 Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona) 2002 preview.
Story by Andrew Frampton.
The battle for supremacy between Ferrari and Williams continues this weekend as the FIA Formula One World Championship moves to Barcelona in Spain. Three wins from the first four races has set Michael Schumacher out as the man to beat this season, but his team-mate Rubens Barrichello and Williams pairing of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya will be hoping to change that in Spain.
Their 1-2 finish in San Marino has boosted the Ferrari team back to the top of the constructor's championship, which they currently lead by 3pts. Wins in Australia, Brazil and San Marino have sent Michael Schumacher on his way to a 14 point lead in the driver's championship - the only blot on his record coming in Malaysia when a first corner clash with Montoya demoted the champion to third. Barrichello scored his first points of the season in Brazil with a fine second position behind his team-mate. A first corner collision with Ralf Schumacher in Australia was followed by two mechanical failures, one of which occurred when he was leading his home race.
Brazil and San Marino were supposed to favour the Williams team, but they emerged with just 15pts, compared to Ferrari's 26pts. This cost them the lead they gained in the constructor's championship with a 1-2 result in Malaysia. It was Ralf Schumacher who emerged victorious in Malaysia, while the German has taken a second and a third since then, to cement his second position in the driver's championship. Montoya has made the points in each of the races so far this season, but he could be challenging Michael Schumacher at the head of the standings, instead of languishing in third. In Australia, the Colombian followed Michael Schumacher home for an easy second position, while he scored another six points in Malaysia, but these came after a determined fightback after a clash with the Ferrari at the first corner. Once again, Montoya's chances of a win were damaged, along with his car, in Brazil - this time he came through to take fifth. He will be hoping to build on his anonymous run to fourth in the San Marino Grand Prix. However, the twisty nature of the Spanish track is likely to favour the Ferraris.
McLaren have had a dreadful start to the 2002 season, and as yet, both cars have failed to finish the same race due to technical problems. The team does have two podium finished to its name, however, as Kimi Raikkonen took third in Australia, while David Coulthard took the final podium position in Brazil. Coulthard had the humility of being lapped by Michael Schumacher in San Marino on his way to sixth position, while Raikkonen retired with a broken exhaust. The team will be hoping for an improvement in Spain, but they are likely to be scrapping for points behind Williams and Ferrari.
Fifth position in San Marino keeps Renault's Jenson Button in fourth position in the driver's championship, while his team remains in the same position in the constructor's standings. Button took two fourth positions in the rounds prior to San Marino, and will be hoping to stay ahead of arch-rival David Coulthard. Team-mate Jarno Trulli has yet to score points this season but will be hoping for a change of fortune in Spain. Despite not scoring so far this season, the Italian has shown his pace after spinning off while running 2nd in Australia, and being hit by mechanical problems when well placed. Trulli will be hoping to get his season off the mark this weekend, while Button will be trying to cement his fourth place in the standings.
Sauber's desires of a repeat of last season's fourth position in the constructor's championship have been hit by the developments achieved by their competitors, leaving them struggling for points so far this season. Malaysia was the high-point for the Swiss team as Nick Heidfeld and Felipe Massa took fifth and sixth - their only point's finishes so far this year. A series of accidents and mechanical problems have hit the team this year, and they will be hoping to get back into the habit of scoring points from Barcelona onwards.
Jordan are another team who would like a change in fortune, after a dreadful start to the season. The Honda engine is lacking in development, and along with BAR, who share the Honda powerplant, they have been unable to repeat their form of last season. Ironically, the Malaysian Grand Prix, where the two Jordan drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato collided, was their best race so far this season - it is the only one where both drivers finished. Sato claimed a competent ninth in Brazil, while in San Marino, both cars failed to make the finish after gearbox problems claimed Sato's car, and Fisichella's succumbed to hydraulics failure shortly afterwards. Points are not out of the question in Barcelona, but the team will need an improvement over what has gone before this season. The announcement this week of job cuts and a general "reorganisation" of the team will not improve morale though.
Like Jordan, BAR have failed to score points this season, although unlike their Honda-powered competitors they did show some improvement in San Marino. Jacques Villeneuve followed up ninth position in Brazil with a good seventh in San Marino, after qualifying tenth. Olivier Panis had run just behind his team-mate for much of the race at Imola, but the Frenchman's throttle linkage failed - meaning Panis has failed to complete a race so far this season.
Jaguar's Pedro De La Rosa has more pressure than ever to perform this weekend, as the Spanish Grand Prix is his home event, and the only Spaniard in the field will have the eyes of the nation on his performance. He will hope they weren't watching too closely last time out in San Marino, when he lined up only 21st on the grid, and then retired from the race. To be fair, De La Rosa has had the edge over his team-mate Eddie Irvine so far this season, in the poor Jaguar R3. Irvine, however, scored two points in the opening race of the season in Australia, thanks to a first corner shunt which eliminated nearly half the field. The team took a backward step in San Marino, but will be hoping to return to the form that saw De La Rosa line up 11th in Brazil. They are very dependent on the Michelin's performance though.
