*** 2005 Japanese Grand Prix ***

[5vz-fe]

Engine failure for Kimi Raikkonen
Another ten position penalty for the Finn

Kimi Raikkonen was the victim of yet another Mercedes V10 engine failure this morning in practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Finn, who has lost out to Fernando Alonso in this year’s Championship battle, will therefore lose ten positions on the grid for Sunday’s 53 lap race.

It is the fourth time this year that Raikkonen has suffered an engine failure in the build up to race day. At Magny Cours, Silverstone and Monza he started back down the field after taking the engine change penalty.

McLaren Mercedes head into the penultimate round of the Championship two points ahead of Renault in the Constructors’ Championship.

In opening practice Pedro de la Rosa set the pace in the MP4-20 with Juan Pablo Montoya fifth and Raikkonen down in 13th after missing much of the running.

http://f1.racing-live.com/f1/en/headlines/news/detail/051007061235.shtml

Friday Pratice 1 Times

01 P. de la Rosa McLaren 1:30.532 23 laps
02 R. Zonta Toyota 1:31.075 16 laps
03 J. Button BAR 1:32.043 18 laps
04 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:32.229 23 laps
05 JP. Montoya McLaren 1:32.321 9 laps
06 F. Alonso Renault 1:32.370 22 laps
07 G. Fisichella Renault 1:32.470 19 laps
08 T. Sato BAR 1:32.791 20 laps
09 M. Webber Williams 1:33.098 13 laps
10 C. Klien Red Bull 1:33.139 19 laps
11 F. Massa Sauber 1:33.257 16 laps
12 V. Liuzzi Red Bull 1:33.441 22 laps
13 K. Räikkönen McLaren 1:33.486 8 laps
14 A. Pizzonia Williams 1:33.528 22 laps
15 J. Villeneuve Sauber 1:33.645 15 laps
16 R. Barrichello Ferrari 1:33.700 9 laps
17 R. Schumacher Toyota 1:33.735 10 laps
18 M. Schumacher Ferrari 1:33.886 9 laps
19 J. Trulli Toyota 1:34.535 11 laps
20 S. Yamamoto Jordan 1:36.296 23 laps
21 C. Albers Minardi 1:37.153 16 laps
22 N. Karthikeyan Jordan 1:37.154 13 laps
23 R. Doornbos Minardi 1:37.816 17 laps
24 T. Monteiro Jordan 1:38.250 17 laps

[5vz-fe]

^Haha, Ronin, looks like u are used to Kimi starting from 11th already this season.
I really don't get it, Mclearn keep saying that they will aim for manufactures champ. and yet their engines keep on failing.

[nthfinity]

watching the practice section now, i cant say im suprised with the engine change... but im sure mclaren are very happy it hasnt failed mid race lately

[sameerrao]

Good to Mikey up there. Hope the pace continues for the rest of the weekend 8)

[nthfinity]

BTW, I'm surprised to see Ferrari in the firsts position - even if it's a free session... And again, Pedro on top!!

i was too... but then i remembered that Suzuka is Bridgstones' home GP... mabey they've got some new tire they are testing??? or mabey its just a soft compound that wont last the race duration :?
i hope the first is true... even though i think its a farce to some degree at this point, i keep hoping that M. S. can pull off a 1rst place finish, throwing off the constructors' title

[bmagni]

seems ferrari is doing fine, hoep they keep like this for the rest fo the season :P

[|Nuno|]

BTW, I'm surprised to see Ferrari in the firsts position - even if it's a free session... And again, Pedro on top!!

i was too... but then i remembered that Suzuka is Bridgstones' home GP... mabey they've got some new tire they are testing??? or mabey its just a soft compound that wont last the race duration :?
i hope the first is true... even though i think its a farce to some degree at this point, i keep hoping that M. S. can pull off a 1rst place finish, throwing off the constructors' title


Nah, no new tyres according to Ross. Only an evolution of the ones used in Brazil... They said the good time is due to them being one of the few teams using fresh tyres on the second session.

