Wizzie's GP4 Career (2005-2008)

[TomWazzleshaw]

Post France:

In the stewards meeting after the race both Fernando Alonso and Daniel Melrose faced allegations of causing avoidable incidents. Melrose also faced the stewards on allegations of dangerous driving. Alonso is found innocent of his collision with Sato as Sato had tried to cut across Alonso in the braking zone. Melrose however isn't so lucky. He is given a $100 000 fine (The maximum imposable by the FIA) and is given a suspended one race ban for causing atleast 5 separate incidents and basically being a mobile roadblock for most of the race. The results for this race have not been affected.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Pre GB:
In the extrodinary WMSC meeting Michelin were found guilty of effectly being incompetent fools and were fined $10 millions. Ferrari also took the oppertunity to appeal the decision against Melrose handed down in France. The appeal was somewhat successful as the fine was reduced to $20 000 but the suspended one race ban still looms large over his head.

Silly Season news now and Patrick Friesacher looks more and more likely to lose his seat by the minute and pundits are saying this will be his last race. Meanwhile another name has been linked to the second BAR seat as Button looks like staying rather than going to Williams next year. That name is none other than that of championship leader Daniel Melrose. He has spoken to the press saying he's gotten offers from both BMW Sauber and BAR and will make a decision on his future around Monza. Meanwhile Sauber's Felipe Massa has been signed to a 2 year deal at Maranello and has an option to race for Ferrari for one race this season should the ban on Melrose come into effect.

Meanwhile Giancarlo Fisichella's time at Renault may be short lived as there are names from all over the globe being thrown into the ring from Jacques Villeneuve to Christian Klien and even to GP2 championship leader Nico Rosberg and Formula Renault series leader Robert Kubica. Juan Pablo Montoya is having a similarly difficult time keeping the second McLaren seat as the chances of him going to Red Bull or BAR increase.

Round 11: Great Britan

Qualifying:
Championship leader Daniel Melrose was a man on a mission. It took him a total of 2 laps to dip into the mid 18s in practice and he was the favourite to take pole. He did so by nearly 3 tenths over Kimi Raikkonen while Melrose's main championship rival Fernando Alonso was 3rd. Defending champion Michael Schumacher had a medicore session by qualifying 10th but over 2 seconds slower than Melrose and behind Jacques Villeneuve.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (Ferrari)
2. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
3. F. Alonso (Renault)
4. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
5. J. Trulli (Toyota)
6. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
7. G. Fisichella (Renault)
8. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
9. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
10. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
12. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW)
13. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
14. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
15. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
16. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
17. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota)
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
19. P. Friesacher (Minardi-Cosworth)
20. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)

Race:
Daniel Melrose was an angry man when he arrived at Silverstone. When he left he was still an angry man. That was because even though he scored another hattrick this season he and the team were placed on report for the second time in a week. This time due to a collision between Melrose and Jacques Villeneuve as Melrose was leaving the pits for his season stop. More info will be avaliable at the post race stewards meeting.

Here Melrose knew he had to make a good start to have any hope of winning as he knew his agressive driving style would chew into the tyres more than just about anywhere else. For once this season he did get a good start and went on to win. However he was pressured early on by Alonso and for the entire race by Montoya before Juan ran wide at Abbey on the penultimate lap. Alonso went from 2nd to 5th at the first pitstop phase and never became much of a factor afterwards. There were 4 teams in the top 8 as Ferrari, McLaren, Renault and Toyota hogged all the point avaliable. Fisichella and Button put got burn from the stern performances after early mistakes to finish 6th and 10th repsectively.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 1h 21m 39.413s
2. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +5.564
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +14.646
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +16.222
5. F. Alonso (Renault): +18.087
6. G. Fisichella (Ferrari): +1:03.796
7. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1:07.890
8. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +1:08.477
9. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): +1:18.012
10. J. Button (BAR-Honda): +1:18.521
11. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): +1 LAP
12. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
13. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
14. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): +1 LAP
15. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
16. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +2 LAPS
17. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
19. P. Friesacher (Minardi-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
20. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): DNF

Pole: D. Melrose (Ferrari): 1:18.373
Fastest Lap: D. Melrose (Ferrari): 1:19.891
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-19, 24-39, 45-60 (Total: 51)
K. Raikkonen: 20-23, 42-43 (Total: 6)
J. Pablo Montoya: 40-41 (Total: 2)
F. Alonso: 44 (Total: 1)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 69 points (6 wins, 1 3rd)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 46 points (2 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 39 points (3 2nds, 1 3rd)
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 33 points (1 3rd)
5. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 30 points (1 win, 2 2nds)
6. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 30 points (2 2nds, 2 3rds)
7. G. Fisichella (Renault): 30 points (1 3rd)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): 23 points (1 win)
9. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
10. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 17 points (1 2nd)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 15 points (1 2nd)
12. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 15 points (1 win)
13. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 15 points (1 3rd)
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4ths)
15. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 8 points (1 2nd)
16. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 7 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
17. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
19. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
20. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 102 points (6 wins, 2 3rds)
2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 76 points (2 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
3. West McLaren Mercedes: 75 points (1 win, 5 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 51 points (2 2nds, 4 3rds)
5. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 38 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
6. RBR Cosworth: 35 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 19 points (1 2nd)
8. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 15 points (1 3rd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

The circus is now off to the redesigned Hockenhiemring for the German Grand Prix

[Phoenix]

Why will Daniel Melrose's career only last until 2008?

[TomWazzleshaw]

Why will Daniel Melrose's career only last until 2008?

Well it was going to the end of 2008 because there were no working GP4 mods for 2009 and 2010 that didn't require assembly. However as of about a few days ago I have come up with a brilliant idea which will be revealed later.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Post-GB:
For the second race in a row Melrose and co had to face the stewards. This time for an incident on lap 40 where Melrose was released into the path of Sauber's Jacques Villenuve after a pitstop. Melrose escaped punishment by the skin of his teeth however Ferrari were fined $50 000 for the incident. Ferrari then dealt out some punishment of their own as the lollipop man has been sidelined for the next 2 races.

[Phoenix]

Why will Daniel Melrose's career only last until 2008?

Well it was going to the end of 2008 because there were no working GP4 mods for 2009 and 2010 that didn't require assembly. However as of about a few days ago I have come up with a brilliant idea which will be revealed later.

Thank God, I was fearing some sort of fatality...

[TomWazzleshaw]

Pre-Germany:
No matter what way you look at it there are 3 main contenders for the crown this year. For sheer pace you'ld back Raikkonen, for consistancy you'ld put some money on Alonso but if you wanted to play it safe you'ld bet on Australian Rookie Daniel Melrose to take out the crown with a 23 point lead. However Sauber have officially lodged an appeal against Ferrari to the FIA saying that Melrose's ban should be enforced for that pitlane incident involving Jacques Villeneuve. The case will be presented to the World Motorsports Council on the Tuesday before the Turkish Grand Prix. In the meanwhile we have Germany and Hungary to get out of the way.

Silly season news and it's offical. Patrick Friesacher has been givin the boot and Minardi Robert Doornbos has been given the seat. Juan Pablo Montoya meanwhile confirmed that he's more likely than not staying at McLaren next year. BMW Sauber have formally announced the candiates for the second seat at the Munich squad next year. The candidates are:
1. Daniel Melrose
2. Robert Kubica
3. Christian Klien
4. Takuma Sato
5. Jacques Villeneuve
6. Pedro De La Rosa
7. Alexander Wurz

The pundits are betting on a two horse race between Melrose and Kubica with Klien the outsider. However that speaks volumes for Klien's chances at Red Bull or the planned Toro Rosso team next year which are not that flash.

Round 12: Germany

Practice:
Daniel Melrose was probably in the box seat for the championship. And then as if by magic all of Alonso's Christmases came at once. Practice was wet which was bad enough for the young Australian. However he turned into his own worst enemy by spearing off into the barrier almost head on at turn 1 after coming in way too hot, ran wide and failed epically at recovering it. The accident broke his right ankle which meant he was out of the car for the rest of this weekend and the next weekend at Hungary. Ferrari reserve Driver Luca Badoer has been given the call to fill in for Melrose at Hockenheim.

