The 2005 Race-by-Race Review

Nobody could have expected the downfall Ferrari would suffer due to new tyre rules in 2005. The Italian team dominated the 2004 season but it was a different world this time around as the young pretenders to Ferrari and Michael Schumacher's crowns finally became the key contenders in a battle of pace and attrition ultimately won by Fernando Alonso and Renault.

Round 1: Australia    Ferrari suffer shock to the system

Race Winner: Fisichella
Pole Position: Fisichella, 3:01.046
Fastest Lap: Alonso, 1:25.068

Ferrari were so confident their advantage would not be diminished over the winter that they chose to bring their 2004 car to take on their rivals' best new designs in the opening race. But they were in for a shock. Michael Schumacher was shown what was to come throughout the season when he struggled and retired after a collision while Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella immediately proved his team were up for the Championship fight with an easy win.

But questions remained after the Australian race over the true relative position of all the teams. The unpopular arrival of aggregate qualifying saw Fisichella claim pole after setting the top time in the Saturday session prior to a downpour that left him unbeatable. With few improvements made in the Sunday session, there was an unusual grid with the pre-season favourites McLaren back in tenth and 11th places.

McLaren's reaction to that session, boss Ron Dennis later claimed, ultimately led to the downfall of the team's World Championship challenge. Things were even worse for Ferrari as Schumacher suffered the worst conditions and ended up starting 18th and immediately there were calls for yet another change to the grid-forming format.

In the end, Fisichella drove impeccably to an easy victory followed home by Rubens Barrichello while Fernando Alonso displayed the talent that took him to the title by racing through from a lowly 13th up to a podium third, leaving David Coulthard and the new Red Bull squad deflated to finish fourth even though it was an impressive start to what would be a big year for the energy drinks manufacturers.

McLaren scored a double points finish but sixth for Juan Pablo Montoya and eighth for Raikkonen Raikkonen, whose luck was already clearly out when he stalled and had to start from the pits and then damaged his car running over the kerbs trying to make up time, was not quite what the silver squad had been expecting. Nor was a deliberate double retirement from BAR, whose pace was so bad the team controversially decided to pull their cars in so they could change engines for Malaysia.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Fisichella     10       1.  Renault           16
 2.  Barrichello    8        2.  Ferrari            8
 3.  Alonso         6        3.  Red Bull-Cosworth  7
 4.  Coulthard      5        4.  Williams-BMW       4
 5.  Webber         4        5.  McLaren-Mercedes   4
 6.  Montoya        3       
 7.  Klien          2       
 8.  Raikkonen      1     

Round 2: Malaysia    Easy does it for Alonso

Race Winner: Alonso
Pole Position: Alonso, 3:07.067
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:35.048

Renault proved to be the class of the field again but just when people thought Fisichella might give Alonso a challenge it was the Spaniard who triumphed in dominant style, racing from pole to flag to take, amazingly, only his second career victory as Fisichella showed his fallibility by losing out in a tight and exciting battle with Mark Webber and Ralf Schumacher for a place on the podium.

Rain stayed away for qualifying to allow some level of order to be suggested, and while McLaren were still lower than expected, Montoya down in 11th after clattering over the kerbs on his first qualifying lap, things did not look good at all for Ferrari, who saw Barrichello and Schumacher qualify 12th and 13th respectively.

Takuma Sato became the first of what would be many casualties who took races off during the season when he made way for Anthony Davidson, but the Briton had less than a lap to impress as both his and Jenson Button's cars expired before making it once around the Sepang circuit in what should have gone down as BAR's worst race were it not for subsequent events two races later.

But the highlight of Malaysia was Toyota, who showed they had made a step up from last season when Jarno Trulli not only claimed a front row grid spot but followed that up and wronged the doubters, who had suggested he ran light in qualifying, as he secured their first podium with a solid second place that handed encouragement to all those back in Cologne.

Only 13 cars lasted the race, a surprisingly poor attrition rate, with two key retirements being Fisichella and Webber, whose crash left Nick Heidfeld free to take third on the podium for Williams. Montoya finished fourth but Raikkonen's bad luck continued when he suffered a puncture and was forced to limp around the entire track, ending up out of the points in ninth.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        16        1.  Renault            26
2.  Fisichella    10        2.  Toyota             12
3.  Barrichello    8        3.  Red Bull-Cosworth  11
4.  Coulthard      8        4.  Ferrari            10
5.  Montoya        8        5.  Williams-BMW       10
6.  Trulli         8        6.  McLaren-Mercedes    9
7.  Heidfeld       6
8.  Webber         4
9.  R.Schumacher   4
10. Klien          3

Round 3: Bahrain    Forgetful day for Ferrari debut

Race Winner: Alonso
Pole Position: Alonso, 3:01.902
Fastest Lap: De la Rosa, 1:31.447

Alonso took another dominant victory to underline his and Renault's Championship potential while McLaren displayed their continued bad luck as they hit trouble even before flying out to the race when Montoya was ruled out after suffering a sporting accident. As for Ferrari, Bahrain was a race best forgotten as the debut of their new F2005 ended with Schumacher retiring after deeming his car un-driveable.

