For those of you who may not have noticed amidst the excitement
about Peter Andre & Jordan (not the Irish one), the GP circus
has replaced them Down Under and the season kicks off on Sunday
in Melbourne. After who is going to do what, with and to whom
and who's paying for it (though never explaining why), the thing's
actually underway. At least Coulthard hasn't said "this is
my year", though he did say his future prospects with Toyota
or Williams depend on a good showing...
The "Winter GP" has largely been inconclusive. The
new Williams and McLaren took radical steps forward and Renault
and Alonso look young and dangerous. Raikkonen looks to be the
biggest threat to Ferrari, having the pace and the temperament.
He'll also want to demoralise Montoya before he arrives at McLaren.
Montoya's current team Williams has a notorious reputation in
its dealings with drivers, three of their World Champions leaving
immediately after winning the title. This year, however, they've
taken it to a new level, alienating both drivers before the start
of the season! Not the perfect basis on which to build a championship
bid.
The Ferrari F2004 has been billed as an evolution. With the changes
to the rules, together with continuity and Ferrari reliability,
this could be for the best especially with the sublime talents
of MS who, since the retirement of Prost and the death of Senna,
is still the only driver guaranteed to maximise any opportunity
presented by uncertainty. Also, Ross Brawn's strategy and Ruben's
solid back up can never be underestimated.
Perhaps most important of all is the changes to the regulations,
although these have been played down possibly because none of
the hacks understand them. Ferrari Media have supplied the only
coherent explanations so far:
" The test programme has been changed: Friday goes back
to being a free test session day with two sessions of an hour
each, between 11 and 12 and between 2 and 3. The free sessions
continue on Saturday morning with two sessions from 10.00 until
10.45 and then from 11 until 12. Qualifying begins on Saturday
from 2 o'clock. This is divided into two parts, with a two-minute
break in the middle.
"The qualifying logic remains the same as last year: during
the first part the driver runs a lap against the clock and the
final classification decides the order for the second part of
the qualifying session - the one that will decide the starting
grid. But there is one difference: last year in the Friday qualifying
session the first driver to take the track was the was the man
who led the championship overall. In order to avoid the risk
of the same driver always opening qualifying on a dirty track
that could condition his lap, this year, the qualifying order
will be based on the finishing order of the previous race (here
in Australia it will be the last year’s final race, the
Japanese Grand Prix).The race will be run on Sunday at 2pm (all
times referred to are local times).
"Another notable change regards the Friday free practice
sessions. For every team, apart from the first four in last
year’s classification (Ferrari, Williams, McLaren, Renault),
a third driver can be used. This third driver has to be different
from the one chosen by the team for the actual race, he has
to hold a Super Licence, and he has not been a nominated driver
for a F1 team in more than six World Championship Events during
the two previous World Championships.
"However, the most important modification regards the
engine: each driver is only allowed to use one engine for the
whole Grand Prix weekend. The use of another engine carries
the punishment of dropping back ten places on the starting grid
if made before the Saturday qualifying session; if made after
the final qualifying session the driver will have to begin from
the back of the grid.
"This change will obviously alter the way drivers approach
qualifying. If the car stalls during the first part of the qualifying
session on Saturday it cannot be used in second part. The driver
could switch to a new car but this means using a new engine
and so carries with it the sanction of losing ten places on
the grid. Even if the driver manages to get the car immediately
into the pit lane, this in itself, according to the regulations,
means that the car has to remain in parc fermé until
the end of the session."
The real shame is that only those with some small motor racing
knowledge and experience may have a slight glimmer of the massive
effort that all of the teams have put in as a result of the rule
changes. Those without can't have a clue. Maybe those involved
could give us the benefit of the doubt and tell us a bit more.
However, on to the most important factor - UK TV schedules are
as follows:
| The Australian
GP on ITV1 6-7th March |
| Qualifying |
Live - Sat 02:25 - 04:50.
(Repeat - Sat 13:30 - 15:30) |
| Race |
Live - Sun 02:00
- 05:10. (Repeat - Sun 13:30 - 16:00) |
Race highlights
|
Mon 00:10 - 01:10 |
All times are
GMT & subject to change |
Let's hope it provides a better TV show than the other Jordan.
It could be Bernie and Max's ultimate challenge!
STOP PRESS
Ferrari first and second in Friday practice,
with Michael over a second clear.
| Friday
second practice times from Melbourne |
| 1 |
M.SCHUMACHER |
Ferrari |
1m24.718s |
| 2 |
BARRICHELLO |
Ferrari |
1m24.826s |
| 3 |
TRULLI |
Renault |
1m25.757s |
| 4 |
BUTTON |
BAR |
1m25.786s |
| 5 |
ALONSO |
Renault |
1m25.853s |
| 6 |
R.SCHUMACHER |
Williams |
1m25.882s |
| 7 |
MONTOYA |
Williams |
1m26.206s |
| 8 |
COULTHARD |
McLaren |
1m26.215s |
| 9 |
WEBBER |
Jaguar |
1m26.312s |
| 10 |
RAIKKONEN |
McLaren |
1m26.579s |
| 11 |
FISICHELLA |
Sauber |
1m26.601s |
| 12 |
SATO |
BAR |
1m26.967s |
| 13 |
MASSA |
Sauber |
1m26.969s |
| 14 |
ZONTA |
Toyota |
1m27.165s |
| 15 |
DAVIDSON |
BAR |
1m27.516s |
| 16 |
PANIS |
Toyota |
1m27.710s |
| 17 |
KLIEN |
Jaguar |
1m27.724s |
| 18 |
DA MATTA |
Toyota |
1m27.807s |
| 19 |
HEIDFELD |
Jordan |
1m27.826s |
| 20 |
WIRDHEIM |
Jaguar |
1m28.781s |
| 21 |
BRUNI |
Minardi |
1m28.991s |
| 22 |
BAUMGARTNER |
Minardi |
1m29.708s |
| 23 |
PANTANO |
Jordan |
1m30.061s |
| 24 |
GLOCK |
Jordan |
1m30.291s |
