Formula 1 Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia

I have kept to my promise to bring you the full account of the Malaysian GP 2002 – enjoy….

It was the talking point of the Sunday morning after the Australian GP and while it was Michael Schumacher who came away with victory, it had to be Aussie Mark Webber who grabbed the hearts and headlines of the race. His stunning 5th place is more than a miracle for Minardi who have struggled to touch the top 6 since 1999 and haven’t ...
...the circus moves north of Australia to the state of the art Sepang circuit in Malaysia, Asia. The track has only been on the calendar since 1999 but has become a firm favourite with the drivers with it’s challenging curves and stunning complex.

Once again Michael Schumacher will be gunning for victory to stretch his lead, but his biggest rival could be his brother who lined up next to him last year and looked menacing in Australia ... more

I have kept to my promise to bring you the full account of the Malaysian GP 2002 – enjoy….

It was the talking point of the Sunday morning after the Australian GP and while it was Michael Schumacher who came away with victory, it had to be Aussie Mark Webber who grabbed the hearts and headlines of the race. His stunning 5th place is more than a miracle for Minardi who have struggled to touch the top 6 since 1999 and haven’t scored 2 points since 1995.

But now the circus moves north of Australia to the state of the art Sepang circuit in Malaysia, Asia. The track has only been on the calendar since 1999 but has become a firm favourite with the drivers with it’s challenging curves and stunning complex.

Once again Michael Schumacher will be gunning for victory to stretch his lead, but his biggest rival could be his brother who lined up next to him last year and looked menacing in Australia – of course before he forgot he had to use the brake pedal…

NEWS PRIOR TO THE RACE

All over the world there have been different stories concerning the defunct Prost team. It emerged in Australia that the teams assets had been bought and that it would be on the grid by Brazil in 2 weeks time. But since then it has been confusion all the way. Everything seems to have been set up. Charles Nickleson, leader of consortium Phoenix had bought the assets and was to receive help from Tom Walkinshaw. The chassis was ready, the engine was apparently ready and even the drivers were ready. Czech Tomas Enge and Argentine Gaston Mazzacane would fill the seats of the car, which would be powered by 3 year old Hart engines used by Arrows in 1999.

They were confident that it was all ready. Then it all went wrong for them. Speculation over management soon arose, with Skoda reportedly the namesake of the team, which would then turn into VW and Audi as the team got better. But that was denied. Then Tomas Enge, who has already signed for the Arden F3000 team, was soon discounted as a driver by his management. Then Paul Stoddart, manager of Minardi stepped in saying it is unfair why he should pay 15 times more for the Minardi team, then what paid for the fledging Prost. But the biggest blow of all came from Bernie Ecclestone who says they cannot enter the championship this year. Confused, you should be. But none the less if they do decide to take a year out it would be good for them to build up money, get better engines as well as better drivers (Mazzacane was sacked by Prost after just 4 races).

They even turned up for the venue but were subsequently blocked by the FIA. Nickleson insists they’ve paid the entry fee and they’ll be going to court to prove this. The argument rages on.

Jaguar, although delighted by their 4th place at the Aussie GP, admitted that they are struggling and that their new R3 car isn’t good enough for F1. Jaguar have decided to run last years R2 car from Brazil onwards until, the R3 can be improved further.

Ferrari, will continue with their F2001 car, which won the Australian GP, for the Malaysian race, as they are still doing development and reliability work on their F2002 in Italy.

HISTORY OF THE MALAYSIAN GP

There really isn’t much to the Malaysian GP’s history. Built in 1998, it held it’s first GP at the end of 1999 amid the Hakkinen and Irvine championship battle. But while Irvine is at the back of the pack and Hakkinen sits at home in Monte Carlo, it’ll be the 2 Ferrari’s, Williams and McLarens making the pace at the Sepang circuit.

With government backing, the Sepang circuit was piled into with millions of pounds, as it was aimed at increasing the motorsport spectacle in a country who already have a surprising motor racing streak in them. Their Touring Car series is one of the best in the world. But the pinnacle of racing came their way when the track was approved. Designed in Britain, the Sepang circuit is described as being the most luxurious, most glorious track in the world, thanks to incredible facilities for the fans.

The track is dominated by the massive canopy over the final corner linking the home and back straights together. Obscure but beautiful none the less. When it arrived in 1999, it really showed up tracks and facilities shortcomings around the world, such as Silverstone, which a year later would be, the bane of many a F1 joke.

