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Hakkinen revived - Schumacher in trouble 
20 July 2000 Volume 2 - Issue 21 

Some of the limited overtaking we saw was in the early laps of the race when Barrichello clawed his way back into 4^th place. Initially it looked as if he may have been in a position to at least match the speed of the McLarens, if not catch them, but soon it was apparent that he could hardly keep up with de la Rosa in the Arrows.

After the race Barrichello said that he was having problems with his car as a result of the shunt he received on the first lap.

I have heard many comments about that statement. Most pointed out that he seemed to have no trouble on the first few laps when he overtook several cars, and if his car was not suffering then why did it later?

One possible explanation is that the hit from the rear damaged the diffuser on his car. It is possible that this would not slow him while on new tyres but as soon as his tyres were worn the lack of downforce made his car too hard to drive.

On the other hand we have heard Barrichello blame his car for his misfortunes so often this year that it is easier to assume that he is once again blaming his equipment.

If Barrichello wants to win races he is going to have to find a way of driving the car he has.

BAR is definitely getting faster. Zonta was doing extremely well until he had to go in for a 10 second penalty and Villeneuve drove a brilliant race to finish in fourth again.

With Button and Salo in 5^th and 6^th positions, 5 different teams finished in the points. Not bad for this late in the season.

Arrows were very fast (compared to their performance so far this season) but it was sad to see them both retire with the same old gearbox problem.

The two Prost drivers crashed and Alesi later claimed that it was because of communication problems. They can’t even get that right. Selling looks like the only option left!

Hakkinen drove a perfect race. He was fast and consistent and did not seem vulnerable to a challenge from the start. His car was strong, very fast and appeared perfectly balanced.

It certainly looks as if Hakkinen needs everything to be perfect before he is in a position to win races. If McLaren are having difficulty in setting up the car he becomes pedestrian – almost as if he does not trust his car. Coulthard on the other hand seems more capable of coping with a car that is not quite there.

Off hand I can think of several drivers that seem to be able to compensate for deficiencies in their cars (Schumacher, Villeneuve, Fisichella, and possibly Coulthard) but Hakkinen is not one of them. For him the car has to be perfect before he will do his best, and when he does it is wonderful to watch.

I believe that Michael Schumacher is a very troubled man. Even if his luck holds out and his Ferrari is totally reliable for the rest of the season he must realise that most of the circuits to come favour the McLarens and he is going to have to do something spectacular to win this year’s championship. I freely admit that he has the ability to do so, but I really do not think that the Ferrari will be fast enough.

Hockenhiem (the next race, average speed 232km/H) is very fast and will definitely favour McLaren. The race after that is the Hungarian GP (average speed 182m/H), which Schumacher must win if he wants to keep his championship chances alive.

Belgium (226km/H) and Monza (241km/H) are both very fast and I am assuming that McLaren will win these too so what is left?

We know little about the USA GP circuit and must assume that Ferrari will have a chance but Malaysia and Japan are both circuits where the results could go either way.

Three tracks where McLaren should win, one track where Ferrari should win and a further three races where either could win does not look like good odds to me. Schumacher must be worried!

It is of course possible that Ferrari could find some extra pace this late in the season, but I, for one, will not be holding my breath. It is also possible that McLaren may again suffer reliability problems, but again I do not think that is probable.

No, Schumacher’s best bet is McLaren’s team orders (or lack thereof). If Ferrari wins three of the remaining races and McLaren four, chances are that even if Barrichello could win a race he would cooperate and let Schumacher through giving him maximum points. McLaren are probably not going to have similar team orders unless one of their drivers get so far ahead that the other could not catch him.

It is even possible that Michael could win the championship by winning two of the remaining races if Coulthard also only wins two and Hakkinen wins three. (Of course that assumes that all three finish on the podium every race and that Schumacher gets his share of second places – if he finishes out of the points or retires again I do not like his chances).

Some of you have written in and claimed that I favour McLaren and ignore the strengths of Ferrari, and this article will probably fall in that category. Let me hasten to add that I do not particularly want McLaren to win, in fact I believe, as I have stated before, that it would be very good for the sport to have Schumacher and Ferrari win.

If I had my way I would want to see a different team win every year – it is good for the sport.

Face it: McLaren is still fastest although Ferrari is closer than they have been for a long time. Take Schumacher out of the equation and Ferrari would not have a chance.

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