Spanish GP

Sunday 2 June

65 laps

Rain-Master Schumacher Destroys Opposition
(And Diniz Gets A Point At Last)

Grand Prix in Europe are fated these days. After a week or so of glorious weather, come race day and the heavens opened, drenching the track. "I've only raced in worse conditions in Suzuka," said Damon Hill. Worse, due to a crash curtailed warm-up session when the teams drove in the wet for the first time, most were having to guess on set-up. An unpredictable lottery ensued, together with the decimation of the field, as per Monaco. At least the barriers were further away from the track this time though.

The run to the first corner was crucial, just to avoid the blinding spray from the cars in front, and Hill was left standing on pole as Villeneuve rocketed away, Schumacher making an even worse start, seemingly missing it altogether. Into the first corner, and Villeneuve led from Alesi, Hill, Berger and Barrichello, the others invisible in the spray, Schumacher well down in tenth. The spray was horrendous, wherever possible cars were darting from side to side just to see where they were going, and the conditions were allowing Villeneuve to pull away. As the spray at the start line cleared, the carnage was revealed. Lamy, Fisichella and Coulthard had had a coming together, Lamy parked on the left of the track opposite the pit exit, Coulthard parked on the right at the pit exit. Coulthard got out but stood bent over, looking severely winded. Fisichella's car went straight on at the first corner into the gravel minus the rear wing, and he limped out back onto the track and into the pits, race over. Also into the pits at the end of lap one was Monaco race winner Olivier Panis, apparantly without crash damage.

One person having a particularly bad day was Mika Salo. During the warm-up lap, his car refused to move from the grid, the engine not wishing to fire. The mechanics pushed the car into the pits, and Salo jumped into the spare. Instead of twelfth, he would have to start from the pits and last.

At the end of the first lap, Villeneuve was leading Alesi by 1.732s, from Hill (@2.761), Berger (@4.225), Irvine (@5.352), a fast recovering Schumacher (@6.251) and Barrichello. The order soon changed though, Irvine spinning out and beaching the car while trying to rejoin. Alesi though was closing on Villeneuve, and trying repeatedly to pass. Alesi would gain under braking, but drop back in the fast sections due to the spray. The game of cat and mouse was fascinating.

Lap 3, and Herbert span off the track, the back end snapping out when he lifted off the throttle. He was in seventh place, but when he escaped the clutches of the gravel he was in tenth. The rain was only having one beneficial effect: it was compacting the gravel so much that people didn't get stuck. Villeneuve also chose this lap to set the fastest lap of the race, a 1:52.182. It didn't last for long though, as Alesi put in an even faster one the next time around. It didn't look like Villeneuve would be there for very long. Further back, and Hill made his first mistake of the race, running wide on a corner, putting two wheels into the gravel. He rejoined two places down.

Schumacher by now was up into fourth, and with Hill out of the way he had a clear track, and he made the most of it, setting a fastest lap a clear second faster than second placed man Alesi, who was in turn catching Villeneuve. Alesi was desperately trying to get past, trying some outrageously late braking manouevres at the end of the straights despite the conditions, but to no avail. Schumacher though soon dispensed with Berger, and within two laps had caught Alesi.

Lap 7, and Brundle lost it, spinning off into the gravel, but managing to regain the track.. Lap 8, and Hill lost it again, this time under braking. He later admitted that he had guessed the set-up wrong for the conditions, but it was too late now. Four laps later and he was out for good, losing the back end as he came out of the final corner, parking the car in the pit-wall.

Schumacher though was on a charge, and by lap 9 he was all over the Benetton of Alesi. What was interesting was the lines he took into the corners. He went very wide into the corners, carrying a bit more speed, and would consequently catch up to the gearbox of the car in front by the exit. Four or five corners of this and Schumacher had the measure of Alesi, diving down the inside at Ciet. He now had to lap Villeneuve, but this was a different proposition. Schumacher would close to within inches in the corners, but Villeneuve would get the power and the traction out of them. No matter. Three laps later and Schumacher passed Villeneuve with a mirror of his manouevre on Alesi. Schumacher effectively waved goodbye and disappeared, lapping between four and five seconds, a lap faster than Villeneuve. The race seemed to be over barring mistakes or mechanical failure, and even that wasn't going to stop him.