Qualifying:
On a Melrose-less paddock there was a subdued mood as Melrose sat despondant in the pitbox. The rest of the grid got their act together for Qualifying as the turn one barrier was lined with tyres to try and reduce the risk of the injury sustained by Melrose. Raikkonen has been quick all weekend and without Melrose to bother him he took an easy pole from Jenson Button while Melrose's main championship rival Fernando Alonso was thrid. Luca Badoer was stranded in 15th but that was expected considering the short notice he was called up at. Juan Pablo Montoya was in all sorts of trouble and ended up on the back row of the grid.

Grid:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
3. F. Alonso (Renault)
4. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
5. G. Fisichella (Renault)
6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
7. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW)
8. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
9. J. Trulli (Toyota)
10. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
11. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
12. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
13. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
14. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
15. L. Badoer (Ferrari)
16. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
17. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
18. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)
19. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota)
20. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)

Race:
For the upteenth time this season the race the race started out dry and for the upteenth time it just got wetter throughout. The first few laps were messy as many people got into collisions with each other and speared off the track but amid the chaos Alonso emerged in the lead and dominated throughout. Jenson Button was second in the BAR while Mark Webber did his slim championship hopes a world of good by finishing 3rd. Polesitter Kimi Raikkonen had a topsy-turvy race and finished in 8th place. Ferrari had a mixed day after the nightmare on Friday with Schumacher finishing 4th yet again while Badoer finished one lap down in 11th

Results:
1. F. Alonso (Renault): 1h 36m 35.463s
2. J. Button (BAR-Honda): +50.484
3. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): +53.983
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +57.160
5. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): +1:32.558
6. G. Fisichella (Ferrari): +1 LAP
7. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +1 LAP
8. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
9. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
10. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): +1 LAP
11. L. Badoer (Ferrari): +1 LAP
12. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
13. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
14. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
15. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): +2 LAPS
16. J. Trulli (Toyota): +3 LAPS
17. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
18. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +7 LAPS*
19. R. Schumacher (Toyota): DNF
20. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): DNF

Pole: K.Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:14.607
Fastest Lap: M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 1:15.974
Leaders: K. Raikkonen: 1-4 (Total: 4)
F. Alonso: 5-15, 17-67 (Total: 62)
J. Button: 16 (Total: 1)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 69 points (6 wins, 1 3rd)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 56 points (3 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 40 points (3 2nds, 1 3rd)
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 38 points (1 3rd)
5. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 36 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
6. G. Fisichella (Renault): 33 points (1 3rd)
7. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 30 points (1 win, 2 2nds)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): 23 points (1 win)
9. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 23 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
10. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
11. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 19 points (1 win)
12. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 17 points (1 2nd)
13. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 15 points (1 2nd)
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4ths)
15. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 8 points (1 2nd)
16. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 7 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
17. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
19. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
20. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
21. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 107 points (6 wins, 2 3rds)
2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 89 points (3 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
3. West McLaren Mercedes: 76 points (1 win, 5 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 57 points (2 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. RBR Cosworth: 39 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
6. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 38 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 25 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 19 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

The paddock now heads off the Budapest, Hungary for the next round of the championship

[TomWazzleshaw]

Ok readers now's your chance to get involved.

Now that Daniel Melrose is out of the car for Hungary and possibly Turkey as well there are 3 driver situations I can do for this race. They are:
1. Badoer stays in the second Ferrari for Hungary
2. Marc Gene takes over from Badoer for Hungary
3. Felipe Massa moves over from Sauber to Ferrari for one race while Rubens Barrichello makes a surprise return in the Sauber.

Also Daniel Melrose is now open to any and all questions about the season so far and that crash at Hockenheim.

[Phoenix]

Leave Badoer in the car. I want to see the guy scoring a point, even if this is fictional.

[AndreaModa]

Leave Badoer in the car. I want to see the guy scoring a point, even if this is fictional.

Yes that! Its for the same reason that Minardi have offered him a one year extension on his current contract that's due to expire in 1999 in Sammy Jones' world!

A question for Mr Melrose though, bearing in mind you're still in your first year in F1 with one of if not the most successful team in F1 history, would you not agree that moving elsewhere from Ferrari is a big gamble? Considering the resources that Ferrari have that can probably only really be matched by McLaren, is taking your services to Honda or BMW Sauber so early in your career when you have the championship almost within grasp the wisest decision to make?

[TomWazzleshaw]

A question for Mr Melrose though, bearing in mind you're still in your first year in F1 with one of if not the most successful team in F1 history, would you not agree that moving elsewhere from Ferrari is a big gamble? Considering the resources that Ferrari have that can probably only really be matched by McLaren, is taking your services to Honda or BMW Sauber so early in your career when you have the championship almost within grasp the wisest decision to make?

If I had the choice I would try to stay at Ferrari but ever since my first race where I accidentally punted Schumacher off the track in our battle for 3rd and 4th I've been made decisively unwelcome by the top brass at Ferrari. That plus the pitlane bungle at Monaco and my crappy performances at Tilkedromes has made my position at Ferrari untenable.

Moving on will be a massive gamble as BAR have really been hitting and missing over the past 2 years and I have no idea how BMW will go running their own team next year but out of all the seats avaliable they are the best for me even though there are rumours that the second Renault seat may be opening up.

Yes yes, Mr Melrose, people have criticised you for inheriting your team-mate's style of racing - bending the rules further than a straw and driving like a complete twat. How do you respond to these criticism?

I believe that this criticism is well founded considering my performances at Australia and France but that doesn't mean I won't slow down one bit. My job is to do the absolute best I can in that Ferrari and right now that means winning the championship and if that means annoying a few people from time to time on the track so be it.

However I do apologise for the incident with Jacques Villeneuve at Silverstone and in hindsight I should have waited in the pits but the red mist had set and I was in a battle with Montoya at the time which contributed to the incident.

Feel free to ask more questions

[Londoner]

Mr Melrose, do you think that your chance of becoming the Driver Champion in your first season has gone or been dealt a severe blow due to this crash, and what are your thoughts on your teamate, seeing as he has only one podium place to his name this season. Do you get on with him?

[TomWazzleshaw]

Mr Melrose, do you think that your chance of becoming the Driver Champion in your first season has gone or been dealt a severe blow due to this crash, and what are your thoughts on your teamate, seeing as he has only one podium place to his name this season. Do you get on with him?

Regardless of the crash I think my chances would have been dealt a severe blow anyway as I didn't think my driving style would have suited Hockenhiem anyway considering the difficulty I've been having with the car before the crash. We may have scored a point or two at Hungary but not much more. Our aim now is to come back at Turkey pending the Sauber appeal concerning the pitlane incident at Silverstone.

Back onto my championship chances and I think that I'll still be in with a chance considering how strong I've been around Interlagos and Suzuka in my time at the F1 Rejects World Championship and with Spa and Monza being real power tracks I think wins at all 4 circuits aren't out of the question. The season finale at Shanghai though will probably be the hardest out of all the races as I traditionally haven't done well at Tilkedromes.

Onto Michael now and we both get along well despite the incidents in Australia, Monaco and France. He completely understood what happened on all 3 occasions being a man of his calibre and we have talked about it in private. However I have no idea how well he's taking to the fact that before Germany I've been outscoring him 2-1 and scored 6 wins to his 0. I do know he's had a difficult season with only the single podium at Indianapolis and I hope he can turn it around at Hungary and win the race to take points off Alonso and co.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Silly-Season Report:
With just one race to go at Hungary before the summer break let's take a look at the team by team analysis for next year.

1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Schumacher will be staying on next year. There's no doubt about that and he will be fired up next year after being absolutely humiliated thus far by rookie teammate Daniel Melrose. Speaking of Melrose there's also no doubt he's moving on next year and he has come out saying he's looking for a long term home. In his place Sauber driver and Ferrari protege Felipe Massa will be playing the effective rear gunner role to Schumacher next season.

2006 lineup
Driver 1: M. Schumacher (Under contract)
Driver 2: Massa (Confirmed)
Test Drivers: Badoer/Gene

2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
Thus far this has been their most impressive season since they bought out Benetton back in late 2001. The odds of an Alonso championship victory are shortening as Melrose is out at Hungary as well and no matter what happens he knows that he will have another shot next year. Giancarlo Fisichella meanwhile is a man under pressure to perform as he's yet to score a podium and help Renault's constructors championship bid. If Fisichella does move on the bookies are betting on Mark Webber moving over from Williams a year early to fill the seat or to take a gamble with a talented GP2 driver.

