OMEN
04-02-2006, 09:45 AM
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Champion .... Alonso celebrates.
FORMULA One world champion Fernando Alonso cruised to victory in the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park today, while hometown hope Mark Webber's car broke down while leading the race.
Alonso had few troubles guiding his Renault to the chequered flag with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Toyota's Ralf Schumacher filling the minor places.
It is the Spaniard's second win of the season, having already taken the honours at Bahrain and finishing runner-up in the second race of the year at Malaysia, to further extend his championship lead.
But for Australian Webber, it was all heartbreak after he was forced to retire on lap 23 of the 58-lap race.
He had taken the lead two laps earlier while the four top cars completed early pit stops.
A gearbox failure forced Webber to retire from the race – his car conking out ingloriously by the side of the track.
"We were very, very heavy (with fuel). We had a lot more laps to go," a disappointed Webber said.
"We were strong – we had at least another six laps to go before we stopped. We were on for a really good result."
There was also a bizarre finish to the race for polesitter Jenson Button, whose Honda caught fire and stopped just prior to the chequered flag.
Alonso now holds a 14-point lead in the drivers championship, ahead of Raikkonen and the Spaniard's Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, who finished fifth today. "The car was perfect. We were not in danger of losing the race at any time – I was very confident," Alonso said.
"There were no problems at all.
"Twenty-eight points in the first three races is a dream come true, so let's hope we finish like last year."
Ferrari had a nightmarish day, with Felipe Massa crashing out on the opening lap and seven-time world champ Michael Schumacher smashing into the main straight wall on lap 33 while sixth.
In another high-speed crash, Red Bull's Christian Klien lost control approaching turn nine and swerved head first into the cement wall at full speed, before going on a 100-metre slide into a tyre wall.
The race started dramatically when Juan Pablo Montoya failed to reach the grid on the warm-up lap, spinning at the final turn with Webber narrowly avoiding crunching into the side of the stricken McLaren.
Race officials sent the cars on another formation lap but Renault front row starter Fisichella was left stranded on the line and was forced to start the race in pitlane.
As well as Webber's disaster, Williams teammate Nico Rosberg retired after just one lap, having been hit from behind by Massa at turn two.
Massa appeared to be shunted by another car and collected Rosberg on his way to a heavy collision with the wall, forcing the first of four safety car periods.
Australian GP Race Result
1. Fernando Alonso (Esp) Renault 1:34:27.870
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren +00:01.829
3. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 00:24.824
4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 00:31.032
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 00:38.421
6. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 00:49.554
7. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 00:51.904
8. Scott Speed (USA) Toro Rosso - Cosworth 00:53.817
9. David Coulthard (Gbr) RedBull - Ferrari 00:53.983
10. Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda +1 lap
11. Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1 - Toyota 1 lap
12. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri - Honda 2 laps
13. Yuji Ide (Jpn) Super Aguri - Honda 3 laps
r. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 11 laps
r. Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1 - Toyota 18 laps
r. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso - Cosworth 20 laps
r. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 25 laps
r. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams - Cosworth 35 laps
r. Christian Klien (Aut) RedBull - Ferrari 53 laps
r. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 57 laps
r. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams - Cosworth 57 laps
r. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 57 laps
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)
Fastest Lap: Kimi Raikkonen, 1:26.045, lap 57.
Drivers Points
1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 28
2. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 14
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 14
4. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 11
5. Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 11
6. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 9
7. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 7
8. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 5
9. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 5
10. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 4
11. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 3
12. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 2
13. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 2
14. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso 1
15. Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 1
16. David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 0
17. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 0
18. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso 0
19. Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1 Racing 0
20. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri 0
21. Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1 Racing 0
22. Yuji Ide (Jpn) Super Aguri 0
Constructors Points
1. Renault 42
2. McLaren - Mercedes 23
3. Ferrari 15
4. Honda 13
5. BMW Sauber 10
6. Toyota 7
7. Williams - Cosworth 5
8. RedBull - Ferrari 1
9. Toro Rosso - Cosworth 1
10. MF1 - Toyota 0
11. Super Aguri - Honda 0
AAP
Champion .... Alonso celebrates.
