2011 Brazilian Grand Prix - Webber ends barren run in style

SMILES: Webber finally has something to lookback on in 2011

AFTER 18 frustrating months playing second fiddle to his red-hot team-mate Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber finally tasted the champagne on the top step of the podium on Sunday.  The Australian won the 2011 finale in style in Sao Paulo, taking full advantage of a rare reliability issue that hobbled his team-mate.  From second on the grid, Webber was let through into the lead of the Brazilian Grand Prix on lap 29, as world champion Vettel had to battle on with a serious gearbox problem.  Nevertheless, he still finished second as Red Bull Racing put on a demonstration in a race that will quickly be forgotten by the avid F1 fan.

       On Saturday afternoon, Vettel broke another record with his usual pole position.  It was his 15^th of the campaign, eclipsing Nigel Mansell’s mark of 14 that he achieved in 1992.  From the moment the Red Bulls got into turn one first, the rest might have well parked their cars as they had no chance of getting on terms with the team that has had the best equipment, the best pit crew and the best strategies all season.  Vettel was first warned of his gearbox gremlin on lap 14 by his race engineer Rocky.  He was urged to short-shift in third and fourth and although he set some fastest laps to provoke some nerves within the team, Sebastian did what was asked.  Later, he said on the team radio; “I feel like Senna in 91,” which will go down as one of the sound bites of the season.  This was the famous reference to when the late Ayrton Senna won in 1991 with a major gearbox problem.  Webber caught his team leader and Vettel let him by into turn one in a piece of synchronised driving that is more likely to be seen by a couple of truck drivers on the M1.  It was an overtaking manoeuvre that would have struggled to get anyone excited.

       While the Red Bulls dominated at the front, the fans did witness an exciting dice between the other two standout drivers of the season, Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso.  The Ferrari looked to have the measure of the McLaren for much of the race, as Jenson struggled with a balance on the option tyres.  In fact, Fernando pulled off one of the best passes of the entire season, when he swept right around the outside of the Brit into turn six on lap ten.  52 laps later, Button had reeled him in again, as the Achilles heel of the Ferrari team came back to haunt them again.  Alonso couldn’t get decent consistency on the harder prime Pirelli tyre and Button outmanoeuvred him in turn four.  This decisive move meant Webber stole third place in the drivers’ championship from Alonso at the last event of the season.  

       Lewis Hamilton had a difficult race, as he was another driver to struggle with gearbox issues.  He had his from the tenth lap onwards, but unlike Vettel, his gave up the ghost whilst sixth on lap 48.  It completes a tough season for Hamilton, which sees him finish fifth in the championship and although he looked in good spirits, 2011 will largely be a season he’d like to forget.  At least he ended the feud with Felipe Massa that has ruined both of their seasons, by embracing his rival in parc ferme after the race; a gesture that was widely appreciated by Massa, Martin Whitmarsh and Stefano Domenicalli.  

DAMAGE: Senna and Schumacher harmed each other's races

     It was a race where there wasn’t a lot to shout about for the Brazilian fans.  Massa finished a lonely fifth, although he did pull off some donuts after the race to entertain everyone.  Potentially in his final race, Rubens Barrichello ended up in 14^th place for Williams after making a shocking start and dropping from 12^th to 20^th by the end of the first lap.  Bruno Senna qualified well, but was harshly penalised by the stewards for a clash with Michael Schumacher which wrecked both of their races early on.  The contact at turn one was unnecessary and pointless, but a racing incident.  Bruno damaged his front wing and Schumacher collected a left-rear puncture.  Both finished well out of the reckoning, in 17^th and 15^th places respectively. 

       The path was made clear for Webber to record the seventh victory of his career and his first since the Hungarian Grand Prix last July.  Vettel completed Red Bull’s fourth 1-2 of the season, followed by Button, Alonso and Massa.  Adrian Sutil put in his best drive of the campaign to record a fine sixth place for Force India, as he seeks a drive for next season.  His team-mate Paul di Resta completed a fine rookie season with eighth place and took Force India to within four points of snatching fifth in the constructor’s championship from the underachieving Renault team.  Nico Rosberg had his usual unobtrusive run to seventh place and the final points went to Kamur Kobayashi and Vitaly Petrov.  Kobayashi’s two points were crucial, as it kept Sauber ahead of Toro Rosso in the constructor’s championship by three points and could be worth an extra $5million to the team in prize money.

       So, that is it then.  The curtain has come down on a season which has produced five different winners, from three teams, in 19 races across the globe, taking place in 18 countries.  We have seen some vintage races, numerous overtakes, records tumble and ultimately, a team and driver at complete harmony with one another.  Red Bull have set the standard this season and raised the bar once again in Formula One.  McLaren and Ferrari have a lot of hard work to do in the winter to get on terms, otherwise come Melbourne next March; the team from Milton Keynes will be ready to crush everyone again.

      Enjoy the winter break!  

F1 classic races - Abu Dhabi

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  As Abu Dhabi has only staged two Grand Prix races, here is a selection of races between 1991 and 2010 of events that no longer feature on the F1 calendar, plus one event in Abu Dhabi.  Enjoy the archive!

1995 – Argentina

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari), 3^rd: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Renault)

HAVING spun out of a comfortable lead through suspension failure in Brazil, Damon Hill’s response came with a crushing victory on F1’s return to Argentina.  The first event at Buenos Aires in 22 years also brought a new pole sitter in the shape of young Scot David Coulthard.  Electrical problems curtailed his race, but his presence on the Grand Prix scene was here to stay.  Hill played the patient game in the early stages and then set a string of quick laps around the pitstops to build up a commanding lead.  Jean Alesi recovered from causing a first corner pile-up, which led to a race stoppage to finish second ahead of an off-colour Michael Schumacher, who had to settle for third, over a minute behind his chief rival.  Gerhard Berger produced a brilliant recovery from a dreadful 81.7 second pitstop to claim the final championship point in the second Ferrari.

1997 – San Marino

MAIDEN: Victory for Frentzen in 1997, his high point at Williams

WINNER: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

WITH no points from the first three races, Heinz-Harald Frentzen was already under pressure to deliver at Williams.  His response at Imola was impressive, as he held off a faster Ferrari of Michael Schumacher to claim his maiden F1 success.  Jacques Villeneuve had started on pole position for the fourth race in a row, but gearbox problems intervened at his second pitstop.  Schumacher had jumped Frentzen at the start, but quicker pit work from Williams got their man out infront and he grittily held on until the chequered flag.  Gerhard Berger’s 200^th Grand Prix ended early, when he spun on a damp patch on lap four.  Eddie Irvine kept rising star Giancarlo Fisichella at bay to secure a double podium finish for Ferrari on home soil.

