2003 FEATURES
2003 FEATURES
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Half season Driver Review
1. Michael Schumacher
Schumacher senior is not leading the Championship by good fortune. Ever still
the complete statesman and no one can deny his that he is still the man to beat
in 2003, despite having won only one GP this year. Ferrari have been struggling
of recent times, the Bridgestone rubber is certainly a contributing factor but
in all fairness the F2003-GA has been caught by the opposition. Has been the
bridesmaid four times this season all ready, but remains World Championship
favorite for good reason. Best race: Austria.
2. Juan-Pablo Montoya
Mr. consistent in 2003, a series of good result capped of by winning the opening
race of the season in Australia. Currently second in the Championship standings,
Montoya has had a good solid showing, surprisingly yet unspectacular. Has
visited the podium four times this season, and just the one retirement in
Malaysia. Needs to show more out right speed if he is to be a genuine contender,
and must combat the Ralf Schumacher factor which is currently on a roll. Now is
the time to show his metal, is he up to the challenge - absolutely. Best race:
Australia.
3. Ralf Schumacher
Struggled immensely at the start of the season, with Williams going as far to
apparently write him a letter to lift his game. Has responded fantastically
well, winning the last three out of five GP and has finished every race this
season. Is on a genuine roll at the moment after his fresh consecutive GP
victories at Monaco and Canada and is looking as a title contender as long as
BMW, Williams and Michelin can maintain the momentum. Best race: Canada.
4. Fernando Alonso
Talented and very very quick is the best way to rate Alonso. No one ever knew
just how good he was when he raced for Minardi in 2001, now his results speak
for themselves. Alonso is no doubt one of F1's brightest talents, and is
destined for success, his victory in front of his home crowd in Spain was all
class and their will certainly be many more where they came from. Extremely diligent
and hard working, Alonso has all the traits to be the next Schumacher. Up until
the Canadian GP, Alonso had finished every race, all in the points. Best race:
Spain.
5. Kimi Raikkonen
Started the season dominantly and was very unlucky not to win the opening
race of the season in Australia. Finally broke through his first career victory
at Brazil but apart from success at Monaco (where he finished 2nd) his season
has been on a down hill slide. Very talented, nick named the Iceman by team boss
Ron Dennis the Finn has struggled with the on going saga of the seemingly
ill-fated MP4/18. Like Alonso and Winton, is one of F1's brightest stars and if
McLaren get their act together could still pose a genuine threat at the
Championship goes into the second half. Best race: Brazil.
6. Jason Winton
Probably one of the quickest drivers over one lap and has dazzled Jaguar
with his raw outright speed. Amazing natural talent that needs time to mature
into race finesse which at times this season has been lacking. Has the potential
to be World Champion with out question and has attracted interest from the top
teams whom have noted his speed. One to watch, could be on the move in 2004 to
McLaren which would certainly raise a few eye-brows. Time will tell, but Winton
is a special talent. Best race: Malaysia.
7. Jenson Button
The young Brit came into the 2003 season as a make or break season for him.
Is a popular driver for BAR and is well respected by team Principal David
Richards and the team alike, and his performances give credence to this theory.
His best performance of the season was a stunning performance in Austria where
he qualified 5th and finished 3rd (his first ever podium finish). Point finishes
in Malaysia and Brazil followed by an awful shunt in Monaco which resulted in
him missing the race. On his return race in Canada he was disappointing, but on
a whole his season has been a huge success. Best race: Austria.
8. Jarno Trulli
Under pressure, but has responded well to the challenge thrown down by
his ultra-fast teammate Fernando Alonso. Still has not shaken his reputation as
a good qualifier and a not so good racer, but has driven especially well in the
last four Grand Prix in which he has claimed two fourth places and one fifth.
Not an out and out racer, but never the less still a strong performer whom is consistent
week in week out. May have secured his 2004 seat at Renault, but was under pressure
to retain it earlier in the season with speculation that Jason Winton would be
joining the team. Best race: Monaco.
