Preview - US Grand Prix 2005.

by Ollie Barstow

In some ways it was redemption for what should have been two weeks previous but just as Fernando Alonso lucked into a win at the Nurburgring, Kimi Raikkonen survived the chaos of a highly unpredictable Canadian Grand Prix, taking a vital ten point bite out of the Spaniards healthy championship lead in the process and as the F1 circus skips over the border into the United States, all eyes will be on the invigorated tussle between the Renault and the McLaren driver.

In a race that saw engines expire, brakes terminate and walls dangerously kissed, as well as one rather controversial disqualification, many drivers will be hoping for less drama at the second of the North American double-headers, as they visit the legendary Indianapolis Raceway.

Already gripped by motor racing fever following last months dramatic Indy 500, there may be no woman on the grid to capture the enthusiastic crowds hearts, but the McLaren and Renault tussle will undoubtedly capture their imaginations.

Indeed, Renault will be especially keen to reassert themselves following a disastrous Canadian Grand Prix. The teams second double retirement in as many years, Canada was a serious blot on a so far text-book season for the French outfit and although Renault retain the lead in both championships, the loss of a maximum 18 points will be hard to forget. Nonetheless, the team will be encouraged by the speed that they showed, moving onto the aggressive for the first time in several races, while the Indianapolis circuit should suit the R25's nimble chassis and increasingly potent engine. Alonso will be looking to take advantage of this as he bids to put his uncustomary mistake behind him and claim a fifth victory of the year, or at worst finish ahead of Raikkonen and extend his increasingly slender championship lead.

If Alonso was upset to let victory slip through his grasp in Canada, then team-mate Fisichella was distraught to not complete what he believed was a certain win. Despite some rather fraught pit-to-car radio exchanges between Alonso and Renault about Fisichella's apparent lack of pace, the Italian was steadfast in claiming he had the speed to withstand the Spaniards pressure and claim his second win and only his fourth points finish of the year. Eventually mechanical failure solved a potential team order headache, much to Fisichella's clear dismay after the race. He will be determined to halt his terrible run of luck at Indy, even if the question of driver status within the team cannot be good for the Italian's confidence.

Barely consolable after his Nurburgring failure, Kimi Raikkonen made amends in Canada despite arguably not being the fastest driver on the day. Like Renault though, a controversial team order row could now be brewing following Raikkonen's significant pit stop and Montoya's resultant disqualification, a chain of events that seemingly prevented the Colombian from taking his first win for his new team. Circumstances prevailed though and it was Raikkonen lifting the silverware for his third win of the year, while Montoya was left to imagine what could have been. Interestingly, Indianapolis was the scene of another Montoya exclusion two years ago, but the Colombian is on a happy hunting ground for it was in the United States where he made his name and on this track where that name is forever engraved on the Indy 500 trophy.

Raikkonen's Indianapolis history is less coveted than his team mates, but it is here where the Finn wants to complete his triple aim of winning at Spa, Monaco and Indianapolis. His confidence will be further boosted by McLaren's boast of being far stronger on a track that will suit the MP4-20 better than Montreal. It's an ominous claim for their rivals, especially Renault, and will no doubt be music to the ears of Raikkonen who just twelve months ago was struggling to haul his troublesome McLaren into the points.

Despite looking decidedly out of sorts in Canada, BMW-Williams edged their way past Toyota in the constructors race, by virtue of Webber's fighting fifth place. With the same amount of points on the board, Williams' better results put them marginally ahead of their rivals, although both Heidfeld and Webber will hope to perform better at Indianapolis than they did in Canada, where they could only qualify 13th and 14th and score points courtesy of other failures. Of the two, Heidfeld has the best result in the United States when he managed fourth in 2003 at the wheel of a Sauber and points will be expected, especially after a decent finish was denied by an engine failure. Luckily for him the BMW V10's expiration came in sequence of the engine changing rules, although it will raise a number of eyebrows at Williams in a fortnight that has seen increased finger-pointing among the team and its engine suppliers.