1998 – Austria

WINNER: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)

WET qualifying for the first time since Belgium 1994 provided a jumbled up grid, which had Giancarlo Fisichella on pole position, Jean Alesi a brilliant second for Sauber and the likes of David Coulthard languishing back in 14^th spot.  Coulthard was then involved in a collision with the two Arrows cars on the first lap, limping back with damage.  Front row men, Fisichella and Alesi’s races ended on lap 22, with a collision at the Remus Curve.  For a while, Michael Schumacher looked likely to overwhelm Mika Hakkinen, but he ran wide on lap 17, bouncing across the gravel and ripping the front wing off his Ferrari and dropping him back to 15^th.  After a feisty and exciting scrap with his brother, Ralf – he used team orders to pass Eddie Irvine and recover to third, behind Coulthard, who stormed back to second.  However, Hakkinen was untroubled at the front to record his fifth win of the season, to show his true championship mettle.

2003 – USA

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Sauber Petronas)

WITH three men in the title running, the 2003 US Grand Prix in changeable conditions played a significant role in the destination of the championship.  A collision with Rubens Barrichello on the third lap handed the stewards with a difficult decision on whether to penalise Juan Pablo Montoya.  He was given a drive-through penalty and by being on the wrong tyres when conditions worsened, his championship hopes died.  The mixed weather played into the hands of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher.  Despite only qualifying 7^th, the German showed his class again in such variable weather to claim his sixth victory of the season.  Kimi Raikkonen kept his mathematical hopes alive by finishing a strong second, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen benefited from a brilliant call to change to intermediates at the right time, by getting an unlikely podium finish for Sauber.  His reward was the sack!  Jenson Button was on course for a maiden podium finish, until his BAR Honda engine expired whilst running second at half-distance.  A European heatwave mid-season had handed the initiative in 2003 to the Michelin runners, but at Indy, Ferrari played their wild card of the Bridgestone intermediate tyre which took Schumacher to the brink of achieving more history.

2006 – Bahrain

ENOUGH: Excellent pitwork kept Alonso ahead in 2006....just!

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes)

THE first race of 2006 saw four teams arriving in desert believing they had equipment that was good enough to win the season opener.  McLaren’s chances took a knock when a rear wing failure saw Kimi Raikkonen spin out in Q1.  Starting 22^nd, he charged through the pack to finish third.  Honda’s Jenson Button had an great scrap with Juan Pablo Montoya throughout the race, eventually winning the dice to come home in fourth.  Even Williams threatened serious pace, with debutant Nico Rosberg coming home a sensational 7^th and recording fastest lap, the youngest driver to do so.  In the end, the battle for victory came down to a fight between Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso.  Schumacher claimed pole position in the new knockout qualifying formula and led the first two stints of the race.  Despite heavy traffic, Alonso’s Renault team produced a top-class pitstop that was just enough to squeeze out ahead of Schumacher.  Alonso won the race, but Schumacher and Ferrari had shown that they were going to be serious challengers again in 2006. 

2010 – Abu Dhabi

WINNER: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault), 2^nd: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Jenson Button (McLaren Mercedes)

FORMULA ONE’s first ever four-way title showdown ended with a nail-biting and tense finale in Abu Dhabi.  The favourites for the title were Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber, with the Spaniard eight points clear going into the final event.  The outsiders were Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton, with both men qualifying on the front row.  A nasty accident between Michael Schumacher and Vitantonio Liuzzi on the first lap brought the Safety Car out and sent cars such as Nico Rosberg and Vitaly Petrov into the pits to make their mandatory pitstops.  As the softer tyre began to wear out, both Webber and Alonso pitted early, handing the initiative to Vettel.  Ferrari had made a strategy blunder and covered off the wrong Red Bull driver.  This allowed Rosberg and Petrov to jump the pair and with the lack of overtaking opportunities, both drivers remained stuck behind the Russian for the rest of the afternoon.  Vettel won the race and with both Alonso and Webber failing to finish in the top four, it was enough for Sebastian to become the youngest ever F1 world champion.  Red Bull did the double and it began the Vettel dynasty in Formula One.

F1 classic races - Korea

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  As Korea only made its bow onto the world championship stage last season, here is a varied selection of events that are no longer on the current F1 calendar, plus last year’s inaugural event in Korea.  The races are between 1991 and 2010, so enjoy the archive!

1991 – Portugal

WINNER: Riccardo Patrese (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Ayrton Senna (McLaren Honda), 3^rd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari)

WILLIAMS may have won the 1991 Portuguese Grand Prix, but it was the wrong driver as far as the championship battle was concerned.  Despite starting fourth, Nigel Mansell took the lead early on and looked set for a crucial victory.  Disaster then struck at his first pitstop, when chief mechanic Peter Windsor didn’t tighten up his right rear wheel.  The wheel rolled off down the pitlane, leaving a frustrated Mansell, beating his hands on the steering wheel in sheer despair.  The team then worked on the car in an illegal area and Nigel was black-flagged in Estoril for the second time in three years, having charged back to fifth.  Riccardo Patrese drove well to win, but second place took Ayrton Senna a massive step forward towards a third world championship.

1998 – Argentina

CONTROVERSY: Coulthard was furious with this contact in 1998

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

MCLAREN had dominated the first two races of 1998, but Ferrari and Michael Schumacher responded in superb fashion on F1’s last visit to Buenos Aires.  A new, wider tyre from Goodyear helped them close the gap.  The talking point of the race came on lap six, when Schumacher collided with David Coulthard, spinning the McLaren around and out of the lead.  Schumacher survived and despite a late trip into the gravel during a rain shower, beat Mika Hakkinen by over 20 seconds.  Eddie Irvine won out in a fierce scrap with youngster Alexander Wurz to secure a double podium finish for Ferrari.  Further run-ins with Jacques Villeneuve and Giancarlo Fisichella left Coulthard’s car looking like a battering ram by the finish.  However, he still earnt a point for his troubles.

1999 – France

WINNER: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan Mugen Honda), 2^nd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Stewart Ford)

THIS was a great Grand Prix, which Stewart, McLaren and Ferrari took turns in taking command, yet Jordan won the race.  An inspired decision on the pitwall saw the Irish team fuel Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s car to the brim during a heavy downpour on lap 22.  Frentzen didn’t have to pit again and claimed the lead when both Mika Hakkinen and Rubens Barrichello had to call in late on for a splash and dash.  Jordan’s second Grand Prix victory was memorable, but Damon Hill’s future in the sport came into serious question.  In a wet qualifying, he failed to make the 107% cut-off.  Given special dispensation to start, he tangled with Pedro de la Rosa and collected a puncture, before giving up at half-distance.  Afterwards, he cast doubts over whether he would get back into an F1 cockpit.  David Coulthard’s rotten season continued, when an alternator problem forced him out of a commanding lead on the ninth lap, whilst Michael Schumacher was restricted to fifth by gear selection issues.  Jean Alesi was on for a great result, but spun off in the downpour, as did Jacques Villeneuve and Alexander Wurz.  It was a crazy event, full of overtaking, but a magnificent day for Jordan’s new star in Magny-Cours.

