| FORMULA ONE RACING |
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Source: Yahoo Sports
Tuesday March 12, 2002
SEPANG, Malaysia - Williams and McLaren will be on the attack in Malaysia this weekend to prevent Ferrari's Michael Schumacher from taking a hat-trick of wins.
Spa, nestling in Belgium's misty Ardennes forests, will always be the German's favourite track but nowhere has the four times world champion been quite so dominant as at ultra-modern Sepang.
Since the first grand prix there in 1999, Schumacher is the only driver to have taken pole position and has won two out of the three races.
The only reason he did not win all three was because in 1999 he moved over while in the lead to allow then title-chasing team mate Eddie Irvine through.
Last year Schumacher arrived in Sepang with five straight wins behind him whereas now he returns for the second race of the season seeking his third victory in a row with last year's F2001 car.
The decision to leave the new but untested and potentially unreliable F2002 in Italy was considered controversial before the season-opening race in Melbourne, where Schumacher won comfortably enough.
The German sees no reason why he cannot do it again, saying he is in "total agreement" with the team's decision to stick with the 'old' car for another race.
"In Australia we saw that our car is not inferior to our rivals' 2002 cars, both in general and specifically, in terms of speed," said Schumacher.
"It is an advantage knowing our car so well, because we did a perfect job working on set-up over the weekend. I don't see why things should be different in Malaysia."
Tyres were crucial in a surprisingly cold Melbourne, with Ferrari's Bridgestone brand getting the upper hand over the Michelins used by Williams and McLaren.
Sepang will be hot and sweaty, conditions that can be expected to favour Ferrari's main two rivals who expect new tyre developments for the occasion, but Schumacher still expects to have the upper hand.
"I think we still have the better tyre," he said.
"I'm very optimistic about the Malaysian race. I am sure that we will be in contention for the win."
No drivers from teams other than Ferrari and McLaren have so far stood on a Malaysian podium but Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael's brother Ralf at Williams expect to change that soon enough.
"The Malaysian Grand Prix is going to be interesting for us and I believe the BMW Williams package is going to perform pretty well there and we are looking quite strong," commented Montoya.
"The car should be fairly good and in hotter conditions the tyre should work a lot better than last week in Melbourne," added the runner-up from the last race.
Ralf had a massive shunt in Australia, hitting his brother's Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello and then flying high before plunging into the tyre wall, and will be in the same rebuilt car.
"I have already moved on from the accident at Melbourne, and worrying about whose fault it was," he said.
"What is much more important is that our car was very competitive in Melbourne even with the pretty low temperatures there."
McLaren's David Coulthard, runner-up last season, will be one of many drivers eager to put some laps under his belt and score his first points of 2002 after failing to finish in Melbourne.
With nearly half the field involved in the first corner pile-up in Australia, eight of the 22 drivers have yet to complete a race lap this season.
Among the tail-enders, Japanese debutant Takuma Sato has yet to formally qualify for a race while Malaysian Alex Yoong will have the locals dreaming when he makes his home debut for Kuala Lumpur sponsored Minardi.
FORMULA ONE UPDATE
Source: FIA
Friday, March 8 2002
COMING EVENT : MALAYSIAN GRAND PRIX (Sepang – 15-17 March)
CHARACTER OF EVENT
The first FIA Formula One World Championship Malaysian Grand Prix took place on the impressive new Sepang circuit, near Kuala Lumpur in 1999. Malaysia, however, is by no means a newcomer to the business of international motorsport. In 1985 it hosted a round of the World Sports Car Championship on the Shah-Alam circuit and is a regular stop on the World Motorcycle Championship schedule. The new 3.443 mile Sepang circuit, immediately adjacent to Kuala Lumpur's international airport, is a purpose-built state-of-the-art facility which really put Malaysia on the Formula One map and sets dramatic new standards. Much of the design work was carried out by renowned German architect Hermann Tilke, who has worked on many formula one circuit projects in close co-operation with the Circuit Department of the Féderation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA). The circuit layout demands a maximum downforce set-up and although turn five is very quick, there are plenty of slow speed hairpins as well. The pit complex includes 30 separate garages, including 15 team rooms, and a unique double-fronted grandstand overlooks both the front and back straights seats 30,000 spectators.
SPECIAL FACTS
When Malaysia joined the Formula One World Championship trail in 1999 it was the first new country to be included since the Hungarian Grand Prix joined the calendar 13 years earlier.
The Sepang circuit facilities include a mall with retail outlets and even prayer rooms. Elsewhere on the circuit, away from the start/finish grandstand complex, there are facilities for a further 100,000 fans.
NEWS FROM THE TEAMS
SCUDERIA FERRARI MARLBORO : OLD CAR IN MALAYSIA (1st - 10 points)
Despite speculation to the contrary, Ferrari will field a couple of F2001s for the Malaysian Grand Prix. The new F2002 was tested this week by Luca Badoer in Mugello and although the Italian had a trouble-free 78 laps and managed a 1m 23.50s fastest in cold and windy conditions, the team will not take the car to Sepang for what is usually the hottest race of the season. However, they do not rule out the chance of running the car at Interlagos if tests continue well. Another factor which makes the F2002 debut in Malaysia unlikely is that Barrichello has yet to drive the new car and has gone back to Brazil for a break after the Australian Grand Prix. Meanwhile Luciano Burti has been driving the F2001 at Fiorano from Tuesday until today (Friday) concentrating on testing tyres and some mechanical components which should be sent to Malaysia.
BMW WILLIAMSF1 TEAM : GENE AT SILVERSTONE - (2nd - 6 points)
BMW Williams test driver Marc Gene was testing at Silverstone this week, while the two race drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya had a few days' break before the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend. On Tuesday he concentrated on tyre development work and then ran 78 laps on Wednesday to assess various engine development components. Test team manager Tim Newton commented; "We achieved exactly what we intended today and covered 78 laps. We concentrated on running tyre tests for Michelin this morning, then completed a race simulation with one long run during the later part of the morning session and two long runs in the afternoon". Ralf Schumacher will race the same car as he crashed at Melbourne next week in Malaysia. The FW24 chassis suffered serious scoring to its undertray and damage to its impact structures, two of which have been replaced, in addition to a nose wing and damaged diffuser.
WEST McLAREN MERCEDES: ALESI TESTS AT PAUL RICARD - (3rd - 4 points)
While the race team was away contesting the Australian Grand Prix, former Formula One driver Jean Alesi was busy at Paul Ricard this week tyre testing in a McLaren Mercedes MP4/16B for three days starting on Tuesday. The Frenchman had been invited to test as a consequence of his deal to drive for the AMG Mercedes squad in the DTM series and while he thoroughly enjoyed the experience, there are currently no plans for him to test the Formula One car again. Meanwhile David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen are having a few days off before arriving at Kualar Lumpur early next week in preparation for the Malaysian Grand Prix on March 17. Test driver Alex Wurz has also briefly returned to Europe but will also be on hand as stand-by reserve driver at Sepang as usual.
JAGUAR RACING : NO TESTING THIS WEEK - (4th - 3 points)
After their surprising fourth place in the Australian Grand Prix, most of the work at Jaguar Racing has been going on behind the scenes with the team management trying to assess whether the best course is to continue with the R3 development or back-track to the R2B interim development car in the longer term. "It is a matter of whether the drivers would rather run the R2B without power steering or continue with the new car", said a team spokesperson. The R2B had electronic power steering last year but this was banned from the start of 2002 and re-engineering the car with mechanical power steering may take too much time and resources.
KL MINARDI ASIATECH : CELEBRATION IN MELBOURNE - (5th - 2 points)
Paul Stoddart invited the entire KL Minardi team to dinner on Sunday night in Melbourne to celebrate Mark Webber's fifth place. A few small modifications have been incorporated into the cars as a result of the information gathered in Melbourne. Most of the team flew straight to Malaysia but Giancarlo Minardi and some colleagues returned to the factory. The team is currently testing in the Fondmetal wind tunnel, working on the aero package for Imola and some set-up for Sepang.
The team will be paying its second visit to Malaysia in as many weeks. En route to Melbourne they stopped off to officially launch the team's sponsorship package at Kuala Lumpur International airport, only a couple of miles from the circuit.
PANASONIC TOYOTA : SARRAZIN AT PAUL RICARD - (6th- 1 point)
While race team drivers Mika Salo and Allan McNish are holidaying in Malaysia, the Toyota test team has been running at Paul Ricard this week from Wednesday until today (Friday). Most of the team personnel have stayed out in the Far East, but some of the management have returned to Cologne. McNish's car was lightly damaged in the first corner multiple accident at Melbourne, but has been repaired without having to be returned to base. The team, which takes seven engines to each race weekend, will only have to ship out five freshly prepared engines to Malaysia as there is still plenty of mileage left on the two V10s which came out of McNish's race car and the spare TF102.
DHL JORDAN HONDA : FACTORY QUIETER THAN USUAL
The Jordan-Honda team's Silverstone headquarters is quieter than usual because after the Australian Grand Prix whilst some of the crew members returned home to the United Kingdom to see their families, some 27 team members including mechanics, engineers and IT staff began a five day break in Phuket, Thailand. They will arrive at Sepang early next week to start preparing the trio of Jordan EJ-12s for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
LUCKY STRIKE BAR HONDA : WILLIS ARRIVES
Nearly five months after announcing his appointment, the team finally welcomed new Technical Director Geoffrey Willis to their Brackley headquarters yesterday (Thursday). His race debut
with the team is expected to be at the San Marino Grand Prix in April. Instead of attending the Malaysian and Brazilian Grand Prixs he will instead be familiarising himself with the performance of the BAR 004 to date, the team and his new role. The team started a two day test at Silverstone yesterday where Anthony Davidson was driving BAR 004 chassis 001 and completed 52 laps working on a programme of aerodynamic and engine development. His best time was a 1m24.814s. Jacques Villeneuve's rear wing failure in Australia has been thoroughly investigated and was found to have been caused by fatigue. Design modifications have been implemented to prevent a repetition of this problem.
MILD SEVEN RENAULT F1 TEAM : TESTING AT SILVERSTONE
While Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button had a few days off following the Australian Grand Prix and will fly direct to Malaysia for the second round of the championship, Fernando Alonso began a three day test at Silverstone on Tuesday using one of last year's B201s. On Tuesday he managed a 1m25.922s best after 41 laps during the course of tyre testing and evaluating new systems for the new 2002 car. On Wednesday he continued the tyre programme. Commented Technical Director Mike Gascoyone: "Fernando completed a tyre programme for Michelin, finding a very positive step forward for the Malaysian Grand Prix and beyond. We also conducted electronics development as well as a small amount of set-up work aimed at maximising tyre performance". The team has been analysing the data from Jarno Trulli's car which was damaged when he spun off battling for second place with Michael Schumacher's Ferrari at Melbourne. "We have not yet reached a firm conclusion as to the cause of that spin", said a team spokesperson on Thursday.
