Italian Grand Prix Review

Only if you were living on Mars would you not have heard about the tyre controversy in the weeks leading up to the race. Much ink has been spilt on the matter already, so there is no need to dwell on it much further, except for a few passing comments. With the 2003 season the most riveting in years if not decades, it has already been tainted by ugly confrontations over electronic gizmos and fighting funds. F1 really could have done without a cloud hanging over what looks set to be a thrilling season finale.

That Ferrari raised the issue with the FIA as they were going through their worst slump in years inevitably reeked of sour grapes, and did nothing for the public's perceptions of Maranello's sportsmanship after their foolish antics last year. The fact is, the FIA decided to enforce the front tread width rule one way, leaving a loophole which Michelin might have exploited. That they decided to close the loophole does not necessarily illegitimise all previous results. As if Ferrari haven't been prone to exploiting loopholes too.

There was also the rather forced rumour that this was a Bridgestone tit-for-tat after questions were raised over the Japanese rubber's legality at Monaco, but a lot less came of the FIA's enquiries there than after their checks in Hungary. It is true that Michelin dominantly gained the upper hand from Monaco onwards, but only a brave man would suggest that this had nothing to do with simply a better rate of improvement thanks to being able to work with more top teams than Bridgestone.

Let's put the tyre issue to bed once and for all by saying that the FIA's decision and the new Michelin fronts have not given Ferrari or Bridgestone the upper hand for the remainder of the season. Likewise, the Monza result did not indicate that Williams and McLaren will be left floundering at Indy or Suzuka as the scaremongers predicted. The more likely conclusion is that a renewed testing push by both Michelin and Bridgestone in the coming weeks will result in two evenly fought contests to decide both titles.

In Hungary Schumacher showed signs that he was weary of pushing for minor points when his tyres simply couldn't do the job, but in Italy, before the tifosi, with his title lead trimmed to one point, but with the confidence that after the extensive Monza test Bridgestone may have sorted their tyres out to an adequately competitive level, Michael was back to his best. It was an imperious display of controlled aggression from the World Champ on both Saturday and Sunday.

A hat-trick of pole, race win and fastest lap re-asserted his authority. To his credit he cleanly shook off Juan-Pablo Montoya's lunges on lap one, and even as JPM hunted him down he looked like he had something in hand. It showed that when the tyres are anywhere near good, the Ferrari F2003 is still the class of the field. And even though the ultra low-downforce Monza is unlike Indy and Suzuka and it's too early to predict what will happen there, his three-point lead over JPM will have him sleeping a little easier.

In the blue corner, Montoya really wasn't outdone by Schumi by much, but just enough to relegate him to bridesmaid status from Saturday onwards after topping Friday qualifying. After boldly trying but just failing to get the jump on the Ferrari on lap one, in the middle stages of the race he really did have to drive exceedingly hard to eat away at Michael's lead, but to use a Murrayism, catching was one thing, and passing quite another. In truth, JPM never really had quite enough to threaten Michael on this day.

Still, he did what he should have done as a championship challenger by keeping the pressure on the Ferrari for most of the race. He only backed off after he was held up by a somewhat unco-operative Heinz-Harald Frentzen and a simply inexperienced Zsolt Baumgartner. Even if he tried to close up again after that, Schumacher could have afforded to ease off without risk, so in the end it was the right thing for the Colombian not to risk it all and settle for the eight points instead.

Christmas came early for Marc Gené in the other Williams though. After Ralf Schumacher blew what mathematical championship chances he had by complaining of headaches after Friday and going home (or was it just a front to cover his embarrassment at having spun on his lap in Friday qualifying), the Spanish super-sub came in to fill the seat, getting the race opportunity which his brilliant performance as Williams test driver has demanded for a very long time now.

After all, this year he has only been competing in the Nissan World Series, a creditable championship but in truth home for the mediocre and the good, not the great. But, having led for one lap before his second stop, after it Gené was the fastest man on the track, catching David Coulthard and looking likely to pass him before the Scot retired. Not bad for a man who, when he first came into F1 with Minardi, was written off as a journeyman pay driver who wouldn't achieve much in the top flight.

A rather tame effort all weekend from McLaren, which barring a miracle will be consigned to 3rd in the constructors' championship. We said after Hungary that the championship was there to be seized; Raikkonen did not take that opportunity at Monza, although perhaps he has reached the limit of his ageing car. Maintaining his 2003 form of being more consistent than spectacular, Kimi started 4th, ran 4th, and finished 4th, briefly challenging Barrichello at the end but looking unlikely to pass.

