| Malaysian Grand Prix News: |
| After dominating for the second successive race weekend, Fernando Alonso believes Renault is the team to beat this year.
The Spaniard bagged his second Malaysian pole position on Sunday morning and followed it up with a comprehensive win in the afternoons 56-lap race. The ten points he earned means Alonso now leads the Drivers standings ahead of his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, while Renault hold a 14-point advantage in the Constructors battle over second-placed Toyota. "I wasn't pushing really hard at any part of the race," the victorious Renault driver said of his Malaysian GP. "The car was really easy to drive throughout the race. The last fifteen or twenty laps were very lonely and since its the second race for the car and engine and you're a bit worried, but I think we showed Renault is the team to beat." However, Renault will have to stave off a charging McLaren outfit, who lost out on a double points-finish when Kimi Raikkonens rear-right Michelin tyre blew. His team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya, though, managed to salvage five points with his fourth-placed finish. |
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| Yet there can be no disguising Ferrari's problems at present. After an afternoon in which he suffered the indignity of being out-paced by the Red Bulls, Rubens Barrichello retired after complaining that he was struggling for grip, with Technical Director Ross Brawn accepting there was no possibility of the Brazilian finishing in the points.
While the team are pinning their hopes on the introduction of their 2005 charger, there are ever-loudening whispers in the paddock that Ferrari's problem lies not with their charger but their tyres. The only leading team to run Bridgestone rubber, Ferrari have apparently been put at a distinct disadvantage to their Michelin-shod rivals. The result is that Renault can - currently - boast of a 2005 dominance which matches that of Ferrari's in 2004. |