The races have been historic although each have been won by Ferrari, Irvine in 99 and Michael Schumacher in 00 and 01.

But the Malaysians have an added incentive to come out this year, with the introduction of their first ever Malaysian F1 star. Although Alex Yoong and his Minardi are hardly going to be up with the best, the spectators will love their first racing hero none the less.

THE TRACK

Dubbed as a high speed track, the Sepang circuit is a mix of fast straights, slow corners and sweeping bends, with a few uphill, downhill moments too.

The long first straight leads into a very tight first hairpin, only Eau Rouge in Belgium is tighter. It has been the scene of a few bumps and barges in the past including last year when Ralf Schumacher (yep, him again) and Rubens Barrichello (yep, him again too), came together. This leads into another tight left hander straight after, but it opens out for a quick getaway. Accelerate round the wide 3rd bend and look for the inside for the tight 4th curve.

Here it is uphill and hard to see the entry. It is also tight and many have seen the gravel trap a few times here. Accelerate away and into the 5th corner. Depending on your entry you can take this flat out or just hesitate a little so you can smoothly sweep out of the ‘S’ bends. The two quick left-handers that follow, ape those used at the Japanese GP just before you go under the bridge.

The next bend, turn 9, is the most chance you are going to see a manoeuvre – or indeed a bump and barge. A tight left-hander is the slowest corner on the track and it goes uphill so the tyres with the most grip will be favoured (probably the Ferrari shod Bridgestone’s)

Into the 3rd time sector and swing the car through a downhill right hander and accelerate through a quick left and be careful into the next right-hander as it is hard to judge. If you’re a bit off balance you’ll be off but get it right and then your on the back straight screaming up towards the final corner, another hairpin under the canopy, which often sees the odd overtaking. And then you’re off and away you go for another lap.

THE WEATHER

Who knows? The weather in Malaysia is as unpredictable as it gets. Cloudy, sunny, rainy, monsoon, you name it. There is no better example than last year when the sunny morning soon turned into a huge outburst of rain, which in 15 minutes had reduced the track to a sodden flannel. But such was the humidity the rain had almost dried up by the end of the race.

If it is very muggy and hot, then the Michelins will benefit, but if the temperature remains stagnant or it rains, then the Bridgestone’s will be dominant. Expect Ferrari to be doing the rain dance.

PRACTICE

Practice is always a good indicator to the form of the qualifying the next day, so what has been going on in those free sessions…

FRIDAY

The pace on Friday was dominated by the rejuvenated McLaren team, but instead of Coulthard, it was his young team mate who took first place. Kimi Raikkonen, fresh from his Aussie third place was a massive 6 tenths quicker than the opposition.

The Williams and Ferrari duos took the next 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th places with Michael Schumacher leading his brother, Montoya and Barrichello. The big 6 were split in 5th place by a tremendous performance by the new Toyota team, as Salo produced an excellent run. Elsewhere, the Brits were having a mixed day. Button was 8th but more importantly ahead of his team mate, McNish took an encouraging 11th fastest but Irvine carried on quibbling about his Jaguar as he could only take 20th behind Yoongs Minardi.

The session wasn’t without a few dramas. Coulthard caught fire early in the session but went on to take 2nd. Felipe Massa spun on gravel left by Bernoldi ahead of him and came back 21st, while De La Rosa, Webber, Bernoldi and Trulli all experienced problems.

Both BAR’s are off the pace, as are the Jordans but the Arrows look good and are set to improve further in the weekend.

1- K RAIKKONEN (MCLAREN)
2- D COULTHARD (MCLAREN)
3- M SCHUMACHER (FERRARI)
4- R SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS)
5- M SALO (TOYOTA)
6- JP MONTOYA (WILLIAMS)
7- R BARRICHELLO (FERRARI)
8- J BUTTON (RENAULT)
9- J TRULLI (RENAULT)
10- N HEIDFELD (SAUBER)
11- A MCNISH (TOYOTA)
12- P DE LA ROSA (JAGUAR)
13- H-H FRENTZEN (ARROWS)
14- G FISICHELLA (JORDAN)
15- E BERNOLDI (ARROWS)
16- T SATO (JORDAN)
17- J VILLENEUVE (BAR)
18- O PANIS (BAR)
19- A YOONG (MINARDI)
20- E IRVINE (JAGUAR)
21- F MASSA (SAUBER)
22- M WEBBER (MINARDI)

