By Pablo Elizalde, Spain
Atlas F1 News Editor
Formula One said farewell to Jean Alesi and Mika Hakkinen; Ferrari tried, but failed to clinch the second place in the World Championship; Juan Pablo Montoya shined yet again while Ralf Schumacher struggled. And Michael Schumacher? Well, he dominated very much in the same style he's done from the start of the season; what a fitting way to end 2001! As always, Pablo Elizalde reviews the events of the final weekend of this season
As some of the biggest names in Formula One racing closed a chapter at the Japanese Grand Prix, one man continued to write his own record book with another brilliant display of sheer speed and motivation. Mika Hakkinen and Jean Alesi knew they wouldn't be there in next year's Championship, and while the Finn is expected to be only temporarily absent, the flamboyant Frenchman put an end to his long and illustrious Grand Prix career.
However, apart from saying goodbye to two of his closest friends in the Formula One paddock, Alesi's and Hakkinen's departure had little to do with Michael Schumacher's performance at Suzuka. One of the few drivers who deserved and could afford to relax in the final race of the season, Schumacher displayed once more his endless commitment and motivation to his job and to winning races. The German looked every single bit like he did in 2000, as if he he was driving for Ferrari's first drivers' title in 21 years.
"We have probably seen the real Michael Schumacher in Spa, but since then I am not so sure," Schumacher said before the race. "But we will soon see the real one again." His fans and rivals didn't have to wait much longer to see the real Schuey, and with a display of blistering speed in Saturday's qualifying, the Ferrari star destroyed the opposition to clinch his eleventh pole of the season.
Despite the anti-climactic atmosphere of a race where few things were left to be settled, Schumacher and Ferrari were determined to finish the season as they started it, and meanwhile try to help Rubens Barrichello in his difficult task to move ahead of David Coulthard in the WC standings. As it turned out, the Brazilian failed to do so, but Ferrari still showed that their rivals will have a lot to fear next season with the introduction of a new, lighter version of the F2001 chassis which, in Schumacher's hands, returned to the top on a circuit where the Williamses were probably expected to be the class of the field.
The Grove-based team may have not been able to dominate at the technical Suzuka, but Juan Pablo Montoya was the only driver capable of giving Schumacher a run for his money during most of the race. The Colombian rookie, in his first visit to the Japanese circuit - one of the most challenging tracks and certainly one of the circuits where the teams have a tougher time to set-up their cars right - again consolidated his place among the favourites to win the title next season, with a solid drive to second place behind the 2001 World Champion.
Montoya's form was highlighted by the performance of his teammate Ralf Schumacher - one of the drivers with the best knowledge of Suzuka, after his Formula Nippon days. Yet the German was unable to match the Colombian's pace during the first part of the race where he suffered no problems. Of course, Montoya's cause was aided by the race officials' ruling that allowed him to get away without a penalty for setting his fastest lap by cutting across the final chicane when Ralf had received a ten-second stop and go for that same reason, though the German was reportedly penalised for repeating the offence.
The German, however, escaped a penalty when he later crossed the white line at the exit of the pitlane to overtake a slower Rubens Barrichello - the same penalty which cost him victory at the European Grand Prix earlier this season. At the end of the day, however, Ralf would have probably finished behind his teammate anyway, and the battle to establish supremacy within the Williams team next season will surely make sparks fly.
The McLaren drivers were unable to challenge for victory after Hakkinen's Indy win, although in the first part of the race it looked as though the Finn was again benefitting from a one-stop strategy to close what could be his final Formula One season in style. However, that was not to be the case and this time the Mercedes-powered cars were miles away from their Ferrari rivals, both in qualifying and in the race.
Hakkinen's performance during most of the weekend, however, emphasised David Coulthard's lack of motivation in this final part of the year, the Scot unable to outshine his retiring teammate in the last races. As he again claimed he can beat Michael Schumacher to the 2002 title, Coulthard's morale is far from best, especially if one considers that the Scot has not won a race since May, and he will surely have to raise his game next season with a nine-years younger teammate.
As Formula One witnesses the next generation of drivers taking over from the veteran stars, the Suzuka paddock was sad to see the end of Jean Alesi's career, and more so after he crashed out of the race by hitting a spinning Kimi Raikkonen. There is no doubt that the Frenchman will be missed. "There will never be another one like him," said his friend and former teammate Gerhard Berger, possibly summing up the general feeling of most Formula One members and fans alike.
