MASSA WINS BRAZIL, ALONSO CLAIMS SECOND TITLE, BUTTON ENDS 06 WITH PODIUM
(Image taken from Yahoo)
Well, if you didn't know the situation coming into Interlagos then you've been on another planet the last few months. Bottom line, if Alonso got so much as a point out of Brazil then he'd gain he second title...but if he came out empty handed and Michael Schumacher won the race then the German would sign off his career with an eighth title. In the meantime, Michael's teammate Felipe Massa was hoping to become the first Brazilian since Ayrton Senna to win his hope Grand Prix and was certainly wearing appropriate overalls - is it a bird, is it a plane, no it's Brazilman!
Qualifying was a complete disaster for both Brits. DC couldn't get a half decent set up and wound up qualifying 19th(though he would start 18th after a Doornbos engine change). Jenson at least made it to Q2 but he qualified 14th(starting 13th) after traction control problems. Michael in the meantime made Q3 but mechanical trouble meant that he's start 10th. The fight for pole was between Massa, Alonso and Raikonen with Massa making first grab at the pole, then Alonso beat him, then Raikonen. It was Massa though who had the last laugh, beating the competition by nearly a second. Raikonen second, Trulli third, Alonso fourth.
The race itself looked a bit better for DC as he got his act together and surged up to 12th though he then had trouble dealing with an on-form Takuma Sato. His race ended with his second DNF in a row due this time to gearbox failure after 14 laps. Not how the Scotsman would have wanted to end '06 but given that in a recent interview he still thinks he has time to win the world title, he'll still be looking forward to driving an Adrian Newey style Red Bull in '07!
Jenson was also on fire proving that car he had in Brazil 'was' as quality as the pre-race hype suggested. A points finish looked like a cinche and an element of luck in the pitstops put him up for a podium place, though taking second turned out to be out of the question after a while and the idea of winning this race was left to the 'what ifs'. He had a tough enough fight to get third but still, his race speed earned him that much and he'll be another driver optimistic about '07!
Elsewhere, w ell if Michael did have any dreams of winning the title then they were toasted when he had a puncture which forced him to the pits and came out near the back of the field which then participated in a last bit of Schmacher worship to get him into the points. Fisichella and Raikonen finally gave the German a reality check forcing him to settle for fourth. Up front, there was only going to be one driver who'd win this race and it was Brazilman, even after a safety car, Alonso claiming second after a smart pit stop.
Even as a non-Schumacher fan, I have to admit that this is the end of an era, the guy has defined Formula 1 for most of the time I've been a fan. All that that does though is leave me counting the days till 2007!
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