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The overriding impression one was left with following the US GP was the sheer level of mechanical carnage. Of the 20 starters, only eight made it to the flag. Two retired with engine failure, two with gearbox failure, one with hydraulics failure, brought about by a puncture, and six as the result of accidents. Of these, the most worrying were the accidents to Alonso and Ralf Schumacher, probably through tyre failure caused by debris from earlier accidents. Finally, the hapless Montoya was black-flagged. Scuderia Ferrari emerged unscathed through all this, taking their fourth one-two of the season, a tribute to the strongest driving and engineering forces in F1 by far. Rubens was on top for much of the weekend, but Michael’s intellect gave him the win in the end. Whilst watching qualifying, I was struck by the extraordinary speed and sensitivity of F1 cars and their fragility in this particular environment. The sustained high speed and unyielding walls of Indy made it scary watching. Like the present generation or not, F1 cars are still the thoroughbreds of the racing world. Champ Cars and IRL are certainly more rugged but consequently look like cart horses in comparison. The in-car footage was just sensational; Bernie TV seems to be releasing more and more to keep us interested. I was struck with just how small the optimum performance window appears to be. If the cars get out of line, the driver has to lift off and the cars almost seem to stop, surely the result of hugely efficient, but hyper-sensitive aerodynamics and very little (relatively) mechanical grip, which can’t be helped by those absurd grooved tyres and artificially imposed, narrow-track suspension. Other impressions were, as always, engine acceleration and r.p.m. and the speed of the gear changes – truly awesome to any amateur who has struggled ineptly with a manual racing gearbox. Also, was Michael left-foot braking when he turned into the fast Turn 13, or was the reduction in revs simply the result of aerodynamic grip? Admittedly, this was all very late at night and whether chemicals unlock the doors of perception, or result in talking a load of sphericals is always a moot point… There have been various dark hints about MS using left-foot braking to maximum effect in fast corners, who knows what is possible with modern technology; differential braking perhaps? However, it was a happy Rubens who took pole; he said he’s given up trying to LFB and the Disney-inspired infield section suited him very well. MS was second, Sato once again out-shone his heavily-hyped BAR team mate to take third with Button fourth. The Williams’ were next up, following the brake duct debacle in Canada. Renault were off the pace for once with Alonso their best in 9th and Trulli last with no time. There was drama even before the start with Montoya hopping out of his FW26 when it wouldn't fire up. Allegedly, the end had dropped off the remote starter. Why does this always happen at the worst possible moment - it's never immediately before or after the race start is it? After a pause for inspiration or instructions, he legged it into the pit lane and started the race in the spare car, only to be black flagged as the team had not done the paper work properly. Inexcusably, this took 57 laps of the race, putting Montoya at sustained and totally unnecessary risk. Rubens got away in front, but there was a crash in between the first
and second corners, as a result of which four cars went out; more importantly,
it also caused the Safety Car to be deployed. When it went back in MS
got the jump on Rubens. He was just 0.02 seconds behind at the start-finish
line and led into Turn 1. Had Monaco set him thinking about this kind
of situation, was it luck or judgment? Gary Player, of course, had the
oft-quoted last word on this “The harder I practice, the luckier
I get”. Initially, it looked like Ralf had pinched the apex, a typical road-racers’ fault on an oval; however it later emerged that he too had suffered a puncture. We are so used to seeing drivers hop out unharmed, the fact that he was still in the car looked sinister. It seemed an age before assistance reached him, though it was later claimed that this was achieved within the two minutes specified in the regulations. The pace car was deployed again and led the cars through the debris and past the stricken Williams for lap-after-lap. What this did for the drivers’ state of mind can be imagined, especially for Ralf’s bother, who was leading. Having been attended to on the track, Ralf was then taken to the Speedway’s Medical Centre. He was then transferred to a nearby hospital to undergo further precautionary checks. Fortunately, Ralf appears to have come away from the accident with just bruising, though it looks likely he will miss the French GP, having suffered two concussions in consecutive seasons. Michael got away quickly at the re-start, but soon came under pressure from Sato; the BARs had not re-fueled in the safety car period. This turned out to be a mistake, but it may have been a racers’ gamble rather than an oversight, the team perhaps hoping that running lighter would enable him to get in front of the Ferrari. The next few laps were the best of the race as Sato carved his way through the field; maybe “You can’t overtake in F1” doesn't translate into Japanese. When it was Panis’s turn, he jinked towards the BAR, a nasty move which caused Sato to swerve; however Sato had the last laugh as his Honda-powered BAR went past the Toyota like it was going backwards. Meanwhile when Michael pitted Rubens tried to get in front, but to no avail. After his stop, Rubens used the advantage of fresh tyres to close on the World Champion; however a decisive chop when he got too close re-established the proper order of things and MS ran out an untroubled winner. It was interesting that Rubens could close in the twisty stuff, but could not close and pass in the quick bits. It seems that Michael was running less wing - intellect again. Sato, surely “Driver of the Day” took third, his first podium and the first for a Japanese driver since Auguri Suzuki in 1990. Trulli came from the back of the grid to take fourth, Panis was fifth; McLaren were sixth and seventh in the last race for the unloved MP4-18 and Zsolt Baumgartner scored a point for Minardi, their first since 2002. Mark Webber’s Jaguar unintentionally provided the only comic relief in the race, when his engine let go, he crashed through polystyrene blocks emblazoned with team sponsor HSBC’s logo. Wonder what the suits thought of that? The best driver and the best team won, but another Ferrari favourite gets the last word. Before qualifying, Mario Andretti said on TV that Indy has to be driven clean, avoiding the propensity to over-drive. Shame a few more of the drivers weren't watching.
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