SATURDAY PRACTICE

The session before qualifying is the most important, so it isn’t long before the times began to tumble and they did. Everyone went quicker on the smoother surface and it was Williams BMW who led the way, with Montoya sitting at the top of the tree, ahead of Raikkonen who was continuing to prove his critics wrong with another quick time. Ralf Schumacher sat 3rd, Barrichello in 4th, Coulthard 5th and Michael Schumacher was 6th but only did 10 laps to conserve the car in the humid conditions.

Button had moved up a place to 7th to be the best of the rest and was again ahead of his team mate, Trulli, who could only manage 15th after a barrage of problems with his Renault. Fisichella was better in the Jordan in 8th, while Massa continued to go well by going 9th fastest one place ahead of his highly rated team mate Nick Heidfeld. Salo had dropped to 11th but was still going very well, but Mcnish had dropped 7 places to 11th place. The Arrows again were going very well, with Bernoldi driving up to 12th and ahead of his 13th place team mate Frentzen.

Jaguar again were off the pace but De La Rosa was still coping well in 14th, while Irvine stayed back in 17th. The BAR’s were again off the pace, Villeneuve 19th and Panis 20th, just ahead of the troublesome Minardi’s with Yoong and Webber both having problems.

1- JP MONTOYA (WILLIAMS)
2- K RAIKKONEN (MCLAREN)
3- R SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS)
4- R BARRICHELLO (FERRARI)
5- D COULTHARD (MCLAREN)
6- M SCHUMACHER (FERRARI)
7- J BUTTON (RENAULT)
8- G FISICHELLA (JORDAN)
9- F MASSA (SAUBER)
10- N HEIDFELD (SAUBER)
11- M SALO (TOYOTA)
12- E BERNOLDI (ARROWS)
13- H-H FRENTZEN (ARROWS)
14- P DE LA ROSA (JAGUAR)
15- J TRULLI (RENAULT)
16- T SATO (JORDAN)
17- E IRVINE (JAGUAR)
18- A MCNISH (TOYOTA)
19- J VILLENEUVE (BAR)
20- O PANIS (BAR)
21- M WEBBER (MINARDI)
22- A YOONG (MINARDI)

2000 QUALIFYING

1- MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (FERRARI)
2- RUBENS BARICHELLO (FERRARI)
3- RALF SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS-BMW)

QUALIFYING REPORT

The hazy atmosphere of the Sepang circuit, caused by a peat fire a few miles away, put a damper on the excessively hot and humid conditions, which could see the Williams or the Mclarens get the better of their Italian rivals with their rubber.

First out was the home favourite Alex Yoong, driving the Minardi that hit many of the Australian headlines 2 weeks back. The Malaysian is a crowd puller but he is slow off the pace and will struggle with the time he has just set. Trulli, who lost a lot of track time this morning was out too and despite a slow mid sector took top spot from Takuma Sato. Kimi Raikkonen is the first of the ‘big guns’ and inevitably sets the fastest time in his silver arrow although the time is not too convincing.

Many of the cars are now out but the yellow flags are waving for a stranded Sauber at turn 9. ‘Crash happy’ Felipe Massa was off. His tyre had gone flat and sheered the suspension causing the car to deftly cost to a halt in the gravel trap.

The times are now beginning to fall. Coulthard storms to the top of the time sheets but is confoundedly smashed by a following Montoya who obliterates the time and drops the gauntlet for following cars including nemesis Schumacher.

Ralf Schumacher though pips the lead and takes pole only for that to be taken away by his brother who in his first run looks impressive with more to come. Further down Heidfeld is looking good in 6th, while Salo is an encouraging 9th as he tries to hold his Toyota in the top ten.

Rubens Barrichello, fresh from his Australian pole position wasn’t quite as fast on his first lap but he was still in 3rd place behind the Schumi’s.

But the paddock are surprised when Montoya has the nerve to drop Michael to second and claim pole with a fantastic time, which is really going to be hard to beat even for Michael. 5th place is taken by Kimi Raikkonen who nips ahead of his Mclaren team mate David Coulthard who was struggling. At the moment with 20 minutes to go, Olivier Panis is yet to qualify after breaking down on his first run and taking time to get his BAR right.