2003 – Austria

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)

AUSTRIA 2003 was one of Michael Schumacher’s greatest victories.  He had a big advantage infront, when he pitted for a routine pitstop on lap 20.  Seconds later, droplets of fuel from a faulty refuelling rig made contact with the engine cover and his Ferrari was on fire.  The mechanics quickly put out the barbeque, whilst Schumacher sat there, looking as cool as a cucumber.  Nine laps later, he hunted down Kimi Raikkonen’s ailing McLaren successfully and seconds later, was back infront when a water leak terminated Juan Pablo Montoya’s chance of victory for BMW Williams.  Raikkonen showed his championship might by protecting a sick engine and resolutely holding off Rubens Barrichello to prevent a Ferrari 1-2.  Jenson Button did well to finish fourth, his best result of the season whilst an engine failure ended a great comeback drive from Fernando Alonso, having risen from 19^th on the grid to fifth.  However, this was the day when great escapes really do come true and a stunning way for Austria to end its Formula One relationship.

2004 – USA

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 3^rd: Takuma Sato (BAR Honda)

MICHAEL Schumacher had to deal with mixed emotions at Indianapolis in 2004.  He managed to beat his team-mate Rubens Barrichello to record his eighth win from nine attempts in a runaway Ferrari season.  However, he had to drive past the scene of a nasty accident for his brother, Ralf.  11 laps into the event and a puncture on his Williams sent Schumacher Jnr careering backwards into the turn 13 concrete wall.  He suffered a cracked vertebra and would miss the majority of the season.  He wasn’t the only Michelin driver to collect a puncture, as debris on the track from a startline crash ended Fernando Alonso’s challenge two laps earlier.  Juan Pablo Montoya was black-flagged, after his engine died on the dummy grid.  He failed to switch to the spare car 15 seconds before the start of the formation lap, sealing his fate.  The biggest cheers in the paddock were for Takuma Sato, who recorded his one and only podium finish in F1 for BAR and for Zsvolt Baumgartner, who survived the mayhem to be the eighth and final finisher, hence scoring Minardi’s first championship point in over two years.

2010 – Korea

BLOW: Vettel extinguishes the charred remains of his engine in 2010

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 2^nd: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Felipe Massa (Ferrari)

F1’s maiden visit to Korea began with an 80-minute delay, due to heavy rain.  Four laps behind the Safety Car was criticised by the drivers, so the event was temporarily suspended.  Once they got going, Red Bull imploded.  Two laps after the Safety Car pitted, championship leader Mark Webber got onto the Astroturf and spun into the wall.  His car came back across the track, taking out the unfortunate Nico Rosberg in the process.  Having been the fastest driver all weekend, Sebastian Vettel looked set to win and take the championship lead.  However, he suffered a cruel engine failure with just ten laps to go, handing Fernando Alonso the victory and the drivers lead in the process.  Second place for Lewis Hamilton kept him in the championship challenge, but team-mate Jenson Button had a nightmare afternoon.  He struggled with grip all day, was one of the slowest cars on the track and finished a distant 12^th; all but ending his hopes of retaining the world championship he had won in 2009.  Fourth place for Michael Schumacher equalled his best result of a tricky first season back in the sport after a three year lay-off.

F1 classic races - Japan

1994

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 3^rd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari)

SUZUKA 1994 began in truly awful conditions.  Michael Schumacher started on pole position, but nearly half the field fell off the road early on as aquaplaning took hold.  When Gianni Morbidelli and Martin Brundle went off heavily at the Degner complex; Brundle’s accident badly injuring a marshal, the race was eventually stopped.  Despite concern over a restart, the rain relented and the fans that stayed witnessed a battle of aggregate timing to decide the race between Schumacher and Damon Hill.  Hill’s one stop strategy gave him the time advantage, but on worn tyres, he was struggling against the fresher Benetton in fast diminishing light.  However, Damon held onto win by 3.3seconds and took the title showdown to that controversial finale in Adelaide.  Nigel Mansell had a similar exciting battle with Jean Alesi and passed the Frenchman into the chicane on the final lap.  However, on the timing rule, Alesi was the final driver on the podium.

1996

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes)

WITH a nine point lead over rookie team-mate Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill could only throw away the 1996 championship.  He qualified second, behind Villeneuve and people thought it would be a cautious drive.  However, he stormed into the lead from the start and despite an early vicious attack from Gerhard Berger, which left the Austrian needing to pit for damage, Damon was largely untroubled.  Villeneuve had a horrible start and dropped to sixth, struggling to keep up with Mika Hakkinen and Eddie Irvine.  On lap 36, a rear wheel pitched off the Canadian’s car and sent him into the gravel trap.  Hill coasted home, ahead of outgoing champion Michael Schumacher and Hakkinen, leaving Murray Walker literally with a lump in his throat and the perfect way to end Grand Prix on the BBC chapter one!

1997

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari)

HE WAS under pressure to deliver after some suspect performances in Austria and at the Nurburgring, but Michael Schumacher once again produced a stirring drive at Suzuka to win and take the title lead with one race to go.  His rival for the championship, Jacques Villeneuve, had to race under appeal after he had been initially excluded from the meeting following his fourth yellow flag infringement of the season during Saturday morning practice.  On Sunday, Villeneuve’s only intention was to destroy Schumacher’s race, but his plan backfired.  Ferrari’s plan was to get Eddie Irvine into the lead and pull enough of a lead out, so Villeneuve could not slow everyone down.  Better pit work from Ferrari got Schumacher ahead of the desperate Canadian, before Irvine slowed down and let his team leader through.  Damon Hill’s Arrows badly held Schumacher up in the closing stages, which gave Heinz-Harald Frentzen the chance to attack.  However, Schumi held on and with Williams dropping their appeal after the event, Villeneuve lost his two points for Suzuka and went to Jerez a point behind.  At least Frentzen’s ability to overhaul Irvine for second place in the race did secure the constructor’s championship for Williams.

2000

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes) 3^rd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)

THIS was a true battle between the modern greats of the sport; Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen.  Schumacher took pole position after a fierce scrap in qualifying, but like in 1999, Hakkinen made the better start.  They traded fastest laps throughout, as they left the rest standing.  David Coulthard, who came third, finished over a minute behind.  A sprinkling rain shower saw McLaren pit Hakkinen a bit earlier for his second stop.  He got held up badly behind Pedro de la Rosa’s Arrows and this allowed Schumacher to set the quick times required to get out ahead of his only title rival.  Mika kept pushing to the end, but Michael held his nerve to win the 2000 event and the world championship for the third time; Ferrari’s first driver’s title since 1979.  At last, the Schumacher/Ferrari combination had delivered and it started a new era of utter domination in F1.

