Restoring the Pedigree
There was a lot of politics during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, but at the end of the day everyone will remember the superb drives of Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso. Richard Barnes reviews how Formula One restored F1's pedigree of pure racing excitement
With the 2005 World Drivers' Championship already settled, and the FIA releasing its plans for new 2006 regulations on qualifying Saturday, it seemed that the F1 world's focus was more on the future than on Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix. But nobody told McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen and Renault's Fernando Alonso. Between them, with the help of an able supporting cast, a classic circuit and a Saturday afternoon shower, they produced a modern masterpiece of F1 racing.
It was the prospect that most fans had relished during the second half of the season - Alonso being released from his conservative approach after finally settling the Championship. If anybody believed that the young Spaniard would go off the boil, or fail to shake his 'cruiser' image, Suzuka proved them wrong.
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