But it’s that man again who puts his heart and soul into a Sepang lap to snatch pole position. Despite mistakes galore on the fast areas, Michael Schumachers skill is enough to grab that top spot and leave the others reeling after him. Montoya has a go but even though he improves his time, he is still that second place and not first.

Into the final 10 minutes, Panis has finally qualified albeit down in 18th, while Salo improves up to an excellent 10th and Frentzen is up to 11th. Button is out in the T-car but can’t do any higher than 8th place behind Saubers Heidfeld. No-one goes any quicker apart from Barrichello whose last gasp effort secured him 3rd place ahead of Ralf Schumacher’s Williams who stayed 4th.

The Mclarens stayed 5th and 6th with the Finn heading the Scotsman. Heidfeld was impressive in 7th, Button had his best qualifying since 2000 in 8th, Fisichella steered his temperamental Jordan to a solid 9th, and Salo was an excellent 10th place and gained his target of a good qualifying position. Just outside the top ten, Frentzen gained an impressive 11th for Arrows who are getting more from their new engine than Jaguar who have the same one, as they lay in a poor 17th and 20th with De La Rosa again ahead of his team mate. Gearbox problems meant Trulli was off the pace in 12th, the BAR’s were mixed, Panis recovered to 18th and Villeneueve sported a safe 13th place. Massa banished his problems with 14th, Sato qualified this time in 15th, Bernoldi was 16th but could have been in the top 10 if it wasn’t for problems with his Arrows. Allan McNish was 19th in the Toyota overshadowed by his team mate, while the Minardi’s fell to the back of the grid again with Webber 21st and Yoong a disappointing 22nd.

GRID POSITIONS

1- M SCHUMACHER (FERRARI)
2- JP MONTOYA (WILLIAMS)
3- R BARRICHELLO (FERRARI)
4- R SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS)
5- K RAIKKONEN (MCLAREN)
6- D COULTHARD (MCLAREN)
7- N HEIDFELD (SAUBER)
8- J BUTTON (RENAULT)
9- G FISICHELLA (JORDAN)
10- M SALO (TOYOTA)
11- H-H FRENTZEN (ARROWS)
12- J TRULLI (RENAULT)
13- J VILLENEUVE (BAR)
14- F MASSA (SAUBER)
15- T SATO (JORDAN)
16- E BERNOLDI (ARROWS)
17- P DE LA ROSA (JAGUAR)
18- O PANIS (BAR)
19- A MCNISH (TOYOTA)
20- E IRVINE (JAGUAR)
21- M WEBBER (MINARDI)
22- A YOONG (MINARDI)

SUNDAY PRACTICE

Just before the race and the tension is growing for the teams as they enter the third and final practice session.

Of the final result the most notable feature is the lack of speed the two Williams have as they lay in 7th and 9th. Instead it is the Ferraris with Barrichello taking the top spot ahead of his team mate. David Coulthard snuck in a comfortable run for 3rd but team mate Raikkonen was down in 20th after problems with the car. This meant other cars had a chance to shine.

Most notable was the improvement of the Jaguar. Although Irvine stayed in a lacklustre 17th, his team mate got his head down to record the 8th fastest time, shaming the Irishman. 4th and 6th for the Renault team as they looked good for the race, while rivals Sauber were 5th and 11th with Heidfeld ahead.

The Arrows continue to improve with Frentzen 10th and Bernoldi 12th. Down the order BAR, Jordan and the sole Jaguar struggle with Toyota not looking as good in the final session with Salo 14th and McNish 16th. The Minardi’s bring up the rear after problems caused Webber and Yoong to stop on the track.

1- R BARRICHELLO (FERRARI)
2- M SCHUMACHER (FERRARI)
3- D COULTHARD (MCLAREN)
4- J TRULLI (RENAULT)
5- N HEIDFELD (SAUBER)
6- J BUTTON (RENAULT)
7- JP MONTOYA (WILLIAMS)
8- P DE LA ROSA (JAGUAR)
9- R SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS)
10- H-H FRENTZEN (ARROWS)
11- F MASSA (SAUBER)
12- E BERNOLDI (ARROWS)
13- T SATO (JORDAN)
14- M SALO (TOYOTA)
15- G FISICHELLA (JORDAN)
16- A MCNISH (TOYOTA)
17- E IRVINE (JAGUAR)
18- J VILLENEUVE (BAR)
19- O PANIS (BAR)
20- K RAIKKONEN (MCLAREN)
21- M WEBBER (MINARDI)
22- A YOONG (MINARDI)