SAUBER PETRONAS : HARD WORK IN FACTORY
Most of the Sauber team went straight to Malaysia for PR work for their sponsor Petronas. Technical Director Willi Rampf flew home to Switzerland to supervise the production of spare parts as the first corner accident in Melbourne caused significant damage to both Sauber C21s. Rampf estimated the damage at 600,000 Euros including suspension, radiators and wings which all needed replacement. The factory has been under huge pressure as they had already experienced extra work after two accidents in the final pre-season test at Mugello. Sauber also had to send three sets of suspension as extra freight to Melbourne in order to have enough spares. Peter Sauber commented: "Obviously it is disappointing to lose two cars at the start of a race in which we should have scored points easily. On the other hand, none of our direct rivals for the fight for fourth place in the World Championship gained any benefit either".
ORANGE ARROWS : NO TESTING THIS WEEK
The Orange Arrows team will not be testing this week as the cars have gone directly from Melbourne to Malaysia. There is as yet no firm date for the team's next test after the first three races outside Europe have been completed.
US deal small step for F1
Source: news.com.au
Friday March 8, 2002
INDIANAPOLIS: Formula One has finally found a way onto the lucrative United States network television scene, although only in a very limited fashion.
The global racing series, far overshadowed to US audiences by closed-cockpit rival NASCAR, has announced a four-race deal for 2002 with ABC Sports, which includes the already-planned coverage of the September 29 US Grand Prix here.
Also being carried live to US markets will be the June 9 Canadian Grand Prix.
Taped delayed telecasts will include the September 14 Italian Grand Prix and the May 26 Monaco Grand Prix. The Monaco race will be telecast following the network's live coverage of the 86th Indianapolis 500 oval classic.
Kirch waits on car makers' move over F1 rights
Source: Yahoo Sports
Thursday March 7, 2002
German media group Kirch has not yet received an offer for its majority stake in Formula One's commercial rights from the manufacturers involved in the sport, a spokesman said.
"We have not received an offer from (the manufacturers)," Kirch spokesman Hartmut Schultz told.
"But we are, in general, open for a new equity shareholder in Formula One, especially the car makers," he added.
A British newspaper report on Thursday suggested that Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone had met with representatives of the car manufacturers' group from Fiat, Ford, Renault, BMW and Daimler-Chrysler at the Geneva Motor Show. A Mercedes source confirmed that Ecclestone had attended the event.
Kirch has a majority stake in the company which owns the commercial rights to Formula One, one of the biggest television events in global sport.
The debt-laden company admitted on Monday that it may be forced to sell its stake.
Ferrari To Continue Running 2001 Car
Source: Speedvision
Mugello, Italy, March 7
Ferrari took some heat from the Formula 1 field for having to use its 2001-spec car in the season opener at Melbourne, but aside from five laps worth of fury from Juan Pablo Montoya, the pre-race babble was the only heat the Prancing Horse would take as Michael Schumacher stormed to the win.
Things went so well for Ferrari in Australia that the team has decided to stick with the 2001 car for next weekend’s Malaysian GP, a decision that was cemented as Luca Badoer conducted side-by-side tests with the new and old cars this week at Mugello.
"The development program of the F2002 is going well," said Ferrari's sporting director Jean Todt. "The work done by Luca Badoer at Mugello is giving some good indications: today (Thursday) we've performed a race simulation. However, we feel that the F2001 has shown to be competitive, and that it can be in Malaysia too. In the meantime, we will carry on with work on the F2002 in order to take it to a race as soon as possible."
The 2001 launched not only Schumacher to the top of the driver standings but also put the team atop the constructor’s championship as six different manufacturers scored points in the season opener – mainly owing to the first-turn wreck that eliminated eight cars before the end of the first lap. One of those eliminated was Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello, who won the pole in the 2001-spec car for the race.
Webber injury scare
Source: news.com.au
Thursday March 7, 2002
AUSTRALIAN Formula One driver Mark Webber is suffering a back injury that is affecting his preparations for the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The Minardi driver – who is holidaying at a North Queensland resort ahead of his next race at Kuala Lumpur on March 17 – says an ill-fitting seat caused the problem during Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
"In testing, we couldn't get the seat 100 per cent exactly right in time for Melbourne," Webber told news.com.au.
"We're going try to get it sorted out – probably not in time for KL but for the one after. It's easier said than done."
The injury has restricted the 25-year-old to light training sessions only but is not expected to prevent him taking the grid at Sepang.
"I've got one of the best physios in the business so we're working hard on it," he said.
McLaren: Ferrari was lucky
Source: news.com.au
Thursday March 7, 2002
McLAREN team boss Ron Dennis is not about to give up the fight with Ferrari for this year's Formula One championship, saying the Italian team had a dream run in last weekend's Australian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won the race comfortably despite using an updated model of last year's car, prompting fears of a Ferrari cakewalk when it eventually gets the new model into operation.
But Dennis warned against that presumption, saying the cool and occasionally wet conditions at Albert Park played into Ferrari's hands.
McLaren and all other teams with new cars had difficulty finding the right set-up for their cars as practice and qualifying sessions were curtailed by rain.
"If you had brought your 2001 car, the first thing you'd be happy to get would be changeable weather in practice and qualifying which gave everyone little running time on a dry track," Dennis said today.
"The people with new cars were at a disadvantage.
"We have built a very good car this year, but the conditions didn't help us."
McLaren and fellow title aspirants Williams were also disadvantaged by using Michelin tyres, which were thought to be less effective than Ferrari's Bridgestones in cooler conditions.
Kimi Raikkonen finished third in his first race for McLaren, closely behind second-placed Juan Pablo Montoya in a Williams, while David Coulthard was forced to retire after leading the race in the early laps.
Ferrari test both cars in Italy
Source: Yahoo Sports
Wednesday March 6, 2002
Ferrari have continued their preparations for the Malaysian Grand Prix on March 17 by testing both their 2001 and 2002-spec chassis in Italy.
Brazilian Luciano Burti concentrated on the development of new Bridgestone tyres as he covered 98 laps of the Fiorano circuit in the F2001 car, the model used by reigning champion Michael Schumacher to win the season-opening Australian Grand Prix last weekend.
At Mugello, Italian test driver Luca Badoer completed 79 laps in the new F2002 model during an eight-hour spell as Ferrari aim to satisfy reliability concerns before they introduce their 2002-spec car to this season's world championship.
Meanwhile, Spaniard Marc Gene topped the timesheets at Silverstone in his Williams as he posted a best lap more than a second quicker than British American Racing tester Anthony Davidson of Britain.
Renault's Fernando Alonso also completed a full day's programme as the Spaniard finished third quickest.
"Fernando completed a tyre programme for Michelin this morning, finding a very positive step for the Malaysian Grand Prix and beyond," said Renault technical director Mike Gascoyne.
"This afternoon we conducted electronics development as well as a small amount of set-up work aimed at maximising tyre performance."
Wednesday's testing times at Silverstone:
1. Marc Gene (Spain) Williams - Best lap time of one minute, 23.735 seconds 2. Anthony Davidson (Britain) BAR1 - 24.811 3. Fernando Alonso (Spain) Renault - 1:26.198
Jaguar may use old car after Malaysia
Source: Yahoo Sports
Wednesday March 6, 2002
LONDON - Jaguar could replace their disappointing new R3 Formula One car with a version of last year's after the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Team spokesman Nav Sidhu said on Wednesday there would be no change before the second race of the season at Sepang next week but nothing had been ruled out for the following grands prix.
"The R3 will race in Malaysia," he said. "The cars are going straight to Malaysia from Melbourne. What we do beyond that is being considered right now.
"We need to understand exactly what to do to the R3 to make it competitive," he added. "If we find that it simply is not achievable, then we might have to look at the R2 post-Malaysia."
But Sidhu emphasised that reverting to the 'old' car was "not an option to take lightly".
The new car was well off the pace at Sunday's season- opening Australian Grand Prix and Briton Eddie Irvine and Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa qualified 19th and 20th respectively.
But the Ford-owned team picked up a surprising three points when Irvine finished a lucky fourth after almost half the grid was wiped out in a first corner pile-up.
The race was won by world champion Michael Schumacher in last season's Ferrari, with his team dominating the weekend from start to finish.
Ferrari had decided to use a developed version of the F2001 after uncertainty over the reliability of their new car. The champions have yet to decide which to run in Malaysia and are testing the F2002 in Italy this week.
The R3 was unveiled with much fanfare in early January as the first 'proper' Jaguar but it soon became apparent there were major flaws in the aerodynamics.
The old car, which took a lot of criticism last season for being too slow and too heavy, appeared to be more competitive and the problems led to the departure of technical director Steve Nichols in February.
Jaguar boss Niki Lauda has returned to Britain after the Australian Grand Prix, while Irvine went to Hong Kong and de La Rosa straight to Malaysia.
Lauda was quoted on the team's website as saying that Jaguar would have "a huge meeting" this week about the situation with the car.
Sidhu said it had not taken place yet but "it will be nothing more than the obvious, bringing everybody together to look at the problems".
A developed R2 could prove a better bet for certain races but it will need a modified power steering system since the electronic one used last year has now been banned.
The Melbourne result gave the team little to celebrate beyond a lucky break and Irvine said afterwards that "we can't kid ourselves, we're still a long way behind".
Jean Alesi Completes McLaren Test
Source: Speedvision
Wednesday March 6, 2002
Le Castellet, France, March 6
Jean Alesi didn’t really grasp the significance of taking a test session with the McLaren Formula 1 team until he got to the Paul Ricard circuit yesterday to roll onto the track.
But once he got used to the fact that he was driving one of the cars that he had chased so often during his career, he took to the wet track and put in 45 laps in what amounted to a Michelin test for its intermediate and rain tires.
"It was a very emotional day,’ said Alesi. "It was very strange to see my name on the car and on the car I had been trying for many years to beat when I was in a Ferrari or a Benetton. At Benetton I was always trying to beat this car. I had a very good day despite the weather because after not driving a Formula One car for six months I needed to start very slowly and I was gradually coming up to speed. With a team like McLaren and a car like this it is always serious work and we always have a lot to test."
No times were released from the session which McLaren gave to the recently-retired Alesi at the behest of Mercedes, whom Alesi will be driving for in the German Touring Car (DTM) series this season.
After the test the former Ferrari pilot said that he would like to do more testing for the McLaren squad as his time out of the car has not decreased the appetite of the 37-year-old Frenchman.
"Physically I had no problem, I have been training as I am racing this year," he said. "It was an emotional moment to see the car in the garage and once in the cockpit it was back to business. I'll see what we have to do here and let's see what comes of it."
