British Grand Prix Review

Silverstone had suffered a lot of flack in the lead-up to the race weekend, notably from Bernie Ecclestone and Max Mosley, who were engaged in something of a media battle with BRDC figures such as Martin Brundle and Sir Jackie Stewart. One couldn't help but wonder what Bernie and Max's hidden agenda was, since theirs was too concerted an attack for there not to be some agenda. With Spa already off the calendar, their almost active attempt to dump the British GP tore at the fabric of the history of F1.

Not only is Silverstone steeped in tradition, being the host of the first ever World Championship Grand Prix, it is in its current configuration a distinctively flowing track, relatively high speed, but punctuated by sweepers rather than chicanes. After a race with more passing and excitement than the rest of the European season so far put together, the FIA would be stupid to can the British GP, although the thing that made the race exciting - the track invader - could also be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Britain, after all, is a 'motorsport country', unlike places like Malaysia, China and Bahrain where the whole point of a Grand Prix is to introduce motor racing to those places. Consider this not unimportant point: the quality of the TV coverage from Silverstone was outstanding, and caught all the action as it happened, even if it was a dice for 17th place. Compare that to Malaysia, for example, which has been one of the worst if not the worst coverage every year, presumably because directors there don't understand F1.

Antonio Pizzonia out-qualified Mark Webber for once, responding to rumours that he was going to be replaced by Justin Wilson after the British GP - which has now come true anyway. Both Jags were ahead of David Coulthard, mired in 12th, and blaming the fact that he simply didn't like the one-lap shoot-out system. Which in reality is code for saying that he can't deal with it. But since it's the same for everyone, tough cookies if he's just not good enough. Substandard is substandard, however you look at it.

Off the line, though, it was Trulli who jumped into the lead. After the race, Barrichello blamed the Renault for not staying close enough to him on the warm-up lap, and this had caused his tyres to drop temperature, inhibiting his getaway. Rubens was simply having a winner's whinge. In truth, Jarno had not stayed particularly close on the warm-up lap, but it wasn't a massive gap either, and in fact the whole field seemed particularly spread out, and it did take quite a long time for the final cars to grid up.

Perhaps more credit should be given to Renault for their mega launch control, and so too McLaren's, for Kimi Raikkonen leapt into 2nd and DC moved from 12th to 9th. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was slow to get away in his Sauber, but into Copse it was the Jaguars showing their flatulence problem yet again, as at the Nurburgring, where oil overflow left them blowing copious amounts of smoke, although everything was in fact fine. The reduced visibility is in reality a safety issue which the FIA ought to address.

A few laps in, the safety car was deployed for the first time after Coulthard's headrest fell off at the exit of turn one. Copse being as fast as it is, and being blind on turn in limiting how much of the exit is visible, it was the right thing to do. How the head restraint was able to come loose and fly off is anyone's guess. But considering McLaren's continued problems getting their new MP4/18 to pass the mandatory crash tests, one must start wondering about their quality control.

The Toyotas came in, which didn't change the fact that they would suffer because they were the only three-stopping frontrunners, but it did alleviate the disadvantage they were going to face. DC also came in, obviously, which in turn gave him a bonus in terms of track position - especially after the second safety car when everyone else came in. That turned out to be vital in entrenching him well in the top 6 for the rest of the afternoon, even if it meant he was now effectively on a three-stopper.

The decision for Jaguar to bring Pizzonia in just as the safety car returned to the pits was silly. On an unusually off day for Webber, when Pizzonia was the more likely of the Jags to score points (including a solid pass Antonio put on Mark going into Stowe when the Brazilian was lighter on fuel), this was a bad move. Although in truth, on three-stop plans, neither were really in the hunt. Just deserts for putting Arnold Schwarzenegger's brutal visage and Terminator 3 sponsorship on their engine covers at their home race.

Apparently Horan believes that the world is about to end because of events in the Middle East, and he has been doing 'dances for peace' in London in his Irish costume. By running onto the track like that, the only thing that was likely to end was his own life. Far from advancing his cause, Horan's protest was a disservice to the Bible and to Christianity in general, to interfere with and interrupt others' organised events and to essentially break the law and put people's lives at risk.

With Silverstone's place on the calendar already in jeopardy, this was the last thing the British GP needed. Although, as Ron Dennis said afterwards, this kind of thing can happen anywhere, it would have done the race no good in the eyes of Bernie and Max, even if it directly shuffled the pack and led to some terrific racing for the rest of the afternoon. At any rate, in an uncontested decision, Father Neil Horan receives the 'Reject of the Race' award this time around.

The fifteen who had not already pitted did so, and as a result were scattered throughout the order. The likes of Michael Schumacher, JPM and Alonso were particularly disadvantaged by having to queue behind their team-mates, although it did seem as though the Ferrari stops were particularly tardy. Barrichello found himself behind Raikkonen again but also Ralf Schumacher, whilst Michael had been ahead of Montoya and Alonso beforehand but came out behind them.

REJECT OF THE RACE
Cornelius Horan
Suicidal lunatic helps engineer the best race in yonks!

