2006 Formula One Chinese Grand Prix

[Nazmacher]

Posted at www.planet-f1.com

Chinese Grand Prix Preview

Fernando Alonso won last year and Michael Schumacher spun out of the race. Renault will be hoping that history repeats itself on Sunday.

It doesn't seem very long ago that we were heralding the first Chinese Grand Prix and yet here we are anticipating the third. And because Shanghai is a track that nobody tests at, the result of this race is not a foregone conclusion.

The Shang circuit at Shanghai may have marvellous facilities, great overtaking opportunities and a towering grandstand, but it's still a bit like Sepang.

With just two points separating Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso now, there is everything to race for. Three months ago it didn't seem likely. But just as in 2003, Schumacher has had a great deal of help from fortuitous intervention to get back on terms with Alonso. First Alonso's car was banned, then he got mysterious grid deductions in Monza, what can happen next...?

Though Renault come into the race talking the big talk and trying to make the most of Michael's misfortunes at the Chinese track in 05, the momentum has still got to be with the Ferrari team. The red cars will be the ones to beat.

True, last year Michael had the kind of grand prix weekend that the worst Formula Ford debutant probably wouldn't endure. On the way to the grid he wasn't looking in his mirrors and sideswiped the innocent Minardi of Albers. In the race he spun out on lap 23 while following the Safety Car. Those critics who think that Schumacher is not in the same league as Prost, Senna, Moss, Stewart, Clark or Fangio certainly had enough to go on in one race alone.

The other memorable moment from last year was the drain cover that got sucked out of its culvert and put an end to Juan-Pablo Montoya's race, when he wrecked his front suspension on it. You can bet that won't happen again.

Fernando Alonso won here last year and will be looking to do the same again. He certainly has the motivation. However Michael has the motivation, too. The most driven F1 driver of his generation will be focusing his formidable powers of concentration on one outcome to the Chinese GP.

However there is a sliver of truth in what Pat Symmonds has said about Schumacher doing badly under pressure. In Championship showdowns before he has reacted badly when up against Hill, Villeneuve and Hakkinen. That is why it has been so important for Michael to have the No.1 status in the teams he's driven for. He doesn't want pressure from someone equipped with a car as good as the one he has got.

That is why he won't be driving on equal terms with Raikkonen in 2007. He doesn't want to endure that pressure for 17 races in a season. He's filled a Ferrari trophy cabinet his way and if the Scuderia won't give him what he wants, then he'll move on.

Apart from the Renault vs Ferrari duel at the front, there should be some good scuffling amongst Honda, McLaren and BMW-Sauber for the rest of the points. The fact that McLaren left it so long to nominate Pedro de la Rosa for the Chinese GP could well mean that they were seriously thinking of giving a couple of outings to GP2 Champion Lewis Hamilton before the end of the season.

They have nothing to lose in the Constructors' title race and even if Hamilton were to do badly in Japan and Brazil the close season will soon be upon us and everyone will forget. So in one way McLaren have two races for free. The team have always prided themselves on their marketing strength and two Spaniards in the cars in 2007 makes no marketing sense at all.

Fisichella and Kovalainen at Renault will be a much greater risk than Alonso and Hamilton would be.

BMW-Sauber have their own rising star in Robert Kubica who claimed his first podium in only his third race at Monza, a phenomenal achievement that got swallowed up in all the Schumacher retirement hubbub. Though it required Alonso's Renault to exit before he got the place, he drove stunningly well.

It is amazing to think that he could easily become Rookie of the Year in just five races. With Nelson Piquet Junior, Kubica, Hamilton, Vettel and Nico Rosberg in a car that doesn't always break down, the future of F1 looks bright.

[Nazmacher]

The lighter side of an F1 weekend?...

















Image Credits www.planet-f1.com

[Nazmacher]

Friday Practice

Session 1
01 A. Wurz Williams 1:35.574 21 laps
02 A. Davidson Honda 1:35.591 26 laps
03 J. Button Honda 1:37.291 4 laps
04 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:37.712 4 laps
05 N. Jani Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.734 21 laps
06 A. Premat Spyker MF1 1:37.787 24 laps
07 S. Vettel BMW 1:37.913 24 laps
08 R. Kubica BMW 1:38.062 6 laps
09 M. Ammermuller Red Bull 1:38.460 18 laps
10 F. Montagny Super Aguri 1:38.464 19 laps
11 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.000 6 laps
12 R. Barrichello Honda 1:39.217 4 laps
13 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.428 7 laps
14 C. Albers Spyker MF1 1:39.494 6 laps
15 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:39.887 8 laps
16 T. Monteiro Spyker MF1 1:39.947 7 laps
17 S. Yamamoto Super Aguri 1:41.415 10 laps
18 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:45.890 4 laps
19 N. Heidfeld BMW no time 1 lap
20 J. Trulli Toyota no time 2 laps
21 R. Schumacher Toyota no time 2 laps
22 D. Coulthard Red Bull no time 1 lap
23 R. Doornbos Red Bull no time 2 laps


Session 2
01 A. Wurz Williams 1:35.539 26 laps
02 S. Vettel BMW 1:35.579 23 laps
03 A. Davidson Honda 1:35.714 30 laps
04 F. Massa Ferrari 1:36.599 8 laps
05 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:36.641 12 laps
06 F. Alonso Renault 1:36.739 10 laps
07 F. Montagny Super Aguri 1:37.278 26 laps
08 M. Ammermuller Red Bull 1:37.678 26 laps
09 T. Monteiro Spyker MF1 1:37.698 13 laps
10 G. Fisichella Renault 1:37.716 12 laps
11 J. Button Honda 1:37.861 10 laps
12 P. de la Rosa McLaren 1:38.022 9 laps
13 M. Webber Williams 1:38.045 6 laps
14 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:38.062 11 laps
15 A. Premat Spyker MF1 1:38.098 26 laps
16 R. Barrichello Honda 1:38.276 16 laps
17 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:38.888 14 laps
18 J. Trulli Toyota 1:38.959 11 laps
19 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.080 18 laps
20 N. Jani Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.118 28 laps
21 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:39.179 4 laps
22 R. Kubica BMW 1:39.217 5 laps
23 N. Rosberg Williams 1:39.522 15 laps
24 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.570 20 laps
25 S. Yamamoto Super Aguri 1:39.636 22 laps
26 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:40.155 15 laps
27 R. Doornbos Red Bull 1:40.214 15 laps
28 C. Albers Spyker MF1 1:40.319 14 laps
29 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:41.315 9 laps

[bartski]

Eh... stupid rain, stupid bridgestones <ferrari fanboy>
Oh and Alonso is first! Come on FIA, do something!

[Jack_Bauer]

Still haven't seen the qualifying because ITV, in their infinite wisdom, have decided that showing it live wasn't a good idea, and that it'd be much better to screen it in the late afternoon after everyone's already found out the results.

Looking at the grid it should be a fascinating race tomorrow, with Renault firmly in control in terms of both the championships. If they can get both cars off the line cleanly, which the invariably do, then they should be in a position to control the race from the front with Fisichella acting as Alonso's reargunner. Whether Schumacher will be able to challenge Alonso or just settle for damage limitation will depend a lot on how quickly he can get past the two Hondas and Kimi. That will be no mean feat as the Hondas have looked to have decent pace all weekend. It will probably come down to a battle of straightline speed down the huge back straight and into the hairpin. It has been Ferrari's biggest strength all year so I'd imagine they'd be able to get Schumi past the Hondas at somepoint, it's just a question of whether the Renaults will still be within firing distance by the time he does get through.

Elsewhere in the grid BMW have continued to show their decent form of the last couple of months, but the big talking point of the weekend in the midfield has to be the performance of the STR boys. Scott Speed especially put in a brilliant performance to claim P11. Although the conditions meant none of the cars were able to show their genuine respective pace, for Speed to qualify ahead of David Coulthard is an impressive acheivment. No doubt DC will be getting plenty of stick from his young American stablemate after that! It'll be interesting to see how long it takes Felipe Massa to get through the pack from his poor position. We know he'll be under pressure to scythe his way through to claim some points in the WCC, but we have seen in the past that in those sorts of situations he is liable to make silly errors.

Below them the Toyotas were indicative of just how much the Bridgestones were struggling in the conditions, finishing 17th and 18th. All the Bridgestone runners will be praying for dry conditions for the race tomorrow because in the rain they are clearly second best to the Michelins. In truth the performance of Schumacher was an impressive one despite his relatively lowly position, because the Bridgestones clearly hadn't been working all day and he did better than he would perhaps be expected to with those tyres.

01 F. Alonso Renault 1:44.360
02 G. Fisichella Renault 1:44.992
03 R. Barrichello Honda 1:45.503
04 J. Button Honda 1:45.503
05 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:45.754
06 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:45.775
07 P. de la Rosa McLaren 1:45.877
08 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:46.053
09 R. Kubica BMW 1:46.632
10 R. Doornbos Red Bull 1:48.021
11 S. Speed Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:45.851
12 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:45.968
13 F. Massa Ferrari 1:45.970
14 V. Liuzzi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:46.172
15 M. Webber Williams 1:46.413
16 N. Rosberg Williams 1:47.419
17 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:48.894
18 J. Trulli Toyota 1:49.098
19 C. Albers Spyker MF1 1:49.542
20 T. Monteiro Spyker MF1 1:49.903
21 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:50.326
22 S. Yamamoto Super Aguri 1:55.560

[Mr.Tiv]

I hope it is dry tommorow, I want Schumacher to win.

[Nazmacher]

Yeah. gone are the days when Ferrari fans (Bridgestone) waited for the clouds to crash. Almost shameful for the Japanese tyre giant.

Leaving out the possibilityt of changing weather condts tomorrow, I think Michael has a shot at 3rd or even 2nd (If Fisi is in his usual Sunday drive mode). A win?... well you can never say...

[Nazmacher]

I hope it is dry tommorow, I want Schumacher to win.

As far as I know, the predictions say it will be dry! Man has landed on the moon, but still makes a complete arse of himself when it comes to predicting weather.

[fpv_gtho]

Fisichella should be happy with his performance, he really needs to put in 110% and not wait until next season before he tries to impress the team. Alot of people are speculating if he continues to underwhelm next year, Piquet will get his spot, so theres no better way to earn his spot than doing the job.

The disaster for Bridgestone continues though with their wets. Suzuka and Interlagos arent the driest races on the calender either so Bridgestone will either want to have a solution ready, or get ready to see both titles go to Renault after all the work Ferrari has done the past couple of rounds.

[Jack_Bauer]

Just seen the coverage of the qualifying on TV, and it certainly looked like fun out there! People were flying off the road at every corner it seemed.

Interestingly it seems as though Ferrari will be praying for either dry conditions, or very wet conditions. On the full wets the Bridgestones and Michelins seemed very evenly matched, it was on the intermediates on a drying line that they were really struggling against the Michelins. If the conditions are changeable/variable throughout the race you'd have to think the Renaults would have the race in the bag with the strength of their inters.

[Jack_Bauer]

Well, it's wet in Shanghai and everyone is starting on Inters, so it's advantage Renault/Alonso for the moment. It isn't actually raining though, so it seems as though Schumi's chances will depend entirely on how long it'll take for the track to dry out so that he can get onto the drys.

Alonso leads off the start as expected followed by Fisi. Kimi looks like he's in the mood today, he's already jumped the Hondas and he's now pressuring Fisi.

[magracer]

Watching Schumacher after his win everyone should be asking why he is retiring if he is that motivated... I know I wouldn't do it. I have been practically anti schumy since the Senna era, but watching his passion for the sport makes me wonder..

[Jack_Bauer]

Well, a fascinating race which saw Renault gift wrap the driver's championship lead to Michael Schumacher. After Alonso had romped away into the distance in the first stint they he was the first of the front three to pit and opted to change just the front inters and stick with the worn rears. It proved to be a poor decision as he completely lost front grip. Fisichella and Schumacher wisely chose to stick with the old tyres all round and quickly ate away Alonso's lead. After some fascinating battling between the three of them as Fisichella tried desperately to protect his suffering teammate, Alonso eventually had to yeild and leave Schumacher and Fisi to battle for the win. Going into the final stop it was Fisi leading from Schumacher then Alonso.

That was when it all went horribly wrong for Renault. Alonso pitted first and went to slicks, but there was a problem with a sticking wheel nut on the right rear tyre, which lost him between 15 and 20 seconds and effectively cost him the race. After the front two pitted Fisi was ahead fractionally from Schumi, but in true Fisichella style he dithered and wilted under the pressure instantaneously when on cold slicks, gifting the lead to Schumacher. After that it seemed like Schumacher would cruise to a simple victory, but Alonso was having none of it. On the drying track Alonso was in an absolutely different class to everyone else on the track, just as he was in the wet at the start of the race. It was an absolutely inspired drive from Alonso as he was consistently taking between 1 and 2 seconds per lap out of Schumacher. He quickly caught, passed and dropped Fisi in second and by the end of the race, as the rain began to fall, incredibly he was just 3 seconds behind Schumacher. The pace of Alonso was highlighted by the fact that he finished over 40 seconds ahead of his teammate, when he had begun the final stint 20 seconds behind him. He had taken over a minute out of an identical car in the space of about 25 laps.

It was a race full of fascinating battles all through the field, from start to finish. Kimi Raikkonen had looked the man most likely to challenge Alonso at the start of the race but once again McLaren-Mercedes reliability cost him the chance to show that he can be a genuine title contender. He must be counting the days until he can bin his McLaren overalls and move on to hopefully bigger and better things at Ferrari. It was a crazy race for the two Hondas who had looked in great shape after qualifying. Button ran into problems early on with severely grained inters and he was losing aroung four seconds a lap to his opponents. It looked as though his race was effectively all but over as he was struggling just to reach the points paying positions. Barrichello was having a better time of it, but they were outfoxed by the BMW team in terms of strategy. Nick Heidfeld managed to sneak past in the pits and head for a comfortable fourth place. But as the track dried suddenly the Hondas found their pace and were both homing in on the German with alarming speed. In a dramatic final lap in the rain Button slipstreamed Heidfeld down the back straight as they approached backmarkers. Button sneaked through as Heidfeld was blocked by Sato, and Barrichello clattered the back of Heidfeld, ruining what had looked a good race for the BMW team.

Elsewhere there were great battles in the midfield involving the RedBulls, STRs and Williams cars. Coulthard had been the most impressive of the lot until he got collected by hard charging Felipe Massa and caused damage to his steering. It was a move which ended Massa's race and handed the lead in the WCC back to Renault. Coulthard's subsequent problems handed the final championship point to William's Mark Webber. A thoroughly miserable weekend for the Toyota team was compounded by a double retirement, but to be fair they never looked in danger of threatening for points.

So going into the final two races Schumacher leads the WDC by virtue of having won 7 races to Alonso's 6. Renault will be ruing their tactical error and hugely costly pitstop blunder, but they will certainly take heart from the fact that in both the wet and dry conditions Fernando Alonso was in a completely different class to the rest of the field in terms of raw pace. It is the first time since Canada several months ago that that really has been the case, and will stand them in good stead heading into Japan next week. Schumacher might have the lead for the first time this year, but the title is not his by a LONG shot.

RESULTS

1. Schumacher
2. Alonso
3. Fisichella
4. Button
5. De La Rosa
6. Barrichello
7. Heidfeld
8. Webber
9. Coulthard
10. Liuzzi
11. Rosberg
12. Doornbos
13. Kubica
14. Sato
15. Speed
16. Albers
17. Yamamoto
18. Ralf ret
19. Massa ret
20. Trulli ret
21. Monteiro ret
22. Raikkonen ret

[Wouter Melissen]

Is it just me or are you forgetting about a stunning drive with some daring moves that saw a certain someone actually gain places on the track than in the pit box?

[Jack_Bauer]

Is it just me or are you forgetting about a stunning drive with some daring moves that saw a certain someone actually gain places on the track than in the pit box?

I'm not trying to say Schumacher didn't drive well today or anything, not by any means. He was consistently quick throughout and didn't make any obvious errors. What I was getting at was that the weather conditions yesterday in qualifying and early on today, the strength of the Michelin inters, and the R26's outright pace everything was in Alonso's favour. The race was his for the taking barring any major cock-ups. Renault proceeded to make not one but TWO serious cock-ups which cost Alonso the victory.

Schumacher drove very well to take advantage of Renault's mistakes, no doubt about it, but I just feel that in the reckoning this race will be seen more as a seriously blown opportunity by Renault/Alonso rather than a great victory by Schumacher.