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Good race in general, bad race for Minardi. A parade it was not!
Positives:
#Webbo's podium (and well done Nick)
#Kimi imperious - what a season we have
#Jarno's move on Fisi
#Minardi boys had a great early race ...
Negatives:
#Our drivers showed their inexperience - Paddy, in particular, fouled up a great weekend. Early on he was posting 1'20.6s and Tiago was 21.2. By L11 Paddy was 20.00 and Albers 23" behind him. Tiago was further back still posting 21.2.
Then Chris span and, worse to come, Paddy locked up under braking. Bad luck boys but I can't pretend I'm happy!
#Jacques to be sacked?
# DC was looking good until he was hit
Comments
"Fisichella’s dogged defence of his fifth place came undone on lap 67 when Jarno Trulli made a very optimistic move into the Grand Hotel Hairpin, putting his Toyota over the kerb and effectively forcing the Italian to run wide ..."
A little harsh on Trulli. Good move, I thought - in fact he didn't have to take as much kerb as he did. Was his car damaged? Blundell said, after pit inspection, it was found to be OK.
Nick's move on Alonso was much cleaner than Webbo's but, I guess, Alonso was so pissed off at that stage he was going beyond what is acceptable - anyway, Webbo finished in front. That's all that matters.
Overtaking: JPM was great at the start - Ralf was poor. Webbo is not as assured as others. Rubens was faffing about too - Schumi couldn't contain himself behind his team-mate. Amazing last lap.
PS - Jenson was very interesting in the ITV comm box.
After 38 laps I nearly fell asleep but beyond that point it became quite a good race. Awesome move by Heidfeld.
Alonso to be punished (for staying ahead of webber after clipping the chicane)?
roll on nurburgring!
But i'm stoked anyway. :D
Alonso played a bit of dirty pool there at the end. :spank:
And where was the penalty for Schumi crossing the yellow line? :rolleyes:
And Patrick was doing great before his crash
As simon pointed out he was half a track ahead of monteiro.
Shame he did the mistake, his weekend had been fantastic till then.
Albers made his usual accident, by know it seems strange to me when he doesn't crash once a weekend. He's meant to become the new De Cesaris.
In general I have to say it was nice anyway to see Minardi struggling in the middle for a while, it hasn't happened for a long time. I'm glad for this weekend, we're improving a lot.
Can't believe Alonso wasn't punished for what he did to Webber. That was a stupid move.
Heidfeld made an excellent race, he should teach his teammate how to start.
Webber's face on the podium wasn't that happy.
Antway, williams is back, and that's noce for the show.
Renault has great problems. In the last laps Alonso and Fisico couldn't drive the car, Fisichella was overtaken by 4 cars in a lap. And this is the 3rd time in a row that Renault gets so bad in the final stint of the race.
I guess Robot-Kimi can catch Alonso, the mclaren looks fantastic now.
Proves they're trying.
And, btw, I'm not sure Patrick's accident was a mistake of his, the car looked strange, it could have been a mechanical problem.
I think we have to be glad anyway for this weekend
And, btw, I'm not sure Patrick's accident was a mistake of his, the car looked strange, it could have been a mechanical problem.
I think we have to be glad anyway for this weekend
It's a shame Pat dropped it but he was running really strongly up until that point and if not for Chis's spin he would have been way in front of Montiero, but we've now got to translate these improvements into finishing in front of the Jordans at Nurburgring to help the championship standings.
I think on balance though far more positive than negative to be taken from the weekend
Mark made comment in the post race interviews that his clutch slipped at the start again (and as it's not a foot clutch, we can safely assume that it's not his doing - you're just releasing a steering wheel mounted lever, after all), but what i'd really like to see is Mark have a race where he starts from the clean side of the track! He always seems to be on the dirty side whether that's an odd or even number....... :(
3rd tonight was the dirty side. 2nd was the dirty side in Barcelona. 4th was the dirty side in Imola....... :mad:
Was he not still on the lead lap?
