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The Editor was expecting an emotional piece for this, Schuey's last race for the Scuderia, but frankly I was a bit stunned by events and just feel numb. The engine failure in Japan, when he seemed on target to go out on a high with his eighth title, was a body blow, then fuel pump failure preventing him from even taking part in his last qualifying session was a blow falling on a bruise. I knew the facts, but couldn't seem to get my head round the fact that it was the last time we'll see him, such has been his influence since his debut 15 years ago and his total domination of the sport since Senna's death in 1994. Often there has been one driver in F1 whom everyone knew was the best, even when he wasn't winning, from Fangio through Moss, Clark, Stewart, Prost to Senna and then Michael. It's not just speed, it's a buzz of excitement whenever they are on track, you expect the unexpected and virtuoso performances under adverse conditions when weaker men fall by the wayside. Luckily Tony Cotton, whom I've never met, but was at Schuey's first race at Spa in 1991, as was I, was more robust and this is his view of the race:- "I thought Schuey drove a superb race which was a fitting valedictory to a brilliant career. His race start from tenth was obviously driven with highly controlled aggression - trying as hard as he could without endangering the car. However, as overtaking is said to be difficult in modern F1, with nine cars to pass some conflict was inevitable. Whether Fisichella touched him seems to be a matter of debate. ITV and 5 Live differed in their view but both Renault and Ferrari are agreed that a touch occurred. He drove most of a lap on a puncture and nursed the car back in one piece so he could carry on the fight. This was either supremely lucky or supremely skilful. Or perhaps the better the driver, the luckier he gets.... ". To then come back to fourth was incredible. Schuey has been criticised
by some in the past for his passing but nobody could say a word against
it today. His pass of Raikkonen was a classic manoeuvre of each driver
holding on as long as they could - and then some. Witness the massive
understeer Raikkonen suffered immediately after the move. Could Schuey have done it had the puncture not happened? There's no doubt if Button could reach third from fourteenth, Schuey certainly could get to third. How would Alonso survive in a Ferrari sandwich? He seemed to cope well in Turkey, so probably nothing would have been different., let us not forget that he drove a great race under demanding circumstances. The chances of Schuey winning and Alonso not scoring were slight, although
the close presence of Jenson Button gave a little hope for a slight touch,
a spin and a bent wishbone. On this occasion Schuey was the underdog and
he played the role just as well as he does any other. We've seen him win
from the front many times, but wasn't it wonderful that in his final race
he showed why he is so great? He's a racer who NEVER gives up. Michael is clearly still on top form and looked distinctly unhappy when his retirement was announced at Monza. There have been dark rumours that he was pushed rather than jumped. Could John possibly be right....? Footnote This race was also the end of another era: with Williams switching to Toyota engines next season and Toro Rosso to Ferrari or Renault, it is likely to be Cosworth's last GP after 42 years and 601 races. Founded in 1958 by the late Keith Duckworth and Mike Costin, their F1 debut was in the 1964 British GP with a Cooper MAE driven by the late John Taylor, though the 1967 Dutch GP was their first with a proper F1 engine - the legendary DFV. Cosworth powered 13 World Champions to victory (though Nelson Piquet also used BMW engines in 1981). Their last championship was Michael Schumacher's first, 1994 in a Benetton (now Renault). They won 176 GPs, second only to Ferrari, but only one under their own name (2003 Brazil - Giancarlo Fisichella in a Jordan), all of the others being badged as Ford; the vast majority of these of course being the DFV. Such was this engine's dominance that in the 1969 French GP, several
GPs in 1975 (and possibly others) the DFV powered every car in the race
except for those of Scuderia Ferrari. Cosworth have been Ferrari's nemesis
many times, so it's ironic that Ferrari have been theirs. The 2007 Spyker
MF1 was designed to take a Cosworth engine only for it to be replaced
at the last minute by a Ferrari. Next season, with three teams, Ferrari
engines will be the most numerous in F1...... How tables have turned.
Click here to return to the Ferrari Happenings page.
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