Pole went to Alonso once again, with Michael Schumacher hinting at the potential of his new car by claiming a front row grid spot, but while the future World Champion shot off into the distance, the reigning one slipped down the field as the tyre compounds on his scarlet machine proved to be the wrong choice. To add insult to injury, Barrichello lost the final place in the points to a Red Bull and was also lapped by Alonso in the closing laps.

It was not all good news for Renault, however, as Fisichella's opportunity to make the most of the best car on the grid was halted after a handful of laps when, uncharacteristically compared to the rest of the season, his engine expired. Another good race for Toyota allowed Trulli to pick up the pieces and claim second again, albeit some distance behind Alonso, while Ralf Schumacher secured fourth for the Japanese outfit.

Raikkonen finally found himself on the podium despite making a mistake and running wide as he raced through from ninth on the grid. Button and 2004 runners-up BAR's disastrous start to the year continued when the Briton stalled in the pit and had to wait a minute for a push start before coming to a halt metres later at the end of the pitlane.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        26       1.  Renault            36
2.  Trulli        16       2.  Toyota             25
3.  Fisichella    10       3.  McLaren-Mercedes   19
4.  Coulthard      9       4.  Williams-BMW       13
5.  R.Schumacher   9       5.  Red Bull-Cosworth  12
6.  Barrichello    8       6.  Ferrari            10
7.  Montoya        8       7.  Sauber-Petronas     2
8.  Webber         7
9.  Raikkonen      7
10. Heidfeld       6    

Round 4: San Marino    Time at the BAR as Alonso takes a hat-trick

Race Winner: Alonso
Pole Position: Raikkonen, 2:42.880
Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:21.858

While Alonso walked into the night with a hat-trick of victories from the first four races, BAR-Honda came under close scrutiny from the stewards after Button had finally secured a podium finish. The cars were passed legal but just days later BAR's season was left in tatters as the FIA found an illegal double fuel tank hidden away inside the BAR, disqualified them from the race and threw them out for another two.

It was not all so easy for Alonso this time, however, as Michael Schumacher powered his Ferrari to a surprising second, shedding the disappointment from Bahrain and benefiting from cooler conditions to give the tifosi something to cheer about as he raced through from 13th and hounded Alonso in the closing stages. That Alonso did not buckle under the pressure proved, once again, he was ticking all the right boxes to take that crown away at the end of the year.

But Alonso acknowledged late in the season that the Imola race was where McLaren took over as the fastest car on the grid. Raikkonen, he believes, would have won, but the Finn's chances of a probable victory were ruined by a problem with his car. The fact that Alexander Wurz, replacing the injured Montoya, was promoted to third with Button's disqualification was of little compensation.

Sato finished an impressive and battling fifth, what would be his best result of the season, but saw it taken away when the team were disqualified, leaving former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve to claim a pressure-easing fourth place after coming under fire for poor performances on his full-time return to the grid after a season sabbatical.

So with the European season underway, Alonso sat pretty with a 36-point haul - four points off the maximum - from the first four races while the reigning title holder Schumacher had 10 and Alonso's soon-to-be Championship rival Raikkonen had a meagre seven. In the constructors' race, Renault had 46 points out of a possible 72, let down by Fisichella's failures to finish, but still 22 points ahead of McLaren.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        36        1.  Renault           46
2.  Trulli        18        2.  Toyota            28
3.  R.Schumacher  10        3.  McLaren-Mercedes  24
4.  M.Schumacher  10        4.  Ferrari           18
5.  Fisichella    10        5.  Williams-BMW      13
6.  Coulthard      9        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 12
7.  Montoya        8        7.  BAR-Honda         10
8.  Barrichello    8        8.  Sauber-Petronas    5
9.  Raikkonen      7
10. Webber         7

Round 5: Spain    McLaren back on the attack

Race Winner: Raikkonen
Pole Position: Raikkonen, 2:31.421
Fastest Lap: Fisichella, 1:15.641

Renault had developed an unbeatable aura, leaving many wondering just how they would be stopped but just when Alonso wanted to celebrate his new-found ascendancy in front of his home crowd, Raikkonen came in and spoiled the party by snatching pole position and then easing to a lights-to-flag victory, with Alonso forced to take second best as Ferrari's yo-yo season continued, with Schumacher retiring after suffering two punctures during his race.

Raikkonen had not won since the Belgian Grand Prix the previous year but McLaren were finally able to live up to their huge pre-season potential, if only on one car. Montoya, returning from injury, showed he had a long way to go before he would be settled as he inexplicably spun early on and then suffered a problem with his fuel rig and ended up in seventh, lapped by his own teammate.

Toyota continued to surprise as Trulli converted fifth place into a podium third and Ralf Schumacher backed him up with a fourth to keep them in the second-placed spot in the title race. It seemed like the Japanese team had finally hit the big time. Williams had shown glimpses of promise in the opening races and Webber continued that with a second place grid spot, but he dropped down the order in the race and had to settle for sixth after losing a place to Fisichella late in the race.

