the Japanese Grand Prix!

[bigC]

it's the second to last race of the season and the championship is on the line. it's time for the Japanese Grand Prix! :D :beer:

Schumie and Alosno are tied with 116 points, with Schumacher getting the edge on the basis of wins (7 to six in his favour). whilst Fisichella was fastest in Friday practice, both Ferraris were faster then Alonso, and that's what matters the most. whether or not this trend continues is the big question, as everyone was likely saving their engines for qualifying and the race.

the rest of the top ten include testers for BMW and Honda, some guy who's only ever one one race, Trulli's Toyota and both McLarens. but all that really matters this weekend is the race between Ferrari and Renault, the battle between Schumacher and Alonso!

story: http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5077/768.html
results: http://www.formula1.com/race/result/768/10.html

some news:

JV is in discussions to race in NASCAR next year. i'd rather still see him driving for BMW buth methinks he's burned all his bridges in F1. undoubtedly, if JV joins NASCAR, he will likely become the nemesis of one Ricky Bobby, and hilarity will ensue: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/Formula_One/news_story/?ID=180004&hubname=auto_racing-formula_one

Damon Hill: Schumacher's dominance has hurt F1. yes, blame the best driver in the sport, driving for the best team with a superior car for the failures of his competitors to keep the pace: http://www.tsn.ca/auto_racing/Formula_One/news_story/?ID=179968&hubname=auto_racing-formula_one

Alonso, paraphrasing: "there is no rift between me and the team. really. me signing that contract to drive for McLaren next year just reinforces my sense of belonging to the team ...." right. of course there is a separation between Renault and Alonso. whilst they still want to win, it must have hurt the team's morale when their star signed with another team. so, some kind of distancing may have occurred: http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37616

Schumie: it's still too early to tell who will have the upper hand in the race this weekend (well, with qualifying 5 1/2 hours away, i hope it's Ferrari! :D): http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=37619

[bigC]

so far so good for Ferrari, as Massa gets the pole and Schumie will start second. surprisingly, Toyota grabbed the third and fourth starting position in the Honda owned race track (the Japanese GP next year will be staged at a Toyota track). the Hondas will start 7th and 8th. Alonso will start 5th for Renault, ahead of Fisichella in 6th. the rest of the top 10 are heidfeld and Rosberg. the McLarens will start a disappointing 11th and 13th.

story: http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5084/768.html
results: http://www.formula1.com/race/result/768/24.html

[Shamrock]

1. Alonso
2. Massa
3. Fischicella
4. Button
5. Raikkonen

Where is Schumie? well with 17 laps to go, he was in the lead, then...he done blowed up! First time since France of 2000

[mikechai]

Looks like the championship is over for Schumie, unless something highly unlikely happens. :thumbdwn:

I was hoping for a tight final race this season.... :(


We are a great team. Our guys are the best and I have a great affection for everyone at Ferrari and am always more than satisfied in the way we work. Incidents like today’s can happen and they are part of racing. You win together but you also lose together. Today we did our best, I was leading the race and then my engine broke. That’s the simplest way to sum it up. That is Formula One. We can be proud of what we have achieved since Canada: we were twenty five points behind and no one could have thought we would be back in the fight for the championship, but we did it. Now we are nine points behind in the Constructors’ classification and we will do all we can to win this title in Brazil. As for the Drivers,’ it is lost. I don’t want to head off for a race, hoping that my rival has to retire. That is not the way in which I want to win the title.

Quite fair and square.

[Mr_LoL]

Thats quite an impressive feat not have an engine failure for 5 years. Worst time to happen though.

[bigC]

well, that was a disappointing result. whilst cheering for Schumacher, i wanted the last race of the season to mean something. now all Alonso has to do is cruise to an 8th place finish and he wins it all. boring. i wanted to see two drivers fighting for every 1000th of a second, throwinging their cars around the corners and racing to the edge. but, thanks to the first engine failure in 5 years, we won't see that. wow, what awful timing.

i'm not going to recap the top ten, since i don't really care. all that matters is who finished first and second, and who did not finish. Renault likely has the contructor's locked up too, since they have a nine point lead. that should help Fisichella next year as he will be the lead driver for that team.

story: http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5090/768.html
results: http://www.formula1.com/race/result/768/8.html

Schumacher concedes defeat. well d'uh. you suffered an engine failure at the worst possible time. watching the ITV feed, they were about to go to a commercial, then Schumie's Ferrari started smoking. and so endeth Schumie's illustrious career in F1. in smoke and disappointment. http://www.formula1.com/race/news/5092/768.html

in two weeks, the last race of the 2006 season, and the final race of Schumacher's career, the Brazilian Grand Prix! :D :beer:

[Shamrock]

Schumie still has a chance. He has to WIN, and Alonso not get any points. They would be tied, but Schumie would win championship because of # of wins, but he has to WIN the next race.

[mikechai]

Schumie still has a chance. He has to WIN, and Alonso not get any points. They would be tied, but Schumie would win championship because of # of wins, but he has to WIN the next race.

Knowing he has to just score 1 point, Alonso will probably play it safe to secure his championship.

On the other hand, Ferrari still has good chance to win the constructors championship.

[lightman]

Knowing he has to just score 1 point, Alonso will probably play it safe to secure his championship.

There's still Massa... You know, he gets near Alonso, they're right before a turn, he sees an oppurtunity to overtake him and he, well, makes a mistake and they're both out of the race... ;)

Schumi would love it, and would consider it more than acceptable, probably. Villeneuve anyone ? :D

Anyway, really boring race... And probably a boring end for the championship...

Oh well, I'll have some fun next sunday watching the MotoGP. Portugal GP, should be fun. :)

[Capt. Picard]

There's still Massa... You know, he gets near Alonso, they're right before a turn, he sees an oppurtunity to overtake him and he, well, makes a mistake and they're both out of the race... ;)

Massa: "Oops, sorry."