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2004
Formula 1 San Marino
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After a 3 week break the Formula 1 circus moves into Europe and all the signs point to a Ferrari dominance at least in the early stages of the European leg. Bahrain produced an expected result where Michael Schumacher dominated the race with Rubens Barrichello coming a comfortable second. The weather on race day was much cooler than on Saturday (nearly 20 degrees cooler) which may have helped the Bridgestone runners. Moving into Europe, track temperatures will rarely move higher than those temperatures experienced on race day in Bahrain and so Michelin will have to come up with a tyre that can beat Bridgestone under those conditions. Juan Pablo Montoya was set for a podium finish until his gearbox failed him
forcing him out of the points. Prior to his problems the gap to Barrichello
was roughly the same as Barrichello's gap to Michael. Imola is a medium to high downforce track with hardly any straights which makes it different from any of the first 3 races of the season. Additionally. the temperatures will be significantly colder. This will have an effect on some of the teams but Ferrari will be expected to still be the team to beat. Over the last two weeks, most teams were testing at several venues including Barcelona, Paul Ricard, Silverstone, Estoril, Vairano and Fiorano. At Barcelona and Paul Ricard where several teams were present, BAR topped the timesheets on most days. Here is a team by team review: Ferrari: Had a perfect result in Bahrain and have to be the
favourites for their first home race. The car is reliable and Michael is
fast while Rubens can stay ahead of the competition. Drivers: Michael Schumacher won easily in Bahrain and should be able to do the same at Imola provided his car lasts which is almost a given. Rubens Barrichello couldn't stay with Michael in Bahrain but managed to stay well ahead of anyone else. He has a better chance of competing with Michael at Imola as he knows the track well but that seems unlikely as Michael has the momentum. Podium likely. Renault: Have moved into second place in the championship
thanks to the misfortunes of Williams. They could have had a bigger gap if
Alonso kept his car on the track in qualifying and Trulli kept his 3rd
place in the race. They should do better at Imola as they introduce a more
powerful engine and their reliability is nearly as strong as that of
Ferrari. Drivers: Fernando Alonso for the second race in a row stuffed up his qualifying but made most of it up in the race. If he gets a good run in qualifying he'll have a chance of a podium. Jarno Trulli lost 3rd place in Bahrain due to backmarkers
(according to him!). He should've finished on the podium and should drive
better given the car he has. Williams: Are now equal 3rd with BAR on points. Who would
have imagined that just a few weeks ago. In Bahrain they suffered from
reliability for Montoya and incompetence for Ralf. With both drivers set
to leave by the end of the year, it will be hard for them to improve
dramatically. Drivers: Juan Pablo Montoya could have finished second in Bahrain but his gearbox failed him. He has a potential podium finish in Imola but a win will be hard. Ralf Schumacher demonstrated sheer incompetence when he drove into Sato. A few more mistakes and Ralf may even be replaced before the end of the season. Points likely. BAR: They have to be considered the dark horse of the season
so far, with Jenson Button 3rd in the Championship and the team on equal
points with Williams. They have improved their reliability significantly
and both Chassis and Engine are strong. They are not yet as fast as the
top teams but are very close and can capitalise on the other's mistakes. Drivers: Jenson Button finished on the podium for the second race in a row. Admittedly it was due to a few other drivers struggling but still he was there. A repeat at Imola will be difficult but points should be possible. Takuma Sato had a coming together with Ralf Schumacher which wasn't his fault. Had that not happened he may have finished on the podium instead of his team-mate. It will be harder for him to beat Button at Imola but points are likley. McLaren: Who would believe that McLaren have only collected a
mere 4 points from the first 3 races of the season. It appears as if they
are in a race with Minardi to see which team can actually finish a race.
It doesn't matter if the car is fast but doesn't finish! Drivers: David Coulthard almost managed to finish the Bahrain race driving slowly and nursing his car. Perhaps that is why Ron Dennis has kept Coulthard all these years. At Imola he'll score a few points if his car lasts!. Kimi Raikkonen has yet to score a point this season and by the way the McLaren blows, it is unlikely that he'll finish a race anytime soon. Kimi is superfast but he needs a fast car that finishes. If he finishes, he'll score points but finishing is unlikely. Sauber: They are quickly drifting back into the back. They need
those aero changes from the new wind tunnel fast so that they can catchup
although it may be too little too late for this season. Drivers: Felipe Massa finished 12th in Bahrain and wasn't anywhere near contention. Expect the same at Imola. Giancarlo Fisichella didn't fare much better than his team-mate and only managed 11th. It appears that both drivers are fast but the car isn't delivering. Points unlikely. Jaguar: They appear to be slowly improving and seem to have
sorted out their slow starts. Their competition is now mainly Toyota and
Sauber and that will be fierce over the next few races. Drivers: Mark Webber finished 8th thanks for a few dropouts in front. Despite the points finish he didn't shine in Bahrain and his blocking of Alonso wasn't acceptable. He should recover at Imola and show us his real skills. Points will be difficult though! Christian Klien impressed as much as Webber disappointed. On an equal playing field he matched Webber. At Imola he will be disadvantaged as he has to learn the track. Points unlikely. Toyota: They are reliable and with major development coming
through over the next few races, they are poised to move ahead of Jaguar
and Sauber and start closing the gap on the front runners. Panis and da
Matta finished 9th and 10th in Bahrain, one of them may score a point at
Imola. Drivers: Cristiano da Matta finished 10th in Bahrain and behind his teammate Panis. They were very close all weekend and like Sauber they need a car that goes faster. Points hard. Olivier Panis beat da Matta in Bahrain and that must give him a boost heading into the European races. He is in the same boat as da Matta though and he needs a faster car to score points. Jordan: They finished both their cars at the back. They are
just ahead of Minardi and have almost no chance of scoring points. Survive
financially without scoring points would be a miracle. Drivers: Nick Heidfeld finished in 15th place in Bahrain. Whatever improvement he and the team makes won't move him 7 places upwards. Giorgio Pantano finished 16th in Bahrain and 2 laps down. His prospects at Imola don't look good. Minardi: Both cars struggled in Bahrain, one classified 5 laps
down and the other suffered an engine problem. The team needs to finish
first and then try to target scoring points. Both tasks are difficult! Drivers: Gianmaria Bruni was classified as a finisher in Bahrain. He gained track experience which should help him for seasons to come. He'll hope for the same at Imola. Zsolt Baumgartner qualified over a second slower than his team-mate. Lucky for him, the cars are neither reliable nor fast and hence his positions is safe as long as he brings in the money. Bridgestone Preview - Michelin Preview Join
8 'n'
Pole and see how your predictions stack up against the others. Note: Official team preview links when available
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