2005 Chinese Grand Prix

To be confirmed - especially with the protest about Webber going in.

Code: 
[b]Driver			Team			[/b]
Fernando Alonso		Renault			
Kimi Räikkönen		McLaren-Mercedes	
Ralf Schumacher		Toyota			
Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault			
Christian Klien		Red Bull Racing		
Felipe Massa		Sauber-Petronas		
Mark Webber		Williams-BMW		
Jenson Button		BAR-Honda		
David Coulthard		Red Bull Racing		
Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber-Petronas		
Tiago Monteiro		Jordan-Toyota		
Jarno Trulli		Toyota			
Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari			
Antonio Pizzonia	Williams-BMW		Stopped on track
Robert Doornbos		Minardi-Cosworth	Stopped in pit lane
Christijan Albers	Minardi-Cosworth	Wneel problem
Takuma Sato		BAR-Honda		Gearbox failure
Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan-Toyota		Accident
Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	Damage by drain cover
Michael Schumacher	Ferrari			Accident
 
Again - to be confirmed...

World Championship standings

2005 Drivers Championship.
Code: 
[b]Pos	Driver			Nationality	Team			Points [/b]
[b]1	Fernando Alonso		Spanish		Renault			133 - World Champion[/b]
2	Kimi Räikkönen		Finnish		McLaren-Mercedes	112
3	Michael Schumacher	German		Ferrari			62
4	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren-Mercedes	60
5	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian		Renault			58
6	Ralf Schumacher		German		Toyota			45
7	Jarno Trulli		Italian		Toyota			43
8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Ferrari			38
9	Jenson Button		British		BAR-Honda		37
10	Mark Webber		Australian	Williams-BMW		36
11	Nick Heidfeld		German		Williams-BMW		28
12	David Coulthard		British		Red Bull Racing		24
13	Felipe Massa		Brazilian	Sauber-Petronas		11
=15	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Sauber-Petronas		9
=15	Christian Klien		Austrian	Red Bull Racing		9
16	Tiago Monteiro		Portuguese	Jordan-Toyota		7
17	Alexander Wurz		Austrian	McLaren-Mercedes	6
18	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian		Jordan-Toyota		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.
Code: 
[b]Pos	Constructor 		Points[/b]
[b]1	Renault			191 - World Champions[/b]
2	McLaren-Mercedes 	182
3	Ferrari 		100
4	Toyota 			88
5	Williams-BMW 		66
6	BAR-Honda 		38
7	Red Bull Racing 	34
8	Sauber-Petronas 	20
9	Jordan-Toyota 		12
10	Minardi-Cosworth 	7
 
We need Australia as the first race - it's a great race to start with - always a party armosphere there.

Bahrain doesn't have that...

Just did a google and found this...

The following dates have been allocated to the Formula 1 Calendar in 2006

Code: 
[b]Date		Likely Race [/b]
12 March   
19 March	Malaysian Grand Prix
02 April	Australian Grand Prix
16 April   
30 April   
14 May		Spanish Grand Prix
28 May		Monaco Grand Prix
04 June   
18 June		Canadian Grand Prix
25 June   
02 July		United States Grand Prix
16 July   
30 July		German Grand Prix
06 August   
27 August   
10 September	Belgian Grand Prix
17 September   
01 October   
15 October   
22 October

Possibility of 20 races next year.. :eek:
 
vanpeebles said:
*wakes up* what did i miss? :p
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M.Schumacher making 2 mistakes...

Mistake 1 - moving across into the path of Albers on the lapout to the grid - totalling 2 cars.

Mistake 2 - spinning off - behind the safety car...

Montoya hitting a loose drain cover

Karthikeyan's accident

Alonso singing...badly...

Think that about it...
 
I think the last paragraph from Paul Stoddart says it all tbh. :(

Grand finale for Minardi

In the final race of an illustrious 21-year history of competing in the FIA Formula One World Championship, the Minardi F1 Team did what it has always done, and raced as hard as it could in today’s Grand Prix of China. When the chequered flag fell on the concluding race of the 2005 Formula One season, drivers Robert Doornbos and Christijan Albers had claimed 14th and 16th places respectively. The afternoon was not without incident for the Faenza squad, however, and particularly Albers, who had to start the race from the pit lane in the team’s spare car after a collision with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari while proceeding to the grid. He then had to make an unscheduled pit stop four laps from the finish when a wheel nut came loose. Doornbos had a less eventful race, climbing as high as 13th just before the second of his two scheduled pit stops, but like Albers, lost track position as a result of making his first stop immediately prior to the first deployment of the Safety Car. Doornbos did derive some satisfaction, however from finishing the race just two seconds behind the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello.

