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GRAND PRIX : Brazil : McLarens' again Quickest
The 70,000 strong crowd went wild when Barrichello took the Ferrari for second place on the second lap; and then erupted when the Brazilian took the lead on lap 4, after Hakkinen's McLaren had hesitated on a gear change. "I thought it was all over for me. It's the first time it has ever happened like that in my racing career. I tried to select a gear again and got one. After that the car ran fine to the finish," said Mika later. He dropped to third place behind Barrichello and Schumacher, but then couldn't find a way past them despite having a faster car.
"I had set up my car with less down force for the race in order to be fast on the straight, but it made it very difficult to drive, especially in the first half when there was less rubber down and less grip," explained Schumacher. "I suspected Barrichello was on a two stop race strategy from his speed, so when he went into the pits for fresh tyres on lap 26 I knew the race was going to be between Mika and myself."
Schumacher took over the lead which he held in style under constant pressure from Hakkinen until he headed the Ferrari down the pit lane for his own scheduled pit-stop on lap 38. Hakkinen took over the lead and used another four laps before his own stop to push home his advantage over the Ferrari. "I had a lot of traffic on those laps, but I was still able to pull out some time and come out ahead of Michael after my stop," explained Hakkinen, who then held his lead all the way to the flag.
Schumacher admitted afterwards that Hakkinen had the faster car, but he kept up the pressure all the way to the flag in the hope of another opportunity to take the lead. Two laps from the end , Hakkinen had to run the fastest lap of the race to ensure his cushion over the Ferrari at the flag. "It was a tough race both physically and mentally, but a very enjoyable one," said Hakkinen.
Eddie Irvine looked set to join his team mate on the podium after a strong run in third place, but as he fought another exciting race with Heinz Harald Frentzen, Irvine's hopes disappeared when he was forced to make an unscheduled stop to top up the air bottle for the engine's valve system. He came back into the race a lap down in fifth spot and almost caught the Williams of Ralf Schumacher which took fourth less than a second ahead. "It would have been nice to finish on the podium again, but two points keep me ahead in the points going into Imola, and Ferrari also have a good lead before our home race," said Eddie.
Frentzen was lucky to take third place. He pulled to a halt half way round the final lap when his car lost fuel pressure. "At first I thought I had lost the place, but then they told me the others had been a lap behind and I was still third even though I didn't finish. I was delighted, said the German.
Hopes of a home victory for Barrichello faded for good when his Stewart's engine failed 43 laps into the race. McLaren's David Coulthard had another non finish after starting two laps down when he stalled on the grid. He was running with the leaders when he did get going, but 22 laps into the race his gearbox failed.
Giancarlo Fisichella was running well for Benetton, but a clutch problem at his pit stop saw him retire when in fifth place. His team-mate took seventh place, but lost time after a collision with Damon Hill's Jordan as the ex-World Champion tried to overtake which put the Jordan out on lap 10.
*Fastest Lap: Hakkinen, Lap 70, 1:18.448, 196,961 kph
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The well practised rivalry between McLaren's Mika Hakkinen and Scuderia Ferrari-Marlboro's Michael Schumacher came back into the spotlight in the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, April 11th, as the two drivers ran a thrilling duel all the way to the checkered flag to finish just 5 seconds apart at the end of the 72-lap race. Hakkinen, favourite for the win after taking the pole by an impressive margin in qualifying, led away from the start chased by Schumacher's Ferrari and local hero Rubens Barrichello in the Stewart-Ford which started from the second row of the grid.
Schumacher would have been delighted with the win, but was happy with second spot. "It could have been a lot worse," he pointed out. "The car was more competitive in the race than it was in qualifying. I kept pushing as much as I could do. He wasn't flat out, but I did my best. I can live with the gap we had in this race. We have more development to come before the next race and I think there will be a lot more fighting between us in the future races," predicted Michael.
Olivier Panis' Prost took the final point of the day despite a 10 second stop-go penalty for a jumped start. Only eight cars at the checkered flag helped his efforts.