F1 classic races - Brazil

FOR the final time this season and on this blog, I will be looking back at specific events from previous years of the country about to host a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.  This time, it will be a bit different, as I charter the history of the Brazilian Grand Prix since it returned to Interlagos in 1990.

        The Brazilian Grand Prix had been staged on the Rio de Janeiro circuit in the 1980s, but returned to a shorter Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo from 1990 onwards.  To locals, it is better known as the Autodromo Carlos Pace, a Brazilian driver who won his home event in 1975.  Sao Paulo has certainly put on some special events since its return to the Grand Prix calendar.

        Alain Prost won the first event in 1990 after local hero Ayrton Senna ran into the back of backmarker Satoru Nakajima whilst leading.  Senna had never won his home race, but he ended the barren run in 1991.  He started on pole position and spent the majority of the race, fighting off a stiff challenge from the Williams of Nigel Mansell.  A wild spin for Mansell led to a gearbox failure, which was the Achilles heel of that chassis.  With three laps to go, the unpredictable Brazilian weather played its usual wildcard, with Senna waving furiously for the race to be stopped.  Aided to that, he was struggling with a misbehaving gearbox of his own.  Somehow, he finished the race with just one working gear and the McLaren beat Riccardo Patrese by just two seconds.  Cue euphoria and ecstasy in the crowd.  Senna had worked so hard for the victory; he was in intense physical pain and had to be lifted out of his car by paramedics.  He was suffering from cramp in his arms and shoulders.  Undeterred, he stood on the podium to take the top prize and achieve his remaining ambition of winning his home race.  He repeated the feat in 1993, edging out Damon Hill in another wet/dry race.

      For 1994, Ayrton switched to the all-conquering Williams team.  With Mansell away in IndyCars and Prost retired from racing, surely he was going to steamroller a mediocre field and take his fourth championship.  However, the partnership didn’t work out and as we all know, it ended tragically at Imola.  However, it was already in trouble from the outset in Brazil, with the 34-year old clearly unhappy about the nervous handling of the FW16 chassis.  He did drag the machinery to pole position, but that was more down to his brilliance behind the wheel, rather than the car’s competitiveness.  In the race, he spun off and stalled his engine whilst running second on lap 56.  As Michael Schumacher coasted to victory by a full lap, the Brazilian fans heading out of the gates in their droves, unaware that this was the last Brazilian Grand Prix Ayrton Senna had competed in.

        For years afterwards, Brazil had to largely do with pay drivers in the sport, such as Pedro Diniz, Tarso Marques and Ricardo Rosset.  Their only shining light was the talents of Rubens Barrichello and when he moved to Ferrari for the start of the 2000 season, there were high hopes that he might end their long drought for a home winner.  Sadly, Rubens Interlagos jinx continued to strike at Maranello.  Hydraulics failure twice, an accident with Ralf Schumacher in 2001 and a fuel feed problem in 2003 put him on the sidelines, part of an event that will go down as a special race.

       New tyre regulations meant both Michelin and Bridgestone had not brought a full wet tyre to Sao Paulo in 2003 and with the track soaked, the race started behind the Safety Car.  An aquaplaning river at turn three turned that corner into the car version of Beachers Brook at the Grand National.  Juan Pablo Montoya, Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher were among the six victims who crashed out on this corner.  Barrichello looked set for victory, when he passed David Coulthard’s tyre hungry McLaren, but the fuel pressure issue robbed him of a certain triumph.  The incident-packed race was stopped early after almighty accidents for the Jaguar of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso’s Renault.  Both escaped unharmed, although Alonso needed precautionary checks in an ambulance, so missed the podium ceremony.  The race was initially awarded to the McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen, but a countback error meant Giancarlo Fisichella was rightfully awarded his maiden success five days later in an FIA enquiry into the incidents in Paris.

      Traditionally, Brazil had been one of the early season races, but it moved to a season ending regular from 2004 onwards.  Juan Pablo Montoya secured the final victory for Williams to the present day that year, before Interlagos became the setting for some gripping championship deciders.  Fernando Alonso was crowned champion in 2005, becoming the youngest driver to achieve this in the process.  A year later, he did it again, although this was overshadowed by Michael Schumacher’s final race of his first career, which involved a storming drive back through the field to fourth, after an early puncture.  In 2007, Kimi Raikkonen pinched the championship from under the noses of McLaren’s Alonso and Lewis Hamilton with a season ending victory and in 2009, Jenson Button put in the drive of his life from 14^th on the grid to clinch the title with a stirring performance to fifth for newcomers Brawn GP. 

