| ATLAS F1 Volume 6, Issue 44 | |||
| The 2000 Race-by-Race Review | |||
| by Pablo Elizalde, Spain | |||
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What a year it's been! One moment it's definitely Schumacher, another it's absolutely Hakkinen. It was a year of the giants - two cars, two drivers - head and shoulders ahead of the rest. However, the season was also marred by controversy, and was full of emotions, surprises and let downs. Pablo Elizalde looks back at each of the 17 rounds of the 2000 season, with the hindsight of how it all ended
Winner: Michael Schumacher
It all looked good for Mika Hakkinen and McLaren after qualifying, where he got his 22nd career pole position, and the third in a row in Australia, in front of teammate David Coulthard. Schumacher was third, more than half a second behind the defending World Champion. Jenson Button, making his Formula One debut, ended in a disappointing 21st position. Also making their debut were the BMW and Honda engines, with the Williams and BAR teams respectively. The race started perfectly for the McLaren duo, with Hakkinen taking the lead at the start, followed by Coulthard and Schumacher, who was initially able to follow the pace of the silver cars. A few laps into the race, Eddie Irvine lost control of the back of his Jaguar when he lifted off to avoid a spinning de la Rosa and crashed, forcing the safety car to enter the track, bringing the field back together. When the race was restarted, the leading trio took off again, but on lap 11 Coulthard had to come into the pits with a pneumatic problem. He rejoined, but only to retire in smoke seconds later. Only seven laps later, Hakkinen suffered a similar problem and was also forced to retire, leaving Schumacher on his own. With Barrichello behind him, the German cruised home for an easy win. His brother Ralf, driving the Williams-BMW, impressed on the German manufacturer's debut by grabbing third place in front of Jacques Villeneuve, who gave the BAR team their first points ever, and a promising start for Honda.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
Just like two weeks earlier in Australia, the McLarens were in a class of their own during qualifying, and Mika Hakkinen topped the time sheets once again in front of Coulthard and Schumacher. The session, however, was marked by a bizarre and dangerous incident, when the advertising sign-boards fell on the main straight, forcing the session to be stopped twice and nearly causing an accident when one of them fell in front of Jean Alesi's Prost. Even before the race began, controversy and bad publicity continued to haunt the 2000 seaoson, as the Sauber team announced they were pulling both Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz out of the race due to a rear wing failure on both of their cars, which saw the two barely qualify on the last row of the grid. This, along with the fact that just two weeks ago Salo was disqualified from his sixth place finish in Australia, did not bode well for the Swiss team or the calm running of the championship. For the race itself, Schumacher made a good start to take second place behind Hakkinen, while Coulthard kept third place in front of local hero Rubens Barrichello. Hakkinen's lead lasted only one lap, however, as Schumacher, on a two-stop strategy, flew past the Finn at the end of the pit straight, immediately beginning to open a considerable gap - fifteen seconds by lap 15. Hakkinen took advantage of his one-stop strategy to regain the lead when the Ferrari driver made his first stop. The Italian challenge was halved on lap 26, when Barrichello retired with mechanical problems, something that was quickly compensated four laps later, as Hakkinen was force to retire for the second race in a row. Schumacher built a big enough lead to make his final stop and rejoin in front of Coulthard's McLaren. The Scot was not capable of threatening the German during the final laps, and Schumacher grabbed a solid championship lead. A few hours after the race had finished, Coulthard was disqualified after the stewards found his car was illegal, elevating Giancarlo Fisichella to second place and giving the final point to rookie Jenson Button, who thus became the youngest ever point-scorer in F1 history.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
Also for the third consecutive race, pole position was Hakkinen's property, though for the first time, and at Ferrari's home, the red cars seemed to be able to match McLaren's pace, and only an error on his final run stopped Schumacher from taking the top qualifying spot. At the end, he had to settle for second. As usual, Hakkinen made a perfect getaway, keeping his lead after the first corner, while Schumacher had to cut across to avoid Coulthard from overtaking him after a poor start. The leaders, already lapping faster than the previous year's fastest lap, quickly disappeared into the distance, taking full advantage of a two-stop strategy, while Coulthard and Barrichello struggled with their cars. Hakkinen and Schumacher's procession continued after they made their first pitstop on the same lap, with the Finn some five seconds ahead of the German. To the delight of the thousands of Tifosi at Imola, Hakkinen's second stop allowed Schumacher to take the lead for the first time. The Ferrari driver then began to lap as quickly as possible while Hakkinen struggled on a heavy fuel load. Finally, when Schumacher pitted, he rejoined four seconds in front of Hakkinen. The Finn closed the gap, but he was unable to pass his rival, who left Italy with a 21-point lead over teammate Barrichello. At this point in time, Schumacher seemed unstoppable.
