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Schumacher must win this one
Issue 24 - The Heretic

August 9 - 13 2000 Formula 1 News

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13-Aug: Jacques Villeneuve who finished 12th hit the back of Pedro de la Rosa on the first lap. Both cars pit and rejoined at the back of the grid. Villeneuve said "For once, I had a pretty bad start in the race with too much wheelspin. I was on the outside of de la Rosa at the chicane and he braked very late. I did as well, but hit the back of his car. After the first pit stop to change the nose cone, the car was really quick, but by that point I had just lost too much time. It's a shame, because the car was very good during the race." Villeneuve clocked the 6th fastest time of the race just behind David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher. This explains how he managed to overtake a number of slower cars on the track.
Ricardo Zonta who finished 14th didn't enjoy the race as he struggled with the car balance throughout the race and said "We tried to change the downforce levels in the race in order to improve the car's handling, but it just got worse instead. In the first stint, I had understeer under power, then in the second stint, there was oversteer on the entry to corners. Finally, we made a change to the tyre pressures, but the oversteer was still there and the steering became very heavy. After that, there was just no way to fight any more."

Giancarlo Fisichella had a difficult race on a circuit that Benetton expected to do well. He struggled with brake balance and spun twice. He added "I had a problem at the beginning with the brake balance which caused me to spin off twice, in doing this I damaged the car, so I came into the pits and the team changed the barge board, but the problem was still there and the car was too hard to drive, there was nothing I could do but retire." His teammate Alexander Wurz who finished in 11th had similar brake problems and said "Before my first stop everything ran okay, but we stayed out too long and I got huge understeer on the last few laps and ended up losing a place to Salo during the stop. I came out into quite a bit of traffic so the team called me in early for my second stop, and then my last set of tyres were in quite bad condition and, in addition, I got a brake balance problem so I had to go easy to finish."

Pedro de la Rosa finished in 16th place after being hit from behind by Jacques Villeneuve at the start. He said "I made a good start and the best thing was that it was physically good training for me, but the race was bad because on the first lap I was hit in the rear by Villeneuve which blew my rear tyre and damaged the rear suspension. I don't know exactly what was wrong but the car was difficult to drive."
Teammate Jos Verstappen finished in 12th place and described the race as very tough but was happy to finish and said "I think it is good for the team that we made it home with two cars. It was a very hard race for us because our car isn't the best one for this circuit but we knew that before we got here. As Pedro said, it was good training and I'm happy that I finished. Now I'm looking forward to the next race."

Mika Salo finished in 10th place and complained of understeer and difficulty overtaking slower cars and said "I had a lot of understeer today, and towards the end it was so acute that I thought at one point that I had a flat tyre. What was really annoying was the Minardi that held us all up and bunched us together. That lost me a lot of time, and the trouble here is that it is so hard to pass even slow cars."
Pedro Diniz was pleased with his race despite retiring while running in 8th position 12 laps from the end due to a problem with the powertrain and said "I was pleased with my race because I managed to overtake quite a lot of people and recorded good lap times. I stayed clear of traffic, pushed hard and exploited some great strategy from the team. Then with 12 laps left the car just stopped without warning."

Timed Results 

13-Aug: Describing his 4th place finish after winning in Germany as 'not fantastic', Rubens Barrichello indicated that he lost the chance of a better result on Saturday when he failed to qualify well. He added that after he passed Ralf Schumacher in the pits he tried to catch the cars in front but he couldn't. Jean Todt described Ferrari's results as a bit disappointing as they were hoping for a win given Michael's pace on Saturday. He added the the championship fight will start again at Spa-Francorchamps.

