.png "os2 trasparenza (1)")
The second round is likely to be more disappointing than the first. Felipe Massa has not yet taken to the track in the Ferrari, but his weekend has already become complicated. The Brazilian will be forced to change engines and this trouble; however his qualifying goes on Saturday, will push him ten positions back on the grid. The only loophole to avoid the penalty would have been to retire in the Bahrain Grand Prix: in fact, if the car does not make it to the finish line (this is the case of Fisichella, for example, who will change the engine of his Renault without penalty), the team can act without suffering any consequences. However, Ferrari did not realize that the Brazilian's engine was showing abnormal values, an error that now risks having repercussions on the second round of the season. On the other hand, it was Coulthard who set off the alarm bells: his Red Bull is Ferrari-powered and his team sensed something strange at the end of the race, so much so that the Scot will also have to change engines and lose ten positions. A move that led Ferrari (the 8-cylinder engine is the same) to behave in the same way, resulting in a similar decision. It must be kept in mind that in Malaysia, where all the drivers only arrive on Wednesday, March 15, 2006, it is very hot, the temperature on the asphalt could touch 50 °C and the reliability of the engine, already put to the test in Bahrain, could be a decisive factor. Better not to risk it then, even if Massa now runs the risk of starting on the tenth or eleventh row, with the thankless task, as happened last Sunday to Räikkönen (who started 22nd and finished on the podium), of trying a difficult comeback. It becomes curious at this point to find out what strategy Ferrari will adopt. The new qualifying format in fact stipulates that the drivers can only run with as much fuel as they want (i.e. with an empty tank) in the first two sessions. In the third, the one that decides the pole position among the ten cars still in contention, the fuel must be the same as in the race with a top-up (but only for laps run at a certain speed, Schumacher in Bahrain had one removed) on Sunday morning. Massa could find himself in the unfortunate situation of staying in the top ten, putting in not too much fuel, and then, only at the end, discovering that he is far behind because he has been relegated ten places. At this point, it is more likely that Ferrari will decide to have him eliminated immediately. He will start last, but with as much fuel as he wants. And maybe with one less stop (if the heat wearing down the tyres will allow it) he can attempt the miracle. The fact remains that the mockery for Massa is great. He had already had to endure an interminable pit stop during the race (47 seconds), now this engine story. Ross Brawn, confiding in some friends, admitted it:
"We were a bit out of shape in the pits on Sunday".
They need to get back into shape immediately. These imperfections are not for Ferrari. Operation Rebirth does not allow them. Last year, Fernando Alonso's fairytale began in torrid Malaysia. There was a crossroads, the Spaniard took the right direction, that of glory, the youngest driver to triumph in a Formula One World Championship. In Sepang, March 2005, the Renault driver had not yet won anything. An impromptu race two years earlier in Budapest, an equally impromptu pole in Malaysia in the same season (the only one to break Schumacher's monopoly, five times king on Saturday out of six editions), nothing that could have put him in the book of legends, foreshadowing his bursting explosion. He arrived here loaded with good intentions, but with few points and the same third place two weeks earlier in Australia (on the top step of the podium his teammate Fisichella) seemed yet another result of a talent unable to emerge.
"I couldn't make any more mistakes, a leap in quality was necessary, heaven forbid I waited any longer, and in fact from that moment on I haven't missed a beat".
At the crossroads he turned and never stopped. There have been repeated successes since March 2005, in Malaysia, in Bahrain, at Imola, a flurry of exploits (seven victories out of nineteen Grands Prix) that at the end of the season took him to the top of the world. An adventure that started again this year in the same euphoric tones. First battle and immediately a hit, with good peace to Ferrari and Schumacher’s rebirth ambitions. Now it is Fernando Alonso who is running away. Everyone tries to stop him, but he shows no fear.
"I am the man to beat, the favourite, it is normal that everyone is racing against me, it is my new fascinating destiny. I'm not hiding, in fact, I'm raising the stakes: try to catch me, I've already run away".
The slogan that until two years ago belonged to Schumacher, a driver to whom the Spaniard increasingly resembles, in his atavistic hunger for victories, in his confidence on and off the track, in his perfection in the car, in his popularity. Alonso is the new Schumacher not only in terms of talent and aggressiveness”
"Last year no one believed that Renault and I could win here, and even more no one imagined that we were capable of taking home the championship. Now we are talking about a battle, but in the meantime, we are always in front. I'm happy that Ferrari has improved, I'm happy for Schumacher, but even in Bahrain you saw who won and in Malaysia we can easily concede an encore. The problem is all in the tyres: last year our Michelin tyres were unbeatable, I remember that Malaysia was an ordeal for Ferrari. If now the Bridgestones have improved, there can be a fight, but we are still stronger. I put three things in my head: I cannot afford any mistakes, I have to score points in every race and be competitive on every circuit. If I respect all that, nobody will be able to take the title away from me. I won it, I have to defend it from the attack of others and all this excites me. If someone wants to threaten me, go ahead. I'm here waiting".
A swaggering attitude, of someone who feels he is the best. Last year he was calm, no pressure.
"Now there is, I feel it, but it doesn't bother me, I like it".
He only gets angry if they talk to him about the challenge with Valentino Rossi.
"I race in Formula 1, I don't have time to waste, I have to think about the world title. I think I was misunderstood; I have a lot of respect for Valentino, I only said that he is not among the five best drivers in Formula 1 and can never become one. The comparison with him in the car and on the bike? It's unfeasible. I beat him on four wheels, he kills me on two".