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: Alonso (Under contract)
Driver 2: TBD
Test Drivers: Kovaleinen/TBD

3. West McLaren Mercedes
Both drivers are staying. That is known. What is also known is that Juan Pablo Montoya doesn't seem too happy and Raikkonen may be getting fustrated as the team lets him down again and again. This is a team set to either excel or fail spectacularly next year

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: Raikkonen (Under contract)
Driver 2: Montoya (Confirmed)
Test Drivers: De La Rosa/TBD

4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team
Sure BMWs have finished on the poduim 7 times this year but not one of them have been victories. Not only that but BMW are leaving the building next year and taking Heidfeld with them. That plus the switch to Cosworth and Bridgestone and the fact that there's talk of Webber leaving and Button looking for a get out clause in his contract doesn't bode well for the Grove squad. Atleast Wurz has been signed on as a test driver and rumour has it that Fisichella might be going there next year should Webber go to Renault.

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: Webber (Under contract)
Driver 2: TBD
Test Drivers: Wurz/Rosberg

5. RBR Cosworth
Solid midfielders, occasional front runners and exceeding all expectations. Red Bull have easily been the team of the year so far and it's set to get better. Coulthard has a contract until the end of 07 which is a good thing for the team and names from all over the world are interested in and have been linked to that second seat from Montoya (Before he signed the extension with McLaren) and Villeneuve and Sebastien Bourdais to Liuzzi and even teenager Sebastien Vettel. However one person who might be missing out is Christian Klien as he may be heading to the B-Team even though he has performed respectibly this season.

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: Coulthard (Under contract)
Driver 2: TBD
Test Drivers: Liuzzi/Speed

6. Panasonic Toyota Racing
Not much to report since both drivers are already under contract for next year.

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: Trulli (Under contract)
Driver 2: R. Schumacher (Under contract)
Test Drivers: Zonta/Panis

7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda
The silly season for this year revolve around two people. One is championship leader Daniel Melrose. The other? None other than Jenson Button. He has publically shown he doesn't really want to go to the internal turmoil that is Williams and he wants to stay put at BAR if he gets his way. In the second seat Sato is facing an uphill battle to keep the seat as again many names have been linked to that seat including Melrose, Klien, Davidson, Barrichello and a whole host of other drivers

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: TBD
Driver 2: TBD
Test Drivers: Davidson/TBD

8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota
After being bought by the Midland Group at the beginning of the year. Whoever performs better over the season gets the drive next year. Whoever does worse will become a test driver or be released. So far both drivers are fairly evenly matched but Karthikeyan is ahead in the standings.

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: TBD
Driver 2: TBD
Test Drivers: TBD/TBD

9. Sauber Petronas
Almost overnight Sauber has become the team to watch. After BMW bought the team off Peter Sauber in June bringing Heidfeld with them literally everyone from Melrose to Kubica to Klien to De La Rosa and even Villeneuve have been linked to the second drive. What is known though is whoever is driving the race cars next year will face a tough job keeping their drive in 2007 as BMW have 2 young guns in Kubica and Vettel as test drivers

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: Heidfeld (Confirmed)
Driver 2: TBD
Test Drivers: Kubica/Vettel

10. Minardi Cosworth
Things are starting to look up for the minnows of F1 as Red Bull are planning to purchase the team. However it is not known whether they'll keep the Minardi name next year or not.

2006 lineup:
Driver 1: TBD
Driver 2: TBD
Test Drivers: TBD/TBD

[TomWazzleshaw]

And now with the extensive silly season report complete onto the next round.

Pre-Hungary:
Not much to report this time round except for Badoer staying in the Ferrari. Melrose is expected to be back in Turkey pending the Sauber appeal.

Round 13: Hungary

Qualifying:
He back and what a comeback it was. Michael Schumacher was determined to help out teammate Melrose any way he could in the championship and he did that with style too. He was on pole by over a second and he had set that time on his second hot lap sending a collective shiver through the paddock. Montoya completed the front row while Raikkonen and Alonso were 4th and 6th respectively. Badoer was having a good time finding himself 5th on the grid.

Grid:
1. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
2. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
3. J. Trulli (Toyota)
4. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
5. L. Badoer (Ferrari)
6. F. Alonso (Renault)
7. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
8. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
9. G. Fisichella (Renault)
10. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
11. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
12. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
14. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
15. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
16. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
17. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
18. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota)
19. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
20. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)

Race:
On a day where the 3 stopper was the better stratagy Kimi Raikkonen used his sheer pace and the pace in the car to win the race after a 90 minute epic battle royale with none other than 7 time World Champion Michael Schumacher who was only 4 and a half seconds behind at the end. Jenson Button inherited 3rd with 3 laps to go when the BMW engine in Nick Heidfeld's Williams cried enough. Up to that point Quick Nick was producing what had to be the drive of the day. A notable absentee from the points was none other than Fernando Alonso who finished an anonymous 12th. Massa did bathplug all as he struggled with an ill-handling car and finished 8 laps down. And finally Luca Badoer finally scored his first World Championship Points by finishing 7th after a race long tussle between him and the Red Bull cars.

Results:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1h 28m 07.088s
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +4.767
3. J. Button (BAR-Honda): +24.630
4. J. Trulli (Toyota): +46.478
5. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): +47.012
6. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +57.587
7. L. Badoer (Ferrari): +1 LAP
8. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
9. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
10. G. Fisichella (Renault): +1 LAP
11. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): +1 LAP
12. F. Alonso (Renault): +1 LAP
13. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +1 LAP
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
15. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): +3 LAPS*
16. T. Monteiro (-Jordan-Toyota): +3 LAPS
NC. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): +8 LAPS
DNF. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
DNF. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
DNF. R. Schumacher (Toyota)

*Didn't finish by completed atleast 90% race distance

Pole: M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 1:12.875
Fastest Lap: J. Button (BAR-Honda): 1:13.374
Leaders: M. Schumacher: 1-17, 29-37, 50-52 (Total: 28)
K. Raikkonen: 18-28, 38-49, 53-70 (Total: 42)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 69 points (6 wins, 1 3rd)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 56 points (3 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 50 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 1 3rd)
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 46 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
5. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 40 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
6. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 33 points (1 win, 2 2nds)
7. G. Fisichella (Renault): 33 points (1 3rd)
8. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 29 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
9. J. Trulli (Toyota): 28 points (1 win)
10. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
11. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 19 points (1 win)
12. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 18 points (1 2nd)
13. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 15 points (1 2nd)
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4ths)
15. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 8 points (1 2nd)
16. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 7 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
17. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
19. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
20. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
21. L. Badoer (Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
22. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 117 points (6 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 89 points (3 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
3. West McLaren Mercedes: 89 points (2 wins, 5 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 61 points (2 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 43 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
6. RBR Cosworth: 40 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 31 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 19 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

The Pirahna club now enters the summer break before the first ever Turkish Grand Prix in Istanbul

[Phoenix]

Luca Badoer finally scored his first World Championship Points by finishing 7th after a race long tussle between him and the Red Bull cars.

YEEEEEEES YES YES YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tommykl]

Luca Badoer finally scored his first World Championship Points by finishing 7th after a race long tussle between him and the Red Bull cars.

YEEEEEEES YES YES YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What he said.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Pre-Turkey:
Ferrari Star Daniel Melrose has been out for the previous 2 races and was declared fit for Turkey and was expected to slot back into the No 2 Ferrari at Istanbul... that was until the WMSC council meeting on Tuesday where the Sauber appeal suceeded and the 1 race ban that was hanging over Melrose's head since France took force immediatly. This mean that Badoer will be in the second Ferrari for the third and last time this season.

Silly season news now and Mark Webber has squashed rumours that he may be looking for a way out of his Williams contract which means he'll remain with Sir Frank's men for next season. Also BAR have come out saying that Takuma Sato will not be in the car next season even if the Honda buyout takes place. However there are rumours that a group of men led by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki are making plans to enter next season.

