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jarno trulli uk fan club |
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29th August 2004 belgian gp. race. From front to back in 44 laps…..that’s team
game playing for you. Jarno started in the lead into La Source, Fernando
slotting in behind, and maintained that lead until his first stop. After that
it all went pear-shaped for Jarno as this particular car seems to deteriorate
in the second stint. Something for Renault to work out and take a serious
look at themselves. Coulthard suffered a puncture and the loss of his front
wing when he drove into the back of Klien and, although helped by the safety
car, still passed Jarno twice on his way to 7th place. But back to
the beginning of an eventful race….Raikkonen and Massa had an incident at the
first corner, and also Webber and Barrichello, which led to Massa and the
Ferrari driver visiting the pits. This didn’t hurt them as much as it might
have done because the safety car had to make its first appearance as a
front-wingless Webber collided with Sato at Eau Rouge, taking out Bruni’s
Minardi, which Pantano felt obliged to drive into. All four retired on the
spot. The side of the track looked like an expensive scrapyard at the end.
Button, Heidfeld, and Baumgartner also went in for repairs. Raikkonen and
Montoya both passed Michael Schumacher after the re-start, Montoya executing
a bold move at the new bus stop. Raikkonen then passed Coulthard. Alonso was
leading after Jarno pitted, but soon had to retire in the gravel after 2
spins caused by oil from the engine leaking onto a rear wheel. Kimi led, then
pitted to leave Montoya in front. Montoya pitted and left Schumacher in the
lead for one lap until his own stop. Soon after Michael passed Jarno out of
Blanchimont. On lap 21, Montoya was too impatient to pass Jarno, which he
surely would have done on the next straight, and tried a similar move to his
pass on Schumacher at the bus stop. Jarno shut the door but Montoya still
went for it, tipping the Renault into a spin. Sadly for Jarno, he managed to
keep the car going, and resumed at the back of the field. Raikkonen had
maintained the lead, with Schumacher in second and Pizzonia taking up
Montoya’s third place. Button retired on lap 30 when a rear tyre dramatically
exploded, throwing him against the innocent Minardi of Baumgartner, which
acted like a brake and saved a big crash. This brought out the safety car
which closed up the field again. Pizzonia unfortunately had to retire with
gear box problems on lap 32, and the second Williams of Montoya dropped out
with a puncture soon after ….and something else, surely, as he retired in the
pits. DC drove into the back of Klien next, apparently misjudging an
overtaking move, which brought out the third safety car. At least DC carried
his front wing back with him, on the back of the car! Gigawave are probably
still looking in the forest for the camera! Poor Ricardo Zonta’s engine
failed two laps from the end when he was lying 4th after starting
at the back. Raikkonen kept his lead and won the race, with Michael
Schumacher in second, good enough to win him his 7th WDC, the 5th
in a row. You have to admire the achievement. Ferrari’s number 2 driver was
third, how lucky can you get! Top 8: Raikkonen, Schumacher, Barrichello,
Massa, Fisichella, Klien, Coulthard, Panis. Renault F1 Team Press Release Jarno ninth and retirement for Fernando in an
extremely disappointing result for the team in Belgium. The Renault F1 Team returns home empty handed from the
Belgian Grand Prix, after Jarno Trulli finished the race in ninth place while
Fernando Alonso retired on lap 12. After both cars led one-two at the end of
the first lap, the result is a bitter disappointment, as Fernando Alonso was
pulling away in the lead when he spun off with oil on his rear tyres.
