July 23, 2002

by Erik C. Nielsen

Pictures courtesy and copyright Ferrari Media

With a remarkable six races left in the season, Michael Schumacher managed to seal up his record tying 5th world championship. After an unbelievable 8 lead changes and a drive-through penalty, the German was able to tie Juan Manuel Fangio's record by winning, with Barrichello and Montoya finishing worse than 3rd place.

Schumacher passed a flying Raikkonen with just 4 laps to go after the Finn went wide at Adelaide after loosing traction from oil dropped on the track from McNish's expired Toyota (Todt stated that the check is in the mail). Ferrari still showed that the team is human. Barichello's car did not fire on the grid, and even after changing the steering wheel and other electronic components, the F2002 would not come to life. Chassis 220 seems to be the lemon of the batch. Now that one championship is complete, the team can focus on reliability and try to get a 1-2 in the driver's fight (resulting in a fourth straight constructor's title).

McLaren finally had their day in the sun. Both cars seemed to be running well for the first time this season, and Raikkonen probably could have led to the end had he not spun. It seems as though the team from Woking has their stuff together and could challenge BWM-Williams for the second spot in the constructor's championship. DC made the same mistake as Michael (crossing the white line), but managed to get his car out in front of the two blue and white cars. Ron Dennis was thought to have cracked a smile, but I think it was just glare from the sun...

Sir Frank wasn't too animated at the end of the race. Montoya showed once again that he can't capitalize on results by winning pole, but did manage to fight hard to the end. Ralf also made the same mistake as his brother but drove well enough to stay on the lead lap.

Jenson Button captured the last point of the race on the day after it was announced that he would not be returning to the French team (should have picked Flavio as your manager). He did, however, finish; whereas, his team mate, who will be returning, did not.

Nick Heidfeld brought the Sauber home in 7th and Massa did not finish. The Brazilian was a little too quick this weekend. First, he jumped the start, resulting in a drive through penalty. Then, during the penalty run, he exceeded the pit lane speed limit and had to come in again. Can't fault him for trying.

Minardi were respectable for being the track sluts of the weekend. Webber finished only one lap down (you still get TV coverage when the leaders pass). Yoong had this happen 4 times. Now do you believe me that he is only there for the sponsorship money?

Toyota was trying to start the rumor mill by letting it slip that they would like to be an engine supplier in the near future. Better get back to the shop and work on that reliability thing first.

Jaguar's only saving grace was that de la Rosa finished just two laps down. As for the new aero package that I caught flack over last week, well, let's look at a basic engineering principle. To be effective, the rear wing must stay attached the entire race; not come off on a straight away. Full disclosure: I am critical as I own stock in Ford. As a shareholder, I'm pissed that the team is loosing so badly.

Arrows was noticeably absent from the standings. In order not to get fined money they do not have, the team showed up for scrutineering and put in a Yoong-style qualifying performance, by not going fast enough for the grid. This was the bare minimum as specified by the Concorde agreement, but you can be sure that the FIA will start to fuss, soon.

With just six races left, the season will once again come to an anti-climatic end. The only question now is where the final standings for the rest of the field will come out. Ferrari will try hard to ensure a couple of victories for Barrichello and McLaren will try and out do BMW-Williams. Everyone else will be happy just to show up.

Race Results

1	M.SCHUMACHER	Ferrari	1h32m09.837s
2	RAIKKONEN	McLaren Mercedes	+1.105s
3	COULTHARD	McLaren Mercedes	+31.976s
4	MONTOYA	Williams BMW	+40.676s
5	R.SCHUMACHER	Williams BMW	+41.773s
6	BUTTON	Renault	+1 lap
7	HEIDFELD	Sauber Petronas	+1 lap
8	WEBBER	Minardi Asiatech	+1 lap
9	DE LA ROSA	Jaguar	+2 laps
10	YOONG	Minardi Asiatech	+4 laps
11	MCNISH	Toyota	+7 laps
12	IRVINE	Jaguar	+20 laps
13	TRULLI	Renault	+23 laps
14	MASSA	Sauber Petronas	+24 laps
15	SALO	Toyota	+24 laps
16	VILLENEUVE	BAR Honda	+37 laps
17	PANIS	BAR Honda	+43 laps
18	SATO	Jordan Honda	+49 laps
19	BARRICHELLO	Ferrari	+72 laps