However, there is confidence in Ferrari. The car seems competitive, even in Malaysia. Friday, March 17, 2006, during the free practice of the Grand Prix Michael Schumacher does not shine like in the Bahrein desert, but it is only an optical illusion. Because the German always runs on old tyres, saving the new sets that will be more useful in the race, and in the end, he is more than satisfied with the tests.
"We can say that we are OK. I can hope to fight for pole position and victory here as well".
And that is good news, especially when compared to last year's difficulties when it was at Sepang that Ferrari found itself in crisis.
The engine of his 248 ran like a violin in free practice. But after the engine failure on David Coulthard's Red Bull Racing car (which has the same Ferrari engine) on the return lap after the end of the Bahrain Grand Prix, and after Ferrari's consequent decision to change Felipe Massa's engine, which had shown signs of possible failure (it has already been sent to Maranello for a thorough examination), it is being kept under observation. Changing it would mean, as per the regulations, an automatic penalty with the loss of ten grid positions. Given the mechanism of the new qualifying, it makes no sense to keep ahead of the game as was done for the Brazilian. Says the technical director, Ross Brawn, speaking of the engine substituted for Felipe Massa, who did most of the laps for tyre choice and set-up refinement, lapping just over 0.1 seconds behind Fernando Alonso:
"I can't go into details, but it was the same as Coulthard's engine. Schumi? I think about problems when they come. And anyway, the high ambient temperatures had nothing to do with it".
Knowing that Massa will lose ten positions in any case, the idea is circulating in the Sepang paddock that the Brazilian might even save himself in tomorrow's qualifying. He would start from the back of the grid, but like Räikkönen in Bahrain, he would have the advantage of being able to choose his strategy freely.
"We will decide tonight. One option is to let him do regular qualifying and then load him with a lot of fuel in stage three. Overtaking is possible in this circuit, so you can finish well even if you start behind...".
Not to mention that this season, in Malaysia monsoons can be unleashed at any time:
"Rain would help the engine and favour overtaking even more, as would a Safety car entry".
Michael Schumacher relies 110% on the decisions of the Ferrari engineers.
"At the moment there is no risk of having to change the engine, but we will have to evaluate the situation better".
On the other hand, he is convinced that he is well set on tyres, a decisive factor - along with the brakes - in the equatorial heat of Sepang.
"I haven't checked what the others have done, so I can't judge their consistency over the distance. We're OK, though, and unlike in Bahrain, I've always lapped on old tyres today. So, the final time is OK. If you leave aside the test drivers, the rest looks like the real picture to me. And I know I could have been even faster if I hadn't made a mistake".
The tyre choice has already been made, thanks to Massa's work. Optimism therefore remains:
"It seems to me that this circuit also suits our 248 well. We hope to be as competitive as in Bahrain".
The heat, he knows, does not faze him in the slightest. On the contrary:
"I like it. And many in Germany envy us: they still have snow there…".
It was the colourful expression that escaped Giancarlo Fisichella's mouth in the heat of the moment. An expletive in English, vulgar, nothing to say, against his engine that was betraying him, cursing during the pit stop in response to the mechanics' incitement, which was meant to relieve tension but ended up upsetting those in England who were in front of the TV. This was because Fisichella's words, connected to the pits via radio, became public, were aired on Itv, the broadcaster that broadcasts the Grands Prix, and were not cut even though live television is delayed by five seconds and gives the possibility of censorship. The Roman's outburst became a case, partly because the slang expression used in the language that dominates Formula 1 is considered particularly heavy and offensive by the English.
Curiously, commentator James Allen had to immediately disassociate himself, distancing himself from Giancarlo Fisichella and what he had heard, just as it is singular that in the following days, he had to respond personally in writing (apparently television deontology demands it) to all the letters of protest sent by viewers. In this way, Itv put its conscience at ease, but the storm still hit Renault and above all Giancarlo Fisichella, who yesterday tried in every way to apologise:
"I didn't know I was on air, that the on-board radio could be heard on television. I ask everyone's forgiveness, I'm especially sorry for the children. I know that Grands Prix are watched by so many people, and I am embarrassed to have upset the sensibilities of the public, especially the younger ones. Next time I will be more careful".
It is impressive, however, that Fisichella, in a moment of great anger (his race was turning into an ordeal), decided to let off steam in English. Was it not easier to let loose in Italian?
"I was very angry; it would have been more natural. But then the mechanics couldn't understand me. Instead, I wanted them to realize".
Meanwhile, he does not change his mind, Michael Schumacher, about his future.
"Would I have already signed a new contract with Ferrari? I have nothing to say. I can't beat up those who write it, but it's not true. There is nothing new on the subject".
The German is categorical:
"I said that I will decide before the summer, but the one in our hemisphere. In three months, not now".
Now he only thinks about the second round in Malaysia. The hot nightmare does not faze him in the slightest.
"Wednesday afternoon I played football, the temperature was high, but I didn't struggle. I sweat very little, compared to my opponents and that's a big advantage. Last year here was a disaster, both qualifying and the race, but now the performance of our tyres is very different, there is no reason to be pessimistic".
To sign or not to sign? The torment has been going on for months now and is likely to have endless petals in its daisy chain. Does Schumacher extend his marriage with Ferrari or does he decide to retire at the end of the season, with seven world titles (if he does nor make it eight this year) in his trophy cabinet and an extraordinary bank account? There is not a day in Formula 1 that someone around the pits does not ask that question. Both Ferrari fans and rivals alike, anxious to know if the German will get out of the way, if the fearsome adversary will let others play a little. It is impressive to see him walking quietly, while ordinary mortals ignore the future, are bombarded with rumours and rack their brains. Mr Weber, is it true that it is all a game and Schumacher has already signed until 2008?