Ralf Schumacher who finished in 5th after starting from 4th indicated that he was pleased with the result despite giving up a position to Rubens Barrichello in the pits which was due to a problem with a wheel not engaging quickly. He added that he was happy with the performance of the car given the extremely high temperatures during the race.
His teammate Jenson Button who finished 9th was very disappointed as he suffered an engine problem during the race and was forced to let Jarno Trulli and Eddie Irvine through. He said "A very disappointing race for me overall. I had a real chance of getting some points here today and we had an engine problem in the second part of the race, which obviously resulted in a loss of power. I was very aware of being caught up by the other drivers but I pushed as hard as I could here but it was to no avail at the end."
Technical Director Patrick Head was disappointed with the outcome of the race but praised both his drivers and said "It was obviously disappointing for Ralf to lose a place to Barrichello. Unfortunately, we had a wheel nut stick in his first stop and damaged his position. We weren't really strong enough in the race to get back on to the Ferrari. Jenson was going extremely well but unfortunately some technical problem caused him to lose power. He drove an amazingly good defensive race but couldn't quite hold Trulli and Irvine back, losing a couple of positions."

Heinz Harald Frentzen described his 6th place finish as the maximum they could achieve given difficulties they had with the tyres. He added "It was one of the toughest races of the season and, given the problems we have with the tyres in such high temperatures, it was good to get a point at the end. We were not able to go any faster, the grip level of the tyres coming and going."
His teammate Jarno Trulli finished 7th and was the only driver to go for a single stop. He said "Obviously, my tyres were wearing more than the opposition towards the end because they had fresher rubber. But I have to say that the car was pretty good, especially in the second half of the race when I was able to catch and pass Jenson. But, with qualifying being 50 per cent of the race here, I am pleased with the performance after starting from 12th on the grid."
Team boss Eddie Jordan said "It was a very difficult race all round. But both cars finished and the guys did a fabulous job. Heinz did all he could and Jarno's strategy worked very well for him. A point is well worth having on a day like this."

Eddie Irvine finished in 8th position and despite not being in the points he was satisfied with the result and said "It’s probably one of the best races I’ve ever driven without reward, I had a lot of fun out there." He was not happy though with Marc Gene who didn't let him through even though he was a lap behind. Irvine said "That Minardi got in the way at a crucial time, ‘I was dicing for seventh place and he cost me about 20 seconds over four laps because his team told him he was racing me, which is ridiculous."
His teammate Johnny Herbert hat yet another retirement due to a gearbox problem and said "Yet again I had gearshift problems which developed around lap eight and continued until the end, the shifting wasn't very nice, and it got more and more inconsistent. In the end it was stuck in a gear, and I thought if I carry on like that around the track I'd get in the way of everybody, so I just pulled off. Unfortunately it's another non-finish which isn't very enjoyable."

Timed Results 

13-Aug: At the winners press conference, Mika Hakkinen first talked about his superb start (the second in a row) and said "I think I said in Hockenheim, you make a start like I did probably once a year, but it's not true, you do it once or twice a year." He described the race to the first corner as "very close but that is what the racing should be."
As for his stunning pace during the race given that he was struggling all weekend, Mika indicated that they have made a few changes (that he won't talk about) which enabled the car to be very fast. Those changes were a combination of fantastic teamwork from the chassis and engine people.
When asked about his championship chances now that he is leading for the first time this season, he replied by saying "I keep to my own head all the time, concentrate on my work, and the point of the race is to try to win. And that's what I'm going to do for the rest of the season. I'm not going to really think about who's going to win and who's going to lose, because that will be decided at the end of the year when we count the points together."

Michael Schumacher indicated that he was not too unhappy as they were not fast enough and Mika was the fastest man today. He went on to say that even if he didn't lose out at the start, Mika would still have managed to pass him later possibly through the pits. He added that even second position was very hard to hold as David was very close all throughout the race.
When asked if the Ferrari is not a match for the McLaren in race trim, he answered by saying he thought that Mika sorted out his car while they didn't seem to improve that much. He did say that there are still area's that need improvement which they have a good idea on how to improve them.

David Coulthard indicated that he struggled on the first set of tyres and felt that he was losing time on his first stint but after his first stop he was competitive and caught up with Michael quickly. He added that he lost a lot of time behind the backmarkers while Schumacher didn't but he said that he is not making excuses as he finished the first lap in 3rd place and finished in 3rd and that is all what he deserves.

