| ATLAS F1 Volume 6, Issue 46 |  Email to Friend  Printable Version |
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The Alternative 2000 Season Review | ||
| by Marcel Schot, Netherlands | |||
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The 2000 season was dominated entirely by Ferrari and McLaren, so much so that no other team had pole position, or won a race, or even set the fastest lap this year. Following an idea that was started on the Atlas F1 Bulletin Board, Marcel Schot offers the Alternative 2000 Season Review: a race-by-race recap of the year without McLaren and Ferrari. This is how the grid would have looked like without the two giants, and these are the winners. Oddly enough, the name on the WC trophy will remain the same...
Winner: Ralf Schumacher
Qualifying was all about Jordan. Heinz Harald Frentzen grabbed pole with teammate Jarno Trulli completing the yellow front row. Jaguar's Eddie Irvine came close to the Jordans, but had to settle for third, with Jacques Villeneuve, Giancarlo Fisichella and Mika Salo behind. The Williamses were quite disappointing, with Ralf Schumacher in seventh and rookie Jenson Button second to last. Once the race got underway, the yellow hornets drove away, never to be seen again. However, their good work in the early phase of the race was virtually nullified when Pedro de la Rosa crashed out, after a suspension failure. The safety car had to come out and Jacques Villeneuve was right back on the tails of both Jordans. Just after the halfway point, things started to go wrong with Jordan. First victim was Trulli, whose engine stopped after 36 laps, handing Villeneuve second place. Right after Trulli's exit, Frentzen went in for his pitstop. Villeneuve led briefly before his own stop, after which Ralf Schumacher inherited the lead. With Ralf's pitstop due any lap now, it seemed logical that Frentzen would get the lead back. However, four laps later the race was over and done with for the German: hydraulic problems meant Frentzen was stuck in gear. The Williams pit crew executed Ralf's pitstop with military precision, keeping the young Schumacher ahead of Villeneuve. Bit by bit, Schumacher extended his lead, to finish 24 seconds ahead of Villeneuve.
Winner: Giancarlo Fisichella
Qualifying again showed promise for Jaguar and Eddie Irvine. This time it was the second place on the grid for the Irishman, behind Fisichella's Benetton. Frentzen, Zonta and the surprisingly fast Button followed closely, the top five qualifiers covered by just over one tenth of a second. At the start of the race, Irvine did a better job at taking off than Fisichella, and the Jaguar was in the lead. Trulli had a fantastic start, taking him right into third place and behind compatriot Fisichella. After seven laps, Trulli got past Fisichella into second place. Eight laps later, Trulli grabbed the lead, much to Irvine's dismay. The Ulsterman continued battling to regain the lead, which resulted in him spinning out of control and into the tyre barrier. When Trulli came in for his first stop, a surprised Jos Verstappen took the lead, but only until he went in to make his own pitstop, giving way for Giancarlo Fisichella to finally retake the lead of the race. Much to the surprise of everyone, the Benetton just drove on and on and on, to a point where many people must have been thinking of Jean Alesi-Melbourne-fuel (or rather the lack thereof). Finally, after 51 laps, Fisichella paid a visit to his pit-crew for fresh rubber and a splash of fuel. By then, however, his lead was big enough for a safe stop, and the Italian kept his lead to win the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Winner: Jacques Villeneuve
Ralf Schumacher topped the strong yellow and green qualifying packages by narrowly beating Frentzen and Irvine in another nail biting qualifying session. Five hundredth of a second separated the three at the front, with Trulli completing the second row. Fisichella was the disappointment of the day - qualifying only 15th. Sadly for Schumacher Jr, he lost whatever value his pole could hold right after the start. The young German had a terrible start and dropped back to fifth place after the first lap. Trulli once again had a super-start and grabbed second place behind Villeneuve, who traded places with Schumacher after a blinding and rather conspicuous start. Frentzen was third, but only for a short while. After just a few laps, his gearbox once again refused further service and knowing that driving 58 laps in neutral isn't exactly an option, Frentzen parked his machine for the day. At the first round of pitstops, Trulli was the big victim, dropping from second to fourth behind Schumacher and Salo. The second batch of stops had Schumacher as the main victim, as he didn't actually make it to the pits due to a lack of fuel pressure. Trulli climbed back into third, only to end his race four laps short of the suggested 62 laps. Irvine thankfully accepted the gift and gave Jaguar their first podium finish.
