MANAMA, 4 April 2005 — Spaniard Fernando Alonso, driving in a dominating way at Bahrain’s Sakhir circuit, stamped his and Renault’s authority on the Formula One world championship after just three races when he cruised to victory in yesterday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Alonso, who started from pole position in the hottest race in Formula One history, led from the start but faced stiff competition from defending champion Michael Schumacher, in his new Ferrari, before claiming his third career win.
Seven times champion Schumacher was forced to retire with a hydraulics failure on his new Ferrari F2005 but remained defiant he could recover from the Italian team’s worst start to a season since he joined the team in 1996.
Italian Jarno Trulli, driving for Panasonic Toyota racing team, took full advantage of the champion’s first mechanical failure for three-and-a-half years to claim another second place for the much-improved Toyota team ahead of Finn Kimi Raikkonen, who had to pass the heavy traffic and came home third for McLaren.
Trulli proved that his renowned qualifying expertise is backed up by strong and committed race drivers as he powered his way to second successive podium finish.
“I’m so pleased with the result. After Malaysia, we become more competitive and claiming second consecutive podium proved worth, said the jubilant Trulli.
Raikkonen, who finished third, said: “I am pleased by finishing third after two difficult qualifying sessions. The car felt really good during the race, but unfortunately I stuck behind a lot of traffic early on. I managed to gain a few places, but once I was in third position the front two cars were too far ahead for me to catch.”
He added that in “agreement with the team we decided to conserve the engine for Imola.” The race was run in air temperatures of 42 degrees Celsius and track temperatures of up to 55 degrees, conditions, which were tough for both men and machines.
“It was hotter than it was in Malaysia and felt it,” said the triumphant Alonso afterward.
“But I knew my car was perfect and we would be strong in the final part of the race on the long run after the pitstops. Michael put me under pressure in the early part of the race but I wasn’t worried.
“I knew that even if he overtook me I could regain the lead later on and win the race. At every stage I felt confident and it is fantastic to win here. To be on top of the championship is, for me, a dream coming true.” At the wheel of R25, the Spaniard scored the team’s third victory of the season. It was also a historic moment in Renault’s sporting history as it marked the 100th win for a Renault engine in Formula One circle. “The R25 was perfect today, and the team had been fantastic the whole week, with no mistakes. Scoring 26 points out of 30 is fantastic, but we need to stay cautious, we have won three races out of 19 in the season. However, I think that if we stay competitive like in Bahrain, and if we can avoid mechanical problems, then we will be hard to beat,” said Trulli.
Alonso dominated the race as he eased to victory. German Ralf Schumacher finished fourth in the second Toyota and another Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa matched his best ever finish with fifth for McLaren after filling in for the injured Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya.
Australian Mark Webber finished sixth for Williams, Brazilian Felipe Massa finished seventh for Sauber and Scot David Coulthard bumped Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello out of the points in the dying laps to claim eighth.Indian Narain Karthikeyan retired his Jordan early then Fisichella’s Renault engine let out a puff of smoke on lap three.“It is really a pity that I had to retire in the race as I made a good start and overtook few cars in the process. I was keeping up the pace but suddenly the car just stopped on the track because of an electrical problem on lap 3 that brought a premature end to my race, said a gloom Karthikeyan.
— Additional input from agencies
