Fun F1

The 2006 Italian Grand Prix in Monza will go down as one of Michael Schumacher’s most special victories. After winning the race in a convincing fashion, he announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season. We’ll cover this some more later, but first let’s take a look at the race itself..

• Michael Schumacher – Controlled the race. Didn’t really seem to be under threat from Kimi Raikkonen at all. A great job, especially considering how much pressure he would have put on himself to win.
• Kimi Raikkonen – Did a great job for McLaren. Shame the one engine per 2 race rule probably meant he didn’t really want to push toward the end of the race. Plus, he wouldn’t want to upset his future employer would he?
• Fernando Alonso – Turned all his anger at the stewards into a brilliant drive, only to be robbed at the last minute. You have to feel for him. It must feel like the whole world is against him, especially in Italy.
• Robert Kubica – Wow! I wasn’t sure about this guy but now I am! Welcome to F1!!
• Felipe Massa – He’s either on or he’s off. Over the balance of a season, I think Kimi’s going to blow him away next season..
• Italian TV directors – Thank you for showing Felipe Massa with no-one around him when we could have watched Alonso pass Jenson Button

While the race wasn’t quite as exciting as the last 2 in terms of passing, it was just as exciting in terms of championship drama! It really has been a great season of F1 this year, and next year promises to be even better..