Round 14: Turkey

Qualifying:
The 2 buzz words around Istanbul was "Challenge" and "Traffic". The challenge being who can get a clear lap around the track as the field spread was simply appauling. In the end McLaren, Renault and Williams managed it better than anyone else as they filled the first 3 rows of the grid. Elsewhere Felipe Massa pulled out an excellent lap to put the Sauber 7th while Ferrari were in all sorts of trouble with Badoer 12th and Schumacher last.

Grid:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2. G. Fisichella (Renault)
3. F. Alonso (Renault)
4. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
5. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW)
6. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
7. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
8. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
9. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
10. J. Trulli (Toyota)
11. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
12. L. Badoer (Ferrari)
13. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
14. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)
15. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
16. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
17. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota)
18. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
19. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
20. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)

Race:
3 races ago Alonso was 23 points behind Daniel Melrose in the standings and had it all to do. 3 races later and the gap is just 3 points with everything to play for as Fernando claimed his 4th victory of the season to confirm that he will be the main challenger to Melrose. Fisichella performed the rear gunner role to perfection as he finished on the podium for the second time this season restircting Kimi Raikkonen to a disappointing 3rd. Sato ended up 4th after being stranded in qualifying while Montoya, Trulli, Klien and Ralf rounded out the points. Williams and Ferrari both had races to forget as not one of their cars finished in the points.


Results:
1. F. Alonso (Renault): 1h 23m 09.617s
2. G. Fisichella (Renault): +32.853
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +36.519
4. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +41.029
5. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +51.741
6. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1:18.031
7. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): +1:21.651
8. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +1 LAP
9. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): +1 LAP
10. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): +1 LAP
11. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
12. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): +1 LAP
13. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +1 LAP
14. L. Badoer (Ferrari): +2 LAPS
15. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
16. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
17. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth): +2 LAPS
DNF. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
DNF. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
DNF. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)

Pole: K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:23.580
Fastest Lap: J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:23.909
Leaders: K Raikkonen: 1-20, 29-42 (Total: 34)
F. Alonso: 21-24, 43-58 (Total: 20)
J. Button: 25-28 (Total: 4)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 69 points (6 wins, 1 3rd)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 66 points (4 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 56 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 46 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
5. G. Fisichella (Renault): 41 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 40 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
7. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 37 points (1 win, 2 2nds)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): 31 points (1 win)
9. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 29 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
10. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 21 points (1 win)
11. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
12. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 18 points (1 2nd)
13. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 16 points (1 2nd)
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4ths)
15. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 8 points (1 2nd)
16. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
17. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 7 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
18. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
19. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
20. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
21. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
22. L. Badoer (Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 117 points (6 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 107 points (4 wins, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. West McLaren Mercedes: 99 points (2 wins, 5 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 61 points (2 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 47 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
6. RBR Cosworth: 42 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 36 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 19 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

Next up is the Historic Italian Grand Prix at Monza

[TomWazzleshaw]

Pre-Italy
As one driver returns in the form of Daniel Melrose another is forced out due to injury. This time it's Nick Heidfeld as he has a massive accident at the Parabolica during testing. The accident was later attributed to a tyre failure but it means Quick Nick is out for the season. In his place Antonio Pizzonia is put in the second Williams.

More silly season news now and several big announcements have been made. First off is the confirmation that Red Bull has bought Minardi and will be rebranding it as the effective "B-Team" next year. Along with that Red Bull announced that Tonio Liuzzi has a race drive for next year although whether's it with the main team or the B team remains to be seen.

And then came the worst kept secret in Formula 1 today. Daniel Melrose confirmed on Thrusday that he has infact signed a 1 year deal with BMW Sauber with the option of a 2 year extension. BAR in the meantime have finalised the sale of the team to Honda which means that Honda will have a works team on the grid for the first time since 1968. And finally GIancarlo Fisichella announced that he's more likely than not staying with Renault next year although Renault haven't confirmed this yet.

Round 15: Italy

Qualifying:
Melrose's first qualifying session in almost 2 months yielded little result as he was stuck in the midfield in 11th. Fernando Alonso wasn't doing as tough in 6th while Kimi Raikkonen scored yet another pole position with Takuma Sato alongside him on the front row. Defending champion Michael Schumacher was 7th in the other Ferrari while the BMW powered Williams cars were nowhere in 14th and 16th.

Grid:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
2. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
3. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
5. J. Trulli (Toyota)
6. F. Alonso (Renault)
7. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
8. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
9. G. Fisichella (Renault)
10. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
11. D. Melrose (Ferrari)
12. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
13. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
14. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
15. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
16. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW)
17. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)
18. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
19. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota)
20. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)

Race:
The 2005 Italian Grand Prix was always going to be a turning point in the season but nobody could predict how it would turn out. Melrose made yet another poor getaway but yet again he did some epic diving down the inside and passing to end up third by the end of lap 1 behind Montoya and Sato. While Montoya skipped away to an easy win Sato and Melrose proceeded to hold up people in the early laps. However the Toyotas managed to get past the pair of them and ended up 3rd and 4th. So who ended up 2nd then? Well it was none other than Antonio Pizzonia who managed to pull out what has to be one of the drives of the season (Karthikeyan's efforts in San Marino and Europe to finish 6th at both were more impressive) and even led a few laps during the first pitstop phase.

So what of the main championship protagonists. First off Melrose was the only drivers other than the Toyotas among the frontrunners using a traditional 2 stop stratagy rather than the "half-3 quarter" stratagies of most of the other runners and the "almost but not quite" 1 stoppers of Raikkonen and Schumacher. I say not quite because the fuel consumption around Monza was higher than anticipated which meant the 1 stoppers had to do splash and dashes near the end. This was a problem for both Raikkonen and Schumacher as they both ended up behind Melrose with a few laps to go and gave Melrose a single point in 8 but that didn't stop the trio putting on an epic show near the end which included possibly the most memorable finish in recent times but more on that later. Fernando Alonso meanwhile was having it somewhat easier and was on track to finish 5th until his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella blasted past with a handful of laps to go demoting the young Spaniard to 6th. Massa pulled out a good drive to finish ahead of both Ferrari factory cars in 7th.

Now onto the memorable finish. Melrose had been having trouble putting the gas down out of the Parabolic and Raikkonen who was in 9th was looking to take advantage of that. Raikkonen gets a better exit than Melrose out of the Parabolica but is boxed in by the Ferrari because Schumacher got an even better run and was bolting down the inside and was up to a temporary 9th. Albers who was just up the road and almost a lap behind the trio in the Minardi meanwhile has just run out of fuel and was coasting to the finish line. Melrose darts right to avoid Albers forcing Schumacher to lift while Raikkonen just pips Schumacher by 0.010 at the finishline. And this was for 8th, 9th and 10th mind you.

Results:
1. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 1h 14m 24.182s
2. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): +16.477
3. J. Trulli (Toyota): +39.967
4. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +45.030
5. G. Fisichella (Renault): +50.033
6. F. Alonso (Renault): +51.874
7. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): +56.083
8. D. Melrose (Ferrari): +1:10.652
9. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +1:10.777
10. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +1:10.787
11. J. Button (BAR-Honda): +1:17.880
12. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +1 LAP
13. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): +1 LAP
14. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
15. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +1 LAPS
16. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth): +1 LAP
17. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): +1 LAP
18. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): +2 LAPS
DNF. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
DNF. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)

Pole: K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:21.961
Fastest Lap: J. Trulli (Toyota): 1:21.912
Leaders: J. Pablo Montoya: 1-21, 28-52 (Total: 47)
A. Pizzonia: 22-27 (Total: 6)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 70 points (6 wins, 1 3rd)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 69 points (4 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 56 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 2 3rds)
4. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 47 points (2 wins, 2 2nds)
5. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 46 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. G. Fisichella (Renault): 45 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
7. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 40 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): 37 points (1 win, 1 3rd)
9. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 29 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
10. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 21 points (1 win)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 21 points (1 2nd)
12. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 18 points (1 2nd)
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4ths)
15. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 8 points (1 2nd)
17. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): 8 points (1 2nd)
18. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
19. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
20. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
21. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
22. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
23. L. Badoer (Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 118 points (6 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 114 points (4 wins, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. West McLaren Mercedes: 109 points (3 wins, 5 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 69 points (3 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 58 points (1 win, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. RBR Cosworth: 42 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 36 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 19 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 11 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

Next up is one of the real driver circuits on the calender. Spa Francorchamps.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Pre-Belgium:

The silly season is really in full swing now. Firstly Red Bull have signed 17 year old Belgian Thomas De Bock in their young driver development program. De Bock was unavaliable for comment. Secondly Giancarlo Fisichella has gone down the path of Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli by pissing off Flav after passing Alonso with a few laps to go at Monza. Flav has effectively given him the boot and will be rotating between test driver Heikki Kovaleinen and Formula Renault champion Robert Kubica for the final 3 flyaway races for the 2006 drive.

