2005 Belgian Grand Prix

[Flibster]

Thats it - Alonso only needs 6 points from 3 races to win the Drivers Championship..

Would have been really good to have a McLaren 1-2 would have helped the Constructors Championship immensely

 

[Flibster]

Button may be able to catch him - unlikely to pass him though.

 

[Flibster]

R.Schumacher does a 1:51.453 on lap 43

 

[Flibster]

Raikkonen wins the 2005 Belgian Grand Prix.

Lovely drive from him. Alonso worked the percentages.

Montoya - god knows what happened there.

Button comes in 3rd.

 

[Flibster]

2005 Belgian Grand Prix Race Result.

[b]Pos	Driver		Team[/b]
1	Raikkonen	McLaren-Mercedes
2	Alonso		Renault
3	Button		BAR-Honda
4	Webber		Williams-BMW
5	Barrichello	Ferrari
6	Villeneuve	Sauber-Petronas
7	R.Schumacher	Toyota
8	Monteiro	Jordan-TOyota
9	Klien		Red Bull Racing
10	Massa		Sauber-Petronas
11	Karthikeyan	Jordan-TOyota
12	Albers		Minardi-Cosworth
13	Doornbos	Minardi-Cosworth
14	Montoya		McLaren-Mercedes	Retired - Accident
15	Pizzonia	Williams-BMW		Retired - Accident
16	Trulli		Toyota			Retired - Accident
17	COulthard	Red Bull Racing		Retired - Mechanical failure
18	M.Schumacher	Ferrari			Retired - Accident
19	Sato		BAR-Honda		Retired - Accident
20	Fisichella	Renault			Retired - Accident

 

[Flibster]

Current Standings

2005 Drivers Championship.

[b]Pos	Driver			Nationality	Team			Points [/b]
1	Fernando Alonso		Spanish		Renault			111 
2	Kimi Räikkönen		Finnish		McLaren-Mercedes	86
3	Michael Schumacher	German		Ferrari			55 
4	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren-Mercedes	50
5	Jarno Trulli		Italian		Toyota			43 
6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian		Renault			41 
7	Ralf Schumacher		German		Toyota			37 
8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Ferrari			35 
9	Jenson Button		British		BAR-Honda		30 
10	Mark Webber		Australian	Williams-BMW		29
11	Nick Heidfeld		German		Williams-BMW		28 
12	David Coulthard		British		Red Bull Racing		21 
13	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Sauber-Petronas		9
14	Felipe Massa		Brazilian	Sauber-Petronas		8 
15	Tiago Monteiro		Portuguese	Jordan-Toyota		7 
16	Alexander Wurz		Austrian	McLaren-Mercedes	6 
=18	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian		Jordan-Toyota		5 
=18	Christian Klien		Austrian	Red Bull Racing		5 
=20	Christijan Albers	Dutch		Minardi-Cosworth	4 
=20	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish		McLaren-Mercedes	4 
21	Patrick Friesacher	Austrian	Minardi-Cosworth	3 
22	Antonio Pizzonia	Brazilian	Williams-BMW		2
=24	Takuma Sato		Japanese	BAR-Honda		1 
=24	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian		Red Bull Racing		1

2005 Constructors Championship.

[b]Pos	Constructor 		Points[/b]
1	 Renault		152
2	 McLaren-Mercedes	146
3	 Ferrari		90
4	 Toyota			80
5	 Williams-BMW		59
6	 BAR-Honda		31
7	 Red Bull Racing	27
8	 Sauber-Petronas	17
9	 Jordan-Toyota		12
10	 Minardi-Cosworth	7

 

[Flibster]

I want rain in Brazil in 2 weeks - remember 2003.

 

[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..

 

[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

 

[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

 

[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!"

 

[Flibster]

More news...

Todt won't miss Stoddart

Ferrari's Jean Todt says he will miss Peter Sauber but not Paul Stoddart when his F1 colleagues exit the Paddock at the end of the 2005 season.

'Peter is a real racer,' the French F1 principal told reporters after the Belgian grand prix at Spa Francorchamps, 'and did great work.'

On the other hand, Todt said Stoddart 'contributed nothing to F1.

'I met him once or twice when he took over Minardi and he once let Michael (Schumacher) drive his two seater. But my feelings about him have since changed.'

Clearly referring to their political scuffles, Todt uttered a resolute 'no' when asked if he would miss Stoddart, after the Australian entrepreneur sold his little Italian team to Red Bull.

The Ferrari boss also thinks Stoddart's departure will be a good thing for the future of grand prix racing. Minardi's new owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, has already allied his existing team with Ferrari and the FIA by signing the new 2008 Concorde.

He added: '(Mateschitz's) bravery is admirable. It is courageous enough to take over a team, but to take over a second is very impressive.'

 

[Flibster]

Ferrari or Bridgestone slump?

Michael Schumacher's little swipe at the helmet of rival Takuma Sato after their clash might not be forgiven, but it should probably be understood.

The German, who had urged the Ferrari Tifosi to perform a 'rain dance' on Belgian grand prix race day, discovered that the red marque's problems might just have more to do than mere Bridgestone grip.

Even with the Japanese tyre supplier's fabled wet tread, the red cars continued to struggle against Michelin-clad rivals around Spa Francorchamps. One interpretation, though, is that either Ferrari or Bridgestone - or both - are in an all-encompassing decline.

'I think we can be very satisfied,' said Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier. 'We know we've made progress with our wet weather rubber and have continued to build on that.'

Sources report that Rubens Barrichello's intermediates were completely destroyed near the end of the race, while Michael Schumacher - still annoyed about the Sato shunt - issued a terse 'not quick enough' comment before leaving.

'We were not that strong,' technical director Ross Brawn agreed.

Personally - I'd go with it's more Ferrari than Bridgestone.

I suspect there really is something fundamentally wrong with the car - usually Barrichello is closer to M.Schumacher than he has been this year - and Barrichello has been unable to adapt to it.