Lucky Renault strikes back at Nurburgring.

So near, yet so far!

Kimi Raikkonen is perhaps one of the unluckiest drivers of all time. In a race where he lead right from turn one right up to a position where he was poised for victory, a spectacular breakage of the suspension sent him,his car and with it the hopes of catching up with championship leader Fernando Alonso spinning into the gravel. Had Raikkonen's machine been intact, the race for the top slot would have been wide open with Alonso and him taking three a piece in the last six races. McLaren salvaged some pride with Montoya coming in seventh and picking up a few points on the way.

Alonso, who eventually won the race was in a position which any formula one racer would envy. He did not have to handle the pressure that a race leader would have to. Neither was he too close to Raikkonen while the former crashed out in which case his own car could have come under a rain of gravel and pieces of McLaren,which, no doubt would still be trying to stop him from winning. And to make things better, Alonso was well informed of Raikkonen's uneasyness with his front right-hand side suspension and the actual crash as and when it happened on his on-board radio. Neither could Flavio or Fernando control their emotions after they realized the stroke of luck and genius that had surpassed them and broke into celebrating a race that neither would the Renaults, nor the McLarens or any other person related to Formula One for that matter would forget for a long time!

For Nick Heidfeld, the man who set the tracks on fire in a blistering qualifying lap on saturday had a good early race but a pit stop late in the race made him lose a possible first ever victory in Formula One. His team mate, Webber, was not as lucky, getting involved in a multi-car imbroglio into turn one and facing an early exit after a promising P3.

Ferrari showed signs of comeback with Rubens Barichello taking the first podium for the F2005 and Schumacher coming a respectable fifth. It now seems more than evident that Ferrari and Bridgestone seem to be moving ahead in unlocking the massive potential that the F2005 has. Infact, thinking of where Michael Schumacher would have been had he not had to make an unscheduled pit stop after the Webber-Montoya jam points to only one direction - and that is the podium. Still, a fair amount of work needs to be done by the tyre manufacturer. As far as qualifying is concerned, Bridgestone tyres do not seem to heat up fast enough to be able to react to the way the quickish F2005 operates.

In other news, David Coulthard managed to drive amazingly well and come a respectable fourth inspite of the fact that he had to drive through the pits once. Infact, the Scotsman claims that he could have been on the podium had it not been for the penalty. Fissichella, the other Renault driver who had a stall on the starting grid would have to be happy for landing in the points, coming sixth, just ahead of the Mercedes of Montoya and the Toyota of Trulli. Trulli managed to keep the Toyota's in the points after his team mate Ralk spun out on lap 33.

The Brackley based British outfit BAR Honda, who returned to the tracks this weekend after a forced vacation that saw them sit out of Catalunya and Monaco were not as lucky. Starting first and second during qualifying, the BAR's could not match the speed of the Renault's and the McLaren's. Button and Sato managed to finish the race Tenth and Twelveth respectively, with the former being lucky enough to avoid a spinning McLaren later in the race. Sauber's throes continue with both their drivers missing out on the points once again.

As for Indian racer Narain, a small mistake late in the race cost him his position ahead of team mate Monteiro who seems to have a far smoother approach than Narain who prefers to catch his Jordan by the scruff of its neck. The Jordan did not seem to find its grip on the high downforce track. It remains to be seen if Jordan's and with it Narain's hopes of a better finish would improve with their new car all set for release at Mangy-Cours.

Overall, a different race, a sad one for those whose hearts lie in the West, a lucky one for the Mild Sevens and a rejuvenating one for the Tifosi.It would be interesting to see Kimi's mind set from now on as no driver, not even the great ice-man should be able to digest such a huge dissapointment in the course of two weeks. Incidents such as this temper the attitudes of Formula One racers and helps in the metamorphosis of would-be champions. Kimi,I am sure, would put the ghosts of Nurburgring to rest and rejuvenate to become a champion of the future.

"So near, yet so far!"

Street race sets up a rat race...

Now that the street race is over and all the glamour and the haze surrounding Monaco has settled, its time to ponder about the performance of drivers and more importantly the constructors since the beggining of the season.

With Kimi Raikkonen, the young Finn clinching the cup at the most glamorous event in the Formula One calendar, Monaco, McLaren have proved in style that they still are among the top constructor's in the world. The team, which boasts of the maximum number of Grand Prix victories by any constructor in the world including Ferrari finally seems to have put the finger on the knot after a disasterous 2004 season. The MP4-20 seems to have leap-frogged quite a bit in terms of Chassis design, aerodynamics and engine power in comparison with its predecessors, the MP4-18A and MP4-19 which rarely completed a race without problems.