      However, if you want drama, try the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, which will go down as one of the most dramatic finishes of all time.  Going into the event, Lewis Hamilton had a seven point lead over local hero, Felipe Massa.  Massa did nothing wrong all weekend, starting on pole position and never looked troubled to take his sixth win of the season in changeable conditions.  Fifth place would have been good enough for Hamilton to take the title in only his second season in the sport, but when he was overtaken by Sebastian Vettel’s Toro Rosso with three laps to go, Hamilton had been relegated to sixth.  For the second successive year, the championship seemed to be slipping away from Hamilton, but the wet weather intensified on the final lap and left Timo Glock’s Toyota stranded on dry tyres.  He was powerless to resist Vettel and Hamilton, who passed Glock into the final corner on the last lap of the season.  Ferrari celebrated, thinking they had won, as did McLaren.  It was the latter who had it right; Hamilton had secured the title in the most sensational fashion possible. 

      This season’s title battle may have been settled a long time ago, but let’s hope Brazil produces another special event this weekend to conclude the 2011 Formula One season.

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.

HappyDude's Inspirational People - Alex Zanardi

By Simon Wright - Human Interest Piece

FOR many, they will have never heard of the name Alex Zanardi.  However, he is one of the most inspirational people I know and is a perfect example of battling back from shocking luck and still being determined to succeed at the top level.  Zanardi, 44, switched sports last summer from motorsport to hand biking, which is a form of Paralympics cycling.  He aims to win gold for Italy at next summer’s Paralympics in London.  If he does achieve this incredible feat, it will complete a remarkable and brilliant story.

     It was ten years ago this month that Zanardi suffered his shocking moment of grave misfortune.  Four days after the terrorist attacks in the United States, Zanardi was competing for Mo Nunn Racing in the ‘American Memorial’ event on the Lausitzring circuit in Germany; CART’s first European event for years.  In 2001, he had struggled for consistent form, but came through from 21^st on the grid to lead the race, setting fastest lap in the process.  After a late fuel stop, the former double CART champion spun on the pitlane exit and back onto the racetrack.  He was narrowly avoided by Patrick Carpentier, but Alex Tagliani wasn’t so lucky.  The impact was absolutely horrific, with Zanardi’s car ripped apart.  In the incident, he tragically lost both his legs; one above and one below his knees.  Tagliani luckily only suffered back pain in the crash.  For a while, it looked like Alex had lost his life, but rapid medical intervention from the Champ Car doctors and Zanardi’s ability to fight on saw him survive one of the worst crashes ever in the history of open-wheel racing.

UNSUCCESSFUL: Zanardi's 1999 season with Williams was a disaster

    Before Lausitzring 2001, Zanardi had achieved immense success in the US Champ Car series.  He raced for Chip Ganassi between 1996-1998, winning the ‘rookie of the year’ award in 1996 and two titles in 1997 and 1998.  His Formula One career was sadly less successful.  He raced for Jordan, Minardi, Lotus and Williams over two different stints, but only ever scored one championship point for sixth place in the 1993 Brazilian Grand Prix.  After his first stint in CART, Zanardi went back to F1 with a high reputation, but he had a nightmare 1999 season with Williams.  Seventh place at Monza was his best finish, with 11 retirements from 16 events.  No points against Ralf Schumacher’s 35 saw Sir Frank Williams terminate Zanardi’s contract in preference to 20-year old British sensation Jenson Button.

    Following a determined rehabilitation programme, Zanardi felt he wasn’t finished with racing after the accident and had unfinished business to conquer.  Two years after his crash, he returned to Germany to compete the final 13 laps he was unable to do in 2001.  Had he raced in the 03 event, he would have qualified a staggering fifth on the grid!  A year later, Alex returned to motorsport full-time, by competing in a hand-controlled BMW touring car in the European Touring Car championship.  In 2005, he won a reverse grid event in France in a series that had now been renamed as the World Touring Car championship.  Always a popular figure in any motorsport paddock, he went onto win events in Istanbul in 2006 and back-to-back triumphs in Brno, Czech Republic in 2008 and 2009.  At the end of the 2009 season, having proved his point and showed triumph over adversity, Zanardi decided to retire from all forms of motorsport.

