2005 Belgian Grand Prix

[//Mike]

Well I don't know if a replay's been shown yet of the full incident between Montoya and Pizza Boy, so it's hard to place the blame. Montoya might have been lapping him and ended up doing what he did to Monteiro in Turkey, or Pizza boy might have gotten out of shame (seeing as he had just come out on slicks) and collected Montoya up with him.

 

[SDK^]

pffft
Montoya has handed the championship to Alonso, he'd have done a better job for McLaren had he stayed at home with his injured shoulder all season

 

[Flibster]

Will be interesting to see what actually happened between Pizzzonia and Montoya.

I suspect that Pizzona misjudged it and drove into Montoya. Primarilly as Pizzonia was on slicks and Montoya was still on Intermediates then ans Pizzonia was so much faster.

My driver of the day - Button
Superbly raced throughout.

Still amazed that there wasn't any problems at the first couple of corners.

Surprise of the race - Monteiro - Kept out of trouble and got a point.

 

[Flibster]

Renault Boss Down Playing Constructors Title, Team Wants Driver's Title

Flavio Briatore says the drivers' championship is the only formula one prize worth winning.

Although some team heads, like Ron Dennis or Frank Williams, covet the constructors' world championship with more passion, Briatore - their counterpart at Renault - reckons the drivers' crown is best because people remember it.

''You remember Schumi winning, you never remember someone else winning the constructors' championship,'' 'Flav' said.

''The drivers' championship is the only one.''

At any rate, Briatore knows what winning feels like. If his protégé Fernando Alonso wraps up the '05 title, it will be the second team - the first being Benetton and Michael Schumacher - Flavio has taken to the throne. ''I haven't won a second anything yet,'' the Italian clarified at Spa.

''With Benetton it was unique. The budget we had, beating Ferrari and Williams at the time, was really magic.'' To this day, Briatore insists that similarly Enstone based Renault's budget is perhaps only the fourth or fifth biggest in the grand prix pitlane.

At 24, Spain's Alonso would become the youngest ever champion. ''Fernando is cool,'' Briatore went on to say.

''We know that at the moment McLaren is the quickest, so our job is to finish. But I am not complaining about that.''

 

[Flibster]

I still can't believe the number of teams who shafted their drivers with an early switch to slicks.

Did they ask their drivers at all?

Oh well...

Still - Nice to see Sato doing his job.

 

[Flibster]

anyone going goodwood next week?
was gonna take me grandad but have got too much on next weekend

Was going to be going - but have to go do other things instead.

 

[Flibster]

Oh...remember...

Going to be doing 2 of these that weekend...

A1GP and F1...

Someone please...buy me a new keyboard..

 

[Richard T]

yeah its a shame...he would have loved it there
all the atmosphere and costumes and all that

nevermind

 

[Richard T]

Someone please...buy me a new keyboard..

turn it upside down and shake all them pringles out!!!

 

[Flibster]

yeah its a shame...he would have loved it there
all the atmosphere and costumes and all that

nevermind

There's some great things there...

Love the Spivs selling programs out of their suitcases they had last year.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Richard T]

plus I saw my bestest fave F1 car there...not too sure what its called tho...
lotus 72????? its the one with the exhausts coming straight out the back.. about knee height if I remember correctly

 

[Flibster]

turn it upside down and shake all them pringles out!!!

It's not that - it's getting worn out.

It's not easy to find MS Natural Pro's anymore...shame- they are the best keyboards ever made.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[Flibster]

plus I saw my bestest fave F1 car there...not too sure what its called tho...
lotus 72????? its the one with the exhausts coming straight out the back.. about knee height if I remember correctly

Thats any of several different cars over several years - hell even different tracks had different exhaust layouts on the same cars at times..

72 traditionally has low exhausts though.

Simon/~Flibster

 

[vanpeebles]

on a slight side note a bloke at work gave me a video about the 1989 F1 season

 

[Tax Evader]

Pathetic!

I had £100 on MS at 8/1 doing the bizz in the rain

I so want this championship to go to the wire - I miss the MH/MS showdowns at Suzuka, as well as the earlier ones between MS/DH or JV, and I'd love a KR/FA showdown! (with KR winning )

 

[Flibster]

NEW INJURY BLOW FOR HEIDFELD

Nick Heidfeld has reportedly suffered a shoulder injury in a cycling accident while recuperating from concussion at home in Switzerland.

The Williams driver was hit by a motorbike while cycling earlier today, according to the Autosport website.

Initial indications suggest that Heidfeld sustained a cracked shoulder blade in the incident.

Heidfeld had already missed the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix due to the after effects of a substantial accident in Monza testing a fortnight ago.

Now he may have to sit out the rest of the season due to this latest injury.

