McLaren 1-2 at the Brazilian GP 2006

[mazdamazda]

This was the first 1-2 finish of any manufacturer for this season.

But this was overshadowed by the fact that Alonso is already considered the virtual 2006 driver's champ.

But the hunt for the constructor's championship is still on, with McLaren finally edging Renault in the standing. Ferrari is a comfortable 3rd.

[BoyFerrari]

The final 9 laps of this Brazilian GP has become boring... I actually changed channels then came back at the final lap. This was because Fernando Alonso was obviously cruising and happy with himself in 3rd place and had no plans or whatsoever to try and catch up with the McLarens.

The only highlight worthy of interest for me was the first time Montoya tried to overtake Alonso for P1 while flat-out. It was a neck-to-neck rocket race between the two on that long straight length of the circuit. There was no driving skill required. It was just a battle of the engines. You can really see that when it comes to speed, the Mercedes engine is really faster than the Renault.

[squala]

The final 9 laps of this Brazilian GP has become boring... I actually changed channels then came back at the final lap. This was because Fernando Alonso was obviously cruising and happy with himself in 3rd place and had no plans or whatsoever to try and catch up with the McLarens.

The only highlight worthy of interest for me was the first time Montoya tried to overtake Alonso for P1 while flat-out. It was a neck-to-neck rocket race between the two on that long straight length of the circuit. There was no driving skill required. It was just a battle of the engines. You can really see that when it comes to speed, the Mercedes engine is really faster than the Renault.

Alonso himself admitted that he did not give Montoya a challenge to overtake him so that he can safely take himself to the WDC title. He claims that his style will be much different in the last 2 races, at least if Renault don't give Fisi the better car for a change. :D

[BoyFerrari]

Alonso himself admitted that he did not give Montoya a challenge to overtake him so that he can safely take himself to the WDC title. He claims that his style will be much different in the last 2 races, at least if Renault don't give Fisi the better car for a change. :D

Atleast the last 2 races will still be interesting with the McLaren and the Renault at dead-even in the Constructor's Championship. It still makes sense for both Alonso and Kimi to win the last 2 races to get full points for their teams.

In fact, if Kimi will win both final races. He can still be the World Champion that never was - since he has won more GP races than Alonso. The only thing that prevented Kimi from being a champion was his Mercedes engine blew-up several times in the early races + tire problem in the European GP that sent him into the wall.

[cardo]

Kimi is my champion

[mantoy]

watch out for mclaren next year.

[kimpOy]

the iceman havent cometh...

yet

[mini_macky]

will ferrari bounce back kaya? sana...hehehe

[bumags]

yah!


si Kimi ang SUGO!


abangan ang pagbabalik!

[niky]

Hmm... gogogo Montoya. Kimi may be up and coming, but Montoya has now won how many? :lol:

I know, JPM is old news and not in the hunt, but give him a good car and (sometimes) a slippery track, and he shines.

What would be interesting next year is if Kimi, Fernando and Schuey get evenly matched cars... that would make it an exciting race.

[squala]

Montoya had an off at the start, risking a shoulder injury that made him sit out 2 races. It took time for him to regain his true form, but at least he's back.

My real champion is Raikkonen. As I said, he races in more or less equal conditions to his teammate unlike Alonso. Haters will criticize him of winning because he always got the better car. Fisichella also claimed before that his misfortunes are his partner's benefits. Having to race a slower and/or less reliable car, his only win was in Australia, let alone Alonso having qualified 13th. Team principal Flavio Briatore simply said Fisi is made to race and not complain, and that he can leave anytime. Sorry to say, but Alonso's title victory is very much like Schumacher's, with the help of a second fiddle. If the young Spaniard is really to prove himself, he must race equal cars.

As for the constructor's title, the McLaren pair simply has to finish all the remaining races. Besides, no one can challenge their pace.

[BoyFerrari]

Although I'm a natural Schumi fan, my money is on Raikkonen. I like his driving style and calculated moves. Montoya is too prone to stupid car crashes and senseless driving errors. The last incidents with Pizzonia and Monteiro were forgettable finishes. But that's just me.

[empy]

i am confused. Alonso doesn't deserve his championship??

ok, so Alonso has an advantage over his teammate Fisichella because Renault gives him their 'better' car to race.

but Alonso, on his way to the driver's championship, has regulary beaten guys like Montoya and Raikkonen, whose McLarens are by accounts better than either car that Renault fields. i'm not even mentioning Ferrari and Williams at this point.

so how is Alonso not deserving? i don't get it :confused:

[mazdamazda]

Err... what the difference between the two R25s?

Both have the same spec sheet. It is up to the driver (during testing) to fine-tune the car for a particular track (btw, this is one of Schumi's strong points). Alonso might be getting away with longer testing hours than Fisi but basically that's the only difference. There is no really "better" car per se.

For the record too, Alonso has a better record than Fisi. Alonso's previous highest finish was 4th overall (2004 season) while Fisi only managed 6th overall a few years back.

[BoyFerrari]

Err... what the difference between the two R25s?

Both have the same spec sheet. It is up to the driver (during testing) to fine-tune the car for a particular track (btw, this is one of Schumi's strong points). Alonso might be getting away with longer testing hours than Fisi but basically that's the only difference. There is no really "better" car per se.

