5.8.06

Well, it's been so long since I covered a GP (Canada) that I hardly know where to start! The biggest news for Ferrari fans of course is the Scuderia's return to form. Schuey came a lucky second in Canada, they then took a comfortable one-two at Indianapolis, which was great but not too big a surprise, but more significant was Alonso's sudden loss of form.

USGP Reporter Tony Cotton said "(Indianapolis) may just have been the venue for the turning point of the season" and it looks like he may be right! At the next race Schuey cruised to his eighth French GP win from pole. Massa was second for much of the race but lost out to Alonso at the final pit-stop.

If France was good then Germany was fantastic, the Scuderia were simply dominant (when it really mattered) all weekend. McLaren had gained a hollow "PR pole" for Raikkonen at sponsor Mercedes' home GP, but once that nonsense was over the Fazzas just disappeared up the road to take another one-two. What was even more encouraging was that fifth was the best Alonso could manage.

So what has caused the reversals in Ferrari's and Renault's fortunes? Much of it is clearly down to tyres. Bridgestone's performance in the USA was no surprise but there has clearly been some sort of a breakthrough. The best "other" team on Bridgestones has been Toyota. In France they qualified fourth and fifth and Ralf was fourth in the race. However in Germany they qualified seventh and eighth and Trulli finished seventh in the race. Ralf's ninth did not reflect his true form as he was penalised with a drive-through. Also on Bridgestones, Webber looked set to take fifth until his Cossie blew.

This does suggest a breakthrough by Bridgestone as these are good results for Toyota with their poor but expensive car - the same could also be said of their drivers.

Then there's the mass damper saga. From what I've been able to work out these are large masses (9kg) waving around on springs, mostly in the nosebox of the car. They damp down the low frequency vibrations (bouncing up and down) generated by the tyres when the car goes over a kerb. They do this by following Newton's Third Law: "To every action there is always an opposed and equal reaction". There are obviously various mechanical gubbins involved to keep the ride height of the car constant and this is a good thing mostly for aerodynamic reasons.

Anyway it seems that Renault have had these for ages and there hasn't been a problem with officialdom. It's now been decided that these are movable aerodynamic devices because they affect the aerodynamics of the car and are not firmly fixed to it's sprung structure - and therefore illegal. The conspiracy theorists believe that this is a political decision to trip Renault up and allow the others to catch up, but I believe that the FIA decided, as more and more teams got them, that this was one particular avenue of development they wished to close off before it got really silly - a bit like fan cars I guess.

So, over 500 words already and not even got onto the driver situation! The biggest, no, the most sensational news, is that Montoya is abandoning F1 for....NASCAR! It was becoming clearer that there would be no place for him at McLaren, or anywhere in F1 next season, so he jumped before he was pushed and did so big-style! You could sense the frisson of horror that ran round the smug world of F1, that someone could leave this sophisticated, glamorous and uber-cool lifestyle to spend three hours turning left to amuse a bunch of Rednecks! It's not a view I share and actually wish him well.

I followed Montoya's early career with interest. I was impressed by his speed, aggression and confidence and the fact that he was so different to the stream of successful but dreary clones generated by Paul Stewart Racing. Unlike most of them, he seemed robust enough to survive outside the PSR comfort zone. At one time I even hoped that he would join Ferrari. My prediction has been largely correct, Montoya is not a lost F1 talent, he was fast and robust enough but not, I fear, bright enough to become World Champion. The fact that we have never had an ex-PSR Champion, nor ever seem likely to, bears out the second half of my theory.

The Grey Empire have, of course, already signed Alonso for next year. When I last wrote that must have seemed an unhappy prospect for him, but he may now regard it with more enthusiasm following Renault's recent loss of form. It seems clear that Raikkonen will go to Renault or Ferrari. McLaren are spoiled for choice for the second seat, they have the safe pair of hands of Pedro de la Rosa (already subbing for Montoya, who's been "disappeared" ) , or could be brave and take a punt on either of their contracted young talents Gary Paffett and Lewis Hamilton. Not a bad position to be in.

Earlier in the week, we learned that Mark Webber has been released by Williams as "his heart is no longer with the team". Speculation is that the Flav-managed Aussie is hoping to get the second seat in the Flav-managed Renault team. Fisichella is already signed as their safe(ish) pair of hands next year though another Young Gun, Heikki Kovalainen will probably get the other ride. Webber has also been linked with the second McLaren seat though it now seems most likely that he will end up at Red Bull. Given their "Yo Dudes" extreme sports yoof image, and their home-grown talent scheme, it'll be a bit odd that if Webber does partner Coulthud, they'll end up with a couple of, ahem, "more mature" drivers.

We are unlikely to be seeing Jacques Villeneuve next year, or probably not even any more this year, following the news that he has been replaced by Sauber-BMW test driver Robert Kubica for Hungary following an accident in Germany. For me he is no loss, don't rate him, never have, think he had a lucky break, yet it's ironical that he's done better this year than for ages.

This leads us ultimately to the most important driver issue. What will Schuey do next year? Raikkonen seems set to become a Scuderia Ferrari F1 pilota so we could hope to see him and Schuey as the strongest driver pairing since Prost and Senna. But could Michael bear to be beaten by him in his own team or watch as that team inevitably re-focuses on Raikkonen as its future? Strongest hint yet that Schuey will retire at the end of this season is the rumour (denied) that Ross will take a sabbatical next year. If these two colossuses of the F1 world are to be absent from the pit-lane next year what better way for them to leave than as champions, which now seems distinctly possible.

Finally, thanks to all of you who enquired after my health and well-being during my absence from this site. I made an error of judgment, similar in scale to my prediction that Honda would win the Constructors' title this year. I'd noticed all the St. George's flags flying on cars and thought they were in support of Jenson Button. So I thought I'd emulate them and show my support for Schuey and Ferrari by flying German and Italian flags. A bunch of shaven-headed Button (or so I thought) fans took exception to this and I've been recuperating ever since.

I later found out that neither the St. George's flags nor the fans were anything to do with JB, but were in fact connected with a football tournament called the World Cup. I regard footie as complete nonsense but it was still some small consolation when I learned that Italy had won. Let us hope it's a favourable augury for F1.

Forza Ferrari!