FORMULA One world champion Fernando Alonso cruised to victory in the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park today, while hometown hope Mark Webber's car broke down while leading the race.
Alonso had few troubles guiding his Renault to the chequered flag with McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Toyota's Ralf Schumacher filling the minor places.
It is the Spaniard's second win of the season, having already taken the honours at Bahrain and finishing runner-up in the second race of the year at Malaysia, to further extend his championship lead.
But for Australian Webber, it was all heartbreak after he was forced to retire on lap 23 of the 58-lap race.
He had taken the lead two laps earlier while the four top cars completed early pit stops.
A gearbox failure forced Webber to retire from the race – his car conking out ingloriously by the side of the track.
"We were very, very heavy (with fuel). We had a lot more laps to go," a disappointed Webber said.
"We were strong – we had at least another six laps to go before we stopped. We were on for a really good result."
There was also a bizarre finish to the race for polesitter Jenson Button, whose Honda caught fire and stopped just prior to the chequered flag.
Alonso now holds a 14-point lead in the drivers championship, ahead of Raikkonen and the Spaniard's Renault teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, who finished fifth today. "The car was perfect. We were not in danger of losing the race at any time – I was very confident," Alonso said.
"There were no problems at all.
"Twenty-eight points in the first three races is a dream come true, so let's hope we finish like last year."
Ferrari had a nightmarish day, with Felipe Massa crashing out on the opening lap and seven-time world champ Michael Schumacher smashing into the main straight wall on lap 33 while sixth.
In another high-speed crash, Red Bull's Christian Klien lost control approaching turn nine and swerved head first into the cement wall at full speed, before going on a 100-metre slide into a tyre wall.
The race started dramatically when Juan Pablo Montoya failed to reach the grid on the warm-up lap, spinning at the final turn with Webber narrowly avoiding crunching into the side of the stricken McLaren.
Race officials sent the cars on another formation lap but Renault front row starter Fisichella was left stranded on the line and was forced to start the race in pitlane.
As well as Webber's disaster, Williams teammate Nico Rosberg retired after just one lap, having been hit from behind by Massa at turn two.
Massa appeared to be shunted by another car and collected Rosberg on his way to a heavy collision with the wall, forcing the first of four safety car periods.
Australian GP Race Result
1. Fernando Alonso (Esp) Renault 1:34:27.870
2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren +00:01.829
3. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 00:24.824
4. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 00:31.032
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 00:38.421
6. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 00:49.554
7. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 00:51.904
8. Scott Speed (USA) Toro Rosso - Cosworth 00:53.817
9. David Coulthard (Gbr) RedBull - Ferrari 00:53.983
10. Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda +1 lap
11. Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1 - Toyota 1 lap
12. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri - Honda 2 laps
13. Yuji Ide (Jpn) Super Aguri - Honda 3 laps
r. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 11 laps
r. Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1 - Toyota 18 laps
r. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso - Cosworth 20 laps
r. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 25 laps
r. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams - Cosworth 35 laps
r. Christian Klien (Aut) RedBull - Ferrari 53 laps
r. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 57 laps
r. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams - Cosworth 57 laps
r. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 57 laps
(rank: r = retired, nc = not classified)
Fastest Lap: Kimi Raikkonen, 1:26.045, lap 57.
Drivers Points
1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 28
2. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 14
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 14
4. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 11
5. Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 11
6. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 9
7. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 7
8. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 5
9. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 5
10. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 4
11. Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 3
12. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 2
13. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 2
14. Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso 1
15. Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull 1
16. David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 0
17. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 0
18. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso 0
19. Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1 Racing 0
20. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri 0
21. Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1 Racing 0
22. Yuji Ide (Jpn) Super Aguri 0
Constructors Points
1. Renault 42
2. McLaren - Mercedes 23
3. Ferrari 15
4. Honda 13
5. BMW Sauber 10
6. Toyota 7
7. Williams - Cosworth 5
8. RedBull - Ferrari 1
9. Toro Rosso - Cosworth 1
10. MF1 - Toyota 0
11. Super Aguri - Honda 0
AAP