However, in the bigger picture, fortune smiled on the team, as it maintained
its eight point lead in the constructors' championship over nearest rivals
BAR. Jarno Trulli started immaculately from pole position and
led the first stint of the race before pitting on lap 10. However, from this
point onwards he struggled with the handling of the car, particularly at the
rear, and was unable to match his previous pace. His afternoon included a
collision with Montoya at the Bus Stop Chicane but in spite of numerous
retirements, he was unable to reach a points-scoring position at the end of
the race. For Fernando Alonso, though, the afternoon is one of what
might have been. He had just taken the lead from team-mate Jarno Trulli and
was pulling away in the lead when he spun on the entry to Les Combes on lap
12. Although he restarted, he spun again at turn 8 (Rivage), and into
retirement. The reason for the problem was an engine oil leak onto the rear
tyres, although at this stage, the team does not know the origin of the
problem. Jarno Trulli, 9th position: Fernando Alonso, retired: Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering ITV Watch: Grim was
able to ditch the raincoat today, thank goodness. It seems the ITV pit crew
are visiting Williams this weekend. This gave them an excuse to interview
Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne, who works in the Williams commercial
department. The Montoya ‘movie’, filmed mostly by Connie Montoya was quite
enjoyable….probably because it had no ITV input! It didn’t mention Jenson
Button at all! Brundle’s grid walk re-appeared and he started at the front of
the grid, but instead of a Jarno interview, we unfortunately got Flavio…..and
then Fernando. Even ITV are freezing Jarno out! There were multiple inaccuracies
in the commentary…too many to mention. Hope you spotted them! Martin missed
Barrichello out of his grid walk….probably get his pay docked now….doesn’t he
realise Ruby has a contract??!!! But Grim has a hankering for Rubens this
weekend…..according to Mr Raincoat, the Brazilian is ‘fascinating….always
gets the job done.’ Always comes in behind Michael, you mean. He’s in a
Ferrari for goodness sake! Michael won his 7th championship, and
ITV were ready! The closing credits illustrated Michael’s success. We all
expected it, but wonder what they would have run if he hadn’t succeeded this
race… 28th August 2004 belgian gp. qualifying. The drivers got another drenching in first
qualifying, and all qualified on full wet tyres. Only driver caught out by the
conditions in a serious way was Zonta who spun into the gravel but was able
to crawl back to the pits. Ferrari showed their strength in all conditions
once again. Top 6: Schumacher,
Barrichello, Raikkonen, Massa, Fisichella, Montoya. In second qualifying, conditions changed
between heavy rain and not so heavy rain. A small window of opportunity in
the middle of the session gave Jarno the chance to take a gamble and use
intermediate wet tyres instead of the extreme wets. It paid off and he went
quickest. Alonso, who was next out, also benefited from the same tyre but
made a mistake on his lap so slotted in behind Jarno. Coulthard also managed
a reasonable lap, but Montoya was the unfortunate driver who went out on
standards and got caught out as it chucked it down yet again. After that it
was back to extreme wets and no one went faster, not even Michael Schumacher.
So Jarno got his second pole in unexpected circumstances. But he was brave
with the tyres and still had to do the lap, so it was well deserved. Bravo
Jarno! Top 6: TRULLI, Schumacher, Alonso, Coulthard, Fisichella,
Barrichello. Renault F1 Team Press Release Jarno on pole and Fernando third on the grid for
tomorrow's race, after a wet qualifying session at Spa-Francorchamps. Free Practice 3: JT Cancelled Free
Qualifying JT 1:58.606,
P9 Practice mileage The Renault F1 Team claimed pole (Jarno Trulli) and third
positions (Fernando Alonso) for tomorrow's Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
After heavy rain reduced this morning's practice sessions to a short fifteen
minute run late in the morning, all the teams went into qualifying with many
questions unanswered. Following a solid pre-qualifying session, the two
Renault drivers went out on intermediate tyres for their timed lap, which
gave them a significant advantage. Jarno Trulli took provisional pole on his
run, which became the second pole of his career after his time went unbeaten,
while Fernando was pipped by Michael Schumacher at the very end of
qualifying. Nevertheless, after completing sixty laps on Friday in dry
conditions, both drivers are optimistic for tomorrow's race. Jarno Trulli, Pole position Fernando Alonso, 3rd position Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager Pat Symonds (again): How pleased were you for Jarno to see him score
his second pole? ITV Watch:
Was
it really live? They said it had dried up a bit, but it still seemed to be
raining to me. There was Grim in his pervy raincoat and Mark Blundell in his
anorak. Some good news...Allan McNish is back! They even interviewed DC
before Jenson, who also had to wait until after Mark Webber! They made up for
it after that though, with a JB interview as they discussed Jensongate again.
