German Grand Prix Review

Now a brilliant lights-to-flag win in Germany sees Juan-Pablo Montoya making an irrepressible late charge for championship glory, on a day when none of the other three scored more than two points. In the last six races, JPM has scored podiums in all of them and won twice. In the last four, he has scored 34 points to Ralf's 20, Michael's 17 and Kimi's paltry 11. How the Colombian must now be ruing his spins in Australia and Canada that cost him near-certain wins, and his DNF in Austria when leading.

Juan-Pablo now has points-scoring momentum by the bucketload, in a Williams-BMW-Michelin package that overall looks stronger and more consistent than the Ferrari-Bridgestone combination. That is amazing when one considers how deficient the FW25 appeared to be at the start of the year. With four races to go, JPM finds himself only six points behind Michael struggling on his Bridgestones, three ahead of Kimi burdened by a car showing its age, and quite a substantial twelve clear of team-mate Ralf.

Ralf's deficit of 18 points to his brother now appears practically unassailable unless something very dramatic occurs, especially remembering the penalty (under appeal) he faces in Hungary. How different he would have felt on Sunday morning at Hockenheim, though. Having dominated practice but been just pipped at the post for pole by his team-mate, he would have nevertheless been confident of challenging JPM for the win and closing the gap to his brother.

In the hurly-burly of a Grand Prix start, it is not surprising if Ralf had been completely oblivious to what was going on behind, in the area in and around his blind spot. He may in hindsight have guessed but could hardly have known that Barrichello had also made a poor getaway and was being eaten alive around the outside by a fast-starting Raikkonen. It was not as though he realised they were there and proceeded to make a vicious one-move chop on them.

Pincered by the Williams leaning on him and the McLaren on the outside, Rubens had nowhere to go, nudging Kimi into the side of Ralf's car, sending the Ferrari and the McLaren off the track and doing irreparable damage to the Williams side pod. One wonders if Ralf would have sideswiped Kimi anyway had Barrichello not been there. Whilst certainly the German could have been more careful, it seemed more like a genuine racing incident between three men, each unwilling to give an inch.

To that extent, the ten grid spot penalty imposed on him for the Hungarian GP seemed overly harsh - and we say that having been Ralf detractors all year. It is only the second time such a penalty has been given, Felipe Massa having been the first recipient after Monza last year. For the sake of the championship, one hopes that the penalty will be quashed. Might we add that as observers it is frustrating that the appeal will only be heard days before the Hungarian GP, when surely it could be resolved much sooner.

But with all the damaged machinery towards or off the outside of the track, the deployment of the safety car was once again the right thing to do. Whilst we don't want artificial things like Ralf's penalty ruining people's championship challenges, the vagaries of racing incidents must be allowed to take their course, and Ralf, Rubens and Kimi were not entitled to a second bite at the cherry. Plus it doesn't hurt to give the midfield teams a chance at scoring some good points from time to time.

His three main rivals for the win out of the way, Montoya was off like a proverbial scalded cat, but his subsequent pace suggested he would have won at a canter regardless. It was actually surprisingly refreshing to see someone in a car other than a Ferrari drive brilliantly on the limit and completely obliterate the rest of the field. On the right strategy and the right tyres, for all the fleeting excitement he has given us in the past three years, this was perhaps his most convincing performance in F1 so far.

After a slow start to the season, ever since Austria he has shown a race speed and, above all, a consistency that has gone unnoticed but which in the context of the championship now looks seriously impressive. Note, that's "race speed", not "qualifying speed". The pole king of 2002, it was easy to overlook the fact that Hockenheim was JPM's first pole for 2003. Clearly, Juan-Pablo has listened to those who counselled him to work more on race pace than practice speed, and the proof is in the points table.

That was a tactical stratagem, because it forced Renault and Ferrari to change to a two-stopper, fuel their cars heavy at the second stop, and hope the tyres would last in the stifling heat. By the end of the race, both Renaults had succumbed to the McLaren, and Michael's eventual puncture left DC clear to claim his first podium since his win in Australia. No doubt the Scot still has what it takes in a race environment, but he must learn to cope with one-lap qualifying if he is to remain a force in F1 for much longer.

Not for a long time has Michael Schumacher had to deal with one element of the Ferrari collective that has been so deficient compared to the opposition as his Bridgestone tyres right now - so inferior that we award Bridgestone the 'Reject of the Race' award this time. Ferrari are trying to put a brave face on it, and are trying to play down the fact that the Michelins' superiority has allowed Williams to inexorably close in on them, such that they could snatch a title which, barring tyres, Ferrari ought to be able to secure.

That the Ferraris were the leading Bridgestone runners in 8th and 9th on Friday must have been galling, but if it is getting to Michael then he's not showing it. Some have pointed to what looks like a downturn in the World Champion's form, going by Barrichello's fantastic Silverstone drive and the fact that the Brazilian was slightly ahead of Michael at Hockenheim. How quickly they forget that were it not for Schumi's brilliance he would never have won in Montreal or salvage 3rd at Magny-Cours.

