With crashes, controversy, rain and death threats, the 1998 Belgium Grand Prix was one of the most memorable in history...
The weekend began with Jacques Villeneuve having a huge accident at Eau Rouge on Friday before Mika Salo followed suit in Saturday practice. Despite this, both men were ok to race. Championship leader Mika Hakkinen took pole position. The Finn was having his best season to date and was up against two time champion Michael Schumacher who qualified 4th and also had a qualifying time deleted because he failed to slow under yellow flags. Damon Hill impressed with third position.
The Grid:
1 Mika Hakkinen
2 David Coulthard
3 Damon Hill
4 Michael Schumacher
5 Eddie Irvine
6 Jacques Villeneuve
7 Giancarlo Fisichella
8 Ralf Schumacher
9 Heinz-Harald Frentzen
10 Jean Alesi
11 Alexander Wurz
12 Johnny Herbert
13 Jarno Trulli
14 Rubens Barrichello
15 Olivier Panis
16 Pedro Diniz
17 Jos Verstappen
18 Mika Salo
19 Toranosuke Takagi
20 Ricardo Rosset
21 Shinji Nakano
22 Esteban Tuero
Race day dawned wet, cold and misty and it was not for shifting. Before the start the officials had to decide whether to start the race behind the safety car like in 1997 but they opted against this. The track was wet but the bigger issue was visibility. Pole sitter Hakkinen made a good start while Villeneuve swept around the outside of La Source into second. What followed was carnage.
David Coulthard dropped his car on the exit and slid across the track. He was hit several times before coming to rest back on the side of the track where he began to lose it. The Scottish driver later revealed that his accident was caused by hitting a metal grille. With so much spray cars behind didn't slow and just kept colliding at high speed, spreading debris far and high. It was such a lucky escape for drivers, spectators and marshalls. Only Rubens Barichello and Eddie Irvine suffered minor injuries.
The race was stopped and the clear up operation took nearly an hour. Some teams had both cars damaged and with only one spare car available, some people had to miss the restart. Barrichello, Salo, Rosset and Panis were now all out. For the other drivers it was a lengthy wait as they tried to remain focused and calm on the job ahead.
The second start saw Damon Hill make a brilliant start to lead. Hakkinen was squeezed to the inside and on the exit made slight contact with rival Schumacher before he was clouted by Johnny Herbert. Both men were out on the spot and the safety car deployed. When the race resumed, Hill was on the defensive from Schumacher. The German eventually made his move into the Bus Stop chicane and began to pull away. Behind cars were sliding off all over the place. Eddie Irvine lost his front wing at Les Combes while Jacques Villeneuve aquaplaned off approaching Kemmel straight as the rain got heavier. This seen the drivers take to the pits for the full wet tyres.
Schumacher now had a comfortable lead of almost 30 seconds but what really surprised me when watching the race back was how hard he continued to push. Lapping Pedro Diniz almost resulted in contact and as he approached the McLaren of Coulthard he was gesturing for him to get out of the way, a move you'd expect from someone struggling or battling for position rather than someone comfortably leading the race. As the drivers went downhill towards Pouhon Coulthard lifted but stayed on the racing line. Schumacher was caught out in the spray and smashed into the back of the McLaren.
Things didn't finish there. Both men dragged their damaged cars back to the pits. Schumacher was enraged at seeing a potential championship lead slip away and went to the McLaren garage to confront Coulthard. The German had to be dragged away by team personnel, including Jean Todt who had spoke to Ron Dennis seconds before the incident. Coulthard would later admit that he should have got off the racing line. More drama would follow when Giancarlo Fisichella had a huge impact into the rear of Shinji Nakano in a collision which brought out the safety car. Many drivers, including new race leader Hill took the opportunity to make their final stops.
Jordan were now 1-2 and looking set for a maiden victory in Formula 1. As the safety car pitted and the final phase of the race began there were only 8 cars running. Behind the Jordan cars were Jean Alesi, Heinz Harald Frentzen, Pedro Diniz and Jarno Trulli. Meanwhile Coulthard and Nakano had both got new rear wings and rejoined the track, albeit many laps down. Jordan had the pace to hold off Alesi but he was close behind and at this stage of the race it was Ralf Schumacher who was the faster Jordan. Hill recognised this and in a move that was revealed years after the race pleaded with Eddie Jordan to use team orders and tell Schumacher to hold station. The message was given to Ralf who was asked to reply. Only after several attempts did he finally conform to the teams instruction.
