Monday, Jul 22, 2002
Monday, Jul 22, 2002 |
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Racing : Motor
German Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher (left) is congratulated by his French Sporting Director Jean Todt (right) as Scottish McLaren-Mercedes driver David Coulthard looks on, on the podium of Magny-Cours racetrack on Sunday, after winning the French Grand Prix. Coulthard finished third. — AFP
Starting from the No. 2 spot on the grid, Schumacher took the lead in the 67th lap when frontrunner Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes slowed to avoid a car that had gone off the edge of the track. The German made the pass under a yellow flag, but the results were not immediately contested by Raikkonen's team. Schumacher spent much of the race locked in second place, first behind early frontrunner Juan Pablo Montoya, and then behind Raikkonen, who took second at the finish. Raikkonen was followed by teammate David Coulthard, Montoya of BMW-Williams, his teammate Ralf Schumacher, and Jenson Button of Renault. The triumph gives Schumacher an unbeatable 96 points in the season standings, clinching him the season title. It is the fifth of his career, tying the record set in 1957 by Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio. After the race, Schumacher said he hadn't felt much pressure through the week because he didn't really expect to win the championship at Magny-Cours. But as he could feel victory in his grasp, he changed his mind. ``I still enjoy it and feel fantastic about it,'' he said. Schumacher also locked up the championship in record time, with six races still left in the Formula One season. He has won eight of the 11 races so far this year. Montoya won three points on Sunday, putting him in second place in the standings with 34. Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello of Ferrari were tied with 32, and Coultard had 30. Raikkonen finished with 17 points, in sixth place. Only 11 of 26 cars finished the race.
Bad start for Barrichello
The race started badly for Schumacher's Ferrari teammate Barrichello, who was blocked from joining the one warm-up lap right before the contest when a jack was forgotten below his front end, and never started the race. Schumacher suffered some setbacks in the race. He failed at first to pass frontrunner Montoya, but got his chance when the Colombian made a long pitstop. Schumacher also was put back when he crossed the white line dividing the entry ramp from the pit to the track, suffering a drive through penalty. Schumacher took the final lead when Allan McNish of Toyota slid off the track. Raikkonen slowed at the turn to avoid him, and Schumacher raced past him. There were some absences at Sunday's race. Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella was sitting out the competition after crashing his Jordan Honda into a barrier of tires in a practice round Saturday. Fisichella emerged without severe injury, but doctors recommended he skip the race and rest up for the German race. Race officials approved a request from Jordan Honda to allow Arrows driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen to take Fisichella's place for Sunday's race, but Jordan-Honda said early on Sunday that Frentzen could not accept the offer because of unspecified legal technicalities. As a result, Jordan-Honda ran only one car, driven by Takuma Sato, in Sunday's race. Sato ran off the track without injury on the 16th lap. The financially troubled Arrows team failed to qualify on Saturday. The British team said negotiations concerning its future would continue next week, along with preparations for Germany. Only a last-minute bailout for team owner and Scottish millionaire Tom Walkinshaw to pay off a debt allowed the Arrows cars to participate in the British Grand Prix on July 7. Arrows is not the only F1 team to have suffered financial problems this year. The Prost team went bankrupt just before the year began, and the Minardi team is reported to be struggling to finish the season. — AP
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