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Best & Worst of 2002

Other Topics

Best of 2001

What others are saying

Best Driver of all time

Top 5 in each Category

Voting on the Best and Worst of the 2003 season closed on the 1st of December. Here are the winners in each of the categories:

Best Driver - Michael Schumacher: For the 3rd in year in a row Michael wins in the Best Driver category but unlike the last 2 years when he won with a convincing margin, this year it was a lot closer with Michael getting just under 40% of the vote and Kimi Raikkonen in second with 25.48% of the vote. Still Michael Schumacher won a record 6th title and had the most number of wins.

Worst Driver - Antonio Pizzonia:  The first of two awards to Antonio who struggled to keep up with his team-mate Mark Webber. Pizzonia received 38.12% of the votes. Second place was taken by ex World Champ Jacques Villeneuve with 17.93% which didn't come as a total surprise as his position in the team started to take its toll on his driving. It is worth noting that Coulthard and Michael Schumacher were 3rd and 4th with 8.55% and 8.43% respectively.

Best Qualifier - Mark Webber: With the new Qualifying and Parc Ferm� rules it is harder to determine who is the best and worst in this category but over a whole season one should be able to tell who stood out and who faltered. It was a close fight but Mark Webber wins the Best Qualifier category with just under 22% of the vote from Juan Pablo Montoya (the winner last year) who managed 18.35% of the vote. Michael Schumacher was 3rd with 14.7% ahead of Kimi Raikkonen with 12.27%

Worst Qualifier - David Coulthard: The one lap qualifying did not suite David and it shows, he received just over 34% of the vote. Nicolas Kiesa who joined Minardi late in the season got 15.88% while Jacques Villeneuve was 3rd getting 12.24%

Best Team - Ferrari: For the 3rd time in a row Ferrari win in the Best Team Category and whilst they have won convincingly, their winning margins in the last 2 years were much higher.
Again they managed to fight off the challenge from Williams and won the Constructors Title after nearly losing it. Ferrari received 51.56% of the vote while Williams in second got 27.11%

Worst Team - Minardi: Scoring 0 points despite the point system change which provides a better opportunity to score points. Minardi received 38.02% of the vote. Jordan weren't too far behind with 29.46% and that wasn't a surprise as they kept falling back as the season progressed. Lets hope both Minardi and Jordan get a decent engine package for 2004 and can fight with the rest of the mid-field.
BAR was 3rd with 11.12% while Ferrari was 4th with 8.68%

Best Rookie - Cristiano da Matta: Cristiano convincingly won this category. He may not have beaten his much more (F1) experienced team-mate in qualifying (it is hard to compare based on grid positions) but he certainly beat him in the races. Expect a lot more from him in 2004.
da Matta received a massive 82.33% of the vote. There was really no contest!

Worst Rookie - Antonio Pizzonia: When you get the nod of approval from Sir Frank Williams but fail to show it on track don't expect favours. 60.32% of the voters put Pizzonia as the Worst Qualifier with Nicola Kiesa in 2nd with 24.69%.

Most Improved Team - Renault: For the second year in a row, over 50% of the voters put Renault as the most improved team. Whilst they couldn't unseat any of the top 3 teams, they were close. The loss of Gascoyne and a brand new engine design for 2004 may slow their progress next season.
Williams came in 2nd with 22.15% of the vote.

Least Improved Team - Jordan: It comes as no surprise that Jordan won this category. The team continues to decline and towards the end of the season they weren't that much better than Minardi. They were 6th in 2002 and this season they were 2nd last. Jordan received 26.89% of the vote. Minardi in 2nd got 19.59% and BAR in 3rd got 18.37%

Most Improved Driver - Fernando Alonso: Raced for Minardi in 2001, took on a testing role at Renault in 2002 and finished 6th in the Drivers' Championship in 2003. You can't ask for much more!
Alonso received 35.32% of the vote with Raikkonen in 2nd with 19.54% and Webber in 3rd with 17.11%

Least Improved Driver - David Coulthard: When your younger team-mate is just 2 points behind the World Champion and you end up 7th and 40 points less you don't expect 'Best Of' awards you expect 'Worst of' one. Not sure why David is still driving!
Coulthard collected 29.76% of the vote in this category with Villeneuve in 2nd with 19.09% (which isn't a surprise either after being beaten by Button. That same Button who Villeneuve didn't consider as 'quick' at the start of the season). Michael Schumacher came 3rd with 14.35% of the vote. Has he peaked and is he starting to slow ?

