European Grand Prix Preview

ATLAS TEAM F1

European Grand Prix Preview
by Max Galvin
England

Nurburgring South GP Circuit Track Map

 

This weekend marks the end of the first set of fly-away Grands Prix and the start of the European season. The first three GP's of the year may not prove to be an accurate yard stick for the rest of the season as a rule, but for once I think the pattern is set.

Team and driver prospects

Rothmans Williams-Renault

  • The chassis is currently the best in F1 and the engine is performing as expected. The team had a successful test at Jerez and are still at the top (at least in testing) so unless they make a big mistake, they have to be favourites for another win.

  • Damon Hill is leading the World Championship, having won all three rounds so far. Damon feels that the odds are stacking against him and that he can't win for ever. Last year he ran quite well at the Nurburgring, but didn't exactly set the track alight with the fastest laps either. Things have never looked so good for Damon but will the pressure get to him again? Win!

  • Jacques Villeneuve has the opportunity to shine at Williams with less pressure than his team-mate and seems almost certain to keep his seat for next season. Apart from a superb debut, the reigning PPG Indycar Champion has been disadvantaged by not knowing the last two circuits as well as his opponents. The Nurburgring is another track that Jacques is not familiar with and the best thing he can do is try to get a good grid slot, keep sight of the leaders and wait for mechanical gremlins to diminish the field. Podium position possible.

    Mild Seven Benetton-Renault

  • Benetton have not started their season in the best way, and the loss of Schumacher has obviously effected them to some extent. That said, the chassis isn't bad and the team of Alesi and Berger is a good one. If Williams fail, the spoils are theirs for the taking. After a virtual whitewashing in the first three races they will be keen to start winning again and will be putting all their considerable resources into making the B196 into a winning car.

  • Jean Alesi is off to his best start in years, yet with the Williams in front, he seems to have a small chance at best for taking the Championship. Always fast and brilliant in the wet, Jean seems to have managed to curb his reckless side (after a talking to by Flavio Briatore, the team boss), and should be good for a podium position.

  • Gerhard Berger is carrying on in typical Berger fashion. Although never regarded to be as fast as his team-mates he can never be counted out completely and will drag the car round. Definitely a team player who will settle for points if he can't make the podium (and may have to).

    Ferrari

  • The F310 is proving to be a bit of a dog (mind you you can get Schumacher to say something nice about dogs) and is in drastic need of work to get it up to pace. The drivers dislike the car intensely and it is clearly not a match for it's two main rivals. The engine is underdeveloped and looks like it might be good eventually, but is still a long way from the Renault. A redesign is rumoured and with mutterings about John Barnard being blamed for the fiasco, will things improve?

  • Micheal Schumacher is, without a doubt, the best driver in F1 today, yet it takes all of his skill to take the Ferrari to the front of the grid. Points are a certainty if he keeps running, but can he?

  • Eddie Irvine is apparently mystified about Schumachers pace and doesn't seem to be able to match him. The Irishman landed on his feet with the Ferrari deal and has taken points in 2 races so far. If the car gets better Irvine will, but until then he's going to be struggling.

    Marlboro McLaren-Mercedes

  • Oh dear... for the third successive season, McLaren seem doomed to an empty year. In testing the car flew and Alain Prost believed it to be capable of great things, yet at the track it has failed to stand out. Ferrari are rumoured to be getting increased Marlboro sponsorship at the cost of McLaren so they really have to get it together this year. The Mercedes is good but not quite up to the standard of the other top engines, especially in the reliability stakes. Hopefully we won't see any McLaren being overtaken by a Forti as the MP4/10 was overtaken by a Pacific last year. Wait for the MP4/11B at Monaco to see any real improvement.

  • Mika Hakkinen has apparently completely recovered from his accident at Adelaide and is beating yet another team-mate into submission. The Finn is one of the fastest drivers in F1 and if his car holds together, he can't be discounted completely. The problem is that, with so many good cars in front of him, can he take any points?

  • David Coulthard is having a dissapointing year in his first of two at McLaren. Last year he looked the match for Damon Hill, yet has been slower than Mika for every race and test so far. Another driver who can't be overlooked for a points finish, he is suffering from the same lack of front-end grip as his team mate and will not make the points unless the other drivers drop out.

    Benson and Hedges Jordan-Peugeot

  • This season see's Jordan set to move into the Big 4 dispite only having 3 points so far. The engine is the best Peugeot have produced and the chassis is the best we've seen from Jordan. With big bucks sponsorship and a proper test program, podiums are likely.

  • Rubens Barrichello seems to be relishing his new situation at Jordan. An experienced team-mate and a more relaxed relationship between the drivers has pushed Rubens back to the front. 1995 was a dissapointing season by his standards but 1996 is looking to be amazing. A top 3 position was on the cards in Brazil and he looked set for a good position in Argentina until his retirement. Expect to see him up front pushing for a podium.

  • Martin Brundle is another driver having a bad start to the season. Despite this, Brundle is trying hard to get the car set up as he likes it. Testing at Silverstone and Pembrey should help him move the setup to something suiting him more. Martin is often overlooked as he is thought of as very much a number two, yet he is capable of great races (Magny-Cours in the Ligier and qualifying in Brazil). If he stays in, he should get some points.