"Absolutely not. The latest rumours are totally unfounded. There is no news on the subject, no step forward, in one direction or the other".
But when will he decide to break the deadlock?
"Michael has said that you will know everything at mid-season and mid-season it will be. Right now, I know as much about his future as you do".
Is his choice not in danger of coming too late for Ferrari?
"Why? In 1995, the year Schumacher decided to move to Maranello, the announcement was made in September, at the Italian Grand Prix, and the decision had been made a short time before. It is at Monza that the driver market begins, not now".
McLaren, however, makes everything known a year in advance.
"I have no idea why he is behaving like this; you should ask Ron Dennis; it doesn't make sense to me".
He will admit, however, that Ferrari is waiting.
"Look, I know Todt well, he is a genius. Whether he stays at Ferrari or not, his fixed thought is and always will be the team. Todt will make the best decisions for the good of the team, of that I am sure. He will not be found unprepared, he certainly already has an alternative plan ready".
But why is Schumacher waiting to speak out?
"He wants to talk to Corinna, his wife, to understand what is best for his two children, to look inside himself. He needs time. I imagine him at home, with the whole family sitting around a table, at the moment of the collective decision".
If not Ferrari, does he have alternatives?
"Michael has no problem racing with anyone, everyone would like him. Just like he has no preclusion for any teammate, he doesn't fear any confrontation. But 99.9% he will stay at Ferrari".
Why not 100% anymore? Two years ago, he said he would end his career with Ferrari, why has he changed his mind now?
"He hasn't changed his mind; he just wants to leave a door open. For him Ferrari is more than a team, it's a family. It's the place where he has a lot of friends, where the environment is exceptional, where he jokes, where he plays. And it is also a winning team, to which he has given so much, but from which he has received the same. In these conditions, I ask the question: why would anyone want to leave?"
This is what many people ask themselves when it comes to the 99.9%. And to which many cannot give an answer.
"It is normal because it is not there".
But then what does someone who has won seven world titles need to carry on?
"Success, winning races, stimulation, fighting, and having fun. This is what Schumacher is looking for and Ferrari is able to give him everything".
So the problem does not arise.
"Leave him alone, let him think calmly".
It's not, by any chance, a question of money?
"That's the last thing on his mind".
The latest idea could be an elegant and legitimate way to curb the problem. It came to Ross Brawn's mind, not surprisingly Ferrari's strategist, and who knows, one day, if Valentino Rossi were to really make it big in Formula 1 too, it could be catalogued among the strokes of genius. The agreement on testing between the teams limits the number of occasions to test during the World Championship to thirty-six days? Does the restriction, considering that the Maranello team must above all think about the development of this year's single-seaters, prevent Ferrari from letting Rossi practice with a view to 2007? No problem: if the aim is to give him experience on four wheels, which is always a question of cars, Rossi can drive GP2 cars. Brawn says quietly:
"There are other types of sports cars that Rossi can drive to gain experience, without breaking the rules".
The GP2 cars are not surrogates, distant relatives: they have characteristics similar to Formula One, open wheels. Their engine has less power, of course, and the aerodynamic configuration is not as refined, but the GP2 championship is what should serve as a reservoir for Formula One. It is no coincidence that in 2005 it was won by Nico Rosberg, who was so good last Sunday with Williams on his Formula 1 debut. Help for Valentino Rossi, if he were to accept the new hypothesis, seeing as his enthusiasm has seemed to cool off in recent times, could come from one of the owners of a team that participates in this competition, Nicolas Todt, son of Jean, Ferrari's plenipotentiary. Art is the team that made Nico Rosberg win last year and could become the training ground for Valentino Rossi. Certainly, the Maranello team has bought into the idea of attempting the Rossi operation and wants to go all the way.
"Valentino is always very busy, I don't think the limitation of testing can abort his dream. If anything, he can test in freedom, as many days as he wants, at the end of the season. Right now he has to think about his bike world championship and we have to think about ours. Alonso says Rossi can never be among the top five drivers in Formula 1? I wouldn't be so peremptory".
It may have been the Bahrain win (or perhaps the fact that he has finally overcome the after-effects of a bike crash in Kenya) that refreshed him, but Flavio Briatore's Friday is a one-man show. He has something for everyone, and he does not back down on any subject. The Renault CEO attacks Valentino Rossi, the Spanish press, hints at Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari, and even meditates about a change in qualifying for pole position. A lesson as in his style, in short. Jibes to the rest of the world, starting with the king of motorbikes:
"This story of Rossi's three challenges to Alonso is marvellous: apart from the fact that Fernando never said he was strong on a motorbike; I would also like to suggest a few fields of competition. I was thinking of trout fishing, sack racing, and tug-of-war. It wouldn't hurt to see who wins, would it?"
Needless to say, Rossi asked around, and verified that Alonso had said those words. Briatore insists and rubs salt in the wound of testing:
"By the way, did you know that Valentino is three seconds behind?"
Astonishment, because the data provided is different:
"Everyone says what they want. Besides, he always lapped with Ferraris, didn't he?"
Talking about Valentino Rossi also means thinking about the future, a subject that is becoming taboo for the Renault boss:
"Excuse me a moment. But if I see you now what do I say: how are you? Or: how will you be? If you want to talk to me forget about the future. This is 2006, not 2007. Clear?"
