The 2006 Australian F1 GP (Alonso wins - Your thoughts ?)

[Julian Mayo]

Ide has had two off track excursions, he has now spun, stalled and caused a red flag. All within the first 5 minutes.

[Julian Mayo]

Ide
Sato
Barrichello
Albers
Speed
Monteiro
Have missed the cut after Q1

Montoya
Kimi
Webber
head the field

[Julian Mayo]

Massa rear ends the wall. Red Flag, this is going to catch out those who have not put in a quick time

[Julian Mayo]

The red flag with 5min and rain on the last 2 laps to go caught
Klien
Schuey
DC
Liuzzii
Rossberg
Massa was out (crash)

Fastest were Alonso
Montoya
H'Field
Webber

It became a 1 lap shoot out after the red flag, then rain fell.

[Julian Mayo]

Schuey left the garage with a blower attached, which fell off in front of Webber in pitlane

[Julian Mayo]

Qual Positions
Button
Fisi
Alonso
Kimi
Jpm
Ralf
Mark
Nick
JV
Trulli.

Trulli hit a bird and damaged the rear wing
Jpm had a spin
JV takes a 10 spot penalty

[Ed]

Thanks Julian for the updates.

Jenson Button takes pole position ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso. Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher, Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld make the top 8 - Full Results

There were 2 red flags during qualifying. One in the 1st session caused by Ide and the other in the 2nd session caused by Massa.

Rubens Barrichello dropped out in the 1st session when he was severly affected by traffic on his fast lap.
Michael Schumacher dropped out in the 2nd session as it starts to rain.

Toyota have both cars in the top 10 which is a positive result. They appeared to be struggling badly in the first two races.

[Ed]

Top 8 Drivers - Quotes

Jenson Button - Pole

It's a fantastic feeling to be on pole here after such a manic qualifying session for everybody. With two red flags and the rain shower half way through, it was very difficult to stay calm and get our thoughts together. That's exactly what we did though and I'm so thrilled for the team. This is a very special moment for everyone in Honda as it's the first pole since they returned to works team status. I know all eyes will be on us for tomorrow but we didn't get much running done in race trim today. We know we're quick over a lap but we will only know how competitive we really are when we leave the grid tomorrow. All we can do now is give it our very best shot, aim for a faultless race and make the most of every situation.

Giancarlo Fisichella - 2nd

I am very pleased to be second for the race tomorrow, considering I made some small mistakes on my quickest lap. For me, the rain this morning was a bit worrying because I had lost set-up time yesterday, and I didn't get a chance to drive the car in dry conditions before qualifying. But we had made some good changes with the engineers overnight, and the car balance in qualifying was good. My second timed lap was faster than the first because the tyres were taking a long time to warm up, and second is a good grid position. The R26 has very good pace on the long runs, so if we get a good start, then I think we can be very strong tomorrow afternoon.

Fernando Alonso - 3rd

I am pleased to be third because this is my best qualifying position so far this year. Even so, we still didn't achieve our maximum this afternoon, because I had Heidfeld's BMW in front of me during my quick lap, and he made a mistake in turn 13. That meant I caught him very quickly, and lost about half a second in the last two corners. The car felt very good though, and I am pleased with the consistent handling balance. In race conditions, I am confident we will be extremely competitive.

Kimi Raikkonen - 4th

My qualifying today was OK but not perfect. I think we could have gone quicker if we had managed to get everything working, but the changing weather conditions made things a bit more of a challenge. The race tomorrow should be exciting, and I think we are in with a good chance. It should be possible for us to get our package to work perfectly, so we will see what happens. I'm looking forward to it that is for sure.

Juan Pablo Montoya - 5th

I'm quite disappointed as I think we could have been on the front row if I hadn't messed it up when I was on the new tyres. I came into Turn Five a bit too aggressively, hit the kerb and lost it, and that was it. However the car feels great and I know we have a strong strategy for the race, but I have just made things a bit more difficult for myself, but we will see what happens tomorrow.

