| ATLAS F1 Volume 6, Issue 25 | |||
| The Canadian GP Review | |||
| Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, June 16-18, 2000 | by Michele Lupini, South Africa |
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Michael Schumacher bounced back from losing his iron grip on the 2000 FIA World Drivers Championship at Monte Carlo with a dominant victory at the Canadian GP. The former two-time world champion led off another pole position to win a flag to flag victory.
Yes, his job was eased by David Coulthard's ongoing bad luck and an adventurous Jacques Villeneuve holding Schumacher's Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello and Mika Hakkinen's McLaren back, but the German nonetheless had it all his own way in Montreal. The McLarens and Ferraris were once again the class of the field, but once dialled in, there was almost nothing to choose between them as the top four battled for pole in a thrilling qualifying. Coulthard snatched provisional pole from what would have been an all Ferrari front row by nine thousandths of a second on his last lap, but as luck would have it, Michael Schumacher was out even later to repay the compliment. While qualifying up front was brilliant, the balance in the top ten seemed to shift slightly in Canada. Williams was absent from the top ten while Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta were noticeable in their combined presence in the BARs, as was Pedro de la Rosa's brilliant ninth. Fisichella too seems to be making a habit of being in the top ten as the year continues. The race in Canada was a procession, but it provided drama enough to entertain even F1's harshest critics. Despite Coulthard's insistence that he could have won, you make your own luck in F1. So despite having one of the quickest cars on the track, if you stall your engine and your team lets you down by tending to your car while they shouldn't be there, just like if the car changes dimension out of regulation, you are bound to be penalised. David has lost twelve points this year through penalties (sixteen points in his view), which would have meant that he and his team would have been significantly closer to their opposition than they are now. But they are not. The Scotsman has had a hell of a year, but it seems to be working in his favour – even Michael Schumacher is starting to wonder who his biggest rival is right now. But Michael showed an even temperament all weekend, even trusting his loyal teammate to stay back at the finish when Rubens sailed up behind on the last lap – he could have easily snatched it. Perhaps that's why David so strongly believes he could have won. But then only Michael will know if that's true or not. So Schumacher had it all his own way, perhaps not all by his own doing, but it certainly looked easy. Barrichello, once rid of the BAR obstruction that spoiled the first half of his, Hakkinen and de la Rosa's races, was most impressive. Despite having to wait for tyres when he pitted for wets immediately after Ferrari had finished with Schumacher, Rubens was clearly the class of the field in the wet, whittling down a massive gap to shadow his teammate at the flag. This cannot be very good news for a seemingly shell-shocked McLaren, as the second Ferrari now threatens their fragile second and third positions in the title race. Giancarlo Fisichella got it all right in Canada. Running behind the BAR/Jordan squabble (which lost Frentzen with more Jordan trannie trouble quite early), Giancarlo ran a very long first section, long enough that it started raining hard just as he pitted. This ensured that he was the only car to stop just once, gaining an automatic 25-second advantage over the rest. He found himself second, but sucumbed to a blistering Barrichello. That left him third, on the podium for the second race in a row and for the third time in his relatively short career at circuit Notre Dame. Benetton now seems to have regained control of the top end of division two, Wurz too showing well and being bumped out of the points by the charging Verstappen. With its impending transformation into Renault, this is another team to keep an eye on. While Barrichello seemed to be all charged up in Canada, the same cannot be said for Mika Hakkinen. The Finn did his job – but not with the verve and tiger-like fight expected of him. He passed Villeneuve eventually, setting the fastest lap of the race shortly after that, but besides an inspired charge to try to catch Fisichella toward the end, his fourth position was essentially what Mika deserved. Could it be that after all, he is satisfied with his incredible double-championships? With Coulthard in the ascendancy and wife Erja expecting his first baby, it may well be that some of Mika's motivation could be focussed elsewhere right now. Arrows had a