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| Japanese GP 5th - 8th October 2006 - Race Report |
Length:
5.807 km |
| The Japanese Grand Prix, the last at the splendorous Suzuka circuit for the foreseeable future, could not have seen a more dramatic about turn in the title race had it been scripted beforehand.
What began as a presumed Ferrari walk-over came alive not long after the start when, with Michael Schumacher having cruised past team-mate Felipe Massa for the lead, a fast starting Fernando Alonso, from fifth on the grid, passed the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher for third position. The race, from that point, was effectively on. Things went smoothly for Michael at the opening pit stops, where he stopped for fuel and tyres three laps after Alonso. The Spaniard, at his stop, had passed Massa to take up the challenge directly. In the middle stint the two lapped consistently within a few tenths of each other, the gap widening and contracting by half a second here and there, and Michael was looking safe for a victory. The second stops saw Fernando pit just one lap ahead of Michael, and both teams turned their men around in a slick and effective manner. With 17 laps left, we waited to see if the Renault could make any impression on the leading Ferrari. What we saw in the next few seconds was something as rare as can be, a Ferrari, that of Michael Schumacher, with smoke pouring from the back of the car. Michael pulled to the side of the track, engine blown and race over. Alonso found himself with a ten second cushion to Massa, and a potential ten point lead, an almost unassailable advantage, over Michael as we head for Brazil and the curtain closer. Following the disappointment and acrimony that has prevailed in recent days, it would be a welcome break for the Renault team. Behind Alonso the second Ferrari of Felipe Massa came home a dutiful second having entertained a puncture that brought his pit stop forward, and then lost time behind the BMW of Nick Heidfeld, and in third after a quiet weekend came Alonso’s team mate Giancarlo Fisichella, with bonus points for Renault’s Constructors Championship challenge. Fourth went to the Honda of Jenson Button after a hard fought and well judged race on Honda’s home ground, the Englishman again outperforming his luckless team mate Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian picked up a broken front wing on the first lap that put paid to any hopes of a decent finish. In the circumstances, his run to 12th place was commendable. Fifth place went to Kimi Raikkonen with a performance that must rank amongst his finest of the season, a summary that says a lot about the year McLaren have had. Starting from 11th, Raikkonen made up a couple of places at the start and, from then, was absolutely on it, never easing up and with not a wheel an inch out of line. On another day, in a front running car, his would have been a commanding performance, but today fifth was the best he could hope for. As a measure of how good he was today, team mate Pedro de la Rosa could manage only a lapped 11th position. Sixth and seventh counts as a good performance by Toyota, with Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher circulating together for the entire race, gradually usurped by the Honda and Mclaren ahead of them, but just quick enough to keep ahead of the BMW’s behind. Trulli took the better place by virtue of a cleaner pit-stop, and there was nothing to choose between the two drivers today. On recent performance BMW-Sauber may be excused for feeling a little disappointed with eighth and ninth. Nick Heidfeld started well clear of hot-shot team mate Robert Kubica, but the two finished nose to tail, the Pole just behind after another fine drive. Had it not been for a mid-race excursion across the run-off Kubica may well have finished ahead of Heidfeld but, despite his engineer giving him the hurry up in the last few laps, he had to settle for the first of the non-points positions. Nico Rosberg deserves praise for finishing tenth, albeit lapped, in the difficult Williams-Cosworth. The young German headed team-mate Mark Webber all race, and this was another pair who would have finished nose to tail but for a race-ending off endure by the Australian late in the race. It was, it must be said, an uncharacteristic mistake by Webber, who was charging hard at the time. Behind the recalcitrant de la Rosa and Barrichello, Dutchman Robert Doornbos finished his second outing for Red Bull in 13th position, having run amongst the sister cars of David Coulthard, whose race ended with a mechanical failure, Tonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed all race. The Toro Rosso pair seemed to be off the circuit each time a camera turned on them and, with ‘contract time’ very much here and now the team may be considering other options for 2007. Liuzzi eventually finished 14th, while Speed retired. Coulthard, it is said, can look forward to an Adrian Newey designed, Renault-engined Red Bull RB3, and a new team mate in Mark Webber, for next season, and must be relishing the prospect after a difficult season. Takuma Sato drove well to bring the Super Aguri home a lap behind the leaders in 15th, with Sakon Yamamoto also registering a finish, in 17th and last, in the second of the Japanese underdog machines. Tiago Monteiro was the only other finisher, in 16th position, and the only Spyker to reach the end after team-mate Christijan Albers suffered a spectacular failure. Approaching a braking point the left rear wheel of the car appeared to break away, destroying the wing and leaving the driver in charge of an uncontrollable projectile. Christijan did well to bring the wreck back to the pits, while a large metal rod sat on the circuit for a couple of laps until a brave marshal retrieved it. An interesting race, then, that has left us with a simple set of possibilities come Brazil. |
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