Qualifying
After ten pole positions in sixteen races, and despite the Williams drivers being amongst the favourites to claim the top spot in qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, it was no surprise that Michael Schumacher emerged as the winner once more to edge closer to one of the few records that he doesn't own yet - Ayrton Senna's 65 poles. After Japan, the German has scored 43 poles, with an average of almost 10 per season since the start of 2000. With three years remaining in his Ferrari contract, even that legendary record could fall into Schuey's hands.
The German, who was impressive on the first sector through the fast swerves after the straight, benefitted from the new wider Ferrari chassis, with a lighter tub built to a different spec sheet, and the latest evolution of the Bridgestone tyres - the Japanese manufacturer determined not to let their Michelin rivals take their fifth win of the season at their home circuit. As usual this season, Schumacher only needed three of his allocated four runs to obliterate the Suzuka record, where the German has scored six poles, four of them in the last four seasons.
Surprisingly, to a certain extent, but less so following his recent performances, Juan Pablo Montoya emerged as the top Williams driver despite his lack of experience at the Suzuka circuit, one of the most challenging and technical venues of the Formula One calendar, and certainly a track where past experience usually turns out to be a decisive factor when it comes to extracting the best out of a car.
However, Montoya ended the session with a massive gap between himself and the pole sitter, Schumacher finishing the session exactly seven tenths of a second ahead of the Williams driver, after consistently improving on each of his three attempts. In fact, Schumacher didn't need it, as his first flying lap was already faster than Montoya's best - a clear sign of the Ferrari's superiority.
The protagonists of the battle for the Championship's runner-up spot had to settle for fourth and seventh, for Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard respectively, whereby Coulthard, like his teammate Mika Hakkinen - who was fifth quickest more than a second behind Schumacher - struggled with understeering problems in the Mercedes-powered MP4-16.
To celebrate the final Grand Prix before they are renamed Renault, the Benetton team was one of the surprises of the session, with Giancarlo Fisichella setting an impressive sixth quickest time ahead of Jenson Button, who was ninth quickest.
Montoya was the first top runner to hit the track at the 18-minute mark, quickly followed by teammate Ralf Schumacher and by Coulthard. The Colombian driver moved to the top of the time sheet with a 1:34.393 lap, which was immediately bettered by Ralf and minutes later by a quick Hakkinen, aiming for a good result in what he admitted could be the final Grand Prix of his life.
The Ferrari drivers didn't jump onto the track until almost the second half of the session, with Barrichello placing himself in first place before Schumacher completed his first run, setting a quickest time of 1:33.068. Hakkinen moved to second place with his second run a few minutes later, only to be demoted by Ralf and later by Barrichello, still more than three tenths of a second away from an untouchable Schumacher. The Ferrari star came back out with 20 minutes remaining in the hour-long session, lowering the pole time to 1:32.808, taking full advantage of his Bridgestone rubber.
"Bridgestone has produced a great tyre, which was particularly good through the Esses," said Schumacher later. "In the past, the cars used to slide around, but today we had so much grip that it's quite a challenge. I think the Bridgestones were the best in the faster sections, while the other tyre might have an advantage here under braking and in terms of traction."
Hakkinen, Coulthard, Montoya and Ralf jumped onto the track with some 18 minutes left, the McLarens unable to improve on their previous best, while the Colombian rookie was able to move to second with two very fast splits in the final part of the track. "We picked up the pace through the Esses and it is a place were you really have to flow," Montoya explained after the session. "My car didn't have as good stability as Michael's and I think that was all the difference."
With eight minutes remaining and with the pole time already out of reach, Michael Schumacher returned to the track to complete his third and final attempt. It seemed unlikely that there was any room for improvement, but the German flowed around Suzuka and stopped the stopwatch on a staggering 1:32.484. The quadruple World Champion himself was surprised by his pace, which sealed the session. "We expected to be fast here and we were," he said after grabbing another pole. "However, we had predicted a lap time much slower than this, so for once it's nice when the prediction is wrong."
In their final attempt, only Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello were capable of improving, with the German moving right behind Montoya and Barrichello ahead of Hakkinen and Fisichella, competing in his final Grand Prix for Benetton before moving to the Jordan team in 2002. Both Jordan and Honda-powered rivals BAR were unable to benefit from the Japanese manufacturer's "Suzuka Special" engine, being unable to shine at Honda's home track. Retiring star Jean Alesi finished his final qualifying in eleventh place, further down than he expected, after topping the times on Friday.