[nthfinity]

BTW, I'm surprised to see Ferrari in the firsts position - even if it's a free session... And again, Pedro on top!!

i was too... but then i remembered that Suzuka is Bridgstones' home GP... mabey they've got some new tire they are testing??? or mabey its just a soft compound that wont last the race duration :?
i hope the first is true... even though i think its a farce to some degree at this point, i keep hoping that M. S. can pull off a 1rst place finish, throwing off the constructors' title


Nah, no new tyres according to Ross. Only an evolution of the ones used in Brazil... They said the good time is due to them being one of the few teams using fresh tyres on the second session.
2.1 seconds faster then session 1 is farily substantial... were they using a fresh tire in session 1?

the brazil tire seems to have been the best tire we've seen competitively since manaco... so it ought to be a good race :)

[nthfinity]

^^^ in Indianapolis the tyres were also pretty competitive - they even won the race :mrgreen:
wow, pretty impressive since he started from 5th on the grid too :mrgreen:(although his race pace appeared to have similar timing to his qualifying lap)
edit:
i just noticed that the practice times being set are over 2 seconds faster then the fastest lap set last year! AMAZING

[SFDMALEX]

I have a good feeling about Suzuka and Ferrari, I think they might actually take this one.

[gis]

^^^ id be surprised if they did.they just aint had it this season.im expecting a good race from Kimi and Montoya.i think we will see either one in 1st place at the end.with a renault in there aswell

[SFDMALEX]

^^^ id be surprised if they did.they just aint had it this season.im expecting a good race from Kimi and Montoya.i think we will see either one in 1st place at the end.with a renault in there aswell

Lets just that if Schumi gets a top 4 qual spot I see him taking this race. Suzuka is one of the hardest technical tracks on the calendar and Schumi gets off it.

[nthfinity]

^^^ id be surprised if they did.they just aint had it this season.im expecting a good race from Kimi and Montoya.i think we will see either one in 1st place at the end.with a renault in there aswell

Lets just that if Schumi gets a top 4 qual spot I see him taking this race. Suzuka is one of the hardest technical tracks on the calendar and Schumi gets off it.
and after brundles comments this week, im sure michael is out to show how its done with his amazing control

i hope your right, alex :D

[SFDMALEX]

his amazing control

Indeed, watching the man is just a pleasure, he is just text book right in everything he does, he is a robot.

[nthfinity]

1 17 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:46.106

2 3 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1:46.141

3 6 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:46.276

4 15 Christian Klien Red Bull Racing 1:46.464

5 4 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 1:46.841

6 14 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 1:46.892

7 7 Mark Webber Williams-BMW 1:47.233

8 11 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-Petronas 1:47.440

9 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:48.248

10 12 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 1:48.278

11 19 Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 1:48.718

12 8 Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW 1:48.898

13 21 Christijan Albers Minardi-Cosworth 1:50.843

14 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:52.676

15 20 Robert Doornbos Minardi-Cosworth 1:52.894

16 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:54.667

17 9 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 2:02.309

18 18 Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota

19 16 Jarno Trulli Toyota

20 10 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes


What an amazing Quali... definately the best/most exciting since Austrailia in the wet, superwet, and flowing river conditions

im highly impressed with m. schumachers control once the heavy rain was going, and he is clearly in a league of his own where the other top runners are two and four seconds slower in the similar heavy rain contitions!

the starting grid is going to be simply CRAZY, and i hope not to many crashes happen upon start :shock:

i would say good work for Honda/BAR and Toyota, but the were out in much less rain... so the race itself will tell how well they do. none the less... Ralf deserved a pole position just even more then Button did in that how well the toyota 'should' be doing.

with the wet tires, and if there is a possibility for a drying track, i cant wait for the race, with tire changes and all.... Super exciting IMHO :D

[|Nuno|]

im highly impressed with m. schumachers control once the heavy rain was going, and he is clearly in a league of his own where the other top runners are two and four seconds slower in the similar heavy rain contitions!


Yep, and while they did caught more rain, they were on Full Wets, while Schumacher was on Inters. :shock: Amazing lap, but once again the luck isn't with Ferrari this year... :bah:


And now things are different... The Bridgestone Intermediate tyres aren't superior to Michelin's anymore, but the Monsoon tyres are VERY fast, as seen on today's first session.

I wish we'd see a completely wet race tomorrow, but there's no rain predicted... But it should be interesting either way with a grid like this. :D

[nthfinity]

The weather forecast is for more rain tomorrow afternoon, so this will be a race in which anything can happen. But as Raikkonen, Montoya and Alonso seek to come from behind, Fisichella will have the burden of upholding Renault’s quest to maximise this opportunity to regain their lost constructors’ championship lead. Button, meanwhile, will be looking for his and BAR’s first win, while Schumacher Jnr will be doing likewise for Toyota.
it seems that there will be rain for the race in about 13 hours.
damn i cant wait

[5vz-fe]

Wow, there you have it, Montoya crashed heavily. THis is gonna be bad for Mclaren's constructors champ.