The New Qualifying Format - Much Worse: 31.57% of the voters consider the new Qualifying format much worse than the older format, that is understandable given that 1 lap qualifying doesn't provide an accurate head to head comparison. What is surprising is that 24.03% of the voters thought that the new format is much better than the old one. Perhaps some of those voters believe that the new Qualifying format was one main reason for having a close championship. Whatever the reasons are, it is clear that the fans are split on this one. 49.31% think the new format is worse (by a little or a lot) while 43.02% think the new format is better with only 7.67% indicating no difference.

The New Points System - Much Better: The majority of the voters thought that the new points system is better than its predecessor with 32.83% considering it much better while 25.28% considering it slightly better. 31.7% of the voters thought it to be worse than the old points system with 16.48% considering it much worse while 15.22 considered it slightly worse. 10.19% of the voters indicated no difference between the two.

The New Parc Ferm� Rules - Much Worse: 29.06% of the voters thought the new rules were much worse while 24.03% of the voters thought the new rules were much better. Again like the Qualifying rules, some of the voters would like to see Qualifying on equal terms with same fuel loads while others don't mind the changes as it creates a mixed grid and not so predictable results.
The fans are split on this one too with no clear majority on either side. 44.28% consider the rules worse (by a little or a lot) while 41.76% consider them better (by a little of a lot). 13.96% of the voters don't see a difference between the two.

Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to an even closer season in 2004.

Below are comments by those voters who elected to tell us why they voted the way they did. At the bottom of the page you can see the top 5 in each of the categories.

What others are saying:

I thought that this season was much more close and exciting. Schumacher deservedly came out on top, but Kimi still was pushing him hard right to the end!! And so we are left with the end of 2003 and rumours speculating on 2004. The qualifying is now changing were back to the Saturday Qualifying but instead the drivers will get two shots. Not quite sure the point in this other than it will cut back the spending costs and help the smaller teams. What I as an individual want to know is when will the traction control be stripped off? The F.I.A commented in October 2002 that from Silverstone 2003 it would be banned. Great, but there was a change of heart at the start of the season and it was to stay there till the end of 2003. But no further statements have been made. Will it ever go? 
(From 2004, Automatic Gearboxes and Launch Control are banned but Traction Control will stay indefinitely (Source) .... Ed)
In recent times we hear that Juan Pablo Montoya is to leave Williams for McLaren in 2005. Fantastic news for them with him to partner Kimi Raikkonen and very exciting for us viewers. 
On the subject of British drivers I hope to be seeing Ralph Firman and Justin Wilson racing once again next season, but there's the possibility that Jos Verstappen will be not be racing anymore if the drive with Minardi or Jaguar doesn't work out. 
2004 for sure will be another exciting season and I hope all the Formula 1 fans out there will enjoy it too!!  - Adam - England
(BD - KR, WD - AP, BQ - KR, WQ - AP, BT - Williams, WT - Minardi, MID - FA, LID - DC, MIT - BAR, LIT - Ferrari, BR - JW, WR - AP.
QFormat - Much Better, Point System - Slightly Better, Parc Ferm� - Slightly Worse)


Juan Pablo Montoya won two races, in Monaco and Germany. The Columbian improved most because of nine podiums. Sadly, he just missed the chance to take the world champion after the disappointing 6th place in Indy and retirement in Suzuka. 
Except for the first three races with one in Hungary, the other twelve races were all won by either Ferrari or Williams drivers (M Schumacher, R Schumacher, Montoya and Barrichello) because of the strongest challenge for them. Last year saw Williams were unable to beat Ferraris after one-two in Malaysia. This year Williams were able to stop Ferrari at least five races. Williams claimed one-two in Nurburgring and Magny-Cours. Ferrari couldn't make one-two but double podiums (Michael 1st and Rubens 3rd) in four races. 
After dominating wins in the first two races, McLaren were unable to challenge to win. Even if Kimi claimed two poles, the 24-year-old Finn still failed to win. Actually, he secured ten podiums. David Coulthard could only manage more 2 podiums, 2nd in Hockenheim and 3rd in Suzuka. There had the good news for Woking team. Both drivers secured double podium finishes in Suzuka just behind Barrichello's Ferrari after the retirement of Montoya and Alonso. 
Renault improved very well but wasn't most. Due to the top three teams proved too strong, the team secured only five podiums. Alonso won his first race in Hungary with two poles. Trulli finished 3rd place in Hockenheim for the first time since European GP in 1999, just second podium in his career. 
Both BAR's improved not very well, with Villeneuve's only two points finishes. The Japanese rookie Takuma Sato replaced the Canadian in season finale. This means that Jacques would be his final race with his BAR in Indy ended in retirement. Both Jenson and Sato finished 4th and 6th respectively in order to end in 5th in the constructors' championship. Despite of the sixth title for Michael, the two championship contenders came too close before Italian GP was held. But the German won in the 2 out of the final 3 races. 
Next year Williams will expect to stop Ferrari in order to win the title. Good luck! - Raymond L C H - Hong Kong
(BD - KR, WD - AP, BQ - RS, WQ - JVe, BT - Williams, WT - Minardi, MID - JPM, LID - MS, MIT - Williams, LIT - Ferrari, BR - NK, WR - AP.
QFormat - Not much difference, Point System - Not much difference, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