Brundle interviewed Sir Frank Williams who revealed Williams have delayed
sending the JB contract to the CRB to make the process that bit longer. Who
said ITV were no use for anything? Mark Blundell reckons it could take
Williams until the year after next to get their act together, if not the year
after that….that’s Jenson’s 3 year contract gone then. Grim, who had added a
baseball cap to his raincoat outfit by the end of the show, was totally
confused by the first qualifying list: he found it hard to turn it around to
say who was out before whom. He had Jenson going out after the Renaults, not
before. But to me, the funniest comment was from James Allen, who wanted to name
the unnamed corner at Spa ‘Schumacher Bend’ if Michael wins tomorrow. Still,
it would be original, as there aren’t many corners in F1 called ‘bends’. Maybe we should rename HIM Allen
RoundTheBend. 28th August 2004 belgian gp. saturday practice. The normal hour and a half of practice was
reduced to only 15 minutes in Spa, as the weird European weather and the
climate in the Ardennes Forest made first practice a wash out. As has
happened in previous years, even when the rain stopped, if it was still foggy
and the rescue helicopter could not fly, there was no running. In fact, even
the 15 minutes was reduced by a couple because Pizzonia hit the barriers at
Rivage and Bruni had a big crash at Eau Rouge. The Renault drivers managed 6
laps each, with Jarno 8th and Fernando 10th quickest.
Barrichello was fastest, from Michael Schumacher. With both Sauber drivers in
the top 6, Bridgestones are looking good. Top 6: Barrichello, Schumacher,
Raikkonen, Fisichella, Coulthard, Massa.
27th August 2004 belgian gp. friday practice. Jarno has been
given chassis 4 again, the old test chassis, so maybe it’s no surprise that
he is struggling to set it up. He was 17th in the first session
and 16th in the second. Fernando was 6th and 9th.
Fastest in the first session was Anthony Davidson in his souped up BAR,
pushing Michael Schumacher into P2. Jaguar had 3 cars in the top 8… can it
last? Pantano spun at La Source and pushed his own car into the pit lane. Top
6: Davidson. M.Schumacher, Barrichello, Wirdheim, Raikkonen, Alonso. The
second session was stopped for a time when Ryan Briscoe, Toyota test driver,
crashed at Eau Rouge. Welcome to Spa, Ryan! Michael had a spin at Stavelot
but did not damage the car. A mixed bag at the top, as McLaren and BAR get
going. Top 6: Raikkonen, Button, Schumacher, Davidson, Sato, Coulthard. Renault F1 Team Press Release With rain forecast for Saturday, Friday needed to
be a solid, hard-working opening day at Spa; Fernando finished ninth fastest,
with Jarno sixteenth. JT, R24-04 FA, R24-02 Spare, R24-01 Spare chassis,
R24-03 JT FP 1: 1:47.829, 9 laps, P17 FP 2: 1:46.912, 21 laps, P16 The Renault F1 Team completed a typically solid opening
day during the first free practice sessions for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
With rain forecast for tomorrow which may limit dry running in practice, the
team's objective was to complete plenty of laps and get a firm direction on
car set-up with respect to the race. Both drivers completed thirty laps - two
thirds race distance - with Fernando Alonso the happier of the two, after
Jarno Trulli was slowed by inconsistent handling which prevented him feeling
fully confident with the car. Fernando Alonso: Jarno Trulli: 23rd August 2004 belgian gp. preview Jarno, are you happy to be returning to Spa? Will the R24 perform well here? And on a personal level, what are you hoping for? 15th August 2004 hungarian gp. race. Welcome to the Hungaroring, the most boring
track on the planet. And good news! Mr Ecclestone, in his ‘wisdom’, has
confirmed it for the next 7 years so we can look forward to more snore fests.
Zzzzzzz….. It sure was a weekend to forget for Jarno,
the only driver to be plagued by rain in qualifying. Although he had a good
start from 9th to 6th, and was pushing Jenson Button
for fifth throughout the first stint, serious understeer set in by the
second, and allied to graining tyres, Jarno was losing time every lap. The
team brought him in early to try to cure the problem, but a more terminal
issue finished his race one lap later….the dreaded ENGINE FAILURE! No matter
what spin Renault put on it in the press release (‘a loss of engine oil’,
‘lost power then it cut out’), after discussion with his race engineer, Jarno
already told TV that was what it was. Fernando had no such problems, apart
from some understeer when he was out on his own in third place, a position he
was able to claim at the start. After that it was just a case of driving and
waiting for the race to end, as he was nowhere near the Ferraris and Montoya
was nowhere near him. Michael Schumacher was supreme in his dominance and
Barrichello trailed in behind him as usual. The only hint of a potential
spanner in the works was a problem with the Ferrari fuel rig which came to
nothing in the end. Other retirees, apart from Jarno on lap 42: Raikkonen on
lap 14, Massa on lap 23, Zonta on lap 32 and Pantano on lap 49, all with some
kind of mechanical failure. Zonta had provided the only excitement on the
first lap after being touched into a spin by another car. You can all wake up
now! Top 8: Schumacher, Barrichello, Alonso, Montoya, Button, Sato, Pizzonia,
Fisichella. By the way, Ferrari won the Constructors’ Championship this
afternoon…… Renault F1 Team Press Release
Fernando finishes third in Hungary, and scores the
team's sixth podium of the year. The Renault F1 Team scored its sixth podium of the year
this afternoon at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso distinguished
himself with a consistent and aggressive drive to third place, which he
claimed at the start. Running a three-stop strategy, Alonso built a fifteen
second gap over Montoya's Williams which he then controlled for much of the
race. Jarno Trulli made an equally impressive start and was
sixth at the end of an incisive first lap which saw him overtake Takuma Sato
into turn 4. However, at the end of his second stint, the Italian began
suffering from severe understeer. He made his pit-stop as planned but the
condition worsened during his third stint, and the team decided to bring his
third stop forward to try and correct the problem. Soon after, though, the
engine cut out following a loss of oil pressure and Trulli was forced to
retire. Overall, the team leaves Hungary with mixed feelings.