MY PREDICTION

Michael has to be the top dog. The car is reliable and he is a master of the track, it will be hard to stop him, but the Williams could be up there if the conditions get very hot. At the moment the Williams seem to have the better of the same shod Mclarens who seem to be finding it hard to get to grips with the car. If all goes to plan Schumacher will win, ahead of Montoya, Ralf and Barrichello, although of the Mclarens Coulthard is always good at driving from behind.

It’ll be a good race but it’ll be a distinct 6 car race before a couple will retire (and they will), but we don’t know who they’ll be.

Drivers to watch are Button and Heidfeld who will capitalise if others have problems

2001 RESULT

1- M SCHUMACHER (FERRARI)
2- R BARRICHELLO (FERRARI)
3- D COULTHARD (MCLAREN)
4- H-H FRENTZEN (JORDAN)
5- M HAKKINEN (MCLAREN)
6- R SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS)

THE RACE ITSELF

A total of 50,000 crammed into the Sepang grandstands for todays race and they were promised a great tussle.

The 22 cars lined up side by side at the start and at the off it was Montoya who was away the best only for pole man Michael Schumacher to take evasive action and cut across the Colombian. The two were side by side into the tight first corner, with Barrichello running round the outside. The inevitable happened and the Ferrari and the Williams touched after Schumacher understeered into Montoya. Montoya ran wide, but Schumacher’s wing had been ripped off.

With Montoya down in 11th and Schumacher dropping back with no grip, it was Barrichello who was now leading the race ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Heidfeld and Button finishing the top 6. Schumacher pits and comes out last, while Frentzen too was in the pits repairing some damage.

The pit crews were working overtime especially at Jordan where Takuma Sato ran into the back of his team mate Giancarlo Fisichella in the first corner and dropping both to the back of the field. Montoya is moving up the field again and is now driving in 7th and bearing down on the Renault. Montoya does pass the Renault but is given a bizarre drive through penalty as he has been deemed to be the cause of the first corner incident.

De La Rosa too makes a pit stop for a new nose cone followed in by a slowing Trulli whose Renault is experiencing gearbox trouble. Panis capped off his rotten weekend when he retired with clutch failure half way round the track.

POSITIONS AFTER LAP 15

1- R BARRICHELLO
2- R SCHUMACHER
3- K RAIKKONEN
4- D COULTHARD
5- N HEIDFELD
6- J BUTTON
7- A MCNISH
8- JP MONTOYA
9- E BERNOLDI
10- M SCHUMACHER
11- F MASSA
12- J VILLENEUVE
13- E IRVINE
14- M WEBBER
15- A YOONG
16- T SATO
17- P DE LA ROSA
18- H-H FRENTZEN
19- G FISICHELLA

British hopes took a big dent when David Coulthard began to slow from 4th and retire in the pits with engine trouble. Moving up the place is Heidfeld in 4th, Button 5th, with Salo an excellent 6th. Michael Schumacher continued to move up the field but came unstuck against Enrique Bernoldi, whose Arrows was proving a machine to be reckoned with. Schumacher passed the Brazilian only to be passed again by the orange Arrows in the next corner although the German moved ahead going over the line.

The leader Rubens Barrichello was the first of the big cars to pit. A quick stop represents a quick stint for the Brazilian. After his promising run, Bernoldi was soon on the retirements list with another blown engine causing him to stop on the track. He was soon joined by 3rd place man Kimi Raikkonen whose Mercades engine had given up the ghost in a big way down the back straight. As the pit stops start, the second Finn in the race Mika Salo comes in to retire from his encouraging 6th place to retire but would be out again later in the race.

Eddie Irvine who despite his slow Jaguar was running up in the top 15 was on the grass recovering after loosing his front wing to Alex Yoong who he had nudged at turn 9. Yoong would soon retire with rear wing problems, only to be followed by his team mate Mark Webber the next lap after spinning into the gravel trap, so no points for Minardi this time.