2005

WINNER: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), 3^rd: Fernando Alonso (Renault)

PASS: Raikkonen is about to complete his epic drive in 2005

KIMI Raikkonen produced the finest win of his Grand Prix career, in a titanic 2005 race, one of the best ever in the history of the championship.  After wet qualifying, the likes of Raikkonen, new world champion Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya started near the back of the grid.  Montoya was eliminated on the first lap, crashing heavily out of the final corner while attempting an ambitious move around the outside of Jacques Villeneuve.  Alonso showed his determination, as he drove flat out around the outside of Schumacher’s Ferrari at 130R on lap 16 in a stunning move.  Gradually, Raikkonen hauled himself upto second place, but Giancarlo Fisichella still had a healthy 20 second cushion infront.  Alonso used more bravery to pass Mark Webber’s Williams on the grass with five laps remaining to snatch third, but Fisichella switched off and was powerless against the relentless Raikkonen.  Kimi charged upto his gearbox and then drove past him into the first corner around the outside of the Renault as they started the last lap.  This was a day when man and class in driver tolled over the usual combination of driver/machinery and kept the constructors championship battle alive to the finale in China.

2007 (Fuji Speedway)

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Heikki Kovalainen (Renault), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

UNDER pressure from Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton delivered a masterful performance to win in terrible weather conditions at Fuji Speedway.  With Suzuka’s facilities needing an urgent update, Fuji staged the event for two seasons (2007 & 2008).  The race began behind the Safety Car, with Ferrari’s curious decision to start on intermediate tyres sending their drivers to the back of the field.  Hamilton pitted later than Alonso when racing got underway and cleared some important traffic, which Fernando couldn’t.  Despite a collision with Robert Kubica, Lewis continued to pull away at the front whilst Alonso ended up crashing out of the event.  After another Safety Car, which saw youngster Sebastian Vettel blot his copybook and crash into the back of a furious Mark Webber, Hamilton drove away again as he pleased to earn a vital win.  Kimi Raikkonen produced a similarly great drive against adversity to finish third behind Heikki Kovalainen.  Kubica ended up with a drive-through penalty for his clash with Hamilton, before losing a ferocious last lap dice over sixth with Felipe Massa’s Ferrari, which had echoes of Gilles Villeneuve/Rene Arnoux at Dijon in 1979.

2011 Singapore Grand Prix - Only one more point needed for Vettel

TOAST: Only Jenson Button can stop Vettel's title charge now

THE dominant Sebastian Vettel now only needs one more point to wrap up the inevitable and retain his Formula One World Championship.  He took the flag in a fascinating Singapore Grand Prix to record his ninth success of a 2011 season in which he has crushed the opposition.  Only 2009 world champion Jenson Button can stop him now winning the title and if he does, then I will flush my head down the toilet seat!  Vettel only needs a single point at the next race, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka in a fortnight to become only the eighth driver in history to win back-to-back world championships and the youngest of that crop.  When you think that only Juan Manuel Fangio, Michael Schumacher, Alain Prost, Alberto Ascari, Ayrton Senna, Sir Jack Brabham and Mika Hakkinen have achieved this feat, it just underlines the fact that Vettel is one of the legends in the sport’s established and colourful history.

     Once again in Singapore all weekend, the Vettel/Red Bull combination was simply untouchable.  Although Button got to within 1.6secs at the end of the two hour event, Sebastian had the race under control once again.  On pole position by nearly half a second, he simply left the competition standing at the start and had a 25 second lead before a scary crash for Michael Schumacher brought out the Safety Car.  However, in the spectacular nightline scenery, he made a mockery of the restart and before Button could think about closing again, 12 seconds had disappeared in three laps!  Problems with backmarkers, especially with the duelling Williams of Pastor Maldonado and Rubens Barrichello wrecked any hopes of Button catching Vettel right up in the final laps.  It would have been an unlikely repeat of the Canadian Grand Prix, but the closing laps could have been even more gruelling than what they were.

      As Vettel had his traditional Sunday stroll, others toiled in the humid conditions.  Once again, Mark Webber made his customary slow start, baulking a flying Lewis Hamilton.  Webber dropped to fourth from the front row of the grid, as Button and Fernando Alonso took full advantage.  Hamilton fell to eighth and his afternoon was compromised even further by another run-in with his childish partner in crime, Felipe Massa.   

PUNCTURE: Another run-in with Hamilton ruined Massa's evening

     After their incidents in Monaco earlier in the season, it became clear that neither has learned their lesson from those events back in May.  The pair blamed each other for a near-miss in Saturday’s pole position qualifying shootout.  On Sunday, they had a collision at turn seven, that ruined their races.  Having just exited the pits from their first stops, Massa defended the inside line into the corner and was ran into the back by a rather clumsy turn-in attempt from Hamilton.  Massa collected a puncture and could only fight back to ninth by the finish.  Hamilton earnt his traditional drive-through penalty for causing a collision, but other smart overtaking, combined with good timing in the Safety Car phase meant he recovered to fifth.  Afterwards, Massa sarcastically congratulated Hamilton in the driver’s interview pen for the clash and it remains to be seen how far this bitter dispute goes between the 2008 title rivals.

     Whilst Hamilton was making headlines, Schumacher made a dramatic exit stage right on lap 29.  The seven-time world champion was involved in a feisty dice for position with team-mate Nico Rosberg and the Sauber of Sergio Perez.  The trouble began when Rosberg ran wide onto the marbles in the final corner on the previous lap, lost position to Perez and then aggressively claimed the place back with some force into the first bend.  Moments later, Schumacher tried to catch the rookie off-guard exiting turn seven, but misjudged Perez’s rightful braking distance and launched himself over the Mexican and straight into the barriers, narrowly missing Rosberg.  Luckily, Schumacher was unhurt, whilst both Rosberg and Perez went onto score points.

     Massa wasn’t the only Ferrari driver to have a tough day, as Alonso fought all day with tyres that simply didn’t like the set-up of his car.  His promising long race pace in Friday practice turned out to be a flash in the pan.  Twice, he got outmanoeuvred by Webber on the track, once after the Safety Car restart into the pathetic turn ten chicane.  Webber’s clever moves earnt him a deserved rostrum finish, behind Button.  Alonso had to settle for fourth, once again achieving the maximum his car was capable of on the day.  Vettel’s only minor scare was when Team Lotus released Heikki Kovalainen into his path during his final pitstop.  No damage was fortunately done, with Lotus expected to receive a fine for the incident.

     Scottish rookie sensation Paul di Resta had another outstanding event and ran as high as third briefly during the first round of pitstops.  Sixth place, two positions ahead of experienced team-mate Adrian Sutil confirms his standing as rookie of the year.  Rosberg held off Sutil, Massa and Perez in the final lap to finish seventh.  It was also a good day for Team Lotus, with Kovalainen finishing 16^th, notably outracing the Renault of Vitaly Petrov.  Once again, 15^th and 17^th place results sum up Renault need Robert Kubica back ASAP.  Their weekend was simply forgettable.

