Canadian Grand Prix Review

Over the years, team bosses have often been wont to indulge in bitchy catfights that give the Piranha Club its real nastiness. On the Friday in Canada, at a team-boss-only press conference made for points-scoring, the simmering tension over the so-called 'fighting fund' erupted between Minardi's Paul Stoddart and McLaren's Ron Dennis, the ex-pat Aussie bulldog taking the opportunity to perhaps unwisely do his dirty laundry in public and take a few pot-shots at the rich end of pit lane.

The amazing story of behind-the-back deals slowly emerged. Dennis, apparently, had been the unlikely driving force behind the 'fighting fund' idea to help small teams stay afloat, but apparently this was in return for those teams' support for something called 'rule stability' going into 2003. Basically, he'd help the minnows of the sport, on the condition that the FIA didn't upset his R&D programs. No benevolence from Ron here, rather coldly calculating rationalism.

This was all trumped, though, when Max Mosley gave them all The Offer They Dare Not Refuse, and forced through the far-reaching raft of changes for this season. Enraged, Dennis backed away from the 'fighting fund' idea - but come Montreal, Stoddart was going to claim his share anyway. When Sir Frank Williams and Dennis confirmed the money wouldn't be coming, Stoddart decided to serve up some of their own medicine, withdrawing his support (vital under the Concorde Agreement) for the rules changes in 2004 and beyond.

Bernie then stunned all and sundry by being quoted as saying that there was no place in F1 for enthusiasts like Stoddart, and that the Minardi boss should "piss off". While the paddock was still reeling from this unexpected left hook, in an amazing about-face the supremo then announced that he was buying a shareholding in Minardi the very next day. Instead of getting other teams to help the Italian team remain competitive, Bernie was going to do so himself.

In Bernie's defence for his comments on Friday, it was well-known that while he was happy for teams like Minardi to be part of F1, he also believed that Grand Prix racing was a Darwinist venture in which there was no room for teams to be helping each other out, just as it doesn't happen in any other form of business. And while no-one seemed too concerned that the ringmaster was taking an interest in one of the teams, one also wondered if there were other expedient reasons for Bernie taking a stake in Minardi.

Although his would not be a majority shareholding in the team, perhaps it was nonetheless enough for Bernie to assert some level of control over how Stoddart ran the team, and thus maybe curb the latter's maverick instincts. Alternatively, since Minardi is not one of the GPWC teams, perhaps this was an opportunity for Bernie to get some leverage in his ongoing fight against the manufacturers for ultimate control of the sport in the years to come.

Secondly, one of the interesting things as Stoddart and Dennis lay into each other was how tight-lipped their staunchest allies were remaining. Sir Frank was not saying much in Dennis' defence, nor Eddie Jordan in Stoddart's. Indeed Jordan was completely ruffled by some pointed questioning. Accordingly, by the end of the weekend, speculation was rife that Jordan would be getting customer Mercedes engines for 2004 for cheaper than their customer Cosworths, despite having lured the Ford badge back into Formula One for 2003.

Perhaps part of Ecclestone's deal was that if he helped Minardi personally, the other teams would do their part to assist Jordan. At any rate, all this politicking amongst the team bosses out in the open was reaching unprecedentedly absurd levels, and since the start of this year it has gone from the not-so-sublime to the downright ridiculous. It has taken attention off the great action on the track. For this, the team bosses and Stoddart and Dennis in particular receive our 'Reject of the Race' award this time around.

A few other general issues before getting to the race itself. Damp practice conditions pretty much until Saturday qualifying meant limited set-up time, and in wet Friday qualifying provided a few surprises, namely Ralph Firman in 4th but his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella down in 18th, almost 4 seconds slower. If driving in the wet is one of the indicators of true skill levels, then that should have raised a few eyebrows. Also interesting was Jarno Trulli slithering his way to 19th, over 10 seconds off the pace.

And, in the race it was indeed the Williams BMW combination that had the best package in the dry. Going by this performance, it is hard to imagine that this was the car that had so many publicised aerodynamic problems at the start of the year. The promised development and improvement has eventuated, and the most impressive thing is that the Williams was the best car around Monaco, the slowest and tightest circuit on the calendar, and then around Montreal as well, one of the more high-speed tracks.

All this may not be quite enough for Williams to have a serious tilt at either title, but McLaren will now be looking over its shoulder and see the Grove team start menacing them for 2nd in the constructors'. This was easily Ralf Schumacher's most convincing drive of the year, but his poor out-lap after his first stop that lost him the lead, and his inability or perhaps unwillingness to pass brother Michael will continue to fuel the questions of those who wonder if Ralf is a race-winner or a mere points-gatherer.

Juan-Pablo Montoya would have won his second victory in a row had he not spun at the end of lap 1, simple as that. His aggression would have ensured that he passed Ralf in the pits, and that he would have stayed in front of Michael. In the ITV commentary, Martin Brundle suggested that Williams should have asked Ralf to let JPM by to have a go at the race win, and re-swap positions if the Colombian couldn't. This seemed like a very sensible idea, and probably excusable as a 'team tactic' and not a 'team order'.

REJECT OF THE RACE
The Team Bosses
Weekend's action was in the press conference, not on the track

In the wrong car, on the wrong tyres, with slower pit stops than what the Williams crew managed, it was yet another Michael masterclass as he managed in-laps and out-laps that got him ahead of his brother, and as he was able to control the race in the final third despite the queue banking up behind him. With more than 200 points over previous record-holder Alain Prost, he is now on the brink of becoming the first man to crack the 1,000 point barrier, a record that may never be surpassed.

