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 San Marino GP: Race Report

FERRARI PAINT IMOLA RED

Schumacher leads into the first corner but Barrichello lost out to Ralf's Williams

Michael Schumacher dominated the San Marino Grand Prix from beginning to end to record his 56th career Grand Prix victory and to lead home team-mate Rubens Barrichello to their first one-two result of the season in a complete display of dominance from the Italian Champions.

The result moves the team to the top of the constructors’ standings and gives Michael Schumacher a clear 14-point advantage at the top of the championship after just four races of the season.

Ralf Schumacher fought hard in his BMW Williams but was unable to match the pace of either F2002s and had to settle for third position ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya who was seemingly unable to equal the pace of his German team-mate.

It was not a classic Grand Prix by any stretch of the imagination, with no overtaking manoeuvres for position amongst the leaders on track. Michael Schumacher made a great start from pole position maintaining his advantage and was quickly up to speed pulling out nearly a second a lap from Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello who was beaten off the line by the BMW Williams driver.

Montoya and Raikkonen are followed closely by the two Renaults

Barrichello found himself bottled up behind Schumacher Jnr for the first half of the race but took full advantage of his first pit stop to regain the position. Once clear, the Brazilian was able to show his true pace, setting the lap record and crossing the line 18-seconds behind team-mate Michael Schumacher to the delight of the Tifosi.

Ralf Schumacher finished in third place for Williams after a solid drive just under two seconds behind Barrichello, but it was clear from the outset that the Michelin shod FW24 was no match for the all-conquering F2002s. Juan Pablo Montoya had a low key race, never challenging the pace of his team-mate to bring home his car in a disappointed fourth position, some 25 seconds behind the lead Williams.

The Renault duo of Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button made their customary good starts and raced in formation until their first pitstops when Button took advantage of a briefly clear track to put in a fast lap and then emerge from the pits ahead of team-mate Trulli. Button picked up another position as David Coulthard pitted, ensuring that he secured another two valuable championship points for the French manufacturer in a race the British driver described as "the best of my career."

Jarno Trulli dropped off the pace in closing stages of the race to finish ninth and could not stop Jacques Villeneuve and Felipe Massa passing him for position.

It's all so easy: nobody could stop the World Champion in the San Marino GP

Kimi Raikkonen lost a certain fifth position with just 18-laps remaining with yet another retirement while David Coulthard was beaten for pace by his younger team-mate once again and was fortunate to pick up the final points paying position in sixth. To make matters worse for the Scotsman, race winner Michael Schumacher lapped him with seven laps remaining, underlining the difficulties the McLaren team find themselves in with the Mercedes powered MP4-17.

Jacques Villeneuve stayed out of trouble all day to finish in seventh position in what was the BAR Honda’s best race of the season. Team-mate Olivier Panis failed to make the finish but the team will be encouraged following Villeneuve’s strong drive.

Felipe Massa drove an aggressive race to finish in eighth position while team-mate Nick Heidfeld had a troubled event and finished in tenth position. Heidfeld suffered a double first pit stop thanks to a Sauber refuelling problem and this combined with a poor getaway from his seventh placed staring position, effectively eliminated any points paying opportunity. To compound his woes the German received a pit lane speed violation and was rewarded with a drive through penalty for his troubles dropping him firmly out of contention.

The final finisher was Mark Webber in the Minardi Asiatech who brought his PS02 home in 11th position after splitting the two Jaguar runners until their eventual retirements. For Jaguar it was a case of slow and unreliable today and it’s clear the outfit still have a great deal of work to do amid rumors that the team has become effectively split with mechanics no longer trading information.

Despite a strong drive Villeneuve still only finished in 7th position

Heinz-Harald Frentzen retired his Arrows Cosworth after 26-laps with a mechanical problem, while team-mate Enrique Bernoldi retired from the event with just 10 laps remaining after a suspected left front suspension failure. It was a disappointing race for the Arrows team once again as they have shown real flashes of potential.

While Honda got closer to their first point of the season with BAR and Jacques Villeneuve, Jordan’s rotten weekend continued with Takuma Sato retiring his EJ12 after just five laps with a suspected gearbox problem, while Giancarlo Fisichella dropped to 17th position at the start of the race before retiring after just 20 laps.

Allan McNish parked his Toyota as the race got underway with a drive train problem while team-mate Mika Salo lasted 28 laps further before his TF102 failed. It was not a particularly strong showing this weekend for the German-based team, having seemingly slipped back compared to the rivals now that the Formula One circus hits the European tour.

For the Ferrari team it will be a case of celebrations tonight as they paint the town red, while BMW Williams will be wondering what they can do to close down the small, but obvious deficit to the Ferrari team. For Renault there will be yet more praise for the rejuvenated Jenson Button while McLaren will simply be asking questions of Mercedes and their technical team. Next stop Barcelona in a fornights time...

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