Christian Klien meanwhile has been rumoured to be a test driver for BMW Sauber next season after Red Bull also announced that Vitantonio Liuzzi will be driving in the A Team next season while Scott Speed will be driving for the B Team. Finally Christijan Albers has been confirmed as the replacement for one of the Jordan drivers. However who will be replaced is yet to be disclosed.

Round 16: Belgium

Qualifying:
Spa Francorchamps has always been a real driver's circuit where the driver can make a real difference. Daniel Melrose made a real difference as he was by far the quickest driver through sector 2 and scored pole position by just over a tenth from the McLaren duo. In his last race for Renault Giancarlo Fisichella outqualified Alonso in an effort to speak to Flav's nicer side but that didn't look like happening. Felipe Massa meanwhile was continuing his good run of form by qualifiying 10th.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (Ferrari)
2. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. J. Trulli (Toyota)
5. G. Fisichella (Renault)
6. F. Alonso (Renault)
7. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
8. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
9. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
10. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
11. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
12. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
14. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
15. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW)
16. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
17. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
19. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota)
20. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)

Pre-Race Warmup:
Narain Karthikeyan and Juan Pablo Montoya go side by side into Blanchemont... next thing we know Karthikeyan is severely injured and is taken to the nearest hospital in what was easily the biggest crash of the season as he is lauched off the McLaren and hits the wall at unabated speed. He is out of the rest of the season while Franck Montagny takes control of the Jordan for the rest of the season. Montoya is unhurt and will make the start of the race later today. (And before you ask no I'm not making this up. I was onboard with Montoya at the time of the accident and trust me it was huge.)

Race:
Melrose entered the European Season with just a sole 3rd to his name and people questioning the wisdom of Ferrari's driver management. However as the European Season drew to a close Daniel Melrose came a step closer to a historic first title by taking his 7th win of the season at Spa with what could have been the defining drive of his career. As the rest of the field were either 1 stopping or 2 stopping Melrose took a gamble with the 3 stop stratagy and it works out brilliantly. Fernando Alonso inherited 2nd after Kimi Raikkonen got held up by an incident between Franck Montagny and Felipe Massa amongst others. Jacques Villeneuve in the other Sauber meanwhile finished 4th and scored himself fastest lap of the race. Giancarlo Fisichella failed to score points in his final race for the Renault team.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 1h 20m 54.979s
2. F. Alonso (Renault): +30.922
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +34.033
4. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): +1:03.079
5. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): +1:15.137
6. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +1:30.244
7. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +1:37.317
8. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +1:42.456
9. G. Fisichella (Renault): +1 LAP
10. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): +1 LAP
11. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1 LAP
12. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
13. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +1 LAP
14. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): +1 LAP
15. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +1 LAP
16. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): +1 LAP
17. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): +1 LAP
18. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
19. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota): +5 LAPS*
DNF. J. Button (BAR-Honda)

*Didn't finish but covered 90% of race distance

Pole: D. Melrose (Ferrari): 1:46.670
Fastest Lap: J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 1:47.219
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-10, 17-33, 37-44 (Total: 35)
K. Raikkonen: 11-12, 34-35 (Total: 5)
J. Button: 13-16 (Total: 4)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 80 points (7 wins, 1 3rd)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 77 points (4 wins, 2 2nds, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 62 points (1 win, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 50 points (2 wins, 2 2nds)
5. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 47 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. G. Fisichella (Renault): 45 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
7. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 44 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): 37 points (1 win, 1 3rd)
9. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 29 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
10. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 23 points (1 2nd)
11. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 21 points (1 win)
12. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 18 points (1 2nd)
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4ths)
15. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): 8 points (1 2nd)
17. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 8 points (1 2nd)
18. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
19. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
20. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
21. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
22. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
23. L. Badoer (Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 129 points (7 wins, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 122 points (4 wins, 3 2nds, 2 3rds)
3. West McLaren Mercedes: 118 points (3 wins, 5 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 73 points (3 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 60 points (1 win, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. RBR Cosworth: 42 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 36 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 19 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 16 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

Next up is the first of the 3 flyaway races to close off the season at Interlagos.

[AndreaModa]

Ooh it's squeaky bum time at the top! Looking really interesting now, and I wish I'd seen the end of the Monza race, sounds epic!

[TomWazzleshaw]

Pre-Brazil:

Silly season news this time round came thick and fast. First the reports coming out of the university hospital of Vrije Universiteit Brussel is that Narain Karthikeyan is expected to make a full recovery and will be fine to drive next season as Jordan's new owners the Midland group extend his contract for another year for the race drive. Tiago Monteiro is signed on a test driver.

Meanwhile further up the pitlane Heikki Kovaleinen will be driving in Brazil while Formula Renault champion Robert Kubica will be in the No 6 Renault at Suzuka in a race off for the drive in China and the race seat next year. Fisi meanwhile has signed on for Williams next season to replace the outgoing Nick Heidfeld. Speaking of BMW Sauber refugee Christian Klien has been signed on to fill the test driver void left by a departing Robert Kubica. Finally Red Bull have settled their lineup for both teams with Coulthard and Liuzzi driving for the main team while American Scott Speed and Dutchman Robert Doornbos will be driving for the newly named B Team Scuderia Toro Rosso. Other than the second Renault seat the only major seat left is the second Honda seat with the team buying Button out of his contract with Williams and will keep him on till the end of 2009.

Round 17: Brazil

Qualifying:
Yet another twist has been added to the championship tale as Fernando Alonso scored pole in the Renault. Championship leader Daniel Melrose meanwhile was not far behind in third with Montoya splitting the pair. The other championship contender Kimi Raikkonen was 5th on the grid. Heikki Kovaleinen was nothing short of superlative on debut as he put the Renault 8th on grid just over a tenth slower than 7 time world champion and arguably the greatest driver in history Michael Schumacher. Takuma Sato in the BAR meanwhile was nowhere and will start at the back of the grid.

Grid:
1. F. Alonso (Renault)
2. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
3. D. Melrose (Ferrari)
4. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
5. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
6. J. Trulli (Toyota)
7. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
8. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
9. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
10. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
11. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
12. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
13. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
14. T. Monteiro (Sauber-Petronas)
15. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW)
16. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
17. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota)
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
19. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
20. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)

Race:
Like at the previous Grand Prix in Belgium Daniel Melrose took a gamble and made one more pitstop that most of his rivals. Unlike Belgium however it didn't work as Kimi Raikkonen took his 2nd win of the season to keep his slim championship hopes alive. Melrose however made it hard for him as he had closed the gap to just over 5 seconds by the end of the race. Heikki Kovaleinen had a simply stunning debut as he finished on the podium after blasting past Alonso and both Schumachers in the final stint. Takuma Sato continues his luckless run though as he was 8th with a handful of laps to go before the transmission called it quits. Juan Pablo Montoya meanwhile retired early after binning it in the early stages of the Grand Prix.