If so, how on earth did he end up well over a lap down, and behind a car that had to change it's nose?
Freisacher has to use his head. Why push like that early on. He's not under threat. Total brian fade.
P1 if your suggesting that it was a mechanical fault that caused Webber's poor start I find it hard to believe. Heidfeld used the same mechanism. Heidfeld outraced Webber today. I told you Heidfeld is an outstanding racing driver. That moce on Alonso was sheer elegance.
Well at least Minardi got 1 car to the end.
Swervemaker slapped in a 1 15.8 lap So not a lot wrong with Bridgestone's rubber. Its down to Toit to find the grip from the off!
If he was Alex Yoong by now this forum will be all wars!:P
in Nurburbring we will see whether the car really progressed.
Why you are picking at Christijan???
He did some small mistakes in the practices but he drove the car clean in the last races, I think you must shut your mouth about Christijan cause he is doing a good job for us, same thing for Patrick.
Patrick did also crash this weekend and in spain, they are rookies and if you look at their work till now there doing a great job!!!
Mind your attiude Saldo!
Don't like it when you say such of stupid things about owher driver.
And what do you now about driving a Formula 1 car??
If he was Alex Yoong by now this forum will be all wars!:P
in Nurburbring we will see whether the car really progressed. [/quote]
What the fuck??
Albers did only make a mistake in spain and in the first practice in Monaco and in the race.
I think you better respect the guy, he was alot faster then Patrick in the last races till Monaco and is doing a great job for us, he has a great attiude to the team and also to his teammate, he let him by at the start because Patrick was on a 2 stop strategy.
Think twice before you say something!
The guy is a rookie and is learning, if you look at his pace now his shows potential!!!!
Forza Chris, Patrick and Minardi!!!
Trulli's move on Fisico was very stupid. He could have passed Fisico easily after the tunnel, instead he had to do a kamakaze-manouver at the hairpin that cost him the race and some good points.
FIRST CHEQUERED FLAG FOR THE PS05
MONTE CARLO, MONACO, May 22, 2005 – The 2005 Monaco Grand Prix didn’t yield the result that been hoped for, but the Minardi F1 Team will nevertheless leave the Principality substantially encouraged by the events of the weekend. At the top of the list, Christijan Albers’ 14th-place finish in today’s event marked the first Formula One race finish for the Minardi Cosworth PS05, introduced at the recent San Marino Grand Prix, and indicates that the hard-working Faenza squad has made substantial progress with vehicle reliability. In addition, the pace of Albers and team mate, Patrick Friesacher, both in qualifying and in the race, shows the team is beginning to unlock some of the undoubted potential of the new car. Driving in their first-ever Monaco Grand Prix, both Minardi drivers had eventful races today. Albers spun at the hairpin on lap 23, but eventually took the chequered flag after a gritty drive, while Friesacher, on a two-stop strategy as opposed to his team mate’s single stop, put in a series of impressive laps up to his scheduled pit stop on lap 24. Unfortunately, the handling of his car had deteriorated after the stop, with the result that the young Austrian had an encounter with Monaco’s notoriously unyielding barriers that caused his retirement from the race.
CHRISTIJAN ALBERS Best lap: 1 min 20.237 secs Position: 14th
“I had a good start and got ahead of Patrick, but I left him some space, as he was running a two-stop strategy and I was on one stop, and it wouldn’t have been fair to hold him up. After that, during the first few laps, I experienced a problem with the rear of the car when I was braking out of the tunnel, but we were able to solve that a couple of laps later. I was then able to race at a good pace, considering the fuel load, but started losing overall grip, even in the tunnel. The situation was the same after the stop, but then, in the last 11 or 12 laps of the race, the problem disappeared and I was again able to run at a good pace. We now need to look through the data to understand what was happening, and improve the car for Nurburgring. Obviously, I had that spin in the hairpin, and I still don’t understand what caused it, so we will have to examine that as well. Fortunately, I managed to keep the engine running after the spin, and was able to continue. It was a shame for the other drivers who became involved in the incident, but unfortunately, that is racing, and particularly racing here in Monaco.”