A special mention must go to Ron Dennis, the McLaren team boss who struck the right cord in choosing the softer tyres for his cars. Neither of the drivers had any problems related to oversteering, thus enabling Kimi to keep the lead and an unlucky Montoya who started at the back of the grid to take his chances inspite of a slightly fuller fuel tank.

The BMW-Williams combine, which took a two podium positions was the surprise package of the race, considering the maneuverability issues that the FW27 seems to have had over the past five races. Webber must be a little dissapointed after standing a step lower than his less celebrated team mate Heidfeld. Being wiser in choosing the harder tyres to strike a balance with their unrelenting chassis, the two sledge-hammers powered their way ahead of the Championship leader Alonso who could do nothing but nurse his wheels to a respectable fourth finish. Fissichella was not as lucky, taking to the fag end of the train and not landing in the points. Renault, which swept away at break-neck speed at the beggining of the season now have to ponder about their chassis design and tyre choice, considering the fact that neither of their machines were kind to their rear tyres during the past two races.

Monaco did not go the right way for the high-flying Toyota team, losing its second position on the Constructor's table to the ebbing McLaren's. Trulli, the defending Monaco champion, made a daring move on Fissichella and ran as high as second after the Albers accident, but lost momentum and soon found himself at the end of a long chain of cars. Young Ralf Schumacher came from the back of the pack to get a respectable sixth after being chased right upto the finish line by his brother Michael.

Talking of the Ferrari's, the race did not go well for them with band-leader Michael Schumacher just edging out comrade Barichello at the finish line for a seven-eight finish. Ferrari though, have a point to ponder. Afterall Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of the race, managing to go even faster than his own qualifying lap. And this inspite of the fact that he was carrying a lot more fuel on lap 40 than when he was during the qualifying. What the Maranello team and their Japanese tyre maker must be doing right now is to strike a balance between their car, which seems to be faster when it is heavy, and the tyres which seem to work better when in warmer conditions and in the longer run.

A dissapointing day for the Saubers and the Red Bull's with Sauber losing a potential fourth or fifth position after an ambitious move from Villeneuve on his own team mate at Sainte Devote. For the Red Bull's, they had no luck with Michael Schumacher crashing into David Couldhard's rear after the Albers' spin which caused a road block leading to a traffic jam of Formula One cars. Liuzzi faced problems right from the start with his tyres succumbing to the heavy fuel load. Liuzzi eventually retired at the fag end of the race after hitting a barrier.

As for the Minardi's, they had a promising set up with both their PS05's ahead of the Jordan's. But they soon lost track positions with Albers' spinning out and Monteiro taking advantage of the situation and landing ahead of him.As for the Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan, the race couldnt have gone worser. The Indian damaged his hydraulics after brushing the wall early in the race. A last position start that failed to improve and ended with a retirement. Surely, he must get out of his Monaco mood and try to impress at Nurburgring and edge out his team mate Monteiro who seems to have gained the upper hand after Monaco.

The Championship seems to have gotten tighter after Monaco, with heavy weight McLaren clawing their way up the ladder. With 51 points, they are closing in on leaders Renault who are on 63. Williams' have taken a huge jump and are now closer to Toyota with the difference between them reduced to eight now. The Ferrari's donot seem to have moved any where, failing to improve their constructors' tally and must be consoling themselves that there still are thirteen races to go.

Overall, a mouth watering set up for the next four or five races which should be exciting with Kimi Raikkonen closing in on Alonso for a possible championship summit clash, with tough competition expected from a ressurgent Williams' team and the mercurial Toyota's and possibly a darker prancing horse if the Maranello's manage to unlock the potential of their undelivering F2005. Waiting for Round 7 - the European clash.

A Prelude to Monaco

Glorious sunshine and gleaming white yacht's lace the picture perfect city-state of Monaco. Monaco or Monte Carlo as some prefer to call it is a principality located on the Southern edge of France bordering Italy. The tax-free heaven is home to many a Formula One driver of the past and the present. Come Sunday and this small city-state that has the Meditteranean to one side closes her streets and opens her heart to the most glamorous race on the Formula One calendar.

The love story between Monaco and Motor Racing is indeed an old one. For it began on a sunny April morning in 1929, a time when Constructor Greats like Ettore Buggati and Enzo Ferrari were in their middle ages, the charismatic Fangio was a young lad of 18 and driving legends Stirling Moss and Graham Hill had not taken their first steps out of their cradles, leave alone enter a race car. Since then she has cradled legendary cars ranging from the Mercedes W 196 of the late Juan Manuel Fangio to the priceless Ferrari's of the yester years to the latest zooming McLarens and Toyota's of the golden years of Formula One.