After a very long first stint Ralf Schumacher pitted in his Williams aiming to get put ahead of Barrichello and judging by his lap times it would be close. Indeed Schumacher came out just behind the Brazilian. Button, who was running an excellent 2nd pits and comes out again in 4th place. Further back Michael Schumacher was storming back up the field and soon breezes past Nick Heidfelds Sauber for 5th place. Montoya pits again from 3rd and drops back behind Button but the gap isn’t too big.

In second place Rubens Barrichello dives into the pit lane trying to get enough fuel into the car to take him to the ends of the race. But that wouldn’t last long as he would retire in a blaze of smoke as his Ferrari engine did something it hardly ever does and that is blow up. This shook up the order as follows…

POSITIONS AFTER LAP 42

1- R SCHUMACHER
2- J BUTTON
3- JP MONTOYA
4- M SCHUMACHER
5- N HEIDFELD
6- A MCNISH
7- F MASSA
8- J VILLENEUVE
9- P DE LA ROSA
10- T SATO
11- H-H FRENTZEN
12- G FISICHELLA
13- M SALO

With just 13 cars left in the race the mid field were making places as the best faltered. The Brits were now taking up 2nd and 6th places with magnificent runs by Button in his Renault and McNish in his Toyota. But Montoya was trying for 3rd place. Lap record in his pocket, the Colombian was going for that elusive 2nd and a classic 1-2 finish for the Williams-BMW crew. Ironically Montoya was against the man who he took his Williams seat from. Both battled hard, the BMW engine being matched for grunt by the much improved Renault engine this year. The battle was most clear down the first corner where the Colombian dived down the inside but Button held on round the outside and sneaked back in front – very close. But Button was outpaced down to the next corner and the Williams jumped into 2nd place.

Unfortunately, McNish who had moved up from 19th to 6th had dropped out of the points to 7th after a slow pit stop was ruined by a lack of a wheel. 6th place was now occupied by a cool and calm Felipe Massa who had quietly kept out of trouble and was heading to his first points in his Sauber.

With just a few laps to go the order was set but as they entered the last lap, Button was achingly slow. Never one to miss an opportunity the ‘lucky’ Michael Schumacher soon pounced on the ill Renault and snatched that last podium spot from Button on the final lap, denying the Brit his first top 3 place.

But it was Ralf Schumacher who was top dog and took the victory in Malaysia for Williams, BMW and Michelin, with the tyres being the deciding factor in the race. Even if Montoya hadn’t been given a penalty I don’t think he would have been on a par with his team mate but his 2nd is an excellent race. 37 races with a Ferrari on a podium in a row, Schumcaher has to admit he is lucky to be 3rd but still he had made up a lot of time even if he was overshadowed by his brother.

Jenson Button, despite his heart ache of 4th, has to be delighted as he has scored his best result since 2000 for Renault and 3 points are already more than his total 2001 tally. Button will get better as the year goes on. He was quiet and unspectacular but Nick Heidfeld got his campaign off the ground with 2 points in 5th place after a rather lonely run in his Sauber. His team mate gets a warrant after an excellent run to 6th place although Massa was lucky to grab that final point.

McNish can wonder what would have been but as it happens he finishes 7th in his first full race and that is very good and even more encouraging for Toyota who seem to be more on the pace than they thought. Villeneuve was behind in 8th, De La Rosa recovered to 9th, as did 10th place Sato. Frentzen, Salo and Fisichella filled out the rest 11th, 12th and 13th places.

FINAL RESULTS

1- RALF SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS)
2- JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (WILLIAMS)
3- MICHAEL SCHUMCHER (FERRARI)
4- JENSON BUTTON (RENAULT)
5- NICK HEIDFELD (SAUBER)
6- FELIPE MASSA (SAUBER)
7- ALLAN MCNISH (TOYOTA)
8- JACQUES VILLENEUVE (BAR)
9- PEDRO DE LA ROSA (JAGUAR)
10- TAKUMA SATO (JORDAN)
11- HEINZ-HARALD FRENTZEN (ARROWS)
12- MIKA SALO (TOYOTA)
13- GIANCARLO FISICHELLA

THE AWARDS

BEST DRIVER

Cor, it was hard to choose the best driver today but I had to choose Jenson Button to be the number one. He was extremely unlucky not to grab that 3rd place. The suspension trouble was no-one fault, because the tyres had been ground down and so he hit a bump and the body bottomed out and from there it was slow. But Button had driven speedily and battled with Montoya. Renault look good too, as the car looks quick down the straight but reliability is the key issue, ones to watch.