The pair stayed close. Meanwhile Trulli was limping home with a sick engine. His slow speed almost caught out Hill when he lapped the Prost coming through Eau Rouge. However the Englishman would go on to take what would prove to be his final win in the sport in what was arguably the finest moment in the history of the Jordan team. Ralf Schumacher took second place but was clearly frustrated at being held back from taking a first win. Alesi gave Sauber a joyful podium in third.
The championship battle would go to the wire but Mika Hakkinen would take his first title in Japan after Schumacher stalled on the grid before suffering a puncture. Jordan would build upon their strong finish to 1998 with two wins in 1999 courtesy of Frentzen who moved from Williams to the team. Hill would retire at the end of 1999.
Showing posts with label Race Rewind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Race Rewind. Show all posts
Thursday, 26 August 2010
Thursday, 29 July 2010
Race Rewind: Budapest 2006
It was a drama filled weekend in Budapest in 2006 with penalties, rain and a new winner in the sport...
The 2006 season had become a battle between two teams, Renault and Ferrari, and more potently a battle between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. The Spaniard had started the season the way he finished 2005 with early season wins and podiums to build a big championship lead but Schumacher had started to lead a Ferrari revival and he arrived at Hungary 11 points behind the reigning world champion.
The title battle would already begin to develop during Friday practice. Alonso was held up coming out of the final corner by Robert Doornbos, who was getting a run out in the Red Bull. He overtook down the straight and approaching turn 1 brake tested the Dutch driver, who only just avoided a collison. Alonso was called in to the stewards office and penalised him for this and for another incident where he overtook another car through a yellow flag zone. The stewards awarded an unusual penalty, a two second penalty which would be added to each time that the Spaniard set during qualifying.
On a track like the Hungaroring this was a massive blow to Alonso's chances of a big points haul. More pre-qualifying drama was to follow. A red flag on Saturday morning after an engine failure for Jenson Button, which would mean a ten place grid penalty, meant all the cars returned to the pits. Alonso was returning pretty slowly and had debutant Robert Kubica right behind him. Coming into the penultimate corner, Schumacher passed both. Alonso was straight on the radio, relaying what had happened and making a case for a penalty. The stewards agreed and Schumacher was also given a two second penalty for qualifying.
Kimi Raikkonen took pole position for McLaren and was joined on the front row by Felipe Massa. Schumacher and Alonso took 12th and 15th respectively
The Grid
1. Raikkonen
2. Massa
3. Barrichello
4. de la Rosa
5. Webber
6. R Schumacher
7. Fisichella
8. Trulli
9. Kubica
10. Heidfeld
11. M Schumacher
12. Coulthard
13. Klien*
14. Button
15. Alonso
16. Monteiro
17. Liuzzi
18. Rosberg
19. Speed
20. Sato
21. Yamamoto
22. Albers
*Klien started from the pitlane
Raceday dawned wet and murky. Conditions were tricky and Pedro de la Rosa showed that by spinning on the parade lap. He did recover though. At the start Raikkonen held the lead while Barrichello took second, using a wide line through turn 1 which yielded more grip. Schumacher had an incredible start, exiting turn 1 in 6th but Alonso was also battling hard. Several moves on the opening laps took him to 6th and he then passed Schumacher around the outside of turn 5. The Renault was on Michelin tyres and they were working better in the conditions than the Bridgestone tyres which were on the Ferrari. Jenson Button was also making his way through the field and soon passed the struggling German. Meanwhile de la Rosa passed Barrichello to make it a McLaren 1-2
Things got worse for Schumacher when he slide into the rear of Giancarlo Fisichella and damaged the front wing. The Italian crashed out of the race soon after, along with Christian Klien and Robert Kubica, though the Polish driver recovered to the pits and changed the front nose of the car. A bigger crash would follow on lap 26 when Raikkonen ran into the back of Vitantonio Liuzzi whilst trying to lap the Toro Rosso. It was a big impact and put both men out. The safety car was also deployed. In the restart, Schumacher had a spin while Alonso pulled out a big lead. Button started to pull back towards Alonso as the track started to dry. Button decided to short fuel at his stop and keep his tyres on. This was a good decision as it was too soon for dry tyres whilst dark clouds were still looming.