Winner: David Coulthard
However, Silverstone made its headlines for different reasons altogether than the action on track. After the Grand Prix was moved to April, instead of its usual date in July, weather reared its ugly head, with heavy rain making the entire grounds one big muddy swamp. Spectators were even asked not to arrive at the circuit for Saturday's qualifying - a first in Formula One! - and those who dared show up found themselves assisting each other in rescuing their cars out of flooded parking lots. After three successive pole positions for Hakkinen, qualifying also had a different star. On a damp track, Rubens Barrichello timed his final run to perfection and grabbed his first pole for Ferrari, only three thousandths of a second in front of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and three hundredths in front of Hakkinen. Schumacher had to settle with a poor fifth position, in front of a brilliant Jenson Button in sixth. Barrichello made a perfect start when the lights went out - just the opposite of Schumacher, who tried to pass Hakkinen putting to wheels on the slippery grass and lost several places as a consequence, getting stuck behind Jacques Villeneuve's BAR. With a heavy fuel load on board, the German wasn't able to do anything to pass the Canadian, and lost too much time to be able to fight for the win. After second placed Frentzen pitted, Coulthard began to put serious pressure on leader Barrichello, until lap 32, when he made a sensational pass around the outside. The Brazilian recovered the lead when the Scot pitted, but his Ferrari would suffer hydraulics failure and retire. Schumacher climbed up to first place before making his first and only stop, but when he did, he rejoined more than 20 seconds off leader Coulthard, who cruised home to a win in front of Hakkinen. The Williams duo shone once more, with Ralf Schumacher fourth and Jenson Button in an impressive fifth position.
Winner: Mika Hakkinen
It was the third victory in a row for Hakkinen at Barcelona, and he also overtook his teammate in the championship table, as well as reducing Schumacher's lead to fourteen points. The German's domination, however, looked set to continue, after he grabbed his first pole position of the season at a track that in the past years had traditionally benefitted the McLarens. Hakkinen had to settle for second, while Barrichello and Coulthard shared the second row. Schumacher made a good start and held the lead in front of Hakkinen, while Ralf Schumacher made a flying getaway to jump up to third place. The top two drivers eased away from the rest of the field quite easily, and despite Hakkinen's pressure, Schumacher seemed to have the race under control, despite accidentally running over one of his mechanics during his first pitstop. However, when Schumacher pitted for the second time, he was stationary ten seconds longer than Hakkinen, therefore losing the lead. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Ferrari driver suffered a problem with his tyres and soon began losing ground to all his rivals, even to brother Ralf, with whom he fought hard until the younger of the two prevailed. All Hakkinen had to do was cruise to the chequered flag, with Coulthard, who raced with some cracked ribs, more than fifteen seconds behind in second place. Schumacher ended up fifth, behind teammate Barrichello and his brother Ralf.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
However, it was David Coulthard who initially dominated, taking his first pole position for almost two years only eighteen days after his plane crash. The Scottish driver made the best of the damp conditions to edge ahead of Schumacher and Hakkinen. The race was a totally different story, with the two double World Champions edging ahead of Coulthard at the start, and though Schumacher was behind Hakkinen, it was clear that the Ferrari was faster than the McLaren. When the German saw his chance, he drew up alongside the Finn and took the lead, just before it began to rain, making the track very slippery. Once again Schumacher proved he is the best in such conditions; Hakkinen stood his ground and didn't allow the German to pull away easily, but at the end he had to settle for second place more than thirteen seconds behind the Ferrari driver. Schumacher and Hakkinen's superiority was clearly demonstrated by the fact that they lapped the entire field, including Coulthard and Barrichello, who finished third and fourth. Furthermore, Schumacher's 39th victory allowed Michael to stretch his championship lead once more, and after a blinding performance at his home track, his Championship prospects were looking better and better.
