The
third race of the season saw Michael Schumacher win in the new F2002 ahead of
the Williams of Ralf Schumacher.
With all the talk about Williams dominating, was it a surprise ?
What about Montoya touching the back of Michael, was Juan Pablo right in
calling Michael 'unfair' or was he covering up for a silly mistake ?
And Renault in only their third race, they mix it with McLaren. Expected ?
We also saw another impressive performance from Toyota, Jaguar have certainly
improved while Sauber, Arrows and the 2 Honda teams seem to be going
backwards. Perhaps it was the tyres!
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What others are saying:
Schumi was running the F2002 on a software limiting Rev!,
the car was setup to go as fast as it can without going into more than 90% of
the real F2002 pace!, in terms of engine!, what Schumi said on the race day
(press) just another play, though they would run F2002 at almost or full pace
because they can't hold up Williams at Schumi pace in Brazil, Ferrari lost
virtually in Brazil, it was Schumi win not Ferrari's - Ice Blade
I agree that JPM is a good driver and that he should settle
down but on the dirty side, I'd put Shumi with him on the same league
certainly, and that's quite natural for those seeking for being THE GREATEST.
On the other side we have the Fangios, the Fittipaldis, the Prosts... which I
prefer. Anyway, they are all fine to watch! SALUD! - Alberto R - Paraguay
Why should JPM complain about MS´s move? He was in Ferrari's
back and there was no other way to pass MS than by the side, not jumping over,
as it looked he wanted to. JPM should settle down, is a good driver but has no
respect for others and this is not the way he'll win races. He brings
excitement but I think he's the one who is dirty racing because can't stand by
Schumy - Conrad - Paraguay
It seems to me that the majority here don't want the excitement
that Juan Pablo has brought into the sport and would rather watch Ralf driving
behind his brother for half a race without a single attempt at passing him. Is
that what you want ?.
I think the reason Juan Pablo is angry with Michael is that he expected
Michael to leave him some room as Juan Pablo did on the previous couple of
corners. Michael didn't (if you look at the replay you'll see clearly that
Michael cut across reacting to Juan's move). Juan feels that he was treated
unfairly and he is saying now is that he'll drive that way too. I don't see
anything wrong with that. I think Michael needs someone to remind him that he
cannot be above the rest. I just hope that FIA won't summon Juan Pablo and
tell him that he can't apply Michael's rules to himself! - Simon B -
Australia
No way Tim!! when you're driving in a race and for the world
championship you don't think 'he looks faster than me i guess i should let him
by' you race your race, you defend your line legitimately as Michael did.
Montoya would have done exactly the same but maybe Michael wouldn't have been
careless enough to clip the car. Montoya is trying to cover his mistake, and
he's done it poorly. he needs to learn to adapt his racing style. He said it
almost as if he was expecting a favour from Michael. As if! - Lizzie I - United Kingdom
Ag come off it Tim - Your emotion impairs your reason.
Montoya is still learning to drive in a Formula 1 race. It's unlike CART where
you go pedal to the metal and go like hell with clenched teeth and fists -
regardless. In Formula 1 you also have to think about your race and plan your
race and patience is a virtue.
As for your comment on the FIA and the others - that's loud talk for a guy on
a small pony! The race was a good one full of excitement. When was the last
time that a race was so close at the end and the winning margin was less than
a second without the leader backing off although I think Cookie may be right
and Michael was not driving 10/10 but he planned his race and strategy to keep
in front - Johan M - South Africa
Extremely disappointed with Michael Schumacher's dirty
driving tactics. It was clear that Juan had more than enough momentum to pass Michael
going into that corner, and Michael knew it - the fact is, Schumi knows he's
met a potential match and is pulling every dirty trick out of his big red
Ferrari bag to desperately hold onto his uber status as the big man. If you're
so good Schumi... stop blocking Juan and RACE HIM! How anyone can see this
incident as anything but a blatant blocking move is beyond me. Legal or not
legal, its down right DIRTY RACING. If this was a motocross we would have
simply said "he knew he was gonna get passed, so he took him out"...
as he clearly did. Juan is not being childish - he's telling it like it is.
The FIA, and you all need to get off your red high horse, take your noses out
of the air and see the truth. Talent has arrived, and dirty tricks can only
stop it for so long ... Tim L - USA
A good debut for the F2002 and a brilliant drive by Michael.