Timed Results 

13-Aug: Hungarian GP - Race Results: Mika Hakkinen wins ahead of Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard. Rubens Barrichello is 4th ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Heinz Harald Frentzen. Mika Hakkinen now leads Michael Schumacher by two points while McLaren lead Ferrari by a single point  ... Full Report ... Timed Results

13-Aug: Hungarian GP - Warmup: David Coulthard sets the fastest time of the session ahead of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Ralf Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Heinz Harald Frentzen make the top 6.

There is not much between the top 2 which indicates that we could have a good race between the two. Rubens Barrichello appears to have made progress although he is still 0.6 seconds behind his teammate. Mika Hakkinen is still struggling only managing 5th fastest and 1.2 seconds behind his teammate.
Keep in mind that one cannot compare these times as we don't know the fuel loads they are carrying. Being fast could indicate a lighter fuel load and more stops. On the other hand Giancarlo Fisichella who qualified 7th was 14th fastest indicating that he could be running a heavier fuel load and fewer stops.

Pedro de la Rosa did the most number of lap with 18 followed by Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher with 17 laps each. Nick Heidfeld only managed 6 laps while Gaston Mazzacane and Mika Hakkinen only did 10. Most drivers did between 12 and 15 laps.

The session started under partly cloudy conditions and a temperature of 26 degrees. Most of the cars going out on their installation laps and those with spare cars checking them out as well.

Ralf Schumacher was the first to set a timed lap closely followed by Michael Schumacher, Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello.

10 minutes into the session and it is Ralf Schumacher ahead of Jos Verstappen and Pedro Diniz. Marc Gene, Nick Heidfeld and Gaston Mazzacane make the top 6.

The top 6 is constantly changing as the track has more grip with Verstappen, de la Rosa, Zonta, Coulthard, Frentzen and Michael Schumacher all setting fastest times. Giancarlo Fisichella slides off but recovers

20 minutes into the session and it is Michael   Schumacher ahead of Heinz Harald Frentzen and Rubens Barrichello. David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen make the top 6.

David Coulthard goes fastest, the first under the 1:20 mark, he is followed into the 1:19 territory by Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. Mika Hakkinen improves but he is still in the 1:20's

Final Order: David Coulthard ahead of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Ralf Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Heinz Harald Frentzen make the top 6.

Timed Results 

12-Aug: Patrick Head was impressed by both his drivers after Ralf Schumacher qualified in 4th and Jenson Button in 8th and said "It's a great grid position for Ralf to be in amongst the two top teams at the moment and the car has generally been good here all weekend. We are obviously hoping for a good race. For Jenson to only have qualified a few tenths behind Ralf in the top ten on his first ever visit to this circuit is very impressive and continues his run of strong performances this year."

Ralf Schumacher was surprised by his results when he said "I am very happy with the result, even positively surprised. We had put down the Hungaroring amongst the most difficult tracks for us. Our expectations were not at all high!". Jenson Button was also pleased when he said "The team did a great job here today. The weather has been very hot indeed, but I'm happy with the car. My learning curve has increased since yesterday as this is a very technical circuit, very twisty and not easy to memorise."

Eddie Irvine who qualified in 10th position had a good first run and was 4th at one stage but he couldn't improve. Irvine said "I think we did all we could today, the first run was okay, because I got the maximum out of the car and most people didn't. I just couldn't go forward, so that was it."

Jarno Trulli only managed to qualify in 12th place while his teammate Heinz Harald Frentzen qualified in 6th. Trulli struggled with the setup of the EJ10-B chassis on this track and said "'We didn't find the cause of the problem, having a lot of understeer is not normal for me. We tried everything we knew but it didn't help much. Then we tried a different front wing and the car changed completely - more than you would normally expect. It is unusual to find such a big change, so we've still got some work to do learning about the latest aerodynamics."

Rubens Barrichello qualified in 5th position 0.816 seconds behind Michael Schumacher. He explained the huge gap by the traffic and the balance of the car and said "It was a difficult qualifying session for me and unfortunately I was slowed by traffic on my last run. That meant I was unable to improve my time. I never managed to get the balance right on my car and that affected my ability to get the most out of it. Tomorrow’s race is bound to be tough but I know I can count on the potential of my car."

