nof1l.gif (4731 bytes)


F1 Merchandise

Formula 1 news, results and statistics when you need it

2002 US Grand Prix 
Race Preview  

blank.gif (809 bytes)
blank.gif (809 bytes)
Main Page
Formula 1 News
2015 F1 Schedule
2015 F1 Line-up
2014 F1 Schedule
F1 Teams
F1 Drivers
NewsOnF1 Mobile
10 'n' Pole
Register - Submit
F1 Regulations
The Forums
Live F1 Coverage
Motorsport Shop
UK - USA
Motorsport Calendar

F1 Merchandise UK
F1 Merchandise USA

F1 Tours
F1 Tickets
F1 Diecast
F1 Videos
F1 Games
F1 Trivia
NewsOnF1 on Twitter
MotoGP Tickets
Past Formula 1 Seasons
2012 F1 Results
2011 F1 Results
2010 F1 Results
2009 F1 Results
2008 F1 Results
2007 F1 Results
2006 F1 Results
2005 F1 Results
2004 F1 Results
2003 F1 Results

2002 F1 Results

2001 F1 Results

2000 F1 Results

1999 F1 Results

1998 F1 Results

1997 F1 Results
Links
2010 World Cup
Translate
Search
Contact Us
About
Archives
Your Say
Diagnosis & Prognosis
By the Heretic
Controversy Corner
The Real Race
By the Quali-flyer
F1 Testing
F1 Team Reports
8 'n' Pole
2006 World Cup

Download the NewsOnF1.com
toolbar
powered by Alexa

'07  '06  '05  '04  '03 
'02  '01  '00

 

Drivers Championship Constructors Championship
Main US GP Page
Track Layout (from the FIA)
Results & Reports

Ferrari unbeatable !

Ferrari won at Monza and even if Montoya didn't retire, the best he would have finished would've been 3rd. Given that, Ferrari will dominate at the Indy track where car setup is comprised between the fast oval section and the tight infield section. Ferrari have proved to be competitive on both while the others are strong on one but not so on the other.
Behind Ferrari, it will be a tough call, Williams are powerful but their chassis is one of their weaknesses and will therefore struggle in the infield. McLaren on the other hand have a good chassis but lack power (although we've seen some improvement in that area recently).
Behind the top 3, well Renault will do well in the infield but don't have much power for the oval section while Jaguar will be the opposite. The Honda runners could be a threat to Renault and Jaguar while Sauber and Toyota will struggle here. As for Minardi, it will be hard for them to beat anyone else here.

Last year Mika Hakkinen won the race in a close fight between the 3 top teams. Michael Schumacher finished second ahead of David Coulthard Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher all retired from the race.

Last week all the teams (with the exception of Arrows) were busy testing in preparation for the US GP as well as testing components for their 2003 cars. 
At Barcelona, Alexander Wurz set the fastest time this year during a test session while at Silverstone, Nick Heidfeld set the fastest time this year during a test session there!.

Ferrari: They will dominate. Only reliability will stop them or a really bad tyre from Bridgestone. Both are highly unlikely!. 
Reliability 9.5/10 - Speed 9.5/10

Drivers: Michael Schumacher was beaten in Italy by his team-mate on merit (until the 2nd pit stop). Barrichello also looked stronger at Indy last year (possibly due to their different strategies). Michael though would want to secure more wins this season to further improve his records.
Expect Michael to finish in 1st or 2nd.

Rubens Barrichello will give it all to prove that he can match Michael when team orders are not required. Now that Ferrari have secured 1st and (almost) 2nd in the Drivers as well as the Constructors' championship, there is no need for team-orders but don't expect the duo to fight till the end.
Barrichello is likely to finish in second but he could win.