Ironically, finishing ahead of Webber in Canada, albeit marginally, was a Sauber and with the Australian claiming the arguments are harming the teams performance, Indianapolis could well make or break Williams' and BMW's increasingly fragile relationship.

Toyota on the other hand go from strength to strength following their superb start to the year, although they will be keen to halt a damaging run of bad luck that has cheated them out of a number of valuable points recently. Hopes are high though that Toyota can boldly challenge for victory on a track that has seen them perform well in the past, not least last year when Olivier Panis managed their best result of the season in fifth.

Such a claim is not so wild considering the teams recent misfortune including Schumacher's Monaco qualification smash and a costly drive-though penalty for Trulli at the Nurburgring, while a late and dramatic brake disc explosion in Canada lost him a certain third place. The Italian himself will be eager to consolidate his third place in the drivers standings too, particularly with both Ferrari and Williams' drivers breathing down his neck. Still, the star of one-lap qualification is confident of maintaining the breathing space between himself and his rivals at Indy - a track where he battled his way from last to fourth the previous year in a Renault.

Team mate Ralf Schumacher will be making his return to the scene of his massive crash twelve months ago, an accident that sidelined the German from competition for several races. The German will be determined that history does not repeat itself though, particularly as he has endured a number of difficult races recently. Although he managed three points in Canada, his three-stop strategy was restricted by the safety car period, leaving him behind Massa and Webber by the chequered flag. Still, like Trulli, Schumacher is expected to be challenging at the top-end of the grid in a bid to get himself and Toyota back in the championship hunt.

That is a sentiment shared by Ferrari, whose gradual return to prominence culminated in an encouraging double podium in Canada, even if their first win of the year continues to elude the boys and girls from Maranello. Although their result was perhaps more indicative of the mechanical and driver woes of others, Schumacher showed a decent amount of pace towards the end of the race, while Barichello's magnificent drive through the field in Canada gave a warning sign to rivals that Ferrari are nearing the top of the grid again.

Nonetheless wins are expected and while the Canadian points haul was impressive, fifth is not where Ferrari want nor expect to be as they near the middle of the season. Schumacher in particular is wary of his Ferrari's raw pace but despite not getting the win they had hoped prior to the Grand Prix, hopes remain high for another decent result at Indianapolis, not least because Ferrari have dominated in all but one of the years since the United States Grand Prix returned in 2000. With Toyota and Williams rapidly in striking distance in the manufacturers standings, both drivers will have an added incentive to perform.

Following a difficult qualification result, Red Bull Racing were not expecting themselves to come away from Canada brandishing a hard fought three points. A sheer indicator of the impressive race pace and reliability of the distinctively liveried machine, oversteer may have blighted both Coulthard and Klein throughout the race, but seventh and eighth respectively was a big bonus at the end of a potentially fruitless weekend. Indianapolis is expected to herald a even better opportunity for both the Scot and the Austrian to score points on merit rather than through retirements, with the low downforce and slippery nature expected to suit the Red Bull's agile chassis better.

Indeed, all eyes will be on Red Bull Racing for at least Friday when Scott Speed makes his home debut in front of the American fans in the third car, even if the GP2 front runner will be hoping to keep on the tarmac this time though after his high-profile, yet erratic, debut in Montreal.

Considering they are a team renowned for their low-profile nature, the past few weeks have certainly seen Sauber-Petronas in the headlines more than once, albeit largely thanks to their off-track arguments rather than their on-track speed. Still, Canada saw Sauber more on the pace, with five points helping them make a small in-road into Red Bull's advantage. Following two races where he was forced out of a certain points finish, it was Felipe Massa who finally added to Sauber-Petronas' points tally with a well deserved fourth place - a result that equalled the Brazilians best ever result.

Nonetheless Massa's performance has been overshadowed by the in-team wrangling that started early in the year and was sparked off again following Monaco and the teams rather embarrassing 'incident'. With accusations flying between Peter Sauber and Jacques Villeneuve about the managers lack of co-operation and the Canadian's lack of pace, the Sauber team is far from harmonious at the moment and as they look to close the gap on their arch-rivals Red Bull, the tension in the ranks is reportedly harming the atmosphere in the garage. Still, Sauber go to Indianapolis determined to push for a points finish and with Massa in good form and Villeneuve returning to the place of his Indy 500 glory, confidence is high that it will be their results and not their differences that will be making the news.