Winner: Ralf Schumacher
Qualifying was once again dominated by Frentzen. The Jordan driver displayed great skill, posting a time over a second faster than a surprising front row starter Jenson Button. Schumacher and Jos Verstappen followed within just one tenth of Button. Irvine was a somewhat disappointing fifth. The start of the race went smoothly - Frentzen took the lead, Button and Schumacher followed and Villeneuve had another rocket start. When Frentzen stopped for fuel and tyres - the first to come in - Button grabbed the lead in only his fourth Formula One race. But the pitstops didn't change much in the order; Frentzen was back in the lead after the first set and again after the second set of pitstops. However, ten laps from the end, Frentzen was again the victim of his fragile gearbox and retired from a certain victorious race. Two laps later, Villeneuve joined Frentzen with the same problem, leaving Trulli to complete the podium, far behind the two Williamses.
Winner: Ralf Schumacher
Qualifying showed a very different line-up behind Schumacher. Jacques Villeneuve proved to be fast once again, grabbing second place three tenths behind Schumacher, while third was Trulli. Frentzen joined his teammate on the second row, closely followed by local favourite Pedro de la Rosa. Eddie Irvine qualified sixth, just fifteen thousandths of a second ahead of Jenson Button. However, just before the start of the race, Pedro de la Rosa was found to have used incorrect fuel and was subsequently sent to the back row of the grid. The start of the race was a familiar image: another BAR had a rocket start, although this time it was Zonta, jumping from twelfth to seventh. Eddie Irvine went the opposite direction, dropping from his fifth qualifying spot to tenth after just two laps. Ralf Schumacher had a much better start and sprinted off into the distance. On lap two, Pedro de la Rosa's miserable weekend became even worse, when he collided with Prost's Jean Alesi. Both drivers were unable to continue and certainly weren't happy; the Spaniard accused the Frenchman of ignoring the rear view mirror, while the Frenchman accused the Spaniard of overtaking where no man had tried before. After that mini drama, however, the race turned into one of the most boring races of the season. The only event worth mentioning was when Villeneuve's gearbox went up in flames after 22 laps, giving Schumacher an even bigger lead than he had before.
Winner: Giancarlo Fisichella
Once again qualifying ended with Schumacher and a yellow car on the front row, Trulli this time around. In fact, Frentzen was nowhere to be found, qualifying only sixth. The other drivers at the front were the usual suspects: Fisichella, Irvine and Villeneuve. Nick Heidfeld had a very good qualifying, but saw his ninth place disqualified after his car turned out to be two kg too light. The start of the race delivered nothing unusual for the Nurburgring: eighteen cars headed for the first corner and eighteen cars wanted to be in the exact same spot. Not surprisingly, then, some cars were unable to get past and the prime victims were the ever unlucky Jordans. Trulli didn't even enter the first corner after a collision with Fisichella, while Frentzen got into the corner only to take onto the grass in an attempt to avoid Pedro de la Rosa. Pedro Diniz quickly followed the Jordans, while Jean Alesi could only barely keep his Prost on the grey stuff. Big winners in the first lap lottery: Jos Verstappen (from ninth to fifth) and Jacques Villeneuve, who had the rocket BAR for this occasion, driving through the mayhem from fifth to first. Ten laps later it started to rain, causing every driver to come in for wet weather tyres. The big winners of the start lottery were now the victims: Verstappen spun before he could come into the pits, while Villeneuve never got his BAR to move well in the wet. The Canadian only moved up three places to fourth when Irvine and Verstappen collided after 30 laps, taking along Ralf Schumacher in the misery. And, much to the surprise of everyone, Irvine attempted to drive on in the wet without his rear wing. This resulted in a much bigger crash for the ex-Ferrari driver. The big benefactor of the wet conditions was Giancarlo Fisichella: during the pitstops he briefly had to settle for second behind the surprise of the day Pedro de la Rosa, but in the end the Arrows driver wasn't able to keep up with the Benetton.