Now six points adrift of Schumacher, the Italy result may have practically ended his title bid. It is difficult to see what McLaren could possibly dredge out of the interim-turned-permanent MP4/17D to give the Finn a competitive edge in the last two races. But really, with only one win to his name this year, and not even a sniff of victory since the Nurburgring, perhaps he doesn't deserve to be in the hunt as much as Montoya who has won twice, and Schumacher who has now tasted victory five times in 2003.

After their incredible efforts in Hungary, Renault fell back to earth with a thud. The powerless wide-angle engine at its most disadvantageous on a track like Monza, both drivers were evenly matched, Jarno Trulli maybe performing slightly better than Fernando Alonso. From 6th on the grid, the Italian then made another sensational start, and was even challenging Montoya at the first Lesmo before his hydraulics failed a few hundred metres later, and that was all she wrote.

That was a shame, because Trulli went very well at Monza last year and could well have repeated the dose in 2003. Meanwhile, Alonso went from hero to almost zero. Along with Raikkonen, JPM and Schumi, the Spaniard is one of the contenders for driver of the year, but all four of them have made errors or had disappointing races throughout the year. Alonso has perhaps made the fewest mistakes at critical moments, but his spin in Saturday qualifying was not one of them, being due to traction control failure.

However, his leapfrog effort over Jos Verstappen's Minardi at the start of the race, launching his R23 completely into the air, certainly was a misjudgement, and it was amazing that he could continue at all. And despite of his subsequent chicane-hopping over the Roggia that broke a barge board and damaged his floor, he salvaged a point for 8th when Frentzen retired late. For his rather messy weekend after his stunning drive in Hungary, Alonso receives our 'Reject of the Race' award.

Those three points were valuable in their tussle with Jaguar for 5th in the constructors' championship, but it may have come too late for Jacques, as rumours swirled around that Takuma Sato would take the second BAR seat alongside Button in 2004, if not even at the Japanese GP this year. If that turns out to be the case, Villeneuve will have no one to blame but himself, for he has been unable to elevate himself above the quality of his car this year. Even at Monza, his drive was at best solid but unexciting.

Another man who could struggle to hold his seat for 2004 is Justin Wilson. While Mark Webber continued his consistently hard-charging form and scored his and Jaguar's 17th point with 7th place, Wilson once again came absolutely nowhere near the Australian's pace, and more mechanical problems meant another short-lived race. It is a touch embarrassing to see him emulating Antonio Pizzonia's struggles, but it goes to prove just what a stellar job Webber has done this year.

Webber is way ahead of both BAR drivers on the points table, and yet Jaguar is a point behind their Brackley rivals, simply because neither Pizzonia nor Wilson have been able to get near the points this year. Here is Jaguar's dilemma for next year: do they go for a pay driver whose money the team can use to develop the car for Webber to exploit, or do they go for two drivers who can be evenly matched and score points regularly? Preferably, both. Nick Heidfeld got any money?

REJECT OF THE RACE
Fernando Alonso
From Hero to Zero in the space of one race!!

Toyota disappointed on a track that should have suited their engine. Cristiano da Matta was an excellent 4th after Friday, but ended up starting 12th and never made inroads before his puncture sent him spinning off at the Parabolica. Not a place you'd want that to happen; in fact anywhere at Monza isn't good for a tyre blow-out. Olivier Panis flirted with the points in the early stages, but failing brakes put an end to his run. Toyota are still not consistently reliable enough to take advantage of their points opportunities.

It was another rather pointless weekend for Jordan. Giancarlo Fisichella spluttered and chugged off the dummy grid, came into the pits at the end of the warm-up lap to change his strategy, and was basically seen no more en route to a quiet 11th. He will have seen Frentzen's strong run and taken heart. Baumgartner, meanwhile, did another creditable job substituting for Ralph Firman who was still not quite right to drive, but apart from keeping it on the black stuff did little to suggest he deserves an F1 seat on merit.

Neither now does Nicolas Kiesa in the Minardi. Although his debut in Germany was relatively promising, but since then has struggled. In Friday testing, he was significantly behind even Minardi's unheralded tester Gianmaria Bruni. Being almost two seconds off Jos Verstappen on Saturday, and finishing some 30 seconds behind Baumgartner having been much slower than the Hungarian all weekend, does not bode well for the Dane's continued participation in F1 into 2004.