On the eve of the Canadian Grand Prix, the eighth round of the Formula 1 World Championship, Bernie Ecclestone says:
"To give more interest to our championship we would need Valentino Rossi and a girl".
Perhaps the tireless coach E will soon be satisfied. The motorcycle champion is thinking about it and many women are pushing to get to what is called the motor circus. The recent feats of Danica Patrick, fourth in the prestigious Indy 500, at the wheel of a Panoz with Honda engine, have brought back one of the most debated themes in the world of motoring: because it is still too masculine and does not leave room for women. After all, it is a sport where muscles and physical strength are only a side element. You need more talent, strong nerves, reflexes, courage. Things that girls do not lack. And Danica Patrick, debutant of the year at Indy, proved it. Fourth in qualifying, after holding the highest average speed on the test lap (373 km/h), she was the first woman to lead the most important American race, finished at the foot of the podium only because in the final she lacked the experience to fight with her fellow drivers. It will be repeated in the next competitions or in 2006. Danica, 23 years old Friday, March 25, 2005, born in Wisconsin, but living with her boyfriend Paul Hospenthal, a physiotherapist, in Phoenix m Arizona, is an exceptional driver. A little over six feet tall, for 50 pounds, she doesn’t mind looking like a sexy symbol. She posed casually for a very popular magazine, she showed up with a miniskirt as big as a stamp at the Late Show of Dave Letterman, a television character who is also co-owner, with Bobby Rahal, of the team for which Patrick competes.
"My goals are two at the moment: to get in Formula 1 to own a Ferrari 360".
At ten, in 1992, he made his debut in karting. In 1996, he won 39 of the 49 races in his category the following season and won one of the WKA World titles. After moving to England, she switched to single-seaters in 1999, finishing second in the Formula Ford Festival. Back in the United States she was the first girl to finish on the podium in Formula Atlantic, after being the first also to get a pole position. This year it passed to the IRL championship, which is mainly held on American ovals, exploding in Indianapobs. But Danica Patrick is not the only girl to aim for Formula 1. In the Anglo-Saxon countries many women-drivers want to compete against Michael Schumacher or opponents of the World Champion, In the front row another American, Sarah Fisher, also with an IRL car, with whom she was the third woman in history to qualify in Indianapolis and who last year had carried out a test with McLaren on the American speedway, Previously, Janet Guthrie, an aerospace engineer, had also managed to race in the American engine temple in 1977, and Lyn St James, who participated in eleven Indy 500, resulting in 2000 the oldest competitor (53 years) in the starting line-up. Many contenders for the leading role in Formula 1 are preparing in the minor categories. They are all young and some very good. These include the 25 year old Englishman Katherine Legge, the first woman to take pole position at Brands Hatch in Formula Ford and beat the lap record at Oulton Park. Emigrated to America, she immediately won in Formula Atlantic. It is also British Susie Stoddart, 23, named the best kart girl-driver in the world, now debuting in Formula 3. The Irishman Sarah Kavannagh has already 32 years and a physique to pin-up: he wanted to debut in GP2 but must be content to win in the Euro Boss, with vintage Formula 1 cars. Leanne Tander, 25 years old, Australian, currently at the wheel of super touring cars, compatriot Samantha Reid, eighteen engaged in the Formula 3 championship, as Danielle Agirò (23 years old) and the American Mishael Abbot, Junior Kart world champion, ready to arrive in IRL as Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher. But all with the dream of Formula 1. Waiting for this to happen, the World Championship continues with the first day of testing of the Canadian Grand Prix, which takes place on the Montreal circuit. Even in Canada, it seems that the turning point for Scuderia Ferrari is still far away. The faces are tense, and the statements are circumstantial:
"Of course we are not satisfied".
During the first day of testing Ferrari is slow - Barrichello has the tenth time of day, Schumacher the sixteenth - and above all does not react to treatment. The Canadian Grand Prix was expected as a turning point, Friday’s clock says it will be another weekend of suffering. Michael Schumacher confirms:
"There are problems, we have to work a lot".
About what?
"On the car".
That is about everything. His teammate, Rubens Barrichello, goes into detail:
"Lack of braking and traction".
Just what would be needed on the circuit named after Gilles Villeneuve, an alternation of long straights and very slow curves. Perspectives?