Gene quickest at Silverstone
Source: Yahoo Sports
Tuesday, March 5, 2002
With round two of the new championship only nine days away, first practice scheduled to begin on Friday the 15th of March, not all teams are sitting idly by as they await the Malaysian event. Under sunny English skies, Williams and Renault were busy at the Silverstone circuit with test drivers Marc Gene and Fernando Alonso putting in the miles.
It was the start of a three-day test for Renault F1 as Alonso toured the track in last year's B201, completing 41 laps of important development work for the 2002 program. He was well over two seconds off he pace set by the Williams of Marc Gene, however technical director Mike Gascoyne, was pleased with the overall outcome.
Overall, the team had a successful day, with Fernando conducting systems and tyre testing as well as continuing his integration into the team, he said.
Tuesday's times from Silverstone:
01. Marc Gene - Williams - 1:23.261 - 50 laps 02. Fernando Alonso - Renault - 1:25.922 - 41 laps
Source: Yahoo Sports
Tuesday, March 5, 2002
LONDON - Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has told the purchaser of the failed Prost team's assets to forget about joining the championship soon.
"He has bought nothing in Formula One. All he has bought is some show cars. He can forget it. He is wasting his time thinking about racing in Malaysia," Ecclestone was quoted as saying in Tuesday's Times newspaper.
British businessman Charles Nickerson, through Phoenix Finance, was revealed last week as the purchaser of Prost's assets. Prost was placed into liquidation in January.
Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw said at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix that his TWR group would provide engineering back-up to a team aiming to take the 12th and final slot on the grid.
The next race is in Malaysia on March 17 but Ecclestone made clear that the Prost purchase did not give Nickerson the right to compete.
The Times also quoted International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Max Mosley as saying that the sport's governing body had yet to hear from Nickerson.
"We are waiting for an official communication from the purchasers of the Prost assets but they do appear to have major difficulties if they want to join the grid," he said.
Formula One is limited to 12 teams and, with Toyota's arrival this season, there are currently 11. A new team would have to deposit a bond of $48 million (34 million pounds) with the FIA before being allowed to compete.
Michelin admit tyres need to be improved
04 March, 2002
LONDON (Reuters) - Michelin need to improve their tyres following the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, their competition director Pierre Dupasquier has said.
Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya complained after the race that the Michelin tyres were inconsistent and suggested little improvement on last year.
Dupasquier said the French company can no longer blame outside influences for their poor performance.
"We must do better, much better," Dupasquier said in a statement.
"We no longer have the excuse of not knowing the circuits and we are working with teams whose abilities are well established.
"The challenge is to prove that Michelin can deliver the results everyone expects in the wake of last season's successes."
Michelin claimed to have made significant gains on their wet weather and intermediate tyres -- the very products that Montoya claimed need more work -- before the Australian Grand Prix.
But the company are working hard to counter the problems and will test at Silverstone this week to continue their development.
"It was a wild result (in Australia) but we collected good information," said Dupasquier. "We have new tyres ready for the next race in Malaysia, where it could be 50 degrees and difficult for the tyres."
Despite his complaints Montoya finished second in the Australian Grand Prix, and although Schumacher won on Bridgestone tyres, the rest of the top six was shod by Michelin.
Kirch says it may have to ditch Formula One stake
04 March, 2002
LONDON - Germany's debt-laden media company KirchGruppe has said it may be forced to sacrifice its majority stake in the Formula One rights company.
Dieter Hahn, the company's most senior executive after founder Leo Kirch, told Reuters that the company would prefer to find a partner to work with it in motor sport, but conceded it may have to sell out.
"We'd like to keep the Formula One stake and our preferred route would be to find a partner but it might have to be sold in the end," Hahn said on the sidelines of a conference in London.
Kirch, the rights holders to football's 2002 World Cup and one of Germany's best known media companies, is struggling for its survival under a pile of debt which Hahn said on Monday totalled some 6.5 billion euros.
The company has a majority stake in the company which has the commercial rights to the Formula One motor racing circuit, one of the biggest TV events in global sport.
Hahn said Kirch had spoken to various interested parties on Formula One but declined to elaborate. F1 founder Bernie Ecclestone and the car makers have both been tipped as potential buyers.
F1-Team-by-team analysis of Australian Grand Prix
Source: Yahoo Sports
3 March, 2002
FERRARI (Michael Schumacher 1st, Rubens Barrichello retired)
Schumacher won his third straight Australian GP and the 54th of his stellar career after managing to avoid the pile-up at the first lap which claimed eight drivers, including Barrichello. Schumacher took the lead on the 17th lap and was never headed again, crossing the line more than 18 seconds in front of his nearest rival.
MCLAREN (Kimi Raikkonen 3rd, David Coulthard retired)
Raikkonen dropped back to 11th after being held up in early traffic but slowly worked his way through the field, briefly reaching second spot before settling for third in his first outing with McLaren. Coulthard led for the first 10 laps but slipped back after gearbox problems and eventually retired after 33 laps.
WILLIAMS (Juan Pablo Montoya 2nd, Ralf Schumacher retired)
Schumacher's race ended when he ran into the rear of Barrichello's Ferrari, triggering the massive pile-up and sending him flying into the tyre wall. Montoya led for five laps until he was passed on lap 17, and had to settle for second spot.
SAUBER (Felipe Massa retired, Nick Heidfeld retired)
Massa and Heidfeld both went out on the first lap. Massa, making his debut, was hit from behind by Fisichella while Heidfeld crashed when he went up the inside and on to the grass trying to avoid the trouble ahead.
JORDAN (Takuma Sato retired, Giancarlo Fisichella retired)
Fisichella was yet another casualty of the first corner carnage. Sato managed to avoid the mess but his debut came to a premature end after just 12 laps because of problems with the car's electronics.
BAR (Jacques Villeneuve retired, Olivier Panis retired)
Panis joined the early retirees when he was forced on to the grass in the mayhem at the first corner. Villeneuve, who won the Australian GP in 1997, was running 11th when he crashed after the rear wing broke off on lap 27.
RENAULT (Jarno Trulli retired, Jenson Button retired)
Trulli managed to steer his way through the wreckage to move into second place after starting seventh on the grid and stayed there for the first eight laps when he lost control and crashed with Michael Schumacher hot in pursuit. Button was another who failed to make it past the first lap.
JAGUAR (Eddie Irvine 4th, Pedro de la Rosa 8th)
Jaguar defied their own pre-race forecast of a bleak performance when Irvine finished fourth and de la Rosa eighth despite a long pit stop to sort out an electrical problem. Despite their end result, the team said it still had a long way to go to be competitive.
ARROWS (Heinz-Harald Frentzen disqualified, Enrique Bernoldi disqualified)
Both Arrows cars stalled on the grid before the installation lap and had to be pushed into the pit lane. They both re-entered the race but were subsequently disqualified, Frentzen for exiting the pit lane under a red light and Bernoldi for rejoining their race in the spare car.
MINARDI (Mark Webber 5th, Alex Yoong 7th)
Minardi posted their best result in a Grand Prix since July 1994 when Webber finished fifth on his debut and Yoong nursed the car home in seventh place, igniting wild celebrations in the team's garage.
TOYOTA (Mika Salo 6th, Allan McNish retired)
It was a bitter-sweet debut for Formula One's newest team. McNish was wiped out in the first corner in his first ever Grand Prix but Salo survived and the car's reliability helped him hang on to finish in sixth spot, giving the team the rare achievement of getting a point in their first ever race.
2002 Australian Grand Prix
POST RACE PRESS CONFERENCE - 03-03-2002 1. Michael SCHUMACHER (FERRARI), 1h35m36.792 2. Juan Pablo MONTOYA (WILLIAMS), + 18.628s 3. Kimi RAIKKONEN (McLAREN), + 25.067s
TV UNILATERAL
Q: Michael, very, very frightening first corner accident. What did you see? You were right in the middle of it.
Michael SCHUMACHER:
Obviously I didn't see everything, only what happened in front of me, and that was Ralf had a collision with Rubens. I don't actually know what was going on, whether he had a problem or whatever, but I guess he would have told you in the meantime and then it was just cars flying everywhere, I was afraid to turn into the first corner because I saw suddenly cars flying next to me so I decided, same as Kimi, to go straight on and have a nice ride through the grass, which probably was a good decision otherwise I would have been hit, I guess.Q: We lost David Coulthard at the second restart, he went for a ride over the grass, a longer one than yours, and then a big fight with Juan Pablo?
MS: It was quite an interesting one, especially with Juan, because we had a straight fight with Raikkonen's car, Juan was closing the doors basically everywhere and not giving any chance, which in a slower car I don't know whether that was sort of fair but it didn't seem to be appropriate at the situation, but I enjoyed the fight obviously with him, it was a bit back and forward. I think as well that the tyres played a little bit of a role in that; initially I struggled to get the temperature in where these guys seemed to get faster on top of temperatures but then it went the other way around, their tyres went off and my one came in so I had a nice chance to battle a little bit and finally got first position for us, which was ideal. It wasn't really thought to be before we came here, but we're obviously nicely surprised that we have been able to do this job this weekend.
Q: Very good job, too; thank you, Michael. Juan Pablo, talk me through your side of your battle with Michael.
Juan Pablo MONTOYA: I think it was pretty good. I managed to get by him in the restart and then for a couple of laps I thought we were going to be competitive and as soon as he got temperatures there is nothing to do, it's just way too fast, and it was a matter of time: I was holding him and holding him and holding him until he was going to point the way past, either I was protecting the line or giving him the line and it drove around the outside like I was parked there, and they just drove into the distance.
Q: Talking of tyres, on the grid we saw a shot of your front right-hand tyre. When they took the tyre blanket off, it looked as though it had been blistered; is that the case?
JPM: No, no. As far as I know, no.
Q: There seemed to be bubbles on the surface of the tyre?
JPM: No, problems as far as I remember.
Q: Thanks very much. Kimi, welcome to the press conference. Great race, third place on your debut for McLaren, but you had a very strange start to the race. Tell us about your first pit stop: you came in very unplanned. What happened?
Kimi RAIKKONEN: On the start something went under my car, on the front part of my car, and I just didn't have anything to do, it just went straight over the sand and luckily I got the turn around and came back on the circuit and then on this first lap, first corner accident, I got something also behind my back, between the back, and came in and take it away and start from the last place and end up in the third.
Q: Your second pit stop was rather more scheduled and ordinary but you came out and very nearly got in front of the man from Williams, Mr Montoya, but then you went off at the first corner, why was that? You just braked too late?
KR: I went a bit too quick and just went on, unfortunately, maybe lost the second place but that's racing and maybe better luck next time.
