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 Spanish GP: Race Report

SCHUMACHER DOMINATES IN SPAIN

Michael Schumacher continued his dominance of the 2002 season, starting from pole position and going on to record his fourth victory of the season. It was a superb drive from Schumacher but it was a case of mixed fortunes once again for the team.

Schumacher on the podium with Montoya and Coulthard

The drama began even before the start, as Rubens Barrichello was unable to select a gear to begin his parade lap from second place on the grid, thus ending his race on the spot with another hydraulic failure. It was the Brazilian's fourth retirement in five races.

With Minardi withdrawing from the race, 19 cars lined up for the start of the 65-lap Spanish Grand Prix with Michael Schumacher making a good start to hold off the BMW Williams duo of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya. This was how it remained until Ralf Schumacher made a rare mistake, running off track, losing his bargeboard in the process, and being forced to pit for a precautionary new front wing. This effectively ruined his race but it would prove irrelevant anyway as the German’s car expired on the final lap.

Out front, Michael Schumacher immediately stamped his authority on the race, lapping consistently eight tenths of a second a lap faster than anyone to build himself a healthy cushion. Such was the dominance of Schumacher he was able to pull out a big enough lead during his first 25-lap stint and could make his first pit stop without even losing track position.

The World Champion takes the chequered flag after yet another great drive

The German reeled of the laps to take his third successive victory and maintaining the 100 percent win rate for the new F2002 chassis. Juan Pablo Montoya pushed hard all day but had no answer to the pace of Schumacher, but at least picked up six valuable championship points in a race that was seen as a case of ‘damage limitation’ more than anything else. It was far from easy for Montoya as his team messed up his final pit stop, waving the Colombian out before the re-fueller had finished his job. A mechanic suffered a very sore foot as a result.

David Coulthard finished in third position, despite concerns over his rear wing and was able to pass Jenson Button for the position at mid-distance. It was a solid drive from Coulthard while team-mate Kimi Raikkonen was out of luck once again, retiring his McLaren Mercedes when he shed his rear wing in a Minardi-like fashion indicating that it is not just the tail enders that get it wrong.

Renault was on course to secure another handful of points with Jarno Trulli looking set to take fourth position until mechanical problems intervened once again with just four laps remaining dropping him down to an eventual tenth place. Jenson Button played it cautious all day, giving away an easy position to Kimi Raikkonen at the first turn, then giving David Coulthard all the space he needed later in the race to make the pass. Battling with Nick Heidfeld exiting the pits for the final time also saw the British driver back out of any confrontation, dropping to sixth behind the Sauber driver before retiring.

Neither Williams could take the challenge to the Ferrari around the Catalunya circuit

Nick Heidfeld finished in a fine fourth position for the Sauber Petronas team while team-mate Felipe Massa was part of a great battle for what would become fifth position ahead of the fired up Heinz-Harald Frentzen. For Arrows, the first point of the season is a just reward after a difficult start to the season in a car that certainly has a great deal of potential.

BAR Honda enjoyed a more competitive outing for the second straight race, with Jacques Villeneuve finishing in a strong seventh place once again. However, Olivier Panis enjoyed a good battle with Heinz-Harald Frentzen until his retirement made it a clean sweep of non-finishes for the Frenchman with the BAR Honda team this year. Had he enjoyed some reliability, BAR Honda would have scored Honda’s first point of the season.

Allan McNish produced a solid drive to finish in eighth place, ahead of team-mate Mika Salo who was forced to pit on the first lap for as yet unknown reasons.

Jaguar Racing had another race to forget, with Pedro de la Rosa spinning off on the second lap of his home race while chasing team-mate Eddie Irvine for position. Irvine also failed to make the chequered flag, retiring with what appeared to be a hydraulic failure at mid-distance.

A dream day for Arrows after Frentzen finishes in sixth to score one point

While Heinz-Harald Frentzen picked up Arrows Cosworth’s first point of the season, it was another early shower for team-mate Enrique Bernoldi.

Just five laps into the 65-lap race, Giancarlo Fisichella pitted his Jordan Honda to retire from the event as Jordan’s nightmare of a season continued. Takuma Sato lasted another six laps before a collision.

KL Minardi Asiatech finished its race weekend before it really began, with the team taking the sensible decision to withdraw both machines from the race following no less than three wing failures during the weekend.

The Formula One circus moves to Austria in two weeks time, a track that does historically provide a more interesting spectacle than Circuit de Catalunya. Michael Schumacher’s rivals will be hoping for a miracle if they are to stop the quadruple World Champion from running away with his fifth crown.

Race Result

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