Qualifying Results

12-Aug: Giancarlo Fisichella who qualified in 7th place for the Hungarian Grand Prix has expressed his anger at Michael Schumacher who Fisichella claims blocked him on his last run which prevented him from qualifying in a better position. Flavio Briatore echoed Fisichella's statement when he said "It is a shame Giancarlo was blocked on his last lap by the top driver." The teams's Technical Director also attacked Schumacher's driving when he said "The appalling driving of the so-called championship contenders cost us dearly. I'm pleased to say our team is sporting enough to call our drivers in and not spoil other people's laps."

Despite clocking some of the fastest speeds on the start-finish straight the BAR team didn't qualify well and that was mainly due to the lack of downforce for this kind of circuit. Jacques Villeneuve who qualified 16th said "We are running with maximum downforce and it just isn't enough. When it gets hotter, like this afternoon, the air gets thinner and that makes the whole problem even worse. We are not expecting points from this position." His teammate Ricardo Zonta qualified in 18th position and said "We just need more downforce all around the circuit."

Even though the Arrows team expected to struggle on this circuit, Pedro de la Rosa who qualified in 15th place was not happy when he said "We knew we were going to struggle here and we have tried everything during the last few days. Although I'm not happy with the position as we expected more, I am happy with at least doing one good lap." His teammate Jos Verstappen qualified in 20th place and said "It was just very very very bad and there's just nothing more to say."

Qualifying Results.

12-Aug: At the post qualifying press conference, Michael Schumacher was delighted to have pole position here in Hungary but stressed that the most important thing is to finish the race tomorrow and believes that he has a good opportunity to win. With regard to getting through the first corner, Schumacher said that in order to avoid being hit from behind one has to either start from the back of the grid or disappear when starting from pole so now one gets close. He added that while they have practiced starts last week, there is always some luck involved at the start as there are so many factors that can go wrong. The amount of horsepower, a small clutch and the heat can all play a part in how good of a start one can have.

David Coulthard indicated that Schumacher has been very strong in qualifying trim but added that he did not feel that they have optimised the car in qualifying trim but is confident with the balance with some fuel on board. The race result will tell who has done the better job this weekend.
As for the start given that he is alongside Michael Schumacher, he said that he is hoping to make a good start but tune in tomorrow to see the start as he doesn't have a crystal ball!

Mika Hakkinen was the first to go out in the qualifying session which is unusual for a top team but indicated that he was not happy with the car all weekend and he wanted to test some changes they have done to the car early in the session. He added that he is more confident with car in race trim and is looking forward to the race and what happens on the first corner!

Qualifying Results.

12-Aug: Hungarian GP - Qualifying: Michael Schumacher grabs pole position ahead of David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen. Ralf Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Heinz Harald Frentzen make the top 6 ... Full Report ... Timed Results.

12-Aug: Hungarian GP - 2nd Saturday Practice Session: Michael Schumacher sets the fastest time of the session 0.630 seconds ahead of David Coulthard. Rubens Barrichello, Heinz Harald Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen make the top 6 ... Full Report ... Timed Results.

12-Aug: Hungarian GP - 1st Saturday Practice Session: Rubens Barrichello sets the fastest time of the session just 0.015 seconds ahead of David Coulthard. Heinz Harald Frentzen, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher make the top 6 ... Full Report ... Timed Results.

11-Aug: Michael Schumacher indicated that they have not yet found the optimum setup on the car and described his Friday practice sessions as average. He is optimistic that they will find the right setup soon but he doesn't think that Ferrari's main rivals will make life easy for them but the opposite also applies!. Michael Schumacher was 3rd fastest on Friday.

Jenson Button finds the Hungaroring circuit quite hard to learn as it is tight and twisty with some long corners. He added that it is a good circuit and the setup of the car is getting better. Jenson finished 8th fastest on Friday.

Eddie Irvine is happy with the Jaguar at this circuit as they expected the car to be competitive at high downforce circuits. He described the car as quite driveable and will be aiming for a top 6 qualifying position. Eddie Irvine was 10th fastest on Friday.

