F1:CE "Driver Diaries": The 2006 Season

Thnx Chris:tup:. Next race we want to see Montoya behind the wheel

Indeed, Montoya will get a drive in one of the next (last) five races of the season, possibly the next race I just did a quick analysis on the results so far, with a little help from Microsoft Excel jiggery-pokery, and amazingly, Juan Pablo "I Can Haz Cheezeburgr?" Montoya is the only driver to have scored points in every race so far Now isn't that something weird?!

Nice read once more! 👍

Why are you using Swift's avatar?

FatAssBR

Nice read once more! 👍

Why are you using Swift's avatar?

Click to expand...

Probably because swifts avatar is to remember what happened to day 6 years ago. Chris is probably doing the same as a mark of respect honouring all those that lost there lives and those that helped in the rescue operation

Spec....

FatAssBR

Nice read once more! 👍

Click to expand...

Thanks, glad you're still following it...! Massa didn't win this time, but I still have to drive for him, so he should be due another win before the season is out! (no pressure for me!)

FatAssBR

Why are you using Swift's avatar?

Click to expand...

It's actually the other way around... I made this avatar last year, and Swift has been using it ever since... but Ben is right...

Oh yeah, I forgot what day today was.


And I'm confident Massa will pass Alonso until the end of the season. This just makes things more exciting.

I just finished converting my results so far into a handy Excel spreadsheet, and here are some fun facts from the season so far that leap out from the page...

• Juan Pablo Montoya is the only driver to score points in every race so far, but has only 2 podiums and no wins
• Jenson Button has only 2 podiums, but both of them were wins...
• Massa and Alonso failed to score in only one race each - the same race!
• Alonso has 11 podium finishes but only 2 wins
• Massa has only 8 podiums, but 4 of them were wins
• Despite scoring only 2 points, Ralf Schumacher really is super
• Rubens Barrichello scored points in all of the first 10 races, but has failed to score in the last 3 in a row
• The last podium, Italy, is the first time the top 3 drivers have finished in the same order as their Championship standings
• 13 different drivers have scored points in 13 races
• The current top 8 drivers all finished in the top 8 in two subsequent races, Magny Cours and Silverstone
• There have only been 3 Constructor 1-2 finishes so far this season, 2 for Renault and 1 for Ferrari

Introduction

With only 4 more races to go, my season wasn't looking too great. Our team had no points and we hadn't made much improvements in the car all year. Atleast our sister team, Red Bull Ferrari, were in the same boat. At this stage in the season, even a single point would be like winning the Eurovision Song Contest! Here's what happened in Germany, Round 14...

Qualifying

After a less than satisfactory set-up, I struggled a bit in qualifying, but made it to Q2, which was a bonus. I was disappointed not to improve upon my Q1 time, and finished in 16th - another tough race ahead it seems! An all Ferrari front row puts pressure on the Renaults, and teammate Scott Speed is down in 19th

Race - 14 Laps - Grid Position: 16th; Strategy: One Stop (end Lap 7); Weather: Variable (Cloudy) (Difficulty: Medium, Penalties/Damage: On)

It's a great start for me as I leapfrog 2 places straight off the line... being on the right hand side of the track also gives me the inside line into Turn 1 and a traffic-jam of cars allows me to sneak through cleanly on the inside and jump another 3 places - 11th place already! Turn 2 is another slow corner and I have to take evasive action not to hit the car infront as he brakes very early. I pass Coulthard for 10th and am already challenging 9th... the long straight shows my lack of pace, but once again, I out-brake the cars infront into the very tight Turn 3, and to my amazement, I pass Trulli and Räikkönen and take 8th place! From 16th to 8th in half a lap, in a Toro Rosso...

The next few laps see Räikkönen and Trulli battle it out with me for the last points-paying position, but I hold onto 8th as I concentrate on maintaining a steady pace. I pit in 8th and have a very good stop, and both Räikkönen and Trulli pit behind me - and I manage to stay infront. All I have to do now is fend them off for another 6 whole laps With just over two laps remaining, Trulli and I touch wheels at Sachs-Kurve, and he's getting very impatient - but I hold the position, however Kimi is now right back into the thick of the battle for the final point. However, my penultimate lap is a blinder, and despite the pit crew warning me about my rapidly deteriorating tyres, I'm leading the battle for 8th by almost 2 seconds going into the final lap. I know if I'm too cautious, both Jarno and Kimi would happily punt me aside and steal my only point of the year - so I throw caution to the wind for the last lap and give it everything I've got! I put in another great lap and am bearing down on the two Hondas infront as I approach the final turn, and Jarno and Kimi have no answer! I hold on for a famous result

Summary: A very happy camper!

Mood:

Epilogue: Gerhard is so delighted with the result that he immediately invited Scott and I for a weekend on his yacht, three birds each. We saw the Red Bull boys after the race and they didn't look happy at all. Infact, David Coulthard set a new world record for the longest grimace (in centimeters) ever witnessed on a human face, unlike me ----> (artist's impression).

Result:

1. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 10
2. Massa (Ferrari) - 8
3. Alonso (Renault) - 6
4. Montoya (McLaren) - 5
5. Fisichella (Renault) - 4
6. Button (Honda) - 3
7. Barrichello (Honda) - 2
8. Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 1


Standings (After 14 races):

1. Massa (Ferrari) - 95 ••••
2. Alonso (Renault) - 95 ••
3. Fisichella (Renault) - 75 •••
4. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 69 ••
5. Montoya (McLaren) - 53
6. Räikkönen (McLaren) - 43 •
7. Button (Honda) - 41 ••
8. Barrichello (Honda) - 37
9. Trulli (Toyota) - 19
10. Rosberg (Williams) - 9
11. Heidfeld (BMW) - 6
12. R Schumacher (Toyota) - 2
13= Villeneuve (BMW), Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 1

• = Race Win (Countback)

* TM - 49 Pts : M Schumacher (3), J Button (10), K Räikkönen (10), G Fisichella (10), Rosberg (4), Alonso (10), R Schumacher (1), A Liuzzi (1)


Constructors:

1. Renault - 170
2. Ferrari - 164
3. McLaren - 96
4. Honda - 78
5. Toyota - 21
6. Williams - 9
7. BMW - 7
8. Toro Rosso - 1


The season takes yet another lurch, this time back in the favour of Ferrari, with Michael Schumacher refusing to play the 'team game' and denying title-contender Felipe Massa, to take victory infront of his home supporters. Alonso minimizes the damage and is back in second place on countback. Liuzzi becomes the 14th driver in 14 races to score points, and Ferrari close the gap on Renault in the Constructors.

Wow, me likey. Only too bad no Montoya

Sorry, Montoya was too busy eating pies to send me his report on Hockenheim Glas you enjoyed the report nevertheless... 👍

However, there are only 3 races left to report, and since I'm doing atleast one race for each team, here's a list of the drivers I'll definitely be using in the last four races...

• Jacques Villeneuve (BMW Sauber)
• JP Montoya (McLaren)
• Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

Probably, but possibly not, in that order

Ahh, Tonio.

I am a happy being.

Thankyou.

Hehe, it seemed like another exciting race TM. 👍

Villeneuve and Montoya should be interesting too.

Contrary to reports in the media, the point I scored at last week's race will stand... I have laser eyes... don't make me use them

So where is the report?

Will be a bit late this time again... no time at the weekend and very busy at the moment at work However, I will be doing the Japanese GP next, and I will be doing it in full rain conditions

That sounds promising

Introduction

A rain-soaked Japanese GP awaited us, and for the last time in some years, the legendary Suzuka circuit would be used before the race moves to Fuji in 2007. With the title race hotting up, I was languishing at the bottom of the points-scoring drivers with just one lousy point all year. Here's what happened in the Land of the Rising Sun...

Qualifying

Set-up was good and the BMW Sauber felt very well suited to the twists and turns of Suzuka, but then the rain started and things all went to crap. The first qualifying session saw me run wide onto the grass as Dunlop and I spun the car, ruining the lap. I went back out for another try only this time to tangle with a slow-moving Toro Rosso at 180R and I lost my front wing. Time was running out and with a couple of minutes to spare I struggled to complete a full lap, and with heavy traffic blocking my way, I could only manage a very disappointing 19th. It was going to be a long weekend.... What was even worse was that Nick managed the 4th row (7th) - even if he didn't manage a shave...

Race - 12 Laps - Grid Position: 19th; Strategy: One Stop (end Lap 6); Weather: Heavy Rain (Difficulty: Medium, Penalties/Damage: On)

Starting from the back of the grid and in atrocious conditions, I knew before the red lights went out that this was going to be a tough race and that my team expectations - for atleast another point - were going to be very difficult to meet. I got away off the line well and stayed out of trouble coming into Turn One, with visibility ridiculously poor... but I was up to 16th and all over the back of Liuzzi coming into Dunlop. I passed Liuzzi for 15th and things were looking OK into Lap 2, and I felt that as long as I could keep out of trouble, I had a chance of a point....

My optimism and hope were short-lived. Approaching the end of Lap 2, I emerged from Spoon Curve in the thick of a battle for 13th through to 17th... As I was charging down the straight towards 180R, I drifted over to the right as I slip-streamed Mark Webber, but got a wheel on the grass and, at full throttle, spun straight into the armco and that was the end of that! Lap 2 and out of the race, after a dismal weekend, I go home empty handed...


Summary: As miserable as the weather

Mood:

Jacques Villeneuve

Epilogue: A dismal weekend was compounded by my team-mate Nick scoring another 2 points as he finished 7th. I remain with just one point this season and with the end of my contract rapidly approaching, things are looking bleak for my future in F1. I may move to Nascar next year, or back to Champ Cars, on the other hand I could always concentrate on my modelling career - but hey, I'm trying to make cash here...

Result:

1. Alonso (Renault) - 10
2. Massa (Ferrari) - 8
3. Räikkönen (McLaren) - 6
4. Button (Honda) - 5
5. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 4
6. Fisichella (Renault) - 3
7. Heidfeld (BMW Sauber) - 2
8. Barrichello (Honda) - 1


Standings (After 15 races):

1. Alonso (Renault) - 105 •••
2. Massa (Ferrari) - 103 ••••
3. Fisichella (Renault) - 78 •••
4. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 73 ••
5. Montoya (McLaren) - 53
6. Räikkönen (McLaren) - 49 •
7. Button (Honda) - 46 ••
8. Barrichello (Honda) - 38
9. Trulli (Toyota) - 19
10. Rosberg (Williams) - 9
11. Heidfeld (BMW) - 8
12. R Schumacher (Toyota) - 2
13= Villeneuve (BMW), Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 1

• = Race Win (Countback)

* TM - 49 Pts : M Schumacher (3), J Button (10), K Räikkönen (10), G Fisichella (10), Rosberg (4), Alonso (10), R Schumacher (1), A Liuzzi (1)


Constructors:

1. Renault - 183
2. Ferrari - 176
3. McLaren - 102
4. Honda - 84
5. Toyota - 21
6= Williams, BMW - 9
8. Toro Rosso - 1


Yet another change of lead as Alonso grabs top spot with just two races remaining - Massa is only two points behind but Renault marginally increase their lead in the Constructors championship, which only stands at 7 points. With Montoya and Massa still to 'drive', it's all to play for!

Touring Mars

I'm trying to make cash here...

Click to expand...

Uh-huh. Selling CDs isn't profitable enough?

How did Heidfeld managed to shave all that hair? No wonder he scored 2 points.

Introduction

I come to China with the highest number of points for any driver who has yet to win a race!! More importantly, I'm still ahead of Kimi, which even my own mother didn't think would be the case with just two races to go in the Season!! (Thanks Mom!) Anyway, here is what happened in Shanghai. I swear, you couldn't make this crap up

Qualifying

Set-up went really well and my car felt like it was on rails - absolutely solid through the whole circuit, and the initial practice and early qualifying sessions looked really encouraging. I easily made the final Q3 session, but with a full fuel load, I was suffering a bit, especially round the banked corner at the end of sector 2... however, I kept the raging battle between Alonso and Massa behind me to take my first pole of the season... Alonso grabbed 2nd, but Massa could only take 4th, behind the other Renault of Fisichella... bad news for Massa as he already trails Alonso by 2 before this penultimate race of the season...


Race - 12 Laps - Grid Position: Pole; Strategy: One Stop (end Lap 6); Weather: Sunny (Difficulty: Medium, Penalties/Damage: On)

I get off to a great start and so does Massa, as he leapfrogs Fisichella into 3rd... the first few laps are uneventful for me and I start to pull out a good gap between myself and Alonso, at ~1 second per lap... but we are both pulling away by another 1.5 s a lap from Massa... by Lap 5 I have over 6 seconds lead and Massa is well behind, but holding 3rd... however, my tyres are fading fast, and on my in-lap, I make a slight mistake on the exit of Turn 2 and lose a few seconds... I need a good stop to come out still in the lead!!

As the pitstops shake out, I am relieved to see that Alonso is still behind me, and I put in two very hot laps and pull out a healthy lead over the main battle... Alonso continues to pull away from Massa, but increasingly it's looking like a two-horse race for 2nd ....

.... that was until Lap 9... and a tiny momentary lapse of concentration and I touch the rumble-strip at the banked corner at the end of sector 2 and end up facing the wrong way!! I recover but only to see Alonso fly past and now Massa is right on my tail... very bad news for Felipe as now there's 4 points between Alonso and him in this race!! But disaster has struck for me, as the incident has damaged my front wing... Massa passes me, but instead of challenging him when I'm in trouble, I decide to let him past and it proves a wise decision for us both, as I spin again at the penultimate turn!! My race is falling apart! Fisi races past and now Schumi is all over me... however, I regain my composure and hold on until the first turn of the last lap, when Schumi passes me as I brake way too early - paranoid about spinning again! However, I retake the position immediately as Schumi is slow through the tight turn 2... I just manage to hold onto 4th and some well-deserved points, and once again Kimi is behind me... but I can't believe I've thrown away my best shot at a race win...


Summary: Thinking about what might have been......

Mood:

JP Montoya

Epilogue: I can't complain too much, but I'm gutted that I didn't match Kimi's feat of winning a race when I had such a great chance. Ron could hardly hide his bald-spot disappointment, and he even forgot that he promised me a trip to McD's after the race (yes, they have them in China...) But to be honest, I wasn't really in the mood... so I just went home and ordered a pizza, some KFC, 3 lobsters, a chocolate Gateaux and a family-sized baked Alaska... I wasn't that hungry so I passed the third lobster and went straight to dessert.


Result:

1. Alonso (Renault) - 10
2. Massa (Ferrari) - 8
3. Fisichella (Renault) - 6
4. Montoya (McLaren) - 5
5. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 4
6. Räikkönen (McLaren) - 3
7. Barrichello (Honda) - 2
8. Button (Honda) - 1


Standings (After 16 races):

1. Alonso (Renault) - 115 ••••
2. Massa (Ferrari) - 111 ••••
3. Fisichella (Renault) - 84 •••
4. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 77 ••
5. Montoya (McLaren) - 58
6. Räikkönen (McLaren) - 52 •
7. Button (Honda) - 48 ••
8. Barrichello (Honda) - 39
9. Trulli (Toyota) - 19
10. Rosberg (Williams) - 9
11. Heidfeld (BMW) - 8
12. R Schumacher (Toyota) - 2
13= Villeneuve (BMW), Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 1

• = Race Win (Countback)

* TM - 54 Pts : M Schumacher (3), J Button (10), K Räikkönen (10), G Fisichella (10), Rosberg (4), Alonso (10), R Schumacher (1), A Liuzzi (1), JP Montoya - (5)


Constructors:

1. Renault - 199
2. Ferrari - 188
3. McLaren - 110
4. Honda - 87
5. Toyota - 21
6= Williams, BMW - 9
8. Toro Rosso - 1


A huge result for Alonso, not just because he is now 4 points clear with just one race left, but also because he is now level on race wins (with 4) with Massa... ...however, the last race is Massa's home turf in Brazil (and I'm driving ) Renault have all but sealed the Constructor's, but nothing is decided yet and it's all to race for for Felipe Massa 👍

(Editor's Note: I swear that these results are 100% percent genuine and that the similarity with the real season is purely coincidental!! )

I had to laugh about the Lobster bit👍.

But a good report and can't wait for the last round of the championship. Good luck:tup:. This is one game i will definetly buy if i can buy a PS3 one day

Now let's see if Massa does a Raikkonen.

Introduction

With expectations supremely high, I had it all to do - and infront of my home crowd too! Trailing Alonso by 4 points, realistically I needed to win this race and hope that Michael could make it a 1-2 for the team... but with the pace of the Renault not looking to have decreased any, it was always going to be a tall order!!

Qualifying

After a reasonable set-up session, the car was all over the place in Q1 and I needed to make some serious adjustments to the camber before I could get anything like a quick lap. Fortunately my manual adjustments did the trick, and I was safely through to the final shoot out, having taken 2nd and 1st - with Alonso right up there aswell

Q3 quickly turned into a session from hell, with a very poor first lap for me. But I struggled on an brought the gap down. Alonso banked a 1:16.681 but I was 0.6 s off until my 'last' attempt, when I took P2 with a 1:16.811... however I crossed the line with 10 secs left and so I got one last crack at pole, and I gave it my all, crossing the line in 1:16.501 The crowd went berserk* (well, I did!), and with Schumi in P3, all I needed was to hold on to the lead and hope that Michael could hassle Fernando into an error...


Race - 15 Laps - Grid Position: Pole; Strategy: One Stop (end Lap 7); Weather: Sunny (Difficulty: Medium, Penalties/Damage: On)

Once again, the Renault got off to a flyer and Alonso immediately took the lead... Schumi passed me into turn 1 aswell, and things looked bad from the outset. However I regained my composure and repassed Michael before long, and set about Fernando coming into lap 2. I had been quicker in Sector 2 all weekend and I waited until I had a chance to pass in the corner immediately before the Sector 2/3 split, and I retook the lead... unfortunately, though, Alonso was pushing hard and both of us started to pull away from Michael in 3rd... I had to decide whether to try to slow things down and risk being passed, and allow Michael to catch us up - but this was too risky, and it took all my effort just to keep Alonso behind me in any case!!

Lap 5 and near-disaster strikes... I brake on the curved entrance to Ferradura and I go off onto the grass, almost spinning the car round completely! I manage to hold it together and there is no damage done to the car, but Alonso and Schumi pass and I rejoin the track just ahead of Fisichella... it's now looking like an impossible task to win unless something happens to Alonso I pit on Lap 7 and somehow Fisi has leap-frogged me into 3rd! My only realistic hope now is that Michael can pressure Alonso into an uncharacteristic mistake.... but alas, it is not to be. Alonso pulls comfortably away from Michael in the closing stages, and my long second stint takes it's toll on my tyres, and I can forget about 3rd place... The race and the season is over, and Alonso takes the crown with a 5th win of the year. Our misery is complete as Renault also take the Constructor's. It's been a great year for me, but the World Championship is just that bit too far beyond my reach...

Summary: So near, yet so far.....