REJECT OF THE RACE
Bridgestone
Inferior rubber hurting Ferrari's championship chances

The point is that Schumi is still driving excellently, but also maturely at a time when he knows that in the last few races situations and not a drop in his own performance has forced him into damage limitation mode. He is just going to have to keep working hard as he always does, and hope that his machinery and especially the Bridgestones will allow him to withstand Montoya's late challenge and stumble over the line to claim the title, which at this stage he should probably still be able to do.

Trulli's new helmet design these days - a total chrome dome - may be decidedly boring, but boy has it improved his fortunes. It may also have something to do with the fact that Alonso hasn't quite been able to maintain his early-season magic, and, considering Fernando's inexperience and youth, a lack of season-long stamina is not inexplicable. But Jarno's race speed of late have been started to approach his qualifying pace, and by having the edge on Alonso he is beginning to throw the questions back at his critics.

Still, it was a somewhat fortuitous podium for the Italian, his first since the freakish European GP of 1999. He was not quite able to withstand the conditions, something of a surprise remembering his devotion to a strict fitness regime. Not only had he been passed by both Schumacher and Coulthard, he had been a little bit outdone for race-craft by both of them as well. Nonetheless, a podium is a podium, and with Renault looking like retaining him for 2004, it is a result that he can build on.

The seven points catapulted them ahead of Jaguar into 6th on the points table, only a single point behind BAR but looking set to move into 5th soon. Last year, they started the season well but failed to improve; this year, they began at roughly their 2002 standard, but they have come on in leaps and bounds. Re-signing Panis and da Matta for 2004 is a smart choice. Stability is all-important and both have proved more than competent this year. By next season they could realistically be aiming for podium finishes.

Jaguar have been a touch disappointing of late, and the Toyotas have taken over Webber's 'best of the rest' mantle. Replacing Antonio Pizzonia with Wilson was probably the right thing to do, even if slightly unfair on the Brazilian, who had been given verbal assurances earlier in the season. Some suggest Pizzonia should have been given more time to prove himself, but in a year when Jaguar are keen to take 5th in the constructors', 11 races was enough for Pizzonia to, er, show absolutely nothing.

Bringing in Wilson, who we know from F3000 can match if not beat Webber, gives Jaguar the best chance to leapfrog BAR and Toyota. And though Jaguar aren't confirming anything for 2004, it doesn't take a genius to work out that a Webber-Wilson combination in a long-term investment. Although there are rumours surrounding the Australian, including a rather dreamy one that he might go to Williams, the coalition of Jaguar, Webber and Wilson has a feel to it that says big things are around the corner.

Generally, Jaguar have gone for more conservative strategies than the rest of the field, starting races heavy with fuel. We know the car speed is there from Friday qualifying (at Hockenheim, Webber was 4th and Wilson a sensational 7th ahead of both Ferraris), but their fuel loads on Saturday have often meant a drastic slide down the grid. With the Toyotas now showing some really impressive speed, Jaguar will need to consider a race tactic other than sheer doggedness in the remaining four races.

BAR continue to find the going tough in qualifying, only to bounce back strongly on Sunday. Jenson Button's last two drives have been right from the top drawer, coming from lowly grid positions into a points-scoring finish, not unlike Coulthard. On both occasions Villeneuve has also started well ahead of the Englishman, only to wind up behind at the chequered flag. Much to the Canadian's chagrin, no doubt, and at the same time fuelling the rumours that Dave Richards is out to replace him for 2004.

Every year we regretfully say "If only Jacques had a better car ...", but in truth, after 2000 when he performed beyond the machinery's capacity, in the past three seasons he has fallen into the trap of only being as good as his car. In his first few years at BAR he may have had the motivation of helping the team fulfil its lofty ambitions, but after so many disheartening seasons he may well have lost that kind of will. That is not the sort of ego-less hunger Richards is looking for as BAR develops under his guidance.

Jordan came no closer to turning around that sinking feeling, although Giancarlo Fisichella did very well to qualify 12th. This is a team that needs to sit down, make a fresh start, decide where it wants to go and how it's going to get there. Over the weekend, Eddie Jordan must have been distracted by the Vodafone judgment which he knew was going to come down against him (as it did in the most embarrassing terms on Monday), such that he even offered to pay Vodafone's costs in an early settlement.

If Jordan's case against Vodafone really was as tenuous as the judge said it was, then pursuing it to the bitter end reeked of a team desperate to fall luckily into some free money - and in the end they will lose more cash via the legal bills. Also, giving Hungarian Zsolt Baumgartner some test runs seems nothing but money-driven. With Gary Anderson gradually withdrawing from his engineering role, it looks like Jordan is sadly heading down the Minardi path of needing to prioritise money over merit.

Minardi brought in Danish driver Nicolas Kiesa to replace Wilson, and although he had a troubled practice and doesn't look like the next Schumi, he certainly didn't look out of his depth either. He was not too far off the pace of Jos Verstappen, not that The Boss' performances have been much to write home about in 2003. Although at times he was way too generous to the leaders whilst being lapped, at one stage almost stopping his car in the stadium, Stoddart may have unearthed yet another driver of some ability.