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Confusing corporate objectives with sport The Heretic - Responses

13 - 16 May News
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16-May: At Valencia, Ralf Schumacher sets the fastest time of the day ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella and Marc Gene.
4 teams were present with 6 drivers setting lap times. Giancarlo Fisichella covered the most number of laps with 84 followed by Ralf Schumacher with 79 and Jenson Button with 62.
There were a number of red  flags during the session with Marc Gene, Olivier Panis and Jenson Button all stopping on the track with mechanical problems.
Weather conditions were sunny with air temperatures reaching 25 degrees.
Jordan concluded their test while the other teams continue tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Valencia 

At Paul Ricard, David Coulthard topped the timesheets ahead of team-mate Kimi Raikkonen and Heinz Harald Frentzen.
4 teams were present today with 6 drivers setting lap times. Tora Takagi test driving for Toyota covered the most number of laps with 107 followed by David Coulthard with 105 and Felipe Massa with 100 laps.
Running today was on a shorter configuration of the circuit with more corners simulating Monaco.
Takagi drove in Formula 1 back in '98 (Tyrell) and '99 (Arrows). He was thrilled with his test and said "The last time I drove in F1 was two years' ago. For me this was an exciting experience and it is incredible just how much an F1 technology has changed in that time. I want to say thanks to Toyota for giving me chance to drive today. It was good fun and very different to CART."
Weather was sunny with air temperature reaching 22 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow. Brazilian Cristiano da Matta will have a test drive for Toyota.

Click here for the test times from Paul Ricard 

At Jerez, Luciano Burti concluded his tyre testing programme in the F2001. He covered 82 laps with a best time of 1:22.150.
Anthony Davidson, BAR's test driver was also present testing at the track.
Weather conditions were sunny and windy with air temperature reaching 32 degrees.

Click here for the test times from Jerez 

At Fiorano, Michael Schumacher continued his preparation work for the upcoming Monaco GP. He completed 126 laps with a fastest time of 58.326 which is a new lap record.
Weather was sunny with air temperature reaching 29 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow with Rubens Barrichello.

Click here for the test times from Fiorano 

15-May: At Valencia, Williams Test Driver Marc Gene set the fastest time of the day ahead of Antonio Pizzonia also in a Williams while Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR was 3rd fastest.
4 teams were present with 7 drivers setting lap times. Marc Gene covered a massive 114 laps while Antonio Pizzonia covered 104. BAR's test driver Anthony Davidson covered the least number of laps with 15.
The teams concentrated on set-up for Monaco as well as tyre evaluation.
Weather conditions were again ideal with air temperatures reaching 25 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow

Click here for the test times from Valencia 

At Paul Ricard, Nick Heidfeld was back at the wheel of the Sauber following his horrific accident at the Austrian GP. He set the fastest time of the day ahead of David Coulthard and Alexander Wurz.
3 teams were present today with 4 drivers setting lap times. Nick Heidfeld covered the most number of laps with 84 followed by Alexander Wurz with 71. Mika Salo covered the least number of laps with 29.
Weather was sunny with air temperature reaching 23 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow

Click here for the test times from Paul Ricard 

Nick Heidfeld was pleased to be back in the car following his accident and said "My knee has still a big blue bruise after the accident. The physio work I have been doing with Josef Leberer has been very helpful. Now it is just a little bit sore when I am walking but it did not give me any trouble when I was driving. Good to be back in the car again and to get back to work and I am pleased with what we have achieved today."

At Jerez, Luciano Burti continued his tyre testing programme in the F2001. He covered 114 laps with a best time of 1:21.774.
Weather conditions were sunny with air temperature reaching 30 degrees.

Click here for the test times from Jerez 

At Fiorano, Michael Schumacher took over from Luca Badoer. He concentrated on preparation work for the upcoming Monaco GP. He completed 75 laps with a fastest time of 58.548.
Weather was sunny with air temperature reaching 28 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Fiorano 

15-May: Jammys takes the lead in the 6 'n' Pole Competition by a single point! ... Overall Results ... Austria Results ... Popular Picks ... Register

14-May: The majority of Formula 1 teams are conducting extensive testing this week in preparation for the Monaco and Canadian Grands Prix. 
At Valencia, a six day test commenced today with Williams, Renault and BAR present. Williams test driver Antonio Pizzonia set the fastest time of the day ahead of Williams test driver Marc Gene and Renault's Jarno Trulli and BAR's Jacques Villeneuve. 
Jarno Trulli covered the most number of laps with 84 laps followed by Jacques Villeneuve and Antonio Pizzonia with 83 laps each.
Weather conditions were ideal with air temperatures reaching 26 degrees.
Testing continues tomorrow

Click here for the test times from Valencia 

The Ferrari team commenced testing at 2 tracks. At Jerez, Luciano Badoer in the F2001 commenced a 3 day tyre test programme. He covered 84 laps with a best time of 1:22.991.
Weather conditions were sunny with air temperature reaching 31 degrees.

Click here for the test times from Jerez 

At Fiorano, Luca Badoer started testing the F2002 concentrating on aerodynamics and set-up. He completed 102 laps with a fastest time of 58.936.
Weather was sunny with air temperature reaching 27 degrees.
Michael Schumacher takes over tomorrow.

Click here for the test times from Fiorano 

At the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France, the Sauber team commenced a 4 day test. Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld will test on alternate days. Today Felipe Massa was behind the wheel of the Sauber covering 81 laps and setting a best time of 1:38.940.
Massa concentrated on aerodynamic testing in preparation for the Monaco GP.
Weather was sunny with air temperature reaching 23 degrees.
Toyota who use this track as their home test track will join tomorrow with Arrows joining on Thursday.