Results:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1h 29m 31.590s
2. D. Melrose (Ferrari): +5.506
3. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +7.444
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +11.122
5. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +12.198
6. F. Alonso (Renault): +17.368
7. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): +25.292
8. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): +48.926
9. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): +52.263
10. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): +57.003
11. J. Button (BAR-Honda): +1:02.414
12. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): +1:04.284
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): +1:06.371
14. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1 LAP
15. F. Montangy (Jordan-Toyota): +1 LAP
16. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +1 LAP
17. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +3 LAPS*
18. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth): +3 LAPS
DNF. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
DNF. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)

*Didn't finish but covered over 90% of race distance

Pole: F. Alonso (Renault): 1:12.933
Fastest Lap: T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 1:13.523
Leaders: J. Pablo Montoya: 1 (Total: 1)
D. Melrose 2-8, 10-16, 18-22, 32-47 (Total: 35)
K. Raikkonen: 9, 17, 23-29, 51-71 (Total: 30)
M. Schumacer: 30-31 (Total: 2)
H. Kovaleinen: 48-50 (Total: 3)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 88 points (7 wins, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 80 points (4 wins, 2 2nds, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 72 points (2 wins, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 52 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
5. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 50 points (2 wins, 2 2nds)
6. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 46 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
7. G. Fisichella (Renault): 45 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): 37 points (1 win, 1 3rd)
9. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 29 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
10. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 27 points (1 2nd)
11. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 21 points (1 win)
12. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 18 points (1 2nd)
14. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4ths)
15. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
16. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): 8 points (1 2nd)
17. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 8 points (1 2nd)
18. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 8 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
19. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
=20. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
=20. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 6 points (1 3rd)
22. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
23. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
24. L. Badoer (Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 142 points (7 wins, 2 2nds, 2 3rds)
2. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 131 points (4 wins, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
3. West McLaren Mercedes: 128 points (4 wins, 5 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 75 points (3 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 64 points (1 win, 1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. RBR Cosworth: 42 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 36 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 19 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 17 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

The next race on the calender is the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka

[TomWazzleshaw]

Pre-Japan:

A relatively quiet pre-race as the only announcements are Robert Kubica driving for Renault at Suzuka and Aguri Suzuki confirming he is entering team next year called Super Aguri with Honda engines and back plus BAR refugee Takuma Sato. Rumour has it that it's a straight fight between Rubens Barrichello and Anthony Davidson for the second seat at Honda which will be vacated by Sato.

Round 18: Japan

Qualifying:
Melrose took one giant leap towards the championship in his debut season by scoring a comfortable pole (His 8th for the season) with Ralf Schumacher the only driver to get within half a second of the Ferrari. Robert Kubica pulled out an absolutely stunning performance on debut by qualifying 3rd in the Renault. Alonso, Raikkonen and Montoya were in all sorts of trouble as they were stranded in 16th, 17th and 19th.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (Ferrari)
2. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
3. R. Kubica (Renault)
4. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
5. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
6. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
7. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
8. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
9. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
10. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
11. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota)
12. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW)
13. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
14. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
15. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
16. F. Alonso (Renault)
17. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
18. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)
19. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
20. J. Trulli (Toyota)

Race:
At just 20 years and 105 days of age Australian Daniel Melrose become the youngest ever world champion and in the process became the first driver ever to win the championship in their debut season and the first Australian to win motorsport's biggest prize since Alan Jones in 1980. However he didn't have it all his own way.

During the first stint Melrose pulled away at the rate of about a second a lap as he was 10 laps lighter than most of the cars he was racing. However his job became so much easier during the course of the first stint because by the time he pitted pretty much the entire midfield and some of the front runners had speared off and retired. It was looking like a Melrose cakewalk with Raikkonen, Ralf Schumacher and Robert Kubica fighting it out for the minor placings... and then the rain came.

It was a light drizzle but it was enough to convince Melrose to switch to intermediates at his second and final scheduled stop of the day. However he found the Bridgestone Intermediates to be of little use as he slid his way around the course trying to hold on to the lead until Riakkonen blasted past on lap 48 as the track was drying. Melrose then fell into the clutches of Ralf and Robert at the rate of 7-10 seconds a lap as he struggled on the intermediates . However Melrose managed to hang onto 2nd as first Kubica found the wall with 3 laps to go and Ralf simply ran out of time despite Melrose spinning at 130R on the final lap without managing to hit anything. Thanks to the attrition Jordan scored a double points finish while Christijan Albers scored a point in the Minardi.

Results:
1. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1h 25m 56.266s
2. D. Melrose (Ferrari): +50.146
3. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +53.134
4. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +1 LAP
5. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
6. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota): +1 LAP
7. R. Kubica (Renault): +3 LAPS*
8. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): +4 LAPS
DNF. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
DNF. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
DNF. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW)
DNF. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
DNF. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
DNF. J. Trulli (Toyota)
DNF. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
DNF. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
DNF. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
DNF. F. Alonso (Renault)
DNF. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
DNF. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)

*Didn't finish but covered over 90% of race distance

Pole: D. Melrose (Ferrari): 1:30.519
Fastest Lap: K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:32.206
Leaders: D. Melrose 1-17, 24-47 (Total: 41)
R. Schumacher: 18-23 (Total: 6)
K. Raikkonen: 48-53 (Total: 6)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 96 points (7 wins, 2 2nds, 1 3rd) (World Champion)
2. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 82 points (3 wins, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
3. F. Alonso (Renault): 80 points (4 wins, 2 2nds, 1 3rd)
4. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 54 points (2 wins, 2 2nds)
5. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 52 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 46 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
7. G. Fisichella (Renault): 45 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
8. J. Trulli (Toyota): 37 points (1 win, 1 3rd)
9. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 33 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
10. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 29 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
11. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 21 points (1 win)
12. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 18 points (1 2nd)
14. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 13 points (1 2nd)
15. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
16. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 9 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
17. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): 8 points (1 2nd)
18. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 8 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
19. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
=20. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
=20. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 6 points (1 3rd)
22. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
23. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota): 3 points (Best Result: 1 6th)
24. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
25. L. Badoer (Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
26. R. Kubica (Renault): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 150 points (7 wins, 3 2nds, 2 3rds)
2. West McLaren Mercedes: 142 points (5 wins, 5 2nds, 4 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 133 points (4 wins, 3 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 75 points (3 2nds, 5 3rds)
5. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 70 points (1 win, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
6. RBR Cosworth: 42 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 36 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 27 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 17 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

The circus now heads to Shanghai, China for the 19th and final round of the World Championship.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Formula One's latest champion Daniel Melrose is now open for another round of questions but before that I would like to dedicate this championship to my hero Chris Dangall because if it wasn't for him I would have never gotten into motorsport. If it wasn't for the leg-breaking smash in Jerez back in 1990 I'm sure he would have been a mulitiple time world champion. Chris, this championship is for you.

Now there is some serious Post-Race silly season news to announce:

Post-Japan:
Some major news came out of Japan in recent days but first back to that hospital in Brussels where it has been announced that the doctors have discovered that the back injury that Narain Karthikeyan suffered in the crash at Spa was worse than first thought which means he will be out of motorsport for atleast the next 12 months. This means Tiago Monteiro will be promoted to the Midland race seat next season. Midland then surprised the paddock by announcing that Rubens Barrichello has been signed among one of their many test drivers and will be their official thrid driver next season. Finally an announcement Honda's way and it is the surprise signing of former Arrows and Jaguar driver Sammy Jones as the second Honda driver for 2006 after he beat Davidson in a head-to-head test at Suzuka in the days after the race.

Now you may feel free to ask questions.

[Ducktanian]

A Huge Congralutions, Mr Melrose. World Champion in your first year, an impressive effort all around, especially against Schumacher. Why do think then, when you managed the score 7 wins this season, that Schumacher hasn't scored one all season. A huge turnaround from the dominace of 2004.

[TomWazzleshaw]

A Huge Congralutions, Mr Melrose. World Champion in your first year, an impressive effort all around, especially against Schumacher. Why do think then, when you managed the score 7 wins this season, that Schumacher hasn't scored one all season. A huge turnaround from the dominace of 2004.

Firstly thank you for the congratulations. I honestly didn't expect the championship after an average effort in the first 3 races but I somehow managed in the end.

Secondly I think the reason I've managed to make the car work and Schumacher hasn't is because my driving style seems to be able to make the Bridgestones work better as I tend to be the latest of the late brakers plus I tend to be more agressive with the driving inputs all round. Schumacher has a smoother driving style compared to me which means that even though he's been more consistent he's been mostly scoring lower points positions because of the tyre issues.

[Enforcer]

Mr. Melrose, have Ferrari, as expected by most of the media, been developing next year's car in such a way that it will favour Schumacher and make you look like Jean-Denis Deletraz?

[TomWazzleshaw]

Mr. Melrose, have Ferrari, as expected by most of the media, been developing next year's car in such a way that it will favour Schumacher and make you look like Jean-Denis Deletraz?

I haven't really being paying much attention to the development of next year's Ferrari since I've already confirmed that I'll be off to BMW Sauber next season but knowing Ferrari and their driver policy it wouldn't surprise me if Massa finds the car difficult to drive next season.