great weekend. Pedro de la Rosa was in the qualifying top ten once again and took the fight to the F1 superheroes after dealing with the Jordans and BARs – albeit with a lighter fuel load. But Jos Verstappen had to take over the Arrows glory baton at mid distance after Pedro was ditched by Diniz. While many drivers found it difficult to pass in the murky conditions, the Dutchman, like his teammate, was scintillating - fighting his way past Zonta, Ralf, Wurz and Trulli to claim two brilliantly earned points. Arrows seem to understand how to operate at the upper side of midfield as they dabble with moving to the front and improve on every front. The have, however, fallen into the same trap that Stewart did last year, building a car with a fuel tank insufficient to manage just one stop in a race distance. If that were sorted, they would be able to concentrate on fighting at an even playing field. Jarno Trulli was the only one of the Honda-Mugen quartet to make it to the finish in the points, although harassed by Coulthard in the end. Jarno looked good on a lighter fuel load toward the end of his first stint, but appeared to lack confidence – especially on the brakes - in the wet. He was, nonetheless, in the points again after a difficult race. Once he'd served his ten-second sentence, Coulthard had to re-learn all about racing in the midfield. He was faced with spinning in avoidance of an errant Arrows, banging wheels to gain position and fighting it out over the gravel with Alex Wurz and otherwise sitting in line with little chance to pass as conditions worsened consistently. Character building? Perhaps. But David has shown himself to be right there this year. Of the rest, Zonta made a few wrong decisions to lose out on a possible points finish in eighth, while Wurz battled along to finish ninth, spending almost as much time off the track as on it. Diniz remained tenth despite being slapped with a 25-second penalty for disposing of de la Rosa, while Jenson Button spent his race battling with Minardis, eventually defeating Mazzacane for eleventh. Eddie Irvine was thirteenth, in what must have been a desperate, damp Sunday drive for him after being stranded on the grid. It'll be another weekend he and the team will want to forget. Jacques Villeneuve was the most significant retirement after causing so much anguish for McLaren. But F1's worst losers will have to admit that Jacques out-drove their world champion and Barrichello off the line to hold them up for the first half of the race. Jacques lost his way around the pit stops and became embroiled in that rich midfield battle, retiring when he attacked Coulthard so hard that he managed to take out Ralf Schumacher in front of David. Ralf had a poor weekend by his standards, accepting a sheepish Villeneuve's apologies after being taken out. Johnny Herbert seemed to swap roles with Eddie Irvine in Canada, charging for Jaguar only to suffer a gearbox failure, while Prost's terrible time continues. But at the end of it all, what was left is the impression that Michael Schumacher has re-established his iron grip on the 2000 world drivers' title. He has been on pole three times in a row now and was the first driver on pole in 13 starts to win a race. His 26th pole and 40th victory somewhat cement his current form. Barrichello continues at strength, now harrying the McLaren men in the title race. McLaren is convinced otherwise, confident that they can stem the red tide. But the only way McLaren has beaten Ferrari in the recent past was when the leading Ferrari has run into trouble (Barrichello's transmission in Britain, Schumacher's slow puncture and pit troubles in Spain and Michael's suspension in Monaco). So if they live up to their word, McLaren will have to move forward to achieve it. Otherwise Italy may well have something really good to celebrate come Monza...
Fastest Race Laps
Pit-Stops Times
Sector Times and Speeds
As the cars are being fired up David Coulthard's McLaren stalls. The mechanics restart the car just before the field takes off so David is able to start from his normal grid position.
FERRARI (Michael Schumacher 1, Rubens Barrichello 2):
Michael Schumacher maintained the lead from pole position and went on to drive a majestic race. Lost the lead briefly to team mate Rubens Barrichello during his first pit-stop, but recovered to take victory.
Barrichello completed a Ferrari one-two despite suffering brake problems throughout the race. A pit crew error also hindered his race when no wet tyres were ready when he came in.
BENETTON (Giancarlo Fisichella 3, Alex Wurz 9):
Giancarlo Fisichella boosted his and the team's confidence with an improved drive. The Italian timed his only pit-stop right on lap 47 as the rain started and he immediately went onto wet tyres. The other teams had to come in again.
