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More dramas behind the scenes for Juan Pablo Montoya. McLaren Mercedes has confirmed this morning that Juan Pablo Montoya is unable to take part in the Bahrain Grand Prix this coming weekend, as a result of an injury he sustained whilst playing tennis during the Easter weekend.

Montoya was playing tennis with his personal trainer in Madrid, Spain, on Saturday morning when he slipped and fell, sustaining a minor hairline fracture to his left scapula. Following a number of tests, scans and an examination by one of McLaren’s medical consultants, the team has been advised that Montoya should rest to allow for the injury to heal.

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Yes its true , Ferrari have finalised their decision about the launch of their F2005 . Today Ferrari finally declared that F2005 will have its debut at next Bahrain Grand Prix.

This decision was made after Michael Schumacher had driven F2005 for the first time at Mugello circuit on Wednesday.

Now, its show time for Ferrari .

Lets see how is this new F2005 in comparsion to the previous 2004 car . Is Ferrari again coming back with that ultimate domination? We cannot answer this question right now but we have to wait for the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Stay tuned to BlogF1 for more latest Updates happening in the world of Formula 1.

© Copyright 2005 BlogF1. All rights reserved.

Soundly beaten in the first 2 races ferrari scrambled to get its new racing car ready for the Bahrain GP. Schumacher tested his new Ferrari for the first time on Wed. In a hurried effort to get the car ready and improve on his poor start to the season. The testing was done at the mugello circuit. Barrichello who tested the car on Tuesday said"The first sensation is what matters. And i am very happy by how i felt at the wheel of the F2005."

Michael Schumacher has had a disappointing start to the season
Schumacher admits to title fears
Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone has admitted that Ferrari's poor showing in Malaysia is down to them.

World champion Michael Schumacher came seventh in last weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix while also failing to finish in the opening race in Australia.

"The responsibility for such a negative result is undoubtedly down to our tyres," said Bridgestone's technical director Hirohide Hamashima.

"We have learnt a lot from this defeat and we are ready to respond."

Ferrari are currently in fourth place in the constructors championship with 10 points, 16 behind Renault, while Schumacher is in 11th place in the standings with two points.

Renault have won both races so far this season and are one of the seven teams in Formula One that use Michelin tyres.

"The fact that Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli lapped a couple of seconds faster than us is certainly not explainable by different fuel loads," Hamashima added in Gazzetta dello Sport.

"There are no attenuating circumstances, it was a lesson for us but a healthy one.

"Obviously we have had long discussion with Ferrari to create tyres of a new generation and we are counting on having found some that will allow us quickly to be competitive again."

Ferrari are still using last year's car but will test their new F2005 before deciding whether to introduce it at the Bahrain GP on 3 April.

Source : BBC UK

Narain has recived a special invitation to come to Bahrain from the Royal Family before the grand prix

BAHRAIN INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT




Qualifying : 02 April 2005
Race : 03 April 2005



Last Year's Result at Bahrain
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01. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1h28'34"875
02. BARRICHELLO Ferrari + 0'01"300
03. BUTTON BAR + 0'26"600
04. TRULLI Renault + 0'38"500
05. SATO BAR Honda + 1'00"500
06. ALONSO Renault + 1'01"300
07. R.SCHUMACHER Williams + 1'09"800
08. WEBBER Jaguar 1 lap(s)
09. MONTOYA Williams 1 lap(s)
10. PANIS Toyota 1 lap(s)
11. DA MATTA Toyota 1 lap(s)
12. FISICHELLA Sauber 1 lap(s)
13. MASSA Sauber 1 lap(s)
14. KLIEN Jaguar 1 lap(s)
15. HEIDFELD Jordan 1 lap(s)
16. PANTANO Jordan 2 lap(s)
17. BRUNI Minardi 5 lap(s)

Retirements:
COULTHARD McLaren 50 laps completed
BAUMGARTNER Minardi 44 laps completed
RAIKKONEN McLaren 7 laps completed

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© 2005 BlogF1. All rights reserved.

