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Schumacher won the qualifying race by a wide margin
Barrichello headed into an untroubled third but not on the leaders' pace
Coulthard pressed hard during the second half
Ross Brawn engineered many strategic victories and Sepang was no exception
The joy of adding the second championship was great
The whole team pose for the end-of-term picture

Ferrari Happenings

GRAND PRIX : Malaysia : Ferrari Win Their World Championship
Sepang, 22.10.00

With Michael Schumacher winning the Drivers' Championship at the previous round the task for the Ferrari team at Malaysia was straightforward: they had to wrap up the Constructors' title for which they needed just three points even if McLaren scored a 1-2 finish.

Just as important, however, would be the psychological advantage of going into the close season with yet another win under the Scuderias' belt.

Also, there was the possibility that if Barrichello won the race with Coulthard not scoring any points he would overhaul the Scotsman for third place in the Drivers' Championship. There was indeed a lot of speculation that Schumacher, should he be leading and with Coulthard out of the points, might just hand the win to his team-mate.

Qualifying round the highly technical Sepang circuit showed the Ferraris to be at least on a par with the McLarens. Schumacher put in two exquisite laps to take pole by, in modern terms, a wide margin and up until the very end it looked as if Rubens Barrichello might take second spot. But then first Coulthard and then Hakkinen pushed the second Ferrari down into fourth slot with last-ditch efforts just as the chequered flag came out.

The race for the Constructors' title was effectively over at the start when Hakkinen moved forward before the five red lights had gone out and picked up a 10-second stop-and-go penalty. The chances of a McLaren 1-2 looked slim. It was, however, Coulthard who shot into a useful lead ahead of Schumacher, Barrichello and Hakkinen who then took his penalty stop on lap five.

Coulthard's early first pit stop on lap 18 of 56 gave Schumacher the lead he clung on to to the very end. Only a few seconds separated him from Coulthard and this gap became inexorably smaller during the entire second half of the race until the two were running nose to tail. Aerodynamically, however, it is a difficult circuit on which to pass and Coulthard never got his chance.

Amazingly, Mika Hakkinen drove through from the very last place after his stop-and-go into fourth place by the end to pick up useful Constructors' points but not, of course, enough for his team to win the Championship. Had he not incurred the penalty he could have made things even tougher for Schumacher than Coulthard did. Barrichello had his by now usual lonely race. Unable to maintain the pace of Schumacher and Coulthard he cruised into third place and this unfortunately was not enough to put him ahead of Coulthard in the Drivers' Championship.

The double championship brought to an end a tough and uncompromising season which saw some excellent racing but also an ingredient of acrimony between the two leading teams. With the weight of expectation now lifted it is quite possible that Ferrari's and Michael Schumacher's supremacy will continue into the 2001 season and maybe even beyond.

Jean Todt: "The championship could not have finished better than this, with two drivers on the podium. This season's figures speak for themselves: ten wins, nine for Michael and one for Rubens. It has been a fantastic year. Today, we could have got by with three points, but we wanted to think big, not small, which is what the team deserves. A big thank you to President Montezemolo, who is here this evening to celebrate this happy moment with the mechanics, engineers and drivers. A big thank you also to the fans and those who always believed in us. This dream result has been obtained thanks to a dream team."

Michael Schumacher: "We wanted to win the Constructors' Championship and we have done it, not just by getting three points but by winning and by coming third. It was a very tight and tough race and DC was pushing me all the way, so it was tough physically and on the car. I did not know Mika had jumped the start as I was concentrating on the lights. I did not have a very good start and struggled to get off the line and so I was third as David out-braked me round the outside. He was pulling away and I was concerned, because I could not go any faster. At that point he was definitely quicker than me. I was hoping he would pit early. He did and our strategy did the rest. David put me under pressure at the end, but I had looked after the last set of tyres so that I could have defended myself if I had needed to fight him off. Then I just concentrated on not making a mistake. After the team has finished packing up, we will have a big, big party tonight and then we can go into a winter holiday, which the whole team deserves. They have worked so hard and delivered a perfect car. It's superb! "

Rubens Barrichello: "The conditions were very hot and at first I was worried the heat might affect me as I still have a bit of 'flu. But the car felt good all the time and so I was able to maintain a good pace. I also did not make a very good start and Wurz and Villeneuve came outside me. I was lucky not to hit anybody. I went into the corner really fast and managed to come out of Turn 2 ahead of Villeneuve. I had a lonely race, but I think it was my second best one after Hockenheim, because I was not feeling well but still raced at qualifying speed almost the whole time apart from the last ten laps, when the team told me on the radio to back off. My only problem was at the second pit stop when I could not get first gear and lost a few seconds. I am very pleased. The season has gone very well for me and to finish in a strong position like this means we can start next year in a strong position too."


RACE RESULTS

The Malaysian Grand Prix
Sepang, Kuala Lumpur;
56 laps; Weather: Dry.

Classified:

Pos  Driver         Team                             
 1.  M.Schumacher   Ferrari             1h35:54.235 
 2.  Coulthard      McLaren Mercedes    +     0.732 
 3.  Barrichello    Ferrari             +    18.444 
 4.  Hakkinen       McLaren Mercedes    +    35.269 
 5.  Villeneuve     BAR Honda           +  1:10.692 
 6.  Irvine         Jaguar Cosworth     +  1:12.568 
 7.  Wurz           Benetton Playlife   +  1:39.314 
 8.  Salo           Sauber Petronas     +  1 Lap    
 9.  Fisichella     Benetton Playlife   +  1 Lap    
10.  Verstappen     Arrows Supertec     +  1 Lap    
11.  Alesi          Prost Peugeot       +  1 Lap    
12.  Trulli         Jordan Mugen-Honda  +  1 Lap    
13.  Mazzacane      Minardi Fondmetal   +  6 Laps  *
 
* retired with engine failure

Fastest Lap: M.Hakkinen, 1:38.543

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver         Team                On Lap  Reason 
Herbert        Jaguar Cosworth       49    rear suspension
Zonta          BAR Honda             47    engine               
R.Schumacher   Williams BMW          44    engine               
Gene           Minardi Fondmetal     37    engine               
Button         Williams BMW          17    engine               
Frentzen       Jordan Mugen-Honda     8    hydraulics               
Heidfeld       Prost Peugeot          1    accident               
Diniz          Sauber Petronas        1    accident               
de la Rosa     Arrows Supertec        1    accident               


World Championship Standing, Final:

Drivers:                  Constructors:             
 1.  M. Schumacher 108 WC  1.  Ferrari            170 CC
 2.  Hakkinen       89     2.  McLaren            152
 3.  Coulthard      73     3.  Williams-BMW        36
 4.  Barrichello    62     4.  Benetton-Playlife   20
 5.  R.Schumacher   24     5.  BAR-Honda           20
 6.  Fisichella     18     6.  Jordan-Mugen Honda  17
 7.  Villeneuve     17     7.  Arrows               7
 8.  Button         12     8.  Sauber               6
 9.  Frentzen       11     9.  Jaguar               4
10.  Trulli          6                               
 =   Salo            6                               
12.  Verstappen      5                               
13.  Irvine          4                               
14.  Zonta           3                               
15.  de la Rosa      2                               
 =   Wurz            2                               

Acknowledgement: Race data by Atlas F1.
Pictures by Sutton and Allsport.


 

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