Posted on 07/21/2002 7:05:39 AM PDT by Andy from Beaverton
Congratulations Michael Schumacher!
French GP Race report [21/07/02 - 15:35]
Congratulations Michael!he French Grand Prix, an event where Michael Schumacher could claim his fifth world crown and fans await the beginning of the 72-lap event anxiously. Lining up second on the grid alongside Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael settles his F2002 into place awaiting the start of the formation lap. Only 19 drivers are taking part here this afternoon after Giancarlo Fisichella failed to qualify following a heavy shunt in Saturday practice and both Arrows drivers missed the mark due to ongoing financial concerns.
Beautiful weather conditions continued with ambient temperature sitting at a warm 24 degrees. Juan Montoya's Williams is starting the event on new tyres and the formation lap gets underway. Wait! Barrichello's Ferrari is still up on the jacks like Ralf Schumacher last year! Disaster for the Brazilian as he is now forced to start from pitlane, but the situation could turn out to benefit his teammate, as to win his fifth crown, Michael couldn't have Rubens finishing second.
Barrichello changes steering wheels and the race is go! Montoya leads the way ahead of Michael Schumacher but behind them the sole Jordan of Takuma Sato clashes with the BAR of Olivier Panis and both are in the gravel. Barrichello fails to make the start at all and while Schumacher pushes Montoya hard, Panis tours into the pits for a new front wing. Kimi Raikkonen is on the attack trying to take second place from Michael who in turn is trying to take the lead from Montoya! What a great three way battle for the lead!
Felipe Massa jumped the start and the young Sauber rookie receives a drive through penalty. The top four are close together with Montoya leading, Michael half a second back, Raikkonen seven tenths behind the Ferrari and Ralf Schumacher in fourth a second behind the McLaren. It looks as if Pedro de la Rosa's Jaguar was caught up in the first lap incident, the Spaniard all the way at the back of the field behind Sato. Minardi driver Mark Webber is now up to 13th as teammate Alex Yoong has a minor spin.
Another penalty for Massa, this time because the Sauber driver crossed the white line coming out of the pits from his earlier drive through. The battle continues up the front but Montoya is slowly edging out a lead, adding another half a second to the time back to Michael Schumacher. Another second now separates the Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen. Jacques Villeneuve is pushing to get past the eleventh placed Toyota of Allan McNish, but fails to make the move.
Ralf Schumacher is pushing to catch and pass Raikkonen but the Finn is unperturbed as he sets the fastest lap of the race. Michael Schumacher responds to the McLaren driver and sets his own fastest lap of the race. 1.8 seconds covers the top three. Lap 20 and Renault are preparing to bring in Jenson Button for what is obviously the first of a two stop strategy here this afternoon. 9.6 seconds for the Englishman and is back on track as Villeneuve opts for the same move and enters the BAR pit. Jarno Trulli, Alex Yoong and Eddie Irvine also veer off or their first stops of the day.
Lap 26 and in comes Michael Schumacher, the German emerging from his stop in the lead, but it appeared as if, like Sato, the Ferrari ace crossed the white line coming out of the pits. McLaren are now ready for Raikkonen then Coulthard, the Scot enduring a long stop of 11 seconds as they fill the McLaren with fuel. The top four at the end of the stops is now Schumacher Montoya, Raikkonen and Ralf Schumacher. Raikkonen begins to push Montoya for second place as Michael Schumacher is under investigation as they too think he crossed the white line.
Another retirement as Olivier Panis retires the BAR from his home event, bringing the number on the track down to 16. Drive through penalty for Michael Schumacher, but he doesn't come in right away. Ron Dennis was livid at the situation, demanding the Ferrari driver pay the same penalty as Massa. Schumacher finally comes in to serve his penalty and Montoya is back in the lead with 37 laps remaining.
Raikkonen now second with Michael Schumacher emerging from pitlane for the second time to claim third place. BAR's day is also over as the Honda engine in Villeneuve's 004 gives out, the 1997 champion giving up his tenth place to Mika Salo with Mark Webber now 11th after getting past the second Toyota of Allan McNish.
Montoya laps Allan McNish but as Kimi Raikkonen attempts to follow suit, Michael Schumacher tries to take advantage of the situation to get past the Finn, but no luck. Montoya is in for his second stop, 11 seconds, leaving his rivals to fight the traffic. Raikkonen leads in France! Ralf Schumacher is also in for his second and final stop, a bit quicker for the German with a 9.6, but, just like his brother before him, and Felipe Massa, he crosses the white line on the exit and will surely be penalised.
Drive through penalty for Ralf Schumacher as Kimi Raikkonen and Michael Schumacher lap the Magny-Cours track a lot faster than Montoya. Michael comes in for his second stop and rejoins ahead of Montoya. Now it's time to see what Kimi Raikkonen can do. Could the Finn take his first ever victory here today? It's his turn to pit, 8.7 and he keeps the lead! Two more retirements as Mika Salo's Toyota engine blows and Felipe Massa also retiring in the pits, but wait, there goes Jarno Trulli as well all in the one lap!