Another podium is a reward for a strong weekend's work, and is also
Fernando's second in a row, but the team nevertheless loses one point to BAR
in the constructors' standings. Fernando Alonso, 3rd position: Jarno Trulli, retired: Flavio Briatore, Managing Director: Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: ITV Watch: They must have spent the first twenty minutes on
Jensongate, including the JB interview shown yesterday, but adding some more balanced
views from the rest of the paddock – if you can call Montoya ‘balanced’! JPM,
currently a Williams driver, is puzzled that Jenson should contemplate such a
move! Sir Frank Williams is interviewed but it was always going to be a waste
of time. They are mistaking us for people who care. Martin Brundle is missing
and they obviously think no one else is capable of so we were a bit short on
interviews from a grid walk. Instead they sent Louise to do the Barrichello
interview (wonder how much his ITV retainer is?)……interestingly, someone must
have told Rubens the Ali G look is still cool. There was a quickie interview
with Fernando and that was it. James Allen and Mark Blundell did their best
to muddle through the commentary; the most glaringly obvious mistake was
James claiming Webber had done well to be ahead of Montoya and Co, after the
pitstops, when Mark hadn’t made his yet. They had a strange analysis of
Jarno’s problems since his ‘rift’ with the team, implying he has gone off the
boil: assuming in their ignorance they count the ‘rift’ from the French GP
when JT was 4th, since then the car has done its best to injure
him at Silverstone, a chunk of McLaren debris compromised his race at
Hockenheim, and today he had an engine failure! It’s all impressions, isn’t
it boys? We hardly saw Jenson in the race as he chugged around to 5th
place, so the ITV boys felt he should be mentioned for his ‘brave’ race. Not
sure what was brave about it, unless they mean by overcoming negative
thoughts from Jensongate, which he brought on himself. Loved James Allen’s
“I’m sure you’ve all got your red flags flying at home” at the end. Er..no.
It’s not the Labour Party Conference yet, is it? Grim also wanted a final thought about JB, lest we forget. As
there wasn’t anything else to say, Jardine settled for ‘strong performance.’
Definitely a race to forget! 14th August 2004 hungarian gp. qualifying. Bridgestone dominated the first qualifying
session, in the form of Ferrari drivers 1 and 2, and the Sauber drivers 3 and
4. Jarno was 8th, Fernando 12th. Top 6: Barrichello,
Schumacher, Massa, Fisichella, Sato, Montoya. The Ferrari drivers switched places in second
qualifying, with Schumacher on pole. A few drops of rain fell as Trulli did
his lap. Massa didn’t bother to come out as he has the 10 place engine
penalty. Jarno was 9th. Top 6: Schumacher, Barrichello,Sato,
Button, Alonso, Pizzonia. Renault F1 Team Press Release Fifth and ninth
for Fernando and Jarno following qualifying for tomorrow's Hungarian Grand
Prix. Free Practice 3: JT 1:21.257, 10 laps, P6 Practice mileage Qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix proved an
eventful affair, with gusting wind and some light rain disrupting the smooth
running of the session. Building on the basis of solid work in practice, the
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team finished in fifth and ninth places (Alonso
followed by Trulli) on the grid. Although these positions were slightly disappointing,
the two R24s will nevertheless start from the clean side of the grid, which
is a significant advantage at the Hungaroring. Fernando Alonso, 5th position: Jarno Trulli, 9th position: Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering: Denis Chevrier, Engine Operations Manager: ITV Watch: Didn’t you just know it? ITV tell us that they have an
‘exclusive’ interview with Jenson Button regarding his contract shenanigans……except
that it isn’t exclusive, is it? Because ITV news and their sister programme
have got there first……a week earlier to be precise. But Grim assures us that
Jenson has ‘chosen’ this programme to ‘give his side of the story’. They
didn’t see it reported in Autosport and Motorsport News then? It was the just
