 German Grand Prix (Hockenheim) 2002 review.
Story by Andrew Frampton.
World Champion Michael Schumacher continued his dominant form in the 2002 championship with his record equalling ninth victory of the season, on the new configuration of the historic Hockenheim circuit in Germany. After a hero's reception from his supporters, the German dominated his home event, recording pole position, the fastest race lap and overall victory. It had not been the easy win that many had expected, however, for Schumacher was challenged in a tactically exciting race by the Williams pair of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher.
Hockenheim has not been a happy hunting ground for Michael Schumacher - the world-champion had not claimed victory on the circuit since leaving Benetton in the mid-1990s. His first pole position since the Spanish Grand Prix was also the first occasion he has started at the front in his home event. It had been a topsy-turvy qualifying session, but with the on-form Montoya running wide on his final run, Schumacher edged into pole position, less than 0.2 seconds ahead of his brother. The second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello lined up third, ahead of Montoya, who was a disappointing fourth position having taken pole position in the last five events. Kimi Raikkonen continued the impressive form that saw him come close to victory in France last weekend, with fifth on the grid, with Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella putting in an excellent performance to complete the third row.
Continuing Honda's competitive run, BAR's Olivier Panis lined up a season's best seventh, ahead of Jarno Trulli's Renault and David Coulthard's McLaren. Nick Heidfeld completed the top ten for Sauber, ahead of the remaining Honda powered cars - Jacques Villeneuve's BAR and Takuma Sato's Jordan. It had not been a good session for the British drivers, with Coulthard 9th, Jenson Button (Renault) 13th and Eddie Irvine (Jaguar) 16th. There was something to smile about for Toyota's Allan McNish though, as he out-qualified his team-mate Mika Salo for the first time this season - the two Japanese cars lining up in 17th and 19th positions respectively. Alex Yoong failed to qualify for the third time this season, fuelling speculation that he may lose his drive at Minardi before the end of the season.
It was Michael Schumacher who led the field away from the start of the first German Grand Prix on the heavily revised Hockenheim circuit, with brother Ralf continuing the Schumacher family dominance of qualifying. Barrichello held third despite having to change to his spare car after his race chassis developed a fault at the start. Raikkonen made a good start, moving ahead of Montoya into the first corner, with the Colombian holding off Trulli, Coulthard and the slow starting Fisichella. At the front Michael Schumacher ran unchallenged, pulling out 1.6 seconds by the end of the first lap. As the leading trio began to spread out, a great battle for fourth place between Raikkonen and Montoya ensued, with the latter edging into the position but only after completing half a lap wheel to wheel with the Finn. That was not the only action though, as a line of cars queued up behind Trulli's struggling Renault, with 8th to 15th positions separated by just a couple of seconds on occasions. Eventually Trulli fell away, leaving the BARs, Toyotas, Saubers and Jordans, that had been delayed, to battle amongst themselves.
Michael Schumacher was the first of the front-runners to stop, promoting his brother into the lead of the event. This was Ralf's chance to gain an advantage by setting a series of fast laps on a clear track, but he was baulked when lapping Trulli's lethargic Renault, which cost him several seconds. His bad luck continued when he became stuck behind Villeneuve's expiring BAR on the pit lane entry. Although his 8 second stop was 0.4 seconds faster than his brother's, he rejoined 4.7 seconds in arrears. However, the younger Schumacher brother retained second position after Barrichello and Montoya had stopped - the teams' second drivers emerging in third and fourth positions respectively. The race at the front stagnated, with gaps opening between the four main players, though Raikkonen soon lost his fifth position when his left rear tyre blew. Although the Finn limped back to the pits to change the offending rubber, he was left ruing his team's decision not to change his tyres at his first stop.
Barrichello's bad luck continued when a fuel rig problem at his second pit stop cost him around fifteen seconds, dropping the Brazilian to fourth behind Montoya. Leader Michael was the next to complete his second scheduled stop, as usual without his team-mate's problems, with his pit-crew taking just 8.5 seconds. His brother soon followed him into the pits, closing the gap with a 7.8 second stop when the team opted not to change tyres. Although he resumed within a few seconds of his brother, his afternoon of bad luck continued when he was forced to make a third pit stop to correct a problem with his pneumatic valve air system. This promoted Montoya to second position, but he was unable to close the gap to Michael Schumacher, who claimed victory by just over ten seconds. Ralf Schumacher came home third, four seconds behind his team-mate, but nine seconds ahead of Barrichello. Coulthard took fifth position after an anonymous run, while Heidfeld took the final point for sixth position after team-mate Massa let him through - grudgingly. The rookie Brazilian took seventh position, ahead of the remaining finishers, Sato and Salo.
It was a dismal day for Renault, BAR, Arrows and Jaguar who had both drivers among the list of those starters who failed to complete the full distance. Despite recent strong showings, Renault never came to terms with the new circuit, and Trulli and Button's poor performances ended with a spin and engine problems respectively. Although BAR have signed Button for next season, they have yet to say whom he will partner in the team in 2003. Panis once again out-performed his team-mate, spinning out of sixth position when he encountered an engine problem, while Villeneuve departed with a gearbox problem after a disappointing showing.
It was good to see Arrows competing once again, though neither car made the distance with Heinz-Harald Frentzen first loosing three laps when his car stalled on the grid, and then being forced out with a hydraulics problem after 18 laps. His team-mate Enrique Bernoldi suffered a blown engine at two-thirds distance. Despite strong showings in the practice session, Jaguar's performance never caught the eye after a disappointing qualifying session and Pedro De La Rosa's departure on the first lap (he suffered a transmission failure). Team-mate Irvine encountered a variety of problems, most notably a traction control glitch that resulted in several spins, and a brake problem that eventually forced his early exit. Minardi had been hoping for a strong showing, and Mark Webber was on target for at least a top ten finish in the early stages of the race, but he suffered a software failure on lap 23. Fisichella's Jordan suffered an engine problem late on, while Raikkonen's troubled race came to an end eight laps from the end when he spun into the tyre wall.
Race Result:
1. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) 67 Laps
2. Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) +10.503s
3. Ralf Schumacher (Williams) +14.466s
4. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari) +23.195s
5. David Coulthard (McLaren) +1Lap
6. Nick Heidfeld (Sauber) +1Lap
Driver's Championship Standings:
1. Michael Schumacher 106pts
2. Juan Pablo Montoya 40pts
3. Ralf Schumacher 36pts
4. Rubens Barrichello 35pts
5. David Coulthard 32pts
6. Kimi Raikkonen 17pts
Constructor's Championship Standings:
1. Ferrari 141pts
2. Williams-BMW 76pts
3. McLaren-Mercedes 49pts
4. Renault 15pts
5. Sauber-Petronas 11pts
6. Jordan-Honda 6pts
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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