BEST TEAM

You can’t deny a one-two for Williams-BMW. The two drivers look great. They lead the manufacturers standings, so if the drivers can’t beat Schumacher, the team can try and whip the manufacturers crown from them and judging by their form they could well do it.

BEST OUTSIDER

This could have been going to McNish or Bernoldi as they both drove really well, but it was Sauber’s Felipe Massa who gets the nod. He has been quiet this weekend and hasn’t whipped up the kind of frenzy that his predecessor Raikkonen did, but 6th place is a tremendous effort and he can do better as he didn’t do his 14th place on the grid justice. He has more and it is his home Grand Prix next in Brazil.

WORST DRIVER

Okay this is a bit harsh and he is by no means a bad driver but he just wasn’t as impressive today. Michael Schumacher wasn’t ready to take blame for the first corner incident, which Montoya seemed to take blame for and it was Schumacher after an abrupt swerve and than understeer into the Colombian. When he tried to get back he wasn’t going too well and struggled against the mid-field (namely plucky Bernoldi). In a Manchester United style, Schumacher has reaped rewards which weren’t really his after Button hit troubles so was very lucky.

UNLUCKIEST DRIVER

This could have gone to Giancarlo Fisichella (read on), but in the end the drive through penalty meant Juan Pablo Montoya gains our unluckiest award. He was penalised for something he didn’t seem to do but he did stage a great comeback and would have been honing if not beating his team mate Ralf to the end.

MOVE OF THE RACE

This was close again. It could have gone to Jenson Button who re-took Montoya down the first corner but the award has to go to Enrique Bernoldi mainly because we didn’t expect his assault on Michael Schumacher. Schumacher had problems getting past in the first place but was soon through only to see the orange Arrows to slip up the inside on the next corner and re-take the place much to the F1 worlds surprise, so hats off to the Brazilian because he has come into some flak for his driving.

BLOOPER OF THE RACE

It may be St Patricks day but there wont be any celebrating for the Jordan team who had to make do with an embarrassing situation on a day they could have got points. Takuma Sato’s credibility dropped a few notches after his eagerly shrieked down a gap that wasn’t there and duly smothered the rear end of the car in front and who was it? His team mate. Both pitted simultaneously, Sato front wing missing, Fisichella with no rear end. Both rejoined but neither got back into the race finishing 10th and 13th. Sato would be bound to get a reality check from Eddie and Giancarlo.

CHAMPIONSHIP POSITIONS

1- MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (FERRARI) (13)
2- JUAN PABLO MONTOYA (WILLIAMS) (12)
3- RALF SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS) (10)
4- KIMI RAIKKONEN (MCLAREN) (4)
5- JENSON BUTTON (RENAULT) (3)
6- EDDIE IRVINE (JAGUAR) (3)
7- MARK WEBBER (MINARDI) (2)
8- NICK HEIDFELD (SAUBER) (2)
9- MIKA SALO (TOYOTA) (1)
10- FELIPE MASSA (SAUBER) (1)

MANUFACTURER STANDINGS

1- WILLIAMS-BMW (22)
2- FERRARI (10)
3- MCLAREN-MERCADES (4)
4- SAUBER-PETRONAS (3)
5- RENAULT (3)
6- JAGUAR-COSWORTH (3)
7- MINARDI-ASIATECH (2)
8- TOYOTA (1)

So, what a race. Just Jordan, Honda and Arrows have to score to cap off the year and we are only 2 races in. The Williams look good, Ferrari also look good but were lucky today and so expect to see the new F2002 at Interlagos in Brazil at the next race. Mclaren need to shape up but a battle is already hotting up for 4th between Sauber and Renault and that’ll be the ones to watch. Jaguar need to improve, Minardi just need to keep pace. Toyota look very encouraging and could be a force by next year. Jordan look good too minus the incidents and Arrows seem to be points threatening soon. BAR seem to be the only team least likely to get some points. They need to improve quickly or Villeneueve will be seeking the back door.

So that’s another GP op. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it (message to WHITBYBUNNY, what do you think?) Look out for the Brazilian edition in a couple of weeks.

Leave a comment, I would like to know what you think and if I should keep writing these ops?

SOLEX/OLLIE
 

...less