12/03/2006
NEWS STORY
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Despite the right-rear suspension failure that eliminated him from qualifying after just two laps yesterday, let's not forget Kimi Raikkonen's parting shot as he left the Bahrain paddock: "Although it is far from ideal to start from the back of the grid, there are overtaking opportunities at this track, and I have done this before and still achieved good results."
And so he has. Indeed, it is for his 'never say die' approach that, as far as many F1 fans are concerned, he was the 'moral' World Champion last season, having never given up the fight.
Anyway, as the cars line up on the grid, it's still quite windy, which, of course, means sand on the track. The air temperature is 21 degrees C, while the track temperature is 31 degrees.
Despite the rinky-dinky new qualifying format, we still have the question mark as to fuel strategy, and as has been the case in recent seasons, we will have to wait until the first fuel stops to see who is doing what.
The only last minute drama is that Tiago Monteiro is starting from the pitlane, having encountered a driveshaft problem which meant transferring to the spare car.
The grid clears, and we are just moments away from the start of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, a season that promises so very much.
As the complete the warm-up lap, the race stewards reveal that Yuji Ide is 'under investigation'.
They form up on the grid, the two Ferraris side-by-side.
Massa holds off Alonso, as Michael leads the field into the first corner. At turn four however, the Spaniard gets past the second Ferrari.
Further back, Raikkonen is up to fifteenth, while Rosberg has spun. Both Toyotas are fighting one another.
At the end of the first lap, it's Michael, from Alonso (1.4s), followed by Massa, Montoya, Barrichello, Button, Fisichella and Webber. Rosberg pits for a new front wing, Albers also pits. Nick Heidfeld is back in nineteenth.
Button, who lost ground at the start, is all over Barrichello. He attempts to go around the outside of the Brazilian, but Rubens is having none of it.
Alonso goes quickest (34.733), but Michael hits back by going quickest in the first sector. Meanwhile, Raikkonen is up to thirteenth.
Michael goes quickest (34.313), as Klien passes Fisichella to take seventh, and Button passes Barrichello with a brave move at the end of the main straight.
Liuzzi passes Coulthard with ease, so much for the legality of the V10 powered STR1 - then again it could be running lighter!
After 5 laps, Michael leads Alonso by 2s, with Massa third, ahead of Montoya, Button, Barrichello, Klien, Fisichella, Webber and Villeneuve. Raikkonen is eleventh.
Fastest through the speed-trap is Liuzzi at 190.76 mph. Button is second quickest, ahead of Heidfeld.
Button closes in on Montoya, as Massa hounds Alonso. Barrichello heads a 'Trulli-style' traffic jam, which includes Klien, Fisichella, Webber and Villeneuve.
Massa makes a move on Alonso at the end of the pit straight and spins, almost taking out the Spaniard. That was close! Elsewhere, Ide serves a drive through penalty.
Michael posts a new fastest lap (33.642) as he extends his lead over Alonso to 4.5s. Meanwhile, Massa stops to change his tyres following that spin. Unfortunately the Ferrari pit crew seems to have been recruited from A1 GP, hence it's a 66s stop!
Heidfeld is up to fourteenth, 4.1s clear of Trulli, who is under pressure from Speed.
Alonso posts a new fastest lap (33.560) as he closes to within 4.4s of Michael. However, the German hits back by going quickest in the first sector. Meanwhile, Button is all over the back of Montoya, who is now almost 8s down on Alonso.
As Michael goes quickest (33.558), Raikkonen is all over Villeneuve for ninth. Ralf Schumacher ease the pressure on his Toyota teammate by passing Speed.
Button makes a superb move on the hapless Montoya, who is unable to fend off the Englishman.
Twelve laps completed and it's Michael ahead of Alonso, Button, Montoya, Barrichello, Klien, Webber, Fisichella, Villeneuve and Raikkonen. The Finn made light work of the 'stragglers', but now appears to be having problems making up ground.
The Finn goes wide, as Fisichella is clearly struggling, the result of an engine mapping problem.
Heidfeld passes Coulthard, the BMWs looking really good.
An astonishing 1:32.798 from Michael Schumacher, that's 0.7s better than his previous best. His teammate, Massa, is currently running twentieth. It's Fisichella that now leads the 'jam'.
