nof1l.gif (4731 bytes)


F1 Merchandise

Formula 1 news, results and statistics when you need it

The Real Race 
Round 17 - Japan 

blank.gif (809 bytes)
blank.gif (809 bytes)
Main Page
Formula 1 News
2015 F1 Schedule
2015 F1 Line-up
2014 F1 Schedule
F1 Teams
F1 Drivers
NewsOnF1 Mobile
10 'n' Pole
Register - Submit
F1 Regulations
The Forums
Live F1 Coverage
Motorsport Shop
UK - USA
Motorsport Calendar

F1 Merchandise UK
F1 Merchandise USA

F1 Tours
F1 Tickets
F1 Diecast
F1 Videos
F1 Games
F1 Trivia
NewsOnF1 on Twitter
MotoGP Tickets
Past Formula 1 Seasons
2012 F1 Results
2011 F1 Results
2010 F1 Results
2009 F1 Results
2008 F1 Results
2007 F1 Results
2006 F1 Results
2005 F1 Results
2004 F1 Results
2003 F1 Results

2002 F1 Results

2001 F1 Results

2000 F1 Results

1999 F1 Results

1998 F1 Results

1997 F1 Results
Links
2010 World Cup
Translate
Search
Contact Us
About
Archives
Your Say
Diagnosis & Prognosis
By the Heretic
Controversy Corner
The Real Race
By the Quali-flyer
F1 Testing
F1 Team Reports
8 'n' Pole
2006 World Cup

Download the NewsOnF1.com
toolbar
powered by Alexa

Ferrari first, Ferrari second, daylight third.

No surprises there and no surprises in the crushing performance of Michael Schumacher in getting his 50th pole. There were however lots of surprises behind them. An excellent effort from DC put him convincingly in 3rd with Kimi beside him in 4th, convincingly outpacing Ralf and Juan Pablo in the two Williams cars that rounded out the 6.

Honda must be very happy with having their cars take the next 3 spots, damn shame that Sato and Fisichella were driving the first two though. Having put all their eggs in the BAR basket I'm sure that they would have liked Jacques to come in before the Jordans. I had some real hopes for Sato at the start of this season, having performed very well in the nursery league in 2001. If I were Eddie Jordan I would be pretty upset that he waited for the final round to deliver. Today he did deliver in front of his home crowd.

The biggest surprise today for me was that nobody underperformed. Ralf and David were quicker on the day but neither Juan nor Kimi were disgraced. Sato pipped Fisichella, Eddie Irvine beat de la Rosa and Heidfeld was quicker than Massa. Even Alex Yoong managed to come last by a margin of only 0.3 seconds to Webber, his best performance to date. Alan McNish fortunately qualified before his meeting with the armco fencing that delayed the session for over an hour. He was very quick before his off and would have been much closer to Salo had it not happened. I hope he is as unscathed as he appeared to be and that he will be able to take his well deserved place on the grid tomorrow.

Honours were pretty even between Michelin and Bridgestone, with neither gaining any real advantage from the conditions. I hope that situation continues next season.

The Japanese GP 'Also Ran' and Qualifying Champion

The also ran award is there to reward underachievers and while it is tempting to simply pick a losing differential (Olivier Panis in this case) that is not its purpose. Panis was beaten by the teams number one driver and that's as it should be. It is far more tempting to award it to the Williams team for snatching defeat to McLaren from the jaws of victory. They started the season so dominantly in second place and lost the plot at the end.

No, for the final race of it's inaugural season there is no also ran award. David and Ralf have managed to capture enough through the season to satisfy even their egos and Eddie received his just rewards for his PR efforts.

All 3 though have once again failed to be world champion of anything and shown why they never will be. They have been convincingly beaten in the Most Best field by Michael and in the Least Best by Alex. Only huge amounts of money can support a talent as small as Alex's through most of a season (he didn't manage to make the whole season because Paul got sick of only having one Sunday driver.

It really doesn't require any justification, Mark Webber in his rookie year was our Qualifying Champion and Alex's woeful performance should not lessen the efforts of Mark in achieving that.

The Japanese GP Qualifying Heroes

1. Mika Salo, 2. Jacques Villeneuve, 3. Michael Schumacher

Want to send a comment to the Quali-flyer ? Click here

Charts to follow

The Real Race - Drivers Standings - Round 17

Grid Driver Car Team Wins Losses Best QualiPoints
1 M. Schumacher 1 Ferrari (B) 13 4 1 122
2 R. Barrichello 2 Ferrari (B) 4 13 1 88
3 D. Coulthard 3 McLaren Mercedes (M) 7 10 2 27
4 K. Raikkonen  4 McLaren Mercedes (M) 10 7 2 34
5 R. Schumacher 5 BMW WilliamsF1 (M) 8 9 2 63
6 JP. Montoya 6 BMW WilliamsF1 (M) 9 8 1 98
7 T. Sato 10 Jordan Honda (B) 4 12 7  
8 G. Fisichella 9 Jordan Honda (B) 12 4 5 4
9 J. Villeneuve 11 BAR Honda (B) 10 7 7  
10 J. Button 15 Renault (M) 5 12 6 1
11 J. Trulli 14 Renault (M) 12 5 6 2
12 N. Heidfeld 7 Sauber Petronas (B) 12 5 5 2
13 M. Salo 24 Toyota (M) 15 2 8  
14 E. Irvine 16 Jaguar Cosworth (M) 11 6 5
15 F. Massa1 8 Sauber Petronas (B) 5 11 7  
16 O. Panis 12 BAR Honda (B) 7 10 7  
17 P. de la Rosa 17 Jaguar Cosworth (M) 6 11 8  
18 A. McNish 25 Toyota (M) 2 15 10  
19 M. Webber 23 Minardi Asiatech (M) 17 0 18  
20 A. Yoong 22 Minardi Asiatech (M) 0 15 19  
- H. Frentzen1 20
8
Arrows Cosworth (B)
Sauber Petronas (B)
11 2 10  
- A. Davidson 22 Minardi Asiatech (M) 0 2 20  
- E. Bernoldi 21 Arrows Cosworth (B) 1 11 12  

1. Heinz Harald Frentzen replaced Felipe Massa at the US Grand Prix.

QualiPoints are awarded in the same way points are awarded to the top 6 drivers in a race. (i.e. 10, 6, 4, 3, 2,1)

Want to submit any comments you have on this section ? We'd love to hear from you. Fill in the form below.

Name:
Email address:
Country:

Comments:

 

The Real Race explained
Previous Race
Main Japanese GP Page
Back to Top


Loading