Gaston Mazzacane finished his Friday session in 22nd place and had it been a qualifying session he would not have qualified as his time was outside the 107% cutoff mark. He described his day as unfortunate and miserable as a number of mechanical problems affected both his sessions. He just wants to forget this negative day and focus on the rest of the weekend.

11-Aug: At the Friday press conference for the Hungarian GP, Benetton's Manager Flavio Briatore announced that Giancarlo Fisichella will be driving for them again in 2001. The contract is for one year with an option for 2002. He also confirmed that they will try to help Alexander Wurz for the rest of the season but they are looking for someone else next season.
As for who will that person be, Briatore indicated that he is looking for someone to do the job and to get points. Jacques Villeneuve was his number one option but he decided to stay at BAR. He wished Jacques luck but added that he will make sure that Benetton are in front of him anyway!. He added that the team will be hoping to make an announcement on who will partner Fisichella next week.

Ferrari's Technical Director, Ross Brawn describes the current situation at Ferrari as difficult as they were hoping that they would have won the championship by now. He indicated that 10 points from 5 races does not win you championships and he is sure that Michael Schumacher will do his best for the rest of the season.
Regarding the criticism of Michael Schumacher's starting techniques, Brawn said that while he understands that other drivers might have a point regarding that, they should discuss it with Michael rather than air their view in the public which indicates that the other drivers have a different objective!. He added that level of critisism is starting to become vinidctive.
When asked whether Michael will adopt a different strategy at the start here in Hungary, he said that it would be a mistake to change your style and indicated that 2 of the last 4 retirements where car failures. He did add that the accident with Fisichella was unfortunate and while he doesn't think anyone was to blame 100% for it, Brawn did say that Michael did move across in front of Fisichella and made the situation very difficult for Giancarlo.
Just like Rubens Barrichello yesterday, Ross Brawn also tried to clarify the situation a Ferrari when he said that it is true that Luca Montezemolo asked the team to be 100% behind Michael Schumacher but they are also 100% behind Rubens Barrichello and if Barrichello happens to win the next few races then Ferrari's efforts will go into whatever is best for the team. He stated that Ferrari have no decree that it is only Michael who can win the championship.
Ross Brawn also used this question as an opportunity to hit back at McLaren and indicated that Ferrari are always open about what they are doing but other teams don't admit it. He pointed to the fact that McLaren heavily favoured Mika Hakkinen in the last 2 races when in Austria Coulthard was not allowed to race Hakkinen and in Germany Hakkinen was brought into the pits first when the safety car went out!.

Adrian Newey was asked for what he thought of Brawn comments regarding team orders within McLaren and said that while Ross Brawn is entitled to his opinion, as an insider it is not the case. He added that at Hockenheim with the safety car situation, the policy is always to bring the car that is leading at the time and it is a difficult situation for the second car as one can either bring him in and wait or keep him out for an extra lap but in both situations the second car is bound to lose points. As for the situation in Austria, Newey said that the team sometimes asks the drivers to hold position if they are just racing each other and that is to avoid the risk of a car problem or a driver going off.
Adrian was also asked about the wing failure with David Coulthard at the testing session in Valencia last week, Adrian indicated that it was a rear suspension failure and not a wing failure due to fatigue in a steel wishbone. He added that the problem has been addressed in order for it not to happen again but one cannot be 100% sure in Formula 1.

Jacques Villeneuve indicated that the number of spins he had during the second session were mainly due to him trying too hard on a slippery surface with a lot of downforce. Commenting on his chances for the rest of the season, he said that they are not fantastic but said that they can get good points from good races. If they have an average race then points are not expected as it is very tough with several teams all fighting for the last 2 point scoring positions. He also said that the BAR is not very efficient with the downforce levels in Hungary but they had worse Friday's before!

Mika Salo was asked about the progress the Sauber team has made this year, he replied by saying that they had problems in Australia and Brazil but they sorted out these problems and things have been getting better since however the others are also going quicker and that makes qualifying crucial.

Neil Ressler commented on who will partner Eddie Irvine next year and said that they have not decided yet. As for the Franchitti test, it was because Jaguar wanted to follow up on some commitments made to him some time ago!. He added that Jaguar will make a decision within a few weeks.

