2005 Chinese Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:China
Grand Prix:Chinese
Official Name:2005 Formula 1 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix
Date:16 October
Year:2005
Race No:19
Season No:19
Location:Shanghai International Circuit
Shanghai, China
Course:Permanent Racing Facility
Course Mi:3.387
Course Km:5.451
Distance Laps:56
Distance Mi:189.559
Distance Km:305.066
Weather:Sunny
Attendance:270,000 (Weekend)[1]
Pole Driver:Fernando Alonso
Pole Country:Spain
Pole Team:Renault
Pole Time:1.34.080
Fast Driver:Kimi Räikkönen
Fast Country:Finland
Fast Team:McLaren-Mercedes
Fast Time:1.33.242
Fast Lap:56
First Driver:Fernando Alonso
First Country:Spain
First Team:Renault
Second Driver:Kimi Räikkönen
Second Country:Finland
Second Team:McLaren-Mercedes
Third Driver:Ralf Schumacher
Third Country:Germany
Third Team:Toyota

The 2005 Chinese Grand Prix (officially the 2005 Formula 1 Sinopec Chinese Grand Prix) was the nineteenth and final Formula One motor race of the 2005 Formula One season which took place on 16 October 2005 at the Shanghai International Circuit. This was the second Chinese Grand Prix to be held since the event's 2004 inception.

The race was won by the new World Champion, Renault's Fernando Alonso. McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen was four seconds behind in second position, a reflection of their season long duel for the championship. Toyota driver Ralf Schumacher was third. Renault won the Constructors' Championship at this race.

This was the final race for Antônio Pizzonia and the BAR, Minardi and Jordan teams, although all three teams continued into 2006 under different names (Honda, Toro Rosso and Midland respectively). This was also the last win for a car equipped with a 6-speed gearbox and with a V10 engine.

Friday drivers

The bottom 6 teams in the 2004 Constructors' Championship were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.

Constructor No Driver
McLaren-Mercedes35 Pedro de la Rosa
Sauber-Petronas-
Red Bull-Cosworth37 Vitantonio Liuzzi
Toyota38 Ricardo Zonta
Jordan-Toyota39 Nicolas Kiesa
Minardi-Cosworth-

Report

Background

After the Japanese Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso led the drivers' standings with 19 points ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and 61 points ahead of Michael Schumacher. Renault led the constructors' championship by 2 points ahead of McLaren and 76 points ahead of Ferrari.

Qualifying

Alonso took pole ahead of his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. Raikkonen finished third ahead of Jenson Button and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Race

During warmup, as the cars ran from the pits to line up on the grid, a slow-moving Michael Schumacher pulled left into the path of Christijan Albers who was at speed. The cars collided causing considerable damage to each, earning Schumacher a reprimand from the stewards after the race.[2] Both drivers changed to their teams' spare cars and started the race from the pitlane, along with Narain Karthikeyan. Alonso dominated the race, taking a lights-to-flag victory, capping a best-ever season for Renault which included victories in both titles. McLaren's bid for the constructors' championship effectively ended on lap 5, when Montoya's engine failed, ending his race, having also sustained damage from running over a loose drain cover.[3]

Renault's number two driver Giancarlo Fisichella's chances of making the podium ended when he received a drive-through penalty for obstructive driving in the pits during the second safety car period. He ended the race less than a second behind Ralf Schumacher. Red Bull's Christian Klien had a career-best drive to take fifth position with Felipe Massa, Mark Webber and Jenson Button completing the point-scoring finishers. Räikkönen recorded the race's fastest lap, a record-equalling tenth for the season.

Classification

Qualifying

Qualifying took place on October 15.

Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Gap Grid
15 Fernando AlonsoRenault1:34.080 - 1
26 Giancarlo FisichellaRenault1:34.401+0.3212
39 Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren-Mercedes1:34.488+0.4083
43 Jenson ButtonBAR-Honda1:34.801+0.7214
510 Juan Pablo MontoyaMcLaren-Mercedes1:35.188+1.1085
61 Michael SchumacherFerrari1:35.301+1.2216
714 David CoulthardRed Bull-Cosworth1:35.428+1.3487
82 Rubens BarrichelloFerrari1:35.610+1.5348
917 Ralf SchumacherToyota1:35.723+1.6459
107 Mark WebberWilliams-BMW1:35.739+1.65910
1112 Felipe MassaSauber-Petronas1:35.898+1.81811
1216 Jarno TrulliToyota1:36.044+1.96412
138 Antônio PizzoniaWilliams-BMW1:36.445+2.36513
1415 Christian KlienRed Bull-Cosworth1:36.472+2.39214
1519 Narain KarthikeyanJordan-Toyota1:36.707+2.62715
1611 Jacques VilleneuveSauber-Petronas1:36.788+2.70816
174 Takuma SatoBAR-Honda1:37.083+3.00317
1821 Christijan AlbersMinardi-Cosworth1:39.105+5.02518
1918 Tiago MonteiroJordan-Toyota1:39.233+5.15319
2020 Robert DoornbosMinardi-Cosworth1:39.460+5.38020

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
15 Fernando AlonsoRenault561:39:53.618110
29 Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren-Mercedes56+4.01538
317 Ralf SchumacherToyota56+25.37696
46 Giancarlo FisichellaRenault56+26.11425
515 Christian KlienRed Bull-Cosworth56+31.839144
612 Felipe MassaSauber-Petronas56+36.400113
77 Mark WebberWilliams-BMW56+36.842102
83 Jenson ButtonBAR-Honda56+41.24941
914 David CoulthardRed Bull-Cosworth56+44.2477
1011 Jacques VilleneuveSauber-Petronas56+59.97716
1118 Tiago MonteiroJordan-Toyota56+1:24.64819
122 Rubens BarrichelloFerrari56+1:32.8128
138 Antônio PizzoniaWilliams-BMW55Tyre13
1420 Robert DoornbosMinardi-Cosworth55Out of fuel20
1516 Jarno TrulliToyota55+1 lap12
1621 Christijan AlbersMinardi-Cosworth51Wheel nutPL
Ret4 Takuma SatoBAR-Honda34Gearbox17
Ret19 Narain KarthikeyanJordan-Toyota28AccidentPL
Ret10 Juan Pablo MontoyaMcLaren-Mercedes24Engine5
Ret1 Michael SchumacherFerrari22Spun offPL
Notes

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Fernando Alonso*133
2 Kimi Räikkönen112
3 Michael Schumacher62
4 Juan Pablo Montoya60
5 Giancarlo Fisichella58
Source:[4]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 Renault*191
2 McLaren-Mercedes182
3 Ferrari100
4 Toyota88
5 Williams-BMW66
Source:

References

31.3389°N 121.2197°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Shanghai F1: A glass half full or half empty?. usa.chinadaily.com.cn. 11 December 2022.
  2. Web site: Salisbury . Matt . Albers: Schumacher admitted error . Crash . Crash Media Group . 23 July 2020 . 19 October 2005.
  3. Web site: 2005-10-16 . Montoya: Drain broke whole side of car off! . 2022-10-16 . Crash . en.
  4. Web site: China 2005 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 14 March 2019.