Q: Thank you very much. Back to you, Michael. Malaysia next time out. Is that going to suit you because I presume it's going to be rather hotter than it is here and people always seem to say: Bridgestone better in the cooler temperatures and Michelin in the warmer ones. What do you reckon?
MS: Certainly there was a stage last year that was the case but I would say that we can resolve this kind of situation on our side and improve quite a bit. I reckon anyway - and we have seen it last year, we have been very competitive here last year, and suddenly we started to battle in qualifying with Ralf so I would assume that it's going to be a much tighter battle from now on. Actually, if you remember in Brazil, he was giving me a very hard time and driving away so things can change very quickly around and I wouldn't see what we have seen today as a real measurement for what happens in the future. I like to say a word about my team mate. Obviously I am sorry for him because it could have been a nice race for him but unfortunately that's part of racing and I'm sure he is going to have better luck in future.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Here they are, ladies and gentlemen. Well done, gentlemen. What are the conclusions really from this race, Michael, it's the first race of the year, couldn't be a better start?
MS: Yes, it could have been a better start, honestly.
Q: For you in terms of points.
MS: I know, but just to make it clear. Obviously it's ideal from my point of view but Rubens' point of view it didn't go so well and would have been better to be one and two, to be honest, than just have one in the finish.
Q: Early on you were fourth and you had a tremendous battle with Juan Pablo, particularly at the end of each of the safety car periods and then a little later on. Perhaps you could just talk us through those overtaking manoeuvres.
MS: Basically in the first safety car, nothing really happened, I didn't make up anything, actually when I was behind Juan at the time I lost out quite a bit because the traction initially wasn't there for me and then he gave me a favour of braking a bit on the oil, in turn three, which allowed me to pass and then I was battling with Trulli, which he was basically closing everywhere the door and didn't allow any overtaking, which then made it tricky because I saw Juan coming again so I thought I have to watch out. Next safety car, Trulli obviously was gone by then, David gave us a favour in going wide - it almost happened to me as well, I went wide too - and I think this was one of the reasons he had a good ride at me because I didn't have the right exit of the last corner, couldn't take the speed because the line was wrong in the corner before so it meant that the last corner was wrong, and he easily passed me. I couldn't do anything about that, honestly, I tried to go to the inside and I gave him the outside and he, well, overtook me easily there, but then it was a nice battle. Initially, obviously, he was going away a little bit and I was thinking hopefully he is on two stops, but then it seemed to be a tyre situation where initially our ones didn't work so well and theirs did work very well and then it turned around to our favour afterwards and I was all over him but it was difficult to find the space.
Q: That was interesting, the overtaking manoeuvre, did it just happen?
MS: No, he obviously saw me being very close and he didn't like me to pass him inside in the first corner so naturally you close the door, so what you do is then you go to the outside to take the better exit and him being so far inside it means that the corner gets very tight and he doesn't have the speed out of the corner so things worked out for me.
Q: And then after that, you seemed to pull away very easily.
MS: Yeah. We have been very quick all weekend, surprisingly quick, but in all honesty it seemed to be stronger in the race in a certain period than either qualifying or the last laps - I think Kimi actually did the fastest lap time - which shows that in certain areas they are very fast, mostly competitive, but then overall we are better off.
Q: Is this going to encourage to you keep this car for Malaysia or rush the other one?
MS: Obviously we would like to take the car, the new car, as soon as possible, as soon as we find out it is better and as soon as we find out it is reliable and both of the situations yet we cannot judge when that's going to be the case, honestly. Further tests next week, all next week we will be testing, and from there on we can judge what is happening in future.
Q: Thank you very much, Michael. Juan Pablo, as I say, the end of the both safety periods, they worked out differently for you. What was your angle on it?
JPM: I thought it was pretty good. At the time when Michael got by me I didn't really see that oil coming and I came into the radio and I said: I think we have got a puncture or something, and then I said just try a little better and it felt quite good and out of turn one, when you turn left, I could see some oil there as well and I thought: I got it. It was a bit too late. As Michael said, as soon as we get temperature in the tyres and against them, seem to have a lot more speed and really it was going to happen sooner or later.
Q: And then you had quite a long battle with Kimi really, which only faded sort of halfway through the race.
JPM: I think he was there all the time. I managed to pull away a little bit right before the stop and that was enough to get ahead of Kimi. When we were going down the straight and he was leaving the pits, when we got to braking we were basically side by side and when I saw him braking later I said: he's not going to make it, he's not going to make it. Yes! That was quite good.
Q: And then you pulled away a comfortable second place.
JPM: Yeah, we pulled away like five seconds and he got it down to four and then stayed around there. It was hard because we were pushing the thing, both of us were pushing really hard.
Q: Thanks very much, Juan Pablo. Kimi, are you surprised to be on the podium today?
KR: Yeah, for sure, after the start because I think I was on the last place after the couple of laps in the safety car and from there the third place is not bad.
Q: And then, as you mentioned earlier on, you had your long pit stop. What were things like from then?
KR: Before the first pit stop the car was pretty good to drive home and we got quite a lot of vibration on tyres and that makes it more difficult. Then when I came out of the first pit stop I went a bit too quick for the first corner and just ran wide and lost the second place. That's racing and I'm not worried about those things because I am still a bit learning and just need to make a better job next time.
Q: You were way back - admittedly there weren't all that many cars - but you were way back after your first pit stop, the long one, when they were looking for things in the cockpit. Was it easy just carving your way through the field?
KR: Yes, it was quite easy to overtake some cars. Some cars was more difficult and then it was helping me a lot big time because the safety car came out second time and I got behind the leaders and that was the main reason that I catch them, but it was quite a difficult and interesting race.
Q: When you were behind Juan Pablo, was it easy enough to stay there?
KR: Yeah, I tried to save (indistinct) the pit stop that I can run a bit longer and we made one lap but it wasn't enough, but it was quite easy to stay behind him.
Q: So happy with today's position?
KR: Yes.
Q: Could you have taken the fight to Juan Pablo in the closing stages; you seemed to steadily drop back?
KR: No, I don't think so, I was going full speed. Of course the last couple of laps I slowed down because I saw that I don't have any more chance to catch up with him but I think we were doing pretty similar lap times and that's it.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: Kimi, your team mate seemed to be struggling with what seem to be a very undriveable car in the early part and you too cut through the grass a few times. What was the trouble with that? Were you finding it difficult to drive the car?
KR: No, not really, I was pushing very hard and that's why I did a couple of mistakes but the car was pretty good, good to drive.
Q: Kimi, what was it that the team had to take out which you had on the back?
KR: I don't know what was there, I think a piece of the front wings or something from the cars that shunted in the first corner.
Q: Michael, a lot of cars went out of the race at the first corner. At a time when Formula 1 is trying to control costs, that was quite an expensive corner there. Do you think there are any controls that can be brought to bear on the drivers to ensure that that kind of thing is less likely to happen?
MS: I don't think so. You remember we talked about this at the Thursday press conference. It needs really everybody just to be a little bit more calm at the first race to avoid that, but then you can't control it. That's part of racing, that's part of emotions, and part of the reason you write for it, I guess, because it's so interesting. It's costly and not really nice that things like that happen but it has always been part of it.
Q: Juan Pablo and Kimi. To be honest, is possible for you to fight against the Ferrari for the victory at this point, at this state of the art, because you fight between us, you made a little bit fight with Michael but for some situations and circumstances but then he went alone?
JPM: I think Ferrari definitely had the edge on us here: from Friday onwards they were clearly the quickest car. I think the conditions were not the best for the tyres. Hopefully in Malaysia it is going to be hotter, it could play into our hands a little bit. I think we have shown, especially the wet and intermediate needs to be a lot more competitive and I think that's a really good thing but I think we still need to do quite a lot of work because, I don't know, Kimi did the fastest lap, when the car was good we were as fast as Michael but when we go through the same thing as last year there is no chance, and I think in hotter temperatures the tyre will behave a lot better.
KR: It's difficult right now, especially in this race, for Michael was better also that they start with the old car, they know much more about the set-ups and things and the weather was very difficult to get the set-up right but I'm quite happy how things went in the end. If I look beginning of testing and qualifying, I was much more sad what I'm now so we only can improve things and just looking forward for the next race.
Q: Michael, it's the inevitable Australian question: Mark Webber has come home fifth today, can you say some words for us, for the kind Australian fans?
MS: Honestly, I was thinking in the car, I was actually very delighted for them. You see Minardi they are so long around and it's not happening very often for them to have the occasion to get points, and I was told by my team that he drove a very good race and he scored really the fifth place, he really earned it, he had a good battle with Salo so I'm more than happy for them. I guess it's going to be a big, big party happening tonight for them. Maybe we are going to join them and have some fun together, but it's really pleasant to see these guys, I really - how you say - I feel just happy for them that they achieved that.
Q: To all drivers: we had in the first corner eight or nine drivers out of the race. Don't you think it could be better even to the show to have a red flag and all of them again in the race?
MS: From my point of view you would say yes, especially if we would have been involved in this situation, we would have preferred to have a red flag and start the race again but obviously we are not the persons to decide this and probably we are not the right persons to be asked.
Q: Your personal opinion?
MS: Yes, my personal opinion is this but then the question should really go to some other people why it is like this, why it has to be like this because, as I said, from my point of view I would have preferred to see a red flag.
Q: Michael, on the same sort of question, we saw last season, noticeably Hockenheim when something like this happened and there was a safety issue because of the shards of carbon fibre left on the track. In this case there wasn't a restart. Do you think there should have been, for safety reasons, leaving aside anything else?
MS: I think there was far less debris on the circuit than there was in Hockenheim. In Hockenheim I remember the whole straight was covered in pieces, if I'm right, and that was the reason. Here there was room to avoid the pieces. There is a certain rule and they follow the rule. We maybe could argue whether we can improve that for everybody, or whether it is an improvement, but obviously somebody has made that decision, to the best knowledge and to the best of Formula 1, and maybe you should ask them whether it would be nicer and better to improve or change that.
Q: Michael, how did you feel when you saw your brother on the collision with Rubens?
MS: Very frightened, obviously, because when you touch a rear wheel and the car is launched into the air, if you go into the wrong area you hurt yourself badly so I was very concerned and I was going on the radio immediately to check out what is going on with him but I was told he was fine and I saw him running down the straight so he was obviously lucky but it's not something you wish to happen.
Q: Michael, what did you see from the accident actually? Both Rubens and Ralf seemed to change the line more than once?
MS: Obviously the car behind is allowed to change more than once, the car in front is not supposed to but I haven't really seen whether he did or he didn't. So simply that's the answer to changing lane: one car is, one car is not but I don't know who has done what precisely; I just had a quick look and I don't want to comment too much on that before I have properly seen everything.
