10/09/2006
NEWS STORY
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There are times when one feels that Oliver Stone should turn his attention to formula One.
As if there isn’t enough controversy surrounding the weekend, we now have Renault complaining about a penalty handed down to Fernando Alonso for an incident in qualifying, and the Spaniard claiming that F1 is no longer a sport. Welcome to the club Fernando.
As if the fact that both titles are up for grabs, and Michael Schumacher is on the verge of announcing his plans for the future, the 2006 Italian Grand Prix has been given some extra spice courtesy of a 5-spot grid penalty for the reigning World Champion.
If nothing else, it keeps the Pitpass forum busy.
To add to the melodrama, overnight, the Midland F1 team was sold to a Dutch consortium for $106m, while, following another intervention by the stewards, McLaren Mercedes protégé Lewis Hamilton went into this morning’s spring race as 2006 GP2 Champion. Congratulations Lewis.
Both GP2 events featured a number of incidents, especially at the first chicane, while the tyre failures that befell Yamamoto and Alonso were also worrying, especially in light of the fears raised by a number of drivers regarding safety at the Autodromo Nazionale.
Although we can expect a decent fight between Kimi and Michael this weekend – both of whom will want to win here for a number of reasons, we can also expect strong performances from Massa and a charged-up Alonso, indeed Renault will be eager to prove a point. The BMWs and Hondas will be worth watching also, as will de la Rosa, who is keen to retain the McLaren seat for 2007.
The predicted rain never made an appearance, and, barring a miracle, we are not going to see any downpours this afternoon, conditions are ideal.
As the cars prepare to head off on the warm-up lap, the air temperature is 28 degrees C, while the track temperature is 41 degrees. The sun is shining, even if there’s a storm brewing in the paddock. Takuma Sato is starting from the pitlane.
Some of the team crew, particularly Honda, leave it quite late before leaving the grid – let’s hope that doesn’t lead to further penalties.
The grid forms…. The red lights come on, then go off, they’re away.
Raikkonen gets away well as Heidfeld passes Michael, however the Ferrari driver re-takes second at the first chicane. Meanwhile, Alonso is up to eighth.
Button is weaving all over the place on the back straight, much as he did yesterday, he really needs more heat in those tyres. Alonso passes Heidfeld on the main straight but fluffs the first chicane, almost colliding with another car.
Raikkonen, Michael, Kubica, Massa, Button, Heidfeld, Alonso, de la Rosa, Fisichella and Barrichello.
As Massa hounds Kubica, Raikkonen enjoys a 1.4s lead over Michael, who is 3.3s ahead of the Pole.
Michael posts a fastest lap (23.399), as he keeps Raikkonen in his sights. Elsewhere, the tow Midlands, OK Spykers, are having a great fight, with Albers gesticulating at his teammate. There’s a ‘train’ behind Barrichello, with Rosberg, Trulli, Webber, Coulthard, Speed, Ralf, Liuzzi and Klien all running in his wake.
Heidfeld has slipped back to seventh, though it’s unclear why. He is hanging on the back of Alonso, but under pressure from de la Rosa. Meanwhile, Kubica is giving a great performance, though it remains to be seen how much fuel he’s running.
After 6 laps, Michael is 1s behind Kimi, but 8.1s ahead of Kubica, who has Massa all over him.
Massa has a moment going into the first chicane at the start of lap 9, but he keeps it all together. Elsewhere, Nico Rosberg is the first retirement of the day – no joke intended. The German drives (slowly) back to the pits, complaining of “no drive”.
Lap 10, and Kimi posts a new fastest lap (23.167), as de la Rosa goes quickest in the first sector – the Spaniard currently running eighth, behind Heidfeld.
Another lap, another fastest lap from Kimi (22.980), however, Michael continues to tail him. Alonso is running sixth, behind Button, and 16s down on the race leader.
As Kimi posts another fastest lap (22.559), Michael falls 1.7s behind, but 13.6s clear of Kubica, who has his mirrors filled with Massa.
At the end of lap 14, de la Rosa is the first to pit, which seems quite early. Next time around it is his teammate’s turn, which would appear to be good news for Michael.
The Finn re-emerges in seventh behind Heidfeld, but ahead of Fisichella.
Therefore, at the end of lap 16, Michael leads Kubica by 17.1s, with Massa third, ahead of Button, Alonso, Heidfeld, Raikkonen, Fisichella, Barrichello and Trulli.
Surprisingly, at the end of lap 17, it is Michael that pits, re-joining the race in sixth, ahead of Raikkonen.
All of which means that Robert Kubica is leading his first Formula One Grand Prix, after just three races.
At the end of lap 19, Massa pits, as does Alonso. They re-join in tenth and twelfth places. The Brazilian’s re-entry is messy, causing Trulli to use the grass at the first chicane.
This means that BMW is running first and second, as Button pits, promoting Michael to third.
At the end of lap 21, Heidfeld pits, as his teammate enjoys an 11s lead over Michael Schumacher. Elsewhere, it’s all over for de la Rosa, whop appears to have spun off.