Apart from Villeneuve and Alesi, the rest of the field were spread out, each driver circulating at their own speed in their own clear piece of track, and it was a case of watching them fall by the wayside one by one, Katayama stopping permanently on lap 9. Lap 16 and Verstappen lost it, managing a 360 degree spin on the straight as the car aquaplaned, the Dutchman keeping it together, continuing without dropping a place. And Schumacher? After four laps he was 14.924 seconds ahead of Villeneuve. His car was sliding all over the place, but Schumacher was charging along regardless. Hats off to the guy, he had the complete mastery of the conditions. I am impressed.

Lap 17, and about 35 minutes into the race, and it rained harder, not that seemed possible at the time, conditions resembling an Indian Monsoon than late European spring. Lap times dropped by two seconds a lap, and rivers formed across the track. According to Villeneuve, they even got freezing rain at one point, and this was Spain! First victim of the worse conditions was Diniz, who lost it at Ciet corner, regaining the track, Salo managing to do the same. At the same time, Brundle pulled over at the pit lane exit. His car had sounded very odd as it went down the straight, and the car virtually cut out, probably a victim of water in the electrics. Lap 21 and Herbert lost it permanently,

losing the car when his front left touched the white line at the corner apex, the car going into the gravel backwards never to return.

Things quietened down a bit until the first of the pit stops on lap 24, Schumacher coming in early, being stationary for 7.2s. This surprised the pundits who were predicting a one stop race. Schumacher would have to return for more later. Despite his heavier fuel load, the new tyres allowed Schumacher to circulate 3.5s a lap faster than the rest. Lap 32, and

Schumacher's engine decided to try a new configuration, dropping a cylinder or two. But as Schumacher will tell you from 1994, a V8 is perfect for this track, even with only one gear. Schumacher couldn't regain his earlier pace, but that didn't matter - the others couldn't either. His speed became more comparable to the others, but by lap 35 his lead was 53s anyway.

Lap 33, and Alesi headed into the pits, stationary for 11.9s. Despite the new tyres, he still managed to run wide on his next lap, putting two wheels into the gravel. Berger, Frentzen and Verstappen all pitted, followed next lap by Villeneuve, who was only stationary for 10.0s. He powered out of the pits to find himself for Alesi. Thus the race lead was settled until flag fall, as although Barrichello was now in second, he still had to pit.

Barrichello was indeed an enigma. Lap after lap everyone expected him to come in, but he didn't. Either the Peugeot engine is extremely fuel efficient, or the fuel capacity of the Jordan is one of the largest out there. Hakkinen was doing likewise. After having pulled out 2s a lap on Alesi, Barrichello came in on lap 42, being stationary for 9.3s (Hakkinen also came in - 9.0s), rejoining in fourth. This wasn't to be for long, as he was back in the pits on lap 46, his clutch broken. Schumacher was now leasing Alesi by 1 minute and 4 seconds.

Lap 48, and with seven cars running, Verstappen lost it, catching one of the white lines and spinning out. As there were only six cars left, Jordan decided to gamble. Having worked on Barrichello's car for ten minutes, they sent it back out five laps behind the sixth placed Ligier of Diniz, hoping someone else would drop out. They didn't, and a couple of laps later the Jordan was out anyway, this time terminally.

The laps were reeled off, and Villeneuve gradually caught Alesi, until they caught some traffic. This allowed Alesi a breather, and they all safely ran to the flag - I guess this was one race they were all glad to finish. Over the moon though was the Ferrari team, Jean Todt being seen with a huge smile plastered over his face. His hair soon became plastered as well, as Alesi and Schumacher emptied most of the contents of their champagne bottles over him. He didn't care - it was the first Ferrari win since Canada last year, and
this time it was on merit.


