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GRAND
PRIX : Hockenheim : Both Schumachers Are Happy
29.7.01
Without even finishing the Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher has edged even closer to his fourth driver's world championship. He retired on lap 24 with fuel pump failure but with a 37-point lead in the championship, he needs only to win in Budapest in three weeks' time to retain his world title even if Coulthard finishes second.
Team mate Rubens Barrichello drove an aggressive race to maximise his two-stop strategy, and eventually finished second although assisted by the retirements of Hakkinen and Montoya.
The tone of this dramatic race was set in the first few seconds when Luciano Burti's Prost crashed into the back of Schumacher senior's faltering Ferrari, which was suffering gearbox problems. Michael was fortunate in being given another chance - already a certain retirement, he was handed a break when the race was red-flagged and he was allowed to take the restart in his spare car. Within minutes of the restart, Sauber's Nick Heidfeld and Jaguar's Pedro de la Rosa were both out after another collision. As the casualties piled up - McLaren's Mika Hakkinen, Ricardo Zonta in a Jordan and Sauber's Kimi Raikkonen were all bystanders by lap 16 - Juan Pablo Montoya, who started on pole, had taken control.
At Hockenheim the glory belonged to the Williams-BMW's, with Montoya edging into a useful lead ahead of Ralf. The Columbian was leading when he came in for his first pit stop on lap 23 but a refueling problem saw him return in fourth and as he tried to claw his way back through the field his engine blew up.
That left Ralf Schumacher in the lead and, on a high-speed circuit that favoured the Williams-BMW team, he was able to stay there. Rubens eventually finished second with Jacques Villenueve third for BAR.
Williams has been the most unreliable team of the year with only nine finishes from 24 starts but they came to Hockenheim on the back of a strong testing session at Monza. Ferrari, by contrast, have now had 31 consecutive GP's in which at least one of their drivers has been on the podium
With Williams expected to be strong at three - Monza, Spa and Suzuka - of the remaining five races, Schumacher junior could challenge McLaren's David Coulthard, who was again forced out of the race by engine problems, for second place in the drivers' championship. The Scuderia are talking up the chances of Barrichello making it into second place, but this has to be a long shot.
Jean Todt: "This was a very strange race and tough on the reliability for the cars. Ferrari has come out of it with six points to increase its lead in the Constructors' Championship and in the Drivers' classification, Schumacher's advantage over Coulthard remains the same with one less race to go, even if his brother Ralf has closed up a bit. Rubens drove a really great race, getting the most out of the strategy, which given the result proved to be the right one. The way the race went showed the importance of reliability. I am disappointed that Michael did not finish. He had a gearbox problem at the first start and then a fuel pressure problem just after his pit-stop."
Rubens Barrichello: "Given that we felt the Williams was on another level, the two stop strategy was the right decision, as the best we could hope for was to finish behind them and I was the only one who could match their pace at the start thanks to that strategy. So I am very happy with this second place. I was already third before the red flag. After I passed Mika, he hit me from behind and I was worried the car was damaged, but the team changed the rear wing before the second start. Mika apologised to me on the grid. My fight with David was fun and fair, although a bit too close at times. The problem with it was that we were both losing time rather than moving forward. It was not a problem passing him round the outside. He left that side for me and we know one another since Formula 3 so we have respect for one another. I was surprised at the number of retirements to be honest. This result was really everything I could hope for today. I am pleased to have brought home six very important points for the Constructors' Championship."
Michael Schumacher: "At the first start I had a problem with the gear selection. I did not know where to go and when I saw Burti in my mirrors I couldn't move out of the way. It was a difficult situation but it could have been a lot worse. After the pit stop I had a fuel pressure problem and I had to retire. I am not too disappointed as the situation in the championship remains the same and there is one less race to go. It was a shame not to finish the race and pick up a further six points. Of course I'm very happy for Ralf as this is our home race and it was good to see him win here. It would have been nice to get on the podium with Ralf and Rubens and the fans would have liked it."
RACE RESULTS German GP Hockenheim, Germany; 45 laps. Weather:dry, warm. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time 1. R. Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1h18:17.873 2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 0:46.117 3. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 1:02.806 4. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) + 1:03.477 5. Button Benetton Renault (M) + 1:05.454 6. Alesi Prost Acer (M) + 1:05.950 7. Panis BAR Honda (B) + 1:17.527 8. Bernoldi Arrows (B) + 1 Lap 9. Verstappen Arrows (B) + 1 Lap 10. Alonso Minardi European (M) + 1 Lap World Championship Standing, Round 12: Drivers: Constructors: 1. M.Schumacher 84 1. Ferrari 124 2. Coulthard 47 2. McLaren 66 3 R. Schumacher 41 3. Williams 56 4. Barrichello 40 4. Sauber 19 5. Hakkinen 19 5. BAR 16 6. Montoya 15 6. Jordan 15 7. Villeneuve 11 7. Benetton 6 8. Heidfeld 10 8. Jaguar 5 9. Trulli 9 9. Prost 4 =. Raikkonen 9 10. Arrows 1 11. Frentzen 6 =. Minardi 1 12. Panis 5 13. Irvine 4 =. Fisichella 4 =. Alesi 4 16. Button 2 =. de la Rosa 1 =. Verstappen 1
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