Q: You just said you had a quick look. I would have thought in your position you'd have a grandstand view of what went on, so what are you looking at?
MS: No, what you see in the car, you are so busy with yourself and you look around in the mirrors what come next, it is not really fair to ask what we see from in board. You guys have much better vision with 10 times repetition, you see much better than what we can see.
Q: I'm just asking you because I'm not sitting there, I wanted to know want you are looking at, so you are basically looking ahead through what's happening, if you know what I mean?
MS: You don't see everything in detail, you see a certain amount of it but not everything in detail.
2002 Australian Grand Prix
03-03-2002
RACE FACTS AND INCIDENTS
Before the start of the race there are major problems for the Arrows team with both Enrique Bernoldi and Heinz-Harald Frentzen being left standing on the grid as the field departs for the final parade lap. The cars cannot be started and eventually they are pushed into the pitlane exit.
* Lap 1: The race starts with Ralf Schumacher making the best getaway and after getting ahead of his brother is looking for a way to pass Rubens Barrichello. He misjudges his braking and runs into and over the rear of he Ferrari. The Williams flies through the air but the safety installations work well and Ralf emerges unscathed. While this is happening there is chaos behind the front men as everyone tries to avoid each other. When the dusts clears there are cars everywhere with Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella, Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa, Jenson Button, Olivier Panis and Alan McNish all out. Michael Schumacher loses several places as he goes across the grass to avoid being taken out. Of the rest Mika Salo heads for the pits while Jacques Villeneuve also loses a lot of ground to end up 10th at the end of the first lap. The Safety Car is sent out and the order behind it is David Coulthard, Jarno Trulli, Juan Pablo Montoya, a delayed Michael Schumacher, Eddie Irvine, Pedro de la Rosa, Takuma Sato, Mark Webber and Alex Yoong and Villeneuve. Joining the race at the back is Heinz-Harald Frentzen. At the end of lap two Kimi Raikkonen pits for repairs.
* Lap 6: The race restarts with Coulthard setting off in the lead while Montoya challenges Trulli for second and goes wide, allowing Schumacher to pass the Williams and chase after Trulli. Further back Raikkonen begins his charge back up the order from 11th to ninth.
* Lap 7: Coulthard has built a seven and a half second lead in just two laps as Schumacher is held up behind Trulli. Montoya is hanging on while the rest are a long way back with Irvine fifth and Sato overtaking de la Rosa for sixth. Raikkonen passes Webber for seventh. At the back of the field Enrique Bernoldi finally joins the field in his Arrows.
* Lap 8: Raikkonen passes de la Rosa for seventh place. Further back Villeneuve overtakes Webber for ninth.
* Lap 9: Trulli spins off in the fast sweepers at the back of the track and the Renault ends up in the middle of the road. The Safety Car is sent out again but before the field catches up with it there are several other overtaking moves as Raikkonen jumps ahead of Sato. Villeneuve and Bernoldi pit.
* Lap 11: At the last corner before the restart Coulthard goes off as he gets ready for the battle to recommence.
* Lap 12: The race is on again and Montoya blasts ahead of Schumacher as the two men go down into the first corner. Raikkonen is up to third with Coulthard fourth, Irvine fifth and de la Rosa back to sixth because Sato goes into the pits.
* Lap 13: Villeneuve pits for a second time while Coulthard is obviously in trouble as he slides off the track again.
* Lap 14: Sato pits again and retires.
* Lap 17: After several laps of running close together Schumacher gets ahead of Montoya when the Williams runs wide at one corner. Michael immediately begins to pull away at speed as Montoya begins to struggle with his tyres. Behind him the order is settled with Raikkonen chasing Montoya. Coulthard was fourth with Irvine a long way back in fifth.
* Lap 18: Pedro de la Rosa begins to drop back, losing places to the two Minardis and Villeneuve.
* Lap 19: Frentzen is black-flagged for having ignored the red light at the end of the pitlane when he joined the race.
* Lap 21: De la Rosa pits for repairs.
* Lap 22: Schumacher's lead is already up to 11 seconds, Coulthard continues to have problems and goes off again.
* Lap 23: Irvine overtakes Coulthard to take fourth place. Bernoldi is black-flagged for using the T-car illegally, ending a disappointing day for Arrows.
* Lap 25: Webber moves up to fifth passing the troubled Coulthard.
* Lap 26: Villeneuve overtakes Coulthard to take sixth place.
* Lap 28: Villeneuve disappears from the race when the rear wing fails and he spins off at high speed. he nudges the barriers but emerges unhurt.
* Lap 29: Coulthard is overtaken by Alex Yoong, putting the Malaysian into sixth place in his Minardi.
* Lap 32: Mika Salo, who is at the back of the field stops for his mid-race pit stop.
* Lap 34: Coulthard finally retires, his car having been stuck in sixth gear for some laps.
*Lap 35: Webber stops and there is a problem with the fuel hose and he loses 34 seconds as the problem is solved.
* Lap 37: Montoya, Irvine and Yoong all pit.
* Lap 38: Schumacher and Raikkonen pit, Raikkonen gets out ahead of Montoya but goes off at the first corner allowing Montoya to get the place back again. The order is thus Schumacher (ahead by 20 seconds), Montoya and Raikkonen. Irvine is a lap behind with Webber a lap behind him. Salo has got ahead of Yoong and the only other man running is de la Rosa several laps down.
* Lap 42: De la Rosa drops further back as he has his second pit stop.
* Lap 48: The order is now settled but it is clear that Webber is struggling to match the times being set by Salo. The Finn closes up on the Minardi in his Toyota.
* Lap 55: Salo challenges Webber for fifth but makes a mess of it and spins.
* Lap 58: Michael Schumacher wins with Montoya and Raikkonen second and third. Irvine is a surprising fourth while the crowd (and the Minardi pit goes mad) as Webber takes fifth place on his Grand Prix debut. Salo finishes sixth to give Toyota a point on its F1 debut.]
Grand Prix Australia Final Results
Sunday, March 3, 2002
P. No Driver Team - Engine Tyres Gaps/Laps Average Stops 1. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1h35'36"792 193.011 Km/h 1 2. 6 MONTOYA Williams BMW M + 0'18"628 192.387 Km/h 1 3. 4 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M + 0'25"067 192.172 Km/h 2 4. 16 IRVINE Jaguar Cosworth M 1 lap(s) 1 5. 23 WEBBER Minardi Asiatech M 2 lap(s) 1 6. 24 SALO Toyota M 2 lap(s) 2 7. 22 YOONG Minardi Asiatech M 3 lap(s) 1 8. 17 DE LA ROSA Jaguar Cosworth M 5 lap(s) 2 9. 3 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 25 lap(s) 0 10. 11 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 31 lap(s) 2 11. 20 FRENTZEN Arrows Cosworth B 42 lap(s) 2 12. 21 BERNOLDI Arrows Cosworth B 43 lap(s) 2 13. 10 SATO Jordan Honda B 46 lap(s) 2 14. 14 TRULLI Renault M 50 lap(s) 0 15. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 58 lap(s) 0 16. 5 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 58 lap(s) 0 17. 9 FISICHELLA Jordan Honda B 58 lap(s) 0 18. 8 MASSA Sauber Petronas B 58 lap(s) 0 19. 7 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 58 lap(s) 0 20. 15 BUTTON Renault M 58 lap(s) 0 21. 12 PANIS BAR Honda B 58 lap(s) 0 22. 25 MCNISH Toyota M 58 lap(s) 0
Source: Yahoo Sports
Sunday, March 3, 2002
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - World champion Michael Schumacher won an extraordinary Australian Grand Prix as the Formula One season began with a massive pile-up on the first corner and just a handful of finishers.
In a race that resembled a demolition derby more than the pinnacle of motor racing, the Ferrari driver from Germany emerged triumphant once again to claim a 54th career win and his third straight victory in Australia.
After cruising to victory with only eight of the 22 starters still on the circuit, Schumacher said he thought the race should have been re-started after a first lap crash between his team mate Rubens Barrichello and his younger brother, Ralf.
Ralf took off into the air after colliding with the back of Barrichello's Ferrari and eight cars were forced out of the race as they collided trying to avoid the accident.
"From my point of view it should have been red-flagged and the race started again," said Schumacher, going for his fifth world title this year.
"There is a certain rule and they (race officials) followed the rule, but maybe you can argue the rule should be changed."
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya was second in a Williams with Finland's Kimi Raikkonen third in his McLaren debut for the first podium of his career. But there were unexpected names further down the point scorers.
Raikkonen was followed by Jaguar's Eddie Irvine, who had all but written off his car's chances before the race, with Minardi's Australian rookie Mark Webber fifth after holding off a thrilling late challenge from Finland's Mika Salo.
Salo still scored a point for Toyota on their grand prix debut. Webber, punching the air in jubilation, became the 51st driver to score on his Formula One debut and gave Minardi their first point since 1999.
"I feel like I've won the race, it's fantastic for the team," Webber said.
Webber had started 18th on the grid and Irvine 19th. Behind them they left motor racing mayhem, summed up by the sight of Webber overtaking David Coulthard's McLaren, struggling with gearbox problems, with half the race to run.
After 29 of the 58 laps there were only eight cars remaining in the race and by the checkered flag only the front three remained on the same lap.
The first corner carnage was triggered in the blink of an eye with the starting lights barely extinguished.
Brazilian Barrichello, starting on pole, was one of the unlucky ones after Ralf Schumacher's Williams ploughed into the rear of his Ferrari and was launched into the air before plunging into the tyre barriers.
Ralf, who was also involved in a crash last year that killed a Melbourne marshal, had weaved past his older brother Michael at the start before running out of space as Barrichello's car slowed trying to enter the first corner ahead.
"It felt frightening, I can tell you," said Ralf. "Going airborne in an aircraft is nicer than in any Formula One car.
"Rubens closed the door on me once, then he did it twice."
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan, Brazilian Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld in the Saubers, Renault's Jenson Button, BAR's Olivier Panis and British debutant Allan McNish for Toyota all packed up there and then.
Michael Schumacher, starting second on the grid, had a good view of the crash and stayed well clear.
"I just saw cars flying everywhere and I was afraid to turn into the first corner so I just went straight ahead onto the grass which was a good decision I think," Schumacher said.
"I was very frightened...you don't like to see that.
"I was very concerned so I radioed the pits and they told me everything was okay (with the drivers)."
With the Arrows of German Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi both failing to start on the formation lap, the accident stripped the race of nearly half the field.
With the safety car leading Coulthard around for four laps, the decision to continue sparked anger among some teams.
"It was a silly accident but the decision not to stop the race by the FIA is absolutely absurd," said Jordan's Gary Anderson.
