This years Formula 1 season culminated in the United States GP. I say this because effectively, it is over, with Michael Schumacher the world champion for the sixth time (yeah you may argue to the contrary, but the F1 veterans among us kinda had a feeling about this one). Well done to Michael.
But with the ups and downs of last weekend, I have to say that I have formed certain caricatures of the three championship contenders that, however true or false, are now etched firmly in my memory.
That of Raikonnen (who over the past four GP’s and on a broader note, over the course of the season) has impressed me the most. Let’s face it, he was using practically last years car (with new add-on’s I’ll admit) and was still able to stay in contention with the other Big Two, despite the fact that both Ferrari and Williams had improved the pace of thier cars (in the case of Williams, by a great deal). And remember the F-2002 hopelessly outclassed everything last season anyway.
Part of his strength I will give to the Mclaren Pit Crew, who I feel were the out-and-out best strategists of the pack. They pitted Raikonnen at crucial times, releasing him into “clean” air, and made cautious use of thier tyres, opting for reliability and sturdiness as opposed to just going flat-out. I think this accounts for the good number of podium positions Raikonnen had during the early part of the season, combined with his natural driving aptitude of course.
Back to the race in hand, he showed almost reptilian qualities in obtaining pole position last weekend. The camera closed in on him sitting in the car, staring into space with his ice cool blue eyes unblinking, maybe for a good half a minute. Thousands of thoughts must have been rushing into his mind - as far as he knew, if he did not achieve a good qualifying performance, his championship hopes were going to decend into the murky snowy depths of his native Finland.
And so he rolled out of the pit lane, and with calculated precision and aggressive steering, launched his vehicle into P1. He showed this quality of working immensely well under pressure in Austria, where he immaculately drove into (what I recall from memory to be) his first pole position (at least of the season). Had it not been due to his disastrous engine failure, I’m sure he would have finished at least second (I think Schumacher may have caught and passed him, but P2 was almost secure), where he would have picked up an extra 8 points. Oh well.
For me, being at this young age (23 years old) and performing a job like this has been (to me at least) quite astounding. I wish the Lizard well in the future.
What can be said of Schumacher that hasn’t already been said? Brilliant in trying circumstances, but also very fortunate to have had rain at just the right time. Those Bridgestone boys do it again (I can’t believe that Button was leading the race at one point - what must that have been like for BAR fans in the US?). More importantly, they do it when it counts.
He was as robot-like as ever, cautious when he had to be; the early part of the race didn’t suit him at all, and he fell back pretty far - remember seeing the Columbians go wild when Montoya passed him (more like rocketing past a slowing horse) at the end of the long straight? But when the weather chipped in, the rest (as I am told they say) is history. Only an untrained monkey could lose the plot and story now. Fortunately for the Ferrari boys, Schumacher is no monkey. Which brings me on to our third contestant, a certain Juan Pablo Montoya.
Don’t get me wrong, I love his wife, but for me I think he did lose it a little bit. Or maybe a lot, I forget which is which sometimes. OK, arguably the conditions weren’t suited for him, but let’s face it, Raikonnen had the same make of tyres, and he didn’t slide off the road. Championship contenders often have to do that much more Mr. Pablo, and I’m afraid it’s when the cortisol levels go up, he winds up getting into way more trouble than he should.
OK OK, I know… the incident with Barrichello was an accident; but for me, it was an avoidable accident - he may have felt that he had to get across faster than he was currently doing (he’d slipped from fourth to eighth at one point), but I think he can often make the bad to the worse without necessarily any forseeable reasonable risky-payoff. It’s the ability to make good decisions at the right times that is most important, and here I feel he lacks the intuition to go any further. Remember (wasn’t it in Hungary where he won by a minute???) he was leading in one of the races and came to lap Villeneuve near the chicane. Jacques being the man of honor that he is, took his time in handing Montoya the lap. So Montoya goes all crazy ape-man like, and shoves his hands in the air. What the hell is all that about? You’re leading by a minute. Just cool down my Latino bro, we go for some munch and boogie-ing at the Salsa bar downtown Mon Amis (jeez I hope I spelled that right).
Yeah I know. I really wanted to see this particular South Americano in action next weekend with a fighting chance too. He’s exciting, daring and innovative on the track. But maybe it’s not what is required of a future Formula 1 world champion. You be the judge, and hopefully we’ll see next year.