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This GP needed to be won, and the pressure was very evident.
 
The Brickyard, and Barrichello blasts by.
 
The hyped circuit was a bore but the race was enthralling.
 
Michael squeezes past Coulthard having been a little too blatantly blocked.
 
Ross Brawn played a strong role in the strategy of both drivers.
 
The Ferrari crew could not have wished for anything better.
 

Ferrari Happenings

GRAND PRIX : Indianapolis : Ferraris Regain Control
USA, 24.9.00

The hype about the track and its one banked corner almost overshadowed the fact that the World Championship was approaching its exciting climax. With three races to go Michael Schumacher was just two points behind Mika Hakkinen, with Barrichello and Coulthard having fallen out of contention following their retirement at the Italian Grand Prix.

Qualifying went reasonably well for the Ferraris and Schumacher set a series of fastest laps to claim pole position. Initially Barrichello was second quickest but a late effort by the two McLarens, including a well-executed slipstream manoeuvre, put Coulthard alongside Schumacher on the front row with Hakkinen one place back.. There was inevitable nervousness that Coulthard might use his front row position to spoil Schumacher's race in favour of team-mate Hakkinen.

The start dealt a serious blow to McLarens chances when Coulthard, caught out by a dragging clutch, rolled forward and inevitably brought a 10-second penalty upon himself. For several laps, however, Coulthard mischievously blocked Schumacher behind him and enabled Hakkinen to catch up. In a risky manoeuvre during which the two cars touched Schumacher went by Coulthard who then pulled into the pits for his penalty and put himself out of contention for the remainder of the race.

Hakkinen's too-early pit stop to change from wets to dries played fully into Schumacher's hands - he stayed out for seven more laps and built up a lead of 16 seconds by the time both had finished their first pit stops.

It then became clear that the McLaren was much quicker in a straight line and a Spa-type embarrassment appeared on the cards as Hakkinen easily reduced the lead to less than 4 seconds. On lap 25, however, there was relief for the Ferrari team as Hakkinen's Ilmor engine destroyed itself and the McLaren retired.

In the first half of the race Barrichello fell further and further back handicapped by a heavy fuel load and a very early stop for dry tyres. As conditions improved he speeded up enormously and some slick pit work had him move into third by lap 43 and into second by lap 57, where he stayed until the end.

Schumacher's spin four laps before the chequered flag was the last remaining moment of excitement in what had already been an enthralling race.

This result gives Schumacher an eight point lead over Hakkinen, with two more events remaining. If Schumacher wins in Japan then even with Hakkinen second the Championship is decided in favour of the Ferrari driver. However, modern GP racing, much to Bernie's relief, has a knack of going down to the final wire. Therefore expect to see the final showdown take place in Malaysia.

Jean Todt: "This is Ferrari's eighth victory of the season and the seventh for Michael. In terms of wins and also with 143 points this is an outright record for the team in one season. A day like this makes you think even more about the championships, but we know that even if there are only two races remaining, the road ahead will still be long and difficult. It was a fantastic race from start to finish with both Michael and Rubens producing a great performance. Michael always makes us nervous when he has a big lead but we know him well by now. He's like that. He finds it hard to drive slowly! I am very happy for the team, for the preparation work they did, for the job they accomplished during the race and for the way they reacted in the most difficult moments. Now we must keep our concentration and our feet on the ground. We start work again tomorrow to be absolutely ready for Japan and Malaysia."

Michael Schumacher: "This is really, really nice! It is the first time we have come here and I did not expect such a reception from the American fans. Another one-two for Ferrari is just the best. After the start, we knew that Coulthard might have a penalty, but I had to pass him as he was slowing me. Of course that was done so that Mika could catch me, which is fair enough as they are team mates. I think he tried a bit too hard to stop me and we touched. In the early stages I was concentrating on saving my tyres. I was in front when Mika went out and I believe I could have stayed there if he had continued. We beat them fair and square. As for my spin, I wasn't concentrating because I was cruising after the team told me to slow down. I got caught out on some wet grass which spun me round. Ross Brawn told me on the radio to concentrate and I replied that I was awake now. As for the championship, I refuse to believe in it until it is over. Now we must concentrate and work hard for the next two races. Of course this is a good position to be in as I can finish twice second and still win the championship on the number of wins. But I prefer to win the next race. Now I am heading back to Italy and will be testing on Thursday and Friday."

Rubens Barrichello: "I am very happy for myself and for the team after this good result. It was great to see so many Brazilian and Ferrari flags in the grandstands. In the early part of the race I found I had too much oversteer on the rain tyres and so I called for dry ones on the radio. I had a lot of fuel on board and the car was quite difficult to drive at that point. I made my pit stop a bit too early, maybe five laps, but as I was on a long run I knew I would get my chance later. When I saw Mika stop, I knew I had to push hard to try and get the best possible result for the team and give them sixteen points. Although my car was quick, I had a bit too much wing which made it hard to pass Heinz-Harald, but when he pitted I got my chance."


RACE RESULTS

The United States Grand Prix
Indiana, Indianapolis;
73 laps; 306.235km;
Weather: damp, windy.

Classified:

Pos  Driver         Team                             
 1.  M.Schumacher   Ferrari                 1H36:30.883
 2.  Barrichello    Ferrari               +    12.118 
 3.  Frentzen       Jordan Mugen-Honda    +    17.368 
 4.  Villeneuve     BAR Honda             +    17.935 
 5.  Coulthard      McLaren Mercedes      +    28.813 
 6.  Zonta          BAR Honda             +    51.694 
 7.  Irvine         Jaguar Cosworth       +  1:11.105 
 8.  Diniz          Sauber Petronas       +     1 Lap    
 9.  Heidfeld       Prost Peugeot         +     1 Lap    
10.  Wurz           Benetton Playlife     +     1 Lap    
11.  Herbert        Jaguar Cosworth       +     1 Lap    
12.  Gene           Minardi Fondmetal     +     1 Lap    
 
Fastest Lap: D.Coulthard, 1:14.711 

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver         Team                On Lap  Reason          
Alesi          Prost Peugeot         64 - engine
Mazzacane      Minardi Fondmetal     59 - engine
R.Schumacher   Williams BMW          58 - pneumatics
de la Rosa     Arrows Supertec       45 - gearbox
Fisichella     Benetton Playlife     44 - engine
Verstappen     Arrows Supertec       34 - accident
Hakkinen       McLaren Mercedes      25 - engine
Salo           Sauber Petronas       18 - spun off
Button         Williams BMW          14 - engine
Trulli         Jordan Mugen-Honda    12 - suspension 



World Championship Standing, Round 15:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  M. Schumacher 88        1.  Ferrari            143
 2.  Hakkinen      80        2.  McLaren            133
 3.  Coulthard     63        3.  Williams-BMW        34
 4.  Barrichello   55        4.  Benetton-Playlife   20
 5.  R.Schumacher  24        5.  Jordan-Mugen Honda  17
 6.  Fisichella    18        =   BAR-Honda           17
 7.  Villeneuve    14        7.  Arrows               7
 8.  Frentzen      11        8.  Sauber               6
 9.  Button        10        9.  Jaguar               3
10. Trulli          6                                  
 =  Salo            6                                  
12. Verstappen      5                                  
13. Irvine          3                                  
 =. Zonta           3                                  
15. de la Rosa      2                                  
 =  Wurz            2                                   
        
  
Acknowledgement: Race data by Atlas F1.

 

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