"We’ll see, we hope. It also depends on the opponents. We have made progress, they too".
Scrolling through the standings of free practice, behind the World Champion you can read only the names of the drivers of Red Bull Racing, Jordan and Minardi. But Michael Schumacher points out:
"Maybe it’s less worse than it looks. I tried the new tyres at the beginning, when the track was slower. And we don’t know how much fuel our rivals were travelling with".
You will see Saturday, June 11, 2005, in qualifying, although Bridgestone tires do not guarantee exceptional performance on the lap launched. But the men of the Maranello team admit that the F2005 also has other problems. It is possible that Ferrari wants to try an extreme strategy - a single pit stop - and then turned around loaded with fuel. In any case, the goal is to get into the points, from eighth place up. Unless the rain helps. The tropical heat that has hit Montreal will be accompanied by thunderstorms. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello hope for rain, because they on the water are competitive. Meanwhile, at the end of Friday’s practice the best are two test drivers: Pedro De la Rosa in McLaren, then Ricardo Zonta in Toyota. But among the official drivers, Fernando Alonso immediately arched the territory and his Renault still seems the favorite: another victory and the World Championship is virtual- Michael Schumacher, perplexed and concerned mind concluded, with good peace of dreams McLaren, The fittest, loser team of the moment. Behind the Spaniard are Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen, both on McLaren, then Giancarlo Fisichella with the other Renault and the BARs of Jenson Button and Takuma Sato. In crisis Toyota: Trulli is eleventh but in qualifying he usually invents an amazing lap.
At the wheel of Red Bull Racing begins the test driver Scott Speed: it’s called speed, but for now with the surname seems not to be right given the last place in the second practice session. Saturday, June 11, 2005 seems to witness a qualifying of 2004: Jenson Button wins the pole position, alongside him will start in the second position Michael Schumacher. It is the redemption of the great disappointed. Rubens Barrichello is missing, who remains disappointed and will start from the bottom of the grid due to the breaking of yet another change of this problematic F2005. In Canada, Ferrari is reborn suddenly. In free practice it was incurable and unworkable. Awkward times, spin-offs, cut chicanes, understeering problems, traction, brakes and reliability. Michael Schumacher had also broken the gearbox, quickly replaced by the mechanics. In qualifying, a red flash was again seen. Probably in the tank of the German driver there is very little gasoline, but meanwhile the advantages of the first row if he enjoys them. At the end of the tests the German driver shows off the smile of the best opportunities.
"I have never been so optimistic about the race".
To make happy the World Champion is not so much the second position on the grid as the lap time, just 0.25 seconds more than Jenson Button’s BAR-Honda and 0.1 seconds better than Fernando Alonso’s Renault, that together with Giancarlo Fisichella will start behind the English and the German.
"This result is somewhat due to the anger that we have in our bodies, Jenson and I, albeit for different reasons. He for the misadventures of his team, I for having worked so much in these months to collect very little".
"There are no secrets behind the performance of the F2005. On Friday night, after the first day of practice, the technicians and drivers stayed in the box until 9:30 p.m. to understand what was wrong. An in-depth analysis of the problems that emerged evidently led the Maranello team on the right path. Even if you will understand everything only after the race is over, when you discover the strategies of the teams that aim for victory.
"It is difficult to explain what has happened in these hours. The car did not go, it was slow and difficult to drive. We had tested many solutions trying to try various front and rear wings and to make the most of the new engine hood to get a good aerodynamic compromise. It is clear that we have found some optimal solution".
The German driver does not hide from thinking about the title.
"As long as you don’t condemn math, I will continue to fight with all my strength. And the same goes for the team. Unfortunately Barrichello was blocked by a gearbox problem, the same that I had had on my car in the morning. In the tests there are no transmission failures, then we face these difficulties".
No problem for Fernando Alonso, confident, also because the rival Kimi Raikkonen is behind him:
"Our Renault here is easy to drive, I expect a good result. Obviously I run to win".
While the McLaren of Juan Pablo Montoya, fifth, and Kimi Raikkonen, seventh, end up in the middle of the group. Fernando Alonso starts from a reassuring third place, Giancarlo Fisichella, fourth and starting 150 in his career, protects his shoulders. Distant are the Williams-Bmw of Nick Heidfeld, thirteenth, and Mark Webber, fourteenth, penalized by a series of errors and horrors on track. Even the men of the Maranello team are amazed. They did not expect a competition plagued by tyre problems: the Michelin struggle to go in temperature.
