***Chinese GP 2006***

[zeroTohundred]

***2005 Chinese GP ***

All discussion about 2005 Shanghai here. :P

Free Practice 4

P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Times Ave/Gaps
1. 9 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'33"212
2. 10 MONTOYA McLaren Mercedes M 1'33"554 + 0'00"342
3. 5 ALONSO Renault M 1'33"793 + 0'00"581
4. 6 FISICHELLA Renault M 1'34"392 + 0'01"180
5. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Cosworth M 1'34"453 + 0'01"241
6. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'34"535 + 0'01"323
7. 3 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'34"729 + 0'01"517
8. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'34"807 + 0'01"595
9. 8 PIZZONIA Williams BMW M 1'34"835 + 0'01"623
10. 7 WEBBER Williams BMW M 1'35"004 + 0'01"792
11. 16 TRULLI Toyota M 1'35"107 + 0'01"895
12. 15 KLIEN RedBull Cosworth M 1'35"179 + 0'01"967
13. 4 SATO BAR Honda M 1'35"280 + 0'02"068
14. 19 KARTHIKEYAN Jordan Toyota B 1'35"310 + 0'02"098
15. 17 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota M 1'35"371 + 0'02"159
16. 18 MONTEIRO Jordan Toyota B 1'35"488 + 0'02"276
17. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas M 1'35"693 + 0'02"481
18. 21 ALBERS Minardi Cosworth B 1'36"397 + 0'03"185
19. 11 VILLENEUVE Sauber Petronas M 1'36"417 + 0'03"205
20. 20 DOORNBOS Minardi Cosworth B 1'36"558 + 0'03"346

 

[zeroTohundred]

2005 Chinese GP Qualifying Result

1. 5 ALONSO Renault M 1'34"074 208.597 Km/h
2. 6 FISICHELLA Renault M 1'34"406 + 0'00"332
3. 9 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'34"500 + 0'00"426
4. 3 BUTTON BAR Honda M 1'34"781 + 0'00"707
5. 10 MONTOYA McLaren Mercedes M 1'35"144 + 0'01"070
6. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'35"304 + 0'01"230
7. 14 COULTHARD RedBull Cosworth M 1'35"469 + 0'01"395
8. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'35"563 + 0'01"489
9. 17 R.SCHUMACHER Toyota M 1'35"719 + 0'01"645
10. 7 WEBBER Williams BMW M 1'35"765 + 0'01"691
11. 12 MASSA Sauber Petronas M 1'35"922 + 0'01"848
12. 16 TRULLI Toyota M 1'36"078 + 0'02"004
13. 8 PIZZONIA Williams BMW M 1'36"422 + 0'02"348
14. 15 KLIEN RedBull Cosworth M 1'36"489 + 0'02"415
15. 19 KARTHIKEYAN Jordan Toyota B 1'36"718 + 0'02"644
16. 11 VILLENEUVE Sauber Petronas M 1'36"750 + 0'02"676
17. 4 SATO BAR Honda M 1'37"125 + 0'03"051
18. 21 ALBERS Minardi Cosworth B 1'39"093 + 0'05"019
19. 18 MONTEIRO Jordan Toyota B 1'39"203 + 0'05"129
20. 20 DOORNBOS Minardi Cosworth B 1'39"487 + 0'05"413

 

[prodigy]

Either Alonso have upped the pace so much or Kimi is driving with extra fuel to prolong his pitstop. I do think Kimi will take a superlong first stint and attack after that. However, its the last race of the season, Renault might just take a bit more risk with their engines, tune it up a little and go for glory. Either way, we're in for a good race.

 

[GT3]

Either Alonso have upped the pace so much or Kimi is driving with extra fuel to prolong his pitstop. I do think Kimi will take a superlong first stint and attack after that. However, its the last race of the season, Renault might just take a bit more risk with their engines, tune it up a little and go for glory. Either way, we're in for a good race.

most likely becoz renault hav newer n more powerful engine this race while kimi becoz he hard drive in suzuka he hav to be more conservative in preserving the engine..

or mayb like u said.. diff fuel strategy..

 

[-fRëɧt¥£3R-]

its the fuel n pit stop strategy..which mclaren has always had d upperhand..

