Brazilian Grand Prix

[NAZCA M12]

So, we've moved to the season finale. The reason the Brazilian GP has shifted from March to October was to make sure that the events of last year's would not happen again. Last year there was torrential rain, and since the track facilities were a bit old anyway and the draining system was ineffective, the track was deemed dangerous, and many accidents happened. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been sunny in the past few days so the posibility of racing under similar conditions is high.

Although Suzuka almost cleared up the battle for 2nd and 4th in the manufacturers championship, nothing is finished yet. Renault needs a victory and a 3rd place to beat BAR for second place, a very tough task but this track should suit them very much. Qualifying will be crucial for them. BAR on the other hand, will no doubt want to end a great year for them with a victory. Although the gap between Williams and McLaren is rather big, nothing is settled here either. Both will want to go well on a track that traditionally suits their cars. The team that finishes fifth will have fewer test miles, but the chance to use a third car in the races next season. In the drivers championship, there's a battle for 5th place between Alonso (54), Montoya (48) and Trulli (46) with the latter being in a disadvantage of course having switched teams with one race less, and an inferior car.

There's a rumor that a new tyre manufacturer may enter F1 in a few years. At the moment, there's a contract that blocks a third manufacturer from entering in F1. When that expires, Kumho may enter. Of course it's not decided whether that will be the case at all as the FIA might do the sensible thing and implement a control tyre from one manufacturer which would significantly prevent the lap times from getting faster all the time.
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=67108

In the meantime, the future of the British GP is still uncertain. Things are heating up between JYS and Ecclestone. It makes me very sad. Instead of loosing such a historic track, how about keeping it and add Donington Park again?
http://www.f1racing.net/en/news.php?newsID=67120

The drivers are pretty vocal on their preferences however:
http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html?http://f1.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/041021224744.shtml

These are the results from the first practice session:
http://f1.racing-live.com/en/index.html?http://f1.racing-live.com/en/headlines/news/detail/041021224744.shtml
and
http://www.f1racing.net/en/raceresults.php?racepartID=106

[bigC]

it's hard to believe that after the race on Sunday, the season will be over for another year, and we'll be faced with four long months without F1 racing. it's shaping up for another Ferarri 1-2, just like the season began in Australia. with Schumie right behind Rubens in practice, he is in perfect position to drive away with another easy victory (unless there's rain, like there was last year in Brazil. i wonder if they've altered that section where everyone spun off due to water run-off?).

poor JV in 12th. hopefully, next year when he's with Sauber, he'll get some better results (after much needed testing and practice in a car suited for him). both Massa (sauber) and JV's current team-mate, Alonso, finished better then JV. oh well. DC may be leaving F1 with a whimper, both BMWs need to find some speed, but Kimi managed a 3rd, a case of too little, too late. and, i guess now that Ford is leaving F1, all of the teams using their Cosworth engines have thrown in the towel, since they're all at the back of the grid.

i'm disappointed that they may be removing the British GP from the season, it's a good race. Ecclestone tried to do the same thing here in Canada after the law banning tobacco sponsorship of all sporting/cultural events came into effect, but the money was found to save the race (but for how long?). what will happen when all of Europe bans tobacco ads? will Ecclestone/F1 hold countries hostage, trying to seek special deals to hold the races?

some stories:

new engines in 2006. less power might mean less speed, but i'm sure the engineers will still find ways to make the cars go faster, which, obviously, is the goal of racing, to go fast and win: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_story.asp?ID=102395&hubName=auto_racing-formula_one

BMW admits defeat. umm, we kinda already knew that, months ago. a fourth place finish should be disappointing to a major team like BMW. http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_Story.asp?ID=102218

the best driver in F1 has some fences to mend at BAR. he ddn't get his way, i feel so sorry for him (yah right). at least he's not pouting. http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_Story.asp?ID=102309

[MUYA]

o state the bvious i haven't even been interested in F1 since race3 or 4.....it's just ....well u know

Next year i hope for the place battles of youre...man a good few ppl fighting for places....

[bigC]

way to go Rubens, on the pole for his home race. interesting top three: a Ferrari, BMW and a McLaren. and a Sauber in 4th, beating both BARs? wow, Massa must have had practically no fuel on board. Schumie in 8th, out-qualied by his brother? the start should be really fun to watch, especially if Montoya thinks he can win the race in the first corner and tries to speed past Rubens. poor JV is all the way down in 14th, right behind DC, who may be leaving F1 after this race. as usual, the Jordans and Minardis are at the back of the field, along with a Jaguar and a Toyota (a collosal waste of money).

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2381/731.html
results: http://www.formula1.com/race/result/731/16.html

[bigC]

d'oh, i didn't realize Schumi crashed in practice and had to use the back-up, meaning he'll start 18th in the race. with rain likely, he may be able to make make up a lot of positions, but it won't be easy: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_story.asp?ID=102462&hubName=auto_racing-formula_one

19 races for 2005? the more the merrier, i think, but Ferrari doesn't think so. the British and French GPs may depend on Ferrari's a greement: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_story.asp?ID=102600&hubName=auto_racing-formula_one

and Midland (the Russo-Canuck Alex Shnaider's company) may buy Jag. it makes sense buying an existing team, unless you want to throw away 5 years or so of development and failure, like BAR did, before achieving some success. also, Toyota still hasn't been able to develop a consistently winning car, and they too started from scratch: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/formula_one/news_Story.asp?ID=102326

[bigC]

a mere 132 days (and counting) until the Australian GP at Melbourne. sigh. with no NHL likely this year, to get my sports fill i may have to watch .... the NBA? ;)

Montoya wins his last race at BMW, beating out his new teammate Kimi by the slightest of margins. he's leaving the 4th place team to join the 5th place team. Rubens in 3rd: at least he managed to finish the race. the start was fun, with the wet track, passing, and different tires used by the teams, the middle of the race was standard fare (follow the leader), but the last part was interesting. DC, in his last race ever (??) ends in 11th, but i think he'll find a place somewhere (ie, perhaps at BMW for a year?)

from 18th to 7th, Schumi seemed to never be involved in the race. Schumi, at age 36 (in Jan 05) is the oldest current driver in F1--amazing. he is the best driver in the best car with the best team, underappreciated because the competition hasn't been able to come close to him: Ferrari are the NY Yankees of F1. he is criticized because his car is faster, reliable, and he wins; F1 is called "boring" because the rest of the teams cannot keep up with the prancing horse. but, as was witnessed this year in MLB, even the best team with the highest payroll can be beaten, so it should be up to the other teams to try to topple Ferrari, and not wait for any rule changes that would bring Ferrari down to their level. BMW, McLaren (and Toyota, still a work in progress, despite the high payroll) should be disappointed with their lack of competitiveness this year. introducing new cars halfway into the season just doesn't cut it. BMW reasted on their laurels, made some poor development decisions (ie, the "tusk" nose that was supposed to improve aerodynamic performance), and thought that they were faster then they really were.

JV ends his career at Renault with a 10th, and both the Saubers beat him. i hope he does well with them next year. the backmakers ended where they should have: at the back, as did Toyota, which has a budget that rivals Ferrari's but has nothing to show for it. JAG, in its last race, provided a memorable moment when Webber was knocked out by his teammate. opps. and, in the department of poetic justice, Button's car lasted only 3 laps before he had to retire. i'm sure some of the mechanics and team members were probably smiling inwardly at his personal failure, but i doubt they'd ever admit it.

http://www.formula1.com/race/news/2390/731.html
results:http://www.formula1.com/race/result/731/8.html