Japanese F1 are bewildered. Once they had three Formula One teams, two grand prix tracks and several drivers but there is little left to cheer.
Jenson Button has vowed to keep his focus and avoid errors as the race to the Formula One drivers title hots up after the Japanese Grand Prix.
Renault’s Fernando Alonso had a second successive Formula One title in his grasp on Sunday after Michael Schumacher’s hopes went up in smoke at the Japanese Grand Prix. The 25-year-old Spaniard cruised to a stunning victory after his Ferrari rival pulled over with a blown engine 17 laps from the end.
Brazilian Felipe Massa took pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix on Saturday with championship-leading teammate Michael Schumacher alongside on an all-Ferrari front row. While Schumacher moved a step closer to an unprecedented eighth world championship before retirement, his Renault title rival Fernando Alonso qualified only fifth.
Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher put Renault’s Fernando Alonso on red alert after lapping nearly two seconds faster than his title rival in Saturday’s final Japanese Grand Prix practice. Schumacher, chasing an unprecedented eighth world championship before retirement, clocked a time of one minute 30,653 seconds on a bright but gusty morning at Suzuka.
Michael Schumacher is counting on all his years of experience to make the difference in his neck-and-neck Formula One title battle with Renault’s Fernando Alonso. ”I’ve been in this situation for many, many years so I know pretty much how to handle it,” the Ferrari driver said on Thursday.
A repeat of last month’s Italian Grand Prix in Japan this weekend would be Michael Schumacher’s dream and Fernando Alonso’s nightmare. Ferrari’s Schumacher can clinch an unprecedented eighth world championship at Suzuka if he wins and Renault’s Alonso fails to score a point — exactly what happened at Monza two races ago.
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/ 10 October 2005
Formula-one critics often complain that there is not enough passing in grand prix races. Well, there was a whole lot of passing going on at the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday and Kimi Raikkonen made his last one the best with a winning move past Giancarlo Fisichella entering the last lap.
Kimi Raikkonen produced a stunning performance to race through the field and secure his seventh win of the year in the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka on Sunday. The Finn started from 17th on the grid after a rain-affected qualifying and snatched the lead from Italian Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella on the final lap of the race.
A proposed return to Formula One tyre change pitstops next season is likely to meet with strong opposition from the teams, McLaren boss Ron Dennis warned on Sunday. The suggestion was included in a list of possible changes to the draft sporting regulations for 2006 sent to all the team chiefs by the sport’s governing body, the FIA.
Six-time Japanese Grand Prix winner Michael Schumacher suffered a setback in preparation for this weekend’s race here at Suzuka on Saturday when he crashed in the morning practice session. Persistent overnight rain soaked the track and limited running in both 45-minute practice sessions but Schumacher was the first to brave the weather spun into the barriers in the opening session.
Kimi Raikkonen suffered a disaster ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix when his McLaren failed halfway through opening practice as his teammate Pedro de la Rosa topped the times here on Friday. Finn Raikkonen has become accustomed to problems with his rapid but unreliable McLaren this year.
New world champion Fernando Alonso insisted on Thursday that seven-time title winner Michael Schumacher can make a comeback next season despite his nightmare year in 2005. Schumacher saw his five-year reign dramatically concluded this season after his Ferrari team slumped behind Alonso’s Renault team and current championship runner-up Kimi Raikkonen’s McLaren outfit.