PastyHusty

French GP Predictions
Top 8
1. F.Alonso.
2. M.Schumacher.
3. J.Trulli.
4. K.Raikkonen.
5. G.Fisichella.
6. R.Barrichello.
7. J.P.Montoya.
8. J.Button.

3 To Retire
- J.Villeneuve
- N.Karthikeyan
- C.Klien

Fastest Lap
K.Raikkonen

PastyHusty

Fernando Alonso does it again! and this time he blew away all of the field .. with the exception of the McLarens. This race might have had a different result if Raikkonen hadn't received a 10 place grid penalty. He had the pace to win from a higher grid position, but nonetheless, today belonged to Alonso and his incredible pace! I hope Renault and McLaren do very well again next weekend, but maybe we could have a closer race for 1st place this time.

Ferrari came to France with an improved car, but yet Schumacher finished almost a lap behind Alonso and a full minute adrift of Raikkonen. Barrichello faded from challenging for a podium to finish 9th. Ferrari still have a lot to do to challenge Renault and McLaren. Canada was luck .. America was lots of luck.

Congrats to BAR! finally they're off the mark for this season. If Button had had a bit more pace at the end of the race, then he might have even been able to challenge Schumacher for 3rd place. They've taken a step forward.

Toyota and Sauber had solid races, but the Toyotas still seem to lack a bit of race pace. Trulli can qualify high up, but then he ends up holding up a majority of the pack. If they can add a bit more speed to this package, then possibly Toyota will win a race before 2006!

Williams - awful, just awful.. VAST improvements are needed before next weekend and I can't see where they'll come from..

Minardi & Jordan - back to reality for them. Minardi will obviously have some concern about how both of their drivers went out of the race - left rear tyre failures (so I guess it isn't only Michellin with problems ) Jordan will be happy to simply finish above a driver from a team other than Minardi! .. poor Williams..

Bring on the British GP!


French Grand Prix Results
Finishers
1. F.Alonso. 70 Laps
2. K.Raikkonen. +11.8s
3. M.Schumacher. +81.9s
4. J.Button. +1 Lap
5. J.Trulli. +1 Lap
6. G.Fisichella. +1 Lap
7. R.Schumacher. +1 Lap
8. J.Villeneuve. +1 Lap
9. R.Barrichello. +1 Lap
10. D.Coulthard. +1 Lap
11. T.Sato. +1 Lap
12. M.Webber. +2 Laps
13. T.Monteiro. +3 Laps
14. N.Heidfeld. +4 Laps
15. N.Karthikeyan. +4 Laps

Retired
- J.P.Montoya. 46 Laps
- C.Albers. 37 Laps
- P.Friesacher. 33 Laps
- F.Massa. 30 Laps
- C.Klien. 1 Lap

Fastest Lap
K.Raikkonen. 1:16.423


Points Gained -

Lizzy - 32
Gert-Jan - 29
Neil - 23

Total Points After 10/19 Races
1. Neil. 145.
2. Gert-Jan. 124.
3. Lizzy. 98.

Things close up a bit, but we're still fairly spread out. If the points continued in this fashion for the next 3-5 races, then we'll be in for an exciting end-of-season battle!


I haven't had my fill of F1 action for today, so I'm off to a wet Malaysian track to try and win a GP for Raikkonen! He already took the 1st GP of the season, ahead of Alonso in 2nd and the two Ferraris 3rd and 4th. I love the new Formula 1 game!

DrTagnian

If Raikkonen didn't got that penalty, he'd probably have won the race. The Renauls and McLarens definitely have the fastest car.

It's interesting to see what happend between 2004 and 2005. Last year it was Ferrari, every race again. And now they don't stand a chance. They only finish high when other drivers have some problems ...

If I had more faith in Kimi Raikkonen I would gained much more points ... well, still 9 races to go.

PastyHusty

Fridays Practice Sessions
McLaren were once again quick! De La Rosa was easily quickest in both sessions - he was more than a second faster than the fastest race driver. Toyota's Zonta came second in both sessions.