The Race
Judging by the way he had dominated in qualifying, and after topping the time sheet again in the warm-up, Michael Schumacher looked unstoppable come the start of the race, but with Juan Pablo Montoya's reputation as a great starter, the German was probably worried when the lights went out and immediately swerved to the right to defend his line. Montoya's start was better than Schumacher's, but not by enough to have a realistic chance of moving ahead of the Ferrari.
In an uncharacteristically incident-free start, Ralf Schumacher was able to keep third place in front of Rubens Barrichello, Giancarlo Fisichella, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard. At the back of the grid, Malaysian Alex Yoong and Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi were forced to take the start from the pitlane, after a mechanical problem with their Minardi and Arrows respectively.
Schumacher immediately took off at the top of the field, crossing the start/finish line for the first time almost four seconds ahead of Montoya, whose Michelin tyres were not up to their best despite having scrubbed them in order to perform better. "It seems that if we don't actually scrub the tyres, we're not competitive," said Montoya. "I spent all day on Saturday scrubbing tyres."
Both Ferraris were quick off the mark, and Barrichello, running with a very light Ferrari, rapidly set his sights on Ralf, overtaking him at the 130R corner on the first lap before beginning his charge towards Montoya's second place. It wasn't long before the Brazilian was right behind the Williams's rear wing and with a daunting move, the Ferrari driver dived down the inside at the chicane, having to place two wheels off the track not to hit the Colombian.
"It really surprised me because I pretty much closed him out under braking and suddenly I saw him sliding in," explained Montoya. "I thought 'leave him enough room' and when I came out of the corner, I had better speed than him." That allowed him to get a good tow off Barrichello, and at the end of the straight the rookie regained second place brilliantly and with his Michelins up to speed he didn't have to look in his mirrors again.
Up in front, Schumacher was already ten seconds clear by lap six, when further down the field Kimi Raikkonen lost control of his Sauber coming out of the Dunlop corner, spinning at high speed and being hit by Jean Alesi, who couldn't do anything to avoid the young Finn. Both cars crashed heavily against the tyre barriers before coming to a halt, putting a sad end to Alesi's final Grand Prix. The Frenchman approached Raikkonen and in a warm gesture shook his hand before waving to the Japanese crowd.
"I'm very happy that I did not hurt him," said a philosophic Alesi after the accident. "I've got a high nosecone and there was nothing I could do. It's a bit sad not to finish and I didn't want to finish my career like that, but that's life." Smiling, he walked back to the pits, hugged his wife Kumiko, shook his mechanics' hands, and put an end to his career after 201 Formula One Grands Prix.
Formula One, and the race, went on without Alesi, and his close friend Michael Schumacher continued to push at the top, missing the chicane on lap 9. A lap later, the German's advantage over Montoya was more than eleven seconds, but now the Colombian was starting to lap faster, edging away from Barrichello, who was the first man to pit on lap 15. The Ferrari driver rejoined the race in eighth place behind Fisichella, who had spun and dropped to 12th position on lap three.
Schumacher pitted for the first time only two laps after his teammate, standing still for 8.8 seconds and rejoining the race right behind Hakkinen, who had to do his best to keep the German at bay, in what could have been the final battle of the epic war between the two.
By lap 20, Montoya's lead over Ralf was around seven seconds, with Hakkinen and Schumacher more than 17 behind the Colombian, who pitted on that same lap. The Williams driver came back out behind Coulthard and in front of Barrichello, who was running in sixth position. Ralf and Coulthard came into the pits on lap 22, allowing Hakkinen to take the lead of the race in what looked like a repeat of the United States Grand Prix. This time, however, the Finn was also on a two-stop strategy and had to pit a lap later, dropping to a distant fifth.
Michael Schumacher's lead after the first round of pitstops was reduced by some five seconds - to 6.5 - to Montoya, some eight to Barrichello and twelve to Ralf. However, the young German would receive a ten-second stop and go penalty on lap 26, for "cutting through the chicane with advantage." Ralf had set his fastest lap by missing the final chicane and, having missed it at least once before, the Williams driver was penalised. "I have to accept the penalty as this is the rule," he said, "although my advantage was only a couple of tenths of a second."
Ralf came into the pits to serve his penalty on lap 28, at the same time that Barrichello decided to pit for the second time, revealing that the Brazilian was on a risky three-stop strategy. However, when the Brazilian tried to get moving again, his engine stalled, ending all his chances of challenging for the podium. When he rejoined the race, he did it right in front of Ralf, who had to swerve quickly to avoid hitting the slow Ferrari, which seemed to be stuck with the speed limiter on.
