Suzuka: Kimi Does His Thing Yet Again
Written by George Katinger · October 9, 2005
And What is Kimi’s thing? Blowing his engine and suffering a 10 spot grid penalty. More bad luck in his qualifying run, in the extreme wet. Starting from 17th. In spite of (or maybe because of?) all of the above, he chases down another victory on the last lap of the race. Simply amazing!
speedtv.com: Raikkonen Comes from 17th to First in Japan
f1.racing-live.com: New order show their skills in Japan
theaustralian.news.com: Raikkonen makes most of mixed-up grid
crash.net: Michael frustrated by pace of rivals.
mg.co.za: Raikkonen: ‘It’s one of my best wins’
formula-1.updatesport.com: Montoya’s “Sad” Afternoon
itv-f1.com: SATO EXCLUDED FROM RESULT
f1racing.net: Villeneuve penalised for Montoya crash
motorsport.com: Japanese GP: Williams race notes
motorsport.com: Japanese GP: Red Bull race notes
planet-f1.com: Trulli slams ‘dangerous’ Sato
Yes, this had to be the best race of the season, as we all had high hopes for. With the Driver’s Championship in Fernando’s pocket, we all hoped he would unleash an all out attack for the team’s effort to nail down the Constructor’s title. Alonso didn’t dissappoint either.
There were great passes by many drivers, I wish I had counted them all. Foremost among them has to be Alonso’s pass of King Michael on the OUTSIDE of the high speed 130R. It has to be the equivalent of attempting a pass at Eau Rouge at Spa. It’s just not done! Someone forgot to tell Alonso. And have we seen enough of the “Schuey Swerve”? Fernando was stuck behind Michael for 3 laps while looking for passing attempts, and Michael performed his classic defensive move at the chicane and turn one several times. Great moments are often born out of frustration, and maybe we should thank Michael for forcing Alonso’s pass at the 130R. Alonso then demonstrated his car’s superior speed by disappearing over the horizon, where upon Michael began blocking Kimi.
And what of all the high hopes for Ralf Schumacher and Toyota’s pole start? Gone like the vapor in his lightly filled fuel cell! On top of that Toyota chose a three stop strategy, that in this fast crowd was doomed to failure. Someone in the Toyota team deserves a beating for selecting the strategy and not adjusting during the race.
The ambitions of Honda’s second place Jenson Button and Japan’s favorite son Takuma Sato ended the same way. Sato-sans efforts were horrible, to the point where he was disqualified by race stewards after post race reviews of his incident with Trulli. If Honda are so keen on keeping Sato in F1 they need to develop a car with bumpers instead of wings. I can’t believe there is not a better driver in all of Japan than Sato. Honda will now have the excuse to let Sato go his own way and bring in another native son next year on the “B” squad rumored all weekend long. They couldn’t possibly do worse than Sato. Button had a respecable drive but his package, in spite of the publicly touted improvements, just couldn’t keep up. Sorry Jenson, no wins for you in China either.
The bigest winners at the race were Williams and Red Bull. No, neither team had a podium, but the improvements are impressive. Williams had third place in the bag until Mark Webber was daringly passed by Alonso with two laps to go. Still a fourth place has to put a smile on Frank’s face. Now they need to expand the improvement in Shanghai and grab a podium. With Coulthard in 6th and Klien in 9th Red Bull show steady progress also. Will the switch from Cosworth to Ferrari engines next year help or hurt their emerging competitiveness? We’ll see next year, but the smile on Frank’s face just got wider!
Kimi Raikkonen and Team McLaren Mercedes; a power for years to come. Yes, I will now comfortably state that Kimi is not going anywhere. Unless he already has signed that rumored contract with Ferrari. It will be embarrassing to have to see “The Iceman” do a Button and squirm his way out of a contract he no longer wishes to honor. Especialy if he wins a title next year.
With one race to go and Renault now two points ahead in the Constructor’s title chase, Shanghai will be very interesting indeed! Someone will lose, but all the fans will be winners.
