2005 San Marino Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Fernando Alonso resisted a relentless late challenge from Michael Schumacher to win a memorable San Marino Grand Prix. Kimi Räikkönen’s early retirement opened the door for Renault, while a later ruling excluded both BARs and changed the final points positions.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren
Pole time	2:42.880
Fastest lap	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:21.858 on lap 48
First	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Second	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Third	Alexander Wurz	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
22 April 2005	Practice 1	11:00
22 April 2005	Practice 2	14:00
23 April 2005	Practice 3	09:00
23 April 2005	Practice 4	10:15
23 April 2005	Qualifying 1	13:00
24 April 2005	Qualifying 2	10:00
24 April 2005	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Fernando Alonso arrived at round 4 leading the 2005 F1 World Championship on 26 points, with Jarno Trulli on 16. Renault headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 36 points.

Race entries

Alexander Wurz replaced the still-injured Juan Pablo Montoya at McLaren, with Pedro de la Rosa returning to the third car. Vitantonio Liuzzi took over Christian Klien’s Red Bull race seat as part of the team’s planned rotation, while Christian Klien drove on Friday with the other teams’ agreement. Minardi introduced its new PS05.

Free Practice

De la Pedro de la Rosa led Friday morning, narrowly ahead of Ricardo Zonta, while Jenson Button showed encouraging BAR pace on a short run. Overnight rain had left the circuit green, and tyre degradation and kerb behaviour were important parts of the programmes. Jarno Trulli completed only an installation lap as Toyota conserved mileage on a track that had previously troubled the team.

Jenson Button’s pace remained strong in the afternoon before Pedro de la Rosa produced a late fastest lap. Toyota completed its planned running but found that changes to Ricardo Zonta’s car had taken the set-up in the wrong direction, making it less predictable over the kerbs. The tyre choice remained unclear, leaving the engineers with significant analysis before Saturday.

Ferrari moved to the front in Saturday’s first session, Michael Schumacher ahead of Rubens Barrichello. Having selected its tyre specification overnight, the team concentrated on confirming its pace and consistency over Imola’s demanding kerbs. Toyota limited its early mileage and continued searching for grip, with a much tougher challenge than at the preceding two races.

Jenson Button led the final practice session as the leading teams sharpened their qualifying preparations. Michael Schumacher remained competitive, and Ferrari’s consistent running suggested stronger race prospects than its early-season results. Toyota improved its times but still lacked the relative pace it had enjoyed in Malaysia and Bahrain, putting greater importance on a clean single lap.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2005 San Marino Grand Prix FP1, 22 April 2005

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	35	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	1:21.060	17
2	38	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	+0.114s	21
3	3	Jenson Button	BAR	+0.745s	6
4	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.025s	14
5	37	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	+1.676s	20
6	4	Takuma Sato	BAR	+1.885s	6
7	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+1.902s	5
8	8	Nick Heidfeld	Williams	+2.026s	8
9	10	Alexander Wurz	McLaren	+2.331s	5
10	7	Mark Webber	Williams	+2.472s	8
11	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+2.737s	10
12	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Red Bull Racing	+2.992s	22
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+3.066s	8
14	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+3.115s	13
15	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber	+3.195s	8
16	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan	+3.452s	18
17	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan	+4.197s	16
18	39	Robert Doornbos	Jordan	+4.495s	26
19	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+5.273s	4
20	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi	+6.293s	10
21	20	Patrick Friesacher	Minardi	+6.351s	13
22	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	No time	2
23	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	No time	2
24	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	No time	1

Free Practice 2 Classification

2005 San Marino Grand Prix FP2, 22 April 2005

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	35	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	1:20.484	31
2	3	Jenson Button	BAR	+0.568s	28
3	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+1.220s	16
4	38	Ricardo Zonta	Toyota	+1.405s	35
5	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.415s	10
6	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.541s	24
7	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+1.564s	22
8	10	Alexander Wurz	McLaren	+1.690s	17
9	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.727s	23
10	4	Takuma Sato	BAR	+1.851s	27
11	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+2.307s	23
12	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber	+2.471s	22
13	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.859s	20
14	8	Nick Heidfeld	Williams	+2.974s	16
15	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+2.982s	21
16	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+3.331s	20
17	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan	+3.358s	16
18	7	Mark Webber	Williams	+3.480s	14
19	37	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	+3.836s	38
20	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan	+4.089s	21
21	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Red Bull Racing	+4.142s	29
22	39	Robert Doornbos	Jordan	+4.688s	15
23	20	Patrick Friesacher	Minardi	+6.136s	14
24	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi	No time	1

