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2005 SAN MARINO F1 GRAND PRIX

2005 F1 GP: SAN MARINO GP: R4 of 19, April 24, 2005 IMOLA

RACE RESULT:

REVISED RESULT AFTER BAR & R SCHUMACHER PENALTY: MAY 5, 2005

• 1 Fernando Alonso, Renault
• 2 Michael Schumacher , Ferrari +0.2s
• 3 Jenson Button , BAR-Honda +10.4
• 4 Alex Wurz , McLaren-Mercedes +27.5
• 5 Trulli, Toyota
• 6 Heidfeld, Williams
• 7 Webber, Williams
• 8 Luizzi, Red Bull

SUN, APR 24, 2005; 62 LAP RACE

• 1 Fernando Alonso, Renault *** 3rd consecutive win ***
• 2 Michael Schumacher , Ferrari +0.2s
• 3 Jenson Button , BAR-Honda +10.4
• 4 Alex Wurz , McLaren-Mercedes +27.5
  "I am really happy with my result today. I drove a tactical race, particularly right before the first pitstop, when I needed to close the gap between Mark Webber and Takuma Sato. I managed to gain an advantage once they pitted and as a result came out ahead of them.I could have been faster; however early on in the race I was stuck in traffic, so could not close the gap to Jenson Button. I am pleased that the team gave me this opportunity and I did my best to justify their commitment to me. A shame for Kimi, he would have deserved a top result this weekend."
• 5 Takuma Sato , BAR-Honda +34.7
• 6 Villeneuve, Sauber +1m 4s
• 7 Trulli, Toyota
  "This was always going to be the hardest race of the year for Toyota, so the fact that we took home three points between us makes it a good day. I changed my set-up just before qualifying and I ended up suffering from oversteer late on, but we've limited the damage. I gave everything I had and kept fighting to the end and we took 7th place. When my new son Enzo arrived last week I felt determined to bring something home for him. It's not a trophy this time, but two points are enough for now!"
• 8 Ralf Schumacher , Toyota *** penalised 25s - revised placing 11th ***
  "To finish with both cars in the points here is a good result at this circuit which was always going to be a difficult one for us. I had no real problems other than the odd balance issue on one set of tyres and the guys did a great job for me - especially at the second pitstop. The eighth place arrived because we had such a perfect pitstop and we were able to catch the Williams in the pits. So a big thanks to all the guys and it's great that we can stay in second place in the constructors' championship."
• 9 Heidfeld *** revised placing 8th, due to Ralf Schumacher penalty ***
  "I lost a couple of places off the line and we obviously have to improve our starts. After that, Jarno held up the pack where I was for most of the time. I think towards the end of the race my pace was good enough to collect some points, but of course we want to be more competitive than just scoring points, so we must find more speed. I could catch up with Jarno and Ralf very quickly, but overtaking on this circuit was another matter. At the last pit-stop Ralf Schumacher got in front of me by forcing me to brake hard and avoid a crash."
• 10 Webber 11 Liuzzi 12 Massa 13 Coulthard 14 Karthikeyan 15 Monteiro
• DNF: Fisichella; Friesacher, Raikkonen, Barrichello
• LAP 9: Raikkonen retired after leading the race from the start; mechanical problem
  "Unfortunately my race was cut short as a result of a failure in the left driveshaft. Obviously I am disappointed as I had a great start and was really building on my lead. At least we know that the car has the pace in both qualifying as well as the race, and with some improvements due for Spain in two weeks I am looking forward to a good race there."

POST RACE REVIEW:

RENAULT

• Flavio Briatore: "I am very happy for the team and Fernando. He did an incredible job today, and the way he held off Michael in the last ten laps was incredible. I think this was a great race for Formula 1 and congratulations to Ferrari for their performance today. For me, this was a great afternoon for Renault and Fernando, but also for our sport. I would also like to thank Louis Schweitzer: this is the last F1 victory before he leaves his position as President of Renault, and we are proud to offer it to him."
• Fernando Alonso, Winner: "I think this was my best win in Formula 1 so far, because it was different to all the others: I didn't have a gap to allow me to be conservative, and I knew Michael was catching up from behind and that meant I had to push all the way through the race. In the end, it worked perfectly and things were very close in the final laps, but I was 99% sure he would not be able to overtake here in Imola. The car was good, but the race was the first time I had done more than three timed laps in a row this weekend because we were managing the engine very carefully: we had to make our best estimates with the set-up, and then each lap was a surprise as we discovered how the car changed. I lost some grip towards the end of the race but in the end, we did enough to get the win. Three in a row is a fantastic feeling, and I'm really looking forward to Spain: it will be a big party for everybody, and I think we can aim for the podium again."