Minardi debuted their PS05 machines in the hope of moving past Jordan at the back but admitted before the race they expected both to fail before the end, and, after both stalling at the start, they were both out after 19 laps. Tonio Liuzzi, in at Red Bull as part of his race-share with Christian Klien, failed to shine in his second race having secured a point in his first at Imola. He spun out after 11 laps in what would prove to be one of his few outings.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        44        1.  Renault           58
2.  Trulli        26        2.  Toyota            40
3.  Raikkonen     17        3.  McLaren-Mercedes  37
4.  Fisichella    14        4.  Williams-BMW      21
5.  R.Schumacher  14        5.  Ferrari           18
6.  Webber        12        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 14
7.  Coulthard     10        7.  Sauber-Petronas    7
8.  Montoya       10
9.  M.Schumacher  10
10. Heidfeld       9

Round 6: Monaco    Raikkonen triumphs as rubber trouble hits Renault

Race Winner: Raikkonen
Pole Position: Raikkonen, 2:30.323
Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:15.842

McLaren looked like they were starting to claim the upper hand as Raikkonen claimed pole and raced to a comfortable victory around the twisty street circuit while Alonso suffered one of his worst results of the season when he made a rare finish off the podium. But once again Montoya's woes continued when he was accused of brake-testing his old teammate Ralf Schumacher to cause a collision in practice, lost his qualifying time, started from the back and finished fifth.

It looked like McLaren had made the wrong call when a collision brought the safety car out early in the race but their decision to stay out and execute their one-stop strategy while most of their rivals peeled into the pits proved to be a stroke of genius, while a rare mistake in the choice of tyres for Renault saw Alonso slip out of the top three in the closing laps.

Renault's loss was Williams' gain as Heidfeld and Webber scored a double podium to hand the Grove-based team their best result of the year. Webber finally got rid of his fifth-place hoodoo to claim his best career result, but he could only frown on the podium after a pitwall decision handed Heidfeld the second he believed should have been his. As ever, however, the Australian simply put his head down and got on with it.

Not so Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher, who both came under attack from Michael Schumacher in a thrilling end to the race. With tyres going off all over the place there was movement throughout the field and Schumacher pounced on the opportunity to snatch seventh from his teammate on the last lap and then tried to push past his brother on the line.

Ralf, who had already been in the wall over the weekend when he crashed in first qualifying, claimed the move "could have killed me" while Barrichello's rage resulted in a feud at Ferrari that could, ultimately, have instigated to his departure. Incidentally, Barrichello first met with BAR boss Nick Fry during the Monaco weekend.

Meanwhile, Star Wars paid a visit to the paddock and the sight of Darth Vader meeting Bernie Ecclestone on the grid was a classic. The Red Bull mechanics donned Stormtrooper outfits but the gaudy PR exercise came crashing down when the crew were left baffled by Coulthard's broken suspension after a collision and had to push him into the garage to retire. Not quite pod racing heroics.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        49        1.  Renault           63
2.  Raikkonen     27        2.  McLaren-Mercedes  51
3.  Trulli        26        3.  Toyota            43
4.  Webber        18        4.  Williams-BMW      35
5.  Heidfeld      17        5.  Ferrari           21
6.  R.Schumacher  17        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 14
7.  Fisichella    14        7.  Sauber-Petronas    7
8.  Montoya       14
9.  M.Schumacher  12
10. Coulthard     10

Round 7: Europe    Alonso wins as wheel falls off Raikkonen challenge

Race Winner: Alonso
Pole Position: Heidfeld, 1:30.081
Fastest Lap: Alonso, 1:30.711

Just when Raikkonen was on a roll he threw it away. The Finn raced hard and fast towards victory at the Nurburgring but he race too hard and locked a tyre in the latter part of the race, causing a vibration that eventually shook his suspension apart, leaving him to crash out on the final lap of the race and hand victory to his championship rival Alonso. "This could decide the championship," said Norbert Haug after the race. Not so, but it certainly made a significant contribution.

The incident was the first to provide the stark reality that the new tyre rule, demanding just one set for an entire race, was ultimately dangerous. McLaren had the option to pull in and fit a new tyre, but a flat-spot was deemed 'avoidable' and it was unclear what the penalty would be. That would have handed victory to Alonso in any case, and that was something even at this early stage of the year they were not prepared to do. The rule was subsequently changed, but it was too late for McLaren.

By this point in the season Williams were still looking strong, with Heidfeld claiming pole position with the grid formed for the first time from a single qualifying session after the Sunday morning sessions were scrapped. He converted that to a second consecutive second-placed finish and continued to pressure team-mate Webber, who buckled when he crashed into retirement when he hit the unfortunate Montoya on the first corner. Montoya, meanwhile, picked up another lowly points finish as he made the best of another bad day.

If this race proved McLaren were destined to be hit by misfortune, it also underlined the fact that it would be Renault's lucky year. Alonso could so easily have been caught in the first-lap collision but he found his way through the melee to slot into fifth, despite being hit in the rear by Ralf Schumacher's Toyota, then locked up himself and went off but recovered to race home and benefit from McLaren's failure.