"We were able to repeat the free practice performances, the others were not".
The Scuderia Ferrari Technical Director, Ross Brawn, comments and scolds Michael Schumacher:
"He did not make a great tour".
Montreal is traditionally the land of conquest - sporting and commercial - of Ferrari and a fief of Michael Schumacher, recordman of the track named after Gilles Vileneuve with seven successes, including one at the wheel of Benetton. The German driver believes it, even with due caution. The unknowns are hot, tires and brakes. The temperatures remain on tropical levels, 34 ºC at 50-60% humidity. Even the newest asphalt gives way to heat and some cracks are patched with an amalgam of cement and special resins that stain the track with light gray. The Bridgestone tyres seem to have overcome the usual problems in the first laps, but only in the race we will see if they can withstand for 300 kilometers. Better brakes: Ferrari tried Carbon Industrie records during free practice, then returned to Brembo’s. Flavio Briatore wishes the Maranello team:
"Formula 1 needs a Ferrari that wins".
The quieter Fernando Alonso remains: he can attack to win or control the situation to put in other points, managing his advantage in the standings over Kimi Raikkonen and Jarno Trulli. On the contrary, the prices of the pursuers collapse with every failure. The twist among the first in the standings of the World Champion overshadows the feat of Jenson Button, 25, an Englishman of Frome, former enfant prodige of Formula 1. It is his second career pole after that obtained in Imola in 2004 (even then in the front row there was Michael Schumacher, who triumphed in the race). Above all, it is the end of a nightmare: a wretched season in which the English BAR rider has collected in order three withdrawals, three disqualification races because the car was uneven and a tenth place. Jenson Button was a member of Michael Schumacher’s successor club last year. Saturday afternoon he smiles as surprised as the Scuderia Ferrari men:
"I knew I was fast, but not that fast. We took a big step forward after a very hard month".
He never won a race. In Canada he tries. Schumacher allows. As in 2004. Sunday, June 12, 2005 Rubens Barrichello, who should start from the last position on the grid, decided to start the race from the pit lane, putting more fuel inside the tank of his car. At the start of the race, both Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher start slowly, favoring the overtaking of Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso, who at the first corner lead to first and second position. Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen’s McLaren also managed to overtake Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari, taking fourth and fifth place behind Jenson Button. Further back, Takuma Sato makes a small mistake, but does not waste much time. During the second lap Giancarlo Fisichella managed to increase the gap against Fernando Alonso, while Jacques Villeneuve was forced to stop at the pits to mount a new front wing.
As the race progressed, Renault moved further and further away from the group and Rubens Barrichello constantly moved up the group, up to the fifteenth position at the end of lap eight. Michael Schumacher is the first driver to pit on lap 12. The German moves from sixth to twelfth. On lap 15, Jenson Button and Ralf Schumacher also entered the pits to refuel. The British BAR-Honda driver drops from third to seventh place. Felipe Massa, Nick Heidfeld and Christian Klien also entered the pits on lap 21. During lap 22 Takuma Sato entered his box due to a gearbox problem. During lap 24 both Fernando Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen entered the pits, and during the following lap Giancarlo Fisichella and Juan Pablo Montoya also filled up. Lap 24 saw the first of the leaders in the pits, with championship contenders Alonso and Räikkönen filling up before both of their teammates stopped in the pits on the next lap. However, when he left the pits, Juan Pablo Montoya, with cold tyres, left the track and allowed Fernando Alonso to keep the second position. Meanwhile, Narain Karthikeyan hit the wall at the back of the circuit, and was forced to retire. Mark Webber , climbed to seventh place after a very long first stint, returned to the pits during lap 28 and returned to the race in ninth place, ahead of Felipe Massa, Nick Heidfeld and Ralf Schumacher. During the next lap, Mark Webber left the track and his car ended up on the grass. In an attempt to make up for lost time, the Australian driver brakes too late in the hairpin bend, running very wide and losing three positions. Rubens Barrichello is the last driver to pit on lap 31, moving from eighth to twelfth. Fernando Alonso, after having closely followed Giancarlo Fisichella for several laps, overtook his team-mate and took the lead of the race during lap 33. Giancarlo Fisichella’s Renault slowed down due to a technical problem and Juan Pablo Montoya easily overtook him on the same lap. The Italian driver returned to the pits and retired at the end of lap 33, due to hydraulic problems. During lap 34, both Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher made the second stop, maintaining the fourth and fifth positions. During lap 35 Fernando Alonso leads the race, followed by Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Räikkönen, Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli.
