The European Grand Prix was a classic example of the two kinds of drivers who currently fill the Formula One grid: the first ones are those who bring the car home no matter, while the others are those who go for it all without thinking too much about the consequences. Atlas F1's Richard Barnes analyses them

If anybody outside Ferrari expected the disappointment of Monaco to rattle Michael Schumacher's confidence or jolt him out of the formidable momentum he'd built so far this season, Sunday's European Grand Prix proved to be a crushing return to reality. The reigning champion re-established the pattern of the early season, driving a prototypical smart race - pushing hard in clean air but driving cautiously around backmarkers and other potential trouble spots. It's a safety-first formula that has come to epitomize the German's methodical approach to his craft.

Schumacher is often wrongfully accused of being the most self-centred driver in Formula One. While Schumacher can pout, sulk and engage in heated finger-pointing along with the best of them, this is a natural trait in any aggressive and highly-competitive sport. Michael Schumacher is undoubtedly driven by the prospect of glory for himself. But along with that, he is very mindful of a F1 driver's major responsibility - to ensure that the combined efforts of the team's technicians and engineers don't go to waste.

When he is in his current buoyant and irresistible mood, Schumacher excels at providing the team with just reward for their input. It wasn't just Ferrari's bulletproof reliability that resulted in Schumacher finishing every race of 2002 on the podium. The German's own analytical and measured style, combined with his readiness to see individual races only in terms of the wider championship picture, was also a major factor.

With Schumacher and Ferrari blitzing the season, the rest of the field is rapidly growing accustomed to the reality that, this year, they're fighting for second place. No competitive team or driver is going to be fulfilled by finishing as 'first of the losers'. But when it's the best spot on offer, it's a victory of sorts, and a marked improvement on finishing third.

Two of Ferrari's rivals started the season with realistic expectations of finishing at least second in the Constructors' Championship. Williams-BMW held the crown of 'best of the rest' from 2003, and BAR-Honda's vastly improved pre-season testing times marked them as legitimate contenders too. With almost half the season finished, both find themselves trailing Renault by a growing margin. And in both cases it's the drivers, as much as the cars, which have made the difference.

Renault have probably the most balanced driver line-up on the grid. Jarno Trulli's experience and growing consistency are the perfect foil for Fernando Alonso's youthful exuberance and, at times, sheer brilliance. The Spaniard has made the odd mistake this season but, apart from his spectacularly futile attempt to get around the outside of Ralf Schumacher in the tunnel at Monaco, they have not been terminal errors.

Williams, by contrast, have had a below-par season. As feared, Ralf Schumacher vanished anonymously back into the pack when he failed to build momentum from the start of the season. Juan Pablo Montoya has always been the more dynamic of the Williams duo, and able to wring more out of the car than it possibly deserves. Yet he, too, has suffered a couple of listless and ineffectual races recently, marred by driver error.

It is disingenuous of Montoya to blame Toyota's Olivier Panis for his first-corner collision with teammate Ralf on Sunday. Montoya's onboard footage indicated that the primary cause was the Colombian misjudging his braking relative to Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello in front of him. This should have come as no surprise to Montoya.

Back in Austria 2000, BAR's Ricardo Zonta had punted Michael Schumacher off at the first corner, citing the German's early braking as a cause. Sluggish starts and poor first corner braking performance are givens in Ferrari's otherwise dominant partnership with tyre suppliers Bridgestone. It's not a phenomenon that should surprise any regular front-runner.

BAR-Honda have fared better than Williams. Yet the BAR outfit could plausibly be leading Renault in the championship as well, but for the vast gulf in reliability and consistency between their two cars and drivers. Currently, there is a 28-point championship gap between Jenson Button and Takuma Sato. The only other team that even comes halfway to that differential is Ferrari, with 14 points separating Schumacher and Barrichello. And Schumacher's had to win six of the season's seven races to achieve it.

The difference between the two BAR drivers could be seen as a compliment to Button or an indictment of Sato or a bit of both. The latter seems the most reasonable explanation. Button has been the consummate team player. Even when victory has beckoned, as it did at Monaco, the British team leader has suppressed his own ambitions and taken what the opposition has offered. Even though Button is palpably anxious to gain his maiden victory, the young Briton has the sense to bide his time and let the results come to him.

