WilliamsF1 French GP Review

Ralf fifth ....
By Andrew Hooper
July 21 2002

The 2002 French GP would see WilliamsF1 drivers Juan Pablo and Ralf finish in 4th and 5th respectively. After running strongly in the 1stt half of the race they would drop away. Ralf would receive a stop & go penalty for crossing the white line. The race would be won by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher.

	French GP Review
	For the BMW WilliamsF1 team the 2002 French Grand Prix was a race that would see Juan Pablo competitive in the first half of the race but he would drop away from the leaders finishing in fourth position. Team-mate Ralf Schumacher would receive a stop & go penalty for crossing the white line exiting the pits, finishing in fifth. It was very much a race that got away from the WilliamsF1 team after running strongly early on. The race would be won by Ferrari's Michael Schumacher ensuring him his fifth World drivers title. The formation lap for the French Grand Prix would see disaster strike the Ferrari team with Barrichello still high in the air on his jacks, just like Ralf Schumacher last year's Belgian GP. Barrichello would be pulled back into the garage area and was not able to start with the rest of the field. Barrichello would have his steering wheel replaced. The start of the race would see Montoya leading Michael Schumacher and Raikkonen. Jordan driver Takuma Sato and Panis's BAR would clash and end up in the gravel. Panis would make it back to the pits where he would get a new nose. As for Barrichello he would retire having not taken part in the race. Ralf was running fourth with Michael attacking Juan Pablo. The battle between Montoya, Michael, and Raikkonen would continue, Michael making a passing move at the Adelaide hairpin. Massa was to receive a stop & go penalty for a jumped start. Montoya was quick coming out of Estoril, which was making it hard for Michael to overtake. After seven laps the field would settle down but the battles were still very close. Ralf would have David Coulthard close behind. The top ten at this stage were Montoya, Michael Schumacher (0.7), Raikkonen (1.1), Ralf Schumacher (3.0), Coulthard (3.6), Button (4.2), Massa (6.5), Trulli (7.1), and Irvine (8.5). Juan Pablo was able to pull out a small lead, 0.8 secs, with Michael appearing to be following Juan Pablo and not looking to make a pass. Massa would drop to fifteenth after his penalty. The top six were running close together so their strategies would play a major role. Jaguar's Eddie Irvine would be running in an encouraging eighth, but he was 13.8 secs behind the leader. By the eighteenth lap Montoya would have a lead of out to 0.6 secs, with team-mate Ralf 4.3 secs behind. Renault's Jenson Button would be the first to pit, stopping for 9.6 seconds. Villeneuve stops for 7.2 secs indicating a three stop strategy. Joining them would be Trulli, Yoong, and Irvine. Ralf would be the first of the WilliamsF1 drivers to stop, stationary for 7.2 secs. Ralf would come out in fifth with Heidfeld sixth. Coulthard in fourth would set the fastest lap with a time of 1m:15.5, 4.6 secs behind the lead. Montoya would pit, giving the lead to Michael. He would stop for 8.4 secs, coming back out in fourth. Sato would retire after spinning off. Next to stop would be Michael Schumacher with the McLaren's staying out. It was an 8.4 secs stop for Michael, returning in third place. Raikkonen would be the first McLaren to stop returning in third behind Michael and Juan Pablo. Coulthard would stop stationary for eleven seconds which indicates that he had taken on a lot of fuel. David would return in fifth. All the top teams have now been in for fuel and tyres. The only one to really gain was Michael Schumacher who was now leading in front of Juan Pablo. After twenty nine laps the top ten was Michael Schumacher, Montoya, Raikkonen, Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, Button, Trulli, Irvine, Heidfeld, and Villeneuve. Michael was the fastest man on the track. But his race would receive a set back when he would get a drive through penalty for crossing the white line at the pit exit. Michael would return in third position, behind Raikkonen. The top five drivers were again within a few seconds. After thirty six laps Juan Pablo was leading Raikkonen by 0.8 secs, with Michael and Ralf 1.4 and 2.5 secs behind the lead. Villeneuve would retire with a blown engine. The Renault drivers were sixth and