Massa won't be any help to MS. Whatever the gap over one lap in qualifying was... MS will DOUBLE that as an average lap time in the race.... ie, if MS was 0.5s faster than his teammate in qual.... he'll be about 0.8 to 1.0s per lap faster on average in the race...... Even when MS is slower in qual... he usually averages a better race lap time. Pleasingly, MS seems so much faster here... I reckon he'll simply control the race at his leisure... subject to reliability and safety cars and rain of course... The guy is awesome....
One can hope that Massa will be the defensive blocker for the second row but then with the Renault starts, Fisi might try to split the front row and push Massa out at the first turn. F1 starts are much like football play diagrams - you can pretty much figure out the plays ahead of time. Guess we will know in several hours. Having just read a very interesting interview with Flavio and his thinking that all the talk about the engine freeze needs to come to a halt and it's time to get on with "entertainment" in F1 - I wouldn't put anything pass Renault. Carol
I wonder if Alonso will actually finish this race. He's never completed the US Grand Prix, after 4 attempts. Last year was a no show, and the year before one of his rear tyres blew up under braking for turn 1.
They said the same during Cananda. The Renault is too reliable. I think MS will win and Massa will be passed by Alonso for 2nd with 2 laps left because of Massa's mistake (i.e. Kimi and Michael last weekend).
The only way Ferrari can beat Renault is if the TEAM makes Michael's car faster than Alonso's. You already have the best F1 driver ever (MS) piloting the Ferrari, but the Renaults had a huge advantage at the beginning of the season and even Michael can't move mountains. This weekend is a clear show of strength and determination from Ferrari, and what better place to turn the tide than at the USGP? I hope this trend continues. I want to see the WDC (which Alonso is CONSTANTLY talking about) ripped from his hands. It does irritate me to hear Alonso always adding that he wants to be sure to sieze the title while Michael is still racing, a way to further glorify himself. I hope he is denied this year, and I definitely think he will be denied next year at McLaren. It would be nice to see Kimi take the WDC next year. As for this year, I'd like to see MS pull it off one more time.
Even if Michael wins the these last 9 race and Alonso finished 2nd in those, FA will still win the DC. Sounds strange, right?
They have the same tires: The Ferrari driver was asked by reporters if he thought rival supplier Michelin had prepared its product for the United States GP conservatively in order to guarantee an avoidance of the same saga. "I cannot judge that," Schumacher said. "I only know that our tyre is the same as the one we had in Canada." Renault's Fernando Alonso, fifth on the Indianapolis grid and a clear second and a half slower than the Bridgestone pace, dominated the Montreal event. Moreover, this is only the third time in 2006 that a Michelin-shod car has not snatched pole. Schumacher, with his 67th career qualifying triumph, continued: "Our tyres and our car are completely the same as they were one week ago."