Williams: With 2 retirements at Monza, they seem to have gone backwards but luckily for them McLaren also failed to score points so they are actually in a more comfortable position to securing second place that they were before the Italian GP.
However, their lack of pace at Monza during the race must have been very disappointing to them and they realise that they won't be able to get close to Ferrari this year. 
Reliability  8.0/10 - Speed 9.0/10

Drivers: Juan Pablo Montoya grabbed Pole at Monza in his typical style. It will be much harder for him here but don't discount it. In the race though, don't be surprised if he and his team-mate finish behind the McLarens. A podium finish is possible, a top 6 more likely.

Ralf Schumacher had a very short race at Monza due to an engine failure. Last year he retired here due to a mistake and would want to make it up this time. Montoya will be a tough team-mate for him here. A top 6 finish is likely.

McLaren: They weren't expected to do well at Monza. They qualified reasonably well but struggled with problems in the race. Expect them to be strong here in both qualifying and race trim. They will probably beat Williams if they last!.
Reliability 8.0/10 - Speed 8.5/10

Drivers: David Coulthard had to pit early at Monza which put him at the back of the pack yet he managed 7th. David is one of the most consistent drivers out there, he might not qualify as good as his team-mate but he'll more likely to finish.
A podium finish is possible here.

Kimi Raikkonen continues to outpace his team-mate but then suffers from a car problem. It is almost as if his driving style is too harsh on the McLaren, that is not his fault but the team's. If he doesn't retire, he could end up on the podium. 

Renault: Surprisingly finished 4th and 5th at Monza, a track that is hard on engines. The Indy track will suit them, at least the infield section will, but they will be slow on the oval section. If any of the top teams struggle, they'll finish in the points.
Reliability 7.0/10 - Speed 7.5/10

Drivers: Jenson Button seems to have lost interest in the team. He is continually being out-qualified by his team-mate and out-raced. At Indy it will be no different. A top 10 finish is likely, points if the cars in front retire.

Jarno Trulli got a massive boost after finishing 4th especially after starting from the back of the grid. Not much was mentioned of Jarno's incredible move up the field at the start of the race ending up in 12th place at the end of the first lap. He'll do well here and has a small chance to challenge for points on merit 

Sauber: They have lost 4th place to Renault (well mathematically they still have a chance but were are they going to get 9 points in 2 races from ?). Jaguar is just 3 points behind so they could lose 5th and that will be a severe blow to the small team. They got Frentzen in to replace the penalised Massa and that will help them in finishing races but it is doubtful that they will be able to score points..
Reliability 8.0/10 - Speed 7.5/10

Drivers: Nick Heidfeld will be under a lot of pressure to perform well against Frentzen here. Frentzen will be his permanent team-mate next year and he'd better give him a challenge straight away. Points will be very hard though. 

Heinz Harald Frentzen (replaces Felipe Massa) will once again enjoy a reliable and reasonably fast car for a change after driving unreliable cars such as the Arrows and the Prost. He will do his best to finish in the points but that can only be achieved if the faster cars run into problems. A top 10 finish is likely.

Jaguar: They have done an amazing job turning the team around. They are now up there with Renault chasing the McLarens. Monza though is a special track like no other so the results Jaguar achieved there may not be replicated here even if so many cars in front drop out.
At Indy, Jaguar will struggle in the infield section so they will try to compromise by adding more wing which will slow them down on the oval section. Points will be very hard.
Reliability 6.0/10 - Speed 7.5/10

Drivers: Eddie Irvine seems to be on a roll. He has scored all of Jaguar's 8 points so far this season. He also seems to have made up his mind on what he'll be doing next year but is keeping that to himself. Still points at Indy will be next to impossible.

Pedro de la Rosa retired yet again, this time though it was due to Massa blocking him (and he was penalised as a result). However he has not shown a lot of improvement in pace compared to Irvine. He is struggling and he knows that even though he has a contract, he is more likely than not to be out of the team after Japan. 

