British Grand Prix Review

Easily the most controversial aspect of the weekend, though, had more to do with the track itself rather than what was taking place on it. Ultimately it was a worst case scenario for the FIA, as moving the date of the race to Easter (and increasing the chance of an exciting wet race) turned sour. They got their rain all right, but all it did was turn Silverstone into a giant mudbath, attract fewer corporate guests, result in a million pounds in refunded spectator tickets and generally tick off all the teams. On top of all this, the race itself was bone dry.

Back to the old drawing board, eh?

All the same, plus marks to Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who of course only lost out to Barrichello by three thousandths of a second. He really did make best use of his one chance in the best conditions. The same applies to Jenson Button, but I'll wax lyrically about him later. Same old story in that the midfield was pretty bunched (6th to 15th covered by a second).

But this was one whacked session when Jacques Villeneuve's BAR and Jos Verstappen's Arrows both had provisional pole in the dying minutes. And when at one stage Marc Gene's Minardi was 4th.

It was clear from the snake developing behind Barrichello that the Ferrari was holding the others up. Again in hindsight (there were a lot of hindsight insights this race) it was because he carried more fuel than the McLarens, and much more than Frentzen and the Williamses. You just knew that no-one was going to do any passing until the stops, but the high-speed train was impressive to watch.

It required precise driving under pressure from all six men, and in this regard Button was especially brilliant. He coped with the situation magnificently.

It was a silly strategy from Jordan and Williams. It was an inflexible strategy implanted into a time frame that actually allowed for flexible strategies. By that I mean, if they were going to do two stops, why make the first stint so long? If they were going to do a long first stint, and since no one was getting away from anyone else at the front, why not then change strategies from two to one stop and fill it up to the end?

This absurd strategy, in my books, destroyed three brilliant drives (though, granted, Frentzen would retire by the end).

This is a worrying development for Ferrari, that twice in four races fine results for Rubens have gone out the window via mechanical trouble (remembering that Eddie Irvine only retired once all of last year).

There's no point speculating where Michael Schumacher would have ended up had he squeezed past the McLarens at the start (chances are he would have won), but the fact was that he was well out of the picture and yet came home on the podium. It is quite amazing how often Michael seems to turn a sow's ear into a silk purse. Neverthless he was mainly brought back into contention by the appalling strategies mentioned above. So, taking Schumi out of the picture, credit goes where credit's due, and this time around all credit goes to McLaren.

If Hakkinen's charge towards the end of the race netted him any bonus result, I don't really think he would have deserved it. His start wasn't much good, and he seemed to lose interest when the Williamses passed him in the pits. Mika tends to do that when the cards don't fall his way (Spa and Nurburgring last year were prime examples). He'll then speed up if he thinks there's something in it for him, and should his natural speed get him what he wants, I think it's an injustice to those who've tried their guts out all race.

Overall, though, the race signals a positive signs for McLaren's rejuvenation. A one-two (their first in a while) is the best thing for their 2000 campaign, as Coulthard's immediate mobile phone call from a Mercedes board member shows. Furthermore, they now have all-important momentum moving to Spain, at a Barcelona track where they are traditionally strong.

Williams as a whole, though, have I think done enough to be established as the third best combination out there even if the results don't always show it. The team that was there before, Jordan, just keeps on standing still. Frentzen should have finished fourth, but Jarno Trulli was a real non-event. His point for 6th was lucky.

Talking of non-events, what about Jaguar? In front of their home crowd as well. Lots of work ahead for the big cats, that's clear for all to see - especially in the area of starts. Irvine held provisional pole for a split second on Saturday, but other than that they were lower midfield runners - and their Williams-like two-stop strategy didn't help improve that. However, it does appear as though Johnny Herbert is slowly getting on terms with Irvine.

Almost exactly the same applies to Sauber, although extra credit to Pedro Diniz, who lost his mirror on the first lap. How annoying that must have been. BAR also have some good vibes to take away, considering Villeneuve's pace and doggedness, and Ricardo Zonta's occasional speed (a fastest lap anyone?) which was a nice response to his massive testing accident the week before. I liked how peeved Villeneuve was when he retired. It was the sign of a man hungry for points and expecting points. It shows that BAR is heading in the right direction.

So too is Prost. At least Jean Alesi finished, and Nick Heidfeld was on the verge of doing so. But still some work to do there, but at least a sort of foundation to build on. While they're beginning to find reliability, Arrows need to do the same. To have the first two retirements in a race largely devoid of retirees must have been embarrassing for them. No points, though, to Martin Brundle for his gag about filling the Orange-sponsored cars with vitamin C at the pit stops. Finally, as for Minardi, someone give them a good engine. Please.

There is a certain precision and perfection required to succeed in F1 these days, required of both the drivers and the teams. There is something exciting about this exacting standard required, because it does take effort to stay on the standard, and it's a very fine line. Get it wrong on the track or in the pits, and you dump a lot of places and time. It is an exacting standard with exacting consequences. Just ask Jordan and Williams.

To me, if you look hard enough, there is something quite thrilling and idealistic about all that.