A Williams team spokesperson confirmed the story when questioned by Autosport, but added that they were awaiting further details before they could comment further.

Antonio Pizzonia has deputised for Heidfeld at the last two races and is scheduled to test for the team again at Silverstone next week, alongside new GP2 points leader Nico Rosberg.

 

[Flibster]

Sato and Pizzonia Penalized After Accidents

Takuma Sato and Antonio Pizzonia have both been penalized for their roles in collisions during the Belgian GP.

Sato hit Michael Schumacher under braking at the safety car restart, putting both cars out of the race. The World Champion visited the stewards during the race and voiced his opinion about the Japanese driver, who claimed that Michael braked early and caused him to lock up on the damp track.

The stewards had little time for Sato’s version of events and gave him a 10-place grid penalty at the Brazilian GP.

Pizzonia collected Montoya while trying to unlap himself late in the race. Having switched to dry tyres he was much quicker than the Colombian, and thought that he was being let past. Montoya took his normal line and Pizzonia locked up and hit the McLaren.

Interestingly he was given a cash fine of $8000. Because the plan is for Nick Heidfeld to return at the next race, a grid penalty would have been meaningless. The BMW Williams team will no doubt feel that it has escaped lightly.

Tiago Monteiro escaped punishment for his involvement in an accident with Jarno Trulli which was missed by the TV cameras. Data showed that his car had bogged down due to a misfire, and Trulli was unable to avoid it.

 

[Flibster]

Felipe: 'It was my decision to be a hero'

Felipe Massa has revealed it was his decision to switch to dry tyres during the Belgian GP - an error of judgement which cost Massa admits cost him a podium finish.

The Sauber driver was in a strong position when the switch from intermediates was made. Half-a-dozen slippery laps later in which Felipe struggled - and often failed - to keep the Sauber on the road he returned to the pits to change back to intermediates with his race ruined.

"We could have been on the podium if I had stayed on intermediates, because I was way ahead of Button," said an understandably frustrated Felipe.

"My engineer Mike Krack asked me should we stay on them before my second stop, but the track was a bit like it was on Friday when the grooved tyres had worked okay in damp conditions, so I figured it was worth the risk and said let's change to dries. If it had worked we would have been heroes. As it was, the car just became undriveable."

But while Felipe rued his policy, team-mate Jacques Villeneuve secured sixth-place after being the only driver in the field to opt for a one-stop strategy and stay on track when the safety car was deployed following Giancarlo Fisichella's crash.

"This result makes it all worthwhile going into qualifying with a heavy fuel load! The decision to stay out when the safety car was deployed was exactly the right thing to do,” said Jacques.

"As the race progressed things got better as the fuel load decreased, but I had plenty of adventures along the way. I was completely sideways in Eau Rouge on one lap and I really thought that was it. But I saved it, and then had some wheel-banging with Karthikeyan up at Les Combes, so it wasn’t a dull race for me!"

 

[Richard T]

NEW INJURY BLOW FOR HEIDFELD

Nick Heidfeld has reportedly suffered a shoulder injury in a cycling accident while recuperating from concussion at home in Switzerland.


Anyone else see this as a bit fishy?

martin was talking about him not driving again this season and then we get this news

 

[Richard T]

Is There Something Else Going on with F1 Driver Heidfeld ?

Nick Heidfeld's manager has confirmed that the German will not contest the Brazilian grand prix in two weeks.

Werner Heinz said Williams' German pilot - already out of action with headaches and neck problems - was bicycle training in Switzerland when he was struck by a motorcycle.

The timing of the subsequent injury, certainly, is coincidental, amid existing speculation that 'Quick Nick' has signed a 2007-2008 deal to switch to BMW. Williams' 2006 option on the Moenchengladbach-born driver expires on Thursday, the day he was scheduled to return to the cockpit for a Silverstone test.


''Unfortunately, Nick's injuries mean he can not participate in the next formula one race,'' Heinz revealed.

Heidfeld is apparently suffering from a cracked shoulder bone, several dislocated fingers and grazes.

At present, the conspiracy theorists - who earlier enjoyed Juan Pablo Montoya's similarly iffy 'tennis' story - are having a field day with the news. One hypothesis is that Heidfeld's alleged 'injuries' may convince Sir Frank Williams to release the hapless German racer to Sauber-bound BMW an early as 2006.

Another theory is that the story is a cover for Williams' plans to further test potential candidates for a 2006 seat, in the event that Jenson Button stays at BAR.

Antonio Pizzonia has had a two-race turn, and 20-year-old Nico Rosberg's name is now attached to the story, even though the German is in the running for the GP2 title.

Asked if any of the conspiracy theorists were right, technical director Sam Michael slammed: ''Absolutely not.''