Alonso was now in for his final stop and put the dry tyres on. As he emerged back on track he struggled to slow down for the first corner. It seem he was just getting the tyres up to temperature but into the next corner a wheel nut bounced off the car and a driveshaft failure pitched him into the barriers. Button now had a commanding lead and Schumacher was now second as he had stayed out on his intermediate tyres whilst de la Rosa and Heidfeld were on dry tyres. The McLaren was all over Schumacher and after several attempts he finally squeezed through. Heidfeld was next and there was slight contact. Schumacher had damage to his right front suspension ansd with only three laps to go was out. It was a major missed opprtunity. Ross Brawn would admit after the season that in hindsight he should have advised the German to bag some points and take less risks.
It was a brilliant race for the top three. Button took his first victory for himself and Honda whilst de la Rosa took his best ever result. Heidfeld came 3rd and gave BMW-Sauber their first ever podium finish. Robert Kubica came 7th on his debut but was later disqualified as his car was two kilograms underweight, believed to be because he finished on extremely worn tyres. This promoted Schumacher to 8th as he was classified 9th after his late retirement and meant he gained one point on Alonso in the championship battle.
The two men would continue to battle hard in a championship that had many twists. Schumacher announced in Monza that he would be retiring and took the championship lead in China. However, engine failure in Japan meant Alonso only needed a point in Brazil and he took second position to take a second consecutive world championship
The 2006 season had become a battle between two teams, Renault and Ferrari, and more potently a battle between Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher. The Spaniard had started the season the way he finished 2005 with early season wins and podiums to build a big championship lead but Schumacher had started to lead a Ferrari revival and he arrived at Hungary 11 points behind the reigning world champion.
The title battle would already begin to develop during Friday practice. Alonso was held up coming out of the final corner by Robert Doornbos, who was getting a run out in the Red Bull. He overtook down the straight and approaching turn 1 brake tested the Dutch driver, who only just avoided a collison. Alonso was called in to the stewards office and penalised him for this and for another incident where he overtook another car through a yellow flag zone. The stewards awarded an unusual penalty, a two second penalty which would be added to each time that the Spaniard set during qualifying.
On a track like the Hungaroring this was a massive blow to Alonso's chances of a big points haul. More pre-qualifying drama was to follow. A red flag on Saturday morning after an engine failure for Jenson Button, which would mean a ten place grid penalty, meant all the cars returned to the pits. Alonso was returning pretty slowly and had debutant Robert Kubica right behind him. Coming into the penultimate corner, Schumacher passed both. Alonso was straight on the radio, relaying what had happened and making a case for a penalty. The stewards agreed and Schumacher was also given a two second penalty for qualifying.
Kimi Raikkonen took pole position for McLaren and was joined on the front row by Felipe Massa. Schumacher and Alonso took 12th and 15th respectively
The Grid
1. Raikkonen
2. Massa
3. Barrichello
4. de la Rosa
5. Webber
6. R Schumacher
7. Fisichella
8. Trulli
9. Kubica
10. Heidfeld
11. M Schumacher
12. Coulthard
13. Klien*
14. Button
15. Alonso
16. Monteiro
17. Liuzzi
18. Rosberg
19. Speed
20. Sato
21. Yamamoto
22. Albers
*Klien started from the pitlane
Raceday dawned wet and murky. Conditions were tricky and Pedro de la Rosa showed that by spinning on the parade lap. He did recover though. At the start Raikkonen held the lead while Barrichello took second, using a wide line through turn 1 which yielded more grip. Schumacher had an incredible start, exiting turn 1 in 6th but Alonso was also battling hard. Several moves on the opening laps took him to 6th and he then passed Schumacher around the outside of turn 5. The Renault was on Michelin tyres and they were working better in the conditions than the Bridgestone tyres which were on the Ferrari. Jenson Button was also making his way through the field and soon passed the struggling German. Meanwhile de la Rosa passed Barrichello to make it a McLaren 1-2
Things got worse for Schumacher when he slide into the rear of Giancarlo Fisichella and damaged the front wing. The Italian crashed out of the race soon after, along with Christian Klien and Robert Kubica, though the Polish driver recovered to the pits and changed the front nose of the car. A bigger crash would follow on lap 26 when Raikkonen ran into the back of Vitantonio Liuzzi whilst trying to lap the Toro Rosso. It was a big impact and put both men out. The safety car was also deployed. In the restart, Schumacher had a spin while Alonso pulled out a big lead. Button started to pull back towards Alonso as the track started to dry. Button decided to short fuel at his stop and keep his tyres on. This was a good decision as it was too soon for dry tyres whilst dark clouds were still looming.
