[Race] The GROAT - Round 3 - 2005 Suzuka vs 1982 Österreichring

[crmalcolm]

2005 Suzuka
The start of the race saw Ralf Schumacher sprint into an early lead, leaving Button to try and fend off a fast starting Fisichella. Behind, Sato's hopes were ended when he clashed with Rubens Barrichello, leaving both with damage, while Räikkönen, Alonso and Montoya made early progress, streaking up the order.

However, Montoya's race would ultimately prove to be a short one, with the #10 McLaren-Mercedes crashing out at the end of lap one after being forced off track by Jacques Villeneuve. That resulted in an appearance for the Safety Car as Montoya escaped unharmed, while Villeneuve was slapped with a time penalty.

The restart saw Ralf Schumacher again make a strong getaway, with Fisichella also opening out a gap over Button. Behind, Alonso had to twice hand back a position to Klien after accidentally passing the Austrian racer by cutting the chicane, allowing Räikkönen to close right onto his tail.

Once clear of Klien both Alonso and Räikkönen would charge onto the back of Michael Schumacher, just as the first pitstops were beginning. Ralf Schumacher was the first of the leaders to stop, handing a comfortable lead to Fisichella, while Alonso lined-up a stunning move on the #1 Ferrari.

Running lighter than both Michael Schumacher and Räikkönen, Alonso would throw everything he had at the #1 Ferrari, opening an opportunity at 130R. The Spanish ace duly danced his Renault right around the outside of Schumacher's car on lap 20, a move that would be fondly remembered as the greatest in the Japanese Grand Prix's history.

A lap later and Alonso made his first stop, followed a couple of laps later by first Schumacher and then Räikkönen. They duly rejoined ahead of Alonso, who had got caught behind David Coulthard, with Räikkönen immediately attacking and passing Schumacher to move into fourth.

Räikkönen spent the rest of the second stint hunting down Button and Mark Webber, in second and third, catching them just as they ventured into the pits. Fisichella also stopped to leave Räikkönen in the lead, with the Finn duly delivering a bunch of fastest laps in clear air before making his stop.

That push meant that the Finn emerged from the pits just five seconds behind Fisichella, although with time running out. Behind, Alonso was able to battle past Coulthard, Schumacher and Button to challenge Webber, while Button slipped back towards Schumacher and Coulthard.

With three laps to go Fisichella began to defend, and hence allowed Räikkönen to twice draft alongside him into the first corner only to fend off the Finn's lunge. However, at the start of the final lap Räikkönen was able to sell the Italian racer a dummy, sweeping around the outside of the Renault through turn one to claim the lead.

That proved to be the decisive move, with Räikkönen sprinting away to secure victory ahead of the Italian. Behind, Alonso managed to elbow his way past Webber to complete the podium, and ensure that Renault moved back ahead of McLaren-Mercedes in the Constructors Championship ahead of the season finale in China. The rest of the points would go to Webber, Button, Coulthard, Schumacher and Ralf Schumacher.


1982 Österreichring
There was drama from the start, as Andrea de Cesaris and Bruno Giacomelli smashed their Alfa Romeos into each other off the line, causing both to retire. Their coming together also claimed Derek Daly (whom had nowhere to go), and also had an effect on the leaders, with Tambay picking up a puncture on the second lap from the debris. At the front, meanwhile, the Brabhams (with only half the fuel of their competitors) quickly pulled away, as Riccardo Patrese dived ahead of Nelson Piquet early on.

Michele Alboreto crashed heavily on the second lap, although it was unclear if he was aided into the barrier by Rupert Keegan (whom also retired with accident damage). The race continued unabated, with the Tolemans next to fall with mechanical failures (unrelated) on the seventh lap. The order at the front remained unchanged until the 15th lap, when Arnoux pulled off with another mechanical issue (this time turbo flavoured) as the Renault once again showed it was prone to failure.

Piquet became the first driver to have a pre-planned pitstop in the 1980s when he pitted on the halfway mark, with Patrese coming in a lap later. Piquet fell to fourth, but could not pull away from Keke Rosberg (the cars now with equal fuel), while Patrese held on to his lead. Things got worse for Brabham when Patrese suffered an engine failure on lap 31, while Piquet fell down through the field (ultimately retiring with a damage camshaft). It was advantage Renault at the front, with Alain Prost leading over Elio de Angelis in the Lotus 91, with Keke Rosberg closing the gap to the Italian in third.

Further down, Tambay was making short work of the non-turbo cars to climb back into the points, as Rosberg continued to close on De Angelis as the race entered its final phase. It seemed that they would be battling for second, until Prost pulled off with an engine fire, promoting the young Italian to first. Rosberg was on his tail by the final lap, jinking either side but unable to get past the Lotus. Out of the final corner, Rosberg carried more speed, pulling alongside De Angelis as they came to line. Fortunately for the Italian, however, they crossed the line with De Angelis half a car length ahead (0.05s according to the official time keeper), meaning he had won for the first time in his F1 career.

Behind their duel came the Ligier of Jacques Laffite, whom had had a quiet race to creep onto the podium (mainly through retirements). Tambay stood out with an impressive recovery drive to take fourth, with Niki Lauda (another driver having a quiet day) finishing fifth. Mauro Baldi battled to only his second championship point in the Arrows by claiming sixth, with his name on the lips of many to join a top team in 1983.

[crmalcolm]

Tie-break vote time again.
2005 Suzuka gets the vote.