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Podium: race winner Fernando Alonso with Nick Heidfeld and Rubens Barrichello
F1 > European GP, 2005-05-29 (N?rburgring): Sunday race

Podium: race winner Fernando Alonso with Nick Heidfeld and Rubens Barrichello
F1 > European GP, 2005-05-29 (N?rburgring): Sunday raceThe Weekly Wrap

Iceman Frozen With Finish In Sight ? May 29, 2005


Alonso Victorious On Last Lap

The final lap of a race is clearly not the safest and most secure time during a Grand Prix, especially for any Finnish driver in a Mclaren. Think back to the Spanish Grand Prix in 2001, when Mika H?kkinen was forced to retire due to a clutch failure on the last lap. Now, it was his followers turn, as Kimi R?ikk?nen was forced to hand over victory to title competitor Fernando Alonso on the last lap following a suspension failure that sent him flying off track at the beginning of the final lap of the race. Instead of closing the points gap to twenty points, the gap between first and second in the title race has sprouted open once again to 32 points.

Thankfully, I'm not the journalist who has to interview R?ikk?nen after the race, because there's probably not much fun in asking him any questions at the moment. R?ikk?nen had controlled the race from the beginning, overtaking pole-sitter Nick Heidfeld in the run-up to the first corner and never looking back. Unlike previous races, Kimi was forced to relinquish his lead during the pitstops for a matter of laps, but nonetheless was set to take his third victory in a row. Despite a strong charge from Fernando Alonso towards the end of the race, when Kimi's speed was hampered by an almost square front right Michelin, the pair entered the last lap with one and a half seconds of difference, enough to ensure the Mclaren a most probable victory.

Thus, Alonso has once again opened up his lead in the championship but, with twelve rounds to go, there's still a lot of ground to cover. The way the season is shaping up could not be any better for audiences with some of the most exciting races in modern F1 coming weekend after weekend, the European GP being no exception today. Right from the off the sparks were flying. As expected, the tight first corner provided immediate drama when a collision between Mark Webber and Juan Pablo Montoya ended Webber's race and stirred up the event for several others including Takuma Sato, Michael Schumacher and his brother Ralf. Whilst Schumacher emerged unscathed yet behind, Ralf and Sato were forced to pit for new nosecones.

David Coulthard took full advantage of the first corner m?l?? and rose from twelth on the grid to fourth place, holding a very good pace from thereon out. A penalty for speeding in the pitlane ended his hopes for a podium, which would have been realised without his drive-through as the Scot eventually finished fourth, thirteen seconds behind Rubens Barrichello. Red Bull Racing definitely proved its worth on the grid once again, and sadly was forced to miss out on another chance at a podium (one that will most certainly be achieved before the season is over), and DC even led the race for a short period of time between pitstops!

Alonso, obviously elated at the misfortune of R?ikk?nen, did not look like a great challenger early on, racing in fifth place behind Coulthard until the first pitstops. Even then, his speed was not comparable to the front running R?ikk?nen and Heidfeld, and only towards the end of the race did the threat of his Renault truly become apparent. Heidfeld, racing on a three-stop strategy, was never in the position to challenge for the win, having to make an extra pitstop very late in the race for a final spray of fuel into the Williams. Alonso, however, only increased his pace late in the race, while R?ikk?nen was clearly beginning to struggle following a pair of lockups that most certainly contributed to the tyre failure that ended his race.

Alonso was close to throwing it all away, as well. In his charge for fast laps prior to his second and final pitstop, Alonso spun at the Dunlop-hairpin and lost what at that point seemed like the deciding handful of seconds that would ensure R?ikk?nen's grip on the lead. It soon became clear that Alonso would receive another chance, when the onboard camera view from R?ikk?nen's car proved all too clearly how his tyre was falling apart lap by lap. It wasn't the most beautiful thing to watch, and anyone supporting him could only hope it would hold out for the last number of laps.

Alas, the tyre was causing such vibration in the suspension that it was the suspension which let go completely under braking for the first turn of the final lap, and Kimi was relegated back to eleventh place on the official timing sheet. Michelin will have a significant amount of explaining to do, with Felipe Massa also experiencing a tyre failure that made him lose many places in the final laps of the race. Obviously, these kinds of things happen in racing, but it will not be fun for Mclaren to look back on at the end of the year if Kimi were to lose out to Alonso in the title race by the amount of points lost at the Nurburgring. It happened two years ago, when Kimi's Mercedes let go whilst in the lead, and the Finn lost the championship to Michael Schumacher by two points.

The North American tour is up next, with the Canadian race at Montreal in a fortnight followed by the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis a week later. Ferrari is climbing back up, with strong performances from both cars at this weekend's race, and the next two races have been friendly for their team. Historically, these races have also been successful races for the Mclaren squad, but with Alonso's current form, the Spaniard will be a tough contender to beat...


The Weekly Wrap By Jens Sorensen
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