The man Flavio Briatore is touting as the next Schumi, Fernando Alonso, showed his special talent once again on a track where Renault feared it would not do well. To start 4th on the grid on heavier tanks, only half a second off Ralf on pole, was an amazing effort in hindsight. It was a shame that he did not have the engine grunt to have a go at passing Montoya, Ralf and Michael towards the end of the race, because he surely would have done so.

Otherwise, the last ten laps were deflating, as it was clear that, despite four cars running line astern, Ralf wasn't going to attack Michael, JPM wasn't going to risk hitting his team-mate, and Alonso didn't have the power to pass. Although it has taken several years of relatively stable rules to bring about such closeness, it was a sad indictment on the rules that have placed so much emphasis on aerodynamics and pit stops, on the follow-my-leader attitude this has engendered, and perhaps on the new points system as well.

It was interesting that the McLaren crew did not top up his car with fuel until the race had begun, having learnt from Jaguar's mistake in Austria which resulted in Mark Webber getting a 10-second penalty. Raikkonen was then fortunate that his mid-race puncture occurred just before the pit entry, but the fact that he had to come in earlier than Barrichello (who effectively was on a one-stopper as well) meant that he eventually lost out to the Brazilian for that 5th place.

Despite Rubens scoring more points, he was unimpressive. His nudge on Alonso which dislodged his front wing was utterly careless, and some of his attempts to block Webber as he drove back to the pits were unsporting. He was lucky not to be beaten for 5th. In 2003, we are seeing the dependable Rubens version 2001 and not the Schumi-beating Rubens version 2002, and on current form it was not surprising that his contract, unlike Schumi's, Jean Todt's, and Ross Brawn's etc., was not renewed just before Canada.

In 2001, even though Schumacher collected a raft of wins, he had to work hard for many of them against tough Williams and McLaren opposition. Ferrari's attentions were focussed on him, and Barrichello was left in the shadows to merely collect points. A similar situation is emerging in 2003. With Alonso in the picture as well and Schumi having to come from behind, Rubens may be getting inferior treatment again, but it is exactly as this time that he has to stand up and be counted if he wants to keep his drive.

Coulthard's qualifying efforts have to be a concern. Whereas Raikkonen will either put in a screamer or go off, too many times this year DC has made little errors on his Saturday lap that costs him a few tenths here and there, and a few grid spots with it. It forces him into early-race stoushes, such as in Canada against the Toyotas, which are risky in themselves. It would have been touch-and-go whether or not he could have hung onto 5th, but his retirement means his title hopes are now well and truly shot.

This means that 2003 will end up being another wasted season in which his promises of a championship challenge will have come to naught, and one must start pondering where his future is headed. Raikkonen has now clearly got the better of him, and will be the mainstay of McLaren's title hopes for years to come. Perhaps DC will have to find refuge in a team like Jaguar, but that would not only mean a destabilising change after 8 years at McLaren, it would also mean a step down in competitiveness.

As for the others, Toyota did much better in Canada than at Monaco, but then again, they could hardly have done worse. Their ability to perform on fast tracks has never been in doubt, it's only on more twisty layouts that their results wane dramatically. Cristiano da Matta was aided by the fact that CART had raced here last year, so for once it was not a new track to him. He showed up well against Olivier Panis, and is now adding some genuine speed to his reliability behind the wheel.

Jarno Trulli had another eventful race in his Renault, to add to his pathetic effort in wet qualifying on Friday. Being hit by Antonio Pizzonia at the hairpin on lap 1 caused a puncture and broken wheel which led to numerous off-track excursions, and then he lost further time in a traction control-induced spin. One can't help but think that, in this business where it's said that you make your own luck, the fact that Trulli is simply not as good as Alonso is not unrelated to the differing fortunes of the two Renault men.

When compared to Webber's sparkling performance, Pizzonia once again came up short, despite whatever help he's been getting from Sir Jackie Stewart. Although fastest in Friday free practice by virtue of setting his time on a dry track, for the rest of the weekend he again failed to meet the pre-season expectations. His attempt to follow Trulli down the inside of Coulthard at the hairpin on lap one was opportunistic but also terribly ill-judged, the resulting collision destroying his and Trulli's races.

This was Minardi's most impressive race of the year, no doubt spurred on by off-track events. Verstappen's 15th on the grid was more due to a low fuel load, and once again it was Wilson who made an amazing start and battled Jacques Villeneuve on the fringes of the top 10. He had the better of Jos the Boss, but it was the Dutchman who ended up 9th after Justin's retirement. So close to Minardi's first points of the year, but yet so far. The PS03 needs more mid-race speed to complement its first stint competitiveness.

Jordan continue to massively disappoint. Both cars retired almost simultaneously with unrelated problems, and they were probably the only Friday testing team not to turn that to their advantage throughout the rest of the weekend. Fisichella showed little on a track where he has traditionally excelled, and one hopes that his mediocre machinery is not taking the edge of his skill. Despite Firman's heroics on Friday, once again he lost time when it mattered on Saturday through over-driving.

And finally, as for Sauber, the speed is not there, and the reliability is not there either. All this despite having the rear end off last year's almighty Ferrari. It makes you ask what they're doing in terms of the preparation of those engines and gearboxes. After points in the first three races, they have scored nothing in the last 5. Heinz-Harald Frentzen has now recorded four straight retirements, while after his heroics in 2001, Nick Heidfeld risks descending into F1 anonymity after a faceless season so far.