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Interesting asides were the news that Jordan had followed the BAR lead and laid off a large number of staff. Massa continued to get a lot of favourable comment as he is without doubt a very exciting driver to watch. However he continues to be bettered by team mate Heidfeld both in qualifying and races. I wonder if Heidfeld is beginning to get a sense of deja-vu here. Jordan driver Sato wins points for commitment and bravery but cannot stay on track - his career will be a short one at this rate. I am a fan, but it is interesting how average Montoya looks all of a sudden. There is not much talk of qualifying engines and yet race pace was so much slower than qualifying pace that one wonders if we do not have Saturday one hour grenade specials in the back of the leading cars. The Minardi cars were shedding wings front and back and after some delay withdrew their cars from the meeting. The fuel in Irvine's Jaguar was found to be inconsistent with the master sample and he was put to the back of the grid (for all the difference it made). Sky Digital, by the way, are offering the latest Jaguar F1 car as a competition prize this season - 2nd prize is two ….. The race promised to be an even bigger yawn than the last one, but it was not to be. To begin with Rubens' car failed on the line and he was not able to take the start. What does he have to do?? Michael romped off into the distance and won as he pleased. This must almost have been as dull for him as it is for the rest of us. However behind him things were quite fun. Hell, there was even some racing ! This is where digital telly comes into it's own. ITV did show bits of the excellent battle between Button, Massa and Frenzen but on digital it was possible to watch this dice at will most of the time. In fact it is the choice available that makes digital worth having - and the lack of adverts of course. The downside is that apart from Ben Edwards and Peter Windsor the commentary and studio teams are rank amateurs. You think Murray Walker missed things? You ain't seen nothing till you get a dose of Perry McCarthy and chums. So wound up in themselves are they that I started to wonder if they were watching the race at all! Martin Brundle is a shining light of knowledge and competence compared to this. In the end it was Ferrari, Williams and McLaren on the podium with possibly David Coulthard being best of the day. Renault were strong but failed to finish, Jordon had another lousy day at the office. Sauber continued to impress, as do BAR. The championship looks as good as over now - which has to be very bad for the sport. Ron Dennis and Frank Williams, however, are fighters and have been down before. They will be back. Jean Todt: “ We showed we were competitive right from the start of the weekend, but we knew we could take nothing for granted right up to the chequered flag. Rubens had an electrical problem with the gear selection at the start of the formation lap. We were concerned that something similar could have happened on Schumacher’s car but it did not. Michael was therefore able to run a fairly comfortable race, making the most of the superiority of our package. I am very disappointed about what happened to Rubens, who had been having a great weekend up to that point. Michael was dominant, picking up ten points which sees him extend his lead in the Drivers’ classification and to continue his extraordinary run of wins. Michael Schumacher: “I started with the T-car as I had a hydraulic problem with my race car in the morning. But that was not an issue as all our three cars are the same. After Rubens had the problem at the start, we tried to be careful during the pit stop and took more care to ensure the same thing did not happen on my car. It was really bad luck for Rubens. Whenever we have had a problem this season, it has been on his car, but that will not continue. In qualifying we were one second ahead but we did not know what the gap would be in the race. The Bridgestones worked very well and were better in qualifying than in Imola, but maintained their consistency for this race. Although I was out in front, I was not bored because I was able to watch the fight for sixth. The team told me it was best not to get involved with it and so I did not try and pass them. ” Rubens Barrichello: “Apart from the problem at the start, this has been a very positive weekend, because the car has worked well ever since the start of Friday without any problems, until I got on the grid and could not select first gear. Even though I have been unlucky here and only have six points, my motivation is even stronger, given the potential of the car and the team. I am therefore looking forward to turning the situation around in two weeks time in Austria. This was a frustrating day, but these things happen and they cannot continue for much longer.“
RACE RESULTS
Spanish GP
Barcelona, Spain
65 laps. Weather: warm, dry
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M. Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h30:29.281
2. Montoya Williams (M) + 0:35.640
3. Coulthard McLaren (M) + 0:42.623
4. Heidfeld Sauber (B) + 1:06.697
5. Massa Sauber (B) + 1:18.973
6. Frentzen Arrows (B) + 1:20.229
7. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap
8. McNish Toyota (M) + 1 Lap
9. Salo Toyota (M) + 1 Lap
10. Trulli Renault (M) + 2 Laps
11. R. Schumacher Williams (M) + 2 Laps
World Championship Standing, Round 5:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 44 1. Ferrari 50
2. Montoya 23 2. Williams 43
3. R.Schumacher 20 3. McLaren 13
4. Coulthard 9 4. Renault 8
5. Button 8 =4. Sauber 8
6. Barrichello 6 6. Jaguar 3
7. Heidfeld 5 7. Minardi 2
8. Raikkonen 4 =7. Toyota 2
9. Irvine 3 9. Arrows 1
=9. Massa 3
11. Webber 2
=11. Salo 2
13. Frentzen 1
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From the first practice sessions of the meeting it was clear that Bridgestone
runners, and in particular Ferrari, were clear favourites for the Spanish
GP. The red cars seemed to have an almost embarrassing advantage with
soul mates Sauber also going very well. In contrast Williams and McLaren
were struggling. When qualifiying came along things had improved for these
teams but it was nevertheless a Ferrari front row with Michael only just
getting the better of a very on-form Rubens. The 2002 car would appear
to suit Rubens very well and his confidence in it is clear both on and
off the track. 
