Atlas F1 News Editor
The Austrian Grand Prix was a race that will be remembered for a very long time, unfortunately not for the right reasons. But apart from one of the most controversial events in Formula One history, a race took place at the A1-Ring circuit. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews the entire weekend's events and results
"What we saw here was a disgusting, cynical act," said Williams technical director Patrick Head, echoing the thoughts of most of the paddock. "I think for a team like Ferrari, when you have produced a car as brilliant as they have done, you have an obligation to Formula One and to the spectators and that is to provide a motor race."
When last year Ferrari imposed team orders in this same race, asking Rubens Barrichello to let Schumacher through to take second place behind David Coulthard, the German was only four points ahead of the Scot in the Championship, so the decision, yet reproachable, was understandable, even if Schumacher won by more than 50 points at the end of the season.
This year, however, the Ferrari star arrived with a 21-point advantage over his closest rival, who, to make matter worse, was not even going to finish ahead of him in Sunday's race. Having signed a new two-year deal only a couple of days earlier, Barrichello must have left Austria wondering what gap will Schumacher have to have before Ferrari allow him to win races.
Just two days after the team bosses held a meeting to discuss the current problems of Formula One, in an aim to guarantee the future of the sport with cost-cutting measures, their most important and representative member did more harm to the image of the sport than probably any other unfortunate event had been done in the recent past. How will Ferrari, and most importantly Formula One, cope with this only time will tell, but Sunday's race will for sure stay on everybody's mind for a long time.
"It is a terrible decision," Gerhard Berger said after the race. "I understand if you are fighting for the Championship ... but in an early stage of the season such a decision is not very good for the sport. I have a lot of sympathy for Rubens today."
Barrichello deserved to win Sunday's race more than any other Formula One race he has taken part in since he joined Ferrari in 2000. After scoring his second pole position, the Austrian Grand Prix was meant to be his party, especially after running in the lead during every lap of the race.
"It is a team sport," said Jean Todt when trying to defend his team. "We remember what happened in 2000 when Michael was in a similarly strong position and then failed to finish four out of five mid-summer races. I know we are unpopular and people will not understand what we have done, but we stand by our decision."
It was, no doubt, a tough call: defending the interests of the team who pay him, or defending the interests of the sport that made him what he is today. Judging by Schumacher's face after the race, he wasn't too pleased with his decision.
Even if all that will be making the headlines for the next couple of days is the final 20 meters of the Austrian Grand Prix and all its consequences, a 71-lap race took place on Sunday too, and it only proved once more that this year there's Ferrari and behind them there are also-rans.
Williams were closer than expected in qualifying, but the Grove-based team were nowhere in the race, and only the entry of the Safety Car prevented the final result from being something of an outrage. Since Ferrari introduced the F2002 in Brazil, the gap between them and the BMW-powered team seems to have increased in each race, just like the gap to Montoya, who - thanks to the Safety Car - had the edge over teammate Ralf.
Jordan's first two points of the season left British American Racing as the only team yet to finish in the top six this year, ironically after a race in which Jacques Villeneuve's efforts deserved a reward. The Canadian completed arguably his best race of the year, overtaking more people in one single race than in the first five Grands Prix of 2002.
Qualifying
Third time was a charm for Rubens Barrichello. Having lost out to teammate Michael Schumacher in both qualifying sessions for the San Marino and Spanish Grands Prix, the Brazilian finally managed to edge the four-time World Champion with a superb performance in a circuit where he had always performed well in the past.
"At Imola, I didn't think Michael could have done it and he did," said Barrichello. "At Barcelona we were both getting better and he still did it. So I said 'not today. I am going to try really hard because he is going to come up with something.' Luckily for me, it went my way today."
Unexpectedly, following another dominant performance from Ferrari in both practice session, the small Brazilian driver was not joined by the elder Schumacher on the front row, but rather by his younger brother Ralf, who with his Michelin-shod Williams benefitted from the high temperatures (30 degrees Celsius) to outqualify both Michael and his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.