Alonso was now in for his final stop and put the dry tyres on. As he emerged back on track he struggled to slow down for the first corner. It seem he was just getting the tyres up to temperature but into the next corner a wheel nut bounced off the car and a driveshaft failure pitched him into the barriers. Button now had a commanding lead and Schumacher was now second as he had stayed out on his intermediate tyres whilst de la Rosa and Heidfeld were on dry tyres. The McLaren was all over Schumacher and after several attempts he finally squeezed through. Heidfeld was next and there was slight contact. Schumacher had damage to his right front suspension ansd with only three laps to go was out. It was a major missed opprtunity. Ross Brawn would admit after the season that in hindsight he should have advised the German to bag some points and take less risks.
It was a brilliant race for the top three. Button took his first victory for himself and Honda whilst de la Rosa took his best ever result. Heidfeld came 3rd and gave BMW-Sauber their first ever podium finish. Robert Kubica came 7th on his debut but was later disqualified as his car was two kilograms underweight, believed to be because he finished on extremely worn tyres. This promoted Schumacher to 8th as he was classified 9th after his late retirement and meant he gained one point on Alonso in the championship battle.
The two men would continue to battle hard in a championship that had many twists. Schumacher announced in Monza that he would be retiring and took the championship lead in China. However, engine failure in Japan meant Alonso only needed a point in Brazil and he took second position to take a second consecutive world championship
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Race Rewind: Hockenheim 2000
We go back a decade to reflect on an incredible German grand prix that seen a new winner emerge...
Michael Schumacher arrived at his home race in the championship lead. The German had made a storming start to the season and taken five wins in the opening eight rounds but two consecutive retirements had allowed the McLaren pairing of David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen to close in. The season was a clear battle between McLaren and Ferrari up front with Jordan and Bennetton also in the mix on occasions.
The drama started unfolding on Saturday. As the 1 hour qualifying session was about to commence, the track was dry but there was rain moving in. Everybody made a dash out and quened up for the green light to come on at the end of the pitlane. Getting space was critical and Heinz-Harald Frentzen decided that cutting the chicane on his out lap to get to the front was the best option. The stewards decided that this was unfair and deleted Frentzen's first flying lap time. As the rest of the session was in wet conditions, competing with the early times was not possible and Frentzen, along with another front runner Rubens Barrichello, who had mechanical problems, found themselves stranded at the back end of the grid.
The Grid:
1. David Coulthard
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Giancarlo Fisichella
4. Mika Hakkinen
5. Pedro de la Rosa
6. Jarno Trulli
7. Alexander Wurz
8. Johny Herbert
9. Jacques Villeneuve
10. Eddie Irvine
11. Jos Verstappen
12. Ricardo Zonta
13. Nick Heidfield
14. Ralf Schumacher
15. Mika Salo
16. Jenson Button
17. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
18. Rubens Barrichello
19. Pedro Diniz
20. Jean Alesi
21. Gaston Mazzacane
22. Marc Gene
The race started in dry conditions. Pole sitter Coulthard went defensive against Schumacher. The Ferrari swung wide going into turn 1 but Fisichella was right behind and collided with the rear of his car and both men were out at turn 1. Reigning world champion Mika Hakkinen had a brilliant start and now led. Meanwhile Barrichello and Frentzen were providing plenty of entertainment with several overtaking moves in the opening laps as they sliced their way through the field. Up front it was comfortable for the McLaren duo.
Then came the most unusual and incredible twist. At the side of the straight between turns 1 and 2 there was a man who walked along and at one stage ran across the track. It turned out he was a former Mercedes-Benz employee who was protesting that he had been given a job he could not carry out and was then sacked. He had tried to get onto the grid before the start but had been stopped and was also halted earlier in the year at Magny-Cours. Race Control had no option but to deploy the safety car and this now changed the face of the race. It was a disaster for Coulthard who should have quened behind team mate Hakkinen but unaware of the safety car being on track continued on. By the time he had made his stop, he was at the back of the pack.
