Schumacher vs. Schumacher
Issue 10 - The Heretic

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Are Williams becoming the dominant team ?
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Formula 1 News
14 - 20 April 2001

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20-Apr: On the final day of testing at Mugello, Michael Schumacher set the fastest time of the day ahead of Luca Badoer and Kimi Raikkonen. Tarso Marques in the Minardi was 4th fastest almost 6 seconds off the pace. 
Kimi Raikkonen covered the most number of laps with 84 followed by Luca Badoer with 82 and Michael Schumacher with 71 laps.
All the teams concentrated on Traction Control, Launch Control and the Automatic Gear-change sequencer.
The weather conditions were ideal for testing Traction Control as it was dry in the morning followed by heavy rain and then drying conditions in the afternoon.
This test was Minardi's first test since the start of the season and the team was satisfied with the results. Rupert Manwaring, the Sporting Director of the team said "The team has had a productive three-day test here at Mugello, and the work done on traction control has been absolutely invaluable. All three days have been very good in terms of setting up and honing the traction control software, but today has been absolutely great thanks to the weather, which has allowed us to test on soaking wet, drying, and completely dry track surfaces. It couldn’t have been better." 

Click here for the timed results 

19-Apr: Mika Hakkinen continued to set the pace at Silverstone. He dropped the  lap record on grooved tyres further today to 1:22.329. David Coulthard was second ahead of Olivier Panis in the BAR.
7 teams were present and 13 drivers set timed laps. Despite the fast time set by Hakkinen, the highlight of the day was Luciano Burti doing a few installation laps in the Prost after switching to them earlier today (story). Burti was testing for Jaguar yesterday!.
The test was interrupted several times by car failures on the track. Benetton, Jaguar, McLaren, Prost and Williams all had car failures on the track as the teams continued testing their traction control systems.
The weather conditions were cold and dry in the morning with some snow falling in the afternoon. The teams could not complete their tyre evaluation programme for the Spanish GP as the temperature at Barcelona is expected to be significantly higher than at Silverstone. The Barcelona track is one of the hardest on tyres on the calendar.
Oliver Panis covered the most number of laps with 66 followed by Jean Alesi with 58 and Eddie Irvine with 52.
Most teams have concluded their testing today however the Jordan team intends to remain at the track for tomorrow weather permitting.

Click here for the timed results 

At Mugello, Michael Schumacher set the fastest time of the session on his return to testing taking over from Luca Badoer. Nick Heidfeld was second fastest however his test was cut short as he crashed into a barrier. Rubens Barrichello was third fastest ahead of Fernando Alonso.
The teams concentrated on their Traction and Launch Control systems.
Michael Schumacher covered the most number of laps with 88 followed by Rubens Barrichello with 81 and Fernando Alonso with 48. Nick Heidfeld only managed 20 laps before his crash. Heidfeld was not hurt in the accident and the team hopes to get the car ready for Kimi Raikkonen for the final day of testing here tomorrow.

Click here for the timed results 

The Jordan team concluded their other test at Lurcy Levis while Arrows started aerodynamic and traction control straight line tests at Vairano with Jonny Kane

19-Apr: After weeks of denying that Jaguar's test driver Pedro de la Rosa will replace Luciano Burti at Jaguar, the deal has finally happened. The deal is for Luciano Burti to move to Prost replacing Gaston Mazzacane while Pedro de la Rosa takes his seat at Jaguar. This takes effect immediately.
This appears to be a win-win situation for everyone, Mazzacane did not shape at Prost so having Burti instead should be better for Prost while Pedro de la Rosa was a test driver in line for a drive next year.
Luciano Burti said "It was the best option to my future in F1. I have been talking to Alain since the Brazilian GP but I didn’t imagine that I would drive for the team this season as I had a full year contract with Jaguar. But it was definitely the right thing to do as I can now be in a team that give me great perspectives for the future. I am and will always be grateful to Jaguar Racing as they gave me a chance to show my skills in F1 in Austria and this year. But as Niki Lauda recently said, the team has already two drivers for 2002 and, even that Jaguar had assured me I would race this entire season, I’d prefer to go to a team that I can develop in long terms."
Burti will test the Prost at Silverstone today.

