To busy working for a Respectable Financial Institution to do much of anything here anymore I'm afra...
To busy working for a Respectable Financial Institution to do much of anything here anymore I'm afraid.
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Hi everyone and welcome to my first opinion on the 2001 Formula One season. I’m aiming to write one for each race (Though the dreaded exams may mean I have to have a break). For each race I’ll identify three drivers that are ‘heroes’ and three that are ‘villains’ as well a hero team and a villain team as well as giving my general opinion on the. Right then, that over let’s get stuck in.
* The Results – Finishing Order Isn’t Everything *
Once again controversy enters Formula One as the order the cars finished doesn’t match the official results. BAR’s Olivier Panis was demoted from fourth to seventh for overtaking under a yellow flag. I didn’t catch the offence on camera but as BAR aren’t appealing (yet at least) I’ll assume that it did happen. In my mind Panis loosing his points is a fair punishment. Yellow flags aren’t just a pain in the arse for drivers, they’re there for the protection of the marshals. Panis’s demotion alters the point scoring positions as follows:
10 - Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 6 - David Coulthard (McLaren) 4 - Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 3 - Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) 2 - Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan) 1 - Kimi Raikkonen (Sauber)
* The Race – Season Opens with Sadness *
When ITV opened coverage of the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne Park the only aspect of the event that was expected to be sad was that it was the start of Murray Walkers
farewell season. Unfortunately the safety car came out after a few laps, after a dramatic crash between Ralf Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve sent debris flying everywhere resulting in twelve spectators being injured and an as yet unnamed fifty year old marshal being fatally injured. As futile a gesture as it may seem to a family on the other side of the world, I’d like to add my condolences to the ever-growing list.
As this is the second time an event like this has happened there maybe calls for the sport to banned as it is to dangerous. All I can suggest to people who are thinking along these lines is that they remember that marshals are volunteers who give up their time because they enjoy the sport. Changes will surely happen as a result of recent events but if the racing was made 100% safe no-one would be able to go an see it live, it’s a unfortunate fact but it’s true. I’ve been to racing tracks and sometimes wished I could get closer to the track to get a better view but I know that there are good reasons why we are kept at the distances we are but there is still a risk. Moving spectators back far enough so that there was no chance of injury would make binoculars a requirement of any trip to a grand prix, as well as signalling the end of racing at tracks like Monaco and Melbourne Park, where there just isn’t room to move spectators back.
After the safety car pulled off we were treated to a race that was more than just a procession, something there was a bit to much of last year. Schumacher attempted to disappear off into the distance but despite the difference in qualifying times, Hakkinen seemed to be able to keep with the German until a right front suspension failure pitched Mika into the tire wall at frightening speed. Despite the heavy impact Mika only suffered mild concussion. This left Schumacher leading Barrichello who was in turn leading Coulthard. The order wouldn’t stay this way though. Approaching the first corner of circuit down the main straight Coulthard closed on Barrichello, Rubens moved to the inside to cover his line. Unperturbed by this Coulthard moved to the left and drove round the outside of Rubens to claim second place. Coulthard then set off after Schumacher but didn’t really have much chance of catching him as Schumacher paced himself to the flag to take yet another win.
Behind the leading four of Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello and Panis, a battle was developing between the rapidly recovering Frentzen in the Jordan (Having been knocked off from fourth early on by Barichello) and Nick Heidfeld. Frentzen obviously had the faster car and homed in on Heidfeld in the closing laps of the race. Despite a few will he/won’t he moments, Frentzen never committed fully to an overtaking manoeuvre. Possibly not wanting to risk loosing one championship point for a chance at two points, a score he would later get anyway after Panis’s demotion.
Overall in Australia it was business as usual for Ferrari while McLaren seemed to flounder around, especially during qualifying. Williams it seems are going to be at a similar level to last year, while Jordan, Sauber and BAR have all caught up and may even be ahead of Sir Frank’s boys. Hard to say after one race really. Meanwhile, at the back of the grid, Arrows seem to have fallen even further back after Tom Walkinshaw chose a pay driver over the fairly talented Pedro De La Rosa and for reasons we may never know, last years Peugeot engine (Now branded Asia Tech). Strange choices Tom, strange choices. Minardi however have been somewhat of a revelation, or at least Fernando Alonso has. Despite Minardi only being rescued and work started on the 2001 championship six weeks ago Alonso managed a good finish beating Benetton, who have sunk to the bottom of the grid. Is it, as they claim, because their car and engine are revolutionary, or is the car just a dog? Time will tell.
* Heroes and Villains *
* Drivers: Heroes *
Kimi Raikkonen: Melbourne Park was the young Finn’s twenty-fourth single seater race and he finished in the points! OK, he finished seventh and inherited sixth when Panis was demoted but it’s still a stunning performance. Just beats Montoya for this place, mainly because I already know Montoya’s quite a driver with some races under his belt from watching the Fedex series.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen: I admit that I’m a bit of a Jordan/Frentzen fan but his comeback drive to fifth (Sixth until Panis’s demotion) was impressive and a sign that Jordan have bounced back as was Trulli’s drive – spoiled only by a failed Honda engine.
Michael Schumacher: I don’t like the man, not one bit, but I have to admit that he got the job done pretty well in Australia. Pole on Saturday after rolling his Ferrari twice and then leading almost start to finish, pit stop aside. He also says he will look into ways of improving trackside safety and I believe he will.
* Drivers: Villains *
Rubens Barrichello: This isn’t about him putting Frentzen off. Or at least not directly. It’s about his comments after. Heinz just put the incident down as ‘just racing’ and was happy his Jordan had performed well. Rubens though, blamed him for the entire accident and claimed that is car was sufficiently damaged to impede his performance for the rest of the afternoon. Don’t forget that Rubens gained third place from his manoeuvre, while Heinz was sent off towards the end of the field. Sorry Rubens, but you’re acting like a spoilt child!
Ralf Schumacher/Jacques Villeneuve: I’m sitting on the fence for the moment, one of these drivers caused a huge crash. It may have been Ralf giving Jacques a brake test or it may have been Jacques having a rush of blood to the head. I’m not going to guess, there is going to be an official investigation into this so I’ll let them decide. They didn’t set out to murder the poor marshal and they’re not here because of him. It was just a stupid incident.
Tarso Marques: First of all, sorry Tarso – if your performance was down to car problems I apologise. The only thing is that you were way off the pace of your team-mate, you didn’t even qualify for the race. You got in on appeal and I’m not entirely sure what grounds other than your team is now Australian.
* Team Hero *
Minardi: Wow, that was some achievement getting the cars from nothing to twelth place for Fernando Alonso in only six weeks. Given a decent engine and some more time I think Minardi could surprise a few people.
* Team Villain *
Benetton: That was pathetic, yes you have a new car with a revolutionary engine but are sure it’s not a Formula Three car?
More in two weeks…
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Thanks Hakk - The next one has gone up, I'm just trying to summon the energy to write a review of the FLC gig I went to :)
hakkved 12.03.2001 01:50
Excellent review of the race, couldn't agree more - especially about 'Barrichello the villain'. Looking forward to Malaysian race and your next review!!!!!!!!
linda01865 08.03.2001 08:20
I watch the races sometimes.You have given an excellent view of them thanks.:-)
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Advantages: The first Gp is always one of the best and the 2001 race was no exception Disadvantages: The death of a marshall which should have been prevented after Monza 2000
Advantages: The atmosphere, sound, sight and smell of Formula One racing Disadvantages: In this particular race - the qualifying was the only disappointment
Mar 4th, 2001
(Mar 19th, 2001)
very helpful by (100%):