Winner: David Coulthard
From the beginning, it all looked good for Schumacher, who took an easy pole position in front of the impressive Jarno Trulli in a Jordan. Coulthard was in third, almost half a second behind the pole time, while Mika Hakkinen took a poor fifth place in the final minutes of the session. The race needed three attempts before it got under way, and indeed Monaco would be the only race in the season where a restart was used, rather than a safety car. This time around, it was Alex Wurz stalling his Benetton on the grid that caused the first restart, while a problem with the FIA timing equipment was the reason for the second interruption. Schumacher got away cleanly all three times, and with the McLarens stuck behind the two Jordans, the German pulled away quickly. Coulthard and Hakkinen were faster than Trulli and Frentzen, but in Monaco that is never enough. Hakkinen, however, continued his weekend to forget and had to come in to the pits to fix a brake problem, rejoining definitely out of contention. Up in front, Schumacher had stretched his lead to more than 30 seconds when Trulli was forced out with a gearbox problem, finally allowing Coulthard to lap in clean air. Though the Scot closed the gap slightly, Schumacher had time to make his pitstop and rejoin in the lead. But when everything indicated a certain win for the German, his Ferrari suffered a suspension failure that left Coulthard on his own. The Scot had no opposition and won the race clearly, ahead of Barrichello and a magnificent Giancarlo Fisichella in the Benetton. The Jaguar team finally scored their first points of the season, with Eddie Irvine in fourth place.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
Schumacher's only rival throughout the weekend was David Coulthard, as displayed by the battle for pole position. The German edged the McLaren driver on his final attempt, beating his best time by only nine hundredths of a second. And as was the case in Monaco two weeks earlier, Mika Hakkinen was a shadow of himself, qualifying half a second behind those two. Could Hakkinen be losing his motivation? Had he thrown in the towel in the 2000 WC fight? The battle for the race win came to an end before it even started, when Coulthard stalled his car on the grid, receiving illegal assistance from his team crew - which meant a 10 seconds stop and go penalty. All this left Schumacher with a clean road ahead. The penalty, added to a collision with Jos Verstappen during the race, left the Scot out of the points. As if that didn't make things easy enough for Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve helped the German by making a fantastic start, jumping up to third place behind Coulthard, and blocking Barrichello and Hakkinen while the leader pulled away easily. Despite the rain that began to fall over the track, the race was a high-speed procession to the chequered flag, and though Barrichello was the quickest man on the wet track, he didn't try to pass his team leader when he caught him right at the end. Giancarlo Fisichella was once more third, while Hakkinen settled for fourth, after an anonymous race. The victory put Schumacher 22 points ahead of Coulthard in the Championship; it would be the biggest lead, however, that anyone would enjoy at the top of what would turn out to become a volatile and suspenseful battle.
Winner: David Coulthard
The first round of the Schumacher-Coulthard fight began in qualifying, where the Ferrari driver beat the Scot by a tenth of a second, while Rubens Barrichello edged a gloomy-looking Mika Hakkinen for third place, both more than four tenths behind the pole sitter. At the start of the race, Schumacher was slower than Coulthard off the line, so he cut across the track, blocking the McLaren driver and allowing Barrichello to take second place. With the two Ferraris in front, Schumacher seemed certain to extend his lead, especially since Coulthard was unable to overtake Barrichello until lap 20. However, after passing the Brazilian, Coulthard began to reduce the gap to Schumacher and finally tried to pass the German at the hairpin. The latter closed the door, upsetting the McLaren driver and earning him the legendary 'bird' gesture. The Scot didn't give up, however, and seven laps later pulled a great move on Schumacher, taking the lead and swiftly pulling away from the German, who struggled with tyre problems before suffering a mechanical failure that forced him to retire. Coulthard cruised home, finishing 14 seconds ahead of Hakkinen. Barrichello was third, while Jacques Villeneuve had a hard-fought race to fourth place.
Winner: Mika Hakkinen
Qualifying at the A1-Ring belonged to the McLaren team, and especially to Hakkinen, who took his fourth pole of the season in front of Coulthard by almost four tenths of a second. The two Ferraris were never a factor during the session and filled the second row, but this time it was Rubens Barrichello who outqualified Michael Schumacher. The German's race, however, lasted only a few seconds, as Ricardo Zonta, who had started from a magnificent sixth place, left his braking too late and hit the back of the Ferrari, forcing Schumacher into a spin, after which Jarno Trulli crashed into him, ending the race for both. Schumacher tried to block the track in order to force a red flag, but the marshals were too efficient for his liking, as when the safety car came out, his car had already been craned off the track. Thereafter Hakkinen easily pulled away from Coulthard. Barrichello, who had lost several places at the start after being forced to run off the track, climbed up to third place, despite a loose rear diffuser. At the front, Hakkinen ran a flawless race and without any opposition won the Grand Prix. More importantly, he established himself again as the McLaren leader and left no doubt as to his motivation to challenge for a third straight WC title.