After Williams were unable to match Ferrari's pace in qualifying for the last two Grands Prix, Ralf was surprised at splitting the two red cars, but the rising temperatures had helped his Michelin tyres and the German could extract the best from his BMW-powered FW24.
"We are definitely surprised at being in between them," said Ralf, who qualified on the front row for the first time this year. "The gap seemed to be a lot bigger than it appears to be. I certainly don't know what Michael's reason was, but that gave me a chance to come in between the two of them."
"Twice I was held up by other cars, but I can't explain specifically where I was losing time," commented Schumacher, who suffered a spin on the dying moments of the session. "It is probably a bit unusual. We will find the reason I guess. It was just not performing, just not fast enough. There wasn't anything specifically wrong, it just wasn't there."
In what is becoming nearly something of a tradition this season, Montoya was able to complete another 'miracle' final effort to place himself in fourth place, following a very troubled session. The Colombian was the first top runner to hit the track some 15 minutes into the session, only to be forced to return to his garage without completing the lap, his Williams suffering a misfire.
Montoya, who last year qualified in Austria on the front row for the first in his Formula One career, had to wait a long time before his mechanics managed to change the settings of the spare car, which was set up for Ralf. The Colombian did not return to the track after the three quarters of the session were gone following the red flag caused by Jarno Trulli's Renault engine, which let go on the penultimate turn of the track.
The Sauber team benefitted from the introduction of the latest evolution of the Petronas engine to complete a brilliant performance in qualifying, with Nick Heidfeld posting an impressive fifth fastest time, only two places ahead of teammate Felipe Massa, who continued to impress in his rookie season, the young Brazilian taking advantage of his past knowledge of the track. The 21-year old, however, wanted more.
"I'm really disappointed that I couldn't hold on to fifth place after my third run, but on my last one I made another small mistake, otherwise I would have been even quicker, for sure," said Massa. "Seventh place is my best qualifying position so far, though."
For the McLaren drivers, the session was trouble-free, and both Kimi Raikkonen and David Coulthard admitted that their Mercedes-powered car was not capable of more. The Finn was again the fastest of the two - for the third race in a row - and his speed and commitment despite a dismal season so far continued to be among the few good news that McLaren have received lately.
Olivier Panis gave the British American Racing a boost of confidence by claiming a promising ninth place - although the other three Honda-powered drivers were well down on the grid - with Finn Mika Salo in the Toyota rounding up the top ten. The Renault drivers, handicapped by the lack of power of their engine in a track where the cars run at full throttle during nearly 70 percent of the lap, failed to shine this time, with Jenson Button finishing in a disappointing 13th place, three spots ahead of Jarno Trulli.
The Race
Despite warnings from Juan Pablo Montoya about the likelihood of an eventful first corner - something common in the past years at the tight initial turn of the A1-Ring, the start was fairly clean, as drivers were able to use the additional 'rumble strip' added at the end of the straight.
Both Sauber drivers Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa made great starts too, and while the German was able to hold on to third place initially, the Brazilian ran wide at the end of the straight and lost several positions. Heidfeld, however, would be soon relegated to fifth after the two Williamses overtook him when he ran too wide at the first corner on the second lap.
Jacques Villeneuve, starting from 17th place on the grid after a dismal qualifying, also completed a good getaway, but the Canadian was too enthusiastic when braking for turn two, and his BAR touched the Arrows of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, something for which he would be penalised later on in the race. Despite the incident, Villeneuve began his charge towards the front, overtaking teammate Olivier Panis for 14th position on lap three.
For the Finn, however, the race would not last much longer, and on lap six his McLaren stopped, a huge cloud of smoke coming out of his Mercedes-Benz engine. It is certainly hard to remember the last time a driver from the Woking squad retired five consecutive times with mechanical problems. "I don't know what caused it, but the engine just lost all the revs," said Raikkonen after the race. "Obviously it's frustrating that I was unable to finish the race but I know the team has been and will continue to be working very hard."