Very clear, but what about the interest in Räikkönen?
"There are so many alternatives, it's not the only one".
So, it is true that Renault is having second thoughts about the Finn, but that would cost a lot of money.
"It doesn't seem to me that Renault is close-fisted. It seems to me, if you go and look at the accounts, and the balance sheets are public, that in the world only Toyota makes more money than the Renault-Nissan group. It's just that we are more efficient, excuse me if that's not enough".
Finally, he concludes on the subject:
"It is not only money that makes people move, always remember that: those come as a consequence".
Other than an aggressive defence, Briatore also goes on the offensive about the qualifying system:
"Nice and interesting, but what is the last part: the cars stand there dumping fuel waiting to do the last lap, the pole one. The public gets bored and we also pollute the world: just don't fill them up with fuel and you'll see that the show is assured".
Still on the subject of spectacle, the Bahrain Grand Prix made everyone happy, also in terms of television audience:
"Because Ferrari is competitive, and that is good. But for me, Fernando's real opponent will be Räikkönen, not Schumacher”.
The German, however, has shown that he is by no means ready for retirement.
"It was a great duel, but Alonso's most beautiful victory remains that of Imola 2005: there he showed great maturity, great strength and lucidity".
Here we come to the chastising of journalists: at Monte-Carlo, presentation of the new car, he took it out on the French. Now it is the turn of the Spaniards, reprimanded for the excessive gossip about the Spanish driver:
"He's only twenty-five years old and everything has happened to him in a year: criticise him when he makes mistakes, not for how many kilos of onion he buys in the supermarket. And let’s go".
Words that, said by the patron of the Billionaire and Twiga clubs, leave one baffled:
"What's that got to do with it, it's one thing to write about me in a club, it's another to write about the driver".
Finally, the problem: Fisichella's car.
"He has nothing to do with it. It's our fault, and that's not good. There are two cars and they both have to work; otherwise, what kind of team are we? I hope the engineers have worked it out. Giancarlo's swearing heard on British TV? Everyday stuff, it happens when you're angry. And then he apologised, immediately. In any case, do you watch football matches? And do you see the players' lips when they are substituted? Let's not be hypocrites".
Not even superstition stops Fernando Alonso, as on Friday, March 17, the first day of free practice, the Spaniard runs a total of seventeen laps.
"I feel like a climber in cycling, when he sees a mountain. Here in Malaysia everything is always perfect, it is my race, my favourite circuit. The car has no problems, nothing can stop me".
He almost seems to enjoy tempting fate:
"But everything here is too good, to put strange thoughts in my head".
The Spaniard starts favourite. In the second free practice session he was third, with Räikkönen fifth and Schumacher seventh. Alonso is not afraid of his opponents.
"The most fearsome are the Honda and McLaren, Ferrari seems to me to be a bit further back this time".
Nor of the heat.
"On the track it is bearable, you go at full speed, and the air cools you down. If it were up to me, I would just eliminate the pit stops. Being in the cockpit, without ventilation, is terrible. That's the most terrible moment, you sweat like hell, and you feel like you are about to faint".
A problem that Schumacher does not have, always ready to remind us of the qualities of his physique.
"I sweat very little, a great advantage".
He is in danger of trembling, however, because of his engine. For days, after the breaking of Massa's, the great threat has been hovering over his head. After free practice, Ferrari decided not to change it. But they check it carefully after every run. That would be a problem because it would relegate the German to the rear at the start. Which for sure will happen to Massa. Who, however, is not giving up:
"I dream of a race Räikkönen style, an extraordinary comeback, from the last rows up to the podium".
On Saturday, March 18, 2006, the first session of qualifying gave no surprises, as the Super Aguri, Midland and Toro Rosso cars all went out, while the second session saw another set of poor performances from Rubens Barrichello and Jarno Trulli, while Massa and Coulthard also went out along with both the Sauber cars. In the final pole position session, Ralf Schumacher's engine blew, while Fernando Alonso could only manage 7th place after a problem with his fuel calculation meant he was carrying too much fuel during the session. Kimi Räikkönen was tipped as a favourite having qualified 6th, while Juan Pablo Montoya put himself on the third row alongside his teammate in 5th. The two big surprises of qualifying were Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber in their Williams. Rosberg posted the third-fastest time, while Webber was moved up to 4th after Michael Schumacher's engine penalty dropped him to 14th. Jenson Button took provisional pole, but it was Giancarlo Fisichella who ended the session in 1st with his Renault, demoting Button to 2nd. On Sunday, March 19, 2006, at the start of the Malaysian Grand Prix, pole-sitter Fisichella made a clean getaway, as did second-placed Button. The Williams drivers were having a little battle of their own, Nico Rosberg pushing Mark Webber wide as he tried to defend his third spot, and a flying Alonso took advantage as they squabbled. The Spaniard went round the outside of turn one to take third. Kimi Räikkönen was a first-lap casualty when his McLaren rear-ended into the barriers with a suspected suspension failure, thanks to a nerf from behind by Christian Klien's Red Bull. It was hard to see what happened but Klien was in the pits quickly afterwards with suspension damage to the front of his car.