[Enforcer]

I should read more thoroughly.

Do you expect to challenge for the Championship at BMW Sauber?

[TomWazzleshaw]

Do you expect to challenge for the Championship at BMW Sauber?

A championship challenge in the short term with BMW Sauber is pretty much out of the question because the team will take a season or two to get up to speed and to be challenging for podiums and wins regularly but I believe there is a chance that I will be in contention in 2008 or 2009.

[Salamander]

Mr. Melrose, do you have any advice for Felipe Massa on how to best to deal with Schumacher and Ferrari, and get the most out of his time there?

[AndreaModa]

Congrats on the championship!

Finally an announcement Honda's way and it is the surprise signing of former Arrows and Jaguar driver Sammy Jones as the second Honda driver for 2006 after he beat Davidson in a head-to-head test at Suzuka in the days after the race.

Haha!! You know this could work quite well actually as I wasn't planning to retire by 2006, providing the mods for F1C exist, so I'll have to remember to stick him in a Honda for '06

[DemocalypseNow]

Mr Melrose, do you see a rivalry developing between you and Sammy Jones? Both your respective teams may be similar on pace so could this develop into a rivalry of some sort as the year progresses?

[TomWazzleshaw]

Mr. Melrose, do you have any advice for Felipe Massa on how to best to deal with Schumacher and Ferrari, and get the most out of his time there?

My advice for Felipe is if the oppertunity for a race win presents himself he has to grasp it with both hands as they won't come around often. He will also be much better off not worrying about beating Schumacher and just focus on getting the best out of the car all the time.

Congrats on the championship!

Thank you for the congratulations.

Mr Melrose, do you see a rivalry developing between you and Sammy Jones? Both your respective teams may be similar on pace so could this develop into a rivalry of some sort as the year progresses?

It would be nice to beat Sammy on his return to Formula 1 as he was and still is regarded in the paddock as a likeable chap with a bucketload of talent. However both Sammy and I will be spending the first few races next season acclimatizing to our respective teams but I'm not ruling out a possible rivalry towards the end of the season.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Feel free to continue asking questions but now it's time for the final race of the season.

Pre-China:
The only silly season news to report is Flav's decision concerning the second seat at Renault for China and next season. While he acknowledged that Kubica was the faster driver he felt that Kovaleinen is the overall better package and as a result he will be driving the 2nd Renault at China and for next season.

Round 19: China

Qualifying:
A rather subdued effort for the new World Champion Daniel Melrose left him 7th on the grid. Former champ Schumacher was 5th as Coulthard in the Red Bull split the pair. Renault meanwhile dominated as Alonso and Kovaleinen locked out the front row.


Grid:
1. F. Alonso (Renault)
2. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. J. Button (BAR-Honda)
5. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
6. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth)
7. D. Melrose (Ferrari)
8. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas)
9. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
10. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
11. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
12. J. Trulli (Toyota)
13. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
14. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW)
15. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota)
16. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas)
17. T. Sato (BAR-Honda)
18. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth)
19. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
20. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota)

Race:
Formula 1's second year at the Shanghai International Circuit provided a rather subdued race as Fernando Alonso led a Renault 1-3 as Heikki Kovaleinen showed his worth by finishing on the podium for the second race in succession. Kimi Raikkonen split the pair and kept McLaren's slim hopes in the contructors championship alive until 50 seconds later Daniel Melrose corssed the line in 5th place giving Ferrari their 7th straight Constructors championship. Ralf Schumacher was in with a chance of victory before it turned out he was out of sync when he made a splash-n-dash with 5 laps to go. Sauber scored more points in 6th and 8th while Monteiro split the pair in 7th.

Results:
1. F. Alonso (Renault): 1h 29m 27.046s
2. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +10.698
3. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +15.321
4. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +16.442
5. D. Melrose (Ferrari): +58.492
6. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): +1:06.807
7. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): +1:21.685
8. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): +1:22.072
9. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth: +1 LAP
10. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): +1 LAP
11. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1 LAP
12. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): +1 LAP
13. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +1 LAP
14. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota): +3 LAPS
15. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): +6 LAPS
DNF. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth)
DNF. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
DNF. R. Doornbos (Minardi-Cosworth)
DNF. M. Webber (Williams-BMW)
DNF. J. Button (BAR-Honda)

Pole: F. Alonso (Renault): 1:32.426
Fastest Lap: R. Schumacher (Toyota): 1:32.855
Leaders: F. Alonso: 1-18, 22-41, 52-56 (Total: 43)
H. Kovaleinen: 19-20 (Total: 2)
K. Raikkonen: 21 (Total: 1)
R. Schumacher: 42-51 (Total: 10)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:

1. D. Melrose (Ferrari): 100 points (7 wins, 2 2nds, 1 3rd) (World Champion)
2. F. Alonso (Renault): 90 points (5 wins, 2 2nds, 1 3rd)
3. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 90 points (3 wins, 4 2nds, 3 3rds)
4. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 54 points (2 wins, 2 2nds)
5. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 52 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
6. M. Webber (Williams-BMW): 46 points (2 2nds, 3 3rds)
7. G. Fisichella (Renault): 45 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
8. R. Schumacher (Toyota): 38 points (1 2nd, 1 3rd)
9. J. Trulli (Toyota): 37 points (1 win, 1 3rd)
10. J. Button (BAR-Honda): 29 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
11. C. Klien (RBR-Cosworth): 21 points (1 win)
12. N. Heidfeld (Williams-BMW): 21 points (2 3rds)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Cosworth): 18 points (1 2nd)
14. T. Monteiro (Jordan-Toyota): 15 points (1 2nd)
15. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): 12 points (2 3rds)
16. F. Massa (Sauber-Petronas): 12 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
17. N. Karthikeyan (Jordan-Toyota): 11 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
18. J. Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas): 9 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
19. A. Pizzonia (Williams-BMW): 8 points (1 2nd)
20. T. Sato (BAR-Honda): 7 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
21. P. De La Rosa (McLaren-Mercedes): 6 points (1 3rd)
22. C. Albers (Minardi-Cosworth): 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
23. F. Montagny (Jordan-Toyota): 3 points (Best Result: 1 6th)
24. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Cosworth): 3 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
25. L. Badoer (Ferrari): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
26. R. Kubica (Renault): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 154 points (7 wins, 3 2nds, 2 3rds) (World Champions)
2. West McLaren Mercedes: 150 points (5 wins, 6 2nds, 4 3rds)
3. Mild Seven Renault F1 Team: 149 points (5 wins, 3 2nds, 4 3rds)
4. Panasonic Toyota Racing: 75 points (1 win, 1 2nd, 2 3rds)
5. BMW WilliamsF1 Team: 75 points (3 2nds, 5 3rds)
6. RBR Cosworth: 42 points (1 win, 1 2nd)
7. Lucky Strike BAR Honda: 36 points (1 2nd, 2 3rds)
8. Jordan Grand Prix Toyota: 29 points (1 2nd)
9. Sauber Petronas: 21 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
10. Minardi Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)

[TomWazzleshaw]

2006 Grid:

BMW Sauber F1 Team
1. D. Melrose
2. N. Heidfeld
T/D: R. Kubica/C. Klien

Theoretically speaking BMW shouldn't be favourites for the title right now but they are simply because of Melrose's simply astounding pace at the pre-season test at Barcelona where he was faster that the rest of the grid by over 2 tenths. What sent a collective chill down the spines of the rest of the paddock was this was one of the few tracks Melrose struggled at last year at Ferrari. Heidfeld will be a solid 2nd driver collecting points when possible. Robert Kubica has stayed with the team with the promise of a race drive in the future when Klien is there due to Red Bull firing him at the end of last year.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
3. M. Schumacher
4. F. Massa
T/D: L. Badoer/M. Gene

Ferrari are back. After 2005 where Ferrari admitted that neither Bridgestone or Ferrari were up to scratch last year it put Melrose's title under a completely new light and it also explained why Melrose comprehensively thrashed Schumacher last season. Speaking of Schumacher he looks like being Melrose's main challenger with Massa playing rear-gunner as both were competitive at the test at Barcelona. The return of tyre changes should suit the Ferrari

Team McLaren Mercedes
5. K. Raikkonen
6. J. Pablo Montoya
T/D: P. De La Rosa/G. Paffett

Wurz leaves for Williams as Paffett is promoted to 2nd test driver. McLaren have found the reliability and have ironed out the errors operationally and with the drivers however neither Raikkonen or Montoya can find the final few tenths in that car.

Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
7. F. Alonso
8. H. Kovaleinen
T/D: N. Piquet Jr/J. Villeneuve

Fernando Alonso will be hungry for a title this year after being denied by Melrose in 2005. Kovaleinen however is a real liability as he has been a few tenths slower than Alonso and with Villenueve joining the team from Sauber the pressure is on Heikki to perform.

Panasonic Toyota Racing
9. R. Schumacher
10. J. Trulli
T/D: R. Zonta/O. Panis

Point scorers and occasional podium getters Toyota are fast looking like the anonymous midfielders this year. The pressure is on Jarno Trulli to perform after he effectly dropped off the pace after the win in Bahrain while Ralf found some pace with the latter half of 2005. The challenge for Toyota is to make a car that'll work for both Jarno and Ralf and so far the TF-106 is doing neither. The switch to Bridgestone may also prove troublesome

WilliamsF1 Team Cosworth
11. M. Webber
12. G. Fisichella
T/D: A. Wurz/N. Rosberg

Sir Frank has given an ultimatium for both drivers. Whoever performs below expectation will be replaced by Rosberg next season. However it may turn to be a mute point as Webber is rumoured to be looking for a way out at the end of the season. 2006 will be effectively be a holding pattern with the Cosworth engine acting as a good stop-gap measure before the likely partnership with Toyota. Points should be coming in by the bucketful and possible podiums if the front runners take each other out.

Red Bull Racing Ferrari
14. D. Coulthard
15. V. Liuzzi
T/D: M. Ammermuller/N. Jani

David Coulthard has been signed on for another year after helping Red Bull to 6th in the championship and looks safe for another year. Tonio Liuzzi however is under risk as the clause in the contract for both Toro Rosso drivers is that whoever performs better may be in the 2nd Red Bull car for the last 3 races of the season. However Tonio can stop that happening by consistantly matching and beating DC.

Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team
16. J. Button
17. S. Jones
T/D: A. Davidson/J. Rossiter

It's the British dream team as the Brackley firm have 4 Brits driving in the form of Jenson Button, Sammy Jones, Anthony Davidson and James Rossiter. The pace from the cars has been quite good and Button is aiming for podiums and wins. Jones however on his return to F1 after a sabbatical in 2005 will be interesting as the pressure will be on him as Davidson is ready to step up at any minute.

Midland F1 Racing Toyota
18. T. Monteiro
19. C. Albers
T/D: R. Barrichello/Whole range of paydrivers

The fact that they have 9 pay drivers as test drivers says it all really. Don't expect much from this team but the intra-team battle will be interesting and with Barrichello as a possible replacement for either driver it sure will be competitive.

Scuderia Toro Rosso Cosworth
20. R. Doornbos
21. S. Speed
T/D: Vettel/T. De Bock

The Red Bull B-Team is full of excitement as Doornbos and Speed are bound to produce fireworks as they race for the 2nd Red Bull seat for the last 3 races of this year. However Red Bull's driver management has proven to be trigger happy as there are two talented drivers in German Sebastien Vettel and Belgian Thomas De Bock ready to make the step up to the race drive in neccesary so neither Doornbos and Speed can slack off one bit.

Super Aguri F1 Team Honda
22. T. Sato
23. Y. Ide
T/D: F. Montagny/S. Yamamoto

The Japanese dream team with the French influence is gaining fans fast to the point where Daniel Melrose has said in public that Super Aguri is his second favourite team now after BMW. Sato has been given the task of leading the team by outperforming the capabilities of the SA-05 which is an updated Arrows A23. Yuji Ide looks like a fish out of water after been promoted from Formula Nippon.

[TomWazzleshaw]

Now that's over and done with let's get moving to 2006.

Round 1: Bahrain

Qualifying:
Onimous was an understatement as World Champion Daniel Melrose went over half a second quicker than anyone else to register pole at one of the track he struggled so badly at last year. Jenson Button joins him on the front row showing that Honda's pace is indeed real. Felipe Massa outqualified his teammate Michael Schumacher as a miracle took place at the back of the grid as Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide qualified 19th and 20th respectively.

Grid:
1. D. Melrose (BMW)
2. J. Button (Honda)
3. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes)
4. F. Massa (Ferrari)
5. F. Alonso (Renault)
6. M. Schumacher (Ferrari)
7. S. Jones (Honda)
8. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth)
9. H. Kovaleinen (Renault)
10. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Ferrari)
11. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
12. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth)
13. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari)
14. J. Trulli (Toyota)
15. R. Doorbos (STR-Cosworth)
16. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth)
17. R. Schumacher (Toyota)
18. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota)
19. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda)
20. Y. Ide (Super Aguri-Honda)
21. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota)
22. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes)

Race:
Daniel Melrose picked up where he left off late last season to take the 8th win of his career and BMW Sauber's first win on debut. After holding off an early challenge from Button he proceeded to dominate the race. He won by almost 20 seconds over Schumacher while Button completed the podium. Mark Webber did an excellent job by finishing 5th and ahead of both McLarens as his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella scored a point on his Williams debut after overtaking Sammy Jones with just 3 laps to go. Jones slipped to 10th by race end after being overtaken by Tonio Liuzzi. Both Super Aguri cars finished the race as Heidfeld, Speed, Doornbos and Alonso were all high-profile retirements as all 4 were in contention for points. Alonso's teammate Kovaleinen meanwhile had an absolute shocker as he was battling with the equally pathetic Toyotas all race.

Results:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 1h 31m 30.108s
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): +19.317
3. J. Button (Honda): +20.236
4. F. Massa (Ferrari): +26.708
5. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): +28.431
6. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): +31.097
7. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): +34.333
8. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): +1:15.128
9. V. Liuzzi (RBR-Ferrari): +1:21.469
10. S. Jones (Honda): +1:27.121
11. D. Coulthard (RBR-Ferrari): +1:29.085
12. R. Schumacher (Toyota): +1 LAP
13. J. Trulli (Toyota): +1 LAP
14. H. Kovaleinen (Renault): +1 LAP
15. T. Monteiro (MF1-Toyota): +2 LAPS
16. T. Sato (Super Aguri-Honda): +3 LAPS
17. Y. Ide (Super Aguri-Honda): +3 LAPS
DNF. C. Albers (MF1-Toyota)
DNF. N. Heidfeld (BMW)
DNF. S. Speed (STR-Cosworth)
DNF. R. Doornbos (STR-Cosworth)
DNF. F. Alonso (Renault)

Pole: D. Melrose (BMW): 1:30.892
Fastest Lap: J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 1:32.606
Leaders: D. Melrose: 1-20, 26-58 (Total: 53)
J. Pablo Montoya: 21-25 (Total: 5)

Championship Standings:
Drivers:
1. D. Melrose (BMW): 10 points (1 win)
2. M. Schumacher (Ferrari): 8 points (1 2nd)
3. J. Button (Honda): 6 points (1 3rd)
4. F. Massa (Ferrari): 5 points (Best Result: 1 4th)
5. M. Webber (Williams-Cosworth): 4 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
6. K. Raikkonen (McLaren-Mercedes): 3 points (Best Resilt: 1 6th)
7. J. Pablo Montoya (McLaren-Mercedes): 2 points (Best Result: 1 7th)
8. G. Fisichella (Williams-Cosworth): 1 point (Best Result: 1 8th)

Constructors:
1. Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro: 13 points (1 2nd)
2. BMW Sauber F1 Team: 10 points (1 win)
3. Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team: 6 points (1 3rd)
4. WilliamsF1 Team-Cosworth: 5 points (Best Result: 1 5th)
5. Team McLaren Mercedes: 5 points (Best Result: 1 6th)

The next round is to be held at another Tilkedrome in the form of the Sepang International Circuit in Kuala Lumpur.

[dr-baker]

What happened to Kimi? A shocking start to the year!

[TomWazzleshaw]

What happened to Kimi? A shocking start to the year!

I have no idea

[FullMetalJack]

What happened to Kimi? A shocking start to the year!

I have no idea

He was in last place at the real grand prix