2005 San Marino GP: Alonso holds off Schumacher at Imola

At the 2005 San Marino GP, Fernando Alonso took his third consecutive win of the season for Renault. He crossed the line just 0.215 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari. The race was decided over the final twelve laps: Schumacher attacked again and again, but Alonso fended off every move. The podium was completed by Alexander Wurz in the McLaren. However, he only moved up to third after both BAR cars were later disqualified.

Kimi Räikkönen started from pole position and kept the lead at the start ahead of Alonso, who lined up in grid position 2. According to Motorsport.com, the Finn even had fuel for a few more laps on board than the Renault driver. After 9 laps, however, his race was over because of a broken driveshaft. Alonso led from lap 9, and Räikkönen lost 15 places and dropped to 16th in the classification.

Not everything went Renault's way, though. Giancarlo Fisichella had started from grid position 12 and crashed out after 5 laps. More drivers retired after that:

• Patrick Friesacher (Minardi): clutch failure after 8 laps
• Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari): electrical fault after 18 laps
• Christijan Albers (Minardi): hydraulic problem after 20 laps

In qualifying, which in 2005 still consisted of two sessions with the times added together, Schumacher made a mistake and slid off the track. As a result, he started only 13th. In the first part of the race he was stuck in a queue behind the Toyota of Jarno Trulli. When Trulli pitted, Schumacher had a clear track and lapped at qualifying pace. He then worked his way further forward through the pit stops.

According to Motorsport.com, Alonso refuelled on laps 23 and 42. After each of those stops, Jenson Button briefly took the lead in the BAR, from lap 24 and from lap 43. On lap 47 Schumacher got past Button and took the lead himself. After his final stop he rejoined behind Alonso, and from lap 50 the Spaniard was back in front. According to Motorsport Magazine, Schumacher closed a gap of around 20 seconds in just 13 laps during his chase. He also set the fastest lap of the race (1:21.858 on lap 48).

For twelve laps the reigning world champion sat right behind the championship leader. Schumacher's attempts included moves at Acque Minerali and a late lunge into the Tosa hairpin shortly before the end. Alonso made clever use of his Renault's traction out of the slow corners and left no gap. Renault strategist Pat Symonds called his driver “an exceptionally difficult driver to pass” (Motorsport Magazine).

Alonso was even doing this with a handicap. After the Bahrain GP, Renault had found signs of knocking on a piston in his engine. On the dyno, the team simulated a full Imola race with a similarly damaged engine. The engine survived the test, but in the race it could only be run with more conservative settings. Symonds said: “We had to set lower limits, and we couldn't change them.” (Motorsport.com)

On the road, Button had finished third and his team-mate Takuma Sato fifth. Without fuel, Button's car was 4.99 kilograms under the minimum weight. Behind a partition in the chassis, the scrutineers found an additional fuel chamber. The stewards initially let the result stand, but the FIA appealed. The verdict only came later: the International Court of Appeal heard the case on 4 May 2005 and on 5 May excluded both BAR cars from the classification, Sato's included, even though his car had not been underweight. It also banned the team from the next two races, the Spanish GP and the Monaco GP. The court did not find that deliberate cheating had been proven.

Wurz was the main beneficiary. Standing in for Juan Pablo Montoya, who had injured his shoulder, he was contesting his first race since the 2000 Malaysian GP. In the end he was classified third. Behind him came Jacques Villeneuve in the Sauber in fourth, Trulli in fifth, Nick Heidfeld in sixth and Mark Webber in seventh, both for Williams. The final point went to Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Red Bull on his Grand Prix debut.

Ralf Schumacher came away empty-handed. Toyota had released him from a pit stop directly in front of Heidfeld, and he received a 25-second time penalty for it. He finished ninth.

Winners:

• Michael Schumacher gained eleven places from grid position 13 to 2nd, more than anyone else, and set the fastest lap.
• Felipe Massa started 18th and finished tenth, eight places higher.
• Villeneuve and Liuzzi each gained seven places, which earned points for Sauber and Red Bull.
• Alonso won for the third time in a row despite having to nurse his engine.

Losers:

• Räikkönen's failure cost him a possible win from pole position.
• Fisichella retired early, which left Renault with only one car in the classification.
• BAR were later stripped of all their Imola points and banned for two races.
• Webber started fourth but finished only seventh, three places lower.

In the 2005 standings after the final classification, Alonso led clearly with 36 points, ahead of Trulli on 20 points. Fisichella and Michael Schumacher had 10 points each, which meant Schumacher had jumped ten places to 4th. In the constructors' standings, Renault led with 46 points ahead of Toyota (29) and McLaren (25). Ferrari and Williams followed with 18 points each.

At the time, the race sent a strong signal. Ferrari had dominated the previous years, and at Imola they were right back at the front with Schumacher. Even so, the young Alonso had beaten the record-breaking world champion in a direct duel at Imola, and in front of his own tifosi.