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To hedge their bets Ferrari brought along two F2002s for Michael Schumacher and a pair of F2001s for local driver Rubens Barrichello. The grid indeed showed that the Williams were going to be strong here. Pablo Montoya took pole position, with team-mate Ralf in third slot and only MS was able to get between them. He was the only Bridgestone runner amongst the first seven on the grid. Although only seven tenths slower than Michael, Barrichello was all the way back in eighth place. Clearly some kind of unconventional pit stop strategy would be needed to get him nearer the front in the race. The Williams/Ferrari fracas on the opening lap is becoming a habit. Whilst Montoya gave Michael sufficient room in the first three corners, the Ferrari then dived across the Williams nose going into turn 4 and Montoya's front wing went flying into the mass of cars behind. Montoya headed straight into the pits where he stopped for 19 seconds to have a new nose fitted, dropping him to the back. Michael's car, thankfully, was undamaged and he began to pull out a slender lead over brother Ralf, whilst the two Renaults of Trulli and Button began their entertaining battle with the McLaren duo. Barrichello, however, was on the move. With a light fuel load and a two-stop strategy he moved from eighth on the grid to sixth at the end of the first lap and by lap six he passed Ralf to take second place. A further seven laps later Barrichello caught the lead Ferrari and went through into the lead until, on lap 17, the Ferrari's hydraulics failed and he rolled to a stop - his eighth Interlagos retirement. Until the first pit stops things remained fairly static, with MS ekeing out an 8-second lead over his brother's Williams and the pair of them a long way ahead of the pursuing Renaults and McLarens. The pit stops began on lap 39 out of 71 and at their conclusion MS held a modest 3-second lead over Ralf. By lap 55 Ralf was right on Michael's tail but never got close enough to even begin a passing move. They ran like that to the finish and had a minute in hand over third placed man, Coulthard. Button's Renault finished fourth for an encouraging result and Montoya recovered from his first lap fracas to finish fifth and gain valuable points. This result puts Michael into a 8-points lead in the Championship ahead of his brother, whilst Williams, with their strong results and good finishing record, still head the Manufacturers' table. The next Grand Prix takes place at Imola, home territory for Ferrari, and both drivers will be out in the new F2002 cars. Jean Todt: “It was a really great race. We have taken our second win of the year, victorious with the F2002 on its race debut. Michael was fantastic and drove an exceptional race. Rubens was also driving an incredible race, which had taken him from eighth to first and it was unfortunate that an hydraulic problem forced him to retire. There is still a lot of work to do and we know this championship is still going to be very open and difficult. We have shown great grit and determination in winning here in Brazil.” Michael Schumacher: “Winning this race was not down to luck. We worked hard for it, developing the new car and the Bridgestone tyres. I like this track because it is technically difficult and that makes it a challenge. It was an exciting time through the first two corners. Juan Pablo drove well and I thought I could out-brake him for the first corner, but he left his braking really late, so I prepared to do it at the second. He left me enough space and I got by. I don’t know what happened at Turn 4. I went for the inside line to leave him the outside. Towards the end, it was not that hard to keep Ralf behind. I knew the only place to overtake was at Turn 1, so I concentrated on making sure he could not pass by braking late and getting a good exit. In the infield, you cannot pass unless there is a mistake so I was not trying to pull away. ” Rubens Barrichello: “We had opted for a different strategy to Michael’s as, starting from the fourth row, it was the best chance of making up places in the early stages of the race. Everything was going well and I managed to get into the lead and given the combination of strategies, I think I could have ended up on the podium. Unfortunately, my car developed an hydraulic problem and I had to retire. The F2001 was going well today and I really wanted to give it a great send off with a good result. Despite the fact I have yet to score points after three races, my motivation remains high. ”
RACE RESULTS
Brazilian GP
Interlagos,Brazil
71 laps. Weather: Hot & Dry
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M. Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h31:43.663
2. R. Schumacher Williams (M) + 0:01.176
3. Coulthard McLaren (M) + 0:59.109
4. Button Renault (M) + 1:06.883
5. Montoya Williams (M) + 1:07.563
6. Salo Toyota (M) + 1 Lap
7. Irvine Jaguar (M) + 1 Lap
8. de la Rosa Jaguar (M) + 1 Lap
9. Sato Jordan (B) + 2 Laps
10. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 3 Laps
11. Webber Minardi (M) + 3 Laps
12. Raikkonen McLaren (M) + 4 Laps
13. Yoong Minardi (M) + 4 Laps
World Championship Standing, Round 2:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 24 1. Williams 30
2. R. Schumacher 16 2. Ferrari 24
3. Montoya 14 3. McLaren 8
4. Button 6 4. Renault 6
=5. Coulthard 4 5. Jaguar 3
=5. Raikkonen 4 6. Sauber 3
7. Irvine 3 7. Minardi 2
=8. Heidfeld 2 8. Toyota 2
=8. Webber 2
=8. Salo 2
11. Massa 1
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Again, expectations for this Grand Prix were down-played by the Ferrari
team. The long up-hill drag past the pits was said to favour the more
powerful BMW engines and the Michelin tyres on the Williams and McLarens
were thought to be better in the hot Brazilian conditions.