FERRARI

• Jean Todt: "It was a thrilling race. It is clear we cannot be completely happy, given that Rubens was unable to finish the race because of an electrical problem, the cause of which we still have to identify. Michael had an exceptional race, starting thirteenth and finishing within a hair's breadth of the winner, who had a great race.I am happy for the team, for Michael, for Bridgestone and for Shell, with whom we have just renewed our agreement to the end of 2010. It was an important weekend on the contract front for the Scuderia, as we also signed an agreement to supply Red Bull Racing with our engines for the next two years.We like to respond with our actions and today's performance is our answer to those who thought we would not be more competitive again. We know that championship titles are obtained by winning races and that is what we will be trying to do in the next round in Barcelona."
• Michael Schumacher, 2nd: "I am happy in one way and excited after such a race, but on the other hand, I am disappointed after making a mistake this morning, when I braked on a bump with a full fuel load and locked up a wheel. If not for that, this would have been a perfect day for us.But I have a second place and it is due to a stunning effort from everyone, the engineers, the test team, Luca Badoer, Marc Gene and everyone else who worked flat out since the last race. And big, big thanks to Bridgestone whose performance today is just a first step and there is more to come from them. There is more to come from us too and we are still in the fight.I was helped in getting past Jenson because the two Williams put some dust on the track and Jenson slipped on it a bit. I could see that Fernando was not that quick, but there was never a real opportunity to have a proper go at passing him. Basically, he had a good race today and made no mistakes. That's why he won and I did not."

BAR-HONDA

• Jenson Button, 3rd: "It's fantastic to be back on the podium again after such a great weekend for the team. It looks like we are very much back in the game. The past three races have been tough for all of us at B*A*R Honda and it's fantastic to have put that behind us here today. Everyone has worked incredibly hard - night and day in fact - to turn things around and I have to say a huge 'thank you' to everyone for their efforts. It was an incredible race and a great feeling to be as strong as we were in the early stages. We lost out towards the end when I got a bad run up the hill from Aqua Minerale and Michael was able to get beside me going into the Variante Alta.Fighting him in that position could have put me out of the race, so I decided to play safe and ensure we got home and dry with a podium and our first points to show for it. As we saw here today there is so much more potential though and we can be stronger still if we maintain the momentum and keep fighting for that win."

CIRCUIT: Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola

• first opened in 1941
• first Formula 1 race in 1952
• dedicated to Dino Ferrari in 1970 ; dedicated to Enzo Ferrari in 1988
• 4.933 km / 3.066 mile circuit
• top speed approx 310 kph; av approx 220 kph
• Anti-clockwise circuit
  (1 of only 3; the others are Interlagos in Brazil; and the new Turkish circuit)
• 2004 winner: M Schumacher, Ferrari
• 2003 winner: M Schumacher, Ferrari
• 2002 winner: M Schumacher, Ferrari
• 2001 winner: R Schumacher, Williams BMW
• 2000 winner: M Schumacher, Ferrari
• RACE DAY WEATHER FORECAST: overcast, cool, temp 13° C

• WURZ FILLS IN FOR INJURED MONTOYA
• RED BULL TO USE FERRARI ENGINE IN 2006
• NICO ROSBERG BECOMES WILLIAMS 2ND TEST DRIVER
• BEFORE RACE, ALONSO: "I am leading the championship and have the best opportunity of my career to be in a winning car, and celebrate each victory. When we talk about the championship, we should not do it based on the first three races -- it is the last three or four races of the season that will be the important ones ... We know it will be a long year, so I just want to continue enjoying myself, and keep working as hard as I can."
• BEFORE RACE, M SCHUMACHER: "We have a new aero package here, on the tyre side we have improved, or we have a different construction at least .... We are as confident as you can be with a Formula One car, honestly. A Formula One car is a prototype and it might stop at any point in any day. It hasn't been doing that for a long, long time for me. In Bahrain I stopped because of a problem with last year's part but they can still fail at certain times but I think we have a good record and we shouldn't be too concerned."

QUALIFYING:

GRID

• 1 Kimi Raikkonen , McLaren-Mercedes
  "I am happy with the result, however we are still only half way there and we have to see how we do in the race. The car has felt really good all weekend. Our strategy should be strong and I believe we can continue to be on the pace this afternoon."
• 2 Fernando Alonso, Renault
• 3 Jenson Button , BAR-Honda
• 4 Mark Webber , Williams-BMW
• 5 Jarno Trulli , Toyota
• 6 Takuma Sato , BAR-Honda
• 7 Alex Wurz , McLaren-Mercedes
• 8 Nick Heidfeld , Williams-BMW
• 9 Rubens Barrichello
• 10 Ralf Schumacher
• 11 Villeneuve 12 Fisichella 13 M Schumacher 14 Coulthard 15 Liuzzi 16 Karthikeyan 17 Monteiro 18 Massa 19 Friesacher 20 Albers