Benefiting from the many mishaps that afflicted much of the field in Canada, Jordan-Toyota managed their best result of the season, with Tiago Monteiro coming home in a steady tenth place. Despite having not yet scored a point this year, tenth place was enough to move Jordan ahead of BAR, even if there is little doubt that their eighth place will be short lived.

Like Sauber though, Jordan go to Indianapolis experiencing a number of managerial problems following Trevor Carlin's sudden departure, while rumours persist that Alex Schnaider wants out of a team that has recently begun to struggle to stay off the very back of the grid. Coupled to some rather harsh words courtesy of Colin Kolles aimed at Narain Karthikeyan and Jordan's final season runs the risk of ending under a dark shadow rather than blazing glory. Ultimately the aim at Indianapolis will be to finish ahead of the Minardi's, but with this becoming tougher and tougher as the season progresses, Jordan are looking increasingly unlikely to get their points tally off the ground just yet.

BAR-Honda on the other hand are on an upward trend again following a particularly awful start to the season. Last year, BAR went to Indianapolis as the closest rivals to the all-conquering Ferrari's, but this year erratic performances, questionable reliability and of course that damaging suspension has so far left them with no points to show for. Still, Canada went a long way to prove BAR had points scoring pace again, even if Sato's double mechanical failure and Button's dangerous liaison with 'Champions Wall' keep those points firmly on zero. An excellent pole position for Button was an indicator to BAR's return to prominence and having run comfortably - albeit briefly - in third, six valuable points were a real possibility. This leaves the team even more confident of rectifying their points drought, particularly once you consider their decent result last year.

Takuma Sato will go to Indy with very fond memories of the circuit, having scored his first Formula One podium there last year and the Japanese driver is just as determined to put in a repeat performance this time around. Button too will be keen to put the 007's clear aerodynamic improvements to good use but while a win would certainly be welcomed, BAR's main objective must surely be to get their championship off the ground.

Everyone's second favourite team, Minardi arrive in the United States buoyed by an encouraging display in Canada where Christjian Albers especially starred by heroically hauling his car into 15th place at the end of qualification beating his team mate, both Jordan's and even a Red Bull on the way. Although his race pace saw him slip behind those scalps by the chequered flag, Albers went a long way to prove that Minardi are no longer content with just making up the numbers and while podiums and points are still a long stretch, it is exciting to see the plucky team being paid for their very hard work.

Paul Stoddart will remember Indianapolis fondly too after Zsolt Baumgartner scored the teams only point there last year. A repeat result is perhaps not so likely but with the traditionally high attrition rate often playing havoc with the usual order, both Albers and Friesacher could well be off the ground by the end of the weekend...

Despite fears of severe tyre abrasion throughout the Montreal weekend following the tracks resurfacing over the winter, most fears were largely unfounded. Nevertheless, both Michelin and Bridgestone know the Indianapolis circuit presents an all new challenge for them. Following last years race where a number of large blow-outs, namely Fernando Alonso at the end of the home straight, raised questions about safety on such a unique layout, there is a great fear among the drivers that with the current tyre rules as they are there could be significant wear by the end of the race. Still, the constant development work by Michelin and Bridgestone is expected to have solved this dilemma, although the Japanese brand will be especially eager to put their 2005 woes behind them as they bid to halt their rivals relentless winning streak in a country where they have massive commercial significance.

With its contrasting layout of high speed straights and slow corners, Indianapolis is hard work for both the cars and the drivers - some of the spectacular retirements of past races have proved that! Yet the circuit's 'unique atmosphere' and the crowd's unrivalled enthusiasm for Formula One makes the 'Indy' a firm favourite with anyone who makes the trip across the pond.

Throw into the F1 cooking pot a dash of unpredictability, a hint of acrimony in the teams and a big shot of McLaren and Renault rivalry and Indianapolis has all of the ingredients to be one mouth watering prospect of a race...