As for the race drivers, the McLarens were quick. They were 4th & 6th in session 1, and 3rd & 4th in session 2. Button was 3rd quickest in the first session, but slipped to 11th in the second. Renault only set a quick lap in the second session, with Alonso 7th and Fisichella 13th. Ferrari were 10th and 15th in the second session.


Saturdays 1st Practice Session:
1. K.Raikkonen. 1:20.975
2. F.Alonso. 1:21.402
3. J.Button. 1:21.996
4. G.Fisichella. 1:21.331
5. J.P.Montoya. 1:21.377
6. T.Sato. 1:21.389
7. F.Massa. 1:22.413
8. M.Schumacher. 1:22.496
9. C.Klien. 1:22.645
10. R.Schumacher. 1:22.775
11. D.Coulthard. 1:23.026
12. R.Barrichello. 1:23.082
13. J.Villeneuve. 1:23.191
14. J.Trulli. 1:23.458
15. N.Heidfeld. 1:23.480
16. M.Webber. 1:23.705
17. T.Monteiro. 1:23.820
18. N.Karthikeyan. 1:24.230
19. C.Albers. 1:25.007
20. P.Friesacher. 1:25.696

Raikkonen and Alonso look very strong! Friday doesn't always give a fair impression of what to expect from certain teams during qualifying and the race, but Saturday can be a better estimate. BAR look like they could be in with a shout of a podium along with Renault, but regardless of where the McLarens qualify, they will be a strong force in the race.

Williams look like they'll be near the back again..


Pole Prediction:
K.Raikkonen.

EDIT:

Pole Prediction:
F.Alonso.

Raikkonen has had another engine failure..

DrTagnian

Pole Prediction:
F Alonso

Neil - Did you ever attended the British GP?

PastyHusty

British GP Qualifying
1. F.Alonso. 1:19.905
2. J.Button. 1:20.207
3. J.P.Montoya. 1:20.382
4. J.Trulli. 1:20.459
5. R.Barrichello. 1:20.906
6. G.Fisichella. 1:21.010
7. T.Sato. 1:21.114
8. R.Schumacher. 1:21.191
9. M.Schumacher. 1:21.275
10. J.Villeneuve. 1:21.352
11. M.Webber. 1:21.997
12. K.Raikkonen. 1:19.932
13. D.Coulthard. 1:22.108
14. N.Heidfeld. 1:22.117
15. C.Klien. 1:22.207
16. F.Massa. 1:22.495
17. N.Karthikeyan. 1:23.583
18. C.Albers. 1:24.576
19. P.Friesacher. 1:25.566
20. T.Monteiro. No Time

Raikkonen is on the pace again, but Alonso beat his time by 0.027 of a second! If Raikkonen wasn't put back 10 places due to the stupid engine change rule, then we'd be looking forward to a fantastic battle between F1's top 2 drivers atm! .. but alas Raikkonen will have to fight his way through. Still, Button, Trulli and Montoya should provide a good battle for the top places.


Prediction League
Pole - F.Alonso

Points Gained -

Neil - 3
Gert-Jan - 3

Total Points After Qualifying
1. Neil. 148.
2. Gert-Jan. 127.
3. Lizzy. 98.


Not yet!

ForeverInLoveWithJus

Kimi Raikkonen must have the worst luck ever. Wow.

DrTagnian

I wonder what exactly happend with his engine. It doesn't seem like Montoya has the problem ...

Which strategy does Raikkonen have, start 12th or start in the pit lane? I have a feeling Montoya doesn't have much fuel in his car and Schumacher has more fuel with him. I'm exciting to see how the race will turn out tomorrow.

Will it be in the near future?

PastyHusty

I can't see why he'd do anything different to last weekends race. He was able to put in a fantastic qualifying lap then, so it seems probable that he did the same with heavy fuel today. I think Montoya may have quite a bit of fuel too.

Schumacher made a mistake! .. enough so that cost one or two places.


Probably sometime within the next few years.

ForeverInLoveWithJus

I think that engine rule shows how stupid and unfair it is.