And what do u know, Sato crashing into ppl again!!! :twisted:

[ZfrkS62]

jumpin jesus on a pogostick! what the fuck happened to Alonso???? Speculation is race control told him to let Klein back by, but his engine doesn't sound right :?

Sato=pinball :roflmao:

[nthfinity]

JUSUS fucking Christ!

fucking rediculous, ill post more later

most excuiting race of the season... and the drivers championship is over!

i hope for more races like this next season, and in Shanghai!

[ZfrkS62]

one thing i'm noticing about the onboard audio, is that odd tick in the engine notes when looking at the driver from infront of the steering wheel.

[5vz-fe]

Nice snatch to win by Kimi @ last lap...!!!!! I really don't know why fisi is taking a stupid line @ the chicane :roll:

Ferrari is really slow compared to the Mclaren and Renault, straight or corner.

[ZfrkS62]

good fucking lord, what a move! I don't like Mercedes but i don't like Renault that much either. Who wants to bet there is going to be another tabloid pic of Raikonenn stumbling out of the bar? :mrgreen:

[5vz-fe]

I have a feeling that kimi will need a new engine @ china again, but who cares, if he can win from 17, he can win from 11 LOL!!

and Ronin, LMAO, I have the same feelings about Alonso. I just hate that guy!!

[nthfinity]

one thing i'm noticing about the onboard audio, is that odd tick in the engine notes when looking at the driver from infront of the steering wheel. its different this race compared to previous races.. perhaps changing in timing for the ignition? or just the bumps, but i think not... tech problems with the tv, after listening to the national anthems played.... or a new variable ignition, or exhaust timing as rpms' climb. its known that at least BAR brought a new 'high revving' engine to Suzuka... so why didnt the others either?

im very very glad kimi took 1rst... however, i wish micheals' tires would've lasted longer for ultimate grip. for the first 3/4 of the race he was doing amazing, then suddenly after alanso passed, it was like it was over for him... but i think its more the tires fault, along with inherant problems with the car.


i really hope the next GP is going to be as exciting... so much passing, so much unexepected changes througout the race...

if shumi had a good car, he could've taken 1rst easily; next year man, next year :) (of course, im a shumi fan...so slightly biased)---(much like im a solberg fan)

[zondamaniac]

kimi wins, difference of 8 points in the constructors championship.

oh yeah and alonso is still alive, :cry: :cry:

Renault leads by 2 points only.

Absolutely sensational drive by Raikonnen!!

[Max Power]

its ridiculous how much faster Alonso and Raikonen are compared to every one else...hopefully schumi can hang on to his 3rd place

[antonioledesma]

great race!!! :mrgreen: from the beginning until the end.
I never thought kimi would win the race. Now to wait the last race to see McLaren take the constructors' championship 8)

[sameerrao]

Brilliant race ... great overtaking moves! On par with Imola 05 as the best race of the year.

Kimi was dynamite. Fisi snatched defeat from the jaws of victory :)

Alonso also drove very well today - awesome overtaking on the outside of 130R.

I was surprised to see Webber do so well. Kudos to him except for his usual insane blocking tactics - one day he or someone else is going to get hurt with his wide car stunts.

[nthfinity]

its funny how people only talked trash when Ferrari was winning and now with renault winning and doing what Ferrari did, no one seems to care.

filthy cock sucking, hypocrites!!!!

some of us have noticed it all season long... but you are 100% on when your talking about the F1 media

[nthfinity]

1 9 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 53 1:29:02.212 17 10

2 6 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 53 +1.6 secs 3 8

3 5 Fernando Alonso Renault 53 +17.4 secs 16 6

4 7 Mark Webber Williams-BMW 53 +22.2 secs 7 5

5 3 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 53 +29.5 secs 2 4

6 14 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 53 +31.6 secs 6 3

7 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 53 +33.8 secs 14 2

8 17 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 53 +49.5 secs 1 1

9 15 Christian Klien Red Bull Racing 53 +51.9 secs 4

10 12 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 53 +57.5 secs 10

11 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 53 +60.6 secs 9

12 11 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-Petronas 53 +83.2 secs 8

13 18 Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota 52 +1 Lap 20

14 20 Robert Doornbos Minardi-Cosworth 51 +2 Laps 15

15 19 Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 51 +2 Lap 11

16 21 Christijan Albers Minardi-Cosworth 49 +4 Laps 13

DSQ 4 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 52 +1 Lap 5

Ret 8 Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW 9 Spin 12

Ret 16 Jarno Trulli Toyota 9 Accident 19

Ret 10 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 0 Accident 18

Fastest Lap: Kimi Räikkönen 1:31.540

Raikkonen steals victory in Japan


Finn enjoys possibly his finest hour for McLaren

A stunning last-lap pass gives Kimi Raikkonen victory from 17th on the grid at Suzuka, with the Renaults of Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso second and third. The result ensures the constructors’ championship battle is wide open going to China.