Winner: Giancarlo Fisichella
Qualifying saw a complete buzzin' first row. Trulli outqualified his teammate Frentzen and the rest of the field to claim pole. Total surprise was the third man on the grid: Jean Alesi put the Prost where not even Alain Prost expected it could be put. Both BARs performed pretty much like the Prost during the rest of the season: Villeneuve in 13th and Zonta in 16th. Just like the previous race, the start at Monaco was the usual chaos. Chapter one started on the warm up lap: Pedro Diniz appeared unable to find first gear, stalling on the grid while the others heated their tyres and engines. Luckily for the Brazilian, the start got delayed because the engine of Alexander Wurz cut out during the warm up lap. Once things got underway, they didn't. Confused? So was everybody else, including the FIA's computer system. The system produced a rare error, and another restart was necessary. However, that couldn't happen before the mess in Loews was cleared, after Button hit de la Rosa, causing the Arrows to spin sideways and blocking the passage for the oncoming traffic. Wurz, Button, Gene and Heidfeld took the next restart from the pitlane, while de la Rosa didn't start at all. This time the field got away safe almost in qualifying order. While many a driver parked their car in Ste Devote, Jarno Trulli didn't have any problems with the sharp right-hander. His gearbox was a whole different story, though: after 36 laps the Italian had to give up, handing the lead to his teammate Frentzen. A lap later, Ralf Schumacher joined the Ste Devote misery, even cutting his leg as he crashed. After this, Frentzen was on his way to victory in a royal seat. However, with only eight laps to go, Frentzen pushed a little too hard going into Ste Devote, losing the car under braking. Fisichella accepted the gifted lead gracefully and headed his Benetton home safe for yet another win and to the lead of the WC.
Winner: Giancarlo Fisichella
Qualifying was a close battle once again, with Frentzen beating Villeneuve and Trulli to the pole by less than one tenth of a second. Zonta rounded up the top two rows, to make it an all-BAR/Jordan deal. Once again Jacques Villeneuve rocketed away at the start of the race, this time into the lead, leaving both Jordans a distance behind. Everything was going right for the Canadian on home soil, until the weather intervened and rain began to fall. A communication problem with the team caused Villeneuve to be sent out on dry weather tyres after his regular stop, when he in fact requested wets. Villeneuve had to come in again a lap later, subsequently losing any chance of winning the race after that. Teammate Zonta, second behind Villeneuve when the rain started, went through similar problems. The final balance for BAR looked horrible: four pitstops in three laps, moving their cars from first and second to eighth and ninth. A smiling third was Fisichella. The Benetton driver had his regular stop just late enough to have his team fit wets without having to stop twice. And after all the pitstops were over and done with, the Italian was in the lead, ahead of Trulli, Wurz and Verstappen. The Dutchman then became the hero of the second half of the race: after 52 laps he went off together with Wurz, letting Schumacher pass the both of them. After that the Arrows driver was unleashed. He passed Schumacher back on the same lap and passed Trulli just a few laps later. Fisichella, however, was much too far ahead and easily took home the win.
Winner: Jacques Villeneuve
Qualifying saw the return to form of Ralf Schumacher. The Williams driver claimed his fourth pole position in nine races in one of the closest battles of the season. Jarno Trulli, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Eddie Irvine all qualified within two tenths off pole, leaving Fisichella a long way behind in tenth place. When the race started... Well, we don't need to say it anymore, right? Villeneuve blew everyone away again, Irvine messed up his start; nothing unusual, really. Schumacher didn't make much profit of his pole position, however, and got away in third behind Villeneuve and Frentzen. After twelve laps, Alesi and Heidfeld had a moment that was very typical of Prost anno 2000: after an overtaking manoeuvre on Fisichella, Heidfeld wasn't able to brake hard enough, pushing his teammate round. The Frenchman lost four places and was left disappointed, to say the least. The first set of pitstops saw two winners and one loser. Jarno Trulli climbed from fourth to second during the affair, while Fisichella's gamble for an early first stop gave him an advantage of five places into sixth. Big loser was Eddie Irvine, whose pitstop from hell sent him from sixth to sixteenth. The second round of pitstops gave Schumacher the chance to pass Frentzen. The overtaking of the first yellow hurdle in the pits then gave the Williams driver the opportunity to go after the second one, which he promptly jumped a few laps later. Villeneuve, however, proved to be one hurdle too far for Schumacher.