Winner: Rubens Barrichello
Barrichello was the unluckiest driver during a wet qualifying session that turned up to be a lottery, where David Coulthard had the winning ticket. The Scot chose the best moment to put down his fastest lap, and as a result was 1.3 seconds faster than second placed Michael Schumacher. After his Ferrari suffered a mechanical failure when the track was dry, Barrichello had to take the start from 18th place on the grid. Schumacher was once again eliminated before the first corner, this time by Giancarlo Fisichella, while Barrichello, on a two-stop strategy, climbed up to fifth place in only six laps. Up in front, Hakkinen, after a great start, led Coulthard. Before makings his first stop, Barrichello was already up in third place, though far behind the McLarens. Everything looked set for another win for the Woking team when Hakkinen pitted on lap 27. But then, a French man decided to cut his way through the fence and began wandering onto the track. It would later transpire that the man was an ex-Mercedes employee, protesting his discharge in a bizzare yet effective way: the incident forced the safety car to be brought out, allowing Barrichello to pit and come out right behind the leaders. Whatever gap the McLaren drivers had before, was now diminished to none. The race took another twist a couple of laps later, when heavy rain began to fall over the Stadium part of the circuit. Hakkinen put on wet weather tyres quickly, while Barrichello stayed on dry weather tyres. It was a big gamble as some parts were very wet, but the Brazilian mastered the conditions and, still on dry weather tyres, held his advantage to take a magnificent win. Hakkinen finished seven seconds behind, while Coulthard was third and now equal to Hakkinen in the title race.
Winner: Mika Hakkinen
At a track that seemed to be Hakkinen's property for the last two years, Michael Schumacher showed he wanted to put the bad results behind him by grabbing an easy pole position from David Coulthard, while Hakkinen was third more than four tenths of a second behind, highlighting his setup problems. Once more though, Hakkinen made a flying start and at the end of the first corner had taken the lead. Schumacher, who hadn't completed a single lap for the last two races, had to give way to his rival. And that was basically the end of the story. Hakkinen steadily began to pull away from Schumacher, who was unable to follow his rival's pace. Not even the pitstops helped the German's cause, and he had to be content to try to keep Coulthard at bay. Meanwhile, Rubens Barrichello was brought back to earth after his Germany win; the Brazilian was clearly outperformed by his teammate and ended the race in a very lonely fourth place. Hakkinen's victory meant that, for the first time in the season, he and the McLaren team elevated themselves to the top spot in both championships, after having trailed Ferrari and Schumacher for twelve races. Would that be an omen for things to come?
Winner: Mika Hakkinen
Hakkinen topped the time sheets after an unusual qualifying session, in which his main rivals were Jarno Trulli for Jordan and Jenson Button in his Williams. Schumacher and Ferrari were utterly off the pace, almost a whole second behind Hakkinen in fourth place. A controversial rolling start, due to the standing water on the track, made matters simpler for Hakkinen, who quickly began to pull away from Schumacher, who in turn needed five laps to elevate himself to second spot. Everything seemed to be going Hakkinen's way for the first dozen laps, especially as the track dried up and he was able to put on dry weather tyres. However, on lap 13, the race took a dramatic turn when the Finn spun at Stavelot, handing a comfortable lead to Schumacher, with Hakkinen rejoining the race after making a good recovery from the spin. The German, who already had a five-second advantage, pulled away another six seconds before his second pitstop. With the track completely dry, Hakkinen - using a dry setup - began to lap faster than Schumacher - using a wetter setup, reducing the gap to nothing with five laps to go. Then, two laps later, Mika saw his chance when the pair were about to lap Ricardo Zonta, and at more than 300km/h, while Schumacher moved to the left of the BAR, Hakkinen boldly moved to the right, passing both drivers on the inside in one of the most amazing moves in Formula One history. Hakkinen never seemed more pleased, and Schumacher never seemed more defeated, as the two did on the podium at Spa; it was a fantastic win, and better yet - it put Hakkinen six points ahead in the championship, the biggest advantage he'd had so far. Was Hakkinen on a roll? Had Schumacher and Ferrari dropped the ball yet again? Few would have bet against Hakkinen at that point of the season, with just four rounds to go. Few, including Michael Schumacher.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