How could BAR drop Jacques? He's still such an aggressive driver and he has the greatest personality. I think I love him. Hopefully he'll be back next year - Lucidique - Australia
(BD - KR, WD - NH, BQ - JT, WQ - DC, BT - McLaren, WT - BAR, MID - MW, LID - HHF, MIT - Jaguar, LIT - BAR, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Much Better, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


Schumacher sucks! Kimi rules! Kimi whips Alonso's ass around any track, McLaren have definitely nailed a new Senna two years ago - MH - Australia
(BD - KR, WD - MS, BQ - KR, WQ - MS, BT - McLaren, WT - Ferrari, MID - JPM, LID - MS, MIT - McLaren, LIT - Ferrari, BR - CdM, WR - RF.
QFormat - Not much difference, Point System - Not much difference, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


Think about it this way, who won the most races? Michael worked his ass off, but no matter how hard he worked he still found himself fighting for the title. How fair is that? 
I think the points system sucks in that it was only designed to get Michael out of the runnings, and we all know its true, but it did make the year a little more interesting. 
The best part of the season was watching Michael win the champs, no matter how hard the FIA tried to get him to lose. 
The worst part was Ralf being out of the competition after his crash, felt real sorry for him. And also Felt REALLY sorry for Michael and Ralf for the death of their mother. May she rest in peace and may God be with the Schumachers - Jay W - South Africa
(BD - MS, WD - AP, BQ - MS, WQ - DC, BT - Ferrari, WT - Minardi, MID - KR, LID - DC, MIT - Renault, LIT - Jaguar, BR - JW, WR - NK.
QFormat - Not much difference, Point System - Much Worse, Parc Ferm� - Slightly Worse)


Best part of season was seeing a team (Renault) win other than Ferrari, Williams and McLaren in a non rain race. 
The worst part of the year was Juan Montoya getting penalized for the touch with Rubens! - John B - USA
(BD - MS, WD - AP, BQ - JPM, WQ - DC, BT - Ferrari, WT - Sauber, MID - FA, LID - JVi, MIT - Williams, LIT - Sauber, BR - JW, WR - AP.
QFormat - Much Worse, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


Villeneuve and BAR are the biggest joke in formula 1 history. I'm so glad he is out of Formula 1 as he is a waste of space and oxygen and very much an over-rated driver. He is only matched by the pathetic excuse for a team that is BAR. They certainly deserve each other. David Coulthard would be a close second for incompetence behind the wheel of a F1 car having been thrashed by his rookie team-mate. And lastly would be Jarno Trulli who once said that if he was in Ferrari he would beat Schumacher. What a joke he cant even cope with his rookie teamates such as Alonso and Button. Also these three drivers have something in common BIG MOUTHS WITH VERY LITTLE TO BACK IT UP. Even Villeneuve with his 97 World Championship that he nearly messed up even with a vastly superior car.
As for the rule changes in my mind they are cheating and communistic. Formula 1 is about technical expertise, money and great driving AND THAT'S HOW IT SHOULD BE. Its not about changing rules to help teams that cant win a championship win one. The rules have been designed to stop Ferrari and Michael Schumacher because as a team they're too good 
Qualifying is a joke, anyone can qualify well if they have an emptier tank than other teams. How often did we see teams qualify higher than what they normally would only to see them have to pit after 10 -15 laps PATHETIC.
The points system is laughable. M.S would've had championship 6 rapped up by about race 13 under the old system. 
Long live the king MICHAEL SCHUMACHER AND MAY WE LOOK FORWARD TO HIS PRESENCE ON TOP OF THE PODIUM AGAIN AND AGAIN AS HE WRAPS UP TITLE NO 7 EVEN WITH THE CHEATS AT THE FIA TRYING TO STOP HIM - Mathew T - Australia
(BD - MS, WD - JVi, BQ - MS, WQ - DC, BT - Ferrari, WT - BAR, MID - FA, LID - JT, MIT - Renault, LIT - BAR, BR - CdM, WR - JW.
QFormat - Much Worse, Point System - Much Worse, Parc Ferm� - Much Worse)