Red Bull's David Coulthard was up to 11th from 19th, the Toyota of Ralf Schumacher from 22nd to 13th, Ferrari's Felipe Massa from 21st to 14th and Rubens Barrichello moved his Honda up from 20th to 15th. Michael Schumacher, who dropped ten places in qualifying due to his engine change, started 14th and got his Ferrari up to 10th in the opening laps. At the front it was Fisichella leading Button and Alonso, then came Webber and the remaining McLaren of Juan Pablo Montoya. BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld had a good start and had improved to sixth, followed by Rosberg, who had dropped down a little after the skirmish with Webber at the start. Rosberg got past Heidfeld but the move and his efforts in qualifying came to nothing when the Cosworth V8 let go in a cloud of smoke and flames a couple of laps later. Webber was closing on Alonso and Heidfeld was back to sixth, with Montoya still between him and Webber. Rosberg's exit had promoted the second BMW Sauber of Jacques Villeneuve into eighth, while Michael and Coulthard had moved up to complete the top 10. Ralf and Massa were also still improving, 11th and 12th respectively, but for Red Bull it was game over. They had managed to get Klien back out on track after the incident with Räikkönen but he had problems. Meanwhile, Coulthard had gone into the pits stuck in sixth gear and their respective woes ended in a double retirement for the team. Back on track, Michael had dispatched Villeneuve for seventh and Fisichella was belting out fastest laps at the front. Behind Ralf and Massa, 10th and 11th by then, was the Toro Rosso of Scott Speed and Barrichello, who was struggling to make up ground as quickly as his fellow back-of-the-grid starters had done. Trulli, who was running sixth, hardly seemed to put up a fight as he was overtaken by Michael, Villeneuve and Massa all in successive laps at the same corner, turn one. Webber and Ralf were the ones who kicked off the first pit stops, around lap 15, but Webber then exited the race with a hydraulic problem.
Fisichella went in for his first stop a couple of laps later, leaving Button in the lead until the Honda also dived in. That promoted Alonso to the front, but while the Spaniard went 10 laps further into the race than teammate Fisichella did before visiting the pits, he was still on a two-stopper. Further down the field, MF1's Christijan Albers was up to 13th, followed by the Super Aguri of Takuma Satō and Tonio Liuzzi's Toro Rosso. The second MF1 of Tiago Monteiro was next and the last of the remaining cars on track was Yuji Ide's Super Aguri. They were all having their own little fights but the attention was firmly on the front. Alonso led Fisichella and Button rejoined behind third-placed Montoya after his stop. He was pressuring the McLaren, but not too hard as Montoya was yet to pit. Heidfeld was doing a calm and controlled job in fifth, followed by Michael, Villeneuve and Massa up into the points in eighth. However, due to the different strategies, the pit stop shakeout was not yet complete. Next into the pits were Michael, Montoya and Villeneuve, which left Alonso, Massa and Barrichello the last to go in. Alonso finally ducked in on lap 26 but evidently would have to stop again. He rejoined third behind Fisichella and Button. Massa was up to fourth when he went in and rejoined eighth, and the Ferrari youngster did not have to stop again. Barrichello was also on a one-stopper and was last to make his way into the pits but the strategy was wasted when a few laps later he got a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Ide was the next to retire, with an unspecified mechanical problem, and the Super Aguri pulled off on the grass. Barrichello, who had been held up by a scrap between Sato and Monteiro, went in for his penalty, and Button got similarly stuck behind Satō and one of the Toro Rosso cars who were then having a duel.
Fisichella took his second stop and Button dived in as well to escape the traffic. They retained formation and rejoined in second and fourth with Montoya in between them. Alonso was back in the lead until his second stop and had just enough time in his pocket to charge through for a quick splash-and-dash and get out ahead of Button. Michael went in for his second stop and it was a close call with teammate Massa as he rejoined the track. The Brazilian did not back off and led Michael through turn one, although the German was very close. Massa stayed there to the chequered flag, with Michael tagging behind for the remaining 10 laps or so, unable to get past. With only eight laps to go Heidfeld, who had been doing a sterling, if quiet, job for BMW in fifth, suffered an engine failure. In the final laps Liuzzi got past Albers for 11th, which will probably make MF1 start complaining about Toro Rosso's V10 again, and somewhere along the line Speed retired with a suspected clutch problem. Positions held to the flag and Fisichella took the victory ahead of teammate Alonso and Button. He closed his eyes and looked at the sky. In the air were the notes of Mameli's anthem, but he did not sing it. He had something else on his mind, Pietro Saitta, his fraternal friend who died tragically seven days earlier, the desire to dedicate a feat to him, to remember him in a grand manner. Yes, Giancarlo Fisichella found just the right way, winning in Malaysia, dominating the race from start to finish, without a flaw, a detail out of place, mortifying all his adversaries. In the tangle of feelings that assailed him during the uncontrollable euphoria, now the dream of becoming world champion 53 years after Alberto Ascari can also legitimately find a place. The talent has never been lacking, now there is also the car, and the combination can really frighten the prodigy Fernando Alonso. It is hard to understand the title of one of his books, which will be presented on March 21, 2006, in Italy:
"But who gave you your licence?"
It may be ironic, but it has an easy answer. If he drives like he did in Malaysia, someone will have given it to him and with good reason, except perhaps to suspend it momentarily when he mistakes Italian roads for a racetrack. Fisichella enchanted, Alonso however was not idle, replenishing Renault's day and turning the French team into a joyous points machine. The Spaniard, knowing he could not catch his team-mate, limited himself to overtaking four rivals at the start (the two Williams, Rosberg and Webber, and the two McLarens, Montoya and Räikkönen), and then with strategy the Englishman Button, in the end third with a convincing Honda (certainly not the one in the hands of the desaparecido Barrichello), but unable to withstand the Renault impact.
