Asia has hosted three Formula One races in recent months: Turkey, China and Japan. Changeable conditions and unforeseen dramas led to a strong challenge for the title by the two leading protagonists: Renault’s Fernando Alonso, the reigning world champion, and seven-time champion Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari.

Turkey

If this season has been dominated by two drivers, namely Michael Schumacher and reigning world champion Fernando Alonso, it was also a year of new winners. Jenson Button took a well-deserved win in Hungary – at his 113th attempt – while Felipe Massa drove a superb race in Turkey to take his first ever victory.

One could say that Michael Schumacher was ‘denied’ the win, when the two Ferraris pitted simultaneously and Schumacher had to queue up behind Massa for attention, but in fairness, the young Brazilian did not put a wheel wrong all weekend.

Following a coming together by several drivers mid-race, the Safety Car was summoned, resulting in the top six deciding to pit. Unfortunately – for Michael – Massa got there first, resulting in an extra 12 seconds in the pits for Schumacher. A lifetime in F1 racing these days.

Istanbul Park, on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, is yet another Hermann Tilke-designed circuit, but where it differs from such as Shanghai or Bahrain, is that it is first of all anti-clockwise, and secondly incorporates one of the most demanding corners in Grand Prix racing today: namely Turn 8, which is a double apex left-hander, taken almost flat. A difficult corner but one the drivers relish. The circuit totals 5.3 kilometres.

Felipe Massa, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, began his career in karts as so many drivers did, including the two Schumachers, Michael and Ralf, and Jenson Button. In 2000 he won both the European and Italian Formula Renault titles in cars. He then went to F3000, winning six out of eight races in his first year.? Clearly a talented racer, he elected to become test driver at Ferrari in 2003, before driving for Sauber in 2004 and ’05. This year he has partnered the soon-to-retire Schumacher at Ferrari, where he will remain next season alongside Kimi Raikkonen who joins Ferrari from McLaren.

Schumacher, following his delay in the pits, drove hard but ran wide on one corner, losing around another four seconds. He finished third after completion of the allotted 58 laps.

Behind Massa came Fernando Alonso who added another eight points to his championship tally. In fourth spot was the Honda of Jenson Button ahead of a hard-charging Pedro de la Rosa in the McLaren. De la Rosa has been standing in for Juan Pablo Montoya since the Colombian decided mid-season to abandon Formula One in favour of the NASCAR series in the United States.

McLaren team leader Kimi Raikkonen had a frustrating day when he was involved in a multi-car shunt on the first lap. Alonso had moved over to avoid the two Ferraris, causing Fisichella to change his line. This in turn made Kimi swerve to avoid the spinning Italian, whereupon he hit one of the Red Bulls. Scott Speed in the Toro Rosso then hit the rear of Kimi’s McLaren forcing his retirement.

Giancarlo Fisichella, who increasingly, looks as though his days are numbered in F1 due to his relative lack of pace compared to team mate Fernando Alonso, came home in sixth spot, ahead of Ralf Schumacher’s Toyota. Rubens Barrichello took the final point in eighth.

There were 15 cars running at the end, out of the 22 that started, David Coulthard bringing up the rear three laps down. Not exactly a memorable race, but a great day for Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher, meanwhile, must be regretting the loss of four points (only six for third) by the regrettable pit stop incident.

China

Michael Schumacher had never finished higher than 14th in Shanghai in the two previous visits to China, but this year he made sure of the full 10 points when he finished ahead of title rival Fernando Alonso in a wet and dramatic race at the superb Chinese circuit.

The weather had been unsettled for most of the week and when qualifying dawned on Saturday afternoon it was damp rather than wet and the Michelin runners definitely had the advantage. Come race day, however, it was clear intermediate tyres would be necessary, but it did mean that all the carefully crafted plans and intricate strategies would have to be revised to suit the conditions. It had rained heavily during the morning, but stopped shortly before the 2.00 pm start. It was going to be a race of changing strategies and of tyres: Michelin or Bridgestone.? If the rain returned Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa looked good on their Bridgestones, while if it started to dry out Fernando Alonso’s intermediate Michelins would be the tyres to be on.

Fernando Alonso led initially, ahead of team mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren-Mercedes was third. Jenson Button made a good start and was in fourth, close behind Kimi. With a less than full-wet track, Michael Schumacher found himself in sixth spot, trying to fend off Pedro de la Rosa in the McLaren, on, of course, Michelins.

Shanghai, designed by the almost inevitable Hermann Tilke, is not the most demanding of tracks, but it is difficult for a driver to get into any kind of rhythm. In the changeable conditions, this became even more difficult.