As one wonders about the finesse of this one unique race track, the thought process is flustered by the noise of a helicopter moving overhead. And that reminds the viewers of the royal connection that this Grand Prix boasts like no other. For the helicopter holds none other than the ruler of the country, Prince Reineer and his family. This after all was the fiefdom of the actress turned royalty HGH Princess Grace, the late wife of Prince Reinier whose penache for motor sports has only risen over the decades.

As the race starts, those sitting in the tribune along the Start-Finish straight draw the envy of every true Formula One fan on the planet. For the viewer not only gets to catch glimpses of the fast and shiny cars but also of the beautiful Princess Stephanie, daughter of Prince Reinier. Those sitting along the hill after the first curve are the second in the heirarchy. They get to see the cars power their way up the steep curve even as the drivers click through their gears in their effort to billow ahead.

Those sitting on the balcony of the Hotel De Paris can perhaps order a bottle of ice-cold champagne and oversee the cars as they zoom under. The view along the Marina does not host seats officially, but then one can spot plenty of partying yacht's and people going overboard with party fervor as the power of the cars reverberate on to the rocks and on to the sea and then on to the yacht's.

Overall, a great venue, a great party atmosphere, a place that one with money and passion for this wonderful sport should be in during the third week of May. For, when the slight traces of fuel vapour drift off into the clear blue sky, the viewer knows that Monaco in all her glory is set to start her romance with the chequered flag all over again.

Raikkonen sinks the Spanish Armada.

Kimi Raikkonen, the young Finnish talent, finally seems to have ended his unlucky stint with a stupendous ambush on the Spanish Armada, an attack laced with the same agression that a Matador has when it takes on its old foe - the Spaniard clad in his suit of light. Raikonnen, dubbed as the next "ice man" seemed too cold to handle for the fiery Spaniard who was looking to take a fourth consecutive victory. The Spaniard was the favorite, not that he knew his home track like the back of his hand, but rightly because he had won three races in a row and his team had proved that it was the one to beat this season.

With a crowd of one hundred and fifteen thousand cheering him right from the word go, Alonso was indeed a confident man. But unfortunately, this was not to be his day. The day belonged to one Mr. Kimi Raikkonen who was unfazed by the sea of blue around him and went on to take the third victory of his career. And team boss Ron Dennis was only too happy to receive the constructor's trophy. For once, things seem to have gone the right way for the British constructor. Raikkonen must have been frustrated at Imola, where he took pole position in style, only to lose it eight laps into the race when his car had a mechanical problem. But come Catalunya, there were only two classifications. Raikkonen and the rest.

Trulli and Ralf Schumacher of Toyota's have now made it a habit to land up in the points. Only too good for the team that spends almost as much as the Maranello outfit does. Coming third and fourth for Toyota followed by the other Renault of Fissichella who never seemed to have regained form after that early display of finesse at Albert Park,Melbourne. Montoya, the other McLaren driver who had a bad crash on friday practice, came back from a fuel nozzle problem to gain a couple of points for himself and more importantly his constructor. Mark Webber, who did not have a car during friday practice came in sixth for BMW Williams, a team that has been struggling with car control for some time now. Coulthard grabbed the only other point that was left ahead of the Ferrari of Rubens Barichello who nursed his car to the finish line despite all odds.

As for Michael Schumacher, the seven time champion, things couldnt have gone worser. A perfect plan was in place, as the master pit strategists drew a daring one stop strategy for Michael and Barichello. But a blown tyre late into the race spoilt the plan as Michael Schumacher tottered into the pits, only to retire the race a lap later due to a blown front outside tyre and a spoilt suspension. A dissapointing show for the Ferrari team, and especially Michael Schumacher who had not lost a race at the Catalunya circuit in this decade.

Among others, Heidfeld and Massa came in ninth and tenth for Williams and Sauber respectively. Narain Karthikeyan, the Jordan driver was the last to finish, after making a mistake early into the race. Monteiro, his team mate over took him, albiet trimming some grass while doing so. Villeneuve, who like Schumcher showed signs of a come back at Imola retired due to a faulty engine. The Minardi team also suffered the ignominy of seeing both its cars get stuck on the starting grid like clock work. The team has failed to finish a majority of the races this year.

With the fifth race of the year completed, the lines are becoming clearer. This year seems like a three way title challenge, with Renault, the leaders on one side, the McLaren's on the other and the prancing horse completing the triad, although the horse can now be rated a dark horse in comparison to the galloping one that we have been seeing since the fag end of the last decade.

The next race is scheduled to happen at Monte Carlo and is one of the most glamorous events on the Formula One calendar. A street race, contested not on a circuit but on the roads of the small city-state of Monte-Carlo, it should be an interesting watch, since it is a track that involves more maneuverability than speed and over-taking maneuvers should be spectacularly accurate since the track breadth by itself is really narrow!

Adios till Monaco!