CHALLENGE: Zanardi is one of those people who loves a challenge

    In between his racing, Zanardi did compete in the handcycle division at the New York marathon in 2007, finishing a stunning fourth, having only trained briefly for the event.  He has since turned this into a new sport, rather than an excessive hobby.  In the last two years, Zanardi has won the Venice and Rome City marathons in the wheelchair category and is now aiming high at competing for Italy at next summer’s Paralympics in London.

     Alex Zanardi is one of the most inspirational people I have ever heard of.  His desire and willingness to not let a crushing incident like he suffered on that overcast, German afternoon in September 2001 deserves full recognition.  I am inspired by his story, and I really hope he gets to achieve his new goal of competing at the Paralympics next summer.  This is the ultimate story of bravery and courage against total adversity.  

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.  

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 - Britain

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 held at Silverstone between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1994

HOME: Success for Hill amidst controversy in 1994

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari), 3^rd: Mika Hakkinen (McLaren Peugeot)

MICHAEL Schumacher was coasting away with the 1994 championship, but lost his head at Silverstone, which turned the season on its head.  Having been beaten to pole by 0.003secs, Schumacher overtook Damon Hill’s Williams on the formation lap, not once – but twice!  Although he leapfrogged Hill at the first round of pitstops, Schumacher was shown the black flag on lap 22.  The Benetton team challenged the decision, with the German ignoring the order to come in and serve a five-second stop-go penalty for another seven laps.  Hill won the race, whilst Schumacher was disqualified afterwards and banned for two races for his transgression.  Mika Hakkinen earnt a much-needed podium for the McLaren team, despite a last lap run-in with Rubens Barrichello, but team-mate Martin Brundle’s Peugeot engine erupted in a ball of flame when the lights turned to green, leaving the Brit furious and stunned.

1995

WINNER: Johnny Herbert (Benetton Renault), 2^nd: Jean Alesi (Ferrari), 3^rd: David Coulthard (Williams Renault)

THE championship contenders clashed, which allowed the popular and usually unlucky Johnny Herbert to register his first ever Grand Prix win.  Damon Hill was on pole again, and led the early exchanges, but Benetton once again outdid Williams on strategy and had Michael Schumacher infront.  On lap 46, Hill, desperately wanting to take advantage of fresher tyres, made a desperate dive up the inside into the Priory bend and took the pair off into the gravel.  Hill insisted it was a racing incident, whilst the champion pointed the blame squarely at Damon’s door.  Herbert inherited the lead, but lost it to David Coulthard.  However, the Scot got a pitlane speeding penalty and dropped to third, so Herbert got his lead back and won the event.  Rubens Barrichello had a lucky escape when his Jordan nearly flipped the gravel trap after late contact with the McLaren of Mark Blundell.

1998

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

FORTY laps into the 1998 race and Michael Schumacher’s chances can’t have looked great.  On a wet day, his Ferrari was no match for the dominant McLaren’s of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.  However, Coulthard spun off on a puddle whilst lapping the Benetton of Giancarlo Fisichella.  With the rain level intensifying, Hakkinen spun off at Bridge and did some front wing damage to his car.  The Safety Car was deployed and Mika’s 40 second lead was washed away.  On lap 51, he ran wide at Becketts and Schumacher powered past, opening up a 20 second lead.  However, rather than a time penalty, he was wrongly given a ten second stop-go penalty with three laps to go.  The offence was for passing Alexander Wurz under waved yellows whilst Jos Verstappen’s Stewart was recovered.  On the last lap, Schumacher entered the pitlane to serve his penalty, crossing the startline in the process.  He effectively won the race in the pitlane.  McLaren appealed the result, but lost in the Court of Appeal, meaning Schumacher made it three wins in a row.  

1999

WRECKED: Schumacher's title hopes after his 1999 failure

WINNER: David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), 3^rd: Ralf Schumacher (Williams Supertec)

DAVID Coulthard’s first triumph at Silverstone was overshadowed by the accident that ruined Michael Schumacher’s title chances.  Schumacher made a bad start from the front row of the grid and dropped behind Coulthard and team-mate Eddie Irvine.  As red flags were waving due to the stalled cars of Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Zanardi, Schumacher went to overtake Irvine on the Hangar Straight when he suffered a rear brake failure and pitched off the road at Stowe gravel trap, hitting the tyre barriers head-first.  Despite attempting to exit the cockpit on his own, the German realised his leg was trapped in the wreckage and had to be treated by marshals with a broken tibia and fibula in his right leg.  On the restart, Mika Hakkinen led away, but lost a wheel and was forced to retire with a faulty wheel hub.  Irvine overshot his pit box on his first stop, handing the lead and the race to an overjoyed Coulthard.  Considering he didn’t know the well-being of his brother, Ralf Schumacher raced brilliantly to a podium result for the Williams team and Damon Hill led a lap and finished a fighting fifth on his final British Grand Prix appearance.