Jordan sucked beyond belief, I used to respect EJ but a continuos stream of lost sponsors and bad driver choices (sacking HHF, employing Sato and Firman) are unforgivable, and it doesn't look like the end for their bad performance but only the beginning, they also WRECKED FISI'S CAREER - Robin F - UK
(BD - FA, WD - AP, BQ - OP, WQ - JVe, BT - Renault, WT - Minardi, MID - FA, LID - NH, MIT - Renault, LIT - Jordan, BR - CdM, WR - NK.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Slightly Better)


It was fun to fill this out without cheating by looking up the stats. 
My impression was that Ralph got more poles than his brother this year and certainly more than JPM, so I picked him as best qualifier --and even if he didn't, I know he had a better year than last year! 
Kimi is ready for the World Championship and if that doesn't make him the most improved I give up! 
Jacques, whom I love, had to be the least improved because when you've been champion and fallen to his spot you look even worse than inferior drivers! 
I really don't know why I think Ralph Firman is the best rookie and I may be wrong on this, but time will tell. 
It was hard to pick a "worst team" but Sauber managed to do even worse than BAR and that does it for me. Minardi can't be worst because they have so much to overcome! 
Poor Pizza Man! I'll be surprised if he doesn't end up as worst driver. If it hadn't been for him it would have been hard to choose anyone. 
Michael still is the best driver, no matter what you say. And I pray that he retires now. There's nothing more to prove - Jim W - USA
(BD - MS, WD - AP, BQ - RS, WQ - JVe, BT - Ferrari, WT - Sauber, MID - KR, LID - JVi, MIT - Renault, LIT - Sauber, BR - RF, WR - AP.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Much Worse, Parc Ferm� - Much Worse)


It was a good season and it was great to see the distance between Ferrari and the rest of the field come closer. 
Being a Ferrari fan, I was happy to see Ferrari win and Michael win, but it wasn't all that easy. Michelin really improved this season but Bridgestone still has far better rain tyres (see Indianapolis).
I feel sorry for Jacques Villeneuve and can't wait to see how Mark Webber fares in 2004 (I'm an Aussie). 
My favourite driver would have to be Rubens Barrichello
I chose Michael Schumacher as the best driver because despite the fact his performance this season compared to last was under par, he still came out on out top and didn't crack. 
I chose Antonio Pizzonia as the worst driver because he hardly rose above around 10th place in a race and also because he got his contract terminated. Few know though, he had the approval from Sir Frank Williams. 
I chose Juan Pablo Montoya as the best qualifier because in most races he qualified in the top 4 or so. He has improved and although he didn't convert many of these great qualifying times, he still performed exceptionally well. 
I chose Nicolas Kiesa as the worst qualifier, which in some people's eyes may be a little unfair because he only competed in like 6 races. But in those, you could usually qualified in the back row. 
I chose Williams as the best team even though Ferrari won the championship. I must say I despised Williams at times because they were doing so well. The Michelin tyres helped (except in rainy conditions) and they had the fastest car for most of the season. 
I chose Minardi as the worst team for obvious reasons. But you do have to feel sorry for them because they are so bad. They finished last and not to mention finished with zero points for the fifth time in six seasons. 
I chose Mark Webber as the most improved driver. Yes, he did drive for Minardi last year, but this year he raced like a champion. 3 or so top 3 qualifying times and some excellent finishes. 
I chose Jacques Villeneuve as the least improved driver because he was quite disappointing this season considering he was the champion in 1997. To leave Williams was a mistake and I'm sure he would have realised it by now. 
I chose Renault as the the most improved team because they finished fourth in the championship and managed to win a race with Fernando Alonso and produced some terrific qualifying times. 
I chose Ferrari as the least improved team, yes, call me harsh but I agree with Nick K (also from Australia) it is hard to improve while at the top. But I also think that they went slightly backwards. If Williams had've performed better later in the season (most notably Indianopolis and Suzuka) they would have won. 
I chose Cristiano Da Matta as the best rookie because he qualified well, raced well and also finished well. Expect him to shoot up the field in coming years. 
I chose Antonio Pizzonia as the worst rookie for the same reasons as I chose him for worse driver. 
The qualifying system is slightly worse because 12 laps was better because your grid lap could be any lap and this year if you spun off on your second, you had no chance to make up for it. And also one lap is not enough warm up time realistically. 
The points system is better because it meant the championship would be closer and other teams would have better chances to get more points. 
The parc ferm� system is much worse because that does not just disadvantage the top teams but if you damage your car in second qualifying you won't have much luck in the race - Daniel P - Australia
(BD - MS, WD - NK, BQ - JPM, WQ - NK, BT - Williams, WT - Minardi, MID - MW, LID - JVi, MIT - Renault, LIT - Ferrari, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Slightly Better, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Worse)


