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Formula 1 news, results and statistics when you need it |
2002
US Grand Prix Race Preview |
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Formula 1 news, results and statistics when you need it |
2002
US Grand Prix Race Preview |
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Download the NewsOnF1.com |
Drivers Championship
Constructors
Championship
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. 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. Ferrari: They will dominate. Only
reliability will stop them or a really bad tyre from Bridgestone. Both are highly
unlikely!. 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. 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. 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. 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!. 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. 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. 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.. 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. 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. 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. 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 ? 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. 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. 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. Join
6 'n' Pole and see how your predictions stack up against the others.
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