The afternoon was all about motor racing, and Raikkonen, Alonso and Michael Schumacher gave fans around the world a fabulous exhibition of Grand Prix driving at its finest.

Off the grid poleman Ralf Schumacher led fast-starting Fisichella and Jenson Button, but the safety car was deployed as the field started its second lap after Juan Pablo Montoya’s attempt to go round the outside of Jacques Villeneuve at the chicane had ended with the Colombian’s McLaren hitting the outer wall and losing its left rear wheel.

When racing resumed on lap six Schumacher Jnr continued to lead Fisichella and Button, with David Coulthard maintaining fourth from Mark Webber. But Schumacher Snr and Alonso had already made electrifying progress and were sixth and seventh, with Raikkonen chasing down Villeneuve, Antonio Pizzonia and Christian Klien.

Schumacher Jnr refuelled for the first of three times after only 13 laps - he was the first to make a scheduled stop - and then the real pattern was established with Fisichella leading from Button. Alonso had some dramas as he lost ground going off in the chicane and dirtying his tyres on the 8th lap as he passed Klien. He duly let the Austrian back through then immediately re-passed him into Turn 1. However, stewards decided that the Spaniard had still gained an advantage and he was forced to slow, let the Red Bull back through and then finally re-pass for good.

Alonso soon recovered so that by lap 15 he was the meat in a Schumacher-Raikkonen sandwich as they fought over fifth place. Lap after lap Schumacher kept the Spaniard and the Finn behind, but then Alonso pulled a brilliant move on the former champion, going round the outside on the entry to the notorious 130R corner. Immediately he pulled well clear of the Ferrari as Raikkonen closed in. But the Finn could not quite make the same move, and when he and Schumacher both pitted on the 26th lap (four laps later than Alonso), the German got back out ahead. By this time Fisichella was still the easy leader as Schumacher Jnr’s rise to second place was negated by another stop. Button was second from Webber after Coulthard had lost a lot of time in his pit call.

Initially Raikkonen could do no more about Schumacher Snr than Alonso could, further back, about the Saubers and Coulthard. But gradually both men began to make progress. On lap 30 Raikkonen finally pulled off a superb pass on Schumacher by going round the outside of the Ferrari in Turn One, and thereafter he started to hack into the deficit to Webber and Button. Two laps later Alonso was virtually touching the back of the Ferrari going past the pits, and also swept by Schumacher Snr going into the first corner.

The denouement was set up when Fisichella refuelled for the second time on lap 38. That briefly put Button in the lead from a menacing Webber, until they too refuelled on lap 41. Just as they had with Coulthard earlier on, Williams got their man out ahead of BAR’s, but now Raikkonen was the new leader with Fisichella back up to second. The question now became: could the Finn really be on a single-stop strategy?

His fast lap times confirmed that he could not be, and sure enough in he swept for fuel again on lap 45. With only eight laps left Fisichella now surely had the race in the bag. But Raikkonen was not finished. He was 5.4s behind after 46 laps, but then slashed that to only 4.3s a lap later. By lap 50 the writing was on the wall as the Renault and the McLaren went past the pits separated by only half a second. The gap was two-tenths next time around, and a tenth on lap 52. As they went into the braking area for Turn One Raikkonen was wheel-to-wheel with the hapless Italian and pulled off a fantastic move to go round the outside and into the lead. It was classic racing.

As Fisichella immediately dropped back to finish a bitterly disappointed second, Raikkonen celebrated a remarkable triumph, his seventh of the season. 15.8s further back, Alonso’s superb drive saw him take third place after catching Webber by surprise as they went into Turn One on lap 49, dipping his right wheels onto the grass in the process.

The Australian nevertheless impressed with a very strong fourth, with an unhappy Button fifth and Coulthard an elated sixth. After his never-say-die effort Schumacher Snr deserved a lot better than seventh place for Ferrari as he headed home his brother, who took the final point for Toyota.