Good, Great for MS to surpass great Fangio in 2003.Time has come for change and as Williams improves and drivers like Kimi and Alonso race with grit, the next season would be something to watch. Schumi's experience battling with vigour of KR, FA and of course JPM. JPM should have done better this year and it would be 2004 where he has to prove his talent as a racing great and shrug off the tag of reckless driver with great skill - Arun D - India
(BD - FA, WD - DC, BQ - KR, WQ - NK, BT - Williams, WT - Sauber, MID - FA, LID - JVe, MIT - Renault, LIT - BAR, BR - CdM, WR - NK.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Slightly Better, Parc Ferm� - Not much difference)


The season was certainly more interesting than the recent previous seasons. The qualifying, while throwing up more interesting grids is particularly boring to watch. I feel the biggest threat to the sport is the private teams having to use sub-standard engines. This consigns them to the back of the grid and having no chance of influencing a race other than being a backmarker getting in the way - Richard R - Ireland
(BD - FA, WD - AP, BQ - RB, WQ - JVe, BT - Williams, WT - Jordan, MID - MW, LID - DC, MIT - Renault, LIT - Jordan, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Not much difference, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


I hope the majority of voters give thought to the overall resources available to drivers/teams when voting, rather then taking a shortcut to thinking and putting "Ferrari, Ferrari etc" - Rob D - Australia
(BD - CdM, WD - DC, BQ - MW, WQ - AP, BT - Renault, WT - Sauber, MID - MW, LID - JVi, MIT - Toyota, LIT - Sauber, BR - CdM, WR - NK.
QFormat - Much Worse, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Worse)


Once again Michael was the best. (Someone better do something about it or this is what will see & hear for the next 2-3 years at least.) He performed when it mattered, even though the car wasn't as good as he claimed it was. 
There's only one driver in the current lot who could get close to Michael; Fernando Alonso. He showed that he could perform well & even Win in a car that is certainly not the most powerful or fastest. He is genuine. Wait 'till Renault improves their car! 
Kimi was good but you have to be more than good to beat Michael. 
McLaren did a good job with that car although they disappointed us with that farce of a new car for 2003. 
I don't rate Ralf as much of a driver but I feel he cops a lot of unnecessary criticism, simply because he is Michael's brother. 
Although I like Barrichello as a nice bloke, I think he needs to improve his consistency & some aspects of his driving. He tends to leave the door open & suddenly shut it in others faces. I have seen it too many times. However, he provided the best driving of the season - in the British Grand Prix. 
I didn't care much for Trulli before, but he did reasonably well this season. 
Jacques Villeneuve, I think its time! 
As for the points system, I hope they will increase the gap between First & Second. Otherwise, too many will settle for second & deprive us of good Racing. Regards - Ryan T - Sri Lanka
(BD - MS, WD - JVi, BQ - MW, WQ - JVi, BT - Ferrari, WT - BAR, MID - JT, LID - RB, MIT - Renault, LIT - Minardi, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Not much difference, Point System - Slightly Worse, Parc Ferm� - Slightly Better)


It is disappointing to see how many races were decided by tires. The difference of approach (rounded and aerodynamic vs wide patch traction) is a nice element with tracks that favor one or the other. However, random weather is a huge factor now. This is quite a bad thing. 
It would be nice to see a single manufacturer for tires in a season. The manufacturer would have available round or square tires, along with various weather condition related tread patterns and rubber compounds. No team would have access to a tire that the other teams didn't. Lots of choices, lots of chances for one team to out smart another, but everyone is playing from the same deck - Phillip C - USA
(BD - KR, WD - DC, BQ - KR, WQ - DC, BT - Ferrari, WT - Jordan, MID - FA, LID - GF, MIT - BAR, LIT - Minardi, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Slightly Better, Point System - Slightly Better, Parc Ferm� - Slightly Worse)


