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| April 1, 2002 | Monday | Muharram 17, 1423 |
Schumacher drives new car to victory
SAO PAULO, March 31: World champion Michael Schumacher won a hard-fought battle of brothers to take his new Ferrari to a dream debut win in Sunday’s Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix.
It was his second victory of the season, and the 55th of a record-breaking career, but the championship leader had to sweat for it after being hounded by Ralf Schumacher’s Williams throughout the closing laps.
With Brazilian soccer great Pele presiding over the finish, the Ferrari crossed the line a mere 0.5 seconds ahead of Ralf.
McLaren’s David Coulthard was third, the Scot’s first points of the season, and fellow Briton Jenson Button fourth in a Renault.
Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya salvaged his race with fifth for Williams and Finland’s Mika Salo picked up another point for newcomers Toyota.
Schumacher now has 24 points to Ralf’s 16.
Montoya started aggressively on pole but found himself at the back of the field after another first lap collision with his Ferrari rival.
He and Schumacher had started on the front row for the second race in succession after banging cars at the first corner in Malaysia two weeks ago.
That time it was Schumacher who came off worse, finishing third after a storming fightback through the field, and it was Montoya’s turn to suffer in Brazil.
He had forced Schumacher to brake into the first corner but then ran wide on the exit, allowing the four times world champion to slip expertly past and seize the lead.
As he tried to fight back, Montoya hit the rear of Schumacher’s Ferrari. His front wing shattered, scattering debris and his chances with it.
The Colombian, who had led here last year in his debut season before being shunted out by Jos Verstappen as he lapped the Dutchman, might think he is jinxed at the Interlagos circuit.
But it was nothing compared to the disappointment felt by Ferrari’s Rubens Barrichello.
The Brazilian led for three laps, taking over from Schumacher on the 14th in what looked like an agreed move, before his car slowed and he cruised bumpily across the infield before coming to a halt.
It was his 150th race and there was nothing to celebrate, after his eighth successive failure to finish in his home race. Barrichello has also yet to score a point this year or complete a full distance.
“It was hydraulic pressure, no gears, no drive, no nothing,” he gasped after jogging back to the pits. “I was just driving flat out, that’s all I could do.”
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella, who has often beaten the odds in Brazil with points scoring finishes in the past, was the first to retire when his Jordan’s Honda engine blew after just eight laps.
His early exit and team mate Takuma Sato’s finish well down the order left Eddie Jordan’s team still seeking their first points after three races.
There was early drama long before the start, with Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi destroying his Arrows in a fiery crash into the guardrail during the warm-up.
More seriously, German Nick Heidfeld’s Sauber hit the open door of the medical car as he tried to avoid the burning wreckage in the middle of the track by slipping down the inside on the grass runoff.
Results: 1. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1hr 31mins 43.663secs, 2. Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Williams-BMW at 0.588ecs, 3. David Coulthard (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 59.109secs, 4. Jenson Button (Gbr) Renault 1min 06.883secs, 5. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) Williams-BMW 1.07.563, 6. Mika Salo (Fin) Toyota one lap, 7. Eddie Irvine (Gbr) Jaguar-Cosworth one lap, 8. Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) Jaguar-Cosworth one lap, 9. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Jordan-Honda two laps, 10. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BAR-Honda three laps, 11. Mark Webber (Aus) Minardi-Asiatech three laps, 12. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes four laps, 13. Alex Yoong (Mas) Minardi-Asiatech four laps.—Reuters/AFP
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