Happy circumstance has made an exciting championship and the weather has
made some exciting races. All in all it was one of the better years, despite
Max's best efforts to stuff it up. Schumacher seems set for a 6th gong and
there's no guessing where the Constructors will live next year. Short of a DNF
for Michael, coupled with a win for Kimi (could happen but unlikely), we will
see Michael Schumacher create history again in Suzuka. Michael likes Suzuka
and Suzuka likes Michael, unless his luck really goes away he'll be in the
points. In a 2 horse race I'd put my money on Williams to take the
Constructors but given the possibility of Messrs Raikkonen et al providing
some spoiling action plus the possibility of Rubens having a good day it's too
close to call.
Indy really showed where things stand with tyres. If the rain gods come out
to play then Ferrari and Michael Schumacher is an unbeatable combination, if
they stay home and sulk its like a French National Holiday. I can't really see
this changing. Bibendum (the pneumatic Michelin mascot) doesn't like playing
in the rain but has really got his act together when the sun comes out. After
all the testing they have done and all the data they collect from the Michelin
teams they are still no closer to making a decent wet tyre. Drivers like
Raikkonen can still perform respectably in the wet but a good Bridgestone
driver will beat a good Michelin driver every time. Bridgestone don't have the
data stream to match Michelin with dry's but they have a huge edge in the wet.
Points notwithstanding, 2003 was the year that saw some reputations made
and lost. Webber made some mistakes but signalled clearly that he's there for
the long run and that he will be a force to be reckoned with. Barrichello
drove arguably the best individual race of the season (GB) but showed that he
will never replace Michael as the No 1 at Ferrari. Kimi and Fernando also made
mistakes but again showed that they are made of the stuff that champions come
from. Jenson Button will be a David Coulthard or a Rubens Barrichello of the
future I think ? always there but not quite good enough. Michael showed that
he's not a perfect machine with a few very poor performances but delivered
enough brilliance to be there when he had to. David Coulthard ?, well David
didn't.
A win and a few point's positions wasn't enough to hide that he's past it.
Technically he's still very good but he's lost the God complex that the young
one's have to protect them from being hurt and just isn't hungry enough to
give that last poofteenth that is required. Ralf managed to yet again snatch
defeat from the jaws of victory by being good enough when it didn't count and
falling flat when it did. Like David, he should get a very large truck to take
his excessive earnings off to an appropriate retirement venue. Mika Hakkinen
didn't wait for the equivalent of senility to set in, these two are following
Eddie Irvine down the road of sucking the last drop out of the teat before
they get pushed off it.
Of the rookies, I don't see another Alonso, Webber or Raikkonen appearing
from this group although most are pretty competent steerers and have generally
acquitted themselves better than some of their predecessors.
Bernie and Max were the two big losers this year. Max lost his credibility
and Bernie lost more money than most of us can comprehend. Don't lose too much
sleep worrying about them though, Max's ego will sustain him in place of his
credibility and Bernie still has a few bucks left to fund his retirement. What
does worry me though is the fairly rapid erosion of interest in F1. Gate
takings were down at most venues, despite (or perhaps because of) record high
ticket pricing. Sponsorship deals were fewer and for smaller bucks and the
cigarette cash cow is set to dry up soon. When that happens the largest single
group of sponsors will depart and the likes of Ferrari will be left with
budget deficits bigger than some nations. That's the real reason the FIA and
Bernie have been desperately trying to do something (invariably the wrong
thing) to contain costs and promote interest. That's also the reason the big
teams are pushing so hard to take away even more of Bernie's fortune, through
a greater share of TV revenues.
And so, this is my last posting for 2003. It's been a classic case of the
old Chinese curse. I have indeed lived in interesting times. I miss Real
Racing and despair of it's returning. Maybe I'm a dinosaur but I also miss
pre-aerodynamic grip and slick tyres and overtaking and cheap tickets. Ah
well, perhaps it will rain for 17 days and 17 nights in 2004? Might be a bit
hard to swing in Bahrain though.
At least I leave the season comfortable that I convincingly beat our
esteemed Editor in 8 'n' Pole (that means the beer's are on him), even if The
Heretic has yet again topped that small group ? there's always next year and
I'm getting closer, statistically if not in reality I could still pip him at
the post. Unfortunately, like Kimi taking the championship the smart money
says it ain't gonna happen.