With the Ferraris running alone in front, the real action was taking place further back courtesy of Villeneuve, still charging hard with a very light Honda-powered BAR. The 1997 World Champion moved up to tenth pace after overtaking McNish, then he gained another position by passing Giancarlo Fisichella on lap ten and Jenson Button quickly after that. A few laps later he moved up to seventh place by overtaking Mika Salo in the Toyota.
Villeneuve's charge to the front was hampered on lap 23, when he was forced to come into the pits to serve a drive-through penalty imposed for clashing with Frentzen on the first lap of the race. But the misfortunes of teammate Panis would mean good luck for him, as when the Frenchman's car spun on the straight as his engine blew the Safety Car was deployed, allowing Villeneuve to regain the time lost with his penalty.
As the Safety Car emerged on track, Ferrari immediately decided to call both their drivers in for the first stop. Barrichello and Schumacher came in at the same time, with the Brazilian returning to the track still on the lead while Schumacher lost a position to his brother Ralf. The McLaren crew was also ready to refuel Coulthard, but they changed their minds and the Scot didn't pit.
The race continued after three laps behind the Safety Car, but it wouldn't be longer before the race director was forced to deploy it again. Coming into Remus corner, Heidfeld, still running in fifth place, lost control of his Sauber, spinning across the grass at very high speed. Takuma Sato, who was at that very moment turning in, was hit by Heidfeld's car, destroying his Jordan and missing Montoya's car by inches.
Sato, fortunately, was fine despite the medical crew spending some ten minutes to extract the Japanese driver from the cockpit of the wrecked car. "I was just starting to get on the throttle when I had the big smash," said Sato after being released from hospital on Monday.
"I heard a big bang and shut my eyes for a split second. I had no idea what it was at all, I did not see Heidfeld coming at all. When I opened my eyes I could see that my legs were squashed by the damaged monocoque and I could see the ground through the hole. The car did an absolutely fantastic job of saving me, there is nothing left of it but I am fine."
While Sato was assisted by the rescue crew, Coulthard, Villeneuve and both Renault drivers took the opportunity to make their first pitstop while the Safety Car was on track. Most of the drivers would follow suit later on, taking advantage of the ten laps the SC stayed on the circuit while Sato was being rushed to the medical center. The race finally continued on lap 37.
Barrichello quickly edged away from Ralf, who was still unable to match the pace of the Brazilian. The young German finally made his only scheduled stop with 25 laps to go, rejoining the race right in front of Fisichella in fifth place.
Colombian Montoya pitted four laps later, staying stationary for 7.2 seconds - 1.6 seconds less than his teammate. When he returned to the track, Montoya was right in front of Ralf. Villeneuve, still to make his second stop, moved up to third spot, but the Canadian came into the pits on lap 53, rejoining in ninth place behind a group of cars led by Fisichella, who was followed by Coulthard and Button.
With 15 laps remaining, Barrichello's gap to Schumacher was around 3.5 seconds, but the Brazilian would come into the pits five laps later, relinquishing the lead for the first time in the race. Barrichello stood still for 6.2 seconds, two tenths less than his teammate, who pitter only a lap later and continued running in second.
Judging by Barrichello's lap times, The Order was given around lap 67, but by then probably nobody was expecting it to happen. However, when the television images began to show Jean Todt and Ross Brawn discussing something, the fear of a repeat of last year's events immediately arose. And the fears were confirmed.
Getting on the podium to the chants of the crowd loudly boo'ing - something more common for a football stadium than a Formula One circuit - Michael Schumacher pushed Barrichello to the top step of the podium, as the German anthem was playing for the 'winner'. "I was hoping you would say no," Barrichello was heard telling Schumacher shortly before...