seventh, with Button ahead of Trulli. With half of the race run the top five drivers all had a chance of winning the race. Raikkonen would start to defend his position against Michael. Juan Pablo would be right in the middle of overtaking the back markers, forcing him to be careful as Raikkonen was right behind him. The WilliamsF1 team would prepare for Montoya's second stop, with Juan Pablo in the pits for 11.6 secs. This would be his final stop and he would come out in fourth position. Ralf would also pit stopping for 9.6 secs and he would come out behind Juan Pablo. Button, Salo and some other midfield drivers would also pit. Ralf would also get a penalty for crossing the white line exiting the pits. He would not lose his fifth place. Raikkonen and Michael were lapping faster than Montoya, which meant they could stay ahead of the WilliamsF1 driver. Michael would pit for his final stop of 8.8 secs and he would return ahead of Montoya. Raikkonen, in with the chance to score a victory, would pit for 8.7 secs and he would come back out ahead of Michael. Toyota's Mika Salo would retire with a blown engine. With twenty two laps left Coulthard was leading, but he was yet to make his final stop. Montoya was is fourth but was clearly unable to keep up the pace. Ralf was in sixth. Coulthard would set the fastest lap on lap fifty three, while at the same time Irvine would retire after a spin when he lost his rear wing. Coulthard would make his final stop and return back in third. Coulthard would also receive a penalty for crossing the white line. Some of Formula One's top drivers were making basic mistakes. After fifty six laps Raikkonen would be 1.8 secs ahead of Michael, with Juan Pablo and Ralf 33.2 and 42.3 secs respectively. This meant that neither WilliamsF1 driver had a chance of even finishing on the podium. With fifteen laps remaining Coulthard would receive his penalty but would remain in third. Raikkonen would continue to build up his lead ahead of Michael. Juan Pablo was really struggling with even Ralf closing in on him. Button would make his third stop, with sixth place looking like his finishing position. With ten laps left the order was Raikkonen, Michael Schumacher (1.6), Coulthard (10.4), Montoya (30), Ralf Schumacher (34), and Button (1 lap). It looks like Juan Pablo was again let down by his tyres. With nine laps to go Ralf was now only 2.7 secs behind Juan Pablo. Minardi's Mark Webber after all his problems in qualifying was running in eighth. For Michael he was not only battling for the lead with Raikkonen, but also for the drivers title if he was to win. Michael would pass Raikkonen after the Finn made a mistake in the hairpin. With three laps to go Michael was leading and going for the race victory and the drivers title. Raikkonen's problems were because of oil on the track as McNish and de la Rosa also had problems there as well. What a disappointment for Raikkonen. As Michael entered his final lap we were reminded of the fact that he was about to become a five time world drivers champion when he crosses the finish line. Simply amazing. Michael would cross the line taking victory in what was a thrilling race. But congratulations must go to race winner and new world champion Michael Schumacher. The McLaren drivers would finish with Raikkonen second, and Coulthard third.
	Driver Team (Tyres) Time Stops 01. M Schumacher Ferrari (B) 72 laps 3 02. K Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) +1.105 2 03. D Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) +31.976 3 04. JP Montoya BMW-Williams (M) +40.676 2 05. R Schumacher BMW-Williams (M) +41.773 3 06. J Button Renault (M) +1 lap 3 07. N Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) +1 lap 2 08. M Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) +1 lap 2 09. P de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) +2 laps 3 10. A Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) +4 laps 2 11. A McNish Toyota (M) +7 laps 2 Retirements Reason Lap R Barrichello Ferrari (B) Electronics 0 T Sato Jordan-Honda (B) Spin 23 O Panis BAR-Honda (B) Technical 29 J Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) Engine 35 J Trulli Renault (M) Technical 49 F Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) Technical 49 M Salo Toyota (M) Engine 49 E Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) Rearwing 52 Fastest laps Time Lap 01. D Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 1:15.045