BAR returned to the grid after serving their punishment, but it was an uninspiring comeback as Button finished tenth and Sato, caught in the first lap trouble, managed only 12th. "Our car just wasn't fast enough," explained newly installed sporting director Gil de Ferran. Nor was the Ferrari, but Barrichello managed to steer it into third, with Schumacher fifth, while Coulthard led the race at one point for Red Bull before finishing a solid fourth.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        59        1.  Renault           76
2.  Raikkonen     27        2.  McLaren-Mercedes  53
3.  Trulli        27        3.  Toyota            44
4.  Heidfeld      25        4.  Williams-BMW      43
5.  Webber        18        5.  Ferrari           31
6.  Fisichella    17        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 19
7.  R.Schumacher  17        7.  Sauber-Petronas    7
8.  Montoya       16
9.  M.Schumacher  16
10. Barrichello   15

Round 8: Canada    Faultless Alonso makes mistake as Renault crumble

Race Winner: Raikkonen
Pole Position: Button, 1:15.217
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:14.384

Alonso made very few mistakes in the 2005 season but there was no hiding from this one as a little slip of concentration saw him lightly clip the barriers while leading. Renault's strong challenge faded in a matter of laps as Alonso pulled in after Fisichella had lost the lead with a mechanical failure, leaving McLaren an easy ride to the finish.

Raikkonen was the cool customer this time, making the most of a safety car period to dive into the pits early and snatch the lead from team-mate Montoya, a move which left the Colombian so enraged he again instigated his own downfall by ignoring a red light at the end of the pitlane, returning to the track and being disqualified one lap later. It was, unfortunately, typical Montoya.

With a certain one-two gone begging, guess who was there to pick up the pieces. Not Alonso, this time, but reigning champion Schumacher, whose rollercoaster ride was on a high as he came home second with his team-mate Barrichello in third as the Italian team looked to have overcome their troubles. Sadly, for them, it would probably go down as their most successful race of the year.

Massa continued to out-perform team-mate Villeneuve and secured a fourth place finish for Sauber that would prove to be their best of the season, while Red Bull continued their astonishing start to the year by claiming another double points finish as Klien cemented his place in the team and, even now, left hot hope Liuzzi no way back.

In the drivers' championship Alonso was now on 59 points, 22 clear of Raikkonen with Schumacher a further 13 behind, a far cry from this point last season when he had seven wins out of eight under his belt and had accrued a total of 70 points to Barrichello's 52 and third-placed Button's 43, with Alonso down on 25 points and Raikkonen on three. Renault and McLaren were in tight competition at the top in comparison to 2004, when Ferrari already had double the points of then second-placed Renault.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        59        1.  Renault           76
2.  Raikkonen     37        2.  McLaren-Mercedes  63
3.  Trulli        27        3.  Toyota            47
4.  Heidfeld      25        4.  Williams-BMW      47
5.  M.Schumacher  24        5.  Ferrari           45
6.  Webber        22        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 22
7.  Barrichello   21        7.  Sauber-Petronas   12
8.  R.Schumacher  20
9.  Fisichella    17
10. Coulthard     17

Round 9: USA    Schumacher triumphs in six-car farce

Race Winner: M.Schumacher
Pole Position: Trulli, 1:10.625
Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:11.487

Indianapolis was an embarrassment, but it taught Formula One a lot of lessons. It was Michelin's fault, they failed to bring the right rubber to the circuit, but it was ultimately the failure of all members of the Grand Prix fraternity to come to an amicable solution amongst a heavy backdrop of politics that prevented the Michelin runners from entering the race and left Schumacher and Barrichello to trolley home in first and second.

The sight of six cars lining up on the grid left fans aghast, but those six cars are to be commended for getting through the race as they were pelted with bottles from the enraged crowd in the stands. Ferrari almost threw it away as the Schumacher and Barrichello feud continuing to bubble when the German ran the Brazilian onto the grass as he came out from his final stop. And guess who won?

At the end of the day, it was a job well done by Bridgestone, but it was not a result that the sport wanted to see. It gave Monteiro his moment of glory as he claimed what would be his first and Jordan's last ever podium, but even he admitted it was a hollow success. Very few watched the race, they were more interested in the views of the drivers and teams, and rightly so. It was no race, it was a procession.

The bizarre and controversial race played havoc with the championship positions as it allowed Ferrari to draw level with McLaren as runners' up to Renault in the race for the constructors' title while Schumacher's maiden victory of the year to put him up to third with 34 points, just two behind Raikkonen. Those points would prove to be valuable as they enabled Schumacher to jump from fifth to third in the season-ending championship results and put Ferrari ahead of Toyota in the Constructors'.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        59        1.  Renault           76
2.  Raikkonen     37        2.  McLaren-Mercedes  63
3.  M.Schumacher  34        3.  Ferrari           63
4.  Barrichello   29        4.  Toyota            47
5.  Trulli        27        5.  Williams-BMW      47
6.  Heidfeld      25        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 22
7.  Webber        22        7.  Sauber-Petronas   12
8.  R.Schumacher  20        8.  Jordan-Toyota     11
9.  Fisichella    17        9.  Minardi-Cosworth   7
10. Coulthard     17

Round 10: France    Alonso dominates as F1 resumes normal order

Race Winner: Alonso
Pole Position: Alonso, 1:14.412
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:16.423

Formula One returned with its head bowed as the championship moved back to Europe following the United States debacle but there was no show to get excited about as Alonso eased to his fifth victory of the season. But the coming races would again display the way the fortunes fell in the title race, as Raikkonen's attack was hit by Mercedes' reliability troubles.

