There was a heavy aura of expectation at the Monaco Grand Prix this year. The Ferrari F1-2000 was clearly operating at the pace of the McLarens' and Schumacher's form was in fine fettle.
It was therefore no surprise to see the No. 3 Ferrari in pole position, ahead of Jarno Trulli in the Jordan. This was undoubtedly good news because there was every chance of the young Italian holding up the pursuing McLarens, who were third (Coulthard) and fifth (Hakkinen). It was an off-form Rubens Barrichello who languished in sixth on the grid complaining about the poor balance of his car.
The first start was waived off when Alexander Wurz's Benetton suffered an engine failure on the grid and the second start was aborted after half a lap following computer failure of the timekeeping system.
However, Schumacher had already shown his determination to get to the front by flying into the lead by the first corner.
The third start went off successfully and again the Ferrari moved decisively ahead with Trulli slotting into second, Coulthard third, Frentzen fourth, Hakkinen fifth and Ralf Schumacher sixth. Helped enormously by Trulli holding up the pursuing field, Schumacher easily pulled away at the rate of 1 sec per lap, until he held a lead of 35 seconds by the time of his first pit stop on lap 49. He emerged still in the lead from Coulthard after Trulli had retired with gearbox failure.
It all looked plain sailing to the finish but unfortunately, on lap 55, the lead Ferrari cocked its right front wheel into the air as the left rear sunk to the ground with suspension failure. Schumacher had either brushed the barrier or it was down to a push rod snapping in the intense heat of a leaking exhaust - depends upon which story you listened to. The damage was irreparable and the car was retired into the pits at the end of the lap.
Barrichello went from sixth on the grid to eighth in the race but benefited enormously from all the retirements in front of him and drove steadily round to finish second behind the victorious Coulthard.
Schumacher's main rival, Mika Hakkinen, suffered from poor brakes and a loose cockpit component and only managed to pick up one point for sixth place.
In the Drivers' Championship Schumacher still has a handy 12-point lead over Coulthard and 17 points over Hakkinen. In the Constructors' Championship Ferrari still lead with 68 points but McLaren have closed the gap to just five points.
Jean Todt: "Today we feel very disappointed about losing a race which we had dominated from the first lap. Around twenty five laps from the end, the left exhaust on Michael's car cracked. This caused the pushrod on the left rear suspension to overheat and break. On the positive side we got a great second place with Rubens. Despite starting lower down the grid and losing two places at the start, he managed to finish on the podium. We have given away five points in the Constructors' Championship but we are still in the lead. I had said right from the beginning of this weekend that the start and reliability would be two important points. One of these factors did not work out in our favour. The team worked very well in the pit stops and it is worth noting this is the first time on Michael's car that we have recorded a retirement through mechanical failure this season. We must remain determined and concentrate immediately on the next race."
Rubens Barrichello: "My start was not too bad. In fact it was quite good, but Ralf (Schumacher) went down the outside and I had no option but to back off. I was unable to find the right set-up in qualifying and that was why my grid position was not so good. I spent a lot of the race conserving my tyres and fuel. I feel that if I had been able to stay out one more lap before my pit stop then I could have passed Frentzen. At one point I nearly went into the barrier before the tunnel and it took me two more laps to clean up my tyres. Basically having started from where I did, I spent the race catching up. Towards the end I backed off because I was told to drop my revs. It is good to be back on the podium again."
Michael Schumacher: "I had a problem with an exhaust pipe which damaged the left rear suspension. I felt a few laps before that something was wrong but there was nothing I could do about it. Obviously I am disappointed but not too much. It's true I could have picked up ten points today but the driver I consider my main rival could also have done so."
RACE RESULTS
Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo, Monaco;
78 laps; 262.860kms;
Weather: Dry, sunny.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team
1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1h 49:28.213
2. Barrichello Ferrari + 17.889
3. Fisichella Benetton Playlife + 18.522
4. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 1:05.924
5. Salo Sauber Petronas + 1:20.774
6. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes + 1 lap
7. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 1 Lap
8. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap
9. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth + 2 Laps
10. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 8 Laps *
· Retired after crash
Fastest Lap: M.Hakkinen, 1:21.571 (148.729 km/h), lap 57
Not Classified/Retirements:
Driver Team On Lap Reason
Verstappen Arrows Supertec 60 accident
M.Schumacher Ferrari 55 suspension
Zonta BAR Honda 48 accident
R.Schumacher Williams BMW 37 accident
Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 36 gearbox
Diniz Sauber Petronas 30 accident
Alesi Prost Peugeot 29 transmission
Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 22 accident
Gene Minardi Fondmetal 21 gearbox
Wurz Benetton Playlife 18 accident
Button Williams BMW 16 engine
de la Rosa Arrows Supertec - DNS
World Championship Standing, Round 7:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 46 1. Ferrari 68
2. Coulthard 34 2. McLaren 63
3. Hakkinen 29 3. Williams-BMW 15
4. Barrichello 22 4. Benetton-Playlife 14
5. Fisichella 14 5. Jordan-Mugen Honda 9
6. R.Schumacher 12 6. BAR-Honda 6
7. Villeneuve 5 7. Jaguar 3
= Frentzen 5 = Sauber 3
9. Trulli 4 9. Arrows 1
10. Button 3
= Irvine 3
= Salo 3
13. Zonta 1
= de la Rosa 1
Acknowledgement :
Race data by Atlas F1.
Pics by Shell, Allsports, Schlegelmilch.