That's what appears from the outside, but from the inside, there is always a strategy which revolves around the "star" player. If you're with the LA Lakers before, you should know that you should get the ball to Shaq. The same way that Rubens is the Plan B for Ferrari, and Schumi is always the Plan A. Same with Kimi and JP. Same with Alonso and Fisi. Even the pit-stop strategy of each team is designed to favor the star driver. Even the Jordan Team favors Monteiro over Narain.

[mantoy]

kudos to mclaren. while kimi has shone better than montoya, i foresee exciting races between them next year.

[niky]

Schumacher's wins were because he basically imported his championship winning squad from the Benetton team to the Ferrari team. Schumi is a great driver, but he knows the value of a great engineer.

Alonso does get the better engineers for setting up his car, but that's only because he's already proven himself to Briatore. And Briatore is notorious for not liking drivers. If you can't play with him, tough... as he said, Fisi can always leave.

It's every team boss's biggest decision in terms of a season strategy, on which driver to spend the most time and effort. After testing and a few races, they generally put all their chips on the better driver. Kimi over Montoya, Fernando over Giancarlo, Schumi over... well, just about all of his partners...

And note: Kimi is OBVIOUSLY McLaren's star, but JPM has been able to shine with quite a number of victories this season. Even if you're second fiddle, you don't have to take it lying down or crying like a baby... just COMPETE.

[cardo]

Pinag aagawan nga ng ferrari at mclaren si kimi notice all the rumours about his transfer? Alonso? I don't know any rumors about him hehehe.

Kimi is my champion. Alonso? Well, all I can say is that he's consistent on his points finishes... and he's one dang lucky SOB hehe If Montoya was able to finish last time in spa kung di lang sya binangga ni pizzonia... and if Monty held his position in Turkey? I guess Kimi would still be fighting for it

Ganda sana if it was like in 2000 where Schumi and Mika went on to battle for the champsionship until the last race in suzuka. I remember that qualifying where they battled for Pole, separating each other by 1/1000 of a second. They traded lap times that day. grabe! ilang beses din yun. but race day, it rained abit and mika got his setup wrong, schumi went on to clinch the title.

I think Alonso's championship is somewhat similar to Kimi's 2003 year. Notice how Kimi was able to keep up with MS last 2003 but kimi only won 1 gp? It was because he had a reliable car back then and he was consistent on his podium finishes. But he kinda faded on the last remaining races that year.

Si montoya kase, his driving style is like "take no prisoners" Last year andami nya DNF's all because I think he was too aggressive either on the start(approaching a corner) or on overtaking. but he is fast when he gets his head down.

Mazda,

pareho din naman kotse ni schumi at rubens hehehe.


I think within the organization, may agreement na sila, if a driver is obviously a championship contender most(if not all) of the resources shifts their attention to him(although it is denied publicly). mika and david had a gentleman's agreement in 98 as well in the austrailian gp and mika won the championship... well, ferrari we all know who gets what on that team hehehe.

[squala]

i am confused. Alonso doesn't deserve his championship??

ok, so Alonso has an advantage over his teammate Fisichella because Renault gives him their 'better' car to race.

but Alonso, on his way to the driver's championship, has regulary beaten guys like Montoya and Raikkonen, whose McLarens are by accounts better than either car that Renault fields. i'm not even mentioning Ferrari and Williams at this point.

so how is Alonso not deserving? i don't get it :confused:

That's because Alonso's car kept finishing. Otherwise Kimi is champion.

Schumacher's wins were because he basically imported his championship winning squad from the Benetton team to the Ferrari team. Schumi is a great driver, but he knows the value of a great engineer.

Alonso does get the better engineers for setting up his car, but that's only because he's already proven himself to Briatore. And Briatore is notorious for not liking drivers. If you can't play with him, tough... as he said, Fisi can always leave.

It's every team boss's biggest decision in terms of a season strategy, on which driver to spend the most time and effort. After testing and a few races, they generally put all their chips on the better driver. Kimi over Montoya, Fernando over Giancarlo, Schumi over... well, just about all of his partners...

And note: Kimi is OBVIOUSLY McLaren's star, but JPM has been able to shine with quite a number of victories this season. Even if you're second fiddle, you don't have to take it lying down or crying like a baby... just COMPETE.

No, McLaren favor both drivers. Mechanical failures leading to DNFs occur to either KR or JPM, not just to one driver. Fisi had a number of failed races because of car imperfection while Alonso only had a shunt in Canada, caused by his own doing. There was never a time when Giancarlo's car was better. As I said, he won in OZ only because Fernando was several positions behind. In Ferrari, there was one time when Rubens had to trade cars with Michael because the former's was set up slightly better. If I'm not mistaken, this was during the 2002 San Marino GP.

[empy]

That's because Alonso's car kept finishing. Otherwise Kimi is champion.

:bwahaha: please don't be offended, but what you said is just plain ridiculous. DNF's are a part of racing and if you don't finish, you LOSE. simple.

i suppose we should say that the real NBA eastern conference champion should be the Miami Heat because both Shaq and Wade were injured when they lost to the Pistons...?