But some teams said officials were right to continue. Irvine said: "In Grand Prix you get one crack at it and if you screw up, you screw up."
The mayhem did not stop there, with Renault's Italian Jarno Trulli bringing the safety car out again when he spun and crashed into the wall while in second place and working overtime to keep Michael Schumacher behind him.
When the safety car went back in, the battle was on with Schumacher and Montoya fighting for the lead.
Montoya gained the early advantage in the cut and thrust but once Schumacher got past, with a clever move on a corner, it was game over with last year's Ferrari pulling away to win by 18.6 seconds.
POLE POSITION PRESS CONFERENCE - 2 MARCH 2002 1. Rubens BARRICHELLO (FERRARI), 1'25"843 2. Michael SCHUMACHER (FERRARI), 1'25"849 (+ 0.005s) 3. Ralf SCHUMACHER (WILLIAMS), 1'26"279 (+ 0.436s)
TV UNILATERALS
Q: Rubens, a fabulous start to your season. Is this what you expected?
Rubens BARRICHELLO:
I think things in life happen for a reason. I think it's a very good beginning of the year, I've done a good testing, I feel relaxed, I think I've just changed the approach of everything so I feel good actually. But this qualifying means, for sure, it is good to be starting tomorrow in pole position but it was only two runs and then it rained - actually, the rain so many times has helped me in my life so this time it helped me too so it was a bit up in the air, to be honest. We know our car is competitive. Michael would have gone faster, I feel I would have gone faster, but it's good to be here.Q: It was noticeable that the sky was very grey, the possibility of rain before the qualifying session started. Was that why you went out very early on, to set a flying lap almost straight after the start of the session?
RB: We were aware that it could rain some time soon so we wanted to put in a time. There was some traffic when I started my first run and then I was able to do a quick second lap and then it rained but we were expecting it to go away but all of a sudden it got harder and harder.
Q: Thank you, Rubens. Michael, as we said with Rubens, trying to go for a fast lap very early on, you were interrupted by a yellow flag. How much did that upset you?
Michael SCHUMACHER: It did cost me time, but actually the yellow flag didn't bother me so much compared to the red flag which came straight after; it cost me the lap time. I don't know what lap time I would have done at this stage because I had to back off significantly for the yellow flag. Anyway, we're both up front, that's where we wished to be and we are, and we're obviously quite happy with that and look forward to whatever happens tomorrow.
Q: Now, every team has arrived here with their new car for 2002 but the team with the two drivers on the front row, your team Ferrari, has brought last year's car. Is that the reason why you two are on the front row here today?
MS: Has to be.
Q: Ralf, fastest of the people on the second row, third overall but you're point four of a second behind the two Ferraris. Michael is not giving anything away about whether it's last year's car that's their advantage, do you think it's the car or do you think it might be their Bridgestone versus your Michelin tyres?
Ralf SCHUMACHER: First of all, I think that last year in these conditions when the temperatures are pretty low, and ground temperatures are pretty low, that we are not as good as the Bridgestones are so that helps them for sure. It looked worse yesterday although I'm sure they could have gone a lot faster than they actually did but there's a gap and it is surprising if you consider they came with the old car and they're still so far ahead of everyone, but still a lot of room to improve on our side as well so we will see.
Q: There has been talk this weekend that Williams, in particular, is suffering from braking problems. We saw this morning your teammate, Juan Pablo Montoya, coming into the pits with his brakes on fire. Have you had similar problems?
RS: No. I mean, we have high brake temperatures, so do I think other teams have. It's just that Juan didn't cool the brakes enough before he came back in, that's why they went on fire basically.
Q: Thank you, Ralf. Rubens, back to you. Looking head to tomorrow, I don't know if you know what the weather is going to do but it was noticeable at the end, really only you and Michael were out there when it was very wet. Do you think the other teams maybe missed the chance to set up their cars for the wet in case it's raining tomorrow?
Rubens BARRICHELLO: I think it was only to have an idea. You go out in qualifying, you're not going flat out just to do a time, it's just to have a feeling. We had some experience on Friday morning, it's just to have a run really. Tomorrow morning, if rain is there, then everybody is going to have a chance so it was really just to have a comparison.
Q: Rubens, thank you very much.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Rubens, well done. What is it with you and rain, because every single pole position that we can remember seems to have been rain affected.
RB: But the time was set on the dry.
Q: That's what's happened in the past as well but then somehow you whistle up the rain.
RB: I love the rain, to be honest with you. I don't know, it must be something. It is true, fourth time, just somehow I'm involved with the bad weather which for me is good weather, so just have to take it and use it.
Q: You just got the timing right as well?
RB: Well, I don't think I've been right or wrong today; I think everybody knew that it could get wet. I've set my first time but I got traffic and there was yellow flags all around but I could set times too before the red flags, and then we decided to go for another time because it looked like tricky, the weather just spinning out. Even when we were running since the beginning, there was some dark clouds and some spitting on the visor so we decided just to go and give it one more try.
Q: And then this morning, and the last couple of days, you've aborted some very quick lapse so you obviously knew you were up there?
RB: I'm feeling quite good. The old car - I haven't driven the new car actually so I know the old car more than Michael probably so it's good to be racing that car here and I think it was a good decision, the car feels quite good. We improved the car to my liking, let's put it this way, since the very last race of the season so I'm doing good, thank you.
Q: You talked about going out in the wet. What specifically do you look for when you go out in the wet?
RB: For experience, just to get some experience, to feel like how it is to drive. It's very slippery out there, just like it is in Monaco with the white lines, so you have to choose lines when you are going around but it was really to find out a little bit about the wet.
Q: You mentioned just now that you've changed your approach. Can you tell us a little bit more about that, in what way you've changed your approach?
RB: Well, it's a tough life just to be number two to Michael, and a lot of questions involving him and sometimes you are not happy because of a small thing and it becomes a big thing in the press so I just said this year I'm not going to bother any more, just said I would stop crying - if that's what I was doing - just get on with my job, enjoy, because at the end of the day we have to remember why I do this, it's because I love it and it seems that it's working, I'm particularly driving better than ever and it's a good time for myself just to enjoy and drive the car.
Q: You are on pole position, you have got the same number of points in this year's world championship as Michael, does that mean you are going to be allowed to have the spare car tomorrow?
RB: There is no crying, I just get on with it. They give me a car tomorrow and I just drive it and I see what it is.
Q: Michael, a sort of family front row for you and with Ralf just behind you, you don't seem to be too unhappy being second?
MS: No, because if you take the circumstance it's ideal: we have both cars in the front row. We have had all week and a very good weekend, we have prepared ourselves for race conditions and everything looks very reasonable. Bridgestone has done a very superb job with their tyres and all in all there is no reason to be unhappy. We are five thousandths apart, we are both in the front row, it's going to be an entertaining race tomorrow then.
Q: But you have been so quick over the last couple of days, you really have been very, very quick indeed. What can you put that down to?
MS: I think the fact is we have seen that very often in the past that Australia, for whatever reason, seems to suit one team in particular. I remember we have been here with Ferrari against the Williams and they were one point whatever seconds ahead, and then it was McLaren being so many times ahead, and then you come to the next races and suddenly the gap shrinks dramatically so it seems something with that circuit, whatever is the reason for it I don't know, so I wouldn't be surprised if all this can change very quickly and it does suit us 100 per cent - that's the reason, but why the others may suffer, no idea.
Q: Do you feel you have done enough laps in both types of condition? Are you well prepared for tomorrow, whatever the conditions?
MS: We know the car very well so that's obviously an advantage to us, to know what we have to do in what kind of circumstance, and we're pretty well prepared, yes, although we maybe lost a couple of laps which ideally we would have wanted to do but then it was most likely the same for everyone.
Q: Ralf, have you been surprised by Ferrari's pace?
RS: Certainly. We thought that we were going to be closer, which we actually are if you compare it to last year, but then I think they couldn't really show what they were able today.
Q: You set your time in just one run, basically; presumably there was a lot more to come?
RS: Well, there was some more to come, I don't know how much. I hope it will be enough tomorrow to satisfy a good podium in the race. We will see.
Q: Do you feel you are well prepared for any set of conditions tomorrow?
RS: I would say so. We have had our difficulties in rain last year but Michelin has improved that. To which extent, we will find out tomorrow if it rains. For the dry condition, our car is very well balanced the whole weekend really, we were a lot further away yesterday than we seem to be today so it looks promising.
Q: Some questions from the floor, please.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: Michael, on your fastest lap you seemed to lose a bit of time in sector one. Can you tell us what happened there?
MS: I lost, for whatever reason, some traction on the grass; didn't seem to accelerate as much as normal.
Q: Actually, that's a further question to that: you picked up so much time in the third sector, you were virtually four tenths down at the second sector and then picked up to be four tenths ahead in the third sector, that's this morning.
MS: It has been all weekend, honestly, third sector seems to be my sector. Maybe we could forget the rest.
Q: But you just seemed well suited to it, the car is well suited to it, that's all it is?
MS: Yes.
Q: Rubens, how confident are you, rain or shine, that in a straight fight you can beat Michael from this position?
RB: I don't think it's a question of beating Michael, we are here to win the race tomorrow; I think Ferrari would be happy whatever driver it is to win and to finish second. We're going to have a start tomorrow and then we see how the race progresses, and I'm fairly confident that we have a good set up, we know the car very well so rain or dry we feel that it can suit any situation.
Q: Particularly if it is a wet race and conditions could be a bit hazardous, is there any thought of you two having a private deal of whoever gets into the first corner first?
MS: Let's talk about this.
RB: We can talk later.
Q: It's a possibility that you will discuss something between yourselves?
RB: We are having dinner tonight. Maybe.
MS: We always discuss.
Q: Michael, if it's wet here, from what you've seen can we expect an unusually incident packed race? Any wet race is going to have incidents but is the track - Rubens said it's like Monaco so can we expect even more carnage?
MS: It has some similarities to Monaco, especially because of the stripes, the lines we have on the road, but otherwise it is a very well built circuit in a town and I wouldn't say that you see particularly more accidents, there is no reason for it. It really depends how hot the guys are going to be tomorrow after the start, because that is going to be a factor. If it is wet and everybody is just a little bit clever enough and knows that you don't win the race in the first corner, then I think it's going to be all right but it really depends on the temper, how much they keep it under control.
Q: Rubens or Michael, we are talking about the old car but in what ways and how much is this car different from the car you had in Suzuka?
RB: From the outside it doesn't look different at all. I think, as Michael has mentioned, Bridgestone has done a fantastic job so we made it very suitable, set- up wise, for the tyre. Engine- wise, I think we have more power, some small touches on electronics and this and that, and the fact that we know the car so well and we can go to the extreme with set- ups and things like this. That's the reason why we're faster but from the outside the car is exactly the same.