"It was a team decision, I've just signed a two-year contract with them and I think I should have respect," said Barrichello in the press conference. "There's no point in arguing, my determination will take me to a lot more wins. Michael gave me the trophy (which) I take home today so I'm happy for that."
Schumacher, like Barrichello, didn't look too happy, and his expression suggested that he would have rather been somewhere else at that moment. The tension during the post-race press conference could be cut with a knife, as the German remained silent in response to some of the most aggressive questions asked during a Formula One event.
"I'm not very pleased about it, I don't think any of us are really... I'm thankful for the points but obviously I don't take a lot of joy from the victory," said an embarrassed Schumacher, sitting on the chair for the second-placed driver.
At the end of the day, Ross Brawn and Jean Todt justified their decision claiming that every point is vital to win the Championship. Many could suggest that if Ferrari continue to turn the sport into what many claimed was a farce, there could be no Championship to be won.
Whatever happens in Monaco in two weeks time or on June 26th - when the FIA's World Council meets Ferrari - it's clear that Formula One and its fans are certainly hoping for brighter days.
Lap 1: At the start of the race the two Ferraris go away with Rubens Barrichello leading Michael Schumacher. A fast-starting Nick Heidfeld is third ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya. Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa go into the corner side by side and Massa goes off onto the grass. At the second corner Jacques Villeneuve gets out of shape and slides across the road, bumping Heinz-Harald Frentzen off onto the road. At the back of the field Pedro de la Rosa suffers mechanical trouble and runs slowly around the circuit. At the end of the first lap Enrique Bernoldi pits for repairs to his Arrows.
Lap 3: As the two Ferraris pull away at the front of the field, in the midfield Jacques Villeneuve passes Olivier Panis for 14th place. Frentzen begins to recover, overtaking Mark Webber's Minardi.
Lap 4: Barrichello has the lead of one second over Michael Schumacher. The two Ferraris are six seconds clear of Ralf Schumacher with Montoya fourth. There is then a big gap back to Heidfeld with David Coulthard in sixth place. Down at the back Frentzen and Webber both pass Alex Yoong.
Lap 6: Seventh-placed Kimi Raikkonen goes out with a blown engine. Mika Salo moves to seventh.
Lap 7: Massa retires with a rear suspension problem.
Lap 8: Villeneuve overtakes Allan McNish to move to 10th place.
Lap 10: Villeneuve overtakes Giancarlo Fisichella to move to ninth position.
Lap 15: Frentzen spins and drops behind Webber and Yoong again.
Lap 17: Frentzen repasses Yoong fo 17th position.
Lap 19: Villeneuve passes Salo to take seventh position.
Lap 20: The two Ferraris are lapping within a second and a half of one another. There is then a half minute gap back to Ralf Schumacher and Montoya.
Lap 23: Villeneuve is given a drive through penalty for causing an avoidable collision on the first lap. At the same time Panis suffers a mechanical failure and spins on the main straight, fortunately avoiding hitting the wall. The BAR comes to rest in the middle of the track and it is decided to send out a Safety Car.
Lap 28: The Safety Car pulls off and the race is on again but on the run up to the second corner Heidfeld loses control of his Sauber and spins. As he arrives at the corner Sato and Montoya are going through the corner. The Sauber just misses the Williams but hits the Jordan hard and the two cars go off into the sandtrap. Heidfeld is quickly out of his car but Sato remains in the car although he is seen to be moving his hands. The Safety Car is sent out again as the medical teams go to work on Sato. At the end of the lap Coulthard and Fisichella both pit. It later emerges that Sato has not suffered any serious injuries despite the severity of the crash.
Lap 29: Jarno Trulli, Villeneuve, Eddie Irvine and Yoong all pit behind the Safety Car.
Lap 30: Webber and Jenson Button both pit.
Lap 32: As the field continues to lap behind the Safety Car, the pit stops continue with Salo and Irvine stopping.