At a time when McLaren should have been racing off into the distance, Raikkonen was left sitting in 13th place on the grid for the start, with Alonso on pole, after an engine change in practice forced him to drop ten places. It also happened at the next race in Britain and again later in the season, and it always seemed Alonso was there to pick up where Raikkonen dropped off.

Raikkonen still claimed second, limiting the damage to two points, but it could have been even worse, as it was for Montoya, whose weekend came to a crunching halt when his engine expired in the race itself. Not a good weekend for McLaren, and a weekend that displayed the importance of reliability from both driver and car as Alonso was there to eek out his advantage once again while Fisichella made a mistake in the pits and had to settle for sixth.

What has been termed a terrible season for Ferrari, in retrospect, was only poor in relative terms, as Schumacher was able to secure yet another podium with third place, while it was joy at last for Button when he scored what was, incredibly, BAR's first championship points of the season with a fourth place that would begin an impressive run of 10 consecutive top-eight finishes.

But it was about turn for Williams, who had been competitive in the opening part of the season but took a sudden plunge down the order when they took a new direction in aerodynamics that, due to a problem with the team's wind tunnels, appeared to make the car worse in full scale after giving promising results on the tunnel model. It marked the virtual end to their promising season.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        69        1.  Renault           89
2.  Raikkonen     45        2.  McLaren-Mercedes  71
3.  M.Schumacher  40        3.  Ferrari           69
4.  Trulli        31        4.  Toyota            53
5.  Barrichello   29        5.  Williams-BMW      47
6.  Heidfeld      25        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 22
7.  Webber        22        7.  Sauber-Petronas   13
8.  R.Schumacher  22        8.  Jordan-Toyota     11
9.  Fisichella    20        9.  Minardi-Cosworth   7
10. Coulthard     17       10.  BAR-Honda          5

Round 11: Britain    Montoya wins hollow race as Raikkonen suffers

Race Winner: Montoya
Pole Position: Alonso, 1:19.905
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:20.502

At last things went Montoya's way and he finally won for McLaren, but it was bitter sweet as Raikkonen had to fight back from the middle of the pack after another engine failure in practice and could only manage a third place finish behind guess who? Yep, Alonso, there again to slightly extend his championship advantage as the opportunities reduced for Raikkonen.

For Montoya it was a moment of arrival; he had finally managed to make it to the end of the race on top. No spins, no failures, no lapses of concentration. It re-ignited his season and although the team were already concentrated on Raikkonen and his challenge for the championship Montoya was about to begin what could have been a strong part of his season.

Button drew home hope with a front row spot in qualifying, but it proved to be a light car that had put him there and he slipped down the order to finish fifth, a typical trend that would see the Briton there or thereabouts for the rest of the season. BAR boss Nick Fry later admitted that they knew the car was "a dog" at the start of the year and it was never going to improve. Maybe next year.

Fisichella had all Renault's bad luck once again as he stalled in the pits for the second race running, handing third to Raikkonen, and with the Renaults and McLarens completing the top four finishers there was little space for the surprise heroes like Red Bull and Toyota to make their mark, a trend that would tend to continue for the rest of the year.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        77        1.  Renault           102
2.  Raikkonen     51        2.  McLaren-Mercedes   87
3.  M.Schumacher  43        3.  Ferrari            74
4.  Barrichello   31        4.  Toyota             54
5.  Trulli        31        5.  Williams-BMW       47
6.  Montoya       26        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth  22
7.  Fisichella    25        7.  Sauber-Petronas    13
8.  Heidfeld      25        8.  Jordan-Toyota      11
9.  R.Schumacher  23        9.  BAR-Honda           9
10. Webber        22       10.  Minardi-Cosworth    7

Round 12: Germany    Advantage Alonso as McLaren failure swings battle

Race Winner: Alonso
Pole Position: Raikkonen, 1:14.320
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:14.873

All Montoya's good work was thrown away at the very next race when he spun in qualifying to leave himself starting at the back of the grid, but it was Raikkonen who left the McLaren Communications Centre with the biggest frown. The Finn was cruising to an easy win until his car conked to a halt midway through the race to hand a massive victory, worth ten points, to Alonso once again. The Spaniard was now champion elect.

It was a crucial twist in the championship battle, the 20-ish points cushion that Alonso had enjoyed since the opening races extended back to a massive 36, meaning that even if the unflinchingly reliable Renault driver failed to finish in every one of the next three rounds the championship lead would still be his to take to the final European race of the year in Belgium. From here, the mountain looked too large to climb for Raikkonen.

Alonso, as usual, gladly took the gifted win, again following the trend of being a winner through reliability. Renault revealed later in the season, however, that such was their advantage from a strong start their foot was already off the gas and they were trying to cruise to the titles. Reliability had taken precedence over pace. They could have gone faster, but they would have probably retired more. Like McLaren.

Montoya showed the pace was there as he rocketed through from 20th to second but things just weren't happening for Fisichella. He was hit by Sato at the start, lost part of his rear wing, suffered brake troubles and had to settle for fourth after passing the struggling Ferrari of Schumacher, on one of his down days this time, at the finish.

