2005 Bahrain GP: Alonso wins in the heat, Schumacher retires

At the 2005 Bahrain GP at the Bahrain International Circuit, Fernando Alonso won from pole position in his Renault. Apart from two brief laps during his pit stops, he led throughout. Jarno Trulli finished second for Toyota, with Kimi Räikkönen third for McLaren after climbing from ninth on the grid.

The race was effectively decided as early as lap twelve. That was when Michael Schumacher, who had started second, retired with a hydraulic failure in the new Ferrari. After that, nobody had the pace to challenge Alonso.

The race was run in extreme heat. The air temperature was around 42 degrees, the track surface some 55 to 56 degrees. Contemporary reports called it the hottest race in Formula 1 history. A sombre mood also hung over the weekend: Pope John Paul II had died the day before, so Ferrari ran with black noses. Out of respect, Trulli did not celebrate on the podium.

Christian Klien was out before the start. His Red Bull, due to start seventh, stopped on the formation lap, officially with an electrical problem. At the start, Alonso was first into Turn One. Trulli tried to go round the outside of Schumacher but had to back off as the track narrowed. After that, the three ran nose to tail.

On lap twelve, Schumacher outbraked himself into Turn Nine and spun. He then trundled back to the pits. The hydraulics had failed, so he could no longer shift down. For the world champion it was his first technical retirement since the 2001 German GP, with 58 Grands Prix without a failure in between. Trulli moved up to second, Mark Webber to third.

The first round of stops showed how close Trulli was to the lead. On lap 21, and again after Alonso's second stop on lap 42, he led for a single lap. According to grandprix.com, Toyota kept him out only one lap longer than Renault. With two more laps, Trulli would probably have taken the lead. Later the Toyota faded as its tyres degraded. Trulli himself said he had hoped to catch Alonso but lacked the pace to threaten him.

From then on, Alonso brought the win home unchallenged. According to Wikipedia, he finished 13.4 seconds ahead of Trulli. It was the third Grand Prix win of Alonso's career.

There was plenty of fighting behind the two leaders. Räikkönen was stuck in traffic early on, but after the first stops he was fourth behind Mark Webber in the Williams. On lap 34 he put the Australian under so much pressure that Webber spun at high speed. Webber: “I was driving on the absolute limit.” (grandprix.com). With flat spots on his tyres, he lost places to Räikkönen and Ralf Schumacher, and with them his shot at the podium. Ralf, who had started sixth, had already got past Nick Heidfeld early on when Heidfeld was carried wide at Turn Eight.

Pedro de la Rosa also drove strongly. It was his first race for McLaren, standing in for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya. After a messy opening lap he dropped to tenth and spent the whole first stint stuck behind Takuma Sato. He then passed Jenson Button on lap 33 and Rubens Barrichello on lap 41. On lap 43 he set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:31.447 (time and lap according to Wikipedia). In the closing laps he also picked off Webber to take fifth place.

Eight drivers did not make it to the finish normally. The heat and mechanical problems took a heavy toll on the field.

• Christian Klien (Red Bull): did not start, electrics.
• Narain Karthikeyan (Jordan): electrics, after 2 laps.
• Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault): engine, after 4 laps. The Renault was already smoking on the second lap.
• Michael Schumacher (Ferrari): hydraulics, after 12 laps.
• Nick Heidfeld (Williams): engine, after 25 laps. The BMW engine blew up.
• Takuma Sato (BAR): brakes, after 27 laps. The front brakes were smoking, then he spun.
• Jenson Button (BAR): clutch, after 46 laps. He had earlier stalled the engine at his pit stop. That meant both BARs retired for the second race in a row.
• Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber): suspension, after 54 laps. He was still classified eleventh.

Winners: Barrichello gained the most places. Because of an engine change he started last from 20th, and he was already in the top ten after the first lap. Towards the end, though, his tyres faded. Alonso lapped him, and David Coulthard passed him shortly before the finish. That left Barrichello with eleven places gained, but only ninth and no points. Räikkönen and Coulthard each gained six places. Felipe Massa went from twelfth on the grid to seventh, scoring two points in Sauber's 200th Grand Prix. Toyota were also among the winners: with second and fourth place, the team took its second consecutive podium after Trulli had already finished second at the Malaysian GP.

Losers: Ferrari. The new F2005 retired on its race debut with Michael Schumacher, and Barrichello failed to score. That left the Scuderia without points for the first time since the 2003 Brazilian GP. It was also a bitter race for Heidfeld, who retired from fourth on the grid with an engine failure, and for Fisichella, who missed out on a full haul of points for Renault.

In the 2005 drivers' championship, Alonso led with 26 points after three races, ahead of Trulli on 16 and Fisichella on 10. Ralf Schumacher and Coulthard had 9 points each, Barrichello and Montoya 8 apiece. After the third race, Michael Schumacher was no longer in the top ten. In the constructors' standings, Renault led with 36 points ahead of Toyota on 25 and McLaren on 19. Ferrari were only sixth with 10 points.

Renault thus won a third consecutive race this season. For Renault as an engine manufacturer, it was also the 100th Grand Prix win in the World Championship. After the false start with the new car, Ferrari were under pressure to respond. Following their second podium, Toyota spoke openly about now going for their first win.