The race resumed but was disrupted again within a lap after a huge smash between Pedro Diniz and Jean Alesi. The Frenchman has several spins before coming to the halt with 3 wheels. After that was cleared Hakkinen began to rebuild his lead but the skies had darkened and with 10 laps left rain was beginning to fall. Most drivers pitted for wet tyres but Barrichello risked it and stayed out on dry tyres. The stadium section of the track was now quite wet and the Brazilian was losing 7 seconds in the final sector to the chasing McLarens. However, out in the first 2 sectors in the forest the track was still bone dry. The old configuration was long but also quite spread out and Barichello was able to maintain a decent gap. He took the flag to take his first victory, an emotional moment for Barrichello who was overjoyed at his triumph. He also became the first Brazilian to win a race since Ayrton Senna in 1993.
The victory was useful to his team mate as Schumacher maintained his championship lead. He would eventually take the championship in Japan and become Ferrari's latest world champion, ending a 21 year wait. Barrichello would contribute to the team taking the honours in the constructors championship. The old Hockenheim configuration was only used once more before it was redesigned for 2002 into a new layout which still remains the grand prix circuit today
Michael Schumacher arrived at his home race in the championship lead. The German had made a storming start to the season and taken five wins in the opening eight rounds but two consecutive retirements had allowed the McLaren pairing of David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen to close in. The season was a clear battle between McLaren and Ferrari up front with Jordan and Bennetton also in the mix on occasions.
The drama started unfolding on Saturday. As the 1 hour qualifying session was about to commence, the track was dry but there was rain moving in. Everybody made a dash out and quened up for the green light to come on at the end of the pitlane. Getting space was critical and Heinz-Harald Frentzen decided that cutting the chicane on his out lap to get to the front was the best option. The stewards decided that this was unfair and deleted Frentzen's first flying lap time. As the rest of the session was in wet conditions, competing with the early times was not possible and Frentzen, along with another front runner Rubens Barrichello, who had mechanical problems, found themselves stranded at the back end of the grid.
The Grid:
1. David Coulthard
2. Michael Schumacher
3. Giancarlo Fisichella
4. Mika Hakkinen
5. Pedro de la Rosa
6. Jarno Trulli
7. Alexander Wurz
8. Johny Herbert
9. Jacques Villeneuve
10. Eddie Irvine
11. Jos Verstappen
12. Ricardo Zonta
13. Nick Heidfield
14. Ralf Schumacher
15. Mika Salo
16. Jenson Button
17. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
18. Rubens Barrichello
19. Pedro Diniz
20. Jean Alesi
21. Gaston Mazzacane
22. Marc Gene
The race started in dry conditions. Pole sitter Coulthard went defensive against Schumacher. The Ferrari swung wide going into turn 1 but Fisichella was right behind and collided with the rear of his car and both men were out at turn 1. Reigning world champion Mika Hakkinen had a brilliant start and now led. Meanwhile Barrichello and Frentzen were providing plenty of entertainment with several overtaking moves in the opening laps as they sliced their way through the field. Up front it was comfortable for the McLaren duo.
Then came the most unusual and incredible twist. At the side of the straight between turns 1 and 2 there was a man who walked along and at one stage ran across the track. It turned out he was a former Mercedes-Benz employee who was protesting that he had been given a job he could not carry out and was then sacked. He had tried to get onto the grid before the start but had been stopped and was also halted earlier in the year at Magny-Cours. Race Control had no option but to deploy the safety car and this now changed the face of the race. It was a disaster for Coulthard who should have quened behind team mate Hakkinen but unaware of the safety car being on track continued on. By the time he had made his stop, he was at the back of the pack.
The race resumed but was disrupted again within a lap after a huge smash between Pedro Diniz and Jean Alesi. The Frenchman has several spins before coming to the halt with 3 wheels. After that was cleared Hakkinen began to rebuild his lead but the skies had darkened and with 10 laps left rain was beginning to fall. Most drivers pitted for wet tyres but Barrichello risked it and stayed out on dry tyres. The stadium section of the track was now quite wet and the Brazilian was losing 7 seconds in the final sector to the chasing McLarens. However, out in the first 2 sectors in the forest the track was still bone dry. The old configuration was long but also quite spread out and Barichello was able to maintain a decent gap. He took the flag to take his first victory, an emotional moment for Barrichello who was overjoyed at his triumph. He also became the first Brazilian to win a race since Ayrton Senna in 1993.