Christian Klien’s dramatic qualifying lap did not translate into points for the second race running, and the Austrian led home the Sauber duo of Felipe Massa and Jacques Villeneuve, the latter switching to a single stop strategy after the safety car deployment.

Rubens Barrichello lost a lot of time after going off the track in Turn One at the start, and the Brazilian headed home Takuma Sato, the man he will replace at BAR next year. Sato also went off in Turn One at the start after a stand-off with Klien, then later took Jarno Trulli out with an ill-judged overtaking attempt. Behind them Tiago Monteiro got back to finishing races with 14th for Jordan, followed by Minardi’s Robert Doornbos and his own team-mate Narain Karthikeyan. Behind them Christijan Albers was the final classified finisher in 17th place after his Minardi briefly caught fire during its refuelling stop on lap 34.

Besides Montoya and Trulli, the other retirement was Pizzonia, who spun off at the Degner Curve on lap 10.

As Schumacher Snr moved ahead again of Montoya in the fight for third place in the drivers’ championship, Renault’s 14 point haul pushed them back in front of McLaren in the constructors’, 176 points to 174, setting up a great title climax in Shanghai.

[gis]

Kimi first as i predicted (well either of the mclarens) and renault in there aswell.

what a race by Kimi though,if he can keep it like this,IMO were lookin at next years champ.would have been this year if it wasnt for a few failures.lol still,he has won 1 more race than Alonso this year.

[bmagni]

did anyone see MS move to the left and make the passing manouver easier to Alonso ? That was what i saw..

[nthfinity]

,if he can keep it like this,IMO were lookin at next years champ.

id say its going to be number 8 for Schumacher if the Ferrari is at least exactly as good as the mclaren for grip/speed/feel

and if the Ferrari is better, then it will be that much easier

[5vz-fe]

I wonder if Ron Dennis felt he made the wrong choice bring Montoya on board

[nthfinity]

I wonder if Ron Dennis felt he made the wrong choice bring Montoya on board
i think not, look at the races JPM has won for the team, similar to Senna, its either fast, or no finishing for him... very risky moves either mean you are very good, or very dumb... he has had his share of both this year, and years past

[SFDMALEX]

BTW, the spanish media are starting to criticize Renault again for their nasty pit stop strategy :roll: again, when Alonso wins is because he's the best driver EVER - when Alonso doesn't win... that's because the team, or Raikkonen, or whatever... bla bla bla :?

You gotta let him have it mate. He's a Spanish champ the nation is on a high from that. Let em have fun :wink:

[bultaco_metralla]

The Race was just Great and i think China is going to be almost same!!! waiting fo rit


BTW, the spanish media are starting to criticize Renault again for their nasty pit stop strategy :roll: again, when Alonso wins is because he's the best driver EVER - when Alonso doesn't win... that's because the team, or Raikkonen, or whatever... bla bla bla :?

Based on Alonso quote!!! thats what he said!! and its true he had to pass schumi and wbber and klein etc... twice!!! But it was a GREAT RACE

[bultaco_metralla]

i think He always do when he wins, every race he won he said that the Team was perfect!!! maybe in Interlagos he was not really clever with his first declaratioons, but after that he rectified... The team is very happy with him!!

or maybe you mean that spanish media dont talk about the excellent work of the team... i think its going to be that...

Btw tha overtake on 130R was awesome, and now i dont know what "year overtake" i would choose... ill make a poll here to know what you think heheheh...

1-. Schumacher - Button San Marino chicane
2-. Alonso - Schumacher Suzuka 130 R

[|Nuno|]

However, and totally off topic - the best overtaking of the last decade is the Montoya move over Schumacher (?) at the Bus Stop at Spa 2004, absolutely crazy!! :P

If we're going by craziness, I think Sato's move on Trulli wins it. :P



Anyway, finally we had an exciting race! :D Great drive by Kimi, although I think the overtaking on Fisi was more Fisi's fault than Kimi's merit. I honestly don't get why he took that line on the chicane... :| It's in stuff like that you see the difference between a good driver and a great driver - even with a much slower car, Shumacher was able to hold Kimi for much more laps.

Alonso did well too, I must admit. That move on Schumacher was very good, even if MS lifted to avoid a collision. MS who also did a great race - those first laps were amazing, and he did an excellent job on holding both Kimi and Alonso behing him. Shame about that last pitstop though...

It will be interesting to follow the battle for the WCC in China, too. I hope McLaren gets it. :mrgreen: