Your thoughts on how the season will shape up from now.

[Knowlesy]

This weekend's GP has been enlightening in so many ways as to where everyone stands on a fairly normal track.

Firstly, I must say I was staggered and taken aback by the pace of the Ferrari. I can only say how thankful I am to Michael for screwing up this morning, because one of the best races ever could easily have been a yawnathon of incomprehensibly gargantuan proportions.

We also have seen Alonsos true steel.......how he stayed so inch perfect and calm under the most immense pressure I'll never know. He had a legend on his rear wing for the final twelve laps, a car disadvantage and an engine down on power and most probably on the verge of blowing up. This, truly, was a champions victory.

Then we have McLaren. Raikkonen probably would have won this one, but just how much fuel did he have onboard? What is the cars true pace and what kind of a step forward will it take in Spain. We know MP4/20 is quick, but will it be able to match the pace of this revitalised Ferrari?

BAR are back, but they didn't seem quite there and I can't see them moving much further forward. Williams will move forward, but I doubt by much more.

The way I see it then, the season is set as a battle between Renault, Ferrari, McLaren. Pretty much as expected.

But will it be a battle, or will it be a race to see who can finish second behind Ferrari every race from now? Michaels pace today was scary, scary stuff....he was two seconds a lap faster for a large period of time with a similar fuel load. The tyres held together beautifully and the car is now better reliability wise, although Rubens didn't last.

Where did this two second advantage come from? Well, I think Alonso's engine was being used very sparingly for most of the race and was down on power in any case due to it's "age". It had after all been through Bahrain, a sandy and hot place.

The conditions were very cool and this also may have made the Bridgestones look better, and the Michelins worse.

You can also add a superhuman performance from Michael I guess.

But you know, I think today was, as Brundle said in his commentary, "an ominous warning". I think Ferrari will be out front for a while now and it will be a case of minimising the damage to the championship lead for Alonso and Renault for some races now. I don't for a second think the ferrari actually holds a two second per lap advantage, but I think it is at least half a second all things considered.

How do you see the situation regarding true pace and how do you see the next races panning out?

[kelvinjouhar]

Who gives a toss....there is no "racing" any more - I watched the first 2 laps
then switched off. It is a complete bore.

[Rich R]

you really should try watching the rest of it sometimes, you have missed a cracking race today

[Silk Cut Jaguar]

I think you're right in speculating that Alonso might not have been running at full tilt, the team has said all along they have revs to spare. I suppose Barcelona will be a good judging point on that when they bring their fresh engine, but it's hard to believe they'd have enough in their pocket to find 1.5 seconds. On the brightside, Alonso merely needs to keep in the top 3-4 at every race to seal his championship and so far this season he's shown no signs of not being able to do that.

Toyota seemed to have been the biggest losers this weekend, maybe the cold temperatures that people suspect help Ferrari have hindered them?

[Rich R]

i can see schumacher on a real charge now, raikkonen too if the bleedin car stops breaking down on him when he's in a strong position. renault don't seem to have 100% reliability, but all the problems are happening to fisi's car at the moment, so maybe alonso might rack up a few dnf's, i don't see any non finishes coming from his driving.

[ralf fan]

Yes that Ferrari chassis seems to be something else.....and MS is just as hungry as ever....As Brundle said...."ominous signs"
still have to see if BS have improved in warmer temperatures....

[Dani Filth]

this season will be great . even if Schu won't win the championship(even greater if he does ) .
to have so many cars able to fight for points .. team mates battles . Juan Pablo will probably be back with a vengeance . it's shaping to be a great season.
bar "resurrection" . ferrari "resurrection" . JV "resurrection" ..

[Fish_Flake]

If the rest of this season unfolds like 2003 did, I better invest in defibrillators.

[joe rossi]

Originally Posted by kelvinjouhar

Who gives a toss....there is no "racing" any more - I watched the first 2 laps
then switched off. It is a complete bore.

Why did you 1. bother to switch on in the first place and 2. bother to register on an F1 chat forum just to tell us how boring it is if you don't give a toss?

[Spudgun]

I think it is very ominous as MB said. I got that familiar sinking feeling mid-race when Michael was unleashing his wrath.

If he walks away with it in Barcelona I'll be very worried for the rest of the season. That said if Alonso can stay up there it won't be that easy for Michael to reign in his lead.

On the other hand (but unlikely) he just got lucky on the setup. Or the lower temperatures helped the tyres. Michelins have always had a trend of preferring higher temperatures.

[Pitstop]

Originally Posted by joe rossi

Why did you 1. bother to switch on in the first place and 2. bother to register on an F1 chat forum just to tell us how boring it is if you don't give a toss?

Joe mate, whoever whatsisname is - he/she missed a great race today. No real F1 fan would ever do that!

[Dog Faced Boy]

I disagree now BAR have sorted out the basics, they can focus on making the car faster. Renault could have more problems improving an already good car and the gap wasn't that big today. Ferrari obviously are comming good with their car and will be more difficult to beat with each comming race. I can see Ferrari having the advantage to try and close down Renaults early points gains. Renault will struggle to resist the advances of BAR and Mclaren who will dice it up behind Mickey the Shoe along with Barrichello.

I worry that Williams might not be able to keep up. I hope they do because having Webber near the front looks like an exiting prospect.(excellent racing with Sato today)

It will also be a challenge to Toyota + RBR along with Sauber to try and keep the developments comming on their cars throughout the season as fast as the Top teams.

Jordan and Minardi will carry on as usual

[T0MAT01]

I think the good racing this season will come from Renault, BAR, McLaren and Toyota, with Ferrari walking away with the latter half of the season due to their excessive testing.

Fernando will soon have difficulty keeping ahead of Schumi in the WDC because we'll see many a Ferrari 1-2 soaking up most of the points. But I hope I'm wrong.

[Dani Filth]

don't know if we'll get lots of 1,2 ferrari . but i hope kimi can "help" Schu close the gap to alonso

[touringlegend]

Ferrari's pace bodes very badly for the remaining 15 races of the season..

150 points for the wins
120 points for 2nd places

I really do think it could be a case of how many 2nd's Renault can score from now on and have 100% reliability to pick up a few race wins if Ferrari drops out.

[E46]

First i want to know how Bridgestones work again with hot weather, and Montmeló will be a fantastic place to know it.
I guess Ferrari won´t be so fast as they were today.

[joe rossi]

Renault definitely need Fisi firing on all cylinders..first to help in the constructors race and secondly to maybe protect Alonso's back from everyone else. He may also be able to neutralise a "charge" from Barricello if Ferrari manage to get two cars working

[gfm]

For me as at this moment .. it all depends on whether McLaren put a reliable car out for Kimi.

[Schummy]

I think this season can be very interesting (wishful thinking perhaps!).

I expect this season to be a constant catch up Alonso by Michael and Raikkonen, probably these two can get more points than FA in the rest of the season (well, I hope it!), because IMO their cars are faster than Alonso's.

Kimi is very strong, but it has not been fully showed because of bad luck (he has suffered more problems than his teammates). McLaren has been probably the faster car out there.

Ferrari has not been so bad in the three first races laptime wise, but the incredible perfomance of MS in Imola makes possible he will be again a very important force, maybe the strongest of all.

Obviously Alonso has been very good, but his Renault has been flattered by Kimi's vudu maladies and Ferrari disastrous begining of the season. Renault is clearly a good car, but it surely it is not the fastest. Fernando is a star, he performs at high level everywhere, and he has amassed a good bag of points.

BAR can get into the picture playing a "supporting" role. I don't expect Button to be title contender against Alonso, Kimi and Michael, but the guy is a great driver and BAR has showed a lot of pace in Imola. As a side note, Sato has awakened at last! Let's hope we see some interesting overtakes from him in the future!

Toyota is solid but not so fast as the three fastest teams. Trulli's amazing qualify speed has flattered a bit the car, but in races only the unexpected racecraft of Jarno in Sepang and Bahrain has put them in a contender position. I think they can play a supporting role, fighting with BAR for final 4th position. (LOL, I'm sure I'm not going to forecast all these details rightly, but it is funny to do).

Williams is suffering although they are not so bad, but they are overtaked by too many promising teams. I don't see any reason for them recovering this season, neither engine wise or chassis or drivers.

The four restant teams are very far of those in terms of current status and/or future resources to advance. I just expect some eventual sparks by RBR and Sauber. BTW, Luzzi did a good job, particularly in race.

[Kicking-back]

Originally Posted by gfm

For me as at this moment .. it all depends on whether McLaren put a reliable car out for Kimi.

They've identified the problem, and it was his first DNF of the season.

After today's pace, I'm VERY hopeful.

[Knowlesy]

It's typical of Kimis luck though......he gets a good lead, everything is comfortable and BANG! Something goes.....

[T0MAT01]

Hopeful, yes. But we didn't get to see how much fuel he was carrying.

[Liz]

I can't believe that Peter Windsor asked Alonso the race winner if he had ever considered "moving over and letting Michael by and settling for second place."

Alonso handled it pretty well, giving him an astonished look and answering firmly that no, he'd never had anythought in his mind except winning the race "and ending up right here."

I'm sure both Windsor and TGF were horrified to find out that Renault isn't obligated to move over for him, but let him win his races the old fashioned way if he can.

HURRAH FOR ALONSO!

[Knowlesy]

Liz: Peter Windsor is eternally eating his breakfast off Michael Schumachers bottom. That line of questioning is to be expected.

[Adam43]

Obviously Windsor was alluding to any championship thoughts Alonso might have had, although it was good that Alonso doesn't entertain such thoughts. Still though though worth it for a little dig. The battle for the lead was great, each corner you where checking that the Renault could use its only advantage. Alonso drove brilliantly, but lets not forget that the other half of the entertainment was provided by TGF.