However, during lap 39, Fernando Alonso missed the trajectory at the exit of turn 4 and hit the outside wall, damaging the suspension of his Renault and forcing him to retire from the race. Juan Pablo Montoya leads the race, followed by Kimi Räikkönen. After following Felipe Massa for several laps, the Bmw engine in Nick Heidfeld’s car started to malfunction, allowing Ralf Schumacher to move up to seventh and Mark Webber to move up to eighth. Meanwhile, Takuma Sato is back in the race 24 laps late, after the BAR team repairs his car, to get a slightly better starting position in qualifying for the US Grand Prix. At the end of lap 49, the gap between Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen is reduced to about 3 seconds. Jenson Button, under pressure from Michael Schumacher, made a mistake at the last chicane, hitting the inner curb heavily. The British driver is forced to retire from the race, giving third place to Michael Schumacher and causing the safety car to enter the track, as his car is in a dangerous position. The drivers took the opportunity to return to the pits except Juan Pablo Montoya, who is forced to stay out an extra lap while Kimi Räikkönen makes the refueling. Upon leaving the pits, Juan Pablo Montoya re-entered the race under the safety car regime, which just drove the group of cars through turns 1 and 2. Juan Pablo Montoya slips into second position, slightly ahead of David Coulthard, despite the fact that the Red Bull Racing driver was dubbed. Before the restart, Kimi Räikkönen leads Juan Pablo Montoya, Michael Schumacher, Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber, Felipe Massa, Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher. When the safety car went back into the pits, Mark Webber made a mistake at Turn 1, allowing both Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello to overtake, although the Sauber driver was forced to widen and Barrichello took advantage to move up to fifth. Shortly after, it was announced by the commissioners that Juan Pablo Montoya was under investigation, and then the black flag was shown to the Colombian driver, guilty of having come out of the pits with the red light, because the safety car was running along the pit straight. As the race enters the final stages, Michael Schumacher approaches Kimi Räikkönen, who fails to drive perfectly due to the misaligned steering wheel. Jarno Trulli seems to have problems with the brakes and retired during lap 62, leaving third place to Rubens Barrichello.
However, the Brazilian helot makes a small mistake, allowing Felipe Massa to get closer. Meanwhile, Takuma Sato seems to have a mechanical failure that forces him to spin at the hairpin. Next, from the rear of the Japanese driver’s car rise tongues of fire due to overheating. Kimi Räikkönen managed to keep his lead by a second over Michael Schumacher and won the Canadian Grand Prix. Rubens Barrichello follows at more than 30 seconds behind. Mark Webber approaches Felipe Massa in the last corner, but fails to pass him. The Brazilian driver takes a valuable fourth place and 5 points in the championship. Followed by Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard and Christian Klien. It is always a two-faced Ferrari: on the one hand the dazzling smile of Michael Schumacher, on the other the tears of Rubens Barrichello. But this time the Brazilian gets excited on the podium, before spraying the champagne on his teammate and Kimi Raikkonen. Great, yet another feat of the São Paulo driver, who started from the pits with his Ferrari full of petrol: the Brazilian plot played a perfect race finishing in third place. But it was a positive day for the whole Maranello team, which for the first time this year has accumulated more points in the standings than all opponents. Michael Schumacher, however, while satisfied, remains cautious.
"It went well, we didn’t make any mistakes and we got paid for the work. But we’re still missing something. Since the beginning of the championship we have been competitive on several occasions. However, we can not be as continuous as in the past. Friday we were full of problems, Saturday we had solved almost all of them, in the race the start compromised at least in part our chances".
Did something go wrong?
"No, just the wheels were skating, there was no grip. Just a little bit more and I had ten of them. Something’s wrong. Probably the races that take place on the circuit between our qualifying and the Grand Prix change the track conditions somewhat. Maybe the rubber that we leave by turning on Friday and Saturday is removed from the asphalt and this causes us problems of adhesion. Unfortunately it is not enough to be faster than the others at the end of the race".