 

[prodigy]

I'm 90% sure Kimi has at least 3-4 laps worth of extra fuel over Alonso and Fisi. Mclaren has been doing that for so many races this year to maximise their car performance.

Most likely you'll see Alonso pull away like 0.3 to 0.4 secs per lap to Kimi for 10 or so laps and and once he pulls in, Kimi will do a 1 or 2 sec faster lap when Alonso returns to track. Mclaren has been doing all their overtaking at the pit stop this season. Its hard to see them pushing Kimi for the first few laps just to catch up Alonso.

One thing i notice about Renault cars the whole season, they've got excellent pace for the first stint of race before the pitstops. You can almost see Alonso doing hot laps after hot laps and when they reappear after the first or second round of pitstops, their performance tend to drop a significantly. My guess is that their aerodynamics is pretty harsh to the tyres and after 30 odd laps, they'll lose some tyre performance. And one more obvious reason is that they want to look after their engines.

 

[GT3]

cool race.. congratulations to Fernando and Renault.. deserving champs

 

[BlackSamurai]

hahaha, looks like another zthian make the same mistake i did week ago. :D

 

[prodigy]

Bad prediction by me obviously. But the safety car incident really put a dent to Kimi's chance of staying out longer. Or else, he might have close the gap. But then again, judging by Alonso's pace, Kimi was nowhere near Alonso's speed and was never a likely winner. Nevertheless, congrats to Renault and Alonso for a superb job this year. They were the most consistent team this year and never put a foot wrong. The car was super reliable and Alonso was always there to take advantage when Mclaren screws up.

One thing i realise about the "newer" tracks like Sepang, Shanghai, Turkey and Dubai is that they're so freaking wide. At anytime you can fit like 5 cars side by side. I still like the slightly narrower tracks like Japan, Belgium and Monza.

 

[BlackSamurai]

now need to suffer weekend without F1 for few months....

 

[BlackSamurai]

Alonso sang "We are the champions" to his pit crew while he pass the cheque flag! I like the way this new WDC champion celebrate his China GP 2005. :D

 

[BlackSamurai]

And Albert's Minaldi, lost his wheel nut on the race track, I really dunno how his car make it back to the pit lane with that missing wheel nut :D

 

[si|verfish]

A dissapointing race really. After the high of Japan, Shanghai is a bit of an anti-climax. Lots of incidents, start and stop race. But the main reason is because McLaren didn't show up. I was expecting a duel between the 4 cars and that never materialised because of McLarens surprisingly poor speed (relative to the Renaults). Kind of like a role reversal, weird. The Renaults were planted, poised and quick overall. The McLarens were like sliding all over the place at the slow speed corners and couldn't really capitalise even if they were faster in the other sectors. During qualifying, Raikkonen was already sliding a lot over the slow corners, I was bloody worried. Hoped that race conditions would change that. Didn't happen though.

Hats of to Renault really, for overhauling the McLarens in terms of pace. They kept the pace of development, even for the final race of the season. Whereas, McLaren seemed like they didn't even bother to counter whatever Renault throws at them and were happy to sit on their dominance, thinking Renault would never catch up. After Brazil, the warning lights should have been flashing. The Renaults showed marked improvements during qualifying although in race conditions they were still lacking. In Japan, they proved to be the equals to the McLarens. China is the place they finally overtook McLarens.

 

[minivan]

Have to agree. After a a super-super race in Japan, the Chinese GP was a huge anti-climax... i was really looking forward to a great showdown...
Yeah, the Renaults were just super in China, back straight speed of 338 km/h!! but not just that, they had a superb overall package. They deserved to win yesterday.
But another thing is, China have a nice circuit, but really boring in terms of offering track action... i actually dozed off halfway through. I never fall asleep watching an F1 race!! not a race located more/less in the same timezone nwayz...

 

[si|verfish]

Yeah, these new modern tracks are way way huge. And because of that, it makes the relative speed of the cars lower. And you'd think the ultra wide track will enable more overtaking and less accidents but that isn't the case. I much prefer the old classic tracks like Monaco, Silverstone, Monza, Spa, Suzuka, etc.

 

[koolspyda]

good for renaults. Many "what if's for McLaren". Good for F1 sport.

now our attention will be back to the real deal = EPL!!
(unless the chelski wraps EPL by christmas, then bugger it) ;)