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The Monte Carlo circuit F1 2005 preview
The Monaco - Monte Carlo F1 is here. Will Raikkonen
maintain his winning streak? Will Alonso bounce back? Will
Ferrari pull a surprise?
BY OUR AUTOMOBILES CORRESPONDENT
The showpiece Grand Prix is near - Monaco has always been the most prestigious of all the Formula One circuits. history made it so, not the actual racing, where it makes any overtaking a matter of skills, car and - luck.
22 may 2005 will see all for F1 cars, except the BAR Hondas - which have been banned for this race too - line up to give it a shot at Monaco, a tax haven for the world's wealthiest and most exuberant.
What can we expect from each of the F1 teams in this season at Monaco? Nobody knows for sure, and we shall just tell you what has been going on the last two weeks of preparation.
Fernando Alonso of renault thinks that Kimi Raikkonen's performance at Barcelona, Spain is no threat to him. He is clear that while McLaren Mercedes had a good day there, he got a second place only because of problems with his own car - and is sure that won't happen at Monaco 2005. For the twisty, winding street circuit of Monaco, Alonso's car gets a major aerodynamic update.
Fisichella, winner of the Australian Grand Prix, who has been having a slightly unlucky time in his R25 Renault, is also upbeat. He says that he has broken out of the cycle of having to go out early in qualifying when the grip is lower only to post lower timings, and that he has a great chance this time. Giancarlo Fisichella has been quite successful at Monaco before, and he believes that this time he can aim for the P1, and possibly a race win.
The BAR Honda ban after the Barcelona F1 saw Jacques Villeneuve rising to fourth position, and taking the burden of not having a good finish off his back. He is raring to go.
All cars will be going to Monaco on Sunday with modified aerodynamics, better suited to the slow, tight corners.
Often , overtaking has been extremely difficult in Monaco owing to the corners and zero run-off area available. A win here often means taking P1 during qualifying and not allowing anyone else to overtake you - and all the top contendors will be trying to do exactly that at Monte Carlo this weekend.
Red Bull has been promising a surprise package this weekend - and they may well do so. We will have to just wait and see.
Minardis are still at the bottom of the pack, with their cars extremely fast and slippery in a straight line, and quite a handful under braking and in corners. If their cars have not improved, expect a few DNFs at the rear of the grid on Sunday.
Team Jordan, Narain Karthikeyan and teammate Taigo Monteiro, as always, are sounding upbeat. They really do not have much of a chance this season, but the twisty circuit can throw quite a few surprises to drivers, and Jordan is counting to capitalise on that with their reliability.
Have you noticed it - we have not mentioned
Micheal Schumacher and Ferrari so far! It says
something about Ferrari's situation this season
that one can actually write an article without
mentioning Michael Schumacher, Barichello and
Ferrari. Rest assured, Ferrari's last chance to
the world championship could be probably here -
lose here, and they can kiss the drivers' and the
manufacturers' championship goodbye. Nobody knows
it better than Ferrari, and just don't count them
out!
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