9. Rubens Barrichello
The likeable Brazilian Rubens has had a tough 2003 campaign which has been plagued
by bad luck and ill fortune. One his day he is one of the very best but lacks consistency
across the duration of the season. Suffered a huge shunt in his homeland in
Brazil, retired on the very last lap in Malaysia with mechanical failure and was
taken out by Matkovic's Minardi in Malaysia to highlight his season of disappointment.
With Ferrari's recent announcement that they have resigned teammate Michael
Schumacher and the majority of the key technical staff, Rubens name was ominously
missing from the list. One gets the feeling that his Ferrari days may be coming
to and end. Best race: Austria.
10. Mark Webber
If it wasn't for his rookie Australian team-mate, Mark Webber would rate a
lot higher. Shone early in the season but to be fair has always been chasing
Winton regardless if it was qualifying, racing or testing. Like Winton has been
unlucky but has also made mistakes which ultimately might have cost himself and
Jaguar vital points. The jury is out on Webber, he has the talent and ability
but due to the outstanding performances by his team-mate, their are now chinks
in what otherwise was a perfect armory. Best race: Brazil.
11. Giancarlo Fisichella
Extremely talented driver whose career is yet to take off, but surely it is
only a matter of time or is it. Wrong place, wrong time is the best way to
describe his career, and now it looks like he is being over-looked by McLaren in
favor of other speedster Jason Winton. Scored Jordan's first and only points of
the season in Canada with a fine 7th place which is the highlight of an otherwise
disappointing 2003 season. If his career is to take off, he needs to break free
from Jordan. Has been very vocal of his intentions to just this, here's hoping. Best race:
Canada.
12. Nick Heidfeld
Has had a difficult season for the some what disappointing Sauber C22. In
general has been quicker than his highly experienced teammate Heinz-Harold
Frentzen but not delivered some of the flair and outright speed that he portrayed
into season 2001 and 2002. A lot of this comes down to the competitive of the
car, Heidfeld is still the driver that beat Raikonnen more times than Raikkonen
beat him in 2001 and is perhaps the most under rated driver on the grid. Perhaps
a move away from Sauber will boost his confidence. Best race: Austria.
13. David Coulthard
Yet again Coulthard has failed to take advantage of a great opportunity and
has been generally upstaged by teammate Raikkonen since the start of the season.
Started the season very strongly, winning in Malaysia and backing it up with a
fine second in Brazil a fortnight later. It has come to no surprise that
other drivers have been touted as possible replacements. Still capable of some
outstanding performances, but lacks speed over the course of the season, like
Frentzen lacks the killer instinct. Could be a battle to maintain his McLaren
seat for a 9th year with opposition coming from all quarters. Best race:
Malaysia.
14. Oliver Panis
The hugely experienced Oliver Panis hasn't enjoyed the season he was
perhaps hoping for when joining the fledging Toyota team. After the half way
point of the season, Panis had finished every race bar two, picking up his first
and Toyota's first point so the season in Canada. The team do however seem to be
improving on a race to race basis, many top ten finishes finally developed into
hard earned points. Has been a very strong qualifier in 2003, outpacing teammate
Da Matta 7-1 up to Canada. Very good technically and a good leader whom inspires
the team. Best race: Canada.
15. Heinz-Harold Frentzen
Seasoned veteran Frentzen started the season in fine fashion finishing 4th in
the opening race of the season in Australia. Apart from a 9th placing at San
Marnio the German driver has failed to finish a race. Has generally been a match
for his regarded teammate Nick Heidfeld, but sadly the C22 which promised much
has not been as competitive as would have hoped and Sauber seem to be slipping
away as each race passes by. Lacks that killer instinct which has always dogged
his career and one gets the feeling that this could be his last season in F1. Best race:
Australia.
16. Cristiano Da Matta
Has had generally a quiet season but is now starting to find his feet well
and truly. Has defied skeptics who said his Champ Car title that he won last
year was devalued and offered no guide as to his real talent. But Da Matta is
talented, has on occasion has been very impressive but perhaps a little inconsistent
which goes hand in hand with his relative lack of experience. One criticism is
that he needs to improve his one lap qualifying performances which to date is
1-7 against teammate Panis. Best race: Canada.
