Herr Schumacher slowed a little too much and let Rubens skate by and win by less than a foot. It will go down as the closest race finish in the sport. Michael joked in the press conference that it was just one more record that he wanted to set. This was the second time that he�s fallen asleep here. Two years ago, he fell asleep at the wheel while leading and spun.
For those that will take this too seriously, you know who you are (if you booed the results of the Austrian GP, I mean you buddy), need I remind you that this is more entertainment and a marketing stunt. Real gentlemen racing never existed, or at least not the way the sappy, teary-eyed media portrays it. Deal with it; it doesn�t really affect your day to day life.
The one thing that it does affect is the driver�s championship. Rubens has now sealed up second place mathematically, making this one of Ferrari�s best years ever. Only two other drivers have won this year, so the team hasn�t quite matched the McLarens of Prost and Senna from several years back.
As for everyone else that showed up, here�s how they stacked up:
McLaren� David put in an excellent race, but never could challenge the Ferraris. Even when they pitted twice to his one stop strategy, they always managed to stay ahead. Kimi went McKlunking when his Mercedes engine blew up. How come this never shows up in the new E-class ad? Maybe the Genie will give him a new E.
BMW-Williams� Oh boy is Patrick Head pissed. I could make a really tasteless joke about Frank wanting to kick Ralf�s ass, but I won�t. Schumacher Jr., the genius of the family (are you being snide), managed to break his own wing (remember what BMW stood for, last year) on his team mate�s rear wheel, causing half of Germany to yell Schei�e at once. (My better half yelled so loud and so long that the cats ran in fear for their lives.) Juan Pablo managed this deficit and came out fourth.
Renault� Both drivers had an acceptable race, with Trulli finishing in the points, again. If Ralf gets fired, Sir Frank needs to grab him ASAP. The young Englishman finished a respectable 8th.
BAR� JV managed to keep up the pace at the track that he�s won at before, albeit driving in a circle going the other way, and capture the last point of the race. Panis finished a lap down in 12th.
Sauber� Frentzen finished 2 laps down in 13th, showing that this may not be the best match up. Heidfeld finished 9th.
Jaguar � They suck, who cares. (Erik!)
Toyota� They suck harder, who cares. (Eri. . . well, I might have to agree with you -- The better half)
Minardi� They really suck, who cares. (No, they blow!! You saw the smoke, right?.)
For those that were stuck watching the race on the "Always Broadcasts Crap" network in the United States and had to put up with a 30 minute ad for Red Bull�s (the overpriced sugar drink in a mini-can) American driver hunt, do you now understand why NASCAR is so popular and why there isn�t an American driver in F1? I hope those that don�t either Tivo�d through the crap, or had one too many Bloody Mary�s after church.
October 2, 2002