Jordan: Surprisingly, the Honda engines held at Monza. In fact all the Honda runners finished the race, none in the points though which indicates that the engines were limited so that they don't blow.
Jordan will struggle here on the fast section.
Reliability 7.5/10 - Speed 7.5/10

Drivers: Giancarlo Fisichella failed to finish in the points despite the many cars in front that failed. He simply didn't have enough power and his Bridgestone tyres didn't help either.
A similar scenario awaits him here.

Takuma Sato is probably enjoying his last 2 races in Formula 1 despite what Eddie Jordan says. He continues to struggle and with the Honda connection lost, why will Eddie keep him ?. A finish outside the top 10 is likely. 

BAR: In a similar situation to Jordan. Honda might be giving them special attention now that they will be supplying them solely from 2003 but what use will that be if the engines keep blowing ?
Reliability 6.0/10 - Speed 7.5/10

Drivers: Jacques Villeneuve struggled at Monza after having a bad start and choosing the wrong strategy. He struggled here last year and will probably struggle again this year. A top 10 finish outside the points is possible.

Olivier Panis did well finishing in the points at Monza. His 2 stop strategy worked well and managed to get ahead of many other drivers. Like in Monza, he needs to be very fortunate to finish in the points though.

Minardi: once again they will reserve the last row of the gird. Unless someone gets relegated to the back due to an infringement they don't have the power to match any team. 
Yoong returned at Monza and while his practice sessions looked promising, he was pathetic in qualifying.
Reliability 6.0/10 - Speed 6.0/10

Drivers: Mark Webber failed to finish at Monza after a promising start. He could do well here, well meaning that he could finish ahead of a Honda or a Toyota.

Alex Yoong is only back in the car because of sponsorship commitments despite what Stoddart would tell you. Don't expect Yoong to shape in qualifying or the race.

Toyota: They didn't do as well as expected at Monza. They have a powerful engine and should have done better. They will struggle here as it is a comprise set-up.
Reliability 6.5/10 - Speed 7.0/10

Drivers: Mika Salo will do his best given that this will be his second last race in his career. He would love to be able to score a point for Toyota but that will be nearly impossible. 

Allan McNish needs to do better if he is to secure a drive in Formula 1 for next year. A finish outside the top 10 is likely.

Arrows: They continue to be in a deep financial crisis and the longer it takes, the more likely the team will end up in liquidation. It will be another sad moment in the history for Formula 1 if that happens.
At the time of publishing, it is not clear whether they will be racing at Indy or not.
Reliability 6.5/10 - Speed 7.0/10

Join 6 'n' Pole and see how your predictions stack up against the others. 
Register now!
  

   
Session 2002 2001
First Friday Practice Results Report Notes Results
Second Friday Practice Results Report Notes Results
First Saturday Practice Results Report Notes Results
Second Saturday Practice Results Report Notes Results
Qualifying Results Report Notes Results
Warm-up Results Report Notes Results
Race Results Report Notes Results

What the teams and drivers said
Friday - Saturday - Sunday

Back to Top

Loading

 

We Recommend
F1 Tickets
Spanish F1 GP
Canadian F1 GP
British F1 GP
European F1 GP (Valencia)
Belgian F1 GP
Italian F1 GP
United States F1 GP
Abu Dhabi F1 GP
VIP F1 Paddock Club Tickets
MotoGP Tickets
Netherlands MotoGP
Catalunya MotoGP
Portuguese MotoGP
Valencia MotoGP
MotoGP VIP Village Tickets
more Motorsport Tours & Holidays
Australian F1 Grand Prix Tour package
Clipsal 500 Adelaide package
 

F1 Merchandise

Official 2009 F1 Season Review

Autocourse 2009 Annual

F1 Merchandise US

F1 Merchandise UK

Motorsport Magazines

Formula 1 Annuals

Formula 1 Yearbooks

Formula 1 Season Reviews

Formula 1 Technical Books

Formula 1 Design Books

The Official Tribute To Ayrton Senna
1960 To 1994

Formula 1 Books

Race Driving Books

Race Car Design Books


Ayrton Senna

Past Formula 1 Drivers