In this week's column, Ann Bradshaw explains why Michael Schumacher exhibited at Indianapolis the difference between mere mortals and Grand Prix drivers, and gives her take on the events of the US Grand Prix weekend

Friends who know very little about Formula One often ask me to explain how the drivers can do what they do, as to most of them their antics seem superhuman. I just put it down to lightning reactions, a belief in their own abilities and of course a total lack of imagination as to what will happen if something does go wrong!

Well, I'm sure they have very good imaginations, but on Sunday I found another reason why they are different and that was exhibited by Michael Schumacher. Can you imagine driving by a car in the middle of a race track that you know would have suffered a devastating impact against a solid brick wall and realising it was your brother sitting in the wreckage? I am not sure I could continue with the race and then go on to win it. The temptation to park your car and rush to see how your young sibling was must have been enormous.

However, Michael drove by several times and just turned his head slightly each time to see what was going on. He had no way of knowing how his brother was because the only people who had access to him by radio, the Ferrari team, know as little as anyone else. He had to concentrate on the race and be razor sharp for when the safety car pulled in so he was in the best place to keep his lead.

This is one of the best ways to separate the men from the boys in this game - you have to be some cool character to withstand this and suppress your natural emotions. And Michael did stick with it and went on to score yet another one-two for Ferrari and put the destination of the 2004 Championships even further out of reach of the other drivers and teams.

What a difference a race makes. After the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, Takuma Sato was being applauded by his team boss, David Richards, for having a go on the track even if the overtaking move didn't come off. Two weeks later he was receiving a roasting for spoiling his qualifying lap and then getting through too many engines after number five blew up in the Canadian race.

Takuma has proved very quick and on occasions has been quicker than his teammate, however, perhaps the fragility of his Honda engine could be due to what the Japanese manufacturer gives him rather than what he does with it. He is the chosen son from the Land of the Rising Sun so perhaps if they feel he is being a bit rough with his engine they should reduce the power so his engine can withstand the rigours of an F1 race. Forgive me if I am being a bit thick, but I thought in this day and age there were ways to stop a driver's action putting a healthy engine at risk. I thought it was a poorly prepared engine that blew and not one that was put through the mill by a driver.

However, I hope that is all now behind him after he became the first Japanese driver since Aguri Suzuki in 1990 to be on a Grand Prix podium, and in fact only the second in the history of the sport. He drove a great race at Indianapolis and, if the TV pundits can be believed, could even have won if the team had made the same call as Ferrari and got him to pit under the Safety Car period during Ralf's accident.

The pitstops in Indianapolis take an awful long time. The cars are on the limiter for over 20 seconds in the pitlane so what happens with stops is crucial, and a long caution can play into the hands of teams ready to change strategy. Ferrari's Ross Brawn is renowned for such calls so as soon as the Safety Car was deployed for the accident the two Ferraris came into the pits behind each other - that was how important this stop was. Poor Rubens lost time getting away, but he was still able to go on to finish second in the race.

BAR did not make the same call and at the end of the race Takuma was 22 seconds behind the Ferrari train. It doesn't take a mathematician to work this one out! However, in the defence of the team I suppose Michael and Rubens drove the pace needed to win, and if Takuma had been closer, the Ferrari drivers may have upped the pace. Whatever the situation, I was delighted to see Takuma on the podium. He is a lovely, smiley man and we need more people like him in the sport.

At the end of the day it was another race decided by pitstops, but there was plenty of action on the track for the 130,000 strong crowd. Even before the race began, Juan Pablo Montoya looked more like a competitor in the modern pentathlon than a Grand Prix. Once he knew his car was not going to start he was out of it. All obstacles in his way, such as pit walls and mechanics, were circumnavigated for him to get to his spare car in the garage. Then we had the vision of him doing this in reverse to try to get back to his original car. Whatever was going on in his mind and that of the team, sadly it was all for naught. He needed to have vacated his car 15 seconds before the start, but he did it 13 seconds before and so was disqualified for this infringement. I wonder whose finger was on the watch for this as it must have been a close call.

Once the race got underway, we lost four cars in a first lap accident and this demolition continued for most of the race. However, there are some good stories out of all this. Minardi scored its first point since Mark Webber scored that emotional brace of points at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix.

I was not able to see any interviews with Zsolt Baumgartner or Paul Stoddart after the race but I think their press release's opening sentence said it all: "There were podium-magnitude celebrations in the Wilux Minardi Cosworth garage at the end of today's United States Grand Prix as the Faenza squad's Zsolt Baumgartner scored the team's first point in 41 races." Zsolt not only restored some pride to this plucky team but also became the first Hungarian to win a World Championship point. I hope the staff in the ticket office of the Hungarian Grand Prix is ready for a busy week!

My Indianapolis weekend was a quiet one compared to those of late and I even had time to go to London to watch the Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert. I enjoyed the event despite the fact that my sister and myself were about thirty years older than most of the other members of the audience. I have never been to such a large event before, as this was in Hyde Park and was standing only. It was an experience as I was surrounded by youngsters drinking beer out of plastic bottles and smoking ‘strange' cigarettes.

Luckily, while I was listening to songs with titles such as ‘Californication', my friend Lynden Swainston was able to keep me informed by text of what was happening in Indianapolis. She did a great job and I was relieved to hear very rapidly that Ralf was fine despite some bruising. However, every time I think of Lynden in America I remember the look of shock on the face of Paul Kelly who writes the amazing press releases put out by the IMS for the Grand Prix.

I asked Paul a few years ago to put her on the mailing list so she could see his great service. He happily did that but it was only when I introduced him to her in 2000 that I realised in his list she was put under Mr Swainston as they only knew this name as that for a man and not a women. I love America but such things just go to highlight the old saying that we are ‘two nations divided by a common language'.

About the author:
Ann Bradshaw - Annie - began her motor racing career as a teenager, helping out her brother in local rally races in England, where she grew up. In the 1970s she organised motor racing events in England, and was later the press officer for the RAC MSA - the motorsport governing body in Britain. In mid 1980s, she became press officer to team Lotus, where she worked with Ayrton Senna. Shortly after, she moved to the Williams team and was working there for several years, when once again she found herself working with Senna. She worked with Damon Hill after the Brazilian's death, and moved with the British Champion to Arrows. She also worked with the Panoz team in the United States, before becoming a freelance press officer, now working with BMW among others. Annie joined Atlas F1 as a regular columnist in April 2002.

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