Ralf Schumacher - 6th

I'm delighted to have qualified so high and it's a good achievement for Toyota to be looking so good after the problems we have had. Yesterday was hard but already this morning our pace looked better so we're pretty pleased with what we have achieved today. It was a difficult afternoon, especially when the rain came down at the end of Session 2, but the circuit improved quite well in the last session due to the wind. The tyres felt good and the car was better than I expected on heavy fuel at the end. We've been struggling for grip but the last session was the best I have felt all season. Tomorrow depends on strategy but my target is to score points and we look pretty good for that.

Mark Webber - 7th

It was a pretty interesting session today, the heart rate is always there with these sessions! The car was really good on low fuel, but we perhaps didn?t get as much out of it as we should have carrying more weight. Ultimately while our last runs were good, I would have liked to be a position or two higher on the grid. That said, I feel good about tomorrow and I think seventh isn?t such a bad place to start the race from ? all the strategies are ?in? the cars now and we?ll see where we are
tomorrow.

Nick Heidfeld - 8th

I am disappointed. After our very strong showing this morning as well as in the first two parts of qualifying, a significantly better result was possible today. But in the end I didn?t have a fresh set of tyres available so eighth was the best I could expect.

[Ed]

In a dramatic and thrilling race Fernando Alonso wins his second race of the season and the third for Renault ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Ralf Schumacher. Nick Heidfeld, Gianacarlo Fisichella, Jacques Villeneuve, Rubens Barrichello and Scott Speed make the top 8.

There were as many as 4 safety car periods with many crashes, spins and retirements.

It started with Montoya warming his tyres at the end of the formation lap spinning and getting sideways. Something we haven't seen happening before. Fisichella who was supposed to start from second waved his hands indicating a problem and an extra formation lap was given.
At the start Button mainains position ahead of Alonso who very close to crashing into him. Behind was plenty of drama with Klien tangling with Massa who got sideways collecting Rosberg with him. Massa crashed out, Rosberg lost his rear wing and the safety car was deployed. A bit further ahead there was contact between Coulthard and Trulli resulting in Trulli spinning and retiring.
During the first safety car period and as Fisichella was trying to catchup after starting from the pitlane he spun but recovered.
At the restart Alonso took first from Button and immediately started building a gap. Raikkonen in 3rd was now trying to pass Button who didn't have the race pace.
A few laps later Klien loses control and crashes into the wall forcing another safety car period. Alonso loses the gap he built. At the second restart Raikkonen makes it past Button for second. Montoya closes on Button and despite a mistake by Button, Montoya couldn't get through.
The first round of pits start around lap 18 with Montoya first in followed by Button and Fisichella. Button rejoins just ahead of Montoya but Montoya gets past at turn 1. Alonso then pits handing the lead to Raikkonen who pits a lap later handing the lead to Webber. 2 laps later Webber retires and Alonso retakes the lead!
Nick Heidfeld meanwhile was up in second place and yet to stop. He stops a few laps later along with Michael Schumacher, both were thought to be going for a single stop as the race was approaching half way but both went for a short second stint!
Following his stop, Michael started closing in on Button who was in 5th place. Michael was much quicker than Button but he went wide a number of times chasing him. He went too wide going onto the start finish straight going over the kerb and lost control crashing into the wall and bouncing back accross the track forcing the 3rd safety car situation. Alonso had built over 20 seconds over Raikkonen and that gap was again lost.
Everybody went into the pits for their second stops (1st for Villeneuve who was on a single stop).
Montoya had to wait behind Raikkonen who had to chance the front wing as a result of vibration due to flat spotting his tryes earlier. He was clearly frustrated!
As a result of Raikkonen's long pit stop, Heidfeld moves into second.
At the restart Alonso retains the lead with Heidfeld in second ahead of Raikkonen and Ralf Schumacher.
Liuzzi in the Toro Rosso loses control and slams into the wall forcing the 4th safety car period! Raikkonen and Ralf have passed Heidfeld.
At the 4th restart Alonso leads Raikkonen and Ralf Schumacher.
Alonso starts building a lead and again as both himself and Raikkonen were pushing in front. Button and Montoya touch then a few laps later Montoya goes wide in the same place Michael did but he catches then suddenly slows down and retires!
Alonso goes on to win the race ahead of Raikkonen and Ralf Schumacher with Heidfeld in 4th place. But the drama didn't stop there, Button was chased by Fisichella for 5th and only the final turn Button's engine let go in spectacular fashion, his car stopped just a few meters from the finish line giving away 5th place to Fisichella and dropping out of the points. Villeneuve finished 6th ahead of Barrichello while Scott Speed scored the first points for Toro Rosso.