A brief Review : Chequered flag Malaysian Grand Prix
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The hottest race in formula-1 surely brought some hot results too in 2005 season.
In the starting itself Alonso made a quick start from the grid. Jarno Trulli had some problems in the first corner when both the renault's sandwitched him in between. But, Trulli managed to hold on to his position.

Both the BAR Honda : Davidson and Jenson Button suffered an engine failure on the opening lap of the race with Minardi's Friesacher having an engine failure in the next lap. Dramas for Melbourne race winner Fisichella and Mark Webber ,when they both collided with each other at the last corner of Sepang ,when Fisichella tring to defend his position braked late at the corner resulting in retirement of both the drivers. Nick Heidfeld took full advantage of that with managing a place at podium.

But it was not over yet, Raikkonen in his McLaren had suffered a left rear puncture but he managed to move into the pits and get a replacement done and joined the track way behind the pack. Michael Schumacher from 14th place on the grid managed a reasonable of 7th at the end finishing just ahead of Klien in his Red Bull. Rubens Barrichello retired because of some handling problems in the car. After 10 laps of his first pits stop he came back for another stop as he wasn't happy with the car's handling. After these 2 stops he retired from the race.

Raikkonen had some chance in the end for finishing in points but Klien managed to have 8th at the end.

Scroll down for Results ....

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Mark Webber in happier times (before crashing)

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Alonso claimed a fine victory

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Sunday morning qualifying had almost the same results as saturday's qualifying results. On aggregate timing , Alonso is on pole with Toyota of Trulli making up the first row of the grid. Seven time world champion Michael Schumacher lines up way down the grid with 13th place behind his team mate Rubens Barrichello ( 12th on the grid ) and Montoya (11th on the grid ).

RESULTS QUALIFYING 2 : SEPANG
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1 Fernando Alonso Renault 3:07.672

2 Jarno Trulli Toyota 3:07.925

3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 3:08.448

4 Mark Webber Williams-BMW 3:08.904

5 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 3:09.007

6 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 3:09.483

7 Christian Klien Red Bull Racing 3:09.589

8 David Coulthard Red Bull Racing 3:09.700

9 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 3:09.832

10 Nick Heidfeld Williams-BMW 3:09.917

11 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 3:10.090

12 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 3:11.502

13 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 3:11.633

14 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 3:11.884

15 Anthony Davidson BAR-Honda 3:11.890

16 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-Petronas 3:12.995

17 Narain Karthikeyan Jordan-Toyota 3:17.656

18 Tiago Monteiro Jordan-Toyota 3:17.962

19 Patrick Friesacher Minardi-Cosworth 3:21.186

20 Christijan Albers Minardi-Cosworth 3:23.001

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Renault and Toyota dominate at malaysia with Alonso at pole position. Melbourne winner, Fisichella qualify's with 3rd in first qualifying. Red bull pulling out a surprize with both the cars ahead of Ferrari. Mclaren a good job with 4th and 7th on the grid with Raikkonen ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya.

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello not performing well at Malaysian Grand Prix 2005. Schumacher and Barrichello line up 12th and 14th on the grid.

Ferrari are still with their 2004 updated model. After such disappointing results for Ferrari they have to think again for bringing out their 2005 model soon. Narain Karthikeyan with his Jordon qualify's in 17th place ahead of his team mate by 0.050s.

We still eagerly wait for the race to bring on this Sunday. Stay tuned to this blog for more formula 1 update. For more details log on to f1.com





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RESULT :
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Malaysia: Qualifying 1
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* TOP TEN QUALIFYING 1

* 1 Alonso Renault
* 2 Trulli Toyota
* 3 Fisichella Renault
* 4 Raikkonen McLaren
* 5 R Schumacher Toyota
* 6 Webber Williams
* 7 Montoya McLaren
* 8 Heidfeld Williams
* 9 Button B.A.R
* 10 Klien Red Bull

( Ferrari )
* 12 M Schumacher Ferrari

* 14 Barrichello Ferrari

Pictures Courtesy : UpdateSport.com

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<.-:| TEJAS MEHROTRA |:-.>
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Will he be caught napping again ?