2003

WINNER: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), 2^nd: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW), 3^rd: Kimi Raikkonen (McLaren Mercedes)

RUBENS Barrichello won a crazy race in 2003, after pulling off some stunning overtaking manoeuvres.  He started from pole, but slipped to eighth on lap 11 as crazed religious lunatic Neil Horan ran onto the Hangar Straight and started waving signs about the bible as the cars were doing almost 200mph.  The Safety Car was sent out and the scramble saw the likes of Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso tumbling down the order.  Barrichello produced amazing passes on Ralf Schumacher, Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen and was a great winner of a great race which was full of overtaking.  Raikkonen ran wide at Stowe with 11 laps to go, gifting Montoya second place.  Michael Schumacher fought back from 14^th place to fourth to maintain his title advantage.  By use of a lucky strategy, 2002 CART champion Cristiano da Matta did a great job to lead the race for 17 laps, before finishing seventh.

2008

WINNER: Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes), 2^nd: Nick Heidfeld (BMW Sauber), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Honda)

UNDER pressure from two dismal performances in Canada and France, Lewis Hamilton arrived at Silverstone in desperate need for a result.  He produced a mesmerizing drive to win by an entire minute, lapping at times, some seven seconds a lap faster than anyone else.  His team-mate Heikki Kovalainen claimed his first ever pole position, but was all at sea on raceday and finished a lapped fifth.  Hamilton was under pressure from Kimi Raikkonen early on, but Ferrari made the decision to keep Kimi on old tyres and the move backfired.  Raikkonen dropped down to 11^th, before recovering to fourth.  Renault made a similar mistake with Fernando Alonso, which left the Spaniard down in sixth.  At the height of a tropical downpour, Nelson Piquet and Robert Kubica were caught out and lost possible podium finishes.  With championship leader Felipe Massa having a dire day, spinning five times and ending up last, this allowed the BMW Sauber of Nick Heidfeld and Honda’s Rubens Barrichello to take the final two podium positions.  Barrichello’s came from 16^th on the grid, when the Honda team took a gamble on extreme wet weather tyres and started lapping 15 seconds quicker than the midfield.  However, the 2008 British Grand Prix belonged to McLaren and Lewis Hamilton who showed he was the new ‘rain master.’

F1 classic races - Spain

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 in Spain between 1991 and 2010.  Enjoy the archive!

1991

WINNER: Nigel Mansell (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Alain Prost (Ferrari), 3^rd: Riccardo Patrese (Williams Renault)

F1’s first visit to Barcelona came in September 1991.  It will be remembered for one of the most iconic pictures in Grand Prix history.  Championship rivals Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna went wheel-to-wheel down the long start-finish straight, wheels almost touching sparks flying at nearly 200mph.  Mansell went onto claim the place from Senna and in a race he needed to win, to keep his slim championship hopes alive, did so.  Senna spun in the last corner, then struggled with fuel consumption and limped home a disappointed 5^th.  Pole-sitter Gerhard Berger dropped out with engine problems and with Michael Schumacher also spinning away a possible podium chance in only his fourth Grand Prix start, Alain Prost came through from 15^th at the end of lap one to finish second.  This was because he took the brave decision to start the race on dry tyres on a damp circuit.  However, this was the day when two true Grand Prix legends refused to back down and gave the neutrals a spectacular moment to remember, that is still talked about today.

1994

WINNER: Damon Hill (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Michael Schumacher (Benetton Ford), 3^rd: Mark Blundell (Tyrrell Yamaha)

FOUR weeks after Ayrton Senna’s tragic accident at Imola, Damon Hill gave the whole Williams Renault team a huge boost, with a great victory.  Hill capitalised fully on a rare technical glitch on the formerly invincible Benetton Ford of Michael Schumacher to claim his fourth F1 win.  Schumacher dominated qualifying and disappeared in the early stages with a series of blistering early laps.  However, the young German hit trouble shortly after his first pitstop, when he got stuck in fifth gear for the rest of the race.  Incredibly, he still finished second, less than 20 seconds behind.  Late engine failures for JJ Lehto and Martin Brundle handed Mark Blundell a shock podium finish, ultimately the last time we’d see a Tyrrell on a Formula One podium.