Lap 37: The race restarts with Barrichello leading Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard, Fisichella, Villeneuve, Trulli and Button. During the lap Webber passes Yoong for 13th place.
Lap 38: Villeneuve overtakes Fisichella to take sixth place. Irvine goes into the pits and retires.
Lap 39: Frentzen passes Yoong to take 13th.
Lap 40: Villeneuve passes Coulthard to move up to fifth.
Lap 45: Fisichella overtakes Coulthard to move to sixth. Yoong retires with a spectacular fire at the back of the car. Jarno Trulli also stops with a mechanical problem. Webber is given a drive-through penalty for failing to move over for the faster cars.
Lap 47: Ralf Schumacher finally pits and drops from second place to fifth. Montoya stays out.
Lap 53: Villeneuve stops and drops from third to ninth. The order is now set again with Barrichello leading M Schumacher. There is a half minute gap back to Montoya and R Schumacher with Fisichella, Coulthard, Button and Villeneuve battling for fifth and sixth.
Lap 61: Barrichello stops and Michael Schumacher goes into the lead. Rubens rejoins in second place.
Lap 62: Schumacher pits and Barrichello goes ahead again.
Lap 71: The Ferrari team applies team orders and Barrichello backs off at the last corner and Michael Schumacher wins the race. Montoya is third with Ralf Schumacher fourth, Fisichella fifth (scoring Honda's first points of the year) and Coulthard sixth. Villeneuve stops on the last lap and drops to tenth behind the two Toyotas.
Ferrari and Michael Schumacher are definitely not doing Formula One any favours this year. First, their domination have turned the season into a cakewalk, drubbing their rivals in all but one races so far in 2002. Most of this year's races have so far been not only boring, but also predictable. But Ferrari are doing their job better than the rest of the field, they have the best car, and the best driver, so there's nothing that can be argued against that.
The Austrian Grand Prix, of course, was a totally different story that will most likely go down into the history of the sport as one of the most embarrassing moments for members and fans of Formula One racing all over the globe.
Interestingly, during the launch of the F2002 back in February at Maranello, when asked if to get his contract renewed it was more important to win races or to be a good number two driver to Schumacher, Barrichello replied: "I don't know, I'll just keep my mind open. Of course, if I was told to do what I don't like all the time, I would start looking elsewhere." It remains to be seen if he's started looking now...
Whether the order came from Todt or from someone even higher up the Ferrari ranks, this episode - probably more than Australia 1994 and Jerez 1997 - will haunt Schumacher and his image for a very long time. It is hard to imagine the reason behind the German's decision not to back off even more and allow Barrichello to take the win - as hard as it is to imagine Ferrari taking some sort of reprisal against their most valuable asset had he not done what he was ordered to.
Further down the field, McLaren look like they are already working on the 2003 season, and if in Austria they didn't have Renault as their main opposition, David Coulthard was unable to beat Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan, who finally scored the Silverstone-based squad's first points of the season in a difficult race for them following Takuma Sato's huge accident. The Japanese driver and Sauber's Nick Heidfeld escaped nearly unscathed from the crash, proving that if there's something right in Formula One at the moment, that's driver safety.
Barrichello, who on Friday celebrated his new deal with Ferrari by setting the pace in practice, overcame the usual traffic problems of the slippery A1-Ring circuit to score his second pole position of the season and the fifth of his Formula One career. After being robbed of the top spot in the last two races, the Brazilian was determined to emerge as the top Ferrari man.
For the first time since last year's Italian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher failed to qualify on the front row, in the only circuit of the Formula One calendar where he had not won prior to Sunday's Grand Prix. Schumacher, who surprisingly was unable to explain his lack of speed during the hour-long session, even failed to improve on his best time set during the final practice session. Barrichello, meanwhile, improved more than a second over his previous best.
