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GRAND
PRIX: France : Michael Eases Away
1.7.01
There was just a week between the French Grand Prix and Michael Schumacher's win at the Nurburgring. There, the Ferrari went well, the Williams were very good but the McLarens faltered. Given the lack of testing time in between it was unlikely that these scenarios would change in time for Magny Cours.
And so it turned out. For the third race in a row the Schumachers decided the front row between them. In the end Ralf had it by just 0.01 seconds. Right at the end of the session Michael did go out for one final run and was fractionally ahead of the first split but by the time he had passed two slower cars his advantage had disappeared again.
As a race it was not one of the best. Almost everyone except for Barrichello was on a two-stop strategy (Rubens was on three) and the only mild excitement for Ferrari fans was in the first third of the race when Ralf gamely hung on to his lead just a few seconds ahead of his brother. Neither looked to be able to do anything about the other.
At the first round of pit stops Ralf took a couple of seconds longer when the new right rear wheel of the Williams refused to go on cleanly and by the time he emerged on the track Michael was ahead.
With the Ferrari flying and with Ralf having a suspect second set of tyres the race was effectively over. David Coulthard, who started from third on the grid, also managed to get ahead of Ralf during his first pit stop but was then obliged to come in for a ten second stop and go penalty after he was caught speeding down the pit lane. He eventually finished fourth right behind Barrichello, who had patiently worked his way up from eighth on the grid despite being on a strange three-stop strategy.
Schumacher's lead in the Drivers' Championship has now increased to 31 points ahead of Coulthard and the omens look increasingly that the McLaren man will no longer be a realistic challenger. Ralf, on the other hand, is looking like he will win further races and he has already passed Barrichello for third place in the Championship.
Theoretically there are enough points left for Ralf to overtake his brother. Maybe this could be Bernie's favoured scenario - brother racing against brother on the final corner of the World Championship.
Jean Todt: "I am very happy with the outcome of this race, as much for Michael's win as for Ruben's really great drive. He started from the fourth row, made up two places at the start and one more on the first lap. This result has further extended our lead over our closest rivals and it's a nice way to celebrate my eighth anniversary with Ferrari. It goes without saying that the team will keep its feet on the ground and work with the utmost concentration right to the end of the championship. The whole team worked really well. Even though this is my home race, I was happy to ask Rubens' race engineer, Carlo Cantoni to pick up the team prize in recognition of the great job done by his group of engineers, who brought a difficult weekend to a brilliant conclusion."
Michael Schumacher: "I had a problem with the clutch at the start and nearly lost position to David and it was very close in the first corner. I had the inside line and he was on the outside but it was still close up to Turn 3. I knew I had to be ahead of him or it would compromise our strategy. I was alright being behind Ralf, who was very fast in the first stint. I think our strategy worked better as we went shorter than them. The fact Ralf had a problem in his first stop also helped. My second set of tyres was very good and I was flying, but then I had some problems with the third one. This is a great result and Rubens did a perfect job to make it a perfect day for Ferrari. I am too realistic to think about the championship. Until it is mathematically impossible for me to lose I will keep fighting, but this is a very comfortable lead. However, there are still seven races and 70 points available."
Rubens Barrichello: "I must admit I am a little surprised to be on the podium. This morning we sorted out my qualifying problems and the car was a lot better. During my first stint, I was going very well and saving fuel. Then the team came on the radio and suggested I switch to a three stop strategy. My only problem came on my last set of tyres, which blistered very early. That his how David managed to come alongside me, once because I braked at my usual point and nearly went off and the second time when I got held up by a backmarker. It was a good battle, but from where I started I knew I would have to fight today. Eighth to third is a good achievement. I am very happy for the team, which thanks to Michael's win leaves France with a first and third place."
RACE RESULTS French GP Magny Cours, France; 72 laps. Weather:dry,hot. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time 1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h33:35.636 2. R. Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 0:10.399 3. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 0:16.381 4. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) + 0:17.106 5. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) + 1:08.285 6. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap 7. Raikkonen Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap 8. Frentzen Jordan Honda (B) + 1 Lap 9. Panis BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap 10. Burti Prost Acer (M) + 1 Lap 11. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) + 1 Lap 12. Alesi Prost Acer (M) + 2 Laps 13. Verstappen Arrows (B) + 2 Laps 14. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 2 Laps 15. Marques Minardi European (M) + 3 Laps 16. Button Benetton Renault (M) + 4 Laps 17. Alonso Minardi European (M) + 7 Laps World Championship Standing, Round 10: Drivers: Constructors: 1. M.Schumacher 78 1. Ferrari 108 2. Coulthard 47 2. McLaren 56 3 R.Schumacher 31 3. Williams 43 4. Barrichello 30 4. Sauber 16 5. Montoya 12 5. Jordan 15 6. Trulli 9 6. BAR 12 =. Heidfeld 9 7. Jaguar 5 =. Hakkinen 9 8. Prost 3 9. Raikkonen 7 9. Benetton 1 =. Villeneuve 7 =. Arrows 1 11. Frentzen 6 =. Minardi 1 12. Panis 5 13. Irvine 4 14. Alesi 3 15. Fisichella 1 =. de la Rosa 1 =. Verstappen 1
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