Click here for the test times from Paul Ricard 

14-May: "Confusing corporate objectives with sport" is the title of the 13th issue from the Diagnosis and Prognosis Series for the 2002 season. In this issue, the Heretic looks at the aftermath of the Austrian Grand Prix - Issue 13

14-May: Ferrari's President Luca Luca Montezemolo has indicated that while he did not make the decision for Rubens Barrichello to pull over for Michael Schumacher he agrees with it 100% and said "I am sorry for Barrichello, who was great for the whole weekend and deserved to win. Sometimes however, one has to act letting the head rule the heart. While, with a few laps to go, I was instinctively happy for Rubens to win, ten seconds after the chequered flag I said to myself, "yes, that was the right decision." Because I want to make it clear that this was a decision which I agree with a hundred percent."
He also pointed out team orders have been applied in the past by his team and others and said "On several occasions we asked our drivers to act for the good of the team. I am thinking of Hockenheim and Sepang in 1999, when Irvine picked up two wins which kept him in contention for the world championship thanks to the collaboration first of Mika Salo and then of Michael Schumacher. On top of that, it does not seem to me that other teams have behaved differently in the past. One only has to recall the 1998 Australian Grand Prix when Coulthard let Hakkinen pass. Not to mention Jerez in 1997, when what happened was an agreement between two teams, Williams and McLaren to let the Finn take his first grand prix win."
As for the FIA decision to summon the team and their 2 drivers, Luca Montezemolo said "I think that the investigation by the FIA will be about the formal aspects of the podium procedure, not race tactics. I have respect for the role of the Federation who, after hearing so many comments, will rightly want to listen to the team regarding the podium issue. As far as race tactics are concerned, the Federation has always looked at serious cases, when there were agreements between teams. Not when it's an honest, clean matter."

Earlier Sporting Director Jean Todt defended the actions by the team and said "We are fighting for a Championship. It is a difficult fight. We lost the championship at the last race in 1997, '98 and '99 so we just want to try to avoid that. Maybe if that had not happened, we would not have reacted as we did today. But it has happened, we have had some hard times. I know some people are not happy but we have the result and we feel it was the right thing for the team.
Honestly, I think some people will be against it. I've heard different reactions. Some people feel that they are in favour but at the end of the day, it is more damaging if you lose the Championship rather than if you decide who is going to win a specific race after such domination by Ferrari."

Technical Director Ross Brawn held a press conference to answer questions about Ferrari's decision. When asked why they don't give their drivers a fair chance he said "We don't operate like that. We give them (the drivers) a fair chance up until one clearly has a much stronger chance of winning the Championship. They get exactly the same equipment, they both get good support from all the team. And when one get a certain advantage we put our support behind that driver. Too many Championships have been lost in the past when teams haven't given their support to their driver. We don't operate like that."
When asked about when the decision was made, Brawn said "It was made all weekend. Rubens knows the situation - he has just signed a new contract. He is aware of the situation. If he starts 2003 and is 44 points ahead against six after six races he will get to take wins in the same fashion. Rubens knows because of the circumstances. Even before the weekend it was a given. I speak to the race drivers during the race and I spoke to Rubens and explained the situation. He was very professional about it."
Brawn also indicated that the team could do the same thing again and said "Until mathematically the Championship is sorted either way then that decision can be repeated."

Michael Schumacher also voiced his support to the decision and said "I know that our position regarding team orders can at times be difficult to explain but you just have to think about it. It has to be said that we did not invent this type of thing. 
I had asked myself if we needed to take this course of action given the championship situation is in our favour and that our car, along with the Bridgestone tyres is very competitive. All I can do is repeat that nothing is certain in this sport. For example, I could have problems with the car and might not always finish in the points. In two or three races, the situation could be different, even if at the moment it does not seem to be the case. And yet, I remember that in 1998, by the summer we managed to close on the McLaren which had dominated the early part of the season in the way we are doing now. Ferrari has learnt the hard way from three world titles lost by the slimmest of margins. They were bitter moments. Since then, we try to avoid a repetition of that situation and so, when one driver appears to have a clearly better chance of winning the title, we try and ease that process. It also happens in cycling for example. One must accept that sometimes one must take difficult decisions."

Fan response from all over the world has been overwhelmingly against Ferrari's actions. Click here to voice your opinion or read other fan responses.

13-May: The FIA have summoned the Ferrari team and their 2 drivers to appear before the World Motor Sports Council as a result of the last lap action at the Austrian GP as well as the actions during the podium ceremony. 
The statement read: "Following (i) an incident during the last lap of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix and (ii) incidents during the subsequent podium procedure, the FIA has summoned the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and the drivers Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello to appear before the World Motor Sports Council at its next meeting, which will be held in Paris on 26 June 2002."

Michael Schumacher was handed the win after Rubens Barrichello slowed down allowing Michael to win the race. On the podium, Michael let Rubens stand on the middle step and gave him the trophy. Rubens also sat in the middle seat during the post race press conference which is usually reserved for the winner.

Fans at the track voiced their dissatisfaction at the action by the Ferrari team and their drivers by booing during the podium ceremony and showing the thumbs down. Fans all over the world have also reacted angrily over what happened.

13-May: "Your thoughts on the Austrian Grand Prix" - Topic of the week - Have Your Say - A very hot topic!

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