17. Jacques Villeneuve
The 1997 World Champion has had a difficult season by all accounts. Has been
outpaced by Jenson Button since the start of the season and was involved in a
public spat with his team-mate which finally seems to have ended. Has been regularly
struggling to extract the very best of the car and in general has been lackluster.
One gets the feeling that if perhaps he was in a car that was more competitive
his fire and desire would return. Best race: Malaysia.
18. Jos Verstappen
Seasoned veteran who promised much as a talented junior whose career
has never really got off the ground. A gritty determined driver whose light
still burns bright but his efforts are throughted by being in the hapless
Minardi. Has been consistent, yet unspectacular and sadly Jos's career will
never take full flight, there's no way up from here. Best race: Canada.
19. Ralph Firman
Has generally struggled since making his F1 debut at the start of the season.
Unfortunately being pitted against the sterling fast Giancarlo Fisichella has
not aided his efforts but in fairness he has surprised on more than one
occasion. Only time well tell with Firman if he has the credentials to secure a
regular full time ride. Best race: Brazil.
20. Derek Matkovic
Talented driver whose career in F1 has being over looked by politics and
lack of funds. Started the season in fine fashion matching his more experienced
team-mate in raw speed but seems to be struggling as the season grows. Has been
very disappointing in several GP, including Malaysia and Canada and is yet to
fully find his feet. Needs time to mature, but the signs are there that if he
polishes the rough edges and handles the pressure that he has a future in F1.
Best race: San Marnio.
Q&A with McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen
In only his third year as a grand prix driver
Kimi Raikkonen heads into this weekend's Japanese GP with a chance of winning
the world championship. It's a long shot of course, since he has to win with
Michael Schumacher failing to score, but it could happen. Kimi has won only won
race this year but it's easy to overlook the fact that he was leading when his
engine failed at the Nurburgring. That effectively cost him 11 points relative
to Michael Schumacher, so the picture could have been very different. Adam
Cooper spoke to the Finnish star.
Q: How much would it mean to you to have number one on the car next year?
"I don't know. It doesn't matter which number you have, but it would be nice to
win it. I always try to win the races, but it's not so easy. We've only managed
to win one but hopefully we can win another. You always try to win, but it's
better to finish second or third if you cannot win. It helps if you finish the
races in the points."
Q: What about the possibility of being the youngest world champion?
"I don't know. We will see how it goes. We will try to do it, but it's not so
easy."
Q: Were you surprised at how competitive you've been this year?
"Not really. We knew the car was better than it was last year, because we did so
much work over the winter. But we didn't really expect to be as good as it was."
Q: Has the season basically gone as well as it could for you?
"It's been OK. In some races we haven't had as good results as we were hoping,
whether it's been my mistake or some of the other things that have broken on the
car or happened during the race. But that's racing, and it happens to all the
people."
Q: Looking back was the engine failure when you were leading at the
Nurburgring the biggest setback you had this year?
"For sure 10 points would have been better, but I guess it's easy to say if we
had finished all the races we would have had this many more points. But the
other guys have also had bad luck and bad races. If you would count all of them,
those points, it would be pretty much the same situation again. It is what it is
now, and it doesn't help if you start thinking ‘If we would have done this
differently'."
Q: Has David helped you much?
"Not really. We do our own thing on the race weekends. Sometimes he's quicker,
sometimes I am. There's not really anything he can help me with."
Q: Do you think you've had less pressure than Michael and Juan Pablo?
"It doesn't really change how it is. We just try to do our own stuff, and if we
can beat the rest it's good, if not, we cannot do more."
Q: Did the tyre situation after Hungary make it harder for you?
"Not really. The new tyres for us were quicker, and from what I've heard, it has
been for the other teams. It's all sorted now and we have to get the best out of
the tyres."
Q: Were you a little bit surprised about what happened with the MP4-18?
"Yeah, a little bit, because there were a lot of hopes in the [new] car, and the
car itself is not too bad. It just came out too late and had too many little
problems, and when we were in this situation in the championship it was much
better to keep on using the 17D."