At the end of lap 15, Michael pits... 8.2s later he's returns to the fray, exiting the pits ahead of his former teammate, Rubens Barrichello.
Raikkonen makes a brave move on Villeneuve, finally taking ninth place, and thereby beginning the hunt for eighth, currently held by Fisichella, who, in fact, pits next time around. Barrichello also pits.
With 17 laps completed, Alonso leads Button and Montoya, with Michael 7.2s behind the Colombian. Klien is fifth ahead of Webber, Raikkonen and Villeneuve. Heidfeld pits.
Massa passes Sato and is now 12.3s down on Ralf Schumacher. The Brazilian was clearly 'thrown' by that dreadful pit stop.
At the end of lap 18, Button pits, emerging eighth, behind Villeneuve.
Next time around it's race leader Alonso who pits. Eight seconds later he's heading up the pitlane, having passed both Super Aguris which pitted simultaneously. Meanwhile, Coulthard and Heidfeld are 'under investigation'.
Juan Pablo Montoya now leads Michael Schumacher by 7.2s, however, the Colombian has still got to make his first stop.
It's a baptism of fire for Super Aguri, which made a right hash of its first pit stop. Ide has retired, while Sato had to do another lap before returning to the pits.
A new fastest lap from Alonso (32.534), as Michael falls 8.4s behind Montoya. Meanwhile, Fisichella has a hydraulics problem and is cruising back to the pits.
Klien pits at the end of lap 22, as does Liuzzi, while Fisichella drives straight into his garage, his race over.
Raikkonen is up to fifth, as Montoya pits, the Colombian having posted a string of very fast laps. After 8.8s the McLaren driver is back on track, slotting in behind his teammate. Webber, Villeneuve and Klien also pit.
Nico Rosberg passes his teammate to take eleventh, making up for his torrid start.
As Takuma Sato pits for the fourth time, following a succession of problematic stops, Michael leads Alonso by 1.1s. Raikkonen, who has yet to stop, is third, 6s down on the Spaniard, while Montoya is fourth, ahead of Button, Coulthard, Webber, Klien, Villeneuve and Liuzzi. The Scot, like Raikkonen, has yet to stop.
Rosberg (eleventh) goes quickest, crossing the line at 1:32.521. He is currently 1.5s behind Liuzzi.
Out front, Alonso is 0.8s behind Michael, as Ralf Schumacher pits - the Toyotas having a dreadful day.
Rosberg pits, which promotes Heidfeld to eleventh, as Button makes another great move, snatching fourth from Montoya, who thinks about slamming the door but then has second thoughts. Teammate Barrichello is understood to have a gearbox problem, having already lost third gear. The Brazilian is currently running thirteenth.
At half-distance, it's Michael, Alonso, Raikkonen, Button, Montoya, Coulthard, Webber, Klien, Villeneuve and Liuzzi.
At the end of lap 30, Raikkonen makes what will surely be his only stop of the afternoon, as Villeneuve stops on the main straight as his BMW detonates behind him. Never has the Canadian moved so quick.
Schumacher leads Alonso by 1.1s, with Montoya third, ahead of Webber, Raikkonen, Klien, Liuzzi, Coulthard and Heidfeld. Elsewhere, Ralf passes Trulli for fifteenth.
At the end of lap 32, Massa (eleventh) pits, as Michael loses ground trying to pass Trulli, allowing Alonso to close in. "We need to be closer," the Renault pit crew tell the Spaniard over his radio.
Heidfeld is all over Coulthard, who is running heavy, having just pitted, but the Scot is having none of it, refusing to capitulate. And why should he?
It really is a two-horse race, with Button almost 21s behind Michael and Alonso.
In his attempts to hold off Heidfeld, DC locks up, which won't have done his tyres any favours.
Michael posts a personal best (32.558), as he extends his lead to 1.2s. Despite the radio calls, the German is lapping 0.5s a lap faster than Alonso.
Unable to pass Coulthard, Heidfeld pits, as does fellow German, Michael Schumacher.
The German is stationary for 8.2s, re-joining the race third behind Button.
"These are the winning laps," the Renault crew advise Alonso, who must post some sizzlers before his final stop.