Competition was exciting due to the increased performance of the Michelin teams and the points system helped keep the title undecided until the end - Steven P - Australia
(BD - MS, WD - AP, BQ - MW, WQ - NK, BT - Williams, WT - Sauber, MID - FA, LID - NH, MIT - Renault, LIT - Sauber, BR - CdM, WR - NK.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Slightly Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Worse)


McLaren is going to be the champion car next year 2004 - Bill C - Hong Kong
(BD - KR, WD - JVi, BQ - KR, WQ - DC, BT - Williams, WT - Jordan, MID - KR, LID - JVi, MIT - Renault, LIT - Sauber, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


McLaren gets best team because of what they did with last year's car. 
Ralf get worst driver because of his continued erratic behaviour. His 'scorched earth' policy cost several drivers points, and cost himself a chance at a championship in what was, by the end of the season, clearly the best car - Tom H - USA
(BD - KR, WD - RS, BQ - MW, WQ - DC, BT - McLaren, WT - Minardi, MID - KR, LID - DC, MIT - Williams, LIT - Jordan, BR - CdM, WR - RF.
QFormat - Slightly Better, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Not much difference)


I really missed the race day morning warm-up. This is bad for the fans. It was an opportunity for fans on race day to see the cars go around, before all the crowds arrived. Now, we only see the cars when the race is on. By that stage, the track is full and you cannot get a decent vantage point to watch (with the crowds) - Lindsay C - Australia
(BD - MS, WD - JVi, BQ - MW, WQ - JVe, BT - Ferrari, WT - BAR, MID - FA, LID - DC, MIT - Jaguar, LIT - Jordan, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Worse)


I am Ferrari fan but let's give the truth to Renault and Alonso benefit of the doubt. Too bad they will gave up the wide engine design. Good chassis just a little bit underpowered but a good set up. The best improvement for a F1 team this year.
Regarding the points system, it is worst than I imagined. This system is design to promote mediocrity not the value. Did you remember Keke Rosberg ? Just one win and he was world Champion. Is this right? No offence for Kimi being second but always wining is the main goal of any sportsman. Forget the "if you want to be a winner you must compete first" the meaning is "You have to compete and you have to win" 
And regarding people who blame Schumy for his performances in Japan I really recommend to read "The history of Formula One" and they going to find out one name in the last 9 years - Michael SCHUMACHER - AND A LOT OF OTHER NAMES LIKE PROST, HILL MANSEL, HAKINEN, VILLNEVUE, COULTHARD. Of course being 8th and claim the crown is not a very nice situation but nobody check the circumstances. I am open to discus the issues pro or contra in this matter. Like the old roman say (Ferrari is in Italy former ancient Rome) "LET'S GIVE TO CESAR WHAT IS HIS" so to Michael SCHUMACHER. 
Until then "SALVE ET IL" My best regards, Marian - Romanian living in the US
(BD - FA, WD - JPM, BQ - FA, WQ - NK, BT - Renault, WT - Jordan, MID - RS, LID - JVi, MIT - Renault, LIT - BAR, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Much Worse, Point System - Much Worse, Parc Ferm� - No much difference)


The best driver contest was very close. Both Kimi and Alonso deserve a lot of praise. They excelled in and made up for their underperforming cars. 
I like David Coulthard, but must say he showed the least improvement and almost looked pedestrian. I am hoping he will do much better next year. 
Ralf's performance was a big puzzle, but I feel he deserves more credit than he gets. When the car is good, he completely excels. He need to attack when chasing though! 
Mark Webber looked impressive throughout the season. 
I have been watching F1 for over a decade now and this has been one of the best seasons. Although I was not a fan of the new qualifying or the parc ferme, I was impressed with the results and excitement it brought. 
One very excellent outcome of Parc Ferme was the terrific reliability of all the cars!! 
One sad thing though is that in the end Ferrari were still the winners in both departments. Which I feel is what eventually the public will remember and hence would not help F1 so much. But let us keep our fingers crossed and hope the public visiting Grand Prix's improve next year!! Which helps us F1 fanatics to watch more exciting seasons of F1 - Vishy G - India
(BD - KR, WD - AP, BQ - MW, WQ - DC, BT - Williams, WT - Sauber, MID - JB, LID - DC, MIT - Renault, LIT - Sauber, BR - CdM, WR - NK.
QFormat - Much Better, Point System - Much Better, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


