damage limitation

[indianapolis]

last week, ferrari achieved damage limitation by taking second place during the penultimate lap at montreal. this week, it'll be up to renault to implement its damage limitation as they clearly do not look as superior.

at the half-way stage of the championship, to ensure renault not lose its championship advantage and for ferrari overtake renault, damage limitation is vital. both can't afford to lose too many points at a particular race, and it is up to the team, the driver, and the package to achieve as many points as possible.


this race will be crucial for ferrari. for once, both the scarlet cars can, and should, finish in front of alonso. if that is the case, michael will at least close the gap by four points. however, other than the prancing horses, fisichella might add on to the damage, and let's not forget the heavy mclaren which could do end up infront of alonso.

however, that is unlikely to happen. see, fisichella although much faster during practice and qualifying, is clearly not going to finish in front of alonso. you think renault is stupid? we will definitely see some team order, or perhaps some 'pit mess up' for fisichella. alonso can relax in that sense.

as for the mclaren, honda, and the rest of the gang, they clearly do not have the speed. running on similar conservative michelin tyres, they are just as inferior as the renault. although they might get in front of the renaults, we can count on some overtaking move by alonso. furthermore, i don't believe honda can be as consistent as renault throughout the race.

with that said, i do hope to see barichello finish on the podium - taking third.

now, has renault thought this through, and possibly decided on playing with the strategy? could they have filled alonso's car up for a one stop strategy? with this strategy though, i don't see alonso beating either ferrari, but he could at least beat the rest of the field, and to achieve 'damage limitation' by finishing third, and maybe even second. is that possible?

we should also consider renault's brilliant starts of the grid. fisichella could jump in front of the ferrari, and alonso up to third - completing a michael sandwich. unless massa plays a more agressive second role, that scenario could well happen. however, i believe ferrari can overtake both renault on the last corner of the track. overtaking should be an ease as well.

so, let's just get gear to the usgp. we won't get last year's farce this time, and we have an interesting grid to look forward to. midland is doing well, and could spring some surprises. there are some big names at the mid and back of the grid, and we'll definitely see drama. needless to say, the battle up front with ferrari and renault will be interesting as well.

after my spot on montreal qualifying prediction, i'm quite confident with my 'guessing'. this time, my prediction will be for ferrari and alonso to be on the podium. alonso will achieve his damage limitation.

my wish: ferrari, and five other cars in front of alonso. let's spice up the championship. ;)



previous posts:
montreal: mclaren and ferrari vs renault
monaco: superman on and off monaco podium
monaco: did he or didn't he?
spain: renault in great shape
nurburgring: ferrari back in the hunt
nurburgring: nurburgring a real test
imola: renault lost imola
melbourne: renault completes hat-trick
melbourne: jenson grabs pole down under
sepang: sepang revealed more problems
sepang: engine changes dominate qualifying
bahrain: thrilling bahrain
bahrain: an exciting start to 2006


[tagged: ferrari, indianapolis, fernando alonso, formula 1]