Formula 1 Round 3 – Alonso/Renault win, Schumacher DNF
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Formula 1 Round 3 – Alonso/Renault win, Schumacher DNF
Image Gallery ( 23 images )April 4, 2005 Fernando Alonso dominated the Bahraini Grand Prix at the Sakhir circuit on Sunday, winning his second race in a row and looking set to end Michael Schumacher’s reign as the King of Formula One. In many ways, there has been a significant changing of the guard, with Toyota’s second and fourth places netting the company’s best points finish ever and putting it in a clear second place in the constructors championship. Ferrari meanwhile is languishing in sixth place behind the increasingly consistent Red Bull. The ever-astute bookmakers now consider Michael Schumacher only 3/1 chance of retaining his title, with Alonso at long odds-on for the title. The stage is now set for an epic battle. Ferrari showed enough with the speed of the 2005 car’s first showing to suggest that it will have the speed to contest the remainder of the season fiercely. It’s now down to Bridgestone to provide competitive tyres for the less extreme temperatures of Europe.
Statements from Leading Players after the race:
Fernando Alonso, Renault, Winner: “The R25 was perfect today, and the team has been fantastic all weekend, with no mistakes. To score 26 points out of 30 possible is brilliant, but we need to stay cautious: we have only done three races out of nineteen in a very long season. However, I think that if we stay competitive like we are, and if we can avoid mechanical problems, then we will be hard to beat.”
Flavio Briatore, Renault F1, Managing Director: “This was a fantastic result for the whole team. Fernando dominated from start to finish: he had a nice fight with Michael, but after the Ferrari retired he just had to manage his tyres, his engine and the gap to Jarno. We are all disappointed for Giancarlo, but I know he will fight back strongly at the next race. Well done to everybody at Enstone and Viry; we are all proud to bring Renault their hundredth Formula One victory.”
Pat Symonds, Renault F1, Executive Director of Engineering: “To see a driver control a race like Fernando did this afternoon is an impressive sight. His performance is even more remarkable when you consider he did not even use all the revs available on the engine in the opening laps. He seemed capable of increasing his pace when necessary, without putting undue stress on the car. We are sorry for Giancarlo, whose engine started to fail on lap two. We knew there was nothing we could do, but given the way in which the race unfolded, he could have scored a very strong result. We also need to thank Michelin: the tyres were really put to the test this weekend, with track temperatures over 50°C. Once again, the tyres were excellent in every area: they were quick over one lap, and consistent all the way through the race.”
Jarno Trulli, Panasonic Toyota, second: "I am so pleased with this result. After Malaysia, I thought we would be competitive and to claim our second consecutive podium is fantastic. The car performed amazingly well, it was quick and reliable with no issues whatsoever. The braking, cooling, Michelin tyres, engine, everything worked well. I realised midway through the race that it was futile to try and catch Fernando and we were safely in second, which is tremendous for everyone in the team. I would like to thank all the team for this result, but we still have one place ahead of us, so we must keep pushing with that as the target."
Tsutomu Tomita, Panasonic Toyota, Team Principal: "It is still like a dream to find ourselves in such competitive shape after only three years in the sport. I think first and foremost it is great to confirm our ultimate competitiveness at the front of Formula 1. It is also an outstanding achievement to consolidate Toyota's second place in the world championship. It really is a fantastic result. Performance-wise excellent drivers from both Jarno and Ralf. Jarno drove another smooth and consistent race making it look easy. Ralf did a great job in qualifying this morning to take him five places up the grid after a difficult lap yesterday. We knew his strategy would be compromised by stopping early but he drove a challenging race to pick up 4th place and five points – a great effort. Congratulations must again go to everyone in the team, the sponsors and the Toyota family. Now we have to look to ensure we retain this second place in the championship once the European season gets underway in Imola in three weeks."
Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren Mercedes, third: “I am very pleased with third place after a difficult two qualifying sessions. The car felt really good in the race, but unfortunately I was stuck behind a lot of traffic early on. I managed to gain a few places, but once I was in third position the front two cars were too far ahead for me to catch them.”
Ron Dennis, McLaren Mercedes, Team Principal: “A challenging weekend, which, in contrast to Malaysia, allowed us to demonstrate the true potential of our cars. We are fully aware of what we have to do to improve our qualifying positions and will try hard to accelerate elements of change that were originally targeted for the Spanish Grand Prix. A great result for both drivers with Kimi achieving a podium position and Pedro demonstrating the level of professionalism and speed that we have always observed in his testing role. Our goals for 2005 remain completely unchanged, there are still 16 races to go and everything is still possible.”