JPM was too reckless and paid the price. If only he had waited, he would have
had a good chance to pass Michael.
To be fair to Ralf I think he is a very good driver, but he must realize
(before it is too late) that he has to race everyone, including his
brother.
It seems that this year it is all going to run down to Tires. And as far as I
can see Bridgestone seems to be winning. In the last two races where Michelin
should have had very good advantage they only ended up having marginal
advantage. Whereas in Australia, when conditions were suited for Bridgestone
their cars excelled - Vishy - Canada
J-PM made a mistake and is now acting like a little boy
about it. Michael was perfectly entitled to cover his line. Montoya saying he
will get revenge is just childish. and well done to Ralf, he brought the
points home for Williams. Who knows, he probably would have won if it wasn't
for that first stint. but Ralf sweetie, don't be scared of big bro, you're as
good a racer as he is with other drivers, on the track he's just another
competitor - Lizzie I - United Kingdom
A good clear race. It was good to see the new F2002
finishing with no problems. It seems that the new car is reliable and though
competitive to others so we'll have a "fair" fight in the following
races. The incident with JPM & MS (if has happened) is something that
happens all the time in F1 and nobody complains so JPM has to show his value
with results and not with cries.
As for RB it seems that Ferrari' s strategy was to have him leading the race
at the beginning. The car had a problem and that's all. There is no way that
Ferrari could make such a mistake as giving all the attention to MS/F2002 and
forget about RB/F2001.
Thanxs for giving people the opportunity to have their say. Keep up the good
work. Your site is great - Alvinos L - Cyprus
The only oddities for me in Brazil is that Michael did not
secure pole and Rubens blew up again. Martin Brundle's assumption Michael was
two or three stopping, everyone was writing the Scuderia off, that is absurd.
I don't believe Michael was close to ten tenth's during the race. Also did
anyone notice that the F2002 has picked up some straight line grunt relative
to the Williams.
On to Imola and maybe that Ferrari one two. Regards - Cooky - Australia
It wasn't a surprise, Ferrari is very strong in racing
strategies. Montoya was covering his silly mistake. The Renault performance
was expected nor the poor performance of the McLaren team - George L -
Costa Rica
As much as it pains me to admit I think that McLaren has
been reduced to fighting for the title of "Best of the Rest". While
they were fast and reliable in Brazil they were far off the pace of both the
Ferrari and Williams. 50 some odd seconds from second to third! Come on, MS
and Ralf could have stopped and had a beer!
The one Feel most for is Rubens. He may be the #2 driver, but he at least
deserves a car he can help his team-mate in. I never got a real good look at
the "incident" between MS and JPM, but what I did see looked like a
racing incident, so JPM can stop whinning as far as I'm concerned. But I do
think there should be some consistency in enforcement of the rules. I think it
was DC who suggested a travelling marshal preferably a former driver to help
make sure rules get applied fairly. Sounds like a good idea to me.
I think Blas A is wrong. Ralf is simply not in the same league as his brother
or JPM. If he had tried to pass anywhere besides turn 1 he probably would have
ended up in the grass, and he could not catch the Ferrari down the front
straight, so I don't think he had a realistic chance of passing.
Ferrari, Williams and McLaren had better start looking over their shoulders.
Sauber, Renault and Toyota are starting to look pretty good - Jeff S - USA
There's nothing 'wrong' with J.P.M.'s driving; he's a racer
and wants to win every corner. That's fine if the others make room. But
Michael is always willing to settle, if necessary, for just one lap (the final
one!). That doesn't make for excitement --maybe-- but when you're investing
millions of dollars, you're only interested in results. That's why Michael
usually has no excuses when he loses, always gives the team a boost and looks
ahead, always ahead, to the next turn, the next lap, the next race. Maybe with
time, J.P.M. will learn. Maybe he won't. But it is for sure more fun to watch
him drive than it is to listen to him complain. What a great year, so far! - Jim
W - USA
Juan Pablo needs to learn to control his aggression. He's
just trying to intimidate everyone into surrendering and he's looking a bit
silly at the moment. Also really disappointed with Ralf, clearly he will never
challenge Michael - between them they made the race at the front look boring,
formation driving.
