Results from the 2005 German Grand Prix
1. 5 ALONSO
Renault M 1h26'28"599
2. 10 MONTOYA
McLaren Mercedes M + 0'22"569
3. 3 BUTTON
BAR Honda M + 0'24"422
4. 6 FISICHELLA
Renault M + 0'50"587
5. 1 M.SCHUMACHER
Ferrari B + 0'51"690
6. 17 R.SCHUMACHER
Toyota M + 0'52"242
7. 14 COULTHARD
RedBull Cosworth M + 0'52"700
8. 12 MASSA
Sauber Petronas M + 0'56"570
9. 15 KLIEN
RedBull Cosworth M + 1'09"818
10. 2 BARRICHELLO
Ferrari B 1 lap(s)
11. 8 HEIDFELD
Williams BMW M 1 lap(s)
12. 4 SATO
BAR Honda M 1 lap(s)
13. 21 ALBERS
Minardi Cosworth B 2 lap(s)
14. 16 TRULLI
Toyota M 3 lap(s)
15. 11 VILLENEUVE
Sauber Petronas M 3 lap(s)
16. 19 KARTHIKEYAN
Jordan Toyota B 3 lap(s)
17. 18 MONTEIRO
Jordan Toyota B 3 lap(s)
18. 20 DOORNBOS
Minardi Cosworth B 4 lap(s)
19. 7 WEBBER
Williams BMW M 12 lap(s)
20. 9 RAIKKONEN
McLaren Mercedes M DNF
Fernando Alonso moved a great deal closer to the World Championship this afternoon at Hockenheim as the Renault star took his sixth victory of the season to move 36 points clear of Kimi Raikkonen in the championship standings. The story of the 67-lap German Grand Prix in many ways was of Raikkonen who dominated the race for McLaren Mercedes until a suspected hydraulics failure ended his race at mid-distance.
Alonso ran second from the outset behind Raikkonen with Jenson Button dropping from second on the grid to fourth behind Michael Schumacher. Raikkonen pulled out a commanding lead only for it to all go wrong once again. This gave Alonso a comfortable lead and one he would hold to the chequered flag on lap 67.
Juan Pablo Montoya started the race from the back of the field after his error in qualifying on Saturday. An aggressive few opening laps saw the Colombian carve his way through the field. The first round of stops moved him ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella and his second stop moved him ahead of Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher. Second position for Montoya was a great result given his qualifying problem and moves him fourth in the standings, but it was a race that McLaren Mercedes could have - should have – but did not win.
With Alonso the winner from Montoya, Jenson button claimed the final podium position after a solid afternoon’s work in the BAR Honda. The British driver made a slow getaway from the front row of the grid dropping his behind Michael Schumacher, but a great battle with the champion saw him regain the position at two-third distance to claim his first legitimate podium position of the season.
Giancarlo Fisichella qualified and finished in fourth position in the second Renault. The Italian’s race was compromised by a tough first lap that saw his Renault struck from behind by Takuma Sato. Fisichella had a good race in the closing stages, battling hard with Michael Schumacher to take fourth position in the closing stages to take his second consecutive fourth position.
With his rear Bridgestone’s badly worn, Michael Schumacher clung on to finish in fifth position having fought for so long to try and keep first button and then later Fisichella behind him. Having opted for the softer Bridgestone tyres, the final laps were a real struggle for the German.
Toyota salvaged a sixth position after a solid drive from Ralf Schumacher. Running a long first stint the younger Schumacher was able to move up into the points and chase his older brother across the line to being Toyota another valuable three points.
A great first lap from David Coulthard saw him move up the order. It was a position he would retain despite losing out to Ralf Schumacher in the second round of stops. Seventh position brings Red Bull Cosworth its first points since Montreal.
Felipe Massa secured the final points paying position for Sauber Petronas with a solid drive to eighth position while Christian Klien and Rubens Barrichello battled hard in the second Red Bull and the second Ferrari over ninth position, Klien taking the position.
Nick Heidfeld’s seventh position on the grid was a bit of a false dawn for BMW Williams. Running light at the start Heidfeld ran well, but the three stop strategy was not the way to go and the German finished a distant 11th way behind the Barrichello-Klien battle. Team-mate mark Webber also had a difficult race as he made contact with Takuma Sato at the first turn and then exiting the same turn he and Jarno Trulli got together. After a long stop for repairs, Webber struggled on and was classified last but one.
Takuma Sato had another race to forget in the second BAR Honda. The Japanese racer hit the back of Fisichella on the first lap and never really recovered from his stop for a new front wing and finished in 12th position. He remains the only driver with the exception of Robert Doornbos, not to score a point this year.
Christijan Albers finished in 13th position for Minardi while Jarno Trulli had pneumatic problems for much of the race, pulling off on the final lap and being classified in 14th position. Trulli did himself no favours at all in the race however as he was awarded a drive through penalty for some terrible blocking of Montoya who was trying to lap him. In fairness Trulli was battling hard with Heidfeld for position at the time, but it was some unaware driving from the Toyota driver.
Jacques Villeneuve had a very eventful race in his Sauber Petronas. It all started on lap one when Barrichello bumped him wide. Not long after Villeneuve and Roberto Doornbos got together losing yet more time. Villeneuve was then battling to pass Tiago Monteiro when the Portuguese racer made an error forcing Villeneuve and himself to the pits for repairs. A tough race for the former Champion who was classified three laps down in 15th.
Narain Karthikeyan survived the inevitable off track moments in his Jordan to finish in 16th with team-mate Monteiro recovering from his Villeneuve incident to finish 17th. Roberto Doornbos had a difficult Grand Prix debut and was final runner in 18th position.
With Alonso taking his sixth win of the season and Raikkonen failing to finish, the Spaniard has one hand on the drivers’ crown as the Formula One circus packs up and heads to Hungary for round 13 of the championship next weekend.
Earl ALEXANDER (
http://www.f1-live.com)