A Collective Sigh of Relief

One year after the infamous United States Grand Prix of 2005, it was unthinkable that a highly professional outfit like Michelin would arrive with unsuitable tyres again. Unthinkable but not impossible, for more inexplicable and disastrous mistakes have happened.

Thankfully, the most pessimistic premonitions did not materialise. Indianapolis 2006 will not be remembered as a classic, but it didn't have to be. A full grid of 22 cars starting the race was enough to put smiles on faces and soothe sweating palms.

However, the sighs of relief weren't just from Michelin, the race organisers, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone's FOM. The fans, as well as the two main protagonists for both of this season's championships, had other reasons to feel relieved by late Sunday afternoon.

For the fans, the sight of the Ferraris dominating while Fernando Alonso struggled along in the minor points placings gave a glimmer of hope that the reigning champion could well be extended down the stretch, and that we may still have a championship battle in the offing. Although there was also the sobering acknowledgement, by both Ferrari and Renault, that the unique Indianapolis layout had provided Bridgestone with just a single-race edge. Few expect Ferrari and Bridgestone to replicate their form at the next GP in France.

Nevertheless, Ferrari and Michael Schumacher will take anything they can get, and the Indianapolis success also compensated for the previous weekend's disappointment in Canada. Ferrari had been talking up their prospects prior to departing for North America. Schumacher's win not only reversed the body blow that Alonso had delivered in Montreal, it shrunk the championship deficit from 23 points (pre-North America) to just 19 as the teams head back to Europe. Ferrari were right, North America was kind to them - if only just.

'Damage limitation' has become the buzzword in this year's championship. Schumacher used it to describe his effort in Canada, and Alonso may well have chosen the same bullet-point summary at Indianapolis.

All weekend long, the previously implacable Alonso had looked out of sorts, not just unable to match Ferrari but even his own teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. It's not the first time that he has appeared hapless in the dominant Renault, as both Monaco and Hungary 2005 drew struggling performances from Alonso. However, it's the first time that his iron-fisted control of the field has been shaken during 2006.

The Spaniard was so uncompetitive, and so palpably unable to exert his will on the recalcitrant Renault, that it's surprising he scored any points at all. However, like Schumacher in Canada, he had a huge slice of luck to thank for his damage limitation success. In both cases, benevolent assistance was provided by the team who should have been right up there competing with Renault and Ferrari this year - McLaren.

In Canada, the consequences of Schumacher's poor grid position and start were mitigated by Juan Pablo Montoya and Williams' Nico Rosberg taking themselves out of the fray right in front of Schumacher, and just one lap into the race. With Schumacher resigned to third place over the closing laps, Kimi Raikkonen decided to get in on the act as well, running wide at the hairpin to gift Schumacher another two points.

Alonso might have been silently cursing the McLaren pair in Canada but, within a kilometre of the start at Indianapolis, they'd become his new best friends. The contact between Montoya and Raikkonen at the second corner took both silver cars out of the race and, equally importantly, Honda's Jenson Button and BMW's Nick Heidfeld too.

Judging by Alonso's difficulties in shaking off Jacques Villeneuve and Rubens Barrichello later in the race, it is quite possible that all four victims of the second corner incident could have taken points off the reigning champion.

The Spaniard's good luck didn't end there. Villeneuve's BMW expired while the Canadian was close behind Alonso and matching his pace. Then Ralf Schumacher's wheel bearing failure late in the race gifted another point to Alonso. Leaving the US with just four points wasn't a disappointment for Alonso, it was a huge reprieve.

Often, Schumacher and Alonso fabricate their own luck, by consciously being in the right place and doing the right thing at the right time. In Canada and the US, they benefited from blind luck.

Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen after the first turn accident that eliminated them from the United States Grand Prix © Reuters

McLaren's Ron Dennis, by contrast, must be wondering what he needs to do in order to get a break. He's had probably the most frustrating two years of his long career, not because the team's performance is so dismal but because it's potentially so strong. Yet, when the drivers perform, the cars break, and when the cars run without problems, his drivers seem laissez-faire about wrecking them or missing opportunities.

Kimi Raikkonen was dismissive about losing second place in Canada, and Juan Pablo Montoya seemed equally nonchalant in describing the Indianapolis carnage. While Dennis pondered his answers long and hard, and was careful to word his views diplomatically during the interview about the first-lap incident, he sounded as if this act of restraint was the last he could muster. It's bad enough that his team have been left far behind in the championship chase. Helping their arch-rivals to score yet more points is adding insult to injury.

For Dennis, at least there is the cheerful prospect of working with Alonso in 2007. It is not just the reigning champion's consistency or ability to nurse the car and bring it home, making the most of every opportunity. Even when he is uncompetitive, Alonso still does what he can to unsettle the opposition and make them work for every point and every advantage.

The start of the final qualifying session on Saturday was a typical example. By that time, Alonso must have known that he didn't stand a chance of achieving pole or beating the Ferraris on pace. Still, he put his car at the head of the queue in pitlane and challenged Schumacher and Massa to a drag race out of the pits.

After the safety car period early in the race, he was at it again, drawing alongside Schumacher and challenging him for several corners. Even if he'd got past, Alonso again knew that he would never be able to maintain the position.

But just being there in Schumacher's peripheral vision, trying to rattle and rile him at every opportunity, kept his rival honest. Under the same circumstances, many other drivers would have been content to just slip anonymously back into the midfield without fuss or resistance. It's a hallmark of Jenson Button's style, and it makes Button a far easier rival to contend with than Alonso.

At the time, the commentators opined that Alonso would have loved a 'racing incident' clash with Schumacher. That is unfair, the new champion has never shown a taste for such tactics, and has often demonstrated the car control and discipline to race wheel to wheel with rivals - without incident.

He was just doing what he excels at, putting his car in the right place at the right time and trusting that something beneficial would come of it. It didn't distract a wily old pro like Michael Schumacher, but there will be other rivals and other occasions where it might just provoke a mistake in Alonso's favour. Even if it doesn't, Alonso will still put his head down, get on with it and bring the car home. It's the type of approach that Ron Dennis will surely appreciate in 2007.