The victory was useful to his team mate as Schumacher maintained his championship lead. He would eventually take the championship in Japan and become Ferrari's latest world champion, ending a 21 year wait. Barrichello would contribute to the team taking the honours in the constructors championship. The old Hockenheim configuration was only used once more before it was redesigned for 2002 into a new layout which still remains the grand prix circuit today
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Race Rewind: Silverstone 2003
In the first article of this new feature, I take a look back at the 2003 British Grand Prix
The teams arrived at Silverstone for round 11 with the championship finely poised after a season that had seen 6 different winners in the first 10 races. There were several changes for this year with one lap qualifying introduced in place of the 60 minute session and the points system adjusted so that the top 8 finishers could now score. Early season highlights included Kimi Raikkonen taking his first win in Malaysia as well as Giancarlo Fisichella in a chaotic grand prix in Sao Paulo. Reigning world champion Michael Schumacher then had a dominant spell, taking 4 of the next 5 races before brother Ralf took 2 in a row.
The Grid:
1. Rubens Barrichello
2. Jarno Trulli
3. Kimi Raikkonen
4. Ralf Schumacher
5. Michael Schumacher
6. Cristiano Da Matta
7. Juan Pablo Montoya
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Jacques Villeneuve
10. Antonio Pizzonia
11. Mark Webber
12. David Coulthard
13. Olivier Panis
14. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
15. Giancarlo Fisichella
16. Nick Heidfield
17. Ralph Firman
18. Justin Wilson
19. Jos Verstappen
20. Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello took pole position but was swallowed up at the start by Jarno Trulli in the Renault, which usually made places at the start, as well as Kimi Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso hounded Michael Schumacher down Hangar straight but was squeezed onto the grass by the German and was subsequently passed by Juan Pablo Montoya. The safety car was deployed on lap 5 after the head rest around David Coulthard flew off at Copse, leaving debris on the racing line. The Scotsman pitted for a new one as well as the Toyota's who were running light on a 3 stop strategy. When racing resumed, Barrichello was immediately onto Raikkonen's tail and made a superb move around the outside of the Finn into the Abbey chicane.
The Brazilian was now chasing Trulli down but then a moment of madness as a man ran onto the track with cars passing him down Hangar straight. Most cars gave Neil Horan a wide berth though Antonio Pizzonia, in what would prove to be his last race for Jaguar before being replaced by Minardi driver Justin Wilson, caused him some concern. The safety car was immediately deployed and the pitlane was absolutely crowded. However the early stoppers stayed out and took full advantage, meaning Toyota were now 1-2. Raikkonen was also able to jump Barrichello. Some drivers, including the Schuamcher brothers had to quene and lost out badly.
Cristiano Da Matta used his experience of racing in the USA well to stay in front when the race went green again but it was Raikkonen on the move as he passed both Trulli and team mate Coulthard on lap 15. He then overtook Oliver Panis but could not get close enough to challenge Da Matta and this was crucial as it meant the field behind remained within striking distance and particularly Barrichello who was recovering positions and closing in. The 3 stoppers would drop back after their 2nd stops and it Barrichello v Raikkonen round 2. Rubens tried at Abbey again but Raikkonen defended hard. The cars were side-by-side into Bridge and Raikkonen carried too much speed into the corner, the McLaren going onto the grass and the Ferrari was through.
It got worse for McLaren as Raikkonen went wide at Stowe, allowing Montoya to nip past. Coulthard did improve things, recovering to take 5th behind Michael Schumacher as both men passed Trulli late on. Da Matta converted his surprise early lead into 2 points while Jenson Button had a great drive from the back of the grid after suspension failure in qualifying to get the final point in 8th. Giancarlo Fisichella had a spectacular suspension failure through Becketts, fortunately the Italian hit nobody in a high speed off. The day belonged to Barrichello though as he crossed the line 5 seconds clear of Montoya for a superb win after a great show of overtaking
The summer would see Europe hit by a heatwave and this hurt Bridgestone and Ferrari in particular. However controversy would follow when Michelin had to make changes to the design of their tyres. Williams and McLaren fumed at this and suddenly Schumacher was back in the title hunt. He went to Japan for the final race just needing a point to secure the title whilst Raikkonen needed a win to have any chance. Schuamcher had a poor and scrappy race but managed to get the point needed to take his 6th world championship while Barrichello took another victory in the far east.