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RACE RESULTS - SEPANG 2004

1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 56 1:31:07.490 1 10

2 Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 56 +5.0 secs 4 8

3 Jenson Button BAR-Honda 56 +11.5 secs 6 6

4 Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 56 +13.6 secs 3 5

5 Jarno Trulli Renault 56 +37.3 secs 8 4

6 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 56 +53.0 secs 9 3

7 Fernando Alonso Renault 56 +67.8 secs 19 2

8 Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 55 +1 Lap 11 1

9 Cristiano da Matta Toyota 55 +1 Lap 10

10 Christian Klien Jaguar-Cosworth 55 +1 Lap 13

11 Giancarlo Fisichella Sauber-Petronas 55 +1 Lap 12

12 Olivier Panis Toyota 55 +1 Lap 14

13 Giorgio Pantano Jordan-Ford 54 +2 Lap 18

14 Gianmaria Bruni Minardi-Cosworth 53 +3 Lap 16

15 Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 52 +4 Lap 20

16 Zsolt Baumgartner Minardi-Cosworth 52 +4 Lap 17

Ret Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 40 Transmission 5

Ret Nick Heidfeld Jordan-Ford 34 Transmission 15

Ret Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 27 Engine 7

Ret Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 23 Spin 2

Fastest Lap: Juan Pablo Montoya 1:34.223

NEXT RACE ON CALENDAR ( 20th March 2005). PETRONAS MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX - SEPANG.

"I was quite conservative, I never pushed the limit."
Michael Schumacher’s hopes of a fifth Melbourne win disappeared on lap 43 when his Ferrari and the Williams-BMW of Nick Heidfeld tangled on the way out of Turn 6.
The race was shortened by one lap to 57 when Kimi Raikkonen’s McLaren-Mercedes was unable to get off the start line, the Finn being pushed away to start from pit lane. Mark Webber put aside the pressures of the build-up to his home-race debut with Williams-BMW to score three fine points for fifth place in an entertaining start to the new-look F1 season.
But the team that really made the headlines was Renault, underlining the promise of pre-season testing with first and third places for Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso respectively.
Popular Italian Fisichella, 32, confirmed his provisional pole in the morning’s second qualifying session and went on to a dominant win - only the second of his 142-race career - from the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello.
"It’s a great day for me," said the 32-year-old Fisichella, "a fantastic race".

While Fisichella raced into the lead from Jarno Trulli's Toyota, Scottish veteran David Coulthard blasted off the grid in his Red Bull Racing RB1 to go third with Webber on his coat-tails.
While Webber was able to hang on for the first half of the race, the Williams lacked the front-runners’ outright pace and the Australian did well to claim his eventual fifth.
Juan Pablo Montoya was sixth in his McLaren debut, Raikkonen recovering superbly to come home eighth behind the other RBR of Christian Klien.
Christijan Albers in the Minardi was the only driver to retire, with the 17 cars classified the highest number since the Grand Prix came to Melbourne.

Courtesy : GrandPrix.com.au

Kimi Raikkonen.Australian Qualifying Session 1 . Although most of the drivers were struggling on wet track , Raikkonen managed 10th place on the grid. Our Indian hero , Narain managed 9th place ahead of Raikkonen . Michael Schumacher was on the 2nd last row of the grid.

01Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1'33.171
02Jarno Trulli Toyota +2.099
03Mark Webber Williams +3.546
04Jacques Villeneuve Sauber +3.813
05Christian Klien Red Bull Racing +4.315
06David Coulthard Red Bull Racing +5.149
07Nick Heidfeld Williams +6.546
08Jenson Button BAR +8.341
09Narain Karthikeyan Jordan +11.186
10Kimi Raikkonen McLaren +11.826
11Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren +12.154
12Rubens Barrichello Ferrari+12.310
13Tiago Monteiro Jordan+13.675
14Fernando Alonso Renault +14.537
15Christijan Albers Minardi+16.059
16Patrick Friesacher Minardi+17.693
17Ralf Schumacher Toyota +18.324
18Michael Schumacher Ferrari+24.760
19Takuma Sato BAR-
20Felipe Massa Sauber-

The circuit was wet

McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa proved to be the fastest man in Friday practices for the Australian Grand Prix, as the team's third driver set a best time of 1:25.376 in the second session. The Spaniard was half a second faster than Red Bull's Vitanonio Liuzzi was in the morning. De la Rosa was followed in the afternoon by teammate Kimi Raikkonen and the Williams of Nick Heidfeld in second and third respectively.
Raikkonen, who did not set a time in the first session, was quickly out for the installation laps and it was Jordan third driver Robert Doornbos first on the time sheet. De la Rosa quickly took over, 1:29.589, and Toyota No.3 Ricardo Zonta slotted into third. Ralf Schumacher put his Toyota second but was immediately eclipsed by Zonta again.
David Coulthard was next to the top, 1:28.867 for the Red Bull and the team's third driver Liuzzi followed into second, with teammate Christian Klien in fifth. The pair of Jordan race drivers, Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan were eighth and ninth, while Ralf posted quickest with a 1:28.850. Raikkonen rounded off the top ten in the first ten minutes.
McLaren's Pedro de la Rosa proved to be the fastest man in Friday practices for the Australian Grand Prix, as the team's third driver set a best time of 1:25.376 in the second session. The Spaniard was half a second faster than Red Bull's Vitanonio Liuzzi was in the morning. De la Rosa was followed in the afternoon by teammate Kimi Raikkonen and the Williams of Nick Heidfeld in second and third respectively.
Raikkonen, who did not set a time in the first session, was quickly out for the installation laps and it was Jordan third driver Robert Doornbos first on the time sheet. De la Rosa quickly took over, 1:29.589, and Toyota No.3 Ricardo Zonta slotted into third. Ralf Schumacher put his Toyota second but was immediately eclipsed by Zonta again.
David Coulthard was next to the top, 1:28.867 for the Red Bull and the team's third driver Liuzzi followed into second, with teammate Christian Klien in fifth. The pair of Jordan race drivers, Tiago Monteiro and Narain Karthikeyan were eighth and ninth, while Ralf posted quickest with a 1:28.850. Raikkonen rounded off the top ten in the first ten minutes.
Sauber had mixed fortunes; Massa was notably on the pace of the top six but Villeneuve was up and down the times rather raggedly. Toyota was also a bit sporadic and the Jordans, unsurprisingly, were the backmarkers. So far it looks to be developing into an interesting weekend in Melbourne. Final top eight classification: De la Rosa, Raikkonen, Heidfeld, M. Schumacher, Montoya, Massa, Alonso, Button.

Courtsey : Motorsport.com

Will Schumi get his hands on these (again) ???

Formula 1 cars parading in Melbourne

The following details what to look out for at the first race in Melbourne on March 6:

ENGINES
Engines must now last for two races, rather than just one, with any unscheduled change resulting in a 10-place penalty on the starting grid. That will put a premium on reliability.

"Every second grand prix is going to be tough, particularly Malaysia where we'll all be stepping into the unknown," says Williams' Australian driver Mark Webber.

The change is aimed at cutting costs and improving safety through reduced speeds. A two-race engine should be less powerful than one designed for half the distance.

QUALIFYING

Qualifying will be held over two days, with the final session on Sunday morning. The Sunday and Saturday times will be aggregated.

This will mean more action for the crowd at the circuit on Sunday but the starting grid and pole position will not be decided until shortly before the race.

AERODYNAMICS

Front wings have been lifted by 50mm, to reduce downforce, while the rear wings have been brought forward 150mm relative to the centre line between the rear wheels.