Button was full of cheer after racing to a solid podium finish, continuing to push BAR up the championship order and enjoying some exciting overtaking maneuvers on the way. His points score put BAR up to seventh, passing Jordan and Sauber and starting to chase Red Bull, who had tailed off in the middle of the season due to a lack of development budget.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        87        1.  Renault          117
2.  Raikkonen     51        2.  McLaren-Mercedes  95
3.  M.Schumacher  47        3.  Ferrari           78
4.  Montoya       34        4.  Toyota            57
5.  Barrichello   31        5.  Williams-BMW      47
6.  Trulli        31        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 24
7.  Fisichella    30        7.  BAR-Honda         15
8.  R.Schumacher  26        8.  Sauber-Petronas   14
9.  Heidfeld      25        9.  Jordan-Toyota     11
10. Webber        22       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7

Round 13: Hungary    Back to square one as fortunes are reversed

Race Winner: Raikkonen
Pole Position: M.Schumacher, 1:19.882
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:21.219

McLaren arrived in Hungary admitting it was all over but left with renewed hope as the tables turned and Raikkonen claimed a dominant victory while Alonso made a rare mistake in qualifying, started sixth and suffered his worst race of the season when he failed to battle back from a first-corner collision and eventually finished in 11th place.

It was another turning point in the championship that kept the pot boiling for a few more races, but ultimately it merely brought the points back to where they had stood prior to the previous race, where Alonso had won and Raikkonen had failed to finish, only with another two races gone Raikkonen now had only six races, rather than eight, to eat up the 26-point gap. It was still a tough call.

Schumacher's surprising season continued as this time another high put him on pole and saw him secure second place to put himself still only six points behind Raikkonen. A terrible season? No wonder Ferrari team boss Jean Todt was becoming increasingly frustrated with the criticism. He acknowledged it was no longer their era, but it was not like they had permanently vanished off the radar.

Red Bull had, at least in this race. Both cars were out in a dramatic first lap, Klien barrel rolling out in the first corner melee and Coulthard running over the dropped front wing from Alonso's car later in the lap and spearing off in a high-speed accident that could have been much more painful for the Scot.

With Montoya out thanks to another McLaren-Mercedes failure it was down to Ralf Schumacher to claim the final podium place for Toyota as he led home Trulli in a strong race for the Germany-based team, one which helped them climb away from Williams in the championship; the British team could manage only sixth and seventh as they continued to grapple with their aero problems.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        87        1.  Renault          117
2.  Raikkonen     61        2.  McLaren-Mercedes 105
3.  M.Schumacher  55        3.  Ferrari           86
4.  Trulli        36        4.  Toyota            68
5.  Montoya       34        5.  Williams-BMW      52
6.  R.Schumacher  32        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 24
7.  Barrichello   31        7.  BAR-Honda         20
8.  Fisichella    30        8.  Sauber-Petronas   14
9.  Heidfeld      28        9.  Jordan-Toyota     11
10. Webber        24       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7

Round 14: Turkey    Raikkonen wins, Montoya proves the real Turkey

Race Winner: Raikkonen
Pole Position: Raikkonen, 1:26.797
Fastest Lap: Montoya, 1:24.770

Terror fears turned some people away from Turkey ahead of its inaugural race but there was no alarm for Raikkonen as everything went smoothly to allow him his fifth win of the year. The nightmares were all Montoya's however, as he slipped up when encountering a backmarker on the very last lap to hand two bonus points to one lucky man, Alonso, of course.

Once again, Renault played it perfectly. They didn't need to win, they just needed to come second or third. Montoya's slip-up, which saw him spin out and recover to finish third was a bonus, and it left the Colombian red-faced but he still managed to keep it together to hold off Fisichella as the Renault and McLaren show completed the predictable top four positions.

It was another down day for Schumacher, who had to start from the back after making a mistake and spinning in qualifying and terminally damaged his suspension when he turned in on Webber as the Williams driver tried to pass. Webber had a tough time too, spearing off the track a couple of times and suffering a puncture as Williams' tough year continued.

The new track developed plenty of action but the real stories were off the track, where Ferrari had announced Massa as their 2006 partner to Schumacher, Barrichello had revealed he was joining BAR-Honda and Button had admitted he no longer wanted to join Williams, a decision that would lay on his mind for weeks before he finally secured a deal to buy himself out of his contract.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso        95        1.  Renault          130
2.  Raikkonen     71        2.  McLaren-Mercedes 121
3.  M.Schumacher  55        3.  Ferrari           86
4.  Montoya       40        4.  Toyota            71
5.  Trulli        39        5.  Williams-BMW      52
6.  Fisichella    35        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 27
7.  R.Schumacher  32        7.  BAR-Honda         24
8.  Barrichello   31        8.  Sauber-Petronas   14
9.  Heidfeld      28        9.  Jordan-Toyota     11
10. Webber        24       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7

Round 15: Italy    Montoya wins as Alonso edges closer to title

Race Winner: Montoya
Pole Position: Montoya, 1:21.054
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:21.504

Things could not get any tougher for Raikkonen as everything conspired against him and his now faltering championship challenge. He beat teammate Montoya to pole in qualifying but had to hand it back because of another engine change penalty, and in the race he suffered a puncture and a spin, finishing fourth. To top it all off he had to watch Montoya win and Alonso extend his lead in the title race by taking second.

