Monday, Apr 15, 2002
Monday, Apr 15, 2002 |
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Racing : Motor
Team-mate Rubens Barrichello picked up his first points of the season by finishing second while Michael's younger brother Ralf Schumacher was third. It was the first Ferrari one-two at Imola for 20 years. Schumacher senior's third win of the season extended his lead over his brother to 14 points in the championship standings as he seeks to win a record-equalling fifth world title. The only time Schumacher, who won his fourth San Marino Grand Prix and the third in four years, lost the lead was at the second pit stop, which let Barrichello into the lead. However, a problem with replacing the Brazilian's left rear wheel at his second pit stop allowed Schumacher to resume the lead and almost cost Barrichello second place. The German maestro held a lead of 12 seconds over Barrichello and even had the rare but for him surely exhilarating experience of lapping his bitter McLaren rival David Coulthard. Coulthard's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen had retired from the race on the 45th lap with an exhaust problem when running in fifth place and BAR Honda driver Olivier Panis was also a casualty soon afterwards. Michael Schumacher, who got away fastest off the grid, had led his brother for the first half of the race but Ferrari won the battle of the first pitstop when Barrichello moved up to second, displacing Ralf. Michael had quickly built up a lead of over four seconds on Ralf, increasing it by half a second a lap. Montoya was unable to keep up with Barrichello and Ralf and was having to hold off the two McLarens of Raikkonen and Coulthard. Coulthard, who has slipped down the pecking order in being the main challenger to Michael Schumacher, was barely able to stay with his team-mate, dropping over six seconds behind him. Michael had a lead of 12 seconds over Ralf by the 20th lap with Barrichello still pressing Ralf and Montoya unable to mount a challenge at all. Such was Schumacher senior's dominance that he began lapping the back markers on the 21st lap, swooping past the two Jaguars of Pedro de la Rosa, who was to drop out soon after the halfway mark, and former team-mate Eddie Irvine, who also failed to finish. Irvine's proud boast at the beginning of the season that he was like a fine wine and had matured into the best form of his life looked pretty hollow, though he tried to put one over on the man who replaced him at Ferrari, Barrichello, by cutting across him when the Brazilian was trying to lap him. The first half of the race was marked by the retirements of both the Jordan and Toyota cars, marking another weekend to forget for the charismatic team owner Irishman Eddie Jordan. Giancarlo Fisichella went off on the 19th lap to leave Jordan still seeking their first point of the season, even their introduction of a new Honda engine in this race failed to show any marked improvement in their qualifying or race performance. ``The problem was the hydraulic pressure. Unfortunately the start was good but as I was trying to go up the inside Heinz-Harald Frentzen cut me off and I went onto the gravel,'' the Italian said. Fisichella's Japanese stable-mate Takuma Sato had gone out earlier when he lost all power in his gearbox on the fourth lap and came into the pits, and although he was able to rejoin the race after a long stop he pulled the car over shortly into the next lap. Frentzen, who left Jordan under acrimonious circumstances last season, was also forced out while racing in ninth in his Arrows and looking good to deliver the cash strapped team their first point in 15 races — which is the longest pointless streak on the circuit. Toyota lost Mika Salo, who never came out after a pit-stop while Allan McNish failed to even make the first corner as he drove straight off. ``It was a little bit brief but there was no drive in the gearbox and we tried it again in the pits but there was nothing there,'' McNish said. — AFP
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