Q: It must have been very frustrating knowing that the car is sitting there
and it's probably quicker…
"Yeah, but you need to finish the races. It doesn't matter how good you are if
you don't finish the races."
Q: But will it help you for next year?
"Hopefully it will work well for next year. We should be ready quite early with
next year's car, and we should have enough time to test it and get it quicker by
then."
Q&A with Jaguar driver Mark Webber
In his first year with Jaguar Mark Webber proved
to be one of the revelations of the season. His performances in qualifying came
as a surprise to many, and for much of the season he was a contender for points.
Mark also made life hard for team-mates Antonio Pizzonia and Justin Wilson, both
of whom found their reputations taking a battering. However, his final total was
disappointing, and in real terms he scored less than Eddie Irvine managed the
previous year with an inferior car. Crashes when well placed in Brazil and
Indianapolis didn't help, but more damage was done by poor reliability and the
team's inability to get the most out of its package on Sundays. Adam Cooper
asked the Aussie for his thoughts on the past season and the one to come.
Q: There have been some ups and downs, but what's the verdict on your first
year with Jaguar?
"It's been a good season, but the frustrating thing was the retirements in the
first three races. I was running fifth in Melbourne with plenty of fuel in the
car, and we had a driveshaft failure. In Malaysia I was eighth and we lost the
engine there. And in Brazil I crashed. We were carrying extra kilos from the
first stop there with a fuel pressure problem. We had a lot of things going on
at the start of the year, and we lost a lot of points there with team errors in
terms of reliability, and also my mistakes.
"We learned a lot in Brazil, and we knew we were going well from the get-off. We
were very disciplined in the winter in terms of testing, and we weren't getting
involved in any low fuel runs. We got to Melbourne and we were very quick in the
race, so we were all very happy, and we knew it was going to be a reasonable
year for us. The points we've got I've been happy with, and I'm happy with how
I've taken this opportunity with Jaguar. I've grabbed it with both hands. It's
been a very solid year, and I've really enjoyed working with the guys. There are
a lot of clever guys in the team who are making my job easy, so it's good."
Q: You've often gone really well on Fridays. Did the package just suit
‘traditional' qualifying?
"The car was good on one lap, but on Fridays we did tend to have a better
circuit as the session went on – Michael always had worse track conditions than
I did, for example. In Budapest we were third on Friday, and Michael was 12th.
It think our average Friday position has been fourth of fifth. It's an
achievement, but it's not fair conditions for everyone. Saturday is more fair in
a way, because the track is not ramping up as much as it does on Friday."
Q: Has there been one race, one highlight that really stands out for you?
"Yeah, Budapest was solid I think. We had two massive qualifying laps, and in
the race I had a lot of attention early on because of my graining. But not one
person ahead of me retired. If there was some attrition, we could have finished
on the podium. There wasn't any, so we weren't. That was a race where Rubens
retired behind me. It was really, really enjoyable, and it was a sixth place we
really earned."
Q: What about Indy, where you actually led before you crashed?
"I wasn't too fired up, to be honest. We went very long, we had a lot of fuel
from qualifying, and I was determined to stay out as long as possible, even in
the rain. I was just hoping that it would stop raining. It's something Ayrton
Senna would have done! Sometimes it backfires, sometimes you have a big win from
it. When we had the shower before the start of the race I was very surprised how
quick the track dried, so I had that in mind of course. The rain obviously was a
bit too heavy and I lost the car round the back. I was due in that lap."
Q: It suddenly went from just about manageable to impossible…
"It did, especially that part of the track. The guys asked me about the tyres
when I crossed the line, and I said I still want grooves at the next stop. But
when I got to Turn 6 I realised there was no way, because the rain had really
started. We'd had a discussion on the grid, and I was going on the aggressive
side for sure, because I wanted to make the dries work. I felt if we went onto
the wets it was going to be difficult to compete. I'd probably do the same
again, unless it's ridiculous and you've got to swallow the pill and come in."
Q: Bearing in mind the battle for sixth in the
constructors' championship, that retirement was quite expensive…
"It was. But like the guys said, you can also throw 17 other points into the pot
as well. It's always going to be expensive in terms of points when you go off in
a position like that, but you've got to play hard to win well. If you take the
conservative line you're not going to win much at all."