1996

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

FORCEFUL: Schumacher passes Villeneuve on his way to victory

IN THE torrential rain of Spain 1996, Michael Schumacher proved again just why he was the best.  Schumacher destroyed the competition to win the Spanish event by over a full minute from Jean Alesi.  The 1996 Ferrari was not a good car, but Schumacher could still produce drives that would startle anyone, and this was a prime example.  Rookie Jacques Villeneuve did well to finish third, in a race that saw just six of the 20 cars finish the race.  Retirements included Rubens Barrichello, robbed of a certain podium by a clutch failure on his Jordan Peugeot and Damon Hill, who spun three times in the first 11 laps, and ultimately – ended his race by crashing into the pitwall.  Hill could only watch on in awe of his main rival’s total exhibition of driving in such foul conditions to record his first of what would be many victories at the wheel of the Scuderia.

1997

WINNER: Jacques Villeneuve (Williams Renault), 2^nd: Olivier Panis (Prost Mugen Honda), 3^rd: Jean Alesi (Benetton Renault)

TYRES were the main factor in the outcome of the 1997 event on the Circuit de Catalunya and nearly saw a giantklling upset.  Had it not been for Eddie Irvine’s inability to use his mirrors whilst being lapped, Prost and Olivier Panis might well have won this event.  Panis only started 12^th, but his more durable Bridgestone tyres and solid Prost chassis saw him charge through the field.  This came on a day where Heinz-Harald Frentzen squandered a front row starting position and finish in a very poor 8^th for Williams.  To make Frentzen look even worse, his team-mate Jacques Villeneuve was easier on his Goodyear tyres and went onto take the chequered flag, though if it hadn’t been for Irvine’s ignorance, he probably would have limited defence against the charging Panis.  Two weeks later, Panis season and career effectively ended with two broken legs in a sickening crash during the Canadian Grand Prix.  Jean Alesi scored a much-needed rostrum for Benetton, as Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard, suffered significantly from the abrasive track surface, which destroyed their tyres.  Schumacher salvaged fourth, whilst Coulthard was overtaken by Johnny Herbert on the last lap and had to settle for a disappointing sixth.

2001

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams BMW), 3^rd: Jacques Villeneuve (BAR Honda)

SOMETIMES, sport can be just utterly cruel for no particular reason.  Mika Hakkinen was the victim of this fate in 2001.  In the first event since traction control and launch control devices were allowed back into the sport, the Flying Finn was in complete command.  He followed Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari closely through the first two stints and then took the lead at the final round of pitstops.  Although helped by a strange vibration from Schumacher’s Ferrari, Hakkinen proceeded to pull out a minute advantage, having lapped the entire field.  Then, on the last lap, his clutch packed up through turn three.  It exploded three corners later, leaving the ailing McLaren on the side of the grass.  You just had to feel for Hakkinen, and even Schumacher had to console his rival afterwards.  Michael knew how lucky he had really been on this day.  David Coulthard was a victim of the new technology and started from the back of the grid.  He recovered to fifth, but was accused by Ron Dennis of suffering ‘brain fade’ afterwards.  This allowed Juan Pablo Montoya to collect his first points in Formula One, with a second place drive, and Jacques Villeneuve to earn the first podium in F1 for the BAR Honda outfit.

 

2003

WINNER: Michael Schumacher (Ferrari), 2^nd: Fernando Alonso (Renault), 3^rd: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)

BEFORE 2003, Spain was never interested in Formula One.  Crowds were mundane at Barcelona and little interest was credited until Fernando Alonso turned up.  His fans from his native Oviedo descended on Barcelona and saw the youngster push Michael Schumacher all the way.  Schumacher held on to win on the debut of the new F2003-GA, but Alonso won the plaudits of many for his outstanding drive.  Kimi Raikkonen’s championship lead was cut, after he pressed ‘self-destruct’ on the grid and clattered into Antonio Pizzonia’s Jaguar on the grid, whilst David Coulthard tangled with fellow Brit Jenson Button and ended in the gravel pit, making it a miserable day for McLaren.  Although Schumacher had taken the expected victory, this was the day when everyone sat up and took notice of Fernando Alonso’s ability as a Grand Prix racing driver.