But luck was not on Montoya's side, and he suffered an electrical problem that forced him to take full advantage of his only proper run - with three minutes left - to jump up to fourth place. "After all the trouble I had today, this is a pretty good result," he said. "I could have been quicker on my second run, but I had to be careful not to make any mistakes. Finally I am really happy having achieved a place on the second row during my last run."
"In terms of pure performance there is no way we can win," said Coulthard after qualifying eighth, two places behind Raikkonen. "The nature of the car at the moment does not particularly suit the strengths of my driving. I can't carry the speed in the corners as it is very unstable at the rear."
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:08.082 228.748 km/h 10
2. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:08.364 + 0.282 12
3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:08.704 + 0.622 10
4. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:09.118 + 1.036 12
5. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:09.129 + 1.047 11
6. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:09.154 + 1.072 12
7. Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 1:09.228 + 1.146 10
8. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:09.335 + 1.253 12
9. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:09.561 + 1.479 12
10. Salo Toyota (M) 1:09.661 + 1.579 11
11. Frentzen Arrows Cosworth (B) 1:09.671 + 1.589 11
12. Bernoldi Arrows Cosworth (B) 1:09.723 + 1.641 12
13. Button Renault (M) 1:09.780 + 1.698 11
14. McNish Toyota (M) 1:09.818 + 1.736 12
15. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) 1:09.901 + 1.819 12
16. Trulli Renault (M) 1:09.980 + 1.898 10
17. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:10.051 + 1.969 12
18. Sato Jordan Honda (B) 1:10.058 + 1.976 12
19. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:10.533 + 2.451 12
20. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:10.741 + 2.659 10
21. Webber Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:11.388 + 3.306 10
22. Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:12.336 + 4.254 12
The Ferrari's F2002 launch control is a major step forward compared to its predecessor as seen in previous races, and both Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher made the best start, also benefitting from taking it from the cleaner part of the track. Ralf, who had already expressed his concerns about starting from the dirty part of the track on Saturday, was quickly passed by his brother, who took second place behind Barrichello.
Up in front, it was quickly evident that the Ferraris were again in a class of their own despite the close qualifying session, and by lap five, Barrichello and Schumacher were nearly ten seconds ahead of Ralf, and 12 in front of Montoya. Heidfeld followed, with David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen right behind him.
By lap 20, Barrichello had stretched his lead over Schumacher to around 1.5 seconds, while Ralf was already a massive 31 seconds behind the leaders. Montoya, struggling with a heavy car and hard tyres, was unable to match the pace of his teammate and was more than ten seconds adrift.
"After the first safety car incident Coulthard and I were side-by-side going down to the hairpin," explained Heidfeld, who was unscathed. "I saw a cloud of tyre smoke as Yoong braked really hard and early ahead of us, and maybe I pressed the pedal too hard as a result while the brakes were still cool. The car got away from me and next thing I knew I was going backwards down the grass."
Barrichello retained the lead, while Ralf kept his brother at bay. Montoya was following closely while Coulthard and Fisichella completed the top six. Villeneuve was right behind the Italian driver, and moments later the Canadian would dive down the inside of the Jordan to move into a point-scoring position. The BAR driver then set his sights on Coulthard, and with not many problems he moved ahead of the Scot, who lost another position to Fisichella on lap 45.
Barrichello began the final lap of the race still in the lead, but to the surprise of everyone, the Brazilian backed off some 20 meters before the chequered flag. Schumacher backed off too, but eventually crossed the finish line less than two tenths ahead of his teammate.
Montoya was third in the end, with Ralf in fourth and a delighted Fisichella in fifth place, scoring the first points for the struggling Jordan team. A disappointed Coulthard took the final point, while the hard-charging Villeneuve did not get any reward for his brave race, retiring on the last lap while running in eighth.
