SPEED RACER THE SCOTT SPEED CHRONICLES 2006

MCZ F1 is based in Sacramento, California and Scott Speed is from just down the road in Manteca, so naturally we have a special interest in his Grand Prix career.
Here is how his first season in F1 shaped up:

Race	Photo	Comments & Grade
Bahrain		Q: 16th -  R: 13th (1 Lap Down) Finally an American back in F1! This is a good thing. His performance throughout the weekend was faultless and it shows that he has the talent to be there. With the reliable 2005 spec V10 behind him, he stands a good chance of picking up some points at the expense of some of his more fragile rivals. Grade: B
Malaysia		Q: 12th - R: DNF lap 41 Not a good qualifying performance but, like his teammate, he benefited from engine penalties to others. Ran quite strongly early in the race and was able to keep Barrichello behind him before slipping back after the first pitstop. Wasn’t as mindful of faster cars as he should have been at times and then fell victim to a clutch failure. Grade: C+
Australia		Q: 18th - R: 9th Had trouble with tyre temperatures in qualifying and missed the first cut. Had a very good start and took advantage of the incidents to get up to 10th, then ran very in the early stages. Ran consistently and finished in the points but was later penalized for overtaking Coulthard while under yellow following Liuzzi's crash, dropping him to 9th. Grade: B+
San Marino		Q: 18th - R: 15th (1 lap down) Again failed to make it out of the first qualifying session after mistiming his hot lap. Another good start gained a couple of positions and a consistent pace kept him on station without gaining any spots. Grade: C+
Europe		Q: 17th - R: 11th (1 lap down) Qualifying woes continued as he was again held up by slower cars when on a flying lap. Good first stint pushed him up to 10th before the pitstop and ran on pace with the BMW's and Toyota's for a creditable finish. Grade: B+
Spain		Q: 16th - R: DNF lap 14 No more than average in qualifying, but a great start saw him running in 11th before the first pitstop. Engine problems slowed him before the Cosworth V10 let go completely. Grade: B-
Monaco		Q: 18th - R: 13th (1 lap down) Another lackluster qualifying due to slower traffic on his flying lap. Ran consistently during the race with his fastest race lap better than all the other Red Bull cars. Grade: C+
Britain		Q: 15th - R: DNF lap 1 A better qualifying effort saw Speed in the second session for the first time in several races. The grid position was wasted when he surprised Ralf Schumacher with an optimistic overtaking maneuver on the opening lap and crashed out. Grade: C
Canada		Q: 17th - R: 10th (1 lap down) Once again the American (and his team) made a bad decision as to when to go out in qualifying and were held up, but another great start saw him move up. Consistently good laps in the opening moved him up into the top half of the field and in the closing stages, into the top 10.  Grade: B+
USA		Q: 13th  - R: DNF lap 1 After a great qualifying effort, Scott was innocently caught up in the huge opening lap accident that took out a large percentage of the field. Grade: B
France		Q: 14th  - R: 10th (1 lap down) A huge crash in practice left him in a lot of pain but a good qualifying effort and a gritty race drive saw him finish ahead of his teammate. Grade: B+
Germany		Q: 19th  - R: 12th (1 lap down) Lost control on his flying lap and almost destroyed the car which the team did well to repair in time to race. Yet another great start got him up as high as 11th then ran competitively to the finish. Grade:C+
Hungary		Q: 20th  - R: 11th (4 laps down) A mobile chicane in qualifying, he ran well in the early stages after another great start. Bad pit strategy and stopping too early for dry tyres ruined a good chance for a point or two. Grade: C
Turkey		Q: 17th  - R: 13th (1 lap down) Out-qualified his team mate then was caught up in the first lap melee and had to pit for a new wing. Ran strongly through the lower field until the first stop, with the 10th fastest lap of the race. Grade: B-
Italy		Q: 15th  - R: 13th (1 lap down) Made it into 2nd Qualifying (and beat Liuzzi) then had a very quiet race in midfield. Grade: C+
China		Q: 11th  - R: 14th (1 lap down) Despite a slip in the opening session, Scott made the most of the wet conditions for a great grid position. Yet another awesome start put him in 8th in the opening laps but the changing conditions dropped him back down the field.  Grade: B+
Japan		Q: 19th  - R: DNF lap 48 Bad strategy once again doomed qualifying and while Scott once again bounded up the order at the start, after his first pit stop he dropped back down before a power steering failure stopped his race. Grade: C+
Brazil		Q: 16th  - R: 11th (1 lap down) A better qualifying effort, just behind his teammate, he once more shined in the opening laps before falling back during the pit stop rotations. In the closing stages he picked up the pace for a good finish. Grade: B+

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