Winner: Jacques Villeneuve
Qualifying was close as usual. However, the end result was of Hitchcockian proportions: Trulli took pole, 0.007s ahead of Ricardo Zonta. The Brazilian BAR driver in turn beat his teammate Villeneuve by 0.002s, with Fisichella's Benetton 0.009 behind the second BAR. This meant that the top four places on the grid were covered by just 18 thousandths of a second - one of the closest ever. The race start was a big chaos, for the third time this season. Pedro Diniz braked too late into the always-tight first corner, launching Fisichella into a spin. Zonta crashed out as well, and Jarno Trulli behind him spun off and out of the race as well. Few drivers were able to drive around the mess, Mika Salo leading behind the safety car, followed by the two Arrows of de la Rosa and Verstappen. In fourth and fifth were Johnny Herbert and Jenson Button, both of which were lucky enough to not get caught up in the pushing and the shoving of the first corner. Once the race got underway, Verstappen spun off, while his teammate de la Rosa took the lead from Salo, only to retire just before the halfway point. While Salo took back the lead, Villeneuve was working on a magnificent comeback. The BAR driver had been caught behind the first corner debris, turning third to 12th. Great driving and a good pitstop strategy made the impossible possible; after a late single pitstop, Villeneuve was in the lead and he stayed ahead to grab a well earned victory, moving him to second equal in the World Championship standings.
Winner: Jenson Button
When it started to rain early in qualifying, Fisichella appeared to be the major victim of the circumstances. The Benetton driver spun on his first lap and there was no time for him to set a decent lap before the rain started to fall. In the end, the Italian was lucky after all, going out again between two showers. Fisichella grabbed pole, seven tenths ahead of Pedro de la Rosa. Schumacher (11th) and Frentzen (14th) were the drivers in the unusual positions. That was, however, the end of also Fisichella's luck. At the start of the race, the Benetton driver crashed out and was forced to watch the rest of the race from the sidelines. As the race got underway, Heinz-Harald Frentzen cut through the field and by lap ten, the Jordan driver was up to fourth place, behind Trulli, de la Rosa and Johnny Herbert. After 27 laps, just after the mid race pitstops, a man appeared on the circuit. After the race it became clear that this was an ex-Mercedes employee who had chosen this event to try and bring attention to the injustice his former employer had done to him. Quickly a safety car was deployed and all differences were made null and void. Just after the safety car went back into the pits, Pedro Diniz drove Jean Alesi off the track. Debris were all over the place and the safety car was brought back out again for a single lap, after which the race finally was restarted. But as if there wasn't enough chaos already, it started to rain in the final phase of the race. While Trulli and de la Rosa went into the pits for wets, Frentzen stayed on the track, grabbing the lead ahead of Ricardo Zonta. With eight laps to go, the Brazilian crashed out of the race and three laps later, Frentzen was denied reward for his great race with a mechanical failure. This left Mika Salo in the lead, ahead of Jenson Button in the Williams. Three laps from the end, Button took his chances, and in a bold move overtook Salo to claim his maiden victory, which also meant that Williams moved back to the top of the Constructors' Championship table.
Winner: Ralf Schumacher
Qualifying featured Schumacher in good form, just over two tenths ahead of Frentzen. Fisichella was third, while the third championship contender Villeneuve ended up in a very bad 12th position. As for the race? There were just two notable events: Villeneuve collided with de la Rosa on lap one, throwing the Canadian back to a distant 18th position; and Fisichella went through a race from hell, ending with a braking problem after 32 laps which saw the Italian retire from the race, and concede his lead of the World Championship. He never regained that spot in 2000.
