The racing fortune has laughed at us this week-end. Free practice and qualifying sessions promised us the fantastic race.
Mika Hakkinen, David Coulthard and
Michael Schumacher were fighting for pole in best manner;
Rubens Barrichello, who's become 4th, has remained dissatisfied with his qualifying;
Ralf
Schumacher has said that it was possible for him to wedge in first three. But in race all was finished
to the 13th lap. Hakkinen has retired, Coulthard has got stuck behind
Enrique Bernoldi, Juan Pablo Montoya has crashed his car, Schumacher jr. has lagged behind and then retired And Michael simply had nothing to do then to win his 5th victory in Monaco.
Transfers.
A fascinating time called a season of transfers has begun in F1. It's a time when everyone speaking with hints and omission, when the smell of sensations and scandals is spreading on paddock. But the leaders of the peleton are seem not going to present us with surprises this season. Ron Dennis is going to keep a present pair of drivers, and he declared it in his interviews not once, Ralf and Montoya will stay in
Williams, Eddie Jordan is satisfied with his drivers work too. But
Ferrari has
become the first team to officially confirm their pilots for a next season. Michael Schumacher will remain with Scuderia up to 2004 and Rubens Barrichello - to 2002. The fact that German will stay in Maranello squad has became obvious after the management of a team has prolonged the contracts with all basic working persons: Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Burn. But the news
that Rubens will spend next year with "red" has became a surprise. The atmosphere in Ferrari have become aggravated this year. Barrichello was dissatisfied that his interests are not taken into account at all, and the team's bosses wasn't delighted with Rubinho's dictums. However for two weeks past from scandalous finish of Austrian Grand Prix the parts have buried the axe of war and have assured each other in their absolute respect. Well Barrichello knows better what is better for him. There is another question - what will be with Ferrari when Schumacher decide to retire from sport? Or he's going to race up to 60 just like Emo Fittipaldi?
State of air.
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Monaco is a super-slow corners and short straights. The maximum speed is not so important here as on other circuits and the car's controllability
is playing the primal role. After a winter's changes in the technical rules it was expected, that teams will try to compensate loss of downforce with various technical shifts. But what we've seen at Monaco has surpassed all our expectations. All has began on Thursday, when
Jos Verstappen has left the pit-lane with an amazing additional wing above the nose of the car. And right
after that Jordan has lead his |
trumps, having installed a small wing on the single post right before the driver on
Jarno
Trulli's car. Formally these constructions don't contradict the rules. But besides the formal technical rules, there is a spirit of technical rules, which is not recommended to be broken. And the "second floor" wings were urgently forbidden as dangerous. But two other constructions were recognized as legal. We speaking about additional wings of
BAR and Prost. Prost engineers have installed an additional plane above the aileron of a forward wing, and BAR have set his wing in a zone of exhaust pipes, before a rear wing. Both constructions have helped teams to act succefully on Monaco Grand Prix.
Jean Alesi has finished 6th, and
Jaques Villeneuve 4th. Let's wait what will be the destiny of innovations - X-wings didn't cause FIA's discontent firstly too.
Coulthard's nightmare.
| In our last review we praised David Coulthard with magnificent race in Austria. And now Scot has worked another wonder. This time of
a completely opposite property. All advantages of pole-position, that he secured on Saturday, he has lost on the start of formation lap and was sent to the back of the grid. But on his way up to the top he was stopped by Enrique Bernoldi.
Arrows rookie has simply locked Scot down and he has stayed behind him for a half of race. When Bernoldi has pit-stopped (to this moment they was lap behind all drivers down to 5th place),
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David has boosted madly and, having spend the rest of race in highest rhythm, has managed finish in top six. After race, as approves Bernoldi, Ron Dennis and Norbert Haug has visited Arrows motorhome and have promised
Brazilian in aggressive form, that if he will go on driving in such manner he won't stay in F1 for a long time. Naturally, McLaren bosses deny this: That's delirium. I didn't tell anything like that. When I spoke to him some time after race has passed and I was quiet, assembled and not annoyed I've told him, that I believe that his
behavior is unsporting. This means that you can fight for position only with guys like you and not with top-team drivers. Coulthard already have some problems with lapped pilots. Probably he believes, that drivers of the second division teams
must concede a line to him. But it's races! And here you have to fight for position, instead of to hope for status of top-team "untouchable".
Jaguar's first podium.
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Last year Eddie Irvine has bring first points for
Jaguar in Monaco. This time he has earned first podium for a legendary label. For two years the racing cats struggling to step out
from the back of the grid. All Ford Cosworth series CR engine's advantages are spoiling by absolutely bad chassis. This year the team has seriously updated. Niki Lauda and Bobby Rahal has came into management, the designers staff was completely renewed.
Pedro De La
Rosa, the descent test-driver, has joined the team. But all this has taken place when the chassis was ready. And seems that they can't do
nothing with it. After several Grand Prix Lauda has declared that the
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new car can be designed, but this history have
been quickly hushed up - the Ford's money are not endless. To my mind, one more mistake was made by team's bosses - they has admitted Eddie Irvine as a first number. Irish is undoubtedly fast, but as a test driver he is insolvent. All testing work in Jordan was kept by Barrichello. Michael Schumacher was a basic Ferrari tester. But Irvine never was considered as a test-driver. But Jaguar bosses,
having tempted with Eddie's image, have forgotten about it. In a result the team has switched off from the
fighting for points for two years. Let's hope, that this podium will became the first mark of revival of a team.
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