the same claptrap anyway. Jenson blames the media for reporting the story as
the reason why he wasn’t able to discuss the matter quietly with David
Richards before the news broke. Don’t buy that, he had every opportunity,
just didn’t do it. No doubt Grim has
declared his undying love and vowed to follow Jense wherever he goes. Tony
Jardine believes it’s the wrong time for JB to make the move and says so,
outside of the party line….steady TJ! We get a pointless interview with Ted
from outside the BAR garage who says that there is ‘some love lost’ between
Jenson and the team. No! You don’t say! He does have a rumour though….that
Williams hope to tempt Adrian Newey away from McLaren. They don’t have that
much faith they can give JB the WDC winning car then! We have Mark Blundell
taking Martin Brundle’s place this weekend, oh dear. But most embarrassing
moment today was James Allen trying to read Hungarian from a fan’s banner. 14th August 2004 hungarian gp. saturday
practice. The top drivers in both sessions left it late
to claim P1. In the first session it was Michael Schumacher who pulled a fast
lap out of the bag to take top slot from Williams’ Pizzonia and Montoya. Sato
failed to set a time. Jarno was 6th and Fernando 7th.
Top 6: Schumacher, Pizzonia, Montoya, Button, Barrichello, Trulli. Button was the driver who snatched P1 in the second session, just ahead of the Ferrari drivers. Massa experienced an engine failure two thirds of the was through. Jarno was 5th, Fernando 6th. Top 6: Button, Schumacher, Barrichello, Pizzonia, Trulli, Alonso. 13th August 2004 hungarian gp. friday
practice. Michael Schumacher carried on where he left
off by storming to the top of the time sheets where he remained untouchable
for the rest of the first session. It was a bit of a slow start as the track
dried after an early morning rain shower but that did not faze the Ferrari
drivers who were P1 and P2. Tester Davidson was third again for BAR, but
Ricardo Zonta’s 13th place showed that it’s not so easy for race
drivers. Jarno was 9th, Fernando 11th. Pizzonia
continues to replace Ralf Schumacher and the Williams team has reverted to a
normal nosecone this weekend. Webber failed to set a time and 3 minutes from
the end, Klien beached his Jaguar in the gravel, so not a great morning for
the team. Top 6: Schumacher, Barrichello, Davidson, Raikkonen, Coulthard,
Montoya. Kimi Raikkonen pushed Schumacher down to P2
in the second session. Bruni missed most of it after spinning into the gravel
after 2 minutes. Panis has been in the top 7 in both sessions for Toyota and
was fifth this time. Fernando was 10th, Jarno 17th. Top
6: Raikkonen, Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard, Panis, Sato. Button watch: he was 10th in the
first session and 8th in the second. Renault F1 Team Press Release Fernando tenth and Jarno seventeenth but no cause
for concern, while Pat Symonds explains the challenges of Fridays at the
race. JT: R24-04 FA: R24-02 Spare:
R24-01 Spare chassis: R24-03 JT FP 1: 1:24.124, 13 laps, P9 FP 2:
1:22.788, 28 laps, P17 In spite of apparently unpromising positions at the end
of the second free practice session at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the Renault
F1 Team remains confident for the rest of the weekend. During a day devoted
to making the necessary tyre choice for Saturday and Sunday, the team
completed this task without difficulty, and the rain which had been forecast,
and could have disrupted the day, never arrived. As usual, the job at hand
will be to improve the handling of the R24: Fernando Alonso spent the day
trying to cure an understeering car, while Jarno Trulli found that the two
different tyre types had differing effects on the car balance. This
fine-tuning of the cars' behaviour will be the team's major task this evening
and during tomorrow's practice sessions. Fernando Alonso: Jarno Trulli: 9th August 2004 hungarian gp. driver
preview. Jarno, the R24 is very strong in high-downforce
configuration: can you repeat your Monaco success in Hungary? The Hungaroring is very dusty off line: how
important is precision over a full race distance? What are the main characteristics of the circuit
from the driver's point of view? |
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