How can you judge his race?
"I came out a little at a time. There was not much more to do. It was mute to look for crazy maneuvers, here is risky, as you saw. There were no mechanical problems. In the last laps I was a bit faster than Raikkonen but I don’t think I could have passed him even if I was very close to McLaren. We kept a good pace and the second place satisfies me. But I do not think it is the case to jump into the river San Lorenzo for happiness. It takes more. Rubens was great, great".
When the two Renaults were forced to retire, did you dream of winning?
"In all honesty I had more to think about. I had to get to Button’s BAR. I was focused. That’s why I didn’t even understand what was happening. We have to admit that our rivals helped us out. The important time for us is to continue fighting as we have always done. I am convinced that our time will return and we will be able to win".
Maybe next Sunday in Indianapolis?
"Don’t make me a fortune teller. Like I said, there’s a lot more work to do. Rubens and I have no test this week, but Ferrari will continue testing. And we hope to find something to take further steps. I remain confident".
Optimism is also part of Rubens Barrichello.
"I started from the pits for the first time in my career. I missed the excitement of the start. And my race was not easy. I was afraid of having some difficulties with the tires and the suspensions, seen that my Ferrari was the car more loaded of fuel. But there were no problems. You have to believe in life and in God who gave me a big hand. I knew I would be competitive in the race, I started the comeback from the first lap. We’re up. It’s time to close the ranks. Ferrari must have confidence in its drivers, drivers in the team and tyres. Of course, if I didn’t have a transmission failure in qualifying, maybe things would have been different. But I can’t complain. In fact I’m happy".
Two red overalls on the podium, taking a champagne shower, were last seen in September 2004, in Monza. Montreal offers ancient emotions. Wins Kimi Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello follow the Finn on the podium, Renault disappear. The fight for the World Championship is reopened. The rescue of the Maranello team is also conditioned by some help: the mistakes of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, the misfortune of Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli, the error of Juan Pablo Montoya, the safety car. But the men of the Maranello team did nothing wrong. They got the strategy right: three stops for the German driver, two for the Brazilian, started from the pits to get a full tank of petrol. On track, the two played to perfection. They pushed at the right time, taking advantage of the mistakes of opponents. In the final Michael Schumacher gave the illusion of a miracle to the point of approaching McLaren. But Kimi Raikkonen had a score open with fate. Two weeks before, in Germany, he flew off the track with a suspension in pieces, in Canada he repelled the attacks of the World Champion with technique and wisdom, without flaws.
"I was lucky, I deserved it. The championship is reopened. I go hunting Renault".
In Montreal, Kimi Raikkonen took his third win of the season and his fifth in his career. For McLaren, 141 were victories. In the standings the Finn climbs to 37 points, Fernando Alonso remains at 59 points, guilty of an unforgivable mistake in the middle of the race. Juan Pablo Montoya was approaching and he to force and defend the first position went to touch the protective barriers with the right rear wheel. You learn that to become champion you don’t have to win all the time. Sometimes a draw, a 6-point third place or a 5-point fourth place is fine. The Canadian Grand Prix has a Renault start. Giancarlo Fisichella bypasses from the right the two of the first row, Fernando Alonso goes left and the Renault take off followed by McLaren. Then the protagonists get lost on the road: Fisichella stops because a loss of the hydraulic circuit makes him tilt the gearbox, Fernando Alonso touches the wall and goes back to the pits, Jenson Button slams and stays on the track just as Michael Schumacher was about to overtake him. It’s the black day of Renault. But Flavio Briatore plays down:
"No one died, no drama. Things happen. So far it has happened to others, now it’s up to us. The positive aspect is that the car is competitive and we are optimistic about the future of the championship".
Giancarlo Fisichella had to greet the company on the most beautiful, while he was in the lead and aimed for triumph. Back in the pits, he angrily threw his gloves on the ground:
"I’m very disappointed. I had made a great start and I could keep Alonso behind, despite having more fuel. The gearbox went haywire and I was in second place. Incredible".