Q: What do you think of the way things are shaping up for next year, bearing
in mind the team obviously needs more money?
"It would be nice, it always helps. Every single area would benefit. We know the
weaknesses, and we've got some big ones, which is good news for us. We know what
we need to work on for next year, and we'll be focussing very hard on that in
the winter. We obviously don't need to work too much on our qualy performances,
we need to work on our race performances, which comes with testing and mileage
and working hard with Michelin. People might think it's easy – let's just do
this, move the weight around, and do X, Y and Z. We're working hard to address
the problems."
Q: There have been so many changes, does it helped that there's some
stability on the management side?
"Oh yes. The revolving door, as they call it! You don't have to double check and
triple check everything from winter to winter. These guys are in the same
position, and they know what pain we've gone through this year in certain areas,
they know where we're strong and where we're weak, and we'll roll with that into
January and February, which is important, instead of having new people come in
with their chest out or whatever. Everyone wants to feel important when they
arrive, and that's probably what's happened in the last three or four years. But
now we've got a super team, good guys, and everyone can be very happy with it."
Q: You've obviously got a long term deal. Are you comfortable with that?
"Yeah. Of course I want to be winning races, but there's time for that. I want
to give it the best shot here as possible. I really enjoy working with the guys.
You can never say never, you don't know what's going to happen, but at the
moment, I'm focussing on Jaguar."
Q&A with Williams technical director Patrick Head
Williams went to Suzuka just three points behind
Ferrari in the constructors' championship, and yet for the first time this
season the team failed to get either car into the top eight. Juan Pablo Montoya
looked like a good bet for victory until a hydraulic leak took him out, while
Ralf Schumacher had a crazy race that involved a string of incidents at the
chicane, and could not better 12th place. It was an extremely frustrating end to
what has been a very good year for the Grove outfit, although obviously all
kinds of disappointments in earlier races also contributed to the near miss.
However, the team has to be regarded as a serious contender in 2004. Adam Cooper
talked to technical director Patrick Head.
Q: You scored points in every race until Suzuka. How frustrating to have all
your bad luck coming at such a critical time?
"Well, these things are not actually bad luck, although you'd have to say the
rain affecting Ralf's grid position, there's not much you can do about that.
Obviously we've got to do is look at it and try and understand why it's
happened, and put it right for next year."
Q: Juan looked like he was going to run away with it. Is that how you see it?
"He was in very good shape, and was in line for a good result. It looks like the
problem was in the clutch actuator, but it's too early to be specific about it.
He just lost hydraulic oil and that meant no pressure and that meant no
systems."
Q: There was smoke coming from the car on the first lap. Was that the first
sign of the problem?
"No, that was the driver pushing the wrong button in the cockpit. It didn't
affect his race result."
Q: What do you think of Ralf's race?
"He was fast and furious, and ultimately to finish 12th was not a very good
reward for the day. So it's disappointing."
Q: Jarno Trulli showed that it was possible to salvage some points from the
back…
"The first few laps were quite good, but there were just too many incidents."
Q: What do you have to do for next season?
"Obviously we intend to start next year in a much stronger position than last
year, and that's very important for us, so we've got to work very hard over the
winter and make sure that we correct these problems."
Q: Mario Theissen is very confident in the package you have. Do you expect to
be in a winning position from the start?
"We certainly intend to be, but you don't know until you actually go out at the
beginning of the next year."
Q: What do you think of Michael's sixth title?
"Very impressive. Quite clearly he's been the driver of the last 10 years, and
has been absolutely outstanding. Ferrari provide him with a very fast car but a
very reliable car, and he makes absolutely maximum use of it."
Q: Were you happy with the way the rules worked out this year?
"I think the points system has a habit of keeping things a bit closer, and not
letting anybody run away."
Q: Did the one lap qualifying help to make it a more interesting season?
"A little bit, but it's the same for everybody, apart from when you get the
weather differences mixing it up."
Q: Any thoughts on the latest rule changes?
"There are some changes, but none of them are earth shattering, really."