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GRAND
PRIX: Brazil : The Empire Strikes Back
1.4.01
This race should have been a Michael Schumacher triumph. But two drivers intervened to give him a rather glum face as he stood on only the second step of the podium.
Qualifying was a straightforward affair. Early in the session Rubens Barrichello took provisional pole but then gradually slipped down to sixth place as the others simply went quicker and he, complaining of understeer, was unable to make his car go any faster. Schumacher, on the other hand, looked totally in control as he set a time some 0.3 secs quicker than the next man - none other than his brother Ralf in the Williams BMW. Their engines were clearly the class of the field, being significantly quicker than anyone else through the speed traps, and Ralf's teammate, Pablo Montoya, put the second Williams into fourth slot.
The McLarens' were again not looking at their best, although Hakkinen grabbed third place and teammate Coulthard managed fifth.
Just before the start came the first Ferrari drama as Barrichello's car stopped on the installation lap and he had to run back to the pits to take over his team-mate's spare. Some hasty work by the mechanics converted it to Rubens' specification with minutes to spare.
When the grid lights went out Schumacher made an excellent start but behind him there was near disaster as Hakkinen stalled on the grid. There were some frightening avoidances as the pack somehow missed his stationary car. The Safety Car was immediately despatched, whilst Hakkinen's immobile McLaren was removed from the grid. On lap three the racing began in earnest.
Possibly because of his extensive experience of rolling starts in Indy Car racing, Montoya was the quickest away as the field was unleashed and he dived inside Schumacher at the first corner and, wheels banging, pushed him on to the outside kerb and took the lead.
A few corners later there was more drama for Ferrari as Barrichello inexplicably ran into the back of Ralf Schumacher's Williams and ended his race as a three-wheeler in the gravel. Whilst Barrichello was adamant that it was Ralf's fault it looked suspiciously like an error by the Brazilian.
For the next 36 laps Montoya settled into an easy rhythm at the front, although Schumacher and Coulthard maintained station just behind. There was speculation that the Williams was much lighter on fuel than the Ferrari but this was dispelled when Schumacher was the first to pit, re-joining in fourth place. But suddenly Montoya was removed in one of those strange racing accidents when Verstappen hit him up the rear, having clearly moved out of the way to be lapped.
The next few laps looked to be playing right into Schumacher's hands as heavy rain began to fall and he immediately dived into the pits for a set of intermediate tyres. Coulthard elected to do one further - and extremely slow - lap, following which he also pitted for intermediates. This left Schumacher in a lead which, given the extremely tricky conditions, would normally have seen him through to an easy win.
However, things turned sour for the second time as Coulthard gradually caught the Ferrari, slipping past in a daring move and easily pulled away into a 20 sec lead. Schumacher was clearly struggling, had one spin and one off-track excursion, with his car not performing at anywhere near the same level as Coulthard's.
The McLaren cruised
to victory on the drying track, with Schumacher finishing second, ahead
of the delighted Nick Heidfeld in the Ferrari-engined Sauber, who took
his first-ever podium place. Whilst Schumacher still leads the Drivers'
Championship with 26 points, Coulthard's win has now put him just six
points behind. The welcome renaissance of the Williams team will undoubtedly
add further spice to a championship which, in the first two races, had
been in slight danger of becoming repetitive.
Jean Todt: “ The race was full of incidents and surprises and for us, it got off to a difficult start, with Rubens parked at the side of the track when his engine stopped with no fuel pressure. The team did an exceptional job in adapting the spare to suit the Brazilian. On the third lap, Rubens had an unfortunate coming together with Ralf Schumacher, forcing him to retire. I am very disappointed for him, here in front of his home crowd. Michael had set out on a two stop strategy, which did not work, because of events in the opening laps. The Safety Car dealt a new pack of cards, which wiped out the advantage Michael had built up after the start. Once the race re-started, he was passed by Montoya and was not able to retake the lead. When the rain came, we thought the situation might turn in our favour, which has often been the case in these conditions. However, Michael’s car proved difficult to drive in this situation and we could not exploit the conditions. Nevertheless, the six points are important for both Championships because we know this will be a long and difficult season."
Michael Schumacher: “Montoya's move is easy to explain. He had quite a lot of straight line speed compared with us. With such a long straight from the last corner to the first, you have to give the Safety Car a lot of room, so it is easy for the second placed man to get close and slipstream by. He got it right, braking very late. He pushed me wide, but that is normal racing. We touched but that was not a problem. I thought I might get him back, but I could not. I was on a two stop strategy and I was hoping for rain, because with David in front of me, I thought that would be my best chance. But today, it did not work out for us. The car was not working quite the way I liked it, which is why I had a couple of "offs," which is not normal for me in these conditions. I am slightly disappointed with the result, but at least I am still leading the championship."
Rubens Barrichello: “This was definitely not my lucky day. On the formation lap there was a problem with my car, which stopped at the side of the track. I ran back to the pits where the mechanics did a great job to adapt the spare for me, as it was set up for Michael. The car was almost perfect and I am grateful to the whole team for giving me the chance to start my home race. I did not make a very good start, but then I soon got into my stride. I was behind Ralf when he suddenly changed line, probably to pass another car and he braked in front of me. I did not expect this and the collision was inevitable after that. These things happen in racing. However, I think we need to get a clear ruling from FIA about how many times one can change line in these circumstances.”
RACE RESULTS The Brazilian GP Interlagos, Sao Paulo; Weather: Partly dry, partly rain. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time 1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) 1h 39:00.384 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) + 16.100 3. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap 4. Panis BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap 5. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) + 1 Lap 6. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) + 1 Lap 7. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap 8. Alesi Prost Acer (M) + 1 Lap 9. Marques European Minardi (M) + 3 Laps 10. Button Benetton Renault (M) + 7 Laps Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:15.693, lap 38 Not Classified/Retirements: Driver Team On Lap Frentzen Jordan Honda (B) 63 Raikkonen Sauber Petronas (B) 55 Mazzacane Prost Acer (M) 54 R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 54 Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 52 Montoya Williams BMW (M) 38 Verstappen Arrows Asiatech (B) 37 Burti Jaguar Cosworth (M) 30 Alonso European Minardi (M) 25 Bernoldi Arrows Asiatech (B) 15 Barrichello Ferrari (B) 2 Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (B) 0 World Championship Standing, Round 3: Drivers: Constructors: 1. M.Schumacher 26 1. Ferrari 36 2. Coulthard 20 2. McLaren 21 3 Barrichello 10 3. Sauber 8 4. Heidfeld 7 4. Jordan 7 5. Frentzen 5 5. BAR 3 6. Panis 3 6. Williams 2 7. R.Schumacher 2 7. Benetton 1 = Trulli 2 9 Hakkinen 1 = Raikkonen 1 = Fisichella 1
(results data by Atlas F1)
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