Jarno Trulli was driver of the day for me, shame the car didn't last the
course. I was so pleased to see Jenson fend off Montoya at the end. A bit of
good look for Jenson getting fourth but who would begrudge him that after so
cruelly being robbed of a podium in Malaysia - Linda B - England
Who was in the wrong in the Schumacher/Montoya incident? I
believe that it was too close to call. Therefore, I call it a racing
incident.
My main concern is Ralf's pathetic attempt to win the race during the last 15
laps or so. Everyone had to have noticed this as well! If you watched the
race, you will notice how quickly Ralf caught up with Michael after the
pitstops, only to stay behind Michael for the rest of the race. Williams BMW
should give Ralf his marching orders at the end of the current contract if
this is all Ralf can do for them.
Montoya would definitely have passed Michael with the stronger BMW. Ralf said
in the post-race interviews that he did not want to throw away his second
place six points, so played a bit more conservatively. What kind of driver is
this, really? Williams BMW should really consider bringing back Jenson Button,
who has proven to be the aggressive driver that Frank Williams likes, and drop
Ralf like a bad habit. Honestly, what a horrible effort by Ralf in a superior
car.
Also, do not get involved in the hype over McLaren's reappearance on the
podium. They took a very distant third. They need to accept the fact that they
are now challenging the likes of Renault (and Sauber) as opposed to Ferrari
and BMW.
Lastly, good job to Toyota. They are collecting points the smart way, by not
pushing the car too hard, but staying on the track until the end to collect
the "scraps" points, which is working wonderfully - Blas A - USA
SHAME ON FERRARI!
I think they overlooked the fact that Rubens' car had little glitches in it,
and instead, decided to devote all their attention to Michael's car
(considering the fact that that was the first race with the F2002). And, as
usual, Rubens got the shaft. After Rubens was out of the race, I was hoping
Montoya would be on the podium. He still did a great job working his way back
to a point finish. KUDOS for Montoya - Dan A - Brazil
The first two were racing incidents but this one is
'unfair'? Come off it JP, you took your chances and you paid your price. A
good race, marred by Michael losing the competition, which probably gave him
the win.
I feel sorry for Barrichello, what has he got to do to finish a race? I also
feel a bit sorry for the two McLaren drivers, not that I think they could have
stayed with the Ferrari's and Williams cars, but to finally have the car sort
of working and then to be beaten for half the race by a better launch control
system in a slower car.
The really unfortunate player in Brazil was Raikkonen. He drove like a
champion in waiting, professional, cool and fast. Kimi was beaten in
qualifying by David only because he had to swap cars (twice) and he accepted
the outcome without complaint. Without getting flustered he waited for the
opportunity to get around Button in the race, committed himself and took the
place. To get so close to the points and then lose out through no fault of his
own is a real shame, to then accept that without whining is the mark of a man
who knows his own talent and is comfortable with that.
Malaysia and Brazil are both Michelin circuits (the Schuey factor and vastly
improved performance from Bridgestone on the Ferrari's in Brazil not
withstanding) and we will have to get into the European rounds to see how much
of the results to date have been tyres. Renault will carry on challenging and
are definitely on an upward spiral but seeing Kimi pull away from Jenson makes
me think they still have a way to go to catch the McLaren in race
conditions.
It was an entertaining race, with Michael never threatened after the early
'racing incident'. Congratulations to DC for getting his podium. Roll on
Europe so we can see what the Bridgestones can do on a car that isn't red - Geoff
H - Australia
Firstly, I have to say that Michael's win wasn't much of a
surprise once Juan Pablo's chances were ruined at the beginning. In spite of
the superiority of the Michelin tyres, Ralf Schumacher is simply not fast
enough to beat Michael.
Regarding Juan Pablo calling Michael's move unfair, he's basically trying to
bring out a point that the rules are not quite consistent....surely, the
penalty on him in the last race was a bit too harsh. Juan was certainly a
potential winner in this race, as was apparent from his fastest lap
times.
I think Renault have come up with a very good package this season. One thing
that has impressed me about the car and drivers of Renault is the blistering
start they get...this was seen late last year also.
McLaren have put up a pretty lacklustre performance lately, and in the absence
of Mika Hakkinen, I doubt they will ever have a solid, convincing race win
(remember Silverstone 2001 ?), if at all they manage any.
Finally, Toyota and Jaguar looked better than Sauber last race only because of
the Michelin tyres. I expect Heidfeld and Massa to put up some stunning
performances in the future - Tendulkar S - India
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