SAT, QUAL 1, APR 23, 2005

• 1 Kimi Raikkonen , McLaren-Mercedes 1m 19.886 (2004 pole: 1m 19.753 Button)
  "The car has felt really good all weekend here. I pushed as hard as I could, and I am pleased to finally have completed a good qualifying lap. The car suits this circuit better than the previous tracks. It will now be interesting to see how the fuel loads of the competition will influence qualifying and the race tomorrow. However I feel positive as we have demonstrated this year that we are strong in the race."
• 2 Fernando Alonso, Renault +0.003
  "We prepared for the race a little bit differently this weekend, not running many laps, but everything was ready for qualifying. Historically, this has been quite a tough track for our team and so it is a nice surprise to be not only competitive, but fighting for pole position. Looking at our rivals, it's not just McLaren and Ferrari that we need to take into account, but Williams and BAR too who looked very fast today"
• 3 Michael Schumacher , Ferrari +0.37
  "I am very pleased with my lap time this afternoon, especially considering I went out quite early in the running order and given that, if we have a slightly weak spot, it is in the one lap performance. But it is clear we have improved in this area ... I think we can be in the fight for the win on Sunday, It will be tight and tough, but the opportunity is there."
• 4 Mark Webber , Williams-BMW +0.55
• 5 Jenson Button , BAR-Honda +0.57
• 6 Jarno Trulli , Toyota +0.6
  "That was a pretty good qualifying session for me, and I managed to put together a clear lap to keep up my record of top six finishes from first qualifying this year. Obviously we knew this would be a tougher weekend than the last two races, but we are still in a strong position on a very tight grid. Now we hope to capitalize on that tomorrow so that we can add a few more points to my season's tally so far."
• 7 Felipe Massa , Sauber-Petronas
• 8 Alex Wurz , McLaren-Mercedes
• 9 Nick Heidfeld , Williams-BMW
• 10 Takuma Sato , BAR-Honda
• 11 Barrichello 12 Ralf Schumacher 13 Villeneuve 14 Coulthard 15 Fisichella
• 16 Liuzzi 17 Karthikeyan 18 Monteiro 19 Albers 20 Friesacher

FRI, SESSION 2, APR 22, 2005

• 1 *Pedro de la Rosa , McLaren-Mercedes 1m 20.484
• 2 Jenson Button , BAR-Honda +0.56
• 3 Kimi Raikkonen , McLaren-Mercedes +1.2
• 4 *Ricardo Zonta , Toyota
• 5 Fernando Alonso, Renault
  "Today was primarily a tyre test: we got good results on clean runs, and now have the data we need to make our choice. On the set-up side, we are still lacking in grip but I think it will come from the circuit as it rubbers in more on the racing line. The R25 seems quite competitive at this track, and that gives me good confidence for the rest of the weekend."
• 6 Michael Schumacher , Ferrari
  "The car seems to be very strong in most areas and today went well. I am happy with the handling and I had a well balanced car right from the start of the first session, which meant we could get a lot of work done.It is important at this track to have a car with good brakes and one that rides well over the kerbs and the F2005 seems to do that. BAR's performance was interesting, but we need to know if they were running at race pace or if they were on a light fuel load. I think we can be confident for qualifying and the race."
• 7 Barrichello , Ferrari
• 8 Wurz 9 Fisichella 10 Sato
• 11 Massa 12 Villeneuve 13 Trulli 14 Heidfeld 15 R Schumacher 16 Coulthard 17 Karthikeyan 18 Webber 19 *Klien 20 Monteiro 21 Liuzzi 22 Doornbos 23 Friesacher

FRI SESSION TECH REVIEW:

• FERRARI (R BRAWN, Tech Dir): "We were able to do a lot of laps today, as we had plenty of "spare" mileage on the engines as we did not do so many in Bahrain. That has helped to give us a much better picture of the situation and plenty of data for the engineers to use in working on set-up.So, it has been a very productive day. We have seen the classic situation where the softer tyre is quicker on the first lap, but degrades a bit more, while the harder tyre is not so quick on lap one, but is more consistent. We will have to analyse the situation before making a decision on tyres as, at the moment, it is not yet an obvious choice.In general, we are pleased with the performance and the drivers are happy with the cars. We still have enough laps left on the engines to do a good morning's work tomorrow. Another factor to take into account is that the track condition is going to improve all the way up to the race."
• RENAULT (Denis Chevrier, Head of Engine Operations): "We had a trouble-free day in every area. On the chassis side, the focus was on the tyres, while the engine group's main task was to check everything was working correctly with the B spec engine in Fisico's car. He ran plenty of laps to calibrate the engine and its mapping, which we managed to complete without difficulty. It is always hard to draw conclusions from the results on the first day of the race weekend, but I think we have certainly made a good start."

FRI, SESSION 1, APR 22, 2005

• 1 *Pedro de la Rosa , McLaren-Mercedes
• 2 *Ricardo Zonta , Toyota
• 3 Jenson Button , BAR-Honda
• 4 M Schumacher , Ferrari
• 5 *Klien, Red Bull-Cosworth
• 6 Sato, BAR-Honda
• 7 Raikkonen 8 Heidfeld 9 Wurz 10
• 11 Barrichello 12 Liuzzi 13 Coulthard 14 Massa 15 Villeneuve
• *RESERVE DRIVER

2005 RACE PREVIEW:

• FERRARI
• McLAREN-MERCEDES
• TOYOTA
• RENAULT
• BAR HONDA
• WILLIAMS-BMW

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