F1 Revisits 2002 as Ferraris Schumi and Barrichello Sweep Field

Most Are Betting on Michael Schumacher to Stroll Away with 2004 Title

Its been nearly a week since the first F1 race of the season, and the motorsport community is still in shock. Its not so much that Ferrari won, but more disturbingly, just how decisively 6-times champion Michael Schumacher and side-kick Rubens Barrichello went about the job at hand.

They reduced Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumachers radically tusked BMW- Williams FW26 car to an also ran, while completely annihilating one-time grid superpower McLaren-Mercedes to the mid-pack. While the second of these teams seems to be responsible for their own undoing, BMW-Williams have been strong in pre-season tests.

But of course, in F1 theres more to the results of a GP than the cars and drivers, there are other critically important elements. For instance, was it Ferrari that stole the Australian GP or the cars Bridgestone tires? The Japanese tire manufacturer creates its custom rubber primarily for Ferrari, despite what its PR staff would like you to hear, giving the Italian marque a decided advantage over its Michelin shod rivals. This point was driven home by the fact that there was no Bridgestone clad team that made it into the top 10 other than Ferrari. Still, it makes a person wonder just how well 6th place finisher Jensen Button could have done had his BAR-Honda car stayed with Bridgestone for 2004 rather than switching to Michelin.

"Its good to finish in the points in the first race and have three points under my belt already, commented the outgoing Brit. "Its the first time Ive finished with points in Australia. My start wasnt particularly great and it was very slippery out there, but I managed to hold on to fourth for some time. Ralf was able to get past me in the pit stop when we had a delay with the refueling nozzle. Then Montoya got by on the circuit. I think we need a little more in the way of race pace but its a solid start to the season."

BMW-Williams, McLaren-Mercedes and Renault, last years top teams in F1, run on Michelins, and BMW is well known as the maker of the series most powerful engine. Renault has been respected for superior aerodynamics and handling, or at least last year they were. How then, can the less powerful Ferrari outpace its fastest competitor by more than a second per lap? To many analysts it comes down only to the tires.

Still Michelin motorsport director Pierre Dupasquier, was outwardly positive in stating, "We might not have won today but the season is in its formative stages and it will take a few races for the full picture to become clear. The next few grands prix will be very important and we are working flat out with our partner teams in the never-ending quest for greater performance. I was encouraged by Fernando Alonsos performance today - he was fast and consistent once again and Renault has promised that there are significant developments to come, which bodes well for the future."

No matter what the reason for Ferraris dominance, except for a few exciting passes the race was a torrid bore - causing analysts to question whether well see the 2002 season all over again. It was a troublesome result for F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone who called Ferraris dominance no less than a "disaster."

Fourth-place Ralf Schumacher voiced his disappointed equally by saying, "Of course I cannot be happy with todays result, even if, after all, I have made up four places from my starting position and I have collected some points for the team. We were on a good strategy and the team did an excellent job in the pits. Worrying is the fact is that at this race, we are missing one second from Ferrari, which I didnt expect and I believe this is down mainly to the design of their car as well as to some tire graining for us, which we have to overcome. The whole of our package needs to improve slightly and this is going to take maybe a couple of races, but I am confident we can make it."

At least one Michelin runner was happy with the results of the Australian GP. The checkered flag saw an unexpected Fernando Alonso rise to the last position on the podium, beating out Ralf Schumachers BMW-Williams that placed an uncelebrated fourth. JPM, who pulled in just behind his teammate in a disappointing fifth, experienced a fairly awful pit stop however, losing much of the time he made up on the track.

"I didnt take advantage at all of my third place on the grid, since right after the start I was trying to defend my position from Alonso and I went off track, losing four places," said JPM. "After that, I spent my race trying to find the right moment to overtake the cars in front of me but that was no easy job, since the balance of my car wasnt ideal and on top of that I had quite a lot of tire graining. I also experienced a problem with my right rear wheel during my third pit- stop which lost me some more time."

It makes one wonder if the team is getting back at him for announcing his 2005 season switch to arch-rival McLaren-Mercedes, but if Sundays race was a realistic example of what lay ahead for the German-British team then JPM will be eating mid-pack exhaust fumes next season - retribution enough for Williams.

While the race was a yawn fest, theres always qualifying to heat things up, right? That may have been the case two seasons ago, but in todays F1 no so. Through a great deal of manipulation the powers that be have managed to suck the life out of pre-race activities too. The need to pamper the engines, due to this years one-engine per weekend ruling, made the Friday practice more of a parade for disappointed spectators than an all-out run for top-gear bragging rights, while Saturdays two-part qualifying was hardly more intriguing.

Ex-Jaguar team leader Niki Lauda called the back-to-back qualifying system the "worst thing" hed ever seen. "I dont know how intelligent people can think of things like this," he said.

The first qualifying session saw teams juggled strategically for optimal positioning, based on concerns about rain on race day, with only Minardi and a few back-packers seeming to be pushing their various cars full-out limitations. The procedures were so lackluster that F1s top brass even voiced the need to make radical changes before Malaysias race next weekend.

Renault chief Flavio Briatore confirmed that the team bosses would be getting together to discuss altering the system, "possibly in time for the Malaysian Grand Prix."

"Something can be done quickly if we all say yes, do it," the Italian team leader said. "Only the stupid never change their minds. Then again, this is very stupid."