Robert Doornbos
“I said over the radio at the end of the race, ‘Thank you, Minardi, for giving me the chance to make my debut as a Formula One driver’. The race itself started spectacularly for us, and I think I did my best on cold tyres after the Safety Car incidents to pass both a Williams and Villeneuve’s Sauber a couple of times. I think I drove well and really enjoyed myself this afternoon. Let’s hope I can be back in Shanghai again next year and get a better result.”

Christijan Albers
“I think everyone saw what happened on the formation lap, and I think it was a shame for both of us. To be honest, we had bad luck all day. I had to start the race in the spare car, which is not to the latest specification – it lacks power steering, for example – and on different tyres. Unfortunately, I lost one lap almost immediately, when I came out from my first pit stop behind the leaders, who were behind the Safety Car by that time for Montoya’s incident. Still, that’s life, but it’s also F1. It’s hard, and you have to get used to it. It will just make me determined to push even harder next year.”

Gian Carlo Miinardi, Team founder
“I want to thank our Technical Director, Gabriele Tredozi, for everything he has done to make the Minardi name synonymous around the world with competing with dignity and to the maximum level possible, given the available technical resources. Over the years, we have experienced a number of problems, but we’ve been able to deal with them thanks to the passion that has always existed within this team. I want to thank all the guys, at the races and at the factory, for the effort they have put in over these last 21 years. I also want to thank all the drivers, who have helped to make this team great, and all the sponsors and fans, who have supported us unstintingly.”

Paul Stoddart, Team Principal
“The tally is 340 Grands Prix, 21 seasons, 37 drivers and one World Champion, with perhaps more to come. That’s a pretty impressive record by any standards, and I’m proud of each and every member of the Minardi team. Together with all of our colleagues back at the factory in Faenza, this team has a heart and soul second to none. The words, “Never has so much been achieved by so few with so little,” can never have been as justified as they are with Minardi. Given that the team has survived against all odds over the years, competing with both dignity and passion while contributing so much to the FIA Formula One World Championship, today is a sad day. To our current drivers, Christijan and Robert, and to all the Minardi drivers and team members over the years, thank you very much for a job well done.”
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Sorry to see them go - imho not only the hardest working team in F1, but the most family like and the most fun.

Hope to see you back again Paul as well - someone who's not afraid to speak his mind is a rarity in F1.

Simon/~Flibster
 
Got to admit - when I read the headline of this - I laughed my arse off. :D

Schumacher handed FIA reprimand

Michael Schumacher's dismal season ended with another poor result at the China Grand Prix and an official reprimand from governing body FIA.

Schumacher received the ticking-off after colliding with Minardi's Christijan Albers during the warm-up.

The seven-time world champion had to start the race from the pit lane with the spare car but then skidded out on lap 22 behind the safety car.

"The weird ending pretty much sums up our season," said the German.

"The only positive thing is that I am third in the championship. Let's look ahead to putting things right next season.

"I have to say I'm glad this season is over now. There can only be one target for us; to come back and fight for the title again."

The 36-year-old Ferrari star was left with his front left wheel hanging off after the collision with Albers.

Schumacher was driving slowly on the straight when he meandered into the path of the Minardi driver.

The Dutchman had no time to avoid a collision and bounced over the back of the Ferrari, ripping off most of its left-hand side.

Schumacher tried to get back to the pit in his damaged car but, with his left rear tyre shredded and smoke pouring out of the back, he was forced to abandon it.

"I was just warming up my tyres when suddenly I felt a big bang," he said.

"If you want to warm up your tyres usually you zig zag, especially when you have to go slow in order to save fuel.

"Then there was the collision. I have to say I have not seen the video yet, probably it was also partly my mistake because I do not know if he could see what I was trying to do."

Schumacher, who only won one race this year as his five-year reign as champion came to an end, was then making his way through the pack and was in 10th place when he ran into the gravel under safety car conditions.

"I spun simply because my tyres were completely worn and very cold," he said. "So when someone braked ahead of me I had to brake as well and went off the track.

"It was like I was on ice, everything went very fast. Me braking was enough to start me spinning, the tyres were so worn and cold.

"I don't think I could have finished the race on the tyres anyway."

With Juan Pablo Montoya also crashing out, Schumacher was able to secure third in the standings.

Ferrari also finished third in the constructors' table, with their solitary victory coming in the United States. In 2004, the team won 15 of the 18 races.

"A bad end to a very disappointing season," said Ferrari boss Jean Todt.

"Given that situation, we can say that third place in the constructors' and the same result with Michael in the drivers' is pretty much of a miracle.

"I hope we can put this season behind is as quickly as possible and to be back for the start of next season in a position to once again aim for the top."
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I think he now has more official repremands than any other person in the sport. :D

After the Villeneuve move he calmed down for a year or two as he was told - once more and you're out..

They did take all of his points away for that season though.