Pedro de la Rosa said "This is a wonderful opportunity for me, and it lays to rest the speculation that has surrounded my recent moves in F1. I came to Jaguar Racing because the long term potential for the team is obvious and I believe that Bobby Rahal and the team are fully focussed on the job in hand. I must emphasise the crucial role Bobby has played in the negotiations that have brought me to this point. A lot of hard work went on behind the scenes and Bobby was instrumental in pulling this deal off."
Jaguar's team boss Bobby Rahal said of Burti leaving: "I want to wish Luciano the very best for the future, he has made a valuable contribution to the team, and our appreciation for his services cannot be overstated. He is a tremendous young man who has a great future in F1."
And welcomed de la Rosa as their second racing driver and said "It’s great to have Pedro on board and I am confident in his ability to do an excellent job for us. He has already demonstrated his capability in the car, albeit as our test driver so far this year, and I’m sure he will acquit himself well at Barcelona – a circuit he knows very well."
Alain Prost, the President of Prost Grand Prix said of signing Burti: "It was a well-timed series of events. As soon as it was clear Gaston was no longer driving for us, it was evident to us that Luciano Burti would be a good replacement and negotiations were done quite quickly. Luciano has already shown good potential so far this season. I am sure that, as the AP04 will develop in the races to come, he will be given all the means to prove himself and to be a competitive team mate with Jean Alesi "
Prost also thanked Mazzacane for his efforts and said :"Prost Grand Prix team thanks Gaston Mazzacane for his commitment and support and wishes him all the best for his future."

18-Apr: On the second day of testing at Silverstone, Mika Hakkinen has dropped the lap record on grooved tyred further after setting a time of 1:22.450. David Coulthard was second fastest while Heinz Harald Frentzen was third almost a second behind. Frenchman Jonathan Cochet made his debut for Prost as their test driver, he covered 33 laps and was almost 2 seconds off the pace of Jean Alesi.
7 teams were present as Benetton joined in the action. 12 drivers set timed laps with Eddie Irvine covering the most number of laps with 78 followed by Jean Alesi with 66 and Mika Hakkinen with 65.
There were no major incidents during the session however the session was stopped twice as a result of Giancarlo Fisichella suffering engine problems in his Benetton.

The weather at Silverstone was very cold with an average temperature of just 8 degrees. The teams continued on evaluating tyres and testing their Traction Control systems. Testing continues tomorrow.
The Jordan team was also conducting tests at Lurcy Levis with Ricardo Zonta.

Click here for the timed results 

At Mugello, Ferrari, Sauber and Minardi started their 3 day test session with Luca Badoer setting the pace ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Nick Heidfeld.
The teams couldn't start testing until after lunch as work on the track wasn't completed.
Rubens Barrichello covered the most number of laps with 68 followed by Luca Badoer with 58 laps and Nick Heidfeld with 47.
The Minardi team gave Christijan Albers a run in their car. He covered 27 laps and was almost 7 seconds off the pace.
All teams concentrated on Traction Control system tests.
Testing continues tomorrow.
The Sauber team was also conducting tests at Vairano with Kimi Raikkonen.

Click here for the timed results 

18-Apr: "Schumacher vs. Schumacher" is the title of the 10th issue from the Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2001 season. In this issue, the Heretic looks at the aftermath San Marino Grand Prix - Issue 10

18-Apr: There were rumours going around following the Brazilian GP that Ferrari's President Luca Montezemolo was so impressed by Montoya's move on Michael Schumacher that he wants him to drive for Ferrari. While Ferrari have not confirmed nor denied any intention of attracting the Colombian star, Juan Pablo Montoya has indicated that he wouldn't be prepared to be a number 2 driver and said "To go there, you have to have a chance to be number one, but it's obvious you're not going to get equal stuff with Michael there. Michael Schumacher is the undisputed number one at Ferrari, and the team is centred around him. The second driver has to perform to help him whenever asked."

