On Sunday, Micheal Schumacher proved that he is the kind of driver that can and will revive Ferrari. Pulling away from the field at a rate of as much as 4 second per lap, Schumi proved that he can dominate races, even with the still twitchy Ferrari. Further aerodynamic improvements to the F310 will only make Schumacher more competitive as weeks pass, and it is now not inconcievable that Schumacher could repeat as world champion. I have my fingers crossed hoping that he at least will give Hill a good run for the money.

Rob Paterson
rpatersn@direct.ca
Canada

1996 is being the wet season. Half of the races (Brazil, Monaco and Spain) were on the rain.

In my comments about the Monaco GP, I told about Damon Hill as one of the best drivers in the rain. But sunday wasn't his day. That's ok, we can't forget what Schumacher did in Monaco. Rain is never an easy task. The most important is that we are having the best championship in many years. If one looks to the point standings can see that after 6 races Hill leads just 17 point ahead of Villeneuve and Schumacher.

Now comes Canada. I guess that Villeneuve will try to show something special at home even if he doesn't know the track.

Marko Petek
petek@voyager.com.br
Brazil

Always interesting reading and detailed reports. I appreciate your web site and timely information.

In 1996, it is difficult to know who to cheer for. I have followed the Benetton team since 1986, (I have sat in the '86 Benetton car when it was displayed in the United States in the early part of 1988) and when Spoonface Schumacher started winning race after race in 1994 and 1995, Benetton was the team. Now he is with Ferrari, and performed his magic style to make the Spainish race boring after 15 laps. But that is his talent.

Interesting article on pretty and ugly cars. My favorite is the 1986 Benetton (for obvious reasons stated above). The 1996 Benetton is getting ugly, as are most of the cars these days, with all the raised noses, and extra pading for the needed saftey features. But that is how it goes.

By the way, I think Andrea de Cesaris outqualified HH Frentzen at Italy in 1994, at Monza. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Frank Van Alstine
fvanalstine@carlson.com
USA

ATLAS: Thanks for the kind comments. And, you are correct... de Cesaris did out-qualify Frentzen at Monza in '94.

POS.  NO.  DRIVER                    NAT  CHASSIS    ENGINE        TIME
 8.   #29  Andrea de Cesaris         ITA  Sauber     Mercedes  1:25.540 
11.   #30  Heinz-Harald Frentzen(R)  GER  Sauber     Mercedes  1:25.628 

It must be expected that Villeneuve will perform well in Canada, as he has previous race experience at the track named after his father. In 1993, Jacques Villeneuve raced in a Toyota Atlantic F1 support race on the Saturday before the Grand Prix. Not only did he start from the front row, but he won the race as well.

Adam Paglione
apaglione@amideast.org
USA

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