San Marino brought more disappointment for the Arrows team, who along with Jordan and BAR, have failed to get off the mark so far this season. The team has only one finish out of a possible eight, virtue of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's ninth place in Malaysia. After the humility of having both cars black-flagged in Australia, the team has yet to produce the same pace in the race that they have shown in some of the qualifying sessions to date. Both Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi have shown the Arrows has promise, but its reliability has let it down so far. The car needs more development.
Minardi are still riding high on the back of its tremendous performance in Australia, which saw Mark Webber claim fifth position in his home race. Webber has been one of the stars this season, often out-qualifying some of the better funded teams like Jaguar and Arrows. Alex Yoong has struggled, and despite taking seventh position in the opening event, he failed to even qualify in San Marino.
Toyota's season has been built around its reliability rather than their pace so far this season, so the team would have been disappointed to see both cars retire in San Marino. Allan McNish's race lasted a matter of inches before his transmission broke and forced the Scot to watch the race from the sidelines. Mika Salo's machine hit gearbox problems, leaving both drivers out for the first time this season. Toyota had surprised many by even qualifying in Australia, but Salo proved they were here to stay with a superb sixth position in the race. Just to prove it was no fluke, Salo took sixth position in Brazil to double his points tally. More points are not out of the question in Spain.
Drivers Standing:
1. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 34pts
2. Ralf Schumacher (Williams) 20pts
3. Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) 17pts
4. Jenson Button (Renault) 8pts
5. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) 6pts
5. David Coulthard (McLaren) 5pts
Constructor's Standings:
1. Ferrari 40pts
2. Williams-BMW 37pts
3. McLaren-Mercedes 9pts
4. Renault 8pts
5. Jaguar-Cosworth 3pts
6. Sauber-Petronas 3pts
2002 F1 season calendar
03/03/2002 - Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
- Australia circuit by JR
- Australia preview by AF
- Australia grid by JR
- Australia review by AF
- Australia lap-by-lap by JR
17/03/2002 - Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang)
- Malaysia circuit by JR
- Malaysia preview by AF
- Malaysia grid by JR
- Malaysia review by AF
- Malaysia lap-by-lap by JR
31/03/2002 - Brazilian Grand Prix (Sao Paulo)
- Brazil circuit by JR
- Brazil preview by AF
- Brazil grid by JR
- Brazil review by AF
- Brazil lap-by-lap by JR
14/04/2002 - San Marino Grand Prix (Imola)
- San Marino circuit by JR
- San Marino preview by AF
- San Marino grid by JR
- San Marino review by AF
- San Marino lap-by-lap by JR
28/04/2002 - Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
- Spain circuit by JR
- Spain preview by AF
- Spain grid by JR
- Spain review by AF
- Spain lap-by-lap by JR
12/05/2002 - Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
- Austria circuit by JR
- Austria preview by AF
- Austria grid by JR
- Austria review by AF
- Austria lap-by-lap by JR
26/05/2002 - Grand Prix de Monaco (Monaco)
- Monaco circuit by JR
- Monaco preview by AF
- Monaco grid by JR
- Monaco review by AF
- Monaco lap-by-lap by JR
09/06/2002 - Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
- Canada circuit by JR
- Canada preview by AF
- Canada grid by JR
- Canada review by AF
- Canada lap-by-lap by JR
23/06/2002 - European Grand Prix (Nürburgring)
- Europe circuit by JR
- Europe grid by JR
- Europe review by AF
- Europe lap-by-lap by JR
07/07/2002 - British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
- Britain circuit by JR
- Britain grid by JR
- Britain review by AF
- Britain lap-by-lap by JR
21/07/2002 - French Grand Prix (Magny-Cours)
- France circuit by JR
- France preview by AF
- France grid by JR
- France review by AF
- France lap-by-lap by JR
28/07/2002 - German Grand Prix (Hockenheim)
- Germany circuit by JR
- Germany preview by AF
- Germany grid by JR
- Germany review by AF
- Germany lap-by-lap by JR
18/08/2002 - Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)
- Hungary circuit by JR
- Hungary grid by JR
- Hungary lap-by-lap by JR
01/09/2002 - Belgian Grand Prix (Spa Francorchamps)
- Belgium circuit by JR
- Belgium grid by JR
- Belgium review by AF
- Belgium lap-by-lap by JR
15/09/2002 - Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
- Italy circuit by JR
- Italy grid by JR
- Italy lap-by-lap by JR
29/09/2002 - American Grand Prix (Indianapolis)
- USA circuit by JR
- USA grid by JR
- USA lap-by-lap by JR
13/10/2002 - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
- Japan circuit by JR
- Japan grid by JR
- Japan review by AF
- Japan lap-by-lap by JR
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