the qualifying session as he took third career Pole Position away from Jenson Button by two-tenths of a second. The Renault driver’s final lap in the third and final phase of qualifying stopped the clocks in a 1:33.840s, a tenth clear of the field. Jenson button starts a cool second in his Honda while Nico Rosberg did a sensational job in what is his second Grand Prix weekend to qualify his Williams Cosworth third.

It is a great result for me and a great answer after the last race. We made a big mistake in Bahrain, but anyway now the package is fantastic and the reliability and performance is good and I am sure now I will have a chance to do well said Fisichella.

(more…)

11 March 2006

Ferrari front row

We have a Ferrari front row in Bahrain. That’s right, Michael schumacher is on pole for tommorows season opener Bahrain Grandprix . In the process Michael Schumacher equalled Ayrton Senna’s record of 65 Pole positions and a superb performance from Massa on his Ferrari debut put him alongside Schumi in tommorows 57 lap Bahrain International Circuit. Stay tuned for more news.