The diffuser at the rear becomes shallower, at around 40 percent the height of 2004 levels.

The changes, intended to cut downforce by about 25 percent to slow cars on safety grounds, should make cars 'twitchier' to drive and more spectacular to watch with less grip.

"The focus in the factory has been to recover that downforce and obviously it won't be until the early races of the season that we'll see how well each team has done," said Williams' co-owner Patrick Head.

Testing has seen teams experiment with innovative aerodynamic parts, notably McLaren with a horn-like wing on the engine cover.

TYRES

Tyres must last for qualifying and the race. The reason being that harder, and therefore more durable, tyres will reduce cornering speeds.

This means that pit stops will look very different, with fewer mechanics involved as cars take on fuel without tyre changes, and will be less frequent.

Tyres can be replaced in the event of a puncture or damage caused by debris, but not at a refuelling stop.

Drivers would previously have changed tyres two or three times during a race, after around 70 to 100 km, in carefully orchestrated pitstops.

They must now last around 350km.

All drivers will be allowed three sets of the same specification tyres for Saturday and Sunday. One will be used for Saturday practice, another for qualifying and the race while the third set is held back in case of a puncture.

"The driver who can look after his tyres best, and has the feel for how to maximise tyre performance over a full race distance, will undoubtedly gain a performance advantage," says Renault's engineering head Pat Symonds. "I think we will see a change in the rhythm of races this year."

Australian Mark Webber has all but abandoned hope of winning his home Grand Prix in Melbourne this year.

Williams have already admitted they do not expect to be competitive straight away after problems in testing. And Webber said: "We will be a force in the future. I think the first few races will be a little bit tough for us, we are not hiding away from that."

courtsey : BBC WORLD

Narain Karthikeyan cannot have the colours he wants on his helmet, but it’s not the sponsors or the team forcing this upon him, but the government of India! The 28-year old who is India’s first Formula One driver, is gearing up for his debut in Melbourne on March 6th, was a victim of a law brought into custom in 2002 by the Indian Government.

On January 26th, 2002, the flag code of India was changed, allowing citizens to fly their flags with pride on any day, at any time. Yet, it was also decreed that the flag and/or tricolours couldn’t “be used for communal gains, drapery, and clothing”. This was also the case for the Indian Cricket team who were also forced to change their colours of their uniforms as they came in direct conflict with the new laws.

During testing, Narain had worn a helmet proudly showing the tricolours of his native country, and is now under pressure to change it. He reluctantly agreed to change his design stating, "(It's) the government's loss. We're only doing the country proud. I can probably sell that helmet space to sponsors and make a lot of money, so it's their loss."

Well apparently not anymore. His most feared opponent is now none other than Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello. Some say Rubens is the best number two driver you could ever wish for, some would say he will do anything for Ferrari, and some generally believe he drives to win.

Will Rubens be free from his Ferrari restraints in 2005, free to battle with Michael beyond the first pit stops; could we even see a battle to the flag? But the question will still be at the back of most Formula One fans, was that staged? Or was a genuine fight on display? We all sense Michael has control of the reigns at Ferrari and Rubens has played second fiddle, but we might just be left wondering whether Rubens can win this years title.

But as far as publicity goes, wouldn’t it be better for Schumacher to bow out defeated by his own team-mate rather than a McLaren or a BAR, as far as Ferrari are concerned. However for Rubens to win the title, it just might take another fractured leg to Schumacher, or a few retirements from the Champion for the Brazilian to have a chance.

For the time being, Raikkonen, Montoya, Webber, Heidfeld, Alonso, Button, aren’t Schumacher’s biggest threat, “But for me, my most feared rival is him,” said Schumacher, pointing at Barrichello sitting next to him.

Look out Michael! Rubens could be coming for you.

Courtesy - Dailyf1news

(pic. michael schumacher in brazil) FORMULA 1 SEASON IS ABT 2 START THIS SATURDAY IN AUSTRALIA .