JAPANESE GRAND PRIX RESULTS - OCTOBER 9, 2005 - 53 LAPS
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT LAPS TIRE TIME/RETIRE
1. KIMI RAIKKONEN Finland McLaren-Mercedes 53 1h29m02.212
2. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA Italy Renault 53 1.633
3. FERNANDO ALONSO Spain Renault 53 17.456
4. MARK WEBBER Australia Williams-BMW 53 22.274
5. JENSON BUTTON Britain BAR-Honda 53 29.507
6. DAVID COULTHARD Britain Red Bull-Cosworth 53 31.601
7. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Germany Ferrari 53 33.879
8. RALF SCHUMACHER Germany Toyota 53 49.548
9. CHRISTIAN KLIEN Austria Red Bull-Cosworth 53 51.925
10. FELIPE MASSA Brazil Sauber-Petronas 53 57.509
11. JACQUES VILLENEUVE Canada Sauber-Petronas 53 58.221
12. RUBENS BARRICHELLO Brazil Ferrari 53 1m00.633
13. TAKUMA SATO Japan BAR-Honda 52 1 Lap
14. TIAGO MONTEIRO Portugal Jordan-Toyota 52 1 Lap
15. ROBERT DOORNBOS Netherlands Minardi-Cosworth 51 2 Laps
16. NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN India Jordan-Toyota 51 2 Laps
17. CHRISTIJAN ALBERS Netherlands Minardi-Cosworth 49 4 Laps
R ANTONIO PIZZONIA Brazil Williams-BMW 9 Spin
R JARNO TRULLI Italy Toyota 9 Accident
R JUAN PABLO MONTOYA Colombia McLaren-Mercedes 0 Accident
FASTEST LAP: Raikkone Finland McLaren-Mercedes 44 1:31.540
DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
POS DRIVER NATIONALITY ENTRANT POINTS
1. FERNANDO ALONSO Spain Renault 123
2. KIMI RAIKKONEN Finland McLaren-Mercedes 104
3. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER Germany Ferrari 62
4. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA Colombia McLaren-Mercedes 60
5. GIANCARLO FISICHELLA Italy Renault 53
6. JARNO TRULLI Italy Toyota 43
7. RALF SCHUMACHER Germany Toyota 39
8. RUBENS BARRICHELLO Brazil Ferrari 38
9. JENSON BUTTON Britain BAR-Honda 36
10. MARK WEBBER Australia Williams-BMW 34
11. NICK HEIDFELD Germany Williams-BMW 28
12. DAVID COULTHARD Britain Red Bull-Cosworth 24
13. JACQUES VILLENEUVE Canada Sauber-Petronas 9
14. FELIPE MASSA Brazil Sauber-Petronas 8
15. TIAGO MONTEIRO Portugal Jordan-Toyota 7
16. ALEXANDER WURZ Austria McLaren-Mercedes 6
17. NARAIN KARTHIKEYAN India Jordan-Toyota 5
CHRISTIAN KLIEN Austria Red Bull-Cosworth 5
19. CHRISTIJAN ALBERS Netherlands Minardi-Cosworth 4
PEDRO DE LA ROSA Spain McLaren-Mercedes 4
21. PATRICK FRIESACHER Austria Minardi-Cosworth 3
22. ANTONIO PIZZONIA Brazil Williams-BMW 2
23. VITANTONIO LIUZZI Italy Red Bull-Cosworth 1
TAKUMA SATO Japan BAR-Honda 1
CONSTRUCTORS CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS:
POS CONSTRUCTOR POINTS
1. MCLAREN-MERCEDES 174
2. RENAULT 176
3. FERRARI 100
4. TOYOTA 82
5. WILLIAMS-BMW 64
6. BAR-HONDA 37
7. RED BULL-COSWORTH 30
8. SAUBER-PETRONAS 17
9. JORDAN-TOYOTA 12
10. MINARDI-COSWORTH 7
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A F1 race in daylight hours is a rare experience when you live down under. That was one of the most exciting races in a long time, maybe the FIA could introduce a sprinkler system at each race & make wet qualifying mandatory, while I say this in jest every time it happens the mixed up grid leads to a great race.
Despite the riveting race two things did catch my eye, Toyota’s home soil insecurity in placing Ralf Schumacher on pole was nothing but a publicity stunt as there was no way a three stop strategy was the correct plan for the race, this low fuel qualifying was a repeat if Indy & just as transparent. The second was Williams missed opportunity in not running Rosberg, they had nothing to lose by giving Nico a run, even the first out in qualifying argument was a mute point.
It’s easy to criticise from your arm chair but I found the comments of Martin Brundle (I know you Yanks don’t get the ITV coverage) on Fisi failing to hold off Kimi in the final two laps were interesting. Brundle expressed astonishment at how early & how defensive of the inside line Fisi was at the chicane on the final two laps & it was at this point that Kimi was able to set himself up for the manoeuvre coming out of the last corner, his view was that Fisi simply was not tough enough & that Alosno would have held the McLaren off.
While Alonso’s move on Schumacher around the outside of 130R left me breathless, Sato’s thumping of Trulli (in a Toyota, no less!) had me doubled over in mirth & this was after his start line hysterics from fifth on the grid. I can only imagine what spin the Japanese commentators tried to put on his performance, maybe they gave up, for once the Japanese TV producer didn’t focus on his car for 90% of the race.
Okay, I can’t bite my tongue any longer. The pass Alonso made on Schumacher wasn’t that great. Everyone keeps saying “he passed on the outside of 130R”. He really made the pass before the corner and turned in, and there was nothing Michael could do about it, even though it looked like he wanted to try.
It was a great race. But that’s really down to Kimi. And the antics of Sato and Villeneuve. Alonso says he’s going to really race now. That we’re getting to see the real Alonso. Well, the real Alonso is a bit dangerous. His comments and actions put him in the Sato League of Drivers. He will create havoc on the grid if given the chance. Flav has just been doing a good job of keeping him in check until now. Oh, for a change back to the old points system. We’d probably be saying Champion Kimi. It’s sad when the racer with more wins in a season doesn’t win the title. And yes, it’s nice to be rewarded for consistency, but it’s not as much fun.
Anyway, that’s my two cents and then some, because I’m just that generous.
Nice observation Tim, I would agree with your coment with a small variation. I would call it aggressive as oposed to risky. I don’t think Alonso would have risked the same move against Sato or some of the other no-brain drivers out there. He knew who he was racing against and had some degree of trust Michael wouldn’t drive him off track, in that situation.
Michael has been notorious for driving competitors off track, just ask Juan! But usually in slow corners where injury risk is minor. I would argue you can’t be fast without taking risks to get around people. It’s part of what makes the sport so exciting.