| For the
BMW WilliamsF1 team the German Grand Prix was a race of what might have
been. The start would see JPM make a poor getaway dropping to seventh, from
there he simply was not able to get back to the front. At least he was able
to come home with points for fifth while team-mate Pizzonia did the same in
seventh. With Michael
Schumacher on pole position for his home Grand Prix, joined by Juan Pablo
Montoya the cars would take up their positions on the grid. But it would all
come to nothing as Oliver Panis would stall his car forcing a restart. Panis
would be moved to the back of the grid as a result of his problem. The race
would now be sixty six laps.
 Michael
would lead the field away for the second time. For Panis he would again have
problems with his car stuck on the grid, which would see him pushed off the
grid. With the cars formed up on the grid the lights would go off and it
would be Michael who would lead but JPM would make a terrible start seeing
him down in seventh.
At the front it would be Schumacher, Alonso and Raikkonen. Rubens would
damage his front wing in a moment with Coulthard seeing him pit for a new
nose, a 10.3 second stop. Lap two and Kimi would pass Alonso with JPM still
in seventh. Coulthard was attacking Trulli for fourth. Michael would extend
his lead to 2.1 seconds.
Mark Webber was in sixth from eleventh on the grid. Lap four would see JPM
pass Webber for sixth, but he was already 8.3 seconds behind the leader.
Kimi Raikkonen would set a fastest lap, a time of 1m:14.083. Lap five and
Panis was in seventeenth after having started from the pitlane. The top
eight was Michael Schumacher, Raikkonen, Alonso, Trulli, Coulthard, Montoya,
Webber, and Pizzonia.
Michael would set a new fastest lap, a time of 1m:13.783. Lap seven and Kimi
would be 3.2 seconds behind Michael. JPM was 10.3 seconds adrift. The
chances of getting a good result have been severely affected. Team-mate
Pizzonia was attacking Webber for seventh. The BAR's of Sato and Button were
close behind the FW26.
As they started lap ten both Alonso and Pizzonia would pit. It was expected
that it would be a three stop strategy for this race. The following lap and
Michael would pit from the lead, 9.8 seconds, joined by Coulthard. Kimi
would set a new fastest lap, a time of 1m:13.780. next lap and it would be
Kimi's turn to stop been stationary for 8.9 seconds. he would return to the
track right behind Michael. JPM would also make his first stop. JPM would
pass Trulli for eighth while at the front it would be Button leading having
yet made his first stop.
 But
the race would take a major turn when Raikkonen was to have a major accident
when his rear wing left his car. He would spin and crash into the barrier
sideways. He would throw his steering wheel away in disgust as he got out of
the car. Thankfully he was uninjured.
Lap fifteen and Button would pit seeing Michael leading again. Michael would
now be leading Alonso by 10.2 seconds. Coulthard was third one second behind
the Spaniard with JPM fourth. Button was able to return to the track in
fifth. By lap nineteen Michael had pulled his lead to now be 12.1 seconds.
Heidfeld would make his first stop. Pizzonia would have a moment running
wide and going over the gravel only to be able to return to the track. He
was down in
eleventh.
The fight for sixth would see Trulli, Webber, Fisichella, and Sato all less
than a second apart. Fisichella would pit on lap twenty two. For JPM he
would have a moment that would see him take to the grass and let Button
through into fourth. At the front, by lap twenty three, Michael would have
extended his lead to now be 15.5 seconds. Michael would soon have a big
enough gap for a pit stop. Sato was able to get past Webber for seventh
after the Jaguar driver made a mistake. Pizzonia was closing into onto
Webber.
Lap twenty five and Button had closed to be only 0.7 seconds behind
Coulthard. The battle between Trulli and Sato would see Takuma get by
followed by Webber. Pizzonia would also start to challenge Trulli, while the
WilliamsF1 mechanics prepared for a stop. It would be JPM who would stop
from fifth joined by Sato.
 The
next lap and it would be Michael's turn, 7.7 seconds. He would be joined by
Coulthard, Trulli, and Pizzonia. The Renault driver would get a new nose
seeing him stop for 14 seconds. The following lap and Alonso would pit from
the lead joined by Webber. Alonso would return in third. Button was in the
lead at the moment, but had yet to make his second stop. Team-mate Sato
would take a trip off the circuit when he spun, but was bale to keep going
in eighth. Button's lead was 5.2 seconds as he made his next stop. Button
would get out ahead of Coulthard and just behind Alonso. He would quickly
start to challenge the Renault.
Lap thirty six and both Alonso and Button would be fighting hard for second
place, while at the front Michael was walking away with the race. His lead
was out to 14.4 seconds. The next lap it would be 15.6 seconds. By lap forty
his lead was 16.6 seconds. Alonso and Button, in their own fight, were
letting Michael get away.
Lap forty one and Button would have dropped back to now be 2.5 seconds
behind Alonso. Pizzonia was down in ninth but challenging Fisichella for
eighth. Team-mate JPM was in fifth behind Coulthard but with 11.7 seconds
separating the pair JPM would not be able to challenge the McLaren. Da Matta
would retire from the race with a rear left tyre puncture. Alonso would be
pushing hard to pull away from Button. Lap forty five and Fisichella would
stop allowing Pizzonia into eighth. Heidfeld would retire his Jordan in his
garage.
Webber would make his third
stop from sixth position. He would be joined by Trulli. At the front
Michael's pace had dropped off with his lead coming down to be 13.9 seconds
ahead of Alonso. Lap forty eight and Michael, Alonso, and Coulthard would
all pit allowing Button back into the lead.
JPM was in fourth but he would stop the next lap, joined by Sato. The BAR
and WilliamsF1 drivers nearly collided in the pitlane. Michael was 9.0
seconds behind Button, but the BAR driver would stop on lap fifty, a stop of
7.1 seconds. He would come out just behind Alonso. Coulthard and JPM were
fourth and fifth. Pizzonia was in a point scoring eighth.
 Alonso
would run wide but Button could not make the most of this opportunity. But
he would not give up finally passing Alonso in a great passing move going
into Turn eight. Both cars were wheel to wheel but Jenson was able to get
track position and hold onto second.
Lap fifty three and at the front Michael's lead was now 10.2 seconds.
Michael was able to maintain his lead but by lap fifty six Button had been
able to pull out a 8.5 second lead over Alonso. Coulthard was just 1.2
seconds behind the Renault so he may be able to close the gap and challenge
for third. Pizzonia was attacking Sato for seventh. By lap fifty seven
Coulthard was just 0.2 behind Alonso. Coulthard would try to go down the
inside at the hairpin but was blocked by Alonso.
Lap ninety eight and Michael was 9.7 seconds in the lead, with Button a
comfortable second. But things were far from comfortable for Alonso with
Coulthard close behind. For Coulthard
his hopes of a podium finish lessened when Alonso was able to speed up and
pull away from the McLaren. Pizzonia was able to pass Sato for seventh with
Webber in sixth. Button would also have to deal with what appeared to be a
lose visor on his helmet.
JPM was now just 2.6 seconds behind Coulthard. With five laps left in the
race the order was Schumacher leading Button, Alonso, Coulthard, Montoya,
Webber, Pizzonia and Sato. For Ferrari the result would not see them come
away with the Constructors title. With two laps to go the gap between JPM
and Coulthard had grown out to be 3.4 seconds so it looked like JPM would
have to settle with fifth. Team-mate Pizzonia was in seventh.
So with the last lap Michael would cross the line to win his eleventh race
of the season. Button was second and Alonso third. The final points scoring
positions were Coulthard, JPM, Webber, Pizzonia, and Sato. |
