Try as he might, Schuey could not find a proper setup.

Throughout the weekend, the look on his face remained perturbed.

Rubens stayed ahead of his team-mate in all practise sessions.

Calls for inspiration remained unanswered.

It all ended for Michael at the first corner.

Third place but a long way behind for Barrichello.

GRAND PRIX : Austria : A Race to Forget
A1-Ring, 16.7.00

The Austrian Grand Prix was an awesome demonstration of speed and consummate motor racing professionalism. Pity it was the other lot!

In qualifying it already looked likely that Ferrari were going to struggle. Unusually it was Rubens Barrichello who was quickest of the two Ferrari drivers in all of six practice and qualifying sessions. Michael Schumacher chopped and changed his car's settings throughout the weekend and never found a balance round the point and squirt A1-Ring. Even on the installation laps immediately prior to the start adjustments were still being made on the German's car.

By contrast the two McLarens looked stable and quick and Mika Hakkinen made a resounding return to form by taking an easy pole ahead of his team mate, Coulthard.

The fracas at the first corner was possibly the Ferraris' own fault as Barrichello unexpectedly slowed to let Schumacher through on the inside. This caught out the fifth and sixth placed men, Trulli and Zonta, who each hit a Ferrari up the back. Barrichello went across the gravel and continued, albeit with damaged under-body venturis, but for Schumacher it was all over as he spun round and lost the front wing in the melee.

Thereafter, the McLarens were completely untroubled and at one stage it even looked as though Barrichello could be lapped had Hakkinen kept up his astonishing pace. It is doubtful if Schumacher could have done much to change the result had he got past the first corner.

In the Drivers' Championship Schumacher now leads by just six points from Coulthard and eight from Hakkinen. Having won five of the first eight Grand Prix it is astonishing that Schumacher's cushion is only six points - due to three no scores in the last four races. In the Constructors' table, McLaren are now back in the lead by six points and the total domination of these two teams is demonstrated by the gap of 73 points back to Williams, who lie in third place.

The next Grand Prix, at Hockenheim, is again likely to be strong McLaren territory and the World Championship remains as wide open as ever.

Jean Todt: "It goes without saying that today's race was extremely disappointing. This is the second consecutive time our rivals have taken maximum points. Rubens made it to the podium, even though his car was damaged when he was hit at the start and ran off the track. Michael was also hit at the start and was forced to retire because the car was no longer driveable. We have lost the lead in the Constructors' Championship for the first time this season. Despite everything, Michael still leads the Drivers' classification, albeit by a smaller margin. I have always said it would be a difficult season and today's race has confirmed that. In the past, one of our strengths has been the ability to fight back and we will demonstrate that again in the next race."

Rubens Barrichello: "I didn't see much of what happened at the start. I made a good one and braked quite late and I saw Michael on my inside. I did not want to make any problems for him as we are team mates both working for Ferrari. But then I was hit by somebody and went wide into the gravel, but I managed to power out of it. I was lucky to survive. I dropped some places but I pushed hard to make them up and passed a few cars. The car was almost undriveable, because the floor was damaged. Then at the pit stop the team made some adjustments to the front wing which gave me back some more downforce, but by then it was too late. Until then I was struggling with a very loose car and was just hoping things would change after the pit stop. All in all, I had a great weekend up until the race and I was lucky to finish third."

Michael Schumacher: "I was going into the first corner and Zonta hit me, sending me into a spin. It's as simple as that. Of course I am very disappointed but that is motor racing. It is a shame for me and for the team. Ricardo overestimated his own abilities and underestimated his speed, but I am sure there was nothing intentional about his actions. I have made mistakes in the past and I am sure he will admit it was his fault. He was given a stop-go penalty, therefore the FIA has already decided who was responsible. I hope I will be able to turn things around in Germany. It will be important for me, for the team and for all our fans."

RACE RESULTS

The Austrian Grand Prix
A1-Ring, Spielberg;
71 laps; 305.886km;
Weather: Dry, cloudy.


Classified:

Pos  Driver         Team                             
 1.  Hakkinen       McLaren Mercedes      1h 28:15.818
 2.  Coulthard      McLaren Mercedes          + 12.535
 3.  Barrichello    Ferrari                   + 30.795
 4.  Villeneuve     BAR Honda                 +  1 Lap
 5.  Button         Williams BMW              +  1 Lap
 6.  Salo           Sauber Petronas           +  1 Lap
 7.  Herbert        Jaguar Cosworth           +  1 Lap
 8.  Gene           Minardi Fondmetal         +  1 Lap
 9.  Wurz           Benetton Playlife         +  1 Lap
10.  Diniz          Sauber Petronas           +  1 Lap
11.  Burti          Jaguar Cosworth           +  2 Lap
12.  Mazzacane      Minardi Fondmetal         +  3 Lap


Fastest Lap: D.Coulthard, 1:11.783 (216.953 km/h), lap 67


Not Classified/Retirements:


Driver         Team                On Lap  Reason          
Zonta          BAR Honda             69    engine
R.Schumacher   Williams BMW          53    brakes
Heidfeld       Prost Peugeot         42    collision
Alesi          Prost Peugeot         42    collision
de la Rosa     Arrows Supertec       33    gearbox 
Verstappen     Arrows Supertec       15    gearbox 
Frentzen       Jordan Mugen-Honda     5    engine  
M.Schumacher   Ferrari                1    accident
Trulli         Jordan Mugen-Honda     1    accident
Fisichella     Benetton Playlife      1    accident


World Championship Standing, Round 10:                


Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  M.Schumacher  56        1.  McLaren             98
 2.  Coulthard     50        2.  Ferrari             92
 3.  Hakkinen      48        3.  Benetton-Playlife   18
 4.  Barrichello   36        4.  Williams-BMW        19
 5.  Fisichella    18        5.  Jordan-Mugen Honda  11
 6.  R.Schumacher  14        6.  BAR-Honda           12
 7.  Villeneuve    11        7.  Sauber               4
 8.  Trulli         6        8.  Arrows               3
 9.  Frentzen       5        =   Jaguar               3
 =   Button         5                                  
11.  Salo           4                                  
12.  Irvine         3                                  
13.  Verstappen     2                                  
14.  Zonta          1                                  
 =   de la Rosa     1                                  

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