Schumacher was dominant throughout the weekend, and to the delight of the Italian fans, the only driver who threatened the German during qualifying was his own Ferrari teammate, Rubens Barrichello, who ended only two hundredths of a second behind. The new first chicane at Monza generated much controversy, but fortunately the start saw only three drivers involved in an incident there. Schumacher led Hakkinen to the second chicane, where Heinz-Harald Frentzen triggered a multi-car pile up, eliminating Trulli, Barrichello, Coulthard, de la Rosa and Herbert. All drivers escaped unhurt, but fire marshal Paolo Gislimberti was not as lucky and lost his life after being struck by a flying wheel. Despite Gislimberti's situation, the race steward controversially decided not to stop the race and instead, the field was to follow the safety car for ten laps. When the safety car withdrew into the pits, Schumacher took off and there was no stopping him. Although Hakkinen charged hard during the final part of the race, the German took the 41st victory of his career and, most importantly, the one that put his title hopes back on track after a very disappointing middle part of the season. With just a couple of points between Hakkinen and Schumacher - the battle for the World Championship was wide open.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
For the second consecutive race, the Ferrari driver set pole position, this time in front of David Coulthard, while Hakkinen had to settle for third. On a damp track, almost every driver started the race on wet weather tyres, though it was obvious that they would have to pit soon to put on dry weather tyres. Coulthard beat Schumacher to the first corner, but the Scot was penalised a few minutes later for jumping the start. However, when Coulthard found out about his upcoming stop and go penalty, he reduced his pace dramatically, clearly trying to slow Schumacher down to allow Hakkinen, now in third, to catch up. The German, however, battled with Coulthard and finally overtook the McLaren driver, making slight contact at the end of the long Indianapolis straight, not doing any good to their relationship on and off the track. Once Schumacher had taken the lead, it was Hakkinen who put the pressure on him until the Finn came into the pits for dry weather tyres. Schumacher, however, stayed on track, lapping faster than anyone else and extending his lead. When the track dried out, the McLaren driver began to close the gap, but for the first time in thirteen races, his car suffered a mechanical failure, allowing Schumacher to cruise home. In fact, he relaxed so much that he even made a slight error and spun with five laps to go. Fortunately for him, he rejoined and went on to win ahead of teammate Barrichello. Having turned the tables in only two races, Schumacher now faced two opportunities to clinch the title. And the German was definitely on a roll.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
Despite his third pole position in a row, Schumacher's chances looked slim for most of the race, as his championship rival Mika Hakkinen beat him to the first corner and began to slowly pull away from him, giving all the indications that the championship would go down to the wire for the fifth consecutive year. However, nature had different plans and before the second round of pit stops, a light but steady rain began to fall on track. Ever the master in changing condition, Schumacher closed the gap to Hakkinen, who pitted first while the German stayed on track for three more laps, enough to gain sufficient ground on the Finn. The Ferrari crew completed a flawless pitstop, and Schumacher rejoined the race in the lead. From that moment on, there was nothing Hakkinen could do to stop Schumacher from taking the race win and, finally, the Drivers' Championship, his third title and Ferrari's first since 1979. The Japanese Grand Prix was all about the two title contenders, and David Coulthard, who finished in third place, was more than a minute behind the leaders. "It's very special to do it for Ferrari - a team with so much history," said Schumacher after the race. "It's difficult to find the words how it feels. It's similar to Monza, but don't expect me to cry. I felt an outbreak of emotion as I crossed the line. We have been working for this for five years and three times we got so close. It feels fantastic." Jenson Button was once again the surprise of the race, being the last driver on the same lap as the leaders, finishing fifth on yet another unknown circuit.
Winner: Michael Schumacher
Schumacher was in a class of his own during qualifying, needing only eight of the allocated twelve laps to put almost half a second between himself and Mika Hakkinen's McLaren. Once again, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello completed the top four. Hakkinen's jump start and subsequent penalty left Schumacher and Coulthard to fight for the last win of the year, and the Scot held the upper hand for some time, after Schumacher spoiled yet another pole position courtesy of a bad start. However, Coulthard made a costly mistake, running briefly off the track, picking up grass in the radiators, which caused his engine to start overheating. He had to come into the pits earlier than expected, and Schumacher took full advantage of his light fuel load to gain sufficient time to pit and come out in front of Coulthard. From that moment on, the race belonged to Schumacher, and though the McLaren driver put pressure on the German, the latter kept his cool to win the race. Johnny Herbert - the first driver to retire in the 2000 season - was also the last one to retire, as he waved goodbye to his Formula One career with a spectacular crash thanks to a suspension failure on his Jaguar and, ironically, left F1 as he had entered in 1989: being carried out of the car. The 2000 season ended as it had started in Australia some eight months earlier: with Michael Schumacher on the top step of the podium. After five years of trying, the German achieved Ferrari's ambition for the last 21 years, and he did it in style.
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| Pablo Elizalde | © 2000 Kaizar.Com, Incorporated. |
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