When Renault really like at home
[My Australasia]
MAGNY COURS, France - Formula One leader Fernando Alonso won the French Grand Prix on Sunday in a dominant display from the pole position.
The Renault driver won for the fifth time in 10 races this season, with Kimi Raikkonen taking second and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher finishing third.
"The car performed extremely well again in the race," Alonso said. "It was competitive from the first lap."
All the teams were back on the track, two weeks after 14 cars boycotted the U.S. Grand Prix over concerns about tire safety.
Raikkonen, who started 13th, was 11.8 seconds behind in his McLaren-Mercedes. Although he had the third-fastest qualifying time, the Finn was penalized 10 spots for changing his engine after its failure during Friday's practice.
Ferrari's Schumacher was almost a lap behind.
Alonso led from the start and never was challenged. Such was his dominance that he built on his lead despite taking three pit stops compared with Raikkonen's two.
Alonso now has 69 points in the overall standings, followed by Raikkonen with 45 and Schumacher with 40. AP
Top 9:
1 F Alonso (Renault)
2 K Raikkonen (McLaren)
3 M Schumacher (Ferrari)
4 J Button (BAR)
5 J Trulli (Toyota)
6 G Fisichella (Renault)
7 R Schumacher (Toyota)
8 J Villeneuve (Sauber)
9 R Barrichello (Ferrari)
Where's my Williams team???
BMW Williams related news:
BMW slams Williams effort in French GP
BMW has labelled Formula One partner Williams' French Grand Prix effort as "weak" after Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld limped home near the end of the field.
BMW Motorsport boss Mario Theissen did little to disguise his disgust as Williams endured its worst French race in recent history.
Webber finished 12th - and suffered a burn on his hip due to a heat buildup in the cockpit - and Heidfeld 14th.
The result was disastrous for the team which had travelled to Magny-Cours trumpeting the arrival of much-needed aerodynamic parts for the car.
Of the cars which finished the race, Webber and Heidfeld beat home only the backmarker Jordan.
"The race was as weak as the qualifying," Theissen said bluntly after the Grand Prix, although he added that the BMW engines ran without problems.
"Neither of our drivers had a chance to improve. Towards the end of the race both cars suffered mechanical problems which need to be analysed.
"Before the next grand prix in Silverstone we need to analyse the data of this weekend in order to find the reason for our weak performance here." [More...]
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MAGNY COURS, France - Formula One leader Fernando Alonso won the French Grand Prix on Sunday in a dominant display from the pole position.
The Renault driver won for the fifth time in 10 races this season, with Kimi Raikkonen taking second and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher finishing third.
"The car performed extremely well again in the race," Alonso said. "It was competitive from the first lap."
All the teams were back on the track, two weeks after 14 cars boycotted the U.S. Grand Prix over concerns about tire safety.
Raikkonen, who started 13th, was 11.8 seconds behind in his McLaren-Mercedes. Although he had the third-fastest qualifying time, the Finn was penalized 10 spots for changing his engine after its failure during Friday's practice.
Ferrari's Schumacher was almost a lap behind.
Alonso led from the start and never was challenged. Such was his dominance that he built on his lead despite taking three pit stops compared with Raikkonen's two.
Alonso now has 69 points in the overall standings, followed by Raikkonen with 45 and Schumacher with 40. AP
Top 9:
1 F Alonso (Renault)
2 K Raikkonen (McLaren)
3 M Schumacher (Ferrari)
4 J Button (BAR)
5 J Trulli (Toyota)
6 G Fisichella (Renault)
7 R Schumacher (Toyota)
8 J Villeneuve (Sauber)
9 R Barrichello (Ferrari)
Where's my Williams team???
BMW Williams related news:
BMW slams Williams effort in French GP
BMW has labelled Formula One partner Williams' French Grand Prix effort as "weak" after Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld limped home near the end of the field.
BMW Motorsport boss Mario Theissen did little to disguise his disgust as Williams endured its worst French race in recent history.
Webber finished 12th - and suffered a burn on his hip due to a heat buildup in the cockpit - and Heidfeld 14th.
The result was disastrous for the team which had travelled to Magny-Cours trumpeting the arrival of much-needed aerodynamic parts for the car.
Of the cars which finished the race, Webber and Heidfeld beat home only the backmarker Jordan.
"The race was as weak as the qualifying," Theissen said bluntly after the Grand Prix, although he added that the BMW engines ran without problems.
"Neither of our drivers had a chance to improve. Towards the end of the race both cars suffered mechanical problems which need to be analysed.
"Before the next grand prix in Silverstone we need to analyse the data of this weekend in order to find the reason for our weak performance here." [More...]
posted by 9T9 at
10:42 am
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