11-Aug: Hungarian GP - 2nd Friday Practice Session: David Coulthard sets the fastest time of the session ahead of teammate Mika Hakkinen. Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella make the top 6 ... Full Report ... Timed Results.

11-Aug: Hungarian GP - 1st Friday Practice Session: Michael Schumacher sets the fastest time almost half a second faster than teammate Rubens Barrichello. Eddie Irvine, Ralf Schumacher, Giancarlo Fisichella and Jacques Villeneuve make the top 6. Neither McLaren have set a time this session ... Full Report ... Timed Results.

10-Aug: At the Thursday press conference for the Hungarian GP, Mika Hakkinen described the Hungaroring as a Mickey Mouse circuit and admits that it is not one of his favourites. He did indicate though that he had some very strong performances here in the past especially in 92 when he started from the back row and finished 4th. He also added that it was great to see so many Finnish fans here.
When asked about how team orders at Ferrari affect him, Mika indicated that it doesn't really affect him and it is really a question for Rubens to answer but in his opinion it certainly doesn't help when you know your are there to lose. He said "In terms of a driver's morale, it must be very distracting to hear something like that coming from the management. I doesn't give you very much motivation to race or to give your best to the team. If you know you are there to lose, who wants to do that? Sorry, Rubens, but I am just saying what I think."

Rubens Barrichello made it clear that whatever Luca Montezemolo told the press it was not what he told him. He said "You know, it's quite a vote of confidence in me for the team to have brought a second T-car here for me. Why would the team do that if I was only here to be playing for the other [driver]? Basically, what he has said is that he definitely wants Ferrari to win, and it does not matter who does it. Whatever we may have read in the press, that's not what he told me."
As for his celebrations after winning the last race, he indicated that he watched the race twice again that night and he didn't have time to celebrate but things are back to normal now however when he is driving the car he seems to enjoy it more. He can't explain why but it certainly feels different.
On the upcoming Grand Prix, he indicated that he and Ferrari have done well here in the past. He is not under pressure and is trying to look at the present and live the moment, if by the last race he is still in the running for the championship then it is a different story but for now he is just enjoying himself.

Eddie Irvine indicated that he was not 100% at Hockenheim following his abdominal pains but he is feeling much better now and training hard to get back in top shape. He added that Jaguar are making progress with the new engine and a few other improvements but indicated that it is very early days for Jaguar and compared them to Ferrari when he said "If you look at Ferrari, it was 1993 when Jean Todt [was recruited] to try to make things happen there. But the team is still not there yet really, and McLaren looks very strong at the moment. It's a long process, so we must keep chipping away."
Eddie Irvine also said that he was not happy with the current situation as he wants to be at the front winning but he understands that it takes time to make big improvements and added that Ferrari and McLaren are way ahead of the rest but that BAR and Benetton have made good steps forward while Jaguar and Jordan have gone back a little.

Pedro Diniz described the situation this year as very hard as there are only 2 points positions for all the midfield runners as McLaren and Ferrari take up the first 4. He added that this year's Sauber is much better than last year's but they are missing out on qualifying and that is something they need to work on.
Regarding next year, Pedro is not yet sure where he will end up next season but there is a good possibility that he will stay at Sauber.

Jenson Button indicated that it is becoming easier for him to learn new tracks as he is getting used to driving his car. He added that he has not yet seen the circuit yet and of the remaining circuits, he is familiar with Monza and Spa.
On his 4th place finish at Germany, he described himself as being lucky and the team having a very good pit strategy. He did stress that they have to sort out their qualifying.

10-Aug: It has not rained during a race in Hungary in the past 14 events and this year the trend looks set to continues. The expected weather is hot and dry with 33 degrees expected on race day. This will make the race even tougher on the drivers and the cars.
It is expected that Ferrari and McLaren will fight it out this year but the record books tell us that it is the Williams team who had most of the glory here winning 7 of the 14 races. McLaren are second with 4 wins. Honda and Renault share the most number of wins for an engine manufacturer with 5 wins each while on the drivers side it is Ayrton Senna winning 3 races and Nelson Piquet, Damon Hill, Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher winning 2 races each.