Eddie Irvine out now, the Jaguar losing the rear wing and spinning. This brings the field down to 11 as David Coulthard finally pits for the second and final time. The Scot is out in third, ahead of Montoya and behind Michael Schumacher, but did he also cross the line? Yes, he did, the fourth driver here to do so this afternoon and the fourth driver to be penalised for it.
Michael Schumacher is pushing for the lead and if he gets past the young Finn's McLaren, it's world championship glory for the fifth time. Coulthard comes in to serve his penalty as Montoya loses almost a second a lap to his teammate as he struggles for grip, allowing the Scot to slip back into third despite the delay. Jenson Button comes into the pits, odd, this is the Englishman's third stop, but he is back on track in sixth and looking set for another point here today.
Juan Manuel Fangio
David is on a charge, setting a new fastest lap but he is 11 seconds behind the leaders and it's very doubtful there is enough time to make up the deficit. Juan Montoya runs wide, his rear Michelins almost gone. Eight laps to go and Raikkonen comes up to lap Pedro de la Rosa. Michael is closing in on the Finn, he can smell title glory just minutes down the road. Meanwhile Allan McNish spins his Toyota and retires from the race.
Michael edges closer and closer and looks for a way past the McLaren and he does it as Raikkonen goes long at Adelaide! The German is through for the lead! This is it, this is history. Michael's fifth world title, his third in a row, the German equaling Juan Manuel Fangio as many expected he would here today! Three laps to go and it's his for the taking. Nothing can stop him now! He crosses the line and the crowd goes wild! Congratulations Michael Schumacher on your record equaling fifth world crown!
Top six, Michael Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen, David Coulthard, Juan Pablo Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button
Robyn Schmidt, Chief English Editor
CAPSIS International
Oh, come on. Michael did not deserve the win at the Austrian Grand Prix. That win belonged to Rubens. That incident soured me so much, I gave up watching F1.
We'll see what happens next year. I used to really like Schuey. I think Juan Pablo Montoya is the driver of the future and I like his style. If Williams can get him a reliable set of wheels next season, I might watch it some more.
I don't believe that matters if the person being overtaken (Kimi) has gone off, as he did. He alluded to oil in the post race press conference but he was so obviously disappointed that he was sort of mumbling. Besides, I was still jumping up and down around my living room so I wasn't really paying attention to him.
I'd love to be in Maranello right now.
I think Michael Schumacher has the best intellectual approach to racing. You are getting the perfect combination with Schuey and I don't expect any driver to approach his intellectual capacity in the cockpit. But I think if JPM was on the Ferrari team, driving Rubens' car and he and Schuey started side by side in ten races, JPM would blow Schuey away. Either that or they'd crash in ten races. I like JPM's aggressiveness and I like what he brings out in Schuey- some of that same aggressiveness. Schuey is definitely the best, but JPM is hands down the second best and much of that is due to his car. Like I said, given similar cars, Schuey would be JPM's bitch.
Here's a more authoritative answer to your question, found on www.formula1.com
Cheers!
Following thorough investigations into Michael Schumacher's pass on Kimi Raikkonen to win today's French Grand Prix, the stewards of the meeting have decided not to take any further action.
A statement released at Magny-Cours read: "The stewards of the meeting received a report from the race director which stated that the driver of car number 1 (Michael Schumacher) overtook the driver of car number 4 (Kimi Raikkonen) whilst yellow flags were being shown for the incident involving car number 25 (Allan McNish) at Turn 5.
"Both drivers and their team representatives were summoned. Having heard the explanations of the drivers and their representatives, having viewed video evidence and examined relevant sector times, the stewards decide that no further action is deemed necessary.
"The competitor is reminded of its right to appeal."
I'd have loved to be in Maranello earlier today.
While we get excited about Tiger Woods and Lance Armstrong, the US sports media didn't even NOTICE the outcome of the French GP - certainly not the fact that it was perhaps the moment MS became the greatest race car driver in history - better than Petty, better than Earnhardt, better than Senna, better than Andretti, Foyt, Force or Unser, better than even Fangio - this guy is the real deal, take no prisoners do whatever it takes to build a championship team.
Whatever your opinions of the sport, or of the man, his accomplishments will be legion.
F1=Boring? Not if you're paying attention. Admittedly, though, it lacks the pit lane brawling and juvenile antics of NASCAR.
Doubtful. JPM's FW24 is capable of winning, he has in fact out qualified MS on several occassions. Schumacher is fast because he's above all consistent - he's also VERY easy on the car, because he understands EXACTLY what it's doing under him, all the time. JPM is fast, but he's hard on his car and his tires, and in F1 fast laps don't always win.
That's what I find so amazing about this sport - the different approaches the top teams - Ferrari, Williams and McLaren - take to race strategy, pit stops, team orders - result in some astonishing racing if you know what you're looking at.
Can you imagine what was going through Kimi Raikonnen's head, at 22 leading the soon-to be FIVE TIME world champion on his way to his first F1 win? No pressure there.
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