      However, Sebastian Vettel had another unforgettable weekend.  As he coasted across the line to take the delirium from his Red Bull mechanics, the fireworks exploded on the Marina Bay harbour, to complete another perfect day for the young German.  He now has two hands on the title and is aiming for more records in the final five races of the season.  Suzuka will end up seeing him crowned as youngest back-to-back world champion and knowing the way he has set his standards, he will go to Japan not for one point, but the maximum result and complete the mission in style.  

F1 classic races - Singapore

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  As Singapore has only held three races before and not all of them have been classics, here is a varied selection of events from events no longer on the F1 calendar, plus one from the Singapore Grand Prix.  The races come from between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1993 – Portugal

LAST: Title for Prost came in Portugal 1993, before retirement

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 2^nd: Alain Prost (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Damon Hill (Williams Renault)

THIS was the weekend which saw Alain Prost announce his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season, paving the way for Ayrton Senna to join Williams for 1994.  Senna would have a new team-mate for this race, with flying Finn Mika Hakkinen promoted into the McLaren race team.  Hakkinen sensationally outqualified Senna and was racing well, when he crashed heavily out of the final corner, fortunately without any injury.  By that stage, Senna had already disappeared with engine trouble.  Ferrari had their most competitive weekend of the season, with Jean Alesi leading the first stint and Gerhard Berger making a dramatic exit into the barriers from leaving the pitlane!  In the end, the race turned into a tactical battle between Prost and Michael Schumacher for victory.  Schumacher abandoned his plans for a second tyre stop and showed his gritty determination to win his first Grand Prix of a frustrating season.  However, second place was good enough for Prost to seal his fourth world championship.  

1995 – Pacific

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Renault), 2^nd: David Coulthard (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Damon Hill (Williams Renault)

THE TI Aida circuit in Japan was never a favourite with the drivers, but the 1995 event, moved to a late season date following the Kobe earthquake earlier in the year became the setting for the championship decider.  David Coulthard started on pole and dominated for the majority for the race, but defending champion Michael Schumacher fought back from a poor start to snatch second place from the Ferrari’s of Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger.  He closed in on Coulthard and once again, the Benetton’s superior strategy came into force in overwhelming the Williams.  Schumacher won the race and wrapped up his second successive drivers title.  Damon Hill was a distant third and had to concede defeat to the class act of 1995.  Michael Schumacher did it his way!

1997 – Luxembourg

WINNER: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Benetton Renault), 3^rd: Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Williams Renault)

LITTLE did we know it at the time, but this would turn out to be Jacques Villeneuve’s final ever win in Formula One.  It put him nine points clear of Michael Schumacher with two races remaining and it owed to a huge slice of luck.  Held at the Nurburgring, Mika Hakkinen had taken pole position for the first time in his career and drove into the distance, backed up by David Coulthard.  Then, in two nightmare laps for McLaren, Coulthard stopped with an engine failure on the pit straight.  Moments later, Hakkinen was pulling onto the grass with the same problem, which meant his elusive first victory would have to wait.  Villeneuve led home Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Gerhard Berger to a Renault 1-2-3-4 Grand Slam.  Jacques cause was aided by Ralf Schumacher’s acrobatics at the first corner which took out his Jordan team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella and his own brother.  Michael was less than amused!

2001 – USA

WINNER: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)

JUST two weeks after the terrorist attacks on America, Formula One put a smile on the faces of the US people again in the first major sporting event to be held in the country since that fateful September 11 day.  McLaren’s Mika Hakkinen recovered from a grid penalty to take an excellent win in the penultimate race of his career.  On a two-stop strategy, Rubens Barrichello pushed Hakkinen all the way, until a rare Ferrari engine failure with four laps to go robbed him of a brilliant podium.  Despite being outfoxed by Hakkinen and brilliantly passed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher was second whilst Jordan’s Jarno Trulli won an FIA appeal against a technical disqualification a month later to get his fourth position back.  Both Williams BMW cars retired, with a dying engine ending Montoya’s hopes of back-to-back wins.  The 2001 US Grand Prix was also the final race commentated in F1 by the legendary Murray Walker, who hung up his mic for ITV in emotional fashion.  At least he left on a high from a wonderful event in the light of such tragedy.

2005 – San Marino

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Alexander Wurz (McLaren Mercedes)

WHEN Kimi Raikkonen claimed pole position and starting cruising away in the opening laps, it looked like Imola 2005 was going to be a typical procession.  However, McLaren’s reliability jinx struck again, as driveshaft failure on the ninth circuit ruled Raikkonen out of proceedings.  Fernando Alonso took the lead and built a significant cushion over the rest of the chasing pack, led by BAR’s Jenson Button.  In the midfield was Michael Schumacher, following a mistake in qualifying which left him 13^th on the grid.  When others infront pitted, the Ferrari was unleashed and started lapping two seconds faster than anyone else on the track.  He passed Button easily and hunted down Alonso.  Overtaking was incredibly difficult on the Autodromo Enzo E Dino Ferrari track and try as he might; Schumacher couldn’t find a way past Alonso, down to the Spaniard’s amazing defensive driving.  Alonso held on to take a significant victory, his third in a row.  Jenson Button finished third, but BAR were caught cheating with fuel being used as ballast discovered after the race.  The team lost their Imola points a fortnight later and got banned for two races for the indiscretion.  UK viewers complained in their droves after ITV took an ill-judged commercial break with three laps to go of the race, right at the heat of the Alonso/Schumacher battle.  Many believe this was the death knell in their F1 coverage, which ended three years later.

2010 – Singapore

CLASH: The shunt with Webber last year wrecked Hamilton's hopes

WINNER: Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 2^nd: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault), 3^rd: Mark Webber (Red Bull Racing Renault)

LAST season, Fernando Alonso held off a charging Sebastian Vettel to take a brilliant victory on the night streets of Singapore.  Despite two Safety Car periods, the Spaniard held off Vettel all the way.  A minor brush with the barriers in qualifying cost Vettel the pole position and ultimately, the race.  Third place was enough for Mark Webber to retain his championship lead, whilst fourth spot kept Jenson Button in the race.  However, Lewis Hamilton’s title bid took a fatal blow, as he controversially clashed with Webber after a Safety Car period.  Despite minor contact, terminal damage was done to the McLaren and ended his race.  The most spectacular image of the season came when Heikki Kovalainen’s Lotus blew up and caught fire on the pit straight, with the brave Finn having to double up as a temporary fire marshal to extinguish the rapidly increasing flames.

The Finishing Straight - Italy (by HappyDude88)

BEFORE I round-up the weekend’s events at the final European race of the season, I want to apologise for not producing any blogs of ‘The Finishing Straight,’ for the Hungarian and Belgian rounds of the 2011 FIA Formula One World championship.  I had a busy time in my own life and never found the required time to sum up my weekend’s feelings.  However, I’m back now with this kind of blog for the remainder of the 2011 season, although the competition for the title is now well and truly over.

