How Alonso stopped Schumi in his tracks

Here's one question whose answer will be known only as the season pans out: Was it talent or the sheer pressure of Michael Schumacher’s...

Here’s one question whose answer will be known only as the season pans out: Was it talent or the sheer pressure of Michael Schumacher’s charge that drew the best-ever performance from Fernando Alonso at Imola yesterday?

A performance that prompted even Schumacher to put aside his own magnificent drive, comparable to any in his career, and acknowledge that Alonso was now in his league, not just in terms of talent but also guts.

The duel, fought out over 12 laps, occupied centre stage in the race as the blood-red of Ferrari chased the blue of Renault over the bends of the tough circuit. For those 12 laps, Alonso, powered by some unseen force, held off the challenge of a clearly faster car.

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Of course, it wasn’t all intangible; Alonso used unusual tactics in the final laps to look after the tyres and engine. It was brilliant in its simplicity: brake really hard into the slow corners. That, the Spaniard explained, was ‘‘to slow Michael down’’. Complemented by the car’s good traction, the heavy braking stopped Schumacher from attacking on the next straight.

Alonso also said he intentionally trailed the back-markers to keep Schumacher thinking, a fact the German driver recognized. ‘‘I knew I was faster but there was nothing I could do’’, he said. ‘‘I saw I could catch the Renault under acceleration, but I didn’t have enough to actually get past. ’’

Alonso was handicapped by a very tired V-10 engine, which had already clocked 600 kilometers in Bahrain and then 450 over its second weekend in San Marino. Ferrari’s F2005, by contrast, was launched at Bahrain and so is relatively new.

Alonso’s outstanding defensce of his lead has already drawn comparisons with the best ever. Writing in The Guardian, Richard Williams said it evoked memories of the legendary Gilles Villeneuve, father of Jacques, who kept his outclassed Ferrari ahead of a traffic jam of four faster cars for two mesmerising hours at Jarama (Spain) in 1981. And of Ayrton Senna, who resisted a prolonged attack by Nigel Mansell in a superior car at Monaco in 1992.

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Jacques Lafitte, driving a Ligier, was one of those who followed Villeneuve into second place at Jarama 24 years ago. In the paddock at Imola on Sunday, he spoke on Alonso’s run. ‘‘The kind of attack Michael made is very difficult to hold off’’, Lafitte said, ‘‘but Alonso made no mistakes. I think he took a big step today. He knows he can resist Michael. Before he was not sure. Now he is sure.’’

Button might lose points

LONDON:

BAR driver Jenson Button could be stripped of third place in the San Marino Grand Prix after Formula One’s governing body said it would appeal the decision of race stewards not to take action over his car’s weight. The Briton’s podium finish was confirmed after a six-hour wait following the race on Sunday after stewards had summoned BAR representatives and weighed the car. The FIA is to appeal against the decision of the stewards to take no further action in respect of car number three,” an FIA statement said.

Ralf criticises Ferrari

FRANKFURT:

Ralf Schumacher has accused Ferrari of putting their own interests ahead of the future of Formula One by not agreeing to restrict testing during the season. “What Ferrari are doing is unfair to everyone else,” said the Toyota driver .