They might be "winning laps", but Michael is already putting on the pressure, goping quickest in the first lap.
In his attempts to pass a back-marker (Heidfeld), Alonso shouts for blue flags. Elsewhere, Michael posts a best time just two-thousandths slower than the current fastest lap.
At the end of lap 38, Alonso pits. 7.7s later he's heading down the pitlane, emerging side-by-side with Michael. The German attempt to pass, but the wily Spaniard holds position.
Next time around, (temporary) race leader, Jenson Button, pits, however he is held up by Jarno Trulli as he exits the pits. He passes the Italian at the end of the pitlane, but one has to wonder if it was entirely legal.
A big spin for Liuzzi, however, the Italian is able to continue.
After 41 laps, it's Alonso 1.2s clear of Michael, who is followed by Montoya, Raikkonen, Button, Webber, Rosberg, Klien, Coulthard and Liuzzi.
Another fastest lap from Rosberg, who crosses the line at 1:32.408, the young German clearly having inherited his father's pace. Elsewhere, Sato makes his sixth stop,
Other than Fernando and Michael, the best scraps are between Raikkonen and Button for fourth, and Liuzzi and Massa for tenth.
As Montoya pits, at the end of lap 44, the battle between Raikkonen and Button takes on new relevance, they are now fighting for a podium position.
Alonso and Michael are matching one another's lap times, the gap a static 1.2s - 1.3s. Elsewhere, Massa is all over the back of Liuzzi for tenth.
The Brazilian passes the Italian at the end of the pit straight, but Liuzzi, in the Minardi.. Red Bull.. Jaguar, sorry, Toro Rosso, still attempts to fight back, such is his confidence in the car.
Rosberg passes Coulthard for eighth, but goes wide at the next corner. The Scot fights back but Rosberg holds station like an old pro, a brilliant debut from the German.
After 49 laps, Alonso still leads Michael, the gap now down to 1.1s. Raikkonen is third just 0.7s ahead of Button. Montoya is fifth, ahead of Webber, Klien, Rosberg, Coulthard and Massa.
The two race leaders weave their way through the back markers, the German turning up the wick little by little.
Alonso appears to be struggling, just a little, and consequently, Michael closes in to within 0.4s. The German is clearly lining up the Renault driver for a move. He has a slight go, and ends up losing around 0.6s to the Spaniard.
Elsewhere, Massa is all over Coulthard, who is driving the Ferrari powered Red Bull. Rosberg is just 2.4s down on Klien.
Michael slips to 1.8s behind Alonso, has he decided to 'settle' for second spot?
Rosberg makes a stunning move on Klien, taking seventh, an absolutely brilliant move. Superb!
Fernando Takes a well deserved win, as Michael crosses the line just 1.246s behind. Kimi takes third, holding off Jenson, while Juan Pablo takes fifth ahead of Mark, Nico, Christian, Felipe and DC, who stops out on track.
As they climb from their cars, it is the youngster, Fernando, who looks a little weary, while Michael is beaming. Out on the podium however, it is grins all round, except for Kimi, who gave another astonishing performance today.
The 2006 season is underway, and what a great start, we really do appear to have a championship fight on our hands.
The Renault looks good, as does the Ferrari. OK, the McLarens have had problems this weekend, but in race conditions they were superb. A mistake at the start cost Button dearly, while Barrichello's gearbox problem indicates that the Honda is not as bullet-proof as the Japanese team would have us believe.
A superb start to the season for williamsF1, which, whatever they say, will have drawn satisfaction from the BMW fireworks on the main straight.
Nico Rosberg deserves a special mention as does Christian Klien, both drivers giving outstanding performances.
Felipe Massa's critics, and there are many of them, will point to today's error as proof that the young Brazilian is still prone to moments of madness, not the sort of thing Ferrari needs if it is to challenge for the Constructors' Championship.
It remains to be seen whether rival teams will question the performance of the Toro Rosso, while Toyota must be wondering where it all went wrong.
As Alonso crossed the line, his radio crackled into action: "Brilliant mate," was the cry from the pit wall, "absolutely brilliant!"
The Spaniard, as gracious as ever, dedicated the win to the French team.
"A bit too much for Michael," was the response from the pit wall, "a champion's drive!"
Not much we can add really.