With just four races left and a 27-point deficit it was clear to Raikkonen that his brave battle was over. In truth, as McLaren admitted, it was over well before then because of their early season problems. Renault could still have thrown it away, but not now. Alonso's podium was his tenth in the 14 races he had started; he had only finished out of the points twice. It was a no-brainer.

But Monza was notable for another impressive record as every single car that started the race made it to the end. It was a testament to the incredible reliability that had been shown throughout the season, and it was another kick in the teeth for Raikkonen, who had been hit by some of the worst reliability, if not in the races, certainly at some point in many of the weekends.

It also displayed the true order at that part of the season, with the McLarens and Renaults comfortably on top, Toyota picking up the points behind them and Ferrari down in the middle of the pack, with Schumacher give up his crown when he went off track late in the race, dropping him out of the points and leaving him mathematically out of the championship race.

Schumacher's countryman Nick Heidfeld, who had been the leading German in the championship early in the season, saw his year peter out to nothing when a crash in testing the week before the race left him out of action and a subsequent bike accident prevented him from making a return. Pizzonia was given a chance to prove he was fit to race in 2006 and took it by matching his best ever finish in seventh. But it was probably already too late.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso       103        1.  Renault          144
2.  Raikkonen     76        2.  McLaren-Mercedes 136
3.  M.Schumacher  55        3.  Ferrari           86
4.  Montoya       50        4.  Toyota            78
5.  Trulli        43        5.  Williams-BMW      54
6.  Fisichella    41        6.  Red Bull-Cosworth 27
7.  R.Schumacher  35        7.  BAR-Honda         25
8.  Barrichello   31        8.  Sauber-Petronas   14
9.  Heidfeld      28        9.  Jordan-Toyota     11
10. Button        24       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7

Round 16: Belgium    Raikkonen survives incident-filled race

Race Winner: Raikkonen
Pole Position: Montoya, 1:46.391
Fastest Lap: R.Schumacher, 1:51.453

Raikkonen won, but with Alonso there to claim second when Montoya made his second late-race slip-up in three races it was already too little, too late. McLaren were dominant again, and should have claimed their first one-two finish in more than five years, but again it was not to be. Renault took it easy and left Belgium confident that the job was done.

Belgium is not Belgium without rain and there was plenty on offer this time, with a Friday wash-out drawing concerns over the race going ahead. The race morning dawned with a torrential downpour but the drivers battled on and in a sodden car park after the race Pat Symonds, when asked if the title was Alonso's, simply smiled and said: "It would be tough to lose now, wouldn't it?"

Not if Alonso slipped over in the bath was Ron Dennis' retort. But he had not slipped up on the wet track at Spa so there was little chance of that. McLaren instead took the tack of focusing elsewhere, declaring that Raikkonen was determined to beat champion-to-be Alonso in race wins if he could not take the title. Ultimately, though, that did not work either.

Fisichella, battling with an ill-handling car, again let the Renault side down but with Montoya doing the same for McLaren, eventually finishing 14th, it mattered little. Button was able to secure another podium for BAR, while Sato did his efforts to find a seat elsewhere for 2006 no good when he collided with Michael Schumacher, an incident that got him an official slap on the wrists from the FIA and an unofficial slap in the face from the beaten World Champion.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso       111        1.  Renault          152
2.  Raikkonen     86        2.  McLaren-Mercedes 146
3.  M.Schumacher  55        3.  Ferrari           90
4.  Montoya       50        4.  Toyota            80
5.  Trulli        43        5.  Williams-BMW      59
6.  Fisichella    41        6.  BAR-Honda         31
7.  R.Schumacher  37        7.  Red Bull-Cosworth 27
8.  Barrichello   35        8.  Sauber-Petronas   17
9.  Button        30        9.  Jordan-Toyota     12
10. Webber        29       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7

Round 17: Brazil    Alonso is crowned

Race Winner: Montoya
Pole Position: Alonso, 1:11.988
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:12.268

If Brazil proved anything it was that Alonso was the right man to win the title as Raikkonen made another mistake under pressure in qualifying to leave himself down in fifth on the grid while Alonso claimed pole and showed maturity well beyond his age as he did exactly what he needed to become the youngest World Champion in the history of the sport.

Montoya won and Raikkonen battled through to second, finally securing McLaren their long-awaited one-two finish, but it was appropriate that Alonso finished on the podium in third to secure the title, proving once again that after showing pace at the start, his reliability at the end was what secured him his historic success.

McLaren were streets ahead and had some satisfaction as their 18 points put them ahead of Renault in the Constructors' Championship, despite the Anglo-French squad claiming to have brought significant improvements to Sao Paulo. They failed to work as planned, as did BAR's, who had to settle for seventh with Button when they had expected much higher. Ferrari, instead, were the ones who mixed it with the Renaults.