Simon/~Flibster
 
And for those who though that Michelin withdrawing from the GP at Indianapolis was a stupid political thing...

Indy type track surface causes chaos in NASCAR race

Months after the Indianapolis debacle at Indianapolis, when seven teams withdrew from the United States Grand Prix, on the advice of tyre supplier Michelin, on safety grounds, NASCAR racers at Lowe's Motor Speedway at the weekend suffered an unbelievable number of failures, causing a number of yellow-flag periods, which, in turn, caused the event to over run.

"This is the biggest joke in racing I've ever seen,'' Kevin Harvick told reporters, after crashing out of the event. "It's terrible. Everybody is out there, knowing that at any moment their tyres are going to pop. It's pretty disgusting and pretty embarrassing for our sport.''

Things were so bad that at one stage, Tony Stewart radioed his pit crew and asked for a renewal of his life insurance policy.

It's now understood that the problem that caused the Goodyear tyres to suffer an inordinate number of failures is down to the track surface, which had recently been smoothed, using the same process used at Indianapolis.
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JBeck said:
So yes another season over, thanks to Simon/Flibster for the great reports. But (no offence), the constant Ferarri/Schumacher bashing is rather unnecessary and tedious :)
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May I suggest this link

I've worked with the guy and tbh he's up there amonst many of the people I worked with a Fujitsu as the worst people to work with.

Much prefered working with Irvine - and he's no picnic either - hence the reason I changed to work with anotehr team part way through the season

Ferrari I have no problems with - It's just people are overly defensive of them - the car was at fault this year - not just the tyres - in fact - I'd be surprised if it was the tyres that were more at fault than the car.

Minardi last year were at the least 4 seconds off the Ferrari - this year - 2 seconds...

So - either Minardi have got 2 seconds a lap faster *no offence Minardi but ...no way...* or Ferrari are 2 seconds a lap slower...or somewhere inbetween - I suspect around a second each.

Simon/~Flibster
 
Midland offer Sato 2006 contract

The new Midland Formula One team has offered Japan's Takuma Sato a contract for next year.

Team boss Colin Kolles told Autosport magazine that the Japanese driver, who lost his drive with BAR at the end of the season, had been offered a deal.

"It is up to him and if he wants to sign, he could be a Midland driver next year," said Kolles about the driver who scored just one point this season.

"We offered him the contract in Brazil and we are still waiting to hear."

Toyota-powered Midland take over from Jordan next year after Russian-born Canadian billionaire Alex Shnaider bought the team last January.

Sato was also linked with a new mystery 11th team planning to make their debut next year with Honda engines.

"Whether it's a new team or an existing team, I'm determined to race in 2006 anyway," he said at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.

"I've got to believe in my heart 100% but you never know until you get a contract.

"If the new team doesn't happen we are still in contact with existing teams and there are still possibilities. I have to choose what is the best option for me in 2006."
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Williams Likely to Choose Nico Rosberg

Wanting to avoid last year’s long driving shootout between Nick Heidfeld and Antonio Pizzonia, the Williams F1 team has reportedly already finalized its race driver lineup for 2006, picking Nico Rosberg to run alongside Mark Webber in its Cosworth-powered machines next year.

According to Autosport magazine, Nico’s dominating performances in the second half of this year’s inaugural GP2 Series championship, in which he beat Heikki Kovalainen to the title, alongside with his feedback on the tests he’s done so far with the team wrapped up the Williams’ decision.

In addition, it is believed that the mistakes committed by rival Pizzonia, who spun in qualifying and the race at the Japanese Grand Prix, hurt the Brazilian’s chances decisively.

"It shouldn't be a problem to drive against Mark as long as I get a lot of winter testing," Rosberg previously told Autosport. "I need to get enough mileage to make sure I'm ready but apart from that I'm okay."

Pizzonia has hinted that he would not be interested in staying on as a third driver for the team, even though Williams will be allowed to run a third Friday car in ‘06, and could revive the search for a Champ Car seat attempted during the last off-season.
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Bernie gives F1 '95/100'

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has given the 2005 season a score of 95/100.

The diminutive Englishman said grand prix racing was docked at least five points when it gave Indianapolis a farcical embarrassment in June.

'I heard a lot of noise and many complaints about that,' the 74-year-old told Sport Bild.

'But America is like that - you get sued if you say 'good morning' to someone at 5 past noon.'

More broadly, Bernie is a keen supporter of trying to limit testing but also of kicking out a tyre manufacturer. 'If we had a control tyre,' he explained, 'we won't need to do all that testing.'

Ecclestone is also pushing for yet another revision of the points system, after a new format was introduced in 2003.

'There must be a larger incentive for victory,' he said, referring to the current 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 system, as opposed to before when second won just six points.

'At the moment it is possible to become champion without having to win a race.'
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