CLASSIFIED
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h33:51.562
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 0.182
3. Montoya Williams BMW (M) + 17.730
4. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 18.448
5. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) + 49.965
6. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) + 50.672
7. Button Renault (M) + 51.229
8. Salo Toyota (M) + 1:09.425
9. McNish Toyota (M) + 1:09.718
10. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1 Lap
11. Frentzen Arrows Cosworth (B) 2 Laps
12. Webber Minardi Asiatech (M) 2 Laps
Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:09.298, lap 68
NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS
Trulli Renault (M) 45 Mechanical
Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 43 Engine
Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 39 Mechanical
Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 27 Crash
Sato Jordan Honda (B) 26 Crash
Panis BAR Honda (B) 23 Mechanical
Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 7 Suspension
Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 5 Engine
Bernoldi Arrows Cosworth (B) 3 Mechanical
de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1 Mechanical
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING, ROUND 6:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 54 1. Ferrari 66
2. Montoya 27 2. Williams-BMW 50
3. R.Schumacher 23 3. McLaren-Mercedes 14
4. Barrichello 12 4. Renault 8
5. Coulthard 10 =. Sauber-Petronas 8
6. Button 8 6. Jaguar-Cosworth 3
7. Heidfeld 5 7. Minardi-Asiatech 2
8. Raikkonen 4 = Toyota 2
9. Irvine 3 = Jordan-Honda 2
= Massa 3 10. Arrows 1
11. Webber 2
= Fisichella 2
= Salo 2
14. Frentzen 1
Pos Driver Team Lap Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 68 1:09.298
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 57 1:09.320 + 0.022
3. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 70 1:09.853 + 0.555
4. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 66 1:09.862 + 0.564
5. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 52 1:10.823 + 1.525
6. Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth (B) 67 1:11.201 + 1.903
7. Button Renault (M) 68 1:11.209 + 1.911
8. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (B) 69 1:11.223 + 1.925
9. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 66 1:11.264 + 1.986
10. McNish Toyota (M) 67 1:11.456 + 2.158
11. Salo Toyota (M) 64 1:11.591 + 2.293
12. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 67 1:11.819 + 2.521
13. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 20 1:12.180 + 2.882
14. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 22 1:12.394 + 3.296
15. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 22 1:12.602 + 3.304
16. Trulli Renault (M) 40 1:12.626 + 3.328
17. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 20 1:13.119 + 3.821
18. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 5 1:14.028 + 4.730
19. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 6 1:14.052 + 4.754
20. Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 22 1:14.441 + 5.143
21. Bernoldi Arrows-Cosworth (B) 2 1:21.891 + 12.593
Pos Driver Team Time Lap
1. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 29.458 23
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 31.309 24
3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 43.141 24
4. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 32.265 23
5. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (B) 28.628 28
6. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 30.635 28
7. Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 36.064 28
8. Trulli Renault (M) 30.531 29
9. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 22.289 29
10. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 29.260 29
11. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 35.709 29
12. Button Renault (M) 29.750 30
13. Salo Toyota (M) 34.164 32
14. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 27.230 32
15. Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth (B) 33.313 32
16. McNish Toyota (M) 46.962 33
17. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 18.730 45
18. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 29.036 47
19. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 27.132 51
20. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 28.669 53
21. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 26.782 61
22. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 26.492 62
The Austrian Grand Prix, Lap by Lap
Lap 2: Heidfeld runs wide at the first corner and loses third place, being overtaken by both Ralf Schumacher and Montoya.
Lap 14: The two Ferraris remain ahead with a huge 21 second gap back to Ralf Schumacher. Barrichello begins to lap the first of the back markers.
Lap 24: Ferrari reacts quickly and calls in both Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. This means that Schumacher has to wait until Barrichello is refuelled and sent on his way but as the Safety Car is out he does not lose much time. The Jordan team also reacts quickly and Takuma Sato is brought in (although he is a lap down).
Lap 33: McNish and Frentzen also stop.
Lap 51: Montoya finally stops and drops from third to fourth, getting ahead of Ralf Schumacher. This allows Villeneuve up to third. The two Ferraris and the BAR will however both have to pit again.
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