On the subject, BAR boss David Richards put forward an innovative idea that proposed a free-for-all session could take place for thirty minutes before a single-lap dash for the grid.

Ecclestone is said to favor a return to the 1-hour long free-for-all qualifying, something that the majority of long-term F1 fans would unanimously agree was more entertaining overall.

Commenting on Ecclestones point of view, Michael Schumacher stated, "Basically, he said it is much too long a thing for television and I agree."

It seems now, a week or so later, the teams are looking at a more methodical approach to change, but if Malaysia turns out to be a repeat of the seasons inaugural event, then modifications should come quickly.

There were some bright spots to the weekend however. As previously mentioned BAR looked very sporting, which much be a sour pill to swallow for Jacques Villeneuve who undoubtedly watched the race from some remote location with much chagrin. There was more expected from Japanese rival Toyota though, that in the case of Olivier Panis saw the hind end of a Minardi for much of the race - nothing to boast about. Panis did manage to make his way to 13th place, just behind a visibly disappointed Cristiano da Matta in 12th who couldnt even manage to get past the top placing rookie Christian Klien in his 11th place Jaguar.

After his reality check, former CART champion da Matta commented, "It was a difficult race for us today. The cars performance was not good at all, but at least we are under no illusions now. We know where we are and we have to work really hard to make progress up the field. There are few positive things to take away from this first race of the season, but at least we showed that the car was reliable in the race and we will be able to benefit from that as the season goes on."

Jaguar rookie Klien, however, was exuberant with his only slightly stronger result, stating, "To have finished my first Grand Prix race in 11th position is fantastic. I was frustrated at first to be starting in 19th position, however, it actually allowed me to work my way up a few places and build my confidence."

Home-track favorite Mark Webber, who looked positioned to steal some points from top teams early in the race, eventually sidelined his Jaguar with a technical problem. Always positive he said, "Of course I am disappointed not to have finished today at my home race but these things happen and you have to take the rough times with the smooth. The boys did an excellent job in preparing the car for me and it was clear that we were competitive out there as I settled into 8th position and kept on Montoyas tail."

On that note, last years McLaren-Mercedes championship runner-up Kimi Räikkönen who, after stalling at the start - the result of a new ruling disallowing automatic launch control - was the first to retire when he spun unceremoniously off the track after his cars water pump failed. Needless to say the Ice-Man cracked and he left the track without even speaking to reporters - hardly the result he was looking for to begin a charge on the 2004 championship. He did return, however, to sign autographs and say a few words.

"Im very disappointed with our performance this weekend, but hopefully we can do better in the next race," commented the Finnish driver. "I stalled at the start and lost a few places but managed to regain most of them during the first couple of corners. The car felt good, but unfortunately it didnt last very long, and I retired with an engine failure? Definitely not the best way to start the season."

Teammate David Coulthard was equally upset despite scoring a single point toward his championship run. "It has really been an unsatisfying weekend for us and the one point we achieved today is a very small consolation."

It must have also been extremely frustrating for Jordans Nick Heidfeld, a Sauber expatriate new to Eddie Jordans team this year, to watch rival Giancarlo Fisichella, who stole his seat at Sauber, zip by him after being held up for the initial stages of the event. While Heidfeld was able to hold him up by keeping to his line, Fisichella left him like an afterthought once past.

Nevertheless the Italian wasnt happy with the final result of his weekend, stating, "Im disappointed because we had an opportunity to do well today. I lost a lot of time early in the race behind Heidfeld, who was driving very defensively, and I knew I was much quicker. Once I got by I was immediately able to prove this. The balance of the car was really good and my lap times were very encouraging for the future."

Once again Felipe Massa looked reckless, but was it him or his car? "I had a great fight early in the race with Kimi, and at one stage I was so close behind him that I couldnt even see the brake marker boards, said the feisty Massa. "When I saw him brake I just braked a little later and managed to overtake him. My car was pretty good early on but then it picked up some understeer, which made it difficult to drive. Thats what caused my spin in Turn Five on lap 19. I understeered wide and caught the curb, but fortunately I didnt hit anything. I was heading for a finish when I was forced to retire due to an engine problem."

While non-Ferrari fans shouldnt lose hope just yet, being that last year the Scuderia won in Melbourne but lost out to BMW-Williams in Malaysia two weeks later, those putting money on the line are thinking otherwise. To betting-agent Ladbrokes, Ferrari has never looked more primed to win a Formula One world-title. They have cut the Scuderias odds to 4-9 after dominating the pace at the Australian GP, and simultaneously modified BMW-Williams Juan Pablo Montoya odds from 3/1 to 8/1 for the drivers championship. While that might seem somewhat harsh, downing JPMs team-mate Ralf Schumacher from 3/1 to 10/1 is worse despite his slight margin in championship points.

As much as most F1 fans would like to see a changing of the guard for 2004s series champion, most are betting on Michael Schumacher to stroll away with his 7th title.

"A perfect race but a tough one in the early stages, when Rubens was pushing me hard," commented Ferraris Michael Schumacher. "That made it exciting and I could not afford to make a mistake. The car was going well; its a step forward and more consistent to drive. It is great to leave Australia with 2 more points than I had after the first three races last year. After the last test at Imola and knowing the characteristics of this track, I was sure we would be competitive but I did not expect such a performance."

Neither did we, Michael. Hopefully Malaysia will prove more competitive. Still, your best bet is to put your money on MS.