Alonso had got himself into trouble on Saturday, closing the qualifying session in eighth place (then seventh due to Schumacher's relegation), he raced as World Champion and at the end he was able to wave goodbye to Kimi Räikkönen (who said goodbye to the race after five corners, crashed into by Klien's Red Bull) and Michael Schumacher, already far behind in the standings. In Renault’s world, Ferrari also ended up being crushed, paying more for its Saturday troubles than for its lack of pace on Sunday. Schumacher had been good in qualifying, but had to run it with a new engine and so from fourth he found himself fourteenth. The German was hoping to benefit from the penalties of his brother Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello (all changed engines at different times) and start eleventh. The fact is that the start came from the seventh row for him and the comeback stopped after overtaking Jarno Trulli and Jacques Villeneuve. Nor could strategy do any more: he had plenty of fuel at the start, but the great effort (still, two stops like all the big dogs) only resulted in a sixth place. Felipe Massa fared better, from P21 to P5. A single refuelling plus a few overtakes were the winning keys, to the point of finishing just four seconds behind the compassionate Juan Pablo Montoya, fourth at the finish. Schumacher aside, the list of disappointments is long. Nick Heidfeld, betrayed by his BMW engine, lost fifth place with seven laps to go, Jarno Trulli (Toyota) and Rubens Barrichello (Honda) cursed their cars the whole time, and Nico Rosberg and Mark Webber cursed at the engine. They were dreaming of heavy points; they went home after only a few kilometres. They gave him a good car and he won. He has been waiting for it all his life, this moment, Giancarlo Fisichella. But after the anthem, he keeps a low profile. As a measured champion, aware of his strength and talent. On the day of the triumph, the perfect weekend, the unanimous praise of international critics. And he, on the other hand, as calm as after a simple test:
"The R26 was there, and we knew that. There were no mistakes, or any other obstacles. So, I took pole position on Saturday and won on Sunday".
A devastating simplicity:
"I am here to win. The races, and the World Championship".
Actually, he said that last year too, perhaps too optimistically, and he took a bit of a beating: wrong pit stops, problems here and there, even his own mistakes. So, he understood the Renault lesson: he watched Fernando Alonso go for the World Championship and put himself at the team's disposal, he studied (at 32) a different behaviour amidst Alonso and Briatore, in silence. He endured all the general manager's banter without replying:
"Fisico? On Thursday he always says it will be fine. Let's hope he says it on Sunday too".
Or, to the journalists:
"Now he comes in for interviews: you know, he usually runs away. He's not so used to it".
Something has changed, waiting for the right day and the new season.
"I started training earlier than usual, and you can see the results".
Fresh as a daisy, after one of the toughest Grand Prix from a physical point of view:
"Halfway through the race it was seventy degrees. Some people were pretty exhausted. I personally lost 2.5 kg, but I'm ready to go again for another Grand Prix".
He had won two others, but this is the real one. Because Brazil 2003 was the joy of the first time, Australia 2005 was that of illusion. Malaysia 2006 is the confirmation of the evolution of the driver, and of the man.
"I won, I did my job and I am proud of it".
The litmus test comes right now, with the extra commitments: Tuesday is book and perfume day. Sepang-Rome-Milan and back, with Melbourne just around the corner.
"I don't get distracted, don't worry, and the book is an ironic guide to help young people".
He does not even do it verbally, by now he knows how to sidestep controversy. He hears Alonso say that his opponents are Räikkönen and Schumacher, and he not only does not reply but points out:
"He meant that at this moment we are teammates. Then, in the future, we will see if it will be me and him playing each other".
Victory number 43 by an Italian in Formula 1: an Italian in the running for the World Championship. The very idea takes you back 53 years, to Alberto Ascari (Ferrari) in 1953.
"Sorry, I don't look at history. It's better that I think about the present, and I would like to remember a friend, Pietro, with whom I shared many things: a car accident took him away last week".
No past, no future.
"Better to focus on the present. Stay focused like I did at Sepang. I was so into it that I never drank".
The only distractions will be his family, as always, and it will be Carlotta (age 9) and Christopher (age 3) who will keep him busy, even physically. Then, Roma, if busy at the Olimpico:
"And maybe we'll organise a dinner for friends, at least we'll try".
That is it, simple and private life. Because in the background is Melbourne City with the only sweet memory of 2005.
"This year it's all going backwards. Given the epilogue of the other year, I hope it bodes well for the continuation. I also saved the engine; I didn't drive on the limit. I am satisfied, but I want to continue without making mistakes. I have an insane desire".
The dream continues at the next Grand Prix. But Sepang also celebrates a one-two win that had been missing since 1982 (Arnoux and Prost), and Renault is already in the lead after two Grands Prix.
Alonso is priming in the standings with seven points ahead of Schumacher and Button, the team even has thirteen over Ferrari and McLaren. True domination.
"They had celebrated the funeral on Saturday, we respond with facts".
Sniggers Briatore, absolutely overflowing:
"Ferrari? McLaren? Maybe they weren't there".
The question that arises is: who stops them, these guys?
"I hope no one".
Says Fisichella, while Alonso, a practical guy, prophesies that nothing should change between now and April 2, 2006, the day of the Australian Grand Prix. Opinion shared by Flavio Briatore, who celebrated at the finish line, hugging and sharing time with his two boys.
"What will happen in Australia? That Fernando will have the new engine” and he ran off with his glass of champagne. “We, with the fuel we had, could have gone to Australia already".