Q: What do you feel when you see that you are in new car and you team tested 6,000 kilometres and you are half a second behind Ferrari that has used the old car?
RS: They did about 20,000 kilometres with their car so it wouldn't be surprised that they are quicker. Ferrari is the team to beat at the moment and, if anything, you have to be fair; we are closer than last year. I think it will take a while. We started off with the new car, a lot of journalists were surprised how similar it looked to the old car, almost couldn't see the difference, and we had some problems, we improved a lot during the testing and I can promise you there is a lot more to come really, and we will see. We haven't seen Ferrari's new car - some rumours say it's a lot quicker, some rumours say they have problems so we will just wait and see what happens.
Q: Rubens and/or Michael, on this point about the car, we say the shorthand it's an old car but Formula 1 cars evolve during the season. Is it virtually an entirely different car from the one that you ran here last year?
RB: I think the car has been developed big, big time since the very beginning of last year here so you could say that it's 50 per cent changed because I think Ferrari hasn't stopped one single moment to create new things so aerodynamically the car is different since the car we saw here last year and so we made a lot of improvements on that one so on that matter, even because we didn't have traction control here to begin with so the car is faster by a big amount.
Formula One Update
Friday 22 February 2002
COMING EVENT : AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX (MELBOURNE - 1-2-3 March)
CHARACTER OF
EVENT
Melbourne's Albert Park circuit originally attracted international recognition
in 1956, the year in which the city hosted the Olympic Games, when a good field
of contemporary Formula One cars was attracted to Australia and Stirling Moss
driving a Maserati emerged the winner of a non-championship race to celebrate
this great sporting occasion. Thereafter the track fell into disuse and disrepair,
but when the state of Victoria won the battle to stage the now-World Championship
status Australian Grand Prix from 1996 onwards the Albert Park circuit was completely
revamped and brought up to the level required for a front line international
event. Situated close to the seaside Melbourne suburb of St Kilda, the track
has lots of interesting corners, but drivers find it challenging to sustain
sufficient grip in order to work out the optimum chassis balance here.
SPECIAL FACTS
Allan Munich is the oldest Formula One debutante at the season, his first
Grand Prix coming at the age of 32, eleven years after first landing the job
as test driver for the McLaren-Honda team.
Bruce McLaren's record of being the youngest ever Grand Prix winner at the age of 22 years and three months, which had stood since he won the 1959 US Grand Prix at Sebring, can be beaten only by 20-year old Felipe Massa. Kimi Raikkonen, will be five weeks older than McLaren when he starts the season driving a car carrying the New Zealander's name.
NEWS FROM THE TEAMS
SCUDERIA FERRARI
MARLBORO : OLD CAR FOR MELBOURNE
Ferrari will definitely be running their type F2001s in the Australian
Grand Prix but there is no word yet as to whether they will debut their new
car in Malaysia on March 17 or defer its first race until the start of the European
season. Ferrari will take the old F2001 to Melbourne after Sporting Director
Jean Todt explained that the team had lacked testing miles with the new F2002
which also suffered mechanical problems in the area of the gearbox during recent
tests at Mugello. Despite the bad weather and these technical problems, Michael
Schumacher did a respectable lap time of 1m22.551s and he is not worried about
starting the year with the old car. "It is a wise decision", he said.
"We know that we have a quick and reliable package in the F2001".
The team went to Imola after Mugello where Michael drove the old car and Luca
Badoer the new machine. Michael managed a 1m 23.459s best after 111 laps, only
0.4sec away from David Coulthard's pole position for last year's San Marino
Grand Prix. The team has built three new F2001s which Badoer shook down yesterday
in the rain at Fiorano. They are chassis 214, the car which Schumacher raced
at Suzuka last year which will be the T-car. 215 for Schumacher to race and
216 for Barrichello. They are lighter than the earlier F2001s and have passed
the necessary crash tests as if they were totally new cars. The engines will
be type 050s to the qualifying specification used at Suzuka, but also containing
some components of the new 051. Today (Friday) the team will deliver their cargo
to Milan's Malpensa airport for shipment to Melbourne and on Saturday night
the remainder of the equipment, some 30 tons including a spare monocoque (211)
plus ten engines and 70 personnel, will also leave.
WEST McLAREN
MERCEDES : SPANISH SHAKEDOWN
The McLaren-Mercedes squad undertook its pre-season shakedown at Valencia this
week with two MP4/17s on hand, Alexander Wurz setting fastest time on Wednesday
with a 1m12.569s ahead of David Coulthard's 1m13.416s. The team will have three
MP4/16s on hand in Melbourne for the first race of the season.
BMW WILLIAMSF1
TEAM : BACK AT VALENCIA
The BMW WilliamsF1 team began its three-day shakedown at Valencia on Wednesday
with Juan Pablo Montoya ending up third fastest on 1m13.468s, achieved despite
a minor off-track moment. Marc Gene managed a 1m13.904s best. "The objective
of today was to run the FW24 to evaluate brake and aerodynamic components",
said Race Engineer Tim Preston. "It looks like we have made a positive
step forward, but the test was delayed after Juan Pablo had that minor off.
We are intending to undertake endurance runs on Thursday". The team has
confirmed that Ralf Schumacher is recovering from a major accident during testing
at Estoril last week in which he hurt his neck. The accident, due to a brake
problem, quite badly damaged the car and Schumacher later complained of a sore
neck. Up to then he had completed 104 laps for a best time of 1m 18.409s. Antonio
Pizzonia also tested there with an FW23C.
SAUBER PETRONAS
: EVENTFUL LAST TEST
The Sauber Petronas team completed its pre-season test programme with three
days at Mugello which turned out to be a somewhat eventful occasion in partly
wet conditions. Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa were tyre testing, assessing
the final aero developments and setting up the cars for Melbourne. Due to the
fact that they were running in Melbourne aero specification the lap times did
not reflect their normal Mugello form as the Italian track normally requires
a different down force level. Heidfeld's best time was 1m24.733s after 66 laps
on Saturday with Massa completing 69 laps. Heidfeld's Saturday test ended with
an accident on turn six and the car had to be returned to Switzerland for repairs.
Heidfeld explained; "The car over steered, I couldn't catch it and spun
off". Even worse, Massa crashed the second chassis quite heavily after
22 laps on the final day. Technical Director Willy Rampf explained; "Felipe
lost the car in turn 11 and hit the barrier sideways. We had to rebuild the
car at the factory". The work was completed in time for the team to get
three C21 chassis on Friday night's flight from Milan to Melbourne. The drivers
meanwhile went with their trainer Jo Leberer to Seefeld in Austria to continue
their fitness programmes.
DHL JORDAN HONDA
: OFFICIAL UNVEILING OF EJ-12
The new DHL Jordan-Honda EJ-12 was officially unveiled in a Lufthansa hangar
at Brussels airport today (Friday) although the new car has been testing for
some weeks now. The team's official name will be DHL Jordan Honda as from the
start of this season. Prior to the launch Giancarlo Fisichella was at Silverstone
shaking down another EJ-12 in preparation for the first race, concentrating
on a race simulation with his Melbourne-specification engine although his run
was disrupted by minor technical problems. Takuma Sato completing 73 laps for
a race simulation on Tuesday morning before rain forced him to abort an aerodynamic
programme during the afternoon. His best time was 1m24.64s. Sato remained testing
at Silverstone on Wednesday and Thursday after Fisichella returned to his home
in Monaco to rest prior to the Australian Grand Prix. Sato experienced showery
conditions at Silverstone on Wednesday and lost time due to a scheduled gearbox
change on the new car, while he continued with an EJ-11 on Thursday running
electronic software tests. Both men attended the official unveiling in Brussels.
LUCKY STRIKE
BAR HONDA : NEW ENGINE SPEC AT RICHARD
The Lucky Strike BAR Honda team concluded its pre-season tests with three
days at Paul Ricard with Olivier Panis starting on Monday with an engine and
suspension programme. He continued this work together with a Bridgestone tyre
test through Tuesday before handing over the reins to Jacques Villeneuve on
Wednesday who completed a full race distance. "It was fun to drive at Paul
Ricard", said Villeneuve. "We were running the Melbourne spec engine
and completed a full race distance. We didn't have any problems and the car
feels good". Panis added: "I have had two good days of testing here
and we put plenty of laps on the new engine. We've had no real problems and
our reliability
has been good so we're feeling quite positive. We still have a few days before
we leave for Melbourne so we have time to look at the data and continue to improve
right up until the race weekend. Obviously only the qualifying will show us
where we are but we've done as much as we can to prepare for this first race".
MILD SEVEN RENAULT
F1 TEAM : TRULLI STARTS AT SILVERSTONE
Jarno Trulli began the Renault team's pre-season shakedown at Silverstone
on Monday, completing over 60 laps with the new chassis R202-2 which was running
for the first time. He completed 63 laps for a best time of 1m24.40s and on
Tuesday was joined by Jenson Button who completed over 50 laps in R202-1 for
a best time of 1m24.95s, 0.8sec slower than Trulli. "We concentrated on
long runs today" ,said Button, "and managed almost 50 laps in a number
of long stints". Technical Director Mike Gascoyne confirmed that it was
another good day for the team during which steady progress was made. On Wednesday
the team completed its final day of pre-season testing with chassis R202-3 running
for the first time with Jenson Button. Trulli continued in chassis 02 and chassis
01 was used for pit stop practice. Button managed a 1m34.0s with Trulli turning
a 1m34.2s best that day.
JAGUAR RACING : SHAKEDOWN AT SILVERSTONE
The Jaguar team began its final pre-season shakedown at Silverstone on Tuesday
where Pedro de la Rosa covered 38 laps for a best time of 1m 25.748s, continuing
the evaluation process of the revised R3 which had originally been tested in
Valencia. The shakedown was concluded in wet and windy conditions on Wednesday
with Eddie Irvine taking over behind the wheel, setting a 1m27.42s best despite
stopping on the circuit briefly with unspecified mechanical problems.
ORANGE ARROWS
: SHAKING DOWN THREE CARS
The Arrows team began its pre-Australian Grand Prix shakedown at Silverstone
on Monday when Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed 15 laps for a best time of 1m25.106s
while his teammate Enrique Bernoldi joined the test on Tuesday. Frentzen managed
a 1m24,133s with Bernoldi on 1m25.075s as the team continued working on set-up
and getting to know the new A23 chassis. Frentzen managed a 1m24.9s on Wednesday
wth Bernoldi on 1m26.2s.
KL MINARDI ASIATECH
: ON THEIR WAY
Team KL Minardi has already left with its three cars in order to stop off
in Malaysia en route to Melbourne. An agreement has been signed with Italian
driver Matteo Bobbi who will be in charge of all straight-line tests this season.