It’s lap 48: the safety car enters the track and all the drivers return to the pits to refuel. The last to do so is Juan Pablo Montoya, who leaves the pit lane at red light and slips into traffic like a rude motorist who skips the line. Some attitudes may work in the Colombian streets, but on the tracks of Formula 1 tend to annoy the race stewards, who after a minute show him the black flag: disqualified. Incidentally, Juan Pablo Montoya had already finished on the grass coming back from the previous pit stop. An embarrassment in front of 121.000 spectators, 364.000 at the weekend: a record for the Gilles Villeneuve circuit. Michael Schumacher is in second place. He double his brother and thanks him with a wide wave of his hand, then tries in vain to recover Kimi Raikkonen. The place of honor is already an exceptional result: tenth podium for him in Montreal, fifth place in the World Championship ranking behind Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld. There is also glory for Rubens Barrichello, who in impossible situations is exalted. Saturday in qualifying he had broken the change. Rather than let him start in last position, Ferrari’s engineers lined him up in the pit lane, filled the tank with fuel and sent him into the race with the hope of seeing him back in the points. Rubinho has done much more and the podium repays him with some bitterness. In third place was Jarno Trulli, betrayed by the explosion of the right front brake at 8 laps from the end.
"It’s three races that are all bad. I gave a hundred percent and attached to the maximum, more I could not. I end up with a bunch of flies".
Ferrari has found rhythm and consistency of performance. It does not yet have the pace of the best, but it goes back to see the first positions. The tyres have improved. Bridgestone has experienced a new compound that increases performance in qualifying without losing in duration.
"We will analyze the data collected in the race. If they are positive, we will use these tires again in Indianapolis".
It remains a reliability problem, especially related to the gearbox and transmission. And the start of Michael Schumacher was very slow. Jean Todt invites not to get excited:
"We missed the win again".
The appointment is for Sunday, June 19, 2005 in Indianapolis. Now Scuderia Ferrari believes in it.
"We never give up".
Michael Schumacher warns from the podium in Montreal.
"I know our moment is coming back. I don’t know when we will win, I know it will happen and it will be very soon".
There is no time to try or innovate: it is worth the work done in recent weeks. Good that of Ferrari. There is more performance in qualifying and there remains a high pace in the race. Scuderia Ferrari CEO Jean Todt is celebrating the 200 Grand Prix in red in Montreal: 79 wins and 205 podiums. Satisfied?
"Our goal is victory, which we missed again. Let’s say the result is encouraging and makes us optimistic ahead of Indy. That said, on the eve I would sign to see two cars on the podium".
Todt celebrates with a popsicle in his hand and the inevitable cup of tea, sitting at the tables of the Ferrari area, in the paddock of the Gilles Villeneuve circuit. He wears a sweater, despite the heat and humidity. He lacks success: eight races, zero wins in 2005. The last one remains the one in Japan at the end of last season, won by Michael Schumacher.
"When will we win? If Michael doesn’t unbalance the car driving it, let alone I can do it myself as I merely lead the team. A less difficult job".
Anyway, a little fasting doesn’t hurt:
"In recent years we have become accustomed too well. Suffering sometimes does not hurt anyone. So we don’t get our heads up and we stay down".
He doesn’t speak directly of the fight for the World Championship:
"We are thinking about the races, but I am pleased that in the constructors' classification we are two points from the third, 18 from the second and 31 from the first. Anything can happen".
And remember:
"They are not the third or second place that interests us".
From Italy come the compliments of Luca Montezemolo.
"I’m happy, the two podiums represent a strong signal. If we think that after the first lap Schumacher was sixth and Barrichello last, the Ferrari race in Montreal was a demonstration of strength and reliability. But I have a lot of nostalgia for the top step of the podium. At Ferrari, as in Italy, everyone has to do their part, from suppliers to technicians to drivers".
And from Germany come the sharp judgments of Bild:
"Schumacher gave the victory because of his snail start. At the first corner they had already passed him in four".
The delay at the start makes even more anger if you think that shortly before Michael Schumacher would have created a void.
"Schumacher found himself suddenly in second place without having made any overtaking manoeuvres".
The Scuderia Ferrari engineers attribute the problem to the side races held before the Canadian Grand Prix, which would have soiled the track. Paradoxically, starting in the front row would prove to be a disadvantage. Keep in mind ahead of Indianapolis.