Sato, by contrast, seems unable to control his own ambition for a full race distance. At Monaco he allegedly jumped the start and put both Michael Schumacher's and his own race in the balance by rubbing wheels with the Ferrari in the run to St. Devote.

At Nurburgring, with the personal glory of the highest ever finish for a Japanese driver in his sights, Sato again pushed beyond the limit. It started long before the hopelessly optimistic lunge at Barrichello. As early as lap one, Sato banged wheels with Jarno Trulli in his scramble to lead the pack pursuing Schumacher. Trulli gave way, although the contact slowed both of them, allowing Kimi Raikkonen through into second. From there, the uncompetitive McLaren was the only buffer that Michael Schumacher needed to build a race-winning early advantage.

Team boss David Richards defended Sato's drive afterwards, claiming that "The sport needs heroes. It needs people who don't win races by calculating the results of the race on a computer the day before. It needs people who actually take up every opportunity and challenge to the last lap."

That's as may be but it sidesteps the obvious, that drivers and teams aren't forced to choose either one or the other extreme. Ferrari and Michael Schumacher usually choose strategy over heroics to win races, because it's the safer option. However, Schumacher has shown on multiple occasions that he will readily go wheel to wheel with anybody if the situation merits such an approach.

This versatility, of playing the percentage approach based on its situational merits, is the reason why Schumacher is shooting for his fifth consecutive title, and Ferrari for their sixth. Richards' statement was in stark counterpoint to BAR's Technical Director Geoff Willis, who claimed "This gives us the fifth podium finish in six races but the failure to finish both cars is hurting us in the championship as Renault continue to pull away in second."

Sato would do better to heed Willis' words than Richards'. The Japanese driver may feel aggrieved that it's his car, not Button's, that keeps breaking. However, as anybody who witnessed the Prost era will attest, reliability is not always about sheer luck. Even with today's driver aids and technology, the driver is still a factor in getting the car to the finish.

In some cases, like McLaren's current poor run, the car is clearly the source of the problem. In BAR-Honda's case, where Button has enjoyed flawless reliability so far this season, the issue is not nearly so clear-cut.

Sato was expected to make mistakes when he first entered F1, as every new driver is. However, after a full racing season with Jordan and another full season testing for BAR, the time for regular driver error is past. With Ferrari romping away with both championships, the interest will now be on the race for 'best of the rest' status. BAR needs a solid two-man effort to eclipse Renault, Button can't do it on his own.

The irony is that Sato has the natural talent, he doesn't need to take as many chances as he does. In three out of seven races this season, Sato has had the beating of Button. He only managed to convert one of those opportunities, throwing the car off the track to cede his advantage at both Bahrain and Nurburgring.

Sunday's mistake was particularly costly in constructors' terms. Without Sato's retirement, BAR would have outscored Renault by four points (11 to 7). As it was, they eventually lost out by three points (6 to 9), a seven-point swing that the Brackley-based team can ill afford.

Richards is right that F1 shouldn't be about automatons refusing to take any chances at all. But, as Jenson Button's classy and calculated move around the outside of David Coulthard demonstrated, there are many shades of grey in considering the time and place to launch a move. On Sunday, Sato got it all wrong and ruined an otherwise excellent effort. Such an attempt would have been daring and exciting from a rookie driver. From a sophomore driver with an additional full year of F1 testing behind him, it's becoming a tad too predictable.

With the exception of the Ferrari pair, Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli have been the best team players this season, keeping their races tidy and ensuring that the car gets to the finish. It's notable that the two team players are leading the championship challenge to unseat the Ferraris, and that both drivers have achieved significant personal firsts in the process - Trulli his first victory and Button his first podium finish. Patience often brings its own rewards.

As the F1 circus heads to Canada, we shouldn't expect any change from Trulli or Button. Both are getting it right, and making the best of a season in which second place is almost as good as a victory. For the sake of their burgeoning careers, Fernando Alonso and Takuma Sato are now under pressure to stop the rot and take the initiative from their more experienced team leaders.

Alonso is a proven winner who is merely going through a temporary dip in form. Sato is still a wild card. If he can tame his aggression and learn to drive smart instead of merely driving fast, the race for 'best of the rest' will become that much closer.

Contact the Author Contact the Editor