Belgian Grand Prix Review

Qualifying was much more interesting that we've seen of late. There was even novelty value in Hakkinen taking pole by such an astonishing margin. But, it goes without saying, everyone was caught off guard by the sheer pace of Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button, who quite embarrassed their team-mates Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher, I would have thought. Then there was also the mystifying uncompetitiveness of Ferrari; Schumi was never in the hunt for pole, and Rubens Barrichello was nowhere, in the anonymity of 10th.

If I may digress for a moment and talk about something which hasn't rated much of a mention this season. It would seem as though one obvious reason why McLaren and Ferrari have dominated is that they're the only teams to combine a good chassis with a powerful engine. Sounds simple, but it's probably true. I'm bringing this up because I can only account for Trulli and Button doing so well because of their Jordan and Williams chassis, which I imagine must be quite superb, blighted only by their Mugen and BMW engines which aren't the best, one because it's too old, the other because it's too young.

What about some other notable qualifying performances? How about Johnny Herbert, at one stage as high as 6th, and eventually a very creditable 9th? Or Giancarlo Fisichella, who on his one and only flying lap in an unfamiliar spare car put himself eight spots ahead of team-mate Alexander Wurz? Notably disappointing, though, must surely have been the Arrows, on a track where I thought they would thrive, being quick and well-balanced. Just ahead of the Minardis was not where I think Jos Verstappen was looking to be.

Before I get to the race, I should mention Fisichella's big off in the morning warm up. It's almost as though he's battling with Ricardo Zonta to see who'll have the bigger crash this year (although Zonta flying over the catch-fencing in a Silverstone test is pretty hard to beat). That's the second time he's ended up on his head (the other time was in testing at Valencia after he clipped Trulli). Add to that an early retirement in the race, and altogether a miserable weekend for Fisi.

With Hakkinen galloping into the distance, the interest was in the battle for second. Clearly Trulli's wets were burning up the most in the half-dry conditions, and Button almost made a move at La Source stick. Jenson really did look like a man on a mission, and in the early laps, a podium finish certainly didn't look out of the question. But then a few moments of complete inexperience, which we have been so unaccustomed to seeing this year, put paid to any chances he had.

He firstly made the mistake of trying to dive down Trulli's right-hand side on the approach to the Bus Stop. Anyone in the know will tell you, you stick at it around the outside of that right kink before the chicane, so you have the inside line for the next entry. As soon as he saw Trulli driving defensively down the middle of the track, he impulsively went the wrong way, and had Schumacher go by past him in exactly the same move he himself should have been putting on the Jordan. Well, a quick lesson from the master, at least.

The really bad news for Button, though, is that he had to let Ralf Schumacher by into Eau Rouge as well. That seemed innocent enough at the time, but a lap or two later when the cars came in for (grooved) slicks, Ralf was called in first as the lead Williams, and Button lost precious time trundling around for another lap, effectively destroying all hopes of a really superb finish. Even though he finished 5th and started 3rd, for so brilliantly throwing away what would have been a safe 3rd place in the space of a few hundred yards, grudgingly Button earns our 'Reject of the Race' award. Please don't send us any hate mail ...

No surprises when Jean Alesi was the first to chance his arm and come in for slicks. Good to see him jump all the way up into 4th place as a result, and great to see some of that old damp-track magic from the French-Sicilian, who has had a thoroughly woeful year. The Prost driver sparked off a massive rush into the pits for slicks, and Ferrari got their timing just right, bringing Schumacher and Barrichello in at the same time. Since the Ferrari mechanics had been out in the pits for quite a while, I'm surprised that McLaren didn't respond and bring Hakkinen in on the same lap.

Mind you, Hakkinen also threw it away when, rather reminiscent of Imola and Monza last year, he also chucked it into the barriers, but managed to get away with his timid half-spin, which nonetheless let Schumacher by. From here, I felt that a rather fortunate Schumacher win seemed pretty certain so long as the Ferrari held together, but then again I wasn't counting on a Ross Brawn pit strategy gaffe.

That early stop for slicks really mucked up some teams' pit strategies. For one thing, the Prost guys certainly didn't think about it too clearly. I'm not sure if they put fuel into Alesi's car when the Frenchman came in, but I doubt it, meaning that Jean still had two stops to go. That meant his 4th position on the track was a complete waste. As it turned out, his retirement made it all academic (now wasn't that a surprise), but even though the Prost isn't great this year, I think he might have been able to hold on for a points finish, had his team got the strategy right.

If Schumacher's strategy seemed inexplicable, then the laughable failure of Barrichello's strategy was even more ridiculous. Barrichello may have won at Hockenheim having made one more stop than everyone else, but there were extenuating circumstances there. Here, to put Rubens on lighter fuel and make him come in one more time was never going to work, and one wonders what the point of it was. Especially when Rubinho stopped at the entry to pit lane, out of fuel. What made it more incredible was that it didn't seem to be a mistake by the Brazilian, but rather a miscalculation from the pits. Either way, it might well have handed the Constructors' Championship to McLaren this year.

The only bit of action left, then, was at the front, where Hakkinen didn't seem to be driving particularly out of his skin. It was just that Schumacher was really struggling on his tyres. He even tried to cool them down as much as possible by driving over wet patches. How often do you see a guy on slicks deliberately look for the wet stuff? To be honest, it seemed only a matter of time before Hakkinen caught and passed the German, since this year has shown that passing is no longer the dying art that we thought it was. Indeed, Schumacher admitted so himself after the race.

To be honest, I wouldn't have been surprised if Schumacher did a Jerezgate on Hakkinen and took him out. It would have kept his gap to Hakkinen at two points, but it would have meant that Coulthard would be equal with Mika, in which case they would be allowed to race each other for the title, and thus take points off each other. It also would have meant a Williams win for brother Ralf. Of all situations, this would have been the perfect one in which to pull a dirty trick, but Michael seems to have mellowed in his old age.

Schumacher and Coulthard peaked too early this year, it would seem, but Hakkinen has timed his run to perfection. In the post-race press conference, I get a sense that Schumacher is bracing himself for another title defeat, and trying to look stoic as he goes down. As readers of these reviews will know, I'd much prefer a Ferrari title, but, as I've said before, if Hakkinen pulls it off he will have thoroughly deserved it, and Schumacher will have thoroughly deserved to lose.

Two more quick sidelines. Firstly, it seems as though Mika read our Hungary review, and wisely decided against playing conductor on the podium, although he couldn't resist a few thrusts. Trust me Mika, don't give up your day job. Secondly, a big fat 'boooooooo' to the loony Finnish supporter who waved that giant flag right in front of the podium, stopping millions around the world from having a good shot of the top three. Could someone find out his/her name? In a race devoid of much rejectdom, maybe they should be the 'reject of the race'!!!

Traditionally, Ferrari come up with special engines, special this, special that for Monza, and they'll have to if Schumacher is to have any hope of reeling mighty Mika in. One cannot help but be frustrated at seeing Ferrari's slide of late, but they'll have no better place to correct that than their home track, right in front of their adoring tifosi.