  
|
||||
 |
| 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 |
GRAND
PRIX : Malaysia : Ferrari Win Their World Championship 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."
Sepang, 22.10.00
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.
Click here to return to the Ferrari
Happenings page.