The general manager unwittingly introduces another fact that gives the experts food for thought, but also makes the rivals worry: Alonso's start:
"It was full: eighty kilos of fuel he had in the car, and what happened at the start?"
What happened was that the Spaniard, who started eighth, passed five cars in an instant. His skill, and the explosiveness of the Renault. The doubt that the French could kill the World Championship is beginning to be raised by some, and the script faithfully recalls 2005: it was on the opening points that Alonso managed and won the crown. The other teams have already lost ground and it is becoming hard to catch up.
"The daughter came out better than the mother".
The R26 is the natural evolution of the previous one, modified only in the essentials.
"I believe that, if the other teams work well, we will be able to see some upgrades at Imola, not before".
Swears the Spaniard, while the Italian driver is certain of the further potential of the yellow-blue car.
"There are areas for improvement, from the wings to other things that I cannot tell you. If we don't stop, and I don't see why we should, we will see a nice development".
Flavio Briatore had said:
"The first points, the first Grands Prix, are the decisive ones".
Fernando Alonso was also undoubtedly satisfied with his second place in the Malaysian Grand Prix. The World Champion climbed from seventh position to finish on the podium, only behind his teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella.
"The second part of the race was more difficult, but everything went well, just a pity for the problems we had on Saturday".
The Spanish Renault driver started with more fuel.
"There was no problem with the extra weight".
Alonso, as mentioned, is leading the drivers' standings.
"To get 18 points in two races I would not have expected, it went beyond our expectations. We had a great start, it's a beautiful first part of the championship, where we got the best possible position".
Michael Schumacher was optimistic, leaving Malaysia with a tight smile. Of course, it could have been worse, considering that he had to change the engine before qualifying, thus thwarting his fourth time on Saturday, starting from the seventh row, fourteenth place, after endless discussions on the interpretation of the regulations and the effectiveness of the relative penalties for replacing the engine, and after having long hoped on Saturday to start from the sixth row and eleventh position, thanks to the broken engines on the cars of Ralf Schumacher (Toyota), David Coulthard (Red Bull) and Rubens Barrichello (Honda). Bahrain had deluded. Second a few metres behind Fernando Alonso. In Malaysia, the leap backwards, sixth, 43 seconds behind the triumphant Giancarlo Fisichella, and also behind his teammate, Felipe Massa, fifth thanks to a stop short of a well-timed strategy. Michael Schumacher, how disappointed are you with this defeat?
"I'm not happy, it wasn't the result I wanted, but I couldn't do more. Already on Saturday, after changing the engine, I had said that the podium would be an extraordinary feat. Unfortunately, my performance remained at a normal level, a few points and that’s it".
Especially at the start, you seemed very slow.
"I was until I managed to get away from Villeneuve. It was not easy to overtake him, I had a lot of fuel on board and little speed. Then things got better".
Not to the point, however, of finishing ahead of Massa. Why did you not attack your teammate?
"I couldn't. I wasn't faster than him. I didn't want to spoil it. The only chance was to wait for a mistake from him. He didn't make any".
The resigned fatalism of last year resurfaces in your words. Do you still have faith in the new car?
"In my opinion, we didn't make a bad impression. We are certainly not as fast as Renault, but we knew that from the start. The gap with them is not dramatic, it's not that wide. In the air I don't feel bad signals, we can catch up. All right, it would be better if we were closer, here we were losing about half a second a lap, but for us Malaysia is the worst race of the year, the history of the last few years says so. It's a problem of circuit and characteristics: it won't be like that in Australia".
Do you expect rapid progress?
"I'm convinced of it, that's why I'm not so sad. The overall picture is not so bad, Melbourne will be a completely different chapter, and our car will adapt better to the track".
Will you go back to Europe to test?
"I would love to, but we don't have such an intense testing schedule, it's not worth it. I will go straight to Australia, the usual honeymoon every year with my wife Corinna".
If nothing else, will this help to lift your spirits?
"But it's not that low: let's say it's average".
However, Ferrari was born to win, not to settle for sixth place. Won't you be victims of the tyres again?
"I don't think the tyres are to blame this time, but many factors together. Ferrari's current strength is somewhere between Bahrain and Malaysia".
Meanwhile, Renault is running away. Alonso already has a seven-point lead and Ferrari is thirteen points behind in the Constructors' standings.
"Right now it is the strongest team, a points machine, the team to beat, the big favourite. But in Formula 1 things can change quickly".
You also said this last year.
"When we were further behind, though. Now I think we have a much better chance of catching up".
Was there anything that amused you about this race?
"The overtaking at the beginning. What bothered me instead was my performance after the first pit stop. I was pushing, but I couldn't go any faster".
How did your face not darken?
"Because all in all it was good. I started 14th, moved up the field. The verdict could have been more disastrous".
Radio silence. Massa is ahead of Schumacher, the cameras frame Todt and Ross Brawn, there are only a few laps to go, and everyone expects the order to reverse positions. A diktat that never comes. The two Ferraris plummet across the finish line, Massa finishes fifth, Schumacher sixth. Curious, but fair. A fair behaviour by the Maranello team, the Brazilian, who started 21st and with plenty of fuel on board, deserved it more than his teammate. He was rewarded by the strategy, one stop less, but not only. Felipe Massa commented:
"I think I received a great testimonial from the team. To finish ahead of Schumacher already in the second race is a great result, it makes me feel stronger, it fills me with confidence. But now I have to finish in front of everyone, not just in front of Michael. Ferrari certainly can't rejoice at a fifth place, even if it's not easy to get there starting from the last row. Now I hope the team can solve the engine problem once and for all. So that we can concentrate even more on reliability and power. We're not as bad as some people claim. The Renaults are not unreachable".