But there was disappointment for Monteiro as, just one race after scoring an impressive points finish for Jordan with eighth in Belgium, the Portuguese driver saw his astonishing year-long run of consistency end when he was forced to retire for the first time in 17 races. What Raikkonen would have given for that level of reliability.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso       117        1.  McLaren-Mercedes 164
2.  Raikkonen     94        2.  Renault          162
3.  M.Schumacher  60        3.  Ferrari           98
4.  Montoya       60        4.  Toyota            81
5.  Fisichella    45        5.  Williams-BMW      59
6.  Trulli        43        6.  BAR-Honda         33
7.  R.Schumacher  38        7.  Red Bull-Cosworth 27
8.  Barrichello   38        8.  Sauber-Petronas   17
9.  Button        32        9.  Jordan-Toyota     12
10. Webber        29       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7

Round 18: Japan    Raikkonen storms from the back

Race Winner: Raikkonen
Pole Position: R.Schumacher, 1:46.106
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:31.540

Japan just showed what can happen when the title is out of the lead drivers' minds. Alonso had promised to attack now he had the championship in the bag, and Renault turned up the wick to allow him to do it. But ultimately it was Raikkonen who triumphed after racing through from 17th on the grid in one of the best Grands Prix in recent memory.

Alonso climbed from 16th to third and estimated making around 14 overtaking moves in the race compared to "two or three" in the rest of the season, but it was one overtaking move from Raikkonen that proved crucial in the end as the McLaren driver sliced past Fisichella on the final lap to secure the victory in a thrilling finish that summed up the Italian Renault driver's difficult season.

The single-lap qualifying was to thank for throwing up such a spectacle, just days after the team bosses had closed in on a decision to change it, but it was only due to rain during the qualifying session, a rarity and not the norm. Fisichella had it made, securing third on the grid as the rain came, and he made the race look easy until Raikkonen homed in on the final laps.

It was another tough day that summarised a sporadic season of huge highs and massive lows for Montoya when he crashed out on the first lap, pushed off track by Villeneuve he claimed, and his problems meant Renault moved back ahead in the championship through, as usual, reliability by getting both cars home to McLaren's one.

The race was also poignant for Michael Schumacher, who now crownless was a loser in battles with both Alonso and Raikkonen as he symbolically handed over his long-held superiority to a younger age, for this year at least. And as for Sato, it was a weekend to forget, boosted by hopes of a place at a second Honda team but ultimately left wanting as his over-aggressive style was exposed again.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso       123        1.  Renault          176
2.  Raikkonen    104        2.  McLaren-Mercedes 174
3.  M.Schumacher  62        3.  Ferrari          100
4.  Montoya       60        4.  Toyota            82
5.  Fisichella    53        5.  Williams-BMW      64
6.  Trulli        43        6.  BAR-Honda         37
7.  R.Schumacher  39        7.  Red Bull-Cosworth 30
8.  Barrichello   38        8.  Sauber-Petronas   17
9.  Button        36        9.  Jordan-Toyota     12
10. Webber        34       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7

Round 19: China    Alonso gives Renault the double

Race Winner: Alonso
Pole Position: Alonso, 1:34.080
Fastest Lap: Raikkonen, 1:33.242

China had very much an end of term feel about it as everyone looked forward to a hard-earned break after an unprecedented 19 races on the road since the start of March, but there was still a job to do and Renault were determined to do it. They ramped up their efforts for a final push and it worked as Alonso outclassed his title rival Raikkonen to hand his team the constructors title.

Renault brought in an engine designed for one race, effectively working against the spirit of the rules, and it worked. The extra boost pushed Alonso and Fisichella to an all-Renault front row, with McLaren in third and fifth, then matched the McLarens for pace as Alonso made sure no shadow could be cast on his title by winning as many poles and races as Raikkonen.

It was perfect team tactics from a squad that has played the numbers game all season, racing with the right amount of attack to get the job done. Fisichella made a minor slip-up when he was punished for holding Raikkonen up a little too much, but he only lost one place and, with Montoya out after a season-typifying accident which saw him drive over a drain cover, it was already all over.

Toyota finished where they started when Ralf Schumacher claimed third in the new TF105B, which gave them encouragement for 2006, while Red Bull also secured a solid fifth place finish which would have been a surprise at the start of the year but by the end had become almost the norm. Expectations will be high for them next year.

As Formula One waved a sad goodbye to Peter Sauber, Paul Stoddart, the Jordan, BAR and Minardi names, Pierre Dupasquier and many more, Massa handed Sauber a departing points finish with sixth, Button put BAR on the score sheet for the last time in eighth Monteiro finished for Jordan and both Minardis pulled in on the final lap of the race. And with the season over, it was time to party.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
1.  Alonso       133        1.  Renault          191
2.  Raikkonen    112        2.  McLaren-Mercedes 182
3.  M.Schumacher  62        3.  Ferrari          100
4.  Montoya       60        4.  Toyota            88
5.  Fisichella    58        5.  Williams-BMW      66
6.  R.Schumacher  45        6.  BAR-Honda         38
7.  Trulli        43        7.  Red Bull-Cosworth 34
8.  Barrichello   38        8.  Sauber-Petronas   20
9.  Button        37        9.  Jordan-Toyota     12
10. Webber        36       10.  Minardi-Cosworth   7
11. Heidfeld      28
12. Coulthard     24
13. Massa         11
14. Villeneuve     9
15. Klien          9
16. Monteiro       7
17. Wurz           6
18. Karthikeyan    5
19. de la Rosa     4
20. Albers         4
21. Friesacher     3
22. Pizzonia       2
23. Liuzzi         1
24. Sato           1

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