     The hopeful purists were praying that Spa and Monza would show the weaknesses of the Red Bull Racing Renault package.  It didn’t, it just enhanced itself as one of the best ever cars to have graced Formula One.  In Sebastian Vettel, not only are we witnessing domination of the Schumacher Ferrari days (2001, 2002, 2004 spring to mind,) we are witnessing one of the ultimate legends in the sport.  There will always be comparisons with the likes of Senna, Prost, Fangio and Schumacher in his peak and it’s difficult to judge where you rank Vettel in the various categories.  However, he is the ultimate driver now and has been the class of the field for over a year now.  Anyone who says that he doesn’t deserve his second world championship needs to go and see a brain surgeon before it’s too late!  His win at Monza was so easy; it looked like he hadn’t broken a sweat in achieving it.  He had to make a crucial pass in the race to earn his win and the bravery he showed when Fernando Alonso stuck him on the grass like an animal on lap five was amazing.  Against Alonso, many would have backed off in this situation, but Vettel didn’t and reaped his rewards with the decisive overtake in this race.  Time and again, he has been criticised for his lack of racecraft, but he has pulled off race-winning passes on Felipe Massa in Malaysia, Jenson Button in Barcelona and Alonso again in Belgium, so there’s nothing wrong in this department.  In fact, Sebastian Vettel is for me, one of the top ten drivers to have ever sat in a racing car.  It couldn’t happen to a nicer bloke either.  Schumacher’s records could now be under severe threat when you consider Vettel’s age – maybe HMV should approach the champion-to-be for a job in a desperate boost to improve its failing record sales!

     While Vettel is coasting to the title, fellow compatriot Schumacher is starting to roll back the years, which I’m pleased to see.  He drove superbly to fifth from 24^th on the grid in Spa and repeated the result at Monza, with his strongest outing of the season.  The Mercedes GP chassis, which frankly has been a real letdown this season, looked much better in Italy and Schumacher comfortably had the measure of Nico Rosberg.  Some fantastic positioning combined with a few borderline movement directions saw MS keep a rather cautious Lewis Hamilton at bay for almost half the race.  Was Michael playing with the rules and regulations in his defending?  Well, the race stewards felt no action was required, despite a couple of irritable messages from Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn on the team radio.  I felt he was pushing his luck a bit, but Michael Schumacher has always done that.  That’s why he’s clever, cunning and a seven-time world champion.  You don’t achieve his feats by accident.  It’s nice to compliment Schumacher, rather than slam him for shocking events he has had in his comeback.  The nightmare of his Istanbul performance in May seems like a long time ago.

DESTROYED: Petrov, Rosberg and Barrichello were innocent victims

      Whilst Schumacher’s driving was legitimate, Vitantonio Liuzzi has some explaining to do, for causing mayhem in the first chicane.  Annoyed at being out-qualified by his team-mate, Daniel Ricciardo for the first time, he lost the plot completely and ruined many races.  He did make a great start, but with Liuzzi’s experience, he should know that you can’t win the race at the first corner.  He couldn’t control the car on the grass and yes, he did get an HRT into the top eight of a Grand Prix for the first time, but not in glorified fashion.  Vitaly Petrov’s fury as he got out of his destroyed Renault and Nico Rosberg’s comment of being ‘torpedoed’ said it all really.  Liuzzi took them out, ruined Rubens Barrichello’s race and scuppered the chances of points for Adrian Sutil and Kamur Kobayashi.  A five-place grid penalty for Singapore doesn’t do justice, especially as he will qualify last anyway.  Then, he has the cheek to blame Heikki Kovalainen for squeezing him on the grass!!  Nice try Tonio, but I think it’s time you find alternative motorsport employment before you destroy anyone else’s race chances.      

MOVING: Sam Michael will be in McLaren colours next season

     McLaren’s decision to appoint the outgoing Williams technical director Sam Michael, as sporting manager is a shrewd decision.  Michael, responsible for Williams best recent period, (2001-03) under Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher will bring some much-needed stability to the team that has been all too evident in missing this season.  Jenson Button is having his best season for a long while, even better than his 2009 championship winning campaign.  Michael will work closely with Hamilton too, which should be a good thing for Lewis, after what has been an erratic season to say the least for Hamilton.  If he can get results out of the likes of Montoya and Schumacher Jnr, who let’s be honest, were mediocre drivers, then I think McLaren are onto a real winner with this appointment.  At least the second and fourth places finishes at Monza all but guaranteed second place in the constructors’ championship for McLaren again.  However, in the words of Ron Dennis; ‘second is the first of the losers.’

      One team that has got their act together as the season has gone on is Scuderia Toro Rosso.  The upgrades they keep bringing have moved them right into the hunt for points on a regular basis.  Jaime Alguesuari’s stunning second-half of the season continues, with a career-best seventh place finish, despite being knocked out in the first part of qualifying.  Despite getting hit in the first corner, Sebastian Buemi was a solid tenth.  Six points finishes for Buemi and five for Alguesuari is really good going and they have closed right onto the tails of the Sauber/Force India squabble for sixth place in the constructors’ championship.  This is a battle I’m looking forward to in the final six flyaway races and I’ve got a feeling that Toro Rosso might sneak the position.  When Paul di Resta has a good weekend, Adrian Sutil doesn’t and vice versa, which is hurting Force India’s potential for double points finishes.  Sauber can’t seem to qualify very well and with Sergio Perez making a few too many mistakes, plus reliable Kamur Kobayashi going off the boil, I think it is Toro Rosso’s position for the taking.

     One team that won’t be featuring in this scrap is Williams.  Just five points all season is a dismal return for a team with such established pedigree in Formula One.  On a day when points were up for grabs, Pastor Maldonado and Rubens Barrichello missed out, in 11^th and 12^th place.  Ninth place will be the worst finish for the team since Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head came together to form Williams Engineering in 1978.  Maldonado has shown on his day that he is worthy of a place in the sport, but other times, drives like a total hooligan (Belgium qualifying incident with Hamilton in thought here!).  I’m afraid Rubens Barrichello is struggling and looks like a sorry figure in the paddock nowadays.  I don’t quite know what is keeping Rubens around because he doesn’t seem to be enjoying his racing anymore, despite his claims he is.  I’ve been very supportive of Barrichello’s career, particularly in the no.2 job he had to play at Ferrari, but his painful campaign is having echoes of Damon Hill’s pitiful final season in the sport in 1999.  Maybe it is time for Rubens to move aside and give youth a chance.  Romain Grosjean has won the GP2 Championship, is basically owned by Renault and unless Robert Kubica doesn’t return, will be frozen out.  Bruno Senna, Adrian Sutil, even a shock Nico Hulkenberg return have also been mentioned with Williams.  What would be their strongest team?  Probably Sutil/Senna would be good, but Maldonado/Grosjean is more likely, largely because of the millions that Pastor is bringing to the drive for sponsorship.  While I’m talking high sponsorship levels, I wonder what happened to ex-Forti, Sauber and Arrows driver Pedro Diniz.  Answers on a postcard please!

