 Grand Prix de Monaco (Monaco) 2002 preview.
Story by Andrew Frampton.
The Ferrari team will be expecting a backlash of anger over the way they conducted themselves at the Austrian Grand Prix, as the championship moves to the most famous Formula One event of all, the Monaco Grand Prix. The unique event around the closed public roads of Monte Carlo is the only street circuit on the Formula One calendar, and it offers the drivers the amazing experience of racing with walls and Armco on both sides of the track. Notoriously narrow, qualifying is vital here, as passing is near impossible - as David Coulthard found out last year when the Arrows of Enrique Bernoldi held him up for much of the race. Although Ferrari have gone well here in the past, the event often throws up surprises, not least when Olivier Panis claimed victory for Ligier in 1996. The demands on the drivers and cars are huge, and a high retirement rate is the norm.
In Monte Carlo, the Ferrari team will want to put their Austrian actions behind them. After dominating the weekend, the Brazilian Rubens Barrichello had held off the competition in the race and was on course for an easy victory, only for the team's management to instruct Barrichello to pull over in sight of the flag and let Michael Schumacher through. The team has been hit by criticism from both fans and the media, and they will be hoping to go for a controversy free race in Monaco to answer their critics. Michael Schumacher's Austrian victory gives him a 27-point lead in the driver's championship, while Barrichello is back in fourth. They also hold a sixteen-point lead in the constructor's championship, and history shows that they are quite likely to extend it this weekend.
Williams still continue to take the fight to Ferrari, holding second in the constructor's championship, after Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher claimed third and fourth positions respectively in Austria. That podium finish gave the Colombian a four-point lead over his team-mate in the battle for second position in the driver's championship. Despite a number of clashes, Montoya has been the more consistent of the duo, having scored points in every round this season, including three 2nd place finishes. Ralf Schumacher is the only driver aside from his brother to win a race this season, after a dominant performance in Malaysia. He also took podium positions in Brazil and San Marino, but his season has been hit by retirements in Australia and Spain. With the Williams most competitive on the fast, flowing circuits, they are unlikely to topple Ferrari on the twisty Monaco roads.
Although they hold third in the constructor's championship, McLaren are well behind the top two this season, with the package proving unreliable thus far. The car does have pace, as David Coulthard showed in Brazil and San Marino, by taking third place finishes, while Kimi Raikkonen did the same in Australia. The only other finishes for the team have been sixth positions for Coulthard in San Marino and Austria, which have promoted the Scot to fifth position in the driver's standings. Raikkonen's fifth successive non finish in Austria has blighted the potential shown by his qualifying form. Perhaps Monaco, which should level the field, will see a return in form.
After a poor 2001 season, Jenson Button has shown the pace for Renault that made him hot property when he signed for Williams two years ago. Fourth place finishes in Malaysia and Brazil, were followed by a fifth in San Marino, which leaves him in sixth position in the standings. So far this season, his team-mate Jarno Trulli has failed to add to the team's points haul, after a series of problems have robbed him of probable points finishes. The Italian has come in for some negative press this season, after poor qualifying performances, which had previously been one of his assets. However, he has performed well in the races, but he just needs a little luck to make the points.
The Austrian Grand Prix was one of contrasting fortunes for the Jordan team, and they will be relieved to know that Takuma Sato is fit to race in Monaco after his huge accident. Sato was fortunate to escape uninjured from the shunt, after Nick Heidfeld lost control of his Sauber at turn 2, smashing into the Jordan's cockpit. Suffering just bruising, Sato even got in some practice at the historic grand prix in Monaco last weekend. On a positive side, Austria also saw Giancarlo Fisichella take fifth position, and the team's first points of the season. Prior to Austria, the team had struggled with a myriad of mechanical problems with the underpowered Honda engine. The team will be hoping that Fisichella's performance will be the catalyst for more points finishes.
Jordan's points in Austria means that BAR are the only team who have yet to score points this season. However, they continued to show their potential in Austria, with Olivier Panis and Jacques Villeneuve putting in strong performances. Panis had contributed his best qualifying performance of the season to take ninth on the grid, but his sixth successive retirement saw his race end on lap 22 when his engine seized. Villeneuve has been another to hit out at Ferrari's tactics in Austria, while the Canadian was unlucky not to make the points in Austria having run as high as third. However, the mechanical problems that have dogged the team's season returned, and he was forced out on the last lap when he was in seventh. As a former Monaco victor, Panis, along with Villeneuve, will be hoping to at least make the points positions this time.
Sauber's inconsistent season continued in Austria, as both Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld failed to finish. The latter was involved in a collision with Takuma Sato, which injured both drivers, although Heidfeld is fit to compete this weekend. The German took fifth position in Malaysia and then fourth position in Spain, while Massa finished behind him in both events. This means that the team has eight points so far this season, leaving them in joint fourth in the constructor's championship. Heidfeld took sixth in Monaco last year, and will be hoping for a similar performance this year. Massa could be one of the dark horses for this year's event, despite the lack of testing available on the circuit.
The struggling Jaguar team will be hoping that a high retirement rate will give Eddie Irvine and Pedro De La Rosa a chance of getting into the points. So far this season, the Jaguar has been uncompetitive, although Irvine did take fourth in Australia - the team's only points of the season. Last year, the Irishman took third in Monte Carlo, but a repeat performance is unlikely. Although De La Rosa has generally been the quicker of the two in qualifying, he has failed to perform in the races. He raced well into seventh in Australia, but suffered the disappointment of spinning out of his home Grand Prix in Spain.
The last three rounds have seen a drastic improvement in form for the Arrows team, culminating in Heinz-Harald Frentzen's sixth place finish in Spain. Although it came on the back of a high retirement rate, it was still a well-deserved first point of the season for the small English team. Both Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi had shown well in qualifying prior to Spain, with the reliability of the Cosworth engine letting them down. The drivers continued their improved form in Austria, lining up 11th and 12th on the grid, but after the cars made contact on the first lap, Frentzen raced on to take eleventh, while Bernoldi retired after a clash with Villeneuve after just two laps.
Toyota go to Monaco for the first time in their rookie season, and with no testing on the roads prior to the event, the team is likely to struggle. The car has proved reliable this season, however, and Allan McNish and Mika Salo (who competes in his 100th Grand Prix this weekend) could be in line to score points. The team has two points to its name so far this season by virtue of Salo's sixth place finishes in Australia and Brazil. They once again showed well in the midfield at the A1-Ring, and brought the cars home 8th and 9th. Salo has plenty of experience at Monaco, and usually goes well, and although they may not have the outright speed to get to the podium, a high retirement rate should see at least one of the cars make the top six.
Had Minardi not scored two rather lucky points in Australia, the team may have seen Monaco as their best chance to get off the mark this season, given the likelihood of a large number of retirees. The Australian Mark Webber has been one of the stars of the season, with that fifth place finish coming in his first ever Formula One race. Although he has been unable to repeat that performance, he has outshone his team-mate Alex Yoong, as well as some of the more established drivers. Although Yoong has yet to show well this season, he gained some valuable Monaco experience last weekend at the historic meeting, in which he finished second in his race.
Driver's Standings:
1. Michael Schumacher 54pts
2. Juan Pablo Montoya 27pts
3. Ralf Schumacher 23pts
4. Rubens Barrichello 12pts
5. David Coulthard 10pts
6. Jenson Button 8pts
Constructor's Standings:
1. Ferrari 66pts
2. Williams-BMW 50pts
3. McLaren-Mercedes 14pts
4. Renault 8pts
5. Sauber-Petronas 8pts
6. Jaguar 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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