Mood:

Felipe Massa


Epilogue: Within hours of celebrating his second World Championship title, Fernando is packing his bags and heading for pastures new - as he joins McLaren in 2007 where he will be paired with a rookie driver from the UK called Lewis Hamilton - I'm sure they'll get on like a house on fire... I mean, who wouldn't get on with Fernando? He's such a nice guy... As if to illustrate the point, Fernando gave me a pat on the back and said that he'd enjoyed the season immensely and he even thanked me for such a thrilling contest - patronising little bastard

Result:

1. Alonso (Renault) - 10
2. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 8
3. Fisichella (Renault) - 6
4. Massa (Ferrari) - 5
5. Button (Honda) - 4
6. Räikkönen (McLaren) - 3
7. Trulli (Toyota) - 2
8. R Schumacher (Toyota) -1


Final Standings (After 17 races):

1. Alonso (Renault) - 125 •••••
2. Massa (Ferrari) - 116 ••••
3. Fisichella (Renault) - 90 •••
4. M Schumacher (Ferrari) - 85 ••
5. Montoya (McLaren) - 58
6. Räikkönen (McLaren) - 55 •
7. Button (Honda) - 52 ••
8. Barrichello (Honda) - 39
9. Trulli (Toyota) - 21
10. Rosberg (Williams) - 9
11. Heidfeld (BMW) - 8
12. R Schumacher (Toyota) - 3
13= Villeneuve (BMW), Liuzzi (Toro Rosso) - 1

• = Race Win (Countback)

* Touring Mars - 59 Pts : M Schumacher (3), J Button (10), K Räikkönen (10), G Fisichella (10), Rosberg (4), Alonso (10), R Schumacher (1), A Liuzzi (1), JP Montoya (5), Massa (5)


Constructors:

1. Renault - 215
2. Ferrari - 201
3. McLaren - 113
4. Honda - 91
5. Toyota - 24
6= Williams, BMW - 9
8. Toro Rosso - 1


Thank you all for reading and for all your comments :tup:

Until next year....

I enjoyed every race so far. Thnx Chris

Touring Mars

Thank you all for reading and for all your comments :tup:

Until next year....

Click to expand...

+++++REP

Brilliant end to a brilliant concept!

Aww, too bad Felipe didn't take it. But it was very enjoyable reading your write ups TM, I hope there's more next season.

Cheers guys 👍 I'd love to think that I could do the 2007 season next year (or whenever it comes out for PS3), and I'd love to think that I'll have the time to do it/write it up, but something tells me that I won't... but we'll have to wait and see...

As corny or bizarre as it might sound, I did have a real sense of the 'local crowd' pushing for 'me' (Massa) to win in Brazil, since I knew that Felipe (FatAssBR) would be disappointed if I didn't!! The parallels with the real-life 2007 season kept me amused for a while, too... ironically, Alonso started the last race in much the same situation as Lewis Hamilton did in real life, but in this case the leader managed to hold on to his advantage. Grabbing pole position in the dying seconds was a genuine shock and I literally punched the air in joy as I realised that I'd done it (and it's only on Medium difficulty!! - I did try it on hard but gave that idea up faster than JPM destroys a cheeseburger...)

So now I'm going to do what Appie is doing and start my 'own' career and see where I get to. If this 'season' has been any clue, it could be a long time before I see that podium again

Touring Mars

So now I'm going to do what Appie is doing and start my 'own' career and see where I get to. If this 'season' has been any clue, it could be a long time before I see that podium again

Click to expand...

That sounds like a great idea. 👍

BTW: I can't find the thread where Appie is doing a career F1 diary, can you post the link?

Digital-Nitrate

That sounds like a great idea. 👍

BTW: I can't find the thread where Appie is doing a career F1 diary, can you post the link?

Click to expand...

LOL, its not that i have a thread, but i told Chris once to try Career mode, because its really fun to do

I don't think there is one - he told me he was doing a career over MSN, but didn't say anything about writing it up...

edit: TREE'd!!