The teams arrived at Silverstone for round 11 with the championship finely poised after a season that had seen 6 different winners in the first 10 races. There were several changes for this year with one lap qualifying introduced in place of the 60 minute session and the points system adjusted so that the top 8 finishers could now score. Early season highlights included Kimi Raikkonen taking his first win in Malaysia as well as Giancarlo Fisichella in a chaotic grand prix in Sao Paulo. Reigning world champion Michael Schumacher then had a dominant spell, taking 4 of the next 5 races before brother Ralf took 2 in a row.
The Grid:
1. Rubens Barrichello
2. Jarno Trulli
3. Kimi Raikkonen
4. Ralf Schumacher
5. Michael Schumacher
6. Cristiano Da Matta
7. Juan Pablo Montoya
8. Fernando Alonso
9. Jacques Villeneuve
10. Antonio Pizzonia
11. Mark Webber
12. David Coulthard
13. Olivier Panis
14. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
15. Giancarlo Fisichella
16. Nick Heidfield
17. Ralph Firman
18. Justin Wilson
19. Jos Verstappen
20. Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello took pole position but was swallowed up at the start by Jarno Trulli in the Renault, which usually made places at the start, as well as Kimi Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso hounded Michael Schumacher down Hangar straight but was squeezed onto the grass by the German and was subsequently passed by Juan Pablo Montoya. The safety car was deployed on lap 5 after the head rest around David Coulthard flew off at Copse, leaving debris on the racing line. The Scotsman pitted for a new one as well as the Toyota's who were running light on a 3 stop strategy. When racing resumed, Barrichello was immediately onto Raikkonen's tail and made a superb move around the outside of the Finn into the Abbey chicane.
The Brazilian was now chasing Trulli down but then a moment of madness as a man ran onto the track with cars passing him down Hangar straight. Most cars gave Neil Horan a wide berth though Antonio Pizzonia, in what would prove to be his last race for Jaguar before being replaced by Minardi driver Justin Wilson, caused him some concern. The safety car was immediately deployed and the pitlane was absolutely crowded. However the early stoppers stayed out and took full advantage, meaning Toyota were now 1-2. Raikkonen was also able to jump Barrichello. Some drivers, including the Schuamcher brothers had to quene and lost out badly.
Cristiano Da Matta used his experience of racing in the USA well to stay in front when the race went green again but it was Raikkonen on the move as he passed both Trulli and team mate Coulthard on lap 15. He then overtook Oliver Panis but could not get close enough to challenge Da Matta and this was crucial as it meant the field behind remained within striking distance and particularly Barrichello who was recovering positions and closing in. The 3 stoppers would drop back after their 2nd stops and it Barrichello v Raikkonen round 2. Rubens tried at Abbey again but Raikkonen defended hard. The cars were side-by-side into Bridge and Raikkonen carried too much speed into the corner, the McLaren going onto the grass and the Ferrari was through.
It got worse for McLaren as Raikkonen went wide at Stowe, allowing Montoya to nip past. Coulthard did improve things, recovering to take 5th behind Michael Schumacher as both men passed Trulli late on. Da Matta converted his surprise early lead into 2 points while Jenson Button had a great drive from the back of the grid after suspension failure in qualifying to get the final point in 8th. Giancarlo Fisichella had a spectacular suspension failure through Becketts, fortunately the Italian hit nobody in a high speed off. The day belonged to Barrichello though as he crossed the line 5 seconds clear of Montoya for a superb win after a great show of overtaking
The summer would see Europe hit by a heatwave and this hurt Bridgestone and Ferrari in particular. However controversy would follow when Michelin had to make changes to the design of their tyres. Williams and McLaren fumed at this and suddenly Schumacher was back in the title hunt. He went to Japan for the final race just needing a point to secure the title whilst Raikkonen needed a win to have any chance. Schuamcher had a poor and scrappy race but managed to get the point needed to take his 6th world championship while Barrichello took another victory in the far east.
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