10-Aug: "Schumacher must win this one" is the title of the 24th issue from the Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2000 season. In this issue, the Heretic looks at the upcoming Hungarian Grand Prix - Check it out here !!

9-Aug: Michael Schumacher shook down the 4th Ferrari (Barrichello's spare) to be taken to the Hungarian GP today. Like the other 3 cars Badoer shook down on Monday, this was also fitted with the so called 'chimney exhausts'. He did 4 laps on the regular and short circuits with a best time of 1:02.411. Due to FIA regulations which allow for only a very limited number of testing laps to be performed during the week prior to a Grand Prix event, Ferrari had to tow the car back to the pits in order not to go over the allowed distance. Schumacher also did a few practice starts in the test car.
On the upcoming race, Schumacher is hoping that his run of bad luck ends when he said "I hope that at Budapest, a circuit I like, I can make a come-back in the fight for the championship after my run of bad luck in the last few races. After Hockenheim I can say that Ferrari is competitive on all types of circuit. We did not have this advantage at Zeltweg but we know the reasons why. That is why I feel confident for the next races. The fourth car? It is always a good thing for both drivers to have a spare but I hope I won’t need it."

Speaking to the German magazine, Auto, Motor Und Sport, Jacques Villeneuve has once again attacked Schumacher's aggressive style when he said "Aggression has become involved only because he (Schumacher) will not listen to the opinion of other drivers. It goes in one ear and goes out the other, he entrenches himself behind the impression that we want him harm."
He also made it clear that he was also annoyed with David Coulthard's start at Hockenheim and said "criticising just for the sake of it is not my style, I will get annoyed at anybody who starts like Schumacher. Coulthard's start in Hockenheim was not acceptable either. He only did it to repay Michael."

Jacques also fired the first public warning to his own team after signing with them for 3 years when he said "If BAR do not achieve anything next year I'll be gone by the end of 2001" hinting at the performance clauses in his contract with the team. As for the reason not going to Benetton, the 1997 world champion said "joining Benetton would have been entering unknown territory, BAR are slowly improving. I could not see myself taking the risk of going to Benetton to see somebody else winning with BAR next year."

The latest in driver and team movements.

9-Aug: BMW Motorsport Director, Gerhard Berger indicated that racing in Hungary is something special for BMW as this circuit is the second GP circuit they have tested the new BMW engine in October of last year. He is also proud of the fact that they have made huge steps forward since then and are currently running third in the constructors championship.
Despite the fact that Williams have scored points in the last 2 races, their qualifying has not been so good and they need to qualify better if they are to gain more points here.

The Jordan Grand Prix team considers the Hungarian Grand Prix as one of the most difficult races this season. Team boss Eddie Jordan indicated that the race is very punishing for the car due to the slow speeds and the usually hot weather while Managing Director, Trevor Foster considers the track as one of the most mentally tiring circuits as the driver must maintain 100% concentration to stay on the racing line and stay away from the dirty parts of the track.
At the German Grand Prix, the team introduced the new EJ10-B chassis which incorporates a new aero package and while this package is designed for low downforce circuits, the team believes that they can certainly achieve a top 6 position here.

BAR's Chief Engineer, Steve Farrell is very much aware of the hot conditions expected at the Hungarian GP. He indicated that the BAR Honda chassis will be fitted with some 'one-off' components for the race to optimise the performance of the car's cooling systems.
Could it be yet another team to use the so called 'chimney exhausts' ?. McLaren have been using them for the past number of races and Ferrari are going to use a similar style here as well.

Eddie Irvine qualified second here last year but that was in a Ferrari. Despite that, he is very optimistic about his chances in Hungary given his past results here. He also considers this circuit to be very similar to Monaco where he scored his first and only points for the Jaguar team this year. He said "Hopefully the fact that it is a high downforce circuit should suit the R1, last year I missed out on pole by just a whisker. I’d like to think I can get somewhere near the front again this time around."

Hungarian Formula 1 Grand Prix schedule:

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