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Articles by Darren Galpin
| When is a Tilkedrome not a Tilkedrome? - Sun 21st Aug 2005 |
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To answer the question in the title, the answer is when it is the Istanbul Speedpark, the latest design by Hermann Tilke for the Turkish Grand Prix. Previous designs include Sepang in Malaysia, Sakhir in Dubai, and the new Shanghai track. But what really made this track stand out was one thing: elevation.
There was gradient, and lots of it, and the use of gradient in corners helped to counteract some of the problems introduced by car aerodynamics, helping them run closer together than they might otherwise have done. It also made corners more tricky, as evidenced by the number of drivers who went wide at turns 8, 9 and 10. For once, Tilke deserves some plaudits, rather than the usual brickbats which are thrown his way. Perhaps he has a racing heart after all, although the Turks themselves helped out by allowing the choice of location.
The race itself was gripping too, with overtaking, cars moving through the field, tactics, and arrogance. Once again the McLaren’s proved themselves to be the class of the field, with Räikkönen leading by the end of lap 1, and thereafter never being headed. Montoya backed this up with third place and fastest lap, but was hampered by Monteiro removing his rear diffuser during a Portuguese faux pas. Renault just don’t have the out and out pace to compete – they have to rely on the misfortune of McLaren, and the fact that Alonso can still win the championship if he finishes third in every race here on in. So, the championship is Renault’s to lose, but it is looking more and more difficult for them.
Williams had a hard time of it in the race, suffering a spate of right rear tyre failures. The failures were sudden and catastrophic, with the tyre seeming to let go of the rim when braking from high speed. Webber suffered a failure early in the race at the beginning of the lap, and he took an age bringing his car back to the pits while trying not to break anything further. He was a lap down on everyone, but when on track did his best to try and move forwards as much as possible. However, when he caught up with Michael Schumacher, who was already having a bad day in the car courtesy of a lack of grip from the tyres, the problems really began.
For some reason, Schumacher decided he would defend his place on the track. Webber attempted to drive around the outside of him as they headed towards a left hand corner, so Schumacher drove across him and forced him to back off slightly. Webber then immediately jinked left and attempted to dive down the inside. He got more than half way alongside, but Schumacher seemingly didn’t bother looking and drove across the Williams, with the inevitable contact. Webber’s front wing was removed, and Schumacher’s suspension was damaged. Both limped back to the pits.
Ferrari repaired Schumacher’s suspension, taking 17 laps, so that he could gain a few positions for qualifying at the next Grand Prix in Monza, but having moved up as far as he could he quit the race. He then faced the reporters.
"I don’t know why he did it," said Schumacher. "He was one lap down, and he was never going to make it up." So, if Schumacher knew that Webber was a lap down, why on earth was he attempting to block him? If Webber wanted to go by, he could have simply pulled out of the way and let him get on with it, as he was never going to be a threat to Schumacher’s race position. And why shouldn’t Webber attempt to close up to those in front? Even if he only managed to overtake the Jordan’s and Minardi’s, that was still four positions better for his next qualifying. It simply belies the inherent arrogance of the man, and his belief that no-one should overtake him. The FIA frequently throw the rule book at “lesser” drivers for causing “avoidable accidents”, and this was certainly avoidable, but will any form of censure come from this? I doubt it. Just to make things better, after going back out of track the first time to prove that his suspension really was broken, Schumacher managed to force Fisichella off the road under braking.
Webber went back out again, but suffered a second failure, and after Heidfeld suffered his second failure, both of the Williams’ were retired, as it was considered too dangerous for them to continue, and you had to agree – both had been lucky not to collect anyone else when the tyres failed. It would seem though that the problem has to be with the Williams car itself, as none of the other Michelin teams suffered any problems.
One notable drive in the race was that of Jenson Button. Button qualified down in 13th place, having suffered a tank-slapper in qualifying which kyboshed his chances of a front row position, but more than made up for it during the race. He made quick work of the lower order, and by sticking in faster laps when necessary, managed to make it into 5th, best of the rest behind the Renault’s and McLaren’s. It was impressive the way that his car simply drove past the Ferrari’s on the straight, and he also put in a couple of good overtaking manoeuvres. McLaren will be hoping for more of the same from Button without the qualifying mistakes, as on this form that is one more car which could get between Räikkönen and Alonso at the finish. And the more of them that there are, the better the chances of the championship battle going down to the wire. Bring on the Italian Grand Prix!
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