When in Spain...For the past two Grand Prix, Renault's Fernando Alonso has failed to occupy the top step of the podium. But this past weekend,
 |
| Alonso reigns in Spain... no doubt a pain to MS again. (Photo: Renault F1) |
the Spaniard wanted nothing more than to be the first Spanish driver ever in the history of Formula 1 to win the Spanish Grand Prix - Alonso can now tick that goal off his 'to do' list. Alonso cruised to victory in his home Grand Prix, after starting from the pole, but there was an interesting aspect to the race.
You see, the Renaults - Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella - occupied the front row, and Michael Schumacher and his Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa would start from row two. Now, I should interject the fact that there are a number of reasons why teams have two drivers, but one of the main ones - for teams challenging for the championship - is to have the 'second' driver take points away from the other team's
 |
| Still off the pace, Kimi Raikonnen wrestled his McLaren Mercedes to a solid fifth. (Photo: McLaren Mercedes) |
first driver. A few years ago, we saw this issue in full swing when McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen was trying to make up points in the championship, but his teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya failed to help him out by taking points away, and twice in two races, in the dying laps, he in fact helped the other team by crashing or dropping out. This arguably cost Raikkonen the championship. Now, fast forward to this year's Spanish Grand Prix, and Fisichella's job is to stop Schumacher from finishing second - or winning.
He couldn't do it, finishing a distant third after Schumacher leap-frogged him on the first stop. You should remember this because, if the championship comes down to
 |
Button wasn't on his game all weekend, but still managed to nudge ahead of ex-Ferrari teammate Rubens Barichello in the end, finishing 6th. (Photo: Honda F1)
|
a few points at the end, this result could well point to the reason why Alonso loses - if he does. I won't even go into why having Fisichella as a teammate is basically like racing by yourself - he is never around at the end. Yes, I know he won one already this year, like he does every year, but look at the results - or lack thereof - since then.
Massa should be doing the same thing to Renault that Fisichella is supposed to be doing to Ferrari, but he is unable to do much to help Schumacher either, so it will come down to a straight fight between the two championship winning drivers.
The other interesting news out of Spain was all but lost in the Alonso-mania. Renault signed back on for Formula 1 until 2012. Why is this such a big deal, you ask? Well, you see, they have had trouble attracting a
 |
| Jacques Villeneuve, after car problems during qualifying that resulted in a new engine and therefore, back of the grid placement, fought his way back to 12th. (Photo: BMW F1) |
world class driver to replace Alonso - who leaves for McLaren at the end of this season - mainly because the belief was that they were done in 2007. Now, with them staying, that buzz you hear is driver managers faxing Renault like mad, trying to secure a ride for their driver. Alonso better win this year, as a championship in a McLaren Mercedes looks like a pipe dream at best - just ask Raikkonen.
North Americans once again had little to cheer about at Spain, as Jacques Villeneuve had an engine change that made him start shotgun on the field. Villeneuve looked to be okay on a one stop strategy, but he still wound up 12th. American Scott Speed continues to show speed in his Toro Rosso mount, but mechanical issues forced him to retire in Spain, resulting in a dnf.