PANASONIC TOYOTA
RACING : FINAL TEST AT PAUL RICARD
The Toyota team undertook its final pre-season test at the Paul Ricard
circuit from 15 -17 February with Mika Salo driving on the first day and Allan
McNish on the second and third days. The first two days were marred by cloud
and heavy rain, but things were better on the final day. "We did some small
tuning work in preparation for our first ever Grand Prix in Melbourne and we
additionally worked on launch and traction control," said McNish. Between
the two drivers, Toyota has completed in excess of 6000km during the course
of seven separate test sessions since the beginning of January.
Testing Silverstone
Thursday February 21, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports
Testing at Silverstone took place on the national track rather than the F1 circuit, with four drivers in attendance. Enrique Bernoldi topped the time sheets for the first time in testing this year, and suffered one technical problem with his launch control.
His team mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen was the only car to run all afternoon in the rain, as McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen had packed up by 15.00.
Takuma Sato practised starts and worked on the electronics of the car.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Bernoldi Arrows 1'42"459 58 2. Sato Jordan 1'43"014 51 3. Raikkonen McLaren 1'43"030 24 4. Frentzen Arrows 1'43"508 83
February 21, 2002
LONDON - Dutchman Jos Verstappen has confirmed that Sauber are interested in offering him a role as a test driver.
"The team is interested in me as their official test and reserve driver," Verstappen said on his official website after he underwent a seat-fitting at the team's Hinwil base in Switzerland.
"That's why I got invited by Sauber for a seat fitting. There will be some modifications needed though to sit comfortable in the car."
Verstappen, 29, was ditched by Arrows earlier this month to make way for German Heinz-Harald Frentzen despite signing a contract with the Leafield-based team midway through 2001.
He was linked with test driver roles at newcomers Toyota and Ferrari, where his close-friend Michael Schumacher is the team's number one driver.
Sauber have German Nick Heidfeld and Brazilian rookie Felipe Massa as their two drivers for the 2002 season, which gets underway in Australia on March 3.
Meanwhile, Ferrari test driver Italian Luca Badoer tested the three cars the team will ship to Melbourne for the season-opener at Fiorano on Thursday.
Badoer performed a shakedown on three of last year's F2001 chassis at Ferrari's test track.
Testing Silverstone
Wednesday February 20, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports
Testing at Silverstone began this morning on a damp track thanks to overnight rain and with the temperature failing to rise above 10'C the track took a long time to dry despite the sunny conditions. However Arrows' new signing Heinz-Harald Frentzen took advantage of the drying track to post the best time of the day. The German lapped the circuit in a time of 1:24.91, to finish the day ahead of Jordan's Takuma Sato.
Frentzen's place at the top of the leaderboard was secured when it began raining again around mid-day, leaving the track damp for the rest of the day. Frentzen's teammate at Arrows, Enrique Bernoldi, was third quickest just a couple of tenths behind Sato, while Jaguar's Eddie Irvine was fourth for the day. The two Renaults of Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli rounded off the top six.
Wednesday's times:
1 Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Arrows A23 - 1:24.913 - 43 laps 2 Takuma Sato - Jordan EJ12 - 1:26.090 - 15 laps 3 Enrique Bernoldi - Arrows A23 - 1:26.271 - 37 laps 4 Takuma Sato - Jordan EJ11 - 1:27.199 - 21 laps 5 Eddie Irvine - Jaguar R3 - 1:27.422 - 26 laps 6 Jenson Button - Renault R202 - 1:34.084 - 26 laps 7 Jarno Trulli - Renault R202 - 1:44.245 - 21 laps
Valencia testing
Wednesday February 20, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports
While most of the teams were at the Silverstone circuit in Britain completing their final test prior to the season opening Australian Grand Prix, McLaren Mercedes and the BMW WilliamsF1 team were at Valencia in Spain. Both team had two drivers on hand for the day's session with McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz posting the best time of the day with a 1:12.596.
David Coulthard made sure it was a day dominated by McLaren setting the second best time of the day, however he was almost a full second off Wurz's best lap time. Juan Pablo Montoya was the quicker of the two Williams drivers, in third place, while Marc Gene rounded off the four.
Wednesday's times:
1 Alex Wurx McLaren Mercedes 1:12.569 - 67 laps 2 David Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:13.416 - 22 laps 3 Juan Pablo Montoya WilliamsF1 BMW 1:13.468 43 laps 4 Marc Gene WilliamsF1 BMW 1:13.904 44 laps
Formula One founder denies offer for Kirch rights
20 February, 2002
LONDON - Bernie Ecclestone, former owner of Formula One racing, said he had not been offered nor made a bid for the commercial rights to Grand Prix motor racing from the debt-ridden Kirch media group.
Ecclestone sold a majority stake in SLEC, the company that controls the broadcasting and marketing rights to the sport, to the German group last year but Kirch is now considering offloading the stake to raise much-needed cash, sources say.
Ecclestone, who still runs Formula One racing, has been strongly touted as a potential buyer of Kirch's SLEC stake.
"It is confirmed that I have not been offered the shares in SLEC by Kirch Group, and therefore I have not made any offer," Ecclestone said in a faxed reply to a series of questions concerning the proposed sale.
Trulli still quick at Silverstone!
Tuesday February 19, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports
For the second day in a row, Renault driver Jarno Trulli topped the times at the Silverstone circuit in England, the Italian driver completing a total of 43 laps to record a best time of 1:24.110. However, the Cosworth powered Arrows of Heinz-Harald Frentzen was close behind, the German driver only two hundredths of a second off the Renault's pace.
It was a better day for Jordan with Giancarlo Fisichella completing 52 laps to record the third best time overall followed by teammate Takuma Sato in fourth. Jenson Button joined in the action for day two as did Frentzen's teammate Enrique Bernoldi, however the Brazilian driver only managed seven laps.
Jaguar and BAR complete their first day here with Pedro de la Rosa beginning the team's final shakedown of the R3. The Spaniard recorded the seventh best time and he was followed home by Jacques Villeneuve in eight and Anthony Davidson in ninth and last place on the timesheets.
Tuesday's times from Silverstone:
1. Jarno Trulli - Renault R202 - 1:24.110 - 43 laps 2. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Arrows A23 - 1:24.133 - 10 laps 3. Giancarlo Fisichella - Jordan EJ12 - 1:24.533 - 52 laps 4. Takuma Sato - Jordan EJ12 - 1:24.635 - 74 laps 5. Jenson Button - Renault R202 - 1:24.956 - 45 laps 6. Enrique Bernoldi - Arrows A23 - 1:25.075 - 7 laps 7. Pedro de la Rosa - Jaguar R3 - 1:25.748 - 38 laps 8. Jacques Villeneuve - BAR 004 - 1:25.776 - 26 laps 9. Anthony Davidson - BAR 004 - 1:36.180 - 13 laps
Testing February 18th: Silverstone
Monday February 18, 2002
Source: Yahoo Sports
Testing began at Silverstone today (Monday), giving teams a last chance to prepare their cars before the are flown to Melbourne for the Australian GP next week. Arrows, Jordan and Renault worked in bright and sunny conditions at the English track, where strong winds brought ambient temperatures down from 8 to 3 degrees Celsius.
Jarno Trulli went fastest of all once again, much to his delight, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen was second in his Arrows. However, the German realises he cannot afford to be complacent.
"I have got so many things to do I really do not know what to say," he said at the end of the day. "We have got lots to do before we go away - this is a proper test not a shakedown."
Giancarlo Fisichella was pleased with the progress Jordan have made, but an off at Stowe cut his day short after he broke the new front wing that he had been testing. He set his fastest time on his first flying lap.
Takuma Sato only managed one quick, timed lap and did not venture out onto the track until just before 16.00 because of work still to be completed on his car.
"I am a lot happier today," Fisichella commented despite his accident. "With the new configuration the car is a lot better. It has better balance and much more grip, now what I need is the horse power from Honda."
Jordan begin testing with Honda's Melbourne-spec engine tomorrow, the other unit is at Paul Ricard with BAR.
Jenson Button, Enrique Bernoldi, Jaguar and BAR (for pit stop practice) join the action tomorrow.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Trulli Renault 1'24"390 65 2. Frentzen Arrows 1'25"120 18 3. Fisichella Jordan 1'26"000 5 4. Sato Jordan 1'30"970 5
Ferrari decide to start new season with old car
Source: Yahoo Sports
February 15, 2002
LONDON - Formula One world champions Ferrari will start the 2002 season with last year's F2001 vehicle because of reliability fears over their new car, the team's sporting director Jean Todt has said.
Germany's Michael Schumacher has been satisfied with the performance of the new F2002 in testing, but Todt said the old car would be used in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on March 3.
"The new car has proved to be very quick right from the start, but we do not have sufficient time at our disposal to be entirely sure about its total reliability for the first round of the season," said Todt on the team's official website.
"Therefore, we have decided to go to Melbourne with the F2001 which, even in this winter's tests, has proved to be very competitive and reliable.
"We think it will be able to bring home valuable points for the championship. Next week, we will continue our on-track development of the F2002, as well as fine-tuning the F2001 for the first race."
Earlier this week, Schumacher hinted he was ready to use the new car in Melbourne next month, but Ferrari made the decision to use the F2001 on Friday.
"The new car's debut was very promising," the four times world champion said on Monday. "I had a good feeling the first moment I was driving the F2002."
Schumacher, meanwhile, had his testing schedule in the F2002 thwarted by rain at Mugello on Friday.
The German is so far the only driver to take to the track in the new car.
Despite the adverse weather conditions, he took the opportunity to perform practice starts and will hope for better weather when he returns to action in the new car on Saturday.
Jos Verstappen may sue Arrows over dismissal
Source: Yahoo Sports
February 15, 2002
LONDON - Dutchman Jos Verstappen may seek to sue his former employers Arrows over his dismissal from the Formula One team, the driver's manager Huub Rothengatter said.
Verstappen lost his drive with Arrows for the 2002 season after German Heinz-Harald Frentzen was named last week as the team's second driver alongside Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi.
Rothengatter said that Verstappen had a firm contract with the Leafield-based team, adding that no get-out clauses were included.
"We will start to have a substantial claim against Arrows and we are prepared to pursue this through the courts," Rothengatter said.
Verstappen signed a deal for the 2002 season midway through last year and Rothengatter added that Arrows would have to compensate the Dutchman for lost earnings.
"People think it is the end of the story but it is not," said Rothengatter. "This has been very disappointing and we will take action that's for sure.
"What is the value of a signed contract? We did not just shake hands or smile at each other. It was a signed contract which had been registered at the contracts recognition bureau in Geneva."
Verstappen has been left without a drive for the new season. He is being linked with a move to newcomers Toyota as an official test driver.