     Finally, there is no doubt who was the driver of the day and the driver of the weekend at Monza.  Solid mentions have to be given out to Bruno Senna, Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button, but Sebastian Vettel was once again, supreme and in a class of one.

IMPERIOUS: Singapore would be ideal for Vettel's title

     So, six flyaway races remain in 2011.  The night spectacular in Singapore begins the long haul next weekend, followed by the classic Suzuka circuit in Japan.  A second visit to Korea beckons, before a new adventure for the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in New Delhi.  The twilight of Abu Dhabi stages the penultimate event, before we wrap up four weeks before Xmas in Brazil on November 27.

It’s no longer a question of if, but when the sensational Mr. Vettel wraps it all up and the setting of night racing in Singapore would be a fitting way to clinch it. 

F1 classic races - Italy

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races from the Italian Grand Prix between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1993

SOMERSAULT: Fittipaldi hits his team-mate in 1993 and sees sky

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari), 3^rd: Michael Andretti (McLaren Ford)

DAMON Hill received a degree of fortune, which was long overdue at Monza in 1993.  After a first lap clash with Ayrton Senna sent him tumbling down the order, the Brit fought back to second behind his team-mate Alain Prost.  All looked set for Prost to clinch his fourth world championship when his engine spectacularly blew up with just four laps to go, handing Hill victory.  Jean Alesi brought some much needed smiles to Ferrari on home ground, with an excellent second position, whilst Michael Andretti ended his failed F1 experiment and returned to IndyCars after this race.  However, the American did record a podium finish.  Right at the end, Christian Fittipaldi clipped his Minardi team-mate Pierluigi Martini and somersaulted across the line.  Luckily, Fittipaldi finished on three wheels and lived to tell the tale.

1996

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Benetton Renault), 3^rd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes)

WILLIAMS’s drivers Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve dominated the championship in 1996, but both had off-days at Monza.  Hill was cruising to certain victory when he clipped the tyre stacks placed on the exit of the first chicane on the sixth lap.  With broken suspension, Hill had to play the role of devastated spectator for the rest of the afternoon.  Luckily for him, Villeneuve finished out of the points in seventh position.  The temporary tyres placed in the first two chicanes also claimed David Coulthard, Eddie Irvine and Heinz-Harald Frentzen and was widely criticised by drivers.  On his first drive at Monza for Ferrari, Michael Schumacher recovered from a slow start and survived a scrape with the tyre stacks to hunt down and pass Jean Alesi in the pitstops and record a popular victory, his second in a row.  Mika Hakkinen recovered from damaging his front wing early on against THOSE tyre stacks to finish a remarkable third, having been as low as 18^th after his unscheduled stop.

1998

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Jordan Mugen Honda)

FERRARI threw the 1998 title race wide open after this sensational race in 1998.  Michael Schumacher took his first pole position of the season, but made a terrible start and dropped to fifth.  Mika Hakkinen had a great start and took the lead, before letting lighter fuelled team-mate David Coulthard past him.  On lap 14, Coulthard’s engine blew up entering the second chicane.  Hakkinen was wrong-footed through the smoke, and this allowed Schumacher to take a quicker exit from the chicane and snatch the lead.  Hakkinen chased hard, but had problems with the traffic, notably from Giancarlo Fisichella’s dithering Benetton.  Then, with ten laps to go, his brakes exploded into the second chicane, sending the Finn backwards across the gravel trap at high speed.  Amazingly, he didn’t hit anything, kept his composure and rejoined.  However, his lack of braking capacity meant both Eddie Irvine and Ralf Schumacher were able to cruise past the ailing McLaren.  Schumacher won, with Hakkinen having to settle for fourth.  With two races left in this fantastic season, Schumacher and Hakkinen were now locked together on 80 points each.

2000

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Williams BMW)

MICHAEL Schumacher famously broke down in the post-race press conference after winning for the first time since June, equalling Ayrton Senna’s tally of 41 Grand Prix victories.  The success brought him to within two points of leader Mika Hakkinen in the title race.  Hakkinen drove a cautious race to second, whilst Ralf Schumacher held off serious challenges from BAR’s Ricardo Zonta and Jos Verstappen’s Arrows for the final podium spot.  Both Zonta and Verstappen benefited from lighter fuel strategies and misfortune for others.  Jacques Villeneuve looked good for a podium, before engine failure struck his BAR, whilst a slipping clutch lost a lap in the pits for Giancarlo Fisichella.  However, tragedy was the over-riding of the race.  On the first lap, an incident triggered by Heinz-Harald Frentzen caused mayhem.  Frentzen, Rubens Barrichello, Jarno Trulli, David Coulthard, Pedro de la Rosa and Johnny Herbert were eliminated in the second chicane and the flying debris from the crash tragically caused the fatality of 33-year old fire marshal Paulo Ghislimberti.  His death was the first at the racetrack since Ayrton Senna’s death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.

2004

WINNER: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Jenson Button (BAR Honda)

FERRARI showed their dominant speed in a race that at least five drivers had the chance of winning.  In the end, Rubens Barrichello’s three-stop strategy prevailed, as he recorded his first win of the season.  This was despite the wrong choice of tyre at the start of the race, going for intermediates on a drying track.  Michael Schumacher spent much of the day fighting up the order, after spinning on dry tyres at the second chicane on the opening lap.  He set lap record after lap record on his recovery drive to second place.  The race could have been won by Jenson Button, but his lack of speed in a straight-line meant he had to settle for a podium finish.  However, that result and fourth place from Takuma Sato was enough for BAR to take second place in the constructors championship from Renault.  Fernando Alonso led the opening stint and was also a winning challenger, but he spun off with 15 laps to go and stalled his engine.  Another contender, Kimi Raikkonen was forced out by engine trouble early on.  There was a lucky escape for Gianmaria Bruni and the Minardi pit crew after a refuelling fire.  Luckily, just Bruni suffered minor injury, as he inhaled some of the smoke from the fire. 

2008

WINNER: Sebastian Vettel (Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari), 2^nd: Heikki Kovalainen (McLaren Mercedes), 3^rd: Robert Kubica (BMW Sauber)

THE battle for the world championship in 2008 paled into insignificance at Monza by the incredible achievement of Sebastian Vettel and Scuderia Toro Rosso.  Toro Rosso, with Minardi DNA achieved their first Grand Prix victory and Vettel became the youngest driver ever to win a Grand Prix race.  The 21-year old’s stunning weekend began with pole position in a rain-soaked qualifying session on Saturday.  His team-mate Sebastian Bourdais started fourth, but a clutch problem left him stranded on the line and he lost a lap in the pits.  Vettel drove away from the field effortlessly, making Heikki Kovalainen’s superior McLaren look like an amateur.  It was one of the greatest drives seen in recent years.  A rueful Kovalainen had to settle for second, whilst Robert Kubica timed his sole pitstop perfectly with a switch to dry tyres.  It earnt him third spot, from a lowly 11^th on the grid.  Title contenders Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton had to settle for sixth and seventh, meaning there was now just one point between them, in Hamilton’s favour.  However, this was Vettel’s weekend.  