Meanwhile, Ferrari have confirmed that the cause of retirement for Michael Schumacher at the San Marino Grand Prix was due to a suspension failure. A Ferrari statement read "At the offices of the Gestione Sportiva in Maranello, the usual post-race technical briefing took place. President Luca di Montezemolo was present as the engineers went through every aspect of the Imola weekend, based on the data accumulated and checks made after the race. In order to get further data, Luca Badoer did twenty laps at the wheel of the F2001 which Michael Schumacher had used at Imola. Particular attention was paid to analysing the reason for the failure which led to Schumacher's retirement on lap 25. The engineers isolated the problem, which confirmed the original diagnosis made on Sunday afternoon, namely that there had been a failure in the front left suspension group, which led to the rim being damaged and the consequent loss of air from the tyre."

18-Apr: Niki Lauda has confirmed that Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa will drive for the team in 2002 dropping Luciano Burti. Lauda appears to be very impressed with de la Rosa's performance so far and said "De la Rosa has a contract to race next season, so he and Eddie will drive next season. That is fixed. We had to commit to him as he would not agree to sign as a test driver if he didn't have a full drive next year. My urgent need was for us to have a proper test driver. He is doing a perfect job in testing. The information he is giving us is perfect. The combination of him and Irvine seems ideal to me."
He stressed though that de la Rosa will not be driving for Jaguar this season unless either of their drivers become ill and said "Under the circumstances Burti is doing a perfect job. The Spanish media keep asking me if de la Rosa will drive at Barcelona, but I keep telling them he will only race if either of our regular drivers gets ill."

Luciano Burti has indicated that this was expected and he will do the best he can in order to prove himself in Formula 1 and said "The team informed me about this in San Marino, but to be honest, it has not been a big surprise and I have pretty much known it already. The fact is that I have always been, and will always be, grateful to Jaguar Racing for giving me the opportunity to prove myself in F1. It is a great chance for me and if I do well for the rest of the season, my future will be dictated by no one else but me. I still have thirteen races to prove myself and that is exactly how I see the rest of the season."

The Prost team have announced that 24 year old Jonathan Cochet joins Stephane Sarrazin as the teams two official test drivers for 2001. Alain Prost said "We are very happy to welcome Jonathan to our team, we have been following with much interest his career and remarkable progress, from Karting to Formula 3. Taking him on as Prost Acer's test driver is part of our strategy of promoting young French talents. We are confident Jonathan will contribute efficiently to the team's efforts in the car's development."
Cochet is expected to test the AP04 at Silverstone this week.

17-Apr: On the first day of testing at Silverstone, Heinz Harald Frentzen was the fastest driver on the track ahead of Alexander Wurz and BAR's test driver Takuma Sato.

6 teams were present with 9 drivers setting lap times. Jaguar, McLaren and Prost had 2 cars each while the rest had one car today.
All the teams were concentrating on Traction Control and tyre evaluation for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Heinz Harald Frentzen covered the most number of laps with 69 followed by Takuma Sato and Darren Turner (McLaren test driver). Jean Alesi spun and damaged his car on his first fast lap. His car was damaged and didn't return to the track, Juan Pablo Montoya only managed 20 laps after stopping on the track and Takuma Sato crashed his BAR later in the afternoon.
Testing continues tomorrow with more regular drivers joining the session.

Click here for the timed results 

At Fiorano, Luca Badoer and Rubens Barrichello were present. Both were testing aerodynamic and Traction Control systems for the Spanish Grand Prix. Luca Badoer managed to post a time faster than that of Rubens with a time of 1:00.164 against Rubens time of 1:00.214. Badoer completed 74 laps while Barrichello covered 60.
Rubens Barrichello indicated that Ferrari are working round the clock to ensure that they will remain competitive and said "We have an exceptional development schedule on the engine side. Our people work seven days a week and are constantly coming up with innovations. We have a few things which will come into the programme very soon and I can assure you that Ferrari is not resting."
Ferrari now move to Mugello for a 3 day test with Rubens Barrichello and Luca Badoer.

