Results from the 2005 French Grand Prix
After the farce at Indianapolis, F1 fans the world over were pleased to see all teams on the starting grid at Magny Cours. No serious penalties were handed down following the FIA disciplinary hearing on Wednesday June the 29th, so it was back to business as Renault and Mercedes-McLaren continued to battle for supremacy, with Ferrari now also back in contention.
After a two-race drought of victories Fernando Alonso once again stamped his authority on the 2005 Driver's Championship with a consummate drive that saw him lead from start to finish. Michael Schumacher, who started behind him, third on the grid, had to settle for third on the podium. But the best drive of the day was arguably from Kimi Raikonnen who had to fight his way up the field into second place after dropping 10 places on the grid to 13th following an engine change penalty.
Some shrewd pit stop tactics from the Mercedes-McLaren team ensured that Raikonnen finished well and remains the biggest challenger to Alonso, 24 points behind with a total of 45. Michael Schumacher lurks ominously on 40 points. Jenson Button posted his best result so far in an otherwise miserable season for him, placing fourth and Jarno Trulli, who's Toyota team continue to impress this season, managed fifth despite starting on the front row.
Giancarlo Fisichella finished sixth for Renault after losing a position when he stalled his car on a pit stop, with Ralf Schumacher in 7th for Toyota and Jacques Villenueve picking up the last point for Sauber.
There were no dramas, pile ups or high speed crashes at the French GP this year and only a handful did not finish, with the only high profile casualty being Juan Pablo Montoya who retired with transmission problems on lap 46 while running fourth. Interestingly only the top three finished on the same lap, indicating the blistering pace of the leaders in comparison to the rest of the field.
Full race result from France (2005)
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1hr 31mins 22.232secs
- Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren + 11.8secs
- Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari +81.9secs
- Jenson Button (Gbr) BAR 1 lap
- Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1 lap
- Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 1 lap
- Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 1 lap
- Jacques Villeneuve (Can) Sauber 1 lap
- Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Ferrari 1 lap
- David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 1 lap
- Takuma Sato (Jpn) BAR 1 lap
- Mark Webber (Aus) Williams 2 laps
- Tiago Monteiro (Por) Jordan 3 laps
- Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Williams 4 laps
- Narain Karthikeyan (Ind) Jordan 4 laps