F1 classic races - Belgium

IN A new series, I will be looking back at six classic races every weekend from the country about to stage an event in the 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship.  This is my selection, of races from the classic Spa-Francorchamps circuit between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1992

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 2^nd: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Riccardo Patrese (Williams Renault)

22-YEAR old Michael Schumacher achieved the first of his 91 career victories, just one year after he made his incredible Grand Prix debut at the same track.  The young German achieved the feat with a brilliant piece of thinking after an off-track excursion.  Schumacher slipped behind Martin Brundle when he took a trip across the grass and had a look at his team-mate’s degrading rear tyres.  He decided to pit earlier than his rivals and on a drying track, his gamble paid off.  Ayrton Senna’s did not.  Having taken a surprising lead, Senna elected to stay on his worn wet tyres, but it backfired and left him finishing down in fifth place.  Nigel Mansell and Riccardo Patrese finished second and third, with these results good enough to seal the constructor’s championship for the utterly dominant Williams FW14B.

1995

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Renault), 2^nd: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 3^rd: Martin Brundle (Ligier Mugen Honda)

A SENSATIONAL drive from 16^th on the grid after a problematical qualifying session saw Michael Schumacher triumph in the 1995 Belgian Grand Prix.  He had an epic scrap with arch rival, Damon Hill, which included a spot of controversial wheel-banging at Les Combes on lap 22.  Schumacher, on slicks claimed he legitimately defended his line, whilst Hill, on wet tyres on a wet track thought he had been deliberately pushed off the racing line.  In the end, a stop-go penalty for speeding in the pitlane wrecked Hill’s hopes and he needed to pass Martin Brundle on the final lap to secure second spot.  Pole sitter Gerhard Berger retired with an electrical problem, with his team-mate Jean Alesi also out of luck, courtesy of suspension failure.  There was a nasty moment, when Eddie Irvine’s Jordan caught fire after a refuelling pitstop.  Luckily, with quick pit work from Jordan and Ligier fire mechanics, no-one was injured. 

1998

WINNER: Damon Hill (Jordan Mugen Honda), 2^nd: Ralf Schumacher (Jordan Mugen Honda), 3^rd: Jean Alesi (Sauber Petronas)

ONE of the most dramatic races ever seen in Formula One produced almost everything in absolutely horrific driving conditions.  First, David Coulthard crashed his McLaren exiting La Source and started a chain reaction of cars crashing into one another.  The end result of the carnage saw 13 cars terminally damaged, with four failing to restart and an hour’s start delay.  Amazingly, no-one was hurt.  At the second start, Damon Hill stormed into the lead, squeezing Mika Hakkinen into La Source.  Under pressure from title rival Michael Schumacher, Hakkinen lost control of his car and spun infront of the pack; to be collected by the luckless Johnny Herbert.  Schumacher produced a textbook overtaking manoeuvre to pass Hill on lap nine and was coasting to a dominant victory, when he came across a struggling Coulthard to lap him.  DC lifted off, Schumacher couldn’t see in the appalling visibility and careered into the back of the McLaren.  Both cars were out and what followed, was an angry exchange in the pits between the two drivers afterwards.  Later, Giancarlo Fisichella and Shinji Nakano were involved in a similar, scary incident, which left the Benetton of Fisichella looking like a torpedo.  After the Safety Car made an appearance, Ralf Schumacher was told not to overtake Hill, so Jordan could secure a 1-2 finish for the first time.  Ralf’s body language on the podium spoke volumes afterwards.  So, the way was clear for Hill to claim a fantastic victory for the Irish team, with Jean Alesi getting a well-deserved podium for Sauber.

F1 1998 - GP Belgique_G.FISICHELLA(Benetton... by parisiano60

2000

WINNER: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Williams BMW)

HAVING dominated qualifying, everyone expected Mika Hakkinen to run into the distance and hide in 2000.  However, on a wet track early on, it was Michael Schumacher who made the early running.  Schumacher’s cause was helped by Jenson Button’s ambitious move on Jarno Trulli into La Source on lap four, which took the Jordan out and hindered Button’s progress.  Seven laps later, Hakkinen had a half-spin at Stavelot, gifting Schumacher the lead.  However, on a drying track, the Ferrari was much slower than the McLaren, especially in a straight line.  With four laps remaining, Hakkinen got into the slipstream out of Eau Rouge and used Ricardo Zonta’s backmarker BAR to dummy Schumacher and pass him on the inside, with the German stuck on the outside and Zonta probably not knowing what he had just witnessed.  It was a masterful move from Hakkinen, undoubtedly his greatest ever Grand Prix victory.

2004

UNTOUCHABLE: Raikkonen was in a class of one in 2004

WINNER: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)

MICHAEL Schumacher made history in 2004, when he finished second to become a seven-time world Formula One champion.  However, he was beaten fair and square on the day by Kimi Raikkonen, who drove brilliantly to record McLaren’s first victory of a difficult and trying season.  The race started with chaos at La Source, with numbers of cars getting damaged.  Mark Webber and Takuma Sato tangled at Eau Rouge, whilst Raikkonen’s diffuser was broken in contact with Felipe Massa.  Having been hit by Webber at the first corner, Rubens Barrichello needed a new rear wing, but didn’t lose a lap in the pits, thanks to a Safety Car period.  The Renault’s led the early stages, but Jarno Trulli fell away dramatically with a mysterious lack of pace and Fernando Alonso was left beached in the gravel with an oil leak.  Michelin received heavy criticism, after witnessing three tyre blow-outs, which ruined David Coulthard’s race and caused the DNF’s of Jenson Button and Juan Pablo Montoya.  Button’s came after a 200mph blow-out sent him careering into the side of the helpless Minardi of Zsvolt Baumgartner.  Through all of the chaos around him, Raikkonen drove meticulously from tenth on the grid to record a magnificent victory.  However, he would have to share the limelight with Schumacher on this historic day.

2009

WINNER: Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari), 2^nd: Giancarlo Fisichella (Force India Mercedes), 3^rd: Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing Renault)

IF HE hadn’t been passed on the KERS by Kimi Raikkonen after a Safety Car restart, Giancarlo Fisichella and Force India will have probably won.  A shock pole and a wonderful second spot was the dream ticket for the team and for the ageing Italian, who moved to Ferrari as stand-in for the injured Felipe Massa on the back of this amazing result.  It was a bad day for championship leader, Jenson Button, as he was taken out on the first lap by Romain Grosjean’s Renault.  However, with his main championship rivals, Rubens Barrichello in 7^th and Mark Webber out of the points in 9^th, little damage had been done to Button’s lead.  Third place kept Sebastian Vettel just about in touch with the leader.