Interesting race. Both Kimi and Michael did wonders to get back into the points. But they were totally out of the running by like lap 12. :? Michael's collision with Heidfeld looked to be his fault. Didn't leave room on the inside. I wish they'd shown a better angle to see how far alongside Nick was. Never saw him get a wheel in there from the onboard. Retiring early is pretty lame, but it's the rules I guess.
Fisi drove a good race, but he had no challenges the whole time. The only reason Trulli and DC could keep touch with him was when he was conserving tires. Jarno did well until that first pit stop. Then he just faded. DC/Klein and Red Bull had a great debut. Showing how much Jaguar underperformed the last few years. Hopefully they're a regular near the front.
Kimi and Juan had their races ruined in Q1. Both did well, Kimi better than Juan. Kimi just had really bad luck on the grid, but still managed to pull up into the points. Coulda done better without Schuey and Sato in the way, but Michael could have benefited from Sato's absence too.
The two Saubers were mobile chicanes. Massa less so than JV, but still. It's something that really annoys me with the new regs. You jumble the grid only to have JV towing a long line of ars behind him between pitstops. When's the last time JV's been moving forward? He sure knows how to block cars much faster than him. It was fun watching he and Alonso trade blows for a bit, but JV ruined the race of everyone behind him. I don't find that entertaining really. Overtaking is still ruining the show.
But this is not a JV bash, he was fighting for position fair and square, and it's a testament to his ability to hold back a car with a second per lap advantage.
Contrary to what Ralf thinks, Michael had a much better chance of winning than he did. Matter of fact, I think Rubens, Alonso, Kimi and Michael had a legit shot at a win. I'd say Juan, but outside of Sector 2, he wasn't that impressive yesterday. Credit goes to Rubens for salvaging a podium finish and putting pressure on Fisi until the end. Rubens drove a very good race, although I don't think he challenged a single car on the road all day. But it's not like Rubens can't overtake, so he just ran his strategy well.
Overall, it was a mixed result, but not what I'd call a good race. For all the potential, it was a procession most of the way. Car running nose to tail, but with no chance of getting by. At one point, there were like 8 cars within 4 seconds of each other behind JV. If we're gonna have a procession, I'd rather it be the fastest cars in a line.
The 2005 season's off to a wierd start. The Renaults will be strong this year, so you gotta expect Fisi and Alonso to be at the sharp end often. But I still view Kimi as the primary WDC challenger this year, so IMO, Michael hasn't lost much ground after this first round. So he's only down 1pt so far IMO, as opposed to 10pts. There'll be no penalty in Sepang, so I hope we can maybe get clear qualies, and maybe Michael can challenge for pole and a win there to get his season started proper. Ferrari will probably be ramping up testing of the F2005. While the F2004M isn't that much worse than the Renaults and Macs, it's still significant. They won't want to lose too much ground to Renault and McLaren before Imola. I'd like to see the F2005 by Bahrain. And with Rubens leading the WDC effort for the team, he should be the one to get the chassis first.
Anyway, roll on Malaysia in two weeks. F1 has brought meaning back to my Sundays again. PEACE.
