2005 season review (3)

[season review]

decided not to get lazy and just finish off the season review. so here's the final part of my 2005 season review.

best overtaking: alonso on michael
this happened during the japanese gp at the 130r corner. alonso, after being held up by a defending michael schumacher, finally overtook michael around the outside of 130r at 200mph. according to the commentators and many observers, that was an amazing overtaking maneuver because that corner is so fast and flat out, it was very dangerous to overtake from the outside line.

for me, this showed alonso has balls. however unlike montoya, who also has huge balls, alonso is more calculative, more analytical, more effective, and probably just plain smarter. plus, he made that overtaking over michael looked so easy and effortless (although michael wasn't competitive, but i'm sure he made it hell for alonso to pass). that move was very impressive.

worst overtaking: montoya on monteiro
in a sport where overtakings are so sought after, no overtaking can be considered the 'worst'. for example, that crazy overtaking by trulli on fisichella at monte carlo was amazing. although it resulted in trulli's car being damaged, but nobody can fault his effort and that sort of overtaking magic.

however, if disaster happens while overtaking a lapped car, that's when the move becomes totally pathetic. that's what happened to montoya at turkey. after he took monteiro, there was almost no more road for montoya before the sharp corner. he had to slam on the brake to make his turn. he misjudged the move totally, and he deserved that bump that made it all so terrible for mclaren. you may argue monteiro should also be blamed, but hey, one's a mclaren superstar driver, the other a rookie. that move made montoya an official idiot.

best rookie: christian albers
nothing much to say about the rookies actually, because all of them were paid driver. that's how formula 1 works though, and there's nothing wrong with that. of all the new paid drivers, albers seemed to perform pretty consistently. some of his qualifying drive was pretty amazing too. and if i remember correctly, he usually came out ahead of his teammate. plus, he secured a drive with midland next year.

how about monteiro? he had a podium, a point in belgium, and a consistent finish. why isn't he the best rookie? well, statistics aren't everything. but overall, i'm just not too keen with monteiro. he wasn't really exciting, and he had no presence and impression (unlike karthikeyan). he was just 'there', filling up the grid.

worst driver: mark webber
actually, it's hard to say who's the worst driver. i mean, who can be worse than the jordan and minardi drivers? to be fair though, they are in considerably worse cars. furthermore, who can be worse than sato and the jungle boy? i say, they were even worse than the jordan and minardi boys.

however, we can say badly of the above drivers because they are somewhat of an expectation. but the king of them all goes to mark because he was the most overrated driver on the grid. and if he cannot live up to his hype, although he has fairly good car, fairly good engine, and good tyres, then there's seriously something wrong with him. he was consistently beaten by heidfeld, he couldn't start a race properly, he could only qualify but not race, and he was as hot headed as montoya during a race.

even the other overrated driver, jensen button, was way better.

driver of the season: fernando alonso
well yeah, give it to the champion of course. but seriously, i don't want to get controversial, or try to say the first loser (or second place if that sounds better) is the driver of the season. both were fantastic, especially for the former champion. despite a despicable car, he managed to come in third, beating the other mclaren and the other renault. the effort was almost heroic.

but you can't take anything away from the youngest champion ever. his drive throughout the season had a champion feel to it. at his age, his driving was actually more mature than kimi, than montoya, than fisichella, etc. he drove smart, drove with patience, and most importantly drove fast. except for his blunder in canada, he was flawless throughout the season. definitely worthy of the title 'driver of the season'.

finally, alonso is just much easier for the eyes and the ears, if you get my drift. :)



previous posts:
season review 2: 2005 season review (2)
season review 1: 2005 season review (1)
post-season: f1 car to become ugly
post-season: ted answers back
shanghai: renault takes it all
shanghai: pit strategy to determine all
shanghai: windsor's wisdom
japan: japanese gp is the bomb
japan: rain creates havoc in japan
brazil: championship alonso's to take
spa: go back to driving school!
spa: kimi will win spa
mid-season: eddie's words of wisdom
monza: where will the pay drivers go?
monza: kimi will win monza
monza: coulthard speaks his mind
turkey: excellent new turkey experience
mid-season: greatest f1 driver
hungaro-ring: one more pole to go
hockenheim: the rain that never came
hockenheim: pessimism says it all for germany
mid-season: 2006 qualifying hopefuls
silverstone: renault vs mclaren
magny-cours: absolute beauty
indianapolis: michelin farce
indianapolis: indianapolis motor speedway
montreal: post-montreal notes
montreal: canadian gp preview
montreal: lopsided mirrors?
nurburgring: ferrari to make or break
monaco: f1 and star wars don't mix
barcelona: the era is all over
imola: from zero to hero
imola: f1 aero upgrades
bahrain: what a joke
sepang: bring out the new car!!
sepang: toyota f1 rev party
sepang: klcc sauber f1 street demo
melbourne: the wait is over!
pre-season: the viking
pre-season: nose job
pre-season: b.a.r. unveiled a goose
pre-season: sweet sauber
pre-season: evolution not revolution
pre-season: sauber ain't coming


[tagged: ferrari, formula 1]