its a tie!

[bbt]

25 seconds in 3 laps, I say Fisi had his Puma sneakers stuck on the brake pedal.

or alonso had his stuck on the gas

You have to ask Flavio on that. He's the one giving the TEAM ORDERS.

honestly, for fisi to wait for alonso would make absolutely no sense, because it would mean slowing down the (supposedly) faster of the two renaults. however, if you look at the HUGE gap (around 40 seconds, i believe) between the two renaults when they finished, you will see that it was alonso, and not fisichella that had the faster car. the reason why fernando got left behind was because he was on the wrong tires. when he changed his wheels, alonso was able to recover his pace and pass fisichella.

No, Schumi was too way ahead. No point in setting fastest times contest when you are way upfront, on dry tires, and the rain started to fall again. Cruise mode is not an excuse, it makes sense.

just saw the replay, and i have to concede that schumi was indeed a long ways ahead however, that does not make the feat any less impressive.

OT: does anyone else find the italian national anthem... amusing? i think it's the most upbeat anthem i've ever heard so far

[jim]

if you are in front why do you need to go fast and wear out your tires quickly which may cause you to skid and crash!?!?! Schumi is not only a fast driver. HE IS ALSO A SMART DRIVER!

[sirmykel]

Michael now lead the Driver's Championships against the Horseface
7 wins for schumi against 6 wins of alonso

25 sec gap eaten within 3 laps...
talk about Team Orders... yan din napansin
nung iba eh. di ba meron rule sa anti-team orders?

[bbt]

25 sec gap eaten within 3 laps...
talk about Team Orders... yan din napansin
nung iba eh. di ba meron rule sa anti-team orders?

if the only reason why alonso passed fisi was because of team orders, then you'd assume that the renaults would be running at about the same pace. however, as evidenced by the FORTY second lead of alonso, this is not the case

[BoyFerrari]

honestly, for fisi to wait for alonso would make absolutely no sense, because it would mean slowing down the (supposedly) faster of the two renaults.

Yes, it does make sense. There was no way Fisichella can catch up with Schumacher. The podium order was done at that stage: Ferrari-Renault-Renault. It's just a matter of who between the two Renaults should get 8 points. Should it be Fisi or Fernando? If you are Flavio Briatore, this is a no-brainer question. A Renault 2-3 finish will produce the same Constructors Points whoever finishes 2nd. So why blow the chances of your defending champion?

however, if you look at the HUGE gap (around 40 seconds, i believe) between the two renaults when they finished, you will see that it was alonso, and not fisichella that had the faster car.

Brotha, Jenson Button who was running 4th was a long way back! Why would Fisi even try to narrow the gap between him and Alonso after he just gave him the 2nd place spot? What meaning will it give to chase Alonso and narrow the gap between teammates? You are putting too much emphasis on that 40 seconds difference between the two when Fisi wouldn't even care less since Button was nowhere behind his back. Why put driving risks that could spin his car on the wet tracks when you are secured at 3rd place?

[bbt]

if you don't want to give credit to the gap between fisi and alonso, then focus on another gap; the one between alonso and schumi. aside from the time difference between himself and fisi, fernando also had to overcome the gap berween him and michael. and he was able to close this to a mere 3 seconds in the closing laps. something that, as you yourself have pointed out, fischella was NOT able to do.

[BoyFerrari]

if you don't want to give credit to the gap between fisi and alonso, then focus on another gap;

"Fisichella’s best lap was 1.746s slower than team-mate Alonso’s best. The Italian veteran by this point of the race had conceded first and then second positions and was cruising to the lower step of the podium."
http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/01102006/...-shanghai.html

I hope that settles the issue.

the one between alonso and schumi. aside from the time difference between himself and fisi, fernando also had to overcome the gap berween him and michael. and he was able to close this to a mere 3 seconds in the closing laps. something that, as you yourself have pointed out, fischella was NOT able to do.

"Michael Schumacher drove a great race for Ferrari to take the win from the disappointed Alonso. His best lap was almost a second slower than Alonso’s best but by that point, he had calculated that he need not push too hard to take the chequered flag first."

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/01102006/...-shanghai.html

I hope that settles the issue.

[number001]

"Michael Schumacher drove a great race for Ferrari to take the win from the disappointed Alonso. His best lap was almost a second slower than Alonso’s best but by that point, he had calculated that [SIZE="5"]he need not push too hard[/SIZE] to take the chequered flag first."

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/01102006/...-shanghai.html

I hope that settles the issue.

Indeed Michael went on a sort-of-cruise mode near the end.

Michael at the press conference:

"First of all, concerning Giancarlo, it was clear that turn one would be difficult because I had a moment there and I knew from practice that several drivers spun off so I took it reasonably easy, but even that was almost too fast so I was thought there could be an issue with Giancarlo and there was so I got that opportunity to dive in and that won the race. Afterwards it was obviously turning down the rpm and driving it home safely, with some doubts, obviously, because in between there were some drops of rain a couple of times and when you’re in such a comfortable position, you sort of have to weigh up and judge how much risk you want to take. Obviously I decided to play it safe. "

http://f1.racing-live.com/f1/en/head...01133539.shtml

[falken]

michael and alonso are now tied in the drivers championship!

good race for michael and ferrari!

A fight to the finish, there's no better way for Schumi to end his career.

[bbt]

"Michael Schumacher drove a great race for Ferrari to take the win from the disappointed Alonso. His best lap was almost a second slower than Alonso’s best but by that point, he had calculated that he need not push too hard to take the chequered flag first."

http://uk.sports.yahoo.com/01102006/...-shanghai.html

I hope that settles the issue.

that's not the point at all. the point is that, as you have previously mentioned, fisichella had NO chance of closing the gap between himself and schumacher. alonso, on the other hand, was able to close the gap. in other words, fernando alonso was indeed faster, and would not have needed to rely on team orders.

and i quote:

"On a wet track Renault’s Alonso swept to a 25-second advantage over Schumacher in the Ferrari prior to the first set of pit stops. But then things began to go wrong for the champion. First Schumacher stayed on the same set of intermediate Bridgestones during his stop, whereas Alonso changed his Michelin front inters. The new ones did not give him anything like the performance of his originals. Then, to compound everything, a sticking right rear wheel nut in Alonso's second stop cost him at least seven seconds.

...Alonso’s final set of dry tyres was back up to par, and he soon caught and passed his team mate and started to slash into Schumacher’s advantage."

-http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5045/767.html