Winner: Ralf Schumacher
In qualifying, Jarno Trulli could barely keep Jenson Button away from the pole position, something he probably regretted on Sunday. Villeneuve and Frentzen filled the second row, with Herbert and Fisichella behind them. The race started on a drying track behind the safety car. After the drivers were let loose, Button collided with leader Trulli in an attempt to overtake him. While Button was able to continue, Trulli's race ended there and then. After that, the race went on pretty much uneventfully, with Ralf Schumacher never really losing his lead, as he cruised home to yet another victory.
Winner: Ralf Schumacher
In qualifying, Jacques Villeneuve showed the BAR has more than enough potential on the top speed side, outqualifying both Jordans and Ralf Schumacher for the pole. Fisichella showed a slight return to form by qualifying in fifth, just three thousandths behind Frentzen. However, on the first lap of the race everything went wrong. First, Irvine collided with both Saubers, ending the Ulsterman's race. Then, going into turn two, Heinz-Harald Frentzen lost control under braking, ramming his teammate Trulli. Behind them de la Rosa got launched over Johnny Herbert's Jaguar. The Arrows somersaulted several times, landing upside down in the gravel trap. All drivers remained unhurt, but marshall Paolo Gislimberti was killed by a flying wheel. While the marshall was receiving CPR beside the track, the race continued behind the safety car. And just when the safety car was getting ready to leave the track, Jenson Button skidded off when he nearly ran into Fisichella. Once the race got underway again, Villeneuve's race quickly ended with electric problems. Subsequently, new leader Schumacher was passed by Verstappen and Zonta, who then commenced battling for the lead. For a long time it looked like Verstappen could claim his maiden victory, but Schumacher's strategy of one late pitstop worked out well and the German was able to win his third straight race.
Winner: Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Qualifying was again close, with one tenth covering the top three. Trulli led, Button followed and Frentzen was a close third. Pedro Diniz surprised in fifth, ahead of Schumacher. Villeneuve had the best start of all, mostly thanks to another collision between Trulli and Button. Frentzen and Schumacher followed on the drying track. Soon after, most drivers switched to dry weather tyres, except for Frentzen and Mazzacane. The Argentinean even drove in second for two laps. However, whereas Mazzacane resumed his usual position at the back of the field, Frentzen was able to stick in second behind Schumacher. The order remained the same until the pitstops, when Schumacher's Williams ran into a technical problem, and as it wasn't resolved in three pitstops, Frentzen and Villeneuve were left to battle for the win. The Jordan team then executed the final pitstop with military precision, making it possible for their driver to stay ahead of the former Indianapolis 500 winner.
Winner: Jenson Button
Qualifying saw Williams confirming their dominance, Button taking pole ahead of Schumacher. Irvine, Frentzen and Villeneuve followed, with Trulli quite a distance behind in 11th. With nothing much at stake, it was just another Williams affair in front. Schumacher took the lead from the start, Button overtook him after the pitstops and was a certain winner after Schumacher spun off at three-quarters distance. In the end, the young Briton was a full lap ahead of second-place Villeneuve.
Winner: Jacques Villeneuve
Qualifying saw a very surprising Alexander Wurz grab pole position, just nine thousandths of a second ahead of Villeneuve. The race itself ran as expected, with nothing at stake anymore. Everybody tried to finish the race, making it another tactical battle, but not after a first lap collision between Heidfeld, Alesi, Diniz and de la Rosa. Of the four, only Alesi was able to continue, albeit a long way behind. In fact, only Jarno Trulli was left behind Alesi after a first lap pitstop. After four laps the Jordan season received its final blow, when Heinz-Harald Frentzen's car developed a terminal technical problem, this time the hydraulic system. After that it was just a matter of executing pitstops, which in this case was done best by Villeneuve's BAR team. And so the 2000 season came to an end, with all drivers and all teams scoring WC points; with three drivers strongly in contention for the WC at one point or another of the season, but with a WC wrapped up two rounds before the end of the season. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... what a shame it never really happened!
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| Marcel Schot | © 2000 Kaizar.Com, Incorporated. |
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