I wonder if Toyota contemplated changing their cars' strategies to a two-stopper. This would have been dependent on the size of their fuel tanks, but it might have kept da Matta in with a shot of the podium. Another man who led but dropped back was of course Trulli, passed by Raikkonen at the second restart, and falling to an eventual 6th. Perhaps he was hampered by being on the softest Michelins, but as the race went on he did seem to retreat to the comfortable, lazy pace for which he has been rightly criticised.

Raikkonen not only passed Trulli on the restart, within a lap he was past Coulthard and Panis as well in one of the best single race laps by any driver for a very long time. From there, the race was his for the taking, and the championship complexion there to be changed. But as the Ferraris came back into it, the Finn seemed to lose his way. His inability to take full advantage of his track position on the second restart and hold on for the rest of the race to win may turn out to be a pivotal point of the 2003 championship.

Having dropped behind Raikkonen and Ralf during their first stop, Barrichello eventually found a way past the Williams around the outside at the second part of Abbey in an exhilarating move that had Ralf defending the inside line all the way from Stowe. After four or five switchbacks the Brazilian finally made it through in a move that will rival Montoya's pass on Michael at the Nurburgring as the overtake of the year. Compared to Ralf, after that Trulli and Panis were easy meat.

On the other hand, Ralf's team-mate JPM was one of the unsung heroes of the race after a stellar drive. Although he had to queue behind Ralf in the pits, after the restart he was able to scythe through the field in a manner which Alonso only half-matched and which Michael could hardly emulate at all. It put the Colombian into a position to be a contender for the rest of the race. With his third 2nd on the trot, and a gap of only 14 points to Michael, he is definitely not out of the championship battle.

Michael found himself particularly held up by Jacques Villeneuve, bringing back memories of 1997, and also Silverstone 2000, when the Canadian's BAR held up the Ferrari for the whole first stint. Jacques at times may have been a touch too desperate with his door-slamming, but Michael wasn't as forceful as he could have been. Perhaps this was just his experience showing through, for having gone into damage limitation mode he knew the key was to ensure that he scored as many points as possible.

Meanwhile, some kudos to Ralph Firman, who all this time was staying in front of both Jacques and Michael, and way ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella too. In a week when Jordan personnel despondently admitted that this year's package is as dismal as we've already long known it to be, by dint of pitting under the first safety car and gaining track position, Firman had a chance to shine. He's done relatively well in his debut year in a difficult car, and eventually impressed even more by holding off Webber for 13th.

Then came the second stops, at which Alonso stalled. After that he lost his traction control, and finally his gearbox seized. Early in the season Fernando was in the title hunt thanks to some excellent podiums, but in the last few races he has not been able to beat Trulli and his car has let him down. With Barrichello taking the win and moving 10 points clear, it looks like Alonso will have to settle for fending off DC for 6th. Will Renault's choice of Friday testing and its effect on development see him slide down even further?

Barrichello made a valiant attempt to pass Raikkonen in the pits with some blistering laps, but was unable to make it. Still, he had the speed to catch the McLaren, and got the Finn at Bridge, but only after Kimi was so anxious to maintain his spot he went off. A cooler head may have been prepared to let Rubens go and settle for points, but his further excursion which allowed JPM through to second must put his composure in the heat of the title battle in the spotlight. Perhaps the Iceman does crack under pressure?

As the race drew to a close, Fisichella suffered a nasty moment when his right rear suspension broke, pitching him into a wild spin across the grass at the Becketts complex. There is always a danger when going across soft ground sideways like that, that the wheels will dig in and the car will roll. The way the Jordan bounced around, Fisi was lucky not to end up on his head, and perhaps it was just a touch unsporting of him to drive all the way back to the pits instead of simply parking his unrepairable machine.

Coulthard then got da Matta at Vale for 6th, and then moved up to 5th by passing Trulli around the outside at Vale as well. Along with Barrichello's three expert overtakes, this will also be a candidate for manoeuvre of the year. To give credit to DC, his was a fine race drive, but if he can't qualify well then minor points are all he will ever get. His win in Melbourne aside, his best finish has been 4th in Brazil, and he has also racked up four 5ths and a 7th. McLaren did not employ him for results like that.

So in the end, it was a totally deserved, utterly fantastic win for Barrichello, the best of his six so far, making up for the win at Silverstone that he lost in 2000 due to a hydraulic problem. Bridgestone admirably bounced back to allow the Ferraris to come back on top, even though they didn't have the track position to thoroughly dominate the event. Williams and McLaren remain well-matched and in the hunt for both titles, while Renault have not impressed as much over recent races as they did earlier in the year.

Jaguar had a bit of a shocker at home, it must be said, while Button did incredibly well to come from the back of the grid after his suspension failure in second qualifying to finish 8th and comprehensively outdo Villeneuve again. Toyota's increasing prominence in recent races is most welcome, but some tactical naivety remains. Meanwhile, more nondescript efforts from Sauber, Jordan and Minardi, the three privateer teams continuing to do it tough in a year proving to be dominated by the manufacturers.