Ferrari Wins at San Marino
Michael Schumacher not only took his 66th pole to break a tie with the previous record-holding Ayrton Senna at
the same track where the legendary racer was killed, San Marino, but due to a new aero package and new powerplant for his Ferrari powered his way to a win over Renault's Fernando Alonso - his first win in a very long time.
But this said Alonso should have won. Last year's champion and his Renault team were 'duped', by Ferrari, and here's what they didn't tell you on television.
Picture this, coming up to the final stops Michael is lighter and will have to stop sooner than Fernando,
who is glued to his tail. Schumacher's lap times are nearly two seconds off what Alonso can run, because his tires are grained. Once MS stops, Fernando picks up the pace, does two extra laps, and then stops before coming out the leader, and drives off into the sunset.
OK, that is the way it should have worked, but it didn't. Rather, Schumacher - and this is one reason why he is a multiple world champion - slows his pace enough to frustrate Alonso, and for Renault to notice, third place Juan Pablo Montoya is making ground on the two leaders.
At this point, Renault decides to pit Alonso earlier, and then get him out in free space, so
he can still make up the time, and when Schumacher does stop, Alonso will be in the lead.
The problem is that Renault played right into Ferraris hand. Once Alonso stopped, they pitted Schumacher on the next lap, so Alonso only had one lap to make up the distance. He couldn't do it, so he finished second.
But had he stuck to the original strategy, Schumacher would have had to of stopped first, and Alonso could have then done his quick laps, and thus, would have ended up winning.
I think we will find out in a few weeks, that it all is really a moot point. You see,
Ferrari is normally very good at Imola, but these days, only at Imola. In fact, previous to this weekend, Schumacher hadn't won a race since Indy last year, and there he only beat five other cars.
As the series now moves to the European Grand Prix at Nurburgring in a few weeks, expect Alonso to top the charts again.
Oh, there is one final note from Imola. Remember what I said about Alonso last week? That he can race to the front from anywhere. At Imola he qualified fifth, and should have won. Also, remember what I said about his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella and Honda's Rubens Barrichello? Look where they qualified, and where they finished. Fisi and Barrichello qualified 11th and 3rd respectively, and which way did Barrichello go? Backwards.
"The lack of pace was due to the rear tires locking; even though the brakes have got a lot better, the rears were locking on new tires," said Barrichello. "However, the balance of the car is better so we are getting
stronger; we just need to work hard at the areas which are catching us out."
I was going to say something witty about using the brake balance adjuster, but, nah... that would be petty.
Oh, and Villeneuve fans. In a struggling BMW - first year out for the combined BMW/Sauber team so we'll cut them some slack - JV did what he needed to and beat his teammate to the pole and on race day, but only by one and way back in 12th place. C'est la vie Jacques.
Helio Castroneves Wins in Japan
After an 'under yellow' victory in St Petersburg a few weeks ago, Penske's Helio Castroneves dominated the IRL race at Twin-Ring Motegi. After the final yellow, with 30 laps to go, Castroneves set off into the distance to win by six seconds over Dan Wheldon.
Penske drivers Castroneves and teammate Sam Hornish clearly look to be the class of the field, and team owner Roger Penske should probably clean off some space on his trophy shelf - one of them looks like a sure bet at the Indy 500 this year.
Michael Schumacher not only took his 66th pole to break a tie with the previous record-holding Ayrton Senna at
 |
| Schumacher, back to his old form. (Photo: Ferrari F1) |
But this said Alonso should have won. Last year's champion and his Renault team were 'duped', by Ferrari, and here's what they didn't tell you on television.
Picture this, coming up to the final stops Michael is lighter and will have to stop sooner than Fernando,
 |
| MS and Jean Todt embrace after the San Marino victory. (Photo: Ferrari F1) |
OK, that is the way it should have worked, but it didn't. Rather, Schumacher - and this is one reason why he is a multiple world champion - slows his pace enough to frustrate Alonso, and for Renault to notice, third place Juan Pablo Montoya is making ground on the two leaders.
At this point, Renault decides to pit Alonso earlier, and then get him out in free space, so
 |
| It was Alonso and Renault's race to lose. (Photo: Renault F1) |
The problem is that Renault played right into Ferraris hand. Once Alonso stopped, they pitted Schumacher on the next lap, so Alonso only had one lap to make up the distance. He couldn't do it, so he finished second.
But had he stuck to the original strategy, Schumacher would have had to of stopped first, and Alonso could have then done his quick laps, and thus, would have ended up winning.
I think we will find out in a few weeks, that it all is really a moot point. You see,
 |
| Are Fisi's days as a Renault driver numbered? (Photo: Renault F1) |
As the series now moves to the European Grand Prix at Nurburgring in a few weeks, expect Alonso to top the charts again.
Oh, there is one final note from Imola. Remember what I said about Alonso last week? That he can race to the front from anywhere. At Imola he qualified fifth, and should have won. Also, remember what I said about his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella and Honda's Rubens Barrichello? Look where they qualified, and where they finished. Fisi and Barrichello qualified 11th and 3rd respectively, and which way did Barrichello go? Backwards.
"The lack of pace was due to the rear tires locking; even though the brakes have got a lot better, the rears were locking on new tires," said Barrichello. "However, the balance of the car is better so we are getting
 |
| Helio Castroneves made Japan look easy. (Photo: Indycar) |
I was going to say something witty about using the brake balance adjuster, but, nah... that would be petty.
Oh, and Villeneuve fans. In a struggling BMW - first year out for the combined BMW/Sauber team so we'll cut them some slack - JV did what he needed to and beat his teammate to the pole and on race day, but only by one and way back in 12th place. C'est la vie Jacques.
Helio Castroneves Wins in Japan
After an 'under yellow' victory in St Petersburg a few weeks ago, Penske's Helio Castroneves dominated the IRL race at Twin-Ring Motegi. After the final yellow, with 30 laps to go, Castroneves set off into the distance to win by six seconds over Dan Wheldon.
Penske drivers Castroneves and teammate Sam Hornish clearly look to be the class of the field, and team owner Roger Penske should probably clean off some space on his trophy shelf - one of them looks like a sure bet at the Indy 500 this year.
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