Austrian Alexander Wurz failed to match the pace of his team mate and settled for ninth place. He clashed with David Coulthard three laps from the finish, but recovered.
MCLAREN (Mika Hakkinen 4, David Coulthard 7):
Mika Hakkinen claimed fourth place, but never stamped his authority on the race. The world champion was held up by Jacques Villeneuve in the early stages.
David Coulthard had no luck as he was punished with a 10-second penalty while challenging Schumacher for the lead. It effectively ended his race and a spin on the oil from Jos Verstappen's car also lost the Briton places on lap 25.
ARROWS (Jos Verstappen 5, Pedro de la Rosa retired):
Dutchman Jos Verstappen recovered from early engine problems on lap 25 to earn two championship points. He revelled in the rain and made up three places.
Verstappen's team mate Pedro de la Rosa started well on a light fuel load as he opted for a two-stop strategy. He retired from the race on lap 49 when in 12th place after touching wheels with the Sauber of Pedro Diniz and hitting a wall.
JORDAN (Jarno Trulli 6, Heinz-Harald Frentzen retired):
Italian Jarno Trulli drove a consistent race and always looked capable of scoring points. The power and reliability of his Jordan was also a positive.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen suffered a bad start, losing two places, and then had problems with his brakes. The German came into the pits when his pit-crew were not ready and decided to stop after just 33 laps.
BAR (Ricardo Zonta 8, Jacques Villeneuve 15):
Ricardo Zonta had a bad start and did not find the pace of the cars ahead of him. He continued to struggle in the mid-field before finishing eighth.
Jacques Villeneuve produced the best start of the race as he powered from sixth to third. An ambitious overtaking manoeuvre on David Coulthard ended his race as he crashed into Ralf Schumacher four laps from the finish when challenging for sixth.
SAUBER (Pedro Diniz 10, Mika Salo retired):
Pedro Diniz finished the race 10th after a tentative drive. The Brazilian failed to cope with the slippery Gilles Villeneuve track and consequently failed to find maximum pace.
Mika Salo retired on lap 42 with mechanical problems after a dismal weekend in which he failed to challenge the top positions.
WILLIAMS (Jenson Button 11, Ralf Schumacher 14):
Jenson Button made up a place at the start and pushed hard in the early stages. A broken front wing halfway through the race forced him into the pits and undid all the hard work as he finished 11th.
Ralf Schumacher defied his injured leg to produce an impressive drive. The German was challenging for sixth place when Jacques Villeneuve crashed into him on lap 65 and ended any hope of getting points.
MINARDI (Gaston Mazzacane 12, Marc Gene 16):
Gaston Mazzacane started from the back, and apart from a battle with Jenson Button near the end, the Argentine rarely troubled the rest of the field as he finished 12th.
Spaniard Marc Gene started well but never looked like making up any places. Spun off several times during the race, before one last spin on lap 64 ended his race.
JAGUAR (Eddie Irvine 13, Johnny Herbert retired):
Eddie Irvine stalled on the grid at the start and rejoined the race two laps down from the rest of the field. He spun on lap 49 with a rear suspension problem before finishing the race 13th, three laps down.
The luckless Johnny Herbert was the first driver to retire from the race. The Briton was forced into the pits on lap 14 as he reported a downshift problem with his gearbox.
PROST (Jean Alesi retired, Nick Heidfeld retired):
Jean Alesi stalled his car on his first pit-stop, losing half-a-minute. After rejoining the race he retired on lap 40 with engine problems.
Nick Heidfeld maintained his position near the rear of the field before his Peugeot engine blew up as he came out of the pits on lap 35. The engine caught fire and the young German had a short walk back to the garage.
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| Michele Lupini | © 2000 Kaizar.Com, Incorporated. |
| Send comments to: lupini@atlasf1.com | Terms & Conditions |