WHAT AN AMAZING RACE !!
Ayup - proving that he can beat Michael by about a second, after being given a 15 spot head start in turn one.
Uh, both Ferraris were just taking it easy the last several laps... maintaining a gap on Button... you can't read anything to the ending gap between the Ferraris. Who set the fastest lap of the race?
RACE RESULTS Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 2 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari Winner 2 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari +1.3 secs 3 9 Jenson Button BAR-Honda +10.1 secs 4 10 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda +15.3 secs 5 3 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW +32.3 secs 6 5 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes +33.4 secs 7 4 Antonio Pizzonia Williams-BMW +33.7 secs 8 11 Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas +35.4 secs 9 14 Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth +56.7 secs 10 7 Jarno Trulli Renault +66.3 secs 11 16 Ricardo Zonta Toyota +82.5 secs 12 12 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas +1 Lap 13 15 Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth +1 Lap 14 18 Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford +1 Lap 15 21 Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth +3 Lap Ret 8 Fernando Alonso Renault +13 Lap Ret 19 Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Ford +20 Laps Ret 20 Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth +24 Laps Ret 6 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes +40 Laps Ret 17 Olivier Panis Toyota + secs ****ing Incredible Race .... If you only watched the first few laps you would have thought "Ferrari sucks big time" ... Michael had slipped all the way back to 14th while Rubens who had a massive lead in the first three laps started being passed by Alonso. What happened was that there was huge amount of rain prior to the race and the track was drying as the race started. Rubens was on intermediates while everyone else on the frist three rows were on dries. Rubens moved mid pack after his pit stop. Michael spun on the first lap. Two factors were responsible for this: - Bridgestones take a long time to warm up - The dry tires are very poor on damp comditions But then slowly the magic appeared ... Michael passed his way back from 14th to eventually finish second behind Barrichello. Rubens was shortfilled in the second stop and everyone thought that Ferrari screwed ... but Barrichello drove supremely to eke enough lead to squeeze an extra stop without losing the lead. Exceptional driving from both Ferrari drivers and a brave and brilliant strategy by Ross Brawn What about the other contenders: - Montoya was awesome for the first two thirds but then started to struggle and fall backwards. - Kimi retired after a superb first stint considering that the Mclaren was on minimal downforce compared to Williams and Ferrari. - Alonso spun out and was beached in the gravel. Although his engine was still running the marshals refused to restart him. Note that Michael was helped by the marshals in Germany last year when he was in a similar situation. - Button drove supremely but had no answer for the Ferraris
Note the winky -- (foghorn leghorn mode)that was (I say) that was a joke, son(/fog) I'm actually a Rubins fan. I just wish he'd push Michael a bit more -- 'cause nobody else can.
Simple... its being dedicated to bettering themselves at the sport. After the loss at Hungary the team decided to do more work on the 2004 car even though a few months back they had said all development had stopped. While most teams are content with a good car, Ferrari wants a better car. They want their car to be even better than what it was the last time round. If all the teams spent more time in R&D and less time bickering then Ferrari would have more competition. When MS spun and was dead last I had tears in my eyes, when RB had to pit for dry tires I was scared. But, I knew they would fight back and make something of the day. Most other teams would have packed up and left, but they fought hard for every single position. Even when MS and RB were side by side they gave each other room, unlike JPM and Ralf who usually end up in the kitty litter together. Anyone that says that Ferrari always has a walk in the park outta be slapped silly. Today they fought for the 1-2 because none of the other teams had the balls to capitalize.
With the benefit of an extra pitstop Agree RB was the man of the race Well done everyone. JB has gotta be thinking two things: 1. WTF happened? I was in first! 2. Now who said I should leave BAR and why? Forza Ferrari!
This is how Monza was won. The best race of ther season. Everyone pushed as hard as they could go. RB deserved to win that race. MS did an awesome job of staying cool after spinning and then to play catch up and place second. I would like to see the insides of those two engines to see how much wear there was after that much flat out racing. Hats off to all team members of Ferrari.
MS spun on purpose, he was preparing for the rally race in December. He just wanted to get used to a four wheel slide in the wet in asphalt. His car was equipped with a special ebrake that he pulled up to create that slide. Well Michael you over did it, maybe you need to go visit Colin McRae and ask him for some pointers.
Biggest surprise: seing RB and MS leading the race at the end. Midway thru the race I was sure that Button or Alonso would have won the race. Wow Now could someone explain Trulli's situation? Is Flavio Briatore playing games by giving him a bad car or its Jarno who is not performing well.
Questions: 1. Does anyone know what happened to Kimi's McLaren? One minute it was fine, the next minute they're backing it into the garage. 2. Was Juan Pablo's slowing due to the pneumatic pressure problem or was it due to deteriorating handling, which has happened before (e.g. Magny Cours)? 3. Why was Alonso not allowed to rejoin the race? His situation seemed to be identical to what happened to MS last year.
Answer #1: He was pointed the wrong way into a turn and thus it would have been unsafe to try to push him out into the track at that spot. Answer #2: Neither Alonso nor his team are Italian... and he was in Italy. MS was a German in Germany. Timing is everything!
Er, not this one . But I am glad to see that RB can win once the pressure is OFF and it does not matter anymore Anybody that thinks getting 2nd in the championship matters, er ... does not understand that the first loser in any sporting event is the person or team that comes 2nd. As far as I am concerned Ferrari have completed their job and are now only racing to fulfil their contractual oblications to the FIA ... RB ensuring he gets 2nd in the WC does not matter. BUT saying all that it is important for RB to try as hard as he can at every race so he can learn how to win for the future, if he is ever given the chance by Ferrari (which I doubt). The most important race for RB to win is the first one of the season (then the next, etc.) ... if he does not beat MS his championship is completely over Like I have said all along remove the pressure from RB, emotional or otherwise, and he is a brilliant driver ... unfortunately that does not even happen on racing simulators ... but congrats RB. Pete
Oh come on, really ... have you been watching the same racing season that I have been watching. I applaud Ferrari ... they are so much better than the other teams at the moment that MS (maybe not RB) could start from the pits .... while still getting dressed in to his overalls. All credit to Ferrari, the professional team of this century Pete
I MISSED IT !!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHH I saw the lining up and had to leave. Thanks Sam for the results write up. CONGRATS to Rubens, he needed this ! and to michael and all at SCUDERIA FERRARI I CAN'T WAIT for the replay !!! WHOOO YOOOOO FORZA SCUDERIA FERRARI !!!!!
I thought it was a fantastic race because our beloved Ferraris didn't just disappear into the horizon, but actually FOUGHT for their 1-2. How's that for a concept? Now why was this such a great race and how could EVERY race be like this? Because Schumi fought from dead last. The second answer: REVERSED GRID! I keep repeating it over and over again, but it is true: Set the grid up in reverse order of the WC points and you have a real race, where the winners still come out on top, but actually have to fight for it and can't just drive parade laps sparing their engines.
Interesting concept but you'd have a pile of carbon fiber at turn 1 in Monza. Maybe you didn't notice how squirrely the Jordans and Minardis were. All it would take is a couple of cars stranded and even F1 brakes won't slow you down quick enough. Maybe they should do it like in touring cars where you give penalty weight for winning. It makes setup harder and makes you a bit slower than the other cars.