Your thoughts ?

[RE30B#16]

Alonso is the MAN!!!!

Good job Ralf Schumacher for staying away from the drama to put Toyota on the podium.

Fisi comes in 4th. Right on!

Button will continue to be the butt of my jokes until the next race.

The only driver I will give a harder time to is the crash happy Felipe Massa! Ferrari would be better off with Luca Badoer or Marc Gene behind the wheel.

Once again some lunkhead kept us from seeing what Nico Rosberg is all about.

I wonder if all those team principals who said last year at this point in the season that despite his 2 wins and 3rd place finish, Raikonnen was better than Alonso still feel the same way. My 6 year old daughter knows better. The most ignorant remark I heard was that Raikonnen, being a Finn and all, had a cooler temperment to the fiery latin Alonso. News flash!! Raikonnen had better turn up the heat because the only thing he seems to be passing is his "sell-by" date!

Cheers ev'rybody!!

Chris

[jacfan]

What a great race. Though it didn't do much for my tips.

[Julian Mayo]

Webber to Briatore (his manager)........"Ferrari looks good for 2007"
Denis to Kimi......."piss off"
Denis to JPM........"piss off quick"
The entire Ferrari team to Schuey......."you understeered off? Piss off at the end of the season"
Todt to himself....' thank god it is only a one year contract.....piss off Massa".
Barrichello........." I think I might piss off back to Ferrari, don't have to left foot brake there, rear gunner to Mark, he is a nice fellow, I can live with that".
Button to God......."what did I do to piss you off?...Pulease tell me!"
Ralf to Michael....."piss off LOSER......NAH NA, NA NAH"

Incidentally, the season is over.Dealt and Done.
I put it down to the non-existent traction control/launch control.........you know......that which DC, JB,....etc etc ....bitched about re Renault all weekend.
The one that has a green button on the steering wheel labeled "Launch"
Good bloody luck to Renault I say

[RE30B#16]

Incidentally, the season is over.Dealt and Done.
I put it down to the non-existent traction control/launch control.........you know......that which DC, JB,....etc etc ....bitched about re Renault all weekend.
The one that has a green button on the steering wheel labeled "Launch"
Good bloody luck to Renault I say

How does traction control help you in dry conditions? How would launch control help you after you've launched?

In other words, pass one of these guys on the track, and I might consider your argument about unfair engine mapping. Otherwise, shuddap!!

:excuse:DC and JB have become world champions at complaining and not totally producing. Do you mean to tell me that Mercedes and Honda don't have some kind of engine mapping of their own? Pulease!!

Chris

[RE30B#16]

Julian Mayo wrote:
Incidentally, the season is over.Dealt and Done.
I put it down to the non-existent traction control/launch control.........you know......that which DC, JB,....etc etc ....bitched about re Renault all weekend.
The one that has a green button on the steering wheel labeled "Launch"
Good bloody luck to Renault I say


How does traction control help you in dry conditions? How would launch control help you after you've launched?

In other words, pass one of these guys on the track, and I might consider your argument about unfair engine mapping. Otherwise, shuddap!!

DC and JB have become world champions at complaining and not totally producing. Do you mean to tell me that Mercedes and Honda don't have some kind of engine mapping of their own? Pulease!!

Chris
_________________

[Ed]

Top 8 Drivers - Quotes

Fernando Alonso - Winner
This was a very different race to the other two so far this season. In Bahrain, I was fighting with Michael all the way; in Malaysia, it was Jenson I was battling for second place. But today, it was quite comfortable. There were no fights, and I was very relaxed for a lot of the race. I had a good lead after the first pit-stops, but I lost it during the second safety car. However, I managed to get a good gap on each re-start, and that made life quite easy for me. I was very happy with the balance all the way through the race, so I just needed to make sure I didn't take any unnecessary risks and I am pleased we were able to save the engine performance for the next race. So far, we have shown we are strong in all conditions on all tracks. But Imola is a very different challenge, and we must have a calm approach, because we know it will be more difficult than ever.

Kimi Raikkonen - 2nd
Despite not winning I'm really pleased as we now have a package which is level with the Renaults which I think we demonstrated today. The race was rather hectic. I enjoyed a good battle with Juan Pablo at the start, but when I overtook Jenson I flatspotted my right front tyre which caused some vibration. However I was still able to go flat out and keep up with Fernando, but then all of a sudden the footplate on the right hand side of my front wing fractured probably due to the vibration. As a result I started to have severe understeer and lost a lot of time to Fernando. Fortunately with 21 laps to go the Safety Car came out which gave us enough time to go into the pits and change the front wing. I was really pushing, but in the final Safety Car period one of the Midland cars was between Fernando and I, which meant I was unable to get really close to have a go. An enjoyable race and I can't wait for Imola. The team has definitely made great progress with our entire package

Ralf Schumacher - 3rd
We are all very happy with what we achieved today. The drive through penalty was my fault because I accidentally hit the button twice but I was lucky and due to the safety car periods we achieved a lot more than we ever thought before this weekend. At the start we were sliding around and locking wheels. But while we've had problems with warming up our tyres in earlier races, others seemed to struggle with that today. Some of the safety car periods were a bit of a fight with all the backmarkers in there but after the third safety car period I gained a couple of places which was great. Grip was hard to come by so I really had to fight the whole race to keep the car there, but it worked out in the end and we achieved a great result. We are still a way from the top teams so we have to work, but I have no doubt that our crew is able to do that. We're strong people and pushing hard so I'm looking forward to the next few races

Nick Heidfeld - 4th
I am really happy about this result. We were already competitive in practice but we were even stronger in the race. I think it?s fantastic for a new team having both cars in the points, especially considering where Jacques started. My only problem was that I couldn?t get heat into the tyres immediately after each safety car period; it was particularly bad after the last one when Kimi was all over me, and we touched lightly in Turn 4. I then braked too late for Turn 6 because the front tyres were still not up to temperature, and as I ran wide he was able to pass me. So was Ralf, within metres of yellow flags. My compliments to the pit crew, who did a fabulous job.

Giancarlo Fisichella - 5th
After a race like that, I have really mixed feelings. You know, it's great to go from the pit-lane and to finish fifth, especially in such an exciting way. But also, we saw today that I had the car to fight for the win with Fernando, so I am disappointed I couldn't make use of it. At the start, the engine stalled and I had to start from the pit-lane, then during most of the first stint I had no telemetry ? so I was giving the engineers updates on my fuel load all the time, and telling them about the car while overtaking the people in front of me. That problem fixed itself, but the second stint was really hard because the car was understeering so much during that part of the race. The team were calling me to push harder, but I was on the limit all the way. Then after the final stop, the clutch failed, and we only managed to fix it a few laps from the end. As soon as we did, I set my fastest lap, showed what I could do and started to put pressure on Jenson. I could see his engine was failing in the final corners, then I was blinded by the oil and smoke during the final corner with big oversteer, and I got him as he moved over the track. It was an exciting afternoon, and it's good to still score points after starting so far back. I am second in the championship going to Imola, and that's a great feeling because I should have a new specification engine there as well.

Jacques Villeneuve - 6th
Starting from 19th place with a full tank and finishing sixth is obviously a lot better than I expected, so it was a very good race for me. The only problem I had was warming up the tyres after the numerous safety car phases. We have to have a look at this to improve the situation, but otherwise our pace was good.

Rubens Barrichello - 7th
It was very frustrating that Jenson was unable to finish the race. Although we didn't have the pace to fight very hard, it was disappointing to see him go out like that. I struggled the whole race with the brakes and it was impossible for me to overtake, although I was able to get past Speed and gain position. I have a couple of points at least, so in that respect at least my season is underway now. I think we all realise what a lot of work there is to do in the next couple of weeks in testing if we are to start the European season in a more competitive position

Scott Speed - 8th
To come from wherever we were on the grid - I can't even remember where we were, but I know it was a big number - it is incredible to come away from here with a point. We always said our goal was to
grab some points this year and to get the first one so early is incredible. It's one step closer to my goal. It was really exciting and what a feeling to come round on the last lap and to see the whole team up on the wall. It was one of the greatest moments I've ever had in my life