Click here for the timed results 

17-Apr: " Are Williams becoming the dominant team ?" Topic of the week - Have Your Say

17-Apr: All the Formula 1 teams return to testing this as put their final touches on the Traction Control and Automatic Gearbox systems in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix on the 29th of April.

Ferrari will start testing today at Fiorano and will then move to Mugello for a three day test. Sauber and Minardi are also expected to be there.

BAR, Benetton, Jaguar, Jordan, McLaren, Prost and Williams will have a 3 day test session at Silverstone starting today while the Arrows team will be testing privately at Vairano.

Giancarlo De Angelis, the head of Magneti Marelli's competition department briefly talked about the new changes and said "The most important task for the electronic controls is to tailor the torque of the engine in order to avoid wheelspin. The new system should also make life easier for the clutch, so there should no longer be any problems in this area in the event of a re-start. The gearchange will be completely automatically controlled, which will also reduce the strain on engine and gearbox. Road holding will be better and that will improve safety and performance."

16-Apr: The Williams BMW team running with Michelin tyres achieved their first team win since they became partners. For Williams, it was their first win since Jacques Villeneuve won at the Luxembourg GP in 1997. For BMW, it was their first since Gerhard Berger won at the Mexican GP in 1986 and for Michelin, it was their first since Alain Prost won at the Portuguese GP in 1984 and of course it was Ralf Schumacher's first win in 70 attempts.
More impressively it was BMW's first win from just 21 attempts since they re-entered Formula 1 and it was Michelin's first from only 4 attempts since they re-entered Formula 1. 
Gerhard Berger called it a dream day and said "Ralf has driven a great race leading from the front for all to see and proving exactly what the team already knew about him. It’s a dream day for us! Everything ran according to plan. I can only congratulate the whole team. The BMW group, that has, in only the 21st race, put together a winning engine; Michelin, whose strength I didn’t really expect quite so soon and Frank and Patrick who always had and still have a winning team."
Frank Williams commented on the win by saying "It is a great day for everybody – for WilliamsF1, for BMW and of course also for Michelin. Everybody in the team has worked really hard and has thoroughly deserved this success."

Ron Dennis admitted that while McLaren are their for winning he prefers to see Williams rather than another team win and said "Whilst we are clearly here to win, pulling back points in both the Drivers’ and the Constructors’ World Championships gives us some satisfaction. Our race strategy was correct. David drove well but Mika’s race was frustrated by a fast starting but slow racing Trulli. We hate to lose, but if we have to, we prefer that its to our good friends and competitors at Williams."

Jean Todt has indicated that choosing the harder compound tyre didn't help them achieve what they wanted and said "Our choice of tyres made yesterday did not bring us the result we had expected." He also expects a wide open season with at least 3 teams doing battle and said "It’s clear that the battle from now on will be between three teams and two tyre manufacturers. It will be a very open season."

Michael Schumacher has indicated that their advantage has diminished but they'll fight back and said "I have to say our rivals have made up the advantage we had over them. There is still a long way to go this season and I am sure we will be very competitive at the highest level."

15-Apr: What the teams and drivers said following the Race at San Marino ... Report

15-Apr: At the Post Race press conference for the San Marino GP, Ralf Schumacher indicated that he was surprised by how good his start was going into the lead from third and said "I couldn't even believe it to be honest. Then I pulled a gap out. Then after a few laps I thought he was going to go a bit quicker so I had to push again, because I had to watch out for my brakes."
He praised the performance of the Michelin tyres and the BMW engine and said "As we saw in previous races we were just caught out by a bit of bad luck. The Michelin is a great tyre, especially in race conditions, its doing a great job and we saw that today. I mean everything went perfect. The car setting was great and the engine obviously so you know that's why we have the result."
As for the way ahead for Williams BMW, he said "It might be a bit early, but we have been pretty strong the whole season. Obviously we have been caught out by some bad luck til now. But you know I think we have to keep on working. We have a great package together, we just need to improve it bit by bit and it might be possible. We'll see, we'll try our best."