PATRICK FRIESACHER Best lap: 1 min 19.037 secs Position: DNF
“I made a good start to the race, and the car was working really well right up to the time when the Safety Car came out. After it went in, though, the back end of the car felt really strange, almost like there was a puncture. On the lap I spun, I just touched the brakes at the chicane and the rear snapped away. It’s a real shame, because up to that point our race pace had been good and the car was working well. I also feel badly for the guys, who, once again, have put in a huge amount of work this weekend, but at least Christijan got to the finish, and that, plus our qualifying performances this weekend, are encouraging.”
PAUL STODDART, Team Principal, Minardi Cosworth
“Considering this marks the first Formula One finish for the Minardi Cosworth PS05, and we were ahead of our nearest rivals on race pace, I really feel that serious progress has been made this weekend. Despite both cars struggling to maintain grip during certain stages of the race, Christijan soldiered on to achieve a well-deserved finish, while Patrick, having had his best weekend in Formula One thus far, sadly did not get to see the chequered flag. The whole team has put in an outstanding effort this weekend, and it’s now onwards and upwards to the next race.”
- Ends -
Chassis allocation – 2005 Grand Prix of Monaco
Friesacher (No 20) PS05/02
Albers (No 21) PS05/01
Spare car (Friesacher) PS05/03
[Edited on 22/5/2005 by Ger]
Renault showed more than a touch of TOIT-style arrogance in regard to their fuel strategy. I don't believe the decision was made on the fly, but was rather a contingency if the safety car came out after XX laps.
In any event it was a crap decision and whilst it made things exciting to watch, if Williams had done it, they would have been lambasted by the critics.
Fernando was child-like in his reaction to Webber's moves and should have been penalised. Heidfeld though was brilliant in his execution of his move. He picked it exactly right with Fernando concentrating on how he was going to pass the back-marker in front.
Trulli makes me wonder. It's like he's sleeping for most of the race and then suddenly; BANZAI!! Anyway, he gave the fish what Renault deserved, and that matters.
Rubinho gets a speeding fine and the Swervemaker gets away with a line touch. That WILL cause controversy the next time someone gets pinged for it.
Funny place Monaco, and I think that it probably flattered the Minardis a bit. Friedchicken was fabulous; agressive and quick. So he planted it, a shame, but he was never going to be in the points. I like his attitude. Monaco really suits some drivers, whilst others just can't come to terms withit, and I think this is where Albers really is. Unlikely that he would admit it though. I tend to think that he will come good from here on and outpace the young Jedi.
Trying to think back, and I can't recall the last time the Minardi had to have a serious visit to the panel shop. I have often thought that our drivers over the past four, or five seasons have performed remarkably whilst keeping the repair costs to a minimum.
Jordanski (for we must admit that the Sawbones has coined a good name) look just sad. Sad on the track, sad in the media, and sad in the garage. I'm trying to find some pity, but keep seeing those thirty pieces of silver.
Kimi was just there all weekend and one wonders whether Renault are going to be able to keep up as time progresses. I keep thinking of how they faded towards the end of both of the last seasons. He is making Montoya look bad. Let's face it, the Columbian is 80 minutes of ego and two minutes of brilliance. He'd have no place in my team.
TOIT reduced to sqaubling among themselves. Snicker.
Thought the Albers incident was quite amusing as a car park formedl the cars ground to a halt.
I think we were unlucky at the safety car period as we got trapped behind the safety car due to been lapped by Kimi at just the wrong moment. If we hadn't of been they would of let us pass to rejoin the back of the field. This allowed Monteiro to practically gain a lap on Albers as he was at the back of the pack whilst Albers was stuck at the front.
But from what I saw, his right front wheel was on the red/white kerb, and when he braked there was no traction for that tyre, which caused the wiggle and subsequent spin...