Free Practice 3 Classification

2005 San Marino Grand Prix FP3, 23 April 2005

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:21.356	8
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+1.529s	14
3	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+1.615s	6
4	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+2.367s	6
5	7	Mark Webber	Williams	+2.432s	4
6	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Red Bull Racing	+2.538s	17
7	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+2.764s	3
8	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+2.800s	4
9	10	Alexander Wurz	McLaren	+2.906s	7
10	8	Nick Heidfeld	Williams	+2.985s	4
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+3.167s	13
12	3	Jenson Button	BAR	+3.401s	5
13	4	Takuma Sato	BAR	+3.414s	6
14	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan	+3.792s	5
15	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan	+3.841s	12
16	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber	+4.037s	6
17	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+4.374s	3
18	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi	+6.302s	10
19	20	Patrick Friesacher	Minardi	+6.498s	7

Free Practice 4 Classification

2005 San Marino Grand Prix FP4, 23 April 2005

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Jenson Button	BAR	1:20.058	16
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.056s	8
3	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+0.151s	10
4	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.260s	13
5	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+0.293s	18
6	10	Alexander Wurz	McLaren	+0.300s	11
7	7	Mark Webber	Williams	+0.366s	6
8	8	Nick Heidfeld	Williams	+0.373s	6
9	4	Takuma Sato	BAR	+0.392s	17
10	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	+0.448s	11
11	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+0.744s	11
12	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.793s	12
13	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.047s	14
14	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.078s	12
15	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber	+1.485s	11
16	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Red Bull Racing	+2.130s	13
17	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan	+2.906s	8
18	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan	+4.852s	5

Qualifying

Kimi Räikkönen narrowly beat Fernando Alonso in Saturday’s low-fuel session, with Michael Schumacher third. The first seven places were occupied by seven different constructors, illustrating how closely matched the field was over a single lap. Sunday’s second run would add race fuel and strategy to that contest.

Kimi Räikkönen retained aggregate pole ahead of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button. Schumacher made a costly error on his Sunday lap and fell to thirteenth, leaving Ferrari with a major recovery task. Alexander Wurz qualified seventh on his return, while Jarno Trulli’s fifth-place grid position would become important to the early race order.

Qualifying Classification

2005 San Marino Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 April 2005 and 24 April 2005

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	First qualifying	Second qualifying	Aggregate	Laps
1	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	1:19.886	1:22.994	2:42.880	6
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:19.889	1:23.552	2:43.441	6
3	3	Jenson Button	BAR	1:20.464	1:23.641	2:44.105	6
4	7	Mark Webber	Williams	1:20.442	1:24.069	2:44.511	6
5	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:20.492	1:24.026	2:44.518	6
6	4	Takuma Sato	BAR	1:20.851	1:23.807	2:44.658	6
7	10	Alexander Wurz	McLaren	1:20.632	1:24.057	2:44.689	6
8	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	1:20.593	1:24.337	2:44.930	6
9	8	Nick Heidfeld	Williams	1:20.807	1:24.389	2:45.196	6
10	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:20.892	1:24.351	2:45.243	6
11	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:20.994	1:24.422	2:45.416	6
12	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber	1:20.999	1:25.260	2:46.259	6
13	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:21.708	1:25.002	2:46.710	6
14	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:20.260	1:26.984	2:47.244	6
15	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:21.632	1:26.438	2:48.070	6
16	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Red Bull Racing	1:21.804	1:26.351	2:48.155	6
17	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan	1:23.123	1:28.976	2:52.099	6
18	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan	1:25.100	1:29.152	2:54.252	6
19	20	Patrick Friesacher	Minardi	1:26.484	1:30.564	2:57.048	6
20	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi	1:25.921	No time	1:25.921	5

Christijan Albers was left without a time in Q2 after spinning off the track.

Felipe Massa, Patrick Friesacher and Christijan Albers received a 10-place grid penalty for engine changes.

What happened in the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix?

Kimi Räikkönen led convincingly before driveshaft trouble forced him out, handing the lead to Fernando Alonso. Schumacher spent much of the opening stint behind Jarno Trulli, then unleashed Ferrari’s pace once he had clear track. He caught and passed Jenson Button and emerged from the second stops directly behind Fernando Alonso.

For the final 12 laps, Fernando Alonso defended against the faster Ferrari, placing his Renault carefully and denying Schumacher a clean opening. The pair crossed the line separated by just 0.215 seconds. Jenson Button finished third on the road, with Alexander Wurz fourth and Takuma Sato fifth.

BAR’s fuel-system and minimum-weight case subsequently led to both cars being excluded and the team receiving a two-race ban. Alexander Wurz inherited third, followed by Jacques Villeneuve and Jarno Trulli. Nick Heidfeld, Mark Webber and Vitantonio Liuzzi completed the final points positions after the post-race rulings, while Fernando Alonso retained a hard-earned victory.