As usual another great season. As I predicted the team on the rise was Renault, but Ferrari still on top. 2004 will be the best season yet as we watch Ferrari try to remain on top and the likes of the Williams and McLaren take the trophy from them. 
Hopefully the new engine designs for Renault will help them compete. But I am worried about engine longevity. 
My only hope for '04 is that our Canadian boy Jacques can find a ride. My suggestion to the F1 world is narrow minded and aimed at our friend Flav, "Can that bum Trulli and hire a proven winner. The only other F1 world champion Mr. Villeneuve" - James - Canada
(BD - MS, WD - AP, BQ - JPM, WQ - DC, BT - Ferrari, WT - Minardi, MID - FA, LID - JVe, MIT - Renault, LIT - BAR, BR - JW, WR - AP.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Slightly Better, Parc Ferm� - Not much difference)


I think Raikkonen did the best with what he had to work with. 
I said Williams for best team because they were so far off the pace at the beginning of the year, and came back to be the fastest car on the track. 
Webber and Jaguar were obvious. Cristiano da Matta is the best rookie. But who else is there. And you have to admit, he looks quicker than Panis. 
But I just want to say that I was a little disappointed with Toyota, especially at the beginning of the season. They were so fast in pre-season testing, only to come out and be so average in race trim. 
Ralph Firman, I never liked. I think Eddie Irvine said it best, when he said he has "no style". I know that car was pretty bad, but he always looked like he was about to saw that steering wheel right off the car. 
I know everyone wants to say Coulthard is so bad at qualifying, but I gave it to Villeneuve. He always attributed it to race set up. But my feeling is that if he would have set up better for qualifying, his racing skills would over-come set up in the race, especially if he was in better position to actually race. Too late now. 
I'm a fan of Coulthard, but he should have been better. And for some reason, I can't place Renault, or Ferrari in any category. Although they are both great, with the the best young driver, and the best of all time respectively. 
I don't think qualifying is as exciting, but it made for some interesting racing. It was always a question of "what strategy are they on?" - John N - USA
(BD - KR, WD - RF, BQ - KR, WQ - JVi, BT - Williams, WT - Minardi, MID - MW, LID - DC, MIT - Jaguar, LIT - Jordan, BR - CdM, WR - RF.
QFormat - Slightly Worse, Point System - Slightly Better, Parc Ferm� - Slightly Worse)


It is much harder this year!
For me it was a toss up between Alonso and Raikkonen for best driver as both proved their worth despite their limited experience compared to their team-mates but given that Alonso had 5 car related retirements and wasn't in the fastest car and still finished 6th just behind Ralf Schumacher and 22 points ahead of his team-mate makes him the best this year in my view. 
I rated Fisichella highly until this season. He simply just gave up and Ralph Firman (the rookie) actually beat him a number of times. From someone that has World Championship ambitions, his performance in a poor car was not impressive.
Barrichello was the best qualifier, only twice did he qualify outside the top 5. Coulthard on the other hand was hopeless with 6 times outside the top 10!! 
Best team was Williams, their drivers weren't best though! 
I put Ferrari as the least improved team because they simply went backwards and the Williams drivers handed them the championship. 
I feel sorry for Jordan but they still deserve worst team. They should learn from Sauber how to be lean yet have a decent car. 
Whatever the BAR was, Villeneuve went backwards. He should have left that team years ago. 
da Matta is best rookie cause there was no contest but he did show some good signs towards the end of the season and I am expecting a lot next season from him. 
Nicolas Kiesa was worst rookie. You don't qualify 6 or 7 seconds off the pace even if you are in a Minardi. Sorry but you don't belong in F1 and Stoddart should have known that!
The new Qualifying format sucks and the revised one is no different. 
The new Points system isn't fair. Michael won by 2 points yet he won 6 races compared to Raikkonen's 1!  The old system wasn't great either!
The new Parc Ferme rules robbed us of comparing team-mates in qualifying!
Graham R - Australia
(BD - FA, WD - GF, BQ - RB, WQ - DC, BT - Williams, WT - Jordan, MID - FA, LID - JVi, MIT - Renault, LIT - Ferrari, BR - CdM, WR - NK.
QFormat - Much Worse, Point System - Slightly Worse, Parc Ferm� - Slightly Worse)