"It seemed the speed limiter on Rubens's Ferrari got stuck, so this is why I had to swerve at the end of the pitlane to avoid hitting him," the Williams driver explained. The stewards investigated the incident, but despite crossing the while line at the end of the pitlane, the German escaped without a penalty.
The duo continued to battle for fifth place during the following laps, with Barrichello diving down the inside of the chicane on lap 32. When it looked as though the Ferrari was in front, Ralf cut across the chicane and emerged again ahead of the Brazilian. Unexpectedly, the German didn't allow Barrichello to pass him easily, something that could have cost him another penalty, but the Ferrari got a good tow off the Williams and was able to overtake at the end of the straight. After the race, however, Barrichello claimed that "Ralf went a bit over the top in our fight together."
The second round of pitstops for those on a two-stop strategy began with Michael Schumacher coming into the pits on lap 36, when the German was more than six seconds ahead of Montoya, who pitted at the same time as Hakkinen a lap later. With no problems during his service, Schumacher continued in the lead, still some six seconds ahead of the Colombian and Barrichello, who pitted for the third time on lap 40.
"We took a big chance with Rubens's three-stop strategy because we thought we would be stuck behind the Williams," said Ferrari's Ross Brawn to explain the decision for Barrichello's strategy. "The only way he was going to finish second in the Championship was to win the race so we chose an extreme strategy." At the end, it didn't pay off.
The final laps of the race went by without much action except for Hakkinen's decision to let Coulthard take third place in order "to give him something back for the occasions in the past when he has helped me." The Scot, who was able to hold on to a career-best second place in the standings, was surprised by the gesture: "I didn't know Mika was going to help me. I did everything I could this year. Second place was the best I could do - but there is a big points gap to Michael."
Montoya tried in vain to get close to Schumacher, but the Ferrari star had everything under control, cruising home to his ninth win of the season, and to yet another record, becoming the driver with the most number of points scored in Formula One. "Despite the records, to finish the season on a high, in first position, that's what you wish to do," said Schumacher. "It was a tough Championship. We had an easy run in the first two races but after that the races we won, we had to fight hard for."
For the sake of entertainment, most Formula One fans must be praying for the 2002 season to be much 'tougher' than this one. Hakkinen and Alesi will not be there next year, but with Schumacher, Montoya, Ralf, Raikkonen, Renault, Toyota and so on, the prospect of having an exciting season looks as good as ever.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:32.484 228.260 km/h
2. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:33.184 + 0.700
3. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:33.297 + 0.813
4. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:33.323 + 0.839
5. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (B) 1:33.662 + 1.178
6. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) 1:33.830 + 1.346
7. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) 1:33.916 + 1.432
8. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) 1:34.002 + 1.518
9. Button Benetton Renault (M) 1:34.375 + 1.891
10. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:34.386 + 1.902
11. Alesi Jordan Honda (B) 1:34.420 + 1.936
12. Raikkonen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:34.581 + 2.097
13. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:34.851 + 2.367
14. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:35.109 + 2.625
15. Frentzen Prost Acer (M) 1:35.132 + 2.648
16. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:35.639 + 3.155
17. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:35.766 + 3.282
18. Alonso Minardi European (M) 1:36.410 + 3.926
19. Enge Prost Acer (M) 1:36.446 + 3.962
20. Bernoldi Arrows Asiatech (B) 1:36.885 + 4.401
21. Verstappen Arrows Asiatech (B) 1:36.973 + 4.489
22. Yoong Minardi European (M) 1:38.246 + 5.762
CLASSIFIED
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h 27:33.298
2. Montoya Williams BMW (M) + 3.154
3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) + 23.262
4. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (B) + 35.539
5. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 36.500
6. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 37.100
7. Button Benetton Renault (M) + 1:34.200
8. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) + 1 Lap
9. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap
10. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap
11. Alonso Minardi European (M) + 1 Lap
