97th, Imola Showdown: How Alonso Secured Victory Amidst Schumacher's Fierce Pursuit
It was staring us in the face, yet we couldn’t quite believe our eyes: such had been the lulling effect of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari’s five consecutive seasons of supremacy.
2005 San Marino GP
April 24, Imola
Although Renault and Michelin had won the first three races of the year – one victory for the patchy Giancarlo Fisichella and two for Fernando Alonso – it was unthinkable that the seven-time world champion and Bridgestone, for so long his ace card, would not soon get to grips with the new regulation banning tyre swaps during races.
And, yep, here he came, right on cue, looming threateningly in leader Alonso’s mirrors after a charging drive – from a disappointing 13th on the grid – that included 20 maddening laps spent as the lead carriage in Toyota’s ‘Trulli train’.
The young Spaniard, who had assumed the lead when Kimi Räikkönen’s pole-sitting McLaren broke a driveshaft after nine runaway laps, was acutely aware of the connotations of this challenge: crumble like so many had, or resist like only ‘the few’ could. He calmly but resolutely fended off the jinking German for the last 12 laps and crossed the finish line two-tenths ahead.
That blink of an eye was an age for Schumacher. Not even he could hold back time – though he had come closer than most to achieving it. A new generation had arrived. He knew it. Alonso, confirmed as being of (patch-free) world champion material, knew it. (So, too, did Räikkönen – he just didn’t say.) The silenced tifosi knew it. And now, finally, we knew it. PF
1st Fernando Alonso (Renault)
2nd Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
3rd Alex Wurz (McLaren-Mercedes)
Winner’s time & speed 1hr 27min 41.921sec, 130.011mph
Pole position Kimi Räikkönen (McLaren-Mercedes), 2min 42.880sec, 135.486mph