At the end of lap 21, Kubica finally pits, which promotes Michael to race leader, ahead of Raikkonen and Fisichella. The Pole re-joins in fourth, ahead of Barrichello, Massa, Trulli, Heidfeld, Alonso and Button.
After 24 laps, Michael leads Kimi by 2.4s, with Fisichella a further 6.6s behind, though the Italian has yet to stop.
Next time around, Heidfeld has to serve a drive-through for speeding in the pitlane during his earlier stop. Funny, we thought he was driving a BMW not a Renault!
As Fisichella finally stops, at the end of lap 26, there’s a great scrap between Speed, Coulthard, Ralf, Liuzzi and Klien. Speed’s lead is “this big”.
In his pursuit of Barrichello, Massa goes wide at the second Lesmo, kicking up clouds of dust. Elsewhere, Ralf and Monteiro both pit, the German having a rotten day. Next time around it is Trulli that pits.
At the end of lap 30, Rubens makes his first, and hopefully only, stop of the day, which puts his qualifying lap in perspective. Webber and Liuzzi also stop.
As Liuzzi re-joins, Michael goes deep into the first chicane, which costs him time. An unnecessary mistake. Moments later, the other Schumacher passes Liuzzi at the entry to the Parabolica, but nearly loses it by pushing just a little too hard.
Coulthard is the first of the Red Bulls to stop, the Scot pitting at the end of lap 33. Meanwhile, Heidfeld passes Fisichella to take seventh.
Michael leads Kimi by 2.5s, with Kubica a further 22s down the road, ahead of Massa, Alonso, Button, Heidfeld, Fisichella, Barrichello and Trulli.
On lap 36, Kimi goes quickest in the first sector, but loses pace in the second. Elsewhere, Klien finally pits.
At the end of lap 38, Kimi makes his second stop, re-emerging still in second, ahead of Kubica, Massa and Alonso. Next time around it is the race leader that stops, emerging, still leading, 6.8s later. A great performance from the Ferrari crew, which moments later is servicing Massa.
Alonso is now up to fourth, 27.9s behind Michael, but only 08.s behind Kubica, and a possible podium spot. Elsewhere, Heidfeld goes quickest in the first sector, clear proof of the pace of the BMW.
After the Schumi/Alonso battle two weeks ago, we now have the Kubica/Alonso fight. However, at the end of lap 41, they both pit as does Button. Kubica and Alonso head back down the pitlane side by side, which raises the spectre of a penalty, particularly for the Pole.
Phew!
Michael leads Kimi by 4s, with Alonso third, 23.8s behind. Kubica is fourth, ahead of Massa, Fisichella, Button, Barrichello, Trulli and Heidfeld. Elsewhere, Monteiro – yes Monteiro in the Spyker – goes quickest in the first sector.
The crowd roars as Fernando Alonso’s engine detonates on the main straight, his race, and possibly championship, over. Meanwhile, Massa makes a third stop, the Brazilian having damaged a tyre after going off, blinded by the smoke from Alonso’s engine failure.
Therefore, Michael leads Kimi by 6.8s, with Kubica looking set to take his place on the podium in only his third F1 race.
More importantly however, the title fight is now down to 2 points – with Michael’s announcement regarding his future due in the next half-hour or so. Turk Thrust couldn’t have written this any better.
Barring any major failures, the order looks settled, Michael, leading Kimi, Kubica, Fisichella, Button, Barrichello, Trulli, Heidfeld, Massa and Webber.
As Michael begins his final lap, the cheers of the Tifosi, along with the inevitable air horns, not to mention the last wisps of smoke from Fernando’s engine, fill the air.
The German takes an important victory, the 90th of his career, ahead of Kimi Raikkonen and Robert Kubica. To add to what is already shaping up to be as momentous day, Ferrari has also taken the lead in the Constructors’ Championship.
Giancarlo Fisichella gives Renault 5 consolation points, but it is poor reward for a team that – in our humble opinion – has been unjustly treated this weekend.
Jenson Button finishes fifth, ahead of Barrichello, Trulli and Heidfeld, on what is a special day also for BMW.
As the drivers take their places on the podium, Ferrari issues a press release confirming that Michael will retire at the end of the season.
In our humble opinion, Michael still has a lot to give the sport, and it seems wrong, if not a little selfish, not to see him continue for at least another year.
That said, what a perfect way to end his fabulous career, a fifth win at Monza, the temple of motorsport, and the very real possibility of another title.
In the wake of the atrocities of 9/11, a British government advisor, Jo Moore, famously said that it was a good day to bury bad news. Quite rightly, following another equally crass episode, she was forced to resign.
This weekend, the furore over Michael Schumacher’s future has overshadowed almost all else, and it would be wrong not to single out Robert Kubica for praise, the youngster has performed brilliantly.
The Alonso-gate incident will also be suppressed in the coming days, but the truth is that it has damaged the sport, and the 2006 World Championship. Before the race some harsh things were said, some of which we totally agree with. May we now hope that the remaining three races will feature a straightforward fight, with no outside interference.
To check out our Italian Grand Prix gallery, click here