After the race, Fernando Alonso headed the drivers’ standings with 36 points, followed by Jarno Trulli on 20. Renault led the constructors’ table on 46, with Toyota on 29.

2005 San Marino Grand Prix race results

The 2005 San Marino Grand Prix was held on 24 April 2005, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	62	1:27:41.921	10
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	62	+0.215	8
3	10	Alexander Wurz	McLaren	62	+27.554	6
4	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber	62	+1:04.442	5
5	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	62	+1:10.258	4
6	8	Nick Heidfeld	Williams	62	+1:11.282	3
7	7	Mark Webber	Williams	62	+1:23.297	2
8	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Red Bull Racing	62	+1:23.764	1
9	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	62	+1:35.841	0
10	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	61	+1 Lap	0
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	61	+1 Lap	0
12	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan	61	+1 Lap	0
13	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan	60	+2 Laps	0
Ret	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi	20	Hydraulics	0
Ret	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	18	Electrical	0
Ret	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	9	Driveshaft	0
Ret	20	Patrick Friesacher	Minardi	8	Clutch	0
Ret	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	5	Accident	0
DSQ	3	Jenson Button	BAR	62	Fuel/Underweight (+10.481)	0
DSQ	4	Takuma Sato	BAR	62	Fuel (+34.783)	0

Post-race, Ralf Schumacher was penalised 25 seconds for being released unsafely into the path of Nick Heidfeld from his second pitstop; Toyota withdrew their initial appeal before the hearing.

Also post-race, Jenson Button ‘s car was found to be 4.99 kg (11 lb) underweight; stewards initially accepted BAR‘s explanation as a fuel system anomaly on April 25. However, on May 5, an FIA court of appeal disqualified both BAR cars and banned them from the next two races for “highly regrettable negligence and lack of transparency”, noting that BAR‘s fuel system effectively “used fuel as ballast”, illegal under current Formula One regulations.

2005 San Marino Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	48	1:21.858	216.946
2	3	Jenson Button	BAR	22	1:22.604	214.987
3	10	Alexander Wurz	McLaren	24	1:23.023	213.902
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	22	1:23.133	213.619
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	8	1:23.296	213.201
6	4	Takuma Sato	BAR	23	1:23.368	213.016
7	15	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Red Bull Racing	46	1:23.488	212.710
8	12	Felipe Massa	Sauber	37	1:23.602	212.420
9	8	Nick Heidfeld	Williams	54	1:23.917	211.623
10	11	Jacques Villeneuve	Sauber	45	1:24.017	211.371
11	16	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	44	1:24.022	211.358
12	19	Narain Karthikeyan	Jordan	20	1:24.094	211.177
13	17	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	19	1:24.230	210.836
14	7	Mark Webber	Williams	17	1:24.419	210.364
15	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	13	1:24.435	210.325
16	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	22	1:24.641	209.813
17	18	Tiago Monteiro	Jordan	19	1:24.719	209.620
18	6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	4	1:25.665	207.305
19	21	Christijan Albers	Minardi	18	1:27.420	203.143
20	20	Patrick Friesacher	Minardi	5	1:28.334	201.041

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2005 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix.

2005 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	36
2	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	20
3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Renault	10
4	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	10
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	Williams	9
6	Ralf Schumacher	German	Toyota	9
7	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	9
8	Mark Webber	Australian	Williams	9
9	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Ferrari	8
10	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren	8
11	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	McLaren	7
12	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	McLaren	6
13	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	Sauber	5
14	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	McLaren	4
15	Christian Klien	Austrian	Red Bull Racing	3
16	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Sauber	2
17	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Red Bull Racing	1
18	Tiago Monteiro	Portuguese	Jordan	0
19	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	Jordan	0
20	Patrick Friesacher	Austrian	Minardi	0
21	Christijan Albers	Dutch	Minardi	0
–	Jenson Button	British	BAR	0
–	Takuma Sato	Japanese	BAR	0
–	Anthony Davidson	British	BAR	0

2005 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Renault	46
2	Toyota	29
3	McLaren	25
4	Ferrari	18
5	Williams	18
6	Red Bull Racing	13
7	Sauber	7
8	Jordan	0
9	Minardi	0
–	BAR	0

2005 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2005 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	6 March
2	2005 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	20 March
3	2005 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	3 April
4	2005 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	24 April
5	2005 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	8 May
6	2005 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	22 May
7	2005 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	29 May
8	2005 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	12 June
9	2005 United States Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	19 June
10	2005 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	3 July
11	2005 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	10 July
12	2005 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	24 July
13	2005 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	31 July
14	2005 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	21 August
15	2005 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
16	2005 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	11 September
17	2005 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	25 September
18	2005 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	9 October
19	2005 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	16 October