Since the first person to make fun of the driver's manager's name is Jean Todt, Ferrari's general manager, there is no harm in spreading a joke around the pits. Irvine and Barrichello would not have got away with it, but Massa has a right manager, also named Todt, he is the son of the general manager. Ungenerous inferences towards the driver's talent and which the Brazilian lets slide.
"Ours was a free race, a natural fight. I received no communication from the radio. After the race with Michael, we talked to each other, he explained his problems, there is nothing strange if I finish in front of him".
Massa does not get lost in these sterile fights; he prefers to think big.
"If Schumacher and I had started further ahead, we could have competed with the Renaults. I raced with a very heavy car; I gave it my all. Mine is a fantastic result".
Moving on to other issues, according to the opponents there is something wrong with both Ferrari wing profiles. In Bahrain, it was the rear wing, in Malaysia also the front. But as in the Middle East so in Malaysia, the stewards decided not to punish the Maranello team. In Bahrain the verdict had been one of complete acquittal, the FIA had deemed Ferrari's aerodynamic appendage (which would bend backwards on the fast track, guaranteeing greater speed, while under braking it would return to its original position) to be regular, in Sepang the three judges, Tony Scott Andrews, Henry Krausz and Kanagalingam, took note of the protest from no less than eight teams, but considered it an informal document, not an actual indictment, and decided to forward the documents to the FIA's technical delegate, Charlie Whiting, adding, however, the suggestion that no action should be taken, at least at the outset, considering that more in-depth investigations were necessary. In practice, at least in Malaysia, everything remains as before; Ferrari feels totally innocent, despite the fact that the accusation of the rivals (all except Red Bull Racing, which has Ferrari engines, and Scuderia Toro Rosso, which shares ownership with Red Bull Racing) is rejected. The rivals claim that the front wing is flexible, while the regulations require aerodynamic appendages to be stable. According to the protest, this particular wing would increase downforce in corners (facilitating the stability of the car) and decrease it in the straights, to the benefit of top speed. On the issue, Jean Todt has clear ideas.
"If the component was irregular, the FIA would have asked us to change it even before this race. We are absolutely calm, and convinced that we are in full compliance. If the Federation asks us for clarification, we will be ready to provide it, we are not afraid. Change the wing in Australia? Why would we do that? There is nothing illegal, we do not fear sanctions, I do not see why we should intervene".
And, speaking of the Malaysian Grand Prix, he adds:
"We have limited the damage".
It is certainly not a phrase that can send people, the people who wear red and swoon over Ferrari's successes, into a frenzy. It is the unvarnished truth, in Malaysia the Maranello team moved up the rankings by winning seven points, better than the nothing it could have picked up when it discovered the sudden fragility of its engines, but in the year of the announced redemption, it is legitimate to expect more. However, Jean Todt is a pragmatic person, he is used to letting the numbers speak for themselves, to analysing the data and not the hopes, and in his review, he prefers to choose the line of frankness.
"It is clear that we are not satisfied, but given the conditions in which we raced, we could not have done more. Regrets are of no use, what matters is to work, to try to solve the problems".
So, having filed away the disappointing race held in Malaysia, the men of the Maranello team are concentrating on the future, in the hope that their efforts will be able to stem Renault's bursting lead. With thoughts already turning to Melbourne, the most pressing issue to be resolved is that of the engine. Jean Todt is adamant:
"We think we have found the source of the trouble and have solved the problem once and for all. Already in Malaysia the fixes had worked, and the race was run in relatively safe conditions. We are convinced that these engines will also hold up in Australia, and will not need to be changed".
As usual, the Maranello team does not go into the details of the failures, but it seems that the frequent mishaps involve a component in the pistons. It was the thorough examination of the engine used by Felipe Massa in Bahrain and changed before going on track in Malaysia that revealed the problem. The engines used in the Grand Prix (because of the rule that they have to last for two races) are sealed, they cannot be dismantled. It is a different story for those that return to Maranello: the engineers opened it up, discovered the anomaly and remedied it. Hence the confidence in the future, a necessary optimism if the two Renaults of Alonso and Fisichella are to be prevented from saying goodbye to the rest of the company well in advance. Because if it is true that Schumacher spoke of satisfactory first two races, thinking more of second place in Bahrain than sixth in Malaysia, it is equally true that it is not in Ferrari's history, nor in its objectives, to fight for a single point, rather than for the podium. After the first race, the German was talking openly about winning the World Championship and possibly overtaking Alonso in Malaysia. Now he is no longer so bold with his words, but reiterates that Sepang was just an incident and that in Australia the picture will be completely different. That is what the Ferrari fans are hoping for, as they fearfully recall last year's stunted start. From the very beginning, Michael Schumacher spoke of a comeback, reiterated several times that things change quickly in F1, but then the announced recovery never came. Now Ferrari considers itself further ahead. Jean Todt says:
"If the race had started from lap 20, we could have fought for victory".
But the history of last season teaches that it is better to run for cover now.
"You cannot win races if you always start behind your rivals".
Said the general manager in 2005, referring to the difficulties in the single qualifying lap. The same problem could happen again now if the engine problem is not solved quickly, as replacing it between races costs ten grid positions. That is why at Maranello, rather than tyres and aerodynamics, they are now concentrating on pistons and cylinders. The controversy over the aerodynamic profile, on the other hand, is of no concern.