David Coulthard indicated that he had a bad start with too much wheelspin and when Ralf managed to get past he was surprised by the speed of the Williams and said "I moved a little bit just before the start and had to stop the car. And then that's when the lights changed so I then got too much wheelspin. And to be honest I thought I was going to be swamped at the start, but I presume Mika must have made a bad start as well and then as I sensed Ralf was on the inside and the car was getting ready to move that way. And then obviously I had to move to make sure there was enough space for us all. And then I was interested to know just how quick he would be in the race. And obviously to my great disappointment I found out he was quicker than I was, so congratulations to Ralf on his first victory and to Williams BMW."
He struggled with the balance of the car between different sets of tyres and described the race as one of the most difficult this season and said "I had a little bit of inconsistency set to set which made it difficult for me to be really pushing the whole race. So I would say that in actual fact this is the most difficult grand prix I have had the whole season in terms of balance. But if you can still pick up six points in those situations then you know it all helps for the Championship."

Rubens Barrichello indicated that he was happy with the strategy that allowed him to finish in 3rd place despite having a bad start and said "I think we had a great strategy to be honest with you. I had a slow start, I had too much wheelspin. But then you know I could follow everyone. I didn't know how many times they would stop and I was just trying to overtake. At Imola it is very difficult to do that. I was losing time behind Mika. Luckily I had three more laps when he came into the pits, so I could go fast. Then my race was decided there. It was a great race for me, because I started from so far back. It was good to come up do some quick laps and finish on the podium."

15-Apr: San Marino GP – Race: Ralf Schumacher wins his first ever race ahead of David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello. Mika Hakkinen, Jarno Trulli and Heinz Harald Frentzen make the top 6 ... Timed Results ... Full Report ... Notes

15-Apr: San Marino GP – Warm-up: David Coulthard sets the fastest time of the session ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. Nick Heidfeld, Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher make the top 6 ... Timed Results ... Full Report ... Notes

14-Apr: What the teams and drivers said following Qualifying at San Marino ... Report

14-Apr: At the Post Qualifying press conference for the San Marino GP, David Coulthard has indicated that the reason he was one of the last drivers to go out on their first run was due to his team trying to sort out some of the problems encountered during practice earlier which worked and he was delighted with winning pole. As for the race tomorrow he said "There's a long way in this race to go, you know qualifying is only one part of it. Especially if you can see the results I have had this year from bad qualifying positions. I just need to make a good start, hope we have a reliable start, and do the best we can."
Mika Hakkinen indicated that they were confident with the conditions allowing them to go for 4 runs of 3 laps each unlike Ferrari who went for 3 runs of 4 laps each. When asked about the reason for not being able to go better than his team-mate and he answered (jokingly) "It's very simple, it is just because we are team mates, it's nice for David to get the pole. Its been many cases when I have been in front of David so this time it was good to let him be there."
Ralf Schumacher indicated that he didn't expect to be that quick but thanks to the great BMW engine and a warmer track he managed to get 3rd place. He added that they are struggling in cold and wet conditions with the Michelin tyres. As for the race tomorrow he hopes it will be dry and said "To be honest I just listen to the ones that which say its dry, because otherwise we are in deep problems again. I mean we have a bit of bad luck this year, because every grand prix so far -except Melbourne - we had rain. I hope it's different tomorrow."

14-Apr: San Marino GP – Qualifying: David Coulthard grabs pole position ahead of Mika Hakkinen. Ralf Schumacher is third ahead of his brother Michael. Jarno Trulli is 5th ahead of Rubens Barrichello ... Timed Results ... Full Report ... Notes

14-Apr: San Marino GP – 2nd Saturday Practice: Michael Schumacher sets the fastest time of the session ahead of Rubens Barrichello and David Coulthard. Kimi Raikkonen, Heinz Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld make the top 6 ... Timed Results ... Full Report ... Notes

14-Apr: San Marino GP – 1st Saturday Practice: Michael Schumacher sets the fastest time of the session ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Mika Hakkinen. David Coulthard, Jarno Trulli and Heinz Harald Frentzen make the top 6 ... Timed Results ... Full Report ... Notes.

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