Schumacher - "Yes, this is how it should be"
Raikkonen - "I hate Pizzonia and Jaguar"
Williams, Ralf and Montoya - Scratching heads and looking at each other stupidly "Ummmmm, arrrrrr, ummmmm, arrrr............" 
Coulthard - After being asked why Ron keeps him on, "I have the biggest jaw in F1" 
Alonso, Webber, Button, Da Matta - "Hmmm, delicious! But I wanna Williams!" 
Parc Ferme - great! 
Rain interupted qualifying - joke! 
Wimp's points system - each position should be worth an extra 50% or so
Byron F - Australia
(BD - MS, WD - DC, BQ - MW, WQ - DC, BT - Williams, WT - Jordan, MID - FA, LID - DC, MIT - Toyota, LIT - Jordan, BR - CdM, WR - NK.
QFormat - Much Worse, Point System - Much Worse, Parc Ferm� - Much Better)


Only because of the new points system did we see such a close championship otherwise Michael was champion in Indianapolis .. Kimi, Ralf and Montoya need to raise their level to a great extent still to beat the invincible Schumacher Sr. 
Hope McLaren has the perfect car, Williams have a even stronger engine to beat the Scuderia....Till then Ferrari rules ... painting the world RED!!! - Kapel V - India
(BD - MS, WD - AP, BQ - JPM, WQ - NK, BT - Ferrari, WT - Jordan, MID - JPM, LID - JW, MIT - Williams, LIT - Minardi, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Much Worse, Point System - Slightly Worse, Parc Ferm� - Not much difference)


Schumacher has to be the least improved driver of 2003. He didn't improve on his position at all. I suppose I am being a bit harsh, it is hard to improve when your number one - Nick K - Australia
(BD - MW, WD - AP, BQ - JPM, WQ - AP, BT - Jaguar, WT - Minardi, MID - MW, LID - MS, MIT - Jaguar, LIT - Toyota, BR - CdM, WR - AP.
QFormat - Slightly Better, Point System - Not much difference, Parc Ferm� - Slightly worse)


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Official 2004 F1 Season Review

Autocourse 2004 Annual

F1 World Championship Yearbook 2004

The Official Tribute To Ayrton Senna
1960 To 1994

Formula 1 Technical Analysis: 2003

Chariot Makers: Assembling the Perfect Formula 1 Car

The Science of
F1 Design

The Complete Book of Formula One: All Cars and Drivers Since 1950

Auto Magazines

Formula 1 Books

Race Driving Books

Race Car Design Books

 Final Results

Best Driver %   Worst Driver %   Best Qualifier %   Worst Qualifier %
M Schumacher 39.97 A Pizzonia 38.12 M Webber 21.99 D Coulthard 34.06
K Raikkonen 25.48 J Villeneuve 17.93 JP Montoya 18.35 N Kiesa 15.88
F Alonso 9.90 D Coulthard 8.55 M Schumacher 14.70 J Villeneuve 12.24
JP Montoya 9.78 M Schumacher 8.43 K Raikkonen 12.27 A Pizzonia 9.82
M Webber 5.08 N Kiesa 4.87 R Barrichello 8.75 M Schumacher 8.73

Best Team %   Worst Team %   Best Rookie %   Worst Rookie %
Ferrari 51.65 Minardi 38.02 C da Matta 82.33 A Pizzonia 60.32
Williams 27.11 Jordan 29.46 J Wilson 12.39 N Kiesa 24.69
McLaren 11.16 BAR 11.12 R Firman 2.70 R Firman 8.72
Renault 8.72 Sauber 9.90 N Kiesa 2.58 J Wilson 6.27
Jaguar 1.35 Ferrari 8.68        

Most Improved Team %   Least Improved Team %   Most Improved Driver %   Least Improved Driver %
Renault 51.53 Jordan 26.89 F Alonso 35.32 D Coulthard 29.76
Williams 22.15 Minardi 19.59 K Raikkonen 19.54 J Villeneuve 19.09
Jaguar 9.91 BAR 18.37 M Webber 17.11 M Schumacher 14.35
McLaren 6.24 Ferrari 13.50 J Button 8.62 J Verstappen 6.05
Toyota 5.02 Sauber 12.29 JP Montoya 7.40 JP Montoya 4.98

The new Qualifying format %   The new Points system %   The new Parc Ferm� rules %  
Much Worse 31.57 Much Better 32.83 Much Worse 29.06
Much Better 24.03 Slightly Better 25.28 Much Better 24.03
Slightly Better 18.99 Much Worse 16.48 Slightly Better 17.74
Slightly Worse 17.74 Slightly Worse 15.22 Slightly Worse 15.22
No Difference 7.67 No Difference 10.19 No Difference 13.96

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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