Results

1.
M.Schumacher Ferrari1h59:49.307
2.
J.Alesi Benetton+ 45.302
3.
J.Villeneuve Williams+ 48.388
4.
H.Frentzen Sauber1h59:49.307
5.
M.Hakkinen McLaren+ 1 lap
6.
P.Diniz Ligier+ 2 laps

Not Classified

J.VerstappenArrows+18 laps
R.BarrichelloJordan +20 laps
G.BergerBenetton+21 laps
J.HerbertSauber+45 laps
M.BrundleJordan+48 laps
M.SaloTyrrell+49 laps
D.HillWilliams+55 laps
U.KatayamaTyrrell+57 laps
E.IrvineFerrari+64 laps
O.PanisLigier+64 laps
G.FisichellaMinardi +64 laps
D.CoulthardMcLaren+65 laps
R.RossetArrows+65 laps
P.LamyMinardi+65 laps

Drivers' Championship:

Pos
Driver
Nat
Constructor
Pts
1.
Damon Hill
GB
Williams-Renault
43 pts
2.
Jacques Villeneuve
CDN
Williams-Renault
26
Michael Schumacher
D
Ferrari
26
4.
Jean Alesi
F
Benetton-Renault
17
5.
Olivier Panis
F
Ligier-Mugen
11
6.
David Coulthard
GB
McLaren-Mercedes
10
7.
Eddie Irvine
GB
Ferrari
9
8.
Mika Hakkinen
FIN
McLaren-Mercedes
8
9.
Gerhard Berger
A
Benetton-Renault
7
Rubens Barrichello
BR
Jordan-Peugeot
7
11.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
D
Sauber-Ford
6
12.
Mika Salo
FIN
Tyrrell-Yamaha
5
13.
Johnny Herbert
GB
Sauber-Ford
4
14.
Jos Verstappen
NL
Arrows-Hart
1
Martin Brundle
GB
Jordan-Peugeot
1
Pedro Diniz
BR
Ligier-Mugen
1

Constructors' Championship:

Pos
Constructor NatPts
1.
Williams-Renault GB69
2.
Ferrari I35
3.
Benetton-Renault I 24
4.
McLaren-Mercedes GB18
5.
Ligier-Mugen F12
6.
Sauber-Ford CH10
7.
Jordan-Peugeot GB8
8.
Tyrrell-Yamaha GB5
9.
Arrows-Hart GB1

Top 6 Lap Chart

Lap/Pos
1
2
3
4
5
6
0
5
6
1
3
4
2
1
6
3
5
4
2
1
2
6
3
5
4
1
11
3
6
3
5
4
1
11
4
6
3
4
1
5
11
5
6
3
1
4
5
11
6
6
3
1
4
5
11
7
6
3
1
4
5
11
8
6
3
1
4
11
15
9
6
1
3
4
11
15
10
6
1
3
4
11
15
11
6
1
3
4
11
15
12
1
6
3
4
11
15
13
1
6
3
4
11
15
14
1
6
3
4
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15
15
1
6
3
4
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15
16
1
6
3
4
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1
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1
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3
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1
6
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34
1
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35
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1
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37
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46
1
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47
1
3
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16
7
48
1
3
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7
10
49
1
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50
1
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51
1
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53
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1
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56
1
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1
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1
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1
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61
1
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62
1
3
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7
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63
1
3
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15
7
10
64
1
3
6
15
7
10
65
1
3
6
15
7
10

Fastest Lap Changes

Lap
Driver Time
3
J.Villeneuve 1:52.182
4
J.Alesi 1:51.673
5
M.Schumacher 1:50.568
6
M.Schumacher 1:49.045
12
M.Schumacher 1:47.337
13
M.Schumacher 1:46.534
14
M.Schumacher 1:45.517

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