Tonio Liuzzi in the Toro Rosso decided it was time to switch to dry-weather grooved slicks, only to immediately spin on the straight. He revisited the pits and changed back to the more appropriate intermediates.

For the first time this year the two Super Aguri cars of Takuma Sato and Sakon Yamamoto were running strongly and were looking for a finish. Despite the team only being put together a year ago, the Aguri Suzuki outfit is improving every outing.

A bungled pit stop by Alonso’s pit crew dropped the Spaniard well down the order, although eventually he recovered to finish in second place, behind the amazing Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari. Fisichella was third, giving Renault valuable points in the Constructors’ Championship. Jenson Button, not looking as happy in these conditions as he had when he took his maiden victory in Hungary, came home fourth, while Pedro de la Rosa salvaged some of McLaren’s pride with fifth spot.

An interesting day – certainly from Michael’s point of view – but not necessarily from Alonso’s. The drivers’ title now had the two contenders level on points, with Michael ahead by virtue of his seven victories to Fernando’s six. Fisichella was a distant third. With two rounds to go, it appeared Michael was in with a chance of taking his eighth world championship before his already announced retirement at the end of the season. Meanwhile, in the Constructors’ Championship, Renault held a slender one point advantage over Ferrari. It could go either way but with both cars capable of scoring it was likely to be heading to Italy, not to the Anglo-French Renault team.

Japan in a week’s time was shaping up to be one of the most important races of the year.

Japan

Michael Schumacher has not suffered an engine blow-up in a race since 2001. But, as he was fighting for the 2006 world title against Renault’s Fernando Alonso, that is exactly what happened 17 laps from the end of the Japanese Grand Prix, handing Alonso victory and a valuable 10 points in the championship race.

The Japanese Grand Prix has been held at the Honda-owned Suzuka circuit since 1987, but sadly this was the last time the Formula One circus would visit the demanding track – at least for a while – as next year the Japanese round of the series heads for Fuji, owned by rivals Toyota.

Fuji will always be remembered for the epic tussle on a rain-sodden track by James Hunt in his McLaren, back up to third place which was sufficient to clinch the 1976 world title. His only championship rival, Niki Lauda, coming back after his near-death experience at the Nurburgring in early august, had pulled out after just two laps, saying the conditions were just “too dangerous”. Mario Andretti won that race at Fuji, but few remember; it was only James’ world title they recall.

The track was used again in 1977, again as the final round of the Grand Prix calendar, and this time it was Hunt that took victory, ahead of Carlos Reutemann and Patrick Depailler. This particular race was memorable for an accident that took out Ronnie Peterson and Gilles Villeneuve and, tragically, killed two spectators.

After that Fuji fell into disrepair and was not used again for the Japanese Grand Prix, the venue switching to Suzuka in 1987. Honda owns Suzuka, but Toyota acquired the Fuji track in 2000 and set about restoring it to its former glory. Toyota spent roughly 20 billion yen (around US$170m) over two and a half years for a complete renovation of the track and its adjacent facilities. The results by any standards are spectacular.

The new circuit at Fuji is based on a similar configuration to the track used in 1976 and ’77, but with subtle differences. Designed by Hermann Tilke, who boasts Shanghai and Sepang among his accomplishments, Fuji is 4.56 km in length with a main straight of a full 1.5 km, or one-third the circuit’s total.?

Qualifying at Suzuka this year saw the Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher split the front row Ferraris and the third row positions of Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella. Felipe Massa was on pole.

At the start, Alonso passed Trulli going into Turn 1, but he still had Ralf Schumacher to deal with if he was going to challenge for the lead. Meanwhile, Massa had made a good start and it was a Ferrari one-two at the head of the field. Eventually, after 11 laps, Alonso made a neat pass on the Toyota, which promptly pitted for fuel and tyres. But still it was two Ferraris that led. Only now Massa had allowed Michael through. He made a good show of it as, of course, team orders are not permitted. Now Michael led and looked on course for a further 10 points; Alonso would only get six for third.

But when Massa pitted with, he said, a slow puncture, he came out behind the BMW of Nick Heidfeld, which effectively denied him a chance of winning the race.
Alonso would take the 10 points after Michael’s demise, with Massa second ahead of Fisichella. Jenson Button put a smile on the faces of the Honda people in fourth spot, while Kimi Raikkonen salvaged fifth for McLaren. Trulli and Ralf Schumacher snatched sixth and seventh for Toyota, with Heidfeld taking the final point.