Two Singles to Glory

Sunday's European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring circuit may not have been an instant classic, nor even a particularly exciting event. It did, however, mark a significant turning point in the unfolding of the 2006 Formula One championships.

After the success at Imola two weeks ago, there was widespread feeling that Ferrari (or possibly their Bridgestone tyres) would fail to sustain winning form going forward. Schumacher's victory on Sunday marked not only his first back-to-back wins since Germany and Hungary 2004, the pair of victories were achieved using the same engine. Most importantly, Schumacher's victories, with Renault's Fernando Alonso following him closely into second on both occasions, have opened up daylight between the leading pair and the chasing pack.

There was a time in F1 that such a gap could have been dismissed as a temporary advantage and an understandable consequence of early season turmoil as teams sorted out teething problems with new designs and regulations. That time is over. If a driver or team isn't in the championship frame five or six races into the season, the chances are that they won't be in the frame for the championship finale either.

Such is the professionalism of the current era that somebody is going to get it right all season long. In 2004, it was Schumacher and Ferrari. Last season, it was Alonso and Renault. On Sunday, the chase for the 2006 championship narrowed to these two again.

Mathematically and in terms of race pace, McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen is still in the hunt. Nurburgring was uncharacteristically kind to the Finn on Sunday, his five-point haul for fourth place being five points more than he had scored at Nurburgring in the past three seasons combined.

Raikkonen's race pace was also promising, finishing less than five seconds behind the race winner and recording the second fastest race lap. Still, it might as well have been five miles for all the good it did the Finn's championship hopes. After five races in 2005, Raikkonen trailed Alonso by 27 points in the WDC championship. This year, the gap is already 21 points, and Alonso has just recorded his eleventh consecutive podium finish. Raikkonen will know better than to expect any favours from his Renault rival.

Team chief Ron Dennis remains upbeat about McLaren's and Raikkonen's prospects. Yet, even if McLaren manage to close the performance gap to Renault and Ferrari next weekend in Spain, that's probably three races too late. Ferrari came on song the moment the F1 circus got to Europe, and team boss Jean Todt is realistic and long-faced about their inability to put a significant dent in Alonso's championship lead.

McLaren are also plagued by their refusal to switch tactics. After Nurburgring, Dennis explained: "We were a little bit stuck behind Jenson in the first stint and that lost us quite a lot of lap time." The inference, that such setbacks are part of racing and that little can be done about it, is what marks the difference between those drivers who create their own luck and those who are merely victims of circumstance.

Raikkonen may have lost time behind Button, but he should never have trailed either of the Hondas in the first place. Alonso and the two Ferraris qualified with 17 and 18 laps' worth of fuel on board, the two Hondas with 20 and 21 lap fuel loads, Raikkonen several kilogrammes heavier with a 23 lap fuel load.

The extra fuel never put Raikkonen into contention, and did even less for teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, who went even four laps heavier. Montoya finished the first lap in eleventh position and, after running a full ten laps longer than race leader Alonso before stopping, emerged in ... eleventh position. If there was any theoretical advantage to be gained from running so heavy, it surely didn't translate to the reality of the race situation.

Fernando Alonso habitually prefers to run slightly heavier, and hadn't started a 2006 GP from the front row of the grid prior to Nurburgring. He got stung at Imola by Ferrari's Felipe Massa slowing him down to advantage Schumacher. With the Ferraris leading the pace during free practice sessions at Nurburgring, there was the obvious risk that Alonso would again find himself stuck behind Massa and unable to prevent Schumacher opening a handsome lead from pole.

Fernando Alonso (Renault R26) © LAT

The Spaniard could, like Dennis and Montoya, have lamented 'traffic problems'. He could have protested Ferrari's use of team orders and spoiling tactics. But Alonso knows that complaining after the fact will not win him the World Championship. It was unlikely that he would beat Schumacher on sheer race pace, so he did the next best thing - qualifying light, snatching pole position and forcing the Ferraris to overtake him if they wanted the victory.

As it turned out, Michael Schumacher was up to the challenge. Still, having Alonso in front of him for the first two stints, rather than behind teammate Felipe Massa as a useful buffer, made life that little bit more difficult for the German maestro.

It is this quality, of making their opponents work for any success, of adapting and controlling conditions rather than becoming passive victims of circumstance, that has booked Alonso and Schumacher two singles to glory in the 2006 championship. Irrespective of who wins the championship, they have opened up daylight between themselves and the rest - not just in championship points but, more importantly, in their ability to create their own luck.

By contrast, Alonso's long-suffering teammate Giancarlo Fisichella once again failed to make the top ten in qualifying, and once again had a compelling excuse. This time, BMW's Jacques Villeneuve was the culprit, blocking Fisichella on a qualifying hotlap.

The outraged Italian made quite a show of it, stumping indignantly down the pitlane to hurl verbal abuse at Villeneuve afterwards. Commentator Martin Brundle often refers to the energy going through an F1 car's transmission and suspension. Fisichella had an awful lot of energy going through his system. Yet it was, figuratively, dissipated in emotional wheelspin. Neither Fisichella's ranting, nor the subsequent penalty handed to Villeneuve by the stewards, made a jot of difference to Fisichella's race prospects.

It was unfortunate for Fisichella that his hotlap was ruined, but it was a fifteen-minute session. If he cut it so fine that a single incident wrecked his weekend, then he needs to emulate Alonso and start making his own luck. Go out earlier in the session, put in a banker lap, use an extra set of tyres - anything to avoid having to start among the midfield runners.

It is pointless for Flavio Briatore or Fisichella's engineers to try and pep talk him into top form. He is 26 points behind Alonso after five races, in an identical car. If he isn't wondering why cruel fate is always knocking at his door rather than Alonso's, then he should be.

Alonso is candid about the fact that he studied and copied Michael Schumacher. Perhaps Fisichella should start studying Alonso. The Spanish Grand Prix next weekend, where the reigning champion is likely to be at the top of his form, would be an ideal place to start.