    Red Bull Sauber-Ford

  • A bad start to the season with the new Ford v10 producing less power and being less reliable than last years. The chassis may be better than last years but without the engine to back it up they are flogging a dead horse. They are one of the more successful new teams and deserve their place, but if the engine goes, where will they be? No points so far but a good chance of points if Frentzen can keep it going.

  • Heinz-Harald Frentzen is the new Schumacher (not that the old one is old), or so I'm told. Fast and consistent definitely, but how much of this is because the team is built around him? Qualifies well but his races are let down by his car. Possible points but I doubt it.

  • Johnny Herbert is not a happy man. In two years he's gone from much admired underdog (at Lotus) to crushed team-mate for talented Germans. Definitely fast, but with as little test time as he seems to be getting, he has no hope of doing as well as his team mate. This could be the last year in F1 for The Imp so he'd better enjoy it while it lasts.

    Arrows-Hart

  • Arrows are in the news a lot recently with TWR's purchase of the Milton Keynes based team. Arrows have always designed good cars but the performance of this year's car is largely down to a good engine and Jos Verstappen's driving. Expect a drop in performance at the power circuits, but they should run well on the bends on the Nurburgring. (The new colour scheme is red and blue for what it's worth).

  • Jos Verstapppen is flavour of the moment. An impressive start to the season as well as a well deserved point in Argentina have marked him as a man to watch. The car may be good but with at least 10 cars ahead of him, can he score any points?

  • Ricardo Rosset hasn't done badly so far but has been eclipsed by his team-mate and can expect to be for some time. Still a relatively inexperienced driver (one year in F3000), he is improving all the time but no points will be his unless we see a repeat of Adelaide 1995.

    Tyrrell-Yamaha

  • Tyrrell's winter testing flattered to deceive again this year. They may have three points but the power of the new Yamaha is not what they expected and the results are largely down to the skill of their star driver, Mika Salo. A once great team, they always promise a lot but rarely deliver. A good test at Silverstone saw them ahead of Jordan, but can they convert this in a race? A contender for the last point if they are lucky.

  • Mika Salo could be a World Champion if he gets the break, but a third year at Tyrrell is not going to do him any good if he stays for 1997. Fast and careful, he invariably outqualifies his team-mate and is quick in the races. The car isn't up there so he will be hoping for a high attrition rate.

  • Ukyo Katayama seems to have fallen apart since being paired with Mika Salo. I can remember him holding onto the back of the Williams at Monza in 1994, but since then he has lost his way a bit. Definitely fast (quicker than Mika at Silverstone testing), but having trouble in the cockpit of his car (either not seeing well or not sitting comfortably). No hope for points really.

    Ligier-Mugen Honda

  • Loss of TWR staff and reduced funds are not a good sign for the French team. The chassis is a neat one and at least on of the drivers is capable of running with the rest of the mid-field. The Mugen is a good engine with good reliability but there can be little hope of points unless we lose a lot of runners.

  • Olivier Panis was supposed to be the next Alain Prost but his days are numbered unless he leaves Ligier soon. Dominated by Martin Brundle last year, he can't take a great deal of satisfaction in beating Pedro Diniz and he has to pray for luck in the races.

  • Pedro Diniz has a rich father to thank for his position in F1. No real results in F3000 and a poor year at Forti compared to his team-mate provide him with little chance for anything this year. Idle boasts about podiums and beating Rubens Barrichello go to show how little this man knows about his skills and his car. He has no place in F1 with so much talent around.

    Minardi-Ford

  • The small Italian team are doing as well as can be expected this season. Noda is out of the frame and with Pedro Lamy looking to be partnered by either Giancarlo Fisichella or Tarso Marques for the season, they have some good drivers. The chassis is quite good but the underpowered Ford ED lets them down. No points!

  • Pedro Lamy is back from his 1994 crash and doing quite well. No opportunity to shine in the Minardi and generally faster team-mates, he should end his F1 career this year. No points, no way!

  • Giancarlo Fisichella drives for Alfa (in the ITC) and Minardi and is fast in both. Good debut for the team and relaible racing while it lasted. Good driver with no chance unless he moves teams.

    Forti-Ford

  • The FG03 should be here for the European GP (at least for Badoer) and the Ford Zetec is good so we should expect to see the Forti's moving ahead of the Minardi's soon. They have less money that last year, but Badoer is fast and Montermini isn't too bad. Realisticly, Minardi is the best they can hope for as every other team has a good chassis/engine combination and are too far ahead. No points (but good luck boys).

  • Luca Badoer is the eternal pay driver. Stuck in small teams with low budgets he's got no chance of moving up. As fast as can be expected. No hope!

  • Andrea Montermini is looking a bit shaky here. A different chassis to his team-mate added to the fact that he was already slower should give him a worrying Saturday. Good luck but you've got no chance!
    Max Galvin
    Send comments to:mjg93@ecs.soton.ac.uk