12. Frentzen Prost Acer (M) + 1 Lap
13. Panis BAR Honda (B) + 2 Laps
14. Verstappen Arrows Asiatech (B) + 2 Laps
15. Bernoldi Arrows Asiatech (B) + 2 Laps
16. Yoong Minardi European (M) + 3 Laps
17. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) + 6 laps *
Fastest Lap: R.Schumacher, 1:36.944, lap 46
NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS
de la Rosa Jaguar (M) 46
Enge Prost Acer (M) 43
Irvine Jaguar (M) 25
Raikkonen Sauber Petronas (B) 6
Alesi Jordan Honda (B) 6
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING, ROUND 17 (Pending Appeal):
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 123 WC 1. Ferrari 179 CC
2. Coulthard 65 2. McLaren 102
3. Barrichello 56 3. Williams 80
4. R.Schumacher 49 4. Sauber 22
5. Hakkinen 37 5. Jordan 17
6. Montoya 31 =. BAR 17
7. Heidfeld 13 7. Jaguar 10
8. Villeneuve 12 =. Benetton 10
9. Trulli 9 9. Prost 4
=. Raikkonen 9 10. Arrows 1
11. Fisichella 8
12. Irvine 7
13. Frentzen 6
=. Alesi 6
15. Panis 5
16. De la Rosa 3
17. Button 2
18. Verstappen 1
Pos Driver Team Lap Time
1. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 46 1:36.944
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 17 1:36.970 + 0.026
3. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 20 1:37.017 + 0.073
4. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 29 1:37.133 + 0.189
5. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (B) 40 1:37.298 + 0.354
6. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) 51 1:37.313 + 0.369
7. Frentzen Prost Acer (M) 48 1:38.240 + 1.296
8. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) 13 1:38.361 + 1.417
9. Button Benetton Renault (M) 36 1:38.526 + 1.582
10. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 22 1:38.620 + 1.676
11. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 21 1:38.647 + 1.703
12. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) 28 1:38.857 + 1.913
13. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 22 1:38.887 + 1.943
14. Alonso Minardi European (B) 36 1:39.153 + 2.209
15. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 40 1:39.182 + 2.238
16. Panis BAR Honda (B) 44 1:39.299 + 2.355
17. Enge Prost Acer (M) 27 1:39.827 + 2.883
18. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (B) 4 1:39.991 + 3.047
19. Alesi Jordan Honda (B) 4 1:40.225 + 3.281
20. Bernoldi Arrows Asiatech (B) 46 1:40.940 + 3.996
21. Verstappen Arrows Asiatech (B) 16 1:41.383 + 4.439
22. Yoong Minardi European (B) 42 1:42.915 + 5.971
Pos Driver Team Time Lap
1. Enge Prost-Acer (M) 25.3 35
2. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (B) 27.8 39
3. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (B) 28.1 23
4. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 28.2 23
5. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 28.5 41
6. Frentzen Prost-Acer (M) 28.7 38
7. Hakkinen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 28.7 38
8. Hakkinen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 28.9 24
9. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 28.9 15
10. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 29.1 38
11. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 29.3 19
12. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 29.4 19
13. Button Benetton-Renault (M) 29.4 38
14. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 29.5 41
15. Fisichella Benetton-Renault (M) 29.7 16
16. Trulli Jordan-Honda (B) 29.8 16
17. Verstappen Arrows-Asiatech (B) 30.0 17
18. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 30.0 21
19. Fisichella Benetton-Renault (M) 30.0 35
20. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 30.0 33
21. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 30.0 36
22. Frentzen Prost-Acer (M) 30.1 22
23. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 30.4 23
24. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 30.5 34
25. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 30.5 18
26. Alonso Minardi-European (M) 30.6 37
27. Bernoldi Arrows-Asiatech (B) 30.6 37
28. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 30.6 39
29. Verstappen Arrows-Asiatech (B) 31.0 41
30. Verstappen Arrows-Asiatech (B) 31.0 33
31. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 31.2 32
32. Alonso Minardi-European (M) 31.2 21
33. Bernoldi Arrows-Asiatech (B) 31.5 19
34. Verstappen Arrows-Asiatech (B) 31.6 35
35. Enge Prost-Acer (M) 31.7 21
36. Yoong Minardi-European (M) 31.8 34
37. Trulli Jordan-Honda (B) 32.0 33
38. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 32.0 29
39. Yoong Minardi-European (M) 32.1 18
40. Button Benetton-Renault (M) 32.5 20
41. Bernoldi Arrows-Asiatech (B) 33.5 21
42. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 33.5 26
43. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 34.5 29
44. Frentzen Prost-Acer (M) 35.3 3
45. Enge Prost-Acer (M) 39.2 36
46. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 41.7 16
47. Enge Prost-Acer (M) 69.3 41