San Marino GP Tifoso Race Report

San Marino Grand Prix, Autodromo Dino e Enzo Ferrari
April 23, 2006 Round 4, 2006 Formula 1 World Championship

Starting Grid:
M. Schumacher - 1st
F. Massa - 4th

Finally. A win.

After unleashing the 7-tenths beast in qualifying, Michael Schumacher had to fend off Fernando "Girly Man" Alonso for half of the race to get his first win this season. For some inexplicable reason, Michael came out of his first stop (after setting 10 consecutive fastest laps during his first stint) a full second below the girly man's pace. Some say BS were again BS, others say the team put too much fuel in the tank-- hence the extra weight that led BS to being BS (graining issues, once again). Anyway, Michael did well to defend throughout his second stint, never losing the lead even as Alonso was right up his diffuser.

The turning point came when Renault blinked and called in Alonso for his 2nd stop. This took the pressure off Michael, who also had a relatively clean track ahead of him. He proceeded to put in his customary blindingly quick inlaps, then promplty reported to the pits. He came out half a second ahead of Alonso.

I damn near had a coronary for the last 19 or so laps, but never lost faith in the Schumster. He dictated the pace brilliantly, taking Alonso to school at every corner. Each time Alonso closed in, Michael would brake earlier than usual for the upcoming corner, take the defensive line, and get on the throttle at different points each time. All this guess work apparenty got to Alonso. He got really ragged in the final 5 laps, even taking a few trips through the grass and losing valuable time. It was fantastic seeing Michael, fist raised, drive by the pitwall to salute the team as he crossed the finish line.

I've heard the opinion that Ferrari didn't win that race as much as Renault lost it by screwing the pooch with Alonso's second stop. I respect that opinion, but I still think it's full of shit.

Forza Ferrari!